Cynics Unlimited

The latest outbreak of war in the Middle East has finally resulted in an unprovoked hate crime against Jewish citizens:

Authorities said a man walked into the Jewish agency on Friday and opened fire, killing one woman and injuring at least five others in what they call a hate crime. Naveed Afzal Haq, 30, was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of homicide and attempted homicide, police said.
The gunman, who employees said claimed to be a Muslim angry at Israel, forced his way through the center’s security door after an employee had punched in her security code, said Marla Meislin-Dietrich, a co-worker who was not at the building at the time.

While the US killings can be attributed to radical Islamacists, the stateside pro-war brigade, whose hawkish tendencies in order support their own geopolitical and theological goals surpass that of even Israelis, must share some blame for these types of attacks. In column after blog after interview, pundits recklessly advocate death against “Muslims” (which inevitably encompasses a large number of people from non-Muslim middle easterners to unrelated cults), presumably in the name of Israel and the Jewish people, without any regard for repercussions. There have also been suggestions for the government to restrict the movement and freedoms of all stateside Muslims, and some citizens aren’t waiting for the law to catch up with their whims – a colleague of mine reported that here in Toronto a man was recently kicked off the TTC for yelling “I will not stand next to this terrorist!!” at a rider who entered the bus wearing a hijab.

This story didn’t make the paper, but you can bet that woman shared the story with her friends and colleagues. Guess what happens when regular citizens of a group are under siege? Local extremists, sensing the righteous indignation among moderate Muslims, take their revenge on Jews – all Jews. Like stateside Zionists and Diaspora waging the war on terror from the safety of their ergonomic keyboards, local Islamic radicals fail to recognize that Jews and Israel aren’t synonymous –

• A portion of Orthodox Jews do not agree with Israel in its present form, arguing that Israel can only be given to the Jewish people directly from God. The very human attempt to maintain the state is dismissed as “playing God”
• There are many secular and Jews who disagree with Israel’s policies and alleged human rights abuses. Frequently cited by detractors include the suppression of Palestinian civilians, illegal torture of prisoners and the state’s facilitation of South Africa’s apartheid government. This is not to say these Jews oppose the central concept of Zionism, but rather that they are dissatisfied with the sometimes brutal manner in which it has been implemented
• … And of course there are many Jews who don’t have any strong feelings in favor of or against Israel, but remain faithful to Judaism and attend the same synagogues being attacked

As a Sephardic friend once told me, put 100 Jewish people in a room and you will hear 100 opinions on what Israel’s doing right and wrong. A look at the week’s editorials at the Jerusalem post confirms this diversity in opinion, which is all but drowned out in the uniform war cry of stateside Neo-Cons, Evangelicals and post-9/11 Crusaders for Israel’s unmitigated bombing of its neighbors. It’s very easy to declare war with someone else’s army (and economy), just as it is easy to go Christmas shopping with someone else’s credit card.

I’d like to know whether these same people are willing to help protect my family members, friends and work colleagues whose recent history and warrior class are being used in the front lines of this war. You may feel justified in supporting Israel’s front-line military action because you want to avoid another 9/11 or because you believe this is the last stage in your inheritance of the holy land, but would you be willing show real support for the Jewish people by patrolling a synagogue or donate money to facilitate such protection? Please consider it.

There is a higher purpose for this post and I’ll get to that later.

A furor is growing over seven Canadians killed in Lebanon by Israeli airstrikes:

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Seven Canadians from the same Montreal family, including four young children, were killed in Lebanon on Sunday when Israeli aircraft bombed a house in the south of the country, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp said.

A Canadian foreign ministry spokeswoman confirmed the deaths and said three people were hurt. But she said the incident happened when the house in the town of Aitaroun was shelled.

Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said Ottawa was sending ships to help evacuate up to 40,000 Canadians believed to be in Lebanon.

The CBC named the dead as Ali El-Akhras, his wife Amira and their four children aged one, four, six and eight. The seventh family member was Ali’s uncle, also named Ali, who had moved to Montreal from Lebanon 15 years ago.

At Small Dead Animals, I got into a semi-heated discussion with Kate’s staunchly pro-Israeli readership about the relatively muted conservative response to the death of Lebanese civilians. The exchange was relatively civil - not at all like the venom being spewed at the Globe and Mail. Please take a minute to read some of the comments on the G&M discussion board. Israeli expansionism will never gain favour on this blog, and I do believe that using airstrikes on suburban areas is extremely dubious; however some of the accusations being levelled at Israel and PM Stephen Harper are simply unfair. Time to address two of them:

Accusation #1: Stephen Harper supports or is indifferent to the death of Lebanese-Canadians
Some Canadians have implied that Stephen Harper’s statement “I think Israel’s response under the circumstances has been measured.” is an endorsement of civilian attacks. However this story was reported on the 14th, two days before any known Canadian casualties. Posters are attacking Harper as valuing Israeli lives over Canadian lives before he’s had the chance to react … but not before Canada pledged to send boats to help evacuate Canadians remaining in Lebanon. The < 24 hour turnaround represents a faster response to imperiled Canadians than the previous government ever offered. Harper has not made any statement since this story broke so it is premature for commenters like Jim Roth to assume his indifference.

Accusation #2: Israel intentionally targets civilians
Right or wrong, IAF airstrikes were targeting Hezbollah infrastructure rather than civilians. The Jerusalem Post has reported that the only homes directly targeted were those of senior Hezbollah officials. Other civilian deaths have been accidental (eg Israeli gunboats misfiring at relay stations for al-Manar television - a Hizbullah propaganda channel). The IDF often drops leaflets warning citizens to evacuate an area before striking a Hezbollah target, which has keep the number of civilian casualties relatively low. Concerning for the dead Canadians, Israel has formally apologized to Ottawa and is conducting an investigation. A similar investigation is being conducted for the killing of Lebanese soldiers, who are also not official IDF targets. And let’s face it - if Israel intentionally attacked civilians then far more than 140 would be dead by now.

My sincere condolences to the family members of those lost in this unfortunate attack. May the memory of the dead not be clouded by the half-truths of ulterior political motives.