Israel's Biggest Mistake Re: Turkish Flotilla

One thing people agree with from the Right and Left is that the State of Israel could have handled the  Mavi Marmara and the rest of the flotilla from Turkey much, much better.

From start to finish Israel played it all wrong.

Flotilla activist beating a Shayetet commando, caught on video. [Archive]

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Photo credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

The flotilla agents provocateurs should have been treated more like dangerous enemies, not peaceful demonstrators.  Proper handling, very different from what Israel did can be summarized in these two simple points:

• The IDF solders should have had been armed and prepared for the worst, yes, including violence.
• The Israeli Government should have gone on the verbal/information attack against the Turkish and all other nations represented in professional, well-trained agitators who had participated in the flotilla.

Before Turkey had gotten started on its official complaints against Israel, Israel should have officially made it clear that Turkey's support of those foreign agitators was 100% unacceptable and until the Turkish Government apologizes, their ambassador would have to leave.

Israel should have sent out formal complaints to all relevant international bodies including the United Nations.

Yes, I agree that Israel did not handle the attack properly.  Isn't it ironic that pretty much the entire country is united on this issue?

When a country continuously apologizes for defending itself, for existing, there's something very wrong here.  We keep acting as if we are a country because we got permission from other countries, yes, that United Nations vote, November 29, 1947.

The Zionist Movement began long before the United Nations did.  Our attempt, process to establish a state, a Jewish State here in the HolyLand, our historic, Biblical Homeland, had been set in motion many decades before the United Nations and that vote.  Theodor Herzl understood the importance of having a Jewish State a half a century earlier.

Israelis and Jews celebrate that vote, but it was a sham, a big joke.  After the voting stopped, none of the "yes" countries stepped up to assist us. 

Now I'm going to tell you something even more important.  It's a good thing no country actually assisted the Zionists to become the State of Israel.  No country can honestly say that we owe our existence to them.  We owe it to G-d!

And we must not apologize for doing what any self-respecting country would do.  We are supposed to fight invaders.  It's that simple.  The participants in that flotilla which sailed form Turkey was out to harm the State of Israel.  We don't have to be nice and polite about it. 

We must not be nice to those who support our enemies and want to destroy us.