Those who have criticized Israel’s attack on the Mavi Marmara and thought Israel was unable to investigate its own conduct have some ‘splainin’ to do. As the New York Times reports today, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s cabinet has unanimously (!!) appointed a crack commission of experts to perform this task. Moreover, this is not a purely Israeli affair, as two internationals will be allowed to act as “observers.”
Netanyahu announced that the commission would demonstrate clearly “to the entire world that the state of Israel acts according to law, transparently and with full responsibility.” I anticipate that the usual chorus of nay-sayers, useful idiots, and plain old anti-Semites will object that Netanyahu has pre-ordained the conclusions of the commission. They’re not paying attention. Netanyahu did not even appoint himself to the commission!
While the Times article offers a plethora of valuable information, its unbiased reporter, Isabel Kershner, fails to mention the best part. One of the international observers is none other than Lord David Trimble-- who won the Nobel Peace Prize bringing peace to Northern Ireland.
Some may fear that a Northern Irish peacemaker like Lord Trimble, despite his impeccable integrity, is too unfamiliar with the Middle East to bring any expertise to his observer position. Not so!
Just last month, Trimble and a group of his international colleagues launched the "Friends of Israel Initiative," self-described as a new project in defense of Israel's right to exist. Trimble and his fellow sponsors, including former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton, an icon of rationality in the field of international relations, acted out of outrage and concern about the "unprecedented delegitimation campaign against Israel, driven by the enemies of the Jewish state and perversely assumed by numerous international authorities."
The statement added that it differs from previous similar efforts in that this initiative "is promoted by people who are not Jewish and whose motivations are based on the deep conviction that Israel is part of the Western world. In fact, today Israel is a fundamental actor for the future of the West. Although the peace process is important, the members of Friends of Israel Initiative are more concerned about the onslaught of radical Islamism as well as the specter of a nuclear Iran since these are threats affecting not only Israel, but the entire world."
But that's not all. Trimble and his crowd remind us that Israel "is a fully sovereign and responsible nation.”
Here’s where I got the info on the “Friends of Israel Initiative” of Lord Trimble. I went to google.com and typed in "Trimble" and "Israel," and got to this: -------. Go ahead, click on it; don’t be shy. Now it did take me about 27 seconds to find this article, but if you work for the MSM and your day was just too busy, you can always delegate such tasks to your staff.
Lord Trimble’s background of knowledgeable impartiality on the Israel/Palestine conflict stands in sharp contrast to that of Professor Christine Chinkin, the femme fatale of the Goldstone Commission, who had condemned Israel’s conduct months before accepting her position. While the Goldstone hacks supposedly were gathering “evidence” in Gaza, Chinkin reportedly spent her evenings wining and dining her way through the best resorts and restaurants of “the Strip”, as it is called by Luxury Travel Magazine.
It is rumored that her favorite dish was Iranian caviar, which Gazans consume in abundance, proving that Chinkin fell victim to the “Stockholm Syndrome,” identifying with her captors (who would have murdered her and her family had she come to an unsatisfactory conclusion).
And, I almost forgot to remind everybody of the Nobel Peace Prize scoreboard:
Trimble 1, Chinkin 0.
So now we can relax, knowing that Israel’s very own impartial commission, with impartial foreign observers, will impartially get to the bottom of the surprise Turkish assault on Israeli sovereignty. In a world starved for good news, who can complain?
Ulster Unionists have a natural affinity for Zionist colonialism, as the National Party supporters of apartheid in South Africa did, as documented in the recent book The Unspoken Alliance.
lysias – you overlook why Ulster Unionists have such a natural affinity for Zionist colonialism, it is because they are religious settlers themselves. From wikipedia:
The Plantation of Ulster (Irish: Plandáil Uladh) was the organised colonisation (or plantation) of Ulster—a province of Ireland—by people from Great Britain. Private plantation by wealthy landowners began in 1606, while official plantation controlled by King James I of England and VI of Scotland began in 1609. All land owned by Irish chieftains the Ó Neills and Ó Donnells (along with those of their supporters) were confiscated and used to settle the colonists. This land comprised an estimated half a million acres (4,000 km²) in the counties Tyrconnell, Tyrone, Fermanagh, Cavan, Coleraine and Armagh. Most of the counties Antrim and Down were privately colonised.
