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Israel killing people, hope and ambition
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More from OpinionI am writing on a day during which Israeli strikes have killed more than 460 Palestinians and wounded more than 2,750, many of whom are women and children. After many attempts, I was finally able to reach my family in Gaza. As I speak to them, I try to calm them down and ask them to remain hopeful, but all of a sudden, my 70-year-old grandmother blurts in frustration, “Every few minutes I jump from the sound of a blast, F-16s all over the place, no electricity, food is scarce, hope? We’ve forgotten the meaning of this word; we’re living dead, trapped in hell.”
I feel their fear and pain as well. I turn on American television stations and notice that, although this may be the greatest massacre in the region since the war in 1967, very little of what’s really happening is being addressed. On the other hand, Al-Jazeera and many other news outlets are covering this matter 24/7.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the American stance are, I believe, at the heart of our homeland security. I hope for long-lasting peace, not only for the safety of America, but for the safety of Israelis and Palestinians alike.
The main problem that foments terrorism is not religion, it is insanity, it is hunger and it is oppression. When we have a population that is habitually oppressed — living under continued blockades, without enough food, unreliable electricity, children unable to go to school, people unable to leave a small swath of land and feeling imprisoned — how do we expect people to act as if they are not captives? Terrorist groups feed on such individuals.
When we, as Americans, do not speak out against the injustice of the Israeli government, while it continues to develop settlements and create blockades and occupy territories in the West Bank, we are immediately viewed as taking part in the injustice. Many individuals, both in America and worldwide, believe Americans do not hold the Israeli government accountable.
Whenever the Israeli government does anything wrong, we are hesitant to speak, but when Palestinians who have lost all hope do anything, we jump all over them and condemn their acts. Inevitably, we are providing terrorists with the necessary rope to recruit and lure those who have lost family and all hope.
How can we continue to support the creation of insanity and blame the insane for their lack of sanity? Islam wholeheartedly condemns the killing of innocent people and suicide bombing, which, incidentally, never took place until very recently in the past century. Islam has been around for 14 centuries. Hamas must stop launching rockets.
I realize that Israel is an ally, and I understand that we must stand by our allies. However, is our stance truly helping our allies? Or is it actually hurting them in the long run?
I turn on the television, and all I hear from the U.S. government is its condemnation of Hamas for firing rockets. Despite the cease-fire agreement, blockades and settlements continue left and right, and let us not forget that the Israeli government was the one that broke the cease-fire Nov. 4 when it attacked an alleged Hamas tunnel. This key fact has been missing from most of the reporting of Israel’s killing of nearly 500 Palestinians in Gaza.
And I must always return to the fundamental fact that the Israeli government took over Palestinian lands but never compensated the Palestinians at all.
When comparing the populations of the U.S. and Gaza, 500 people dying in Gaza is equivalent to more than 100,000 people dying in the U.S.
Why don’t we condemn the Israeli government for its unlawful and inhumane acts as well?
I look at our history and see the genocides that took place during the Holocaust, Rwanda, Cambodia, Bosnia, Iraq and Iran, and Darfur. I also see our lack of an immediate response. It took us too much time to claim that what was taking place in these countries was actually genocide. We must realize that what is taking place in Gaza is even worse than genocide.
While the number of deaths may not be as staggering as the deaths in prior genocides, an entire people’s collective hopes and ambitions and desires are being killed — and the whole world is watching.
— Nabil Alshurafa of Camarillo is a graduate student at UCLA. He and his family were evacuated from Kuwait in 1990, before the initiation of the first Gulf War. He is a volunteer at the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles, working to unite American Muslims and other Americans. He also works for a research and development company, working on developing image processing and U.S. border security systems.
Posted by Graesan on January 6, 2009 at 7:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hamas is a terrorist organization that uses women and children as props and human shields. How many times have we seen women cheering because their son martyrd himself. Don't give me the "women and children" line here. They are not innocent victims. Good for Israel for finally standing up and defending herself.
Posted by nannyfo1 on January 6, 2009 at 9:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What Nabil left out was that Hamas, largely funded by Iran, was elected by the people of Palestine. They fired the first shot. Isreal wanted to extend the cease fire agreement that had been in place for the previous six months. Hamas refused and started firing rockets into random civilian targets in Isreal. These facts have been largely ignored. I hope that Isreal continues on its current offensive.
