BinZiad
22-11-2002, 20:41
Child murders and Rabbi Lerner
By Israel Shamir
Rabbi Michael Lerner published a letter (see below) containing an
attempt to attach collective guilt for a single crime to the whole
Palestinian people, and to shift the blame for the bloodshed to the
victims. The Metzer murder, a revolting crime committed by a deranged
individual, is (mis)presented by Michael Lerner as an act of Arafat's
(and Palestinian national) policy. Moreover, it is described as
a "Palestinian act of terror". It is an unacceptable lie. Would we
refer to Nov. 15 murder of two Palestinian toddlers in Khan Yunes as
to "Jewish child-murders", or even to Mark Rich's deeds as to "Jewish
fraud", Rabbi Lerner would certainly call it "anti-Semitism". That is
why his letter should be condemned as an incitement to hate.
The deranged criminal from Metzer acted alone, and his action was met
with horror by Palestinians and Jews alike. If and when he will be
apprehended he will certainly be punished. On the other hand, the
murderers of the Palestinian children in Khan Yunes remain at large;
they are protected and their crimes condoned by the Jewish state.
When a Palestinian girl child was murdered by a Jewish fanatic near
Nablous, the witness for defense, Rabbi Yitzhak Ginzburg, claimed a
Jew may kill a Goy with impunity. It appears his opinion won the day:
practically none of the Jews who murdered three hundred innocent
children in Palestine was brought to justice. Hilmi Shusha, a
Palestinian child from Husan, was murdered by a settler, Naum Korman,
in the eyesight of the entire village, but the Jewish Judge Ruth Orr
has sent Korman, the child murderer, for six months of public service
in the old folks house.
Friends of Palestine won't stoop as low as the late PM Golda Meir,
who proclaimed, "I can't forgive the Palestinians that they force us
to kill their children". We won't lie as the late PM David Ben Gurion
who tried to attach blame for the Deir Yassin Massacre to "Arab
irregulars", and for Sharon's massacre in Kibie to the relatives
of "Arab terror victims". We won't try the line of Madeline Albright
who thought the murder of Iraqi children was worth its while.
Instead, we call to bring to the International Criminal Court every
Jewish murderer of Palestinian children.
Rabbi Lerner should pay heed to a recent letter to Haaretz newspaper
by Dr. Miriam Reik, who wrote: "Killing kids gets to be routine.
Israel is, in many ways, unique. It is the only country in the world
in which a child, throwing a stone, is considered to have committed a
capital crime, and a soldier can kill him with a bullet with
impunity — no questions asked. Haaretz reported the death in this
fashion yesterday (Nov. 15) of Mohammed ali Zeiz, a 15-year-old,
without comment. It is the only country in the world in which the
occupying army does not hold its fire when an innocent child is on
the scene, much less rush to protect him. Ibrahim Al-Madani, 12 years
old, died in this way yesterday, as reported by Haaretz, without
comment. We all know of dozens of such incidents, which led Amnesty
International to characterize the current conflict as one in which
the lives of children are treated with "utter disregard," a charge
met with cynical protestations of innocence by the IDF. However, it
is also a sad comment on the general deterioration of standards in
Israel, that Haaretz can report such incidents, time and again,
without editorial comment. Anything, I suppose, can become routine.
Miriam M. Reik, Ph.D"
Rabbi Lerner writes: "There is never any moral equivalence between
one act of murder and another". He is absolutely right. That is why,
while mourning the dead of Khan Yunes and Metzer, we observe the vast
difference between a one-man-crime and an act of the Jewish state-
condoned and sponsored child murder.
— Israel Shamir is an Israeli journalist based in Jaffa. His articles
can be seen on the site www.israelshamir.net
By Israel Shamir
Rabbi Michael Lerner published a letter (see below) containing an
attempt to attach collective guilt for a single crime to the whole
Palestinian people, and to shift the blame for the bloodshed to the
victims. The Metzer murder, a revolting crime committed by a deranged
individual, is (mis)presented by Michael Lerner as an act of Arafat's
(and Palestinian national) policy. Moreover, it is described as
a "Palestinian act of terror". It is an unacceptable lie. Would we
refer to Nov. 15 murder of two Palestinian toddlers in Khan Yunes as
to "Jewish child-murders", or even to Mark Rich's deeds as to "Jewish
fraud", Rabbi Lerner would certainly call it "anti-Semitism". That is
why his letter should be condemned as an incitement to hate.
The deranged criminal from Metzer acted alone, and his action was met
with horror by Palestinians and Jews alike. If and when he will be
apprehended he will certainly be punished. On the other hand, the
murderers of the Palestinian children in Khan Yunes remain at large;
they are protected and their crimes condoned by the Jewish state.
When a Palestinian girl child was murdered by a Jewish fanatic near
Nablous, the witness for defense, Rabbi Yitzhak Ginzburg, claimed a
Jew may kill a Goy with impunity. It appears his opinion won the day:
practically none of the Jews who murdered three hundred innocent
children in Palestine was brought to justice. Hilmi Shusha, a
Palestinian child from Husan, was murdered by a settler, Naum Korman,
in the eyesight of the entire village, but the Jewish Judge Ruth Orr
has sent Korman, the child murderer, for six months of public service
in the old folks house.
Friends of Palestine won't stoop as low as the late PM Golda Meir,
who proclaimed, "I can't forgive the Palestinians that they force us
to kill their children". We won't lie as the late PM David Ben Gurion
who tried to attach blame for the Deir Yassin Massacre to "Arab
irregulars", and for Sharon's massacre in Kibie to the relatives
of "Arab terror victims". We won't try the line of Madeline Albright
who thought the murder of Iraqi children was worth its while.
Instead, we call to bring to the International Criminal Court every
Jewish murderer of Palestinian children.
Rabbi Lerner should pay heed to a recent letter to Haaretz newspaper
by Dr. Miriam Reik, who wrote: "Killing kids gets to be routine.
Israel is, in many ways, unique. It is the only country in the world
in which a child, throwing a stone, is considered to have committed a
capital crime, and a soldier can kill him with a bullet with
impunity — no questions asked. Haaretz reported the death in this
fashion yesterday (Nov. 15) of Mohammed ali Zeiz, a 15-year-old,
without comment. It is the only country in the world in which the
occupying army does not hold its fire when an innocent child is on
the scene, much less rush to protect him. Ibrahim Al-Madani, 12 years
old, died in this way yesterday, as reported by Haaretz, without
comment. We all know of dozens of such incidents, which led Amnesty
International to characterize the current conflict as one in which
the lives of children are treated with "utter disregard," a charge
met with cynical protestations of innocence by the IDF. However, it
is also a sad comment on the general deterioration of standards in
Israel, that Haaretz can report such incidents, time and again,
without editorial comment. Anything, I suppose, can become routine.
Miriam M. Reik, Ph.D"
Rabbi Lerner writes: "There is never any moral equivalence between
one act of murder and another". He is absolutely right. That is why,
while mourning the dead of Khan Yunes and Metzer, we observe the vast
difference between a one-man-crime and an act of the Jewish state-
condoned and sponsored child murder.
— Israel Shamir is an Israeli journalist based in Jaffa. His articles
can be seen on the site www.israelshamir.net