Israeli to launch charm offensive in 2011

Maybe you might call to memory a recent article that made its way into print and electronic media about 3 months ago. The story that broke was the accusation the Israel was to recruit certain persons of recognisable talent to go on a charm offensive for the state of Israel.

Well, recent information suggests that there are several Face Book, Twitter and blog sites all ready to launch in the New year. These sites will allege to be constructed by journalists and writers claiming to be attached to such notable institutions as the BBC and several of the broad sheet giants.

They of course will start the body of the blog / web site with such statements as: Despite a lack of understanding surrounding the State of Israel, it must be remembered that Israel is the only truly democratic country in the Middle East OR how Israel was the unfortunate victim of the Arab wars, which resulted in Israel in self defence becoming the savour of the M.E.

There are also plans afoot to apologise to the UK for the use of their passports during the assignation of the Hamas leader. The new head of the Israeli secret service Mossad, will apparently release an official apology.

Justice Israeli style!

Many people have said many times how they never cease to be amazed by the open racism shown by the Israeli government.

The latest from Tel-Aviv depicts the governments concerns about the growing number of illegal’s crossing the border between Egypt and Israel. Yet this is not a financial concern, nor concerns about illegal entry by persons with less than savoury or criminal backgrounds.

No, this is about the fear of the Israeli government that these lesser mortals might in some way settle and become members of Israeli society and in effect cause a thinning out process of the Israeli blood stock.
However, we are not talking about horses, when we mention bloodstock, No, we are talking of human beings.

One can’t help questioning if the motive has more to do with religious belief, when one takes into consideration that all Jews are openly welcome in Israel and receive in most cases automatic citizenship.

Netanyahu has at the very least, proved beyond a doubt Israel’s commitment or lack thereof, in forming an equal and just Israeli society.
His latest recommendation to the Knesset is to create a large detention center at an estimated cost to the Israeli tax payer of between $300million And $400 million US dollars. This center is really being built in the Negev desert as a consequence of the fact that Israel is obliged under International law to consider all applications for citizenship. Under this law it is forbidden to send nationals either illegally or legally in the country back to their country of origin without considerations of safety etc.

"There is a swelling wave threatening Israeli jobs, a wave of illegal migrants that we must stop because of the harsh implications for Israel's character," Mr Netanyahu said:

Now is he referring to financial implications? And if so could we expect to see a curbing of immigration from other nations including Jews? I somehow don’t think so, therefore one must conclude that the term “Israel’s character” refers to the inclusion of non-Jews.

This claim that all immigrants (non-Jewish) are somehow a direct threat to the State of Israel is most ironic when you take into account the historical fact that all Israelis are in fact mostly European immigrants in the land of Palestine.
The detention Center is claimed to be a humanitarian solution and NOT a prison, merely a place to hold migrants until Israel finds a way to get rid of this problem.

ADD to this the fact that Israeli law recently played a part in giving two IDF soldiers only a 3 month suspended sentence for using a CHILD as a human shield and declared that their action was conduct unbecoming of an IDF member.
You can’t help thinking that ANY life(except an Israeli life) is worthless in the view of the Israeli government.

One would imagine it anything, Israel should be trying to salvage something of its already blackened, if not totally destroyed international reputation. Yet this is not the case, along with other Knesset decisions such as the recent decision to possibly expel the siblings of legally working foreigners. Israel has again openly shown its total abhorrence for all things and peoples who happen not to be Israeli.

New US / Israel Deal Proves Futility of UN Membership

The US have once again shown the total futility of United Nations membership, by assuring Israel that they would assist them in avoiding any legal or (Moral) consequences relating to the murders committed during the War on Gaza, the illegal boarding and further murders on board the flotilla, not to mention the blatant theft of personal belongings that came to light after all the vessels on the flotilla were pirated into an Israeli port.

However in the latest (cover up) deal offered by the US in return for a 90 day moratorium which really means (“Don’t let the media know) does not speak of East Jerusalem at all??.

So what IS on the table? The US has agreed to use its vote (veto) against any United Nations proposal or criticism of Israel, which will (we believe) include the Goldstone Report which Clinton herself, guaranteed Israel would be shelved and America would see to that. Next, the UN report /suggested actions on the Flotilla murders and of course, the War on Gaza where amongst others over 300 children and BABIES were murdered by the hand of Israel and UN humanitarian supply sites were bombed DESPITE coordinates being supplied to the IDF.

What is the point of United Nations membership? What is the point of the United Nations?

Politician after politician and UN member/ Manager /Directors / Investigators have gone to Gaza over the past year or so, time and time again, they took their turn in condemning the actions of Israel both in the past, during the War On Gaza and in the present, YET nothing is EVER done! Simply because the UN has NO POWER without US backing.

This moratorium, like the last will serve no purpose what so ever, except to further enrage the right wing loonies in Israel. So there will be 90 days of no building (wink wink) except for in East Jerusalem, which in actual fact only serves to lessen the chances of a two state solution, with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.

Panorama: Documentary or Propaganda film ??

Interestingly the word Panorama is defined in the concise Oxford English Dictionary as: “An unbroken view of a surrounding region” or “A complete survey of a subject or sequence of events”.

Now anybody who viewed the Panorama programme titled Death in the Med, would I think agree that the BBC need to change the title of its documentary series to “A blinkered view” or even ”A linear view of .........”.

The self proclaimed expert on the Al-Qaeda network and the so called Islamist threat Jane Corbin, only served to cheapen the art of journalism by presenting what amounted to a propaganda project on behalf of the State of Israel and more notably the IDF.

What seems to have been ignored with great effort, was the fact that Israeli Navy / IDF attacked a civilian vessel IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS, they had NO jurisdiction whatsoever. Secondly, nine people lost their lives, Yet this documentary ignored the loss of life in favour of dedicating their time to the Israeli Military view.

Regarding the Panorama documentary, It was ill conceived, poorly presented and very heavily biased in favour of the State of Israel and the IDF in particular.

Frankly, to give anymore time or space in this blog to this so called documentary will only serve to give it a form of credibility, that it clearly does not deserve.

Israel: A rare breed of democracy

Netanyahu tells Turkel Committee that the attack on the Mavi Marmara was the fault of Hamas and Turkey.

The committee is headed by retired Supreme Court justice, Jacob Turkel, and the alleged purpose was to find out if the so called incident was legal under international law. Despite the fact that this hearing is being held, it has actually very limited powers and in the end will only serve as a way to protect Netanyahu and his government and negate any possibility of an International investigation.

Netanyahu, almost at nausea, repeated that the incident was within the bounds of International law. He then went further by blaming Hamas and telling the hearing that Turkey needs to also take their share of the blame for allowing the vessel to set sail for Gaza in the first place. (And Israel claims to be a democracy).

When it appeared to Netanyahu that the blame might be pointing directly at him, he pointed out that he was not even in the country at the time and had left Defence Minister Ehud Barak in charge of the flotilla takeover operation. He went further by stating that during the ministers' meetings before the Turkish flotilla arrived; the ministers did not discuss taking action, but focused on the media's reaction to it. Despite the fact that several IDF soldiers who stormed the Mavi Marmara, were found to have laminated “picture hit lists” as were shown to international TV viewers live at the time. Netanyahu insisted that there were no pre-agreed plans to storm the vessel at the Ministers meeting.

