"A Real Friend of Israel Wishes Its Army a Sound Defeat in South Lebanon"
Friends, True and False
By Israel Shamir
CounterPunch, Weekend Edition, July 29/30 2006
This essay ends with a warning to Jews--"Fear The Wrath of God."
This warning applies also in my opinion to the American people.
After two weeks, the war settled down comfortably in the Middle
East, like an old aunt on a regular visit to her nephews. It came to
stay for a while, and as the first shock of the battle for Lebanon
is over, the picture clears up. First, the news. Despite awesome,
crushing might of the Israeli onslaught, despite its unprecedented
viciousness and brutality, the steadfast warriors of Sheikh Hassan
Nasrallah kept their ground. The blitzkrieg planned by Tel Aviv
strategists grinded to a halt in the low hills of Maroun Ras, came
to naught in the streets of Bint Jbail. If in 1982, during previous
Israeli invasion, the Jewish tanks crossed Litani River within 48
hours, now their advance is counted in single yards.
An old but fearsome weapon forged by the Russians in the days of
their fateful struggle with Germans, and named after a girl's name,
Katyusha, keeps fretting the always-so-safe Israeli hinterland all
the way to Haifa. Israeli Apache gunships and navy's Saar warships,
best Merkaba tanks were met with precise missiles. The frustrated
invader covered the roads and villages of Lebanon with hundreds of
charred bodies of Lebanese children; but remarkably few fighters of
Hezbollah were killed or taken prisoner. They wield a secret weapon:
it's the first ever Arab body the Jews failed to infiltrate. Israeli
intelligence did not know what weapons they have and what plans they
prepare. Hezbollah warriors did not oblige the Jews and did not
commit suicide a-calling "Allah is Great": they fight, defeating the
enemy and destroying the twin myth of Israeli invulnerability and
Arab impotence.
Importance of their stand can't be over estimated: if Lebanon were
overrun with little resistance, Israeli tanks would keep rolling to
Damascus, and Israeli jets soar to Teheran. This is the wish of the
American neocons (or should it be spelled neo-Cohns?). William
Kristol speaks plainly: "For while Syria and Iran are enemies of
Israel, they are also enemies of the United States. We might
consider countering this act of Iranian aggression with a military
strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. Why wait? Does anyone
think a nuclear Iran can be contained?" Michael Ledeen supports him:
"You cannot escape the mullahs. You must either defeat them or
submit to their terrible vision." Larry Kudlow is sure of victory:
"It will take the U.S. andIsrael about 35 minutes to knock out the
entire Iranian navy and airforce... Now is the time to really put
the squeeze on Syria's dictator, Baby Assad." The neocons have a
good reason to push for war now: their positions in the US
administration weakened recently, and first signs of goy rebellion
materialised in the paper on Jewish Lobby. A good war will return
them into full power in Washington.
The Israeli attack on Damascus and Teheran still can take place, but
every day the Lebanese hold out diminishes the chances of a regional
war. A troublesome word "defeat" is being sounded on Israeli TV:
"bogged down in Lebanon" is the old nightmare of Israelis who had
this experience and do not cherish to repeat. A "defeat in Lebanon"
is quite a limited defeat: it will not lead the victor to Haifa, but
will teach the Israelis some modesty. That is why in this war, a
real friend of Israel wishes his army a sound defeat in South
Lebanon, a defeat that will return the boys home and will keep the
generals outof seeking adventures for a good while. A false friend
of Israel would wish an Israeli victory, a victory that will lead to
Teheran, to nuclear war, to mass destruction and death. While the
false friends, the US Jews, marched supporting the Lebanese
adventure, the true friends, Israelis, marched the streets of Tel
Aviv denouncing their leaders' war crimes.
As an Israeli I can't rejoice when Haifa is shelled and Tel Aviv is
threatened. There are too many innocents who cannot discern between
their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle. However,
I can't condemn it either, for this bitter medicine can help where
soft-spoken sermons failed. The missiles of Hezbollah may yet sober
up the Israeli minds and break their addiction to might. Likewise, a
good German could pray for his compatriots' defeat in Holland in
1940 for this rout would save them from the tragedy of 1945.
The Germans were too strong for their own good. This excessive might
led them to disaster. Now the same fate is prepared for Israel.
