There is a song that the Jews sing on Hanukah, it’s called “Mi Ye’malel Gvurot Yisrael”. The best literal translation I can give is “Who will make the words about the heroics of Israel”; a less literal translation would be “Who will sing the praises of the Israeli heroes”.
Oh how times have changed. No longer is Israel a nation that fought off the oppression of the Roman legions, nor is it a place for Jews to find refuge from the Nazis, now it’s a place where two groups of people try to live their lives in serenity (a better term than ‘peace’). Sadly a (growing) minority on both sides can’t accept this.
My goal here is not to take a side, it’s irrelevant, but I can vent at one specific group. A large part of the settlements in the west bank are populated by foreigners who come here for a year or two to be ‘heroes’. A large majority of them are Americans, whom after watching Rambo, come here to defend the holy land. Their method of defense is to live in disputed areas of ‘religious significance’, which sparks anger on the Arab side, which causes terrorism.
They have no care for Israel the state, just for Israel the out-dated Zionistic ideal. They don’t see the repercussions for the majority of Israelis. After a year or two they go back to the holy land of New-York City, smug with their own belief that they fought the good fight.
I hope no one sings the praises of these ‘heroes’.
I won't comment on the virtue (or lack thereof) of the settlers. They seem a bit fundamentalist to me, and I am wary of that in all of its forms.
However, I do think it is unfair to say that those people cause terrorism. The terrorists in Israel gleefully inform us that they terrorize in the hope of destroying the only democracy in the middle east, pushing the "evil" Jews into the sea, etc, etc. Whether the settlers attempt to appease them or not, the terrorism will continue: when has land for peace ever worked? That said, the only hope of peace is in compromise...if only someone would tell that to the people strapping bombs to children.
Posted by: Elliot at March 28, 2004 10:58 PMThey contribute to the problem, but obviously they are not the only cause of it.
Posted by: Gareth Lewin at March 29, 2004 06:16 AM