Oct 17 - 46/45 - McCain +01
20 Days Later - A Post From Inside Israel
By Guest Columnist Emily Sigalow
Emily makes a timely return to The Chief Source to share her thoughts on the current conflict between Israel and Lebanon. A graduate from Swarthmore University, she writes to us from Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
"Less than three weeks ago, a friend of mine, and participant in one of the many tour groups in Israel, traveled through the beautiful rolling hills of northern Israel all the way to the Israeli-Lebanese Border. Just twenty days ago his tour guide showed the group the calm border between Israel and Lebanon and proudly spoke about the amicable relations between the two formerly antagonistic states. Twenty days later, this same border teems with Israeli tanks, soldiers, artillery, paramedics, and just across this border, South Lebanon now ranks the densest area in the world in terms of weaponry per square kilometer.
"After only twenty days, the fringes of these two countries have transformed into a frontier of war. After only twenty days, hundreds of people (Lebanese, Israeli, civilians, soldiers) have been killed, billions in damage have been wrought, and the future of the Middle East totters precariously. Just twenty days ago, a group of Hezbollah militants crossed the border into Israel and staged an entirely unprovoked attack against Israel, leading to the death of eight soldiers and the kidnapping of two more. And the State of Israel responded fiercely, first with missiles and then with ground invasions and now with more missiles, in a military campaign ostensibly aimed to free the kidnapped soldiers and secure its northern border. The Hezbollah guerillas, under Iranian and Syrian sponsorship, launch barrages of rockets deep into the north of Israel and Israel (especially as of late) has been bombarding Lebanon with missiles and airstrikes.
"This war has left me aghast and largely unglued. My heart goes out to all the innocent Lebanese people who were just minding their business and living their lives and are now dead, hurt, or displaced. My heart also goes out the all the Israelis, civilians and soldiers, who also have been killed and wounded, and to the citizens of the north, constituting a third of the population, who are now living in bomb shelters.
"I am writing this article from the quiet halls of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and I have to admit that this article has already undergone three versions, as each day brings new “news” and shifts in my opinion. Even though I speak Hebrew, live in Jerusalem, read local newspapers, talk to Arab and Israeli store-owners/cab-drivers, I struggle to understand this War’s mission, means, and effects.
"In short, this war is about baseless hatred and excessive pride. Baseless hatred compelled Hezbollah to war. I am not talking about the Palestinian people who suffer the intimate effects of Israel’s presence and activity; I am talking about Hezbollah, the guerilla army that simply hates Israel for existing. And Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Hezbollah group, has dedicated his live and destroyed his nation in order to wage a war against a country that has all but let him happily stockpile ammunitions for the past six years. Hezbollah should be to be blamed for this war, internationally reproached and disarmed, and held accountable for the casualties, just as any other “army” that pretends to fight for its citizens yet hides out amongst them should be held accountable for civilian casualties.
"But this war is not just about Hezbollah’s baseless hatred, it is also about Israel’s excessive pride. Israelis suffer from an overly-acute sense of honor, the honor that compels them to almost always attack when provoked and to continue the attack until they see themselves as victorious. Israel has never been particularly good at practicing self-restraint, especially when her pride is wounded.
I truly believe that Israel does not aim to kill innocent civilians, but I also truly believe that when Israeli pride is hurt (as it was by the Hezbollah ambush in Bint Jbail and the ongoing Hezbollah rocketing in the North) Israel’s number one mission becomes rehabilitating her wounded ego.
