It’s time to stop demonizing Israel
The flood of hypocrisy and bad faith that seems to have just been waiting across the media worldwide for the Mavi Marmara is by no means acceptable.
By Bernard-Henri LévyOf course, my position hasn’t changed. As I said the day it happened, during a fierce debate in Tel Aviv with one of Benjamin Netanyahu’s ministers, I continue to find the manner in which the assault against the Mavi Marmara and its flotilla was effected off the Gaza coast to be “stupid.”
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French philosopher Bernard Henri-Levy |
If I’d had any remaining doubt, the inspection of the seventh boat − carried out without a trace of violence Saturday morning − would have convinced me there were other ways Israel could have operated to have kept the tactical and PR trap set by the provocateurs of Free Gaza from snapping shut, and with blood spilled.
That said and repeated, the flood of hypocrisy, bad faith and, ultimately, disinformation that seems to have just been waiting for this pretext to flow into the breach and sweep across the media worldwide − as is the case every time the Jewish state slips up and commits an error − is by no means acceptable.
The catchphrase being trotted out ad nauseum refers to the blockade imposed “by Israel.” The most elementary honesty, however, requires one to make clear that this blockade has been undertaken by both Israel and Egypt, conjointly, along the borders of the two countries that share frontiers with Gaza, and with the thinly disguised blessing of all the moderate Arab regimes. Saying the blockade has been imposed by Israel alone can only be described as disinformation. The moderate Arab regimes, of course, are only too happy to have someone else contain the influence of this armed extension, this advanced base and, perhaps one day, this aircraft-carrier of Iran in the region.
The very idea of a “total and merciless” blockade (Laurent Joffrin’s June 5 editorial in the French daily Liberation) “taking hostage the humanity [of Gaza]” (former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin in Le Monde on the same date) also constitutes disinformation. We mustn’t tire of reminding others: the blockade concerns only arms and the material needed to manufacture them. It does not prevent the daily arrival, via Israel, of between 100 and 120 trucks laden with foodstuffs, medical supplies and humanitarian goods of every kind. Humanity is not “in danger” in Gaza, and it is a lie to state that people are “dying of hunger” in the streets of Gaza City.
It is debatable whether or not a military blockade is the right course of action to weaken and, one day, bring down the fascislamist government of Ismail Haniyeh. But it is an indisputable fact that the Israelis who man the checkpoints between the territories night and day are the first to make the elementary but essential distinction between the regime (that they seek to isolate) and the population (which they are careful not to confuse with the regime, and in particular not to penalize as, once again, aid has never stopped passing into Gaza).
Disinformation: the utter silence, throughout the world, about Hamas’ incredible attitude now that the flotilla has carried out its symbolic duty − to trap the Jewish state and relaunch, as never before, the process of demonization. In other words, now that the Israelis have carried out their inspection and brought the aid cargo to those for whom it was supposedly intended, Hamas’ attitude in blocking that aid at Kerem Shalom checkpoint, allowing it to slowly rot, is met with silence.
To hell with any merchandise that has passed through the hands of Jewish customs! Chuck out the “toys” that brought tears to the eyes of good European souls, but became impure after spending too many long hours in the Israeli port of Ashdod! Gaza’s children have been used as nothing more than a human shield for the Islamist gang who took power by force three years ago, or cannon fodder or media vignettes. The children’s games or their wishes are the last thing anyone in the Strip worries about, but who says so? Who shows the slightest indignation?
Liberation recently ran an awful headline − “Israel, Pirate State” − which, if words still mean anything, can only contribute to the delegitimization of the Jewish state. Who will dare explain that, if there is a hostage-taker in Gaza, one who coldly and unscrupulously takes advantage of people’s suffering and, in particular, that of the children − in sum, a pirate − it is not Israel but Hamas?
