Irish and Canadian flotilla- preliminary

Israel's holding a Democracy Now correspondent in the latest flotilla action! 

Whether activists of aid workers, I hope they can make a difference.

http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2011/11/4/breaking_israel_detains_democracy_now_correspondent_jihan_hafiz_aboard_gaza_flotilla
 

I don't have so much to say on this that I didn't way with the last flotilla except that I can only hope the freedom waves idea catches on so that this is a continuous "operation." Go Ireland and Canada!

I think the BDS movement is probably more likely to get the desired results, but things like this are needed as well for raising awareness, challenging injustice and showing solidarity.

PACBI
BDS book

USACBI

Justice= EQUALITY, end to occupation, right of return for ALL refugee (AKA the full menu of rights).

 

There cannot be peace without justice.

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality."

                                                                                     --Desmond Tutu

Flytilla

Flytilla?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/07/israel-gaza-protest-flytilla

http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=228517

Since this round of flotillas have been overwhelmingly unsuccessful, a few from the flotilla are trying or have done a flytilla. I had thought this would be more impossible than a flotilla, but we'll see. I'm pretty sure they have to fly into Israel and if that's the case, it's not like the flotilla going to Gaza. Going directly to Gaza protests the fact that Israel is supposed to have removed itself completely, but actually still controls it and doesn't allow trade or enough food and supplies in. The fact that you have to fly into Israel also makes kind of the same point, since they're not allowed to fly to the Occupied Territories...

Flotilla failure:

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/7/6/audacity_of_hope_inside_report_aboard

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/why-israels-new-friend-greece-blocking-gaza-flotilla?page=0,0

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1019594--hunt-for-ship-s-captain-as-canadians-linked-to-gaza-flotilla-arrested

http://my.firedoglake.com/ctuttle/2011/07/01/greece-halts-entire-freedom-flotilla/

US flotilla to Gaza!

This is the link for my thoughts below:
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/6/27/we_are_eager_to_get_to

Here's the flotilla site:
http://ustogaza.org/

A US State Department rep is saying that aid not necessary. (?) Aid should go through "proper" channels. (?) I guess to say aid is necessary is to admit Israel is doing something wrong and the US is giving them money to oppress people. We can't have that... well, wait...we can't admit that, now can we?

Israel? The Occupying Power? The proper channel is to go through the oppressor and trust them to provide anywhere near adequately for the people it is subjugating? Do you think they are qualified to be fair when they've calculated the number of calories it takes for people to survive (not thrive and be healthy?)? What about that previous track record, complete with humanitarian crisis??

See: http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2011/07/02/the-no-humanitarian-crisis-in-gaza-canard/

This feels awkward, posting my own link, but history tends to repeat itself more frequently in this conflict than in the larger world. Here's the pasta post with the rather ridiculous exchange of someone asking the State Department why pasta isn't allowed. It kind of highlights a broader point, though, I think:

http://notanotherpoliticalblog-j.blogspot.com/2010/06/prohibited-items-in-gaza-what-is.html

Also see humanitarian situation on the sidebar...

Israel has always gotten around crimes of oppression and occupation by saying they have left Gaza. They aren't occupying it. They have unilaterally withdrawn (also known to officials as "political formaldehyde" meant to stall negotiations). Who is buying that, anyway? What's the big deal, then? Let Gaza accept the aid on its shores since Gaza is "free" and Israeli waters aren't involved! Or can we get them to admit they are really still occupying all of Palestine? You can't have it both ways. Unless you are Israel.

Clinton's puzzling take:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters Friday that she didn't think the plan "is useful or productive or helpful to the people of Gaza."

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-06-24/us/us.gaza.flotilla_1_mavi-marmara-ihh-gaza-strip?_s=PM:US





Greek government obviously isn't up for this challenge due to concerns at home and folds:
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/07/01-3


Physical sabotage and psychological, too:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13977371


Israel refuses to deny sabotage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwYO0XEUpWY



Israel threatening journalists:

He said journalists who participated in the flotilla would be breaking Israeli law and would be banned from Israel for 10 years, as well as facing confiscation of equipment and other measures.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/26/israel-accused-gaza-flotilla-journalists

Israel backing away from threat:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/27/us-palestinians-israel-flotilla-idUSTRE75Q1MF20110627

Flotilla raid inquiry- results are in!

There are the leaked Palestinian papers and in another unsurprising news, Israel clears itself in any wrongdoing whatsoever in the Gaza flotilla raid (contrary to the UN/Goldstone report).

It's basically just all of the stuff the Israeli government said before they really looked at anything. Now, they are claiming they looked into it. Who actually expected Israel to tell the truth or even scratch the surface?

Just one more link in the chain. Par for the course.

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/knau/news.newsmain/article/0/0/1752941/World/Israel.inquiry.clears.government.and.navy.in.Gaza.ship.raid

Khalidi talks about this after the Palestinian papers on Democracy Now:
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/1/24/rashid_khalidi_leaked_palestine_papers_underscore


I think I predicted this result in another post....

