Oh, those evil, evil Jews
Jeffrey Goldberg makes a couple of important points about the Gaza situation: ...Hamas terrorists unblinkingly and ostentatiously use their own civilians as human shields. I've seen this up-close, and it's repulsive. One story the media isn't telling, because it's impossible...
Wait, you mean combatants use dead bodies as propaganda tools? I'm shocked.
None of that changes that those dead children are, well, dead children killed by your opponents. I realize it make the unconditional supporters of Israel uncomfortable to point out the facts of war, but children and civilians are dying whether they are being used as shields or not. It's not anti-Semitic to point that out, regardless of the neocon rhetoric.
Children and civilians die in war. But I hope the press never stops showing that reality.
It's actually surprising that any pictures of the Gaza casualties at all are being printed, since Israel has blocked the news media from reporting in Gaza. My daughter, who worked in Nablus for two months, cries every day when she sees the news. She's well aware of the problems of Palestinian culture. Nevertheless, dead children are dead children.
From Time/cnn, that well-known antisemitic rag:
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1870087,00.html
But after a preliminary investigation of the Jan. 6 attack at the Fakhura girl's elementary school, "we're 99.9% sure that no militants were at the school," says Chris Gunness, a spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The agency questioned survivors, including UNRWA staff that run the school under U.N. auspices. . . . .
Earlier, the U.N., which oversees relief efforts for more than 800,000 Palestinians in Gaza, had passed along the coordinates of all its schools and buildings to the Israeli military so that its humanitarian missions would be spared attack.
. . . . Some Jabalya refugees at the school said they saw a small group of militants firing mortars near the school and running away, the Associated Press reported. A Gaza resident contacted by TIME said there is a citrus grove not far from the school. "Most likely, the militants fired from there," said the resident, who requested anonymity.
But go on clinging to your wishful propaganda. Wish away the dead children. Make them invisible, because they are Palestinians and such people don't have the same claim to existence that we do. Jesus doesn't mind when a little girl's legs are blown off, provided it's in a good cause, of course. He doesn't hear the prayers of an unbeliever, right? You'd better hope he doesn't. In one news report I read recently, a young girl cried out to her mother, "God has no mercy!" on hearing that her sister had been mutilated and killed by a bomb. Souls die in war as well as bodies. Yet you continue to excuse it as a valuable tool to be used on other people. I can only pray that someday you'll come to understand what you've been saying, and be sorry for it.
Criticism of Israel's barbarism isn't about demonizing Jews and giving Muslims a pass. If it was, then millions and millions of American and Israeli Jews are majorly self-hating. But they're not. It's about holding a modern, wealthy, quite western nation to the same standards we (try to) hold ourselves and others to.
I confess as a liberal that I expect less from thug dictators, stateless terrorist groups, and impoverished, brutalized refugee populations than I do from western-style democracies, especially one whose military runs on $2 billion of our tax dollars (almost half of our foreign military aid budget).
So since Hamas is evil so it is okay, or at worst merely regrettable when Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian children?
I grow so weary of the "who is the villan, who is the savage, who started it" debate. It doesn't matter.
When two scorpions are in a bottle, there is only one solution---remove one of them. Either the Jews should be resettled in the US and Europe or the Palestinians should be resettled in the Arab countries.
Of course, we are not dealing with chess pieces, but human beings with deep rooted attachment to their land and communities, so this won't happen.
They are doomed to continue killing each other--a two state solution is impossible and the coming one state solution will mean civil war.
...but children and civilians are dying whether they are being used as shields or not.
But using them as shields means that they will more likely be killed. And for that, Hamas is responsible, not Israel.
"And for that, Hamas is responsible, not Israel."
Well, Hamas has "responsibility" but is not totally "responsible." Israel has waged a disproportionate offensive which has resulted in the deaths of over 600 people in about two weeks, including many women and children. Yes, Hamas has responsibility, but so does Israel.
I sympathise about the suffering and deaths of civilians, especially children, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli. However, I feel I want to vomit anytime I hear anyone mention Judaism or Islam, the most sick, disgusting ideas anyone ever had. If only all synagogues and mosques in the Middle East could be turned into schools and theatres, or failing that, bars and restaurants (even brothels would be preferable to their present uses).
If Israel responded proportionately to Hamas, they would have lobbed, every day for the past 3 years, a missile into Gaza territory, without any regard to where it landed.
