A 21-year old spoiled rich girl and Hamas supporter from Maryland just learned the hard way what happens when you go to someone else's country and challenge the power.
Emily Henochowicz was struck in the face by a tear gas canister launched towards her and other rock-throwing criminals on Israel's West Bank on Monday. She's currently being treated in an Israeli hospital but she's losing her left eye.
(She gets hurt trying while trying to undermine the Israeli nation and they wind up treating her injuries. How's that for irony?)
Every report on this in the news today is clearly slanted in her favor, with many accusing the Israelis of deliberately firing the tear gas canisters at people and implying that this was done with malicious intent. Sorry folks, but I've fired tear gas canisters from rifles and other launchers back in the day, and they're anything but accurate enough to actually aim them and hit things. They also downplay the fact that she was with a bunch of rock-throwers and she did not leave when ordered to do so. Apparently, she and other little trust-fund kids from countries outside of Israel--the sort who just travel the world on inherited money and bother people instead of getting a job--were banking on the assumption that the Israelis wouldn't dare shoot at them because they were foreign.
“They clearly saw us,” said Sören Johanssen, a Swedish ISM volunteer standing with Henochowicz. “They clearly saw that we were internationals and it really looked as though they were trying to hit us.
In other words, they were acting as human shields for the bad guys. Their mistake was, of course, that Israel doesn't coddle the stupid like America and Britain do. With their nation at stake, they cannot afford to.
One would think that these American college kids would be smart enough to learn from other stupid American kids like Tristan Anderson or Rachel Corrie and realize that it's not a game over there. The Palestinians know it and that's why they recruit these gullible rich foreign kids who have grown up their whole lives without discipline or fear of consequences for their behavior. If you'll notice, you don't see Palestinians getting hit by grenades or run over by bulldozers in these protests; they know better than to get too close or stay too long. Instead, they've learned to send in a busload of naive but arrogant American and European kids and then capitalize on the story when the inevitable happens, like it did again Monday.
Here's hoping that when little Emily gets back home, she decides to put her little superhero cape and her terrorist headscarf away in favor of growing up, getting a job like everyone else has, and just getting on with her life. She has my sympathy for her pain, but not too much, because she was pretty stupid, and like I've said here before, stupidity is supposed to hurt. It's what motivates at least some people to not be so stupid in the future.
I remember a heavily researched incident in Northern Ireland years and years ago where a young man ( I forget how old) was supposedly illegally killed by a British police officer during a riot with a rubber bullet. The first photos out were horrific: this guy's torso was black.
ReplyDeleteAs it turned out, video footage and still camera photography showed this idiot going for a cop with a large blunt object, the cop turning, and reflexively shooting him in the upper chest, stopping his heart (without penetrating, mind you) and killing him.
Bummer.
As far as dilletantes from the USA playing games with military/police in other countries, well, doesn't A&E have a show about that?
To borrow a line from Ron White (I think), "You can't fix stupid".
ReplyDeleteHey just wanted to stop by and say that you are a useless shitbird redneck. cheers
ReplyDeleteWhat a cowardly blogpost you wrote, Lagniappe. This young woman lost an eye fighting for self-rule for people half way around the world. Yes, she was probably well off, but she used her resources to help others and put her ideals to practice - which is more than most can say. Before you jump on her for 'supporting terrorists' try to remember that a lot of British tried to use the incidents of mob violence in the American colonies and an excuse to call all patriots in the Revolution terrorists.
ReplyDeleteYou can support the creation of a Palestinian free state, and denounce Israel's expansion without supporting Hamas or the terrorists launching rockets into suburbs.
Jjarmon, that should actually read: "Hey, I just wanted to stop by and say that you are a useless shitbird redneck. Cheers!"
ReplyDeleteProper punctuation and capitalization are essential if you want to be taken seriously. Your writing style indicates that you either don't care how people perceive you or else you just didn't pay attention in school. Frankly it's no wonder that your employment prospects are limited to jobs that involve stocking shelves when the store in closed. It also fits right in with your worship of other losers like Emily Henochowicz. You probably voted for Obama, too.
Now go away and don't come back until you're smarter and/or better able to represent yourself.
One thing about this whole "Flotilla" incident that One-Eyed Emily was using as a pretext for her rock-throwing: The ships set sail from Northern Cyprus, which is occupied by the Turks. Who are the Turks to protest Israel's blockade?
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't the "Flotilla" ships challenge a Russian blockade? Why not a Chinese blockade? And why didn't they challenge the Egyptian blockade of Gaza?
Because Russia, China or Egypt would have done what Israel should have done -- they would have sunk all of the ships in the flotilla, and not endangered themselves by boarding the ships.
The tear gas canister administered to Emily was an act far more "humanitarian" than any of the munitions carried by the flotilla.
No, NE, she lost an eye because she let herself get duped into standing up in the place of the cowardly so-called "Palestinians. And while I've never been a fan of the British, I wouldn't even get close to likening that motley lot of unwashed cowards to our American Revolutionaries; our American freedom fighters didn't sneak bombs into weddings and onto school buses or machine gun kids on playgrounds. Bombers and assassins are contemptible and worthy only of being stamped out, especially ones who hide behind schoolgirls like Emily.
ReplyDeleteIsrael is a civilized country, which is more than can be said for the rabble infesting Gaza and the West Bank. I support Israel's right to exist and protect it's citizenry, and if the so-called "Palestinians" want a free state, let them go back and eke one out of Jordan, which is where most of them were actually displaced from.
Do you seriously think Palestinians aren't standing up for themselves, and are just hiding behind foreign supports? Have you looked at the death count in past 20 years? Way more dead protesters than foreign supporters.
