Why does it take the killing of non-Gazans for the West to see war crimes?

Why does it take the killing of non-Gazans for the West to see war crimes?

    Wednesday, April 03, 2024   No comments

Politico reported that the US and other Western governments were “outraged” by the “devastating” attack that killed 7 workers from the World Central Kitchen, just another a war crime. Ironically, these governments do not seem to be outraged by the fact that these seven aid workers were killed because they were in Gaza feeding 2 million people starved by a war that is enabled by them. 33,000 civilians killed in Gaza, 70% of whom are children and women, did not cause outrage to summoned Israel diplomats. But this incident does.

The news outlet reported that

 "Israel’s strike against aid workers trying to get food to residents in Gaza reverberated across Washington on Tuesday, particularly resonating because of the American death and the connections the group’s founder — José Andrés — has to the capital. Administration officials lashed out at new levels, and Israel was left struggling for damage control."

Western media provided extensive coverage as if these are the only seven uninvolved civilians killed by Israelis strikes in the past 6 months. 

Media Review: The New York Times debunks its own reporting on alleged sexual assaults in Kibbutzim by Hamas on October 7

Media Review: The New York Times debunks its own reporting on alleged sexual assaults in Kibbutzim by Hamas on October 7

    Tuesday, March 26, 2024   No comments

The US newspaper "The New York Times" is reporting about a new video that demolishes the story of the alleged sexual assault, which was previously reported by the same newspaper--The New York Times, in which it alleged that Hamas committed "crimes of sexual violence and rape on the 7th of last October."

The newspaper referred to a previous claim by an Israeli military medic, in which he claimed that “two teenage girls, killed in the October 7 attack, were subjected to sexual assault.”

The New York Times reported that the unnamed medic, who is from an Israeli commando unit (and served as the source of the allegation), was among dozens of people who were interviewed in an article published by the newspaper on December 28, which dealt with “sexual violence on the 7th of May.” October". He claimed that he discovered "the bodies of two partially clothed girls in a house in the Kibbutz settlement (Be'eri) with signs of sexual violence."

However, now the newspaper reports about footage taken by an Israeli soldier who was in “Be’eri” on October 7, and which it reviewed, refuting this narrative. The paper explained that this footage shows “the bodies of three female victims, fully clothed and with no clear signs of sexual violence in a house where a number of residents believe the assaults allegedly occurred.”

The newspaper quoted the settlers as saying, “there was no talk about the killing of two teenage girls in any other house in Be’eri.” Accordingly, the settlers concluded from the video that “the girls were not subjected to sexual assault.”

The newspaper referred to what was said by Nili Bar-Sinai, a member of a kibbutz group, who researched allegations of “sexual assault” at home, and said that “this story is false,” denying the existence of victims of sexual assaults.

On March 4, the spokesman for Kibbutz Be’eri, Michal Paikin, denied the accounts contained in the report published by the New York Times in December of last year, under the title “Screams Without Words,” which reported it contains allegations that Hamas used “sexual violence as a weapon on October 7,” according to the newspaper’s description.

In his statements to the US website The Intercept, the spokesman for Kibbutz Be'eri, an agricultural community within the Gaza Strip, refuted the accounts reported by the NYT newspaper.

Kibbutz Be'eri spokesman Michal Paikin cast doubt on "the graphic, highly detailed claims of the Israeli Special Forces medic, who served as the source of the allegation, and whose claims were published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and CNN" and other media.

It should be noted that while reporting on the alleged sexual violence committed by Palestinians was extensive and persistent in western media outlets, UN reported sexual violence committed by Israeli officers, which US officials seem to confirm recenlty as well as by UN experts, went underreported or unreported. Researchers have also noted that when allegations of serious abuses or violations committed by armed forces of Western States are reported, Western media will go beyond due diligence to verify the information and sometimes refute it through resource-heavy investigations. However, when instances of alleged abuse by at the hands of non-Western actors are reported, Western media will report it without due diligence checks. The reporting of the fake story about Hamas beheading 40 babies and other atrocities, which was spread at the highest level of government and by mainstream media outlets is a good example of this media bias.

Does providing weapons to state that kills civilians and children in disproportionate numbers represent complicity in alleged war crimes?

Does providing weapons to state that kills civilians and children in disproportionate numbers represent complicity in alleged war crimes?

    Saturday, February 24, 2024   No comments

While some other Western countries continue to supply Israel with weapons systems that are used in its war on Gaza that have resulted in the killing of more than 30,000 civilians thus far, Spain announced that it will not sell arms to Israel until the war stops.

Spain will not sell arms to Israel "as long as the current situation continues," said Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares on Friday.

