Israel - Twenty-Seven Years LaterAuthor
David Hester

This work is in the public domain

Israel - Twenty-Seven Years Later
"Some problems are never solved - they just get older."
David Hester, 07/26/2006

Twenty-Seven years ago I had an opportunity to spend an extended period of time in Israel. Prior to my arrival in Israel, I had been well indoctrinated with the belief that "Israel is our only friend in the Mideast", and had been given to believe that Palestinians were Terrorists. Being of a naturally contrary nature, I had my doubts, and what I saw and experienced while in Israel surpassed my worst suspicions.

Fact:
In 1979 I spent six months on the Israel - Lebanon border, just north of Kiryat Shmona, in a community called Kibbutz Misgav Am. During the time I was there I witnessed the types of "games" that our ally Israel plays. During the entire time I was there, Israel conducted endless cycles of "pre-emptive" shelling, followed - only occasionally - by return fire of a Katusha rocket from Lebanon which usually hit the farmlands outside of Kiryat Shmona, whereupon Israel would loudly announce that they had been attacked, and would immediately stage massive indiscriminate shelling or would send US made F-15 fighters into action over Southern Lebanon.

Fact:
On at least three occasions, while at Misgav Am or while working in the Hula Valley I witnessed US made F-15 fighter jets fly north from Israel directly on the border between Syria and Lebanon; I was told by Israelis that the object was to get Syria to try to attack the jets. On one occasion, I believe in July of 1979, after watching the F-15's enter Lebanese/Syrian airspace, I heard multiple explosions to the northeast. Later I was told that the Israeli jets had downed several Syrian MIG's.

This was of particular interest to me because I am a military (Air Force) brat; my father retired to Eglin AFB in the Florida Panhandle where the F-15 was flight tested. I recall the sale of the jets to Israel, and the controversy at the time. The US government had sold the jets with the provision that they be used for defensive purposes only. What I witnessed in Israel ran directly contrary to what the American people were told.

Fact:
Also in July of 1979, I witnessed, over a period of several days, an IDF Armored Personnel Carrier, and several jeeps being repainted with the colors and markings of the Lebanese Christian Militia. After the vehicles were painted, I witnessed the IDF soldiers, now dressed in uniform of Lebanese Christian Militia, drive the vehicles north towards the Lebanese border. When I asked about this, the (laughing) response was that the Lebanese Christian Militia was just a joke.

Fact:
At one point while at Misgav Am, I took a day trip with a group of Israelis to an area near Mt. Hermon. The area was apparently known for the fierce fighting that occurred there during the Six-Day War, and we were told before our arrival to be wary of potential unexploded ordinances. We were told that if we found anything looking suspicious that we should mark it with a small pile of rocks to warn others. When we arrived, the area was somewhat bleak and rock strewn, with small cairns of rocks scattered here and there marking potential danger points that had been identified by previous visitors.

As I walked with my group, I found what I recognized as a bleached human coccyx. I indicated this to my companions, but they said it was just some animal bone. After a few more steps, I found half of a pelvic girdle, and nearby a femur. I laid the bones out so there could be little doubt as to what we were looking at. My personal feelings were of sadness at the loss of this human life - a body shattered by the workings of war, and family - most likely - never knowing what happened to their father, son, or brother. My Israeli companions reaction differed from my own; I witnessed a complete and startling indifference. The only comment made by one of the girls with the group was "Do you think it was an Arab or a Jew?"

Fact:
I traveled extensively in Israel, the West Bank, the Golan Heights, Gaza, and Sinai. In every instance, within the Palestinian territories, I was warmly received and well treated by the Palestinian people. The same cannot be said of the Jews in Jerusalem, where Ultra-Orthodox Jews (Hasidim) threw rocks and spit at me. Regarding this behavior, I was told by my Israeli companion that "this is normal [for them]", and that I should "just ignore it."

Fact:
In both Gaza City and Nablus (on the West Bank) I witnessed deliberate provocation of Palestinian youth by M-16 toting IDF soldiers. In Gaza city, I witnessed a group of IDF soldiers beating an unarmed Palestinian youth, and an older Palestinian woman hit in the stomach with the butt of a rifle for trying to intervene.

My Conclusions

I am very familiar with Judaism, as well as the history of the Jewish people. I have a great respect for the faith, and bear no grudge against Jews of any stripe - including the Hasidim of Jerusalem. However, I am also well informed as regards the history of Zionism, and the history of Israel, which I believe must be considered as an entirely separate issue from that of Judaism.

As with all of history, we cannot change the past; Israel is a fact, and as such it must be dealt with. I would not turn back the clock to a time when there was no Israel - for good or for bad, Israel exists. I would also say that as a sovereign nation, Israel has the right to defend herself. I cannot question this any more than I question the right of any nation to secure its borders and live in peace and prosperity.

What I question is whether Israel has the will to live in peace and prosperity with her neighbors, or whether the aim of the Government of Israel is to forward the agenda of Zionist expansion through continued annexation of Arab lands. Bearing out my personal experiences, to date, I have not seen any indication that the Government of Israel (quite apart from the people of Israel) has demonstrated a willingness to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the Palestinian issue.

I have been an eyewitness to multiple calculated deceptions whose clear intent has been to provide excuses for ongoing aggression against the Palestinian people and her neighbors. I have also been an eyewitness to the attitudes and beliefs that the Israeli educational system and media imprint upon their youth; attitudes that are not conducive to the creation of a peaceful resolution to the ongoing and unending violence. The world has borne witness to the Israeli hand in such episodes as the horrific massacres in the Palestinian Refugee Camps of Sabra and Shatila in 1982.

To the Israel Firsters and the apologists here in the US, I say this: Israel is a foreign nation - and like any other foreign nation should be treated by the US in exact accordance with its' ability to exist peacefully as a member of the world community, and its' ability to serve US interests. Today Israel chooses not to exist in peace, nor is it serving of the best interests of the United States. When all is said and done, Israel's wars are not our wars; her problems are of her own making and are not our problems; finally, Israel has displayed a shocking lack of moral values that is not compatible with the high ideals that our Great Nation has traditionally espoused. With this said, there is no reason for the US to continue the foolish and destructive policy of unconditional support for Israel.

The current situation in Lebanon isn't anything new - it's just more of the same. It was the first President of Israel, Chaim Weizmann, who when asked about the Arab/Israeli conflict, said "Some problems are never solved - they just get older." In recent days our own President, in typical Presidential style gave us another quote: "… stop doing this shit and it's over." I think he's right - something I rarely say about President Bush - however, it isn't Syria and Hezbollah who should bear the blame; It is Israel herself who should heed the warning. Until they "stop doing this shit" the problem will just continue to get older.

Comments are welcome and can be sent to dhester2 (at) liberateus.org


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