To my disappointment during Bob Scchieffer’s conversation with Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren on Thursday afternoon at the Aspen Institute Festival of Ideas there was no mention of the June 30th Israeli Navy abduction of the boat The Spirit of Humanity in international waters. It was headed to Gaza to bring humanitarian aid. Among the 21 human rights workers on board were four American citizens including former U.S. Congresswomen Cynthia McKinney and a friend of mine Huwaida Arraf (a young human rights attorney). Irish Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire was also on board and remains in an Israeli Jail.
According to Israeli authorities McKinney is being uncooperative as she is not willing to sign a document admitting to illegally entering Israeli territory. She was on a boat in claimed international waters when abducted and was forced into Israel. Israel supposidely ”gave” Gaza back to the Palestinians in August 2005 but still holds this 25 mile stretch of land with 1.5 million people under a blockade. Nothing enters or leaves Gaza without Israeli approval.
The conversation with Oren, as well as local papers, should have covered this event, but no one seems to want to put Israel in a bad light by bringing up the facts. Political maneuvering should not take precedence over the human rights of a suffering population- the Palestinians in Gaza. To date the U.S. has made no statement on this situation. Justice requires us to hold all nations to the same standards, not always giving Israel a pass.
Cynthia McKinney and her shipmates were freed.
This is the reason Cynthia McKinney is demonized and forgotten in the memory hole. You never heard about this from the ConMan. I mean its only 2.3 trillion missing from the Pentagon on 9-10. But the ConMan would rather talk about Sarah Palin and other nonsense.
Michael Conniff is a perfect local example of the national media blackout on Israel’s shenanigans. He consistently refuses to focus on any issue that points to Israel’s human rights abuses, preferring to always blame Hamas just like the mainstream media.
I don’t think he’s part of any big Jewish conspiracy. He’s just a product of his own prejudice, like many Americans. Most never look beyond what we were taught; that Jews are innocent victims of anti-Semitism and Palestinians are evil terrorists.
I think Michael is a reasonably intelligent and compassionate person. If he really knew the truth about what Israel is doing to the Palestinians, he would be shocked and horrified. But since he already believes he knows the truth, there’s no reason for him to look any further. So he unwittingly keeps his audience in the dark by allowing the lies and distortions to be repeated on his radio show.
What a terrible waste of an opportunity to speak truth for freedom and justice!
Sue you made some good points. I heard Dennis Prager speak on Friday at the Jerome Hotel. His message was that Arabs dislike the state of Israel because it is a Jewish state. He disregarded the fact that in 1948 Israel violently took 78 % of the area called Palestine to create Israel. The majority of the population then was Arabs. Oppressive Israel policies have forced the Arabs out of Isreal.
In 1967 Israel took over the remaining 22 % of Palestine (West Bank, Gaza, E. Jerusalem, Sinai, etc.) and continues to hold the West Bank under an oppressive military occupation. By confiscation of land in the West Bank and E. Jerusalen for Jewish only Settlements and roads, the separation wall, Israel is illegally taking over more Palestinian land.
The injustices of the land confiscation and brutal treatment of the Palestinians is the reason those in the Middle East dislike the state of Israel, not because it is Jewish.
Prager has to stop thinking it is about his religion rather than the injustices towards the Palestinians. It is about them not you.
On Friday’s Con Games, Dennis Prager said, “I know alot about the Middle East.” Sounds like he “knows” what the rest of America including Conniff thinks they know. It’s really sad that intelligent compassionate people are brainwashed into thinking the Middle East conflict is a religious issue. Even sadder that they, like Prager and Conniff pass on their brainwashing to others.
Huh?
Oh you’re going to play dumb now?
Real cute.
OK let me clear up the confusion for you since you obviously didn’t read anything on this post except my last comment, leading you to think my criticism comes “out of the blue.”
1. Cathleen’s post was about the media not covering anything critical of Israel.
2. My comment #2 relates this to my experiences with a local radio host (that’s you, presumably part of the media).
3. Cathleen’s comment #3 illustrates the false impression of the Middle East conflict that is being presented to the public by people like Dennis Prager, incidentally a guest on Friday’s Con Games.
4.. My comment #4 links Dennis Prager’s claim to “know alot about the Middle East” to your blind spot regarding the Middle East conflict, which is a result of the brainwashing we’ve all received on this topic since childhood.
You don’t like being accused of being brainwashed? Then educate yourself! Find out the truth about the Middle East conflict and you will have successfully overcome your blind spot.
