let the mud be slung

Maybe only the morally bankrupt are successful politicians or vice versa. Perhaps it is only when you leave politics, such as Jimmy Carter or Malcolm Fraser have, that you can actually do something about human rights. While you are in power, forget it. It seems that the only human rights that are of concern to any of our successful politicians are those of their own class and country, perhaps, and a swathe of the middle to upper classes muddled in a fugue of deliberate ignorance. Those classes maybe do or don't want to be ignorant, but they are definitely kept that way.

I was withholding my opinion on our minister for foreign affairs, Stephen Smith. When he was relatively silent over the massacre in Gaza, letting his representatives talk for him, I thought that maybe he was not crossing that political suicide line of actually pointing out that America's dearest friend (and the country that Kevin Rudd has in his DNA) was, again, grossly violating human rights. However, the U.S. has decided not to go to Durban 2, though they were toying with the idea of going to Durban, and even though their many human rights groups, who felt that discussions of slavery and racism should be on the table, particularly given the U.S.'s background with said slavery, thought that they should go, they decided not to. Even though the organisers of the Durban Conference (the United Nations), under extreme pressure, decided there would be no side issues, or even open discussion, pertaining to the occupation of Palestine, and any racism charges that might stem from the situation of treating people like second class citizens, and even though they wiped discussion of slavery from the agenda, and it seemed there was no way in hell Israel was even going to be mentioned, the U.S. and Australia and some other countries have finally decided not to go. Israel and Canada had made their boycott positions known long before.

According to Middle East Reality Check

"The Australian understands the Dutch will not be going to the conference and Germany is also considering a boycott after intense lobbying by Mr Smith of his European counterparts..." (Israel slur fear forces boycott, Mark Dodd).

Nice going Mr. Smith. He is a sharp dresser, but that's about the extent of respect I now have for him. His Labor colleague, Julia Irwin, perhaps the only honest politician in Australia, had this to say about Smith's position (my emphasis):

Mr Smith's argument was strongly rejected by Ms Irwin.

"It's a shame Australia will be one of a handful of nations boycotting the Durban conference," Ms Irwin said.

"Any nation which has policies which discriminate on the grounds of race or religion should not be above criticism and should not be supported by the Australian Government."

And how right she is. She will never get to be prime minister with her outspokenness, but I hope she retains her seat forever.

Australian politics of late leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth. We have been the U.S.'s lackey since the end of WWII, and before that, England's, but it seemed to me there were times when we recognised fairness, human rights, and even the actual make up of the people in our population when we made decisions that affected others globally, and which affected how the global population saw us. Seems our politicians, even if they seem to lean left, are just another typical bunch of elites whose only concern is winning another term and another and another. Justice be damned. They couldn't give a shit.

The report from the Australian which MERC quotes says:

While Britain says it will be attending, the participation of countries such as Iran and Cuba, which have reputations as serial human rights violators, is likely to ensure the summit turns into an anti-Israel and anti-US slanging match.

Really, how is Iran different from Israel in this case, and how is the U.S. any different, given Guantanamo and Abu Graihb, and how is Australia any different, given its past compulsory detention for asylum seekers and off-shore processing, which has not entirely gone away? Keep in mind, Obama is keeping a lot of power, and is letting former human rights violators off the hook. Let the mud be slung, and let's get it out in the open. If we can slander all the other countries in the world, then let them do the same in return. And why do we not want to have a voice there? Why do we want to be known as the country that would not attend a conference discussing racism? What is wrong with us and the western world?

Posts on Durban (including this one) are here.

Other blogs and posts which discuss Durban in some detail are here and here.

*Note: However - please Stephen Smith, do something for this woman and her children.

it's all in the genes

Update to yesterday's post: Well, at least the U.S. has been protesting the randomness of the supplies that Israel lets into Gaza or not.* Though who the "officials" mentioned in the report below are, I do not know.

