Hi,
now I have done it, haven't I -- I am arguing with the two people whom I could count on to be on my side
But, I am glad to be on Anand's side which I don't get to do as often as I would like.
The IDF came with helicopters, gun boats, and machine guns pointing at the unarmed civilians, in the high seas. Yet, the civilians on the ship who defended with sticks and knives -- according to Israeli sources -- are the agent provocateurs? Yes, the Israeli state says this, but they also say the west bank Palestinians boycotting goods made in the occupied territories is
economic terrorism. What else can we expect from them.
Raghy, if I can extend the neighborhood metaphor a little, what if this is the neighborhood bully who has taken over part of your house and dictates to you who you can be with and when you can go out, and routinely keeps beating up on your kids. Do you think you have any rights to defend yourself?
The state of Israel is propped up mainly by the U.S. Over 3 billion in aid goes to Israel every year. Till date U.S. has given over 113 billion dollars in aid to Israel. The IDF will be nothing but for U.S. aid. Israel is armed to its teeth with nuclear weapons. It is the only military super power in West Asia. A few rockets from Hamas (I don't approve of them) can never be viewed as an existential threat to Israel, like wiping it off the earth, for it to mete out collective punishment on an entire country.
If Israel has a right to protect itself with all this weaponry, why is it unacceptable for the Palestinians to get some arms themselves? Why is that illegal? The answer here is nothing but "might is right". What if Syria declares a blockade of Israel and stops all ships from going to Israeli ports or planes from entering Israeli airspace without their approval? If they are powerful enough they could do it and justify it in whatever way they want, because the rich and powerful get to control the narrative.
It is interesting that Israel is now talking about international law and that their actions in the high seas last Monday were legal. What about the collective punishment they are meting out on the Palestinians of Gaza? Such acts are patently illegal according to the 4th Geneva conventions. What about the illegal annexation of Arab lands and settlements, they are clearly illegal. What about Rachael Corrie who was murdered in cold blood by Israeli military bulldozer demolishing the house of a Palestinian.
Israel does not care about international law, why should they, the U.S. will shield them every time. Like a spoiled brat of a rich man Israel can do whatever it wants with impunity. Even in the case of the murder of Hamas leader in a Dubai hotel that Anand cited, the British, French, and Australian governments are upset not for the grotesquely illegal act of Israel, only that their passports were used.
The entire world condemns Israeli action and wants the Gaza blockade, which is at the root of this massacre, lifted. The gaza blockade is a
crime and an atrocity, says President Carter. Yet, Obama and Clinton want to condemn the "acts" that led to this incidence. Nice going, blaming the victims for provoking a bully.
Menachem Begin was once a terrorist, but a Nobel peace prize winner later on. Mandela was a terrorist to the Apartheid SA regime, who also won the Nobel peace prize later. Vanjinathan and Bhagat Sing are heroes for us, but were downright terrorists for the British. Someone does not become a terrorist just because Israel wants them to be.
I don't have to tell you the circumstances under which the state of Israel came into existence. It is one of the last colonial power plays. Wiping Israel out of the earth is with regard to the state, not the people. I am all for it as long as the means by which this is achieved is absolutely nonviolent. Both the Jews and Arabs of that land deserve to live in peace and dignity. The Arabs deserve it just as much as the Jews.
Cheers!
.
