Some Thoughts on Israel

The following is a blogpost by Jeremy Vernon on his blog Jeremy Vernon - Geek & Analyst

Let me first make the requisite disclaimer that I am not an expert in this field whatsoever and although I try to be factually accurate in my observations obvious bias and subjectivity will creep in. However, for myself I wanted to put this in writing just to take a snapshot of my thinking on the issue.

It seems in my company, my family and friends, that they are universally opposed and highly critical of Israel and its actions in a large scale. This I find troubling not so much because there is little to be critical of, but the ridiculous distortions or misunderstandings they retain over why they should be critical of Israel and what it is Israel is doing.

Perhaps I’m parroting a certain deputy party leader when I think that Israel is attempting, not always completely successfully to strike a very difficult balance between protection of its people from the greater evil of terrorism through the lesser evil of heavy handed treatment of terrorists and their allies.

The Human Rights Watch, oft-cited as biased AGAINST Israel watches 70 nations and issues reports on them. In 2003, 2004 and 2005, 350 such reports were filed by HRW. A total of 5 dealt with Israel and the Occupied (Disputed) territories whereas 60 reports dealt with the Arab countries and Iran.

Obviously the brunt of criticism against Israel is on its foreign policy, or policy as it relates to what some feel are foreign concerns - Gaza Strip and West Bank. Organizations like the Mossad face heavy criticism by many for their shadowy and allegedly corrupt practices.

When one judges things like this it must be taken in the context of the goals of what they’re doing. Obviously violence is an unpleasant thing and its use must be justified. The Mossad, a relatively tiny intelligence organization is infamous for its espionage in actions such as Wrath of God (made famous in the film Munich). The United States retains the CIA, an organization that although superficially more accountable than the Mossad has been accused of detaining and torturing thousands through out its history. Not to mention attempting or supporting coups in various governments through the use of contras or CIA bankrolled narcotics operations.

The Mossad however, isn’t what gets everyone’s blood roiling when discussing Israel. When people think of Israel they think of jet fighters firing missiles at civilian targets, tanks rolling through villages destroying buildings while women clutching children flee in terror as the IDF occupies and summarily demolishes their homes. People imagine Israeli soldiers arresting civilians indiscriminately in some fascist attempt at rooting out terrorists.

Unfortunately these images are not too far from the truth on occasion. Israel is first and foremost self-interested and self-protective, as any rational nation in this world is - one cannot be the beneficent provider or honest broker if one is not protected. Israel as is plain, is not particularly aggressive, certainly not in the vein of Bush Doctrine large scale preemptive attacks. Israel is unafraid to protect itself through violence, and this is to be expected considering the dire threats it has faced since 1958, threats that far outstretch and overawe those posed by Iraq to the United States.

Here are some questions I’m asking myself, what is a comparable nation to Israel’s situation that has proven to be a better model to have made better decisions given the circumstances around them? What nations who have been continually active in an independent (ie, non-UN) but defensive military action are regarded as respectful of human rights? I wouldn’t know how to answer those questions, so I’m more than welcome to hear some response.

Again, to disclaim, I do not want to seem that I am unequivocally defending Israel’s foreign policy merely that it appears in my experience and with what information I have gathered - however limited. That people’s conception of Israel and the morality and ethicalness of its foreign policy and the factual truth behind it don’t seem to jive. In the sense that there is at least a tacit if not over resentment of Israel’s behaviour and actions that does not take into account the context that Israel fights for existence.

One would think that as Westerners we would be more hopeful and supportive of the only liberal democracy in the middle east, and would spend more time focusing on keeping nations like Saudi Arabia or Syria under the scrutiny of the media and in deliberation of the court of public opinion.