Knights of Human Rights

In my most recent article entitled The Freedom Flotilla or More Accurately – Flotil-LIEI made the following argument:

The Flotilla is a cynical PR campaign disguised as “an initiative that aims to provide humanitarian aid to the people in the Gaza Strip.” Its real purpose is to paint Israel black.

That article, like most of my articles and briefings, was based upon Arab sources. It was my goal to provide you access to primary Arab sources that supported the above thesis. 

Therefore, I included links in the paper; links to independent articles and reports as well as links to the official Hamas web site that supported the claim that there is no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Here is the link to that article The Freedom Flotilla or More Accurately – Flotil-LIE:

https://avimelamed.wpengine.com/index.php/2011/06/01/the-freedom-flotil-lie-2/

This article is meant to expand on the Flotil-lie article.

Consider the following facts that further prove my argument that The Flotilla is a campaign to paint Israel black. 

The Turkish NGO known as IHH, that has close relations with political Islamic organizations and other radical Islamic groups was a leading factor behind the creation of the 2010 Flotilla.

The IHH and its leader, Bulant Yelderyim, were the ones that led the violent attack on Israeli soldiers who boarded the Marmama once it refused to comply with repeated Israeli requests to be inspected.

The Israeli version of the events on board the Marmara is supported and backed by detailed documents, recordings, videos and footage, as presented in the BBC‘s special edition of the program Panorama that was broadcast on August 16, 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_8909000/8909361.stm

The leader of the IHH has positioned himself as one of the more militant anti-Israeli figures by recently escalating his venomous anti-Israeli rhetoric.

A few months ago the IHH announced its intention to lead the new Flotilla that is expected to be launched these very days.

A few weeks ago, as part of its campaign, the IHH presented the refurbished and renovated Marmara ship and formally announced that the ship is totally ready for its new mission.

Surprisingly enough, a few days ago the IHH announced that the Marmara will not sail and the IHH will not take a leading role in the new Flotilla. Moreover, the IHH leader himself, Bulant Yelderyim, announced he will not participate in the Flotilla.

The IHH justified the change in their plan as result of “technical problems.”

Make no mistake.

There was no “technical problem.”

The reason for the change is simple. The Turkish government – out of its domestic and regional interests – ordered the IHH to lay low and keep out.

In a heartbeat, the passionate rhetoric and grand preparations for a “Humanitarian Mission” to help alleviate the suffering of the people of Gaza were thrown into the garbage can.

That is the ultimate proof of the real face of the Flotilla initiative.

The Flotilla has absolutely nothing to do with any humanitarian crisis. It is a cynical PR campaign used by anti-Israeli factors to paint Israel black and to serve their political and PR interests as they please.

The interesting thing is that the majority of the people planning to be on the upcoming Flotilla (apparently the Flotilla will be launched the first week in July) are not Muslims or Arabs. The majority of the activists are from Europe and North America.

The above fact illustrates one of the strangest phenomenons of our times.

I’m referring to the strange alliance between Westerners (many of them from academic circles or human rights organizations) and political Islamic — and often also radical Islamic groups.

These Westerners that present themselves as “human rights activists” and as “protectors of democratic values” such as the freedom of speech, equality, civil rights etc., are joining hands gladly and willingly with Political Islamic and radical Islamic factors that totally reject – not to say despise – every single value that democracy stands for including freedom of speech, equality, civil rights.

There are different possible explanations for the above phenomenon.

But one thing is clear. These Western self-appointed “Knights of Human Rights”have very interesting moral standards.

Over the past few months, right in front of our very eyes, on our television and computer screens as clear as day, Syrian civilians – including young boys and girls – are being killed in the streets of Syria.

Syrian people – men, women and children – are being murdered in the streets in cold blood by their own regime. Their only crime is that they demand freedom, a future, and hope.

