by Sami Jamil Jadallah
It seems President Obama agrees with Bibi Netanyahu and both see the price for an invitation to the White House must be paved with the innocent blood of Jews and Arabs. I guess this is the price Israelis and Gazans have to pay so that both men can mend fences. Surrounded by so many “Israel First” in the White House, National Security, State and UN no wonder Obama’s White House gave Israel (according to Israeli ambassador to Washington), the GREEN light to assassinate and escalate the war on Gaza including targeting civilians.
To Israeli leaders from the left or the right or the middle, facing elections, spilled blood of both Israelis and Arabs is a necessity election material, and it energizes the election and Israeli voters, of course the more Arab blood is spilled the better and the more votes. Simply there are no “peace” candidates only war candidates in Israel.
I also guess the same is true of the American Jewish leadership and to a great extent to the American Jewish “community”. The more blood is spelled, both Israeli/Jewish and Palestinian/Arab the more the community is energize to go out and raise money.
When the innocent blood in Palestine/Israel flow the money flows from Boston, to Brooklyn, to Cleveland, to Chicago, to St. Lewis, to Bethesda all the way to Los Angeles and Hollywood. Peace for Israel and for the Palestinians could never and will never energize the American Jewish leadership and community, spelled blood always does.
So it is not so surprising to see the American Jewish community and leadership with very very minor exception line up behind Israel, right or wrong as it wages its relentless attack on the innocent people of Gaza. To this leadership and community, all Israelis are victims and innocent and all Palestinians are guilty and deserve to die. Simply there are no civilians in Gaza, only an enclave of some 1.5 million terrorists who deserve to get killed, murdered in retail or wholesale.
Not so sure when this “community” and the mainstream media can see and face the truth that there are two sides to every story and that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not an exception to the rule. It is always the same thing and the same justifications. Israel has the right to defend itself. Israel has the right to attack and attack both militias and civilians. Israel has the right to initiate and engage all the means possible including air force, tanks, artillery, navy, and drones. Of course Palestinians under siege in Gaza, have no rights whatsoever to do any thing, no right to retaliate, no right to defend the civilian population, no right to resist the Jewish Occupation.
What is more disgusting is the fact that this “community” and the main stream media never bothered to even question or realize that Israel never ended its occupation of Gaza. Israel continues to place Gaza under siege, continues to shut down border crossings, continue to prevent supplies and fuels to come to Gaza, continues to enforce sea blockade, continue to calculate “calories” so that the people of Gaza do not look like the Jews in Concentration Camps. In fact Israel control the land, air and sea of Gaza. No one question perhaps dares to question why Israel simply refuses to reach a deal ending the siege and reach ends its occupation.
I am sure radio and TV hosts are not so stupid but for sure cowards when failing to raise tough and follow up questions to Israeli spokesperson as if given transcript and are not allowed deviating from it. No one is allowed to use their brains, or journalistic in question, simply they become battery-operated journalists. No one so far asked Israeli spokesperson follow up questions, such as the case why did Israel decides to assassinate Hamas Jabari now, certainly inviting Hamas militia to retaliate, and why did Bibi did not allow a pending deal to go through.
It seems every one in main stream media from the New York Times to Washington Post to CNN, BBC and Fox News all simply accept and dare not question Israel’s decision of waging frequent and constant war on Gaza. No one dare to ask the question if Israel has a right to retaliate does Hamas have the same right and if Israel target civilians can Hamas do the same? With the millions of dollars in salaries, mainstream media could not muster one “coward” to challenge the lies of Mark Regev, the Australian Jews who is Bibi Netanyahu propagandists. The Eveready battery keeps going, and going.
I like to leave you with some of the statements issued by main stream Jewish group in the US to determine for your self what is wrong with this “community” and why the silence and why they dare not speak out and say to Israel enough is enough?
Enough spilled blood, enough lies and enough justifications for the continued siege of Gaza, enough of targeting people, enough of killing innocent people, women and children. This “community” should know not all those injured and killed are militias but innocent people, innocent as much as any Israeli citizen in the South of Israel. But then spelled blood is what raises money and money buys power and influence in Washington.
