Gaza: ‘Once You Fight Back, You Are Called A Terrorist’

Posted by Richard Warnick in Disaster, Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Israel, War, War Crimes on November 21st, 2012

Gaza

Another horrifying round of attacks on the besieged people of Gaza, just ahead of the Israeli elections. Pam Bailey on AlterNet:

The right to self-defense (most often through “retaliation”) is enshrined in international law and was America’s own first response after it was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001. Why was it ethical for the U.S., but not for Palestinians?

As one young Gazan wrote on Facebook: “When you see your family killed by Israeli soldiers in front of your eyes and you see your house demolished in front of you, you feel so angry that you want to fight back. But once you fight back, you are called a terrorist and the aggressor becomes the victim who has the right of defense.”

Israel started it, again. And the blockade of Gaza continues.

More info: Top 10 Myths About Israel’s Attack on Gaza: These misconceptions are spread by the American media.

Israel does not accept Palestine’s right to exist, even though it is constantly demanding that everyone, including the displaced and occupied Palestinians, recognize Israel’s right to exist.

UPDATE: Israel-Hamas Ceasefire: Egypt Announces Peace Deal To Take Effect At 9 P.M.

UPDATE: Glenn Greenwald: The ‘both-sides-are-awful’ dismissal of Gaza ignores the key role of the US government. “The temptation to wash one’s hands of the whole conflict is understandable, but US support of Israel is a central force driving it all.”

U.N. Report on Flotilla Attack: ‘Extra-legal,… An Israeli naval vessel patrols nears the MV Mavi Marmara one of six ships bound for Gaza last May. ...
Facts About the Gaza Blockade List of prohibited items, from The Economist. Israel also won't allow cement or steel reinforcing rods for concrete buildings. ...
Did Israel Commit An Act of Piracy? We've had some interesting debates here on One Utah about Israel and Gaza, for example whether the December 2008-January 2009 ...
Dennis Kucinich: Gaza Blockade and Flotilla Attack… Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is circulating to colleagues the following letter concerning the commando raid by Israel upon a Turkish ...

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#1 by Larry Bergan on November 21, 2012 - 11:18 pm

Israel gets LOTS of money from – they tell me – the richest, (most powerful), country on the face of the earth.

Israel has nukes which never come up in the discussion.

Doesn’t seem like a fair fight.

Reply Quote

#2 by Chaim Weizmann on November 22, 2012 - 5:32 am

Probably doesn’t quite seem that way if you are an Israeli 6 year old and you have hundreds of missiles landing on you every day.

#3 by Larry Bergan on November 22, 2012 - 7:11 am

Chaim:

Over exaggeration isn’t going to help anything.

Hundreds of missiles landing on a single child? Why would that be necessary?

#4 by Chaim Weizmann on November 22, 2012 - 8:39 am

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Terrorism/rockets2011.html

#5 by Richard Warnick on November 22, 2012 - 10:22 pm

The Iron Dome air defense system is the best there is, and it stops 85-90 percent of the low-tech rockets fired from Gaza. The Obama administration has invested over $1 billion in Iron Dome. Now, let’s see if we can spend a little to help the besieged Palestinians get some food. Maybe that would help the situation, what do you think?

During the latest round of killing, both sides have been accused of war crimes. These need to be investigated, and the results of the investigation made public. According to one report, this time the Israelis killed over 100 civilian noncombatants in Gaza, including 30 children and 13 women. The Israelis have suffered 4 civilians killed.

#6 by cav on November 23, 2012 - 8:59 am

One must first assume the American Jewish Enterprise Glomerate has even the tiniest respect for its readers.

My presumption is that said respect might hover right close to the respect given Palestinians who’ve been displaced, killed, or made second class citizens even in their own homeland by the apartheid nation known as Israel.

#7 by Richard Warnick on November 23, 2012 - 9:52 am

Here is Glenn’s source: The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE), a group with ties to AIPAC.

Here are the facts:

“Since the October War in 1973, Washington has provided Israel with a level of support dwarfing the amounts provided to any other state. It has been the largest annual recipient of direct U.S. economic and military assistance since 1976 and the largest total recipient since World War ll. Total direct U.S. aid to Israel amounts to well over $140 billion in 2003 dollars. Israel receives about $3 billion in direct foreign assistance each year, which is roughly one-fifth of America’s entire foreign aid budget. In per capita terms, the United States gives each Israeli a direct subsidy worth about $500 per year. This largesse is especially striking when one realizes that Israel is now a wealthy industrial state with a per capita income roughly equal to South Korea or Spain.”

- John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt
The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy

We’ve been heaping tax money on the rich Israelis, while the Palestinians starve. Of course, in return we get access to advanced weapons technology developed in Israel, such as UAVs and Iron Dome.

Last year and early this year, the U.S. Agency for International Development imposed a 6-month suspension of humanitarian aid to Palestine. I’m hopeful the latest cease fire agreement will ease the blockade of Gaza, however.

#8 by Richard Warnick on November 23, 2012 - 12:16 pm

The first to run out of facts resorts to name-calling.

#9 by cav on November 23, 2012 - 12:51 pm

Then ‘Hitler”.

#10 by cav on November 23, 2012 - 12:59 pm

I hope it doesn’t appear as though I’ve already picked a side. For all I really know there just might be terrorists on both. So where is all that money going exactly?

When a ‘Semite’ acts like a terrorist, would it be at all appropriate to then be anti-semite? It’s just so confusing.

#11 by cav on November 23, 2012 - 5:02 pm

I’m getting tired of the ‘evil’ Palestinians and the ‘we’re only defending our innocent selves’ Israelis.

Sorry.

