Israel's Lies Are Wearing Pretty Thin
While the murderous assault on Gaza continues, I notice there's a briefing document on the website of the Israeli Embassy in London which has a lie in every line. The West's mainstream media repeat them, and even the most senior TV and radio interviewers don’t bother to challenge them. This is a transcript of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's statement to the Israeli press & transcribed by Stuart Littlewood dated 27 December 2008 – a day that will live in infamy. It is a perfect example of the falsehoods used to dupe not only us westerners but Israel’s own people. The statement shows how the regime's view of itself is constructed on a web of dishonesty and self-delusion. For example: * "Israeli citizens have been under the threat of daily attack from Gaza for years." - Palestinians have been under harsh Israeli occupation for 60 years. * "Only this week hundreds of missiles and mortars shells were fired at Israeli civilian communities." - Only one in 500 Qassam rockets causes a fatality. How many thousands of Israeli bombs, missiles, rockets, grenades and tank-shells have been blasted into the crowded city and towns of the Gaza Strip by Israel’s high-tech weaponry? * "Until now we have shown restraint. But today there is no other option than a military operation." - The only legitimate option for Israel is to end the occupation and withdraw behind its 1967 border, as required under international law and UN resolution. Israel has been killing Palestinians at the rate of 8 to 1 since 2000, and children at the rate of nearly 12 to 1 (B’Tselem figures). This is somebody’s idea of restraint? * "We need to protect our citizens from attack through a military response against the terror infrastructure in Gaza." - Self defence is not a right exclusive to Israel. Palestinians have an equal right to protect their citizens from the terror tactics of Israel. * "Israel left Gaza in order to create an opportunity for peace." - Israel never left Gaza. It still occupies Gaza's airspace and coastal waters and controls all entrances and exits. *"In return, the Hamas terror organization took control of Gaza and is using its citizens as cover while it deliberately targets Israeli communities and denies any chance for peace." Hamas was voted into power as the legitimate government of Palestine. Israel chose not to accept the people's choice, which amounted to a denial of their human rights, and immediately set about obliterating it. * "We have tried everything to reach calm without using force. We agreed to a truce through Egypt that was violated by Hamas, which continued to target Israel, hold Gilad Shalit and build up its arms." - Try talking. The Israelis' ongoing siege and economic blockade, begun shortly after Hamas was elected early in 2006, was never going to generate calm. And why is Shalit considered more important than the 9,000 Palestinians abducted and held prisoner by Israel? As soon as a Hamas government was formed Israeli troops arrested 8 Hamas ministers and 20 other parliamentarians, making the work of government impossible. * "Israel continues to act to prevent humanitarian crisis and to minimize harm to Palestinian civilians." - Every agency operating in Gaza has warned of the deepening humanitarian crisis and protested about the starvation and suffering, especially of children many of whom show evidence of stunted growth. * "The responsibility for harm to civilians lies with Hamas." - Not according to the Fourth Geneva Convention. * "Hamas is a terrorist organization, supported by Iran, that does not represent the legitimate national interests of the Palestinian people but a radical Islamist agenda that seeks to deny peace for the peoples of this region." - Hamas was the popular choice of Palestinians at the last election. It is entitled under international law to take up arms against an illegal occupier and invader. If it is supported by Iran, so what? Israel receives mega-support from the U.S. When it comes to terror, it is Israel's conduct which fits the U.S. definition of terrorism so perfectly - see Bush's Executive Order 13224, Section 3 - http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/programs/terror/terror.pdf * "While confronting Hamas, Israel continues to believe in the two State solution and remains committed to negotiations with the legitimate Palestinian Authority in the context of the peace process, launched at Annapolis." - Israel is busy establishing irreversible facts on the ground that make a viable Palestinian state impossible. As everyone knows, the regime has reneged on the peace process and carries on building illegal settlements and the illegal Wall, and demolishing Palestinian homes. Months ago Hamas accepted a Palestinian state based on internationally recognized (pre-1967) borders, in accordance with UN resolutions, with full sovereignty and its capital in Jerusalem, but this has been ignored. Hamas also offered a 10-year truce, also ignored. Earlier, Arafat and the PLO recognized the State of Israel in the Oslo agreement but what good did it do? Today’s U.S.