Israel Reveals Its True Face
Byrnzie
Posts: 21,037
Very good article here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... -sanctions
Israel reveals its true face
The murder of these peace activists will count. Sanctions must surely be the price
Ahdaf Soueif - guardian.co.uk, Monday 31 May 2010
This will count. A flotilla of relief boats attacked in international waters. Armed commandos boarding a vessel carrying supplies for a besieged civilian population. More than 10 peace activists reported killed. This has to be made to count.
The dead have joined Rachel Corrie, Tom Hurndall, James Miller and Brian Avery in giving up their lives for the Palestinians. None of these young men and women went out to die or wanted to die or was accepting of death. Each and every one of them ultimately believed that they were safe; that there was a boundary – call it a boundary of legality, a boundary of civilisation – that Israel would not cross. They were wrong. And in proving them wrong, Israel has revealed, once again, its true face to the world.
This face, of course, the Palestinians know well. They see it every day in the teenage soldiers of the occupation chewing gum as they dish out humiliations, in the settlers shooting young Palestinians with impunity, in the soldiers firing gas canisters at the heads of demonstrators. The world saw that face in January last year when Israel unleashed the might of its air force on Gaza – the only time in modern warfare that a civilian population was sealed in as it was being bombed and shelled. Now Israel is out on the high seas killing internationals.
So never mind the multimillion-dollar public relations campaign – actions speak louder than words, and the murder of these peace activists is Israel's message to the world. It does not matter what Mark Regev or any other Israel spokesperson says. It does not matter what spin the Israeli government tries to put on this; the only link between Israeli words and Israeli deeds is this: Israel uses words as a decoy and an obfuscation and a cover for its deeds. It has done so for 62 years. These internationals, dead now, murdered, have ensured that anyone who does not see this is wilfully blind.
Western governments are fond of holding up Israel as the "only democracy in the Middle East". So should we assume that the Israeli people are behind their government? That they approve these killings? Last month I was at al-Quds University in Abu Dis. Israel's wall shaved the edge off the campus. On it, in tall blue letters, a Palestinian student had written: "My Israeli sisters: this is not the answer."
A few days ago, young Jewish Israeli activists told me they saw that the only hope for their country lies with the international community. Israel is on a path to self-destruction, they said, and it will take the region with it. It will not stop, they said, until the price it pays for its actions becomes too heavy. This price has to be a moral and economic price imposed by the world.
My anger and my sadness are so great that I have to deliberately draw a deep breath from time to time to ease the bands I feel around my chest. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that millions of people in the world are feeling the same. People everywhere see and understand what is happening. Many of us feel that Palestine is nearing its South Africa moment. This latest outrage must push it closer. And it will.
Donations will, I'm sure, flood in to the other relief boats waiting in harbour. More and more people will take the boycott to heart. More civil bodies will insist on divestment from companies that do business with Israel. The time has come for the governments that represent us to stop engaging with Israeli lies and excuses. The price of Israel's action today has to be to put the issue of sanctions squarely on the table.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... -sanctions
Israel reveals its true face
The murder of these peace activists will count. Sanctions must surely be the price
Ahdaf Soueif - guardian.co.uk, Monday 31 May 2010
This will count. A flotilla of relief boats attacked in international waters. Armed commandos boarding a vessel carrying supplies for a besieged civilian population. More than 10 peace activists reported killed. This has to be made to count.
The dead have joined Rachel Corrie, Tom Hurndall, James Miller and Brian Avery in giving up their lives for the Palestinians. None of these young men and women went out to die or wanted to die or was accepting of death. Each and every one of them ultimately believed that they were safe; that there was a boundary – call it a boundary of legality, a boundary of civilisation – that Israel would not cross. They were wrong. And in proving them wrong, Israel has revealed, once again, its true face to the world.
