Titus Andronicus Essay
1 view
Skip to first unread message
Justin A.
May 29, 2010, 2:12:57 AM5/29/10
to English 101, spring 2010 online sections #0143 and #3226
Justin Abad
In an April 11 article for the Washington Post, journalists Brzezinski
and Solarz opine that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu would
forego peace if it meant parceling a portion of Jerusalem to
Palestine. For their part, Palestinians contend that East Jerusalem
should be their state capital. This is just a facet, albeit an
important one, of the ongoing turmoil between Israelis and
Palestinians that fuel the endless cycle of violent retaliation
between the two groups. The characters Titus and Tamora mirror this
same cycle in a smaller, but no less bloody, scale of revenge and
hatred that continues on and on in the world today. They both
represent two opposite sides of the same coin and neither will stop
while the other lives and thrives. Titus represents the Israelis, who
fights for his nation and believes wholly that what he is doing is
right and that his actions against Tamora and the Goths were
justified. Tamora decides to take it to the same level as Titus and
takes it out on his family in hopes of watching him suffer.
The self-same gods that arm’d the Queen of Toy
With opportunity of sharp revenge
Upon the Thracian tyrant in his tent,
May favor Tamora, the Queen of Goths—
When Goths were Goths and Tamora was queen—
To quit the bloody wrongs upon her foes. (Demetrius Act 1.i 136-141)
It is evident that both Israelis and Palestinians are employing acts
of eliminationism against each other. Both sides act behind the shield
of religion and use this as a way to frenzy the masses into joining
either side.
It is ironic that a play written in the early 1600’s can be
used to describe a similar conflict in today’s society and said
conflict is one that has raged on for almost a century. At the
beginning of the play, Titus cites an age-old Roman custom as reason
for sacrificing Tamora’s first born son in payment for the twenty-one
he lost during the ten years he went to war. This act starts the
sequence of events that end in Titus and Tamora losing their lives, as
well as the lives all their children save two. Titus represents the
Israelis and Tamora represents the Arabs who were in Palestine under
the rule of the British in the early 1900’s. After the Israelis helped
the British beat back the Arab revolt, Britain leaves Palestine a few
years later. The Israelis seized control and named it the state of
Israel which caused a mass exile of Arab civilians who lived in
Palestine to move to neighboring countries like Jordan and Egypt. It
is similar to how Tamora has been forced from her homeland to go to
Rome and how she had to watch Titus take away her oldest son. The next
conflict came when Tamora agrees to her lover Aaron’s plan of her two
sons killing Bassianus and then raping Lavinia, instructing them to
cut Lavinia’s tongue and her hands to keep her from revealing her
rapists. Thus does she visit her revenge on Titus.
Revenge it, as you love your mother’s life.
Or be ye not henceforth call’d my children. (Tamora Act II.3 114-115)
Titus and Tamora as well as Israel and Palestine continue their
conflict and the cycle of hatred, suffering and death. In the play the
cycle of hatred only ends when nearly every major character in the
story is dead. This cannot be the solution to the conflict between
Israel and Palestine. Both sides have peace talks and truces most of
the time until a radical on either side breaks the treaty and attacks
innocent civilians.
In the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, one can easily
identify the elements of eliminationism that both sides employ. The
Israelis for example make life so hard for the Arabs or Palestinians
who still live in Israel that it will force them to leave.
Palestinians on the other hand are less subtle than their Israeli
counterparts. They employ suicide bombers who target civilians and
basically force Israeli citizens to leave their dwellings and move
away. These Palestinians are believed to be acting under the orders of
a movement that Goldhagen describes in his book as Political Islam.
“Political Islam is many things: totalitarian, aggressive, conquering,
cocksure about its superiority, and destiny to rule, bristling with
resentment, only tenuously in touch with aspects of reality.” This is
the basic definition that Goldhagen uses to describe Political Islam.
They are the ones who are pushing for Islamic supremacy in the Middle
East and they want those who are non-islamic to either leave or to
convert to their religion. The Israeli government however is not
completely blameless in this matter. During last year’s peace talks,
Israel went forward with construction of housing units in the West
Bank, defying President Obama’s request to halt the expansion of
Israeli settlements as a gesture of goodwill and cooperation towards
the Palestinians. This in turn gave Arab states a reason to step back
from the negotiation talks, thus stymieing any progress in
establishing a peace deal (“The Settlements Issue,” 2009). Both sides
have determined that if they do not get what they want they would
rather go to war and keep up the cycle of violence. In Titus
Andronicus, Tamora refuses to stop her quest of vengeance of Titus
until all his children are dead and he himself dies after he suffers.
