Israel Lifts Blockade. Hooray For Peaceful International Pressure!

If you haven't heard by now, the constant and thorough pressure brought upon Israel in the last few weeks since the flotilla incident has resulted in a humanitarian victory. Israel will no longer be stopping food and supplies for the emaciated and compacted slice of sand that is known as the Gaza Strip.

From the New York Times:

JERUSALEM — Bowing to worldwide pressure and condemnation, Israel on Sunday formally announced an eased blockade of Gaza that could significantly expand the flow of goods overland into the impoverished coastal Palestinian enclave, isolated by the Israelis for three years.

The announcement, made by the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, came three weeks after a deadly Israeli naval commando raid that thwarted a breach of the blockade by a flotilla of pro-Palestinian aid activists. That raid outraged much of the world and became a catalyst for a serious re-examination by Israel of its policy toward Gaza, which is governed by the militant anti-Israeli group Hamas and is home to 1.5 million Palestinians.

The blockade started shortly after Hamas took power, a method of Israeli "diplomacy" that tried to shame Gazans for electing the terrorist group. Unfortunately it only served as a tool that legitimized Hamas in the eyes of those they govern.

Between the election that saw the decline of Fatah in the Strip and the deaths of Turkish citizens during the raid on the flotilla, the blockade was largely ignored by the international community. Even though plenty of aid groups and NGOs tried their best to plead with the Israeli government to lift the blockade, it took the persistent shaming for Netanyahu to finally relent.

It goes to show that sometimes neither war or stealth shuttle diplomacy can solve crises in the Middle East. Sometimes you just need to get creative in how you make people realize their mistakes in treating other people.

Obama Signals A New Way Between Israel And Gaza

The cease-fire is holding thus far between Israel and Gaza, but for how long can it last? Certainly not much if things remain the way they are. Thankfully, with Bush gone and Obama as President, the United States will do things differently, at least that is the new plan. For eight years, we have made empty promises of helping the region find peace, yet doing nothing for it. While Gaza remains closed off to the world, it will forever breed the endless cycle of violence between the people there and the Israelis outside. If Barack Obama has his way, we just might be able to break the cycle.

From The Financial Times:

“The outline for a durable ceasefire is clear: Hamas must end its rocket fire: Israel will complete the withdrawal of its forces from Gaza: the US and our partners will support a credible anti-smuggling and interdiction regime, so that Hamas cannot re-arm,” the US president said.

“As part of a lasting ceasefire, Gaza’s border crossings should be open to allow the flow of aid and commerce, with an appropriate monitoring regime, with the international and Palestinian Authority participating.”

It may not be a panacea to the problems over there, but it is certainly a start. Simply giving arms and aid is not enough. You can not simply throw money and the might of the military-industrial complex and think that high-tech bloodshed will solve anything. Decades have passed and by the looks of the latest mini-war, we obviously had not learned the lesson shown to us over and over again. Both sides must now try something different. Perhaps it can be Obama's plan that will be a new beginning.

Bloomberg's Israeli Faux Pas

Everyone, including Mayor Bloomberg is more than welcome to visit Israel and see the modern land of milk and honey. Having been there a few times myself, I know what an incredible country that it is. However, when you wear the politician and Mayor of New York City's hat, the rules change. You are there to be a tourist and as far as political relations go, do business on a city to city level. Tel Aviv is a very cosmopolitan place and so is our very own NYC. Beyond that though, when dealing with foreign relations and crises such as the conflict with/on Gaza, leave the country to country stuff to the President and the Senate, as the Constitution mandates.

From The Columbia Spectator:

Disregard your political views surrounding the recent violence in Gaza. Forget your opinion on whether Israel acted offensively or defensively, whether Hamas is a terrorist organization, or whether the ceasefire came too soon or too late. Put the war aside all together, and still Bloomberg acted out of line and inappropriately when he made a trip to Israeli towns near Gaza on Jan. 4 and offered his support to Israel.

The thousands of demonstrators who filled Times Square two weeks ago and demanded an end to the violence made the first argument against Bloomberg’s trip extremely visual. They made it clear that New York does not speak with a unified voice on this issue. Mayor Bloomberg represents the city­­—he should represent all parts of it.

Yet, many are quick to respond to this argument by stating that whether or not each American agrees with U.S. foreign policy, Israel is a political ally of the United States, and our federal government provides it, at the very least, with diplomatic support for its actions. In this way, Bloomberg’s trip can be viewed as in line with U.S. policy. Yet, ironically, it is this very argument that brings the true inappropriateness of Bloomberg’s actions into focus.

Our federal government’s foreign policy might support Israel, but Bloomberg is not a federal official. He is a city mayor. The constitution makes clear that matters of international relations are to be left to the national government. Article 1, Section 8 delegates the powers of international commerce and war to Congress, while Article 2, Section 2 gives the president the power to make treaties, appoint ambassadors, and serve as commander-in-chief. These rules were designed to prevent one state, or in this case, one city, from forming alliances with different international actors that would conflict with alliances other states would make. The fear was that other countries could divide our nation, pitting one state against another if individual states conducted their own foreign policies. And so it was decided that we could present a unified face abroad and temper potential divisions only if the federal government controlled our foreign policy. It is in the constitution—city mayors are not to be diplomats.

Exactly, and as the article points out that Bloomberg did nothing specfically to violate that (sign treaties, etc) rule, he was still trying to represent the American people and provide a viewpoint not shared by all of the people here. Members of Congress and the President, along with certain members of the Cabinet are within their rights to do so, but they are held accountable by the people as a whole and not just a single, solitary Mayor who just so happens to be from New York City.

Hate Is Universal

The fearless Max Bleumenthal is at it again, this time taking on his own people (and mine), the Jews of New York. Of course this isn't everyone and I do not claim that all American Jews feel this way, but the hate for people that live in Gaza and the West Bank is atrocious. It is this kind of display that helps perpetuate the violence, the stereotyping and dashing the hopes for peace.

(h/t to ILJ for the video)

A New Year, An Old Fight

The Sunday shows, like last week, were all about the conflict in and around Gaza:



Sadly, there's no end in sight here and the fighting will continue to worsen....and darken the hopes for the future.

What Do You Say About The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?

It was sad news this past weekend to see tensions flare back into brutal violence on and around the Gaza Strip. A few were killed in Ashkelon and Ashdod by rockets, while hundreds were killed by airstrikes in Gaza and near other key militarily strategic sites. The first group were Israelis and the latter Palestinians, but they all live in a land no bigger than the state of New Jersey. It is so tragic to see the death and destruction in what is such a beautiful place.

Back here in America, the verbal conflict is just as bad in many progressive circles. DailyKos was a blaze with diaries sporting thousands of comments over who was worse, Israel or Hamas. The "I'm right and you're wrong mentality is set in their minds like a granite slab in Central Park.

Last night as I was walking through Union Square in NYC I saw a protest out of the corner of my eye and without seeing the signs that were waved, I knew what it was about. My girlfriend and I walked through part of the crowd and within twenty seconds two people were ready to shove informative flyers in my face to tell me how bad Israel is. "Do you know what is happening in Israel?" one asked.

Yeah, I know. I know all too well.

I know from my friends and family in and out in the diaspora of Israel what Hamas has done to Israel and the hate they teach new generations, helping them along to hate the newest generation of Jews there. I know about the suicide bombings, one of which killed my cousin's close friend. I know about the need to wave people to check for explosives when entering a densely packed store or restaurant.

I also know what the state of Israel does to Gaza and the West Bank. I know about the increasing amount of settlers when they weren't supposed to be there in the first place. I know about what happened in Jenin. I know how houses are razed. I know that those "targeted" strikes by the IAF end up killing infants. I know. I know. I know.

Yet, no one on other side is "right" nor are they "wrong" about what is going on. They feel the way they feel. As long as their passionate views are kept boiling on the stove fueled by ignorance and blind hatred, nothing will change.

I will not take a side here, even though some of my family may call me a supporter of terrorists. I will not even if others accuse me of ignoring the domination of Israel over the Palestinians. What they don't get is that taking sides only keeps the hate and the war going. If Israelis stopped settling Palestinian land, if Hamas-run schools stopped preaching hate, if Israel would allow commerce to happen with their immediate neighbor, if Hamas stopped firing rockets into Israel...how different things would be.

As John Lennon once said, "War is over if you want it." That applies to Israel as it does all over the world.

TPM's Sunday Talk Roundup

Because sometimes, you can lose yourself in the chatter of the Sunday pundits. Of course, this Sunday it was all about the I/P conflict:

Palin's Worst Answer Yet

If Sarah Palin knew who she was talking about down below, then we would have to conclude that she supports the terrorist group Hamas. Of course, she doesn't, as we can tell from the rest of her incoherent answer to Couric's question. Like all of the other responses we have seen so far, she diverts from what was asked of her because she has no clue what she's talking about.