by Diane V. McLoughlin - September 24, 2014
Two essentials necessary, for both armies and uprisings, to advance, are arms and cash. The U.S. has just authorized 500 milion dollars-worth of training and weapons for Syrian rebels and the wisdom of doing so must be questioned.
Certainly American 'PNAC' neocons want to keep arming so-called 'good' rebels to help them overthrow Syria's government. The U.S. should not be involved with the attempt at overthrowing Syria's secular regime, and the reasons for wanting to do so must be questioned, as well. Why would U.S. interests be keen? Who profits?
Israel continues to illegally occupy Syrian territory, and has recently put out tenders for oil exploration contracts on the occupied Golan Heights. (How about Gaza? Does Gaza have natural resources, too? Check - Gaza has a territorial stake in the vast wealth of off-shore natural gas.)
What seems a fairly predictable eventuality may have come to pass: The Syrian rebels reportedly have agreed to a ceasefire with ISIS (also known, variously, as Isil; Is, or Islamic State) circumstances in which you cannot expect arms provided to one will be used to degrade the military capabilities of the other.
Nevertheless, U.S. pro-war cheerleaders such as U.S. Senator John McCain, assert that they can tell the 'good' guys from the bad in the quest to pump more U.S.-manufactured arms in. Profitable, yes. Potential pots of gold at the ends of various political rainbows, no doubt.
There are pictures purportedly showing McCain hobnobing with ISIS rebels. Some pundits are rubbing their hands with glee at the karma, that McCain may ultimately find himself charged with the crime of aiding terrorists.
Iraq and Syrian oil that ISIS is reportedly selling on the global black market also keeps ISIS in arms and other necessary supplies, in addition to Syrian rebel-held American weaponry somehow being added to their arsenals. Looting, including banks, keeps their conquest going, too.
Bombing campaigns are destructive, rather indiscriminate, and they make more enemies. This is not the answer to ISIS so far as western strategic interests are concerned, if we actually are concerned with not stirring a terrorism hornet's nest any further than we have already. Cut off the flow of arms and cash and frustrate supply lines, instead.
As for beheadings, Saudi Arabia, treated as one of the good guys and part of the ad hoc coalition fighting ISIS, has had something like 41 beheadings as judicial punishments this year alone - the country where the 9/11 terrorists came from.
So ISIS utilizing the violent propaganda tool of beheading innocent people might be viewed in a wider context. Our own political leaders garner political traction with the ISIS beheadings, as well.
Bombing ISIS targets legitimates their propaganda that 'the west' is the enemy.
Showing posts with label Gaza. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gaza. Show all posts
September 24, 2014
September 15, 2014
Fmr IDF Soldier to US - Stand Up to #Israel War Crimes [RT crosspost - YouTube 12mins]
Fmr. IDF Soldier Calls on Americans to Stand Up to Israel War Crimes - Interview with Eran Efrati
Published September 15, 2014
Abby Martin speaks with Eran Efrati, a former IDF soldier who
recounts his experience being ostracized for attempting to
expose crimes he witnessed as a soldier.
LIKE Breaking the Set @ http://fb.me/BreakingTheSet
FOLLOW Abby Martin @ http://twitter.com/AbbyMartin
_______________________________________
recounts his experience being ostracized for attempting to
expose crimes he witnessed as a soldier.
LIKE Breaking the Set @ http://fb.me/BreakingTheSet
FOLLOW Abby Martin @ http://twitter.com/AbbyMartin
_______________________________________
September 11, 2014
Pro-Israel Group Think
by Diane V. McLoughlin, September 11th, 2014
The highest ideal espoused in Rabbi Shmuel Bloch's argument, 'Unity - It's surreal and frightening'; [South African Jewish Report, Sept 10, 2014], is cohesiveness of group politics rather than questioning the direction, politics and morality of the group in a personal quest for truth. Can good be expected to follow from this premise or is such a stance fraught with risk?
The rabbi reports that 'unity became even stronger and tighter' once Israelis learned the tragic fate of the three Jewish youths who were kidnapped in the occupied West Bank when hitchhiking, presumably back to their respective homes, from a settlement religious school.
There is an enormous gap the rabbi leaves unexplained regarding how the country went from the crime of the former, to an entire country choosing to wage war:
'Then the rockets started falling and Operation “Protective Edge” began...The entire country supported the government and the army with almost universal approval.'
Without questioning, we would not know that tensions began to rise not with the abduction and murders of the three Jewish teens in June, but three weeks before, on Nakba Day, May 15th. The IDF shot and killed two Palestinian teens in cold blood at a demonstration outside of Ofer Prison. One of the youths was shot in the back. Both were unarmed, it was in broad daylight and there were many witnesses to these events.
After the three Jewish teens went missing, this gave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the excuse he needed to ramp up tensions further by instituting what was the equivalent of a Palestinian Kristalnacht in the occupied West Bank on the pretext of searching for the teens. There was a clear purpose in instigating such provocations. In recent days, Palestinian political leadership of rival political parties Hamas and Fatah signaled their intention to reconcile. Unified, Natenyahu et al could no longer claim that they had no 'partner for peace'. Peace means the cessation of further ethnic cleansing and colonization of Palestinian land.
Hundreds of West Bank homes were violently broken into in the middle of the night. IDF soldiers caused gratuitous wanton damage to households; stole money and other valuables; viciously beat people; and arrested hundreds without charge - including many in the Hamas party leadership. And with this for background, how things devolved becomes far more clear. Rabbi Bloch's timeline of events makes absolutely no sense otherwise.
Logic
No logical person would ever accept the premise that oppressing the Other could foster greater prospects for peaceful security for oneself.
There is no logical correllary between a criminal investigation into the kidnappings and murders of three teenagers versus the ultimate crime of aggressive war on a captive civilian population.