"If Israel responded proportionately to Hamas, they would have lobbed, every day for the past 3 years, a missile into Gaza territory, without any regard to where it landed."
. . . and kill only a handful of people over two or three years. Instead, Israel has killed over 600 people in less than 10 days.
If Israel responded proportionately to Hamas, they would have lobbed, every day for the past 3 years, a missile into Gaza territory, without any regard to where it landed.
And I would have heartily agreed with such an appropriate response.
If Israel used the same low quality missiles in response, there would still have been fewer dead Palestinians from those missiles than have died in this actual, disproportionate response.
You don’t know how many would have been killed. But I’m not surprised that such a perpetual cycle of violence apparently would have been preferable to you.
To the sick liberal mind, the good shall not prevail, the killing need not be stopped. What’s most important is that the killing happen proportionately.
I'd like to stop the perpetual cycle of violence, Scott, but it's clear that Israel (and it's American apologists) isn't all that interested in that either.
So that brings us back to the reality of foreign policy and just war, where things like proportionality do matter.
Obama promised Jimmy Carter to fix the problem in the Middle East. Well he's about to find out on the 21 of January who really runs Washington. He'll be lobbyed by the Zionists. Israel and U.S. are partner in crime and don't care about the Palestinians whether it is Fatah or Hamas. Almost all highranking personnel at the Pentagon are Jews. Best place to be to control the U.S. This is a sad situation and unfortunately a lot of people are killed. Even the Arab world are contaminated by the U.S. Egypt get a check of $2B a year to shut its mouth, Jordan is not better and what about king Abdullar of Saudi Arabia with his constant sunglasses and diaper on his head behind closed doors tells the Israelis that it is O.K. to kill Palestinian. Shame on all these evil people.
No protestors for Iraq bombings? At whom would they be aimed? The U.S.? Iraq? These bombings are most likely part of the ongoing sectarian battle in Iraq, with both sides using the means available. Maliki/the Shia have largely excluded large chunks of the population from power.
Steve
So that brings us back to the reality of foreign policy and just war, where things like proportionality do matter.
Exactly. This is why instead of attacking Hammas, we should be encouraging Israel to kill 6 million Germans.
As I said under one of the blog postings a few days ago, it seems that everybody on every side of this issue has an entrenched position, and no one's entrenched position leads anywhere but to a dead end.
There are a lot of very well-intentioned people working to make peace - the same way they've been doing year after year.
There is Hamas with its evil charter, and there are all the people across the world who support Hamas and think Israel should be wiped off the face of the earth (which is the reason they constantly compare Israel to the Nazis, because who wouldn't want to wipe out the Nazis?) and there are the people who love Israel, some Jewish and some not, some Zionists and some not, and want to see Israel defend itself.
I'm for a two-state solution myself, but I find myself sickened that the same people who protest (often violently) when Israel responds to Hamas bombing of civilians remain silent until Israel responds. If they protested (sometimes violently) against Hamas bombing civilian targets in Israel, their protests now would have some credibility with me, at least. But that's my entrenched position and it's not getting me any farther than the rest of you.
King David was a good man. He had a deep love for God, a yearning for justice, and an affection for the lowly. Yet, this same good king committed adultery with the wife of one of his trusted men. And after David discovered that the wife, Bath-sheba, was pregnant by him, he ultimately orchestrated the murder of her husband. He then married Bath-sheba in an attempt to cover his crimes.—2 Samuel 11:1-27.
IT IS evident that humans have the capacity for doing much good. Why, then, are they responsible for so much evil? The Bible identifies several fundamental reasons. It also reveals how God by means of Christ Jesus will remove evil once and for all.
An Inclination Toward Badness
King David himself identified one cause of evil acts. After his crimes were exposed, he accepted full responsibility for his actions. He then remorsefully wrote: “Look! With error I was brought forth with birth pains, and in sin my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5) It was never God’s purpose for mothers to conceive children who would sin. However, when Eve and then Adam chose to rebel against God, they lost the ability to produce sinless children. (Romans 5:12) As the imperfect human race increased in number, it became evident that “the inclination of the heart of man is bad from his youth up.”—Genesis 8:21.
