Israeli girls write messages of love on artillery shells at a heavy artillery position near Kiryat Shmona, in northern Israel, next to the Lebanese border.
This has got to be a couple of the most disgusting photos I have seen in a while. What kind of parents would encourage this kind of behavior amongst children? People have long criticized Muslims for the twisted indoctrination they put their kids through and the hatred they teach. And this just shows that maybe Jews aren’t that different. Obviously I can’t base that off of two photos, but it does make you wonder. Look at the woman in the background in the second photo. She looks like a teacher bringing kids on a field trip to the petting zoo or something with that stupid grin on her face.
Maybe I’m over reacting, but this whole Muslim-Jewish-Christian crap is starting to wear on me. Every time I look at the news I see countless stories of violence, war, and religious intolerance. What the hell is wrong with this world? And the media just eats this up because it boosts their ratings. Its as if they enjoy this unrest in some sort of sick way so they can take it to the bank. My rant is over.
From now on I’m only reading Happy News.
Related posts:
heh happy news, saw that some time go, wonder if they’ve gotten any bigger
not much of a market i’m afraid
While the picture looks psychotic and my jaw did drop when I saw the picture after reading the given context, I can pretty confidently guess that those shells are in fact symbols of peace and will never be fired. Swords into plowshears and whatnot.
This reminds me of Twain’s “War Prayer”:
O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle — be Thou near them! With them — in spirit — we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it — for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen.
Taken from:
http://hackvan.com/pub/stig/spirit/the-war-prayer.htm
Also at:
http://www.libertystory.net/LSDOCTWAINWARPRAYER.htm
Symbols of peace? One says “From Israel and Daniele.”
Why are they writing in english?
What would you do if you home was bombed with rockets daily? Turn the other cheek? Write furious letters?
It’s the Hizbolla we’re dealing with here, no better than Al-Quaeeda and such.
Itay, I’m not speaking for/against the conflict. What I take issue with is how these parents are making light of the situation with their kids. War is a raw and disturbing part of life. It’s not something to take lightly and poke fun at.
Leave war to the adults if it must be done at all.
I have to agree. I know one time I had an uncle who was in Vietnam who was coming over, and my parents had told me to stop playing Worms: Armageddon before he got there.
I had no clue about why. I was a kid. As a kid, I didn’t understand war or how horrible it is to the people involved in it.
So now, instead of joking, we have people immersing kids into the real thing. I once read a quote where psycologists working with the military were more worried about the people who *didn’t* cry themselves to sleep at night dealing with the realization that you’d killed someone.
I don’t want to have to experience that. I am saddened that there are people so arrogant out there that take so much pride in being stubborn.
I agree with gasmonso, keep it to the adults if it has to be done at all.
These photos were apparently set up by foreign journalists including an AP photographer.
http://adloyada.typepad.com/adloyada/2006/07/how_to_demonize.html
well may be everytime u switch on the TV u see isreal – palestine ..
just try to think the condition here in India..
Pakistani terror groups keep attacking with suicide bombers..
India goes the peace way for no reason though it has all high millitary powers than pakistan..
btw do not judge on 2pics though they look real
The link Preston posted has an update saying that the messages were actually drawn by the parents, and the children were doodling & drawing flags. So they weren’t actively set up by the foreign press, although obviously the press was more than willing to take pictures and give the kids attention.
Anyway, the point of the post is still valid; the parents showing their children that bombs are fun to play with is horrifying.
I don’t think it’s “horrifying.” Israel has a right to defend itself from having kids like those blown up by a terror group.
Preston, I too agree that Israel has the right to defend themselves and I’m glad they are. That’s not what’s at issue here.
What is at issue is making a game out of it for kids to enjoy. It trivialises war and encourages it as the only alternative.
Am I going overboard? Possibly. Maybe those kids truly were in a bunker for a long time and needed to have some fun. But if I were a parent there, I sure as hell wouldn’t let my kids write messages to anyone on a live artillery shell. Maybe I’m wrong, but I doubt it.
gasmonso
Zionism is state terrorism. How can it be wrong for the Hizballah (or how ever you write that in english) to defend THEIR country?
The palestinians an lebanese are the ones being oppressed and occupied. It is regretfull that some of the Hizballah rockets are hitting civilians (and there is no evidence these rockets were targetting civilians – from what i’we heard that four story house hit in Haifa was hit when Hizballah tried to shoot out a power station as revenge for the power station Israel destroyed in Palestine), but try to put things in perspective: Hizballah has killed 15 israeli and the israeli army has killed more than 300 lebanese plus quite a few in the palestinian areas.
