Irans president Ahmadinejad har under den gångna veckan besökt Libanon. Han träffade Hizzbollahs ledare Nashrallah i Beirut, reste till södra Libanon för att, i numera välkända ordalag, svära ve och förbannelse över Israel. Énligt Ahmadinejad är Israel bl.a. skyldig till den ekonomiska krisen i världen och luftföroreningarna men den "sionistiska" staten kommer inte att existera länge till.
Mer oroande än Ahmadinejads ord är det faktum att besöket visar att Libanon långt har förlorat sin självständighet och styrs av Iran (och Syrien) genom Hizzbollah.
En grupp på 250 libaneser sände i veckan ett öppet brev till Ahmadinejad där de protesterade mot besöket och vad de upplevde som Ahmadinejads försök att dra in Libanon i ett nytt krig med Israel.
Här är länkar till några artiklar som behandlar besöket.
US: Ahmadinejad's visit insult to Lebanese sovereignty
Editorial: Ahmadinejad’s victory tour
Foreign Ministry: Ahmadinejad bears a violent message
"Not everyone welcomed Ahmadinejad, however. A group of 250 politicians, lawyers and activists sent an open letter to Ahmadinejad on Tuesday, criticizing Teheran's backing of Hizbullah and expressing worry Iran was looking to drag Lebanon into a war with Israel."One group in Lebanon draws power from you ... and has wielded it over another group and the state," the letter said, addressing Ahmadinejad."Your talk of 'changing the face of the region starting with Lebanon' and 'wiping Israel off the map through the force of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon' ... makes it seem like your visit is that of a high commander to his front line," it said."
fredag 15 oktober 2010
onsdag 13 oktober 2010
Vad som hände på Mavi Marmara enligt Sefik Dinc
Den turkiske journalisten Sefik Dinc som var ombord på skeppet Mavi Marmara när det bordades av israeliska soldater har skrivit en bok om händelsen. Hans version av händelserna stämmer långt överens med den israeliska versionen och står i skarp kontrast till den turkiska versionen och den version som organisationen IHH försöker förmedla.
Det är kanske onödigt att säga att FN:s mänskorättsråds undersökning av händelsen inte heller stämmer överens med uppgiftena i Sefik Dincs bok, men så ska man komma i håg att rådet hade sin uppfattning klar redan innan undersökningen kommit igång.
Sefik Dinc intervjuades av israeliska Channel 1 den 24 september. Han sade bl.a. "Jag såg med mina egna ögon att när soldaterna kom ner från helikoptrarna för att borda fatyget avfyrade de inga skott. Det var först när soldaterna mötte motstånd och märkte att några av deras vänners liv var i fara som de började använda skarp ammunition."
En engelsk översättning av intervjun kan läsas här ( översättning av Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center :
1. Following is a transcript of the interview granted by Şefik Dinç to Channel 1 on September 24. Dinç was interviewed by Rafael Sadi, the spokesman for the Organization of Turkish Immigrants in Israel. The interview was transcribed by the ITIC.
2. Interviewer: In your interesting book, you write that the Turkish government should not have let the flotilla set sail, why?
3. Dinç: Israel declared several times that it would not let the ships enter the Gaza Strip. In light of those statements, we did not believe that those ships could reach Gaza. The ships should not have set sail from Turkey, but things happened as they did, and they set sail after all.
4. Interviewer: According to your eyewitness account, IDF soldiers only opened fire when they felt that their own lives or the lives of their fellow soldiers were in danger.
5. Dinç: As you know, I was on board the ship. I saw with my own eyes that when the soldiers came on helicopters and started landing on the ship, they did not fire. It wasn’t until the soldiers were met with resistance and realized that some of their friends’ lives were in danger that they began using live ammunition.
6. Interviewer: Did you notice anyone using knives or iron bars?
7. Dinç: Actually, I saw no knives being used. I did see iron bars being used.
8. Interviewer: In your book, you describe cases of humane treatment from IDF soldiers [of the detained ship passengers], such as removing their handcuffs, and even an interesting encounter in Israel with a Jew of Turkish descent who gave you his mobile phone.
