Yawn, yawn .... get over Europe. As a Jew and a European, we have no need to ease our concience. No one here has any blame for what happened almost a hundred years ago. Get over it - Europe must think of herself and her inhabitants first and secondly ... Israel has got more than enough support and assistance from Europe. I can only imagine that by Euro-bashing - you must be American. What a pitty that America has gone down the facist road. No, in Europe we have no problem telling Israel to get it's act together.

I was pleased to see that Ynet published the winning essay in the Junior High School competition "What would you say if you were Israel's Ambassador to the UN?". However, I was disappointed tht the prize went to the young man, Assaf Wohl, whose essay was no more than an emotional rewriting of Shylock's "If you cut us, do we not bleed?" from the Merchant of Venice. My 15 year old daughter (yes, she skipped a year) wrote a far superior essay based on Israel's nationhood and legal rights and obligations to protect its citizens . Assaf, you do not appeal to reprobate nations to show mercy and understanding: they have none. You will appreciate this when you grow up.

You should be the next Israeli UN ambassador...

The dictatorships and theocracies get tossed.

I would hope Gabriela Shalev could deliver such a speech. Her answers on CNN were ridiculous. And she should improve her english...

You maybe do not realise this but you live in the only country who is not allowed to defend itself. For any other country it would be self-evident. I actually thought it was good and wish our UN ambassador had the guts to deliver it

Be brave, Israel!

Israel is, beside US, the only country who recognizes the goals of Hamas and Hizbollah. Pls. continue to kick ass of Iran and Syria to get rid of them all! You got my blessing!

the palestinians already have a state in jordan which is far enough away from most of us that the never ending conflict of being too close should be easier to manage. get this miserable marriage over with now and send them back home to their family please.

aske aljazeera

Great speech, Mr. Wohl. What the Israelis (especially the Left) should realize is that sometimes violence is NECESSARY against a criminal (i.e. Hamas-gang). The Israelis should NOT feel guilty when a criminal is being tackled. A criminal (i.e. Hamas-gang) can be forgiven a few times. BUT to forgive him three thousand times (for his firing of 3,000 Kassam rockets and mortars onto UNARMED civilians of Sderot, other places in Israel) -- that borders at dereliction of DUTY. The governments of the world SHOULD understand that what Hamas did (i.e. firing of 3,000 Kassam rockets and mortars unto UNARMED civilians of Sderot, other places in Israel since beginning of 2008 till yesterday) -- can NOT and should NOT go unpunished (i.e. Hamas MUST be punished). And the governments of the world SHOULD pressure Hamas to give up this STUPID Kassam rocket and mortar attacks -- it does NOT serve the Gaza Arabs ; it HURTS the Gaza Arabs !

It's about time someone told it like it is!

I am deeply ashamed that the United States is not listening to Israel. This is clearly a case of a country defending herself. Where did we miss the boat? Please forgive us.

but they destroy it . in mission there is hope but in destroying no hope only to build from the start . palastinian baot was destroyed many times and they built it again and again .this is the amazing to the world peoples not goverments . but sure israil alone must look off heir baot goverments look to its people only but not the arab goverments -elkafarah - do not depends on them

I appreciate and agree with several comments from Mr Wohl. But not all. I watch and read the press of Belgium, France, UK and Holland on an almost daily basis. And overall so far - i have found the comments on the Gaza conflict to be reasonably balanced. Yesterday on "World have your say" from BBC World Service - I listened to an exchange between people Israeli and Palestinian callers. Overall it was clear to me that most of the Palestinians callers were talking from the emotional level and not capable of answering very rational questions from the Israeli callers. It was quite obvious to me that the host of the show considered the Israeli caller's positions to be fair, balanced, and thoughtful. Good for us ! Also, newscasts which i saw on several TV channels reminded the viewers that the south of Israel had been pounded by daily rockets for years. But beyond these anecdotal points, a few which i think we should consider (and I am not directing these as critical comments to Mr Wohl) 1) "Everyone is out to get us, the Jews". Although many people do not like or mistrust us, I believe the above perception is an exaggeration which we should drop from our frame of reference: it clouds our minds and weakens our effectiveness in communicating our cause. We're not history's only genocide victims, and we're not generalized saints either. Our plight throughout history, the richness of our culture and our faith, and our incredible resilience as people has forced the admiration and respect of many. It does not mean we receive "carte blanche" for everything we do. And agreed, many International organizations have been hideously teleguided by people who are against us. But acting fairly and morally and wisely (and not only for our rights) still seems to be the best recipe for retaining positive support. 2) Most people cannot situate the current conflict into its history. We tend to believe everyone should understand the conflict as we do. Of course that cannot be true. How much detailed background do I possess about Eastern Congo ? About Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers ? When it comes to "distant stuff" - most people remember events with some clarity over the past few years, and beyond that it blurs, and understanding of historical context is shaky. The Arab/Israeli conflict has lasted for so long that many people really scratch their heads - "who is right and who is wrong, and isn't there right and wrong on both sides ?". I am yet to meet someone who admires Hamas. And yet to meet someone who cannot see that democracy in Israel strikes 100 to 1 against any Arab regimes..... even for Israeli Arab citizens. But the plight of the Palestinians is seen as "a real thing" - whether we like it or not. People forget how it came about - and don't have a clue on how it will be solved. Again - one of Israel's key challenges on the global scene is to communicate its position well. Not just take the moral "I am right" high ground, but take the fair and balanced and intelligent ground. Incidentally, Mrs Livni is not doing that bad at it. We've seen much worse. More power to women... 3) Finally , people are not plain dumb and "understand something of some things" - they can use their mental pocket calculators as well as you and me. How many deaths in the Arab/Israel/Palestinian conflict in the last 10 years ? About 10,000 will be the answer. How about in Iraq ? Over 100,000 will be the answer. How about in the Great Lakes region (Congo) ? Over 1 million. Rwanda in 1994 ? Over 1 Million (radio repeats that every year at the anniversary). So people know and can make "the subtle difference". Bottom line. We support the IDF actions - but hope they stay targeted mostly at military objectives. Regime changes is a mess and we should not even come close to trying it. As long as we adhere to these principles, and know how to communicate them well, our non-jewish friends will understand. And the others we do not give a hoot about anyway.....

