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News :: Civil & Human Rights : Israel / Palestine : Peace |
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Letter from Lebanon |
Current rating: 0 |
by Kostas
(No verified email address) |
02 Aug 2006
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Letter from Lebanon: LEBANON IS KIDNAPPED! |
July 16, 2006
Letter from Lebanon: LEBANON IS KIDNAPPED!
Dear Family and Friends,
Ha! I think I am becoming a reporter now! First, we are still safe, but hardly anyone sleeps. The bombing has been continuous, day and night with no reprieve. We are in the mountains and we are awakened by the sound of the explosions. And it's not as if you imagine what it is like if you are in Beirut. The situation is extremely serious.
I want to reiterate that we need your help in disseminating this information and hopefully getting it to the press. The news you are receiving is skewed. This is a well orchestrated war that Israel is carrying out. This is not a reaction to Hizbullah's apprehending two of its soldiers. It becomes clearer by the day that there is a master plan that Israel is executing. Israel has literally kidnapped the entire country. One by one they are destroying every single road that leads out of the country. Just this evening around 8:00 p.m. we heard Israeli planes flying overhead only to hear a few minutes later on the radio that they destroyed a mountain road that leads to the Bekaa valley. This road is further up the mountain from where we live, in a primarily Christian village.
On the news earlier we heard that of the 93 Lebanese killed, only 3 were soldiers. As of 8:30 p.m. more than 120 Lebanese are dead and over 500 wounded.
Yesterday they bombed a small port in Amchit, a Christian village about one hour north of Beirut. Why? The Israelis got wind that a French ship carrying medical supplies was arriving. Damaging the port they prevented these critical medical supplies from reaching their destination.
Yesterday, my niece was attending a wedding-poor couple-could they really delay their wedding after months of planning? The wedding was held not too far from Jounieh, a major port about 25 minutes north of Beirut, a Christian town (and definitely not a Hizbullah stronghold). Everyone was on the terrace celebrating when Israel repeatedly attacked the Jounieh port. My niece said that everyone ran into the church and prayed. The bride was crying. The groom was crying. My niece left the wedding flying down the main highway while bombs whistled by. Nice memories for the newlyweds.
This afternoon, the Israelis decimated a small Christian village,Ain Ebel in the south of Lebanon. The mayor was pleading with the UN for a cessation of the Israeli bombing so they could evacuate women and children, and eventually to get food and medical supplies. Again, Ain Ebel is far from being a Hizbullah basis.
In the southern suburb of Beirut, Israelis knocked out all telecommunications-both land and mobile.
They just struck the airport again, as I have been writing this. This must be the sixth or seventh time, I lost count!
Over 1 million Lebanese, that's nearly one third of the entire population has been displaced! Hotels, homes in the mountains are packed to the brim trying to accommodate these people made refugees in their own country.
Are you still convinced that Israel is attacking only Hizbullah targets?
Are you still convinced that Israel has a right to defend itself-and if so, in this way?
Even during the 15 years of war, never ever were all roads, ports, and airports simultaneously blocked. When I was in Saudi, we would fly to Cyprus then take the boat to Jounieh to visit my husband's family. Now there is no way out. Israel has kidnapped and trapped the entire country.
There are more than 17, 000 French citizens, more than 10, 000 English, more than 25, 000 Americans and many more other foreign nationals trapped because Israel has blown up all major roads, bridges, airports and ports. Their actions are barbaric. The British Ambassador made a public announcement on television telling his compatriots that the roads are not safe enough to travel on for an evacuation and urged them to just remain at home. How reassuring! You hear news of evacuations, but we are all wondering how anyone can get out when roads, bridges and ports have been
damaged so severely.
Now, to end with a little story. A news item that I am sure did not make big news in the American press:
On June 21, 2006, about three weeks ago, The Daily Star, the local English newspaper published an article about Lebanon expecting complete support from the UN Security Council about a complaint the Lebanese government was presenting to them. The Lebanese were following proper international protocol. What was discovered? The Mossad, the Israeli secret service (like the U.S.'s CIA), has a network in Lebanon and has assassinated at least 3 Lebanese citizens which the Israelis believed to be "terrorists." I ask you: What is worse? Hizbullah's kidnapping two Israeli soldiers or Israeli agents coming onto Lebanese territory and assassinating its citizens? It's like having a North Korean secret service cell in the U.S. killing American citizens. Would the U.S. sit back and do nothing? It's an outrage. Yet, Israel destroys Lebanon with impunity and no one pays attention to the infractions that Israel does. And what right does Lebanon have to defend itself? If Lebanon, dared to do what Israel is doing to it now, it would be labeled "terrorist."