Excessive might is no better than lack of it: might intoxicates and
destroys. This war is a good illustration: a minor skirmish was
turned into a great battle and massive destruction of nature and
cities because of excessive strength of Israel. Small border
incidents happen all over the world, but they do not cause such
excesses. If Israel were wiser, it would understand the response
caused by their brutality towards Gaza. If Israel were weaker, it
would reply with a similarattack. But it is too stupid and too
strong for its own good.
The Jews incessantly repeat their old errors. In AD 66, almost two
thousand years ago, the Jews made a mighty deed: they defeated the
XII Legion of Cestius Gallus. It was as incredible as the Six Days
War, for Roman legions were not an easy prey. The Jews were carried
away by this feat, and rather vaingloriously thought that God will
fight for them. But God had other plans, and by AD 70, Jerusalem and
its temple were destroyed. Now, again, the Jews are intoxicated by
their military prowess, by obedience of the US and EU, by their
control over media.Their arrogance and brutality lead them to
disaster, for after this Rape of Gaza and Rape of Lebanon, even the
most tolerant man of the Middle East will come to the conclusion the
Romans came to 2000 years ago: there can be no peace in the area as
long as the Jewish state exists. After experiencing the neocon rule,
this conclusion will beshared by the Americans.
Another error the Jews repeat is an error of mistreating the native
people. After the Hasmonean victory over Seleukids, the victory
described in the biblical Books of Maccabees, they took over
Palestine. Their first deed was expulsion of the native population
of Caesarea and its repopulation by Jews. There was a Nakba even
then. In those days, the natives of Palestine had no power plants,
so the Jews had to be satisfied with destruction of their temples.
In order to become Light Unto Nations, the Jews had to put the
Nations into complete Darkness, and so they did. Hundred years of
Jewish absolute rule (168-68 BC) were the most horrible times for
the country, and the Roman general Pompey the Great was met as a
liberator when he subdued the Jews and limited their power to
Jerusalem and a few other areas.
"The strong are never absolutely strong, nor are the weak absolutely
weak. Those who have Might on loan from fate count on it too much
and are destroyed. Might is as pitiless to the man who possesses it
(or thinks he does) as it is to its victims. The second it crushes,
the first it intoxicates", wrote Simone Weil, the French philosopher
and divine who witnessed the great intoxication of Might called
World War Two. She referred to the Trojan War when she extracted
this sublime lesson from the Iliad: "The human race is not divided
up, in the Iliad, into conquered and conquerors. There is no refuge
from fate; learn not to admire Might, not to hate the enemy, not to
scorn the vanquished".
"This is not a war, but anti-terrorist campaign; Israel fights the
terrorists of Hezbollah", says the Jewish media. But hundreds of
burned-out buildings, destroyed bridges and power stations, killed
women and children, strafed refugees refute this oldest PR trick.
Napoleon claimed he fights Mamluks, not the Porte, but the Empire
sent its troops down to Palestine and he had to escape deserting his
soldiers. Adolf Hitler claimed he fights "communists", not Russia,
but Russians united around Stalin and foiled the trick. George Bush
claimed he fights Saddam Hussein, not Iraq, and thousands of dead
American soldiers disproved the lie. Now the Lebanese rejected the
line, saying: this is a Jewish war against Lebanon. A total war
against its citizens; its motto expressed by Israeli Generalissimo
Halutz: "For every rocket we shall destroy ten high rise buildings
in Beirut". And the Lebanese understood it; they did not take the
Jewish bait of condemning Hezbollah. They felt that Hezbollah
represents them, is an integral part of Lebanon. The Lebanese army
should take its place next to Hezbollah - this would completely
derail the plans of the invader.
The Jews bombed even Ashrafieh, the well-off Maronite suburb of
Beirut, which led the movement for removal of the Syrian army from
Lebanon. "Haram, ya Ashrafieh", sorry for you. Your folly was
visited on you too soon. Weak and rude as they were, the Syrians
would protect your heavens from the black vultures from South. You
are like a lamb that rejected your nasty old shepherd and was
swiftly fleeced by a wolf. The dream of independent Lebanon was just
an illusion produced by Masters of Dreams. The concept of
independence does not work: Lebanon would be better off as an
integral and autonomous part of Syria; Syria would be better off in
union with Iraq, Jordan, Palestine. The Ottoman Empire had to be
transformed into a Commonwealth of the East, not destroyed, for
united we stand, divided we fall.