Titus went to the next level when he found out what Tamora planned and
how Lavinia was raped by her two sons. Titus killed Tamora’s two sons
and fed them to her in a pie. The level these two were willing to go
to get their revenge was just barbaric. The Israeli and Palestinian
conflict has gone on for so long that we need to use aggressive and
firm negotiations and also a forceful approach to this debacle. I
believe that as long as the Israelis will be given Jerusalem and
Palestinians would be given the Gaza Strip as well as the West Bank
without any military occupations by Israel, a tenuous peace agreement
may be reached. Palestinian citizens should also be treated fairly and
be allowed to live peacefully should they want to in Israel and they
should not have to be forced out. Palestine and the Arab states, in
turn, need to signal a greater acceptance of Israel. Last year,
President Obama unsuccessfully lobbied for Arab states to grant
overflight rights to Israeli planes, and for the states to open trade
and consular offices in Israel (“Squandering the Moment, 2009). More
recently, the Obama administration is pushing for “proximity talks,”
with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell traveling back and forth
between Jerusalem and the West Bank in an effort to revive the two-
state solution (“Diplomacy 102,” 2010). The United Nations along with
the United States and the European Union should enforce this treaty
and severely punish those who would try to break whatever peace is
formed between the two sides. If we are able to accomplish these
things we might be able to halt the century long violence that has
plagued this part of the world perhaps even permanently. We should
also make sure that the influence of both Israeli militant groups and
Political Islam extremist should be kept away from the leaders of both
sides. I believe that this will probably be the most difficult part of
this solution. The influence of these two groups are far reaching and
they are both willing to do anything to get what they want and they
also believe with all their body and soul that what they are doing and
what they must do is justified by their God.
Brian Cox’s piece on Titus states, “ In our century the context for
this play has never been more powerful. When Peter Brook produced it
in 1951 the shadow of totalitarianism was very much upon us… And now
we have the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, the breakdown of social
units…This may seem an over-generalized spectrum of events relating to
just one play by Shakespeare, but every one of those incidents has its
parallel in Titus Andronicus’ (1993: 176). The similarities we find
when we look closely at the violence and eliminationist methods
employed today and the brutality that Shakespeare writes about in his
play shows how similar we are today and also in the past. Furthermore
the two most violent characters in the play were Titus and Tamora.
They both showed willingness and ingenuity in their methods of revenge
against one another. They both targeted the others loved ones because
they wanted the other party to suffer before succumbing to death in
the end. The Israeli and Palestinians also displayed their brutality
and eliminationist acts towards civilians of the other group. They
rarely attacked a military compound or a military base; rather they
chose to concentrate their attacks on civilian population centers. I
still believe that with aggressive and forceful diplomacy we will be
able to settle this century long conflict that has plagued the people
who reside in said lands of conflict.
References
Brzezinski, Z. and Solarz, S. (2010, April 11). To achieve Mideast
peace, Obama must make a bold Mideast trip. The Washington Post.
Retrieved May 19, 2010, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/09/AR2010040903263.html
Cox, B. (1993). “Titus Andronicus”, in Players of Shakespeare 3:
Further Essays in Shakespearian Performance by Players with the Royal
Shakespeare Company, eds. Russell Jackson and Robert Smallwood. New
York: Cambridge, 174-88.
(2010, March 10). Diplomacy 102. Ed. The New York Times. Retrieved
May 18, 2010, from .
(2009, July 30). The Settlements Issue. Ed. The New York Times.
Retrieved May 19, 2010, from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/31/opinion/31fri1.html.
(2009, September 15). Squandering the Moment. Ed. The New York
Times. Retrieved May 18, 2010, from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/opinion/15tue1.html
Goldhagen, D.J. (2009). Worse Than War: Genocide, Eliminationism, and
the Ongoing Assault on Humanity. Public Affairs, a member of the
Perseus Books Group.
Shakespeare, W. (1975). The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. New
York: Random House, 919-946.
