Ironically, Israel chose the worst possible option in handling the flotilla of ships headed for Gaza, and that choice will haunt Israel for years to come. This article covers those ironies.

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Perhaps the most ironic result of Israel s wrongheaded, unjustified, and unnecessary commando attack on the flotilla of small ships heading for Gaza is reports that Egypt is now reopening its long- closed border with Gaza. This Egyptian action will allow infinitely more arms, such as rockets and guns, into Gaza, than the flotilla could possibly have carried (indeed, there is little evidence that its intent was arms smuggling.) Here we have one more, again ironic, instance of Israel s ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Yes, if the Jewish state had sensible policies, Israel might well have used the Gaza-bound ships as a tremendous positive event merely by offering them the opportunity to land at an Israeli port and unload their cargo of construction materials, medicines, school books and so on, to be transported to Gaza after the items were screened by Israel. Even if that offer were turned down, Israel had absolutely no right to intercept the ships in international waters, just as the blockade of Gaza has no justification under international law. But, by making the offer to allow the unloading and transport of humanitarian materials to Gaza, Israel would have taken the high ground, instead of causing loss of life and an unmitigated public relations and diplomatic disaster.

Admittedly, the flotilla to Gaza posed difficulties for Israel, but there were other options than a commando attack on it. None of those options appear to have been tried, or even much discussed, in the time it took the flotilla to be organized, loaded, and launched. It is as if Israel was seeking to prove its military prowess first and ask questions later. And asking many, many questions is just what the world is doing now, and will continue to do for some time to come.

Those questions will include the treatment of the passengers and crews of the flotilla, who were put into detention in Israel, even though their capture did not take place on Israeli soil or in Israel s waters. Those detentions might well represent a form of kidnapping
and further violations of international law. Every nation whose citizens were part of the flotilla now has a cause of action against Israel, and those foreign citizens have cause to receive damages under both civil and criminal law -- one more irony. Perhaps the ultimate irony, though, is the irony of intransigent stupidity, compounded with an inability to see the consequences of unwise Israeli actions once again.

Authors Bio:

Author's Biography

Eugene Elander has been a progressive social and political activist for decades. As an author, he won the Young Poets Award at 16 from the Dayton Poets Guild for his poem, The Vision. He was chosen Poet Laureate of Pownal, Vermont for his poem Pownal People. His three new verses for America the Beautiful:September 11, 2001 were widely acclaimed and read into the Congressional Record by U.S. Senator Chris Dodd.
Dr. Elander has authored four volumes of poetry: The Right Click, The World Click, Journeyings, and Philosophy over Fika, all written from 2004 to now, in the U.S. and Sweden -- as well as two published novels: The Goat of God, and Turning the Tides, both available via Signalman Publishing on Amazon.com in Kindle and electronic pdf editions. A self-help book titled Empowerment:Taking Charge of your Life was recently completed and is available via Amazon.com KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing.
Dr. Elander is a freelance columnist who published a newspaper for ten years in New London, CT. He is an economist and college lecturer, and has been an agency executive director, emergency management consultant, investigator; and former animal control officer, deputy code enforcement and health officer for Farmington, New Hampshire. He and his wife Birgit, who co-authored The World Click, divide their time between Georgia and her homeland, Gotland, Sweden.
Several other books are underway, including a sequel to The Goat of God, and a public version of his doctoral dissertation on Cooperatism, a new economic system he developed which includes all stakeholders (workers, consumers, and the public as well as stockholders) in crucial decision making. Dr. Elander has been a member of the Stonepile Writers group in Georgia and the Poetry Society of New Hampshire. He is president of his own Elander Press.