Observers worry Gaza war scarred children with hatred for Israel

[DogPoundPup]

JEBALIYA, Gaza Strip (AP) — Surrounded by mountains of rubble that were once their homes, two dozen children sat on a rainbow-colored blanket and drew with crayons.

They quickly filled the pages passed around by trauma counselors with pictures of Israeli tanks, dead bodies and Palestinians firing assault rifles — scenes they saw when Israel's war on Hamas came into their neighborhood.

"We felt we will die soon," 11-year-old Sharif Abed Rabbo told the group, describing his family's escape. "And I am sad I lost my house."

Psychologists say Israel's three-week offensive inflicted more severe trauma than previous conflicts in Gaza because civilians in the crowded sliver of territory had no safe place to run. A wartime study among hundreds of Gaza children showed a rise in nightmares, bedwetting and other signs of trauma, said psychologist Fadel Abu Hein.

Counselors and aid workers fear that Gaza's children, who make up 56 percent of the 1.4 million people here, will grow up hating Israel and become easier prey for extremists.

"We are losing the next generation," said John Ging, the top U.N. aid official in Gaza. As a buffer against militancy, U.N. schools are launching human rights classes for their 200,000 students this week.

Children and teens were particularly vulnerable in Israel's military offensive, launched Dec. 27 to try to halt eight years of Hamas rocket fire on towns in southern Israel. The rocket attacks have frightened children there and frequently sent them running for cover.

more ... http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-ml-gaza-children-of-war,0,7346221.story

[babylonsister]

1. Worry? Who wouldn't be scarred? nt

[Chulanowa]

2. And do you suppose that was unintentional?

Have to justify all that free money from the US somehow, after all. Simple economics. Plant the seeds of terror, wait for them to bear fruit, reap the harvest.

[ConcernedCanuk]

13. Plant the seeds of terror, wait for them to bear fruit, reap the harvest.

.
.
.

YOU GOT IT

permanent war for the USA's war machine

What would all those manufacturers of bombs, missiles, planes, etc. do if we had PEACE?

nawwww

Peace doesn't make good economic sense for the USA

so WAR it is!!

[LakeSamish706]

3. Israel has to be nuts to have undertaken these attacks... They have just made...

themselves a new very large number of possible haters against them. Don't know what it is going to take to get the fact across to them that violence is not the answer to the problem.

[Hippo_Tron]

19. They understand it, but they also have elections coming up

If Livni doesn't look tough then she is worried Netanyahu will win. Politicians don't care that these scarred children will become terrorists 15-20 years from now. That's the next guy's problem. The election is in February and that's the more pressing concern.

[uppityperson]

4. good grief, do they really think so? Sarcasm as it seems an obvious conclusion.

OF COURSE THE NEXT GENERATION IS GONE NOW!!!!

Argh argh argh. It seemed like a while back there was a chance at a generation getting grown and maybe stopping the cycle, but not any more.

Thank you for the post, by the way, it is good to see that this is getting published and maybe read by people who don;t understand. It is good to be able to see this in the news.

[Lint Head]

5. That's what war does. It manufactures terrorists.

:dem:

[Behind the Aegis]

6. Yes, I am sure their all a-twitter.

[lostnotforgotten]

7. Anti Zionists One And All Now - Way To Go AIPAC And The Israeli Government

eom

[oberliner]

10. Pretty sure they were "anti Zionist" before this nt

[lostnotforgotten]

11. Children Are Pretty Innocent And Forgiving - Watching Your Family Die Might Change That

eom

[oberliner]

12. It certainly won't help promote peace between people

That is for sure.

[Idealism]

8. I wonder if Livni will even end up winning

or if this all would be totally for naught...

[Hippo_Tron]

20. Apparently it doesn't look too good right now

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-israel-vote25-2009jan25,0,3412630.story

For a while it was looking like Labour/Kadima/Shas would again be able to form a majority coalition (assuming that they wanted to). Now they're saying that Netanyahu can get a majority right wing coalition. I'm sure that will involve the religious parties like last time he governed which means that he won't be able to implement as much of a right wing economic agenda. But the foreign policy will be controlled by the neocons.

