The liberal end of the Israel lobby was on fine display yesterday when the Israel Policy Forum hosted Israeli Minister Isaac Herzog to discuss "Gaza Challenges: Overseeing humanitarian assistance to Gaza." Herzog is from the Labor party and serves as the minister who coordinates humanitarian aid to Gaza. Here is how Herzog responded a question from Christian Science Monitor writer Howard LaFranchi on the conference call:
Howard LaFranchi: How do you respond to the criticism of the international community that Israel is not letting basic reconstruction materials into Gaza?"Isaac Herzog: Now, with respect to humanitarian aid, since the beginning of the operation and ever since, all international humanitarian aid that has come here has been flown in, shipped in smoothly. There is no backlog or no congestion of any humanitarian aid that needs to get into Gaza. We are monitoring it closely. The passages, the crossings are open for this purpose. There's a special emergency coordinating unit that works with all of the international agencies.
There are comments of bureaucracy. There are complaints. And there were issues that were raised with respect to certain products that were requested to go in. And, yesterday, it was decided to alleviate fully any issue pertaining to food supplies into Gaza of any kind.
But the big issue, of course, is what we call dual use. Even, for example, sugar. Sugar, for example, can be used in a certain chemical process for explosives. We — the missile — the heavy missile that landed on Ashkelon just a few days ago, in a school in Ashkelon, was homemade. It's a product of local chemical industry that may be have been using fertilizers for agriculture or anything else. And that is why there's a strict policy as to some of the products that can be used for dual use.
Listening
to Minister Herzog one would think everything is fine except for a few bureaucratic snafus that have since been fixed. A recent report from the
UN would seems to indicate differently. From the March 3, 2009 UN article "Gaza: after
donor conference, aid inflow still restricted, UN says":
Key crossings remain closed or partially closed, reconstruction materials are still prohibited, and restrictions on food types, clothing and schoolbooks have been maintained, the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in an update on the situation in Gaza today.
“More than 80 percent of all goods currently allowed into Gaza are basic foods,” OCHA said, adding that materials for home rebuilding and repair of water, sanitation and power infrastructure were urgently needed.
As of 2 March, the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU), Gaza’s water utility, reported that 50,000 people still do not have access to piped water and an additional 100,000 receive water approximately every 7-10 days.
According to GEDCO, Gaza’s power utility, the power deficit throughout the Gaza Strip as of yesterday remained at 19 per cent, with 90 per cent of the Gaza population receiving intermittent electricity and 10 per cent completely off the grid.
Those conditions will not improve until the necessary pipes, generators and other basic supplies are allowed into Gaza, OCHA said.
Now, there could be an argument that it is an Israeli minister's job is to disseminate propaganda (i.e. lie) to international audiences about the practices of their government. But is it the job of non governmental organizations in the US, let alone ones allegedly working for "peace and security",to give this a platform? Does the IPF agree with the Israeli prohibition on sugar entering Gaza as a defensive measure? I wasn't sure listening to the presentation. Instead of challenging Herzog, the the moderator from IPF , Professor Steven Spiegel, only lamented the fact the Herzog would not be serving in the next Israeli government. After referring to Herzog as an "old friend" of IPF, Spiegel said, "several people on this call wish that you could be in the
government."
The Israel Policy Forum says it is "committed to a strong and enduring U.S.-Israel relationship and to advancing the shared interests of the United States and the State of Israel." In this case the IPF simply came off as an apologist for Israeli policies that even the US government has criticized. How exactly do they imagine that helping the work for peace?
What weapons can be fashioned out of textbook? or crayons? or paper? or pasta??????
It doesn't seem the Palestinians are having any problems finding materials to make rockets.
It doesn't seem the Israels are having any problems finding massive aide/advanced weaponry/etc. to incinerate 400 Palestinian children.
I'm sure water is used in the chemical process to make explosives too. Soon that will be banned in the interest of Israel's "security".
Of course, the minister gets in the typical talking points about the "rockets" (homemade fireworks that the Israeli military is on record as saying are a complete joke). Funny how these "rockets" never hit anyone.
Oh, and then there's "Ashkelon", which is in fact the ethnically-cleansed Palestinian village called Al-Jura.
These people are utterly depraved. What the hell is wrong with them? No pasta, no sugar, no textbooks for the children.
