Khaled Abu Toameh has been talking to various Palestinians, and has heard that all three Palestinian men who committed attacks in Jerusalem so far this year had a similar motivation: they had been in trouble for something, they had become a source of embarrassment, and they had to redeem their honor and that of their families. What better a way to do so than to murder Jews, and if they died in the process (as they all did) they'd have the further honor of being Shahids.
I've said this before and I'll continue to say it until it changes: Palestinian society is severely sick. Not every Palestinian, of course, and it doesn't have to be permanent, but right now, that's the situation.
(Hat tip: Kai).
FROM CAROL HERMAN
ReplyDeleteYou know, the question is abusive. Not all arabs kill Jews. And, not all arabs are nazis, either.
Something terrible has been going on in Israel; and up ahead there will be more information available. So, let's hope the IDF can become more professional. And, the government can give up on this "insider's game" where the elected prime minister is exposed to the hatred of a few.
Here? Namely, the Likud. And, the settlers. Who are FURIOUS with Disengagement. And, want Kadima, Arik Sharon, and Olmert "to pay a price." Luckily, Olmert is an outstanding politician. (Similar to Ronald Reagan. In that if you can take these insults, and keep on going with your day, you develop TEFLON.) Yes. I certainly hope so!
Also, the eyes of the world have now turned on Israel. What do you think they see?
So far how out-of-control the Haredi are, is UNNOTICED. It's UNNOTICED how the bully, Ehud Barak, tried to pin the blame on a soldier who was given the order to shoot a rubber bullet at the feet of a 14-year-old palestinian kid.
But I did learn something.
In that village; Nil'lin (sp?), there were so many complaints about the "brutality" of the IDF; the LACK OF PROFESSIONALISM ... even by a few ... can hae terrible ramifications. And, Barak thought "if he put the pin into the soldier" he could say "the IDF is clean."
When it's not.
And, you should look at how the video cameras were distributed to palestinians in that village! They were told IF THEY GOT ANYTHING ON FILM, the world would see it!
And, then? You saw the results. The bully, Ehud Barak LIED in public. Followed by the Lt.-Col officer, who claims all he said was "shake your rifle." How strange? No one in all the history of warfare has ever give a command like that!
And, the Jerusalem Post, with a straight face published a report that the "officer underwent a polygraph, and came out clean."
It would be easier to believe Pinocchio.
Israel is about to lose what was a given! Worldwide faith that it was DECENT. When you're gonna see that between the Haredi, the Settlers, and the IDF playing a terrible role in the territories ... that a lot of good will can go down the toilet.
Yes, I think Olmert's smart. And, I think he projects a calm image. I think within the Knesset, if enough concerns grow; and at least 61 ministers can see the costs, ahead ... then, maybe? A back-stabber like Livni, and a bully that is Ehud Barak, will not see themselves grabbing off the prime minister's chair, that Olmert won IN AN ELECTION!
I fear, however, that Israel is heading herself into the head-winds. For no reason at all.
So much of the Settler stuff also keeps claiming that "Lebanon, in the Summer of 2006, was a disaster."
Hell, no! IT WAS A CIRCUS! The American president was backing the Saud's. The saud's were on stage with their stinking OLD paper saying they'd "recognize a portion of Israel, if half the people jumped into the sea; and the other half ran to the 1948 borders. So an arab WAR could start all over again.
In AMerica, the sympathy is with the Jews! If you didn't know this, then there's something very sick going on in Israel!
Why lose the high ground?
Why lose it to a small, minority of players, who have their axe to grind?
The police? Puleeze. Obviously corrupted. Can the Knesset go back? Well, that's the bet on the table. That Kadima "gets it" because the average Israeli is "entertained" by this drama ... instead of being repulsed.
If it turns out badly?
Well, go ahead. Ask yourselves ... how did the Jews get blamed for the dead of Jesus? (What if Jesus didn't even exist in the form the myth takes?) The Jews never got a decent day for 2000 years. Except that it stayed clear of accepting the BS that was passed around by the Catholics.
