Why are we letting Israel get away with murder?
THE shooting dead of 14 civilians by the British Army in Derry on what came to be known as Bloody Sunday was NOT murder.
As long as our Government fails to call the brutal killings of up to 60 unarmed civilians by Israeli troops anything other than a massacre, we can’t say the same took place in 1972.
The sight of men, women and children being hit with highvelocity bullets might shock and appal but there are many people who will stop short of calling it murder.
Maybe they know that to do so would put them in the sights of those who would brand anyone who criticises Israel, even their atrocities, as anti-semitic.
You can see this in the way it is reported with both RTE and the BBC claiming the killings occurred in “clashes” along the border with Israel.
When does the slaughter of up to 60 protesters including young children and as many as 2,000 wounded by live ammunition, become a mere clash?
There is evidence journalists and paramedics are being targeted by WHO would pay €123million for a cartoon-like painting of a woman’s rear end?
Someone did, because the Amedeo Modigliani nude “Nu couche” sold for that sum at Sotheby’s in New York during the week. Racing billionaire John Magnier, who owns the Coolmine Stud, made a killing as he bought the “masterpiece” for just under $30million in 2003.
The irony is the man who created it snipers in what appears to be a bid to prevent news of the atrocities emerging and to stop the wounded getting help.
Last month when I reported that journalist Yaser Murtaja, who was wearing a vest marked PRESS, was among 29 Palestinians murdered in recent days I received a torrent of abuse on Twitter.
No doubt when Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney hit out at the slaughter they were wary of the consequences but to their credit they went further than the leaders of many countries.
They resisted calls to kick out the Israeli ambassador, claiming to do so would achieve little.
Then again, didn’t our Government expel a Russian diplomat over an alleged gas attack in the UK which claimed no lives?
So why wasn’t the man who represents a country which had just committed mass murder sent packing?
The fact the US was opening its new embassy in Jerusalem at the exact time dozens were being slaughtered less than 100km away almost legitimised died in squalor and penniless in 1920.
Fair play to Mr Magnier but I wouldn’t have it on my wall and no butts about it.
Then again I wouldn’t know an arse from an elbow when it comes to art. the killings. Donald Trump claimed it was a great day for Israel and a fantastic way to celebrate its 70th birthday.
I’m sure the Palestinians will be hoping they don’t make a habit of celebrating it in this manner every year.
Trump knew moving the embassy from Tel Aviv and declaring Jerusalem as the capital was an act of gross provocation which would inevitably lead to bloodshed – and it did.
The presence of his daughter Ivanka, who took selfies with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as children were being massacred, would drive a dove to war.
The fact Trump is now a hero in Israel after describing Nazis giving Hitler salutes and carrying swastikas through Charlottesville as “good people” is beyond comprehension.
He is also pandering to the right-wing religious fanatics at home who believe his foreign policy will bring about The Rapture. Isn’t diplomacy supposed to stop wars, not start them?
It’s totally insane, but fundamentalist Christians, who make a good percentage of Trump’s support base, believe his actions will unleash the apocalypse, as foretold in the Bible.
They are looking to a fornicating reality star with the morals of a Texas whorehouse madam to bring about the Second Coming.
When Biblical quotations are determining US Middle East foreign policy there is likely to be more conflict in Gaza and in the wider region.
It is therefore not surprising the murders in Gaza are hardly being reported in the US and, if they are, they are being blamed on terror group Hamas.
Then again, when a sizable amount of the US public refuses to believe the recent school mass shootings are real, what hope have the people of Gaza of grabbing their attention?
There is little doubt Hamas is an evil organisation hell-bent on the destruction of Israel but it is not true to suggest they are behind the recent killings.
What is behind them is a desperate people so persecuted they are willing to rush a border fence rather than face life in Gaza.
Israel has every right to Baby victim
protect its borders but there are other ways.
Most of the time the army and police in Northern Ireland used rubber bullets, water cannons or something less fatal.
Using live ammunition on unarmed protesters is something only despots and tyrants attempt but Israel can get away with it because people are afraid to call it what it is – MURDER.
The Jewish people have good reason to fear Hamas and many of their neighbours who would gladly wipe the country off the face of the earth and all those in it given half a chance.
But it is sad to see this great nation embark on a path leading to a place South Africa found itself in in the 1970s.
Traditionally Israel was the underdog and had the support of most of the world. Now there is a growing movement to shun and boycott it.
If the Israeli authorities cannot understand why people are willing to face death and overwhelming odds they might look to the events in this country in the wake of Bloody Sunday.
After years of oppression, it was the catalyst for violent action and it resulted in young men and women flocking to join the Provisional IRA. I personally knew quite a few who did.
What would have happened if there was a Bloody Sunday on a daily basis?
Ask the Palestinians.
When does the slaughter of 60 become a mere clash?