The Newest Crimes Against Humanity

Israel National News ^ | 28 July 2003 | Beth Goodtree

[yonif]

When the Islamic Taliban destroyed the Buddhist statues in Afghanistan despite world-wide pleas not to do so, I thought, “They are trying to erase the history of the Buddhists.” Now there is a concerted effort underway to destroy the history of the Jews. Destruction of historical and archaeological sites, as well as the spreading of misinformation about religious, ethnic and/or national groups comprises a new form of crime against humanity.

While our biology makes us human, it is our history that makes us a society and thus humanity. Without a record of our past, we have nothing to draw upon or build from. Without a history, we are merely homo sapiens, not people and not a society. A society or group of people without evidence of a past is not considered a legal and valid group, with all the legal rights afforded groups or societies that are considered legitimate. And herein lies the reason for the latest actions by certain groups against other groups: to de-legitimize them and thus deprive them of the rights afforded other groups of people.

In 1945, the United States and her Allies developed the Agreement for the Prosecution and Punishment of the Major War Criminals of the European Axis and Charter of the International Military Tribunal (IMT), sitting at Nuremberg, which had the following definition of crimes against humanity in Article 6(c): Crimes against humanity: "...or persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds in execution of or in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, whether or not in violation of the domestic law of the country where perpetrated."

Is not the deliberate destruction of a group’s holy, historical, or archaeological site a form of persecution? Is not the spreading of lies against a group of people in an effort to de-legitimize them a form of persecution?

Ever since the Waqf has had control of the Temple Mount, they have systematically been destroying any evidence that it was first and foremost a place of worship for the Hebrews and one of the holiest sites in Judaism. If it weren’t for the Hebrews, the site never would have existed. Even the name of the those administrating it, Waqf, should have been a clue to their intentions. Waqf means a religious endowment overseen by Islamic clerics. While such religious endowments normally refer to finances, what better endowment for Islam than to deny the history and property rights of the very people who created and used the Temple Mount for millennia and thus steal not only the actual property, but take as their own the history of these people?

Nor is the destruction of the Temple Mount the only atrocity against the Jewish people. Recently, the Palestinians have reduced the building over the tomb, as well as the tombstone itself, of the burial place of the patriarch Joseph to rubble. This destruction was not some act of mere vandals, but officially sanctioned.

Nor are Jewish and Buddhist sites the only victims of such crimes in modern times. Christians have suffered the desecration of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem by terrorist Islamists acting with the sanction of the Palestinian Authority, the construction of a latrine on the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the seizure of the Greek Orthodox Church in Bethlehem to be used as an occasional residence by Arafat, as well as the seizure of Abraham´s Oak Russian Holy Trinity Monastery, evicting its monks and nuns.

Even though Muslims are responsible for many of today’s atrocities, they, too, are victims of said crimes, sometimes by other groups and sometimes by feuding factions. Radical Hindus have been attacking and destroying Moslem holy sites, while the destruction of Ahmaddiya Mosque at Tahkat Hazara in Pakistan by other Moslems in the year 2000 are two examples.

Below are my proposed amendments to the Crimes Against Humanity laws:

Crimes Against Humanity shall also include -

1) The destruction of historical or archaeological sites due to negligence or deliberate act. The penalties of such to be the ownership and sovereignty of said site(s) returned to the people for whom it has historical and/or archaeological ties (regardless of religion, ethnicity or national origin), plus the imprisonment of those responsible, plus financial remunerations totaling all the cost involved in the complete restoration of said site(s);

2) The spreading of false information regarding any group of people united by religion, ethnicity or nationality. Such information may include, but not be limited to, textbooks, advertisements, television, radio, the arts, and journals such as magazines and newspapers. The penalties for such acts to include the complete destruction of the offending materials, imprisonment of those responsible, as well as financial penalties to cover the costs involved in the reissuing of retractions as well as the reeducation of the audiences who were subjected to such misinformation.

I urge all decent people of the world to press for such revisions in the Crimes Against Humanity laws.

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Ms. Goodtree is a writer of humor and political commentary. She may be contacted at Bgoodtree@AOL.com.

[yonif]

Without a record of our past, we have nothing to draw upon or build from. Without a history, we are merely homo sapiens, not people and not a society. A society or group of people without evidence of a past is not considered a legal and valid group, with all the legal rights afforded groups or societies that are considered legitimate.

[LiteKeeper]

INTSUM

[Search4Truth]

BUMP!

[Alouette]

Radical Hindus have been attacking and destroying Moslem holy sites

What the Hindus did was reclaim the temple of Rama, which was their holiest site until the Mohammedans conquered it. The Hindus have as much right to this site as (l'havdil) the Jews have to the Temple Mount.

Is there any Mohammedan "holy site" that is not built on the ruins of some other religion's shrine?

[Alouette]

Could you please post a list of all your acronyms on your profile page so that other Freepers can understand what the **** you are saying?

[kritikos]

"...the spreading of misinformation about religious, ethnic and/or national groups comprises a new form of crime against humanity."

Seems they have taken this move from the playbook written by liberal American politicians: "If truth is an impediment... change it!"

[The_Reader_David]

Of course, the article overlooks the other instance of Muslims trying to erase another people's history, one aided and abetted by NATO, the United States and the United Nations: the attempt to wipe out Serbian Kosovo.

Even if he was or is a thug, Milosevic does not deserve the Kafkaeque 'war crimes' trial to which he is being subjected for resisting the Muslim Albanians' drive to oust the Serbs from Serbia's spiritual heartland.

[tictoc]

Free Milo bump

[SpinnerWebb]

Mecca, I think, would be the only one... unless it, too, was stolen.

[swarthyguy]

Nada. The Karbala was the only deity left standing out of over 300. It was then adopted by the islamis as their holygrail, so to speak.

IMO, the last laugh's on them...I think it's a ShivaLingam!

America may be the only place where grand new mosques are going up on virgin soil.

[Alouette]

America may be the only place where grand new mosques are going up on virgin soil.

I'm sure they have their shriveled little hearts set on Ford World Headquarters.

P.S. the Flag of Israel can be seen at the end of the semicircle, nearest to the front of the building.

[LiteKeeper]

Sure - hadn't thought of that one. Thanks

[Maria S]

"Is there any Mohammedan "holy site" that is not built on the ruins of some other religion's shrine?"

I don't know about the shrines, but the Koran is the biggest case of plagiarism (from the Bible) that ever existed.

[supercat]

While our biology makes us human, it is our history that makes us a society and thus humanity. Without a record of our past, we have nothing to draw upon or build from. Without a history, we are merely homo sapiens, not people and not a society. A society or group of people without evidence of a past is not considered a legal and valid group, with all the legal rights afforded groups or societies that are considered legitimate. And herein lies the reason for the latest actions by certain groups against other groups: to de-legitimize them and thus deprive them of the rights afforded other groups of people.

Unfortunately, in many fields, liberals are trying to erase the past of Western civilization.

[John Locke]

Yawn. About half the Christian churches in Europe are built over former pagan holy sites. Temple Mount itself was a pagan holy site before Solomon was born. Religions succeed one another, as do cultures. You can't freeze history at the moment most favorable to you.