Canada backs U.S. opposition to UN-led flotilla inquiry. Hey, we let cops investigate themselves, so why not let Israel investigate their own state-sponsored act of piracy and murder in international waters? Oh right, because the UN is biased. Maybe that’s what happens when you completely ignore every single Security Council resolution and have Uncle Sam’s veto in your pocket. Israel conveniently gets to be the victim and the bully.
This sort of pseudo-liberal pantomime is disgusting. This was an act of terror and must be condemned outright as such. They were carrying kids supplies! Harper et al can rationalize this all they want, but know this: nowhere else in the world would this be met with such tolerance. If aid workers were murdered in Burundi, Burma or Bosnia there would be an immediate outcry.
The siege on Gaza is illegal. I suppose you could argue that it’s vital for Israel’s security. I’d argue the opposite. I come from Northern Ireland, from a father who was disowned for supporting Catholic civil rights. Only through a detente would peace come. Most Irish Catholics are now divorced from the desire for an Irish homeland because they were isolated from the IRA who were dealt with as criminals. Now imagine if collective punishment has been used as a response to the Omagh bomb. Imagine a naval blockade around Dublin. I mean, just imagine it. Interestingly, it is now the Irish who are sending aid to Gaza. International reaction to this should lead to sanctions, but it won’t.
And now Canada is complicit. From immediately supporting Israel’s invasion of Lebanon (as a measured response to the capture of some soldiers) and banning British MP George Galloway from speaking in Canada to equating criticism of Israel to anti-semitism via a Parliamentary Committee (yes, that means the NDP and Liberals sanctioned it).
What this means for groups like Independent Jewish Voices or Jews for a Just Peace is anyone’s guess, but the movement calling for boycotts, sanctions, and divestment is growing. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is the first national union to jump on board. Surely this grave atrocity will attract more people to pressure Israel to lift the siege, stop the settlements and allow the Right of Return.
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The comparison to North Ireland is wrong. What would have happened if the free Ireland would have bombed North Ireland and would have been ruled by the IRA leaders while continuing to spread terror in London. How would Britain react to that?
Hamas is ruling Gaza that is why there is a blockade. Israel retreated from Gaza. Gaza people chose Hamas to rule them and they decided to fight Israel. Israel has the every right to oppose letting a terrorist organization rule a piece of land. USA did it with much more force in Afganistan.
Saw Sean Orr on TV wearing his keffiyeh. Very fetching Sean!
This is dimwitted and skewed crap. The comparison to Northern Ireland is almost painful to read it’s so horribly wrong.
On the other hand I don’t have to visit Counterpunch or Daily Kos to get my daily dose of kneejerk rambling from intellectually dishonest loonies. Thank for saving this busy cook some time by publishing this Andrew!
The over-exertion of force and blatantly illegal action Israel employs in respect to the Gazans or the Lebanese isn`t just reprehensible, it borders on the vindictive and sadistic. I’m not defending rockets into Haifa or suicide bombings, but those acts of aggression pale in comparison to Israel’s use of white phosphorous on civilians. The fact remains that, despite right-wing spin, Israel is the aggressor and instigator, and like Sean has pointed out, operates with impunity under the de facto permission of NATO.