Protest against Israeli bombing of Gaza.

by Michelle Clarke - Social Justice and Ethics Sun Dec 28, 2008 23:54

It is Christmas time, a time of Peace. Riveted I was as I watched the TV reporting on the raid on Gaza.......where is the Justice, where is the compassion, the humanity. The attack on people in a closely knit urban location is weighted to target the most vulnerable, the women and children.

Who decided on such timing? The time of year is a time for family. What pathological mindsets contrived this attack, when human bengs are unexpectant and without cover. To see women and children randomly assaulted and killed. This is the same as happened in the attacks on Iraq - what is the purpose or is it so obvious? Take out vulnerable women and children and cut down on birth rates....a form of eugenics perhaps.

Where are the Governments? The world is in a financial crisis and not unlike in early crises, decisions of economic strategies came to the fore so that Arms companies could release weaponry to offset against losses.......In Ireland, we have companies involved in weapon design, and manufacturing arms. We even are known to provide training.........

Walking along Wellington Road today, enjoying the blue sky, I could hear muffled engines or so I thought. I am partially deaf with tinnitus. However, it was suffice to make me think of Embassies, the Israeli Embassy opposite D4 hotels (formerly Juries). How vulnerable are we in Ireland? The question mark for rendition flights and Shannon has not been dealt with by the Government and people still protest in earnest and no doubt in fear of reprisal.

Mr. Ganley refers to Neutrality and we the Irish are deemed to be fearful of losing same with the Lisbon Treaty.......This is fine but is anybody really thinking. I don't believe so.............

They say that Retailers are so fearful of going under, that their focus is on releasing on all stocks in the shops. Their motive has changed to make it through the month. It is no different with Arms.......Profit is the motive of business.

Well done to those who organised to March. Why could they not follow the Peace and Reconciliation route undertaken in Ireland with the objective of achieving a Unity in the Island of Ireland.

2009 awaits us. Let us not forget the ruthless devastation that has been undertaken against a race of people. The argument is that Hamas are the cause........but if so, have the Israeli government exercised a merciful choice........

There is a poem written by Thomas Merton in the 1950's of some 40 stanzas. It is worth reading.....War and its cost is too high. Let there be Peace.

Short Sharp Shock is no doubt a reason given. No, it is just power, money, tactics, and control over......by Force, and the loss of life.

Michelle

Wings to soar
'The person who has no imagination has no wings'
Muhammed Ali/Cassius Clay

What imagination can people have in Gaza while such war attrocities abound....... Air Raids......

by Sean Og - Media Analyst Mon Dec 29, 2008 15:41

Nothing is clearer than Hamas's strategy.
It gives Israel the choice between rockets or media, and Hamas thinks it is a situation of,
"We win or you lose."
Hamas 6 months ago entered into a "hudna " a ceasefire giving it the peace and quiet needed to build up its army and consolidate its rule over the Gaza Strip.
It spent much of this time , getting supplies from Iran through the tunnels which the Egyptians did nothing to stop . It developed missiles capable of getting further and further into Israel

Israel would deliver supplies as long as there weren't attacks.
From a Western-style pragmatic standpoint this is a great situation.
But Hamas isn't a Western-style pragmatic organization.
Peace and quiet is its enemy not only because of its ideology--the deity commands it to destroy Israel--or its self-image--as heroic martyrs--but also because battle is needed to recruit the masses for permanent war and unite the population around it.

Hamas's program of improving the well-being of the people or educating children to be doctors, teachers, and engineers is not its main aim
. Its platform has but one plank: war, war, endless war, sacrifice, heroism, and martyrdom until total victory of destroying Israel as a nation is achieved.

Thus, it ended the ceasefire. 10 days ago and increased the missile attacks -they had continued intermittently during the " hudna cease fire " any way but Israel did not over react

And so Hamas officially did not re new the ceasefire and rained rockets down on Israel, accompanied by mortars and the attempts at cross-border ground attack.s to capture more Israeli soldiers.
Israel did nothing.

Hamas crowed : you are weak, you are confused, you are helpless.
Come, people, arise and destroy the paper tiger!
Remember 2006 in Lebanon , they say when an across border raid led to War -a trap Israel went into without any preparation .
It is just like Hizballah. Israel is helpless against the rockets.
Why don't our governments fight Israel?
Let's overthrow them and bring brave, fighting Islamist governments to power.
But then Israel DOES fight back. and the Worls is up in arms .
Its planes bomb military targets which have been deliberately put amidst civilians.
If there is a high danger of hitting civilians, Israel doesn't attack.
But there is a line below which risk that will be taken, and rightly so.

The smug smiles are still on the faces of Hamas leaders.
Yet they have one more weapon, their reserves, they call up the media.

