Helicopters and airplanes in unusual numbers and loudness flew over the nearby coast this morning as I sat translating an Arabic article about the anticipation of war in the Middle East this summer. Always a pleasure to see how the media enjoys heating things up when negotiations and processes are at a standstill. As though an absence of activity could only signify the calm before the storm.
Amidst the roaring choppers and plane engines in the nearby distance I received a phone call from a friend and she wondered if I had heard what happened.
No, now what?
Ten killed by Israeli Defense Forces in the Freedom Flotilla that has been heading toward Gaza with seven boatloads of humanitarian aide and nearly 700 international passengers. Ok.
And so began the search on the internet. Haaretz, New York Times and the BBC. The reaction and the thoughts followed.
Both a feature and a flaw, I aspire to view events and the stories of the people involved from as many angles as possible. Having lived in Israel for a little more than three years now, it is always true that the real understanding of a situation can be found in the grey area. However, regardless of whether the grey area illuminates motives and rationale that assist in comprehending the way things go down, the end result usually is that Israel finds itself in an unconscionable mess.
So I'll just start listing my problems and questions as they come to mind.
First, the blockade on Gaza. An act of collective punishment? Yes. Recently I read a list of permitted and forbidden items that can or cannot traverse the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, which was published by an Israeli NGO by the name of Gisha. Rice and beans and lentils, for example, are all permissible for entry into the Gaza Strip. However, cinammon and coriander seeds are not. Certain learning materials are able to be collected, others are not. My conclusion from reading the list is that the blockade seeks to severely lower the quality of life of the Citizens of Gaza. To make their life so bland and boring and difficult that they will collectively do something against their leaders. The blockade is not in place to merely monitor and prevent the smuggling of weapons that could be used against the State of Israel. The seige on Gaza serves to frustrate, intimidate and to control the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. It has little to no affect on the strength of its leaders in Hamas.
On the issue of humanitarian aide sailing in from distant ports of Cyprus, Turkey, Greece and so on. These missions do not help the people of Gaza. They are publicity stunts to provoke a response from Israel that will only serve to harm Israel's already sullied reputation as well as to illustrate to the Israeli people how ill-equipped its military forces and its leaders are in making decisions in a perceived crisis. Moreover, when I read dispatches through listservs of the people aboard these ships, I get the sense that they are living in a fantasy world in which they star as Robin Hood, Indiana Jones, or any other savior-hero type that is swooping in to save the day, in their very own choose-your-own-adventure novel. They have no idea what they are getting into when they board those ships and from what happened this morning, it is clear that their approach to humanitarian aide and how they represent themselves to the international audience is rather muddled.
What do I mean?
An informed person would know that when the Israeli Defense Forces makes a statement that your flotilla should not approach the coastal waters of its territory (occupied or otherwise), they are not joking. Moreover, if you are aboard a ship of humanitarian aide and you claim to be doing so for the sake of nonviolence and/or the rescue of the Palestinian people, you do not attack soldiers with knives and sticks or try to steal their guns (as mentioned in the BBC). Also, if you are an informed person, you would know that not too many months ago, the Israeli Navy intercepted a ship on its way to Gaza from Cyprus whose cargo, unbeknownst to its crew, consisted entirely of weapons from Iran, destined for Gaza. If your charge, as is that of the Israeli Defense Forces, is to protect your citizens, knowing that ships heading for Gaza are not necessarily just carrying humanitarian aide, why on earth would you allow your unit to permit the passage of these ships without, at least, a thorough search of content? What, Israel is supposed to take these people at their word? That would be the day...
From my point of view, in reality, it's all about the stardom and the glory. If it weren't, another outcome to this incident would have been possible. Israel offered to the Freedom Flotilla safe harbor in Ashdod. All the materials of the ships would have been inspected and granted passage to the Palestinians in accordance with the lists of permissible items. The participants would be processed and sent back to their respective countries. In this scenario, Israel would still be the asshole, the Gazans would get at least some of the aide, and the participants could return home, proud of their resistance and defiance of the seige against Gaza and tell all their friends and family how they stood up to the Israeli war machine.
But no, it didn't work out like that. In the end what has happened? No one has won.
14 people are dead. Tens of others are hurt. Soldiers and commanders are wounded. Everyone is being treated at the Tel Shomer hospital just outside of Tel Aviv. The Gazans do not receive the aid. Israel has yet another already lost public relations battle to fight. And Netanyahu meets with Obama tomorrow, supposedly. Wonder how that will go?
And meanwhile, the warmongers of the media are probably salivating over the rise in the mercury of socio-political tensions.
Me? No false pretentions here folks. I'll be praying that, at least, for the next 16 to 17 days, people will hold it together so that I can get married, as planned.
** As of June 2, 2010, I understand that nine deaths resulted in the aboard ship battle between activists on the Mavi Marmarra and the Israeli Navy. Not 10 and not 14. As of yet the identities of these deceased individuals have not been released. I do not know if they were bystanders or were in fact those who participated in attacking the Israeli soldiers that descended upon the ship. As per the information now available, as well as the feedback from certain individuals, I am deleting the value of "innocent" that I originally placed next to the number of deadly casualties in this event. As deeming them innocent is as premature a judgment as calling them guilty. Gil, I stand corrected. Thank you for your feedback and criticism. It made me do some critical thinking, which is always necessary in times like these.
