Although 5,000 marched in Tel Aviv on August 5, calling for an end to the conflict and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon, the conventional media image of Israeli opinion is one of unity behind its armored and aerial blitzkrieg. There are signs in Ha'aretz, however that liberals are experiencing buyer's remorse.
Tom Segev is one of Israel's best historians and writers, and a man of the left. On August 3, after Israel bombed civilians in Qana, he wrote,
Israel has adopted the moral values of Hezbollah. Whatever they are doing to the residents of northern Israel, we can also do to the citizens of Lebanon, and even more. Many Israelis tended to look at the Qana incident primarily as a media disaster and not as something that imposed on them any ethical responsibility.
Gideon Levy is the former spokesman for Shimon Peres, and denounces Olmerts' current directions,
Israel is sinking into a strident, nationalistic atmosphere and darkness is beginning to cover everything. . . . the insensitivity and blindness. . . . tones of jingoism, ruthlessness and vengeance. . . .Ze'ev Sternhell is Leon Blum Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Hebrew University. He says Israel today,
Lebanon has never fought Israel and has 40 daily newspapers, 42 colleges and universities. . . . is being destroyed by our planes and cannon and nobody is taking into account the amount of hatred we are sowing.
is dominated by thinking even more primitive than the thinking that led Ariel Sharon to Beirut about a quarter of a century ago. . . . . it is impossible to uproot Hezbollah from among the Shiites without destroying the population itself... well-organized armies equipped with modern technology have always failed in attempts to defeat irregular forces. The latter know how to adapt themselves to their surroundings, they are an inseparable part of the population and they serve its material, religious and emotional needs.Sternhell linked Israel's war to George Bush who, he wrote,
wants Israel both to destroy Lebanon and to sustain painful losses. That way, Israel provides him with an excellent alibi for the war in Iraq: The fight against terror is global, the blood price is the same, the methods of operation and the means are identical, and the time needed for victory is long. . . . The Israeli vassal is serving its master no less than the master is providing for its needs.On August 8, Yossi Beilin denounced "the revelry of war", "pathetic slogans such as 'We will win'", and getting
drawn into the trap set by Hezbollah -- into an extended war of attrition, continued exposure of the Israeli home front to rocket fire and a ground operation involving tens of thousands of soldiers. . . . violate ethical norms.
If it were up to us, we would have reached a peace agreement with the Palestinians in May 1991, as was promised in the interim agreement with them. If it were up to us, the Shepherdstown peace talks involving Bill Clinton, Ehud Barak and Farouk Shara would have ended in December 1999 with an Israeli-Syrian peace agreement that would have led to an Israeli-Lebanon deal.
. . . our national interest is in completing the moves toward peace with the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon, and there is no alternative to an agreement. . . . . . warning against acts that contradict the values of Israeli society, while demanding that we reach the negotiation table as soon as possible to discuss a cease-fire.
1 comment:
If Israel had chosen to be noble, it would have announced that it was stopping any war activity immediately following the UN agreement, rather than continuing to fight up until the deadline. Israel also would have announced that it was ready to return the many combat prisoners from both Lebanon and Palestine that it holds, contemporaneously with the return of all Israeli prisoners held by them.
Following closely upon the exchange, Israel should call for peace talks, during which Israel should seek better relations with its neighbors by giving back the territories which it has seized over past years and still holds, as well as deconstruction of the walls between them. In return, Hamas and Hezbollah should be expected to reciprocate by withholding any further belligerent action against Israel. Nations, like individuals, respond to respect and goodwill with respect and goodwill. If Hezbollah should continue to send missiles into Israel under such circumstances, its credibility and world support would sink to zero.
What heroes the Israelis would have been! But unfortunately, the Israelis have chosen to follow the Bush Plan, complete victory and the humiliation of the enemy. There hasn't been much nobility in the world since Shakespeare.
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