Dead Baby Photos and the Israel/Palestine Conflict

Surprise! Israel and Palestine are at it again, swapping bombs, slaughtering teens, blowing shit up and generally just hating on eachother. And, as always, social media is booming with all the back and forth, tit for tat discussion that has been going on for, well, ever. As long as this conflict has been going on, it's the same back and forth arguments with no end. "Israel is worse than Nazi Germany!". "Palestinians are terrorists!", etc, etc, etc. It gets rather tiresome. It's the same old thing over and over and over. And then, both sides wonder "Why are we not getting the attention we deserve!!!!???". Well, maybe it's because you've been at this for 60 fucking years and it's always the same old garbage and you guys haven't been able to sort it out, and we're all a bit tired of hearing about it because there is not much we can do. It is, quite frankly, easy to tune out this conflict because, quite frankly, the story is getting old and tired. But, of course, it is still an important story because people are dying...mostly Palestinians, but that isn't to say that Israel hasn't faced it's fair share of death. I am not even going to bother arguing for or against anything here. Enough people have researched the issue to death (usually to suit their own predetermined bias) that there will always be someone who will come along, on both/either side that will say, "That's wrong, and you are an idiot!" Well, in some ways, yes, I am, and I have no clue what is true or false anymore. Not all that is said to be false is false, and not all that is said to be true is true.

BUT, BUT, BUT, here is what is making me quite angry at the moment with how social media, particularly the anti-Israel camp (thought the pro-Israel camp does this too) is conducting itself. If I see one more picture of a slaughtered baby with absolutely no source cited, I'm going to scream. Just throwing up a picture of a dead baby that could be a dead child from anywhere there is conflict and declaring that it is the work of Israel is just....wrong. Have children been dying in the conflict over the years? Yes, sadly, and tragically, children on both sides have been a victim. But, really, does tossing up a picture of a dead baby from three years ago, that no one knows where it was taken, really helping anything other than further inflaming an already toxic issue? Constantly, constantly, dead baby pictures, with an angry message that says, "Look what Isra-hell is doing! Wake UP!" or something. Again, I'm not trying to downplay the pain and suffering being felt in that area, but, come on, let's be level headed and rational about this. Find out before you post it what the picture is actually of. I keep seeing pictures of things being blown up that are attributed to today....that happened 3 yrs ago! Why? If you are going to lie about that through pictures, what else are you going to lie about?? Not everything you find on the internet is true folks. You aren't helping your side with these pics. You aren't helping to do anything but make the situation, dare I say....worse!

And, now, it's back to your regularly scheduled tit for tat war. Enjoy! 

No More Rockets, No More Hamas!

I woke up a few mornings ago to see that prominent Hamas armed wing leader Ahmed Al-Jaabari had been assassinated when an Israeli missile hit his car in the Gaza strip. Blammo. This has come after at least a week of escalation in violence between Israel and Gaza militants that had seen an increase in rockets being fired into Israel and then retaliation by Israel. Hamas has a missile problem. They like to randomly fire these things into Israel with seeming no rhyme or reason and with no particular destination. Sometimes it is in retaliation, sometimes it is for....I have no clue what reason.

Anyway, since then, of course, all hell has broken loose, with rockets being fired wildly into Israel, some reaching Tel Aviv and at least one reaching Jerusalem. Meanwhile, in Gaza, Israel has bombed the snot out of several hundred targets, which they claim are key militant sites which, for the most part, I tend to believe. However, clearly the population of Gaza are getting the brunt of the destruction with at least 16 dead and a hundred injured. Seems not all of the bombs are hitting their mark, and/or the dense population of the strip means that injury and death is unavoidable. If Israel is, for some ridiculously stupid reason, intentionally targeting civilians, then clearly they are idiots. I don't believe however that this is what they are doing. Regardless, people in Gaza are dying and being injured and it is a sad, sad situation. At the same time, the Israeli death toll is at three. Of course it's not as high, but these deaths as well are very sad. The fact that anyone is dying here is unfortunate.

So all of this leads me to ask: Hamas and Islamic Jihad (and whatever other militant groups there are in Gaza), may I ask, how has firing rockets indiscriminately into Israel working out for you and the people of Gaza? At what point will you see that these rockets you insist on shooting off are suicidal? How many times must Gaza be struck by Israel before the point is made that the rockets achieve nothing? How many people must die? For some reason, there are those in Gaza and those who support Palestinians who believe that these rockets are justified and show strength and determination or some crazy thing. They are seen as an act of defense instead of what they really are which is an act of offense that leads to retaliation. And, when Israel does retaliate because rockets are fired at them, the world screams “Israel is attacking Gaza!” Well, no kidding! They are trying desperately to stop these rockets! You can’t fire rockets into Israel and expect no response. Whether you like it or not, Israel can outgun you! Be reasonable!

