I did something I shouldn't have down. I browsed through the Pro-Israel group.
I like Israel. I want to see them succeed as a nation. I admire the can-do attitude and stoic perseverance with which Israel is infused. But I am not pro-Israel in the sense that members of this group seem to be--I leaven my admiration for Israel with an enforced ideal of neutrality, because being "pro-" anything in relation to as volatile and heated a region as the east end of the Mediterranean leaves one open to utterly irrational conclusions.
For instance, in a thread complaining about what is perceived as anti-Israeli sentiment on the CE board, one poster said they stopped posting on CE when it became apparent that people on the CE board would not accept the idea that Hamas only understands force--that, basically, Israel was perfectly justified in bringing the hammer down on the Gaza Strip because that was the only way to get Hamas to stop firing rockets at Israel. But this same poster, in the same thread, also noted that nobody in Israel actually believed Hamas would stop firing rockets at Israel!
Now, I think Israel was perfectly justified in taking offensive action in the Gaza Strip. I think they took exactly the wrong type of offensive action, but I think action was necessary. But I'm one of the reasons that people in the Pro-Israel group don't tend to post on CE. Because apparently, if you're not cheering Israel's every move, you're anti-Israeli.
And the irony is that those in the Pro-Israel group don't even recognize the contribution they're making towards ensuring the conflict continues. There is a strong grassroots tendency, on both sides, towards maintaining the conflict rather than resolving it. You can't not take a side. You can take flak from the pro-Israel side, or you can take flak from the pro-Palestine side--or you can take flak from both.
I like Israel. I want to see them succeed as a nation. I admire the can-do attitude and stoic perseverance with which Israel is infused. But I am not pro-Israel in the sense that members of this group seem to be--I leaven my admiration for Israel with an enforced ideal of neutrality, because being "pro-" anything in relation to as volatile and heated a region as the east end of the Mediterranean leaves one open to utterly irrational conclusions.
For instance, in a thread complaining about what is perceived as anti-Israeli sentiment on the CE board, one poster said they stopped posting on CE when it became apparent that people on the CE board would not accept the idea that Hamas only understands force--that, basically, Israel was perfectly justified in bringing the hammer down on the Gaza Strip because that was the only way to get Hamas to stop firing rockets at Israel. But this same poster, in the same thread, also noted that nobody in Israel actually believed Hamas would stop firing rockets at Israel!
Now, I think Israel was perfectly justified in taking offensive action in the Gaza Strip. I think they took exactly the wrong type of offensive action, but I think action was necessary. But I'm one of the reasons that people in the Pro-Israel group don't tend to post on CE. Because apparently, if you're not cheering Israel's every move, you're anti-Israeli.
And the irony is that those in the Pro-Israel group don't even recognize the contribution they're making towards ensuring the conflict continues. There is a strong grassroots tendency, on both sides, towards maintaining the conflict rather than resolving it. You can't not take a side. You can take flak from the pro-Israel side, or you can take flak from the pro-Palestine side--or you can take flak from both.
ohsoordinary:
I don't even know why I speak anymore. You always seem to say exactly what I'm thinking better than I could before I even try.