In Haaretz. These people are crazy. And our government is with them all the way? They stopped press coverage of the Gaza conflict of '08-'09 too.
The letter, signed by Government Press Office director Oren Helman, states that the flotilla "is a dangerous provocation that is being organized by western and Islamic extremist elements to aid Hamas."
I’d like to see Witty justify this the way he justifies everything else Israel is doing to gear up for another high seas slaughter.
Israel won’t survive another 10 years with Bibi and Lieberman running the show.
Lieberman is a grade A moron. He has built this flotilla up into something Israel can’t climb down from. the Media attention is massive and does more to erode Israeli legitimacy that Hamas could ever manage. I read an article recently about marriage breakup and the use of threats as a negotiating tactic and they often come from situations where people are under far too much stress and acting against their own interests.
Lieberman thinks he runs Chechnya. What a gobshite.
Labor brought out of nowhere Egyptian thief Yasser Arafat, which resulted in thousands of death, billions of dollars in expenses, life condition worsening – mostly for Palestinians of course – and 0 (zero) positive changes.
“Labor?” Who exactly are you referring to? This is a laugh riot.
Labor Party – Avoda
Actually this was intended to be posted as an answer to Seafoid’s post just below.
Laughter, laughter…
Have you seen “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”
I think that Lightbringer’s feelings got hurt. By the way he writes (and his conspicuous lack of articles where they are proper [and used automatically by a native English speaker]), I have little doubt that Lightbringer feels kinship to his fellow ex-Soviet, Lieberman, and is compelled to defend him with anything Lightbringer can muster, regardless of whether it makes sense or not.
You’ll have to to forgive me. Unless you’re Israeli, honestly, it’s almost impossible to tell the difference between any mainstream Israeli political parties from the outside. Every government has had pretty much exactly the same policies vis-a-vis ethnic cleansing and attacking civilians.
Israel showing it’s fascist colors yet again.
I think, Shingo, there is a qualitative difference between the Russian style being used by Israel today and what they were doing when Labor was in charge. If Israel was a country it would have to be sectioned in a psychiatric hospital.
Helman asks editors to inform journalists that the Israel Defense Forces have been ordered to stop the convoy of ships from reaching Gaza, given that “The flotilla intends to knowingly violate the blockade that has been declared legally and is in accordance with all treaties and international law.” These people just make this crap up as they go. My concern is that these boats will be loaded with eight year old children “hurling” stones at the IDF. We all know that stones “hurled” by eight year old children really hurt and the IDF will be forced to shoot them all in the head as usual. I mean what other choice do they have?
What treaties and what international law? The asinine way these people operate is to presume that journalists know nothing and will believe barefaced lies. Threats from bullies are usually counterproductive. They hysteria emanating from Israel is very revealing of the weakness of their arguments, and their fear that the world is gradually waking up to them. Their desire to continue their stranglehold on the media, with their protection racket, is indicative of their fear that the fantasy they have constructed over years can easily be deflated, leaving their lies and cruelties exposed to all.
Watcher, the heart does go out to the armor-clad, armed-to-the-teeth troopers terrified of 8 year olds hurling stones, doesn’t it?
Amira Hass , Haaretz superstar, is on the flotilla.
She reminds me of Finkelstein. A Jew who understands Jewish history, who had parents who made sure she did. A humanist, a sadly very rare onein the Israeli context. When she sees Gaza she sees Bulgaria 1944, not something out of Torah.
link to haaretz.com
Thank you for the link to the story on haaretz; it’s well worth reading. Here’s something that surprised me–the ONE country that cares about its citizens in the flotilla is Ireland:
“The Canadian government has announced it does not support the flotilla, viewing it as a provocation against Israel. Other governments have had a similar reaction to the effort in response to the participation of their nationals. Only the Irish government has called on Israel to refrain from violence in response to the flotilla.”
As the Algerian war was tearing French society apart–a new constitution had to be instituted, colonels opened fire on de Gaulle’s motorcade, there was a putsch led by Generals–Jean Paul Sartre wrote the following:
“France in the past was the name of a country; let us take heed that it does not become the name of a neurosis.”
yeah
Better become caliphate but not neurosis
I’m sorry, are you objecting to Jean Paul Satre? Or are you embracing colonialism?
