‘If Israel’s Tzipi Livni is not a war criminal, why does she refuse to defend herself in court?’

July 5, 2016 By administrator

Former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. © Andrew Kelly / Reuters

Israel is treating British law with contempt because it doesn’t think Tzipi Livni would get a fair trial, if it ever got to that, Professor Kamel Hawwash, vice chair of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, told RT.

The UK and Israel have found themselves on the brink of a diplomatic spat after British police summoned Israel’s former foreign minister Tzipi Livni for questioning over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

The move provoked a furious response from the Israeli government, which said it is greatly concerned by the UK’s “political abuse”.

However, the matter was later dropped after the UK granted Tzipi Livni diplomatic immunity.

RT: Why do you think the police did this?

Kamel Hawwash: What we have here, is someone who was in office during a war on Gaza in which over 1,400 people were killed by Israeli weaponry. Collective punishment is no justification for killing them. And this woman was part of the cabinet which approved this, and then went around the world telling everyone what a wonderful operation it was and that it was necessary to protect Israel…The UK has a law – Universal Jurisdiction – which still, despite the change, allows people here to bring cases against suspected war criminals. That is actually a very honorable and moral thing we have here. Unfortunately, though, the Foreign Office shamefully decided to waste the time of a foreign minister… because they had to arrange an ad-hoc meeting for him or her to sit with Tzipi Livni in order for them to issue diplomatic immunity. If Ms. Livni is not a war criminal, why didn’t she accept and agree to defend herself in a court of law and that would be the end of it if she is exonerated. Of course, if she is found guilty, then she should pay for her crimes.

RT: Why in your opinion is the UK trying so hard to retain relations with Israel? What makes Israel an important ally?

KM: The UK has a long tradition of saying that Israel is an ally. And that is fine. As long as that ally isn’t conducting illegal acts, isn’t in illegal occupation, doesn’t abduct children in the middle of the night, doesn’t put them up in front of military courts. It is not a normal state which is just doing normal business. It is a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ state where you have a part where there is some form of democracy there, start-up businesses do very well and you can understand people wanting to work with it. But what we must say to Israel is “We want to work with you, but only when you stop your illegal acts and especially when you stop murdering children in the middle of the night in Gaza.”

RT: Why is it any of the UK’s business? Isn’t it something for the UN to be looking at?

KM: Universal Jurisdiction exists as a law in this country. A similar law exists in Spain and other countries. Citizens of a particular state, if they have recourse to law… and asked that someone who is suspected of committing war crimes somewhere else is questioned, I think we should all support it. Because surely none of us want war criminals to be walking the streets of Britain. So that’s what it is about, it is about saying “Don’t come here if you are a war criminal because if you do come here, the law allows us to question you.” And as I said, if she is not guilty, she will be found not guilty. That shows you that Israel treats British law with contempt because it obviously doesn’t think that Tzipi would get a fair trial, if it ever got to that.

Yet Again, Israel Denies the Armenian Genocide, side with Terrorist state of Turkey

July 5, 2016 By administrator

Israel Deny armenian Genocide Israel is one of the only democratic countries in the world, if not the only one, to do so, and to support Turkey’s stubborn policy of denial.
ByProf. Yair Aurongenocide scholar Jul 04, 2016 11:29 PM

On May 31, a few days before the lower house of the German Bundestag recognized the murder of the Armenian people – an act that reverberated worldwide – there was supposed to be a discussion of the subject in the Knesset. However, it was postponed under pressure from the Foreign Ministry (which is headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu). The discussion is due to take place in the Knesset on Wednesday.

This is a discussion of great importance for the battle that has been waged for years for Israeli recognition of the Armenian genocide. In the past year I hoped that if not the Israeli government, at least the Knesset would finally recognize it. But apparently there is very little chance of that, in light of the rapprochement agreement signed with Turkey. After all, who would endanger the agreement because of a negligible thing like whether or not there was a genocide of another nation.

There’s no chance that the Israeli government will recognize the Armenian genocide, but during the course of the year commemorating the 100th anniversary of the murder of the Armenian people, there was nevertheless a hope that perhaps the Knesset would do so. But apparently that hope is also evaporating.President Reuven Rivlin has in the past expressed profound identification with the suffering of the Armenians. When he served as Knesset speaker he even said that Israel should recognize the Armenian genocide. It’s a shame that he has refrained from repeating that since being elected president, saying only “I haven’t changed my mind.”

In a discussion in the Knesset Education Committee in July 2015, in which Edelstein participated, all the speakers from the coalition and the opposition supported recognition. Only a representative of the Foreign Ministry had reservations, claiming that the concept of “genocide” has become politicized, and therefore Israel should not use it. Imagine if any European government were to claim that the “Holocaust” is a political concept, and therefore their government should not use it.