Here’s a start:
http://www.aspenpost.net/2009/07/08/hypocrite-speaks-at-the-aspen-ideas-festival/
You might want to read the whole thing and pay attention so as not to be confused.
Back to the topic at hand:
Cathleen is in good company:
http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1646182
Woefully inadequate coverage of Gaza events
While the North American mainstream media keeps us distracted with tales of the deaths of celebrities like Michael Jackson, real news goes completely unreported.
How many of your readers were aware the state of Israel committed a serious act of piracy last week. From international waters they abducted a ship and 21 people who were doing nothing wrong. Those people, including journalists and a former U. S. Congresswoman, are now detained in Israel. Their “crime” was to attempt to deliver humanitarian aid and reconstruction materials (like bags of cement) to Gaza.
A few months ago, the media spent many days regaling us with stories of desperately poor Somali pirates who attacked vessels within their own territorial waters. Now they completely ignore Israel doing the same thing in international waters (a bigger outrage). While Somali pirates were trying to feed themselves and their families, Israel’s attack was designed to prevent aid from reaching the oppressed and starving people of Gaza. Let your readers decide which is the greater sin.
Also largely unreported are the frequent attacks Israeli navy vessels are making upon peaceful Palestinian fishermen well within the territorial waters of Gaza. This is simply an unlawful attempt to starve the people of Gaza and force them to abandon their land, which Israel covets. Similarly, innocent Palestinian farmers are being shot at, wounded or killed, while trying to tend their fields if those fields are within rifle range of Israel’s border.
These are clear and repeated violations of international law against the same people who were ejected from land now held, and illegally settled upon, by Israelis. Yet, almost nobody dares speak out for fear of being branded an anti- Semite or a Hamas sympathizer.
Well, I’m not anti-Semitic, and while I can’t condone some of the actions or policies of Hamas, I certainly have deep sympathy for the long-suffering people of Gaza. As a direct result, I have developed an utter contempt for the continuing actions of the state of Israel.
If more people knew what was really going on, Israel would be forced to act in a legal and humane fashion. More is the pity that our mainstream media are so woefully inadequate at reporting the news.
William Lambert
Port Hope
As much as Israel has a right to exist, and that is certain from my perspective, Israel has been wrong in the way they deal with the land issue. While there have been a few differences here and there, the settlers are not much different from the settlers in our West 150 years ago, on treaty designated land for various Native American Nations — the only good Indian is a dead Indian under the excuse of “we are fighting for our homes.” I think everyone understands the concept. I feel safe in roughly equating manifest destiny/social darwinism with the What is it, the greater Judea/Samaria and with liebensraum of prewar Germany. (Sue feel free to correct any of that. )I mean c’mon it’s just a simple landgrab.
Nevertheless, and despite the general placation of those settlers, Israel has made I feel, very reasonable offers for peace that could have been modified through time and subsequent negotiations, to the negotiators representing a part of the Palistinian population. The Palestinian population was served with a position from their negotiators that was ALL OF WHAT WE WANT OR NOTHING. I do not think that has served the Palestinians well. So instead of having an independent country with perhaps many shortcomings — the prisoner exchange the shoreline etc., they now have nothing but complaints and lamentable conditions. I happen to think the rejection of the Barak plan ranks as the most idiotic move made in the region by the PLO/PA , far exceeding support for Saddam Hussein.
It is just my opinion, but I see nothing as worse than something workable, something that could be a first step, something that could lead to more negotiations to improve what was considered to be lacking in the first place. But for some nothing is better, better because there is no real accountability regarding administration of a coun try, better because it is easier to keep doing what you have always done, better because some will cry for you instead of asking why didn’t take the deal dumbass.
Israel should unilaterally meet its’ offer in the Barak plan (that means kicking out the settlers and tossing them into prisons for resisting what would be in the best interests of Israel), withdraw and the Palestinians will have not even a moral scintilla of a position if they don’t take responsibility for administering the land they would get. They could show the world that they deserve more negotiations. Responsibility may be worse than nothing.
[ I feel safe in roughly equating manifest destiny/social darwinism with the What is it, the greater Judea/Samaria and with liebensraum of prewar Germany. (Sue feel free to correct any of that. )I mean c'mon it's just a simple landgrab.]
Correct on all points.