Yes. The Catholics have lost energy. As I said, if it wasn't for Michaelangelo's grand works for the Vatican, they'd have nothing to show for all their pomp and circumstance.
Well? Jews have Einstein.
So, perhaps, it's an even trade?
But I sure hope Israelis wake up and begin smelling the mischief.
If they killed Jews to redeem themselves, that responds to an earlier concern of yours: the attacks were not terrorism, because terrorism's aim is to frighten the victims, not to vindicate oneself.
ReplyDeleteNext, we can say that Palestinian society is severely sick to the same extent that we can say that Haredi society is severely sick. Except that no one is living on privately-owned Haredi land that was forcibly taken from then to build Palestinian settlements.
FROM CAROL HERMAN
ReplyDeleteIbrahim, your comment comparing Haredi to the arabs who want to tear Israel apart, is foolish. Like two cancer victims claiming their disease is somehow "worse" than their bedfellows.
Right now Israel is in a crisis of its own making! And, while most arabs are muslems, this is not true about Jews, in general. Most Jews just aren't religious. Let alone so crazed by religion that they are isolated within their own community!
Israel does have a handle on the terrorism, believe it or not. And, the average arab who wants to take to violence is meeting their match.
While the Haredi's are a small segment of society, that's grabbed ahold of political powers. Including the corruption of the police. AND, the attorney general.
It's not going to go away "peacefully."
If Olmert is forced out, I do suspect the after-affects will be calamitous. (On the other hand, Olmert is an excellent politician; and he may yet avoid exiting ... to give the idiots in Likud a chance to "recapture" their seating arrangements in the Knesset.)
It's the future. SO I do not know the outcome.
But I do know that Israel isn't "zionist" ... because 'zionism' is a religious encounter; where most Jews have walked away. Of course, not so Morris Talansky. And, the attempts being made now to harrass Olmert. Just as Katsav has been harrassed.
Because of the settlers, and their Haredi counterparts, there is a terrible violence now that can shatter the faith people have in Jewish leadership. (Something that's been discussed in lots of halls of power! Jews were kept out because they weren't liked.)
And, the IDF? What's this with Ehud Barak? What's this with the COMMANDER, who held the kid, after telling his soldier to FIRE ... claiming all his said was "shake your gun?" Are Israelis that stupid?
Any excuse?
Right now there is an attempt to dislodge Olmert in a LEGAL COUP.
Believe me, it's not going to happen in silence. And, it's not going to happen where free speech just shuts down.
Israel is not a country that's posted "NO EXIT" on it's borders. Plenty of Jews have had to find ways of dealing with the CRAP that flows out of a unicameral Knesset, gone awry.
Today, FINALLY, in the Jerusalem Post there is ONE ARTICLE! Just one! That deals with the ramifications of how the police and Mazuz are behaving. To say nothing of Bibi, Livni and Ehud Barak.
Here's the goal. To bounce Olmert out while NOT going to new elections! With at least 60 members in the knesset shaking in their boots; because they can get dumped out, in the next election, as easily as Shinui went bye bye.
Appauling.
Meanwhile, nothing's changed with the arabs. They've got a structure that includes the hate machine bought to them through saudi money.
All the arab lands are ruled by individuals who want to grow rich; while their populace suffers.
I just hope Israelis can press for justice before it's too late.
Heck, in America, Ken Starr tried to take out Bill Clinton. How? By embarrassing him with the release of grand jury testimony. TO NO AVAIL! Of course, today, Ken Starr is the Chancellor of Pepperdine's Law School. However, he is not seated on the Supreme Court! Which is what he wanted.
From what some of these stinkers "want" to what they get ... can be different. But for this to happen, it takes the PEOPLE.
Want another comparison? Obama in Jerusalem, at 5:00 AM ... got to encounter the capacity of the Haredi to get up early; and to scream insults.
Then he went to Germany. And, you should see the multitudes; and, yes, how enthusiastic the germans were.
I pity Israel if it gets to be defined by the ultra-orthodox stinkers. It just forces all other folk to realize that to be religious is to be brain damaged. No matter what credentials are carried along.
And, today, fewer Jews "believe" in the crazy stuff.