AMNESTY, OXFAM ET.AL. WANT TO LEGITIMATE HAMAS…REPORT THAT “GAZANS ARE TREATED LIKE ANIMALS”

Posted By on December 23rd, 2009

http://www.robinshepherdonline.com/oxfam-amnesty-14-other-charities-call-for-legitimisation-of-hamas-produce-joint-report-approving-language-that-says-gazans-treated-like-animals/#more-1877
Oxfam, Amnesty, 14 other charities call for legitimisation of Hamas, produce joint report approving language that says Gazans treated like “animals”
It is time for a boycott after all. At the end of this piece you will find the names of 16 charities including Amnesty International UK and Oxfam International that have clubbed together to produce a report today about the situation in Gaza which would be laughable if it wasn’t so appalling. Go to their websites, write to their directors and, where appropriate, contact relevant government offices asking to have their charitable status removed. Really. Do it. Here are five reasons why:

1) The report calls for the Middle East Quartet (EU, UN, Russia, United States) to “begin political dialogue with all Palestinian parties”, ending what it calls “the failed policy of non-engagement”.

Sorry, but who do these charities think they are in saying that refusing to legitimise vile anti-Semitic, anti-Western terror groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad has “failed”? It has certainly failed Hamas and Islamic Jihad who are now more or less contained and lack international legitimacy. I think that’s a good thing. If the charities do not, they should explain themselves.

2) In similar vein, they should be asked to explain why, despite a few pro-forma references to Israel’s security and other references to rockets, their 18 page report failed to mention the words “terrorism”, “terror” or “terrorist” one single time, thus eradicating the context of Israel’s entire Gaza policy. Was this a product of ignorance, bigotry or both?

3) The report calls on all sides to end violence and says that Israel “must abide by its international obligations as the Occupying Power and reverse its policy of collective punishment by ending the blockade and opening all crossings. It must also stop unlawful incursions and attacks inside Gaza”. Three points here: a) Why is it these charities’ place to describe anti-terror measures as “collective punishment”. b) Why should Israel end sanctions against a regime which clearly calls for Israel’s destruction? c) What, pray tell, are they suggesting in saying that Israel should stop “attacks inside Gaza”? Does this mean that Israel should just sit back and allow terror groups to rebuild their infrastructure?

4) The report approvingly quotes Jimmy Carter, a well known Israel hater. What is more important is that the charities approvingly quote him as saying the following:

“Tragically, the international community largely ignores the cries for help, while the citizens of
Gaza are treated more like animals than human beings… Never before in history has a large
community been savaged by bombs and missiles and then deprived of the means to repair itself.
The responsibility for this terrible human rights crime lies in Jerusalem, Cairo, Washington, and
throughout the international community.”

Let’s go first for the “never before in history” refrain. Now, one presumes that even someone as dim-witted as Jimmy Carter has heard of Hiroshima and Nagasaki since one of his own predecessors gave the orders to obliterate them. As a consequence, of course, there wasn’t a lot to repair and it was more a question of starting from scratch. But the details are of less consequence than the hyperbole intimating crimes of a world-historical magnitude. This smacks of fanaticism and hysteria. Could the charities explain why they have made themselves a part of such fanaticism and hysteria?

Secondly, is the charge that Gazans “are treated more like animals than human beings” intended to associate Israel with Nazism? The charge that one treats ones enemies as sub-human is one that is associated above all with the Nazis. These are Carter’s words but the charities quoted them and thus offered them legitimacy. They should be asked to explain themselves.

5) The report says that Israel should be pressed by the international community “to provide compensation for damage caused during Operation Cast Lead and other Israeli military actions and donors should seek compensation for damage to their aid-funded projects in Gaza.”

I had to re-read this one a few times to be sure that I hadn’t missed something. But no, that is what it said. So, here goes: Would the mooted compensation take the form of Israel rearming Hamas and paying for the import of more arms from Iran? Do the charities believe that the United States and Britain should have paid compensation to Germany for the destruction of cities such as Dresden during World War II? Is the person who lead-authored this report a certified lunatic?

I could go on. But I trust that the picture is clear. Obviously, aid groups have the right to comment on humanitarian issues wherever they may be. And if Israel’s security policy towards Gaza is able to change in such a way that the economic and social situation improves while ensuring that terrorism is not once again unleashed against Israeli civilians, that is to be welcomed. But until the terror networks and the ideologies that sustain them are dismantled it is not easy to see how significant progress can be made.

In sharp contrast to that line of thinking, this report is a quotable example of a complete moral and intellectual failure to deal with the complexities of Israel’s stand-off against Hamas with even the slightest degree of seriousness.

It shows almost total contempt for basic standards of balance and contextualised analysis. It is wilfully ignorant. It is peppered with hyperbole. It is, in short, a travesty of what recognised charitable institutions should be about.

But don’t get mad, get even. On page four of the report, in the context of calling for the MidEast Quartet to force Israel to change its policy on Gaza, it says: “There must be no more excuses.” With the addition of the words, “for our disgraceful behaviour”, I couldn’t agree more. Here are their names. Write to them and complain.

Amnesty International UK, Broederlijk Delen (Belgium), CAFOD (UK), CCFD Terre Solidaire (France), Christian Aid, Church of Sweden, Diakonia (Sweden), Finn Church Aid (Finland), Medical Aid for Palestinians, medico international (Germany), medico international schweiz (Switzerland), Mercy Corps,
MS ActionAid Denmark, Oxfam International, Trocaire (Ireland), United Civilians for Peace (a coalition of Dutch organisations – Oxfam Novib, Cordaid, ICCO, and IKV Pax Christi)

To read the full report, click here:

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/policy/conflict_disasters/downloads/failing_gaza.pdf

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