Peace Flotilla, or Flotilla the Hun

Lilac Sigan

Last week raised questions about the world's view of Israel. But is anyone asking?

What is the truth? And does anyone really want to hear it? Sometimes it seems that in the world we live in today, flooded with information, we tell ourselves that we seek the truth, but it’s not what we’re really after. What we look for is a quick answer in the form of a sharp headline that will “explain” what happened. What we need is an immediate suspect to blame, so that we’ll feel a bit better about ourselves, and then continue with our lives.

The problem is, real life is a bit more complicated, and the price we pay for choosing the quick way is high. If what you’re interested in is an instant explanation that will enable you to point a finger in disgust at the usual suspect and then move on to more important things, please, don’t read this. But if you are interested in being confused by some questions you may have never asked yourself, I promise to do my best to deliver.

  1. If the organizers of the flotilla had really wanted to grant humanitarian aid to the poor people of Gaza, didn’t they find a weird way to do it? It could have been achieved quite easily: Over a hundred truckloads of supplies are brought into Gaza every day through the Israeli border. These supplies could have been delivered in the exact same way.
  2. How come aid is not delivered to Gaza through its border with Egypt? Egypt has decided to close the border since it knows Hamas, the terror organization that rules Gaza, will always exploit kindness in order to smuggle weapons. And while we’re on the subject - does anyone ever ask why Egypt is never blamed for closing the Gaza border or for shooting at Palestinians who try to cross it?
  3. Why is Gaza still connected to Israel? Well, nobody really wants to deal with it. Over 25 years ago, Israel wanted to give it back to Egypt as part of the peace treaty between the two countries, but Egypt wouldn’t hear of it, until finally Israel caved in. Egypt was smart. It realized that the extreme, hateful leaders turn Gaza into a plague, a disease no-one wants to touch. The only one who has no choice but to touch it every day, is Israel. About four years ago, Israel tried to one-sidedly disengage so that Gaza would become independent, but it didn’t work. Gaza is not a problem that will just “go away”.
  4. Why did Israeli soldiers board the leading ship of the flotilla? Because it declared it would break into territorial waters illegally and refused to stop, after being asked to do so many times. This is a legal action that any other country would have taken in the same situation. So why is Israel being condemned?
  5. Why did the ship become a bloody scene that took 9 civilian lives? Because this was the intention of the organizers of this “peaceful” protest. The Israeli soldiers that boarded the ship at sea, initially had no weapons on them except for paint guns used for outdoor games. Israel wanted to deal with this flotilla as an illegal protest, but the armed terrorists on the main ship had something entirely different on their minds. They lied to the world and lured innocent people to join them, when what they really wanted was blood and hate, and in the end, they got it.
  6. Why is there a blockade on Gaza in the first place? Gaza is controlled by Hamas a barbaric terrorist movement with a declared objective to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. It teaches small children to kill themselves in order to murder others, it uses funds aimed for building an economy in order to purchase weapons to shoot at Israeli cities, and it infests the lives of the Palestinians with endless terror so that they won’t try to revolt. It thrives on the misery of the Palestinians as a cynical, awful means to extort pity from the world.
  7. What is the IHH organization that stands behind the flotilla? In a report by the Danish Institute for International Studies it was claimed that major international Islamic charities such as IHH, while providing genuine humanitarian relief, also occasionally serve as fronts and liaison with Islamic militants and terror groups.
  8. Just a few days ago there was a terrible massacre in a mosque in Pakistan, killing nearly 100 innocent worshippers. Have you heard about it? You may not be aware but this type of terror happens all the time, not only in Pakistan. So why doesn’t anyone even give it the time of day?

Maybe it’s time to stop with the annoying questions. There are many, and you must be busy and thinking about your next chore. Let’s just say this: when lies are built into definitions, and when we scan headlines and quickly move on, we don’t have a chance to even question them. “Peace flotilla”? People who seek peace don’t try to forcefully break blockades, don’t carry weapons and don’t sing murderous war songs. This was a peace flotilla just as much as Osama Bin Laden is a peace-loving freedom fighter. It was an ugly, twisted lie.

The US killed citizens in Afghanistan while trying to stop terror. Russia killed many in Chechnya, and the Chinese have been oppressing the people of Tibet for years. But somehow, only when something happens in the Middle East, the international community and the UN goes crazy. They jump at the opportunity to condemn Israel, not stopping to really check the facts that sometimes arise later, and sometimes are just forgotten behind forever.

There is too much war and terror in the world, and most of it is overlooked by the UN and by the media. Perhaps it’s a bit much to contain. It seems that the easier way in the fast headline world we live in, is to blame the usual suspect and continue without really thinking, checking, or remembering that 80 years ago Europeans genuinely believed that Jews made Passover Matzos out of small children’s blood. What’s worse is that this sort of behavior only enables the frightening terror in this world to grow.

So what will it be - do you prefer the aching, confusing truth, or the quick conclusion? It’s definitely not an easy choice to make. You have lots of things to do, and you may have just wasted some truly valuable time reading this. You could have flipped or clicked on, blaming the usual suspect, not putting a question mark behind the headline you just read, and not even realizing you’re an innocent contributor to the lies and the terror of this world.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 6, 2010

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2010

Lilac Sigan and Ela Levi-Weinrib
Lilac Sigan
 
 
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