Opuscula Perspective

This is keyed in Yavne, Israel.

Yavne is fairly close to an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) air base.

Consequently, the noise of IDF aircraft — and occasionally a single-engine civilian high wing — is common and, for this scrivener, of no concern.

Besides, I grew up with aircraft noise of all types.

 

BUT, I WONDERED TO myself: “What must the noises I find familiar sound like to Israel’s enemies, particularly those stuck in Gaza.”

Gaza’s despotic leadership — Hamas and Islamic Jihad, both Iranian proxies — stupidly make and break cease fire agreements with Israel, fire unguided missiles at Israeli civilian centers, knowing Israel will retaliate.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad use the locals as propaganda tools, hiding war materiel under UN schools, mosques, and other public facilities.

When Israel strikes back, some public facilities are targeted; rarely, civilians — that is, people who neither are aligned with Hamas or Islamic Jihad (IJ) — sometimes are injured or killed. All this makes for great anti-Israel pr in the world’s media. (Never mind that usually only one side of the story is promulgated.)

 

Two points that need to be abundantly clear.

1. Israeli civilians include not only Jews, but Muslims, Christians, Druze, and “others.” The missiles are indiscriminate.

2. A number of Hamas/IJ missiles fall short of the Gaza-Israel border, killing Gaza citizens, children, young adults, seniors: again, indiscriminately.

 

Hamas/IJ sympathizers whine that

a. Gaza lacks Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system

b. A “disproportionate” number of Gazans are injured or killed in Israel’s retaliatory strikes. Do they want Israel to kill its own citizens for “proportional” numbers?

It is a waste of effort reminding these sympathizers that if Hamas/IJ ceased firing missiles at Israelis, Israel would not be retaliating.

The leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad — a few ruling from distant countries — should be glad Israel has a relatively solid missile defense. If not for Iron Dome, it is possible Israeli casualties would be far higher, prompting a massive invasion of Gaza, with all the associated “collateral damage.”

 

If there was peace

Granted, peace with Gaza’s rulers is a pipe dream, but imagine if Hamas and Islamic Jihad actually wanted to benefit the people rather than kill or enslave Jews.

Gaza could have

* A deep water seaport

* A restored airfield (https://tinyurl.com/2j4767c7)

* Fresh water

* Fuel for electricity generating plants

* Increased exports to the region and the world

* Relatively unrestricted travel to Israel (employment, medical care) and Egypt (access to Europe)

However, peace won’t happen with Hamas/IJ in control of Gaza.

Gazans who want peace and a better life need to cast off the despots, admittedly a difficult task and one requiring outside help. Unfortunately, that does not mean the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (a/k/a UNRWA). UNRWA would be out of business if Gazans made and sustained a peace agreement with Israel.

The mindset “From the river (Jordan) to the Sea (Mediterranean)” espoused by Hamas and Islamic Jihad must be replaced by one of coexistence with Israel.

Such coexistence has proven beneficial to Egypt and Jordan as well as Israel, and indications are that this also will be true for the nations of the Abraham Accord; nations brought together by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Could Gaza survive sans the PLO. Would an independent (from Iran and its proxies) survive as part of a “Palestinian” state or even as an independent entity?

When Israel controlled Gaza — Anwar Sadat refused Menachem Begin’s plea to take back Gaza as part of the Egypt-Israel peace agreement — Gaza had a thriving export business.

With a peace agreement with Israel, Gazans would have access to Israeli technology, technology freely shared with other Muslim (and non-Muslim) states.

But peace will not, cannot, happen while Hamas/IJ are in control and in turn are under the control of Iran.

But imagine.

No more missiles flying in either direction.

No more Israelis or Gazans injured or killed in conflict.

An economy that supports a livable income.

Fresh water and reliable electricity for the Strip.

And that is just the beginning.

 

Meanwhile, the planes keep flying about my abode. I’m used to the noise.

But I feel for the ordinary folks in Gaza.

 

 

 

 

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

 

 

 

Comment on Perspective

Opuscula Gaza: How PLO, Hamas destroyed People’s prosperity

WHEN ARIEL SHARON FORCED ISRAELIS OUT OF GAZA, the Muslims — then under PLO control — destroyed the greenhouses the Israelis left behind.

The facilities were dismantled and, with that, Gaza’s opportunity to become a force in the export of flowers and vegetables to Europe and Israel.

AN ARTICLE ON SEVERAL ISRAELI news sites tells Israelis that what is left of the greenhouses is being used against them today.

