Another hectic day. Some news, views, thoughts, ideas and outrage follows (though Australian Jew and sometime Independent Australian Jewish Voices writer Michael Brull has a good round-up).
We’re starting to hear the voices of activists who have been (finally) released by Israel. It ain’t pretty. Here’s some testimonies that detail the brutality of the Jewish commandoes; wild shooting and gas bombs was just the beginning (and kudos to Al-Jazeera who once again left the Western media for dead.)
The Israeli press is today reporting that Turkey was so incensed that they sent military planes to Israel to pick up their injured and activists. Tragically, amidst all this, an American peace activist lost her eye in Israel protesting the flotilla massacre.
Here’s what’s happening inside Gaza itself.
One of the released activists has told CNN what really happened on those boats:
In response to the outrage, BDS activists have chosen 5 June as a global day of action and organisers have urged transport and dock workers and unions around the globe to not unload Israeli planes and ships.
The major Western power to not come out strongly against Israeli behaviour is the US and why is that? Mid-term elections. Political bravery isn’t a normal state of affairs in America when Israel is concerned.
Patrick Cockburn in The Independent writes that the Zionist state has a serious identity crisis:
The problem is that nobody believes Israeli propaganda as much as Israelis. Pro-Palestinian activists often lament the fluency and mendacity of Israeli spokesmen on the airwaves and the pervasive influence of Israel’s supporters abroad. But, in reality, these PR campaigns are Israel’s greatest weakness, because they distort Israelis’ sense of reality. Defeats and failures are portrayed as victories and successes.
This cartoon in the Washington Post is clever.
But why not end with a classic column by Jerusalem Post writer Caroline Glick. When will these Zionists realise that such propaganda is actually turning the world against Israel:
Israel is the frontline of the free world. Its ability to defend itself and deter its foes is the single most important guarantee of international peace and security in the world. A strong Israel is also the most potent and reliable guarantor of the US’s continued ability to project its power in the Middle East.
This is the unvarnished truth. It is also the beginning of a successful Israel campaign to defang and neutralize the massive coalition of nuclear proliferation — and terrorism — abettors aligned against it. But until our leaders finally recognize the nature of the war being waged against our country, these basic facts will remain ignored as Israel moves from one stunning defeat to the next.
Good luck to the next boats trying to break the illegal siege on Gaza.