Online Journal
Front Page 
 
 Donate
 
 Submissions
 
 Announcements
 
 NewsLinks
 
 Special Reports
 
 News Media
 
 Elections & Voting
 
 Health
 
 Religion
 
 Social Security
 
 Analysis
 
 Commentary
 
 Editors' Blog
 
 Reclaiming America
 
 The Splendid Failure of Occupation
 
 Satire
 
 The Lighter Side
 
 Reviews
 
 The Mailbag
 
 Online Journal Stores
 Official Merchandise
 Amazon.com
 
 Links
 
 Join Mailing List
Search

Commentary Last Updated: Jul 29th, 2010 - 00:22:22


Israel braces itself for a UN fact-finding mission
By Gilad Atzmon
Online Journal Guest Writer


Jul 29, 2010, 00:17

Email this article
 Printer friendly page

Israel faces another disastrous report as an �Independent and impartial� fact-finding team appointed by the UN Human Rights Council will look into Israel�s �violations of international law� during her commando raid on the Gaza-bound Turkish ship.

Seemingly the UN Human Rights Council wasn�t overwhelmingly impressed by Israel�s own �truth finding� missions. I guess that this is understandable. The Israelis should accept the UN concerns. It is very uncommon to let the murderer or the rapist investigate himself.

The UN team is expected to travel to Israel, Turkey and Gaza in August to interview witnesses and gather information before reporting back to the Council in September.

I guess that in order to complete its job satisfyingly, the UN mission should consider taking advice from some Old Testament experts who can elaborate on the cultural and spiritual heritage that led to the current state of Israeli barbarism. As I�ve mentioned many times before, Zionism is an attempt to revive the ancient Israelite nation. Hence, it shouldn�t take us by surprise to discover that this has created a contemporary Israeli who follows the most sinister possible interpretation of the Judaic text. 

Moreover, the UN mission would also benefit by recruiting some leading psychologists who can turn on a floodlight on the issues to do with Israeli collective lethal aggression. We all know the dry facts to do with the Israeli murder in the high seas. Yet, we are still perplexed that a so-called �democratic government� made a decision to unleash its deadliest naval unit against civilians delivering humanitarian aid in international waters. If the UN wants to prevent future Israeli crimes, we�d better grasp, once and for all, what kind of needs the massacre was there to satisfy. We�d better understand once and for all why it is that Israeli politicians believe that providing their followers with fresh blood is translated into electoral power?

It is not yet clear whether Israel, which has a long history of rejecting UN probes, would cooperate and allow the team to visit. However, we have to bear in mind that Israel�s political manoeuvring capacity in the international arena has shrunk considerably since her genocidal attacks on Lebanon in 2006 and Gaza in 2008-9.

The Israeli reaction wasn�t late in coming. Officials in Jerusalem told the Israeli Ynet that the Human Right Council�s decision to look into the May 31st raid on the Gaza-bound Turkish ship is �pointless,� �obsessed� and �weird.�*

It is unfortunately typical for Israelis to believe that the Goyim are �obsessed� and �weird.� I guess that the only possible interpretation of such a statement is that Israelis believe that killing peace activists better become an international norm. Indeed, it has already become a norm in Israel.

Knesset Member Otniel Schneller (Kadima), went even further arguing that �instead of focusing on the flotilla raid, the international community should investigate the continued captivity of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in Gaza, which he says constitutes a violation of international law.

I myself wonder what law it violates exactly. Gilad Shalit was a soldier in uniform serving as a post guard in a concentration-camp in an occupied territory. Abducting Shalit was a fully legitimate act of resistance. Furthermore, the Hamas struggle to keep Shalit alive should be realised as an act of compassion and kindness. However, I wonder whether MK Schneller would also insist that a hypothetical case in which Jewish camp inmates abducted a Nazi officer from a bunker at the outskirts of Auschwitz would also constitute a �violation of international law�? I guess we all know the answer.

As it happens, the Jewish State is now in a siege. This siege is mental, spiritual, intellectual, physical and political. Israel can only blame itself.

* For obvious reasons, the word �weird� appeared only in the Hebrew edition.

Gilad Atzmon is an Israeli jazz musician, author and political activist.

Copyright © 1998-2007 Online Journal
Email Online Journal Editor

Top of Page

Commentary
Latest Headlines
Dangerous conspiracy theories
Hanging a hammock between death and the abyss: A G�tterd�mmerung of kitsch
Why Pakistan feels aggrieved
The F Word: What are teachers worth?
9/11 Truth truth
Special tribunal on Hariri murder cannot be trusted
Immigrants have human rights
Capitalism is dying a natural death
Rotting fish
Why go after the criminals when you can just kill the messengers?
Is the Republican victory plan another Great Depression?
Devil�s food cake is in order for Obama's birthday bash
Why Muslims should rethink Palestine
The political spinning of the WikiLeaks expos�: Antiwar whistle-blowing or war propaganda?
Obama's treachery from Afghanistan to Shirley Sherrod
US Treasury is running on fumes
Israel braces itself for a UN fact-finding mission
The F Word: Funding war, choosing sides
Elimination of manual scavenging should be made India�s national priority
With Wikileaks, they want to shoot the messenger