Iki crita saka Gaza sing disumbang dening Barbara Lubin, pimpinan kamanungsan sing dihormati saka Aliansi Anak Timur Tengah, organisasi nirlaba sing kerja kanggo hak-hak lan kesejahteraan bocah-bocah ing Timur Tengah kanthi ngirim kiriman bantuan menyang Palestina, Irak lan Libanon, lan ndhukung proyek sing nggawe urip luwih apik kanggo bocah-bocah.
"Ana akeh crita sing kudu dicritakake wiwit dina pisanan kita ing Gaza. Dadi akeh rasa lara lan karusakan. Nanging ana siji crita khusus sing dakkira jagad iki kudu dirungokake. Aku ketemu ibu sing ana ing omah karo sepuluh anak nalika Prajurit Israรจl mlebu ing omahรฉ, lan para prajurit kandha nรจk dhรจwรจkรฉ kudu milih lima anakรฉ kanggo โdiwรจnรจhakรฉ marang Israรจl. Nalika dheweke njerit medeni, dheweke mbaleni panjaluk kasebut lan ujar manawa dheweke bisa milih utawa milih dheweke. Banjur para prajurit iki mateni anake lima ing ngarepe. โ Barbara Lubin, "Cathetan saka Palestina", 22 Januari 2009.
Mbok menawa kita sing duwe anak bisa nyelehake awake dhewe ing sepatu wanita kasebut lan mikir babagan pilihan sing kudu ditindakake. Sanadyan ora ana tembung kanggo apa sing wis rampung kanggo wong wadon iki lan sembarang tembung sing aku bisa kurban kene bakal painfully cendhak apa kudu ngandika lan rampung, aku sedhela njelajah perjuangan sing dumunung konco tumindak sing mung Gusti Yesus bisa ngapura.
Kanggo sewidak taun, Amerika wis sacara sistematis dilindhungi saka kasunyatan Palestina. Ora mangu-mangu wong sing bener-bener peduli bisa nemokake bebener. Saiki, panemuan kasebut bisa ditindakake kanthi pitakon online dhasar, nanging media warta utama sing umume diandelake wong Amerika kanthi dhasar ngrusak kasunyatan Palestina. Kanthi sensitivitas Israel, dheweke nggambarake wong Palestina ora minangka manungsa sing duwe kabutuhan lan kepinginan lan nilai moral sing padha karo kita, nanging minangka spesies semi-manungsa sing didorong dening fanatisme. Saben pamboman bunuh diri diowahi dadi tontonan brutal sing ora nggambarake konteks sejarah, nanging ora ana pikirane amarga tumindak ora rasional. Wong-wong sing bisa nindakake tumindak kasebut kudu kalebu spesies sing beda banget karo anggota "beradab" ing donya sing dijaluk Benjamin Netanyahu sadurunge pembantaian Gaza.
Pitakonan sing dilarang yaiku "Apa sing bakal nyebabake manungsa biasa tumindak kaya ngono?" Kanggo wong Palestina sing nindakake tumindak kasebut lan milih Hamas dadi kuwasa ing pemilu paling adil ing Timur Tengah Arab padha kaya bocah enom ing Burger King lokal. Umume wong Palestina ora dihipnotis dening mullah sing jahat, nanging dheweke ngadhepi pilihan saben dina sing bisa lan mateni dheweke lan kulawargane lan ora duwe pilihan kajaba nanggapi lingkungan politik lan militer.
The Israelis did not conceal their military strategy toward the native Palestinian population either at the founding of the state of Israel or during the latest massacre. Consider the words of Israelโs most prominent military analyst, Zeโev Schiff in 1978, "โฆ the Israeli Army has always struck civilian populations, purposely and consciously โฆ the Army, he said, has never distinguished civilian [from military] targets โฆ [but] purposely attacked civilian targets even when Israeli settlements had not been struck." (Haaretz, May 15, 1978). The political reasons are explained by distinguished statesman Abba Eban, "โthere was a rational prospect, ultimately fulfilled, that affected populations would exert pressure for the cessation of hostilities.โ The effect, as Eban well understood, would be to allow Israel to implement, undisturbed, its programs of illegal expansion and harsh repression. Eban was commenting on a review of Labor government attacks against civilians by Prime Minister Begin, presenting a picture, Eban said, โof an Israel wantonly inflicting every possible measure of death and anguish on civilian populations in a mood reminiscent of regimes which neither Mr.Begin nor I would dare to mention by name.โ" โ Noam Chomsky, "Gaza 2009", Jan. 20, 2009. The regime that dare not speak its name evokes memories of Sophiesโ Choice. In this movie, a Polish woman arrives at a Nazi concentration camp and is ordered by the Nazis to choose which of her children will live and which will die. Unlike yesterdayโs Palestinian mother, she makes the choice.