The United States is protesting to Israel over seemingly random restrictions on deliveries to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip of harmless goods such as soap and toilet paper, diplomats said Wednesday.

Diplomats fear day-to-day crisis management on Gaza was diverting the United States and other Western governments from bigger issues like the goal of restarting peace negotiations for a Palestinian state.

In one case, Israel blocked for weeks a World Food Program (WFP) shipment of chickpeas, used to make the Palestinian food staple hummus, the U.N. food agency said.

"We're certainly asking the Israelis questions about this," a U.S. official said of the restrictions on what is allowed into Gaza.

A Western official said: "The Americans and international NGOs (non-governmental organizations) are raising their concerns... We're protesting."

I think the second paragraph of the above is the most important, especially considering Hamas has ordered those who are firing rockets to stop while negotiations are currently going on in Egypt, and it is especially indicative of why it is not necessarily a wonderful policy to have an unquestioning, "special" relationship with Israel. Our own prime minister has said in the past that support for Israel is "in his DNA". Of course it is possible to support Israel and to condemn the occupation (though you wouldn't think so), but considering Rudd did nothing to condemn the recent onslaught on Gaza (it was Hamas' fault entirely), and has celebrated Israel in ways that no government before him has, and his government is now considering not attending the Durban II conference against racism*, along with the U.S., Canada and Israel, it seems that he has little problem with the occupation and the human rights abuses that occur within, or even the racism that also occurs within Israel "proper" (it doesn't define its borders). It's obvious that pettiness, inconsistency, cruelty, sycophancy and the means to annihilate a people must be a genetic thing.

*Reference to the opening article first found here.

*The United States and Israel walked out of the first UN conference on racism in Durban, South Africa, in 2001, to protest against an attempted resolution comparing Zionism to racism. Considering that it is a sect which justifies the keeping of a people in an open air prison, the taking of their land, stripping them of their rights and their lives, could it be that maybe the call was justified?

A letter to Prime Minister Rudd from Amnesty International

For Australian readers, a letter you can send via Amnesty International to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, calling for an investigation into the war crimes recently committed in Gaza. Please read, and send it, if you agree with it.

From their blurb:

Over the last four weeks the world has looked on in horror as women, men and children have borne the brunt of the conflict in the Gaza Strip and Southern Israel. It is not just the number of casualties that has sent shockwaves, but the high proportion - around half - who are civilians.

Their deaths and injuries are not the inevitable consequences of war, and cannot be discounted as “collateral damage”. These casualties represent mounting evidence of war crimes, committed on both sides of the conflict.

More than 1,300 Palestinians - including over 400 children - and 13 Israelis have been killed in the conflict to date, with thousands more injured.

Our team of researchers have found undeniable evidence of war crimes by both sides in the conflict. And after two weeks on a fact-finding mission in Gaza, our researcher Donatella Rovera and her team are still shocked and horrified by the scale of the destruction caused by the 22-day offensive launched on December 27 by the Israeli army.

And from the blog of one of their workers in Gaza, February 4:

4 February 2009: As we leave after more than two weeks in Gaza, we are still shocked and horrified by the scale of the destruction caused by the 22-day offensive the Israeli army launched on 27 December. The task of reconstruction will be truly immense.

The main priority in our fact-finding research has been to investigate the Israeli forces’ direct and indiscriminate attacks on civilians and their homes, but, before concluding our visit, we also spent some time focusing on the wholesale destruction of factories, workshops and farms, for which it is difficult or impossible to see any possible justification. What we found was even worse than we had first realized.

In the industrial areas to the north-east and south-east of Gaza City there is total devastation; each factory has been methodically destroyed. At the cement factory near the Zaitoun district of Gaza City, we found the same. Every single vehicle – trucks, cement mixers, even the car of the factory’s elderly watchman – had been overturned, dragged through the yard and partially crushed. Whether by design or due to some bitter irony, only a previously broken down vehicle was left untouched and in its place.

