'I want to be a shahid': Flotilla activist hoped for martyrdom
In footage apparently captured on board the Gaza-bound boat Mavi Marmara and released by the IDF, passenger wishes for death in confrontation with Israel troops.
By Haaretz Service
 |
A Gaza-bound flotilla activist wishes for martyrdom |
| Photo by: IDF Spokesperson |
In its latest effort to win back world opinion after killing nine pro-Palestinians in a mid-ocean raid on Monday, the IDF has released a video of a Gaza-bound activist declaring his wish to become a shahid, or Muslim martyr.
Israel intercepted a convoy of six boats in international waters some 60 miles offshore in the early hours of Monday morning. Commandos had been equipped with riot gear for what was supposed to be a routine operation against protesters challenging Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Instead troops met stiff resistance and eventually opened fire. Activists have claimed their intentions were entirely peaceful - but the IDF, as well as some analysts, has drawn links between a Turkish charity group that funded the flotilla and al-Qaida terrorists.
The army on Wednesday posted this video on the YouTube website to support its claims:
Why Facebook Connect?
Comment on Haaretz.com articles with your Facebook login, and share your thoughts on your own wall.
- Latest
- Most Viewed
- Most Rated
- Open all
Shaheed may translate into witness from wikipedia...but in arabic and muslim culture its a loaded word that means actually that my deed (no matter how cruel, i.e sacrifice) will testify that Allah is greatest. if you can hear man speaking, he says that the fisrt and second time nothing happened ...what do you think he was refereing too? this is no Jeovah witness that will keep knocking at your door until sonething happens. The ulimate goal of a shaeed is self sacrifice and others to rpove that Allah is greatest. dont be fooled by his mild deameanor, it just shows that he is at peace with with his religious duties. And by the way , one doesnt need weapons to become a shaeed, one can jump in front of a passing car to be called a shaeed .
The answer can be found in the writings and practice of both Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr It is to provoke the state authority into overeacting to the non-violent activity with the use of overwhelming violence. It is to expose the oppression of the state. Non-violent protest is difficult to counter, and for Israel it is their Achillles heel. So, what does this story actually prove? That a man does not care whether or not he is killed because his cause is just? That his tactic of using non-violence and provoking Israel into using violence may very well mean death and/or injury?
If you show a video, show it in context. What were they discussing? By "I want to be a shahid", did this guy mean "I want to die killing", or did he mean "if we are attacked I am willing to die defending myself"? Oh, sorry, for a while I forgot that "defending oneself" was an exclusive privilege of Israelis. Sorry for the confusion... Now I am sure this guy wanted to "wipe you off the map" ;-)
Release it all! It is SO transparent that the IDF and Israel are trying to frame the debate and what occurred in its favor - releasing statements and videos while not releasing captured advocates on the ship and their videos - then slowly release them (not their videos) after the IDF gets ITS story out while reviewing all videos in the boat and selectively releasing picking ones that make the freedom fighters look bad while holding back any that make the IDF look bad _ SO SO TRANSPARENT.
The fact that this is this man's third convoy and he remarks that he was not a shahid for the first two and wanted to be one for the third (this one) leads me to believe he is using the word as a martyr. Do you honestly think he's saying for the first two "aid" convoys he participated on he was not a witness? Place it in context.
"Shahid" is the Arabic word that supporters of Hamas and al-Qaida use to glorify their suicide murderers. It is only thanks to the bravery and professionalism of the IDF that although nine of these "shahids" managed to commit suicide none of them suceeded in committing murder.
1. I don't believe anything coming from a discredited institution as the IDF. 2. The blockade of Gaza is an ACT OF WAR. So, stop playing the victims... You are not, you are the jailers.
release everything not exracts. no cuts!
.....or none. I'm afraid it doesn't further your credibility, if you only publish those favourable to Israels cause..... Couldn't one expect from a liberal, critical Israeli newspaper, NOT to serve as the gullible mouth- piece of its own governement....???
It seems like pretty crude/desperate propaganda. I was just wondering if there are any rules regarding posting this stuff for haaretz. I know there is a military censor, so there being a duty to post some propaganda doesn't seem so strange.
where are the video of the people killed by Idf? this is propaganda.
