Liquidation sale - Gideon Levy

[Tom Joad]

It was like an especially wild orgy: First the great intoxication of the senses, then the bitter sobering up the next morning. Within a few hours, Israel went from celebrating the assassination of Imad Mughniyah to the fear of what would follow. The "great feat of intelligence," the "perfect execution," the "humiliation of Bashar Assad" were replaced in the blink of an eye with a spate of fear-inducing "travel advisories" by the Counterterrorism Office - don't travel, don't identify yourself, don't congregate, be careful, take every precaution - and with states of high alert on the northern border, and at all of Israel's embassies and consulates, and Jewish community centers worldwide. If these are the dangers that lie in wait for us, one has to ask: What did we need this assassination for?

Whoever killed Mughniyah was once again playing with the most dangerous fire of all: He undermined Israel's security. If it was Israel, one has to ask whether there was any shred of sense in this move. If it was not Israel, our famed intelligence agencies would do well to prove this quickly, before the next disaster. Was the security of Israel's citizens improved? Was terror dealt a permanent blow? History, with its multitude of previous assassinations, teaches that the answer is no. The chain of "terrorist chieftains" liquidated by Israel, from Ali Salameh and Abu Jihad through Abbas Mussawi and Yihyeh Ayash to Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz Rantisi - all "operations" that we celebrated with great pomp and circumstance for one sweet and intoxicating moment - have thus far brought only harsh and painful revenge attacks against Israel and Jews throughout the world, as well as infinite replacements no less effective than their predecessors, and sometimes more so. From assassination to assassination, terror has only increased and become more sophisticated.

We have never really demanded an accounting from those responsible for these liquidations; we have merely been excited by their "achievements." How we enjoy wallowing in these childish tales of heroism! Yihyeh Ayash was killed via his cell phone? That is fine for an action flick, but our film ended in a wave of suicide bombings that killed more than 100 Israelis. Did anyone ever ask whether it was worth it? And who is the guilty party? We were excited about the cell phone that blew up in "the engineer's" face, but in the end, it blew up in our faces. Now, we have Ehud Barak as defense minister and Meir Dagan as head of the Mossad, both great fans of assassinations and hush-hush James Bond operations. And thus, there is good reason to suspect that this time as well, Israel had a hand in what happened.

First, the partying: It is depressing to see the pseudo-victory celebrations. What, for heaven's sake, is there to celebrate, other than the oldest and most primitive feeling of all - revenge? The parade of generals and pundits who were interviewed in every possible platform, putting their heads together and dispensing cunning smiles, inflated with their own self-importance, along with the generations of terror victims who were called on to express the joy of their personal revenge, and the deciphering of hints - here is Ehud Olmert smiling in the Knesset and Ehud Barak standing tall in Ankara - all of these painted a picture of unparalleled grimness. Even devoted fans of the genre need to think about the morning after. Even for them, vengeance for the sake of vengeance, an eye for an eye, in the best spirit of our biblical values, cannot be the be-all and end-all. Moreover, a society that rejoices and takes pride in its media victory after every assassination is a society in bad shape, while a war on terror that only encourages ever more vicious reprisals is a lost war. ...

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/954787.html

[Tom Joad]

1. Every nation needs a national past-time, but it would be nice if they

choose baseball instead.

[Vegasaurus]

2. You have that all backwards Tom

Israelis aren't the ones dancing in the streets or celebrating their revenge by handing out candies, or having their mothers thrilled with the martyrdom of their sons.

Israelis have many more worthwhile pursuits than revenge. Take a look and you will see a happy and thriving economy and people.

[Violet_Crumble]

3. Yes! Israelis are wondrous people while the Palestinians are the only ones into revenge!!

How did I not grasp such a simple concept right from the start!! ;)

[Tom Joad]

4. Nope, too busy plowing under Palestinian farmland to celebrate.

Though i know quite a few Israelis would want better of their government, it seems to be intent only on dispossessing Palestinians of their land and homes.

[Scurrilous]

5. Decorated IDF officer accused of killing Palestinian in 'vendetta'

<snip>

"Information contained in a petition that will be filed with the High Court of Justice in the next few days casts serious aspersions on Y.B., now commander of the Jerusalem Border Police's undercover unit and one of Israel's most illustrious warriors. The petition claims he shot to death an unarmed Palestinian, from close range, in the course of a November 2001 operation to arrest the man.

At the time Y.B. served as a company commander in the undercover unit of the Judea and Samaria Border Police. Three years ago he was awarded the Medal of Valor for dozens of operations in which he took part and assassinations he carried out.

The petitioners, lawyers Shlomo Lecker, Shimon Dolan and Michael Sfard and the Public Committee Against Torture want the High Court to order the Israel Defense Forces to open a military police investigation into the death of the Palestinian, Issa Dabasa. The operation's stated objective was arresting Dabasa, who was suspected of murdering Dov Driben, a settler from Havat Maon who had tried to take over his land and was shot to death three years earlier.

According to the petition, "a person who was in the incident's vicinity that Issa's body was taken from the scene of the incident by the undercover troops and was presented as a trophy to the family of the late Driben."

The petitioners claim that Dabasa's killing, as well as the arrest of two of his brothers (who stood trial for Driben's murder and were acquitted) was "a vendetta that was sanctioned by political and military officials" because the Havat Maon settlers are well-connected."

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