Laughable, but given the strategic context, catastrophic disinformation was clearly seen in the speech given in Konya, in central Turkey, by a prime minister who throws in prison anyone who dares to evoke the genocide of the Armenians in public, but who has the nerve, there, before thousands of fired-up demonstrators yelling anti-Semitic slogans, to denounce Israeli “state terrorism.” Still more disinformation: the lament of the useful idiots who, before Israel did, fell into the clutches of these strange “humanitarians” who, in the case of the Turkish IHH, are Jihad enthusiasts, anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish apocalyptical fanatics, both men and women − some of whom, just days before the incident, expressed their wish to “die as martyrs.” (The Guardian, June 3; Al Aqsa TV, May 30).
How can a writer of the calibre of Sweden’s Henning Mankell allow himself to be taken advantage of this way? When he tells us he is thinking of forbidding the translation of his books into Hebrew, how can he really forget the sacrosanct distinction between a stupid or wrong-headed government and the masses of those who do not identify with it? How can a chain of cinemas (Utopia) in France decide to cancel the release of a film, “A Cinq heures de Paris,” in the same way, simply because its writer, Leonid Prudovsky, is an Israeli citizen?
Finally, the battalions of Tartuffes who regret that Israel is declining the demand for an international inquiry are disinformers as well. The truth is, once again, much simpler and more logical: What Israel is refusing is an inquiry requested by the UN Human Rights Council, where those great democrats − the Cubans, Pakistanis and Iranians − reign. What Israel does not want is a procedure of the kind that resulted in the famous Goldstone report, commissioned after Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. The five judges on that sympathetic commission − four of whom had never made a secret of their militant anti-Zionism − wrapped up 575 pages of interviews of Palestinian fighters and civilians, conducted under the watchful eye of Hamas political commissioners (an absolute and unprecedented heresy in this kind of work), in a matter of mere days.
Such a botched inquiry would amount to a masquerade of international justice, something Israel simply cannot stand for. Its conclusions would be known in advance and would only serve to haul, as usual and perfectly unilaterally, the region’s sole and unique democracy into the defendants’ dock.
One last word. For a man like me, someone who takes pride in having helped to conceive, with others, this kind of symbolic action (the boat for Vietnam; the march for the survival of Cambodia in 1979; various and sundry anti-totalitarian boycotts and, more recently, the deliberate violation of the Sudan border to break the blockade hiding the perpetration of massacres in Darfur) − in other words, for a militant of humanitarian interference and all the media fuss that goes with it, this pathetic saga has something of a caricature to it, a gloomy grimace of destiny.
But this is all the more reason not to give in. All the more reason to reject this confusing of genres, this inversion of values. All the more reason to resist this hijacking of meaning, that places the very spirit of a policy conceived to counter the intent of barbarians at their service.
Destitution of the anti-totalitarian dialectic, its imitations and its reversals. Confusion of an era when we combat democracies as if they were dictatorships or fascist states. This maelstrom of hatred and madness is about Israel. But it also concerns, as we should be well aware, some of the most precious things established in the movement of ideas in the last 30 years, especially on the left, and these are thus imperiled. A word to the wise is sufficient.
Translated from the French by Janet Lizop.
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Hamas takes advantage of the fact its people are suffering? Yes they do but how is Israel not doing the same? While Palestinians are suffering humiliation and poverty, Israel is taking advantage of its position to continue to undermine peace and build settlements on land that is supposed to be exchanged for peace. As for this inquiry, all you have done is criticize the Goldstone report because some of the judges/investigators were anti-zionist but how is Israel's own inquiry legitimate then considering many if not all the judges will be pro-zionist? As for the items now waiting for delivery into Gaza; the mention of toys is interesting because as far as I am aware, Israel does not allow toys into Gaza as well as other items that seem to be banned simply because they add to people's enjoyment of life. You talk of Hamas harming its people yet Israel is doing just the same to them. Banning chocolate along with other foodstuffs that are deemed too "luxurious" for the Palestinians of Gaza. Hypocrisy indeed! In turn the attempt to tone down hypocrisy has just created more of it.
