This is no more and no less than an expression of my personal beliefs on Zionism, Gaza, and the flotilla. I have no special knowledge of the facts, and am not an expert on middle east history. I have some knowledge of international law. I am an American and I am Jewish.
I am not looking for any arguments. I just wanted to make it clear what my views are.
Zionism
Zionism is no more and no less than a belief that Israel is entitled to exist -- i.e. that the Jews are entitled to a national home in the area traditionally referred to by them as the Holy Land.
Zionism is NOT blind approval of any specific conduct by any specific administration in Israel, and it is certainly NOT approval of any war crimes, violations of the rules of war, or standards of decency and humanitarianism.
Gaza occupation
The Gaza occupation came about through an unfortunate series of events, and is not being handled properly by the Netanyahu administration. Under Netanyahu insufficient care has been taken to protect the lives and well being of noncombatants. The occupation of Gaza has been cruel. If Mr. Netanyahu thinks his handling of the situation has helped improve Israel's security, I beg to differ. But whether it does or not, it is violative of standards of human decency.
The flotilla
Most of the people traveling on the flotilla were nonviolent human rights activists. Some of them are anti-Israel and/or anti-semites, specifically trying to delegitimize Israel, but some of them were simply in good faith trying to make a legitimate point about the Netanyahu administration's callousness and inhumanity. However, the organizers of the flotilla included at least one terrorist organization.
Israel had refused the boats direct access to Gaza, but committed itself to escorting the boats to an Israeli harbor, and then -- after a security check -- transferring all humanitarian goods to Gaza. This offer was refused. (That is because this was not about getting humanitarian goods to Gaza; it was about getting a certain kind of publicity.)
Israel had a right under international law to board boats which were admittedly about to violate Israel's territorial sovereignty, especially in view of the fact that they were being led by a vessel operated by a terrorist organization.
Appropriate nonviolent activists would have, under such circumstances, submitted to boarding or redirection by the Israel defense forces. This occurred on five (5) of the six (6) boats in the "flotilla".
However, one of the six (6) boats, the Mavi Marmara, did not act in a "nonviolent" manner. That boat was operated by IHH, an organization which has been outlawed in Israel since 2008 as a sponsor of terrorism, and which is in fact a long time sponsor of terrorist operations. IHH was one of the organizers, and by some accounts the primary organizer, of the flotilla.
The IHH boat was boarded by Israeli Navy men, who had been ordered to shoot only paintballs if necessary. [There are conflicting reports as to whether the IDF had fired lethal shots prior to boarding. This report by "Raw Story" and this report by Common Dreams report that it did.] [Prior to the boarding, men in an IDF boarding craft were attacked with various objects, including a stun grenade which detonated upon landing in the craft.]
It appears that there were two (2) separate bodies of "passengers" on the Mavi Marmara: one group of fifty (50) men boarded separately from the other passengers, did not undergo the same security checks, were carrying no passports or ID's, and were each carrying envelopes containing approximately $10,000US in cash.
In what appears to me to have been a planned, concerted action, carried out by a group of about thirty (30) men waiting for them on the top deck, the IDF commandoes were set upon by this Arabic-speaking group when they rappelled onto the deck. Some of the soldiers were stripped of their helmets and equipment and thrown from the top deck to the lower deck, and some even jumped overboard to save themselves. At one point several of the Arabic-speaking "activists" seized several of the soldiers' handguns and opened fire. Israeli soldiers were attacked -- viciously -- with bats, pipes, metal rods, axes, knives, sling shots, and two (2) handguns. A supply of switchblades, slingshots, metal balls and metal bats was later confiscated from the boat.
The Israeli soldiers' response included killing nine (9) persons aboard the ship.
In my opinion, based on the sketchy facts available to me, the men who attacked the Israeli soldiers were not "activists", but trained provocateurs, and the Israel soldiers were (a) justified in exercising force, including deadly force, but (b) not justified in using the degree of force that was used.
Iran Revolutionary Guard
On June 6th Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced it would like to accompany additional ships breaking the blockade. Although these well known "human rights activists" specialize in torture and rape of the defenseless, and are therefore highly unlikely to cross swords with the Israel Defense Force, their announcement demonstrates what is really at play, which is the war of Islamic radicals against the 7.5 million Jewish people who live in Israel.
I certainly can't imagine anyone with weaker credentials as "human rights" activists.
This announcement should make people think about what it would be like to live in a world controlled by Iran's Revolutionary Guard and its allies, and about who's really running the show for the flotilla.
(I don't think this will ever come to pass, by the way. Clearly, were the "Revolutionary Guard" to carry through on their threat, their boats would be blown out of the water, and no one -- not even their own countrymen -- would shed a single tear.)
As more information becomes available to me, I will update this post if I think any of my above preliminary conclusions warrant revision.
