Protests by some Israelis against the war in Gaza

Many Americans support Israel for many reasons.

First, it is a stable democracy and business partner in the Middle East.  Secondly, Israel is considered an ally (friend) in an area where the USA seems to have many enemies.  Third, America welcomed Jewish people into this country when Jewish folks were being treated terribly in Russia and other countries (in the late 1800s).  So, there are relatively many Jewish people here. I think more Jewish people live in the USA than in Israel (but I might be wrong about that). Furthermore, there are many Jewish politicians involved in the US government.

Also, many Americans know that the Jewish people have been attacked for many generations and I think Americans are sympathetic to that fact.

However, many people around the world are becoming more and more upset about what Israel is doing in Gaza. Even in Israel people are protesting against what their government is doing.

Here is an article about people in Israel who want the war against the people in Gaza to stop.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.607311

Vocabulary:

to protest - to publicly show disagreement with a policy; a protest is often done in groups of people but an individual can protest against something too

an operation - a military operation is also called a military campaign; it is an action that will take some time but which is meant to achieve some military goal

the IDF - Israeli Defense Force (the Israeli army)

rallied - a rally is a gathering of people to show support for some policy or person. to rally is to gather to show support for something

clashes - conflicts, when two rival groups meet physically and violently

leftist - more liberal, more open-minded

combatants -those who have fought in a war; so there are some Israeli soldiers who oppose the current war

was slated to begin - was scheduled to begin

the prompt resumption of - the early or quick begiining of something

casualties - those who were injured or wounded or killed

gratitude - thanks

devoted to - dedicated to, loyal to, resolved on doing something

channel these efforts for peace - Hamas and the Palestinians are digging tunnels to bring supplies into Gaza (Israel is blocking supplies from entering this area) and Israel keeps building fences to keep Palestinians out of various areas...so this person is saying that if all of this effort were being made to work for peace, there would be peace.

infrastructure of terrorism - basically this person is saying that terrorism is caused by poverty (a lack of money) and poor living conditions.  If we want to end terrorism, we need to help economically develop various poor areas of the world and establish schools and businesses etc.

demonstration - a protest, when a group of people gathers to complain or express disapproval over something

right-wing incitement - conservatives causing trouble; a right-winder is usually very conservative and narrow-minded, as opposed to folks from the left-wing, who are liberal and open-minded

to combat it - to fight against it

ill-will - bad feelings

corralled - to force people into a limiting area (a rancher will corral horses)

merrily - happily

major arteries - major roads and highways

cavalry - military staff on horses