Good one.
Wise words Miura, and ones that America and Americans would do well to heed. Given the last decade they are more prescient that most would think.
Of course America’s problems are bigger than Israel, but Israel is going down and will attempt to take America with it, just like a drowning man.
i find all this talk of “provocation” over a political protest a bit strange. it’s starting to make israel sound less like a western country, and more like china. “israel says talk of taiwan independence is a provocation.” “israel says honoring the Dalai Lama is a provocation.” all one need do is exchange names, and our white house sounds like the mouthpiece for china/israel.
but maybe i’m just seeing this in the moment. does the USG refer to israeli settlements as provocations?
“i find all this talk of “provocation” over a political protest a bit strange.”
Because you know too little of this story.
Few facts:
Hamas has set as it’s major goal destruction of State of Israel
Hamas was democratically elected by Gaza population
Naval blocade was set up to disallow weapons shipment to Gaza
The day Hamas accepts Israel’s right to exist, blocade will be lifted
Now, why is this “peace” flotilla is a provocation?
It is a provocation because they are demanding from Israel to actually allow Hamas to continue it’s acts of war, which isn’t going to happend of course.
So flotilla organizers have to make it as bloody as possible, for which they have at their disposal sufficient quantities of young ill-educated brainwashed muslims how will happily become martyrs with pleasure simply because every shahid gets afterlife with 72 virgins and stuff.
Lightbringer, research Hostage’s posts here. Educate yourself. You sound like an uneducated moron.
Yawn. Comic book stuff.
The flotilla has nothing to do with Hamas’s military objectives, whatever they may be.
The ‘destruction of the State of Israel’ is an example of Zionist hysteria and emotional point-scoring rhetoric.
The only true destruction being wrought is that which Israel regularly inflicts upon the Palestinian people.
It’s Palestine that is occupied, not Israel. It’s the Palestinians losing their lives at a rate of 5 to 1 for civilians in general and 10 to 1 for children. NOT Israel.
It’s the Palestinians who are losing their homes, their lives, and their way of life. Their dignity is being taken from them by Israel – not the other way around.
Israel is the military superpower in that region, that has regularly punished both Hamas and the people of Gaza OR Hezbollah and the people of South Lebanon, despite the respective terrorist/revolutionary/resistance/whatever-you-want-to-call-them-groups claims, proclamations, etc.
For all Hamas’s talk, they aren’t going to be destroying anything anytime soon. Meanwhile, Israel possess nukes, diplomatic immunity and cover from the world’s only superpower, etc. etc. etc.
So of course, the only thing you can say is the ridiculous over-the-top statements by Hamas leaders from time to time or outdated aspects of their charter.
Bottom-line: none of that tough-talk compares to what your racist, apartheid state does IN ACTION.
Case closed. Move along. Find better hasbara.
Nonsense. In every single statement.
I do not have a luxury of time to relate to everything, but only to few most outrageous.
“For all Hamas’s talk, they aren’t going to be destroying anything anytime soon. Meanwhile, Israel possess nukes, diplomatic immunity and cover from the world’s only superpower, etc. etc. etc.”
1 – they aren’t going to be destroying anything because IDF won’t let them, not because they don’t want.
2 – world’s only superpower? You mean USA?
ROFL
You are too naive.
“So of course, the only thing you can say is the ridiculous over-the-top statements by Hamas leaders from time to time or outdated aspects of their charter.”
So you are basically saying that any statements Hamas leaders are making is of no importance.
Why? Because they are Palestinians?
And exactly who are you to tell which aspects of their charter are outdated?
Whether or not Hamas employs violence is one thing. Whether or not Hamas agrees with Israel’s “right” to exist is a separate issue. Why should Hamas or anyone be forced to accept a specific political stance having nothing to do with its methods in order for Israel not to employ violence against boats of solidarity activists carrying letters to human rights activists in Gaza who aren’t even themselves members of Hamas?
