"Israelis feel empowered by attacks against Hamas"

[Adsos Letter]

Source: Yahoo/ AP

By MATTI FRIEDMAN and ARON HELLER,Associated Press Writer AP - Friday, January 2JERUSALEM - Israel's crushing aerial assault on Gaza has caused a significant shift in the country's mood, replacing lingering helplessness and frustration over Hamas rocket attacks with a sense of might and vindication.

Leaders who were unpopular only a week ago have suddenly surged in the public's esteem. But that could change quickly if the fighting drags on or Israel starts taking heavy casualties.

In downtown Ashkelon, a southern Israeli city that has come under rocket fire, a pair of plumbers hung up a handwritten sign praising the Gaza operation's mastermind, Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

That's a dramatic change for Barak, a former prime minister whose approval ratings were until recently so dismal that his own election slogans acknowledged he was unpopular.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ap/20090102/twl-ml-israel-mood-38359fb.html

[IndianaGreen]

1. We felt the same exhilaration during "Shock and Awe"

It didn't last long!

[azurnoir]

12. We did? I sure as hell did not but then I had a good idea of the

morass we had just stepped into.

[annm4peace]

2. there are 1000's of Israelis who don't support murdering others in Gaza

there are soldiers who have refused to fight. There are Jewish Israeli citizens protesting in the street against the bombing and do not feel safer by the increased violence.

[IndianaGreen]

Report: Yeshiva students waiving IDF service on the rise (Haaretz)

Chicken hawks are all the same!

[defendandprotect]

10. Yeah . . . I had video on that --- heartbreaking -- what impressive young people!!!

[azurnoir]

11. Same here

there is a particular group Ihave come to think of as Magen Yellow Elephants those who so support Israel are so proud of what their Israeli brother are doing and are with them in spirit but would not send themselves or their kids over there for more that a BirthRight tour no matter what

[davidinalameda]

7. shame there aren't too many Palestinians who don't support bombing and murdering Israelis

or else this might not have happened

[Violet_Crumble]

13. There are thousands of Palestinians who don't support bombing and murdering Israelis...

There are Palestinian members of OneVoice, as well as many Palestinian moderates who don't support such things. I've come to the conclusion based on yr posts and the bigoted site you post on, that you really have no interest in the conflict other than to try to demonise Palestinians. Maybe you'd have more luck somewhere where you have kindred spirits, say, LGF for example...

[davidinalameda]

15. why haven't they spoken up yet

as for demonizing the Palestinians, I'd say their terrorist leaders and doing a damn good job of that themselves

Hamas is nothing but a bunch of murdering thugs

I wonder how many of the so-called progressives on here that support them would last very long under their regime

they're not real keen on dissent

[Hannah Bell]

17. 4 Israelis dead this year from Palestinian rockets. 400 Palestinians dead this

week from israeli attacks.

"Murdering thugs," you say?

[shira]

20. 400:4 ratio absurd

10 murderous thugs kill your kid. They're then killed before they can do more damage. Ratio 10:1. See how absurd the comparison is?

[Hannah Bell]

21. no, i see how you don't value the lives of children other than your own.

because even by your asinine "80% thugs" ratio, it's 87 civilians 87 dead, THIS YEAR ALONE, in response to 25 Israelis dead in SEVEN YEARS.

So that would make it 609 to 25.

Wow, how moderate.

[davidinalameda]

23. I do say murdering thugs

how many suicide bombing have they done over the years

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hamas_suicide_attacks

[Hannah Bell]

24. about 90% fewer than the number of palestinians killed by israel.

http://www.btselem.org/English/Statistics/Casualties.asp

[shira]

19. ironic

It's just "criticism", isn't it?

You're for that kind of criticism when it's applied only in one direction. It's just criticism, or so we're told, when the demonization is against Israel (Israelis). Hatemongering when the demonization is against Palestine (Palestinians).

Maybe you'd have more luck somewhere where you have kindred spirits, say, Counterpunch or Stormfront for example.

[Hannah Bell]

22. Which "demonization" of Israel was that? The pricks just killed 435 people, supposedly in response

to "rocket attacks" that didn't kill anyone in the preceding five months, & you expect normal people to say, "oh, poor things, they had no choice?"


Now let's see: "Counterpunch" = critical of Israel

"Stormfront" = Nazis

The same in your world?

[Truth2Tell]

3. "... a sense of might and vindication."

Sick.

What a fucked up world we live in.

Sometimes it's hard to have faith in mankind.

[IndianaGreen]

4. The choice has always been between Socialism or barbarism

We have been choosing barbarism for decades on end.

[Truth2Tell]

6. Centuries on end. nt

[davidinalameda]

5. it's amazing how people react when their government stands up for them

[Truth2Tell]

8. stands up for them?

You mean like a high schooler beating up a 3rd grader on the bus because the 3rd grader stuck his tongue out at the high school student's girlfriend? That kind of "standing up for?"

[Violet_Crumble]

14. Apparently the only sort of standing up they want is one where there's lots of killing involved n/t

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Hannah Bell]

18. nice spin, except for the rocket attacks have killed precisely 25 israelis in the last 7 years.

Maybe if Israel stuck to "eye for eye" they wouldn't have so many folks booing.

[defendandprotect]

9. This is religiously fanatical Israel --- the peace-loving Israelis are organizing . . .

They were shut out by Nixon arming the right wing crazies ---

And by the murder of Rabin by the religious right -- "Murder in the name of God."

But -- I guess like us -- they are trying to organize to recover control again.