At the conclusion of the discussion the Education Committee called on the Knesset to recognize the genocide and on the Education Ministry to teach about it, but nothing happened. The annual discussion to take place in the coming days is the moment of truth: The thawing of relations with Turkey and the weapons deals between the governments of Israel and Azerbaijan, worth billions of dollars – weapons designated for clashes with the Armenians – are not glad tidings for the chances of recognition.

Even if people and institutions in Israel won’t be happy to hear these words, they must be said: Israel denies the Armenian genocide. We are one of the only democratic countries in the world, if not the only one, to do so, and to support Turkey’s stubborn policy of denial. The United States neither recognizes nor denies the genocide. When we deny the Armenian genocide, we are desecrating the memory of its victims. In my opinion, in so doing we are also desecrating the memory and the victims of the Holocaust.

Because of this last sentence, which I refused to omit, the administration of Yad Vashem rejected a scientific article that I was invited to write for the institution’s newsletter, Teaching the Legacy. But I will continue to say and to write that sentence until the State of Israel, if only via the Knesset, recognizes the Armenian genocide.

Today it’s already known and has been proven: When we deny a genocide that took place in the past, we are preparing the ground for a future genocide.

The discussion in the Knesset should arouse great interest in the world, and of course among the Armenians in Armenia and in the Diaspora, and hopefully here too. Those who are fighting for recognition are requesting “a vote now.” Transferring the discussion to the committee was an important step for years, but it has become a cynical political means to conceal the truth. We continue to deny.

Israeli recognition (which is not anticipated, to my regret) would probably lead to recognition of the Armenian genocide by the entire world. If Israel recognizes it, U.S. President Barack Obama won’t be able to continue to remain on the sidelines either. What is true of genocide is also true of the battle against its denial: Anyone who is not on the side of the victims is on the side of the deniers.

Prof. Auron is a genocide scholar who has been working for years for recognition by Israel and the world of the Armenian genocide.

Source: http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.728904

Israel: Armenian Genocide to be discussed during Knesset plenum

July 4, 2016 By administrator

armenian genocide Knesset The debate on Armenian Genocide is included in the agenda of Knesset, representative of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“This time the Armenian Genocide will be discussed during the plenum on July 5. During last year’s debates in the education committee, the chairman of the committee presented proposals to the government to recognize the Armenian Genocide and include the issue in the curriculum,” Fr. Koryun said.

The Armenian community and Israelis demanding recognition of the Armenian Genocide will stage an action during the debates in Knesset.

The website of the Knesset says describes the debate as “Marking Armenian Genocide Day”.

Yair Auron: Knesset to hold debate on Armenian Genocide on July 5

June 29, 2016 By administrator

genocide israel Israel’s Knesset will hold debate on the Armenia Genocide on July 5 a month after Bundestag adopted resolution recognizing the Genocide, Dr. Yair Auron, an Israeli historian said in an interview with the Zoryan Institute .

“Israel refrained from allowing a public debate to have a free vote on the subject of the Armenian Genocide for fear of alienating the Turkish government, a key ally to Israel and the United States,” Auron believes.

The historian does not agree with the opinion on the uniqueness of the Holocaust.

“I cannot accept that because the Holocaust is not unique, and needs to be studied as one example of genocide and not in isolation. Israel, a state born out of the Holocaust, is expected not to barter with the memory of the genocide of another people,” he added.

Auron noted that American presidents avoid using the word genocide, but Israel has gone even further: not only denying the status of the Armenian Genocide, but honouring the tragic killing of a small group of Azerbaijanis at Khojaly during the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said at a commemoration in 1915, ‘We are gathered here today to talk about the necessity to combine the experience of Israel and Azerbaijan in order to prevent such tragedies in the future.’

The historian called on Knesset to have a free vote on whether or not to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

“Now that Israel and Turkey have mended fences and are about to renew their diplomatic ties, the Knesset must give a clear message that Israel’s relations cannot be held hostage to Turkey’s denial of these incontestable historical facts, especially after Germany’s admittance of its complicity, as an ally of Ottoman Turkey. It should further emphasise that Armenian Genocide recognition by Israel is not about friendship or enmity towards Turkey, but it is rather a moral responsibility of Israel. Furthermore, after Germany’s admittance of complicity, the failure of the Israeli Knesset to openly label the ‘events of 1915’ as ‘genocide’ is no longer only a simple moral issue, it is also a matter of credibility,” he resumed.

