The Middle East crisis

Firstly, I feel I should acknowledge that this is really none of my business. One of the biggest problems with blogs discussing the Israel/Palestine/Lebanon/etc… issue is that bloggers inevitably seem to end up pretty firmly defending one side or another. Therefore, blogs like Iberian Notes find it easy to criticise the critics of Israel, seemingly without considering whether Israel's actions have been excessive.

I'm a firm believer in the right of Israel to exist and in its right to defend itself, just as I would expect the UK to stand up to foreign agression. Hezbollah, Hamas and Fatah are all culpable of crimes against the Israeli people. It can only be expected that Israel will respond to provocation.

However, Israel's response has not been proportionate or decent. Anyone who claims that it has been is making exactly the same mistake as those fools who blindly defend Hezbollah or the stooges of the Ayatollahs. Bombing Beirut's new airport was not a strike against Hezbollah, in the same way that bombing Gaza's only major power plant was not an act of war against Hamas. Both these incidents (and many more besides) were essentially acts of collective punishment against people who were never to blame for kidnappings of Israeli troops. Hezbollah rocket/missile attacks on Israeli towns and villages are just as reprehensible.

As I said, this is none of my business. I just wish that bloggers in general would at least attempt to interpret these events with a modicum of detachment from either side. Sure, that might make posts less interesting but it would make authors appear wiser and fairer.

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July 25, 2006 | Filed Under Politics 

Comments

4 Responses to “The Middle East crisis”

  1. Coco on July 25th, 2006 6:00 pm

    I agree that Hezbollah, Hamas and so on are terrorist, and so they must be prosecuted. And of course, Israel has the right to defend themselves. However, the main problem should be discussed is the right or the convenience of these actions. Does Israel really thinks they will defeat Terrorism by the force of weapons?

    Terrorist groups have never been defeated this way. In Iraq, Ireland (or here right now in Spain) the way to reach peace was through dialogue.

    And just to finish my comment. The worldwide comunity has reacted quite lately to the actions of Israel. This is not a war, this is state-terrorism. And this is only allowed due to political and strategic interests by United Kingdom and United States. A good example of how things works is one of the last front pages of "The Independent": http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/img/editorial/july06/yes.jpg and http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/img/editorial/july06/no.jpg

  2. Matthew Bennett on July 31st, 2006 4:56 pm

    I tnink it could be everybody's business. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, especially with outrageous atrocities like these. I have noticed that in the last couple of weeks many bloggers have felt the need to express themselves on this, which would normally be something well off-topic for most of the blogs I read. I think that speaks for itself a little.

  3. Tom on July 31st, 2006 5:16 pm

    Not sure about that. This has been the single news story of the last four weeks… it's hardly suprising that people are blogging it in their droves.

    Naturally, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But opinion in itself has no inherent value. That is to say, unconsidered and knee-jerk opinions don't really help any debate. I can see where both sides of this war are coming from. I deplore that both sides are using the murder of civilians to achieve military aims. Naturally, I also deplore the fact that Israel's response to provocation has been so massive and disproportionate.

    But what really gets me is the blind affiliation to one side or the other which has been exhibited by so many bloggers. Many of these 'commentators' know little about the background of this conflict and are therefore easily swayed by the press and other bloggers. Additionally, committed 'right wingers' feel that they must out-do eachother in their blind support for Israel, whereas leftist writers are usually consumed by hatred for the Jewish state.

    Me, I'm admitting that while the whole thing is awful for me, it isn't something I really have any place to comment on. All I hope for is that people are no longer consumed by hatred on either side.

  4. Jack on August 4th, 2006 4:40 pm

    Come on Tom, how can you really say that it isn't your place to comment when you've already made a whole number of contentious points:-

    "Iberian Notes find(s) it easy to criticise the critics of Israel, seemingly without considering whether Israel’s actions have been excessive."

    "I’m a firm believer in the right of Israel to exist and in its right to defend itself."

    "Israel’s response has not been proportionate or decent. Anyone who claims that it has been is making exactly the same mistake as those fools who blindly defend Hezbollah or the stooges of the Ayatollahs."

    "Additionally, committed ‘right wingers’ feel that they must out-do each other in their blind support for Israel, whereas leftist writers are usually consumed by hatred for the Jewish state."

    "Bombing Beirut’s new airport was not a strike against Hezbollah, in the same way that bombing Gaza’s only major power plant was not an act of war against Hamas."

    "I deplore that both sides are using the murder of civilians to achieve military aims."

    All of these points are incredibly valid, and demonstrate that you have some substance, and have spent a decent amount of time thinking about the events that you have interpreted with the help of the vast amount of information that your intellect has devoured over the years. It's not just that everybody is entitled to an opinion, but also everybody is entitled to hear other people's opinions, too. You do have a place to comment on these issues, infact you have many places to comment on these issues, and one them is here. Leave it up to others to make that choice. How can you inspire people if you detract from the value of your statements?

    My thoughts regarding Israel are pretty much the same. The loss of innocent life anywhere is always going to be heartbreaking. The loss of life needs a justification for the indignation it causes, and when we think that the loss of life is due to selfish political reasons, and therefore unnecessary, it pains us because we cannot come to terms with it. When we are effected like this, one of the toughest questions we can ask ourselves is simply, "What do I do now?"

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