Gaza

Other blogs have said a lot about this and I've made some comments on those.

I used to be a 'fan' of Israel, but since Likud and the more extreme Right there took power about 25 years ago, that country has steadily slid ever downward in my estimation. Their tactics today are too often akin to those Jews fled Europe to avoid. In particular, the collective punishment (including the indiscriminate deaths of hundreds men, women and children) of everyone in Gaza for the actions of a few. This is clearly a crime by any measure. So are the indiscriminate missile attacks on Israel from Gaza.

The problem here is that there is no overlap in aspiration for peace. The Israelis don't really want to give up any land and the palestinians won't accept anything less.....so conflict ensues.

Both sides are reaping the "dividend" - the consequences - of their inflexibility, pushing the price of peace ever higher.

I see no end to it until these attitudes change. As it is, Israel thinks more force will solve their problem. The reality of the failure of this policy over 30 years (at least) doesn't seem to penetrate their collective consciousness.

Hamas won't stop reacting to what they see as Israeli intransigence and aggression. The more lethal force used against them, the more hatred is stored in the "bad will" bank. Israel may be able to destroy the organisation temporarily, but their actions simply ensure the perpetuations of the emotions / passions that demand something like Hamas, doing what it does, must exist in the first place.

People don't respond to beatings and torture with love and affection. If they get their chance, they may well slit your throat and claim it was justified. Both sides need to bear that in mind. Neither seems capable - despite the teachings of their respective 'peaceful' religions - of the generosity of spirit and frank, open-eyed appreciation of reality that this sad situation demands.

Until they can, the rest of us owe them no support enabling agression by either side. The United States funding Israel's military to the tune of US$ 3 billion annually is clearly enabling the crimes currently underway. Again (for those with one eye and no 'ears' -> the dishonest sort who accuse critics of Israel of being "anti-semitic"), that does not excuse or justify crimes committed by anyone else. But right now, Israel has - more or less randomly - killed close to a thousand people in one week in response to Hamas having killed 27 people in 8 years. That IS the sort of collective punishment the Nazis used to mete out in France in towns and villages where German soldiers were killed by the resistance. That comparison is apt and makes this not just sad, but tragic. Israel is becoming what it was established to allow its people to escape from. That isn't anti-semitism. It's a frank apprecition of the explicit Israeli policy of collective punishment.