Recognizing Israel's right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza,
reaffirming the United States' strong support for Israel, and
supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process (Introduced in the
House)
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 34
Recognizing Israel's right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza,
reaffirming the United States strong support for Israel, and
supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 8, 2009
Sponsor: Ms. PELOSI (for herself, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. HOYER, Mr. CANTOR,
Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. PENCE, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. MCCARTHY of
California, Mr. BERMAN, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. ACKERMAN, and Mr. BURTON
of Indiana) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Foreign Affairs
Latest Major Action: 1/9/2009 Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On
motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution Agreed to by
the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 390 - 5, 22 Present (Roll no. 10).
RESOLUTION
Recognizing Israel's right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza,
reaffirming the United States strong support for Israel, and
supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Whereas Hamas was founded with the stated goal of destroying the State
of Israel;
Whereas Hamas has been designated by the United States as a Foreign
Terrorist Organization;
Whereas Hamas has refused to comply with the Quartet's (the United
States, the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations)
requirements that Hamas recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce
violence, and agree to accept previous agreements between Israel and
the Palestinians;
Whereas in June 2006, Hamas illegally crossed into Israel, attacked
Israeli forces, and kidnaped Corporal Gilad Shalit, whom they continue
to hold today;
Whereas Hamas has launched thousands of rockets and mortars against
Israeli population centers since 2001, and has launched more than
6,000 such rockets and mortars since Israel withdrew its civilian
population and its military from Gaza in 2005;
Whereas Hamas has increased the range and payload of its rockets,
reportedly with support from Iran and others, putting hundreds of
thousands of Israelis in danger of rocket attacks from Gaza;
Whereas Hamas locates elements of its terrorist infrastructure in
civilian population centers, thus using innocent civilians as human
shields;
Whereas Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement on
December 27, 2008, that `We strongly condemn the repeated rocket and
mortar attacks against Israel and hold Hamas responsible for breaking
the cease-fire and for the renewal of violence there';
Whereas on December 27, 2008, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said,
`For approximately seven years, hundreds of thousands of Israeli
citizens in the south have been suffering from missiles being fired at
them. . . . In such a situation we had no alternative but to respond.
We do not rejoice in battle but neither will we be deterred from
it. . . . The operation in the Gaza Strip is designed, first and
foremost, to bring about an improvement in the security reality for
the residents of the south of the country';
Whereas the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including shortages of
food, water, electricity, and adequate medical care, is becoming more
acute;
Whereas Israel has facilitated humanitarian aid to Gaza with hundreds
of trucks carrying humanitarian assistance and numerous ambulances
entering the Gaza Strip since the current round of fighting began on
December 27, 2008;
Whereas on January 6, 2009, before the United Nations Security
Council, Secretary Rice stated that: `The situation before the current
events in Gaza was clearly not sustainable. Hundreds of thousands of
Israelis lived under the daily threat of rocket attack, and frankly,
no country, none of our countries, would have been willing to tolerate
such a circumstance. Moreover, the people of Gaza watched as
insecurity and lawlessness increased and as their living conditions
grew more dire because of Hamas's actions which began with the illegal
coup against the Palestinian Authority in Gaza. . . . A ceasefire that
returns to those circumstances is unacceptable and it will not last';
and
Whereas the ultimate goal of the United States is a sustainable
resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that will ensure the
welfare, security, and survival of the State of Israel as a Jewish and
democratic state with secure borders, and a viable, independent, and
democratic Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security
with the State of Israel: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) expresses vigorous support and unwavering commitment to the
welfare, security, and survival of the State of Israel as a Jewish and
democratic state with secure borders, and recognizes its right to act
in self-defense to protect its citizens against Hamas's unceasing
aggression, as enshrined in the United Nations Charter;
(2) reiterates that Hamas must end the rocket and mortar attacks
against Israel, recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce violence,
agree to accept previous agreements between Israel and the
Palestinians, and verifiably dismantle its terrorist infrastructure;
(3) encourages the Administration to work actively to support a
durable and sustainable cease-fire in Gaza , as soon as possible, that
prevents Hamas from retaining or rebuilding its terrorist
infrastructure, including the capability to launch rockets and mortars
against Israel, and thereby allowing for the long-term improvement of
daily living conditions for the people of Gaza;
(4) believes strongly that the lives of innocent civilians must be
protected to the maximum extent possible, expresses condolences to
innocent Palestinian and Israeli victims and their families, and
reiterates that humanitarian needs in Gaza should be addressed
promptly and responsibly;
(5) calls on all nations--
(A) to condemn Hamas for deliberately embedding its fighters,
leaders, and weapons in private homes, schools, mosques, hospitals,
and otherwise using Palestinian civilians as human shields, while
simultaneously targeting Israeli civilians; and
(B) to lay blame both for the breaking of the `calm' and for
subsequent civilian casualties in Gaza precisely where blame belongs,
that is, on Hamas;
(6) supports and encourages efforts to diminish the appeal and
influence of extremists in the Palestinian territories, and strengthen
moderate Palestinians who are committed to a secure and lasting peace
with Israel;
(7) calls on Egypt to intensify its efforts to halt smuggling between
Gaza and Egypt and affirms the willingness of the United States to
continue to assist Egypt in these efforts;
(8) calls for the immediate release of the kidnaped Israeli soldier
Gilad Shalit, who has been illegally held in Gaza since June 2006; and
(9) reiterates its strong support for a just and sustainable
resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict achieved through
negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in order to
ensure the welfare, security, and survival of the State of Israel as a
Jewish and democratic state with secure borders, and a viable,
independent, and democratic Palestinian state living side by side in
peace and security with the State of Israel.
