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Arsen Ostrovsky

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My Country is Under Attack. Do You Care?

Posted: 10/24/2012 4:44 pm

I'm angry.

You see, as most Americans were waking up this morning, and those in Europe and elsewhere around the world were going about their daily routines, here in Israel -- over one million people were running for cover from a hail of rockets being rained down by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza. In the space of 24 hours, since Tuesday evening, 80 rockets have been fired on southern Israel. That's more than three rockets per hour. By the time I finish this article, odds are that count will have risen to 85 rockets.

Just to put things in context: one million Israelis is roughly 13 per cent of the population. Thirteen per cent of the U.S. population equates to about 40 million people.

A dozen Israelis have already been injured, with several of them seriously. The only reason more have not been hurt is because Israel has invested millions of dollars in bomb shelters and the Iron Dome defense system, while Hamas has invested millions of dollars in foreign aid in more rockets.

But here is why I'm angry.

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I'm angry that in 2012, over 600 rockets have already been fired from Gaza with no end in sight. I'm angry that the world only notices when Israel undertakes its (sovereign) right to defend its citizens. Can you imagine if even one rocket was fired on Washington, London, Paris or Moscow? No nation on earth can, or should, tolerate such attacks on its people.

I'm angry that while the United Nations never hesitates to call a 'special emergency session' on the 'Question of Palestine' or pass the umpteenth resolution blindly condemning Israel, that I am still waiting for a session on the 'Question of Israel' and Palestinian terror. In fact, 24 hours after the rocket attacks started, I am still waiting for even one syllable of condemnation from the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly or Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

I'm angry that Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Secretary-General, could not find a moment to condemn the Palestinian rockets, but did find time to laugh and dance with South Korean rapper Psy from the popular dance craze Gangnam Style.

I'm angry that while the EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton slammed Israel last week over the building of several hundred apartments (in an area that will arguably remain part of Israel anyway), that I am still waiting for her to slam the Palestinians for firing 80 rockets in one day.

I'm angry that there are those who continue to call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against the Jewish State, but are silent in the face of Palestinian terror.

I'm angry that ships and flotillas continue to set sail for Gaza to show 'solidarity' with the Palestinians, but where is their solidarity with the people of southern Israel?

I'm angry that while human rights organizations like Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam and others do not waste a single opportunity to condemn Israel for human rights violations against the Palestinians, the human rights of Israelis are seemingly not important enough for them. Is Jewish blood really that cheap?
I'm angry that mainstream newspapers like the New York Times, lead their stories about the rocket attacks with such headlines as "Four Palestinian Militants Killed in Israeli Airstrikes," and not "Palestinian Terrorists Rain Down Over 80 Rockets against one million Israelis."

I'm angry that so many people are blind to the fact that Iran, which has called for Israel to be wiped off the map and now seeks to obtain nuclear weapons, is the primary funder and supplier of arms to Hamas. I'm angry at the fact that all civilians in southern Israel today were instructed not to send their kids to school and stay in bomb shelters. What sort of inhumane way is that for children to live?

I'm angry when people continue to say that 'settlements' are the main impediment to peace, and not Hamas, a terrorist group which does not recognize Israel's right to exist and seeks its destruction. I'm angry when I see pictures like this, of a home in southern Israel hit by a rocket from Gaza today, yet have the audacity to say "ah, but they're just like toys; what damage can they do?"

I'm angry that there is someone out there who does not know me and has never met me, yet still wants to kill me -- for no other reason than being Israeli.

I'm angry when I hear residents in southern Israel say "we just lie on top of our children and try to protect them with our bodies" or that "we're living on borrowed time" -- yet the world seems oblivious to their desperate cries for help.

No, I am not angry. I am outraged.

Arsen Ostrovsky is an international human rights lawyer and freelance journalist living in Israel.

 

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I'm angry. You see, as most Americans were waking up this morning, and those in Europe and elsewhere around the world were going about their daily routines, here in Israel -- over one million people ...
I'm angry. You see, as most Americans were waking up this morning, and those in Europe and elsewhere around the world were going about their daily routines, here in Israel -- over one million people ...
 
 
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05:16 PM on 11/20/2012
No one that I know believes that rocket attacks are a good form of negotiation or diplomacy. But people cut off from economic opportunity, never given any vote in the polity that occupied them for decades and blockades them still, wil find ways to strike at the occupier and blockader. State of Israel has unilaterally imposed what amounts to a three-state solution while keeping two of the states under tight military control, to the great detriment of the residents: Roadblocks, "settlements", etc.

Sadly global tolerance for this has come to an end. Israeli policy is seen as creating its own military blowback. Controlling so many people for so long without allowing them a vote in the polity that controls and occupies them, is unprecedented in a democracy. As the Arab democracies, weak as they are at this early stage, mature, Israel's status as "the only democracy" in the Mideast has a clock running on it.

