JVP News Roundup September 9

JVP News Roundup, September 9, 2007

The threat of war between Israel and Syria rose this past week, as Israel apparently flew warplanes into Syrian airspace, amid conflicting reports about whether or not they dropped any sort of munitions. It remains unclear, as well, what Syria's response will be, although they have repeatedly stated that there will be one. That can mean, as it has in the past, a diplomatic complaint in the UN, but, given the tense situation that has developed over the summer between Israel and Syria, it is not out of the question that Syria may try to respond militarily, despite the fact that their military capabilities are severely dwarfed by Israel's. Still, the statements from Syria have not been nearly as militant as one might expect under the circumstances, which is a hopeful indication that they are not planning to escalate matters.

The situation is even more unusual because Israel is not saying anything at all. There is neither confirmation nor denial of any Israeli action regarding Syria. The silence is not a certain confirmation that they had flown into Syrian airspace, although in general when Israel has been accused falsely or incorrectly, they have immediately denied the accusations, so it seems likely that they did indeed violate Syrian airspace. This would be far from the first time Israel had done such a thing.

The Arab League and the Egyptian Foreign Ministry have criticized the action, while the US, like Israel, has remained silent. Syria's position in the Arab world seems also to have diminished the outrage from other Arab states that one might expect, however.

Some have speculated that this was not done under the orders of the Israeli government, but was a foolish misadventure on the part of some air force commanders. This is not impossible, as lower-ranked Israeli military commanders have unusual autonomy, but this is a much bigger decision than would normally be left to anyone but the upper echelons. The matter will remain shrouded in some mystery for the time being.

Meanwhile, last Tuesday a qassam rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed very near a day-care center in Sderot. While Gaza is still, in every real and technical sense of the word, under Israeli occupation, and while international law does give occupied people the right to use force against their occupiers, this right does not extend to the targeting of civilians. the ongoing targeting of Sderot is just that. This is not the first time a qassam rocket has landed near a children's site, a similar center or a school. In any event, the continuing targeting of Sderot cannot be defended by the fact of the occupation. Nor does it make any tactical sense--each rocket merely increases Israeli support for a hard-line stance on Gaza and the occupation in general.

Israel is considering different responses. While they seem to have ruled out a massive assault on Gaza and its reoccupation for the immediate future, this is still a consideration. The Israeli government is also considering cutting off key services to Gaza like water and electricity. The game would seem to be that as the qassams target Israeli civilians, Israel will use its might to target Palestinian civilians. These tactics will clearly harm Gaza's populace, and yet are not terribly likely to stop the qassam fire. The presumed hope, as we have heard often, is that such threats will prompt the populace to take action against the militants. Yet this never works, either in the Palestinian territories or just about anywhere else in history where such tactics have been tried.

Israel has been launching attacks on suspected launching sites for the qassams in Gaza, and in one such attack, three Palestinian children were killed. Absurdly, the Israeli government issued a statement admitting that the children, aged 9, 10 and 12, were only playing by the site and were not themselves militants. As much as this turns reality on its head, it demonstrates the need for a Palestinian leadership that will stop these attacks. They are completely futile, as they do not, either in Sderot or anywhere else in Israel, convince anyone to take a more humane approach to the Gaza Strip--indeed, they have the opposite effect. The rocket attacks hinder the sympathy for the severe suffering in Gaza even in the international community as well. That Hamas has done nothing to stop these attacks is another example of the failures of their leadership that cannot be laid reasonably at the feet of Fatah, Israel or the United States, despite all that those entities have done to undermine Hamas since their 2006 election.

In the international forum, Human Rights Watch (HRW) is clearly doing their job well, as their reports on last summer's war between Israel and Hezbollah have drawn angry reactions from both sides. The first report they issued condemned Hezbollah for intentionally and indiscriminately targeting Israeli civilians. Anger in Lebanon over the war remains very high, and as a result, even the Lebanese government joined in the chorus of angry responses to the HRW report, saying it "blamed the victims." A short time later, HRW issued another report slamming Israel for targeting civilians, and making it clear that, due to Israel's far greater military capabilities, the scope of the damage inflicted upon civilian lives and infrastructure was much greater. Moreover, HRW made it clear that the Israeli excuse that Hezbollah was encamped in civilian areas from which it was launching attacks on Israel does not hold water. Predictably, this report was dismissed by Israel.

In Israel

Ha'aretz reporter Danny Rubinstein found himself the subject of a news story when he used the word "apartheid" to describe Israeli rule in the West Bank. Rubinstein was immediately dropped from a planned appearance at a conference hosted by the British Zionist Federation, although a scheduled appearance at another functioned co-sponsored by that group along with the New Israel Fund, UK went ahead as planned despite the BZF canceling its sponsorship. While the use of the word apartheid to describe the occupation often causes controversy and could be argued to be counterproductive outside of Israel, it is a common term, if still a somewhat controversial one, in Israel, as Rubinstein points out.

Lest some think that Rubinstein is someone on the far left in Israel, he is not only a lecturer at a major Israeli university and a long-time correspondent for Ha'aretz, but his views are generally much more akin to groups like Peace Now than to the many more radical groups in Israel. One need only read his letter of support, written just two weeks ago, to Peace Now to see this.

Meanwhile, a petition was filed with Israeli High Court demanding redress of treatment given at checkpoints to Palestinian ambulances. The brief states that 73% of Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances were turned away from Jerusalem and that even those that get through are delayed at checkpoints for between one and six hours. The brief was filed by Physicians for Human Rights, the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, and the local council of Izariyah, a Palestinian suburb of Jerusalem. Even Palestinians traveling in Israeli Magen David Adom (Red Star of David) ambulances are delayed, as was the case with an 18-year old Palestinian who had been in a car accident in Bethlehem and died at a checkpoint after the ambulance had to receive clearance to continue rather than be forced to bring him back to the West Bank.

Finally, Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon is reported to have met secretly with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and made an offer regarding an Israeli pullout from most of the West Bank, a land swap in the form of a connection with Gaza in exchange for the rest of the land, and a sharing of Greater Jerusalem where the Palestinians would get the Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and the holy sites in the Old City would be shared. Reports do not indicate how Fayyad reacted to this offer, or how it might be broached to a Palestinian populace which would likely see the offer as well short of their minimal demands.

In the Palestinian Territories

In a direct violation of international law, Hamas has refused permission for the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and ascertain his condition. The Red Cross is continuing to press its case.

In an ironic twist, the Islamist Hamas has banned Fatah groups from organizing Friday public prayers after several such gatherings descended into violent clashes with Hamas security forces. Hamas security forces have become increasingly repressive as Fatah and PLO supporters in Gaza have continued to demonstrate publicly, and the PLO called a general strike in response to a recent incident where Hamas forces broke up a Fatah demonstration, causing some 20 injuries. This comes on the heels of a strike by Gaza's firefighters to protest the Hamas takeover of their buildings and equipment.

Fatah protests have, for their own part become increasingly violent as well, and attacks by Fatah supporters, including bombings, on Hamas sites in Gaza have been frequent occurrences. In the West Bank, arrests and targeting of Hamas activists and supporters by Fatah are as lo on the rise, causing great alarm among Palestinian human rights organizations.

In brighter news, the West Bank town of Bili'in won a significant victory last week when the Israeli High Court ordered that a small section of the security barrier had to be relocated because of the undue hardship it had caused the town. This is the latest of a good number of such rulings over the past several years, and the rulings themselves stand well as proof that the route of the wall in the West Bank was conceived not on the basis of security but for political concerns geared toward a future permanent border between Israel and Palestine.

In the United States

Professor Norman Finkelstein's battle with DePaul University is over. Finkelstein reached a settlement with the university and agreed to leave and end that part of the controversy over the denial of his tenure. While DePaul claims the decision to deny Finkelstein tenure was made purely on academic and collegial grounds, the very public attacks on Finkelstein, directly criticizing the possibility of his receiving tenure, by Alan Dershowitz and the overwhelmingly favorable reviews by his peers at Depaul cast suspicion on that claim. Whether one agrees with Finkelstein or not, this incident must be viewed as a serious concern over academic freedom in the United States. For supporting Prof. Finkelstein, another professor, Mehrene Larudee was similarly denied her tenure, and her battle with DePaul is ongoing.

The Senate approved the foreign aid package for the coming year, the last in which Israel receives its annual military aid before, presumably, the new aid package which will total $30 billion over ten years, comes into effect. The House passed a similar bill earlier, but the bill faces a potential presidential veto because it contains provisions for assistance to family planning groups that provide abortions. A presidential veto would mean the politics around this bill would go on longer, though in the end, Israel is sure to get its aid.

A recent poll finds that more and more young American Jews feel less attachment to Israel and many feel no attachment at all.

That poll is more interesting in light of the 2006 annual poll by the American Jewish Committee, which once again demonstrated the gap between those who speak the loudest "for the Jewish community" in the US and the actual views of American Jews. One of the most stark findings was that a full 35% of American Jews disapproved of the way Israel handled the Lebanon war last summer. Yes, 55% did approve, but this is hardly the absolute unity that many claimed existed.

By a 54% to 38% margin, American Jews favor the establishment of a Palestinian state. In perhaps the polls most revealing finding, a full 54% of American Jews oppose military action against Iran, while only 38% support it. Given some of the events of the past year, it will be most interesting to see what the next AJC survey reveals. It is generally made public sometime between late September and the end of the year.

More articles of interest

Israel party chafes at Olmert's Palestinian talks

Palestinian construction endangers settlers' lives - Lieberman

Follow Israel's interests, not America's

Israel unveils comprehensive military upgrade plan

Suspected neo-Nazis remanded; indictments expected Monday

Ha'aretz's Danny Rubinstein in hot water: says Israel is "apartheid state" at UN conference

Finkelstein settles with DePaul, fight continues for Larudee

Islamic rights group CAIR says "ADL Seeks to Hinder Legal Rights of U.S. Muslims"

Another NY rabbi calls campaign against Arab school principal Debbie Almontaser "the lowest of McCarthyite tactics."

30 U.S. members of Congress want Europeans to say NO to UN committee for Palestinian issues

New Israel Fund in UK Promotes Free Speech

Industrial Disaster Draws Attention to Bedouin Villages

Getting Past Blame: Present Realities and How To Move Forward

The JNF Bill-A Backgrounder

It's The Settlements, Stupid!

Help Defeat Legalized Discrimination In Israel