The first thing that comes to mind as I read this is that old saying, "Be careful what you wish for..." Didn't Israel learn anything when it foolishly encouraged Hamas as an alternative to Arafat?

And I also agree that the Israeli idea that this most recent foray into Gaza will result in strengthening Abbas, so that he can come riding in like a white knight to save the people of Gaza, is simply ridiculous. If you can see that, MJ, and I (hardly a middle east expert) can see it, why can't the Israelis?

That "He died hungry" comment breaks my heart.

There is only one 'good thing' to come out of the destruction of Gaza and the killing and maiming of civilians. It is the collective will of millions of people in the world who will not allow Israel to continue its unjust policies.

There is a growing movement called BDS against Israel. Boycott, de-invest and sanctions. There are also millions of Americans who are opposed to the Gaza offensive who are petitioning their elected representatives who do not represent them on this issue.

That's the one 'good thing'
the enormous growing opposition to Israel's policies in the world.

"Hamas decided that the veterans of 1948, 1967, and 1973 had produced cowardly, unpatriotic, and inept descendants. Big mistake."

The blitz of Gaza was brave? The IDF bombing two UN school shelters and shooting UN truck drivers was brave? The blocking of ambulances was brave? The slaughter of university students after they obeyed the order to leave their building was brave? The friendly fire killing of 4 IDF soldiers was competent?

This offensive does not show IDF in any good light, I'm sorry. Maybe there will be some tales of bravery coming out after the cease fire but I can't imagine any.

One of the other heatbreaking snippets: Israel's offer to allow as much as 15% of necessary aid shipments through in return for surrender.

The family suddenly notices the cameras, and immediately, the expression on their faces changes. "We have no food," they say in Arabic, as one of the youngsters suggests we interview him in English about their plight. Givati troops are extremely concerned about being portrayed as abusing innocent civilians. Perry points to a stack of canned goods, water bottles and other provisions. "We provided some of that and they cook and eat quite well," said Perry. The Palestinians seem to understand him and one of them smiles. It's a war – they had to try.

Yeah, those Palestinian con artists, damn them. Living the high life and pretending they got it bad. Just look at all those cans of food, greedy bastards. What do they expect, fresh food? Dream on.

You know, I don't usually call names in comment threads, but you're just a dick.

MJ says: "Nonetheless, Hamas' possible successors as rulers of Gaza would likely be worse. Forget about the idea of Abu Mazen riding in triumph back into Gaza following the Israeli troops. One, he wouldn't do it. Two, if he did, he would be viewed as an Israeli stooge."

Sadly, he is a stooge. Had he cared more about Palestine than Fatah, he never would have tried to overturn the elections Fatah lost in 2006. He would have worked the neighborhoods and asked, like any real politician, "How can I make our party relevant?" But he was more concerned about Condi's opinion of him than his own peoples' opinion of him. (That is the defining characteristic of a stooge.)

Other losers: Mubarek and Saudi Arabia. Egypt just ceded leadership of the Arab world to Syria. Mission accomplished, Hosni!

"It comes from an administration that will be gone in a few days and from Members of Congress who, when speaking privately, question whether any of this was necessary."

Every time you say something this, Mr. Rosenberg, I intend to call you a liar unless you can name at least two Members "who speaking privately, question whether any of this was necessary."

You have two hours to give us the names.

Dan Diker is a foreign policy analyst with the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. He writes from Jerusalem today with an optimistic assessment of Israel's current offensive: Israel may have reached a deterrent moment in its war in Gaza against Iranian-backed Hamas. I spoke with a senior Arab diplomat last night. He told me that the Arab street is afraid that "the Jews have gone crazy." Yes, it's true. He noted, "Israel has begun to restore its deterrence" in the Arab world. "Hamas miscalculated," he added. They had thought Israel would not attack, but would merely accede to tougher Hamas demands for an improved "Tahdiya," their version of a temporary calm. This is perhaps one of the more optimistic assessments I have heard from Arab colleagues recently. There is supporting documentation. Hizbullah's immediate public denial yesterday of the Katusha rocket attack from Southern Lebanon against Israel's North and the reports on Lebanese TV of convoys of Lebanese (read: Hizbullah) vehicles moving north in expectation of a major Israeli reprisal strengthens this sense. It's also notable that Al Jazeera's reportage yesterday avoided interviewing ordinary Gazans. Arab sources in Gaza confided that the public anger is not directed at Israel any more than it is at Hamas. Al Jazeera, doing a superb job as PR agents for Iran's proxies, likely wanted to avoid risking those types of reactions from the battlefield. The source also said that Hamas is "doing very bad things" to Fatah activists in Gaza both as revenge against claims that Fatah leadership provided intelligence to Israel, and as a warning to Fatah to avoid the temptation of being convinced by Egypt, the US and the West that they reassert control in Gaza. Fatah officials in the West Bank are also demoralized. Nasser Juma'a, a Palestinian Legislative Council Member from Nablus told a well known British reporter yesterday that the "Hamas are insects" and noted that the Palestinians would likely not see a Palestinian state in his lifetime." Qadura Fares, a Fatah senior, said that the PA would not succeed either in the West Bank or Gaza without "tackling the privileges of the Fatah elite, who he said "have become like princes."

