Sterk ytring av B. Michael i Haaretz 19. desember 2023:
(Hele artikkelen nederst under Kilde).
"Israel's Vigilante Zeitgeist Excuses Any Killing"
Bør leses og reflekteres over.
Skudeneshavn 19. desember 2023
Jan Marton Jensen
Kilde:
19.desember 2023
https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2023-12-19/ty-article-opinion/.premium/israels-vigilante-zeitgeist-excuses-any-killing/0000018c-7e32-de44-a9be-7fb62a220000?lts=1703013494640<s=1703013541234
HELE artikkelen i Haaretz 19. desember 2023:
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A demonstration demanding the release of the hostages in Tel Aviv, on Saturday night.Credit: Itai Ron |
No, it wasn't the tension, or the fear, or the pressure, or even the war
that killed the three hostages who tried to save themselves. It was the
spirit of the times that killed them. The zeitgeist – a collection of
opinions and beliefs and consensus values that characterize a certain
society at a certain time. And in the current Israeli zeitgeist, no
shortage of evil winds are blowing. A spirit of being easy on the
trigger prevails. An unbearable lightness of killing and death. Of
dehumanization of non-Jews, Arabs, Palestinians and "leftists." A
vigilante spirit, as was on display in the killing of Yuval Kestelman.
A clear and direct line connects these two instances of killing.
The similarities are chilling: victims who remove clothing in order to
prove that they're not carrying a bomb, put their hands up in the air,
beg for their lives in Hebrew, wave a white flag. Nothing helps. The
itch to pull the trigger is too strong. The punk from the hilltops and
the sniper in Gaza pulled the trigger. A few more checked boxes are
added to the collection. This is what the zeitgeist commands.
And all these killers cite the same excuse: "I felt threatened." A
fundamental principle in the current Israeli zeitgeist. A mantra that
excuses any killing or other terrible misdeed. In the West Bank, in
Gaza, in Israel. They're all so threatened, they all go ahead and kill,
and hardly any of them are punished. Punishing killers of Arabs is so not in keeping with the Israeli zeitgeist.
Generals and politicians who discuss such incidents always make a point
of emphasizing that these actions run "counter to the Israel Defense
Forces values." There is such a thing, yes. Written down, in detail.
Proudly brandished around. And among these brandished values is one
called "purity of arms." Bravo. And there I found an explicit
prohibition against hurting "people who are noncombatants." Hats off.
But unfortunately, this lofty value apparently wasn't conveyed to the
air force in time. Because it seems that despite this prohibition, there
are some noncombatants among the 20,000 or so people killed by air
force bombings in this war. Maybe a dozen, maybe 12,000. Maybe many
more. But this was surely only by mistake. Or perhaps all the air force
personnel were furnished with a document confirming that they, too,
"feel threatened." No matter if they're in the cockpit or facing a
computer screen that displays all those toy-like targets that are empty
of people. Then it's all good.
There are other useful spirits in the zeitgeist: the spirit of treating terms like morality, conscience and truth like Hanukkah candles
that are not to be used. And the unique blend of a spirit of
inferiority and spirit of superiority, a spirit of condescension and
spirit of victimhood, a spirit of self-pity and spirit of meanness to
others. And a spirit of crazy messianic violence, and an addictive
spirit of total wantonness, all-encompassing corruption, no
accountability, and on and on.
A zeitgeist like this doesn't just happen overnight. It took Israel nearly 76 years to develop the spirit to become the cruelest nation on earth at the moment. Who would have believed it?
On another, similar matter: This rotten war has run its useful course. All that's left for it now is to keep the pile of corpses growing in order to preserve the power of the man who clearly deserves the title of "enemy of the state of the Israelis." The time has come to say: Enough! Enough revenge, enough killing, enough being killed, enough self-humiliation, enough turning ugly. Enough. "All for all" and let's be done with it. Let's start fixing things, start healing, or at least try. If the spirit allows, that is.
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