Word: israelity
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...Jewish people to have a homeland as intended by the U.N., and the Israeli people have the right to defend themselves against those who employ terrorist tactics. Yet given the painful history of the humanitarian crimes against the Jewish people, it saddens me to see the disproportionate response by Israel in dealing with the situation in Gaza. Israel should hold to the highest standards of human rights and fairness. Instead, in my view, it practices bullying tactics. The Israelis should be careful that they do not become what they seek to defend themselves against. Greg Bergh, Cape Town...
...dictum that "war is the continuation of politics by other means" may have been coined by Carl von Clausewitz in 19th century Prussia, but it was given new meaning during Israel's 22-day offensive in Gaza. The troika of Israeli decision-makers that ran the military campaign - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak (leader of the Labor Party) and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (who replaced Olmert as leader of the Kadima party because of his impending corruption case) - are fierce political rivals. "If they were together on an island in a Survivor episode," says Reuven Hazan...
...Olmert wanted to prolong the Gaza war to do more damage to Hamas, in the hope of repairing his legacy that had been badly tarnished during Israel's botched 2006 war in Lebanon and by police allegations of corruption. Livni and Barak, both of whom are running for Olmert's job, wanted to end it earlier. But the two candidates differed on how to end it: Barak, a former general himself and ex-premier, argued that a cease-fire concluded with Hamas would be more durable. But Livni argued for a unilateral pullout from Gaza, having dealt the territory...
...polls show that most Israelis approved of the defense minister's cautious but methodical assault on Gaza, and his party's projected third-place share of the coming vote, according to polling by the Channel One news network, jumped from below 10 Knesset seats to around 15 seats. (In Israel, the party that wins the most seats in the 120-seat Knesset is tapped to form a government, and because the winner rarely attains a simple majority, it typically forms a coalition.) Livni's Kadima party, however, appears to have slipped back to just 21 seats, largely because...
...Israel public opinion has shifted steadily to the right of center, and polls show that most Israelis are dissatisfied with the outcome of the Gaza war - they wanted to see Hamas crushed and the safe return of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held captive by Hamas for two and a half years. Neither goal was achieved, allowing Netanyahu to smugly declare, in a recent visit to soldiers wounded in the Gaza fighting, "The IDF has dealt Hamas a severe blow, but unfortunately the job has not been complete." He added: "We cannot show any weakness in the face...