Heres a brief bike ride through Gaza Monday. No words are spoken. This is the first time Ive posted anything about this conflict, aside from comments, and an interview with Rabbi Siegman. We all know what happens when one does. Its guaranteed to lose you friends. Without getting into the morality or justifications for it--the war of narratives-- it is images like this, in addition to those of dead children, that now permeate world media, increasing antisemitism by leaps and bounds across Europe and the Middle East, where it has already been ramping up. My mother was jewish and I understand and sympathize with the dream-- the desire for a safe place to which Jews can emigrate, as well as a desire not to be subjected to rocket fire. But as I look upon this ruin, this prison that it Gaza--for which Hamas must also be blamed--I see the ruin of this dream, and its desecration. Surely there is a better way, another road not littered with corpses and deprivation. On democracynow.org I saw an interview with a physicist from MIT, and expert in rocketry, Theodore Postel, discuss what is actually the threat from the rockets fired at Israel, the actual efficiency of the Iron Dome system, much lauded to be 85 to 90%. All those interested should listen. He claims it is the early warning system on cell phones and the ubiquitous shelters that have lead to so few casualties, and that the missile shield really is only capable of knocking down 10 to 15% of the incoming rockets. It must hit them head-on to do so. He challenges the Israeli military to release its data to a reputable institution for analysis. If this is true it is being kept secret for 3 reasons: to maintain the confidence of the citizenry; to provide a rationale for why there are so few casualties (otherwise the threat would not seem as great, and the response even more disproportionate); and of course to keep the money flowing into Raytheons and many other pockets. Id also urge those interested to listen to Rabbi Henry Siegmans interview on this same site. Regardless of Professor Postels analysis, if this policy persists--on both sides--the destruction and suffering will get worse and worse, the hatred will multiply with each rising sun until Jews around the world will be unsafe, and a war the likes of which we have yet to imagine may suddenly be upon us, an appalling surprise we should have seen coming all along.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 04:02:08 +0000
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