What do George W. Bush, Ehud Olmert, Ehud Barak, Binyamin Netanyahu and Tzipi Livni have in common? They are all capable of destroying the world individually or collectively.
Bush invaded Iraq with lies and false pretences. Bush claimed that Saddam Hussein was a danger to the world and the US, that he had WMDs, that he was hosting Al-Qaeda. None of it was true. With tens of thousands, and may be hundreds of thousands, Iraqis killed and millions displaced, are we better off now than five years ago? The answer is a clear and obvious No.
Ehud Olmert, Ehud Barak, Binyamin Netanyahu and Tzipi Livni, political rivals in Israel, went into Gaza with the pretence that Gaza was threat to Israel. Israel has one of the best equipped armies in the world - nukes and all - and it was threatened by 1.5 million Gaza residents who already are living in subhuman conditions? It is a densely populated small area and the people are living like sardines in a can. These Israeli leaders are competing for the February election (with the exception of Ehud Olmert who wants to improve his legacy like Bush). This invasion and slaughter of Gaza residents is very dangerous for World peace. I believe European Leaders have already seen through this. Bush and Harper will never see through it, as they are enablers. The sooner this conflict is brought to an end better it is for both the Israelis and the Palestinians, and world peace.
If Israel's political leaders had any credibility in the world, they are fast loosing it. No matter how the defenders of this invasion dress the wolf (Israel's political leaders + Bush and Harper) as a sheep, it is still a dangerous wolf. Unless this wolf is tamed, there does not seem to be any chance for peace. Please do not mistake me, Hamas firing rockets into Israel is also morally wrong. Especially as it is innocent civilians who are the victims. However, this does not justify the excessive military actions in Gaza.
[Please post and forward]
ReplyDeleteAn Open Letter From Anti-Zionist Jewish Youth in Canada
**If you would like to sign on to this letter, send an email to
antizionistjews@gmail.com with your name and city**
January 5th, 2009
Like much of the world, we have spent the last week watching in shock and
disgust as Israel continues its assault on the Gaza Strip. With the body
count rising and a new tragedy in full bloom, we feel that it is important
to speak out as Jewish youth in Canada and to denounce what Israel is
doing in our name. The Jewish diaspora is diverse and divided on its
positions on the state of Israel's policies. At this juncture in history,
as Israel has committed its worst massacre in Gaza since it began its
illegal occupation in 1967, we feel that it is crucial that Jews speak out
and denounce Israel's actions that amount to no more than war crimes
committed by an apartheid state.
As Jewish youth, we are diverse, but we are unified in our solidarity with
our Palestinian brothers and sisters in Gaza.
Some of us are students. We are outraged by the bombing of the Islamic
University in Gaza city, as well as other civilian infrastructure such as
hospitals and mosques.
Some of us are Arab-Jews and people of colour. We stand against Israel's
racism, which has been enshrined in Israeli law, and privileges its Jewish
citizens over its non-Jewish ones.This apartheid state views Palestinians
as an expendable people, no more than collateral damage.
Some of us are queer. We reject Israel’s branding of itself as the only
safe place for queer people in the Middle-East while it targets gay and
lesbian Palestinians and renders life unsafe for millions of others.
Some of us are Israelis living in Canada. We are calling for a
solidarity that stretches beyond borders and nationalities. Israel's
violent actions will only serve to further isolate the state and its
citizens from the rest of the world. By calling itself a Jewish state and
committing war crimes in the name of Jews everywhere, Israel makes the
world even less safe for Jews, leading to an increase in animus towards
Jewish people around the world.
Even though there have been approximately 100 Palestinian deaths for every
Israeli killed by rocket fire, we recognize that Israeli Apartheid also
leads to Israeli casualties. The blame for these deaths lies with Israel –
if there were no occupation and no apartheid policies, there would be no
rocket fire. If Israel, the world's fourth largest military power, is
concerned about its citizens, it would abandon its apartheid policies and
seek out justice for the Palestinian people.
