Welcome to Fry'd Daze - What is it.... Well, it is a long running diary series that is an Open Thread on issues around the Middle East. Anyhow, this is week 2.37
I don't want this to be a flame forum, Rather something we can exchange ideas about I/P and/or issues about the Middle East.
What I really want to try to do this on Fry'd Daze as a way to get people to talk about whatever comes into their heads regarding this subject... an open forum where people can meet and talk
This was a big week and as we head into the Jewish Day of Atonement Yom Kippur (in my mind the highest of "High Holidays - again in my mind not stating this as fact) we have a number of stories.
The first is the killing of a West Bank Hamas Leader. As we know Hamas has threatened and is doing all it can to disrupt the Peace talks. They have declared themselves in alignment with 10 other militant groups (evidenced here in Ma'an News). As a result of that and their recent military activity the Israelis are going after Hamas. Last week this resulted in the tragic killing of two innocent Palestinian farmers by Israeli forces. On Friday AM in the Middle East, Isrel just killed Iyad As'ad a 38 year old military commander of Hamas.
Israel claims As'ad came running at them, Ma'an News reports he was killed in his home shot three times in the chest and neck. Stories and reactions are here: Fayyad: Tulkarem killing endangers peace and IDF kills West Bank Hamas strongman amid rising tensions
In response to this Ynet reports: Hamas vows vengeance over Shilbayeh killing and that despite PA condemnation over this Hamas is saying this is their action as well:
Hamas spokesman Salah Bardawil told the Palestinian Ma'an News Agency that the "resistance is capable of striking harshly at the occupation. Our battle with the occupation is not just about action and retaliation. It is a fateful battle that will never end."
Another spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, said that "the murder was the result of negotiations" between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. He too blamed the PA and Fatah, saying "the occupation authority and Fatah are accomplices in the assassination."
The Peace talks are already on thin-Ice, however, they do seem to be moving forward in spite of Hamas' attacks (including one using White Phosphorus) and Israel's refusal to extend the settlement freeze despite the askings of the U.S. and P.A.
Our Second Story revolves around being this is Yom Kippur - a bit of introspection is called for. This next piece is a column in Ha'aretz by Margret Atwood: Margaret Atwood / Suffering of Palestinian children is something both sides can agree on
For instance: What about the Palestinian children of Area C? (Area C, for those witless innocents who have never heard of it, is not that part of the West Bank controlled by the Palestinian Authority, nor is it Gaza, for which Israel now claims no administrative responsibility other than blockading it. Instead it is that part of Palestine entirely occupied and controlled by Israel since 1967. ) According to a 2009 report by Save The Children U.K. called "Life on the Edge," the rate of malnutrition of the children in Area C is higher even than that in Gaza, and many kids are not only developmentally stunted, but are dying from related illnesses.
Is Israel responsible for this situation? Yes, because it alone controls the Area C Palestinian population's access to food and its ability to earn a viable living. Is there a "Yes But" that could possibly justify the conditions being imposed on these children? Unless the report is lying, I can't think of one. Even the most wild-eyed extremist can hardly claim that children under the age of seven are terrorists.
There's a traditional china-shop sign: If you break it, you own it. Israel owns this problem, and Israel should fix it. Or does it really want an international campaign in which every doughnut shop in North America features a collection box, a sad-eyed child holding a dead sibling, and a stack of outrage-generating leaflets? Write your congressman: Tie aid to Israel to action on Area C child malnutrition and deaths? Give at church, save an Area C baby? Or how about: On the Day of Atonement, when considering wrongs to other human beings for which you bear some responsibility, start with the children of Area C?
As Atwood writes... there is no "Yes, but... " in this case. These are Children we are talking about. As a father of two boys ages 7 3/4 and 6 I feel this keenly. Children did nothing to create this situation. They are not at fault and should not be punished. The settlers children are not "legitimate targets" as one person at DKos maintained in a recent diary and the Children of Hamas or in the Occupied Territories should not be subject to collective punishment despite the actions of their elders (on both sides). Atwood, is absolutely right here. This is a heartbreaking story and children need not be victims no matter what.
Finally in news of the Freakin' Ridiculous: Holocaust denier David Irving to begin leading tours of Auschwitz next week
Holocaust denier David Irving will begin leading tours of the former Nazi death camps of Auschwitz and Treblinka next week.
The discredited British historian is also scheduled to lead a group of American and British tourists in the former Warsaw ghetto. His tour brochure promises an experience far removed from the "tourist attractions of Auschwitz". He will charge the tour participants $2,650 each.
To qoute one of my favorite books: The Milagro Beanfield War - "Welcome folks to the World Series of Darkness".
For all of my Jewish friends: Shanah Tovah and Gmar Hatimah Tovah to you and all your families.