Thursday, June 3, 2010

Why Did the Israelis Shoot Joe Meadors?

On Keith Olbermann's program last night, U.S. Ambassador Edward Peck describes the shooting of U.S. Navy Veteran, and U.S.S. Liberty survivor, Joe Meadors on his vessel as it was hijacked in international waters:


Anyone who doubts that these so-called non-lethal weapons, when in the hands of racist Israeli troops, are benign, need only look at this photo:
That is talented young American college student and visual artist, Emily Henochowicz, who was shot in the eye by an Israeli soldier Monday, in Ramallah:

21 year old Henochowicz was attending one of the many demonstrations which took place across the West Bank in response to Israel’s Flotilla Massacre, when she was hit in the face with the tear gas canister destroying her left eye. She is now situated in Hassadah hospital, Jerusalem where she has been receiving treatment, including two surgeries, to insert metal plates into her face and to wire her jaw.

Henochowicz’s sister, Sarah issued a statement on Tuesday saying "the surgery was successful and she is currently recuperating in Hadassah Hospital. Thank you for your kind words and support, my family and I greatly appreciate it. Her father is by her side and will bring her home as soon as she is able to travel”. A friend who visited Henochowicz on Wednesday reported that “she is better, though she is in more pain now and is very upset.”


Here's a further description:


Henochowicz, a junior at Cooper Union who is currently studying at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, was protesting Israel’s raid of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. According to the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led activist group with which Henochowicz volunteers, an Israeli soldier fired the tear gas projectile directly at Henochowicz.

"They fired many canisters at us in rapid succession. One landed on either side of Emily, then the third one hit her in the face," said Soren Johanssen, a Swedish ISM volunteer who was standing with Henochowicz at the protest.

During the two months Henochowicz had been working with ISM prior to Monday's demonstration, she attended numerous pro-Palestinian non-violent protests and spent time with Palestinian families who had been evicted from their East Jerusalem homes.

Henochowicz is the second American in so many years to be critically injured while protesting in Israel. California-born Tristan Anderson, 38, sustained permanent brain injury after he was shot in the head by a high velocity teargas canister fired by Israeli forces on March 13, 2009.

Despite Anderson sustaining severe injury at a civilian demonstration, the Israeli Ministry of Defense declared the incident "an act of war" and denied liability for damages -- including over seven months of hospitalization and intensive reconstructive surgery to Anderson's skull.


Here's a link to Emily's web site, where you can see some of her work, including this sculpture:
Hee's a picture of another American, Tristan Anderson, who was mentioned in the above article:
None of the perpetrators of these injuries to Americans will ever be brought to justice. The Rachel Corrie civil trial, which has so far uncovered many Israeli soldiers breaking Israeli laws is an example. None of those soldiers will ever be prosecuted for breaking Israeli law, let alone be brought before an international body for their crimes.

I almost forgot. Here's an American, illegally killed by members of a hostile foreign military force on Memorial Day (!!!):
The American government will not investigate these injuries, maimings and death. Never. And when the Israelis see this, it will let them know that it is OK to kill Americans.

17 comments:

sjk from the belly of the plane said...

Phil, So where are the pics of the hamas atrocities?

Philip Munger said...

sjk,

you start your own blog to cover those. nobody is stopping that.

The American media must have said "Hamas" hundreds of thousands of times over the past few days." How many times have you heard the names Joe Meadors, Ed Peck or Ann Wright?

sjk from the belly of the plane said...

Phil, Start my own blog? Sure. Fair and balanced and clever you are.

Have fun with your blog. I'll be sure to remember your message.


OT, WHY DID hamas REFUSE the HUMANITARIAN AID sent to Gaza?

On 2nd thought, Don't bother. It will take away from your fucked up Israel hating complex.

Ennealogic said...

Phil, my heart breaks.

sjk, you've already been voted off the island, now please go fly the Israeli flag in Israel. This is America. When judgment day comes, I hope you are not found wanting in your own ability to discriminate between propaganda and fact. You honestly remind me of the Palinbots who believe whatever Sarah says about anything.

Sorry for the retort, Phil, and thank you for showing what we certainly wouldn't see on Fair and Balanced tv in the US.

Philip Munger said...

sjk,

Your comment reminds me of an entry posted today on Emily Henochowicz' facebook page by another supporter of Zionism gone crazy:

"Shon And Sedona said…
Nothing like a tear gas can to the head lol. I see your face book page claimed you were from Ramallah, not NY? Do America a favor and stay in Ramallah as we have reached our quota on stupid people and don’t need you back here."

nancydrew said...

Just out of curiosity, I'm wondering why you seem to have a number of frequent posters whose hostility seems both personal and disproportionate. Well, I guess that's a naive observation and maybe I've answered my own question. Have you at some time suggested the dismemberment of the state of Israel?

Philip Munger said...

Nancy,

I have not "suggested the dismemberment of the state of Israel." I did take a poll here that asked respondents which boundaries that country should have, and if it should be allowed to continue to expand as it is doing.

