This was a week for rhetoric. As many of you hopefully know, Israel has been heavily abused by the international media this week in wake of the Gaza Flotilla clash.
A little background: This week six ships tried to break through the Israeli blockade to deliver supplies to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. They were filled with hundreds of people who called themselves peace activists and insisted that they were bringing much needed humanitarian aid to Gaza. Israel allows hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid supplied by the UN, the Red Cross, and other humanitarian organizations into Gaza, but there are certain items (like fertilizer) that can be used to create weapons that Israel does not let into Gaza. This is the blockade that has been present since Hamas came to power in 2007. Israel repeatedly told these ships that they would not be allowed to dock in Israel, but that they could unload the supplies in Ashdod and Israel would transfer them to the Gaza Strip by land. They refused. Upon nearing the Israeli coast, each ship was asked to stop and then told they would be boarded and towed to an Israeli port when they refused. Five of the six ships were boarded and towed without incident. The sixth ship, the Mavi Marma, was full of Turkish and Pakistani "peace activists" that attacked the Israeli soldiers when they boarded the ship. Using metal poles, knives, and stun grenades they beat and stabbed Israeli Navy soldiers going so far as to throw one overboard. They soldiers were armed with paintguns and prepared for only light resistance. The Turkish passengers are claiming that the soldiers attacked first, but the Israelis say (and the footage supports this) that they were attacked when they tried to board. At some point a passenger grabbed the handgun of one of the soldiers and started firing. The soldiers were given permission to shoot to protect themselves and after about 40 minutes of fighting there were 9 dead passengers and numerous wounded on both sides.
This all happened at about 2 am on Monday morning and the Israeli soldiers have since been labelled murderers and pirates by the international media. No one seems to care that these "peace activists" attacked the soldiers, or that this seems to have been their plan all along. These passengers were preparing for a fight, were looking to cause a violent encounter and have once again succeeded in their plan to turn international feeling against Israel.
We knew these ships were coming and most Israelis knew how this story would end. Once again, we would be berated and labelled murderers for trying to protect ourselves. Once again, we found ourselves in a situation where we would be berated for our actions no matter how careful we were. We could not let these ships through the blockade, allowing a port to open up in Gaza for weapons shipments to terrorist organizations. We had no option but to stop these ships, and despite going so far as to arm our soldiers with paint-guns, we are once again accused of violently attacking innocents.
Please, watch some of the footage and tell me how innocent these activists were.
All over Israel people are shouting their support, waving flags and hanging signs to show their support for the army's actions. On base we are watching the footage and reading the news disgusted by the international response. You would think we would be used to it by now, but when things like this happen and the truth is so clear, we do not understand why the international media seems set against us, seems determined to present this story in the worst way possible. We do not understand how, no matter how carefully we tread, we somehow always end up the bad guys. Terrorism we can deal with, but changing international regard for Israel feels like fighting a losing battle.
I took a teaching class on base this week and part of our final exam included preparing a lesson plan and teaching the class for twenty-minutes. I was understandably nervous about having to teach a group of 20 officers in Hebrew, but as we were allowed to teach on whatever topic interested me, I chose to speak about an area where I have some experience- immigration. I discussed the mass immigrations to Israel and the hardships that immigrants face while trying to be absorbed into Israeli society. I discussed the groups that came to live a better life (Russians and Argentinians), those that ran from persecution (Arab Jews and Ethiopians) and anti-semitism (French), and those that left forward-thinking free countries for idealogical reasons (North Americans). I closed my lesson by stressing the importance of being an active part of our Jewish future, the responsibility that each one of us has to be a part of building a better future for Am Yisrael (the Israeli nation).
Israel was created to be a safe haven for Jews everywhere, but today we need to be more. There are so many divisions among us as a nation, whether it is the religious vs the secular, the religious vs the less or more religious, the liberals vs the conservatives and so on. There are times when I feel that we are so divided and so busy fighting each other that we have forgotten why we are here. Because Israel is more than a sanctuary, it is a home for a nation that has been dispersed for almost two thousand years. And a home is not just a place to sleep. It is a place to connect to your family, to prepare yourself for your future, and to find the strength of self to take on the next day. This past week, Israel has felt like a home, because in the face of adversity, we have put aside our differences and stood up to protect our family.
Whether you are a zionist or not, a Jew or not, an Israeli or not, I hope that you know what sort of future you are helping build. It is so easy to get caught up in the ups and downs of our personal lives. And it is understandable. My life is my world and the things you might deem insignificant can be life-changing for me. But remember that you are a part of a greater world, and that you have a responsibility, as an individual and as a part of humanity, to be actively working towards creating a better future.
Whew. Sorry about the intensity. It was that kind of week. Ill bring you some light-hearted humor next time.
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