Sunday, January 11, 2009

bokhim ve-yorim - Israeli 'crying and shooting'

Avi Shlaim, a professor of international relations at St Antony's Collegeat Oxford, UK, who said that he “…served loyally in the Israeli army in the mid-1960s and who has never questioned the legitimacy of the state of Israel within its pre-1967 ...” wrote in OpenDemocracy [relevant extracts]:

The establishment of the state of Israel in May 1948 involved a monumental injustice to the Palestinians. British officials were aware at the time of the grave injustice perpetrated by one-sided American support for the Israelis.


On 2 June 1948, Sir John Troutbeck wrote to foreign secretary Ernest Bevin that the Americans were responsible for the creation of a gangster state headed by "an utterly unscrupulous set of leaders". I used to think that this judgment is too harsh; but Israel's vicious assault on the people of Gaza, and the George W Bush administration's complicity in this assault, have reopened the question. [...]

The Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza strip in the aftermath of the war of June 1967 had very little to do with security and everything to do with territorial expansionism. The aim was to establish "greater Israel" through permanent political, economic, and military control over the Palestinian territories.

[note: the terrorist group Lohamei Herut Israel (LEHI) or more notoriously known as the Stern Gang, but honoured by Israel in 1980 despite, among its many terrorist crmes, the murder of a neutral UN mediator, Swiss Count Folke Bernadotte, massacre of 120 innocent civilian villagers at Deir Yassin and the most shameful act of all for Jews, the application to Nazi Germany to work with the Nazis during WWII, had posted among its 18-principles ideology, principles No 2, 3, 9, 10 and 12 as:

2 - The homeland: The homeland in the Land of Israel within the borders delineated in the Bible Genesis 15:18 which said "To your descendants, I shall give this land, from the River of Egypt to the great Euphrates River." This is the land of the living, where the entire nation shall live in safety.

3 - The nation and its land: Israel conquered the land with the sword. There it became a great nation and only there it will be reborn. Hence Israel alone has a right to that land. This is an absolute right. It has never expired and never will.

9 - War: Constant war against those who stand in the way of fulfilling the goals.

10 - Conquest: The conquest of the homeland from foreign rule and its eternal possession.

18 - The temple: The building of the Third Temple as a symbol of the new era of total redemption. which implies an intention to eventually destroy the Al Aqsa mosque.


Ending nore: Yitzhak Shamir, Israeli prime minister 1983-1984 and 1986-1992 was a member of the LEHI]

... it is a war between Israel and the Palestinian people - because the people had elected the party to power. The declared aim of the war is to weaken Hamas and to intensify the pressure until its leaders agreed to a new ceasefire on Israel's terms. The undeclared aim is to ensure that the Palestinians in Gaza are seen by the world simply as a humanitarian problem and thus to derail their struggle for independence and statehood.

The timing of the war was determined by political expediency. A general election in Israel is scheduled for 10 February 2009; as it approaches, all the main contenders are looking for an opportunity to prove their toughness. The army's commanders had been eager to deliver a crushing blow to Hamas in order to remove the stain left on their reputation by the failure of the war against Hizbollah in Lebanon in July-August 2006.

Israel's cynical leaders could also count on the apathy and impotence of the pro-western Arab regimes and on blind support from President Bush in the twilight of his term in the White House. Bush readily obliged by putting all the blame for the crisis on Hamas, vetoing proposals at the United Nations Security Council for an immediate ceasefire, and issuing Israel with a free pass to mount a ground invasion of Gaza.

As always, mighty Israel claims to be the victim of Palestinian aggression but the sheer asymmetry of power between the two sides leaves little room for doubt as to who is the real victim.

This is indeed a conflict between David and Goliath, but the Biblical image has been inverted - a small and defenceless Palestinian David faces a heavily armed, merciless, and overbearing Israeli Goliath.

The resort to brute military force is accompanied, as always, by the shrill rhetoric of victimhood and a farrago of self-pity overlaid with self-righteousness. In Hebrew this is known as the syndrome of bokhim ve-yorim ("crying and shooting").

Almost four decades of Israeli control did enormous damage to the economy of the Gaza strip. With a large population of the refugees from 1948 and their descendants crammed into a tiny sliver of land, with no infrastructure or natural resources, Gaza's prospects were never bright.

Gaza, however, is not simply a case of economic underdevelopment but a uniquely cruel case of deliberate de-development. Israel turned the people of Gaza into a source of cheap labour and a captive market for Israeli goods.


