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Israeli Police and Military Brutalize Peaceful Protesters at Netanyahu’s Speech
Heavy handed police treatment of the CODEPINK: Women for Peace delegation began immediately after members of the group unfurled several pink banners that read "Free Gaza" and "End the Occupation." CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin and New York activist Zool Zulkowitz were physically dragged across the street from their original protest site next to the entrance gate to Bar Ilan University where audience members and press entered the university complex to attend the speech.
Several hours later, a French journalist who was a member of the CODEPINK delegation, was arrested as she crossed a small street in an attempt to take photos of the demonstration. As she was placed in an Israeli police car, several members of the delegation converged to determine why the journalist was being held. Israeli police and military violently shoved the group back into a wall. Delegation member Tighe Barry from Santa Monica, California was struck in the face with the butt of a military rifle and pushed to the ground where he could barely breathe. He was taken by ambulance to the Trauma Center of Tal-Hashomer hospital in Tel Aviv where he was treated for a concussion, an injured neck and an asthma attack. Medea Benjamin and several other delegation members were bruised in the arms and upper body from being shoved and manhandled by the police and military.
The journalist was taken to a local police station and released an hour later without charges. Mr. Barry was treated overnight at the hospital.
The CODEPINK delegation has requested that the Israeli police and military investigate the brutality used by their forces on the peaceful, non-violent protesters.
When President Obama spoke in Cairo on June 4, a separate CODEPINK delegation that had just returned from six days in Gaza in early June, held a demonstration right outside Cairo University holding signs that read "Stop funding Israeli War Crimes." Egyptian police allowed the demonstration to take place.
"Is this the great democracy that the U.S. taxpayers pay for with $3 billion dollars a year?", cried Medea Benjamin as she was being dragged away by the police.
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25 Comments so far
Show AllI often wonder how closely the Israeli regime is aligned with the Neo-Nazis? They use the same tactics. They stifle any dissent that may emerge to question their policies. They attempt to control free speech and the press. They use military force to subdue other nationalities and ethnic groups. They plant their political operatives within the governments of other nations in an attempt to broaden their propagandistic appeal and international political leverage. And they condemn, sometimes physically, anyone who would dare question their tactics or motives.
Israel has become pre-WWII Germany. Let's not forget, however, that there is a growing peace movement within Israel, made up of valiant, intelligent and persevering Jews who are witness to, and understand the depravity of their own government and its ruling elite.
And let's also not forget that the ruling elite in the US and in Israel are tied at the hip; culturally, economically, politically, and militarily.
CodePink is courageous in its attempts to bring light to this subject. The mainstream media, both in the US and in Israel will never allow this light to penentrate its fabric of lies - that is why it is up to us - those who still believe there can be a better and more sane world - to help.
No real difference between the Nazis and Zionists. The Germans claimed to be the master race and screwed the Jews, Zionists say they are the chosen and screw the Palestinians.
Wikipedia has a copy of a letter sent in 1940 by Lehi (sp?)( the Stern Gang) offering to ally with the third reich and kill British soldiers in Palestine ( who they did kill along with Palestinians and did absolutely nothing to help their their fellow jews who were being exterminated.)
I expect to see the same coverage of this crushing of free speech as of on the Iranian elections, HA.
odoco
Thanks for the posting Glenn, I just read about 10 articles after Googling the Stern Gang and now more fully understand the workings of the Likud Party, Netanyehu, Christians United For Israel, et al.
the american soldiers and their allies won the war but the fascists took the spoils
that would be american fascists (rockefeller, carnegie etc), european fascists under the rothschild debt machine banner and the zion fascists
medea benjamin has put her life on the line and she deserves respect
amy goodman being dragged around the gop convention was another "moment" in our devolution
party on haim
party on adolf
Yes - for those of you that think that Israel is a democracy,
here's some evidence of their democratic spirit.
bligh4
Isreal should try to be more like Egypt- model democracy, tolerant of all dissent, and open to protests...
No, because then it would only get about $1 billion in U.S. aid every year instead of $3 billion.
