'Let us simply be human beings, utterly human: let us weep'

'Let us simply be human beings, utterly human: let us weep'
By Harry de Quetteville, The Telegraph Group



Occupied Jerusalem: The conflict in Lebanon is a battle for the very survival of Israel, according to many Israeli newspapers, which have urged the government on accordingly despite the civilian death toll in Lebanon.

On the front pages of the country's two big-selling dailies on Monday, editorials raged at international condemnation of Israel for the attack on Qana, and warned of the dangers if such condemnation leads to a halt in the fighting.

"If Israel fails in this war, it will be impossible to continue to live in the Middle East,'' wrote the country's top seller, Yedioth Ahronoth, on its cover.

The front page of the mass circulation Maariv suggested a speech for the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, to deliver to the the world: "What is it about us, the Jews, the few and persecuted, that arouses all these instincts of cosmic justice in you?'' it read.

Other articles reacting to the Qana bombing were headlined "Regret, but no cease fire'' (in the left-leaning Haaretz) and "Sorry, but...'' (Maariv).

News of Israel's two-day suspension of its air campaign, later abandoned, broke just as Israeli papers went to press, giving them little time to comment on it. But as the day wore on the Israeli media focused on the implications of the widening ground offensive taking place in southern Lebanon.

Even so, the coverage was not all grim calls for more military action. Some commentators said Israel should ask for "forgiveness''.

"Usually it is difficult for us, as Israelis, to ask for forgiveness,'' Yedioth said in a second editorial. "This character trait is perceived by other peoples as a kind of Jewish arrogance and conceit, a display of indifference towards the fate of non-Jews, a position of constant victimhood. There is no room for this in the face of dozens of bodies. Let us simply be human beings, utterly human: let us weep.''

The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2006