All my non-Jewish friends have been emailing me, asking what I think about Israel. After expressing concern for the innocent citizens of Lebanon (as opposed to the bloodthirsty maniacal citizens), I unequivocally support Israel and its right to figuratively and strategically cut the legs off (some would say literally, but I’m not that kind of girl) a group of terrorists intent on “wiping it off the map.”
But last night, watching the coverage of bombed-out Beirut and hearing from Lebanese mothers and fathers what a toll this will take on their lives, I started to doubt Israel’s tactics. Did they have to decimate everyone’s electricity and telecommunications? Was it really necessary to flatten an entire square block? I believe that Israel does its best to minimize casualities it certainly gave Lebanese plenty of warning with those flyers but man, this is gonna set diplomacy back fifty years. We all know that Israel is doing Lebanon a favor by clearing out the Hezamaniacs (is there anyone out there who doesn’t accept that they’re the proxy army of Iran?) but the people of Lebanon sure don’t see it that way. Does Israel expect them to be grateful?
If you’re a viewer just becoming aware of the Middle East situation and you’re kind of liberal, it certainly looks like Israel is being heavy-handed especially when TV reporters are barely disguising their dismay (disgust?) at the massive destruction. I’ve had to explain to many non-Jews it’s necessary to go back far enough into Israel’s history (um, like the day after it achieved independence) to realize that the only way for Israel to defend itself is to mount an awesome offense.
People don’t understand that when Israel “occupies” areas that belong to others, it’s not because it wants to it’s because it has to. If it doesn’t, a bunch of crazy f*kers with rockets will do their best to prevent the Israeli people from going about their lives. So while I have knots in my stomach over burned children and homeless mental patients, I’m behind Israel albeit safely over here in the U.S.
But the fear I have over the liberal American backlash against Israel has me doing weird things like watching conservative TV host Glenn Beck (let’s call him the three-digit I.Q. person’s Rush Limbaugh) and agreeing with him wholeheartedly. Gawd, next I’ll be watching FOXnews with a can of Budweiser and defending my right to drive an SUV. *sigh*
But hey: When the news gets me down, Bangitout Blog always comes to the rescue:
Top Ten Signs The Middle-East News Reporter you are watching has no clue:
10. Hes reporting from Lebanon, Pennsylvania
9. Keeps confusing Al Aqsa with Al Bundy
8. Calls Hezbollah freedom fighters
7. Thought the MidEast was just a tough college basketball conference
6. Starts interview with insane Syrian ambassador: “For the record, I loved Syriana”
5. Signature sign off: “Stay Classy, Osama”
4. Wears a shaitel, full modest dress in order to “fit in” when interviewing Israelis on Tel Aviv beach
3. Concludes Israeli bomb shelter report with, No sign of Baby Suri here, Bob
2. Hes wearing a “Bull-Shiite” t-shirt
1. Sees a clear difference between Hezbollah & Al Quaeda
I agree with you almost 100%, they have no choice. They have to do this, if they don’t then it just more of the same, and worse, for the future.
I can honestly say that I’ve never felt like a Zionist before in my life, but recently I’ve starting to. And while I did not always see this situation in the Middle East as black and white, it was always distant and a bit impersonal for me. However, now I actually know people who have lived in Israel, who are living there now and who have served in the military. I feel like I have more of a personal stake in what’s going on now and I find myself defending Israel, whereas before I probably would have walked away and avoided conflict.
Those Middle East borders did not exist during the Ottoman Empire, the European empires carved out the land while Jewish settlers where always streaming into the area for years. To have a stable “jewish” State somewhere in the world is a guarrantee that anti-semitism will no longer have a monopoly on this planet. I’ll always have a community that will take me in if me and my family are ever in danger for practicing our faith.
The Israeli government is the only sane government worth holding on to Jerusalem since the others would never extend an ounce of religious tolerance to other faiths. Everyone there needs to calm down, agree on those arbitrary borders and work on the REAL task at hand, like making those water supplies (and energy needs) last for generations to come. War is a horrible misuse of resources.
Hear, hear, Joe! No one ever points out what drain this is for everyone at a time when conserving resources should be the focus. Yet another reason Israel-hating in that region is just plain stupid.
I want you to know that as a fundamentalist Christian, I stand all 4 squares in the corner of Israel…I WANT them to knock the living crap outta the Hesbullahs and others that SEEK NOTHING but TO KILL YOU. Your nation shall not know peace until you VANQUISH THEM. Do not worry about tactics; YOU are WINNING A WAR! DAMN THE TACTICS!!! JUST WIN!!! BE FREE!!!
YOUR COUNTRY did NOTHING to deserve this; Sharon SOUGHT PEACE through appeasement; it has proven a failure. TAKE BACK that which is RIGHTFULLY YOURS!
If I could fight for you over there, I would…you are our greatest ally and dearest friends; even to our Mother England…My Brethren; I do love you, and pray for your deliverance from these heathens that seek to end your lives in violence…Dan
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Then you shall die of an OLD age. I say what I MEAN. I will NOT “soften” it or back down…I am yours.
POST it or “delete” it, the choice is yours; it is YOUR site, not mine; but you KNOW WHO I AM. YOU KNOW in CERTAINTY whom I am defending.
CNN’s Broken News
CNN’s coverage of the Israeli-Hezbollah crisis has been the most comprehensive of all the networks. You can see why when they show you the number of reporters they have stationed in the Israel-Lebanon area. They put up pictures of all of them and it looks like the geneological table of a strange family.
However, the also have the most irritating graphics of any network. They have “Breaking News” of events that happened yesterday. They show “News Alerts” in the late evening of things that everyone has seen throughout the day and early evening. They have “Developing Story” that they use each time a bomb lands or a casualty is reported. What do they expect that Story will develop into?
They won’t let up on the graphics while feeding the public the same stories all day and night long. Then they wonder why cable outlets have such little credibility and audience share. People hear the same “Breaking News” three times within an hour and they are bound to start looking for the remote.
It’s one thing to have fake advertising. It’s a more serious breach of the public trust to have false “Breaking News, News Alerts, and Developing Stories”. Leave the fake news to the “Daily Show with Jon Stewart. They’re much better at it.
I have never bloged before, this is my very first time. how am i doing yay
The American Political field has deteriorated over the past couple years due to extreme polarization. We need to rise up against that and take back our world from Big Pharma, Big Tobbacco, Big Insurance and really just big companies. It’s time for our elections to stop being bought out.