Turkish terrorist organization IHH involved bigtime in the Gaza flotilla fiasco

[Warph]

Carving Up Jerusalem

When I first heard Joe Biden going ballistic over Israel's plans to build housing in Jerusalem, I thought I must be dreaming.  But when Secretary of State Clinton voiced her own outrage, insisting that Israel's making such an announcement while our vice president was in Israel, was an insult not only to Biden, but to the United States, I realized that not even in those dreams where I'm tall, good-looking and know how to play the piano, have I been so out of touch with reality.  After all, these were the same two people who have been so careful not to insult Iran or any of the other gangster states in Africa or the Middle East, lowering the boom on an ally for doing something as benign as building housing for its citizens. Which, it seems to me, isn't quite as bad as developing a nuclear bomb while vowing to annihilate one of its neighbors.

It took New York's Daniel Greenfield to bring some pertinent facts to light, for which I am in his debt.

***In 1990, it seems that Sen. Biden co-sponsored a resolution which resolved that Congress acknowledge that Jerusalem is and should remain the capital of Israel and remain an undivided city.

***In 1992, Biden also co-sponsored Senate Consecutive Resolution 113, which resolved that Congress congratulates the people of Israel on the 25th anniversary of the reunification of that historic city; that Congress believes that Jerusalem must remain an undivided city; and called upon the President and the Secretary of State to issue an unequivocal statement in support of those principles.
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/21563

***In 1995, Biden co-sponsored, along with such colleagues as John McCain, Harry Reid, John Kerry, Joe Lieberman and Ted Kennedy, Senate 1322, stating that Jerusalem should remain an undivided city and should be recognized as the capital of Israel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_Embassy_Act

As late as 2001, Joe Biden said, "Why is it that the one ally we have in that part of the world is the one that we feel we have the right to publicly chastise? We would not do that with any other friend. Such criticism emboldens those in the Middle East and around the world who still harbor as their sacred goal the elimination of Israel. It's not for you to tell them, nor for me, what is in their best interest."

What a shame that V.P. Joe Biden never had the opportunity to meet and speak to Senator Joe Biden.

For her part, Hillary Clinton, in 2007, issued a statement claiming that she believed that "Israel's right to exist safely as a Jewish state, with defensible borders and an undivided Jerusalem as its capital, secure from violence and terrorism, must never be questioned."
http://dfi.10point10.com/files/HillaryonIsrael.pdf

http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2010/03/138722.htm

http://www.thecuttingedgenews.com/index.phparticle=11379&pageid=16&pagename=Opinion
What a shame that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton never had the opportunity to meet and speak to Senator Hillary Clinton.

I suppose one could say that's just Joe being Joe and Hillary being Hillary, just liberals trolling for Jewish votes and campaign contributions. Now that they're no longer running for office, perhaps they no longer feel compelled to lie about their true feelings.

For his part, Barack Obama, in 2008, gave a campaign speech in which he said, "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided."
http://www.nysun.com/national/obama-promises-undivided-jerusalem-as-israeli/79363/

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/06/post_58.html

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2008/06/200861502339267561.html

Perhaps his teleprompter malfunctioned on that occasion, because the very next day, he explained that he actually was in favor of dividing Jerusalem, but he didn't want barbed wire to be used to divide it.

If one is to draw any insights from all this, it might be that liberal senators only tell you the truth when they're no longer running for office, and that Barack Obama, who seems to be okay with nukes in the hands of Muslims, draws a line in the sand when it comes to barbed wire.

.....Burt Prelutsky

[Warph]

The Full Measure of Joe Biden's Hypocrisy on Jerusalem


Not that long ago, Joseph Robinette Biden was supposedly gravely insulted by Israel announcing that potential housing to be built in Jerusalem had passed one stage of a multi-stage approval process. Biden was so insulted by this dastardly act that he stood up the Prime Minister of Israel for 90 minutes and that he and various Obama Administration officials proceeded to lambaste Israel for "insulting" Biden.

Hillary Clinton proclaimed; "it was not only an insult to Biden, but an insult to the United States." "There was an affront, it was an insult", huffed Senior Obama advisor David Axelrod. Hundreds of newspapers immediately penned editorials denouncing Israel's grave insult. The essence of it was that Israel had insulted Biden by laying claim to Jerusalem during his visit.

There's just one problem with this. In 1995 Biden himself served as a co-sponsor of S. 1322, known as the Jerusalem Embassy Act. (Additional Senate co-sponsors included such obscure legislators as John McCain, Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid, Jesse Helms, John Kerry, Joseph Lieberman, Strom Thurmond and Bob Dole.) Let's look at the text of the Jerusalem Embassy Act now:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s104-1322

(a) STATEMENT OF THE POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES-

(1) Jerusalem should remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic and religious group are protected;

(2) Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel;

So if we believe the White House, in 1995 Senator Biden co-sponsored a bill in which he laid out a Statement of the Policy of the United States as that of an "Undivided Jerusalem" that is the undivided capital of the State of Israel. In 2010 that same Biden however was gravely insulted by a potential Israeli housing project in Jerusalem.

But surely that was an accident. After all Biden might not have known what resolution he was actually co-sponsoring. Except that in 1992 Biden also served as co-sponsor of Senate Consecutive Resolution 113. It states that:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d102:SC00113:@@@P

Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That the Congress--

(1) congratulates the residents of Jerusalem and the people of Israel on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the reunification of that historic city;

(2) strongly believes that Jerusalem must remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic and religious group are protected as they have been by Israel during the past twenty-five years; and

(3) calls upon the President and the Secretary of State to issue an unequivocal statement in support of these principles.
So in 1992, Biden "strongly believed" that Jerusalem should be Israel's undivided capitol and even wanted the President to issue an "unequivocal statement" in support of that. Fast forward a bit and Biden is supposedly gravely insulted because Israel believes unequivocally that Jerusalem is its undivided capital.

Now certainly Senator Biden twice co-sponsored resolutions and bills that proclaimed Jerusalem to be Israel's undivided capital. But he couldn't for the love of god have done it three times? Or could he have.

