Dear Enbal Gross,

I am sorry that I did not pick up this thread closer to the time it was published and sincerely hope that my post is posted as a response to your “New Genocide” claims.

You wrote: “I grew up in Israel and I can tell you that since day one all you learn and understand is that there is an enemy that wants to take your country and kill you”.

This is a personal perception and not fact-based at all. So be it, for now, despite the fact that Israel is a pluralistic, democratic society having been led by both left and right-wing governments throughout her 60 years. You might need to back your “understanding” with factual material.

You wrote: “You will learn in an Israeli history class that we were always outnumbered…”.

If you are referring to the size of Israel’s population, amongst the surrounding Arab nations’ population (I doubt you are) then yes you learned and understood well but led your readers astray by insinuating that some plot teaches untruths. If you are referring to the Arab-Israel wars then all your history teachers misinformed you. You insinuate that being outnumbered is not true, but Israel was outnumbered as follows:

(1) 1948 War of Independence: Note the table of force comparison on the right. Please note that no less than 7 Arab countries simultaneously attacked Israel.

(2) 1956 Suez War: Note the table of force comparison on the right.

(3) 1967 War: Do I still have to remind you to learn the table on the right?

(4) 1973 War: Please note that Israel was attacked by three Arab nations on her holiest day

Do you and your readers need more?

***

You wrote: “You learn…that all of the battles were in the sanctity of the Holy Land. ”

Sanctity and holiness are taught in religious sectors of the population which are approximately 25 percent of the population. You lead your readers astray, again.

You wrote: “You will learn that the Jewish people have suffered throughout history”.

I don’t know from which direction to proceed on this one. Perhaps a good start is the systematic genocide of six million not too long ago. I will mention words like pogroms and go back all the way to Crusades. You can do the rest by looking up a little Jewish history — you used the word “Jewish” history. Oh, look up anti-Semitism against Jews.

You wrote : “You will have no choice but to believe that the only way is to fight for your life, no matter what”.

“No choice”. Does this mean its punishable if you don’t? The only locations I know of in which this type of “offense” is punishable are in Sha’riah states.

You wrote: “I started to investigate and learn the facts, and to watch alternative media channels, which were not biased”.

Could you please provide these sources to your readers, myself included. If you are referring to the BBC, Reuters reports, Sky, The Guardian etc. I suggest you visit this website.

You wrote: “Then I learned about the Sabra and Shatila massacre.”

You forgot to mention that the perpetrators of the massacre were Lebanese and thus lead your readers astray.

You wrote: “And from here I finally saw the truth. I started to participate in the weekly demonstrations of Bil’in…And I saw the real ugly face of occupation.”

You forgot to mention that you are protesting the building of a FENCE (only 2 percent of it is wall) to keep out suicide bombers that TARGET civilians. That includes women, children, tourists and the elderly.

You wrote: “I, even as an Israeli, got attacked from “my” soldiers with tear gas grenades along with (illegal) rubber-coated steel bullets and stun grenades, all in a non-violent demonstration”.

You forgot to mention that you were disobeying orders given to you whilst breaking the law. Could you please furnish the sources for your “illegal” claim, too.

You wrote: “I saw a helpless child suffocated by a tear gas grenade which landed in his living room. I saw a young man been arrested just for calling out protest songs. I saw the madness in the soldiers eyes as they started to chase us into the village”.

You forgot to see the madness in suicide bombers eyes. You also forgot to see the dozen of mutilated bodies of Israeli civilians in charred busses, blown up by suicide bombers. Do you need more? There are countless sites and videos of Hamas and Palestinian indoctrination, and calls to annihilate the Jews – look it up yourself.

You wrote: “…no one will teach you about the fact that in Israel in 2009 there are roads that Palestinians aren’t allowed on even though it’s the direct road to their village. Or that the West Bank and every other Palestinian territory is surrounded with walls and every few meters there is a watch-tower with Israeli soldiers”.

You forgot to mention that those roads had been used to transport suicide bombers and other terrorists militants. You lead your readers astray by referring to a wall – only 2 percent is a wall and not fence. You forgot to mention that in areas that there are walls, Israeli civilians were shot, killed and maimed due to the fact the fence is see-through.

You wrote: “No one will teach you that. You will have to learn it yourself, or forever be in the dark”.

Of course you’d have remained in the dark by “forgetting” to check your facts and look up the reasons for all you have complained about.

You wrote: “I can assure you that there is no other solution other than ending the occupation of Palestine — now”.

I agree; can you believe that?

You wrote: “People need to break the bloody circle by seeing that they’ve been brainwashed their whole life to believe that “war is the only way they know”, and that the Islam calls them to kill all Jews – it is just false”.