The 1.8 million people of The Gaza Strip have been suffering under an illegal Israeli military occupation for years. This latest military slaughter caused the deaths of over 500 children alone. Israel's 'Operation Protective Edge' was instigated by Israel, the violence was wanton, the IDF committed many war crimes, Israeli political leaders openly call for genocide [or the practical equivalent, as seen in Deputy Minister of Defense, Dany Alon's recent inane, amoral tweet:
The highest ideal espoused in Rabbi Shmuel Bloch's argument, 'Unity - It's surreal and frightening'; [South African Jewish Report, Sept 10, 2014], is cohesiveness of group politics rather than questioning the direction, politics and morality of the group in a personal quest for truth. Can good be expected to follow from this premise or is such a stance fraught with risk?
The rabbi reports that 'unity became even stronger and tighter' once Israelis learned the tragic fate of the three Jewish youths who were kidnapped in the occupied West Bank when hitchhiking, presumably back to their respective homes, from a settlement religious school.
There is an enormous gap the rabbi leaves unexplained regarding how the country went from the crime of the former, to an entire country choosing to wage war:
'Then the rockets started falling and Operation “Protective Edge” began...The entire country supported the government and the army with almost universal approval.'
Without questioning, we would not know that tensions began to rise not with the abduction and murders of the three Jewish teens in June, but three weeks before, on Nakba Day, May 15th. The IDF shot and killed two Palestinian teens in cold blood at a demonstration outside of Ofer Prison. One of the youths was shot in the back. Both were unarmed, it was in broad daylight and there were many witnesses to these events.
After the three Jewish teens went missing, this gave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the excuse he needed to ramp up tensions further by instituting what was the equivalent of a Palestinian Kristalnacht in the occupied West Bank on the pretext of searching for the teens. There was a clear purpose in instigating such provocations. In recent days, Palestinian political leadership of rival political parties Hamas and Fatah signaled their intention to reconcile. Unified, Natenyahu et al could no longer claim that they had no 'partner for peace'. Peace means the cessation of further ethnic cleansing and colonization of Palestinian land.
Hundreds of West Bank homes were violently broken into in the middle of the night. IDF soldiers caused gratuitous wanton damage to households; stole money and other valuables; viciously beat people; and arrested hundreds without charge - including many in the Hamas party leadership. And with this for background, how things devolved becomes far more clear. Rabbi Bloch's timeline of events makes absolutely no sense otherwise.
Logic
No logical person would ever accept the premise that oppressing the Other could foster greater prospects for peaceful security for oneself.
There is no logical correllary between a criminal investigation into the kidnappings and murders of three teenagers versus the ultimate crime of aggressive war on a captive civilian population.
The 1.8 million people of The Gaza Strip have been suffering under an illegal Israeli military occupation for years. This latest military slaughter caused the deaths of over 500 children alone. Israel's 'Operation Protective Edge' was instigated by Israel, the violence was wanton, the IDF committed many war crimes, Israeli political leaders openly call for genocide [or the practical equivalent, as seen in Deputy Minister of Defense, Dany Alon's recent inane, amoral tweet:
The highest ideal is not group cohesiveness. Cohesiveness is for cowards. The highest ideal is risking rejection by the group by pointing out the errors of the group's leadership.
Some of the best blogs [of which there are many]: Mondoweiss; Richard Silverstein.
Organizations: Independent Jewish Voices; Jewish Voices for Peace
September 02, 2014
#Israel - open all six borders and lift siege to avert humanitarian disaster in #Gaza - Sept 01 2014
by Diane V. McLoughlin, September 02, 2014
Israel is demanding a bilateral committee be formed to coordinate inspections of all truck shipments into Gaza. [1]
Israel continues to maintain the illegal military siege despite understandings to the contrary arrived at during the preliminary ceasefire negotiations, the first phase of which concluded a few days ago.[2]
The siege of Gaza is now into its seventh year. The siege has destroyed Gaza's economy, the conditions of which are described as being worse than the Great Depression. It has had a particularly devastating effect on the physical health of Gaza's children. They do not get enough to eat. Israel, in addition to cutting calories in, at one point even denied in children's shoes, hearing aids and school supplies. What is allowed in seems to depend on the year and the whim of whichever functionary is in charge along with how much attention the world pays.
Israel has caused immense destruction in Gaza this summer. Israel bombed hospitals, ambulances and schools along with tens of thousands of homes, rendering hundreds of thousands of people homeless.
Israel killed over 2,000 Palestinian people including approximately 500 children. As many as 1,500 children have been orphaned. Over 10,000 people have been injured. 1,000 children were severely injured and will suffer lifelong disabilities.
Many fear that Israel has no intention of honoring the ceasefire agreement. The deal was to open all borders and that is not happening. The last daily report over the weekend I read indicated that 100 truckloads of food were able to get in along with 200 trucks bearing construction supplies.
Six years ago, the estimated daily shipments of food, fuel, and other goods was in the neighborhood of 500 to 600 trucks per day. The number of truckloads necessary to sustain human life in the face of Gaza's destruction is obviously going to be many more. It will be nothing less than a humanitarian catastrophe if this is not made to happen.
The water treatment plants were bombed. The sewage treatment plants likewise were bombed. Thus there is not even any clean drinking water to drink. The risk of water-borne disease is a very grave concern.
Winter will be coming on soon. People are homeless with nowhere to live.
There is no way to accomplish the impossible demand of inspecting down to the last toothpick every box and bag in every truck without hopelessly clogging up the entry points.
There are people who hold power and influence over whether or not food, medicine or housing construction materials get in. One, Deputy Minister of Defense, Danny Alon, tweeted days ago that Israel should prevent water and food into Gaza. So even if a sensible plan is laid out between the parties about truck inspections and so forth, robust monitoring to ensure swift and efficient processing at the border crossings will be a must.
What exactly is the purpose of the siege in the first place? The people of Gaza are refugees who had their homes taken away from them by Israel in 1948. They would like to go home.
On a positive note, efforts to raise humanitarian funds for Gaza are underway in countries such as Qatar and Turkey.
[1] Israel demands formation of bilateral committee to supervise entry of construction material to Gaza; MEMO - Middle East Monitor; Monday, September 01, 2014.