9. Dinç: The soldiers uncuffed some people who were having difficulties, particularly older people, women, and people who did not act aggressively. As for the Israeli policeman, his Turkish was excellent, we spoke, and he said that he had immigrated to Israel from Istanbul. He asked me if I contacted my family and whether I had a telephone to make a call. I told him I didn’t, and then he gave me his own mobile phone so that I could call my family. I thank him again.
10. Interviewer: Your book is more balanced and less one-sided. Aren’t you concerned that the Turkish government won’t like it, and that you will come under criticism?
11. Dinç: When I started writing the book, I knew that many elements in Turkey wouldn’t like what I had to say, such as members of the IHH, the Turkish government, and the Israeli government as well.
12. Interviewer: Thank you very much. I wish you continued success as an impartial journalist.
Här kan man se intervjun med engelsk textning.
Här kan man läsa utdrag från boken (engelsk översättning)
Några foton från boken av Sefik Dinc:
Det är kanske onödigt att säga att FN:s mänskorättsråds undersökning av händelsen inte heller stämmer överens med uppgiftena i Sefik Dincs bok, men så ska man komma i håg att rådet hade sin uppfattning klar redan innan undersökningen kommit igång.
Sefik Dinc intervjuades av israeliska Channel 1 den 24 september. Han sade bl.a. "Jag såg med mina egna ögon att när soldaterna kom ner från helikoptrarna för att borda fatyget avfyrade de inga skott. Det var först när soldaterna mötte motstånd och märkte att några av deras vänners liv var i fara som de började använda skarp ammunition."
En engelsk översättning av intervjun kan läsas här ( översättning av Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center :
1. Following is a transcript of the interview granted by Şefik Dinç to Channel 1 on September 24. Dinç was interviewed by Rafael Sadi, the spokesman for the Organization of Turkish Immigrants in Israel. The interview was transcribed by the ITIC.
2. Interviewer: In your interesting book, you write that the Turkish government should not have let the flotilla set sail, why?
3. Dinç: Israel declared several times that it would not let the ships enter the Gaza Strip. In light of those statements, we did not believe that those ships could reach Gaza. The ships should not have set sail from Turkey, but things happened as they did, and they set sail after all.
4. Interviewer: According to your eyewitness account, IDF soldiers only opened fire when they felt that their own lives or the lives of their fellow soldiers were in danger.
5. Dinç: As you know, I was on board the ship. I saw with my own eyes that when the soldiers came on helicopters and started landing on the ship, they did not fire. It wasn’t until the soldiers were met with resistance and realized that some of their friends’ lives were in danger that they began using live ammunition.
6. Interviewer: Did you notice anyone using knives or iron bars?
7. Dinç: Actually, I saw no knives being used. I did see iron bars being used.
8. Interviewer: In your book, you describe cases of humane treatment from IDF soldiers [of the detained ship passengers], such as removing their handcuffs, and even an interesting encounter in Israel with a Jew of Turkish descent who gave you his mobile phone.
9. Dinç: The soldiers uncuffed some people who were having difficulties, particularly older people, women, and people who did not act aggressively. As for the Israeli policeman, his Turkish was excellent, we spoke, and he said that he had immigrated to Israel from Istanbul. He asked me if I contacted my family and whether I had a telephone to make a call. I told him I didn’t, and then he gave me his own mobile phone so that I could call my family. I thank him again.
10. Interviewer: Your book is more balanced and less one-sided. Aren’t you concerned that the Turkish government won’t like it, and that you will come under criticism?
11. Dinç: When I started writing the book, I knew that many elements in Turkey wouldn’t like what I had to say, such as members of the IHH, the Turkish government, and the Israeli government as well.
12. Interviewer: Thank you very much. I wish you continued success as an impartial journalist.
Här kan man se intervjun med engelsk textning.
