The Palestinian Underdog
I think it’s natural to root for the underdog. At some time I suppose we all do. So it’s not surprising that there has accumulated an international groundswell in support of Palestinian statehood. After all, Israel has been economically, politically, technologically, and militarily the stronger of the two opponents for…well…forever, it seems.
But action without thought is reckless. Â When we begin to actually think about the underdog, it starts to look strangely more like a rabid coyote than some cuddly domestic hound.
The latest example was the distribution of candy in Gaza in “celebration†of the savage massacre of five members of the Fogel family by Palestinian terrorists. But this is just the latest. Relentless rocket bombardment of Southern Israel, Palestinian children strapped with bombs and sent off by their mother’s to be martyrs, the targeting of innocent Israeli civilians while they ate, commuted or just got on with their lives. Where is recognition for the restraint exhibited by Israel time and time again where no other country would have tolerated such assaults and tragedy without retaliation?
It’s important to remember just who the aggressor is in this drama because there is a plan and a timetable underway by members of the United Nations to recognize a state of Palestine that will include Gaza and east Jerusalem. That’s the plan. The timetable is September 2011. And it seems our President is on board as well.
If you think action without thought is reckless, you “ain’t seen nothin’ yet.â€
The United States is currently engaged in three wars within Muslim countries. There are countless uprisings and revolutions in the Arab world taking place. Much of what we see is violent or portends violence.
It is foolhardy and dangerous to think that at such a time Palestinians, granted statehood under terms that rob Israel of a portion of its capital and return to the Arabs land that was fairly gained by Israel when it was attacked in 1967 by the Arab world, will result in anything other than emboldening the Palestinians to recommit to their charter. That charter, which has never been amended, calls for the destruction of the State of Israel.
It is imperative that we, as human beings, do our best to bring dignity and the necessities of life to every living being on the planet. It is not, however, imperative that we act without thinking and thereby reward barbarity and inhumanity.
Let’s demand that the Palestinians first eschew violence as a negotiating tool before we pass out the candy.