I once again plead with you to get this news out. Israel is destroying Lebanon while the United States puts its head in the sand! These atrocities must stop!
10:10 p.m. The bombs are exploding. Another sleepless night ahead..
Rosie AKL.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selected Images of protests around the world against the US funded and supported Israeli aggression on Lebanon and Palestine
http://arab-americans.blogspot.com/2006/07/images-of-international-protests.html#links
What the US media won't show: images and descriptions from the ground in Iraq, Palestine, and Lebanon
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14069.htm
http://uruknet.net
http://www.palestine-info.com/arabic/child.htm
http://electronicintifada.net
http://www.maannews.net/en/
UN appalled by devastation of Beirut (text and images)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5207478.stm
Black Commentator: Israeli Apartheid by Bruce Dixon, The Black Commentator Friday Jul 21st, 2006 10:21 AM
http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/21/18290328.php
Israel's Terrorism by Gabriel Ash
http://dissidentvoice.org/July06/Ash18.htm
U.S. Speeds Up Bomb Delivery for the Israelis By DAVID S. CLOUD and HELENE COOPER
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/22/world/middleeast/22military.html
Israel attempts to isolate and destroy Palestinians take a new twist: increased denial of entry to both Palestnians and their supporters from Western countries
http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/443.shtml
http://www.alhaq.org
See also: Human rights activist denied fair trial, to be deported as "security threat"
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2006/07/23/mariadeport
Green Party Press Release: Press Israel to end attacks on Lebanon
http://www.gp.org/press/pr_2006_07_20.shtml
Puerto Ricans Condemn Israeli Aggression, Prensa Latina,July 21, 2006
http://www.plenglish.com
In a heavily attended press conference today at Cosatu House, the Palestine Solidarity Committee of South Africa demanded an end to the Palestinian genocide ...
http://www.southafrica.indymedia.org/news/2006/07/10727.php
A blog in the Houston Chronicle (please post comments)
http://blogs.chron.com/gazawia/
Anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews activities in support of Palestinian rights and against the abomination of Zionism: http://www.nkuk.org/
New US Military Base in Israel: Cementing US-Israel military alliance against the people of the Middle East (also at the expense of US taxpayers):
http://www.rense.com/general66/excl.htm
Tom Hayden: Things Come 'Round in Mideast
In this essay, veteran social activist Tom Hayden, drawing upon his own rude political awakening to the realities of Israeli and Middle East politics during the 1980s, warns that the Israel lobby in the U.S. aims to "roll back the clock" and "change the map" of the region and that its neoconservative supporters will probably try to use the current Middle East crisis to ignite
a larger war against Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20060718_tom_hayden_things_come_round/
LinkTV.org translates and broadcasts unfiltered coverage from the Middle East TV channels "on line and in some TV
networks" (they claim to enter 1 of every 4 American houses) .
http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/streamsArchive/ |
This work is in the public domain |
Comments
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Re: Letter from Lebanon |
by wayward
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
04 Aug 2006
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Dear world, you stood by during the holocaust
Oh great, more "anyone who doesn't agree with us is a Nazi" rhetoric. I'm sorry, but this sounds like something a group like the JDL would come up with. So what exactly do you expect the innocent civilians in Lebanon to do about the Holocaust, which happened before many of them were even born? |
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Re: Letter from Lebanon |
by pathetic cop out
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
05 Aug 2006
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"Oh great, more "anyone who doesn't agree with us is a Nazi" rhetoric."
That's twisting into the contortion that suits you personally. That's a strawman. You're the person trying to impose that refrain on the author. He or she don't intend to convey this implicit message themselves.
Furthermore, one can reasonably grasp the author was alluding to the world or the international community at large, not to every last gentile individual or nation.
"I'm sorry, but this sounds like something a group like the JDL would come up with"
That's an ad hominem. So what if they did? I'm also weary of folks implying that an organization like the JDL is totally abominable because of what we've heard about it in the media, as if those are the sum total of their deeds and by extension attributes.
"So what exactly do you expect the innocent civilians in Lebanon to do about the Holocaust, which happened before many of them were even born? "
Again, one can reasonably grasp the author was alluding to the world or the international community at large, not to every last gentile individual or nation.
