Other Schools
Sapir College – Ze’ev Tzahor (College President)
claims Israel massacres children
'And were hundreds of Palestinian children
killed? This time, Israel did not deny. How could it? However, “we
found no evidence that would justify a criminal investigation.” The
same was true in respect to cases where the IDF fired at medical
teams. According to Israel’s response, the judge advocate general
launched dozens of thorough investigation, but somehow everything
and everyone turned out to be fine.'
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3842449,00.html
A verbal juggling act
Auschwitz
speech, response to Goldstone characterized by dishonesty
Ze’ev Tzahor
02.03.10
Two days separated
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at Auschwitz and
Israel’s response to the
Goldstone Report. The two texts were very different in terms of
their importance, length, and their intended audience. The
Netanyahu speech was aimed at the Polish government, which
currently holds an important EU status, while
Israel’s response to the Goldstone report was meant to appease
the UN.
Yet despite the differences, it appears that
the same person is responsible for drafting both texts; someone who
specializes in verbal deception.
Speaking at the Auschwitz death camp in Poland,
the greatest extermination facility in history, which was built in
Polish territory (and not coincidently) and was operated by Poles,
Netanyahu managed to skip the enthusiastic role played by the Poles
in the Holocaust. In terms of their dedication to persecuting Jews,
turning them over to the Nazis, and their active role in the
extermination industry, the Poles were second only to the Germans,
and sometimes even more devoted than them to the extermination work.
The murders within Polish territory continued
even after the German were defeated. According to estimates, about
1,500 Jews were murdered in independent pogroms approved by the new
regime; many of them took place on city streets while an excited
Polish crowd cheered on. The Righteous Gentiles among them were few,
at the very margins of society.
Yet the Netanyahu speech aimed to blur this
terrible story. The address sought to turn the central theme – that
is, the lively popular anti-Semitism – into the margins, while
turning the margins of the Righteous Gentiles into the central
theme.
No wrongdoing
Israel’s response to the Goldstone Report is premised on the very
same verbal juggling act. Israel has declared that it adheres to
universal war conventions, but according to these conventions Israel
agreed not to use white phosphorous bombs. Were such bombs used in
Operation Cast Lead? It’s a trivial question, as all of us saw
these bombs being fired, and the results, on television. We saw them
time and again even in photos released by the IDF spokesman.
And were hundreds of Palestinian children
killed? This time, Israel did not deny. How could it? However, “we
found no evidence that would justify a criminal investigation.” The
same was true in respect to cases where the IDF fired at medical
teams. According to Israel’s response, the judge advocate general
launched dozens of thorough investigation, but somehow everything
and everyone turned out to be fine.
According to the judge advocate general, thus
far authorities have not uncovered even one affair where the army
misbehaved. After all, we are the world’s most merciful and most
just army and we take the greatest precautions not to hurt
civilians. No wrongdoing was found even in the case of the
inexplicable fire directed at the home of Gaza doctor Abu al-Ayash
and the
killing of three of his daughters.
However, in the interest of accuracy and to
prove that the IDF indeed does everything to maintain its purity of
arms, authorities did uncover one severe case of wrongdoing. They
found that a soldier stole a Palestinian’s credit card during the
operation. The soldier was tried and punished; apparently, this
soldier is our atonement.
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