February 20, 2004
Israel Is Obviously In The Wrong
Elite Israeli troops reject Gaza violenceThe three men sitting in the corner of a busy cafe are unremarkable as they talk among themselves, sipping coffee and blending with the rest of the customers.The 13 men are elite commandos, men who wanted to give maximum service to their country, men who believe they are giving maximum service to their country by refusing to fight. And they aren't the only ones. I can recall pilots refusing as well. There may have been others, I don't recall.
But they are members of a remarkable group, the Sayeret Matkal, Israel's equivalent of the SAS. And what makes them even more extraordinary in a society that holds its armed forces in such high esteem - in fact, what has earned them damnation from all over the country - is that they told their commanders that they refuse to serve in the Palestinian territories.
They and 10 others wrote to the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, saying they could no longer serve, 'out of a deep sense of foreboding for the future of Israel as a democratic, Zionist and Jewish state'. The letter stated that they would not take part in violating the rights of millions of Palestinians or provide a shield for Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. It concluded: 'We have long ago crossed the boundary of fighting for a just cause, and now we find ourselves fighting to oppress another people. We shall no longer cross this line.'
On top of the general suffering of the Palestinians, on top of the lopsided death toll in the conflict, now loyal, Zionist, elite force combat veterans are refusing to serve. That just doesn't happen if a country's in the right. How can Israel not be in the wrong?
Bring on that anti-semitic bullshit, dingers. It's the kind of cheap, scurrilous, irrational charge typically made by those who know they're in the wrong.
Thanks to The Common Man.
UPDATE: No, I am not saying the Palestinians are blameless. I don't know why I even have to say such shit. People who readily assume the highly improbable deliberately refuse to assume the highly probable.
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