-backed, Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority is not representative of the Palestinian people. * "Israel expects the support and understanding of the international community, as it confronts terror, and advances the interest of all those who wish the forces of peace and co existence to determine the agenda of this region." - Israel, next to the U.S., the biggest purveyor of terror in the region and only advances its own interests. It may get the support of Israel lobby stooges in other western governments but is rapidly earning the contempt of everybody else. From a statement dated 22 December 2008: * "Hamas, backed by Iran, has regularly stated its desire to see the complete destruction of Israel." - Israel is itself a leading destroyer and currently engaged in trying to wipe out Hamas and the Gazans. Iran’s Ahmadinajad quoted the late Ayatollah Khomeini as saying that "this regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time" - fair comment considering Jerusalem, with Bethlehem, was designated an 'international city' under the UN Partition Plan. Israeli propaganda twisted the Iranian’s words to read “Israel must be wiped off the map”. Zionist sources and the manifestos of Israeli political parties have made it clear for a long time that Israel plans to wipe Palestine off the map, and every act and lie is directed towards that end. * "Our fight is not with the people of Gaza; it is with the extremists of Hamas." - Then why does the Israeli navy harass and fire on peaceable Gazan fishermen who are well within their own territorial waters? Why does Israel prevent Palestinian students from taking up places at foreign universities and block hospital spares, medicines, foodstuffs and foreign medics from entering Gaza? Why has the Israeli navy just rammed a mercy vessel in international waters taking doctors and medicines to Gaza? Latest air-strikes have hit the Islamic University and the ministry of education. These are direct attacks on Gazan civil society and its infrastructure. * "Hamas started this conflict, and it bears responsibility for any harm to civilians on either side." - The conflict, started by Zionist terrorists, has been going on for 60 years, decades before Hamas came into being. * "Israel’s only responsibility is to protect Israeli citizens." - As the occupying power Israel has a duty to see that the people of the occupied territories come to no harm. * "Just as Israel seeks to defend its civilian population, Hamas seeks to kill them." - This reads far better the other way round: “Just as Hamas seeks to defend its civilian population, Israel seeks to kill them.” * "Rocket attacks have continued for years and are now a daily occurrence. How long does the international community expect Israel will wait before defending itself against them?" - The rocket attacks will end when Israel ends the occupation and stops terrorizing its neighbours. * "In the south of Israel, Israeli citizens live with air raid sirens sounding every day - sometimes every hour. Their situation is intolerable." - Not half as intolerable as it is for the Gazans, who live in constant fear of air raids and re-invasion and are constantly under surveillance by armed drones which can fire missiles under computer control from an armchair in Israeli headquarters. * "For years, the international community has turned a blind eye to this onslaught. Only when Israel seeks to stop the rockets do they take notice." - For years the international community has turned a blind eye to Israel's violations of international law and human rights, which is why the problem remains unsolved. * "Hamas is not only the enemy of Israel - it is the enemy of every Palestinian who believes in peace." - Israelis just can’t come to terms with the Palestinians' democratic choice and are bent on obliterating it. * "It is Hamas' attacks - not Israel's reactions - that destroy every opportunity we have for peace." - The world has managed to work out by now that Israel doesn't want peace until it has stolen all the land and water it needs to expand its racist state into a ‘Greater Israel’. It is well on the way to achieving this and won’t be thwarted. * "Palestinian militants targeted by Israel are not just the enemies of the Israeli people; they are criminals under international law, and enemies of peace." - Israel is in no moral position to preach international law. * "What is collective punishment? 'Collective punishment' is a city - schools, hospitals, homes - civilians being bombarded every single day by rockets and mortars." - Collective punishment is keeping a whole population bottled up under siege and blocking supplies and exports, smashing their infrastructure, wrecking their economy and starving their children. Trying to equate Sderot with what’s happening in the Gaza Strip is idiotic. * "Today's Middle East is divided between extremists and pragmatists. Hamas, backed by Iran, belongs to the extremists, who must be defeated for the sake of the future of the Middle East.... Israel’s primary goal is peace." - Israel's primary goal is the expansion of Israel by making the occupation of the West Bank permanent and bringing the Gazans to their knees. The core issue in this struggle is the illegality of Israel’s brutal occupation. Israel goes to great lengths to avoid and suppress all mention of it and play-acts the pathetic victim. As the official statements (above) show, the strategy is to frame and define the situation in Israel’s own terms regardless of the truth. It uses advanced propaganda skills, and the elaborate Israel lobby network, to persuade western politicians and media to accept Israel’s version of events (and even use Israel’s biased language) and not question its motives. In political PR terms it works wonderfully well. The leaders of our own government happily spread the poison and don’t seem interested in halting Israeli aggression and the vaporizing, dismembering and crushing of Gaza’s population. In human PR terms it is a disaster. In solidarity with the citizens of occupied Gaza in Palestine, Birch Bricker
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BB
Look who is calling the kettle black. What was said about Palestinian murderers is true; you simply live in a dream world.
