On the Ashton heap of current events

Lady Ashton wrote yesterday about Ending Gaza’s dangerous isolation:

Two questions arise. How can we help to improve the daily lives of the people of Gaza? How can we help to enhance the security of the people of Israel? Those two questions must be answered together, for any attempt to answer them separately is doomed to fail.

That is why I am seeking to re-open the crossings into Gaza, permanently, for humanitarian aid, commercial goods and civilians to and from Gaza. This is what the United Nations Security Council and the European Union have demanded; it is also what Israel agreed with the Palestinian Authority in 2005. On my trip to Gaza I bought some fabulous handicrafts made by remarkable women who have overcome daunting conditions; I want an end to the ban that prevents their world-class rugs and scarves and ornaments from being sold and enjoyed around the world.

Lady Ashton’s main concern is that the world should be able to enjoy genuine Persian carpets made in Gaza.

Elder of Ziyon commenting on an article written about Gaza notes that the article ignores (or doesn’t emphasize) what’s really going on:

Yes, there is an embargo – one that the Quartet agreed to. Yes, there are challenges for Gaza families to get things done.

But there are a number of stories that do not get adequate coverage when reporters like Bronner talk about Gaza.

One is how, despite the troubles that Gazans have, their standard of living is still better than that of many or most in the Arab world at large, let alone the world itself. The number of humanitarians that say they care so much about the lives of Gazans far outweigh the needs of Gazans to get their basic goods. The big argument in Gaza is about how Al Jazeera’s initial coverage of the World Cup was interrupted, forcing them to watch it on Israeli TV stations. This is hardly the type of concern one would expect from an area suffering from a humanitarian crisis.

The next underreported story from Gaza is how the murderous Hamas dictatorship has turned Gaza into a place where there is no freedom of speech or freedom of expression, where freedom of religion gets only lip service, and where the rulers prefer to hang on to their sheer hatred of Israel rather than compromise to help their citizens. Any self-respecting liberal – or conservative, for that matter – should be outraged at Hamas’ repression of basic human freedoms. Yet such outrage is muted, or non-existent. Humanitarian agencies in Gaza are too frightened to speak negatively about Hamas, which routinely closes charities they do not like. Reporters in Gaza know that they won’t have jobs – or they’ll end up in prison – if they report facts that Hamas is unhappy with.

Much easier to just toe the Hamas line and blame everything, again, on Israel.

(Lady Ashton, to her credit, makes a perfunctory mention of Gilad Shalit.)

There’s something oddly self serving about Lady Ashton’s article. She doesn’t want to be deprived of her carpets. But is she really trying to help? Again Elder of Ziyon:

Which brings up another underreported story – the fact that the so-called humanitarian groups are not motivated by love of Arabs, but rather by hate of Israel.

There is only one reason that Gaza gets such exaggerated attention – and that is because it is perceived as being the victim of Jewish aggression, and the majority of people who say they care about Gazans are using that as a cover for their seething hatred of Israel. If so-called humantarians care about Gazans so much they would be working tirelessly to pressure Hamas to work with the PA to bring the situation to what it was before Hamas’ coup. The fact that they blame Israel – and only Israel – for Gaza’s problems betrays their real agenda.

Lady Ashton and some of her fellow travelers probably don’t think too deeply about their motivations, but their actions speak quite loudly. Shame on the New York Times for giving Lady Ashton (not to mention Roger Cohen) this opportunity.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.