For discussion of the legal issues, see "Q&A: Is Israel's naval blockade of Gaza legal? (Reuters)"
Monday, May 31, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
My International Womens Day tweets, collected #IWD
(On March 8th, International Womens Day, at about 10 minutes to midnight I realized that although I had tweeted all day about womens' rights issues, I hadn't said anything personal about women. So I ran off these 15 tweets, and have collected them here so they'll be in one place.)
Well it's still International Womens Day, I should say a few words about women.
http://is.gd/a7Q6u
I don't understand women, & I wouldn't want to be one.
http://is.gd/a7Quu
But they are the central force in the human race.
http://is.gd/a7QxK
They are what keeps it together, they are the primary teachers.
http://is.gd/a7QBw
They are transmitters of values, for good or for evil.
http://is.gd/a7QEf
They are magical people, and they represent the life force.
http://is.gd/a7QIU
Any man who would lay hands on a woman is not a man.
http://is.gd/a7QNu
Women need to stick up for other women, and for kids, and for their menfolk too.
http://is.gd/a7QS7
I don't get them... but I sure like them... especially those that stick up for something.
http://is.gd/a7QWz
And don't let go.
http://is.gd/a7QZx
Women like Eleanor Roosevelt, and Barbara Jordan, and Shirley Chisholm.
http://is.gd/a7R2f
Women like Sojourner Truth, and Bella Abzug, and our @joancbaez
http://is.gd/a7R6a
So my hat's off to women, especially to those who refuse to sit in the back of the bus.
http://is.gd/a7RcV
On International Womens Day I just want to say...
http://is.gd/a7RgV
thank you ladies for all you do and all you will do to make the world a better place
http://is.gd/a7Rl0
Well it's still International Womens Day, I should say a few words about women.
http://is.gd/a7Q6u
I don't understand women, & I wouldn't want to be one.
http://is.gd/a7Quu
But they are the central force in the human race.
http://is.gd/a7QxK
They are what keeps it together, they are the primary teachers.
http://is.gd/a7QBw
They are transmitters of values, for good or for evil.
http://is.gd/a7QEf
They are magical people, and they represent the life force.
http://is.gd/a7QIU
Any man who would lay hands on a woman is not a man.
http://is.gd/a7QNu
Women need to stick up for other women, and for kids, and for their menfolk too.
http://is.gd/a7QS7
I don't get them... but I sure like them... especially those that stick up for something.
http://is.gd/a7QWz
And don't let go.
http://is.gd/a7QZx
Women like Eleanor Roosevelt, and Barbara Jordan, and Shirley Chisholm.
http://is.gd/a7R2f
Women like Sojourner Truth, and Bella Abzug, and our @joancbaez
http://is.gd/a7R6a
So my hat's off to women, especially to those who refuse to sit in the back of the bus.
http://is.gd/a7RcV
On International Womens Day I just want to say...
http://is.gd/a7RgV
thank you ladies for all you do and all you will do to make the world a better place
http://is.gd/a7Rl0
Monday, March 1, 2010
My home-cooked dinner in New Mexico
Once, on a one-week vacation to New Mexico, we were privileged to be invited into the home of a Native American family on a feast day at a reservation.
The ladies who prepared our wonderful bounty reminded me so much of my grandmother, an Eastern European Jewish immigrant, living in a walkup apartment in a crowded building in the Bronx.
These were Native American women whose forebears had probably arrived here on foot 10,000 years ago.
But certain things are universal.
These ladies are the nurturers. The givers, the preservers, the protectors of lives.
You take a little old lady anywhere, give her some water, a flame, and something edible -- and through the magic of her love -- she turns it into a bounteous feast, which warms your stomach, warms your soul, gives nutrition, comforts us, keeps families alive, keep families together, steels us against the adversity and challenge the outside world heaps upon us.
And they are in every society that exists or has existed since mankind made its appearance.
No matter where you are -- in what country, what century, what religion -- no matter what your skin tone is, or your language -- we are basically all the same.
We need to think of the victims and potential victims of the bad things we do as our mother, our grandmother, our child. Because they are. We are one family.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Irish Blasphemy Law Goes into Effect Today
via @firedoglake
Lisa Derrick Friday January 1, 2010 8:35 am
Where would humor be if you couldn’t tell the one about a priest, a rabbi and a witch walking into bar or watch an episode of South Park about a litigious, celebrity-filled space alien cult or their classic “All About Mormons“? Where would art, music literature and film be without reactions against religion?
But as of today in the Irish Republic–a nation known for its poets, authors, musicians and artists, a nation which has had tens of thousands of its citizens beset upon by pedophile priests who’ve now been ordered to pay $242 million in victims’ aid to the children they raped, and nuns who systematically abused children and have since offered to pay $193 million in restitution–blasphemy is punishable by a € 25,000 fine–about $40,000.
Complete article + video
Lisa Derrick Friday January 1, 2010 8:35 am
Where would humor be if you couldn’t tell the one about a priest, a rabbi and a witch walking into bar or watch an episode of South Park about a litigious, celebrity-filled space alien cult or their classic “All About Mormons“? Where would art, music literature and film be without reactions against religion?
