GAZA: SOFT BALLING MEDIA NEED SOME HARD BALLS FOR HAMAS

As Israel settles in for the long haul to finish a war it never begun, the world watches and reads a blow by blow commentary of the contest in the Middle East as if it were a sick reality show operating in a vacuum. The Middle East saga has been accompanied by a backdrop of a worldwide orgy of anti semitism that has received very little if any media editorialization. Contemporaneously, genocide is being perpetrated in Syria and Iraq and elsewhere. There are 170,000 dead in Syria, where chemical warfare is still being used. There is a former Syrian military photographer “Cesar” who has 55,000 photos of murder, torture, starvation of men, women and children, all of which due to the media’s “sensitivity”, other than NPR, we have been spared from viewing or discussing. 

In spite of all this the media have only one story. They seem consumed with pushing the narrative that, by showing heartbreaking pictures and prolonged video shots of the impact of the Israeli offensive, Israel maybe winning the war militarily but it is losing it politically. It is Israel that needs to be pushed to a ceasefire and they are being stubborn and inhuman in refusing to do so. (This tune being played to the background music of Hamas rockets whizzing through the air). Another war crime is Israel’s low number of casualties. The scoreboard of victims flashes on the split screens with the other half being consumed with smoke and crying mothers and dead children. All this without any thought as to why this is and who is really responsible.

MEDIA PLAYS SOFTBALL WITH HAMAS

The media have made no attempt to correlate the Hamas mantra with the worldwide disgusting anti semitic outbursts of hatred. They are totally concentrated on the moment. The moment being the sick sad photo ops of pathetic Palestinians that have been cannon fodder for one or other Arab nation or Islamist fundamentalist cause for nearly 70 years. The implicit justification for the media being 24/7 in Gaza and not Syria or Iraq or any one of the African genocidal areas is that fascist Israel are murdering innocent citizens after having stolen their land. The Israeli crimes have to be that much worse than anywhere else because if the media’s objective is the pursuit of the truth and not just selling soap, one must assume that what is happening in Hamas’s Gaza is the worst example of war crimes at present. This in spite of the fact that It is generally accepted, in military circles, to quote Colonel Kemp, a former British Commander in Afghanistan, interviewed by The London Times, that, “Israel uses the most sophisticated and comprehensive means of avoiding civilian casualties yet employed by any army in the world”.

NO ATTEMPT TO GET TO THE REAL QUESTIONS JUST REALITY TV

To Jay H. Ell this banality of focussing on one incident after another rather than getting to the bottom of the “real story” was nowhere better epitomized by a piece anchored by Erin Burnett of CNN. The issue was the bombed UNO hospital where fifteen Palestinian civilians had been tragically killed. The Israeli ambassador had complained that CNN had reported the story negatively towards Israel with no proof or context whatsoever. Erin Burnett smugly played two short clips where it was twice mentioned by reporters, during the course of that afternoon, that two UNO hospitals had had bombs found in them. These few lines were dropped between the reels and reels on this deplorable tragedy. Meanwhile there were ceaseless interviews with the UNO officials who were shouting the odds at the disgrace at this devastation and how they tried to stop the Israelis from doing it. This when it was far from certain where the rockets had come from. All the wise CNN panel nodded their heads in agreement at the two clips - case proved. But there was more to come.

Israel had, prior to the reportage above, conceded that it had returned Hamas fire from on or around the hospital and as a result of their investigation had concluded that one of its rockets had hit the area but it had not explosives in it and thus could not have caused the deaths. The reporter in Gaza at that point in time when asked for his comment, replied foaming at the mouth, “We were there and saw the bodies and carnage”. He believed that this was the defining moment of what this struggle was all about and Israel had been caught in a massive lie. Firstly, only in reality t.v. can one tiny cameo of a vast complex issue that has lasted nearly 70 years and some say 5000, be what “it is all about”. Secondly, the reporter had totally ruled out Israel’s other hypothesis that this might have been a Hamas rocket and in fact were inferring that it was. ( A fact that has just been verified by an Italian journalist, Gabriele Barbatti, embedded in Gaza, but the damage has been done).

So we are fed a daily diet of horrific sites and lamentable interviews and pitiful children’s bodies and sad piles of rubble with no in depth analysis as to what has precipitated this and caused this cataclysmic drama. There are not many Hamas spokesmen, unlike the hordes of Israeli communicators, around to answer questions. They are holed up in bunkers in central Gaza where they have hidden no weaponry so the Israelis are not targeting the area. 

The irony of this whole story is that only one side, Hamas, are unashamedly targeting civilians. They are building tunnels to send out terrorists to murder soft targets in Israel and nobody asks them any questions. The Hamas leadership has declared a war and are nowhere in sight leaving their citizens unprotected in the middle of their military installations. The other side, Israel that is not targeting citizens and protecting its own, are the ones that are being pressurized and vilified.

In short, for whatever reasons, no-one is asking Hamas the real hard questions. 

THE HARD QUESTIONS

Imagine if these intrepid media teams that chase around the world to pursue the truth could just go to the middle of Gaza where they aren’t dropping bombs and could somehow persuade one Hamas decision maker to respond. Someone who is the official spokesman, (there is no need to say spokesperson in this context), of Hamas.