To the east of Jabalia, in the ‘Izbet ‘Abderrabbo/Al-Qarm industrial area, we saw just piles of debris between the Haddad tile factory at one end and the Abu ‘Ida cement factory at the other. Pieces of machinery, merchandise, metal sheets from the roof and bricks from the surrounding walls had all been smashed and mangled together by the Israeli army’s destructive machines – particularly their infamous D9 armoured bulldozers.

In the same area, dead cows and sheep still litter the grounds of what used to be a dairy farm, posing a health risk to the thousands of now homeless residents who have set up camp nearby by the ruins of their destroyed homes.

Children are especially at risk. The mountains of rubble left from destroyed houses and factories are now virtually their only playground. Gaza’s schools, which had to be turned into shelters during the three-week conflict for the tens of thousands forced to flee their homes, are now functioning again, but, once the school shift, is over, children have to return to the reality of their devastated homes and neighbourhoods. Read more

They need 10,000 letters to make sure the message carries impact. When I sent my letter, they were at 4871.

Australians do care about this, even though it is hardly being reported in local presses, as shown by these actions by the Moreland Council in Melbourne, Australia.
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From another day from the amnesty worker's blog: faulty intelligence, wanton recklessness, or a combination of the two?, about the damage that drones can and do.

Is a child going to be better off?

The sound is very low. There is a tapescript provided in a link below. The above is part one. Part two can be found on Youtube.

The fact that Obama's first television interview since becoming President was with Al Aribiya is a strong indication of a shift in the U.S.'s foreign affairs approach to the Mid-East. Though, as the summary of the interview states:

...his continuing silence on the enormous amount of civilian casualties during the Israeli offensive and accusations by the U.N. and humanitarian organizations that Israel committed war crimes ... spoke volumes to an audience that has waited for America to take a more balanced approach to the conflict.

However, he is asked many questions about Israel and Palestine and his answers are not glib.

And, look, I think anybody who has studied the region recognizes that the situation for the ordinary Palestinian in many cases has not improved. And the bottom line in all these talks and all these conversations is, is a child in the Palestinian Territories going to be better off? Do they have a future for themselves? And is the child in Israel going to feel confident about his or her safety and security? And if we can keep our focus on making their lives better and look forward, and not simply think about all the conflicts and tragedies of the past, then I think that we have an opportunity to make real progress.

One might say he is discounting the conflicts and tragedies of the past, in the above statement, but he is also acknowledging that they exist and have existed. So, even though it might read as trying to approach the situation by stripping it of all history, the opposite might be true. He is right, within the interview, to talk about acting quickly, but words take time to transform into actions, and in the meantime, will the settlements expand, and will there be more incursions, and will the sanctions still exist? Keep in mind the following:

...The period between November 4 and December 19 ...was characterized by growing escalation by both sides, including an unprecedented tightening of the blockade by Israel and Egypt. Poverty levels climbed further into the stratosphere, malnutrition skyrocketed and essential supplies of every sort ran out. Even before the latest emergency spurred UN agencies and the Red Cross to warn of imminent collapse, former UN human rights commissioner Mary Robinson had on a November 4 visit denounced international indifference to the “shocking violation of so many human rights” of Gaza’s population as “almost unbelievable.” “Their whole civilization has been destroyed,” she concluded. “I’m not exaggerating.” (Birth Pangs of a New Palestine, Mouin Rabbani, January 7, 2009).

And now?

It seems that lifting the sanctions is one thing that, in theory, could happen very quickly. It seems that the Israelis are not going to elect a progressive government in the upcoming elections, even if this U.S. government seems to be more liberal than those in the past. And though things need to be done quickly, everything of course, takes time, and is eight years enough to even get the ball rolling?

In addition, everyone needs to come, and to be invited to the negotiation table. That means the recalcitrant Israelis, too, as detailed in *just a few* articles below.