[2] Gaza blockade shows no signs of loosening; Maan New Agency, September 2, 2014:
'...Number of trade trucks entering daily ha[s] remained roughly static at its wartime level of between 200 and 250'
'...the medical need in Gaza [i]s acute.'
"Even before the aggression, there were severe shortages of drugs - 28 percent of essential goods were at zero stock," she said. "Now the situation is critical." ...
'...much of Gaza's infrastructure [is] destroyed, food aid is only a short-term fix - stemming the humanitarian crisis over the longer term requires deals on restricted items such as cement and heavy machinery.'
"You can't bring in bottled water for 500,000 people. You need to repair the water facilities. To do that you need technical equipment. that is the most cost-effective way of giving Gazans clean water," he said.''
________________________
Israel is demanding a bilateral committee be formed to coordinate inspections of all truck shipments into Gaza. [1]
Israel continues to maintain the illegal military siege despite understandings to the contrary arrived at during the preliminary ceasefire negotiations, the first phase of which concluded a few days ago.[2]
The siege of Gaza is now into its seventh year. The siege has destroyed Gaza's economy, the conditions of which are described as being worse than the Great Depression. It has had a particularly devastating effect on the physical health of Gaza's children. They do not get enough to eat. Israel, in addition to cutting calories in, at one point even denied in children's shoes, hearing aids and school supplies. What is allowed in seems to depend on the year and the whim of whichever functionary is in charge along with how much attention the world pays.
Israel has caused immense destruction in Gaza this summer. Israel bombed hospitals, ambulances and schools along with tens of thousands of homes, rendering hundreds of thousands of people homeless.
Israel killed over 2,000 Palestinian people including approximately 500 children. As many as 1,500 children have been orphaned. Over 10,000 people have been injured. 1,000 children were severely injured and will suffer lifelong disabilities.
Many fear that Israel has no intention of honoring the ceasefire agreement. The deal was to open all borders and that is not happening. The last daily report over the weekend I read indicated that 100 truckloads of food were able to get in along with 200 trucks bearing construction supplies.
Six years ago, the estimated daily shipments of food, fuel, and other goods was in the neighborhood of 500 to 600 trucks per day. The number of truckloads necessary to sustain human life in the face of Gaza's destruction is obviously going to be many more. It will be nothing less than a humanitarian catastrophe if this is not made to happen.
The water treatment plants were bombed. The sewage treatment plants likewise were bombed. Thus there is not even any clean drinking water to drink. The risk of water-borne disease is a very grave concern.
Winter will be coming on soon. People are homeless with nowhere to live.
There is no way to accomplish the impossible demand of inspecting down to the last toothpick every box and bag in every truck without hopelessly clogging up the entry points.
There are people who hold power and influence over whether or not food, medicine or housing construction materials get in. One, Deputy Minister of Defense, Danny Alon, tweeted days ago that Israel should prevent water and food into Gaza. So even if a sensible plan is laid out between the parties about truck inspections and so forth, robust monitoring to ensure swift and efficient processing at the border crossings will be a must.
What exactly is the purpose of the siege in the first place? The people of Gaza are refugees who had their homes taken away from them by Israel in 1948. They would like to go home.
On a positive note, efforts to raise humanitarian funds for Gaza are underway in countries such as Qatar and Turkey.
[1] Israel demands formation of bilateral committee to supervise entry of construction material to Gaza; MEMO - Middle East Monitor; Monday, September 01, 2014.
[2] Gaza blockade shows no signs of loosening; Maan New Agency, September 2, 2014:
'...Number of trade trucks entering daily ha[s] remained roughly static at its wartime level of between 200 and 250'
'...the medical need in Gaza [i]s acute.'
"Even before the aggression, there were severe shortages of drugs - 28 percent of essential goods were at zero stock," she said. "Now the situation is critical." ...
'...much of Gaza's infrastructure [is] destroyed, food aid is only a short-term fix - stemming the humanitarian crisis over the longer term requires deals on restricted items such as cement and heavy machinery.'
"You can't bring in bottled water for 500,000 people. You need to repair the water facilities. To do that you need technical equipment. that is the most cost-effective way of giving Gazans clean water," he said.''
________________________
September 01, 2014
Caller - does #Israel not have right to defend itself - Mike Malloy explodes [6mins]
The Mike Malloy Show - YouTube
August 12, 2014
____________________________
A little love to The McLoughlin Post
August 31, 2014
#Israel - WaPo whitewashes plan to steal 1000 acres of #Palestinian land - August 31 2014
by Diane V. McLoughlin
Comment posted at 8:43 PM, August 31st, 2014.
One has to wonder, exactly when will the WaPo editorial board quit giving solace to Israel's criminal regime and start telling it like it is? The title of this piece, 'Israel proposes taking more West Bank land for Jewish settlers' [William Booth and Ruth Eglash; Washington Post; August 31, 2014] soft-peddles the horror.
A more accurate title and lead would read something like this:
'In a stunning act of betrayal within mere days of a ceasefire agreement, in a move reminiscent of Fascism's darkest days, Israel's hard-right leadership proposes stealing a whopping 1,000 acres of Palestinian land to further displace the native population. The long-term aim is clearly meant to replace the indigenous Palestinian people with Jewish European squatters. This will only further cement the current apartheid system, frustrating the efforts of moderates on both sides working for human rights, security and peace'.
________________________________
Reading Room:
The Establishment
And how they get away with it
New: September 4 2014
By Owen Jones
'A biting critique of the British Establishment and a passionate plea for democracy from the author of the acclaimed "Chavs". Jones is a prominent political voice in the UK as a weekly columnist for the "Guardian" and having appeared on "Question Time" and "Newsnight".'
Comment posted at 8:43 PM, August 31st, 2014.
One has to wonder, exactly when will the WaPo editorial board quit giving solace to Israel's criminal regime and start telling it like it is? The title of this piece, 'Israel proposes taking more West Bank land for Jewish settlers' [William Booth and Ruth Eglash; Washington Post; August 31, 2014] soft-peddles the horror.