"I have never questioned Israel’s right to defend herself because certainly any nation under attack has a right to self-protection. The international (meaning European) call for “proportional responses” seems nothing but absurd rhetoric, because really when has proportionality been an obligation in war? Certainly Hiroshima was not proportional to Pearl Harbor. Israel has the responsibility to do everything in her power to not harm innocent Lebanese citizens because the vast majority of Lebanese people are victims not accomplices. The troubling question that hovers silently here in the Middle-East is what will the consequences of this fighting be? Where is this war headed and what is it really solving? And above all else, how will it all end, so that both Israel and Lebanon can begin to heal their broken countries, economies, and infrastructures. So that once again the tour guides can boast about the amicable relations between Israel and her northern neighbor Lebanon. " - Emily Sigalow
Emily makes a timely return to The Chief Source to share her thoughts on the current conflict between Israel and Lebanon. A graduate from Swarthmore University, she writes to us from Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
"Less than three weeks ago, a friend of mine, and participant in one of the many tour groups in Israel, traveled through the beautiful rolling hills of northern Israel all the way to the Israeli-Lebanese Border. Just twenty days ago his tour guide showed the group the calm border between Israel and Lebanon and proudly spoke about the amicable relations between the two formerly antagonistic states. Twenty days later, this same border teems with Israeli tanks, soldiers, artillery, paramedics, and just across this border, South Lebanon now ranks the densest area in the world in terms of weaponry per square kilometer."After only twenty days, the fringes of these two countries have transformed into a frontier of war. After only twenty days, hundreds of people (Lebanese, Israeli, civilians, soldiers) have been killed, billions in damage have been wrought, and the future of the Middle East totters precariously. Just twenty days ago, a group of Hezbollah militants crossed the border into Israel and staged an entirely unprovoked attack against Israel, leading to the death of eight soldiers and the kidnapping of two more. And the State of Israel responded fiercely, first with missiles and then with ground invasions and now with more missiles, in a military campaign ostensibly aimed to free the kidnapped soldiers and secure its northern border. The Hezbollah guerillas, under Iranian and Syrian sponsorship, launch barrages of rockets deep into the north of Israel and Israel (especially as of late) has been bombarding Lebanon with missiles and airstrikes.
"This war has left me aghast and largely unglued. My heart goes out to all the innocent Lebanese people who were just minding their business and living their lives and are now dead, hurt, or displaced. My heart also goes out the all the Israelis, civilians and soldiers, who also have been killed and wounded, and to the citizens of the north, constituting a third of the population, who are now living in bomb shelters.
"I am writing this article from the quiet halls of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and I have to admit that this article has already undergone three versions, as each day brings new “news” and shifts in my opinion. Even though I speak Hebrew, live in Jerusalem, read local newspapers, talk to Arab and Israeli store-owners/cab-drivers, I struggle to understand this War’s mission, means, and effects."In short, this war is about baseless hatred and excessive pride. Baseless hatred compelled Hezbollah to war. I am not talking about the Palestinian people who suffer the intimate effects of Israel’s presence and activity; I am talking about Hezbollah, the guerilla army that simply hates Israel for existing. And Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Hezbollah group, has dedicated his live and destroyed his nation in order to wage a war against a country that has all but let him happily stockpile ammunitions for the past six years. Hezbollah should be to be blamed for this war, internationally reproached and disarmed, and held accountable for the casualties, just as any other “army” that pretends to fight for its citizens yet hides out amongst them should be held accountable for civilian casualties.
"But this war is not just about Hezbollah’s baseless hatred, it is also about Israel’s excessive pride. Israelis suffer from an overly-acute sense of honor, the honor that compels them to almost always attack when provoked and to continue the attack until they see themselves as victorious. Israel has never been particularly good at practicing self-restraint, especially when her pride is wounded.
I truly believe that Israel does not aim to kill innocent civilians, but I also truly believe that when Israeli pride is hurt (as it was by the Hezbollah ambush in Bint Jbail and the ongoing Hezbollah rocketing in the North) Israel’s number one mission becomes rehabilitating her wounded ego."I have never questioned Israel’s right to defend herself because certainly any nation under attack has a right to self-protection. The international (meaning European) call for “proportional responses” seems nothing but absurd rhetoric, because really when has proportionality been an obligation in war? Certainly Hiroshima was not proportional to Pearl Harbor. Israel has the responsibility to do everything in her power to not harm innocent Lebanese citizens because the vast majority of Lebanese people are victims not accomplices. The troubling question that hovers silently here in the Middle-East is what will the consequences of this fighting be? Where is this war headed and what is it really solving? And above all else, how will it all end, so that both Israel and Lebanon can begin to heal their broken countries, economies, and infrastructures. So that once again the tour guides can boast about the amicable relations between Israel and her northern neighbor Lebanon. " - Emily Sigalow
Press: Post featured on Brewed Fresh Daily
By Kyle - 7/31/2006
15 Comments:
This is a nice write. Thanks for the view from the Inside.
Kyle and crew,
What a great, unique perspective. This is why, despite my (often diametrically) opposing political viewpoints, I consider your site a regular must-read.
Thank you.
a group of Hezbollah militants crossed the border into Israel and staged an entirely unprovoked attack against Israel, leading to the death of eight soldiers and the kidnapping of two more
They weren't "militants." They were terrorists.
What makes them terrorists?
First, I want to thank Emily for sending us this post. Great stuff.
Anonymous, I know semantics matter, but I think you are splitting hairs.
