A Special Place in Hell / The Second Gaza War: Israel lost at sea
We are no longer defending Israel. We are now defending the siege, which is itself becoming Israel's Vietnam.
By Bradley BurstonA war tells a people terrible truths about itself. That is why it is so difficult to listen.
We were determined to avoid an honest look at the first Gaza war. Now, in international waters and having opened fire on an international group of humanitarian aid workers and activists, we are fighting and losing the second. For Israel, in the end, this Second Gaza War could be far more costly and painful than the first.
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Turkish police stand guard in front of the residence of Israeli Ambassador Gabby Levy during a pro-Palestinian protest in Ankara on May 31, 2010. |
| Photo by: Reuters |
In going to war in Gaza in late 2008, Israeli military and political leaders hoped to teach Hamas a lesson. They succeeded. Hamas learned that the best way to fight Israel is to let Israel do what it has begun to do naturally: bluster, blunder, stonewall, and fume.
Hamas, and no less, Iran and Hezbollah, learned early on that Israel's own embargo against Hamas-ruled Gaza was the most sophisticated and powerful weapon they could have deployed against the Jewish state.
Here in Israel, we have still yet to learn the lesson: We are no longer defending Israel. We are now defending the siege. The siege itself is becoming Israel's Vietnam.
Of course, we knew this could happen. On Sunday, when the army spokesman began speaking of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in terms of an attack on Israel, MK Nahman Shai, the IDF chief spokesman during the 1991 Gulf war, spoke publicly of his worst nightmare, an operation in which Israeli troops, raiding the flotilla, might open fire on peace activists, aid workers and Nobel laureates.
Likud MK Miri Regev, who also once headed the IDF Spokesman's Office, said early Monday that the most important thing now was to deal with the negative media reports quickly, so they would go away.
But they are not going to go away. One of the ships is named for Rachel Corrie, killed while trying to bar the way of an IDF bulldozer in Gaza seven years ago. Her name, and her story, have since become a lightning rod for pro-Palestinian activism.
Perhaps most ominously, in a stepwise, lemming-like march of folly in our relations with Ankara, a regional power of crucial importance and one which, if heeded, could have helped head off the First Gaza War, we have come dangerously close to effectively declaring a state of war with Turkey.
"This is going to be a very large incident, certainly with the Turks," said Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, the cabinet minister with the most sensitive sense of Israel's ties with the Muslim world.
We explain, time and again, that we are not at war with the people of Gaza. We say it time and again because we ourselves need to believe it, and because, deep down, we do not.
There was a time, when it could be said that we knew ourselves only in wartime. No longer. Now we know nothing. Yet another problem with refraining from talks with Hamas and Iran: They know us so much better than we know ourselves.
They know, as the song about the Lebanon War suggested ("Lo Yachol La'atzor Et Zeh") that we, unable to see ourselves in any clarity, are no longer capable of stopping ourselves.
Hamas, as well as Iran, have come to know and benefit from the toxicity of Israeli domestic politics, which is all too ready to mortgage the future for the sake of a momentary apparent calm.
They know that in our desperation to protect our own image of ourselves, we will avoid modifying policies which have literally brought aid and comfort to our enemies, in particular Hamas, which the siege on Gaza has enriched through tunnel taxes and entrenched through anger toward Israel.
For many on the right, it must be said, there will be a quiet joy in all of what is about to hit the fan. "We told you so," the crowing will begin. "The world hates us, no matter what we do. So we may as well go on building [Read: 'Settling the West Bank and East Jerusalem'] and defending our borders [Read: 'Bolster Hamas and ultimately harm ourselves by refusing to lift the Gaza embargo']."
Hamas, Iran and the Israeli and Diaspora hard right know, as one, that this is a test of enormous importance for Benjamin Netanyahu. Keen to have the world focus on Iran and the threat it poses to the people of Israel, Netanyahu must recognize that the world is now focused on Israel and the threat it poses to the people of Gaza.
