Opinion Editorials, February 2009

 Amnesty International Rightly Calls for Stopping Arms to Israel

By Mohamed Khodr

ccun.org, February 28, 2009

“Right and wrong are the same in Palestine as anywhere else. What is peculiar about the Palestine conflict is that the world has listened to the party that has committed the offence and has turned a deaf ear to the victims.” –British Historian Arnold Toynbee

Amnesty International is to be commended for its long history of fair and balanced assessments of human rights abuses whether it’s in Israel or Egypt. No nation in modern history has been as criticized and condemned for its repressive human rights violations, its illegal invasions and wars against its neighbors, its annexation of Palestinian and Syrian lands, including East Jerusalem, its use of legalized torture, mass campaigns of house demolitions, imprisonment of thousands of men, women, and children without any charges for years, its illegal Apartheid Wall (according to the International Criminal Court), its hundreds of checkpoints that often cause the death of ill Palestinians including stillbirths, its illegal construction of hundreds of illegal settlements on occupied land which continues unabated despite Israel’s “promises” to America, its sole benefactor and protector, and so much more.

Yet most Americans are unaware of this history, a history of lies and spin covering military onslaughts as “self defense”. The only reason is the power of the Israel Lobby in Washington D.C. and the power of a sympathetic, often owned and operated by Jewish Americans, that slams and smear any American who dares to speak the truth in America’s national interests not in the interest of this small foreign nation that has forced American to pay and die for its interests. The only time our Congress votes overwhelmingly and in bipartisanship fashion is for Israel’s interests never in the interest of the health, education, or welfare of an American child. Example: Bush and Congress overwhelmingly supported sending Israel $30 Billion in military aid (Israel is already the fourth largest arms EXPORTER) while denying the same amount to expand SCHIP, a children’s health program to the uninsured.

I join and support A.I.’s call to stop sending American weapons to Israel (Palestinians have the legitimate right to defend themselves against a foreign military occupier–although I oppose the killing of all innocent civilians) that are used in offensive genocides against hapless civilians in the occupied territories which already violate America’s own Arms Export Law which prohibits the use of U.S. weapons in any offensive fashion

This won’t happen until Americans get informed on the history of Israel’s illegitimate founding on stolen Palestinian land by force and maintained by force. Such theft by force has not ceased. Needed is a comprehensive peace plan such as the extraordinarily generous Arab Peace Plan that offers Israel everything it’s ever claimed to want. Israel won’t make peace unless it’s forced to and only Americans can do that.

As for the facts on this latest Gaza genocide: 1. Hamas’ founding was greatly aided by Israel itself. there would be no Hamas, Hezbollah without Israel’s military occupations. 2. Hamas has offered recognition of Israel in its 1967 border as evidenced by a letter its leaders sent to Bush in 2006 and several media reports in Israel, Europe, and the U.S. 3. Israel’s attack on Gaza was Pre Planned months prior to the invasion, similar to its Pre Planned attack on Lebanon in 2006, as Ehud Olmert admitted to the Winograd Commission investigating the invasion. 4. It was Israel that violated the six month ceasefire as Israel admitted itself and the U.N. and other agencies reported.

America, get the facts, then decide. A place to start is ifamericansknew.org and palestineremembered.org.

America is the premier world arms supplier around the world but nowhere does our responsibility for the murder of children exist as it does in Israel’s hands.

Take action against war and death or forever hold your peace when terrorists attack us as Israel’s proxy.

Tragically no media attention is being given to this vital report. Shalom, Peace, Salaam to all who value the sacredness of all lives based on truth and justice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=zfFMZ7Y-s_c ISRAEL ADMITS “HAMAS DIDN’T FIRE ROCKETS DURING CEASEFIRE0

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n02/sieg01_.html Important article by Henry Siegman: “Israel’s LIes”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article1942918.ece Israel Preplanned Attack on Gaza

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMGuYjt6CP8 British Jewish MP on Gaza’s genocide: Israel acting like Nazis

http://pulsemedia.org/2009/01/27/israels-gaza-massacre-we-will-never-forget/ Important Video and Media Montage on Gaza

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWqFxLCEGGY Gaza in Ruins

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hjyq2FzRBo Gaza Video

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/23/60minutes/main4749723.shtml 60 Minutes Report on Israel’s Occupation

This article was also published at the AI website, at:

http://blog.amnestyusa.org/middle-east/new-amnesty-report-calls-for-comprehensive-arms-embargo-on-israel-and-hamas/#comment-1257