The first African-American US President just went to Israel and said no matter how strong you make your system of discrimination and apartheid, our country will support you. How does that work? I explore in this week’s column at Souciant.
Posts Tagged ‘Ariel Sharon’
Israeli Impunity, US Indulgence, And Rachel Corrie
Posted in Israel, United States, tagged Ariel Sharon, B'Tselem, Barack Obama, Caterpillar, Dan Shapiro, Gaza, George W. Bush, house demolitions, human rights, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Obama, Occupation, Palestine, Rachel Corrie, rule of law, Terrorism on August 29, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
This article originally appeared at LobeLog.
The expected verdict in the death of Rachel Corrie, killed under the wheels of an Israeli-modified Caterpillar bulldozer in 2003, came down today and the court found no fault with the Israel Defense Forces. That was no surprise. But the deafening silence about it in Washington is nonetheless reprehensible.
I’ve met Cindy and Craig Corrie, Rachel’s parents, on several occasions. I cannot imagine the lives they lead. I cannot imagine the death of my child, much less the death of a child at the hands of a supposed ally of my country with no accountability. I can’t imagine my child being killed by that ally and then seeing my child being blamed for the incident. Yet the Corries have lived through all this, and somehow, while their frustration has grown, it has never morphed into hate. Somehow they always cling to the hope
Cindy and Craig Corrie, Rachel’s parents
that Israel, an ostensible ally and fellow democracy, will at some point do the right thing.
I’m sure, though I haven’t spoken with them in years, that the Corries held out little hope that this verdict would be that point. But what is perhaps most stunning is that there is no clamor in the United States, aside from those whose sympathies would be with Rachel’s cause in trying to protect Palestinians from the ravages of occupation, for some kind of action on behalf of a US citizen who lost her life on foreign soil under, to be kind, questionable circumstances.
Take Cindy Corrie’s words today: “This was a bad day, not only for us, but for human rights, humanity, the rule of law, and the country of Israel.” Someone was missing on that list, but Cindy got to them inanother comment: “The diplomatic process between the United States and Israel failed us.”
I admire Cindy Corrie’s restraint. But the US failure here is much broader than what she is saying. And it’s a long term one.
On March 25, 2003, Congressman Brian Baird (D-WA) introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives calling on the US government to “undertake a full, fair, and expeditious investigation” into Corrie’s death. The bill gathered 77 co-sponsors, which is not a large number, though a larger one than is typical for a bill critical of Israel. But none had the political muscle to counter defenders of Israel in the House, so the bill died in the Committee on International Relations. Its death, like its existence, generated little attention. (more…)
The Only Alternative is War
Posted in International Law, One-State Solution, tagged Ariel, Ariel Sharon, Benjamin Netanyahu, Geneva Convention, George W. Bush, Gush Etzion, Israel, Levy Report, Ma'ale Adumim, Occupied Territories, Oslo Process, Palestine, West Bank, Yehuda Weinstein on July 13, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
My column for Souciant this week looks at the execrable “Levy Report” which claims that Israel’s occupation is legal under international law and recommends that Israel retroactively legalize most the outposts that were set up contrary to even Israeli law. Yep, that’s what it said, this is not The Onion. the recommendations are unlikely to be accepted even by teh Netanyahu government that commissioned them, but I explore what impact they will have. Check it out.
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