In 1990 Senator Joseph Robinette Biden co-sponsored Senate Concurrent Resolution 106 which stated that:

Whereas ambiguous statements by the Government of the United States concerning the right of Jews to live in all parts of Jerusalem raise concerns in Israel that Jerusalem might one day be redivided and access to religious sites in Jerusalem denied to Israeli citizens; and

Whereas such concerns inhibit and complicate the search for a lasting peace in the region: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That the Congress--

(1) acknowledges that Jerusalem is and should remain the capital of the State of Israel;

(2) strongly believes that Jerusalem must remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic religious group are protected; and

(3) calls upon all parties involved in the search for peace to maintain their strong efforts to bring about negotiations between Israel and Palestinian representatives.Now just so we're keeping track, Biden co-sponsored three Senate resolution, all three of which insisted that Jerusalem should remain Israel's undivided capital. One of which insisted that it was vital for the peace process that Jerusalem should be affirmed by US policy as Israel's undivided capital.

So naturally, like any good politician, he was insulted by Israel taking him at his word. To argue that Biden was gravely insulted by Israel, is to argue that he was insulted by the policies he himself supported.

Not just passively supported, but co-sponsored in three Senate resolutions which repeatedly stated that these were meant to be the policy of the United States.

But of course the hypocrisy train doesn't just stop at Joe Biden Station.

Hillary Clinton who claimed that Israeli housing "was not only an insult to Biden, but an insult to the United States", in 2007 (barely 2 and a half years ago) issued a paper stating:
"Hillary Clinton believes that Israel's right to exist in safety as a Jewish state, with defensible borders and an undivided Jerusalem as its capital, secure from violence and terrorism, must never be questioned."
http://www.nysun.com/national/clinton-reminds-voters-of-commitment-to-israel/62739/

And barely 2.5 years later, Hillary Clinton is vocally doing the questioning. And the woman who not that long ago said that an "Undivided Jerusalem" must never be questioned, was pretending that Israel approving housing in Jerusalem was a grave insult to the United States.

The question must then be asked, if Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton supported an undivided Jerusalem and if Israeli housing projects in Jerusalem are an insult to the United States-- weren't Hillary and Joe insulting the United States. Or were they just insulting the Jewish voters who believed their empty promises?  http://israelinsider.ning.com/profiles/blogs/zoa-demands-apology-from

But the "insults" don't stop there. In 2008 Obama gave a speech in which he said, "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided."

To be fair to Obama, he didn't waste too much time  divorcing himself from the statement he had just made. It actually took him only a day to explain that he actually supported dividing Jerusalem, he just didn't want it divided by barbed wire. No, seriously.  http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/13/zakaria.obama/

You know, the truth is that this was an example where we had some poor phrasing in the speech. And we immediately tried to correct the interpretation that was given. The point we were simply making was, is that we don't want barbed wire running through Jerusalem, similar to the way it was prior to the '67 war, that it is possible for us to create a Jerusalem that is cohesive and coherent.... BHObama

After a prolonged study by experts in semantics, it turns out that Obama felt that "Undivided Jerusalem" was subject to all sorts of misinterpretations, such as it being undivided, when he actually meant that it should be cohesive and coherent. Unlike Obama himself. Since no one knows what in the world "cohesive and coherent" might mean as applied to a city, that made it a safe statement to make.

So to sum up, Joe  Biden, Hillary Clinton and even Obama were enthusiastic supporters of an "Undivided Jerusalem" not too long ago, but in the spring of 2010 they were gravely insulted because Israel moved housing in Jerusalem to be built on deserted land through one stage of a multi-stage approvals process while Biden happened to be in the country.

Now this dog just won't hunt. Either an "Undivided Jerusalem" is a grave insult to the United States and completely destructive of the peace process... in which case Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and Obama have all insulted the United States and are destructive of the peace process... or they are completely shameless liars and hypocrites.

Just to close off this sad chapter with one more stop for the Hypocrisy Express at Joe Biden Station, let's tune in to Joe Biden circa 2001:

"Why is it that the one ally we have in that part of the world [Israel], that we have the right to publicly chastise them? We would not do that with any other friend ... As much as the Middle East is always on our minds, the best thing we can do is keep it off the US and world press." He also said that such criticism "emboldens those in the Middle East and around the world who still harbor as their sacred goal the elimination of Israel ... It is not for you to tell them [Israel], nor for me, what is in their best interests. We should give them the right to determine what chances they will take"

Fast forward to 2010 where under the guidance of Barack Hussein Obama, Biden staged a very loud and public bashing of Israel.

One is reminded of the question, how can you tell when a politician is lying? Easy, his lips are moving.

.....Daniel Greenfield[/color]

[Anmar]

Good, I have a lot of things to respond to and educate you all about. 

Lets start with the idea that people in the holy land have been fighting for thousands of years.  While there certainly have been periods of conflict, There have also been relatively long peaceful periods.  We all know the history of the romans and the eventual breakup for the roman empire.  Jerusalem became part of the Byzantine empire and although the empire was christian, Jews were still persecuted and expulsed from the holy land.  Early in the 7th century, when the city was attacked by Persians,  the jews helped the Sassanids slaughter 90,000 christians.  The city was later recaptured by Heraclius in the name of the Byzantines.

In the 7th century, Caliph Umar from the islamic empire conqured jerusalem in a relatively bloodless siege.  For over 400 years, the people lived in peaceful coexistance.  in 1099, europe sent crusaders to the holy land, and once again war came to the area.  Eventually Salahadin defeated Richard the lion heart and then for the next 600 years, another long period of peace took hold, ending with the outbreak of WW1.  European jews begun to come to palestine despite the protests of Arabs of all faiths, muslims, christians, and even jews. 

You may notice a trend.  When the area is ruled by arabs, they get along fine.  When europeans come in and try to take control, there's a problem.  You'd think a lesson would have been learned?

Hmmm what next.  It was said

So let me get this straight...it is okay for Hamas, muslims, and whoever else to stand for their religious beliefs even though they are not in the best interest of America?  But it is not okay for Christians that support Isreal to stand for theirs?