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Well written and I think quite right. Doing what your enemies want you to do is not really smart you know like going down that narrow walley, following the apparently fleeing Huns or Mongols and leaving your solid formation, the Franks stood fast in formation on that wooded hillside and won the day . I think that reading a certain Chinese book written by Master Sun could be something for both the governement and military of Israel. You have to go with the flow and adapt your actions after the everchanging present and maybe try to keep the friends you have and not to make new enemies, this is a new world now, the cold war is over,and young populations with wishes for action everywhere. If Israel would have let the ships in would that really have been a victory for the enemys of Israel?
Bradley, here in Canada we clearly saw the video of soldiers being attacked with clubs and more AS SOON THEY GOT ON THE SHIP. We could even see one Israeli being thrown over the side. This is an unfortunate situation, but I too would have defended myself first and worried about the backlash later. Canada seems to be a stronger supporter of Israel than its own journalists! Besides, we have not yet seen all the facts.
an opportunity to be seen, deservedly or not, as jerks by the rest of the world. And this in a time when you don' have to be a Shlomo Sand to see that the evidence for the justification of our existence is running thinner and thinner. Until all that will be left of that, if it isn't already -or hasn't been all along, is that we justify our existence merely by the mere fact that we exist.
Why are you so critical of Israel.....why do you not put the blame where it belongs....and that is not Israel!
"Now, in international waters and having opened fire on an international group of humanitarian aid workers and activists, we are fighting and losing the second." - Bradley Burston Mr. Burston, I have great sympathy for yourself and the many decent Israeli's who wish for a better nation. Having seen the ideology driven incompetence of the Bush junta in the United States I am fully aware that a rabid administration can drag any nation into the depths of depravity. This ill conceived and incompetently executed operation will haunt Israel for years. It is a self-inflicted wound. Having seen Israel struggle to become an accepted, respected and responsible member of the world's nations, I am appalled at the cavalier glee with which the last few governments of Israel have thrown that all away. Israel was the product of hard work and long vision with instant gratification shunned for long-tern goals. The men who are destroying all that was created for them seek only instant gratification and a temporary fix for problems they often bring upon themselves by such actions and impulses. Netanyahu, Lieberman and Barak no doubt prided themselves upon a decisive operation, and no doubt believed it would be a cakewalk. What they have done will haunt israel for decades. A concept I am certain was never even considered by the ruling triumvirate
I imagine that some people at NATO are hoping there isn't a phone call from Turkey using the phrases "NATO member", "our ships attacked in international waters" and "we would like to talk about the mutual defence provisions of NATO" - it sure would be a strong negotiating lever with some of Israel's big "friends".
Killing innocents? At international waters? Are you attacking to Turkish People? You have killed Turkish people? To all israel people..You did not attacked to arab people you have attacked to a civilazition who is as old as human history.Who has created modern army forms.Who has born as a soldier.Who has destroyed 5 nation in 1923.. You are succesfull to wake up turkish peoples anger..All country is full with protests agains israel..Our army canceled all operations and focused to this attack.Our president prime minister and other coming back from their politicial journeys.Commanders of our army are together to choose next step... Hey you people you thought that you own middle east and made a mistake by attacking the biggest of middle east..Israel Vs. FILISTINE is over anymore!Now it is time to fight for TURKIYE Vs. israel.. You are unlucky people my friends..You are unlucky anymore...
Firsth of all, if is true that Israel navy did block the flottila ar away the 20 miles from Gaza; there is no escape, It will be regarded as an act of piracy. As such unarmed civilian attacked by pirates, even in uniform, have a right of selfdefence. So the activist attacking the IDF commandos, will be judged internationally as defending themselves against very well armed "pirates", in feaar of their lives. The response of IDF commandos will be judged as criminal, as criminal will be judged the blockage of the flottila in international water. Israel prime minister, the defence minister and other Israelis politician who programmed all this will be judged as irrespponsibles criminals. It is only from today the news that there is discussion to including aggressions as criminal acts under international law. So the International criminal tribunal will be given the mandate to prosecute anyone in the world found guilt of aggression. Israel must say: MEA CULPA! Having acted so stupidly and foolishly.