TURKEY: Israel will pay $ 20 million compensation to Turkey for the raid 2010

June 28, 2016 By administrator

turkey-israel Israel will pay 20 million dollars (18 million euros) to the families of ten Turks killed in the assault against the Mavi Marmara ship in 2010 as part of a reconciliation agreement to be signed on Tuesday, announced Prime Minister Binali Yildirim Turkish.

The two states also will share “in the shortest possible time” ambassadors, he said Monday at a press conference in Ankara, hailing an “important step” towards normalization after six years of estrangement.

He also announced that Turkey would carry on Friday, “more than 10,000 tons of humanitarian assistance” from the Turkish port of Mersin (south) to the Israeli port of Ashdod for the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip under Israeli blockade.

“It took us so many years to prepare this agreement (…) Our relations are normalized with this text,” further stated Mr. Yildirim.

Ankara was a key regional ally Israel until the 2000s.

But their relations have deteriorated then, before being reduced drastically in 2010 in response to the assault by Israeli commandos against the Mavi Marmara, a ship chartered by a Turkish humanitarian NGOs to try to break the blockade Israel in Gaza. This had resulted in the deaths of 10 Turks.

Israel apologized in 2013 but tensions had resurfaced the following year with a new Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Turkey’s Islamists, nationalists both silent on Israeli weapons flow to Azerbaijan – Al Monitor

May 26, 2016 By administrator

By Pinar Tremblay
In early April, as renewed fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region made headlines in Turkey, there was little talk of the crucial role of Israeli weapons in the clashes. Only the daily Hurriyet reported on Azerbaijan’s use of the Israeli Harop armed drone, which generated Armenian protests.

Turkey’s Islamist and ultra-nationalists are curbing their opposition — at least outwardly — to Israel, which is supplying Azerbaijan with weapons to fight Armenia.

Justice and Development Party (AKP) spokesperson Omer Celik summarized why the issue should be important to the press: “Azerbaijan’s battle is our battle; their martyrs are our martyrs.” Indeed, Azerbaijan consistently scores as Turkey’s closest friend in Turkish public opinion polls, while Israel maintains its status as a serious threat in the same polls.
Intriguingly, Israel is Azerbaijan’s main arms supplier, a situation that poses a puzzle: Why have Turks remained silent as Azerbaijan, their closest friend, and Israel, their greatest rival — if not necessarily enemy — have grown closer? The silence of two sections of Turkish society is particularly noteworthy: One is Turkish ultra-nationalists, whose commitment to Azerbaijan is near-absolute; the other is Islamists, who miss no opportunity to bash Israel. Why are these two groups, whose protests are rarely if ever curtailed by the police in Turkey, ignoring this development?
The Israeli-Azeri cooperation has expanded as Israeli-Turkish relations have soured since the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident. Richard Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Center (RSC), an independent think tank in Yerevan, Armenia, told Al-Monitor, “Israel has replaced Turkey as an essential military patron of Azerbaijan, as seen in the 2012 deal involving the Azerbaijani procurement of drones and anti-aircraft missile defense systems from the state-run Israel Aerospace Industries for $1.6 billion.”
Giragosian explained that the bilateral relations are not limited to the weapons trade. The countries’ interests converge in three main areas — “security and military, including intelligence cooperation; energy and trade; and geopolitical strategy,” he said.
So why are Turkish Islamists and ultra-nationalists remaining silent as their rival Israel expands its presence in Azerbaijan? There are at least two intertwined explanations for this rational ignorance: the media’s silence and political pragmatism.
There is an undeclared media gag order in Turkey on publishing, and not just on anti-AKP stories considered unpleasant for the government. The Israeli-Azerbaijani relationship is diligently ignored in mainstream media. Hence, several leading figures of grass-roots Islamist and nationalist movements told Al-Monitor they are not aware of the extent of the strategic friendship between Turkey’s best friend and its most outspoken rival in the region. It was particularly noteworthy that none of the ultra-nationalists and only one of the Islamists was willing to go on the record with their views on the subject.