A more accurate title and lead would read something like this:
'In a stunning act of betrayal within mere days of a ceasefire agreement, in a move reminiscent of Fascism's darkest days, Israel's hard-right leadership proposes stealing a whopping 1,000 acres of Palestinian land to further displace the native population. The long-term aim is clearly meant to replace the indigenous Palestinian people with Jewish European squatters. This will only further cement the current apartheid system, frustrating the efforts of moderates on both sides working for human rights, security and peace'.
________________________________
Reading Room:
The Establishment
And how they get away with it
New: September 4 2014
By Owen Jones
'A biting critique of the British Establishment and a passionate plea for democracy from the author of the acclaimed "Chavs". Jones is a prominent political voice in the UK as a weekly columnist for the "Guardian" and having appeared on "Question Time" and "Newsnight".'
August 27, 2014
Child deaths - #Gaza 577 - #Israel 1 - and yet -- August 26 2014
by Diane V. McLoughlin
Gaza has suffered massive loss, particularly in the catastrophic numbers of children killed during Operation Protective Edge, Israel's latest and most brutal assault on the besieged Gaza Strip. 577 children in Gaza are now deceased, versus Israel's loss of one child.
And yet a columnist with Haaretz, one Amir Oren (any relation to Michael Oren of the exploding toasters claim?) can still write this:
'...for Israel the experience has been more stomach-turning.'
Israel is the one with the greater indigestion?!
In fact, there is not a straight line of clear analysis in the piece. Logic and ethics seem to bounce around all over the place with no discernable personal conviction apparent, but perhaps this provides a fair representation of attitudes and opinions of the country as a whole.
There is no 'next time' if Israel does what it should: Lift the siege of Gaza, end the occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem and permit the right of return to Palestinians forced to flee their homes in 1948.
Ironically, on the same page as Oren's commentary, an organization advertises that it assists with Holocaust second-generation reparations claims (centerforreparations.org) - dispensing with any notions that too much time has passed for Israel to be obligated by international law to give back anything of what belongs to the Palestinian people.
Gaza has suffered massive loss, particularly in the catastrophic numbers of children killed during Operation Protective Edge, Israel's latest and most brutal assault on the besieged Gaza Strip. 577 children in Gaza are now deceased, versus Israel's loss of one child.
And yet a columnist with Haaretz, one Amir Oren (any relation to Michael Oren of the exploding toasters claim?) can still write this:
'...for Israel the experience has been more stomach-turning.'
Israel is the one with the greater indigestion?!
In fact, there is not a straight line of clear analysis in the piece. Logic and ethics seem to bounce around all over the place with no discernable personal conviction apparent, but perhaps this provides a fair representation of attitudes and opinions of the country as a whole.
There is no 'next time' if Israel does what it should: Lift the siege of Gaza, end the occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem and permit the right of return to Palestinians forced to flee their homes in 1948.
Ironically, on the same page as Oren's commentary, an organization advertises that it assists with Holocaust second-generation reparations claims (centerforreparations.org) - dispensing with any notions that too much time has passed for Israel to be obligated by international law to give back anything of what belongs to the Palestinian people.
August 26, 2014
Food in #Gaza - The reality of slow starvation - August 26 2014
August 26, 2014 - by Diane V. McLoughlin
Mainstream media outlets are reporting that all parties to the current assault on Gaza have agreed today to ceasefire proposals brought forward by Egypt. The blockade will be eased at the crossings controlled by Egypt and Israel to allow humanitarian goods in to Gaza.
All issues are to be put off for one month at which time negotiations on peace proposals are to begin.
I will tell you that I had difficulty locating on the internet the actual terms and proposals from Egypt. At time of writing I have been unsuccessful in locating any copies of the text of the ceasefire agreement.*
*Update: Here is a summary of the proposals: 'What's in the Gaza peace deal?'; Al Quds English; August 27, 2014.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is on record stating that Israel will not participate in these planned negotiations unless there is a "total end to terror attacks". As Israel is notorious for provoking a response and then blaming the other side, anything can happen between now and then.
On August 24 2014, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs boasted that they permitted 118 truckloads of humanitarian goods into Gaza that day.
Minimum daily truck traffic of food and other necessities was pegged at 500 back in 2009. Obviously this number would have increased during the intervening years leading up to 2014's so-called Operation Protective Edge [some idea of potential logistical issues, here, although the statistics at link are outdated.]
Estimates are that it might take as long as 20 years for Gaza to rebuild what Israel destroyed.
 |
| East Al Shaaf, Gaza - Operation Protective Edge - via Palestinianism |
Israel and Egypt better calculate into their truce negotiations a month hence that they may need to multiply by a factor of 20 that 118 figure so helpfully supplied - 2,000 or more trucks per day. But who knows? Maybe it's 4,000 trucks per day. The numbers of trucks that will need to pass through the eyes of needles they control into Gaza, while some in Israel will no doubt continue to attempt fomenting discord means the situation will continue to be frought with issues.
 |
| Israeli Deputy Minister of Defense, Danny Alon's suggestion on maintaining 'quiet' in Gaza - prevent transfer of food and water; August 20, 2014 - Twitter |
Who will personally take ownership of the task of seeing to it that the people of Gaza will have food to eat, safe water to drink, medicine and medical supplies for the sick and injured along with vital building supplies to repair hospitals, roads, schools and homes?
Israel and Egypt have caused, through their seven year long siege, followed by so-called 'Operation 'Protective Edge', conditions in which the people of Gaza have no reserves left with which to survive.
This August 26, 2014, Facebook post, a picture of Gaza resident Mohammed Baroud's empty fridge, illustates the point, well enough:
 |
| Food in Gaza - the reality of slow starvation - by Mohammed Baroud; August 26, 2014 |
August 25, 2014
I #BOYCOTT #ISRAEL [August 12 2014 - 2mins]
Like for Syria YouTube channel
Published on Aug 12, 2014
Like for Syria on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/like4syria
Visit http://www.bdsmovement.net for list of companies
Producer: http://twitter.com/farisxi
Visit http://www.bdsmovement.net for list of companies
Producer: http://twitter.com/farisxi
- 620,000 YouTube views, as of August 25, 2014.