Bernard-Henri Levi too busy being a good Jew to see Israel for what it is.
It seems that more and more people around the world are blaming "Jews" for the actions of the Israeli government.
Finally a lefty that I can agree with his view! It is high time for the left, and particularly for the Jewish left, to stop being USEFUL IDIOTS. It is time to regain moral credibility and serve a constructive purpose for the betterment of the world.
....to justify Israel crimes, as usual
Its time for Israel to stop assassinations,stop killings on the high seas, and stop collective punishment of an entire people. Its time for Israel to stop pointing fingers at other nations short comings to avoid its own moral obligations.
For as long Israeli's deign to tag as "terrorist" such as those who suggest a boycott of Israel, the cries of demonisation will fall on deaf ears. For as long as terms like "self defence" are used to describe the actions of commandos boarding a ship in international waters, the cries of hypocrisy will fall on deaf ears. For as long as Israel counts the calories of Gazans with respect to food aid, the demonisation of anyone that supports the Gazans will fall flat. It is truly the case that NEITHER side has a partner for peace because neither side IS a partner for peace. Your crocodile tears don't move me.
The israeli government and the Hamas organisation are likewise evil and antihumanitarian.For both are oppressive, terrorist and military means legitimate. For boith it's just: victory or death. There is no rational action but just emotional behaviour . Both parties are DANGEROUS FOOLS.
Bernard-Henri Levy... un voix de raison. Finally, a voice based in reason. How quickly people forget that in Sharmel el-sheik... the west promised billions of dollars for Gaza reconstruction. The only stipulation was for Hamas to renounce war and aggression. But Hamas can’t possibly adhere to universal norms... their slogan is Jihad or martyrdom and they rule Gaza with an iron-fist. A Nigerian poet laureate said recently... there are military juntas that don’t espouse to ‘I’m right ... you’re wrong’. Instead they embrace the notion ‘I’m right... you’re dead’. He was speaking about religious zealots like Hamas and Islamic Jihad... that have highjacked logic, democracy or Islam and turned it upside-down.
To claim Israel made a mistake when the whole process was orchestrated by Hamas sympathizer is a cheap, easy shot - unless you can propose a solution. When someone acts you can blame him with 20-20 hindsight. To provide non-constructive criticizim is simply cheap talk. Better intelligence- intelligence is not 100% (see Iraq), should have gone Riot gear first (would have been TV news sensation), Ram the ship (TV news sensation), etc ,etc - Please enlighten us , given the problem of weapon control - how would you have done it perfectly and planned perfectly and executed perfectly - or please or 'wise one'.
Israel can't hide behind excuses & propoganda anymore. Times up, public opinion is turning from the victims of the nazis, to the victims of the Israeli's. israel borders are defined by UNGA res 181, from within which, the arab refugees have right of return or compensation. The remainder of Palestine including is occupied territory, to which Israel has no land rights.
Bravo! Thank Mr.Levy ! It could not be better expressed with these words...demonizing Israel...you article is so true hope that it will open eyes all over the world!!
Mr You wrote "...We mustn’t tire of reminding others: the blockade concerns only arms and the material needed to manufacture them..." It seem a atatement from the Israeli goverment propoganda kit, maybe you should start talking to the Israeli human rights group for a change an you get some real information. Group ike Gisha that put a long list of Prohibited Items Prohibited Items to Gaza small list: heaters for chicken farms musical instruments size A4 paper writing implements notebooks newspapers toys
You're just pissed that the world is finally seeing Israel for what it is.
Yes, don't forget we can only be victims/ But maybe if we stop acting like demons...
Henri, Philosophers are full of crap,weirdos,dorks and standoffish because they think they can answer everything. In your case you are a babbling fool trying to please and lift the morals of your Far Right Wing friends while they are picking what's left of their shattered spin and crumpled tail.
Just a pity that I NEVER hear these statements on the international forums where I see Mr. Levi appear. There he always is very 'tepid.
