UPDATE 6 pm Israel time Thursday:
At 1:57 pm this afternoon, Palestinians threw “rocks” at the Jerusalem Light Rail Train in the Beit Hanina neighborhood of Jerusalem.
TODAY’S BLOG:
Amnesty International issued its 2012 “Human Rights Report” this morning. Its section on Israel was rolled out by Amnesty International Israel before “journalists” at Beit Sokolov last night.
It was rigged from the start because Amnesty International Israel is an organization laughingly headed by Ishai Menuhin.
To put Menuhin in context, he was formerly the spokesperson for Yesh Gvul (an organization that was founded to support Israelis who refuse to serve in the IDF because they want to resist “the occupation”), a Hadash party candidate for the Knesset (Hadash is a self-described amalgamation of Jewish and Arab socialist/Marxist organizations that defines itself as a non-Zionist party), and Executive Director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel.
For years, Menuhin has done little except write article after article and make speech after speech branding Israel as a criminal state. He has signed petitions that supported a faculty member at Ben Gurion for refusing to serve in Judea and Samaria and a petition by the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement that condemned “the fascist trend” of the Israeli government in passing a law restricting those who try to boycott Israel. He has urged that Israeli soldiers and leaders be tried in international courts for supposed war crimes.
This is the person who supervised the Amnesty International report on Israel–a report that reads like the Menuhin litany of condemnation of Israel.
And what did that report say?
*Israel deserves condemnation for its “closure” of the Gaza Strip–a closure that Amnesty claims has “choked” the economy and “created a humanitarian crisis.”
Never mind that the Deputy Director of the International Red Cross in Gaza, Mathilde Redmatn, specifically said in April of last year that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, never mind that Gaza is not closed–the Rafah crossing to Egypt is open, never mind that Israel transports truckloads of “humanitarian” supplies into Israel everyday and never mind that IDF officers conduct export seminars for Gaza businessmen, still Amnesty International would have the world believe that Israel is the villain.
An Israeli truckload of supplies upon arriving in Gaza. Tons of supplies arrive everyday.
*Israel deserves condemnation for the deaths of 36 Palestinians who have been killed in accidents or in IAF attacks on the smuggling tunnels between Egypt and Gaza.
Never mind that Hamas has smuggled thousands of missiles into Gaza that it continues to fire at the citizens of southern Israel and never mind that most of the deaths in the tunnel are from “accidents” (read poorly constructed tunnels), still Amnesty International would have the world believe that Israel is the villain.
A graph of one of the hundreds of smuggling tunnels through which Hamas brings missiles, weapons, fuel, and even cars into Gaza. (with apologies for the small print: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org)
*Israel deserves condemnation for stopping aid “flotillas” to Gaza.
Never mind that the United Nations itself has declared that the Israeli maritime blockade of Gaza is legal and never mind that Israel has taken all “aid” from Ashdod to Gaza by truck after flotilla boats have been commandeered, still Amnesty International would have the world believe that Israel is the villain.
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*Israel deserves condemnation for “over 500 checkpoints and military barriers that complicate Palestinians’ lives.
Never mind that despite daily terrorist attacks throughout Judea and Samaria, Israel has reduced the number of checkpoints to 11 and that Palestinians can travel freely from north to south without being stopped, still Amnesty International would have the world believe that Israel is the villain.
*Israel deserves condemnation for continuing to build a 700 kilometer fence around Judea and Samaria.
Never mind that this suicide bomber prevention fence has been fantastically successful in saving the lives of Israeli men, women, and children, still Amnesty International would have the world believe that Israel is the villain.
*Israel deserves condemnation for “unnecessary violence” used against “demonstrators” on the Lebanon and Syrian borders.
Never mind that Israel has tried to maintain the integrity of its borders by stopping infiltrators from coming across (just like every other country in the world), still Amnesty International would have the world believe that Israel is the villain.
Syrians trying to cross the border into Israel. What is Israel supposed to do?
*Israel deserves condemnation for not investigating “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” related to Operation Cast Lead in 2008-9.
Never mind that even a member of the Hamas leadership has said that reports of “civilian” deaths were greatly exaggerated and never mind that even Richard Goldstone has written in his op-ed “If I knew then what I know now”. . ., still Amnesty International would have the world believe that Israel is the villain.
*Israel deserves condemnation for recent legislation that criminalized boycotts against Israel and for the passing the Nakba law which criminalizes celebration of the Palestinian “catastrophe”.
Never mind that every democratic country has the absolute right to pass laws to defend itself and protect its survival, still Amnesty International would have the world believe that Israel is the villain.
*Israel deserves condemnation for its treatment of Eritrean and Sudanese “refugees.”
Never mind that almost 50,000 “refugees” have flooded into Israel and have set up neighborhoods in Eilat, Mitzpe Ramon, and south Tel Aviv, still Amnesty International would have the world believe that Israel is the villain.
Eritreans and Sudanese on a street corner in Tel Aviv. Israel has been flooded by these self-proclaimed "refugees."
Israel deserves condemnation, Israel deserves condemnation, Israel deserves condemnation–for Ishai Menuhin and Amnesty International, Israel will always deserve condemnation by virtue of its very existence and will never be praised until it no longer exists.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.