The Orlando Sentinel has published a stirring piece on Gaza by Rasha Mubarak, who is a Palestinian-American community organizer in Orlando, explaining the role of the refugee crisis in the establishment of the ghetto that is Gaza. But it has to be balanced by a piece written by an Israeli gov’t official. First Mubarak:
Eighty percent of Gazans are descendants of refugees of cities and towns in what is now Israel who were forcibly removed from their homes and land in 1948. Forced out once, they are determined not to be forced out of Gaza. Under international law they retain the right to return to their homes and land.
The violence being brought to bear against this refugee population is only getting worse. During the latest round of carnage, Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai chillingly stated, “We must blow Gaza back to the Middle Ages, destroying the entire infrastructure including roads and water.” Gilad Sharon, son of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, aggressively asserted, “We need to flatten entire neighborhoods in Gaza. Flatten all of Gaza.”
Palestinians and Israelis (those who are outspoken against the war in Gaza) want peace. Not a peace that normalizes sieges and blockades and is limited to a cease-fire, but a peace with justice. A peace where no human life should be less valuable than another is worth pursuing.
Now here is Revital Malca, the Israeli deputy consul general to Florida and Puerto Rico (who knew there was such a post) responding with the usual talking points:
What would the United States do if rockets were routinely launched from Cuba toward cities in Florida?
Hamas’ actions are in clear violation of the most fundamental principles of international law, including the principle of distinction, which requires Hamas and other terrorist organizations not only to refrain from directing their attacks at Israeli civilians, but also to clearly distinguish themselves from their own civilian populations.
These terrorist organizations consciously and deliberately violate these principles repeatedly, by deploying weapons and command centers in densely populated areas, operating from residential areas, and exploiting the civilian population by exposing them to serious harm. By doing so, Hamas and the terror organizations in the Gaza Strip are committing war crimes.
Revital Malca: What would the United States do if rockets were routinely launched from Cuba toward cities in Florida?
No, they were not routinely fired. There was a lull (as was there in 2008, before Israel started attacking the Gaza strip).
And sure, the analogy would be more complete if you add that the U.S. had killed Cubans in Cuba beforehand. Revital, what do you expect Cuba to do when Cubans in Cuba are killed by U.S., routinely?
The IDF is consistently embedded among civilians, its buildings are in civilian neighbourhoods, and they have routinely murdered teenagers and farmers playing and working well inside the Gaza border and recently murdered a state official who even they agree was trying to prevent other factions from launching rockets. Would any country, anywhere not try and retaliate ?
Has the USA had a half century of occupation of all of Cuba? Are there “American Only” Roads in Cuba, and hundreds of American colonies, turning Cuba into an unviable collection of Bantustans? Is there some 100 year old philosophy, like for example, “Cubanism” which claims that Cubans have to leave Cuba, and make way for Americans? If all these things were true, one would expect rockets to be fired from Cuba at the United States, at the very least.