“It is a provocation because they are demanding from Israel to actually allow Hamas to continue it’s acts of war.” Thank you once again for providing more evidence that zionism is an injust cause. As you said earlier, “just cause needs no lies.” Spot on, some blatant lies about the people on the freedom flotilla.
Lightbringer Facts:
x) “Hamas has set as it’s major goal destruction of State of Israel”
y) “Hamas was democratically elected by Gaza population”
x + y = Israel has the right to do what ever they want to the people of Gaza!
Lightbringer-logic:
a) Israel has set as it’s major goal destruction of the Palestinian people.
b) Israeli politicians was democratically elected by the population of Israel.
a + b = Palestinians has no right to resist/exist/protest!
“The day Hamas accepts Israel’s right to exist, blocade will be lifted”
The day Israel accepts a Palestinian state and treat this state as an equal, there will be no need for a flotilla.
More like a china shop.
Why is this inappropriate?
Sure one can argue whether the blockade erected by the Israeli military is legal under maritime law (different experts seem to have different opinions), but as long as the blockade *does* exist and has not been declared illegal by an appropriate authority, trying to break it is definitely illegal and might even be an act of war.
Why shouldn’t Israel define repercussions for those who participate in such an act?
Because you’re wrong. Why don’t you read the material from one of the guys who helped draft that maritime law you reference:
Illegal Blockades
The Audacity of Hope is registered in Delaware. Its flag is under US jurisdiction, should Israel decide to shoot at it, which is probably why it’s scrambling now to remove the boat from the flotilla.
Craig Murray uses separate diplomatic sources (Clinton’s) to confirm what Ray McGovern wrote about being threatened by White House.
Obama Wants More Dead Rachel Corries to Boost AIPAC Standing
MRW your first link was faulty. Try this:
link to craigmurray.org.uk
tree, check out some of the comments from murray’s comment section i posted @ the ‘Dana: ‘we’re seeing an absolute last ditch and panicked effort by the Israeli government to control the narrative of the flotilla’ ‘ thread.
“There are however fundamental flaws in this line of argument. It falls completely on one fact alone. San Remo only applies to blockade in times of armed conflict. Israel is not currently engaged in an armed conflict, and presumably does not wish to be. San Remo does not confer any right to impose a permanent blockade outwith times of armed conflict, and in fact specifically excludes as illegal a general blockade on an entire population.”
As a matter of fact Hamas is currently engaged in armed conflict with Israel.
They are? Is that because when Israel imposed the blockade they attempted to wiggle out of their Geneva Convention obligations by declaring Gaza an “enemy entity”?
At any rate, I don’t care how you respond. Your quote mentions San Remo forbidding a blockade on an entire population. You’ve just smashed your own argument about the legality of the Gaza blockade…
Of course you don’t care how I respond – which is precisely the reason why there is no chance for peace.
Oh LOL Lightbringer.
Sorry, but I’m not the reason Israel is undertaking the longest occupation in modern history and is responsible for the largest refugee population in the world today. Neither is anyone else who points out when zionists trip themselves up.
Sumud isn’t the one taking sniper shots at sixteen year old girls. You and your side are, Lightbringer.
Longest occupation in modern history is occupation of Kuril Islands – link to en.wikipedia.org – since 1945
Tibet was occupied by China in 1950.
I’m not seeing any flotillas to Kuril Islands or peace marches to Tibet.
Why is that?
Israel is responsible for Palestinian refugees who until today live in dreadful conditions?
Do you know that it is the only refugee group which was not resettled by host countries?
link to en.wikipedia.org
During 2nd half of XX century over 81 million people was displaced, but only Palestinians still are refugees, being rejected by countries they come to seek refuge in.
Also, only Palestinians were granted with refugee status for second generation.
And don’t forget – only less than 1% of all refugees returned to their homes, all the rest was resettled in host countries.
Thanks for comparing yourself with perennial human rights violator, pseudo-communist China. You just saved me an awful lot of trouble. And you know full well that YOU are keeping the Palestinians from coming home at gunpoint. It’s not that they don’t want to come back or that it’s some new phenomenon.