I detest any government based upon religious superiority of one faith over others, whether it be Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Lamaist Tibet, Israel or any other.

In that sense, I am more and more favoring a one-state, non-religious Israel/Palestine. The conflict there continues to exacerbate the worst aspects of Judaism and Islam, and - indirectly - it inspires the nuttiest of Christians here in the USA.

AKPetMom said...

I'll be frank if no one else will. America should cut it's losses in the Middle East. Stop the wars for oil in Iraq, stop slaughtering Pakistanis and stop killing Afghans.

Most of all, stop supporting Israel. They are big boys now that show again and again that they don't care what America thinks about their actions. No more financial support for Israel.

America needs to leave the Middle East and let these people fight amongst themselves until some sort of truce is met, or not. If not America shouldn't care.

nancydrew said...

Sorry--didn't make my message clear. I didn't think you suggested the "dismemberment" or dismantling of the state of Israel. I was just wondering about the regular appearance of some of the strangest commenters I've seen on-line and why you seem to allow them to keep harassing you. I don't host a blog, but you seem to have some guests who are strangely hateful. You are more accommodating than I could be.

Philip Munger said...

nancy,

unless a comment is intentionally untrue or very hurtful and insulting, it usually stays up here.

mary b said...

AKPetMom & Phil,

I could not agree more with the both of you.
Keep up the good work Phil. We all know we won't get honesty out of any other news source.
Thank you for helping me and others stay informed.

Makabit Bat Guriel said...

But AkPetmom doesn't want to stop funding the surrounding Muslim countries. And that is a bet I'd win...!

Makabit Bat Guriel said...

One thing about this so called "citizen" that was killed on this boat, the only thing that ties him to the United States is the fact he was born here. His family moved back to Turkey when he was 2 years old. So much for your propaganda BS Phil!
I suppose if a person is bent over someone beating them with a metal pipe or trying to stab them with a knife it would seem a person might get shot in the head and chest.
I know that is the first thought that came to my mind concerning the Turkish terrorist under those conditions. Of course in your mind he was standing there just munching on a banana and minding his own business being a nice Muslim and all...huh!

Anonymous said...

Recent instances in which the United States has provided direct assistance to or for the benefit of
the PA as a result of special presidential action:
• January 2007, President Bush reprogrammed $86.362 million in prior-year funding into the International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE)
account to support PA civil security forces loyal to President Abbas.
• June 2007, President Bush issued a waiver to provide additional $18 million in direct assistance for "democracy assistance and security assistance."
• February 2008, President Bush issued a waiver to provide $150 million to the PA to “avert a serious and immediate financial crisis.
• October 2008, $150 million in budgetary assistance via presidential waiver.
• July 2009, $200 million to the PA via waiver issued by President Obama.
• November 2009, $75 million to the PA under the July presidential waiver as an advance on FY2010 funds.

U.S. Security Assistance to the Palestinian Authority
Aid has been given to train, reform, advise, house, and provide non-lethal equipment for PA civil security forces in the West Bank loyal to President Abbas in an effort to counter militants from organizations such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and to
establish the rule of law for an expected Palestinian state.
A total of $395.4 million has been appropriated or reprogrammed for use in the West Bank since 2007.
The US trained 400 Presidential Guardsmen and 2,200 National Security Forces troops at the International Police Training Center near Amman, Jordan. The USSC reportedly plans to help organize and train six additional 500-man NSF battalions.


The United States is the largest single-state donor to UNRWA, which provides food, shelter,
medical care, and education for many of the original refugees from the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and
their descendants—now comprising approximately 4.6 million Palestinians in Jordan, Syria,
Lebanon, the West Bank, and Gaza. U.S. contributions to UNRWA—separate from U.S.
bilateral aid to the West Bank and Gaza— $3.5 billion since 1950.

Source: Congressional Research Service, U.S. Foreign Aid to the Palestinians, January 2010

Anonymous said...

Israel is the United States' only ally in the Middle East. We need them.

For what it's worth -
Palestinian Authority/Palestinian National Authority EU and US financial aid: approximately USD $1 billion. Payments are channeled directly to the offices of Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.
Hamas annual budget: $70 million. The largest backer of Hamas is Saudi Arabia, $12 million supplied by Gulf states, $3 million from Iran.

U.S. assistance to the Palestinians is among the largest per capita recipients of foreign
aid worldwide.
Since the signing of the Oslo Accord in 1993 and the establishment of Palestinian selfrule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the mid-1990s, the U.S. government has committed over
$3.5 billion in bilateral assistance to the Palestinians. $500 million appropriated in December 2009.
Since the death of Yasser Arafat in November 2004, U.S. assistance to the Palestinians has been
averaging close to $400 million a year, with funding levels spiking to more than double the
average for FY2009 to address humanitarian needs in Gaza during and after the December
2008-January 2009 Israel-Hamas Gaza conflict; and reform, security, and development
priorities in the West Bank.
Since 2007, the United States has appropriated or reprogrammed
nearly $2 billion in support of PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s security, governance,
development, and reform programs, including $650 million for direct budgetary assistance to the
PA and nearly $400 million in security and criminal justice sector assistance for the PA in the
West Bank. The remainder is for project assistance administered by the U.S. Agency for
International Development. During the 1990s, U.S. foreign aid to the Palestinians averaged
approximately $75 million per year.