Maybe not a prediction, but another inquiry...

http://notanotherpoliticalblog-j.blogspot.com/2010/06/gaza-flotilla-are-weapons-or-video.html

From this entry:
Israel wants to investigate itself without international involvement. Not only that, but the investigation is not to assess guilt or compliance with international law, but just to see if the operation worked. ??? Perhaps we should have let Hitler and Milosovic investigate themselves- not to assess guilt, but just to evaluate the operation. When you put it that way, you see the absurdity. Criminals cannot investigate themselves.

The pressure's on- Flotilla charge filed, TIAA divestment campaign

Hope more countries will follow suit like in the "Dubacle."

The courts haven't agreed to hear the case, though. :(

Three Spaniards file charges over Israel flotilla raid
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-10741416


******

Jewish Voice For Peace's demand for TIAA-CREF's divestment from Israel didn't fall on deaf ears?? They appear to be making some progress. I know the Caterpillar divestment battle has been a lot less successful, even though Israel used one of it's machines to kill Rachel Corrie who was protesting house demolitions. If one company takes the risk, maybe others will follow their example of social responsibility?


Jewish Voice for Peace:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOy8GWa60jY

http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/blog/jvp-demand-tiaa-cref-divest-israeli-occupation-0

Mondoweiss:
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/07/jvp-tiaa-cref-divestment-campaign-finds-strong-support-among-shareholders.html


This is from a mailing list I'm on (it seems a bit too optimistic to completely believe it- snopes, here I come-, but one can hope...) :

Aaron Levitt and others on TIAA-CREF success.

*SIGN THE PETITION NOW.*
**

Wow!

I'm writing you from New York City where I just got back from the TIAA-CREF annual meeting
and I'm still a bit overwhelmed by the experience.

TIAA-CREF is one the largest retirement funds in the world, and it holds investments in companies that profit from the Israeli occupation.

I can't tell you what it meant to have so many people at the TIAA-CREF meeting asking them to do better. *15,300 people to be exact*. Each one had signed a petition or a postcard, or secured hundreds of postcards in their own community asking the fund to divest from the Israeli occupation. And you know what? That made all the difference --- to us, and to the leadership of TIAA-CREF.

We finally got a chance to call on TIAA-CREF, in person, to divest from companies like Caterpillar and Elbit that profit from Israel's occupation. As a fellow activist in the room said, "This was a real breakthrough today." I couldn't agree more.

At the meeting, those who have retirement accounts with the company can stand up and speak. We had a designated speaker delivering the postcards to TIAA-CREF management, and we knew a few other people, mostly professors and teachers, would get up and ask that their money not be invested in companies that profit from discrimination, death, and destruction, and push hope and peace ever further away.

But happened was extraordinary. First 5, then 10, then 14 people, then more got up, one after another, to speak from the heart about why TIAA CREF must not profit from Israel's occupation. These people weren't just JVP members, but included TIAA-CREF shareholders attending the meeting for entirely different reasons, who were spontaneously moved to speak in support of our
campaign.

Not a single person spoke to defend Israel's occupation. Not one. But we all know that will change, which is *why we need you now to join our call and help us grow the 15,300 to 25,000 and then50,000.

Please sign the TIAA-CREF petition now.
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=DvQXwzoiHKPYqTyF0BmjLdbTBM270Ysd>


In that meeting, the voice for justice, for full equality, for a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, dominated the room. So many inspiring and courageous JVP activists stood up to say how TIAA-CREF was fueling death and destruction by literally investing in it. To implore
TIAA-CREF to find a new way.

During the meeting, we had the honor of delivering the many stacks of petitions and postcards directly to the Chief Financial Officer, and could feel the energy in the room change as the TIAA-CREF executives saw how many people we were representing. The CEO of TIAA-CREF announced they would be meeting with our campaign team tomorrow, and I knew they were taking us seriously.

It was impossible for anyone in that room to not have been affected by what they saw and heard. Just imagine - statement after statement opposing the Israeli occupation were made in the boardroom of one of the largest financial services companies in the world. The executive managers and board members present listened attentively, respectfully.

We know the struggle will be long to actually get TIAA-CREF to divest, but this is just the beginning. Our story is already spreading across the world, with media coverage in *US News and Report, Inside Higher Ed, Israel's Ha'aretz, Tablet and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Please join our call! We are already having an impact at 15,300 but want to
grow to 50,000. Please sign our petition today.

Thank you for listening. I wish we could have videotaped the statements of every person in that room-I promise you, you would have been moved and inspired. But none of us who were there will ever forget it.

