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Stand Up For Israel
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Contact: bhoffman@stetson.edu
Israel is a modern day parliamentary democracy. Where there was once dessert, there are now thriving cities and abundant farms. Jews, Christians, Muslims, and the Druz with Israeli citizenship all share the rights to vote, express their opinions, and practice their religions freely. In fact, Israel is one of the only countries in the Middle East allowing women to vote. Every group within Israel has their own representation in the Knesset (Parliament) in the form of their own political party(s).
Despite this clear case of a democracy, Israel has come under intense criticism (some of it legitimate, most of it illegitimate and anti-Semitic) on numerous fronts. Israel has been compared to Nazi Germany and has been branded as a “terrorist state”. Many people see the conflict in black and white and do not think about the complexities involved on both sides. In many cases, Israel has been accused of things that are:
I. not against international law
II. simply not true.
One example of such an allegation is the bulldozing of “civilian” structures. Many people say this is an act of “state terrorism” and a war crime; however, what few people know is that according to international law, the moment a civilian structure is used to attack a sovereign state, it becomes a legitimate military target. Furthermore, Israel gets accused of killing civilians intentionally, while groups like Hamas and Hezbollah escape any criticism for using civilians as human shields despite the fact it is against the Geneva Convention.
In 2005, in hopes of peace with the Palestinians, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon withdrew from every single inch of the Gaza strip, and had begun plans to withdraw from other Palestinian territories in the West Bank. What was the Palestinian response? An increase in rocket attacks and the chants “Gaza today, Jerusalem tomorrow!”
Over the years, Israel has lost hundreds, if not thousands of soldiers trying to fight Hamas in a way so that it protects the innocent Palestinian population. Israel has been accused of attempting to “exterminate” the Palestinian people; but what many people fail to see is that man for man, Israel has the strongest military in the world and if they wanted to exterminate a group, no one from that group would be alive to complain.
The I.D.F. is an army that has defeated 4 conventional Arab armies simultaneously more than once in history. the fact that the conflict against Hamas and Hezbollah is continuous should be a clear indicator that Israel shows restraint, given the fact that they can wipe both of these groups off the map very quickly if they choose to.
Despite this clear case of a democracy, Israel has come under intense criticism (some of it legitimate, most of it illegitimate and anti-Semitic) on numerous fronts. Israel has been compared to Nazi Germany and has been branded as a “terrorist state”. Many people see the conflict in black and white and do not think about the complexities involved on both sides. In many cases, Israel has been accused of things that are:
I. not against international law
II. simply not true.
One example of such an allegation is the bulldozing of “civilian” structures. Many people say this is an act of “state terrorism” and a war crime; however, what few people know is that according to international law, the moment a civilian structure is used to attack a sovereign state, it becomes a legitimate military target. Furthermore, Israel gets accused of killing civilians intentionally, while groups like Hamas and Hezbollah escape any criticism for using civilians as human shields despite the fact it is against the Geneva Convention.
In 2005, in hopes of peace with the Palestinians, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon withdrew from every single inch of the Gaza strip, and had begun plans to withdraw from other Palestinian territories in the West Bank. What was the Palestinian response? An increase in rocket attacks and the chants “Gaza today, Jerusalem tomorrow!”
Over the years, Israel has lost hundreds, if not thousands of soldiers trying to fight Hamas in a way so that it protects the innocent Palestinian population. Israel has been accused of attempting to “exterminate” the Palestinian people; but what many people fail to see is that man for man, Israel has the strongest military in the world and if they wanted to exterminate a group, no one from that group would be alive to complain.
The I.D.F. is an army that has defeated 4 conventional Arab armies simultaneously more than once in history. the fact that the conflict against Hamas and Hezbollah is continuous should be a clear indicator that Israel shows restraint, given the fact that they can wipe both of these groups off the map very quickly if they choose to.
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