An unnecessary war

"Problem is refusal of US, Israel to meet Hamas"

Birth pangs of a new Palestine

History did not begin with the Qassams

On the wrong side

Obama's Gaza Opportunity

Five questions for George Mitchell

It makes one wonder if Kevin Rudd might be thinking that he was a little too hasty to not even murmur slight concern over the way Israel conducted itself with the war on Gaza. Was there any government in the world that agreed with Bush and Israel so completely? And was there any press in the world more insipid? Maybe this article from early in 2008 goes some way to explaining why. Or maybe he is banking on a 4 year only Obama term, while his own could, in theory, continue in perpetuity.

reflection

From YNetnews.com (one of Israel's news sources)(What happened to us? Gadi Baltiansky, 21 January, 2009).

IDF officers and soldiers should not be going to jail, and I don’t know whether any of them even needs to be indicted. Yet we all need to face a public debate. There is a direct and problematic line that connects the “death to the Arabs” chants at soccer stadiums, the disqualification of Arab parties from the upcoming Knesset elections, and the indifference of an Israeli woman who interrupted and slammed a Palestinian doctor who lost three of his daughters.

By the way, I'm not believing Livni's words in the article, and maybe (absolutely) it is those further up the chain who should be indicted for war crimes. But the above does seem to be indicative of the governing, and possibly underlying, society there at the moment. The disqualification of Arab parties from the elections in Israel, is the truth, and these were the words that passed between a right winged party and an minority Arab party when this disqualification was appealed before the supreme court.

From YNetnews.com,(Lieberman to Arab MK: We'll deal with you like we dealt with Hamas, 20 January, 2009).

MK El-Sana tells Yisrael Beiteinu chairman, 'You're a new immigrant and inciter.' Lieberman replies, 'You're a terrorist representing terrorists'

MK Talab El-Sana (United Arab List-Ta'al) called out towards Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman, "Get the hell out of here." Lieberman replied, "You're a terrorist representing terrorists. We'll deal with you like with any other terrorist, like we dealt with Hamas."

Yisrael Beiteinu is a hardline right wing party.

At the hearing Lieberman later had these words for MK Ahmad Tibi : "Here's another clown, another terrorist."

(From Ha'aretz): Tibi retorted by calling Lieberman a fascist. "[Israeli Arabs] are salt of the earth. We did not immigrate here like you,"

Tibi continued. "In America they are swearing-in a black president, and in Israel a minority is being deprived of its right to political representation," he added.

(Lieberman to Tibi: We must treat some Arab MKs like we treated Hamas, Ha'aretz, 23 January, 2009).

If you read the two platforms of the parties they are pretty divergent, and I would not call the United Arab List-Ta'al platform radical, particularly the last three points, but that is my point of view.

Again, I know Australia has a less than stellar history when it comes to human rights, especially of its indigenous population, and under John Howard, and possibly continuing with Rudd, many rights have been whittled away, and the detention of asylum seekers, though easing now, is shameful. Israel, however, from a mainstream Australian political and media point of view can seem to do no wrong, despite flagrant disregard and causing of human suffering. Australia is, so far, right in step with official American attitudes, however, out of step, it would seem, with many of our European counterparts who express, at least, some unease, and definitely out of step with the general public of many, many countries.

We are not big world players, politically, but we are not mice, therefore, could we not afford to be just a little more independent, and open our media up to actually reporting and analysing what is going on? Australia does have an international profile. Could we be seen as maybe easing some of the world's tension rather than adding to it? Or be seen as being even handed, as former prime minister, Malcolm Fraser has urged us to be? Maybe trust that Australian people could make an informed opinion if they had a few more of the facts, stories, opinions and particularly history of the area. Of course, most of this is probably on the back page of the newspaper again, but the people of Gaza remain behind borders, sanctions imposed, cities ruined, bodies broken. Differing and diverging facts and analysis, to a degree, seem to be encouraged in the Israeli press, despite overall policy and outcomes. Australia is hegemonic and generic in comparison and it is people in places like Gaza and the West Bank, and yes, Israel itself, who pay the price.

a prime minister finds his voice (shame it's not the current one)

A former Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Fraser, speaks. He has become a good man since he left politics. Funny that the once-bastion of extreme conservatism (though not all of his policies were) speaks the truth, whereas Rudd, as ever, keeps his silence. Not even a token condemnation from him of the carnage that has been inflicted on the Palestinians. I wonder if this letter will have any appeal. Somehow, I doubt it.