If left unchecked, this inclination toward badness results in “fornication, . . . enmities, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, contentions, divisions, sects, envies,” and other destructive behavior that the Bible describes as “works of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:19-21) In the case of King David, he gave in to fleshly weakness and committed fornication, which resulted in strife. (2 Samuel 12:1-12) He could have resisted his immoral inclination. Instead, by dwelling on his desire for Bath-sheba, David followed the pattern later described by the disciple James: “Each one is tried by being drawn out and enticed by his own desire. Then the desire, when it has become fertile, gives birth to sin; in turn, sin, when it has been accomplished, brings forth death.”—James 1:14, 15.
The mass murders, rapes, and pillaging mentioned in the preceding article are extreme examples of what happens when people allow wrong desires to dictate their actions.
Evil Feeds on Ignorance
The apostle Paul’s experience highlights a second reason why people do evil things. By the time he died, Paul had gained a reputation as a gentle, affectionate man. He had expended himself unselfishly in the service of his Christian brothers and sisters. (1 Thessalonians 2:7-9) Earlier in his life, though, when he was known by the name Saul, he was “breathing threat and murder” against this very same group. (Acts 9:1, 2) Why did Paul condone and participate in the evil acts perpetrated against the early Christians? “Because I was ignorant,” he says. (1 Timothy 1:13) Yes, Paul formerly had “a zeal for God; but not according to accurate knowledge.”—Romans 10:2.
Saul condoned evil acts because he lacked accurate knowledge
Like Paul, many sincere people have engaged in evil acts because of a lack of accurate knowledge of God’s will. For example, Jesus warned his followers: “The hour is coming when everyone that kills you will imagine he has rendered a sacred service to God.” (John 16:2) Jehovah’s present-day Witnesses experience the truth of Jesus’ words. In many lands, they have been persecuted and even murdered by people claiming to serve God. Obviously, such misguided zeal does not please the true God.—1 Thessalonians 1:6.
The Originator of Evil
Jesus identified the principal reason for the existence of evil. Addressing the religious leaders who were intent on killing him, he said: “You are from your father the Devil, and you wish to do the desires of your father. That one was a manslayer when he began.” (John 8:44) It was Satan who for selfish reasons enticed Adam and Eve into rebelling against God. That rebellion introduced sin—and thus death—to all mankind.
Satan’s murderous disposition was further exposed in the way in which he dealt with Job. When Jehovah granted him permission to test Job’s integrity, Satan was not content with stripping Job of his possessions. He also caused the death of his ten children. (Job 1:9-19) In recent decades, mankind has experienced a surge in evil because of human imperfection and ignorance and also as a result of Satan’s increased meddling in human affairs. The Bible reveals that the Devil was “hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.” That same prophecy accurately foretold that Satan’s confinement would produce unprecedented “woe for the earth.” While Satan cannot force people to do evil things, he is a master at “misleading the entire inhabited earth.”—Revelation 12:9, 12.
Removing the Inclination Toward Badness
If evil is to be permanently eliminated from human society, man’s inborn inclination toward badness, his lack of accurate knowledge, and Satan’s influence must be addressed. First, how can man’s inborn inclination toward sin be removed from his heart?
No human surgeon or man-made medicine can perform that task. Jehovah God, though, has provided a cure for inherited sin and imperfection for all those willing to accept it. The apostle John wrote: “The blood of Jesus . . . cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7) When the perfect man Jesus voluntarily offered up his life, he “bore our sins in his own body upon the stake, in order that we might be done with sins and live to righteousness.” (1 Peter 2:24) Jesus’ sacrificial death would counterbalance the effects of Adam’s evil act. Paul states that Christ Jesus became “a corresponding ransom for all.” (1 Timothy 2:6) Yes, Christ’s death opened the way for all mankind to regain the perfection that Adam had lost.
You may ask, though, ‘If Jesus’ death some 2,000 years ago made it possible for mankind to regain perfection, why do evil and death still exist?’ Finding an answer to that question can help banish the second cause for evil—man’s ignorance of God’s purposes.
Goodness Thrives on Accurate Knowledge
Gaining accurate knowledge of what Jehovah and Jesus are now doing to eliminate evil may prevent a sincere person from unwittingly condoning evil acts, or worse, becoming a fighter “actually against God.” (Acts 5:38, 39) Jehovah God is willing to overlook past wrongs that were committed in ignorance. Speaking in Athens, the apostle Paul said: “God has overlooked the times of such ignorance, yet now he is telling mankind that they should all everywhere repent. Because he has set a day in which he purposes to judge the inhabited earth in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and he has furnished a guarantee to all men in that he has resurrected him from the dead.”—Acts 17:30, 31.
