UK UK Newswire Archive
May We No Longer Be Silent
31-12-2008 16:42
"Israel’s excuse for its violence is that from time to time the Palestinian resistance organization, Hamas, fires off rockets into Israel to protest the ghetto life that Israel imposes on Gazans. The rockets are ineffectual for the most part and seldom claim Israeli casualties. However, the real purpose for the Israeli attack is to destroy Hamas.In 2006 the US insisted that the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank hold free elections. When free elections were held, Hamas won. This was unacceptable to the Americans and Israelis. In the West Bank, the Americans and Israelis imposed a puppet government, but Hamas held on in Gaza. After unheeded warnings to the Gazans to rid themselves of Hamas and accept a puppet government, Israel has decided to destroy the freely elected government with violence."
May We No Longer Be Silent
"Israel’s excuse for its violence is that from time to time the Palestinian resistance organization, Hamas, fires off rockets into Israel to protest the ghetto life that Israel imposes on Gazans. The rockets are ineffectual for the most part and seldom claim Israeli casualties. However, the real purpose for the Israeli attack is to destroy Hamas.
In 2006 the US insisted that the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank hold free elections. When free elections were held, Hamas won. This was unacceptable to the Americans and Israelis. In the West Bank, the Americans and Israelis imposed a puppet government, but Hamas held on in Gaza. After unheeded warnings to the Gazans to rid themselves of Hamas and accept a puppet government, Israel has decided to destroy the freely elected government with violence."
Paul Craig Roberts
Counterpunch
December 30, 2008
The title of my article comes from the sermon of the Episcopal Bishop of Washington DC, John Bryson Chane, delivered on October 5, 2008, at St. Columba Church. The bishop’s eyes were opened to Israel’s persecution of Palestinians by his recent trip to Palestine. In his sermon he called on “politicians seeking the highest office in [our] land” to find the courage to “speak out and condemn violations of human rights and religious freedom denied to Palestinian Christians and Muslims” by the state of Israel.
Bishop Chane’s courage was to no avail. When America’s new leader of “change” was informed of Israel’s massive air attack on the Gaza Ghetto, an area of 139 square miles where Israel confines 1.4 million Arabs and tightly controls the inflow of all resources–food, medicine, water, energy–America’s president-elect Obama had “no comment.”
According to the Jerusalem Post ( December 26), “at 11:30 a.m., more than 50 fighter jets and attack helicopters swept into Gazan airspace and dropped more than 100 bombs on 50 targets. . . . Thirty minutes later, a second wave of 60 jets and helicopters struck at 60 targets . . . More than 170 targets were hit by IAF aircraft throughout the day. At least 230 Gazans were killed and over 780 were wounded . . .”
As I write, news reports are that Israel is sending tanks and infantry reinforcements in preparation for a ground invasion of Gaza.
Israel’s excuse for its violence is that from time to time the Palestinian resistance organization, Hamas, fires off rockets into Israel to protest the ghetto life that Israel imposes on Gazans. The rockets are ineffectual for the most part and seldom claim Israeli casualties. However, the real purpose for the Israeli attack is to destroy Hamas.
In 2006 the US insisted that the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank hold free elections. When free elections were held, Hamas won. This was unacceptable to the Americans and Israelis. In the West Bank, the Americans and Israelis imposed a puppet government, but Hamas held on in Gaza. After unheeded warnings to the Gazans to rid themselves of Hamas and accept a puppet government, Israel has decided to destroy the freely elected government with violence.
Ehud Barak, who is overseeing the latest act of Israeli aggression, said in interviews addressed to the British and American publics that asking Israel to agree to a ceasefire with Hamas would be like asking the US to agree to a ceasefire with al Qaeda. The terrorism that Israel inflicts on Palestinians goes unremarked.
According to the London Times (December 28), “Britain and the United States were on a collision course with their European allies last night after refusing to call for an end to Israeli airstrikes on Hamas targets in Gaza. The wave of attacks marked a violent end to President George W. Bush’s sporadic Middle East peace efforts. The White House put the blame squarely on Hamas.” The British government also blamed Hamas.
For the US and UK governments, Israel can do no wrong. Israel doesn’t have to stop withholding food, medicine, water, and energy, but Hamas must stop protesting by firing off rockets. In violation of international law, Israel can drive West Bank Palestinians off their lands and out of their villages and give the stolen properties to “settlers.” Israel can delay Palestinians in need of emergency medical care at checkpoints until their lives ebb away. Israeli snipers can get their jollies murdering Palestinian children.
The Great Moral Anglo-Americans couldn’t care less.
In his 2005 Nobel Lecture, British playwright Harold Pinter held the United States and its British puppet state accountable for “the systematic brutality, the widespread atrocities, the ruthless suppression of independent thought.” Everyone knows that such crimes occurred in the Soviet Union and in its East European empire, but “US crimes in the same period have only been superficially recorded, let alone documented, let alone acknowledged, let alone recognized as crimes at all,” this despite the fact that “the United States’ actions throughout the world made it clear that it had concluded it had carte blanche to do what it liked.”
Soviet crimes, like Nazi ones, are documented in gruesome detail, but America’s crimes “never happened. Nothing ever happened. Even while it was happening it wasn’t happening. It didn’t matter. It was of no interest. The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless, but very few people have actually talked about them You have to hand it to America. It has exercised a clinical manipulation of power worldwide while masquerading as a force for universal good. It’s a brilliant, even witty, highly successful act of hypnosis.”
America’s is “a scintillating stratagem. Language is actually employed to keep thought at bay. The words ‘the American people’ provide a truly voluptuous cushion of reassurance. You don’t need to think.”
