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10/16/2009

UNHRC: Ignoring human rights abuses (unless they’re Israel’s)

Filed under: Israeli Double Standard Time, United Nations — Tags: , , , — Meryl Yourish @ 9:30 am

The UN Human Rights Council voted to send the Goldstone Report to the UN Security Council for further consideration. Of course they did. The fix has been in since the biased mandate was given last year—the mandate that the news media all pretend was evenhanded.

The resolution – which also condemns recent Israeli actions in the Palestinian territories and East Jerusalem – endorses the report’s recommendation that both sides in the conflict should show the Security Council within six months that they are carrying out credible investigations into alleged abuses. If they are not, the matter should then be referred to prosecutors at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.

Both sides are in violation of… well, something. Both sides must carry out “credible” investigations. And if not, both sides will be referred to the ICC. Shall we start a pool now on how, in six months, Hamas doesn’t even come up in the resolution to refer Israel to the ICC?

But let’s step back a moment and see exactly how the UNHRC works. In particular, let’s take a look at part of the report on the review of the Central African Republic. (For some light background reading, you can read this 23-page report at Human Rights Watch. Or just read the summary here.)

Here are a few choice bits of the draft of the UNHRC report from the current (12th) session:

219. In relation to recommendation 35, the delegation indicated that all press offences had been abolished, while noting that journalists may be guilty of common law offences, such as defamation and press offences defined by the High Communication Council.

221. Regarding recommendations 25 and 33, the delegation underlined that, in accordance with the Constitution, the judiciary was a branch power which independence was guaranteed through a number of management bodies. Despite some problems, such as arbitrary arrests, corruption and other irregularities, several projects were being undertaken, with the financial assistance of the United Nations Development Programme.

223. In relation to recommendations 11, 16-19, 27-29, and 30, the delegation underscored that the Central African Republic had ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Female genital mutilations are not practiced throughout the territory and are prohibited by law. However, cultural beliefs/practices and the interests of practitioners made its full implementation challenging. The Family code was being reviewed to ensure its compliance with international standards, and with a view to either maintaining or abolishing polygamy. The delegation stressed that due to cultural concerns, the Central African Republic was not ready to sign a declaration on discrimination based on sexual orientation, adding that no law prohibited or authorized it.

Let us note that the Central African Republic is shutting down press freedom, making arbitrary arrests, has a thoroughly corrupt judiciary, refuses to end discrimination against homosexuals, and insists that female genital mutilation is not a state problem, but rather a cultural phenomenon. Hold those thoughts, though, because this is my personal favorite part of the report:

224. On the recommendation to remove reference to the crime of witchcraft in the penal code, the delegation indicated that witchcraft was a reality in Central Africa. The Government envisaged training prison wardens who committed violence against women suspected of witchcraft and developing sensitization programmes to modify behaviours of the population and of the justice system.

Now, remember this. The representatives of the CAR told the UNHRC that witchcraft is a reality in Central Africa, and therefore, they will not remove the laws against witches on the books. They might, however, educate prison guards to stop raping women who are in prison for being accused of witchcraft. That is, they “envisage” it. Could happen. Someday.

What was the result of this review of a major human rights offender?

228. The Russian Federation congratulated the Central African Republic for having given its consent to approximately two thirds of the recommendations and for having expressed its willingness to study others. It noted the voluntary commitments taken by the State including the adoption of the national plan of action for the promotion and protection of human rights and a new criminal code. It wished the Central African Republic maximum success in realizing all accepted commitments and future progress in promoting and protection of human rights.

229. Egypt welcomed the comprehensive presentation by the Central African Republic. It stressed that despite many challenges and constraints, the government had made efforts to promote human rights, which resulted in considerable progress and the attainment of stability since the adoption of the 2004 Constitution. It appreciated the responses given to recommendations and reiterated its call that the State continue its efforts to promote all universally agreed human rights and fundamental freedoms and to resist attempts to enforce any values or standards beyond the universally agreed ones. It also encouraged the State to implement its penal code in conformity with the universally agreed human rights standards, including the application of the death penalty.

230. The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya commended the government for its efforts, including regarding poverty reduction, economic reforms, ratification of most human rights international instruments and reforms aimed at guarantying women’s rights. It stressed that support from the international community was important to reach the Millennium Development Goals and to promote human rights. It considered that voluntary commitments made by the State during the presentation of its national report were highly important.

232. The United States welcomed the Central African Republic’s efforts to improve human rights. It remained concerned about the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of human rights abuses in the security forces, including the presidential guard. It strongly supported the recommendations to investigate abuses and hold those responsible of violations accountable, and to incorporate human rights training into the military training. It appreciated the State’s efforts on the issue of child soldiers and to undertake reforms of the justice system, its willingness to work with human rights organizations and encouraged the State to continue allowing special procedures to visit the country. It welcomed the national action plan on gender-based violence.

Compare this to what the same states say about Israel on a regular basis. And then, tell me there is no anti-Israel bias in the United Nations. No, I’m not speaking to my regular readers, who already know that. I’m speaking to the rest of the world. J’accuse.

10/14/2009

Breaking UN resolutions only counts if you’re Israel

Filed under: Israeli Double Standard Time, Lebanon, United Nations — Tags: , , — Meryl Yourish @ 10:30 am

How many times have we heard the tired old argument that Israel is in violation of dozens of UN resolutions? The fact that the resolutions that most people think of are nonbinding makes no difference; Israeli is in violation of that dreaded shibboleth, international law.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah is in plain violation of an actual, binding resolution, and nobody but Israel seems to notice or care. The explosion last month of a weapons depot underneath a home in southern Lebanon raised no angry response from the UN, or even lifted eyebrows from UNIFIL, who are, uh, right there in southern Lebanon. Israel has complained. Nothing happened.

The explosion this week of another house in southern Lebanon has once again raised no apparent concern in the UN, or with UNIFIL, or even with Nobel peace prize winner Barack Obama, who is very, very concerned about peace in the middle east—when it comes to Israel’s actions, anyway. In fact, UNIFIL has sprung into action in the usual UN way.

UNIFIL said it was aware of an explosion and was in contact with the Lebanese army. “We are looking into the circumstances of the incident,” UNIFIL spokeswoman Yasmina Bouziane said.