A middle-aged, self-described bozkurt (a nickname for a member of the Gray Wolves, the Turkish ultra-nationalist group) who worked in organizing youth told Al-Monitor, “Our youth are happy to see Azerbaijan triumph. We all wish it was mostly Turkish-made weapons being used, but we are not there yet. In the meantime, we cannot fuss about the identity of the manufacturer.”Turkey sells arms to Azerbaijan as well.
When reminded of the increasing presence of Israeli intelligence in Azerbaijan, as well as in the oil and gas trade, realpolitik came to the fore. Approaching the question in a frivolous manner, the Gray Wolf said, “Our [Turkish] relations are much better with Israel now, so are the Azerbaijanis’. Who is going to call the kettle black? Times have changed.”
More on the story is available here

Israel to Issue Stamp in Honor of Aznavour’s Parents for Saving Jews

May 25, 2016 By administrator

Charles Aznavour (Source: ArmRadio)

NEW YORK (ArmRadio)—In a recent meeting held in New York with the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (IRWF), representatives Mordecai Paldiel and Zvika Kichel, Charles Aznavour confirmed the riveting story of courage in which his late parents, Knar and Mischa, as well as his sister Aida and himself, had played a key role during the dark days of the Nazi occupation in France.

With a great sense of humbleness, Aznavour told how his parents gave shelter at their own home to Jews, Armenians and others who were persecuted by the Nazis. By so doing, the Aznavours had given the gift of life to other, while risking their own.

The IRWF has resolved to set-up a special research team to further investigate the feats of the Aznavour family and at the same time, all the Board Members of the NGO have unanimously decided to pay tribute to the Aznavours.

In a personal letter signed by the Chairman of the IRWF, Eduardo Eurnekian and by its Founder, Baruch Tenembaum, Aznavour was greeted on his 92th birthday and informed about two initiatives. The first one is to commission a special commemorative stamp to be issued by the Israel Postal Authority with the semblance of Mischa and Knar Aznavour, Charles’s late parents. The second one is to award the Raoul Wallenberg Medal to both siblings, Aida and Charles Aznavour, who as young people helped their parents in their life-saving mission.

Eurnekian said “The Aznavour family is an example of humble and decent people who did not stand idly by when faced with evil. His mother, Knar, nee Baghdasarian, was a survivor of the Armenian Genocide and she understood the plight of the Jewish people and all those who were brutally persecuted by Nazism. It is our duty to recognize the heroism of the Aznavour family and instill their spirit of civic courage in the hearts and minds of the young generations.”

Aznavor family The letter reads:

Dear Mr. Aznavour,

Let us start this letter by congratulating you on 92th birthday! We wish you good health and many more years of productiveness in your artistic, diplomatic and humanitarian activities!

We would like to thank you once again for having agreed to meet our Dr. Mordecai Paldiel and Mr. Zvika Kichel in New York. We watched the video of this meeting and were deeply moved by your humble approach and the courageous deeds undertaken by your dear late parents, your sister Aida and yourself, during the dark days of Holocaust. We also thank your son, Nicolas, for having arranged this gathering in such an efficient way.

As a result of this preliminary audience, we have instructed our research team to try and secure more information about the feats of your family during WWII and of course, we shall keep you duly posted.

At the same time, in a special meeting held by our Board, it has been unanimously resolved to pay tribute to your late parents, Mischa and Knar, as well as both you and Aida, as a token of recognition to your spirit of solidarity. The fact that you have given shelter and protection at your own home, to people from all faiths who were persecuted by the Nazis, is something that has to be remembered and recognized. We have therefore resolved to ask the Israeli Postal Authorities to make a special and limited stamp issue dedicated to your late parents. Should this be agreeable, our team in Israel will contact Nicolas with some administrative information (we would need some good photos of your parents as well as a written authorization from you to approach the Israel Postal Authorities).

Furthermore, it was decided to bestow upon you and your sister Aida, a special award, the Raoul Wallenberg Medal, in recognition of the role you played during the Shoah and for your staunch and consistent support of humanitarian causes.

As soon as we receive the acceptance from you and your sister, we shall coordinate with you the details and logistics of the award ceremony.

Thanking you in advance, we remain at your disposal should you require any further information on our end.”

Israel W. Charny: Would Israel sell a used drone to a Hitler?

April 30, 2016 By administrator

Executive director and co-founder of the Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem and editor of the Encyclopaedia of Genocide, Israel W. Charny published an article in The Times of Israel concerning Israel selling arms to Azerbaijan.

“I am ashamed. The Armenians were the victims of a major genocide 100 years ago that has even been called the “Armenian Shoah” by some Israeli scholars, including from Bar Ilan University. A great deal of their national and cultural ethos continues to focus passionately on the memory of that genocide (does that sound familiar to us Jews?). For many years now, we Israelis – whether led by Labor or Likud – have insulted and hurt the Armenian people by failing to recognize their genocide officially and formally. Would we ourselves tolerate another government – say the US or England – refusing to recognize the Holocaust because of their realpolitik interest with the perpetrator government?” he writes.

Charny also writes that Israel is reported to have sold billions of dollars worth of arms, including to ‘governments that are killing or threatening to attack victim peoples’.

