On Rapists and their Victims
I promised myself I wouldn’t utter a word about the unfortunate Israeli Navy attack on the flotilla carrying aid to the Gaza Strip, knowing that I would say things and later regret it.
But the other day I saw Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing the nation, defending the Navy’s raid, and I’ve decided to react to it. So here we go:
What the Prime Minister was doing was to complain that his commandos who stormed the ships from helicopters: “were mobbed, they were clubbed, they were beaten, stabbed … And our soldiers had to defend themselves.”
And I thought, “Wait a minute Mr Netanyahu, to say something like that is like having a rapist complaining that his victim hit back at him”.
And I also wonder: what did Mr Netanyahu expect? That his commandos would be showered with flowers? or with scented rice? That the people on the ship take out a red carpet and unfold it on the ship’s deck?
One good thing, though, comes of this sorry affair: it draws the world’s attention to the medieval siege the Israelis have imposed on the Gaza Strip, where the military, for three years now, decides what foods will go into the Strip and what the Gazans will have on their daily menus: Rice – yes, but pasta – no. Tuna fish – yes, but canned fruit (it’s a luxury) – no.
This is now the time to press the Israelis to end the Gaza blockade. Israel, as I put it elsewhere, only moves under open pressure, and their recent terrible clumsiness – acting like pirates, attacking a Turkish ship on the high seas, when it was bearing humanitarian help to the Gaza Strip – is an opportunity to help the Gazans.
Expect the Israeli usual response: They will moan that, “the world is against us”, and they might even resort to their ultimate weapon (no - you silly reader – not their atomic bombs! They’ve got none), using the magic word “anti-Semitism”, which is a potent and effective weapon.
This, however, should be ignored in order to help the Israelis – who have totally lost their way in recent years - help themselves, and also to save innocent people from perhaps another stupid Israeli scheme.
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FREErad!cals is the ICSR blog. It's a forum for debate and fresh ideas on radicalisation and political violence. It features some of the most innovative, young thinkers, discussing radicals and radicalisation. They are looking at how the challenge has been understood, and how it should be addressed.
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