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Israel Crackdown Puts Liberal =
Jews on the=20
Spot
By Chris Hedges, =
Truthdig
Posted on=20
March 16, 2010, Printed on March 16,=20
2010
http://www.alternet.org/story/146042/
The Israeli government, its brutal war crimes in Gaza exposed =
in detail=20
in the U.N. report by Justice Richard Goldstone, has implemented a =
series=20
of draconian measures to silence and discredit dissidents, leading =
intellectuals and human rights organizations inside and outside =
Israel=20
that are accused--often falsely--of assisting Goldstone's U.N.=20
investigators. The government of Benjamin Netanyahu is attempting =
to shut=20
down Israel's premier human rights organizations, including =
B'Tselem, the=20
New Israel Fund (NIF) and the Association for Civil Rights in =
Israel. It=20
is busy expelling or excluding peace activists and foreign =
nationals from=20
the Palestinian territories. The campaign, if left unchecked, will =
be as=20
catastrophic for Palestinians as it will be for Israel.
The Goldstone report, which is over 500 pages, investigated =
Israel's=20
22-day air and ground assault on Gaza that took place from Dec. =
27, 2008,=20
to Jan. 18, 2009. The United Nations and the European Parliament =
have=20
endorsed the report. The report found that Israel used =
disproportionate=20
military force against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip while =
failing to=20
take adequate precautions to protect the civilian population =
against the=20
military assault. The Israeli attack killed 1,434 people, =
including 960=20
civilians, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. =
More than=20
6,000 homes were destroyed or damaged, leaving behind some $3 =
billion in=20
destruction in one of the poorest areas on Earth. No Israelis were =
killed=20
by Hamas rockets fired into Israel during the assault. The report =
did not=20
limit itself to the 22-day attack; rather, it went on to indict =
the=20
occupation itself. It examines the beginning of the occupation and =
condemns Israel for the border closures, the blockade and for the =
wall or=20
security barrier in the West Bank. It has two references to the =
right of=20
return, investigates Israeli torture and criticizes the willful=20
destruction of the Palestinian economy.
"The impact of the Goldstone report is tremendous," the =
Middle East=20
scholar Norman Finkelstein said when I reached him in New York. =
"It marks=20
and catalyzes the breakup of the Diaspora Jewish support for =
Israel=20
because Goldstone is the classical Diaspora Jew. He is a lawyer =
and=20
upholder of human rights and a liberal. He has distinguished =
himself in=20
the field of law and he is also a lover of Zion. He calls himself =
a=20
Zionist. His mother was an activist in the Zionist movement. His =
daughter=20
did aliyah. He sits on the board of governors of the Hebrew =
University in=20
Jerusalem. He has an honorary degree from the Hebrew University in =
Jerusalem. He has said over and over again that he is a Zionist. =
He=20
believes Jews have a right to a state in Palestine. His is a =
mostly=20
emblematic profile of the classically liberal Jew."
"Liberal has a distinct connotation," Finkelstein went on. "It =
means to=20
believe in the rule of law. It means to believe in international=20
institutions. It means to believe in human rights. Amnesty =
International=20
and Human Rights Watch are liberal organizations. What the =
Goldstone=20
phenomenon registers and catalyzes is the fact that it is =
impossible to=20
reconcile liberal convictions with Israel's conduct; too much is =
now known=20
about the history of the conflict and the human rights record and =
the=20
so-called peace process. It is impossible to be both liberal and =
defend=20
Israeli policy. That was the conflict that confronted Goldstone. I =
very=20
much doubt he wanted to condemn Israel."
"Israeli liberalism always had a function in Israeli society," =
said=20
Finkelstein, whose new book, "This Time We Went Too Far," examines =
the=20
Israeli attack a year ago on Gaza. "When I talk about liberals I =
mean=20
people like A.B. Yehoshua, David Grossman and Amos Oz. Their =
function was=20
to issue these anguished criticisms of Israel which not only =
extenuated=20
Israeli crimes but exalted Israeli crimes. 'Isn't it beautiful, =
the=20
Israeli soul, how it is anguished over what it has done.' It is =
the=20
classic case of having your cake and eating it. Not only were any =
crimes=20
being committed extenuated, but they were beautiful. And now =
something=20
strange happened. Along comes a Jewish liberal and he says, 'Spare =
me your=20
tears. I am only interested in the law.' "
"Goldstone did not perform the role of the Jewish liberal," =
Finkelstein=20
said, "which is to be anguished, but no consequences. And all of a =
sudden=20
Israeli liberal Jews are discovering, hey, there are consequences =
for=20
committing war crimes. You don't just get to walk into the sunset =
and look=20
beautiful. They can't believe it. They are genuinely shocked. =
'Aren't our=20
tears consequences enough?' Aren't our long eyes and broken hearts =
consequences enough?' 'No," he said, 'you have to go to the =
criminal=20
court.' "
The campaign against Israeli dissidents has taken the form of =
venomous=20
denunciations of activists and jurists, including Justice =
Goldstone. It=20
includes a bill before the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, which =
will=20
make it possible to imprison the leaders of Israeli human rights =
groups if=20
they fail to comply with crippling new registration conditions. =
Human=20
rights activists from outside Israel who work in the Palestinian=20
territories are being rounded up and deported. The government is =
refusing=20
to issue work visas to employees of 150 NGOs operating in the West =
Bank=20
and East Jerusalem, including Oxfam, Save the Children and =
M=C3=A9decins Sans=20
Fronti=C3=A8res (Doctors Without Borders). The new tourist visas =
effectively=20
bar these employees from Palestinian territory under Israeli =
occupation.=20
Professor Naomi Chazan, the Israeli head of the NIF, which has =
donors in=20
the United States, is being publicly vilified by ultranationalist =
groups=20
such as Im Tirzu. Foreign donors to the NIF, as well as other =
human rights=20
groups, are being pressured by Israeli officials to halt =
contributions.=20
Billboards have sprouted up around Tel Aviv and Jerusalem with a =
grotesque=20
caricature of Chazan, who has been branded by groups such as Im =
Tirzu as=20
an agent for Hamas and Iran, with a horn growing from her =
forehead.=20
"Naomi-Goldstone-Chazan" the caption on the billboard reads. Im =
Tirzu, the=20
front organization behind many of the attacks, includes among its=20
financial backers the John Hagee Ministries and the New York =
Central Fund,=20
which also support extremist settler organizations.
