Two, the attack did nothing to harm Hamas; if anything it strengthened
it. Three, it's true that Hamas fires rockets into Israel and has killed
civilians, which I condemn. However, Israel has killed hundreds of
times more civilians through its indiscriminate attacks on Gaza, which
he fails to mention.
Fourth, and perhaps most important, the root cause of the conflict here
is the occupation. If Israel were not still illegally occupying the West
Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem and oppressing the Palestinian civilians
under her occupation, in violation of international law and 45 years of
United Nations resolutions, Hamas would not exist (Hamas is a relative
newcomer to the conflict, having been secretly encouraged and supported
by Israel in the 1980s as a counterweight to their then main enemy, the
PLO). Gilad Shalit would not have been taken hostage, and we would not
be having this conversation.
Many in Israel recognize this to be the case, and Israeli newspapers
contain open debates on the occupation. However, here in the U.S., at
least until very recently, we have had a virtual freeze on open
discussion regarding Israel.
For anyone interested in these issues who would like to hear other than
our opinions, Tony Judt's piece in the June 10, 2010, NY Times,
"Israel Without Cliches," is an excellent introduction that cuts through
the noise. (By the way, he is Jewish and a supporter of Israel.)
Anne Bordonaro
Waitsfield
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