peace lovers - have turned into doves of prey after deaths of 100 Israelis, then what do they suppose is going through the minds of doves, hawks alike who have suffered 1,000 casualties, hundreds of thousands of displaced persons, and scores of pounded villages?
By B. Michael
YNET
August 12, 2006
One hundred dead Israelis - undoubtedly a horrendous figure - and a flock of local and
noisy doves have turned into a flock of angry battle doves.
Almost overnight, the calls for peace and moderation have been abandoned, replaced by
loud and angry preaching calling for the pounding, crippling and destruction of the
enemy.
One hundred dead, hundreds of thousands of displaced persons, dozens of shelled homes
- and the doves have become falcons.
What about them?
It`s interesting, because the Palestinians have been suffering similar measures of
death and
destruction almost every month. And they, as they have been told over and over again,
should learn from all this death and suffering and turn into doves. They are being
told to
abandon their anger and hatred, and instead nurture love of mankind and pacifism.
And the Lebanese? They too have had a fair share of death and destruction, several
times
greater than the suffering Israel has had to endure. And they too are being asked to
reach
the ultimate conclusion from the horror they have endured, namely that the time has
come to
turn into doves. They have even been told repeatedly that we shall not cease to
strike at
them, until they make an about-face, until they become doves, until they love us.
Strange. The Palestinian and Lebanese people are being asked to surmise that it is
worthwhile becoming a dove after experiencing death and suffering. However, Israeli
doves
allow themselves to surmise the complete opposite from death and suffering: that
they ought
to become birds of prey.
Strange, but perhaps this conduct can be attributed to the difference in mentality,
and may
just be another sign of the dove`s soft flesh and feeble spine.
The lesson of the death
Owls on the other hand, as well as all other intelligent creatures, learn from all
the above
(and from the lessons learned in Iraq, Afghanistan, Ireland, Spain, Algeria and
Palestine
etc.) that bombs and tanks are not necessarily the best teachers of politeness,
courtesy and
love of mankind. Death and suffering only brings more death and suffering. Relentless
brutality only brings more relentless brutality.
Aggressive recklessness only brings more aggressive recklessness. That`s how it is
here,
that`s how it is there and that`s how it is everywhere.
Israel`s belligerent doves should pause to ponder one small question: if they - the
famous
peace lovers - have become doves of prey after the death of 100 Israelis, then what
do they
suppose is going through the minds of those doves and hawks alike who have suffered
1,000 deaths, hundreds of thousands of displaced persons, and scores of villages almost
wiped off the face of the earth.
But how dare I compare? We are the chosen people, and they are just Arabs.
Food for thought
Who are those people fighting us in Lebanon ? Who are those determined youngsters, the
fanatics impassioned by their faith and hatred?
They are eighteen-year-olds, twenty-year-olds, and twenty-five-year-olds or perhaps
even
thirty-year-olds. They were born in the last century, towards the end of the 70`s
and the end
of the 80`s. They are the sons of the previous war. They are the offspring of occupied
Lebanon in 1982, children of the trampled south during the first war in Lebanon,
frightened
children of humiliated parents who grew into bitter men, full of burning hatred.
We also tried knocking some sense into their parents by bombing them. Their families
were
also driven out of their homes, hoping they would wander to the capital and pressure
the
government to disarm the militia of the time (Palestinian). Their villages were also
pounded,
flattened and cleansed.
The generation that grew out of that era is the same generation fighting us now. And
twenty
years from now - if we allow the Olmerts , the Peretzes, the Halutzes and the Ramons to
continue ruling us - we shall find ourselves fighting the generation that is growing
up now.
A somewhat hollow argument
We say they `hide among civilians,` that they `use them as human shields, those lowly
cowards.` We say, `Those who allow them to do so should pay the price.`
This is a somewhat hollow argument coming from the mouths of officers and leaders whose
headquarters are located in the heart of Tel Aviv. And not far from there in the
midst of a
prestigious neighborhood, there`s a type of military airport. And in a handsome
building in
the capital, in the heart of the city, there`s a large military base, where cannons are
reportedly, often positioned so close to the settlements that schoolchildren wander
over
there during their breaks.
But these arguments sound all the more hollow coming from a country that invented the
`settlement undertaking.` An undertaking whose sole purpose was to send civilians,
including women and children, to perform a military assignment par excellence: gaining
control over territory, the expulsion of the residents and annexation of the spoils
to the
mother country. A classical assignment by a conquering power.
This is all being carried out under a contrite and sanctimonious civilian pretext. I
would,
therefore, like to make myself heard loud and clear: No one asked for my permission
before
building the Kiriya (Tel Aviv military headquarters), I didn`t give my consent for
building the
Schneller Camp, and as far as I am concerned, let all the settlements be abandoned
as of
now.
And even though I am being used as a human shield, many leaders and sacred weapons
are hiding behind me, and I am paying the taxes for the curse of the settlements and
the evil
of the occupation, I insist: my blood is no different from the blood of Lebanese
citizens, and
cannot be shed. And hopefully, all those who dare harm us, will find themselves
paying the
cost. Either before a local adjudicator or an international one, whatever comes first.
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