Israel's Self-Righteous Critics Remain Silent as Palestinians Kill "Collaborators"

[tandem]

peacelover:

>>>'Um... no. Extra-judicial assassinations are most certainly not legal, and heavily contravene the human rights bill.'<<<

wrong. there is no international law that prohibits the killing of people who direct armed forces in war. salach shehada, for example, fits this criteria

amnesty can condamn all they want. all nations have a right under international law to defend themselves, their citizens, from terrorism. this means going after the people who are a part of and are leading the terrorist network

amnesty's statements condamning palestinian terror wont stop suicide bombings. israel's targeted operations, on the other hand, will definitely weaken the abilities of groups like hamas, islamic jihad, PFLP, al-aqsa brigades, etc., to carry out terrorist attacks, which basically means saving the lives of israeli civilians, and thus the use of this policy is perfectly called for

just because YOU believe israel's "extra-judicial assassinations" is morally wrong doesn't mean its illegal

[daveed]

Originally posted by Vic
Daveed, everything that you write is nice in theory, but it would be valid in a better world. Come over to where I am now, visit a couple of "Palestine support" meetings, read some of the writings originating from this sector, talk to some of the people, and you will get what I mean. (Yes, the attackers are pitied. Everything Palestinian is, no matter what. There is simply no such thing as Palestinians who are not saints to a certain rather large sector of the public.) In my experience there is exactly one reason for the completely exaggerated interest in Palestinians (ever seen mass demonstrations against Mugabe or the Taliban in the West?): they are a welcome pretext to harass Jews, whether connected to Israel or not. Somehow hardly anyone seems to expect Palestinians to abide by common moral standards.


The facts "on the ground" in Israel are a different matter. The politics are probably not always the best, as politics are - on both sides. But what is going on outside is vile - and a great boost for terrorist attacks.

Yeah, but u know we were terrorist to these people and the British too. How do you justify OUR actions? Did we have an inherent hate of Arabs? Did our parents parents teach them hate, adn killing? Its deperation, and helplessness, and self hate, not inherent hatred of jews. No all of them anyway. We breed hatred when we send our 18 year olds to go and scare them with guns, and tanks.

[ibrodsky]

Originally posted by daveed

What exactly makes a person a terrorist? Desperation. Yes. No other means of fighting. Yes. Anger. Yes. Belief that hurting other people will crumble them as they themselves feel crumbled. Yes.

No. You only have to look at the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 to see this is not the case. Most of the terrorists were well educated. Most came from oil-rich Saudi Arabia.

The notion that terrorism is the result of "desperation" is a red herring. It serves to deflect attention from the obvious fact that most Islamist terrorism is aimed at innocent civilians.

The real cause of the terrorism we are discussing is an evil ideology called Islamism (a.k.a, militant Islam). It is a genocidal ideology based on anti-semitism, hatred of all things Western, and profound evil.

It is also true that almost everyone in this conflict was once supportive of terrorism for their own dealings when they were without defense. Jews were once terrorist, the British were once terrorist, the Russians were once terrorists.

Another attempt to whitewash the guilty. You want people to believe we are all terrorists. You want people to think that blowing up teenage girls is just the reality of war.

The reality which you seek to cover up is that Islamists have have taken evil to new heights. Their response to the "humiliation" of checkpoints is to shoot babies, blow up busloads of commuters, and kill, kill, kill those evil restaurant patrons.

The intense feeling of anti-semitism is not unique to Arabs. Jews in Israel feel intense hate towards Arabs too.

Anti-semitism means "animosity towards Jews."

Yes, Jews who have had family members blown up by barbarians are more likely to hate all Arabs. It's hard not to conclude that the real goal of terrorism is to create such intense bitterness that there can never be peace. Clearly, groups like Hamas are against peace. This is why they must be defeated.

