# 217 – Gaza Conflict – 2

November 17, 2012

This is actually from Frankfurt airport.

Thanks to the ‘political situation’, there has been a 3-hour delay to my flight home.

Considering I already had a wait of 3 hours in transit from Göteborg, that makes 6 hours here.

Now I’m really angry at the Palestinians.

A Swedish friend of mine this morning criticised ‘both of us’ for, ‘as usual, silly retaliation tactics’. “Why don’t we try turning the other cheek”, he suggested.

He’s usually a nice and intelligent guy – and fanatical golfer. But this was the usual ignorance that makes me write this letter.

Don’t always believe what you read in the media – and don’t always act upon what you don’t read!

I don’t have the actual figures of the number of Gazan rockets that fell in Israel since the last ceasefire, but it was in the hundreds, before Israel finally decided to do something.

Same thing during the Gulf War: US asked us not to do anything while the Scuds fell on the country, and PM Shamir sat on his hands.

Same thing for years (over 7,000 missiles) before the Gazan onslaught for which Israel was accused of ‘over-reaction’.

And same thing after that ceasefire, when I went to Sderot to see for myself how many rockets had been launched since the ceasefire – to see the rockets themselves.

We have been turning cheeks so much that they resemble Macy’s main entrance during the Christmas sale.

It so happens, because Israel has tried to ‘move on’ in life, that Israel today is the closest thing to being a ‘successful, decent, ‘Western’ democracy. It so happens that, despite all that has been going on around it, it is today a powerhouse in the region. Had Palestine spent it’s friends’ contributions wisely, it could be a similar society.

Instead, it is now like a pathetic child in the playground. Israel is the head prefect, the potential university graduate, the football captain and the president of the debating society. It has many weapons in its pockets, but is also expert in the martial arts, rarely needing to prove its prowess.

The pathetic child has a cheap pen-knife. And the pathetic child has been very poorly educated, in both senses. It has lost the value of life; it has no ambition, no hope, and is blindly jealous of the big boy. It holds the pen-knife permanently in its hand. Persistently stabs the big boy in the knees, the thighs, trying to aim higher. The big boy keeps on slapping him away, not wanting to get involved, persistently reminding the pathetic boy that he should give it up – and join the debating society. Get a life!

And so it goes on…

Did the World really think that the Egyptian PM would do something diplomatic during his Gaza visit? He’s a Muslim Brother for pete’s sake! They and Hamas are brothers-in-arms. They recently took over an enormous country ‘democratically’! Just as Hamas did in Gaza, the Ayatollah in Iran and so on. They’re on a roll. When today’s Egypt plays the fair peacemaking role between Israel and Gaza, I’ll eat my tennis racquet.

And did any of you notice the anti-King Abdullah demonstrations recently in (peaceful) Jordan? Remember Black September. Remember Munich. Remember which country has a majority of Palestinians. Remember which country actually should be Palestine. And remember these words, when Jordan erupts.

Please don’t be naïve in thinking that Israel-Palestine is the problem. I have often said that were there no Israel in the Middle East, there would still be a war every year. They hate each other. (Arab dis-unity has been perhaps Israel’s greatest weapon). Arab League? Only the premier League is more violent.

And I still pray for peace when I get home tomorrow morning.

Stephen