During an pro-Israel rally in Washington, DC, attended by many US Senators and Representatives, US Representative Mark Kirk (Republican – Illinois) felt compelled to misquote Shakespeare and stated:
“Something is rotten in Gaza and now it’s time to take out the trash.”
It should be remembered that it was the same Mark Kirk, while visiting Northwestern University, when asked how he felt about stricter visa policies applied to Arab foreign nationals seeking entry to the United States, answered:
“I’m OK with discrimination against young Arab males from terrorist-producing states. I’m OK with that. I think that when we look at the threat that’s out there, young men between, say, the ages of 18 and 25 from a couple of countries, I believe a certain amount of intense scrutiny should be placed on them.”
He said that the statement was “politically uncomfortable”, and later issued a statement to clarify his position on the issue: “We need to strengthen our visa entry process to guard against the threat, and we need intense scrutiny on applicants from terrorist producing countries,” Kirk said. “Ignoring that reality would only do a disservice to our country’s security.”
While the Israelis are overjoyed with the comment and continued support from the world’s greatest terrorist, the United States government, the world’s morality has been offended again.
Forget the fact that the United States did everything in its power to keep the United Nations from demanding a ceasefire.
Forget the fact that Israel receives US$ 3 billion in military aid from the United States to assault defenseless nations and innocent people.
Forget the fact that the United States will never support any international action to bring Israel to justice for war crimes, because it is a war criminal itself for providing the weaponry knowing how it would be used.
Forget the fact that again its the entire world against Israel and the United States.
But to call the people of Palestine “trash” is outlandish and inhuman, but further illustrates that illiteracy is a problem at all levels in the United States. As Rep. Kirk is unable to read newspapers, history books or understand facts on the ground.
Israel has been the aggressor. Lebanon, Gaza, the West Bank, the Apartheid Wall, the occupation. Israel is the trash, not the Palestinian people.
But what I find humorous is that the Israel’s actions are now being compared to the darkest time in their own history, the Holocaust. Cardinal Renato Martino, Pope Benedict XVI’s top official on issues of peace and justice, said in an interview with Il Sussidiario.net that Gaza now resembles a “big concentration camp.”
“But the consequences of this selfishness is hatred, poverty, injustice. It is always the defenseless populations that pay,” he was quoted as saying. “Look at the conditions in Gaza: It looks more and more like a big concentration camp.”
There are also unresolved differences over the status of expropriated church property in Israel and tax exemptions for the church. The Vatican has also protested Israeli restrictions on the movement of Arab Christian clergy to and around the West Bank.
Couple this with the recent announcement by the Israeli government to ban Arab parties in the upcoming elections. The rationale:
Parliament spokesman Giora Pordes said the election committee voted overwhelmingly in favor of the motion, accusing the country’s Arab parties of incitement, supporting terrorist groups and refusing to recognize Israel’s right to exist. Arab lawmakers have traveled to some of Israel’s staunchest enemies, including Lebanon and Syria.
However, the decision does not affect Arab lawmakers in predominantly Jewish parties or the country’s communist party, which has a mixed list of Arab and Jewish candidates. Keep in mind that roughly one-fifth of Israel’s 7 million citizens are Arabs. Israeli Arabs enjoy full citizenship rights, but have suffered from discrimination and poverty for decades.
I find it hard to understand why Israelis should be upset with such comments and generalizations.
What I find even more disgusting is the re-negotiation of a US$ 4 billion natural gas deal between BG Group Plc, a UK company, and Israel.
According to the Jerusalem Post, BG will drill for natural gas 36 kilometers off the Gaza coast, in an area designated as Palestinian Authority territory after the Oslo Accords. The field, which BG purchased in 2000 and which Hamas now claims rightful ownership, contains 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas with an estimated US$ 4 billion, with Israel set to become the sole consumer of the resources.
In a recent announcement, the two sides have arrived at an “understanding” that will transfer funds intended for the Palestinian Authority’s Palestinian Investment Fund into an international bank account. The logic, as faulted as it is, “neither side wants the money to go to fund terror-related activities.”
