The Politics of It All...

This is a post that needs to be written but which I am having a very hard time writing, possibly because it's complicated, confusing, and for most, it tears you in a lot of directions.  But, I'll give it a try. 

Disclaimer:  I am open to other opinions.  These that I present here, they come from my experience living here in Israel, from my feelings in this particular situation, and from the research I have done.  I'm not saying that I am right AT ALL.  So, please, feel free to disagree, but let's say from the beginning, that any disagreement will be done respectfully and tastefully.

I'm going to assume that those reading have a bit of an idea behind the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  What I will say, in a nut shell, is that no one remembers who shot the first shot long long ago, who did the first wrong thing.  Simply, both sides continue doing the wrong thing, and we're getting nowhere.  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result, which is a good perspective of the situation here.  Of course, it's much more complicated than that - there is an aspect of self-defense on the Israeli side, the aspect of pure, legitimate anger on the Palestinian side, a terror organization in the government in Gaza...ain't nothing here black and white.  But simply, there is a country called Israel that does exist, and there needs to be a country called Palestine that will exist.  Neither will or should go away.

Let's focus in on the current situation.  As I prefaced in my first war-related post a week ago, events started escalating with the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens.  Arguably, these tensions from the Palestinian side came because of yet another round of failed peace talks.

Side note:  If these governments would listen to the general, sane population, a lot of people on both sides want peace, want two states, want to be able to co-exist.  It's terribly sad that politics and money must get in the way of that.

So, Israel discovered the bodies of the teens, still hasn't found the killers, and the whole country entered into mourning.  These kids were from the settler community.  For those who don't know, there is a large part of Eastern Israel (West Bank, some call it Judea and Samaria) that is designated to be the future Palestinian state.  A majority of Palestinians live there, but there is a faction of the Israeli population, Religious Nationalists, who believe that all of the land is Israel's and that it is unacceptable to give it up.  So, they have created, with the help of various Israeli governments, settlements in the middle of the West Bank.  Warning, I'm going to give a personal opinion.  I do not agree with the majority of these settlements.  I think they are a roadblock to peace, and I think continuing their construction is just putting Israel in a more dangerous place.  More settlements = more money spent on defending and securing them, more tensions from both sides, and just more to sort out in the end.  It is also important to point out here the racism and extremism that many (not all!) settlers portray.  They will fight Israeli Defense Forces (IDF from here on out), who are there to protect them, they take part in "Price Tag" vandalism and attacks (look it up), and they incite hatred for their Palestinian neighbors.  Again, not all are like this, but it sure does tear my heart apart to see these behaviors from my fellow Jews. 

A group of Jewish extremists, not clear which from my limited research, then kidnapped and burned a Palestinian teen alive.  It's still hard to type that, as I'm just filled with disgust.  This same group tried to kidnap a 9 year old Palestinian the day before to presumably do the same thing.  After this happened, very basically, all hell broke loose.  Riots broke out.  Stones and Molotov cocktails were thrown.  These happened in the West Bank and Gaza, but also in Arab towns in Israel.  This unrest was the cue for Hamas in Gaza to start its antics again (unrelenting and sporadic rocket fire on Israel).

Let's pause here to discuss Hamas.  Friends, Hamas is a terror organization, plain and simple.  They came to power in the Gaza Strip after Israel pulled out of that land area in 2005.  Not going to get into why they came to power, but while they say they were elected democratically, I find it hard to believe that some form of terror and coercion were not involved.  They are a terror organization, after all.  So, Hamas is in power in Gaza, and they work around the clock to amass rockets and missiles and weapons.  They dig smuggling tunnels to bring in these things and tunnels into Israel to commit terror attacks.  They get special weapons from Iran.  That's scary.  I will very briefly touch on the blockade of Gaza that has so many people in a roar.  There is a blockade on Gaza simply because while, yes, they want to bring in humanitarian aid, they also want to bring in supplies to make homemade rockets.  And that's what really tears my stomach open about Hamas.  Gaza gets so much financial aid from all over the world.  Gaza gets humanitarian aid, also from Israel, and also from many other countries in the world.  What does Hamas, the head of the government in Gaza, do with this money?  Presumably, they fund terror.  In Gaza, there are no bomb shelters.  The roads are not up-kept.  Hospitals and schools are sub-par.  So why not use that money to take care of Gaza's citizens?  Because, my friends, that would be going against what Hamas is all about.  Hamas believes that Israel should not exist and that every Jew should die. 

