Graphic novel on IDF 'massacres' in Gaza set to hit bookstores

Your frustration is understandable. As a Zionist propagandist, it kills you to witness criticism of Israel you can't refute, no matter how you spin historical facts nor attack your interlocutor. Despite the fact that there is nothing in my #116 you can refute, or even dispute, except when Israeli will be called to the Hague, you call the post "phony baloney," and change the subject. You know your claim, "Arabs had their freedom to declare their own state," isnt true. By Arabs, you mean Palestinians, and they had no say whatsoever. Jordan took the West Bank on 15 May. I'll look thru "Timelines," again, but I recall no reference to phony baloney. Can you be more erudite? Perhaps not. But you should review Timeline: because you believe Romans coined the name Palestine, (Herodotus may have been the first) you rely on Mandate map, when map gives minor view of the issues, thus you think Jordan was meant to be part of Palestine, and you think Philistines played a role in the name of Palestine

Try holding your breath while waiting for Israel to go before the Hague I'll make it short and sweet, so even you can understand Arabs had their freedome to declare their own state, it was provided for in the UN Partition Plan, which the Arabs refused, preferring to attack Israel instead, in a failed attempt to grab the whole kit and kaboodle for themselves Before writing anymore phony baloney, try researching the "TIMELINES OF ISRAEL ARAB CONFLICT", you just might learn something Don't contact me again until you've boned up on history and have read the aforementioned "TIMELINES"

It must excite you to have me write that Hamas has performed acts that can be considered war crimes and it is your decision if you wish to establish moral equivalency between Hamas and Israel. I would not establish moral equivalency between the US and any terrorist group, but perhaps you are right about Israel and Hamas. You contend I "harp" on WP. When Israel goes before the International Criminal Court in the Hague to answer charges of war crimes, see if you think the court also "harps" on WP. You should pay attention to the Geneva Convention before the enemy does, because Israel is a sovereign state recognized by the UN as a member and subjected to international laws. The enemy, Palestinians, do not represent a sovereign state recognized by the UN. Give Palestine its freedom to declare statehood, then they will have to be concerned about the Geneva Conventions and international laws.

As Mr. Fahti admitted, or should I say bragged about, the Muslims think nothing of using their civilians and facilities for offense, hoping that would grant them immunity from just reprisals You're harping on WP, how about some mention of rockets and mortar rounds being fired into areas that contain Israeli civilians? Which by the way, is also contrary to the Geneva Convention I'm weary about hearing about the Geneva Convention, I'll consider it, just as soon as the enemy takes it upon itself to also abide by it

"Like organ harvesting then, `never happened` ?" Then you haven't heard the latest news. Check out this CNN article. http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/12/21/israel.organs/index.html?iref=allsearch Veritas vos liberabit or for those whose Latin is a bit rusty "Truth will set you free."

"Frankly one can write what one pleases, but the history of the Arab hatred for Jews and Christians is present in the Koran (which acutually uses those terms for the infidels)" Unless you are just parroting what someone else said maybe you could give some passages in the Qur'an that support your claims. Please don’t just search the Internet and take what you read as the whole truth. If you are really interested in what the Qur'an says then you should read it for yourself. I guaranty your eyes will be opened.

I don't understand the purpose to list all of these massacres. But if it will help bring peace, end the Israeli illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, and help establish an independent sovereign Palestinian state, lets include these massacres of Palestinians by Jews. Yehida- 12-13 Dec47. 19 dead. Khisas- 18Dec47. 10 dead. Qazaza-19Dec47. 5 children Al-Sheikh-1Jan48. 40 dead Deir Yassin- 9-10 Apr48. 250 dead. Naser Al-Din- 13-14 Apr48. 123 dead Beit Daras- 21May48 All women and children Dahmash Mosque-11Jul48 80-100 dead Lydda & Ramle- ? Jul48 350 dead Dawayma- 29Oct48 80-100 dead..a rape Sharaft 7Feb51 10 dead Kibya-14Oct53 75 dead Kafr Qasem- 29Oct56 48 dead Al-Sammou- 13Nov66 18 dead Oyon Qara- 20May90 13 dead Al-Aqsa Mosque- 8Oct90 22 dead Jabalia-28Mar94 6 dead Eretz Checkpoint 17Jul94 11 dead

You are right. I did not write about the use of civilians as shields because I was writing about the Israeli use of WP in an area occupied by civilians. Such use of civilians by Hamas is a violation of the 4th Geneva Convention and therefore a war crime. But the use of WP by Israel in the presence of civilians is also a violation of the 4th Geneva Convention and a war crime. If you want to establish moral equivalency between Hamas and Israel it's okay with me. But I wouldn't do that with my country.

"Blood libels against Jews as well as books like The Protocols of Zion have been with us throughout our history." I've read that Sacco did a tremendous amount of research into the subject for his book. Maybe you should read the following NY Times article. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/books/review/Cockburn-t.html The truth is sometimes hard to swallow.