I think muslims should stand up for muslims, palestinians should stand up for palestinians, israelis for israelis, christians for christians and americans for americans.  The problem I have with people like you Varmit is that you and others would sell out your country and your christian brothers because you bought into zionist propaganda.  Let me explain.

This conflict isn't jews vs muslims, it's not israelis vs muslims.  What we have are Zionists vs Palestinians.  Labels are important.  Our media most often portrays palestinians as a bunch of wild eyed muslims running around plotting to destroy the world.  What they don't tell you is that many palestinians are christian too.  I've said this on these forums before, but I guess it didn't penetrate the wall of propaganda that warph likes to post.  Recently, the pope put out a working paper on christians in the holy land,  I'll give you some excerpts from an article...

The 46-page document said input from clerics in the region blamed the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories for inhibiting freedom of movement, the economy and religious life, alleging that access to holy places is dependent on military permission that is sometimes denied on security grounds.

It also complained that some Christian fundamentalists use biblical texts to justify Israel's occupation "making the position of Christian Arabs an even more sensitive issue."

so according to the pope, christian fundamentalists who make the argument that Israeli's have the right to occupy the holy land are putting the christian arabs in a bad position.  There are 17 million of them by the way.

Now, about selling out your country....  We've actually had this discussion before, and I don't recall exactly what you said varmit, but I think I remember you saying that your christian beliefs were more important that being a patriot.  Where does that fall in line with the whole "our nation was founded on christian principals" argument?  Our nations principals are freedom, justice, equality of men, and the right to govern our own affairs.  We should strive to be a beacon to the world, expounding those principals, right?  Wasn't that part of the Bush doctrine?  In this conflict, which party is struggling to obtain those things?  Which party is preventing the other from attaining freedom?  Ah yes, that would be the Israelis, trampling on our principals...  Not only have they ruined the palestinians right to self governance, but they have tainted our own political system by spending hundreds of millions of dollars in lobbying efforts and infiltrating congressional offices. 

As Morris Amitay, a former head of AIPAC, once admitted, 'there are a lot of guys at the working level up here' – on Capitol Hill – 'who happen to be Jewish, who are willing ... to look at certain issues in terms of their Jewishness ... These are all guys who are in a position to make the decision in these areas for those senators ... You can get an awful lot done just at the staff level.'

Interesting stuff.

If you have time, you should read this article.   

http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/03/14/the_petraeus_briefing_biden_s_embarrassment_is_not_the_whole_story

http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/capitol/petraeus_and_israel_KtqwlgoulH7DstKmpOBedO

Gen Petraeus recently testified before congress.  He said that our relationship with Israel is a strategic disadvantage for the US.  Too often, we are putting Israel's interests ahead of our own. 

Then, there is this paper written by a couple of jewish guys over at Harvard.

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/john-mearsheimer/the-israel-lobby

I'll just quote some important parts for those who don't have time to read it.

Other special-interest groups have managed to skew foreign policy, but no lobby has managed to divert it as far from what the national interest would suggest, while simultaneously convincing Americans that US interests and those of the other country – in this case, Israel – are essentially identical.

the Bush administration's ambition to transform the Middle East is at least partly aimed at improving Israel's strategic situation.

The first Gulf War revealed the extent to which Israel was becoming a strategic burden. The US could not use Israeli bases without rupturing the anti-Iraq coalition, and had to divert resources (e.g. Patriot missile batteries) to prevent Tel Aviv doing anything that might harm the alliance against Saddam Hussein. History repeated itself in 2003: although Israel was eager for the US to attack Iraq, Bush could not ask it to help without triggering Arab opposition. So Israel stayed on the sidelines once again.

More important, saying that Israel and the US are united by a shared terrorist threat has the causal relationship backwards: the US has a terrorism problem in good part because it is so closely allied with Israel, not the other way around. Support for Israel is not the only source of anti-American terrorism, but it is an important one, and it makes winning the war on terror more difficult. There is no question that many al-Qaida leaders, including Osama bin Laden, are motivated by Israel's presence in Jerusalem and the plight of the Palestinians. Unconditional support for Israel makes it easier for extremists to rally popular support and to attract recruits.

Finally, I know that someone is going to jump in here and call me an anti-semite or anti-jew.  I am not.  I believe in freedom and justice for all people.  Anyone who attempts to deny freedom and justice to any other group of people is a criminal in my eyes.  Those are the values that this country is built on.  This is not an issue of judaism,  there are Jews on both sides of the issue.  The last article I'd like to link is the response of a jewish group to the Gaza flotilla.  Warph would call these people terrorists, but I think they are couragous people who stand up for the truth in the face of hardship.

http://fastforgaza.net/node/146

As rabbis, we believe all human beings are our kin. We cannot abide the suffering inflicted upon the people of Gaza.

We lift up our voices and say: Unlock the fetters of oppression. Untie the cords of the yoke. Open the gates.

[Warph]

June 4, 2010 - By now virtually the whole world has heard about the debacle of the "Gaza Freedom Flotilla." And virtually the whole world has condemned Israel for it. On May 31 Israeli naval forces stopped a group of six ships trying to break the blockade of Gaza . Unfortunately there was loss of life; several activists aboard the main ship, the Mavi Marmara, died, and several Israeli soldiers were wounded, some of them seriously. Around the world Israel has been demonized for its act of "piracy," attacking a ship delivering "humanitarian" aid to suffering people and whose mission was "freedom."

When the situation is defined in these terms, it's hard not to feel deep hatred for Israel . But we need to bear two things in mind:

1. The facts do not support this portrayal.

2. The facts hardly matter anymore.

Let's take each point in turn.


The Facts Do Not Support the Popular Portrayal
The "Freedom Flotilla" billed itself as a nonviolent, peaceful mission to help the starving people of Gaza . The truth is that the mission was not nonviolent, it was not peaceful, and the people of Gaza are not starving.