Where would one start? Let us just start when Hamas took over control round about 2007. Let us also envisage that we have a telecaster who is asking the hard questions. 

Interview between a hypothetical media telecaster and a hypothetical Hamas Spokesman. Out of respect to Hamas’s privacy concerns only the questions will be printed.

* Does it worry you that, by your recent aggressive actions, you have immeasurably weakened those Israelis and supporters throughout the world that have been fighting so hard for a square deal for you or are those supporters irrelevant?

* Why was the decision taken to demolish the infrastructure Israel left to the Government of Gaza thereby depriving many Palestinians of a livelihood?

* Why do you precipitate conflicts when you do not provide any protection for your civilians?

* Do you believe that dead civilian Palestinians killed in these conflicts help the Palestinian struggle?

* Why do you put your military installations in or next to, houses, hospitals, mosques and schools?

* Why did you not use your tunnels to protect your citizens?

* Have you any comment to make on the reports that you are killing Palestinians, who are responding to Israeli warnings, from moving from an area about to be targeted? 

* Do you think that UNO should be heeded when they tell Israelis not to return fire when you are shooting rockets from or near a shelter? 

* What benefit does killing Israeli citizens have for the Palestinians’ liberation?

* Do you think Israel’s unilateral humanitarian breaks should be longer? 

* Bearing in mind the current imbalance of military power what mechanism does Hamas envision that will allow it to triumph over Israel ?

* As a follow up to the above question have you been assured of any military aid by any country such as Qatar or Iran?

* Do you feel abandoned by the Arab and Muslim world with only Iran,Turkey and Qatar supporting you?

* Did you feel betrayed when Hezbollah stated that they would not support you in your armed struggle?

* Do you back the Shiite Syrian regime?

* Do you see yourself as part of the broader struggle of Shiites against the Sunnis and Israel being almost as irrelevant as you regard the Palestinians you purport to represent.

* In the event that Israel agreed to a one unitary State tomorrow and the Israelis won the elections against the Palestinians would this be accepted by Hamas or would they carry on the struggle?

* Alternatively, if Palestine won would you remove the whole Jewish infrastructure of Judges, police, civil service, health care personnel and replace them with Palestinians? Would you grant the Israelis one man one vote or would you deport the lot to their supposed countries of origin?

* If you got in power and had control of Israel’s Atomic bomb at Dimona would you give it to Iran?

* Have you a Plan B if this carries on for years? Will you just have episode after episode where Israel comes in and smashes the infrastructure and then you start all over again?

* What could you really do if Israel decided it had, had enough and decided to bomb you of the face of the earth? All that is stopping them at the moment is their own moral standards and the very people who you weakened by your aggression?

* If Abbas, who now is your leader, has a settlement with Israel, will you accept it?

* If there is no way Israel will accept the return of Palestinian families into Israel proper or if any deal on the table calls for demilitarization of Gaza is there anyway you can imagine a settlement with Israel?

* Are there any circumstances that would allow you to accept the right of Israel to exist?

* Are you aware that shooting rockets specifically into civilian areas, which is your stated objective, constitutes a war crime?

* Are you further aware that using civilians as a human shield and or deliberately putting them in harms way constitutes a war crime?

* What happens if the World Court finds you guilty of war crimes? 

* If you have an election and the Palestinians vote you out of power will you accept the result?

* As you claim to be anti Zionist and not anti Jewish what is your attitude to the world wide anti semitic rallies? Do you condemn them?

* How are you getting your rockets in now that Egypt have closed off your tunnels?

* Is it true that you got all your ducks in a row before looking for the slightest justification to start this latest war? By that I mean you did you wait till Abbas had locus standii in world organizations, and then hand power to him? Once he was able to lay a charge for war crimes did you then provoke Israel and allow collateral damage all in order for Abbas to charge Israel for war crimes at the World Court? 

* Do you think your statement to Israel that, "They had not touched the surface of where all your tunnels were", was provocative as Netanyahu now maintains that he will be in Gaza for a long while with the sole purpose of collapsing your tunnels? 

* Does it serve your political objectives to have Israel in Gaza with its inevitable collateral damage for a long period of time?

* If Israel has a unilateral cease fire as it did in the last war that you started will you carry on firing rockets or will stop like you did last time?

* Are you in daily contact with Iran and or Qatar? 

* Who is really calling the shots here? 

* Between you and me and me, and off the record, did you fire those rockets into the UNO hospital?

* Also between you and me and off the record, do you really believe that the holocaust happened or it is merely a Jewish/Zionist propaganda ploy?

“Thank you so much Mr. Hamas spokesman for your frank answers to all the questions and I do hope we can talk after this war is finished so as to get your thoughts on what you think Hamas has achieved by starting this clash.  Also the media will not be here much longer because the viewers soon tire of the same old, same old blood and gore. They need a change of scene. We will all pack up and go when we too have the slightest reason to move on with our mission, that is to sell soap. There is bound to be a school shooting or whatever for us to move onto….. “

Just one question Jay H. Ell has to the media?

*Why all the focus on Israel?” 

Come to think of it there has been little or no coverage of the Israelis scurrying to shelters where they are reportedly spending up to 80% of their time. No interviews on the impact on the economy which has come to a standstill. No reels upon reels of Israeli funerals…..

