Does this represent your views?
Posted on 02. Nov, 2009 by Travis Pillow in Breaking
The UF Student Senate will vote on a bellicose, ill-informed resolution tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. They seem to think the UF student body opposes a UN report accusing both sides of human rights violations during Israel’s attack on Gaza this past winter.
Read the whole resolution. I’ll take apart some of the most egregious portions:
Whereas, Israel was founded as and is a representative democracy, and is the only democracy in the Middle East
I’ll let the neoconservative Michael B. Oren, writing about “Seven Existential Threats” in the pro-Israel journal Commentary, handle that one (emphasis mine):
Israel, the Jewish State, is predicated on a decisive and stable Jewish majority of at least 70 percent. Any lower than that and Israel will have to decide between being a Jewish state and a democratic state. If it chooses democracy, then Israel as a Jewish state will cease to exist. If it remains officially Jewish, then the state will face an unprecedented level of international isolation, including sanctions, that might prove fatal.
Back to the resolution:
In light of Iran attempting to acquire nuclear capability, which poses an existential threat to the safety, security, and existence of the state of Israel and of all the nations of the Middle East and will severely affect the efforts made toward initiating a negotiated Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement
What about Israel’s Nukes? Do they pose an existential threat to Arabs? Or to Iran? Israel has a record of attacking its neighbors, and does not abide by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and has said it never will.
Let it be resolved that Israel and its citizens have the right to exist, to defend themselves, and to live in peace
Fine by me. But not this part:
Let it be resolved that the University of Florida Student Senate on behalf of the University of Florida Student Body hereby exhorts the United States Congress to pass and adopt the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act (H.R. 2194 in the US House of Representatives & S. 908 in the US Senate) to pressure the corrupt Iranian leadership, through peaceful means, to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
Cutting off vital energy supplies, namely imports of gasoline is not a “peaceful means” of resolving anything. It’s a hostile act that will threaten the wellbeing of all Iranians and only make things uglier. And Iran doesn’t even have a nuclear weapons program. They have a civilian nuclear energy program originally funded by the United States before the Islamic Revolution. Iran’s “nuclear weapons program” is about as real as Iraq’s.
And then we get to the crux of the matter:
Let it be further resolved that the University of Florida Student Senate on behalf of the University of Florida Student Body hereby urges the United States House of Representatives to pass and adopt the Ros-Lehtinen/Berman Resolution known as H.Res. 867 in order to assert the United States of America’s stance against the biased United Nations “Goldstone Report”.
The “biased” report accuses both sides of atrocities. Are the UN, Amnesty International and the rest of the international human rights community, and virtually all media outlets outside the us, including the Israeli newspaper Haaretz waging some massive conspiracy against Israel and its Defense Forces? Or is the Israeli government trying to deflect credible accusations, like the claim, now substantiated by multiple human rights organizations, that its forces were using white phosphorus? Honestly, which is more plausible? Let’s hear from Goldstone himself, who can never seem to find his way onto American television:
Oh, by the way, “our” views will be represented on the national stage:
Proviso: A copy of this resolution is to be sent to every Florida Member of Congress
If this factually sloppy, warmongering resolution doesn’t speak for you, let the Senate know tomorrow.
Good god. I can’t believe this is actually happening.
He states “Israel and its citizens have the right to exist, to defend themselves, and to live in peace”, but apparently Palestinians do not have the same rights.
1400 Palestinians for 13 Israelis, according to Goldstone’s report… there is something quite wrong here. And now Oren is trying to push for sanctions, which we all know is a kind and p.c. word for a gradual genocide…
I feel disgusted to be a human being right now.
Well, Sameer. The palestinians simply dont have rights. They don’t belong to any country, so nobody will protect them. Not one arab country will take them in. And why is that? because THEY are dirty, war mongering people. They dont deserve anything. The only reason Israel is forced to do anything to the palestinians is because of the massive amount of terrorist attacks that happen all too frequently.
How is Israel supposed to deal with palestinians in a peaceful manner? The palestinians don’t believe Israel has the right to exist. They hate Jews, and everything Israel stands for (a link to the U.S., democracy, etc). Any Palestinian would slit an Israeli’s throat in a second, but they’d rather blow themselves up to kill more people.
I support the Goldstone report. No one, not even the Israeli government, is above international law. They must have something to hide, or they wouldn’t be so antagonistic about it.
In this short clip, Vice president Biden revealed the Obama Administration’s policy on Human Rights in Palestine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0avG7QPsdAQ
Important Alt Media news detailing the criminal method to steal Palestinian lands
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xSqg3_zY5E
<<>>
THE REAL NEWS speaks to settlers, Palestinians, and experts to understand the process of land confiscation in Occupied Palestinian Territories.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HVa47DvwC0
Both organizations – J-Street and TIKKUN (Rabbi Michael Lerner)are lobbying to return Palestinian lands.
http://www.jstreet.org/page/settlements
PEACE, JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION FOR ISRAEL AND PALESTINE
4. We are committed to full and complete reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinian people within the context of social justice for the Palestinians and security for Israel. We call upon Israel to end the Occupation, to return settlers to the pre-1967 borders of Israel
http://www.tikkun.org/article.php/core
Peace
We have a stunning ability to do nothing even when we see the truth of genocide too similar to what happened in Nazi Germany. Veterans For Peace passed a resolution to stop all funding to Israel. Another reolution was passed to open up a new investigation into the events of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Nobody really knows who pulled off 9/11 but thousands of civilian experts are certain that the Bush regime’s story cannot possibly be true. Support the VFP. See all resolutions at:
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/Resolutions.vp.html
PEACE NOW!