"It was a reminder, if we needed it, that this is a Jewish state and we are even less welcome than usual when we meet as Palestinians."
Given our discussion of Israel last Sunday, I would like you all to read this article.
Here is video of the incident that the article describes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-P4LI1ceGA
Something has changed since my first post here.
11 years ago
1 comment:
okay, I've read the article and watched the video. I noticed some things that may have excaped first notice.
1. The police involved used no lethal force. The officers are carrying tear gas and batons, the ones in riot gear weren't even issued a side arm. The only side arms present are on the regular uniformed highway patrolmen.
2. when the police show up they first take a posistion BETWEEN the people waving Palestinian flags and those waving Israeli flags. In short, they are there to KEEP violence from erupting, not to provoke it.
3. about a minute into the video one of the men on the side waving the Palestinian flags grabs onto a police officer. Now I can't say for sure in Israel if this constitutes a crime, but in the States that is considered assualting an officer. The officer is within his rights to defends himself and arrest the attacker. The israeli officer merely says something to the agitated man and shrugs off his grip. when the man grips him again the officer repeats this action.
4. there is a 'break' in the film between the instance I mentioned in point 3, and when the riot begins. in short, we have no idea WHY the police started using force. Yes they could be acting illegally, they could also be responding to thrown stones or/and violence that wasn't caught on the camera.
5. When one of the riot police starts kicking a man on the ground, the OFFICER is rushed by other officers and a officer on horseback who 'shoo' him away from the man he was assulating. the officers can then be seen giving the kicked man aid. I would have hoped they could have also been caught on camera arresting or detaining the officer who used inappropiate force, but we'll never know.
6. sewveral scenes show officers making arrests, and surpirse, there are no bruises or blood on the suspects. That would tend to support an arguement that legal force was used.
taking all of this into account I don't think a case can be made that the demonstration was broken up SOLELY because someone was waving a Palestinian flag and a bunch of people were protesting Israel's right to exist. I find it MORE probable that some action preciptated the use of force, and the photographers edited the film later to make the Big Bad Jews look like villians ( anyone remember Mohammed Al-dura? )
That being said, the crux of the issue is really how does a democracry deal with dissent. What I see are protesters, counter protesters, and police trying to keep things calm between two groups prone to violence.
kinda like the US.
Some may ask why is it the police were trying to keep the photographers from taking shots. The answer has to do with how ANY photo, media release, or other 'news' has been manipulated in the region. Anything the police do is likely to be twisted to meet someone's agenda, ergo they often simply stop anyone from recording. Is it right to do so? Nope. Is it a human reaction? Yep.
Keep in mind that Israel suffered the worst bombardment of rocket attacks this year since the war of 73, and had to once again invade Lebennon to take out those sites.
FIJ wonders if the authors of the article wrote something condeming those bombardments, and suspects it is likely they did not.
Everyone has a bias. Mine is definately pro-israel, and was even before I converted. The article FAILS to mention the actions of the Palestinian people when the Israeli's acted on the UN mandate.
The Palestinians started shooting, and aided the nations around Israel in their attack. They were not "displaced". They were forced out by the conflict action during the war and the state of israel wisely decided NOT to let people that had been shooting at it's troops back inside it's borders.
( i realize the above is a gross over simplification, but it is also a fact of the war of israeli indenpendence.)
There are many things wrong with the State of Israel and how it governs. But there are also many things right with it, and more is right with it than wrong. Compare Israeli law, justice, and services to the nations around it and tell me whom is more 'progressive'. THe israeli's who allow free speech, women to have equality, a 'leave us alone and we'll leave you alone' attitude, and homosexuals to march down the streets of the holiest cities in the western world, or the muslim-arab states around it that suppress free speech, women's rights, kill homosexuals, and seek to make the world into their image?
Was this a terrible thing? You bet.
but so are rocket attacks, bus bombings, and killing off people who just want somewhere safe to live.
I wish there was a perfect answer Jon Juan, but there isn't, so I'll take the best imperfect answer I can get.
To FIJ that seems to be a Two State Solution, ala Alan Dershowitz, and NO ONE get's jerusalem.
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