Earlier tonight, Jdledell offered the following comment on a post about Palestinian children’s arrests. We asked if we could post it, and he agreed. He was responding to another Israeli commenter.

I am also a Jewish Israeli citizen but currently living in the US (dual citizenship has its advantages). My grandfather was Irgun. He readily admitted he was a Jewish terrorist fighting for Independence. In his journals and photographs you can find many dozens of episodes where not only British soldiers were killed but also innocent Arabs. He personally shot Arabs as well as prepared fertilizer bombs that were set off in Arab marketplaces to intimidate the local population. Frankly, he felt his and his fellow Irgun terrorism was justified no matter what it took to achieve a Jewish state. This rationalization ended when he participated in the Deir Yassin massacre and he promptly left Israel. Terrorism in pursuit of Independence is okay for Jews but not for others.

When I lived in Israel as well as now when I return twice a year for extended Holiday visits with my relatives, I have witnessed enough unnecessary violence and degradation by Jews in the West Bank to fill a very large book. I have seen IDF soldiers at a check point pissing on Palestinian shoes. In this instance, the Palestinian man tried to take a swing at the soldier who merely stepped back and shot the man in the chest. I watched two young teenagers near Kiryat Arba force a Palestinian family at gunpoint to get on their hands and knees and bark like a dog while a jeep full of IDF soldiers 20 feet away laughed. I have watched settlers at Bat Ayin use Palestinian sheep and goats for target practice and then have the nerve to retrieve the animals for their own feasts. I have watched settlers from Itamar cutting down Palestinian Olive trees in broad daylight with the IDF sitting in their vehicles 50 meters away watching the destruction. I have watched wholesale fondling of Palestinian women’s breasts by the IDF and armed settlers usually when the husband was present to degrade the man in front of others.

I could go on and on from my 50+ years in Israel. My entire side of the family, all 35 of them, reside in the settlements. I know settlers intimately because that is where I spend my Israeli time. To get a true flavor of the occupation I suggest you meander around the West Bank for a while and keep your eyes open. If you are a true Jew to your faith, you will be disgusted. If that doesn’t do it, go to shul in Kiryat Arba, Bat Ayin and Itamar. You will hear words of hatred that will make your hair stand straight up. Go on, and then report back to us.