After its soldiers conducted a massacre against unarmed protesters in Gaza, Israeli leaders should be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court, argues Marjorie Cohn.
By Marjorie Cohn
On March 30, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers shot 773 unarmed Palestinian protesters in Gaza, killing 17 and wounding 1,400. Twenty remain in critical condition. The protesters were marching to demand the internationally mandated right of return of refugees to their cities and villages in what now constitutes Israel.
The Israeli leaders who ordered the massacre were in clear violation of international law. They should be prosecuted for war crimes.
Premeditated Force Against Peaceful Protestors
The use of deadly force against the peaceful protesters was premeditated. The IDF deployed 100 snipers to the border fence between Gaza and Israel, where 30,000 to 40,000 Palestinians had gathered for the Great March of Return. In a damning tweet, later deleted, the IDF wrote, “Nothing was carried out uncontrolled; everything was accurate and measured, and we know where every bullet landed.”
Jihad al-Juaidi, director of the ICU at the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, told Al Jazeera that all of the injured people who came to the hospital were shot in the head, pelvic joints or knee joints. “This shows that Israeli forces were shooting-to-kill, or to cause disabilities,” al-Juaidi stated.
B’Tselem, a Jerusalem-based human rights organization, characterized
“Israeli soldiers were not merely using excessive force, but were apparently acting on orders that all but ensured a bloody military response to the Palestinian demonstrations,” Eric Goldstein, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) Middle East and Africa division, stated.
Senior IDF officers told Haaretz before the protest that a large number of casualties was “a price we would be willing to pay to prevent a breach” of the fence at the border.
Israeli leaders fostered the false narrative that Hamas was sponsoring the protest. Jason Greenblatt, US envoy to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, followed suit, tweeting, “Hamas is encouraging a hostile march on the Israel-Gaza border” and accused Hamas of “inciting violence against Israel.”
But the demonstration was actually organized by several Palestinian civil society organizations. “No Palestinian faction, organization or group can claim this march as its own. Hamas was simply riding the wave,” Jamil Khader wrote on Mondoweiss. Palestinian flags, not factional ones, were visible.
Conflating civilians with terrorists and framing the planned response as protection against a security risk, Israeli authorities referred to Gaza as a “combat zone.”
Lethal Force Legal Only in Imminent Threat to Life
It is illegal to shoot unarmed civilians under international humanitarian law. Some protesters
Netanyahu:”Well done to our soldiers.” (Israeli government photo)
threw rocks and burned tires near the border fence. But HRW found “no evidence of any protester using firearms or any IDF claim of threatened firearm use at the demonstrations.” No Israeli soldiers were killed and “the army did not report any injuries to soldiers.”
“Even if a Palestinian was throwing a stone, the chances that under these conditions such an act could cause an imminent threat to life — the only situation that would justify the use of lethal force under international law — are infinitesimal,” Yousef Munayyer, executive director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, wrote on HuffPost. “Indeed, even if Palestinians were trying to climb the fence, that would not give Israel the right to use lethal force.”
Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director of HRW, concurred, stating, “Israeli allegations of violence by some protesters do not change the fact that using lethal force is banned by international law except to meet an imminent threat to life.”
Indeed, the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement specifies, “intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.”
“Senior Israeli leaders who unlawfully called for the use of live ammunition against Palestinian demonstrators who posed no imminent threat to life bear responsibility” for the deaths and injuries, HRW asserted in a statement. That includes Israel’s prime minister, defense minister and chief of staff.
B’Tselem, which has called for Israeli soldiers to disobey patently illegal orders, described the legal duty to disobey unlawful orders: “It is also a criminal offense to obey patently illegal orders. Therefore, as long as soldiers in the field continue to receive orders to use live fire against unarmed civilians, they are duty-bound to refuse to comply.”
Israeli Leaders Should be Prosecuted by the ICC
Israeli leaders responsible for the deaths and injuries on March 30 should be prosecuted in the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, an occupying power has a legal duty to protect the occupied. Grave breaches of the convention constitute war crimes. They include willful killing; willfully causing great suffering or serious injury; intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population; and intentionally launching attacks with knowledge they will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians The IDF committed all of these grave breaches on March 30.
Furthermore, under international humanitarian law, the IDF failed to comply with the principles of distinction and proportionality. Distinction
An independent commission of inquiry convened by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate Israel’s 2014 massacre in Gaza documented the deaths of 2,251 Palestinians, which included 1,462 civilian deaths and the injuring of 11,231 Palestinians. Six civilians and 67 soldiers were killed and 1,600 injured on the Israeli side. The commission concluded that Israel, and to a lesser extent, Palestinian armed groups, had likely committed violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, some constituting war crimes.
Currently, ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda is conducting a preliminary examination into the 2014 massacre. She should expand her inquiry to include the events of March 30, 2018.
U.S. Vetoes Call for Investigation
UN Secretary-General António Guterres and European Union diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini advocated independent investigations into the use of deadly force by the IDF at the border fence on March 30. But the day after the massacre, the United States vetoed a Security Council resolution that called for an “independent and transparent investigation” and affirmed the right of Palestinians to peaceful protest.
Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s defense minister, said the IDF soldiers “deserve a medal” for protecting the border. “As for a commission of inquiry — there won’t be one,” he declared on Israeli Army Radio.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised his troops for “guarding the country’s borders” and permitting “Israeli citizens to celebrate the [Passover] holiday peacefully,” adding, “Well done to our soldiers.”
Rabbi Alissa Wise, deputy director of Jewish Voice for Peace, noted in a statement, “The Israeli military evidently believes that any time Palestinians assert their basic rights in any way, they will be considered violent, and met with deadly violence.”
Meanwhile, the Palestinian protests are slated to last until May 15, the day Palestinians commemorate the Nakba, or the “great catastrophe” of 1948-9, when Israel expelled 800,000 Palestinians from their lands to create Israel. Approximately 70 percent of the 1.3 million Gazans are refugees.
“I think the only way truly forward is to recognize that there is a root cause: 70 years of Nakba,” Wise said.
Copyright, Truthout. Reprinted with permission.
Marjorie Cohn is professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, former president of the National Lawyers Guild, deputy secretary general of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, an advisory board member of Veterans for Peace and a member of Jewish Voice for Peace. The second, updated edition of her book, Drones and Targeted Killing: Legal, Moral, and Geopolitical Issues, was published in November. Visit her website: MarjorieCohn.com. Follow her on Twitter: @MarjorieCohn.
For 60 years Israel has been committing war crimes against the Palestinians. The Israelis have stolen Palestinian land, built illegal settlements on Palestinian land, and violated international law. Israel has ignored 138 UN Security Council resolutions, which are law binding.
The illegally created terrorist state of Israel should be erased from the Earth.
PALESTINE FOR EVER.
The only hope for anything resembling a peaceful solution is for the World through the United Nations to insist, by force if necessary, that the Jewish People be removed from the Palestinian State allotted area, and allow the Palestinians to occupy their birthright, even as it is so thoroughly diluted. Legitimacy cannot be secured from anything that was stolen or illegitimately gained; that is close to the maxim of British Common Law; it must be upheld because the Palestinians have an iron-clad entitlement. Unless this occurs, the Jewish Peoples will be forever condemned to live in a State of imminent war and insecurity; Palestinians and Arabs will never “Let this go”, and one day the Middle Eastern Nations will have new leaders and Governments that collectively will demand restitution and restoration; much safer and sanely to get it done now. My belief is that the great diaspora of displaced Palestinians must immediately make their way peaceably back to the borders of their birthright, and the World of sympathisers will force the Jewish Peoples to get out of the way; and should the Jewish Peoples try to stop this return using force of arms, they will be signing their own departure warrants. We must end the pathological suffering being meted out to the Palestinians; they have suffered enough already. Nuclear weapons will not count and only the most foolish of men would continue to rely on support from the U.S.A.
Fair is fair, so every country that participated in forced migrations should disband. Examples include Poland, which forced 8 million Germans to migrate to Germany after WWII, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and Slovakia) which forced out 3 million Germans, Yugoslavia and Romania also forced out a sizable number of Germans. The creation of Pakistan from India caused the migration of 20 million. The slave trade entailed the forced migration and enslavement of millions to almost every major country in the Americas. The United States forced the migration of millions of Native Americans. The Soviet Union force millions of ethnic Poles, Chechens Tartars, etc… China forced the migration of 11 million during the Ming Dynasty.
Berna’s comment ignores international law, the body of rules which regulate the conduct of the states in their relations with one another and with stateless populations.
Where forced or compulsory population transfers had been accepted as a means to settle ethnic conflict, forced population transfers now constitute serious violations of international law.
No legal distinction is made between one-way and two-way transfers since the rights of each individual are regarded as independent of the experience of others. The body of international law has progressively assigned rights to individuals, thereby limiting the rights of states to make agreements that adversely affect them.
Numerous legal conventions and treaties have established that population transfers contravene international law unless they have the consent of both the moved population and the host population. Moreover, that consent must be given free of direct or indirect negative pressure.
The Nuremberg Charter (1945) established forced deportation of civilian populations to be both a war crime and a crime against humanity.
