Walkout...

No wonder why we can't solve the crisis in Gaza. Still this is the typical Western response as Gaza starves: Just walk away. I don't agree with the Libyan ambassador's comparison to the Holocaust because this has become a different situation in and of itself given the length it has continued for. That being said it's just deplorable that the West would allow people to starve because it doesn't agree with the language used in the discussion of the situation. Have we really compromised so much on our humanity? It seems the West will only discuss this situation only if blame for this situation is placed on the victims. It's truly an embarrassing time to be an American.

Another bout of craziness

Thanks to Al Jazeera for showing me something that would motivate me to update this.

Lately Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livini(I'm glad i'm writing this because I could never say it) has been at Doha's annual democracy forum. She said that Arab states do not need to wait for an agreement with the Palestinians to normalize ties with Israel and that Israel and Arab states face the same threats from Hamas and Hezbollah (It seriously took me ten minutes to write this sentence while my mind tried to block me from doing so). I've also debating whether to seriously discuss this point by point but I'll take a different approach.

At one point in Josh Rushing's book Mission Al Jazeera he writes about how Americans think that Iraq and Palestine are totally different issues while he states that most Arabs see them as similar if not the same. Why is this? Although some would claim that this is the work of the Israel lobby (This sounds like a job for Mearsheimer and Walt), I think that people really should be able to see that the conflict in Palestine has effects in the rest of the Middle East in some way. That said, I don't think that Livini is really trying to court Arab states. I think the statement is for the Israeli and American publics to say that Israel is still interested in peace but since the Arab states are delaying on normalizing relations with Israel, the Arab states are not interested in peace so we can keep on bombing Gaza. That's the only way this makes sense.

ha...

Looks like the only democracy in the Middle East decided to prove that Mr. Falk's criticisms were completely unfounded by NOT LETTING HIM IN!!!

Full Circle: Israel and the Nazi comparisons

Go to any demonstration that criticizes Israel and you will often see signs that connect Israel with the Nazis. It use to just be a hippie thing but now Professor Richard Falk has brought that discussion into the mainstream. Richard Falk is the UN’s investigator into Israel’s conduct in the occupied territories and like anyone in the UN who is free to speak their mind such as John Dugard, he is naturally very critical of Israel’s conduct. It is important to note that Falk did not say that Israel and the Nazis were the same, Falk claimed that Israel and the Nazis both employed collective punishment often. His comments were aimed specifically at the American public and the BBC quoted him as saying, “if this kind of situation existed...in...China...or...Darfur, I think there would be no reluctance to make that comparison.” Falk claimed that the reluctance stemmed the historic sensitivity to the persecution of the Jewish people and the fact that the double standard in international law and morality actually works to Israel’s favor. An incensed Israel wants Falk’s mandate expanded to look into human rights violations by the Palestinians in order to deflect criticism from its own conduct. Otherwise, “the only democracy in the Middle East” will consider barring Falk’s entry.

Thanks to the BBC.