A Toast for Peace

A culture of war over fourty years infects all aspects of life. People come to believe violence is a quicker, easier resolution of conflict rather than discussion and moderation.

Roi Ben Yehuda has summed it up quite well. Israeli society is shaped by violence and will always be shaped by violence. In a sense, it is the victim of the violent foundations upon which Israel was built and the continual conditioning of the Israeli society by the military and security establishments that Israel is always in a state of war; game theory is also applied here. Israeli society is really the victim of the "establishment".

When I lived in israel in the 80s there was as much violence in one year as there is in one week now.Why? Israel had destroyed its social state and has moved to be just another westernised country with alienated and cut off individuals with no sense of common humanity, thats why.

i can tell you that israel is 100 times safer than the safest city in south america.for exemple in caracas you have 130 murders per 100.000 habitants.big citys of brazil are more dangeuros than iraq.in israel i walk in the streets at night and i know that i will come back alive!!

I am constantly struck by how often both authors and posters use the basic subject matter as a sort of "springboard" to launch themselves into an barely-related topic; i.e. (to be ridiculous) using a article on breast cancer as a handy vehicle for attacking the "cancer of free speech" (a.k.a. opposing views). In any event, I fully agree with both of you that it can seriously detract from the point he or she has set out to make. Having said that, let us be ever-mindful that obsessions die hard!

http://tinyurl.com/murderrankings Information like the above can be found in a few seconds on the web. And why do people like Roi Ben-Yehuda have to include comments such as "Perhaps he may even decide on leading"? Jane

Why do people like Roi Ben-Yehuda spoil an otherwise interesting article by their inability to suddenly insert phrases such as "Perhaps he may even decide on leading". I gave up on the article at that point. How violent is Israeli society? Well you have 12 times as much chance of being murdered in the US as you have in Japan and the US is almost continually at war whereas Japan isn't which suggests that "War is a violent teacher", might be correct. The US ranks 24 for murders however, and many of the countries that are ranked way above it aren't and haven't been at war for a long long time. Israel doesn't even make it into the top 62 so what's to be assumed. That Israel has been at war since it was founded and is not a violent society at all when compared to others. http://tinyurl.com/murderrankings Martin

One thing the author failed to consider is how American culture has impacted Israeli society. My first time in Israel in 1978: one TV station, a strong collective identity, a strong pioneering ethic of building the state, more equality btwn the classes. At that time violent crime was very rare despite 30 years of warfare & terrorism. Do not discount the impact of American-style consumerism & the now huge gap btwn rich & poor, among other factors.

society go back many e=years and few generations. I spent few weeks in Israel about 10 years go. I had an opportunity to talk to several teachers. They were telling me about violence among their pupils. Their explanation focused Israeli culture, and, moreprecisely the slow damage done tothis country by the occupation of the West Bank and (at that time) Gaza. They argued that young Israelis grow in a culture which promotes coercion and violence as the problem solver.

With the exception of Ehud, #5, all the above comments were written by contributors not living in Israel. They are not here, in Israel, the chances are good that they do not truly comprehend the social, psychological and emotional changes that the past six decades of war have wrought on the Israeli ethos. Ehud's point considering the demographic changes in Israel since the 1940's is perhaps valid, but is certainly not the only reason for the obvious increase in certain type of violent crimes in Israel. People far from the area send their children to the grade and high schools located in Kibbutz Yad Mordechai and Zikim because of the almost total lack of drugs and violence as compared to near-by towns and villages. My kibbutz has allowed land for some 100+/- houses to be built for non-members who want to build in a "safe area" in spite of the fact that hundreds of Qassam rockets that have landed around the kibbutz during the last 8 years. There must be a reason.

An additional source of stress could be the following: Modern Israel began with a largely homogenous population, a common purpose, and a clear view of the external threat it faced. It has evolved into a nation with a diverse demographic, one with competing political and religious goals; and now many Israelis perceive the threats they personally face as being not only "external" but "internal" as well. That could make an already anxious population even more so.

So a Muslim holocaust is the answer? Maybe you shoud move from Christschurch to Hells kitchen with vitriol like yours........why is it such a leap to compare Israeli "supporters" like you to the rise of fascism and the murder of 6 million Jews....you could be a poster boy for what never ending violence meted out on the Palestinians spawns and justifies....

According to a study by Haifa University the murder rate in Israel has been constantly one of the lowest in the world over the last 20 years (about 2.3 per 100,000 citizens per year compared to the US with 7.5, or Russia with 15). The perception of "rising violence" is the result of the local media's obsession with crimes and gossip (more rating) as well as neglecting the fact that Israel has inow a population of 7.5 million citizens, not 750,000 in 1948. South Africa, on the other hand, is at peace with its neighbors, yet rape (every 14 seconds) and murder are rampant. Mexico hasn't seen a war in 100 years, Rio de Janeiro hasn't seen one for hundreds of years, yet you do not want to stop there at a red traffic lights even at midnight. Even for a noble goal such as peace complex reality should not be twisted by willful selection of poorly performed and ideologically motivated sociology "research".

Now, the security situation was even more stressful than the current one. The Fedayin, the constant assault on the small mochavim whose members had to stay night shift during the nights and till the farm during the days, that was stressful. The Sinai and then the 6day war, then Yom Kippur. In the meantime "the Morocco Saccin" was the Waddi Salib and the Black Power whose main efforts were to bring about JUSTICE and EQUALITY among the citizens of Israel, especially the Moroccan who were then as now the majority of the Serpharad. But, something happened: we decided to evacuate the Old Soviet Union of its Jewish nationals, at any degree of Jewishness, no matter just to bring East European hordes to balance out the growing Sephardo-Mizrahi Israelis. Lebanon, the First War as well went by with Statistic showing that crime is at a very low level. After 1989, thinks started to show worriness, which has nothing to do with stress among the citizens. Now, one can jump into conclusion ....

To B.B. as much as i like you, also you are a good leader. I say this you cannot and will not achieve your goal of peace. Arabs as you may know there history does not know the meaning of peace. Much of arab world wants Israel wiped out and i regret to say the western world to. You also face a muslim religion which you cannot defeat on paper. War is the only solution to the problem, the muslims would welcome this, it is in there blood also their pride. As much as i want Israel to have ever lasting peace, that my freind can only happen by wiping out the muslim religion. You need to wipe out Iran, Palistine, Hamas, Hizabella, Fata and the surrounding areas that threaten Israel. I forgot to mention Alkida, they must be wiped out in order to achieve your goal for peace. There is no other way. To give in to an arab, is a sign of weakness to them, they just as soon as kill you, after that pride steps in. It has been that way always for the last 2000 years, today nothing has changed.

THIS WILL TAKE AT LEAST 100 YEARS.