Ah. They’re investigating. That’ll show Hezbollah.

This time around, Israel is launching an all-out effort to see if the UN and the world will cease its hypocrisy. Instead of imagined war crimes as found in the Goldstone report, this is an actual violation of UN 1701, forbidding Hezbollah from arming south of the Litani. And Israel has proof that was what they were doing.

Of course, the AP has to spin it negatively. Note the language implying that Israel doesn’t really have proof. The IDF just said that’s what happened. It could be any old film of anyone smuggling weapons into any house, right?

The Israeli military released footage it said was shot by one of its drones in the area. It said the video shows Hezbollah members sealing off the explosion site, recovering dozens of rockets from the home and driving them away in two covered trucks.

You can go online and see the footage for yourself. Ynet has it. It’s at the IDF website. Israel isn’t just saying that Hezbollah is smuggling weapons. They’re proving it. But since it isn’t a Palestinian eyewitness supplying the testimony, obviously, it can’t be believed. (I’m feeling very sarcastic this morning, yes. Why do you ask?)

10/01/2009

“Can this trash”

Filed under: Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Israeli Double Standard Time — Tags: — Soccerdad @ 9:00 am

The New York Times has a completely unremarkable account of Tuesday’s proceedings. Apparently neither Dr. Siderer’s testimony nor Cuba’s plea for “freedom of expression” were noteworthy to the Times reporter.

Interestingly neither the New York Times nor the Washington Post have featured an unsigned editorial on the Goldstone commission. However, yesterday the NY Daily News had an excellent editorial on the topic.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner yesterday condemned the report’s claim that the Israeli military intended to terrorize. He attacked Goldstone’s failure to hold Hamas to account for using Palestinian civilians as human shields. And he exposed Goldstone’s outrageously lopsided call on Israel to stop using certain munitions – while saying nothing about Hamas’ indiscriminate firing of rockets.

The council, whose members include Cuba, China and Saudi Arabia, will now consider acting on the report, with many urging referral to the Security Council for prosecution by the International Criminal Court. The U.S. must lead the opposition – and must win.

With the unquestioned support of most of the world(’s dictatorships), the Goldstone Commission’s report is likely to be passed on to the UN General Assembly. The United States has an obligation to stand by Israel and ensure that no diplomatic harm befalls Israel on its account.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

09/25/2009

Friday snarkly

Filed under: Israel, The One, United Nations, palestinian politics — Tags: , , , — Meryl Yourish @ 7:00 am

NObama: Looks like the Palestinians aren’t going to take Obama’s suggestion and get back to the negotiating table anytime soon. I like how they no longer insist that all settlement activity be frozen first—they don’t dare add a precondition for talks after Obama said they had to stop putting preconditions on the talks. Now they’re saying that there are “fundamental disagreements” about the agenda of the talks. Brilliant. The onus is now on them, not on Netanyahu, to start negotiations. (That’ll last about a week, then the world will blame Israel once again.)

No room at the inn for Mad Mahmoud: Awesome. Another New York hotel canceled the banquet after finding out it was for the proud Holocaust denier. Unfortunately, he still spoke to a mostly full house at the UN.

UNRWA: We want money. That’s what we want. UNRWA is begging for more money to keep the victim class of the Palestinians going into the next generation, because hey, 61 years isn’t nearly long enough to keep paying “refugees.” Why, the UN has also been paying the millions of descendants of Jewish refugees from Arab lands, too. Oh, wait. No they’re not.

AP still doesn’t get the significance of the last name: Leonard Cohen performed in Israel, and I have to laugh at the AP headline and angle of the story: “Leonard Cohen performs in Israel, defies boycott.” Really. Just look at the last name one more time, AP. Or listen to Hallelujah again.

Well, I feel safer now: The One has chaired the UN Security Council, and got it to pass a resolution calling for an end to nuclear weapons. The next agenda calls for kittens, butterflies, and unicorns for everyone. Winged unicorns for seven-year-old girls. What Obama did not do, however, was get a resolution calling for sanctions on Iran, which is trying to build a nuclear bomb. So once again, it’s all for show.

09/24/2009

The most anti-Israel president ever

Filed under: Israel, The One, United Nations — Tags: , , — Meryl Yourish @ 6:00 am

President Barack Obama didn’t just apologize for the Bush years in his speech to the UN yesterday. He delivered what is probably the most anti-Israel speech ever given by a sitting president.

Once again, he used the argument that there is some kind of moral equivalency between Israeli settlements and Palestinian incitement. If you dig just a little, you find that “incitement” includes the Palestinian Authority’s refusal to have a single map of Israel in its textbooks, its constant Jew-hatred in its official media, statements, and even sermons, its referrals to “Palestine from the river to the sea” (that would be where Israel is currently), and the utter refusal by the Obama administration to note that the PA reinforced its anti-Israel charter and also added more anti-Israel conspiracy theories, such as the one that Israel poisoned Yasser Arafat.

We continue to call on Palestinians to end incitement against Israel, and we continue to emphasize that America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. (Applause.)

But why do they only call on Palestinians to “end incitement”? Because, as the narrative goes, oppressed people cannot be held responsible for the terror attacks that continue every single day, by Palestinians in the West Bank, not Hamas—and so, Obama does not call for attacks on Israelis to end. Because they don’t exist.

Note the language of the next section. It could have been written by Obama’s friend and supporter, Rashid Khalidi:

The time has come — the time has come to re-launch negotiations without preconditions that address the permanent status issues: security for Israelis and Palestinians, borders, refugees, and Jerusalem. And the goal is clear: Two states living side by side in peace and security — a Jewish state of Israel, with true security for all Israelis; and a viable, independent Palestinian state with contiguous territory that ends the occupation that began in 1967, and realizes the potential of the Palestinian people. (Applause.)

And here’s the most anti-Israel statement ever uttered by a sitting president:

Now, I am not naïve. I know this will be difficult. But all of us — not just the Israelis and the Palestinians, but all of us — must decide whether we are serious about peace, or whether we will only lend it lip service. To break the old patterns, to break the cycle of insecurity and despair, all of us must say publicly what we would acknowledge in private. The United States does Israel no favors when we fail to couple an unwavering commitment to its security with an insistence that Israel respect the legitimate claims and rights of the Palestinians. (Applause.)