The purge is under way because of the belief within the =
Netanyahu=20
government that these groups and activists provided evidence of =
Israeli=20
war crimes in Gaza to Justice Goldstone. Israel has no intention =
of=20
lifting the blockade on Gaza, halting settlement expansion, =
including the=20
1,600 new homes to be built in East Jerusalem, or reversing its =
division=20
of the West Bank into impoverished ghettos of Palestinians. The =
growing=20
brutality and violence of the occupation, no longer easy to deny =
or hide,=20
coupled with Israel's growing status as an international pariah, =
have=20
unleashed a crackdown against all those within the Jewish state =
who are=20
blamed for the bad publicity. Yuli Edelstein, the Diaspora affairs =
minister, summed up the witch hunt when he announced that the =
Cabinet had=20
been "concerned for a time with a number of groups under the guise =
of NGOs=20
that are funded by foreign agents."
The Knesset bill, if passed, will force human rights groups to =
register=20
as political bodies and turn over identification numbers and =
addresses of=20
all members to the government. These groups will lose their =
tax-exempt=20
status. Most governmental organizations, such as the European =
Union, which=20
is a large donor to Israeli human rights organizations, cannot =
legally pay=20
taxes to another government, and the new law will effectively end =
European=20
Union and other outside funding. The groups will be mandated to =
provide=20
the government with the records of all foreign donations and =
account for=20
how these donations were spent. Any public statement, event or =
speech,=20
even if it lasts half a minute, by these groups must include a =
declaration=20
that they are being supported and funded by a foreign power. Those =
who=20
fail to follow these guidelines, including local volunteers, can =
face a=20
year in jail.
"This is the first time the human rights dimension of the =
Israel=20
Palestine conflict has moved center stage," Finkelstein said. "It =
has=20
temporarily displaced the fatuous peace process. It is the first =
time that=20
human rights reports have counted. There are literally, because I =
have=20
read them, tens if not hundreds of thousands of pages of =
accumulation of=20
human rights reports condemning Israel going back roughly to the =
first=20
intifada to the present. The human rights organizations since the =
1990s=20
have been quite sharp in their criticism of Israel human rights =
policy,=20
but nobody ever reads the reports. They are never reported on, =
with maybe=20
a couple of exceptions, in the mainstream media. The Goldstone =
report was=20
the first time the findings of these human rights organizations =
moved=20
center stage. People stopped talking about the peace process and =
started=20
talking about Israel's human rights record."
There is a growing disenchantment among Israelis with the =
endless=20
occupation of Gaza and the West Bank as well as endemic government =
corruption. Maj. Gen. Avi Zamir, the head of the Israeli =
military's=20
Personnel Directorate, admitted recently to UPI that increasing =
numbers of=20
Israelis are refusing to serve in the occupied territories. =
"Taking into=20
consideration Israeli Arab youth, we're facing a situation in =
which 70=20
percent of youths will not enlist in the military," the general =
told the=20
news agency. The discontent, along with the international =
condemnation, is=20
inhibiting Israel's ability to muster international support for =
further=20
attacks.
"Israel attacked Gaza to restore what it called its deterrence=20
capacity, its ability to terrorize the Arab world into =
submission,"=20
Finkelstein said. "But it actually diminished its deterrence =
capacity=20
because it can't attack. If they were to attack now, anywhere, all =
hell=20
would break loose and they wouldn't get sympathy."
The numbers of so-called refuseniks are proliferating with =
groups such=20
as the Courage to Refuse, Shministim and New Profile supporting =
those who=20
will not serve in the Israeli Defense Forces. It is not that many =
Israelis=20
lack a conscience, it is not that many cannot delineate right from =
wrong;=20
it is that the Netanyahu government is determined to see that =
these=20
courageous voices within Israel will be silenced along with those =
of the=20
Palestinians.
Chris Hedges, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, is a senior =
fellow=20
at the Nation Institute. He writes a regular column for TruthDig every Monday. His =
latest book=20
is Empire=20
of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle. =
=C2=A9 2010 Truthdig All =
rights=20
reserved.
View this story online at:=20
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http://www.alternet.org/story/146042/ |