The "nonviolent" protesters were not nonviolent. Video exists showing that those on board had prepared metal rods and knives, slingshots, and broken bottles to attack the Israelis. Not generally reported but noteworthy are spent bullet cartridges found on the Mavi Marmara that were not of any caliber used by Israeli commandos, some of whom did suffer gunshot wounds. Also found were propaganda photos of protesters who were supposedly injured. Evidence that these photos were shot during daylight showed they were prepared hours before the operation, which took place at night. The "nonviolent" nature of the flotilla is a myth, though a well-staged one.


The Israelis did carry side arms, but were under orders not to use them unless their lives were in danger. At first they tried using nonlethal methods to break up the attack. They had paintball guns to disperse the crowds, but those were not sufficient to stave off the threat. Video exists showing Mavi Marmara protesters attacking Israeli soldiers, beating them with metal pipes and chairs, and throwing one Israeli soldier over the railing to a deck below. The soldier suffered a serious wound to the head.


A humanitarian "crisis"?
Now let's look at the assumption that these protesters were trying to relieve a "humanitarian crisis" in Gaza .

The reason for the blockade is simple. It is not to impose suffering on the Palestinian people. Hamas has been importing material to manufacture weapons and an infrastructure of bunkers it has used to attack Israeli citizens inside Israel . Israel 's goal is to keep out those materials while allowing genuine humanitarian aid to enter.

Therefore Israel offered to dock the Mavi Marmara at Ashdod and offload the cargo there, then transfer all verified humanitarian supplies to Gaza - a reasonable compromise. The protesters refused. A peaceful move like that would have undermined the purpose of their mission and cost them their moment of drama.

The plain fact is that Israel is not starving Gaza and is not holding up humanitarian aid. Israel maintains an open corridor for the delivery of food and humanitarian supplies to Gaza by recognized groups such as the UN and Red Cross. Every week Israel arranges the delivery of 15,000 tons of supplies on hundreds of trucks - more than the 10,000 tons carried on the flotilla.

These goods include not only food but building supplies. Imports of cement and iron must be controlled because Hamas uses them to cast bunkers and rockets for attacking Israeli cities. Nevertheless, tons of iron and cement are regularly allowed into Gaza under carefully monitored safeguards ensuring they will not go to Hamas for military purposes.

Gazans are suffering not because Israel prohibits aid from getting through to them - it doesn't - but because Hamas steals a lot of that aid. Last year the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) had to suspend humanitarian aid to Gaza because Hamas was stealing it. Specifically, Hamas seized truckloads of rice and flour and confiscated by force of arms thousands of blankets and food parcels intended for the poor.

In spite of this theft by Hamas, ample goods are reaching the people of Gaza . This is true not only because Israel allows these goods to enter legally, but also because of a thriving economy in items smuggled through tunnels across the Egyptian border. According to a very recent report in the Financial Times of London, "Shops all over Gaza are bursting with goods" from this literally underground economy. In fact many of these goods have become so abundant that merchants are complaining about falling prices.

"Everything I demand, I can get," says Abu Amar al-Kahlout, who sells household goods out of a warehouse big enough to accommodate a passenger jet. (Buck, 2010)

And now, irony of ironies: After so much concern about a humanitarian crisis, Hamas is refusing to allow into Gaza the 21 truckloads of goods from the flotilla, which were safely offloaded at Ashdod . Hamas says it wants all flotilla passengers released first.

Huh?

First, Israel is in process of releasing the detainees. Second, and more to the point, if Hamas has a gripe with Israel , why hold the Palestinian people hostage? If the humanitarian "crisis" is really so acute, how can Hamas possibly excuse withholding these vital supplies from the people simply because it wants to punish Israel?
If a humanitarian crisis really does exist in Gaza , many aren't feeling it. But if a humanitarian mission is truly needed, it should be targeted at Hamas.


Who were the flotilla organizers?
So just who are these "Freedom Flotilla humanitarians" ? Two principal groups are involved, the Turkish Insani Yardim Vakfi (IHH), and the Free Gaza Movement (FGM).

The IHH is a Turkish Islamic NGO and owner-operator of three of the ships, including the Mavi Marmara. A report by the Danish Institute for International Studies identifies the IHH as a "charitable front group" supporting terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda and the Sunni insurgents in Iraq . An investigation by Turkish Authorities (before Turkey 's current Islamist government took power) found even more: that the IHH had procured firearms, explosives, and bomb-making instructions and was sending jihadists to fight in Afghanistan , Bosnia , and Chechnya (Kohlmann, 2006).

A French intelligence report (citation in Kohlmann, 2006) found that the IHH was recruiting soldiers for a coming "holy war" and sending them to war zones in Muslim countries to get combat experience (see Isseroff, 2010 for further details).

The true intentions of this supposed mission of "peace" became evident as the participants shouted this chilling battle cry, on footage taken aboard the flotilla just before its departure:

"Remember Khaybar, Khaybar, O Jews! The army of Muhammad will return!"

Khaybar is the name of the last Jewish village destroyed by Muhammad in 628, marking the beginning of the end of any Jewish presence in Arabia . It has become a rallying cry for Islamic extremists, threatening death to Jews throughout history. You probably did not see this footage if you live in the West, but it was broadcast on Al-Jazeera.

(Watching it I couldn't help thinking of Stevenson's Treasure Island, in which once safely on board the "nice fellows" recruited for the treasure hunt raised the Jolly Roger and began singing their pirate songs. Only this time the targets of the deception were not those on board but the public at large.)

The clip ends with one woman passenger proudly proclaiming: "Right now we face one of two happy endings: either martyrdom or reaching Gaza ."

It looks like they got what they wanted.

The other group involved with the flotilla, the Free Gaza Movement, also has a distinguished membership. The FGM is a coalition of pro-Palestinian activists. They were the main coordinators of the flotilla, and its board of directors prominently includes Adam Shapiro and Huwaida Arraf, founding members of the International Solidarity Movement. Arraf is actually the board chair of the FGM and was herself aboard one of the ships.