So Mr. Bibi Netanyahu you are now welcomed to Obama’s White House however the price in blood is yet to be determined, perhaps few hundreds killed, perhaps few thousands injured the more the better. Welcome to America.
Statements in Support of Israel.
ADL: Israel has shown tremendous restraint in the face of the unceasing rocket and mortar fire launched from Gaza. This operation is directly targeting the leadership responsible for these attacks, as well as the warehouses and facilities housing their weapons. No country in the world would stand by and tolerate such attacks on more than a million civilians. The international community has a clear obligation to condemn these attacks and to support the actions taken by Israel against Hamas and other terror organizations operating in Gaza as Israel carries out its basic duty to defend its civilian population.
J Street: J Street stands with Israel and its right to defend itself from all threats to its people and territory. Our sympathies go out to the Israeli victims and families caught in the violence. We reiterate our call on Hamas to immediately cease rocket attacks on Israel and to ensure that other groups in Gaza desist as well. We also remain concerned about the impact on the civilian population in Gaza and urge the IDF to exercise judicious restraint in limiting its response to military targets in an effort to prevent civilian casualties.
Israel’s current military operation is a response to the hundreds of rockets that have rained down on Israel from the Gaza Strip over the past year. Every day, Israel’s southern residents carry with them the fear that a sudden Qassam rocket could change their world forever. Innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians too often bear the high costs of this ongoing conflict. Sirens have sounded in Israel as hundreds of rockets have been launched from Gaza, killing and injuring several Israelis. Already, there are reports of fatalities among Palestinian civilians, with many wounded as well. All of those Israelis and Palestinians who are suffering are in our thoughts and prayers.
At this sensitive moment, we call on President Obama to mobilize international partners to broker a ceasefire quickly. It is critical now to prevent escalation of the violence, which could increase casualties on both sides and further strain already fraught tensions in the region. We remain convinced that the best chance of breaking the spiral of violence is through achieving a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This latest military action must ultimately be assessed by whether it advances Israel’s long-term security. Today, however, the first goal should be to stop rocket fire on Israel, limit civilian casualties and avoid a deeper military conflict.
AJC: AJC is urging the international community to join together in backing Israel’s right to defend and protect its citizens against Hamas. The United States and Canada today expressed unqualified support for Israel, while sharply criticizing Hamas. But the UN Security Council, meeting in emergency session last night in New York could not agree on a statement of concern.
“The inability of too many world leaders to distinguish between the arsonist, Hamas, and the firefighter, Israel, is gross negligence,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. “No UN member state can honestly say it would respond differently to a neighbor dedicated to its annihilation and launching rockets to provoke a larger confrontation.” The U.S. “supports Israel’s right to defend itself,” said the U.S. State Department. “There is no justification for the violence that Hamas and other terrorist organizations are employing against the people of Israel… Attacking Israel on a near daily basis does nothing to help Palestinians in Gaza.”
Canada’s foreign minister, John Baird, agreed. “We fundamentally believe that Israel has the right to defend itself and its citizens from terrorist threats,” he said. “Far too often, the Jewish people find themselves on the front lines in the struggle against terrorism.” This week alone, hundreds of rockets launched by Hamas and its kindred spirits in Gaza have landed in southern Israel. Three Israelis were killed in a rocket attack earlier today on an apartment building in Kiryat Malachi, and more than 70 have been wounded in several communities in the region.
Many reportedly were injured while attempting to reach bomb shelters. “Israel deserves deep empathy as one million of its citizens have been forced to stand by within 15 seconds of the nearest bomb shelter, not knowing when the next Hamas attack will arrive. Schools have been closed and daily life disrupted,” said Harris.
