Posted on 10/24/2001 1:47:40 PM PDT by CommiesOut
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Israeli state terror has killed more than 800 this yearDublin, Ireland, 21 October, 2001
Rihan Ward, a 12-year-old schoolgirl from the town of Jenin, became the latest victim of Israel's policy of state terrorism last Thursday. She was sitting in her classroom, listening to her teacher, Kamar Irshaid, when a tank shell fired by the Israeli army crashed through the window and ripped her chest apart. Her killer, from the Middle East's most sophisticated fighting force, may not feel a sense of shame. He may even have posed for pictures beside the shattered remains of the classroom, subsequently loading up his 'trophy images' on the websites that have recently been developed for such display by the more gung-ho sections of the Israeli military and far right. He will scarcely be disciplined: for the Israeli army is under the control of a commander called General Shaul Mofaz, who last week was forced to apologise to what he terms "the political echelon" for effectively exceeding his brief. That "political echelon" is controlled by Ariel Sharon, who has been the architect of state terror on and off over a period of 20 years but whose policies regarding the West Bank and Gaza do not appear to be tough enough for his military commander. Ward will become a footnote in Palestinian history. She joins 800 other Palestinian civilians who have perished in this last year of Intifada. Five more Palestinians perished with her on the same day. The leader of the Palestinian people, Yasser Arafat, was feted in London and Dublin last week, just days before the schoolgirl met her end. But the political goodwill being shown to Arafat's Palestinian Authority by the West, and the need to involve Islamic states in the war on Afhghanistan, offer no practical protection to Palestinian citizens like Rihan Ward whose lives may be ended at will by Sharon, a man who earned his spurs in the 1982 slaughter at the refugee camps in Lebanon. Sharon was not bothered about civilian casualties last week, following the assassination of former minister Rehavam Ze'evi by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). He was more worried about keeping his coalition in one piece. Ze'evi was part of the National Unity party and had resigned from cabinet last Monday, in protest against the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Hebron. He was targeted by the PFLP which had lost one of its senior leaders, Abu Ali Mustafa, in August when, with customary delicacy, one of Sharon's helicopter gunships fired a missile through his office window, vaporising him as he sat working at his desk. Israeli government spokesmen crowed in the international media about "taking out" the PFLP chief, just as they have boasted of the other "targeted killings" sponsored by Sharon and his regime: this is a euphemism for a policy of state murder. But Israel is perhaps learning the hard way that you cannot crush an entire people by brute military force. It may also come to realise that the fact the Jewish people were treated in the most appalling way by Christians and Arabs in the past does not provide moral legitimacy to the anti-Palestinian slaughter that is daily promoted by Israel. But there is no short-term sign that Israel's political elite are commencing an examination of their collective conscience. Ze'evi's funeral was marked not just by calls for acts of revenge to be taken against his killers but by a series of bizarre suggestions that Yasser Arafat was directly responsible for his death. Arafat is at this stage no more than a Palestinian Uncle Tom, an old-fashioned Stalinist with an overblown international reputation. He may find it incomprehensible that his name was being linked to the death of Ze'evi at precisely the same time as his PA soldiers were rounding up the political leadership of the PFLP at Israel's behest. Or that the Knesset speaker Avraham Burg should tell Arafat that the blood of Ze'evi "fills your hands" at the same time as Arafat's PA was banning the PFLP from operating as a political force. The West may anticipate some breaking out of reason among the leaders of Israel's coalition government in the context of the current difficult international diplomatic climate. There has been impressive talk in Washington and London about the idea of a real Palestinian state, and there has even been some sham rhetorical jousting between Washington and the Sharon administration. But western leaders should not hold their breath. This is Israel, where commonsense and reason are as rare as hens' teeth. There is no effective political opposition to Sharon's policy of terror. Some of the violent rhetoric that marked Ze'evi's funeral emanated from men associated with Israel's Labour Party. History teaches us in any case that there is an unbroken ideological continuity linking Sharon to previous leaders, to Barak and Netanyahu and Shamir and Rabin and Begin. The debate within Israel has never been about the human rights of Palestinians. Rather it has been about the extent to which Palesinians should be permitted by Israel to farm land or to own assets. It has also been about the efficacy or otherwise of bulldzozing Palestinian houses and incinerating Palestinian trees. About the lust for land that has characterised all wars, including those wars in which Jewish people have endured the greatest suffering. The western media underwrites Israel's policy of terror every day. To be sure, it reports the atrocities perpetrated by Sharon's armies and supportive militias. But western media coverage of the conflict is based on the assumption that Israeli democracy is politically superior to any other form of democracy in the region, and on the assumption that there is a moral obligation to support Israel, regardless of the people it chooses for high office. Any attempt to criticise the state terrorism of Israel brings instant cries of "anti-Semitism". The reality is that Israel's mistreatment of Palestine and the Palestinians is itself anti-Semitic. Zionism has always regarded Palestinians as being of a lesser, inferior species. Until that attitude is altered, and altered fundamentally, there will be no political solution to Israel's woes. In the meantime, Ireland might consider using whatever influence it has at the UN and elsewhere to stop civilised western countries from providing money and technology to a government and army that are pursuing morally unacceptable policies based on theories of racial superiorty that should have perished with the defeat of fascism. |
Fair enuff...and in light of the Terrorist Actions of 9/11, these folks are particularly emboldened. However, please note that these folks are admittedly "self-appointed" and the legitimacy of their claims is only retained if they buttress their opinions with facts!!