Article 49 of Fourth Geneva Convention (1949), part of international law, prohibits mass movement of people out of or into of occupied territory under belligerent military occupation:
“Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive…. The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”
Israel has frequently sought to justify its ethnic cleansing operations and deny the Palestinian people’s right of return under international law by citing the post-World War II transfer of the ethnic German population east of the Oder-Neisse line, the Sudetenland and elsewhere in Eastern Europe, and other past examples of forcible transfer of population.
However, these historical examples provide no defense to war crimes and other violations of international law that Israel has perpetuated for decades.
“THOMAS W. ADAMS”s post is yet another Inverted Hasbara (false flag “anti-Israel” / fake “anti-Jewish”) propaganda “argument” that ignores multiple Israeli violations of international law.
The Inverted Hasbara fake “argument” depicts the plight of so-called “Jewish Peoples [sic]” allegedly “condemned to live in a State of imminent war and insecurity”. This is a version of the Hasbara propaganda line that emphasizes Israeli “security concerns” as a perpetual justification for Israel’s ongoing violations of international law.
The Inverted Hasbara propaganda line of “argument” further appeals to the “United Nations” and the “World of sympathisers” to “force the Jewish Peoples to get out”.
In fact, as an occupying power since 1967, Israel has directly and indirectly transferred parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, and has transferred parts of the occupied Palestinian population within the occupied territories of the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights.
The establishment of Israeli “settlements” is held to constitute a transfer of Israel’s civilian population into the occupied territories and as such is illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
The first use of the term ‘territories occupied’ was in United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 following the Six-Day War in 1967, which called for “the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East” to be achieved by “the application of both the following principles: … Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict … Termination of all claims or states of belligerency” and respect for the right of every state in the area to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries.
The International Court of Justice, the UN General Assembly and the United Nations Security Council regards Israel as “Occupying Power”. UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk called Israel’s occupation “an affront to international law.” The Israeli High Court of Justice has ruled that Israel holds the West Bank under “belligerent occupation”. According to Talia Sasson, the High Court of Justice in Israel, with a variety of different justices sitting, has repeatedly stated for more than four decades that international law applies to Israel’s presence in the West Bank.
Israel asserts that since the disengagement of Israel from Gaza in 2005, Israel no longer occupies the Gaza Strip. However, as it retained certain control of Gaza’s airspace and coastline, as of 2012 it continued to be designated as an occupying power in the Gaza Strip by the United Nations Security Council and the United Nations General Assembly.
Israel uses numerous Hasbara propaganda tactic to mask its many violations of international law in territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including illegal annexation of East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, and illegal population transfer in the form of Jewish “settlements” protected by the Israeli Army.
The UN can and must denounce war crimes regardless of ability to enforce, and when the US defends war criminals and extends their crimes, should use all means to humiliate the US and expose its corruption, so as to begin the process of removal of the US from the Security Council, which has paralyzed the UN for decades and prevented the world from correcting US wrongs to benefit the zionists and the rest of its oligarchy.
US borrowed money should not be allowed to determine UN policy. The UN should act as a labor union demanding pay, its members taxed per GNP for aid programs, and expelled and embargoed when they refuse. The ICC could be augmented by universal enforcement on pain of universal embargo of the violator’s trade and transactions.
If the UN cannot stand up to US borrowed money, its members starting with BRICS should form a new UN with a federal government structure. No options to evade enforcement of humanitarian laws. The first acts should include a complete embargo of trade with non-members and violators, perhaps with a year of advance notice and planning.
The wealthier states such as Russia and China should lead the way, as they have done elsewhere, and endeavor to compensate developing nations for their losses from the embargo of the US.
An appeal to James Mattis: http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2018/04/an-appeal-to-james-mattis.html
I beseech you, sir, to consider the possibility that the supposed chlorine gas attack at Douma, Syria may have been a carefully constructed propaganda fraud on the part of the rebels encircled in Douma. Such a fraud would have as its purpose the elicitation of exactly the kind of response that we are seeing in the Western media. The rebels have been defeated in East Gouta Their fighters and families are being evacuated to Turkish occupied Jarabulus by air-conditioned bus. How would it benefit the Syrian government to make such an attack in this situation?
I hope that you will determine the exact facts of what occurred at Douma before any action is taken.
I recommend that you send someone competent to Syria to make an on the ground investigation.
W. Patrick Lang
Colonel (Ret.) US Army
There is a fair chance Mr. Lang actually knows Mattis, and it’s nearly certain they have mutual friends. So his appeal isn’t necessarily a waste of time. If Mattis heeds some of his own “common sense” platitudes he’ll be a “no” vote for immediate war. From a list I found:
From all accounts using your gray matter is a discouraged activity within the Trump Administration.
I just saw an article which puts Bill’s Ruger link into perspective. The piece describes Israel’s policy as “kneecapping”. The goal is to cause horrible wounds in as many Palestinians as possible. Silenced .22 bullets is just one of the ways they do it.
Explosive bullets? More likely they were what the soldiers in WW1 called “dum-dums”. On these the tops of the bullets are filed flat or with deep grooves to maximize tissue damage. Obviously nobody within The Most Moral Army In The World is complaining when the sniper murderers raise their aim a bit and blow out some Palestinian brains. Boys will be boys, and this is just good clean fun for God’s Most Favorite People.
BTW, betcha you don’t hear of many American Fundamentalists complaining, either.
Israelis Gather By Fenced Off Gaza Border to Watch and Cheer as Military Drops Bombs on Palestinians
Had a thought, and looked up commercial subsonic .22 ammunition.
“Tumbling” and “keyholing” are virtues if a clean kill isn’t your goal, for the wound is uglier.
“Breaks into three segments” – that’ll make a nasty wound as the little pieces go their own way through the Paleo’s leg, or arm, or liver. I can imagine the Israeli sniper-murderers laughing together as they load their “skunk” ammunition into the Ruger clips.
Thanks for that link. This part caught my eye:
This is exactly what the vermin at the NRA are trying to foist on the US. A low-velocity bullet and a good silencer add up to a new level of domestic terror in our nation. Naturally all the Republicans and a hefty number of so-called Democrats are totally on board with this.
Nothing is being foisted upon US, The .22 round has been around since before you were a glimmer in poppa’s eye. Silencers have been legal with certain licenses for awhile. I don’t disagree with your sentiment in regards to IDF use of this round just your cherrypicking to fit a narrative that is false. How you can continue to get away with lumping whole groups of people to verbiage like Vermin is rather telling as to what you are.
interesting article about the .22 ruger “less than lethal” rifle and the law in Israel . in 2008-2009 they apparently went through $350,000 worth of .22 ammunition which at that time was going for ~6 cents a round in the US
http://palestinemonitor.org/details.php?id=blwf4ha2971ym7mocp0zq
“Peaceful protesters” don’t throw rocks and Molotov cocktails at IDF Soldiers.Peaceful protesters don’t strat tires on fire to hide what they are doing or trying to do, ie. tear down a defensive fense and try to invade a nation and take by force land they think they own.
I’ve noticed the brighter Holy Cesspool trolls are laying low. This fellow doesn’t see the need for that. His command of English suggests an education on the stolen West Bank.
Not that I can rule out a home-schooled American End Timer dreaming of when he’ll become one of Earth’s Rulers after the Trumpet Blast when Jesus descends from the clouds.
In the past we used to see a fair number of articles/essays by Dr. Alon Ben Meir. They always seemed to involve a lot of handwringing with the theme of “why can’t they just get along”. This gentleman appears to have gone entirely silent on the subject of Gaza, and the last headline on the subject dates to October of last year. “Will The Palestinians Ever Play Their Cards Right?” – I read it as a plea for the dumb Palestinians to get their act together and surrender while somehow retaining a bit of dignity.
The wealthy Liberal American Jewish site still hasn’t mentioned the situation in Gaza.
Surprisingly, the dirt poor one has republished this same Marjorie Cohn essay. The local Zionist troll hasn’t yet showed up to trash it.
The Son of the Famous American Orthodox Jewish writer is faltering. I wonder if he has been able to retain his excitement about the casual murder.
The Israel Propaganda site is hanging strong. “IDF tank fire at renewed Palestinian infiltrations from Gaza”
Some comments from that one:
Quite like in World War Z (2013) with Brad Pitt!
All they want is to drink Jewish blood.
Open heavy machine gun fire aganst the terrorists
WHy didn’t IDF hit them?
Time for a Thermobaric test along border. No mess to clean up afterwards then. Problem solved!
Down at the bottom is this: “Comments containing incitement, libel or offensive language are barred under ********* regulations”
You see, cheering/agitating for Palestinian murder is in no way offensive to God’s Favorite People. Though I’ll confess I can’t be sure some of the comments didn’t come from Washed In The Blood Of Jesus American Fundamentalist End Timers.
This is the quagmire we find ourselves in today, having to parse the legality of the setting out of ethics legality! And that’s not meant to criticize discussion at CN, just reflecting on the near impossibility of a sane and hopeful world because of the rulings of constant warmongers and evildoers (yes, i do think they do ‘evil’) setting traps to confuse, lies upon lies, and finally many ordinary folks just turn away and go about their business, like the Germans did. And many believe these lies of the West, they’ll take the word of pundits and won’t do any research on alternative websites. Things are really, really getting worse than in Vietnam times, serms to me we are now approaching tipping point, and it looks like Trump’s chaos is edging us closer to a cliff. Chris Hedges recently spoke of how Americans have no effect whatsoever on their government. How far will this go? Makes me want that Ring of Fire to put a stop to this, because it’s a runaway freight train of lies and deception, and it is a threat to all life on Earth at this point.
