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Hold Israel Accountable for Gaza
"The boss has lost it," many Israeli military and political officials, and people on the street, were reportedly joking after their army's recent devastation of the Gaza Strip. As Israeli journalist Uri Avnery observed, the jest means that: " ... in order to deter our enemies, we must behave like madmen, go on the rampage, kill and destroy mercilessly."
In fact, the "boss has lost it" is an unselfconscious admission of policies that violate international law, and could at some point be used against Israeli leaders in a criminal prosecution.
Evidence suggests that Israel may have committed at least seven serious offenses during its Gaza invasion: launching a war of aggression (because Israel itself triggered the breakdown of a six-month truce, and therefore did not have a valid claim of self-defense); deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure; deliberate killings of civilians; collective punishment; illegal use of weapons, including white phosphorous; preventing care to the wounded; and disproportionate use of force.
These constitute grave breaches of customary and conventional international law, and some amount to war crimes. Hamas' indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israeli civilians were also war crimes, but did not justify Israel's violations.
What is the likelihood that Israel leaders faced with allegations of war crimes will ever be investigated and brought to justice?
Israel has not accepted the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, formed in 2002 to try crimes against humanity and other serious international crimes, and thus its nationals cannot be prosecuted there. Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice, the main judicial organ of the United Nations, deals only with states - and Palestinians do not have a state.
Normally, the United Nations Security Council could establish a special international criminal tribunal, as it did following genocide in Rwanda and ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia. But any effort to investigate allegations of Israeli war crimes faces the certainty of a U.S. veto. Since 1970, the United States has vetoed resolutions censuring Israel 41 times.
About a dozen nations worldwide, including the United Kingdom, Spain and Belgium, have laws bestowing "universal jurisdiction" over genocide, war crimes, torture and other similar offenses. These states try cases irrespective of the nationalities of the parties or the location of the alleged offenses when they are grave enough to be considered crimes against all humanity. They offer another potential venue for the prosecution of suspected Israeli war criminals.
Yet when Belgium permitted litigation against former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and others for their roles in the 1982 massacres of Palestinians in Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut, the U.S. brought withering pressure, threatening to move NATO headquarters from Brussels if the case were not shut down. It was halted, shortly thereafter, by Belgian parliamentary legislation.
Thus, perhaps the "court of last resort" is that of international civil society, whose tools for nonviolent enforcement include boycotts, divestment and sanctions. That route, once so effective in helping to end apartheid in Africa, offers a powerful model for those seeking justice in Israel/Palestine today. Israel is both sensitive to Western opinion and dependent on trade and would likely respond to ostracism.
Ending Israel's impunity should be a priority for us all. Palestinians clearly bear the brunt of Israel's violence. Israelis face a future of endemic conflict in a region that will never bow to pure might. We Americans suffer by acting as Israel's principal enabler and accomplice, isolating ourselves from much of the world and multiplying our enemies. International law - which protects the powerful and weak alike - is diminished when one nation tramples basic legal principles without consequence.
Two years ago, I was contacted by the sister of a U.N. peacekeeper who had been killed along with three colleagues in a July 2006 Israeli artillery strike on their observer post in Lebanon. She sought my guidance in pushing for accountability for her innocent brother's death. Israel never acknowledged any culpability, and the woman's quest continues.
We have kept in touch. Before the latest cease-fire in Gaza, she poignantly remarked: "I'm watching with growing horror and can't help wonder: What if accountability had been practiced in prior years?"
The answer should be clear. It is time, now, to act.
- Posted in
83 Comments so far
Show AllBoycott, Embargo, Blockade!
Sophie Scholl-The Final Days
israel and the zionists are never ever held accountable for their crimes. WHY?
And when the ICC finds in favor of Israel and against Hamas, Arabs will cease and desist?
"And when the ICC finds in favor of Israel and against Hamas"
Keep dreaming.
Because they are too powerful; don't forget the effect that their Lobby has on the American elections. They are also behind every Bank, every multinational company. They are practically running the world.
(reader of the economist magazine)
Because they control the money at all levels.
The money that controls industry,
the money that controls finance,
the money that controls the media,
the money that controls government administrations,
the money that controls politicians,
the money that controls you and me.