Good News from Palestine No, really. The good news comes in the form of a bell that isn't ringing: The West Bank is more-or-less quiet. In the first two uprisings, the violence spread quickly from one half of the future state of Palestine to the other. Today, this isn't happening. I asked Walter Isaacson, who is the chairman of the U.S.-Palestinian Partnership, why he thought this was so. Walter, who by day runs the Aspen Institute, points to the work of the Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, who is growing the West Bank economy at a remarkable rate. "There has been double-digit growth in the economy, and people have a stake in the future because of what Salam Fayyad and others have done to improve conditions there," Walter said. "And Israelis have responded by encouraging economic development. I think that people in the West Bank have a clear sense of what peace would bring them, and that's a prosperous state. If you just let all these engineers in the Palestinian territories and in Israel form joint start-ups, you'll see a vision of the future. Success is not achieved just with secret talks about politics but by laying a groundwork for prosperity." What was true before the Gaza incursion remains true now: The best hope for a two-state solution is a vibrant West Bank that could serve as a role model for the people of Gaza.

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/thayer/49811
A Statistical Improbability
J.G. Thayer - 01.09.2009 - 2:45 PM

Meryl Yourish has a fascinating study on what seems to be a tremendously unlikely statistical aberration. It seems that since Hamas started using the Grad rocket, it has been able to hit an increasing number of Israeli schools.

Yourish speculates that Hamas is deliberately targeting these schools, and presents a damning circumstantial case supporting her claim.

It could theoretically be a coincidence that Hamas’s low-precision rockets have recently been landing on Israeli schools, but in any case, no one is up for discussing it all, even in light of Israel hitting a school in Gaza that was being used as a mortar firing position.

Hamas isn’t stating that it’s deliberately targeting schools, so there is a certain amount of plausible deniability, but even if they boasted of their responsibility from the rooftops, it’s highly unlikely that most of the world would pay any attention. After all, how often do you hear about Hamas’s charter, which explicitly calls for the extermination of the state of Israel and its replacement with an Islamist regime?

It’s simple: Palestinian atrocities simply don’t matter. It’s partly because the world sees the Palestinians as uncivilized savages, and you simply can’t expect any better from them. It’s partly because the atrocities are primarily targeted against Jews, and that’s not that not a big deal for a good portion of the world. Hamas attacks not aimed aimed at Jews are aimed at fellow Palestinians and, as noted, people have stopped expecting better of them.

In the meantime, rockets continue to fall on Israeli schools.

And most of the world is untroubled.

It's sad. The Jewish right are going to produce the death of one of the most wonderful, open, liberal, secular cultures in the world: the Israel of Tel Aviv, Haifa, etc.
In their pathological attachment to illegal settlements, ancient tombs and crumbling walls, they will happily see the good Israel crushed.

Mr. Rosenberg, thank you so much for this post. Those of us who love Israel--particularly the culture that you describe in your post of 11:49 a.m. today--but who see this unleashing of bloodshed in Gaza as all but criminal are in despair. (Even the Wall Street Journal ran a column today describing what's going on as something akin to war crimes.) It is a volatile topic, with many scared to speak about it in this country, and your sensible but pointed comments are exactly what we need to hear more of. Thank you again.

Jewish crazies (some of whom populate this site) who, sadly, have suffered a delayed Stockholm Syndrome as a result of the holocaust.

Me, I would substitute "induced in themselves, by dint of great effort a delayed Stockholm Syndrome..."

What makes them so funny and sad is how obviously their problem is self-hatred.

And then there's me. Anti-semitism has shattered my syntax.