Reference
Pelosi, Rep. N. ( 2009, January 9). House Resolution 34, (Thomas)
Library of Congress. Recognizing Israel's right to defend itself
against attacks from Gaza, reaffirming the United States' strong
support for Israel, and supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace
process. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d111:19:./temp/~bdNRwO::|/bss/111search.html|
In an April 11 article for the Washington Post, journalists Brzezinski
and Solarz opine that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu would
forego peace if it meant parceling a portion of Jerusalem to
Palestine. For their part, Palestinians contend that East Jerusalem
should be their state capital. This is just a facet, albeit an
important one, of the ongoing turmoil between Israelis and
Palestinians that fuel the endless cycle of violent retaliation
between the two groups. The characters Titus and Tamora mirror this
same cycle in a smaller, but no less bloody, scale of revenge and
hatred that continues on and on in the world today. They both
represent two opposite sides of the same coin and neither will stop
while the other lives and thrives. Titus represents the Israelis, who
fights for his nation and believes wholly that what he is doing is
right and that his actions against Tamora and the Goths were
justified. Tamora decides to take it to the same level as Titus and
takes it out on his family in hopes of watching him suffer.
The self-same gods that arm’d the Queen of Toy
With opportunity of sharp revenge
Upon the Thracian tyrant in his tent,
May favor Tamora, the Queen of Goths—
When Goths were Goths and Tamora was queen—
To quit the bloody wrongs upon her foes. (Demetrius Act 1.i 136-141)
It is evident that both Israelis and Palestinians are employing acts
of eliminationism against each other. Both sides act behind the shield
of religion and use this as a way to frenzy the masses into joining
either side.
It is ironic that a play written in the early 1600’s can be
used to describe a similar conflict in today’s society and said
conflict is one that has raged on for almost a century. At the
beginning of the play, Titus cites an age-old Roman custom as reason
for sacrificing Tamora’s first born son in payment for the twenty-one
he lost during the ten years he went to war. This act starts the
sequence of events that end in Titus and Tamora losing their lives, as
well as the lives all their children save two. Titus represents the
Israelis and Tamora represents the Arabs who were in Palestine under
the rule of the British in the early 1900’s. After the Israelis helped
the British beat back the Arab revolt, Britain leaves Palestine a few
years later. The Israelis seized control and named it the state of
Israel which caused a mass exile of Arab civilians who lived in
Palestine to move to neighboring countries like Jordan and Egypt. It
is similar to how Tamora has been forced from her homeland to go to
Rome and how she had to watch Titus take away her oldest son. The next
conflict came when Tamora agrees to her lover Aaron’s plan of her two
sons killing Bassianus and then raping Lavinia, instructing them to
cut Lavinia’s tongue and her hands to keep her from revealing her
rapists. Thus does she visit her revenge on Titus.
Revenge it, as you love your mother’s life.
Or be ye not henceforth call’d my children. (Tamora Act II.3 114-115)
Titus and Tamora as well as Israel and Palestine continue their
conflict and the cycle of hatred, suffering and death. In the play the
cycle of hatred only ends when nearly every major character in the
story is dead. This cannot be the solution to the conflict between
Israel and Palestine. Both sides have peace talks and truces most of
the time until a radical on either side breaks the treaty and attacks
innocent civilians.