The “British tenants”, a term applied to the colonists, were mostly from Scotland and England. They were required to be English-speaking and Protestant. The Scottish colonists were mostly Presbyterian and the English mostly Anglicans. The Plantation of Ulster was the biggest and most successful of the Plantations of Ireland. Ulster was colonized so as to prevent further rebellion, as over the preceding century, it had proven to be the region most resistant to English control.
Contrary to commentators on another website I will never link to, when Irish nationalists used to say “Brits out!”, they didn’t just mean that the British Army and Civil Service should leave, they meant that all the settlers, many of whose families have lived in Ireland for 400 years, should also leave. Now that we are all part of the EU, they probably regard the settlers as the immigrants they are.
This undoubtably gives David Trimble a special understanding of the Zionists’ predicament and means that he will deal appropriately with the indigenous population.
The plantations are also the reason that the Irish Irish tend to be strong supporters of the Palestinians. They know what it is to live under a brutal foreign occupation.
Not to mention a fair bit of sectarian supremecy as animated by his mate The Good and Very Reverend Ian Paisley.
That’s TOTALLY unfair!
What happened was, the Israelis were trying to decide between two Irish Nobel laureates..David Trimble and Mairead McGuire.
Finally, it came down to a coin toss and David won.
Which probably explains why the report will issued on Sunday, July 4th, for the eager American masses foregoing the lazy-day celebrations to await this tome.
The Case for an Impartial Turkish Inquiry
by Ahmed Amr / June 14th, 2010
(excerpt)
“There is an unmistakable stench in the air. It seems to me that the Israelis are trying to cover up for more than just a ‘botched’ raid. They’ve killed tens of thousands of innocents before and gotten away with it. Jerusalem and its proxies in the American mass media didn’t even get this worked up over the Goldstone report that documented their criminal war spree in last year’s carpet bombing of Gaza. What gives? What is it about this single act of mass murder on the high seas that has Netanyahu and the Americans so concerned? Getting the answer to that question should be the focus of the Turkish inquiry. Did the Israeli cabinet give orders to use deadly force on the high seas and did they specifically target Turkish nationals? Was that the reason for the night attack? Is that why they confiscated evidence and kept sixty journalists incommunicado for two days? Is that why they don’t want their own officers to testify?”
link to dissidentvoice.org
What’s the point of having an investigation anyway? The findings have already been announced. It doesn’t matter how many Irishmen are observing. This from the Forward today:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of Monday’s cabinet meeting that the main goal of the Gaza flotilla probe is to prove to the world that the Israel Navy operation on the Gaza-bound aid ship was appropriate and met international standards.
I think the term “probe” is not correct though. I think “infomercial” is more fitting.
“I would like Squeaky Fromme and Tex Watson to lead the impartial investigation of my actions.”
Charles Manson
shortly I hope to see that Israeli government actions and policies are no longer the issue and that the relentless torrent of money sent to the Israeli government by the U.S. is. Libraries are closing in the U.S.; Schools are deteriorating. Every dollar sent to Israel is a dollar taken from American children. that, I suggest is, or should be, the next big issue. $100,000,000,000 is enough.
You are overlooking what are sure to be stellar contributions from the Canadian brigadier-general, with his stalwart experience in military cover-ups from Rwanda to Somalia.
But just to be sure, neither of the foreign observers gets a vote: what’s the point, when Bibi has already announced what the result of the “inquiry” is to be?
Sorry, I was forgetting his more recent service, covering up Canadian military implication in the torture of prisoners in Afghanistan (lawyer-client privilege).
Don’t be surprised if this guy is replaced by another military genius – oh, say, Richard Kemp.
They’re not paying attention. Netanyahu did not even appoint himself to the commission!
To the contrary, Samel, it is you who is not paying attention.
The fact of the matter is that the flotilla massacre was an international incident, and as such requires international intervention and inquiry.
Netanyahu has previously made clear that any inquiry into the matter must be focused first and foremost on the organizers of the flotilla itself. This means that even if the inquiry results in any findings, they will only support the Israeli Hasbara narrative. If you think that Netanyahu’s lack of involvement in the commission will result in its findings not bearing his fingerprints, you are sadly mistaken. Polls conducted and discussed here have conclusively laid to rest what the Israelis have to say about the raid, and more than 90% of them support the IDF’s massacre of the activists.
