Alan Sabrosky in the Salem-News of Oregon…
In this case, as in previous instances of Israeli violations of international law, nothing has been done. Indeed, there has been almost no coverage of the incident anywhere in the mainstream media, and a shameless silence from sheep-like political leaders almost everywhere
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- ‘In the name of humanity!’ Israeli atrocities are pummeled on British television
- A Simple Test of the Times’ Courage
- Bromwich: NYT authority Morris sees Palestinians as ‘animals not yet inducted into full humanity’
{ 43 comments }
Sailing of Spirit of Inhumanity was a simple act of terrorist support.
I think there have been a half-dozen Free Gaza boats derailed so far by sheer illegal force–you'd think that would be a pattern worthy of MSM attention sandwiched between the bloated coverage of the song and dance man.
"Piracy?"
When a boat is seized for ransom, that is piracy. When a boat is seized to prevent humanitarian aid from reaching oppressed people, that is ideology.
True, but also when a boat seized in international waters and steered to a land the boat people never intended to visit, where they are jailed, that is theft of publicity and the right to know necessary for responsible citizens.
What else would you call it? They seized a civilian ship of a foreign country by force in international waters and kidnapped everyone on board. That's piracy by definition. Israel's argument that Gaza is a zone of conflict is nonsensical, since the conflict as such ended months ago.
It's piracy motivated by ideology. Ransom has nothing to do with it. Sometimes pirates just steal from the ship, or steal the ship itself. Which the Israelis basically did. That they haven't demanded ransom is irrelevant. They've still taken the ship and kidnapped everyone aboard.
Only if you assume the MSM is interested in reporting important news rather than pushing some agenda of their own. The MSM isn't monolithic and is divided into factions, but it seems that most of those factions, regardless of their disagreements in other areas, agree on not reporting anything the Israelis don't want known, or reporting it only in a blatantly skewed manner to conform to Israeli hasbara.
The boat was intentionally committing civil disobedience. They got arrested, and treated basically humanely. They didn't get the press that they had hoped. They can try again and again. Their goal is press, much moreso than to deliver the goods. The goods are a prop.
Which is why most Americans could give a shit less. Adding McKinney to the fray only cheapened the event. Most Americans believe she is one nut short.
For the Israelis the goal is to keep goods out, since they were willing to take the (obviously small) risk of bad press.
@Donald Actually, Israel is sending the cargo on to the Palestinians. So quit whining. The issue was the attempt at running the blockade, not what they were carrying. The problem is that there is no way to know from the outside whether a boat is smuggling humanitarian goods or weapons. So no boats are allowed while the Palestinians remain at war with Israel. If that inconveniences them, they are welcome to surrender any time they want. The Israelis told them to turn around. They refused to do so, so they got arrested.
Your intellectual dishonesty is reaching new heights. Israel has no legal authority over the Gaza coast, so they have no right to tell anyone not to dock there. To say they were "arrested", while literally true insofar as to "arrest" literally means to "stop", is misleading because it suggests intervention by proper legal authority. We do not commonly say that Somali pirates "arrest" people on a ship, for example. What Israel has done is no better than what Somali pirates do. The goods are only a prop if you assume the people on the boat had no intention of delivering them to the people of Gaza. They may well have expected to be intercepted, but delivering the goods was the main goal regardless. Getting press coverage for being prevented from delivery was secondary. The other interesting question you seem to miss (probably intentionally) is why this incident is receiving so little attention from the American press, particularly considering the imprisonment of a former Congresswoman. If Iran had done this, it would be all over the news, as I'm sure you realize. Yet Israel does it and the mainstream media pays no attention.
The blockade is illegal in the first place. Israel has no legal right to control access to the Gaza coast. It's not part of Israel and technically it's not even occupied anymore. It's Palestinian territory. Like Witty, you use the word "arrested" in a misleading way. We don't say that Somali pirates "arrest" the crew of a ship when they seize it. What Israel has done is no better than that.
a shame MSM didn't report on this; they could have provided so much interesting background: ~early Jewish pirates: http://www.livius.org/ja-jn/jewish_pirates/pirate... "The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus writes in his Jewish Antiquities that in 63 BCE, two Jewish leaders, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, arrived at Damascus, where each of them explained to Pompey why he, and not the other one, should be made king of the Jews. During this debate, Hyrcanus accused Aristobulus of organizing "piracy at sea" (Jewish Antiquities 14.43). Josephus' source is Nicolaus of Damascus, the secretary of king Herod the Great and a reliable source. " ~ Then there's Norman Finkelstein's (the OTHER Norman F…") "The Other 1492," where the author states that Jews joined with Muslims from the Barbary Coast to harry Spanish ships. ~And, quite recently, Robert Kreitzler's "Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean." The author asserts that everyone from Christopher Columbus to Barbarossa to Sinon was either Jewish, crypto-Jewish, or advised by Jews, and that Jews were heavily involved in piracy, by means of which they acquired wealth to establish themselves in Amsterdam. In all, shoots to hell Michael Oren's– make that AMBASSADOR Michael Oren's — hasbara/attack on the Muslim world, "Power, Faith, and Fantasy."
