It is all too easy for smug, self-righteous politicians in the West to pour scorn upon Israel’s actions in the face of its enemies, from the safety of European capitals thousands of miles away from Hamas rockets. The outpouring of hatred towards Israel following the shoot-out aboard an “aid” vessel headed towards Gaza earlier this week has been overwhelming, yet sadly predictable. From London to Berlin, Paris and Brussels, the vitriol against a close friend and ally has been both ugly and brutal, with language that is rarely used if at all these days, even against the likes of odious tyrannies such as North Korea or Sudan.
It seems that a special place in hell has been reserved for Israel, not only in the eyes of the Islamic world, but for many in the West as well. I cannot think of any country on earth that is more consistently reviled by the international community, and persecuted by the likes of the UN or the European Union, than this small nation of seven million people, who have bravely fought seven wars just to stay alive.
Yet, as Douglas Murray pointed out in an excellent post, Israel’s enemies are ours too. Make no mistake. The barbaric terrorist groups including Hamas and Hizbollah, whose very existence revolves around the destruction of Israel, view Britain and the United States as the Great Satan as well. Their poisonous Islamist ideology, backed by Syria and Iran, is a deadly threat not only to Israel, but to the West as well. The defeat of these terrorist organisations as well as the dictatorships that back them, is in the fundamental national interest of both the US and UK.
Israel is on the front line of the war against Islamist terrorism, and fights every day for its existence amidst a sea of hostility. I am in no doubt that faced with the same situation, Americans and Britons would also be fighting tooth and nail for their survival as well. The Israelis are engaged in a long term war against vicious enemies, a vital component of a global war the free world is waging against Islamists.
Those who condemn Israel’s use of “disproportionate force” would do well to remember that her foes are our deadly opponents too. If Israel is defeated the security of the West itself would be significantly undermined. There is no middle ground in this war – political leaders in the West must decide whose side they are on – the defenders of freedom in the Middle East or the forces of terrorism and tyranny that threaten them.
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This again from The Telgraph (of which I am now a big fan!):
ReplyDeleteIt was good to hear Ron Prosor, the Israeli ambassador to London, conceding on the Today programme this morning that the assault by his country’s naval commandos on a convoy of ships carrying aid to Gaza can hardly be deemed a triumph.
As Stephanie Gutmann pointed out in her excellent post yesterday, Israel’s interception of the flotilla has become a propaganda triumph for Hamas and its supporters, and a public relations disaster for Israel., which was no doubt the point of the exercise in the first place. Israel’s enemies set it a trap, and the Israelis obligingly walked into it.
The problem for Israel is that this is not the first time in recent memory that it has shot itself in the foot. The invasion of Gaza, the insulting treatment meted out to U.S. vice president Joe Biden during his visit to Jerusalem earlier this year, the use of British passports in the Dubai hit on a leading Hamas commander: Israel has developed a worrying habit of conducting itself in a way that even its friends find hard to defend.
The Gaza flotilla was a publicity stunt that was specifically designed to cause Israel embarrassment. But through Israel’s inept handling of the affair, which has resulted with the deaths of as many as 19 people, it has turned it into a national disaster. There were many methods the Israeli military could have used to prevent the flotilla reaching Gaza without loss of life. But they used a tactic that was bound to cause provocation, and are now paying the cost.
With U.S. President Barack Obama doing his upmost to humiliate Israel, these are dark days indeed for the Jewish state. All the more reason, then, that Israel pays more attention to taking care of its international image. In the modern, 24-hour news cycle, image counts for everything, and Israel now has a lot of work to do if it is to turn round its disastrous public relations image.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/concoughlin/100041796/israel-needs-better-public-relations-to-defeat-its-enemies/
And here's another, Gerry adams has weighed in for fucks sake!
ReplyDeleteWatching Israeli government spokesmen being argued with, rather than questioned, by BBC presenters over the last 24 hours, it was interesting to be reminded of how pleasant our state broadcasters can sometimes be to their guests.
Earlier today the BBC devoted some time to a long and respectful interview, regarding that same armed “peace” flotilla, with Gerry Adams. He’s certainly a man with – ahem – a point of view about peace and how to achieve it. I was reminded of this only recently when re-reading the passage in Kevin Myers‘ wonderful memoir “Watching the Door”, in which Myers hears Adams ordering a man’s execution-style killing after an IRA fight in a pub.
Anyhow, Adams has now declared that the MV Rachel Corrie must be allowed into Gaza (by the way, you can see the “peace activist” Rachel Corrie doing her bit for the people of Gaza by burning a mock-up of the American flag here). So just why must the good ship Corrie in particular be allowed in? Because apparently it is flying an Irish flag and, says Adams, “A ship flying the Irish flag has to be respected.”
Myself, I’m not sure that Gerry Adams and Sinn Fein are the people to go to for maritime rules.
Gerry Adams’ fellow Republican, Sean Russell, died during the Second World War. He remains the only Irishman who died in that war to be commemorated by a statue in Dublin. From 1970 right up to the present Sinn Fein has held an annual commemorative rally under the statue. Sean Russell, it should be noted, did not die fighting Nazism but fighting for Nazism. In fact - embarassingly, you would have thought – Sean Russell died on a German submarine in 1940 on his way back to Ireland where he hoped to bring the country into the war on the side of Germany. Just one in a long line of Sinn Fein heroes to die in the cause of gun-running.
Though of course not questioned on any of this, perhaps Gerry Adams hopes that he will follow in the illustrious maritime renown of his movement’s forebears. If he does, and succeeds in supporting the opening of a new gun-running front into Gaza for Hamas’ war against Israel, perhaps he will be commemorated with an even larger statue in a Dublin park - remembered for all time as something more than just a terrorist who gave interviews to the occasional glossy magazine.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/douglasmurray/100041981/gerry-adams-man-of-peace-comes-out-for-the-gaza-flotilla/
Well blogged my winged friend.
ReplyDeleteThe man is a knob. I still find it surprising even today, that Adams is actually given air time.
As to the first comment from the Telegraph, I agree that it was a deliberate attempt to bring shame onto Israel. These people know that the policy of Israel is to use their military to defend their country and that is what they have done. The activists knew full well that by ignoring the warnings they would provoke a military response. They succeeded.
If they were a peaceful organisation, the Israeli's would have impounded their boat and sent the people on the way (which is what happened!) but by attacking the soldiers they made the biggest mistake. The blood spilt isn't the Israeli soldiers fault, they didn't attack anyone but responded to due provocation. And responded in the way every country should do when defending their Land and their People. In Europe is called Human Rights.
... or more to the point, the right of self-defence.
ReplyDeleteEloquently put my Free Falling friend.