How many times have we heard this whine about madrasas and so on?
Below are pictures taken in Israel at artillery positions firing at Lebanon. Found them through Sandmonkey, who has been given a very unconvincing “explanation” for this.
Also on Flickr.
These sorts of things are common, no matter the conflict. It’s almost a necessity particularly in cases of long term rival conflicts. The other side must be demonized, and that only works if generations are socialized to believe that fact. When the conflict is also perceived to be existential in nature, nothing less than the long term survival of the “us” identity is at stake, becoming part of a national narrative which involves the creation of a set of facts–it becomes almost self-perpetuating as a social phenomenon.
It’s a shame that kids, who don’t know any better are the real victims in the end–on so many levels, not just as victims of direct violence now or in the future, but also the fear, confusion, and ignorance they have to live with. It’s a hard hard thing to break that cycle.
Luckily, there are those who aren’t exposed to that sort of programming and they will be able to convince a few others, which makes a difference in the long term, even if only one other is convinced. As I just read in one of Thomas Schelling’s works, the power to destroy far outstrips the power to create. In the end, we all make a choice. The ability to reason, to question, is a powerful thing indeed.
Keep hope, Issandr.
Lisa Goldstein has put up a http://ontheface.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2006/7/20/2142505.html#comments“ rel=”nofollow”>longer explanation of the picture. I don’t find it very exculpatory, and I wonder how many of the people who will link to it as a full and satisfying explanation have already directed withering scorn at attemtps to “understand” palestinian suicide bombers or iraqi insurgents.
Er, my surname is Goldman. Not Goldstein.
Sorry sorry sorry sorry.
I dunno man, this is the *first* time I’ve ever seen anything like this from the Israeli side. Israel cannot and does not control its media. If this was widespread or even just a litte on the common side, you’d have seen it before and a lot, I think. And on the other hand and side, you see this sort of stuff all the time, no? Kids wearing “play” suicide belts? Televised cartoons about kids picking up machine guns and taking out soldiers? General and wanton celebration in the street anytime Israelis, civilians included, are killed? Sweets being passed out to green-flag-waving kids after suicide bombings? Taking these pictures and using them to say something like: “See, see, the Israelis teach their kids to hate just like the Arabs do, aHa!” is off. No one says Israel is perfect. But it’s far less dysfunctional and hate-spewing than those who would eliminate it.
This looked like a one-off thing to me, these pictures, not a systemic thing, not something state and government and media sponsored, approved, encouraged, like, say, on the Palestian side. I found the explanation Lisa put forward questionable, but plausible. I pretty much believe it, though natural skepticism still makes it hard to swallow whole.
Sorry but I don’t believe this image is true.
First: Israel has gone to war because two, just TWO of their soldiers were kidnapped. What does this tell you about how they value human life?
Second: There is no way a professional army like the IDF would allow civilians (let alone CHILDREN!) near dangerous millitary equipment -unlike the terrorist organisation hezbolla which has it’s bases hidden amongst heavily populated areas. It knows very well what the response will be from the IDF, and continues regardless. It also blocks Lebanese people from escaping Southern Lebanon even though The IDF dropped leaflets telling people to get out.
This is propoganda, but those children are not israeli.