Mark LeVine's Boffo Op-Ed in Al Jazeera

"We must get into Israel where we will be safe."



There isn't much to laugh about in the Middle East and probably won't be for the next 500 years or so, but here is one tidbit that almost made me spit out my 5 o'clock beer. The below op-ed in Al Jazeera (you know that news outlet from Qatar, the country that just happens to be the world's largest financier of Hamas) is by UC Irvine Professor of Middle Eastern History Mark LeVine, who is a big opponent of Israel, which on a college campus will get you a cup of coffee provided you have two bucks..

Anyway, Mark does op-eds for Al Jazeera, and a friend sent me this latest one which is a real humdinger. Mark's thesis is that Hamas should try to blow up the wall that Israel has built to protect its people from suicide bombers. He also wants Hamas to blow up the barrier between Gaza and Egypt.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/07/fire-at-gaza-wall-not-over-it-201472721335650383.html

"Why doesn't Hamas blast a few openings so that refugees can at least try to flee to the relative safety of Israel?"

"Israel will no doubt shoot at the unarmed women, children and elderly streaming across the border."

If you read the reader comment thread, here is what I added to the discussion.

"Here at UC Irvine, we are lucky that we don't so many lefty professors who have jumped into bed with the Palestinian cause. We do have Mark LeVine, however. Mark seems to have forgotten that Israel built that wall to protect its people from suicide bombers. Unlike the ill-fated Berlin wall, this wall was built much like medieval European cities-to keep out enemy hordes (like Hamas).

In addition, for how long has Hamas been launching rockets into Israel? Long before those three teenagers were kidnapped and killed. This war was started by Hamas.  Not only that, Hamas has broken every cease fire that has been called. 

And Mark wants Hamas to blow a hole in the wall so Gazan refugees can stream through into Israel to escape the attacking Israelis even though the Israel soldiers will surely shoot them down. Do I have that right, Mark? Great logic.

In addition, Mark wants Hamas to blow up the border between Gaza and Egypt as well. That'll work. Personally, I would love to see the current Egyptian government take care of Hamas from the south.

As far as Mark's use of the word, "occupation", I would remind him that there were no Israeli soldiers in Gaza (prior to the latest outbreak of fighting) in fact not even one Jew. Controlled borders and naval blockade? Sure. Gaza is under the rule of a terrorist organization. It should be shut off. In spite of that, Israel allows in food, medicine and eventually allowed concrete because of international pressure, so Gazans could build up their infra structure. Instead, they used the concrete to build those elaborate tunnels to smuggle weapons and killers into Israel.

C'mon, Mark! You need to get it through your head that Hamas is a terrorist organization. They are evil. Read their charter. Their long range vision is to kill Jews.

I suspect Mark has been smoking his socks."

Gary Fouse

adj teacher

UC Irvine

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Note to Mark: If you are supporting Hamas, you are supporting an evil entity. Furthermore, the news outlet you are writing for, Al Jazeera, represents a nation (Qatar) which is a major funder of terrorist organizations-like Hamas. In addition, the Palestinian people will never amount to a hill of beans until they liberate themselves from terrorist groups like Hamas and their ilk and decide to live in peace with Israel.