Members in the Knesset talk about killing all the Arabs, etc. Israel should try to understand that as the more powerful party, they will be hit by terrorism if they continue with blaming the other side, and using tanks, F-16's, etc on civilians to catch 4-20 people per city. They can try as much as they want and justify as much as they want, but they can destroy the physical infastructure of terrorism, but with each tank, soldier, etc. they only leave behind an even stronger mental, psycological infastructure.

Study history. The claim that when the victims exercise self-defense it drives aggressors to become "desparate" is absurd. Arabs have purposely targeted Jewish civilians for roughly 75 years. It started before there was an Israel and well before there were the disputed territories.

Actually, history shows that a general population run and intimidated by savages will tire over time of the their evil. Even now we are starting to see divisions appear in Palestinian society. Not everyone is happy to be living in squalor while the Father of Modern Terrorism squirrels away a fortune in money that was supposed to provide some relief to the common people. Not every Palestinian Arab supports the Palestinians' Crimes Against Humanity (source: Amnesty International). But then, most are afraid to oppose the brutes for fear of being liquidated as "suspected collaborators."

[Dave]

Originally posted by peacelover
Ibrodsky:

I said nothing of the sort.

I think every single country needs to obey certain laws.
If israel is not prepared to obey these laws, I am not going to let her be called a democracy.



Perhaps you think only Jews know how to suffer but I actually disagree that the Israelis are the only victims, and the Palestinians are the only aggressors. That shows your bias. I think they are both victims, and both to blame for this conflict - never forget who is the occupying power, and ask yourself whether you would rather live like an Israeli or a Palestinian right now.

This conflict didn't start with the intifada you know.



Actually, I'm just as interested in saving the lives of non-Israeli citizens.

Israel is entitled to defend its citizens, yes. But not everything can be excused as self-defence.
Israel is not entitled to defend its citizens in a way that puts at risk and forces such extensive collective punishment on thousands of Palestinian civilians. You know curfews etc have put Palestinian childhood malnutrition at official crisis levels?
That is not just defending its citizens, it's Israel forcing terrible suffering on people (who don't have citizenship of anywhere in the world)

Peacelover:
First of all Israel is not an "occupying power." The term "occupation" is a military term that refers to foreign control of a particular area that was once held by a sovereign state. That is not the case here. There never was a state called Palestine and there were no sovereign states in control of the land prior to 1948. "Occupation" is a worn out Palestinian buzzword that most in the West make no effort to challenge.

Further, your insistence that Israel's self defense is the cause of Palestinian woes is nonsense. From the get go, the Palestinian plight has been to a point self inflicted and to a larger degree inflicted on them by Arab states who exlploit the refugees' condition as a weapon against Israel in the area of public opinion.

The plight of the Palestinians is not the product of Israel but rather, the product of irresponsible, incompetent leadership and the utter self-serving agenda of the Arafat regime. Arafat is perportedly worth $1.3 billion He forces many of his "people" to live in squalor while he sits in the lap of luxury.

You are correct: The conflict did not start with the Intifada. It started on May 15,1948 when Israel was attacked by 5 Arab countries. Israel fought a defensive war for its very survival and it is still fighting that war today. It is a war that Israel did not want and does not deserve.

If you ever bother to study history, you will see that Israel and the US have made repeated attempts to eliminate the refugee camps and improve the lives of the refugees. They have been thwarted at every turn by Arafat and the 22 Arab nations. That is the part of the conflict Dan Rather and CNN do not like to talk about.

Israel's means of self defense are about as humane as you can get without just lying down and being a doormat. If she wanted to, Israel could have wiped out the Palestinians. Israel has shown more restraint in the last 2 years than the US did against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the first two months of the Afghan conflict.

Israel and the Palestinians do not share equal blame. That is ridiculous logic. That is like a mugger saying that his vicitim is just as much at fault for being mugged because she was walking down the street with money in her purse. Terrorism and Self defense are not even remotely comparable. The FBI defines terrorism as: The unlawful use of violence to intimidate or coerce a government or the civilian population or any segemnt thereof, for the furtherance of a social or political objective .Self defense is a right of any people. You have bought into the Arab definition of aggression: Any attempt to defend oneself against an Arab attack .

