Let us see if we can give you the ICRC and Israel in a nutshell:
ICRC refuses to let Magen David Adom join for decades; relenting only when they agree to use a “diamond” encapsulating the Star of David.
ICRC has yet to gain access to either the Israeli prisoners held in Lebanon, or the prisoners held in Gaza.
ICRC gets access to Palestinian prisoners on the asking. Pretty much any time.
And then the ICRC manages to slam Israel in a “private” report that just happens to get leaked to the New York Times.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, in a confidential report about East Jerusalem and its surrounding areas, accuses Israel of a “general disregard†for “its obligations under international humanitarian law — and the law of occupation in particular.â€
The committee, which does not accept Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem, says Israel is using its rights as an occupying power under international law “in order to further its own interests or those of its own population to the detriment of the population of the occupied territory.â€
With the construction of the separation barrier, the establishment of an outer ring of Jewish settlements beyond the expanded municipal boundaries and the creation of a dense road network linking the different Israeli neighborhoods and settlements in and outside Jerusalem, the report says, Israel is “reshaping the development of the Jerusalem metropolitan area†with “far-reaching humanitarian consequences.†Those include the increasing isolation of Palestinians living in Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank and the increasing difficulty for some Palestinians to easily reach Jerusalem’s schools and hospitals.
Yeah, about that Jerusalem thing: Where was the ICRC in 1948, when the Jews of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City (which happens to be in—gasp! East Jerusalem!) were murdered and driven out by the Jordanians? How is it that from 1948 to 1967, this was never an issue with the UN, the ICRC, or any other nation in the world?
In the main plaza, an arch stretches skyward where one of the walls of the Hurva Synagogue once stood. Originally the Great Synagogue, the Hurva was built in the 16th century, but was destroyed by the Ottomans. The synagogue was rebuilt in the 1850’s, but was damaged in the 1948 war and then destroyed after the Jordanians took control of the Old City. Some consideration has been given to rebuilding the synagogue, but, for now the arch remains as a memorial.
Oh, wait. Of course. Israeli Double Standard Time. My bad. Muslim destruction of holy Jewish sites in Jerusalem and Israel get a bye.
And now, to the ICRC, which has at least one member trying to make Israel look bad. I’m guessing there will not be an investigation into the leak, and nobody will be fired for leaking this information to the Times. Just as I know the Israeli response will be buried way down deep in any news article that picks up this story—just as the Times reporter did.
The Red Cross committee, which is recognized as a guardian of humanitarian law under the Geneva Conventions of 1949, does not publish its reports but provides them in confidence to the parties involved and to a small number of countries. This report was provided to The New York Times by someone outside the organization who wanted the report’s conclusions publicized. The leak came just days before Israel’s celebration of Jerusalem Day this Wednesday, observing the 40th anniversary of the unification of the city.
[…] “We reject the premise of the report, that East Jerusalem is occupied territory,†said Mark Regev, spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry. “It is not. Israel annexed Jerusalem in 1967 and offered full citizenship at the time to all of Jerusalem’s residents. These are facts that cannot be ignored.â€
Sure they can. The world has spoken: Even though the Jews of Israel recovered the Jewish parts of Jerusalem nineteen years after they were captured from them by Jordan, Israel doesn’t get to keep them. Because they’re Muslim. Got it?
Yeah, whatever. 96% of Israeli Jews refuse to give up the Wall or the Old City. Suck on that, ICRC.
And a happy Jerusalem Day to you, too.
As always there is a double standard here-bias against Israel !!
Actually, the ICRC refused to recognize the Magen David Adom because that gives them an excuse to make sure that Joooz die. If they recognized the symbol, they would have to allow them to save lives. They would also not be able to pretend that people and vehicles with the symbol are legitimate targets, unlike the Red Cross or Crescent which cannot be shot at even when they are carrying weapons and ammunition.
When I see that Star of David enclosed in that diamond, I can’t help making an analogy to the Jews being enclosed behind the walls of the ghetto.
Could anyone imagine enclosing Muslim symbols within a cage-like figure? Or the cross, or the flag of any country with debatable policies? There would be an outcry!
Plus, the Star of David is more than a symbol of Israel, it’s a symbol of Judaism, just as the cross is the symbol of Christianity. This is really grotesque.
When you start a war intending the destruction of a neighboring state and the genocide of its people, as the Arabs did to Israel, and lose, as the Arabs did to Israel, you may expect to lose a bit of land, and be thankful it wasn’t more. Anyone in any doubt about this should travel to Poland and search for indications of German habitation in what were once East Prussia, Silesia, and Pomerania. Any further doubts can be satisfied by a tour of what was once the Sudetenland.
To the Arabs, the quicker you stop the aggression against Israel and make a real peace the less land you will lose in peacemaking. If you do destroy Israel there will not be an Arab world left to enjoy the hollow triumph.
>Where was the ICRC in 1948, when the Jews of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City (which happens to be in—gasp! East Jerusalem!) were murdered and driven out by the Jordanians? How is it that from 1948 to 1967, this was never an issue with the UN, the ICRC, or any other nation in the world?