July
25, 2002, 9:15 a.m. Human
“Wrongs”
Durban, Jenin,
Gaza.
By Gerald M.
Steinberg
he accidental
deaths of a number of Palestinian children resulting from the Israeli
strike against the building in which Hamas terror leader Salah Shehadeh
took refuge in the middle of Gaza City was a tragic error. But from the
chorus, composed of the self-styled "international community"
— the U.N., the media, human-rights NGOs, and European desk-wise
diplomats — Israel's efforts to defend itself constitute a moral
crime of the gravest magnitude. If anyone needed further evidence of the
ethical depravity of this chorus, these condemnations provide it.
In the feeding frenzy,
the obvious fact that this accident would have been avoided if Palestinian
terrorists did not choose to seek refuge in densely populated areas is
being conveniently ignored. While portrayed as a deliberate assault against
civilians, the strike against Shehadeh was a defensive exercise from Israel,
as it continues to try to defend the lives of its citizens. The mistake
that led to the civilian deaths was a tactical one: using a one-ton bomb,
rather than a smaller and more precise weapon.
Acting with pathetic
predictably, many journalists reporting from Gaza (and the diplomats that
echo these myths) have entirely ignored the reasons behind the Israeli
decision — the evil perpetrated by Shehadeh and other terrorists
living in Arafat's realm. In sharp contrast to this moral outrage, during
the past two years, the Palestinian mass terror campaign has been based
entirely on deliberate attacks designed to kill Israeli children. And
yet, for most of this period, Europe and the rest of the trendy "international
community" has sided with the murderers and condemned the hundreds
of victims.
The inability to
distinguish between aggressors, who show no concern for human life, and
the defenders, whose goal is to preserve the sanctity of these lives,
constitutes the fundamental moral failure of our time. The same chorus
kicked in automatically when allied bombs went astray in the war against
Saddam Hussein (i.e. when civilians housed below a military facility were
killed); in Serbia in the effort to defend Kosovo against Milosevic; and
again in Afghanistan following bin Laden's mega-terror attacks on September
11. President Bush's uncharacteristic decision to join the condemnation
of Israel was transparent and ill-advised, coming a few weeks after an
American attack that went wrong in Afghanistan, killing dozens of wedding
guests. In each of these cases, the moral burden of the loss of innocent
lives falls directly on the terrorists and their supporters, including
those who provide ideological support, funds, and cover.
At the same time,
the U.N. and its loyal allies among NGO superpowers such as Human Rights
Watch have clearly learned nothing from their embarrassment in Jenin,
which exposed their eagerness to join the Palestinian propaganda campaign
to demonize Israel. In the case of Jenin, the Israeli military was condemned
for taking risks (that cost the 23 Israeli soldiers their lives) by using
ground forces to destroy the terrorist network that sought immunity in
the U.N.-run refugee camps. In contrast, when the Israeli Air Force was
sent to strike at the Hamas leader in Gaza, the chorus did not skip a
beat. In other words, whatever Israel does and however it acts to prevent
terrorism, condemnation will surely follow.
Indeed, these groups
quickly exploited the tragedy in Gaza, in order to erase the memories
of the false cries of "massacre" and "war crimes,"
and of their eager repetition of Palestinian lies. The macabre scene of
U.N. representative Terje Larsen, running from studio to studio and repeatedly
referring to "the stench of death" from the massacre in Jenin
that never happened, is being repeated. And with predictability, U.N.
human-rights czar Mary Robinson condemned Israeli immorality, less than
a year after she presided over the U.N.'s Durban fiasco — a festival
of gratuitous Israel-bashing and anti-Semitism under the false guise of
anti-racism. These groups or individuals have failed to preserve a scintilla
of credibility.
And yet, despite
this ethical depravity, Israel will conduct a serious investigation into
the fatal decision that led to this tragedy. Morality is not determined
by those who scream the loudest or repeat the lies with the greatest frequency,
but rather by individuals and nations that cling to a code of conduct
that is immune to clichés and cynical manipulation.
—
Gerald M. Steinberg teaches politics and heads the Program on Conflict
Management and Diplomacy at Bar Ilan University in Israel.
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he accidental
deaths of a number of Palestinian children resulting from the Israeli
strike against the building in which Hamas terror leader Salah Shehadeh
took refuge in the middle of Gaza City was a tragic error. But from the
chorus, composed of the self-styled "international community"
— the U.N., the media, human-rights NGOs, and European desk-wise
diplomats — Israel's efforts to defend itself constitute a moral
crime of the gravest magnitude. If anyone needed further evidence of the
ethical depravity of this chorus, these condemnations provide it.
