Flotilla Massacre Roundup

Written By: - Date published: 10:38 am, June 4th, 2010 - 11 comments
Categories: crime, International - Tags: ,

After the first shocking news, Israel took control of information about their act of high seas piracy. From jamming the airwaves to stop the media reporting from the boats shortly after they boarded them, to keeping the protesters detained, they ensured that their side was the only one that had the facts. And if you’ve got the facts, you can release those that support your case.

So we have Ron Ben Yishai’s account as the only “credible” one for quite some time. This allows the pro-Israeli groups to frame the peace flotilla supplying aid as Hamas terrorists attacking Israel. We end up with Caroline Glick in the Jerusalem Post:

“Israel is the frontline of the free world. Its ability to defend itself and deter its foes is the single most important guarantee of international peace. A strong Israel is also the most potent and reliable guarantor of the US’s continued ability to project its power in the Middle East.”

In fact Israel is not the guarantor of the US’s ability to project its power; it is the albatross around America’s neck, drawing it into no end of difficult foreign policy problems. Israel needs to see that the US couldn’t justify blocking an independent inquiry into this outrage, unlike past ones – the seemingly endless support may start running out if it doesn’t improve its conduct, instead of always seeing if it can push a bit further.

And so to fight back the right wing press (why is the right wing always so unthinkingly pro-Israeli?), we go to Fisk, the world’s most awarded foreign correspondent.

“For it is a fact, is it not, that had Europeans (and yes, the Turks are Europeans, are they not?) been gunned down by any other Middle Eastern army (which the Israeli army is, is it not?) there would have been waves of outrage.”

Or for those who, like myself, enjoy more sarcasm, Mark Steel:

“That would be as logical as the statement from the Israeli PM’s spokesman “We made every possible effort to avoid this incident.” Because the one tiny thing they forgot to do to avoid this incident was not send in armed militia from helicopters in the middle of the night and shoot people. I must be a natural at this sort of technique because I often go all day without climbing off a helicopter and shooting people, and I’m not even making every possible effort.”

and

“Israel could blow up a cats home and within five minutes they’d be yelling “How do we know the cats weren’t smuggling semtex in their fur for Hamas?”

It’ll be interesting to see how the media coverage progresses, as the detainees are released, and start telling their stories.

Bunji

11 comments on “Flotilla Massacre Roundup ”

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  1. r0b 1
    4 June 2010 at 11:00 am

    Note also that there is some question over whether photos released by Israel as “evidence” are genuine:
    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1006/S00028.htm

    • Tigger 1.1
      4 June 2010 at 11:49 am

      Thanks for the heads up R0b, following the various links there is sobering. It would be great farce if it wasn’t true! And it would be funny if it wasn’t being used to cover up what I regard as the murder of those on the boat.

  2. Bill 2
    4 June 2010 at 11:32 am

    For ‘detainees’, read kidnap victims.

    Meanwhile, why supply your albatross with so much bloody aid?

    But the point I really want to make is that the msm will now probably report aid survivor stories merely from a human interest angle thereby blunting the political impact of the part day’s events.

    And when they aren’t doing that it will be from a distance of detachment that merely postulates on what Israel will do now…how it’s parameters for action have altered.

    Bugger all on Gaza except as an afterthought to the two points above.

    And all the while, everything to do with this will be knocked off and down the international headlines. Already happening. BP in the Gulf. A shooting in Britain. All we need is a good weather story….heatwave in Pakistan and India? and the World Cup to begin….then a little time and back to business as usual.

    • Name 2.1
      4 June 2010 at 12:03 pm

      I doubt the Turks will forget it that easily. They lost 9 killed.

      And there’s another boat on the way to Gaza with others to follow, and now that Israel has raised the stakes by effectively declaring war on International Aid efforts to the Palestinians I’ll bet there’s a lot of money and other support flowing to the activists that they wouldn’t have had otherwise.

      The point of the flotilla was partly to draw attention to Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza, and that worked. If the activists now chose to challenge Israel’s claimed rights to board and divert foreign-flagged ships in international waters by resisting, forcing Israel to actually sink one, (Iranian-flagged, perhaps?) the sh*t will really hit the fan for Israel.

      • Bill 2.1.1
        4 June 2010 at 4:34 pm

        “…the sh*t will really hit the fan for Israel.”

        No it won’t. I mean, the duly elected government of Gaza is still being referred to as extremist and terrorist by the governments of the west.

        The only problem that Israel and ‘our’ governments have is one of damage control. The Israelis fucked up and there is some public outrage to be mollified.

        ‘Our’ governments know and knew all about Gaza and the ridiculous hardships being imposed on the people of Gaza for exercising their democratic right to elect a government of their choice regardless of what choice other governments’ would have had them make.

        ‘Our’ governments know and knew about the bombing of Gaza. And did nothing. Out of choice.

        And the blockade. And did nothing. Out of choice.

        Because they fundamentally agree with the aims of the Israeli government, only sometimes pausing to lament the fact that the methods can lead to headaches for they themselves, ie citizens in the west coming on to the streets in protest which is a problem to be contained and quietened down.

    • Draco T Bastard 2.2
      4 June 2010 at 7:01 pm

      Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land:

      The MSM will do what it’s told.

  3. walter 3
    4 June 2010 at 12:05 pm

    One day they are all mad homicidal terrorists who attacked those poor, innocent Israeli soldiers – the next they let them all go home.

  4. jcuknz 4
    4 June 2010 at 2:22 pm

    Without the bias from the other side it was frustratingly difficult to draw a reasonable conclusion of what actually happened. To read through the doubletalk, one has to go on past events and responsible commentators like Robert Fisk.

  5. Galeandra 5
    4 June 2010 at 8:30 pm

    And, of course, we all know what sort of course NZ is setting on the Israeli problem. Key will follow his nose?

  6. Jenny 6
    5 June 2010 at 6:13 am

    Protests against Israeli massacre of humanitarian aid workers in main centres today

    AUCKLAND: protest march, Saturday june 5, Gather 1pm, Aotea Square, march to the US Consulate.

    WELLINGTON: protest march Saturday June 5, 12 noon Cuba mall.

    DUNEDIN: Freedom March! Saturday, June 5, 12 noon Dunedin Museum Reserve Lawn, then march to Octagon.

    [CHRISTCHURCH: protest already held on Wednesday June 2, 4pm in Cathedral Square.]