Rathe odd, you haven't condemned Hamas' using their civilian areas as militare areas, concealing their weapons and fighters in school and Mosques, and all the while bragging how they use their very own civilians as human shields, after all, Mr. Hamad, bragged about it http://www.jihadwatch.org/2008/03/hamas-mp-we-used-women-and-children-as-human-shields.html

I saw how it was used. If WP is to be used to cover troop movements it is used in ground bursts. It is a vicious and unnecessary weapon to use for that purpose because smoke shells or hand grenades are just as effective. The Israelis used them in repeated and numerous air bursts: probably artillery or mortar fire. Air burst timed shells of WP are used strictly as anti-personnel weapons. Hamas chose to make it a combat zone? Are you nuts? When the Israeli armed forces invaded Gaza it became a combat zone. Do you think Hamas wanted that? Is something wrong with you? There is absolutely no dichotomy involved here.

Well said too many people ignore the Jewish refugees from arab lands lands where they had lived beofre Islam and Christianity.How many anti Israel or anti jewish people on here sympathise with these people not one.They had no where else to go as no arab country wanted them there was no other Jewish land for them and no other nations were interested in their plight.

About the "Home Children"?? After all you brought the subject up, you now have the opportunity to tell us about their deplorable conditions and how they were kidnapped

According to UN observers on the scene at hospitals, 121 women and 288 children were killed by the IDF. Many many certified reports of deaths of civilians are available. There were dozens of reports by the ICRC, UN observers, and doctors, that there were dozens of cases of children maimed and burned by the illegal use of white phosphorous shells.

White phosphorous (WP) is not illegal when used as a smoke screen. From experience, that is only done by using ground explosions. But timed air bursts were used in Gaza, and that is only used as an anti-personnel weapon. The Geneva Convention does not mention collateral damage. It does forbid use of civilians as a shield, but no charge has been levied against Hamas for that. Article III has been determined to define WP. A violation of it is a war crime. ICRC and hospitals reported dozens and dozens of civilians with WP burns in Gaza. ?Protocol III on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Incendiary Weapons prohibits, in all circumstances, making the civilian population as such, individual civilians or civilian objects, the object of attack by any weapon or munition which is primarily designed to set fire to objects or to cause burn injury to persons through the action of aflame, heat or a combination thereof...?                  

No matter how it was used, if it was used in an area with civilians present, it was a violation of the 4th Geneva Convention. It strikes me that when Israel crossed the border into Gaza it established a combat zone. Hamas may represent a group of radicals, but I don't think they wanted that.

I disagree with the description on page 37: "Israel was absorbing hundreds of thousands of Jewish immigrants." The illustration - to be fair - should show Jewish people from Arab lands coming to the new State of Israel - as the majority of immigrants came from Arab and Muslim countries - 3/4 of a million souls at last count - many had to flee - and I've not seen cartoons reflecting their ordeal. Also - there's no mention of the Israeli Arab people - the same families as the refugee Palestinians - who remained in Israel - reminding Israelis (at least) that peaceful coexistence is possible and indeed can work just fine. In the end - we see the forlorn Palestinian fighter Khaled on page 371 giving away the raison d'etre for the grand game....."It's a matter of resisting to the end." In other words - the culture of pride and of the Islamic mission - will prevent the Gazans from ever internalizing their losses and moving on.

what colonialists? you must be talking of your wonderful french goverment and their history... israel is not at all colonialists..they own the land, always have. If ANYONE here are colonialists, it's the arabs ....or the french, british, germans, italians, americans, canadians, etc...etc...get your facts straight... go figure, this from a scumbag nation like france who collaborated with the germans...sorry marie m, you have ZERO credibility

Thanks for your kind comment. Just a word about the identity of certain Talkbackers here, like "amnon reshef" (74), "ivri" (75), "erwin honigstein" (77) and "raful" (82). All of them in fact are one and the same person, who most often calls himself "harzion". He is instantly recognizable through repetetive content and the fact that he does not use capitals. "harzion" in itself is a made up identity. He has been stalking the Talkbacks for years under ever changing guises. We call him the multi-headed Hydra from Greek mythology. He considers himself a fearless cyber knight in the defense of Zionist Israel. So fearless is he that he never will lift his vizor to reveal his true identity. His frustrated messages (about how anti-jewish the Dutch supposedly are) and his rather pathetic attempts at side-stepping the issue under discussion reveal in fact the weakness of his style of argumentation.

The same number (20,000) Israel slaughtered post- Peace for Galilee in 1982.

1) White phosphorous is not illegal. 2) The Geneva Conventions allow for collateral damage. 3) The Geneva Conventions specifically forbid using civilians as human shields. 4) Buy a clue.

Google "Footnotes on Gaza" and you'll receive 148000 hits! Don't you just love the internet? I just hope that Google is not pressured to change their search algorithm to point readers to some unrelated topic when doing this search. It has happened before, but I hope it doesn't happen again.

Thank you for listing these references! I can tell that they hit the nail on the head when a couple of talkbackers started attacking Holland instead of disputing the facts that you presented!