In the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, one can easily
identify the elements of eliminationism that both sides employ. The
Israelis for example make life so hard for the Arabs or Palestinians
who still live in Israel that it will force them to leave.
Palestinians on the other hand are less subtle than their Israeli
counterparts. They employ suicide bombers who target civilians and
basically force Israeli citizens to leave their dwellings and move
away. These Palestinians are believed to be acting under the orders of
a movement that Goldhagen describes in his book as Political Islam.
“Political Islam is many things: totalitarian, aggressive, conquering,
cocksure about its superiority, and destiny to rule, bristling with
resentment, only tenuously in touch with aspects of reality.” This is
the basic definition that Goldhagen uses to describe Political Islam.
They are the ones who are pushing for Islamic supremacy in the Middle
East and they want those who are non-islamic to either leave or to
convert to their religion. The Israeli government however is not
completely blameless in this matter. During last year’s peace talks,
Israel went forward with construction of housing units in the West
Bank, defying President Obama’s request to halt the expansion of
Israeli settlements as a gesture of goodwill and cooperation towards
the Palestinians. This in turn gave Arab states a reason to step back
from the negotiation talks, thus stymieing any progress in
establishing a peace deal (“The Settlements Issue,” 2009). Both sides
have determined that if they do not get what they want they would
rather go to war and keep up the cycle of violence. In Titus
Andronicus, Tamora refuses to stop her quest of vengeance of Titus
until all his children are dead and he himself dies after he suffers.
Titus went to the next level when he found out what Tamora planned and
how Lavinia was raped by her two sons. Titus killed Tamora’s two sons
and fed them to her in a pie. The level these two were willing to go
to get their revenge was just barbaric. The Israeli and Palestinian
conflict has gone on for so long that we need to use aggressive and
firm negotiations and also a forceful approach to this debacle. I
believe that as long as the Israelis will be given Jerusalem and
Palestinians would be given the Gaza Strip as well as the West Bank
without any military occupations by Israel, a tenuous peace agreement
may be reached. Palestinian citizens should also be treated fairly and
be allowed to live peacefully should they want to in Israel and they
should not have to be forced out. Palestine and the Arab states, in
turn, need to signal a greater acceptance of Israel. Last year,
President Obama unsuccessfully lobbied for Arab states to grant
overflight rights to Israeli planes, and for the states to open trade
and consular offices in Israel (“Squandering the Moment, 2009). More
recently, the Obama administration is pushing for “proximity talks,”
with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell traveling back and forth
between Jerusalem and the West Bank in an effort to revive the two-
state solution (“Diplomacy 102,” 2010). The United Nations along with
the United States and the European Union should enforce this treaty
and severely punish those who would try to break whatever peace is
formed between the two sides. If we are able to accomplish these
things we might be able to halt the century long violence that has
plagued this part of the world perhaps even permanently. We should
also make sure that the influence of both Israeli militant groups and
Political Islam extremist should be kept away from the leaders of both
sides. I believe that this will probably be the most difficult part of
this solution. The influence of these two groups are far reaching and
they are both willing to do anything to get what they want and they
also believe with all their body and soul that what they are doing and
what they must do is justified by their God.
Brian Cox’s piece on Titus states, “ In our century the context for
this play has never been more powerful. When Peter Brook produced it
in 1951 the shadow of totalitarianism was very much upon us… And now
we have the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, the breakdown of social
units…This may seem an over-generalized spectrum of events relating to
just one play by Shakespeare, but every one of those incidents has its
parallel in Titus Andronicus’ (1993: 176). The similarities we find
when we look closely at the violence and eliminationist methods
employed today and the brutality that Shakespeare writes about in his
play shows how similar we are today and also in the past. Furthermore
the two most violent characters in the play were Titus and Tamora.
They both showed willingness and ingenuity in their methods of revenge
against one another. They both targeted the others loved ones because
they wanted the other party to suffer before succumbing to death in
the end. The Israeli and Palestinians also displayed their brutality
and eliminationist acts towards civilians of the other group. They
rarely attacked a military compound or a military base; rather they
chose to concentrate their attacks on civilian population centers. I
still believe that with aggressive and forceful diplomacy we will be
able to settle this century long conflict that has plagued the people
who reside in said lands of conflict.