Inkognito, you can’t be serious. Hezbollah is not defending THEIR country. That country belongs to the Lebanese. Hezbollah is just a group of fanatics that are puppets of Iran and Syria. They don’t care about the well being of Lebanon. They are struck on the destruction of Israel.
As for the the Hezbollah targeting cities, they are NOT trying to hit power stations and targets of military importance. They lack the sophistication to do so and as a result are just trying to kill civilians… much like the Germand did when launching V2s. And so what is the Israelis have killed more people… it’s a war. Why can’t people understand that people die in war. So it would be ok if Israel attacked so long as they lost more people? That’s just stupid.
I could go on an on about this but nobody is going to switch sides in this argument. You either hate Israel or you don’t. Nothing is ever going to change that.
gasmonso
Santosh, you say “India goes the peace way for no reason though it has all high millitary powers than pakistan”, well there is a reason. Peace is better than war. Sometimes war is the lesser of two evils, but if you can solve a problem peacefully it is the best way to solve it. There is ALWAYS a reason for peace (though on rare occasions there is more of a reason for war).
If India attacks Pakistan, what will that accomplish besides revenge? It’ll end up with inocent Pakistani’s dead and make the terrorists’ recruiting propaganda MUCH more effective, leading to likely more attacks. It doesn’t matter what is fair, it matters that India seems to be one of the only country in the world that hasn’t responded to terrorism by spiralling into chaos.
As for gasmonso’s “And so what is the Israelis have kliled more people.. it’s a war” argument, well that’s like a drunk driver saying “so what if I killed three people, I was drunk.” It was Isreals decision to go to war and so that doesn’t alleviate ANY of the responsiblity for what they do durring that war. Isreal knew ahead of time that a war would have innocent lebanesse killed. In fact, now, the entire lebanesse government is likely going to collapse and thus give the terrorists more power, but hey once everybody in Lebanon hates Isreal enough to side with the terrorists, Isreal can really say they’re only killing terrorists and terrorist sympathisers!
Now Isreal of course is in a tight situation with most of the middle east hating their guts (for reasons varrying from anti-semitism to anti-peopleWhoJustBombedMeism) so they have to act quickly, decisively, and under a lot of pressure. Thus Isreal shouldn’t recieve all the blame for their mistakes, but that still doesn’t make what they did in Lebanon any less of a mistake.
Also, remember as Gandhi (who achieved independence for India through PEACE) said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”
Gasmondo: You do know that Hizballah has mainly hit the parts of Israel where arabs live (in Haifa, they even hit the arab part of town)? Do you think they are targetting their own people out of sheer evil?
Hizballah may be “fanatics”, but there is no denying that they are also lebanese. Some people say they hide among civilians, but I wonder how far they are thinking. Hizballah is a militia. They ARE civilians. They are not hiding among civilians, they LIVE there. What exactly are you proposing? That they leave their houses and hands themselves over to israeli authorities? That would be the same as giving up their struggle and handing the paletinian and lebanese civilians over to the israeli government.
You say these people are just puppets. But how then do you explain that they have managed to recruit so many? Why do they enjoy such great support among the palestinians and lebanese? Even here in Sweden they do (there was anti-war demonstrations here the day before yesterday, thousands of people were flying the hizbullah banner) in the arab community.
Further I am sickened by this reference to Ghandi. You can just as well ask the palestinians to lay down and die or leave their country because that is their choices besides fighting. I say destroy zionism, then peace can be established.
A great article about what was being written on the things:
http://www.allsearchingeye.com/disturbing-misrepresentation/
“A close inspection of the missle closest to the camera shot reveals the following handwritten message: ‘To Nazrala with love from Israel.’ Nazrala is presumably Sheik Hassan Nasr Ullah, the leader of Hezbullah.”
http://yaakov.newsvine.com/_news/2006/07/20/294128-putting-things-in-perspective-photographers-children-and-missiles
Incognito:
Actually the Gandhi reference was refering to how India not declaring retalitary war on Pakistan is a GOOD thing just like Isreal declaring retalitary war on Lebanon is a BAD thing.
I’m a little disturbed though, that you can be “sickened” by Gandhi. Gandhi was a great man.
Those same missles killed children their own age,Isreal should stop playing innocent and recognize it’s a terror country as well.
