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The British Morning Star contradicts the IDF’s version of the event…
Israel commandos ‘peacefully’ board Jewish Gaza-bound aid boat
IDF says commandos peacefully intercepted the ‘Irene’, the latest vessel to try to breach an on the Palestinian territory in the wake of Israel’s deadly flotilla raid in May.
Huh…? But, but, Don’t Tase me, Bro…!
"After they boarded, I was standing with my hands around Reuven Moskowitz, the 82-year-old holocaust survivor," he [Yonatan Shapira] told BBC News. "We were trying to protect each other and singing: ‘We shall overcome.’
"The Israeli navy captain came closer and pulled out his Taser gun and said: ‘If you don’t let go… it will hurt.’
"We continued to hug and he shot me twice on my right shoulder. It was painful, but not as bad as the third shot."He moved the life vest I had on, so he could reach closer to my heart and shot me, which made me lose control of my body. It felt like an epileptic attack or something.
"At that point I couldn’t hold anything and they grabbed me brutally to the boat."
From the Morning Star report…
Israeli armed forces shot people with taser guns while "hijacking" a British yacht in international waters as it made its way towards Gaza, a Briton on board revealed on Wednesday. [...]
…Mr Vishvanath said that they had been surrounded by about eight Israeli boats and a number of helicopter gunships.
Armed Israeli forces then boarded Irene and tasered one of the former Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) member on board Irene who, along with another ex-IDF members, was putting up a struggle and repeatedly read out a statement telling the naval forces that "the occupation is illegal," Mr Vishvanath said. [...]Mr Vishvanath, who was the only non-Jew on board Irene, added that the soldiers "almost strip-searched" the crew, disabled the yacht’s entire communications system and confiscated his camera gear.
Haaretz, to it’s credit, followed up on the IDF’s spin…
Jewish Gaza-bound activists: IDF used excessive force in naval raid
Activists aboard Gaza-bound ship ‘Irene’ counter IDF version that the vessel was taken over in a peaceful manner.…Israeli activist and former Israel Air Force pilot Yonatan Shapira saying that there were "no words to describe what we went through during the takeover."
Shapira said the activists, who he said displayed no violence, were met with extreme IDF brutality, adding that the soldiers "just jumped us, and hit us. I was hit with a taser gun."
"Some of the soldiers treated us atrociously," Shapira said, adding that he felt there was a "huge gap between what the IDF spokesman is saying happened and what really happened." [...]
Eli Usharov, a reporter for Israel’s Channel 10 affirmed Shapira’s version of the events, telling Haaretz that the takeover was executed with unnecessary brutality.
"They used a taser gun against Yonatan. He screamed and was dragged to the military boat," Usharov said, adding that both Yonatan and his brother Itamar were handcuffed.
Certainly sounds peaceful to me…! *gah*
I truly admire Yonatan Shipira’s courage and his convictions…
From that same Haaretz article…
The former IAF pilot said he and his fellow activists were "proud of the mission," saying it was organized "for the sake of a statement – that the siege on Gaza is a crime, that it’s immoral, un-Jewish, and we have a moral obligation to speak out. Anyone who stays silent as this crime is being committed is an accessory to a crime."
I truly salute you for your efforts, Sir…! *g*
31 Comments
Viva Palestina, 5,6,7,8…..
Speaking of huge gaps, that official IDF clip above has a few, don’t ya think…? *gah*
Any attack on one member of NATO is an attack on us all first the Turks and now the English any word on what England is going to do about it?
True this is amateur work this says they don’t care about getting caught and they never expect to go to court.
Still waiting on any ‘official’ response, TCU…! Stay tuned tho, because I’m awaiting permission to reprint Yonatan Shipira’s journal of the voyage…! ;-)
Can we force a “regime change” in Israel?
*heh* If we stop financing them, to the tune of $3-5 million per day, it would even be a ‘bloodless coup’…!
Btw, here’s a little teaser from Schapira’s journal…
Thanks, CT, for the update.
Rcc’d of course.
Too bad it wasn’t those Iranian thugs pulling this stuff cause Mr. Tough-O could really go off on something like this. Did you see the way he “kicked some ass” on that BP deal in the gulf. He was so overheated he had to go for a swim with his daughter.
On the bright side, nobody was killed so I guess you could commend their restraint. When an absolutely overmatched combatant exercises an unfair advantage in a cruel way that is called cowardice. It leaves a scar that the actor carries for the rest of their lives.
“Anyone who stays silent as this crime is being committed is an accessory to a crime.”
Yep, that’s the money quote. And it talks about another form of scarring where a person who failed to stop a rape earlier in his life sees his own daughter cry in true sorrow for the first time. There is no make-up for those sort of failures–they just simmer and burn. That’s why so many of the Viet Nam vets are junkies and now here comes the Iraqistan dupes. God help them.
Amen, CC, Amen…! *gah*
This will get really interesting…England is probably NOT amused at this moment……
It makes me feel so good to see that the idf continues to hold the moral high ground. Other countries would be considered to be pirates were they to board ships in international waters and physically remove those on board. In the case of the idf there is a moral difference, just like the US invading Pakistan.
Recent UK Foreign Minister David Miliband’s mom is a member of the London chapter of Jews for Justice for Palestinians, a group that had members aboard the Irene.
Yup, English media is already pretty much the opposite of US media on this issue.
Either way, Likud policy has hit a dead end. Dunno what they are gonna do but the status quo is a widening gyre.
When will there be a last straw?
In your opinion what effect(s) if any would Hamas’ renunciation of its call for the complete destruction of Israel and claim that the Holocaust never took place have on chances of better P/I relations?
