Wouldn't it be horrendous if those who shot down MH17 were to receive a medal for their efforts?
On 17 July 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpar. It is a tragedy that cost 298 innocent lives.
Investigations are continuing into the tragedy, however it is widely believed that Russian separatists shot the plane down with a weapon supplied by Russia.
Because of the Russian backing of the rebels, some are holding President Vladimir Putin responsible. There is also pressure on Putin to withdraw any Russian troops or involvement in the Ukrainian conflict which has cost thousands of lives.
Australia's Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, demanded that President Putin apologise and pay compensation to the families of the MH17 victims. He claims to have evidence the weapon was immediately smuggled across the border into Russia after the tragedy. If this is the case, Mr Abbott should present this evidence to the investigators.
It is premature to be holding Russia responsible. Investigations are still ongoing and have even raised the possibility of a Ukrainian military jet firing on MH17. There is also the possibility that the jet was shot down by forces within Russia, which would mean a direct involvement from the Russian military. Investigators claim that the plane was hit by a number of high velocity objects that is consistent with it being hit by a surface-to-air BUK missile, which would most likely have been supplied by Russia.
President Obama states Russia's aggression against Ukraine is a 'threat to the world, as we saw in the appalling shoot down of MH17'.
It is a grim irony ... or hypocrisy, in fact, that President Obama decries the tragedy when it was his own nation that shot down a civilian passenger jet, Iranian Air flight 655, on 3 July 1988, killing 290 innocent civilians. The difference between the war crimes of MH17 and IR655 is that IR655 was within Iranian airspace over the Persian Gulf, flying its usual route and its transponder was broadcasting an IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) code on a civilian frequency. The US naval cruiser, the USS Vincennes challenged the jet, got no response and then fired. The crew initially claimed that they thought it was an F-14 Tomcat fighter, even though it was ascending at the time, was travelling relatively slow on a known civilian flight path and using a civilian IFF signal. A 53 page Pentagon report found that the crew testimony was 'erroneous' yet absolved them of any blame.
The crew of the USS Vincennes had more evidence of IF655 being a civilian jet than any Russian separatist in Ukraine would have had about MH17, yet Vincennes still fired and they still attempted to cover-up their crime.
The United States never apologised for the tragedy. In 1996 President Bill Clinton expressed 'deep regret', but this was only after a settlement reached at the International Court of Justice in which the US refused to admit legal liability but agreed to pay compensation of $131 million to Iran, with $61 million going to the families of the victims (around $213,000 each).
The US pinned medals on the crew of the USS Vincennes.
Where was the world-wide condemnation? Where was the world-wide anger? Where was the media? Where was the shirt-fronting?
There is no evidence that we know of which indicates either a sophisticated radar system being used to detect MH17 or that MH17 was challenged prior to the missile being fired. Both of which the USS Vincennes availed themselves prior to shooting down IR655. Whoever shot down MH17 most likely did not realise it was a civilian passenger jet, meaning that as tragic as this was, it was a terrible accident. It is highly unlikely that there was any direct order given, or any intention to attack a civilian airliner.
It is the sentiment of a number of world leaders that Putin be held accountable for the actions of rebels. This is fair enough and should be extended to ensure other nations are held accountable for war crimes committed with their support. For instance, holding the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and other nations that support Israel responsible for Israeli massacres of innocent civilians in Gaza and Israel's breaches of the Geneva Convention in extending settlements into Palestinian territory. Or holding Australia responsible for crimes against humanity committed by the Sri Lankan government against Tamils. After all, Australia recently gifted naval ships to Sri Lanka so they can round up Tamils who may attempt to flee the brutality.
Shooting civilians out of the sky is a war crime, whether it was intentional or not and regardless of whether the perpetrator was Government or a militant. Those who kill civilians should not be exempt from prosecution and certainly should not receive medals.
MH17 is a tragedy and those responsible need to be held accountable. However, the investigation must be conducted without the hyperbole, hysteria and hypocrisy that we are seeing from some quarters.
Showing posts with label Middle East. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Middle East. Show all posts
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Conservative logic and foreign aid
Conservatives are very vocal about the amount of money 'wasted' on Foreign Aid, regardless of whether it is for humanitarian or developmental purposes. The logic behind this opposition is that there are needs in our own country that should be met first. So far, this logic actually has some merit. There are needs in our own country which should be met. However, the logic falls apart the moment that said Conservative opposes addressing those needs, for instance, through social security, or socialised health, housing and educational programs.
The logic develops an even greater flaw when said Conservative is more than happy to see trillions of dollars wasted on illegal and expensive wars, such as Iraq and Afghanistan which have dragged on for a decade and killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people. Additionally, the borrowing of over a trillion dollars to fund these wars has greatly contributed to the economic demise of the United States.
The logic is fatally flawed when Conservatives support providing billions of dollars to Israel to commit war crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, such as killing and maiming civilians by attacking them with white phosphorous and depleted uranium, or continuing the construction of illegal settlements which breach the Fourth Geneva Convention, let alone the ongoing construction of the apartheid wall which imprisons Palestinians and prevents them from accessing hospitals, schools, jobs and their own farmland.
This is not logical.
Wealthier nations should be providing foreign aid AND social security to assist in making people's lives better, rather than funding the destruction of people's lives.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Repenting of the Palestinian Pogrom
Zionists justify Israel's genocide and ethnic cleansing in the name of God. The same God who gave them the Ten Commandments. The same Ten Commandments which the genocide is violating.
On 29 November 2012, the United Nations voted to admit Palestine as a 'non-member state' of the U.N., implicitly accepting Palestine as a nation state. This was 65 years to the day, after the U.N. passed Resolution 181, from which the modern state of Israel was created.
Since then, a number of nations have told Israel to desist building illegal settlements and the United Nations has requested Israel's nuclear program be opened for access to the International Atomic Energy Commission.
Following the creation of modern Israel in 1948, many Christians claimed that it was a fulfilment of biblical prophecy. Unfortunately, they have used this to deny and ignore the many human rights violations that Israel has committed, and is continuing to commit against Palestinians.
Call me old fashioned, but if you're going to go Old Testament on a people-group then you should at least read ALL of the Old Testament. There is a little section in Exodus 20 that is very well-known ... and even netted God a movie deal. It's called 'The Ten Commandments'.
The crimes of modern Israel have been perpetrated in the name of Zionism, which claims that the Jews have an entitlement to the land because they lived there back in the day ... back in the Old Testament day. I have written on this argument in 'Road to Nakba'.
Rather than justifying these abuses in the name of God and the bible, the modern state of Israel and those who blindly support her, should get down on their collective knees and repent of the following breaches of the Ten Commandments:
- 'You shall have no other gods before me': God has been replaced with Zionism and the modern state of Israel, which are treated with such great religious reverence that critics will apparently incur the curses of God. These curses are based, as a lot of Zionism is, on a misinterpretation of scripture. In Genesis 12:3 God told Abraham he would 'bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you'. Zionists have extended this verse to cover all of Israel, yet it was only ever meant for Abraham.
- 'You shall not make for yourself an idol': yet Israel itself is idolised through Zionism, which is essentially nationalism, an extreme version of patriotism that puts the nation ahead of all criticism, morality and accountability.
- 'Do not take the Lord's name in vain': Zionists commit genocide and ethnic cleansing in the name of God and justify it through mispresenting scripture. The bible does not give Zionists this land and it certainly doesn't give them the right to commit ethnic cleansing. I have written more on that subject in 'Israel - Superstition, Prophecy and Human Rights'.
- 'Keep holy the Lord's day': the Sabbath has been desecrated as Israel continues killing innocents and waging war on the day of rest.
- 'Honour your father and mother': Zionists have desecrated the memory of those who suffered in the holocaust claiming that 'never again' will there be another holocaust, while they commit genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
- 'Do not kill': Murdering Palestinians from 1947 to now, including women and children shot dead at gun-point by the Israeli soldiers and by the indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas. Israel has used white-phosphorous and depleted uranium in civilian areas which is a war-crime. Even the illegal settlers kill Palestinians.
- 'Do not steal': Stealing the land, houses and possessions of Palestinians often at the point of guns, tanks or rockets since 1947. The theft continues with the construction of illegal settlements which breach the Fourth Geneva Convention.
- 'Do not lie': Zionists have been lying about their genocidal actions and making up terrible lies about Palestine, such as a 'land without a people for a people without a land' to wipe an entire people-group from history and deny their very existence. The land was, and is, inhabited by a people-group who have thousands of years of history in this area.
- 'Do not covet': Coveting land that was, and is, inhabited by others and then actively displacing those people so Zionists could take the land.
The Ten Commandments were handed down to the Jews as they escaped persecution in Ancient Egypt, while the above breaches of the Ten Commandments have been committed by some Jews fleeing persecution in Europe. This persecution was widespread, including being perpetrated by Nazis, Soviets and others. The pogroms and injustices that Jews in Europe faced were terrible, however, they cannot be used as excuses for similar crimes.
The creation of Israel occurred in the name of Zionism, which claims that biblical scripture prophesies the re-establishment of Israel (Zion) and the return of the Jewish diaspora to it. As mentioned previously, Zionists claimed that Palestine was a 'land without a people', that those who lived there had no culture and had not cared for the land. This mantra was used 100 years ago in the Zionist campaign for the creation of Israel, and is still believed and repeated today.
'Land without a people' is a mantra aimed at legitimising the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestine.
It is a lie.
It was particularly evident in the lead-up to the recent U.N. vote on admitting Palestine as a non-member state, in order to discredit any attempt to recognise Palestine as a state.
Contrary to Zionist propaganda, Palestine existed for thousands of years:
- Prior to 1948, currency and passports were issued in the nationality of 'Palestine'.
- In World War II, war in the Middle East was known as the Palestine Campaign and the British military issued a General Service Palestine Campaign Medal .
- In World War I, war in the Middle East was known as the 'Palestine Campaign' and the British military issued a General Service Medal with Palestine clasp.
- In 1798-1799, Napoleon undertook his 'Palestine campaign' and was defeated.
- The Crusaders fought in and at one stage ruled Palestine.
- The bible refers to Palestine.
- The ancient Greeks referred to it as Palaistine.
- Ancient Egyptians referred to the area as Peleset.
Many claims have been made by Zionists to discredit Arab claims to the land, including claiming the call for Palestinian nationhood is only a 20th century phenomenon and prior to that there was no common Palestinian identity. However, the same is true for Israeli nationhood and identity.The Zionist movement of the late 19th century was new and in response to antisemitism in Europe which had seen a number of genocidal pogroms waged against Jews. The Jewish diaspora never referred to themselves as Israeli, they referred to themselves as Jews or by the nation that they were living in, e.g. Polish, Russian, German etc.
Arabs in Palestine however, did identify with their location, referring to it as Palestine, to themselves as Palestinian, or by the town they lived in (e.g. Gaza, Jaffa), and of course by their religion, namely Muslim, Christian or Jew. Perhaps they did not call for a nation-state during the last 1,000 years, but neither did 'Israel'. It must also be kept in mind that the 'nation-state' is a modern concept. In Europe for instance, the nation-state only commenced around 360 years ago with the Peace of Westphalia treaties that were signed in 1648.
The 'land without a people' argument will sometimes acknowledge that the land of Palestine existed, but never with its own government. The argument states that the land has always been ruled by others. This does not mean that the land was without people. It also does not mean that the people were without culture. Ironically, the land of Palestine is the same land as Israel, which means all those years of foreign rule apply to Israel as well.
Zionists claim that Israel has a continuous history and the people have inhabited the land for thousands of years. Ironically, the same Zionists will declare that the Jews were exiled some 2,000 years ago which contradicts the 'continuous history' argument. The land has not been ruled by Jews since 587BC, when Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar captured it. Since then, the land has been ruled by numerous empires, none Jewish. Additionally, the claim of a continuous Jewish identity over thousands of years is misleading, as prior to 722BC, there were separate tribes, such as Judah, Benjamin, Levi and Israel. When the northern kingdom of Israel fell in 722BC, the southern tribe of Judah took control of the area. Nonetheless, the Jews have not ruled this area for at least 2,500 years.
Comparatively, it has been 3,000 years since the area was ruled by Palestinians, or the Philistines as they were known back then. In 1125BC the Israelites conquered the Canaanites. In 1050BC the Philistines conquered the Israelites and ruled until overthrown in 1000BC. While it has been 3,000 years since they ruled, the Palestinians have lived continuously in this area since at least then.
Zionists claim that prior to the establishment of Israel the people in that area had no culture and had not cared for the land. Are they saying that the richness of Islamic culture which is evident throughout Spain, the Middle East, Persia, Eastern Europe and Turkey, did not happen in Palestine? Are they saying that people who lived there for thousands of years did not care enough to grow crops and tend farm animals? Yet, the Palestinians managed to survive for all those thousands of years, did and do have a rich culture and did and do care for the land.
Zionism is a dangerous cult which has hijacked Judaism and Christianity. It is claimed to be of God in order to fulfil biblical prophecy, when it is of man in order to fulfil racist, genocidal policies and expand power and hegemony.
Zionists have a genuine belief that the next holocaust is just around the corner; that the whole world is conspiring to wipe Judaism from the planet. This is fundamentally flawed and inaccurate. The Holocaust was a major tragedy, as were the centuries of European pogroms against the Jews. However, those are no reason to perpetuate the pogroms through the ongoing slaughter and oppression of the Palestinians. It was not the Palestinians who waged these terrible atrocities on the Jews. The Middle East itself has been relatively peaceful with Muslims, Jews and Christians living harmoniously together compared to the violence of Europe in which many Jews found themselves persecuted. I have written in more detail on this in 'Liberty comes with hands dabbled in blood'.
To justify its paranoia, Israel claims that it has been attacked a number of times by its Arab neighbours. Yet, since 1948, there has only been one international attack on Israel; the fourth Arab-Israeli war (or Yom Kippur War) in 1973, in which Egypt and Syria attacked. Prior to that, Israel had initiated the attacks:
- On 30 November 1947, the day after the UN passed resolution 181, Jewish forces immediately attacked Palestinian villages, killing thousands and forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes. The first Arab-Israeli war in 1948 was in response to Israel's ongoing military aggression.
- The second Arab-Israeli war, in 1956, occurred when Israel attacked Egypt and occupied the Gaza Strip.
- In 1967 Egypt moved tanks into position along the border with Israel. The Knesset was briefed by its Generals who advised that Egypt's Army was at least a year away from being combat ready and that Israel's economy could not sustain a protracted war. The Generals recommended a preemptive strike by Israel. Some months later, the Knesset agreed and Israel attacked Egyptian forces, defeating them within 6 days. This was the third Arab-Israeli war, or the '6 day war'. Following this, Israel attacked Jordan and took control of the West Bank, which it continues to occupy to this day. (1)
- In 1982, Israel attacked southern Lebanon because of the PLO headquarters there, even though the PLO had been abiding by a cease-fire until Israel fired rockets at them. The invasion resulted in the deaths of thousands of Palestinian refugees.
Some argue that it is the Palestinians who do not want peace. Yet, the Palestinians are still willing to negotiate after having lost 78% of their land. Hamas has stated 'Hamas is open to permanent peace with Israel if there is total withdrawal to the 1967 borders, 22% of historic Palestine and if the arrangement is supported by referendum of all Palestinians living under occupation'. (2)
Isaiah 41:10 tell us 'do not be afraid for I am your God', yet Israel lives in daily self-induced fear generated by its paranoia. The scriptures say to trust in God, but Israel is putting trust in itself, its military might and the billions of dollars provided by the United States. Any claim that Israel's military superiority is a blessing from God contradicts the scriptures, for instance, Hosea 1:7 which states 'Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah, will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, Nor by sword or battle, By horses or horse-men'.
Peace in the region can only be achieved when Israel stops the illegal occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, when it stops the illegal settlements and the brutality it unleashes on the Palestinians. Whether a one-state or two-state solution eventuates the only way to peace is for both Palestinians and Israelis to have the same rights as each other. The international community must hold Israel accountable by hearing allegations of war-crimes through the International Criminal Court.
A good start for peace, is for Israel to acknowledge its crimes, ask forgiveness, repent by removing the illegal settlements and tearing down the inhumane annexation barriers, return to the borders of 1967, or even 1948, and cease the violence by both the IDF and the settlers, opening the way for true love and peace with its neighbours.
Reference:
1. Miko Peled (2012), 'The General's Son - Journey of an Israeli in Palestine', Just World Books
2. Rogers Waters address to the United Nations on behalf of the Russell Tribunal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DrSPFYXUfQ&feature=share
Monday, November 19, 2012
The History of Palestine
The below video provides a brief overview of the modern history of Palestine and, in particular, the influence of Zionism, which really was the beginning of the current conflict. It challenges issues such as 'land without a people' and the Zionist claim that Israeli occupation of Palestinian towns was peaceful and legal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=n3bxj1uvDXU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=n3bxj1uvDXU
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Remembering Sabra and Shatila
It has been 30 years today (16 September 2012), since Christian militia massacred up to 3,500 Palestinian civilians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon. Israeli Minister of Defense, Ariel Sharon was found personally responsible by an Israeli Commission of Inquiry, but was never punished.
The camps housed refugees who had fled Palestine during the 1948 war, and later those who were driven from Jordan in 1970 by King Hussein, in which thousands of Palestinians were massacred in what became known as 'Black September'. Hussein, with pressure from Israel, had decided to drive Palestinians from Jordan following a number of attacks and aircraft hijackings by Palestinian militants. These attacks and hijackings were in retaliation for attacks on Palestinians by Israel and Jordan.
For years, Israel had been fighting with the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). Israel claims that they were seeking peace and that the PLO had been instigating acts of terror. The opposite was true. For years, the Israelis had been provoking the Palestinians while rejecting every offer of peace put forward.
Additionally, Christian Phalangists had a history of attacking the Palestinians. In April 1975, a bus carrying Palestinian refugees from the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps was attacked by Phalangists, killing 27. On 6 December 1975 (now known as 'Black Saturday'), 200 muslims were taken hostage and murdered by Christian Phalangists, supposedly in response to the murder of four Phalangist militiamen by Muslims. On 18 January 1976, Christians massacred up to 1,500 Palestinian, Kurd and Syrian Muslims in the Karantina slum. Later that year, Phalangists blockaded the refugee camps preventing supplies reaching the inhabitants. (1)
Israel makes much of attacks by the PLO and other militants, but does not mention the attacks on innocent Palestinians. It does not mention its sustained oppression and bombings of Palestinians in Palestine, Israel, Jordan and Lebanon.
In June 1982, the Israeli army bombed refugee camps in Beirut, reducing many to rubble. The Sabra, Shatila and Bourj el-Brajneh refugee camps sustained heavy bombardment. There were deliberate attacks on two hospitals, killing hundreds of people, including children. Eight of the nine Homes for Orphans were targetted and destroyed. Phosphorous bombs were used in the attacks by Israel, causing severe burns to the victims. Survivors were left in severe pain and were permanently scarred. Many did not survive.
Israel had declared that the refugee camps not only harboured terrorists, but that all Palestinians were terrorists: men, women and children. Therefore instead of attempting to capture one or two who may have committed crimes and taking them to trial, the Israelis felt justified in holding all guilty and issuing an excessive collective punishment which violated international law.
The Israeli bombardment lasted weeks and drove at least half of the 125,000 refugees from the settlements. Israel bull-dozed what was still standing in some of the refugee camps. During this time, Israel deliberately prevented medical supplies and food from being sent into the refugees. (2)
During 1982, Lebanon was being ripped apart by an ongoing civil war and was occupied by both Israel and Syria. On 23 August 1982, Bachir Gemayel, a Christian Phalangist, was elected President of Lebanon. On 14 September 1982, he was assassinated and 26 others killed, when the Phalangist headquarters was bombed. The Lebanese wrongly blamed the Palestinians.
The Israel Army, in their pursuit of the PLO, had surrounded the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila in Beirut. The Israelis controlled access to the camps. They checked everyone who entered and exited. They had the camps under constant surveillance. When the Phalangists came looking for revenge for the assassination of Gemayel, it was the Israeli Army who let them in. For three days, the Israelis watched as the Phalangists brutally murdered innocent men, women and children. Witnesses tell of mothers nursing their babies as the militia stormed their dwellings, and shot the babies dead. Of children being murdered in front of their parents, or parents being murdered in front of their children. This was no military operation attempting to find suspects in a crime, this was a cold-blooded, calculated war crime. Bulldozers were used to scoop up bodies and dump them in mass graves. (3)
It was later found that the assassination had been carried out by Habib Tanious Shartouni, a Lebanese Maronite (Christian) who was affiliated with the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.
On 28 September 1982, the Israeli government established the Kahan 'Commission of Inquiry into the Events at the Refugee Camps in Beirut'. On 8 February 1983, the Inquiry handed down its findings, which held that the Phalangists were directly responsible. The Inquiry found that Israeli Minister of Defense, Ariel Sharon, 'bore personal responsibility' for 'ignoring the danger of blood-shed and revenge', by allowing the Phalangists into the camps and then ignoring the massacre as the Israelis stood by and watched without taking any steps to stop it. The inquiry recommended that Sharon be dismissed as Minister of Defense. Sharon refused to leave the post. (4)
The massacre at Sabra and Shatila is just one of many attrocities committed directly or indirectly by Israel against Palestinians. These massacres form part of Israel's coordinated and long-term plan to completely take over the Palestinian territories and drive Arabs from the area, or annihilate those who remain. It is nothing short of genocide.
We can't just say that it happened 30 years ago and people need to move on. It is still happening today. (5) In 2002, hundreds of Israeli soldiers attacked the Jenin and Nablus refugee camps using tanks and helicopter-launched missiles, killing an unknown number of people. Israel refused to allow the UN to investigate allegations of a massacre, so the subsequent report was based on advice from Israelis, Palestinians and various aid agencies. (6) In 2006, Israel attacked Gaza with phospherous bombs, depleted uranium and Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME), killing more than 1400 Palestinians, injuring more than 5,000, destroying 4,000 homes and leaving 400,000 without water. (7)
Were these atrocities committed by Muslims, the world would be horrified and the entire religion would be vilified. Instead, the atrocities have been committed by Israelis and Lebanese Christian militia. No-one blames the entire Jewish or Christian religions for these atrocities. The United States continues to fund and arm the Israeli government even though numerous inquiries and UN resolutions have been issued against Israel for breaches of the Geneva Convention. Many Christians throughout the world support Israel based on an interpretation of biblical prophecy, without holding Israel to account.
The genocide has to stop. Western governments and conservative religious and political groups need to stop their blind support of Israel and their blind and naive hatred of Palestinians, if peace is to have a chance in the Middle East.
Recognising and understanding the terrible atrocities committed against the Palestinians is just the first step towards peace, respect and human rights.
References
1. Noam Chomsky, 'Fateful Triangle', pp 184-185, Pluto Press, 1991.
2. ibid, p197, pp223-226
3. ibid, pp362-375.
4. Karz-Cohl, 'The Beirut Massacre: The Complete Kahan Commission Report'.
5. Ilan Pappé, 'The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine', Oneworld, 2006
6. 'UN report on Jenin massacre flawed', ABC Radio National, 4 August 2002, reporter Peter Cave. http://www.abc.net.au/correspondents/s639418.htm (accessed 16 September 2012)
7. 'RIP Victims of Operation Cast Lead - 27 December 2008', http://thepandarant.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Palestine
Further reading
Further comment on the invasion of Palestine, the legitimacy of Palestinians, the human rights violations of Israel and the misinterpretation of biblical scripture, refer to these articles at the Ranting Panda blog:
The camps housed refugees who had fled Palestine during the 1948 war, and later those who were driven from Jordan in 1970 by King Hussein, in which thousands of Palestinians were massacred in what became known as 'Black September'. Hussein, with pressure from Israel, had decided to drive Palestinians from Jordan following a number of attacks and aircraft hijackings by Palestinian militants. These attacks and hijackings were in retaliation for attacks on Palestinians by Israel and Jordan.
For years, Israel had been fighting with the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). Israel claims that they were seeking peace and that the PLO had been instigating acts of terror. The opposite was true. For years, the Israelis had been provoking the Palestinians while rejecting every offer of peace put forward.
Additionally, Christian Phalangists had a history of attacking the Palestinians. In April 1975, a bus carrying Palestinian refugees from the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps was attacked by Phalangists, killing 27. On 6 December 1975 (now known as 'Black Saturday'), 200 muslims were taken hostage and murdered by Christian Phalangists, supposedly in response to the murder of four Phalangist militiamen by Muslims. On 18 January 1976, Christians massacred up to 1,500 Palestinian, Kurd and Syrian Muslims in the Karantina slum. Later that year, Phalangists blockaded the refugee camps preventing supplies reaching the inhabitants. (1)
Israel makes much of attacks by the PLO and other militants, but does not mention the attacks on innocent Palestinians. It does not mention its sustained oppression and bombings of Palestinians in Palestine, Israel, Jordan and Lebanon.
In June 1982, the Israeli army bombed refugee camps in Beirut, reducing many to rubble. The Sabra, Shatila and Bourj el-Brajneh refugee camps sustained heavy bombardment. There were deliberate attacks on two hospitals, killing hundreds of people, including children. Eight of the nine Homes for Orphans were targetted and destroyed. Phosphorous bombs were used in the attacks by Israel, causing severe burns to the victims. Survivors were left in severe pain and were permanently scarred. Many did not survive.
Israel had declared that the refugee camps not only harboured terrorists, but that all Palestinians were terrorists: men, women and children. Therefore instead of attempting to capture one or two who may have committed crimes and taking them to trial, the Israelis felt justified in holding all guilty and issuing an excessive collective punishment which violated international law.
The Israeli bombardment lasted weeks and drove at least half of the 125,000 refugees from the settlements. Israel bull-dozed what was still standing in some of the refugee camps. During this time, Israel deliberately prevented medical supplies and food from being sent into the refugees. (2)
During 1982, Lebanon was being ripped apart by an ongoing civil war and was occupied by both Israel and Syria. On 23 August 1982, Bachir Gemayel, a Christian Phalangist, was elected President of Lebanon. On 14 September 1982, he was assassinated and 26 others killed, when the Phalangist headquarters was bombed. The Lebanese wrongly blamed the Palestinians.
The Israel Army, in their pursuit of the PLO, had surrounded the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila in Beirut. The Israelis controlled access to the camps. They checked everyone who entered and exited. They had the camps under constant surveillance. When the Phalangists came looking for revenge for the assassination of Gemayel, it was the Israeli Army who let them in. For three days, the Israelis watched as the Phalangists brutally murdered innocent men, women and children. Witnesses tell of mothers nursing their babies as the militia stormed their dwellings, and shot the babies dead. Of children being murdered in front of their parents, or parents being murdered in front of their children. This was no military operation attempting to find suspects in a crime, this was a cold-blooded, calculated war crime. Bulldozers were used to scoop up bodies and dump them in mass graves. (3)
It was later found that the assassination had been carried out by Habib Tanious Shartouni, a Lebanese Maronite (Christian) who was affiliated with the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.
On 28 September 1982, the Israeli government established the Kahan 'Commission of Inquiry into the Events at the Refugee Camps in Beirut'. On 8 February 1983, the Inquiry handed down its findings, which held that the Phalangists were directly responsible. The Inquiry found that Israeli Minister of Defense, Ariel Sharon, 'bore personal responsibility' for 'ignoring the danger of blood-shed and revenge', by allowing the Phalangists into the camps and then ignoring the massacre as the Israelis stood by and watched without taking any steps to stop it. The inquiry recommended that Sharon be dismissed as Minister of Defense. Sharon refused to leave the post. (4)
The massacre at Sabra and Shatila is just one of many attrocities committed directly or indirectly by Israel against Palestinians. These massacres form part of Israel's coordinated and long-term plan to completely take over the Palestinian territories and drive Arabs from the area, or annihilate those who remain. It is nothing short of genocide.
We can't just say that it happened 30 years ago and people need to move on. It is still happening today. (5) In 2002, hundreds of Israeli soldiers attacked the Jenin and Nablus refugee camps using tanks and helicopter-launched missiles, killing an unknown number of people. Israel refused to allow the UN to investigate allegations of a massacre, so the subsequent report was based on advice from Israelis, Palestinians and various aid agencies. (6) In 2006, Israel attacked Gaza with phospherous bombs, depleted uranium and Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME), killing more than 1400 Palestinians, injuring more than 5,000, destroying 4,000 homes and leaving 400,000 without water. (7)
Were these atrocities committed by Muslims, the world would be horrified and the entire religion would be vilified. Instead, the atrocities have been committed by Israelis and Lebanese Christian militia. No-one blames the entire Jewish or Christian religions for these atrocities. The United States continues to fund and arm the Israeli government even though numerous inquiries and UN resolutions have been issued against Israel for breaches of the Geneva Convention. Many Christians throughout the world support Israel based on an interpretation of biblical prophecy, without holding Israel to account.
The genocide has to stop. Western governments and conservative religious and political groups need to stop their blind support of Israel and their blind and naive hatred of Palestinians, if peace is to have a chance in the Middle East.
Recognising and understanding the terrible atrocities committed against the Palestinians is just the first step towards peace, respect and human rights.
References
1. Noam Chomsky, 'Fateful Triangle', pp 184-185, Pluto Press, 1991.
2. ibid, p197, pp223-226
3. ibid, pp362-375.
4. Karz-Cohl, 'The Beirut Massacre: The Complete Kahan Commission Report'.
5. Ilan Pappé, 'The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine', Oneworld, 2006
6. 'UN report on Jenin massacre flawed', ABC Radio National, 4 August 2002, reporter Peter Cave. http://www.abc.net.au/correspondents/s639418.htm (accessed 16 September 2012)
7. 'RIP Victims of Operation Cast Lead - 27 December 2008', http://thepandarant.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Palestine
Further reading
Further comment on the invasion of Palestine, the legitimacy of Palestinians, the human rights violations of Israel and the misinterpretation of biblical scripture, refer to these articles at the Ranting Panda blog:
- Road to Nakba - http://thepandarant.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/road-to-nakba.html
- Israel - Superstition, Prophecy and Human Rights - http://thepandarant.blogspot.com.au/2011/02/israel-superstition-prophecy-and-human.html
- Palestine's Right to Exist - http://thepandarant.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/palestines-right-to-exist.html
- RIP Victims of Operation Cast Lead - http://thepandarant.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/rip-victims-of-operation-cast-lead-27.html
Monday, February 13, 2012
Liberty comes with hands dabbled in blood!
Armchair politicians often pass an overarching assessment of politics in the Middle East, declaring that there will never be peace because "they are always fighting".
Always fighting?
It is true that there have been a number of wars in the Middle East. However, if such judgement is to be passed then it may be prudent to remember that the most violent continent for centuries has been Europe, which has suffered more wars and more casualties as the result of war than any other continent as the following charts show.
Between 1500 and 1800AD there were 66 wars or battles of significance fought on European soil, while only 3 wars or battles of significance were fought in the Middle East. That is 22 times the number of battles in Europe than in the Middle East.
In the 19th century, Europe experienced almost 3 times the number of wars and deaths than the Middle East experienced.
In the 20th century, deaths from war in the Middle East paled in comparison to the violence in Europe. Whilst Europe had almost twice the number of wars than the Middle East, the death toll from those wars was 25 times worse than the death toll from wars in the Middle East during that period.
Throughout the western world, racist rhetoric argues that multiculturalism doesn't work, that Asians and Arabs don't know how to integrate and that Western nations are peaceful. This rhetoric expects that people from other countries will just give up their culture, rather than retain their culture and embrace the new one. The rhetoric often includes allegations that these "foreigners" come from violent cultures while ignoring our own violent history.
At some stage, each Middle Eastern despot has been encouraged and supported by the West for strategic political interests while the local population suffers. The last century has been punctuated with global conflict exported by western nations in the name of "liberty". A liberty that we believe should be thrust on other nations regardless of their wishes or needs. A liberty delivered by hands dabbled in blood!
Additionally, during the Cold War, both the USA and the USSR used the world as their own violent playgrounds, waging wars and massacres in the name of their own political ideologies, whether it was dressed up as Socialism, Democracy or Liberty. The war between Iran and Iraq would most likely not have occurred had it not been for the influence of Moscow and Washington. The invasion and occupation of Afghanistan by the USSR in the 1980s would not have occurred had it not been for the agitation by the USA in encouraging Afghan insurgents to wage terrorist attacks on USSR territories. This war resulted in the creation of the Taliban and Al Qaeda; both of which received impetus through the USA funding of the Mujahideen and Osama Bin Laden during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
If we are to see a reduction in war, we should not be waging more war. A war on terror will only beget more war and more terrorism. We judge the Middle East as being a violent place and use that to justify invasions, attacks and wars. Yet looking at the above charts, it is the war-faring nations of Europe which are the most violent.
George W. Bush once stated that "They hate our freedoms" when referring to Islamic terrorists. It isn't our freedom they hate, but the violence and injustices that have been manifested in countries across the globe as powerful European and American nations forcibly deliver blood-soaked Democracy and Liberty to the world. Yet as Oscar Wilde once said "When liberty comes with hands dabbled in blood, it is difficult to shake hands with her".
Acknowledging our history and choosing not to relive it will ensure that we can have a future free from war, a future of peace. Rather than passing asinine and ill-informed judgement on people from the Middle East or other areas, we should understand their history, the impact that western nations have on them and then work together to build a better world.
The following statement is reportedly from a German Muslim scholar when asked about terrorism and Islam, "Who started the First World War? Muslims? Who started the Second World War? Muslims? Who killed about 20 millions of aborigines in Australia? Muslims? Who sent the nuclear bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Muslims? Who killed more than 100 millions of Indians in North America? Muslims? Who killed nearly 50 millions of Indians in South America? Muslims? Who took about 180 millions of African people as slaves and 88% of them died and was thrown in the Atlantic Ocean? Muslims?? No, they weren't Muslims!!! First of all, you have to define terrorism properly ... if a non-Muslim do something bad, it is crime. If a Muslim commit same, he is a terrorist. So first remove this double standard ... then come to the point!!!"
This comment and the message you should take from this blog is:
"Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye."
Always fighting?
It is true that there have been a number of wars in the Middle East. However, if such judgement is to be passed then it may be prudent to remember that the most violent continent for centuries has been Europe, which has suffered more wars and more casualties as the result of war than any other continent as the following charts show.
Between 1500 and 1800AD there were 66 wars or battles of significance fought on European soil, while only 3 wars or battles of significance were fought in the Middle East. That is 22 times the number of battles in Europe than in the Middle East.
In the 19th century, Europe experienced almost 3 times the number of wars and deaths than the Middle East experienced.
In the 20th century, deaths from war in the Middle East paled in comparison to the violence in Europe. Whilst Europe had almost twice the number of wars than the Middle East, the death toll from those wars was 25 times worse than the death toll from wars in the Middle East during that period.
World War II was the worst war that the world has seen and was the result of European nationalism.
Following this, the European dominated United Nations, with heavy influence from Britain, enabled the creation of Israel. A conflict borne of violence and which continues to this day in violence as a direct result of European interference in the region.
Prior to that, there was the attack on the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, not because of its threat to Europe, but because of British interest in middle eastern oil. This lust for oil drove British and US corporate and military activities throughout the Middle East for most of the 20th century.
At some stage, each Middle Eastern despot has been encouraged and supported by the West for strategic political interests while the local population suffers. The last century has been punctuated with global conflict exported by western nations in the name of "liberty". A liberty that we believe should be thrust on other nations regardless of their wishes or needs. A liberty delivered by hands dabbled in blood!
Additionally, during the Cold War, both the USA and the USSR used the world as their own violent playgrounds, waging wars and massacres in the name of their own political ideologies, whether it was dressed up as Socialism, Democracy or Liberty. The war between Iran and Iraq would most likely not have occurred had it not been for the influence of Moscow and Washington. The invasion and occupation of Afghanistan by the USSR in the 1980s would not have occurred had it not been for the agitation by the USA in encouraging Afghan insurgents to wage terrorist attacks on USSR territories. This war resulted in the creation of the Taliban and Al Qaeda; both of which received impetus through the USA funding of the Mujahideen and Osama Bin Laden during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
If we are to see a reduction in war, we should not be waging more war. A war on terror will only beget more war and more terrorism. We judge the Middle East as being a violent place and use that to justify invasions, attacks and wars. Yet looking at the above charts, it is the war-faring nations of Europe which are the most violent.
George W. Bush once stated that "They hate our freedoms" when referring to Islamic terrorists. It isn't our freedom they hate, but the violence and injustices that have been manifested in countries across the globe as powerful European and American nations forcibly deliver blood-soaked Democracy and Liberty to the world. Yet as Oscar Wilde once said "When liberty comes with hands dabbled in blood, it is difficult to shake hands with her".
Acknowledging our history and choosing not to relive it will ensure that we can have a future free from war, a future of peace. Rather than passing asinine and ill-informed judgement on people from the Middle East or other areas, we should understand their history, the impact that western nations have on them and then work together to build a better world.
The following statement is reportedly from a German Muslim scholar when asked about terrorism and Islam, "Who started the First World War? Muslims? Who started the Second World War? Muslims? Who killed about 20 millions of aborigines in Australia? Muslims? Who sent the nuclear bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Muslims? Who killed more than 100 millions of Indians in North America? Muslims? Who killed nearly 50 millions of Indians in South America? Muslims? Who took about 180 millions of African people as slaves and 88% of them died and was thrown in the Atlantic Ocean? Muslims?? No, they weren't Muslims!!! First of all, you have to define terrorism properly ... if a non-Muslim do something bad, it is crime. If a Muslim commit same, he is a terrorist. So first remove this double standard ... then come to the point!!!"
This comment and the message you should take from this blog is:
"Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye."
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
RIP Victims of Operation Cast Lead - 27 December 2008
RIP Victims of Operation Cast Lead - 27 December 2008.
On this day in 2008, Israel commenced its massacre of the Gaza Strip, which killed more than 1400 Palestinians, including at least 318 children. A further 5,000 were injured, 400,000 left without running water, 4,000 homes destroyed and tens of thousands of people left homeless.
Israel's justification for the massacre was that the bombings were in retaliation for rockets being fired from Gaza into Israel. What they don't mention is that the rockets were fired in retaliation for Israel breaking a cease fire and bombing Gaza. This cease-fire had been honoured by Hamas, yet Israel claims it was Hamas who broke the cease-fire. Israel, as usual, misrepresents the facts and rewrites history.
The 22 day Operation Cast Lead was a war-crime, in which no-one has been punished or held accountable. Israel used nuclear and chemical weapons on densely populated civilian areas. The weapons included missiles with depleted uranium, phosphorous bombs, and DIME (Dense Inert Metal Explosive). DIME is a carbon shell which splinters and shoots out tungsten dust, burning and destroying everyone and everything within its radius.
Doctors treating victims of Operation Cast Lead have found people with injuries that they have never seen before and which they do not know how to treat. This has raised the question of what other unconventional and unknown weapons are being used by Israel on civilians. Refer to this article published by the UK's The Independent : http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/tungsten-bombs-leave-israels-victims-with-mystery-wounds-1418910.html
Human Rights Watch released a report in March 2009 which cited the indiscriminate and repeated use of white phosphorous as evidence Israeli war crimes. White phosphorous is traditionally used in open areas to screen troop movements, however, during Operation Cast Lead it was used in areas in which Israel had no troops. It wasn't used as a screen, it was used to deliberately maim and kill.
A United Nations review of Operation Cast Lead was headed by Jewish Justice Richard Goldstone (http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=32057). He handed down a 575 page report which accused both Israel and Hamas of war-crimes. In a press conference, Justice Goldstone said "the mission concluded that actions amounting to war crimes and possibly, in some respects, crimes against humanity, were committed by the Israeli Defence Force". Goldstone found that the use of rockets by Hamas was deliberately aimed at killing Israeli civilians and so also constituted a war crime. However, Hamas's weapons are primitive and certainly are not Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Whilst a crime, Hamas was not aiming to obliterate an entire civilian area or trying to destroy their infrastructure. Hamas killed 13 Israelis. If Israel wants to punish Hamas, and Palestinians collectively, then who punishes Israel? Israel killed over 1,400 Palestinians and many are suffering permanent injury from the use of WMD.
There is no excuse for use of these weapons in Gaza.
Israel has consistently used WMD in Palestine. When accusing Palestinians of crimes, Israel will use military aircraft to bomb the residential area in which the suspect lives, often killing the suspect and their family members. Israel does not make an effort to simply arrest and charge their suspect. Even in the cases where they do arrest suspects, they rarely charge them with any crime, but instead hold them indefinitely. Israel's definition of crime is very loose. Simply being Palestinian is enough for Israel to suspect a person of a crime and to hold them indefinitely.
Where was the international uproar when Israel massacred the 1400 people in Gaza? Where was the uproar over Israel's use of WMD on civilians? Who will be held accountable? Israel has done such a good public relations job of demonising Palestinians that no-one cares for them or pleads their case. Yet, how many of us would stand by as our country was invaded and we are forced from the land at gun-point, as many of our people are murdered or raped. Would we fight back? As the world condemns Palestinian aggression, it then wages illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan based on "pre-emptive" strikes; a policy which has been responsible for massacring hundreds of thousands of people who never committed a crime, and never would commit a crime, against the invading nations. The last country invaded for its alleged use of WMD was Iraq. A charge which was shown to be false. Yet there is ample evidence of Israel's possession and use of WMD on civilians and no country is speaking up against it. Why not?
The hypocrisy shown towards Israel is disgraceful. It is time that the world stood up against Israel's decades of propaganda, rewriting of history and it's ethnic cleansing of Arab identity and presence in Palestine. It is time that Israel was held accountable.
RIP the victims of Operation Cast Lead and victims of all other war-crimes committed by Israel.
On this day in 2008, Israel commenced its massacre of the Gaza Strip, which killed more than 1400 Palestinians, including at least 318 children. A further 5,000 were injured, 400,000 left without running water, 4,000 homes destroyed and tens of thousands of people left homeless.
Israel's justification for the massacre was that the bombings were in retaliation for rockets being fired from Gaza into Israel. What they don't mention is that the rockets were fired in retaliation for Israel breaking a cease fire and bombing Gaza. This cease-fire had been honoured by Hamas, yet Israel claims it was Hamas who broke the cease-fire. Israel, as usual, misrepresents the facts and rewrites history.
The 22 day Operation Cast Lead was a war-crime, in which no-one has been punished or held accountable. Israel used nuclear and chemical weapons on densely populated civilian areas. The weapons included missiles with depleted uranium, phosphorous bombs, and DIME (Dense Inert Metal Explosive). DIME is a carbon shell which splinters and shoots out tungsten dust, burning and destroying everyone and everything within its radius.
Doctors treating victims of Operation Cast Lead have found people with injuries that they have never seen before and which they do not know how to treat. This has raised the question of what other unconventional and unknown weapons are being used by Israel on civilians. Refer to this article published by the UK's The Independent : http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/tungsten-bombs-leave-israels-victims-with-mystery-wounds-1418910.html
Human Rights Watch released a report in March 2009 which cited the indiscriminate and repeated use of white phosphorous as evidence Israeli war crimes. White phosphorous is traditionally used in open areas to screen troop movements, however, during Operation Cast Lead it was used in areas in which Israel had no troops. It wasn't used as a screen, it was used to deliberately maim and kill.
A United Nations review of Operation Cast Lead was headed by Jewish Justice Richard Goldstone (http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=32057). He handed down a 575 page report which accused both Israel and Hamas of war-crimes. In a press conference, Justice Goldstone said "the mission concluded that actions amounting to war crimes and possibly, in some respects, crimes against humanity, were committed by the Israeli Defence Force". Goldstone found that the use of rockets by Hamas was deliberately aimed at killing Israeli civilians and so also constituted a war crime. However, Hamas's weapons are primitive and certainly are not Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Whilst a crime, Hamas was not aiming to obliterate an entire civilian area or trying to destroy their infrastructure. Hamas killed 13 Israelis. If Israel wants to punish Hamas, and Palestinians collectively, then who punishes Israel? Israel killed over 1,400 Palestinians and many are suffering permanent injury from the use of WMD.
There is no excuse for use of these weapons in Gaza.
Israel has consistently used WMD in Palestine. When accusing Palestinians of crimes, Israel will use military aircraft to bomb the residential area in which the suspect lives, often killing the suspect and their family members. Israel does not make an effort to simply arrest and charge their suspect. Even in the cases where they do arrest suspects, they rarely charge them with any crime, but instead hold them indefinitely. Israel's definition of crime is very loose. Simply being Palestinian is enough for Israel to suspect a person of a crime and to hold them indefinitely.
Where was the international uproar when Israel massacred the 1400 people in Gaza? Where was the uproar over Israel's use of WMD on civilians? Who will be held accountable? Israel has done such a good public relations job of demonising Palestinians that no-one cares for them or pleads their case. Yet, how many of us would stand by as our country was invaded and we are forced from the land at gun-point, as many of our people are murdered or raped. Would we fight back? As the world condemns Palestinian aggression, it then wages illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan based on "pre-emptive" strikes; a policy which has been responsible for massacring hundreds of thousands of people who never committed a crime, and never would commit a crime, against the invading nations. The last country invaded for its alleged use of WMD was Iraq. A charge which was shown to be false. Yet there is ample evidence of Israel's possession and use of WMD on civilians and no country is speaking up against it. Why not?
The hypocrisy shown towards Israel is disgraceful. It is time that the world stood up against Israel's decades of propaganda, rewriting of history and it's ethnic cleansing of Arab identity and presence in Palestine. It is time that Israel was held accountable.
RIP the victims of Operation Cast Lead and victims of all other war-crimes committed by Israel.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Axis of Evil - Iran, Halliburton, Cheney
In 2002, then President George W. Bush declared Iran to be part of the "Axis of Evil", which was comprised of three nations: North Korea, Iran and Iraq.
Vice President Dick Cheney stated that "we don't negotiate with evil, we defeat it" when referring to one of those "Axis of Evil" nations.
Dick Cheney's CV also includes a stint as the CEO of Halliburton from 1995 to 2000, when he resigned amid claims of a conflict of interest as U.S. Vice President and favouritism in the awarding of government contracts. Nonetheless, Halliburton continued to be awarded extremely lucrative government contracts, particularly with the rebuilding of Iraq and the establishment of Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo Bay.
Whilst Cheney was CEO, Halliburton was trading with Iran and even had an office based in Tehran. This violated American law, namely the "Trade with the Enemy Act" and the "International Emergency Economic Powers Act". These Acts specifically prohibited trade with Iran, even before Bush's declaration of the "Axis of Evil".
Halliburton has been charged with selling nuclear technology to Iran as recently as 2005 and as early as 1995 - while Cheney was CEO. This has prompted the obvious allegation that these deals may have assisted Iran in developing weapons-grade uranium.
Cheney was willing to profit from these dealings, willing to profit from an organisation that traded with "evil" whilst he was CEO and Vice President and was continuing to trade with evil after he resigned as CEO and whilst he still held significant influence within the company and around $40 million of Halliburton stock options.
"We don't negotiate with evil, we defeat it".
If it hadn't been for Halliburton's dealings whilst Cheney was CEO, there may not be anything to defeat; or is the conquest of Iran seen simply as another profit-making opportunity for Halliburton.
"We don't negotiate with evil, we defeat it".
What's the problem here? The definition of negotiation, or the definition of evil ...
or do money and power transcend ethics and hypocrisy?
Vice President Dick Cheney stated that "we don't negotiate with evil, we defeat it" when referring to one of those "Axis of Evil" nations.
Dick Cheney's CV also includes a stint as the CEO of Halliburton from 1995 to 2000, when he resigned amid claims of a conflict of interest as U.S. Vice President and favouritism in the awarding of government contracts. Nonetheless, Halliburton continued to be awarded extremely lucrative government contracts, particularly with the rebuilding of Iraq and the establishment of Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo Bay.
Whilst Cheney was CEO, Halliburton was trading with Iran and even had an office based in Tehran. This violated American law, namely the "Trade with the Enemy Act" and the "International Emergency Economic Powers Act". These Acts specifically prohibited trade with Iran, even before Bush's declaration of the "Axis of Evil".
Halliburton has been charged with selling nuclear technology to Iran as recently as 2005 and as early as 1995 - while Cheney was CEO. This has prompted the obvious allegation that these deals may have assisted Iran in developing weapons-grade uranium.
Cheney was willing to profit from these dealings, willing to profit from an organisation that traded with "evil" whilst he was CEO and Vice President and was continuing to trade with evil after he resigned as CEO and whilst he still held significant influence within the company and around $40 million of Halliburton stock options.
"We don't negotiate with evil, we defeat it".
If it hadn't been for Halliburton's dealings whilst Cheney was CEO, there may not be anything to defeat; or is the conquest of Iran seen simply as another profit-making opportunity for Halliburton.
"We don't negotiate with evil, we defeat it".
What's the problem here? The definition of negotiation, or the definition of evil ...
or do money and power transcend ethics and hypocrisy?
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Palestine's Right to Exist
The United Nations will soon be voting on whether Palestine should be recognised as a nation state in its own right. Many who oppose Palestinian statehood do so based on the argument that Palestine has never been a nation and that no people ever identified themselves as Palestinians. The argument goes that Palestine was only referred to since 1948 when Israel was created and that prior to that there was no Palestinian identity.
This argument has one aim: to ignore the long history of Arab settlement in the area now known as Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and to discredit any sense of Palestinian identity. Arabs (let's call them Palestinians) have lived in this area for thousands of years. Yet the current argument against the creation of the state of Palestine ignores this history and is in essence a form of ethnic and historical cleansing. It is a modern day form of Terra Nullius, a latin term which literally means 'land belonging to no-one'.
In 1901, a Zionist named Israel Zangwill wrote 'Palestine is a country without a people; the Jews are a people without a country'. In 1969, Golda Meir stated 'There is no such thing as a Palestinian people ... It is not as if we came and threw them out and took their country. They didn't exist'. Zionism is based on the concept of Palestine being terra nullius.
Yet the land has belonged to those people who occupied it for thousands of years, who built their lives, their farms, their families on this land. By the 19th century, these people were predominantly Muslim Arabs, with some Jews, Christians and others.
Numerous references to the land as Palestine are found throughout history, including the British campaigns against the Ottoman Empire during World War I, right back to ancient history when Egypt referred to it the people as the 'Peleset', biblical scripture referred to them as Philistines, the ancient Assyrians referred to them as the Pilistu, and the ancient Greeks called the area 'Palaistine'.
In the late 19th Century, Zionists (those who believe that this land belongs solely to the Jews because of the promise given by God to Abraham as recorded in the book of Genesis) decided that the Jewish diaspora (predominantly European Jews) needed a single homeland. The concept of a 'homeland' for these Jews is somewhat of a misnomer, considering that their ancestors were Europeans who converted to Judaism, not descendants of Abraham. Nonetheless, they turned their eyes to Palestine and set about obtaining this land for Jews from all over the world (the diaspora). In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 181 (II) Future Government of Palestine which called for the establishment of Arab and Jewish nations in the land of Palestine and an end to the 'British Mandate of Palestine'.
The Palestinian Arabs understandably disagreed. The UN resolution was implemented against the express wishes of the Palestinian Arabs; as a result, the Jewish nation of Israel was created while a nation for the Arabs was not created. The UN resolution created borders for Israel and for the Palestinian territories. The majority of Arabs were forcibly removed by Israel, whilst some sold their land to Israelis, often in response to threats, violence or withholding of essentials, such as food and water. The Arabs fought against this and of course lost to the much better armed and United States sponsored, Israel. As the Palestinian Arabs lost war after war, Israel occupied more and more Palestinian territory. The United Nations issued hundreds of resolutions condemning Israeli aggression, human rights violations, treatment of Palestinians and denial of basic services. Some of these resolutions were issued because Israeli occupation and settlement of Palestinian land violated the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Zionists and their apologists have been searing their consciences by:
The United Nations has issued hundreds of resolutions calling for Israel to stop the occupation, stop the slaughter, stop the human rights violations and to tear down the walls. Israel's increasing occupation of the Palestinian Territories is under-stated in the polite term of 'expansionism'; it is imperialism, it is conquest. It is illegal.
Regardless of whether or not a 'Palestinian' identity existed prior to 1948 (and it obviously did considering the territory was known as Palestine and Arabs lived there for thousands of years), this does not give Israel the right to deny them their basic human rights, it does not give Israel the right to effectively imprison them behind a 'security barrier', it does not give Israel the right to massacre men, women and children, it does not give Israel the right to deny them access to hospitals, food, water, jobs, education.
No wonder the conquest of Palestine has been white-washed. No wonder Palestinians have been dehumanised and their right to exist disregarded. Any opponent of Palestine who has a conscience, or who proclaims their belief in a loving God, would see that through their rejection of Palestine, they are sponsoring ethnic cleansing.
Some Palestinians have not done their cause any favours because of their support and involvement in terrorism and suicide attacks in Israel. However, the vast majority of Palestinians have adopted peaceful protests which the mainstream media does not report or focus on. It should also be kept in mind, that often those attacks are in response to provocation by Israel and for every Israeli killed, there are hundreds of Palestinians killed in Israeli actions against civilians.
Many others have protested simply by their continued existence and by not yielding regardless of how many illegal settlers occupy their lands or how violent those settlers are. There have been instances of Palestinian children throwing stones at settlers who have then responded by bashing or imprisoning the children without charge for months, sometimes years. There are other instances of settlers shooting the children dead, without fear of being charged for murder by the Israeli police. Children throw stones and are condemned for it. Settlers kill them and are rewarded. This is not the action of a just and civil society.
In justifying the 'security' wall, in justifying the use of military jets to bomb civilians in Palestine, in justifying the use of white phosphorous and depleted uranium, in justifying hundreds of check-points which prohibit Palestinians from living a normal life, Israel declares that it is acting in self-defence. Based on this argument, the Palestinians can also justify their attacks on Israel as it was the Israelis who forcibly took land and killed or removed the occupants. Self-defence as a justification cuts both ways.
In 1982, up to 3,500 Palestinian civilians living in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in southern Lebanon, were massacred by the Phalangists, a Lebanese Christian militia. The Israeli Army had surrounded the camps and controlled entry and exit to them. For three days, from 16 to 18 September 1982, the Israelis witnessed the Phalangists murdering men, women and children. Witnesses tell of the militia storming into dwellings and shooting children in front of the parents, including killing babies as they were nursed by their mothers. This was a war crime which then Israeli Minister of Defense, Ariel Sharon, was held personally responsible following an inquiry commissioned by the Israeli government (the Kahan Commission of Inquiry into the Events at the Refugee Camps in Beirut, which commenced on 28 September 1982 and handed down its findings on 8 February 1983).
Sabra and Shatila are just one of the many massacres perpetrated by the Israelis. Based on the Israeli 'self-defense' line, the Palestinians have every right to protect themselves from war crimes.
Regardless of the outcome of the United Nations vote on Palestinian statehood, the lives of Palestinians will not improve until Israel and its supporters abandon their genocidal policies, their rewriting of history and their misconstruing of religious scripture.
Those who claim that it is Israel's God-given right to rule this land based on a few scriptures completely ignore the rest of the scriptures which talk of God's love. For more on those scriptures refer to my article: 'Israel - Superstition, Prophecy and Human Rights'.
The Holy Land needs more love and tolerance and less of the partisan politics and racist policies dominating the discussion. Many of those who embrace and promote these policies are not extremists or militants, but ordinary people, often church-going people, who mistakenly believe that Palestinians have no right to exist in their own nation.
Israel argues that it has offered peace to Palestinians on a number of occasions, yet, these peace offerings have always been at great expense to the Palestinians. It also ignores the numerous peace offerings made by Palestinians. These offerings have rested on Israel returning to the pre-1967 boundaries; Israel has violently and vehemently refused to make any such compromise, yet they expect Palestinians to continue vacating land which they occupied for thousands of years. They expect Palestinians to accept the theft of land through illegal settlement, which breaches the Fourth Geneva Convention, and for the world to turn a blind eye to this war crime.
Israel argues that some neighbouring countries would like to see Israel driven into the sea. However, this does not justify Israel taking a similar approach and effectively destroying the Palestinians, driving them into the sea.
Israel is a reality that its opponents need to accept. At least within the boundaries legally set for it by UN Resolution 181.
Palestine is also a reality that their opponents need to accept.
Palestine has a right to exist and Palestinians have a right to live with the same rights and freedoms that all people are entitled to.
This argument has one aim: to ignore the long history of Arab settlement in the area now known as Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and to discredit any sense of Palestinian identity. Arabs (let's call them Palestinians) have lived in this area for thousands of years. Yet the current argument against the creation of the state of Palestine ignores this history and is in essence a form of ethnic and historical cleansing. It is a modern day form of Terra Nullius, a latin term which literally means 'land belonging to no-one'.
In 1901, a Zionist named Israel Zangwill wrote 'Palestine is a country without a people; the Jews are a people without a country'. In 1969, Golda Meir stated 'There is no such thing as a Palestinian people ... It is not as if we came and threw them out and took their country. They didn't exist'. Zionism is based on the concept of Palestine being terra nullius.
Yet the land has belonged to those people who occupied it for thousands of years, who built their lives, their farms, their families on this land. By the 19th century, these people were predominantly Muslim Arabs, with some Jews, Christians and others.
Numerous references to the land as Palestine are found throughout history, including the British campaigns against the Ottoman Empire during World War I, right back to ancient history when Egypt referred to it the people as the 'Peleset', biblical scripture referred to them as Philistines, the ancient Assyrians referred to them as the Pilistu, and the ancient Greeks called the area 'Palaistine'.
In the late 19th Century, Zionists (those who believe that this land belongs solely to the Jews because of the promise given by God to Abraham as recorded in the book of Genesis) decided that the Jewish diaspora (predominantly European Jews) needed a single homeland. The concept of a 'homeland' for these Jews is somewhat of a misnomer, considering that their ancestors were Europeans who converted to Judaism, not descendants of Abraham. Nonetheless, they turned their eyes to Palestine and set about obtaining this land for Jews from all over the world (the diaspora). In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 181 (II) Future Government of Palestine which called for the establishment of Arab and Jewish nations in the land of Palestine and an end to the 'British Mandate of Palestine'.
The Palestinian Arabs understandably disagreed. The UN resolution was implemented against the express wishes of the Palestinian Arabs; as a result, the Jewish nation of Israel was created while a nation for the Arabs was not created. The UN resolution created borders for Israel and for the Palestinian territories. The majority of Arabs were forcibly removed by Israel, whilst some sold their land to Israelis, often in response to threats, violence or withholding of essentials, such as food and water. The Arabs fought against this and of course lost to the much better armed and United States sponsored, Israel. As the Palestinian Arabs lost war after war, Israel occupied more and more Palestinian territory. The United Nations issued hundreds of resolutions condemning Israeli aggression, human rights violations, treatment of Palestinians and denial of basic services. Some of these resolutions were issued because Israeli occupation and settlement of Palestinian land violated the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Zionists and their apologists have been searing their consciences by:
- adopting the Terra Nullius argument and rewriting history in order to void thousands of years of Arab history in Palestine through claiming there was no Arab who identified as a Palestinian;
- believing that God Himself has anointed the Jews to occupy the Holy Lands at the expense of Arabs;
- demonising the Palestinians; and
- ignoring and white-washing the vast human rights violations of Israel.
The United Nations has issued hundreds of resolutions calling for Israel to stop the occupation, stop the slaughter, stop the human rights violations and to tear down the walls. Israel's increasing occupation of the Palestinian Territories is under-stated in the polite term of 'expansionism'; it is imperialism, it is conquest. It is illegal.
Regardless of whether or not a 'Palestinian' identity existed prior to 1948 (and it obviously did considering the territory was known as Palestine and Arabs lived there for thousands of years), this does not give Israel the right to deny them their basic human rights, it does not give Israel the right to effectively imprison them behind a 'security barrier', it does not give Israel the right to massacre men, women and children, it does not give Israel the right to deny them access to hospitals, food, water, jobs, education.
No wonder the conquest of Palestine has been white-washed. No wonder Palestinians have been dehumanised and their right to exist disregarded. Any opponent of Palestine who has a conscience, or who proclaims their belief in a loving God, would see that through their rejection of Palestine, they are sponsoring ethnic cleansing.
Some Palestinians have not done their cause any favours because of their support and involvement in terrorism and suicide attacks in Israel. However, the vast majority of Palestinians have adopted peaceful protests which the mainstream media does not report or focus on. It should also be kept in mind, that often those attacks are in response to provocation by Israel and for every Israeli killed, there are hundreds of Palestinians killed in Israeli actions against civilians.
Many others have protested simply by their continued existence and by not yielding regardless of how many illegal settlers occupy their lands or how violent those settlers are. There have been instances of Palestinian children throwing stones at settlers who have then responded by bashing or imprisoning the children without charge for months, sometimes years. There are other instances of settlers shooting the children dead, without fear of being charged for murder by the Israeli police. Children throw stones and are condemned for it. Settlers kill them and are rewarded. This is not the action of a just and civil society.
In justifying the 'security' wall, in justifying the use of military jets to bomb civilians in Palestine, in justifying the use of white phosphorous and depleted uranium, in justifying hundreds of check-points which prohibit Palestinians from living a normal life, Israel declares that it is acting in self-defence. Based on this argument, the Palestinians can also justify their attacks on Israel as it was the Israelis who forcibly took land and killed or removed the occupants. Self-defence as a justification cuts both ways.
In 1982, up to 3,500 Palestinian civilians living in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in southern Lebanon, were massacred by the Phalangists, a Lebanese Christian militia. The Israeli Army had surrounded the camps and controlled entry and exit to them. For three days, from 16 to 18 September 1982, the Israelis witnessed the Phalangists murdering men, women and children. Witnesses tell of the militia storming into dwellings and shooting children in front of the parents, including killing babies as they were nursed by their mothers. This was a war crime which then Israeli Minister of Defense, Ariel Sharon, was held personally responsible following an inquiry commissioned by the Israeli government (the Kahan Commission of Inquiry into the Events at the Refugee Camps in Beirut, which commenced on 28 September 1982 and handed down its findings on 8 February 1983).
Sabra and Shatila are just one of the many massacres perpetrated by the Israelis. Based on the Israeli 'self-defense' line, the Palestinians have every right to protect themselves from war crimes.
Regardless of the outcome of the United Nations vote on Palestinian statehood, the lives of Palestinians will not improve until Israel and its supporters abandon their genocidal policies, their rewriting of history and their misconstruing of religious scripture.
Those who claim that it is Israel's God-given right to rule this land based on a few scriptures completely ignore the rest of the scriptures which talk of God's love. For more on those scriptures refer to my article: 'Israel - Superstition, Prophecy and Human Rights'.
The Holy Land needs more love and tolerance and less of the partisan politics and racist policies dominating the discussion. Many of those who embrace and promote these policies are not extremists or militants, but ordinary people, often church-going people, who mistakenly believe that Palestinians have no right to exist in their own nation.
Israel argues that it has offered peace to Palestinians on a number of occasions, yet, these peace offerings have always been at great expense to the Palestinians. It also ignores the numerous peace offerings made by Palestinians. These offerings have rested on Israel returning to the pre-1967 boundaries; Israel has violently and vehemently refused to make any such compromise, yet they expect Palestinians to continue vacating land which they occupied for thousands of years. They expect Palestinians to accept the theft of land through illegal settlement, which breaches the Fourth Geneva Convention, and for the world to turn a blind eye to this war crime.
Israel argues that some neighbouring countries would like to see Israel driven into the sea. However, this does not justify Israel taking a similar approach and effectively destroying the Palestinians, driving them into the sea.
Israel is a reality that its opponents need to accept. At least within the boundaries legally set for it by UN Resolution 181.
Palestine is also a reality that their opponents need to accept.
Palestine has a right to exist and Palestinians have a right to live with the same rights and freedoms that all people are entitled to.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Israel - Superstition, Prophecy and Human Rights
Many people have an almost superstitious fear of criticising Israel for fear of being labelled anti-semitic or worse, for fear that God will punish them on account of misinterpreting biblical scripture. This superstition is allowing Israel to perpetuate gross human rights abuses against Palestine which would horrify the world if it was happening anywhere else.
There are two issues that I wish to address regarding Israel.
One is the belief by many Christians that the establishment of Israel in 1948 is biblically scriptural. Modern Israel was formed through the influence of the Zionist lobby who believed it to be the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham and Isaac. Many Christians have accepted this without delving further into the scriptures and reading what God actually promised.
The second issue is the treatment of Palestinians by Israel and the blind acceptance of this by many western nations and Christians. Israeli human rights violations are overlooked because many people believe that Israel is the fulfillment of God's promise and they believe that to criticise Israel is anti-semitic and a violation of scripture, incurring the wrath of God.
Anti-Semitism
Before I progress too far into this blog, I want to address the issue of anti-Semitism. Firstly, Arabs and Jews whose ancestors were from the Holy Land, are both of the same Semitic race, both are descended from the same person, Abraham. Anti-semitism is generally regarded as hatred of Jews, yet Judaism is a religion and religion has nothing to do with race, so has nothing to do with whether a person is a Semite. Criticism of a person or a nation's actions, particularly when they are mistreating others or committing crimes, is not racism, it is not hatred and therefore is certainly not anti-Semitic. Most people who criticise Israel's treatment of Palestinians are not anti-Semitic and would criticise any nation who treats Israel in the manner that they have treated the Palestinians (for instance, they abhor the treatment that Jews (and other groups) suffered at the hands of Nazis).
Secondly, Semites existed in Sumer (acknowledged as the world's oldest civilisation), well before the formation of Israel. A Semite includes both Jews and Arabs. Therefore, favouring one of these groups over another is in itself anti-Semitic.
Thirdly, the removal of Arabs from the term Semitic and only applying it to Jews is a gross example of anti-Semitism and borders on a form of genocide and ethnic cleansing through removal of identity.
Fourthly, Arabs and Jews are both descended from Abraham so there is no anti-Semitism in defending Arabs or in criticising Jews, or vice versa. It would be anti-Semitic if the criticism was because of anti-Jewish or anti-Arab feelings, but the criticism I make in this article is not because of race or religion, it is because of human rights abuses and the use of religion to justify it. I am not anti-Jewish and I am not anti-Arab.
Often Christians and Jews will quote scriptures such as Genesis 12:1-3 which states:
"Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."
This verse is often used to condemn any criticism of Israel, yet Israel is not mentioned in the verse. God is speaking directly to Abraham as an individual (note verse 1), not to Israel. Therefore, criticism of Israel's behaviour toward Palestine will not incur God's wrath. Besides, even if this verse was applied to Israel, criticism of Israel does not constitute cursing it. There is a big difference between criticism and cursing.
History
Israel has made no secret of the fact that it is a Jewish state. It is not a state that is designed to be inclusive of other religious groups, including Muslims and Christians. The Israeli government considers Israel to be home to the entire Jewish diaspora. This means that any Jewish person who is not a citizen of Israel, is born and bred in other countries and whose ancestors were never from the Holy Land, can settle anywhere within Israel or the illegal settlements in the occupied territories and be given full Israeli citizenship and often receive financial incentives to do so. Other religious groups do not have this luxury.
In the late 19th century a group of Jews met and formed the Zionist movement whose purpose was to create a Jewish state. The Zionists considered a number of locations for this state including Uganda and Palestine. In 1948 the Jewish state of Israel was created through the partition of Palestine as mandated by United Nations Resolution 181. This Resolution mandated that Palestine be partitioned into both Arab and Jewish states. The Jewish League accepted the resolution whilst the Arab league rejected it. Since then numerous wars have been fought and ultimately Israel has obtained more and more Palestinian land than was first partitioned. Following the 1948 war that Israel and its Arab neighbours fought, the new borders became known as the "Green Line".
Israel has maintained military occupation of areas of Palestine including Gaza and the West Bank, which are well outside the Green Line, meaning that Israel is illegally occupying land that does not belong to it. Israel describes these areas as "disputed" whilst Palestine describes them as "occupied". Why the difference? Because if the areas are occupied by military forces then various articles of the Geneva Convention apply. These areas are not in dispute. These are areas that were clearly formed as part of Palestine as decreed by UN Resolution 181 and the Armistice Agreements of 1949. Therefore the presence of Israeli military forces is an occupation. This means that the creation of settlements in this area is illegal as described by the Fourth Geneva Convention which governs the treatment of people in an occupied territory. The Fourth Geneva Convention forbids an occupying force from relocating its' own people into the occupied territory and displacing the inhabitants of the territory. The destruction of Palestinian homes, confiscation of land and farms, the imprisonment of people on political grounds, the systemic torture and coercion of confessions and detention of children by Israel all violate international human rights obligations.
Israel constructed a number of walls inside the occupied territories ostensibly to protect themselves from Palestinian suicide bombers. However, these walls do not separate Israel and Palestinian territories, but instead run deep within Palestine and separate Palestinians from each other, from their workplaces, businesses, farms and from hospitals and schools. These walls are nothing less than apartheid. Apartheid was never God's intention when he promised Abraham that the land would belong to his descendants; the descendants of both Ishmael and Isaac: Jews, Muslims, Christians. In fact, in the context of Genesis 15 the great nation of Abraham includes the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac which does not limit this promise to Jews or Israel. However, God then made two separate promises regarding nationhood. One was to Abraham's son, Ishmael and the other to his son, Isaac.
Ishmael was born as a result of Abraham and Sarah not trusting God to fulfil his promise (which was for them to have a child even though Sarah was barren). Abraham then slept with the maid and Ishmael was born. Some years later, Sarah became pregnant and gave birth to Isaac, a fulfillment of God's promise. Ironically, the creation of Israel in 1948 is a result of Jews not trusting in God to keep His promise to rebuild Jerusalem (the promise referred to a spiritual place, not a physical place). It has been 2,000 years since the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah even though He was promised by God throughout their scriptures. Now the promise of a new Jerusalem which is spiritual and a promise for all Christians and Jews is being hastened through the agitation of Zionists with no regard for scriptural principles such as "love your neighbour as yourself".
Ironically, the Zionist Movement's push to create Israel in order to fulfil the promise of God to Israel regarding the restoration of Jerusalem, is no different to Abraham and Sarah deciding that God needed a little help when he promised them a son. They forced the promise by using the maid as a surrogate because Sarah was barren. In the case of Israel, the Zionist Movement used the UN. Both incidents show a lack of trust in God to fulfil His promises and both incidents put the responsibility for delivering God's promises in the hands of man.
1. Is Modern Israel a fulfilment of scripture?
God's promise to Abraham included the land from the Nile to the Euphrates (as described in Genesis 15:18 - "In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates". Whilst Abraham's descendants include both Ishmael and Isaac, the promise was to be fulfilled through Isaac, not Ishmael as stated in Genesis 21:12 - "And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called."
Whilst many people remember the promise to Isaac, many forget the promise made to Ishmael in Genesis 17:20 - "And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation." These were Old Testament promises which were fulfilled.
In 70AD the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and this marked the downfall of the nation of Israel. Numerous scriptures refer to the rebuilding of the temple and the restoration of Israel. However, they are referring to a time after the return of Jesus which is obviously a reconciliation of all people of the world as evidenced in Acts 15:15-17 - "And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the LORD who does all these things".
The creation of Israel in 1948 was at the behest of Zionists who misrepresented the promise God gave to Abraham and tried to hasten God's blessing upon the nation of the Israel. However, all of the scriptures of the bible point to a spiritual restoration of Jerusalem not a physical one, and a curse on Israel for rejecting the Messiah. Since the coming of Jesus, all Christians are now considered spiritual Jews.
There may have been a time when the Jews were considered God's chosen people, however, everyone now has the opportunity to be part of God's chosen people through Christ. This is summed up in Galatians 3:29 - "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
Romans 2:28-29 - "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God."
As for favouring one group of people over another, Acts 10:34 states "... God is no respecter of persons" and Romans 10:12 states "For there is no difference between the Jew and Gentile: the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him."
Christ is the fulfillment of the restoration of Israel - this prophecy has nothing to do with the physical establishment of a Jewish state.
2. Human rights violations by Israel
Instead of following the scriptures of the bible, Zionists forced the creation of the modern state of Israel and then proceeded to displace the inhabitants of the land. They have violated many UN resolutions regarding human rights, their construction of the "wall" has created a system of apartheid which separates Palestinian farmers from their farms, separates Palestinians from health care and education, deprives Palestinians of the ability to provide for themselves and deprives them of easy access to hospitals, resulting in many Palestinians dying from preventable causes. When the government of Israel committed human rights violations, the prophets openly condemned them. For instance 2 Kings 6:22 says "Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master".
2 Chronicles 28:9-15 (of particular note are the following verses, 11 and 15): "Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you. And the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren: then they returned to Samaria."
Nehemiah 5:11 in reference to the King of Israel taking the people's land and exacting usury from them through mortgaging of their lands, vineyards and houses: "Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them."
Jeremiah 34:15-17: "And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name: But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom he had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth."
Amos 2:6-7: "Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name: And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god."
The treatment of Palestinians by Israelis is tantamount to ethnic cleansing, under UN definitions it amounts to genocide. Below is an extract from Article 2 of the Convention on the Punishment and Prevention of the Crime of Genocide:
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Israeli acts against Palestinians have included:
Israel has breached or been the recipient of over 200 UN resolutions, including:
The UN resolutions are available online. For resolutions accepted by the UN Human Rights Council refer to:
http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/vCHRRes?OpenView&Start=1&Count=150&Expand=1#1
For resolutions accepted by the UN Economic and Social Committee: http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/vECOSOCRes?OpenView (Note that the most recent refers to the economic and social repercussions of the Israeli occupation).
For resolutions accepted by the UN Security Council:
http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/vCouncilRes?OpenView
For resolutions accepted by the UN General Assembly:
http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/vGARes?OpenView
As much as Israel wishes to claim that there is no such thing as "occupied" Palestine, even the UN and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) refer to it as "occupied Palestininian Territories" or OPT as evidenced in many of the resolutions above and the following report to the UN:
http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/a39191b210be1d6085256da90053dee5/9749ed6fd4607a4f852575ed00666db2?OpenDocument.
In some instances, Palestinians have responded violently and Israel uses this to justify the above human rights abuses. Considering that their land was forcibly and violently taken from them some Palestinians would argue that these are acts of self-defence. It is a fine line when western nations justify pre-emptive strikes against sovereign nations which at times has resulted in the bombing of civilian areas but then condemn Palestinians for fighting for their land and livelihood regardless of whether they attacked civilians or military personnel. I do not condone suicide bombing or any other violent attack against Israel by Palestinians or any other nation, people group or individual. Similarly, I do not condone pre-emptive strikes against any nation as this leads the world down a very slippery slope. The west might support pre-emptive strikes by the USA but would be horrified if North Korea or Iran decided to launch pre-emptive strikes because they feel threatened by nations such as the USA, Japan, Israel and so on.
Putting the above scriptures into the context of the remainder of the Bible, the Koran and the Jewish texts, peace, neighbourly love, compassion, are all elements of the life that God wants lived and demands to be lived by His followers.
CONCLUSION
Numerous other people groups throughout the world have been displaced over the years, does this mean that they should also be given land and allowed to forcibly displace the inhabitants? For instance, various indigenous groups have now been given land rights in their countries. What sort of reaction would there be if these indigenous groups were allowed to remove the citizens of their countries and confine them to small areas, restricting their movements? Yet the world is accepting this practice in Israel.
Israel must end the oppression of Palestinians, there must be a peaceful co-existence between Palestine and Israel, whether this be through a two-state solution or an integrated, democratic model that gives equal rights for all citizens of Israel and Palestine with one government that has representation from all groups regardless of religion, or any other solution which sees Jews and Palestinians living in harmony.
All people have a right to exist without fear of persecution or displacement.
The issues in Israel and Palestine have little to do with religion and everything to do with basic human rights.
Governments, in particular those in the west who have traditionally supported Israel, need to speak up for the values that they claim to cherish in their own countries. Criticism of Israel is NOT anti-Semitism and the world should not be cowered into silence through fear of that accusation. People are dying and being treated terribly in Palestine as a direct result of Israeli persecution.
SPEAK UP!
Take action by:
Peace and good-will to ALL people!
There are two issues that I wish to address regarding Israel.
One is the belief by many Christians that the establishment of Israel in 1948 is biblically scriptural. Modern Israel was formed through the influence of the Zionist lobby who believed it to be the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham and Isaac. Many Christians have accepted this without delving further into the scriptures and reading what God actually promised.
The second issue is the treatment of Palestinians by Israel and the blind acceptance of this by many western nations and Christians. Israeli human rights violations are overlooked because many people believe that Israel is the fulfillment of God's promise and they believe that to criticise Israel is anti-semitic and a violation of scripture, incurring the wrath of God.
Anti-Semitism
Before I progress too far into this blog, I want to address the issue of anti-Semitism. Firstly, Arabs and Jews whose ancestors were from the Holy Land, are both of the same Semitic race, both are descended from the same person, Abraham. Anti-semitism is generally regarded as hatred of Jews, yet Judaism is a religion and religion has nothing to do with race, so has nothing to do with whether a person is a Semite. Criticism of a person or a nation's actions, particularly when they are mistreating others or committing crimes, is not racism, it is not hatred and therefore is certainly not anti-Semitic. Most people who criticise Israel's treatment of Palestinians are not anti-Semitic and would criticise any nation who treats Israel in the manner that they have treated the Palestinians (for instance, they abhor the treatment that Jews (and other groups) suffered at the hands of Nazis).
Secondly, Semites existed in Sumer (acknowledged as the world's oldest civilisation), well before the formation of Israel. A Semite includes both Jews and Arabs. Therefore, favouring one of these groups over another is in itself anti-Semitic.
Thirdly, the removal of Arabs from the term Semitic and only applying it to Jews is a gross example of anti-Semitism and borders on a form of genocide and ethnic cleansing through removal of identity.
Fourthly, Arabs and Jews are both descended from Abraham so there is no anti-Semitism in defending Arabs or in criticising Jews, or vice versa. It would be anti-Semitic if the criticism was because of anti-Jewish or anti-Arab feelings, but the criticism I make in this article is not because of race or religion, it is because of human rights abuses and the use of religion to justify it. I am not anti-Jewish and I am not anti-Arab.
Often Christians and Jews will quote scriptures such as Genesis 12:1-3 which states:
"Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."
This verse is often used to condemn any criticism of Israel, yet Israel is not mentioned in the verse. God is speaking directly to Abraham as an individual (note verse 1), not to Israel. Therefore, criticism of Israel's behaviour toward Palestine will not incur God's wrath. Besides, even if this verse was applied to Israel, criticism of Israel does not constitute cursing it. There is a big difference between criticism and cursing.
History
Israel has made no secret of the fact that it is a Jewish state. It is not a state that is designed to be inclusive of other religious groups, including Muslims and Christians. The Israeli government considers Israel to be home to the entire Jewish diaspora. This means that any Jewish person who is not a citizen of Israel, is born and bred in other countries and whose ancestors were never from the Holy Land, can settle anywhere within Israel or the illegal settlements in the occupied territories and be given full Israeli citizenship and often receive financial incentives to do so. Other religious groups do not have this luxury.
In the late 19th century a group of Jews met and formed the Zionist movement whose purpose was to create a Jewish state. The Zionists considered a number of locations for this state including Uganda and Palestine. In 1948 the Jewish state of Israel was created through the partition of Palestine as mandated by United Nations Resolution 181. This Resolution mandated that Palestine be partitioned into both Arab and Jewish states. The Jewish League accepted the resolution whilst the Arab league rejected it. Since then numerous wars have been fought and ultimately Israel has obtained more and more Palestinian land than was first partitioned. Following the 1948 war that Israel and its Arab neighbours fought, the new borders became known as the "Green Line".
Israel has maintained military occupation of areas of Palestine including Gaza and the West Bank, which are well outside the Green Line, meaning that Israel is illegally occupying land that does not belong to it. Israel describes these areas as "disputed" whilst Palestine describes them as "occupied". Why the difference? Because if the areas are occupied by military forces then various articles of the Geneva Convention apply. These areas are not in dispute. These are areas that were clearly formed as part of Palestine as decreed by UN Resolution 181 and the Armistice Agreements of 1949. Therefore the presence of Israeli military forces is an occupation. This means that the creation of settlements in this area is illegal as described by the Fourth Geneva Convention which governs the treatment of people in an occupied territory. The Fourth Geneva Convention forbids an occupying force from relocating its' own people into the occupied territory and displacing the inhabitants of the territory. The destruction of Palestinian homes, confiscation of land and farms, the imprisonment of people on political grounds, the systemic torture and coercion of confessions and detention of children by Israel all violate international human rights obligations.
Israel constructed a number of walls inside the occupied territories ostensibly to protect themselves from Palestinian suicide bombers. However, these walls do not separate Israel and Palestinian territories, but instead run deep within Palestine and separate Palestinians from each other, from their workplaces, businesses, farms and from hospitals and schools. These walls are nothing less than apartheid. Apartheid was never God's intention when he promised Abraham that the land would belong to his descendants; the descendants of both Ishmael and Isaac: Jews, Muslims, Christians. In fact, in the context of Genesis 15 the great nation of Abraham includes the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac which does not limit this promise to Jews or Israel. However, God then made two separate promises regarding nationhood. One was to Abraham's son, Ishmael and the other to his son, Isaac.
Ishmael was born as a result of Abraham and Sarah not trusting God to fulfil his promise (which was for them to have a child even though Sarah was barren). Abraham then slept with the maid and Ishmael was born. Some years later, Sarah became pregnant and gave birth to Isaac, a fulfillment of God's promise. Ironically, the creation of Israel in 1948 is a result of Jews not trusting in God to keep His promise to rebuild Jerusalem (the promise referred to a spiritual place, not a physical place). It has been 2,000 years since the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah even though He was promised by God throughout their scriptures. Now the promise of a new Jerusalem which is spiritual and a promise for all Christians and Jews is being hastened through the agitation of Zionists with no regard for scriptural principles such as "love your neighbour as yourself".
Ironically, the Zionist Movement's push to create Israel in order to fulfil the promise of God to Israel regarding the restoration of Jerusalem, is no different to Abraham and Sarah deciding that God needed a little help when he promised them a son. They forced the promise by using the maid as a surrogate because Sarah was barren. In the case of Israel, the Zionist Movement used the UN. Both incidents show a lack of trust in God to fulfil His promises and both incidents put the responsibility for delivering God's promises in the hands of man.
1. Is Modern Israel a fulfilment of scripture?
God's promise to Abraham included the land from the Nile to the Euphrates (as described in Genesis 15:18 - "In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates". Whilst Abraham's descendants include both Ishmael and Isaac, the promise was to be fulfilled through Isaac, not Ishmael as stated in Genesis 21:12 - "And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called."
Whilst many people remember the promise to Isaac, many forget the promise made to Ishmael in Genesis 17:20 - "And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation." These were Old Testament promises which were fulfilled.
In 70AD the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and this marked the downfall of the nation of Israel. Numerous scriptures refer to the rebuilding of the temple and the restoration of Israel. However, they are referring to a time after the return of Jesus which is obviously a reconciliation of all people of the world as evidenced in Acts 15:15-17 - "And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the LORD who does all these things".
The creation of Israel in 1948 was at the behest of Zionists who misrepresented the promise God gave to Abraham and tried to hasten God's blessing upon the nation of the Israel. However, all of the scriptures of the bible point to a spiritual restoration of Jerusalem not a physical one, and a curse on Israel for rejecting the Messiah. Since the coming of Jesus, all Christians are now considered spiritual Jews.
There may have been a time when the Jews were considered God's chosen people, however, everyone now has the opportunity to be part of God's chosen people through Christ. This is summed up in Galatians 3:29 - "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
Romans 2:28-29 - "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God."
As for favouring one group of people over another, Acts 10:34 states "... God is no respecter of persons" and Romans 10:12 states "For there is no difference between the Jew and Gentile: the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him."
Christ is the fulfillment of the restoration of Israel - this prophecy has nothing to do with the physical establishment of a Jewish state.
2. Human rights violations by Israel
Instead of following the scriptures of the bible, Zionists forced the creation of the modern state of Israel and then proceeded to displace the inhabitants of the land. They have violated many UN resolutions regarding human rights, their construction of the "wall" has created a system of apartheid which separates Palestinian farmers from their farms, separates Palestinians from health care and education, deprives Palestinians of the ability to provide for themselves and deprives them of easy access to hospitals, resulting in many Palestinians dying from preventable causes. When the government of Israel committed human rights violations, the prophets openly condemned them. For instance 2 Kings 6:22 says "Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master".
2 Chronicles 28:9-15 (of particular note are the following verses, 11 and 15): "Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you. And the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren: then they returned to Samaria."
Nehemiah 5:11 in reference to the King of Israel taking the people's land and exacting usury from them through mortgaging of their lands, vineyards and houses: "Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them."
Jeremiah 34:15-17: "And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name: But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom he had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth."
Amos 2:6-7: "Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name: And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god."
The treatment of Palestinians by Israelis is tantamount to ethnic cleansing, under UN definitions it amounts to genocide. Below is an extract from Article 2 of the Convention on the Punishment and Prevention of the Crime of Genocide:
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Israeli acts against Palestinians have included:
- attacking civilian areas with military aircraft resulting in thousands of innocent deaths;
- ethnic cleansing by the forcible removal of Palestinians following the 1948 and 1967 wars and denying the refugees from returning to their own lands;
- denying Palestinians permission to enter through check-points when they require medical attention, including when they are in the midst of child-birth. Numerous babies have died as a result of their mothers being unable to reach hospital because of Israeli soldiers preventing them driving there and preventing ambulances from reaching the mothers or the hospitals;
- building a wall which separates Palestinians from medical centres, from their own farms, from their jobs, from schools;
- preventing children from obtaining an education by not allowing them through check-points;
- forced relocation of Palestinians to other parts of the country and then preventing them from visiting families. For instance, many Palestinians have been relocated from the West Bank to Gaza and then with the travel restrictions in place are unable to visit their families;
- unlawful detention without charge; and
- unlawful seizing of land from Palestinians who legally own the land and property. This includes allowing non-Israeli citizens allowed to illegally settle on Palestinian land simply because they are Jewish. This is a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention which states in Article 49: Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive. The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.
Israel has breached or been the recipient of over 200 UN resolutions, including:
- 252 relating to annexation of parts of Jerusalem;
- 446 relating to the establishment of Jewish settlements on Palestinian land, in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention;
- 497 relating to the annexation of the Golan Heights;
- 694 which deplores Israel's deportation of Palestinians and calls on it to ensure their safe and immediate return;
- destruction of houses and when the houses are rebuilt, destroying them again; and
- denying building materials, food and water to Palestinians.
The UN resolutions are available online. For resolutions accepted by the UN Human Rights Council refer to:
http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/vCHRRes?OpenView&Start=1&Count=150&Expand=1#1
For resolutions accepted by the UN Economic and Social Committee: http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/vECOSOCRes?OpenView (Note that the most recent refers to the economic and social repercussions of the Israeli occupation).
For resolutions accepted by the UN Security Council:
http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/vCouncilRes?OpenView
For resolutions accepted by the UN General Assembly:
http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/vGARes?OpenView
As much as Israel wishes to claim that there is no such thing as "occupied" Palestine, even the UN and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) refer to it as "occupied Palestininian Territories" or OPT as evidenced in many of the resolutions above and the following report to the UN:
http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/a39191b210be1d6085256da90053dee5/9749ed6fd4607a4f852575ed00666db2?OpenDocument.
In some instances, Palestinians have responded violently and Israel uses this to justify the above human rights abuses. Considering that their land was forcibly and violently taken from them some Palestinians would argue that these are acts of self-defence. It is a fine line when western nations justify pre-emptive strikes against sovereign nations which at times has resulted in the bombing of civilian areas but then condemn Palestinians for fighting for their land and livelihood regardless of whether they attacked civilians or military personnel. I do not condone suicide bombing or any other violent attack against Israel by Palestinians or any other nation, people group or individual. Similarly, I do not condone pre-emptive strikes against any nation as this leads the world down a very slippery slope. The west might support pre-emptive strikes by the USA but would be horrified if North Korea or Iran decided to launch pre-emptive strikes because they feel threatened by nations such as the USA, Japan, Israel and so on.
Putting the above scriptures into the context of the remainder of the Bible, the Koran and the Jewish texts, peace, neighbourly love, compassion, are all elements of the life that God wants lived and demands to be lived by His followers.
CONCLUSION
Numerous other people groups throughout the world have been displaced over the years, does this mean that they should also be given land and allowed to forcibly displace the inhabitants? For instance, various indigenous groups have now been given land rights in their countries. What sort of reaction would there be if these indigenous groups were allowed to remove the citizens of their countries and confine them to small areas, restricting their movements? Yet the world is accepting this practice in Israel.
Israel must end the oppression of Palestinians, there must be a peaceful co-existence between Palestine and Israel, whether this be through a two-state solution or an integrated, democratic model that gives equal rights for all citizens of Israel and Palestine with one government that has representation from all groups regardless of religion, or any other solution which sees Jews and Palestinians living in harmony.
All people have a right to exist without fear of persecution or displacement.
The issues in Israel and Palestine have little to do with religion and everything to do with basic human rights.
Governments, in particular those in the west who have traditionally supported Israel, need to speak up for the values that they claim to cherish in their own countries. Criticism of Israel is NOT anti-Semitism and the world should not be cowered into silence through fear of that accusation. People are dying and being treated terribly in Palestine as a direct result of Israeli persecution.
SPEAK UP!
Take action by:
- writing to your own politicians and to Israeli politicians;
- educate yourself! If you don't believe what I've written, then please do your own research; and
- spread the word - to family, friends, fellow church/mosque/temple members.
Peace and good-will to ALL people!
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