A Post From Inside Israel
0 comments on this postBy 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
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