Some days I listen and laugh. Some days I listen and curse. Everyone
is pointing the finger at everyone else, while sounding just like all
of them. With my ears, I listen and watch, knowing that even though I
am no longer a religious man, the Bible said it all when it
proclaimed, "By their deeds ye shall know them".
And by the way, we'd better quit listening to the babble of Donald
Trump and begin paying close attention to his actions. Unstopped,
Donald Trump will start us on a long road, not back to the days when
America was Great, but down an even more frightening road that leads
to the New Dark Ages.
Carl Jarvis
On 4/12/18, Bob Hachey <bhachey@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Roger and all,
Yes, this article was a definite disappointment to read. While it tried to
present both sides, it clearly favored the Israel side. Heck, if I were
stuck living behind that fence, I'd perhaps be inclined to act in a hostile
manner. Once again, Israel uses the relatively tame actions of a few to
terrorize Palestinians. Funny how Israel who often cries "terrorism"
continues to terrorize peoples within its border. That's what I call high
hypocrisy.
Reading this article leads me to the conclusion that the leaders of the SWP
are lackeys of Israel's Likud party, just like the Democrats in Congress who
claim to be progressive, but gladly support Israeli policies while they bow
to the Israel lobby.
Bob Hachey
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Roger Loran
Bailey (Redacted sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2018 11:36 AM
To: blind-democracy
Subject: [blind-democracy] Killing of Gaza protesters provokes debate in
Israel
http://themilitant.com/2018/8215/821554.html
The Militant (logo)
Vol. 82/No. 15 April 16, 2018
Killing of Gaza protesters provokes debate in Israel
BY SETH GALINSKY
Protest actions were held in Israel March 31 and April 1 against Israeli
army attacks that killed at least 15 Palestinian demonstrators and wounded
hundreds of Gaza Strip residents. They were marching on the border to
challenge the Israeli blockade there March 30. Some 300 people protested in
Tel Aviv. There were smaller actions in Yad Mordechai near Gaza and one in
Jaffa led by Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Forces from Hamas, the Islamist ruling party in Gaza, set up five camps with
tents, portable washrooms, offering free food and Wi-Fi, near the border
with Israel as part of what they call the “March of Return.” The series of
actions will last six weeks and culminate May 15, the 70th anniversary of
Israel’s declaration of independence. Many Palestinians call it the Nakba,
or catastrophe, the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from
their land.
The Israeli government pulled out from Gaza in 2005, turning it over to
Palestinian control. In June 2007 Hamas, which is backed by Tehran, wrested
control of Gaza from Fatah in bloody street fighting.
Because of restrictions on imports of basic necessities imposed by the
Israeli government — exacerbated by infighting between the Palestinian
Authority in the West Bank and Hamas — Gaza residents are dependent on
United Nations aid and at least 60 percent of its youth are unemployed.
Hamas deliberately organized the action to provoke Israeli authorities.
Despite publicly claiming it would be a peaceful, nonviolent demonstration,
members of Hamas’ military wing, the Izzadin Kassam Brigade, organized to
attack the border fence. Israeli officials repeatedly warned demonstrators
to not approach the fence, through social media, leaflets dropped from
airplanes and statements to news media.
Haaretz reported the protest was three actions in one. “The large majority
of the nearly 30,000 Palestinian protesters was groups of families” who
stayed well away from the border, despite attempts by Hamas to get them to
join their provocations; smaller groups that threw stones and rolled burning
tires toward the fence; and individuals who physically tried to wreck, burn
or blow up the fence, knowing full well that the Israeli government had
warned that anyone who did so would be met by force.
Like during three previous wars in Gaza over the past decade, Hamas’
goal was to trigger Israeli military retaliation against Palestinians who
were drawn to the protest so the reactionary group can use the deaths and
injuries to gain a hearing from the imperialist powers. Their aim is to
generate pressure on the rulers in Tel Aviv to make concessions.
Hamas admits that at least five of those killed — overwhelmingly while
trying to breach the fence — were members of its armed brigade. Israeli
authorities say 10 were, and that some shot at Israeli soldiers.
The Israel Defense Forces’ use of firepower and the resulting deaths and
injuries have sparked a debate in Israel.
Well-known radio host Kobi Meidan posted on his Facebook page that he is
“ashamed to be Israeli” because of the killings, and then was suspended by
Army Radio April 2. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman called for his
firing.
“I am firmly opposed to firings based on freedom of speech,” said Avi
Gabbay, leader of the Zionist Union, the main capitalist opposition party,
even though he said he disagrees with Meidan’s viewpoint.
Rachel Azaria, a Member of Parliament from the Kulanu Party, was one of the
few members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition who
defended the radio host. “It is important that the media, like anywhere
else, have a range of opinions,” she said. “Stop censoring. You never know
when it’ll reach you.”
Pointing to Hamas’ provocations, former Israeli soldier Lior Tal Sadeh wrote
to the online Times of Israel to criticize those who suggest the Israeli
soldiers “fired live bullets at Gazans who were simply protesting.”
“You acted in an incredibly irresponsible manner,” he said.
But he also criticized those who insisted “everything was Hamas’s fault and
that there is nothing to investigate and this would teach them not to
approach the fence.”
“You too acted irresponsibly,” he said.
Michael Sfard, an Israeli lawyer well-known for his defense of Palestinian
rights, is one of those who joined the protest in Tel Aviv.
The action was organized under the slogan, “Create hope, stop the next
war.”
“Those approaching the border did not present any serious danger to life or
limb. Damage to the fence would be the lesser evil,” Sfard told the Militant
in a phone interview April 4. “Maybe Hamas should be held accountable for
exploiting people. But that doesn’t diminish the responsibility of Israelis
to speak out against the killings.”
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