It is the so called christians who are doing these demonic acts - they know better about the demons. I know that one day they will have to answer to their GOD and they are going to perish the whole lot
Perhaps Esther will now have more consideration for a renown top intellectual, who is also acting on his beliefs, than on the unknown me who tried so many times to point out to her, and others, the falsity of Judge Goldstone's report....a very important subject in relation to Israel's standing in the world.
What does it take for everyone to see what Edrogan cooked up? He is the one responsible having the IHH on the Marmara, that buster had it all set up. hope Israelis had their fill of Turkey.
Why is it Mr. Lévy, that you make your comments in a Israeli newspaper, rehearsing facts in the ears of those who know them first hand, - all that, while you grant your Jewish and literary credentials in the European arena to an organization that undermines Israel's interests in much of the same diversion you lament over in your writeup.
Excellent article. Cleverly writ, well balanced. A great photo of the author, too (where are the credits, BTW)
Yes, Hamas' ideology is bad, and does not fit at all into the convictions of a true Western liberal. Period. But so is right-wing Israel, and their right-wing buddies overseas with their through and through stupid and dangerous ideology of expansive Zionism, people for whom Mr. Levy has only some "softie-softie" criticism left, if at all. Unfortunately he fails to mention in his article, that Hamas (since their election victory) has now be boycotted and shunned by the International community for 4 years, while right- wing Israel has been left off the hook until recently. Now Mr. Levy is very unhappy that right-wing Israel is also getting its fair share of the blame, he finds that unacceptable. Which puts him into exactly the same corner with most of the Democratic Jewish Congressmen in the U.S. (Schumer, Weiner, Ackerman, Boxer etc....). They are all super-liberals until the topic becomes Israel. Then they all of a sudden change into die- hard hawks, serving either as apologists for right-wing Israel (Mr. Levy) or even as supporters of the most extreme Israeli governement of all times (Schumer, Weiner, Boxer etc....). And that's why I think the term "Jewish pseudo- liberals" is absolutely adequate here.....
I believe Hamas owes you. You are providing this camouflage for Hamas by killing civilians. You may have security concerns. You have to act. However, you have to be more respectful to lives of civilians.
stop distortion israel ! Israel must stop killing children ... Stop the occupation of an entire people .. To lift the siege on Gaza .. stop the Occupation and theft of Palestinian land ... Must give the Palestinian people their legitimate rights ... the israeli actions and her ugly & racist policy, this is what demonizing Israel, Monsieur lévy .... c'est mieux pour vous de rester romancier.
Bernard Henri Levy, excellent assesment as usual, please continue
only a stupid man says what Levy is saying. We do not need to be philosphers in order to acknowldge the truth.
mr, levy we know of your jewish roots and this identity need not be in conflict with humanity.your demonisation of the other is grotesque and lays bare your bias.your premise that israel is right in demolishing palestinian homes shooting down women and children in order to steal their land is pathetic.your morality is the morality of a murderer who justifies his action on wrongs done to him by someone else.you would be a good apologist for the nazis if you were born a few decades earliar
I am delighted to see that people like Levy, Dershowitz, and others come for the defense of Israel overseas, at times when world government have gone silence. Kol Hakavod, because my own lobbying activities as a student in the USA, were confabulated by being an Israeli. The question is: what can be done to change the French FM, EU oficialls, and American politicians views/minds about Israel? It is not enough just to write about the great injustice of deminization and delegitimization doen to israel, but we also need to find ways to affect leaders' policies and actions in this regard!
who is still not able to write properly in english by himself and still need a translator.... ohohoh...
Thank you for this article.
Funny how a pseudo-intellectual like BHL is so respected in Israel... Should be clear that BHL has absolutely no credit in Europe and I can say not even in France, just a looser... Israel should better choose is supposed allies and support if it wants to be credible... BHL should better write about the situation in French cities and the problems between French and their population of North African origin rather than blindly supporting Bibi and Co.
