New York – CNN OpEd: A World Of Hypocrites When It Comes To Israel

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    A police officer stands in front of graffiti reading "Palestine", during a demonstration outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul, Tuesday, June 1, 2010. Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship has ignited unprecedented anger in Turkey and driven the Jewish state's relations with its most important Muslim ally to their lowest point in six decades. (AP Photo/Ibrahim Usta)New York – Enjoy hypocrisy? This past weekend you could glut the appetite.

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    On Monday, Israeli ships stopped a flotilla carrying materials that could be used for war, including cement that Israel maintained could be used to build bunkers, to Hamas-ruled Gaza. The crew of one boat resisted violently, triggering a firefight in which nine people were killed, most of them Turkish nationals.

    Turkey is protesting vigorously. But, question: Turkey is a NATO ally, an applicant to the European Union. What is it doing allowing its nationals to smuggle cement that could build bunkers? Especially when those nationals belong to a group, the Turkish IHH (Insani Yardim Vakfi) that Israel has designated a terrorist organization?

    The flotilla departed from Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus. Turkey’s occupation of half of Cyprus is deemed illegal by the European Union and the United Nations. If the government of Turkey feels so strongly about ending disputed occupations, why does it not start with the disputed occupation it is operating itself?

    The flotilla followed a breathtaking Friday at the United Nations. The 189 signatories of the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty agreed on a final list of resolutions for a safer world. The nuclear threat from Iran? Unmentioned. Instead, the NPT resolution targeted — what a surprise — Israel.

    Shamefully, the Friday resolution was joined by the United States. Yes, the Obama administration issued a statement at the same time that “deplores the decision to single out Israel” and also “the failure of the resolution to mention Iran.” The administration deplored — but it signed.

    The Obama administration’s signature marks an abrupt departure from previous U.S. policy. Since the 1960s, the United States has accepted Israel’s nuclear arsenal on condition that Israel not threaten its neighbors. Israel has more than met that condition. In 1973, Egypt outright invaded Israel, in full confidence that Israel would not go nuclear so long as Egypt stopped short of attacking Israel’s cities.

    It’s important to understand that Israel (like India and Pakistan) has never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. So Israel’s nuclear force violates no commitments or pledges: unlike, say, the nuclear programs of Syria, Libya, Iraq and Iran, to name just four of the Middle Eastern countries that have been caught violating the NPT.

    Iran by contrast is violating the NPT. Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. And Iranian leaders have threatened to use the nuclear weapons they are seeking to annihilate Israel.

    On Monday, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran has accumulated enough nuclear material for two bombs, when fully enriched. And the latest round of U.N. sanctions will do nothing to stop that bomb, because they omit the most crucial measures:

    • A ban on exports of gasoline to Iran (Iran now imports half its gasoline)

    • Measures to sever Iran’s central bank from the global payments system

    The measures adopted by the Security Council last week are not only toothless, but they even contain a loophole legalizing the sale of Russian air defenses to Iran, the better to protect nuclear facilities from action by the United States or Israel.

    OK, so maybe it is not news that the U.N. system is hypocritical and useless. What is news is this: The Obama administration has broken with 40 years of precedent and has affixed its signature to a document suggesting that it is Israel’s weapons — not Iran’s — that ought to be priority No. 1 in the Middle East.

    And now, post-flotilla, the Obama administration stands in danger of being drawn into the attempt to open Hamas-ruled Gaza to military-capable imports, and to force Israel to engage in some kind of negotiation with Hamas.

    Former Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, who is close to Obama administration thinking, outlined in the New York Times Monday the contours of just such a deal:

    “The administration needs to work on a package deal in which Hamas commits to preventing attacks from, and all smuggling into, Gaza. In return, Israel would drop the blockade and allow trade in and out.”

    It’s a pretty thought. Pro-Hamas groups did not go to the trouble of organizing a flotilla of supplies that could be used for war in order to end smuggling of war material into Gaza.

    Nor are pro-Hamas groups seeking to ship the material into Gaza in order to thwart future attacks on Israel. Rebuilding Hamas’ bunkers is not a step toward peace.

    But as with the Obama administration’s joining the anti-Israel resolution at the United Nations on Friday, followed by after-the-fact explanations that Israel had nothing to fear, so the Obama administration is now being drawn into another anti-Israel action, again cushioned by assurances that, “This is for your own good.”

    Monday morning, ABC’S Jake Tapper reported an unnamed administration official promising “no daylight” between the United States and Israel.

    But the same administration official who promised “no daylight” also told Tapper: “The president has always said that it will be much easier for Israel to make peace if it feels secure.” Meaning: first we soothe you, then we squeeze you?