“And you know full well that YOU are keeping the Palestinians from coming home at gunpoint.”
True
Exactly like numerous others “human rights violators”
However the fact that ONLY Palestinians receive special treatment in host countries – i.e. no basic rights, etc. and the fact that ONLY Israel is persecuted for “human rights violations” while other countries do as they please, actually to prove that this entire anti-Israel struggle is not for justice but against Israel.
but as long as the blockade *does* exist and has not been declared illegal by an appropriate authority, trying to break it is definitely illegal and might even be an act of war.
Your understanding of the law is faulty. A blockade is not necessarily legal simply because an “appropriate authority” hasn’t ruled on it. When a government action is ruled illegal it is ruled illegal from its inception, not just from the point of the ruling on.
Likewise, “breaking” a blockade is not necessarily an illegal act, most especially if that blockade has not been tested for legality in an appropriate forum, and if the possible legality of that blockade is contingent upon certain restrictions in the manor in which that blockade is instituted. For example, even under the San Remo agreement, which probably does not apply in this case, but is used by defenders of the blockade to posit its legality, there are restrictions on the extent of any naval blockade and its likely that the flotilla’s actions fall outside of those restrictions. In other words, they are not legally subject even to a lawful blockade, and thus are not performing an illegal act. I would also add that even attempting to deliver materials that are legally blockaded is not necessarily an illegal act. The blockade may have a legal right to prevent the delivery, but it does not have the right to permanently detain you for attempting a delivery.
In the comments, Murray notes:
Sandy,
You are quite right, they should, but don’t expect much sympathy for that view here. As you are new to this site, you will soon find that the notion that Hamas bears any responsibility for the blockade not only denied, but passionately rejected here. One might have thought that the brutal terrorist group choking the life out of Gaza and threatening Israel might come in for some criticism. But no; ain’t gonna happen.
In any case, welcome to Mondoweiss, and good luck.
It doesn’t even matter whether the blockade is legal or not. It’s collective punishment.
All sorts of bureaucratic garbage was used to justify the Iraq sanctions, which resulted in great misery and suffering for the people of Iraq.
It’s not like we don’t know WHY Israel is besieging Gaza. They are at war with Hamas. They want a leadership for the Palestinians that will bend to their will.
Whatever the legal spittle turns out to be, the context is that of a rigged game.
This is a colonial conflict. Breaking the blockade does not mean tacit support for Hamas. It means support for the oppressed Palestinians in Gaza.
Compartmentalizing this conflict and focusing on Gaza, or Arab rights in Israel, or blah blah blah as all separate is a Zionist strategy to dismember the Palestinian struggle of it’s profundity and truth.
Everything is connected.
Who gives a damn if the blockade fits some technical definition of whatever.
This isn’t about smuggling weapons. There ARE NO WEAPONS on those ships. Israel is continually going to punish and fragment the Palestinians so long as they refuse to bow down to Zionism.
End of story.
For Palestinians and their supporters, we need to remain resolute in the face of Zionist propaganda and Western bureaucracy.
And as for Robert Werdine – he is a sockpuppet account of Michael LeFavour (a lousy hasbarist, who got owned by Talknic months ago). Robert pretends to be Arab, yet spouts text-book Israeli propaganda. No deviation. No creativity. Just straight Zionist nonsense. So blatantly idiotic, that you’d think the guy was a parody – but he’s not!
What a loser!
Ah! Wounded again! Is there no one here to ride to my rescue and save my honor from such infamy?
That would be like digging a hole straight down through a septic tank. While standing in the hole that’s being dug.
Wrong. It is Hamas who declared it’s goal destruction of Israel.
Wrong. We want a leadership for the Palestinians that will love their own people less than hate Israelis.
Wrong. It is not a colonial conflict. Breaking blockade does mean tacit support for Hamas for it is Hamas who will actually claim that blockade was broken due to their efforts. It means support for Hamas intentions to destroy Israel which is why it won’t ever be allowed.
Why was it inappropriate for the Nazis to kill people who resisted?
