Official Rabbi Calls for War Crimes

When reading this story keep in mind that this is not some 'random' Rabbi making crazy statements. Rather, it is the 'chief' Rabbi of the IDF and therefore he makes the statements with the apparent backing of the Israeli government.

The Israeli army's chief rabbinate gave soldiers preparing to enter the Gaza Strip a booklet implying that all Palestinians are their mortal enemies and advising them that cruelty is sometimes a "good attribute".

...

The publication draws on the teachings of Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, head of the Jewish fundamentalist Ateret Cohanim seminary in Jerusalem.

In one section, Rabbi Aviner compares Palestinians to the Philistines, a people depicted in the Bible as a war-like menace and existential threat to Israel.

In another, the army rabbinate appears to be encouraging soldiers to disregard the international laws of war aimed at protecting civilians, according to Breaking the Silence, the group of Israeli ex-soldiers who disclosed its existence. The booklet cites the renowned medieval Jewish sage Maimonides as saying that "one must not be enticed by the folly of the Gentiles who have mercy for the cruel".

Breaking the Silence is calling for the firing of the chief military rabbi, Brigadier-General Avi Ronzki, over the booklet. The army had no comment on the matter yesterday.

So much for Israel as the moral state. And we are supporting these calls for criminal activity.

It is interesting how he related old textual statements to the current situation. Does that mean that all the statements in the torah can be activated under the right circumstances?

Other quotes include:

"[There is] a biblical ban on surrendering a single millimeter of it [the Land of Israel] to gentiles, though all sorts of impure distortions and foolishness of autonomy, enclaves and other national weaknesses. We will not abandon it to the hands of another nation, not a finger, not a nail of it."

...

"A comparison is possible because the Philistines of the past were not natives and had invaded from a foreign land ... They invaded the Land of Israel, a land that did not belong to them and claimed political ownership over our country ... Today the problem is the same. The Palestinians claim they deserve a state here, when in reality there was never a Palestinian or Arab state within the borders of our country. Moreover, most of them are new and came here close to the time of the War of Independence."

...

"When you show mercy to a cruel enemy, you are being cruel to pure and honest soldiers. This is terribly immoral. These are not games at the amusement park where sportsmanship teaches one to make concessions. This is a war on murderers. 'A la guerre comme a la guerre.'"

Haaretz

Independant

Israel Supports the Iraq

This is no suprise to many, but some still try to claim that 'Israel' did not support the Iraq war.

However, we have seen many statements to the contrary, including this latest statement from Shimon Peres.

Peres said to Bush, "If the world had acted against Hitler the way you acted against Saddam Hussein, the lives of millions would have been saved." The president added, "You made a historic contribution to the entire world and to the Jewish people in particular. We will treasure this forever and will never forget it." (Ronen Medzini)

Problem is, Bush's contribution to the American people (and the people of Iraq) was wholly negative. This is particularlly true for the hundreds of thousands who lost their lives.

Who We Are FIghting For

At least when you see this video you will feel better about the people and motives associated with support for Israel.



Not really.

History of Sderot

So, it doesn't look like Sderot was taken as part of a 'defensive' action on the part of Israel.

Sderot, where a few homemade harmless missiles have landed, was once an Arab village called Najd, whose 600 Arab inhabitants were expelled by Israelis in 1948. Jewish settlers built over the old town in 1951. Having been ethnically cleansed, the Arabs moved to the Gaza Strip, along with some other 750,000 Palestinians who had been removed from their lands—or murdered, like the villagers of Deir Yassin—before the first Arab-Israeli war had even begun.

UN Resolution 194 and Article 13 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights say the people of Najd and Palestine’s other 384 demolished villages must be allowed to go home. But they can’t because Israel confines them in a small stretch of coastal desert that the Egyptian army held onto in 1949 and became a dumping ground for the displaced population of southern Palestine. Ninety per cent of Gaza’s 1.5 million people are refugees and their descendants. Israel won’t let them come back, nor will it let them have a state of their own in Gaza and the West Bank even if they relinquish their right of return.