It may be that if we Israelis would accept that part of the blame for the last few decades of carnage is. in fact, ours, we would not be plagued with exaggerations by outsiders. But we are in a state of denial. It's all the fault of the Arabs, the terrorists, President Obama, whatever. We show to the world no expression of sorrow, no sense of responsibility, no interest in the suffering of our beaten enemy. Is it any wonder that others take the side of the loser?

the Hamas parent body,Arab style! No humanitariqans could give a damn. No call for arrest of any Syrian army officers by the peace lovers in Britain. Hama massacre From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Hama massacre Location Hama, Syria Date February 2, 1982 Attack type Scorched Earth Death(s) 7,000 to 40,000 The Hama massacre (Arabic: مجزرة حماة?) occurred on February 2, 1982, when the Syrian army bombarded the town of Hama in order to quell a revolt by the Muslim Brotherhood. An estimated 7,000 to 40,000 people were killed, including about 1,000 soldiers, [1] and large parts of the old city were destroyed.

It depends on the standards one applies to Israel - Western or Middle Eastern norms. The IDF has done terrible things - some they have admitted to and in the war of opinion and in demonising Israel these stories are always welcome news in the Arab world. But it doesn't change the fact that most other countries in the region have an even darker reputation when it comes to the slaughter of innocents, but since none of them are actual democracies, the native populations can cast on the blame on evil conspiracies and still keep their virginity. But the air bombardment of Tripoli in Lebanon was not done by a single person, neither the crimes af the Phalangues, the 20.000 dead in Homs,the gassing of kurds and massacres of shiites in Iraq, the atrocities in Algier, Libya and in the Iran-Iraq war almost one million defenseless Iranian children killed with a key to paradise around their neck. But still I expect Israel to do much better because it is supposed to be a western democracy.

If you want to establish moral equivalency between South Africa's actions against blacks and Israel's actions against Palestinians, many, many members of the international community will agree with you: that is actually a quite accurate and recognizable analogy. Well Done! Both should concern everyone with any sense of human decency.

made up lies.

a combat zone. Seems your human rights sensitivities stop at Hamas.Intersting dichotomy

helped destroy the inner soul of what's left of palestinians by making them once again helpless and not empowered to change their destination based on decisions they make. thank you! thank you!

It's a shame to see so much cowardice and malice from an ethnic group that contributes so royally otherwise. I've noticed among other things that jewish genes produce some of the most intense and focused people in our society. I observe those same people often going with insufficient challenge to those faculties, a dilemma spawned from the ills of our malfunctioning world today. This generates frustration and send the person obsessing on the world around them, a restlessness which becomes angst and eventually balloons into defensiveness and magnifies personal feelings of un-full-fill-men-t. a paradox. poor fellows. high strung and rallying behind a cause: a recipe for disaster. We all know someone who takes themselves too seriously.

If you would have read his latest book, you could have known, that Joe Sacco, like any other journalist - he entered Gaza because he had a press card - decided to look for the hard facts behind a reference to a massacre he found in Noam Chomsky's book "The Fateful Triangle". He interviewed many people who witnessed what the Israeli army did in Khan Younis and in Rafah in 1956. He even dedicates several pages to a critical assessment of human memory and its failings. He interviewed Israelis, including Mordechai Bar-On and lets people like Moshe Dayan speak. He went to look for Mark Gefen, who was an important Israeli eyewitness, but he had died. The result is an admirable feat of investigative journalism, but what makes this an outstanding book is that Sacco has the artistic gift to make a visual representation of the facts he gathered, of his thought processes, his emotions, and above all of the life of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, back in 1956 and now in 2009.

As is typical, for both the Palestinians and their naive Western supporters,slightly beneath the surface of what they are saying is a tremendous arrogance. In essence,what these apologists for the Palestinians are saying about the deaths caused by the Israeli incursion into Gaza, is that, although there were far fewer casualties than in any other comparable conflict, (even the contemporaneous one in Sri Lanka!)that the casualties in Gaza matter more than the others because these were Palestinians, who are Muslims, and therefore "entitled" and who are the darlings of the Kefiyuah wearing "progressives." If the conflict were anywhere else, say in Sub-Saharan Africa, and didn't involve Jews and Israel,we'd have seen it on page 27 not the front page, and the UN wouldn't have bothered to discuss it.

"your aim is to show we are what ?uncaring?sub human? michael is the subtext that you are better then we are?" Harzion, you're making up your own accusations! I absolutely do NOT think we're better than you. The history of Britain is full of brutal and occasionaly disastrous strategies. I'm just pointing out that any Israeli or pro-Israeli who endlessly complains about Hamas terror, should admit that ultimately Israel is partly responsible for it, by fostering the Palestinian Islamic movement in its early years. That's fair enough, isn't it?

from the perspective of the Jewish Slave Ship owners...the Jewish slave traders from Newport and Charleston? (Reference: The French Connection. Who Brought the Slaves to America.) http://www.iamthewitness.com/books/Walter.White/Who.Brought.the.Slaves.to.America.htm

and the denier can't handle the truth, well i dispute the holocaust, it wasn't just jews that were killed in auchwitz, many more other people died, 6 million in total, but 10% only were jews.

you refused to negotiate with the terrorists. we did talk to them and offered one thousand of their prisoners for one of ours. we care about our people and you do not seem pay yours much attention.

Scaring people isn't nice, especially when somebody occasionally gets hurt. Killing people, as Israel did in Gaza, is a different story. Please stop pretending there's any comparison between the two. What is truly amazing is the restraint shown by Palestinian counter-terrorists in Gaza, considering what innocent Palestinian civilians suffer every day at the hands of Israelis.

