History shows that atrocities were committed because someone or some society got too much power. Whether it was the Roman Empire or, in more recent history, the British Empire or other colonizers. They committed inhumane acts from which we should have learned.
Hitler got too much power and the atrocities he committed puts horror in our hearts to this day. Then there was the communist regime in the USSR which murdered millions of people under Stalin alone - 20 million according to some estimates. The USA has caused horror in the world too, for instance the way the American government treated US citizens of Japanese descent during the Second World War. Then of course there were the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear attacks which killed hundreds of thousands and maimed hundreds of thousands more, with some deformities being passed on through generations. Yes nuclear attacks brought an end to the Second World War, but at what cost?
Now that I have been studying the Israel-Palestine conflict, it is becoming more and more obvious to me that Israel has one of the very powerful militaries in the world and in the Middle East, and it has carried out its own atrocities. We came to know about the slaughter of women and children in Gaza in January 2009, but it has gone on for years before and in the West we had very little information. All we hear is that Palestinians fired rockets and 'poor' Israel invaded neighbouring countries to defend itself. It has been one atrocity after another by successive Israeli governments.
Here is a video. A Western reporter gives some idea of the atrocities as far back as 2000 to 2003.
Surely there must be more information about the years since 1948.
The following is a video which is a great example how power can be corrupting, on how George W. Bush abused power.
Then of course there are the atrocities committed by the Bush Administration in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Code Pink is going to Gaza!
ReplyDeleteThey also have a petition on line.
Oemissions, that is a good news. Would have link for their petion?
ReplyDeletecodepink4peace.org
ReplyDeleteSorry Ledaro, I don't know how to copy,paste,link,etc.
But google will help get you there.
Also, saw the petition on Alternet.
Also, Jewish Voices for Peace are proceeding with Israeli war crime accusations and petitions.
Thank you. Here is the petition address for other readers:
ReplyDeletehttp://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/424/t/8434/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1837
Gaza toll put at 1134
ReplyDeleteFebruary 14, 2009
Article from: The Australian
JERUSALEM: Israeli intelligence agencies have concluded that 1134 Palestinians were killed in the fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza last month. The toll was slightly down on the figure issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Health - 1314 dead - which itself differed slightly from the figure of 1284 issued by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.
Israel intelligence was able to identify most of the dead by age, gender and, where appropriate, affiliation with militant groups. It identified 673 of the dead as active members of Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza.
It also identified 288 civilians killed, including women and children up to the age of 16 - about 25 per cent of the total dead. It was still trying to identify 173 others, including men of arms-bearing age.
The percentage of Palestinian civilians, particularly children, among the casualties was a feature of reporting from Gaza during the 23-day war.
Palestinian officials and non-Palestinian human rights agencies accused Israel of war crimes or, at best, excessive use of force.
Israel, in turn, accused Hamas of using the civilian population of Gaza as human shields, deliberately firing on Israelis from within populated areas.