Tuesday, February 24, 2015

A Not-So-Long-Ago Story

An invading army entered a country, killed many of its inhabitants and occupied the territory.  A small group of the people who lived in the country eventually rose up against the invaders and, using whatever means they could, fought back and drove them from their land.

This happened in the 2nd century BCE in Jerusalem when the Seleucid Empire attacked Jerusalem and occupied it as part of their country.  A small group of Israelites know as the Maccabees retaliated against them and were successful in driving them out.  This event is commemorated to this day in the festival of lights that we commonly call Hanukkah.

In 1987, after years of having their land confiscated from them by an invading force, a small group of Palestinians called themselves Hamas and began fighting back against the Israeli army.  The same geographic area and the same scenario yet the ancient fighters merit a festival while the modern fighters are branded as terrorists.

The men and women of Hamas are freedom-fighters trying to liberate their land from the hands of an invading force that would take it from them.  If someone tried to take your land, wouldn't you fight back?

It is disgraceful that in a nation that values freedom as highly as we claim to, we do not rush to the aid of the Palestinians.  Instead, our government financially supports Israel and places Palestine on a Terror Watch List.  These people are not terrorists.  They want to live in peace just as we do but Israel will not allow it.

It is long past time to end this.  Our financial support of Israel must end.  Our branding Palestinians as terrorists must end.  Our military support needs to be sent to Palestine to push Israel back behind the borders that were established in 1948.  Israel is not entitled to any land beyond those lines.

As the leader of democracy in the free world, it is our duty to protect the innocent men and women of Palestine and give them back their land.  It is our duty as peace loving Americans to help these people in their time of need.  

Anyone who does not know about this conflict and the true reasons for it, should read Arabs & Israel For Beginners by Ron David.  Also check out the website http://www.imemc.org for news on the Middle East told without the bias of American news organizations.  In other words; for the truth.

Another Case of Fraud In The Justice System

This is probably one of the worst cases of fraud that has ever blemished the American Justice System.  A jury in New York awarded $218.5 million in damages to the families of victims of suicide bombers in Israel in the early 2000s.  On the surface, this looks like a good thing but we need to see what's truly happening here.

The defendants in this case were the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority, which is now known as the State of Palestine (since 2013).  The jurors found that these two entities are liable for the deaths of Americans and under the Anti-Terrorism Act, they awarded them monetary settlements.

In the first place, did the bombers act under orders of the PLO or the State of Palestine?  Nothing in any of the news articles I could find proved that they did.  If these were lone bombers who were attacking Israel, then these organizations cannot be held responsible, any more than the United States is responsible for the actions of Timothy McVeigh, who blew up the federal building in Oklahoma City.

Second, the PLO did not exist until 1964 and the Palestinian Authority until 1993.  Both were formed out of a need due to Israel stealing land from the Palestinians.  How, then, is Israel not being held accountable for their part in this?  Had they not stolen Palestinian land, these organizations would not exist, and therefore no trial could have been held.  Israel is the proximate cause of this action, yet Israel is not being charged, as they should be.  Israel is a nation of state-sponsored terrorism and the United States continues to support them.

Third, how many of the jurors were Palestinian-Americans?  In our country, a defendant is entitled to a trial by a jury of their peers.  If Palestine is on trial, then Palestinians should be in the jury box.  If the Israel Law Center is allowed to represent the plaintiffs, then the jurors need to be Palestinians.  Otherwise, a fair trial cannot be guaranteed.  In this case, it certainly was not a fair trial.

Fourth, assuming that awards are merited (which is not certain by any means), how did they come up with this amount?  If all 33 victims were 35 years old and earning $60,000 per year, and all received a 5% salary increase annually until their retirement at 65, they would have earned a total of $131,548,923 or 60% of what the jurors awarded.  Why such a hefty increase over their lost earnings?

This is just one more example of Americans being uninformed and lied to.  Palestine has been the victim for decades and our government not only allows it, they sponsor it.  The Israelis need to be held accountable.  The Israelis are the root cause of the problems in the Middle East and the Israelis need to pay their fair share for damages done.

I say bring Israel to trial for these crimes.  Let the actual perpetrator of the unrest in the region be held liable for their actions.  I doubt very much that Attorney Yalowitz or the Israel Law Center will be much of a help in that regard.  They certainly don't care about justice.  They only care about harming Palestine.  Again.