Ari, "American" doesn't need to visit Israel. There's lot's of people like him here in the States. They believe the world is a very simplistic place in which complicated issues can be boiled down to what is black and what is white. Nuance, context, and just about anything that goes against their simple world view is dismissed and reshaped to fit the categories they know. In the case of "American", he probably considers himself "progressive", which to him means that the "Zionist Project" was conceived and executed with malice, and everything he has chosen to open his eyes to has confirmed this. Even if he were to visit Israel, he would only see things through this ideological filter. I'm betting he and others like him are afraid of the alternative: that something can be not all bad, or all good. That the world doesn't fit into neat boxes with labels. I can't think of a way to stop this. If you or anyone else can, I'd like to hear it.

It doesn't seem to occur to American that Israel is a great success from the Jews' point of view and we're not out to let any imperialists like him come along and decide that Israel has to be disbanded. If Syrians,Egyptians and other Arabs don't like Israel that's their problem and has always been the problem.Israel's western,liberal democracy,advanced technology and successful economy put the Arabs to shame.They're jealous and their governments are scared of the comparison. If a Syrian cannot fathom a Jew from Brooklyn,he won't be able to fathom a non-Jew from Brooklyn,either.That may explain why American shouldn't be too quick to trust the Syrians.They think that they are far better than the Americans. THREE CHEERS FOR ISRAEL!!! Not imperialists plaything)

your aim is to show we are what ?uncaring?sub human? michael is the subtext that you are better then we are?care to exchange historical information of your actions and ours?would you like a list of comaprisons.say so and i will begin.

your nation has the record of having helped the germans deport the biggest proportion of its jewry.you deported one hundred and fifteen thousands.no european nation was able to do as much as you.

Lovely satire! I really did laugh aloud. Thanks. Puts it all in perspective when you think about it for one second. It pillories the pig-ignorance of most thoughtless commentators on the subject of the conflict in the Middle East. And the ease and anonymity with which responders 'have their say'. Brilliant! Thanks!

blacks" does that concern you at all ben alofs.just jews you say.you are only interested in documenting our actions?

israel of course denies the 1956 event you describe.rather more serious was the 1982 massacre in hama syria when the syrian regime killed twenty thousand of their own civilians. further back in time the dutch killed tens of thousands in indonesia.

the poor suffering palestinians.They can't get ahead in life because their f***ed up religion keeps them in the dark.Not to mention their religious leaders who are spewing venom every time their mouths are opened.I have a solution to the conflict.All ARABS get out of Israel.You are nothing but beggars and thieves.

Having been drowned in the Israeli 'story' of the conflict, for decades, I deserve to hear the Palestinian side, without the constant interference, the constant cry for 'balance'. Let me tell you- balance means giving the other side equal time. Israel has had it's turn at the microphone for far too long, time to give it to the Palestinian people. The Israeli voice has become dry, hoarse, and scratchy, not to mention shrill and irritating to the ear.

"the history of the Arab hatred for Jews and Christians is present in the Koran" I cannot believe what i'm reading here ! Your post is outrageous. Ignorance is the worst disease. Get yourself a doctor immediatly !

The revisions available at Amazon underline the conclusion that Israel is not the evil part, but that both parts are taken in a sort of catch 22. A strong lesson for many Israel-bashers, specially in the talkbacks here.Simplistic and idiotic persons who only see one side. Plenty of them never have been here. They simply write out of hate. They need a good, very very good therapist.

You may offer any excuse you wish, although you are just assuming what you have written is correct, and some readers may believe what you have written is relevant. I am not among them. It is not relevant, however, because no matter what you write, Israel is still in violation of articles of the 4th Geneva Convention for use of WP in areas in which civilians are present.

In the introduction to his book Joe Sacco tells us that he came across a reference to a massacre of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip in 1956 when reading Noam Chomsky's book "The Fateful Triangle" (p. 102, 1999 edition.) When Britain, France and Israel attacked Egypt in 1956, Israeli troops overran the Gaza Strip and embarked on a brutal house-to-house search for weapons and fedayeen. It became an orgy of plundering and killing. 275 Palestinians were killed immediately and another 111 Palestinian civilians in Rafah refugee camp. There were eye witness reports from UNTSO officers (General L. Burns) and Lt.-Col. R.F. Bayard of the US Army, head of the Gaza Observer force. Moshe Dayan confirms the looting in his diaries. It "caused much shame to ourselves". An Israeli eye witness account of the atrocities can be read in Al Hamishmar, April 27, 1982 (article by Mark Gefen). "Ben-Gurion himsef gave orders to stop the looting, murder and robbery."

I saw this reviewed on Uk's Newsnight Review programme recently. The interesting thing being that there were two Jewish and pro Israel reviewers taking part in the discussion that night. David Aaronovitch, broadcaster and journalist. He is a regular columnist for The Times and Michael Gove, Conservative MP and Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families. Both were effusive in their praise.

I saw this reviewed on Uk's Newsnight Review programme recently. The interesting thing being that there were two Jewish and pro Israel reviewers taking part in the discussion that night. David Aaronovitch, broadcaster and journalist. He is a regular columnist for The Times and Michael Gove, Conservative MP and Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families. Both were effusive in their praise.