Israel gets much more than 3 billion a year if you count loan guarantees, military aid, direct transfers, tax and trade perks, etc. The Empire subsidizes regional racist imperialism and ethnic cleansing.
And about half of the Congress are members of AIPAC.
Brave women those Code Pinker's. Wonder how much press they actually get though. If we all put ourselves out there as peacefully determined as they do, we really would see some changes in our government's behavior.
Come on you women! It is your nearest and dearest that suffer in this violent unjust world. Get out there and speak truth to power. Life is too short to sit on your behinds and let others determine the fate of your children!
Help stop the destructive violent nature of our species or we very likely will not exist in the near future.
thank you code pink...
your presence in israel shows the international community that there are a handful of conscientious americans opposed to the atrocious actions committed by israel against peaceful people - over and over again.
i applaud your actions....
how do we convince fundamentalist christians and very defensive american jews to abandon support of this brutal racist state ?
we need a lobby as powerful as aipac to counter the zionist spin. the MSM is complicit...
...peace...
Isn't Medea Benjamin a massive Obama supporter? Isn't it true that she threw all of her weight behind getting him elected? That kills it for me. She should be wise enough to know that real change won't come without a 3rd party candidate. Ugghhhh...
odoco
your comment is so narrow, so prejudiced that it repulses me. I would ask you this: where have you been hiding your ass while all the turmoil has been taking place? Gaza? Israel? The GOP Convention?
Benjamin, Kathy Kelly, Ann Wright et al and CodePink members in general have been out in front of the anti-war movement more than practically any other group. She / they consistently put their lives on the line - confronting the machine - speaking truth to power - and you have the audacity to challenge their legitimacy?
Lots of people supported / voted for Obama that wish now they had not - that is a fact - but to denigrate all the efforts of all people because of a vote, albeit a very important one, is childish and counter-productive.
Again - I ask you - where have you been? What have you done? Where have you traveled? How many times have you been arrested?
Point taken?
Cool down.
The previous post may have been overly emotional
but it's got a valid point to it.
Lots of people voted for Obama. And if you're one of them, you really don't have any standing left to criticize the previous poster.
If you and like minded people became registered, active members of the Democratic Party you could take it over. Competing with the over 120 other "third" parties is not the answer.
Poppycock, and you know it.
That's been the strategy for the last forty-five years, and it got us nothin'.
I agree with Wanderer and OS; it is time to scrap the two-party Duopoly, which has held the democratic process in a stranglehold for decades. A corrupt system can only produce corrupt results. It is time to abandon the frames and constraints of the two-party system and think of new ways to represent our interests and elect political officials.
Nader himself knows how the big-money, corporate dictated, illusion of choice system we have is a sham, under which he could never be elected. Chomsky calls it a "sham democracy". Unlike the Soviet Union or Egypt, where only one party's candidates appeared on the ballot, we have two (who only represent the interests of the Ruling Class). However the level of real choice is very similar. Corporate candidate R or candidate D. That is your only choice in our current sham of a system. If we continue our naive belief that a corrupt system can produce an outcome less than corrupt, we are doomed.
Utter nonsense.
· Yr Obd't Servant
Try this protest in Gaza and see how far you get before someone shoots you, bombs you, or cuts your head off. Code Pink is full of cr-p. They will go home now to their cushy lives, all proud of themselves. Jews living here know the truth, and we will make sure others do too.
How ignorant of you. Your racist comment generalizes "Jews living here" You don't speak for Jews, my delusional arrogant friend.
socialist, I'm afraid he does speak for the vast majority of Jews.
We can't pretend otherwise.
I am speaking as a Jew amongst Jews. What do you know? Are you a Jew? Do you live here? Until you have some skin in the game, I suggest you shut your mouth, twit.
You don't speak for anybody but yourself, racist hatemonger.
"I suggest you shut your mouth, twit" How typical! A hatemongering Zionist thug trying to shut me up. Thank you for living up to the stereotype.
Ben Martin. We know because studies and FACTS show us. Dumb ass Judeofascist. Your type is what is destroying our planet right now. Thanks.