Considering what Israel has had to endure in the way of ambushes, bus bombings, having their little children shot to death in their beds and in their mothers' arms, having their non-combatants blown up in pizzarias, malls supermarkets, universities, Passover dinners etc.,
It would seem that curfews are pretty weak when it comes to an act of self defense. If I were in Sharon's place, things would be much worse for the terrorists, I can guarntee that.

[peacelover]

Originally posted by tandem
peacelover:

>>>'Um... no. Extra-judicial assassinations are most certainly not legal, and heavily contravene the human rights bill.'<<<

wrong. there is no international law that prohibits the killing of people who direct armed forces in war. salach shehada, for example, fits this criteria

just because YOU believe israel's "extra-judicial assassinations" is morally wrong doesn't mean its illegal

OK, let's get legal. Here are some of the laws the assassinations policy contravenes:

1. Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.”

2. Article 6(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that “Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.” According to article 4 of the Covenant the right secured in article 6 is also applicable during states of emergency.

3. Israel's own laws: Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. According to article 2 of the law: “There shall be no violation of the life, body or dignity of any person as such.” Article 4 states that “All persons are entitled to protection of their life, body and dignity.”

These show the PRINCIPLE of extra-judicial executions is illegal, however, even if it is not, the practicalities of Israel's policy are illegal. The manner in which Israel implements the assassinations means that civilians are put at risk. This cannot be reconciled with the fourth Geneva convention.

amnesty can condamn all they want. all nations have a right under international law to defend themselves, their citizens, from terrorism. this means going after the people who are a part of and are leading the terrorist network

Is this the same international law that gives Palestinians the right to resist occupation?
Problem is, just because the law says you have the right to do somethinng, it doesn't mean your way of going about it is allowed. This applies to both Israelis and palestinians

amnesty's statements condamning palestinian terror wont stop suicide bombings. israel's targeted operations, on the other hand, will definitely weaken the abilities of groups like hamas, islamic jihad, PFLP, al-aqsa brigades, etc., to carry out terrorist attacks, which basically means saving the lives of israeli civilians, and thus the use of this policy is perfectly called for

Rubbish. What Israel is doing is, to coin a phrase used to describe Europe in the 1870s, 'sowing the seeds for future disaster'. If the policies will protect ISRAELI citizens (while completely trashing Pal civilians) in the short-term is debatable. However, in the long-term, it will never work.

The Palestinians will not let Israel get away with it

[Paris]

I hate when I read that suicide bombing is the last resort of the desperate and occupied. That killing non-combatants is somehow anything other than terrorism. I can rationalise the idea of fighting an army that I feel is occupying my town and home, I get saying “no” to curfews and refusing to help an occupying force and fighting them instead. Fighting trained soldiers, that is defence (not self defence, but defence). Blowing up a café in Tel-Aviv cannot be called defence.

This brings up a point I have not seen talked about here much. As I just stated I understand fighting your occupier’s army, but the problem is with the term “occupying”. Egypt has recognized Israelis right to exist but it seems the PA and Arafat have done there best to make sure that people still think that ALL of Israel, no green line, no 1948 borders, but ALL of the land of Israel is occupied.

I have also heard radio broadcasts on Arutz Sheva that claim that all of Samaria and Judea are the true land of Israel and that the Palestinians are the occupiers.

I don’t know if these ideas are widely held in the ME, but I know that is something that they don’t talk about on the news in the west. This is an area I need some education.

Where do Israelis think the state of Israel starts and stops? Where do Palestine’s want there state to start and stop?

Paris

[Gilgamesh]

Originally posted by Paris
Where do Israelis think the state of Israel starts and stops?

I think that Judea and Samaria are part of the Jewish state.

