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Kill a Pal and You’re a Hero, Kill a Jew and You’re a Terrorist by Amir Meshkin In one of my last articles, I focused on the forgotten meaning of terrorism. Now let us focus on Israel's blatant double standard which encourages militant Jewish settlers to attack Palestinians without fear of prosecution. Palestinians that throw stones are labeled as terrorists. Journalists who speak the truth are labeled are anti-Semitic. Only Israelis get away with murder, racism and civilian violence. When will the world realize that religion and race have nothing to do with the human heart? Israel and its multitude of poisons will soon pass from the sympathetic and forgiving eye of the world. On April 14, Hizbullah killed an Israeli soldier in the Shebaa Farms district which belongs to Syria but is still under Israeli occupation. In retaliation, Sharon not only committed an act of war by attacking a Syrian radar base in Lebanon killing three Syrian soldiers but pounded on civilian villages in Gaza with tanks relentlessly. Israel’s brutal 1978 and 1982 invasions of Lebanon took the lives of thousands of civilians. Israeli warplanes attacked more civilian targets than military targets it seemed.. As many as 600 civilians were killed at one time by soldiers, yet the world still turns a blind eye to such abhorrent actions executed by Israel. There is an obvious double standard that can mean life or death depending on your race. Rabbis such as Ovadia Yosef constantly state their will of annihilating all Arabs and call them serpents. Yosef also stated that God regrets creating the Arabs because they are evil. Maybe it is just me but, Rabbi Yosef sounds a little evil himself. Tommy Lapid, an Israeli politician who was fortunate enough to escape the Nazi death camps as a child stated, "If the Austrian nationalist leader, Jöörg Haidar, had said this, we would have declared war on Austria," which proves further the double standard that Israel has. Although the biggest of the bigots, Rabbi Yosef is a powerful politician, making him and his followers very dangerous. Other rabbis have also asked the Israeli government to avenge the deaths of Israelis killed by Palestinians, arguing that Israel is not harsh enough on the Palestinians. Violence answered with violence is an issue religion is suppose to condemn, but the core of the fighting and struggle of millions of people is religion. Americans and other democratic nations truly take freed Some Israeli citizens, specially militant settlers, feel the way David Glam, whose daughter was almost killed by a suicide bomber, does. He recently stated in an interview that if he had an atomic bomb, he would use it on the Arabs. David Glam cannot take the blame in full however, he and other Israeli citizens are subject to a very racist media in Israel. "Palestinians make up about 20 percent of the Israeli population, Jews from the Middle East another 50 percent. If you include the West Bank and Gaza, the figure reaches 90 percent——yet they are forced to view advertising, the media and films from the perspective of the minority Western Jews," states Professor Ella Habiba Shohat, a Jewish writer now living in New York. Prof. Shohat claims in her book that the media in Israel brainwashes the population into believing that the blue-hair and blue-eyed or "white" looking jew is the "ideal" Jew. Maybe Beshar Assad’s speech comparing the Israelis to the Nazis deserves a second look and not condemnation. Jewish settlers have recently killed Palestinian children picking olive trees, torched Palestinian shops and cars, attacked Israeli police (almost killing a few and wounding many), vandalized mosques, publicly burned Korans (remember Nazi book burnings?), fire-bombed Palestinian homes(current trial of ex Ku Klux Klan member Thomas Blanton Jr comes to mind), and even sprayed stars of David on many shop windows (remember Nazis painting swastikas on Jewish shop windows?), belonging to Palestinians. "I'd like to ask the parents why they let their children play here," states an Israeli soldier in heavy protective gear, speaking about settler kids playing in Palestinian territory. "These settlers, they are crazy people, if you ask me." On April 20 an Israeli policeman, suffered a concussion when a Jewish settler struck him on the head with a rock. Earlier in the week, two officers were almost stabbed by settlers. Settlers often vandalize police cars, curse at policeman, and throw things at them not fearing any type Every month, another American is accused of Anti-Semitism, this month being a couple of Knicks players. Stating your opinion or even the facts will cause the biased media to label celebrities as anti-Semites, but many Jews such as Sharon have written many articles showing hatred and racism, yet they are elected as Prime Ministers and considered heroes. The facts are that Israel is guilty of many war crimes. The UN should pursue the Israelis responsible for these war crimes with the same drive as the persecution of Nazis responsible for war crimes. Many are calling for a probe against senator Kerrey, and some for a war crime trial. What these people forget is that what Kerrey and his team did was on accident. Not only was it an accident but Kerrey publicly apologized. Sharon and others responsible for massacres have never apologized and have received nothing but praise from many Israelis. What if one of our politicians was responsible for killing 3,500 civilians? Would he be elected president? Israel repeatedly violates UN resolutions 242 and 338 along with rules and regulations actuated by The 4th Geneva Convention, The Hague Regulations, The UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, The International Covenant of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, The Convention on Elimination of All forms of Racial Discrimination, and The Convention on Rights of the Child and others. Almost 90 percent of the Palestinians killed have been civilians armed with nothing more than stones. No other country kills more protestors than Israel, yet they claim they are showing restraint. Sharon’s version of restraint is a war crime in itself. If Israel wants to prove they truly desires peace, they need to treat the Jewish criminals the same way they treat the Palestinian criminals. Not one Jewish settler has been prosecuted for beating or killing Palestinians while Palestinians have been assassinated (A war crime as stated in The Hague Regulations) in cold blood, sometimes taking the lives of innocent civilians unfortunate enough to be near them. How can you claim that you do not have a policy of assassination yet assassinate 15 Palestinians in seven months. Israel is losing world sympathy fast, and if Israel wants peace, it must promise the Palestinians that they will not be discriminated upon. If Israel wants peace, then the illegal settlements should be torn down or given to the Palestinians who have had their houses demolished. If Israel wants peace, then Israel should act like it wants peace. Many settlements are half vacant and have remained that way since they were built. Israel is obviously swindling the Palestinians out of more land and Sharon has made it clear that he will never evacuate the settlements, which I stress again, are illegal. Peace without the evacuations of the settlements is not only unlikely but close to impossible. The ancient Romans used to state the primitive phrase-- "you want peace? Prepare for war!" Sadly, this Neanderthal style of policy fits Sharon’s war happy little personality. Lasting peace in the current Israeli administration is very unlikely. If israel wants peace, they should do what they know is right. If Israel wants peace, Israel should look for a new Prime Minister, fast. |