Abe and Zach
Abe Thanks for the link I haven’t seen that before. Thanks to both of you and Marjorie for bringing this information forward. The main problem I see is that Consortium news is of mostly like minded individuals (given the simple and verifiable FACT that it’s overwhelmingly the same 12-15 posters) and therefore becomes an ECHO chamber repeating the same sequel over and over.
Given this fact would it not seem pertinent develop/discover ways to link this struggle to something more pertinent to the American people as a whole. If it can be made somehow into a NIMBY issue I’m sure most Americans would/could get behind it, don’t you?
A way must be developed to bring this issue forward without the excess baggage which turns people off immediately given the potentially life ruining accusations that can come from taking a strong stand on this issue?
Given the effort you both put into this, might I suggest devoting some time to the issue I have raised here. This call is open to all who post here and have a strong opinion. There has to be a better way, given the number of years experience here I would make the suggestion of having a brainstorm session here to come up with some KISS actions that we ALL may be able to take to push things forward.
Hasbara propaganda trolls predictably insist that mention of Israel and the pro-Israel Lobby is “excess baggage which turns people off”.
In fact, most Americans are uninformed about Israeli war crimes and violations of international law precisely because of mainstream media propaganda.
Bringing fact-based information forward directly is the most effective way of penetrating the mainstream media propaganda echo chamber that Israel relies on to evade accountability for war crimes and human rights abuses.
MOVING FORWARD
Consortium News is one of the best investigative journalism resources available today.
Now more than ever, sharing Consortium News articles on social media, via email, and discussing them in person is a great way to bring issues forward and support effective political action in your chosen realm of concern.
The very best KISS (keep it simple) step is to use the solid fact-based reporting at CN as an information base for the political action you feel moved to make.
Consortium News can support your next steps.
That’s why the CN comments are visited by propaganda trolls making false accusations of “censorship”, attempting to smear the site and its intelligent, informed readership.
That’s why disinformation sites like PropOrNot and Bellingcat attack true independent investigative journalism sites like CN.
That’s why the Inverted Hasbara (false flag “anti-Zionist”) propaganda trolls like “Tannenhouser” come slithering in, muttering slurs about “slacktivsm” [SIC] and “limited hangouts like this”, always insisting that Israel not be “mentioned”.
And these hilarious Hasbara trolls shriek that they’re under “attack” and being “censored” when their li’l propaganda campaigns are outed.
Marjorie Cohn’s article sets on a false premise: that Israel’s leaders are subject to International Criminal Court [“ICC”] jurisdiction if they act within Israeli territory or not within the territory of any nation that is within ICC jurisdiction. Israel is not within ICC jurisdiction. The “State of Palestine” State acceded to the Rome Statute on 2 January 2015, and the Rome Statute entered into force for the State of Palestine on 1 April 2015, But, for purpose of ICC jurisdiction, the State of Palestine does not exist.
In 1974, the UN granted a “State of Palestine” “non-state entity” observer status at the UN General Assembly. In 2011, the Palestine Liberation Organization [“PLO”] applied to become a full member of the UN. In November 2012, the UN General Assembly upgraded Palestine to “non-member observer state” within the United Nations system. But the PLO’s or Palestine’s UN membership would require approval of the UN Security Council, and the Security Council has not approved the PLO’s application.
Still, some nations “recognize” a “State of Palestine.” In interactions with those nations, the West Bank and Gaza constitute a “state of Palestine.”
But: (a) like the U.S., Israel does not recognize a “State of Palestine; further, (b) Israel and, respecting their actions against Gaza, Israel’s “leaders” are not subject to ICC jurisdiction.
So, at least vis-a-vis the matter of whether the ICC can adjudicate a legal action concerning Israel’s firing live ammunition from Israel into a Palestinian protest crowd gathered in Gaza, the “State of Palestine” does not exist.
Do not misunderstand my comment. I condemn Israel. Every day, Israel commits war crimes — including, but not only, illegal occupation of Palestinian land obtained by conquest. Israel is guilty of the worst war crime — war of aggression. I consider Israel an illegitimate and terrorist state; and I consider most of its government a terrorist mob. I should applaud if the state of Israel ceased to exist or if Palestine regained all the territory that was Palestine before 1947 and became a legal nation and member of the UN. But the law is the law, and it does NOT support Marjorie Cohn’s thesis, which clashes the pertinent law.
Know also: I am not an anti-Semite. I am half Jew. I do not oppose or disdain Jews. I oppose Zionism and contemn Zionists.
CORRECTION:
My (April 8, 2018 at 8:00 PM) comment’s next-t-last paragraph ends with this clause: “which clashes the pertinent law.” The clause ought to be ” which clashes with the pertinent law.”
My best take on this is that talking about Holy Israel’s murder sprees just isn’t kosher – unless it’s done in proper rightwingnut fashion.
https://consortiumnews.com/2017/04/11/trumps-syria-attack-trampled-many-laws/
Zachary Smith
April 8, 2018 at 8:34 pm
Please try reading, not interpolating.
See also:
https://consortiumnews.com/2017/09/17/the-rights-made-up-constitution-5/
Zachary Smith
April 8, 2018 at 8:45 pm
Thank you for enabling me to recall what you are. I shall not respond again to your manifestations of you intellectual blindness.
your intellectual blindness, not “you intellectual blindness.”
Monsieur “Wolf-Goat” uses the same canned melodramatic declaration:
“I shall not respond again” (September 20, 2017 at 2:38 am)
“I shall not respond again” (April 8, 2018 at 8:45 pm)
“I shall not respond to your comments again” (April 8, 2018 at 11:40 pm)
Of course, anything other than the view of our punctilious but functionally illiterate “Wolf-Goat” is:
“tripe” (April 9, 2017 at 8:08 pm)
“tripe” (April 11, 2017 at 9:33 pm)
“tripe” (April 9, 2018 at 1:01 am)
The usual hilarity ensues.
Hmm that rings a bell Abe, maybe Mr Goat is actually you or another member of team Abe-L. Same MOA..
Loup-Bouc’s comment concerning International Criminal Court jurisdiction sets on a false premise: that Israeli soldiers and leaders of acting within the territory of Israel are outside ICC jurisdiction. The remarks about Palestine’s UN membership are a red herring.
Israeli soldiers and leaders (and Americans and other nationals serving in the Israeli armed forces) may be liable to prosecution before the ICC under expanded territorial and personal jurisdiction sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council:
Territorial jurisdiction
The territorial jurisdiction of the Court includes the territory, registered vessels, and registered aircraft of states which have either (1) become party to the Rome Statute or (2) accepted the Court’s jurisdiction by filing a declaration with the Court.
In situations that are referred to the Court by the United Nations Security Council, the territorial jurisdiction is defined by the United Nations Security Council, which may be more expansive than the Court’s normal territorial jurisdiction.
If the United Nations Security Council refers a situation that took place in the territory of a state that has both not become party to the Rome Statute and not lodged a declaration with the Court, the Court will still be able to prosecute crimes that occurred within that state.
Personal jurisdiction
The personal jurisdiction of the Court extends to all natural persons who commit crimes, regardless of where they are located or where the crimes were committed, as long as those individuals are nationals of either (1) states that are party to the Rome Statute or (2) states that have accepted the Court’s jurisdiction by filing a declaration with the Court.
As with territorial jurisdiction, the personal jurisdiction can be expanded by the United Nations Security Council if it refers a situation to the Court.
Of course, the United States would be in a position to exercise its veto power on the Security Council. But sufficient international pressure can be brought to bear to make such a move prohibitively costly.
How far is the United States willing to go to cover for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed by Israel?
Currently, the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC has opened investigations in the situation in Palestine.
https://www.icc-cpi.int/palestine
On April 8th, 2018, Bensouda stated the following regarding the worsening situation in Gaza:
“It is with grave concern that I note the violence and deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip in the context of recent mass demonstrations. Since 30 March 2018, at least 27 Palestinians have been reportedly killed by the Israeli Defence Forces, with over a thousand more injured, many, as a result of shootings using live ammunition and rubber-bullets. Violence against civilians – in a situation such as the one prevailing in Gaza – could constitute crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (‘ICC’ or ‘the Court’), as could the use of civilian presence for the purpose of shielding military activities.
“I remind all parties that the situation in Palestine is under preliminary examination by my Office. While a preliminary examination is not an investigation, any new alleged crime committed in the context of the situation in Palestine may be subjected to my Office’s scrutiny. This applies to the events of the past weeks and to any future incident.
“I am aware that the demonstrations in the Gaza Strip are planned to continue further. My Office will continue to closely watch the situation and will record any instance of incitement or resort to unlawful force. I urge all those concerned to refrain from further escalating this tragic situation.
“Any person who incites or engages in acts of violence including by ordering, requesting, encouraging or contributing in any other manner to the commission of crimes within ICC’s jurisdiction is liable to prosecution before the Court, with full respect for the principle of complementarity. The resort to violence must stop.”
Hmm. The IDF has murdered 27 unarmed Palestinian civilians in cold blood over the past two weeks and the ICC Court is at “preliminary examination” and “closely watching the situation”–not investigation.
