Israel

Israel's Operation Pillar of Cloud

by Stephen Lendman

On November 14, Israel murdered Hamas military commander Ahmed Jabari in cold blood. A missile struck his car. Another passenger was killed. Unconfirmed reports said it was his son.

An IDF Twitter message said, "We recommend that no Hamas operatives, whether low level or senior leaders, show their faces above ground in the days ahead."

Israeli Threat to Annul Oslo 

by Stephen Lendman

Follow-through won't change facts on the ground. Israel's annulment threat is hollow. 

Oslo reflected unconditional Palestinian surrender. Israel triumphed diplomatically, economically and politically. Palestinians got nothing in return. More on that below.

Pro-Israeli Media Coverage

by Stephen Lendman

Gaza rockets respond defensively to provocative Israeli bombing and shelling. Blame the victim articles and commentaries follow.

It's standard Western media practice. Haaretz knows better. 

More below on woeful coverage.

Israel Shells Syria and Gaza

by Stephen Lendman

A previous article said beware of false flags. For months throughout the Syrian conflict, possible full-scale Western intervention loomed. It still does. Post-US elections, it's more likely, not certain, but reports suggest expect it.

Several stray mortar shells from Syria struck occupied Golan. No injuries were reported. Israel holds Damascus responsible. On November 9, Israel warned Assad.

Waging War Without Declaring It

by Stephen Lendman

America does it in proxy wars and some direct ones. Israel waged war on Palestine since 1948. 

Daily violence against innocent civilians persists largely below the radar. So does occupation harshness. Media scoundrels turn a blind eye.

Obama/Netanyahu Post-Election Reset

By Stephen Lendman

Neither leader says they're sorry. Netanyahu bet on the wrong candidate. Relations with Obama have been strained for months. Both clearly dislike each other and show it.

Political necessity requires getting along. They'll find a way. Israeli elections are in January. Netanyahu's stuck with Obama for four years. His own political prospects are on the line.

By Dave Lindorff

One little-noted but important result of the November election in the US that returned President Barack Obama to the White House for another four years is that the right-wing Israeli government and the Zionist lobbying organization AIPAC (for American Israel Public Affairs Committee) took a surprising drubbing and emerge a much weaker political influence going forward in US politics.

Haaretz on Obama's Reelection

by Stephen Lendman

Haaretz used most of its November 7 issue covering it. Doing so reflects the importance of America to Israeli interests.

Netanyahu Says War is Peace

by Stephen Lendman

He sounds like Obama. He has delusions of Big Brother. He's turning Israel into Oceania. He believes freedom is slavery and ignorance is strength. Rogue leaders think and govern that way. 

Netanyahu's one of the worst. Reelect him and he may destroy the Middle East and Israel with it. In January, Israelis have their say. They can banish this menace and be done with him. 

Netanyahu/Lieberman Unite for War

By Stephen Lendman

American crimes of war and against humanity perhaps exceed all other rogue states in history combined.

Pound-for-pound, however, Israeli lawlessness matches the world's worst. Long ago, it graduated from a regional menace to a global one.

Netanyahu Pledges Continued Lawlessness

by Stephen Lendman

What else can be expected from Israel's worst ever leader. He's a serial lawbreaker. He deplores democratic values. His contempt for non-Jews is palpable. He calls Palestinians sub-humans. It shows in how he treats them.

ISRAEL: Conscientious objector Moriel Rothman sentenced to 10 days' imprisonment

Israeli conscientious objector Moriel Rothman, 23 year old, from Jerusalem, arrived in the morning of Wednesday, 24 October 2012, to the Induction Base in Jerusalem, where he declared his refusal to serve in the Israeli Army as it is an occupying force. He was sentenced to 10 days of imprisonment for his refusal.

In his refusal declaration Moriel Rothman wrote:

Activists Challenge Israeli Lawlessness

by Stephen Lendman

For decades, Israel has literally gotten away with murder. Crimes of war and against humanity repeat regularly. Human and civil rights are spurned. 

Anyone not experiencing it firsthand can't imagine the ruthlessness of occupation harshness. Besieged Gazans suffer most. For over five years, they've been lawlessly isolated and suffocated.

Ship to Gaza Activists Brutalized   

by Stephen Lendman

On October 22, GazaArk.org headlined "Release: Estelle crew beaten during (Israel's) attack. (Participants) were beaten during the attack and by interrogators." Former Canadian legislator "Jim Manly still in detention."

Israel Wages War on Human Rights

by Stephen Lendman

Daily incidents reveal Israeli state terrorism writ large. Praying to the wrong God is called terrorism. So is wanting out from under Israel's repressive boot.