[Idealism]

21. Bad news for the region if Bibi wins the PM spot n/t

[Hippo_Tron]

23. After Bush, I can definitely say that Netanyahu scares the shit out of me

It used to be that we would be overly worried about what the right wingers would do when they actually got in office. Reagan, for all of his warmongering rhetoric, didn't bomb much of anything and Netanyahu's first run as Prime Minister wasn't the apocalypse that some predicted it would be. But Bush was far worse than we could possibly have imagined and Netanyahu's second run might just be as well.

Either way it will be almost impossible for Obama to hash out any peace deal while Netanyahu is in office.

[RDANGELO]

9. That's why it never ends.

If the Palastinians could ever get through a generation with a decent and comfortable life, they would start forgetting to hate Israelis.

[Vegasaurus]

14. Doubtful

They lived much better in the region when the Jews started emigrating en masse, because with the Jews came agricultural advances, better economy, etc.

The Arab Palestinians had a much more decent and comfortable life, but war won.

Similarly, before the Intifadas, the Palestinians traveled freely back and forth to Israel for work, and had a much more decent and comfortable life.

Certainly compared to the misery in the hellhole of Gaza now.

But they have chosen (or their militants and leaders have chosen) war and terrorism every time.

[Douglas Carpenter]

17. for some strange reason, Palestinian like all other people of all cultures throughout history

and throughout the world, people tend to reject colonization and usurpation even if there might be some benefits. The people of Tibet have a much higher living standard today than before the Chinese annexation, but that does not change their attitudes toward the Chinese. Even the American colonist in the 18th century on average had a higher living standard that most British in Britain. But it did not change their desire for independence which also expressed itself in the form of terrorism. The Indians of India or the blacks of South African also experienced economic benefit from their colonizers. But they still aspired to self-determination and at times resorted to terrorism to express their discontent.

No doubt, both the Zionist colonization of Palestine and the British Mandate, brought some tangible benefits. But the Palestinians, like all other people throughout all of history still resisted the colonization and the usurpation of the land they naturally considered their homeland.

What truly boggles my mind is that almost EVERY significant early Zionist understood perfectly well that the Palestinians would resist them fiercely by any means available. And that the Palestinians were simply doing what anyone else in their situation of having a land that they had every natural right to consider their homeland and themselves the legitimate sovereigns that was under direct threat from a well organized colonization project - would do- From David Ben Gurion to Ze'ev Jabotinsky to Moshe Dyan they ALL understood this. As Ze'ev Jabotinsky said way back in 1922, "No indigenous people in the history of the world has ever willingly accepted the usurpation of their homeland without a fight to the end. And the Arabs will be the same."

Or David Ben Gurion - a bit more recently: "Why should the Arabs make peace? If I was an Arab leader, I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. Sure, God promised it to us, but what does that matter to them? Our God is not theirs. We come from Israel, it's true, but 2000 years ago, and what is that to them? There has been anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They only see one thing: we came here and stole their country. Why should they accept that?"

David Ben-Gurion as quoted in "The Jewish Paradox" by Nahum Goldmann, former president of the World Jewish Congress.

--

Furthermore the early Zionist colonization - like every other colonization project throughout the history of the world - was not all sweetness and life by any means.

From Avi Shlaim:

"The history of Zionism, from the earliest days to the present, is replete with manifestations of deep hostility and contempt toward the indigenous population. On the other hand, there have always been brave and outspoken critics of such attitudes. Foremost among them was Ahad Ha'am (Asher Zvi Ginsberg), a liberal Russian Jewish thinker who visited Palestine in 1891 and published a series of articles that were sharply critical of the aggressive behavior and political ethnocentrism of the Zionist settlers. They believed, wrote Ahad Ha'am, that "the only language that the Arabs understand is that of force." And they "behave towards the Arabs with hostility and cruelty, trespass unjustly upon their boundaries, beat them shamefully without reason and even brag about it, and nobody stands to check this contemptible and dangerous tendency." Little seems to have changed since Ahad Ha'am penned these words a century ago."

http://users.ox.ac.uk/~ssfc0005/It%20Can%20Be%20Done.html

[Hippo_Tron]

22. However, eventually the colonized often give up and stop resisting

And I think that's what a lot of people don't understand about the Palestinians. Particularly since Israel has several times offered them a sovereign state which is more than many colonizers throughout history have done.

