Comments on: Is Israel exempt from international law? http://www.thebadrash.com/2009/12/17/is-israel-exempt-from-international-law/ A blog from Barcelona, Catalonia, covering politics, culture, society and more Sun, 05 Feb 2012 12:18:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Chrishttp://www.thebadrash.com/2009/12/17/is-israel-exempt-from-international-law/#comment-72906 Chris Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:44:51 +0000 http://www.thebadrash.com/?p=1504#comment-72906 Bottom line is that no world leader is going to let anyone in their club get prosecuted. They would know that their head would be next on the block. I loved El Pais's reaction: <blockquote> Hypocrites of 2009: The British judges who ordered the arrest of Tzipi Livni. The former Israeli foreign minister is accused of war crimes allegedly committed during her country’s invasion of the Gaza Strip this year. So how is Livni different, for example to Vladimir Putin (see the war in Chechnya)? Why didn’t the same magistrates order the arrest of Angela Merkel after the German air force bombed civilians in Afghanistan? Why not order the arrest of Bush, Blair, and Obama for the thousands of innocent civilians killed in Iraq and Afghanistan? </blockquote> Ok. Why not? Bottom line is that no world leader is going to let anyone in their club get prosecuted. They would know that their head would be next on the block.

I loved El Pais's reaction:

Hypocrites of 2009: The British judges who ordered
the arrest of Tzipi Livni. The former Israeli
foreign minister is accused of war
crimes allegedly committed during her
country’s invasion of the Gaza Strip this
year. So how is Livni different, for example
to Vladimir Putin (see the war in
Chechnya)? Why didn’t the same magistrates
order the arrest of Angela Merkel
after the German air force bombed civilians
in Afghanistan? Why not order the
arrest of Bush, Blair, and Obama for the
thousands of innocent civilians killed in
Iraq and Afghanistan?

Ok. Why not?

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]]> By: Keefieboyhttp://www.thebadrash.com/2009/12/17/is-israel-exempt-from-international-law/#comment-72876 Keefieboy Sat, 19 Dec 2009 18:38:37 +0000 http://www.thebadrash.com/?p=1504#comment-72876 I wonder, though. There is obviously a de facto state of war between Israel and the remaining shreds of Palestine. But has war actually been declared? If it hasn't, then what both parties are doing to each other is pure terrorism (funny how being 'at war' legitimises things). Actually, I guess it must be war. When I lived in the UAE, we were 'at war' with Israel, a place you could not find on any map published in the region, a non-existent place that you could be jailed for acknowledging the existence of. A non-existent place that had entire Government departments (the Israeli Boycott Office for one) devoted to an Orwellian denial exercise. A visit to Jordan a few years ago completely blew my mind. Standing on the eastern bank of the shrinking Dead Sea - what's on the other side? The West Bank, part of Palestine. Further south, at Aqaba, there's a town on the other side of the bay: what is it? Eilat, in Israel. Can I go there? Sure, if you want. Just make sure they stamp your visa on a loose piece of paper, not in your actual passport. Because if you have an Israeli stamp, you'll never get back into a Gulf Arab country. It's all hypocrisy and bollocks. PS: I just found out something VERY interesting. Just checked Google Maps to ensure that Eilat is indeed the resort next-door to Aqaba. (It is). The map gives street names etc for Eilat, but for Aqaba, the streets have no names: map provided by GISrael. Hmm. I wonder, though. There is obviously a de facto state of war between Israel and the remaining shreds of Palestine. But has war actually been declared? If it hasn't, then what both parties are doing to each other is pure terrorism (funny how being 'at war' legitimises things).

Actually, I guess it must be war. When I lived in the UAE, we were 'at war' with Israel, a place you could not find on any map published in the region, a non-existent place that you could be jailed for acknowledging the existence of. A non-existent place that had entire Government departments (the Israeli Boycott Office for one) devoted to an Orwellian denial exercise.

A visit to Jordan a few years ago completely blew my mind. Standing on the eastern bank of the shrinking Dead Sea – what's on the other side? The West Bank, part of Palestine. Further south, at Aqaba, there's a town on the other side of the bay: what is it? Eilat, in Israel. Can I go there? Sure, if you want. Just make sure they stamp your visa on a loose piece of paper, not in your actual passport. Because if you have an Israeli stamp, you'll never get back into a Gulf Arab country.

It's all hypocrisy and bollocks.

PS: I just found out something VERY interesting. Just checked Google Maps to ensure that Eilat is indeed the resort next-door to Aqaba. (It is). The map gives street names etc for Eilat, but for Aqaba, the streets have no names: map provided by GISrael. Hmm.

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