The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) practices to perfection the pretense of nonviolence and peace while actually supporting violence and terrorism. While ISM members do not engage directly in violence, they make no secret of supporting those who do. They even say the Palestinian "resistance" must be "both nonviolent and violent." The ISM in fact has ties to violent groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. It has supported terrorists and shielded them from Israeli authorities.

It is no coincidence that these people are behind the Free Gaza Movement. They are practicing the identical strategy: using the language of peace and humanitarianism to mask an act of war. And that is exactly what the flotilla action was. Its purpose was to break the Israeli blockade in order to enable the free flow of weapons to Hamas. It is the same purpose the ISM had when it tried to block Israeli bulldozers from demolishing tunnels used for smuggling weapons into Gaza . It works by prostituting the language of peace to support the Hamas war effort.

Here is another glimpse of the sincerity of the peace-loving humanitarians. The following exchange was captured from a radio transmission between the Israeli Navy and the Mavi Marmara:

Israeli ship: This is the Israeli Navy. You are approaching an area which is under a naval blockade.

Mavi Marmara: Shut up! Go back to Auschwitz .

An illegal act of piracy?
So was the Israeli raid on the flotilla illegal, as many claim? Was it even an act of piracy?

That is the accusation of many of Israel 's antagonists. They often bring up international law against Israel, hoping people won't check the details. But if we look at the statutes themselves, this is what we find:

The San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea states (Section V) that "merchant vessels flying the flag of neutral states" may be attacked if "they are believed on reasonable grounds to be carrying contraband or breaching a blockade, and after prior warning they intentionally and clearly refuse to stop, or intentionally and clearly resist visit, search or capture." This is precisely what happened in this case. The flotilla's stated intent was to breach the blockade. And there is clear video evidence that the ships were warned and refused to stop. Section VI states further that such ships may even be captured if they are attempting to breach a blockade.

Hamas is openly at war with Israel . It has used the seas to bring in materials for its war effort. Thus the blockade is justified under international law. But what about the charge that Israel had no right to stop the ships in international waters? Posner (2010) points out that there is longstanding precedent in international law for enforcing "publicly announced blockades on the high seas." In word and in deed, the Hamas government in Gaza has declared itself in mortal conflict with Israel . Israel has the right to try to stop the buildup of Hamas's military capability.

The Facts Hardly Matter Anymore
Israel has a strong moral and legal case for the actions it took. Nevertheless, it hardly seems to matter. Israel has never been more isolated than it is right now. How can we explain this?

The explanation cannot be legal: there is a basis in international law for what Israel did, and in any case most anti-Israel demonstrators are not familiar with the subtleties of the law. The explanation cannot be moral, for the clear double standard by which Israel is judged cannot be justified morally. Because it too has fears of being destabilized Egypt enforces a strict blockade of its own border with Gaza , yet there is hardly any reaction and nobody accuses Egypt of occupying Gaza . Gaza fires rockets on Israeli cities, which is the whole reason for the blockade, and no one seems to think it's important. North Korea sinks a South Korean ship, and it hardly gets an eye blink. Saudi Arabia uses its oil wealth to bankroll terrorists around the world, and nobody notices. In Afghanistan girls' schools are attacked with poisoned gas and female students get acid splashed into their faces, and nobody protests, demonstrates, or sends freedom flotillas. The examples are endless - just tour the globe and you will find them. China and Tibet, Iran and its homosexuals and Bahais - situations far more serious than what happened on this flotilla, yet hardly eliciting a squeak of protest in comparison to the international uproar against Israel for trying to take measures to protect its cities.
What is going on here?

There is an obvious explanation, but I won't mention it because Jews aren't allowed to talk about it anymore. So I'll mention the not-so-obvious explanation, which can be captured in one word: politics. Political conditions have shifted to isolate Israel more than ever. The Muslim world, which has hated Israel since its inception, has become stronger and more assertive, especially since the collapse of the Soviet Union . The Arabs have oil, Israel does not, and the world is more dependent on oil, not less. Islam has experienced a revival, and with that also the conflicts with Jews enshrined in its scriptures - the chants of "Khaybar! Khaybar!" heard aboard the flotilla were no unique occurence; similar language is common in the Arab world and especially among Palestinians. Turkey now has an Islamist government, interested in proving its Islamic credentials and willing to approach Iran by provoking an incident with Israel .

The Palestinians have also become experts at manipulating the media. In this electronic age they are way ahead of Israel in harnessing the potential of the latest media channels such as Facebook and Twitter and YouTube, though Israel is beginning to catch up. The medium has indeed become the message.

This brings us to the Palestinians' greatest success: turning the language of morality into political cant.

George Orwell did a beautiful job of showing how this works in his political novel 1984. The Ministry of Truth, whose job of course was to disseminate lies, had on the walls of its edifice three slogans:



***WAR IS PEACE
***FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
***IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

It seems incredible, yet with proper massaging words can be made to convey precisely the opposite of what they were intended to mean. Just keep selling the idea hard enough and often enough, and if it jibes with something people already wish to believe, then it will stick. Here is a great example: When Hamas took over Gaza by force in 2007 and threw out Fatah, it proclaimed in radio messages that it had "liberated" Gaza (Tran, 2007).

And so again the Palestinians have skewered the language of morality to enable people to believe what they want to believe for political reasons, with the comfortable delusion that they are rising above politics. If the mission of the flotilla were truly humanitarian, there would have been a way to deliver those supplies wihout a confrontation. Israel offered to have them unloaded at Ashdod , inspected for weapons materials, and then sent to Gaza . But that would have ruined the protesters' plans to create an incident even at the expense of jeopardizing their mission to get those "vitally needed" supplies to the people of Gaza .

What the flotilla people don't want you to know is that every week Israel allows the transfer into Gaza of 50% more supplies than were carried on those ships. What they don't want you to know is that Israel is not starving the people of Gaza , and that Gaza markets have been overflowing. What they don't want you to know is the true purpose of their mission: to leverage international opinion to break the blockade so that bombs and missiles can once again flow freely to Hamas.