That’s a hat tip to the Stephen Walt School of OHMIGOD, Israel Lobbyists Control the Government!. That’s the implication that people are afraid to speak out against Israel, because we all know what happens to people who do that. They get on the New York Times bestseller list. Just ask Jimmy Carter, and Walt & Mearsheimer. I wonder what their lecture fees are now? Probably even higher since Walt is writing for Foreign Policy. Oh, the horrors of being silenced by The Israel Lobby. Book deals, lecture tours, income level rising—yeah, that scary lobby keeps everyone, even the president of the United States, from speaking out against Israel. Like, say, at a venue of, oh, the United Nations. Saying publicly what “everyone” was only able to say privately before today, apparently.

Note the second half of the bolded quote above: “the legitimate claims and rights of the Palestinians.” Mahmoud Abbas could have written that. Obama doesn’t actually delineate what these rights are, but these words are usually followed with “a return of all refugees,” as well as “an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.” (And as I have noted many times in the past, they don’t say “east Jerusalem.” They say “Jerusalem.” That would be what Obama was talking about when he insisted it’s time to rush ahead to “final status” issues. Only they’ve been renamed.

The time has come — the time has come to re-launch negotiations without preconditions that address the permanent status issues: security for Israelis and Palestinians, borders, refugees, and Jerusalem.

“Without preconditions” appears to be aimed at the Palestinians, who have dug in their heels since Obama’s Cairo speech. As Barry Rubin points out:

As I keep stressing the ONLY reason there have been no negotiations for six months—a point the media never points out—is that Obama introduced the demand that Israel freeze all construction on settlements. This issue had never prevented talks before but once Obama raised the ante, well the Palestinians couldn’t be less militant than America’s president.

It also wouldn’t be an Obama speech if he didn’t try to make his copyrighted approach to evenhandedness. So, in return for the Israel-bashing above, what must the world do? Why, stop bashing Israel. Recognize Israel’s legitimacy. Because it’s not like the UN’s establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948 was enough to do such a thing. So the reverse of America doing no favors for Israel by being a staunch ally? Well, it’s obvious:

And — and nations within this body do the Palestinians no favors when they choose vitriolic attacks against Israel over constructive willingness to recognize Israel’s legitimacy and its right to exist in peace and security. (Applause.)

Get it? The flip side of America’s support for Israel is the UN General Assembly, using organizations like the UN Human Rights Council (which Obama has had us join) singling out Israel, and pretty nearly only Israel, for criticism.

Obama uses his compare-and-contrast one last time, by talking about the price paid by Israelis and Palestinians. Note the extreme contrast, which goes hand in hand with what I wrote yesterday about the risk being all on Israel:

It’s paid by the Israeli girl in Sderot who closes her eyes in fear that a rocket will take her life in the middle of the night. It’s paid for by the Palestinian boy in Gaza who has no clean water and no country to call his own.

The girl in Sderot may be murdered in her sleep by Hamas rockets. Or a shot fired at her car while driving with her family near a Palestinian town. The price paid by Palestinians? Well, kids in Gaza don’t have clean water because Hamas keeps stealing the pipes to make rockets to rain on children in Sderot. Yeah, that’s a pretty equivalent risk situtation for each side.

His claim to evenhandedness is absurd. There is no comparison between having “no country to call his own” and fearing death in your bed at night. One of these things is not like the other.

I didn’t care for the James Baker crew of the Bush 41 White House. I didn’t care for Reagan’s Baker-inspired Israel team, either. But neither Bush nor Reagan seemed willing to abandon one of America’s staunchest allies. Israeli soldiers trained American troops in house-to-house city fighting, to better survive and win in Iraq. Israel shares intel on America’s enemies with us, and gave us invaluable information on Soviet weaponry during the Cold War. If America called, Israel would be there—and yet, Barack Obama is throwing Israel under the bus. The most pro-Palestinian president ever is turning out to be the most anti-Israel president ever.

His friend Rashid Khalidi must be a happy, happy man today. I sure would love to see the tape the LA Times refused to release. I think it would explain a lot of the UN speech.

09/17/2009

Goldstone report ignores Israelis injured by rockets

Filed under: Gaza, Hamas, Israeli Double Standard Time, Terrorism, United Nations — Tags: , , — Meryl Yourish @ 6:00 am

I know my readers will be shocked, shocked to hear stories like this:

Some of the Israeli witnesses who testified before the committee were injured by rocket fire before Operation Cast Lead, but their testimonies were left out of the report.

Dr. Mirela Siderer, a resident of Ashkelon, was severely injured by a Grad missile and is about to undergo her eighth operation.

“I didn’t have high hopes, so I wasn’t very disappointed, but I still feel awful after reading the report,” she said. “They didn’t refer to incidents that occurred before Operation Cast Lead, including my injury.”

Don’t you understand, Mirela? It’s not about Israeli suffering. The narrative can only take into account Palestinian suffering. They, the victims, and only they, the victims, can have testimonies embedded into the report. Israelis, the oppressors, are not counted when they are killed or injured, except as victims of what is, ultimately, their own fault—for stealing Palestinian land and causing untold misery.

That would be the misery in Gaza like the misery of having to smuggle brand-new 2009 vehicles into Gaza. Oh, the misery! They have to cut the cars into four pieces and weld them back together for the wealthy Gazan owners.

Eight thousand rockets flying into civilian areas of Gaza? Pshaw! Not worth paying much attention to in the Goldstone report.

“When I stood up and started to testify before the judges, Justice Goldstone fell asleep in front of me. It was an embarrassing moment but I continued talking, realizing that I should not have high hopes,” he added.

Bedin said the testimony had felt pointless. “One of the judges on the committee had already expressed the very clear opinion that Israel was committing war crimes against the Palestinians,” he said.

When the outcome of the report is determined by its mandate, one cannot be surprised to hear that the author of the report fell asleep while listening to testimony of rockets injuring and killing Israeli civilians.

The kangaroo court’s verdict is partially in. Next comes the General Assembly, then the ICC. The delegitimization of Israel continues apace.