In 2005, Palestinian civil society put out a clear call for
international support through a non-violent campaign of Boycott,
Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) similar to that carried out against the
apartheid regime of South Africa. Now, with the people of Gaza being
crushed by Israeli bombs, manufactured in the USA and launched with
Canada's blessing, it is more important than ever for Jewish communities
throughout the world to take up this BDS campaign in order to end
Israel's apartheid system, which makes life unsafe for millions of Jews
and Palestinians alike.
Let us not be silent bystanders while humanity suffers. Let us raise our
voices, as Jewish youth, and demand a single, democratic state, with equal
rights for everyone in Israel/Palestine.
Ours is a generation that is committed to ending Middle-East violence by
opposing all forms of discrimination, calling for a just peace within the
entire region, and condemning Zionism to the dustbin of history.
Free Gaza, Free Palestine,
Jenny Peto, Toronto
Aaron Lakoff, Montreal
Max Silverman, Montreal
Rachel Gurofsky, Peterborough
Simon Gurofsky, Ottawa
Zohar Melinek, Montreal
Claire Hurtig, Montreal
Ben Saifer, Ottawa
Brook Thorndycraft, Toronto
Joel Balsam, Montreal
David Mandelzys, Toronto
Reena Katz, Toronto
Mia Amir, Vancouver
Matthew Shuster, Kingston
Avi Grenadier, Kingston
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, Waterloo
Melissa Harendorf, Montreal
Jeff Hiemstra, Toronto
Sacha Moiseiwitsch, Vancouver
Jake Javanshir, Toronto
Noam Lapid, Montreal
Stephen Kamnitzer, Toronto
Naava Smolash, Vancouver
Tamara Herman, Victoria
Ryan Katz-Rosene, Ottawa
Sarah Fuchs, Montreal
Daniel Thau-Eleff, Winnipeg
Deborah Rachlis, Ottawa
Marie L. Belliveau, St. Catharines
Sarah Kardash, Sackville
David Taub Bancroft, Vancouver
Kinneret Sheetreet, Montreal
Rachel Marcuse, Vancouver
Lisa Barrett, Bowen Island
Maisie Jacobson, Montreal
Max Tennant,Vancouver
Noah Fine, Vancouver
David Hill, Vancouver
Corey Balsam, Ottawa
Lee Skinner, Vancouver
Britt Lehmann-Bender, Toronto
Alexis Mitchell, Toronto
I think we can all agree that Hamas firing rockets - whether particularly effective or not - into Israeli suburbs is unacceptable. No country would or should stand for such a thing.
ReplyDeleteGiven this, I am interested in what you think Israel should have done to stop the rocket attacks.
Rabbit, initiatives by Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton for peace should have been followed. When Yitzhak Rabin tried to make peace he was assassinated by his own people. Unfortunately all those initiatives were lost during Bush era. We need to go back on the same road of peace again.
ReplyDeleteGuess who is on his way to the region to mediate? Tony "the poodle" Blair.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, some important links:
http://ingaza.wordpress.com/
http://www.fromgaza.blogspot.com/
http://gazasiege.org/
"Hamas firing rockets into Israel is also morally wrong. Especially as it is innocent civilians who are the victims. However, this does not justify the excessive military actions in Gaza."
ReplyDeleteActually, the Hamas rocket attacks are also illegal under international law, and not just immoral.
Furthermore, Israel's actions can be justified by these persistent, ongoing, and illegal attacks. Under the Law of Armed Conflict, a "reprisal" is an act that would otherwise be illegal, but is allowed as a means of coercing a belligerent to cease their illegal attacks.
Even if one is convinced that Israel's response was disproportionate (and I am not convinced), international law principles provide for an exception under these circumstances.
66Scorpio, if your reasoning is correct then why UN disagrees with this position. Had it not been for US, UN Security Council was coming up with a resolution to end the current slaughter. UN officials generally have condemned Israelis actions.
ReplyDeleteBeijing York, it is hoped that after January 20th the poodle will be gone in due course.