Warsaw Ghetto 1940 – Gaza Ghetto 2018.

Amended May 15, 2018
I wonder if anyone ponders  the irony of the current situation between Israel and the Palestinians (in Gaza) and compares it with the terrible events in Warsaw in the early years of the Second World War?

In 1940 the Germans (Nazis) walled off a small area of the city of Warsaw and instructed all Polish Jews to either move there or be forcibly transported there. From this Ghetto many Jews were transported to the infamous “Extermination Camps” that the Nazis had set up, under the ruse that they were to be “resettled”.

Once those in the Ghetto realized what was happening they set up a resistance movement to fight for their survival – after all they had nothing to lose. The final battle started on the eve of Passover on April 19, 1943, when a Nazi force consisting of several thousand troops entered the ghetto. After initial setbacks, the Germans under the field command of Jurgen Stroop systematically burned and blew up the ghetto buildings, block by block, rounding up or murdering anybody they could capture. Significant resistance ended on April 28, and the Nazi operation officially ended in mid-May, symbolically culminating with the demolition of the Great Synagogue of Warsaw on May 16. According to the official report, at least 56,065 people were killed on the spot or deported to German Nazi concentration and death camps - (I acknowledge  reference to Wikipedia for some of this information).

Now, today, in the Gaza Ghetto with the Palestinians who were either moved there or were forcibly resettled because the Israelis took control of Palestine, we are seeing an eyrie replay of those appalling events of 1943 under different circumstances, certainly, but with the same intent:-

To DESTROY THE RESISTANCE AT ALL COSTS!

There is a blockade in place – imposed by Israel under the guise of stopping the rocket attacks on Israel. OK – this, just possibly, I can understand. But what I can’t understand is the Israeli refusal to recognize the Palestinians justification for their use of these weapons.  Remember there are 1.8 million Palestinians packed into a small enclave. Gaza is the most densely populated area on earth – they have nowhere else to go. The Palestinians are frustrated, demeaned as a people, treated as second class citizens, racially vilified, starved of opportunity and quite frankly treated in a manner that those Jews who survived the Holocaust would recognize as similar to what they were subjected to.

So now, the Palestinians are fighting just as the Jews did many years before.

To so twist words as to accuse the Palestinians (Hamas) of “causing the problems and the deaths of  Palestinian’s” is an obscene abuse of language. Hamas (read Palestinians) are fighting for their survival as a people; fighting for their community, their religion and their way of life. Isn’t this what the Israelis have always done in the past? Isn’t this what the Jews trapped in the Warsaw Ghetto did? Would anyone in their right mind claim that the Jews who died in the Warsaw Ghetto caused their own deaths?

I am sure the United Nations would, today, classify the Zionist militia group, Irgun (1931-1948) – under the leadership of Menachem Begin ( later, in 1977, Prime Minister of Israel), as a terrorist organisation. In fact Begin himself was, at the time, in the 1940s, declared a terrorist by the British who had a “mandate” over Palestine. Various Zionist leaders held different ideas about how to achieve their goal of an Israeli nation but revisionist Zionists, like Begin, were extremist nationalists who believed violence was justified to create a state and considered guerrilla and terrorist tactics a legitimate route toward this end.

Sound familiar?

The injustice of the carve up of Palestine after the Second World War when Israel was established (in 1948) without any Palestinian consultation or the payment of any reparation for the Palestinian properties taken over when the new State of Israel was formed, is the root cause of the present problem.

That injustice, seventy years old now, still burns in the Palestinian psyche. What are the Palestinians supposed to do? They formed Hamas to fight for their rights just as the Zionists formed Irgun to fight for theirs.

The Israelis have now systematically destroyed the infrastructure of Gaza – hospitals, water plants, electricity generators, sewage systems, schools, roads, in fact anything of value to the inhabitants – with  the intention, I am sure, of forcing the Palestinians to leave, thus solving Israel’s “problem” (which the Israelis themselves created).

This is exactly what the Nazis did in Warsaw.

Violence begets more violence and creates a vortex, which, like a black hole, sucks in everyone and everything - there is no way out. Killing people never solved a problem – the Israelis know this; the Americans know this; the world knows this. Violence, as I have proclaimed in these posts many times before, is the last resort or the morally bankrupt.

Remember, what goes around comes around.

Read what you will into these words.

Dr Nitschke and assisted suicide.

Dear Oh dearie me! Here we go again. People are getting on their high horses over who may die, by what means and when. The Australian Medical Board (or any such organization) should know better than to dictate what a doctor may or may not do, in this case Dr Philip Nitschke, who has had his medical practitioners licence suspended because he admitted to supporting 45-year-old Perth man Nigel Brayley in his decision to commit suicide despite knowing he was not terminally ill.