09/11/2009

The Goldstone commission: A kangaroo court report

Filed under: Gaza, Hamas, Israel Derangement Syndrome, United Nations — Tags: , , , — Meryl Yourish @ 10:00 am

In the next couple of weeks, the UN will be releasing the results of the inquiry by Richard Goldstone into what they will determine are war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza. Goldstone has been insisting that although the UN mandate was anti-Israel enough that even Mary Robinson turned down an offer to head the commission (yes, really), he will have an evenhanded report on the Gaza war.

This is impossible.

The mandate itself declared that war crimes were committed by Israel. This is a case of a court issuing a guilty verdict before any facts are in.

“Human Rights Council… Decides to dispatch an urgent, independent international fact-finding mission, to be appointed by the President of the Council, to investigate all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law by the occupying Power, Israel, against the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip, due to the current aggression, and calls upon Israel not to obstruct the process of investigation and to fully cooperate with the mission”.

This is not a mandate to investigage if war crimes occurred. This is a mandate that states its purpose, and the commission’s responsibility is to document the war crimes that were already declared.

UN Watch has a history of the judges, many of whom are—surprise—biased against Israel.

Christine Chinkin signed a letter dated January 11, 2009, which appeared in The Times, stating: “Israel’s bombardment of Gaza is not self-defence – it’s a war crime.”

The jury is already in. Israel is going to be accused of war crimes by a UN commission. And they’re releasing the report sometime during the ten Days of Awe, just for a little extra added insult.

The UN decided the defendant was guilty as charged before examining a single fact. And so the UN’s obsession with Israel continues, and yet another anti-Israel resolution will come of it. Watch for it.

07/06/2009

Snarky briefs

Filed under: Gaza, Israel, United Nations — Tags: , , , — Meryl Yourish @ 9:00 am

If it’s Monday, that means it’s time for Snarky News Briefs. (I just made that up, actually, and if anyone can think of a way to mix the words “snark” and “news” that doesn’t sound stupid, suggest it in the comments.)

Hamas is Argus Filch: There was a point in the Harry Potter books where the Hogwarts caretaker goes around trying to punish children for “acting happy.” Well, Hamas tried to arrest someone because she was laughing out loud. Yes. Really. Instead, they detained her for not wearing a headscarf. But don’t think that Hamas is trying to create a Taliban-like state in Gaza, because that just shows you’re a neocon who doesn’t believe Hamas wants peace and peaceful relations with Israel.

Pull the other leg: Salaam Fayad says Jews would be welcome to live in the Palestinian state. Even in Hebron. Sure, because that’s why now, the PA imprisons people who sell land to Jews, and Palestinian law carries a death penalty for the offense. But hey, Jews are going to be welcome in Palestine. Really. Honest. Scout’s honor!

Gilad who? The UN is going to hear testimony by Noam Shalit that the abduction and continued detention of his son is a war crime. But don’t worry. We’re pretty sure the UN will ignore him.

The crude, homemade rockets: The UN is now hearing testimony from Israelis injured by kassam rockets. Still, don’t expect their investigation into Gaza war crimes to include anything much about Hamas war crimes. Tea and sympathy is the best Israeli witnesses can expect. (Read the article in full.)

Netanyahu: Two states for two people. World: YOU DON’T WANT A PALESTINIAN STATE! Sorry, I spent all the snark in the subhead on this one.

07/02/2009

The “imminent disaster” Gaza meme is back

Filed under: Israel Derangement Syndrome, United Nations — Tags: , , — Meryl Yourish @ 8:30 am

In November of last year, I wrote a post titled “UN on Gaza: An “imminent” disaster years in the making.” In it, I detailed how the UN has declared an imminent “humanitarian crisis” that would lead to mass starvation and death—all the way back to May of 2006. And yet, I must point out, Gaza’s cemeteries have not been burgeoning, Hamas is not displaying corpse after corpse of undernourished children, and, well, the people in Gaza are seemingly getting all they need to survive quite well. Except, of course, if you’re in the United Nations and want to slam Israel.

Apparently, it’s time for the UN to bring up the imminent disaster meme again. And it’s by our old friend, the viciously anti-Israel Karen AbuZayd.

Plight of Palestinians getting worse, UN warns
The blockade of Gaza is causing severe humanitarian hardship and the situation is getting worse every day, the head of the U.N. aid agency for Palestinian refugees warned on Wednesday.

[...] “Because there’s been no change and the borders are not open, things are deteriorating,” said Karen Koning AbuZayd, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

“People are in worse and worse condition every day, especially those who were affected by the conflict in late December and in January.”

AbuZayd, speaking to reporters in the Austrian capital, said many people were still living in the rubble of their homes. She also lamented the limited list of items the Israelis allowed in, saying it was making it impossible for people to lead normal lives.

“This is an urban environment, multistory buildings, people need all kinds of things in their homes – they need light bulbs, they need washing powder, children need new shoes – there’s no shoes allowed in,” she said.

Um—I thought we’re talking “severe humanitarian hardship.” Shoes? Light bulbs? These are the things that a person needs or s/he will die? But wait, let’s see what the AP chooses to put in the very last paragraph, the one that gets cut off in most newspapers:

AbuZayd added that while the Israelis were “very careful” to provide food and medicine, the amount of food coming in only covered about 60 percent of people’s needs.

So she admits that Israel is supplying humanitarian needs, but then qualifies that by saying Gazans are getting only 60% of what they need. Which means that Gazans should be starving, on almost half-rations. And yet, they are not. Imagine that.

Yet another one-two punch by the anti-Israel media and the anti-Israel UN. But not to worry. Israel Derangement Sydrome happens only on days that end with a “y.”

06/12/2009

UN wants to fine Israel, Israel should bill UN

Filed under: Israel, United Nations — Tags: , , — Meryl Yourish @ 12:00 pm

The leader of the organization that helps supply Hamas with funding for the missiles that rain down on Israel (see: UNRWA and related organizations that help pay Hamas members’ salaries) wants to fine Israel for responding to the missiles.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday it was “critical” that Israel halt all settlement activity. He added that he was considering fining the state $11 million for damage it did to UN facilities during the Gaza war.

Ban says the fine was recommended by a committee elected to investigate damage done by the IDF to UN structures during Operation Cast Lead.

