Editorial Content

Flotilla Thoughts Via a Letter to Barack Obama

June 2, 2010

Dear Mr. President,

It is almost the one year anniversary of your June 4, 2009 "A New Beginning" Cairo Speech.

As an American and Jew I was proud to hear such a speech. You spoke of shared common principles – “principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings."

You went on to say: "The situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. And America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.”

However, these words appear as empty rhetoric in the face of your failure to take principled stands when it comes to Israel’s unlawful actions, most recently the killing of  humanitarian activists on the Gaza aid flotilla.

Israel has shown it will continue to kill with impunity unless the United States holds it accountable for its actions. Unfortunately international law is not a deterrent. The raid on the flotilla is a blatant violation of maritime law. The Gaza blockade violates the U.N. Charter against collective punishment. The assault on Gaza and 2006 war on Lebanon were war crimes due to extreme use of disproportionate force.

In the Cairo Speech you stated:  “America's strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable.”

Unbreakable? All bonds can become unglued. History is littered with examples. Times change. Governments change. People change.

Perhaps this “unbreakable” bond emboldens Israel to violate international law without fear of serious repercussions

Is there no scenario or circumstance where you would recommend the United States either distance itself from Israel or put strong pressure on it to change its policies?

Israel’s reckless use of military force and dehumanizing siege of Gaza contributes to the United States’ eroding moral image. How can it not damage America’s ability to act as a peace broker in the region? General Petraeus and others have spoken about American soldiers in the Middle East and Afghanistan increasingly endangered by Israel’s destabilizing behavior.

History has a way of teaching lessons. Learning these lessons appears elusive.

The Haganah, renamed the S.S. Exodus 1947 was a ship filled with Jewish Holocaust survivors who wanted to immigrate to Palestine. This was July, 1947 and the refugees had no legal authority to enter as the British enforced a ban on Jewish immigration to Palestine. Intent on blocking the ship, violence erupted. The British justified their armed aggression with claims of self-defense; encountering live ammunition. Later it was determined the passengers' ammunition was mostly potatoes and canned goods. Two Jews and one crewman aboard the Exodus 1947 were killed. More than 4,500 men, women and children were deported to Germany.

63 years later we have interesting parallels but with role reversal. The Israeli navy acted as the British did, and the pro-Palestinian humanitarian activists were cast in the role of the stateless Jews. The attacking party once again used self-defense as justification for killing. As with the Exodus 1947, no weapons were found other than the kitchen variety.

The Exodus 1947 incident galvanized an outpouring of sympathy for stateless Jews. This was a seminal event that fueled international will for the birth of Israel in 1948. Exodus  1947: The  Ship That Launched a Nation is both a book and film documentary that tells this story.

If history repeats, perhaps Mavi Marmara: The Ship That Launched the End of the Blockade will be in the works.

As I write, Israel continues to behave with scant human decency regarding the flotilla passengers. There is as yet no confirmed count of dead and injured. The internationals have been deported but the Palestinian Israeli citizens aboard the flotilla are being detained and put on trial. For what? For being the victims of  a blatant Israeli violation of maritime law? At least 16 journalists are also being unlawfully detained according to Reporters Without Borders.

This is deplorable as is your administration's unwillingness to condemn Israel’s actions.

If a flotilla of humanitarian activists had been gunned down by Iran’s navy, there would be waves of outrage and calls for a U.N. investigation. Why the double standard?

In the Cairo Speech you spoke about the need to “build international consensus”. Yet the United States was the one that blocked an attempt at the U.N. Security Council for an international inquiry. Your belief that Israel is capable of a transparent, independent and objective investigation of the flotilla killings is baffling. When one is accused of a crime, the alleged criminal does not investigate himself.

Justice will be served when Israel prosecutes those who ordered the raid and pays compensation to the victims.

And most importantly the Gaza blockade must end now.

The United States can lead again as a moral force in the world.

An international humanitarian relief force organized by the U.N. and led by the United States and E.U. can steam to Gaza with relief aid. This would be a large step towards ending the blockade.

Actions such as this not only save lives but improve conditions for peaceful coexistence between Jews and Palestinians.

sincerely,

Dore Steinberg

301 Gambier St.
San Francisco, CA 94134-1341

tangentsradio@gmail.com
(415) 584-4367

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