Israel – Page 7 – Antiwar.com Blog

Can We Hear the Recording Please?

In his zeal to defend Israel, the Foundation for the Defense of Democraciesâ€™ (FDD) Cliff May cites a colleagueâ€™s contentions that the activists taking part in the â€œFreedom Flotillaâ€ were obviously Islamic radicals bent on massacring Jews. From his weekly round-up of the very best in Likudnik commentary:

FDDâ€™s Ben Weinthal notes:

According to media reports, activists invoked on their way to Gaza the Islamic battle cry, â€œJews, remember Khyabar [sic], the army of Mohammed is returning.â€ The reference is to a Muslim massacre and expulsion of Jews in seventh-century Arabia.

The reader is then encouraged to â€œRead moreâ€ with a link that goes to a May 30 Jerusalem Post article which quotes Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon and the Foreign Ministry as the basis for this assertion:

Also Sunday, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon criticized the effort, saying anti-Semitic chants voiced by the activists on board earlier in the day showed the â€˜real motivationâ€™ for the campaign, which he termed an â€˜armada of hate.â€™

According to a Foreign Ministry press release, participants on the flotilla were recorded shouting â€˜Khaybar Khaybar ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad sayaâ€™ud,â€™ which means â€˜Jews, remember Khyabar [sic], the army of Mohammed is returning.â€™ This cry relates to an event in the seventh century when Muslims massacred and expelled Jews from the town of Khaybar, in modern-day Saudi Arabia.

â€˜Israel condemns the anti-Semitic chants that were publicized this morning,â€™ Ayalon said. â€˜This amply demonstrates that many are not against a particular policy of the Israeli government, but have very real and dangerous hatred for Jews and the Jewish State.â€™

So, from FDD, we get â€œmedia reportsâ€ that are based entirely on assertions by a government ministry without the slightest effort to confirm those assertions from any independent source. This, of course, begs many questions, such as of the source of the recording, how it was obtained by the Foreign Ministry, and how many of the flotillaâ€™s participants allegedly took part in the chants, if indeed thatâ€™s what took place.

As a former reporter for the New York Times, May should be a bit more conscientious about what he and his colleagues assert as fact. Especially when Khaybar is spelled â€œKhyabar,â€ twice.

Michael Rubin: The Moral Contortionist

Michael Rubin has posted yet another rant on National Reviewâ€™s “The Corner.” This time he goes after the petty Europeans and â€œchattering classâ€ for their quaint beliefs in proportionality.

As Daniel Luban and Jim Lobe have pointed out, Michael Rubin has been banging out post after post about the Israeli attack on civilian ships in international water.

Rubin has tried to make lemonade from the lemons that the IDF handed him on Monday by claiming that now, more than ever, the U.S. should unconditionally support Israel and that a failure to offer such support could result in Israel unilaterally attacking Iran.

So, according to Rubin, the U.S. relationship with Israel boils down to our responsibility to enable a self-destructive friend while permitting that friend to dictate our foreign policy through blackmail.

In his post last night, Rubin attacks the liberal European notion of proportionality and charges that the European response to the Israeli attack on the â€œFree Gazaâ€ flotilla is naive and ignores the importance of disproportionality in protecting freedom and security.

Rubin writes:

A Question of Proportionality [Michael Rubin]

A lot of the criticism surrounding Israelâ€™s actions against the Free Gaza flotilla center on proportionality. Did Israel apply disproportionate force? The same charges form the basis of the criticism leveled by the Goldstone Report and, indeed, also were leveled against Israel following the 2006 Hezbollah War and, before that, Operation Defensive Shield in 2002.

But why should any democratic government empowered to defend its citizenry accept Europeâ€™s idea of proportion? When attacked, why should not a stronger nation or its representatives try to both protects its own personnel at all costs and, in the wider scheme of things, defeat its adversaries?

Likewise, when terrorists seek to strike at the United States, why should we find ourselves constrained by an artificial notion of proportionality when responding to those terrorists or their state sponsors?

Ultimately, it may be time to recognize that, in the face of growing threats to Western liberalism, strength and disproportionality matter more to security and the protection of democracy than the approval of the chattering class of Europe or the U.N. secretary general, a man whose conciliatory policies as foreign minister of South Korea proved to be a strategic disaster.

