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Israelis Don't Appreciate the Politics of Gestures

(Pajamas Media) Benjamin Kerstein interviewed by Michael J. Totten - "Officials in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere are much less naive than their public statements make them appear. I don't think many of them believe that the peace process, for instance, is nearly as easy as they say it should be....They're smart enough to know that a lot of it isn't Israel's fault, but by blaming most of it on Israel they can buy themselves leverage in the Arab world. I think the Arab world understands this perfectly well, that it's the politics of the gesture." "When foreign governments say Israel has to make concessions and take responsibility for the conflict, Israelis take it all very seriously. The charge of disproportionality during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, the Goldstone Report - Israelis do not take into consideration the possibility that these may just be gestures. Israelis take it personally, and they become very angry. Israelis feel very strongly that the world is against them." "Most Israelis are here because they fled from Muslim and European countries. They don't feel that either of those blocs have the right to lecture them about anything. Why should a country where your parents were expelled or killed have the right to tell you how to conduct yourself in a war against people who are trying to kill you today? This is something hardly any non-Israelis understand. They don't understand how galling we find this." "Israelis are often accused of being arrogant, but they find it extremely arrogant for Europeans and Arabs to lecture them about morals, especially during a war. What has Israel ever done that is as brutal as what Europe did to the Jews, or what Arabs routinely do to even each other during armed conflicts?" Benjamin Kerstein is a Tel Aviv-based senior writer for The New Ledger.
2010-08-12 08:39:23
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