'Never again' gone mad in Israel | SeattlePi.com

While I am not a Jew, I have been married to one. And in that family, there were more than a few who still promote the 'never again' philosophy. Given the reported scale of atrocities against the Jews during World War II, I can easily imagine why they persist to this day.

Still, even though I am not a Jew, and have no vested interest in the general goings on in Israel, I am a human being. Thus, I am compelled to agree with the author of this article, that the Israeli response to the kidnapping of a single soldier in what is clearly a long, well established history of conflict, does not 'seem' out of proportion. It is out of proportion.

Yes, Israel is a sovereign nation. And like the U.S., has the right to defend itself and its citizens against harm and attack. But we should remember that when U.S. citizens have been kidnapped in the past, we did not threaten and terrorize entire populations. We did not deprive innocent citizens of their ability to subsist. Literally, to survive. And our response to the events of September 11th are not even on the same playing field as the abduction of a single soldier.

Soldiers are meant for one thing. To stand in harm's way. This is the choice of every soldier (voluntarily, in most cases), and of that soldier's government in general. They are the pawns by which diplomacy and influence are effected.

It is time for the U.S. to withdraw its unilateral support of Israel. At best, if our administration believes its support is not 'unilateral', then it needs to use more than rhetoric to demonstrate that reality. Withdraw military support from Israel so long as it continues to respond out of scale to offenses given.