Later in the day Mark Regev backed Netanyahu, by further stating that all democracies have a similar system of appointing another member of government to look after a situation in their absence.

At this point it was beginning to turn into a he said, she said situation, not unlike what would be seen in any children's playground, however the outcome has enraged a lot of people in Israel, as they feel that Netanyahu was simply dumping this problem on their beloved IDF.

The rest of the hearing was held behind closed doors, because of so called Israeli security concerns.
Anybody who has observed the situation in the Middle East (M.E.) would be able to come to the same conclusion as I will on this whole so called hearing. That conclusion is, the Israeli government are uncomfortable with what happened on the Mavi Marmara and don’t really know how to deal with the fall out, however Israel MUST keep its people in fear of the whole world and totally dependent on the IDF and the right wing government for their collective protection. Even school children are taught to fear and hate others, (as shown in Defamation by Yoav Shamir), thus Mr Netanyahu and his crew can never be seen to be softening on any situation, and especially not on a situation where the Israeli government have hailed their beloved IDF as heroes.
In fact Netanyahu also expressed this in his statement that “the IDF commandos on the Mavi Marmara exhibited "unusual courage" in defending themselves against a clear and present danger to their lives”, you can also bet that the words Self Defence were used time and again in justification.

Netanyahu finished the public debate by declaring the following: Israel is a "rare breed" of democracy in the Middle East, and said "there is no state or army that investigates itself more than Israel and the IDF."

This is likely to be the only true statement you will ever hear from any leader of the state of Israel, the fact that Israel has had to investigate its Army (IDF) so many times in its short history would be a great concern to any civilised society, yet to Netanyahu and his cronies this seems to be a thing of great pride.
The Israeli government is either so out of touch that it really thinks that the greater world believes the outcomes of these Kangaroo court hearings with the IDF, or they have become so bloody minded and arrogant that they don’t care.

To use Netanyahu own words, it is indeed a RARE breed of democracy!

Lebanon & Israel the blue line conflict!

Well it’s finally happened, for a very long time now, Lebanon has been holding her temper and hoping that the UN or someone would do something about Israel’s constant taunting.


Like the old reliable school yard bully, Israel has been doing everything to get a reaction from Lebanon (the school victim). Everything from constant fly overs which almost happen on a daily basis to increased activity on the southern Lebanon border, in or around the disputed blue line areas.


Israel has never fully gotten over the bloody nose that Hezbollah gave them in 2006; in the past 4 years Israel has done everything possible to get a reaction from either the government of Lebanon or directly from Hezbollah. There has been constant claims from Israel that Hezbollah were importing arms from Syria (never proven), that they were planning an attack on Israel with the assistance of Iran (never proven), in fact despite all the untruths which the Israeli propaganda machine has almost become totally synonymous with, not a thing has been proved beyond the word of the well-oiled and totally untrustworthy Israeli ministry.


What was different this time was the fact that it was the Army of Lebanon who reacted first. Ok, the debate as to whether Israel or Lebanon were at fault will go on for a long time, however what we all witnessed was the school yard bully getting a reaction they never expected. Chances are that it was a total mistake, it happens when a border is not totally set in stone, but the point is when Lebanon were almost on a daily basis pleading with the UN to do something about the fly over violations, nothing was done! When Israel (the school bully) was posturing and insulting towards Lebanon openly and in the world’s media, nobody would stand up and say, that’s enough! Just like all victims of bullies, Lebanon took it for as long as she could, yesterday was the last straw.

If the US and the UN are really interested in keeping the peace in the Middle East (M.E.), then they BOTH need to pull the reins hard when Israel steps out of line, If they are NOT then they need not be surprised when something like this happens.

The current situation in the middle East is a little like a piece of clear plastic sheeting, sure, It will bend and you can to a certain extent abuse it, however just like glass it will eventually break.


If the USA is serious about peace in the M.E. then it needs to at least be seen to be fair. Right now most M.E. experts would agree that in trying to play the Policeman or peace maker, America is failing badly because of the so called special relationship. They will openly and vehemently defend Israel, even when they know Israel is wrong, whilst at the same time they expect the rest of the M.E. to follow their rules, adhere to their requests and accept their openly biased criticism.


Would America have stayed silent about the passport situation if it were Iran, Turkey, Lebanon or Syria that had used false European and Australian passports?


Would they have stayed quiet if Iran had attacked the open concentration camp we call Gaza?


We all know the answer is NO!

Rape or Racism?

An Arab-Israeli man was accused of rape despite the fact that the act was consensual.

The man in question is Sabbar Kashur, aged 30, an Arab-Israeli resident of Jerusalem, Mr Kashur told the Jewish-Israeli woman that he was a Jewish bachelor and the couple proceeded to have consensual sex. After the woman found out that Mr Kashur was in fact Arab and called the Israeli Police accusing the man of rape on grounds of deception.

Guys, be honest here, how many times have you told some young woman that you were a Pilot, Jockey or TV star, just to impress her?

Ladies, how many times have you told some guy that you were a model or a business executive or just simply fibbed about your age?

It happens,and we all did it at one time or another, maybe innocently trying to impress someone you really liked or maybe in the hope of a one night stand.

It has also been alleged by a UK newspaper that the Israeli woman first accused Mr Kashur of rape and indecent assault after finding out he was Arab, but later admitted that the sex was consensual.
Either way Kashur is now facing a prison term of 18 months and the stigma of being a rapist for the rest of his life.

This reminded me of a man I met in the southern United States in the early ‘90’s, he was a very happy, pleasant gentleman, who was at one time in his early 20’s, accused of rape by a white woman (despite it being consensual), he explained that the woman was married and they were discovered by her family. Anyway her husband told her to say she was raped, because a black man couldn’t have consensual sex with a white woman, you see no self-respecting white woman would have anything to do with a black man.
This fine well-mannered man in his 70’s was sent to prison for several years for a rape he did not commit.

This was in the dark ages of the 1940’s and thankfully things have changed for the better. However here we are in 2010 and an Arab is being sent to prison for raping a Jewish Israeli woman, not because she refused to have sex with him and he forced himself on her, not because she asked him to stop half way, but because he was an Arab.
It’s a simple case of RACISM, nothing more nothing less. Israel has again proved herself to be an openly racist state (that can get away with anything).

I have always believed that should a man be accused and proved beyond a doubt, to have raped a woman, then that man must face the harshest penalty. Equally if a woman accuses an innocent man of rape, then she must face the harshest penalty. Simply because so many women suffer this terrible crime every day, very often they don’t report the crime or it doesn’t even make it to court for lack of evidence. Worst of all victims of rape are made to relive the actual rape in the presence of the man accused of the crime, in court.
It is without doubt the most heinous, degrading and disabling crime, as victims often spend the rest of their lives living and reliving the original rape.

As someone who was raped as a very young boy several decades ago now, I find the cheapening of the crime of rape by the Israeli judicial system to be morally offensive and a belittling of the pain and anguish that ALL rape victims suffer all of their lives.