The ICC Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) is responsible for determining whether there is reasonable basis to open an investigation. It all starts with the preliminary examination.
The ICC Prosecutor announced the opening of a preliminary examination into the situation in Palestine on 16 January 2015. The current status of that examination is Phase 2: Subject-matter jurisdiction.
The ICC Prosecutor conducts preliminary examinations in order to determine whether a full ICC investigation is warranted.
http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/explore/icc-preliminary-examinations
If governments demonstrate unwillingness to investigate and prosecute alleged grave crimes committed on their territories or by their citizens, the ICC examination can advance to investigation and prosecution.
Given Israel’s demonstrated unwillingness to investigate and prosecute crimes committed by the Israeli Army against the Palestinians, and crimes committed by Israeli “settlers” in illegally occupied Palestinian territory, the ICC can move forward with investigation and prosecution.
Bensouda’s statement implies this outcome.
Abe
April 8, 2018 at 9:16 pm
I gather, Abe, that you are not a lawyer.
The Rome Statute sets three jurisdictional requirements for ICC jurisdiction: (1) subject-matter jurisdiction; (2) territorial or personal jurisdiction; (3) temporal (time of act) jurisdiction.
Israel’s conduct satisfies the first jurisdictional requirement. Its actions are war crimes and crimes against humanity.
But the case does not provide the ICC territorial or personal jurisdiction.
ICC territorial jurisdiction includes ONLY the territory, registered vessels, or registered aircraft of a state that (1) is a party to the Rome Statute or (2) has accepted ICC jurisdiction by filing a declaration in the Court.
Israel is not a party to the Rome Statute. Israel has not accepted ICC jurisdiction.
Palestine is a party to the Rome Statute. But Palestine is not a “state” for the purpose of ICC jurisdiction — at least not in the case Marjorie Cohn’s article addresses. [I premised thoroughly and explained the latter point (Palestine’s non-statehood) in my main comment.]
The ICC can try a prosecution of an individual ONLY IF the individual has either (1) committed a crime within ICC territorial jurisdiction or (2) committed a crime while a national of a state that is within ICC territorial jurisdiction.
Marjorie Cohn argues that Israel’s “Leaders” — not other Israelis — ought to suffer ICC prosecution. Israeli’s leaders committed THEIR acts WITHIN ISRAEL. Israel is not within ICC jurisdiction. Israel’s leaders are not nationals of a state that is within ICC jurisdiction.
Assume, for sake of argument, that Marjorie Cohn includes in her category “Leaders” non-general-staff military personnel that may have fired ammunition into a Palestinian crowd protesting within Gaza. Since such “Leaders” committed their acts WITHIN ISRAEL, the ICC would not have jurisdiction. Though such “Leaders” may have caused ammunition to enter Gaza, their ammunition was not a registered vessel or registered aircraft of Israel; and THEY (“Leaders”) were not present in Gaza, but only in Israel.
Assume, for sake of argument, EVEN that SOME Israeli military fired such ammunition while THEY were in Gaza. Nevertheless, the ICC would not have jurisdiction. Though “Palestine” is a party to the Rome Statute, still, as my main comment shows, Palestine, and, A FORTIORI, Gaza, is not a “state” for the purpose of ICC jurisdiction respecting an act of Israel or its “Leaders.”
Since, at all relevant times, the ICC did not possess territorial or personal jurisdiction, the temporal jurisdiction requirement is not satisfied.
As my main comment suggests, I should applaud the ICC’s adjudging Israel, most of its leaders, and many of its military commanders guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. But, alas, the ICC lacks jurisdiction.
I gather, Loup-Bouc, that you are not a reader.
You are welcome to continue expressing your opinion in all caps, but that does not alter the fact that Israeli leaders (as well as Israelis, Americans and other nationals serving in the Israeli Army) may be liable to prosecution before the ICC under expanded territorial and personal jurisdiction.
Nor is temporal jurisdiction an obstacle.
If you suddenly discover yourself to be an Israeli lawyer, good luck with that. You may find yourself very busy in the not too distant future.
Meanwhile, by all means, keep posting. Your ONLY IFs, EVENs and SOMEs are highly entertaining. Mazel Tov.
Abe
April 8, 2018 at 11:21 pm
Your childish sarcasm does not substitute for competent legal argument.
Since I cannot use standard emphasis (italics or boldface) in this comment system, I use all caps, but only occasionally, for emphasis needed to enable poor readers to grasp points.
The matter is not one of sensibility or empathy or morality or “heart.” The matter is legal, one of hard law.
Your arguments lack legal substance. I shall not respond to your comments again.
Well, Loup-Bouc, why not respond to mine.
Why is not a murder in Gaza within the territory of an ICC state? It does not matter that the shooter was across the border, any more than it would if done by an ICBM. The nation status of Palestine is the core issue, so why not get it out into the open? Force the UN to take up the issue of nationhood. No one is morally bound by inessential technicalities.
If Bensouda cares, is she not bound to issue more than these “maybe someday we will observe and urge caution if something happens” statements? Why not push the bounds of authority when lives are lost and more are at risk? Why not see who pushes technical jurisdiction issues and expose them for complicity? She has a responsibility to consider the moral issue, not to play with technicalities, and seems very complacent and complicit in her statement.
Comrade “Loup-Bouc”,
Your incompetent “argument” tries to avoid the legal reality of ICC expanded jurisdiction.
That’s understandable if you’re posting on behalf of a certain “state” that refuses to declare its territorial boundary, but is remarkably adept at constructing walls and fences, and shooting across them.
There certainly are other reasons why you may be shy about discussing the question of ICC expanded jurisdiction right about now:
https://theglobalobservatory.org/2017/12/icc-jurisdiction-expand-will-states-be-deterred-war/
So by all means, comrade, keep unloading that “substance” of yours.
Abe
April 9, 2018 at 1:01 am
I had promised myself not to respond again to your comments. But you have mad response irresistible.
You have disproved your own “”expanded jurisdiction” tripe.
Your reference https://theglobalobservatory.org/2017/12/icc-jurisdiction-expand-will-states-be-deterred-war/
states clearly that, IF the expansion were to become new international law, the expansion would apply only to the crime of aggression and that, EVEN IF a state is actually guilty of the crime of aggression, “at least one of the states involved in the act would need to have ratified the amendment to the Rome Statute.” [Quote of your reference.]
Israel has not ratified the expansion. Israel is not a party to the Rome Statute.
Your own reference observes also that several other states have refused to ratify the amendment. Among the refusing states are the U.S., Canada, France, Japan, and Norway. And, the amendment has not become international law.
“As with the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, the ultimate potency of this expansion of the ICC’s jurisdiction will be determined by the willingness of member states to activate it.” [Again, quote of your reference.]
The core matter is: Still, ICC jurisdiction applies only to, or within, states that accept it.
Now it’s official.
Hasbara troll “Loup-Bouc”, aka Monsieur “Wolf-Goat” dans la langue de la diplomatie, can’t track even the most basic distinctions between Territorial jurisdiction and Personal jurisdiction, and Subject-matter jurisdiction.
As noted in my previous comment above, Israeli soldiers and leaders may be liable to prosecution before the ICC under expanded Territorial jurisdiction and Personal jurisdiction sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council, even though Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute.
ICC Subject-matter jurisdiction currently includes:
– Genocide – defined as acts “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”
– Crimes against humanity – defined as acts “committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack”
– War crimes – depending on whether an armed conflict is either international (which generally means it is fought between states) or non-international (which generally means that it is fought between non-state actors, such as rebel groups, or between a state and such non-state actors). In total there are 74 war crimes listed. The most serious crimes, however, are those that constitute either grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which only apply to international conflicts, and serious violations of article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which apply to non-international conflicts.
In addition, I provided a reference link to the Global Observatory article published by the International Peace Institute details the proposed expansion of ICC Subject-matter jurisdiction.
The proposed expansion of ICC Subject-matter jurisdiction will include:
– Crime of aggression – defined as “the planning, preparation, initiation or execution, by a person in a position effectively to exercise control over or to direct the political or military action of a State, of an act of aggression which, by its character, gravity and scale, constitutes a manifest violation of the Charter of the United Nations.” An “act of aggression” is defined as “the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations.”
That’s all too much to comprehend for hapless comrade “Loup-Bouc”, who has yet to master the rudiments of punctuation.
Nevertheless, Monsieur “Wolf-Goat” has sterling Hasbara troll credentials, and proudly serves as a superb freelance spokesperson for the Israeli Army’s “legal” office.
Even though “Loup-Bouc” clearly is “not a reader”, the troll appears to have no difficulty reproducing Hasbara propaganda narratives.
That convenient li’l U.S. veto on the U.N. Security Council, and that lovely arsenal of nuclear and chemical weapons, remain buried deep in the IDF’s blood-bespattered pocket. “1000 percent” Israel Firster Trump is in the White House, batshit crazy John Bolton is back up to bat, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is Israel’s BFF, and those lovely bought-and-paid-for terrorist proxy forces are cavorting in Syria.
Hatikvah abides in Eretz Zion. Just a few more ethnic cleansing tweaks and the Holy Temple can be rebuilt, or at least more fabulous start-ups launched in Silicon Wadi.