First, do you find it reasonable that a region called "Judea" belong to anybody but Jews? - Because that what the Arabs claim.

Israel right for the entire land of Israel are based on the (i) the natural right (ii) the historic right (iii) the cultural and historical right (iv) the beliefe and center place of the bible (old testement only) in the life of Jews (v) making use of the land - making the desert bloom, carring for the land and envoirment. The Arabs killed what ever move, steal waters and set off forest fires. When Jews made to leave the land of Israel, half of Israel was one big forest and fertail cultivated vallies. The Arabs and the Turks turned it all into desert or marshlands. WE the Jews, who turned things back, we cultivate the land. I, personaly, like many many Israelis plant trees for a reforestation projects. We have a a Jewish hollyday that is devoted to trees and the ecology, the enviroment in general. What Arabs do have?

Originally posted by Paris
Where do Palestine’s want there state to start and stop?

Check out these site and tell what you think of it yourself:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/media/sl...es/slide1.html - The link was corrected!

[Vic]

Originally posted by Gilgamesh
Check out these site and tell what you think of it yourself:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/media/sl...de1.html<br />

404 - Page Not Found

FrontPageMagazine.com has redesigned its web site.

The link you followed is no longer available or is inaccurate.

[Vic]

Originally posted by Paris
I hate when I read that suicide bombing is the last resort of the desperate and occupied. That killing non-combatants is somehow anything other than terrorism. I can rationalise the idea of fighting an army that I feel is occupying my town and home, I get saying “no” to curfews and refusing to help an occupying force and fighting them instead. Fighting trained soldiers, that is defence (not self defence, but defence). Blowing up a café in Tel-Aviv cannot be called defence.

This brings up a point I have not seen talked about here much. As I just stated I understand fighting your occupier’s army, but the problem is with the term “occupying”. Egypt has recognized Israelis right to exist but it seems the PA and Arafat have done there best to make sure that people still think that ALL of Israel, no green line, no 1948 borders, but ALL of the land of Israel is occupied.

I have also heard radio broadcasts on Arutz Sheva that claim that all of Samaria and Judea are the true land of Israel and that the Palestinians are the occupiers.

I don’t know if these ideas are widely held in the ME, but I know that is something that they don’t talk about on the news in the west. This is an area I need some education.

Where do Israelis think the state of Israel starts and stops? Where do Palestine’s want there state to start and stop?

Paris

It's rather a mess really. There are many conflicting opinions on this. Historically, no proper borders have ever been established. A state called "Palestine" has never existed at all, Israel exists as a state in its present legal form since 1948. The so-called occupied or disputed territories are technically no man's land. There are several main ideas on how to deal with the situation:

1. The two-state solution: force Israel to retreat behind the so-called Green line and create a Palestinian state on what is known as the West Bank or Judea and Samaria and the Gaza strip.
2. The "binational state": the "territories" are annexed to Israel, their inhabitants become full Israeli citizens.
3. The transfer: resettle some or all of the Palestinians out of WB and Gaza and annex the territory to Israel.
4. The Islamic state: Israel ceases to exist as a Jewish state, an Islamic state is established in its place, some Jews may be allowed to stay as citizens with limited rights.

Did I miss something?

Israelis naturally advocate versions 1 and 3, depending on their political sympathies, one doesn't hear much about 2 lately. Palestinians advocate 1 and 4, some still hold onto 2, mostly believing that the result will be more or less 4 anyway, only in a peaceful way.

Make your choice.

[daveed]

Originally posted by ibrodsky


No. You only have to look at the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 to see this is not the case. Most of the terrorists were well educated. Most came from oil-rich Saudi Arabia.

The attcks of Sept 11 were done from hate. I listed that. Hate is just one of the many reasons that drives people to do unjust acts.