People differ in their attitude to life and their emotional experiences to the daily “grind”. Who, other than the person concerned, is “qualified” to determine if they are “right” or “wrong” about this?

If any person has decided, for whatever reason, that life is no longer worth living and they are determined to end their life, who has the right, the knowledge or the moral authority to state that such a decision is “wrong”?

To claim that there is no such thing as “rational” suicide is ignoring the facts. The world we live in today – our dysfunctional society that allows the irrational behaviour, the injustices practiced (racism, sexism, domestic and child abuse) , the increasing prevalence of homelessness and poverty, the staggering disparity between the very rich and the very poor all give rise to frustration, to stress and to anger. All this may lead to despair because of a loss of control which in turn may lead to depression and then, possibly, to a person’s determination to escape from life, as currently experienced, by whatever means available.

Are they wrong? Are they “mentally ill”? Are they no longer “rational”?

Look to the cause – not the result. It is worthwhile repeating the quote from Jiddu Krishnamurti (May 12, 1895 to February 17, 1986) that, “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society”.

For any “authority” – statutory body, organization or individual – to demand that any person they know who wishes to end their life MUST be directed to a “mental health professional” and compelled to be assessed and compelled to accept treatment is wrong. Such a process and such treatment, in my experience, consists principally of medications.

Before anyone says, “OK. What is wrong with that”? please read what follows below.

“UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FDA Product Information Warning:-
Patients with major depressive disorder, both adult and paediatric, may experience worsening of their depression and/or the emergence of suicidal ideation and behaviour (suicidality), whether or not they are taking antidepressant medications, and this risk may persist until significant remission occurs. Although there has been a long-standing concern that antidepressants may have a role in inducing worsening of depression and the emergence of suicidality in certain patients, a causal role for antidepressants in inducing such behaviours has not been established. Nevertheless, patients being treated with antidepressants should be observed closely for clinical worsening and suicidality, especially at the beginning of a course of drug therapy, or at the time of dose changes, either increases or decreases.  Consideration should be given to changing the therapeutic regimen, including possibly discontinuing the medication, in patients whose depression is persistently worse or whose emergent suicidality is severe, abrupt in onset, or was not part of the patient’s presenting symptoms.”

Now, is there still reason to believe that medication is the best form of treatment as dictated and directed by a “Mental Health Professional”?

Furthermore the findings in the 2012 report of the Australian National Mental Health Commission are very disturbing. According to the report the Commissioners found that:

“Most Australians may not know that treatments with prescribed psychiatric drugs may lead to worse physical health. There are increased risks for some specific treatments such as antipsychotics and for those with underlying vulnerabilities such as diabetes. This can mean that the antipsychotic medications that are prescribed to manage severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, contribute to the risk of having severe physical illnesses.

The national survey of psychotic illness uncovered the extent of general health problems for people in this group:

·         Diabetes was at a rate over 3 times found in the general population.

·         One third carried the risk of a ‘cardiovascular event’ within five years.

·         Half have metabolic syndrome, which is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes as a side effect of prescribed antipsychotic medications.

·         They have nearly twice the rate of being obesely overweight.

·         They smoke at a rate 2 to 3 times higher than the general population.

·         They have high blood cholesterol levels at 5 times the rate of the general population.

It is evident that people with the most severe mental illness have a worse level of overall health than people with more common mental illnesses, which compounds the health difficulties they need to overcome.”

NOW is it still considered appropriate to subject anyone suspected of “mental illness” to this form of treatment?

For some to state that suicide is wrong because “only God can decide when a person should die” – how do they know? What about the possibility that God may have already “decided” and allowed the expression of free will, that God gave us all, thus freeing the person who wants to die, to die, in the manner of their choosing?

Presumably free will allows a person to make a choice – good, bad or indifferent.  What is “wrong” with that?  

For the Medical Board of Australia to suspend euthanasia advocate Dr Philip Nitschke because he "presents a serious risk to public health and safety", is ludicrous and beyond reason.

Injustice – 298 dead in Ukraine, over 700 dead in Gaza.

My one loyal reader – remember Archie? – knows the one human failing that always gets up my nose is injustice; injustice of any kind. There is no such thing as partial injustice; there is either injustice or there is no justice. All injustice, even perceived injustice, burns like a hot ember in the psyche of those affected – it rankles for generations and is never forgotten.