References
Brzezinski, Z. and Solarz, S. (2010, April 11). To achieve Mideast
peace, Obama must make a bold Mideast trip. The Washington Post.
Retrieved May 19, 2010, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/09/AR2010040903263.html
Cox, B. (1993). “Titus Andronicus”, in Players of Shakespeare 3:
Further Essays in Shakespearian Performance by Players with the Royal
Shakespeare Company, eds. Russell Jackson and Robert Smallwood. New
York: Cambridge, 174-88.
(2010, March 10). Diplomacy 102. Ed. The New York Times. Retrieved
May 18, 2010, from .
(2009, July 30). The Settlements Issue. Ed. The New York Times.
Retrieved May 19, 2010, from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/31/opinion/31fri1.html.
(2009, September 15). Squandering the Moment. Ed. The New York
Times. Retrieved May 18, 2010, from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/opinion/15tue1.html
Goldhagen, D.J. (2009). Worse Than War: Genocide, Eliminationism, and
the Ongoing Assault on Humanity. Public Affairs, a member of the
Perseus Books Group.
Shakespeare, W. (1975). The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. New
York: Random House, 919-946.
Recognizing Israel's right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza,
reaffirming the United States' strong support for Israel, and
supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process (Introduced in the
House)
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 34
Recognizing Israel's right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza,
reaffirming the United States strong support for Israel, and
supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 8, 2009
Sponsor: Ms. PELOSI (for herself, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. HOYER, Mr. CANTOR,
Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. PENCE, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. MCCARTHY of
California, Mr. BERMAN, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. ACKERMAN, and Mr. BURTON
of Indiana) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Foreign Affairs
Latest Major Action: 1/9/2009 Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On
motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution Agreed to by
the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 390 - 5, 22 Present (Roll no. 10).
RESOLUTION
Recognizing Israel's right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza,
reaffirming the United States strong support for Israel, and
supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Whereas Hamas was founded with the stated goal of destroying the State
of Israel;
Whereas Hamas has been designated by the United States as a Foreign
Terrorist Organization;
Whereas Hamas has refused to comply with the Quartet's (the United
States, the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations)
requirements that Hamas recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce
violence, and agree to accept previous agreements between Israel and
the Palestinians;
Whereas in June 2006, Hamas illegally crossed into Israel, attacked
Israeli forces, and kidnaped Corporal Gilad Shalit, whom they continue
to hold today;
Whereas Hamas has launched thousands of rockets and mortars against
Israeli population centers since 2001, and has launched more than
6,000 such rockets and mortars since Israel withdrew its civilian
population and its military from Gaza in 2005;
Whereas Hamas has increased the range and payload of its rockets,
reportedly with support from Iran and others, putting hundreds of
thousands of Israelis in danger of rocket attacks from Gaza;
Whereas Hamas locates elements of its terrorist infrastructure in
civilian population centers, thus using innocent civilians as human
shields;
Whereas Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement on
December 27, 2008, that `We strongly condemn the repeated rocket and
mortar attacks against Israel and hold Hamas responsible for breaking
the cease-fire and for the renewal of violence there';
Whereas on December 27, 2008, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said,
`For approximately seven years, hundreds of thousands of Israeli
citizens in the south have been suffering from missiles being fired at
them. . . . In such a situation we had no alternative but to respond.