< http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=KT1JUu328oB1MzEbvnBeMdbTBM270Ysd>

Onward,
Aaron Levitt
Jewish Voice for Peace

P.S. At the meeting, TIAA-CREF's corporate leadership announced they would be meeting directly with Jewish Voice for Peace this morning, and so they did. This is a very exciting step--and it's also just the beginning. We still need you to sign our petition and help us get more
signatures, especially from TIAA-CREF participants who are predominantly professors,
teachers, medical and nonprofit workers.

A Tale of Two Farces: "Easing" the Blockade and Israeli Flotilla "Inquiry"

On the "easing" of the Israeli blockade (strangulation) of Gaza:

AMIRA HASS: Perhaps Obama should ask himself if he would set aside in life of just getting chips and ketchup and Coca-Cola and not being allowed to produce, to create, to export, to send his daughters to university, to have visitors from outside—if this is the life that he thinks are suitable for human beings, then maybe all the Americans who voted for him made a mistake.

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/7/after_us_praise_for_netanyahus_restraint

A few other links:

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/06/2010617141425305620.html

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/20/world/la-fg-israel-blockade-20100621

I cannot find the source now, but I think I heard last week that some of the flotilla aid had been given to Gaza, but construction and other items were still in limbo and probably not allowed in.

********************

On the outcome of Israeli the flotilla probe:

quote:

"In this inquiry we found that there were some professional mistakes regarding both the intelligence and the decision-making process and some of the operational mistakes," he said.

"But also, we did find some very positive findings, and one of them that should be emphasised is the very professional and courageous way that the Israeli commando behaved."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10603486

Totally predictable, but still--- ???

Their mistake, they say elsewhere, is that they weren't prepared for activists to respond violently.

Of course this assumes Israel's innocence and answers none of the questions that needed answering. What happened exactly? Did Israeli commandos have paint guns or real ones when they descended from helicopters shooting? Was Israel's response too harsh? Who shot first? Were the "activists" violent? Were were any laws violated by either party and if so, which ones? Is anyone guilty of murder or was this self-defense? Will there be a trial?

A few links to peruse:

http://uprootedpalestinians.blogspot.com/2010/07/israeli-report-on-flotilla-raid-senior.html

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/06/14/95862/israeli-flotilla-inquiry-inadequate.html

Gaza flotilla- are weapons or video the cause of the IDF response?

Political cartoon:
Soldier holding a dead dove saying, "I had no choice, it attacked me with an olive branch."
http://www.cleveland.com/darcy/index.ssf/2010/06/israels_attack_on_gaza_aid_shi.html

*** *** *** *** *** *** ***

The link that got me thinking and that resulted in this post:
http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/listeningpost/2010/06/201061911929259720.html

An hour of footage that Israel failed to confiscate:
http://www.culturesofresistance.org/gaza-freedom-flotilla

In listening (to the above link) to how Israel confiscated all of the video equipment and memory chips, it made me think that perhaps Israelis equated video equipment with bombs and weapons. Is that the cause of such crushing, lethal force against an aid ship (among other unarmed entities)? I mean, when a memory chip was discovered in a sock of someone trying to “smuggle” it out, people were strip-searched as though they were found with drugs or weapons! That alone seemed to be the priority, rather than making sure no one was harmed or securing the area.

There is probably enough footage in Israeli evidence lockers to reconstruct the events perfectly, which is definitely a danger if one wants only a certain message to get out. Will Israel throw those thousands or millions of dollars of equipment out if it reaches a different conclusion than what is portrayed on the video? Will Israel alter and edit the videos before releasing them? Some footage made its way off the ship. We can only hope this sheds enough light on the issue to discern what happened because that confiscated footage may never (unaltered) see the light of day. We do still have many witnesses who are speaking out, but that footage would probably be more likely considered proof than their statements. That said, why should we take Israel's word for it? Why should we accept their video and audio proof in light of the fact that they admitted to doctoring it to incriminate the flotilla participants rather than themselves?

It’s true that the footage would be detrimental to Israel, as it shows the truth of what happened and doesn’t toe the Israeli line, but a bomb it is not. Suppressing media footage and confiscating personal property to control the message are not actions a democratic nation should be allowed to take or get away with. I know Israel is worried about its image and obviously wants to control the message as it nearly has rewritten history (there’s no such thing as Palestinians; land with no people for people without land; Jews made the desert bloom; etc), but equating bombs and video cameras goes way too far and it needs to be stopped.

This sort of thing reminds me of the “demographic threat” you hear Israelis and especially Israeli officials speak of. Yes, that’s the Arab birth rate being slightly higher than the Jewish one. It is called a threat. Like nuclear threats, threats of terrorist attacks, threats that are justifiably met with violence. Just because one throws the word “threat” after something doesn’t justify confronting it with violence. Yet one sees Israel do this every time they interact with Palestinians, be it at a peaceful protest, confronting an aid ship or confronting rocket attacks.

Israel wants to investigate itself without international involvement. Not only that, but the investigation is not to assess guilt or compliance with international law, but just to see if the operation worked. ??? Perhaps we should have let Hitler and Milosovic investigate themselves- not to assess guilt, but just to evaluate the operation. When you put it that way, you see the absurdity. Criminals cannot investigate themselves.

