Thursday, June 16, 2011

Israel Practices 'Bless Those That Curse You'

News came yesterday that Israel sent a letter asking Turkey that Israel be allowed to provide aid to those who fled to Turkey to escape Syria's civil war.

Syria is about as hard-bent against Israel as any nation in the Middle East. Typically, when an enemy of yours fractures into civil war, you respond with the hope that they kill each other off. If some flee the oppression of the civil war, you don't concern yourself with them; they remain the enemy. And, just where these refugees stand with regards to Syria's civil war -- the the rebels, with the government, or just trying to get out of the way -- it would not seem likely they are pro-Israeli.

So, why would Israel reach out to them?

"In the name of those who fight for freedom, I ask you to allow a mission, which I will lead, that will bring humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees in Turkey," Ayoub Kara of the Knesset (Israel's legislative body) wrote. "As a Druse, with a wide regional orientation, I have great concern for the fate of the Syrian nation at large, and specifically the refugees that have been forced to flee their homes."

So, is Israel practicing Jesus Christ's admonition to "bless them that curse you"?

Turkey's leaders at the embassy, where the letter was delivered, reportedly reacted with surprise.

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