This has nothing to do with Hamas.
If the Israelis didn’t have hundreds of Palestinian Ghandis locked up without charges, there might be a viable political alternative to the corrupt Fatah and the hateful Hamas. Duh….
If the Israelis would release those moderates and practical community organizers that Hamas and Fatah fear as much as do the Israelis, you might be surprised how quickly Palestinians from these brave activists’ communities might unite behind them to create an alternative to the existing political paradigm.
And – what borders of Israel do you think these existing parties should acknowledge? ’48? ’67? ’73? 2010?
Please back you your accusations with proof, otherwise they are just words from a hasbara manual.
“Duh….”
I was hoping for a bit more civility than the above response would suggest. Won’t waste your time again with this matter.
“…otherwise they are just words from a hasbara manual.”
Would you please provide a link to a ‘hasbara manual’ since I have never seen one and don’t know anyone else who has either.
Always a pleasure to chat. Have a nice day.
The Israeli government would have to find a different justification for continuing to negotiate in bad faith and further settlement expansion?
In your opinion, what effect(s) if any would lifting the siege of Gaza to allow in basic necessities have on chances of better P/I relations?
This is generally acknowledged to be the most recent booklet (PDF file) that qualifies for the term “Hasbara Manual.”
A number of critiques of it, pro and con, may be found by googling “Hasbara Manual.” Additionally, there are other pamphlets, blog posting and extended essays promoting the same agitprop approach as does this handbook.
duh….
You seem to either be particularly obtuse today, or got up on the wrong side of the bed, Doremus35.
What no comment yet from Posh Pants Cameron?
The issue is the illegal blockade and the illegal seizure of ships. Not enough gets in and nothing gets out. That the seizures are violent is icing on the cake.
“In your opinion, what effect(s) if any would lifting the siege of Gaza to allow in basic necessities have on chances of better P/I relations?”
I completely support a lifting of the siege to allow, no, flood Gaza with not only basic necessities but all non-military essentials to give the people there back their lives and their dignity.
I think it would be an important and necessary first step.
“duh….” and, “You seem to either be particularly obtuse today, or got up on the wrong side of the bed, Doremus35.”
Once again I would bring to your attention a reality that I try to live by in all of my relationships: Insults and condemnations are never helpful in advancing any form of civil and intelligenct exchange of ideas or opinions whose perceived or desired objective is a better understanding of varying and often anatgonistic points of view, on any subject matter.
Once again,I extend my sincere apology for wasting your time with this silliness. Mea maxima culpa.
I checked out the site. Thanks. Since it is 131 pages long, I quickly scanned it to get some feeling for what it is attempting to impart.
Conclusion: The only use I can find for those 131 pages is to cut them into strips, paste them together, put them on a cardboard roll, and put it next to a public toilet.
Otherwise I see no possible redeeming social or commercial value to this dreck.
Exquisite in all ways. I am glad we have such a capable person as yourself for the side of right and truth and justice! I honestly did not know such a manual existed, and was doubly suprised that you produced it so readily!
Your “Fencing” skills are to be admired. Touche.
Great post CTuttle. I was glad to see this got covered here. I posted that they would set sail, and people were hoping the story of their capture not go untold. I was sure it would be told here at FDL. I get so busy during the week with work and family that I just can’t be on here as much as I’d like. But I’m glad you covered it and I sort of knew someone would. In fact, you did a great job of showing the whole picture – not just the spun version!
Thanks!
By 2020 there won’t be any borders. The sheer volume and scope of the settlements will pretty much cover most of the habitable parts of the West Bank anyway. Which is why “stall and build” is the primary strategy of the Israeli government. Stall the talks and build the settlements. And imprisoning the moderates of all stripes (there are plenty of Israeli Jewish prisoners in Israeli prisons for their solidarity with the oppressed as well) is part of that strategy. As long as the straw man of Hamas is kept in the frame, there will be no peace.
Its the same dynamic as in the US now. As long as the straw woman of Sarah Palin is kept in the frame, Obama has his victory. So he thinks. Which is why the corporate media continues to push her. She was the cause of McCain’s collapse itself. And now somehow she has become the darling of the right. Its not even fathomable. She couldn’t even stay in office. But somehow she’s the only “alternative” to Obama. So too with Hamas. Its a straw man. Propped up by the blockade itself. As long as the nonviolent protestors, peace activists, and moderates are silenced, and the people of Gaza and the West Bank oppressed by the jack boots, then Hamas will maintain its grip, and Fatah will be forced to deal with Hamas.
The Israeli government knows exactly what it is doing. And time is on its side. When there is no more land left in the West Bank, the new “compromise” will be a population transfer of all non-Jewish Israeli citizens and Palestinians into completely different nations.
OH yeah – did we know that Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is suggesting that all non-Jewish CITIZENS be put into the West Bank in exchange for evacuation of settlements?
Here’s the link.
Just in case anybody tries to claim I’m using “religious” or “ethnic” labels wrongly. But some people in Israel (the current government) think that the definitino of a “Jewish” State is one of racial or ethnic or religious superiority. Whereas people 100 years ago when conceiving of Israel as a Jewish State were thinking more along the lines of a nation-state driven by the VALUES and PRINCIPLES of Judaism and Jewish social democratic culture. Well, not all people were thinking along those lines. But many were. Many of the kibbutzim still practice those principles. It was more about freedom, egalitarianism, communit, and social justice than it was about religious dogma and superiority. The latter has become overwhelmingly dominant in the media and social apparatus of the state now. This trend is only worsening.