Pamriksan sepintas babagan tembung lan tumindak Israel kanthi cepet nuduhake manawa serangan anyar marang warga sipil wis diramalake kanthi teliti lan disiapake kanthi tliti. Nanging iki mung minangka salah sawijining unsur ing tujuan strategis sing luwih gedhe. "Orang Israel biasane bakal ambegan lega yen wong Palestina bakal ilang. Lan ora rahasia manawa kabijakan sing wis ditindakake selaras karo rekomendasi Moshe Dayan sawise perang 1967: Palestina bakal 'terus urip kaya asu,' lan sapa sing kepรฉngin bisa lunga.' Rekomendasi sing luwih ekstrem wis digawe dening para humanis kiwa sing dianggep dhuwur ing Amerika Serikat, umpamane Michael Walzer saka Institut Studi Lanjut ing Princeton lan editor jurnal sosialis demokratis Dissent, sing menehi saran 35 taun kepungkur yen wiwit Palestina 'marginal menyang bangsa,' dheweke kudu 'dibantu kanggo ninggalake.'" - Frank Barat, "Ing Masa Depan Israel lan Palestina", 6 Juni 2008.
Kanggo nyorot kasunyatan eksistensial Palestina, Michael Neumann bubar njlentrehake kahanane kaya mangkene: "Nanging umpamane akeh preman sing nginstal dhewe, karo kulawargane, ing saubengรฉ peternakan sampeyan. liyane. Yen iki terus, sampeyan bakal keluwen, bisa uga mati. Padha bersenjata nganti untu lan akeh banget gelem nggunakake senjata kasebut. Cara mung sampeyan bisa mbela awake dhewe yaiku nggawe dheweke mbayar rega sing paling abot kanggo pengepungan lan panyerakan sing terus-terusan ing papan urip sampeyan. Sampeyan pancen kekurangan pangan lan pasokan medis, lan preman kasebut nyopot pasokan kasebut kapan wae. preman dhewe. Sampeyan bisa nggunakake senjata kasebut, sanajan ngerti dheweke bakal mateni wong sing ora salah. Sampeyan ora kudu nglilani preman sing nyirnakake sampeyan, mula ngorbanake wong sing ora salah (kalebu awake dhewe) kanggo nylametake duweke. , sampeyan ora kudu milih penyerang tinimbang sampeyan dhewe." Michael Neumann, "Hamas lan Gaza", 13 Januari 2009.
"Aku pracaya, lan nganti saiki isih pracaya, ing hak langgeng lan sajarah bangsa kita kanggo kabeh tanah iki," Perdana Mentri Olmert informed sesi gabungan saka Congress ing Mei 2006 kanggo rousing keplok. Minangka Katolik, aku kudu takon dhewe, "Apa wong-wong iki ora duwe hak kanggo mbela awake dhewe?" Yen kulawargaku sing diancam, apa aku ora bakal ngupayakake kabeh kekuwatanku supaya wong sing nindhes ngrasakake lara nganti dheweke gelem? Yen aku diwenehi pilihan Sophies, apa tanggapanku? Sanajan kekejaman anyar wis meksa pilihan Sophies harfiah marang ibu-ibu sing ora duwe daya, wong Palestina wis ngadhepi pilihan Sophies nasional sajrone sewidak taun kepungkur. Dheweke bisa urip kaya asu, kaya sing disaranake Moshe Dayan, ngrusak nyawane dhewe lan anak-anake saka serangan dening pemukim utawa IDF utawa bisa nindakake apa sing dikarepake wong Israel lan mlayu saka tanah kelairan, nylametake kulawargane, nanging ngukum wong-wong mau kanggo isin wis nilar urip padha duwe hak kanggo mimpin. Pilihan sing terakhir iki dudu pati sing sejatine, nanging pilihan spiritual sing luwih elek. Apa sing bakal sampeyan pilih?