Ashkelon Built on Ruins of Ethnically Cleansed and Destroyed Al-Jura
looks like the UN tried to ship in food etc a few days ago and Hamas stole it all (did Hamas hoard the sugar?):
The UN says it will resume aid shipments into Gaza after Hamas returned supplies seized several days ago.
Officials from Hamas took thousands of UN blankets, food parcels, and tons of rice and flour.
That prompted the UN to stop its aid trucks into Gaza, fearing Hamas would seize them.
John Ging, Gaza head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, said Monday that Hamas officials returned the aid, prompting the UN to lift its freeze.
The UN is under pressure to show international donors that it is independent of Hamas as it seeks funding to rebuild the territory after Israel's crushing three-week military offensive. The US, EU and Israel label Hamas a terror group.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1236269362323&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Israel is scared of sugar.
I wonder if Israel considers Sweet 'N Low a Weapon Of Mass Destruction.
It must be a forbidden fruit kind of thing. Take away sugar from the Palestinians to get them to want it more. Pretty soon they'll all be a nation of overweight diabetics. Those crafty Israelis; always thinking 2 or 3 moves ahead.
The last time Hamas was accused of "stealing" the humanitarian aid – about a month ago – it turned out that in fact what was happening was Israeli-backed Fatah was using the aid as a political ploy to score points with its constituents. The aid wasn't even going to the neediest people in Gaza. The UN relief agency admitted that in fact Hamas didn't "steal" the aid, that it was a "mix-up". Of course, the true story, which came out a couple days later, was barely reported, as opposed to the initial lie that "Hamas stole aid", which was plastered all over the media.
I would imagine the same thing, or something similar, is going on now.
I would imagine the same thing, or something similar, is going on now.
You imagine a lot of things. :-)
Hamas is the democratically-elected government of the people of Gaza. It was elected because it provides basic necessities, welfare programs, schools and clinics to the residents in Gaza, who are otherwise deprived of these things by the brutal, illegal Israeli occupation.
To think that Hamas would "steal" aid intended for the people of Gaza – the same people who elected it to power BECAUSE IT PROVIDES THESE NECESSITIES – is utterly preposterous.
A much more plausible scenario is that foul play was involved – AGAIN – in an attempt to smear Hamas.
The Guardian seems to NOT have retracted this Feb 6 report and in fact updated it on feb 26–so you need to get out of denial, Kelly boy. Anyway…enjoy…I'm done. Off to dinner:
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said today it has halted all aid shipments into the Gaza Strip after the Hamas government seized thousands of tonnes of food and other provisions.
The UN Relief and Works agency said it made the decision after Hamas personnel intercepted an aid shipment for the second time this week.
In a statement, the agency said 10 truckloads of flour and rice delivered into Gaza yesterday were taken away by trucks affiliated with the Hamas-run social affairs ministry. Earlier this week, Hamas police took away thousands of blankets and food parcels meant for needy residents.
The UN said the suspension would remain in effect until the aid is returned and the agency receives credible assurances from the Hamas government that such thefts will end. There was no immediate reaction from Hamas.
UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said the agency would continue to distribute aid from its existing supplies in Gaza, but he warned that stocks were running thin.
"There is enough aid for days, not weeks," he said. Complicating the situation, he said that the agency has not been able to import plastic bags used for food distribution, and that existing supplies will run out early next week.
Some 80% of Gaza's 1.4 million people rely on the UN agency for food and other support, and UN officials say the need for aid has increased since Israel ended a military offensive in Gaza last month.
The offensive, meant to halt years of Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel, killed nearly 1,300 people and caused widespread destruction.
Israel halted its Gaza operation on 18 January. Hamas then announced it would hold its fire.
However, sporadic fighting has persisted. Today, Gaza militants launched two more rockets into Israel, the military said. There were no injuries, but it illustrated the fragility of the Gaza truce.
The rocket attacks followed a border incident late yesterday in which Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian who the Israeli military claimed had neared the fence armed with a grenade.
Egypt's attempts to mediate a long-term ceasefire have failed so far. Hamas is demanding Israel open Gaza's blockaded border crossings as part of any agreement, but Israel says it will not turn the crossings over to Hamas control. It also wants international guarantees that weapons smuggling into Gaza will stop.
Time to stop glamorizing Hamas, Kelly. They suck.
Israel is afraid Hamas will start firing delicious baked goods over the wall … and that these will go straight to Israel's thighs.
I keep hearing how Hamas was democratically elected to lead Gaza, but I've never seen the election break down. Any od the antisemites out there ready to produce it?
