I read syndicated columnist George F. Will's call for blood-lust revenge ("Short war, high wall," Aug. 19), which waves a bloody talis (Jewish prayer shawl) to urge Israelis to war against the Palestinians.
His graphic description of a Jerusalem bombing, at a place my family recently stood, stirs memories of terrorism's blood on my own clothes. That this piece ran in American newspapers means it was aimed to enrage American supporters of Israeli war policy and solidify their lust for revenge.
As an American, a Jew, a war veteran and the parent of an Israeli daughter and son-in-law, I urge otherwise.
First, as an American, I urge that we look carefully at our own complicity in the sorry state of the Middle East. Although we fought the Nazis during World War II, we never went out of our way to save Jews from their slaughter.
After the war, we did nothing to establish a safe area within Europe for European Jews to remain. And then after the establishment of the state of Israel, we manipulated the politics of the region to protect our oil supplies and its pricing for American suppliers.
We have done nothing to solve the plight of Palestinian refugees since 1948. And continuing, we give the Israelis the largest share of our foreign aid to help them buy American-made weapons.
Second, as a Jew, I urge other Jews to listen to the prophet's prayers, "Not by might, not by power, but by spirit alone, shall we all live in peace," and "Justice, justice, shalt thou pursue."
Has Zionism made us ignorant of Jewish values?
As a war veteran, I find Will's bloody exhortation despicable. I notice nowhere in the biography of Will published on the Internet by the Washington Post any mention of military service in a war zone.
I recall Phil Ochs' line, "It's always the old who lead us to the war; it's always the young who fall."
War, according to Clauswitz, is "politics by other means." Blood lust is a great motive for massacre, but a poor substitute for political settlement.
What Israel and Palestine need is a solution, not a blood bath.
Volunteer your own children, Mr. Will, or better yet yourself, before you unleash a war.
And finally, as a parent of Israelis, I urge others with high stakes for the future lives of our children, grandchildren and their neighbors, to pray hard on these matters, speak out for means to a just and lasting peace, and act within our capacity to hold back the dogs of war like the terrorists, the torturers and the war-mongering likes of Will.
Neal Gosman is a St. Paul, Minnesota paralegal.
© Copyright 2001 Star Tribune
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