John Chuckman

COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE IN THE INDEPENDENT

 

“Mahmoud Abbas apologises to Jewish people after Holocaust comments”

 

I am sorry Abbas spoke the way he did.

All he achieved was to give genuine Israeli fascists, Netanyahu and Liberman, the opportunity to go into a melodramatic flap about not making peace with such horrible people.

Which is mighty handy for them because they never intended to make peace. Quite the opposite, their course, as anyone can see, has always been set on stealing all the additional property of others that they can while expelling or degrading the people who now live there.

And I fail to see how a few words can in any way be compared to Israel’s current savage behavior, literally shooting unarmed demonstrators by the thousands, sometimes with dum-dum bullets to leave horrible injuries for those not killed.

This is the third massacre of Gaza’s people in a decade.

And, while they are at that hideous business, they do everything they can think of to promote a war with Iran to kill still more people. Peace-loving, decent men, that’s for sure.

The entire atmosphere of these events is simply Twilight Zone stuff. Much of the press ignores or minimizes mass slaughter and mistreatment while they give publicity to a few poorly-chosen words.

So, we have a former bar-room bouncer, seething with often-expressed hatred for Palestinians (Liberman), and an absolutely corrupt politician and mass killer (Netanyahu) receive get-out-jail-free cards by those manipulating public opinion.

 

John Chuckman

COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE IN THE INDEPENDENT

 

Response to another comment:

No one hates Israel per se, but millions are repulsed by Israel’s behavior, and quite rightly so.

Now, in any ethical or moral system, isn’t that how we are supposed to judge others, by their behavior, not by what they are?

No terrorist organization which exists has a record to match Israel’s, and that’s just a regrettable and unpleasant fact.

500 kids killed in Gaza?

1,700 others?

The people of Gaza can’t even import cement to repair homes, schools, and sanitation?

Israel sprays a huge swath of Gaza with toxic herbicide, likely to cause birth defects for generations?

And that’s only a partial list of recent Israel behavior.

If Israel wants to be regarded as a state like any other state, then it must act like one.

It does not.

And the great underlying, but generally ignored, truth of so much Muslim anger is that it is a direct result of Israel’s behavior, which never seems to be disapproved of in the West while Muslim violence is ceaselessly condemned.

The prospect which Israel’s behavior opens for the future is a terrifying one.

If it is acceptable to behave as Israel does, then there are no bounds, no rules, no laws in international affairs, and every group or country may do just as it feels it is compelled to do.

Israel’s behavior is a kind of experiment with chaos in human affairs, and it must therefore be of concern to everyone.