- #1
exeric
- 39
- 0
I think that besides the Iraq policy of the US government the biggest blunder of the current administration is its uneven-handed dealing with the Palestinian-Israel question. It seems like the bulldozing of Palestinian homes and the continuing infiltration of Israeli settlements get short shrift with our government. And the continuous decrease in the Palestinian quality of life due to Israeli checkpoints and everyday humiliation is given no attention whatsoever.
No one says that Palestinian suicide bombing is a justifiable response to this. Killing someone that has nothing to do with the cause of your plight is always wrong - and that's what terrorism does. Yet Palestinians have been pushed to the breaking point by Israeli policy and the effect has been that the Palestinians have been broken. They have nothing left to lose and that's why suicide bombing holds the allure it does.
So here is the controversial question, and I don't want any anti-semites to use this question as an excuse to wade in:
Did the Holocaust of WWII have such a profound emotional effect on the citizens of Israel that the hawks there can't recognize that in this case the terrorism is simply a response to Israeli despotism? It may be that the Holocaust has given some (not all) Israelis the feeling that they are ALWAYS victims. Perhaps this is an unconscious national tendency that has never been dealt with openly. And if this is the case it may have the effect of creating situations where some Israelis can claim victimhood by terrorism. In other words, the Israel Palestinian problem may be a result of a psychological trap caused by the Holocaust.
No one says that Palestinian suicide bombing is a justifiable response to this. Killing someone that has nothing to do with the cause of your plight is always wrong - and that's what terrorism does. Yet Palestinians have been pushed to the breaking point by Israeli policy and the effect has been that the Palestinians have been broken. They have nothing left to lose and that's why suicide bombing holds the allure it does.
So here is the controversial question, and I don't want any anti-semites to use this question as an excuse to wade in:
Did the Holocaust of WWII have such a profound emotional effect on the citizens of Israel that the hawks there can't recognize that in this case the terrorism is simply a response to Israeli despotism? It may be that the Holocaust has given some (not all) Israelis the feeling that they are ALWAYS victims. Perhaps this is an unconscious national tendency that has never been dealt with openly. And if this is the case it may have the effect of creating situations where some Israelis can claim victimhood by terrorism. In other words, the Israel Palestinian problem may be a result of a psychological trap caused by the Holocaust.