Israel Update

[Programming note: There are a fair few topics that I have wanted to cover but have been unable to. Hopefully, as the semester winds down, I'll be able to get to them. So if it seems slightly anachronistic that I'm talking about Israel, it's because it's the oldest project.]

Last time we talked about Israel, they were bombing Gaza. A lot has happened since then.

Details of the War Come Out

"If you want to know whether I think that in doing so we killed innocents, the answer is, unequivocally, yes." ~Tzvika Fogel, a brigadier-general in the Israeli reserves

Testimonies from Israeli soldiers were published in Ha'aretz in March. The soldiers were given the impression that Palestinian lives were "very, very, less important than the lives of our soldiers." A commander told them "to write 'death to the Arabs' on the walls...just because you can." Then, there's this story:

There was a house with a family inside ... We put them in a room ... a few days after there was an order to release [them]. There was a sniper position on the roof. The platoon commander let the family go and told them to go to the right. One mother and her two children didn't understand and went to the left, but they forgot to tell the sharpshooter on the roof they had let them go and it was OK, and he should hold his fire and he ... he did what he was supposed to, like he was following his orders.

The sharpshooter saw a woman and children approaching him, closer than the lines he was told no one should pass. He shot them ... In any case, what happened is that in the end he killed them.

International Responses

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International condemned Israel's use of white phosphorus (pictured above) in densely populated areas. White phosphorus is often used as a smokescreen, but can also be used as an incendiary. It is particularly lethal because, in addition to being burned, the body absorbs the phosphorus, leading to organ failure.

Based on these accounts (and another where a Palestinian boy was used as a human shield), the United Nations concluded that Israel committed war crimes and violated human rights. The Israelis accused the UN Human Rights Council of bias.

The Human Rights Council recently named Judge Richard Goldstone to head an investigation into the conflict. Judge Goldstone is of Jewish descent and was an important architect of post-apartheid South Africa. According to an anonymous government official, Israel will not cooperate with the inquiry.

Parliamentary Elections

Elections for the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, were held on February 10. The elections were contentious. Both Tzipi Livni, of the centrist Kadima Party, and Benjamin Netanyahu, of the more conservative Likud Party, claimed victory on election night. It was not known which party won more seats until February 12. Kadima led by one:

However, the 28 seats won by Kadima was well short of the 61 needed for an outright parliamentary majority. A coalition was needed, and both Livni and Netanyahu could make arguments for the premiership. Livni's Kadima had won a plurality, but conservative parties won 65 seats, and Netanyahu was well-placed to form a coalition.

The ultra-right Yisrael Beiteinu placed third, and its head, Avigdor Lieberman, was proclaimed the kingmaker. Lieberman, however, is a controversial figure. He advocates a loyalty test for Arab Israelis and maintains that "the peace process is based on...false...assumptions." But achieving the premiership without his support would be either difficult or impossible.

Seeing the writing on the wall, Ehud Barak led the fourth-place, left-wing Labor Party into the Netanyahu coalition. Said Joe Klein, "The decision removes the last wisps of credibility that the Labor Party--the party of Ben Gurion, Dayan, Meir and Rabin--had in Israeli politics." Barak became defense minister; Lieberman, foreign minister.

Odds & Ends

Joe Klein says Netanyahu "is mostly blowing smoke" in his interview with Jeffrey Goldberg on Iran.

Lieberman is being investigated for "bribery, money laundering and breach of trust," upholding a longstanding tradition among Israeli politicians. After all, accusations of corruption led former PM Ehud Olmert to step down last September, which led Livni to take the reins of Kadima and the former coalition to fall apart, requiring the election in February.

The Conflict in Gaza

"We have to talk to the other side, we have to have peace, so that we can all - us and them - live safely."     ~Mirvat Abu Shwab, who lost two children in early 2008 as Israelis and Palestinians battled outside their home

Background

On June 19, 2008, a six-month cease-fire between Hamas and Israel went into effect. The cease-fire was never absolute; during the six months, rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel, and Israel conducted raids against Hamas and closed the border crossings into Gaza. But violence had decreased. 329 rockets and mortars were fired during the cease-fire, while 2278 were fired in the preceding six months.

Hamas decided not to renew the cease-fire after it expired on December 19. Fifty rockets were launched on December 21, followed by sixty more on Christmas Eve. The same day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were authorized to attack Hamas in Gaza. Although at that time, "[m]ilitary sources said a major operation - such as conquering the Gaza Strip - was not currently on the agenda."

Operation Cast Lead

On December 27, the IDF began Operation Cast Lead, a series of air strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. 225 were killed on the first day alone. On the 28th, the IDF began targeting tunnels that ran between Egypt and Gaza, which transported arms (and needed supplies due to the Israeli-imposed blockade) into Gaza. Civilians died from the beginning, and the IDF bombed a mosque, a refugee camp, the Islamic University at Tel al-Hawa, and the Education Ministry. (In the IDF's defense, the Islamic University is "one of the prime means for Hamas to convert Palestinians to its Islamist cause.")