"Do they have the right to say what they please, absolutely. But their ruse of pretending to be the vestal virgins, pure as the driven snow and above approach is revoltingly transparent."
If you are referring to the FReeper who called you to my attention, I DO NOT see where she has EVER claimed to be a "Vestal Virgin," and she has also made clear her pro-Israel bias.
"Still, it seems to me there may be better ways of making this point than consciously attempting to come off on-Forum as an anti-Semite, even if you are only being facetious." (my comment)
"Where have I come off as an Anti-Semite? Even here you continue to toss the Tar Baby out, trying the tried and true, throw enough fecal matter on the wall & hope some sticks. You and the PC Israel first posse accuse me of anti-Semitism merely because I dare question your tactics and point out their Achilles heel fallacies."
Re-read my comments carefully and you will have to admit that I never accused you of being an "Anti-Semite." YOU were the one who said you were using the anti-Anti-Semite's own tactics against them, which I assumed meant you were attempting to quell honest debate by slanderously labeling another's viewpoints as illegitimate by linking them with factions which we mostly all agree are less-than-100% reputable.
"That entire [Clinton/Barak] process was a farce, no one was serious, it was a Clintonian photo op, nothing more, nothing less. Neither the PLO or Israel intended for any positive results, they were there because Clinton forced them to be there, but once there, he could not force them to do what he wanted for his legacy."
Agree 100%!!
"On the other side of the coin Israel must come forth with a viable acceptable plan to present for the establishment of a Palestinian state. The latest gallop poll taken in Israel show 61% of Israelis want to see a Palestinian state. Israel presently maintains an absolute choke hold on the Palestinian people, maintaining such a policy is vital for security. Which is true, and so long as Israel continues said policy, the Palestinians will continue with their policy of terror, and nothing changes."
Well, more than 61% of Americans continued to support a Felon, a Rapist, a Murderer, a Traitor, and a Tyrant in the White House just a coupla years back, so pardon me if the poll numbers don't mean SQUAT to me!! When push-came-to-shove, I do not believe a majority of Isrealis would support the establishment of a Palestinian State that would have the Power to amass an Army who's Raison d'etre was the Destruction of Isreal.
"Without both sides biting the bullet, they will continue in a reactive mode, unable to seize the proactive initiative for reaching a real meaningful compromise. A sad truth that drives the zealots here and elsewhere into a frenzy is, that in the eyes of most of the world, Israel is on the verge of becoming a rogue nation. All the screaming of invectives and the gnashing of teeth will avail them naught, perception becomes self fulfilling, the longer the perception prevails."
Rogue Nation, my A$$!! You let me murder your kids at a Disco or a Shopping Mall and we'll see if you and yer wife don't start screaming a few invectives and gnashing yer teeth just a bit!!!
"Name me the nations of the world friendly to Israel’s current stance, name the nations outright unfriendly to Israel? Now one can be in denial, but the facts remain the facts and the world’s people determine these particular facts."
What a BS argument!! Based on that IGNORANT LOGIC, I'll bet you also believe Kofi Annan is the Second Coming!! SHEEEESH...the Nations of this World would love it if Israel ceased to exist because--in their mind--Middle East tensions would Cease To Exist. Hogwash!! Before the MidEast had Israel to HATE, they hated each other with similar passion.
"I see Israel and the EU on a future collision course, ir-regardles of the special US/ Israeli relationship. The EU needs a true lasting peace in the middle east, they see the current crisis as destabilizing, and a very real threat to Europe proper. the Israeli Palestinian conflict drives 1.4 billion people of the Islamic faith to produce madmen who prostitute legitimate concerns into what produces the extremist suicidal fanatics now confronted on a world wide scale. Europe has a huge domestic Islamic population. EU economic ties to the Islamic world is 100 fold compare to that which they hold with Israel. The EU simply will not tolerate Israel’s war spilling over into their streets, nor are they going to fight a continuation of what they perceive to be Israel’s war on the European mainland."