World Israel News (WIN), headlines: Hamas Leader: ‘We Make Rockets from Leftover Israeli Irrigation Pipes’ (https://tinyurl.com/yx6zseqp).

According to WIN, “Yahya Sinwar recalled how a farmer took him to Gush Katif and showed him the abandoned irrigation lines left by Israeli farmers during the 2005 Gaza withdrawal.

““Then, a simple farmer approached one of the men from the Brigades. He said: ‘I heard that you’re having a problem with pipes for missile production.’ The young man told him this was true. The [farmer] said: ‘I will give you the solution for this.’ [The young man said:] ‘What is it?’ He answered: ‘Come with me,” Sinwar said.

He recalled how the farmer took him to Gush Katif and showed him the abandoned irrigation lines left by Israeli farmers during the 2005 Gaza withdrawal.”

Cutting off nose

Had the PLO encouraged Gaza’s residents to take over the hothouses when Sharon forced the Israelis out, Gaza could have assumed Israel’s export trade and, overtime expanded it.

Had the PLO, later Hamas, been wise, the Strip’s economy would be far better than it is today.

Had the PLO, later Hamas, not put attacks on Israel ahead of all else, it could have received Israeli support to expand and improve the hothouse businesses; Israelis are offering technical expertise to Arabs within Israel and, in some cases, to Arabs in occupied Israel (e.g., the so-called "West Bank”).

Had the PLO, later Hamas, not put murder of Jews as their first priority, Gaza’s Arafat International Airport could still be functional and a sea port could have been established.

Had the PLO and, later, Hamas, refrained from attacking Israeli civilians, Gaza residents could more freely access Israeli medical care — and have Israeli medical personnel help modernize Gaza medical facilities — but the PLO and Hamas and now Islamic Jihad put killing Israeli civilians ahead of advancing the people they “govern.”

Had the PLO and, later, Hamas and now Islamic Jihad, foregone attacks on Israeli civilians the border crossings would be open longer. Had Islamic Jihad foregone attacks on Egyptians, that border also would be open more often.

Sodom & Gomorrah, Dresden & Nagasaki Genesis (18 24-33) includes a discussion between God and Abraham where the latter pleads with the former to spare the town if there are 50, 40, 20, 10 decent people there. In the end, Sodom (and Gemorrah) were destroyed — there is physical evidence of this historical event.

During World War 2, the nazis bombed London and some other civilian sites. In return, English and U.S. air forces fire bombed the German city of Dresden and killed hundreds of civilians while destroying the city. (Why not Berlin?)

Ending Japan’s war on the world, President Harry Truman approved dropping two atomic bombs on two Japanese towns with minimal military value: Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Both towns and the Japanese government were warned of the impending doom. (Did the Japanese government allow people to flee from the cities?)

While those who believe in the Bible and its stories understand that in all of Sodom there were not even 10 worthy people, surely Dresden, Hiroshima and Nagasaki had at least 10 people who did not support their government’s war on the world (from the U.S., all across the Pacific Ocean, and into Indo-China and Korea).

It is reported that there are people captive in Gaza who want Hamas and Islamic Jihad — and maybe the PLO, too — out of power. (Likewise there are “civil disturbances” in Lebanon and Iran; there is civil war in Syria.)

Because there ARE people who would, given the opportunity, “choose life,” it becomes a morally difficult position to “level Gaza” (or Lebanon or Iran, or even Syria and the PLO jihadists in occupied Israel).

Mutual destruction

When the U.S. and the then Soviet Union were the only nuclear powers, we lived in a time of “cold war.” Neither country was willing to attack the other knowing that if it did, the retaliation would be swift and complete.

Now the “nuclear club” has expanded to include many nations, some less stable than others, Worse, some of these nations don’t share “western” respect for life.

China has so many people, losing a few million to a nuclear attack might be beneficial.

Iran and its proxies WANT to die so they can go to Allah and get 70 virgins. Mothers WANT their sons and daughters to grow up to be shahids (martyrs); they are taught this is their purpose in life from kindergarten on.

"When a man comes to kill you, kill him first."

But do ALL Iranians etc. WANT be to shahids?

Did ALL of the people in Dresden actively support the nazis? Did all of the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki actively support the emperor?

As an aside, when I was a kid in school, we had air raid drills; “The Russians are coming.” When I lived in Israel, my best friend was from the Ukraine and his story was the same as mine, only for him, “the Americans are coming.”

עינים להם ולא יראו * אזנים להם ולא יאזנו

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

Comment on Gaza