But the reason it hasn't ended is that this is a religious and ethnic conflict for a lot of people. Although I don't think that's the case for the vast majority of the Palestinians. I think that the vast majority of Palestinians are interested in a peaceful settlement even if they don't get everything they want or everything that they deserve.

The reason, IMO, that there hasn't been peace though is that Gaza is a staging ground for conflicts in the Middle East both internal and external. Bombing Gaza is Israel's way of bombing Iran without the ramifications of actually doing so and likewise Iran arming Hamas with rockets to fire at Israel is Iran's way of attacking Israel without the ramifications.

Neither side really wants to spill its own blood and treasure but they are okay using the Palestinians to do so instead. Fatah and Hamas are nothing more than pawns in this struggle, Fatah working for Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia as well as the United States and Israel and Hamas for Syria and Iran. This will end when the Middle East either breaks out into a full scale war or when we all decide to start getting along with each other and stop using the Palestinians as cannon fodder.

[Douglas Carpenter]

26. other than in 1947/48 have the Palestinians been offered a sovereign state

Although an offer was under discussion in Taba, Egypt in January 2001, but the Israeli negotiators unilaterally ended the talks because they were on the brink of an election with Ariel Sharon predicting to win by a landslide with a promise to abrogate any such agreement. Had there been more time, perhaps an offer could have been made and an agreement reached.

In the context of 1947/48 no one seriously expected the Palestinians to accept such an offer, given that they were close to 70% of the population and the vast majority of Zionist colonizers were new arrivals. I find it completely implausible to imagine that anyone else under similar circumstances would have accepted such an offer.

There have been autonomy talks - nothing resembling a sovereign state, and talks of a Palestinian federations with Jordan in which Israel would have still kept all of Jerusalem and vast sways of the West Bank. This was rejected by Jordan as well as by the vast majority of Palestinians.

Since the U.N. partition plan and until now there simply has been no viable firm offer to accept or reject. Camp David 2000 was simply so unacceptable that even one of the lead Israeli negotiators, Former Israeli Foreign Minister, Shlomo Ben-Ami said quite clearly that he would have rejected it - had he been a Palestinian.

Still the basic formula is no secret, a contiguous Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza ( based on the 1967 border with minor mutually agreeable adjustments)with unimpeded movement through the territories, control of their borders and air space and unimpeded access to a sovereign Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem, with sovereignty over the Muslim holy sites and a workable arrangement regarding the Harram Al Shariff/Temple Mount. And a just resolution to the refugee problem, which would probably mean a compensation arrangement in the vast majority of cases. The basic formula is really not so complicated.

[Hippo_Tron]

27. I agree completely

But as I said I think the main obstacle to Palestinian sovereignty is that all sides (including the US and Israel) want to keep using the Palestinians for proxy wars. In other words, Palestinian sovereignty won't happen until the US/Israel/Egypt/Saudi Arabia settle their qualms with Iran and Syria either through war or through diplomacy. Eliminate the proxy wars and you eliminate the revenue and support for groups like Hamas. Eliminate groups like Hamas and you eliminate the excuse for Israeli politicians to keep dragging their feet.

Everybody talks about Israeli/Palestinian peace but honestly I just don't think it's a priority for a whole lot of people.

[ShadesOfGrey]

24. Excellent post! nt

[Vegasaurus]

30. Will the Palestinans continue to resist violently

for another 60 years or a 100 years?

Other groups that have been divided, colonized, discriminated against, have learned to make better lives for themselves through hard work and compromise.

There are myriad examples throughout history.

What is it about the Palestinian plight that prevents them from moving beyond poverty and refugee camps?

The hope that they will "recapture all of greater Palestine", like their leadership tells them, through violence and war?

At what point will they accept that a wrong was done, but pitying themselves and violence hasn't improved their lives?

60 more years of violence will also not improve their lives.

Do you think that at some point, the Palestinians will simply have to accept that colonization happened, even if they didn't like it, but to move on and try to better their lives?