... especially these unpleasant ones! The level of training and power of IDF is legendary, the patriotic devotion of its soldiers is out of question, but there are many cases IDF should be ashamed of... (Irgun massacres in Jaffa and Deir Yassin) you're not that innocent as you pretend to be! I love Israel but I get so irritated by propaganda manipulations and ignorance...

Come and visit this "failed" venture before shooting your mouth off!

"Israel never funded Hamas. Israel funded a charity organization BEFORE it developed a military wing and BECAME Hamas." I note you try to draw a distinction between Hamas's civilian work and its military work. I'll bet you didn't draw that distinction during Cast Lead. I'll bet you were happy to cheer the IAF on as it bombed civilian administration buildings. Why not just admit that Hamas is Israeli blowback? Just as the US helped create the Islamist movement in Afghanistan to fight the Soviets only to see it turn on them. So Israel helped create the Islamist movement in Palestine to counter Fatah, only to see it turn against Israel. Those are the facts aren't they?

I was right in the middle of a rant. Especially things could look bad if you were a Palestinian in Sabra and Shatila or somebody living in Gaza today. That's what literature does. It transports you to other places and minds. Some people like to think about things. I know I do. If something makes me think, I usually consider it art. If something makes me laugh, that's even better. You can only read or watch so much of this political stuff. It can be pretty depressing. People who don't like being depressed won't view it for the most part. I'm not worried about it. Except you know there's a thing about archetypes. There's an archetype like the story of David and Goliath. People are conditioned to root for David. If Hamas succeeds in making themselves David, then we are in trouble. Maybe.

those people who need propaganda journalism as they are incapable of forming their own ideas.

These graphic novels are digested mainly by young people ages 16 to 35. I think the sooner Israel and Egypt come up with a humanitarian solution that doesn't threaten Israel the sooner this sort of lit doesn't threaten the legitimacy of Israeli actions. It's going to be an open sore that the left can pick at until it's healed. I watched Waltz With Bashir. It didn't help Israel. It didn't make Israel safer. It made people involved in it feel better. It didn't offer a solution. I didn't like the massacre. I wouldn't have let the Phalangists get in there, especially after Gemayel was killed. It made Israel look just like anybody else in the region. Maybe the IDF won't let something like Sabra and Shatila happen again because of that massacre and even the movie but people just don't know how they're going to react until they are in the same situation. There are lots of situations where things look awful, especially if you are

i know this for a fact, i actually know an old jewish man who was a young boy when the arabs invaded palestine, i don`t wanna go into the gorry details, but they murdered THOUSANDS, and THATS why i`m here, these people were defenseless while th arab gangs where heavily armed, they had no chance in hell, none.Take Hebron as an example, or better east Jerusalem in 1948.Apprently wrong news get to Australia.

The Palestine Riots and Massacres of 1929 In the summer of 1929 the Arabs of Palestine initiated rioting and massacres against the Jewish population in several towns.December 30, 1947 ? 39 Jews were killed by Arab rioters at Haifa?s oil refinery January 16, 1948 ? 35 Jews were killed trying to reach Gush Etzion February 22, 1948 ? 44 Jews were murdered in a bombing on Jerusalem?s Rehov Ben-Yehuda February 29, 1948 ? 23 Jews were killed all across Palestine, eight of them at the Hayotzek iron foundry May 15, 1948 ? 127 Jews were massacred at Kfar Etzion, after 30 others had died defending the Etzion Bloc. During this timespan(November 29, 1947 to May 15, 1948), a total of 1,256 Jews had been killed, most of them civilians. These deaths were caused by Arab militias, gangs, terrorists and army units which attacked every place of Jewish inhabitation in Palestine. During this time, all Jewish villages in the Negev were attacked, and Jews had to go about the country in convoys. In every major city where Jews and Arabs lived in mixed neighborhoods the Jewish areas came under attack. This was true in Haifa?s Hadar Hacarmel as well as Jerusalem?s Old City. The above list does not include Jews killed and synagogues burned in Arab countries during the timespan in question. However, it is known thatmore than 100 Jews were massacred and synagogues were burned in Aleppo and Aden, driving thousands of Jews from their homes.

Actually i know of Jews who were murdered it is documented by the British they were defencless but were attacked by the arab hordes.The Jews had self defence units not offense units as you claim.IN most cases the British disarm,ed the Jewish self defense units.Another thing the Israeli army consists of Jews Muslims christians and atheists so your hatred of Jews shines like a beacon.In arab countrys the Jews were murdered by the mobs it was no different in what was then palestine.In no cases in the arab world did Jews murder in mobs innocents this is also true of Israel.The British did not trust the arabs as they lied and were never to be trusted.Your old man was delusional i am sure as for you what have you seen with your own eyes and have you ever been to eretz yisrroel.

Here we are 100 years from the inception of a project that resembles far more a colonialist venture than the real return of the Jews. At heart is the disfranchisement of the Palestinians and the non-acceptance of the Arabs of Jews as their communal neighbors. A Syrian cannot fathom a Jew from Brooklyn as his neighbor, and thirty years after the peace with Egypt, it is obvious to all that nothing ties a Jew from Poland to a peasant from the Nile delta. It is time to cease and desist this failed venture.