March 2009, the Obama Administration pledged $900 million in U.S. assistance to the
Palestinians to address both post-conflict humanitarian needs in Gaza and reform and
development priorities in the West Bank.

Proposed Spending Plan for FY2010 Bilateral Assistance
Economic Support Fund $400.4 million total)-
Direct budgetary assistance to Palestinian Authority (PA) in West Bank (primarily to pay salaries of PA employees)
$250.4 million Assistance for the West Bank and Gaza (through USAID)
• $38 million – governance, rule of law, civil society
• $93.5 million – health, education, social services
• $95 million – economic development
• $23.9 million – humanitarian assistance

International Narcotics Control
and Law Enforcement ($100
million total) - Training, non-lethal equipment, and garrisoning assistance to PA security
forces in the West Bank, supporting efforts by the U.S. Security Coordinator.

Anonymous said...

The Other Side
Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II. From
1976-2004, Israel was the largest annual recipient of U.S. foreign assistance, having been
supplanted by Iraq. Since 1985, the United States has provided nearly $3 billion in grants
annually to Israel.
Almost all U.S. bilateral aid to Israel is in the form of military assistance.
August 2007, Bush Administration announced that it would increase U.S. military assistance to Israel by $6 billion over the next decade. The agreement calls for incremental annual increases reaching $3 billion a year by FY2012.
FY2010, the Obama Administration requested $2.775 billion to Israel. Congress provided $555 million of Israel's total FY2010 appropriation.
July 9, 2009, H.R. 3160 introduced:
funding can't be used to "finance the procurement of defense articles, defense services, or
design and construction services that are not sold by the United States Government" unless they get permission first.

Israel is now considered a fully industrialized nation with an economy on par with some Western European countries. Consequently, Israel and the United States agreed to phase out economic grant aid to Israel. In FY2008, Israel stopped receiving bilateral Economic Support grants.
Rounding off, it amounts to $3 billion a year from 2009 to 2018.

Former Under Secretary of State for
Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, who signed the Memorandum of Understanding:
"We consider this 30 billion dollars in assistance to Israel to be an investment in peace - in
long-term peace. Peace will not be made without strength. Peace will not be made without Israel being strong in the future. Of course, our objective as a country and our specific objective as a government is to contribute to that peace, a peace between Israel and the
Palestinian people, the creation of an independent Palestinian state willing to live side by
side in peace with Israel, and a general peace in the region that has eluded the Israeli people
for 59 years but which is, we hope, the destiny of the Israeli people as well as the Arab
peoples of the region. Our policy in this entire region is dedicated to that final objective."

Anonymous said...

...more Israeli money...

Migration & Refugee Assistance
Beginning in 1973, Israel received Migration and Refugee
Assistance fund (MRA)41 grants to assist in the resettlement of migrants to Israel.
Between 1973 and 1991, $460 million for resettling Jewish refugees in Israel. Annual amounts have varied from $12 million-$80 million, based on the number of Jews leaving the former Soviet
Union and other areas for Israel.

Loan Guarantees
Since 1972, the United States has extended loan guarantees to Israel to assist with housing
shortages, Israel’s absorption of new immigrants from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia, and
its economic recovery following the 2000-2003 recession sparked by renewed Palestinian
uprising. Loan guarantees are a form of indirect U.S. assistance to Israel, since they enable Israel
to borrow from commercial sources at lower rates and not from the United States government.

Loan Guarantees for Economic Recovery
November 2003 - State Department announced that the $3 billion loan guarantees were reduced by $289.5 million because Israel continued to build settlements in the occupied territories and continued
construction of the security barrier separating Israelis and Palestinians. In FY2005, the U.S.
government further reduced the amount by an additional $795.8
million. Since then, no other deductions have been made.

The 1979 Camp David Peace Treaty between Israel and Egypt - To facilitate a complete cessation of hostilities and Israel’s return of the Sinai Peninsula, the United States provided a total of $7.5 billion to both countries.

In 1991, Congress provided Israel $650 million in emergency grants to pay for damage and other
costs from Operation Desert Storm.

1991 - $10 billion in loan guarantees to help absorb immigrants after the Soviet Union collapse and outmigration of Russian and other Eastern bloc Jews to Israel.

2003 - Iraq invasion, $9 billion in loan guarantees over three years for Israel’s economic recovery and $1 billion in military grants.

1998 - $1.2 billion to fund the movement of troops and military installations out of areas of the West Bank.