August 24, 2014
Images - #Israel airstrikes destroy commercial district of #Rafah #Gaza - August 22 2014
Via Twitter, Mahmoud Zaqout, reports that tens of shops have been completely destroyed. Saberpal's photographs depict the aftermath of Israel's shelling of the commercial district of Rafah, Gaza, on August 22, 2014.
With Mr. Zaqout's permission I downloaded, cropped and posted Saberpal's extraordinary photographs.
- Diane V. McLoughlin, August 23, 2014
Images: Israeli airstrikes target commercial district of Rafah, Gaza Strip August 22, 2014. Photographer: Saberpal (Facebook) via @maymoud_zaqout
August 23, 2014
August 21, 2014
Response to Fatalist Gerald Caplan on Peace in #Israel - #Palestine - 21082014
by Diane McLoughlin, August 21, 2014
The best aspect of Gerry Caplan's analysis of the Israel-Palestine conflict is his frank acknowledgement of the oppression and ethnic cleansing that Israel continues to perpetrate against the suffering Palestinian people. It is vitally important to share here that Israel's latest assault on Gaza is an act of genocide - not self-defense!
The worst aspect of Gerry Caplan's analysis is his sorrowful shrug that the situation in Israel-Palestine is intractable and that nothing can be done about it. While it may be a tough nut to crack, wherever there is oppression and injustice we should not back away from our moral and ethical duty to denounce it while encouraging healing and repair of relations between parties. It is a gentle irony that Mr. Caplan himself does not shy away from the ethical duty to speak, and it seems obvious that he cares.
So there is what-is on the one hand, while what-should-be stands separate and apart on the other. There is in an immense space in-between that is open to creative and determined and intelligent and dedicated and good people who set themselves to the challenge of changing the parameters of conflict. Such effort is not futile in the furtherance of justice, peace and global stability, even though you will almost certainly not know how your efforts assisted in tipping the scales.
Some of the ways to apply nonviolent pressure to help bring about peaceful change:
As with South African Apartheid, ways to encourage Israeli political direction to change include boycotting Israeli goods, divesting from one's investment portfolios of Israeli companies, and to demand ones' own countries sever political ties with Israel - Boycott, Divest, Sanctions - BDS for short.
Examples:
- BDSmovement.net - lots of resources at this website.
- The 'Long live Palestine boycott Israel' buycott app' was begun in April. Once Israel launched its latest military assault on Gaza beginning in July, the numbers of new buycott users exploded. [over 390,000 users and counting.]
The buycott campaign organizers explain that the boycott,
'will continue until Israel complies with the precepts of international law by
Let it be known to your government that you believe it would be the right thing to do to cut all military cooperative ties with Israel - no more donations of bullets, bombs, software or intelligence.
Render it illegal for private individuals to donate funds to Israeli institutions that further the aims of stealing Palestinian land.
Render it illegal for any company to collude with Israel to extract Palestinian-owned natural resources. In the mix is the recent discovery that Gaza owns a vast wealth of natural gas off-shore.
Render it illegal for citizens to serve in Israel's military.
Render it illegal, if it isn't already, for politicians to accept Israel-funded trips. By all means, politicians ought to travel to Israel to witness what's going on. But only if the investigation includes fact-finding in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza, meeting with Palestinian authorities, as well.
Mr. Caplan's argument is an important one, in that he may have helped to finally open political debate in Canada on Israel that for too long has been censored and suppressed.
Reponse to, 'No matter what leaders do, there won't be peace in the Middle East'; Gerald Caplan, African scholar, former NDP national director and regular panelist on CBC’s Power and Politics; The Globe and Mail; August 15, 2014.
___________________________
The best aspect of Gerry Caplan's analysis of the Israel-Palestine conflict is his frank acknowledgement of the oppression and ethnic cleansing that Israel continues to perpetrate against the suffering Palestinian people. It is vitally important to share here that Israel's latest assault on Gaza is an act of genocide - not self-defense!
The worst aspect of Gerry Caplan's analysis is his sorrowful shrug that the situation in Israel-Palestine is intractable and that nothing can be done about it. While it may be a tough nut to crack, wherever there is oppression and injustice we should not back away from our moral and ethical duty to denounce it while encouraging healing and repair of relations between parties. It is a gentle irony that Mr. Caplan himself does not shy away from the ethical duty to speak, and it seems obvious that he cares.
So there is what-is on the one hand, while what-should-be stands separate and apart on the other. There is in an immense space in-between that is open to creative and determined and intelligent and dedicated and good people who set themselves to the challenge of changing the parameters of conflict. Such effort is not futile in the furtherance of justice, peace and global stability, even though you will almost certainly not know how your efforts assisted in tipping the scales.
Some of the ways to apply nonviolent pressure to help bring about peaceful change:
Boycott
As with South African Apartheid, ways to encourage Israeli political direction to change include boycotting Israeli goods, divesting from one's investment portfolios of Israeli companies, and to demand ones' own countries sever political ties with Israel - Boycott, Divest, Sanctions - BDS for short.
Examples:
- BDSmovement.net - lots of resources at this website.
- The 'Long live Palestine boycott Israel' buycott app' was begun in April. Once Israel launched its latest military assault on Gaza beginning in July, the numbers of new buycott users exploded. [over 390,000 users and counting.]
The buycott campaign organizers explain that the boycott,
'will continue until Israel complies with the precepts of international law by
1. Ending its occupation of Palestine and dismantling the Wall.
2. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality.
3. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.'
Cut military and intelligence ties
Let it be known to your government that you believe it would be the right thing to do to cut all military cooperative ties with Israel - no more donations of bullets, bombs, software or intelligence.
