Cease Fire Now in Gaza: STOP THE BLOODSHED, TIME FOR PEACE

Thie piece from the Ha'aretz newspaper in Tel Aviv is worth a read.  It is very critical of Israeli policy and contains thoughts you will not find on American television and newspapers.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050459.html

"The Neighborhood Bully Strikes Again."

 

Thanks for pointing to this article, but in my opinion there are no arguments to find to start shooting and killing innocent people. That is just murder.

Even the soldiers are victims, they follow the orders of their leaders. Very bad leaders. War is never the solution. Start talking.

We need pressure from the whole world on the few men that are responsible for this fighting. Stop fighting. Stop killing.

Operation Cast Lead

See this photoreport of the Israelian photographer Oren Rosenfeld: 6.500 Israelian Reservists are waiting to attack: Oren Rosenfeld: Operation Cast Lead (Flickr)

More Flickr Streams with some shocking pictures. Be warned. :

Hammahmoud stream (Gaza)
Shareefsa stream (Gaza)
Bermandi Darah stream (Gaza)
Against the Siege on Gaza (Israel)
Gaza Protests (Londen)
Gaza Solidarity Demo (Cairo)
Gaza Massacre Protest (Glasgow)

Gerry just commented on another post that the BBC published that since the start of the Rockets 10 Israeli had died and 1400 Palestinian.

Hello Uwe,

Yes, it is awfull. So many people die innocent. They are not involved in fighting. It is unbelievable that we can't stop the few men who are responsible. They give the orders to fight.

The soldiers are victim as well. They just follow the orders. So many are killed for nothing. No winners at all. It is a sad story.

It is not a few men it is a nation that is fighting against a terror organization that has been bombarding Israel with rockets and killing, maiming and causing terror to our children in the region. Until you understand this reality all the altruistic rhetoric from Europe means little to us in the region.

In fact, the "all we need is peace" and "just talk to each other and all will be okay" and "it is the men that are creating trouble" are all illussions and sticking ones head in the sand by not coming to terms with terrorism. You have nothing to fear in your country. You have already capitualted with terrorists groups in order not to bomb your country at the expense of everyone else.

Israelis used to live as neighbors with their Muslim friends...over the years, Israel began a systematic approach to put the Palestinians into living as horrific as any Warsaw ghetto.

Sorry, Israel...you screwed up and it's YOUR fault there is any bloodshed to begin with.

May God have mercy on you.

This is just hog-wash. Foolish propaganda that you repeat here as truth. In fact, Jews were tolerated barely in Arab countries. In fact, in what is now Israel they were killed when they needed someone to blame. In Hebron in the 1920's and by the Ottoman's when they sided with the Germans WW 1.  I have any number of incidents that can be sited.  Today there are, on a personal level, friendships between Israeli-Muslims and Jews in the State and in fact beyond.

The truth is that at outside of the public view there are wonderful relationships. That is the point. This is a war that is being fought against terror organizations that want to destroy Israel. As long as they continue to support the Iranian agenda then there will be no peace.

I also do find it offensive to use comparisons between Warsaw ghetto and Israel. This is just unacceptable language that has no place here. you want to make accusations about Israeli government behavior fine but that is over the top.

I think it would behoove you to read the post on International Law and Civilian Casualties on Now Public.

223,886 have signed the petition. Sign, tell friends and help

Well it happened. It is complete war now in Gaza:

ISRAELI GROUND FORCES INVADE GAZA – HEAVY FIGHTING
465 killed in eight days - Israel warns of long invasion   http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=34544

Gideon Levy and Amira Hass our two token idiots.

Just a information note here. There is no such thing as an Israelian. It is Israeli or Israel. It is not the same as a Martian.

Thanks Tikun.

I have to improve my English. Thanks for the correction.

Not 6500 ready to attack more are waiting. That is just the reserves.

I agree with you that nations are fighting each other, but the leaders of the nations giving the orders.

Don't know why you call them terrorists, but i think that you can say the same about Israeli. When the bombs and granates hit your house or backyard you don't like the guys who fird them. That is the same on both sides of the border.

Who's fault? Nobody knows, because it all strated so long ago. Who's fault? Well i think the few men that are giving the orders. They ordered to start the recent shooting.

I agree with you that Israel probaly made a lot of msitakes, but i'm convinced you can say the same of Palestina

This is a photograph of the Free Gaza Movement boat the “Dignity” at dock in the port of Gaza in
early November ‘08. The Free Gaza Movement have made 5 successful trips to the Gaza Strip since August ‘08. On each occasion the boat had successfully breached the Israeli naval blockade to bring medical aid to hospitals in Gaza. On Tuesday morning the 30th of December ‘08 the boat set off again from the port of Larnaca Cyprus carrying 3 tonnes of medical aid donated by Cyprus. As the boat made is journey and while still in international waters 90 miles off the Gaza coast it was attacked by the Israeli navy. The boat was rammed 3 times, shot at and extensively damaged. It was prevented from reaching Gaza and from going to the nearest port of call in Egypt. The boat was forced to head north to seek refuge at the port of Tyre in Lebanon. Both the Cypriot and Lebanese authorities were prepared to come to the assistance of the beleaguered vessel which was taking on water as a result of the attack. Thankfully the crew escaped unharmed but all were very distressed by their experience.

harry ormond has contributed a photo to this story.

tikun,

You are right to point out that the whole nation of Israel (largely) supports this action.  It is not just a couple of 'idiots'.  When the Brit PM Thatcher declared war on the Falklands,  the rest of the country (well, the popular press) went wild with insults aimed at the "Argies".  War is exciting and rsky for many people:  it clouds their senses and brings out the worst aspects of so called 'patriotism'.

We need to remind ourselves time and again, this kind of retaliation for the rocket attacks will get nowhere:  it is barbaric.  And the idea of a pause to patch up some victims and repeat the horror again, is quite quite unbelievable.

tikun,

You seem to forget the number of times that Israeli polititians have avoided making peace, and sustaining the occupation, as well as the huge number of houses built in the West Bank, in spite of the world callng on Israel to stop.  Palestinians are rightly angry and horrobly frustrated at thirty years of getting nowhere.  Gaza has been a tinder box, in spite of everything else that is happening.

When will Israel take some responsibility for, and acknowledge the legitimacy of this frustration?

gerrypopplestone,

I dont' think for a second that Israel doesn't know that it takes two to tango. History however, doesn't bear out your accusations.

What is legal and legitimate action  is open to legal interpetation, see international law and civilian casualties on NP,. That said if you really believe that Israel is the culprit to the continuation of this conflict then there is nothing more to discuss really. 

correction. The previous boats didn't breach any Israeli blockade they were allowed to enter. You really need to be truthful in your reporting. also, read the press stories and you will see that Israel offered them  help but they refused and preferred to go to Lebanon for a propaganda news conference. This is just what they wanted. Yawn..

Related NP story:
Slouching Toward A Palestinian Holocaust

More suffocating bombings claim lives of children, women in Gaza

Related story:
Carter stands firm on apartheid accusations against Israel

Protester at L.A. Jews for Peace protest against Israel's assault on Gaza. Held in Westwood (Los Angeles) on Dec. 30, 2008.

politics R US has contributed a photo to this story.

@gerrypopplestone

You are right.

Thanks for adding these stories

See these pictures: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/12/israel_and_gaza.html

This is in theory a good idea but a cease fire must be binding on both sides and peace will require Hamas to accept Israel is in the middle east to stay.

I would guess a cease fire will happen this month and be broken by February.

Real peace will likely have to wait for the next generation.

As I sit in my comfortable home and watch the escalating violence in Gaza I am appalled but I am hopeful.  I am hopeful because I know there are people on both sides--Palestinian and Israeli--who also pray for peace.

For example, the Shministim is a group of Israeli teens who have gone to prison rather than enlist in the Israeli Defense Force. 

Udi Nir, the first conscientious objector to be imprisoned wrote, "My personal moral responsibility, which I have already mentioned, is far deeper and broader than my specific political views or of my perceptions of the repeated errors committed by the Israelis, or of the equally damaging errors committed by the Palestinians. This responsibility I bear because I am human, and it holds in my relations with any other human being.

I therefore refuse to take part in immoral violent actions, whether ordered to do so or not.  Some values stand above law and democracy. Freedom and equality are the supreme values, and law and democracy are there to uphold them, not the other way around."

I believe that is the key to global harmony--taking personal responsibility for one's actions (or inactions).  No more will it suffice to say, "I'm just doing my job."  There's hope for a better world when brave and beautiful youths are willing to sacrifice their freedom for true democracy.

To read more about the Shministim visit http://december18th.org/

May peace prevail on Earth.