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.”

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Comment on Gaza

Thoughts for Parashat Vayera, October 19, 2013 Wickedness is a Strange Malady

 

By Rabbi Marc D. Angel
Used with permission

The Torah describes the wickedness of Sodom as being pervasive enough to be punished by God’s destruction of the city. There were not even ten righteous people in the entire city. When the men of Sodom surrounded Lot’s home with the intention of doing harm to Lot’s guests, the Torah informs us that the wicked group included “both young and old, all the people from every quarter” (Bereishith 19:4).

Is it really possible for an entire city to be so steeped in evil? How can we imagine a town so corrupt that not even ten good people lived there?

If we peruse human history, we find instances of entire societies becoming mired in corruption, violence and wickedness of every kind. The names of Stalin, Hitler and Pol Pot come to mind when we ponder the fate of humanity during the past century. These tyrants were able to mobilize their forces to destroy millions of innocent people. Their henchmen followed their orders blindly, even when those orders entailed the most shameful and immoral cruelties.

But tyrants and their henchmen succeeded in terrorizing their societies because many citizens were too afraid to rise in resistance. The “silent majority”—although composed of people who were not innately evil—went along with the evil by looking the other way.

Tyrants utilize brute force. But they also utilize psychological warfare and intimidation. They vilify anyone who stands up against them. Those who resist the tyranny are branded as traitors or trouble makers. The tyrants, whose goal is to control the people into total submission, accuse opponents of attempting to control society. The tyrants, whose goal is to maintain total power for themselves, vilify opponents as being power-hungry.

And the masses stay quiet. And those vilified by the tyrants become frightened into silence.

Although there no doubt were good and brave people who found ways of resisting the evil dictators, they were so few that it may have appeared from a distance that “both young and old, all the people from every quarter” were accomplices.

In Ibsen’s powerful drama, Enemy of the People, Dr. Stockmann found that the water sustaining the local health spas was contaminated. His scientific tests proved beyond a doubt that the water would be dangerous to people who would bathe in it. Instead of being thanked for saving the lives of potential patrons of these spas, he was vilified by the leaders and the masses of the town.

His findings would ruin the town’s business. He was branded as an eccentric trouble maker who exaggerated the problem for his own glory. At a town meeting, Dr. Stockmann was declared an enemy of the people. He was fired from his position. His children had to leave school. The windows of his home were shattered. His patients were told to find another doctor. He was ordered to write a public repudiation of his scientific findings, which he would not do.

Were all the people of Dr. Stockmann’s town evil? No, they were not. But they were less concerned with truth and health than they were with their pocket books. If word got out that the spas were unhealthful, then the town—and its people—would lose the income brought in by tourists. If the town leaders agreed to have the water supply improved as per Dr. Stockmann’s suggestions, it would cost a lot of money and would take several years to accomplish. The people did not want to pay for the repairs and did not want to lose two years of business. They were not concerned about the endangerment of the lives of tourists; they were not concerned that if patrons of the spas got sick, people would finally realize that Dr. Stockmann’s reports were correct.

Wickedness is a strange malady. It doesn’t only come from wicked people. It also comes from weak people, frightened people, people more concerned with their own immediate gains than with the long-term needs of society. Wickedness is not the monopoly of vicious tyrants and dictators; it is shared by lower level manipulators and demagogues who seek to control and intimidate. It is shared by those who tolerate wickedness and who succumb to the lies and propaganda of the wicked leaders.

The Torah’s account of the wickedness of Sodom stands as an eternal warning about what can happen to a society if evil is allowed to persist, if good people are intimidated into passivity and silence.

The story about Sodom is not only about Sodom.

The Angel for Shabbat column is presented as a service of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals. Please visit the website jewishideas.org for a wide array of articles of special interest to those who wish to foster an intellectually vibrant, compassionate and inclusive Orthodox Judaism.

The article above is found at http://jewishideas.org/angel-shabbat/wickedness-strange-malady-thoughts-parashat-va