They control the major central banks.
They're everywhere, and they are well organized.
Of course, I could be wrong...
Hold Israel's Supporters Accountable for Gaza Also
this blood is on their hands as well
That would include everyone who pays taxes in the u.s., if we are gonna get honest here. Unless we are willing to go that distance and have a tax revolt, i think we are all part of the problem.
That includes all military industrial pursuits and all emperialist wars. I don't happen to be any happier about what the u.s has done to iraq. Both done with the help of my tax dollars. But they said it was for US. So people seem to be happier about that.
Check out noam chomsky. Israel is a client state. Pure and simple. Does u.s. dirty work, happily. Very sick.
"Israel and the Zionists are never held accountable for their crimes. WHY?"
I wish I knew the true answer to your question. The only thing I can do is guess the reasons that, in my opinion, sound believable.
For starters, the Hebrews, along with the several kinds of Jews worldwide, represent collectively as the best group of people to ever have gracesd the Earth. You see, a little less than half of the world's population, literally, believe that there interpretation of God is the correct one. Of all the cultures and civilizations, living and dead, that have existed throughout the world; somehow, the belief is that the Jewish interpretation of God is the correct one. Let's face it, today, very few people refer to God as Zeus or Thor; rather a dignificant portion of the humanity refer to God as Yahweh or Allah. The belief that the Jewish interpretation of God is indeed the correct one has been exploited and used to the utmost advantage. I am still trying to figure out the criteria that makes Hebrews and the various Jewish people better than any other ethnic group, but I believe that their interpretation of God, believed by so many people throughout the world, is a good guess as to why.
Second, it seems semi-clear to me at least that the USA will protect Israel regardless of what anyone throughout the world may say. The USA does not seem to care about the risks losing allies for it. That is a very steep price for the USA to pay, but the USA government seems to be fine with paying that price. The USA seems to be Israel's only friend right now. A powerful ally it is...for now. But, what happens if for some strange reason the USA and Israel loses this alliance? What would become of either one of these nations?
Third, regarding the boycott suggestions. Unfortunately, to boycott stuff directly or indirectly tied to Israel is so vast that this seems almost impossible. The money used to buy and consume some things is being used to support Israel, even by those people who do not mean to purchase such trivial things as ketchup and cold cuts. I suggest folks in cyberspace go to youtube and search for "understanding anti-semitism." It is a great program and very informative in my opinion. In it, the documentary mentions that looking on a package or a jar with the capital letter "U" circled means that a portion of the money one used to pay for that item goes to support the nation of Israel.
I think you are referring to the fact that the world is dominated by patriarchal concepts of "God". It was a reaction to multiple God and Goddess concepts in a certain area of the planet. i doubt that the Chinese give much of a darn about any of it. But they aren't western, so they don't count. Other civilizations have other lines of development.
If you want to get really serious about it, Sioux Rose posts on this a lot. Sioux, are you out there? Anyway, the Jews have been credited with monotheism in our western religious tradition. And, thanks to the catholic church, who ran with the patriarchal, mysogynist ball and took it to new heights, we have a planet of empire based in fear.
I don't think they actually are monotheistic though. But don't tell the vatican that. Anyway, it has been christianity that has made its mark on the planet, empire-wise. Jesus was God incarnated, and the pesky indiginati had better take those crosses and become good christians and give up all their lands and gold and start wearing those western european clothes. Cover up those evil bodies, because sexuality must be controlled. It is the 'feminine'. It is natural. The church has to control it, or they lose control. Destroy all civilizations that they thought were ruled by satan, including the entire Mayan astronomical libraries. And people. Just one off the top of my head.
The feminine has been demonized and villanized. Original sin and the last temptation of Christ. Women had to be burned as witches, don't you know? And we have a death culture that has gone to such extremes as to destroy our very living planet. Such is the fear of the spontaneous, feminine part of the psyche. And nature itself, of course. All warrior, all the time. And this is underlying everything.
If you want to deal with root causes, then let's go there. Because anyone who is for real, and wants to see this planet continue in any way, had better be willing to 'see' the bigger picture, and look with fresh vision. It's all out of balance.
peace.