Ban public and private donations that further injustice
Render it illegal for private individuals to donate funds to Israeli institutions that further the aims of stealing Palestinian land.
Ban private business from profiting from oppression
Render it illegal for any company to collude with Israel to extract Palestinian-owned natural resources. In the mix is the recent discovery that Gaza owns a vast wealth of natural gas off-shore.
Ban citizens from enlisting in foreign militaries which enforce oppression
Render it illegal for citizens to serve in Israel's military.
Ban politicians from accepting gifts including trips
Render it illegal, if it isn't already, for politicians to accept Israel-funded trips. By all means, politicians ought to travel to Israel to witness what's going on. But only if the investigation includes fact-finding in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza, meeting with Palestinian authorities, as well.
Conclusion
Mr. Caplan's argument is an important one, in that he may have helped to finally open political debate in Canada on Israel that for too long has been censored and suppressed.
Reponse to, 'No matter what leaders do, there won't be peace in the Middle East'; Gerald Caplan, African scholar, former NDP national director and regular panelist on CBC’s Power and Politics; The Globe and Mail; August 15, 2014.
___________________________
August 15, 2014
Latest statistics - #Israel assault on #Gaza - August 15 2014
Latest Statistics for Operation Protective Edge - Israel's assault on Gaza
August 15 2014; by Diane V. McLoughlin
Gaza: 459 children killed; 1,962 total fatalities; 226 have been identified as being from armed groups; 9,986 injured including 3,009 children;16,700 homes destroyed or severely damaged; 335,000 people in shelters or doubled-up in homes; 25 schools entirely destroyed or severely damaged [ochaopt.org - Occupied Palestinian Territory Gaza Emergency Situation Report, as of August 12 2014 pdf].
Report: United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA): 'Humanitarian relief personnel, objects used for relief operations – including UNRWA schools in Gaza used as shelters – are protected under international law.
'Whilst data on damage to UNRWA installations is according to preliminary information and subject to change based on further verification, particularly in those areas pending unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance, UNRWA estimates that at least 103 installations have been damaged since 8 July 2014, the majority being UNRWA schools. There is also recorded damage to health centers, sanitation and social services facilities, and the UNRWA compound in Gaza City. Some of UNRWA installations were damaged on multiple occasions.' [Gaza Situation Report No. 37 August 15 2014; UNRWA] .
Hospitals; ambulances; rescue workers:
Excerpt of first-person accounts of an incident by ambulance emergency rescue workers:
[Evidence of medical workers and facilities being targeted by Israeli forces in Gaza; Amnesty International report, August 7 2014];
Farms and food production facilities: 'The recent fighting has resulted in substantial direct damage to Gaza's 17,000 hectares of croplands as well as much of its agricultural infrastructure, including greenhouses, irrigation systems, animal farms, fodder stocks and fishing boats.' [Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; August 14 2014];
Water, electricity and sewage infrastructure - targeted. [Under fire in Gaza and not a drop to drink; Kristen Chick; Christian Science Monitor; July 24 2014.]
Israel: Three civilians, 67 soldiers killed; one gas station hit; damage to a few homes.
August 15 2014; by Diane V. McLoughlin
Gaza: 459 children killed; 1,962 total fatalities; 226 have been identified as being from armed groups; 9,986 injured including 3,009 children;16,700 homes destroyed or severely damaged; 335,000 people in shelters or doubled-up in homes; 25 schools entirely destroyed or severely damaged [ochaopt.org - Occupied Palestinian Territory Gaza Emergency Situation Report, as of August 12 2014 pdf].
Report: United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA): 'Humanitarian relief personnel, objects used for relief operations – including UNRWA schools in Gaza used as shelters – are protected under international law.
'Whilst data on damage to UNRWA installations is according to preliminary information and subject to change based on further verification, particularly in those areas pending unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance, UNRWA estimates that at least 103 installations have been damaged since 8 July 2014, the majority being UNRWA schools. There is also recorded damage to health centers, sanitation and social services facilities, and the UNRWA compound in Gaza City. Some of UNRWA installations were damaged on multiple occasions.' [Gaza Situation Report No. 37 August 15 2014; UNRWA] .
Hospitals; ambulances; rescue workers:
Excerpt of first-person accounts of an incident by ambulance emergency rescue workers:
Background: Mohammad Al-Abadlah, 32, a paramedic who worked for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), was killed on 25 July in Qarara by Israeli army gunfire when he was attempting to rescue an injured man stranded in an area controlled by the Israeli military. Hassan Al-Attal, 40, a colleague of Mohammad Al-Abadlah who was with him at the time and witnessed the shooting, told Amnesty International:
“On 25 July, my colleague Mohammad Al-Abadlah and I were tasked with reaching an injured man in Qarara...At one point while driving in the ambulance we were blocked by live electric wires on the road. We informed the Red Cross that the road was blocked and we could not cross. They asked us to try to cross somehow, but we told them we couldn’t. They then called the Israelis and told them about the wires blocking the road and how we were unable to cross. They got back to us saying the army says to get out of the car and cross on foot with our flashlights. So, Mohammad said to me ‘Let’s go, they agreed that we can go walking and collect the case from them directly’.
“We got out, we crossed about 10-12 metres and suddenly we were being fired at directly. My colleague screamed and said ‘I’ve been shot’. The shooting continued everywhere, so I could not pull him away or else I too would have got shot and fallen beside him – so I ran and sat in the ambulance. I called the station and told them we had been fired at and Mohammad was injured. The head of the centre came with two ambulances to try and save our colleague. When the colleagues got out to try and take Mohammed, they too were fired at. The head of the centre asked the Red Cross to ask for shooting to stop while we evacuated Mohammad. We brought him but sadly he died...'.
Corroborating testimony, by Mohammad Ghazi Al-Hessy, head of the PRCS’s centre in Khan Younis, who received the call to rescue Mohammad and attended to it with his other colleagues, includes this:
“When we received this call from the Red Cross. They said it was Israel that had requested the evacuation of the injured person...'.