Why shouldn’t Nazi-Germany define repercussions for those who participate in acts of resistance?
I guess then the “blockade” by Egypt of the Straights of Tiran and closurre of the in 1967 which was in fact in Egypt’s own territorial waters, unlike the blockade of Gaza which is in international waters, was perfectly legal having been declared by an appropriate authority.
“I guess then the “blockade” by Egypt of the Straights of Tiran and closurre of the in 1967 which was in fact in Egypt’s own territorial waters, unlike the blockade of Gaza which is in international waters, was perfectly legal having been declared by an appropriate authority.”
Bad guess. Israel was not in state of armed conflic with Egypt at the time
So Israel is in a state of armed conflict with the whole international community? That’s where these attacks on ships are taking place.
lyn117,
Said you: “I guess then the “blockade” by Egypt of the Straights of Tiran and closurre of the in 1967 which was in fact in Egypt’s own territorial waters, unlike the blockade of Gaza which is in international waters, was perfectly legal having been declared by an appropriate authority.”
The comparison of Nasser’s 1967 illegal blockade to Israel’s blockade of Gaza betrays a misapplication of international law and misunderstanding of history.
In the aftermath of the Suez war of 1956, the UN held an emergency session in which it would deploy a United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) to the Sinai to ensure the non-belligerent status of the Sinai and the Gaza strip, and to assure Israeli maritime rights to the Gulf of Aqaba and the Straits of Tiran, recognized to be international waterways. In return for the deployment of the UNEF, Israel agreed to evacuate its forces from the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza strip, both occupied in the recent conflict.
In a 1957 speech to the General Assembly confirming Israel’s acceptance of these terms, Israeli UN rep Golda Meir stipulated that Israel’s 1957 evacuation of territory occupied in the 1956 war was contingent upon the UN’s guarantee of the demilitarization of the Sinai and Gaza, the international status of the Gulf of Aqaba and the Straits of Tiran, and the inviolability of Israel’s maritime rights there. It further stipulated that any breach of these guarantees by Egypt would constitute an act of war, and that Israel would invoke its rights under Article 51 to defend itself. Nasser’s May 1967 ejection of the UNEF, his remilitarization of the Sinai and Gaza, and his blockade of the Tiran Straits were thus acts of lawlessness and a blatant act of war.
Even he made no bones about that. He called the UNEF “a force serving neo-imperialism” and ordered their removal on May 16. Three days later they complied and that evening Cairo Radio blared: “This is our chance, oh Arabs, to deal Israel a mortal blow of annihilation.” Nasser said in a speech to a convention of Arab trade unionists on May 27:
“We knew that closing the Gulf of Aqaba meant war with Israel. If war comes it will be total and the objective will be Israel’s destruction. This is Arab power.”
When UN Secretary General U Thant met with Nasser to urge him to reconsider his actions, Nasser told him:
“We will never be in a better position than now. Our forces are well equipped and trained. We will have all the advantages of attacking first. We are sure of victory. My generals told me we will win—what would you say to them?”
What is clear in all of this is that any comparisons between Nasser’s lawless acts of aggression preceding the 1967 war, and Israel’s imposition of a blockade and other military, political, and economic countermeasures to contain Hamas terror in Gaza are not only inapt, they are baseless.
The maritime blockade serves a definite national security purpose: to lawfully interdict the shipment of arms to the Hamas terror organization, who rules Gaza. Think that’s a fiction? Consider then: in March the Israelis commandeered the Liberian flagged vessel the Victoria, found to be transporting some 50 tons of the following weaponry from Iran through Syria to Egypt destined for Gaza: 6 C-704 anti-ship missiles, 230 120mm mortar shells, 2,270 60mm mortar shells, 2 radar systems manufactured in England, 2 rocket launchers, 2 hydraulic mounting cranes for the radar system of the launchers, 66,960 7.62×39 rounds (commonly used in AK-47 Assault rifles).