I'll further add that innocent Lebanese civilians should be liberated from the grip of Hizbollah propaganda that tries to ensure none of them understand that the damage done to their country is the price they're paying because their govt. has cooperated with Hizbollah since before the war's outset and hasn't tried to remove them from the country, much the way they made the Syrian military pull out without firing even one shot. You see, the Lebanese governments made their bed and now they're being forced to sleep in it because of the abducted Israeli soldiers and all the projectiles being poured on Israel by Hizbullah. The innocent Lebanese should demand from their govt. an account of why it allowed the Lebanese military to provide Hizbullah with radar services on the Lebanese coastline, for instance. Then perhaps we'll have made some progress. |
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Re: Letter from Lebanon |
by wayward
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
05 Aug 2006
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That's twisting into the contortion that suits you personally. That's a strawman. You're the person trying to impose that refrain on the author. He or she don't intend to convey this implicit message themselves.
The "Dear World" letter itself seemed pretty contorted, actually.
That's an ad hominem. So what if they did? I'm also weary of folks implying that an organization like the JDL is totally abominable because of what we've heard about it in the media, as if those are the sum total of their deeds and by extension attributes.
No, I wouldn't say it was ad hominem. As a matter of fact, I checked the JDL's website, and the letter's mentality strongly resembled the kinds of things that the JDL said on their own website.
BTW, the FBI has described the JDL as a "right-wing terrorist group" (http://www.fbi.gov/publications/terror/terror2000_2001.htm).
Again, one can reasonably grasp the author was alluding to the world or the international community at large, not to every last gentile individual or nation.
One could "reasonably grasp" that the letter shows a disturbing combination of self-pity and rationalization. Many extremist groups could use the same twisted logic to justify violence. Do you really believe that the Jewish people are the only group in history that's ever been oppressed? |
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"Dear World" author |
by wayward
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
06 Aug 2006
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According to the JDL website, the original author of the "Dear World" article was none other than Meir Kahane.
http://www.jdl.org/israel/dear_world.shtml
So it actually is something the JDL came up with.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meir_Kahane
http://www.cfr.org/publication/9178/ |
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Re: Letter from Lebanon |
by gehrig
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
06 Aug 2006
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I've hidden the "Dear World" letter from Kahane, who was a racist.
And the JDL is a shadow of its former self, existing more or less in name only, which is a good thing. It was never less than a mess:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Defense_League
@%< |
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Brief reply |
by to Wayward
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
07 Aug 2006
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"One could "reasonably grasp" that the letter shows a disturbing combination of self-pity and rationalization. "
That depends on the person making the interpretation.
"Many extremist groups could use the same twisted logic to justify violence."
You've misunderstood the letter's point. Kahane wasn't trying to excuse his own org's violence. Rather, he alludes to the violence perpetrated by the Israeli governments in attempts to protect Israeli Jewish citizens from attack.
"Do you really believe that the Jewish people are the only group in history that's ever been oppressed? "
This again displays your misunderstanding. I know other peoples and races suffered mightily from oppression. This, however, doesn't mean the State of Israel has no rights to try and defend its citizens. You probably believe Israel must use "proportionate force" and exercise "restraint", yet I differ and maintain that Israel should be concerned far more about the number of Israeli casualties. The guiding principal should be expending military efforts in a manner that saves the most Israeli lives rather than the most civilians lives in enemy territory. |
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"The guiding principal" |
by proportionality
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
08 Aug 2006
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This seems to be saying that Israeli lives are worth more than no Israeli lives. Was that the intent? |
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On what seems and what doesn't, and |
by on intents
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
09 Aug 2006
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The post above seems to be implying that Israel should always use proportional force even if this entails never defeating Hezbollah's ability to conduct cross-border raids and launch rockets and missiles over the border into Israel. Was that the intent? |
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Re: Letter from Lebanon |
by Michael Langendorf
crdmike (nospam) aol.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
20 Aug 2006
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From Israel's beginning the Arab world has been trying to destroy that country. Each of the Arab governments in the Middle East have vowed to wipe Israel off of the map. They waged an initial war when Israel was established and have tried many times to erase Israel. The Arab countries in the Mideast have also systematically murdered and expelled Jews from their countries...just because they were Jewish. Arab countries show no tolerance for diversity or for anyone except those that agree with their religious orientation. They wage war on Israel trying to take back a piece of land that the world decided should be Israel. Every time they try and take the land or push the Jews into the sea.....they lose and then cry and whine that they are victims. Israel will do whatever it feels it needs to do to stay alive. If the other nations of the middle east recognize Israel's right to exist then maybe some kind of peace can be made. Afterall, almost every Arab nation in existence today was created as Israel was by outsiders.
So, maybe the Arab world needs to give it up and begin to take care of their own people. Stop spending all their energies on wanting to destroy Israel and hating Jews.
They appear to have no problem spending money on fancy palaces and expensive cars or like Yasser Arafat did, stealing from his own beloved "Palestinians".
I feel for all victims of war.....but most often Arabs are victims of other Arabs. |
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