Sunday, 7 February 2010
High-ranking Israeli reserve officers signed a petition against New Israel Fund subsidy of 16 NGOs that defamed IDF action in Gaza. The NGOs falsely accused the IDF of having committed war crimes in Gaza, but, the petition asserted, the IDF “was making superhuman efforts to avoid hurting innocent civilians. We therefore call upon the entire public to support us and strengthen the IDF and its commanders.”
Artists and writers circulated an opposition petition of “disgust with the campaign of incitement” against the New Israel Fund.” (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/, 2/5).
I advised my source that it should have included at least a link to the artists’ petition, so we could evaluate for ourselves whether it made any valid points. The word, “incitement,” could mean ordinary criticism or incitement to violence, which may be criminal. Ordinary criticism may be valid or inappropriate. The Left often uses the term, “incitement,” hysterically and as a means of smearing opponents. This usage is like the abuse of the term, “racist,” to cow opponents who are not racist.
Over the years and including the recent action in Gaza, the IDF has aborted missions and not pulled triggers in order to spare civilians well beyond the standard of avoiding war crimes. As a result, Israeli soldiers got killed and terrorists were spared and lived to kill, another day. I consider that restraint immoral and foolhardy. But it is an attempt at decency.
On the other hand, while Israeli troops strive to be the most humane possible in combat, and their efforts are vindicated by the resulting casualty figures compared with earlier wars and with other countries’ forces, it is most unfair for the IDF to be accused of doing the opposite.
By contrast, Israel’s Arab terrorist enemies, such as Hamas, Fatah, and Hizbullah, strive to be most inhumane possible. They try to kill as many innocent civilians as they can, and they deliberately put their own civilians at risk so as to either inhibit IDF action or get artists and writers to condemn the IDF it inflicts collateral casualties when striking at genuine military targets. Against them, one hears little indignation. Hamas got away with its cynical cost in lives to civilians on both sides. This leaves me dubious about the sincerity of ostensible humanitarian concern expressed about Israeli action and Arabs’ lives.
What we see are pretexts for condemning Israel.
(For more about the New Israel Fund, click here
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