"Israel's War" you say...that's not your perception, right? That's just the EU's perception, right?! Nice attempt at nuance, dude, but that turd don't float here!! IMHO, Israel would love a lasting peace, and Americans will continue to support politicians who support a peace-loving Israel!!
"If the middle east problem is not settled, and reaches a critical meltdown crisis point, the EU out of self interest and security will confront and force the PLO and Israel to do what they find they are unable to do themselves."
And what would that be? What would the EU force the PLO and Israel to do?
"And if you EVER thought Osama bin Laden had any "legitimacy" whatsoever in Murdering Thousands of Innocents, well...you and your extremism are well on your way towards losing posting privileges anyway. Or is that your Ultimate Goal?"
Your link was helpful in demonstrating you are not a knee-jerk bin Laden apologist...thank you.
"You know, lies, and cheap intellectually bankrupt fraud gives no credence to your insinuations made here. You offer no evidence to substantiate any of your accusations, you just sling the fecal matter, and pray it works. You have went from yelling the sticky anti-Semitic Tar Baby to the full mantra of one who cannot confront the truth. I posted my charges catagorically, and gave a proof positive recorded brief for all to see. You propose nothing in return, but the feel good claptrap of nothingness."
LOL...you humor me. For whatever purpose, you set yourself up as some sort of moderating influence while simultaneously forging a stick into the eye of a pro-Israel group of FReepers who are admittedly relieved that the rest of the World is now coming to understand the zealotry they have been dealing with for generations. There is NO COMPROMISE WITH ZEALOTS, only their absolute annihilation and the salting of the Earth behind them!! To pretend otherwise--even if done only facetiously to make a point--jeopardizes the credibility of your Screen Name, whether or not you retain posting privileges.
Nothingnessly yers...MUD
The answer that you gave sounds suspiciously like typical PA propaganda - "the peace-loving Palestinian people have been trying in vain to get detailed allegations of any violations of the Oslo accords that they have allegedly committed, however the brutal Israeli terrorist agressor regime that poisons Palestinian children and takes food out of the mouths of starving Palestinian infants and violates the Oslo agreement on a daily basis as well as defiantly refusing to obey UN resolutions has adamantly refused to provide such details because of course there can be none, snicker snicker", etc. etc.
But keep on trying, as Clinton proved, you can fool lots of the people lots of the time.
Anybody?
801, 801 anybody?
800 going once...
Thank you for your defense, it was excellent and well written. Obviously, Damien is a globalist. Most of us here, are against the EU, and a world government. We feel the US is a separate and independent nation who many died to protect and create.
As a patriotic person, I feel Damien's quotes and reasoning stating the position of the EU, says much about where he retrieves his information.
Thanks again my true friend,
KLT
)=^D...I sure do like messin' with Newbie Trolls' Heads...MUD
You never responded on-Forum to my #262 and I don't have the time or inclination to waste respondin' to yer mean-spirited FReepMails...c'mon DemonSeed, let us air our differences in Public!!
Hypocritically yers...MUD
The Jews could give the Palestinians 75% of Israel, the PLO would claim the Jews kept the best part and continue to wage war. The Jews could give the Palestinians 100% of Israel, move to another country, and the PLO would still wage war against them claiming the "long hand of zions influence".
I have no vested interest in Jews vs. Arabs or Palestinians etc.., to claim that the Jews are the problem is a sick joke. And nobody tell me it's because we are subject to Israeli and US propaganda, we have an extremely PLO friendly media here.
The Jews would be best off in evicting all Palestinians from their land. Then, build a big damn fence.
Okey-dokey, have at it.
"Did you really consider the logic of #271 ? You say you are ignoring me and it makes me mad? Then followed immediately by #272? Where you attack me for ignoring you, and then throw out a challenge to engage you? Hello earth, did something escape you there???
Didn't want you to think I was talkin' behind yer back, Newbie. Still waitin' fer a response to #262.
"Yes 0’Vacuous one, I will reply, at a time of my choosing."
Take yer time...I'll be around.
"I don't have the time to sit around FReepin' all-day, every day. Wink, wink."
Wink wink backatcha...are you flirtin' with me?!
LOL...MUD
Damned amateurs!
Just another 6 years and they will match what the Muslim Mass Murderers managed to do in half a day!
Nah.
It's too stupid to be effective propaganda.
Only an intellectual or a Muslim would believe it.
She was sitting in her classroom, "Hate-Israel 101" listening to her teacher spew hate propaganda into young-minds.
Sorry, it doesnt faze me, these people are too far gone.
That's exactly what I say.
One Israeli killed?! They should drag out 100 Palestinians, put them next to the wall and kill them. Just like in Warsaw in 40-ties.
And then put a nice piece of paper on the wall: "The List of 100 criminals and bandits".
It would take care of the problem.
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