Israel And Landmines

Like most of the war babies and early baby boomers I know, I grew up a supporter of the State of Israel.

I was two years old when the Israelis declared statehood. Growing up in post war America, the images of the Shoah were deeply vivid. We had not yet developed that horrible form of idiot the, "Holocaust Denier."

In high school, I like almost all of my friends and classmates read "Exodus" by Leon Uris. It, other novels, scholarly works, and many movies brought home an awareness that the Shoah could have been anticipated and stopped or at least mitigated and the world did nothing. In an utterly horrible way, R'Wanda reminded us of that.

Indeed in both cases, many "Christian" voices did less than nothing. In both genocides, Christians and Christian clergy were not merely silent: they were complicit.

I and my generation grew up with support for the independence and integrity of the Israeli state as a given. For decades that meant an automatic support for the Israeli government, and Israel in any conflict with the Islamic states that surround it.

Binyamin Netanyahu has done all he can to expend the automatic good will and support this legacy gave him in America and to some extent England and Europe. Recent Israeli actions in the Golan, convince me at least, that while we may support the existence and independence of Israel, we cannot morally support the Netanyahu government. My son Stephan brought this article to my attention. This quote is from the article.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's army is planting new land mines along its border with Syria in an attempt to dissuade protesters from rushing into the Golan Heights, according to a report in an Israeli military magazine.
The preparations come as part of Israel's beefed-up measures ahead of rallies that Palestinians are planning to hold in September, the magazine Ba'mahaneh reported over the weekend.
Israel came under heavy international criticism earlier this year after its troops opened fire on Syrians and Palestinians who broke through the fenced border into the Golan Heights during a pair of demonstrations. Around 35 protesters were killed.

I urge you to read the article. Then contact your Senators and Representatives of if you are Canadian or English, MP's, and let them know. We really cannot support this. Western countries should stop every penny of aid, training, and support they give to Israel. Especially they should halt all intelligence and other military support.

Landmines specifically targeted on civilians are utterly immoral. Civilized nations cannot support this. Waiting until the body count rises is wrong. We have to learn that lesson from the Shoah, the Cambodian killing fields, and R'Wanda.

I know we are all focused on the rolling debt disaster our central bankers have visited on us. But we cannot any of us ignore this. Silence is complicity.

FWIW
jimB