Please don't presume to speak for "most Americans."
Oh, come on–you don't want goys to actually look deep into Jewish history, do you? Why make it hard for an informed goy to get or maintain a job, let alone a larger career? Can't you settle for Shrub as a Yale cheerleader or Obama as a smoker of Zionist dreams who can't quite quit the habit?
Please don't pretend to speak for " most Americans. Your version of "American" is totally contrary to what a real American is. You're just a jewish racist, Ismail.
Oooh, no, but thank you for playing. Vanna will prvide your lovely parting gifts. The blockade is an act of war. There is nothing illegal about it. I do wish you Palestinian supporters would quit throwing the word "illegal" around when you have no actual legal basis for and really mean "bad". "Illegal" is not the same as bad. It means "against the law". If you think something is illegal, cite the law you think it violates.
What internationally recognized right did Israel have to do what it did? If you don't recognize any law higher than what any internationalized recognized state in the world wants wants to do, then what does that tell the world?
Which sovereign state is Israel at war with? Acts of war committed against an entire population in order to punish sub-state actors is collective punishment. That is against international law. Maintaining effective control of an area which is not sovereign to a country is occupation. Being an occupying power means having certain responsibilities under international law. As has been documented and published again and again, Israel fails to live up to these responsibilities, and thus is in violation of international law. Denying humanitarian aid and reconstruction to an area that you have just ravaged with bombs and artillery shells is not just an act of war. It is a war crime. The goal of the Free Gaza Movement is to symbolically demonstrate, on the one hand, Israel's continuing effective control of the Gaza Strip and, on the other hand, Israel's failure to live up to the responsibilities that this effective control entails under international law.
In legal terms, piracy can only be committed by sub-state actors, so this is technically not piracy, although I think the author's intent is less to make a legal point and more to get people's attention for the more substantive discussion he then advances, which is how to hold elected representatives to account for their continuing support of Israeli violations of human rights and int'l law.
ROFL. Ridiculous. It isn't punishement, collective or otherwise. It is a military measure to prevent arms smuggling to a quasi-State. There is no rule that says you can't blockade an area just because it isn't sovereign territory. Whether the Palestinians have a sovereign nation or not, they are a people. They select their own leaders, they identify as a people. If you think Israel should just treat them as individuals, with no sovereign rights, then Israel could just deport them since that would make the territory Israel's and the people non-citizens. Oooh, no, sorry. Food, you have to give (and Israel is), concrete, nope. You think the Allies let the Axis import building materials before they surrendered? Also, if you are going by the Geneva Conventions, read carefully. A lot of the articles only apply when the enemy obeys them too. In some ways, they are more contracts than laws.
The right to conduct a war within the bounds of international treaties of course. You are the one saying what they did is illegal. So you show me a law that says that a ship chugging along toward interdicted waters that refuses to turn aside isn't subject to search and seizure.
Thats why they should continue doing it, but it won't get press until there is actual violence.
Israel does treat them as having no sovereign rights. It effectively controls the territory, to the point of controlling birth certificate registrations. The Palestinians of Gaza have no citizenship. It's an occupation, and an occupying power has certain responsibilities, responsibilities which no int'l body responsible for int'l law thinks that Israel is fulfilling. That Hamas breaks int'l law with rocket attacks is a no brainer, but it absolutely does not give Israel the right to severely limit supplies into the area. If you think that's ridiculous, fine, but it's you and your crew versus….all those organizations and int'l bodies that specialize in the monitoring and carrying out of int'l law.
"There is no rule that says you can't blockade an area just because it isn't sovereign territory. " A blockade is an act of war, and acts of war are a violation of international law. Period. The last time Israel was blockaded, it declared the blockade an act of war, even though the blockade only affected 5% of shipping. "You think the Allies let the Axis import building materials before they surrendered?" Israel has never demanded that the Palestinians surrender and in fact, have opposed Palestinian sovereignty and self determination. "A lot of the articles only apply when the enemy obeys them too. " Rubbish. Geneva Conventions apply to signatories to the Convention.
