The Israeli Left, On Occasion, Can Be Quite Dreary

From the Times' article about Haiti-related hand-wringing:

But on the same page, another commentator, Larry Derfner, argued that while Israel's field hospital in Haiti is a reflection of something deep in the nation's character, "so is everything that's summed up in the name of 'Gaza.' " He wrote: "It's the Haiti side of Israel that makes the Gaza side so inexpressibly tragic. And more and more, the Haiti part of the national character has been dwarfed by the Gaza part."

If Derfner can't figure out the difference between Haiti and Gaza in the minds of Israelis, perhaps he should pay a visit to Sderot. I'm not arguing for the closure of Gaza, of course. But perhaps there's a reason that the welfare of Gaza is not uppermost in the hearts of the average Israeli.