If only those damn Russians would shut up and get out of the way.
Readers at CN and other sites have noted the shrill “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” refrain issuing from the Hasbara trolls that are popping up like mushrooms these days.
So don’t despair when “not a reader” comrade “Loup-Bouc” repeatedly avoids the core matter of jurisdiction. It’s just the latest Hasbara “information activities” directive.
Abe. I posted a comment a few days ago (that also never showed up) that had a line that went – “The lawyers will keep you in court for 100 years debating what is altruistic and the meaning of right and wrong. Meanwhile the killing machine rolls along just like it has since recorded time.”
If this is what Loup-Bouc can do to you, imagine what a hundred Zionist lawyers could do to muddy the waters.They will keep you running in circles forever. And then you have to ask if they also own the court and secretly have the judges in their back pocket?
On review of the commentary I agree that Loup-Bouc is Wolf-Sheep citing hoped-for legal loopholes for zionism. While Israel and the US have not signed the treaty of Rome precisely to evade principles of human decency, and the US has even threatened military attack upon the Hague if prosecuted, the author properly noted that:
“Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, an occupying power has a legal duty to protect the occupied. Grave breaches of the convention constitute war crimes. …The IDF committed all of these grave breaches….under international humanitarian law, the IDF failed… to direct their attacks only against people taking part in the hostilities…An independent commission of inquiry convened by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate Israel’s 2014 massacre in Gaza … concluded that Israel… had likely committed … war crimes.”
The UN can and must denounce war crimes regardless of ability to prosecute, and when the US comes to defend war criminals and extend their crimes, should use all means to humiliate the US and expose its corruption, so as to begin the process of removal of the US from the Security Council, which has paralyzed the UN for decades and prevented the world from correcting US wrongs to benefit the zionists and the rest of its oligarchy.
h**ps://consortiumnews.com/2017/03/27/gorsuchs-soft-style-and-hard-line/
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-journalist-killed-gaza-israel-20180407-story.html
2-minute video entitled “Wikipedia Editing Courses Launched by Zionist Propaganda Machine”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=130&v=wIYhE-hei2Y
On one occasion I was reading about an actual historical event, and yet when I went to the Wikipedia page, there was no mention of it. Not a word. The page had obviously been edited, and it had an obvious pro-Israeli/Jewish slant. I’ve found this on several articles I’ve read.
Taken over, one word at a time, one lie at a time, one omission at a time.
Thank you, b-e. I have noticed very political manipulation of “wikipedia” articles, and would not recommend its use for anything but the most politically-neutral subjects.
The organization of “wikipedia” is completely inappropriate to a source of general knowledge. The editors have no qualifications whatsoever: they are are immature, ignorant, and have absurd prejudices. It provides no basis whatsoever to determine the truth and ensure that it is not corrupted. So of course it is corrupted.
And here is Alison Weir’s great expose entitled “How Israel and its partisans work to censor the Internet”. She says:
“Numerous well funded, organized projects by and for Israel work to flood social media with pro-Israel propaganda, while blocking facts Israel dislikes. The projects utilize Israeli soldiers, students, American teens and others, and range from infiltrating Wikipedia to influencing YouTube. Some operate out of Jewish Community Centers in the U.S.
Recently, YouTube suddenly shut down the “If Americans Knew” YouTube channel. This contained 70 videos providing facts-based information about Israel-Palestine.
People going to the channel saw a message telling them that the site had been terminated for “violating YouTube guidelines”—implying to the public that we were guilty of wrongdoing. And ensuring they didn’t learn about the information we were trying to disseminate.”
https://israelpalestinenews.org/israel-partisans-work-censor-internet/
This is a very good article and well worth the read.
The failure of western governments to condemn Israel and some supporting Israel’s actions shows how far they have descended into the swamp of decadence.
Israel will be the downfall of the West.
Related: If the USA succeeds in getting the jumped-up wars it is trying to make against Iran, then Russia, who will survive?
You may well be right in many ways that “Israel will be the downfall of the West.”
Not only is the US over-extended in budget and military, almost entirely to get zionist bribes to politicians fed back from its “aid” to Israel. The zionists control the US mass media and elections, and increasingly its secret agencies and their secret wars and false flag provocations, and have ruined democracy in the US.
The broader problem is US oligarchy, its utterly amoral culture of greed and ego, its belief that money=virtue. But that oligarchy is led by zionist opportunists. The US would actually progress if it fell into fascism, the zionist oligarchs deposed by the non-zionist oligarchs, and they in turn starting wars to bring the spoils of oligarchy to their supporters, and being conquered by their victims, as in Nazi Germany.
Israel is the primary provocateur of East-West conflict that the US so much wants to lose against Russia and China. Like Napoleon and Hitler, the imbecile egoists of the US unregulated market economy are drawn to invade Russia, so that Generals January and February can again destroy them. If we cannot do that, let us provoke Russia to nuke Israel as the state of purest selfishness, the supreme troublemaker among nations. Then we can decide whether to be nuked as well to satisfy the egos of our imbecile tyrants.
Great 14-minute video entitled “Israel’s Internet Censorship War – if Americans Knew”. It explains how an army of Israeli partisans are editing Wikipedia and trolling the Internet in order to censor information and control the narrative.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/49171.htm
Established in 2002, the International Criminal Court is the world’s first permanent court set up to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
Persons who incite or engage in acts of violence including by ordering, requesting, encouraging or contributing in any other manner to the commission of crimes within ICC’s jurisdiction are liable to prosecution before the Court.
Fatou Bensouda, the ICC’s chief prosecutor since June 2012, said that her office is closely monitoring the situation in Gaza, and that any instance of incitement and unlawful force will be recorded for further scrutiny by the court:
“Following the deaths of 29 Palestinians in protest clashes with Israeli forces in the past two weeks, Fatou Bensouda said in a statement ‘any new alleged crime committed in the context of the situation in Palestine may be subjected to my Office’s scrutiny’.
“The ICC prosecutor opened a preliminary investigation into alleged crimes committed in occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, in January 2015, after Palestine was officially admitted as a member of the court.
“Israel is not a member of the court but if Israeli citizens commit war crimes or crimes against humanity on the territory of a member state they could fall under the ICC’s jurisdiction.
“’Violence against civilians – in a situation such as the one prevailing in Gaza – could constitute crimes … as could the use of civilian presence for the purpose of shielding military activities,’ Bensouda said.”
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-icct-palistinians-israel/international-criminal-court-prosecutor-calls-for-end-to-violence-in-gaza-idUSKBN1HF0PG
Abe put this quote (of Fatou Bensouda?): ““Israel is not a member of the court but if Israeli citizens commit war crimes or crimes against humanity on the territory of a member state they could fall under the ICC’s jurisdiction.”
=====
The quote is legal error. Israeli citizens (or Israel’s “leaders”) are not within ICC jurisdiction unless for acts they effect within states that are ICC members or somehow otherwise within ICC jurisdiction. See my main comment posted below (April 8, 2018 at 8:00 pm).
The sentence you highlight is from the Reuters report. not a direct quote from Bensouda. Please try reading.
The State of Palestine is recognized by 136 UN members and since 2012 has a status of a non-member observer state in the United Nations – which establishes de facto, or implicit, recognition of statehood.
However, the statehood status of Palestine is a red herring in terms of the issue of legal jurisdiction.
Israeli soldiers and leaders (and Americans and other nationals serving in the Israeli armed forces) who commit crimes within ICC’s jurisdiction may be liable to prosecution before the Court under expanded territorial and personal jurisdiction.
See my detailed comment below.
Abe
April 8, 2018 at 9:53 pm
I read punctiliously. Your comment is ambiguous, even sloppy.
I wrote: “Abe put this quote (of Fatou Bensouda?).” Notice the question mark [“?”] set after “of Fatou Bensouda.” The question mark indicates my not being able to divine from your comment the correct attribution of the quote, because your comment is ambiguous, even sloppy.
But the attribution is inconsequential. the matter is that the quote is legally erroneous.
YOU try reading, Abe,
Yes, yes, comrade “Loup-Bouc”, we’re all very impressed by your ability to “read punctiliously”.
Despite your undisputed brilliance, you were unable to divine that the quotation was from Reuters when the reference URL unambiguously appears immediately after quoted text.
You’re not even sloppy.
But keep on dumping that “substance” of yours.
Abe
April 9, 2018 at 2:49 am
(1) You quote Reuters quoting Fatou Bensouda. So, the quote is of Fatou Bensouda.
(2) Your referencing a Reuters web-page does not alter your appearing to quote, and actually quoting, Fatou Bensouda.
(3) You owe your reader YOUR stating your propositions clearly and YOUR making clear the sources of your quotes or authorities. You cannot expect your reader to do your work.
(4) Your childish sarcasms cannot substitute for sound, logical/factual argument.
(5) French remains the language of diplomacy. Alors, taisez-vous, Monsieur Crétin.
Monsieur Wolf-Goat n’est pas capable de lire.
1) My propositions are clearly stated in three sentences.
