Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 13/14 Aktuelles aus israelischen Tageszeitungen Sonderausgabe Juli/August 2014 1. Krieg in Israel und im Gazastreifen Der Krieg zwischen Israel und der Hamas bestimmte in diesem Sommer die Berichterstattung in den Medien. Israels militärische Operation „Protective Edge“ begann am 7. Juli mit dem erklärten Ziel, den Raketenbeschuss aus dem Gazastreifen zu beenden und die Infrastruktur der Hamas soweit wie möglich zu zerstören. Den Gefechten vorausgegangen waren die Entführung und Ermordung dreier israelischer Teenager durch eine Hamas-Zelle in der Westbank, eine massive Verhaftungswelle im Westjordanland, die Ermordung eines arabischen Jugendlichen durch jüdische Extremisten sowie gewaltsame Demonstrationen von Palästinensern sowohl in Israel als auch im Westjordanland und im Gaza-Streifen. Im Verlauf der Operation korrigierte die Regierung ihre zunächst angestrebten Ziele. Die am 17. Juli gestartete Bodenoffensive galt vor allem der Zerstörung der geheimen gut 30 Tunnel, die die militanten Palästinenser bauten, um nach Israel eindringen zu können. Another Tack: Eerily déjà vu “It was no surprise that the discovery of the remains of three slain Jewish schoolboys produced whoops of joy on both the streets of Ramallah and Gaza, that candy and sticky pastries were distributed to elated passersby.[ …] No one condemned this as racist because by skewed postmodern criteria, racism can be only attributed to Jews – never to Arabs.[ …] Unlike our own, Arab society is unbothered by the pluralistic niceties of moral­relativism. Allah is exclusively on their side and they are the only interpreters of his will. The murder of Jews is divinely decreed and this isn’t only Hamas ideology. By this precept, Jews must die and have no right to resist. That’s their lot. Not only do they possess no right to avenge, they possess no right to self-defense, to at all fight. Their very existence is a provocation, a casus belli.[ …] The tragedy is that not only is the fundamental asymmetry between Jewish and Arab mindsets not comprehended abroad, but there’s no inclination to even consider it. Worse yet – one-sided ferocious Arab indignation inevitably arouses empathy overseas.” Sarah Honig, JPO 10.07.14 When Gaza operation became a war “If it were not for the demonstration Hamas gave us about the murderousness of the tunnels, we might not have launched a ground operation. One could say that Hamas provided us with the consensus required to go to war. I believe that the majority of the public realized that there was no other choice, that after what had been uncovered, it would be unthinkable to abandon the residents of the Gaza vicinity to their fate. Netanyahu was right[...] this is a justified war. Even those who are looking for diplomatic solutions, who are convinced that calm will only be reached through an agreement, understand that this time we cannot stand idly by. (…) the operation has turned into a war, but the goals remain the same: A long-term calm and damaging infrastructures. No bringing down, no occupying, no destroying.“ Sima Kadmon, JED 21.07.14 Innocent Gazan civilians are responsible for their fate too “Not all Jews support the occupation and settlement policy, and I am one of those who oppose it, but I do know very well that at the end of the day I will pay the price for this policy, and so will my children and grandchildren, and I would never think of claiming that I am not responsible for it. I am responsible because I share the responsibility for the society I live in, and if I have failed to change its conduct, the responsibility for that lies on my shoulders as well. That's the way it is in the lives of nations in which 1