[Evidence of medical workers and facilities being targeted by Israeli forces in Gaza; Amnesty International report, August 7 2014];
Farms and food production facilities: 'The recent fighting has resulted in substantial direct damage to Gaza's 17,000 hectares of croplands as well as much of its agricultural infrastructure, including greenhouses, irrigation systems, animal farms, fodder stocks and fishing boats.' [Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; August 14 2014];
Water, electricity and sewage infrastructure - targeted. [Under fire in Gaza and not a drop to drink; Kristen Chick; Christian Science Monitor; July 24 2014.]
Israel: Three civilians, 67 soldiers killed; one gas station hit; damage to a few homes.
August 10, 2014
Diane V McLoughlin speaking at #Gaza protest - #Ottawa - Aug 09 2014 [3mins]
Youtube: Diane V. McLoughlin
Ottawa, Canada August 09, 2014
Sharing a few words at the protest in Ottawa, against Israel's latest genocidal assault on Gaza, 'Operation Protective Edge' - editor, Diane V. McLoughlin, of mcloughlinpost.com
August 05, 2014
The Coin of #Israel - by Diane V. McLoughlin - August 3 2014
by Diane V. McLoughlin, August 3, 2014
Journalist Sima Kadmon, of ynetnews.com, approvingly reports of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to pull back the military operation in Gaza. [''Netanyahu's Brave Decision'; August 3, 2014]
Operation Protective Edge, is Israel's third bombing campaign of Gaza in the short space of five years. The others are Operation Cast Lead [2008]; and Operation Pillar of Cloud [2012].
Gaza is a small, long, narrow strip of land that is walled in on three sides: The Mediterranean Sea, guarded by the Israeli navy; it borders Egypt on one short end; and Israel's high cement walls, armed guard towers and coil upon coil of barbed wire close off the rest - an impoverished, oppressed, walled ghetto.
The 1.8 million men, women and children living in Gaza, are refugees from Israel who were forced from their homeland from places like Sderot, Israel, in 1948. The refugees in many instances retain the keys to the doors of their rightful homes. And they have a right, morally as well as in law, to go home. Because they are of the 'wrong' ethnicity, Israel is doing everything in its power to prevent their return.
During 'Operation Cast Lead', Israel and Hamas each accused the other of committing war crimes. Findings were detailed in the United Nations' document the, Goldstone Report, produced after six independent, esteemed judges were tasked with conducting a fact-finding mission to investigate - including, note allegations typically made by Israel of Hamas, that the Israeli military had used Palestinians as human shields. Of Israel's well-oiled propaganda machine, volumes will no doubt be written.
Recall, too, that one of the six jurists, Richard Goldstone, felt the need to try to backpedal somewhat in his own opinion regarding who did what to whom in a Washington Post Op Ed, after the local South African Jewish community caused him to fear for the safety and well-being of his family.
Netanyahu is willing, according to Ms. Kadmon, to accept going back to what Israeli politicians like to call, 'quiet for quiet'; Israel maintaining the siege of Gaza, the people of Gaza refraining from resisting the siege or any other funny business like tunneling in Kentucky Fried Chicken or trying to export flowers or other farm produce to foreign markets, or get university-bound scholarship students off to school.
It is apropos to point out here that Palestinian political leaders are, as I write, in Cairo, Egypt, availing all parties of the opportunity to hammer out terms for a ceasefire along with the broad outlines of a peace agreement. Israel refused to attend.
It is an instructive exercise comparing what it is that Israel chooses to do, what Israel chooses not to do, and Israel's expressions of intent.
The hasbara (Israeli for propaganda) 'quiet for quiet' is genius in the psychology of deflecting concern.
It is not 'quiet' for the people of Gaza to be forced to continue under the crushing eight-year military blockade which has destroyed the local economy and has been compared as being worse than the Great Depression for the abject poverty and want.
It is a farce to propose that Israel will construct for itself a secure quiet by continuing to oppress the Palestinians in Gaza; the occupied West Bank; East Jerusalem; Israel; or the Palestinian refugees scattered in other countries denied the right to come home - we can dispense with that canard.
Pro-Israel people - and I have no doubt that they have big hearts and they are convinced that Israel is the underdog and that they are fighting Nazis, and that they are defending vulnerable Jewish lives - argue that Hamas is bent on Israel's destruction.
But the truth of the matter is that Hamas was voted to power as a reaction to discrimination, racism, and violence directed toward the Palestinian people for 65 years.
Palestinian leadership in the occupied West Bank have achieved nothing in their peaceful negotiations with Israel other than relentless efforts by settlers to take their land and drive them out.
Muslims do not hate Jews. Jews and Muslims have been neighbors living peacefully side by side with each other in Palestine for millennia before the events of 1948 when Zionist terrorists forced 750,000 Palestinians to run for their lives.
The Likud is the current political party in power in Israel. The Likud Charter explicitly claims ownership of all Palestinian land. Any discussion of who is responsible for what without forthright acknowledgement of this fly in the soup is not contributing to an honest discussion that might lead to constructive proposals. It will ultimately lead to a thin broth of no substance as far as any hope for peace is concerned.
Israel has, in this latest ethnic cleansing exercise in Gaza, bombed thousands of family homes; bombed six United Nations-run children's schools where newly homeless families were sheltered who were ordered to shelter in the UN schools by Israel after Israel bombed their homes.
Israel has displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians depopulating a vast swath of Gaza estimated in geographic area to be approximately 44% of the entire Gaza Strip. In short, Israel has been forcing families out in the elements while destroying absolutely everything.
As of this writing, almost two million people have no drinking water due to Israel's deliberate targeting of the civilian infrastructure - a war crime. If humanitarian efforts are not able to respond with all haste, the scenario will elevate to status of crime against humanity.
In times of conflict, governments are not always forthcoming with the full truth. Israel is no exception.
That Israel Defense Force (IDF) soldier Hadar Goldin was ever kidnapped? This particular fiction was used to provide diplomatic cover when breaking the first ceasefire agreement within just a few short hours of its implementation.