Occupation harshness knows no limits. Torture is official policy. So are virtually all other crimes against humanity. Palestinian civilians suffer most. Children are treated like adults. Going to and from school is hazardous. 

Prominent scholars and human rights activists issued an open letter (download PDF) to university presidents who participated in a recent tour (July 1-9, 2012) of Israel designed to bolster cooperation between US and Israeli universities sponsored by the American Jewish Committee, calling upon the university officials to “not…pursue institutional relationships between your universities and Israeli universities, and to discontinue any existing institutional relationships that might already exist.”

Latest Beirut Bombing Incident

by Stephen Lendman

First impressions suggest another "who done it" incident. Similar ones occurred many times before. Guilty parties often get named later. Key always is cui bono?

Media scoundrels never explain what's most important. Instead, headlines like "Blast in Beirut Is Seen as an Extension of Syria's War" circulate.

Israel Again Commits Barbarism and Piracy

by Stephen Lendman

On October 6, the humanitarian Estelle Ship to Gaza departed Naples, Italy for Gaza. It surprised no one that Israel again violated international law.

At 10:15AM CET (Central European Time), Ship to Gaza Sweden said "Estelle is being attacked….Five or six military vessels surrounded Estelle."

From Robert Naiman

follow #Estelle on Twitter.

Shortly after 4:00AM EDT when the Gaza-bound Estelle was in international waters approx. 17 Nautical Miles north of Arish, Egypt (as per the last coordinates we have) Israeli warships surrounded the Estelle and the assault on the peaceful ship started.

Communications were lost at that time and all reports we got from the ship were choppy.

We believe based on prior Israeli threats and practice that the boat and passengers will be taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod and that the passengers will be charged with entering Israel illegally even though they have done no such thing.

Among others, the following individuals were on board:

Former Member of Parliament Manly James, Canada
Member of Parliament Hagen Aksel, Norway
Member of Parliament Britton Sven, Sweden
Member of Parliament Kodelas Dimitios, Greece
Member of Parliament Sixto Ricardo, Spain
Member of Parliament Diamantopoulos  Evangelos, Greece

* Full list of individuals on board:
http://shiptogaza.se/en/news/sailors-onboard-estelle
* Pictures of passengers on board
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/1319
* Jim Manly's pre-recorded video message: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8egYBdf-Zo

Palestinian Authority to Hold Sham Elections

by Stephen Lendman

Longtime Israeli collaborators Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad scheduled West Bank municipal elections on October 20, 2012. Democracy isn't on the ballot. Palestinians are skeptical for good reason.

Sham Israeli Elections

by Stephen Lendman

On November 6, America's sham process occurs. On January 22, Israelis face the same Hobson's choice. Real choice is excluded from both ballots. Democracy is hypocrisy in both countries.

By Ann Wright

Calling the latest sailing of a boat to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza a “provocation", Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor, called on the UN Secretary-General, the Security Council, and all responsible members of the international community to take immediate action to end this provocation.”

Prosor added, “I want to stress that Israel is not interested in confrontation, but remains determined to enforce its naval blockade of the Gaza Strip — and will take all lawful actions to this end.  Their clear provocation raises tensions and could easily spark a serious escalation of the conflict.”

Seven parliamentarians from 5 European countries are on sailing on the sloop “Estelle” to break the Israeli Blockade of Gaza.  Among the 20+ passengers are parliamentarians fromGreece, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and a retired parliamentarian from Canada.

Over 80 Irish Parliamentarians have signed a petition of support for the “Estelle’s” mission and 70 Greek Parliamentarians have also signed their petition.

Passengers from Canada, Finland, Greece, Israel, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden are on the “Estelle.”

All onboard are peaceful civilians who have received refresher non-violence training.

The “Estelle” carries a cargo of aid to the Israeli blockaded Palestinian population of Gaza, and a cargo of solidarity.  It also carries an anchor and communication equipment needed for the construction of Gaza's Ark (see www.gazaark.org). 

The “Estelle” is expected to reach Gaza by this weekend.

About the Author:  Ann Wright served in the US Army/Army Reserves for 29 years and retired as a Colonel.  She was also in the US Diplomatic Corps for 16 years and resigned in 2003 in opposition to the Iraq war. She has traveled to Gaza four times since the Israeli attack on Gaza that killed 1440, wounded 5,000 and left 50,000 homeless. She was an organizer for the 2009 Gaza Freedom March that brought 1300 persons from 55 countries to Cairo in solidarity with the people of Gaza and was on the 2010 and 2011 Gaza Freedom Flotillas.  She is an organizer for Gaza’s Ark.

UPDATED WITH UNESCO RESPONSE BELOW

Dr. Amii Omara-Otunnu
UNESCO Chair & Executive Director

Institute of Comparative Human Rights
UConn-ANC Partnership
Director, University of Fort Hare Linkage Program
University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT.06269, USA.