MY CONGRATULAION ! The reason is arriving to this newspaper.SHALOM!
being jew,born and living in fear in arab country,then living in france constantly hidding my religion by fear to get fired from my job ,now living in america i dont feel any more secure,obamas passivity during the gaza crisis is just to buy the jewish votes the entire world starting with obama is against israel,look how he humiliated nethanyahu
All good points. But Israel stands alone in the world in that it is a European colonial outpost that has been granted special dispensations and advantages by the Western world. Israel is far from being the worst abuser in the world of human rights, but it is a major abuser. Part of the reason that the discussion around Israel has become so heated is because so many of Israel's defenders try to denigrate its critics with cries of "anti-Semitism" when, in fact, people simply wish to say what is true. That resentment of being cowed into silence in the face of obvious injustice has helped to nurture a backlash against Israel.
Nothing can explain the isolation of Israel in the world media and public opinion, the complete disregard of atrocities done by Hamas, Iran, N.Korea, Sudan and yes, its time to say it, Turkey compared to a universal outcry against Israeli soldiers shooting their way out of a lynch, the boycott of Israeli films and students (see the Oxford university case) but not of Iranian films or students, but pure, simple, and old-fashioned Anti-Semitism. The Jews are just not allowed to defend themselves and better die than kill. In what way is that different, one should wander, from the old myth that 'Jews killed Jesus', when in fact it was the Romans who killed this guy, a Jew, with fantasies? It is only to substantiate a fable such as that that one needs a tangible culprit. The same is true today: no one in her right mind can really support the state terrorism that is being perpetrated by Sudan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and so they turn their gaze to a much more convenient and historically susceptible target: the Jews. Thank you Bernard-Henri Lévy for joining the rational camp.
Finally, very well said but the Moslems and lefties will continue beating their drums and spread their venom.
The people of the world will respond to your message if Israel stops its killings innocent people in GAZA , in international waters and in the west bank.
You mistake "disinformation" for outright antisemitism. These people, all over the globe, hate the Jews. Wake up Israel.
It's time for Israel to stop demonizing itself. What Israel has done is to show the world the true character of its leaders. No respect for international law, no respect for human rights, only selfish narcisstic attitude.
As is his style, Levy wields words as if he has direct access to a higher moral authority denied to his peers. Dominique de Villepin and Laurent Joffrin are purveyors of disinformation, Henning Mankell has been "taken advantage of" (which makes him less diabolical but more of a simpleton), etc. Only the all-knowing B-H.L can show us the way. While he scolds us about "elementary honesty" in not holding recognizing Egypt's own blockade (okay, we will assert that it is just as vile as Israel's), he betrays that he has not been anywhere near a checkpoint in Israel. He bludgeons us with a bald untruth or worse when he states categorically that "it is an indisputable fact that the Israelis who man the checkpoints between the territories night and day are the first to make the elementary but essential distinction between the regime (that they seek to isolate) and the population ..." What? Israeli forces do not believe in collective punishment? B-H L, forget about Gaza, take the easy way. Just rent a car in Bethlehem with Palestinian license plates, drive to Hebron through all the checkpoints you need to, and take a walk through town where Baruch Goldstein went berserk. If you survive this and make it without your conscience seared, you will nevertheless start making more sense than the drivel you write. In the meantime, you sound just like those idiots you hold in contempt, but one who has never bothered to put themselves in an ordinary Palestinian's shoes.
to see other people call a spade space. If you want to put lipstick on pig, go ahead. You're on your own, the descent peoples of the world are calling barbaric acts committed by a bunch of zealots, barbaric piracy because it is the truth.
