Don't even get me started on double standards. israel refusing to sign the NPT is hypocritical. israel offering to sell nuclear weapons to South Africa is hypocritical. 'Peaceful and brave IDF' hijacking a humanitarian aid ship and shooting its members from the back is hypocritical... "Well everyone else is killing civilians all over the world! Why can't we do it!?!" Is the dumbest argument I've ever heard.
I didn't believe this issue was about Nuclear weapons? I'm not a "my country right or wrong" supporter of Israel - sure, I love the country ridiculously, that seems obvious, otherwise I wouldn't have joined the army. But my stance on the Nuclear issue is another matter altogether. I'm well aware of the debacle where the Israeli government offered to sell nuclear weapons to the apartheid regime - it's a dark part of Israel's history and I like most Israelis am not proud of it - thank God it never happened.
About the lack of signing the NPT - I can tell you that at the moment, this is the only thing holding all out war and thus saving hundreds of thousands of lives. Nuclear weapons are what gives Israel the edge over its enemies. We all know Israel would not use the nukes it has - this was seen clearly when they weren't used in 1973, when Israel was on the absolute verge of destruction but abstained from using them. It is merely as a strategic tool. I'm all for nuclear proliferation, (in fact the TV series Jericho gave me a real fear of nuclear war
) but it is just not a realistic, not to mention safe notion for Israel until there exists real stability in the region.
And I'm not justifying Israel's actions, I'm just saying that you can't beat Israel with a yardstick and then not use the same yardstick to hit other countries responsible for even more grievous crimes, that's called hypocrisy. Also, I think you need to double check your definition of what "humanitarianism" is. It's a care for all humans.
The Free Gaza movement describes itself as a humanitarian movement, but this is completely incorrect. Not only does it obviously not care for all humans - it provides no aid for other countries where there are humanitarian issues like other genuine humanitarian organisation. It goes further by not only not providing humanitarian help to those on the other side of the conflict - the innocent Israelis who have lived under the constant threat of rocket fire for the past 8 years, but also
sanctioning their murder. In the Free Gaza movements manifesto, it defends the Palestinians right to resistance, manifest in whatever form - by indiscriminate rocket fire or by the blatant murderous act of a suicide bomber blowing up a bus of innocent civilians.
I ask you, what "humanitarian" organisation, what "human rights activists" support this?
Furthermore, I ask you, directly, who have called these people human rights activists, what kind of human rights activists support the genuine apartheid regime of Hamas, one which oppresses its people with gender, sexual and religious apartheid? There is no freedom of press under Hamas, no toleration for homosexuality under Hamas, no equal rights for women under Hamas. And yet there are images of when past "human rights activists" have arrived in Gaza being received and receiving Hamas officials with open arms, embracing them and receiving awards from them.
I ask you, what humanitarian receives awards from an extremist Islamic regime?
These are not rhetorical questions - and don't answer them with your own questions to divert to point - what are your answers?
What about MK Hanin Zuabi?
I almost forgot, thank you for providing me with the most emphatic example of Israel's democracy. So free are these Arab members of parliament, that they are able to work against the state which has provided the platform to put them in power. That a member of parliament can one week be on a convoy of ships under the banner of a movement which denies Israel's right to exist, that she can support the enemies of the state of Israel, Hamas with supplies and then can only a few days later be attending a session of the Knesset freely? Sure she was shouted down, but not only does this seem legit considering her actions - it is a natural democratic process, members of the Australian parliament are often removed for contempt of the parliament.
So free are these Arab members of parliament that recently they went on a junket to Libya where they were treated with absolute luxury - they dined with Gadaffi and discussed how to remove the existence of the Jewish State - they were back in Israel a week later, freely walking the streets and speaking (or rather, ranting) in the Knesset.
The parliament was just an example of the democracy in Israel - the actions it makes itself are not always perfect and reflective of the peoples will as are the actions of most parliaments (internet censorship anyone?) But I forgot another great example of democracy - there is an Arab supreme court Justice in Israel (of only 14).
But if you still choose to argue that there is no democracy in Israel - whatever. I heard it from the mouth of a Palestinian/Israeli-Arab only today that there was, a person more apt to know than anyone in this thread and I've witnessed it with my own eyes and ears. Just over a month ago I was in the Israeli-Arab village of Ein Rafa, very close to Jerusalem and I spoke to a few of the community leaders who could only compliment Israel's democracy - they had some issues with it, granted, like the disproportionate funding schools in more Jewish areas receive compared to their schools. But they put up with this, because they knew they were enjoying excellent democracy relative to some of their relatives under the Palestinian Authority - they were also seeing improvements, achieved through lobbying Israeli authorities, as is proper in a working democracy.
