Israel breeds aggression and apartheid

Israel breeds aggression and apartheid

I was shocked to see this photograph of Israeli elders showing children how to use weapons of war. It is a known fact that in Israel young children are raised with this mentality. Israeli children from the age of 13 are offered a variety of training. Many schools have uniformed teacher soldiers and guides who provide the vital link between the education system and the military. A more intense programme of activities starts at age 15-16 and from age 16 onwards students are brainwashed ready to enlist in the IDF.

Youth battalions are offered a one week military training programme on an IDF bas as part of the 16-17 year old curriculum at most Jewish State Schools. The armed forces also directly administered schools, including the Beit Biram Military Boarding School in Haifa, which accepted students from age 14. Pupils at this school are called cadets and wear military uniforms. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) also run four technical schools for children aged 13 and above. Amal High School in Ramat David was a joint military–civilian facility for children aged 13 and older based on an IAF base.

A number of voluntary summer and extra-curricular courses involving military training are available for Israeli and foreign children from the age of 14–15. These included courses run directly by the IDF and those run by other organizations, such as the scouts. Trials to serve in elite units of the military began from the age of 17. This early start on the young of Israel can only lead to ongoing aggression towards Palestinians and certainly will embed apartheid as a way of life. On occasion IDF soldiers were reported to have stood by, or given encouragement to Israeli children engaged in hostile behavior towards Palestinians. In one case an Israeli soldier showed a Palestinian’s identity papers to two settler children, aged around 12. They and four other children then threw stones at the Palestinian under the gaze of the soldier.

When one looks at the pro Israeli lobby in the US, UK and EU we can see a very strong web of pressure being applied to almost all political parties especially on those that are directly funded by the so called “Friends of Israel” groups. It is easy to see why Israel has become so arrogant in its foreign policy and its ability to totally disregard any UN Resolution passed against it…….knowing that their paid political puppets will rally round and vote against any “Anti Israeli Actions”. We see this time and time again in US Congress and also in the British Parliament. The current vote against the Goldstone Report is a classic example of manipulation by the Pro Israeli lobby.

When it comes to the United Nations we again see a majority vote in the General Assembly against any Israeli action which eventually goes before the Security Council to be vetoed by another well orchestrated plan that takes place behind the scenes. How many times do we see a country abstain from a vote when it is clear that someone has whispered in the ear of the representative? Another classic example of this was when Israel asked the US not to vote on the issue of Israel’s ceasing its conflict in Gaza. This was direct pressure from the Israeli Government as well as internal pressure from the lobby groups.

The lack of parental control allows the children of Israel to take the law into their own hands. Israeli children living in settlements were frequently involved in violent confrontations with Palestinian neighbours. Youngsters under 12 are encouraged by the elders to carry out acts of violence and vandalism against Palestinians and their property. These new settlers in West Bank understand how to manipulate the situation by using under age children knowing that they cannot be charged in the criminal sense.

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict visited the area in April 2007. She recommended the establishment of independent investigation mechanisms to follow up alleged violations of children’s rights. She suggested that Israel review its policies on detention for Palestinian children. As we can see to this day very little has altered but rather the opposite. Palestinian children going to school have to receive armed escorts.

The children of Israel are raised in an open society with no “Berlin Wall” and with total freedom of movement. They live in very affluent surroundings with all the necessary entertainment that one associates with young people. On the other hand the children of Palestine are totally segregated and sometimes separated from members of their extended families. Their communities are surrounded by the notorious wall or other wired offensive barriers. They do not share the same affluence as their counterparts nor do they have freedom or travel and they are starved of basic nutrition.

In Gaza one cannot even compare this situation with Israel or with their brothers in the West Bank. We are talking about an existence rather than a life. We are talking about the fact that they do not even have the basic necessities of life and live in appalling conditions. One cannot even contemplate that this coming winter will be an unimaginable test of survival for all the residents of the strip.

When one looks at the photographs below you can see the working of the aggressive and overpowering Israeli Government. The wall and barriers erected by the Israelis signifies a past era that one can only associate with Nazi/Soviet style segregation techniques such as concentration camps and man made ghettos. Similar photographs could be viewed after WW2 showing such barriers created against the Jewish communities in Europe and it is extremely hard to find any difference.

The Israeli Government act in such a way one can hardly believe they would be capable of such atrocities having gone through this same torment during the war. They carry out attacks at any time on the Gaza Strip and also carry out incursions into both Gaza and West Bank on clandestine operations which normally result in the arrest of Palestinian citizen both men and women of all ages. Some of those removed have never been seen or heard of again. Politically motivated assassinations also take place.
In the photographs below, in the top left picture one can see the overpowering dominance of the illegal Israeli settlement looking down on the much smaller Palestinian villages. The photograph of the wall and by its sheer size shows that this is far worse than the “Berlin Wall” and far worse than the segregation that took place in South Africa. The bottom two photographs show the total devastation in Gaza and hundreds of children only left to play in the rubble of what were once their homes. One can never forgive any nation that creates such a situation and yet those that are responsible for this evil act against humankind are funding politicians in the US, UK and EU to have their excessive brutality approved. One can see a clear case of an apartheid system coming into being.



Peter Eyre – Middle East Consultant 26/11/2009