I write with a mixture of outrage and heartbreak as the news unfolds about the Israeli commandos boarding the flotilla of ships bound for Gaza, carrying wheelchairs, home building supplies, medications, playgrounds, and thousands of tons of desperately needed materials. Some 800 internationals from 50 countries sought to call attention to the Israeli blockade of Gaza through non-violent action and to provide material support to a population suffering from collective punishment begun in the 1980s and now under almost total closure. The activists hoped to make it impossible for us to ignore the siege, to highlight the humanitarian catastrophe, and to take personal action as individuals. They wanted us to see that 10% of Gazan children suffer from chronic malnutrition and two-thirds of Gazans face daily hunger. As an unreconstructed war zone where much of the civil infrastructure has been destroyed, communities are periodically engulfed in untreated sewage which also flows directly into the Mediterranean, polluting fishing waters. With a destroyed power station, residents suffer from frequent electricity blackouts, inadequate fuel to run generators, and a massively compromised health care system. And then there are the 2400 homes destroyed in the last invasion and never rebuilt. The EU foreign policy chief recently called for an end to the Israeli blockade. On May 28, Haaretz, a major Israeli newspaper, ran an editorial stating, "The government has to decide right away to resume indirect talks with Hamas, to be more flexible about releasing prisoners and to lift the siege on Gaza." Rabbis for Human Rights Israel supported the flotilla.
At 4:30 am on May 31st, Israeli soldiers boarded the boats in international waters, leaving over ten dead and sixty wounded. I am left wondering: Why is that not an outrageous act of international piracy? Will this trigger world condemnation and actual foreign policy and military consequences? After the invasions of Lebanon and Gaza, the separation wall, the checkpoints, the frequent incursions, the restrictions of movement and family reunification, the thousands of Palestinian civil society activists languishing in administrative detention in Israeli jails, is there a limit? For years, in the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinians have been killed and maimed invisibly, but now the IDF kills international peace activists apparently with impunity as well. I am reminded that Jewish suffering does not justify the excesses of Israeli military actions; that, as an Israeli activist once told me, a country without borders to its land and its behavior ultimately becomes a monster.
I admit I had a strange fantasy when I learned of this most recent flotilla making its arduous way towards Gaza. I thought, if the Israeli government were smart, they would let the boats come close to shore, peaceably remove the hundreds of unarmed internationals and send them home, and deliver the wheelchairs and concrete and medicines as a humanitarian gesture. It would have been a political victory: siege intact, few to bear witness, and a little less desperation in Gaza. But in the name of “security” the monster is devouring itself. Not only have people died, but the Israeli government has taken another step backwards in its battle for international legitimacy and given fuel to more militant resistance and hatred.
A week ago, my daughter in Seattle called after a bruising meeting at her local, politically savvy food co-op where there had been an ongoing and productive discussion about the pros and cons of selling Israeli products and the possibility of boycotting the hummus and couscous as an act of conscience to protest the Israeli occupation. A group called Stand with Us subsequently launched a barrage of emails, hysteria, and accusations of anti-Semitism, successfully squashing any opportunity for political conversation. I have seen this kind of behavior all over the country. As a mother, grounded in Jewish values and a concern for human rights for Israelis and Palestinians, appalled by the McCarthy-like behavior in my own community and the rightward swing of Israeli politics, what do I tell my children? I cannot stand with this Israel. I believe in the power of nonviolent resistance. The Palestinian people are not our enemies. I am ashamed of what this county has done in my name.
With all due respect, the rampage Israel had lead throughout much of western Europe throughout the 70s and 80s, much of which was recently dramatized in the movie Munich for the average American to see, was the norm.
Western countries, and especially the United States allowed Israel to continue acting extra-judicially and extra-territorially on the sovereign soil of many European nations. Sure, the apologist can claim that the targets were terrorists, but what about the innocent bystanders in many a European capital?
The world community, and the Zionist elements of the Jewish community, bear the full responsibility for today’s Israel. And if Israel uses its nuclear submarines or nuclear weapons to wipe out a nation or two in the Middle East, then the ultimate responsibility would lie with Germany, France and the United States.
To pretend that Israel had somehow morphed recently into a rightwing lunatic state is a flight of fancy.
And I’m sorry, Alice Rothchild, but the equal naive sentiments are being echoes by the various so-called bloggers in the liberal American community – those who blame the current escalation on the Netanyahu government.
As if the Sharon of Sabra and Shatila never was.
Who are we kidding here, the masses or ourselves?
RE: “…if Israel uses its nuclear submarines or nuclear weapons to wipe out a nation or two in the Middle East, then the ultimate responsibility would lie with Germany, France and the United States.” – Avi
SEE – Report: Israel to deploy nuclear-armed submarines off Iran coast, Haaretz, 05/30/10
(excerpts) Israel is to deploy three submarines equipped with nuclear cruise missiles [the Cruise missiles are supplied by the U.S. - J.L.D.] in the Persian Gulf, the Sunday Times reported on Sunday.
According to the Times report, one submarine had been sent over Israeli fears that ballistic missiles developed by Iran, and in the possession of Syria and Hezbollah, could be used to hit strategic sites within Israel, such as air bases and missile launchers.
Dolphin, Tekuma, and Leviathan, all German-made Dolphin class submarines of the 7th navy Flotilla, have been reported as frequenting the Gulf in the past, however, according to the Sunday Times report, this new deployment is meant to ensure a permanent naval presence near the Iranian coastline…
…The submarines could be used if Iran continues its program to produce a nuclear bomb. “The 1,500km range of the submarines’ cruise missiles can reach any target in Iran,” a navy officer told the Times….
ENTIRE ARTICLE – link to haaretz.com
Dickerson, thank you for bringing this up.
That’s one of the reasons why I worry about this and only in recent years had Mordechai Vanunu’s actions resonated with me.
Unlike Iraq which effectively had no air force and just a few old Scud missiles with which to fight an invading enemy, Iran has the population and the material capability to fight back.
Knowing this, in an effort to minimize its own casualties, Israel would seek to deal Iran one strong and decisive blow, inline with the Dahiya Doctrine. And that blow could very well be a nuclear one.
Great performance by Norman Finkelstein in a debate on Gaza on RT television tonight. Finkelstein is someone Jews can be proud of — even if a lot of Jews aren’t proud of him.
Is this debate available online?
Alice, you said, A week ago, my daughter in Seattle called after a bruising meeting at her local, politically savvy food co-op where there had been an ongoing and productive discussion about the pros and cons of selling Israeli products and the possibility of boycotting the hummus and couscous as an act of conscience to protest the Israeli occupation. A group called Stand with Us subsequently launched a barrage of emails, hysteria, and accusations of anti-Semitism, successfully squashing any opportunity for political conversation.
Alice, that was last week, before the cold-blooded, no-remorse flotilla massacre of unarmed aid workers trying to break the siege on a starving population of 1.5 million innocents. So tell us, what is your daughter going to do now?
We’re encouraged by the awakening of the Jewish community to rise up in substantial numbers and now say, Not in My Name, en masse. But have you called the White House to cancel the $3 billion in annual aid that made this possible? Did you participate in any of the insta-demos in NYC, Chicago, SF or Philly (as many progressive Jews did in NYC bearing signs saying STOP KILLING – NOT IN MY NAME)?
As for the dilemma about “what do I tell my children?” How about this: instruct your daughter to send an email back to StandWithUs, tell them to go pound sand, and implement BDS at that food co-op?
We need you desperately, Alice. Now more than ever.
“… in the name of ‘security’ the monster is devouring itself.”
Well said.