Thought of the Day
The Israeli version of the Samir Quntar affair is that he crushed the head of a four-year old girl. The Israeli version seems to be universally accepted but it is not Gospel. Quntar says the child was killed in a crossfire by the sea. I don't believe him and I don't defend him, but neither do I believe the version of the Israeli army; it has always killed children and lied. Just juxtapose institutional terrorism and the actions of a 16-year old and then point your accusing fingers. I am 100 per cent Arab and I have nothing but sympathy for the mother of the dead girls (in addition to Einat, two- year old Yael was accidentally suffocated by her mother Smadar who tried to stop the child crying and thus revealing their hideout inside the house).
I sympathize with all bereaved families not just Arab families. And I am still waiting for Israelis to come forth and admit the murderous ways of their own Defence Force. Between 29/9/2000 and the end of June, 2008, 951 underage Palelstinian children were killed against 123 Israeli children. Against every bereavement in an Israeli home there have been seven or eight in Palestinian homes.
I sympathize with all bereaved families not just Arab families. And I am still waiting for Israelis to come forth and admit the murderous ways of their own Defence Force. Between 29/9/2000 and the end of June, 2008, 951 underage Palelstinian children were killed against 123 Israeli children. Against every bereavement in an Israeli home there have been seven or eight in Palestinian homes.
posted by Khazen at 6:22 AM
7 Comments:
Could you tell me where you got the stats you cite in this post?
Thanks!
Good post Khazen. There will be a possibility of peace in the Middle-East only when both sides will mourn for both victims, whichever the perpetrator may be.
Well, yes, more Palestinian children die than Israeli children. Partly because the violence is occuring in their backyard, partly because half the combatants disguise themselves as civilians and partly because unlike Israel, the Palestinians use children as fighters.
Israel doesn't target Palestinian children. The reverse isn't true.
Your numbers don't mean much, I'm afraid.
I agree with alphast - I think when people recognize that murder is murder no matter who's on what side we all take a step forward. I recognize as well that the IDF is sometimes put into difficult situations and may not always make the right choices - many Israeli soldiers are young as well. In a conflict like this focusing on fatalities and murders obscures the reason the two sides are fighting in the first place and turns a legitimate conflict over land and heritage into a blood feud.
I hate this post because I don't engage moral equivilency. It dilutes the strength of thought and erodes the process of debate.
A more apt statement if the headline is on Sami Qantar?
A man beyond the age of maturity, killed a small girl.
End of discussion.
Tammy
All that stats I use on the subject are from B'TSELEM, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. Jewish, including Israeli, peace activists are among the best defenders of Palestinian rights. They should be recognized and honored.
i have to say that i agree with Tammy on this one... it`s so painfully simple & obviously cruel.
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