Amos Oz

It’s long been known that if you give Amos Oz a hefty kick in the groin he will instantly produce 3 lengthy speeches and an unreadable book. Apparently some unfortunate soul dug him up from the dusty box where he had been stored the past few years and applied said procedure. Hence the article below.

First let’s give Amos Oz some credit for originality. I mean, Hebrew Neo Nazi’s! What a genius…in case you wonder why such a supposedly great writer has not been able to produce an original thought in…oh about 45 years or so consider the Hebrew Neo Nazi.

In order to believe in the Hebrew Neo Nazi one has to believe that there is no Arab-Israeli conflict nor any act of Palestinian terror of any consequence. Right? It’s perfectly understandable when Palestinians commit hideous acts of cruelty “because of the occupation”, it’s totally unacceptable when such acts of terror affect the Israeli population. Only in this way can you make the mental construction that the perpetrators of revenge attacks are comparable to xenophobes in countries where there is also no conflict or terror.

Wonderful! Except of course there is a conflict. People are murdered and revenge attacks are part of the conflict. They are produced by it. I am not defending these acts, I am just saying they need to be understood for what they are. Something which Amos Oz is uniquely incapable of doing, which is unfortunate since a lot of Palestinian terror was made possible by political theories he advocated. Oz is wedded to a system of thought in which Israel is the only element in the Israeli Arab conflict that matters. The Arabs do not play a role, only Israel does (and it’s unwillingness to submit itself to Arab demands). Which is why Amos Oz will appeal to Israel to dismember settlements, but not to Arabs to lay down their arms.

By the way…for somebody who claims it is wrong to deny the existence of the Palestinian people, don’t you think it’s odd such a guy simultaneously believes these people have no part in the conflict they wage against us? Who is denying what here?

The correct frame of reference is not Europe. Europe doesn’t deal with missile attacks and the constant threat of suicide bombings. If you want to know what the Arab Israeli conflict could have been at it’s worst look at Syria. If Israel was the devil everybody claims it is it would use the full force of its army the way Assad does. With much more effect, obviously.

Anyways, Amos Oz needs to believe these are merely hate crimes because he needs to believe actions by Arabs have no consequences. He needs to believe actions by Arabs have no consequences because he wants to believe it is up to Israel and Israel alone to make peace. He needs to believe it is up to Israel and Israel alone to make peace because otherwise everything he has been saying for the past 45 is garbage. And 45 years is a lot of garbage, even for a guy as full of it as Amos Oz.

Once you recognize Arabs as equal partners in the conflict you also understand there is no magic solution to this problem. This makes it pretty pointless to appeal to the government in mass demonstrations or angry denouncements. So as a bonus you will also understand how empty and silly people like Amos Oz are. Which makes it a useful observation to make, though much improved if it also included a slice of pizza.

It’s not a great breakthrough in thought to suppose that as the conflict grinds on Israeli’s will respond more aggressively and more violently towards Palestinian terror. Because this is what violence does to people. It makes them numb and harsh. So far, in the face of unimaginable cruelty, the people of Israel have shown remarkable restraint. I don’t think any other people in a similar situation would have responded likewise. This is due to the unique set of circumstances the Jewish people found itself in the past couple of hundred years. Which makes this abnormal behavior that one day may change.

Israeli’s need to ask their Arab neighbors -since after all they are partners in this conflict- if this is really what they want.

Do they really want Israel to turn unto the monster they claim it is and is it not better to make peace before we reach that stage? After all, they already turned into that monster themselves. Imagine Israeli’s were that crazy too? Wouldn’t that be an absolute nightmare? So let’s stop the missiles, let’s stop the bombings, the kidnappings and all the other acts of terror and let’s make peace.

Isn’t that a better message, albeit not as satisfying to European fans, as yapping on about Hebrew Nazi’s?