LOL. Suzanne posts one article from one source and then tells us what it "seems" happened (or did not happen), and this constitutes proof of her point.
Ah, Suzanne, your grade for this research class: F-. Please go back to the drawing board.
We already went through all this a month ago. I posted all the relevant information then.
I'm not "glamorizing" Hamas. I'm stating facts.
Israel is scared of Hamas because it's truly concerned with the welfare of the people of Palestine and it can't be corrupted by Israeli money and dirty tricks, a la Fatah.
It's also, by its very nature, impossible to defeat, which is why it will have to be brought to the table at some point.
Ah so the Pals get creative with basic food stuffs. Gee, I thought they were animals, retards. The list of banned stuffs is index that the Pals are not morons. Gee, so what's new? So hope exists after ALL. Not only the jews make miracles. What a surprise.
Dan Kelly
Can I have a link to use? I missed that and want to use it.
Suzanne went to her tribal guidance counselor and told him, "All the mean anti-Semites on this blog I kinda like keep making fun of me for not understanding anything about Zionism. They make me sound all ignorant and ethnocentric and schmucky."
The tribal guidance counselor sat for a moment, gauging whether the confused young tart had any real knowledge of Zionism beyond the approved talking points. Would she be able to understand that brutality and warfare have been considered necessary for the success of Zionism since The Iron Wall (1923)?
Determining that the girl was too comfortably naive to take on the web of conscious rationalizations for supremacist, colonialist behavior, the tribal guidance counselor patted Suzy on the head and said, "Tell them dear that Hamas are the bad guys here. That's what's most important. Just focus on Hamas. Whenever they say anything about Israel's behavior, you talk about Hamas. Ok?"
Suzanne felt immediately relieved. She ran to her computer and loaded her favorite website and clicked on the first conversation she saw. "Now I know how to win Phil's heart from all these anti-Semites," she thought, as she copied and pasted some trite story about Hamas liberating humanitarian supplies from sitting uselessly in some garrison.
The anti-Semites read her post and hardly blinked an eye. They'd long quit expecting anything interesting or persuasive from little Suzy, the Zio-groupie with a crush on the coolest self-hating journo-Jew of them all, Phil Weiss. This latest bit about Hamas was even lamer than her Thomas Friedman worship last week.
Suzanne realized that the object of her devotion was still out of reach. "G-d," she thought, "what do I need to do to convince him that I'm smart and that my opinion is important? Why can't he love me enough to accept my blindspot as his own?"
And the girl kept coming back, and coming back, and coming back, after that most forbidden of loves, the probing and inquisitive Jewish black sheep. (Ok, maybe not black anymore–more of a salt-and-pepper).
That Suzanne's love not stay forever unrequited, one of the older anti-Semites, a gallant old Englishman with a not altogether healthy obsession with Hebrew punk rock, began to give the girl some attention. He'd noticed, no doubt from his long experience with trolls, that her attempts at recognition had begun to lose their prior flamboyance. Her flame was flickering and in danger of going out.
But would proud Suzanne be able to see that her best prospects for adoration were not with that journalist she (not so) secretly admired, but lay–G-d forbid–outside of the tribe?
Can I have a link to use? I missed that and want to use it.
I will go back and look for it. I didn't save it (I don't think I did).
I've got to eat dinner now…please bear with me.
Exactly what is MarshMellow whining about?
No carbs for the Palestinians.
LMAO. MM, that was absolutely brilliant!
"What the hell is wrong with them? No pasta, no sugar, no textbooks for the children."
Here in just a few words spoken by Moshe Yaalon, former Israeli military Chief of Staff in 2002, is your explanation. It's calculated.
"The Palestinians must be made to understand in the deepest recesses of their consciousness that they are a defeated people."
Review of MM's novelette.
What a great potboiler, I couldn't stop turning the pages, it has everything, intrigue, unrequited love and an undercurrent of sexual tension, and, as a bonus, is based on real flesh and blood characters.
I eagerly await the next gripping installment. :-)
Wow MM, that is really good. Very funny!
Shirin,
Yes, I am familiar with the quote you provided, and with the fact that it is intentional. My question was merely rhetorical.
They are utterly depraved, Shirin. I can't imagine, in the darkest recesses of my soul, ever acting in such a manner towards another human being. I just can't comprehend it.
