Israel at 61: My article published in The Seattle Times

The original version, which I had to cut by 200 words, is posted underneath the published piece.
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Guest Columnist No simple answers
By David Brumer
Special to The Times

As Modern Israel approaches its 61st birthday, there is much to celebrate. Yet existential threats and challenges still haunt the tiny Jewish state. The new government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu is bolstered by the inclusion of the Labor Party, shifting an otherwise right-wing coalition more toward the center. Security is the paramount issue of the day, with Iran racing toward nuclear capability and its proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas, continuing to project a hateful jihadist ideology toward Israel.

Israelis have also grown weary of the international community's disproportionate criticisms levied against their country. It seems that no amount of concessions or withdrawals affords it the legitimacy to defend its citizenry against unending attacks across internationally recognized borders.

It should be remembered that Israel withdrew all settlement communities from Gaza in 2005. Yet rockets continued to rain on southern Israel, long before Israel imposed a partial blockade against the Hamas government, after its violent takeover of Gaza in June of 2007. Attacks against Israel escalated to intolerable levels last December, leaving Israel with no other viable option but to respond forcefully, and so it launched Operation Cast Lead.

Never in modern history has a military gone to such lengths to minimize civilian casualties, dropping leaflets, making thousands of warning cellphone calls, suspending missions, and using precision bombing whenever possible. And this against an implacable enemy that deliberately embeds itself in civilian populations.
There are no simple answers when it comes to prosecuting such asymmetrical wars. Forty percent of Israeli Defense Force casualties came from friendly fire, a harsh reminder of those difficulties, compounded by the inherent confusion in the fog of war. Yet Israel has been excoriated by a world quick to judge and condemn. Accusations of war crimes abound, ironically, with the loudest hectoring coming from the very countries that participated in NATO air bombardments in Kosovo in 1999, when NATO aircraft flew more than 38,000 combat missions, killing as many as 1,500 civilians in a 10-week period.

Meanwhile, Durban ll, the United Nations World Conference against Racism in Geneva this week, is proving to be a repeat of the thinly veiled Israel hate-fest that took place back in 2001 in South Africa, this time with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as "the guest of honor." The unasked question: why is Israel singled out and held to an impossible standard of perfection, when all around her human rights abuses are daily occurrences?
Understandably then, Israelis are less than sanguine about the prospects for a quick resolution of hostilities, living in a region rife with hateful ideologies and genocidal intentions against the Jewish people. Still, the Netanyahu government has committed itself to working to help the Palestinians in the West Bank build a civil society from the bottom up, creating the necessary infrastructures and economic prosperity that will be the prerequisite for any viable, future Palestinian state.
So what's to celebrate? The enduring, indomitable spirit of the Israeli people, who despite all the adversity, continue to build a thriving, dynamic society. All around Israel construction is booming, the arts are flourishing, and scientific advances keeps Israel on the cutting edge of today's technological revolution.
Israel is a leader in green technology, from wind to solar energy to electric cars that will one day run on national grid lines. Recently, Israeli geneticist Professor Karen Avraham uncovered tiny molecules called microRNA's, in the inner ears of mice, a discovery that could lead to the cure of human deafness. At Poria Hospital in Tiberias, the number of languages, cultures and religious practices in one ward often outnumbers the medical staff.
This is part of the rich tapestry of modern Israel that continues to inspire and hold out hope that someday, all peoples of the Middle East can live together in harmony, prosperity and peace.
David Brumer of Seattle is on the executive committees of StandWithUs/Northwest & the Seattle Chapter of the American Jewish Committee.
Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company

As Modern Israel approaches its 61st birthday, there is much to celebrate, yet existential threats and challenges still haunt the tiny Jewish state. The new government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu is bolstered by the inclusion of the Labor Party, shifting an otherwise right-wing coalition more towards the center. Still, the Israeli people voted predominantly for more hawkish parties, reflecting the country’s somber mood. Security is the paramount issue of the day, with Iran racing towards nuclear capability and its proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas, continuing to project a hateful jihadist ideology, with Jews and Israel being the primary targets of that wrath.

