Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Does Israel have the moral high ground?

This article in the Washington Post thinks so. I certainly have no time for Hamas. But is Israel doing the right thing? I've wondered if this is a last ditch Israeli smack down before Obama takes office, and they have to play nice nice. But then again, Obama hasn't had anything to say about it either, as many have noticed.

What do you think? I don't know enough of what's really going on behind the scenes and on scene really to guess much.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think Israel has gotten to the point where massive retaliation is the only politically possible response. This in spite of the fact that it has yet to work, in the territories or in Lebanon. See the definition of insane...

My thinking is running towards the question: How long does Israel get to act this way before it must become a grownup Nation. I know the US spent 80-180 years struggling with itself but some of the road blocks here include illegal settlements and the insistence on being a Jewish state rather than a pluralistic democracy. Do we grant Israel "special" status forever because they are surrounded by Arab countries? You can't say that peace with their neighbors is impossible because they enjoy reasonable relations with Jordon and Egypt.

Bob MacDonald said...

have a look here for one Canadian Muslim's reaction. She doesn't like the lack of rule of law in the tribal customs.

Anonymous said...

Poor old Israel eh? The whole world is blaming it (except America) for bombing civilians when it doesn't target civilian - it's just that Gaza is such a densely populated area and, well, they get in the way. You have to clear the undergrowth to get to the trees. A few cluster bombs and white phosphorous don't go amiss...

This interesting selection of news sources suggests that perhaps Israel thinks there aren't actually any civilians in Gaza.
http://heathlander.wordpress.com/2009/01/06/about-those-hamas-targets/

Maybe I'm overreacting but I think that Israel is demonstrating that it is just as capable of genocide as Hitler.

Anonymous said...

Hamas needs to learn that when you pick a fight with someone bigger, stronger and who fights to win, you get clobbered.

I guess if someone was taking pot shots with a .22 at your house everyday, you might consider some drastic measures to make them stop.

Angie Van De Merwe said...

On "Stalin's Moustache" blog, it was stated that since Hamas was elected under US sponsored elections, then there are no "civilians" as all work for Hamas...Interesting, when you have a "religious/political" ideologically driven society. Then, no one can be a victim!?

I don't think that religion should legislate, but influence. Legislation should be about all views, while religion should be about a specific view on value, etc....that does not mean that the religiously committed should not hold office, but they should seek to represent all, as they represent all of their constiuents...not just the ones who elected them...

The State should be about fairness, which is justice under law...the rub comes when there are various positions that cannot be fully represented. This is where our government's First Amendment rights come into play. We all have freedom to petition, to express our opinions, and freedom to assemble for political change...So, religious convictions are valid only insofar as they may differ in values....from a secularist....

Angie Van De Merwe said...

BTW. hasn't there been an agreement that the US and Egypt will guard the borders to prevent Hamas from getting arms?