The accusation that Israelis are war mongers is usually made either by our foes or by peace-loving pacifists around the world who are usually fed by the former with vicious disinformation. The problem with these sometimes moral and very intelligent people is that they take that information at face value and don't bother to check the facts. If they did, they would find some very disturbing truths about their convictions.
They would find an ancient people living in a small and fragile country which is constantly busy defending its mere existence, always reacting to provocations and never initiating them.
They would find out that in 1948, a day-old Israeli state had to defend itself against a combination of five Arab countries, attacking it on the eve of its independence.
They would find out that in 1956, Israel join the English-French Musketeer Operation in the Sinai Peninsula in order to put an end, once and for all, to the Egyptian sponsored "Fadayeen" infiltrations to Israel from the Gaza strip, which claimed the lives of dozens of innocent Israeli civilians. It also came in response to Nasser's never-ending threats to annihilate the Zionist state.
They would find that the preemptive operation by Israel in June 1967 was initiated only after Nasser kicked UN truce-keeping forces out of the Sinai Peninsula, closed all water routes leading from and to Israel, and moved 100,000 of his troops toward the Israeli border, boosting war rhetoric to new levels.
They would find a coordinated attack during October 1973 against Israel by the armies of Egypt and Syria
They would find Israel's 1982 "Peace for Galilee" operation, which escalated to a full-scale war in Lebanon, a result of continues shelling of the north of Israel and horrific terrorist actions against innocent Israeli civilians carried out by the PLO, which occupied and ruled south of Lebanon.
They would find Israel
They would find Israel's reaction in 2006 to the border infiltration by the Hezbollah terrorist organization, which shelled the northern part of Israel, attacked and killed Israeli soldiers during a patrol mission on Israelis soil, and kidnapped two soldiers who later died of their lethal wounds. That situation quickly escalated to the second Lebanon war.
They would also find that Israel always reacted to Palestinian Terror, to both Intifadas and to Hamas’ continues shelling of the south of Israel in what is known as the Gaza War of 2008.
To all those truly moral people who are interested in the truth, I say that we love our children no less than you love yours. The only difference is that we have to live with the devastating acknowledgement that our children might lose their lives defending us on Israel's different fronts.
Are there any parents, anywhere on the face of the earth, who would want that?
Are there any parents, anywhere on the face of the earth, who would want that?
The Children of Israel
(Photo Courtesy of Israel's Ministry of Tourism)
Peace for us is not some idea to be so easily thrown to the air as part of a popular package of some universal values for those looking for a cause to follow: it is our life-long dream.
Peace is most appreciated by people who have experienced the devastation of war. Israelis has seen enough of that. We desire peace wholeheartedly, we long for it, we sing about it – we dream about it. And guess what: we have even proved it, twice actually. Israel maintains a stable and sustainable state of peace with both Egypt and Jordan, once fierce enemies.
Israelis all over sings "I was born for peace"
We greet each other using the word "Shalom", which, in Hebrew, means peace. We do that because it is our greatest aspiration and our utmost desire. We do that because, in our unusual reality, Shalom is the best thing you can ever wish for your fellow Israeli – for your fellow human being.
So, whenever you hear someone label us as war mongrels, don't forget to bear all the above mentioned in mind before forming your conclusions about us Israelis.
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