The development of local industry was actively impeded so as to make it impossible for the Palestinians to end their subordination to Israel and to establish the economic underpinnings essential for real political independence.

In August 2005, an Israeli government of the rightwing Likud headed by Ariel Sharon staged a unilateral pullout from Gaza, withdrawing all 8,000 settlers and destroying the houses and farms they left behind. [...]

To the world, Sharon presented the withdrawal from Gaza as a contribution to peace based on a two-state solution.


[Note: We know that Gaza was not an independent State but, like the West Bank, an Israeli create Bantustan - in all practice, a prison based on racism which the Israelis learnt from their colleagues, the former white supremacist regime of South Africa]

But in the following year, another 12,000 Israelis settled on the West Bank, further reducing the scope for an independent Palestinian state. Land-grabbing and peacemaking are simply incompatible. Israel had a choice and it chose land over peace. [...]

In January 2006 free and fair elections for the legislative council of the Palestinian Authority brought to power a Hamas-led government. Israel, however, refused to recognise the democratically-elected government, claiming that Hamas is purely and simply a terrorist organisation. [...]

America and the European Union shamelessly joined Israel in ostracising and demonising the Hamas government and in trying to bring it down by withholding tax revenues and foreign aid. A surreal situation thus developed - where a significant part of the international community imposed economic sanctions not against the occupier but against the occupied, not against the oppressor but against the oppressed.

As so often in the tragic history of Palestine, the victims were blamed for their own misfortunes. Israel's propaganda machine persistently purveyed the notion that the Palestinians are terrorists, that they reject coexistence with the Jewish state, that their nationalism is little more than anti-semitism, that Hamas is just a bunch of religious fanatics, and that Islam is incompatible with democracy.

But the simple truth is that the Palestinian people are a normal people with normal aspirations. They are no better but they are no worse than any other national group. What they aspire to, above all, is a piece of land to call their own on which to live in freedom and dignity. […]


To be continued ...

14 comments:

  1. Hamas deploys suicide attackers including women and children, and rigs up schools and houses with booby-trap explosives. Its leaders knew as a matter of certainty this would lead to civilian casualties if there was a ground battle. Virtually every aspect of its operations is illegal under international humanitarian law – ‘war crimes’ in the emotive language usually reserved for the Israelis....if the IDF had no regard for civilian lives it would never have leafleted and telephoned residents in Gaza, warning them when it was about to attack their area: after all, that also gives Hamas notice – hardly the act of an army devoted to military victory at all costs. Similarly, the IDF’s unilateral commitment to a daily three-hour ceasefire to permit the evacuation (to Israel) of casualties, and for the passage of “humanitarian aid”, also allows Hamas time to regroup and redeploy for future attacks.

    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/dominic_lawson/article5489436.ece

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  2. The Israelis' leaflet drop and 3-hours ceasefire bullshit had been only to mollify international concerns, especially American peopel (American people, not the government, are a decent lot)

    anyway, those Israelis strafed and killed UN people delivering food during the so-called 3-hours ceasefire, despite the UN telling the Israeli military exactly where, when, who was driving the aid relief convoys

    as for the leaflet drop to tell Palestinians to evacuate, they force-marshalled 110 Palestinians into a so-called safe house, and then strafed that house with their artillery, killing 30 - exactly the same way they did in Lebanon in the last war there, where they forced Lebanese to leave a place by ambulance, then knowingly massacred the entire ambulance load - just like the Nazis marhalling their European forefathers into gas chambers.

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  3. Hi Kaytee

    Sorry if I haven't that much time to comb through you list of posting on the Palestinian issue, but a quick one if you think it is possible to give it quickly, why the "mad dog" response of Israel? Right now they really amokking like the guy down in JB last week, so much so has to be shot to remove his savagery. Does the same apply to them?

    Find it hard to imagine that they want to wipe an entire family, villages, from the face of the earth; as though there is no other way to solve the problem.

    Regards

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  4. moses fool, why the hell did you lead the Jews from slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land centuries ago, only to describe them as mad dogs now? Has the Burning Bush fried your brain cells?

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  5. Anyone considered the possibility that Hamas could well be using rooftops of buildings filled with innocent civilians, even the rooftops of schools to shoot off rockets into Israel ?

    I would, under the same circumstances.

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  6. Hamas shows no consideration for ordinary people -- its fighters fire rockets right from the heart of residential areas.