Every Rape Crisis Center and agency should unite in condemnation of this abuse of all rape victims by the Israeli judicial system, simply to hide their racist motives.

The Great Israeli cover up begins

Well as predicted, it has happened. The great Israeli cover up has begun.
Despite the MURDER of 9 innocent Turkish people on the Freedom flotilla by State sponsored Israeli pirates. The first investigation sponsored by our friends in the USA, has proved yet again to be NOTHING more than a complete COVER UP!

Guess what? Sky News, BBC and Fox are lining up to tell the sorry tale, Israeli got their intelligence wrong (hard to say Intelligence and Israel in the same sentence) but their media buddies in the UK and the USA are doing EVERYTHING possible to come to their defense. Sky goes even further by showing the following headlines together:

Israeli Raid On Gaza Aid Flotilla 'Flawed' AND (wait for it) Israel will relax Gaza blockade further....
Can Mr Murdoch actually go any lower on this issue? and has HE never wondered, why he and the BBC lost their real journalists to ALJAZEERA ??

The good old BBC goes one step further in assisting Israel spread their lies, with their report, which claims that those MURDERED on the Mavi Marmara were killed in self defense, you see those armed hit men of the IDF, the BBC claims had to deal with bad people who had bars and knives (on a vessel imagine that) and a gun??
This despite the fact that NOT one piece of evidence has been produced to show that even a single shot was fired by the pro-Palestinian, human rights activists on the vessel. OK, I will admit the BBC go on to cover their collective Arses by adding the following near this report: "The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites" Which is like saying we report lies but it not our fault if they are indeed lies.

It looks like the decent, even handed reporting has been AGAIN, left to the Guardian. Simply because the Guardian have not prostituted themselves to the great USA and their war mongering best buddies Israel.
Throughout the War on Gaza and the Flotilla Murders, the Guardian has lived up to it's name The GUARDIAN.

Below is their link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/12/gaza-flotilla-report-israeli-military.

Unlike others media groups mentioned, who act as the only testicle of an impotent Israel, the Guardian has shown clearly what free press means.

Israel: land thefts to go ahead

Mr Netanyahu declared today that construction of further settlements in the Palestinian lands, of the West Bank will continue as of mid-September 2010.

Last year Netanyahu, made an agreement with the US to freeze all settlements in the Palestinian lands, however the freeze ends in September and the construction of 3,000 units has already been earmarked by the Israeli government, as was approved by the Knesset only Yesterday.

This is a new opportunity for End Timers to buy stolen lands in what is to be the new Israel, (Ethnically cleansed Palestine), what is even more surprising is that the American government actually give Tax Exemptions to these so called evangelist crackpots.

In other words YOUR TAX dollars are going directly to Israel, to steal lands belonging to the Palestinian people. Oppression dollars are by no means a new thing of course, America has been sending millions to secure the Zionist state for many years now. But this is different, do Americans really want their tax dollars spent on the ethnic cleansing of an entire population? Just because End Timers believe Arabs are in the way and until the Zionist state is fully realised, they (End Timers) can't achieve salvation.
You see, End Timers believe until the Zionist state (all of Palestine)is realised and the Jewish temple is fully rebuilt (at the expense of the Al-Aqsa mosque), then and only then, will the world come to an end. Yep, these are adults!

The really scary thing is that these nutcases are in an almighty hurry to see the world end, this must call into question their collective sanity! After all, any adult who looks upon his children and does not wish them a very long and healthy life, must surely be lacking in common sense at the very least.

You see both sides (Zionists & End Timers) are actually playing a game with each other, the ET's believe that the world will end and regardless of what you are doing at the time, you will be somehow morphed up to heaven, leaving all your clothes and belongings behind (must make sure I have clean underwear that day). In other words to the ET's the Jewish people of Israel is just a means to an end. However, the Zionists are happy to let these nuts believe what they want, after all they are sending Israel and in particular Israeli settlers millions every year.

Ease on Gaza won't help suffering population.

Despite claims to the contrary, Israel’s alleged easing of the illegal blockade on the Gaza strip WILL NOT alleviate the suffering of the general population within Gaza.


In simple terms, hospitals, schools, Mosques and other general municipal buildings destroyed by the Israeli military during the war on Gaza cannot be rebuilt, as Israel forbids building materials being given to the general municipal council in Gaza.

Along with the obvious banned goods like weapons and munitions etc. are what is described by Israel as “dual use goods”, which include everyday items such as sealants, fibres and animal hair (for furniture construction), carbons and glass variants (sand papers etc.) ball bearings (washing machines and general machinery), fertilisers (even those noted as being unusable in the construction of explosive devices), and many other cleaners and general chemicals, computers and general communications equipment.


To define "dual use items," the statement references the Wasenaar Arrangement, an international arms control model. The Wasenaar Arrangement defines as "dual use" hundreds of items, which are detailed in a 208 page document.
This is the link to the dual use lists: http://www.wassenaar.org/controllists/index.html
All (cleared) goods will be made available via the Palestinian Authority (P.A.) and international bodies for general building purposes only.


Furthermore, Waterford IPSC notes the REFUSAL of the Quartet representative Tony Blair, to declare or even state, that the blockade on Gaza is an ILLEGAL blockade. Instead Mr Blair stated “that’s not an important point”. We would suggest that it’s a very important point to the people of Gaza.

Ethnic cleansing and land thefts given green light by Knesset

Recent events within Israel, especially the decision today by the Israeli Knesset to continue stealing Palestinian lands within the West Bank, show Israel is ONLY going to continue to forsake all previous promises, regarding the halting of land thefts and house demolitions.

As a result, Waterford IPSC has taken the decision to step up their boycott of Israeli products currently still being sold by some retailers in Waterford City and County. To coincide with National BDS Day on Friday the 9th of July 2010, Waterford IPSC will be in Waterford City on Friday the 9th and Saturday the 10th of July, collecting signatures from the people of Waterford, asking one particular retailer to STOP selling Israeli goods both within the city and the country as a whole.

A spokesman for Waterford IPSC said: " The people of Waterford are very supportive of our campaign and have show clearly their support in the past by supplying goods for the Palestinian people, which we attempted to deliver on the M.V. Rachel Corrie"

He continued: "As has been said many times before, Waterford's people are by their very nature a caring people, and almost always leaders when it comes to helping others, they lead by example whilst others unfortunately only follow".

Waterford IPSC, expressed outrage at the decision by the Knesset, not to renew the formal agreement which they made only under direct pressure from the US. The original agreement was to freeze all settlement construction within Palestinian lands, however this agreement ends in September.

This decision means that construction in Palestinian areas of the West Bank can begin as early as mid September, thus leading to more evictions and Palestinian house demolitions, along with further agricultural lands being seized by the state of Israel.

The world agrees that this is BLATANT land theft and a form of direct ethnic cleansing, not to mention a TOTAL hindrance to any chance of the peace process becoming reality. Furthermore, It clearly shows that Israel has no intention of agreeing a peace process with the native people of Palestine.

We have been saying for years that Israel's only intention is the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people and the realisation of a one state solution, the state of Israel ONLY.

The UN MUST now take action against Israel, for far too long, Israel has flaunted International law without consequence. This also proves that Blair is about as useful as a chocolate tea pot and only a token gesture by the UN.