The notion that terrorism is the result of "desperation" is a red herring. It serves to deflect attention from the obvious fact that most Islamist terrorism is aimed at innocent civilians.
The real cause of the terrorism we are discussing is an evil ideology called Islamism (a.k.a, militant Islam). It is a genocidal ideology based on anti-semitism, hatred of all things Western, and profound evil.

That is just taking the easy route and not recognizing the fault on Israel's side. Before Islamic terrorism, the Holy Land was plagued by Jewish terrorism. That was aimed at civilians, Arab civilians. So was the real cause of that and evil ideology called Jewishism? Was that also based on anti-semitism against Arabs?

Another attempt to whitewash the guilty. You want people to believe we are all terrorists. You want people to think that blowing up teenage girls is just the reality of war.
The reality which you seek to cover up is that Islamists have have taken evil to new heights. Their response to the "humiliation" of checkpoints is to shoot babies, blow up busloads of commuters, and kill, kill, kill those evil restaurant patrons.

Everyone, people of all nations, regardless, whenever the environment was there, were terrorist. Everyone is not a terrorist, but they all once were. Depends on the environment that they faced. Kid, I am a Jew, and I see my country kill 20 Palestinian civilians, and breed hate in 10 more in a response to killing 2 Israelis. What good is that?

Anti-semitism means "animosity towards Jews."

No. Thats the commonly used definition but not the only one.

A semite is : a member of any of a number of peoples of ancient southwestern Asia including the Akkadians, Phoenicians, Hebrews, and Arabs

Yes, Jews who have had family members blown up by barbarians are more likely to hate all Arabs. It's hard not to conclude that the real goal of terrorism is to create such intense bitterness that there can never be peace. Clearly, groups like Hamas are against peace. This is why they must be defeated.

And who the heck is not with you on that? But we dont just kill Hamas, we kill innocents. That only leads more people to believe that Hamas is fighting for their rights.

Study history. The claim that when the victims exercise self-defense it drives aggressors to become "desparate" is absurd. Arabs have purposely targeted Jewish civilians for roughly 75 years. It started before there was an Israel and well before there were the disputed territories.

Actually, history shows that a general population run and intimidated by savages will tire over time of the their evil. Even now we are starting to see divisions appear in Palestinian society. Not everyone is happy to be living in squalor while the Father of Modern Terrorism squirrels away a fortune in money that was supposed to provide some relief to the common people. Not every Palestinian Arab supports the Palestinians' Crimes Against Humanity (source: Amnesty International). But then, most are afraid to oppose the brutes for fear of being liquidated as "suspected collaborators."

Kid, I lived History. I was born during the good times, but all of uss knew what our Irgun, and terrorist groups had done. You are completely and entirely worng that they targeted us for 75 years. We were aliens in what had been their land, but still they let us settle. There was violence, yes. But would you welcome people settling on the soil you plowed for 100 years? The way we take our tanks in the territories, they never did to us. The only way to stop them all is to exterminate them all. Repression and fighting terrorism with terrorism isnt going to "tire them out". you are living in a dream. Us not taking part of the blame is not helping any.

[alexbmn]

their land? really? The land of the Palestinian nation? Falastin? Under the benevolent caliph Haj Amn Al Husseini? The self hating left still exists in Israel and its failed ideology is still claiming lives.

[ibrodsky]

Originally posted by daveed

That is just taking the easy route and not recognizing the fault on Israel's side. Before Islamic terrorism, the Holy Land was plagued by Jewish terrorism. That was aimed at civilians, Arab civilians. So was the real cause of that and evil ideology called Jewishism? Was that also based on anti-semitism against Arabs?

Not true. Jewish groups such as the Irgun fought the British authorities. Neither major Jewish militia before 1948, nor the state of Israel, have ever engaged in systematic campaigns to intentionally kill Arab civilians.

Arabs massacred and drove out the surviving Jewish community of Hebron in 1929. Since 1948, there has been Arab terrorism against Jewish civilians continuously with only brief pauses.