Throughout the air strikes, Hamas continued to fire rockets, landing deeper into Israel than ever before. Rockets landed in Beersheba, 24 miles inside Israel, two days in a row. Anger in the Arab world rose not only against Israel, but also against Egypt, which had originally brokered the six-month truce and is not allowing refugees to escape from Gaza into Egypt. Hamas gunmen and Egyptian border guards have even exchanged gunfire. And the IDF massed troops along the Gazan border.

The Invasion

On January 3, Israeli troops entered the Gaza Strip. And whatever international support Israel had evaporated. There are those who turned against Israel for reasons of realpolitik. Says Joe Klein, who was initially very supportive of Israel's actions:

The more I think about it, the ground assault has the potential to be a...big mistake. It has made a symbolic defeat more possible, if still unlikely. If the IDF gets hung up in alley-fighting in Gaza City, with significant casualties--that will be seen as a defeat. If Hamas guerrilllas can kidnap or use suicide bombers to attack the IDF positions outside Gaza, that will also be seen as an indication of Israeli vulnerability. The problem is that the expectations for Hamas--which already has had its military capability smashed decisively, if truth be told--are so low.

And the New York Times divines that Israel's goal is to remove Hamas from power and is highly skeptical. What would be the human cost? Who would fill the power vacuum left behind? Neither Fatah, a more moderate Palestinian organization nominally in control of the West Bank, nor Israel could legitimately do so.

And then of course there is the moral outrage. Israel air-dropped leaflets that read:

Hamas is getting a taste of the power of the Israeli military after more than a week and we have other methods that are still harsher to deal with Hamas. They will prove very painful. For your safety, please evacuate your neighborhood.

Unfortunately, as many neighborhoods received the same message, residents had nowhere to go.

More evidence that Israel has acted terribly:

• A Norwegian doctor working in Gaza City reports women and children made up 25% of the death toll and 45% of the wounded.
• Ambulances and hospitals are being attacked, and on-duty paramedics are being killed. Hospitals in Gaza lack the most basic supplies.
• Israel is giving Gaza what they term "humanitarian respites," irregularly scheduled, three-hour suspensions in fighting every other day. (The same article reports that over 700 Palestinians, including 219 children, have been killed in the first eleven days of the assault.)
• A UN-run school was struck by Israeli artillery, killing 40 and wounding 55 more.
• The Vatican's peace and justice minister, Cardinal Renato Martino, said that Israel had turned the Gaza Strip into "a big concentration camp."
• The UN and the Red Cross had to scale back aid after their trucks were hit by Israeli fire.

The Future

As the Israeli assault seemed more reprehensible, international calls for a cease-fire, led by Egypt and France, increased. Israel wants an end to the rocket attacks and arms smuggling into Gaza. Hamas wants an end to the Israeli-imposed economic blockade. Israel has accepted this in principle, but "there is a potentially long gap between accepting principles and applying practice."

The UN Security Council is meanwhile torn between two extremes. Arab countries want a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, while the US, Britain, and France (all permanent, veto-wielding Council members) "are pushing for a weaker statement welcoming the Franco-Egyptian initiative."

On Thursday, January 8, three rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel. Hezbollah has maintained that they were not responsible for the attack and warned Israel not to use it as a pretext for opening a second front. So far it appears to me that Israel will not do so. And they should not do so. The Gaza offensive is terrible enough, and the last time Israel attacked Lebanon (in 2006), it did much to solidify Hezbollah's position there.

Jeffrey Goldberg shares a smart idea for Israel: "Why not erect a massive tent hospital in Sderot, staff it with Israeli army doctors, and treat the Palestinian wounded there?" It would be great morally and politically, so it's probably not going to happen.

For more: The BBC, per usual, has excellent reporting of the conflict. Particularly helpful is their timeline of the assault, which can be found here.

Ahmadinejad on Larry King

This is the interview between Larry King and Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.



He may be the Iranian version of George Bush, however, he makes some valid points amid the rest. One example of this is the double standard of the US calling on the IAEA to do more investigations on Iran than in the history of the organization rather than allowing themselves to be monitored. While Ahmadinejad may not be the best at promoting positive relations between Iran and Israel to say the least, he makes a point that the US avoids which is the plight of the Palestinean people.

While there are some valid points made, Ahmadinejad doesn't disappoint American audiences. His comments regarding Iran's own human rights issues and homosexuality are still as concerning as ever.

So, what's the answer?

Diplomacy. Diplomacy. Diplomacy.

