Daily Roundup - Jan 28, 2016

Times Of Israel Blog: An-Abrahamic-team-in-israel-discusses-human-dignity-and-the-value-of-life

"The last four months in Israel have been characterized by terrorist incidents against innocent civilians and Israeli soldiers, as well as counter-terrorist measures that have taken the lives of many Palestinians in a new round of violence in Israel and the Territories (otherwise known as the West Bank or Judea and Samaria). This has been accompanied by increased incitement to violence and hatred on both sides which have only exacerbated the situation. During this period, calm rational dialogue and discussion have been almost totally absent."

What counter-terrorist measures have taken the lives of many Palestinians?  I am unaware of any Palestinian lives which have been lost over the past few months as a result of Israeli action other than those of the Palestinians, and Israeli Arabs which have actually attacked civilians and military personnel with cars, knives, and guns. While there have been some mild outbreaks of anti-Arab demonstrations in Jerusalem, none of these, as far as I know, have been violent.  Let me know the details of any such deaths.  The toll so far is over 30 Israeli citizens killed while going about their daily business.

This eternal attempt at ethical equivalence between murderers and the murders makes the rest of this article Pasul.

It is also wrong to say that calm, rational discussion has been absent. I am a daily listener and viewer of Israeli news, and the news I hear are mostly calm and rational, and often involve Israeli Arabs and Palestinians, especially Arab members of Knesset. Just about any view of Yaron London's one hour daily program London and Kirschenbaum (ז"ל) would disabuse someone of the notion that dialog is absent.

"The message was concise and clear: Jews, Christians and Muslims in Israel can live in peaceful coexistence together, with mutual understanding and respect. Our religious traditions—as was demonstrated by the texts of each tradition which were taught in the presentations– all stress the sanctity of human life and the dignity of every human being, irrespective of his or her religion, ethnic group, or nationality."

This may be the message of your discussion, but it is not the message delivered by those with knives, cars and guns everyday to the Israeli public.

There is a difference between reality and discussion, and that difference is never bridged by an ideological approach which equates justice with injustice, and terror with self defense.