This summer, I participated in a unique program: I volunteered for five weeks as a counselor at a summer camp in Israel, in a town called Kiryat Gat. The focus of the camp for the children was to learn English, but for the American volunteers the program was designed to show what it’s like to live in Israel as an Israeli, rather than just as a tourist. I lived with a host family, took buses to Jerusalem and back, and spoke plenty of Hebrew. Over the course of this trip, I had many very interesting conversations with Israelis, about everything from prospects of peace in the Middle East to the pros and cons of basketball and soccer. However, one topic surfaced over and over again: American opinion about Israel.
Most Israelis I talked to were under the impression that since 9/11, American attitudes would have shifted more towards a pro-Israel perspective. This is not unreasonable; figuring that a terrorist attack on American soil would help Americans understand Israel’s everyday situation makes sense, as does the thought that fighting against Muslim fundamentalists would also give Americans some perspective. So, many Israelis were shocked to learn that opinions towards Israel and its problems had not really shifted, that most people maintained exactly the same stance, either for or against. Just as they were certain that the Chicago Bulls were still the best team in the NBA, they were also confident that most Americans would be more supportive of their struggles after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
I do not necessarily agree with Israel’s military actions, nor do I blindly endorse all of the actions of either of the countries I feel a strong allegiance towards. But, for better or for worse, Israel and America have much, much more in common than many Americans seem ready to admit. Just as America faced the tragedy of
9/11, Israelis have to deal on a regular basis with terrorist attacks on their own homes, restaurants, and schools. Thank God that the magnitude of 9/11 has not been equaled in Israel, but it also must be understood that, as years go by, the existence of regular terrorist bombings have a devastating effect. Americans have been in a state of constant fear for the past three years because of one terrorist attack; imagine what would it be like if instead of once, terrorist attacks happened monthly, or weekly, as they did during the height of the second Intifada.
In the past few years, both America and Israel have found themselves in the middle of near constant military action. America has dropped bombs on Afghanistan and Iraq in attempts to kill possible terrorists; Israel deployed select units to attempt to kill known terrorists. Yes, Israel has accidentally killed innocent civilians in its pursuit; how many innocents were killed during the assault on Baghdad? These killings, on both sides, are by no means excusable, but comparison is certainly not out of line. Yet, in Israel, when innocent civilians are killed, the government takes action to investigate its own military’s mistakes, but in the United States, no such investigations occur. The only significant investigation into U.S. military action lately has been examining the Abu Ghraib scandal, a horrific development that was impossible to ignore.
If Americans can be so critical of Israel’s mistakes, we should also look at our own country’s actions and simply connect the dots. How can Israel be criticized for being unfair towards Palestinians when there are thousands of suspected terrorists trapped in cells in Guantanamo Bay? Why should Israel be reprimanded for building a security wall when our government uses the PATRIOT Act to regularly violate rights of privacy and harassment? Our president and government lied to us about reasons to go to war in Iraq, a breach of public trust that should be the scandal of our generation, yet it is Israel that repeatedly takes a beating from organizations such as the U.N., which call Israel’s actions unacceptable. I am not suggesting that either the U.S. or Israel change their policies or actions. However, I am saying that before we look to criticize other countries, we should first look at our own country’s actions and see how we match up. If we as a country fall short, we should first deal with our own problems before we look to tear others down.