I find it rather disturbing how many people in these coments are defending the Israelis, when they are clearly ignorant of the facts! Hezbollah does not meet the definition of a terrorist organization, the Israelis do though! Hezbollah has not been charged with any international crimes, nor have they violated any UN santions. Israelis have been formally charged with four couts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israelis are in violation of over 80 UN sanctions, more then any other country in the world! The land of Israel does not belong to the “Israelis” and it never has. They are illegally occupying someone else’s country and commiting genocide against those people! Add this sick little act of having children write messages of hate on artillary that will be used to kill other children is absolutly disgusting, but quite frankly pretty indicative of the Israeli mentality. The Palestinians and Lebonese are the victims, not the Israelis. The Israelis are nothing but the new Nazis, period… end of discussion!
and you will know them by the fruit they bear !!!!
Upon examining the clothes of the children in the picture, they dont appear to be religious at all…far from it! So what are you trying to prove again….?
Further proof that all religion is bad. Time people stopped believing in fictional beings and using them as an excuse to ignore what should be important namely other peopls rights and humanity.
For those who dont know, those shells those girls are writing on are live! the green tips denote a live warhead. More than likely those shells were fired very soon after as they dont arm those shells unless they are going to fire them, also see how far away the M109 is away from the shell’s, you dont arm them and keep a stash of them that close unless you were ready to fire them.
All in all this is as sick as it gets, putting children near live rounds like this is beyond stupid. I grew up around weapons, and the army and all this kind of stuff and these kids have no respect for what they are playing with, nor do the troops who let them get close enough to a weapon system such as a M109.
Well then again i guess its better than strapping a bomb to the child and letting them go kill them selves……
fuckin jewish.Hitler should kill them all.
it took a while, but it’s here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law
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lolz.
fucking smelly arabs need wiping off the planet
?? ?? ???? ????????……?? ???? ?? ??????….??? ???? ?????? ?? ????…..??? ??? ???? ?? ????… ??? ????? ??? ???
??? ???? ??????
if you what I wrote in arabic…you can convert it in google … from arabic to english
peice be with you……good luck
Joshua Skye, your first assignment is to read some books and learn about the Land of Israel and all this business about “who was there first?” You have to go back many thousands of years and you will find names like ABRAHAM, JOSHUA, ISAAC, MOSES, ETC. Maybe they ring a bell? The word occupation is really silly. But it’s hard to live in peace with uncivilized beasts in your backyard who raise their children to use guns, strap bombs to their back, and then celebrate death in the streets. Of yes, these are the same people that celebrated in the streets after 9/11. But the world is full of stupid people that will defend other stupid people. Makes total sense to me, really. But besides that, I find it very telling that no arab countries come to the aid of the “Palestinians.” Do you know why? Because the other arab countries don’t want anything to do with them either!
Of course Israel has the right to defend itself. And I am proud that they don’t give a s*it what the world community thinks. The world does not live in THEIR world. And if they did, they would not only be understanding, but join the fight! You and I don’t know what it’s like to wake up every day with the fear that some creature who looks human has a bomb strapped to his back and just walked onto the bus where you and your child are riding, or in a grocery store, or enjoying coffee at a cafe. That’s their every day hell. Yeah, they are fed up, and you would be too.
Your second assignment is to google the following:
“Accomplishments by Jews” – in which case you will find a very long list of doctors, scientist, researches, inventors, etc that ALLOW YOU TO LIVE A BETTER EXISTANCE… As a matter of fact, when you wake up tomorrow morning and you are able to use your legs, you can thank Dr. Jonas Salk, a Jewish biologist who discovered the Polio vaccine.
then google “Accomplishments by Arabs (that’s who Palestinians are, by the way. Just in case you get confused.)
Then, please compare the two lists and report back your findings. My point is this: Those who think that the world would be better off without Israel clearly is not aware of what that little 60 year old country does for the world on a daily basis. The greatest minds in the world live and work on that land and they are not leaving. And they will fight to the bitter end…and they should.
What you get to read is not what is reality on the ground, because 97% of world’s media is controlled by them.
Occupation 101 Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SbjAanvUqs
Dare speak against them, face the consequences
Journalist Receives Death Threat for Talking About Israel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spXA7GrOcLU&feature=iv
TRUTH, I believe should solve most of our problems, but there is a deep conspiracy to withhold it, to brain wash people into electing “their puppets”
Think wise, get your info from independent sources.
FYCK YOU JEWISH KIDS!
F\/CK YOU JEWISH KIDS WITH BIG PEN|S
Picture is fake. And it’s proven.
Zionism is nothing, but the hope of the jewish people for their land. They have the language, the culture, history and tradition… but why shouldn’t they have their homeland and home of all the jewish people… It’s Israel!
