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Days of darkness
By Gideon Levy

In war as in war: Israel is sinking into a strident, nationalistic atmosphere and darkness is beginning to cover everything. The brakes we still had are eroding, the insensitivity and blindness that characterized Israeli society in recent years is intensifying. The home front is cut in half: the north suffers and the center is serene. But both have been taken over by tones of jingoism, ruthlessness and vengeance, and the voices of extremism that previously characterized the camp's margins are now expressing its heart. The left has once again lost its way, wrapped in silence or "admitting mistakes." Israel is exposing a unified, nationalistic face.

The devastation we are sowing in Lebanon doesn't touch anyone here and most of it is not even shown to Israelis. Those who want to know what Tyre looks like now have to turn to foreign channels - the BBC reporter brings chilling images from there, the likes of which won't be seen here. How can one not be shocked by the suffering of the other, at our hands, even when our north suffers? The death we are sowing at the same time, right now in Gaza, with close to 120 dead since the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit, 27 last Wednesday alone, touches us even less. The hospitals in Gaza are full of burned children, but who cares? The darkness of the war in the north covers them, too.

Since we've grown accustomed to thinking collective punishment a legitimate weapon, it is no wonder no debate has sparked here over the cruel punishment of Lebanon for Hezbollah's actions. If it was okay in Nablus, why not Beirut? The only criticism being heard about this war is over tactics. Everyone is a general now and they are mostly pushing the IDF to deepen its activities. Commentators, ex-generals and politicians compete at raising the stakes with extreme proposals.
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Haim Ramon "doesn't understand" why there is still electricity in Baalbek; Eli Yishai proposes turning south Lebanon into a "sandbox"; Yoav Limor, a Channel 1 military correspondent, proposes an exhibition of Hezbollah corpses and the next day to conduct a parade of prisoners in their underwear, "to strengthen the home front's morale."

It's not difficult to guess what we would think about an Arab TV station whose commentators would say something like that, but another few casualties or failures by the IDF, and Limor's proposal will be implemented. Is there any better sign of how we have lost our senses and our humanity?

Chauvinism and an appetite for vengeance are raising their heads. If two weeks ago only lunatics such as Safed Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu spoke about "wiping out every village where a Katyusha is fired," now a senior officer in the IDF speaks that way in Yedioth Aharonoth's main headlines. Lebanese villages may not have been wiped out yet, but we have long since wiped out our own red lines.

A bereaved father, Haim Avraham, whose son was kidnapped and killed by Hezbollah in October 2000, fires an artillery shell into Lebanon for the reporters. It's vengeance for his son. His image, embracing the decorated artillery shell is one of the most disgraceful images of this war. And it's only the first. A group of young girls also have their picture taken decorating IDF shells with slogans.

Maariv, which has turned into the Fox News of Israel, fills its pages with chauvinist slogans reminiscent of particularly inferior propaganda machines, such as "Israel is strong" - which is indicative of weakness, actually - while a TV commentator calls for the bombing of a TV station.

Lebanon, which has never fought Israel and has 40 daily newspapers, 42 colleges and universities and hundreds of different banks, is being destroyed by our planes and cannon and nobody is taking into account the amount of hatred we are sowing. In international public opinion, Israel has been turned into a monster, and that still hasn't been calculated into the debit column of this war. Israel is badly stained, a moral stain that can't be easily and quickly removed. And only we don't want to see it.

The people want victory, and nobody knows what that is and what its price will be.

The Zionist left has also been made irrelevant. As in every difficult test in the past - the two intifadas for example - this time too the left has failed just when its voice was so necessary as a counterweight to the stridency of the beating tom-toms of war. Why have a left if at every real test it joins the national chorus?

Peace Now stands silently, so does Meretz, except for brave Zehava Gal-On. A few days of a war of choice and already Yehoshua Sobol is admitting he was wrong all along. Peace Now is suddenly an "infantile slogan" for him. His colleagues are silent and their silence is no less resounding. Only the extreme left makes its voice heard, but it is a voice nobody listens to.

