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In celebrating the one-year anniversary of President Obama's election night on Wednesday, I feel compelled to recognize a much grimmer anniversary, one that was far less reported and recognized in light of the historic presidential election. That other anniversary is of the Israeli raid on the Gaza Strip near Deir al-Balah on the night of Nov. 4, 2008. Readers will recall that the Israeli and Palestinian truce of June 2008 was signed with the understanding that both sides would cease their frequent attacks and that Israel would ease its crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip. This cease-fire, according to Amnesty International's annual report, "held for 4 1/2 months but broke down after Israeli forces killed six Palestinian militants on 4 November." An exchange of retaliatory attacks followed, eventually culminating on Dec. 27, the first of a 23-day-long military campaign that left 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead and thousands more seriously injured and homeless.
Dr. Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian physician working in relief operations in Gaza City, visited Baltimore last spring to speak at the Johns Hopkins medical campus. During his presentation, Dr. Gilbert gave his account of "horrific war injuries in numbers almost too large to comprehend."
He reported, along with the Red Cross and the UN, dozens of incidents of Israeli fire attacking ambulances, health staff and volunteers in clearly marked uniforms and vehicles. His testimony also spoke of the unlawful use of incendiary weapons on civilians during a time when foreign journalists were barred from the conflict zone. Notwithstanding the suppressed reporting from within Gaza, Dr. Gilbert's suspicions were eventually corroborated in the Israeli press by many Israeli soldiers who recounted permissive attacks on unsuspecting civilians and civil infrastructure.
Now, one year on, the nature and depth of the Gaza crisis has been formally recorded in a United Nations report by South African judge Richard Goldstone. Judge Goldstone himself is an international justice of impeccable record and thoughtful personal history. His report catalogs pervasive targeting and destruction of civilian infrastructure by the Israeli military, while also condemning armed Palestinian groups for firing rockets indiscriminately into Southern Israel. Its major shortcoming, according to a recent article he wrote in his defense, was the Israeli government's refusal to allow the UN fact finding mission to interview Israeli victims of rocket attacks.
And yet, on this anniversary of the broken cease-fire, our nation's House of Representatives is voting on a resolution to condemn the Goldstone report as "irredeemably biased" against Israel, despite all facts pointing to the contrary. The House resolution, co-sponsored by Maryland's own Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, is being carried without even a single congressional hearing on the Goldstone report. The representatives' outlandish condemnations do a massive injustice to the respected judge's mission and to our own credibility on issues of international humanitarian law.Amir Mohareb, Baltimore
To Our Readers: The Sun welcomes comments from readers. All comments become the property of The Sun, which reserves the right to edit them. Comments should include your name and address, along with day and evening telephone numbers. E-mail us: talkback@baltimoresun.com; write us: Talk Back, The Sun, P.O. Box 1377, Baltimore 21278-0001; fax us: 410-332-6977
Dr. Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian physician working in relief operations in Gaza City, visited Baltimore last spring to speak at the Johns Hopkins medical campus. During his presentation, Dr. Gilbert gave his account of "horrific war injuries in numbers almost too large to comprehend."
He reported, along with the Red Cross and the UN, dozens of incidents of Israeli fire attacking ambulances, health staff and volunteers in clearly marked uniforms and vehicles. His testimony also spoke of the unlawful use of incendiary weapons on civilians during a time when foreign journalists were barred from the conflict zone. Notwithstanding the suppressed reporting from within Gaza, Dr. Gilbert's suspicions were eventually corroborated in the Israeli press by many Israeli soldiers who recounted permissive attacks on unsuspecting civilians and civil infrastructure.
Now, one year on, the nature and depth of the Gaza crisis has been formally recorded in a United Nations report by South African judge Richard Goldstone. Judge Goldstone himself is an international justice of impeccable record and thoughtful personal history. His report catalogs pervasive targeting and destruction of civilian infrastructure by the Israeli military, while also condemning armed Palestinian groups for firing rockets indiscriminately into Southern Israel. Its major shortcoming, according to a recent article he wrote in his defense, was the Israeli government's refusal to allow the UN fact finding mission to interview Israeli victims of rocket attacks.
And yet, on this anniversary of the broken cease-fire, our nation's House of Representatives is voting on a resolution to condemn the Goldstone report as "irredeemably biased" against Israel, despite all facts pointing to the contrary. The House resolution, co-sponsored by Maryland's own Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, is being carried without even a single congressional hearing on the Goldstone report. The representatives' outlandish condemnations do a massive injustice to the respected judge's mission and to our own credibility on issues of international humanitarian law.Amir Mohareb, Baltimore
To Our Readers: The Sun welcomes comments from readers. All comments become the property of The Sun, which reserves the right to edit them. Comments should include your name and address, along with day and evening telephone numbers. E-mail us: talkback@baltimoresun.com; write us: Talk Back, The Sun, P.O. Box 1377, Baltimore 21278-0001; fax us: 410-332-6977
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Thank you Mr. Moharab for speaking the painful truth that most Americans do not want to hear - least of all our painfully out of touch lawmakers. The people of Gaza are suffering and we do nothing. Shame on US.
KNDM (11/06/2009, 8:07 AM )