Phil Weiss: Good afternoon, fight fans. That headline is an homage to the late heavyweight champion Sonny
Liston, who said after moving to Denver from Philadelphia, where he'd been arrested
several times: "I'd rather be a lamppost in Denver than the
mayor of Philadelphia."
How different is the discourse in England than it is here? The other
day Eva Smagacz wrote a letter on Gaza to the very conservative member
of British parliament
who represents her: Nicholas Soames (who is, by the way, a close friend of Prince
Charles). Here is his response:
From Claire Barker, on Behalf Of SOAMES, Nicholas
20 January 2009 05:19 PM
Dear Eva Smagacz,
Thank you very much
for your email about the appalling situation in Gaza.
I am grateful to you
for drawing your views to my attention.
What the Israelis are
doing is not only morally indefensible it is also totally contrary to the rules
of war.
I am gravely
concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and have been for a long
time, and the loss of life and injury is completely unacceptable and an absolute
affront to civilised behaviour.
I have called for an
urgent ceasefire to be implemented by both sides which is the only way ahead to
get the peace process going again to allow action to be taken to address the
terrible suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza and to protect Israel security.
I have passed my
constituents’ comments to the Foreign Office who I am satisfied are
taking a very robust line on this.
I attach for your attention a letter
which I received on Friday 9th January from Bill Rammell MP,
Minister of State.
I have copied below an intervention that I made during the Foreign Secretary’s statement to the House of Commons last Monday:-
Mr. Nicholas Soames (Mid-Sussex) (Con): Has the Foreign Secretary warned the Government of Israel that despite the very grave provocation they have suffered, they are acting contrary to the laws of war?
David Miliband: I have not given Israel any legal position of that kind, but at all stages I have stressed the importance of the commitments that all member states of the United Nations have, both in advance of the conflict and during it. It is right, therefore, that we say that any abuse should be properly investigated promptly and expeditiously.
The full statement may be viewed by the link below:-
I should add that I
am the President of the Conservative Middle East Council and take a great
interest in the Middle East generally and I have never known the situation now
to be so dangerous. My colleagues on CMEC met yesterday to discuss the
situation.
Incidentally, there was a debate in the House of Commons last week and I have copied a link below to the Foreign Secretary’s statement to the House yesterday:-
I have also signed EDM 408:-
That this House expresses outrage at Israel's overwhelmingly disproportionate use of force in Gaza which continues to inflict massive civilian casualties, particularly amongst children and which has involved strikes on aid convoys, United Nations schools and medical personnel; calls for an immediate ceasefire including the end of Israel's attacks on Gaza, the withdrawal of its troops and the cessation of rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel; further calls for the demands of the Security Council to allow the unimpeded provision and distribution throughout Gaza of humanitarian assistance, including food, fuel and medical treatment to be implemented and for the end of the long-term Israeli blockade of Gaza; further calls on the Government to initiate proceedings, with the other High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention, to require the protection of civilians in times of war and to require accountability for military action which contravenes the Convention; further calls for an arms embargo on both sides and for the remit of any international forces deployed to include protection of Palestinian civilians from blockade and attack as well as the prevention of arms supplies which threaten Israeli civilians; further calls on the European Union to demonstrate that the continued implementation of its Association Agreement with Israel is conditional on Israel's respecting human rights; demands that Israel stops blocking international journalists from entering Gaza; and calls on the international community to redouble its efforts to achieve the lasting settlement of a secure and independent state of Palestine alongside a secure and independent Israel.
The question of sanctions and war crimes will be addressed.
Thank you very much for getting in touch.
Yours sincerely,
Nicholas Soames
Related posts:
{ 4 comments }
Fascinating–and admirable. Thanks, Eva, Phil, and Mr. Soames.
Here's the abominable response (dated January 12, 2009) I got yesterday to the letter and phone message I sent to "my representative," Sen. Sherrod Brown:
"Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the current situation in Gaza.
Israel has a right and a duty to defend its people from terrorism. For too long, Hamas has used Gaza as a staging ground for terrorism, including the recent escalation of rocket launches against Israeli citizens, to the detriment of the Palestinian people. I cosponsored S. Res. 10, a resolution reaffirming support for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, because it states that right and asserts our concern about humanitarian aid and protecting civilian lives.
I am deeply concerned by the growing number of civilian casualties. All sides must work towards an immediate resolution to the crisis. The Bush Administration [this letter arrived on Inauguration Day]
must work to bring about a ceasefire and an immediate removal of all obstacles for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
I am monitoring this situation and will continue to promote direct action by this and the next Administration to develop a lasting peace for the region.
Thank you again for writing me.
Sincerely,
Sherrod Brown
United States Senator"
****
The false "facts," hypocrisy, and cruelty of this [Likud] propaganda are appalling. I emailed an answer detailing the many errors of Sen. Brown's cavalier support for the Israeli government's war crimes.
Susie,
Do what I did after I got one of those replies: I called both the local and DC offices of my Senator and said
(1) I received the response, and that
(2) I am appalled that the senator supports Israel's terrorist activities.
I said the reason why I called Israel's actions in Gaza "terrorist" was because
(1) it cynically broke the ceasefire on the night of our national election,
(2) it ignored Hamas' repeated request for peace talks in December after Hamas had already agreed in 2004 to recognize Israel and to recognize the 1967 UN Resolution borders,
(3) it bombed UN facilities marked as such on the roof and in advance by GPS,
(4) it used2,000-lb and illegal phosporous bombs on defenseless citizens, and
(5) it starved desperate Gazan citizens of food, fuel, medicine, and ambulances.
[I wrote all these on an index card, BTW.]
I told the woman that I was going to be emailing these items, and that the world community knew these facts, had instituted a Boycott, Divest, and Sanction reaction to Israel, and that our news orgs censored this info.
Then I added that unless the senator worked in US national security interests first and not the Kadima/LIkud party's idea of justice in the region which prompted 911, I would work to have the senator replaced in 2010 with someone younger, more willing to use the net to uncover the truth for himself, and more in touch with the American mood, and values.
Thanks, Mr W.,
I immediately emailed Brown with a list very similar to yours, though I left out your great point about Nov 4 being our election day, and have also called both offices since then.
I appreciate your concise list, as well, for my future calls and letters,
Susie
Thanks to all of you.
'though I left out your great point about Nov 4 being our election day'
The whole thing was timed to take advantage of most of us being on holidays when the length and extent of the rampage had reached it's zenith. And the start on election day, and the finish just prior to inauguration day is illustrative of the dreadful cynicism at work.
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