Gord's Notebook : We Will Not Go Down (Song For Gaza ) Michael Heart / Israeli War Crimes and Obama Condemns Hamas While Defending Israel & The Status Quo

UPDATE: Jan. 30, 2009

Anyway it is not just the Palestinians or Arab Israelis who seem unmovable and not open to compromise as these quotes from Ben Gurion and Golda Meir two former Prime Ministers of Israel illustrate:

"We must expel Arabs and take their places."
-- David Ben Gurion, 1937, Ben Gurion and the Palestine Arabs, Oxford University Press, 1985.

"Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not even know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you because geography books no longer exist. Not only do the books not exist, the Arab villages are not there either. Nahlal arose in the place of Mahlul; Kibbutz Gvat in the place of Jibta; Kibbutz Sarid in the place of Huneifis; and Kefar Yehushua in the place of Tal al-Shuman. There is not a single place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population."

-- David Ben Gurion, quoted in The Jewish Paradox, by Nahum Goldmann, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1978, p. 99.

"Let us not ignore the truth among ourselves ... politically we are the aggressors and they defend themselves... The country is theirs, because they inhabit it, whereas we want to come here and settle down, and in their view we want to take away from them their country."
-- David Ben Gurion, quoted on pp 91-2 of Chomsky's Fateful Triangle, which appears in Simha Flapan's "Zionism and the Palestinians pp 141-2 citing a 1938 speech.

David Ben Gurion Prime Minister of Israel 1949 - 1954,1955 - 1963

"There is no such thing as a Palestinian people... It is not as if we came and threw them out and took their country. They didn't exist."
-- Golda Meir, statement to The Sunday Times, 15 June, 1969.

"How can we return the occupied territories? There is nobody to return them to."
-- Golda Meir, March 8, 1969.

"Any one who speaks in favor of bringing the Arab refugees back must also say how he expects to take the responsibility for it, if he is interested in the state of Israel. It is better that things are stated clearly and plainly: We shall not let this happen."
-- Golda Meir, 1961, in a speech to the Knesset, reported in Ner, October 1961

"This country exists as the fulfillment of a promise made by God Himself. It would be ridiculous to ask it to account for its legitimacy."
-- Golda Meir, Le Monde, 15 October 1971

Golda Meir Prime Minister of Israel 1969 - 1974

above quotes from website:
Middle East Conflict: Zionist Quotes
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We will not go down (Song for Gaza)
This is a song of hope for the Palestinians in Gaza, by Michael Heart
Copyright 2009. http://www.michaelheart.com/

Latest on Israeli War Crimes:

Israel to shield Gaza ' War crimes' soldiers

and the Israeli Propaganda War on the InterNet

Israeli propaganda using images taken in 2007 to justify UN school bombing in 2009 ????

As this clip shows the Israeli spokesperson sees no reason not to shell repeatedly on UN facility even though this is against International Law. If the soldiers are under fire they can reposition themselves rather than blowing up a school or hospital etc. Israel doesn't recognize the UN or International Law. Israeli forces also over and over again use Arab, Palestinian civilians as human shields . See Breaking the Silence Israeli soldiers talk about the occupied territories

BBC argues with Israeli Spokesman over UN School Bombing

also see:

" Israeli Troops Killed Gaza Children Carrying White Flag, witnesses say " By Dion Nissenbaum January 28, 2009 "McClatchy Newspapers" Jan. 28,2009

The allegation is one of at least five such white flag incidents that human rights investigators are looking into across the Gaza Strip. It's part of a growing pattern of alleged abuses that have raised concerns that some Israeli soldiers may have committed war crimes during their 22-day military campaign in Gaza.

"The evidence we've gathered in two of the cases so far is exceedingly strong," said Fred Abrahams, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch working in the Gaza Strip. "All the research so far suggests they shot civilians that were leaving their homes with white flags."

Along with the white flag incidents, Human Rights Watch is calling for an international investigation into widespread charges that Israel prevented medical teams from helping wounded Palestinians trapped in their homes and needlessly demolished hundreds of houses, including dozens in Ezbt Abed Rabbo.

"This was not a rogue unit," said Abrahams. "The needless civilian deaths resulted from concrete decisions made by the military."

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As for President Obama he once again has reiterated his and America's unconditional and immutable support for Israel and blames Hamas and its rockets for the slaughter by the Israeli's of the people of Gaza. He does not bother to comment on the allegations of War Crimes committed by Israel and just brushes these of as typical anti-Israel and Anti-Semitic tactics and propaganda. Like the Israeli Regime Obama it appears holds the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent and humanitarian aid organizations and human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch or Israel's Btselem or Israeli soldiers group " Breaking the Silence etc. But if President Obama paid attention to these groups he might also have to deal with the various allegations made about US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and as we see that ain't going to happen. In this regard Obama is with the status quo.

As we know this plays well at home in America especially with Republicans, ultraconservatives and the Religious Right and a large portion of Evangelical Christians who are Pro-Israel . He does not insist that Israel abide by the various rulings of the UN that is to return to the pre-existing borders before the Six Day War of 1967 nor does he insists on the Palestinians or Arabs right of return or even that Israel dismantle its obscene wall or its hundreds of segregationist Apartheid style laws . Obama puts all the onus and responsibility on Hamas and the Palestinians. He appears uninterested in their side of the story. So his solution is no solution. Given the military power Israel has combined with the backing of President Obama and the US why should Israel want in any way shape or form bother talking to Hamas . In diplomacy there is supposed to be some give and take all that Obama has suggested is that Hamas give in to Israel's demands and Israel can continue to keep Gaza isolated to a greater or lesser degree depending on the Israeli's whims.

For instance Drew Western in an article at Huffington Post applauds President Obama for backing Israel and condemning Hamas and ignoring all these silly allegations about War Crimes because war is messy and collateral damage is to be expected and so what if Israel uses White Phosphorus or other weapons on civilians as America did the same in Fallujah and in Vietnam and so what if Israel deliberately bombed UN schools and the major UN Compound etc. So like most Americans he too has a hate on for the UN and the Red Cross because it is Israel and the US against the world. Well actually I have to add my own country Canada as also a cheerleader for anything and everything Israel and its armed forces do because Israel is never wrong or in the wrong.

as he says :

" It isn't easy to be an "honest broker" in the Middle East. Israel is our strongest ally and the only democracy in the region, our other allies are largely autocratic rulers of countries whose people despise us or harbor tremendous ambivalence toward us, and Bush's new flagship democracies in the region have had a nasty habit of choosing the leaders of terrorist organizations (Hamas and Hezbollah) as their leaders."

see: " Obama's Impressive Beginnings as an Honest Broker in the Middle East: The Psychology of Perspective-taking Where Perspective is Hard to Find " by Drew Westen Jan. 29, 2009

also see: " For Palestinians, Obama's Message is Crystal Clear " by Ramzy Baroud January 29, 2009 by CommonDreams.org Jan.29,2009

Anyway here is website for you to peruse to obtain some useful information on Israel and the history of Zionism.

The website is ZioNation: Progressive Zionism Web-Log.

The Site begins with several definitions of Zionism:

Definition of Zionism history zionism * history zionism * history zionism * history zionism * history zionism * history zionism *

The word "Zionism" has several different meanings:

1. An ideology - Zionist ideology holds that the Jews are a people or nation like any other, and should gather together in a single homeland. Zionism was self-consciously the Jewish analogue of Italian and German national liberation movements of the nineteenth century. The term "Zionism" was apparently coined in 1891 by the Austrian publicist Nathan Birnbaum, to describe the new ideology, but it was used retroactively to describe earlier efforts and ideas to return the Jews to their homeland for whatever reasons, and it is applied to Evangelical Christians who want people of the Jewish religion to return to Israel in order to hasten the second coming. "Christian Zionism" is also used to describe any Christian support for Israel.

2. A descriptive term - The term "Zionism" was apparently coined in 1891 by the Austrian publicist Nathan Birnbaum, to describe the new ideology. It is also used to describe anyone who believes Jews should return to their ancient homeland.

3. A political movement - The Zionist movement was founded by Theodor Herzl in 1897, incorporating the ideas of early thinkers as well as the organization built by Hovevei Tziyon ("lovers of Zion").

(more Definitions of Zionism )

"Zionism" derives its name from "Zion," (pronounced "Tzyion" in Hebrew) a hill in Jerusalem. The word means "marker" or commemoration. "Shivath Tzion" is one of the traditional terms for the return of Jewish exiles. "Zionism" is not a monolithic ideological movement. It includes, for example, socialist Zionists such as Ber Borochov, religious Zionists such as rabbi Kook, revisionist nationalists such as Jabotinsky and cultural Zionists exemplified by Asher Ginsberg (Achad Haam). Zionist ideas evolved over time and were influenced by circumstances as well as by social and cultural movements popular in Europe at different times, including socialism, nationalism and colonialism, and assumed different "flavors" depending on the country of origin of the thinkers and prevalent contemporary intellectual currents. Accordingly, no single person, publication, quote or pronouncement should be taken as embodying "official" Zionist ideology.

Anyway here is an example of how extreme are the views of some of the Jewish Israeli Zionists. As in any country there are citizens with various views about their country from the pro-nationalists who take exception to any criticism of the state to those with more moderate or liberal views of the state and its policies .

But when it comes to the State of Israel there are those who wish to return to the borders that existed prior to the Six Day War of 1967 to those who want to recreate ancient Israel's borders as defined in the Bible. The latter group believe this is God's covenant and command to the Jewish people . Once Eretz Israel is created then will come some sort of Golden Age or the Messiah will come and the Jewish people will be blessed by God . There are variations on these themes as there is in the Millennialists and dispensationalists views of Christians and how they see the End-Times being played out. There are also those Jews who believe the Nation State of Israel is a man made secular construct and what is most important is the ongoing existence of the Jewish people who await the Messiah and not the continuing existence of this Nation State. There are those with more extreme views who see the Nation State of Israel as an abomination and a sin against God because it is in their view up to God's will whether or not the Jews are to be gathered once again into Israel.

Check out this article below for what is considered allowable discourse in Israel - odd given the sentiments of this article that Israel is described as a Democratic society- but isn't part of an open and democratic society the right of dissent to argue over public policies- what the writer assumes is any Jewish Israeli who objects to certain policies must be a self-hating Jew and anti-Israel and I guess an anti-Semitic Jew.

So what policies a particular Israeli government comes up with all Israeli citizens must fall into line and not complain or criticize.

Note the author refers to these critics not just as " self-hating Jews but also as " traitors " and " vermin" who should be imprisoned or hanged- it is not merely that there is a legitimate disagreement over a particular policy but to object to a policy is an act of "heresy ".
Punishment for self hating anti-Israel Jewish traitors
She also accuses various Jewish Israeli human rights organizations and other humanitarian organizations including the UN and the International Court of Justive as being anti-Israel and by extension anti-Semitic since they don't care about the lives of Jews.
And anyone who objects to the Israeli Wall are on the side of the " terrorists ".

"Punishment for self hating anti-Israel Jewish traitors" by Ami Isseroff at Zionism -Israel Web Log 6/11/2008

Every day there is another disturbing and embarrassing example of the work of self-hating Jews. The saddest part of the anti-Zionist and anti-Israel campaign are the degrading exhibitions put on by these self-hating anti-Israel and anti-Zionist traitors. The most hurtful and vile accusation made by these people is that Zionism = Nazism. But the accusation that may cause the most damage in terms of Israeli lives is the insistence that the Security Fence is an Apartheid separation wall and a land grab, that is not needed for Israeli defense against terror. The hallmark of recent anti-Zionist propaganda since about 2003 is the propaganda against the fence.

If Israel is ever forced to remove the security fence, there is little doubt that the flow of suicide bombers, now frustrated by Israeli security measures, will be renewed. We will again be collecting body parts at Seder celebrations. All true friends of Israel understand this. Therefore, Israel has braved the censure of the International Court of Justice regarding the Security fence ...The Jews want the fence down because they are self hating Jews or ordinary anti-Semites...

The Security Fence is a matter of Zionist consensus, is it not? Aren't those who are fighting the fence allies of terrorism and won't they be accomplices in murder after the fact?

There are some who insist that Jewish traitors of this type deserve the death penalty. We have often seen "Hang the Oslo traitors" emblazoned as a slogan in the Web sites of true blue Israel advocates. The Massada2000 Web site has a hit list of such traitors. ..

I am sure you will therefore be as angry as I am about two egregious recent bits of anti-Israel propaganda that have issued from the self-hating Jewish enemies. Here is the first one:

"...the [apartheid wall] is worse than useless. It is no more than the product of momentary hysteria and a Maginot-line mentality that seized some of our politicians, who deluded themselves into thinking that terrorism could be "fenced out."...

The time has come to take a good look at this outlandish project. Does it make any sense to continue building it? And maybe we should begin considering dismantling what has already been built. Do our politicians have the courage to admit they made a mistake?"

"Worse than Useless" - of course, it prevents terrorists from having their way, so the fence is worse than useless according to the enemies of the Jewish people. As you can imagine, this article appeared in the left wing Ha'aretz... Perhaps it will be cited by UN Special Rapporteur John Dugard. Our self-hating Jews never tire of providing source material for the enemies of Israel. ..

But there is worse to come. A rabbi no less, said that "Israeli expulsion forces" were like the Nazis in Poland. How low can you go? ...

It gets even worse. This so-called Rabbi, a filthy shtinker moser (informer) and rodef (persecutor) is a paid employee of the Israeli government. I pay for this miserable anti-Zionist vermin who insults our officials. And this is not the first time he has spread his hateful bilge. The ADL has had this man in their sights for a while. ..