I think it’s critical that Israel send the bill for what it cost to send in the IDF, as well as the damages of years of kassams and mortars into Israel, to the UN.

Say, Ban, good luck collecting on that fine. I’m thinking Israel is going to just ignore it as just another anti-Israel action from the anti-Israel echo chamber that is the UN.

01/20/2009

Feuded? Try aided and abetted

Filed under: Israel — Tags: , — Soccerdad @ 9:00 am

Last week the Washington Post reported Israel, Aid Groups Have Long Feuded:

Many Israeli officials, however, have long nurtured suspicions that U.N. agencies and other aid groups, which are supposed to be politically neutral, favor the Palestinian cause.

They say the organizations are quick to accuse Israel of mistreating Gazans but slow to criticize Hamas for targeting Israeli civilians. They also argue that Hamas draws little scrutiny for tactics that place noncombatant Palestinians in harm’s way.

There’s a bit of an understatement in those paragraphs. It isn’t just that Israel accuses the UN, the International Red Cross and others of favoring the Palestinian cause. But Israel accuses those organizations of aiding and abetting terrorists. Like this (h/t Larwyn, Barry Rubin):

I’d also observe that when first three people who enter the ambulence (at about 00:54) two are escorting a third who is being held by each arm. That suggests that the ambulance didn’t just ferry terrorists from one location to another, it might have abetted in an abduction. Given what we know about Hamas, if I’m correct, the fellow being grabbed likely wasn’t headed for a hospital, unless we’re talking about the morgue.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

01/14/2009

Catch-22 on ICC in Gaza

Filed under: Gaza, Israel, United Nations — Tags: , — Meryl Yourish @ 2:30 pm

You really do have to love the irony. Because Gaza is not a territory or state of any official entity, the ICC prosecutor says the ICC has no jurisdiction over it.

The International Criminal Court prosecutor in The Hague said on Wednesday it lacks jurisdiction to investigate war crimes allegedly committed in the Gaza Strip.

The prosecutor’s statement came after a Palestinian rights group called on the ICC to investigate Israel for committing war crimes during its 19-day-old offensive in Gaza. The office of the prosecutor said the court’s jurisdiction is limited to war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide committed on the territory of, or by a national of, a state party.

Look at that. Israel wins this one without even trying.

However, I won’t be surprised if the ICC doesn’t reverse this decision and decide that it does, indeed, have jurisdiction in this case.

01/08/2009

W. abandons Israel again

Filed under: Gaza, Hamas, Israeli Double Standard Time, United Nations — Tags: , , , — Meryl Yourish @ 9:56 pm

First he forced Ariel Sharon to give up the Philadelphi Corridor. Then he forced Israel to allow Hamas to run in Palestinian elections, even though Ba’athists were not allowed to run in Iraq, and Taliban were not allowed to run in Afghanistan.

Now W. is allowing the UN Security Council to try to force Israel into a cease fire.

Western and Arab foreign ministers on Thursday agreed on a compromise draft resolution calling for an immediate Gaza ceasefire and decided to put it to a UN Security Council vote, a Palestinian diplomat said.

[...] In a key concession to the Arabs, a text circulated by the British delegation earlier Thursday “calls for an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire” in Gaza and “for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.”

An earlier version merely “stressed the need” for an immediate ceasefire.

The latest British draft available also “condemns all acts of hostilities and terror directed against civilians” and for “the lifting of the Israeli blockade” of Gaza.

Say, Stephen Walt: I thought the Israel lobby was too strong for something like this to happen.

I can only pray that Israel pays as much attention to Resolution 1860 as Hezbullah has paid to 1701.

01/07/2009

UN sticks up for Hamas

Filed under: Gaza, Hamas, Israel, United Nations — Tags: , , — Meryl Yourish @ 10:30 am

Of course the UN is sure there weren’t any Hamas terrorists shooting mortars from their school. It’s not like UNRWA has been infiltrated by terrorists, ever. Or use UNRWA ambulances as getaway cars, or to transport weapons.

And it’s not like the UN ever lies about Hamas.

U.N. officials are “99.9 percent certain” there were no Palestinian militants in or on the grounds of a school that was shelled by Israeli forces, killing more than 40 people, a spokesman said Wednesday.

Chris Gunness, a spokesman for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, disputed Israel’s account of the bombardment of the northern Gaza school. But he said that if anyone could clear up the remaining uncertainty, “We would like them to come forward and be part of an impartial investigation.”

Chris Gunness apparently did not read the AP or New York Times reports, where Palestinian witnesses confirm that Hamas terrorists were firing at Israeli troops. Of course the Times buries the information far down in the article as well, but at least it’s there.

A young witness from Jabaliya, Ibrahim Amen, 16, said that he had seen one of the militants, whom he identified as Abu Khaled Abu Asker, in the area of the school right before the attack.

Ibrahim said he saw the militant after he answered calls for volunteers to pile sand around the camp “to help protect the resistance fighters.” Ibrahim went to pile sand near the school with his brother, Iyad, 20, who was then injured by the Israeli mortar fire.

Of course, Gunness could be right if you take him literally—the terrorists may not have been physically in the school grounds, but firing from just outside it. And that’s apparently enough for the UN to say there were no terrorists firing mortars at Israeli forces. It fits completely within the UN narrative, which has been anti-Israel since shortly after the creation of the Jewish State.

12/15/2008

UN Development chief: Um, Gazans aren’t starving after all

Filed under: Gaza, Media Bias, United Nations — Tags: , — Meryl Yourish @ 9:00 am

Bookmark this post. Because the next time you read yet another horror story in the AP or Reuters about how the Gazans are starving, here’s proof from the head of the UN Development Program that the UN is lying, and that Gazans are not starving.

Prior to Israel’s complete closing of border crossings on Nov. 4, the tunnels accounted for an estimated 35 per cent of Gaza’s goods. Today they are responsible for a much higher percentage and are a big reason why Gazans aren’t starving.

In fact, coupled with a large surplus of fruit and vegetables intended for markets in Israel, the vast majority of people here aren’t wanting for food.

Reports that as many as 50 per cent of children are suffering from malnutrition are exaggerations, says Khaled Abdel Shaafi, director the United Nations Development Program.