Those arrogant, heroic, macho victors of yesterday--literally yesterday as the process takes only a few hours--are transformed into pitiful victims.
Casualty figures are announced by Hamas, and accepted by reporters who are not on the spot. Everyone hit is, of course, a civilian.
No soldiers or militants here - nobody in Gaza seems to launch rockets yet HAMAS TV shows film of rocket /missile launching . If they wanted no casualties you d think they would stop them .

And the casualties are disproportionate: Hamas has arranged it that way.

If necessary, sympathetic photographers take pictures of children who pretend to be injured, and once they are published in Western newspapers these claims become fact.

Yet there is a problem here.
Rockets and mortars may win wars; newspaper articles really don't.
Of course, too, material damage is inflicted that sets back Gaza's material development.
Hamas doesn't care about that, but by acting in a way to ensure the destruction of their material base, Hamas does weaken itself. Precisely because Israeli attacks are focussed on military targets, Hamas is weakened but the people of GAZA suffer because of HAMAS's actions

Conclusion: The problem with no solution

Of course, Israel does not win a complete victory. Hamas does not fall.
The problem is not gone. For Hamas its survival is victory.
Hamas, like the PLO before it, wins one "victory" after another and always ends up worse off.

The conflict will be back, however it ends this round, on whatever day it ends.
Quiet will return, the supplies will flow back into Gaza as they have done even while the present bombardment is going on. Remember after Oslo all the money Arafat got was to make it the Hong Kong of the Middle East ?
And so many months in the future the process will be repeated.

"We believe in death," Hamas boasts , "You believe in life."

by Saddened Mon Dec 29, 2008 15:44

A non partisan petition seeking peace between the combatants can be found at http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace/98.php?cl_t...ign=1

by Moshe Mon Dec 29, 2008 15:54

The Israeli Defence Forces attacked Hamas terrorists and Hamas security forces and their infrastructure.
Even Hamas mouth pieces, Al-Asqa TV, admits that the majority of the dead are overwhelmingly Hamas fighters and Hamas police.
The death toll among Palestinians civilians which the IDF tried to minimise is about 50.

Following the initial raids, the Hamas movement showered southern Israel with scores of Qassam rockets.

Hamas has vowed to launch suicide bomb attacks against innocent Israeli civilians.

Your hysterical lies are no clearer indication that you are a hopeless anti-semite and have allied yourself with Hamas Islamic extremism.

by LP Mon Dec 29, 2008 19:51

The Zionists continue their old tradition of killing policemen, begun under the British Mandate. Israel has killed about twenty times the number of Qassam victims of the past 8 years in just 2 days. There's a victory for democracy. Hamas threatens to kill Israeli civilians. The IDF rarely do this; they just kill them without threatening them, and in far greater numbers than the most violent Hamas supporter could ever dream of. Another proud Israeli tradition.

by Caobhin Mon Dec 29, 2008 20:53

The hypocrisy of this sectarian state and it's odious apologists, it launches a murderous, cowardly attack on a region ruled by a DEMOCRATICALLY elected party and in true Orwellian sytle turns the aggressor into victim and vice versa. And all this because the current Israeli junta is seeking re-election. Enough with the hypocrisy about Hamas getting Iranian aid - the Israelis have been armed to the teeth by the septics for 60 years but that's okay. 1,600 civilians have been killed by Israel since Hamas were elected and how many Israelis? -Seven

Go on then call me an anti-semite you despicable defilers of the memory of the Holocaust.

by Nicola Tue Dec 30, 2008 05:08

If one dares to criticize Israel's actions, the charge of "anti-semite" is sure to follow - a handy device for denying any culpability. Israel spends millions of dollars each year (or rather the American taxpayers do) on public relations firms to maintain the myth that they are the hapless, peace-seeking victims of rabid Arab aggression. Those who have lived under Israeli military occupation for 40 years surely know better.

by Roger Tue Dec 30, 2008 08:17

"Political solutions" (so called) which involve human rights violations cannot (by definition) ever work in the long term.

They never have.

They never will.

"Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, ..." (From The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights at http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html )

Related link: http://www.humanrightsireland.com

by Mr Man Tue Dec 30, 2008 16:25

"Israel spends millions of dollars each year (or rather the American taxpayers do) on public relations firms"

Every country does it. Ireland does it. Canada does it. Hamas does PR.

by Andy Fri Jan 02, 2009 02:59

From Michelle Clark

Well done to those who organised to March. Why could they not follow the Peace and Reconciliation route undertaken in Ireland with the objective of achieving a Unity in the Island of Ireland.