In November of 2009, the Israelis commandeered the MV Francop, a cargo ship carrying 320 tons of the following weaponry from Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon: 9,000 mortar shells, 2,125 107-mm Katyusha rockets, 685 rocket fuses, 690 122-mm rockets, 21,100 F-1 fragmentation hand grenades, and 566,220 AK-47 rounds.
This is quite an arsenal, in both instances, and a reminder of why the blockade is not only lawful, but is necessary.
So much for freedom of the press, particularly given Israel will have journalists embedded on their naval ships.
Will they be embedded into the hull? Fore or aft?
Yes, and if they report on Israeli soldiers planting weapons on the flotilla ships they will have to go to jail for treason.
Ray McGovern’s piece on The Real News about this (apologize if this was posted here on a different thread since it’s a week old, and I’m sure someone caught it; nonetheless it bears repeating to counter the hasbara here.)
Gaza: Cradle of Killing.
A century of lies upon lies upon lies upon lies upon lies upon lies.
They will never last.
The only two governments in the universe that support Israel are the US and Germany and I sometimes wonder if Germany isn’t secretly content to watch Israel to self destruct with their own nazism because then they could finally wash their hands of the Jewish holocaust state.
Unfortunately American, the politician in my own country (Australia) are little more than wannabe Americans themselves and about as creative or independent as most American senators. For the most part Australia is right up there at the UN voting for Israel with the US and those half-dozen or so micro-islands in the Pacific. More so than Germany probably…
It disgusts me no end. And I think you’re probably right about Germany letting Israel self-destruct. The same thing will happen in America. Not over the course of a decade but just a few months or even weeks. For most of the world the jumping off point was the Gaza Massacre of 2008/09 or the killings last year on the Mavi Marmara. When it happens in America it will be a landslide. The senators will defect en masse and then the MSM will spend months explaining how they just discovered how terrible apartheid Israel is…
link to warincontext.org
Haaretz reports:
As the second “Gaza Freedom Flotilla” gets ready to sail this week, Irish
Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore urged Israel to avoid any repeat of last
years actions against the convoy, Irish media reported Sunday.
Israel must exercise all possible restraint and avoid any use of military
force if attempting to uphold their naval blockade, Gilmore
It would be an honor to be barred from any theocracy or Apartheid state.
Oren Helman’s letter was sent to other editors. Guardian has it too:
link to guardian.co.uk
Foreign Press Association accuses Israel of “threats and intimidation”.
Barred from the country for ten years?
Sounds like heaven.
You would think Israel would be thrilled about this flotilla so they could get the “minimum force” thing right this time. (Weren’t 6 activists killed by the same commando?) Moreover, western journalists (as well as Al Jazeera’s folks) should be encouraged to be part of the fleet. Why? So they can all video the most moral armed forces in the world in action and thereby demonstrate that the Israelis are the light unto the militaries of the nations!
Barring people from Israel is a symptom of a society that is self destructing. Naom Chomsky was denied entry. Now who was hurt more by that one act — Chompsky or the nation of Israel. The more paranoid that country becomes, well I repeat myself, the more suicidal they are. Very similar to the progression of bipolar disease in many individuals, but here we are witnessing the process at the level of not just mass psychology but an entire nation state.
Its a stupid effort to deny journalists access to cover their story, to impose any punishment.
Well said, Richard!
If Ethan Bronner or Isabel Kirchner were on board they’d be excused from the 10 year ban.
Dear Blightbringer, you can lie and obfuscate as much as you like but one thing can’t be denied. You can’t fool all the people all the time. Tell it to your Israeli friends. People are getting to recognise the pathetic robotic responses your lot keeps coming up with. Hamas is not the story you ignorant fool, the story is how you keep Palestinians enslaved and attack and murder them at will. Steal their land and say they only have themselves to blame because they voted the wrong way. The same line was used by the murderer Kissinger when he was in power in the US. Did he get a Nobel Peace Prize by the way? Anyhow while he was orchestrating bloody coups in South America he came out with, “I can’t help it if they voted for the wrong party.” I think he was talking about Chile at the time. Variations on that theme have been used time and again by Israel and their international thug, the USA. Time to come up with something new Blightbringer. And learn how to spell “blight” will you?