Posted by adamantly on January 6, 2009 at 3:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What a load of baloney. The Star add a postscript to this letter to try and add credence and validity to this letter.
His first assertion that Israel broke the cease fire is bull. Hamas refused to extend the cease fire before Israel fire on Gaza. Palestinians voted for Hamas as their government. They did this to themselves and they will get what they deserve. If Palestinians spent as much money on food, medicine and education that they spend on munitions they would be the the healthiest and smartest people in the region. When the had an opportunity to vote the chose terrorism. Palestinians are to blame for all their problems and instead of Nabil trying to tell us that Isreal is to blame for the Palestinian problems he should be telling Palestinians to stop supporting terrorist organizations. Usually terrorist organization are supported discreetly but the Palestinians voted for Hamas.
Nabil is supposed to be developing image processing systems but he can't see what is staring him in the face. Hamas is the cause of the Palestinian problems and Palestinians voted for them. Palestinians are simply getting what they asked for and they asked for death and destruction.
Oh, and as for his assertion that terrorism is not formented by Islam but by oppression and hunger here is a simple question.
Tell me a Christian country where people are oppressed and hungry and there is terrorism.
There is no investment in Gaza and that is not the fault of Israel. No company management in there right mind would invest in Gaza because of the terrorist government. People don't go to Gaza because the think they will be killed by a suicide bomber, not killed by Israeli's.
Palestinians are to blame for the situation the find themselve in and only the Palestinians can fix it. When Palestinians are tired of death and destruction they will get rid of Hamas. In the means time what Israel is doing is protecting their homeland and doing the whole world a favor in killing terrorists.
Posted by marketrealist on January 6, 2009 at 4:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There is so much blame tossed at the Palestinians for resisting Israeli occupation.
What would Americans do if we were driven off our land, herded into occupation camps, denied the right to movement, medical aid blocked, our agriculture ripped out of the ground, and shot by a strong well armed occupier? And do this not for one year or two but for over 40 years!
Who would you say is the terrorist in this story?
Posted by coffee67 on January 6, 2009 at 4:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Nabil...Well stated and fact filled. Ignore those who have no comprehension beyond their little worlds. A lot of people agree with you and I, for one, will be praying for your families safety. Thanks for taking a risk and putting out the other side of the story.
Posted by Brad on January 7, 2009 at 1:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
To adamantly:
As to who started it, you might be interested in this from CNN:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kntmpo...
As for Christian terrorists, check this article out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christia...
Most notably, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has been in the news recently:
http://www.africanews.com/site/list_m...
Posted by mayada on January 7, 2009 at 4:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Through 13 days of attacks on the occupied Gaza Strip, Israel has killed at least 700 Palestinians and injured at least 3,250 .Israel 's attacks come on top of a brutal siege of the Gaza Strip, which has created a humanitarian catastrophe of dire proportions for Gaza 's 1.5 million Palestinian residents by restricting the provision of food, fuel, medicine, electricity, and other necessities of life. what do you think of people in Gaza welcomeing Israel with flowers.
Posted by Paggar on January 7, 2009 at 5:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is such an emotional conflict, with deep wounds on both sides and no easy answers. I'm sure your grandmother's cry speaks for many. I applaud you, Nabil, for giving voice to this pain and despair with constructive dialogue.
I hope your letter causes others to realize that we must ask ourselves the difficult questions and challenge our current assumptions and prejudices if we are ever to achieve lasting Peace.
I hope people recognize that NOT ALL Palestinians voted for Hamas. Inferring that all Palestinians voted for and support Hamas is like saying ALL Americans voted for George W. Bush and supported all his administration's decisions.
We gain nothing by arguing about who's right or who feels more violated. Two wrongs have never made a right. The Palestinian people are in desperate need and deserve humanitarian aid.
I agree with you, Nabil, when you say, "The Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the American stance are, I believe, at the heart of our homeland security. I hope for long-lasting peace, not only for the safety of America, but for the safety of Israelis and Palestinians alike."
For the sake of all of us, we MUST find a better way.
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