This face, of course, the Palestinians know well. They see it every day in the teenage soldiers of the occupation chewing gum as they dish out humiliations, in the settlers shooting young Palestinians with impunity, in the soldiers firing gas canisters at the heads of demonstrators. The world saw that face in January last year when Israel unleashed the might of its air force on Gaza – the only time in modern warfare that a civilian population was sealed in as it was being bombed and shelled. Now Israel is out on the high seas killing internationals.
So never mind the multimillion-dollar public relations campaign – actions speak louder than words, and the murder of these peace activists is Israel's message to the world. It does not matter what Mark Regev or any other Israel spokesperson says. It does not matter what spin the Israeli government tries to put on this; the only link between Israeli words and Israeli deeds is this: Israel uses words as a decoy and an obfuscation and a cover for its deeds. It has done so for 62 years. These internationals, dead now, murdered, have ensured that anyone who does not see this is wilfully blind.
Western governments are fond of holding up Israel as the "only democracy in the Middle East". So should we assume that the Israeli people are behind their government? That they approve these killings? Last month I was at al-Quds University in Abu Dis. Israel's wall shaved the edge off the campus. On it, in tall blue letters, a Palestinian student had written: "My Israeli sisters: this is not the answer."
A few days ago, young Jewish Israeli activists told me they saw that the only hope for their country lies with the international community. Israel is on a path to self-destruction, they said, and it will take the region with it. It will not stop, they said, until the price it pays for its actions becomes too heavy. This price has to be a moral and economic price imposed by the world.
My anger and my sadness are so great that I have to deliberately draw a deep breath from time to time to ease the bands I feel around my chest. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that millions of people in the world are feeling the same. People everywhere see and understand what is happening. Many of us feel that Palestine is nearing its South Africa moment. This latest outrage must push it closer. And it will.
Donations will, I'm sure, flood in to the other relief boats waiting in harbour. More and more people will take the boycott to heart. More civil bodies will insist on divestment from companies that do business with Israel. The time has come for the governments that represent us to stop engaging with Israeli lies and excuses. The price of Israel's action today has to be to put the issue of sanctions squarely on the table.
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Comments
....as pointed out in the other post, I think, this time they went too far and some Celebs and politicians were involved. It is proven that there were (only? mainly?) peaceful (international) activists on board...
...so let's hope for the world to turn this never ending war story the other way around...
but thanks for the good morning read....
...the world is come undone, I like to change it everyday but change don't come at once, it's a wave, building before it breaks.
You think that 'this time they went too far'?
And what are your thoughts about Israel's massacre of over 1000 Palestinian civilians in Gaza in 2009? Do you not think that Israel went too far on that occasion?
Free Gaza Movement Mission Statement
Written by Free Gaza Movement | 30 January 2009
Since August 2008, the Free Gaza Movement has sailed from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip on several successful voyages, bringing in international witnesses to see first hand the devastating effects of Israeli violence against the Palestinian people. Ours are the first international boats to journey to Gaza since 1967.
We are Italian, Irish, Canadian, Greek, Tunisian, German, Australian, American, English, Scottish, Danish, Israeli, and Palestinian. We are of all ages and backgrounds. We have years of experience volunteering in Gaza and the West Bank at the invitation of Palestinians. But now, because of the increasing stranglehold of Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine, many of us find it almost impossible to enter Gaza, and an increasing number have been refused entry to Israel and the West Bank as well.
We want to break the siege of Gaza. We want to raise international awareness about the prison-like closure of the Gaza Strip and pressure the international community to review its sanctions policy and end its support for continued Israeli occupation. We want to uphold Palestine's right to welcome internationals as visitors, human rights observers, humanitarian aid workers, journalists, or otherwise.
We have not and will not ask for Israel’s permission. It is our intent to overcome this brutal siege through civil resistance and non-violent direct action, and establish a permanent sea lane between Gaza and the rest of the world.