“Coddling Hamas, recognized by the U.S. and European Union as a terrorist organization, does not advance the cause of peace,” said Harris. “To the contrary, the international community has not taken seriously enough the combustible mix of Hamas hatred of Israel and the group’s accumulation of more and more sophisticated rockets, including ones that today reportedly can reach Tel Aviv.” Harris added. “Those truly concerned for Israel’s security and the cause of peace must stand up and speak with unambiguous moral clarity. The rapidly escalating situation demands no less.”
Jewish Federations of North America: “Since this past weekend, citizens of Israel’s south have been targeted by yet another rocket barrage by terrorists in the Gaza Strip, that have put more than one million Israeli civilians under a state of siege,” said Michael Siegal, chair, The Jewish Federations of North America. “We call on the international community to condemn such unprovoked violence and vigorously defend Israel’s right to protect itself and its citizens from further harm.”
“These latest unprovoked attacks follow years of unrelenting terror that has forced so many Israelis to live in a constant state of fear — conditions which no country would tolerate,” added Jerry Silverman, president and CEO of JFNA. “We proudly stand shoulder to shoulder with the people and state of Israel during this difficult time and pray that such attacks will soon end.”
AIPAC issued a report: The Senate on Nov. 15 passsed a resolution by unanimous consent that expresses strong support for Israel as it seeks to defend itself from Hamas rocket attacks against Israeli civilians. The resolution, introduced by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), “reiterates that Hamas must end Gaza linked terrorist rocket and missile attacks against Israel, recognize Israel’s right to exist, renounce violence, and agree to accept previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinians.” The resolution also calls on the United Nations Security Council to condemn Hamas’ rocket attacks.
AIPAC has also sent several emails to its membership noting the key part AIPAC members have played in ensuring strong U.S-Israeli cooperation.
Americans For Peace Now (APN): APN mourns the loss of life and the suffering of innocent civilians on both sides. APN categorically denounces the firing of rockets and mortar rounds from Gaza into Israel and expresses its solidarity with the residents of communities in southern Israel.
There is no justification for the targeting of civilians, and Israel has the right and the obligation to protect its citizens from such attacks and threats. At the same time, Israel’s leaders must at long last recognize that military power alone has failed and will continue to fail to prevent rockets from being fired. Exercise of this power, on its own, will never ensure Israel’s long-term security and stability on its border with Gaza. Military power cannot address the underlying issue of Israel’s unresolved relationship with Hamas-ruled Gaza. That issue will only be resolved through diplomacy.
The Zionist Organization Of America (who recently lost its tax-exempt status while it was busy trying to make Israel a Republican and Democratic party wedge issue) politicized: “We are concerned that this heavy barrage of rocket fire on Israel launched by terrorist groups, which are targeting Israeli civilians with a view to inflicting maximum casualties, has been proceeding for four days without response from President Obama. President Obama spoke in 2008 during his visit to Sderot and, more recently, during the second presidential debate, of his concern for Israeli civilians being subjected to rocket fire, having to scramble without warning into bomb shelters and how he would take firm measures to protect his daughters if they were living in a home subject to this form of terrorist attack.
That is why it is disappointing, puzzling and concerning that we have not heard President Obama speak out on these attacks and affirm, as he did in 2008, that Israel has a right and duty to defend itself from such assaults. We urge him to do so now. A weak or non-existent presidential response transmits a message that these attacks are insufficient to warrant presidential concern and will be tolerated. I cannot believe that that is a message President Obama would wish to convey to the terrorists groups in Gaza.”
Source: pumpspot.com
Sami, a Palestinian-American and a US Army Veteran (66-68), recipient of the “soldier of the month award and leadership award from the 6th Army NCO Academy, is an international legal and business consultant with over 40 years of international experience, in construction, hospitality services, conservation, and defense, in the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa. Sami is a holder of BA, MPA in Public and Environmental Affairs, Jurist Doctor from Indiana University. While at IU he was elected class president, student government president and chairman of the Indiana Students Association,
Active in peace movement as a co-author of the pre-amble for the One State for All of its people and voluntary service program SalamNation. A frequent contributor on national and international affairs. He resides in the United States.
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