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Israel's True Face

(Jerusalem Post) Daniel Doron - Israel's rescue mission in Haiti won universal praise. Most remarkable is the astonishment expressed by the media at how efficient and humane IDF soldiers were. We were told, for years, how adept IDF troops are in fighting terrorists. So it is understandable that they managed to arrive so quickly at the scene of the disaster, even though it is more than 5,000 miles from Israel, and that before anyone else set up even a dingy clinic, they had assembled a state-of-the-art field hospital and were busy saving lives. But humane? Are these the Israelis who use tanks against children armed with slingshots; an army that everyone accuses of habitually using excess force? To those who really know Israel, the efficiency of its rescue effort and its humanity are not surprising. It's a country that has had to contend with terrorist atrocities for decades. It's people's army is mostly composed of reservists literally defending their homes. Despite the image of Israelis as warlike, intolerant people, the fact is that they are perhaps the world's most restrained and tolerant. How many citizens of other countries would tolerate, like the inhabitants of Sderot and other villages bordering on Gaza, years of random and relentless rocket attacks? It took Israeli governments more than seven years before they reacted. Is this warlike and aggressive behavior? Just visit any Israeli hospital and you will be amazed at how many West Bank Arabs are there for treatment. They are treated like any Israeli, with not a scintilla of discrimination. The writer is director of the Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress.
2010-02-12 07:47:48
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