Profile Of Imperial Lawlessness: Wanting To Live Free Criminalized - Rogue States Operate That Way
22 February 2013
By Stephen Lendman
Israel is second only to America in imperial
lawlessness. Both nations partner in high crimes too
grave to ignore.
Neither admits fault. One conflict leads to others.
Both nations are modern-day Spartas. They live by the
sword. Perhaps one day they'll perish by it. Humanity
may not last that long.
State terror is official policy. Palestinians suffered
for decades. Professor Yehuda Bauer is Hebrew
University's Institute of Contemporary Jewry Professor
Emeritus.
He's a holocaust scholar. He studied genocide for
decades. He prioritizes ways to stop it. He boycotts
Yad Vashem ceremonies. He does so on the eve of
Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Day.
He calls juxtaposing "heroes" and "martyrs" "foolish."
He can't bear vapid speeches. They're "void of content
and packed with cliches."
What does "Never again" mean, he asks? It's an "empty
slogan." It belies the fact that holocausts repeat. He
deplores messianic hard-right rabbis. They incite mass
murder.
They're "potentially responsible for genocide." They
advocate killing non-Jews and Israeli opponents. They
desecrate the meaning of "Thou shalt not kill." They
claim it only applies to one Jew killing another.
They're "heretics," They believe murdering Muslims and
Christians is OK. Religious extremism is dangerous.
More harm has been done in the name of religion than
much else.
<blockquote>"Beware those who believe in the coming of
the messiah," says Bauer. Zionism betrays its roots
"when it doesn't treat (its) non-Jewish minority
equally."
At his age, he calls himself "a dinosaur."
He says Netanyahu doesn't know history. For sure he
doesn't know or care about rule of law principles.
He's an ideologue, says Bauer. He believe Jews should
rule greater Israel. He uses anti-Semitic rhetoric
"demagogically."
Bauer deplores "fascist-religious-messianic settlers."
They're unrestrained. They "burn mosques, cut down
trees, and attack Palestinians." They do so with
impunity.
He hopes Israel will change. "There are good people
here," he says. They're "sensitive to the suffering of
others." Perhaps they'll turn things around. It's
"worth living" for, he adds. He identifies with this
type thinking.
In April, he turns 87. He's still active. He's
outraged by Israel's attitude toward persecuted
Africans. They fled to Israel for safe haven. They're
treated like criminals.
In May 2011, Bauer joined others. They signed a
"declaration of independence from the occupation."
They called for Israel to recognize Palestinian
self-determination.
He fears for Israel's future. Right wing extremism
threatens it.
<blockquote>He supports a "democratic state within the
1967 boundaries, with certain territorial exchanges,
will be a Zionist Jewish state that is obliged not
only to make peace with its Palestinian and Arab
neighbors, but offers the possibility for
national-cultural development and full equal rights to
the Arab minority living in the State of Israel."
"The settlement policy is working against us and
endangering us. We have to remove the majority of the
settlers from the territories, which are actually
areas of the State of Palestine."
"The only way to remove the settlers…is by means of
pressure that will be exerted on Israel by the major
powers which have no interest in the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
"An agreement between the United States and the
European Union and Russia, with China's involvement,
could create a situation in which pressure will be
applied to both sides in the conflict to engage in
serious negotiations until white smoke emerges."
"Both sides are extremely susceptible to pressure. It
would be enough if the EU were to discover that it has
problems of financial liquidity and announce that it
will have difficulty paying the salaries of the
officials in the PA or in Gaza; or for the Pentagon to
announce that it has a problem supplying spare parts
to the Israel Air Force."
"If so, within eight months the Air Force's planes and
equipment turn into junk. It makes no difference
whether there are 30 or 40 settler outposts at this
moment."
"The instant it is decided to stop financing the
settlements, that story will come to a swift end."
Continuing it he believes may result in Masada 2.0.
Israel "isolated in the face of the world is liable to
stir an extreme nationalist reaction and a posture of
'Let me die with the Philistines.' "
"Our situation today recalls what happened in the
Roman period, in the military revolt and confrontation
against the 'United States' of that period."
"So, maybe we are not talking about a possible
military clash with America, but about total
isolation, sanctions and starvation, which could lead
to extreme reactions deriving from pessimism and
despair."
He thinks a binational state for all its people won't
work. Trying "would mean permanent civil war and
mutual killing."
Settlements and right-wing extremism erased the
original Zionist dream. Minority Israeli Arabs deserve
"national-cultural autonomy."
There's no reason they "should be compelled to sing
'With eyes toward Zion (in Israel's national anthem)
and hoist the blue-and-white flag."
"As far as I am concerned, there is no problem with a
Palestinian flag flying alongside the Israeli" one in
every Arab community.
Bauer favors joint textbooks. Arabs and Jews should
learn about each other. Doing so substitutes truth for
myths. Understanding can replace longterm hostility.
He believes in "liv(ing) the moment without ignoring
either the past or the future, and to take things
factually and realistically."
He's appalled at how Israel treats Palestinians.
Millions of others share his view. They're treated
like subhumans. They're targeted and persecuted.
They're locked in gulag hell. They languish there for
wanting to live free.
Samer Easawi's been hunger striking for justice. He
hasn't ingested food for over 200 days. In October
2011, he was released with others in exchange for
Gilat Shalit.
In July 2012, he was rearrested. He's lawlessly held
uncharged. He's one of thousands of Palestinian
political prisoners.
He had his day in court. Injustice continued. He was
sentenced to eight months imprisonment. It begins from
his day of arrest. He has another month to serve.
He should have been released immediately. He should be
compensated for his ordeal. He vows to keep hunger
striking. He may not survive another 30 days. Who
knows if Israel will release him?
He's yet to face its military committee. It can
arbitrarily give him another 20 years. It won't
surprise if it does. Israel wants Samer held longterm.
Netanyahu and previous prime ministers violated lower
and High Court rulings. They do what they wish. They
do so with impunity. Samer's life hangs in the
balance.
He's been brutally treated in prison. He's been
tortured and psychologically abused. He's been
isolated and denied counsel at times. He's been
pressured to confess to crimes he didn't commit and
implicate others.
Hundreds of Palestinians rallied supportively. They
did so for him and three other longterm hunger
strikers. Israeli security forces attacked them
violently. Many were injured.
Journalists were assaulted. Dozens of Palestinian ones
languish in Israeli custody.
Samer's family faces harassment. Israel does it
repeatedly. On December 18, 2012, Israeli forces
arrested his sister, Shirin. She was held 24 hours.
She was sentenced to 10 days house arrest. She was
prevented from attending Samer's hearings for six
months.
On January 1, 2013, Israel demolished Ra'fat Samer's
home. He's Samer's older brother. They did so claiming
he had no building permit.
On February 16, Israeli soldiers raided Tareq Samer's
home. They did so pre-dawn. He's Samer's father. He
was pressured to bring soldiers to Mid'hat's house.
He's Samer's brother and Tareq's son. He was arrested
and imprisoned. Shadi was brutalized and arrested at
the time. He's Tareq's other son.
He's still held. He's prohibited from seeing counsel
and family members. Thousands of other Palestinians
get similar treatment. Doing so violates international
law.
It's official Israeli policy. It's longstanding.
Wanting to live free is criminalized. Rogue states
operate that way.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached
at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book is
titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized
Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"
http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html Visit his
blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to
cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on
the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive
Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and
Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are
archived for easy listening. http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour.
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