But Israels latest war on Gaza amounted to a genocide. Israels argument that it was defending itself was no longer a sufficient excuse. No amount of hasbara was enough to explain the burying alive of entire families, the summary execution of civilians, the pulverizing of entire neighborhoods, the gunning down of fleeing children playing at the beach during a deceptive moment of lull, the destruction of dozens of mosques and churches, the killing of civilians hiding in UN schools-turned temporary shelters. It was particularly embarrassing for Israel, but also telling, that the Gaza resistance, which stood alone, fighting tens of thousands of well-armed invaders from tunnels, killed 64 Israelis. All but three were soldiers, mostly killed inside Gaza. As the world was awakened to the level of devastation created by Israel in Gaza, many also became aware that such wrath is not independent from the fascism that has gripped Israeli society for years. In Israel, there is no longer room for dissent, and those in the highest positions of power, are the ones who openly and freely preach genocide. In his excellent article in the American Conservative on August 6, Scott McConnell wrote, All societies have their hate groups and extremists, but nowhere in the democratic world are they nearer to the center of power than Israel. He elaborated, In the 1980s Meir Kahane had a small following in Israel, but his pro-ethnic cleansing party was made illegal. Now Kahanists are in the center of the countrys ruling ideology. This was discussed in context of statements made by Moshe Feiglin, deputy speaker of the Knesset and a top player in Israel’s ruling Likud Party. Fieglin called for Palestinians from Gaza to be resettled in concentration camps, and all of Hamas and its supporters to be annihilated. Who can now, with a good conscience, protest those who infuse the Nazi analogy to what is happening in Palestine? Meanwhile, in this age of social media, where mainstream news networks no longer have complete command over the narrative, no self-respecting intellectual, journalist, official or any citizen with a conscience can plead ignorance and stand on the fence of neutrality. Gaza has indeed changed everything. Israels criminality and fascism should no longer be open for vibrant media debates, but it must be acknowledged as an uncontested fact. Our language, as in our perception,must also change to accommodate this uncontested reality. To end the Israeli genocide and occupation, the wheel of continuous action must turn and keep on turning. Those who support Israel must be exposed, and those who facilitate the Israeli occupation and sustain its war machine are partakers in the war crimes committed daily in Gaza and the rest of Palestine. They must be boycotted. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement must grow and serve as the main platform for international solidarity. Time for clever words and no action are long gone, and those who remain soft on Israel, for whatever reason, have no place in what is becoming a global movement with uncompromising demands: end the occupation, punish its sustainers, halt ethnic cleaning and genocide, end the siege, and bring Israeli and other culprits to the international criminal court for their massive war crimes and crimes against humanity. maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=722427
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 23:23:08 +0000
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