“In general, how willing are we Israelis to strengthen our economy by lucrative arms sales? Of course, “everyone” in the world is doing it, but do we have to also? Have we given up the vision of Israel as a moral leader of peoples on this planet? Is this idea tiresome, naïve, and childlike in a madly destructive and self-destroying world?

An alternative principle could be that we build arms first and foremost for the defense of Israel, and that we supply arms only to underdog peoples who are facing mass destruction and to allies like the US that are essentially committed to shared democratic values and to peace. Of course we will still make some mistakes, but at least our conscience will be more clear that we have not delivered arms to the ‘Nazis.’
To my Armenian colleagues and friends, I can only say that as a Jew and as an Israeli, I am mortified – and angry,” writes the scientist.

2 Azerbaijani Military Planes Landed In Israel During Karabakh Attacks

April 27, 2016 By administrator

An illustrative photo of the Ilyushin 76 cargo plane which reportedly landed in Israel on two occasions in April 2016. (CC BY-SA 3.0 Igor Dvurekov/Wikipedia)An illustrative photo of the Ilyushin 76 cargo plane which reportedly landed in Israel on two occasions in April 2016. (CC BY-SA 3.0 Igor Dvurekov/Wikipedia)

TEL AVIV—Two Azerbaijani military planes reportedly landed in Israel earlier this month, at the height of this month’s Azerbaijani attacks on the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, The Times of Israel reported Tuesday.

In the first week of April, a publicly accessible online flight database twice picked up a large cargo plane belonging to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry entering Israeli airspace and flying to the Uvda military airfield in the south of the country, according to the report in the Israeli daily Haaretz.

An Ilyushin 76 cargo plane, flying under the call sign AZAF8 (Azerbaijani Air Force) is said to have arrived in Israel on April 4 and again on April 6, having come from the direction of Turkey. The planes apparently stayed on the ground for two to three hours.

This is not the first time Israel has been accused of helping Azerbaijan in the conflict, but allowing an Azerbaijani military aircraft to land in Israel would represent an upgrade in cooperation between the two countries, which have long maintained cordial ties.

In the same week that the planes are said to have landed in Israel, reports emerged that the Azerbaijani army had used an Israeli-made attack drone to target an Armenian convoy in the region.

A press spokesman for Armenia’s Defense Ministry said on his Facebook page that the Azerbaijani army was using the Israeli-made kamikaze Harop drone. The Harop is small enough to be able to skirt enemy aircraft detection systems and can find targets by radar or radio wave, as well as by remote piloting.

Artsrun Hovhannisyan told the state-run Russian agency Ria Novosti that the drone had apparently fixed on a bus full of “Armenian volunteers” and killed seven of them, the Washington Post reported.

Azerbaijan is Israel’s biggest oil supplier, a key recipient of Israeli arms, and a partner in a complicated three-way dance with Iran.

In 2011, the Israeli defense contractor Aeronautics opened a military drone factory in Azerbaijan.

The two countries signed a $1.4 billion defense deal in February 2012 which focused on drones and missile defense systems.

ISRAEL: Armenian Genocide 101 commemoration in Jerusalem

April 24, 2016 By administrator

Israel Armenian armenian genocide 101 Some 300 people gathered themselves Saturday in the monastery of St. Jacques in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem and commemorated the 101 anniversary of the start of the Armenian Genocide.

The ceremony took place after a Mass that was led by the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem Nourhan Manougian, and was attended by leaders of the Armenian community in Jerusalem. The service honored the memory of the 1.5 million Armenian victims killed by Ottoman authorities between 1915 and 1923, primarily in Syria.

Harut Baghamian, one of the organizers of the ceremony, a member of the youth movement Homenetmen and a descendant of refugees of the Armenian Genocide, told the Jerusalem Post that the Armenian community is disappointed with the way Israel treats the memory of the genocide. “It’s not that we deny as in some countries, we do not speak simply” Has he said.

However, Baghamian sees in the Jewish people a partner Armenians. “There are Israeli politicians who expressed their feelings about the genocide in the past, and we appreciate that. But we expect the government to honor its values before politics, “he said.

“We understand that this is a political issue. We receive broad support from the Israeli public. There are many similarities between Armenians and Jews throughout history, so we expect that the Jewish state is the first to recognize and address the issue. Armenians know the horrors of the Jewish Holocaust and hope that the Israeli government will do the same. “

On Sunday, members of the Armenian community and social activists will rotester front of the Turkish Consulate in Jerusalem and the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv.

« Previous Page
1
…
6
7
8
9
10
…
17
Next Page »