Video cameras and Palestinian babies are NOT THREATS and do NOT justify Israel’s occupation or brutal treatment of its occupied population.


Some of said footage that did make it out of this whole mess, despite Israel's best efforts:

Some notable people were in the flotilla. This one mentions Edward Peck:
http://original.antiwar.com/beatrice-paez/2010/06/10/new-footage-depicts-attack-on-mavi-marmara/

Democracy Now's Amy Goodman interviewed Adam Shapiro of Seeds for Peace, ISM, Free Gaza. He and his wife, Huwaida Arraf, were on the flotilla:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-goodman/interview-at-least-15-dea_b_595438.html

Iara Lee describes her experience on the flotilla on Democracy Now (June 10, 2010). She talks about her hour long footage (linked at beginning of the post) as well:
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/10/exclusive_journalist_smuggles_out_video_of

Huwaida Arraf and Colonel Ann Wright were on the flotilla and describe their experience:
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/3/huwaida

Biden quotes Israel's garbage on Charlie Rose

THE video:
http://vodpod.com/watch/3810888-vp-joe-biden-on-flotilla-incident-charlie-rose-pbs


Source for the Biden on Charlie Rose quote below:
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/3/headlines/biden_defends_israeli_assault_gaza_blockade

Joseph Biden: "You can argue whether Israel should have dropped people onto that ship or not, but the truth of the matter is, Israel has a right to know—they’re at war with Hamas—has a right to know whether or not arms are being smuggled in. And up to now, Charlie, what’s happened? They’ve said, 'Here you go. You're in the Mediterranean. This ship, if you divert slightly north, you can unload it, and we’ll get the stuff into Gaza.’ So what’s the big deal here? What’s the big deal of insisting it go straight to Gaza? Well, it’s legitimate for Israel to say, 'I don't know what’s on that ship. These guys are dropping eight—3,000 rockets on my people.’"

There is so much to correct, here.

Here are two people on the aid ship that correct a lot of this junk:
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/3/huwaida


My take:

Right to know what’s on the ships-

They were checked before leaving Turkey and the Mossad was there. Now, the Mossad could have lied and said there were weapons or maybe Mossad fell down on the job and didn’t look into it. Chances are good that Israel knew exactly what and who were on how many ships.

At least one of the ships Israel contacted and began threatening with force offered voluntarily to have the cargo checked (again) once on shore by the UN or ICRC to satisfy Israeli fears about what was on board. Weapons were not the primary concern- breaking the blockade, whose legality is in question, was the issue.

What’s the big deal with unloading in Israel and having Israel make sure the supplies get to Gaza??

Has Biden been keeping up with events over there? That is the point of the aid flotilla, Free Gaza Movement, Viva Palestina aid convoys, etc! Israel is NOT making sure enough supplies get to Gaza. Various human rights organizations have documented this. THAT is the big deal, Mr. Biden!

Israeli document says blockade is economic warfare, not security measure

Gaza's humanitarian crisis is not a surprise- it's what we wanted

A quote by Dov Weisglass on the Gaza blockade; he's possibly the only one in Israel telling the truth:

"the idea is to put
the Palestinians on a diet but not to make them die of hunger"

He is also the one who told us that "disengagement" from Gaza in 2004 was not so much a gesture of peace, but formaldehyde for the peace process:

"It supplies the amount of formaldehyde that is necessary so there will not be a political process with the Palestinians"

Biden also recklessly implies that the ships are Hamas ships!

So far from the truth! They were flying Turkish and American flags, for one. Wow. That makes him look so ignorant. I guess it wouldn’t be the first time…


Also:
Biden Defends Israel—to the Max—on 'Charlie Rose' Tonight - June 2, 2010
http://www.thenation.com/blog/biden-defends-israel-max-charlie-rose-tonight

Israeli flotilla inquiry committee- what's the point?

Just take the IDF statements and Netanyhu's statements. There you have it. What the committee will "decide".

A few links:

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/gaza-flotilla-probe-panel-to-hold-first-meeting-on-wednesday-1.296466

http://www.linktv.org/scripts/episode_transcript.php?episode=mosaic20100614

One that quotes Netanyahu's statement about what the committee's purpose is:
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/6393-israel-composes-a-committee-to-investigate-flotilla-attack

The 3 (just 3?!) men that will decide what went on with the IDF and Mavi Marmara:

• Yaakov Turkel, a retired Israeli supreme court judge, head of this committee
• Shaftai Rouzain, an international law expert, Israel Prize laureate
  
• Amos Huraiv, retired Major-General, former member of the Israeli Haganah mob (Haaretz simply calls him "military expert and former president of the Technion")
  

Really? Were Nazi war criminals allowed to sit at the Nuremburg trials to judge their peers and "operations" against Jews??

