| A Case of Sickening Hypocrisy | |
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25 Jul 2005 @ 18:13, by Bruce Kodish
Tom Gross in the Jerusalem Post notes the hypocrisy of a large portion of the British & world press and political establishments in their treatment of the execution of an unarmed innocent Brazilian Catholic man in England by a British policeman versus their treatment of Israeli efforts at self-defense against a terrorist barrage greater than any other country has yet faced.
--BIK
Tom Gross writes in his article "From London to Jerusalem: "Last Friday, as British police frantically searched for four presumed suicide bombers on the run, the people of London had a glimpse of what the people of Israel live with daily. The explosive devices of all four men had failed to go off properly on London's transport system the day before, and the men had subsequently escaped.
"Throughout Friday there were roadblocks and house searches throughout London. Closed-circuit TV footage of the four was released to the public in the afternoon, and by evening two suspects had been taken into custody. The people of London expressed the fear of "living with terror 24/7," the world expressed its sympathy, and there was much supportive and understanding coverage of Britain's plight by international media and politicians."
"Palestinian terrorists have carried out over 25,000 attacks on Israelis since September 2000, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries. Israeli security forces have thwarted thousands of attacks, and Israelis have grown used to living with manhunts of the kind seen in London on Friday; yet they are barely reported abroad."
"The head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) confirmed last week that Israel presently receives some 60 intelligence warnings of potential Palestinian terror attacks every day, and this month alone several Israeli women and teenage girls – and now Rachel and Dov Kol – have been killed in various attacks."
"Such was the nervousness in London on Friday that, at 10 a.m., a dark-complexioned man was shot dead on a train at Stockwell Tube station in south London. Witnesses on the train immediately said it was clear the man had been unarmed. In the words of one, he was "literally executed." He was already lying on the ground motionless, having tripped, when British police pumped five bullets into his head at close range. On Saturday evening the police confirmed what had been fairly apparent from the time of the shooting – that they had mistakenly targeted an innocent man. It turned out he was a Brazilian Catholic."
"Israel has taken enormous care in its "targeted killings" of "ticking bombs," almost never killing anyone in a case of mistaken identity."
"CONTRARY TO the absolute lies told in British media in recent days, the Israel Defense Forces have not instituted a shoot-to-kill policy, or trained the British to carry out one. For example, on Friday, at the very time British police were shooting the man in the Tube, the IDF caught and disarmed a terrorist from Fatah already inside Israel en route to carrying out a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. Israeli forces didn't injure the terrorist at all in apprehending him and disarming him of the 5-kg. explosive belt he was wearing."
"And yet, for taking the bare minimum steps necessary to save the lives of its citizens in recent years Israel has been mercilessly berated by virtually the entire world."
"Had Israeli police shot dead an innocent foreigner on one of its buses or trains, confirming the kill with a barrage of bullets at close range in a mistaken effort to thwart a bombing, the UN would probably have been sitting in emergency session by late afternoon to unanimously denounce the Jewish state."
"By evening, 12 hours had passed since the shooting, but the BBC still hadn't interviewed a grieving family, no one had called for British universities to be boycotted, Chelsea and Arsenal soccer clubs hadn't been ordered to play their matches in Cyprus, and The Guardian hadn't yet called British policy against its Pakistani population "genocide." "
"As for London Mayor Ken Livingstone, who is in overall control of transport in the city, including the train where the man was shot, and who strongly defended the shoot-to-kill policy as a legitimate way to prevent suicide bombings, he was not yet facing war crimes charges – as Livingstone himself has demanded Israeli political leaders should be."
"Instead on Friday, Polly Toynbee, leading commentator for The Guardian, wrote that the terrorists were "deranged," "savage" and "demented" "killers" who "murder in the name of God." This is a far cry from the habitual manner in which The Guardian and others describe the suicide killers of Israelis as "fighters" and "activists."
Click here for the complete article.
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Category: Articles
2 comments
25 Jul 2005 @ 20:09 by ankh : Yup
So true, Bruce. It is very sad for the family of the slain man. The few times an Israeli had mistakenly killed someone the entire country was condemned. Remember the stupid girl protesting Israel, who was out in the field where she shouldn't have been, and was run over by a tractor? That sure caused a huge uproar against Israel.
Some accidents will happen - that is unfortunately the nature of the beast. But there are far more intelligent means of fighting terrorism. Let's face it, the British have little idea how to deal with terrorism, even when it came to the IRA. Britain has an additional problem, though, of the tube, the underground. (Israel doesn't have that kind of system - only regular trains and buses.) That is something very hard to control, especially when no one thought about it before. If someone is going to be shot and killed, those killing that person better be damned sure it's a real terrorist, but if there is a way to prevent any murder, why not? Israel seems to be the only nation in the world smart enough and able enough to do it. For instance, my family is in Israel right now, and they just did a tour of the water system in Jerusalem, under the city. Wherever tourists go, and Israelis go, they are surrounded by armed army guards. They know what they're dealing with. People feel safer that way, too, because they know the enemy.
(By the way, the City of David, under the Old City, proves the ancient city was built by the Jews. People can see the stones of the Turks and Romans and others on top of the Jewish stones from the old temple to try and cover it up. That is what Islam and Christianity don't want people to see - the proof that the Jews were there before them.)
I also watched a report over the weekend about a British member of Parliament (I think it was) who said that he supported Palestinian terror activities against Israelis. Well, what does he think is taking place in Britain now? This is not about Israel. Polly Toynbee might be waking up to the reality about terrorists.
25 Jul 2005 @ 21:43 by : Shitty Policing
As I understand it, the slain man had fallen and was not in a position to threaten anyone, when he was shot point-blank, not once, but something like five to eight times (reports vary), while being held down by Scotland Yard's 'finest'.
All of the policemen involved should be immediately suspended and pending thorough investigation, subject to possible dismissal and legal prosecution. This is about shitty and ineffective policing and police procedure, which would not be acceptable in any police jurisdiction in the United States or in Israel. The reports I've read about British reactions do not satisfy me that the Brits are handling this intelligently.
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