    Quoted from Mohammed Dahlan, former head of security for Fatah

    http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,599459,00.html

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  7. Hamas Reinstates Crucifixions of Christians

    http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/Hamas_bombs_Gaza_Israel/2009/01/09/169756.html

    Friday, January 9, 2009 5:05 PM

    By: Nicole Jansezian

    While the world focused on Hamas militants launching rockets from Gaza at southern Israel, the terrorist organization also voted quietly to implement Islamic law in the Gaza Strip, including crucifixion of Christians, according to reports in the Arabic press.

    The traditional Muslim criminal code, known as Sharia law, includes penalties such as amputation of limbs for stealing and the death penalty, including crucifixion, for actions Hamas deems detrimental to �Palestinian interests,� including collaborating with Israel.

    The new law was reported on the Al-Arabiya Web site and in the London-based Saudi-owned newspaper Al-Hayat, which wrote that the implementation of Sharia law has �brought criticism and concern from human rights organizations in the Gaza Strip.�

    But the media scarcely took notice when the decision was reported during the Christian holidays as fighting between Hamas and Israel escalated in late December.

    �Hamas� endorsement of nailing enemies of Islam to crosses came at the same time it renewed its jihad,� Jerusalem Post columnist Caroline Glick wrote on Dec. 26. �Here, too, Hamas wanted to make sure that Christians didn�t feel neglected as its fighters launched missiles at Jewish day care centers and schools.�

    Christians are a minority in Gaza, numbering fewer than 2,000 residents among 1.6 million in the Strip. After Hamas came to power, the Islamic group began enforcing sharia law more strictly, though not officially. Christians were the first to feel the squeeze. Some Christian men felt compelled to grow beards and women donned head scarves to downplay their identities as non-Muslims.

    Sharia law is implemented fully in some nations, including Iran and Saudi Arabia. When Palestinian voters elected Hamas in 2006, organization spokesman Hamed Bitawi declared: �The Quran is our constitution, Muhammad is our prophet, jihad is our path, and dying as martyrs for the sake of Allah is our biggest wish.�

    Palestinian officials in Gaza denied the adoption of Islamic law. However, Palestinian Media Watch, an organization that monitors the Arab press, says the group is lying.

    �Contrary to today�s denials, official Hamas leaders have proudly announced in the Hamas-run media in the last two months that this Islamic penal code was being prepared,� the media watchdog said. �Indeed, senior Hamas leaders went so far as to say that when these laws are implemented, they will have force not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank.�

    Media Watch also noted that Hamas newspaper Al-Rissala reported, �The Bureau of Islamic Law is preparing a penal code in order to implement Sharia-Islamic Law.�

    Hamas has financial backing from Iran, which supplies the group with rockets and weapons used to attack Israel. Despite espousing separate branches of Islam � Hamas is Sunni; Iran is Shiite � the organization shares the expressed wish of Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to wipe out Israel. The Hamas charter states: �Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.�

    Israel withdrew unilaterally, both residents and soldiers, from the Gaza Strip in 2005, leaving the territory entirely under Palestinian jurisdiction. Then, in a coup in 2007, Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, ousting its rival party Fatah and assassinating Fatah loyalists. Since then, rocket fire launched at Israel�s southern communities increased. In December, a six-month period of calm collapsed and led to Israel�s Operation Cast Lead, the bombings and attacks against Hamas militants in Gaza in retaliation for bombings of Israel.

    © 2009 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

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  8. Such is the power of the media.
    Show some pictures of dead children and even people with integrity like KT can go mad and start attacking the victims. I'd say Hamas' strategy is working perfectly if they can convert even KT to their cause.

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  9. Fighting Fair - What the Media Doesn't Tell You
    By EARL COX

    We regularly hear news reports about Palestinian women and children killed in Israeli airstrikes as she retaliates for attacks on its civilian populations. Israel is often condemned by the media for their 'disproportionate response.'
    I was privileged to sit in on a security briefing about Israel 's defense policies and practices. What I learned was shocking and is never reported by the media. Hamas and other terrorist groups use their own civilian population in their fight against Israel .

    Terrorist tactics go way beyond using women as human shields. When planning an attack against Israel , Hamas will round up children, the elderly and even pregnant women and herd them to the area from which they intend to launch their attack. Once these helpless people are rounded up and taken to the place from which Hamas will launch its rockets into Israel , they are forced to surround the missile launchers and remain in place until Hamas allows them to leave. If the people refuse to cooperate, they are killed on the spot or revenge is taken out on their families.

