While the U.S. is stupidly picking a fight with our ally Israel over some apartment buildings in its capital, the Palestinians are busy glorifying one of their most notorious terrorists -- and that's saying something, since they've had many to choose from. The Palestinian leadership is renaming a major square in Ramallah after Dalal Mughrabi, described by CBS News as a "militant."
Mughrabi is among the greatest heroes in Palestinian society. Schools have been named after her, and Ramallah, the Palestinian administrative center, recently dedicated a street to her memory. "She is a Palestinian martyr and deserves to be honored," said Ramallah's mayor, Janet Mikhail.
Who is this great hero? What did she do to achieve such prestige among Palestinians? What makes her an inspiration? Well, she and ten others murdered a female U.S. photographer, fired into traffic, hijacked a taxi and murdered the occupants, hijacked two buses filled with tourists, set one on fire, and then had a gun battle with police. The final result: 37 dead Israelis, including 13 children. Mughrabi died also.
A murderous terrorist like Mughrabi is what passes for a hero among Palestinians -- and not just those associated with Hamas. As many others have pointed out, during Joe Biden's visit to the area a dedication ceremony was planned for Mughrabi Square. It was cancelled at the last minute to avoid offending the U.S. But...
a group of activists from President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement held an unofficial dedication, and Palestinian officials are pledging to move forward with a formal ceremony in the future.The Obama administration chose to ignore all this and instead manufacture outrage over an Israeli official announcing already scheduled plans to build some apartment buildings in Jerusalem. We insist on pretending that the Palestinians are a legitimate partner in an imaginary "peace process" that consists primarily of Israel making concession after concession and getting nothing to show for it but more abuse. We've done everything reasonably possible to assist the Palestinians, from promoting a state for them, to giving them large amounts of aid, to training their military and security forces. We've done all that despite the fact that a significant portion of the Palestinian population subscribes to Islamist views, is virulently anti-Semitic, and glorifies terrorists like Mughrabi. By almost any measure, the Palestinian pseudo-states are enemies of the United States. But the Obama administration has focused almost exclusively on Israel as the supposed problem with the so-called peace process, to the point that many supporters of Israel believe he's actively hostile toward the Jewish state.
While there are no signs or pictures of Mughrabi, the square already has been restored with fresh flowers and grass, and planners say they plan to hoist a large photo of Mughrabi at the site.
So, we are to support Israel no matter what? Can you give me a rationale for supporting the Zionists? Spent any time in the Middle East and seen what has really been going on there? I don't think anyone could be more anti-Islamic than I am (look at my blog), but being anti-Islamic doesn't mean that by default I'll support one of the most racist regimes in the world. I've seen what the Zionists did to the village of my family in Lebanon...and this was long, long before the Israeli invasion of a few years back. I saw what they allowed to take place in the Sabra and Shatilla camps during the invasion of 1982-83. I hate Hamas. I hate Islamic extremists and I despise Islam in general. Nothing EVER justifies the killing of children or innocent civilians, but let's hold the Zionists to the same standards of behavior that we hold the Palestinians to.
ReplyDeleteLet me qualify my above statement by saying that I realize the emphasis of the post was about the Palestinian glorification of a murderer. There's no excuse for that and I am on board with the rage directed at such barbaric activity.
ReplyDeleteI'd just like to see some coverage of these events that doesn't connect this activity to the communist in the White House.
"So, we are to support Israel no matter what?"
ReplyDeleteNot necessarily. U.S. interests should drive U.S. policy. My support for Israel is based on my views of U.S. national interests.
" Can you give me a rationale for supporting the Zionists? "
Yes, many. It is a long-term ally and client state of the United States, with strong and lasting ties between our two countries. Israel is arguably the most powerful nation in the region, and is a rock-solid reliable U.S. ally in foreign affairs. In addition, it has major intelligence assets throughout the region that we ourselves do not necessarily possess. It is also an excellent weapon-system test-bed, and a technological partner in the development of advanced systems such as missile-defense technology. Unlike most of our other allies, particularly in the Middle East, it is highly unlikely that Israel will turn on us in a critical situation -- ala Turkey at the outset of the Iraq War. Because it is largely isolated diplomatically, Israel needs the U.S. as its friend and protector -- that chains it to the U.S. and makes it an arm of U.S. power in the region, should we ever need to call upon it. I could go on.
"but let's hold the Zionists to the same standards of behavior that we hold the Palestinians to."
We already hold Israel to a far higher standard. And there's really no comparison. Israel is a democratic state with an independent judiciary and the ability to investigate it's own misdeeds.
I have no interest in adopting some sort of false equivalence between Israel and the Palestinians. Even if they were similar in negative terms -- which I strongly reject, one is our ally, and the other is our enemy. From a U.S. foreign policy perspective, our treatment of our friends should differ sharply from how we act toward our enemies.