There is much to admire about the State of Israel: Maintaining solid democratic institutions in the face of constant warfare and threat, an independent judiciary that no other state in the region has yet to come close to, and profound respect for freedom of speech leading to the most lively politics perhaps in the world. And, an economy based largely on innovation and efficiency, in a region few thought could bloom. [Though that wasn't done in a sustainable way, and water and other critical resources have been literally robbed from Arab residents]
04:10 PM on 11/19/2012
This is the FIRST time I have seen ANY division of the Huffington Post share our point of view without it being shut down by anti-Semitic blabbering. I've stopped following HuffPost on both Facebook and Twitter, as I had for years, because I couldn't tolerate the bigotry anymore. Not holding my breath that they'll read my comment and give a damn, but oh well!

Anyway, Kol HaKavod, Mr. Ostrovsky, Yasher Koach.

"True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice and brotherhood." Said by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. p.s. HE SUPPORTED ISRAEL.
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Tony Pepperoni
Where did all the good Republicans go?
12:51 PM on 11/19/2012
Bla bla bla. Israel thumbs it's nose at the UN every chance it gets. Why would you be angry about that. Israel has unprecedented support from the US, what would the UN do anyway. I am tired of Israel griping that we the world doesn't notice when they are attacked and that you are picked on. Israeli retaliations are major military operations and usually result in far more overall deaths than a Palestinian attack, therefore, bigger news. Israel plays a role in this conflict that is larger than simply being an innocent victim.
12:25 PM on 11/19/2012
All this fighting. For what? All this killing. For what? Both Israel and Palestine are murdering each others people. For what? Land? Money? Oil? Religion? Neither side is innocent!!!!!!....neither side seeks peace!!!!!! So stop writing articles that depict ONE SIDED STORIES. Your no better than them.
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drachold
10:29 AM on 11/19/2012
it is time for educated people to stand against religion
02:37 AM on 11/18/2012
This bloody conflict has to stop once and for ever! How long have the people to live in violence and fear down there? And you are right, here in Europe or in other parts of the world, it is just like watching a movie and then changing channels - nobody really cares! Don't get me wrong I am not for a specific party here - I only wish from my heart for all involved people that this is stopped - forever! I will pray for you and all other people involved - please stop the violence! Please!
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01:47 PM on 11/17/2012
"Can you imagine if even one rocket was fired on Washington, London, Paris or Moscow? No nation on earth can, or should, tolerate such attacks on its people - MR. OSTROVSKY ARSEN."

Can you imagine, that they were dancing on the roof of their van, while video filming the events of 9/11?
Source: http://www.todayscatholicworld.com/mossad-agents-911.htm

Israel Created Hamas 01-09-09
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Yb3vF6Vcjr0

A Conservative Estimate of Total U.S. Aid To Israel: More Than $123 Billion
The current estimate by the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs of cumulative total U.S. direct aid to Israel is $123.202 billion, updating the figure in our November 2008 issue. Because parts of U.S. aid to Israel are buried in the budgets of various U.S. agencies or in a form not easily quantified—such as the early disbursement of aid, giving Israel a direct benefit of interest income and the U.S. Treasury a corresponding loss—it is virtually impossible to arrive at an exact dollar amount.
Source: http://www.washington-report.org/congress-and-us-aid-to-israel/494-congress-a-us-aid-to-israel/11203-u-s-aid-to-israel.html

It might be educational, if for nothing else, that you research the information, which outlines the financial assistance offered to Palestine and Gaza, by the United States.

Israel started this not Hamas
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Cv2P_DgGIVE
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12:20 PM on 11/17/2012
"My Country is Under Attack. Do You Care - International Human Rights Lawyer?"

There have been many, many, crimes, against humanity, and and of which involve the abuses of said, humanity's rights (international and domestic), perpetrated by Israel and, the biggest supporter of USrael - do you care about that, MR. OSTROVSKY ARSEN?

Doctors operating the only brain-scanning machine at an Egyptian hospital near Gaza have been almost overwhelmed by the number of Palestinian children arriving with bullet wounds to the head.
Source: www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wt4AqwQbZt4

Israeli soldiers shoot children with M16 rifles - BBC News, 22.01.09: Children used by IMF (Israeli Murder Force) for Target Practice!!!
Source: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nDUFiuZLhc&feature=youtu.be&t=1m

Public Committee Against Torture Israel - Louis Frankenthaler
Source: www.youtube.com/watch?v=th-7w1qkalg&feature=player_embedded#!

5-minute video about a Palestinian boy being shot by Israeli Soldier, and, the Associated Press [AP] erasing footage of the incident.
Source: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAR-0XL9n-g&feature=player_embedded#!

These crimes have been waged upon the Palestinian children, daily, by one of the biggest allies in the Middle East, of THE WESTERN WORLD - that is; beside Saudi Arabia, Qatar and, Turkey...to name a few.

I'll give you a clue.