"We mustn’t tire of reminding others: the blockade concerns only arms and the material needed to manufacture them." Prohibited Items under the blockade sage cardamom cumin coriander ginger jam halva vinegar nutmeg chocolate fruit preserves seeds and nuts biscuits and sweets l potato chips peas gas for soft drinks dried fruit fresh meat plaster tar wood for construction cement iron glucose industrial salt plastic/glass/metal containers industrial margarine tarpaulin sheets for huts f fabric (for clothing) flavor and smell enhancers fishing rods various fishing nets buoys ropes for fishing nylon nets for greenhouses hatcheries and spare parts for hatcheries spare parts for tractors dairies for cowsheds irrigation pipe systems ropes to tie greenhouses planters for saplings heaters for chicken farms musical instruments size A4 paper writing implements notebooks newspapers toys razors sewing machines and spare parts heaters horses donkeys goats cattle chicks
Another preacher to the choir. Thus from a guy that called the IDF the "most democratic army" there is no such thing as a democratic army
Dear Bernard Henri-Levy. You're probably a very sympathic guy, but it seems to me you're writing a lot of stupidity. It's obivious for me Israel is in a very difficult position in the Middle East. This country has a lot of enemies there and has to protect his citizens, but yours stupidities don't help this country. Please, next time take more time to think and come with better arguments, arguments that help really this country. There other jew who more intelligent than you. Don't waste your time. Take care of your children, give them a lot of love, so they will be good and happy jews who will later help Israel better than you. I don't like to be unpolite, but I say you this: please shut up
I think sitting a far your judgement might be clouded by the suffering of the people in Gaza. I would request that you spend a month there and judge foryourself what 50% unemployment does... ask kids who are routinely rounded by the IDF forces for throwing stones bcs they have no other source to use their youthful energy and maybe then just maybe you might be able to provide an unbiased view to the world....
The international press has shown how many Israelis demonstrated AGAINST Israel in Tel Aviv. This has weaken even more the israeli position. I ´ve TRUSTED and SUPPORTED Israel since the very beginning. No regrets! I dont think its a question of being left, centre or right. Its a question of defending Israel
It is getting more and more interesting to read Mr. Levy on this issue. He declared his confidence on the legitimacy of the way Israeli forces handled the situation in his article appeared on the first day of the incident. He did so not only without being well-informed about the "tragedy" (as Mr Obama said) but he did so even without reading any single report. It is interesting to see how a "thinker" is guided based solely on his instincts. It is as tragic as the unfortunate developments since such an attitude leads us nowhere yet transforms us into fanatics supporting an idea dogmatically. Now, his new article appears and it is as "laughable" (as he refers to speech of others) as his previous article. He compares the 7th ship with the others. Yet it seems that he forgets (if not ignores completely) the way Israeli forces handled the 7th ship. The method they employed was drastically different and humane. Instead of pointing guns to people (you can still argue if people are civilians or terrorists or primates or what-so-ever) in the middle of night and sparking a deadly tragic fight, they simply followed the 7th ship calmly and boarded the ship in daylight. The method ultimately determines the essence in such cases. What good would you expect when you decide to land a unit of commandos to a ship in the middle of night using ropes from helicopters. With the 7th ship, Israeli forces appear to converge to a commonsense and this needs to be emphasized. Personally I don't expect Mr. Levy wants (or even can) analyze the difference. Yet, it hurts to see a "thinker" becomes a fanatic. A fanatic, who says, who writes.. before he thinks, he evaluates, he gets information. For example, who did Mr. Erdogan put into prison? He claims that he did, and I wonder who is this unfortunate person? Once again, the basic rule for being respectable is not to speculate, not to assume.., first we need to get information, read, think...
Merci !
I agree with the analysis of this sorry saga bar one issue: Can Israel rightfully claim to be a Democracy and thus expect the solidarity of other Democracies? I believe by now it is accepted by all honest intellectuals, that the State of Israel is a Ethnocracy with equal rights granted only to those of Jewish descent. As long as Israel does not accept the claims of those she dispossessed, those very dispossessed will not accept Israels claims for legitimacy. The only resolution to this is a one state solution with equal rights for all as equal citizens in front of the law and equal claims to the land. I won't hold my breath waiting for that, but then again, look at what happened to the Berlin Wall....