“This is not a humanitarian crisis,” he said. “It’s an economic crisis, a political crisis, but it’s not a humanitarian crisis. People aren’t starving.”

The real problem in Gaza? Shaafi says it’s not a nice place to live. Really. Well, that’s what happens when you elect a terrorist government, fire rockets into Israel, destroy the greenhouses that were left when Israel withdrew in 2005, constantly attack Israeli soldiers and civilians, and utterly refuse to make peace with your neighbors. And I’m pretty sure that the UN charter doesn’t include, “Must supply a nice place to live” as one of its rights.

That doesn’t mean it’s pleasant, he said. “It’s like a prison: You have shelter and food, but it’s not a nice place to live.”

Solution: Stop trying to destroy Israel, and you’ll see how pleasant Gaza can become. The West Bank economy has improved in the past year, though you wouldn’t know it from Abbas’ insistence that all that’s stopping the Palestinians of the West Bank from having successful lives are the checkpoints. (And yes, they’re still trying to smuggle arms and explosives through the checkpoints, as well as throwing molotov cocktails at passing Israelis.)

Remember this post the next time you read about the “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza. There isn’t one.

12/11/2008

Compare and contrast: the UNHRC on Israel and the UAE

Filed under: Israeli Double Standard Time, United Nations — Tags: , — Meryl Yourish @ 8:00 am

Compare and contrast the following reports from the UN Human Rights Council. Let’s look at one paragraph of recommendations for Israel (that don’t include the Palestinians, as most of them do). Please note the tone. It’s very important.

Among the other recommendations made were for Israel to implement the recommendations by the Committee against Torture; to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture; to investigate allegations of violence and killings by the police and also to ensure that the State fully respect international human rights standards; to consider ratifying the Convention on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; to cease all excavations around the Al Aqsa Mosque; to ensure access to religious sites and to respect religious freedom; to suspend the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law; to ensure that Bedouin populations had access to basic public services; to counter discrimination against minorities; and to implement the recommendations of the Or Commission of 2003 as regards discrimination against minorities.

Note that the direction to cease “excavations” around Al Aqsa Mosque gives ownership of the Temple Mount to Muslims, completely ignoring what the Waqf has done to destroy Jewish artifacts from the Mount.

Now let’s look at the recommendations made to the UAE. And let’s note the tone of the report.

A number of recommendations made concerned the rights of migrant workers. These included: to strengthen labour laws and improve working and living conditions for migrant workers; to ensure that the new labour law be extended to cover all groups, including domestic employees and farm workers; to study the possibility of assigning a law to deal specifically with domestic workers aimed at protecting them from abuse by their employers; to take further steps to improve the situation for migrant workers and domestic staff; and to guarantee access to civil, criminal and labour courts for all migrant workers.

All right, all right. I’m cherry-picking, my detractors will say. So let’s grab another paragraph. Let’s take the first paragraph of recommendations for both nations and see what those are like. Israel:

A number of delegations also posed specific recommendations. These included: To end the occupation of all Palestinian and Arab Territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan; to respect the rights of the Palestinian to self-determination and the establishment of their independent State with Jerusalem as its capital; to fully implement the advisory opinion of the ICJ and dismantle the separation wall; to end all settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in particular in and around Jerusalem; to immediately cease its military operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and to lift the closure it imposed on the Gaza strip; to reopen the passage to and from the Gaza Strip; to fully respect its human rights obligations in the country, including in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; to halt operations of destruction of houses in East Jerusalem; and for the international community to do its utmost to resolve the crisis in the Middle East.

UAE:

A number of delegations also posed specific recommendations. These included: To pursue efforts to amend the press law; to take measures to limit restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of the press; to continue efforts in respect of the rights of assembly; to ensure that the decree issued by His Highness Shaykh al-Maktoum that no journalist shall receive a prison sentence was secured through the enactment of a modernized press and publications law; to continue its recent move of opening up websites with a view to bringing the regulation of Internet use in accordance with international law; to uphold the freedom of expression of NGOs by amending the laws limiting it and repealing punitive and administrative sanctions in that regard; and that the recently proposed amendment to the Press and Publication Law be revised to reflect article 19 of the ICCPR.

Interesting, isn’t it, the difference in “recommendations” for the two countries? One set are insistent demands; the other are truly recommendations. But, you say, I’m still cherry-picking. No way the contrast can be that great.

Yes, it can. The UAE:

Additional recommendations included: To continue strengthening the rights of women and further advancement and development of women’s rights within the international dimension; to further consider how far modifications to the national laws on citizenship could be introduced so that female citizens married to non-citizens could pass on their nationality to their children in the same way as male citizens married to non-citizens; to implement article 2(a) of CEDAW by prohibiting discrimination between men and women in its national Constitution to ensure the practical realization of the principle of gender equality; to put in place effective institutional support for victims of domestic violence; to sanction marital rape through legislation; to promote national legislation to protect the rights of children; and to consider legislative changes in order to repeal the punishment of flogging.

That’s right. Pretty please, UAE, won’t you consider stopping the practice of flogging and allowing men to beat and rape the women in your country? And by the way, Israel: Pay attention, beeyotch:

Another group of recommendations included: To ensure that human rights defenders were able to carry out their work effectively; to establish an independent national commission in accordance with the Paris Principles; to ratify all international human rights treaties; to respond favourably for request for visits to all Special Procedures; to extend standing invitation to the Special Procedures; to cease imprisoning conscientious objectors and to consider granting the right to conscientious objections to serve instead with a civilian body independent of the military; to establish a separate Juvenile Justice system to try Palestinian children; to remove restrictions that prevent Palestinian children from accessing basic services including schools and health care; and to accede to the ICC Rome Statute.

Holy crap! How did a “to consider” get in there?

Israel is given a list of demands. The UAE is given a list of suggestions. The UAE cheats and beats migrant workers, harasses rights workers, allows women few rights, has no real suffrage, no democracy, and no political recourse to replacing corrupt rulers. Israel is a parliamentary democracy with regular elections, Arabs in the Knesset, and a court system for the redress of problems.

By all means, UNHRC, use your harshest language for the lone democracy in the region. It will ensure that Israel ignores your reports completely.