Israel, a rogue state or controlling power

I recently spent a very warm, sunny day in the company of a young Irish woman, just sitting back, relaxing and thinking about life in general. Now the young lady in question is in her late 20's, very attractive and very highly educated, She is not however, the sort of woman, who would ever waste her time on daydreaming or conspiracy theories. Yet as we ordered our coffee and cake, we began to sum up the past years and couldn't help wondering what sort of world allows politicians who would otherwise (in a sane world) be convicted of War crimes, to decide the fate of a nation or nations currently their victims.

We began with 9/11, the blackest day in American history. Innocent people lost their lives and even today, rescuers are still suffering from the smoke and mainly dust inhalation. Everybody there in the US and indeed around the world were in mourning, there was also a feeling of collective helplessness. The world and indeed America changed after that terrible event.

Next thing to come to mind was the invasion/war in Iraq, Mr Bush & Mr Blair openly declared that Saddam, was holding weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD's)and the world was to be convinced that he was both mad and bad, enough to use them against us all.
Bush & Blair set out to get approval from the UN to invade Iraq, seek out the WMD's and bring Saddam to justice. Well it wasn't to be, (the approval that is). So Mr Bush and his poodle friend Mr Blair, decided to go ahead anyway and invade Iraq, despite the fact that they were clearly breaking the law. But then who cares? this is America and the UK. After much consideration the UN finally came on board (as Bush put it). Countless millions have been killed on both sides, military and civilian, young and old, even the unborn are not spared. Yet, to this very day NO WMD's have been found!

OK next, Bush leaves the pentagon and the free worlds great hope for the future Mr O Bama takes his place, along with all sorts of promises, like peace in the Middle East (M.E.)etc.

O Bama is now in his second year in office, and still the USA is active in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, more and more innocent victims are killed and recently, the amount of US & UK soldiers killed has been at it's highest since the initial invasion. By the way, still no sign of WMD's.

Then we debated Haiti, which was the scene of absolute devastation, thousands were killed and thousands more made homeless. America was there to assist, even dragging the bodies of Clinton and Bush in from cold storage, to act as some sort of poster boys, for all that is good about America, when it comes to helping others. It was almost sickening to watch two Ex-Presidents trying their collective best to somehow make up for their sordid past.
However what must surely count as an even greater blasphemy was the fact that Israel sent rescue teams from the IDF to assist in Haiti, despite the fact that Israel controls the biggest open air concentration camp since the Nazi era.
Many in Human rights circles saw this action, as Israel simply, stepping over the dead and murdered Palestinians to gain favor with the USA and of course to get world opinion on their side. Lets face it, the worlds media was pointed directly at Haiti.

So what has been achieved since January 12th 2010, almost now six months later and the people of Haiti are more or less no better off. Recent rain storms gave concern for human rights groups and NGO's, because the people are still to this day, living in tents and reconstruction has barely begun.
Yet, if we look back at this terrible time in Haiti's history, we can recall the following facts. The US army moved in after what seemed to be a life time of decision making (or possibly PR time), then when eventually the troops landed, they took control of the airport and secured the current President of Haiti.
When real help arrived (Doctors without Borders for example) they were denied entry to Haiti airport, instead the mighty US decided to allow visiting dignitaries, like Mrs Clinton, evangelists and of great importance to the suffering people of Haiti, John Travolta in his private jet.

We paused to consider the stupidity of the whole situation, including the alleged attempted abduction of Haitian children, which were to be taken to the US.

After a few minutes to collect our thoughts, we moved on to the situation in Palestine (no surprise there), finally it seems the world looked in the direction of Israel, now when I say the world, I actually mean the UN. But this wasn't some collective awakening, It was the result of the murderous attack on the defenseless people of Gaza, which took place in late 2008 and continued for about three weeks into 2009.

To make Israel look and feel better about killing children and babies, this massacre was given the title Cast Lead. It was actually not as described, A war, instead it was the full scale slaughter of innocent women, children and men who just happened to be walled in by Israel, in what can only be described as a big open air concentration camp. It was described by one commentator as, like shooting fish in a barrel, this was an exact description, because the civilian population had NO WHERE to go when the inhuman shelling began. Israel claimed to give notice to civilians when they were going to shell a certain area of Gaza, however like the fish in the barrel, they had no option in most cases but to go to their local school or UN post/warehouse for protection. Israel however did not abide by ANY human rights laws when it came to who and what they considered as legitimate targets.
The world showed their disapproval and an international Investigation was declared as the way to go, this investigation became known as the Goldstone report. However with the help of the USA, this report was shelved and Mrs Clinton herself took great pride in stating clearly that it would stay shelved at an AIPAC conference in late 2009 - early 2010. Never mind, Israel promised to hold an internal investigation instead (no surprise there!), and basically speaking the whole massacre of innocent men, women and children has to this day not been acted on in any way by the international community.

Human rights groups and individuals, now totally enraged by the lack of human compassion being show to the people of Palestine, began to organise themselves. They became the voice of Palestine and marched against the cruelty of Israel. These marches/demos took place in almost every country around the world, and certain governments (like the UK) for example, instructed the Police to ensure that order was kept. In a very disapproving and heavy handed way the protesters were marshaled all the way through the streets and cities of the UK, most recently very harsh sentencing way handed out to several protesters by the courts for what would otherwise be considered as minor infractions, by otherwise law abiding individuals, with no prior criminal records. This was seen by the human Rights community as the British governments attempt at blocking the right to protest in the UK.
Whilst this was going on in the UK, other countries allowed protesters to show their disapproval openly, as was the case in Ireland. There were even attempts to have leaders of the Israeli state arrested in the UK, two members of the Israeli state were due to visit London, however they somehow got the word that action had been taken in the courts to have them arrested for War Crimes. The last action of the Labour government in the UK was to try to avert any further possibility of visiting Israeli heads of state being arrested.

Finally, the human rights community of the world decided that, if the collective governments wouldn't do anything to help the Palestinians and break the on-going ILLEGAL siege of Gaza, then they themselves would. Viva Palestina attempted to break the siege several times by both land and sea. They were successful on occasions by land until Egypt (under direction from Israel and the US) denied further access via land.

Then came the Freedom Flotilla, an attempt by 9 or 10 vessels from the UK, Ireland, Turkey and other European countries to collectively break the siege and deliver badly needed goods to the people of Gaza.
Now keep in mind that for almost 3 years Israel has denied the people of Gaza any outside assistance and barely allowed enough aid from Israel to enter Gaza, to actually keep the population alive. There is even evidence that food stuffs were measured out to only provide the minimum required to keep people from total starvation. Israel, in the meantime denied any occupation of Gaza, citing the problems in Gaza as being totally the fault of Hamas (the democratically elected government).
The Freedom Flotilla headed by the Turkish IHH vessel the Mavi Mamara, was on their way to break the siege, when they were intercepted by the Israeli Navy and members of the IDF. Nine Human Rights activists on-board were murdered by the Israeli state in INTERNATIONAL waters and evidence recently emerged to clearly show, that the Israeli Navy/IDF had planned to kill certain targets on-board the vessel. The attack actually took place almost at the very moment the call for morning prayer went out to the people on the vessel. What is without doubt is that the victims on the vessel were murdered in a hit man style attack and further proof has come to show that the Israeli Navy actually fired live rounds BEFORE boarding the vessel, which Israel initially denied. Eight of those murdered were Fathers, with in some cases several children. The ninth person murdered was a 19 year old American / Turkish man who was shot several times in the face, head and rear of the skull.