The European left is really nuts. Doesn't really leave us with much faith in humanity. But just another small portion of history of European excesses.
What Mr Levy and other stauch supporters of Israel (Charles Krauthammer comes to mind) fail to realize is that this disinformation/propapanga is common place on both sides. Of course, they will point out said disinformation when it supports their point of view (the "Israeli blockade" for example), but swallow it whole when it doesn't. It is ridiculous to claim that "there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza" when there are mountains of evidence to the contrary. It is ridiculous to reject the Goldstone report as being biaised on the grounds that it relies almost exclusively on interviews with Palestinian fighters and civilians when Israel refused to cooperate and allow civilians and members of the IDF to be interviewed. Disinformation/propaganda should be condemned regardless of it's origin. By only pointing out disinformation on one side of the issue, Mr Levy falls into the same "bunker mentality" trap (aptly described by Carlo Strenger) which currently undermines sound statesmanship and policy making in Israel.
... should play well for Strenger's "liberal" zionists.
Pathetic attempt at apology for massacre, professor. Your students won't buy it and no one important in the academic community is impressed by anything else that dribbles out of your mouth. But thank you for securing your place in the annals of scholarly apologetics for Israeli. Yes, we are keeping track.
We will no doubt be seeing Bernard-Henri Levy tonight on Charlie Rose, fomenting for the blockade and defending Israel to the hilt. I always wondered why he was on Rose's show so much .... now I know why.
I was for many years a strong supporter of Israel, but this and many preceding actions such as the foul use of collective punishment, the massacres of civlians in far greater numbers then the so called terrorists have convinced me Israel is a morally bankrupt state deserving no supoort. Whenever Israel commits another attrocity, any agency pointing it out is labeled as biased. That is simply no longer believeable for any logical person. I know of not one of the laughable inquiries into its action by Israel that has any credibility at all, they always find themselves blameless. Propaganda of this nature harms rather than helps your cause.
Lévy presents several good point that need to be addressed by the international community. For example is point on disinformation on how Egypt is included in the blockade of the Gaza Strip. Also his point about Hamas not allowing the goods into Gaza (which is despicable) and the point about separating the people from the government who they do not support. However his article seems a bit quixotic and his intense dislike of the Goldstone report of interesting. Mere days does not constituent three months, which was actually taken to gather data about Operation Cast Lead. The report specifically addresses who is involved in Hamas and the potential that not every single sole in Gaza is involved with Hamas. Lastly, Israel as a democratic state? I don't think so. The lack of a constitution of peculiar, and the strong ethno-religious ties of the majority population and the complexities of how religion now plays an important role in Israel needs to be addressed. The desire to be Jewish and democratic is contradictory in nature, and needs to be addressed also.
World is change. People want peace. They don't need any blockade nor military operation for humanitarian effort.
Israel spreads hate and leaves behind blood and bodies whenever it goes. It deserves much more than just being demonized. Hopefully, one day the Middle East will have the necessary weapons to deal with Israel and bring peace to the region. There has been only conflict, death, and destruction since the inception of Israel.
I thought that you had good intelligence before i read this article. You come across as nothing more than an instrument of a propaganda machine. You are justifying piracy, murder and more importantly the wholesale prosecution of people. You should be ashamed of yourself unless your message was totally lost in translation.
On the occasions that Israel "slips up",many hundreds of civilians usually die. Over 3000 in the past four years. This guys is biased and his observations are trivial. he doesn't address the main point. Palestinian, and Lebanese, and other Arab lives are at least as valuable as those of Israeli Jews. Israel doesn't think so and this guy obviously agrees with them.
I may have misread the article as to who was blocking the toys.
Israel delegitimises itself and ultimately has no one else to blame. And in the process legitimises Hamas. Through a thoroughly stupid policy of collective punishment strengthens the hand of Islamic fundamentalists, who the wider world does not support. Israel's greatest enemy is Israel's own stupidity. Only the stupid give their enemies a stick to beat them with. BHL should run off and enjoy his family money.