The common argument is that these rockets are just small, crude devices and Israel is showing disproportionate force. The answer is, don’t fire rockets! There seems to be an implication that Israel should just accept rockets being fired into it because, meh, they aren't that big of a deal. That is completely unrealistic. There are those who say that Gaza has been treated like a concentration camp and that their grip on power over the strip is inhumane. Yes, I can see that. However, the grip tightened significantly, and understandably, when Hamas took over power of the strip. Hamas has virtually dedicated itself to the destruction of Israel. Can people not see the connection here? Again, what is Israel to do? At what point will people see that Hamas is not helping Palestinians as a whole in any way shape or form. They are not offering security, that’s for sure. They are not offering a better life for the people of Gaza. They are offering war and destruction. And for all the talk of Israel’s iron grip, there is little mention of the grip Hamas has over its people. Somehow, Hamas gets a free ride in how it treats it's own citizens at times and the way it has dealt with Fatah, it's rival in the fight over control of Palestinians. Their actions against their own citizens, such as a heavy crackdown not long ago against protesters in Gaza that dared to call for peace and reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah makes me scratch my head at how anyone can not see that Hamas are a bunch of dicks!

Am I a firm supporter of Israel? No. I do support its existence. I do see it as an independent country. I see Israel as a move by Jews to have an independent state where they were no longer at the mercy of the rest of the world, including the Muslim world. It seems that as long as Jews were under Muslim control, paid their taxes to their overlords and knew their place everything was cool. But when Jews said "enough is enough" and declared independence, that's wasn't cool. The fact is, many Jews have also been expelled from "Arab" lands, having their property taken and being sent off, generally as refugees to Israel. Over 50 percent of the population of Israel are Jewish refugees pushed out of "Arab" lands. This seems to be forgotten for some bizarre, strange reason.

But at the same time, I believe that Israel has done many wrongs over the years that are intolerable and disgusting. Israel is no angel that is for sure! In the saga of Israel/Palestine, there truly are two sides doing ridiculous, horrible things. But for Gaza, I believe strongly that the answer to progress is to get rid of Hamas, get rid of Islamic Jihad, get rid of rockets and work on becoming a state that Israel can live beside peacefully, like it does with most of its other neighbours. At the same time, Israel has a responsibility to stop expanding beyond its borders and to not be quite as heavy handed as they can sometimes be. It would be nice to see the blockade and sanctions against Gaza lifted, but how can they be as long as Hamas is determined to destroy Israel? At the same time, should all in the strip be forced to live in an intolerable state because of Hamas? Can Israel afford to lift the blockade? Can Israel afford not too as public opinion sways against it?

I have little faith that we will see peace in the Middle East anytime soon. Divisions are so deep, polarized and steeped in a cycle of violence that it is entrenched in the societies and cultures. Both sides in the Israel/Palestine situation are stubborn and hot headed. There are solutions. I believe I have presented a few. There, however, is much more to do beyond that. But, as long as rockets are being shot off into Israel indiscriminately and Hamas is in power, there is little hope of peace, little room for negotiation. It’s time for Gaza and Palestinians to step back and rethink their futile strategy. Then, hopefully, life can improve for Palestinians.

Palfest Facepalm

So, the Palestinian Literature Festival, or Palfest, was scheduled to run May 5 to 9 in Gaza. Good. This is good. It's a travelling festival of Literature focusing on Palestinian issues. It also seems to be quite insistent on pushing the idea of cultural and academic boycotts of Israel. The festival has been running since 2008, apparently. It has been trying to get into the Gaza strip since then. This year became the big year when they were able to do that. It also seems to be quite insistent on pushing the idea of cultural and academic boycotts of Israel.  It took a while to get the required permits to go into Gaza from Egypt, to begin with. It has been reported today, via twitter by folks that were at the event, and the event organizers themselves that, low and behold, the event was shut down by Gaza police. Interesting indeed. From @Palfest:

We've been shut down by the police. #palfestgaza 

Everyone has left the event. Police were aggressive. We're staying together, have put as many people on the bus as possible. 

Everyone back at the hotel - will carry on here. Probably wont talk about books right now, though. 

Correction: The final #PalFestGaza was shut down by Gaza Police and the armed policemen stood in the entrance and on the stairs of the venue

Hmmmmm. I do feel for Palestinians, I really do. But, when the biggest obstacles to putting on an event with the partial motive of showing how oppressed Palestinians are by Israel, and to point out why Israel should be boycotted, are from Hamas, who governs over Gaza, and Egypt, who are Arab allies, then something isn't quite right. If it were up to me, I would be changing the goals to boycotting Hamas in a hurry. Hopefully, the next Palfest will focus on ALL issues that affect Palestinians beyond just looking at Israel. Palestinians deserve freedom from oppression, including oppression from groups like Hamas. Israel is not the only source of pain and heartache for Palestinians. Too often it is their own neighbours, fellow Arabs and fellow Muslims that add to the overall problem. It's time to look at the big picture, people. 

