Opinion  Others
Knights of double standard
Rafi Ginat
Published: 29.07.06, 22:08
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61. Wrong strategy
Anton ,   Europe   (07.30.06)
It is foolish to rely on air power, to bombard every vilage and town that could be a Hezbollah stronghold. It has been 19 days, and still rockets are falling on N. Israel. There has been no breakthrough. Isn't it clear, that the IDF has to change its conduct? What happened in Bint Jbeil was a small battle with some soldiers killed and allready people are afraid of casualties. Without a ground offensive there will be no end to rocket launches. If this goes on, next year at the same time there will still be rockets falling on N. Israel, regardless, if all civilians in S. Lebanon are killed or made refuges. Army, that fears casualties, that is ready to put lives of its own civilians at risk, that is willing to conduct a genocide, just to protects its soldiers, is a weak army indeed. And stop pounding on Europe, will you. The whole world, except the US and Israel thinks the same. Europeans are no different that other people. It is Israelis and Americans that have to figure out why they are always isolated from the world opinion.
62. PLO REWARDED for JIHAD AGAINST LEBANON'S CHRISTIANS
Linda Rivera ,   New York   (07.30.06)
Lebanon was a Christian country until Muslims achieved a majority through an extremely high birthrate. The jihad against Lebanon's Christians was savage and barbaric. The IDF was the only hope for the embattled Christians. Click on Photo gallery: http://www.free-lebanon.com/ 20,000 Christians handicapped by PLO atrocities. PLO terrorists were rewarded for their savagery and mass murder of Christians by implanting them into Israel as TERRORIST "peace" partners through Oslo to continue the bloody, barbaric jihad against Israel's Jews. The Christians of Damour, Lebanon treated Muslims from surrounding areas free of charge in their hospital. The PLO and other terrorists repaid the Christian kindness with barbaric savagery: The Massacre and Destruction of Damour 'The attack took place from the mountain behind. It was an apocalypse. They were coming, thousands and thousands, shouting 'Allahu Akbar! God is great! Let us attack them for the Arabs, let us offer a holocaust to Mohammad 'And they were slaughtering everyone in their path, men, women and children.' Whole families were killed in their homes. Many women were gang-raped..." http://www.free-lebanon.com/LFPNews/psa/psa.html Satanic acts were perpetrated on Damour Christians.
63. Be Pragmatic, Israel!
Goy in NYC ,   NYC, USA   (07.30.06)
I don't think Israel can afford to lower its moral standards to win this war. If there are human shields in place--even ones who have been warned to leave with leaflets, etc.--Israel can't afford such public relations disasters in this fight. To attack targets such as the building in question, the IDF/IAF must use a mix of air, artillery and commando operations, even if the latter risks Israeli casualties. Otherwise, like it or not, Israel loses in the PR war. Israel must maintain the moral upper hand as much as possible.
64. Savage
TRA ,   Beirut   (07.30.06)
May z world be a better place with less savage blood thirsty likes of u. U breed hate & unrest among ur own people. Soldiers should fight soldiers and not civilians, I hope god is more merciful on ur family & children so u dont have to experience what lebanese & Israeli families feel when they loose loved ones. After reading ur article I believe HZB should exist even thought it stands against all I belive as lebanese striving for peace with my neighbors.
65. PROUD OF HIS LOWERED MORALITY
ISHMAEL ISHMAEL ,   TORONTO   (07.30.06)
Mr. Ginat, How undortunate that you approve of the genocide at Qana and elsewhere in Lebanon. How sad that you are willing to be recognized as 'less moral' for your beliefs that include a too bad about today's slaughter of kids and women in a refugee centre. Was this the same reduced morality that allowed the killing of at least 104 at the UN compunt at Qana by Israel a few years ago. And isn't it the same morality behing the facts of Appendix B of the report on Israel's genocide at Sabra and Shatilla. cannot find it in my heart to wish for even an exact revenge on the children and women of Israelis, although you urge that Israeli even lovered morality is necessary. May they be safe. But I would share your morality if the revenge were visited on the leaders of Israel and the planners of the current Qana massacre.
66. Excellent Column !!!!
AAA   (07.30.06)
well said and justified.