Seen in this light, the flotilla must be considered an act of aggression, whose mission would result in putting Israeli towns and cities in danger. Yet it was billed as "humanitarian, " a mission of "freedom," so that those who support aggression against Israel can do so with a clear conscience, perhaps sincerely believing they are doing what's morally right. And this is the most devastating and cynical victory of all: the transformation of language to make people truly believe that wrong is right.
When Hamas began shooting rockets at Sderot and other towns in southern Israel , people dismissed them as kids firing home-made firecrackers. Yet people were wounded and killed. And since then Hamas has steadily increased the range and payload of its rockets. With no Israeli blockade in place, Iran-backed Hamas could start importing long-range Iranian missiles capable of striking Haifa and Tel Aviv. Understandably Israel does not want to wait until this happens.

Clearly Hamas is not entitled to the language of morality it is exploiting for political purposes. We may not be able to change the political situation, but we must take back the language. We must expose the lie behind the "humanitarian" effort to support a regime with a murderous agenda. We need to unravel the deceptions, reminding ourselves that war is not peace, freedom is not slavery, and sometimes even "humanitarianism" can be aggression by another name.


Sources:

Abu Toameh, Khaled, Ron Friedman, and Abe Selig. "Flotilla Aid Refused by Hamas." Jerusalem Post, June 3, 2010.

"Behind the Headlines: The Israeli Humanitarian Lifeline to Gaza." Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, May 25, 2010.

Buck, Tobias. "Gaza Looks Beyond Tunnel Economy." Financial Times, May 23, 2010.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA). "Hamas Blocking Entry of Flotilla Aid into Gaza." Haaretz, June 3, 2010.

Gordis, Daniel. "A Botched Raid, a Vital Embargo." New York Times, June 2, 2010.

Haaretz Service and Associated Press. "UN, Hamas Meet to Discuss Stolen Gaza Aid." Haaretz, February 6, 2009.

Isseroff, Ami. "Who Is Behind the Gaza 'Freedom Flotilla'?." Zionism & Israel Information Center , May 30, 2010.

Kohlmann, Evan F. "The Role of Islamic Charities in International Terrorist Recruitment and Financing." DAnish Institute for International Studies, 2006.

Levitt, Matthew, David Makovsky, and Jeffrey White. "Fallout from the Gaza Flotilla Tragedy." Washington Institute, June 1, 2010.

Oren, Michael B. "An Assault, Cloaked in Peace." New York Times, June 2, 2010.

Phillips, Melanie. "'Peace Convoy'? This Was an Islamist Terror Ambush

." Spectator ( UK), May 31, 2010.

Posner, Eric. "The Gaza Blockade and International Law." Wall Street Journal, June 4, 2010.

Ravid, Barak and Yuval Azoulay. "Israel: Gaza Aid Convoy Can Unload Cargo in Ashdod for Inspection." Haaretz, May 27, 2010.

"San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea." International Committee of the Red Cross, June 12, 1994.

"Three Dozen Girl Students Were Poisoned in Afghanistan." Rawa News, April 26, 2009. "97 Girl Students, Teachers Poisoned in Afghanistan." Rawa News, May 12, 2009.

Tran, Mark. "Hamas on Brink of Gaza Takeover." Guardian, June 14, 2007.

Videos: A number of following videos:

"Flotilla Passengers Fire Live Ammunition at IDF Soldiers" June 01, 2010 — The IDF commandos, during the operation to redirect the Gaza flotilla, boarded the Mavi Marmara in the early hours of May 31st, 2010. When they attempted to board, activists, in a prepared attack, lynched the soldiers and stole two pistols. In this footage you can hear the radio exchange between soldiers on their way to the bridge and the IDF ship. The soldiers report encountering live fire and serious violence.

"Flotilla Rioters Prepare Metal Rods, Slingshots, Broken Bottles, and Metal Objects to Attack IDF Soldiers." IDF Spokesperson' s Unit, June 2, 2010.

"Gaza Flotilla Participants Invoked Killing of Jews." Palestinian Media Watch, May 31, 2010. (Also Middle East Media Research Institute [MEMRI] Video Clip #2489,

Al-Jazeera TV Report from 'Freedom Flotilla' Before Its Departure for Gaza: Activists on Board Chant Intifada Songs and Praise Martyrdom. Al-Jazeera TV [ Qatar], May 28, 2010.)

"IDF Navy Soldiers Who Were Attacked Aboard the Marmara Ship." IDF Spokesperson' s Unit, May 31, 2010.

"IDF Navy Warns Flotilla." Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, May 30, 2010.

"Mavi Marmara to Israeli Navy: 'We're Helping Arabs Go Against the US, Don't Forget 9/11 Guys'." IDF Spokesperson' s Unit, June 4, 2010.

[/color]

[Warph]

An Open Letter to Turkey

by Daniel Greenfield

Dear Former Friends,

Ever since you decided to trade in the Secularism of Ataturk for the Islamism of Erdogan, you also seem to have dispensed with the ability to coexist with non-Muslims on a peaceful basis. These days all we ever seem to get from you, is video clips of your leader, Prime Minister Erdogan, barking at us like a dog that its owner carelessly let off the leash. And if you don't know that Erdogan's owner lives in Riyadh, then you don't know very much of what goes on in your own country.

But your affairs are your own affairs. And our affairs are our affairs. If you want to let a fanatic in a cheap suit destroy Turkish nationalism in the name of Islam, that's your business. But when he gets into business with terrorist organizations who attack and murder our soldiers, then it's our business. And when a country that persecutes its Kurdish, Assyrian and Armenian citizens, and sends their elected representatives to jail-- presumes to self-righteously lecture us on how to manage our affairs, it had better remember that holding a stone throwing contest in a glass house will just lead to piles of broken glass.

You say you want an international investigation into the flotilla raid? Sure. Right after we have an international investigation into that minor matter of Armenian genocide that you've been ducking for quite a while. As the new "standard bearer" in fighting for human rights, I'm sure you will agree that it's only fair that Turkey should undergo the same scrutiny it demands for other countries.

