6 posts tagged “israel”

This video is the last footage taken onboard the Spirit Of Humanity before its voyage to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza was prematurely halted by Israeli special forces. It shows the atmosphere inside the cabin as the crew try to negotiate with the Israeli ship via radio.

Unrest in Iran over election fraud and the CIA operations in Iran to destabilize the nation.

W (World Wide Weekly), a culture and current events program on MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation) in Korea, showed a video depicting the courage of an unarmed woman using her body to prevent Israeli soldiers from shooting at Palestinian children. That adult men would raise weapons against an unarmed woman and rock-throwing children betrays the cowardice of the soldiers.

The Korean announcer states: “Sometimes Palestinians’s thirst for freedom leads to intense confrontation. Armed soldiers attack. The Palestinians defy them with stones and run away. They are the targets of Israeli soldiers. Rubber bullets with high killing power sometimes threaten lives. But then, a girl’s voice cries out, “Stop, stop, stop.”

This she shouts as she places her body in front of a soldier to prevent him from a getting a line of fire on the children.

She tries to reason with the soldier, asking him if he understands. “You are shooting at kids.” She offers the simple way for the soldiers out from the situation: “Just pull back.”

The Korean announcer comments, “One Palestinian woman blocks the muzzle of the gun. Her action surprises the soldiers. She resolves to stop the Israeli gunfire even with her unarmed body.”

“What are you shooting at? Why are you shooting at them?” the courageous woman asks as the soldier tries to position himself above her. She raises her arms.

In the background other soldiers begin shooting. The woman flinches at the sound of gunfire, but she holds her ground. World View News Service identifies the woman as Huwaida Arraf. Arraf is a Palestinian-American who co-founded the International Solidarity Movement in Jerusalem. Since she is a Palestinian-American activist, she probably knows of American solidarity activist Rachel Corrie and her fate, further boosting the valorous credentials of Arraf.

The Korean announcer says, “Despite her last ditch effort in throwing her body before the guns, even a slight peace is hard to come by. This is the cold reality of this land.”

Apart from ill-gotten booty, those who wield preponderant power are in a no-win situation. There is no gain from using violence on someone smaller or weaker. If clever, the powerful counterpart will withdraw, status still intact. To use violence on the weak and lose would make one a laughingstock. To use violence and beat the weaker counterpart would expose oneself, at best, to be a bully and a coward — and worse, a craven war criminal.

(Via IdleWorm)  Thanks, Robert Fisk

/He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."

Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil.
Below, a photo of Israelis watching the fighting in Gaza - drinking Coke, and having a good time. Clearly their lives are sufficiently safe that they can treat war massacres as entertainment:

And below, the consequences of said entertainment on the innocent:

Since many people have short memories, Robert Fisk gives us a history lesson:

Photographer Rachel Papo's Serial No. 3817131 is a beautiful photo essay depicting the everyday lives of young women in the Israeli army. Papo herself was born in Ohio and raised in Israel. She served two years in the Israeli Air Force starting when she was eighteen before returning to the US. The project is named after her own ID number during service.