One final note on proportionality: Fifteen â€œpeaceâ€ activists dead is a tragedy, but they represent only one one-thousandth of the death toll of a French heatwave.

Rubin clearly stated his loyalties to Israel in an earlier post on Monday. Still, itâ€™s worth asking what Israel would have to do to earn a condemnation from him. The moral and logical contortions exhibited in Rubinâ€™s posts on Monday would suggest that he will go to any length to defend Israelâ€™s attack on civilian ships in international waters.

Rubin argues that notions of proportionality are a threat to Western liberalism. A more reasoned analysis might suggest that uncompromising support of an allyâ€™s flagrant disregard of international law and reckless behaviors which needlessly result in civilian deaths is morally indefensible, bad politics and, to put it in the words that Rubin would use, a threat to Western liberalism.

The Everybody’s-Doing-It Dodge

On his Twitter feed, Glenn Greenwald commends Rep. Barney Frank for these recent comments:

In an interview with the Boston Herald, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said that that “‘as a Jew,’ Israeli treatment of Arabs around some of the West Bank settlements ‘makes me ashamed that there would be Jews that would engage in that kind of victimization of a minority.'”

I, too, thank Rep. Frank for his candor and his willingness to rise above tribalism. (Though I also agree with Jeremy that individuals have no reason to apologize for or feel ashamed of acts they oppose simply because those acts are committed under the auspices of a collective, whether legal, religious, or ethnic, that they “belong” to. As an official of the U.S. government, Rep. Frank has plenty to feel ashamed about; as a Jew, nothing.) Sadly, though, Frank turned right around the next moment with this:

In defense of Israel, Frank added there are people “howling for Israel to pay a price [for the Gaza aid ship attack] that don’t seem disturbed that North Koreans killed 46 South Koreans by torpedoing a South Korean boat. I think we have a right to ask for some consistency.”

Now lest it be said that my vicious, throbbing anti-Semitism has blinded me to the greater sins of Kim Jong-Il (and it will be said anyway), let me go on record as condemning the attack by a government that my tax dollars do not subsidize on a military vessel during what is technically still an ongoing war. Yes, Rep. Frank, it does appear to me that one of the two attacks is worse than the other, but I’ll let you guess which one.

PR Advice to the Palestinians

I’ve heard a certain criticism countless times over the years, but after seeing it three times in two days on the same site, I decided to do a little research. From that vast repository of respectable opinion, The Atlantic, here are Jeffrey Goldberg, Andrew Sullivan, and Megan McArdle with the idea du jour:

Jeffrey Goldberg:
“I don’t know yet exactly what happened at sea when a group of Israeli commandos boarded a ship packed with not-exactly-Gandhi-like anti-Israel protesters.”

Andrew Sullivan:
“The violence by the activists is pretty abhorrent. These are not followers of Gandhi or MLK Jr.”

Megan McArdle:
“Very clearly, these guys were not the next incarnation of Gandhi; they were on that mission spoiling for a fight.”

Now, unlike these three worthies, I’m just a rube who majored in booze at Football Tech, so I didn’t know much about this Gandhi fella. I wondered, what exactly would Gandhi have the Palestinians and their supporters do? What would earn them a pat on the head from serious, right-thinking Americans?

Luckily, I didn’t have to look very far to find a possible answer:

As an inspiration and a symbol, Gandhi has no peer in the 20th century; as a practical politician, he was a despair to his colleagues in the Indian national movement. His insistence on non-violence grew more extreme as he aged: during the war, he recommended to the British that they should “invite Herr Hitler and Signor Mussolini to take what they want of the countries you call your possessions.â€ And in an interview given after the war, he went so far as to say that â€œthe Jews [in Europe] should have offered themselves to the butcherâ€™s knife. They should have thrown themselves into the sea from cliffs.“

The things you learn on the intertubes! Well, there you go, Palestinians (and Turks, and Jewish Americans to the left of Jeffrey Goldberg): kill yourselves. When the last one of you is gone, The Atlantic will hold a special symposium on your righteousness.