It would've been better for the Jews, if Christians and Muslims hadn't ripped them off. Then, the "successor" religions would not have to take such great pains to discredit/replace the Jewish people. Oh well, no going back now.
That doesn't mean you can't fix it. Besides, when the NAZI Zionists could send Gaza back decades, there's nothing to stop Jews from preventing getting ripped off by phony "missionaries".
Actually, i am wrong. There are many christian missionaries in China. In fact, many Tibetans have happily said that the reason they have not become part of the insanity for so long is that they are too geographically far flung and hard too reach for the missionaries to have gotten there.
Ghandi said that forced conversion is the worst of all evils. That's the patriarchy for you. Oppression on all levels. Spiritual ravishing.
Sioux Rose
READY: Sweetheart, you didn't need my input at all. Looks like you covered all the important bases. Bravo!
Much thanks, Seventhson and Sioux!
Ready,
Excellent post!
alwaysamazed
Don't forget that Greeks, Romans, and many other civilizations (and tribes) were/are pantheistic yet murderous imperialists and/or warriors. If you want to look for root causes, check out the "old brain" common to animal kingdom and hormones like testosterone.
I'm going to ignore your ruminations in order to perform a public service. The letter "U" on packaged foodstuffs, means that the food item inside is kosher. The "U" is awarded by an inspection service, comprised of specially-trained rabbis.
Their job is to go to the processors, and see that there is no contact between the kosher foods and non-kosher foods, such as pork.
It would be useful for Muslim shoppers in North America to know this, because food that is kosher is also halal---with the exception of kosher wines.
Under this interpretation of international law, Arabs are perennial minor children. They are incapable of administering their own cities or taking responsibilty for their own actions.
That is racist. It reminds me of the white racists who said that Indians were not capable of handling their own affairs. Is there a double standard? If I say something anti-Semitic, I can be flagged; but talk about Palestinians in that manner and that's acceptable?
Is there any movement among Palestinians to try Hamas for war crimes? How about a movement to account for the missing Arafat billions? How about a vote on the "should we really be allied with Iran?" question?
Perhaps these decisions are too difficult for them.
"Is there any movement among Palestinians to try Hamas for war crimes?"
No need to do that. Hamas did not destroy Gaza. Israel, or at least its zionist NAZIs, did that.
"How about a movement to account for the missing Arafat billions?"
They already know the zionist NAZIs running Israel stole those billions.
"How about a vote on the "should we really be allied with Iran?" question?"
I wouldn't be surprised if they chose that nation over US/Europe backed dictatorships of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan.
let's hold the us responsible for their crimes against humanity as well
their crimes are more agregious
cheers, b
I am examining labels, but haven't found anything from Israel to avoid yet. Products from Israel are more available in Europe, but we can support the boycott of apartheid Israel here in the U.S. by helping our friends and neighbors become informed about what Israel is doing to the Palestinians. We can wear "Boycott apartheid Israel" buttons (I made my own by printing out the words, and a bloody hand, then I cut it out to fit on an old campaign button, and covered it with clear packaging tape; it looks pretty good) to stimulate discussion.
When people bring up the old "Israel has a right to defend itself" excuse, we can reply like this: If Izzy and his friend Uncle Sam commit a home invasion against Ali and his family, and Ali tries to resist, Izzy and Sam have no right at all to commit violence against Ali to defend themselves against Ali's self defense. Just like the situation where Mike is stealing the cash register in a convenience store, and the owner Fred pulls a gun, so Mike shoots him. Mike has no right of self defense against Fred's legitimate effort to protect himself and his property. Israel's ongoing theft of Palestinian land and water resources is a crime that we have colluded with for 60 years.
What makes the French resistance against the Nazi occupation in WWII noble, but the Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation unacceptable? There is no difference, except that the French resistance was able to obtain better weapons.
Here's good news: unions in the rest of the world are starting to endorse the boycott of apartheid Israel. The dockworkers union in South Africa is refusing to offload Israeli ships: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=36090
The French were/are anti-Nazi, and the Palestinians were/are pro-Nazi, for one thing.