The terrible tragedy of Malaysian Airlines flight MH 17 with the loss of 298 lives (many  were children, even infants) – shot down by Ukrainian separatist rebels has a parallel lost in the confusion of current events - Gaza. The continuing violence in Gaza has left over 700 dead, most of whom are women and children – innocent women and children. There are obviously some, reputed, militants among the dead as well but it is the deaths of women and children and the over three thousand injuries that have been reported that really upset me.

One received worldwide condemnation, the other is barely mentioned. Why?

The 298 dead in MH 17 were killed when the aircraft was shot down by a surface to air missile fired from Russian separatist controlled Eastern Ukraine; the majority of the over 700 dead and the thousands injured, in Gaza, died or were injured  by missiles fired from the air – air to ground missiles - what's the difference?

The Russians blame the Ukrainians for the loss of life in MH 17; the Israelis blame Hamas for the loss of life in Gaza.

Both are wrong. Both are the result – the tragic result – of injustice.

The injustice, in Gaza, and Palestine, has its roots in the aftermath of the First World War. The Palestinians believed that the British, who they had helped to defeat the Turks, would grant them the right to live in Palestine (a British “mandated” territory, where they had been living for centuries anyway).

Meanwhile the Jews believed that now the First World War was won and the Turks defeated,  the British would grant them their God given right to the land of Israel (according to their interpretation of the Biblical Old Testament).

Unfortunately neither of these beliefs was ever realised. Accordingly the very disillusioned Palestinians blamed the British and the Jews for the fact that their beliefs turned out so wrong.

Similarly the Jews were greatly disillusioned that their “God given right” to the land of Israel was to be so frustrated – they accordingly blamed the British and the Palestinians.

The British, in effect, threw up their hands and walked away from the problem, thus setting the scene for the fact that there has been no real peace in Middle East since 1946.   

This, current, senseless violence and appalling loss of life will inevitably end in a truce or ceasefire in Gaza so it may be useful to reflect on why the conflict was ever started in the first place!

If Israel continues to refer to the horrific past visited upon the Jews of Europe in the 1930s and during the Second World War as a justification for their “right” to have a homeland which “right” they also claim is supported by the Bible’s Old Testament, why can’t the Palestinians also refer to their “horrific” past in the hands of the Jews and the war time allies (USA, England and France)?

It is recorded that the great teacher, Hillel (who died in 10 C.E.) summarized the essence of Judaism by saying: “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow humans; this is the whole Torah, all the rest is commentary. Now go and learn.” Another central premise of the Torah (the moral code of Judaism) is the command to “Love your neighbour as yourself.”

Remember the Palestinians were summarily removed from what had been their “homeland” for centuries, to make way for the state of Israel, and many were made stateless and homeless. Some still lay claim to the land and buildings now occupied by the Israelis.

Also remember that far more Palestinians have been killed by the Israelis than there have been Israelis killed by Palestinians. And remember that the Palestinians in Gaza have no where to go. They live in one of the most densely populated areas on earth. Giving 10 minutes warning of a bombardment, as the Israelis claim they give, is no answer. Another point to remember is that the Israelis have had a "siege" in place for years - nothing may enter or leave Gaza without the Israelis say so.

This is the injustice that the Palestinians seek to have redressed (and are prepared to fight for this to be redressed); this is the injustice that the Israelis cannot, or will not, accept. For a people (the Jews) who have suffered so much injustice, racial vilification and horrific pogroms in their long history, one would hope that they would have developed sufficient insight, understanding, humility and empathy to accommodate the Palestinians in the land that “belongs” to all (all land was present before humans existed and all land will still exist long after humans have vanished from the face of the earth). 

But no – the Israeli response has always been “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”

As for the current Russian/Ukraine problem this, again, stems from injustice and a perceived “right” to land. The Russians believe they have a “right” to Ukraine because of historical links – and they are offended by the Ukrainian’s desire to be affiliated with Europe rather than Russia. Many Ukrainians object to this Russian view - they will recall the terrible loss of life under the rule of Stalin (when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union) – enforced starvation killed over 5 million Ukrainians; many Ukrainians will recall the Russian imposed limitations on teaching (and speaking) the Ukrainian language; many Ukrainians will know that their forebears fought for Ukrainian independence from Russia at the end of the Second World War, which was brutally suppressed. This is the injustice that many Ukrainians resent. 

Hopefully a yet to be seen Russian directed pull back by the Ukrainian separatists in Eastern Ukraine may at least bring about a semblance of a truce.

Violence is never, repeat never, a solution to any problem – violence begets more violence. As has been stated before in these Posts, violence is the usual outcome of moral bankruptcy.

(Amended 24/07/2014)