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Killing Children in Gaza and Israel
Here's a simple premise upon which people of good will agree: Killing children is wrong. Perhaps that seems far too simple to be the base of foreign policy and international relations--but what is religion for if not to call us to a higher ethical standard than politicians or generals uphold?
Killing children is never morally defensible. It is indefensible when done by rockets and suicide bombers, but it is equally indefensible when done by F16s, aerial bombardment, tanks and ground troops, or for that matter, by slow starvation, lack of medical supplies and care.
What if the world community said, to both Israel and Hamas: "Stop doing it!" Stop killing children and please, stop giving yourselves moral scoliosis trying to bend your ethical spine into justifications for doing it.
What might the options be, if we took the morally indefensible ones off the table? They would come from a different prime directive. "Kill what threatens you" is a simple response to danger that we all understand, and that has guided everything from our global politics to our approach to garden pests. But attempts to exterminate pests simply breed resistance: superbugs, flesh-eating bacteria, terrorism. Organic gardeners work from a different directive: "Feed what you want to grow". Create conditions that give a competitive edge to beneficial bugs, food and flowers. Reward and nurture every sign of positive growth.
Let's look then, at what Israel's options might be. I start with Israel, because Israel has the broadest range of choices, and the most power to altar the situation.
Israel sets the conditions of life for Palestinians in Gaza. Israel controls the gates to what is truly an open-air prison, where no one can enter or leave without Israel's permission, no goods can pass in or out. Suicide bombers and Hammas rockets can and do make life for Israelis insecure, dangerous, frought with anxiety and loss. But Hamas cannot prevent foodstocks from entering Israel or stop an Israeli student from leaving the country to study. Hamas cannot deny medical care to Israelis nor prevent ambulances from reaching hospitals. All this, and more, Israel can and does do to Gaza.
Israel therefore bears a larger share of responsibility for creating the conditions that have fostered violence. And, even if you debate that conclusion, what's far more important is that Israel also has a larger range of options to change those conditions and foster something else.
Had Israel taken this approach when Abbas came into power, she would have allowed him to improve life for the Palestinian people. The Israelis could have eased restrictions in the occupied territories, opening up checkpoints that prevent Palestinians from moving freely between their homes and their work or fields. They could have stopped the encroachment of illegal Israeli settlements deep into Palestinian territory, and prevented the more fanatic settlers from harassing and attacking Palestinians. They could have opened up new economic and educational opportunities for Palestinians, and built both support for Fatah, Abbas' party, and for peace.
Instead, Israel built a huge separation wall, confiscating thousands of dunams of Palestinian land to do so, ruining the livelihood of many farmers and villagers in the areas which had been the most mild, moderate, and friendly toward Israelis. Israel could have negotiated her withdrawal from Gaza in a way that strengthened the prestige of Fatah, and left them in a position of power. Instead, she pulled out unilaterally, with no discussion or negotiation, leaving Abbas undermined and conditions ripe for Hamas to prevail in the internecine fighting that ensued.
Repression is terrorist recruitment. It breeds hatred and despair that lead to violence just as dank, dark spaces breed mold. If you want to eradicate the mold, you can douse the whole area with bleach, making yourself sick from the fumes. But the mold will grow back. If, instead, you let the sunlight in and open the cavity to fresh air, the mold will recede because it will no longer have the conditions it needs to grow.
Hamas also has other options than firing rockets into Israel. With much of the world feeling a deep sense of revulsion at the overkill of Israeli military response, Hamas could gain moral ground by agreeing to a new cease fire and returning to the path of diplomacy.
But to do that, Hamas must have some sense that the world community will enforce the terms of a true cease-fire, with open border crossings that allow food, vital supplies and medical aid into Gaza, and let goods, workers and students out. A siege is not a truce--it's simply a slower form of war. A siege was in force before the rockets resumed firing, and a return to siege conditions will not bring security nor peace for Israel or Palestine.
What can the international community do, other than deploring the violence?
