Dr John Chalcraft discusses the aftermath of the Israel-Gaza conflict. Recorded on 29 January 2009.
Norman Finkelstein on Gaza conflict, Hamas goals and Iron Dome myth
As debate and international concern grow over Gaza, RT's Mona Zughbi sits down for an exclusive interview with American political scientist, activist, professor, ...
Deep Shit (He thinks he thinks, but he just shits) just censored comments
and blocked me right after cowardly flinging his last bit of antisemitic
bullshit.
Even if everything this guy said is true (unfortunately not even close), I
would still readily give Israel a free pass on all of its military
campaigns to date against Hamas led Gaza, because there simply isn't any
rule book on how to deal with an organisation that has a clearly stated
goal of wiping your country off the map.
The Gaza strip was a base for 7,000 rocket attacks against schoolyards and
townships in Israel before the Israelis responded in 2007. During Israel’s
airstrikes on Gaza rocket sites there was one civilian death for every 30
terrorists. By contrast, a 2001 study by the International Committee of the
Red Cross found that the civilian-to-military death ratio in wars fought
since the middle of the 20th Century has been 10:1 – ten civilian deaths
for every soldier death. In other words, the Israelis protect civilians at
a rate 300 times greater than any other national army. As Harvard Law
School Professor Alan Dershowitz observes, “No army in history has ever had
a better ratio of combatants to civilians killed in a comparable setting.”
+Fray2221 Thank you for your comment. The number of deaths are irrelevant for the core of this conflict. However they make a powerful propaganda material
+Gloria Hey "During Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza rocket sites there was one civilian death for every 30 terrorists." You don't specify any source or time period here. But this sounds like a pile of shit to me. According to the UN HRC in the last Gaza War there were 1,462 civilian casualties and 789 military casualties on the Palestinian side. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Israel%E2%80%93Gaza_conflict#Casualties_and_lossesI'm not aware of any major Israeli military operation, at least since 1973, where the number of militants killed outnumbered civilians.
Norman F. is a great professor, and a great man: he embodies immense
courage, tenacity and vast knowledge on the topic of Israel, world Israeli
propaganda (they own US Congress, US Government, and German, English and
French governments), often quoted as Zionism. Much like the great Helen
Thomas and Noam Chomsky. And it would be great that all US Presidents have
the courage to not kneel before the AIPAC at their annual meeting, and thus
showing to the world that a US President is not the vassal of Israel.
Didn't the Jews persecuted in the Nazi ghettos have a tunnel system too?
Were they terrorists too? Will Israel have given the Nazis the right to
bomb and murder them too??? Or does this logic only apply to the "God's
Chosen People"?
By the first minute, this already bullshit.
While negotiating a unity Government, Hamas made plans for a coup in the
West Bank against the Palestinian Authority . ( in spring 2014 ) They then
attempted a kidnapping of 3 Israeli teens , which went wrong, and they
murdered them in Cold Blood.
This led to to the Crackdown in the West Bank which uncovered this both
plots.
Hamas treated the ( justifiable ) crackdown against Hamas, as violation of
the previous truce and declared war, launching missiles against Israel.
Hamas refused to the end the war until the of the summer , despite the
Israeli invasion of Gaza to stop it.
The Israeli Invasion led to the uncovering the extensive tunnel network and
Hamas planned invasion in September in Yom Kippur.
This led to a stepped-up campaign to destroy the tunnel network.
Finkelstein is notorious apologist for Hamas and Hezbollah .
At 7:50 he tells a bold-faced lie. Netanyahu was not President during
"Cast-lead" , nor was his party in power.
