Israeli ambassador compares Gaza attack to British bombing of Nazi Germany

Israel's UK ambassador Ron Proser was in the Scottish Parliament yesterday as part of his offensive in Scotland which will also take in Sunday's JNF dinner.

Full marks on diplomacy for labelling the Scottish Jews for a Just Peace "smart arses" for calling for dialogue with Hamas, in line with sentiments expressed by Israelis themselves.

He said that anything the Gazans are feeling now is no worse than what the British inflilcted on Germany in the Blitz, feulling the idea that Israel are somehow up against mighty Nazis, and forgetting that it was one of his own country's defence minsters that said they were inflicting a 'shoah' on the Gazans. What they have done in Gaza over the last few days is many times more deadly than what its claimed to be in response to - rocket attacks on towns like Sderot. The Palestinians can give such comparisons too.

The rocket attacks are always described in the number of them fired, rather than their death toll. Proser is no different in citing that 4,500 of them have fallen on Israel since their supposed withdrawal from Gaza. The Palestinians instead count the number of their dead, more than 120 of them in the last week.

This was of course before yesterday's attack on a Jewish school. I've got to note that the media coverage for the eight deaths is intense, far more so than for the killings in Gaza that preceded this. Remorse from the British government is also there for yesterdays victims:

Commenting on the killing of a number of students at a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said:

'The reports tonight of killings at a seminary in Jerusalem are shocking. They add to the toll of civilian life lost in recent days. They are an arrow aimed at the heart of the Peace Process so recently revived. They should and will be deplored by all decent people everywhere. No words can provide comfort for the families. The only way to honour the memory of those who have died is to build a Middle East free from the power of the gun through a political process in which the peaceful majority drive out the murderous minority.

'I have tonight spoken to the Israeli Foreign Minister and passed on my deepest condolences to her. I set out the solidarity of the British people with the shocked citizens of Israel and recommitted the British Government to work with all those committed to peaceful means and peaceful goals in the Middle East.'

Here is Mr Milliband last week after more than 120 fatalities in Gaza:

The significant rise this week in the number of rocket attacks into Israel , and the Israeli response, have resulted in numerous civilian casualties. These represent a rising toll of human misery in a region where too much blood has already been spilt, and where a fragile political process - itself the only hope for peace - needs to be supported by change on the ground, not undermined by it.

I condemn the rocket attacks against Israel . These are terrorist acts. They should be seen for what they are - an attempt to break the political process by breaking the will of those committed to peace. That cannot be allowed to happen. All sides in the conflict, and the international community, need to judge their actions by the need to keep the political process alive.

I support the UN Secretary General's call for all parties to step back from the brink of even deeper and more deadly clashes.

Israel's right to security and self-defence is clear and must be reiterated and supported. But measures taken in response to rockets must be in accordance with international law, minimising the suffering for innocent civilians, and maximising the scope for political negotiations to be restarted.

The leadership of the Palestinian Authority need support in their search for peace. I support their work to re-establish control of the Gaza crossings. But I am deeply concerned by the news they have decided to call a halt to negotiations with the Israeli government. These discussions, and swift progress in them, represent the only way of disarming the arguments of the extremists and bringing peace to the region.

A complete absence of any humanity, not even a cursory expression of sympathy for those that had lost loved ones. Condemnation of rocket attacks, but all Israel is told is that its 'response' must be in "accordance with international law" with no analysis of whether it was or wasn't.

As long as the Palestinians are dumped like this, without them having any hope, there can be no hope for peace.

Comments

[joe90]

What a blog article Osama - absolutely brilliant!

Thanks for pointing out the new kids on the block 'Scottish Jews for a Just Peace' - and for pointing out their letter to The Herald - and much else!

I love the bit where the Israeli Ambassador, in typical zionist style, visits a country and then proceeds to insult its inhabitants - especially oor ain native Jewish folk.

I remember the visit by the premier racist Ariel Sharon's last visit to France, where he proceeded to insult his hosts by claiming French Jewish folk weren't safe amongst their non-Jewish fellow Frenchies.

However,
you forgot to mention the Middle East Peace Envoy Tony Blair who has remained silent heretofore, right up until the point an act of terrorism was perpetrated against innocent defenceless Jewish-Israelis.

Tony took his usual principled and brave stance, in the face of no opposition whatsoever from anybody, to condemn those whom nobody supports anyway.

all the best!

[Mark Elf]

Israel is now openly planning the ethnic cleansing of north Gaza. See the Jerusalem Post on it here:
http://tinyurl.com/3exvjk
Defense Minister Ehud Barak is seeking legal approval to evacuate thousands of residents of Gaza City to locations in the south of the Strip to enable the IDF to attack terror infrastructure without hurting civilians, Channel 2 reported Wednesday evening.

[so_happy]

The starkness of Miliband's hypocrisy is clear from a comparison between the two statements. I can't help but find the following expression chilling, wondering what he means by it: "the peaceful majority drive out the murderous minority".

[Abu Sinan]

They do this all of the time and they fail to see the irony. You see signs in settlements that say "Arabs to the gas cambers" and "Arab Free Zones". You get Israeli leaders comparing their actions to the Nazis, like this time, other times they have said they have to deal with the Palestinians like the Nazis dealt with the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto.

Then they have the nerve to complain when people compare them to the Nazis! Why? They do it all of the time THEMSELVES!