    Why is Hamas using helpless civilians to serve as human shields for their missile launchers? This is the most insidious part of Hamas' plan. You see, Israel possesses the capability to pin point the exact location from which Hamas launches its rockets. If Israel elects to fire back, who are they going to kill but the innocent children, elderly and pregnant women Hamas has placed around their missile launchers?

    This is often the reason the media paints Israel as the "bad guys." Frequently we hear reports of an Israeli air strike killing women and children in the process of targeting some known group of terrorists or terrorist leader. What the liberal media never mentions is that these innocent people were being held hostage by Hamas to surround their missile launchers, in essence, daring Israel to retaliate.

    If Arafat left no other lesson behind for the Palestinian people, he taught them how to effectively manipulate the press and Hamas has learned this lesson well. They know that if Israel strikes back killing women and children it will give the media a hay day creating another black eye for Israel . In addition, Hamas often uses public locations to store weapons and civilian housing complexes as terrorist bases of operation. When such places come to the attention of the IDF, in consideration for the civilians living in and around these Hamas strongholds, Israel will often telephone an advance warning that they intend to strike. In all my days I have never heard of any army warning its enemy of the date and approximate time it intends to launch an attack. Israel 's intention is to save innocent lives, and Hamas uses this to their advantage thus giving them time to relocate their weapons and their fighters.

    To further stack the cards in their favor, Hamas will often force innocent children, women and the elderly onto the rooftops of places Israel is preparing to strike in order to make certain there are civilian casualties for the media to see and report. The Palestinian people have no choice in the matter. The next day newspapers around the world print headlines something like… "Israeli air strike kills women and children in housing complex …." The Israelis are not fighting against people who value life. They are fighting against evil terrorists who think nothing about sacrificing innocent and helpless people who are their own flesh and blood in their fight against Israel .

    Where are the investigative reporters who used to report the news without interjecting their own slants and biases and who would dig for and report the truth? The world must consider the nature of the enemy Israel is facing. As terrible as 9/11 was for America , we have had only a slight taste of terrorism in our land.

    People everywhere who value life and who hold fast to the concepts of freedom and democracy must start paying close attention to what is happening in Israel . We must read every newspaper account with a questioning mind. Just because it is in print does not make it true. If we fail to stand up and speak out in support of Israel and against terrorism, we will soon be wrapped in the clutches of terrorists much like a boa constrictor wraps its victim squeezing the life out of it until the victim can no longer breathe. We must be alert and make it our business to be educated. Read newspapers…yes. Watch news reports…yes - but we must make it a point to dig below the surface. The only way to defeat our enemy is to know our enemy.

    P.S. In Bosnia, the Serbs took Dutch peacekeepers as human shields to prevent NATO jets from attacking their positions.

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  10. Hello Anonymous that made a posting at 8.06am on the 12th of January, 2009,

    Peace be with you. I just like to let you know that my family name is Foo, not fool.

    As for the rest of your comment, there is no one to receive them, so probably have to ask the "postman" to return to sender.

    Thank you.

    A nice day to you.

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  11. Anon of 12:54 PM, January 12, 2009 and 2:23 PM, January 12, 2009 - presumably the same person.

    Just a friendly caution - please do not cut & paste entire articles onto the comment section - I welcome your comments but not such cut & paste spamming - I suggest a short summary with a link, just like Anon of 10:53 AM, January 12, 2009 had done - so that if anyone is interested in pursuing the subject he/she can jump to that blog or news online.

    In future I will delete all cut & paste spamming if I deem the articles too long or not related to the thread of my post.

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  12. Wonder who will benefit with the reports of riots

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1111203/Cities-world-platform-hundreds-thousands-protesters-Gaza-fighting.html

    http://rawstory.com/news/2008/London_riots_over_Israels_Gaza_campaign_0110.html

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  13. the simple truth is that the Israeli people are a normal people with normal aspirations. They are no better but they are no worse than any other national group. What they aspire to, above all, is a piece of land to call their own on which to live in freedom and dignity. We question the motives of people who go to the extreme of calling them a nation of gangsters. We question the motives of people who liken them to the connivers of Apartheid when Israel has absolute equality for Arabs and Israelis while the Palestinians have racist discriminating laws against selling land to Jews.

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  14. I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I would leave my first comment. I have no idea how to solve this problem. While it's a shame that civilians and children have been victims of this terrible war.Palestinians have been victimized by their own beloved Hamas who are dressing like civilians.Why is the world so against Israel?

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