Saturday Protest of Gaza Attacks

Equating the Holocaust in history with a self-defense military action to rebut random attacks by bomb-loaded rockets falling onto nearby cities is a grave insult to the actual history and victims of the actual Holocaust and attempted genocide.

Elevating the rhetoric like this does not help this cause and only alienates potential supporters.

The word "genocide" is tossed around rather freely these days. Israel is in a difficult position and has had to take rather drastic action with very unfortunate consequences for many innocent civilians. However, Hamas has publicly stated their goal to destroy Israel and if they could they would truly commit genocide. Israel is trying to target only Hamas military targets but Hamas insists on hiding inside civilian locations and then using the death of innocent civilians for their public relations purposes. If Hamas would just stop launching missiles into Israel, and into civilian targets I might add, then the possibility for peace would increase enormously. Israel has never asked for the destruction of all Palestinians and has offered a two state alternative. Hamas will have none of it. Who is the real problem here?

Holocaust? Genocide? Yeah, right. If Israel was in effect practicing these types of things, given their military might in the region, that would've been done MANY moons ago.
Instead, you have a legitimately formed (YES, the Partition Act was a U.N. resolution), sovereign nation that has tried time & again to offer/make peace w/ her neighbors.
Time & again, you have neighbors that have shown nothing but hostility & aggression towards Israel. Who's the bad neighbors here?
The other term that gets thrown around a lot is apartheid, like what S. Africa had.
Let's see, Israel has Arab/Muslim members in her Knesset, the parliment & is a democratic nation.
How many of Israel's neighbors have Jewish members in their parliments?
How many of Israel's neighbors wouldn't kill a countryman/woman if they were Jewish?
How many of Israel's neighbors EVEN have a parliment or practice democratic methods?
To all the Israel haters, you can condemn her, you can hate her, you can protest all you want, it is your right as an American, protected by the U.S. Constitution's 1st Amendment.
But @ the end of the day Israel will remain a sovereign nation w/ the right, capability & might to defend herself against evil-doers such as "democratically" elected Hamas.
Here's a simple solution for Hamas: Stop firing rockets into Israel, stop all other acts of terrorism against Israel, learn to accept the fact that you'll NEVER destroy Israel & the offensive will stop. Pretty simple huh?
Heck, given Israel's willingness to cooperate w/ the bad neighbors, if Hamas' hostility stops, Israel may even rebuild Gaza for them?
The only reason groups like Hamas & Hezbollah pipe up is because when they do the Arab/Muslim countries sympathetic to their "cause" give them attention & $$$.
Israel has tried peace & the time has come to accept the reality: Terrorists need to be struck down.
If they surround themselves w/ civilians, well, a sad price to pay.
But given the history of treachery the Palestinian terror-political groups have shown through the ages (even before the formation of legitimate Israel), can anybody expect any less from them? No.
Give peace a chance? Let Hamas absorb & practice that message, then maybe Israel will sit down & talk.
Until then, the Hamas theme song for their campaign should be like the CA lotto; Who's next? :) henry

Why weren't any of these people out protesting while the Palestinians were sending thousands of rockets into Isreal? Hamas, et al, have nobody to blame but themselves for the loss of civilian life. There's really not much else I can say, the guys above have said it all. I do have a question for any of the protesters though; if Canada or Mexico were to start shooting rockets randomly into the US, and those rockets hit your house or the school your children went to (during school hours) would you not want the United States to defend itself? Or should we just sit back and let them continue to do it while stating that they won't stop until every American is wiped off the face of the earth?
Not only has Hamas NOT abided by the cease fire that was in effect, but it has managed to get better, longer range rockets during that time. So all you protesters need to take another, more realistic look at the situation and put the blame where it belongs. You want to protest somebody, protest Hamas and what they've been doing.

This is from a group of Brits (who know a thing or two about having their cities bombed) and ably describes why someone would think to protest:

... "The rocket attacks on Israel by Hamas deplorable as they are, do not, in terms of scale and effect amount to an armed attack entitling Israel to rely on self-defence. Under international law self-defence is an act of last resort and is subject to the customary rules of proportionality and necessity.

... "The killing of almost 800 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and more than 3,000 injuries, accompanied by the destruction of schools, mosques, houses, UN compounds and government buildings, which Israel has a responsibility to protect under the Fourth Geneva Convention, is not commensurate to the deaths caused by Hamas rocket fire." --- letter in Times of London, January 11, 2009

Here's the link for the entire letter:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comm...

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Interestingly, many people in the actual line of fire think Israel aggression is a mistake:

::: "Sderot, Gaza residents call for renewal of truce" :::

"Some 1,800 Israelis and Palestinians, including 500 Sderot residents, sign petition calling for end to IDF operation in Gaza, renewal of dialogue between Israel, Hamas"

(full article here):

http://www.ynet.co.il/english/article...

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And that analogy commonly used -- 'What if Mexico (Goleta, etc.) were bombing the U.S.? Would we just take it?' -- is so simplistic as to be in error.

