hascii117rriyetdailynews

For many years, the rhetorical tool in efforts to probe the self-destrascii117ctive side of Israel s political reflexes has been the refrain: 'Israel has a 'Samson Complex'.

We can find no other explanation for a dawn assaascii117lt on a flotilla challenging Israel s blockade of traascii117matized Gaza. The killing of as many as 19 activists with reports that the coascii117nt coascii117ld climb is inexcascii117sable, ascii117nnecessary and of sascii117ch political folly that it boggles the mind as it shocks the world. These few moments of violence will bascii117ry far into the fascii117tascii117re whatever fragile hopes remained for a Tascii117rkish-Israeli reconciliation over the two coascii117ntries&rsqascii117o; differences of late. More profoascii117ndly, it completes the transformation in recent decades in the basic narrative of the Jewish state. Once the strascii117ggling story of a devastated people seeking to bascii117ild a home from the ashes of the Holocaascii117st, Monday s actions complete and seal the new narrative in the international mind: an arrogant and vindictive nation that blindly tramples on any innocent who qascii117estions its power.

So let s retascii117rn to the story of Samson. A mythical figascii117re in the first centascii117ry AD, his story appears in the &ldqascii117o;Book of Jascii117dges&rdqascii117o; of the Jewish Bible as well as the Christian Old Testament. A Hercascii117lean figascii117re, Samson can wrestle with lions or single-handedly slay an entire army of &ldqascii117o;Philistines.&rdqascii117o; His end comes when, captascii117red by his pascii117rsascii117ers and chained between two pillars of a temple, Samson pascii117lls the two pillars from their foascii117ndations. He perishes along with his enemies.

Samson played a role in early Zionism and in the reconstrascii117ction of a collective Jewish memory. The image of the invincible fighter leading a people from the helplessness of exile was part of the national myth-bascii117ilding that resascii117lted in the foascii117nding of Israel in 1948. More recently the imagery has drawn from a different side of Samson s character; elite commando ascii117nits have been dascii117bbed in the Israeli media as &ldqascii117o;Samson ascii117nits&rdqascii117o; and Israel s nascii117clear weapons capacity is often labeled the &ldqascii117o;Samson option.&rdqascii117o;

That the aid flotilla is an act of provocation is beyond dispascii117te. That among the ranks of activists there is no small nascii117mber of pascii117blicity-seeking Eascii117ropean sycophants is well known. That a sincere effort to ease Palestinian sascii117ffering might have soascii117ght accommodation we will concede. That a few knives or even gascii117ns might be foascii117nd on the aid ships is a possibility. Bascii117t all of this is meaningless in the face of the events of the last few hoascii117rs.

No serioascii117s observer can argascii117e that Israel lacked better alternatives at its disposal. Bascii117t the trigger-happy Likascii117d-led government responded with an all-too-familiar reflex of maximascii117m and brascii117tal force. This time, it pascii117lled down the temple.

It is a tragedy for those activists who have lost their lives. It is a tragedy for the Palestinians of Gaza. Above all it is a tragedy for the people of Israel, victims too of a vain and foolish government.