I'll give you some international outrage...

... at least, I would like to. Truly.

I've just read an article in today's Globe & Mail, which you might also like to read, at this link:(http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090114.wafghan14/BNStory/Afghanistan/home

Briefly, it concerns the horrific plight of a 14-year-old Afghani girl whose mother and brother performed an abortion on her with a razor blade. Rest assured that my outrage has nothing at all to do with abortion. No, it's about what they did to her. She is a 14-year-old who was raped and became pregnant, and at 5 months, two of the people who are supposed to love her best did this to her.

The girl is in an American hospital, airlifted there from Kabul, in critical condition. Her mother and brother, as well as the man who raped her, have been arrested. When her father (who wasn't arrested) brought her to the hospital, he told staff that she had been bitten (in the abdomen...) by a dog. They took one look at her and knew that he was lying.

So in Afganistan, it is more shameful for a child (because at 14, she is still a child!) to be pregnant as a result of rape than it is to be the rapist! Abortion is illegal there, so this poor girl was doubly traumatised to begin with - first the rape, then the horror of the pregnancy. One can only guess what home life was like when it became evident that she was pregnant.

So. To get to 'international outrage.' The Globe & Mail has closed comments on this article, even before a single comment was published. Where is the international outrage for the girl who was raped and further brutalised by her own family? Where is the international outrage at a society where a rapist could go unpunished, while his victim was further assaulted with a razor blade?!

No, we save our international outrage lately and hurl abuse at Israel, at Jews, and at those who support them, because Israel has responded to an assault begun by a terrorist group. Sure, that makes sense. I have to listen to people who insist that they "know what you think," even though they do not, because they have not asked me. For the record, I wish the United States would butt the heck out of Israel. Seriously. They should keep their money - they could spend it on education! Lord knows, they need it. Or health care. Or starvation in sub-Saharan Africa (which I was also told I obviously don't care about, because I support Israel).

And yes, I wish that those who are involved in this mess would find a way to peace. I know that the way is not with war - but neither is it with sitting there waiting to be annihilated. So, also for the record, I continue to support Israel's right to defend itself from Hamas. Golda Meir, former Prime Minster of Israel, said once, "There will be peace in the Middle East when Arabs learn to love their children more than they hate Jews." I don't think things have changed much since then.

Shalom...