67. #10
dor ,   il   (07.30.06)
i understand your fury . am a gentile or best put a non jew. ,,,,were you sooo outraged when time and time again through out the years israeli bood was spilled ? that did not "move" you enough eh? that is no big fuss ! it's jewish blood . or perphaps U didn't even know that because of course U watch BBC . by the way bbc very ardently presents a demonstaration taking place today in londan . i LOT of hizbullah flags around .i felt sick! mark my work GB the day will come when those flags will stand on top of the Buckingham palace . if U do nothing it will happen. they are already in england just waiting . U people have no idea who we are dealing with ! it looks like you will soon find out , your PM is smart a pitty the english do not see that !!! U do not deserve him!
68. Show me 20 dead Israeli children
Nemo ,   Hamburg/London   (07.30.06)
... and then maybe you'll get my sympathy. Katuyshas land and Israelis get treated for shock, whilst in Lebanon whole families are wiped out by your 'precision bombs'. Yeah, yeah, so precise you can't even avoid hitting UN observers! Get out now, Isreal, while you have a shred of respect left. You've already lost this war. News just in about Qana .. shaking my head, can't believe you're so stupid as to bomb civilians in Qana AGAIN: have you learnt NOTHING in all this time? You're playing into Hizballah's hands!
69. # 32 SHOCKER
DOR ,   IL   (07.30.06)
really ! it was the last drop ! what did they expect? not what they got. bummer ! for decades isrsael had to restrain .. NOT ANY MORE . if U mice ange & pick on the lion what kind of a reaction did you expect ? why does the world keep saing it is an unproportional respons ? does the worl expect israel to though stones? well no . israel thoughs what it has . well the mice should have thought of that . i wonder what would happen if israel -would unleash more that just only 20% of it capacity ?
70. Knights of double standard
I ,   Minneapolis, USA   (07.30.06)
Mr. Ginat's article is outstanding because it is quintessential moral clarity. Excerpts from the article were used in Minneapolis Star Tribune on Sunday in the piece LITTLE SYMPATHY FOR THE LEBANESE. Ironically (and quite typically of the media) the lines quoted did not contain any of Mr. Ginat's thoughts on the morality of the war or moral justification of striking hard. They however were happy to reprint the following lines: "I am ready to wash the Hizbullah terrorists with fire. I am ready to do the same to their helpers, their collaborators, the ones who turn a blind eye, and all those in contact with Hizbullah. May their innocents die instead of ours... We need to strike hard - and we should be allowed to feel good about it." Having quoted the above lines the paper goes on lamenting of "a dent in U.S. public support for Israel". Talk about double standards...
71. to # 68
erich ,   Il   (07.30.06)
they should take care of their children .! were you sympathetic when 20 teenegers died in a discothec in tel-aviv a few ears ago ? i bet you changed the chanel .
72. rafi gilat is on the ball
giora   (07.30.06)
mr gilat you are of course quite right.ehud olmert should read this.it could make him more gutsy.
73. One sided media coverage
ronnie garcia ,   san antonio, texas   (07.30.06)
One would be led to believe, that by most of the worlds media (especially the U.N.) reports, that there must be no casualties occurring in Israel.
74.  Correction to Pray more Mrs. Martha
Ted Cohen ,   Sun City Az   (07.30.06)
Correction the Moslems need someone like Moses to show them the truth, somone like Abraham to show them that we are all brothers.
75. Cowards of a double standard
mark j bellm ,   fort bragg   (07.30.06)
The article by Rafi Ginat called "knights of a double standard" wonderully exposes the "cowardice" in shining armour that the Europeans have. Here in the USA, the left wingers are also plagued with this warped view of reality. Israel must take all the time it needs, and use whatever force is necessary, to eradicate Hezbolla, and all the palestinian psychopaths who worship death and horror. Stop fearing Europe and the UN, and use what you need to survive and flourish as a nation and a people.
76. Terrorist Solidarity
Rita ,   Upland, CA   (07.30.06)
Al Qaeda is with you, Hezb'Allah and Hamas....that should be a telling point to all of us. Thanks to #54 for the reminder of the truth. --From the US, where we lost around 3,000 in one MORNING to a terrorist attack---innocent civilians in Israel or the West are a PRIME TARGET, not mistakes. Don't stop until you've completed the mission, Israel! If this was WWII, the MSM would be interviewing Hitler to see if he objected to Allied force being used against him.