They've been pulling bodies out of the rubble in Gaza. Posted my morning, this was the Death toll: 1310, wounded: 5600 (that's Palestinians, remember), the vast majority of whom were civilians. Some firing/fighting continues, though it is quieter. I'll post a figure tomorrow, if it has changed.

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The following is geared towards US or European readers, even though the first organisation (United Nations) is international. It was sent to me by a friend in Oman. I'll see if I can track something down for Australia. These organisations always helped, and will be called on to help more, the Palestinians. From an email I received:

The war on Gaza has been devastating on lives and properties; almost all sectors of Gaza's civil infrastructure have been destroyed. Since many of us feel helpless these days, it might make you feel better to donate whatever you can to any of the following reputable charitable organizations:

United Nations Relief and Works Agency: UNRWA is the primary institution which has been helping Palestinian refugees for the past 60 years, it provides educational, healthcare, and food distributions in all refugee camps in the Middle East. Although the organization is affiliated with the United Nations, it's mostly being funded from non UN sources. These are the details for Americans or Europeans wishing to make a donation.

Palestine Children's Relief Fund: PCRF is one of the most active organizations on the ground who specializes in helping injured Palestinian and Iraqi children; their work has directly affected thousands of lives in occupied Gaza Strip, occupied W. Bank, Iraq, and Lebanon, click here to see news coverage for PCRF's activities. (*This is an American organisation for my Aussie readers).

American Near East Refugee Aid: ANERA is a leading provider of development, health, education and employment programs to Palestinian communities and impoverished families throughout the Middle East.

It should be NOTED that all of these charitable organizations

-are not affiliated whatsoever with any political group,
-have been faithfully serving the Palestinian people (especially the refugees) for generations, and

-your donation will be tax deductible and completely legal, especially here in the United States.

My blog is not from the US, of course, but the email was generated from there.

Here is a report of the money UNRWA will need to raise, and how it will be used.
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On another tack (well, the same one as for the last three weeks, really), this story from Ha'aretz is interesting (not only because it mentions the weapons talked about in this post, but for the following information). Again, a big shout out to this blog for first highlighting the article:

Fosse [a Norweigan doctor] and a Norwegian colleague, Mads Gilbert, arrived in Gaza on December 31 and remained until January 10. They were financed by the Norwegian government. On his return, Fosse submitted a report to his government in which he accused the IDF of deliberately targeting civilians.

Fosse said he believes Israel deliberately chose to attack while Westerners working for international organizations were back home for the Christmas vacation. "The Palestinian witnesses, as medical workers, are very accurate in their reports, but if we hadn't been there to confirm their testimony, it would all have been presented as Hamas propaganda," he said.

Norway sent doctors; the Australian government and media sent their apathy and silence.

"What we are up against is not just bias, but a kind of culpable ignorance".

1100 dead, 5100 wounded, Amnesty International

Day 20 of Israeli War On Gaza Informative Report on Gaza War:

Death toll 1100, wounded 5100

Amnesty international is trying to send 10,000 emails to Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, in protest. Very few politicians in Australia have spoken out against this massacre.

You can follow this address: http://www.amnesty.org.au/centre/action/20079/
to the page.
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“I’m just a working man, not Fatah, not Hamas. Just a man. Why did they bomb my house?” he’d asked. “There were 4 families in here, at least 25 children,” he’d added. From a blog of a foreign aid volunteer and journalist in the area.