Again an International investigation was called for, and Yet again the US has managed to veto any chance of this investigation becoming a reality.
Guess what, America has again backed Israel to do it's own internal investigation, and the other so called world leaders standby almost idle, as again Israeli commits Murder. The UN did the usual posturing and called for the siege to be lifted and a full investigation, BUT to NO avail.

Israel decides to bring in impartial witnesses to oversee the internal investigation and then informs the UN, that these witnesses may NOT be allowed to see all relevant information, as this would be against the interests of the state of Israel. Add to this that at least on of these impartial witnesses is a know sympathiser of the Zionist state. I am referring to Lord David Trimble, former leader of the UUP (Ulster Unionist Party), who was described by Netanyahu as an impartial Irish witness.

Let us get things straight, Lord Trimble is neither Irish nor impartial, He is British and a former member (if no longer current) of Unionist members of Friends of Israel. The unionist parties in the north of Ireland have for many years been supporters of the state of Israel, a fact which can even today be confirmed by cruising Face book and other such sites.

Furthermore Blair is now handling the situation in Gaza, in real terms this means that a war criminal is assisting another war criminal (Israel). That is a bit like giving the American President a Nobel peace prize for continuing the illegal war started by his predecessor. OH hold on that already happened!

Conspiracy theorists may on occasion be shunned by society as freaks with active imaginations, however along with the current bank bailouts and increased taxation, one can't help thinking, is there really a secret new world order? and are we merely pawns in a process whereby the leaders of this world are looking after their own collective interests regardless of the cost, both in human lives and finances.

Call a CAB to deal with Israel

It is not often you will see or hear that I have good words to say about almost all governments, However there are times when by mistake or indeed dire necessity a government will bring forward or enact a law, which can actually work.

The Irish government brought together a very well thought out law several years ago now, to deal with the criminal elements in this country. Effectively the law sought to freeze the bank accounts of those either under investigation, or already convicted of serious crimes. Thus far it seems to be working very well indeed. They even set up a specialist unit within or associated with the Gardai (Irish Police), It was to be known as CAB (The Criminal Assets Bureau).

Simplistically put, a gangland leader sells drugs in Ireland, he is caught in the act or after lengthy investigation, The Gardai pass their information over to the CAB, who in turn freeze the assets of said criminal. What follows is an investigation into the criminal's finances, Homes, vehicles, investments and money etc. which are all seized. In the event said criminal is convicted the state has the legal right to take all assets, except those legally acquired.

Now despite all the rhetoric from the Irish government, regarding the false passport issue and indeed the illegal seizure of the personal goods (laptops, cameras, credit cards etc.) of Irish citizens on board the M.V. Rachel Corrie and indeed the theft of the vessel itself, nothing at all has been done! NOTHING!

Now keep in mind that almost all countries around the world, except the good old US of A and Israel itself, have publicly demanded an international investigation into the Murders and the thefts of vessels and belongings. Almost all countries condemned Israel's actions as illegal, including the Irish government.

So here is my question, why hasn't the Irish government ordered CAB to seize all bank accounts and property in Ireland, belonging to the state of Israel?
After all, all the actions taken by Israel, as mentioned above are almost universally recognised as ILLEGAL, or if you like criminal acts against the state of Ireland. If the Irish government were to take this action, it would then without doubt, lead to an international investigation into the incidents mentioned.

There are no changes to be made to the constitution of this country, nor does any law need to be updated, the law is there, just waiting to be enforced.

Boycott Israel, a sign from above!

OK, first things first,  I waxed lyrical with the title above (I admit that), couldn't resist it!  If you think that a sign was sent from the creator to boycott Israel, then I apologise.

Former TUI President ('89-'92), Billy Fitzpatrick skydived from 4,000 metres at the Skydive Ireland Airfield in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, Ireland, wearing his IPSC "Boycott Israel" t-shirt to further make the point that Israel must be boycotted..

Mr. Fitzpatrick pictured below said:  "After the recent massacre on the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza in international waters, surely the only course available to civil society now is the one called for by the IPSC, ICTU and TUI: the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel?"..

A committed Billy before the Skydive

 For those of you, like me, who have a terrible time just climbing a three step ladder, to change a light bulb, Billy's skydive would be a nightmare just to contemplate. For Billy on his first Skydive it was just another day at the office and a way to further highlight the current situation for Palestinians under Israeli occupation.

Billy on the way down.

After a lifetime in education, Mr. Fitzpatrick had considered seeking sponsorship for the rebuilding of some of the schools flattened in last year’s Gaza bombardment. "However, I felt that helping to pressurise Israel from continuing its seemingly endless cycle of attacks, through the kind of painstaking education and campaigning work carried out by the IPSC and others, was probably more effective", he said.

Speaking on behalf of the IPSC Freda Hughes thanked Mr. Fitzpatrick for his kind and brave gesture and his ongoing support for Palestine in this country.

If you would like to see the video of Mr. Fitzpatrick's BRAVE Skydive please cut and paste the link below:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFpAAYHB3iQ

Sometimes, it just takes one!

How many times have you heard the excuse, what can I do, one man alone?, the answer is, sometimes it just takes one person to help change things!

Blood Diamonds seemed a thing of the past when eventually Apartheid South Africa, became the South Africa we all know & love today.  However, Blood Diamonds have again reared their ugly head, that is Israeli blood Diamonds, which without doubt are the single largest contributor to the Israeli state finances (approx. $20. billion per year), apart from the USA.
Israel is a member of the Kimberly process, which was set up to ensure that diamonds could not be used to finance terrorism, (state or otherwise). Furthermore, the Kimberly process was supposed to restrict diamond sales from States alleged to have committed crimes against humanity, as Israel has against the Palestinian people.
But (there is always a But), the hole in the net, (so to speak), is that the Kimberly process only covers rough cut or uncut diamonds, Israel produces only cut polished diamonds, therefore Israel is free from any scrutiny from the Kimberly process, despite accusations against Israeli leaders regarding war and Human Rights violations.  Effectively Israel has found the hole in the net and are using it to their total advantage!

In view of this the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) has released the following press statement:   

The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign calls on Irish Jewellers to do the following: 

Desist from telling customers that Diamonds are now "conflict Free" when 50% of gem quality diamonds are crafted in Israel, one of the worlds Bloodiest conflict zones.

Support the call for an URGENT review of the Kimberly Process, SO THAT ALL diamonds that  

fund human rights abuses are banned, not just rough diamonds that fund such abuses.

Call on the diamond industry to Hallmark ALL diamonds, so consumers have the right to know where

each diamond was crafted & the right to choose genuine conflict free diamonds.

  

Provide laser-inscribed diamonds manufactured in countries that respect human rights & International law and refuse to sell diamonds crafted in Israel until it fully complies with its obligations under

International law. 