You didn't even have time to read it!
Whoa.
You're using a quote from the president of Iran?
Do you know anything about, like, life?
Actually, according to Wikipedia, over 50% of financial support for Hamas is from Saudi Arabia, another US ally. They note the New York Times for this info.
The irony of BB's closed mindedness is appalling.
Lets just take one part of this huge waste of type...
For example:
* "Israeli citizens have been under the threat of daily attack from Gaza for years."
- Palestinians have been under harsh Israeli occupation for 60 years.
******** Your comment has nothing to do with proving true or false the above statement. In fact, the above statement is true. Now, your point might also be true, but as I said, its not related at all.
* "Only this week hundreds of missiles and mortars shells were fired at Israeli civilian communities."
- Only one in 500 Qassam rockets causes a fatality. How many thousands of Israeli bombs, missiles, rockets, grenades and tank-shells have been blasted into the crowded city and towns of the Gaza Strip by Israel’s high-tech weaponry?
********* Again, your comment has nothing to do with proving true or false the above statement. Were missiles NOT fired? Were they not pointed at civilian communities? What was false about the press statement?
You seem to be confused. When you say something is a lie, you should actually try to prove it is a lie, rather than just throwing up unrelated facts.
Now, as to the effectiveness of Israeli military vs Hamas rockets...you are seriously attacking Israel because their military is too effective? And you are letting Hamas off because their rocket attacks are not effective enough?
Suppose someone was shooting a .22 rifle in downtown Auburn randomly at cars, buildings, into the air. Your argument is that the police should not come down on them with the best firepower available, but rather just let them go?
Oh...and the guy who was shooting up Auburn claimed that his grandfather owned all of the land in downtown 150 years ago and was cheated out of it by an unethical banker during a game of poker. Therefore, he owns that land and will continue shooting his .22 into buildings, cars, etc until everyone leaves.
You call the people in Auburn "occupiers" and demand that they leave.
Right?
Excuse me, not all of the the above are lies from Israel, some are self delusion and/or moral proportion...... while everything they say is slanted to make themselves look like the vistim. They are not the victim, they are the aggressor. This all falls into the broader category of lying.
Not to mention the sin of omission.
Birch Bricker - Excellent post! You don't have to prove it to me because I know what you are saying is true. One only has to look at the bigger picture, to listen to both sides, to actually spend the time doing research instead of watching special-interest-controlled media for their news, to see what is REALLY happening.
To all of the rest of you, this is not a case of somebody coming to reclaim ancient land. This is about justice, dignity and the simple basic rights of a minority of people who, at the mercy of unbalanced super-powers, is and has faced evil in it's greatest form. Proof??
p.s. Birch, why don't you do a blog where you list some sources for those that can't find it on their own
BB is a flat out racist loser that obviously has no clue. The shame is he's here and we can only hope he goes to his comrades in arms and helps them loose this thing. But BB would never do that. He knows he’d get his racist, moronic rear end blown off fighting with his terrorist “friends”. So we have to listen to him and his little numbskull buddies rant about how terrible Israel and the US are over and over and tell lies that support their hateful, uninformed, twisted mindset. It illustrates clearly how pathetic that kind of stupidity is.
Thank God Israel has finally done something that is clearly a positive step in cleansing the world of these murdering terrorists. Israel even warns these maggots WHEN and WHERE they will strike, sends medical aid, drops leaflets warning of potential strike targets and on and on. The terrorists intentionally put their civilian population in harms way. It’s a dirty mess for the Israeli people to have to deal with. We wish them well.
Thank you for continuing to read my posts.
Birchbricker: what is you KKK membership number ?
