For the first time in a very long time Israel has beaten the global Palestinian PR machine. It posted footage of the mob lynching to which their Navy SEALs had been subjected right away; and they’ve galvanized a superb spokesman in the person of Michael Oren (whose son is in a similar unit). No longer are we faced with bumbling, heavily accented tough men and women who know how to pick up arms in defense of their existentially imperiled nation, but know not how to speak to the left-liberal degenerates of the world.
This has changed.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyau has just outlined clearly (an act beyond the ken of his ruffian predecessor) the events of May 31 upon the Turkish flotilla headed for Gaza. He spoke of the hypocrisy of the international community in no uncertain terms, and made clear that Israel would vigorously inspect and interdict cargo headed for its shores—all the more so when the cargo carriers refuse to go through its approved channels. Dah!
Such are the capabilities of news media these days that footage and transcripts of Netanyahu’s live address are not available as I write (11:16 Pacific Time, June 2). Will post these as soon as they materialize on the internet.
HERE is the Israeli PM’s masterful, measured address: “Once again Israel faces hypocrisy and a biased rush to judgment. this is not the first time. … Israel cannot permit Iran to establish a Mediterranean port a few dozen kilometers from Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem. Here’s our policy, it’s very simple: Humanitarian and other good can go in; weapons and war material cannot. … Each week an average of 10,000 tons of good enters Gaza. The offer to delivery the good this time was rejected. Navy personnel had not choice but to board these vessels. On 5 of the ships Israeli personnel met with no serious violence. On the larger ship, something very different happened. … Met with a vicious mob [footage in the background]; stabbed, clubbed, and fired upon. One soldier was shot in the stomach, one in the knee; they were going to be killed. The attackers had prepared their violent action in advance.” …
UPDATED I: I know these are Jews, so the anti-Semites find it hard to see them as human, but as I said in the related post, “What if these were your Navy SEAL sons?”
“They jumped me, hit me with clubs and bottles and stole my rifle,” one of the commandos said. “I pulled out my pistol and had no choice but to shoot.” The fact that several of the commandos were injured, two of them gravely, attests to the fact that the “peace activists” posed a serious threat.
(Anyone who would argue that the commandos used “disproportionate” force should consider what he or she would do if faced with the very real prospect of being lynched).
UPDATE II: Myron, what’s with the allusion about Captain B. Netanyahu’s military past being vastly different from his heroic late brother’s, Yonatan Netanyahu? Writes Wikipedia:
Netanyahu joined the Israeli Defense Forces in 1967 where he served as a commander in the elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit, taking part in many missions including the hostages rescue mission from the hijacked Sabena Flight 572 in 1972.
How many American presidents had the right stuff for a Special Ops unit? As for his “ideas”; he’s big on Maimonides. To quote:
UPDATE III: “Love Boat” security cameras capture the “flotilla Rioters [as they] Prepare Rods, Slingshots, Broken Bottles and Metal Objects to Attack IDF Soldiers.”
UPDATE IV (June 3): Better close-up footage of IDF soldiers being beaten with pipes and chains and shot at by the terrorists. Anyone who casts these hapless soldiers as aggressors is mindless or blinded by hatred for the Jew Among Nations. In fact, the IDF should conduct an inquiry as to why, one after the other, the soldiers slid into the midst of a lynch mob.
After delivering a one-two punch to Israel—first the charm offensive in the form of an invite to hang with BHO at the White House, and then an injurious vote with the Third World-dominated UN to deprive Israel of its only military deterrent—Slimy Obama has actually issued a sensible statement in response to an unfortunate position into which Israeli naval commandos had been pushed by the usual “peaceful” poseurs, backers of the “M.O.P.E (Most Oppressed People Ever)”.
First to the statement: “United States deeply regrets” the loss of life and injuries and was working to understand the circumstances surrounding this tragedy.”
