A Palestinian citizen heard recently on a National Public Radio
program was quoted as saying,
”
I don’t know what I will do. All that is important to me has
been destroyed.
”
A Palestinian citizen heard recently on a National Public Radio program was quoted as saying, “I don’t know what I will do. All that is important to me has been destroyed.”
In one bizarre moment his wife, mother and 4-year-old child were killed. His 3-year-old daughter is hospitalized with a severed spinal cord. She will never use her arms or legs, or even breathe without mechanical assistance, for the remainder of her young and painful life.
This man came out of the incident with relatively little harm to his body; however the meaning of his life is destroyed; taken from him by forces beyond his control. Out for a Sunday drive with his family, his car and life were torn apart by shrapnel from an Israeli missile, which was intended (successfully) for a Hamas activist, who happened to be driving near his car. This family is what the Israelis call collateral damage.
Will he now become a “terrorist”? Would you if this happened to your family? How far would an apology go to cure your loss? Is an apology even likely?
For every Israeli citizen killed by the Palestinians, six to eight Palestinians have been killed by the Israelis. The number of Palestinian children killed by the Israelis is greater than the total number of people killed by “Palestinian terrorists.”
In Israel we have a state created by terrorists through terrorism. In the 1930s and 1940s many of the former and current political leaders of Israel were called terrorists by the world as they bombed hotels and attacked civilian and military targets to gain independent state status. They were successful. Because history is written by the winners, they are now referred to as heroes and nation founders instead of as terrorists.
The Israelis were given land that had been the property of the Palestinians for nearly 2000 years. Their claim to this land was based on biblical stories not historical fact. The population of the land we know as Israel and Palestine was “redistributed” by various conquerors several times in the period 2000 years ago; however there is no historical or archaeological record of either the captivity of the Jews in Egypt or their exodus and return to Canaan (Israel).
In fact Canaan, the reported destination of the “exodus” was an Egyptian territory at the time. The wandering Jews would have simply been moving from one Egyptian province to another. Not exactly a great escape!
Israel was formed by taking the land and homes of the native people in the area – the Palestinians, in the early and mid 1900s. Many thousands were simply removed from their family property of several centuries, and moved to relocation camps (vaguely reminiscent of concentration camps). Needless to say some Palestinians were greatly angered. A new round of “terrorist activities” began. This time the Palestinians were the defined bad guys.
The Israelis, having learned the lessons of oppression well, used many of the same techniques that had been used on them in Germany to suppress this “Palestinian uprising.” If a terrorist (in Palestinian terms a freedom fighter) was discovered, not only would he or she be killed or jailed, but that person’s extended family would also lose their homes and freedom. Mothers and fathers, grandparents, aunts and uncles would have their homes confiscated and/or bulldozed. Their property would become part of the Jewish settlements. This policy has persisted into the last few years. Think of this happening to your family for just a few moments. I do not think you would accept such oppressive behavior.
One does have to be careful what one asks for. We wanted democracy there and democratic elections gave us a Hamas government. George Bush and the Israelis do not like this because Hamas is still angry over the taking of their land and homes. Hamas calls for justice are disputed by the Israelis with rockets; with the complicity of the U.S. government. This is how this man’s “collateral damage” occurred. This is also how “terrorists” are created.
I am not defending the violence on either side in this tragic land. The causes of the continuing conflict are much bigger than this column can touch upon. The point of this column is to put a human face on the tragedy that occurs daily in that area. If we see humans instead of “terrorists” and “armies,” we are often less tolerant of slaughter.
A more balanced understanding and appreciation of the human costs on all sides might result in less terrorism worldwide. A more balanced and compassionate view might minimize the likelihood of the thousands of innocent people lost in the World Trade Center.
Veterinarian John N. Quick is a 25-year resident of Morgan Hill. He’s been operating the Animal Medical Clinic since 1983, which was expanded in 1997 and is now the Animal Care Center. He’s one of the founders of the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center and Furry Friends Foundation.