I also agree with you that the Palestinians have not been led well. But that’s no excuse for Israel to reneg on their promises. Israel is the bigger power, the occupying force, so it’s incumbent on them to make peace happen whatever it takes. The only thing really preventing the creation of a Palestinian State is that for the past 42 years, Israel has been unwilling to end their military occupation, under the guise of security of course (always “for your safety” – right infowars?).
The stumbling block in negotiations has always been centered on East Jerusalem, second; Right of Return for the refugees, third; settlements. Many Palestinians are content to let most of the larger settlements near the border with Israel remain and removing just the smaller outposts which are illegal even by Israel’s standards.
So I guess what I’m saying is, even if the smaller outpost settlements are removed, it won’t amount to much. If Israel is unwilling to relinquish control and withdraw it’s civilian and military presence from East Jerusalem so it can become the promised capital of Palestine, then I can pretty much assure you that it’s no dice for the Palestinians.
And then there’s Right of Return…sheeeeesh!…a topic for another time.
[Resposibility may be worse than nothing]
…but it’s definitely not worse than raising your children under apartheid, persecution, oppression, deprivation, starvation, degradation…OCCUPATION!
From Huffington Post (too bad Conniff doesn’t read these blogs)…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ir-amim/what-is-behind-jerusalems_b_222101.html
The plan, “Jerusalem 2020,” calls for investment in affordable housing units, expansion of the tourism industry, increased job training and employment opportunities, and new housing for Arab residents. In many respects, Jerusalem 2020 is long overdue.
At its core, however, this plan is Israel’s attempt to strengthen its hold on the West Bank lands that were annexed to Jerusalem in 1967, and to keep them under exclusive Israeli control. Beyond the problematic legal and political ramifications of fortifying the internationally unacceptable inflated borders of Israeli municipal Jerusalem, the plan serves to reinforce the intolerable situation in which Palestinian residents have been mired since 1967. The plan hinges on — and realizes — the assumption that the heart of the city that was conquered in 1967, the Old City and the historic basin surrounding it, will belong to Israel forevermore.
Merriam-Webster:
* Main Entry: huh
* Pronunciation: \a grunt articulated as a syllabic m or n with a voiceless onset, or as the syllable ˈhə or ˈhəⁿ, often ending in a glottal stop, and uttered with a range of intonations; often read as ˈhə\
* Function: interjection
* Etymology: imitative of a grunt
* Date: 1608
—used to express surprise, disbelief, or confusion, or as an inquiry inviting affirmative reply
Hhmmnnn…
I hate to put it this way but.. it could have been worse.
Check these movies out to see for yourselves what kind of relationship we historically have had with Israel.
I corresponded with one of the participants of the second movie (BBC). Lets just say his perception of the Flag, Mom and Apple Pie took a major hit.
Cathleen and Sue are not fools when they say you must look beyond your conceptual bias.
Remember, we are a quarter century beyond 1984. The alarm has been ringing for many years. Just because it is easier to try and keep sleeping doesn’t mean its not time to wake up…
[Resposibility may be worse than nothing]
…but it’s definitely not worse than raising your children under apartheid, persecution, oppression, deprivation, starvation, degradation…OCCUPATION!
– Therefore the PLO/PA should have taken the deal, if only to alleviate the above, for those who are born into this situation through no fault of their own. Again the PLO/PA totally f-ed up.
Israel should also withdraw regardless of the inept incoherent Palestinian (gag) “leadership.” They then should be open to negotiations, on those items you mentioned, and you won’t like this; promise and deliver massive retaliation to those states/extra-territorial entities that decide to use violence, instead of negotiations. Any Palestinian connected to any hate crime, after deciding to accept Israeli citizenship, should be expelled/exiled permanently, to never return. So Israel is not embarrassed, the legal procedings in such cases should be very public (televised with Palestinian observers in the court room) and exceptionally diligent.
The Palestinians should accept joint administration of East Jerusalem with the UN, and a Teddy Kollek type of guy as a sort of governor, and then by stages reversion to possible total Palestinian control.
The problem with this, or just about any such process, has been Israeli intransigence, and chaotic minority Palestinian representation and a lack of restraint by various composite factions. I do not see that changing anytime soon — I hope I am wrong.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vela_Incident
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,914952,00.html
Lets say just for the purposes of argument, that Israel has done bad things, even escalated some very dangerous issues such as the above and I do think they were involved with both situations, the Palestinians still should have accepted the Barak plan. Leaders aren’t always interested in what’s best for those they lead, but almost always are interested in leading — whatever it takes, and that goes for both sides.
