‘TERROR TOURS’ OFFERED IN THE

‘TERROR TOURS’ OFFERED IN THE WEST BANK: The BBC has been reporting that “Jewish settlers are offering special ‘terror tours’ of the West Bank and Gaza, in which tourists will be trained to fire weapons and participate in mock fights with Arab militants.
Those who sign up for the four-day, $5,500 experience will “be taken on a helicopter tour of Palestinian ‘terrorist enclaves’ and be shown arms and suicide bomber belts seized by the Israeli army.” Amongst other attractions offered during the tour, organizer Jake Greenwald (a settler who immigrated to Israel from, guess where, the US of A) promised there would be, “talks by Israelis who took part in Israel’s military offensive in Jenin last April.”
Yes, that would be the same “offensive” during which Amnesty International and other investigators said Israel’s forces undertook actions that probably constituted war crimes. (Sharon refused to allow the UN’s specially mandated fact-finding team to visit the area to investigate.)
Greenwald’s whole project– for which he already claims to have some eager American customers– is grotesque and sad beyond belief. In addition to trading on the genuine misery of the Palestinians forced to scrabble for survival under the settlers’ jackboots, it also seems to trade obscenely on the whole genuinely-felt climate of fear experienced by many people in Israel and the United States… Ooh, terrorism, how divinely titillating! That unmatchable frisson of fear! Honey, shall we spend our vacation money on a “terror tour” in the West Bank this year?
As I said, obscene– and profoundly sad.