At least Al-Jazeera isn't pretending to be unbiased.

I have to agree with Mr. Assaf Wohl's assessment of the world at large. I don't understand why the world is quick to condem Israel for defending itself . I have to say I am ashamed of this type of cowardice being shown by the UN (which never had a back bone) and are alway quick to rush to defend the terrorists. I am but one little citizen of the world and I support Israel in it's right to defend itself from terrorists and to exist.

Most Americans know that you are protecting yourselves. We also know what Hamas is up to here. They are murderers plain and simple. They would be killing Americans, Canadians, French, Russians....anyone who opposes their rule if they needed to do so. I have no idea why anyone would run to their defense. We are approaching a day when the world will have to make a decision to back rule by the people or rule by mobs. Israel is a bright light in a sea of despair. I don't want to hear anything about who owned what when. The Jews and the Palestinians have both lived in this area for thousands of years. They both deserve to rule themselves and I do believe that Israel would allow this but Hamas is a beg barrier to that end. They do not want to share they want to dominate. I would hate to think that my family would ever have to live under their rule or any other state that shares their vaules on human life. I also find it very interesting when I see people like Cynthia McKinney (former US Representative) who go to Gaza and say that they are there supporting peace. What are these people thinking. Has she ever visited an Israeli family who have had family members blown up by a suicide bomber? Has she ever visited a family who have been torn apart by a rocket attack from Gaza? Maybe someone should ask her to visit and perform an experiment with her. When she gets there hit her with your fist. See what her reaction is. If she hits back ask her why? If she does not hit her again....repeat until she either passes out or hits back. Then explain to her that this is the life your people have wiith Hamas. They are not going to quit until Israel is either wiped off the Earth or they are destroyed. These are the two choices.....not choices picked by Israel by the way but by Hamas. Hopefully she will stay over in Gaza. The American IQ went up 20 points the moment she left the USA. Good luck! We are behind you!

Like most things that come out of Israel , it's not even close to the truth. This has nothing to do with Israel defending itself, these Palestinian fireworks have only killed 8 Israelis in 6 years, which is probably around the average number of Palestinians murdered each and every day. Let's not forget that it was Israel that broke the most recent ceasefire and also the fact that Israel planned this genocide over 6 months ago. Hospitals and ambulances being targeted, the University, mosques and schools and children. This is genocide and there's no excuse.

The civilized world should be grateful to Israel that she knows how to deal with the terrorist Hamas, because the weak EU does not..

This speech is one of the most pathetic examples of political communications I've read in a long time. "Oh, Europe, you attempted to exterminate us!" "Look at the rest of the world's atrocities and please turn a blind eye on what we do!" "Yes, we are mass-murdering innocent people, but they're Arabs! They're barbarians!" But as usual, Israel being the spoiled brat of the world, nothing will happen. Why the UN pampers Israel so much is absolutely incomprehensible. And absolutely undeserved, too. Pfff.

sure hamass is not like your cat that you used to rub while you are thinking not writing ... but believe me they are not beasts .they are fighting for their state palastine may be they are wilder than your cat

People in Europe, just like in the Arab sates, are getting disenchanted by a lack of governmental action. If that frustration grows then they might decide to copy the Israelis in "collective punishment".

Fireworks? Wow, celebrations around your home must be quite the show. I guess your neighbors don't mind? Let's be clear....one rocket over the boarder from Hamas is enough for Israel to defend itself. Hamas is the guilty party here. You can call the attacks whatever you want to but all you are doing is minimizing the attacks because you are pro Hamas. They could nuke Israel and you would probably call it ....maybe a box of fireworks going off there? I would think that the Palestinians might want to pressure Hamas to quit shooting, lobbing, spitting, etc. Just quit. If Israel is as bad as you say they are then they won't be able to help themselves and will keep on shooting back. If they want world support then this has to occur. My bet is that Hamas won't let that happen. I can't believe that you would defend Hamas. A group that states that they are out to kill Israeli's regardless of the state of peace in that area. What is your justification? There is none. I guarantee you that if some country was lobbing rockets at your neighborhood you would expect your country to do something about it quickly.....whether it is one rocket or 100.

I don't know who gave the speech for Israel to the UN, but Israel is right that the nations of the world collectively will always look at Israel as the agressor, whereas the lowly Palestinians can do no wrong. Israels onslaught over the last several days has been right. Not once have I heard 1 Palestinian official admit their part on the the onslaught, but Israel will always be blamed

let's spred that letter... i'm spreding this letetr to the rest of the peoples of the world so they wil know our sid eof the stury too . i invite everyone to do the same