The Fogel Family Massacre: At What Point Do Palestinians Accept Responsibility For Their Actions?

In an op-ed in the Jerusalem Post, Larry Derfner writes that it is about time that the Palestinians accept responsibility for their actions:

I’m about the last person to say that Israel is blameless for the violence in the West Bank, and I’m also about the last one to say Palestinians don’t have the right to resist the occupation. But when looking at Palestinian behavior, there has to be some point where Israel’s responsibility ends and Palestinian responsibility begins, and I’d say that point was definitely reached last Friday night in the Fogel home.


...They have a victim’s mentality – even worse than Israel’s, which is saying a lot – that absolves them of all responsibility. And because they don’t have the courage to take responsibility for anything any of them has ever done to any Israeli, things they genuinely despise, such as the murder of children, are liable to happen.

Until Palestinians acknowledge the savage streak in their society – even if only to themselves – and resolve to root it out, then, if history is a guide, there will be more abominations done in their name. And it’s completely legitimate to expect Palestinians to understand this – even before they have their own state.

Strong words--the kind that come unexpectedly from such a harsh critic of Israel.

The question however is: how can we expect the Palestinians to accept responsibility for their actions when we have reached the point where the world, the media and the UN do not hold them responsible for Palestinian terrorism?

And if we are going to change things, one place to start may be with those who regularly judge Israel so harshly in the Israeli press.

Technorati Tag: Palestinian Terrorism.