There were planes in the sky this afternoon over Nazareth and the countryside up here in Galilee. F-16s
It's not that close to the Gaza Strip here, where we are. Think Monticello, MN (where I am), Faribault, MN (where Gaza is).
I haven't caught the news today, but it appears something was going on. Heavy air traffic. Several times this afternoon, the low thundering sound of Israeli Air Force F-16s could be heard up in the sky. They make quite a loud sound that rumbles for several minutes as they pass by high above. Once in Nazareth, I snapped a picture of two of them flying overhead. Quite a contrast to the serene valley and the peaceful ideal of such a town.
Not as impressive looking in this picture, but they certainly make their presence known when you see and hear them flying overhead.
Cable TV here is just like the United States, with many of the same channels. Even more, when you add the BBC and a handful of Arab channels. If you choose to watch it, the news channels are all Mideast Conflict, all of the time, with reporters reporting in from all over the country.
Many of the international channels constantly show the wounded Palestinians in Gaza. If it is a small child, it becomes especially moving and heart-rending, as it should. You probably have seen similar images back home. There is a lot of questioning as to how careful the Israelis are being in terms of targeting their sites in Gaza, and the level of proportionate response they are taking in response to the rockets that Hamas, the Palestinian organization that is in charge of Gaza, is firing. More and more of the international community seems to be at odds with Israel and the way they are employing their superior armed power, along with the collateral damage it is causing to Palestinian civilians, their safety, and their daily lives. There are strong arguments to be made on that side, and watching the news for awhile, it is easy to understand. Wounded young children are images that strongly convict those causing the pain, and leave little room to permit much of a defense for the justification of one’s actions.
At the same time, there is little question that Hamas is a difficult organization for which to feel any sympathy. They can be called terrorists, and labeled with that in a very objective sense of the word. It is well-known, though less newsworthy, about the atrocities they have visited upon their very own people – the Palestinians – who do not wholeheartedly support their cause. These people are bad guys, not just fighters iwth a different point of view. There are Palestinian and plenty of other Arab countries that would just as soon be rid of them. If given the chance, there is not much question Hamas – quick to seek sympathy and condemnation for the behavior of Israel – would show little sense of ethical behavior if they had the opportunity to assert power at some point. I don’t believe you’d find them paying much heed to any international influence if they were able to gain the upper hand against at Israel at some point in time. Like the young child that cries when getting hit by a sibling, and after the parent scolds the other child only to look away again, finding the young child responding in an even more violent way. Hamas doesn’t want peace with Israel. Their avowed goal is to eliminate Israel and push the Jews back into the sea. They seek to reclaim the land for the Palestinians only, an injustice that cannot be so cut and dried if the argument is presented in its entirety. (Unlike the settlers and American Indians, the Jews actually can point to a history of buying land in negotiated transactions over the last century from Palestinians.) While there are nuances and exceptions and contradictions in the particulars that can be cited on both sides, giving too much credit to the Palestinian cause in these days seems to be quite an unjust tilt in matters of international opinion.
There are too many extremists on both sides holding sway. The voices of people of reason and dialogue, arguably representing a much great majority, are not finding enough of a voice to be heard. It is a complex, complicated dialgoue. One of the most difficult in history, no doubt. But, not going well.
So, the conflict rages on. And jets disrupt the Sunday afternoon quiet over a peaceful town called Nazareth.
Not as impressive looking in this picture, but they certainly make their presence known when you see and hear them flying overhead.
Cable TV here is just like the United States, with many of the same channels. Even more, when you add the BBC and a handful of Arab channels. If you choose to watch it, the news channels are all Mideast Conflict, all of the time, with reporters reporting in from all over the country.
Many of the international channels constantly show the wounded Palestinians in Gaza. If it is a small child, it becomes especially moving and heart-rending, as it should. You probably have seen similar images back home. There is a lot of questioning as to how careful the Israelis are being in terms of targeting their sites in Gaza, and the level of proportionate response they are taking in response to the rockets that Hamas, the Palestinian organization that is in charge of Gaza, is firing. More and more of the international community seems to be at odds with Israel and the way they are employing their superior armed power, along with the collateral damage it is causing to Palestinian civilians, their safety, and their daily lives. There are strong arguments to be made on that side, and watching the news for awhile, it is easy to understand. Wounded young children are images that strongly convict those causing the pain, and leave little room to permit much of a defense for the justification of one’s actions.
At the same time, there is little question that Hamas is a difficult organization for which to feel any sympathy. They can be called terrorists, and labeled with that in a very objective sense of the word. It is well-known, though less newsworthy, about the atrocities they have visited upon their very own people – the Palestinians – who do not wholeheartedly support their cause. These people are bad guys, not just fighters iwth a different point of view. There are Palestinian and plenty of other Arab countries that would just as soon be rid of them. If given the chance, there is not much question Hamas – quick to seek sympathy and condemnation for the behavior of Israel – would show little sense of ethical behavior if they had the opportunity to assert power at some point. I don’t believe you’d find them paying much heed to any international influence if they were able to gain the upper hand against at Israel at some point in time. Like the young child that cries when getting hit by a sibling, and after the parent scolds the other child only to look away again, finding the young child responding in an even more violent way. Hamas doesn’t want peace with Israel. Their avowed goal is to eliminate Israel and push the Jews back into the sea. They seek to reclaim the land for the Palestinians only, an injustice that cannot be so cut and dried if the argument is presented in its entirety. (Unlike the settlers and American Indians, the Jews actually can point to a history of buying land in negotiated transactions over the last century from Palestinians.) While there are nuances and exceptions and contradictions in the particulars that can be cited on both sides, giving too much credit to the Palestinian cause in these days seems to be quite an unjust tilt in matters of international opinion.
There are too many extremists on both sides holding sway. The voices of people of reason and dialogue, arguably representing a much great majority, are not finding enough of a voice to be heard. It is a complex, complicated dialgoue. One of the most difficult in history, no doubt. But, not going well.
So, the conflict rages on. And jets disrupt the Sunday afternoon quiet over a peaceful town called Nazareth.
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