‘Go back to the oven’
By Jennifer J. Foster
Just wanted to make sure you saw this story about a protest and counter-protest over Israeli military action in Gaza in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last week.
From the article:
But as the protest continued and crowds grew, one woman in a hijab began to shout curses and slurs that shocked Jewish activists in the city, which has a sizable Jewish population.
“Go back to the oven,“ she shouted, calling for the counter-protesters to die in the manner that the Nazis used to exterminate Jews during the Holocaust.
“You need a big oven, that’s what you need,“ she yelled.
(The video is available at the link above.)
A protest organizer said the woman’s remarks were “insensitive,“ but he would not condemn them.
Back to that in a minute.
Everyone is concerned about the humanitarian crisis that has developed in Gaza. On one hand, aid groups say Israel should open border crossings to allow medical and food supplies through to civilians there. But on the other hand, Israel says, history shows that Palestinian supporters have used those border crossings—and illegal tunnels into Gaza, when the crossings are closed—to smuggle in weapons and ammunition to Hamas militants bent on Israeli destruction.
I watched a TV interview CNN anchor Don Lemon conducted a few days ago with Dr. Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian envoy to the U.N. Mansour went on and on about how Israel is guilty of war crimes because of the magnitude of its response to shelling from Gaza. Lemon asked him no fewer than three separate times if he would acknowledge, at the very least, that both sides are guilty of wrongdoing in this latest flare-up between Israelis and Palestinians.
Three times, Mansour ignored the question and continued to disparage and condemn Israel. (You can see him take a similar tack during an interview with CNN anchor Robert Liu here.)
As we’ve discussed before, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza can be easily and quickly relieved: Hamas need only commit to ending its attacks on Israel and take steps to demonstrate its sincerity.
But Palestinian militants have shown us before that they care about nothing—not even the safety of their own children—more than destroying Israel.
Mansour’s interview was just the latest clear demonstration that there can be no negotiation with people as long as they are bent on your destruction. Mansour had no interest at all in discussing how a lasting peace can be achieved between the warring groups; he just kept demanding that Israel stop its military action in Gaza while ignoring Lemon’s persistent and pointed questions about whether Hamas militants should also be expected to stop cross-border attacks on Israel and Israelis.
Which brings us back to the protest.
Lots of folks around the country have protested Israeli action in Gaza over the past 10 days.
The woman in Fort Lauderdale demonstrates the attitude that is making that action necessary.