77. #68
Heidi   (07.30.06)
Did you know that your creeps pulled the building down, not us. We hit it (hooray) but your humpty dumpty cowards/bullies pulled it down in order to run away and cry again (ad nauseum) 'boo hoo, Mummy, they hit us'.
78. #68
Inge   (07.30.06)
mideast-archive.co.nr our children
79. ANOTHER WAY TO FINISH THIS BLOODY WAR
GULNAR RAKHISH ,   MISSISSAUGA ,CANADA   (07.30.06)
WHAY NOT HAVE THE THE ISDF GO AROUND THE CENTRAL BINT JBEIL ETC AREAS FORMING A TWISTEDMP-LKE ROUTE AND A MIRROR IMAGE ON THE OTHER SIDE AN DPUSH THE BLOCKADED MIDDLE GROUNDS OF HIZBULLA UNTIL THEY ASK FOR A CEASE FIRE AND LEBANON WILL BE FREED AGAIN , JUST A THOUGHT \G.
80. How to save Haifa
Peter H ,   New YOrk, NY   (07.30.06)
Mr. Ginat misses the point: The reason Hizbollah is fiirng at Haifa is becuuse the IDF is bombing civilian areas in Lebanon. Those have alwyas been "the rules of games" between the IDF and Hizbollah.. As it stands, over 600 Lebanese civilians have been killed; whereas most Israelis killed are IDF soldiers? The best way to save Israeli cvilians is for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire.
81. Fighting to win!
David Hawkinson ,   Chicago, USA   (07.30.06)
In our press coverage here I always here that we should take the high road in fighting terrorists! The death of our troops shows just how foolish this advice is. Why must Israel and the world have to let our people die taking the high road when the enemy admits that they do not see any difference between a countrys soldiers and it's civilian population. The terrorists set the ground rules for war as being nonexistent so I feel that we should throw off all constraints and fight them in the same way that they fight us. I hope and pray that the people of Israel win this fight. I always hear about the moderate Muslums and how they deplore violence and yet I have not heard them demand a fatah against the people that are perverting their religion. So much for the so called moderate Muslims!
82. The Double Standard
Ellen Hassett ,   Virginia Beach, USA   (07.31.06)
I am outraged at the constant intense condemnation of Israel, without any condemnation of Hizbellah. Hizbellah is responsible for those deaths in Lebanon. They were using those civilians as human shields. There may even have been explosives planted by Hizbellah inside the building. Kofi Anan is always so quick to condemn Israel while he does not have a problem with the Arab terrorists. Israel should do whatever it needs to do to protect Israeli lives. Listening to the world's condemnation will only cause the death and destruction of all Jews. To heck with them.
83. Whose moral standards matter?
Erna ,   Beersheva   (07.30.06)
Rafi, you rightly say 'This war must be won'. The problem is that from the air it isn't won and from the ground -you seem to say -we can't afford to won it. If these are the facts, it doesn't matter what your own moral standards are but what moral standards may be withstood by those whose support is vital in all of our wars, if they are to be won. I think that we have to understand that either we are ready to pay the heavy price of a massive ground offensive or we'll have to ignominiously stop this war.
84. #73 Quite right Ronnie
Sayit Lykitis ,   London UK   (07.31.06)
I couldn't agree more Ronnie. It would seem that for all intense and purposes the majority of the media coverage in the west is acting like a subsiduary of Al-Jazeera. Those poor misunderstood murdering muslims (that everybody in Europe and beyond) seem to take sides with. Why? Because to admit the truth scares them all shitless. Not all of us are sucked in by these evolutionary throwbacks and their western liberal supporters.
85. Response to Rafi Ginat
Mike Druttman ,   Central Israel   (07.31.06)
You make some very persuasive points, Rafi, but I am wondering about one thing...why doesn't the Army listen? They were pussy-footing with the Hizbullah for six years and they are pussy-footing still. It is all about hesitation, meetings, a little action, more meetings, hesitation, hesitation, hesitation. Citizens up and down the country are asking 'Why didn't we slam Hizbollah hard in the south in the FIRST WEEK? Why were our fine soldiers sacrificed? So that somebody in the IDF will have a better social conscience? Where is the sheer guts to get the job done, without looking left or right? Eveny morning I check the Israeli media and every day this vital news is missing.