There is something fishy about someone who pretends that Jews have conducted anything vaguely resembling the mass murder attacks that are encouraged, supported, and celebrated in Palestinian society. The PA has built an entire culture around terrorism.

Everyone, people of all nations, regardless, whenever the environment was there, were terrorist. Everyone is not a terrorist, but they all once were. Depends on the environment that they faced. Kid, I am a Jew, and I see my country kill 20 Palestinian civilians, and breed hate in 10 more in a response to killing 2 Israelis. What good is that?

Nonsense.

And don't call me "kid" -- I am older than you.

I see Palestinian schools teaching young children that it is noble to be a terrorist and to die blowing up Jews. I see Palestinians lining up to go blow themselves up in hopes of taking, at random, Jews with them. I see Palestinians blowing up students at Hebrew University and then dancing in the street to celebrate the evil deed.

No. Thats the commonly used definition but not the only one.

A semite is : a member of any of a number of peoples of ancient southwestern Asia including the Akkadians, Phoenicians, Hebrews, and Arabs

Not true. You and many Arabs pretend that Arabs can't be "anti-semitic" because they are "semites." Both the dictionary and "commonly used" definition for anti-semitism is hatred of Jews.

The meaning of words are not always rigorously derived from their roots. Not all Jews are semites but that doesn't stop anti-semites from hating them along with the rest.

And who the heck is not with you on that? But we dont just kill Hamas, we kill innocents. That only leads more people to believe that Hamas is fighting for their rights.

Where do you get off saying "we"? I don't know if you are or aren't a Jew, but I don't support intentionally killing innocents. That's why I consider it a moral obligation to support Israel in defending itself against Palestinian and Islamist terrorism.

Kid, I lived History. I was born during the good times, but all of uss knew what our Irgun, and terrorist groups had done. You are completely and entirely worng that they targeted us for 75 years. We were aliens in what had been their land, but still they let us settle. There was violence, yes. But would you welcome people settling on the soil you plowed for 100 years? The way we take our tanks in the territories, they never did to us. The only way to stop them all is to exterminate them all. Repression and fighting terrorism with terrorism isnt going to "tire them out". you are living in a dream. Us not taking part of the blame is not helping any.

"We" have nothing in common.

Palestine was Rome's Jewish province, and Jews have lived continuously in Israel for 3,000 years. Arabs conquered Israel during the Middle Ages, but were themselves soon conquered by the Ottomans. When modern Zionists began arriving in the late 19th century, Palestine was sparsely populated. There were about 90,000 Arabs living in the area that Jews later demanded for their tiny state. The Arab population in that space grew to 350,000 largely because Arabs gravitated towards the prosperity created by the Jewish community, which numbered over 600,000 by 1947.

There never was an Arab state called "Palestine."

Study history. You might learn something.

[Mediocrates]

Daveed - that was one long meandering post that lead nowhere. The same old regurgitated nonsense that goes for reasoning in Palestinian agitprop school.

There is no antisemitism because we are all semites - that's a real kneeslapper. Yeah I guess American southeners really don't hate yankees because they are all Americans too. I'm guessing that the Irish and the Brits really don't hate eat other because they are all Celtic.

Seriously where do you get this garbage?

"Jewish Terrorism" bwahaha & we run the media and all the governments of the world too - better look out, we've got you on a list - - another Prozac moment. I suppose the Polish and Jewish resistance during WW2 was terrorism too?

[Paris]

I posted a question about occupation not long ago, and have been reading some other threads here, and even a goofy movie (http://www.frontpagemag.com/media/sl...s/slide_1.html ) And it seems that when the Palestinians say they want all of the land from the Jordan to the Med. This is enough for people to say ‘look we do not have a peace partner’ but when Israelis say that all of Judea and Sumeria are rightfully there’s and they should settle it there is not great out cry about the lack of a peace partner.

It seems that neither side wants to declare official borders for their countries, in Israel it seems that the government does not want to loose the support of the far right or extreme religious groups. And in Palestine the PA does not seem to want to settle for anything less than what the UN said they deserve as a homeland.

