Have You Ever Heard of Sderot?

This is not Gaza; this is Sderot, Israel


(Hat tip to Monkey in the Middle)

I have a question for all you North American and European know-nothings who have jumped on the pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel bandwagon over the issue of Gaza. In January 2009, thousands of you took to the streets and university campuses to shout your outrage toward Israel over its incursion into Gaza. You were shocked over the civilian deaths that resulted, not bothering to learn that Hamas was literally using its civilians as human shields as they set up their defenses in schools, apartment buildings, hospitals and mosques, deliberately trying to maximize their own civilian casualties so they could show the accommodating Western press what the Israeli Defense Forces "had done". Here is my question: Have you ever heard of Sderot?


(Sderot Media Center)

Here is a link to my colleague Findalis at Monkey in the Middle for the complete article:

http://findalismonkeyinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2010/07/sderot-bomb-shelter-capital-of-world.html


You see, Sderot, which is located in Southern Israel close to the border with Gaza, is the reason Israel went into Gaza a year and a half ago. They got tired of the Palestinians under Hamas launching rockets into the schoolyards of Sderot. This past week, more Kassam missiles have been launched into Sderot and Ashkelon. In response, Israel has launched air attacks on Gaza killing a top Hamas military leader (read terrorist). That's what Israel does; they target their strikes in an effort to kill known terrorist leaders and avoid civilian casualties.

Of course, none of this matters to the far-left crazies who thrive on US and Canadian university campuses. They are eager to join any cause that ultimately lets them piss not only on Israel but America as well. The Israel/Palestinian issue is tailor made for them. Ditto for hundreds of over-educated university professors who egg them on in the classroom by condemning everything about Israel. The University of California system (in which I work)is overflowing with them-much like a stopped- up toilet, if you know what I mean.

During that Israel-Gaza conflict, our old friend the radical Oakland imam Amir Abdel Malik Ali came to speak at UC-Irvine, where I teach part-time. After his boilerplate hate Israel tirade, I engaged him off to the side and we debated a few points in which I defended Israel and told him what I thought of Hamas, Hizbollah and various and sundry other allies of his. I don't remember the exact details here because we have exchanged views numerous times, but we were surrounded by a few dozen Muslim Student Union members and other students who listened to our exchange. As I broke off the conversation to rush off to class, one of the young students (an American) asked me why, if I wanted peace, was I supporting what Israel was doing. This was my response:

"If the Cubans were launching rockets into Miami, what do you think we would do in return?"

"We would deserve it," was his retort.

"If that's the way you feel about your own country, there's nothing I can say to you," I replied and walked off shaking my head.

I am confident that particular young man knows where Sderot is, but I really wonder about the vast majority of the young anarchists who have joined this cause. Do they even care if Israeli schoolchildren are living under this threat?

I should also mention that I have heard several of our esteemed anti-Israel academics go to lengths to downplay the rockets launched into Sderot, dismissing them as if they were insignificant cherry bombs which have only killed a few people and are not really all that dangerous. They don't care. Where did I hear those comments? On the UCI campus.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the video. More importantly, I hope you learned something.