Nobody asking anybody in Israeli shelters what it feels like do be subjected to Hamas rockets every two years or so, since the Israel gave Gaza its independence…. Just nobody because they are all in Gaza where the real story is…..

ISRAEL SHOULD CHARGE PALESTINE WITH WAR CRIMES

As the almost month long war continues the Hamas and Abbas gamble to go to war seems to becoming unstuck. It has become more and more crystal clear that, to quote a US State Department Assistant Secretary speaking on National Public Radio on July 23, 2014, “Hamas wraps itself around with citizens so that citizen casualties are hard to prevent”. Hamas is being increasingly more isolated, even Hezbollah thinks their situation is unwinnable. Besides  a few ragbag nations, their meaningful support has dwindled down to key officials of UNO, certain non governmental organizations and ever increasing bands of pro Palestinian groups that end up protesting against all Jews. Besides all this scores of Hamas fighters are surrendering and their rocket fire into Israel has decreased.

 As the days go by it becomes more and more obvious what the Hamas and Abbas strategy has been. Quite starkly it has been to rake up civilian casualties, especially children and women. Then by placing weapons of war in homes, schools, hospitals and mosques to force the Israelis to destroy these thereby creating heaps of rubble from non military installations. Then they allow the media to do the rest.  Also they rely on certain UNO officials to deliver the “right” interpretations to cover up their reprehensible actions. This will lead up to dragging Israel to the World Court charging them with War Crimes.

(If anyone needs reminding that Abbas is Hamas in a suit, see the blog, “Abbas and Arafat - The Same DNA - So Lets Get Real!). Jay H. Ell has also blogged, “What is Israel Supposed To Do” and “Hamas Narrative: Women and Children First - To Die That Is”,  in relation to this tragic episode in Middle East history.

 Let us examine the timeline of Abbas’s behavior that preceded this latest Hamas attack and see how it fits Jay H. Ell’s theories

TIMELINE:

2010: Abbas refuses to recognize the Israeli State.

2012: After extensive concessions from Israeli Prime Minister Olmert, once again Abbas refuses to recognize Israel and turns down the deal .

2012: In November of that year Abbas gets non member status for Palestine from UNO. This allows him to join UNO bodies and most significantly gives Palestine locus standi to charge Israel with war crimes at the World Court in the Hague.

2014: Speaking in Morocco on March 16 he described Israel as a “delusional myth”. Israel he continued was trying to create an historical basis for its existence. As a result there would be the inevitable destruction of Jerusalem.

 April:  Abbas gains membership of several international organizations with his new statehood. 

June:  On June 2, within 2 months of Abbas establishing Palestine as a bona fide member of international organizations, Hamas hands over governmental power to Abbas. The West Bank and Gaza are united once again. There is one Palestine under one administration. Abbas, whose Palestine has been recognized by UNO can speak and act on behalf of Gaza as well as the West Bank. This coup d’etat is executed without any consultation with the Palestinian electorate, undoing a previous election.

July:  At the first possible opportunity, July 2, and on the flimsiest of pretexts, Hamas, now under Abbas’s premiership, declared war by launching rockets into Israel.  In spite of a week long wait before Israel responded and three ceasefires offers, two humanitarian accepted by Israel, where attempts are feverishly made to broker a cessation in hostilities, Hamas continued fighting while simultaneously bewailing to the world about their ever increasing number of civilian casualties, mostly women and children and the destruction of homes, hospitals, schools and mosques. They then forced Israel into a land invasion as Hamas operatives crawled out of tunnels into Israel looking to kill and kidnap. (To date 48 such tunnels have been found). 

July:  Just when the casualties, mainly civilian and especially women and children reached high enough numbers, well into July, Abbas who has been in “control” of Gaza, that has been part of Palestine for one whole month, stated that he is going to charge Israel with war crimes committed in Gaza. 

July:  On cue, following Abbas’s announcement, the Secretary General of the UNO, Bang Ki - Moon blamed Israel for causing too many, (how many is too many?), civilian casualties. This conclusion after he had been shown all the evidence to the contrary. He stated that the war is because of the “occupation” and that is why Hamas is resorting to violence. What a crock! Is it ok to bomb civilians and use civilians as a human shield because you perceive you are being occupied? And he is the head of what? Ki- Moon furthermore believes this has nothing to do with Islamic radicalism.

July; In record time the Human Rights Chief of the UNO, Navi Pillay had already come to an opinion as to what was happening in Gaza and maintained that there was strong evidence that Israel was committing war crimes there by killing civilians and bombing residences. Israel reacted strongly to the accusation. Israel had previously charged the Human Rights Committee with bias and boycotted it for 20 months. USA condemned the Pillay attack as “unfair” and it’s “finding” was challenged on National Public Radio by the USA State Department on July 23.

Noting this timeline it is apparent that a whole host of maneuvers are set up, in a short space of time whereby Abbas having just had nation status conferred on the West Bank then becomes, without an election, the head of Gaza and thus is in the position to lay a charge with the World Court. He will then will utilize Israel’s response to an unprovoked attack on its citizens where the callously unprotected citizens of  Gaza will be killed, as the basis for charges of Israeli war crimes in Gaza, knowing that he will be backed by UNO office bearers. 