So again, where does Israel want to stop? Is 1967 borders good enough or will they need all of Judea and Sumeria? And how much is good enough for a state for Palestine? Will 1967 be good enough or do they want all the way tot the Med?

Paris

[Philip]

Originally posted by ibrodsky
Not everyone is happy to be living in squalor while the Father of Modern Terrorism squirrels away a fortune in money that was supposed to provide some relief to the common people.

Ibrodsky is repeating inflammatory lies that have already been refuted. Modern terrorism predates Arafat, as Ibrodsky well knows. Even if Ibrodsky hasn't enough respect for himself not to repeat these lies, the other moderators (Ibrodsky, believe it or not, is a "moderator" here) of this forum ought to attend to its standards if they don't want it quickly dismissed as a biased propaganda base masquerading as a free and open discussion.

Originally posted by ibrodsky
Not true. Jewish groups such as the Irgun fought the British authorities. Neither major Jewish militia before 1948, nor the state of Israel, have ever engaged in systematic campaigns to intentionally kill Arab civilians.

ONCE again, from the Irgun historical website:

After Ben-Yosef's execution, the Irgun launched a series of operations against the Arabs. The central acts were the explosions in the Arab markets of Haifa and Jerusalem. On July 6, 1938, a member of the Irgun, disguised as an Arab porter, went into the Arab market in Haifa, placed a large parcel beside one of the barrows in the center of the market and left. Shortly afterwards there was a heavy explosion, which killed 21 Arabs and injured more than 50. A week later a similar incident took place in Jerusalem. A member of the Irgun concealed an electric mine in the Arab market in the Old City. It exploded shortly after the end of the prayer service in the mosque, when a large crowd had emerged onto the street. Eight Arabs were killed and more than 30 injured.

...

On July 26, 1938, Yaakov Raz was sent to the Old City of Jerusalem disguised as an Arab and carrying a basket of vegetables in which a mine was concealed. His commanding officers, who had planned the operation far in advance, did not heed the fact that the Arabs had proclaimed a general strike that day in protest against the Irgun's incessant attacks. When Raz placed the basket beside one of the stores whose doors were barred, he aroused the suspicion of the Arab bystanders. His basket was overturned and when the mine was found, Raz was repeatedly stabbed. The Arabs then fled, leaving him for dead. Yaakov Raz was severely injured, and was taken by the police to the government hospital. Despite his serious condition, he was interrogated by the British Intelligence, the CID (Criminal Investigation Department), throughout his hospital stay. For two weeks he fought for his life. When he felt his strength waning, and feared he would not be able to withstand further interrogation and was liable to betray secret information, he tore off his bandages and died of blood loss.

Yaakov Raz was the first member of the Irgun to die as a result of an operation. The heroism he displayed, and particularly the manner of his death, made him a symbol and inspiration for generations of young Irgun members.

(Note that these attacks, according to the author of the Irgun site -- a former Irgun commander -- were done in response to an execution of an Irgun member by the BRITISH authorities. What mindset was it that made massacring Arabs an acceptable protest against the British authorities?)

And let's not forget Kafr Kassem:

By the time the shooting stopped that evening in 1956, Israeli troops had killed 49 peaceable residents, half of them women and children, in the village of Kafr Kassem, about 10 miles east of Tel Aviv. All the dead were Arabs and all were full Israeli citizens, headed home at dusk from work in fields and factories--and unaware that a military curfew prohibiting movement after sundown had been imposed an hour or so earlier.

Israel has never apologized officially for the massacre, which took place in an atmosphere of Arab-Jewish tensions on the eve of the 1956 Sinai war.

... few are aware that the 11 soldiers and officers held responsible for the murders were all swiftly given amnesty; none served more than three years in prison.

It is pretty clear that there is and has been institutional contempt for Arabs' lives in Israel.