# 144 – Gaza Etc.

Headlines:

• Navy braces for showdown with Gaza-bound flotilla’. There’s reports about the preparations to take the boats in peacefully, land them at Ashdod port, transfer the goods overland to Gaza, check the 6-700 members of the flotilla, release those who pose no threat, arrest those who do, etc. etc. I was wondering what Turkey would do in the reverse circumstances, if, let’s say, Israel were to organise a flotilla of such ships to help the PKK (Kurds).  I know that the rest of the World would criticise Israel for getting involved…that’s for sure.

Back to Gaza later…

• ‘Nasrallah again’. I feel like reprinting the whole article, just to try to wake you observers up.!  Last week, as you will not know – why should you – there were nationwide defence drills in Israel. Laughable in some eyes, even some Israelis could not quite get the hang of it. But serious it is, for we have recent and vivid experience of our neighbours’ attempts to destroy us.

Some might define attack as the best form of defence, but it’s not so easy to say the reverse.

Hassan Nasrallah is the leader of Hezbollah, the Jihadist movement that controls the south of Lebanon . As a reaction to the defence drills in Israel, he claims that the defence drills were an act of aggression. ‘Black is white’ says he. That’s bad enough. It’s when people listen that normality goes out the window.

Nasrallah now claims that ALL of Israel is now vulnerable to rocket attack, which is not only a very unveiled threat, it is also a total contravention of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, banning rearming of Hezbollah. He went on – and it gets worse. But who cares. Right?

If your father were murdered by A.N. Other, you wouldn’t like that person much. Well, Lebanese PM Saad Hariri’s father was killed by the Syrians. He was initially the leader of the anti-Syrian coalition in the country – and was expected to keep Hezbollah under control.  Forget it….Saad has actually been to Syria ‘with cap in hand’, and has accepted Hezbollah into the Lebanese coalition.

In an LA Times article last week, he ignored the subject of re-arming the southern Lebanese Islamists by Syria and Iran, arguing that ‘desperate people will do desperate things’.

Hariri recently even lauded Iran’s Ahmadinejad. Rafik, his father, must be absolutely churning in his grave.

Boycott Backfire

For many years, as some of you will know, my favourite ‘from Israel’ gift has been Ahava hand cream or body lotion. ‘Ahava’ means ‘love’.  For weeks now, at a mall in London, anti-Israel protesters have been trying to disrupt an Ahava store with regular protests etc.

Forget the store’s complaints – I think you will have now realised that authorities in the West will rarely care about such a thing. (Although it is worrying for the staff, it appears that shoppers have been defiant, and that sales have been quite good. Perhaps most are Jewish shoppers..).

What’s interesting is that the neighbouring shops have suffered, and their complaints have also gone unheard.  Potential buyers avoid the area, some ignore the advertising by staring at the protesters.

And all this over LOVE.

My friend

During the expo I attended over weekend in Basel, I had a chat with a very decent, respected and intelligent friend of mine, whom I’ve known for years.  Originally Irish, lived in Denmark, States and now in France. He’s been around…and, surprise surprise, he has a very dim opinion of Israeli politics. Well, so do I, of course, but that’s not what we/I are/am talking about.

Am I blind, or being just stubborn? Well, I know I’m not blind, ‘cos I’ve looked at the situation from so many points of view and have, with many wobbles on the way, stuck to the same view. So I am of course stubborn.

But it did bring home to me the very great task we have to get the message through…and so to today’s events off Gaza…

Gaza

Look at the people on board the ships (and they included an Arab member of the Israeli Knesset, plus activists from just about every anti-Israel organisation).

Look at the support shown by Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and London’s Guardian (oh yes, that’s how the conversation started with my friend – his claim that the Guardian is NOT one of bastions of anti-Israel fervour – and it used to be my favourite read).

Therefore you should not be surprised that Israel could not allow this succeed. Israel was prepared to handle this peacefully, but had to be ready for violence. Really no choice. Almost as futile as stopping a suicide bomber. These guys were determined to break through – and they knew that, the more tragic the outcome, the more damage they would do to Israel. A win-win situation for them.

I just had a call from London, and they said that the news there was focused ONLY on Israel’s aggression, and not on the provocation. It appears that when an Israeli spokesman was interviewed, his questions were constantly interrupted.

I am writing this while the thing is going on. I know it’s going to look bad for Israel, because that’s the predicament we’re in.  I shall watch it, I shall judge and I shall criticise if and where necessary.

The saga (almost an anagram of Gaza) continues…

Stephen