In Memorial to War Dead, the United States Avoids Addressing Its Conflicts
1. The Indian Wars
2. Spanish-American War
3. The Banana Wars
4. Vietnam War
5. Grenada War
6. Iraq War # 1
7. Iraq War # 2
8. Libyan War
America has absolutely nothing to teach Israel!
Unlike America, Israel does not boast of her killing fields for wars benefiting the rich, by marching each July 4.
Read your history!
4
Many Americans, including myself, are becoming increasingly disillusioned by the US's continued unconditional support for Israel. The unwavering US support for Israel is likely the most major policy mistake made by the US over the past 60 years. The cost to the United States for supporting Israel has been exorbitant and, that price, in terms of US lives and treasure, is incalculable. We are hated across the Middle East and it is now crystal clear that Netanyahu, and the Israeli's that put him in power, have likely never had the intention to end their conflict with a two state solution. In fact, it is very likely the case that peace is not part of the Israeli game plan at all, as peace would likely mean an end to rapid settlement building and the expansion of Israel's territory. Additionally, we have learned over the past two years that Israeli's consider themselves a "Jewish democracy". The words Jewish and democracy when used together are mutually exclusive. The primary beauty of a democracy is its inclusivity. Americans are quickly coming around to the fact that we must lose this one-sided relationship. In line with this, let’s begin to limit financial aid to Israel. The $3.5 billion we give Israel yearly needs to be curtailed sharply. Americans must not tie our fate to the fate of Israel. Write your senators and congressmen.
4
I am waiting for the memorial for the Palestinian civilians killed by Israel.
6
Yes, Jews are thoughtful, they are not eager to embrace violence or see their children become soldiers, and they have embraced Western notions of free speech and tolerance. Actually, we helped develop those ideas. And 2/3 of the Jews of Europe were slaughtered in appreciation of our contributions. So your point is, Ms. Kershner? Yes, Jews brood. But accept that we do not plan to commit cultural suicide; let France and Sweden do that.
3
Seems elegant in design to me, simple and without rank or privilege. Not dissimilar to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington. Of course the debate about what to do in the future and now is a separate matter but honoring the dead who sacrificed their lives for a nation is a worthy tradition among shared by many cultures, even enemies.
8
Contrast this rather pointless and disrespectful article with one written on Israel's Memorial Day 3 years ago by another Times reporter - apparently one with more insight and taste:
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/22/world/middleeast/one-israeli-soldier-...®ion=Marginalia&pgtype=article
5
Does any nation's memorial for war dead address conflicts? It's a memorial, not an editorial, and as it'd described, it would sem to be a very effective one. No one would ask the US memorial to those who fell in Viet Nam to address the raging conflict about that war when it was happening. All wars have had ambivalent support. A memorial is not the place to express that. It is a place to respect the fallen. It is an awkward stretch to report on a memorial by stressing that Israel didn't do what no nation would do, what would be inappropriate and disrespectful to do, and what is not the purpose of a memorial. It sounds like the author is trying very hard to make it clear that she disaproves of everything israel does.
11
And the point of this article is?
The memorial isn't a political or historical museum. Israel has plenty of those -where the issues Ms. Kershner mentions are confronted.
It seems to me that the design of the memorial fits well with the traditional Israeli ideas of how to memorialize war dead. Military cemeteries in Israel are also very plain and egalitarian - high ranking officers and privates, war heroes and those not killed in combat get the same type of grave and marker.
So it seems the point of this article was to exploit Israel's very solemn Memorial Day to write an article with gratuitous criticism of Israel.
I'd suggest the writer do something different: compare how Memorial Day is observed with solemnity in Israel to how the American counterpoint is, for the most part, turned into a party, celebration, and shopping day by the average American (exceptions for those with family members being remembered).
Talk about avoiding divisions in society and the meaning of a nation's history....
11
Left out of this distorted portrayal is that small placques, marked with name and date of death, is solidly within the Jewish religious tradition for memorials to the dead.
12
Israel is not a "divided society." It's a democratic country with intense debate over issues both past and present. In case anyone wondered - that's normal in any country with a pluralistic outlook on the world and into itself.
22
As long as Palestinian citizens have lesser rights than Jewish citizens, Israel is a less than democratic country.
8
You mean just like with minorities in the US, the EU, and other democracies? And just like the aboriginal minorities in Taiwan?
Somehow, every time the issue of Israeli democracy comes up, comments like this are made. But they aren't routinely made about other democracies, just about Israel.
And by the way, Arab citizens of Israel don't have lesser rights than Jewish citizens, but they do suffer from some discrimination.
7
Israel was ranked 29 out of 167 on The Economist's Democracy Index.
That's better than Belgium, Greece, Cyprus & at least a dozen other European countries.
4
I really wish we'd stop reporting on this nation as though we all had dual citizenship, it's unseemly. Many Americans hold Israel at arms length for very good reasons, and no doubt Palestinian Americans who's ancestors were driven out at the point of a gun are dismayed by this sort of report.
