AC writes:
Some context for the “video posted below”
The tank that the cute child is perched upon at 0:09 is evidently the Israeli-designed-and-built Merkava. It’s based on the the Hebrew word for chariot, Merkabah, a reference to the chariot of the Divine.
It’s a real beauty. Yes, it is a heavy beast, but the turret is elegantly angled atop the hull, as if it were gently hovering, and cut to give the appearance that it’s slicing nimbly through the air. As its name connotes, the Merkava was designed to instill the fear of the
supernatural in its enemies and project an air of impenetrability. It was meant to be a fortress on wheels, essentially, and was imbued with abundant national pride — Israel’s righteous fighting machine. The invulnerability myth proved sustainable until the Merkava was deployed in the narrow streets and alleys of the occupied territories.
According to Israeli, Lebanese, and other observers, the myth was finally punctured during the 2006 war; Hezbollah emasculated the Merkava, usurped its divine throne. Al Jazeera produced a detailed and historical documentary on the Merkava, with much Israeli and Lebanese input, called “God’s Chariot,” which can be watched here.
On another topic, presented here is an article written by Sally Mallison and the late W. Thomas Mallison in 1982, soon after Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. It’s well researched if one can get a hold of it. The last paragraph is of pecial interest:
That was in 1982, 34 years after the first prominent instance of an “attempt to obliterate groups of people” by Israel. We are in 2009, 61 fateful years after the first such instance, 61 years replete with multitudes of successful “attempts”. Yet, we are laggard. We are
loath to call this, that or that, this, wayward in our duty to stare with fixed gaze at the injustice which is menacingly calling for our attention, perhaps mocking us knowing that we are paralyzed because we are fickle.