One man is on the ground in Israel, where the Kimberley process is based at the moment for it's latest meetings. He is Irishman  Tommy Donnellan, and he took part in a protest outside the Kimberly Process Conference, held in the Hotel Dan Panorama in Tel Aviv. 

Tommy, holding the IPSC, boycott Blood Diamonds signs .

Of course, Tommy was duly approached by Tel Aviv's finest (Police) and was asked to immediately give over to the state, his passport & mobile phone.  Israeli Police took all details including all names and numbers in Mr. Donnellan's mobile phone.

Israel's latest cheap moves, smack of desperation !

 Either, old age is making me cynical or I have seen so much from Israel over the years, that no matter how low they go, It no longer surprises me.

Here are the latest cheap moves from the Zionist State.  Firstly, they are on a recruitment drive in the USA (no great surprise there I guess), they are advertising apartment blocks in Jerusalem, trying to recruit more settlers to go to Israel, the latest showing was in NY just a couple of days ago. In their video you get a virtual tour of this new apartment block, with breathtaking views of the Wall, the Knesset and rolling green lawns surrounding each block.  To encourage the fair people of NY, to leave the grimy rat infested streets, there are other little bonus items, such as a guaranteed job, government assisted rent payments and of course the promise of a better life in the Holy land.  Sounds so good, it almost makes ya think, where do I sign up?

Live in luxury in the Holy land, whilst Palestinians are driven out of their homes, look at the rolling green grass, carefully manicured, so as to feel like the best carpet underfoot,  but don't worry about the blood and sweat of the Palestinian family who once lived where the grass now grows.  Remember that awe inspiring view over the city of Jerusalem?  where one can clearly see fellow settlers go about their daily chores, with automatic weapons strapped to their clean, fresh and almost perfectly pressed garments.  It's all there for the taking! so long as you leave your humanity behind with the garbage and rats in NY.
By the way, before you leave NY, don't forget to wave and thank the average Joe, driving the Taxi Cab to get his teenage Daughter or Son into college,  before starting his second job in a greasy spoon diner. After all  it's his tax dollars that will pay for your dream life in the Holy land.


Oh Yea,  second, I almost forgot, again remember that description of the apartments? YES?  then you will remember that from this abode of  humanity, one could see the Knesset. Where the political minds of Israel gather to run the Zionist state (into the ground), guess what these vessels of intellect have been cooking up in the past weeks?  If you are thinking, a way to release Israel from the the doom that awaits it,  you would be wrong.  No, instead like little children, they are hatching new plans to SHUT UP, those pesky Human Rights activists,  I kid ye not!  (excuse the pun)..  A new bill, now the third one aims at restricting the activities of (you guessed it) Human Rights groups and Peace activists within Israel and  the OPT (Occupied Palestinian Territory). 

Bill no.1, was set to restrict funding of NGO's by foreign governments, which they claim is easily achieved by labeling such NGO's as political, thus not being able to avail of charitable status in Israel.

Bill no.2,  (was obviously cooked up during a game of spin the bottle), This forbids the registration of any charity involved directly or indirectly in the pursuance of war crimes against Israeli leaders or members of government.

Bill no.3, This one seeks to OUTLAW any activities which involve Boycott of Israeli goods, services, organisations or individuals, be they in Illegal settlements, OPT or Israel itself.   This is the most serious of the three, as it could effectively be used to ban entry into Israel and the OPT, this ban could result in immediate arrest of members of the Palestinian Authority and foreign governments deemed to partake in Boycott activity. It was proposed almost immediately after the PA decision to boycott settler goods.  Although not yet approved, it's effect would indeed be far reaching, as it would seriously inhibit the work of NGO's, charities and governments involved in the BDS campaign.

For the fullest description of the proposed bills mentioned above please cut and paste the link below:
http://tinyurl.com/393qao9 

Barak, trade MURDERS for food!

Barak, has just effectively asked to trade the lives of those MURDERED by Israel, on the Freedom Flotilla, for ease of goods into Gaza. Of course he is too clever to say it as straight up and honest as we have just done, but his statement means exactly the same thing. This bastion of absolute evil, (Barak) said "there is no reason for an International investigation into the flotilla (MURDERS) because there is going to be free movement of goods into Gaza".
Firstly WE must never accept LESS than a full investigation into these MURDERS, and the Israeli government must be held responsible at all costs. Second, this WITHOUT doubt proves that the government in Tel Aviv have indeed been slowly starving over 1.5 million people on a little strip of land called Gaza, there is also no doubt that the so called humans in the Israeli government (and I mean so called) will wallow in the knowledge that the Great people of Gaza will be seen world wide getting all these gifts from Israel.  Make no mistake, these are not gifts, this IS NOT AID, Israel will not be able to trade goodwill around the world as the did by being on the ground in Haiti.
Unless you think the dreadful treatment of those imprisoned in the concentration camps under the Nazis rule were given gifts when VERY occasionally fed. and YES I am drawing comparison, damn right, I am.

The latest statement from the so called leader of the free world (what a joke!), or to be pedantic about it his government, is that they are happy to see the movement of goods into Gaza! Please Mr President, spare us the special relationship BS, be a man for God's sake and grow a pair!

Whilst this is going on, what we in Europe don't know is that the low life government of Israel, when not slithering around on their bellies, are trying everything possible in the US (seat of the leader of the free world), to get American backing, to effectively make illegal (or apply the terrorist label) on human rights groups such as I.H.H..  There is no doubt that the Zionist run and financed AIPAC, will succeed because the government of America has become spineless. WHY??  Because money is king or Leader of the SO CALLED free world.

I make no apology for the use of CAPS

The ease on Gaza

We have been pondering the situation of Gaza, more to the point the Israeli stance and wondering what was really going on. This week during on-going meetings, all sorts of reports came out of Tel Aviv, They were going to ease the blockade, then meetings were canceled without real conclusions and no further date for another meeting set.
However the latest news received was that Israel produced a document stating that there would be an ease on the Gaza strip, this would normally be occasion for celebration, apart from the fact that this document was produced in English and Hebrew. So what? you might ask, isn't that a normal thing for Israel to do?
Well the answer is Yes, however on this occasion the statement in English differed from the one released in Hebrew! The English statement mentioned Israels intention to ease the current situation in Gaza, however the one in Hebrew DID NOT.
So here is the question, is Mr. Netanyahu fibbing to the rest of the world in English? or to the people of Israel? If the fib is directed at the Israeli people, what chance will is there that the ease on Gaza will actually happen? Remember in the past when an Israeli leader hid information or fibbed to the people who elected him / her, the result was a total wipe out at the next election.
What is without doubt is that Mr. Netanyahu is in an almost impossible position, on the one hand he is trying to keep pressure from other state leaders off by making gestures to satisfy them. On the other hand he must consider the possible harm, that softening on the situation of Gaza  might do to him and his party at the next election. I guess time, as usual will tell, which face presented by Mr. Netanyahu and the Israeli government is the real one and which one is the token .

