And Then There is This Essay

[YankeeFan]

So who is telling the truth out here? Judging from all of the posts so far, it's either "Kill the Jews, Kill teh Jews!", or "It's Our Fault!" With a couple of posts unsuccessfully blaming the mess on the Bush Leaguer. This is one time we really can't blame The Idiot. He didn't dig those tunnels.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/07/09/INGIVJQ75J1.DTL

Arab bloggers dare to dissent
Even those in support of Palestinians used recent events to attack regimes hiding behind the cause.
By Frida Ghitis

When Israeli forces entered Gaza in late June, the media in the Arab world spared no adjective to describe the "Zionist aggression," as the Syrian News Agency labeled it, or the "crazed racist extermination war," in the words of a writer in the Palestinian al-Ayyam paper. Many official publications expressed similar sentiments when Israel sent its forces into Lebanon yesterday, following the abduction of two Israeli soldiers by the Lebanon-based Islamic militia of Hezbollah.

No observer of the Middle East would find that degree of invective and bitterness surprising. Below the furious, raging surface, however, a different sort of commentary flowed through the Internet.

In Arab blogs and deep inside the Web comment pages of some major news organizations, a few people dared to disagree. In fact, some Arab advocates of political and social reform saw recent events in the Palestinian territories as ammunition with which to criticize the dictatorial regimes they want to change in their own countries.

The Israeli incursion and the bombing of a Palestinian power plant came less than three days after Palestinian militants dug a tunnel into Israel and captured 19-year-old Cpl. Gilad Shalit. This was the first major Israeli operation in that strip of land since the withdrawal from Gaza a year ago, and since the coming to power of Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement, which is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union, among others.

Many - though not all - in the Arab blogosphere sharply criticized Israeli actions as excessive, but they saw in the fury of the Israeli government something lacking in their own: concern for the life of a single citizen.

"They will turn the world upside down to get that soldier back," wrote the SandMonkey, who describes himself as a 25-year-old Egyptian living in Cairo. "I kind of envy how much they care about their own." The sentiment was echoed by Isis, in BigPharaoh.com, wishing that "our government had half the respect for its citizens' life that the Israelis have for theirs."

Lebanese bloggers fumed at Hezbollah after it drew their country into a confrontation with Israel, whose forces had left Lebanon six years ago. BigPharaoh posted snippets of comments from across the Lebanese blogosphere, including: "I would like to ask , WHY NOW? Can they answer me? This is very bad." As Israel charged that it would hold Lebanon responsible for the situation, BigPharaoh asked the Lebanese, "For how long will you keep your country held hostage by Hezbollah?"

Syrian democrats also maintain that their government should stop supporting terrorism, particularly by playing host to Hamas leaders. After Israeli jets entered Syrian airspace and flew low over the home of Syrian President Bashar Assad, someone identified only as Fares wrote in Amraji.blogspot.com, "Now even myself for the first time ever I applaud an Israeli action... Israel by this action has shown that it does not want to harm Syria... time for Syrians to pick the message up and stop supporting radicals and terrorists."

Hamas itself comes under withering fire from several writers, including many who express impassioned support for Palestinians. In the Al Arabiya page, someone asks, "What did Hamas expect" when it took the Israeli soldier? With concern for the Palestinians and little sympathy for Israel, he cries out, "The people in Gaza have enough troubles than to be occupied again due to the stupid, irresponsible actions of Hamas idiots."

Hamas leaders fall into the same category as other regional governments that "enrich themselves and enlarge their external bank accounts" while speaking about the "glories of Jihad and martyrdom," said an article quoted in the blog "Free Michel Kilo Now," named after a Syrian writer taken prisoner by the authorities in a recent crackdown against the opposition.

The majority of the Arab blogs and Internet commentary supports Palestinians and remains highly critical of Israel. Still, Arab democrats are increasingly noting that, however much anyone sympathizes with Palestinians, there is little doubt that Arab autocrats, dictators and assorted rulers-for-life have long used the Palestinian cause as a thick cloak to cover up the deficiencies of their rule. The Internet, it seems, is slowly drawing out the threads of that cloak, making it transparent enough to reveal the ugly truth it seeks to conceal.

This time, even an Israeli crackdown in the Palestinian territories has provided an opportunity to bring up more attacks against Arab regimes.

Frida Ghitis ([e-mail]) writes about world affairs.

[mike_c]

1. I must have missed those posts-- could you please point out...

...any post in this forum that advocated "kill the Jews," especially any such post that wasn't quashed by the mods immediately? I cannot imagine that. I note too that if your initial premise is incorrect, the material that follows has little solid ground to stand upon. Just sayin'.

[pelsar]

2. try reading the arab blogs..

the material that follows has little solid ground to stand upon. Just sayin'

and the lebanese ones as well, many are seething with anger towards the hizballa

[Lithos]

3. Locking per DU rules and I/P guidelines

Subject does not match title of article, plus full article is cited which is against DU's fair use policy of copyrighted material.

Lithos
DU Moderator