Do you think that ongoing violence is a good thing for this people?

[Douglas Carpenter]

37. if Israel is willing to be reasonable and fair minded, and to accept the Palestinians as their equal

and equally entitled to respect and dignity - they will find a graciously willing partner for peace with the Palestinians. Of course it took time for the Palestinians to face the reality that Palestinian self-determination may come at the price of surrendering sovereignty over 78% of their homeland. Is that a surprising reaction? I don't think so. The Palestinians will not however surrender their entitlement to respect and dignity. What other colonized people ever have been willing to renounce their claim on 78% of their homeland? Talk of a generous offer.

But if Israel simply cannot deal with the Palestinians with respect and dignity as equals and are unwilling to base the negotiations on the minimal requirements of international law, the conflict will continue, regardless what I think or anyone else thinks. And a generation from now Israel will be engaged in the hopeless task of trying to subjugate a land with an overwhelming majority Palestinian-Arab population.

[Idealism]

18. What did Israel choose when they killed Palestinian leaders?

Do they not also choose war and terrorism, then, or is that extrajudical killing justified because Israel does it?

[GoesTo11]

15. There's also conscious efforts to continue hatred

Textbooks, school curricula, TV shows, religious sermons etc. all absolutely demonizing Jews and Israelis both. These are a policy choice of those in power to make it impossible to approach peace in the future. Sort of doing with hearts and minds what the Israeli settlements are doing with land.

[DogPoundPup]

16. Yea, sure, that's why the American School in Gaza was targeted by the IDF

and totally destroyed.

Airstrike destroys prominent Gaza school
http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/04/news/schools.php

oh my, goes to 11, why do you keep up with such nonsense?

[GoesTo11]

25. New PA schoolbooks give children "an indoctrination," not an education, Hillary Clinton saysl

So the Secretary of State is one source of my nonsense. http://pmw.org.il/bulletins_feb2007.htm#b080207

Has anyone used this as a justification for what happened at that school? I didn't intend to.

Here are some excellent examples!

http://www.science.co.il/Arab-Israeli-conflict/Articles/Education.asp

[azurnoir]

28. Oh so now the SoS is the goddess of truth?

cuause you agree and I ill bet are comforted on some level by her words when she needed campaign funds?

[Vegasaurus]

29. Those textbooks and indoctrination techniques have been discussed many times

Hillary Clinton is but one of many people disgusted by them.

[azurnoir]

35. Yes I know they have been

discussed on a number of occasions, a favorite of a certain set here who right now are pretty desperate to justify the deaths of indoctrinated children.

[GoesTo11]

32. Not everything that contradicts your beliefs is a Zionist conspiracy

Jews aren't that all-powerful. Really. This isn't the Matrix.

This is the same kind of thinking that says God put fossils in the ground to test our faith in creationism.

[azurnoir]

34. What a paranoid response n/t

[Alamuti Lotus]

38. Concur on paranoid, add in 'full of obscene self-importance'

[azurnoir]

39. LOL n/t

[DogPoundPup]

31. Here some "excellent examples"

Gaza Fulbright scholars denied access to Israel meet U.S. visa officials at Gaza border

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/10/africa/ME-Palestinians-Fulbright.php

AND

U.S. Withdraws Fulbright Grants to Gaza

GAZA — The American State Department has withdrawn all Fulbright grants to Palestinian students in Gaza hoping to pursue advanced degrees at American institutions this fall because Israel has not granted them permission to leave.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/30/world/middleeast/30gaza.html

[GoesTo11]

33. Non-responsive, as usual

Those are examples of Israel blowing it, and you'll have no argument from me on that. What I posted were examples of hate-incitement in the Palestinian K-12 curriculum (perhaps Hamas has introduced more peace-loving materials, but I somehow doubt it).

[DogPoundPup]

36. If these kids earned Fulbright scholarships you know darned well that they

are teaching important educational material!

[Lithos]

40. A bit of context

Fulbright grants do not come from a general pool, but are rather budgeted in a series of programs to individual states and territories. This way the US State department can focus attention to specific areas depending on the various needs and agendas of the US government.

L-