Sunday, March 14, 2010

Palestinian Families of Suicide Bombers

MY OPINION ON DEPORTATIONS: Unfortunately, deportations of family members of suicide bombers to Gaza will do very little. They're still in Gaza, in Palestinian land, where they can be idolized and martyred on the such. If anything, the deportations will lead to more terrorism. Hamas will still have the tools--don't forget, you're not taking these folks to Siberia--to capitalize on the propaganda gold that deportations promise to be and use it for evil purposes.

In ethical terms, the answer is clear to me. This is perfectly ethical. Suicide bombers do not simply rise up from nowhere--they are coddled by a culture and a family life which positively look upon murder. In addition, this serves a valuable deterrent. Many suicide bombers supposedly act because they know their families will benefit from their deaths. If it is shown that families will lose their homes, this trend may be reversed. Then again, they will remain in Palestine, so its effectiveness can be questioned. Truly, it is ethical because if properly executed, deportations will likely save innocent lives.

So here's my plan.. I view the families of suicide bombers as guilty parties. Some are guilty of actively supporting their sons and daughters as they prepare to murder. Others are guilty of terrible child neglect and psychological indoctrination which, in my mind, constitutes a form of abuse. Non-abusive parents do not regularly see their kids blow up buses full of innocent civilians. Laws are dubious regarding this issue; I think Israel could avoid legal controversy and more effectively prevent terror attacks by arresting parents on charges of child neglect and then sending remaining children to foster homes with Arab Israelis. Nothing will encourage a family to speak out against suicide bombings like the threat of breakup; transport from a Ramallah slum to a Gaza slum makes no difference to the average Palestinian. In fact, deportation may be something positive for many Palestinians because of the fame, fortune, and opportunity which will surely accompany the move. Forcing parents of suicide bombers to wallow away for a couple of years in an Israeli prison as well as the "confiscation" (lack of better word, fried brain) of their children will hopefully bring about a change in the politics of Palestinian family support for terrorism.

The current plan, while seemingly okay on the merits, is a waste of time and energy. I think my plan is more likely to strike fear into the hearts of Palestinian families and encourage them to stop terrorism in their household. After all, isn't that goal?