It is estimated that about 2,000 Syrians have been killed since the beginning of the Syrian uprising. Thousands have been arrested and untold numbers tortured. Syrian women are being raped by Syrian soldiers and security personnel. Thousands of Syrians are fleeing from Syria to Turkey and to Lebanon. Thousands of people have become overnight refugees as they escape the horror in Syria.

Here is one report (out of endless reports and videos) from Asharq Al-Awsat, one of the most important newspapers in the Arab world, written by an Arab journalist describing the tragedy of the Syrian people. http://www.aawsat.com/details.asp?section=4&article=628592&issueno=11900(any translation mechanism you have on your computer will enable you to get the main points of the article even if it is not a perfect translation.)

In Iran, young Iranians that cry out for democracy are also openly murdered in the streets by the oppressing Iranian Mullah regime. Some are luckier – they only get arrested and tortured in the Iranian prisons. Some are raped.

Read the latest testimony that was published by an Iranian woman that escaped Iran. http://www.aawsat.com/details.asp?section=4&article=628632&issueno=11900 (any translation mechanism you have on your computer will enable you to get the main points of the article even if it is not a perfect translation.)

By the way, Asharq Al-Awsat has an English web site that features some of the articles from the Arabic site. Please feel free to click on this link http://www.asharq-e.com/ for an insight into what the Arab world is reading…and writing.

Thousands of people across the Arab world have been killed by their governments and leaders in the current wave of uprisings that are sweeping the region. Hundreds of thousands of Arabs have become refugees as an outcome of these events.

Yet, these Western human rights activists remain silent in the face of these events.

Not a single word, not a single expression of solidarity with the Arab victims. 

These human rights activists didn’t once condemn the brutality of the Syrian regime, the Iranian Mullah regime, or the Hamas regime.

These caring individuals yearning to “Free Gaza” didn’t utter one single word against these regimes that brutally murder their own civilians, rape their women and that kill and abuse the bodies of their victims. 

Moreover, these Western “Knights of Democracy and Human Rights,” as far as I know, didn’t whisper one word of solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of Israeli children in Israeli cities like Ashdod, Ashkelon and Sderot.

For more than a decade, Israeli cities have been exposed to constant rocket attacks launched by Hamas and other radical Islamic groups from the Gaza Strip. In 2010 alone about 300 missiles and 300 mortar shells were fired at Israeli cities. That’s almost one rocket and one mortar shell every day.

These attacks are clearly war crimes.

Yet, these Western “Knights of Human Rights” don’t utter one single word.

Here’s another human rights situation that the activists might want to consider – Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier that was kidnapped by Hamas on Israeli territory in June 2006.

Hamas constantly refuses anyone, including the Red Cross, to visit Gilad Shalit.

Hamas, cruelly and viciously, deprives GIlad Shalit of the most basic human rights.

Yet, these Western “Knights of Human Rights” don’t utter one single word.

These “Knights of Human Rights” don’t utter a word about any of the above.

It seems as if some of these Western “Knights of Human Rights” have lost all sense of self-respect and their moral compass.

The following facts will demonstrate how morally distorted these people are:

There is a small Christian community in the Gaza Strip.

These Christians live in totally fear and are at the mercy of Hamas’ rule.

Christians are freely slaughtered at will by radical Islamic militants in Iraq, Egypt, and the Gaza Strip.

Christian cultural centers in the Gaza Strip have been burned down to the ground.

The above attacks on Christians took place under Hamas’ rule over the Gaza Strip.

Hamas, just to remind you, was defined by the international community as a radical Islamic terrorist organization. And this same Hamas rules the Gaza Strip with an iron fist comprised of some 18,000 armed personnel and trained policemen whose monthly salaries equal 16 Million USD.

Here is what the Palestinian President himself, Mahmud Abbas, said about Hamas in an interview he gave to a Lebanese TV station (LBC) on June 20^th, 2011:

“Hamas is massively armed and funded by the Iranian Mullah regime, yet Hamas prefers to invest its funds in its military forces rather than to provide for the needs of the people in the Gaza Strip”.