For the answer to that I refer you to Hamas charter where it states

[Peace] initiatives, the so-called peaceful solutions, and the international conferences to resolve the Palestinian problem, are all contrary to the beliefs of the Islamic Resistance Movement. For renouncing any part of Palestine means renouncing part of the religion; the nationalism of the Islamic Resistance Movement is part of its faith, the movement educates its members to adhere to its principles and to raise the banner of Allah over their homeland as they fight their Jihad

Article 13 hamas charter
http://www.palestinecenter.org/cpap/documents/charter.html

so why are Hamas supporters in Ireland supporting a group aho doesnt want peace ?

by Justin Morahan Fri Jan 02, 2009 17:57

Opposing a holocaust does not mean you are supporting the ideology of those who are suffering the holocaust.

by Barry Sun Jan 11, 2009 15:13

I used to be Pro Palestinan,Now I have totally changed.I asked myself what would I expect my gov to do if terrorists fired rockets in Cork.At the rate of 8000.I would expect them to kill them.In Palestine.Children as young as ten or twelve.Fight with Hamas.When the world counts children deaths.They should be excluded.Israeli live in fear and so too does Gazans.But Hamas in power will never bring Peace.

If Israel laid down there weapons Hamas and all the other Arabs would destroy it in seconds.

If Hamas laid down there weapons there would be peace.

Hamas is no friend of the the Palestinans.And the Pro Palestinan lobby should condem them too

by tomasz Mon Jan 26, 2009 18:03

listen to yourself guys- hamas, palestine, israel, sionism and fuck off- war has no name- no matter where it is, between who it is- there is no flags or countries just deaths- never call war palestine or israel, iraq or chiapas conflict- fight the war no matter where it is and who is fighting- stop calling countries start to protest against weapon factories, governments, multinationals- they have no name of israel or others - they r cause of war!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by Justin Morahan Wed Jan 28, 2009 01:01

You are a (recent?) convert, then, to the Israeli State programme of occupation, siege, slaughter?

There's a song in the air and you've picked up the words very well.

What I can't understand is how or when you decided to stop asking yourself the question: What would I do if Dubliners ousted people in Cork from their homes, occupied Cork, invited foreigners in to settle Cork, treated Corkonians like dirt, made killing raids on Cork, said they were afraid of Cork, laid siege to Cork, made a truce with Cork, broke the truce but pretended that the Corkonians were the first to break it, then most recently pummeled Cork with bombs using white phosphorous in the process, killed 1300 in three weeks and injured over 5000 including women and small infants?

by Swedish-national - Myself and I Sat Apr 25, 2009 16:21

I competely agree with the comment about Dublin and Cork. It is unbelievable to me that kind of situation can be happening still. It is almost as if people are saying the Palestinians have absolutely no right to live in peace to have a home. Nobody and I mean nobody seem to react when the Israelis bulldoze their way up their driveways and demand they leave their family-home within 5 minutes or die. Many, many times these homes are occupied within hours by an Israeli family. This is why Rachel Corrie gave her life in Gaza, she saw the truth and she took a stand.She was however bulldozed down right there, brutally murdered. So as an American would you give your house up to an Israeli family? All that you own, furniture and dishes all that is home to you?Sit by and watch the Israelis using all of it as if it had always been theirs.

It is unbelievable to me that the majority of Americans are just buying into all of this crap not thinking for a second about how these Palestinians must feel and when they defend themselves, their lives, their homes only to be called terrorists. This is obviously very convenient as people do not care much for what happens to a terrorist. Many of these brainwashed people are otherwise smart, even educated. Of course you have to take into consideration that if you don't stand on the side of Israel you must be a Nazi. This has been proven time and time again but now in Europe something has start to happen. The new generation with their camera phones and videos and internet capabilites are getting a real look at the reality of Palestine. A large prison where people are kept with minimum to exist. A state where Israel keep turning off their electricity and keep them from getting water only to later state to media how kind they are to supply Gaza with these "Luxuries" and the Americans are taking it like good little hookers and they swallow nicely without protest. Soon however someone will demand an explanation of why the Israelis have the right to all the land and why the Palestinians only right is to be persecuted, homeless and falsely imprisoned.

For those Americans that actually have some education in their history all they have to remember is what the American news said about the native indians when the conflict of the lands where happening. They called them savages that had it coming, they got what they deserved etc, etc. Well we can probably all agree that it is not how we feel about the same situation today. So when are we going to learn that it is never ok to hurt others, rob them of their home and possesions, kill their children and when they speak up or throw a rock just to call them a terrorist.

by Sean Og - Media Analyst Sat Apr 25, 2009 22:40

Please re read my contribution of 29 Dec

It was a distillation of months and years of media analysis regarding

Hamas and events in the Middle East over many eyars -not just a snapshot --

All discussions must be be based on context

by Justin Morahan Sun Apr 26, 2009 02:15

Your "media analysis" doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

For a different account of the events events leading up to the recent holocaust in Gaza, read:

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/90404?&condense_comment...41813.