2) A punctuation mark (:) is used to precede four sentences of quotation from the Reuters article
3) The four sentences of quotation from the Reuters article include two direct quotations from Bensouda
4) The two direct quotations from Bensouda are indicated by the phrase “Bensouda said”
5) The sources of the quotes (Reuters and Bensouda) are clearly differentiated with appropriate punctuation marks
6) The Reuters URL unambiguously appears immediately after the four sentences of quotation
Somehow that’s all quite incomprehensible for the otherwise assuredly brilliant “logical/factual” (not to mention “legal”) mind of Monsieur Wolf-Goat.
But Monsieur Wolf-Goat has a record of depositing steaming piles of “substance” in the comments at CN.
See the CN comments from a year ago today
https://consortiumnews.com/2017/04/09/bill-mahers-muddled-attacks-on-islam/
The “logic” of Monsieur Wolf-Goat’s insistent line of “argument” is obvious.
Gentlemen, let us not insult and disagree on minor points, but only debate substance at a high level.
A misunderstanding, error, or mnor disagreement must not occasion barbs, or we merely squabble.
You are both of good intent and intelligence, and must avoid barbs that damage your valuable debate.
Thanks for that.
We need war crimes tribunals going back to the end of WWll and going right up to the present. It would take quite a bit of time, but would be well worth the populations of the aggressor nations having to face up to the real legacy of their so called democracies. The victims of these too numerous to mention war crimes deserve reparations and recognition for what their people have been and continue to be put through.
This bloody insanity must be stopped. It’s been glossed over, justified and ignored for far too long.
Fortunately Professor Cohn is an emerita. If she were still a paid member of faculty, she, like many other academics who have publicly criticized Israel, could well have found her position in jeopardy, and her future employment prospects bleak. Ask former University of Illinois professor, Stephen Salaita.
Hats off to Professor Cohn for publicly expressing her opinion.
Yes, control of employment is a principal means of totalitarian control by the zionist opportunists recruited in the US. They hope to get money=virtue from other zionists, none of whom have any principles. Zionism has been adopted by much of the oligarchy as a fake cause, because they cannot give up profits from any (oligarchy) faction and beat the competition. Of course no one else matters at all. Trump appeared to be a wedge between oligarchy factions and appears to have surrendered, having confused blustering with patriotic appeal.
And live in the stink?
yes, it’s all a giant fucking outrage, as it has been for decades going. but what shall be done about it? endless articles describe the war crimes committed by usa/israel as here; but besides braying with out keyboards whilst sipping a latté are we really doing anything. No, of course not.
Meant ‘with our keyboards’ in prev post, not ‘with out’.
Hello deschutes, What’s wrong with braying with or without a keyboard? There will be no difference as the US/Israel conspiracy to commit war crimes and get away with them Hitler wished he could have the same commitment by the US government. He did get much cooperation from the US Business Community.
What do you want us to do? Pick up our little popguns and take on the brainwashed soldiers in their tanks and planes? Have another drink of that Latte, and write something more sensible. This battle for the Earth will be won or lost in the minds of men and women.
mike k. Wrong! This battle for the Earth will be won or lost on the balance sheets of the Central Bankers!
The cesspool criminal gang in Israel is asking the same thing. They demand action, and want Syria to be attacked by the US.
h**ps://southfront.org/israeli-officials-encourage-trump-strike-syria-response-alleged-chemical-attack-douma/
Abe and Zach
Abe Thanks for the link I haven’t seen that before. Thanks to both of you and Marjorie for bringing this information forward. The main problem I see is that Consortium news is of mostly like minded individuals (given the simple and verifiable FACT that it’s overwhelmingly the same 12-15 posters) and therefore becomes an ECHO chamber repeating the same sequel over and over.
Given this fact would it not seem pertinent develop/discover ways to link this struggle to something more pertinent to the American people as a whole. If it can be made somehow into a NIMBY issue I’m sure most Americans would/could get behind it, don’t you?
A way must be developed to bring this issue forward without the excess baggage which turns people off immediately given the potentially life ruining accusations that can come from taking a strong stand on this issue?
Given the effort you both put into this, might I suggest devoting some time to the issue I have raised here. This call is open to all who post here and have a strong opinion. There has to be a better way, given the number of years experience here I would make the suggestion of having a brainstorm session here to come up with some KISS actions that we ALL may be able to take to push things forward.
Has a white house petition been tried? Might be a start?
Hi Tannenhouser.
Here is the answer to your question that was deleted.
WC
April 7, 2018 at 3:02 pm
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
Tannenhouser. Good to see you are not buckling under from the numerous punches thrown at you.:)
As for what ideas I have “to combat the ruling elite and their nefarious actors” is tough to answer because I have yet to figure out what their overall game plan is. To listen to many on this site, it’s all got to do with the middle east. And while I agree the “Big Club” is very active in the middle east, I am hard pressed to see this as anything more than just a tactic toward a bigger objective. The “bigger objective” would be solving the ongoing financial crisis and historic debt. And the only way that can be done is on a world-wide scale to stop the boom and bust cycles that are the real engines of capitalism. So, if they are going to change the global financial system they need to change the global political system to go along with it. Now we are entering into some seriously dangerous territory because, as we all know, the “Big Club” is only in this for themselves!
Yet, when I ask the question – what is the End Game? – “no one seems to notice, no one seems to care. That’s what the owners count on. The fact that Americans will probably remain willfully ignorant of the big red, white and blue (deleted) that is being jammed up their (deleted) every day, because the owners of this country know the truth. It’s called “The American Dream” because you have to be asleep to believe it.” (good old George left us way too soon). ;)
As for the liberal idealists, I told an old joke that was deleted that I will try again. It goes – If Hitler had surrendered after WW2 and hired a half-dozen really good lawyers he probably would have got off on a technicality. This old joke has a lot of implied truths about how the Real World works. And the Real World, with its seriously flawed species, is nowhere near abiding by the absolute truths of the perfect world. Don’t hope for it. “The table is tilted folks. The game is rigged”. :)
“Is that a grotesque enough evasion for you?” – George Carlin.
In the latest efforts to “defend Israel”, Hasbara troll army sockpuppet “WC” grotesquely quotes Carlin
https://blog.codinghorror.com/content/images/2015/04/obvious-troll-is-obvious.jpg
As Carlin told his audience during his last HBO stand-up special, aired live on March 1, 2008:
“It’s all bullshit, and it’s bad for ya.”
“The US media is now priming the global public for US intervention in Syria following alleged ‘chemical attacks’ carried out in the remaining pocket of US-backed militants in Douma, just northeast of Damascus. […]
“just days after President Trump expressed a supposed desire to leave Syria, allegations of Syrian government chemical attacks on Douma have provided not only the prefect pretext to delay any withdrawal, but to in fact justify a US-led military intervention directly against the Syrian government.
“While some have attempted to portray this as ‘Trump vs. the Deep State,’ it is in fact a textbook example of US deception described in US policy papers – a deception President Trump played a central role in creating. […]
“For those who have invested hope into President Trump – his role in a documented scheme to deceive the global public and make US military aggression appear as a last resort after apparently withdrawing from confrontation – is sufficient evidence that it is not ‘Trump vs. the Deep State,’ but that ‘Trump is the Deep State.’
“It should be remembered that recent appointments to President Trump’s administration included prominent pro-war advocates including John Bolton and Mike Pompeo – both eager for a US-led military intervention in Iran which makes President Trump’s recent calls for a withdrawal from Syria all the more questionable. […]
“It is also worth noting that US-backed militants in Douma are essentially gassing people to advance the West’s political agenda. This comes as the UK’s case against Russia regarding the alleged assassination attempt on Sergei Skripal and his daughter unravels.
“Considering Washington and London’s history regarding false accusations surrounding chemical weapons – as well as policy papers plotting to stage provocations, the US and UK emerge as the prime suspects in serial crimes against humanity involving so-called ‘weapons of mass destruction.’
“It is becoming abundantly clear that in addition to the West fueling the very terrorism it claims to be fighting globally, it is also the West that poses the primary threat to the globe regarding the use of chemical weapons.”
Trump’s Syria “Withdrawal” Was Textbook US Deception
By Tony Cartalucci
http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2018/04/trumps-syria-withdrawal-was-textbook-us.html
Thanks Abe. Excellent link to Tony C. Any one putting any trust or hope in Donald Trump is on a fool’s errand. This man is a totally despicable criminal, and an egotistical nitwit as well. To see him cavorting in the evil Saudi’s ‘sword dance’ tells you all you need to know about this slimy crook.
I like your comment when you assert that Trump is the deep state. I recall not long ago reading from reporter Mike Whitney that ” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced the creation of a de facto autonomous Kurdish state in east Syria that will be supported by the United States and defended by a US-backed “proxy” army of occupation” The US power elite wants precisely to topple president Assad for his unwillingness to follow Washington’s marching orders (no matter who detrimental those orders might be to Syrians)( emphasis mine) You are right by stating “that it is not ‘Trump vs. the Deep State,’ but that ‘Trump is the Deep State.’ A very astute observation Abe.
Russia has been warning everyone that there was going to be a false flag event in Syria using chemical weapons and there it is. Yet people refuse to see that this was one and it was reported by the White Helmets, the terrorists who are being supported by our allies and us.
It’d be very easy to stop ISIS from doing what they do if we’d quit paying them and told Saudi Arabia to stop too. But no. The killing must continue until every country is in our pocket. I’m wondering what Putin is going to do if we attack Assad? I don’t think he’s going to just watch it happen.