Among the Palestinian people as a whole, there is a powerful and growing movement for nonviolent civil resistance against the Occupation. It's strongest in the West Bank, but has also been an active force in Gaza. Demonstrations waged by Palestinians and Israelis together, along with internationals, against the wall built by the Israeli military that has confiscated Palestinian lands in villages all along the border. It's a movement that is almost invisible to the world, ignored by the media, repressed by the Israelis but continues, persistant, stubborn, encouraged by even the tiniest measures of success, for even the smallest success in Palestine is a ray of hope in generally hopeless situation.
The international community can support that movement, reading about it, learning about it, writing about it, making it visible and offering material support. We can recognize that there are strong voices and active resistance among Israelis and the diaspora Jewish community calling for a just peace and a recognition of Palestinian humanity.
We can pressure our politicians and governments to press for an immediate cease-fire and to do effective diplomacy that recognizes the rights and needs of both Palestinians and Israelis. Only a just solution, that protects all the children of both Israelis and Palestinians, can bring about peace.
For more information about nonviolent resistance among the Palestinians, see www.palsolidarity.org. To read more about Starhawk's own experiences with the International Solidarity Movement, go to the archives at www.starhawk.org.
By
Starhawk
|
January 13, 2009; 8:37 AM ET
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Posted by: Elfina | January 14, 2009 11:37 AM
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Let's put it this way. Starhawk is a pacifist. I am not.
There is, however, no honor in any of this BS. People want to posture about what's 'holy,' they can put down the guns and bombs and have it out with the spears and short blades their books were made for.
Till then, no 'moral high grounds.' For anyone.
You're blowing apart children, the lot of you.
No excuse.
No excuse.
You want a fight, do it properly.
Posted by: Paganplace | January 13, 2009 10:22 PM
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" ASTORIA Author Profile Page:
Here PP- Israeli soldiers using Palestinian children as human shields for the past few years-
It is an uncomfortable viewing-"
Hey, Victoria. It's *all* uncomfortable viewing.
Does not matter who does what. I say, all these people want to get Iron Age and Scriptural, give them Iron Age weapons. I say, if it's good enough reason to justify bombs, I'm sure they're all devout enough to call out champions nd handle it with the short blade, right?
Don't come crying to a Pagan about who bombed who first.
Gods.
Any of you so tough and righteous, do it properly.
Feh.
Posted by: Paganplace | January 13, 2009 10:16 PM
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While I absolutely agree with everything you say, I seriously doubt our leaders will be taken seriously. I do not believe anyone will take our advice on cleaning, my Sister in Faith, until we show our finesse at cleaning our own mess.
Posted by: hywela | January 13, 2009 8:20 PM
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For the record- no Israeli children have been killed-
13 Israeli deaths- 10 of them soldiers- 3 of THOSE from friendly fire-
so a full 23% of Israeli deaths are from---the Israelis-
A bit unbalanced as far as stats go-
Posted by: ASTORIA | January 13, 2009 8:02 PM
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Here PP- Israeli soldiers using Palestinian children as human shields for the past few years-
It is an uncomfortable viewing-
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=israeli+human+shields&search_type=&aq=f
Posted by: ASTORIA | January 13, 2009 7:59 PM
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But the fact is, the world will not accept a truce- it ignored the 6 months of ceasefire that Hamas honored and has sat silently by while Israel repaid that cessation of activity with 30 months of concentrated destruction of the infrastructure- destroying over a thousand power companies, hospitals, sanctions against every necessity- no medical supplies, food or water flowing into this open air prison.
How is encouraging Palestinians to accept mutely their abuse a solution for any but Israel?
Only Israel would benefit from this- as the last 2 1/2 years have proven.
To date= 900 Palestinans have died in 18 days-
in an offensive conveniently started 2 days after Christmas and right before Bush leaves.
40% of those fatalities are children.
90,000 Palestinians are currently homeless refugees (again- as Gaza is already a refugee camp.
At what point will Israel and her supporters point the finger of responsibility at themselves?