@Bradley. I'm not sure I agree with your anology between Gaza and Vietnam apart from the fact that the agressor will eventually end up leaving after destroying what's left of the land but there is one element I agree with. The Iran connection. I'm just waiting for news from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office finding arms and ammunition with Iranian markings on board the flotilla which will exonerate the the killing of civilians in international waters. That will ease criticism of Isral and redirect the world's attention to Iran.
It is like Vietnam because its a war Israel should not have got involved in and a war Israel cannot win. The USA was the biggest military power in the world but it lost the Vietnam war. Britain, another major world power occupied the small country of Ireland for 800 years but the Irish have never given up and now 26 counties are free and the remaining 6 are on the road to independence from Britain. White South Africans imposed apartheid on their fellow countrymen for almost a century but Mandela marched out of gaol and became president of South Africa. The tiny country of East Timor ended the Indonesion occupation. History is not on the side of the opressor.
this is a crime against innocent actions and peoples against human freedom israel its a criminal and he will pay soon for his crimes
israel losing the fight it is not the might of muscles or nukes, it is battle to win the hearts of people - israel panic, israel losing. remove gaza blockade and you can rift some of the damage israel incurred on itself.
Israel was satisfied the last years with upholding the status quo, no terror attacks in israel. There was no need for negotiations with the palestinians, but they forgot that no one wants to be occupied. Israel is stronger and has the moral obligiation to end the status quo, to bring peace and not to live its comfortable life. It has to give from its wealth to its neighbours. Change your government and act finally, or the next war will come soon ...
that such a spin could be put on what is an act of war by a gang of criminals, seeking a propaganda victory. This is NOT Vietnam, in any shape or form, the contention is absurd. This is a case of a bunch of Israel-haters mounting an operation designed to make sure Israel emerges as the bad guy, whatever we do. But Bradley, you know that. Now Israel has not only been deprived of its right to defend itself under any circumstances by the international community - now we have Israelis parroting the international line. How puerile. We were within our rights to board the ship, within our rights to search the ship and once attacked, 100% within our rights to fight back. Considering that Gaza is run by a thugocracy with the declared aim of destroying Israel, a blockade of any shipment of any materials into Gaza by any group other than Israel is legitimate. Anything less is defeatist idiocy for which the whole country pays, even you Bradley.
but a government with a mental age of 5 years.
Either you can't see clearly or you are mental. The violence in preventing the flotilla is not symptomatic of something larger. It was something planned by the activists with a goal of thwarting a policy they violently disagreed with. And to call that policy Vietham shows a definite lack of either insight, mental soundness, and maturity.
Vietnam was pointless - the US kept fighting it because they didn't want to give up the point. Continuation of this idiocy led to worse disaster and more bluster to continue proving it had a point. This is the siege. The siege didn't work - hell Cast Lead didn't even work. Yet Israel intends to prove that they were right. It's like betting all your money on a horrible hand at poker because you think it will make for a better hand.
I don't see such similarities with Vietnam and Gaza. Also it was the "activists" or should we say terrorists that planned a deliberate provocation and attacked the soldiers, injuring a number of them.
I am not understanding how gaza is vietnam? The U.S. got involved in (at least 6,000 miles away)Vietnam in order to support a dictator who was an anti communist how is this like Vietnam? Secondly, how is Israelo st at sea. The Army did what any other army would do protect themselves and the country. The worst harm is caused by those who ( protected by the state of Israel)will try and demoralize the state with far fetched links of vietnam to Gaza to ruin people's morale when no honest ,semi intelligent human being would dare assert such a ridiculous link out of respect to his/her own self dignity.
The Israeli government's reaction is a sign of increasing panic attacks it's been suffering.
It was never more appropriate as it is now.
Hamas, Iran and the Israeli and Diaspora hard right know, as one, that this is a test of enormous importance for Benjamin Netanyahu. Keen to have the world focus on Iran and the threat it poses to the people of Israel, Netanyahu must recognize that the world is now focused on Israel and the threat it poses to the people of Gaza.