Now, would you be surprised to know that the powerful and mighty Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip failed to find the people responsible for committing the attacks against Christians in the Gaza Strip?

Yet, the gloomy situation of the Christians in the Gaza Strip under Hamas’ rule is apparently totally meaningless to these “Knights of Human Rights.”

These Westerners – so committed to human rights – dedicatedly and enthusiastically serve and support Hamas.

And I really struggle to understand why…if the above doesn’t confound you, maybe this one will…

In the upcoming Flotilla there is a considerable representation of French human rights activists.

Here is something that I think they should know before they rush to the Gaza Strip:

The attached link shows a “Spontaneous Demonstration of Palestinian Women in the Gaza Strip.”

They are protesting the French law that bans women in France from the wearing the hijab (vail).

On one sign it is written: “You who talk in the name of Democracy – What about the freedom of opinion?”

AND at the same time….at the same demonstration

See the photo that shows two women placing shoes on the sign of the French Cultural Center in the Gaza Strip.

In the Arab cultural code this is an act of humiliation, contempt and disdain.

So here’s the story:

The people of Gaza are protesting French policy and humiliating France.

They are doing this by simultaneously, using “western expressions” that appeal to the Western ear AND “Arab Symbols” to make it clear to the Arab world that they despise France.

In summation, the French “Peace Activists” driven by “Western values” are coming to “save the people of Gaza” (who, by the way don’t need to be saved) while the people of Gaza, at the same time, are protesting French policy because it is limiting the “Islamization” of France.

Takes a while to digest doesn’t it?

And IF you think this a “spontaneous demonstration” Think again… Under Hamas’ iron fist-rule, there nothing “spontaneous” in the Gaza Strip.

…And the photos were taken by Hamas’ official photographers and placed on Hamas’ official web site.

Here is the link to the photos http://www.paltoday.ps/arabic/News-111681.html (any translation mechanism you have on your computer will enable you to get the main points of the article even if it is not a perfect translation.)

And now we’re getting to the real lunatic part.

In the upcoming Flotilla there is also a considerable representation of Italian human rights activists.

Here is something that they should know before they rush to the Gaza Strip:

According to reports, the Italian ship is named after Vitorio Arigoni.

Mr. Arigoni was an Italian peace activist who lived in the Gaza Strip for the past few years. He was a passionate advocate of the Hamas rule and for the Palestinian people.

Unfortunately, this support and love didn’t help him.

A few months ago, Vitorio Arigoni was kidnapped, tortured and executed in the Gaza Strip by one of the radical Islamic groups that thrive in the Gaza Strip under Hamas’ rule.

Mr. Arigoni was executed because he was “an Infidel.”

Furthermore, one of his murderers was a Jordanian radical Islamic activist that arrived in the Gaza Strip disguised as a “Peace Activist” on one of the Flotilla boats.

And now, Italian peace activists are sailing to the Gaza Strip on a boat named after their colleague who was executed by Palestinian Islamic Radicals in the Gaza Strip.

Can someone explain the logic to me?

Please see my article about Vitirio Arignoni, entitled Making friends with a Scorpion: The Murder of the Italian Peace Activist in the Gaza Strip https://avimelamed.wpengine.com/index.php/2011/05/01/making-friends-with-a-scorpion-the-murder-of-the-italian-peace-activist-in-the-gaza-strip/

Here is another unbelievable fact.

One of the Flotilla boats is named after Juliano Mer.

Mr. Mer was an Arab-Israeli artist and a Peace Activist.

His mother was a left-wing Jewish activist and his father was and left-wing Israeli- Arab activist.

Juliano Mer was known for his militant anti-Israeli position. He totally identified with the Palestinians to the point that he lived most of his life in Palestinian Territory in the West Bank. Mr. Mer established and operated a Palestinian Youth Theatre in the Palestinian city of Jenin.

Unfortunately, similar to Vitorio Arigoni, this dedication and commitment didn’t help Mr. Mer.

Mer was murdered by Palestinians.