Här kan man läsa utdrag från boken (engelsk översättning)
Några foton från boken av Sefik Dinc:
The text reads: Several exercises were held on board the ship to prepare in advance for a possible attack. In one exercise, the passengers were instructed on how to put on gas masks and lifebelts, and how to resist the Israeli attack. The photograph shows one of the passengers practicing with a slingshot he had brought along.
The text reads: The soldiers who rappelled from the helicopters were met with resistance from the passengers. The first three soldiers were caught, beaten with iron bars and wooden clubs, and taken to the space below the captain’s command bridge.
The text reads: After the three well-armed soldiers landed on the ship, they were beaten and taken to the ship’s interior.
Här kan man se BBC:s version av händelserna på Mavi Maramara: BBC Panorama - Vad som hände på Mavi Marmara
Del 1
måndag 11 oktober 2010
Finlands vapenhandel med Israel
Organisationen ICAHD Finland har samlat ihop ett par hundra namnteckningar för ett upprop som kräver att Finland avbryter all vapenhandel med Israel.
Helsingin Sanomat har gett uppropet stort utrymme.
Bland undertecknarna finns främst vänsterpolitiker och företrädare för De Gröna, men också SFP:s viceordförande Nils Torvalds.
Lite förvånande är kanske att det finns två företrädare för Kyrkans utlandshjälp (Hemberg Jouni, ledare för internationella arbetet och Muma Päivi områdesansvarig västafrika) samt ordförande för fullmäktige för Finlands Röda Kors, Kiuru Krista bland undertecknarna. Skall företrädare för nämnda organisationer verkligen vara med och försöka påverka Finlands regering till att avbryta en del av handelsförbindelserna med Israel.
Har Röda Korset eller Kyrkans utlandshjälp varit med och krävt att Finland avbryter vapenhandel med andra länder än Israel?
Det är förövrigt en fråga man kan ställa till alla undertecknarna, är det vapenhandeln eller Israel man vill komma åt?
Det skulle också vara intressant att veta hur många av undertecknarna känner till organisationen ICAHD Finland.
För ett år sedan var ICAHD med och organiserade ett tillfälle där Norman Finkelstein talade i Helsingfors.
Finkelstein är bl.a. författare och han jämför Israel med nazisterna (enligt EU:s direktiv = antisemitism) och samtidigt berömmer han terroristorganisationen Hizzbollah för vad de uppnått.
På ICAHD:s hemsida finns det också en direkt länk till Finkelsteins hemsida.
Finkelsteins arbete har kritiserats hårt för att inte överhvudtaget vara seriös.
New York Times och Times beskriver Finkelsteins arbete såhär(Citatet från CAMERA):
In his controversial book The Holocaust Industry, Finkelstein argues that "Jewish elites" have created an "industry" to perpetuate the memory of the Holocaust as a ploy to extort money and to gain influence, as well a tactic "to crush any dissent, any criticism, of the State of Israel." The New York Times' review of the book described its premise as a "novel variation" of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the fraudulent essay concocted in the late nineteenth century by the Czarist secret police which purports to uncover a Jewish conspiracy to take over the world. Accordingly, the Times' reviewer described Finkelstein as "juvenile," "arrogant," and "stupid"
President Halonen och utrikesminister Stubb har tagit avstånd från uppropets påstående att det skulle vara något olagligt med vapenhandeln.
Försvarsminister Häkämies har redan tidigare avvisat kraven på stopp för vapenhandeln.
Det kan vara värt att påminna att en av undertecknarna, före detta utrikesminister Tuomioja, i en tidningsintervju när han var minister gav uttryck för samma tankar som Finkelstein: Han jämförde Israel med Nazityskland.
Helsingin Sanomat har gett uppropet stort utrymme.
Bland undertecknarna finns främst vänsterpolitiker och företrädare för De Gröna, men också SFP:s viceordförande Nils Torvalds.
Lite förvånande är kanske att det finns två företrädare för Kyrkans utlandshjälp (Hemberg Jouni, ledare för internationella arbetet och Muma Päivi områdesansvarig västafrika) samt ordförande för fullmäktige för Finlands Röda Kors, Kiuru Krista bland undertecknarna. Skall företrädare för nämnda organisationer verkligen vara med och försöka påverka Finlands regering till att avbryta en del av handelsförbindelserna med Israel.
Har Röda Korset eller Kyrkans utlandshjälp varit med och krävt att Finland avbryter vapenhandel med andra länder än Israel?
Det är förövrigt en fråga man kan ställa till alla undertecknarna, är det vapenhandeln eller Israel man vill komma åt?
Det skulle också vara intressant att veta hur många av undertecknarna känner till organisationen ICAHD Finland.
För ett år sedan var ICAHD med och organiserade ett tillfälle där Norman Finkelstein talade i Helsingfors.
Finkelstein är bl.a. författare och han jämför Israel med nazisterna (enligt EU:s direktiv = antisemitism) och samtidigt berömmer han terroristorganisationen Hizzbollah för vad de uppnått.
På ICAHD:s hemsida finns det också en direkt länk till Finkelsteins hemsida.
Finkelsteins arbete har kritiserats hårt för att inte överhvudtaget vara seriös.
New York Times och Times beskriver Finkelsteins arbete såhär(Citatet från CAMERA):
In his controversial book The Holocaust Industry, Finkelstein argues that "Jewish elites" have created an "industry" to perpetuate the memory of the Holocaust as a ploy to extort money and to gain influence, as well a tactic "to crush any dissent, any criticism, of the State of Israel." The New York Times' review of the book described its premise as a "novel variation" of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the fraudulent essay concocted in the late nineteenth century by the Czarist secret police which purports to uncover a Jewish conspiracy to take over the world. Accordingly, the Times' reviewer described Finkelstein as "juvenile," "arrogant," and "stupid"
President Halonen och utrikesminister Stubb har tagit avstånd från uppropets påstående att det skulle vara något olagligt med vapenhandeln.
Försvarsminister Häkämies har redan tidigare avvisat kraven på stopp för vapenhandeln.
Det kan vara värt att påminna att en av undertecknarna, före detta utrikesminister Tuomioja, i en tidningsintervju när han var minister gav uttryck för samma tankar som Finkelstein: Han jämförde Israel med Nazityskland.
En judisk stat? Palestinskt "Nej!"
Israels premiärminister Netanyahu sade i ett tal vid inledandet av Knessets vintersession att om palestinierna erkänner Israels som judarnas nationalstat/hemland kan han gå med på att förlänga byggstoppet i bosättningarna på västbanken.
De palestinska ledarna förkastade genast förslaget och kallade det för rasistiskt.
Faktum är att sedan början av 1900-talet har man i internationella sammanhang talat om att bilda en judisk stat. Det var också vad FN:s delningsförslag 1947 gick ut på: en judisk och en arabisk stat.
Araberna har alltid motsatt sig detta och tydligen gör de det fortfarande. Det verkar vara viktigare för dem att inte erkänna judarnas rätt till ett eget hemland än att få ett eget självständigt Palestina vid sidan av Israel.
De palestinska ledarna förkastade genast förslaget och kallade det för rasistiskt.
Faktum är att sedan början av 1900-talet har man i internationella sammanhang talat om att bilda en judisk stat. Det var också vad FN:s delningsförslag 1947 gick ut på: en judisk och en arabisk stat.
Araberna har alltid motsatt sig detta och tydligen gör de det fortfarande. Det verkar vara viktigare för dem att inte erkänna judarnas rätt till ett eget hemland än att få ett eget självständigt Palestina vid sidan av Israel.
onsdag 6 oktober 2010
163 raketer och granater från Gaza i år
Det har avfyrats 163 raketer och granater från Gaza mot Israel under år 2010. De senaste sköts idag.
Här får man ta del av en del fakta om beskjutningen från Gaza: Rocket Attacks Toward Israel
Today, there are over 950,000 Israelis living within range of rocket, mortar and grad attacks, with the highest population in Be’er Sheva, where approximately 531,000 civilians have 60 seconds to find shelter in case of an attack.
The map below indicates how much time people have to take cover given the distance the rocket travels. Those living in the 10 kilometer range have 15 seconds to find safety once the alarm sounds, those in the 20 km range have 30 seconds, 30 km – 45 seconds, and 40 km a minute. Operation Cast Lead was initiated to reduce the number of rocket attacks against the inhabitants of southern Israel and was highly successful in its goal.
Hamas:"Vi utförde terrorattacker på Arafats order"
Mahmoud Zahar, en av Hamas högsta ledare, påstod i ett tal för några dagar sedan att Hamas under intifadan utförde terrorattacker på Arafats order.
Läs Khaled Abu Toamehs artikel om ämnet:
Will Abbas, Too, Order Hamas to Carry Out Terror Strikes?
Former Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat, who won the Nobel Peace prize, fooled all of the people all of the time.
Mahmoud Zahar, a prominent Hamas leader, has just revealed that Yasser Arafat, when he failed to get what he wanted at the negotiating table, instructed Hamas to launch terror attacks in the heart of Israel. Hamas obviously took Arafat's orders seriously, waging an unprecedented campaign of suicide booming and terror attacks that killed and injured thousands of Jews and Arabs....
...Zahar made this revelation during a lecture at the Islamic University in Gaza City marking the 10th anniversary of the second intifada, which erupted in September 2000, a few weeks after the failure of the Camp David summit.
...Does this rapprochement mean that Arafat's successor, Mahmoud Abbas, is planning to use Hamas again against Israel if the Palestinians don't get all what they want through direct and indirect talks? Some of the Palestinians who are negotiating with Israel these days were very close to Arafat back then; it is highly likely that they knew about his instructions to Hamas. Nabil Sha'ath, Saeb Erekat and Yasser Abed Rabbo were among Arafat's inner circle of advisors and confidants.
Läs Khaled Abu Toamehs artikel om ämnet:
Will Abbas, Too, Order Hamas to Carry Out Terror Strikes?
Former Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat, who won the Nobel Peace prize, fooled all of the people all of the time.
Mahmoud Zahar, a prominent Hamas leader, has just revealed that Yasser Arafat, when he failed to get what he wanted at the negotiating table, instructed Hamas to launch terror attacks in the heart of Israel. Hamas obviously took Arafat's orders seriously, waging an unprecedented campaign of suicide booming and terror attacks that killed and injured thousands of Jews and Arabs....
...Zahar made this revelation during a lecture at the Islamic University in Gaza City marking the 10th anniversary of the second intifada, which erupted in September 2000, a few weeks after the failure of the Camp David summit.
...Does this rapprochement mean that Arafat's successor, Mahmoud Abbas, is planning to use Hamas again against Israel if the Palestinians don't get all what they want through direct and indirect talks? Some of the Palestinians who are negotiating with Israel these days were very close to Arafat back then; it is highly likely that they knew about his instructions to Hamas. Nabil Sha'ath, Saeb Erekat and Yasser Abed Rabbo were among Arafat's inner circle of advisors and confidants.
fredag 1 oktober 2010
Jerusalem,judarnas eviga huvudstad
En läsvärd artikel av Israels före detta FN-ambassadör Dore Gold som behandlar Jerusalems ställning. Artikeln är ett svar på före detta premiärminister Olmerts förslag om att Israel skulle avstå från anspråken på Gamlastan i Jerusalem (Tempelberget, Klagomuren).
Israel borde istället klargöra för omvärlden att det finns vissa saker de aldrig kommer att ge upp, säger Gold.
Ben-Gurion’s legacy on Jerusalem under assault (Jerusalem Post)
A response to former prime minister Ehud Olmert from a former Israeli ambassador to the UN. Today, he says, Israel must reestablish that red line.
Right after the War of Independence, prime minister David Ben-Gurion faced inexorably difficult pressures over the future of Jerusalem.The UN planned to press its case for internationalization. Its grounds were General Assembly Resolution 181, adopted in 1947 and known as the partition plan, which not only advocated the establishment of Jewish and Arab states in former British Mandatory Palestine, but also recommended putting Jerusalem under UN control as a corpus separatum, or separate entity.True, the resolution was not legally binding; it had been forcibly rejected by the Arab states. Moreover, the UN never established the special regime for Jerusalem that it proposed. In fact, it failed to dispatch any forces to save the Old City when reports streamed in that its ancient synagogues were being systematically destroyed. Nevertheless, even after the war ended, leading diplomatic players in the UN, including the US government, came back and insisted on resurrecting the idea of international control.Ben-Gurion stood in the Knesset on December 5, 1949 and, in no uncertain terms, rejected the demand for internationalization. He looked back at what had happened during the War of Independence, explaining that the UN “did not lift a finger” when invading Arab armies tried to destroy the holy city. It was only because of the efforts of the newly created IDF that the siege of Jerusalem had been lifted and the rest of its Jewish population saved. Ben-Gurion declared that Israel no longer viewed Resolution 181 as having any further “moral force” with regard to Jerusalem.Four days later the General Assembly responded, again insisting that Jerusalem “should be placed under a permanent international regime.”Ben-Gurion nonetheless stood his ground and declared on December 13, 1949 that the Knesset and the rest of the government would be transferred from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.LOOKING BACK 60 years, internationalization was a complete failure. And yet it now appears it is coming back.Former prime minister Ehud Olmert has put forward a proposal in this paper (“The terms for an accord,” September 24) for the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount and the Western Wall, in which this area will be overseen by “an international trusteeship.”
Läs hela artikeln här.
Israel borde istället klargöra för omvärlden att det finns vissa saker de aldrig kommer att ge upp, säger Gold.
Ben-Gurion’s legacy on Jerusalem under assault (Jerusalem Post)
A response to former prime minister Ehud Olmert from a former Israeli ambassador to the UN. Today, he says, Israel must reestablish that red line.
Right after the War of Independence, prime minister David Ben-Gurion faced inexorably difficult pressures over the future of Jerusalem.The UN planned to press its case for internationalization. Its grounds were General Assembly Resolution 181, adopted in 1947 and known as the partition plan, which not only advocated the establishment of Jewish and Arab states in former British Mandatory Palestine, but also recommended putting Jerusalem under UN control as a corpus separatum, or separate entity.True, the resolution was not legally binding; it had been forcibly rejected by the Arab states. Moreover, the UN never established the special regime for Jerusalem that it proposed. In fact, it failed to dispatch any forces to save the Old City when reports streamed in that its ancient synagogues were being systematically destroyed. Nevertheless, even after the war ended, leading diplomatic players in the UN, including the US government, came back and insisted on resurrecting the idea of international control.Ben-Gurion stood in the Knesset on December 5, 1949 and, in no uncertain terms, rejected the demand for internationalization. He looked back at what had happened during the War of Independence, explaining that the UN “did not lift a finger” when invading Arab armies tried to destroy the holy city. It was only because of the efforts of the newly created IDF that the siege of Jerusalem had been lifted and the rest of its Jewish population saved. Ben-Gurion declared that Israel no longer viewed Resolution 181 as having any further “moral force” with regard to Jerusalem.Four days later the General Assembly responded, again insisting that Jerusalem “should be placed under a permanent international regime.”Ben-Gurion nonetheless stood his ground and declared on December 13, 1949 that the Knesset and the rest of the government would be transferred from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.LOOKING BACK 60 years, internationalization was a complete failure. And yet it now appears it is coming back.Former prime minister Ehud Olmert has put forward a proposal in this paper (“The terms for an accord,” September 24) for the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount and the Western Wall, in which this area will be overseen by “an international trusteeship.”
Läs hela artikeln här.
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