1. It is illegal to go to war unless it is an act of self defense. 2. The blockade of Gaza is illegal 3. A blockade is an act of war. 4. No one has the right to seize a vessel in international waters.
The Israelis have to be deported to a remote Island or else, destroyed. Those are the available options if eventual peace is the goal.
Thom et al. No, It's piracy. Arrogant, power based, disrespectful, thieving, piracy.
I kind of doubt the allies stole natural resources from the axis home countries, but Israel is drilling for natural gas in that 'quasi-state'.
they are sending it after it is tampered with like all the other food and products that must go through the gastopo, but just like the gastopo every dog has their day and the illegal aparthied occupation of Palestine for the UN deserving jews to just run the media here in the usa and control all aspects is ending ….along with !
last November, at the UN, Israel voted AGAINST granting the Palestinians self determination, so Israel does not recognize any sovereign rights. In fact, Israel doesn't recognize anyone's sovereign rights. It routinely violates the air space of Syria and Lebanon.
thank you for confirming the illegitimacy of the Hamas controlled government in Gaza. They are merely sub-state actors with no legal authority!
ROFLMAO "Acts of war are a violation of international law". That is hilarious. What a moron. The blockade is an act of war however, act of war != violation of international law. The Palestinians are at war with the Israelis. The Israelis have tried to make peace with the Palestinians. The Palestinians refused. That means they do not surrender. The Geneva conventions apply to signatories. However, many specific actions and inactions are only required by the conventions only apply when the enemy obeys the conventions too. Go read them. The 4th GC specifically says that "Nationals of a State which is not bound by the Convention are not protected by it." There are some exceptions to that rule, but they are spelled out in the 4th GC itself. You do realize that the 4th GC is a treaty right? That the nations that signed it chose to be bound by it. Why on earth would all those countries tie their own hands in situations where the enemy isn't bound by it? Sorry to burst your bubble, but if you (Palestinians) don't abide by it, then Israel, by the terms of the 4th GC itself, is released from most of the provisions.
Well, Nazi eyes, that is just paranoia. The Israelis have no reason to tamper with the Palestinians food. Just curious, what tampering do you think they do? Is this the paranoia about Israel putting anti-fertility drugs in the food? Because obviously that isn't the case. Just about every story about the Palestinians includes "and his 27 brothers and sisters".
What rule post Nuremberg says you can settle in land you won by war? What was the point of the Nuremberg trials? If none. Then so be it. Merely victor's justice, as Goering always said? How can Israel point to the UN for its world-wide legitimacy, yet ignore UN resolutions? How can Uncle Sam do this? Either there are internationally recognized war crimes or not. If not, then Hitler's philosophy has indeed won.
Search and seizure by a force of a country that is violating the international laws and international agencies that gave it world legitimacy is subject to punishment by the world community. Otherwise, any country can just do whatever it wants. That was the way it was until after WW2. Israel's collective activities are very regressive. Every country always justifies its aggression in the name of "self-defense." There are no international treaties, laws, agencies that incorporate all countries except those Israel ignores. A rogue state is a rogue state. Time to "put 'er down."
I trust Human Rights Watch' analysis more than yours: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/04/30/letter-secr...
I also trust Amnesty International more than you: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE15/030...
Amnesty International said that bombing the house/armory of a Palestinian terrorist was a war crime because he and his 4 wives and 11 children decided to stay there after Israel told them the house was going to be bombed. Amnesty International is like PETA. They have some legitimate points, but a lot of their stuff is just insane. In this case, they are talking about two Lebanese Nationals. I don't know the story about Shaykh ‘Ubayd, but Mustafa al-Dirani is a terrorist leader. For purpose of argument, I will assume they both are. Lebanon is an HCP, so the GCs apply to them. They are not protected by the 3rd GC (POWs) because they are not officially members of the armed forces of Lebanon, and for various other reasons that preclude terrorists from claiming POW rights under the 3rd GC. The 4th GC applies, which allows Israel to lock up people who are dangerous to Israel's security until they are no longer dangerous. Like many people who don't understand the law, you seem to think that conditional phrases should be read as unconditional. Sorry, but when the rule is "If X, then doing Y is forbidden" and the fact is "Not X" then doing Y is not forbidden. Also, the HRW "analysis" simply assumes that the blockade is collective punishment. It also ignores the fact that the rule against collective punishment is in part III of the 4th GC, which only applies to countries/groups that obey the GCs. They are as careless with their terms as you are. They like throwing legal jargon around without the bother of figuring out what it means.
Well, I certainly don't speak for insane Americans like you.
You may be an average piece of shit but you're certainly no American. Real Americans support Israel.
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