Hezbollah has destroyed the northern region of Israel over the past nearly ten months, and while Israel has responded with targeted strikes, many times Hezbollah strikes on Israel go without response. The Houthis have shot missiles and drones at Israel and at Israeli shipping interests for the past ten months and until now they have all gone without response. The Houthis sent a suicide drone to Tel Aviv that gets through the defense systems and kills one and injures others (and also causes damage), and Israel responds by attacking and destroying a port and infrastructure.
Some are upset at the government saying that when it was just the peripheral communities being affected, Israel basically allows itself to absorb the damage with little to no response, but when it is Tel Aviv that is hit Israel responds big time. They understandably don't like being made to feel like second class citizens not worth defending. The government denies this type of attitude.
While the government denies this attitude of only taking it seriously when it is Tel Aviv under attack, the fact is the response only came when it was Tel Aviv that was hit, not when the Houthis from Yemen shot missiles at ships or at Eilat, and often not when Hezbollah sends drones in or destroys homes and kills people in the Upper Galilee or in the Golan Heights.
So is the government treating them like second class citizens or is it not? In actions it looks like Israel takes it more seriously when Tel Aviv is hit than when Metulla or Manara or Eilat are hit.
On the other hand, this government hates Tel Aviv and what it represents (at least it seems that way), while much of the peripheral towns are this government's natural supporters. If they are only taking it more seriously because it was Tel Aviv that was hit, that makes little sense. Why would the Israeli government get more outraged when the Tel Aviv leftists are hit than when it is the residents of the peripheral communities being hit?
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Tel Aviv may not be the government's favourite place but it is the most important part of the country economically. If Metullah gets levelled, well its sad but people can still fly in and out of the country, the business of the country continues to hum and much of the government (which is based there) along with the foreign embassies continue to remain open. If that changes, it causes a lot more damage to the country.
ReplyDeletewhat a stupid question, based on wrong premises
ReplyDelete- this was not a hit only on Tel Aviv as a city but on Tel Aviv as a strategic center, near to the American Consulate
- this was the first time the Houthis killed somebody, and the first time a drone killed civilians - this alone makes it a different kind of event than the others
- attacking Yemen is not necessarily a good thing, and it wasn't that big of an attack, it might be a show while the real war will be with the Hezbollah
- even if this awful government thinks only of its voters some professionals inside the government itself do not go under this consideration, rather they have the objective to protect all of Israel
basically there is so much going on that you ignored that it makes the question "are people of the periphery second class citizens" not answerable, and not really askable either
Most of the "right wing" leaders and MKs live in the Merkaz and identify as such.
ReplyDeletethe Huthis are an easier target because they are far away. Not many risks for Tsahal and our coward generals who only want peace and quiet and think about the jobs they will get after they retire.
ReplyDelete