The artist Marek Zulawski, translation & Polish-British culture

Hi,

Moving away from all the drinking and sex that you're used to reading about in this newsletter, I thought I'd translate something less controversial...

Yep, my father's thoughts on the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

It's noticeable how many of these talking points haven't changed much in 40-odd years. Is this region forever doomed to be at war?

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Thoughts on the 1982 Lebanon War

Nobody can ignore the Israeli army's recent invasion of Lebanon.

This is the first aggressive war waged by Jews in 3000 years. Since the mythical conquest of the Promised Land, all the wars that the Jews ever waged against the Assyrians, Egyptians, Romans and Arabs have always been defensive wars.

Up until now, Jews have never had a reason to feel guilty for inflicting destruction and suffering upon others. They were probably the only people in the world that had a clear conscience.

But that's why there is now a large section of Israeli society having such a strong reaction to the Israeli army's completely new role in the Lebanon War.

In Israel itself, there have been extremely violent public demonstrations against the invasion. For the first time, even soldiers on leave from the front are demonstrating. Some refuse to return. There is heated discussion throughout the country about whether this war has been necessary at all.

All this proves the incredible sensitivity of Israeli society to the question of the rightness and wrongness of its government's actions. At least when it comes to morality.

Their government is constantly making excuses and justifications to the public. Because in Israel, not only abroad, many voices are saying that the Lebanon War has destroyed the moral face of Israel in the eyes of the world. This outcry alone proves that comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, as the foreign press so eagerly does, is just shameful slander.

Imagine anyone in Hitler's Germany daring to demonstrate in city squares against the invasion of Poland in 1939. I'd also like to see public demonstrations in Moscow against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, or mass protests in England against the Falklands debacle. And it must be emphasised that these three operations were far less justified than the Israeli one, the aim of which was simply to dismantle once and for all the armed presence in Lebanon of the Palestinian military organisation the PLO, which has completely openly and officially announced its goal to eliminate the Israeli state.

Well, no country in the world would voluntarily agree to tolerate organisations with these types of goals on its border if it had the means to put an end to the situation.

Screenshot from a YouTube video compiling footage from the war

The armed forces of the PLO, forcibly expelled by King Hussein from Jordan, where they had begun to reign, broke into defenceless Lebanon and organised a state within a state there. The Lebanese had less and less say in their own country since the PLO was in power over much of it. It's no wonder that the inhabitants of southern Lebanon welcomed the Israeli armoured columns with joy.

In any case, there can be no doubt that the invasion of southern Lebanon was met with greater condemnation in England than in southern Lebanon, where the inhabitants — as reported by that wonderful and experienced columnist Conor Cruise O'Brien, who investigated the matter on the ground and spoke to the people — consider themselves liberated from Palestinian occupation.

Everything indicates that Israeli intervention in Lebanon was indeed necessary to expel the armed PLO troops and put an end once and for all to the terrorist raids in northern Galilee. For years, farmers there have often had to go to work with a rifle over their shoulder. It's where in every kibbutz on the border — as I saw myself — there is always one windowless building where, in the event of an alarm, women with children and the elderly can escape the guns of terrorists who then retreat safely to their camps in southern Lebanon.

Ever since the UN placed its "peacekeeping force" there on the narrow border strip, PLO terrorists have been shelling Jewish settlements straight past their heads. You have to remember that these are all small countries and the distances are ridiculously small. It is worth keeping in mind, for example, that the Syrian artillery on the Golan Heights, whose abandoned positions I saw myself, had the entire Galilee Valley in their range.

In the long run, no country can live like this, and no peoples can be expected to agree to such a situation. The Arab states decided to push Israel into the sea, and they would have done so were it not for the great fortitude of the Jews, who, after terrible persecution in Europe, finally regained their Promised Land in 1948.

Meanwhile, the Jews did not expel the Palestinian Arab population from this land, one granted to them by UN resolution. There are a lot of Arabs in Israel and, as Israeli citizens, they have the same rights as the Jewish population, but the PLO wants to create an independent Arab state there and stop Jewish immigration into it. Of course, the PLO does not represent the views of all Palestinian Arabs, who mostly want to live and work in peace. It's only the PLO that's at war with Israel.