I've heard nothing but the Israeli side most of my life."

forget to mention the cause but concentrates on the effect ot make it look like it's always the arabs, just like the golan heights, menachim admitted the provocations later and others admitted the same, liar liar pants on fire.

i know this for a fact, i actually know an old palestinian man who was a young boy when israel invaded palestine, i don't wanna go into the gorry details, but they murdered hundreds, and THATS why i'm here, these people were defenseless while th jewish gangs where heavily armed, they had no chance in hell, none.

Israeli haters have no interest in truth, only hate.

"But of course you want to blame Hamas even though they have barely been around 20 years and Israel even funded them in the first place." Israel never funded Hamas. Israel funded a charity organization BEFORE it developed a military wing and BECAME Hamas. When are you going to start telling the truth, leb?

"Israelis seem to have a comunal amnesia as to who the victim is,.... and its not the Israelis" Go back to 1920 when the Arabs started massacring the Jews. It wasn't until the late 1930s when the Jews started fighting back. Did the attacks against the Jews ever stop?

Obviously not very much Kidnappings, Murder, Torture, White Phosphorus, Occupation, Cast Led, 2006 war, intifada killings and reprisals on civilians, Humanitarian Crises causing, Wet Ops, Forcing Palestinians to coerce with Shin Bet agents and human sheilds But of course you want to blame Hamas even though they have barely been around 20 years and Israel even funded them in the first place. Having a morality crisis?

"Use of WP against military targets where civilians are concentrated can be considered a war crime. " Those military targets were deliberately placed in civilian areas and were launching attacks against civilian areas. THAT is your war crime.

"Goldstone report was conducted for a reason." Absolutely, the UN's screwed-up, completely disproportionate obsession with Israel.

Try digesting that!

"In the case of the Gaza op, it is well known in the world that Israel killed many hundreds of innocent Palestinians" So I am guessing that the US killed ONLY the BAD guys in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Vietnam, etc. NO non-combatants, children whatsoever. And there are NO innocents among the HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of Japanese killed directly or indirectly by the 2 American atomic bombs. natallie, you MUST insist the US show Israel its fool-proof MAGIC formula.

Did I read this correctly? Are you kidding me? Let me know when you want to go visit Sderot. I will personally escort you on a tour. I have been there twice. You can practice hiding in a bomb shelter and speak to children and women who were maimed by the rockets that you say have no explosive power. Are you really serious when you make a statement like that? What planet are you on?

draw cartoons of the hamas men throwing fatah people off apartment rooftops in gaza. yeah. this garbage is part of the same strategy to cry 'Kosovo' and get the international community to intervene on the behalf of a weaker side. this is the same garbage that was attempted after operation defensive shield, and with the goldstone report. this is why israel must be ever more careful to discipline soldiers not to do stupid things like write graffiti in houses in gaza and harass people at checkpoints. these things happen, but there is no israeli strategy to 'massacre' palestinians.

In the past, Israel had a propaganda machine that was second to none. Sadly, Propaganda is only effective when people do not already know the truth. In the case of the Gaza op, it is well known in the world that Israel killed many hundreds of innocent Palestinians. This gives any story of Israeli violence in Gaza great credibility. It also dismisses any pro-Israeli account which minimizes Israels responsibility for the deaths.

mel gibson should buy the movie rights

firing amongst their civillians without uniforms. An apologist would ignore direct hits on Israeli schools and kindergartens by Hamas that led to Israeli incursion.

Its brilliant! "Very often he will pick angles in his art work that favor the perspective of the victim" Isnt that the job of the artist? didn't only Hitler and Stalin's artists portray the perpetrator as the hero? Israelis seem to have a comunal amnesia as to who the victim is,.... and its not the Israelis

I agree, not much can be discerned on TV. But some things can. As a former US Marine who has been in combat and seen white phosphorous(WP) used in the field, I guarantee you Israel used WP during the incursion into Gaza. I saw the shell explosions on TV. Israel has mislead the world about that. Use of WP against military targets where civilians are concentrated can be considered a war crime. According to UN observers on the scene at hospitals, 121 women and 288 children were killed by the IDF. Many many certified reports of deaths of civilians are available. It's hell to be biased or stupid.

It did, however, precede his tolerance of the massecre by Lebanese Fascists in the early 1980s. That Sharon allowed, or more correctly ordered, the murder of unarmed civilians captured in the Sinai in 1956 is beyond doubt. The military operations were a great victory, the war questionable. Israel served the needs of Britain and France. Britain and France failed everyone. The USA and Russia both opposed the war. . . Sharon, was the only man who dishonored Israel by his actions.

writers.? why have we let them win the poster war, the propaganda war, he word war, the slogan war. wars are not won only on the military battlefield.

So the whole world saw everything live on TV? You must have a unique cable company. The only thing that the wolrld saw were explotions, and that is it. What happened there depends who you ask. An unbiased person will listed to both sides and make inteligent and hones conclusions. A person that makes conclusions like yours just from what was shown on TV is either biased or stupid.

Goldstone report was conducted for a reason.Anyone STILL denying any wrong doings on behalf of Israel ( as well as Hamas) during Cast Lead in Gaza - is either a hypocrite or a coward/

How many pounds of TNT was dropped in Gaza? How many innocent Israelis were killed by Palestinian terrorists? So because Hammas rockets have not much explosive power, Israel is supposed to be watching them like fireworks? How much land was taken by Israel? How many wars did the Arab world launch against Israel in order to get 100% of Israeli land? So the Palestininas have been fighting for their own land? Why did they not fight for their own land before 1967, when they were "occupied" by Egypt and Jordan? This set of questions is a little more balanced than yours SJ!!!