12/05/2008

Human wrongs

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Israeli Double Standard Time — Tags: — Soccerdad @ 12:30 pm

When you see a headline like: Israel Under Fire At UN Over Rights Record, it sounds pretty serious. Then you read the article itself.

The Jewish state was being examined by the U.N. Human Rights Council as part of the “Universal Periodic Review” to which every U.N. member state must submit.

In Thursday’s session, Syria’s ambassador to the council referred ironically to the “oasis of democracy” he claimed was presented by Israel’s own submission as part of the proceedings.

The Palestinian representative declared he was “astonished” by Israel’s presentation “which did not mention its responsibilities as an occupying power” in the Palestinian territories.

So Syria which represses its opposition and is occupying a neighboring country (through intimidation) and the Palestinians who still engage in vicious antisemitic propaganda and deny their own people due process are judging Israel.

Israel’s ambassador Aharon Leshno-Yaar said his country wished to show “proof of its humility” before the council, but also pointed to progress in the rights of disabled people, greater tolerance of sexual diversity and the banning of corporal punishment in schools.

“Greater tolerance of sexual diversity” is an excellent rebuke to societies that still countenance “honor killings.” But in this forum such a rebuke may be brazenly ignored.

This failed to convince Israel’s Arab neighbors who rained down criticism of the treatment of the Palestinians who have lived under occupation for more than four decades.

Israel failed to its “Arab neighbors.” What a surprise. If its Arab neighbors were interested in giving Israel a fair hearing, that sentence might have some significance. But this was the proceeding of a kangaroo court. To treat it as a serious hearing is ridiculous.

Claudia Rosett shares some nuggets demonstrating how perverse this review of Israel’s human rights record is, including:

Epitomizing the hypocrisy of this exercise is a statement submitted to the U.N. earlier this year by Iran, which also helped organize the original, 2001 Durban conference. Tehran proclaims that “The Islamic Republic of Iran, according to its formal and practical policies, is opposed to any policy based on racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and has fought against this phenomenon at national, regional and international levels.” This comes from the Iranian regime, which along with supporting terrorists, threatening to wipe Israel off the map and violating five U.N. Security Council resolutions meant to stop its nuclear bomb program, pursues domestic policies of forcing women to wear the veil and executes homosexuals.

All that’s missing is the Queen of Hearts.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

11/21/2008

The UN’s Jew-hatred

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, Israel Derangement Syndrome, United Nations — Tags: , — Meryl Yourish @ 1:30 pm

It can’t get much clearer than this. From an Eye on the UN press release:

This Monday, November 24th, the UN will commemorate its annual International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People with a film depicting Jews as Nazi-equivalents and a public exhibit mourning the sixty years of Israel’s existence.

“The event is an annual reminder that the UN’s real agenda is to delegitimize the birth – and the perseverance – of the state of Israel,” said Anne Bayefsky, Editor of EYEontheUN.org.

Monday’s observance marks November 29, 1947 – the day that the UN voted to establish a Jewish and an Arab state in Palestine – a decision accepted by the Jews and rejected by the Arabs. This year’s observance is being held a week early due to scheduling conflicts.

As in years past, there will be a formal meeting Monday morning of the Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, a film, an afternoon meeting of the General Assembly on the “Question of Palestine,” and the opening of a public exhibit in the entrance to the UN’s New York headquarters.

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan referred to November 29th as “a day of mourning and a day of grief,” and the usual procedure is for UN member state after UN member state to use the opportunity to grieve for the suffering of the Palestinian people at Israeli hands.

The General Assembly is scheduled to adopt another six resolutions condemning only Israel for violations of human rights. The total number of resolutions criticizing Israel expected to be adopted at this fall’s General Assembly is 20, as compared to only four resolutions critical of human rights records in any of the remaining 191 UN member nations.

The 2008 installment of what is in essence a repeat of the “Zionism = Racism” allegation, will be the public showing of the film “La Terre Parle Arabe” or “The Land Speaks Arabic.” The film draws parallels between the Nazis’ final solution and the alleged Zionist design for Palestinians. It is commonly billed with these words: “…the late-19th century Zionists…drew up plans, put them into practice, then…used… force, often brutal.”

And it gets even worse.

Here is some of the script for the UN public’s edification:

“Christians and Muslims alike…unite in their hatred of Zionism…I preferred to die as a martyr rather than be governed by the Jews …We were against the Jews…The number of Jews increased constantly…The children cried …The Hagana had no mercy, no pity. Zionists! They were Zionists!… The Jews were shooting at us, they were facing us…The Jews yelled “turn around you bastards, you dogs.” They machine gunned us…They started killing people who were asleep…[We]…found a poor woman…pregnant. They had killed her and the baby came out of the womb. They started slaughtering them until morning.”

The exhibit to be opened at 6 p.m. on Monday in the UN lobby – the public entrance through which school children from across the United States and tourists from around the world pass every day – is entitled “The Palestinians: 60 years of struggle and enduring hope.” Bayefsky comments: “The “sixty years” of struggle is telling. It puts a lie to the alleged root cause of the Arab-Israeli conflict as an “occupation” that began with the 1967 war. The real complaint is the alleged wrong of the creation of the State of Israel itself.” She adds: “The carefully selected word “struggle” also speaks volumes. What the UN glorifies as a struggle is a series of wars launched by Arabs to annihilate the state of Israel beginning in 1948, and the ongoing “struggle” of Palestinian and other Arab terrorists dedicated to the same end.”

Tell me, does the world commemorate the 60th anniversary of the separation of Pakistan from India?

The modern state of Pakistan was established on 14 August 1947 (27 Ramadan 1366 in the Islamic Calendar), carved out of the two Muslim-majority wings in the eastern and northwestern regions of British India and comprising the provinces of Balochistan, East Bengal, the North-West Frontier Province, West Punjab and Sindh. The controversial division of the provinces of Punjab and Bengal caused communal riots across India and Pakistan — millions of Muslims moved to Pakistan and millions of Hindus and Sikhs moved to India. Disputes arose over several princely states including Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir, whose ruler had acceded to India following an invasion by Pashtun tribal militias, leading to the First Kashmir War in 1948.

No? Why is that, I wonder? Hypocrisy? Naaah. Anti-Semitism? Now you’re getting it.