To put in another way it appears obvious that this war was about Hamas setting up as many Palestinian casualties as possible and ensuring the destruction of non military targets, where the weaponry is situated, with a view to charging Israel with war crimes with the expected support of their UNO mouthpieces. And as sure as Arafat planned the second Intifada, with Abbas’s support, Abbas and Hamas planned this one. 

WHERE IT ALL STANDS NOW

Obama is desperate for a ceasefire that neither side really wants at the moment. Hamas want to have more deaths and destruction so that they can have more evidence that they have had war crimes committed against them and Israel wants to decimate all their offensive capabilities. The fulfillment of this latter objective has assumed an ever greater priority in the light of new intelligence gleaned about the tunnels. Apparently information gained from the 46 captured Hamas terrorists is that there are tunnels that extend to nearby kibbutzim and open up under dining rooms and nurseries alike. On Rosh Hashonnah an attack had been planned where 200 terrorists would burst in and kill literally hundreds of civilians mainly women and children. So Israel is unlikely to agree to any cessation in hostilities until such time as all the tunnels are blown up.

 Hamas has given a host of demands before they will enter into a permanent ceasefire. A speech by Khaled Mashaal, head of Hamas, who is not in one of the concrete bunkers in Gaza reserved for the leaders, but in a hotel in Qatar, made it quite clear that the fighting would continue for a long time, till Israel lifted its blockade. 

Egypt is not that interested but is the main possibility to broker some type of cease fire. Bang Ki- Moon may as well go home unless he is being used to talk some sense into Hamas. As far as Israel is concerned the UNO is compromised .Two of its hospitals in Gaza have had rockets found in them a circumstance that qualifies them to be placed on the short list of war criminals, let alone be honest brokers. 

(Several UNO facilities have been hit.The latest tragedy being, where a large number of Palestinians, seeking sanctuary, were killed or injured.  This has been touted as the biggest “proof” that Israel is guilty of war crimes. At present only two facts are known about this catastrophe. The first is no-one is sure whether it was a Hamas rocket that did the damage and secondly Hamas rockets were being fired from close to the facility, if not in it, and the Israelis admit to firing in return to eliminate the source that was attacking their citizens. Yet the media are reporting this as a major blow to the Israelis and a strong argument supporting Hamas’s cause.) 

But this engagement will end sooner or later and the question is then what? Possibly  it will terminate by a unilateral withdrawal by Israel once it has achieved its objectives. Then there has to be an endgame.

Hamas.

Hamas’s endgame is the destruction of Israel. That is what is in their written mission statement. It is time some-one took them at their word and accept that is what they really want instead of all the apologists maintaining that is not what they really want. Their immediate tactic is to destabilize and demoralize Israel while grandstanding to the world that they are victims. They also want to garner international support and weaken Israel thereby. Their short term endgame is thus to lay charges of war crimes against Israel and the strategy to get there has been carefully worked out as outlined above. To stop their attack on Israeli citizens they would want free access to the world with an unimpeded ability to replace the rockets they have just used. They think with the growing casualty list that they are engineering they will force Israel to stop. Netanyahu has made it quite clear that he will not till his objectives have been achieved.

Israel.

Short term, Israel would have bought a couple of years of peace. It also knows that Hamas is more isolated than ever. The latter has one major ally, office bearers at the highest level in the UNO. However, in terms of Israel’s own objective of a permanent peace it is not going to happen. Also, congruent with its own value system to witness Gaza as a heap of rubble and hundreds dead is causing much soul searching and pain. However, for the first time Israel are in the public relations battle with a fair chance. Jay H. Ell believes they should stay aggressive and take Palestine to the world court and charge them with war crimes. These crimes are crying out to be investigated. Within Israel and throughout the world there is a major constituency that is mindful of the Palestinians’ terrible plight and would like to be reassured that Israel is not responsible for the collateral damage.

WORLD COURT.

Israel should thus turn Abbas’s tactic on its head. Palestine is now a nation. Abbas is its head, at least since June 2014, of both Gaza as well as the West Bank. So Abbas’s Palestine is responsible for Hamas’s actions. It did nothing to stop them and supported them. Israel should Ignore the UN’s investigation into war crimes and go ahead with its own. If the Court subsequently has conflicting cases it has to resolve them or consolidate them. Hamas’s war crimes extend to what they did to their own citizens as well. Anyway the UNO investigation into the most recent war will be political and not legal and smears, insinuations and biases are irrelevant in a court of law.

Israel should pursue this action thoroughly. The process will take years and will act as a dampener to Hamas shooting rockets without provocation. (Bearing in mind that is one of the crimes that they are being charged with). The Court will not take into account Hamas wailing that firing rockets is its only recourse to be heard. That is a political argument not a legal one. The crisp point is Hamas fired rockets into civilian populations for weeks on end - a flagrant war crime and crime against humanity.

The World Court’s composition seems to be more balanced than that of the other UNO bodies and legal people, like Judges, often take themselves seriously and the law is the law. Israel has nothing to lose as that is where this is going. They may as well be Plaintiffs as well as Defendants. Israel has a political as well as moral obligation to do so. Also every “accidental” civilian death should be acknowledged and all circumstances investigated and either explained and any illegal action punished. They are bound to be unfortunate “mistakes” because this is a war after all. A war that Hamas started.

