Israelis and Jews around the world are rightly outraged about an attack on Arab teenagers by a group of Israeli Jewish teenage thugs on Monday. The attack is being described as a lynching and the fact that one 15-year-old suspect said of a 17-year-old victim who remains unconscious and hospitalized, “For my part he can die, he’s an Arab” has shocked many Israelis and friends of the Jewish state. The incident, which took part in Jerusalem’s Zion Square and was reportedly witnessed by hundreds of onlookers who were apparently too afraid or too indifferent to intervene has garnered international press coverage and set off a round of soul searching by many who wonder how the seeds of hate could have infected Jewish youth in this manner.
Israelis do well to worry about such violence, just as they should be deeply concerned about so-called “price tag” attacks on Arabs by Jews living in the West Bank. But those who are now openly indulging in speculation about Israel’s lost soul or its descent to barbarism need to take a deep breath before jumping to such conclusions. The incident and any such occurrence in which Arabs are subjected to violence in Israel is deplorable and must be punished severely. But the outsized interest in the story has all the hallmarks of the traditional journalist’s dictum about what sells: man bites dog, not dog bites man. Arab violence against Israelis is so common that it takes a horrific mass slaughter or a dramatic attack involving borders and third parties (such as the recent terror attack that came from Egyptian-controlled Sinai) in order for anyone, even Israelis themselves, to take much notice. But the infrequent instances when Israelis succumb to the atmosphere of hatred with which they have been surrounded for a century are treated as not only a very big deal but also a cause for the entire Jewish people to take stock of their moral compass.
If you put it in the context of the one-hundred-year-old Arab war against Zionism and the culture of anti-Semitism and fomenting of hatred against Israel that is mainstream culture among Palestinians as well as other Arab countries like Egypt or Muslim lands like Iran, it is hardly surprising that a small minority of Israelis would wind up mirroring those deplorable sentiments.
Israelis are, after all, only human. When placed in terrible confrontations or difficult circumstances, it is only natural to lash out at violent enemies or to dehumanize the foe. If you think Americans are immune to such feelings, take a look at any popular American film produced during World War Two and see the way the Japanese are portrayed.
The real story here is not that a minority of Jews have fallen prey to the same sort of hatred that predominates the mainstream discourse among Arabs but that most have not.
Let’s also remember that violence against Jews in the West Bank is routine. Stone throwing at cars (which sometimes result in fatal crashes), shooting incidents and stabbing attacks are the stuff of everyday life there. Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem or Israeli Arab towns and villages are often no-go zones for Jews in a way that most Jewish cities and towns are not for Arabs.
To state these facts is to neither excuse nor rationalize the Jerusalem attack. Israeli schools already emphasize peace education but that message is often undermined by the knowledge that no such programs are being taught in the West Bank while the Arab media both in the Palestinian areas and in supposedly civilized countries like Egypt are drenched in anti-Semitism. Jews should do all they can to educate their kids to turn away from hate. But until their Arab neighbors emulate this practice, we shouldn’t be surprised when we discover that such efforts are not always successful.
"Israelis are, after all, only human. When placed in terrible confrontations or difficult circumstances, it is only natural to lash out at violent enemies or to dehumanize the foe. If you think Americans are immune to such feelings, take a look at any popular American film produced during World War Two and see the way the Japanese are portrayed." n nExactly right. n n nDeserves as much space on Commentary as does a bank robbery, acrimonious divorce, hate crime assault, or other individual human failing. It's not an emblematic story. n nI actually think Netanyahu did the wrong thing using it as a 'teaching moment', Obama style. n nThe Palestinians are always making excuses for their genocidal, organized crimes by saying 'it's a natural response'. n nWell, guess what, Mr. Abbas, it is actually a natural response for people to lash out when their group has been repeatedly targeted and exposed to dehumanization by genocidal enemies. 'Natural responses' are not just for Arabs. n nTake that into your calculation. Israelis will not sit much longer, sucking up violence as they wait for 'recognition' from savages, without some segment acting out.
'Jews around the world are outraged'? n nReally? How do you know? n nI thought 'that's too bad . . . ugly crime . . .human nature. I wonder what the specifics are.' n nI was not 'outraged'. And I doubt the Jews of France gave it a moments thought, understandably. n nMaybe the guy really did insult the Jewish kid's mother. This is not a Jewish world shaking event. n nIn fact, I thought it might be a little sobering to the Palestinians, and that was the silver lining.
"But the outsized interest in the story has all the hallmarks of the traditional journalist’s dictum about what sells: man bites dog, not dog bites man." n nLeading the press charge was, of course, The New York Times which placed this story on page 1, above the fold. nGive the NYT's history of Israel bashing at every opportunity-something they've been doing even before the State of Israel was established-I think it's a little naive to think the Times was motivated by a man bites dog story.
To paraphrase from the great monologue delivered by Marlon Brando as Colonel Kurtz in "Apocalypse Now"–"if I had a battalion of men like that, we could have won the war in two weeks." n nSo, what kind of soldier does Israel need now? When Israeli generals talk about the coming war against Hezbollah (post Iran attack), they warn that THIS TIME, the damage will be much greater. So, who is going to shoot through the baby carriage to kill the jihadi? Who is going to incinerate a building filled with civilian women and children to suppress the missile fire coming from that building? Israel needs men of steel–who know what needs to be done and get the job done without use for tears for the suffering of the enemy. Israel needs more of these youth. Screw sensitivity training, get tough…defend Israel, make Jews proud, lay down some serious detterence backed up with the will to do whatever it takes. Maybe then, the Jews in Israel will survive.
Tobin, I'm afraid you buried the lede. That the NYTimes carried an isolated incident like this on page one, above the fold, only points again to the Times' overriding hatred of Israel. I have been asking for several years why Israel supporters continue buying the Times. If every such person refused to buy the Times it would either fold or become the fringe publication it deserves to be.
Yeah; The NYT says nothing about Jew on Jew violence; nothing about Arab on Jew mayhem; nothing about lack of Arab remorse, indeed celebratory well-wishing when Jews are murdered…None of that please! nThis is an ISRAELI ARAB boy NOT a Palestinian Arab boy! These boys ROUTINELY molest young unaccompanied Jewish girls (NEVER ARAB GIRLS) who have to run in fear. nThis time the Arab boys got suckered in and ambushed by Jewish boys; the passersby knew what was going on. nThe little pissant got what he deserved! STOP APOLOGISING!
Yeah, that's right editors at Commentary; play the dhimmi, again! nRemove comments that you don't like because you are miserable sycophants to PC. nI told you; these attacks happen on a daily basis, provoked by Arab-israeli boys, always on jewish girls. nMost of the time they get away with it; sometimes they get caught and whacked. This time the whacking produced real life threatening injuries. nThat's the whole story…stop, STOP apologizing for the replays of jets vs sharks, capulets vs.montagues. There will be more, many more of these confrontations as indeed there have been. Look and criticise the hoods in the hoods in LA, Chicago and NY; only we don't use guns, switchblades and knuckle dusters and drive-bys and we bring these perps to justice… nThe boy got caught, beaten; he's not the first; he won't be the last. nSTOP playing NYT's bigoted game!
If you show no mercy you will be shown none.
The Zionist dream was that Israel would be "normal" nation, with its own criminals, its own police, its own jails, etc. Well, this kind of attack is par for the course in a "normal" nation. n nThe coverage and reaction just proves the point that the Jewish nation is an "Am Kadosh", a holy nation, not normal at all.