Second, the house metaphor is more like this: Arab tribes sold the crappiest part of their grazing lands to desperate Jewish refugees at hugely inflated prices. When they Jews showed up to take possession, the Arabs killed them or robbed them and ran them off. No problem, when your cousin is the police chief and your other cousin is the judge. Then, one day, the Brits landed and the rules changed: Arabs sell property, and it isn't their anymore. It's a great injustice/humiliation blah blah Arab honor blah blah international Arab law.
"the Palestinians were/are pro-Nazi, for one thing."
God knows where you got that idea but you got it backwards.
"Second, the house metaphor is more like this: Arab tribes sold the crappiest part of their grazing lands to desperate Jewish refugees at hugely inflated prices. When they Jews showed up to take possession, the Arabs killed them or robbed them and ran them off. No problem, when your cousin is the police chief and your other cousin is the judge. Then, one day, the Brits landed and the rules changed: Arabs sell property, and it isn't their anymore. It's a great injustice/humiliation blah blah Arab honor blah blah international Arab law."
Some fairy tale you know how to invent. Idiot !
You are wrong, it matters not how many times you repeat your lies, it is still a lie. You are ignorant of history, particularly that of the Jews. Why do you wish to apologize for zionist war criminals? They are no different than the worst of the Hitler criminals.
People like you make the deaths of so many a joke. sick in the head you are.
Sophie Scholl-The Final Days
I do believe that Rut is the new user name of one of the racist trolls that seem to populate the threads on Isreal. I've yet to decide if they're really zionist supporters, or if they're really those white-power nutballs who're trying to stir up hate towards jews...
Either way, you're quite right to refer to them as sick in the head.
Correction: Hold Israel, US, Europe, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt Accountable for Gaza.
"Checkpoint Syndrome"
by Israel Defense Force Sergeant Liran Ron Furer
http://angrywhitekid.blogs.com/weblog/files/checkpoint_syndrome.pdf
I am glad President Obama supports Israel. I doubt any liberals have the guts to take on Obama on Israel. They won't get invited to parties anymore.
squarerootofone--i just think your name here is so great! :)
Yes, everyone, i know this is off topic.
"I'm going to ignore your ruminations in order to perform a public service."
What is this supposed to mean?
An action that would REALLY do a public service Rutabaga City is for YOU to visit a plastic surgeon. :-)
Oh, by all means, "hold Israel accountable", as LBJ did when Israel attacked the U.S.S. Liberty. Just don't hold your breath waiting.
Are you a Zionist Rutabaga City? I am just curious because...why in the Hell would you side with the Israeli govenment on this website ( Yes! This goes for joehope too!). Why do you feel that Palestinians deserve their lot right now? You seem to be out of place here... :-)
Given that Palestinians are freshly abraded every day, by contact with people who are neither Arab nor Muslim, the best solution is to relocate them to a region where everyone is exactly like them. Somalia, Darfur, Anbar Province, and the Arabian penninsula all leap to mind.
Wow how can you advocate transfer for the Palestinains when such extreme horrors happened to Jewish people during WWII when the Nazis put them on to trains to death camps? Ethnic cleansing is ethnic cleansing no matter who does it. Majority of Jewish people I know do not advocate for Palestinian transfer they remember the sad lessons of the Holocaust and what happened to their own people. In the spirit of Tikkun they do not advocate that happening to another people. Majority of Jewish people I know wish to live in peace with Palestinians and are fair minded people. Rutabaga City you need help and instead of gaining sympathy on this board you are causing revulsion.
Recent population exchanges that turned out for the best: Greece/Turkey 1920s, Poland/Germany 1945. In Israel-Palestine you have an incompleted population exchange. The Arab side dumped 100% of its Jews. The Israelis now need to do the same. Afterwards, fifty years afterwards, peace will be possible. And that's a brighter horizon than the one that we're all looking at now.
Only the zionists and the nazis consider "Jews" to be an ethnic group or race, both are very confused sick people.
