Getting it right

Submitted by Rebecca Moulds (United States), Jan 2, 2009 at 10:16

Israel needs to persuade the world that it is important to win this war, but perhaps its approach has been wrong. The media picks up on numbers, i.e. how many casualties the Palestinians have suffered, compared to the numbers the Israelis have---the Palestinians invariably outnumbering the Israelis.

People look at these numbers and moan, "OH! The Israelis are killing innocent people! Where is their justification?" In order for Israel to elicit support from the rest of the world, it first must convince us that winning is good, that it is not behaving in a brutal way (as seen from some countries); that in the long run, destroying Hamas and its other enemies, will be a positive thing not just for the region but for the entire world. It must make known that Hamas and other terrorist organizations are evil, that they do not care about their own people.

There is much sympathy for the people of Gaza because of media bias toward the Palestinians, little sympathy for Israel, even though Qassam rockets have been raining down on Israel for many years. The roles are seen by some to have been reversed; Israel is now Goliath and the Palestinians are David. Israel must try harder to justify using "disporportionate" force, why it is vital to survive, why its place in the world is important, why it must stand firm against its enemies. Israel must expand beyond religious ties or differences to draw more support from all sectors. Ending terrorism will only happen when a world-wide definition of what is terrorism is accepted, and Israel, although it cannot end terrorism by itself, can do its part by winning this long drawn-out and depressing war.

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