Israel Asks Clinton to Boycott U.N. Conference
By Larry Derfner, Mideast Watch
In advance of her first visit to the Middle East next week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is being beseeched by Israeli leaders to lead the fight against anti-Semitism and vilification of Israel, a trend that has increased since the war in Gaza. The Israelis will ask Clinton to boycott the U.N. World Conference Against Racism, due to take place in Switzerland in April. The U.N.'s first such conference, in Durban, South Africa, in 2001, singled Israel out for venomous condemnation, leading the Israeli and U.S. delegations to walk out in protest. The Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot reports:
Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog, who was tasked by the government to head its counter anti-Semitism efforts, wants to use Clinton's visit in order to create a united front against the conference.
The U.S. has yet to announce whether or not it will take part in Geneva's World Conference against Racism, although it did vote against holding it.
Herzog said the conference "can set the world dozens of years back. It stands to focus on hatred towards Israel and the Jewish people. I urge the US to announce it will not take part in it and I call on it to lead the sane nation's bloc in that move, as it has before."
Clinton to Pledge $900 Million to Palestinians
Starting her visit Monday at an international donors conference in Egypt, Clinton will pledge some $900 million in aid to Gaza and the West Bank, administration officials are quoted as saying. After that meeting, which is designed to raise $2 billion in postwar rehabilitation funds for Gaza, the secretary will meet leaders in Israel and the West Bank. However, she is not slated to visit Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas, a radical Islamic regime that the United States does not recognize. Haaretz reports:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has relayed messages to Israel in the past week expressing anger at obstacles Israel is placing to the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. A leading political source in Jerusalem noted that senior Clinton aides have made it clear that the matter will be central to Clinton's planned visit to Israel next Tuesday.
U.S. Congressman Seeks 'Pressure' on Israel Following Gaza Visit
Following his visit to Gaza, Democratic Rep. Brian Baird of Washington State says he plans to brief Congress on the "level of destruction" and urge his colleagues to re-examine military aid to Israel. The Israeli daily Jerusalem Post reports:
Baird visited Gaza last week with fellow Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota and was struck by "the level of destruction, the scope of it, specifically the civilian targets—schools, hospitals, industry." Baird also said Israel had "apparently willfully destroyed any capacity of the Palestinians to rebuild their own infrastructure."
He also said he was troubled by the American origin of so much of the IDF weaponry used in Gaza, and suggested that the US should reconsider the military aid it provides and the weapons it sells to Israel. "We need to use every pressure available to make these needed changes happen," he said.
However, pro-Israel organizations in the United States said they weren't too worried.
"By and large, we continue to see support for Israel and understand why it was necessary for Israel's leaders to do what they did," one official said about Congress, speaking anonymously. "I'm not afraid of these members coming back and giving a briefing."
- Read more of Larry Derfner's Mideast Watch.
Tags: Israel | Middle East | UN | Hillary Clinton | Gaza
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In response...
Leonel Ceniceros said: "Ignorant people still deny the absolutely horrifying experience of the Holocaust. This has been to be the worst to ever befall a large group of people. The fact that is was so systematically organized and allowed by the rest of the world is truly beyond imagination."
People who deny that the Holocaust did happen are unfortunate, immature, and ignorant. I can also say that it angers me when people say the Holocaust never happened because like the Jews, many Czechs and Polish people were killed by groups known as "Einsatzgruppen" back in the late 1930's. (Don't believe me? Go here, and scroll down to the second paragraph where is says "History": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einsatzgruppen)...I, myself, am part Czech and part Polish.
I think that those who deny such a horrible tragedy happened *know* somewhere in the deep recesses of their mind that it *did* happen, but refuse to acknowledge the truth for whatever odd-ball reason. (After all, one only needs to type in the world "Holocaust" under Google Images or Youtube to see proof.)
However, I will have to say that this certainly does not give Israel the right to go into Palestinian/Gaza territory and do the same as Hitler and his group of thugs did to them so many years ago - even if it is in the "so-called" name of "peacekeeping"! It does not make them any better than their enemy/executioner! And of course, as to be expected, this only makes the situation worse - fighting fire with fire, so to speak. (I know that Hamas has been a big problem - but Israel hasn't helped by imposing the restrictions/punishments they have on *ALL* Palestinians! (http://www.tlaxcala.es/pp.asp?reference=6325&lg=en)
Leonel Ceniceros said: "And that is only part of the problem, the British and US allowed them to make the best of things by moving to a hostile environment without sufficient support, living to this day in a state of siege."
I wouldn't agree that Israel has been living without sufficient support lately. Part of the problem is that the US has been assisting and supplying all of these goods (weapons especially!) to Israel - and has all but "supposedly" forgotten about the Palestinians! The U.S. has been openly rubbing shoulders with Israel, while the Israeli government/military commit their crimes against humanity!...*shrugs*...Of course other countries are going to look at this and be hostile/angry about it!
Leonel Ceniceros said: "The world can just absolutely not afford a war between Israel and Iran."
True. But in my point of view, I believe the world can no longer afford *any* more (*senseless*) wars! It's too costly - physically, emotionally, *and* economically! After being on this Earth for almost 2000 years, with all of the advancements we've had throughout our history - is this how we as humans, *supposedly* some of the smartest species on this Earth, have come to settle our problems?...War first, negotiations last...? (If any negotiation(s) at all?)
Checkpoints charge 1,000.00USD per truck!
Is there anyone that could compare to the depravity of the sephardic/Ashkinazi?....A fair question.. and besides the damage has already been done...We are not talking about aboriginal rib cracking with a flame hardened club or tearing off finger nails or burlap bags smeared with human feces and tied around tribal heads..... no wait they have done all that and far more.So when Dov Likind expresses outrage over the use of the word," concerned;" by sec.state Clinton in describing attendance or Humanitarian access for supplies.The analogy is hurt feelings of your dinner guests whose teeth are dripping blood on your white linen and they have stacked thirteen hundred bodies in the canyon behind your gated rancho community but innocent until video taped or standing in the Hague wearing prison Garb.
Israel and Iran continuing "US-USSR" type Cold War
Both Israel and Iran have grievances that started during the US/USSR Cold War. That is over but not the hostile attitudes of these smaller states. The consensus of the world is that neither of them are in danger beyond their refusal to grow up and act maturely. The US has now a handle on Iraq and Afghanistan, but the hostility of Israel and Iran for each other has to be diminished. It is a Cold War scenario, now insane, that Israel and Iran can have an actual war. The heart of the hostile attitude of Iran is that the CIA helped their rogue military overthrow their government in 1953. The heart of the hostile attitude of Israel is more difficult to understand. Ignorant people still deny the absolutely horrifying experience of the Holocaust. This has been to be the worst to ever befall a large group of people. The fact that is was so systematically organized and allowed by the rest of the world is truly beyond imagination. And that is only part of the problem, the British and US allowed them to make the best of things by moving to a hostile environment without sufficient support, living to this day in a state of siege. So their grievances are more than justified. But the rest of the world is telling them that nobody can afford any more escalation of tensions. The world is too fragile to continue with old grudges, however justified they were. The world can just absolutely not afford a war between Israel and Iran.
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