Yeah, the problem is, how do you get a Palestinian Arab or Christian to feel guilt over the Shoah like
the generations of Germans and Americans do who were born 1940 and after? The jews absolutely depend on Christian guilt, even as they ridicule Christianity, and the Israeli rabbis instruct their IDF soldiers
not to turn the other cheek.
Citizen,
Not to put too fine a point on it, but the distinction is not between Arabs and Christians. Most Palestinian Christians are Arabs.
PS Citizen, your actual point is well taken.
David F, I responded to your criticisms of me about the Israeli tow truck owner, which I want you to read here: link to tw1.us
MM.
Lethal. Lovely. Laffed out loud.
I hear the twittering of amateur psychologists.
Come on, Rowan, you know you love her.
USA Military Aid to isreal
isreal is by far the largest recipient of USA foreign aid. Since 1949, the USA has provided isreal with $101 Billion in total aid, of which $53 Billion has been military aid. For the last 20-plus years, isreal has received an average of $3 Billion annually in grant aid;, until now the grant has been a mix of economic and military aid.
isreal receives its aid under vastly more favorable terms than any other recipient.
Aid to isreal can be said to benefit the USA because it is spent to purchase equipment manufactured here. But this recycling of federal monies into the arms industry is not the wisest way to spur general economic recovery. In fact, in the midst of a financial crisis, incurring a long-term obligation of this magnitude is highly irresponsible.
When isreal attacks Palestinians, as during the recent assault on Gaza, its instruments of destruction are USA fighter jets and attack helicopters, USA missiles, USA-made white phosphorus, USA-made Caterpillar bulldozers. All of this Amerikan-made destruction is clearly identifiable to television audiences throughout the Arab and Muslim world, where viewers receive a steady diet of news showing Palestinian civilians being killed by weapons made in the USA. It is from this vast population, which feels kinship with Palestinians and feels itself to be under assault from the USA, that terrorists such as Osama bin Laden are able to find recruits.
dear disgusted
It's not "Isreal." It's Israel. Your words have more force when you spell them correctly.
It's just struck me that B "sword of gideon" Pearlman has been conspicuous by his absence recently. Maybe my complaint to Typepad has had some effect after all – it was three of his exceptionally disgusting, graphic sexual insults towards women commenters that I sent to them in the complaint.
Please please please work on the fonts and colors and user interface of your blog. Can you at least make the titles in bold, or make them stand out more? The blog looks like a continuous stream of writing, with hardly a break. It is hard to read! Believe me!
I have to agree with Paul that there are readability and other usability issues here that are likely to discourage potential readers. It would be very worthwhile to work on those.
Amber font on black background might be nice. Maybe a banner image.
i wish we had a setup where we could essentially post like this were a forum. easy format for inserting pics and quotations/etc.
Black backgrounds are a huge usability no-no for stuff you want people to read. Just about the worst mistake you can make,in fact. For text black on white or off-white background using a san serif font is the only choice if you want people to read what you publish.
It would be nice to be able to post pictures and all that, but basic readability comes first, and that needs work here.
Shirin,
If you publish the picture in blogger.com and copy the HTML of the picture in it's entirely in here, the picture should show. It is very labour intensive. If anybody knows easier way of doing it, I will be most grateful.
Pictures are important. If you search Mondoweiss under google images, the pictures from the blog do come up.
Right justifying text would make tremendous difference as well.
OK, let me see:
Toy seller and nannies with children Wast Al Madina, Beirut, Lebanon.
Thanks, Eva. You don't have to have the picture on blogger, though. It can be anywhere online.
Salah Ad Din liberating Jerusalem, outside the Old City (near Suq Al Hamidia), Damascus, Syria.
This is fun, but basic readability comes first.
- San serif font, please. Serif fonts like this one are not good for reading online.
- Clear delineation between posts.
– More space between end of one post and title of the next.
- Clear format change between title and body of post.
The above would make a significant difference without any further changes.
This blog (and the comment section) is awesome! LOL.
Seriously, you can tell who's telling the truth and who's spreading nonsense. Got a lot of informations here.
Thanks Phill and everyone.
Based on who you are thanking, you can not tell.
Thanks, MRW. The situation is much clearer to me now.
I actually nearly posted a joking remark that I could see how you might wish to decline the services of an "Eretz Yisrael Tow Truck Service!"
hahaha! I can't believe you spent your entire Friday night thinking ALL about little ol' moi! I am truly flattered! :-)