Another Casualty of War
July 21, 2006
Though things in Jerusalem remain relatively quiet, it has been a while since I wrote my last update, not because I have had nothing to report but, rather, because my internet connection has fallen victim to the troubled times through which we are now living. A power surge affected Bezeq’s (Israel’s Ma Bell) telephone lines through which much of our internet traffic moves. This has resulted in a disruption of service for Bezeq’s internet customers of which I am one. That has meant no email and sporadic use of any internet resources. But, we are back up (for now) and I am able to communicate with you once more.
To date, the war in the north is in its ninth day. Here it is called the “War in the North,” not the “Lebanese War.” Despite the impression given by the media, the war is not being waged in Lebanon alone. As the thousands upon thousands of Israelis who live north of Tel Aviv will attest, this war is being fought in Israel as well as in Lebanon.
Israeli jets, helicopter gunships, armed drones and artillery are hammering sites considered strategic military targets used by Hezbollah to harass Israel and to control and extort the Lebanese people. Unfortunately in the course of these operations some 300 Lebanese have been killed and thousands injured. Many of these casualties are the innocent victims of war. It is tragic and should not happen, but it does—in times of war the innocent suffer.
But let us not loose sight of the fact that Hezbollah began this war by abducting two Israeli soldiers and killing eight others. Then it began its barrage of rockets that have reached Israel’s heartland and have taken the lives of over thirty Israelis and injured hundreds more. Nearly a fifth of Israel’s population must stay close to bomb shelters and safe rooms for fear of the next rocket to fall. And this should be clear to all of us, Hezbollah considers every Israeli city, town and village and everyone who lives in them (including thousands of Israeli Arabs, Druse and Circassians) a military target. Innocent Lebanese die as a tragic consequence of war while Israeli civilians are specifically targeted by Hezbollah.
And the world speaks of disproportionate response. What, I ask, is a proportionate response? Does Israel limit its self-defense when there are an equivalent number of casualties on each side—is war a matter of keeping score? What war could ever be prosecuted under such strictures? And so the disproportionate response continues and seems to be bearing some fruit.
While the nations of the international community continue to criticize the magnitude of the Israeli military response they have been uncharacteristically slow in demanding a cessation of hostilities. With the exception of the snake pits of terror, namely Teheran, Damascus and North Korea, the nations of the world—and especially the United Nations—has not demanded of Israel that it halt its military actions before its four conditions are met, namely the unconditional release of the two captive soldiers, the immediate cessation of the rocket attacks by Hezbollah, the deployment of Lebanon’s legitimate army on Israel’s northern border and the dismantling of Hezbollah’s military in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1559.
And more, Hezbollah is definitely losing the propaganda war. In today’s Jerusalem Post it was reported that the Lebanese Prime Minister, Fuad Saniora, and Lebanese Druse leader, Walid Jumblatt, in separate interviews criticized Hezbollah’s “state within a state,” and called for the group to be disarmed and accusing Syria of seeking to destroy Lebanon. It was reported in yesterday’s Post that some of the Hamas leadership of the Palestinians are becoming increasingly worried that they and their cause will be identified with Hezbollah’s war. These Palestinians realize that Hezbollah is receiving a lot of bad press lately and they are concerned that their cause will be sullied bu association. Meanwhile Palestinians march through Gaza and in Nablus in support of Hassan Nasrallah and Hezbollah and cheering them on to rain down more rockets upon Israel. This is reminiscent of similar marches in support of Saddam Hussein during the first Gulf War. For now, the war in the north against Hezbollah has eclipsed the troubles in Gaza.
This last point has a disturbing consequence. Realizing that they need to retake center stage in the struggle against Israel, various Palestinian factions—including the military wings of the ruling Hamas and Mahmud Abbas’ Fatah movement—have been encouraged to attempt ever more aggressive terrorist operations within Israel. Already at least two major suicide bombing attempts have been thwarted by Israeli forces.
In the meantime, Israel’s military forces continue the war against Hezbollah including limited engagements on the ground in Lebanon. There is talk of calling for a truce rather than for a cease-fire, the former being less formal than the latter. And Lebanese officialdom continues to appeal to the world as innocent victims of this war between Israel and Hezbollah. But I have a question for the leaders of Lebanon—if the government of Lebanon is not culpable for and complicit in the actions of Hezbollah, how is it that Hezbollah remains within the Lebanese government? Why have its representatives and ministers not been expelled from the halls of government? Prime Minister Saniora has not (and will not) address this question. But why are not the nations of the world and especially the United Nations pressing the issue?
If the Lebanese government is complicit (actively or passively) in Hezbollah’s actions, then it cannot call itself an innocent victim of this war and must shoulder responsibility for hostile actions against Israel taken by members of Lebanon’s coalition government. The plaints of innocence by Lebanon’s leaders are disproportionate to their responsibility for Hezbollah’s war and its tragic consequence for so many truly innocent Lebanese and Israelis. We should not allow the truth to become another casualty of war.
The war will end, not by military means, but through negotiation and diplomacy. We are, I feel, moving closer to that stage every day. Though troublesome, the news is not all disturbing. I am encouraged by what I read in the back pages more than by the front page news.
We pray that this war may end soon so that the Lebanese can return to their homes and begin the arduous process of rebuilding their country. So, too, may the Israelis now living in bomb shelters and safe rooms be allowed to return to their normal lives free of fear for their safety. Soon may we—on both sides—stop burying our dead and begin to live in peace.