But as of today in the Irish Republic–a nation known for its poets, authors, musicians and artists, a nation which has had tens of thousands of its citizens beset upon by pedophile priests who’ve now been ordered to pay $242 million in victims’ aid to the children they raped, and nuns who systematically abused children and have since offered to pay $193 million in restitution–blasphemy is punishable by a € 25,000 fine–about $40,000.
Complete article + video
Brazil Announces National Policy on Climate Change
Via Environmental News Network:
Brazil's President introduced national legislation that will guide efforts to reduce projected emissions by 36.1 to 38.9 percent by 2020. This legislation comes on the heels of the COP-15 climate change conference held in Copenhagen earlier this month, and demonstrates Brazil's eagerness to make significant and immediate progress against global climate change.
Complete article
Brazil's President introduced national legislation that will guide efforts to reduce projected emissions by 36.1 to 38.9 percent by 2020. This legislation comes on the heels of the COP-15 climate change conference held in Copenhagen earlier this month, and demonstrates Brazil's eagerness to make significant and immediate progress against global climate change.
Complete article
Indian tribes buy back thousands of acres of land
Via Indian Country Today:
Indian tribes buy back thousands of acres of land
By Timberly Ross, Associated Press Writer
Story Published: Jan 1, 2010
Story Updated: Dec 31, 2009
OMAHA, Neb. – Native American tribes tired of waiting for the U.S. government to honor centuries-old treaties are buying back land where their ancestors lived and putting it in federal trust.
Native Americans say the purchases will help protect their culture and way of life by preserving burial grounds and areas where sacred rituals are held. They also provide land for farming, timber and other efforts to make the tribes self-sustaining.
Tribes put more than 840,000 acres – or roughly the equivalent of the state of Rhode Island – into trust from 1998 to 2007, according to information The Associated Press obtained from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs under the Freedom of Information Act.
Complete article
Indian tribes buy back thousands of acres of land
By Timberly Ross, Associated Press Writer
Story Published: Jan 1, 2010
Story Updated: Dec 31, 2009
OMAHA, Neb. – Native American tribes tired of waiting for the U.S. government to honor centuries-old treaties are buying back land where their ancestors lived and putting it in federal trust.
Native Americans say the purchases will help protect their culture and way of life by preserving burial grounds and areas where sacred rituals are held. They also provide land for farming, timber and other efforts to make the tribes self-sustaining.
Tribes put more than 840,000 acres – or roughly the equivalent of the state of Rhode Island – into trust from 1998 to 2007, according to information The Associated Press obtained from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs under the Freedom of Information Act.
Complete article
Learning the Wrong Lessons From the Attempted Bombing
Via @laprogressive
Learning the Wrong Lessons From the Attempted Bombing
by Ivan Eland posted on Friday, 1 January 2010
The botched attempt by a Nigerian, apparently trained in Yemen by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to conduct a suicide bombing on a plane as it neared Detroit has highlighted the U.S. government’s overzealous, ineffective, and even counterproductive efforts to overcome terrorism.
Although Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano’s stance that “the system” worked buckled under withering ridicule, she was right—but only if the non-governmental aspects of that system are included. The government’s performance and after-incident measures are ridiculous and even ill-advised.
Complete article
Learning the Wrong Lessons From the Attempted Bombing
by Ivan Eland posted on Friday, 1 January 2010
The botched attempt by a Nigerian, apparently trained in Yemen by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to conduct a suicide bombing on a plane as it neared Detroit has highlighted the U.S. government’s overzealous, ineffective, and even counterproductive efforts to overcome terrorism.
Although Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano’s stance that “the system” worked buckled under withering ridicule, she was right—but only if the non-governmental aspects of that system are included. The government’s performance and after-incident measures are ridiculous and even ill-advised.
Complete article
Ex-Homeland Security Chief Chertoff Pushes Body Scanners, Abuses Public Trust
Via Common Dreams
Ex-Homeland Security Chief Chertoff Pushes Body Scanners, Abuses Public Trust
by Kimberly Kindy
Since the attempted bombing of a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day, former Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff has given dozens of media interviews touting the need for the federal government to buy more full-body scanners for airports.
What he has made little mention of is that the Chertoff Group, his security consulting agency, includes a client that manufactures the machines. The relationship drew attention after Chertoff disclosed it on a CNN program Wednesday, in response to a question.
Complete article
Ex-Homeland Security Chief Chertoff Pushes Body Scanners, Abuses Public Trust
by Kimberly Kindy
Since the attempted bombing of a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day, former Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff has given dozens of media interviews touting the need for the federal government to buy more full-body scanners for airports.
What he has made little mention of is that the Chertoff Group, his security consulting agency, includes a client that manufactures the machines. The relationship drew attention after Chertoff disclosed it on a CNN program Wednesday, in response to a question.
Complete article
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