CAMERA.org: A Personal Perspective on the Israel/Hezbollah War

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http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=118&x_article=1165

July 31, 2006

A Personal Perspective on the Israel/Hezbollah War

Last Wednesday, the Israeli daily Ma'ariv published an article entitled: "The Destruction of a Nation" (Ma’ariv, July 26, 2006, p. 8) The writer was a Lebanese reporter who wrote about the dire circumstances in which she has been living since the war began. The article was published anonymously, according to the newspaper "in order to protect her."

Dr. Liat Ben David, an Israeli educator and mother of three from Maccabim who writes a weekly column about life in Israel, summarized the article and provided her own perspective:
The article does not criticize Hezbollah, but does attack Israel's harsh response which forces the anonymous Lebanese reporter and her friends to live under fire. According to the Lebanese writer:
<snip>

…not all Lebanese people want the Hezbollah, so why should all Lebanese people have to pay?...
…Today I am a refugee, since I can't return to my home.

<snip>
My perspective:

July 27, 2006

To the anonymous Lebanese reporter, Shalom.

It hurts, really hurts to read your words. It hurts first and foremost because your words sound so very, very familiar.
<snip>
Not all Israelis want war. Actually, I can tell you that almost all Israelis want peace, or at least quiet. And yet, all Israelis are paying the price. That's how it is in a sovereign country, and that's probably the main difference between us: if a group of people, big or tiny, had turned our life into hell, Israeli society and the Israeli government would do everything necessary to throw that group out. To destroy it. You can't just sit passively, fumbling your fingers and crying: "but it wasn’t me" - that is a lesson we learned in kindergarten, when we learned another lesson, one of the most important lessons: social responsibility. If a group like that would drag all of Israel into a horrific war – and every war is horrific – without us doing everything to stop them, than the consequences would be our full responsibility and we would have absolutely no right to complain that "this isn't our war." It is. If it comes from within my sovereign state, by my citizens, it is indeed my responsibility, just like it's my responsibility to take care of all my citizens – you know, those who need shelter, food. I can't sit back while this malignant cancer grows in me, and then cry that it has taken over. It's my responsibility to get rid of this malignancy on time, and if I don't – the price is mine to pay. Or, in the case of Hezbollah, yours.
<snip>
But Qana, just like the rest of south Lebanon, did not heed our warnings, and Hezbollah brought devastation upon it. As they are crying and counting their dead who had not left harm's way, we are counting our damaged walls while continuously trying to find ways that will keep the number of Israeli casualties and injuries as low as possible. And although it makes us look like the criminals, it is actually what makes us a human, civilized culture.

The images from Lebanon are indeed devastating and heartbreaking, and although we did everything we could to prevent such a horrific incident from happening, we are deeply sorry innocent children had to pay with their lives for the actions of Hezbollah. Having said that, we also promise to continue defending the lives of our people so that similar images will never be seen in Israel. That is a crime we will absolutely and without regret continue to live with.

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