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Israel Bars UN Human Rights Watchdog From Occupied Territory
alternet.org — An interview with Richard Falk, professor emeritus of international law at Princeton and the UN's recently appointed 'special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories'.
Carthagefield- 229 diggs
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- Carthagefield, on 07/12/2008, -5/+36This is a fairly long piece so here are some interesting highlights.
On Israeli violations of international humanitarian laws.
"The Human Rights Council is often accused of being overly selective, too critical of Israel, too lenient with respect to a variety of Third World countries. There is no doubt that any political institution will establish priorities based on the concerns of its membership. From this perspective it's not surprising that a focus should be placed on Israel and the Palestinian plight. After all, the UN has a special responsibility for Palestine that goes back to its effort to partition the mandate for the territory in 1947. From the UN perspective this unconsummated effort to address the future of both Palestinians and Israelis is, in a sense, the greatest unresolved issue on the UN agenda. Beyond this, the prolonged Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza is unprecedented in international experience and has produced immense Palestinian suffering. It should also be noted that the HRC has appointed special rapporteurs for other situations of severe human rights concern, including North Korea and Myanmar.
It would be unforgivable if the Human Rights Council overlooked charges of Israeli violation of international humanitarian law. Limitations of resources, geopolitical pressures and blind spots help explain why some other situations involving serious human rights abuse are not addressed with comparable seriousness. But my experience suggests that the HRC entrusts its special rapporteurs with complete freedom to report on a given situation and demands that they adhere to professional canons of impartiality in the discharge of their official duties.
Israel has been long relying on various forms of collective punishment to carry out its occupation policy. Collective punishment is not just a response to the Hamas victory in the elections of 2006. It's an extension of that. And it definitely seems in the Gaza case to have the intention of creating a set of political effects that, at minimum, destroy Hamas as a political movement and possibly, more ambitiously, induce Palestinians to give up their struggle by provoking feelings of abject humiliation and helplessness."- Conspiracy20, on 07/12/2008, -6/+4feelings of abject humiliation and helplessness
Sounds like the US
- Conspiracy20, on 07/12/2008, -6/+4feelings of abject humiliation and helplessness
- Carthagefield, on 07/12/2008, -6/+28On the pro-Israel media bias in America and the growing public backlash against it.
"There is growing uneasiness underneath this unconditional support for Israel. There is a kind of uneasiness that US policy isn't really in America's national interest, and it's not a just policy. This has made the organized pro-Israel forces very nervous, so they are extremely reactive to any sign that the American consensus, on an official level, is being challenged. But I wouldn't exaggerate their success in dominating the public space."
On the real objectives for invading Afghanistan and Iraq.
"I think the way the war was prosecuted was very disturbing--legally, morally and politically. And I now think that the quick embrace of a war paradigm by the US government in response to 9/11 was a very fundamental mistake in responding to the threats posed by the attacks.
In a broader sense, Afghanistan launched the neoconservative post-9/11 grand strategy. It's important to appreciate that this strategy was not focused on counterterrorist objectives but seemed to focus on establishing American control over the Middle East for reasons of oil, nonproliferation policies, long-term protection of Israel and containment of political Islam. These goals depended on victory in Iraq, which now seems unlikely." - cheekybastard, on 07/12/2008, -5/+20Great article, unfortunately there is a 100% probability that those who disagree with it will invoke Godwin's Law.
- MarkEarhart, on 07/12/2008, -7/+20I don't know which one I like the least, Israel or the UN.
- Hangly, on 07/12/2008, -3/+15I consider the UN more worthless than problematic. At least the UN isn't talking about nuking a country without provocation.
- Conspiracy20, on 07/12/2008, -4/+5good point
- sk11, on 07/13/2008, -4/+3Tell that to the hundreds of millions of people who were immunised against fatal diseases by UN organisations. But since they didn't do anything for you personally, they must be worthless, right?
- Hangly, on 07/12/2008, -3/+15I consider the UN more worthless than problematic. At least the UN isn't talking about nuking a country without provocation.