#12 by cav on November 24, 2012 - 8:19 am

I find ‘factoring’ out commenters because of their position, vehemence, or moniker, not only reflects the authoritarian bend of the owner of this blog, but totally discombobulates thread flow, and very likely any possibility that consensus might be reached, bridges built, or, even the agreement to disagree.

Aside from that one issue, thanks for the blog.

#13 by Larry Bergan on November 24, 2012 - 9:42 am

I don’t know cav:

Brad Friedman has some rules for commenting which I think are very doable unless you’re trying to mess up a conversation on purpose.

The rules for posting comments at The BRAD BLOG are few. Please stick to them, or we may be forced to either moderate or ban your future comments. We’ll try to offer warnings before taking such actions, but please don’t make us even have to consider them. We prefer a free, courteous and open exchange of ideas — even those we may disagree with.

Violation of the following may be considered grounds for moderation or full banning (after notice, and only when necessary):

1) Pick a user name and stick with it. Do not post under multiple identities.

2) Do NOT make personal attacks on other commenters. Public figures (and thus, even your humble host) are a different matter. Though violent threats against anybody, overt or implied, are similarly unacceptable. Disagree with each other all you like, but try to do so respectfully. Ad-hominem attacks on fellow commenters will not be tolerated.

3) Do NOT post full, copied and pasted articles. You may post a few grafs, and include a link to where readers may go for the rest of the article if they’re interested.

4) Do NOT post knowing dis-information. If we determine that you are purposely and knowingly posting well-debunked information in order to confuse or deceive readers, the comment will be removed, and you will too after fair warning.

5) Do NOT spam comments. Either with repeated postings, wholly off-topic information, or commercial appeals. Commercial spam will be deleted without warning.

Comments that do not meet the above, very few rules, may be deleted. When we delete a comment, we will attempt to publicly note the deletion and the reasons for it. We do not “disappear” comments simply because they may disagree with our point of view. We don’t “disappear” any comments, for that matter, as we always try to note the reason for any required deletion.

We do not require registration to leave comments, nor do we police them all, nor do we wish to. So if you find anything you feel may be in violation of the above, please email a link to the comment (available under the “Permalink” at the top of each comment) to us via email.

Thanks!

#14 by cav on November 24, 2012 - 10:19 am

It’s just that comments remaining after a troll sweep, lose context and can begin to look uninformed, even delusional.

Plus, I whine.

And thanks for that, Larry.

#15 by Larry Bergan on November 24, 2012 - 10:56 am

It’s a problem.

We could have a voting system where participants of the blog vote to flag comments as trollish, but if we did, people who are paid to screw up the blog – or just people who have too much time and money – would show up and vote to censor people who tell the truth.

I hate to admit it, but I like telling the truth. I almost got thrown off BradBlog for attacking a commenter. I realized I was in the wrong and apologized. I don’t go to very many blogs, but I don’t know of any blog that has been more free then BradBlog or this one, but trolls drive me right into the crazy.

I’m not the guy who has been moving commenters to the troll zone, but I don’t have a problem with it either. glenn tried to stick with the moniker glenn for a while, but I guess he just can’t help himself. brewski sticks with the same moniker, but says things like “everything Rachel Maddow says, is a lie”.

These are violations of common decency that nobody talking to your face would say or do.

Still wondering where the heck Uncle Rico and other honest commenters went. I have no proof, but it seems like a lot of our visitors are assigned, and that means YOU, Bob S.

#16 by Richard Warnick on November 24, 2012 - 11:06 am

I wish I knew how to get paid for posting blog comments, I could use the extra income.

#17 by Larry Bergan on November 24, 2012 - 11:26 am

Oh, come on Richard!

You didn’t pay a dime for that Mercedes-Benz!

#18 by Larry Bergan on November 24, 2012 - 11:38 am

War profiteering is where the REAL money is.

Go THERE young man – or Cheney.

It’s legal, but shouldn’t it at least have a sin tax?

#19 by Larry Bergan on November 25, 2012 - 3:57 am

I can tell you why your comment was trashed glenn. You used the name of a legitimate commenter.

Keep wasting your time.

#20 by cav on November 25, 2012 - 9:46 am

I keep going over what treasonous America-haters we were back when we didn’t think invading random countries was such a great idea. I guess the patriotic thing to do would have been start a secession movement?

I’m having a hard time keeping track of what it means to love America these days.

#21 by Larry Bergan on November 25, 2012 - 10:40 am

Flag Lapel pins are the only things that matter.

#22 by Richard Warnick on November 25, 2012 - 12:23 pm

James Zogby:

What has long been clear is that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s acceptance of a “two state solution” and his offer to “negotiate without preconditions” was a feint designed to keep his U.S. patron at bay. To an extent, it has worked. Ignored, however, by Israel’s supporters are Netanyahu’s own “preconditions:” he will never surrender occupied East Jerusalem or the substantial area of the West bank that Israel has annexed into what it calls “Greater Jerusalem; he insists on keeping control of the massive settlements and network of connecting “Jewish-only” roads Israel has built in the West Bank — laid out with the intention of “making impossible the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian State;” and he maintains that he will not surrender control of the Jordan Valley — which Israel claims is vital for its security. All of which make negotiations and peace impossible.

The “two-state solution” is something the Palestinian Authority would like to have, but the current Israeli government won’t let them have it. Hamas (which the Mossad helped create in 1987) is a more convenient foe from Netanyahu’s perspective.

#23 by cav on November 25, 2012 - 12:35 pm

When negotiations and peace become essentially impossible, is it any wonder the proposed destruction of ‘The State’ becomes a plank of the Palestinians?

Shut up and eat your sand-laced gruel.