And the jab taken at the dissenters, as being “useful idiots or anti-semites,” has not gone unnoticed. Is this a revelation of your sympathy with the Zionist cause, or a case of unbridled optimism at a hint of Israeli responsibility towards its actions? In either case your stand is unwarranted. The Zionist enterprise has always been a morally bankrupt movement before the state of Israel came into being.
Should you ever forget that, remind yourself of the Gaza slaughter they call Operation Cast Lead and the unanimous and vitriolic rejection and slander of the Goldstone report by all quarters of Israeli society and Zionist groups. Not even B’tselem raised its voice against the chorus of cries calling Goldstone a traitor and the report invalid.
You are living in a fool’s paradise if you believe this inquiry will lead to justice or even an impartial investigation. The presence of two token internationals (one who seems firmly a believer of Hasbara) will not have any sway as the criminal finds itself innocent.
hehehe… And the Israelis and their supporters will just let the delegitimizing campaign will “fade away” (like the antisemitism charge) –
“…UN John Bolton, an icon of rationality in the field of international relations, acted out of outrage and concern about the “unprecedented delegitimation campaign against Israel, driven by the enemies of the Jewish state and perversely assumed by numerous international authorities.” ”
Hah! :) Sorry sherbrsi, I am just having a little fun
VR, the icon stuff was my own, but the quote is absolutely genuine
um…I’m pretty sure Samel’s piece is a parody, sherbrsi.
oh, so it seems.
The format of the article is a little too informational, rather than sarcastic, to convey what seems to be a parody.
But, I stand by my post, redirected to the Hasbarats who will inevitably be using this clearly orchestrated act to wash Israel’s hands off its crimes.
sherbrsi – it is called irony.
Blackadder III, Amy and Amiability
I personally, have a very high MDR of it.
we really need an ignore button. i really have little patience for people with such a piss poor satire detector.
Yes we do need an ignore button. That way, we can all ignore Witty.
Wow! How did you guess? I mean, maybe my piece wasn’t that funny, but I didn’t really expect that from sherbrsi. I think even hayate got the joke. And why did sher think Phil would post this if it were serious?
FWIW David, I thought it was devilishly funny.
..hard to top the hair-raising absurdity of Israel’s own declarations, though. They are a laugh riot without much need for embellishment.
Sadly, this type of material would be welcomed on fox news.
You’d get a raise and would be next in line for Glen Beck’s job.
You’re just too good David…hehe
And why did sher think Phil would post this if it were serious?
I don’t think Phil uses any sort of filter when allowing posts of dissenting nature. I mean, sure he must have editorial guidelines, but he is pretty receptive to opposing points of view. I am thinking along the terms of Taylor’s article which invited a lot of criticism, this didn’t seem to be too far from that track of reasoning when taken on face value.
As for your article, you have no idea how easily your writing could pass off as a justification from the Hasbara side. As it was presenting new information, rather than being ironic on existing knowledge, I felt that you were reporting your opinion besides covering new developments that had not being covered on this site before.
Nevertheless, I acknowledge that I overreacted and misunderstood the spirit of your post. Since your writings are usually reasonable and well-constructed, I should have known better.
OK, brsi, I’ll try not to tease you about it.
Funny David. You should post this on the Onion. Only if Alan Dershowitz was observing could it be considered fair and honest.
I can’t wait to see how the commission works. Will we see the Israeli footage from the helicopter? Not a chance in hell!
Netanyahu and his pals are like casino goons running this operation.
I see your Alan Dershowitz and raise you an Elie Wiesel.
I cannot believe my eyes reading this. Cannot.
“I cannot believe my eyes reading this. Cannot”
Always the best policy. They don’t call them “lying eyes” for nothing, you know. And there ain’t no way, or so I am told by the song, to hide your lying eyes. Sad, but true, maybe.
Hey..I can’t see what people are complaining about. Perhaps you don’t recall that the Israelis conducted a very serious investigation into allegations of misconduct during Cast Lead. Two IDF soldiers who stole someone’s credit card were apprehended and punished!
link to haaretz.com
But nothing will satisfy you anti-Semites, will it?
