ONLY ONE NATION HAS "NO CIVILIANS"

Only One Nation Has No Civilians - Jonathan Freedland
Last week, London Mayor Ken Livingstone was asked about his public embrace of Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who has repeatedly praised suicide bombers in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Qaradawi's argument is that there is no such thing as an Israeli civilian. Israeli women can be called to national service; Israeli children will grow up to be soldiers. Even the unborn Israeli child in the womb is a legitimate target for death, because one day he will wear a uniform. This ceases to be a political stance; this becomes the demonization of a people. Only one nation on the planet has no civilians; only one nation must recognize that its children can legitimately be torn apart by nail bombs on buses. Only the Israelis are less than human, denied the protections afforded to all other human beings. (Guardian-UK)