The tragedy in Palestine that the world sees every day
Israelis rarely see
Far-right government ignores coexistence measures and continues destruction
(Seoul = Newsis) On the 7th (local time), Israeli soccer fans were attacked by Palestinian support protesters in Amsterdam, leading to a clash. The New York Times (NYT) pointed out in a column on the 13th that the Amsterdam incident occurred because Israel’s destruction of Gaza went too far. <사진 출처 : 더 타임스 오브 이스라엘> 2024.11.14.
(Seoul = Newsis) Reporter Kang Young-jin = New York Times (NYT) columnist Thomas Friedman pointed out on the 13th (local time) that Israel’s harm to Palestinians has gone too far.
Friedman emphasized this in an article titled “The Amsterdam incident is Jew-hatred, but Gaza is also at stake.”
It is clear that strong and ugly anti-Jewish hatred played a role in the violence against Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam. But believing that is all is very dangerous for Israel and the Jewish people.
One of the things that surprises me when I stay in Israel now is how little ordinary Israelis see the pictures that the rest of the world sees every day. Photos show Palestinian men, women and children murdered, maimed and dismembered. It is collateral damage in the war against Hamas, which killed, wounded, cut off limbs and kidnapped Israelis on October 7 last year.
As a non-judge, I cannot estimate how much destruction of Palestinian civilian lives and homes would be proportional to the damage inflicted on Israel by the destruction on October 7. However, Israel seeks to emphasize that it has already gone too far.
The far-right Israeli government continues to destroy daily in Gaza 14 months into the war, while making no attempt to create a Palestinian leadership to replace Hamas. This is like saying to both friends and enemies of Israel, “That’s right, this war is not for a better future for Israel and Palestine, but to repay the same.”
On the 13th, I had breakfast with former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Tel Aviv. Olmert took out a handwritten document from his bag and read it out loud. This was the synopsis of an article to be published in the Israeli media about the Amsterdam incident. I quote this.
“What happened in Amsterdam is basically an expression of the hatred of Muslims towards the state and citizens of Israel due to what is happening in our region. It is different from the anti-Semitism that swept Europe in the past centuries, which was driven by Christian fanaticism and a lack of tolerance for Jews.
In fact, many people around the world cannot accept the transformation of their Gaza or Beirut settlements into the Stone Age. I am not talking about Israel killing Palestinians and destroying property in the West Bank. “Is it really surprising that when we fail to empathize with what non-terrorists experience in the midst of war, we get a hostile response?”
The Amsterdam incident reminds Jews of a difficult past. However, at the same time, it also reminds us that Israel is not suggesting a way for Jews and Palestinians to live together, even though endless photos of the destruction in Gaza appear on social media. If we only emphasize the hardships experienced by Jews and ignore the damage in Gaza, Jews everywhere will be at risk.
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Source: www.newsis.com