Its been often referred to as; the 51st STATE?
10:30 PM on 11/16/2012
If it is so bad, then lobby your government to actually achieve peace - which might require you to give up a few things, like the illegal settlements in the west bank. If you aren't willing to do that, then it really doesn't matter what other countries think. Stop complaining about what the rest of the world thinks or says, and start doing something more productive - figuring out what everyone needs to do to stop the violence on BOTH sides - because we all know that BOTH Israelis and Palestinians have been killed in this conflict, and your outrage in this article is just wasted energy. Go out and DO something to stop this. Period.
07:41 PM on 11/16/2012
How is the Isreali bombing of Gaza any more ethical? For example:
http://electronicintifada.net/content/he-left-life-so-early-gaza-family-devastated-israels-killing-baby-omar-masharawi/11895
04:33 PM on 11/16/2012
You have been fighting each other since the late 19th century. Please excuse us for coming to the realization that nothing we do can help you resolve this. Over one hundred years and you haven't been able to come to peaceful coexistence; there is blame on both sides, and all the rest of us can do is watch and hope that someday you will come to realize that you have to stop killing each other. Good luck.
04:21 PM on 11/18/2012
You took the words right out of my mouth! Thank you.
03:51 PM on 11/16/2012
Excellent article.
06:14 AM on 11/16/2012
As an Israeli,

I'm angry that Israel left Gaza without an agreement in place.

I'm angry that Bibi won't negotiate with Abbas even though he is the best partner we will ever have and is willing to reach a compromise.

I'm also angry that the Israeli government is ruled by the right wing and that Israel stupidly continues to build houses in the west bank.

I'm angry that Israeli politicians are letting the two-state solution slip away between our fingers thus condemning Israel to an ugly end.

Yes, I'm also pissed at the extremist Hamas SOBs.

Extremists worldwide, on all sides, are the ones ruining everything.
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Cndnpatriot
12:06 PM on 11/16/2012
How do you negotiate with a group, Hamas< that refuses to acknowledge your existence and calls for the killing of all of the inhabitants, all of the inhabitants, of your country?
01:22 AM on 11/17/2012
I said negotiate with Abbas, not Hamas, the fatah acceppts Israel and wants a state along the 67 border. If we had an agreement in place with Abbas, also things on Gaza would change.
01:20 AM on 11/16/2012
Thank you thank you thank you thank you Thank you thank you thank you thank you
Thank you thank you thank you thank you
Thank you thank you thank you thank you
Thank you thank you thank you thank you
Thank you thank you thank you thank you
Thank you thank you thank you thank you
Thank you thank you thank you thank you
04:01 PM on 11/15/2012
I'm an Israeli citizen. can't agree more with this article!
I just want to tell all those people who live outside Israel- YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CRITICIZE US!
you have no idea, absolutely no idea, how is it living here!
Do you know what was my favorite computer game as a child? it was a game who teach you how to act when you'r at your house bomb shelter!
as a child i knew that it isn't safe to go on a bus cause there may be a suicide terrorist on it!
we are sick of this realty. there are people here who live under rackets for YEARS.
I wonder how your country would have respond if all of the stuff that happening here were at your country. i can bet you would never talk the way your talking now,
for the last 2 days, we are bombing gaza, but our goal is to bomb the places where terrorist launch the rackets. those terrorist do it on areas where there are lots of people and kids so it is happened that other people die. but that's definitely NOT OUR GOAL. THEIR GOAL IS TO KILL INNOCENT PEOPLE..
I hope i made understand just a little bit of our realty.
please don't criticize what you definitely can't understand.

אין לי ארץ אחרת גם אם אדמתי בוערת
03:21 AM on 11/16/2012
Meanwhile, Palestinian children were playing joyfully in their gardens.

The Israeli kill more Palestinian children "accidentally" then the other way around. The Palestinians shoot unguided rockets because they don't have the sophisticated weaponry the Israeli have. They fight back with what they have.
06:18 AM on 11/16/2012
Fight back what?
Israel is no longer in Gaza, and the Gaza border with their Egyptian brethren is open
They are not fighting back anything, they are religious extremists that want to destroy Israel for religious reasons.
Any BTW, they can fire their rockets at army bases, but they chose to fire at civilians and to hide amongst civilians....
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Cndnpatriot
12:14 PM on 11/16/2012
So, your complaint is that Israel protects it's citizens better then the Hamas. Hamas must spend more on bomb shelters then rockets and property anywhere but Gaza. As for unsophisticated weaponry, give over. You don't like that the I.D.F. is able to get men to perform as Patton said then Hamas. Perhaps if some of the money sent to Hamas should be spent on training and weaponry.
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Tony Pepperoni
Where did all the good Republicans go?
12:56 PM on 11/19/2012
Actually, where I live outside Israel I HAVE THE RIGHT TO CRITICIZE ANYONE I WANT. As long as settlements continue to be built you are not going to get the majority of the world supporting you. I am sure it is a terrible existence, but Israel fans the flames.