If any of those in the mailing list had an iota of conscience or an ounce of balls, they would resign from their post or severe ties with Israel. Barry Grossman: An open letter to Barak Obama and assorted others [see the mailing list below] which I will be sending out by post tomorrow and submitting to the “letters section” of various newspapers by email. Since 1998, at least seventeen individuals have been convicted globally for outrages committed in connection with holocaust denial, and sentenced to prison terms of up to 6 years. As shocking as their crimes are to the sensibilities of the global public, they pale in comparison to the repeated public incitements made recently by a senior member of the Knesset to commit crimes against humanity reminiscent of the horrors perpetrated against Jews by European Nazis. Moshe Zalman Feiglin is an Israeli politician and columnist. He is Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, a Knesset Member, and head of the Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) faction of Israels governing Likud party. In July 2014, he outlined steps toward achieving quiet in Gaza. The plan he published called for attacking all of Gaza, its infrastructure and military sites, without regard to civilian human shields or civilians. He insisted that after conquering and annexing Gaza into Israel, that portion of Gazas enemy population that is innocent of wrong-doing and separated itself from the armed terrorists will be treated in accordance with international law and will be allowed to leave. After becoming part of Israel, Gaza would be repopulated by Jews. My Outline for a Solution in Gaza Israel National News, July 15, 2014. Now once again, he has incited the commission of war crimes in a public letter addressed to Netanyahu and posted on the prime Minister’s Facebook Page. Contradicting the absolute consensus of legal opinion, Mr. Feiglin asserts: “There are no two states, and there are no two peoples. There is only one state for one people.” His letter declares the task at hand to be the “[c]onquest of the entire Gaza Strip, and annihilation of all fighting forces and their supporters,” with the strategic goal being to: “To turn Gaza into Jaffa, a flourishing Israeli city with a minimum number of hostile civilians.” Significantly, he contradicts the official Israeli position by conceding that Hamas tunnels and its rocket launching capacity are NOT the targets of Israel’s continuing attack and that the strategy of Israel’s current military assault on Gaza must be to “exterminate” all resistance and all supporters of the resistance. His letter calls for specific tactics which include putting all Gaza Palestinians into concentration camps in the Sinai and he insists that after Gaza has been fully destroyed, Palestinians must be compelled to emigrate from these concentration camps, while those who insist on remaining must forced to carry identity cards reminiscent of the yellow Star of David and tattoos which were inflicted on European Jews by the Nazis. In his own words, he calls on Mr. Netanyahu to “designate certain open areas on the Sinai border, adjacent to the sea, in which the civilian population will be concentrated.... In these areas, tent encampments will be established, until relevant emigration destinations are determined” adding that “[t]he supply of electricity and water to the formerly populated areas will be disconnected” after which “[t]he formerly populated areas will be shelled with maximum fire power. The entire civilian and military infrastructure of Hamas, its means of communication and of logistics, will be destroyed entirely, down to their foundations.” Mr. Feiglin’s continuing incitements are all the more deplorable to right thinking members of the global public because they have been promulgated by someone who is a senior member of the Knesset, a Likud party insider and a political ally to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It is even more deplorable that he committed his crimes of incitement during the lead up and continuation of Israel’s offensive against Gaza which has taken almost 2,000 lives, resulted in almost 9,000 additional casualties and intentionally razed vast swaths of essential public infrastructure in Gaza, during a campaign which is widely being characterised by individuals, respected NGOs and international institutions including the UN Committee for Human Rights as involving clear violations of numerous international laws, conventions and protocols governing armed conflicts and the duties of an occupation force. Indeed, looking at what the IDF has done in recent weeks, informed members of the public could be forgiven for assuming that the plan outlined by the Deputy Speaker of the Knesset is exactly the plan which has been advanced by Mr. Netanyahu and the IDF. That Mr. Netanyahu continues to host Mr. Feiglin’s incitements on his official Facebook profile, is itself a further outrage; although this exercise in appalling judgement does enable the public to witness just how effective these incitements are by surveying the equally atrocious comments posted by thousands of others who approve of the genocide plan outlined by Deputy Speaker of the Knesset. It is no secret that the public has become largely cynical about the United Nations and other institutions charged with the administration of International Law, which many people including seasoned experts, now see as being so inherently politicised that they are for all intents and purposes precluded from ensuring that justice is done and instead have simply become vehicles for the promulgation of policies shaped by a process dominated by special interests. This trend is gaining momentum and signals a dangerous collapse of public confidence in the system of laws and conventions which are meant to bind the international community of nations and serve as a foundation for the evolution of humanity. On any informed view of Mr. Feiglin’s recent publications and the relevant principles of international law, his statements are a criminal incitement to commit war crimes and must be prosecuted immediately; if not by Israel itself, then by the ICC or by an ad hoc War Crimes Tribunal established under the auspices of the United Nations. Will each of those individuals and institutions to whom this open letter is addressed publicly denounce Mr. Feiglin and call for his immediate arrest and prosecution for incitement to commit genocide, war crimes and other crimes against humanity? Sincerely, Barry K. Grossman 5 August 2104. Mr. Barack Obama, President of the United States of America; Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel; Bbk. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono President of Republic of Indonesia, Bpk. Joko Widodo, President Elect of Republic of Indonesia; The Honourable Tony Abbott MP, Prime Minister of Australia; The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada; The Right Honourable David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Mr. Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament; Pope Francis Sovereign of the Vatican City; Ban Ki-moon , United Nations Secretary General , Ms. Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Mr. Makarim WIBISONO, UN Special Special Rapporteur on Palestinian; Mr. Ruud Lubbers United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Ms. Jan Egeland , Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs; Mr. Abraham Foxman , Director of the Anti-Defamation League; and all “right thinking’ members of the global community. — with Nancy Wake and Fatima Froude Botha.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 11:10:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015