Points of Unity
All participants in the Free Gaza Movement accept the following principles and practices:
1. We respect the human rights of everyone, regardless of race, tribe, religion, ethnicity, nationality, citizenship or language.
2. The lawful inhabitants of all territories occupied by Israel since June 5, 1967 must have unimpeded access to international waters and air space, in conformity with all UN resolutions and international law.
3. The lawful inhabitants of all territories occupied by Israel since June 5, 1967 have the right to control all entry and exit to and from those territories without Israeli interference.
4. Israel must withdraw its military presence from all territories occupied since June 5, 1967 and revoke all legislation, regulations, directives and practices that apply differently to different populations living in those territories.
5. Israel must demolish all barriers built to restrict passage in all territories occupied by Israel since June 5, 1967.
6. We recognize the right of all Palestinian refugees and exiles and their heirs to return to their homes in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories; to recover their properties, and to receive compensation for damage, dispossession and unlawful use of such property. This is an individual and not a collective right, and cannot be negotiated except by the individual.
7. We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, but support no particular political party or organization, without exception.
8. We agree to adhere to the principles of nonviolence and nonviolent resistance in word and deed at all times.
IDF chief tells troops they did 'splendidly'
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340 ... 68,00.html
IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi on Tuesday visited soldiers injured in the raid on the Gaza flotilla ship Marmara. He was accompanied by the commander of the Navy, Admiral Eliezer Marom.
"We sent you on this mission, and you operated splendidly. We still need to investigate what happened," Ashkenazi told the soldiers, who have been hospitalized in Haifa.
After the visit Ashkenazi told reporters he had conversed with the troops about what had happened during the violent incident in order to add the information to the probe being conducted by the IDF. He added that he had spoken to the medical staff on their condition and thanked them for the treatment they gave to the soldiers.
The three soldiers were hospitalized Monday. The first was evacuated by helicopter after sustaining a stab wound to the stomach. He has undergone surgery and his wounds are currently labeled moderate.
The second soldier also arrived by helicopter after being hit in the head with a bat. His wounds are considered light. The third was brought in after the operation, and doctors discovered he had suffered skull fractures. His wounds are also considered light.
Six civilians injured in the brawl are also hospitalized in Rambam Hospital. Four of them are Turkish citizens, one is Indonesian, and one remains unidentified.
The injuries of the first five are labeled moderate, but the sixth has sustained life-threatening injuries and is hospitalized in intensive care. All six are reportedly suffering from bullet wounds
"To question your government is not unpatriotic --
to not question your government is unpatriotic."
-- Sen. Chuck Hagel
you put it right... and I would like to take back "this time". It is only an ungoing crime what is going on there, but usually Germany does not say anything out load. all very PRO Israel.
So my line referred to the fact that this time there were German politicians on board and other German civilians amongst an international group, so our government can't just act as usual: don't talk about it, don't critize, don't do anything!!!
But the attack itself was as bad as the thousands before... it's a big issue, so I really hope that was finally enough and "the world" wakes up and does real action...
...the world is come undone, I like to change it everyday but change don't come at once, it's a wave, building before it breaks.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/ ... cnn?hpt=T2
not that i condone violence but this happened in international waters so israel had no right boarding that boat with armed soldiers. as someone pointed out in another thread if iran had boarded an israeli boat in international waters like this it would be considered an act of war.
has any news about this boat come out? i heard a free gaza movement representative say that wasn't one of their boats
what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?
"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama
when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
Something did change.
With one selfish act, Israel undid what it took years to achieve. Israel made it ok to openly hate on jews, does that count!!!
I'm just saying that Israel are the "darlings" of the world, or I should say the "western governments" and this will be brushed away in a very short time.
I hope I am wrong. It would be nice if the "Western governments" actually did more then saying it shouldn't have happened. I doubt it though.
"To question your government is not unpatriotic --
to not question your government is unpatriotic."
