Before this, Israel’s third slaughter operation in Gaza in six years, the average American accepted Israel’s propaganda line that, “Hamas terrorists in Gaza are raining down missiles on Israel, which is only exercising its legitimate rights of self-defense.”
They accepted this explanation because the pathetically timid American press was afraid to ask logical follow-up questions, like:
1. Does Israel’s practice of regularly executing Gaza citizens by bomb or missile attack confer any self-defense rights on the citizens of Gaza? Or …
2. Does Israel’s practice of blockading Gaza and strangling its economy create circumstances under which the citizens of Gaza are allowed to indicate their displeasure with Israel in any way?
Apparently, this kind of follow-up was beyond the capability of most members of the American press.
Thanks, however, to the courage of some on the scene reporting from people like Ayman Mohyeldin of MSNBC, and Nic Robertson and Karl Penhaul of CNN, plus the online activism of Glenn Greenwald, Noam Chomsky, and the people at Mondoweiss.net, a more complete picture of Israel’s action in Gaza is emerging.
A few relevant facts: Continue Reading……………
There is a substantial amount of natural gas that has been discovered off the Coast of Israel. The IDF has a goal of controlling these reserves, which extend all the way well north of Lebanon and as far west as the little island of Cyprus. The area is called the Levant Basin and the reserves are said to be worth north of $4B and the possibility that crude exists here is real.
Between 2001 and 2007, Palestinian rights to the reserves were challenged by Ariel Sharon and through a considerable amount of court-wrangling, it is pretty much guaranteed that Tel Aviv has no intention of sharing the reserves, having nearly inked a deal to send the stuff to Egypt of all places. They are using the well-worn argument that none if the proceeds of the sale “go to Hamas”.
The invasions of Gaza have been on the table since at least 2008 and coincided with negotiations with British Gas (BG).
As a Jew, I do not support this genocide in Gaza by the IDF and Netanyahu’s fanatics in the Likud Party, which is moving further and further to the extreme right. Many of the Orthodox and Lubovitch communities in my new city strongly oppose this assault on Gaza as well.
I think it’s pretty damn obvious why Israel is forcing its will upon the Palestinians; Gaza is nothing more than an open-air prison. The Arabs are limited to fishing within 3 miles of shore, they cannot freely negotiate the borders, and they are sitting ducks waiting for food and water to be dropped in . Hospitals and schools are being bombed with precision- Hamas rockets fly willy-nilly into Israel- few are guided and none are accurate. The tunnels serve to allow movement outside the borders imposed by the IDF, and yes, are also used to traffic weapons, however, what choice do they have.
If all these Christians in the US knew what our actual Jewish beliefs are, I think many of them would step back, if not run from supporting Israel. Furthermore, Israel is mostly a secular state so the religious argument for us “chosen people” holds very little water. The “Jewish State” was actually created almost a half-century before the UN resolution in the 1917 Balfour Declaration.
None of this is coincidence.
Tom Callahan:
You make the statement- ‘We now know that Hamas does not use the tunnels for terror but to confront Israeli soldiers who have been killing Gaza children’.
Wish you would tell us the source where you got that piece of BS from as I don’t believe it to be correct but just more Anti-Semitic propaganda. Maybe if your home was targeted with thousands of rockets we could see how your brave ass would behave.
Well, choose a source of “propaganda”.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/war-and-natural-gas-the-israeli-invasion-and-gaza-s-offshore-gas-fields/11680
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2014/jul/09/israel-war-gaza-palestine-natural-gas-energy-crisis
http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/07/18/is-israels-operation-protective-edge-really-about-natural-gas/
And finally,
http://truthstreammedia.com/the-truth-about-the-current-conflict-in-gaza-seeing-through-the-propaganda/?print=pdf
^^^ Has a dozen sources.
When Jews no longer support the genocide, that should be telling. I have a friend from MS in Tel Aviv at this very moment. Another pair of friends and their small children recently came to visit in the US from Israel and have true PTSD. When the tornado siren went off on a Saturday here in a Milwaukee burb, the mother became frantic and instinctively ran and grabbed her children to protect them. If you seriously think anyone WANTS to live this way, you’re sadly mistaken. We hated to see them leave and return to hillel in Israel.
You seem to be unable to separate Hamas from Palestine- a common problem with Americans, the Haaretz crowd, and the zionists who think they can hold a minyan in the desert to put a pulsa d’nura (kabbalistic curse) on a leader they disagree with and end his or her life. Fundamentalism at its finest. It’s responsible for more deaths than any other cause on the planet.
Your use of the term “genocide” is absolutely without basis. If Israel would want to commit genocide, it could wipe Gaza (and the PA) off the map in a matter of hours.
Since 1948, the population of Gaza has increased 4-fold. Even during the current Hamas-created war, over 4,000 babies have been born in Gaza.
If Israel is attempting to commit genocide, it’s an abysmal failure.
Wow, if you just read Callaghan you’d think it was Israel who surrounded all those other countries who want them dead. Those poor Hamas victims, tunneling into Israel for the sole purpose of confronting the nasty Jews who kill their children. THAT makes sense – give the murderous invaders another route into your territory! You know why this is BS? If the things that nut job Callaghan are spouting were true the media would have been camped out in the strip years ago, gouging Israel at every chance. Put a few Maus posters up here and I know a few goosesteppers who would be right at home.
Israel would hear the sound of pulling heaven down if they tried to “wipe Hamas off the map”; they would be killing millions of Arabs and destabilizing the entire area. They are the lone wolf in that region; their success fighting Hamas is every bit as poor as the US defenses against IEDs and homegrown insurgents hell bent on protecting their homes. Our abysmal failures in Iraq and Afghanistan shold speak for themselves. Fighting a war against fundamentalism and idealism (ie: “war on terror”) is ludicrous. Israel is seen as a US outpost in the Middle East and any catastrophic action on Netanyahu’s part will be viewed internationally as US-sponsored aggression-again.
THIS explains the entire situation including how ISIS, the Russian-Ukraine conflict, Syria, and Iran are all factors in this case….
http://www.theeverlastinggopstoppers.com/2014/08/caliphate-pruning-isil-iraq/
And then there’s this from last year. Nothing like trying to take over a bit of Syria while they’re spread really thin. I’d suggest reading the related articles as well in order to get a bigger picture.
http://www.businessinsider.com/israel-grants-golan-heights-oil-license-2013-2
I suggest that everyone read the Hamas Charter http://fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/880818.htm
Short extract…Section 7….[in part]
The time(16) will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and
kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: 0
Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!
If you like ISIS (IS) you’ll love Hamas