There are incredible legal brains in Israel and beyond that I am sure others would be dying to help. Alan Dershowitz immediately springs to mind. And who knows the citizens of Palestine may get sick and tired of being used as political footballs and demand peace themselves. In fact, in spite of what has happened just over 50% still want an immediate ceasefire.  

But nothing meaningful is going to happen around a table with Abbas and Hamas. Also at the end of the day Israel is going to have find a more flexible mind than Netanyahu’s to close any permanent deal. 

HATE INCREASES

Meanwhile radical Imams throughout the rest of the world are preaching hatred and it is acknowledged that anti semites, generally, throughout Europe in particular, are using the situation to launch anti semitic attacks. So much so that the Foreign Ministers of Italy, France and Germany issued a rare joint statement condemning anti semitic statements at pro Palestinian rallies. There are West Bank riots in relation to the bombing of the UNO facility that nobody really knows the circumstances of. Although the usual mantra is “We have nothing against the Jews just the Zionists”, there are a growing number of anti semites that are using the actions of the Zionists to attack Jewish citizens of their own country whether they are Zionists or not.

HAMAS NARRATIVE: WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST - TO DIE THAT IS

The Israeli - Hamas war is now in full tilt. A week ago Jay H. Ell postulated in a blog, in the light of the unprovoked Hamas attack, “What was Israel supposed to do”. This offensive started following the reckless revenge killing of a Palestinian teenager which had been predicated by the murder and kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers. Hamas reigned its rockets within a day, July 2, 2014, of the tragic and senseless murder of the East Jerusalem Palestinian. Israel waited almost a week, to respond and this they did with air power. A day earlier 6 Israeli arrests had been made in relation to the vigilante murder. That and Netanyahu’s unaccustomed reticence in immediate retaliation made no impact on Hamas. Hamas then, a week later, July 15, ignored an Egyptian call, backed by the Arab countries and the rest of the world, for a ceasefire. At that stage the casualty figures were not that high and the Egyptian ceasefire accepted by the Israelis even included some face saving clauses for Hamas. 

So as the rockets increased and the air intervention seemed incapable of stopping it, Israel launched a ground offensive on July, 20. Hamas had yet another opportunity to attain a ceasefire when Israel stopped their incursion for 5 hours to allow UNO humanitarian aid in. This was accompanied by feverish, behind the scenes, attempts to halt this insanity with its senseless slaughter. Hamas’s response was to fire rockets after the humanitarian pause was initiated and before it officially ended. Hamas’s agenda is propaganda - not peace or even a two state solution. It is sacrifice of its own citizens especially women and children and trying to kidnap an Israeli because they know that their enemy’s value system is life and they will do anything to get one of their own back. They also need an assymetry of those killed so that the inescapable conclusion everyone derives is that the Israeli response was disproportionate, punitive on innocent citizens and reckless. You see Hamas is not part of the true Palestinians, who have already been thrown under the bus by their fellow Arab States, they are part of the fundamentalist Jihad. They up there with Al Qaeda, ISIS , their Irani spawned twin, Hezbollah and the rest. They are a foreign body in the area.

THE SICK SCORE SHEET

As of July 22 there are nearly 600 Palestinians dead. As Hamas announces,with feigned indignation, most of these are civilians. Seventy - two are, pathetically, children, hundreds are women and at least a 100 are, according to the Israelis, “terrorists”. There are 27 Israeli Defense Force, (IDF), members that have died and two civilians. There are thousands injured, mostly Palestinians. The Israelis have hit over 2000 “targets” including a large munitions warehouse that was provided by Sudan. They have blasted 13 tunnels. The IDF also killed scores of militia emerging from tunnels that have been built between Gaza and Israel. Israel has had 2000 rockets rained on it most of which have been interrupted by the Iron Dome or landed in empty fields. Two - thirds of Israel's population at any point in time of this engagement are in shelters. There are estimated 40,000 to 60,000 Palestinians that have been displaced and Israelis live in a permanent state of fear having 60 to 90 seconds to rush into shelters.

The Israeli objectives are clearly defined. They need to blast all the tunnels that represent a major threat for daily suicide bombing to resume. In addition they need to take out all the rocket launching sights cynically placed in schools, homes, mosques and hospitals. They are prepared to freeze it all if Hamas accepts a cease fire. So much for the warmongering Israelis. 

Hamas is unclear as to its objectives other than the political capital it hopes to receive from a gullible world. All with an objective to wipe Israel of the face of the earth. They don’t recognize Israel’s right to exist. If asked to list what would settle this once and for all, Jay H. Ell guarantees that their response would be ludicrous and nothing short of a one state solution - Hamasstan. Guess what rights the citizens of such a state would have - none. At best it would be a totalitarian theocracy like Iran or a caliphate like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria with women and children having no protection under Sharia law. 