There Are Some Lines You Just Don’t Cross

Remember Walid Jumblatt, the leader of Lebanon’s Progressive Socialist Party who made a big splash four years ago when he began raving about the wonders of the Bush Doctrine? Probably not, to the relief of many a neocon. He was an embarrassing ally for the warbots even back then, but now he’s gone and done the unforgivable:

A surprise reconciliation between the leaders of Hizbullah and the Progressive Socialist Party was followed on Friday by Walid Jumblatt’s re-directing his rhetoric south, to Palestine, and warning of the “absolute extremism” of the Israeli government. “I call on all of our people in Palestine to reject sectarian and non-sectarian violence and cling to their Arabism and Palestinian national project, to confront Zionist projects that promise to be more dangerous and fiercer in the coming phase,” Jumblatt said in a statement.

The PSP leader said the Israeli government had no interest in a peace settlement and “insisted on absolute extremism” in its current policies.

I suspect we won’t be seeing any more sympathetic profiles of this “insightful interpreter of the fluctuations in Middle Eastern politics” any time soon.

Aid for Gazans

Prof. Floyd Rudmin sends the following:

Material aid to Palestinians in Gaza can be given by donations to the following aid agencies. These are not listed in any order of priority.

1) The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been responsible for the necessities of life for refugees in Gaza since 1948. UNRWA runs hospitals and schools, and provides basic food supplies for Palestinian families long trapped in Gaza. Donations can be made online here. Donations by bank transfer and international checks are also possible.

2) The Norwegian People’s Aid (Norsk Folkehjelp) has been actively helping Palestinians since 1987 and opened a local office in Gaza in 1996, with a focus on supporting women’s rights and development. Donations can be made online here. Select "Gaza" as the "Cause" which you wish to support.

3) Action by Churches Together (ACT) International is a Swiss-based alliance of Protestant and Orthodox churches to provide aid during emergencies. On January 14, ACT International delivered 3 truckloads of food, milk, and medicine to the Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza. Donations can be made following instructions here via bank transfers or international checks. The Church World Service is a member organization, accepting online donations here, for fund #6824, "2009 Gaza Humanitarian Response." Church World Service meets all 20 Better Business Bureau standards and has a 2-star rating by Charity Navigator.

4) Medecins sans frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) runs a clinic in Gaza and has 21 tons of medical supplies and a team of surgeons set to enter Gaza as soon as allowed. MSF meets 19 of 20 Better Business Bureau standards and has a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator. Donations can be made online here.

5) The United Palestinian Appeal (UPA) is a registered US charity with a focus in Gaza on first aid training and mobile clinics. The UPA meets 19 of 20 Better Business Bureau standards and has a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator. They are now fund raising for medical and food supplies. Donations can be made online here.

6) American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) is a registered US charity, founded in 1968, to give aid to impoverished Palestinian families. On January 9, ANERA delivered 81 pallets of fortified milk to Gaza. ANERA meets all 20 Better Business Bureau standards and has a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator. Donations can be made online here.

7) Oxfam America is a well-known aid agency. It meets all 20 Better Business Bureau standards and has a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator. Oxfam has established a "Middle East Crisis" fund to help with emergency medical needs. Donations can be made online here.

8) The International Medical Corps (IMC) delivers aid to Gaza via Heart-to-Heart International, International Relief Teams, and The Bridge Foundation. The IMC meets all 20 Better Business Bureau standards and has a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator. Donations can be made online here or by 24-hour phone line.

9) Episcopal Relief & Development operates in Gaza via the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. It supports the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in central Gaza and is sheltering 400 Gazans displaced by the conflict. Episcopal Relief & Development meets all 20 Better Business Bureau standards and has a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator. Donations can be made online here, where you can select the "Middle East" fund.

10) CARE was established in 1945 to deliver aid to war-torn Europe. It is now one of the most reputed U.S. aid NGOs, active in Gaza since 1948, with a focus on food security and clean water. CARE meets all 20 Better Business Bureau standards and has a 3-star rating by Charity Navigator. Donations can be made online here.

11) World Vision is a Christian relief agency with field offices in many countries, including Gaza. World Vision meets all 20 Better Business Bureau standards and has a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator. Donations can be made online here.

12) Medical Aid for Palestine is a registered Canadian charity established in 1982. It is subsidized by two government agencies: the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Secrétariat à l’Aide Internationale du Québec (SAI). Donations can be made online here.

Floyd Rudmin is a professor of psychology in Arctic Norway.