Some results of the latest Israeli raid :
* Destroyed tunnels, most often used to smuggle into Gaza household items that Israel, in violation of international law, prevents from being imported.
* Massacred nearly 2,000 people, including hundreds of children as young as newborns; injured thousands more.
* Destroyed hundreds of homes, leaving thousands of men, women and children homeless.
* Destroyed power plants, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without electricity or running water.
* Destroyed factories that produce such dangerous items as pretzels, cheese and biscuits.
* Targeted and murdered journalists.
Israeli officials have stated that, in Gaza, they periodically need to ‘mow the lawn’, meaning to destroy infrastructure, and bomb that beleaguered area back as close to the Dark Ages as possible. So one might add that to a list of Israel’s ‘accomplishments’.
Ah, the benefits of collective punishment continue to accrue for Israel.
“There are, however, some unintended results to this latest genocidal bombing of Palestinians.
* Unexpected international criticism of Israel. While this hasn’t been universal, Israel has seen ambassadors recalled, and even the U.S., which provides Israel with a blank check to do whatever it pleases on the world stage, has dared to timidly issue criticism of its puppet-master. It’s unfortunate that it took the repeated bombings of United Nations schools, which were being used to house thousands of Palestinians driven from their homes, for the U.S. to dare to speak up to Israel, but at least some mild criticism was expressed. The resignation of Sayeeda Warsi, a senior minister in Britain’s Foreign Office, who accused Prime Minister David Cameron’s government of taking a ‘morally indefensible’ approach to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, is also a striking statement against Israel.
* International demonstrations in support of Palestine. Even Israel has seen thousands of its own people protesting the carpet-bombing of the Gaza Strip. London has seen tens of thousands of demonstrators demanding that the British government stop supporting Israel.
* The social media storm that slammed into Israel. Apartheid Israel last ‘mowed the lawn’ in Gaza two years ago. At that time, Twitter had approximately 20 million users. Today, it has over 120 million, and Twitter users have spread around the globe graphic pictures and information that the news media didn’t dare report. This, at least in part, resulted in huge demonstrations in front of London’s BBC headquarters, causing that organization to announce it would review its policies to see if it was, in fact, reporting in a manner biased towards Israel.
* Greater motivation for the BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanction) movement. As people see graphic photos of young children playing on a beach being targeted and blown to bloody bits by IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) terrorists, someone basically apathetic becomes motivated.
* Further overall isolation of Israel from the international community. This may not actually be a separate category, since those listed above all contribute to it. The demonstrations, cancellations of Israel-sponsored events, the growing BDS movement and the increasing awareness, thanks in large part to social media, of Israel’s horrific crimes, cannot forever be ignored by the governments of the people who show their opposition to Israel by supporting these actions.
Perhaps some good has come out of this tragedy after all.
“Although the U.S. will oppose it every step of the way, the U.N. looks poised to investigate possible war crimes committed by Israel. Its findings will probably not be surprising, since the U.N. has issued more resolutions critical of Israel than it has of all other nations combined. But until the citizenry awakens from its public-relations induced sleep, and sees that the U.S. is financing genocide, nothing will change. There is evidence from the last few weeks that perhaps a large crack in the wall of U.S. and Israeli public relations has appeared. Those shocked by Israel’s crimes must widen it.”
Just doing what I can to make the crack a little wider.
bleatmop
Mystro
Dead Wild Roses 
7 comments
August 14, 2014 at 11:52 am
VR Kaine
Are you serious, Arb?!
I haven’t seen one single picture or video of an Israeli soldier pulling kids in front of bullets or stockpiling weapons in daycares. Until that changes, I’ll call anyone who supports and defends the guerilla tactics Hamas uses against Israel AND THEIR OWN PEOPLE both a sucker and a hypocrite for believing Hamas’s PR crap on the one hand, and then screaming for human and women’s rights on the other.
“The U.N. has issued more resolutions critical of Israel than it has of all other nations combined.”
Haha – ahh, the beloved U.N.. Way to cherry pick. Guess you stopped reading where this statement automatically matched up with your beliefs about “Big, Bad, America” and “Big, Bad, Israel”?
Have a look at these, if you will, for further reading:
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/rogues-gallery-clamoring-to-replace-uns-richard-falk/
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE15/028/2008/en/789c2afd-4f63-11dd-a20f-af4976c1087c/mde150282008eng.html
http://blog.unwatch.org/index.php/2014/04/02/5471/
And some quotes if you care not to:
“After his six notorious years as the UN Human Rights Council’s permanent investigator of “Israel’s violations of the principles and bases of international law,” term limits will soon — finally — put an end to the term of Richard Falk, whose inflammatory and racist comments earned him multiple condemnations from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the U.S., Britain and Canada.”