Some time has passed, sure, since the horrific crimes of 1948, but doesn't Israel view it- once a terrorist, always a terrorist? Look at how many ancient Nazi war criminals they work hard to bring to justice. Call me crazy, but that guy is not really in a position to have an honest discussion about Palestinians or war crimes.


The 2 (non-voting) observers are:

David Trimble, a Northern Irish Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Ken Watkin, a former military judge advocate general from Canada

Some key "facts" about teh committee:

• No army personnel will appear before the committee
• I'm guessing that means no survivors will testify, either
• Netanyahu, Minister for the Army Ehud Barak, and chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi are all expected to testify before the Committee
• They cannot question "political mechanism that triggered the attack on the Marmara"
• The sole "evidence" under consideration is the summary report by the "experts" the chief of staff appointed (IDF internal "investigation")- yet another big clue as to what the committee will decide
• No authority to make procedural recommendations

Netanyahu assures us the investigation will be fair and impartial, while defending the army furiously.

Does anyone honestly have any doubt what the results of this will be?

They didn't accomplish the objective, but they did what they needed to do to protect it's citizens.

Complete rubbish!

Netanyahu said:

I’m convinced that finding the facts by the committee will prove that the objective behind the operation of the state of Israel and its army’s defensive action was acceptable and conformed to international standards.

That tends to happen when one stacks the deck!


This is a Guardian blog or opinion piece I think. The author is as incredulous as I am:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/16/israel-gaza-flotilla-inquiry

It talks about other times Israel has investigated itself. Telling.


Two videos about flotilla stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FcPqvl38c8&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oMQeYOkSBA

Israel's problem- image or moral?

Can Israel Learn How to Make Its Case?

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1995850,00.html


I've been sticking to alternative sources of news for this event and so I was unaware of how the stroy was being framed by the mainstram news sources. Until TIME arrived in the mail. I was under the impression that all were in agreement that Israel is at fault and can't play the victim card too much longer. Guess not. The story is not actually how do we make Israel follow the law and respect human rights. The story in the US is that Israel has an "image problem." Silly me!

Under George Bush, the US had an image problem. We invaded Iraq, probably knowing full well there weren't any WMD, and didn't apologize after everyone else found out the truth. Truth telling and admitting fault is seen as weakness by some, but it does wonders for one's image as it is the hardest and right thing to do. There is a Biblical lesson for the individual here, temptimg to address, but that's a digression perhaps for another time or place. :)

The only way for Israel to fix this pesky "image problem," is to stop flouting international law, let Palestinians have the self determination that everyone else on this planet sees as a God-given right, end the occupation. apologize for past wrongs, begin reconciliation, refugee return, compensation, trials for those in Israel who are guilty of crimes against humanity, etc.

Gaza flotilla- more incredible Israeli lies

In progress...

USS Liberty survivor was seized by flotilla
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/4/43_years_after_surviving_israeli_attack

Will we abandon and dishonor him yet again?
***

Activists: Israeli boat raiders had ‘assassination list’
http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0605/israeli-raiders-assassination-list/
***

Many musical groups cancelled performances in Israel in recent months because of Gaza, occupation, flotilla

Elvis Costello, Carlos Santana and Gil Scott-Heron, British group Gorillaz, Pixies

Given what you'll read next, why aren't we separating ourselves from this nonsense?
***

This show on 6/7/10 has a ton of crazy things. Just wrong! Who believes Israel??
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/7/israel_rejects_call_for_international_probe

• Arab Knesset member, Hanin Zoabi, is targeted in a FB group inciting her assassination. She was assaulted in the Knesset for trying to share her experiences on the flotilla.
• IDF retracted press release it put out saying flotilla members were Al Qaeda mercenaries upon inquiries by Blumenthal. The "evidence" was that they had night vision goggles. Wow. The criteria for being a terrorist is getting more and more general.
• IDF admitted to doctoring the audio it originally put out with a flotilla person supposedly saying "go back to Auschwitz." They released the "full" version later. NY Times an dWahington Post reported on these initial IDF responses, but didn't report the corrections. Way to follow up and ask the questions. Instead of Blumenthal, they could have been the ones to break the story about the false IDF reports.
• Yedioth Ahronoth - apparently an author of some sort said Israel should plant guns and rockets on the next flotilla and display them at the prot of Ashdod for journalists to photograph.

***


And they think they can conduct a serious investigation of themselves. They don't want the international community or any other country involved. That way, they wouldn't be able to manufacture the story they want. Heaven forbid we get the truth!

Flotilla spoof video: "important Israeli contribution to the discussion of recent events"

Really??

The title says Israel apologizes for it, but the article mentions one condemnation from a blog. The Prime Minister's spokesman was apparently ROTFL and forwarded it to friends. That doesn't sound very apologetic to me.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/10253357.stm

This tasteless nonsense was made by an editor at Jerusalem Post. Mark Regev thought it was so funny he called his kids and told them to watch it. Surely this guy could keep his cool and say it isn't right to laugh at people dying. But, no. Maybe it's good he shows his true colors.

