Gaza: Hamas strikes out

By Ami Isseroff

What if you gave a spontaneous demonstration and nobody came? Well, almost nobody.

Following the great success of the Hamas inspired invasion of Egypt, Israeli authorities were anxiously awaiting the planned "spontaneous" demonstration of Gazans that was supposed to bring 50,000 desperate folks to the Gaza border with Israel. No less than 50,000 people were supposed to have joined the "spontaneous" protest. Numerous international media outlets hastened to trumpet the latest Hamas triumph An organizer gushed, "We have been stunned by the large number of people who joined the protest." But they were all counting their Gazans before they hatched. The great Gaza non-violent action was a bust. About 5,000 people showed up, mainly university students and schoolchildren who were obviously recruited and brought en-masse for the event: "We're going on a field trip today to demonstrate against the Jews."

The IDF had planned for the worst, which the right thing to do, but Ahmad struck out this time.

While nonviolence failed, the same old proven methods were still at work.Terrorists Militants launched several rockets at Sderot, wounding one ten year old in the shoulder and lightly wounding a mother and child. The rockets, writes Bradley Burston, were the real failure of Palestinian non-violence. Palestinians have never managed to make a really non-violent protest, and Palestinian advocates of "non-violence" never claim that their struggle should be exclusively non-violent. The ISM for example, which claims to support non-violence, also supports "legitimate resistance" (blowing people up).

Burston is mistaken. On the one hand, even had the organizers of the "spontaneous" demonstration succeeded in bringing out 50,000 or 100,000 people, and even had they managed to not fire rockets for a day, or throw rocks, it would still be a moral failure. A violent and unjust end cannot be justified by non-violent means. A non-violent demonstration in favor of apartheid, Nazism or slavery is not a great moral triumph that demands our respect. The Israeli sanctions on Gaza are due to the fact that the terrorists militants fire rockets on Israel. The demonstrators were non-violently demanding the "right" to fire rockets on civilians for no reason. No doubt, "human rights" advocates can prove that this "right" is anchored in the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man, but common sense says otherwise. The general goal of the Hamas is the destruction of Israel. Genocide is still genocide even if it is supported by cute little kiddies holding hands. No doubt these kiddies are avid fans of the Hamas rabbit that eats Jews.

On the other hand, if the organizers had succeeded in "spontaneously" bringing out 50,000 or 100,000 people, it would be a great PR victory, mistaken by most "analysts" for a "moral" victory. No media outlets, no "peace" organizations and no "humanitarians" would care that Hamas was launching rockets at the same time as the demonstration was taking place, just as nobody cares that this was a demonstration of children in support of the right to murder and maim other children.

Hamas and its puppet organizations failed this time, but they'll no doubt be back. Next time the participants will get much more "encouragement" to participate in the "spontaneous" generation. An AK-47 in the small of your back is a great motivator. There are other ways too. Israel needs to plan for the eventuality. Perhaps these people should be greeted by a friendly Israeli event, to show our good will. I was thinking that a gay parade or a Bikini swim wear fashion show might be just the thing.

Ami Isseroff

 

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