A Study in Contrasts
2008 December 30
The LA Times has a front page story about the differences between Gaza and Israel. They portray the differences in death tolls. They portray the differences in infrastructure in place to handle the casualties. They also portray the people stuck in the middle of the divide: the Israeli Arabs. The article is notable for the focus on the civilian suffering. It’s worth a read.
I have been really thinking hard to identify who is the bigger idiot in this madness.
Are Hamas the idiots for retaliating to the plane attacks, and hence resulting in greater action from Israel, or is Israel the greater idiot in thinking that huge bombardments will stop Hamas from firing rockets?
Sometimes, I just don’t get the Arab mentality.
(I say arab mentality because I have spent a large part of my life living around arabs, so I understand the concept of ‘revenge’ in their thoughts and ideas).
It’s pointless to try to identify the idiots here. And I don’t know that it’s so much Arab mentality or Israeli mentality. I think it’s more a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation. Caging people is going to create a tinderbox, and no tinderbox explodes peacefully. On the other hand, thinking that firing homemade rockets is going to level the battle-field is sheer craziness. And therein lies the label that describes the situation for me: it’s craziness. May Allah reward the innocents for the senseless sacrifices of their lives, ameen.