I tread into the lion's den of Israel/Palestine diaries with a bit of reluctance, given the amount of invective these topics tend to occasion, but I do so in order to focus on a larger question, which is how Israel's government is being incompetent and self-destructive. Join me after the fold to see what three well-known columnists in the Israeli newspaper, Ha'Aretz, have to say about this.
Amos Harel, the well-known defense correspondent, analyzes the failures of Israeli decision-making at every step, in "Straight into the trap." You owe it to yourselves to read the entire article. Harel is one of the most informative and respected Ha'Aretz correspondents. I will give you only the setup for the article, which contrasts the reaction by the Israeli public with the international uproar over the incident:
The Israel Defense Forces had little trouble explaining the naval commando raid yesterday to the Israeli public. The troops slid from helicopters into a violent crowd, which attacked them with sticks. It's no wonder the troops opened fire in self-defense.
The situation in the international arena, though, is the diametric opposite. No matter how much effort it invests, Israel will never be able to explain to the world how nine civilians were killed, without a single death on our side - and the dead are citizens of the country that was until recently our best friend in the region. The consequences of this incident will necessitate a far-reaching investigation of the decision-making process and the execution.
Zvi Bar'el, another well-known Ha'Aretz correspondent, focuses on the reaction of Turkey. The title of the article - Whatever Turkey does, it will be bad for Israel and good for Hamas - summarizes the gist of it well:
Turkey has many options, and every one will affect Israel negatively. Among the available options are a lawsuit against Israel for violating international law and attacking Turkish vessels without provocation, calling on the UN Security Council for an emergency meeting, and engaging Egypt in direct talks in order to convince Cairo to open the Rafah crossing and to officially recognize the Hamas government.[...]
With this move, Hamas hopes to shatter the policy of sanctions Israel has imposed on Gaza. Egypt hoped it would not have to get involved in blocking the Gaza aid convoy and that Israel would take the responsibility exclusively upon itself. But Cairo is now starting to feel the strain, and is beginning to understand that it will need to provide practical answers to the public pressure Turkey and other Arab states are exerting.
Resuming my authorial voice for a second, I'd say that one of the most idiotic and incompetent aspects of recent Israeli policy has been its callous disregard for the feelings of the Turkish public and the government that represents them. One would think that a Muslim-majority military ally would be a precious thing for a country that so high a percentage of Muslims regard as an enemy, and also that Israel's erstwhile alliance with Turkey was of key strategic importance in a whole host of ways. But no, apparently not to the current Israeli government.
Finally, Yossi Melman focuses on a broader historical perspective, stating that Israel has forgotten the lessons of the Exodus. Again, you owe it to yourselves to read the entire article, but I will quote a few key points:
Israel's decision-makers should have revived memories of Israel's own history. It shows just how short a historical memory the prime minister, defense minister, chief of staff, and Navy commander all have. They don't remember the story of the Exodus ship in 1947.
The British Mandate authorities imposed a blockade on the shores of the land of Israel and Jewish leaders believed it was their right and their duty to break it. The Jewish immigrants on the Exodus decided to forcefully oppose every attempt to stop them. The Jewish leadership wanted to arouse the world's conscience and gain a victory in the
battle for international sympathy.
In our day, Hamas leaders believe and act similarly. Without getting into the question of the justification or logic of the blockade imposed by Gaza and its residents, it was indeed clear that it was only natural that Hamas would try to break the blockade by force. They have been doing this by means of the smuggling tunnels and via the sea. It was clear that they saw it as their natural right to oppose attempts to stop the ships.[...]
No matter how one looks at the conduct of the Israeli government and the IDF, it is hard to understand how stupid and tragic it was. Time and again, Israel tries to prove that what can't be solved by force can be solved by more force. Over and over, the policies of force fail. The problem is that with each failure, the part of the world in which we would like to belong is losing patience with us.
I will end with some remarks about why we should care about the idiocy and incompetence of the Netanyahu Government in Israel. Of course, the first concern we should all have, as human beings, is with all those who have suffered and been killed or injured as a result of Israeli actions. But as Americans, we would be very foolish to ignore the effect that wrongheaded, deadly Israeli policies have on us.
It would be quite unwise for President Obama and his Administration to just make weak statements about an attack on a NATO ally's ship (see Israel's attack tests NATO Doctrine for more coverage of this aspect), as part of an extremely high-visibility international incident. But even without that element, the fact is that Israel is seen by most of the world as an extension of the United States and its foreign and military policies. We arm them, send billions of dollars in military aid to them, have very deep security and intelligence cooperation with them, and have for decades shielded them from condemnation by the United Nations Security Council.
I hope that President Obama's withholding of condemnation before he has all the facts is just that, and will be followed by a clear statement and actions that will speak to the World community. Israel has choices, and made the wrong one. America also has choices. And the choice of tolerating and enabling Israeli idiocy and incompetence that redound to our detriment would be the wrong choice, I believe, for them - but certainly, for us.