The parallels in citizens attempting to change actions of governments by non-violent action are fascinating. Fifty years ago, government officials in the American south called the actions of those on the buses challenging segregation of facilities in the south "provocative." Today, the act of challenging the policies of Israel by taking ships to Gaza to break the naval blockade is also called provocative, not only by Israel, but by other governments that support Israel, including the United States.
On April 21, 2001 Israel's UN Ambassador Meron Reuben told a UN Security Council session that organizers aim at "political provocation and not to advance any humanitarian goal." Reuben said Israel is determined to enforce the naval blockade of Gaza and 'stop additional terrorists from infiltrating the area.' He also urged the UN and international community to take all necessary measures to prevent the flotilla from occurring. The Israeli diplomatic offensive to stop the flotilla has been intense, with all countries on the Mediterranean Sea asked to refuse to let ships of the flotilla leave their waters. (http://www.truthout.org/israelis-mount-diplomatic-offensive-stop-gaza-flotilla/130276440)
US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said, "There are distinct mechanisms to deliver goods to Gaza and there are no justifications to sail directly to Gaza," calling on the organizers to follow those mechanisms and urged member states to "use every legal means at their disposal to discourage additional flotillas to Gaza." (http://en.trend.az/regions/met/israel/1865226.html)
On May 11, 2011, 36 members of the U.S. Congress in a bipartisan letter to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the Prime Minister to stop the 2011 flotilla from departing Turkey for Gaza. "Another so-called aid flotilla to Gaza is nothing but an attempt to provoke Israel. The Turkish government can help prevent violence by saying "no.' We are urging Prime Minister Erdogan to actively work to put a stop to this and join with Israel in providing real humanitarian assistance to Gaza," said Representative from New York, Steve Israel. Israel is a strong supporter of the State of Israel.
Oklahoma Representative Tom Cole who is from a predominately fundamentalist Christian state whose congregations contribute substantially in support of construction of illegal settlements in the Palestinian West Bank, said "Turkey's"democratic leaders have a unique opportunity to prevent the turmoil that could result from allowing another Gaza flotilla to confront the Israeli security blockade. During this volatile time in the region, I urge Prime Minister Erdogan to work with Israel to avoid conflict and ensure legitimate aid is delivered without creating needless instability." http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-4067935,00.html
Same Tactics -- Call Them Names and Attack Them with Dogs
American racist southerners called the Freedom riders very disparaging names. The Israeli government calls the passengers on the Freedom Flotilla "terrorists."
Terrorists
Israel's UN Ambassador Meron Reuben told a UN Security Council session on
April 12, 2011 that individuals on the flotilla 'hold many ties to Hamas and
other terrorist organizations,' and that 'numerous participants engaged in the
planning of this flotilla have made very troubling statements expressing their
willingness to become martyrs in this effort." but did not provide any
documentation of alleged statements. He said Israel is determined to enforce
the naval blockade of Gaza and 'stop additional terrorists from infiltrating
the area.' (http://www.truthout.org/israelis-mount-diplomatic-offensive-stop-gaza-flotilla/130276440)
Use of Attack Dogs to Frighten and Intimidate
Other parallels between governments' approaches to ending challenges to their policies include the use of attack dogs.
Attack dogs were used by police in the American south against the
civil rights activists to frighten them to stop the freedom rides, sit-ins and
other forms of non-violent civil resistance to the segregationist policies.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_campaign)
The Israeli government uses attack dogs against the Palestinians in the West Bank and is threatening to use attack dogs against passengers on the Gaza flotilla.
Last week, the Israeli government used attack dogs against Palestinian laborers (http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/idf-confirms-sets-dogs-on-illegal-palestinian-laborers-1.361160). According to the article, the B'Tselem human rights group has recorded seven dog attacks in the last few weeks, all from the same area. The article reported that earlier this week a number of laborers were injured when soldiers ordered dogs to attack dozens of Palestinians returning home at midday through the fence breach, following the border closure Israel had imposed. The IDF spokesman said to the Haaretz newspaper that soldiers who were using dogs on Palestinians were "taking adequate precautions to prevent unnecessary injury."
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/tag/k-9-attack-dogs/
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