JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People

07/07/09 03:39 PM

I’m surprised this article doesn’t mention that the last time Ms. McKinney and associates tried to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, Israeli boats rammed her vessel and very nearly sank it. (Hardly a sign of Israel’s good faith about getting food and medicine to suffering Gazans.) The article also fails to mention the continuing objections of the local UN Rapporteur to Israel’s blockade, or the fact that even the US has criticized Israel’s interference with humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Finally, since the article repeatedly mocks and mangles Ms. McKinney’s comments, I think one is worth quoting in full:

“Zionism has surely run out of its last legitimacy if this is what it does to people who believe so deeply in human rights for all that they put their own lives on the line for someone else’s children. Israel is the fullest expression of Zionism, but if Israel fears for its security because Gaza’s children have crayons then not only has Israel lost its last shred of legitimacy, but Israel must be declared a failed state.”

This—apart from the slaughter of civilians, the use by Israel of Palestinians, including children, as human shields (Amnesty International), the indiscriminate bombing, the destruction of schools and medical facilities, the deliberate deprivation of food, the refusal to allow the rebuilding of homes—is what Israel’s defenders must respond to if they want to support its record in Gaza.

Can they?

Michael Lesher

07/08/09 01:13 PM

In the worldwide onslaught of anti-Israel falsification, any charge can be made, without a shred of evidence presented - just a list - and then it is up to those who are not trying to destroy Israel to research the unsupported accusation and disprove it. 

Note only does Michael Lesher fabricate, he reverses the truth. For example:

* Contrary to trying to destroy Arab medical facilities, Israel has never stopped providing medical care to Gaza Arabs, even though they have been known to try to blow themselves up in Israeli hospitals. 

* It is Hamas and other terrorists, not Israel, who have for a decade been using children as human shields, and then employing people like Lesher (and alas much of the media) to spread anti-Israel propaganda when those children are injured. Likewise, they fire from civilian areas, forcing Israel to treat such areas as terrorist sanctuaries, or be accused of attacking civilians.

* Unlike any country in the history of the world, Israel has continued to allow food and fuel to pass from Israel proper to Gaza, even as the ‘governing’ forces in Gaza rained THOUSANDS of missiles on Israel, declaring in word, print and film that they want to kill the entire Jewish population.

* If Israel wanted to crush Hamas *without concern* for suffering of civilians, it would have carpet bombed this tiny area into oblivion, instead of putting its troops in harm’s way by conducting a police operation earlier this year. (The same as in Jenin, where a terrorist leader told the Egyptian media that the terrorists based their military plans on the conviction that Israel would never rely mainly on their airforce, but would adopt the relatively humane approach of sending in troops.)

Why Mr. Lesher hates Israel, only he knows, but his arguments are not only hateful, they are lies.

As for McKinney, anyone who takes her seriously should check out YouTube for her ludicrous statements, after she assaulted a white house guard who asked her for ID.  She owes her prominence to being sponsored by the anti-Israel lobby, and her naval so-called humanitarian deliveries are transparently stunts—by sailing into restricted waters, they put Israel in the position of seeming to forbid humanitarian supplies (which is a lie - such supplies are routinely delivered by land) or letting these phonies violate the restrictions.  In fact, Israel did allow it - to its disgrace - a number of times, before finally stopping a boat, whereupon these political exhibitionists claimed the Israeli navy deliberately rammed their vessel.  As the naval spokesman said, if they had the boat would have been sunk.
You can read the navy’s statement here http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/129112

07/12/09 03:11 PM

Jared Israel, it is you, not Michael Lesher who is posting misinformation here.  The ongoing propaganda and lies about Israel’s behavior and the belief in the myths of the righteousness of the state of Israel and the false charges of anti-Semitism such as implied by you towards Mr. Lesher are what allows Israel to continue to kill Palestinians and steal their land with impunity.  The facts ar, Israel is strangling Gaza and the West Bank:: http://www.alzaytouna.net/arabic/data/attachments/2008/OCHA-GS-Situation-18 24-1-08.pdf

Israeli troops routinely kill innocent Palestinians:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSECq3kxT4I

And Israel has been stealing land and resources for decades:

http://lawrenceofcyberia.blogs.com/photos/maps/landloss.html

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11680