RESPONSE TO WHAT ISRAEL IS DOING

The response to Israel’s invasion has been different and more nuanced than previously. There are in effect four groups that have usually been highly critical:

THE LEFT

The usual vitriol is piled on by small groups of influential activists, including jews, that have labelled Israel, warmongers, fascists, nazis, occupiers and the like. They are from the left and see Israel as Imperialist exploiters. They purport to be human rights supporters but Jay H. Ell just cannot understand why they believe Israelis should have none. They also don’t follow their own logic that the philosophy of those they are championing is totalitarian and generally deprive women and children of rights. Jay H. Ell has de ja vu for the well meaning believers of the twentieth century that rationalized anything the Soviet Union and its leaders did, from the murder of millions of their own, forming a pact with Hitler to their post war imperialism and denial of human rights. 

These individuals are joined by certain non governmental organizations who also view human rights with a jaundiced eye. For example 20 rockets were found in a UNO Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees school. That agency has been accused by the Israelis as being hopelessly biased. The organization then handed the rockets to the local police who are in Hamas’s control.

THE RIGHT

The next group include the real nazis, fascists and anti semites. These have combined with Islamic activists, whom they also detest, and hold protests. With the rise of anti semitism these protests have taken place in more and more towns across the world. Houston and Toronto, for example, which are hardly bastions of anti semitism are two towns in addition to the usual major cities where demonstrations were held. In general, in Europe, where anti semitism has grown the protests are more frequent especially in France.

So the far right and the far left have a common hatred - Israel

MEDIA

Then there is the media. Generally, the media have been extremely sympathetic to the Hamas cause regardless of whether or not they precipitated the chaos. For whatever reasons, media networks, that previously were charged with anti Israel bias, have been accused of being pro Israeli in their reportage. These include National Public Radio in America, the BBC and CNN for example. A fascinating dialogue took place on Al Jazeera that went viral on YouTube. One of the interviewees maintained that Hamas and the Syrian army were amoral and needed to take their cue from the Israeli Defense Force who were the epitome of morality doing whatever they can to protect civilian life.

A reporter for MSNBC television claims that his company is hopelessly biased towards Israel. He was recalled from Israel. He was witness to an incident where he saw four Palestinian youths, who were playing football on the beach killed by Israeli fire. Instead of asking who was responsible for this tragedy in the first place he lashed out at the Israelis. Even if he assumed Hamas was right in starting this war what in hades were 4 Palestinians youths doing playing outside in a war zone.  Does Hamas not at least warn, provide protection for those who they have placed in harms way? As Bill Clinton wrote they build concrete bunkers for themselves and leave the women and children to face the music. But this should not surprise because their narrative is the more women and children killed the better for their cause.

Notwithstanding what is considered a more restrained attitude by the media to the Israeli position the news always leads off with the Hamas narrative, “…. and most of those killed were women and children”

NATION STATES

Nation States have been far more supportive of Israel than in previous wars and vocally so. No more is this evident than the reaction of the Arab States. Hamas has formally complained that they have had no backing from those who should be the cheerleaders in their war with Israel. Led by Egypt there has been annoyance reflected at the Hamas cavalier attitude to human life. Outside of Iraq and Turkey, who has joined the brigade that call Israel Nazis and Netanyahu Hitler, there is virtually no support. Not even a United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning the Zionist racists. The European and former Commonwealth Nations have been rock solid behind Israel.

From Netanyahu’s world America is his most important constituency. In many ways it is his constituency. He functions best in that milieu. His powerful oratory is honed for American audiences where he had his formative political years. He has repeatedly hammered home his talking points with the theme of that this is a war between two paradigms - those that value life and those that don’t. The morality of Israel versus the alleged callousness of Hamas is a feature of his message. Israel’s humanitarian efforts are enumerated and it all resonates. For the first time in one of these tragic confrontations Israel has taken the Public Relations initiative. In Netanyahu they have a highly effective communicator. He may not be Israel’s choice to negotiate a compromise but he certainly is the man for this task.

His normal bullying, overbearing demeanor has made his relationship with Obama rocky on a personal level but even Jimmy Carter knew it would be political suicide for an incumbent President to go against Israel. Obama and Kerry have not been the most effective foreign policy team. Kerry appears to run around in ever increasing circles telegraphing his objectives and Obama is finding it difficult to accept the foreign policy limitations of his avowed non interventionist policy. He is most effective where he can use his control of the world’s financial levers to effect policy. However, the USA has Israel’s back. They have clearly stated that the Israeli response to the barrage of rockets is appropriate. While they obviously would like to be the brokers and even the guarantors of a peace deal it appears unlikely at this very moment.

HAMAS’S POOR STANDING AMONGST THE PALESTINIANS

For the obvious reasons there is not a free and vigorous press questioning the government in power in Gaza so the true feelings of the Palestinians in Gaza are not on display. A poll conducted on June 15 - 17, 2014 in Gaza produced some very illuminating results. As reported by David Pollock of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, in the Business Insider, the poll was administered by a respected Palestinian pollster on the basis of face to face interviews. These polls were conducted after the kidnappings of the Israeli teenagers. Even as the rocket firing begun and Israel had not as yet responded over 70% of respondents maintained that their should be a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian territories. Fifty - seven percent believed that a new unity Government under Abbas of the West Bank and Gaza should renounce violence against Israel.

