From the river to the sea...
Last night I attended a community memorial in honor of the victims of terror in Israel. It was a moving although sparsely attended event involving local Jewish and political leadership. There was also the ubiquitous anti-Israel protestor waving a Palestinian flag at the entrance to the memorial, something that has started to help me find the location of these events.
Some local children began the event by reading the names of victims of terror. Then came the moment of silence in honor of the dead.
A few seconds into the moment of silence, a call pierced the air: "Free, Free Palestine! Free, Free Palestine!" The anti-Israel protestors had interrupted the moment of silence, shocking us out of our rememberance and immediately helping us to understand the kind of extreme radicals with whom we were dealing.
The entire event was marred by these hecklers, who shouted "From the river, to the sea, Palestine will be free!" - something that very clearly calls for the destruction of the state of Israel - a zero-sum game, in short.
The keynote speaker was a young American man whose American girlfriend was killed while studying abroad at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She was sitting in a cafeteria eating lunch when a bomb went off, killing her and eight others instantly. The Hamas terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the attack.
In the middle of his speech, the young man was interrupted by one of the protestors, who shouted "She was killed because she was tresspassing!"
Can you imagine the type of people we are dealing with, when a study abroad student is considered tresspassing and condemned to instant death? I have nothing against the general Palestinian population that desires to live in peace alongside Israel, just as Israelis alongside them. Furthermore, I support their desire for a state. However, I have everything against someone who justifies the killing of innocents for political purposes. The sooner the Palestinians rid themselves of these radicals in their midsts, the sooner they will find themselves living and governing themselves in safe and prosperous society alongside the state of Israel and not instead of the state of Israel.
There is no excuse for targeting innocent civilians.
Some local children began the event by reading the names of victims of terror. Then came the moment of silence in honor of the dead.
A few seconds into the moment of silence, a call pierced the air: "Free, Free Palestine! Free, Free Palestine!" The anti-Israel protestors had interrupted the moment of silence, shocking us out of our rememberance and immediately helping us to understand the kind of extreme radicals with whom we were dealing.
The entire event was marred by these hecklers, who shouted "From the river, to the sea, Palestine will be free!" - something that very clearly calls for the destruction of the state of Israel - a zero-sum game, in short.
The keynote speaker was a young American man whose American girlfriend was killed while studying abroad at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She was sitting in a cafeteria eating lunch when a bomb went off, killing her and eight others instantly. The Hamas terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the attack.
In the middle of his speech, the young man was interrupted by one of the protestors, who shouted "She was killed because she was tresspassing!"
Can you imagine the type of people we are dealing with, when a study abroad student is considered tresspassing and condemned to instant death? I have nothing against the general Palestinian population that desires to live in peace alongside Israel, just as Israelis alongside them. Furthermore, I support their desire for a state. However, I have everything against someone who justifies the killing of innocents for political purposes. The sooner the Palestinians rid themselves of these radicals in their midsts, the sooner they will find themselves living and governing themselves in safe and prosperous society alongside the state of Israel and not instead of the state of Israel.
There is no excuse for targeting innocent civilians.
posted by Allison at 3:44 PM
1 Comments:
I think the problem with war is that there is always one side that will call it illegal.
The problem is even further complicated when you look at the issue of killing in self-defense - namely if I don't kill you, you will kill me. We normally like to bring such a case to a court of law, or the UN, but what happens if it's not enough?
Killing is wrong, of course. Whether it's by theological mandate or just plain common sense, it's wrong. What about killing someone who is in the process of preparing a bomb to kill you? I've never heard an acceptable answer from the idealistic "let's all lay down our weapons" crowd.
Just a philosophical comment.
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