“While the title of the post is “Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights on Palestinian territories occupied since 1967,” implying a regional jurisdiction, in fact the mandate – unchanged since February 1993 — is unique in the UN system for its exclusive focus on alleged abuses committed by one side, Israel; and by the presumption, in contempt of basic due process, that Israel will always be found guilty.
By contrast, violations of human rights committed by the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Islamic Jihad — be it terrorism against Israelis or oppression of fellow Palestinians — are entirely excluded.”
And lastly, is this woman lying?
Have fun “making that crack a little wider”.
p.s. On a lighter note, my own position has been best summed up by Billl Maher and his panelists, starting with “Israel is using a missile defense system to protect its citizens whereas Hamas is using its citizens to protect its missiles.”. The rest can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs3JEJhJvjA
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August 14, 2014 at 5:28 pm
bleatmop
What an incredibly hyperbolic and one sided article.
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August 17, 2014 at 9:31 am
VR Kaine
@Bleat:
It’s not just the article:
“Ah, the benefits of collective punishment continue to accrue for Israel.”
“Just doing what I can to make the crack a little wider.”
Just as there are conservatives that are dogmatically “America’s always right”, it frustrates me that there are liberals who are just as quick to be “America’s always wrong”. We all have our biases, but what gets me is the intellectual snobbery and hypocrisy that often goes with it – calling the other side out for being biased and ignorant when your own side is very often the same way.
I know Israel has done some nasty things and I’m certain they are playing some “dirty pool” here through the Mossad (along with their own PR game), but nonetheless, I’m surprised that Arb bought into/fell for that Counterpunch article so quickly – probably the first time ever on this blog I’ve seen it happen?
Anyways, oh well. @Arb – still friends? ;)
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August 17, 2014 at 12:11 pm
The Arbourist
@Vern
Yes, as serious as I always am when I post articles about the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.
I did not realize that annals of history were not made until approved by you. Perhaps I’ll have to reconsider my analysis of history in light of this new important fact.
I appreciate your calm and reasonable approach to the situation. Insults are almost always the path to greater understanding when it comes to contested issues.
“Israeli Violations of International Law – (9) Israel has violated 28 resolutions of the United Nations Security Council (which are legally binding on member-nations), and almost 100 resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly (which are not binding, but represent the will and understanding of the international community). And Israel is now in violation of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice of 2004, condemning the separation wall Israel is building throughout the occupied West Bank.”
Facts matter, and Israel is no stranger to ignoring the rules, be it UN resolutions or International Law.
Probably, most likely through exaggeration or omission. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigitte_Gabriel" She has in the past.
“Gabriel used to tell audiences that Hezbollah was the group that terrorized her family for the seven years between 1975 and 1982. She stopped making this claim after people objected, pointing out that Hezbollah was formed after she left Lebanon, as a direct result of the Israeli invasion and occupation of 1982.”
Of course making use of a reactionary christian islamophobe who is demonstrably fact-challenged is the perfect way to enhance the credibility of your arguments. Are there any other speakers from the likes of the Heritage Foundation or Christians United for Israel you would like to offer up to show me how to make an reasonable unbiased argument? Further points for using an interview from Fox News, itself a bastion of journalistic integrity.
With regards to Bill Maher.
For the sake of the people who have to live in the world’s largest open air prison, I hope did.
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August 17, 2014 at 12:25 pm
The Arbourist
I highly doubt this is the first time I’ve “fallen” for it.
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August 17, 2014 at 7:18 pm
VR Kaine
I did not realize that annals of history were not made until approved by you. Perhaps I’ll have to reconsider my analysis of history in light of this new important fact.’
… and dodge this proven fact about the people you sympathize with and support. Pulling kids into a gunfight vs. building a wall? Pretty sure your beloved Hamas is lower on the scale of moral equivalency here.
“I appreciate your calm and reasonable approach to the situation. Insults are almost always the path to greater understanding when it comes to contested issues.”
What’s contested? You wholeheartedly support people who stone women and yank kids in front of bullets with the excuse of “because look at what their oppressors do.”
It’s one thing to oppose the occupation, another to give terrorists a free pass to do anything to oppose it which is what you do with your total support.
Re: Gabrielle Brigitte, ahh, there it is – she’s a Christian AND has appeared on Fox News. Double-whammy. And “Probably lying by exaggeration or omission”? That’s your defense/accusation on top of it?
Treat 100% of what she says as false, then, and dodge the fact that even if only 20% or 30% of what she said was true, it lines up with video proof and dozens of other statements about what Hamas does in wartime which still goes completely against your hypocritical and conveniently selection position on women and human rights. I didn’t know a woman who lived under Islamic oppression couldn’t possibly be a victim until you gave her your stamp of “Victim Approval”, Arb. Guess that went away when she appeared on a network you surely don’t even subscribe to and have probably never even watched.