+1232moe "Does it take away from the facts?" What Facts? Please tell me some of these "facts" . Maybe, include some corroborating evidence beyond the supposed mind-reading abilities of Finkelstein. Most of what Finkelstein says is purely opinion. And he contradicts himself several times. ( At least in the first 10 minutes. There was so much propaganda in the first 10 mins I stopped listening there. I couldnt justify wasting 35 more minutes of my time to listen to a torturous, smug , self-righteous, self-contradictory propaganda opinion; A Set of hysterical pro-war opinions, ones presented with no evidence. And then writing a torturous line-by line rebuttal. ( I'd probably be more willing to do this for you if I had a transcript. I find having to slowly listen to Finkelsteins shrill passive-aggressive voice spew propaganda , is far more intrusive and invasive and mentally exhausting; then being able to read it. its akin to listening to a right-wing Creationist blame the Iraq war on evolution; and then in the very next breath , saying the Christian Bible makes the Iraq War OK . All, while he scratches his nail on a chalkboard ) Which is it?:Hamas is a Palestinian legal entity with the right to make war on Israel, and Israel is justified for fighting them back ( with all the bloodshed and carnage that results ) ;or it isnt.One claim is either true, or it is false. Which is it?Hamas is a legal Partner of Palestinian Government, and PA negotiations with Israel includes them...or it does not.Finkelstein makes the argument that they are.That would the PA govt is responsible for any war-making by Hamas, and Israel is justified to reject any govt where Hamas Is literally making war on Israel ---- while PA is supposed to be negotiating in Good faith for them. ( If this was true, Israel would actually be justified in making war in the West Bank against the PA. Thankfully Israel isnt that dumb enough to accept Finkelsteins terrorism apologetics )Now lets get real. If Abbas is terrified to even enter Gaza for fear of being murdered by Hamas on site, how he can the PA can be said to be in control of the territory and able to make peace negotiations in good faith?Its a complete fiction. Its ludicrous and insane. Even Finkelstein doesnt even attempt to claim this, its so ridiculous! He cant explain this away after Hamas Kept the war with Israel going on purpose, all summer long in 2014. He Knows Hamas, alone, is in power in Gaza , since they staged a coup in 2006. Everyone knows. He doesnt even attempt to assert ,otherwise. Instead , he would have you believe Hamas has a legal right to bomb Israel with rockets; and that lack of Peace is Netanyahu's fault for not negotiating a long-term peace with Abbas, while members of His own unity-government are actively making war. Peace has two sides. Palestinians also have specific Obligations under the Oslo accords, that set up the PA and under the road-map. Israel is only fully at fault if Palestinians have ever fulfilled all these obligations. Inst that logical? Its telling that Finkelstein never talks about these obligations, and what they are. Do you think Finkelstein doesn't know? Of course he Knows!The problem is they are in violation of them. The Oslo accords require the disarming of all outside militias forces outside the Palestinian Authority. Whoops. So does the Road-map. This would be the requirement of any peace-agreement, in any country. ( Look at Northern Ireland for example. Sinn Fein wouldnt be a legal part of that Government if their army, the IRA was still making war )Why shouldn't Israel be more concerned that Abbas cant bring peace to Gaza , Israel , and West Bank, even if he agrees to a deal?Why believe Abbas can bring peace after a deal is made, if he cant control his own territory, and the Palestinians are in violation of previous peacemaking frameworks ( Oslo and the road-map ) ?Why shouldn't Israel be more concerned that Hamas will take over the West Bank ( like it did with Gaza ) , after Israel withdraws? The Judean hills are high ground, and most of Israel's population is in a very small area. Hamas rockets will actually start to kill lots of people when they can shoot them from high ground. Unlike Finkelstein, I dont have any reason to help them do this.
+1232moe "He made a small error. "NO, that is a very large error one that demolishes every unsubstantiated claim he makes above it. Its Important because he using that to claim Netanyahu, alone, stopped the peace process. If only that were true.Finkelstein didnt make a "minor error. "His command of facts ( when he has them ) and details is too good to make that kind of mistake. Seriously, he has a mind like a steel-trap. He's also depending on you not being able to tell where the facts end, and where he's making unsubstantiated opinions ( that's fancy-talk for 'making stuff up.( Its not a real lie if Finkelstein believes, what he makes up, right? no? )He's deliberately deceiving you to shift blame for Abbas rejecting the Olmert Peace-deal in 2008/2009.In order for this to be true:this would mean that since "Cast Lead" Israel did not give a new Peace Offering to the A Palestinians and offer to completely withdraw from the West Bank and end the Occupation and offer to give Palestine full sovereignty over its territory ?Wouldnt all that have to be true?Isnt that exactly what Finkelstein is saying here?