And then we can move on to the more than 10,000 political prisoners in your jails. A number that at times has topped 100,000. An independent investigation could also begin by looking into the torture and murder of political activists such as Engin Ceber. They could meet with representatives of TAYAD, the organization representing the families of prisoners. And they would no doubt be fascinated by the more than 1500 children in your prisoners who are there on "terrorism" charges. Like that 12 year old you arrested in 2008 for singing a Kurdish folk song. So by all means wrap yourselves in the banner of "Human Rights" and we'll turn it into a noose and strangle you with it.

In Israel, Arabs are a legally recognized minority. Arabic is taught in schools and used as a legally recognized language. Meanwhile Kurdish identity is all but banned in Turkey. Kurdish names, folk songs and even the Kurdish language itself has been repressed. Your regime has actually prosecuted and removed officials for simply incorporating a Kurdish phrase into a greeting. You screech self-righteously about the "Palestinian children"-- perhaps we should talk about the hundreds of Kurdish children arrested for throwing stones at protests. Arrested and charged with terrorism. Just more of the thousands of political prisoners of oppressed minorities in your prisons.

And perhaps next time your dog Erdogan gets up to bark up at us about human rights, we can stuff this in his mouth. Jenin, the Second Lebanon War and every armed encounter between Israel and Islamic terrorists over the last 20 years combined together killed fewer people, than your country did in 1997 alone. After you get through lecturing us on the use of force against Islamic terrorists, shall we discuss how many times you used jets to bomb Kurdish rebels who were lightly armed at best. Including in 2008 when you invaded sovereign Iraqi soil in order to continue your genocide of the Kurdish people.

You talk about stolen land, when your entire country is stolen land, from Cyprus to Istanbul. Your regime is a racist illegitimate entity based on the oppression of the Kurds, the Armenians, the Assyrians, the Circassians and numerous others. You went directly from being Imperialists to Fascists to Islamists, a truly dubious achievement for any nation. Your history is filled with slavery, ethnic cleansing, genocide and invasion. And that's just in the last century alone. If you had any sanity or shame, you would dig a hole, crawl into it, and hope that no one mentions words like "Minority Rights" or "Territorial Legitimacy" in your presence, instead of trying to use them as a club against a nation whose national history predates yours by thousands of years. We had kingdoms and a civilization that changed the world, back when your ancestors were still trying to decide whether to eat the sheep or rape it.

But let us get back to your precious Islamist flotilla, decorated with Turkish flags that used to be more than just red versions of the Saudi flag. That ship you filled up with Muslim Brotherhood members and Islamist radicals bound for our shores. Over in your wonderful nation of boundless freedom, reporters have been put on trial for even interviewing leaders of terrorist groups. You sentenced the head of a Kurdish party to six months in prison for calling the head of the PKK, Mr. Ocalan, instead of just Ocalan. He joins the more than 800 Kurdish politicians you imprisoned in the last year alone. And after all that you actually have the nerve to pretend to be "outraged" when Israel intercepts your flotilla full of political terrorists?

But of course we know how strongly you feel about blockades. Like the time you blockaded Armenia for Sixteen Years. Very well then. If you insist on sending vessels flying the Turkish flag to aid Hamas, perhaps we'll begin sending vessels flying the Israeli flag to aid the PKK. We're not big fans of the PKK, but since you've decided to friend Hamas, then what's good for the turkey, just might be good for the gander. We can also fill a flotilla full of senile troublemakers, phony survivors and leftist radicals-- along with a few hundred well armed "activists" who know how to use a knife. Or perhaps we won't bother with any of that. Instead for every boat flying the Turkish flag that invades our territory, we'll donate a million to the PKK. I wonder how many rocket launchers that would buy. Perhaps the next time, your air force sweeps in to bomb Kurds out of their homes, they might get a surprise or two.

And then there's the Republic of Cyprus, which has actually been helping us stop weapons smuggling. They might benefit from significantly upgraded air defenses. While the US insists on equalizing weapons sales to Turkey and Greece, we just might have something tastier to offer to one side. And the citizens of the Republic of Cyprus might actually be able to sleep soundly in their beds, instead of being intimidated by savages showing off their F-16's over their heads. The Cyprus National Guard likes our drones, just like you do. But what if they had a much better equalizer at their disposal? Being a small non-Muslim nation surrounded by much larger Muslim countries, we do have a certain fondness for the infidel underdog.

Oh I know, what you're going to say. This means war. But you might want to consider that we've fought and beaten enemies many times our size. And what exactly was the last war you won single-handedly?  And no, bombing starving Kurdish rebels from the air, or occupying Cyprus doesn't count. And how long could you fight that war, before a domestic Kurdish insurgency overthrows your little empire. If that doesn't happen, you might want to think about the big Russian bear at your back. The bear has been eyeing you for a long time now. And with your military engaged in a disastrous war for the Great Caliphate, your borders would be temptingly open. And who exactly would bail you out then?

Oh I know you've made many great news friends, such as Ahmadinejad and that nice burnoosed king in the Arabian Desert, who tells your Erdogan when to jump and how high, but if you think Iran is about to pass up Russian nukes in order to bail you out, you've got another thing coming. Meanwhile old Abdullah in the desert can't even protect himself without the US Marines. And if you think Obama would send them in to save your asses, you've got another thing coming. I'm sure if there were Russian tanks headed to Ankara, he'd make a vocal statement about it. And Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would pretend not to laugh while hanging up the phone.

There is of course the European Union. Last time Russia pulled that trick, it was Britain that bailed you out in the Crimean War. But these days Her Majesty's Empire isn't quite in the same shape it used to be. Sure Cameron, Clegg and Harman will lick Erdogan's feet. But none of them want to be the next Tony Blair either. Germany doesn't like you very much anymore. Perhaps that time when it got enmeshed in WW1 to protect your Ottoman Empire may have put them off. Or your internal campaign of subversion exploiting Germany's horde of Turkish laborers. What are you left with then? France, Italy or perhaps Austria will forget that whole pesky Gates of Vienna thing and this time ride to your rescue.

