Ayoon wa Azan (Israel escapes from justice)

What does a criminal do when he is caught and taken to court? He runs if he can. This is exactly what Israel did as it was being taken to the UN’s Human Rights Council in Geneva to confront the Universal Periodic Review process, in which all 193 member states must participate. Half the resolutions of the Human Rights Council since it was first established in 2006 were about Israel. The latter attended a hearing in 2008 where it was convicted as usual with the charge of persecuting the Palestinians in the occupied lands. Amnesty International criticized Israel for skipping the hearing and said that this kind of behavior might push other countries that violate Human Rights to shy away from being held accountable. All that remains now is for the Interpol to distribute a photo of the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu with the caption: Wanted for charges of killing women and children, destroying houses and stealing property. Under the Neo-Nazi Rightist rule, Israel is a disgrace for Jews around the world. Even more, it is the enemy of the Jews, because its crimes are responsible for a new increase in anti-Semitism around the world. There are Jews in Europe who whisper when speaking in Hebrew and who do not dare wear clothes indicating their religion so as to avoid being attacked by anti-Semitism groups. A Jewish woman wrote a piece in a Likud-affiliated site under the headline, “Britain is no place for Jews” where she said that the International Holocaust Remembrance Day was used to attack Israel. Anyone who defends Israel is a partner in its crimes against the Palestinians and the entire humanity. The Jewish woman also alluded to a member of the British parliament and to a caricature in the Sunday Times. I had also mentioned, two days ago, this caricature that depicts Netanyahu building the apartheid wall on the bodies of the Palestinians. Rupert Murdoch apologized for publishing this caricature on the Holocaust Remembrance Day and so did the acting editor of the Sunday Times, Martin Ivens. David Ward, a British parliament member from the Liberal-Democratic Party, a part of the British governmental coalition, said that he is “sad because the Jews who came under an unbelievable amount of persecution during the Holocaust are now perpetrating a Holocaust against the Palestinians in the new state of Israel on a daily basis.” The party scolded the MP. The latter apologized and promised to abstain from using the word “Jews” in the Future. He however added that he will “keep criticizing the Israeli measures in Palestine through the strongest terms as long as Israel proceeds with the persecution of the Palestinian people.” The readers must note that Caricaturist Gerald Scarfe and MP David Ward are British and not Muslims or Arabs. Their stance is a purely humanitarian, because they see the Israeli crimes and cannot remain silent. There are also the states that are members of the United Nations. Israel is unable to find any other supporter to it except the United States, its' partner in crime, and some islands of the Pacific Ocean. On the other hand, the majority of the member states condemn Israel’s crimes. This is pushing Israel to object against the entire world as if it wants this world to condone its crimes or to pardon them. The weird part is that the Jews around the world, including the US itself, are Liberals and moderates and they have nothing to do with the Israeli crimes. However, many Jews defend Israel either because they have concerns for its fate or because they are unaware of its crimes. This is the reason why, in my opinion, MP David Ward mistakenly referred to the “Jews” instead of the Israeli government or Israel. The caricaturist was right by depicting Netanyahu as a war criminal, because that’s what he is. Furthermore, caricatures are naturally based on exaggeration. Before all that, Shaaban Abdel Rahim, the popular Egyptian singer, was right as he sung, “I love Amr Moussa and I hate Israel.” Indeed, the Israeli government is responsible for the world’s feeling that Israel is committing a daily crime against the Palestinians. --- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.