- FrankHope, on 07/12/2008, -5/+18Richard Falk's response to charges that the UN Human Rights Council has been engaged in "one-sided Israel-bashing":
"It is being objective to report the facts as they are and then to interpret them from the perspective of international humanitarian law. If these facts point to the persistent violation of international rules, then their legal interpretation is bound to be one-sided and critical of the violator. It's diversionary to dismiss a critical account of contested behavior because it is not "balanced." If the reality is unbalanced, so must its assessment be."
The above statement by Falk is so logical as to be obvious. It just goes to show that TRUTH is thrown out the window when it comes to Israel's treatment of the Palestinians - especially here in the US. - sandraider, on 07/12/2008, -3/+14When Linda Mamoun interviewed Falk for The Nation, she should have asked him about how he deals with people who call him a "self-hating Jew." The question may be cliche, but I can't tell you how many times this inane term has been hurled at me.
- jumbalia, on 07/12/2008, -4/+9Evil Iran allows the UN full access to their nuclear facilities to the extent that they may do numerous random searches without warning, while the bastion of good in the middle east - Israel - denies UN access to monitor human rights violations.
Hmmmmmm, something doesn't sound right about that sentance.
But just to be fair: it's not like Iran has a very good human rights record.- sherrife, on 07/15/2008, -0/+2To be fair: Iran isn't an apartheid state.
- jumbalia, on 07/12/2008, -5/+6Evil Iran allows the UN full access to their nuclear facilities to the extent that they may do numerous random searches without warning, while the bastion of good in the middle east - Israel - denies UN access to monitor human rights violations.
Hmmmmmm, something doesn't sound right about that sentance.
But just to be fair: it's not like Iran has a very good human rights record.- xs11ax, on 07/12/2008, -2/+6naaa, its just that iran isnt very good at disguising human rights violations unlike the US who use torture tactics and kidnappings and illegally detain prisoners in guantanamo and then getting away with it by giving different names and titles and hide behind made up terminology.
- BrookeGill9, on 07/13/2008, -3/+3this is just sad
- Tangaroa, on 07/13/2008, -12/+2The reason being that Richard Falk is insane:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Falk#Controve ...- Carthagefield, on 07/13/2008, -2/+9Oh sure, because anyone (let alone an accredited Human Rights expert) who holds the Israeli or American governments accountable for any transgression has to be insane. Grow up, Tangaroa.
- Tangaroa, on 07/13/2008, -12/+3When he holds them accountable for nonexistent transgressions and compares legal and downight mild war methods to the Holocaust, he's friggin' insane. The guy was hired by the UN Human Rights Commission because he is a nutter who hates Israel and will issue grand denouncements blaming Israel for everything regardless of whether Israel is actually to blame for anything, and it is for that reason that Israel declares him persona non grata. His support for the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the fact that he's a 9/11 troofer make it hilarious that people are holding him up as an ideal paragon of truth and justice.
- Carthagefield, on 07/13/2008, -2/+6"When he holds them accountable for nonexistent transgressions and compares legal and downight mild war methods to the Holocaust, he's friggin' insane."
Could you be more specific please? Thanks.
"The guy was hired by the UN Human Rights Commission because he is a nutter who hates Israel and will issue grand denouncements blaming Israel for everything regardless of whether Israel is actually to blame for anything, and it is for that reason that Israel declares him persona non grata."
Why would the UN have such a policy? Where is the advantage for the UN in having a discriminatory bias against Israel? This is ludicrous. Let me guess, the entire UN staff are all non compos mentis as well, right? Careful Tangaroa, you'll be dismissed as a 'conspiracy nut' with talk like this.
"His support for the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the fact that he's a 9/11 troofer make it hilarious that people are holding him up as an ideal paragon of truth and justice."
You mean to say he supported a revolution that deposed the despotic Shah of Iran, a man who was installed as a puppet ruler by the US after they had overthrown the democratically elected Mosaddeqi government in the coup d'état of 1953? And that is wrong how? That makes him insane, how? Get some historical perspective man!
As for Falk being a "9/11 troofer", I'll let Mr Falk do his own bidding.
"LM: One such issue: you have said that there is reason to question the government's official explanation for 9/11. How has the left reacted to your skepticism?"
"RF: I think that there is a great deal of suspicion directed at anyone who is skeptical about the official explanation for 9/11. I have not, in fact, been very much involved with the so-called 9/11 truth movement. By coincidence, I happen to be a longtime friend of a man named David Ray Griffin, a much-respected philosopher of religion, who has become convinced that the official explanation is false. I have a lot of respect for him, and I wrote the foreword to his original book, The New Pearl Harbor. But that's really the extent of my involvement. I don't have an independent view on how best to understand the 9/11 attacks. I haven't looked at the evidence sufficiently to say more than that the 9/11 Commission didn't do a good job of dispelling the several plausible grounds for suspicions that exist. There are unanswered questions that deserve to be answered, and the public should have the benefit of that kind of clarification.
"The left particularly is nervous about being seen as supportive of conspiracy theory. And to the extent that there is an incentive to discredit my role--partly because of the Israel/Palestine context-- there's also a tendency to exaggerate my involvement with this set of issues. But if you look carefully at what I've been writing and what I've been doing, you'll see that I've really had very minimal contact, and I've not been involved in the 9/11 movement at all. Some people have tried to get me involved, and I've resisted, not because I don't think it's important to raise these issues but because they're not my own priorities."
Had you bothered to read the main article, which at a whopping four pages would probably have kept you up all night, you would have saved yourself the embarrassment of making such a baseless and stupid accusation. Then again, when your main source of inspiration is a Wikipedia article no doubt crawling with CAMERA shills, I shouldn't have expected anything more.
- Carthagefield, on 07/13/2008, -2/+9Oh sure, because anyone (let alone an accredited Human Rights expert) who holds the Israeli or American governments accountable for any transgression has to be insane. Grow up, Tangaroa.
- cassetteturn, on 07/13/2008, -2/+0REALLY EXCELLENT interview --I'm going to send this to all my UNWatch buddies (UN Watch is affiliated with the American Jewish Committee --of course)
- geoken, on 07/14/2008, -0/+2Newsflash;
Nobody gives a ***** about what you're going to do.
- geoken, on 07/14/2008, -0/+2Newsflash;
- shinderpaljandu, on 07/14/2008, -3/+2I cannot understand how the Israeli's feel this way
The UN is among the most (if not the most corrupt, nepotism filled) organization going
What a shame how it got deviated from its purpose
Where is the outcry from the left wing?
Look at how the UN and the Europeans made promises in Lebanon - and now has allowed the whole country to be kidnapped - most likely as a battleground on which another war will be fought
Europe stands by and lets it all escalate
Chamberlain in the 30's was small potatoes compared to this
When the fighting starts - it may end up in the oil fields themselves - that will be a real price to pay
After all does not this evil and kowtowing all start in two places with money - Iran and Saudi
As for the left wing - does it ever occur to you that you are living on occupied land in California stolen from Mexico?
Maybe you should go back to where you came from
So much for Noam Chomsky and his good buddy - Amy Goodman of NPR Democracy Now ( Tokyo Rose of our day) - str3ama, on 07/14/2008, -2/+2Israel is for some reason (to idiots that is) not considered part of the Middle East. What's really sickening is that any criticism of Israel or it's foreign or military policies is touted as anti-Semitism by Pro-Israel Lobby groups. Any comment that discusses humanitarian issues is mitigated as a rationalization to kill all Jews.
By doing this, these so-called pro Israel groups are diluting the real cases of racism against Jews. It's sickening that there are people who so vehemently oppose the atrocities of the Holocaust yet scoff at anyone comparing or showing the similarities with the Palestinian land that Israel currently occupies. Call it what you want, but it's basically apartheid. - AchaIemoipas, on 07/14/2008, -2/+0They must be tired of killing them.
http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Security/208 ...
A video of her when she was still alive:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3JI-axaRF4
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