War and Memory
How is the Arab-Israeli conflict to end? One long pursued goal was the eventual colonization of the territories which, once complete would remove the quasi-state of the Palestinians and make it easier for Arabs to eventually accept the status quo.
However the Gaza disengagement has represented a repudiation of that policy (although it is by no means without any support). So now a great difficulty arises, there are the Palestinian territories and Lebanon which are home to great anti-Israelis sentiments and groups representing those sentiments and the Israelis can easily intervene with force in those places.
Yet they accomplish little of lasting value, especially as it does not want to occupy them which in a conventional war is considered victory. Israel responds because it’s civilians are killed, whether a few a month or dozens depending on the period in question and because it can.
In terms of lasting impact this is harder to explain, no poorly aimed Katyusha or suicide bombing can topple the Jewish state, that is a basic fact beyond any reasonable dispute, also beyond dispute is that air strikes that destroy buildings and incur collateral damage created and maintain anti-Israeli sentiment and too that those strikes are not permanent solutions.
It just seems that a huge response to periodic rocket attacks that rarely kill people and even then in small numbers will not reduce the total number of casualties that will be incurred by the time the conflict ends. As it will produce more not fewer attacks, more not less anti-Israeli sentiment.
The conflict cannot end as long as every generation of Arabs in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories knows someone who died or a building demolished, who witnessed the desolation of their country and knew Israel had inflicted it, their children will hear of what was endured and their hearts will be filled will anger and resentment.
The destruction of infrastructure is also counter productive. I can imagine the next Hamas election campaign now “oh, well we did the best we could, any lack of improvement is of course because of the Israelis bombing campaign†and as it is partly true many will believe them. Israel by setting back development efforts is shooting itself in the foot.
Let people live on, ignore small attacks and be restrained in response, memories and personal grudges will fade, and there will be hope for peace. These attacks cannot destroy Israel, but in its response Israel may destroy itself by sowing the seeds of future conflict.
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The Israelis have memory too. It offends me when people suggest the Israelis have more capability to “ignore small attacks.” Like what? Like someone blowing themselves up in the cafe district in Tel Aviv? Like a rocket wiping out power to hospital wing where their auntie was recovering from surgery?
I TOTALLY agree with what you’re say in a lot of this post, but please. The Isrealis are not immune from loss and the pain it causes. You think they don’t know someone who died? Someone who saw their fields hit by katyushas? Someone who’s kids were scared when they were rushed down to the shelters for the 20th 30th 40th time before they were 12?
Think about it.
“I TOTALLY agree with what you’re say in a lot of this post, but please. The Isrealis are not immune from loss and the pain it causes. You think they don’t know someone who died? Someone who saw their fields hit by katyushas? Someone who’s kids were scared when they were rushed down to the shelters for the 20th 30th 40th time before they were 12?
Think about it.
”
Yeah I should have talked more about that in the post because that is why Israel responds.
It is of course a knee jerk reaction that no level of periodicly fatal attacks is acceptable for a self-respecting country I was only arguing that in terms of the results that it isn’t worth it.
In politics the appearance of doing something about a problem is often as desirable to the government as actually solving it. It would take a lot of guts for a politician to come out and actually say the problem would go away if ignored.
However it is true that they don’t really threaten the continued existence of Israel as a state, a nation, the attacks just aren’t effective enough to do that.
One reason the conflict goes on is that it goes against human nature in many ways not to retaliate when one is able to do so. The tragedy in all this.