While having freshly riled the citizenry over the missing soldier, Israel then continued massacreing people in Gaza. Hadar Goldin, via uncensored reports in the West, was more likely killed by his own under something called the Hannibal Directive, to prevent his capture by the enemy.
*The New York Times has disclosed that they complied with an IDF military censor directive to get clearance on their reporting of the Goldin incident.
Israel admitted, only after bombing another hospital, more family homes, snipers picking-off civilians ordered to move, an emergency appeal sent out that the medical authorities were overrun and bodies littered the streets - that Hadar Goldin was not kidnapped, after all.
It should be noted that soldiers are taken prisoner, they are not kidnapped, in conflict. This, too, is meant to mislead and arouse sympathy, inflame public opinion and suppress questions.
Goldin, a British citizen, was a willing party to waging war on a captive civilian population, shooting at people who are entitled under international law to shoot back in self-defense.
*A direct quote from the New York Times:
'International journalists must agree in writing to the censorship system in order to work in Israel.'
Israel's violence against Gaza is wanton. It is a country at imminent risk of degenerating into a racist, moral morass. [1]
Rising to the top politically, are those who, like Israeli Knesset Deputy Speaker Moshe Feiglin, openly avow genocide of the Palestinian people because they want more land for Jews.
In the streets below, armed Jewish gangs roam the streets at night seeking Arab-Israeli citizens to beat to a pulp. A slightly-built sixteen year-old, named, Mohammad abu Khdeir, was recently kidnapped, beaten with a tire iron, had gasoline forced down his throat and they burned him alive.
Supporters of this most recent atrocity in Gaza, with whole Palestinian neighborhoods being bombed out of existance, argue that Hamas kidnapped three Jewish teens and murdered them in the West Bank. First, they believe, wrongly, that this would ever justify such a massively violent response which is nonsense. Second, with speed of light acceptance that everything Israel tells them is Gospel Truth, that Hamas had anything to do with it. After Israel launched Operation Protective Edge, the quiet admission that, no, it appears it was not Hamas, passes by largely unnoticed.
A month before the three Jewish teens' murders, two Palestinian youths were shot and murdered by the IDF in cold blood [2], reported by CNN at the time. [2a] But you, and certainly Israeli citizens, most likely did not hear about that, either.
In the search for the three missing Jewish teens, Israel's occupying army tore the Palestinian West Bank apart. Blowing in doors of family homes in the middle of the night with explosives, destroying the furniture, stealing family possessions, scaring people, roughing up people, arresting hundreds without charge including many in Palestinian political leadership; wounding some; killing others.
It is in the vicinity of this juncture in the unfolding of events that the Hamas rockets from Gaza, rockets described as primitive and small began to sail over, after an extended period of calm in which, calm or no calm - there has been no difference in behavior from Israel - the constant is the crushing military blockade.
Evidence for the extent to which Israeli passions are inflamed - by the ruling right-wing, and in some cases by religious extremists - we might need look no further than at a clip of joyous young people who sing, on the top of their lungs as raucous youths might at a football championship, that there is no school in Gaza tomorrow, because there are no children left.
There are many other examples from which to choose, however, for the black mood and amorality of the current time, none of which bears little resemblance to anything to do with self-defense. Israel is a run-away train with conductors soused on dogma, and conceit, spouting KKK-type crap about cleansing the land of inferiors for Jews. [3]
On background, Israel deliberately transplanted 600,000 Zionist Jews on stolen Palestinian land in the West Bank, in a deliberate effort to create demographic facts on the ground. Stealing Palestinian land has dramatically escalated in recent years.
Russian Jew Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's minister of Foreign Affairs, himself a squatter on Palestinian land, continues to espouse a 'population transfer'. [4]
Prime Minister Netahyahu was caught, surreptitiously, on-camera [2001] talking to settlers, wherein he boasts that he single-handedly scuttled the last formal round of peace talks, at Oslo.
An inclusive society constructed on a foundation of justice, equality and civil rights is the way forward toward security and peace. The Jews who suffered so, under Nazi Germany's version of hell on earth would have fought for such a golden reality; for such a clear morally true vision of sanity.
Netanyahu's camp - pushing for quiet occupation, apartheid, racism, ethnic cleansing and even genocide - might win; maybe they will win. But it will be a sorry day for progress, human rights and world peace if the Israel coin lands on its head.
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Statistics regarding destruction in Gaza from July 8, 2014 to August 3, 2014: 1,743 Palestinians killed [396 children; 230 women]; 9,100 injured [2,767 children; 1,814 women]; 10,080 houses targeted [1,556 totally destroyed; 8,424 partially]; 24 hospitals and medical clinics partially damaged; 167 schools targeted; 6 universities destroyed; 20 charities destroyed; 118 mosques shelled; total number of internally displaced [rendered homeless]: 450,000; 8 water pumping and sewage stations bombed - 700,000 people now without water. For a complete list, see, HERE and HERE
Statistics regarding Israel: 64 soldiers killed, 2 civilians and 1 non-citizen from Thailand killed; 1 serious, 21 moderately to lightly injured; one gas station hit; moderate damage to a few homes.
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Reading Room
[1] How Europe's Jews Lost Their Humanity in Gaza; Gilad Isaacs; August 1, 2014, +972 Magazine; [2] Letter from Ramallah; Ben Ehrenreich, The Los Angeles Review of Books, May 23, 2014;
[2a] Source: Israel suspends soldier after 2 Palestinians die in shooting; by Ivan Watson, Michael Schwartz and Kareem Khadder; CNN; May 29, 2014;
[3] Terrifying Tweets of pre-army Israeli teens (with images, tweets) by @davidsheen; July 10, 2014; 'Some of these calls for genocide were from young men, but a majority of them seemed to be authored by young women.'
[4] Plan to transfer Arab-Israelis to new Palestinian state seeks legal approval; Peter Beaumont; The Guardian; March 25, 2014;
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