Some might say this is what happens in free societies. This is merely the free expression of ideas.

I say, when you think things like this are funny (especially when you are an official who can't maintain one's decorum), it says something about you- your morals and your respect for human life- that you have none!


Huff Post has the YouTube video if you want to see the garbage for yourself:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/07/israel-apologizes-for-cir_n_603459.html


"There's no people dying" - how is this anywhere near true about the flotilla or Gaza and the IDF??

"The truth will never find the way to your TV." - That's probably actually true! The US will believe Israel every time, no matter the crime. Kill our own people, kill some other countries' people- we love us some Israel. In all the stories on major network news, they are intent on finding and playing up Turkish "terrorist" ties of some of the participants rather than the IDF massacre and executions.

"Hamas as Mother Teresa" - This whole thing has nothing to do with Hamas and yet Israel is trying to say aid to Gaza is equal to giving missiles to Hamas?? ??????????

Israel must be an alternate universe. Similar to the bubble Bush lived in in the White House where Iraq was an imminent threat and everyone was supposed to bow to his will or be accused of being agaisnt us and therefore for the terrorists and gut feeling was a substitute for evidence an common sense.

Gaza Flotilla- Self Defense?? Shots ot the Head and Back?

As usual, the evidence points to Israeli misconduct. Israeli official statements are proven no more true than a police state's propaganda. And an American citizen was murdered.

Will it change US policy? One can always hope.



http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/04/gaza-flotilla-activists-autopsy-results

The results revealed that a 60-year-old man, Ibrahim Bilgen, was shot four times
in the temple, chest, hip and back. A 19-year-old, named as Fulkan Dogan, who
also has US citizenship, was shot five times from less that 45cm, in the face,
in the back of the head, twice in the leg and once in the back. Two other men
were shot four times, and five of the victims were shot either in the back of
the head or in the back, said Yalcin Buyuk, vice-chairman of the council of
forensic medicine.

Dr Haluk Ince, the chairman of the council of forensic medicine in Istanbul,
said that in only one case was there a single bullet wound, to the forehead from
a distant shot, while every other victim suffered multiple wounds. "All [the
bullets] were intact. This is important in a forensic context. When a bullet
strikes another place it comes into the body deformed. If it directly comes into
the body, the bullet is all intact."

The only one shot with one bullet was shot between the eyes from a longer range. That screams sniper and a shoot to kill policy, does it not? Does it say self defense to anyone?

Also, that is quite a few shots in the head and backs and backs of heads to be self defense. If you're truly in a struggle for your life, how do you shoot someone in the back of the head? What would our American courts say about that? I guess a buddy (or 5) could have come from the opposite direction to save the day. If in each of these cases, the soldier's life was hanging in the balance, and in each case that soldier had a buddy on the opposite side (to shoot the guy in the back of the head), then one could argue that the lethal situation could have been avoided.

Also, there is an account of a guy shot through the top of the head from a helicopter. If that is looked into, surely that could provide some insight as to who started it, whether Israelis acted in self defense, whether they shot ot kill, etc. Proof of shooting from the air certainly would disprove the Israeli line as well.

In the Democracy Now reports, eyewitnesses have said they heard shots before the soldiers boarded. If the soldiers are claiming the protesters stole the sidearms, I guess the shots would have come from Israeli commandos, contradicting the official Israeli line they are feeding us- protesters attacked first. We still have no credible info on who started this thing.

You have to wonder what the Israeli definition of attack is, though. I, and probably most folks, assume guns aimed at Israelis. In the past, rocks and school backpacks have justified murder by tank and automatic weapon fire, so there's no telling what they consider an "attack" or "threat".

A question that remains for me is why send commandos in to meet an aid ship about to supposedly violate the Gaza blockade that Israel contends is totally legal- much like settlements and the occupation and the rest of the collective punishment. Why not send diplomats, lawyers, etc to ask to board or discuss instead? Why not offer for UN or other international group to inspect the cargo at the Gaza port before sending in commandos?

Gaza Flotilla Murder Protest photos

I thought the protest went well. It was my first ever. I had wanted to before, especially in the run up ot the Iraq war when I was so mad that journalists had fallen asleep and weren't asking anyone anything, but just haven't until now. I was bigger on writing Congress, but when you get so many letters back about how great Israel is in response to concerns about Israel killing civilians, collectively punishing Palestinians, building illegal settlements, us supporting such horrible crimes against humanity both verbally and with billions of dollars in aid, you want to do more. Feinstein sent me a reply on Iraq once when I sent her a letter about Israeli war crimes in Palestine, as if there was any doubt that Senators didn't read my emails.