ReplyDeleteAgain you equate acts of terrorism by Hamas and other militant groups to peaceful protests against Israel's expansion - just like the British did with colonial taring and feathering. By lumping the two together the British parliament was able to ignore reasonable calls for peaceful self-rule and gain mass support for further colonial military aggravation. we all know what a great decision that was for them. Ironically enough, the British saw themselves as the only civilized party in war too.
Anyone who seriously wants a Palestinian free state, and peace in the region knows it can't be accomplished with rockets or bombs. Many Palestinians understand that, but the IDF's destructive tactics keep forcing more and more of them to side with the crazy jihadists.
You are right that Israel is the only real stable, democratic nation in this conflict and as such they should be smarter than this. I'm starting to think they are masochists after all these stupid military decisions that turn into massive PR blunders.
Great post and I shall not be shedding a tear for this idiot. What is it about these people that leads them to believe it is okay to protest in another country and that somehow they are so special they won't be treated like normal protesters?
ReplyDeleteI am digging the hate mail you are getting. Lets you know you got it right.
Poor poor Palestinians. I am so sick of people defending the worthless who can not get their act together. The Palestinians have defined themselves as a culture of victims.
I have to agree with Owl, these brave young souls never protest against countries that are going to bitch slap them and not think twice about it. But they will go to these evil countries and protest against the good guys.
Anyone remember the peace loving individuals who became human shields at Saddam's missile sites prior to the '03 invasion. Nothing like telling your kids about the time you defended the mass murderer.
Thanks, Warthog...and you should see the comments that I couldn't post due to the language used. The "peace" crowd sure can be nasty.
ReplyDeleteWarthog, those peace loving individuals you mention acting as human shields in the '03 Iraq invasion were protecting civilian water-treatment facilities and hospitals. I don't where you got the ridiculous idea they trying protecting Saddam's missile sites. That is simply not true.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand Owl and Warthog's criticism of the flotilla. Why aren't they protesting similar abuses of power in Russia and China? It might have something to with the fact that they are a Palestinian relief organization. There are other protest groups for other causes. Also, are you saying people shouldn't peacefully protest because because it actually works in countries with free media?
Palestine isn't a country either.
Lagniappe, don't think all Palestine supporters are all pro-peace. There are plenty who would like nothing more than to see Israel wiped off the map - but that is the fringe. Often the hardest part of peace protests is keeping the crazies out that block all the rational dialog. If you are getting hate mail it is from them. The people that are going to resolve this situation are open to reason and compromise.
FYI, Lagniappe is the dog who lives here. He doesn't write to the blog and it does no good to address him as he's a dog and can't read.
ReplyDeleteThat said, Israel set up their naval blockade for a reason--to keep weapons that kill Israeli civilians from reaching terrorists in Gaza. The day that Israel stops the blockade or just lets ships through uninspected is the day that Iran starts shipping more rockets to the terrorists again, just like they did before the blockade.
Israel fights against soldiers of it's nation, whereas the Palestinians fight against Israeli civilians. That being the case, I'll side with Israel every time, and that means that I don't have much sympathy for idiotic kids from other countries who put themselves in harm's way in support of the terrorists and their cause.
It saddens me that some of you kids are so naive that you cannot discern that Israel is the good guy--the ONLY good guy--in this struggle. The Hamas types that Emily and Rachel "the pancake" Corrie assisted are the bad guys.
What an ugly and callous post. What kind of person are you that you can show such hatred to a non-violent peace demonstrator?
ReplyDeleteYour understanding of the issue is seriously deficient also. For your information, the obstacle to a peace in Palestine is the rejectionism of Israel and the US. If you are an American citizen, your duty is to get your government to abandon rejectionism and support the settlement.
Something like what Emily was doing. Although there would be little doubt you lack the courage she displayed.
The flotilla organizers were looking for a PR coup. Humanitarians have one motivation; alleviating the perceived suffering by those they wish to help. Real humanitarians will jump through any hoop to complete their mission. Real humanitarians would have invited the Israeli's to inspect their ship, not fought with them. There's enough video out there showing the commando's were attacked as they fast roped to the ship, not the acts of real humanitarians.
ReplyDeleteThose people on that ship were thugs intent on creating an incident, confident that an anti semitic and anti Israel media and their stooges would accomodate.
Bernard, I don't hate Emily. I just think that she was stupid and she got what stupid people often get. Her choice, but that's what happens when 21 year old girls take money from their over-indulgent parents and run off to other people's countries to challenge the power.
ReplyDeleteAnd let's not kid ourselves--she and other little ego-driven crusading kids choose this conflict because it's chic to support the bad guys and because they know that the Israelis won't deliberately try to hurt them. If that wasn't true, she and the other wunderkind would be in China or North Korea trying to stop some real human-rights abuses. THAT would be brave, but it would also carry real risks so I don't expect to see it happen even though bringing change to those places would really help a lot of innocent people.
Of course she and the rest of you could always join the Peace Corps and help the needy, but again, that entails real work, not merely standing on the sidelines blogging and accepting kudos from each other.
Seriously, if you want to help someone, then you need to stop talking and go get your hands dirty digging wells and building schools and hospitals. If you want to fight, then pick up a rifle and go fight--don't just stand around and call yourself brave while condemning others who also aren't hefting a rifle in support of your chosen cause.
And if you want to be a real hero and do both things, join the United States military. They'll make a man out of you and give you plenty of opportunities to make this world a better place.
This is a great Blog, couldn't agree with you more, Emily was stupid, too bad for her.
ReplyDelete