More than two weeks have passed since Israeli soldiers shot and killed Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh and, much to Israel’s chagrin, the issue is not fading into the background, as it usually does when Palestinians die at Israel’s hands.
Had Shireen been killed by the military of any other country, a thorough, transparent, and honest investigation would be virtually automatic. She was a Palestinian citizen of the United States. Yet, as we have seen in the past, the odds are against the U.S. undertaking an investigation let alone carrying one out that is independent and impartial.
But now, CNN and the Associated Press—neither of which has ever demonstrated any “anti-Israel bias,” despite occasional, baseless accusations from far-right Israeli figures and supporters—have both conducted impartial investigations that support the very strong eyewitness testimony and video evidence that we already have, and refute Israel’s counter-claims. This will add to the growing pressure on the Biden administration to launch an investigation.
That pressure has taken an unusual form: a congressional letter calling for the State Department and the FBI to investigate Shireen’s death. That letter is not just another message from the few members of Congress that speak out occasionally for Palestinian rights. It was signed by 57 members of the House of Representatives, more than one fourth of the House Democratic caucus and includes names that surely raised a few eyebrows.
While we might expect Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cori Bush, Ilhan Omar and Barbara Lee to call for a U.S. investigation into the death of a U.S. citizen at Israel’s hands, this letter was signed by some members who generally try to avoid voting against Israel. Seth Moulton, Tom Malinowski, Eric Swalwell, and others tend to support bland statements about a two-state solution but avoid controversial issues. And this is certainly controversial.
The letter was spearheaded by Andre Carson (D-IN), one of only three Muslim members of Congress, and Lou Correa (D-CA). Carson has worked with and been endorsed by J Street, which, along with Americans for Peace Now, have been supporting this bill. He is among the House members who tends to be more critical of Israel.
Correa, by contrast, has been endorsed by such groups as AIPAC and Pro-Israel America, and has been hawkish on Israel, even voting to condemn Barack Obama’s lone abstention at the United Nations on a bill criticizing Israeli settlements in 2016. That Correa would not only support a bill calling for an investigation of Israel’s involvement in what would be a war crime but take the lead on it is quite stunning.
While the letter steers notably clear of accusing Israel of Abu Akleh’s killing, it does state that Israel’s defense against the charges has been called into question. It says that “The Israeli military claimed that the victims were caught between gunfire between (sic) Palestinian militants and Israeli Defense Forces. However…Shaza Hanaysheh, another Palestinian journalist…said there were no clashes or shootings in the immediate area.” The letter noted other testimony stating flatly that there were no Palestinian fighters in the immediate area.
That’s far from a direct accusation, but in Congress it’s nearly blasphemy to even hint that Israel might have committed a war crime, as the deliberate killing of a journalist would be. But this letter was more than enough to draw a sharp response from Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog.
Herzog complained that the Carson-Correa letter didn’t acknowledge Israel’s call for a joint investigation with the Palestinian Authority, a call which the Palestinians flatly and sensibly rejected. He accuses the congressmembers of omitting “significant evidence” that has either been debunked or Israel has not presented at all.
The Israeli ambassador’s hyperbolic reaction is an indication of how badly Israel is losing the fight for public opinion. While the scene at Shireen’s funeral certainly didn’t help, the real problem is that all the evidence that has been made public and every investigation that has not been led by the very military that stands accused have all pointed to Israel’s guilt.
Nevertheless, it remains unlikely that the Biden administration will launch any kind of investigation. That should be a wake up call for every American citizen. As a matter of course, the State Department should, as part of its obligation to protect American citizens abroad, investigate what was, in any case, a wrongful and violent killing of an American citizen. But many supporters of Palestinian rights in the United States will surely wonder if it is worth pursuing such an investigation.
There would be a huge amount of skepticism about any U.S. investigation based on the U.S.’ long history of covering for and defending Israeli behavior. But that should not imply that the U.S. government is absolved of its responsibilities to its citizens. If a citizen of any country is killed abroad, that country should make certain that all the facts of that death are known, and accountability, if any is called for, is meted out.
But the United States routinely accepts Israel’s explanations for the deaths of Americans. The most infamous example of this is Rachel Corrie who, in 2003, was crushed to death under and Israeli bulldozer as she tried to protect a Palestinian home in the Gaza Strip from being demolished. Back then, many of us were active in pressing for a U.S. investigation, but to no avail. The United States accepted Israel’s claim of accidental death, and Rachel’s family fought for years in U.S. and Israeli courts but received no justice.
In January of this year, Omar Asaad, a 78 year old Palestinian American, Omar Asaad, was killed at an Israeli checkpoint when soldiers pulled him from his car, marched him to a construction site and left him bound and gagged for over an hour, causing a heart attack. The soldiers who did it were lightly reprimanded and transferred. The State Department said they were “continuing to discuss the case” with Israel, but the matter has simply dropped off the radar, much as Israel is hoping Shireen’s death will do in due course.