A lot of folks honked their support, waved, gave a peace sign, etc. More than I expected. I did see a middle finger and a few shouts of "I love Israel." The latter was obviously meant as a counter to us, but loving Israel and wanting them to follow the law are not opposites (we don't hate Israel), so it was a strange choice of words to counter the demonstration, I thought.

This is my sign, front and back- above and below. I bought supplies in the morning and put it together after work. The supplies. That was a near miss. The store I went ot had next ot nothing. No colored posterboard? Really? Cardstock taped together on the only foamboard I found saved the day and didn't look horrible. I was worried that the only thing I found to write on the black - window paint- wouldn't work, but with much effort, it came through for me.

I felt a bit like the kid who didn't do his homework, slapping it together in the car a few feet from the protest, but I think it turned out ok. I like making a poster. One of the few things I liked about school.

This is the end of the protest, above.

There were lots of Israeli flags present; here's a Palestinian flag. A local TV station said the Israeli flags were a counter protest, but since the event was by Jewish Voice For Peace, I'm not sure about that.

I should have moved the camera a bit to get "Free Gaza" instead of "Ree Gaza" !
Lebanon is here!

Lots of great signs!

Shouts of "Free Gilad Shalit" emanated from this corner at times...

What that has to do with Israel starving more than a milion people, forcing them to drink contaminated water, and killing those who try and help them, I sure don't know.

This criticism of Israel will undoubtedly make people say that I support terrorism and kidnapping. For the record, I don't support either.

Another great sign. Good idea with the pole. A good walking demonstration sign.

Enough is enough! was one chant. I can't remember them all.

The venue.

Israel getting away with murder- literally- Gaza freedom flotilla

So the answer to this question I posed in my last post is a yes:

"Will this be yet another non-violent tactic met with Israeli gunfire?"

I really didn't expect it to come to that; just detentions. Just detentions. Can't believe I just thought that.

"Israel cannot clean the blood off its hands through any excuse," said
Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "It is no longer possible to cover up or ignore Israel's
lawlessness. This bloody massacre by Israel on ships that were taking
humanitarian aid to Gaza deserves every kind of curse."

I wholeheartedly agree with Erdogan! It is awesome that someone is doing something- Turkey took its ambassador out of Israel.

I'm sure this will be a good account. There were supposed to be some good guests on. I hope to listen to it soon myself:

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/1/global_condemnation_of_israeli_armed_attack

Obama’s response to the massacre of 20 people on board whose goal was to deliver supplies to help rebuild Gaza’s infrastructure and help them get clean water on Memorial Day was the same old feeble one- “we regret the loss of life.” Nearly the same line as Israel, minus the outright blame placed solely on the aid workers. When Palestinians used to suicide bomb, they were killers, murderers, homicide bombers, etc. We had no qualms about conferring these monikers meant for the perps on the entire population. When Israel kills people, we cleanse it and remove the blame- “stuff happens” or “what can you do” or “both sides need to adopt peaceful means”, etc.

Not that the weak response was surprising. Look what we "did" with the Goldstone report on war crimes in the Gaza offensive, when Noam Chomsky was denied entry to Israel because they don't like what he writes, and then when at the UN Monday, we abstained from calling for an immediate end to the blockade, unlike the rest of the Security Council, who did its job. What did we "do"? Nothing. Which means Israel keeps committing crimes with our money, which violates our US laws, by the way. Why should that matter to us, though. We don't care when they kill our citizens, so why on earth would we care about them breaking the law?

A couple of things struck me as ironic when I heard the news due to what day it was and what I was reading at the time.

I was finishing Roxana Saberi’s book about her imprisonment in Iran on Monday when I heard about it. Israel’s demands, assertions and denials resemble Iran’s quite a bit. You can't believe a word either of them say. Why not release the names of the dead? Why not release the names of the jailed? Why not let the jailed contact family, lawyers, embassies, etc? Why are they keeping the possessions of those released - money, film, tape, cameras, equipment, etc?

We all know about Iran, but think about how Israel called their nuclear reactor a textile factory and still won't acknowledge it, even though we all know the truth, how they never confirm that their Mossad was responsible when everyone knows they were. There are too many lies associated with the conflict to properly address here.

I heard about this on Memorial Day. I read so many well wishes to troops and thank yous to the military past and present on Facebook, teh news and various places. I don't hate America, teh flag, the troops or anything else, but certain things struck me as ironic in thinking about US policy on/with Israel and the Middle East on this day.

In the USS Liberty disaster, we chose to believe Israel over our own soldiers, we chose to support Israel and bury those soldiers’ accounts and statements rather than show them the same honor many enjoyed on Memorial Day. Why? And Rachel Corrie. She wasn’t military, but she was a US citizen who fought (and was murdered) for others’ right to have what we enjoy- she made the same sacrifice as many a US soldier. Given a record like this (protecting Israel over the lives and interests of our own citizens and international law), what hope, honestly, is there for justice and fairness in the Middle East as far as the US is concerned?