Israelis have also grown weary of the international community’s disproportionate criticisms levied against their country. It seems that no amount of concessions, withdrawals, or compromises affords it the legitimacy to defend its citizenry against unending missile attacks, ambushes, and kidnappings across internationally recognized borders, with Lebanon in the north, and Gaza in the south.

It should be remembered that Israel withdrew all settlement communities from Gaza in 2005. Yet rockets continued to rain on southern Israel, long before Israel imposed a partial blockade against the Hamas government, after its violent takeover of Gaza from fellow Palestinians in June of 2007. With newer long-range missiles endangering one million Israelis in southern Israel, attacks escalated to intolerable levels last December, numbering as many as 70-80 a day. Hamas’ refusal to extend an already fragile cease-fire left Israel with no other viable option but to respond forcefully, and so it launched Operation Cast Lead.

Never in modern history has a military gone to such lengths to minimize civilian casualties, dropping leaflets, making thousands of cell phone calls & text messages to warn of impending attacks, suspending missions, and using precision bombing whenever possible. And this against an implacable and amoral enemy that deliberately embeds itself in civilian populations, uses its own people as human shields, an enemy whose cowardly leaders hide in the bunkers of hospitals, leaving their women and children exposed to attack.

There are no simple answers when it comes to prosecuting such asymmetric wars. Forty per cent of Israel Defense Force casualties came from friendly fire, a harsh reminder of those difficulties, compounded by the inherent confusion in the fog of war. Yet Israel has been excoriated by a world quick to judge and condemn. Accusations of war crimes abound, ironically, with the loudest hectoring coming from the very countries who participated in NATO air bombardments in Kosovo in the spring of 1999, when NATO aircraft flew over 38,000 combat missions, killing as many as 1,500 civilians (by NATO’s own reckoning) in a 10 week period.

Meanwhile, Durban ll, the United Nations World Conference against Racism in Geneva this week is proving to be a repeat of the thinly-veiled Israel hate-fest that took place back in 2001 in South Africa, this time with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as “the guest of honor.” This on the heels of “Israel Apartheid Week” (March 1-8), another international hate-fest against Israel that saw new levels of vitriol and physical violence on campuses around the world. The unasked question at these events: why is Israel singled out and held to an impossible standard of perfection, when all around her real apartheids (sexual, gender, religious, etc.) are daily occurrences?

Understandably then, Israelis are less than sanguine about the prospects for a quick resolution of hostilities, living in a region rife with hateful ideologies and genocidal intentions against the Jewish people. Still, the Netanyahu government has committed itself to working to help the Palestinians in the West Bank build a civil society from the bottom up, creating the necessary infrastructures and economic prosperity that will be the prerequisite for any viable, future Palestinian state. United States envoy George Mitchell and Tony Blair, mediator for the Quartet ( the U.S., E.U., Russia, U.N.) are working together with the Netanyahu government to foster that development.

So what’s to celebrate? The enduring, indomitable spirit of the Israeli people, who despite all the adversity, continue to build a thriving, dynamic society. All around Israel construction is booming, the arts are flourishing, and scientific advances keeps Israel on the cutting edge of today’s technological revolution. Israel is a leader in green technology, from wind to solar energy to electric cars that will one day run on national grid lines. Recently, Israeli geneticist Professor Karen Avraham uncovered tiny molecules called microRNA’s, in the inner ears of mice, a discovery that could lead to the cure of human deafness. And an Israeli therapist and martial arts expert, Alex Kerten, has developed a dance treatment for patients suffering from Parkinson’s Disease. At Poria Hospital in Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee, the number of languages, cultures and religious practices in one ward often outnumbers the medical staff. This is part of the rich tapestry of modern Israel that continues to inspire and hold out hope that someday, all peoples of the Middle East can live together in harmony, prosperity and peace.


David is on the Executive Committees of StandWithUs/Northwest & the Seattle Chapter of the American Jewish Committee. He is also a geriatric social worker and psychotherapist. David is the recipient of a Certificate of Congressional Recognition for Excellence in Public Diplomacy in Support of Israel on behalf of his work with The Israel Project. Visit his blog, BRUMSPEAK, at
http://brumspeak.blogspot.com