Burning Meme: Israel's Wonderland of 'Unsettling' Words

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Air date: 
Thu, 09/04/2014 - 12:00am
Unsettling...

George  Galloway beaten by pro-Israeli fanatic for Gaza views

 
 
In his first TV interview after release from hospital, British MP George Galloway told RT he is surprised by the lack of condemnation from other UK politicians of the brutal attack on him. The assault by a pro-Israeli man left Galloway in much pain.
 
Galloway, 60, was brutally beaten in Notting Hill, London last Friday allegedly for his views on the conflict in Gaza. 
He said the attack occurred during broad daylight, when he was in the street around 19:30. 
 
“Unlucky for me, there weren’t many people around. Though, luckily for me as it turned out none of my small children were there to witness what happened next,” he said. “I was posing for a picture with two Moroccan gentlemen who have a business in the street. And whilst I was posing for that picture, out of nowhere – dressed in an Israeli Defense Force shirt, complete with logo – came a man charging at me, cursing and swearing and shouting support for Israel and opposition to my views on Israel. Then a torrent of punches and kicks [followed] – which is admitted in court today though he has pled not guilty to the charge that it was religiously aggravated.”
 
Gaza reconstruction will take 20 years, says UN-backed authority
 
Following a hearing, the case has been passed on to a higher court. “In any case, the Judge has referred it to much higher court because his sentencing parole was not sufficient. The man has been denied bail, so he will spend some weeks in prison before this matter comes back to court.” 
 
Galloway described the attacker as “a pro-Israel fanatic.” “His Facebook that morning contained his words that he would like to cut my throat. A man who says he’d like to cut your throat and then dresses for the occasion in an Israel Defense Force t-shirt and ends up on the street near where you live, has probably a serious intention to do you harm.”
 
“It’s unprecedented in recent times. Britain is not really the kind of country where lawmakers, legislators, MPs are savagely attacked in this way – certainly not when they are six times elected, 27 years in parliament and having just turned 60.”
 
‘If this can happen to Galloway, it can happen to anybody’
The incident has largely been ignored by UK’s senior politicians. 
 
Peter Oborne, a Conservative writer for the Conservative daily The Telegraph asked in his article on Monday why no senior politicians had condemned the assault on Galloway, the MP noted. 
 
“It seems very strange. They are always telling us how much they hate violence and terrorism, how much they believe in the rule of law, free speech and democracy. But when it came to the attack on me their lips were sealed. This conservative columnist was making a point which is obvious: if this can happen to Galloway, it can happen to anybody.”
 
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Known for his harsh anti-Israeli stance, in early August Galloway went as far as to declare his constituency an “Israel-free zone.” The MP urged people not to buy Israeli goods or services and even to reject tourists. 
Galloway pointed out that he separates the people from the regime. “Israel has nothing to do with Judaism. Many Jews are against what Israel is doing and most of the people supporting what Israel is doing are not Jews,” he said. 
 
“The word Jew never crossed my lips, would never cross my lips. I don’t have a racist bone in my body. Soviet Union was a political construct, apartheid South Africa was a political construct, the Zionist apartheid state of Israel is a political construct. It has nothing to do with hating people, still less hating a religion.”
 

'Biggest in 30 years': Israel expropriates 400 hectares of W. Bank land

 
Palestinian people have moral legal and moral right to resist Israeli occupation, he added. 
 
“Palestinian resistance has for almost 70 years been trying to restore their country to the map. It was wiped off the map and the Palestinian people scattered to the four corners of the Earth. Nobody would accept that. If foreigners come and steal your country, wipe it off the map and take your house and drive you out, you are going to struggle to return.”
 On Israeli land grab, State Dept calls for reversal but lays out no consequencesSubmitted by Megan Iorio on 3 September 2014 - 6:38pm
In response to Israel's recent announcement declaring nearly 1,000 acres of land in the West Bank "state land" with the intention of expanding settlements in the Etzion bloc, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki issued the following statement:
We are deeply concerned about the declaration of a large area as 'state land' to be used for expanded settlement building. We have long made clear our opposition to continued settlement activity. We call on the Government of Israel to reverse this decision.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Psaki was asked whether the US was planning any consequences if Israel fails to heed the US's call to reverse its decision. Here's the exchange:
QUESTION: [Y]ou said that if the appropriation in the West Bank and if these rumored or reported new announcements go ahead, it would send a very troubling message – it would send a very troubling message if they proceed.
MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
QUESTION: Is there any consequence to that --
MS. PSAKI: Well --
QUESTION: -- if they proceed?
MS. PSAKI: I don’t have any consequences to lay out for you, Matt. I think it’s important for us – not just the United States but there are a range of countries in the international community that have been clear about not only their opposition but their own intentions. I’m not going to speak to those. I speak for the United States.
The issue came up again during Wednesday's press briefing:
MS. PSAKI: I think there’s no secret about our position and our view on the legitimacy of settlements.
QUESTION: No, no. But I mean specific – but specifically, do you know --
MS. PSAKI: That’s not what I was saying. I think – let’s – I think we all know what the United States position is on settlements.
QUESTION: Yeah. I’m not --
MS. PSAKI: It would not be a surprise to any Israeli government about what our view would be. So my point is that it’s not – that’s not a new – I don’t think our concern about this was --
QUESTION: Okay. But what might be a surprise to the Israeli Government is if you did something about it, other than just say you’re opposed to it and you should change your mind. I mean, is there – so if you don’t see results or a reversal in the immediate term, or the intermediate – or intermediate term, or even the long term, what happens?
MS. PSAKI: Matt, I’m not here to project that. I think it’s – we have an important relationship with Israel.
QUESTION: I’m not doubting that.
MS. PSAKI: We certainly express our concerns when we have them. There are a range of countries that have expressed their concerns about these type of activities. Obviously we feel it’s not just in the United States interest, it’s in Israel’s interest to take steps that would be conducive to being able, at some point, to move toward a two-state solution.
QUESTION: Okay.
MS. PSAKI: And this makes it challenging for the other side.
So Psaki's response to whether the US would actually do something if Israel doesn't reverse their decision is "we have an important relationship with Israel." Which—yeah, that's about right.
These revelation shouldn't be at all surprising, since almost every announcement Israel has made about new settlement expansion has been met by tepid US condemnation backed by little substantive action. US officials can't even bring themselves to call the settlements illegal, instead referring to them as "illegitimate" or "unhelpful"—the latter a term the US also applied to the tent cities Palestinians set up to protest Israeli land grabs back in early 2013.
J Street, which has tried to set itself up as an alternative Jewish lobby to DC mainstays such as AIPAC, has, at times, had trouble supporting political pressure on Israel. In response to the new settlement announcement, however, J Street is calling on the Obama administration "to make clear to Israel that it means what it says and that US opposition to settlements is not just symbolic but real." They are calling on the US "to announce the steps it will take if Israel goes forward with this decision" and to join the rest of the international community in calling Israeli settlements what they are: illegal.
 

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