Letter from Dr Michael

My family lived for hundreds of years in the Middle East, in all likelihood going back to biblical times.  My grandparents were born in the late 19th century in Jerusalem, Beirut, and Damascus.  My parents were born in Cairo.  We are Egyptian, Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian, and Israeli Jews.  I am truly a part of every death that takes place in Lebanon and in Israel.

Though I cringe at the images on my television,  I am struck at the mendacious and bigoted chorus of columnists and letter writers howling at the alleged outrages of the Israeli State.

In 1948 the Jewish state was born out of a genocidal war aimed at annihilating every Jewish man woman and child.  The stillborn Palestinian state alongside it  was accepted only by Israel.  Since then Israel has fought numerous wars for its own survival.

Now, that survival is again at stake.  Hizzbollah has secreted itself behind the skirts of the civilian population of S Lebanon, armed with 14,000 rockets aimed at Israel.  It follows a genocidal ideology that every Jewish man, woman, child on earth must be eradicated.

Israel did not want this war.  It went into Lebanon in 1982 because of months of shelling of its northern towns and years of incursions against its civilians.  It vacated every inch of Lebanon in 2000 with an explicit statement from the UN that it had resolved all border disputes with Lebanon and that Hezbollah must disarm.   The outrage currently vented at Israel might have had some credibility were it matched by a fury against Hizbollah over the last 6 years as it built up its arsenal of 14000 rockets cosseted in S Lebanese villages.   The pundits so zealous in their condemnation of Israel might equally have focused some of their zeal on Hezbollah while it was assembling its machinery of destruction aimed solely at Jewish civilians.  The tears shed at Lebanon's tragedy might have truly fractured my cracked, aching heart had they been equally shed at each and every murder of an Israeli.

This is not a cycle of violence.  There was a clear provocation to this conflict,  to kill as many Israelis as possible, and a clear response, to stop it.   It is dishonest to interview the Lebanese victims of war, or grieving colleagues of UN observers,  without pointing out that rockets have been launched literally metres from homes and watchtowers into Israeli civilian targets.   -It is dishonest to portray Israel as having military might without understanding that such might is necessary to protect its civilians from annihilation.  And it is dishonest to portray Hizbollah as  a ragtag force when it bristles with sophisticated weaponry.

If  Hizbollah's provocation - killing and capturing of Israelis while assembling a  murderous arsenal  - is trivial, and Israel's response is disproportionate, then surely this trivial provocation could be easily redressed.   If not, then perhaps the provocation is not as small as is being portrayed and therefore the  response not so disproportionate.  Israel is fighting against those who have Hitler's agenda and aspire to Hiroshima's weapons.   Few commentators have suggested what else Israel could do when faced with genocidal intent and an army of willing martyrs hiding behind civilians.  The solution is not for Israel to more accurately aim its bombs, but for those trying to destroy it to remove genocide from their agenda.   Israel has an obligation to look for peace where it can, and otherwise fight its wars as humanely as possible.   It does not have to commit suicide.

Michael Harari
Department of General Paediatrics
Royal Children's Hospital,
Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria