Killing 11 Month Old Babies is not Self Defence!

There is an inevitable sense of déja vu with the latest Israeli murderous assaults on Gaza.  The media here in the UK and the USA parrots without any checking the Israeli version of events.  Which is always the same - Israel is only responding to rocket fire from Gaza into Israel.  Often this is qualified as Hamas rocket fire, just to make sure we all know who is to blame.  And of course, right on cue, our hapless Foreign Secretary, William Hague, duly appears on the wavelengths to blame Hamas for starting this round of violence.  President Obama spreads the same message in the USA. 

Yet even a cursory look at the evidence shows that no Israeli had been killed due to rocket fire from Gaza, before the start of the latest escalation of Israeli assaults on Saturday 10th November. Yet prior to then, at least two Palestinians had been killed by Israeli soldiers.  On Monday November 5th Israeli forces shot and killed 23 year old Ahmad Nabhani.  Then on Thursday November 8th another Israeli force invaded southern Gaza, in the course of which they killed a 13 year old boy, Ahmed Younis Khader who was playing football in front of his house.  So much for targeted killing!  How much coverage did these unjustified killings of innocent Palestinian civilians get in the western media?  Where was William Hague and President Obama?  No word of blame was uttered against Israel for these two murders.  Yet when Palestinians in response to these killings do attack Israeli forces, Israel then unleashes hell on the whole of Gaza in a supposed right of self-defence.  And our brave western media just laps it all up.  The initial killings of a child and a young man by the Israelis cast aside in the rush to blame Hamas.  For more information on the timeline for the recent Israelis attacks see these two articles, here and here.  For an analysis of the biased coverage provided by our own BBC see here.

It is a rather strange kind of self-defence that causes the deaths of children including Omar Masharawi, the 11 month old baby referred to in the title of this post.  Yet another triumph for the much vaunted precision bombing of the Israeli airforce!  For of course this latest attack on Gaza has nothing to do with self defence.  It was, as is the case with all Israeli wars, a war of choice.  The nearness of the elections in Israel may have been a factor in the timing of the Israeli attacks.  Perhaps though, it was the prospect of a long term truce agreement with Hamas that prompted Israel to attack.  Many observers are of the view that Israel does not want peace.  A long term truce agreement would weaken the power of the military in Israel and more importantly put greater pressure on Israel to enter into serious negotiations with all Palestinians, including Hamas.  Not what most Israelis really want.  Much better to keep up the pretence of an existential threat to Israel in order to justify their unwillingness to enter into negotiations to bring about a two state solution.  Israel is doing everything possible, with its relentless expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, to make a two state solution impossible.  So Israel has every reason to avoid negotiations.  And what better excuse than a little war of aggression against Hamas.  So a few innocent civilians, including children, get killed.  So what, in the greater scheme of things - securing a greater Israel, preferably free of all Palestinians.  This is alas, what out leaders in the UK are supporting by offering diplomatic cover to Israel.  Things do not look good.  For a more detailed analysis of why Israel chose to attack now, see these two articles by Jerry Haber and American Jewish writer, here and here.  Finally for an Israeli perspective on the deaths of the three Israelis in Kiryat Malachi, see this article by Larry Derfner from +972 magazine.

25 Palestinians Killed - Where’s the Outrage?

Last weekend we witnessed yet another murderous onslaught by the Israeli military against defenceless Palestinians in Gaza.  25 Palestinians have been killed and around 80 wounded.   Yet very little has been said in condemnation of these killings anywhere. The ostensible justification for the killings is that the attack was to assassinate Zuhir al-Qaisi, a leader of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC).  The other 24 deaths and the 80 wounded were presumably just unfortunate.  Or perhaps they also deserved to be killed by the Israelis.  That is clearly the view of the Israeli government and the IDF.  The dead, or at least 20 of them, four were admitted to be civilians, were all members of the PRC and thus in Israeli eyes, legitimate targets.  The Israeli claim is that the PRC were about to launch an attack against Israel.  However even this claim is somewhat disputed by Israel’s Defence Minister, who only claimed that the PRC “were apparently involved with preparing a large-scale attack.”   (Emphasis added)  He want to say, “I cannot say yet whether this attack has been thwarted.”

So what was the real reason behind this latest Israeli onslaught?  There are various possibilities, but all seem to come down to the likelihood that Israel wanted some kind of dress rehearsal for any retaliation in the event that it, Israel, does attack Iran.  In other words Israel deliberately provoked the rocket attacks from Gaza in order to test their new Iron Dome anti missile defence system and to prepare the population for further rocket attacks.  Sounds incredible, but then is Israel a rational actor anymore?  This is the provocative title of this article by Jerry Haber, on his Magnes Zionist blog.  Jeremiah (Jerry) Haber is the nom de plume of an orthodox Jewish studies and philosophy professor, who divides his time between Israel and the US.  In it he examines the question of whether the attack was deliberately designed to provoke a response.  Haber also has another post on the morality of extra-judicial killings, with specific reference to these most recent Israeli attacks.  You can read it here.

As regards the lack of response to these extra-judicial killings, in Israel they were a cause for celebration, if not gloating.  Below is a still from Israeli TV.   In it Channel 10’s military correspondent Alon Ben David shows the score:  “Death toll:  Israel 0, Gaza 25”.  Photo: nan10.co.il.  The photo comes from this blog post by Ami Kaufman on the Israeli group blog, +972.

Here in the UK, as in the USA, there has been the usual we must support Israel narrative.  When a US soldier killed 16 Afghanis recently, there was justifiable outrage and the soldier has been arrested.  He will probably face some kind of charge and imprisonment.  No such chance that the Israelis who killed the 25 Palestinians will face anything other than adulation.  And we claim the moral high ground!

Gaza 2 years on - A Jewish Voice

Just over two years ago, on 27th December 2008, the mighty Israeli military launched an unprovoked and unannounced air strike on the defenceless population of Gaza.  This murderous onslaught would continue for a further three weeks.  In which time over 1,400 Palestinians would be killed.  Of these, 397 were defenceless, innocent children.  In addition countless others suffered terrible physical and mental injuries.

To honour all the people killed and injured during this onslaught Tayside for Justice in Palestine organized a commemorative event in Dundee last Saturday, 22nd January 2011.  The centre point of this event was an installation by local artist Pat Donnachie.  This featured 357 mini paper coffins wrapped in a Palestinian flag.  The mini coffins were surrounded by 357 pairs of children’s shoes - all to represent the 357 children who were brutally killed by Israeli forces. 

At the commemorative event we had speeches from a wide section of Dundee’s population, including the Lord Provost.  One of the most moving contributions came from Sarah Glynn, who is one of the founding members of Tayside for Justice in Palestine.  Sarah is a Jew and here is her personal testimony.

“I’m standing here as a member of Scottish Jews for a Just Peace. 

Like all of us here I am appalled at what has been happening in Gaza and want to do what little I can to help.

But why do I want to speak with a specifically Jewish voice?

Scottish Jews for a Just Peace exists to tell a very particular message.

To say that, whatever they may claim, the Israeli government does not speak for or act on behalf of the Jewish people. 

Last summer, when the Israeli army attacked the ships bringing aid to Gaza, I tired to write down what it means to be Jewish at a time when people with whom I share a history and an ethnicity have committed such crimes in its name.

Most people sense a pull of family history and a feeling of belonging to a clan. And who could not feel a sense of awe at being part of a clan that has survived two millennia of persecution. Who would not feel a tug on the heart strings when exploring a personal connection to a Polish Shtetl – even if their first introduction to that lost world was through Fiddler on the Roof?

I have been to Poland and seen the small wooden house my grandfather left as a toddler over 100 years ago. And I have seen how the Nazis erased every trace of its Jewish population from that town. Who could not be moved by such a sight?

I have also been to Israel, where others of my family helped build a Jewish homeland. And I am sure that they sincerely believed that they were creating a better world where there would be less persecution. 

But, as I have observed the aggression of the modern Israeli state and read more about its evolution, I have learnt to question the image of Israel that I and so many others of all backgrounds grew up with. I have discovered that the story of a gallant Israeli David fighting for survival against an Arab world committed to its destruction was a foundation myth: a myth that hid a much more troubling reality of another people’s history of suffering and oppression. 

I saw another people’s nightmare. A new exile. A new nation of refugees.

The world not better, but bitter. Crueller. More dangerous.

I saw persecution recreated - in a distorted mirror image with Jews as oppressors. And three generations of Israelis taught to hate.

The Israeli government has tried to use our Jewish history to justify its actions and claim Jewish loyalty and support. I want to claim my history back. I will not boast of Jewish survival - It was not me who was oppressed for two millennia – but, like everyone else, I can learn lessons from that history. I take no personal responsibility for Israeli aggression - It was not me who took Palestinian land and lives – but like everyone else I can do what I can to try and end that suffering. After the Holocaust the world said ‘never again’. That never didn’t just refer to one people’s persecution, nor do we have to wait until millions are dead before we act. 

I will always be moved by the melancholy sound of a Yiddish song; but also by the cries of Gaza’s children.

So I join with you all to say Freedom to Gaza

Free free Palestine”

Though last Saturday was a commemorative event, it is never enough to just remember past sufferings.  Not when the suffering and degradation continues to this very day.  That is why Tayside for Justice in Palestine has chosen this commemorative event to launch our appeal for the next flotilla. This time Free Gaza plans to send a boat bought and supplied by the people of Scotland. We are asking everyone to contribute what they can so that we can demonstrate Scottish support for Gaza and Scottish resistance to this cruel and illegal blockade.

The following list can only give an indication of what the blockade means:

• 6 out of 10 people have running water only once every 4 to 5 days, and 90% of this is contaminated and not fit to drink

• Only small amounts of construction materials have been allowed in for UN projects, and nothing has been allowed for private building. Of the 6,000 homes that suffered major damage 2 years ago, 4 out of 5 have not been rebuilt.

• Because of lack of materials for new buildings, 40,000 children have been turned away by UN schools. 

• Restrictions on the import of fuel means power plants are only working at 2/3 capacity. There are regular electricity blackouts, which impact on essential services.

• Gaza’s fragile economy has been destroyed by a combination of the lack of power, restrictions on raw materials, and the almost complete ban on exports. 4 out of 10 people in Gaza are unemployed.

• 1/3 of Gaza’s farmland and most of its fishing areas are cut off by Israeli soldiers, who will shoot to kill. 

• Entry and exit to and from the Gaza Strip remains severely restricted and unpredictable. Since 2009, 33 patients have died before being given permission to leave Gaza and get to the hospitals they have been referred to.

Regardless of our views on Gaza’s political leaders, or on the tactics some have chosen with which to resist the occupation of Palestinian land, we must condemn this collective ‘punishment’. The real sin of the Palestinians, in the eyes of the Israeli government, is simply to want to be free to live in the villages and towns in which they were born.

Amidst all the horror there is still hope. Israel depends on the support of other nations, especially the USA, and widespread criticism of the Israeli government’s actions can have an impact. We have a long way to go, but, already, an increasing number of people have realised what is happening, and resistance is growing, including within Israel itself. Here in Dundee, thousands of miles from Gaza we can be part of this resistance. 

To find out more, please email us on

taysideforjusticeinpalestine@gmail.com

Blog for Gaza

Today - July 9 is the day for bloggers to unite for Gaza.  According to Bloggers Unite, “On 9 July 2004, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion condemning Israel’s infringement of the Palestinian right to self-determination and violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The ICJ explicitly affirmed the international community that the burden also falls on them not to recognize or assist the illegal situation. This year, on 9 July, remind your own government of its own obligations not to recognize or assist Israel’s violations of international law. Urge that there must be an independent and international inquiry into the attacks on the Gaza aid flotilla.”  You can find more about the campaign here.   This particular campaign is promoted by The Palestine Legal Aid Fund, which is a global human rights fund to enable access to justice for the Palestinian people.   As my little contribution to this campaign, below are some unconnected comments on Gaza and Israel.

1.  Failure of Israeli hasbara (propaganda)   

In the USA of all places, it seems that Israeli propaganda is losing its power. The following is part of an article which appeared in Coteret, a blog by Didi Remez, who translates selected stories and article from the Hebrew media.   He writes, “The Israel Project (TIP), an American Hasbara outfit, commissioned Republican political consultant Frank Luntz to examine the effectiveness of Israel’s public diplomacy in the US on the Flotilla debacle. TIP gave the memo to the Prime Minister’s Office, where someone promptly leaked it to Chico Menashe, Channel Ten TV News diplomatic affairs correspondent.  Luntz’s findings are grim. Here’s a summary:

1. 56% of Americans agree with the claim that there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza;
2. 43% of Americans agree with the claim that people in Gaza are starving;
3. [Only] 34% of Americans support the Israeli operation against the Flotilla;
4. [Only] 20% of Americans “felt support” for Israel following announcement of easing of Gaza closure.”

You can read the full post here.   

It is not only in the USA that Israeli hasbara is beginning to fail.  Further evidence can be found closer to home - in the letters page of the Courier of all places.  Dundee’s own daily newspaper has been the site of an exchange of letters on Gaza - the attack on the flotilla and the blockade itself.  Even yours truly felt compelled to fire off a letter.  What has been interesting about this correspondence is that the pro-Israeli letter writers never, ever, address the real facts - the cold blooded murder of the nine civilians on board the Mavi Marmara or the ongoing occupation which is the root of the problem.  They simply repeat tired old allegations about their opponents, a pathetic attempt at smear which merely highlights the complete bankruptcy of the entire Zionist project.

2.  The Occupation 

Ah, the Occupation - this seemingly never ending and always growing occupation.  The Independent has a story about Israel’s landgrab.  It seems that 42% of the West Bank is now occupied by Israeli settlers.  This is not exactly news as last year the Goldstone Report contained the same information.  Based on UN sources it seems that around 42% of the West Bank is now taken up by Israeli infrastructure associated with the settlements, including roads, barriers, buffer zones and military bases.  Still it is good that these facts are now getting published in some of the mainstream media.  All making the task of Israeli propaganda even more difficult.  You can read the Independent article here.  

3.  Boycott Divestment Sanctions 

This campaign is probably the one most likely to bring about an end to the Occupation.  And it is beginning to bite.  At all levels.  It seems that even very mainstream actors are now willing to say no to Israel.  For example it is reported in the Jerusalem Post that Hollywood actors Meg Ryan and Dustin Hoffman backed out of attending this year’s annual Jerusalem Film Festival, following the international outcry over Israel’s attack on the Turkish led flotilla that attempted to break the Gaza blockade.  Prince Albert of Monaco, son of legendary actress Grace Kelly, has also cancelled his programmed attendance at the festival.  It seems that the Prince’s advisors believed it would have been very negative for him to attend.

Further support for BDS has come from the Methodist Church of Britain which has agreed to launch a boycott against goods emanating from settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.  Let's hope the other Christian Churches will follow this lead.

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign is one that everyone can participate in.  We can all begin to stop buying Israeli goods in supermarkets and other stores.  We can also complain about the presence of Israeli stalls that sells goods produced in the illegal settlements in the West Bank.  We have one of these in Dundee - Premier Dead Sea Products.  This company has a stall in the Overgate and sells cosmetics based on material from the Dead Sea.  Some of us have complained to the owners of the Overgate that it is wrong to have such a company operating in Dundee.  So far they have replied that their products are not made in the settlements but in pre 1967 Israel.  This seems unlikely and in any case if they market their cosmetics as from the Dead Sea then either they are using material stolen from Palestinian land or they are breaking the Trade Descriptions Act.  This is one that will run and run.

Also in Dundee we are lobbying the local Council to take a more forceful stand against the Israeli Occupation.  Specifically we are calling on the Council to support the following measures:

1. Not buy products from Israel or from Israeli-owned companies - this would include water from Eden Springs and Veolia waste contracts amongst others; as well as any company which supports Israel’s illegal settlements.
2. Fly the Palestinian Flag over the City Chamber until such time as Israel has ended its illegal blockade of Gaza. 
3. Support officially the next flotilla and get a ship loaded with goods sent from Dundee

The more people begin to take action locally the sooner Israel will begin to feel the pressure.  More more information about the BDS campaign can be found here.

Remembering Gaza

It was a year ago to this day that Israel launched its murderous assault on Gaza. The Israelis managed to kill around 1,400 Palestinians, most of whom were civilians and many of whom were women and children. The initial attacks were timed to coincide with the end of the school morning, thus ensuring the maximum number of casualties among women and children. These first attacks also struck at public ceremony celebrating the graduation of new policemen. Truly a modern day slaughter of the innocents. There are many accounts of this massacre and one of the best can be found here on Lenin’s Tomb.

As usual most western governments - from the self-styled democratic west - decided to either ignore the slaughter or procrastinate or even offer support to Israel. However this time the civilian population of the west rose up in revolt against this continuing complicity in yet another Israeli war of aggression. The Gaza slaughter may turn out to be the tipping point when the rest of the world finally woke up to the 60 plus years of ongoing Israeli terror against the Palestinians.

For the key point about the Gaza massacres was that this was not a one off, but part of the continuing attempt by Israel to ethnically cleanse most of Palestine of Palestinians. Over the past year Israel has intensified its efforts to build yet more colonies on Palestinian land and to intensify its policy of using violence against peaceful Palestinian and Israeli protesters. For example just in the last six months, 31 residents of Bil'in have been arrested, mostly during nighttime raids, and 89 have been arrested in Ni'ilin in the last 18 months. These two villages are two of the main hubs of unarmed protest against the Wall. A more detailed account of the struggle against the Wall can be found in this article from Jewish Peace News.

Another article which appeared in the Guardian’s Comment if Free section by Neve Gordon also looks at Israel’s long, long history of using violence to break up peaceful Palestinian opposition. This goes right back to the first few months after the six day war in 1967, when teachers in the West Bank went on strike against the imposition of Israeli textbooks. Israel's response to that first strike was immediate and severe: it issued military orders categorising all forms of resistance as insurgency – including protests and political meetings, raising flags or other national symbols, publishing or distributing articles or pictures with political connotations, and even singing or listening to nationalist songs. The message Israel wanted to convey was clear: any act of resistance would result in a disproportionate response, which would make the population suffer to such a degree that resistance would appear pointless. Gordon’s article can be found here.

The above are just a few of the many examples of where it has been Israel that “has never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” For Israel has never shown the slightest evidence that it has ever been interested in a genuine peace settlement, one that is based on justice. This time however it looks like Israel may have gone too far. The call to Boycott, Divest and introduce Sanctions against Israel has grown tremendously over the past year. And many senior Israelis are unable to leave Israel for fear of arrest on charges of war crimes. The UN sponsored Goldstone Report into the Gaza slaughter has provided anti Zionist groups with clear documented evidence to increase support of the Boycott campaign. The purpose of the Boycott campaign is to put pressure on Israel to:

1. Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall;
2. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and
3. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.

To ensure that there are no more slaughtered civilians, we should do all we can to support this Boycott call.