Tabitha Korol
Orr doesn't like the math
By Tabitha Korol
The conclusions drawn by Deborah Orr, regarding the value of an Israeli versus an Arab life, are bizarre, yet not altogether unexpected from The Guardian and its staff.
The Israelis have been trying to negotiate for the return of Gilad Shalit since his kidnapping 5 years ago. Does Orr believe that Hamas asked for an even exchange and Israel refused so as to increase Hamas's bounty? Did Israel refuse a one-for-one exchange until they convinced Hamas to accept 1000 of their own? Perhaps Orr thinks Israel enjoyed having 1,000 prisoners to house, guard, feed, and clothe.
The real question is how much Palestinians value life when they raise their sons to become suicide murderers. Such is the case of a recent recipient of the Shield of Resolve and Giving, Um Yousuf Abu Hmeid, whose four sons were imprisoned for several life terms in Israeli prisons, and a fifth "martyred," in addition to other family members convicted of terrorism and killing. How can they value life if they place such a high value on death, which includes the myth of 72 heavenly virgins, the naming of plazas and streets after their destroyed offspring, and the distribution of candy to celebrate the loss of a child?
Whether Orr sees this asymmetrical exchange as Hamas victory or Israeli weakness, she is offended by the numbers, the exchange of one Israeli life for 1000 Arabs. Mathematically, in 57 Muslim lands containing 1.5 billion Arabs, the ethnic cleansing deaths of Muslims by Muslims is unfathomably high: Sudan's genocide, 2.6 million; Syria's government killing 40,000 citizens; Turkey-Kurdistan, 38,000 Kurds killed and 4,000 villages destroyed; Algeria's Civil War, 200,000 killed; Iraq's 1 million estimated killed; Iran-Iraq War, 1 million killed; Bangladesh, 1.5 million, just to name a few!. Muslims are killing Muslims and non-Muslims in up to 135 places worldwide. More people are killed by Islamists each year than in all the 350 years of the Spanish Inquisition combined.
Muslims slaughter their own, decapitating and amputating for deviations from their harsh Shariah laws; enshroud and subjugate their women; kidnap and enslave young children; kill their own children under a pretense of honor. Rather than plan lives of achievements for humanity, success, marriage, parenthood for their progeny, they proudly raise them to commit suicide and martyrdom while killing others. Of 1.5 billion Arabs in the Middle East, the 1,000 terrorists who managed to survive their culture and be released are 1/1,500,000 of the population.
By contrast, Israel, with fewer than six million Jews, have the educational potential to discover a cure for cancer, author a significant book, contribute to the sciences, make further inroads in helping third-world countries, invent something new for the ever-expanding communication technology, or be one of the world's largest number of startup companies in the world. Since life is precious to Jews by virtue of their religious doctrines and their history, these children will serve in the armed forces to protect their country, continue on to higher education, contribute to society, and be expected to marry and raise a family, rather than be raised to be a human explosive. As one of 5,800,000, Shalit a more significant loss for a small country, and not deemed dispensible.
At the same time, I remind myself that not one of the many Arab children available for martyrdom has attempted to improve the infrastructure of Gaza and the West Bank; they rely on Israel for the simplest necessities. I would have cut their electricity, and more before returning these 1,000 creatures into the wild to kill again. But sometimes, under irrational circumstances, one can make irrational decisions.
© Tabitha Korol
October 25, 2011
The conclusions drawn by Deborah Orr, regarding the value of an Israeli versus an Arab life, are bizarre, yet not altogether unexpected from The Guardian and its staff.
The Israelis have been trying to negotiate for the return of Gilad Shalit since his kidnapping 5 years ago. Does Orr believe that Hamas asked for an even exchange and Israel refused so as to increase Hamas's bounty? Did Israel refuse a one-for-one exchange until they convinced Hamas to accept 1000 of their own? Perhaps Orr thinks Israel enjoyed having 1,000 prisoners to house, guard, feed, and clothe.
The real question is how much Palestinians value life when they raise their sons to become suicide murderers. Such is the case of a recent recipient of the Shield of Resolve and Giving, Um Yousuf Abu Hmeid, whose four sons were imprisoned for several life terms in Israeli prisons, and a fifth "martyred," in addition to other family members convicted of terrorism and killing. How can they value life if they place such a high value on death, which includes the myth of 72 heavenly virgins, the naming of plazas and streets after their destroyed offspring, and the distribution of candy to celebrate the loss of a child?
Whether Orr sees this asymmetrical exchange as Hamas victory or Israeli weakness, she is offended by the numbers, the exchange of one Israeli life for 1000 Arabs. Mathematically, in 57 Muslim lands containing 1.5 billion Arabs, the ethnic cleansing deaths of Muslims by Muslims is unfathomably high: Sudan's genocide, 2.6 million; Syria's government killing 40,000 citizens; Turkey-Kurdistan, 38,000 Kurds killed and 4,000 villages destroyed; Algeria's Civil War, 200,000 killed; Iraq's 1 million estimated killed; Iran-Iraq War, 1 million killed; Bangladesh, 1.5 million, just to name a few!. Muslims are killing Muslims and non-Muslims in up to 135 places worldwide. More people are killed by Islamists each year than in all the 350 years of the Spanish Inquisition combined.
Muslims slaughter their own, decapitating and amputating for deviations from their harsh Shariah laws; enshroud and subjugate their women; kidnap and enslave young children; kill their own children under a pretense of honor. Rather than plan lives of achievements for humanity, success, marriage, parenthood for their progeny, they proudly raise them to commit suicide and martyrdom while killing others. Of 1.5 billion Arabs in the Middle East, the 1,000 terrorists who managed to survive their culture and be released are 1/1,500,000 of the population.
By contrast, Israel, with fewer than six million Jews, have the educational potential to discover a cure for cancer, author a significant book, contribute to the sciences, make further inroads in helping third-world countries, invent something new for the ever-expanding communication technology, or be one of the world's largest number of startup companies in the world. Since life is precious to Jews by virtue of their religious doctrines and their history, these children will serve in the armed forces to protect their country, continue on to higher education, contribute to society, and be expected to marry and raise a family, rather than be raised to be a human explosive. As one of 5,800,000, Shalit a more significant loss for a small country, and not deemed dispensible.
At the same time, I remind myself that not one of the many Arab children available for martyrdom has attempted to improve the infrastructure of Gaza and the West Bank; they rely on Israel for the simplest necessities. I would have cut their electricity, and more before returning these 1,000 creatures into the wild to kill again. But sometimes, under irrational circumstances, one can make irrational decisions.
© Tabitha Korol
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