Wake up and smell the coffee!
Damn there is another one who got away!
oh please! it literally means witness! the other meanings are that one is fulfilling a commandment, or waging war for islam. just look at wikipedia. but yes, of course this guy got on the ship hoping to get killed and before that killing soldiers with all the weapons they had on board. islamophobic propaganda. typical. im sick of it. the video is totally out of context! and edited. like everything the idf posts.
if he means shahid in the sense of "witness," how did he fail to be a shahid on his first 2 trips (as he says)?
I just hope you are not only fighting to justify the radical and fanatic Islam but also for the women's rights in those countries....
Shahid without firearms or explosive device. The world is not silly, IDF press office do better your work. You could show for example the bursts of your heroes in the face of people armed with plastc chair.
Anyone support the Palestinian is. This term is an Israeli term tought the Americans to label anyone standing up to them. Even the moderate on Haartez thinks I am one, he has not published any of my comments for the last three days, why should he, there are much more hardcore comments from right wing extreme terrorist Israelis to take priority
why dont they show the videos of the comandos willing to kill disarmed innocent civilians?
But unfortunately for you and your ilk, they show the "peace activists" clubbing soldiers, and they don't show the soldiers opening fire indiscriminantly. Kind of dents your beliefs, doesn't it. But people like you can deal with reality by closing their eyes.
And this guy does not have a Turkish accent. Just do a proper investigation and quit feeding the media little tidbits that are impossible to check.
I second it. This guy 's accent is not Turkish.
bin this story quickly in case anyone should find out that the Peaceful Pacifists had nutters amongst them. How will the UK media spin this...got it. They won;t report it. Ah the pride of Democracy and Truth. BTW How many mothers and their children will America murder today in Afghanistan?
Sorry mate, but either all of them, or none.....
If yes,Israel should diffuse it everywhere."Peace activists" don't want to be shahids. Furthermore,to compare these "peace activists" to Ghandhi is an insult for this great personnality.If he had been on the flottilla,there wouldn't have been any death.
Of all the evidences in the Israel's possesion (including the boats and activist's cameras & phones), this is a silly piece of propaganda for Israel to advirtise.....Shahid simply means a witness. If this guy was to mean otherwise, he would have equiped himself differently (e.g. with a explosives, gun, etc).
everyone knows that in this context, it has one specific meaning, and that is martyrdom. The word is routinely used to mean martyr on the Palestinian street and in palestinan pop culture. On the videos they record before the suicide bombs, they are thankful for the opportunity to be a Shahid. What you're suggesting is analogous to saying that when bin laden says jihad, he means inner struggle, not global war. while jihad can mean both, it is clear from the context and how the word is used that it means martyr. whatever it is, even if it means witness, he is clear hoping to witness something other than docking the ship into gaza's water
This is Israel's M.O. Declare a media blackout. Confiscate whatever it can. Edit all video to prove the Israeli side of the story. Destroy whatever contradicts Israel's story.
This incident was provoked by the infidels!
Those more or less unarmed activists are the heroes of our times. Yes, this is war. This is Israels blockade and Israels war.
your blatantly hypocritical bile is sickening.
This assumes that this person uses the word 'shahid' to mean that he wanted to die fighting, instead of the more probable meaning, that he wanted to be a living witness to a noble cause aimed to benefit society.
where was Turkish government looking letting suicide soldiers on a ship??? Is there going to be any questions asked in UN... or they are now officially baking suicide bombers. And where the is our dear so democratically elected President of United States that I have to respect ( since he is elected by majority of our countrymen ) What name gives this man to our country, if he watches in silence at suicide bombers and nodes?
That's his personal wish, so what? What does it have to do with the legality of blockade and shooting people on board?
How can anyone continue to think that this was not a premidated attack on Israel in which Islamist terrorists used naive if well meaning Europeans as human shields. What more evidence does the world need?
Did the activists attack Israel? Nope. They weren't in Israeli waters, they were not headed for Israel. As for them being terrorists, Israel is releasing them, kinda make someone look STUPID...