Views » August 11, 2006 » Web Only

Israels September 11 Effect

Israel is uniting in its war with Lebanon

By Neve Gordon

At least in the eyes of many a party apparatchik, Israel’s second Lebanon war is a huge success. Not so much due to the military bombardment and invasion of Lebanon, but due to the campaign’s consolidating effect inside Israel.

After four weeks of fighting, hundreds of civilian deaths, the ruthless destruction of Lebanon’s infrastructure, and the forced evacuation of an estimated 800,000 Lebanese citizens who have become internal refugees, it is now fairly clear that Israel will not realize the grandiose objectives it set out to achieve: namely, to bring about structural change within Lebanon so as to force the Lebanese government to clamp down on Hasan Nasrallah’s militias, while cleaning Southern Lebanon of Hezbollah’s military bases. Taking Israel’s own objectives as a yardstick, militarily the war is no less than a flop.

Even President George W. Bush is disappointed. He thought, as one Israeli commentator recently noted, that within a few days Israel would deal a death blow to Hezbollah. After all, in 1967 Israel defeated three Arab armies within six days, while in October 1973 it managed to transform an initial retreat into a military victory within less than three weeks. But as the brutal fighting in Lebanon continues, even the warmongering administration on Capitol Hill is beginning to appreciate that there is no military solution to the present crisis.

This, however, does not mean that the war has failed to produce favorable results for Ehud Olmert’s government. Not unlike the effect September 11 had on Bush’s Administration, Israel’s second Lebanon war is turning out to be a blessing.

Up until the invasion of Lebanon, profound divisions afflicted both Israeli society and its military. Over 50 percent of Israelis were against Olmert’s convergence plan (a proposal to unilaterally withdraw from parts of the West Bank) which served as his running ticket in the previous elections and as the glue holding his government together. Short of a political miracle, it was unclear whether the government could actually lead Israel’s fractured society.

Similarly, deep divisions have plagued the Israeli military, whose combat units consist of many soldiers from Jewish settlements or those affiliated with the messianic ideology of the settlement movement. These soldiers have felt deep frustration with the government’s policies, particularly the withdrawal of troops from the Gaza Strip and Olmert’s intention of dismantling more settlements in the West Bank. The war has managed, at least for the time being, to mask the bad blood and re-establish the connection between the hawkish soldiers and the state.

Israel’s campaign has also caused a group of reserve soldiers from Courage to Refuse to modify their position. These soldiers, who were unwilling to continue serving in the military because they oppose the occupation of Palestinian territories on moral grounds, have now put their military fatigues back on and are currently fighting in Lebanon. They are convinced that Israel is struggling for survival.

Even Peace Now, which was at the forefront of the protests against the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, has declined to join Israel’s small antiwar movement and is now standing next to right wing settlers in support of the government. Yariv Oppenheimer, a spokesman for the dovish organization, recently explained “that this war is just and that Israel has every right to defend itself.”

In fact, polls indicate that upwards of 80 percent of Israel’s citizens support the campaign, an extremely high number considering that 20 percent of the country’s citizens are Arabs, the large majority of whom are against the war. Jewish doves and hawks have become bedfellows: What more could an Israeli government ask for?

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• Reader Comments

  Greetings to all at in these times,

  What to make of this leaflet dropped over Lebanon?

  “To the residents of Hay el-Sulloum, Bourj el-Barajneh and Chiah: For your own safety, you must evacuate those neighborhoods immediately, and evacuate every place where Hezbollah members or aides exist or carry out terrorist operations”

  “You must know that the expansion of Hezbollah terrorist operations will lead to a painful and strong response, and its painful results will not be confined to Hassan’s gang and criminals”

  “The State of Israel.”

  http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/749081.html

  A clear threat of collective punishment?

  Isn’t that somewhat frowned upon under the Geneva convention?

  Israelis do clearly seem to be firmly behind this ‘war’ as the article states, what it doesn’t state is how Israels behaviour has vastly increased Lebanese support for ‘Hassan’s gang’ even amongst the Christian population despite the bombings, threats and other more silly attempts at undermining Hezbollahs support such as randomly telephoning the Lebanese population with a recorded message none too flattering about Nasrallah. With the rockets still landing and the Israeli’s still losing troops only a couple of miles from the border after a month you’ve got to wonder how much longer this near blanket Israeli support for their leaders barbaric idiocy will continue.

  Posted by Azathoth on Aug 12, 2006 at 10:02 AM

  “Israelis do clearly seem to be firmly behind this ‘war’ as the article states, what it doesn’t state is how Israels behaviour has vastly increased Lebanese support for ‘Hassan’s gang’ even amongst the Christian population despite the bombings, threats and other more silly attempts at undermining Hezbollahs support such as randomly telephoning the Lebanese population with a recorded message none too flattering about Nasrallah. With the rockets still landing and the Israeli’s still losing troops only a couple of miles from the border after a month you’ve got to wonder how much longer this near blanket Israeli support for their leaders barbaric idiocy will continue.”

  I see you didn’t mention the thousands of rockets that Hizbollah has launched into Israel or the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers that set off this war.  That is typical of Arab thinking, refusing to take any personal responsibility.

  Posted by chopper on Aug 13, 2006 at 12:56 PM

  Wait a minute...now...quick over view chopper...europeans of the Jewish faith...many of them with Zionist ideas...forcefully immigrant (invade )into the region , declare a soveriegn Isreali state...intern the existing population into refugee camps for decades , claim fanatical chosen by God status....and have “ kidnapped upwards of 9000 none military Palestinian personnel...as many as 1000 of this number are children....
  By the way soldiers cannot be kidnapped , they are prisoners of war....perfectly legal under the Geneva Convention...but civilan captives are in fact illegal under the Geneva laws governing combatants…
  Now chopper if someone was screwin over you like this...Redhorse guesses you’d just bend over and smile...true…

  Further...” That is typical of Arab thinking.......” Responsibility...you my nero-minded fiend have a responsibility too learn tolerance and too not fall for racist propaganda…
  Next chopper will call Redhorse or Azathoth the dreaded anti-semite word...foolishly forgetting that the Semites are the Afrikan/ Arab mix...not some european Jew transplant.........

  Point being...you cannot morally lay claim and or self defense when you are the invading...offending party or combatant....
  It would appear that logic and responsibility have blown the choppers engine.........seen ? ?
  .

  Posted by Redhorse on Aug 13, 2006 at 4:26 PM

  Old wise man once said...” You piss in my drink...I fist in your face “......seen....?

  Posted by Redhorse on Aug 13, 2006 at 4:34 PM

  Hugo Chavez...in Cuba...Fidel lives.....

  Posted by Redhorse on Aug 13, 2006 at 4:42 PM

• extended discussion >>>Continued...

  Discussions with more than 5 comments are continued on our special discussion page to encourage continuity and ease of use. There are currently 62 posts.

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