Hypocrisy: Within the political, diplomatic world, it is hardly unusual; we are not really shocked if a world leader (and I use the designation ‘leader’ with reservation) or head of an agency says one thing and does or intends another.
Right now, however, we are seeing hypocrisy at shocking levels.
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I want to begin with the deeply unfortunate, indeed tragic, incident that occurred in Gaza on Monday night: A three-car convoy of the charity World Central Kitchen (WCK), which was working to distribute food in Gaza, was hit by three Israeli missiles, shot from a drone, which killed seven workers.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged a ‘tragic’ and ‘unintentional’ incident and vowed to ‘do everything’ to prevent a recurrence…
“’It happens in war; we will investigate it right to the end’…
“IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari (pictured) said in an English-language statement that he had spoken to WCK founder Chef Jose Andres, ‘and expressed the deepest condolences of the Israel Defense Forces to the families and the entire World Central Kitchen family.’
“He added that the IDF had expressed ‘sincere sorrow to our allied nations who have been doing and continue to do so much to assist those in need. We have been reviewing the incident at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of what happened and how it happened.’
“’We will get to the bottom of this and we will share our findings transparently’…
“Hagari said in his video statement that the IDF’s General Staff Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism — an independent military body responsible for investigating unusual incidents amid the war — would probe the ‘serious incident.’
“’This will help us reduce the risk of such an event from occurring again.’”
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IDF Chief of Staff IDF Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi called the incident a “grave mistake” and said “it shouldn’t have happened…
“It was a mistake that followed a misidentification [of the vehicles], at night, during the war, in a very complex condition.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68727828
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And so, we see that in short order after the incident, high level officials in Israel responsibly acknowledged that it was Israeli missiles that had hit the convoy of aid workers – which, they said, was tragic. They expressed deepest regret. The working assumption was that it did happen because the convoy of cars was misidentified. They promised to investigate thoroughly and transparently.
But let’s see what others had to say (emphasis added):
The Polish foreign ministry said that it “objects to the disregard for international humanitarian law.”
Several other foreign ministries echoed this charge of violation of international humanitarian law:
The ministry of Cyprus said that international and humanitarian law is “absolute,” (which is most definitely not the case).
Egypt said that the killings were “blatant” violations of international law.
Qatar (no surprise) said that it condemns the attack and considers it as a “shocking crime, in violation of international and humanitarian laws.“
Let it be said clearly and unequivocally here: Israel in no way violated international law with this inadvertent incident.
Then there was the charge by WCK’s CEO Erin Gore, who said, “I am heartbroken and appalled that we — World Central Kitchen and the world — lost beautiful lives today because of a targeted attack by the IDF.
“This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations…This is unforgivable.”
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The suggestion that the IDF deliberately targeted relief workers was not only very disturbing, it was not rational. From the Israeli perspective this would have been counterproductive. No one seemed to have a thought as to what we would have gained by doing this. And no one seemed to notice that there is a phenomenon called “friendly fire,” which occurs in all wars – through a mistaken action a nation accidentally kills one or more of its own.
You want to talk about tragic, the IDF killed hostages who had come out of a building seeking rescue. They were thought to be terrorists. The mother of one of those hostages said she forgave the IDF because she understood the circumstances.
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The comment of Joe Biden was particularly disconcerting, as well. What we expect from Egypt or Qatar is not what we would expect from the president of a nation that is supposed to be our closest ally. Biden said he was “outraged.” Buried within this statement was the implication that Israel did it deliberately.
Said the president, “Israel has not done enough to protect civilians.”
Since we are talking about hypocrisy, let’s stop here for a moment. John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute (MWI) at West Point, has just written an article in Newsweek, which last time I looked was a major American publication.
In that article, which I discussed in my last posting, Spencer wrote: “…by my analysis, Israel has implemented more precautions to prevent civilian harm than any military in history—above and beyond what international law requires and more than the U.S. did in its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
And so, precisely what is Biden talking about? What he’s about is delegitimizing Israel’s efforts in Gaza.
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US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke over the phone for 45 minutes on Thursday evening.
According to a White House readout of the phone call:
“President Biden emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable. He made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers. He made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.”
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/387948
“Strikes on humanitarian workers are unacceptable”? Is he implying that Israel thinks they are acceptable?
What the president is looking for is an immediate ceasefire. He wants to shut us down. He is demanding that Israel accept Hamas terms for a hostage deal so that the ceasefire can be established.
How Hamas must be dancing the Arabic version of the jig. This week, Ismail Haniyeh – political head of Hamas, living in luxury in Qatar – said, “We are adhering to our demands for a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip…”
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-795215
He has no motivation to modify, does he?
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Twenty-four hours earlier, Defense Minister Gallant had spoken by phone with his US counterpart, Defense Minister Austin, who was singing the same song about measures to protect civilians. According to Arutz Sheva, Austin “urged Minister Gallant to conduct a swift and transparent investigation, to share their conclusions publicly…”
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/387904
This was particularly condescending, as we had already said we would do this.
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John Spencer, cited above, mentioned civilian deaths during the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Elder of Zyion was one of several commentators who addressed this matter as well:
“In July 2008, the US hit an Afghan wedding party, thinking they were a large number of terrorists. 47 Afghan civilians were killed including the bride. And in November, a similar airstrike at a wedding killed 37 civilians, mostly women and children…
“In September 2012, a US drone shot at a truck in Yemen, killing 12 civilians, including three children and a pregnant woman.
“In March 2017 , the US dropped a 500-pound bomb on a building where about 50 people were sheltering in ISIS-controlled Syria.
“In 2018, the US Army shot a Hellfire missile at a mother and daughter in Somalia, and when one tried to flee, it hit them again, killing them. .
“In 2021, a US drone shot and killed 10 civilians in Kabul, including an aid worker and seven children. It wasn’t a split-second decision – they watched the vehicle for eight hours without considering that perhaps the people they were watching were innocent.
“In nearly all of these cases, the US didn’t admit their mistakes until weeks or months later, if ever, and only when pressured would they release any results of investigations.” (Emphasis added)
https://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2024/04/based-on-its-track-record-us-has-no.html
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Back in 2015 (when Biden was vice president), there was a U.S. military attack on an Afghan hospital because the Americans believed it was being used by a Pakistani operative to coordinate Taliban activity. In the course of the attack, unleashed by an AC-130 gunship on the hospital and involving 200 shells fired at the hospital, at least 22 patients were killed as well as hospital staff. The top U.S. officer in Afghanistan at that time, Gen. John Campbell, “said the strike was a mistake, but he has not explained exactly how it happened.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-doctors-without-borders-american-airstrike-afghanistan-hospital/
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Share, my friends: put this information out wherever you can.
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Richard Kemp, who served as a commander of British forces in Afghanistan, had this observation, as well:
“Civilian casualties occur in fog of war as in killing of WCK staff.
“Within the chaos of war, misidentification, human error are significant contributors to civilian casualties; It is paramount to shed light on the unseen complexities and human tragedy that unfold silently in the backdrop of every conflict zone.”
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjmacwjy0
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Shabbat preparations call to me now, but I will, of course, return to this issue. With it all, there is yet another aspect to American hypocrisy that I have not touched upon here.
Israel cannot and must not cave to Biden’s demands. We are a sovereign state, something the president seems to forget. Our proudest moments have been those in which we have stood tall.
We must finish the war with Hamas.
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The bitter irony is that we are fighting the evil of Islamic radicalism on behalf of the world, yet the world refuses to acknowledge this. Quite the contrary.
Melanie Philips wrote an excellent article about this for JNS: “The global onslaught against Israel.” She said:
“Israel is on the front line of the battle against Iran and radical Islam, which have declared war on the West. Israel is doing the West’s dirty work for it—and suffering grievous losses as a result—because America, Britain and the rest of the West aren’t prepared to fight to defend their civilization…
“The Jewish people has been through persecution, enslavement, pogroms, inquisitions and genocide at different times, and at the hands of disparate groups and states. It has suffered from varying mutations of antisemitism—the desire to wipe out the Jews as a religion, a race and a nation. It has, however, never been subjected to a concerted global onslaught like this.” (Emphasis added)
https://www.jns.org/the-global-onslaught-against-israel/
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Let your elected leaders in the US know that it is not only the progressive left that votes – that you are demanding support for Israel.
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Keep praying to Heaven for Israel. Pray for the strength and wisdom of our leaders, for the safety of our soldiers, and for the rescue of our hostages. Pray with a heart filled with hope.
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© Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