You might complain that Hamas uses children but you add to the abuse. Sixty years of war has hardened the hearts of both people.
Aside from the UN commission there was also a proposal that included the US, Turkey, and Israel which Israel also declined. Is too too unfair BHL?
Lordy what's this loony on about. Must be a botched translation.
blockade not just about arms.Is cement a weapon ? And coriander ? And pasta that at a certain time was also banned ? The blockade does want to squeeze the civilian population and turn it against Hamas. It is not about arms.
and see if they will publish. I bet that the majority of them will not, because the goal is already achieved and Israel and the Jews are demonized and dehumanized.
Hamas is very bad,but is it moral to keep the people of Gaza living like that.
Now he is trying to put a good face on a bad game.
If the shoe fits !
I think the UN has a very different view on the amount of Aid being allowed into Gaza. Who do we believe, UN inspectors or Israeli's. Israel has shown time and time again it can not be trusted and has very little if any regard for the lives of Palistians. So who do YOU believe ?
It is good practice in humility to admit our mistakes and move on denial will do what termite does to a house ,it will undermine the very foundation of our beliefs
Don't give up hope Israel, many of us refuse to except Israel as the cartoonish villian you have been made out to be this past week. I wish more of your friends had the command of reason and common sense that Mr. Bernard-Levi evidently has.
The hardline Israelis saw a chance to torpedo the peace talks. The topic was final status of Jerusalem and the Israelis chose status quo - war- over sharing Jerusalem with the world.
I could not agree more. C'est tres bien ecrit!
"Destitution of the anti-totalitarian dialectic, its imitations and its reversals. Confusion of an era when we combat democracies as if they were dictatorships or fascist states. This maelstrom of hatred and madness is about Israel." - Bernard-Henri Lévy Psuedo-intellectual flatulence. There is no way that all criticism of Israel is 'hypocritical.' Nor is there any anti-totalitarian dialectic. The concept that is any 'Confusion of an era when we combat democracies as if they were dictatorships or fascist states', is total twaddle. Democracy may lead to dictatorship or fascism as Hitler proved in Germany almost 80 years ago. But Bernard-Henri Lévy is simply dissembling to pretend that criticism of Israel is rooted in such flatulent psuedo-intellectualism as his article implies. To dissemble is to hide under a false appearance. Some criticism of Israel IS dissembling. Those who simply hate Jews and Israel are more than eager to use such idiocy as the flotilla attack to disparage Israel. This does not make anyone who criticizes idiocy an anti-Semite. Of course, my position hasn’t changed. As I said the day it happened, during a fierce debate in Tel Aviv with one of Benjamin Netanyahu’s ministers, I continue to find the manner in which the assault against the Mavi Marmara and its flotilla was effected off the Gaza coast to be “stupid.” - Bernard-Henri Lévy I see, then he has proven his position flattulent.
Henri-Levy is full of confidence and arrogance that somehow he believes whatever he matters should be important. It is amazing to me that someone like him who is basically Zionist whose moral compass is so tilted claims to have any authority. Why does anyone other than Jewish Zionists even pay attention to him. I have yet to hear anything coherent from Henri-Levy that makes any sense except from the Zionist perspective.
Sorry nothing rang true here. To call the flotilla massacre merely 'stupid' , to assert that the commandos were 'provoked', to deny that there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, to demean the Goldstone Report - you are just repeating the usual lies and distortions of the Israeli govt and its IDF. You are not doing your professional reputation any favours with this article.
Murder is called an error now? Black is white and white is black. Nothing new under the Sun.
Demonizing? Israel attacked in international sea to people unarmed and killed 9. Israel demonize itself by pirating by killing the civilians.
israel is all that nicely. you mean its time to stop occupation? yes
The demons are not in Israel--they are surrounding Israel. And, they are aided and abetted by the demonized left. Can you spell sedition?