Power To Speak
Israel has gone too far
By Cindy Piester 06/10/2010
Israel’s collective punishment of the 1.5 million people of the Gaza strip has turned it into the world’s largest open-air prison, even more egregious than the treatment of South African blacks during apartheid. Tanks and armed soldiers enforce the occupation as the people struggle to survive without adequate water, food or medicine. They survive amidst the rubble of Israel’s 2008 attacks that left more than 1,400 dead, mostly women and children.
Shamefully, it took the killing of nine human rights activists and the wounding of scores of others by Israeli commandos who stormed the Gaza-bound humanitarian aid ship, the Mavi Marmara, in international waters to finally bring home the message that Israel’s illegal siege of Gaza must be lifted. Journalists on board the Mavi Marmara were only able to communicate with the outside world for the first few minutes, reporting live by satellite that the ship was being overrun by masked commandos who had killed passengers. Then the satellites went dead and all cell phones, computers and cameras were immediately and permanently confiscated.
While it was the Israel Defense Force (IDF) murderous attack on a humanitarian flotilla carrying concrete that got international attention, Israel was in the process of launching a flotilla of its own: three German-made, nuclear-armed submarines headed toward Iran.
The IDF’s 4 a.m. raid surrounded the Mavi Marmara, in international waters, with a dozen gunboats, and armed Israeli commandos rappelled from three U.S.-made Blackhawk helicopters. While Israel has blamed the deaths on the activists themselves, Israeli Navy officers issued a statement calling for an international investigation that stated: “First and foremost, we protest the fact that responsibility for the tragic results was immediately thrust onto the organizers of the flotilla. This demonstrates contempt for the responsibility that belongs principally to the hierarchy of commanders and those who approved the mission.”
Richard Falk, U.N. special rapporteur to the occupied territories responded to this on the TV/radio news program Democracy Now, saying: “This was a shocking incident that involved a complete disregard of international law, in several respects. It was an act of naked aggression. It was done on the high seas. It was done in defiance of elementary humanitarian standards. It was known that this flotilla had no weapons. It was not a security issue by the remotest stretch of the imagination. If there was a right of self-defense, it belonged to the people onboard these ships. Israel, as the aggressing state and political actor, had no claim whatsoever of self-defense. It’s an absurdity.”
There are indications that decisions about the raid were taken in consultation with Washington. Rahm Emmanuel was in Israel on a private visit the week before the raid, but had a high-level meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu on May 26. The IDF confirmed launching a military operation directed at the Gaza flotilla that same day. The IDF also made clear its intentions to use force with a news article that was sub-headed: “On the way to violence; one of the boats is on its way.”
The international community was outraged, and responded with shock and a growing list of recalled ambassadors, demands for investigations, condemnations of Israel, a refusal to unload Israel’s cargo, calls for boycotts, divestment and sanctions, refusals to participate in games and canceled concerts. But with decades of reliable U.S. backing, Israel needn’t be overly concerned.
Israel comes first. Despite this country’s economic hardships that have left even our own veterans neglected, lavish military funding for Israel remains sacrosanct to Obama and Congress. For example, voting 410-4 last month, Congress immediately approved Obama’s request to give Israel another $205 million, in addition to the $3 billion in military aid that we allot annually. This was for the purchase of a missile defense system that the IDF had declined to include in its own budget, explaining that “offensive readiness was a higher priority.”
Are we turning a blind eye to Israel’s unsavory actions to our own detriment and the detriment of others? Maybe so. Congress, last November, approved Resolution 867, condemning the Goldstone Report, the eye-opening official U.N. 500-page report on flagrant human rights violations in the area.
In January, Gen. David Petraeus called attention to the building anger toward the U.S. resulting from our continuing support of Israel, despite its treatment of Palestinians. U.S.-Israeli relations have been strained and uncertain in recent months, but with the U.S. blocking U.N. investigations into the deadly flotilla raid, we remain their primary enabler. Until the siege on Gaza is lifted, we can expect our reputation around the world to continue eroding. In the meantime, as more aid boats are on their way to Gaza, what about those nuclear subs?
Horrified by the Holocaust and Hiroshima, Cindy Piester vowed, as a child, to devote her life to working for peace and justice. She is also a member of Venturans for a Just Palestine.
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This author argues that Jews recapitulate their holocaust experiences by subjecting Palestinians to comparable atrocities
here's a link to a great article - author explains the culture shock he personally experienced when he realized how psychologically far gone many Israelis are.
In today's Haaretz: http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/isra...
It seems like Israeli education is quite possibly serving to transmit the trauma of the holocaust rather than a true education (which is abusive to the children) - and perhaps this programming is done with the ulterior motives of making the imprisonment and sadisitc torture of the Palestinians seem rational or justified.
Are Israeli kids actually getting brainwashed to prepare them to continue the Israeli occupation and subjection of the Palestinians?
Like the author I think this to a large degree explains much of Israeli brutality and the sociopathic attempts at hasbara that Israel's apologists make to cover up her crimes
Has the author no shame? Does she not know that when writing for such a wide public she carries the bare minimum responsibility of telling the truth?
What about the fact the Israel offered the ships to dock in its port and transfer all the aid to Gaza after proper inspection? What about the fact that Israel is the one supplying Gaza with water, electricity and humanitarian aid on a daily basis, in spite of the fact that Hamas, a terrorist organization who seeks to destroy Israel, is in power?
What about the numerous videos that show, beyond any doubt, that the soldiers were viciously attacked when boarding the ship armed with paintball guns? What about the videos showing the flotilla members training for the attack and cutting off the ship's rails to create spears and iron rods for the attack? What about the testimony of one of the Turkish members of the flotilla, regretting he didn't get to die as a shahid like his other terrorist friends?
What about the pictures that show the overwhelming amount of weapons these "unarmed peace activists" had on board?
If this had been written hours after the fact, when nothing was clear yet, I might be able to understand the half-truths that are given as facts. However, in the last two weeks there has been an overwhelming number of evidence to show that the group of flotilla passengers were terrorists. Just like those who commit suicide bombings. Just like those who fly planes into buildings. The same people.
Israel acted well within the boundaries of international law- if the writer would bother to look into the actual facts.
Has the writer been to Gaza? Has she seen people starving? Lack of medicines and food?
Where is Hamas' part in all of it? What about the terrorist organization that is really in fault for this blockade? Does the writer realize that if Hamas had it its way, she and all of her infidel family and friends would be stoned to death? Do you know what they do to their own people? Do you?!