(Ynet News) Tal Dror - I once asked two Swedish activists why they came to Israel of all places? Why not Syria? Egypt? Russia or China? One of them replied, "Are you insane? These are all extremely dangerous places!" And that's when it hit me. These people know that nothing bad is going to happen to them here. The massive exposure of the Israeli officer who struck a protestor, and the amount of condemnation it received, proves how unusual this incident was. After all, in Egypt or Syria you would become another dead body on the street. In China or Russia you would find yourself imprisoned for the rest of your life if you even attempted to raise your hand against a local police officer or soldier. For many of those foreign peace activists, this is all just a game. They come from all corners of the world to a faraway country they have never been to before. They confront soldiers and policemen, blocking roads and holding signs. Moreover - as long as they have their cold beer by the end of the evening, as long as they lay their heads in a comfy and friendly hostel - they will continue to arrive. They take advantage of what we're most proud of: our freedom, democracy and tolerance. I hope they will embrace how lucky they are to be "spoiled radicals" here with us. Hopefully they will realize that if Israel disappeared, they will not have anywhere else to go.
2012-04-27 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive