On Sunday the Israeli Naval Forces seized a Flotilla of six ship carrying humanitarian supplies to the people of Gaza known as the Free Gaza Flotilla. Israel has a blockade forbidden the transport of supplies into Gaza. Israeli forced boarded the ships after they refused to change course. While the crew of the Flotilla expected the possibility of being reprimanded by Israeli forces they did not expect that it would cost them their lives. An estimated 16 casualties have been reported and over 60 were injured. There were eleven US Citizens on the ship including Edward Peck former Ambassador to Iraq and Mauritania, Joe Meadors a USS Liberty Survivor, Huwaida Arraf co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, and Hedy Epstein a Holocaust Survivor. The mainstream media has covered has not reported on the fact that Epstein is a Holocaust Survivor considering they usually bring up of the Holocaust when it suits their political objectives.
The Government of Israel has defended the actions as self defense. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu told Canadian PM that "this was done successfully with five ships, but the sixth did not cooperate."
Netanyahu said" hundreds of people on board that ship beat, clubbed and stabbed soldiers, and there was a report of gunfire." Andy David, a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry stated "this is the ninth effort to get boats into Gaza. The first three were allowed through, but then we began to see it was becoming like a leaking faucet we had to put an end to because, as we have seen, Hamas is doing all it can do in its power to smuggle in weapons."
Most of the major American Jewish Organization took the same position. The Powerful Israeli Lobby group AIPAC defended the actions stating that "the Israeli soldiers were then forced to use live ammunition to defend themselves. Despite issuing numerous warnings throughout the week that the Gaza coast was a closed military zone, and offering to deliver all legal supplies to Gaza through the Israeli port of Ashdod, the flotilla proceeded toward the Gaza shore, seeking confrontation with Israel. As the ships neared Gaza, the Israeli Navy issued another warning to stop their progress and be escorted to Ashdod, an order that they again refused." The Anti-Defamation League "called the use of humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza "an elaborate sham" and "a pretext for ambushing and violently attacking Israeli military personnel "who were seeking to redirect the ships to a port in Israel where the aid could be off-loaded and delivered to Gaza by established land routes."
While the rest of the world was outraged Many prominent American Politicians of both parties have endorsed the attack even though it was known that there were American on board who posed no security threat to Israel what so ever. Both Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich who are considered leading candidates for the Republican nomination for president in 2012 endorsed the attack.
Sarah Palin posted on her personal Facebook that "as far too many in the media, and in various governments, rush to condemn Israel, we must put the recent events off Israel's coast into the right perspective," she writes. "This 'relief' convoy was not about humanitarian aid, as the liberal mainstream media keeps reporting. The whole operation was designed to provoke Israel, not to provide supplies to Palestinians held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Anyone who sees the video of Israeli commandos being attacked as they land on that ship knows the people aboard were vicious thugs, not 'peace activists.' The media insults our intelligence with their outright mischaracterization of who these enemies are."
Newt Gingrich told Politico that "The U.S., through the United Nations relief organization, has been funding food and shelter for the people of Gaza for 60 years now. There was no humanitarian crisis; this was a deliberate political effort on the part of people who want to try to undermine the survival of Israel." Newt however leaves out that their is an Israeli blockade on Gaza and it is absurd to claim the activist were aiding terrorism when they were transporting humanitarian supplies.
While the White House has not taken an official position many democratic members of the House are speaking out in support of the actions. New York Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner told the Washington Post that "this was about instigating an altercation and they succeeded." He said "they were offered alternatives. Instead they chose to sail into the teeth of an internationally recognized blockade." He says that anything that Israel does would create an international outcry," he added. "This entire effort was intended to create an international outcry." His fellow New York Democrat Congressman Gary Ackerman said that "Hamas is the "true villain in this drama," despite the fact they had nothing to do with the Flotilla incident. Florida Democrat Congressman said "as Israel continues to be unjustly challenged on the international stage, the United States must continue its efforts to stand up for Israel's self-defense."
These activist were practicing civil disobedience much like the Civil Rights movement yet many of the same organization that pride in their support for the Civil Rights movement such as the ADL have justified the murders of the activist. Despite the survivors testimony of a deliberate attack the Government of Israel has taken the position that the USS Liberty was an activist and much like the Flotilla incident many of its supporters have justified the Liberty Incident as self defense. Much like the Liberty the American Government is against covering up for Israel crimes. The fact that no major US politician will speak out against the attack proves the power how strong Israel;s influence is over our government.
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