Oh boy! I think that you have remained in some chosen dark place. Take a look at Sayyed Qutb and Hassan al-Banna, and even Mawdoodi, and other fellows like them, all of whom wrote long before any of the events in question and who explained why they hate the West and Jews. For example, this is from the writings of Qutb:

Any place where the Islamic Shari’ah is not enforced and where Islam is not dominant becomes the Home of Hostility (Dar-ul-Harb) … A Muslim will remain prepared to fight against it, whether it be his birthplace or a place where his relatives reside or where his property or any other material interest are located. The homeland of the Muslim, in which he lives and [upon] which he depends, is not a piece of land; the nationality of the Muslim, by which he is identified, is not the nationality determined by a government … striving is purely for the sake of God, for the success of His religion and His law [Milestones, pp 124-5]

And:

…explaining the purpose of man and his historical role in philosophical terms … is one of the tricks played by world Jewry, whose purpose is to eliminate all limitations, especially the limitations imposed by faith and religion, so that Jews may penetrate into body politics of the whole world and then may be free to perpetuate their evil designs. At the top of the list of these activities is usury, the aim of which is that all the wealth of mankind end up in the hands of Jewish financial institutions which run on interest. [Milestones, p.110-111]

At the beginning the enemies of the Muslim community did not fight openly with arms but tried to fight the community in its belief through intrigue, spreading ambiguities, creating suspicions. They do likewise today. They have plotted and they go on plotting against this nation. Hundreds and thousands have infiltrated the Muslim world, and they still do in the guise of Orientalists. The pupils of the latter fill today the positions of the intellectual life of the countries whose people call themselves Muslim. Their aim is clearly shown by the Protocols [of the Elders of Zion]. The Jews are behind materialism, animal sexuality, the destruction of the family and the dissolution of society. Principal among them are Marx, Freud, Durkheim and the Jew Jean-Paul Sartre.

…

The Jews have confronted Islam with enmity from the moment the Islamic state was established in Mediana… the Muslim community continues to suffer the same Jewish machinations and double-dealing which discomfited the early Muslims… This is a war which has not been extinguished…for close on fourteen centuries its blaze has raged in all the corners of the earth and continues to this moment.

(Sayyid Qutb, “Ma’rakatuna ma’a al-Yahud,” (Our Battle Against the Jews) [essay] 1951. Published in book of the same name [Ma'rakatuna ma'a al-Yahud], Jedda, Saudi Arabia, 1970)

***

You wrote: “There are Muslims who kill in the name of Islam, but they are abusing the faith, like Yigal Amir did when he murdered Yitzhak Rabin – apparently in the name of God. And like Baruch Goldstein did when he murdered 29 Muslims, also “in the name of God”. So does this mean Jews kill in the name of God? Of course not. These people are not the majority, there is a fanatical minority on both sides”.

You compare one Yigal Amir and Goldstein to many muslims. Yigal Amir did not mange to organize mass rallies, nor was he sent by any group. The comparison is outrageous. Not only did you NOT see Israelis distributing sweets after this horrific event, it was investigated like none other, rebuked and certainly does not reflect any group or Israeli policy. If you really want to go down this road, you will find it bloodied with Israeli blood for countless “martyrs and Hamas heroes”. Shame on you for drawing such a comparison. Yes, the vast majority of Muslims are not terrorists, but why is it that the vast majority of terrorists are Muslim?

You wrote: “Whether people will admit to the truth or not, the Israeli government is committing war crimes in Gaza. And even though the Israeli Supreme Court has ordered to allow access for international journalists in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli government continues to deny journalists entry to Gaza. Don’t you ask yourself why? If Israel is really fighting only the terrorists, then what is there to hide?

Your conclusion of not allowing journalists into Gaza is a personal gut feeling and not true information. This leads your readers astray and into the dark. The reason is to protect the journalists and Israeli soldiers. Journalists unfortunately have abused there role and caused Israeli deaths. Let’s leave the bias out of it for now. Two Iranian journalists have been sentenced for breaking censorship laws which caused the deaths of some soldiers. You need, a source for this claim – let me know.

You wrote: “Young Israeli children are signing on bombs before the IDF use them to bombing Gaza. It is such an appalling display of contempt for human life. Is this how we want our children to be? Cold-blooded murderers?”

Please confirm this by providing a link. Should you be able to, I shall furnish you with some links.

You wrote: “As a granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, I grew up with the horror stories about what happened to the Jews in the Holocaust — the real stories. So how could it be justified to do it to another nation? We have got to put a stop to it. It’s a whole new modern genocide. Are you willing to be part of it? Are you willing to just sit there with crossed hands and do nothing? Well I can’t — my conscience doesn’t allow me to do that.”

So the Holocaust was genocide – the systematic killing of a racial or cultural group. Jews were gassed for being Jews, right? The mighty Israeli army could systematically destroy all of Gaza and a few neighboring countries, within the hour. Why does it not? Why are leaflets dropped to warn civilians of impending bombardments? Why are there Palestinians in Israeli hospitals? Why did Israel wait through eight years of rocket fire to implement this genocidal plan? Shame on you for using your Holocaust wounds to falsely accuse Israel of doing the same.

You have acquired some fans who have made you their heroine, as the comments show. It is quite easy to be king of the mice but rather difficult to be king of the lions. Enjoy your reign.

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