Dear Dr. Omara-Otunnu

I understand that your office, as part of the annual International Conference on Comparative Human Rights to be held on Tuesday, October 23, 2012 at the University of Connecticut, will be honoring several individuals (through their representatives) for their stellar contributions to advancing human rights in its fullest sense in their specific regions of the globe.  

Israel Encourages Settler Violence

by Stephen Lendman

Settler violence is terrorism. Even America's State Department says so. Hypocrisy is saying one thing and doing another.

Israeli setter violence is out-of-control. It's risen sharply in recent years because nothing is done to stop it. Israeli extremists literally have license to attack Palestinian civilians, destroy their property and crops, inflict bodily harm, and at times kill.

Israeli Crimes Without Punishment

by Stephen Lendman

Serial criminality against humanity is official Israeli policy. Punishment never follows. Ruthlessness best describes these type abuses. Committing them without accountability is unconscionable.

It goes on daily. Western media scoundrels ignore it. Too few people understand what everyone should. Militarized occupation is hell. Terrorizing civilian men, women, and children is worst of all.

Passenger I: Elik Elhanan, Israel

Elik Elhanan, Tel Aviv, Israel, is one of the passengers on board the Estelle on its last lap toward Gaza. He belongs to a well-known Israeli family whose forefathers emigrated to Palestine in the 1920s. His great-grandfather was the first Israeli ambassador to Sweden . His grandfather, Matti Peled, a general, was the first military person of high standing to oppose the 1972 occupation, and he formed peace groups with the Palestinians. He later retired from the army and devoted his time to writing a PhD in Arabic literature.

Erik is 35 years old now. When he was young he was a punk rocker. In 1995 he joined the Israeli army and became a paratrooper, over time advancing to become a member of an elite formation.

On 4th September 1997, his 16-year-old sister Smadar Elhanan was on her way back from school on the Ben Yehuda Avenue in Jerusalem. It was the first week of the school term and many people were out on the streets. That afternoon, three suicide bombers blew themselves up on Ben Yehuda. Five people died and twenty were wounded.

When Elik heard about the atrocity in his regiment, he called home, as did everyone in Jerusalem. There nobody had heard any news. When he called again, a neighbour answered. His parents had gone to identify their daughter. She and her best friend were among the dead.

Following the death of Smadar, Elik’s mother Noret Pelled Elhanan declared that she held the Israeli government and its politics of occupation responsible for the death of her daughter.

When Elik had completed his military service, he left the army and travelled around the world for almost two years before settling in Paris, where he sought contact with activists from countries around the world, working against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. His parents were involved in “We lost a child”, an organisation for Palestinian and Israeli parents who had lost their children. Two years ago, his father Rami participated in an entirely Jewish Ship to Gaza to end the blockade. On board were several survivors from the holocaust. They were stopped.

In 2002, Elik joined the soldiers who refused to take part in the war against Gaza, a group calling itself “The courage to refuse”. In 2004 he returned to Israel and, together with Palestinians who had been set free from Israeli prisons formed an organisation called “Combatants for peace”.

As I write these notes, we pass the Messina strait with Elik on board the Estelle. He sees the Israeli blockade of Gaza as criminal. Europe could easily apply pressure on Israel in the matter, as 40% of Israel’s trade goes to Europe. But, according to Elik, Europe and Israel appear to have reached an agreement as follows: Europe is absolved of the holocaust, and in turn does not protest against the Israeli occupation and oppression of the Palestinians.

Maria-Pia Boëthius, writer and member of the crew on board Estelle

UAV Incident Over Israel

by Stephen Lendman

On October 6, Haaretz headlined "IDF shoots down drone that penetrated Israeli airspace," saying:

An "unidentified aerial vehicle" entered Israeli airspace Saturday. Israel shot it down over the Negev, south of Mount Hebron.

No More Israel in 10 Years

by Stephen Lendman

On September 17, the New York Post quoted Henry Kissinger saying:

"In 10 years, there will be no more Israel. I repeat: In 10 years, there will be no more Israel."

East Jerusalem Schools: Failing Grade

by Stephen Lendman

In August, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) released a report titled "Failed Grade: East Jerusalem's Failing Educational System." It's grim reading. It shows how Palestinian children are  marginalized and deprived.

Living with the Enemy

by Stephen Lendman

How do Palestinians manage every day? How do they deal with state-sponsored denial of their rights? How do they survive under suffocating conditions?

Where will they live once Israel steals all parts of Judea and Samaria it wants? It's grabbing it durum by dunum. What Palestinians lived on peacefully for centuries is fast disappearing.