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What's Wrong with Throwing Rocks?

(Daily Beast) Micah Stein - In Monday's front-page article in the New York Times about the culture of rock-throwing among West Bank youth, Muhammad Abu Hashem is portrayed as a sensitive hero, a freedom fighter driven to symbolic and self-destructive violence by the odious Israelis. "Children have hobbies, and my hobby is throwing stones," he says. The article tells the story of the Abu Hashem family of Beit Omar, whose seven male members have all spent time in Israeli prison over the past three years for a variety of offenses - including rock throwing. Ten-year-olds are said to "feel happy" when they pelt soldiers with stones. There is a story here - about the toxic culture of victimhood among Palestinians, the abject failure of adult leadership, and the potential consequences for the peace process. Throwing rocks at cars is extremely dangerous. It is also illegal around the world. In the U.S., tossing rocks at cars can be a felony assault, or get you charged with "throwing a deadly missile" in some states, which comes with a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. There is nothing at all unusual or extreme about Israel's treatment of rock throwers.
2013-08-08 00:00:00
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