By Harriet Parker Bass
Ms. Peavey's editorial of Jan. 16 followed an earlier article about Don Liebich on the current violence in Gaza. Both of these authors are misinformed and naive. Their mistake is superimposing their values and the nature of their local neighborhood on the volatile and complex issues of the Middle East.
Hamas is a gang of violent, terrorist killers. They do not believe in the existence of Israel, and are sworn to destroy it. Their determination is not affected by open borders or closed borders, hunger or plentiful shelves in their stores. Ironically, they don't particularly believe in the existence of a Palestinian state either. They believe in the re-establishment of the Caliphate, a great Muslim nation covering all of the Middle East (and in their dreams the entire world). Hamas took control of Gaza in a violent takeover, killing 350 fellow Palestinians and wounding a thousand (no editorials from Peavey or Liebich on that one!). Since then, Hamas has been forcing strict Sharia law on its fellow Gazans. But their greatest hatred is focused on Israel.
Yes, Israel keeps tight borders with Gaza. Still, throughout the Gaza conflict of the past weeks Israel has opened its borders to food and humanitarian aid. Large convoys enter daily and the figures are quite available. Humanitarian aid goes in one direction, while rockets and suicide bombers go the other way. What would our borders be like if that were the case here? And what would our reaction be if since 2005, 6,000 rockets had been launched against us from a hostile state on our border?
Peace for the Palestinians is in their hands, as it has always been. Peavey's blind recitation of history does not change the fact that Hamas could end the Israeli action tomorrow. And by renouncing the destruction of Israel and embracing the two-state solution, it could advance its cause. But that is not what it wants, and never has been. While our local editorialists shout about Israeli "war crimes," Hamas intentionally targets civilians with every rocket it launches. And it hides its militants intentionally in schools, hospitals and willing UN compounds, endangering the civilians around them. Both of those are war crimes. Israel has taken unprecedented steps to try to reduce civilian casualties, dropping thousands of leaflets warning of attacks in advance and blanketing Palestinian cell phones with warning texts; what other country would do this? Meanwhile, Gaza gets the disproportionate attention of commentators while desperate tragedies like the true genocide against Darfur blacks by the Arab government in Sudan gets scant mention.
Golda Meir once said that peace would come when the Palestinians love their children more than they hate Israel. That time has not yet come in Gaza. Peavey, Liebich and others ignore the reality of Islamic radicalism and do what they do best—simplistically blame Israel.
Harriet Parker Brass is the president of the Wood River Jewish Community. This guest opinion is co-signed by Dr. Richard Silver, Allen Luray, Robert Goldstein, Linda Cooper, Dr. Kenneth Brait, Judith Meyer, Jay Cooper, Leisa Brait, Phillip Goldstein, Marilyn Schwart and Phyllis Schlessinger