Where ever you find zionists you find anti-semitism. The zionists are the scourge of the Jews.
the head zionist ghoul Theo Herzl stated in his diary:
"It is essential that the sufferings of Jews.. . become worse. . . this will
assist in realization of our plans. . .I have an excellent idea. . . I shall
induce anti-Semites to liquidate Jewish wealth. . . The anti-Semites will
assist us thereby in that they will strengthen the persecution and
oppression of Jews. The anti-Semites shall be our best friends". (From his
Diary, Part I, pp. 16)
Sophie Scholl-The Final Days
Indeed it is time to act. We need to amass a large force of U.N. troops, planes and warships and invade Israel from the sea, air and land, and disarm it, then disband it.
It has well and truly reached its use-by date. It is a danger to itself, its neighbors, and the rest of the world. It is a country run by deranged religious fanatics and thugs. It has no morals or integrity. It has no soul. Like cancer, it is spreading quickly and is infecting the whole of the Middle East.
Act now while there is still time!
www.dangerouscreation.com
Pan
Sure rrrrrrr
I pledge Allegiance to the Israeli State, and all it`s policys and put it first among all humanity , even above Peace and my own peoples intrests or welfare with Billion and billions and billions FOREVER AND EVER.
"Evidence suggests that Israel may have committed at least seven serious offenses during its Gaza invasion."
350 dead children makes 350 serious offenses in my book.
Perhaps among the drafts of Israel's prospective constitution is a proposal that each killed Palestinian constitutes one-fiftieth of an offense.
They could easily have gotten the idea from the US Constitution, and adjusted for inflation.
· Yr Obd't Servant
,
U.S. Taxpayers' Dollars....have paid for the Gaza Death Camps, and continual GENOCIDE against the Palestinian peoples.....
The United States have supported the war crimes of the State of Israel for over 60 years........
Both the United States of America, and the State of Israel must be held ACCOUNTABLE..........these are world class war crimes !!!!!!!!
,
Put US and Israeli leaders in the dock of The Hague.
Just do it.
Unfortunately Bush took action to make sure that would not happen, when he signed the "American Service-Members' Protection Act" or more commonly know as the Hague Invasion Act, in 2002, prior to the Iraq invasion.
The U.S.-Israel Connection Is Where The Settler-State Is Most Vulnerable
"Why is that?"
"TAke away its U.S. support and Israel will have no choice but to work things out with the Palestinians."
"What could cause our government to stop supporting Israel?"
"The public wakes up to the fact that U.S. support for Israel puts us all at risk."
"Puts us at risk how?"
"Israel's occupation of Palestine stokes the hatred that underlies messianic terrorist movements in the Mideast and elsewhere."
"And how do we wake up the public?"
"By educating Americans as to why it's in our nation's best interest to loosen its ties with Israel."
"Anything else?"
"We challenge the patriotism of Israel's supporters."
"Won't we be accused of anti-Semitism?"
"Except here in America Israel has more Christian than Jewish supporters."
"The net effect of this ?"
"Public support for the settler-state will collapse."
"Based on?"
"Survival instincts."
Just keep spreading the word. Americans may be ignorant but they are not stupid, well,at least enough of them are not stupid enough to recognize they have been had.
As a Palestinian atheist who comes from a Palestinian Christian family I always found the rants by anti-Palestinian folks rather bizarre. The main reason being that they're not actually anti-Palestinian but instead anti-Islamic.
The fact that Hamas had 6 Palestinian Christians running for office in the 2006 elections means nothing to these anti-Islamists.
The fact that Hamas is made up of men and women who were born, went to school, work and have had families under the 41 year-old Israeli military occupation and that are now watching their children and grandchildren being born, going to school, work and have families under the same occupation, means nothing to these anti-Islamists.
All these years under occupation that go on without an end in sight counts for absolutely nothing to these anti-Islamists.
Our suffering at the hands of the Israelis, regardless of what religion we might or might not be, regardless of the circumstances, has been used by the anti-Islamists as a way to channel their desire to punish Muslims.
It's as if the anti-Islamists are fighting Nazi ghosts in their heads. Perhaps that's what the real problem is: They are neither anti-Palestinian nor anti-Islamists but rather anti-Nazi Ghosts.
Whatever their psychological problem is, these folks sure are a basketcase and need their heads examined really carefully before they help do any more damage.