If you chose to lie about the teachings of the Koran just to be a hate-monger, you should be ashamed of yourself. The Koran specifically condemns murder as the 2nd greatest sin. The 1st is non-belief in God. It says, "whosoever killed a human being ...it shall be as if he had killed all of mankind." The penalty for murder is execution. It also says that Jews and Christians, "people of the book," may also enter paradise. Koran 2:62, all who believe (Christians and Jews) will receive their recompense from their Lord. It explicitly forbids forced religious conversion. In the Koran, Allah instructs Muslims to show kindness and forbearance in dealings with unbelievers and 'Allah does not forbid you respecting those (non- believers) and that you show them kindness and deal with them justly; surely Allah loves the doers of justice." In war, the Koran instructs Muslims to deal mercifully with one?s enemies and no violence is to be extended to the aged, women, or children.

Everyone knows how moral and noble the IDF is. Anyone who says differently must be a Gentile. Or a self-hating Jew. Deranged, disgruntled.... Israel is guilty of nothing. Salaam/Shalom

The Sudanese continue to face genocide and ethnic cleansing. How many hundreds of thousands have been slain? How many millions have been forced from their homes? The "world" has been quite content to let it go on. Same thing with any of a dozen ethnic conflicts that have lasted for decades. Try pushing for definitive changes in the Congo. Try in Afghanistan. In Pakistan. In Yemen... oh wait, they did something there, they sent the last few hundred Jews packing... but just for their safety. The world has indeed heard the Palestinian argument, and it usually begins or ends with "boom". Change could come much more rapidly when that argument shifts towards peace.

Rather than writing his polemics in prose, Sacco takes on the visual imagry of the Graphic Novel. It's his POV, regardless of right or wrong, and his 'reality'. That makes it neither right or real, just his version. That said, Mr. Sacco should realize that his opinions, don't translate into reality no matter how hard he wishes it. It may be graphical, but its still a novel.

if these people insist on villianizing us and saying (in the words of bin laden) that we "kill millions of palestinians every day", then perhaps if we play along with it we might cause them to fear us. an antisemitics teenager once accosted my brother walking home from school. he said: "you killed jesus!" my brother replied: "if we killed your god, just imagine what we can do to you!"

There is nothing I loathe more than people who throw abuse at an author and his book, but have not even read it. I suppose that one cannot expect much more from the Zionist apologists here. I did however expect that Meir Pail, a military historian, would have taken matters more seriously. But apparently he did not read the book either. If he would have, he could have checked the references in Noam Chomsky's book. Joe Sacco's comic book tells us about a forgotten episode (one of so many) in the tragic history of the Palestininian people. He made the effort to go and visit Gaza and familiarize himself with its people and their struggle to survive. I know Gaza myself well and can only acknowledge that he gave a realistic portrayal of life in the Gaza Strip. This is Sacco's second book about the Palestinians and it gets glowing reviews everywhere (apart from Israel's disgruntled apologists), including in his home country the USA.

Art is a positive human invention only as long as it does not advance hatred, bigotry, racism, bias, lies, etc. Classical anti-Semitic caricatures no doubt played a role in enhancing hatred and racism. The Nazis cleverly used them. We are all better off with bigotry-free art. If Sacco thinks that his egoistic need for artistic expressions outweigh the value of truth and honesty, then it reflects more on him than anything else. Art iber ales????? Thank God Folman did not win the Oscar.

"Edward Said, the renowned literary scholar and Palestinian rights spokesman" - really, more accurate to refer to him as the pro palestinian opportunist/propogandist/liar. And this character who writes anti Israeli graphic novels - is it exactly news that such people exist?

The man wrote about actiond done by the IDF in Gaza, the whole world sew every thing live on tv it was realy graphic u Israelis can't deny it. it was beter for Israelis to shut down all Sats before starting the bloody cast lead so no one could puplish such a book!! what a shame any thing that acuses Israel of unlowfull action is fiction and propaganda, may God be mercifull on us all

Reality Check. u hav any idea how many pounds of TNT was dropped on GAZA last winter. do u know tat these rockets by Hamas hav no explosive power while Israel used white phosphorous which is against international law. do u kno how much land has been taken by Israel and how many violations Israel has made in last 60 years against international law. blockade of GAZA, settlements, illegal posts, E. Jerusalem all are against UN laws, USA and European policies... yet I see no sanctions or actions against Israel... do u or any reasonable person think it is messed up that a person living in Chicago his/her whole life can claim citizenship in Israel along with free housing, healthcare, security, education, food, land - while a palestinians have been fighting for their own land for 20 years and then Israeli courts decides to demo a house... dont u think its messed up that a settler is provided a machine gun by IDF for their security while a palestinian will shot immediately. think aobut it

now is the time to hear the Palestinians' side. The outside world has seen so much of the sufferings of the Gazans/Palestinians that now their sympathies are now directed to the Palestinins . Really the tide is changing , and let us hope that Bibi is aware of it, and change course too and work for a better future of the region. IF PM Netanyahu,sincerely/honestly do want negociations to start again, then Complete Freeze must be implemented QUICKLY, for the benefits of all in the REGION.