France bears heavy responsibility for the destruction of Lebanon. It
was France that forced the Syrians out of Lebanon. The US, this
obvious enemy of Arabs, won't be able to do it without support of
Paris. By removing the Syrian protector, France came under moral
obligation to defend Beirut. "You are forever responsible for those
you tamed", said the Fox to the Little Prince in Saint-Exupéry's
story, and France tamed Lebanon. The sad and racist sight of
evacuation of foreign nationals should be replaced by another one:
by landing of French battle troops, not as UN or NATO peacekeepers,
but as outright defenders of Lebanon. They know the way: in 1860,
when the Druze ran amok, the French soldiers landed and restored
peace by repulsing the aggressor. They can repeat this deed; if the
French would fight, shoulder-to-shoulder with the Lebanese against
the Jewish invader, it will bring peace to the Middle East and to
France.
Some Arab countries betrayed their brotherly duty. Egypt, Saudi
Arabia and Jordan condemned - not the Jewish aggressor, but the
resister, Hezbollah. The Gulf countries did nothing to save
Lebanon.They should be ashamed for their treachery. Indeed, they
could repeat the successful oil embargo of 1974 and force Europe to
pull back the crazed Zionist pit bull. Hezbollah's brave and staunch
resistance is a sign of honour for the fighters and a sign of shame
for other Arab leaders. They should remember that those who betrayed
Palestine were punished: King Faruk was overthrown, while King
Abdullah was assassinated. The longer the war lasts, the bigger is
the chance for these leaders to be removed by their peoples. This is
a strong reason against seeking cease-fire.
Hezbollah are the true heroes of the Middle East. Not because of
their might, but because of their compassion. They are the only ones
who felt compassion with the plight of Palestinians. They did not
remain indifferent observers at the Rape of Gaza - they tried to
stop the violator with their modest means, like England protested
the German conquest of Poland. Compassion and solidarity are more
important than sovereignty.
For this reason we can't condemn the Hezbollah fighters or even"both
sides". A Russian philosopher Ivan Ilyin (1883-1954) made a clear
distinction (in his Resistance to Evil By Force) between the
violator and the resister.
The Violator says to his victim: «you are given unto my power»,while
the Resister replies to the violator: «you destroy and will be
destroyed, desist! Here I put the end to your tyranny".
Indeed, the Jews tried to dominate Palestinians so completely, they
tortured them so freely and without remorse, that a Resister had to
appear. In face of shameful obedience of the rest of Arabs, fighters
of Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah deserve praise. They were the first
opponents who dared Israeli rules of the game and took the war to
the Jewish territory, as until now, the enemies of Israel obeyed its
sanctity. Even in 1948 the armies of Egypt, Transjordan, Syria,
Lebanon and Iraq did not cross the borders of the Jewish state, and
were satisfied with securing the territories given by the UN to the
Palestinian Arab State. In 1967-1971 Nasser's Egypt did not dare to
send even one bomber jet to Tel Aviv, though Israeli air force
bombed and strafed the Egyptian cities. Thanks to Sheikh Nasrallah
cities of Israel experienced - though in homeopathic doses - the
feelings of Gaza and Beirut.
Let us hope this experience will destroy the Jewish superiority
complex, so that the people of Israel will come out of it - more
modest, more willing to compromise, more considerate to their
neighbours. The present Luck of Jews dangerously reminds a Friedrich
Schiller's poem (based on a story by Herodotus) that of extremely
lucky Polycrates. His guest was worried for such run of luck is
likely to end in disaster. He begged Polycrates to take his most
valuable ring and throw it in the sea, and so he did. But next
morning, a fisherman came to his court to present him with a huge
fish he had caught. When the fish was cut open, the precious ring
was in its stomach. "The guest with terror turned away. "I cannot
here, then, longer stay, The gods have willed that thou shouldst die
Lest I, too, perish, I must fly" And indeed, Polycrates suffered a
terrible reversal of fate and was crucified by the Persians.
Israel is too lucky by far. Her generals are guilty of the worst war
crime, that of aggression. They kill with impunity and get hailed by
their American vassals. Now they targeted the UN and killed some of
peacekeepers, but no worry, nobody will begrudge them. Israeli
Ambassador in the UN already demanded an apology from spineless
Annan and I sure he will get it. The Jews have nothing to fear - but
the leading Orthodox churchmen, the Greek Archbishop Christodoulos o
f Athens and the Palestinian Archbishop Theodosios Atallah Hanna of
Sebaste reminded them: "Do not provoke our consciences. Do not feed
the world condemnation against you. Fear God's wrath."