Pinter presents a long list of American crimes and comes to Iraq: “The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law. The invasion was . . . an act intended to consolidate American military and economic control of the Middle East masquerading–as a last resort–all other justifications having failed to justify themselves–as liberation.” Americans and their British puppets “have brought torture, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, innumerable acts of random murder, misery, degradation and death to the Iraqi people and call it ‘bringing freedom and democracy to the Middle East.”
“How many people do you have to kill before you qualify to be described as a mass murderer and a war criminal?” Pinter’s question can also be asked of Israel. Israel has been in violation of international law since 1967, protected by the United States’ veto of UN Resolutions condemning Israel for its violent, inhumane, barbaric, and illegal acts.
American evangelical Christians, who are degenerating into Zionists, are Israel’s greatest allies. Jesus is forsaken as Christians swallow whole the Israeli lies. A couple of years ago the US Presbyterian Church was so distressed by Israel’s immorality toward Palestinians that the church attempted to disinvest its investment portfolio from assets tainted with Israel. But the Israel Lobby was stronger. The Presbyterian Church was unable to stand up for Christian principles and knuckled under to the Israel Lobby’s pressure.
This is hardly surprising considering that the US government doesn’t stand for Christian principles either.
America’s doctrine of “full spectrum dominance” means that, like Lenin’s dictatorship, America is not bound by law or morality, but by power alone.
Pinter sums it up in a speech he had dreams of writing for President George W. Bush:
“God is good. God is great. God is good. My God is good. Bin Laden’s God is bad. His is a bad God. Saddam’s God was bad, except he didn’t have one. He was a barbarian. We are not barbarians. We don’t chop people’s heads off. We believe in freedom. So does God. I am not a barbarian. I am the democratically elected leader of a freedom-loving democracy. We are a compassionate society. We give compassionate electrocution and compassionate lethal injection. We are a great nation. I am not a dictator. He is. I am not a barbarian. He is. And he is. They all are. I possess moral authority. You see this fist? This is my moral authority. And don’t you forget it.”
If only our ears could hear, this is the speech we have been hearing from Israel for 60 years.
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Please send Israeli leaders a message by sharing this message as widely as possible now. jamie
Palestine Today 311208
31-12-2008 15:56
Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center
www.imemc.org, for Wednesday December 31st 2008.
Binyam's Story: From Ladbroke Grove to GTMO, 9 January,8pm
31-12-2008 15:13
On the seventh anniversary of Guantánamo Bay opening up, join us in an evening of celebration of Binyam Mohamed, the last Londoner STILL held in Guantánamo BayFull article | 1 addition | 6 comments
Israeli Embassy demo in pictures.
31-12-2008 15:08
By the way...
Like Lebanon Gaza does not have any defense against attack from the air.
Like it or lump it, Hamas was democratically elected by the Palestinian people.
The rocket attacks on Israel causes huge disruption on one small area but are little more than a symbolic gesture of defiance.
The four Israelis killed by Hamas rockets happened SINCE the bombing of Gaza started when Hamas began increasing its attacks.
Meanwhile the media gives EQUAL coverage to the attacks on both sides. Despite 1 Israeli dying for every 92 (latest figures) Palestinians.
With the blockade (which costs hundreds of lives) Gaza is little more than an enormous prison for over 1,000,000 people. Hamas honoured the ceasefire for six months while watching their people starve.
Is it any wonder that they decided to rattle the cage?
Once upon a time Israel funded Hamas as way of dividing Palestinian anger and undermining Yasser Arafat. Did they forget to mention that on News At Ten?
Jews for Justice of Palestinians: letter to Gordon Brown
31-12-2008 15:05
In the light of Israeli air strikes against the Gazan population, Jews for Justice for Palestinians (JfJfP), the largest Jewish peace group in the UK or Europe released this open letter to Gordon Brown on Sunday 28 December 2008:Around the Campaigns Thursday 31st December 2008
31-12-2008 14:50
January to December 2008, 74 public Anti-Deportation CampaignsNetcu Watch // Thoughts on media hysteria post SHAC trial.
31-12-2008 13:11
I’m fed up with the histrionics, the exaggerations and the lies about SHAC and so this is my contribution to counter them.(Put the kettle on - this is quite a read)
SHAC - Financial Supporters Of HLS Demoed In London
31-12-2008 13:09
Anyone making money out of the suffering taking place inside HLS will be held accountable.Manchester Gaza demonstration, noon Saturday 3rd Jan
31-12-2008 11:50
New Anti-Militarist Network
31-12-2008 10:20
A new anti-militarist network has been formed.Olympics Talk
31-12-2008 00:33
There will be a talk in Stratford on the 8th of January which will discuss the realities of Olympic jobs, gentrification and policing.Demonstration against Israeli killings in Gaza
30-12-2008 23:29
Nottingham's Gaza Emergency Protest: Pictures 2
30-12-2008 23:28
Nottingham's Gaza Emergency Protest: Pictures 1
30-12-2008 23:24
Gaza MASSACRE! (by Latuff)
30-12-2008 20:54
Escalation goes on; death toll up to 390 in Gaza
30-12-2008 20:34
Gaza Strip, 30 Dec, 2008- Israeli air force still launching the heaviest bombardments in Gaza ever. The fourth day of Israeli military operation started with heavy bombings took place west of Gaza City in addition to killing 2 children and around 10 in various places in Gaza to raise death toll to 390 while wounded people up to 1 thousand and 700 most of them civilians.Protest Tomorrow - London Israeli Embassy
30-12-2008 20:05
A call out for supporters to come to the demonstration outside the Israeli embassy tomorrow which is scheduled 2 - 4 pm - and stay later!Hope Happening Palestine Cafe Event
30-12-2008 19:55
Southampton Palestinian Cafe Event