Here’s the back story:
“Kiryat Shmona has been under constant bombardment from South Lebanon since the first day of the conflict. It was a ghost town, explained Shelly. There was not a single person on the streets and all the businesses were closed. The residents who had friends, family or money for alternate housing out of missile range had left, leaving behind the few who had neither the funds nor connections that would allow them to escape the missiles crashing and booming on their town day and night. The noise was terrifying, people were dying outside, the kids were scared out of their minds and they had been told over and over that some man named Nasrallah was responsible for their having to cower underground for days on end.
On the day that photo was taken, the girls had emerged from the underground bomb shelters for the first time in five days. A new army unit had just arrived in the town and was preparing to shell the area across the border. The unit attracted the attention of twelve photojournalists – Israeli and foreign. The girls and their families gathered around to check out the big attraction in the small town – foreigners. They were relieved and probably a little giddy at being outside in the fresh air for the first time in days. They were probably happy to talk to people. And they enjoyed the attention of the photographers.
Apparently one or some of the parents wrote messages in Hebrew and English on the tank shells to Nasrallah. “To Nasrallah with love,” they wrote to the man whose name was for them a devilish image on television – the man who mockingly told Israelis, via speeches that were broadcast on Al Manar and Israeli television, that Hezbollah was preparing to launch even more missiles at them. That he was happy they were suffering.
The photograpers gathered around. Twelve of them. Do you know how many that is? It’s a lot. And they were all simultaneously leaning in with their long camera lenses, clicking the shutter over and over. The parents handed the markers to the kids and they drew little Israeli flags on the shells. Photographers look for striking images, and what is more striking than pretty, innocent little girls contrasted with the ugliness of war? The camera shutters clicked away, and I guess those kids must have felt like stars, especially since the diversion came after they’d been alternately bored and terrified as they waited out the shelling in their bomb shelters.
Shelly emphasized several times that none of the parents or children had expressed any hatred toward the Lebanese people. No-one expressed any satisfaction at knowing that Lebanese were dying – just as Israelis are dying. Their messages were directed at Nasrallah. None of those people was detached or wise enough to think: “Hang on, tank shell equals death of human beings.” They were thinking, tank shell equals stopping the missiles that land on my house. Tank shells will stop that man with the turban from threatening to kill us.
And besides, none of those children had seen images of dead people – either Israeli or Lebanese. Israeli television doesn’t broadcast them, nor do the newspapers print them. Even when there were suicide bombings in Israel several times a week for months, none of the Israeli media published gory photos of dead or wounded people. It’s a red line in Israel. Do not show dead, bleeding, torn up bodies because the families of the dead will suffer and children will have nightmares. And because it is just in bad taste to use suffering for propaganda purposes.
Those kids had seen news footage of destroyed buildings and infrastructure, but not of the human toll. They had heard over and over that the air force was destroying the buildings that belonged to Hezbollah, the organization responsible for shelling their town and threatening their lives. How many small children would be able to make the connection between tank shells and dead people on their own? How many human beings are able to detach from their own suffering and emotional stress and think about that of the other side? Not many, I suspect.
So, perhaps the parents were not wise when they encouraged their children to doodle on the tank shells. They were letting off a little steam after being cooped up – afraid, angry and isolated – for days. Sometimes people do silly things when they are under emotional stress. Especially when they fail to understand how their childish, empty gesture might be interpreted.
I’ve been thinking for the last two days about this photo and the storm of reaction it set off. I worry about the climate of hate that would lead people to look at it and automatically assume the absolute worst – and then use the photo to dehumanize and victimize. I wonder why so many people seem to take satisfaction in believing that little Israeli girls with felt markers in their hands – not weapons, but felt markers – are evil, or spawned by an evil society. I wonder how those people would feel if Israelis were to look at a photo of a Palestinian child wearing a mock suicide belt in a Hamas demonstration and conclude that all Palestinians – nay, all Arabs – are evil.
And I wonder why it is so difficult to think a little, to get it into our heads that television news and photojournalism manipulate our thoughts and emotions.
Links to anti-Israel websites with that photo placed prominently next to the image of a dead Lebanese child have been sent to me several times. Someone has been rushing around the Israeli blogosphere, leaving the link to one particularly abhorrent site in the comments boxes. And it makes me really sad that the emotional climate has deteriorated to this point.
The moderates of the Middle East are locked in a battle with the extremists. And look what they did to the moderates. Without blinking, without thinking, we fell victim to the classic “divide and conquer” technique. We work hard for months and years to build connections, develop our societies, educate ourselves, promote democracy and free speech… And they destroy it all, in less than a week. And we let them.”
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