Long before this war is decided, it can already be stated that its spiraling cost will include the moral blackout that is surrounding and covering us all, threatening our existence and image no less than Hezbollah's Katyushas.
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  1.   Are we living in the same place? 11:36  |  Israel Israeli 30/07/06
  2.   Days of darkness 11:54  |  Shirey Assaf 30/07/06
  3.   Gideon Levy 11:59  |  paul 30/07/06
  4.   To Israel 12:03  |  Moderate Lebanese 30/07/06
  5.   `We have to pay for our Karma` 12:15  |  Roger Martin 30/07/06
  6.   WE WILL NOT SURRENDER 12:17  |  indrajaya 30/07/06
  7.   Not "and" so much as because 12:18  |  sh 30/07/06
  8.   Gid`on, Listen to # 1 12:22  |  Avi Yerushalmi 30/07/06
  9.   Gideon Levy 13:04  |  noel 30/07/06
  10.   morality 13:25  |  Michael J Cohen 30/07/06
  11.   Roger Martin 13:30  |  Avi Yerushalmi 30/07/06
  12.   Roger Martin 13:32  |  Avi Yerushalmi 30/07/06
  13.   Ah Israel... 13:34  |  Radio Free Europe 30/07/06
  14.   Gideon Levy 13:35  |  Mordechai 30/07/06
  15.   Some sense 13:39  |  Agyatmitra 30/07/06
  16.   Yes u are living in the same place... 13:41  |  Arno 30/07/06
  17.   Gideon Levy 13:44  |  Dave 30/07/06
  18.   Israel Israeli 13:54  |  Radio Free Europe 30/07/06
  19.   Israel Israeli 13:55  |  Radio Free Europe 30/07/06
  20.   Changing times will bring changing results 14:01  |  Natallie Durson 30/07/06
  21.   Roger Martin #5 14:02  |  Ah 30/07/06
  22.   A true prophet 14:07  |  Tom 30/07/06
  23.   Reply to #11 14:10  |  Faith 30/07/06
  24.   When will we learn? 14:10  |  Mohsen 30/07/06
  25.   To Israel Israeli 14:11  |  Nouchka 30/07/06
  26.   Question 14:12  |  Radio Free Europe 30/07/06
  27.   R.F.Europe your pity would be more plausible if you had spoken up 14:13  |  PETER SM 30/07/06
  28.   Brave Levy 14:17  |  Eva 30/07/06
  29.   Levy`s mouth 14:31  |  wolf 30/07/06
  30.   Israel - hope or despair 14:55  |  Philip Gellhorn 30/07/06
  31.   The Beautiful Truth 15:01  |  Althea 30/07/06
  32.   Faith from Australia #23 15:04  |  Avi Yerushalmi 30/07/06
  33.   Thank you Gideon 15:05  |  sacha 30/07/06
  34.   darkness 15:07  |  JW 30/07/06
  35.   EXCLUSIVELY TO GIDEON LEVY 15:10  |  Lebanese 30/07/06
  36.   Philip Gellhorn 15:16  |  T A Sheppard 30/07/06
  37.   Grt Analysis - We all support you! 15:18  |  David 30/07/06
  38.   Gidoen the bravest leader in Isreal we salute you here 15:18  |  Haytham 30/07/06
  39.   Qana 15:27  |  Avi Yerushalmi 30/07/06
  40.   Qana 15:27  |  Avi Yerushalmi 30/07/06
  41.   Qana 15:27  |  Avi Yerushalmi 30/07/06
  42.   "Innocent Lebanese" 15:38  |  Israel Israeli 30/07/06
  43.   Moderate Lebanese. 15:39  |  West 30/07/06
  44.   a candle in the darkness 15:41  |  ruud 30/07/06
  45.   isaeli israel..shame on u 15:44  |  lebanon lebanon 30/07/06
  46.   Reporters 15:49  |  robert 30/07/06
  47.   UNJUST ACTS OF WAR 16:04  |  SIMON 30/07/06
  48.   To ruud 16:05  |  dan 30/07/06
  49.   gideon 16:06  |  victor 30/07/06
  50.   Thank you for your courage 16:21  |  Ionica 30/07/06
  51.   At last, someone who understands. 16:22  |  William 30/07/06
  52.   Israel did not want this war 16:22  |  Alfred Brodner 30/07/06
  53.   to Dan 16:35  |  jean 30/07/06
  54.   The IDF Magician does it again 16:35  |  ROFL 30/07/06
  55.   IF NO IMMEDIATE CEASE-FIRE - OLMERT & PERETZ IMMEDIATELY RESIGN 16:36  |  Smadar 30/07/06
  56.   u made us ur "enemies" 16:41  |  lebanon lebanon 30/07/06
  57.   Shame on you 16:41  |  Anna 30/07/06
  58.   Triumpf des Willens 16:45  |  Leni Riefenstahl 30/07/06
  59.   I respect you 16:47  |  Ahmad 30/07/06
  60.   Insensitivity and Blindness 16:48  |  Apocalypse 30/07/06
  61.   Sad there only one Gideon Levy 16:49  |  Jenna 30/07/06
  62.   PhilipGellhorn #30 17:01  |  Avi Yerushalmi 30/07/06
  63.   Jews are fed up with Israel`s crimes 17:02  |  John Levy 30/07/06
  64.   Dan 17:06  |  Nouchka 30/07/06
  65.   Jews must now speak out against Israel`s crimes 17:28  |  John Levy 30/07/06
  66.   Lebanon is the aggressor, has to pay the price 17:30  |  Bob 30/07/06
  67.   #42 Israel Israeli... 17:31  |  Sinalco 30/07/06
  68.   Fighting against Hezbollah darkness 17:32  |  Gil Feldberg 30/07/06
  69.   Peace and cooperation is the only lasting exit 17:33  |  Matias Ruiz 30/07/06
  70.   Answer to John Levy 17:41  |  Simon 30/07/06
  71.   Justification does not equal effectiveness 17:49  |  Richie 30/07/06
  72.   To Nouchka 17:49  |  Dan 30/07/06
  73.   RE: Days of Darkness 18:00  |  James Thomas 30/07/06
  74.   To Moderate(Irresponsible) Lebanese 18:01  |  Honest Abe 30/07/06
  75.   Gideon,a genuine Jew 18:06  |  Harlan Light 30/07/06
  76.   Darkest side of mankind 00:13  |  liberal 31/07/06
  77.   #48 Dan: exploiting holocaust 00:15  |  Bor de Wolf 31/07/06
  78.   Gideon Levy: the naive or the traitor 00:16  |  i.e. 31/07/06
  79.   It was all planed 00:17  |  Wiseplato 31/07/06
  80.   To Jenna, West and Anna 00:22  |  Susan 31/07/06
  81.   No stomach for this anymore 00:28  |  David 31/07/06
  82.