Mer’s brother was very clear about the identity of his brother’s killers. In an interview on an Israeli radio station he said “My brother was killed by Hamas.”

Juliano Mer was murdered because his theatre was perceived by Hamas as a “moral threat” to the Palestinian people.

You may wonder what the threat was.

The answer:

The theatre encouraged joint activities between Palestinian boys and girls.

Are you shocked?

You wouldn’t be if you had known that a summer camp that was built last year in the Gaza Strip by the United Nations Relief and Welfare Agency (UNRWA) for the children in Gaza was burnt down to the ground for the same exact reason.

Would you be surprised to know that mighty and powerful Hamas government in the Gaza Strip failed to find the perpetrators that committed those attacks as well?

The problem is that these Western “Knights of Human Rights” don’t really care. Facts are not really important as far as they are concerned. They insist to obsessively deal only with the fictitious “Humanitarian Crisis” in the Gaza Strip.

Over the years I have published reports and provided evidence, based upon Arab sources, including Hamas’ official website that proves the simple fact that there is no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

In case you didn’t see those reports let me show you the most recent photos from Hamas’ official web site of the Gaza Strip Beach http://www.paltoday.ps/arabic/News-112066.html (any translation mechanism you have on your computer will enable you to get the main points of the article even if it is not a perfect translation.)

I just have one question – is this what a “Humanitarian Crisis” looks like???

I would like to suggest that these human rights activists visit the Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Turkey. It might help them understand what a Humanitarian Crisis really looks like. 

It’s too bad these activists didn’t get to Gaza before July 7^th.

Why?

Because July 7^th was the Grand Opening of a new mall the Gaza Strip. It is not the only mall in the Gaza Strip – just the newest.

Here are the details as reported on Hamas’ official web site: http://www.paltoday.ps/arabic/News-111236.html (any translation mechanism you have on your computer will enable you to get the main points of the article even if it is not a perfect translation.)

The time has come to confront these Western self-appointed “Knights of Human Rights.”

I would like to introduce some of these “Knights of Human Rights” to you

• European Campaign to end the Siege on Gaza (ECESG)

An anti-Israel, pro-Hamas umbrella organization operating in Europe which links more than 30 pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas organizations in various European countries, some of which actually exist, and undertake broad anti-Israel activities, and some of them are virtual and fictitious. Their objective is to embarrass Israel and deepen its isolation.

http://www.savegaza.eu/eng/

• Free Gaza Movement (FGM)

Established in 2006 by three senior leaders of the ISM (see below), FGM‘s objectives are to support Hamas in the Gaza Strip, isolate Israel, blacken Israel’s image in the eyes of the world and increase international pressure on the State of Israel.

http://www.freegaza.org/

• Free Palestine Movement (FPM)

An extreme leftist network based in California which participates in anti-Israeli projects, focusing on sending flotillas to the Gaza Strip. Its objectives are to support the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, isolate Israel, blacken Israel’s image in the eyes of the world and increase international pressure on the country of Israel.

https://www.freepalestinemovement.org/home.html

• International Solidarity Movement (ISM)

A network of anti-Israel activists founded in 2001 by left wing young American activists. ISM operates in the USA, some European countries and the Palestinian Territories. A major center of the ISM is located in the Gaza Strip. ISM activists physically harbored Palestinian terrorists that were involved in suicide bombing attacks against Israeli civilians. In addition, ISA activists physically sheltered Palestinian terrorists that took over the Church of Nativity in the city of Bethlehem in April 2002.

http://palsolidarity.org/

Many of these “Knights of Human Rights” are nothing more than professional provocateurs, motivated for some personal reasons by a blind hatred of Israel. These people know the real facts. They just don’t care. Their animosity towards Israel has blinded them to the point that their moral outlook is totally distorted and they have no self-respect left.

Some of these activists might be motivated by noble and genuine feelings. Yet, they should be aware of the possibility that they are being cynically manipulated.

The facts presented in this article should make them rethink.

This is the least they should do.

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