Killing Your Customers is Such a Bad Business Model

While Jimmy Carter is having a late-in-his-career Ben Franklin moment, denouncing "one of the greatest human rights crimes now existing on Earth," NPR on Tuesday morning scuttles to the high moral commercial ground to argue against the final solution to the Palestinian "problem" in Gaza. Just in case you might think it that wiping out Palestinian civilians through the ghetto tactics of unemployment, starvation, incarceration, lack of medicine, etc. is one of those crimes against humanity like collective punishment, Renee Montagne firmly reminds us that the Palestinians are to blame:

"...since Hamas took over Gaza almost a year ago Israel has frequently shut down the border crossings in response to Palestinian rocket or bombing attacks...."

Later in the report as if reading from the same IDF-approved script, Gradstein says, "the crossings between Israel and Gaza are frequently closed. Israel says that's in response to Palestinian rocket and mortar attacks." I guess the 2003 starvation of Gaza was in response to the Palestinian rocket and mortar attacks that the Israelis knew would be coming in a few years (perhaps the Pre-Cogs told them!)

With blame firmly established, the story focuses on the pain and deprivation that the slow killing of Gaza's residents is having...on Israeli famers! Montagne, not only blames the Gazans in her introduction but also explains that "the ongoing Israeli blockade of the Gaza strip is hurting farmers in Israel...costing Israeli farmers hundreds of thousands of dollars."

I imagine that some of you reading this are still chaffing at my use of the phrase "final solution" above - but, heck, I'll let Gradstein explain:

"Some Israeli politicians are calling on the government to permanently severe ties with Gaza, to completely seal the borders, to cut off electricity and fuel supplies and to stop all exports to Gaza."

If you read that too fast, I'd suggest reading it again - and really taking it in. It's a hell of a statement. If you get a chance you should hear Gradstein reading it on air, giving it the matter-of-fact treatment - as if it were a proposal to increase a sales tax or put in new street lights. Of course if you are like most moral, compassionate human beings you would wonder what this might mean for the already besieged civilians of Gaza. Not NPR, not Gradstein - the next words out of her mouth are "farmers like Eschel and Herzog say that would mean bankruptcy for hundreds of Israeli farmers."

Man, those poor Israeli farmers, better put a little extra something in the next whopping US foreign aid package for Israel.

(Click on image for source.)