State and the FBI are probably the best options among U.S. agencies for conducting a legitimate investigation of Shireen’s death. But it’s hard to imagine a U.S. investigation that ended with blame falling squarely on Israel, even if all the evidence indicates that’s where it belongs, as, so far, it does.
An international investigation would stand a better chance of being fair and transparent. But we can be certain that Israel, which consistently claims that the United Nations and every international institution is bent on its destruction, would refuse to cooperate, and will reject any findings short of absolute exoneration as biased and antisemitic. That was proven quite clearly in 2009, when Richard Goldstone, an eminent South African judge who was one of the most respected international jurists in the world, was Jewish and was not only a Zionist, but had deep ties to Israel, was tapped to investigate Israel’s assault on Gaza earlier that year.
He was pilloried personally and ostracized from his community. The report itself was rejected by Israel and the United States and, while it remains part of the historical record, it had no material impact on Israel’s behavior, as subsequent assaults on Gaza have demonstrated.
Yet as grim as this outlook is, there would be one significant and tangible benefit to a State Department/FBI investigation into Israel’s killing of Shireen Abu Akleh. It would be a step—a small one, but a step—toward eroding Israeli impunity. Even a less than convincing U.S. investigation is progress from no investigations at all.
The case against Israel in Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing is strong. Israel dismissed CNN’s damning investigation as “baseless” but offered no refutation of the considerable evidence presented in CNN’s report. Their inability to substantively respond to the evidence presented beyond name-calling and far-fetched conspiracy theories that depend on eyewitnesses all lying and maintaining perfect coordination between their “lies” and the video evidence, shows how thin their defense is.
A U.S. investigation would have a tough time supporting such a thin defense. If they tried, and they likely would, it would only look more like a cover-up. It’s worthwhile to try to push the U.S. into that position. Raising the costs of covering for Israel in that way is a potentially sound strategy.
I can see that this time the outrage and calls for investigations are much louder, and it is heartening to know that there are more members of Congress joining in the calls for the truth and accountability. But how far will it go? We can have no faith that Joe Biden will do the right thing and pursue this. The US knows that Israel lies when it kills American citizens, but pretends to believe them, and go along with those lies.
Israelis are masters of deception. They are experts at doctoring audios, videos, and trying to cover up their crimes, especially when they have the opportunity to blame the other side, or make things murky. How can anyone trust them to investigate themselves, and be fair and square, when they have an ugly record of investigating themselves, and either finding it was a “mistake”, or exonerate themselves of any wrong doing.
Palestinians have to be safeguard not only from the IDF thugs, but also from the Jewish supremacists/terrorist settlers. Have any American leader condemned these attacks?
“Opinion | ‘Death to Arabs’: Palestinians Need International Protection From Israel’s Racist Jewish ThugsIsrael’s right-wing extremists, Netanyahu’s allies, are taking to the streets, fueled by Jewish supremacy and anti-Palestinian hate, protected by the police and emboldened by their unprecedented power in the Knesset.
The images of hundreds of religious Zionist activists in occupied East Jerusalem chanting “Death to Arabs” come as no surprise to Palestinians. In fact, they are commonplace, daily occurrences, the result of decades of racist policies, laws and hateful anti-Palestinian incitement.
But there is also a new element to these attacks: the role that Israel’s prime minister is playing. Netanyahu’s allies, particularly the Kahanist-supporting MKs, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, called on their fanatic youth to take over the streets, a show of force and a mob to harass and assault Palestinians. It was clear that there was coordination with the police; they were supported by politicians; and from the government – not a single condemnation to date.”
Haaretz
It is time Biden stopped his blind devotion to the zionists, and do the right thing – let there be an independent investigation done by neutral parties, and if Israel is found guilty of murder, and caught lying, it should be held accountable and sanctioned, it is the least we can do for one of America’s citizens – Shireen Abu Akleh.
From Foreign Policy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/05/25/shireen-abu-akleh-funeral-israeli-palestinian-conflict-journalist-killing/
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Why Israel Is Afraid of Palestinian Funerals… Shireen Abu Akleh was neither a terrorist nor a dissident….Dror Sadot, the spokesperson for B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, said the Israeli police’s actions at Shireen Abu Akleh’s funeral were “horrific” and exposed “a broader, more routine aspect” to Israel’s approach toward Palestinians mourning their dead. Sadot said that Israeli security forces’ actions at the journalist’s funeral are part of a pattern of Israeli abuses at Palestinian funerals that B’Tselem had documented over the years, including dismantling of mourning tents, destroying memorials and murals commemorating the dead, and “violent incursions into the homes of grieving families, as was also the case with the Abu Akleh family,” as police had stormed her home hours after she died.