It’s apparently great to thank and respect soldiers- except when their story contradicts that of Israel’s. In that case, you need to shut your mouth and be ashamed of your service and contribution to this country. If you do choose ot talk about it, you need to fall in line and lie. There aren’t always two sides to every story. In the case of Israel and the US, there is only one side. Israel’s.

Well, Israel hasn't admitted to much of anything, but they do admit that they attacked a civilian ship with attack helicopters, speedboats and commandos.

Hopefully I will organize these later...
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/1/global_condemnation_of_israeli_armed_attack
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/10195838.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2010/may/31/israel-troops-gaza-ships
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/10196585.stm
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/05/31/gaza.protest/index.html
http://www.freegaza.org/
http://www.juancole.com/2010/05/mercy-flotilla-for-gaza-about-to-set-off-israelis-threaten-to-block-it-with-war-ships.html

http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=176998

Gaza

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Dear friends,

I know we are all being inundated with information from and about Gaza, so I will do my best to be as selective as possible. Thus, I will include more than one issue in the same post.

The Israeli killing machine continues. I can't stand the tallying anymore! These are real people, real children, with names, parents, grandmas, grandpas, siblings, and families!

Three hours ago I was able to speak to my friend Maha in Gaza, the person that my Israeli "mom," Deb Reich, wrote about in the article I posted yesterday. Our call abruptly ended when she was interrupted by her neighbor to learn that there is a rumor that the Al-Omma University building in al-Rimal, Gaza City, which is 3 houses away from her families, has been targeted for an air strike. Israel has been terrorizing people for the last few days by actually calling and advising of an oncoming strike. They like to brag that this is forewarning - an expression of their humanity. What they like to forget to note is that hundreds of residential homes have received these calls and were not yet targeted. Maha and her family, and her brothers family (9 children in all), now sit in a candle lit room, freezing cold, awaiting the fallout of the attack. I got through to her again 20 minutes ago, her voice, trembling, while she advised they still sit, huddled in a single room they believe is least exposed, and wait while they listen to the thumps of attacks taking place further away.

Before I pass you today's material, I want to note something you may have not seen. As Israel and the US planned this latest insane round of genocide, while the world was celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year, what was the President of the US doing -- pardoning, posthumously, Americans that broke US law 60+ years ago to supply aircraft to Jews fighting for the state of Israel. I had a hard time believing it too.

See:
Bush pardons Israel bomber seller http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7799170.stm

One can only guess that in the fog of Gaza, Israel is pressing for the living Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard to also be pardoned. Then again, maybe they will use pressing for his release as a litmus test to incoming President Obama.

Gaza population - 60% children under 15!!! Children now damaged for life, if the live the ground assault,

Sam

---
Is Israel deliberately strengthening Hamas?
By Amira Hass

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1037879.html

---
Vittorio Arrigoni from Gaza
As I always try to do, I share with you first the voices of those on the ground. This one is from Vittorio Arrigoni, a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement. I have been unable to remove her words from my mind since reading it. http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2009/01/01/vittorio-arrigoni-writes-from-gaza/

Cynthia McKinney, Free Gaza Movement
Next is a piece by Cynthia McKinney, a former United States Representative, who was on the last boat, DIGNITY, that the Free Gaza Movement attempted to send to Gaza, but was turned back by Israel after the Israeli navy rammed the boat. http://www.freegaza.org/index.php?module=latest_news&id=23f1fef7bddd36ec5a63da9f6677a15f&offset=

Israeli Air Force pamphlets
(ACTION ITEM) Gaza awoke today with pamphlets scattered everywhere by the Israeli air force, see: http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=34493 . The Israeli military is marketing their blind, insane destruction services to anyone who is willing to advise them of a target. How pitiful can a military be? They ask Gazans to call 02-583-9749 (for those outside of Palestine that's +972-2-583-9749) or email helpgaza2008@gmail.com .
May I suggest they hear from all of us about what we think of their war crime campaign against Gaza.

For those that have short-memories, two consice lessons:
Israel over-reaches
By Nadia Hijab
http://imeu.net/news/printer0015233.shtml

Israel Has No Intention of Granting a Palestinian State If Hamas Did Not Exist
By Jennifer Loewenstein
http://www.counterpunch.org/loewenstein01012009.html

Of course, more Israeli opinions:

The Self-Defense of Suicide By OREN BEN-DOR http://www.counterpunch.com/dor01012009.html

If you (or I) were Palestinian Yossi Sarid
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1052057.html

Flyer
(ACTION ITEM) For those of you organizing demos, you may want to consider using this leaflet put out by If Americans Knew: http://www.ifamericansknew.org/download/GazaDec08.pdf

Audio
Finally, if you want to hear (or use in your demos by putting his voice on the loudspeakers) an inspiring talk by South African Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu on Palestine/Israel from a few months back go to: http://media.libsyn.com/media/ctl/CTL_Podcast_Jan_2nd.mp3


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