“Lets say just for the purposes of argument, that Israel has done bad things”
OK, Lets start here
http://www.ussliberty.org
http://www.gtr5.com/
On June 8, 1967, US Navy intelligence ship USS Liberty was suddenly and brutally attacked on the high seas in international waters by the air and naval forces of Israel. The Israeli forces attacked with full knowledge that this was an American ship and lied about it. Survivors have been forbidden for 40 years to tell their story under oath to the American public. The USS Liberty Memorial web site tells their story and is dedicated to the memory of the 34 brave men who died.
The Attack
After surveilling USS Liberty for more than nine hours with almost hourly aircraft overflights and radar tracking, the air and naval forces of Israel attacked our ship in international waters without warning. USS Liberty was identified as a US naval ship by Israeli reconnaissance aircraft nine hours before the attack and continuously tracked by Israeli radar and aircraft thereafter. Sailing in international waters at less than five knots, with no offensive armament, our ship was not a military threat to anyone.
The Israeli forces attacked without warning and without attempting to contact us. Thirty four Americans were killed in the attack and another 174 were wounded. The ship, a $40-million dollar state-of-the-art signals intelligence platform, was later declared unsalvageable and sold for scrap.
The Cover Up
Despite a near-universal consensus that the Israeli attack was made with full knowledge that USS Liberty was a US Navy ship, the Johnson administration began an immediate cover-up of this fact. Though administration officers continued individually to characterize the attack as deliberate, the Johnson administration never sought the prosecution of the guilty parties or otherwise attempted to seek justice for the victims. They concealed and altered evidence in their effort to downplay the attack. Though they never formally accepted the Israeli explanation that it was an accident, they never pressed for a full investigation either. They simply allowed those responsible literally to get away with murder.
In an ongoing effort to reveal the truth about the attack, the USS Liberty Veterans Association has filed with the Secretary of the Army in the manner prescribed by law a detailed, fully documented Report of War Crimes describing the circumstances of the attack on our ship and evidence that it was a crime under international law. In accordance with international law and treaties, the United States is obligated to investigate the allegations. So far, the United States has declined even to acknowledge that the report has been filed. The full text of the report can be found at http://www.gtr5.com/evidence/warcrimes.pdf
It is unfortunate in the extreme that the Liberty has been effectively removed from commonly known history. Sadly, I am very aware that this country, I would love the honor of being able to say my country, has been complicit, culpable and the initiator of unadjudicated actions that would then be war crimes. If it were my country and run by my circles of friends and closer aquaintances this country would be dramatically different and would be offered respect, instead of recently beggaring for it via intimidation.
The Liberty incident is still not a good reason for the Palestinian refusal to accept the Barak plan. Just getting back on topic.
Ed-I think Star Eagle’s point was that based on the Liberty, Israel is not all that good an ally. I have a hard time with the conspiracy angle, but the BBC piece was interesting. That said, it’s a flimsy argument that says the Liberty constitutes evidence that US support of the Israel is unwarranted. That’s the titillation of conspiracy theory: reading far more into an event than what facts support.
Cheers,
Mitch; I see what you are saying to be sure. The bottom line on the whole thing from the US perspective and something to learn from is; Israel at least has a coherent foreign policy compared to our own.
We spy and do other naughty things to our “friends” and allies, possibly more than we do with our enemies, and those friends/allies do the same.
The 40 year old Liberty incident is, while certainly an aggrievance, not in the league of rupturing the arrangement for the convenient base that Israel is as a vanguard station for projection of US influence.
I am not always against conspiracies, only if the cover up of the conspiracy is more complicated/”bigger” than the action. Even then they should be looked at.
http://www.english.globalarabnetwork.com/200907011471/Opinion/the-pirates-of-zion-obama-misses-the-boat.html
The Pirates of Zion: Obama misses the Boat
Dr. Alan Sabrosky
Wednesday, 01 July 2009 02:46
justice_boat_out-of-port
Israel’s boarding and capture in international waters of The Spirit of Humanity, an unarmed boat carrying relief supplies to the suffering people of Gaza, shows that state-sponsored piracy is a real peril today.
It is just one more breach of international law added to the global “rap sheet” of a rogue state that, as Netanyahu remarked a few weeks ago, is not like other countries. But Israel’s capture of this boat was also Netanyahu’s test of Obama’s resolve – a test Obama failed, to his shame and discredit.