11
More Jews were expelled from Arab countries after 1948 than Arabs who ran from Israel. 900,000 Jews, from countries where today there is not a single Jew.
The descendents of those Arabs who CHOSE to stay in Israel 1948 are now 1,600,000 strong, with more rights and freedoms, and a far better standard of living, than Arabs in Arab countries. For all their complaints (and there are certainly legitimate complaints) very few of them would want to leave Israel for any Arab country.
19
"Many Americans hold Israel at arms length for very good reasons"
Not nearly as many as you'd like to think.
72% of Americans approve of Israel in the latest Gallup poll, higher than any time since the first Gulf War in 1991, when Israel literally took a bullet for its ally, the United States (by not responding to Iraqi Scud missiles, which would have shattered the Arab "alliance" against Saddam Hussein)
10
None of which justifies granting lesser rights to those Palestinians.
5
Anyone who wants to truly understand Israel’s history of conflict MUST read Ronen Bergman’s absolutely stunning “Rise and Kill First.” It is a fascinating story whose brief final chapter should leave you speechless.
1
And read Eyal Weizman's Hollow Land: Israel's architecture of occupation. then you will be both speechless and despondent.
5
And read about all the books by all of the U.S. presidents about the unethical wars they participated in against their "enemies"
1. The Indian Wars
2. Spanish-American War
3. The Banana Wars
4. Vietnam War
5. Grenada War
6. Iraq War # 1
7. Iraq War # 2
8. Libyan War
Let she (America) who is without sin cast the first stone!
3
May their names forever be a blessing
28
I was 9 years old when Israels war of independence started. I lived in a builiding in Shjonat Motifiory owned by the Mandelboum family. They had a son called
Yosef. He was 17 years old when he was killed in the war. He was the first person i knew who was killed. I can still hear his mothers screams when she found out that Yosef was killed. This has remained withs me all my life.
Shalom
27
We all yearn for the day that we never have to etch the name of another Israeli youth into the memorial wall. May our enemies lay down their weapons and live quietly in peace.
36
May they never have to engrave another brick.
33
This article seems to take the point of view of how internally conflicted Israeli's are; that there is no consensus among these people, they can't even agree on this. Really? Look at how divided the United States is! (For example, as horrible as a President as we have, 38% of the population supports him!; and you say Israeli's can't agree?)
Every article about Israel takes a position about something they are doing wrong as a country or as a people; how troubled and divided they are...Well, imagine that you and everyone else of your religion lived in New Jersey, your ancestral homeland (think of Native Americans, perhaps), and every other state in this country was filled with people of a different religion and they all hate you and want you dead... you think it would be easy for you and your fellow New Jerseans to come to a consensus on decisions?
32
@ Full Name who wrote "imagine ... every other state in this country was filled with people of a different religion and they all hate you": I would ask myself why so many people and what I could do to try to at least reduce that number. One could start with the adage that might does not always make right and try to curtail the use of deadly force as the ultimate response to all anti-Israel activists and make some attempt to address their concerns.
5
EMIP, your post might make a little more sense if there wasn't something like 2000+ years of Jewish history which has plenty of examples of situations where the enemies of the Jews wanted them dead, regardless of what the Jews did or did not do.
And it might make more sense if the past 100 years or so of Middle East history and the Arab-Israeli conflict did not have numerous occasions where Israel and/or the Jews of Palestine offered compromise peace proposals to the Arabs, that were rejected by the Arabs (including the Arabs of Palestine).
14
The righteous are not defined by what the maniacs think of them, nor need they conform to your wishes. You are one step away from those who blame anti-semitism on the Jews openly - you clearly come close but don't want to cross that line in public.
It's wonderful that Israel is strong now, no matter how much that bothers you. My parents are both Holocaust survivors, we are all grateful that Jewish blood is no longer cheap, no matter how much that disturbs the anti-semites.
8
I am not sure why the headline "In Memorial to War Dead, Israel Avoids Addressing Its Conflicts" accompanies the article. The State of Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people, is a complicated nation in which there are sharp divides politically and religiously. What unites Israel (save a few extremists) is knowing that no matter the existence of disputes, the continuing threat to Israel by Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, ISIS and the PA . Israelis complain about their political leaders but the left, right and center agree that their differences with each other are less important than the enemies on the Israeli borders. I suspect that the memorial described by Ms. Kershner is a powerful reminder of the sacrifice, past, present and future, Israelis will endure. The story of the conflicts are details, important in their own right, but not needed for this memorial. Am Yisrael Chai!
39
As usual, Isabel Kershner attempts to convince us that most Israelis share her angst about Israel's right to exist, and what they are forced to do by their enemies to continue to exist.
As usual, she is wrong far more often than she is right.
48
America and Americans have nothing to teach Israel.
Point a finger at someone, and three come back to you.
Just how many people around the world have been killed
in order for the United States right to exploit her own country and
other countries as well?
1. The Indian Wars
2. Spanish-American War
3. The Banana Wars
4. Vietnam War
5. Grenada War
6. Iraq War # 1
7. Iraq War # 2
8. Libyan War
2