We do not rejoice in battle but neither will we be deterred from
it. . . . The operation in the Gaza Strip is designed, first and
foremost, to bring about an improvement in the security reality for
the residents of the south of the country';
Whereas the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including shortages of
food, water, electricity, and adequate medical care, is becoming more
acute;
Whereas Israel has facilitated humanitarian aid to Gaza with hundreds
of trucks carrying humanitarian assistance and numerous ambulances
entering the Gaza Strip since the current round of fighting began on
December 27, 2008;
Whereas on January 6, 2009, before the United Nations Security
Council, Secretary Rice stated that: `The situation before the current
events in Gaza was clearly not sustainable. Hundreds of thousands of
Israelis lived under the daily threat of rocket attack, and frankly,
no country, none of our countries, would have been willing to tolerate
such a circumstance. Moreover, the people of Gaza watched as
insecurity and lawlessness increased and as their living conditions
grew more dire because of Hamas's actions which began with the illegal
coup against the Palestinian Authority in Gaza. . . . A ceasefire that
returns to those circumstances is unacceptable and it will not last';
and
Whereas the ultimate goal of the United States is a sustainable
resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that will ensure the
welfare, security, and survival of the State of Israel as a Jewish and
democratic state with secure borders, and a viable, independent, and
democratic Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security
with the State of Israel: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) expresses vigorous support and unwavering commitment to the
welfare, security, and survival of the State of Israel as a Jewish and
democratic state with secure borders, and recognizes its right to act
in self-defense to protect its citizens against Hamas's unceasing
aggression, as enshrined in the United Nations Charter;
(2) reiterates that Hamas must end the rocket and mortar attacks
against Israel, recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce violence,
agree to accept previous agreements between Israel and the
Palestinians, and verifiably dismantle its terrorist infrastructure;
(3) encourages the Administration to work actively to support a
durable and sustainable cease-fire in Gaza , as soon as possible, that
prevents Hamas from retaining or rebuilding its terrorist
infrastructure, including the capability to launch rockets and mortars
against Israel, and thereby allowing for the long-term improvement of
daily living conditions for the people of Gaza;
(4) believes strongly that the lives of innocent civilians must be
protected to the maximum extent possible, expresses condolences to
innocent Palestinian and Israeli victims and their families, and
reiterates that humanitarian needs in Gaza should be addressed
promptly and responsibly;
(5) calls on all nations--
(A) to condemn Hamas for deliberately embedding its fighters,
leaders, and weapons in private homes, schools, mosques, hospitals,
and otherwise using Palestinian civilians as human shields, while
simultaneously targeting Israeli civilians; and
(B) to lay blame both for the breaking of the `calm' and for
subsequent civilian casualties in Gaza precisely where blame belongs,
that is, on Hamas;
(6) supports and encourages efforts to diminish the appeal and
influence of extremists in the Palestinian territories, and strengthen
moderate Palestinians who are committed to a secure and lasting peace
with Israel;
(7) calls on Egypt to intensify its efforts to halt smuggling between
Gaza and Egypt and affirms the willingness of the United States to
continue to assist Egypt in these efforts;
(8) calls for the immediate release of the kidnaped Israeli soldier
Gilad Shalit, who has been illegally held in Gaza since June 2006; and
(9) reiterates its strong support for a just and sustainable
resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict achieved through
negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in order to
ensure the welfare, security, and survival of the State of Israel as a
Jewish and democratic state with secure borders, and a viable,
independent, and democratic Palestinian state living side by side in
peace and security with the State of Israel.
Reference
Pelosi, Rep. N. ( 2009, January 9). House Resolution 34, (Thomas)
Library of Congress. Recognizing Israel's right to defend itself
against attacks from Gaza, reaffirming the United States' strong
support for Israel, and supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace
process. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d111:19:./temp/~bdNRwO::|/bss/111search.html|
BORIS KZ
May 29, 2010, 3:03:00 AM5/29/10
to English 101, spring 2010 online sections #0143 and #3226
Excellent homework and good undelined timeless world conflict. Let
them finished as soon as possible, because it is time for America to
wake up in regard its own problem ...
> Retrieved May 19, 2010, fromhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/09/AR201...
them finished as soon as possible, because it is time for America to
wake up in regard its own problem ...
>
> Cox, B. (1993). “Titus Andronicus”, in Players of Shakespeare 3:
> Further Essays in Shakespearian Performance by Players with the Royal
> Shakespeare Company, eds. Russell Jackson and Robert Smallwood. New
> York: Cambridge, 174-88.
>
> (2010, March 10). Diplomacy 102. Ed. The New York Times. Retrieved
> May 18, 2010, from .
>
> (2009, July 30). The Settlements Issue. Ed. The New York Times.
> Retrieved May 19, 2010, fromhttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/31/opinion/31fri1.html.
> Cox, B. (1993). “Titus Andronicus”, in Players of Shakespeare 3:
> Further Essays in Shakespearian Performance by Players with the Royal
> Shakespeare Company, eds. Russell Jackson and Robert Smallwood. New
> York: Cambridge, 174-88.
>
> (2010, March 10). Diplomacy 102. Ed. The New York Times. Retrieved
> May 18, 2010, from .
>
> (2009, July 30). The Settlements Issue. Ed. The New York Times.
> (2009, September 15). Squandering the Moment. Ed. The New York
> Times. Retrieved May 18, 2010, fromhttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/opinion/15tue1.html
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages