Fractures in the Truth Movement

Separating the Mice From the Men

Brandon Dean
WizardofOswald.com
August 3rd, 2009

“It’s not too cool to be ridiculed
But you brought this upon yourself
The world is tired of pacifiers
We want the truth and nothing else“

—Stevie Wonder

What is the “Truth Movement?”

What some contemporary writers and activists term the “Truth Movement” (loosely defined as those who search for truth behind government corruption) is actually an age-old phenomenon, which I refer to as the Generational Freedom Movement. I’ve written two parts of an ongoing series entitled “Heroes of the Generational Freedom Movement.” This series details, so far, two individuals I name heroes for their efforts to expose corruption. Namely: General George S Patton, and General Smedley Butler. They are both military men, but there is a reason I chose both. To read Part 1 click here. To read Part 2 click here.

Throughout the generations, from Spartacus to the traditional Irish Republican resistance to the British Crown, there has been a spirit of rebellion against oppression inherent in the human race. Throughout these same generations, the elite of the human race have been honing their skills of oppression. For in the modern “first” world we have a mental slavery to counter the direct, violent oppression of the third world. It would seem as though those with the illusion of freedom have the stronger chains. Rebellions and armed resistance are frequent where oppression is outright, and non-existent where “freedom reigns.”

Here in the first world, where communication is key–where propaganda is almost all-encompassing–we fight an information war. We demand and use our freedom of speech like third world farmers use their AK-47’s. We change policy with our speech.

There is a genuine opposition to the power elite in these united States. I’ve been a part of it for almost twenty years, in one form or another. When the BATF fire-bombed a church in Waco, Texas, it straightened my spine like an electroshock. The public anger was palpable. Those I found who sympathized with me referred to the burgeoning numbers of truth-seekers as the “Patriot Movement.” Militias sprang up all over the country–some of us were fed up to the point of preparing for the worst, should the BATF choose to treat us the same as they did those in Waco.

After 9/11/01, the patriot movement morphed from “kooky militiamen” to a more mainstream phenomenon, simply by attrition–9/11 was so huge it was bound to cause people to open their eyes and pay attention, and those who caused 9/11 knew this would happen…

Alex Jones

During the heady, grungy days of the mid-90’s (1996 to be exact)–Alex Jones sprang up out of the woodwork in Austin, Texas, a middle class, conservative-leaning loud mouth. For a few years he plugged away at his public access TV show, and garnered a modest audience interested in his “paleo-conservative” tirades. Jones has always heavily relied on theatrics, a style which has attracted quite an audience in the post-911 era. His emotional discourse draws out similar emotions in those who listen to him.

Jones helped rebuild the burned down Waco Branch Davidian church, but there is more than enough controversy surrounding his involvement in the project. Controversy seems to follow Alex Jones wherever he goes, and after years of the same shtick, one must wonder: “why the shtick?”

I can remember listening to Alex Jones’ radio show in 2001-2002, and there were many times when Jones’ would beg for people to call in, because the lines were empty. In other words, there were long years before Jones dared claim he was the “father” of the truth movement.

Alex Jones shot to prominence by appearing to sneak into the Bohemian Grove, an occult summer camp for the global elite. But it is painfully obvious he was allowed in to consolidate his place in the emerging truth movement.

He has always used to his radio and TV shows as platforms to vilify his critics. He regularly hangs up on anyone who disagrees with him, unless of course it’s the guest on the show. He will spinelessly suck up to his guest whether they agree with him or not.

Jones’ popularity has exploded in the last three to four years. He’s always somehow managed to sneak past the “cointelpro” censors at mainstream news networks, at least enough to get an interview with someone like Geraldo Rivera on FOX, as a representative of this “truth movement.” How convenient for Alex Jones that he gets to represent the truth movement on mainstream TV news! In my experience, only controlled opposition gets a coveted interview on CONTROLLED mainstream TV news. But hey, that’s just 19-years-of-me-paying-attention speaking–no need to heed my words or anything…

Unmoderated PrisonPlanet.tv Forums: The First Movement-wide Exposure of Alex Jones’ True Colors.

In May of 2007, the un-moderated PrisonPlanet.tv forums opened to paying members of PrisonPlanet.tv. I happened to be one of the original posters in these forums. There I came in contact with a few people whom I still talk to today. One of them is a WizardofOswald.com member; one “Francis Dade.” Now Francis Dade is a southern gentleman, and he was chastised by Alex Jones live on the air, for daring to defend the anonymity of pp.tv members.

In defense of this anonymity, demanded by most pp.tv members–which was null and void if your membership ran out (in other words, your real name would appear on your posts if your account was ended)–Francis Dade called into the Alex Jones show. The forums were un-moderated, which meant we couldn’t ask a moderator to help us fix any problems we had. we tried many avenues to get Jones’ attention without success, and calling in the show seemed the only possible avenue left.

“soupy dead children!”

A few of the members got through to the show, only to get berated and hung up on by Jones on air. But Jones was slightly thrown off by Francis Dade’s gentlemanly manner, and decided to let him speak. Francis Dade explained the situation, and Jones’ reaction was to scream at him that this was a non-issue, and there was nothing he could do about it. Francis Dade persisted, and Jones responded by calling his internet tech live on air to tell him condescendingly to “pull” the pp.tv forums and delete everything. Needless to say, many subscriptions were canceled directly after this incident, and some have even made it their mission in life to expose Alex Jones as a money-grubbing opportunist and scam artist.

Jeff Rense

Jeff Rense of Rense.com, in stark contrast to Alex Jones, maintains a very low profile (the above photo is the only one available of him on the internet), and encourages open debate. He encourages open debate by posting links to topics other “respectable” truth sites won’t touch. The only issue Rense.com seems to hammer home is the one subject Alex Jones (and many other “leaders” of the truth movement) won’t touch: Zionism and the supposed Jewish Holocaust of World War II. Where other major sites marginalize the Revisionist Movement (which has been around for sixty years longer than the current manifestation of the truth movement), Rense.com promotes investigation of Zionists and their fairy tales.

Mike Rivero

Mike Rivero of WhatReallyHappened.com has been in the truth movement since he discovered that the Clinton Administration was responsible for the death of then-president Bill Clinton’s chief of staff Vincent Foster. Rivero worked in the special effects side of the movie industry before there were computer effects, and he has worked on many many projects which required knowledge of graphically violent situations, scenery, and forensic accuracy. Seeing the broadcasted photo of the faked suicide of Foster, and knowing it for what it was, instantly turned Rivero into an activist for the truth. He has been hard at work exposing criminals ever since.

Rivero, like Rense, is unafraid to discuss the Zionist issue. And Rivero, like Rense, has for years been accused of “anti-semitism,” which is the pet-term of the Zionists for those who oppose them.

Other Names Emerge in the Truth Movement

Eric Hufschmid, who claims basically everyone works for the “Jews”–including Jeff Rense and Mike Rivero

Mike Ruppert, the disgraced “patriot” and ex-LAPD officer who attempted to rob his own offices in a lame attempt to garner more attention and support from “truthers,” and who subsequently fled the country, under the auspices that the “government” had chased him out under threat of bodily harm…

the “Loose Change” crew. In the center is Jason Bermas, a rabid “anti-racist” who screams at, vilifies, or otherwise shuts down any critical mention of Jews when possible, even though Jews are just people, and not above criticism, just like any other group of people.

In the ensuing years since 9/11/01, other “leaders” have emerged in different sectors of the truth movement, from the extreme right to the extreme left, and to what I would term the “extreme center.”

Two of the most prominent of these emerging leaders are Jeff Rense and Mike Rivero. These two have not only consistently shown themselves to be more concerned for the truth than their popularity, but they have also shown themselves to be the bigger men in a battle which is basically screaming for accusations and name-calling. More on that in a minute…

Most of these so-called leaders, however, have not shown themselves to be as open and reliable as Jeff Rense and Mike Rivero. I may not believe half the topics discussed on Rense.com, but I am open-minded and realistic enough to not deny something I myself have not researched, and to welcome opposing opinions to mine.

The Split Appears

In mid-April, a caller to the Alex Jones Show asked Jones’ stand-in–Jason Bermas of Loose Change fame–about the fact that most of the television media is owned by Jews. Bermas exploded on the caller, and claimed that all those who believe that mostly Jews “own Hollywood” should electrocute themselves by getting in a bathtub and dropping in a toaster oven, because apparently we’re all Jew-haters. Which is funny, because I would have to hate part of myself to hate Jews, and I hate none of myself…

Texe Marrs, who has been a guest on the Alex Jones show for years, wrote an article about the incident, in which he stated about Bermas: “Quite a rampage by the supposedly “patriot” talk show host. And all because the poor caller had dared to propose undue Jewish influence over the media.”

Jeff Rense linked to Marrs’ article on Rense.com. Being that the article was obviously critical of Alex Jones, Jones flipped out and threatened to sue Jeff Rense and everyone else who criticizes him. Watch the following video clip:

Rense was fired from (or left) the Genesis Communications Network, which broadcasts many “patriot” radio shows, including the Alex Jones Show and the Jack Blood Show, some time in late March/early April. Rense and Jones had an as yet unspecified fallout, and Jones’ pull is obviously what got Rense fired.

Brother Nathaniel Kapner of RealZionistNews.com

At the end of March, Brother Nathaniel Kapner of RealZionistNews.com wrote an article entitled “Is Alex Jones a Zionist Shill? Controversy Swirls” which was obviously critical of Jones. Kapner has emerged as a force in his own right within the truth movement since being linked to by Rense.com.

These two incidents have caused a fracture in the truth movement which is irreparable. Among those who have been involved in this movement for a long time (especially those who remember William Cooper), Jeff Rense is far more respected than Alex Jones. Alex Jones remains the best at drawing in audiences within the truth movement, however, with constant promotion of all sorts, including free promotion from rabid fans who pass out his DVDs, bumper stickers, and message on street corners and malls around the country.

The Death of Bill Cooper

William Cooper was a hero of the patriot movement of the 1980’s and 1990’s. In 1991, Cooper wrote what I still consider to be the definitive book relating to the current truth movement, entitled Behold a Pale Horse. His short wave radio show “Hour of the Time” aired for years, and encouraged thousands of others like myself to become more active in the future of these united States.

In June of 2001, Bill Cooper predicted the terrorist events of September 11th, 2001. In July of 2001, Alex Jones, who obviously listened to Bill Cooper’s show, but denies it to this day, also claimed he had “intel” that within a couple months of July terrorists would strike New York City. Bill Cooper watched the news and put two and two together, coming up with 4. Alex Jones, by contrast, had “intel” that bin Laden would strike. Coincidence?

Watch this video:

Bill Cooper Exposes Alex Jones as a Shill, and Dies 7 Weeks Later

On November 5th, 2001, Cooper was killed by undercover sheriff’s deputies in Arizona about 7 weeks after EXPOSING ALEX JONES AS A FRAUD, and almost two months after the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01,

Cooper had listened to Alex Jones’ broadcast on December 31st, 1999, and decided Alex Jones was controlled opposition. He spent months putting the audio clips of the Jones show together for his expose. Between Jones’ “Y2K show” and the subsequent interviews he gave that night and the next day, it became painfully obvious to Cooper that Jones was a scaremonger and opportunist, not to mention an outright liar.

The following clip is part 1 of Bill Cooper’s show exposing Alex Jones:

To hear parts 2 through 6, go here.

Bill Cooper’s death coincidentally paved the way for Alex Jones’ ensuing career success. Am I saying Alex Jones was involved in Cooper’s death? No, but I’m also not saying he wasn’t. I don’t know one way or the other–I just know it was extremely convenient for Jones’ career that Cooper died…

Zionism Versus the German Death Cult

So who has more influence in this country? An elusive Germanic Death Cult, with whom the only possible people to blame are the “front men” in government and corporations, or a zionist elite which pervades every aspect of the supposed Germanic death cult and more?

According to Jones, the world is controlled by a loose series of occult secret societies, which at some miraculous point in the future will all agree on one world government. But the problem is, if there’s no real cohesion between the New World Order affiliates, then to whom, and how and when are they going to decide to all of a sudden relinquish their hard-earned power? If there is no one to point to at the very top, then there is no one to point to at all. Those government and corporate “front men” Jones refers to could never be held truly responsible for their crimes if there is always an elusive superior who gave the order.

A serious look at US history will show even the dilettante a pattern of Zionists who pretend to be Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Republican, Democrat, American–anything but the creatures they are: godless zionist thugs. The fact that most of the banks, media, food manufacturing companies and social services in this country are owned and controlled by Zionists masquerading as upstanding Jews and Christians seems to have no effect upon the opinion of Alex Jones or Jason Bermas. They still claim the country is controlled by “death cults,” and Alex Jones has even claimed that “Hollywood is owned by the Arabs,” the notion of which Jew Ben Stein (and many others) laugh at.

Listen to Alex Jones claim that Hollywood is owned by the Arabs:

“Do Jews run Hollywood? You bet they do-and what of it?“

—Ben Stein

One of the hallmarks of oppression is controlled opposition. This entails injecting your man into your opposition, to be able to control that opposition. If you pay someone to spread false information, the chances of cohesive action against your plan disintegrates. Zionists are masters of playing both sides, as evinced through the Israelis’ mostly phony war with Hamas, which they played a major part in creating.

Zionism Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry

This fracture in the truth movement between the anti-zionists and the Alex Jones automatons was building gradually for a few years until Bermas blew the issue wide open on Alex Jones’ show in April. Since then the fracture has become a fissure, and the fissure will soon become a gulf.

Jones wishes to recruit every new possible “truther” into his “cointelpro” “zionism equals anti-semitism” world before they can search a little deeper into the non-moneyed world to discover the zionist beast. But with his money, duped from starry-eyed patriots who foolishly trust him to spend it on the “cause,” Jones has promoted himself and his scare-mongering, not the truth. He has proven himself the most skittish of mice, and has separated himself from the men with his ultimate treachery: the sacrilege of twisting the truth into a profit.

And while Alex Jones cries and moans and attempts to sue everyone on the planet who criticizes him, the two other major players in the truth movement–Jeff Rense and Mike Rivero–remain reticent in the face of conflict. Jeff Rense simply issued a humble statement regarding the issue, and Rivero looked the other way, wisely seeing it as a worthless distraction. Rivero still links to Jones’ material and appears as a guest on the Alex Jones Show, and has not made public (to my knowledge) his opinion on the matter..

But to those of us who don’t have the big names, and who live in the trenches of the battle for truth every day, the split widens, and the balance is coming over to our side. Alex Jones is now seeing his control slide away, and good riddance.

Zionism, with all of its different manifestations and evil, has lost its impervious way. The internet has shown its tactics the door, and now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag, the zionists are all a-fluster. Their time-honored tactics no longer avail them; in fact, their tactics now expose their true methods rather than covering them up.

Zionism’s controlled opposition to the truth movement has failed. They are desperate to regain the field, and I’m afraid they’ll do anything they believe will regain it. This is a dangerous time to be for the truth, but I will leave you with one final thought:

“I keep on fighting for the things I want
though I know that when you’re dead you can’t
but I’d rather be a free man in my grave
than living as a puppet or a slave”

—Jimmy Cliff

© Brandon Dean, 2009

link to forum post

(a special thanks to Raven for correcting me on a couple dates… Brandon)

200 americans led by british george galloway head for palestine with emergency relief

Sudan and the ZOG West’s deception

The officials and mainstream media in the Zionist Controlled Governments (ZOG) and international organizations (UN, ICC, EU, etc.) have been ranting about the 400,000 Darfur death – a “genocide” carried out by the Islamist government im Khartoum. However, one see a big duct-tape covering the same big-mouths and mainstream medis – when it comes to the case of over one million Somali Muslims have been displaced by the Ethiopian and Rwandan Christian armed gangsters – funded and trained by the US, Britain and Israel. The mass-murder of Somali Muslims doesn’t fall into West’s definition of “genocide” as the death of 60-100 million Russian Christians at the hands of Jewish-dominated Communist-regime is not accepted a “Holocaust”, which is reserved for the “Jewish genocide” only.

The West deception is also worth noting in the case of 6.4 million death in Eastern Congo as result of the invasion of the country by US-British sponsored Ugandan and Rwandan armies begining in 1996 which are continuing at the rate of 45,000, a month today.

The Zionist governing elites in the West have been using propaganda lies, faked terrorist threats, character assasination, military-backing to the rebels, and international sanctions – to put pressure on the Sudanese government in Khartoum to abide by the humiliating 2005 “peace Accord” – which they helped to engineer. The Jewish lobby groups want to prevent a huge Muslim dominated (75%, 20% Animist, 5% Christians) oil-rich country with Islamic credentials – becoming strong and stable. It’s anti-Islam feelings in the West which these Zionists are exploiting against Sudan, Somali and Eritrea.

One of the ZOG tactics to blackmail Khartoum regime is the recent indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in March 2009 – on five counts of the so-called “crimes against humanity” and two counts of “war crimes”. Responding to the ICC indictment, Professor Peter Erlinder, former president National Lawyers Guild, New York, wrote an appeal to Human Rights colleagues under the title Darfur Deception:

“When Bush or other American are similarly indicted by the ICC (which has refused to hear case against Israeli officials involved in the recent “genocide” of Gaza citizen) too, we will be sure, that “international justice” is being meted out evenly and the “Rule of Powerful” will have been replaced by the Rule of Law. But, as it is now, the powerful decide who among the less-powerful will feel the lash of retribution or reap the rewards of cooperation.”

However, ICC warrants for his arrest has not scared Bashir (Zionist entity has long Ahmadinejad’s name on its assasination list) – who has visited Eritrea, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Liby and Zimbabwe. according to Bashir: “The warrant is an action aimed at isolating Sudan and eventually fragmenting and dividing our country. But through our own efforts and resources we are going to overcome such designs.”

The other western deception is the so-called “Save Darfur” anti-Islamist campaign organization – which according to The Washington Post – was created in 2005 by two Jewish groups, The American Jewish World Service and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum with a staff of 20 and US$15 million budget. Bruce Dixon in his December 12, 2007 research article Ten Reasons Why Save Darfur is a PR Scam exposed the greed and Zionist-controlled Washington’s policy in Africa.

Anti-Sudan propaganda was initiated in 1993 by an Israeli advocate Charles Jacobs (co-founder of Israeli think tank CAMERA)over the issue of slavery (the self-denial Zionist did not want to admit that sex-slavey is legalized in Israel, as long as the victim is not Jewish). He was joined by Barbara Ledeen, wife of neocon columnist Michael Ledeen, and ‘Israel-First’ Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby.

The Jewish investigating journalist Robert Friedman (d. 2002) wrote in The Nation (June 6, 1987): “CAMERA was created specifically to keep the US press in line. At least in one case, it has assigned freelance reporters to dig into the personal lives of liberal journalists whose views deviate from the narrowest spectrum of pro-Israeli opinion. CAMERA, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and the rest of lobby don’t want fairness, but bias in their favor. As they’re prepared to use McCarthite tactics, as well as, the power and money of pro-Israel PACs, to get whatever Israel wants….”

However, there are some indications that in order to counter the increasing Iran-Sudan co-operation in the fields of defense, trade, agriculture, banking and technology – the ZOG administration in the White House is changing its tune toward Khartoum. For example, John Kerry, Chairman Senate’s Foreign Relation Committee, who visited Khartoum in April – called for lifting of US sanctions and Obama’s envoy in Sudan, Maj. General Scott Gration called Sudan “a friendly country”.

http://rehmat1.wordpress.com/2009/07/08/sudan-and-the-zog-west%e2%80%99s-deception/

cynthia mckinney speaks from israeli prison

Cynthia McKinney Refuses Israel's Offer of Release from Custody

ATLANTA, Ga. -- Former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who was taken into custody by the Israeli Navy on Tuesday with 20 others while trying to sail through a navy blockade to deliver humanitarian supplies to Gaza, has refused Israel's initial offer to release her from custody. According to her supporters in Atlanta, McKinney refused the offer because she would have been required to sign an admission of guilt that she violated Israel's blockade.

"At issue is the fact that Ms. McKinney was in international waters" when the Israeli Navy stopped the group's boat, according to a statement from the Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery and the Atlanta-based Coalition for the People's Agenda.

Israel disagrees, insisting that the Palestinian Authority and the rest of the international community long ago agreed to the off-shore blockade to prevent arms smuggling into Gaza.

The office of the Consulate General of Israel in Atlanta issued its own statement Friday, saying, "According to Israeli law Ms. McKinney and her fellow crew members were suggested to sign a form acknowledging their deportation, however since Ms. McKinney has refused to do so, she is expected to appear before an Israeli judge on Sunday, July 5th and afterwards be returned home as soon as possible."

McKinney did not address any of that in a message of just under three minutes, posted on youtube.com, that she delivered by telephone from Israel.

"The Israelis hijacked us because we wanted to give crayons to the children of Gaza.... We have not committed any crime. We have been detained," McKinney said.

She said she wants the world to "see how we have been treated just because we wanted to deliver humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza."

Soon after Israel seized McKinney and the others and their boat, the government promised to deliver all of the humanitarian supplies that were on the boat, but would deliver them by the ground routes into Gaza that Israel has been permitting international aid groups to use.

McKinney and the 20 others associated with the U.S.-based "Free Gaza Movement" [click here for original article] boarded the Greek-registered ship "Arion" Tuesday in Cyprus and tried to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea, by going through the Israeli Navy's security blockade.

The Israeli Navy stopped them and took them and their boat into custody at Ashdod.

"I admire her courage. I might differ with her strategy sometimes," said Dr. Lowery with a smile, speaking at his Atlanta home Friday evening.

Lowery and other civil rights activists met with the Consulate General's office by conference call, urging McKinney's immediate release, without conditions.

"We wanted to express our concern.... Here in her home community, we are concerned for her safety. And since she's on a mission of mercy and not munitions, we think they ought to let her come home."

The Israeli government says McKinney was on a mission of confrontation, seeking publicity.

"Well, I'm sure they have a good argument for their action," Lowery said. "But nevertheless, she was carrying food and medicine to heal the sick and wounded. And I think that's a good thing. And I would hope that in the spirit of compassion and mercy and ministry, that they'll let her come on back home."

So as it stood as of Friday night, the Israeli justice system will not decide before Sunday what to do with McKinney and the others.

Free Gaza Boat Attacked; Passengers Arrested

ISRAEL ATTACKS JUSTICE BOAT; KIDNAPS HUMAN RIGHTS WORKERS; CONFISCATES MEDICINE, TOYS AND OLIVE TREES

For more information contact:
Greta Berlin (English)
tel: +357 99 081 767 / friends@freegaza.org

Caoimhe Butterly (Arabic/English/Spanish):
tel: +357 99 077 820 / sahara78@hotmail.co.uk
www.FreeGaza.org

[23 miles off the coast of Gaza, 15:30pm] - Today Israeli Occupation Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries, including Noble laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (see below for a complete list of passengers). The passengers and crew are being forcibly dragged toward Israel.

“This is an outrageous violation of international law against us. Our boat was not in Israeli waters, and we were on a human rights mission to the Gaza Strip,” said Cynthia McKinney, a former U.S. Congresswoman and presidential candidate. “President Obama just told Israel to let in humanitarian and reconstruction supplies, and that’s exactly what we tried to do. We're asking the international community to demand our release so we can resume our journey.”

According to an International Committee of the Red Cross report released yesterday, the Palestinians living in Gaza are “trapped in despair.” Thousands of Gazans whose homes were destroyed earlier during Israel’s December/January massacre are still without shelter despite pledges of almost $4.5 billion in aid, because Israel refuses to allow cement and other building material into the Gaza Strip. The report also notes that hospitals are struggling to meet the needs of their patients due to Israel’s disruption of medical supplies.

“The aid we were carrying is a symbol of hope for the people of Gaza, hope that the sea route would open for them, and they would be able to transport their own materials to begin to reconstruct the schools, hospitals and thousands of homes destroyed during the onslaught of "Cast Lead”. Our mission is a gesture to the people of Gaza that we stand by them and that they are not alone" said fellow passenger Mairead Maguire, winner of a Noble Peace Prize for her work in Northern Ireland.

Just before being kidnapped by Israel, Huwaida Arraf, Free Gaza Movement chairperson and delegation co-coordinator on this voyage, stated that: “No one could possibly believe that our small boat constitutes any sort of threat to Israel. We carry medical and reconstruction supplies, and children’s toys. Our passengers include a Nobel peace prize laureate and a former U.S. congressperson. Our boat was searched and received a security clearance by Cypriot Port Authorities before we departed, and at no time did we ever approach Israeli waters.”

Arraf continued, “Israel’s deliberate and premeditated attack on our unarmed boat is a clear violation of international law and we demand our immediate and unconditional release.”
###

WHAT YOU CAN DO!

CONTACT the Israeli Ministry of Justice
tel: +972 2646 6666 or +972 2646 6340
fax: +972 2646 6357

CONTACT the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
tel: +972 2530 3111
fax: +972 2530 3367

CONTACT Mark Regev in the Prime Minister's office at:
tel: +972 5 0620 3264 or +972 2670 5354
mark.regev@it.pmo.gov.il

CONTACT the International Committee of the Red Cross to ask for their assistance in establishing the wellbeing of the kidnapped human rights workers and help in securing their immediate release!

Red Cross Israel
tel: +972 3524 5286
fax: +972 3527 0370
tel_aviv.tel@icrc.org

Red Cross Switzerland:
tel: +41 22 730 3443
fax: +41 22 734 8280

Red Cross USA:
tel: +1 212 599 6021
fax: +1 212 599 6009
###

Kidnapped Passengers from the Spirit of Humanity include:

Khalad Abdelkader, Bahrain
Khalad is an engineer representing the Islamic Charitable Association of Bahrain.

Othman Abufalah, Jordan
Othman is a world-renowned journalist with al-Jazeera TV.

Khaled Al-Shenoo, Bahrain
Khaled is a lecturer with the University of Bahrain.

Mansour Al-Abi, Yemen
Mansour is a cameraman with Al-Jazeera TV.

Fatima Al-Attawi, Bahrain
Fatima is a relief worker and community activist from Bahrain.

Juhaina Alqaed, Bahrain
Juhaina is a journalist & human rights activist.

Huwaida Arraf, US
Huwaida is the Chair of the Free Gaza Movement and delegation co-coordinator for this voyage.

Ishmahil Blagrove, UK
Ishmahil is a Jamaican-born journalist, documentary film maker and founder of the Rice & Peas film production company. His documentaries focus on international struggles for social justice.

Kaltham Ghloom, Bahrain
Kaltham is a community activist.

Derek Graham, Ireland
Derek Graham is an electrician, Free Gaza organizer, and first mate aboard the Spirit of Humanity.

Alex Harrison, UK
Alex is a solidarity worker from Britain. She is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.

Denis Healey, UK
Denis is Captain of the Spirit of Humanity. This will be his fifth voyage to Gaza.

Fathi Jaouadi, UK
Fathi is a British journalist, Free Gaza organizer, and delegation co-coordinator for this voyage.

Mairead Maguire, Ireland
Mairead is a Nobel laureate and renowned peace activist.

Lubna Masarwa, Palestine/Israel
Lubna is a Palestinian human rights activist and Free Gaza organizer.

Theresa McDermott, Scotland
Theresa is a solidarity worker from Scotland. She is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.

Cynthia McKinney, US
Cynthia McKinney is an outspoken advocate for human rights and social justice issues, as well as a former U.S. congressperson and presidential candidate.

Adnan Mormesh, UK
Adnan is a solidarity worker from Britain. He is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.

Adam Qvist, Denmark
Adam is a solidarity worker from Denmark. He is traveling to Gaza to do human rights monitoring.

Adam Shapiro, US
Adam is an American documentary film maker and human rights activist.

Kathy Sheetz, US
Kathy is a nurse and film maker, traveling to Gaza to do human rights monitoring.

Strange Deaths of Anti-Zionists Carradine, Jackson

posted by anarchore on June 26th, 2009

http://ziofascism.net/blog/?p=1485

Quote

In this dark age of total Zionist control over our media and government, expect to see more mysterious ‘heart attacks’ and ’suicides’ of those who are not playing along.

http://www.mashget.com/2009/06/12/second-autopsy-of-carradine-suggests-no-suicide/

Quote

LOS ANGELES, June 12 (Reuters) - A forensic pathologist whooversaw a second autopsy on “Kung Fu” star David Carradine’sbody at the direction of his family suggested on Friday thatthe death was not a suicide but declined to say why.

Dr. Michael Baden told Reuters that the actor’s familywants to withhold details until a full investigation iscompleted.

https://theinfounderground.com/~theinfou/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5816

Quote

Later in the segment, Penacoli says a filmmaker and director named Damian Chapa, who worked with Carradine, said he “believes that there was foul play” in Carradine’s death. “And he said that no one else knows this but his family — Carradine’s family and friends and people closest to him, but David was very interested in investigating and disclosing secret societies.”

Michael Jackson Escapes Zionist Oppression

Quote

“They suck them like leeches. They start out the most popular person in the world, make a lot of money, big house, cars and everything and end up penniless. It’s a conspiracy. The Jews do it on purpose.”
--Michael Jackson

http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASUS_12/4831_12.htm

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New York, NY, November 23, 2005 … Reacting to revelations that Michael Jackson referred to Jews as “leeches” in a voicemail to a former business manager, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today said the pop music icon “has an anti-Semitic streak” and hasn’t learned from his past mistakes, including the use of anti-Semitic epithets in a 1995 song he wrote.

Israeli Army amasses troops, military hardware along Lebanese border

Israeli Army amasses troops, military hardware along Lebanese border

Daily Star staff
Friday, June 26, 2009

BEIRUT: The Israeli Army stepped up its presence along the border with Lebanon deploying armored tanks and setting up fortifications as it intensified airspace violations in the area, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported Thursday. In "unusual military activity," the Israeli Army deployed Merkava tanks and soldier carriers, among other armored vehicles, along the barb-wired fence separating Shebaa Farms from liberated Lebanese territories, the NNA said.

Israeli tanks were also amassing along a 5-kilometer area, stretching from Tallat Sobaih army post to Jabal al-Sheikh observatory. Sporadic gunfire was also heard throughout the day, the NNA report said.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Air Force carried out several flights over the regions of the Shebaa Farms, Al-Arqoub villages, Hasbaya, Marjayoun, Western Bekaa and Iqlim al-Tuffah. Israeli helicopters were also spotted over the Shebaa Farms between 6 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.

On the outskirts of the southern village of Abassiya, the Israeli Army set up fortifications and barricades as part of a military workshop around Al-Dohaira post, off the town of Al-Ghajar. Heavy machinery was being used including bulldozers, drills and large cranes. A similar workshop was taking place at Jabal al-Sheikh's observatory with soldiers setting up military equipment.

In other news, an Israeli Army delegation suggested taking Lebanese-Israeli military talks under the auspices of the UN peacekeepers' command to the next stage, As-Safir newspaper reported on Thursday.

The newspaper said that the proposal came during a meeting held between the two sides on the implementation of UN Resolution 1701 in the presence of commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Major General Claudio Graziano in the border town of Naqoura on Wednesday.

Lebanese government sources told As-Safir that the Israeli side proposed to Lebanese Army representatives to move the talks which solely focus on the implementation of the resolution, which put an end to the summer 2006 war, "to the bilateral political level between the governments of Lebanon and Israel."

"If you accept our invitation, all [problems] would be subject to a solution at one time," the head of the Israeli delegation had reportedly told the Lebanese side.

But the Lebanese Army representatives bluntly replied that government instructions limit the tripartite meeting's agenda to issues related to the implementation of Resolution 1701, according to As-Safir.

The delegation "categorically" rejected the Israeli proposal, the daily reported.

The army delegation later informed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora about the results of the tripartite meeting that lasted three hours.

Meanwhile, As-Safir said the UNIFIL command informed Lebanon that the Israeli violation of the Blue Line was removed after the Israeli Army had taken down its flag at an observation post that it erected last week in a restricted area on the outskirts of Kfar Shouba Hills.

However, An-Nahar daily said that the outpost was intact and all that Israel did was to take down the flag.

Kfar Shouba's Mayor Izzat al-Qadri, who inspected the area on Wednesday, told the newspaper that the Israeli violation was ongoing.

"I urge the Lebanese premier, the army command and the UNIFIL leadership to make every effort to end this violation," he said. - The Daily Star

source

Neterei Karta--Judaism Rejects Zionism

"you want enemies, in order to say you are protecting the jews." -rabbi david weiss, from the video below


31 May 2009: Anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews joined protestors of the annual 'Salute to Israel' parade held in New York City.

Neterei Karta represents millions of Jews around the world who stand against the corporate, plutocratic state of Israel and their horrendous acts of barbarism toward the Palestinian people.

Visit Neturei Karta

Rabbi David Weiss explaining zionism, and rebuffing brainwashed jews who try to stop his speech with names and anger:

Now Playing at the "Holocaust Museum" - The Lone Nut

Now Playing at the "Holocaust Museum" - The Lone Nut

(What a "coincidence"!)

by Michael Hoffman

Copyright©2009 RevisionistHistory.org

Today another "lone nut"has changed the course of history. Like "lone nut" James Earl Ray and "lone nut" Sirhan Sirhan, as well as "lone nuts" Arthur Bremer and Ted Kaczynski, James von Brunn now joins the ranks of the Cryptocracy's hit parade. What a "coincidence"!

With his shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Museum, Von Brunn has reinvigorated the old 20th century Black/Zionist coalition, on the very day when African-American U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was due to visit the museum to hear a reading of the script of "Anne and Emmett," a play about Anne Frank and Emmet Till. What a "coincidence"!

The author of the "Anne and Emmett" play is Janet Langhart Cohen, the Black wife of former Secretary of Defense William Cohen who directed American forces during the NATO holocaust against the churches, monasteries and people of Christian Serbia in 1999. What a "coincidence"!

Von Brunn has acted a part in the self-fulfilling prophecy of The Holocaust mythos, by reenacting it in miniature. By doing so he will enter the museum's canon of devil goyim who can't seem to resist attacking symbols of Judaic culture and innocence. He has victimized the eternal victims, squaring their vision of themselves as forever hated and perpetually persecuted. What a "coincidence"!

The religion of Orthodox Judaism is designed so as to capitalize on and benefit from any violent attack on it or it adherents. Without such violence from outsiders, attacks are sometimes orchestrated from within.

During the regime of Republican President George W. Bush, the "threat from the extreme Right" was de-emphasized by the Cryptocracy. White crusader golem were needed to support and staff the war in Afghanistan against Muslims, and the war in Iraq against Arabs. With those goals now pretty much accomplished and a Black Democrat in the White House, the powers-that-be seem to have decided to reanimate the "extreme Right wing threat" and raise it back to the marquee bogeyman role it played during the regime of Bill Clinton, when the Oklahoma City Bombing was mounted by a supposed lone nut duo, but which researchers like David Hoffman (no relation to this writer) have reported was a conspiracy deeply connected to the US government itself -- including to such government front groups as the "Aryan Republican Army" bank-robbery gang and "Aryan Nations."

Since Americans are saddled generation after generation with a government-mouthpiece media, the lone nut gambit remains forever young in the eyes of those who are dependent for their news on echo-chamber journalists and talking heads who repeat as gospel whatever officialdom happens to declare about the gunman.

Years later, "when the hurly burly's done and the battle's lost and won," the real conspiracy is usually thawed for public consumption. For example, there are few independent thinkers today who believe that McVeigh and his sidekick single-handedly destroyed the Murrah building, or that Ray Killed Martin Luther King, or that Kaczynski was not a patsy like Lee Harvey Oswald.

For now, however, the alchemical processing cooker is on high as the groundwork for the criminalization of "Holocaust' denial" is being established, and the high priests of Holocaustianity are given renewed pledges of unquestioning obeisance by America's governing class and opinion-moulding elite. As the script thickens its plot line, hysterical idolization of all things Judaic, rabbinic and Israeli approaches vertiginous new heights of fawning subservience.

The 400 children murdered last December and January in Gaza by the descendants of "Holocaust' Survivors," have been deposited in the dustbin of history. There never was and never will be an exhibit at the synagogue-masquerading-as-a-museum about the the horrors of the Israeli holocaust against the Palestinians; but it won't be long before the iconic image of a Black policeman who died defending America's most hallowed Judaic shrine, will earn a perpetual memorial there.

Our masters govern by methods that overrule all documentation and silence all arguments: assassination, stealth, treachery, the doublecross and most of all, the inculcation of the doublemind. Their guarantee of last resort comes courtesy of a bullet fired by a "lone nut" who emerges from obscurity to rescue the Cryptocracy's chestnuts from an impending fire, or secure it victory where it would otherwise experience eclipse. What a "coincidence"!

James von Brunn's six-pointed star will forever shine in the Cryptocracy's lone nut firmament.

This column has been translated into Italian

For further research: Synagogue Bomb Plot

Hoffman writes from the foothills of the Bitterroot Mountain range of north Idaho. His work is sustained by donations and the sale of his books and recordings.

Chabad rabbi: Jews should kill Arab men, women and children during war

Chabad rabbi: Jews should kill Arab men, women and children during war
By Nathaniel Popper, The Forward

Like the best Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis, Manis Friedman has won the hearts of many unaffiliated Jews with his charismatic talks about love and God; it was Friedman who helped lead Bob Dylan into a relationship with Chabad.

But Friedman, who today travels the country as a Chabad speaker, showed a less warm and cuddly side when he was asked how he thinks Jews should treat their Arab neighbors.

"The only way to fight a moral war is the Jewish way: Destroy their holy sites. Kill men, women and children (and cattle)," Friedman wrote in response to the question posed by Moment Magazine for its "Ask the Rabbis" feature.
Friedman argued that if Israel followed this wisdom, there would be "no civilian casualties, no children in the line of fire, no false sense of righteousness, in fact, no war."

"I don't believe in Western morality," he wrote. "Living by Torah values will make us a light unto the nations who suffer defeat because of a disastrous morality of human invention."

Friedman's use of phrasing that might seem more familiar coming from an Islamic extremist has generated a swift backlash. The editor of Moment, Nadine Epstein, said that since the piece was printed in the current issue they "have received many letters and e-mails in response to Rabbi Friedman's comments - and almost none of them have been positive."

Friedman quickly went into damage control. He released a statement to the Forward, through a Chabad spokesman, saying that his answer in Moment was "misleading" and that he does believe that "any neighbor of the Jewish people should be treated, as the Torah commands us, with respect and compassion."

But Friedman's words have generated a debate about whether there is a darker side to the cheery face that the Chabad-Lubavitch movement shows to the world in its friendly outreach to unaffiliated Jews. Mordecai Specktor, editor of the Jewish community newspaper in Friedman's hometown, St. Paul. Minnesota, said: "The public face of Lubavitch is educational programs and promoting Yiddishkeit. But I do often hear this hard line that Friedman expresses here."

"He sets things out in pretty stark terms, but I think this is what Lubavitchers believe, more or less," said Specktor, who is also the publisher of the American Jewish World.

"They are not about loving the Arabs or a two-state solution or any of that stuff. They are fundamentalists. They are our fundamentalists."

Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League and a regular critic of Arab extremists, said that in the Jewish community, "We are not immune to having these views. There are people in our community who have these bigoted, racist views."

But, Foxman warned, Friedman's views are not reflective of the Chabad rabbis he knows. "I am not shocked that there would be a rabbi who would have these views," Foxman said, "but I am shocked that Moment would give up all editorial discretion and good sense to publish this as representative of Chabad."

A few days after anger about the comment surfaced, Chabad headquarters released a statement saying that, "we vehemently disagree with any sentiment suggesting that Judaism allows for the wanton destruction of civilian life, even when at war."

The statement added: "In keeping with Jewish law, it is the unequivocal position of Chabad-Lubavitch that all human life is G-d given, precious, and must be treated with respect, dignity and compassion."

In Moment, Friedman's comment is listed as the Chabad response to the question "How Should Jews Treat Their Arab Neighbors?" after a number of answers from rabbis representing other Jewish streams, most of which state a conciliatory attitude toward Arabs.

Epstein said that Friedman was "brave" for stating his views so clearly.

"The American Jewish community doesn't have the chance to hear opinions like this," Epstein said, "not because they are rare, but because we don't often ask Chabad and other similar groups what they think."

The Chabad movement is generally known for its hawkish policies toward the Palestinians; the Chabad Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, rejected peace accords with the Palestinians. Rabbi Moshe Feller, the top Chabad rabbi in Minnesota, said that the rebbe taught that it is not a mitzvah to kill, but that Jews do have an obligation to act in self-defense.

"Jews as a whole, they try to save the lives of others," Feller told the Forward, "but if it's to save our lives, then we have to do what we have to do. It's a last resort."

Friedman is not a fringe rabbi within the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He was the English translator for the Chabad Rebbe, and at the rebbe's urging, he founded Beis Chana, a network of camps and schools for Jewish women. Friedman is also a popular speaker and writer on issues of love and relationships. His first book, "Doesn't Anyone Blush Anymore?" was promoted with a quote from Bob Dylan, who Friedman brought to meet the rebbe.

On his blog and Facebook page, Friedman's emphasis is on his sympathetic, caring side. It was this reputation that made the comment in Moment so surprising to Steve Hunegs, director of the Jewish Community Relations Council: Minnesota and the Dakotas.

"Rabbi Friedman is a best-selling author who addresses some of the most sensitive issues of the time," Hunegs said. "I intend to call him and talk to him about this."

But Shmarya Rosenberg, a blogger and critic of Chabad who lives a few blocks from Friedman in Minnesota, says that the comment in Moment is not an aberration from his experiences with Friedman and many other Chabad rabbis.

"What he's saying is the standard normal view of a Chabadnik," Rosenberg said. "They just don't say it in public."

For his part, Friedman was quick to modify the statement that he wrote in Moment. He told the Forward that the line about killing women and children should have been in quotes; he said it is a line from the Torah, though he declined to specify from which part. Friedman also said that he was not advocating for Israel to actually kill women and children. Instead, he said, he believed that Israel should publicly say that it is willing to do these things in order to scare Palestinians and prevent war.

"If we took this policy, no one would be killed - because there would be no war," Friedman said. "The same is true of the United States."

Friedman did acknowledge, however, that in self-defense, the behavior he talked about would be permissible.

"If your children are threatened, you do whatever it takes - and you don't have to apologize," he said.

Friedman argued that he is different from Arab terrorists who have used similar language about killing Jewish civilians.

"When they say it, it's genocide, not self-defense," Friedman said. "With them, it's a religious belief - they need to rid the area of us. We're not saying that."

Feller, the Chabad leader in Minnesota, said that the way Friedman had chosen to express himself was "radical."

"I love him," Feller said. "I brought him out here - he's magnificent. He's brought thousands back to Torah mitzvah. But he shoots from the hip sometimes."

Contact Nathaniel Popper at popper@forward.com

source

Who Wants To Take Your Guns Away?

Palestinian? Collaborate with Israeli Intelligence or Die

FOCUS ON GAZA 'Go back and die in Gaza'

By Stephanie Doetzer

Short on supplies and facilities, Gaza's hospitals cannot treated the most severe cases [GETTY] May 8, 2009 Since Israel's closure of the Gaza Strip in 2007, only severely sick Palestinians have been allowed to seek medical attention elsewhere provided they receive authorisation and security clearances from the Israeli authorities. However, getting the special permit that allows patients to leave Gaza for medical treatment is a bureaucratic hassle and, many Gazans say, comes with strings attached. According to the Israeli organisation Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), Palestinian patients are increasingly being asked to make an impossible choice: Either to become collaborators with the Israeli intelligence apparatus - or to remain in Gaza without medical treatment. Al Jazeera spoke with Hadas Ziv, the director of PHR. Al Jazeera: Your organisation has collected dozens of testimonies of patients who were pressured to collaborate with the Israeli General Security Services. How did you find out about this? A Palestinian will not easily admit he or she has been asked to become an informant. Ziv: True; it is not a subject people talk about easily and it happened gradually. Our organisation tries to support Gazan patients who were prevented by the Israeli authorities from treatment in Israel, or from crossing Israel on their way to hospitals in the West Bank. Instead of clear rejection or admittance, the Israelis started saying: "permit pending interrogation". The permit became conditional - not so much on individual health conditions, but on the outcome of the interrogation at the Erez Crossing. Then, many of the patients we were in touch with came back from interrogation and told us they did not get the permit: "They tried to extort me to collaborate and I wasn't willing to give them information, so they sent me back to Gaza." When more and more people told us the same story, we understood that this was a new policy. How do you know the testimonies are true? The testimonies come from very different people, of different ages, different political opinions and from different towns in the Gaza strip. To believe that there is such a high degree of co-ordination among all the patients is pretty far-fetched. But more importantly, it needs a lot of courage to speak to us about this. Some of the patients have a lot to lose if they talk. You started collecting testimonies in the summer of 2007. But when do you think this practice started? Very soon after the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip. Since then Israel sees Gaza as an enemy entity, as something that has to be closely monitored and controlled. And since then, it has become more difficult for the General Security Services (GSS) to gather intelligence from Gaza. They have little direct contact with Palestinians. The only ones who are still allowed to cross Erez, even if they also have a lot of difficulties, are the patients. They are an easy prey for the GSS. They are very vulnerable - for some, getting out of Gaza can be a question of life and death. The GSS is using this situation to exert pressure. Is there a standard procedure for these interrogations? It varies. The newest development is that you have a specific appointment for interrogation and it's not on the day of your treatment. But there are also cases where people think they have a permit and can go out, but then they are suddenly being taken to interrogation. Sometimes the patient has to wait in a room for several hours, without his family. Then, they take him to another room for interrogation. They may ask just a couple of questions to find out if you know any Hamas members or they may suggest a deal for long term co-operation: "If you help us, we will help you. You need a treatment, we need information. We will give you a number, you call us once a week and give us information about your neighbours." If you refuse, they become more blunt: "Okay, go back and die in Gaza." What happens back in Gaza? The patients are in a lose-lose situation. If they refuse to co-operate with the Israelis and are sent back, they may die because they can't get appropriate treatment in Gaza. If they do manage to get the permit, they will be branded as potential collaborators. Whether you really did it or not is not so important. If people think you collaborated, your life may be at risk. In the end, everyone suspects everyone else. It's like Orwell's 1984. And this is the objective - humiliation and fragmentation. Isn't the objective in the first place a more immediate one - simply gathering intelligence? That's just the surface. I think the main goal is to break the cohesiveness and solidarity among Palestinians. This way, it's much more difficult for them to unify and to struggle for a common cause. What already happens between Fatah and Hamas then also happens between neighbours, between families ... and this is good for the one who tries to control you. But the Israeli government says it wants a partner for negotiations and thus a united Palestinian position. What troubles me most as an Israeli citizen is that we suffer from a kind of collective psychosis. We are governed by fear and manipulated by fear. Security is everything. But what we are being offered is a very narrow definition of security. No one has the courage to say that long-term security is security for everyone, not just for us but also for Palestinians. But we are obstructed from seeing this, because we let fear govern our lives. We constantly have something to fear. If one fear stops, another comes up. When Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, it was very convenient for the Israeli government to use this. Hamas is being presented to the Israeli public as an entity that you cannot talk to. But 20 years ago, we claimed Fatah could not be talked to. Every time, a situation is being created in which you claim you have no one to talk to. How are your views received by other Israelis? When I argue with people they tell me I should be grateful to the people who defend me. That the GSS may be saving my life through these interrogations. They say I'm naive, that I am not patriotic and things like that. But I think my point of view has the same legitimacy as others. In Israel, if you mention the word "security", no further arguments are needed. They say patients may come to Israel to organise terror attacks. In this case, Israeli society does not demand further explanation. The result is that even things that we wouldn't think about doing with convicted criminals, these things are suddenly permissible when it comes to Palestinians. It is as if we had two different sets of values. And this is only possible because we constantly dehumanise the Palestinians. If we would consider them as normal human beings, it would not be possible. Everything is conditioned according to us. To our needs and our security. I think this is not justifiable. Not just because the victims suffer. Of course, the victims' suffering is unimaginable. It is beyond what I can express. Imagine you are the mother of a 17-year-old girl who has cancer, needs urgent treatment and is being extorted by the GSS. You, as a mother, are in a different room and you don't know what your daughter is going through. This is unimaginable to me. But it is also unimaginable to me what future my society has if it continues to act like this. I'm afraid for my society as well. I think we are at a crossroads. We have to choose. If we want to remain human, we cannot continue like this. In a written statement given to Al Jazeera, the Israeli defence ministry has denied all the allegations made by Ziv. "These charges are false. The only considerations Israel has are humanitarian and security-related ones," the statement says. "There is no truth to the contention that other factors are involved. The reason why clarifications are conducted by our security personnel is to ensure that those granted medical entry permits are indeed in need of such permits, and to ensure that those planning on abusing these permits to foment terror in Israel cannot gain entry into Israel."

:: Article nr. 54077 sent on 09-may-2009 01:29 ECT
www.uruknet.info?p=54077

Link: english.aljazeera.net/focus/crisisingaza/2009/05/20095732233520800.html

Israel Admits Using White Phosphorus

I guess the photos of white phosphorus raining down on civilians are pretty hard to deny...

Israel backs down over white phosphorus

Palestinians run for cover during the Israeli phosphorus strike over the UN Relief and Works Agency headquarters at Beit Lahia, Gaza, in January

Sheera Frenkel in Tel Aviv

Israeli troops stopped using white phosphorus shells in Gaza this year after The Times published evidence that they were injuring civilians.

In its first explicit admission, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that “media buzz” had forced the army to withdraw the shells from its arsenal on January 7 - the day that The Times obtained photographs of stockpiles and two days after the newspaper had exposed the effect of white phosphorus on the population of Gaza.

Phosphorus bombs may be used to create smokescreens but their use as weapons of war in civilian areas is banned by the Geneva Conventions. They cause severe burns that can penetrate to the bone.

An IDF briefing yesterday after an inquiry into the three-week Gaza offensive disclosed that two different munitions containing white phosphorus had been used. Mortar shells fired by ground forces and 76mm rounds fired from naval vessels both contained phosphorus as an active ingredient.

Related Links

• Israel accused of war crimes over munitions

• Gaza white phosphorus shells 'were US made'

• Spent shells prove use of white phosphorus

Until now the IDF has denied the Times accounts. On January 7 a military spokeman said that the shells in question had “no explosives and no white phosphorus”. Yet it was clear from yesterday's briefing by Major-General Dan Harel, the IDF Deputy Chief of Staff, that commanders were concerned by the controversy. “Since this was a big buzz in the media, we issued an order 7 Jan '09 to stop using white phosphorus shells,” he said, adding: “These shells were used only to create smokescreens, in keeping with international law.”

Even after the January 7 order the IDF continued to deploy less dangerous “smoke shells”, which contain felt soaked in phosphorus.

Israel launched Operation Cast Lead on December 27 in an effort to halt daily rocket attacks by Hamas militants from Gaza that were terrorising residents in southern Israel.

Yesterday's briefing was based on five IDF investigations into alleged violations committed by the military during the operation, in which more than a thousand Palestinians were killed. An Israeli official said that inquiries “revealed a very small number of incidents in which intelligence or operational errors took place”. By and large, the army had “maintained a high professional and moral level”.

The incidents included an attack that killed 21 people when forces targeted a home rather than a nearby weapon storage facility. “These unfortunate incidents are unavoidable and occur in all combat situations, in particular of the type which Hamas forced on the IDF by choosing to fight from within the civilian population,” the official said.

Human Rights Watch said: “We consider the IDF investigations a cover-up for serious violations of international law. Hamas also seriously violated the laws of war.”

Timetable of allegations and rebuttals

January 5 The Times reports tell-tale smoke above Gaza. An Israeli military official says: “We categorically deny the use of white phosphorus.”

January 8 The Times runs pictures of white phosphorus shells stockpiles. Major Avital Leibovich, a military spokesman, says: “This is what we call a quiet shell - it has no explosives and no white phosphorus. It is not for killing people.”

January 12 The Times finds more than 50 phosphorus burns victims in hospital

January 14 Gabi Ashkenazi, Israel Defence Forces Chief of Staff, says: “The IDF acts only in accordance with international law and does not use white phosphorus .”

January 16 UN Relief and Works Agency HQ hit with phosphorus munitions

January 21 Major Leibovich admits use of white phosphorus “according to international law”. Major- General Amir Eshel, the army's head of strategic planning, says: “It is the most non-lethal kind of weapon. I don't see any issue with that.”

January 23 Israel launches investigation into white phosphorus munitions: “Some practices could be illegal. The IDF is holding an investigation concerning one specific unit and one incident.”

April 22 Israeli military official tells The Times that a “media buzz” led to the order to stop using white phosphorus shells