During a news conference at the UN headquarters in New York, Albares said no new arms sales license was given to Israel after Oct. 7.

This statement comes after media reports have accused the Spanish government of double dealing: by words annouce that they will not sell weapons, while in reality they continue to sell weapons to Israel. News Reports have suggested that Turkiye, too, stated words contradict their action: "Contrary to Ankara’s political rhetoric on the war in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, Turkish exports to Israel rose by 34.8%."

 Stating that Spain announced that it will provide €3.5 million ($3.7 million) in financing to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Albares noted that Spain is looking at how this can be increased in the short term.

In Germany, lawyers acting on behalf of Gazans have also accused German officials of complicy in the alleged war crimes.

 Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas. The ensuing Israeli war has killed more than 29,500 people and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

 media reports suggesting that Spain continues to export weapons to the conflict zone:

Media review: Western democracy is declining and losing its value

Media review: Western democracy is declining and losing its value

    Sunday, February 11, 2024   No comments

Under the title “Democracy is declining in a number of countries that seek to achieve it and is losing its value in the democratic countries themselves,” Alain Frachon wrote in the French newspaper “Le Monde” an article in which he highlighted the decline of democracy in a number of countries, and considered that democracy has lost its ability to seduce. Its soft power was shaken under the weight of the blows received by Westerners as a result of their repeated betrayals of its principles.

Summary

Hail to democracy: In 2024, about half of the adults on this Earth are expected to vote. We can already hear skeptics about the results of this democratic activity even before it happens. Voting conditions are not the same in the United Kingdom and India under Narendra Modi and in the United States and Russia under Vladimir Putin if we take a few countries whose residents are asked to elect their rulers.

However, the call to go to the polls reflects an important dedication to the principle of democracy. The elections that will be held in several countries, in Azerbaijan, for example, which is ruled by Ilham Aliyev, the autocratic ruler believes that he is forced to hold them, even with his prior knowledge of the results.

Elections are a purely formal procedure, hypocritical, or whatever it is, but the tyrant sees it as a way to obtain the legitimacy and respect that the results of the ballot box give him, just as one puts on a tie or wears a hat to go to a wedding. It is certain that this process does not stem from a sincere belief in the principle of democracy, although it is felt as an obligation. Rather, it expresses a simple fact, even if in the subconscious mind, that the democratic character is taking a better turn.

This situation is not without contradictions. According to Janan Ganesh, a columnist for the Financial Times, the “man and woman of 2024” are the voters.

But democracy is “in decline,” according to American Larry Diamond, a professor at Stanford University. As for the number of countries that practice this system, it is declining. In the lands that established this system, especially in the West, this system lost its quality.

Democracy, in the broad sense of regular and fairly free elections, reached its peak in 2000, benefiting about 54% of the world's population, according to Freedom House, a non-governmental organization that conducts this type of statistics. This percentage then decreased to 50% in 2018, finally reaching 32% in 2019. This is mainly due to the reclassification of India, which today is the most populous country on this earth.

Only 34 countries are classified as liberal democracies, which includes elections, the rule of law, freedom of the press, powers, checks and balances, and minority rights, which in short constitute the complete and complex institutional arsenal of democratic life. American Samantha Power, who heads the US Agency for International Development, expressed this situation by saying: “For 17 years, freedom has been in decline.”

The export of democracy has declined, it has lost its ability to seduce, and its soft power has been shaken under the weight of the blows that Westerners are receiving as a result of their repeated betrayals of its principles. George W. Bush is considered one of the main contributors to changing the course of democracy after his invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Samantha Power continues by saying that the slide of some democracies towards authoritarianism puts us before a fundamental question about “which model [of government] will prevail in the coming years?” Estimates from the Cambridge University Center on the Future of Democracy indicate that China and Russia enjoy slightly more popularity than the United States. In the Global South, however, this information is difficult to confirm.

She adds that liberal democratic systems are eroding from within, which she calls "democracy fatigue." She believes that Western youth will move away from the chaotic and exhausting system, which decides slowly and always searches for short answers and confuses them with its ambiguous decisions. The contemporary voter decides according to what he wants from the list and not according to what is presented to him from the list. He is no longer loyal to his party affiliations; Accordingly, the popularity of the main institutions of democracy and political parties is declining.

Other risks loom in the digital environment, where the distinction between truth and falsehood is blurred by conspiracy theories and the dominance of social media over traditional journalism, as well as disinformation and manipulation of public opinion. According to what Lawrence Norden, an expert from New York University School of Law, told the New York Times, “Everything that has been threatening our democracy for some time may be exacerbated by generative artificial intelligence.” For example, false speeches attributed to President Joe Biden are circulating on the Internet.

According to opinion polls, the European Parliament elections that will be held in June herald the rise of far-right parties. In a climate that encourages taking advantage of elite parties' loss of credibility, these anti-investment parties are betting on contemporary problems, including immigration, economic and social disparity, and environmental restrictions.

These parties follow the approach of illiberal democracy, also known as “democracy,” and the champion of this democratic retreat was Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian Prime Minister.

The US elections scheduled for November 5 will determine whether the most powerful liberal democracies are willing to submit to “democracy” by returning Republican Donald Trump to the White House.

The dilemma of the times is that the announcement of this decline in liberal democracy comes at a time when it has proven its absolute superiority in its battle against the “Covid-19” pandemic. Also, the Polish "democracy" was defeated by the centrists led by Donald Tusk.

The West, which is described as a decadent and decadent entity, remains the preferred destination for an unprecedented migration movement. Crowds of hapless people from the Global South seem drawn to the promise of freedom and prosperity embodied by liberal democracy. Therefore, announcing her death seems very premature.

The irreparable damage to Western civilization due to its complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity

The irreparable damage to Western civilization due to its complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity

    Monday, December 11, 2023   No comments

The rapid descent in credibility of the Western civilization in the eyes of the people of the Global South is as fast as the speed of bombs and rockets dropped on the people of Gaza that killed more children in the shortest time than in any other war. 

For those who have been already skeptical of the genuineness of the Western values of human life and human dignity, this trend is not a major event worthy of reflection. 

However, when individuals who have been steeped in Western lifestyle and who were mesmerized by Western glitter are now speaking out loud about Western decadence and moral bankruptcy, that should worry the Western elite. 

This sentiment is beautifully rendered by an artist, Omar Rammal, Omar Rammal, Director and Cinematographer:

In my eyes, things are no longer the way they were before, I no longer love talking their language, or watch their movies and cinematic productions or songs or even follow their famous people..

I am no longer seduced by their calm countries for visiting them and roaming their streets.. I no longer desire their fast food .. 

Nor their drinks.. 

I no longer want to pay attention to their problems and conflicts..

I do not want to have an relation with them in any shape or form..

In my eyes, now, they are all the same.. 

Their hearts are like stone or more cruel than stone.. 

They are the ones who look at me and at those like me as subhuman.

They do not deserve from us all this courtesy, attention, and emulation.. I, now, belong to my people, those who are of me and that is it.

Why are many people abandoning the narrative of the shining city on the hill, the home of the decent society, you might ask. Because no reasonable decent human being would consider the killing of mothers and their children, turning an entire city into a graveyard for children in the name of self-defense a decent soceity; no reasonable decent human being would consider a society that allows a government to commit this cruelty or to support and shield another government to exact this supremacy-driven revenge in its name is a decent society.  

Israeli PM: “Islam in the Arab countries needs radical change”

Israeli PM: “Islam in the Arab countries needs radical change”

    Wednesday, November 29, 2023   No comments

The war in Gaza may not be a war against Hamas after all, it is a war on the ideology and beliefs of Hamas. Echoing France’ President who called for an “Enlightened Islam”, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during his meeting with American businessman Elon Musk, who visited the Gaza Strip settlements, that “Islam in the Arab countries needs a radical change.”

Israel will purge Gaza’s mosques and schools of their “poisonous” ideology once its war with Hamas concludes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told X (aka Twitter) owner Elon Musk in an interview on Monday.

 

The Israeli premier pointed to the wealthy Gulf states as examples of Muslim countries that had been “de-radicalized.”

 

Speaking to Musk in an interview live-streamed on X, Netanyahu said that the destruction of Hamas would be a “precursor” to more systemic changes in Gaza.

Expanding on his vision of a “de-radicalized” Gaza, Netanyahu told Musk that “you first have to get rid of the poisonous regime, as you did in Germany, as you did in Japan in World War II.”

 

Netanyahu pointed to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain as examples of Arab states that had undergone this process, likely referring to their recognition of Israel in 2020. With Riyadh on the cusp of a US-brokered recognition deal before the current war began, Netanyahu added that the “same thing is happening to a considerable extent in Saudi Arabia.”

 

The Israeli leader suggested that his country’s “Arab friends” could help rebuild Gaza, where the UN estimates that around half of all homes have been destroyed since the war began. Earlier this month, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said that the Arab nations would not take part in any potential post-conflict peacekeeping in Gaza, nor would they “clean the mess” left behind by the Israeli military.