Another Gaza Flotilla

Well the international anti-Israel Left is preparing another flotilla to go to Gaza.  These stories don't make me proud to be a member of the Left- the inconsistency in this area is endemic and impervious to reason.  In Gaza you have a region ruled by an Islamic Theocracy that is officially and unofficially dedicated to the destruction of its more powerful neighbor, Israel.  The government of Gaza is holding an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, prisoner although he has been accused of no wrongdoing.  Homemade rockets are regularly launched on Israeli towns within range, targeting civilians.  Hamas is not willing to negotiate with Israel and not willing to make peace, since it is dedicated to Israel's destruction and the murder of all of its Jews.  Israel, in an attempt to keep its people safe, has a blockade set up trying to stop weapons from coming in.  The blockade has caused great hardship for people in Gaza, as many goods can't get through. 

Now it seems to me that the way to stop a blockade by a more powerful neighbor is to agree to stop trying to kill its people.  Since that's not an option for Hamas, the blockade continues.  It's unclear to me what the Leftist activists organizing the flotilla really want- peace would be nice of course, but their side in this war doesn't want peace.  The old Left has a knee-jerk response to suffering which is to take the side of the oppressed.  I tend to look at things that way too- I'm not very sympathetic to powerful forces (like big businesses fighting unions, for example) complaining about the unfair tactics of their weaker adversaries.  But we have to look deeper at the facts of the matter- you have a Palestinian polity that is openly dedicated to Israel's destruction and yet expects Israel to let them import materials that can be used for weapons.  It's insane.

So This article from The Nation really does it to me when it references the "...May 2010 flotilla, the same flotilla that included the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was attacked by Israeli commandos, who killed nine passengers."  I guess anti-Israel people don't want to dwell on the details of the 2010 incident.  To refresh memories, a bunch of ships were trying to run the Israeli blockade and all were boarded by Israeli commandos.  All but one were turned away without incident.  On the Mavi Marmara, however, "Israel said its marines were attacked by activists wielding metal bars, clubs and knives", and defended themselves.  The activists of course dispute this story, and the UN panel investigating it has yet to put out its findings. But the Israeli version of events is certainly plausible.  Then when you search YouTube a bit you can find actual footage of the Israeli version of events, confirming it beyond much doubt. 

Now if we Jews have learned nothing else from thousands of years of pogroms, discrimination, and extermination campaigns against us, it's that if you don't take care of yourself nobody else is going to do it for you. Jews are finished walking docilely to the gas chambers and letting history judge them as the Good Guys. Many in the international community really like the image of the Ghandian martyr facing his own death with dignity, in opposition to the bestial thugs doing the killing. But the martyr still ends up dead, and the posthumous praise is no comfort. 


It doesn't seem as if there's any way to convince the Left to change its view, so maybe Israel is doomed to become an international pariah.  And it would be preferable if Israel would stop building settlements in areas that will eventually need to come under Palestinian control.  But in the end, the country is going to defend itself.
Am Yisrael Chai.