4th July, 2009
Every now and again (like now) I ask myself why I write my newsletters and articles. And then I tell myself that I write because I want open minded people out there in cyberspace to have a deeper insight into the events here in this corner of the world (i.e. Israel & her neighbours), to be aware that there are two sides to a coin, two sides to any story, or, to use the current “in” phrase when relating history, there are two “narratives“, an Israeli and a Palestinian. I want you, my readers, to have the tools to be able to establish which is based on facts. which. I believe you have open minds and want to hear “the other side”.
Which is why so many of you asked me to comment on this “News flash”:
ISRAEL ATTACKS JUSTICE BOAT; KIDNAPS HUMAN RIGHTS WORKERS; CONFISCATES MEDICINE, TOYS AND OLIVE TREES
…… Israeli Occupation Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries, including Noble laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney . The passengers and crew are being forcibly dragged toward Israel…...
…..According to an International Committee of the Red Cross report the Palestinians living in Gaza are “trapped in despair.” Thousands of Gazans whose homes were destroyed during Israel’s December/January massacre are still without shelter despite pledges of almost $4.5 billion in aid, because Israel refuses to allow cement and other building material into the Gaza Strip. The report also notes that hospitals are struggling to meet the needs of their patients due to Israel’s disruption of medical supplies…...
The article and the accusations are so riddled with half truths and deliberate lies, the modus operandi for most anti-Israel NGO’s, that it is impossible to answer point by point. Rather allow me to list a number of incontrovertible facts about the Gaza Strip. I have no illusions that anyone receiving this who is blindly anti-Israel/Zionist/Semitic will continue to read, much less assimilate the information.
1) The Gaza Strip is bordered by the Mediterranean ocean, Israel and Egypt so it follows that access to the Strip is controlled by Israel and Egypt. Is Egypt equally condemned for the Palestinians “trapped in despair”? If not, why not?
2) In August 2006 the Israeli Defence Forces not only withdrew completely from the entire Gaza Strip but also forcibly evacuated every Israeli “settler”. A generous American Jew purchased much of the agricultural infrastructure, developed over the years on barren sand dunes by the settlers, who made the desert bloom, as envisaged by the ancient prophets of Israel, and which provided honourable work to 7,500 settlers and innumerable Palestinians, and donated it all to the Palestinian Authority.
The Palestinians, preferring to remain unemployed and “despairing”, vandalised the lot. They converted schools into training camps for the various rival terrorist organisations and destroyed all the synagogues. Please look at the attachment and ask yourself how many liberal (“Islam is the religion of peace”) commentators, reporters, journalists, Human Rights NGO’s, church synods and Christian leaders protested. None? Why not?
3) Between August 2006 and December 2008 the Palestinians bombarded Israeli towns and villages with thousands of rockets and mortars with barely any retaliation on the part of Israel. On a pre-election visit to the Israeli town of Sderot then Senator Obama Barack said that if his daughters lived under such a daily threat he would be obliged to protect them. Do you remember any world wide protests or student demonstrations on behalf of Israeli civilians forced to rush to shelters in fifteen seconds?
4) IDF Operation Cast Lead is still being debated by greater legal minds than mine but when reading the voluminous articles and opinions one needs to check the credentials of the author – is it a legal expert or a quasi expert with an agenda? I fully believe that Israeli did everything possible to minimise Palestinian civilian casualties, even endangering Israeli soldiers. Seeing how Palestinians from the various rival Palestinian terrorist organisations murder, maim and lynch one another I have no doubt that placing their own civilians as human shields was common practice. How many news items have you seen or read about Palestinians killing Palestinians? Did you know that more Palestinians have been killed by their brethren than by Israelis? Why is that not common knowledge?
5) Which brings us to the claim that in order for things to be fair, to be even-handed, the same number of Israelis should have died during that campaign as Palestinians. But apparently even-handed works only in one direction. An Israeli soldier, Gilad Schalit, was kidnapped by Hamas and has been held for more than three years. No one has been allowed to see him. Not even a Red Cross representative. He has not been allowed to receive or send letters to his family.
In the failed negotiations to obtain his release Hamas is demanding a thousand convicted terrorists, most of whom have been responsible for the death of hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians. Heard any liberal commentators, reporters, journalists, Human Rights NGO’s, Red Cross protesting? Calling for visitation rights? Or calling this exchange disproportionate?
6) As for the shortages in the Gaza Strip. According to American engineers who serve as consultants for the Egyptian military, the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, especially, but not only, those belonging to Hamas have hundreds of active tunnels under the Philadelphia Corridor (the border with Egypt), many of which are undetectable as they are over 200 feet (60 metres) deep.
According to a report on Al-Arabiya (independent Arab TV) the $200 million annual traffic through the tunnels, (not including from rockets, mortars, weapons and explosives) includes electronic appliances and all foods including luxury items, as was evident in a brief news item showing packed shelves in Gaza stores.
7) If Viagra is such a hot item one needs to ask oneself why is it that basic medical supplies have to be brought by a small boat which set out from Cyprus after falsely stating to the Cypriot authorities that it was heading for the Egyptian port, Port Said? The answer is that they don’t. All medical supplies pass freely from Israel to the Strip. But that doesn’t make news. Nor does the fact that the publicity thirsty people who sailed on the “Spirit of Humanity” were not taken as hostages by Israel but were apprehended, checked by passport control and deported just as any traveller to any country who arrives without valid documents.
8) Did you see the movie “Slumdog Millionaire”, set in India? Now there was poverty. Have you seen the Coptic Christians grovelling in the rubbish dumps of Cairo? Now there is poverty. Have you seen the slums of Rio de Janeiro? Now there is poverty. Have you seen the starving children of Darfur? Now there is poverty. Have you seen the homeless refugees in any one of a dozen camps in Africa? Now there is poverty. Is anyone pledging them $ 4.5 billion aid?
Have you heard that any of the people who set sail on the “Spirit of Humanity” to Gaza are planning similar trips to Africa, to India, to Brazil? If not, why not? Could it possibly be because their concern is not for the poor people of the world but only for the trials and tribulations of the Palestinians. If so, why? Could it possibly be that delegitimising and demonising Israel is the bottom line of their agenda and exploiting the “Palestinian problem” is the best tool to achieve this lofty aim?
I leave you with many points to ponder!!!!
