As John Lennon said, violence begets violence.

I was on the way home after picking up my sick daughter from school this morning when I heard on the car radio that a bomb exploded near Jerusalem’s central bus station, injuring more than 20 people.

According to the Washington Post, “the bombing comes amid a sharp escalation in violence along Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip. On Tuesday, eight Palestinians – four civilians and four militants – were killed inside Gaza in two separate Israeli military strikes. Israel’s military said it was responding to increased rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.”

Frankly, I’m befuddled by the whole Israeli–Palestinian conflict. I think the Jewish people deserve a homeland and the Nazi genocide of six million Jews more than half a century ago was of course atrocious, despicable and almost unfathomable. But Israel is more than a little ham-handed in the way it treats the Arab people who used to rule the land it now calls its own.

I hope nothing bad happens to me for writing that last sentence.

It seems like 'free speech’ doesn’t apply when you’re speaking about Israel; if you say anything negative, you’re labeled anti-Semitic. (Reminds me of my experience with Friends of Bill, who labeled anyone questioning the effectiveness of Alcoholics Anonymous or objecting to its religiosity a dry drunk in denial.) The effectiveness of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) – the powerful lobbying group that advocates for pro-Israel policies in Washington – aside, Israel’s actions and the billions of taxpayer dollars it receives from us each year shouldn’t be undiscussable. As of 2008, Israel was the top recipient of US foreign aid.

I’m still shaken by the death eight years ago last week of Rachel Corrie, a young American woman run over by an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) bulldozer made by Caterpillar while protesting the demolition of a Palestinian home in Gaza. The Israeli government promised a full and transparent investigation but that didn’t happen.

And I thought it was more than a little sad that veteran Washington reporter Helen Thomas was fired last year after publicly criticizing Israel. Just goes to show that you can cover every president from Eisenhower to Obama, write six books and be the first female officer of the National Press Club, the first female member and president of the White House Correspondents' Association and the first female member of the Gridiron Club but the minute your pro-Palestinian tendencies are revealed, you’re out of there.

I realize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is incredibly complex and intricate and difficult to understand, let alone address. But if we can’t even question any of Israel’s decisions or express sympathy for the suffering of Palestinians, I don’t see how the cycle of violence can end.


Sources: Washington Post, ynetnews.com