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Israel Killed Reporter Abu Akleh—but US Media Disguised the Facts – FAIR
“Israel Killed Reporter Abu Akleh—but US Media Disguised the Facts” by Robert Andersen, May 20/22EXCERPT:
“Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, a well-known & much-loved Al Jazeera reporter who covered Palestine for two decades, was shot & killed by an Israeli sniper May 11 while documenting an Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the Occupied West Bank.
“Footage of the moments after her death show Abu Akleh, still wearing her press vest & helmet, lying face down on the ground below a tree, as Shatha Hanaysha, another Palestinian journalist & writer for Mondoweiss, sits by her side & attempts to reach out to her. Writing for Mondoweiss (5/11/22), Yumna Patel described the video: A young Palestinian man is then seen jumping over a wall behind Abu Akleh & Hanaysha. When he attempts to retrieve Abu Akleh’s body, another round of sniper fire can be heard, and he quickly takes cover behind the tree.
“No armed combatants are there. Journalists are shouting for an ambulance. The young man tries a second time to remove Abu Akleh, but fails. He manages to help a shaken Hanaysha hide behind the tree. The footage is harrowing.
“The Qatar-based news network interrupted its broadcast (5/10/22) with breaking news reporting that ‘an Al Jazeera correspondent has been shot by Israeli forces’ & killed in Jenin. The network called it ‘deliberate,’ adding that the killing of Abu Akleh was a ‘heinous crime which intends to only prevent the media from conducting their duty.’
“Reporter Nida Ibrahim, on the phone from Ramallah, recounted the announcement of Abu Akleh’s death by the Palestinian Health Ministry, saying she was shot in the head. Her voice broke up as she talked about Abu Akleh’s dedication, her long experience covering Palestine, & the grief Ibrahim and her fellow journalists were experiencing. She carried on, saying, ‘This is the reality of Palestinian journalists covering the news’; unfortunately, they find themselves part of the story.” (cont’d)
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“News of Abu Akleh’s death spread across the world at the speed of the internet, with outpourings of grief, tributes, & international condemnation for her killing. Journalists who have covered the Israeli occupation of Palestine provided context, hitting Twitter with art, videos, eyewitness testimony & images from Palestinian activists, advocacy groups & press critics, among many others. Clips of Al Jazeera footage were prominent.
“Late Wednesday, the Israeli military posted an online video & an implausible scenario to deflect blame for the murder, a denial that, with a few notable exceptions, corporate media would assiduously repeat. Yet the documentation & eyewitness accounts continued to mount.
“Mondoweiss‘s Hanaysha told Al Jazeera (5/11/22): ‘The [Israeli] occupation army did not stop firing even after she collapsed. I couldn’t even extend my arm to pull her, because of the shots. The army was adamant on shooting to kill.’
“Electronic Intifada (5/11/22) included the Twitter post of another Palestinian-American journalist—Dena Takruri, host of Al Jazeera‘s Direct From—who said, ‘Shireen was shot near her ear, where the helmet didn’t cover. This was a shot of extreme precision.’
“Abu Akleh was taken in a private vehicle to a hospital in Jenin, where she was declared dead. The shot to the head killed her instantly. An Al Jazeera producer, Ali Samoudi, was also shot in the back by an Israeli gunman, but will recover.
“At the hospital, Samoudi told reporters, ‘We were covering the raid of the Israeli occupation forces when they suddenly opened fire at us; the first bullet hit me & the other killed Shireen.’ He went on to say, ‘They killed her in cold blood.'”
The Palestinians have added the name of Shireen Abu Akleh, to the list of 50 journalists and media workers deliberately assassinated by Israel through the years. This may include the bombing of a media building too. In a press conference in London today they said it will be submitted to the ICC. Officials mentioned that Israel has been gifted to kill with Impunity, which was very devastating. They also mentioned that Israel changed its story SEVEN TIMES. Damn liars.
It will be very interesting to see how those who enable this killer nation will respond. The usual effort to attack those who are investigating? Will they try to use their clout and squash the investigation? Will they once again protect the killers and downplay this horrible crime?
We can almost predict how Israel will respond…blame the other side? Lie and lie again like they always do? Whine that journalists are “armed” with cameras? Bomb another Media building? Whine that the entire world is picking on poor defenseless Israel? Take your pick, plenty to choose from.
Again, if the US really believed in justice, and support human rights, they can easily support this investigation. An Al Jazeera journalist pointed to the fact that in Ukraine the case of the Russian soldier shooting a Ukrainian citizen was dealt with swiftly, and already concluded, unlike the many cases against Israel.
The credit goes to Al Jazeera for pushing this to the forefront, and to BT’selem for disputing the lies.
Over to you Joe Biden.