William Blumin sanoin
William Blum, Yhdysvaltojen sotapolitiikan poleeminen kriitikko ( Roistovaltio, Kuoleman imperiumi - Sammakko) esittää tässä muutaman sanasen Israelin viimeaikaisista toimista. (Blum itse on juutalainen.)
Israel's existence is not at stake and hasn't been so for decades,
if it ever was, regardless of the many /de rigueur /militant statements
by Arab leaders over the years. If Israel would learn to deal with its
neighbors in a non-expansionist, non-military, humane, and respectful
manner, engage in full prisoner exchanges, and sincerely strive for a
viable two-state solution, even those who are opposed to the idea of a
state based on a particular religion could accept the state of Israel,
and the question of its right to exist would scarcely arise in people's
minds. But as it is, Israel still uses the issue as a justification for
its behavior, as Jews all over the world use the Holocaust and
conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.
In a conflict between a thousand-pound gorilla and a mouse, it's
the gorilla which has to make concessions in order for the two sides to
progress to the next level. What can the Palestinians offer in the way
of concession? Israel would reply to that question: "No violent attacks
of any kind." But that would still leave the /status quo ante bellum/ --
a life of unmitigated misery for the Palestinian people forced upon them
by Israel. Peace without justice.
Israel's declarations about the absolute unacceptability of one of
their soldiers being held captive by the Palestinians, or two soldiers
being held by Hezbollah in Lebanon, cannot be taken too seriously when
Israel is holding literally thousands of captured Palestinians, many for
years, typically without any due process, many tortured; as well as
holding a number of prominent Hezbollah members. A few years ago, if not
still now, Israel wrote numbers on some of the Palestinian prisoners'
arms and foreheads, using blue markers, a practice that is of course
reminiscent of the Nazis' treatment of Jews in World War II.
Israel's real aim, and that of Washington, is the overthrow of the
Hamas government in Palestine, the government that came to power in
January through a clearly democratic process, the democracy that the
Western "democracies" never tire of celebrating, except when the result
doesn't please them. Is there a stronger word than "hypocrisy"? There is
now "no Hamas government," declared a senior US official a week ago,
"eight cabinet ministers or 30 percent of the government is in jail
[kidnapped by Israel], another 30 percent is in hiding, and the other 30
percent is doing very little." To make the government-disappearance
act even more Orwellian, we have Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
speaking in late June about Iraq: "This is the only legitimately elected
government in the Middle East with a possible exception of Lebanon."
What's next, gathering in front of the Big Telescreeen for the Two
Minutes Hate?
In addition to doing away with the Hamas government, the current
military blitzkrieg by Israel, with full US support, may well be
designed to create "incidents" to justify attacks on Iran and Syria, the
next steps of Washington's work in process, a controlling stranglehold
on the Middle East and its oil.
It is a wanton act of collective punishment that is depriving the
Palestinians of food, electricity, water, money, access to the outside
world ... and sleep. Israel has been sending jets flying over Gaza at
night triggering sonic booms, traumatizing children. "I want nobody to
sleep at night in Gaza," declared Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert;
words suitable for Israel's tombstone.
These crimes against humanity -- and I haven't mentioned the
terrible special weapons reportedly used by Israel -- are what the
people of Palestine get for voting for the wrong party. It is ironic,
given the Israeli attacks against civilians in both Gaza and Lebanon,
that Hamas and Hezbollah are routinely dismissed in the West as
terrorist organizations. The generally accepted definition of terrorism,
used by the FBI and the United Nations amongst others, is: The use of
violence against a civilian population in order to intimidate or coerce
a government in furtherance of a political objective.
Israel's existence is not at stake and hasn't been so for decades,
if it ever was, regardless of the many /de rigueur /militant statements
by Arab leaders over the years. If Israel would learn to deal with its
neighbors in a non-expansionist, non-military, humane, and respectful
manner, engage in full prisoner exchanges, and sincerely strive for a
viable two-state solution, even those who are opposed to the idea of a
state based on a particular religion could accept the state of Israel,
and the question of its right to exist would scarcely arise in people's
minds. But as it is, Israel still uses the issue as a justification for
its behavior, as Jews all over the world use the Holocaust and
conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.
In a conflict between a thousand-pound gorilla and a mouse, it's
the gorilla which has to make concessions in order for the two sides to
progress to the next level. What can the Palestinians offer in the way
of concession? Israel would reply to that question: "No violent attacks
of any kind." But that would still leave the /status quo ante bellum/ --
a life of unmitigated misery for the Palestinian people forced upon them
by Israel. Peace without justice.
Israel's declarations about the absolute unacceptability of one of
their soldiers being held captive by the Palestinians, or two soldiers
being held by Hezbollah in Lebanon, cannot be taken too seriously when
Israel is holding literally thousands of captured Palestinians, many for
years, typically without any due process, many tortured; as well as
holding a number of prominent Hezbollah members. A few years ago, if not
still now, Israel wrote numbers on some of the Palestinian prisoners'
arms and foreheads, using blue markers, a practice that is of course
reminiscent of the Nazis' treatment of Jews in World War II.
Israel's real aim, and that of Washington, is the overthrow of the
Hamas government in Palestine, the government that came to power in
January through a clearly democratic process, the democracy that the
Western "democracies" never tire of celebrating, except when the result
doesn't please them. Is there a stronger word than "hypocrisy"? There is
now "no Hamas government," declared a senior US official a week ago,
"eight cabinet ministers or 30 percent of the government is in jail
[kidnapped by Israel], another 30 percent is in hiding, and the other 30
percent is doing very little." To make the government-disappearance
act even more Orwellian, we have Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
speaking in late June about Iraq: "This is the only legitimately elected
government in the Middle East with a possible exception of Lebanon."
What's next, gathering in front of the Big Telescreeen for the Two
Minutes Hate?
In addition to doing away with the Hamas government, the current
military blitzkrieg by Israel, with full US support, may well be
designed to create "incidents" to justify attacks on Iran and Syria, the
next steps of Washington's work in process, a controlling stranglehold
on the Middle East and its oil.
It is a wanton act of collective punishment that is depriving the
Palestinians of food, electricity, water, money, access to the outside
world ... and sleep. Israel has been sending jets flying over Gaza at
night triggering sonic booms, traumatizing children. "I want nobody to
sleep at night in Gaza," declared Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert;
words suitable for Israel's tombstone.
These crimes against humanity -- and I haven't mentioned the
terrible special weapons reportedly used by Israel -- are what the
people of Palestine get for voting for the wrong party. It is ironic,
given the Israeli attacks against civilians in both Gaza and Lebanon,
that Hamas and Hezbollah are routinely dismissed in the West as
terrorist organizations. The generally accepted definition of terrorism,
used by the FBI and the United Nations amongst others, is: The use of
violence against a civilian population in order to intimidate or coerce
a government in furtherance of a political objective.
posted by Juha Veltti at 18:43
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