Definitely not The Love Boat
Definitely not The Love Boat

Like many Israelis I was glued to the television on Monday watching news, analysis, and developments in the flotilla story off the coast of Gaza. The main question many Israelis are asking themselves, other than whether this situation could have been avoided, was why were the soldiers surprised by what they encountered when boarding the ship?

 

My knowledge of the Israeli army is quite limited. Aside from a year of mandatory service giving out gas masks in a Jerusalem Mall as part of the Home Front Command and a few stints of reserve duty spent in guard towers in the south, I have no deep insights to offer. My knowledge of ships is also pretty much limited to hours of watching The Love Boat on Saturday nights when I was kid.

 

So what were the Israeli commandos thinking? They descended on the ship with paint ball guns. They were expecting peaceful resistance from human right activists, but instead they were attacked with knives, clubs, and other objects with the intent to kill. When the commanders quickly determined that the confrontation was life threatening, they authorized use of live ammunition and the events escalated.

 

This kind of thing never happened on Love Boat. There was never an episode where Captain Stubing allowed Gopher to take a knife and stab a soldier who boarded the Pacific Princess. Had the Israeli soldiers boarded Love Boat they would have certainly been welcomed by Julie McCoy, the Cruise Director, directing them to their cabins on the Lido Deck.

 

No, the Israeli's were not expecting bartender Isaac Washington to offer them drinks (with his trademark smile and two index fingers extended), but they were not expecting the reception they got either. They were prepared for a few protestors chaining themselves to the ship and singing 'We Shall Overcome', but certainly not a lynch mob. And in fact, five out of the six ships did cooperate with them.

On the sixth ship--no, there was no Charo to provide entertainment, no Doc, no Vicki, no shuffleboard, no dining at the captain's table, none of that. 

Also, nobody ever died on The Love Boat – except for maybe the career's of the crew members after the series ended. They certainly never tried to kill anybody.

The opening theme of The Love Boat featured the line, 'Come aboard, we're expecting you!" Those on the ship off the coast of Gaza also we're 'expecting' the Israeli soldiers. But not in a way the Israelis expected.

If this were indeed an Aaron Spelling production, as the scene opened we might see a diminutive sailor climb up to the crow's nest excitingly calling out to the captain, 'Boss, the plane, the plane!' In the next scene, the leader, dressed in all white, would order his crew to, 'Smile, everyone. Smile!' as they welcomed the Israeli troops.

 

But unfortunately, this was not a cheesy TV show from the late 70's, this was a real event. When Israeli forces  offered the ships an opportunity to dock in Ashdod and transfer their 'humanitarian' aid to Gaza after inspection, they firmly declined. The armed resistance the Israeli's encountered when they finally boarded the ship with their paint guns with every intention to keep the situation from escalating, changed the course of the operation.

 

There is little doubt that this story will continue to dominate world news and will have a ripple effect in Israel and the Arab world. The story will not simply sail off into the horizon.

 

And if you do believe that this will all just blow over, well, you must be living on Fantasy Island.