I bet it's a very esteemed number, perhaps you also have a medal or two from them for your "good work" ?
rational: no no no
you have it all wrong
Auburn cops should come after the guy with the .22
but using spit balls
John Kerry's favorite weapon for the 2004 election
common_sense: Though the term racism usually denotes race-based prejudice, violence, discrimination, or oppression, the term can also have varying and hotly contested definitions. Racialism is a related term, sometimes intended to avoid these negative meanings. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, racism is a belief or ideology that all members of each racial group possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially to distinguish it as being either superior or inferior to another racial group or racial groups. The Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines racism as a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular racial group, and that it is also the prejudice based on such a belief. The Macquarie Dictionary defines racism as: "the belief that human races have distinctive characteristics which determine their respective cultures, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule or dominate others."
I have never preached racism or condoned racial violence. I am not a fan of certain governments; I have no quarrel with the people on the street of any nation. You know better than to try & shut me down by perpetuating such lies. You're better than that.
Apparently Israel should just suck it up and endure while Hamas bombs them year after year. Israel gave Gaza to Hamas, but that wasn't enough. Hamas just wants the death of Jews. Frankly, Israel should have made this move a long time ago. Hamas brought it upon themselves.
Anticonvenient
"clearly a positive step in cleansing the world "
Do you hear your own words? Do you know enough history to know when those words have been ranted? Do not thank God for the killing, oppression, "ethnic cleansing" and a host of other things man has done to other men. God doesn't participate in these things, not by anyone, not by Israel. He gives life to all and it is His will that all should come to Him.
Common (or not-so-common)
Shame on you!!! The KKK used fear and ignorance to justify the "cleansing of inferior races". Sounds like something not so far removed from the hearts of men today. BB is aparantly against this type of thing. Open your eyes and ask God to forgive you!!
Realist
So you are saying that the Palestinians should just "suck it up" and accept the continually-escalating, inhumane eradication of their people by forces much greater than they are?
BB and Observer: you are banging your heads against brick walls. The comments of those like Phoenix, Anti, and Common speak volumes about the ineffectiveness of the educational system in America. It is now obvious that a good number of participants on this site are unable to critically read factual information. I see the same kind of illiteracy from incoming college freshmen, but at least most become enlightened in 4 years. I am afraid to say that if that enlightenment never occurs, they end up living very hateful, strangled lives and perhaps there is nothing to fix it. Keep posting the truth, it may not set all free, but at least it forces them to articulate, which may help reveal the weaknesses of unapprised thinking.
mbfitz. Does "enlightenment" mean to your way of thinking? I find it interesting that you make comment about incoming freshman being "ignorant" so to speak, and then after being indoctrinated to the progressive socialist way of life....they get it! Wow, what the hell are you smoking? You people are so friggin predictable. You must be a teacher, or other form of socialist that believes that the values of this country need to be adjusted to your way of thinking. Well, guess what. You are beyond wrong and are a poor example of what some people are trying to make this country in to. Not gonna happen on my watch. Go shovel your propaganda somewhere else. I've got a better idea, tell us where you live so we can shoot bottle rockets at your house and see how long you let that go on. Unfrigginbelievable.
If you think quoting Ahmedinejad, the biggest anti-semite next to Hitler, is really going to strengthen your "argument," then you're just an idiot. It's become too easy today to counter things you don't like by saying everyone is lying except yourself. Everything you "countered" against Israel is just your twisted logic and opinions which, by the way, suck. There's no point in even responding to any of your drivle dravle. Sorry.
Thanks for proving my point.
Hey, thanks for proving mine =)
Fitz: Unfortunately you're right. There are actually some who disagree with me but are not completely insane. A few of the above offenders (not all) are unworthy of my response due to the fact that a brick wall is incapable of thought & human emotions. There's enough empty rhetoric, bogus slogans & mouth breathing jingoism's to make any propagandist proud. Mere pedantic gasbaggery from the peanut-gallery. I am glad that they read my posts though.... maybe someday they'll be capable of reason. Shalom!
Thanks BB, Amani wewe
I say we invade the strip and get rid of all the insurgents and children that are head bangers over their religion and then introduce them to MacDonalds, MTV, Victoria Secrets, Direct and Dish that promote the porn and Capitalistic way of life we all enjoy. Since we do control the poppy market now....we should make sure they all become addicts for our way of life. There must be a better way since no one wants to move the rock and the corporations are hurting from lack of sales!