The Past as Prologue
It isn’t the first time Israel has done something like this. Virtually everyone who manages to get into Gaza is appalled by the destruction and suffering there. Most of the destruction occurred during Israel’s savage onslaught against Gaza six months ago, accompanied by applause from the US Congress and the Bush Administration, and silence from President-elect Obama. Most of the suffering, before and since that attack, occurred because of the blockade Israel has imposed on Gaza, reducing the flow of basic necessities to a bare minimum and post-attack recovery aid to a meaningless trickle.
A key part of this policy of strangulation has been Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza’s coast and its interception, removal or capture of several small boats attempting to bring humanitarian assistance to the population of Gaza. Tuesday’s totally illegal seizure of The Spirit of Humanity was relatively restrained – they merely intercepted and surrounded the boat in international waters at night, electronically disrupted its onboard navigational devices, then boarded and captured the ship and crew, including several Americans. In the past, they’ve rammed and nearly sunk relief boats (December 2008) or beaten the crew after boarding it (February 2009). Israel always denies wrongdoing and claims it was intercepting war material – the olive trees carried on The Spirit of Humanity doubtless being camouflaged missiles.
The Present as Portent
Israel’s blockade of the Gaza coast is a violation of international law, of course, as is boarding a peaceful ship in international waters under threat of armed attack, and Israel’s treatment of Gaza overall. There is no ambiguity whatsoever in these matters, which is why Israel never cooperates with any international effort to investigate them – even when a UN commission is headed by a Jewish jurist (from South Africa) with impeccable credentials. Israel, like all the truly guilty throughout history, dares not let its actions be exposed officially. But owning most of the US Congress and a major part of the mainstream media apparently means, to them, never having to say you’re sorry.
This incident, however, had the potential to be different. It is not just that piracy in any form is commonly viewed as a plague. It is that few principles are so embedded in US tradition as that of the freedom of the seas, and with it the inviolability of US citizens. Some of the earliest victories two centuries ago by the fledgling American Republic were over the Barbary pirates of North Africa, and the US has joined in combating piracy recently off Somalia. Moreover, Obama himself has been something of a cipher to Israel – not so much because of what he has done (they haven’t lost a penny or a bullet in US aid under him), but because of uncertainty concerning his character and his intentions. A test of the new president was clearly in order.
And this was that test. The US knew The Spirit of Humanity was en route to Gaza and that Americans were aboard. The US also knew that Israeli gunboats were en route to intercept the relief ship, and that the interception would occur in international waters. The US understood that the Israelis would not simply send their gunboats out and then recall them, absent outside pressure. And once those gunboats surrounded and began assailing the relief ship, the only question was whether they would ram and perhaps sink it, or board and capture it and the people aboard, unless the US intervened.
If Obama seriously meant to change the US role in the region and the dynamics of the conflict, this was the time and place to take a stand. A single call to Netanyahu might have caused the Israelis to abort the attack. A single US destroyer or frigate from the 6th Fleet, with orders to enforce international law and protect The Spirit of Humanity in international waters, thereby safeguarding US citizens, absolutely would have done it. An open encounter with a US warship would inevitably have unpleasant consequences for the Israelis, costing them several gunboats and opening a can of political worms they dare not allow the American public to see — and it is a great pity that did not happen.
But it didn’t. Obama kept quiet, as he did during the Gaza onslaught – perhaps he is writing a book called Profiles in Silence? – the US 6th Fleet did nothing, and the world has the joy of yet another successful Israeli act of piracy and breach of international law. Netanyahu and Lieberman must be laughing. Their prisoners, including American citizens abandoned yet again by their government, are not. And neither are the oppressed Palestinians.
A Future?
The suffering in Gaza needs to end, but the rest of the world needs to realize that they can expect little or no tangible help from the US, at least for the present. Obama may have good intentions, and his words are good, but his policies increasingly give them the lie. Perhaps Israel’s crimes are too complex for him to grasp. More likely, he is politically incapable of holding it to account. If any other country did what Israel has done here and in Gaza, Obama would likely treat it as an act of war, or at least do to it what NATO did to Yugoslavia in the 1990s. But not Israel, not now, and certainly not by Israel’s sitting president pro tempore in the White House.
Global Arab Network
*Alan Sabrosky (Ph.D, University of Michigan) is a ten-year US Marine Corps veteran and a graduate of the US Army War College. He can be contacted at docbrosk@comcast.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it