As for her response to her critics: “I was talking about how Palestinian mothers are encouraging their children to go out and blow themselves up to smithereens just to kill Christians and Jews. And it was in that context that I – that I contrasted the difference between Israel and the Arabic world, was the difference between democracy and barbarism”
Again – one thing to oppose the occupation, another to give terrorists a free pass to do anything to oppose it which is what you do with your total support and hardly, if any, words to contrary.
“Are there any other speakers from the likes of the Heritage Foundation or Christians United for Israel you would like to offer up to show me how to make an reasonable unbiased argument?”
You mean like the crap Counterpunch article you’ve just tried to pass off as pure fact? Or the UNWatch or Amnesty articles which I posted which are properly sourced showing bias against Israel by the UN you blindly support or the numerous videos showing Hamas soldiers using children as human shields or the dozens of videos showing women shot, beaten, or stoned to death by the same men you are insistent on painting as “victims”?
I’d agree that the Palestinian people are victims, but Hamas? Not for a second and considering the evidence, it baffles me that someone that appears to be so anti-violence as you are would try to paint Hamas soldiers as “freedom fighters”.
Like you, this PLO spokewoman below chooses to make no distinction between Palestinians and Hamas, that this so-called “human shield accusation” is simply racist and that Hamas wants to simply “defend their homes”. Total bullshit. I wouldn’t believe for a moment that Palestinians themselves devalue human life or want every Israeli dead, but here’s proof that Hamas and Hamas-type “soldiers” do:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEu-FnaHnUg (CNN vs. PLO spokesperson)
Here’s some of the video Jake Tapper is talking about btw:
Using a kid as a human shield:
Leaders praising death of women and children:
Son of Hamas Leader:
Btw – it’s possible to support what Hamas does in peacetime vs. wartime, a distinction you don’t make but these Arab Israeli citizens certainly can. They see the Palestinian POV but comdemn the violence of Hamas:
If you’re condemning Hamas firing rockets indiscriminantly, or using little kids as human shields, or promoting (and demanding) martyrdom… or are you condeming “by omission”?
And lastly re: the Maher video I posted, every single one of his points are valid, and if he was criticizing “Christian” in that video instead of Hamas like he does on any other day you’d be all over it.
It’s like you’re saying, “America killing kids by accident, that’ bad but Hamas killing kids because they yanked them in front of a rocket or bullet? Well that’s perfectly OK, because those radical jihadists are all about killing Christians, too, which in my opinion we have WAY too much of already. They take away birth control and abortion rights, which is why when there’s any articles about Christians being raped, slaughtered, or beaten, I won’t blink an eye because I think they brought it upon themselves with their f-ed up religion. Hamas, however, isn’t f-ed up because look who they’re fighting: big bad Israel and big bad America, the greatest killers and oppressors of us all.” Is that what you’re saying here, Arb?
For the sake of the people who have to live in the world’s largest open air prison, I hope did.
Nice try. We’re not talking about the actual occupation here, we’re talking about the war itself, the soldiers fighting on either side of it, and the tactics used which is what that that shitty article of yours tries to say is all OK – all of Israel’s fault and none of Hamas, giving Hamas a free pass (apparently) to use human shields as a war tactic.
You posted the Counterpunch article and then you’ve come out wholeheartedly defending it knowing clear well that these Hamas neanderthals stuff military targets full of civilians and pull kids in front of bullets. So have the courage to say it publicly, Arb, that these are are people you support and you defend the action of NO MATTER WHAT, because not once in your post above or your reply have you said anything to the contrary.
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September 13, 2014 at 12:10 pm
The Arbourist
@Vern
Wouldn’t be nice if they could just call their airforce and do some good ‘ole fashioned airstrikes back? Not going to happen.
This is asymmetrical warfare and the tactics used by both sides are atrocious.
My wholehearted support is going to the underdog whose nation is being vivisected and illegally occupied.
Unlikely. But it seems we’re half-past nuance and attention to detail here. So we can probably leave it at that.
Should I be supporting the Neaderthals that impose collective punishment on a captive population, deny and destroy basic services, withhold medical supplies/aid, and on a regular schedule, go in and fuck-shit up because they can?
No, I’m thinking on the atrocity-o-meter the organized violence and repression of the side of Israel wins the day, hands down.
Is it justification for the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas? Nope. But desperate times call for desperate measures and I can see why Hamas acts as it does.
Feel free get as much mileage as you think is necessary from this idea of painting me ‘with the terrorists’ – the Bush era classification schema brings as much clarity to the situation as ink does to water.
My position remains one that would have all nations respect the rule of international law and the Geneva conventions. Nothing will change until then.
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