Jun 15, 2010 22:32
Courtesy Of "The ARAB NEWS"
The Obama administration is committing an immoral act and a dim-witted political blunder by siding with Israel on the Gaza aid flotilla incident — against the will of many Americans, world Jewry, including Israelis, and conscientious people from all over the globe.
Moreover, it is deliberately turning America into an accomplice in the biggest cover-up scheme of a state-run crime against hapless victims.
It wouldn’t be the first time that America steps in to get Israel off the hook, but the big difference, in the case of the bloody attack on the Mavi Marmara on May 31, is that the crime did not target Palestinians, but citizens of over 30 nationalities including parliamentarians, lawyers, doctors and peace activists.
Turkey, who lost nine of its citizens in the naval attack, is demanding an independent international inquiry into the incident that took place in international waters. So do many nations. There is no doubt that foul-play had taken place on that ominous day in the Mediterranean. Else how did nine people lose their lives — at least one was allegedly shot in the head a number of times — and how did more than 50 others get injured in the dawn attack by the Israeli Navy?
This is not about the unjust blockade of Gaza, which remains a stain on the face of humanity and international law. It is not about the fate of over 1.5 million Palestinians who suffered an incredible trauma more than a year ago when Israel unleashed its military against the stricken strip, killing over 1,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
It is also not about the Goldman report and its clear indictment of Israel, along with Hamas, for committing war crimes during the one-month long war. No one has been punished as a result and the victims of that atrocity are still waiting for justice.
In her speech before the UN Security Council last week, following the adoption of a resolution slapping new sanctions on Iran, US representative Susan Rice delivered a passionate speech in which she reminded the world of President Barack Obama’s belief that “rules must be binding and that violations must be punished...” She uttered these words as Israel reiterated its position that the Gaza siege will not be lifted and that it will never allow an international probe into the May 31 attack on the peace flotilla.
Laws and rules are indeed the backbone of an international system of checks and balances. Without them there will be anarchy, lawlessness and terror. The attack on the Gaza peace flotilla is a case that warrants adherence to international law and rules. The victims of that attack and their relatives, and indeed the international community, demand that violators be probed and punished.
The US was the first to step in, after watering down a Security Council statement on the issue, to give Israel room for maneuver in order to evade an international inquiry. That was a shameless act, an unforgivable one, by the Obama administration. It was not doing it to help Israel, but to save a beleaguered Israeli government that carried out a crime in the high seas.
Many decent Israelis are disgusted by their government’s policy against Gaza and its naval fiasco. Many Americans are appalled by statements and positions delivered by their politicians who mobilized to defend Israel without even checking the facts.
A growing number of American Jews, mostly young, are finding it difficult to defend Israeli policies against the Palestinians. They express their bold opinions on daily basis on popular news websites. Many Americans are becoming vociferous in their rejection of their country’s blind bias in favor of Israel. They are angry and irritable. Some of their comments are insidious, anti-Semitic in nature and controversial.
American policy-makers should be wary of a changing tide inside America. It is becoming increasingly difficult to defend Israel, not even on grounds of Iran’s threats, Hamas’ militancy or even Al-Qaida’s insanity. Israel is becoming a liability because of its changing nature. It is no longer the embodiment of the classic Zionist dream, the homeland of victims searching for peace and coexistence. Israel is showing a face that is an anathema to many including Jews.
Else how would one explain the fact that a German Jewish association is being inundated with requests to join a new Gaza aid flotilla? Or that leading Israeli commentators are calling on Israel to abandon its fruitless siege of Gaza? Or the fact that even Israeli ministers are dissenting, admitting that the blockade was wrong and that Israel should leave Gaza alone!
America has been instrumental in the process of turning Israel into a rogue state; a belligerent, apartheid-like regime, that now finds itself lawless and in need of rescue. In the process of rearing a brat kid, both America and Israel find themselves in a bind. Sixty years later Israel is no more than a gangster state, a maverick that thinks it is special, a wunderkind, a country above laws and rules with an open pass to do anything it wants.
That abnormality is coming to an end. The Israeli internal probe into the Marmara Mavi incident is a travesty of justice, an insult to the world and to the victims of Israeli atrocities. The Obama administration is pursuing bad politics and the repercussions will fail both Israel and the United States.
The time to make Israel accountable has arrived. This goes beyond the sea massacre and the Gaza siege. Israel will be made accountable to its self-defeating crimes against the Palestinians. The world is changing and Israel is now exposed. It is counting on America’s blind support, but even that is finally changing. The Obama administration will fall into a debacle unless it understands that helping Israel does not necessarily mean providing it with an escape route!
— Osama Al Sharif is a veteran journalist and political commentator based in Jordan.
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