I worry about this conflict escalating beyond Lebanon and Israel. President Bush had the opportunity this morning to comment on the problem. He referenced Iran. Is this is just an open proxy war where Israel uses U.S. weapons and Hezbollah uses Iranian weapons? Is this just the appetizer? If so is a war between the U.S. and Iran the main course?
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this post, posts like this and Greg's recent post give our site another dimension.
Well said.
Oh, one thing though.
I agree that Hiroshima was not a "proportional response" to Pearl Harbor, but I don't think it's a good idea to set it as some kind of precedent, just cause we can find endless example of when disproportional force has been used doesn't mean we should condone it here.
I don't think the idea of proportional response is absurd rhetoric at all. Are you suggesting that all's fair in love and war? Is this even war? Is the Geneva Convention absurd?
I believe anything the United States signed prior to 2001 is void--like Geneva. Look, it's a new century; doesn't that mean we can scratch the last? Holocaust what? Nah, the 20th century is of no concern to us now. It's methods and innovations are crude and unapplicable to today's world of ingenuity and brilliance. These last five years have been the progress that our Founding Fathers (excluding mothers for sure) invisioned. We have come a long way and have adjusted the America system accordingly, reinventing ourselves into a power 1776 never could have achieved on horsepower alone. Perfection is the way of U.S. 2000, the new power machine.
Emily thank you for your thoughtful post.
G.A. what makes them militants and not terroists is the same mindset that refers to people who illegally cross a border as immigrants. If you can redfine reality you are half way to winning the battle
Hey Bob---
I am not exactly sure what is fair in love and war (i seem to lack experience in both these days :) ). however, proportion is not a war tactic. i mean, if every army fought with proportion, wars would either continue infinitely or end in stalemate.
all that aside, what is proportional response? i mean, hundreds of rockets are launched into Israel every day. should Israel then tally up the deaths at the end of each day and target the proportional number of Lebanese civilians? or should israel put aside its military technology (because hezbollah doesn't have the proportional technology) and create an Israeli version of the iranian katuyshas? i don't mean to be harsh, but proportionality seems, well, unreasonable.
Unfortunately I think we are debating the wrong thing. In terms of blowing people up, I don't think there is any real rule (although, technically, Geneva should be followed...but how?). Once you start killing, it's difficult to rationally argue one way or the other; I think that's part of war--it's irrational. However, what should be debated is how to bring the two sides together in order to discuss a rational solution. Unfortunately, both sides are acting irrational; therefore, how does one bring them back to rationality. I think Em is right with her description of both sides be dedicated to positions that allow for no wiggle room. But the more bombs that drop, the more bombs will drop--that's pretty simple.
Em, beautiful post.
Your friends love and miss you.
Stay safe.
Love,
K
excellent post. thank you.
Fareed Zakaria summed up the issue (paraphrase): Israel was totally justified in their reaction. However, what have they done to help anything? Hezbollah is now more popular then ever. They will become a greater power then ever after this incident. This is not good for the Middle East and not good for Israel.
Excellent point concerning proportional response.
Isreal is a democratic nation, and over 80% of the population wants to contimue the push further into lebannon.
Isreal's goal should not be to merely trade shots with Hezbollah, the goal should be to eliminate them.
Comparing Isreals response to the bombing of Hiroshima is valid. the Japanese were an extremely nationalistic people, just as so many arab cultures are today. Both the Japanese and the germans needed to be utterly defeated with crushed egos (german nationalism is still subdued after 60 years).
It may be a sick manifestation of human nature, but sometimes war is necessary to create peace.
BTW, does anyone remember Isreal's history with egypt? Isreal kicked the crap out of egypt during the 6 day war, destroying their entire airforce on the ground in a single day. Isreal took the entire sanai away from egypt 5 days later. They did this because egypt denied their ships the suez canal (disproportional force, right?). This agression paved the way for the Yom Kippur War, where once again Israel soundly defeated egypt, almost reaching Cairo with their ground forces. They also pinned an entire egyptian army, denying them food, water and retreat until egypt negotiated with Israel directly. These two resounding defeats forced Egypt to finally recognize Israel and make peace.
Either Hezbollah believes they can defeat Israel, or their leadship acts irrationally, fighting a war they know they can't win. If Hezbollah is irrational there is no chance diplomacy can work, and if they believe they can win? Israel has every incentive to use disproportionate force and crush their pride.
Jeff, good to have you back.
Post a Comment
<< Home