You must have seen the photo of Israelis enjoying the view of Gaza, which has been suffering from the bombardments, with popcorn in their hands as if they are watching a movie. Or you must have heard these words: "It is fair for mothers to follow their sons. They must die and their houses must collapse so that they cannot raise terrorists again," said Israeli deputy Ayalet Shaked about Palestinian mothers.
Israeli academic Mordechai Kedar called on people to rape Palestinian women in order to deter the "terrorists."Israeli Rabbi Dov Lior released a religious ruling that says Gaza's complete demolition is appropriate as long as the Israel's military leaders wish. Knesset member Moshe Feiglin suggested the total evacuation of Gaza by force of arms. The Israeli demonstrators who support the "Gaza attack," which is actually a genocide attempt, shouted slogans such as "death to Arabs," and sang songs by saying that "School is out in Gaza tomorrow, because no children have survived." A banner that reads "Israeli soldiers, the residents of Or Yehuda are with you! Pound their mother, and come back home safely to your mother," was hung in the Or Yehuda town square.
Meanwhile in Gaza, which has suffered from 600 bomb attacks for three weeks, even a single reaction similar to the instances above did not emanate. Khaled Mashal, who is called a terrorist leader by Israel, warned Israel by saying "How many soldiers of yours have to die for you to end this blockade?" Gaza's honorable resistance is clearly demonstrating that Israel is a colonialist apartheid regime committing a war crime. So, why do you think the Palestinians are still embracing common sense while Israelis are sticking to grudge and hatred? Is this the degenerating influence of power? Or is it the overwhelming arrogance of the Israeli majority who regards themselves as the God's chosen people? Is it the outcome of a subjectification process that is triggered by a compulsory military service for both men and women? Is it a leap to fascism, which is the sine qua non side effect of nationalism? Or, is it a feeling of inferiority due to the presumption that they could only survive in that geography by force since they forcedly joined the region and actually do not belong there?
Maybe each of them is partially correct. Zionism, the official ideology of Israeli state, argues that the Israeli state must only consist of Jews, and suggests that in order to reach the "Eretz Israel" ideal, they should invade the territories currently belonging to Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt. Also keep in mind that Israel is still the only state in the world that has not yet officially declared its borders. Remember that this combination is accompanied by the notion that sees Israel as more advanced and superior than the other communities in the region since they see themselves as secular, Western and God's chosen people. Here, is the 87 percent of Israel, the majority who favors the continuance of bombardments in Gaza despite the slaughtering of everyone regardless of the victims being women or children. The Israeli people would never imagine living together with Arabs without being brought to heel with economic and military sanctions, forced to evacuate their illegal residences and withdrawn to their 1967 borders since they would not see it as necessary, and continue to eat their popcorn.
You could probably say that all the Israelis are not the same. That's right, they are not the same. According to a recent research conducted by Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University, 3.5 percent of the Israeli people think excessive force was used within the latest operation, while 45 percent think the force used was insufficient.
About the author
Hilal Kaplan is a journalist and columnist. Kaplan is also board member of TRT, the national public broadcaster of Turkey.
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