"Learning to kill a Palestinian for only 100 euros" is the strength of one of the many Israeli companies that offer tourists shooting courses on "Arab terrorist" targets. "In life, they are accountants, bankers or businessmen. Some of them are already retired. But today these Hong Kong tourists think they are Israeli army commandos specializing in counterterrorism," says Judy Maltz of the Israeli newspaper. Haaretz. The reporter made a report for the Caliber 3 company, which is based in the illegal settlement of Gush Etzion in the occupied West Bank.
After firing a few live bullets at targets - in this case a photo of a Palestinian youth with a slingshot, or another, showing a Palestinian with a simple keffiyeh - Hong Kong bankers seem less inhibited, and some show a certain amount of fun, says Judy Malz. "Military tourism" is an institution as old as Israel, where barracks have always kept houses open, especially for Israelis.
But in these times of neoliberalism, the idea of making skull padding a lucrative activity has flourished, and private start-ups have sprung up that target a foreign clientele, the only ones who can pay, especially American Jewish tourists.
"Today, a stay in Israel cannot be limited to Yad Vashem, the Dead Sea or a tour of the Old City of Jerusalem. Hence the idea of selling tourists something more exciting. To Americans, in particular, we say:" In your country you have the right to have weapons; we will teach you how to use them, "says one of these death merchants.
Susan Parker, married mother of two aged 10 and 13, agrees: "Our children are tired of being dragged into museums. So when we told them they were going to shoot a real gun, they immediately agreed." .
At Caliber 3, it costs $ 115 for a two-hour "shooting adventure", which includes simulated suicide bombing, shooting at Arab targets, and a demonstration of attack dogs to scare survivors of the SS camps. But the instructors will then explain to their clientele that the world's most moral army dogs have a keen perception of the price of a human life, unlike those Palestinians who are less than animals, as the Talmud teaches.
http://www.haaretz.com/misc/article-print-page/1.800375