    David Frum writes a weekly column for CNN.com. A special assistant to President Bush in 2001-02, he is the author of six books, including “Comeback: Conservatism That Can Win Again” and is the editor of FrumForum.


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    26 Comments
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    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Unfortunately History has a nasty habit of repeating itself.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    AMEN

    blackandwhite
    blackandwhite
    13 years ago

    Alas, for the typical world reactions.
    The best long-term solution though, is to dump nuclear technology for alternative answers as soon as these are practically feasible. Nuclear has always been a no-win inferior technology, and even with self-defense as a rationale for supporting its existence -in Israel or anywhere else for that matter, it’s going to just be more and more ‘bad press’ in our (thankfully) evolving ‘greener world’. No places to dump exhausted fuel, dangerous trucking of these spent wastes, hundreds of years of radioactive half-lives even of ‘spent fuel’ buried ‘who-knows-where’ -assuming it gets even there, and myriad other ecological headaches for wherever nuclear technology is in existance. The whole idea is a sophmoric, short-sighted, Vietnam-era nightmare of over-indulged engineers lacking self-confidence in the spritual and natural world around them.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    When are Jews in America and worldwide going to stand up in one voice and give public support to Israel to stand strong and do what’s right for its country? I believe Israel needs it today more than ever to stand tall and proud.. this is a hidden blessing for Israel that they come to finally realize which was always a fact that we stand alone and our strength always came from being the “Jew” not dancing to everybody’s music..
    The Torah is always and will be always our compass no matter if you like it or not and the Torah tells us our power comes from “Am Levodod Yishkion” the faster we get there the faster we have all what we need etc..

    Liepa
    Liepa
    13 years ago

    This situation doesn’t bode well for Israel or for Jews in general. Second guessing what Israel did or should have done from in front of my computer is something I wont do. However, the consequences as a result of Israel’s action is another story altogether. The calls for the demise of Israel bellowing from around the globe is scary at best. Let’s not forget this comes on top of the Goldstone report, which is far from over, by any means, yet. The nuclear issue vis a vis Israel has just begun, recently, and unfortunately that’s certainly not good for Israel. The clamoring for Israel’s head
    has never been to the extent it now is. Please hashem hob rachmones oif dine am bochartu.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Surprising to hear that from CNN

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    PMO, anything? Would you finally agree that Obama has an anti-Israel policy and his polices are so different from Bush?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Maybe CNN should get CBS’s footage that I just saw. CBS agreed with Israel!! They also said that the CIA is in agreement with Israeli intelligence!! FIRST NEWS BREAK PRO ISRAEL!!

    Hershl
    Hershl
    13 years ago

    It is fairly predictable that no matter what Israel does it will be condemned.

    Israel was the only middle east country to send supplies AND volunteers to Haiti.

    The world actually condemned them saying it was a hypocritical publicity stunt.

    They never mentioned a thing when the Chinese scheduled a photo op that held up the unloading of all the other ships.

    What a bunch of hypocrites.

    Israel should do what is in the best interest of Israel and the Jewish people.

    I love it that finally the Jewish people can fight back and we can hold our own.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    it is very interesting that the only so called “jews” from williamsbourg that voted for that jew hater obama, were the ones to demonstrate in manhattan yesterday agianst israel, when will you all understand that he hates all jews, and when they will round up the jews into camps like they did to the japanese, they will not make special arrangments for you, shame on all of you that sood there yesterday, you are the perfect picture os self hating jews.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Wow a pro israel article from cnn
    Shehechiyanu.

    Truthman
    Truthman
    13 years ago

    Turkey- A real hypocrite!. Let’s sail a ship to Turkey to protest the Turkish mass killings of the Kurds and the Armenians!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Where are the federal elected officials that we sent to Washington? Schumer, Weiner, Nadler. what sell outs

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Following raid on Gaza-bound international flotilla by Israeli naval commandos. The hypocrites country that committed the first modern genocides continuo with there tradition in a most blatantly fascist means; Killing civilian, deported tens of thousands of Kurds from their villages, banned Kurdish music, dress and other badges of cultural identity, and even prohibited Kurdish parents from giving their children Kurdish names. Condemn Israel for violating international laws.

    elmwood
    elmwood
    13 years ago

    That is what you get whe youelect a arab as president shame on the jew hatig world they all will pay the price to h’s

    yankle
    yankle
    13 years ago

    Congrats to Obama
    Give credit where it belongs… good work on Turkey, Nuclear, Iran and so on…
    Hopefully the oil spill will get him…

    Musadagh
    Musadagh
    13 years ago

    Did erdogan read “thou shalt not kill” to the azeri mobs who massacred Armenian women and children in Sumgait and Baku in 1988?