This rag is disgusting filth and its sick that this man profits of lies and the misery of others.

as well as the movie Birth of a Nation are true pictures of the history of the US south before, during and shortly after the Civil War. Sarcasm off. Frankly one can write what one pleases, but the history of the Arab hatred for Jews and Christians is present in the Koran (which acutually uses those terms for the infidels) And it is this hatred that spurred the Arab wars on Jews living in Israel since the late 1800s

Isn't it about time you proved this guy to be a well known antiSemite, holocaust denying, would be self-hating if he were a Jew, unstable, son of a concentration camp guard, Palestinian born in Egypt. He can't posibly be someone who is telling the truth can he.

when asked why he doesn't wish to hear the israeli side of events, he replies, "I've heard nothing but the Israeli side most of my life." well, that's great but it doesnt mean that the israeli side has been wrong, and that's precisely what's going on in this whole issue..israel defending herself has become inverted because its now fashionable to THINK that a too strong israel has fought and won again, this time against a "small" militia & that it must mean that they almost had no real reason for cast lead in the first place & that this is just another israeli agression..as if there were no basis for finally responding to hamas.. that is what he left wants to propagate..a real whitewashing and inversion of events leading up to israel's responding. maybe sacco should enlighten us on what rememdy he instead proposes to stop hamas from wanting to destroy israel and kill all jews? just look at the cover..its clearly a misrepresentation and a twisted use of nazi era imagery. shame on sacco.

And there will be plenty more to come. Sacco is absolutely correct that the Israeli narrative is all that is heard here. The whiners are simply scared that this will portray the Palestinians as anything other than evil terrorists and Israel as anything other than the poor defenseless chosen David.

From many comments accepted for publication here, it seem perfectly acceptable for people to criticize a book ("Gaza in Footnotes") or a report (the UN's Fact-Finding Mission in Gaza) without having read it ! Sacco's book is already out in Switzerland, I have read it and recommend its "Foreword" as required reading in order to criticize it intelligently.

i love the way Hollywood portrays native Americans,based on so called historical journalism.

Blood libels against Jews as well as books like The Protocols of Zion have been with us throughout our history. This is just another piece of hate mongering slander perpetuated by rabid Jew haters.

Here's another guy who hates the idea of a two state solution, and he's no different in this regard than the settlers. What role did Palastinian beligerence have in the destruction of the 1948 partition plan? Not my story says the author. What role does Palastinian hostility have to any Jewish state? Not my story says the author. What role does Palastinian intent to ultimately destroy the Jewish state either in stages or at once have? Not my story says the author. A two state solution along the lines of the Geneva accords would lead to a lot of happy, productive people, and the question is who is part of the problem and who part of the solution to get there. The author of these graphic novels is part of the problem, as is anyone who can't foster mutual respect. Guys like this stoke the flames because that's what sells, and then they walk away to some other project while people die

You have a great talent for exposing oppressors in this world. Your work is right up there with "Maus" by Art Spiegelman. Thank you for continuing your work in this region.

I take it that Sacco'll soon start work on a jolly work about the massacres going on in Yemen after Goldstone completes his report on the situation there.I presume that Goldstone will be asked to investigate. I wonder whose view they'll accept;the Yemeni rebel terrorists who use villagers as human shields,the Saudi Arabian armed forces who indiscriminately bomb them,or innocent civilians caught between them. Or maybe they'll find that to be off-limits because Israel isn't involved. THREE CHEERS FOR ISRAEL!!!

Any focus on a single incident without providing the appropriate historical context is misleading. A novel could be written about the "innocent" German civilians caught up in WW2. This graphic novel should not be considered journalism. It should be considered historical fiction. Maybe he can next write a novel about the young Israeli children who had their heads bashed in by "Palestinian" terrorists.

Sacco's work is just another form of typicla anti israel, anti semitc work that lacks any balance or reasons. Anyone can say a group has suffered and raw a comic book to reflect it. But the failure to take into account suicide bombers, rockets and other assorted terrorist activities just show the bias of the writer. Sacco is really a sac of crap ... and the truth is that garbage like this does nothing to help Palestinians becasue it infers that the garbage he writes is their reality and its not ... its the reality that is made for them by biased writers like this joke ...

The Palestinians have lost all of their land to a colonialist enterprise. Now they are asking to get back 22% of their original land and that is still too much to ask. Give and take? Who has taken most in this story, Arnold?

Joe Sacco is a genius - his "comic" strips are brilliant renderings of life under stress.

then you have to tell the whole story. Has anyone ever asked why after more than 60 yrs the Palestinians plight takes 1 step forward and then 3 steps back. Peace agreements are a give and take road to the finish. When Palestinian leaders are willing to give as much as they want to take then peace will be possible. This part of the story is something that is lacking in ALL pieces of art and literature involving the Iaraeli-Palestinian conflict.

It's just I very much believe in getting across the Palestinian point of view," he said. Really? Even if it's not true? Now what kind of journalism is THAT called? Flawed?

I want to create a comic book about all the good things black slavery accomplished then, you know, to address it from the white landowners point of view.