Window on Israel: Tempest in a teapot

It's one of those times that excites Jews' well-developed paranoia.
 
A sizable majority of member states in the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva endorsed the Goldstone report, and sent it on the General Assembly and Security Council. Supporters will try to get an endorsement from the Security Council to indict Israel before the International Criminal Court.
 
The resolution not only accepted the Goldstone report on the Gaza Operation, but for good measure condemned Israel for human rights violations in the West Bank and Jerusalem, including the denial of religious rights. (During times of tension, Israel does not permit entry to the Temple Mount for men under an age when they are thought to be potential troublemakers.)
 
Not even Richard Goldstone was satisfied with the decision of the Human Rights Council, insofar as it did not condemn Hamas for its violations.
 
The delegates who voted for the endorsement came from Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Cuba, Djbouti, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa and Zambia. Some of these we should discount as international good-for-nothings allowed to yell and scream, but not permitted by the rules of the game to do anything serious. Saudi Arabia is tolerated on account of its wealth, but also kept from serious damage by existing rules and norms.

Some speak in double talk, endorse what the Palestinians want, perhaps to keep some of their own people quiet, but deal with Israel. Jordan and Egypt are prominent in this group. China, India and Russia are important for Israel, but do what they have to in order to satisfy their other interests. None of them is on the verge of taking serious actions against Israel. All are more violent than Israel in dealing with those who threaten their own regimes.
 
Indonesia has no diplomatic relations with Israel, but we have encountered large groups of Indonesian Christians in our favorite Jerusalem Chinese restaurant. The Philippines enjoys the foreign exchange earned by thousands of its people working here as care givers for the aged and infirm.
 
Altogether, the votes in favor of endorsement are just part of the international background static. Not pleasant to the ears, but not likely to affect one's quality of life.
 
Meanwhile, things have turned bad between Turkey and Israel. Turkey cancelled a scheduled joint military exercise involving Israel, the United States and other countries, on the grounds that Israel must be punished for its actions in Gaza.

At about the same time, Turkey scheduled a joint military exercise with Syria, and the Turkish prime minister headed off to Teheran for high level meetings. A government-owned television network broadcast a drama portraying Israeli soldiers as wanton killers of innocent civilians.
 
While some may view this combination of events as catastrophic, others see the extreme nature of these actions as portending more damage to those who initiated them than to Israel.
 
Turkey will not suffer great harm directly from Israel. The labor unions that for years have purchased group rates for their members at holiday hotels in Turkey say they will be directing their people to Greece and Bulgaria. That may put a small dent in Turkey's foreign exchange earnings.
 
But by cozying up to Syria and Iran, Turkey can probably say goodbye to its aspirations to join the EU, and is likely to hear some harsh words, and maybe more, from the United States. Such moves by the Turkish government may also provide enough reason for the army to come out of its barracks and once again take control of the government in order to save the country for Ataturk's vision of a modern, secular society.
 
The damage to Palestine, on the other hand, is likely to come directly from Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu has threatened an end to the peace process if the Palestine Authority worked to turn the Goldstone report into something serious. Insofar as the United States has been critical of the report and voted against its endorsement by the UN Human Rights Council, it may be difficult for the White House to demand that Israel overlook the Palestinians' recent actions.
 
With a few exceptions, we can ignore the noise. It is easy to judge as disproportionate the hostility expressed to Israel's efforts at self defense when the most outspoken critics are far less civilized in dealing with those who challenge them.
 
The most recent few days in our lives began with an evening of Brahms by the Israel Philharmonic, conducted by Zubin Mehta. The next morning we went north, staying at a tiny kibbutz in a simple room without a TV. As retirees, we could remain home on Succot, let the crowds wander the Galilee, and have the area to ourselves when everyone else went back to work. There were not a lot of tourists on the roads, but we passed numerous industrial parks, and saw heavily loaded trucks showing a lively economy at work.
 
We took in the sights during the days, and ate in a multi-cultural mixture of Druse, Christian Arab, Circassian and Jewish villages. We enjoyed the food and conversation, heard perspectives different from our own, saw a different country, but sensed no misery or hostility.
 
There have been confrontations with the police in the villages of Isaweya and Shuafat, in and around Jerusalem, and there will be confrontations with the ultra-Orthodox about that parking garage that is open on Shabbat.
 
Israeli society is manageable, although it falls short of Paradise. "Manageable," though, is a higher standard than that enjoyed by most of the countries whose delegates routinely vote against Israel.
 
Those who fulfill something in their lives by hating Israel will find comfort in the votes at the Human Rights Council, and the condemnations by Turkey. More important for us are the tastes and conversations of a varied and functioning society.