Paul knew firsthand that Jesus had been raised from the dead, for the resurrected Jesus himself spoke to Paul and stopped him from persecuting the early Christians. (Acts 9:3-7) Once Paul received accurate knowledge of God’s purposes, he changed and became a genuinely good person in imitation of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1; Colossians 3:9, 10) In addition, Paul zealously preached “this good news of the kingdom.” (Matthew 24:14) During the almost 2,000 years since Jesus’ death and resurrection, Christ has selected from among mankind those who, like Paul, will rule with him in his Kingdom.—Revelation 5:9, 10.
Throughout the past century and up until now, Jehovah’s Witnesses have zealously fulfilled Jesus’ commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19, 20) Those who respond to this message have the prospect of living forever on earth under Christ’s heavenly government. Jesus said: “This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.” (John 17:3) Helping someone to gain this knowledge is the greatest good one person can do for another.
Those who embrace this Kingdom good news display such qualities as “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control,” despite all the evil that surrounds them. (Galatians 5:22, 23) In imitation of Jesus, they “return evil for evil to no one.” (Romans 12:17) On a personal level, they endeavor to “keep conquering the evil with the good.”—Romans 12:21; Matthew 5:44.
Helping someone take in accurate knowledge of God is the greatest good one person can do for another
The Ultimate Conquest of Evil
By themselves, humans will never be able to conquer the ultimate sponsor of evil, Satan the Devil. Soon, though, Jehovah will use Jesus to crush Satan’s head. (Genesis 3:15; Romans 16:20) Jehovah will also direct Christ Jesus to “crush and put an end” to all political systems, many of which have perpetrated so much evil throughout history. (Daniel 2:44; Ecclesiastes 8:9) During this coming day of judgment, all those who “do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus . . . will undergo the judicial punishment of everlasting destruction.”—2 Thessalonians 1:8, 9; Zephaniah 1:14-18.
Once Satan and those who support him are removed, from heaven Jesus will help the survivors to restore the earth to its original condition. Christ will also resurrect all those worthy of the opportunity to live on the restored earth. (Luke 23:32, 39-43; John 5:26-29) In so doing, he will nullify some of the effects of the evil suffered by humanity.
Jehovah will not force people to obey the good news about Jesus. However, he is giving people the opportunity to take in the knowledge that leads to life. It is vital that you take advantage of this opportunity now! (Zephaniah 2:2, 3) If you do so, you will learn how to cope with any evil that now blights your life. You will also see how Christ will lead the ultimate conquest of evil.—Revelation 19:11-16; 20:1-3, 10; 21:3, 4.
27 And the boys got bigger, and E´sau became a man knowing how to hunt, a man of the field, but Jacob a blameless man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac had love for E´sau, because it meant game in his mouth, whereas Re·bek´ah was a lover of Jacob. 29 Once Jacob was boiling up some stew, when E´sau came along from the field and he was tired. 30 So E´sau said to Jacob: “Quick, please, give me a swallow of the red—the red there, for I am tired!” That is why his name was called E´dom. 31 To this Jacob said: “Sell me, first of all, your right as firstborn!” 32 And E´sau continued: “Here I am simply going to die, and of what benefit to me is a birthright?” 33 And Jacob added: “Swear to me first of all!” And he proceeded to swear to him and to sell his right as firstborn to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave E´sau bread and lentil stew, and he went to eating and drinking. Then he got up and went his way. So E´sau despised the birthright. Jacob became the father of the Jews, E'sau the father of Arabs and they have been fighting over that stew forever!
why are the jews so evil and greedy? Why do they exist? For what purpose? Is it the same principle why do we need roaches and fleas and poop?
Great article. I don't understand the world's silence at Muslim atrocities. More, I don't understand the Muslim silence as fellow Muslims commit these atrocities. Even if someone blanketly hates Jews for whatever foolish prejudice they may have, how about what Muslims do to their own people? Why aren't Muslims enraged that children are put in harm's way? Why aren't modern, peace-loving Muslims in the streets protesting the killing of each other?
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