THE FOLLOWING REPORT IS VIA AMBASSADOR (RET.) YORAM ETTINGER:
1. The radical Islamic, anti-Western IHH – the chief supporter of the flotilla to Gaza – poses as a humanitarian relief fund (Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation), while supporting Hamas and several Jihadist organizations in Bosnia, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Algeria, Chechnya, etc.. 2. The IHH initiated a number of “humanitarian aid” convoys to anti-US Islamic terrorists in Iraq’s Fallujah Triangle. 3. According to the Danish Institute for international Studies, IHH is connected to Al Qaeda and global Islamic terrorism. The Istanbul office of IHH was raided, and IHH activists were arrested, by the Turkish security services. Explosives, IED (Improvised Explosive Device) manuals, weapons and Afghanistan-oriented documents were confiscated during the raid. 4. According to a French intelligence report, Bulent Yildirim, the president of IHH, recruited “Jihad warriors” and transferred money, firearms and explosives to Al Qaeda and other Islamic terrorists in various countries. Yildirim made telephone calls to European “shelter apartments,” which were used by Islamic terrorists, including Abu el-Ma’ali, known as “Junior Ben-Laden.” IHH produced documents, which facilitated air travel by Islamic terrorists, posing as relief workers. IHH was connected to Ahmed Ressam, an Islamic terrorist, who attempting to smuggle 1320 pounds of explosives and plant them at the Los Angeles International Airport. 5. Bulent Yildirim embraced the world view of the Muslim Brotherhood (the mentor of Hamas in Gaza) and has been a systematic supporter of – and collaborator with – Hamas. He has transferred significant amount of money to Hamas and its “charitable societies” and has promoted – during major Hamas events in Turkey – armed struggle against the Jewish State.
THE CONTEXT OF THE “GAZA FLOTILLA”: 1. Gaza is a bastion of Iran and Syria-supported Hamas terrorism, launching thousands of missiles at Israel, kidnapping Israel’s Gilad Shalit and smuggling into Gaza terrorists, more precise and longer range missiles, explosives and other lethal elements. Efforts have been made to minimize such smuggling via Sinai and from the Mediterranean. 2. Israel’s aim of cooperation was demonstrated by Jerusalem’s offer to allow the “Gaza Flotilla” to reach its destination (in spite of the daily flow to Gaza – via Israel – of food, oil, cement and multitude of products) following a thorough examination of its content. 3. The “Gaza Flotilla” aim of confrontation was demonstrated by its rejection of Jerusalem’s offer and by the handguns, knives, screwdrivers, iron pipes and a gun employed by terrorists on board. Confrontation has been the goal of the “Gaza Flotilla,” as evidenced by the campaign of anti-Israel incitement carried out by its personnel and sponsors. 4. The Israeli soldiers were prepared for a peaceful-takeover in face of (erroneously-assumed) civil disobedience. Therefore, they were equipped with paintball guns as the primary weapon and handguns as an emergency weapon, to be used only if facing death. They resorted to handguns in response to an attempted lynch by the scores of terrorists, who assaulted the soldiers with iron pipes, knives, screwdrivers and a gun. Handguns were snatched from soldiers, by the lynching mob, and were directed at the soldiers. Five boats were taken over peacefully and one (with 600 passengers) became an arena of confrontation between Israeli soldiers and terrorists. Israeli restraint minimized fatalities among terrorists. 5. The responsibility for the fatalities and casualties lies at the doorstep of the IHH, other supporters of the “Gaza Flotilla,” the UN and multitude of governments, which could – but would not – stop the Flotilla. 6. Would NATO allow a “humanitarian aid” convoy, organized by the radical Islamic anti-Western IHH, to travel unchecked to a Taliban stronghold?! Would Germany, Italy or France allow such a convoy to reach “Baader Meinhoff”, “Red Brigade” or “Action Direct” terrorist strongholds? 7. The “Gaza Flotilla” highlights the role of the Jewish State as the outpost of Western democracies in face of Islamic terrorist offensive. De-legitimizing and weakening Israel – the role model of counter terrorism – would be a tailwind for Islamic terrorists – the role model of international terrorism – facilitating their assault on the Free World. It’s not a clash over Gaza; it’s a clash of civilizations!
[SNIP]
It is a good thing that, this time, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhayu is canceling the “much-anticipated meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington on Tuesday in a sign of just how gravely Israel viewed the uproar. In Canada, Netanyahu announced he was rushing home but said he had called the American president and agreed to meet again.”
Folks, this is what defending the homeland means. You don’t go on foreign expeditions searching for monsters to destroy; you destroy the monsters when they approach your homeland.
As usual, “Israel’s refusal to put down its guns and mobilize an army of stone throwers to throw stones back at the persecuted Arabs is equated with the crime of using excessive force.”
UPDATE III (June 1): Finally Israel recognizes the need for a super intelligence, both presentable and well-spoken, to serve as ambassador to the US. Michael Oren is indeed all that. For decades, Israel’s PR was fronted by bumbling schlemiels.
Was this a set up? Did Israel get sucked in? Those are legitimate questions. However, I ask you, what would the US do if a flotilla of 6 ships of dubious origins, from the Middle East, was approaching one of its ports. Dirty bomb smuggling, any one?
UPDATE IV: David Frum’s “Stop the Hypocrisy about Israel” focuses on the double standards applied to Israel. I’d add that Turkey crying “bloody massacre” is beyond farcical.
Turks exterminated the Armenians during the First World War and attempted to do the same to the Kurds. These days Turkey prosecutes Turks who dare to “denigrate Turkishness,” like novelist Orhan Pamuk. “Denigrating Turkishness” is code for refusing to deny the Armenian genocide.
“… The legality of blockades as a response to acts of war is not subject to serious doubt. When the United States blockaded Cuba during the missile crisis, the State Department issued an opinion declaring the blockade to be lawful. This, despite the fact that Cuba had not engaged in any act of belligerency against the United States. Other nations have similarly enforced naval blockades to assure their own security.
The second issue is whether it is lawful to enforce a legal blockade in international waters. Again, law and practice are clear. If there is no doubt that the offending ships have made a firm determination to break the blockade, then the blockade may be enforced before the offending ships cross the line into domestic waters. Again the United States and other western countries have frequently boarded ships at high sea in order to assure their security.
Third, were those on board the flotilla innocent non-combatants or did they lose that status once they agreed to engage in the military act of breaking the blockade? Let there be no mistake about the purpose of this flotilla. It was decidedly not to provide humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza, but rather the break the entirely lawful Israeli military blockade. The proof lies in the fact that both Israel and Egypt offered to have all the food, medicine and other humanitarian goods sent to Gaza, if the boats agreed to land in an Israeli or Egyptian port. That humanitarian offer was soundly rejected by the leaders of the flotilla who publicly announced:
“This mission is not about delivering humanitarian supplies, it’s about breaking Israel’s siege on 1.5 million Palestinians.” (AFP, May 27, 2010.) …
[SNIP]
The White House has backed the UN Security Council’s call for an “impartial investigation” into the events.
UPDATE VI: IDF Releases Definitive Flotilla Footage. Observe how these animals swarm the Israeli soldiers. What if these were your Navy SEAL sons?
UPDATE VII (June 2): Israel has been “serbed,” says Serbian writer Nebojsa Malic. See his analysis in the Comments Section.
After delivering a one-two punch to Israel—first the charm offensive in the form of an invite to hang with BHO at the White House, and then an injurious vote with the Third World-dominated UN to deprive Israel of its only military deterrent—Slimy Obama has actually issued a sensible statement in response to an unfortunate position into which Israeli naval commandos had been pushed by the usual “peaceful” poseurs, backers of the “M.O.P.E (Most Oppressed People Ever)”.
First to the statement: “United States deeply regrets” the loss of life and injuries and was working to understand the circumstances surrounding this tragedy.”
THE FOLLOWING REPORT IS VIA AMBASSADOR (RET.) YORAM ETTINGER:
1. The radical Islamic, anti-Western IHH – the chief supporter of the flotilla to Gaza – poses as a humanitarian relief fund (Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation), while supporting Hamas and several Jihadist organizations in Bosnia, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Algeria, Chechnya, etc.. 2. The IHH initiated a number of “humanitarian aid” convoys to anti-US Islamic terrorists in Iraq’s Fallujah Triangle. 3. According to the Danish Institute for international Studies, IHH is connected to Al Qaeda and global Islamic terrorism. The Istanbul office of IHH was raided, and IHH activists were arrested, by the Turkish security services. Explosives, IED (Improvised Explosive Device) manuals, weapons and Afghanistan-oriented documents were confiscated during the raid. 4. According to a French intelligence report, Bulent Yildirim, the president of IHH, recruited “Jihad warriors” and transferred money, firearms and explosives to Al Qaeda and other Islamic terrorists in various countries. Yildirim made telephone calls to European “shelter apartments,” which were used by Islamic terrorists, including Abu el-Ma’ali, known as “Junior Ben-Laden.” IHH produced documents, which facilitated air travel by Islamic terrorists, posing as relief workers. IHH was connected to Ahmed Ressam, an Islamic terrorist, who attempting to smuggle 1320 pounds of explosives and plant them at the Los Angeles International Airport. 5. Bulent Yildirim embraced the world view of the Muslim Brotherhood (the mentor of Hamas in Gaza) and has been a systematic supporter of – and collaborator with – Hamas. He has transferred significant amount of money to Hamas and its “charitable societies” and has promoted – during major Hamas events in Turkey – armed struggle against the Jewish State.
THE CONTEXT OF THE “GAZA FLOTILLA”: 1. Gaza is a bastion of Iran and Syria-supported Hamas terrorism, launching thousands of missiles at Israel, kidnapping Israel’s Gilad Shalit and smuggling into Gaza terrorists, more precise and longer range missiles, explosives and other lethal elements. Efforts have been made to minimize such smuggling via Sinai and from the Mediterranean. 2. Israel’s aim of cooperation was demonstrated by Jerusalem’s offer to allow the “Gaza Flotilla” to reach its destination (in spite of the daily flow to Gaza – via Israel – of food, oil, cement and multitude of products) following a thorough examination of its content. 3. The “Gaza Flotilla” aim of confrontation was demonstrated by its rejection of Jerusalem’s offer and by the handguns, knives, screwdrivers, iron pipes and a gun employed by terrorists on board. Confrontation has been the goal of the “Gaza Flotilla,” as evidenced by the campaign of anti-Israel incitement carried out by its personnel and sponsors. 4. The Israeli soldiers were prepared for a peaceful-takeover in face of (erroneously-assumed) civil disobedience. Therefore, they were equipped with paintball guns as the primary weapon and handguns as an emergency weapon, to be used only if facing death. They resorted to handguns in response to an attempted lynch by the scores of terrorists, who assaulted the soldiers with iron pipes, knives, screwdrivers and a gun. Handguns were snatched from soldiers, by the lynching mob, and were directed at the soldiers. Five boats were taken over peacefully and one (with 600 passengers) became an arena of confrontation between Israeli soldiers and terrorists. Israeli restraint minimized fatalities among terrorists. 5. The responsibility for the fatalities and casualties lies at the doorstep of the IHH, other supporters of the “Gaza Flotilla,” the UN and multitude of governments, which could – but would not – stop the Flotilla. 6. Would NATO allow a “humanitarian aid” convoy, organized by the radical Islamic anti-Western IHH, to travel unchecked to a Taliban stronghold?! Would Germany, Italy or France allow such a convoy to reach “Baader Meinhoff”, “Red Brigade” or “Action Direct” terrorist strongholds? 7. The “Gaza Flotilla” highlights the role of the Jewish State as the outpost of Western democracies in face of Islamic terrorist offensive. De-legitimizing and weakening Israel – the role model of counter terrorism – would be a tailwind for Islamic terrorists – the role model of international terrorism – facilitating their assault on the Free World. It’s not a clash over Gaza; it’s a clash of civilizations!
[SNIP]
It is a good thing that, this time, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhayu is canceling the “much-anticipated meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington on Tuesday in a sign of just how gravely Israel viewed the uproar. In Canada, Netanyahu announced he was rushing home but said he had called the American president and agreed to meet again.”
Folks, this is what defending the homeland means. You don’t go on foreign expeditions searching for monsters to destroy; you destroy the monsters when they approach your homeland.
As usual, “Israel’s refusal to put down its guns and mobilize an army of stone throwers to throw stones back at the persecuted Arabs is equated with the crime of using excessive force.”
UPDATE III (June 1): Finally Israel recognizes the need for a super intelligence, both presentable and well-spoken, to serve as ambassador to the US. Michael Oren is indeed all that. For decades, Israel’s PR was fronted by bumbling schlemiels.
Was this a set up? Did Israel get sucked in? Those are legitimate questions. However, I ask you, what would the US do if a flotilla of 6 ships of dubious origins, from the Middle East, was approaching one of its ports. Dirty bomb smuggling, any one?
UPDATE IV: David Frum’s “Stop the Hypocrisy about Israel” focuses on the double standards applied to Israel. I’d add that Turkey crying “bloody massacre” is beyond farcical.
Turks exterminated the Armenians during the First World War and attempted to do the same to the Kurds. These days Turkey prosecutes Turks who dare to “denigrate Turkishness,” like novelist Orhan Pamuk. “Denigrating Turkishness” is code for refusing to deny the Armenian genocide.
“… The legality of blockades as a response to acts of war is not subject to serious doubt. When the United States blockaded Cuba during the missile crisis, the State Department issued an opinion declaring the blockade to be lawful. This, despite the fact that Cuba had not engaged in any act of belligerency against the United States. Other nations have similarly enforced naval blockades to assure their own security.
The second issue is whether it is lawful to enforce a legal blockade in international waters. Again, law and practice are clear. If there is no doubt that the offending ships have made a firm determination to break the blockade, then the blockade may be enforced before the offending ships cross the line into domestic waters. Again the United States and other western countries have frequently boarded ships at high sea in order to assure their security.
Third, were those on board the flotilla innocent non-combatants or did they lose that status once they agreed to engage in the military act of breaking the blockade? Let there be no mistake about the purpose of this flotilla. It was decidedly not to provide humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza, but rather the break the entirely lawful Israeli military blockade. The proof lies in the fact that both Israel and Egypt offered to have all the food, medicine and other humanitarian goods sent to Gaza, if the boats agreed to land in an Israeli or Egyptian port. That humanitarian offer was soundly rejected by the leaders of the flotilla who publicly announced:
“This mission is not about delivering humanitarian supplies, it’s about breaking Israel’s siege on 1.5 million Palestinians.” (AFP, May 27, 2010.) …
[SNIP]
The White House has backed the UN Security Council’s call for an “impartial investigation” into the events.
UPDATE VI: IDF Releases Definitive Flotilla Footage. Observe how these animals swarm the Israeli soldiers. What if these were your Navy SEAL sons?
UPDATE VII (June 2): Israel has been “serbed,” says Serbian writer Nebojsa Malic. See his analysis in the Comments Section.
Larry Auster on the meaning of the devious deployment of the apartheid epithet against Israel by “paleostinian conservatives” who, arguably, once were able to see separate development in South Africa as a desperate survival strategy by a besieged minority (now being ethnically cleansed by the majority):
“It wasn’t just paleos, but mainstream conservatives, who opposed the divestment strategy against South Africa. But such is the paleocons’ hatred of the Jewish state that they now adopt as a weapon against Israel that same left-wing policy which they themselves opposed when it was used against South Africa and which by their own estimation has led to the ruin of that country. There are no words to describe adequately the sickness and evil of the anti-Israel paleocons.”