Though things in Jerusalem remain relatively quiet, it has been a while since I wrote my last update, not because I have had nothing to report but, rather, because my internet connection has fallen victim to the troubled times through which we are now living. A power surge affected Bezeq’s (Israel’s Ma Bell) telephone lines through which much of our internet traffic moves. This has resulted in a disruption of service for Bezeq’s internet customers of which I am one. That has meant no email and sporadic use of any internet resources. But, we are back up (for now) and I am able to communicate with you once more.
To date, the war in the north is in its ninth day. Here it is called the “War in the North,” not the “Lebanese War.” Despite the impression given by the media, the war is not being waged in Lebanon alone. As the thousands upon thousands of Israelis who live north of Tel Aviv will attest, this war is being fought in Israel as well as in Lebanon.
Israeli jets, helicopter gunships, armed drones and artillery are hammering sites considered strategic military targets used by Hezbollah to harass Israel and to control and extort the Lebanese people. Unfortunately in the course of these operations some 300 Lebanese have been killed and thousands injured. Many of these casualties are the innocent victims of war. It is tragic and should not happen, but it does—in times of war the innocent suffer.
But let us not loose sight of the fact that Hezbollah began this war by abducting two Israeli soldiers and killing eight others. Then it began its barrage of rockets that have reached Israel’s heartland and have taken the lives of over thirty Israelis and injured hundreds more. Nearly a fifth of Israel’s population must stay close to bomb shelters and safe rooms for fear of the next rocket to fall. And this should be clear to all of us, Hezbollah considers every Israeli city, town and village and everyone who lives in them (including thousands of Israeli Arabs, Druse and Circassians) a military target. Innocent Lebanese die as a tragic consequence of war while Israeli civilians are specifically targeted by Hezbollah.
And the world speaks of disproportionate response. What, I ask, is a proportionate response? Does Israel limit its self-defense when there are an equivalent number of casualties on each side—is war a matter of keeping score? What war could ever be prosecuted under such strictures? And so the disproportionate response continues and seems to be bearing some fruit.
While the nations of the international community continue to criticize the magnitude of the Israeli military response they have been uncharacteristically slow in demanding a cessation of hostilities. With the exception of the snake pits of terror, namely Teheran, Damascus and North Korea, the nations of the world—and especially the United Nations—has not demanded of Israel that it halt its military actions before its four conditions are met, namely the unconditional release of the two captive soldiers, the immediate cessation of the rocket attacks by Hezbollah, the deployment of Lebanon’s legitimate army on Israel’s northern border and the dismantling of Hezbollah’s military in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1559.
And more, Hezbollah is definitely losing the propaganda war. In today’s Jerusalem Post it was reported that the Lebanese Prime Minister, Fuad Saniora, and Lebanese Druse leader, Walid Jumblatt, in separate interviews criticized Hezbollah’s “state within a state,” and called for the group to be disarmed and accusing Syria of seeking to destroy Lebanon. It was reported in yesterday’s Post that some of the Hamas leadership of the Palestinians are becoming increasingly worried that they and their cause will be identified with Hezbollah’s war. These Palestinians realize that Hezbollah is receiving a lot of bad press lately and they are concerned that their cause will be sullied bu association. Meanwhile Palestinians march through Gaza and in Nablus in support of Hassan Nasrallah and Hezbollah and cheering them on to rain down more rockets upon Israel. This is reminiscent of similar marches in support of Saddam Hussein during the first Gulf War. For now, the war in the north against Hezbollah has eclipsed the troubles in Gaza.
This last point has a disturbing consequence. Realizing that they need to retake center stage in the struggle against Israel, various Palestinian factions—including the military wings of the ruling Hamas and Mahmud Abbas’ Fatah movement—have been encouraged to attempt ever more aggressive terrorist operations within Israel. Already at least two major suicide bombing attempts have been thwarted by Israeli forces.
In the meantime, Israel’s military forces continue the war against Hezbollah including limited engagements on the ground in Lebanon. There is talk of calling for a truce rather than for a cease-fire, the former being less formal than the latter. And Lebanese officialdom continues to appeal to the world as innocent victims of this war between Israel and Hezbollah. But I have a question for the leaders of Lebanon—if the government of Lebanon is not culpable for and complicit in the actions of Hezbollah, how is it that Hezbollah remains within the Lebanese government? Why have its representatives and ministers not been expelled from the halls of government? Prime Minister Saniora has not (and will not) address this question. But why are not the nations of the world and especially the United Nations pressing the issue?
If the Lebanese government is complicit (actively or passively) in Hezbollah’s actions, then it cannot call itself an innocent victim of this war and must shoulder responsibility for hostile actions against Israel taken by members of Lebanon’s coalition government. The plaints of innocence by Lebanon’s leaders are disproportionate to their responsibility for Hezbollah’s war and its tragic consequence for so many truly innocent Lebanese and Israelis. We should not allow the truth to become another casualty of war.
The war will end, not by military means, but through negotiation and diplomacy. We are, I feel, moving closer to that stage every day. Though troublesome, the news is not all disturbing. I am encouraged by what I read in the back pages more than by the front page news.
We pray that this war may end soon so that the Lebanese can return to their homes and begin the arduous process of rebuilding their country. So, too, may the Israelis now living in bomb shelters and safe rooms be allowed to return to their normal lives free of fear for their safety. Soon may we—on both sides—stop burying our dead and begin to live in peace.
Shalom from Jerusalem.
posted by RSJD at 10:14 AM
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