The poll showed an astonishing 80% and more that were disillusioned with the Hamas governance and their leadership. Eighty- two percent stated that they would be willing to look for work in Israel. So apparently the Palestinians, on the basis of this poll, are not in favor of the fight Hamas is waging on their behalf. Not really on their behalf as they are just cannon fodder for Hamas, especially the women and children. The author concludes that the war may have hardened attitudes but the anecdotal evidence is against it.

HAMAS’S WAR CRIMES

When Arik Sharon unilaterally handed Gaza over to the Palestinians in 2005 he could not have envisaged the Hamas takeover where all that infrastructure would be left to rot by Hamas with their suicidal propaganda agenda. Jewish Settlements were abandoned in the land return. Hamas has frittered away everything with their political objectives foremost. To this day they are still getting their electricity free from Israel.

Besides Hamas’s obvious lack of morality in indiscriminately bombing Israeli citizens, their callousness to their own citizenry leaves Jay H. Ell stone cold. Starting a war and making no provisions for their own citizens has to be the height of sociopathy. There are no shelters or warning sirens. No medicines or intravenous fluids for their wounded. They threaten Palestinians that want to leave a war zone, having been warned by Israeli flyers, text messages and even phone calls.They refuse to allow the wounded to go to the Israeli field hospital. They grudgingly accepted a 100 tons of medicines from Israel during this war. 

Most of all, their narrative that women and children are first, first to die that is, and that they run up a disproportionate number of casaulties for political purposes, is revolting.

THIS HAS TO STOP.

This calamitous cycle has to stop. Both sides have to realize that there has to be a two state solution. Leadership is needed for the task. Abbas should not allow the Palestinians to be used as proxies in a Jihadist orgy of hate. Netanyahu has to realize that he has to stop building settlements and get ready to carve out a chunk of land so that the Palestinians can finally have a life. It appears that that is what the majority of them want and that should not surprise. They for 66 years have been used as pawns first by the Arab states and now by the Jihadists.  For the sake of the women and children not to mention the men let there be peace!

IS USA READY FOR THE WESTMINSTER PARLIAMENTARY MODEL?

THE WAY IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE OR CIVICS 101

Please forgive Jay H. Ell for revisiting the Founding Fathers and their seminal endeavor, the American Constitution. He really has no credentials to do so but he has the need to explain his spin. If any further apology is needed, his blog has a wide oversea readership who are just dying to know how it is all supposed to work. In returning to the historical event he is going to postulate how different things might be if the USA now goes back to the good old British Westminster Parliamentary model of governance.

The legislative branch of Government.

The exquisite constitutional arrangements chiseled out by the Founding Fathers with love, optimism and sweat, are just not working out. Their desire to create a government that would work with checks and balances, compromise and goodwill is just not cutting it. 

Their quaint naive belief that members of the House of Representatives, would be ordinary folk, who would be taking off time at great sacrifice to themselves, and therefore should only serve a two year term, has resulted in the country being in permanent “status electionius”. In spite of a Republican promise in 1996, to enact “term limits” which promise resulted in scores of new Republicans being elected on the strength of that, several of those are still there nearly 2 decades later fighting reelection every two years! The dream that the Senate would be made up of “wise old men” who would place a dampener on the House’s inexperience and exuberance just hasn’t materialized. It is packed with firebrands that intend to serve one term, if that, and then run for the Presidency and diehards that stifle progress. 

Now the Congress, which is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, was to be the Legislative branch designated to make the laws that reflected the will of the people. In so doing they would also see to the day to day functions of making the country work. It would in addition make policy and obviously lean in the direction of the citizenry that elected them. Recognizing that there would be differences between how the House and the Senate enacted legislation on the same issue there would be committees that would settle these interpretations and create a compromise. The Senate too, acting in this spirit, created an internal working arrangement whereby 40 of its members could stop even debating legislation. The understanding was that this was a very serious maneuver and that it should be used judiciously.

Finally, in this rather tart summary of the all powerful legislative body, the relevant Party’s candidates for the elections would be elected in what would be termed Primaries in which anyone could vote. 

The Administrative Branch of Government.

This branch would enact the laws passed by Congress. It would be spearheaded by the President who, now, for practical purposes is elected by the popular country wide vote. The President would have wide reaching authority on Foreign Affairs and Defense. Moreover, the President’s agenda on the internal direction the Country should carry great weight. At very least consultations should take place between the legislature and the President. In years gone by, to a lesser or greater extent, even when Congress was of another party, the Legislature came to some accommodation with the President. The President is also entrusted with appointing members to man the administration and therefore the day to day running of the country. His office is held in high regard and although many may disagree with the President appropriate decorum is afforded to him as a result of the dignity of his office.

The Judicial Branch of the Government.

In the likelihood of disputes between various parties including interpretation of the Constitution and its amendments the ultimate arbiter would be a nine man Supreme Court each member being appointed for life. It was assumed, and to a large extent has been followed,that the Supreme Court would rely heavily on legal precedents, legislation passed by Congress, an individual’s rights and each State’s authority.

To Sum Up Civics 101 ala Jay H. Ell.

The Founding Fathers believed they had found the right balance between State and Federal Powers. Federal office bearers would come from individual communities, (Congress Representatives), States, (Each State regardless of size would have two Senators) and the President, (representing the whole country). Any meaningful dispute would ultimately be adjudicated by the Supreme Court whose members, the wisest jurists in the country, were appointed for life. With these provisions and the separation of powers, there was no reason that America should not live happily ever after.  And it has, more or less, for centuries. 

