Tuesday, June 13, 2006
David Grossman's Foot in Mouth
One of the most comic developments in recent days concerned the
foot-in-mouth story of Israeli ultra-leftist writer David Grossman.
Grossman is a longtime political advocate of the Palestinian agenda.
In the wake of the explosion on the Gaza beach, Comrade Grossman lept
to the conclusion that Israel had "once again" intentionally murdered
innocent Palestinian civilians by firing at civilians on the beach. Now
let us emphasize that even if it HAD been an Israeli shell, the culprits
responsible would have been the Palestinian terrorists who were firing
mortars and rockets all that day at Israeli civilicans, necessitating
return fire. Had the deaths been the result of such return-fire by
Israel, then the guilt would have been squarely on the paws of the Hamas.
Just as the guilt for civilian deaths in bombing Berlin in 1944 was on the
paws of the nazis.
Except in this case, it turned out that the deaths were not caused by
an Israeli shell at all, but rather by a Hamas mine or rocket
(http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1150035838991&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
and http://israelnn.com/news.php3?id=105310). Even Haaretz had to
reluctantly acknowledge that it was not an IDF shell
(http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/726029.html), much to its intense
disappointment. The moment the word of all that
came out, the caring Left stopped caring about the innocent Palestinians
who had been blown to bits.
But it was a bit too late for David "Yellow Wind" Grossman. He had
already condemned Israel for the deaths in an Op-Ed in Maariv on June 11.
Here are some excerpts in translation:
David Grossman in Ma'ariv: We must wake up
[Translated by TOI-staff from Ma'ariv, June 11, 2006]
The view of the girl from the gaza beach, whose life was torn to pieces in
front of our eyes, must wake us up from a years-long hypnotic slumber.
Instead of worrying about "the damage to Israel's image", instead of
immediately starting to formulate the automatic, cliche counter-arguments,
we should take a good look at our handiwork. It is long overdue for us to
notice the slippery slope down which we sliding ourselves, and to start
asking which deep abyss lies ahead.
And why/ What is it all for? Where did we get by endlessly shooting at
"the Qassam launching sites", and by the "detention of wanted terrorists"
which takes place night after night in the Occupied Territories, and by
the "focused" assassinations which mainly murder innocents? How much
security for our future did any of these acts gain us? How long are we
going to remain silent and passive in face of a clique of "security"
experts - who turn out to be totally uninspired and incompetent even in
the field of their supposed specific expertise! - is continuing to lead us
into the same deadly "loop" in which our lives are trapped already for
decades: between blow and retaliation, retaliation and blow.
Today it is the girl from Gaza. Tomorrow Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv kids may
be paying the price of Palestinian retaliation. The IDF, once a daring
army full of original thinking, is already for many years moving like a
heavy mindless machine - hitting again and again at the Palestinians, and
managing only to drive ever deeper the feeling of humiliation and fury and
the desire for revenge.
***
For backround on Grossman's political extremism, go here:
http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=1053
and here
http://www.meforum.org/article/621
and
http://www.factsandlogic.org/letters_nyt_10_01_02.html
and
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/Summaries/V89I6P56-1.htm
2. Nice web site:
http://www.c4rpme.org/
3. Conspiracist petilence:
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/printable.php?id=202973