Sure they should, but it isn’t going to happen. The US will defend any and all crimes of the murderous and thieving apartheid criminal gang.
I’m starting to suspect Donald Trump is the intellectual equal of his UN person Nikki Haley. If the man isn’t actually dumber than a fence post, then he is totally owned by somebody or other. Somebody who can direct him to say and do amazingly stupid things.
According to news reports Trump fired $90 million dollars worth of US missiles at a nearly empty Syrian airfield. His motive was reported to be his seeing Ivanka’s tears about the poor Syrian children killed by evil Assad’s chemical attack against them.
Trump evicted 60 Russian diplomats from the US on account of Theresa May’s pleas for assistance in the awful chemical attack against two Russians by the evil Putin and his gang. News reports have said more such deportations may happen.
Now the man is ranting about a new chemical attack by the horrible Assad on innocent Syrian civilians.
Regarding Gaza, Trump might send US bombers and missiles against Gaza if whoever it is yanking his chain directs him to do that. Solidarity With Israel! That little pissant “nation” already has hundreds if not thousands of US servicemen ready to be sacrificed to attain Greater Israel. That the Orange POTUS might give even more help wouldn’t surprise me a bit.
Yes, ICC prosecution of Israeli war crimes would be opposed by the US, but the ICC should proceed with due courage and let the US prove its complicity in war crimes in the Mideast.
The ICC should also prosecute the US for its war crimes in the Mideast. This is far more important and far more likely to yield results, precisely because of militant opposition by the zionist-controlled politicians of the US.
The US is the only nation to actually pass a law (American Service-Members’ Protection Act 2002) threatening the Hague with military attack if it prosecutes US military or government personnel for war crimes. If it does so, NATO should defend the Hague from the US, expel the US, and the UN should remove the US from the Security Council. These are real possibilities, now that US “protection” is known to cause more harm than good.
Only when the people of the US have been forced to recognize the criminality of their government under the influence of zionism, will they insist upon reforms. They must feel and share the disgust of the world with US lies and war crimes. They must reject all mass media information, which is controlled by the zionists.
The US government does not have constitutional authority to engage in foreign wars, except under treaty. Unless we repudiate or renegotiate NATO as a purely defensive treaty, we will never restore the essentially peaceful reign of the Constitution. The AUMFs are strictly unconstitutional and would have been so declared by any federal judiciary not controlled by the dictatorship of the rich.
Unless we protect the essential tools and institutions of democracy from money power, with amendments to restrict funding of mass media and elections to limited individual contributions, we will never restore democracy. A good first step is to humiliate the US for its international crimes and the complete corruption of its institutions.
Sam F. God love ya, but this is what is called dreaming in technicolor. :)
However difficult the path, the “ain’t gonna happen” stance is counterproductive without suggestions.
Things happen when people see the possibility. If you seek to move forward, why discourage that?
Sam F. One of my deleted posts actually appeared!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Scroll down to find it (To Tannenhouser).
If you want to start the conversation from there, let’s do it. :)
Zac. That’s right, it isn’t going to happen. So all of this calling for boycotts and having the perpetrators in front of the Hague is simply whistling in the wind. Got any other ideas??
“WC” is here to throw cold water on any opponent of zionism. With full sympathy, of course.
But he never misses the chance, never has a suggestion, and is completely antagonistic.
He is an established troll, not an opposition voice, and should be tracked and deleted.
No, “WC” it is the zionists who will be buried by their aggression. Zion isn’t going to happen.
Anon. I’m hardly short on suggestions. But if they are deleted before they get to the comments section you will NEVER see them. And THAT makes me look like I have no answers or suggestions. :)
Oh for sure Trump is being handled by the neocons. We’ve been watching a coup against him since he was elected. The neocons have had the wars planned out for decades and Trump wanting to get out of Syria and be nice to Russia threatened their plans.
That people don’t see Israel for the war criminals they are is because they refuse to see our military for the war criminals they are. The country gets all bothered by the school shootings, the Vegas and the other violence here while people never cry over the number of people who we kill in the war zones. We commit a 9/11 in the Middle East numerous times every week, yet where are the tears for the children that we slaughter? They aren’t even mentioned on the news anymore.
“We”? Don’t include me in that “We”! It is a chosen elite of powerful people who are the “We” that prosecute criminal wars! Americans have NEVER had a say in whether the USA goes to war or not. This is NOT a democracy. Heck, even Congress has had its war-making power stripped of it. That figures since any Congressional investigation only threatens to spill the REAL truth to the American people, and that’s when the indictments would start to fly!
The REAL animals are those who want to overthrow a democratically-elected leader(Assad) while at the same time spouting off about how the USA fights for “freedom and democracy”! The REAL animals are those that let mercenary “terrorists” over-run Syria, killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people. For Trump to call Assad an “animal” has to be one of the most ironic pronouncements I have ever heard. We are being “led” by virtual children in DC, who grovel at the thought of pleasing their master Israel.
If Americans knew that the overwhelming degree of deadly violence in Israel and Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory is perpetrated by Jewish Israelis, the party in the conflict with nearly all the guns and bombs and rockets…
http://ifamericaknew.org/
then Americans would overwhelmingly support the realistic “solution” to this massive criminality:
Boycott, Disinvestment, and Sanctions (BDS) until Israel agrees to abide by international law.
Israel’s campaign of terror and annexation in Palestine must end.
The Israeli government, the pro-Israel Lobby and the Hasbara troll army online are devoted to preventing Americans from knowing the truth about Israel’s gross violations of international law.
Israel’s out of control government has “guns for Jews” gun control, while Israeli politicians have openly encouraged illegal Jewish “settlers” to shoot to kill.
Crazed Jewish “settlers” in occupied Palestinian territory have license to parade around in public with guns on their hips and high-powered semi-automatic rifles slung over their shoulders, waving weapons at any “terrorist” who dares to protest the illegal Israeli occupation.
Israeli Army snipers are specifically targeting and murdering journalists.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/04/07/israeli-sniper-kills-palestinian-journalist-wearing-vest-marked/
Palestinian journalist Yasser Murtaga, holding his camera while wearing a helmet and a flak jacket clearly marked “Press”, was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper.
The Israeli Army sniper precisely targeted Murtaga’s side between the protective plates on his front and back, just below his armpit so as to injure vital organs.
Murtaga was over 100 meters from the border covering demonstrations near the Israeli border in Khuzaa.
31-year old Murtaga was married and had a 2-year-old son.
One of the first journalists to use camera drones in Gaza, Murtaja founded Ain Media, a TV production company that has done work for foreign clients including the BBC and Al Jazeera English.
In 2016, Murtaga worked as a cameraman for Ai Weiwei’s documentary, “Human Flow,” which covered the global refugee crisis, including Palestinians in Gaza.
Murtaja died in the early hours of Saturday.
At least six Palestinians journalists were shot according to a statement from the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.
Avigdor Liberman, Israel’s right wing Defense Minister, shoves his foot in his mouth… again:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-wont-confirm-defense-ministers-claim-of-killed-journalists-drone/
There is no excuse for these actions. Nothing can justify shooting unarmed journalists. The journalists help to expose these crimes and the perpetrators.
Yes, now is the time for the ICC at the Hague to prosecute Israeli war crimes. There is no excuse for fear that the US will coerce or force dismissal of its staff. This is their life’s greatest opportunity to do what humanity needs most from them. Any reprisals are even more important, as proof of US complicity in war crimes in the Mideast.
Sam F. The good news (for what little good it will do) is that all of the sites I read (which include more than the bleeding heart variety) are all up in arms about the Gaza massacre. This outrage will quickly fade away when some other event comes up to occupy their minds. Think of the old shell game to see how easily the ruling elite control the narrative. They will not let this get beyond just being pissed off. Helps to let the sheep bleat and let off a bit of steam before they are fleeced again. :)
That new outrage appears to be the fake CW incident in Ghouta that Russia and others warned that the US was planning, which also reverses Trump statements on Syria from withdrawal to punishment, so Israel can make more attacks there. “Truthdig” downplayed the massacre, and several sites are covering it up with Juan Cole’s false denunciation of Syrian CW.
Sam F. If no one has figured out what they are up to (aka “end game”) there will never be a “solution” or a “plan of action”.
I have tried to post an answer to both Zac and Tannerhouser on this question, but to no avail.
Hi Me. ‘Helps to let the sheep bleat and let off a bit of steam before they are fleeced again. :) ‘ Ralston Saul, describes this as a release mechanism. The same can be said for the bleating that goes on here out one side of the mouth while the other , bleats we can do nothing, and then refuses to engage citizens who actually want to effect change labeling them as Hasbera. Wouldn’t it be something if those news stories about Clintons social media army turned out to be false. Considering what has happened to me( I have challenged the Zionist regime in many forms since I became aware) here, this may not be far off the mark. It’s quite sad to note that when the apartheid state of Isreal has it’s narrative challenged it responds by engaging the considerable ‘influence’ it wields and bleats anti Semite, where here what happens is certain posters come under borderline censorship through moderation and are referred to as Hasbera troll, all the while certain posters are allowed to make disparaging remarks about other’s and suffer no apparent consequences. One thing is crystal clear NO ONE here actually want’s to try and solve the issue, as any attempt is met by moderation or shouted down, even the two strongest so called anti Zionist voices here will have zero discussion about pushing things forward.