-- Sen. Chuck Hagel
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/05/12604/
31 May 2010: An American solidarity activist was shot in the face with a tear gas canister during a demonstration in Qalandiya, today. Emily Henochowicz is currently in Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem undergoing surgery to remove her left eye, following the demonstration that was held in protest to Israel’s murder of at least 10 civilians aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in international waters this morning.
21-year old Emily Henochowicz was hit in the face with a tear gas projectile fired directly at her by an Israeli soldier during the demonstration at Qalandiya checkpoint today. Israeli occupation forces fired volleys of tear gas at unarmed Palestinian and international protesters, causing mass panic amongst the demonstrators and those queuing at the largest checkpoint separating the West Bank and Israel.
“They clearly saw us,” said Sören Johanssen, a Swedish ISM volunteer standing with Henochowicz. “They clearly saw that we were internationals and it really looked as though they were trying to hit us. They fired many canisters at us in rapid succession. One landed on either side of Emily, then the third one hit her in the face.”
Henochowicz is an art student at the prestigious Cooper Union, located in East Village, Manhattan.
The demonstration was one of many that took place across the West Bank today in outrage over the Israeli military’s attack on the Gaza freedom flotilla and blatant violation of international law. Demonstrations also took place in inside Israel, Gaza and Jerusalem, with clashes occurring in East Jerusalem and Palestinian shopkeepers in the occupied Old City closing their businesses for the day in protest.
Henochowicz lost her left eye after being shot directly in the face with a tear gas canister
Tear gas canisters are commonly used against demonstrators in the occupied West Bank. In May 2009, the Israeli State Attorney’s Office ordered Israeli Police to review its guidelines for dispersing demonstrators, following the death of a demonstrator, Bassem Abu Rahmah from Bil’in village, caused by a high velocity tear-gas projectile. Tear-gas canisters are meant to be used as a means of crowd dispersal, to be shot indirectly at demonstrators and from a distance. However, Israeli forces frequently shoot canisters directly at protesters and are not bound by a particular distance from which they can shoot.
Israeli occupation forces boarded the Mavi Marmara, one of six ships on the Freedom Flotilla at 5 a.m. this morning, opening fire on the hundreds of unarmed civilians aboard. No-one aboard the ships were carrying weapons of any kind, including for defense against a feared Israeli attack in international waters. At least 9 aid workers aboard the ship have been confirmed dead, with dozens more injured. The assault took place 70 miles off the Gaza coast in international waters, after the flotilla was surrounded by three Israeli warships. The Freedom Flotilla, carrying 700 human rights activists from over 40 countries and 10,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid, was headed for the besieged and impoverished Gaza Strip. The Israeli blockade on Gaza, combined with the illegal buffer zone, has put a stranglehold on the territory. 42% of Gazans are unemployed, and food insecurity hovers around 60% according to figures from the Palestine Centre for Human Rights.
UPDATE 1 June, 8:30PM (GMT+2): Emily is recovering at Hadassah Hospital after two surgeries Monday night. She lost her left eye, three metal plates were inserted into her head/face, and her jaw is wired shut. The bone surrounding her eye socket, cheekbone and jawbone are all fractured. Emily was standing peacefully during a demonstration at Qalandiya checkpoint Monday when Border Police fired a large number of tear gas canisters directly at the heads of Emily and another ISM activist.
really - at this stage, it simply becomes a situation where they operate with immunity and there attitude is "what are you gonna do about it!?" ... i wonder if the kurds or shiates were treaten this bad by saddam?
our spirit will never die. we will not go down.
hey c - do you know her? ... i'd like to send some flowers her way for when she gets home ...
How do we even know that the video is genuine? And if it is, then how do we know the footage we see wasn't taken after the IDF had already started slaughtering those civilians on the ship?
Everybody on those ships who has spoken of what happened has stated that the IDF boarded the boat shooting at those on board. So who should we believe, European politicians, nobel prize winners, and human rights activists, or Mark Regev and the IDF?