\< 13:19 - 13:27 That's exactly what Finkelstein is saying. > If Israel did all these things and Abbas refused to accept , and rejected it entirely; then once again, the Palestinians would also be responsible for not ending the conflict, when they had a chance.In order for this to be True, Abbas couldn't have been offered a full withdrawal in exchange for peace, and then he couldnt have rejected it.Yes?In order for this to be true:Abbas could not have known Netanyahu was elected for in 2009 while promising not to make any withdrawals , and only establish an economic peace.In order for this to be true , Abbas couldnt have been given maps and a peace deal with months to decide, before Netanyahu took office. In order for this to be true, Israels Political Leaders would have to have been the same for the past 8 years, while the PA authority would have to have changed. But the very opposite is true. Palestinian Leaders are the same ones who rejected the last peace-deal, and Netanyahu only took office after Abbas rejected it. Israeli Leaders Begged Abbas to accept it, because they knew it and told him explicitly that Netanyahu wasnt going to give him a better deal . ( This is all a matter of Public record. Finkelstein is just assuming he can dazzle you with his amazing grasp of details, and so you will trust him not to make any absurd errors or deceive you. Finkelstein is relying on you being ignorant the 2 times in the last 15 years , the Palestinians were offered their own state, and rejected it ) Do you actually think Netanyahu would give the Palestinians a better deal? Or does that sound completley f*ckin stupid to you ?See, this is what we are being asked to believe: That Abbas didnt know better. Even though everyone working on the Peace Deal from the State Dept, to International negotiators told Abbas this. We are being asked to believe the ridiculous! Even Finkelstein knows how stupid that sounds. Its too stupid for him to make that claim. Finkelstein instead lays all the blame on Netanyahu --- even before he takes office in 2009! Thats akin to blaming Obama for invading Iraq. Then Finkelstein has to whitewash History and pretend there was peace-talks at this time, and Abbas politically couldn't accept a peace deal. When you put the correct Historic record in place, you are left with one of two options to believe:(1) Abbas cant accept a peace deal that doesn't give Palestinians ALL of Israel and Palestine. Abbas Knew if he sat on the Peace-Offer for months and waited until Netanyahu took office , it would be rescinded.Therefore his claim to have suddenly changed his mind in 2009, only after Netanyahu was well in office ( and he was told the deal would be rescinded ) seems insincere. It looks like an attempt to shift blame for not making peace when he had the opportunity and refused it. or (2) Abbas is some kind of massive Idiot who thought Netanyahu, first elected by the far-right, was some type of Peacenik Appeaser. Despite massive evidence to the contrary, and his first term in office in the nineties when he stopped negotiations and increased settlements The problem is Netanyahu was well known to be rightwing dick. He was in office in the 90s during Clinton years, and demonstrated that he wouldnt even go along with the first Bush Administration, i.e opposed Oslo.If you believe that Abbas can accept a peace-deal , you have to explain why Abbas refused to negotiate with Netanyahu's administration. Abbas says its due to Netanyahu pro-settlement policies. ( This is actually a reasonable demand for Abbas to make , as settlement during negotiations is insincere and prejudices results ) But if we accept this as true, You have the burden of explaining Why Abbas refused all peacetalks while Netanyahu agreed to an 8-month settlement freeze.Obamas administration bent over backwards appeasing Netanyahu to get this settlement freeze to jump-start negotiationsNetanyahu made it clear he would resume settlements after Abbas refused peacetalks. What do you think happened? Abbas refused peacetalks. Then Netanyahu restarted settlements. But not right away. Netanyahu kept his deal with Obama. Abbas only asked for peace talks again, after Netanyahu's settlement freeze ended.Which makes a total farce out of finkelstein's claim at 13:27.Abbas didnt offer Israel this peace deal. Olmert offered it to Abbas, and abbas rejected it. Only after Netanyahu was well ensconced in office, did Abbas demand Netanyahu restart negotiations. And at the previous offer, Olmert begged him to accept for months. This means that for the entire time Netanyahu was in Office , Palestine could have been granted full statehood and the occupation ended ( but Abbas refused ) . The US would have made Israel withdrawal once it agreed to it with Abbas.Abbas chose to prolong the Occupation, and allow Netanyahu to be charge of it.Netanyahu said 'No way.' ( to restarting negotiations from Olmerts rejected deal ) Hes from a different political party and the previous deals that Abbas refused were now off the table. ( that is how democracy works ) . So Abbas refused all negotiations , whatsoever. +1232moe I despise Netanyahu. He's a bombastic right-wing Jack-off! If you also despise him, you we me an apology!: For putting me in the positistion where ( like Finkelstein here ) I must either Lie or seemingly defend Netanyahu.
+Walpole Rd You can google every one.I dare you.Its cute ( not ) the way you simply dismiss facts, as conspiracies. So, tell me who was the Prime Minister of Israel during "Cast Lead" ( in 2008 ) ?Go look it up! Its a public Fact! If Netanyahu wasnt President nor his party in power during "Cast Lead" , then everything Finkelstein says here is merely blowing smoke and propaganda. This is completely a Netanyahu-only based diatribe. Then I flip this around. Where is any of the evidence for Finkelsteins wild and hysterical conspiratorial assertions about how decisions are made in Israel under Netanyahu?( Of course he has none. He contradicts himself several times ) Id love to real evidence against netanyahu. ( BTW I cant stand Netanyhau. But I like hysterical liars, even less. Finkelstein isnt merely telling lies about speculation, hes lying about simple public facts.facts you can check with wikipedia or simply the calendar of israeli elections, Or EVEN RT )If you cant trust him about Who the Israeli Prime Minister even is , why should we accept this pile of nonsense?
It's so great to see so many people waking up to the truth about the
terrorist state called Israel and how Zionists are worthless scum. 10 years
ago I used to argue day n night with people about Israel's terrorism and
present them with facts. Today people are informing themselves and learning
how Zionism hijacks governments, creates dangerous foreign policy goals FOR
western governments and terrorizes Palestinians on a daily basis, while
denying them their basic human rights for 60 years. I tip my hat to all of
you who keep spreading the truth. It's so good to see Zionist trolls get
obliterated by all of you. Cheers!