The Associated Press caption for these photo reads, "Israeli girls write messages on a shell at a heavy artillery position near Kiryat Shmona, in northern Israel, next to the Lebanese border," Monday, July 17, 2006 [Via and so many other places on the Web].
Notwithstanding your political affiliations, what does these images invoke in your mind?
Update:
Light Within is fortunate to have the smartest commenters anywhere. Sometimes a gift arrives unbidden, as did these comments to post on Israeli Kids writing messages on 155 mm Howitzer shells. These comments are eye-popping both in quality and thoroughness. So much so, they are worth publishing on their own. Thanks to commenters. Also thanks to Haroon Moghul for this.
Jessica Doyle: Initially a conundrum. I first became aware of these photos from this Matthew Good's blog. I honestly don't know what to think. It is akin to seeing a small boy with a gun. When I grew up I loved to draw on everything and I'm a girl. I can relate to the wanting to draw and smiling but it is "what" they are drawing on that causes the conundrum for me to respond somehow. Is this making sense?
The olive ream: Have seen this image on several news sites and blogs. It is fairly simple. How do you train children to be callous and indifferent? How do you engrain in them that Palestinian and Labenese lives have little worth?...and these bombs are meant for those who deserve to die. What does it invoke in my mind? Something that Hitler would be proud of!
Atoorva: well, for me it says that even in the ugliest of the situations ...life goes on. Children learn to laugh and live with whatever sad realities they are born with...war for the children of that region is something that is part of daily life and so is hatred for some groups and affiliations to some oth ers...even if they'd know nothing of ideologies of either. But looking at the positive side of it ....Even after all the wars of the world will be fought a butterfly will be still beautiful...and so will be this innocence.
Marz: As I was looking through this post and the comments, I was listening to "Auto Rock" by Mogwai, which, ironically, in spite of the name, is very appropriate for the images, because of the way it sounds. You can say it really added up to the atmosphere of the photos.
Two things come into my head. The initial part of me is disgusted at the fact that anyone would expose children to wars and such hardships. It tore at my heart. But another part of me looks at the children as though they do not have a full grasp of the reality around them, and because of that, they are lucky. Children should be innocent, and not exposed, and the type of bliss portrayed in the girl's faces show that they can still get what remains of this 'bliss' during a hard time.
Hasan Mubarak: What these kids do not realize is that the same missiles - with their love messages are going to land in a school, or a home, a ground or in someone's backyard where it's going to kill mates of their age too... 300 Lebanese 'civilians' for lives of just two Israeli soldiers who are not yet dead... Where are we living!
IsraLuv: i suggest you take a look at http://ontheface.blogware.com/ - the author contacted the journalists and photographers of this picture. Those girls live almost on the physical border btwn israel and lebanon. this was the first time in 5 day that they could leave the bomb shelter. And lets remember that these shells are for tanks (which cannot reach Beruit) but only the Hezbollah outposts firing into Israel.
Kodijack: I do not have a lot to add, but I sure learned a ton from the previous commenters, thank you for posting this and giving them the opportunity to educate me.
Jaimie: I had not seen these pictures yet. Disturbing.
EXSENO: It tells me that after evolving from prehistortic man, to literate man and on to more intelligent beings, I had hoped we would advance even more so, but instead I think we are reverting backward to barbarism. What a horrible discusting message they are sending out to children, that war is fun. Someone needs to tell them that if war persists, they may never grow up to find out one way or another.
Irving Karchmar: Of course the photos were staged by photographers, for why would children be where such shells are? Actually it makes it worse. This kind of propoganda is disgusting.
Anonymous: Why does the fact that these children are poor or in a bomb shelter make what they're doing and writing excusable? Why the outrage over these staged photos (if they were indeed staged) while there is no outrage over the infamous -- and staged -- footage of a Palestinian woman purportedly celebrating the 9/11 attacks? Those images were investigated much more thoroughly and by two reputable news agencies in Europe, and yet they're still used today by anti-The-Other-200-Million-Semites and Muslim haters to demonize Arab and Muslim peoples. You can't have it both ways. If you are outraged over this, you must be outraged over the manufactured images of Arabs and Muslims designed to inculcate hate and fear in the hearts of Westerners. Sincerely, Passing Reader
Callisto: Sadly, these images say to me, that while the rage is being maintained in the minds of the young, there is no hope for change in the future.
اجمل: I am over 65 years of age and, having direct connection with Palestine, I have been studying the happenings in the area since 1948 when I was in class 6. I fully agree with the olive ream. Jews teach and train their children giving it a touch of religion. Please read brief history of Israel at http://iftikharajmal.wordpress.com/818/
Rose: My first time seeing the pictures. If they are real, it would be sad. Mt first thought was they are newly recruited suicide bombers...Is this how they start?
Checkmate: What has the girls being in a shelter and living on the border have to do with what they are being made to do. Israel is not shelling Hezbollah targets only. It is killing innocent civilians. Babies and children. Are we to justify these pictures with the fact the the girls had to stay in a shelter for 5 days. THEY HAVE A SHELTER. The 6 month old baby that was killed a day earlier did not. But what do we expect from a nation and its people who think it is justifiable to destroy a whole country and its people for 2 soldiers who are still alive. Shame on people who are brainwashing children this way. I spit on them.
Cyberkitty: Kids in Israel are not as free as people in other countries who can decide whether they want to join the army or pursue some other career. In Israel national military service is compulsory for men and... long comment which I posted at my blog.