86. Kol hakavod Rafi - save Jewish lives
Y ,   Nitzan, Israel   (07.31.06)
Kol Hakavod Rafi! Its long overdue to stop valuing arab "civilians" (supporters of Hezbalah, Hamas, PFLP, Fatah, etc) over our soldiers and civilians. Sharon"s concept of "tohar haneshek" (purity of arms) needs to be updated to reflect true Torah values. If the Israeli govt. valued its own citizens above the enemy's, Gush Katif, S'derot, and all the kibutzim and moshavim in the south wouldn't have been bombed for 6 plus years.
87. #65 Ishmael Ishmael
Aaron   (07.31.06)
I sincerely hope that justice is meeted out to both the planners, supporters thereof, and those who carried out the crimes in Kana. However, I believe that this will require a great deal of investigation, particularly on who and what caused the second explosion which killed the civilians. As Hizbollah has stated unequivocally that there was no weapons in the building at the time of the Israeli strike, the explosives must have been taken into the building after the strike, in order to cause the second explosion at ~7-8am. Will Hassan be willing to stand trial for ordering this? Will Assad be willing to stand trial for the outcomes of what he appropriately called 'state based terrorism', his state being the state which provided the weapons which killed the civilians? Pray that Israel takes Kana in order that the truth can be found, and Hizbollah will be no more, they have scored a massive own goal on this one.
88. Double standards
RUSSELL COHEN ,   JNB, ZA   (07.31.06)
More like this, please!
89. ISRAEL IS PURE - #65
ishmael ishmael ,   toronto canada   (07.31.06)
Aaron, One can break into the "investigations" unit of the IDF and steal the results of the furture 'investigations.' I just did and Israeli foudn that ti was a Massada Act by the sleeping kids. Or they were preparing bombs that went off prematurely. New Implosion type that bring the walls in and not blown out. Burns of other dead Arabs? From their use of phosphor and napalm munitions. Of course. Israel commands a worldwide Lying Brigade of 'respectable' lawyers, doctors, housewives etc who are "Good Jews" [the same metaphor for the aptly described "Good Germans" who were blind to the destruction of Jews, Roma and others. Israel can shoot a 13 year old school girm and confirm the kill and find that the child either committed suicide or was a 'terrorist'. It can send in its Phalance allies to Sabra and Shatilla, light up the skies with Flares Bright Lights over Sabra and Shatilla [Google this], seal off the camps with IDF tanks and troops, send in IDF bulldozers to dispose of the dead - and be found 'indirectly guilty' by the Kahan Commission. See Exhibit B uncovered by The Guardian. Your president [yes the same Moshe Katsav who is being 'investigated' ! for serial sex offences on women employee within his ecomonic control] told Canadians why Arab babies are better dead. he explained, with purity of Judeo-Zionism, that "Each Palestinian baby when born sucks at hatred of Jews from his mother's milk." A summary of the Jewish soul? You tell me, Aaron. Yet, I, less pure than any Jew, do not want to see vengence on Israeli kids. Troops, leaders and adult supporters of such genocide? Yes. Aaron, will the Israelis be willing to stand trial? I note that the IDF soudht by warrant in the UK fled when tipped off by the Mossad black-mailed-with-Foster-sex-videos, Tony Blair. Will Louise Arbour survive the onslaught of the Lying Brigade? What do you think? I have suggested that Israel move, bring the WMD as well, to SK-AB. These two provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta have Oil, Water, Mineral Resources ... and cheap labour on their native reservations. Truly, SK-AB, combinded, is a Land without People for a People soon without Land." The two provinces have a population density of 3.1 per Sq. Km vs Israel of about 226. The two provinces have 1.3 million sq km. They would welcome a nations shares their core values. Besides, if Israel acts quickly, it can deal with a Falsaha PM, Stephen Harper before he is booted out and does Aliya. I should earn the Nobel Peace Prize for solving the root of ME probem. Eurpope sent surviving Jews to Arab lands because they wanted to hide their guilt and they don't like Jews.
90. Double Standards
Maria Drucker ,   Victoria, BC Canada   (08.01.06)
Here in Canada they don't even bother to mention the bombing against Israel anymore. CTV, a major news network, has dispensed with mentioning the plight of Israeli citizens, while using the most sympathetic language possible to describe the suffering in Lebanon. The picture conveyed is one of Agressor Israel against Victim Palestinian or Lebanese Arab. By the way, where is Western (or Arab) outrage regarding Arab-on-Arab violence in the Middle East?
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