My last comment was in moderation for almost 24 hours soooooo
There appear to be many interested in solutions, but uncertain what to do. I cannot really blame them for that, as it is a very complex problem. How would you propose pushing things forward?
So aside from “bleating” what else are we expected to do?
Protest & we get beaten, shot & arrested, try to “vote” & our “votes” are ignored or switched, petition the government & you get ignored.
We are POWERLESS! We have no voice, no vote, no say in what this dam fascist plutocracy does to us or to you.
Many of us do know what’s been happening in Gaza since 1947, over & over again we had to stand by powerless, as Israel & the “settlers” stole land, destroyed the homes, orchards & businesses of Palestinians & killed any Palestinian who dared to protest or try to protect what WAS theirs.
So “WC” (Water Closet?) what would YOU do to stop these long going atrocities? Bleat?
By acknowledging that they are happening and investigating and posting and spreading the facts can help. In truth nothing will change until masses of people start to demonstrate their disgust.
sheila. I have posted an answer to this but it has yet to clear through the CN censors. IF it appears, read it and feel free to ask me anything you want.
And we can do without the digs simply because you are feeling insecure. :)
For starters Sheila Chambers, how about a discussion that bounces ideas around as to what we can do/try? Unfortunately the most vehement anti Zionists on this board will declare you hasbera troll or worse just for suggesting such a thing. They refuse to engage in any such discussion which doesn’t echo their anti Zio porn slacktivsm.
I personally think that the Issue needs to be made NIMBY somehow, and people will begin to pay attention. I think that as soon as Israel is mentioned even I a perceived negative way it turns people away as NO ONE wants to be labeled anti semitic, a way/language must be developed to counter this or all we are left with is preaching to the choir in limited hangouts like this.
Oh and for the record Sheila I’m not WC, thanks for engaging…
Inverted Hasbara (fake “anti-Zionist”) propaganda troll doppelgängers “WC” and “Tannenhouser” began bleating in unison in Fall 2017
For examples, see the Hasbara escapades of “WC” and “Tannenhouser” in the CN comments here
https://consortiumnews.com/2017/12/15/protecting-the-shaky-russia-gate-narrative/
It’s always the demented Hasbara shtick for these two.
Inverted Hasbara (false flag “anti-Zionist”) propaganda troll “WC” inserts the very alibi used by Israel to “justify” every one of its illegal land grabs: so-called “security concerns”.
A recent trend in propaganda for Israel is to emphasize rather than minimize Israeli-Saudi-U.S. Axis efforts to “dominate”, both militarily and politically.
Rather than attempting to minimize, conceal, or dismiss the influence the pro-Israel Lobby (in America and elsewhere), both Conventional Hasbrara (overtly pro-Israel / pro-Zionist) and Inverted Hasbara (false flag “anti-Israel” / “anti-Zionist” as well as fake “anti-Jewish” / “anti-Semitic”) propaganda trolls have been claiming a purported awesome “power” of the pro-Israel Lobby to “dominate” the government of Western nations.
Let’s be clear. The pro-Israel Lobby does exert considerable influence. Israeli meddling in American electoral politics (as in the 2016 election Israel-gate reality underlying the endless “Russia-gate” fake news), Israel’s constant interference in U.S. foreign policy, and the collusion of pro-Israel American politicians in enabling Israel’s ongoing violations of international law, are all very real concerns.
Despite its purported “power”, the pro-Israel Lobby remains astonishingly insecure when faced of fact-based analysis and criticism, and informed citizen political action.
That’s why Israel and the pro-Israel Lobby devote so much effort to Hasbara propaganda.
That’s why we’ve witnessed the proliferation of both Conventional Hasbara and Inverted Hasbara trolls in the comments section at CN and other investigative journalism sites.
Back to “WC” and Hasbara troll pal “Tannenhouser”. Their main propaganda function is constantly kvetching about “this site”
“Tannenhouser” was off the hook in comments for “On the Gaza Protesters Murdered by Israeli Forces”, clearly suffering from a “confirmation bias” form of Hasbara troll dementia:
“ECHO back your idealogy/beliefs” [SIC] (April 6, 2018 at 6:49 pm)
“echo chambers” (April 7, 2018 at 10:38 am)
“echo chamber info” (April 7, 2018 at 12:09 pm)
“nothing more than an echo chamber” (April 7, 2018 at 12:09 pm)
“echo chamber” (April 7, 2018 at 4:32 pm )
“just hate […] just hate and a piling of the hatewagon” (April 7, 2018 at 8:57 am)
“hateful” (April 7, 2018 at 10:38 am )
“hateful […] hatewagon […] hateful […] hate” (April 7, 2018 at 4:32 pm)
At least for now, “Tannehouser” seems to have climbed off that li’l “hatewagon” shtick of his, but remains stuck in the Hasbara “ECHO chamber” (April 8, 2018 at 1:04 pm) and (April 8, 2018 at 8:47 pm)
“WC” clearly suffers from Hasbara troll dementia characterized by constant meaningless repetition of the phrases “End Game”, “Bigger Picture” and “odds” to distract the conversation whenever Israel is mentioned.
Other Hasbara propaganda troll behaviors exhibited by “WC” and “Tannenhouser” include melodramatic claims that the trolls’ oh-so-important messages are somehow being “moderated”, “deleted” or otherwise suppressed by the nefarious “overseeers” they imagine running “this site”.
Consortium News readers are alert to these Hasbara propaganda tactics.
Nonetheless, Hasbara hilarity ensues with so much Israeli-Saudi-U.S. Axis warmongering in the news.
Haha. Spoken by the guy NOT on moderated status who apparently can get away with calling anyone anything! Must be nice there, Abe, not to suffer from having your posts delayed and subsequently disjointed, let alone disappear altogether. It is also telling that whenever you go on one of your Hasbara troll rants it is invariably empty of any substance. This is really rather stunning when you can literally hit the ball out of the park when you are not so obsessed. You are one of the best character studies I have had in ages. :) :)
Thank you; that description seems fairly applied to WC and Tannenhouser, attacking in concert. They pretend to oppose misconduct of Israel but disparage others who do; and to be “former supporters” of an “echo chamber” doomed to defeat. Perhaps a repertoire from a playbook.
The latest hilarious propaganda shtick for Inverted Hasbara (false flag “anti-Zionist”) Hasbara trolls “WC” and “Tannenhouser” is loudly moaning about “censors” and “censorship”.
Comment Policy at Consortium News clearly states:
“because of annoying SPAM, we have installed a SPAM filter that uses algorithms to detect SPAM. The filter does a good job at this, but sometimes catches legitimate comments by accident. During the day, we try to recover these comments, but please do not be upset if one of your comments suffers this fate.”
https://consortiumnews.com/2012/01/20/comment-policy/
At one time or another, many of us here at CN have encountered the “comment awaiting moderation” message due to the SPAM filter.
Unfortunately, “WC” and “Tannenhouser” suffer from severe persecutory delusions as part of the symptom profile of their Hasbara troll dementia.
The new favorite kvetch of “WC” and “Tannenhouser” is that their brilliant posts have been “deleted” by dark forces “trying to control the narrative”.
“WC” made a big puddle on the floor today when, lo and behold, a so-called “deleted” post (April 10, 2018 at 1:42 am) “actually appeared!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” (Yes, that was twenty-one exclamation points.)
Needless to say, “WC” did not retract the Hasbara troll claim about “censors” as a result.
It’s non-stop troll hilarity from the Hasbara dementia duo of “WC” and “Tannenhouser”.
And we have all those hot steaming piles of “substance” dumped by Monsieur Wolf-Goat below.
Dear Abe: you are correct in your post. I would like to add that if Americans ignored Israeli brutality against Palestinians is because they don’t want too or do not care. There are dozens of nationals and international websites pointing out daily Israel crimes. If Americans remain oblivious to what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank is because they want too. The information is out there from many sources that it would take a very conscious effort “NOT TO KNOW”. For instance, this one in which you and I both are using to be informed and make comments is a very good one.Good comments Abe.
I just hope I live long enough to see these immoral arrogant butchers brought to justice, along with their American enablers. This makes Neville Chamberlain look like Nazi Germany’s worst nightmare! The layers of injustice that have been piled on top of Palestinians the past 70 years will take a long time to undo! We can start by getting the Israeli-firsters out of the United States government! Remember this when you vote- if a candidate shows ANY signs that they are compromised by Israel, vote their pathetic asses out!
With all what was said,most of it is commandable,factually correct and should be applauded .. `voting their pathetic asses out`
is a well intended thought,however,the needed grass -root support is unfortunately not well organized or aggressively driven.
Let`s agree,the bottomline objective should and must be the removal of any and all those ` Zionist Jewish ass kissing politician ` known to stand in its way and a need to attract and support suitable people for those offices from all across this tormented nation.
If you search for each congressman’s donor lists. I don’t know but I believe that information is accessible for the public.
Hello Abe, The FANATICS in Israel will never comply. They would rather destroy the Palestinians completely rather than submit to international judgement. As long as the US governments keeps protecting Israel then the situation will continue to fester and then sometime in the future all HELL will break loose!!!!!!!!! This could be the start of the nuclear destruction of the majority of the planet’s populations both animal and plant!!!!!!!!