On the Israeli Police Beating of a Palestinian, and Other Crimes

[Purveyor]

The torture and murder by fire in Jerusalem of Muhammad Abu Khdeir, allegedly by a gang of Israeli hooligans, initially prompted in me a desire to say, "But," but then this short piece, by Rabbi David Wolpe, of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, came over the wire:

Please, please don’t say ‘but.’ The words after ‘but’ invalidate everything that comes before—“He’s a nice person, but he does steal from the company.” You see? “But” is a meaning duster, sweeping all that precedes it.

So everyone who has written condemning the murder of Muhammad Abu Khdeir, and then goes on to say “but of course” Palestinian society does not condemn their own murders, or Israel is raising up in anguish, or anything else, is missing the point. The point is to be ashamed and to grieve, not to use this murder to prove we are nonetheless better, or they are nonetheless guiltier.

When we beat our chests on Yom Kippur, we do not say before God, “But the man in the seat next to me is far worse.” That is not contrition; it is self-justification disguised as repentance. At a time of national self soul-searching it is too facile and false to use a Jewish crime as a stick to beat our enemies. Jews did this. Blind hatred did this. We should look inside, and be ashamed.

And so, no "but." Except for this semi-unrelated one:

But I think that while the murder of 16-year-old Muhammad Abu Khdeir is a terrible crime, the non-fatal beating of his cousin, the Palestinian-American teenager Tariq Khdeir, by Israel's Border Police, is, in one way, more consequential. Obviously, murder is the ultimate crime, but this murder was committed, we believe, by thugs operating independent of state authority. The beating of Tariq Khdeir was conducted by agents of the state. We judge countries not on the behavior of their criminal elements, but on 1) how they police their criminal elements; and 2) how they police their police. Those of you who have seen images of the beating of Tariq Khdeir know that this assault represents a state failure.

more...

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/07/on-the-israeli-police-beating-of-a-palestinian-and-other-crimes/374097/

[BillZBubb]

1. This sort of behavior does seem to be recurring within Israeli law enforcement.

What is really destructive about it is that it radicalizes more and more of the population. Under occupation, the occupiers are by far the stronger party. Their will goes. So, abuse of those detained is very emasculating to the occupied. They can't really fight back. They can't expect justice. Humiliation is served up daily. That means more and more people despise the occupiers.

Israelis and their supporters often complain that the Palestinians hate them. Well, that should come as no surprise. No country can occupy another for so long and with such force, without being loathed by the occupied.