What they’re watching in Turkey http://blogs.jta.org/ENTRY_PERMALINK_HERE/what-theyre-watching-in-turkey/ With rife speculation that Turkey-Israel ties are on the rocks, a new drama on Turkish national TV depicts Israeli troops killing Palestinians indicriminately certainly won’t help matters. en-us gilshefler@gmail.com Copyright 2009 2009-10-15T;01:28:00-05:00 Comment by Michael Levin MichaelLevin11@mac.com Israeli High Court of Justice against Bassam Aramin [IOA Editor: Nurit Peled-Elhanan is an Israeli peace activist, professor at Hebrew University, and is among the founders of the Bereaved Families for Peace. After the death of Elhanan’s 13 year-old daughter in a 1997 suicide bombing attack, she became an outspoken critic of the Israeli Occupation. Read more about her:  Wikipedia] The court does not sympathize By Nurit Peled Elhanan – 14 Oct 2009 On Wednesday we – members of the Combatants for Peace movement, women of Mahsom [Heb. checkpoint] Watch, members of the Forum of Bereaved Families for Peace and writer David Grossman – attended a hearing at the High Court of Justice on the matter of the closing, due to lack of evidence, of the investigatory file on the killing of ten-year-old Abir Aramin about three years ago. The hearing, which had been scheduled for eleven o’clock and then for nine o’clock and then for ten o’clock and then for one o’clock, began at two. Journalists ran to and fro in the corridor (Who died? A little girl? Really? Excuse me, sir, did your daughter die? Yes. Then you are Bassam Aramin? No, I am Rami Elhanan. Oh, sorry. So where’s that Aramin? And who are you? We are from Mahsom Watch. From what checkpoint? What are you doing here? And who are you? I am a friend. Of those Palestinians? Yes. How come? How can it be? Can I interview you? Did you too have a daughter who died? Really? When? How? What was her name? And after all that you are on their side?) But at the end of the day no Israeli reported on what happened. Salwa and Bassam Aramin are not Jews and they are not Israelis. They live under a cruel occupation and they have experienced all it has to offer: exile, imprisonment and the killing of their small daughter Abir by a rubber bullet that was allegedly fired from the rifle of a Border Guard soldier who was sitting in an armoured jeep and thrust the barrel of his rifle through the opening that was allegedly designed for that purpose and allegedly aimed and fired at the head of the girl who was standing beside her sister at a kiosk, allegedly buying candy during the break between the first class and the second. The projectile was removed from under the girl’s body and transferred to the authorities. The eyewitnesses, as well as the Border Guard soldiers, testified that there was no alleged danger to their lives and that the shooting was done – if it was done – in contravention of instructions. Two pathologists testified that it was probable that the fracture in Abir’s little skull could allegedly have been caused by a rubber bullet. The attending physician at the Hadassah hospital said that it was not a live bullet. The video of the reconstruction of the incident was not given to the defence counsel or to the court, because the soldiers who allegedly carried out the shooting, that is, who thrust the barrel of the rifle through the opening that had been made especially for that purpose, aimed and fired at the head of the girl Abir, were featured in the recording. Counsel for the State, stammering, unprepared and unkempt, stood like a platoon commander in charge of new recruits with her back to the public and refuted the allegations: So they found a projectile. So what? Who knows how long it had been lying there? So people gave testimony, so what? They (those Arabs) can say anything, does that make it testimony? So nobody was throwing stones at that spot, so what? On a nearby street stones were thrown. If you were in my place, she laughingly says to Michael Sfard, Aramin’s attorney, you would have made morsels of them by now. Morsels. Judge Beinish reminds Sfard – twice – that there have been such incidents in the past and that soldiers have rarely been put on trial or even indicted, so it would be best to just forget it. The State Counsel, with a laugh: I had the pleasure of attending such trials. Morsels. Pleasure. But Salwa and Bassam Aramin have no choice but to seek justice in an Israeli court. They demand that the truth come to light in a court of the occupiers – of the killers. “So that I can rest and so that Abir can rest,” Salwa says to the journalists. The perfect crime, Jean-François Lyotard once wrote, is not only the killing but also the suppression of the testimony and the silencing of the voices of the victims. And the greatest injustice is to compel the victims to seek justice in the court of their tormentors. As Judge Beinish implied in her comments to Sfard, the blood of Palestinians is cheap in this country. No one has ever been punished for killing Palestinians – children, adults, newborns, old people. The Jewish murderers are all walking among us, free and happy. Those who have murdered our Israeli children, the Palestinian suicide bombers, have at least said “let me die with the Philistines”* and spared us any questions about their presence in the world. The murderer of Abir Aramin no doubt spent that very evening in a bar (Shit! What a nasty day! A little girl walked right into my crosshairs!), and will continue to spend many more evenings in many more bars, while Abir’s parents seek justice from the occupier, from the oppressor. My 17-year-old son Yigal sat in the courtroom all day with a shocked expression on his face. That night he took off for Auschwitz with his classmates. For his sake I hoped, I prayed, I implored, I nearly shouted for the drowsy judges – Beinish, Arbel, Frocaccia – to find a spark of humanity, of motherly feelings, within themselves and to look into the eyes of Salwa, who never stopped crying, and at Bassam’s ashen face, and to say: the High Court of Justice sympathizes with you over the death of little Abir. They didn’t. * Judges 16:30 Translated from Hebrew by George Malent http://www.israeli-occupation.org/2009-10-18/israeli-high-court-of-justice-against-bassam-aramin/ Israeli High Court of Justice against Bassam Aramin