Link

Wisdom from Ron Paul on Gaza

And on US foreign policy in General. Worth watching.

Taking Pot Shots at Children

This girl is very brave.



The IDF Solder will not shoot her ... in front of the camera. But who is he trying to shot at beyond her?

Greenwald on the Israel Debate

Greenwald gets to the heart of the problem with the Israel debate. America's interests are never discussed.

Ultimately, what is most notable about the "debate" in the U.S. over Israel-Gaza is that virtually all of it occurs from the perspective of Israeli interests but almost none of it is conducted from the perspective of American interests. There is endless debate over whether Israel's security is enhanced or undermined by the attack on Gaza and whether the 40-year-old Israeli occupation, expanding West Bank settlements and recent devastating blockade or Hamas militancy and attacks on Israeli civilians bear more of the blame. American opinion-making elites march forward to opine on the historical rights and wrongs of the endless Israeli-Palestinian territorial conflict with such fervor and fixation that it's often easy to forget that the U.S. is not actually a direct party to this dispute.

Though the ins-and-outs of Israeli grievances and strategic considerations are endlessly examined, there is virtually no debate over whether the U.S. should continue to play such an active, one-sided role in this dispute. It's the American taxpayer, with their incredibly consequential yet never-debated multi-billion-dollar aid packages to Israel, who are vital in funding this costly Israeli assault on Gaza. Just as was true for Israel's bombing of Lebanon, it's American bombs that -- with the whole world watching -- are blowing up children and mosques, along with Hamas militants, in Gaza. And it's the American veto power that, time and again, blocks any U.N. action to stop these wars.

And it is American that will experience the blowback for these policies.

Salon

Israel Bars Reporters From Gaza

From McClatchy:

On one hand, one can't blame the Israeli government for wanting to do what it can to prevent the world from seeing the effects of its devastating Gaza airstrikes that have killed hundreds of Palestinians.

...

But, as the BBC's Jo Floto noted last month after Israel first barred journalists from entering Gaza, Israel has joined a notorious and small list of countries preventing reporters from doing their job.

Israel, which prides itself on being the healthiest democracy in the Middle East, joins North Korea, Zimbabwe and Burma in denying media access to a major story.

That is some unfavorable company to be in, Israel.

If anyone claims Israel is subject to intensive scrutiny they are not telling the truth.

The State.

UPDATE:

UPDATE: The Israeli Supreme Court several days ago ordered the Government to allow reporters into Gaza, yet Israel continues to block all journalists from entering.

The Impact of Gaza

Israel is bombing the hell out of Gaza taking out Universities and Hospitals. This is after two years of embargo where a collective punishment has been carried out on 1.5 million people.

All this happens while settlements continue on the West Bank and the average income is these area are $1000/mo or less.

While these war crimes are deplorable, it is the fact that they are using US weapons, money and support to conduct these operations. The arab world knows this and we will become a target of any retribution. The result is that US society will lose vaulable civil rights and freedoms, become less open and undergo great expense to be 'safe.'

Is other words, we will begin to resemble Israel is some unfortunate ways.

When the next attack occurs remember this when someone tries to tell you they did it because they 'hate our freedom.'

Israel Still Spying

I thought Israel is claiming that in no longer spies on the United States?

The following story indicates (again) that this is highly doubtful and that the consequences for being caught are virtually nil.

Readers of my columns in TAC and at antiwar might recall that I have been inquiring about the status of Israeli spy Ben-Ami Kadish, who was arrested in April and has since fallen into a black hole, with no record of any continuing judicial process and no mention in the MSM. I suggested that those who spy for Israel appear to have a “get out of jail free” card as there is seldom any aggressive prosecution of their cases. I have recently learned that Kadish, who is free on bail in spite of the considerable risk that he would flee to Israel, had been granted a number of delays by the presiding judge. Yesterday he appeared in court and guilty to the single charge of failing to register as an agent of Israel. The charges of espionage and obstruction of justice were dismissed and the prosecution has indicated that it will not oppose a no-prison time punishment when Kadish is actually sentenced next month.

Amconmag