Giving Up on Israel and Palestine

Well, I'm completely done with the Gaza freedom flotilla story that has been so prominant in the news as of late. You probably know the one, where Israeli commandos boarded ships headed to Gaza, and the end result was a number of dead activists. I've had it. Enough is enough. There has just been too much propaganda, too much finger pointing, too much confusion, too much crap...and not enough actual information. No more. It's useless. It's frustrating. I have no clue of who or what to believe. To be honest, I almost want to give up on the region as a whole. If these folks can't make peace, what the heck can the rest of us do?? Nothing. It's just never ending. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

I feel for the people in Gaza, I really do. And I don't like the Israeli blockade that Gaza has been under for several years now, BUT, will arms be the first thing that starts flowing into Gaza if the blockade is removed? How much of the humanitarian situation in Gaza is thanks to their own government? Will Israel ever stop building settlements, using collective punishment, and using what I see as excessive force from seemingly trigger happy and overzealous soldiers? Will rockets ever stop being fired into Israel from Gaza? Will the regular people of Gaza who are just trying to survive ever get the humanitarian aid they desperately need? Will Turks who justifiably condemn the violence that happened on the Mavi Marmara, the boat in the Gaza freedom flotilla where the deaths of activists occurred, ever look at what is happening in their own country and condemn it with the same amount of vigor? Will the Turkish government even allow the kind of protests seen over Gaza happen over the plight of the Kurdish in the south east of the country? Will Israel ever come forward with the truth about nuclear weapons? Will they ever release the video and photographs taken by activists on board the freedom flotilla? Will Israel ever acknowledge their own wrong doings? Will the US ever condemn Israeli actions when they really should be condemned? Will every action that Israel take ever not be seen as unjustified by the opposing side? Will Israel ever stop playing the role of victim? At the same time, will they ever not be a victim, in some senses? Will pro-Palestinians ever not be seen and referred to as terrorists? Will the siege on Gaza ever come to an end? Will the wall being constructed around the West Bank ever come down? Will there ever be peace?

It would be nice to be optimistic, but, I'm not. I am not at all. I hate to say there is no hope, but frankly, I don't think there is any hope. There is just too much division, too much bitterness, too much hatred, too much boiling blood, too much history. This incident is just another in a LONG list of incidents. And, the rhetoric never changes. The results are seemingly all the same. And progress doesn't seem to be ever be made. It's sad, it's horrible, and it's ridiculous. But, that just seems to be the way it is.

High Seas Drama: The Slaughter of Truth by Israel, Turkey, and Pretty Much Everyone Else.

You know what I'm tired of? PR folks thinking that we are all morons.

So, you may have heard about the little incident involving Israels infamous IDF, and the Gaza Flotilla headed to, well, Gaza. Nine people were killed when things went horribly wrong. What exactly happened, we may never know. But, it sure didn't take long for the "spin" to kick in as, again, PR, representatives, politicians, etc. seemingly assured themselves that we are all complete and utter idiots who will just buy anything anyone says as long as they say it enough times.

The event that happened on the Mediterranean was bad enough, but to hear the post event rhetoric has just been excruciatingly painful, and fraught with hypocrisy, over the top exaggeration, confusion, accusations and finger pointing and, for the most part, just out and out crap. Israel says it was doing what it did in self defense, and the people that were dropped onto the ships in international waters were justified in killing 9 people. Turkey's Prime Minister has called the event Turkey's 9/11 after the killings occurred on the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish ship. Turkey's 9/11?? The condemnation from Turkey is understandable and all, but completely hypocritical given their own dismal human rights record. So, as Turkey tries to spin this into the greatest disaster that may have ever happened, Israel is insinuating that these boats were essentially filled with terrorists, they had to act in self defense and the killings were justified. And WORSE, there are claims that there is no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza strip! DAMN YOU ALL! Quit talking to us as if we are complete morons and idiots! Stop with the PR propaganda. It's INSULTING! Let the facts come out, would ya? Let us get a relatively TRUTHFUL understanding of what happened! Don't keep feeding us your well planned, well rehearsed, polished and pretty prefab pablum! Let us find out the truth. I don't believe we will ever know the complete truth, but, as long as we can get all of the PR crud out of the way, we can start to piece together something relatively CLOSE to an unbiased, impartial look at the events. Just spewing the same lines over and over and over and over and over again with the belief that people will just stop questioning and accept what is being spewed out is arrogant and disgusting.

No more propaganda! And that goes for you too, big corporations, governments and special interest groups everywhere. Every time anyone tries to push their biased crap, question it. We are constantly bombarded: The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the war on "terror" in general, the killing of Tamils civilians in Sri Lanka, the crisis in Darfur, the problems in the Gaza strip, the Catholic church sex abuse...oh, the list goes on and on and ON. Toyota has a brand new advertising campaign showing how much the people who build Toyota vehicles LOVE the product they are building and care so much about your safety! It is painful to watch. They are only saying it because they got BAD publicity when they screwed up with their cars. But, they want to turn their image around and protect their "brand". Screw the brand. Protect the people. I don't want to hear about the "brand" anymore. I'm tired of PR. I'm tired of spin. Quit treating us like idiots...you idiots!!!