Israel And The Hobgoblin Of Little Minds

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.

A great person does not have to think consistently from one day to the next. This remark comes from the essay “Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson does not explain the difference between foolish and wise consistency.

from The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002.

Pity.
But I offer the following as an example of a foolish consistency.

Israel closed the crossing for all but humanitarian reasons because of rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel by Palestinian militants. But it opened three other crossings Friday, allowing fuel and commodities into the Palestinian territory for the first time in more than a week.

About 80 trucks filled with commodities were expected to cross into Gaza. Among the goods were 400,000 liters of fuel and 120 tons of cooking gas.

The decision to open the crossings at Kerem Shalom, Karni and Nahal Oz came after requests from international aid groups and Egypt, said Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In addition, he said, Israel has no desire to hurt the civilian population in Gaza.

Lerner said whether to keep the crossings open would be a daily decision. [emphasis added]

Does anyone seriously doubt what that daily decision will be?
Does anyone seriously doubt that these decisions will be consistently ignored by Israel's critics?

Technorati Tag: Israel and Gaza.