Damn, Obewan.... I like how you put that. We could probably hang out! Imagine if we got the whole world eating at McDonald's... I mean it only takes the energy to grow a trunk full of corn to equate to two burgers & a happy meal. Maybe we ought to just find a way to to turn non-white, non-Christian, non-Americans into energy for us to consume. That would be in our best interest... I mean that's two birds with one stone. I'm afraid someone might complain about that "non-white" remark. We'll see.
Phoenix- Just wondering, do you even know why you hate Ahmedinejad? Is it because you have read that he hates jews and wants death to Israel? Do you then ask, "Gee, how many jews has this guy killed exactly?" Then when you discover that his country has the highest percentage of jews of any muslim country, do you say, "Let's see, what motive is there to misrepresent his position on religious freedom?" Do you then research the country's resources, its strategic geographic location and history? Do you even realize that your opinion of this guy has been carefully manipulated? If he is "the biggest antisemite next to hitler" as you say, then why hasn't he rounded up all the Persian jews in a fortified camp killing those who tried to escape, controlling their every movement , their access to food and water, stolen all their possessions to distribute among his friends, and started "scientific experiments" on them to further the Iranian pharmaceutical industry? This is what hitler did.
I once worked for a Persian Jewish family that had left Iran during the US backed attack on Iran by Saddam Hussein (this was back when he was still a US asset - before he was classified as a "dictator"). They hated leaving Iran but felt that the US was the only place where they would be safe from conflicts over resources that were beyond their control, they were never afraid of persecution by Iranians. They said that they will never forget the sight of stacks of bodies killed by saddam and his allies.
I am not actually a supporter of the iranian government or any other government but I feel that this habit of calling every unpopular leader "hitler" turns the horror of who hitler really was into just an everyday politician is extreme and should really stop.
Just like you and I said and no protests here...like the way you say things too!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090110/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_mideast_protests
mom, excellent post. Too many of us base our "staunch" opinions on the information we are spoon fed by the network press. It is so very important that we have exposure to a variety of aspects, and that our interests in the subjects are backed up with credible research. Our lives don't offer much time for that, but because the US is involved in so many of these issues, especially financially, we have an obligation to seek the truth with an open mind. Emotional reactions have no place in our volatile world. This site is such a wonderful place to see, in a microcosm, information but especially the emotions evoked.
BB you seem to have lifted this piece direct from an article by Stuart Littlewood posted recently on sites such as Redress, PalestineChronicle, etc, without giving an acknowledgement. However, it has managed to draw the usual jokers out of the woodwork, displaying their appalling ignorance. After the last 2 weeks anyone still supporting the Israeli position must be similarly psychpathic.
BB you seem to have lifted this piece direct from an article by Stuart Littlewood posted recently on sites such as Redress, PalestineChronicle, etc, without giving an acknowledgement. However, it has managed to draw the usual jokers out of the woodwork, displaying their appalling ignorance. After the last 2 weeks anyone still supporting the Israeli position must be similarly psychpathic.
Yes. yorker. I had written something myself that day & this was so well done I couldn't have said it better myself. It was a quick response to some one else's nazi-esque post. I'm glad someone looked into it. I think I got it from islamicity.com though. That is a very good site with excellent links. Thanks.
Yorker, Welcome aboard.
BB doesn't "seem to have lifted", he actually stated, in his article, that "This is a transcript of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's statement to the Israeli press & transcribed by Stuart Littlewood dated 27 December 2008..."
No offense, but perhaps you should have read the entire article before commenting.Personally, I can't agree with him more. This was so well-written that it was worth repeating.
BirchBricker: In re: Obewan, remember "Aquila non captat muscas."
Accipere quam facere praestat injuriam.
BB: OK, but just don't have a stroke doing it.
Yes...my Jedi sons....continue to share your growth and quest of knowledge via this format for those that seek the nature of the force!
Obewan: I think a simple apology to Birch Bricker would suffice.
Momof, do you know anything about life? Seriously, what's the matter with you? I don't think I even need justify a response to you because it would be like taking a crap and then trying to educate the turd. You're defending the president of Iran. He's a nut. Everyone thinks so. Everyone has heard the lunatic things he's said. But of course, everyone's opinion is being manipulated but yours, right? Right.