Israel Advocacy 101

I've heard a lot of students and teachers discussing the recent events in Gaza and I wanted to post some links for anyone who's interested in finding out exactly what all the controversy is about. A few days ago a group of ships (flotilla) of Turkish pro-Palestinian activists tried to run through Israel's blockade of Gaza to bring in material and supplies to the Palestinians living there. Israel has blockaded off Gaza and will let in aid, food and supplies, but only through land and after it has been searched for anything that can be used for weapons (as Hamas, which is in charge of Gaza, has previously used these convoys to smuggle in weapons and rockets which are then shot at Israeli towns such as Sderot). Israeli commandos boarded the ships and were then attacked by the activists on board one of the ships with metal pipes and other weapons. The Israeli commandos then fought back in self defense, but in the ensuing fighting (with the Israelis being better armed), at least 9 activists were killed and a number of Israeli soldiers were wounded (2 seriously).

All over the world, massive anti-Israel demonstrations are taking place - condemning Israel for using too much force and for the unfair treatment of the Palestinians in Gaza. It is important to take the time to get informed about what really happened in order to be able to (1) defend Israel if these facts are exaggerated (2) to think critically about some of the important moral and ethical issues that this incident raises (as we should also feel comfortable being critical about Israel's actions if we are uncomfortable with them).

For some facts and videos of what really happened on the ships, check out http://www.flotillafacts.com/ and the IDF's youtube channel. Here is also a great editorial in the NY Times by Michael Oren and a Jerusalem Post interview with the Israeli commandos.

This incident raises the moral question of whether or not Israel is justified in instituting "collective punishment" onto all the Palestinians living in Gaza, by having a blockade in the first place. How far are we willing to go to protect the safety of Israeli citizens (by making sure weapons are not being smuggled into Gaza)? Recently, my 11th grade Jewish Philosophy classes debated these issues and we spend some time playing a computer game created by the Israeli Mossad (Intelligence) called "Peacemaker". In this game, you play as either the Israeli Prime Minister or the Palestinian President and you have to try and bring peace to the Middle East (a shout-out here goes to Ayala Laub, who by playing as the Palestinian President actually solved the peace process!). This game, while frustrating, brings to light a lot of the checks and balances that Israel takes into account when trying to balance defending itself with maintaining human rights. Do we put in more checkpoints to protect our cities from terrorists or do we remove checkpoints to ease the lives of regular Palestinians? I encourage you all to try out the game yourselves (you can play the free demo by clicking here, but it will only let you play for a limited amount of time)!