[IOA Editor: Nurit Peled-Elhanan is an Israeli peace activist, professor at Hebrew University, and is among the founders of the Bereaved Families for Peace. After the death of Elhanan’s 13 year-old daughter in a 1997 suicide bombing attack, she became an outspoken critic of the Israeli Occupation. Read more about her:  Wikipedia]

The court does not sympathize

By Nurit Peled Elhanan – 14 Oct 2009

On Wednesday we – members of the Combatants for Peace movement, women of Mahsom [Heb. checkpoint] Watch, members of the Forum of Bereaved Families for Peace and writer David Grossman – attended a hearing at the High Court of Justice on the matter of the closing, due to lack of evidence, of the investigatory file on the killing of ten-year-old Abir Aramin about three years ago.

The hearing, which had been scheduled for eleven o’clock and then for nine o’clock and then for ten o’clock and then for one o’clock, began at two. Journalists ran to and fro in the corridor (Who died? A little girl? Really? Excuse me, sir, did your daughter die? Yes. Then you are Bassam Aramin? No, I am Rami Elhanan. Oh, sorry. So where’s that Aramin? And who are you? We are from Mahsom Watch. From what checkpoint? What are you doing here? And who are you? I am a friend. Of those Palestinians? Yes. How come? How can it be? Can I interview you? Did you too have a daughter who died? Really? When? How? What was her name? And after all that you are on their side?) But at the end of the day no Israeli reported on what happened.

Salwa and Bassam Aramin are not Jews and they are not Israelis. They live under a cruel occupation and they have experienced all it has to offer: exile, imprisonment and the killing of their small daughter Abir by a rubber bullet that was allegedly fired from the rifle of a Border Guard soldier who was sitting in an armoured jeep and thrust the barrel of his rifle through the opening that was allegedly designed for that purpose and allegedly aimed and fired at the head of the girl who was standing beside her sister at a kiosk, allegedly buying candy during the break between the first class and the second. The projectile was removed from under the girl’s body and transferred to the authorities. The eyewitnesses, as well as the Border Guard soldiers, testified that there was no alleged danger to their lives and that the shooting was done – if it was done – in contravention of instructions. Two pathologists testified that it was probable that the fracture in Abir’s little skull could allegedly have been caused by a rubber bullet. The attending physician at the Hadassah hospital said that it was not a live bullet. The video of the reconstruction of the incident was not given to the defence counsel or to the court, because the soldiers who allegedly carried out the shooting, that is, who thrust the barrel of the rifle through the opening that had been made especially for that purpose, aimed and fired at the head of the girl Abir, were featured in the recording.

Counsel for the State, stammering, unprepared and unkempt, stood like a platoon commander in charge of new recruits with her back to the public and refuted the allegations: So they found a projectile. So what? Who knows how long it had been lying there? So people gave testimony, so what? They (those Arabs) can say anything, does that make it testimony? So nobody was throwing stones at that spot, so what? On a nearby street stones were thrown. If you were in my place, she laughingly says to Michael Sfard, Aramin’s attorney, you would have made morsels of them by now.

Morsels.

Judge Beinish reminds Sfard – twice – that there have been such incidents in the past and that soldiers have rarely been put on trial or even indicted, so it would be best to just forget it. The State Counsel, with a laugh: I had the pleasure of attending such trials.

Morsels. Pleasure.