Careful DC, sherbrsi might verbally bite you! hehe
Oh, sorry decentjew, I meant DJ
Similarly, the IDF will surely punish the soldier(s) who stole a flotilla passenger’s credit card. Now that’s a serious crime, compared to murder, say.
Maybe they’ll put Ariel Sharon on the commission. Merely being in a coma shouldn’t disqualify a war criminal.
True – why should the comatose peoples of the world be denied representation on this commission? We already have an Irishman and a Canadian.
I doubt whether David Trimble characterizes himself as an Irishman, most likely he would say he is an Ulsterman. Of David Trimble’s Nobel Peace Prize Award, Derry journalist Eamon McCann is alleged to have described Trimble winning the Nobel Peace Prize as winning the lottery and not buying a ticket.
As for a retired Supreme Court justice, Yaakov Tirkel, was he picked because he is suffering from dementia? I only ask because he is having memory problems. From Haaretz
great idea. It will be like Weekend at Bernies.
1st para : ahahahaha
2nd para : wait, is he serious ?
3rd – 4th para : damn, he is !
5th para : “Friends of Israel Initiative” ! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Well played, David, well played…. almost got me…
You do realize, I hope that the Friends of Israel initiative is quite genuine, as were all the quotes. The sarcasm, or irony (I forget which) outside the quotes was mine.
yeah yeah, don’t worry, I got it, that’s what is really funny to me :)
“unprecedented delegitimation campaign against Israel” sounds like a punchline in the mouth of Jerry Seinfeld
If there is to be an investigation, the why is the IDF commando, who murdered 6 aid workers receiving a medal?
We do not know Shingo, except that Zionism is a serious step toward losing your mind, they cannot figure out the tautology – or plainly how stupid they look (because they are quite stupid, stupid murderers…).
Addendum – all quotes guaranteed real; see for yourself
According to ynet link to ynetnews.com
the impartial commission will not bother to hear testimony from the actual soldiers involved. Netanyahu “has been insisting that the Israel Defense Forces’ soldiers would not be questioned, meaning that the investigation procedure will use military debriefings and the findings of the committee appointed by IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi.” This committee “will hear testimonies from the prime minister, defense minister, other senior ministers and the chief of staff.” (Presumably questioning the soldiers themselves will cause them to relive the near-lynching and exacerbate their PTSD.)
So let’s get this straight. The IDF Chief will appoint a committee who will hear from Netanyahu, Barak, and the IDF Chief himself. The Committee will then make findings based upon that testimony. Then the Commission, including Friends of Israel founder Lord Trimble, will review the IDF Committee’s findings and other military debriefings, and come to conclusions about what happened on the Mavi Marmara. With both a Committee and a Commission, there will be checks and balances to ensure accuracy and credibility.
While some cynics might smell a fix, Washington takes a more realistic view. According to the Kershner article, “the White House press secretary issued a statement hailing the Israeli announcement as an `important step forward.’ The statement added that `the structure and terms of reference of Israel’s proposed independent public commission can meet the standard of a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation,’ as sought by the United Nations Security Council.”
According to ynet, the US State Dept concurred, as its spokesman expressed approval of the plan: “We understand that the international participation in investigating these matters will be important to the credibility everybody wants to see.”
So the wishes of the international community as expressed by the Security Council will be scrupulously honored after all.
Nine men of swarthy complexion and even darker motives may have lost their lives, but some good will come out of this so-called tragedy. The Obama Administration has demonstrated that when push comes to shove, it is quite capable of pressuring Israel to live up to its obligations to the international community and conduct a credible, transparent investigation of its own conduct. When I think of how the Bush Administration, or a McCain Administration, probably would have let the Israelis get away with a bogus investigation, it makes my blood boil.
Sherbrsi, what do you think? (Sorry, could not resist.)
You know that when the White House press secretary hails something as “an `important step forward.’ ” that it is sure to get nowhere.
Maybe to the side?
Yes, they’ll get fined for jaywalking on the boat!
The Israelis are compromising their own security just to ease the blockade on Gaza!
They are putting their lives at risk JUST so people like YOU will quit picking on them, but you just can’t resist, can you? You just can’t help attacking Jews.