Still- always blaming the victims- but instead of just sticking up for and defending what is clearly inhumane in every way- it is their responsibilty to respond to the maiming and death of real children with a peaceful submission to their occupiers?
Posted by: ASTORIA | January 13, 2009 7:57 PM
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Well, as fights go, it seems at least Hamas has managed to alienate much of the rest of the Muslim world. Frankly, they're picking a fight cause things aren't working out so well for them, and using innocents as cover for launching rockets at more innocents.
It's ugly, but it looks pretty clearly like it's meant to *force* a military response so they can keep their own influence (by putting Israel in a position of heavy-handed intervention) in a place where people are disillusioned with them.
None of this, of course, presents a solution. The solutions *have* to be in the non-violent areas.
News of more horrors from the region has a way of...numbing me, these days. Here's hoping, at least, that the people in the region will have had enough of looking for religious justifications *for* the violence, and instead be more interested in finding some reasons to *end* the violence.
Posted by: Paganplace | January 13, 2009 1:03 PM
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Can someone tell me how people with so little understanding of Middle Eastern history, the politics of the Israeli/Arab conflict, and just plain ethics themselves get chosen to write essays for broad distribution on the Washington Post web site?
Posted by: captn_ahab | January 13, 2009 10:29 AM
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Kind Starhawk you amaze with the simple gift of wisdom
Your shining truth so simple to all
Just kill no babes with guns nor mauls
A truth that's so self evident
We wonder our sense it went
The acts that none can justify
A world where all has gone awry
How can they play this ghastly chess
And think that it some God will bless
There must be a special place in hell
For those who sound a babe's death knell
And sadly there for all to see
All sides for war are lit with glee
They seek their greatest victory
But bring forth the mother's tragedy
Posted by: pseudo | January 12, 2009 10:33 PM
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Reason, beauty, and compassion from Starhawk, as always. Thank you!
Posted by: Arminius | January 10, 2009 12:01 PM
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Finally, a voice of reason from someone who has been there. Thank you, Starhawk!
Posted by: LaurelYves | January 10, 2009 10:32 AM
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I agree that repression is just sowing the seeds for a future generation of terrorists. The more violence, the more people will become embittered and turn to Fundamentalism and violence. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. It's high time that someone tells that to the Israelis and the Palestinians. Unfortunately, that's a part of the world where memories of injustices run deep, and they're too busy fighting about who did what to whose ancestor back in the Crusades. Non-violence is the better way, but getting a culture steeped in millenia of revenge to embrace non-violence is a tall order.
Posted by: Athena4 | January 9, 2009 7:53 PM
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The comments to this entry are closed.
Thank You Starhawk for sharing true wisdom and using your loving, caring spirit to enlighten and inspire.
The difficulty is overcoming the insidious and refractory disease of power and hate. Fear, weapons, murder, revenge, religion, lies, and false justifications are the tools that men create to fit their selfish needs. The Nazis used patriarchal Christianity as a foundation for their slaughter of the Jews, the Israelies use their patriarchal religion as a false justification to steal land and power with violence and murder. They have become like the Nazis. I am sorry, but their is no justification to kill. I believe that written in the Christian religion and also in the Jewish religion there is the teaching and law that "thou shall not kill". What hypocrites.
How can someone say they are ProLife and yet condone killing and war. Hypocrites, murderers, theives, liers, you are the evil that you so preach about eliminating from the world.
The truth is the truth no matter how you try to spin it, it still is the truth. You must open your heart and mind to see the truth.
I belong to no religion, yet I am a very spiritual person. My beliefs are grounded in the natural world and are guided by only one thing, LOVE. Love of all things and all creatures.
I will not become like another and destroy life just to justify my own existence. Yes, I will protect myself and those I hold most dear, and that also includes the world and everything in it. I will use every way I know how and will learn other positive ways, but I will never kill.
May the sun shine on every heart
And release the suffering and hate.
Let the rain wash the ignorance from the mind
And nourish the growth of understanding.
Then rainbows will dance across the sky
To celebrate Peace and Love.