Learning about Zionism the Goldstone Way
By Tali Shapiro at Sep 23, 2009
I waited a bit to have a complete picture of Ha'aretz ("the elite left") coverage of the Goldstone lead UN report on Gaza. Israeli citizens could have learned something about the government and themselves through this report. Instead, I learn, yet again, how corrupted the media, the government and the people are, by the Zionist mythos.
Keeping the Myth Alive
The first Ha'aretz article (and all the subsequent articles that weren't written by Amira Hass or Gideon Levy) about the report plays on the myth that both sides of this "conflict" (a.k.a. "occupation") are on equal footing:
"UN probe: Israel, Palestinians both guilty of Gaza war crimes"
This title is, of course, misleading, as anyone who's taken the time to read just the table of contents of the report, can see a clear ratio that puts Israel to shame. But the sillies don't stop there; Not only is the title misleading, when reporting about the mission, it's misleading in characterization of the article it heads! The article mentions the main points (I've rephrased, in order to avoid linguistic bias, such as calling a massacre "war"):
- Hospitals, food production facilities, drinking water installations and other such sites were attacked.
- Blockade on the Gaza Strip.
- Use of human shields.
- Civilians were shot while carrying white flags.
- Israel failed to protect its Arab citizens against the rocket fire in the same way that it protected its Jewish residents.
- Palestinian political prisoners must be released.
- Indiscriminate rocket fire into Israeli civilian areas.
- Internal violence during the operation, including extra-judicial executions and arbitrary arrests.
- Gilad Shalit must be released.
Most obviously, Israel has more violation categories. But it isn't just a question of quantity, it's also a question of context:
- For one Gilad Shalit there are 11,000 Palestinian prisoners.
- The rockets fired by Palestinian armed groups are primitive and tough to aim, while the precision of Israel's air-strikes is not only well documented, but boasted by Israeli officials. The implications of this horror is amplified by the body count on each side (13 Israelis to over 1300 Palestinians [p.p 106-109]).
- As for internal violence- this is despicable and should reach international court, as well. Period. (It's a perfect opportunity, however, to ask, why Ha'aretz fails to mention the whole chapter [XXV] dedicated to "Repression Of Dissent In Israel, Right To Access To Information And Treatment Of Human Rights Defenders".)
Other offenses by Israel (i.e. Attacking civilian infrastructure, blockading the attacked area) imply a grander context, beyond the "smaller" shooting civilians waving white flags and the use of human shields. It's a wonder the myth of two equal sides still exists at all.
Sounds dramatic and conspiratorial, doesn't it? Well, the truth is that the Zionist government feels it is so right, it doesn't even bother covering up its tracks:
"The Prime Minister's Office decided Wednesday that Peres would take the front lines in Israel's campaign against the report."
Israel has officially launched a campaign against the Goldstone report. It's not just alluded to in the above statement. You can find it in this article of IsraelPolitik - The Political Blog of the State of Israel (as it's titled in the Prime Minister's Office official website), which links to Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs' "Special website". Of course, the media is to blame for encouraging and even glorifying this behavior, with graphic statements that engage the militaristic imagination, such as "Israel began fighting the diplomatic battle..." Other choice quotes from this specific article:
"On the diplomatic front, following the report's release, Netanyahu, Lieberman, President Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Ehud Barak will telephone many of their counterparts around the world. They will stress that the Goldstone report is one-sided, that it rewards terrorism and that it sets a precedent which will make it difficult for any country in the world to defend itself against terror."
All of the above, consistent with Ministry of Foreign Affairs' "Special website". That said, consistency was never the Zionist's strong side; My favorite part is when the obviously Zionist authors of this article justify their abhorring of the report by siding with Hamas:
"Hamas yesterday rejected the Goldstone report, which accused both Israel and Hamas of war crimes during Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip. Hamas spokesmen said the report was not fair. A representative of the extremist organization, Ismail Radwan, told Haaretz last night that the report was unbalanced and completely misrepresented reality."
A Word on Zionist Consistency
The most moral army in the world has created one of the most morally inconsistent nations in the world. This can be seen in self-righteous editorials that are so deeply morally bankrupt, they don't see their own cynical disregard towards the sanctity of life, lapdogging, and biting the hand that feeds them [respectively]:
"Absurd? Yes, it's absurd. No sane person in the world believes that the United States, Russia or China could be subjected to purist international law. The United States has killed thousands of innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the last few months encouraged Pakistan to make an extremely brutal military move in its Swat Valley. The United States was not required to account for it because everyone understands that this is the price of the terrible War on Terror. Russia committed blood-curdling war crimes in Chechnya, while China deprives its citizens of basic rights and is conducting a wicked occupation in Tibet. They are not asked to pay for this because everyone understands that you don't mess with superpowers." [cynical disregard towards the sanctity of life]
"Unlike journalists, governments and field commanders deal with this dilemma every day." [lapdogging]
"Will U.S. now let Goldstone into Afghanistan?" [biting the hand that feeds them]
More "pragmatic" editorials, have a more "realistic" concern:
"In wake of UN Gaza probe, how can Israel go to war again?... Last, and perhaps most important, the Goldstone report reinforces the most serious strategic threat Israel brought upon itself with the Gaza offensive, in that it saps international legitimacy for a similar operation in the future. A country considering attacking the nuclear reactor in Iran, and then endangering itself to rocket fire from Lebanon and Gaza in response, will have to take into account whether the world will give Israel another opportunity for a severe, crushing response."
And there's always the resident wack-job in the elite-left paper, proving that when it comes to violence, war-mongering and self victimization, we're the most consistent nation in the world:
"This playing field for the dehumanization of Israel, which had already been heated up prior to the Goldstone report by various non-governmental organizations, remains exposed and neglected. Now that the most senior echelons are in their sights, maybe we will finally understand that it is necessary to conduct a worldwide offensive, efficiently and with maximum dedication to its goals, against those who would seek to destroy us by attacking the legitimacy of our existence."
Ironically enough, the words of Avigdor Lieberman, on this issue- slightly spun- ring true: They do give the facts a chance to confuse them.
The Inevitable Smear Campaign
Richard Goldstone, that headed the fact finding mission, a Jew, a Zionist and a self-proclaimed "lover of Israel", has been (as expected) subjected to the usual Zionist smear campaign. From "anti-semitism" and "Israel-hating":
"As a result of the destructive, toxic report of the United Nation's Goldstone Commission, from now on all of the haters of Israel will be celebrating anti-Semites."
To the seemingly more forgiving "hopeless naivety":
"The answer to that question will determine whether Goldstone achieves his stated objective of expanding the UN's purview of human rights, as he did South Africa's, or whether, as his critics predict, he will be shown up as a naive idealist, one who enabled an implacably Israel-obsessed body to use the findings of a distinguished pro-Israel Jewish jurist to justify its actions."
In one sense, Goldstone's Zionist detractors are correct: He's a Jew, a Zionist and a lover of Israel, and even he couldn't deny the atrocities it commits. Perhaps tough love, rather than blind love, is what the spoiled, privileged child of the Middle East really needs.
* Another way the media sows confusion is by failing to differentiate the people (=Palestinians) from the government (=Hamas) from the armed groups.