No, when Russian commandos are ripping off your wife's Burqa-- there will be no one left to save you. Not your newfound allies, or Erdogan who will take the first plane to Riyadh, with as many Lira as his sweaty hands can shove into the pockets of his cheap suit. And just think of it, as the Hagia Sophia church that you turned into a mosque, will become a church again. Istanbul will once again be Constantinople, which means a certain catchy 20's song will require a rewrite. Of course it may not happen exactly that way. But it will happen. Erdogan's plan to suppress and integrate Kurds into a Muslim Turkey will not succeed. And his antagonizing of former allies means that Turkey is exchanging friends, for enemies. Meanwhile your new friends happen to share borders with you and have territorial claims on your land.  

So when that day of reckoning comes, you will find that you have made enemies of former allies such as Israel and the US-- and that the new allies Erdogan has found for you in Iran and Syria would prefer a Russian controlled Turkey, that has no chance of ever reverting to a Kemalist government. And Erdogan's godfather in Saudi Arabia commands oil money, not troops. And while he might be willing to sink Turkey for the sake of Islam, perhaps there are Turks who value their nation, more than Islamism. If not, you can look forward to Erdogan "reforming" your country, until it has the military might of Pakistan, the literacy level of Saudi Arabia and the poverty rate of Egypt. It is of course your choice.

A people have the right to choose their destiny, for good or ill. And if you find that this letter is filled with contempt, it is a contempt fully merited by a regime that seeks to cloak its shameful betrayal of a former ally in the guise of human rights, when it brutally suppresses the rights of its own minorities. You may wish to go on dancing to the tune being played by Erdogan, to sheet music composed in Riyadh. It is a very good tune. Filled with hate, violence and religious fanaticism. That also is your choice. But know that whatever you have was bought and paid by your ancestors who understood that Turkey would either modernize out of the gutter of Islam, or it would be washed away by the colonial tide. Your power does not come from Islam, it comes from the bread crusts of civilization that fall from the table of Europe. Abandon them for the red hued madness of the Jihad, and you will not rule over an empire, but over a wasteland. If you doubt that, look to the south and to the east. Look to the desert. You came from there once. And if you throw away civilization for the fanatical madness of Islam-- you will return there again.

Sincerely Yours

A Descendant of a Subject of the Ottoman Empire

Daniel Greenfield

P.S. - That must be a Israeli Horse you are trying to mount, Erdogan:

[Anmar]

I like how warph is now trying to hide my posts.... Whats wrong warph?  too chicken sh!t to debate?

[Warph]

I like how warph is now trying to hide my posts.... Whats wrong warph?  too chicken sh!t to debate?

Hiding your posts.... Oh, you mean that hamas garbage you're posting    Pretty idiotic comment, Clown.  That garbage you posted is there for all to see.

Oh... and do I want to debate a hamas Clown???  Okay, chicken shit.... here goes:  I'm RIGHT.... you're WRONG... END of debate!
I'll keep posting the FACTS and you can keep posting the hamas garbage.  Let the forum figure it out.

[jerry wagner]

Hiding your posts.... Oh, you mean that hamas garbage you're posting    Pretty idiotic comment, Clown.  That garbage you posted is there for all to see.

Oh... and do I want to debate a hamas Clown???  Okay, chicken shit.... here goes:  I'm RIGHT.... you're WRONG... END of debate!
I'll keep posting the FACTS and you can keep posting the hamas garbage.  Let the forum figure it out.

You'll continue to post fact huh?  The same kind of fact that you usually post:

**"you're a terrorist for disagreeing with me"
**"you're a liberal"
**"clown this, clown that"
**"mooncalf"

Yes Warph, you're right you keep posting the facts for us all to see.

[Varmit]

Good, I have a lot of things to respond to and educate you all about. 

Lets start with the idea that people in the holy land have been fighting for thousands of years.  While there certainly have been periods of conflict, There have also been relatively long peaceful periods....
You may notice a trend.  When the area is ruled by arabs, they get along fine.  When europeans come in and try to take control, there's a problem.  You'd think a lesson would have been learned?

When arabs are in control theres peace??  Really?  Now, maybe its just me but somehow I don't see a country that allows things like Honor killings, the public beating of women, genocide, the gential mutalation of young girls, or actively seeking the destruction of a sovergin country, as being peaceful...but like I said, maybe its just me.

As to the rest of your post...I would be selling out not only my country but also my belifes if I didn't stand for Isreal.  I believe that the Jews are Gods chossen people, that they are "the apple of His eye" and I am not going to mess with that. 

As for the Pope saying this and that, I really don't care.  I don't see him or the catholic church as Christian.  And speaking of such, if there are Christians in paliestine then they too would stand for Isreal and the Jewish people.  Oh, and I might mention that they wouldn't have been dancing in the streets on 9/11 nor would they follow Hamas (muslim) leadership.


Now, you can quote all the papers and articles you want, I'll let the actions of palestine speak for themselves.  And with their rocket and mortar attacks on Isreal their stance has been clear. 

[jerry wagner]

When arabs are in control theres peace??  Really?  Now, maybe its just me but somehow I don't see a country that allows things like Honor killings, the public beating of women, genocide, the gential mutalation of young girls, or actively seeking the destruction of a sovergin country, as being peaceful...but like I said, maybe its just me.

As to the rest of your post...I would be selling out not only my country but also my belifes if I didn't stand for Isreal.  I believe that the Jews are Gods chossen people, that they are "the apple of His eye" and I am not going to mess with that. 

As for the Pope saying this and that, I really don't care.  I don't see him or the catholic church as Christian.  And speaking of such, if there are Christians in paliestine then they too would stand for Isreal and the Jewish people.  Oh, and I might mention that they wouldn't have been dancing in the streets on 9/11 nor would they follow Hamas (muslim) leadership.


Now, you can quote all the papers and articles you want, I'll let the actions of palestine speak for themselves.  And with their rocket and mortar attacks on Isreal their stance has been clear. 

And with the actions of Israel, there stance is clear as well: THEY ARE NOT PEACEFUL AND HAVE EVERY INTENT ON KILLING.