06/19/2008

Le Monde to IAEA: Liars!

Filed under: Syria, World — Tags: , , , — Meryl Yourish @ 7:00 am

Le Monde has evidence that Mohammed El Baradei was lying when he declared yesterday that Syria didn’t have the knowhow to create a nuclear weapons site.

The website of the French news agency Le Monde reported that information originating in different countries other than the US and suggesting that Syria did indeed build a nuclear reactor in Al Kibar, was handed over to the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) recently.

This report contradicts the most recent statement made by the UN’s nuclear watchdog, in which it denied having any knowledge leading to the conclusion that Syria had the knowledge and means to build such a reactor.

According to the French report, the new information confirms earlier claims that North Korea had assisted Syria in its nuclear endeavors. This negates a speech made on Tuesday by IAEA Director General Mohammad ElBaradei, who said in an interview to Al Arabiya television that “we have no evidence that Syria has the human resources that would allow it to carry out a large nuclear program. We do not see Syria having nuclear fuel.”

Say, remember when I said just yesterday how I think we’re going to find out that El Baradei was in the Mullahs’ pockets all along?

I didn’t think it would be this soon.

Can’t wait to hear the spin from El Baradei and the UN. “No, we weren’t lying. Syria didn’t have the manpower. They had to bring in North Koreans.”

Wow. Just—wow.

06/05/2008

Today’s AP media bias, with UN equivalence thrown in

Filed under: Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Media Bias, Terrorism — Tags: , , , , — Meryl Yourish @ 4:30 pm

So the post from this morning that I told you to watch the updates on as the day goes by? Here’s the first version, timestamped 9:05:

Palestinian girl, Israeli killed in fighting
Hamas militants fired a barrage of mortar shells into southern Israel on Thursday, killing one person and wounding three others on a communal farm near the border with the Gaza Strip, Israeli officials said.

The attack dealt a new setback to Egyptian efforts to mediate a truce between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers and raised the likelihood of a tough Israeli military reprisal.

Israeli government spokesman David Baker said Hamas “will be held accountable.”

Hamas, the Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza for the past year, said in a statement it had fired three mortar shells but did not confirm the deaths.

Here’s the update, time-stamped 11:20. It reverses the order of occurrence. Instead of leading with the mortar barrage, which brought out the IDF to go after missile launchers, we now lead with the Palestinian civilian killed as a result of the IDF trying to stop terrorists.

Palestinian girl, Israeli killed in fighting
JERUSALEM (AP) – An Israeli missile aimed at a group of militants struck a house in the Gaza Strip on Thursday and killed a 6-year-old Palestinian girl, Palestinian officials said, hours after an Israeli was killed by a Hamas mortar barrage fired from the area.

The sudden spike in violence dealt a new setback to Egyptian efforts to mediate a truce between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers, and raised the likelihood of a tough Israeli military reprisal.

The Israeli army confirmed the aerial attack and said it had hit a “gunman.”

But Hamas security officials said the missile missed a group of militants and struck a nearby house. The Palestinian girl, who was playing outside, was killed and her mother was wounded, said Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The AP again quotes Hamas terrorists, who have every reason to lie. And the fifth paragraph—the one with the necessary context for why a Palestinian child died today that will likely be dropped from your local paper’s World News section—is this one:

The airstrike came shortly after Gaza’s Hamas rulers claimed responsibility for the deadly mortar attack in southern Israel. The mortar shells were fired from the same area targeted in the airstrike, the army said.

Now let’s look at the afternoon update, timestamped 2:47, and authored by our pal Ibrahim Barzak:

2 die in tit-for-tat clash between Israel, Hamas

Notice the context of who was killed is completely removed from the headline, and the Israeli defense against terrorists is put on an equal footing with terrorists firing mortars into civilian areas for the purpose of killing civilians.

Palestinian mortar fire killed a man at a factory in southern Israel on Thursday, prompting an Israeli reprisal airstrike that apparently missed its target and killed a 6-year-old girl in the Gaza Strip.

The burst of violence dealt a new setback to Egyptian efforts to broker a truce between Israel and the militant group Hamas and raised the threat of worse violence.

The bloodshed came a day after moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for renewed dialogue with Hamas, whose gunmen seized control of Gaza a year ago in fighting with Abbas’ security forces.

Hamas claimed responsibility for the mortar attack on Nir Oz, an Israeli collective village less than a mile from the Gaza border, “as a response to the nonstop aggression against our people.”

The article no longer names Hamas as the group responsible for firing the mortars in the first graf. Instead, the article waits until paragraph four before telling the reader it was a Hamas attack. The fourth graf, as you know, is one that is frequently cut from the World News sections. The previous two versions were by Josef Federman. The whitewashing always seems to go on under Ibrahim Barzak’s byline. I wonder why that is? Hm. Let’s think.

Ban Ki-moon noticed the rocket barrages again, after Dan Gillerman filed a formal complaint. And he issued the usual toothless UN statement condemning both sides.

The Secretary-General condemns the ongoing rocket and mortar attacks by militant groups, including Hamas, from Gaza against crossing points and Israeli civilian targets, which caused the death of an Israeli civilian and four casualties today. He calls on Hamas and other militant groups to cease such acts. He also reminds them that these actions as well as attacks on crossings have detrimental implications for the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza.

Wow. Just—wow. No mention that these are war crimes, crimes against humanity, or even just plain wrong. But they’re bad for the Palestinians.

Eff you, Ki-moon. Eff you and your whole organization.

The Secretary-General also condemns the death of a Palestinian child and the injury of its mother in Gaza as the result of Israeli Air Force (IAF) fire. While recognizing Israel’s right to self-defence, the Secretary-General calls upon Israel to exercise maximum restraint, and reminds the IAF and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) of their responsibility to protect civilians under international humanitarian law during military operations.

I see he only manages to accuse Israel of war crimes. The Israeli Double Standard is in full bloom at the UN, from bottom to top, with a media bias thrown in. Only Americans, it seems, can see through the bias and not blame Israel for being the victim of terrorists and Arab rejectionism.

Exit comment is from Ehud Barak:

“Military action is closer than even, it appears likely there will be an operation prior to the calm (truce).”

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