Brave war resisters, cowardly mainstream media, and Robert Fisk

Democracy Now! reports that some Israeli soldiers are deliberately missing their targets, out of concern that they are being asked to bomb civilians. Disobeying orders during wartime is a tremendous risk, particularly during a popular war in a country that does not allow conscientious objectors. Those soldiers brave enough to follow their consciences and refuse to kill civilians will likely be vilified in Israel, but I for one salute them. They, like American soldiers Camilo Mejia and Pablo Paredes, are setting an example for soldiers around the world.

But wasn't it just today that the NY Times reported that everyone in Israel, including the left, supports the war? This article is remarkable in that it fails to even acknowledge the existence of a radical left, however small, in Israel. They could have at least gotten a quote from Gideon Levy, who's been criticizing this war from its beginning in the editorial pages of Ha'Aretz, Israel's biggest daily.

As for Lebanon: I highly, highly recommend Robert Fisk's Pity the Nation. I'm reading it now, and it's by far the best and most balanced overview of the history of Lebanon (and all of its interwoven history with Israel/Palestine) that I've seen. I've recommended several of Fisk's articles on this blog; he's probably the foremost English-language journalist covering Lebanon and the Middle East. He's lived in Beirut since the 1970s, had his closest friend and coworker kidnapped, and was one of the first on the scene after the massacres at Sabra and Shatila. He's also one of the most thoughtful and talented writers out there, and that shows in his book, which is, believe it or not, a 650-page page-turner. Go and read it, right now. Seriously.