Headlines: 8 August 2008

• Former bin Laden driver gets light sentence: After five years at Gitmo and a Supreme Court case, Salim Hamdan will be eligible for release in five months.
• A Glossary of Iraq Euphemisms: George Orwell is rolling over in his grave.
• Musharraf Won't Resign, Allies Say: The Pakistani Parliament is moving to impeach.
• Tibetan exiles in India protest Beijing Olympics naturally.
• Arrests as Burma marks uprising: Twenty years ago today, the Burmese started a six-week uprising against the junta.
• Mbeki set for new Zimbabwe talks: Mugabe and Tsvangirai are approaching a power-sharing deal.
• Detroit mayor charged with two felony assault counts: Michigan AG Mike Cox filed those two charges stemming from an incident involving Kilpatrick and an officer trying to deliver a subpoena on a Kilpatrick ally.
• A Whole New McCain: No more Mr. Nice Guy.
• Large Hadron Collider operations scheduled: Zwoom!

Headlines: 1 August 2008

• Source: British Territory Used for US Terrorism Interrogation: Extraordinary rendition through Diego Garcia, a British territory in the Indian Ocean.
• To Provoke War, Cheney Considered Proposal To Dress Up Navy Seals As Iranians And Shoot At Them: Luckily, there was one voice of reason at that meeting. But probably only one.
• Top Fatah officials held in Gaza: Six die in a bomb blast in Gaza, Fatah detains Hamas officials in the West Bank, Hamas detains Fatah officials in the Gaza Strip.
• US anthrax 'suspect' found dead: Dr. Bruce Ivins apparently committed suicide before he could be indicted for the 2001 anthrax attacks.
• Economic models predict clear Obama win in November: As the economy worsens, an Obama victory becomes more certain.

Headlines: 31 July 2008

• Sexuality bias seen at Justice Department: Margaret Chiara, the U.S. Attorney in Grand Rapids, MI, was fired because of rumors that she was a lesbian.
• A Shiite Militia in Baghdad Sees Its Power Wane*: The Mahdi Army, led by Moqtada al-Sadr, has lost significant influence as PM Nouri al-Maliki asserts his legitimacy.
• The Kirkuk Impasse: Recent attacks in Kirkuk have exposed an underlying tension between the Kurds, Turks, and Arabs.
• Olmert to Quit After Elections in September*: The Israeli PM is resigning over corruption charges, but where does this leave negotiations with the Palestinians and Syria?
• China Angered by Lobbying on Rights*: China doesn't like the U.S. House of Representatives passing a resolution urging them to uphold their pledge to improve human rights before the Olympics. Maybe they should have thought about that before they broke it.
• Judge Rules White House Aides Can Be Subpoenaed*: Shocking.
• Sleazy Campaign Tactic of the Day: The head of the Virginia RNC is worried you might register to vote.
• The Recession Election: The pendulum swings left?

*Note: The New York Times may be changing their website, and you may have to register/login to see these articles.

Bajoobahead No. 2: Rachael Ray and Fox News

Okay, so while this may be trivial (Yahoo! always tells me trivial things when I get online; it's what they do best), I thought that this would qualify to make Rachael Ray and Fox News Bajoobaheads No. 2. Here's the story:

Rachael Ray's scarf sends blogosphere nuts

Buzz of the day: A Dunkin' Donuts ad featuring Rachael Ray wearing a scarf that looks like a keffiyeh, a traditional headdress worn by Arab men, has been yanked. "The keffiyeh has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad," said conservative Fox News commentator Michelle Malkin, fueling the controversy.

Dunkin' says in a statement that the scarf was "selected by (Ray's) stylist for the advertising shoot. Absolutely no symbolism was intended. However, given the possibility of misperception, we are no longer using the commercial."

The View gals raced to Ray's defense today in a long opening chat:
Joy: "Companies should have a little more integrity."
Whoopi, who was most outraged: "It flags Rachael to businesses ... as someone you might not be able to trust."
Elisabeth: "This is the best advertising they could get.

1) We all know that Rachael Ray is stupid anyway. As for Whoopi Golberg, she went downhill fast and is looking for some attention.
2) Aside from the fact that the Israeli government's part of the whole Palestinian-Israeli Conflict part is bloodier anyway (how would you feel if someone just up and kicked you off your home and then bulldozed your house and killed your relatives and then imprisoned you and whoever else was left? Probably not too happy), the keffiyeh while often associated with Palestinian groups is not limited to them (although it has become closely associated by Westerners, often ignorant of the Middle East, to Palestinian independence).
3) A jihad is not supposed to be violent. It's simply a personal quest. For example, a student might be on a jihad to do very well in school. That's all it is. You can chill out now, Westerners.
4) Rachael Ray's stylist claims that the keffiyeh was picked for the outfit. There was an article a while back about how Westerners are now using the keffiyeh in fashion without understanding its meaning and thus upsetting people because they have trivialized what it means for Arabs, especially Palestinian groups. So basically, Westerners stop ignoring important issues that need to be resolved peacefully by trivializing them (aka totally NOT helping) and Rachael Ray, get a brain. GaaAH.
5) Fox News....'nuff said (see part 2 about the Israeli government being the by far more aggressive side).
6) Here's what Stephen Colbert has to say about this:

7) J-Mad just added to the blogosphere craze. BAM!