Screenshot from a YouTube video compiling footage from the war

Using deceitful and inexcusable tactics, Arafat placed his armed forces as well as weapons and ammunition depots in densely-populated Lebanese cities. That's why the war has resulted in such great losses among the innocent population of these cities. Tyre, Sidon, Nabatieh and Beirut have all been greatly damaged by the Israeli forces' bombing. If the PLO's troops had not been hiding behind the backs of Lebanese civilians, if their tanks and guns had not been stationed in the courtyards of the city's apartment blocks, if their Russian mortars, heavy machine guns and rocket launchers had not been placed on the roofs of hospitals - these cities would not have been destroyed. If the PLO troops had withdrawn from Beirut, there would have been no need to wage war on its streets and the Lebanese population would not have suffered at all. Because — I repeat — Israel was not at war with Lebanon, but with the PLO. Israel does not need a single piece of Lebanese land. All it needs is peace to work and peace with the Arabs who have sworn to destroy it.

All this is tragic, but the Israeli command could have prevented the greatest tragedy. In mid-September, after the evacuation of troops from Beirut under UN supervision, the militia of the Christian (very Christian) Lebanese party carried out a terrible massacre in the civilian camps of Palestinian refugees. The Israeli military command did nothing to prevent it. Now investigations are ongoing as to who is responsible for allowing the Lebanese militia into these camps. It was easy to predict that the Lebanese would act cruelly against the hated Palestinians. The fact that caches of Russian weapons and ammunition were also found in these camps does not change the situation from a moral point of view. The Jews allowed this massacre to take place and they feel guilty. Prime Minister Begin and Defence Minister General Sharon stand before a tribunal of all Jewry. The world of Hitler, Stalin, General Franco, and even sweet Iden, who sent thousands of Cossacks from Denikin's army to certain death in Russia — has no right to judge them.

However, it's worth noting that the entire Western press blames the Jews for this massacre, and nowhere does any newspaper condemn the Lebanese militia, even though they were the ones who carried out the massacre.

Is this yet more proof of widespread antisemitism, namely completely irrational hostility towards the people to whom we owe our basic ethical guidelines?

There is no doubt that the white man's civilisation is based on three pillars: Roman law, Greek philosophy, and Moses' Ten Commandments.

It's all a case of history repeating, isn't it?

I find it interesting that Russia is taking a sneaky backseat part in what's happening, much like in today's Israel-Palestine conflict. I also can't help but roll my eyes when my father sometimes conflates the terms "Israelis" with "Jews". Although he defends Israel's decision to defend itself from the PLO he also condemns the deaths of innocent Palestinians, so I am wondering what he would make of the much more intense and depressing situation we have today.

There are some worrying parallels too, as I'm sure actual historians know only too well, since 1982's events are said to be one of the roots that inspired more extreme organisations like Hamas to form. What kind of angry organisations are likely to appear after the current tragic mess?

A slightly lighter tangent to finish this section though: a model enthusiast on the Internet calling himself OpRN has made little models of the conflict's Israeli military vehicles. They are somehow quite cute.

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My grandparents in 2024

Last week, a portrait of my grandmother Kazimiera by Witkacy was sold at auction for 230,000 PLN (about 46,000 GBP).

It was made by Witkacy at the Zofiówka guest house that my grandmother used to run in Toruń during the 1920s. I don't know who bought it but I hope it goes on display again somewhere - it was part of the big Witkacy exhibition in Warsaw two years ago.

As for my grandfather Jerzy, there has been some progress with his 150th anniversary this year including collaborations with the Polish Space Agency. The Polish Science Fiction Foundation has announced the following events will be associated with him this year:

• European Rover Challenge 2024 (EFK)
• Copernicon 2024 w randze Polconu (Thorn)
• VII Space Resources Conference (AGH)
• Konsiliencyjna Konferencja Kosmiczna 4.0 (Ad Astra)
• World Space Week Wrocław (WroSpace)
• IV Kongres Futurologiczny (PFFN)
• Misja Analogowa "Żuławski" (Lunares)

The Space Resources Conference is on today, in fact, in Kraków.

In Warsaw tomorrow, Przemysław Rudź will premiere his "On the Silver Globe" music piece for the first time at the Copernicus Science Centre.

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That's all for this week. Many thanks for reading.

Adam

Adam Zulawski

TranslatingMarek.com / TranslatePolishMemoirs.com / Other stuff

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