There is an ancient saying that goes “to the victor goes the spoils of war.” Israel in its war with several Arab countries won that land in the 1967 war. I think at times they greatly regret they did, given all the terrorism and death which has occurred. Israel describes its state as primarily one of Jewish character although it is a democracy and has Arab-Israeli citizens. Land developers and construction companies are alike more or less the world over; they are interested in fast profits.
That is not going to change anytime soon. There are still Holocaust survivors left who claim reparations. Their treatment by the Israeli government leaves something to be desired. Many are almost penniless. I don’t think these Holocaust survivors want revenge, but justice.
The problem with the right of return, if implemented on a significant scale is it would destroy the Jewish character of Israel and create a Palestinian irredentism. A generation of Palestinian suicide bombers, missile launchers and and other terrorists would likely flourish if a right to return were granted. No, there must be sincere changes in Hamas and Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations and Israel must stop building the settlements and caving in to the minority religious far right. I see no signs of this occurring.
Many nations and empires have been founded on terror and violence and slavery and bloodshed. Look at the Europeans. Most countries have intelligence agencies which torture terrorism suspects. The U.S. does and so do others. Here in the U.S. they call it extraordinary rendition. I don’t support all of the policies of my government and nor do I support all the policies of Israel.
But why is Israel, which is just a little bit bigger than New Jersey, such a flashpoint and firestorm for the national and international media? There are many more horrors in the world worse than what is happening to Israel. There are parts of Africa like the Sudan and eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The international media doesn’t pay as much attention to the abuses and rapes and murders there.
I think one reason is because Iran may have designs to build a nuclear bomb and sell it/give it to an anti-Israeli terrorist group. If such a bomb were unleashed on tiny Israel, it would cause significant damage. So great is the worry Mossad through its Iranian dissident proxies have assassinated some of Iran’s nuclear scientists. They have also let loose a virus that gummed up the computers at the Iranian nuclear facility. They take this nuclear threat very seriously especially when combined with Iran’s official views towards Israel, Jews and the Holocaust
Michael Ragland resides in Triangle.
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