CVillareal puts some balance into the complexities:

... "What if China or Mexico or Japan (pick your nation-state) took over California and brutally forced most people from a particular ethnic group to move out of their homes and into the San Francisco peninsula. The conquering nation then tightly controlled all the resources into San Francisco, any movement in and out, and regularly fired missiles at the most militant parts of the city, always alleging they were targeting terrorists. What would the people of San Francisco do? What should they do considering the conquering nation becomes the most powerful force in the region with unwavering support from the most powerful force in the world and San Franciscans are impoverished, sick and hungry?..."

(complete post here):

http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid...

From a Brit who was bombed out of two homes in London during the Blitz and then from a hotel when a rocket hit. The Israelis are clearly defending their homeland and their very existence. I cannot believe they have been this patient .

If you want to talk about racism & intolerance, check out the protests in San Francisco!
A buddy on mine sent me a link, but I'm having trouble posting it. Clearly anti-Jewish in their rhetoric & even the police is defending it.
The only pro-Israel protester in the mix was told to leave by the police on hand. Now there's state sponsored bias!
I wish I had the link, it would make even the most staunch Santa Barbara liberal sick :) henry

Per Hank's post, I remember seeing (perhaps on the Beatle's anthology) George Harrison being interviewed and how he had nothing nice to say about the mentality of the Haight-Ashbury crowd. In short, they were not the wonderful progressive people everyone thought they were, but just spoiled kids. It appears they haven't changed.

Debating the Middle East situation is one thing, but the mentality of shouting people down and insulting them when they present an alternative viewpoint gets old after a while.

last I checked, the death toll for the Palestinians was around 800 and the Israeli's was around 5 or so. War is deplorable as I think we all agree. What else can we agree on? I have heard several different histories of Palestine, depending on which side gives it. Also, why are there Anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews that protest Israel's 'right to exist' ? www.nkusa.org
I think this whole thing is not that simple, and as bad as Hamas' decisions are, Israel's appear much worse.

If you're going to claim Israel is acting in self-defense by bombing schools, hospitals, homes, killing UN aid workers, etc, shouldn't you also reflect on what caused some in Palestine to attack Israel (albeit in a very small way) in the first place?

Palestinians aren't crazy extremists just bent on killing. They consider their actions self-defense as well. And considering the history of Israel's activities in Palestine since day 1, and the proportion of Palestinian firepower (virtually nothing) to Israeli firepower (nuclear weapons, anybody?), I'd say self-defense is far more easily claimed by the Palestinian side.

Hamas asked for a confrontation, they got it & Israel remains a soveriegn state, end of strory :) henry

Hamas didn't ask for any confrontation. Hamas responded to years of blockade and oppression from Israel.
Killing innocent women and children to serve your political purposes is what Israel is doing right now. Same thing that happened on 9/11. Anybody who supports this is a terrorist.
End of story :)
Summer

According to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 established on November 29, 1947, also known as the Partition Act, Israel has the right to exist in peace w/ her neighbors. The Palestinians & Arab neighbors started the war soon after.
Then the United Nations passed Resolution 194 established in September, 1948 which called for the peaceful coexistence of Israelis, Palestinians & Arabs. The Palestinians & Arabs started another war soon after.
I don't understand w/ all the credence the anti-Israel hate crowd pays to the United Nations & all their resolutions, why are these 2 are particularly forgotten?
Oh, I know why, because they favor the existence of the State of Israel. Duh, now I get it!
If it's against Israel GO U.N.! If it's for Israel, stick it in the back burner for nobody to see.
By the way, it's the end of the day & Israel IS still a sovereing nation & Hamas is still a terrorist group, just like Hezbollah. Continuing story :) henry

Why do we let Israel with its population of 7 millions drag us into the Middle East quagmire? The Holocaust happened more than six decades ago, and it was in no way America's fault. Meanwhile, three generations of Palestinians have been deprived of basic human rights and we have alienated more than a billion Muslims worldwide. The United States has to move on beyond its fixation with Israel. This country has plenty of other challenges it has to face.

perhaps those of you who feel a strong need to defend Israel should learn your history, and evaluate Israel's treatment of the Palestinians objectively. The phrase "bombing Israel" is misleading at best. On Nov. 4, Israeli soldiers, during the truce, entered Gaza, killing several Hamas leaders.
If you truly desire to know the truth, there are articles and statements by Bishop Tutu who lived under a brutal apartheid regime. after visiting Jerusalem, he stated in an article entitled, "Apartheid in the Holy Land, the Palestinians are also victims of an apartheid regime under Israel. Michael Ben Yair, former israeli Attorney General (11993-1996) in a 2002 article, says Israel has transformed itself into a colonial power, ignoring international treaties, expropriating lands,engaging in theft and determined to keep the occupied territories, finding justification while establishing an apartheid regime.
Desperate people do desperate things, as all oppressed people have done throughout history. Ask the Jews. Or have they forgotten?