Even if they allow in pasta AT THEIR OWN RISK, you’ll find something to abuse them over.
Well get this, buster. I’ve got the tefillin out and I’m gonna go daven* for Israel right now, so they stay safe!
* I think it means pray or something.
“* I think it means pray or something”
You think? And you call yourself “decent”? Did you get Bar Mitzvahed? Did it hurt?
Israel is redefining basic tenets of criminology and criminal justice where the criminal himself is now in charge of investigating his own crime. Israeli contribution to the advancement of human condition is indisputable. So what’s next, one might ask? Rape victims investigated and charged for indecency? Rapists compensated for suffering intolerable provocations?
Linked from Craig Murray’s blog, here is a very interesting piece about the US defense of the flotilla raid, and its reluctance to allow an independent investigation :
link to emptywheel.firedoglake.com
and
If I understand correctly, the US surely does NOT want a real investigation because it will shed light on its own policies – basically treating EVERY intervention as part of an armed conflict, thereby loosening up the legal framework for WHO can be targeted (anybody can be a “terrorist”) and how to behave. Pretty disturbing stuff.
Any lawyers out there should be able to interpret this better.
This is an outright farce.
The average age of the 3 members of the comittee is 85.
‘Lord David’ Trimble is a Scottish ex-ruler of Northern Ireland whose Nobel Peace Prize is worth about as much as Obama’s.
On the very day of the attack, it was announced that:
“Initiated and led by Spain’s former prime minister Jose Maria Aznar, a group of international leaders is to meet in Paris on Monday night to launch the “Friends of Israel Initiative,” a new project in defense of Israel’s right to exist.
The leaders – who include the Nobel Peace Prize laureate David Trimble, Peru’s former president Alejandro Toledo, Italian philosopher Marcelo Pear, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton and British historian Andrew Roberts – say they seek to counter the attempts to delegitimize the State of Israel and its right to live in peace within safe and defensible borders.
Their launch meeting Monday will be addressed by the former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Dore Gold. On Tuesday, they will release a formal manifesto at a press conference in the French capital.”
link to findarticles.com
I only know a little about Aznar, Trimble, and Bolton, but I’ve seen more of Dore Gold, the nauseating little creep who popped up on TV every time Ariel Sharon’s crimes needed a gloss.
Obama’s ‘approval’ of the Israeli proposal to put together a (small, and controllable) bunch of geriatric marionettes plus a Punch and Judy of ‘international observers’ is on a par with his total lack of any declared sympathy (let alone indignation) for the murder of a US citizen or the piratical attack on a US-flagged ship.
It will not cut much ice with the rest of the world, but then, nor does anything else he says or does.
Great analysis of the commission at link to syds-blog.blogspot.com
Obviously this commission was not chosen to have any teeth – how can they with an average age of 85?
From Haaretz:
“But Netanyahu’s panel will have no powers, not even those of a government probe, and its proposed chairman does not believe in such a panel. In an interview to Army Radio, Tirkel said there is no choice but to establish a state committee of inquiry. He opposed bringing in foreign observers and made clear that he is not a devotee of drawing conclusions about individuals and dismissing those responsible for failures. When a Haaretz reporter confronted Tirkel about these remarks, the former justice evaded the question saying, “I don’t remember what I said.”
link to haaretz.com
So the man is not only ancient, but ga-ga.
This commission is blood libel in action. An own goal.
Making such a poor effort to appear impartial will only make the Israeli position worse in the long term.
But it’s certainly clear we can’t expect much of Obama. Hard to know what his personal agenda is at this point.
My guess is that after the embarrassment of the Goldstone report, where the US had to distance itself from the results of a very thorough and professional investigation, Obama and Netanyahu tried to avoid a repeat. Perhaps N convinced O that the Israeli commission would appear to be bona fide, with “jurists” and “international participation.” Now that it has become so painfully obvious that the commission is a farce, will they proceed anyway? Will Obama continue to support this? Will the UN persist and conduct its own inquiry, without Israeli participation, as happened with Goldstone?
Obama may be worried about mid-term elections and AIPAC contributions. He’s a politician and he doesn’t want to be responsible for a republican takeover. This would damage him during his 2012 reelection.