On Dec. 27, the conflict
between Israel and
Gaza broke into allout
war. Since then, many have
blamed Israel for the deaths of
nearly 900 Palestinians, nearly
half of them civilians. Riots and
protests against the invasion of
Gaza are being held everywhere
from the Middle East to cities in
Europe – even here in the U.S.
People are gathering everywhere
to condemn the “atrocities” and
“genocide” committed by Israel.
One million people reportedly
protested in Damascus, Syria
alone.
The United Nations is even
jumping on the bandwagon.
The High Commissioner for
Human Rights has called for
investigations into war crimes
committed by Israeli forces in
the Gaza Strip, and the Human
Rights Council released a statement
saying, “Severe and massive
violations of international
humanitarian law as defined in
the Geneva Conventions, both
in regard to the obligations of
an Occupying Power and in
the requirements of the laws of
war.”
On the other hand, all the
peaceful, non-guilty, impeccable,
pious Palestinian government
known as Hamas has
done is fire 3,000 rockets at
the bloodthirsty, barbaric, carnivorous
citizens (aka “terrorists”)
of South Israel in 2008.
If they had better weapons, like
a nuclear bomb, Hamas would
even be so kind as to share them
with the Israeli people. A big
fan of the Holocaust and Adolf
Hitler, Hamas even tries to connect
with the Israeli people and
the Jewish community. I mean,
why would anybody want to
invade the Gaza Strip and hurt
Hamas?
On a serious note, the answer
is obvious. Whether it is the best
thing to do or not is a different
question and maybe one for
a different article. What I am
concerned about is the spirit of
the reaction against Israel in its
retaliation against Hamas in the
Gaza Strip.
The ferociousness of the
response to Israel’s actions, particularly
by the Muslim community,
and the absolute ignorance
and neglect of the Palestinians’
provocation is dumbfounding,
to say the least. To compare the
death toll between Hamas and
Israel is oversimplifying the conflict
and missing the point.
The primary difference
between Hamas and Israel is
intent. Hamas attacks citizens
deliberately, the only purpose
being to kill Jews and reap terror.
Some claim “self-defense,” but
that justification is so ridiculous,
I am not going to even justify
it with a counter-argument. In
its “self-defense,” Israel has only
attacked what it thinks are military
targets, including mosques,
schools and hospitals which are
being used as safe havens for
terrorists and fighters. It does
everything in its power to avoid
civilian casualties. In the present
conflict, it has dropped leaflets
all over the country and made
phone calls to local residents
asking them to evacuate areas
soon to be attacked and areas
near Hamas strongholds.
The other difference is capability.
Israel essentially has
the capability to kill as many
Palestinians as it wants, yet it has
sought to minimize casualties.
Hamas, if it could, would wipe
Israel off the map. The only
offensive weapons Hamas has
are the rockets and mortars it
continues to fire at Israel. If the
two had equivalent technology
and strength, the four Israelis
killed since Dec. 27 would be
multiplied exponentially, and 99
percent would be civilians.
Yet all the attention continues
to be directed at Israel. Consider
this: 3,000 rockets were fired
at Israel from the Gaza Strip
in 2008. That includes a fourmonth
lull provided by a ceasefire.
That’s more than eight
rockets a day. How would we
feel here in Starkville if each day,
we had to hide under our desks
or in our bathtubs or in the halls
of our dorms and pray for the
safety of ourselves, our friends
and our loved ones? What are
we, or they, supposed to do? Get
over it?
Also, what about Hamas’
human rights violations? Other
than the rocket attacks, they
have used schools, hospitals and
mosques as safe havens, and they
have used women and children
as human shields. Where are the
condemnations? Where are the
calls for war crimes? Where are
the sanctions? The Israelis are
being abandoned by the world
community.
The ferocity of the defensive
reactions by the general Muslim
community is yet another black
mark on a long history of recent
events, including the despicable
reactions to the Jyllands-Posten
Muhammad cartoons in 2005.
Israel may not have been justified
in a lot of its actions, but
that is beside the point. The
spirit of the reaction against
the attacks is extreme and
undeserved. Both Muslims and
Christians (and Jews) need to
get over their polarity and realize
when it is pertinent to criticize
fellow members of their religion,
political party or other group.
Lazarus Austin is a senior majoring
in history. He can be contacted
at [email protected].