Claims made against Israel by the left give the impression that the Arabs are passive, innocent actors suffering unprovoked attacks by predatory Jews. from tripeilat.blogspot.com.
Barry Werner – Final – The Left, The West and the Occupation
Conclusion:
Claims made against Israel by the left give the impression that the Arabs are passive, innocent actors suffering unprovoked attacks by predatory Jews. But Arabs are moral agents too. There is a history of unrelenting terrorism and wars against the Jews that has gone on for about a hundred years. The Arab World tried to annihilate the Jews for the second time in the war of 1967, the war in which Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza (the 1948 war was the first time, the 1973 war was the third time). When there weren’t full-blown wars, there was almost continuous terrorism against Israel (in which Arab citizens of Israel suffered as well as Jews). The leadership of the Palestinian Arabs still promotes Jew hatred and the continuation of war with Israel in school textbooks, TV programs, Hamas summer preparatory war camps for children, etc. We can see in the present wave of terrorism that some Arabs raise their children to kill Jews with knives in the streets of Israel. In contrast, Jewish violence against Arabs is most often in self-defense or measured retaliation to deter recurrence, but unfortunately, on rare occasions rage turns to revenge (when Jews attack Arabs it is always news, but it is not necessarily news when Arabs attack Jews).
Israel was created for the morally defensible historical need of Jews to find refuge from anti-Semitism. If the Zionist program had failed, then Arabs would have murdered the Jews who had come to Palestine to escape being murdered by anti-Semitic Europeans. Jewish self-defense in Palestine before The State of Israel was established was morally justifiable. Today, the defense of The State of Israel is just as morally justifiable as the defense of any other country.
Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza (now a partial embargo of Gaza) was a consequence of the war of 1967. The military occupation of the West Bank can only be ended by a peace agreement but so far, that peace agreement has not been reached. We might debate the most effective steps Israel could take to defend itself against incessant terrorism and wars of annihilation but the fact that a vigorous defense is necessary is incontestable.
The Arab rejectionist war of annihilation against the Jews of Israel is based on racism against non-Arabs and religious fanaticism against non-Muslims. The basic ideology of Hamas, PLO, and other jihadist groups who attack Israel is essentially the same ideology as that of ISIS, Al-Qaida, and other Islamic terrorist groups who attack the West, a murderous proclamation of supremacy. The leftists who take the side of Arab rejectionists are siding with fascists competing for tyrannical power using racism and religious fanaticism to mobilize their fighters. This is not what the leftist agenda is supposed to be about.
It is a mistake to think of the PA, Hamas, etc, as national liberation movements worthy of respect. Most of the Arabs on the West Bank and in Gaza are afraid of them and complain bitterly about the corruption. Journalists and citizens are intimidated, imprisoned, or worse, for speaking out against the PA or Hamas governments (the intimidation of journalists is responsible to a large extent for the distorted view the West has about the West Bank and Gaza). Westerners should pressure the PA and Hamas to allow the free expression of opinion by well-meaning civilians, while at the same time suppressing incitement by radical rejectionists. Instead, leftists support the PA, Hamas, etc against Israel, seemingly without reservation.
The Arabs of the West Bank are stuck between two rival forces, Arab rejectionists who insist on attacking Israel even at the expense of perpetuating the occupation (the rejectionists think they can scare the Jews into giving up but they only strengthen the resolve of the Jews to defend themselves), and Israeli Jews and Arabs who don’t want their country destroyed, especially while they are living in it.
The West says it tries to deal with Israel and the Palestinians on an equal basis. But the two parties are not in the same situation. Israel’s overriding concern is to protect itself from attack on all sides. The Arabs are not at risk from attack by Israel except in self-defense or measured retaliation. The West should be trying to suppress the Arab radicals and support the moderates among the Arabs who are willing to make peace with Israel.
The West’s left-wing political correctness and hypocrisy are impediments to peace because their support for Arab rejectionists makes it impossible for Arab moderates to make peace with Israel. Western leaders need to pressure the leadership of the Palestinians to promote acceptance of Israel and convince their people that the two state solution means an end to terrorism and war. The West should be encouraging the Arabs to take those steps instead of excusing them for acting irresponsibly, and putting pressure on Israel to take unacceptable risks. The military occupation of the West Bank would end quickly if the Arabs would convince the Jews that an independent Palestinian state on the West Bank would not be a threat.
Barry Werner – Final – The Left, The West and the Occupation
Bio:
I was born into an Orthodox Jewish family in Brooklyn, NY and attended an Orthodox yeshiva, but I am a secular Jew today and still have a high regard for Judaism. I enjoy learning about Judaism, Jewish history and history in general.
In yeshiva I learned what it is like to be religious and how to be religious without being a fanatic. I recognize the power and importance of religion in people’s lives and the need to restrain religious fanaticism.
I was born in 1944, when the Nazi Holocaust was in full operation. I grew up when the world was just beginning to comprehend what had happened. When I read about the willing participants to the Holocaust from other European countries, I realized that the Holocaust was not an aberration restricted to Germans, but it represents the depravity that humanity in general is capable of.
I wanted to understand the world as science understands it (which is a rather religious thing to do) so I earned a PhD in Physics at Brandeis University. My PhD thesis was in Astrophysics and my professional career was in Medical Physics. For many years I did research in the fundamentals of Medical Physics and taught Medical Physics in universities.
I made aliyah in 2009.
I am very interested in the Arab/Israeli conflict and especially in the phenomenon of anti-Zionism. I enjoy discussing Israel with left-wingers, right-wingers, Arabs, Europeans, and anyone who is interested in the Arab/Israeli conflict.
Barry Werner – Final – The Left, The West and the Occupation