Heroes from the M.V. Rachel Corrie in Waterford

Lately, there has been little reason for Human Rights and Peace activists to celebrate, despite the fact, that without doubt, those on The Freedom Flotilla, have achieved more than ever achieved before, in highlighting the inhumane plight of the Palestinian people. The Murder of the heroes on the IHH vessel and the INSANE insistence of the Israeli government, backed it seems by the American government, that there should ONLY be an internal investigation into the flotilla murders, has been VERY heavy on all our minds.

However on Thursday evening the 17th of June, Waterford City on the south east coast of Ireland, welcomed Derek and Jenny Graham of the M.V. Rachel Corrie. Derek and Jenny gave several radio and press interviews earlier in the day, and quite simply won the hearts and minds of the people of this great city.

At the scheduled meeting and official interview the county Mayo couple were simply electric!  Mr. Graham gave a heart wrenching description of a previous visit to Gaza, in particular calling to mind his visit to a pediatric unit of the main hospital. With a very audible crackle in his otherwise, strong and clearly heard voice, he began to describe the whole situation, on arriving at the unit, Mr. Graham described the image of one infant who had been born premature at 26 weeks, and (he explained) already this little miracle had the odds stacked against it. You see, this infant was Male and as with all males under 35 years of age was immediately considered by the Israeli State as a TERRORIST. On asking the doctor present, what the child was suffering from the answer was shocking, this little HELPLESS miracle required an immediate operation, however the problem was lack of anesthetic! Mr. Graham asked why they had a shortage and were could it be gotten from? the nearest available supply was not very far away, in fact had Mr. Graham been in Dublin, London or NY for example, fresh supplies could have been retrieved within minutes literally!  "However we were in Gaza, and getting any kind of medical equipment or medicines was next to impossible" he continued. To get permission from Israel took more time to get approved, never mind delivered than the little infant actually had on this Earth. Mr. Graham drew a breath and momentarily seemed to fight back his emotions before continuing, "Because of the terrorist label, an innocent little male infant would die within days. He had never made any mark on this world, never spoke his first words or gave greatly deserved and long wanted joy to his parents and yet he was to be denied life! his crime being born male".
Jenny Graham (his wife and another member of the Rachel Corrie), interjected at this point sensing her husbands struggle with his emotions. She said: "What Derek is describing to you all, is not the exception to the rule, it is very common, and somehow the people of Gaza still bravely manage to go on day after day. The problem is not availability, it's RED TAPE and often simply collective punishment". 
Derek continued: Yes that is it, collective punishment! after seeing one or two more infants, Derek said: " I stopped asking the question, why won't that infant survive. Because I knew all too well the answer would time and again be the same.

If there was one thing abundantly clear to all who came into contact with the Grahams, it was that they were a very special and very loving couple, each one protective of the other and each the power behind the other. Yet they were modest almost to a fault. One of the audience stood up to commend their actions and to call for recognition from all attending, that we were indeed in the presence of HEROES.
Both Derek and Jenny were visibly embarrassed by this statement, although thanking the speaker from the floor, Jenny said: "We are ordinary everyday people, nothing more, we just happened to be lucky enough to be in a position, where we could go to Gaza or get involved in the Freedom Flotilla mission", she continued: the real heroes are you guys the people on the ground, knowing that you were all behind us, is what made us feel safe on board the Rachel Corrie. We knew the people of Ireland were aware of us and all on the vessels on the flotilla, we even knew people would be wishing us the best and in many, many cases even praying for our safety. But since we got home to Ireland we have been totally overwhelmed by the volume of well wishers and the love shown by the people of this country. We are just lucky, Lucky to be able to help, lucky to have made it home alive and most of all, lucky to be Irish. If there are heroes, they are the Mothers of Gaza who on a daily basis fight for survival, fight to feed and keep their families safe and together, and the children who grow up wondering if the world outside Palestine is like theirs, asking all those they see as outsiders if they too, have soldiers knocking down their homes, or beating down their doors in the middle of the night, these are the real heroes.

There are NO words to accurately describe people like the Grahams, because there are no words in the English language powerful enough, to get across to others just how very special they are. Suffice to say,  if there are Angels or spirits out there doing good in the face of total evil, then surely there is a place amongst them, after this life for Derek and Jenny Graham.

City council calls for Israeli Ambassador to be expelled.

It is not often that the voice of the little man (or woman) is heard in political circles, more often than not, we shout, cry out and pray that we will be heard, Yet somehow it appears that our voices cannot reach the ears of those whom we elect to represent us. 

This very evening in Waterford City, on the south east coast of Ireland, there was a strange atmosphere about, we gathered outside city hall, It was a beautifully mild evening and those gathered could be seen clearly sporting their "Boycott Israeli Goods" T-shirts, however it was extremely hard to describe the mood at that time, there was tension, hope, expectation or indeed maybe an element of fear among those gathered.

 Waterford IPSC, (Waterford branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign) had lobbied long and hard, very hard, to get an official statement from the Politicians of Waterford city, calling for the Israeli Ambassador to be expelled from Ireland. We stood firmly together, there were people of differing religion, differing skin colour and differing accents, Yet we stood together as one. Of course we wondered if we had done enough to win this vote, whilst at the same time children were proudly holding the Irish and Palestinian flags, whilst playing together in innocence, as only children can.

We greeted the Politicians as they arrived, requesting their support, shaking their hands and nervously hoping not to say anything that might be perceived as offensive to their individual parties. We were aware very early on that day, that we had the full support of several of the Politicians, our collective task now was to try to convince the undecided amongst them to vote in our favour. You learn very quickly that politicians (NOT ALL BUT SOME)  say what they think you want to hear, I believe its called Lip Service, Our collective worry was that Lip Service would be paid (so to speak) to us, then another course of action would be taken inside city hall.

One of our Palestinian members spoke to both the crowd assembled and the Politicians arriving, giving a very eloquent and well described account of living in Gaza and greater Palestine, after the speech it could be seen plainly that some began to almost tremble with expectation of the events to come, just at the very moment the politicians began to enter the annals of city hall to take their seats.

The Lord Mayor of Waterford along with politicians from the Sinn Fein Party, Labour Party and the Workers Party (Irish Political Parties) had already given their collective assurance that they would be voting in favour of removing the Israeli Ambassador from Ireland.  The stage was now set, so to speak, the politicians had entered city hall and taken their places, however because of our numbers outside, there was simply not enough room for everybody to enter the chambers. One of the IPSC leaders stepped forward proposing that four should go in, and the rest would hold vigil outside, He then took the decision to send in one female Irish member of the group, who was given the instruction to keep in contact with the rest outside, via phone text messages. Then there were three more chosen, all three were to be Palestinian members of the group who currently reside in Waterford City. He apologized for the fact that we could not all enter and stated, whatever the outcome of the vote, there should be Palestinians present to witness the affair.

Time passed slowly, then the first text message arrived, it simply read "Nothing Yet", all about us held their collective breath in anticipation. Another 1/2 hour went slowly by and a second text message arrived, it read: Vote Beginning", you could almost cut the atmosphere among the crowd gathered outside. The word that the Vote had begun made its way to all of the people outside. At that very moment you could have literally heard a pin drop on the concrete beneath our feet, more time passed and the general conversations began again, It was both interesting and topical, yet talk of the World Cup, the current recession or when the next flotilla might be, would be cut off sharply on the sound of a text message arriving. Moments later a mobile / cell phone beeped loudly, as though to declare to all present its importance. Sure enough it was a text message, but a private one, nothing to do with the expected and eagerly awaited message from within City hall.  The people gathered, unanimously and without word nor direction, decided to collectively switch off their phones, it became clear that any distraction at that point in time, would be an unwelcome one.

