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The world has a responsibility here. If it can no longer put up with Israeli excess, with its (understandable) policy to strike back disproportionately, then it has to put an end to the slow bleeding of that country. The world -- the United Nations -- created Israel. It ought to safeguard it. It is the only way.
-- Richard Cohen, "A Moment Mel Would Understand" in The Washington Post
I thought Mr. Cohen had some well-considered words this morning on the current Muslim-Israeli warfare. He has become fairly well balanced since his column of two weeks ago, "Hunker Down with History," in which he seemed to take the line that Israel needs to accept its predicament of being the target of anti-Jewish violence and warfare and just take it in a purely defensive mode:
The greatest mistake Israel could make at the moment is to forget that Israel itself is a mistake. It is an honest mistake, a well-intentioned mistake, a mistake for which no one is culpable, but the idea of creating a nation of European Jews in an area of Arab Muslims (and some Christians) has produced a century of warfare and terrorism of the sort we are seeing now. Israel fights Hezbollah in the north and Hamas in the south, but its most formidable enemy is history itself.
... They see Israel not as a mistake but as a crime. Until they change their view, the longest war of the 20th century will persist deep into the 21st. It is best for Israel to hunker down.
Even with this about-face, an interesting question is still raised about how well Israel could count on international protection, when just about all of that international community stands so ready to condemn Israel as the war criminals, even as Israel has to deal with terrorist forces that like to use human shields like this and this. So ready to play into the jihadists' hands, like a death wish.
( the 'Mel would understand' column )
xXx
The world has a responsibility here. If it can no longer put up with Israeli excess, with its (understandable) policy to strike back disproportionately, then it has to put an end to the slow bleeding of that country. The world -- the United Nations -- created Israel. It ought to safeguard it. It is the only way.
-- Richard Cohen, "A Moment Mel Would Understand" in The Washington Post
I thought Mr. Cohen had some well-considered words this morning on the current Muslim-Israeli warfare. He has become fairly well balanced since his column of two weeks ago, "Hunker Down with History," in which he seemed to take the line that Israel needs to accept its predicament of being the target of anti-Jewish violence and warfare and just take it in a purely defensive mode:
The greatest mistake Israel could make at the moment is to forget that Israel itself is a mistake. It is an honest mistake, a well-intentioned mistake, a mistake for which no one is culpable, but the idea of creating a nation of European Jews in an area of Arab Muslims (and some Christians) has produced a century of warfare and terrorism of the sort we are seeing now. Israel fights Hezbollah in the north and Hamas in the south, but its most formidable enemy is history itself.
... They see Israel not as a mistake but as a crime. Until they change their view, the longest war of the 20th century will persist deep into the 21st. It is best for Israel to hunker down.
Even with this about-face, an interesting question is still raised about how well Israel could count on international protection, when just about all of that international community stands so ready to condemn Israel as the war criminals, even as Israel has to deal with terrorist forces that like to use human shields like this and this. So ready to play into the jihadists' hands, like a death wish.
( the 'Mel would understand' column )
