Eliyahu Asheri Deserved Better
Eliyahu Asheri had a mother and father. Eliyahu Asheri had siblings. Eliyahu Asheri had every reason to look forward to a long and healthy life.
Sadly Eliyahu Asheri is not going to be able to enjoy that life. His family will never know what he could have become. His siblings will grow old without him and his parents will join the sad and solitary club of parents who have lost children.
There are no words that I can offer them to ease their sorrow. I cannot say that he died so that others could live. I cannot provide any sort of tribute or meaning that they can use to assuage their pain and for this I am sorry.
I don’t compare believe in comparing tragedies as it is a fools errand but I think that in this case there is a reasonable exception to be made.
In a suicide bombing one could say that there is a certain randomness to the act. The victims just happen to be there. The kidnapping is a bit different, at least it feels different to me.
It feels different because there is no doubt that the murderers took time to pick their victim, that they were more specific in who they hit. At least this is how it feels to me.
Earlier I blogged about how I felt that I had been wrong in my opinion about Gaza and disengagement. One of the commenters said:
“You weren’t wrong. It was the right step. The problem now lies with the current government. I supported disengagement and still do. I understood that being out of Gaza would give Israel carte blanche to retaliate in an appropriate manner. This kidnapping would NEVER have happened if Israel bombed the shit out of Gaza the first time kassams and ketushot. The Palestinians only understand force. The only diplomacy they understand is violence. Israel should have done what they are doing now months ago. It’s the current governments fault (Amir Peretz as Defense Minister?!?! PLEASE!) not disengagement. You think it would have gotten this far in Sharon was still PM? Never!”
I can appreciate this sentiment. Regardless of whether you loved or hated Sharon he brought a certain sense of security with him. You didn’t worry about appearing weak and inviting more attacks.
But the reality is that Sharon is not here and the situation is what it is. So I am hopeful that the government will look at the current situation and understand that they are at war and act appropriately.
The time has come to seek payment and to seek justice using all avenues. I am very sorry to have to write that, but in the end if you want security there is a time when you must use force to obtain it.
My condolences go out to the family of Eliyahu Asheri and the families of those who are going to give their lives so that others do not suffer the same fate as he.
Jack's Shack July 2, 2006 at 5:34 am
Jim,
It is bad a thing.
BW,
It is hard not to feel badly for children who are taught to hate by their parents.
BW July 2, 2006 at 2:07 am
From the BBC reporting in Gaza. “Most here say they support Sunday’s attack on an Israeli military post by Palestinian militants but that they wish they hadn’t brought a captive Israeli soldier – and all this trouble – back with them to Gaza.”
Not that the BBC is any bastion of truth or fairness, far from it, but from this article on the BBC web site, and many, many others over the half century I have lived, my position is that the majority of Palestinians are complicit to this problem. It has been and is within their power to stop Hamas and the continuous firing of rockets at Israel and the cowardly suicide bombings.
Palestinians elected the Hamas terrorist organization to lead them, knowing their long and chartered refusal to ever recognize the right of Israel to exist and dedicated to Israel’s destruction, no matter how long it takes. The Palestinian people opened the door with invitation to whatever “suffering” they may now be experiencing. If they don’t want to suffer, then the Palestinian people need to step up against Hamas to stop the Hamas stupidity or resign themselves to the fate they have chosen.
I am deaf to any statement or claim the Palestinians want peace, a two state solution, or their demands that the international community intercede on their behalf. They have the condition they asked for and elected, now they should be willing to suffer the consequences.
Any compassion I may have is limited only to the small and innocent Palestinian children who continue to suffer and grow up haters and killers due to their Palestinian parents illogical behavior, nay, stupidity, in their support of Hamas.
jim June 30, 2006 at 7:43 am
Jack, the US does what it does, no problem, Israel needs to take care of itself with terrorism, not tolerate it.
I agree about Sharon. I was hopeful about this new govt.
Jack's Shack June 29, 2006 at 8:10 pm
JF,
I am just saying what many are thinking.
Z,
Yep.
Z June 29, 2006 at 7:31 pm
I’m with Stacey. Bomb the shit out the assholes. There won’t even be any questions to ask later. Eliyahu at least deserves THAT much.
The Jewish Freak June 29, 2006 at 6:26 pm
Jack: Thank you for saying what needed to be said. I feel such terrible sadness over this. We should mourn as a nation when a Jew is killed for being a Jew.
Jack's Shack June 29, 2006 at 5:00 pm
Jameel,
It just feels like a mess to me. Terrible.
Stace,
I agree.
Saus,
I know, it boggles the mind.
hey need to fight to win, in the most intense, comprehensive, and swift manner possible.
Elie,
Well said.
Elie June 29, 2006 at 1:55 pm
I woke to the horrible news this morning. As you know, I have experienced losing a son, in fact one just Eliyahu’s age. The bereaved parents’ pain, I’m sure, is the same no matter what the circumstances. But there is one difference; in Aaron’s case we have no-one to blame.
Israel needs to completely change its approach to the Palestinians. Trep said it best yesterday; it doesn’t matter if individual Palestinian civilians are nice people or not. Israel is at war, plain and simple, and they need to fight to win, in the most intense, comprehensive, and swift manner possible.
saus June 29, 2006 at 1:53 pm
This is worrying to me Jack..
“Defense Minister Amir Peretz revealed on Thursday that a “surprising diplomatic breakthrough” was possible in the attempts to release kidnapped Cpl. Gilad Shalit, but did not elaborate on the development.
“We are in one of the most crucial stages of establishing the rules of conduct between us and the Palestinian terror organizations,” he asserted.”
Rules of conduct between us & the terrorists!? I’ve never even heard of such a thing..
Stacey June 29, 2006 at 12:53 pm
So sad about Eliyahu Asheri. Enough already. The time for diplomacy is over.
Jameel June 29, 2006 at 10:46 am
Amen.
Just wanted to add an important comment: It’s wrong to blame the current government — when Ariel Sharon was still Prime Minister AFTER the Disengagement, the Qassam rockets continued to slam into Southern Israel. Had Israel retaliated THEN (under Sharon), then today’s situation would probably be much better.
The problem is, the Disenagement was never really about security. It was SOLD to people that way, but it was never really about it…which is one of the reasons we’re in the current mess.
And yes, Eliyahu Asheri deserved alot better.