A further ten minutes passed and finally the only mobile / cell phone still switched on began to proudly beep at us, there was a moment or two of complete silence, the the words "It has been voted in our favour", still the crowd assembled were silent, as though almost in some sort of trance, children looked to their parents for answers, all of a sudden one little boy stepped forward with a smile so broad that the edges of his lips almost looked like they were touching his ears. As loud as he could, he screamed "WE DID IT" and again "WE DID IT", there was a huge sigh of relief followed by and incredible outburst of emotion and a equally huge scream of success. Strangers kissed each other and congratulated each other, Hands were shook, victory signs waved, people hugged each other so hard that it momentarily robbed you of the air collected between kisses and shouts of celebration.

About another 1/2 hour passed and the first of the four IPSC members began exiting via the large doors of city hall, It was one of the Palestinian men, he leaped  forward to to embrace one of the leaders, and all present could see the tears in his eyes and on his cheeks, his only words were "I am very happy", within moments men and women were drying their eyes with the back of their hands, The men among us claiming that something entered their eyes or that they may be getting hay fever, but we all knew, every man. woman and child knew that this was a very special moment, Next the doors of city hall re-open and out come two more Palestinian men to great applause and finally the hero of the situation, the young Irish girl would kept us all aware of what was going on, via her text messages..

One man in the crowd asked: "can one man make a difference in a world of many? " the answer lay with one of the IPSC ladies present, "YES, she said, "If the cause is a JUST one", she then continued: "and by God the plight of the Palestinian People, is a JUST cause!" On hearing those words the celebration began again.

It has taken a while, for what we had achieved to truly sink in, the taking part and just being there, seemed almost reward enough, but this was followed by the realization of what had been achieved.

Today, Monday 14th of June 2010, Waterford IPSC and their supporters have managed to get full support from politicians from ALL parties in the city of Waterford,  To officially call on the government of Ireland to expel the Israeli Ambassador.   Furthermore, the majority of politicians present, outside after the meeting gave their support to our call to Boycott Israeli Goods in Ireland.

IPSC news conference videos

Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) news conference videos below:

1 of 4, IPSC with Shane Dillon on return from imprisonment from Israel.

IPSC VIDEO 2 of 4

IPSC video 3 of 4

IPSC video 4 of 4

In memory of those lost on the Freedom Flotilla

Below I have placed a list of the hero's who lost their lives to free Palestine from Zionist oppression..

(1).   Ibrahim Bilgen, 61,        Married with 6 children 

(2).  Cevdet Kiliçlar, 38,        Married with 2 children 

(3).  Fahri Yaldiz, 43,            Married with 4 children
                             
(4).  Çetin Topçuoglu, 54,     Married with 1 Son  

                       

(5).  Cengiz Songür, 47,        Married with seven children.   
          

(6).  Ali Haydar Bengi, 39,    Married with 4 children

(7).  Necdet Yildirim, 32,      Married with a 3 year old Daughter

(8).  Cengiz Akyüz, 41,         Married with 3 children aged 14, 12 &9

(9)  Furkan Dogan, 19, student at Kayseri High School,   

      a Turkish-American with dual nationality.

 We must NEVER forget those who went in our stead, In our memory they will be forever...

Blood Diamonds still being sold in Ireland

The IPSC have called for a total and speedy ban on Israeli BLOOD DIAMONDS in Ireland the call comes just after, the relaunch of the BOYCOTT Israeli good in Ireland campaign.

All jewelers will be contacted and asked to join the campaign to stop the importation and selling of the Israeli blood diamonds.

Waterford IPSC calls for total boycott on Israeli goods

Waterford IPSC (Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign) calls for the complete boycott of Israeli goods supplied in certain shops and supermarkets in the Waterford City and County areas.

The Waterford group representative expressed urgency in applying the boycott in the area, stating the following "It is of utmost importance that Israeli good be boycotted A.S.AP, City and County wide"

The campaign to boycott Israeli goods has been in action throughout Ireland for quite a while now with resounding success, however some outlets in Waterford have resisted the requests from the IPSC and others to remove Israeli goods.

Israeli attack on the human rights Flotilla

I really don't think anybody expected this!
Let's face it, we expected Israel to launch some sort of effort to stop the flotilla, the more romantic souls among us, me included, thought that JUST maybe one or two may make it. Some even considered that Israel might for PR purposes, allow the vessels to go to Gaza.

Nobody ever, even for a moment considered that Israel would SLAUGHTER innocent people to show her might to the rest of the world.
You see it wasn't a mistake, it was pure arrogance, they figured with Americas support who is going to do anything. So now the standoff begins, America is undecided, the British are waiting for the Americans to make the decision for them, other countries are either fighting the issue or sending out statements of condemnation.

There are however some surprises, the Irish PM. Brian Cowen has made it very clear to Israel that all captives (I prefer Kidnapped), Must be released A.S.A.P.
Mr Cowen, has also demanded safe voyage for the M.V. Rachel Corry to Gaza, and has in no uncertain terms stated, that he will not allow Irish citizens to be treated with anything but respect.




The picture above is of the M.V. Rachel Corrie just after her christening, being readied on her maiden voyage to Gaza.

All eyes are now on her, like a hero of the people, she makes her way with the hopes of the masses. I believe even those silent on the issue of the slaughter of the innocent people on the first vessel, are secretly hoping that there is not another incident. Yet the poison and bile keeps spewing out of Israel, It was reported that an Israeli radio host stated, Israel will sink the Rachel Corrie.

I believe THEY WILL NOT, I also believe they will handle the occupants of the M.V. Rachel Corry with kid gloves! Why? I hear you ask, well two reasons really and here they are:

(1). The Irish are held in at least as much respect as Israel in the US, I am not saying that the Irish have as much political Influence as Israel, not by a mile in fact, but they are RESPECTED in the US and indeed in most countries around the world.

(2). They are known for speaking out on issues such as this, and indeed as proved by their Foreign Ministers comments in Gaza, they will. It must also be remembered that Ireland is a warrior nation, and famed to be quick tempered (not my view), along with this they WILL call it as they see it, which in my mind is a great thing..

The Irish area great nation, who stand up for the underdog and will not take excuses when it comes to their people. Like the Turks they react quickly and this is a good thing, the world was looking for leadership when this happened, but OBAMA was silent as were others. the leadership and example came from Turkey, Ireland and Iran, these tree countries were the first to condemn and speak out. I know, there will be people (especially Israelis) who will be frothing at the mouth at the mention of Iran, but this is fact...

Anyway, whilst it remains to be seen if my predication, on how Israel will handle the Rachel Corrie situation is correct or not, I would ask all who read this (badly written) statement, to come together to support the people on board and demand along with me, that the M.V. Rachel Corrie be ALLOWED to go all the way to Gaza...


Waterford IPSC