But Salwa and Bassam Aramin have no choice but to seek justice in an Israeli court. They demand that the truth come to light in a court of the occupiers – of the killers. “So that I can rest and so that Abir can rest,” Salwa says to the journalists. The perfect crime, Jean-François Lyotard once wrote, is not only the killing but also the suppression of the testimony and the silencing of the voices of the victims. And the greatest injustice is to compel the victims to seek justice in the court of their tormentors.

As Judge Beinish implied in her comments to Sfard, the blood of Palestinians is cheap in this country. No one has ever been punished for killing Palestinians – children, adults, newborns, old people. The Jewish murderers are all walking among us, free and happy.

Those who have murdered our Israeli children, the Palestinian suicide bombers, have at least said “let me die with the Philistines”* and spared us any questions about their presence in the world. The murderer of Abir Aramin no doubt spent that very evening in a bar (Shit! What a nasty day! A little girl walked right into my crosshairs!), and will continue to spend many more evenings in many more bars, while Abir’s parents seek justice from the occupier, from the oppressor.

My 17-year-old son Yigal sat in the courtroom all day with a shocked expression on his face. That night he took off for Auschwitz with his classmates.

For his sake I hoped, I prayed, I implored, I nearly shouted for the drowsy judges – Beinish, Arbel, Frocaccia – to find a spark of humanity, of motherly feelings, within themselves and to look into the eyes of Salwa, who never stopped crying, and at Bassam’s ashen face, and to say: the High Court of Justice sympathizes with you over the death of little Abir.

They didn’t.

* Judges 16:30

Translated from Hebrew by George Malent
http://www.israeli-occupation.org/2009-10-18/israeli-high-court-of-justice-against-bassam-aramin/

]]> 2012-05-24T;14:04:00-05:00 Comment by blackie sschwartz@inbox.com GK, In the long run, many might appreciate the other. Think of comedians (living or dead) who work(ed) “dirty”. Are you going to tell me that you didn’t appreciate any of them? Of course you did, or you’re so thin-skinned that you’re offended by comedic profanity used to get laughs as opposed to used simply for obscenity. At the risk of beating a dead horse, labelling an anti-Semite with an insulting name shows the courage to stand up to the putrid enemy (putrid here is thoroughly appropriate since nothing is too insulting when used against someone who hates Jews merely because they’re Jews). It’s about time that the Jewish People stood up and spit back in the faces of those who spit in our faces every day. Only courage, strength and confrontation will give credence to the words, “Never Again!” GK,
In the long run, many might appreciate the other.
Think of comedians (living or dead) who work(ed) “dirty”. Are you going to tell me that you didn’t appreciate any of them? Of course you did, or you’re so thin-skinned that you’re offended by comedic profanity used to get laughs as opposed to used simply for obscenity.
At the risk of beating a dead horse, labelling an anti-Semite with an insulting name shows the courage to stand up to the putrid enemy (putrid here is thoroughly appropriate since nothing is too insulting when used against someone who hates Jews merely because they’re Jews). It’s about time that the Jewish People stood up and spit back in the faces of those who spit in our faces every day. Only courage, strength and confrontation will give credence to the words, “Never Again!”

]]> 2012-05-24T;14:04:00-05:00 Comment by Gary Katz garybkatz@comcast.net Blackie, It’s because our arguments don’t gain power through name-calling; they lose power.  It’s somewhat analogous to a stand-up comedian who gets laughs with swearing and vulgarity, versus a comedian who gets laughs without any of that.  The latter might be more challenging, but, in the long run, you might appreciate the clean comedian’s creativity more. Blackie,
It’s because our arguments don’t gain power through name-calling; they lose power.  It’s somewhat analogous to a stand-up comedian who gets laughs with swearing and vulgarity, versus a comedian who gets laughs without any of that.  The latter might be more challenging, but, in the long run, you might appreciate the clean comedian’s creativity more.

]]> 2012-05-24T;14:04:00-05:00 Comment by blackie sschwartz@inbox.com GK, Why are you so sensitive about name-calling? If the name being called is 100% accurate, then it’s simply a factual observation. The rest of your comments here are spot on, as is usually the case. Please don’t get caught up in the “sticks and stones” issue. The swine who post on this site don’t deserve any better! GK,
Why are you so sensitive about name-calling? If the name being called is 100% accurate, then it’s simply a factual observation. The rest of your comments here are spot on, as is usually the case. Please don’t get caught up in the “sticks and stones” issue. The swine who post on this site don’t deserve any better!

]]> 2012-05-24T;14:04:00-05:00 Comment by Gary Katz garybkatz@comcast.net Name-calling aside, when I watched the 10 minute film clip, I noticed: 1. The Palestinians are shooting at the soldiers while other Palestinians are darting in front of them.  So the soldiers can only fire back through the stone throwers in order to hit the gunmen. This is an unintended or subconscious indictment of Hamas, which hides behind civilians.  Undoubtedly, any Palestinian who gets hit from behind by his own people will be listed as a casualty of Israeli brutality. 2. After the boy is shot and the battle moves on, the boy’s mother comes outside to cry over his body and curse the soldiers.  This of course raises questions such as, why didn’t she keep her young boy inside the house while there is a gun battle on her block?  Why did she not try to drag him inside even during the battle?  When you teach your kids to hate and teach them martyrdom, you should not be surprised when one of them gets killed.  Let’s also remember that these parents voted a terrorist organization into power in Gaza.  Real productive. 3. The film clip shows the mother crying over her son.  I’m waiting for the reaction shot of the mother of the soldier who got shot during the same battle. Name-calling aside, when I watched the 10 minute film clip, I noticed:
1. The Palestinians are shooting at the soldiers while other Palestinians are darting in front of them.  So the soldiers can only fire back through the stone throwers in order to hit the gunmen. This is an unintended or subconscious indictment of Hamas, which hides behind civilians.  Undoubtedly, any Palestinian who gets hit from behind by his own people will be listed as a casualty of Israeli brutality.
2. After the boy is shot and the battle moves on, the boy’s mother comes outside to cry over his body and curse the soldiers.  This of course raises questions such as, why didn’t she keep her young boy inside the house while there is a gun battle on her block?  Why did she not try to drag him inside even during the battle?  When you teach your kids to hate and teach them martyrdom, you should not be surprised when one of them gets killed.  Let’s also remember that these parents voted a terrorist organization into power in Gaza.  Real productive.
3. The film clip shows the mother crying over her son.  I’m waiting for the reaction shot of the mother of the soldier who got shot during the same battle.

]]> 2012-05-24T;14:04:00-05:00 Comment by blackie sschwartz@inbox.com JD, Just another Pali puke trolling the Web in search of Jewish sites to contaminate. JD,
Just another Pali puke trolling the Web in search of Jewish sites to contaminate.

]]> 2012-05-24T;14:04:00-05:00 Comment by blackie sschwartz@inbox.com RE: “Michael Levin”, Jew imposter, Pali “copy and paste” compensated marionette (today it’s the lying Jew-hater Stephen Walt and the traitorous, cowardly JINO vermin, B’Tselem). It must be a plague for you to live with the Palis and their camels and the vomitous stench (coming from the Palis, of course)! RE: “Michael Levin”, Jew imposter, Pali “copy and paste” compensated marionette (today it’s the lying Jew-hater Stephen Walt and the traitorous, cowardly JINO vermin, B’Tselem). It must be a plague for you to live with the Palis and their camels and the vomitous stench (coming from the Palis, of course)!

]]> 2012-05-24T;14:04:00-05:00 Comment by Michael Levin MichaelLevin11@mac.com Excerpt from essay by Stephen Walt in Foreign Policy, Oct 14th, 2009 “The Price of Occupation If you ever questioned whether Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza was bad for the United States and for Israel too, you ought to ponder Turkey’s decision to suspend a multinational air-force exercise last weekend. Why? Because it’s a prime example of how pursuing the goal of “greater Israel”—which means retaining control of the West Bank and Gaza and preventing a true two-state solution—is undermining U.S. and Israeli interests. [ . . . . ] Israel’s defenders often claim that it is a major strategic asset for the United States, but Israel’s pariah status within the region reduces its strategic value significantly. It explains why Israel could not participate in the 1991 or 2003 wars with Iraq, and why it is difficult for Arab governments who share Israel’s concerns about Iran to openly collaborate with Israel or United States to address that issue. And make no mistake: The occupation is now the main barrier to Israel’s full acceptance within the region, as the 2007 Arab League peace plan makes clear. If the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were resolved and Israel had normal relations with the Arab world, then the United States would not pay a diplomatic price for backing Israel so strongly and Israel could join forces with us (and with other regional powers) when common challenges arose. Ending the occupation would also safeguard Israel’s relations with countries like Turkey, instead of undermining them. In addition to its obvious human costs, in short, the occupation is a strategic liability for Israel and the United States.” http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/10/14/the_price_of_occupation Excerpt from essay by Stephen Walt in Foreign Policy, Oct 14th, 2009

“The Price of Occupation

If you ever questioned whether Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza was bad for the United States and for Israel too, you ought to ponder Turkey’s decision to suspend a multinational air-force exercise last weekend. Why? Because it’s a prime example of how pursuing the goal of “greater Israel”—which means retaining control of the West Bank and Gaza and preventing a true two-state solution—is undermining U.S. and Israeli interests. [ . . . . ] Israel’s defenders often claim that it is a major strategic asset for the United States, but Israel’s pariah status within the region reduces its strategic value significantly. It explains why Israel could not participate in the 1991 or 2003 wars with Iraq, and why it is difficult for Arab governments who share Israel’s concerns about Iran to openly collaborate with Israel or United States to address that issue. And make no mistake: The occupation is now the main barrier to Israel’s full acceptance within the region, as the 2007 Arab League peace plan makes clear. If the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were resolved and Israel had normal relations with the Arab world, then the United States would not pay a diplomatic price for backing Israel so strongly and Israel could join forces with us (and with other regional powers) when common challenges arose. Ending the occupation would also safeguard Israel’s relations with countries like Turkey, instead of undermining them. In addition to its obvious human costs, in short, the occupation is a strategic liability for Israel and the United States.” http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/10/14/the_price_of_occupation

]]> 2012-05-24T;14:04:00-05:00 Comment by Michael Levin MichaelLevin11@mac.com More from B’Tselem: “Open-fire Regulations and Rules of International Humanitarian Law [. . . . ] Despite the existence of the Open-Fire Regulations, over the years there have been cases in which IDF soldiers killed and wounded innocent Palestinians. One main reason for this was the routine use of lethal gunfire in situations that were non-life-threatening either to soldiers or to civilians. Another reason was Israel’s failure to acquire non-lethal means to disperse violent demonstrations, thus reducing the number of Palestinian casualties. [ . . . . ] Since the beginning of the al-Aqsa intifada, Israel has continuously violated the laws of warfare, primarily during its massive incursions into Palestinian cities. These violations include, inter alia, indiscriminate firing that has caused injury to bystanders, use of ammunition and means of warfare that are incapable of sufficiently distinguishing between persons taking part in the hostilities and those who are not, and extensive destruction of houses and other property in violation of the principle of proportionality. [ . . . . ] A very small percentage of cases in which Palestinians were killed has been investigated. Furthermore, indictments have been filed in a minority of the cases in which a Military Police investigation was conducted. This new policy sends a message to soldiers that Palestinian lives are cheap; it creates an atmosphere of immunity from prosecution.” http://www.btselem.org/english/Firearms/ More from B’Tselem:

“Open-fire Regulations and Rules of International Humanitarian Law

[. . . . ] Despite the existence of the Open-Fire Regulations, over the years there have been cases in which IDF soldiers killed and wounded innocent Palestinians. One main reason for this was the routine use of lethal gunfire in situations that were non-life-threatening either to soldiers or to civilians. Another reason was Israel’s failure to acquire non-lethal means to disperse violent demonstrations, thus reducing the number of Palestinian casualties. [ . . . . ] Since the beginning of the al-Aqsa intifada, Israel has continuously violated the laws of warfare, primarily during its massive incursions into Palestinian cities. These violations include, inter alia, indiscriminate firing that has caused injury to bystanders, use of ammunition and means of warfare that are incapable of sufficiently distinguishing between persons taking part in the hostilities and those who are not, and extensive destruction of houses and other property in violation of the principle of proportionality. [ . . . . ] A very small percentage of cases in which Palestinians were killed has been investigated. Furthermore, indictments have been filed in a minority of the cases in which a Military Police investigation was conducted. This new policy sends a message to soldiers that Palestinian lives are cheap; it creates an atmosphere of immunity from prosecution.” http://www.btselem.org/english/Firearms/

]]> 2012-05-24T;14:04:00-05:00 Comment by Michael Levin MichaelLevin11@mac.com From B’Tselem, the Israeli center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories:  “Data summary From the beginning of the intifada on 29 September 2000, until 31 December 2007, 4,332 Palestinians were killed in the Occupied Territories. Among them were 865 minors (under the age of 18). At least 2,050 of those killed were not participating in the fighting at the time of death, and 225 were objects of targeted killing. Thousands more were wounded. During 2007, Israeli security forces killed 377 Palestinians, 53 of them minors. 84 were from the West Bank and 293 from the Gaza Strip. In comparison, in 2006, the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces was 657: 523 from the Gaza Strip and 134 from the West Bank, among them 140 minors. Of those killed in 2007, at least 132 (about 35 percent) were civilians who were not taking part in the hostilities at the time they were killed. B’Tselem has been unable to determine the cause of death of 50 persons (about 13 percent). In 2006, 348 Palestinians were killed when not taking a direct part in the hostilities at the time of death, representing 54 percent of Palestinians killed that year by Israeli security forces. In arrest operations carried out in 2007 in the West Bank, Israeli forces killed 50 Palestinians (some 60 percent of all Palestinians killed in the West Bank). Among those killed, 19 were not the target of the operation. In 2006, 97 Palestinians were killed in arrest operations, constituting 72 percent of the total number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank. n 2007, security forces killed 55 Palestinians in the “death zone,” the area near the Gaza perimeter fence, while they were trying to cross the fence or while they were situated in the zone. In some cases, persons were killed more than 100 meters from the fence. Of tho se killed in the “death zone”, at least 16 were unarmed and not engaged in the hostilities at the time they were killed, including four minors. In 2006, these figures stood at 43 dead (18 of them were not taking part in the hostilities at the time they were killed).” http://www.btselem.org/english/Firearms/ From B’Tselem, the Israeli center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories: 

“Data summary

From the beginning of the intifada on 29 September 2000, until 31 December 2007, 4,332 Palestinians were killed in the Occupied Territories. Among them were 865 minors (under the age of 18). At least 2,050 of those killed were not participating in the fighting at the time of death, and 225 were objects of targeted killing. Thousands more were wounded.

During 2007, Israeli security forces killed 377 Palestinians, 53 of them minors. 84 were from the West Bank and 293 from the Gaza Strip. In comparison, in 2006, the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces was 657: 523 from the Gaza Strip and 134 from the West Bank, among them 140 minors. Of those killed in 2007, at least 132 (about 35 percent) were civilians who were not taking part in the hostilities at the time they were killed. B’Tselem has been unable to determine the cause of death of 50 persons (about 13 percent). In 2006, 348 Palestinians were killed when not taking a direct part in the hostilities at the time of death, representing 54 percent of Palestinians killed that year by Israeli security forces. In arrest operations carried out in 2007 in the West Bank, Israeli forces killed 50 Palestinians (some 60 percent of all Palestinians killed in the West Bank). Among those killed, 19 were not the target of the operation. In 2006, 97 Palestinians were killed in arrest operations, constituting 72 percent of the total number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank. n 2007, security forces killed 55 Palestinians in the “death zone,” the area near the Gaza perimeter fence, while they were trying to cross the fence or while they were situated in the zone. In some cases, persons were killed more than 100 meters from the fence. Of tho se killed in the “death zone”, at least 16 were unarmed and not engaged in the hostilities at the time they were killed, including four minors. In 2006, these figures stood at 43 dead (18 of them were not taking part in the hostilities at the time they were killed).” http://www.btselem.org/english/Firearms/

]]> 2012-05-24T;14:04:00-05:00 Comment by john doe traveler1503@yahoo.com This is a very significant development in Turkey and something which Israel should heed.  Israel should consider this just another sign of the growing impatience of “friends.” Turkey has been a loyal friend of Israel for many, many years; however, the Turkish government has come to realize their friendship with Israel is a domestic political liability.  Don’t discount this as simply an outward sign of Islamist influence in Turkey—the secular nationalist right is similarly critical of Israel’s actions in the occupied territories (the wall, excesses in Gaza, continued settlement building, travel restrictions - general apartheid-style oppression).  I pray for peace in Palestine and Israel and I wish the citizens of these lands (and the citizens of the world) weren’t held hostage to the Israeli Government’s decade’s long intransigence. This is a very significant development in Turkey and something which Israel should heed.  Israel should consider this just another sign of the growing impatience of “friends.” Turkey has been a loyal friend of Israel for many, many years; however, the Turkish government has come to realize their friendship with Israel is a domestic political liability.  Don’t discount this as simply an outward sign of Islamist influence in Turkey—the secular nationalist right is similarly critical of Israel’s actions in the occupied territories (the wall, excesses in Gaza, continued settlement building, travel restrictions - general apartheid-style oppression).  I pray for peace in Palestine and Israel and I wish the citizens of these lands (and the citizens of the world) weren’t held hostage to the Israeli Government’s decade’s long intransigence.

]]> 2012-05-24T;14:04:00-05:00