So, let's talk about the current situation.  Israel is dealing with tens of rocket attacks a day (it can be more, depending on Hamas' mood, I suppose, like when we had 25 in 7 minutes here in BS last week - two houses have been destroyed in BS since the beginning of this war).  What happens here when there is a rocket or missile coming our way, a siren sounds, and depending on your distance from Gaza, you have a set amount of time to find shelter.  Where I live, we have a minute.  Where a lot of people live, they only have 15 seconds.  Just time what all you can do in 15 seconds, and then think about if you had to run for your life.  Okay, so when we hear these sirens, we know that we have a few options.  Neighborhoods and buildings all over have community bomb shelters.  Theoretically, they should be spaced so that people have enough time to get there.  Some people are fortunate enough to have bomb shelters in their houses that often double as bedrooms or offices.  Any new buildings must have one of these, as per law in Israel.  Last options, and least favorable, if you are outside and cannot get to a shelter or if you're driving, you can lay flat on the ground and cover your head because, other than a direct hit which no one would survive, when a rocket hits, its shrapnel travels upward in a V-shape and laying flat will keep you out of the line of fire.  And, arguably, we all know to do this.  We don't want to be in the way of a rocket.  Also, the sense of camaraderie is intense during these times.  People help people because in the end, we're all one big family.

If the rocket is detected to be going towards a populated area, the anti-missile defense system called Iron Dome, will send a missile to intercept the rocket and detonate it in mid-air.  This is one of the reasons why we are instructed to stay in our safe places for ten minutes, because shrapnel can still be falling from the explosion.  Also, if a lot of rockets are shot at once from different areas in Gaza, it's possible that it will take longer than a minute to get here.  There won't be extra sirens, but it's smart to wait it out.

Why did I go into such detail about what we do during an attack?  Because I wanted to illustrate how important it is for us and for our country that we stay safe.  Bomb shelters are mandatory.  The news is filled every few minutes with IDF officers explaining again and again what to do during an attack.  Commercials advertise what to do.  The radio and TV stations broadcast real time alerts.  Life is a very important thing here in Israel, and we do all we can to preserve it.  As of now, only two people in Israel have died, two older women who died from the stress and overexertion of trying to get to a bomb shelter in time.  There are many people hurt, some critically, from shrapnel, from a gas station explosion after a direct hit.  But for the most part, we're intact. 

Now, Gaza.  Gaza is coping with hundreds of Israeli Air Force attacks a day.  Around 160 people, civilians included, have died since the beginning of this.  This is sad.  This is unfortunate.  There's nothing more to say.  However, let's focus in how Hamas operates.  Hamas stores their weapons in civilian communities, i.e. schools, hospitals, civilian houses, etc.  Hamas also encourages civilians to act as a human shield for buildings that house these Hamas infrastructures.  According to traditional rules of war, striking civilian houses is totally off limits.  This, however, is an unprecedented type of war with Hamas' cowardly tactics.  Israel, for her credit, tries many tactics to lessen the loss of life, including "knocking on the roof" which is where a non-explosive bomb is thrown on top of the house to warn the inhabitants to leave, giving them a minute or more to evacuate (hey, that's more time than we have to get to a shelter!), dropping leaflets explaining that Hamas is being targeted and to please not be in the area with Hamas, phone calls to warn civilians, and stopping an attack all together when civilians are spotted or it is learned that a house or a school or something is located within the radius (sometimes, this information is learned too late).  These things don't always work.  I've read many sad accounts where, too, Hamas has encouraged its citizens not to listen to Israeli warnings, even ordering them not to evacuate.  Also, remember, Gaza doesn't have a siren system in place or bomb shelters for residents.  In reality, nothing is done to safe guard residents of Gaza in times of war.  And let's not be naive, there is constantly war here.

I don't have an answer about how to better this situation.  I don't know how to stop so many from dying.  It's painful, and it just plants more hatred and pushes us farther from peace.  I just don't know what to do.

I am angry from this whole mess.  I am angry at Hamas for doing what it does, to its citizens and to us.  I am terrified by these constant rocket attacks.  I am angry at the Israeli government for not being a better partner for peace.  I want it to stop.  My challenge for you is to put yourself on both sides of the situation.  What would you do as a Gazan?  You'd probably be pretty pissed and full of hate for Israel, and you'd probably be pretty pissed at your government in Hamas for constantly making this a reality (although a lot of people are fed hatred from an early age, and I fear that many aren't at a place where they are capable of being angry at Hamas).  What would you do as an Israeli?  You would probably be pretty pissed at Hamas for constantly putting you and your loved ones on edge and in danger.  You'd be pissed at your Israeli government for not finding a better solution to ending this mess (every like year and a half, another war breaks out with Hamas to combat the constant rocket fire).  You'd be pretty hopeless and confused (although, as with Gazans, a lot of Israelis are so encumbered with the length of this mess that their patience is gone and their ideas of Palestinians are not going to change, grouping Hamas members with all Palestinians).  It's tough. 

To sum up, this situation is not simple.  It has me pulled in many different directions.  The amount of hate speech from both sides is discouraging and painful.  There are many groups of people who are trying for peace.  I follow a lot of great groups on Facebook, like Israel Loves Palestine, Palestine Loves Israel, Iran Loves Israel...etc. and etc.  Most are from a movement called the Peace Factory.  I believe in it, and I see enough people involved that it keeps some hope alive.  I hope that those of us motivated for change can make it happen. 

So, let the reactions fly.  That's my point of view.  I hope it has helped.  Stay safe.