So what has gone wrong?

LEGISLATION SINCE 2010 - ZILCH

The House of Representatives since 2010 has passed the least legislation in history. Everything, but everything, is an issue including the day to day running of the country thus resulting in a legislative hiatus. Their top priority for 4 years has been to revoke Obamacare - legislation that the Republicans have introduced 51 times. Even more destructive has been that everyday mundane issues have become major controversies thereby forcing the daily functioning of Obama’s whole administration just to hobble along. Currently, for example, Obama needs $4 billion to meet the border crisis where nearly 50,000 children from Central South America have pitched up. The Republican House Majority claim, they don’t know how it is going to be spent, they don’t trust Obama, the border situation is a result of Obama’s policies and so on. The country’s infrastructure is in a shambles. Besides ignoring Obama’s attempts to expand it and create jobs they are creating a hullabaloo about passing the basic funds needed for repairs to roads, bridges and the like.

The House’s current top priority, swallowing up swaths of legislative time, is to sue Obama for using his executive powers on Obamacare. Realistically the action has no chance. The grounds for the suit are cynical - Obama delayed the employer mandate in order to allow the employers to get their paperwork together. By so doing Obama was allegedly not following the Constitution! Implicit in the Republican litigation is they wanted Obamacare, to be effected immediately. On its face the Supreme Court should not even hear this case as the House of Representatives, among other factors, has no standing for this legal initiative. In Bush v Gore constitutional experts maintained that the Court wouldn’t even hear the suit as it involved an issue that was fore square one of the Florida State’s concerns.  But look what happened there and Scalia the foremost Constitutional Constructionist, when questioned about this bizarre anomaly, merely replied “Forget about it and move on”.

In fairness to Republican Speaker Boehner he is trying to forestall the Republicans making even bigger fools of themselves by attempting to impeach Obama. However all this fruitless activity makes running a country on a day to day basis impossible and that seems to be the objective.

The Republicans in the Senate, lead by Mitch McConnell had as their sole objective, from 2008, to deny Obama a second term. Now that he has a second term they have stepped up their anti to deny everything and anything related to Obama. The GOP is in the minority in the Senate but using the filibuster more than ever before, so that legislation requires 60 votes to be even discussed, they have successfully halted most legislation. The Democratic Senate Leader broke from tradition in that he insisted that Obama’s nominees for administrative posts did not need a 60 - 40 majority to be ratified so at least the bureaucracy can run.

The underlying theme of all of this is to cripple Obama’s administration and risk sinking the ship in order to get at the Captain. In the confusion of nothing happening Obama is the receiver of a fair amount of the blame for the impasse. Put another way they want absolutely nothing done during Obama’s administration that he could conceivably take credit for.

THE PRESIDENCY.

To quote Eric Holder, the Attorney General, never has more disrespect been shown to a sitting President. He believes, as does Jay H. Ell, that Obama’s race has more than something to do with this. The standard GOP response to non cooperation is that he is not trusted. It is argued that he has been ruling by executive fiat when he has issued less Presidential executive orders than anyone previous president. Literally, everything that Obama does is the subject of vicious criticism.The rudeness extends to a personal level where WhiteHouse invitations are ignored or rejected. 

The legislature is calling a twice elected President dishonest insulting the electorate that voted for him and suing him because he is trying to run the country as they refuse to do so.

In short the usual “give and take” which the constitution took for granted would happen, hasn’t.

THE JUDICIAL ARM

As Jay H. Ell has blogged the Supreme Court have reversed precedent after precedent. They are not much interested whether it is legislation or not that they are declaring unconstitutional. They have declared corporations individuals and created a situation that America will have the best Government money can buy. The corporations with their newly found status can deprive their thousands of employees of their rights. They have retrogressively whittled away civil rights legislation including voter protection. Their decisions have had the effect of de facto instituting the Republican agenda into reality when the latter have neither the Presidency or the Senate. 

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

Much of what is happening is to create some semblance of unity amongst the disparate groups that now make up the Republican Party. The GOP is in an utter shambles. There is naked open warfare between the Tea Party and the Establishment. The boil, that is the Republican Party, burst in Mississippi where The Tea Party Candidate, Chris McDaniel, who is right of Ghengis Khan, lost to the Establishment GOP Candidate, Thad Cochran, who is Ghengis Khan, as to who is to be the GOP Senatorial candidate in the 2014 elections. Ted Cruz, the leading Tea Party light in the Senate and one of the Republican Party front runners for the Presidential nomination, called for a probe of the run off election. 

McDaniel has a two pronged attack on Cochran. The first is that a large number of Democratic African Americans voted for him in the run off thereby allowing him to overcome the defeat he had in the initial GOP Primary. (In Mississippi you can elect to vote in any Party Primary that you chose). The second was there was unspecified voter fraud.

So the GOP is directionless and have a paper thin coalition between the Tea Party and the Establishment that is only held together by their hatred of Obama and whatever they perceive he stands for.

TOTAL DYSFUNCTION

So in terms of Governance at the moment it has ground to a halt. The hope of the GOP is that they can keep going as a Party while they run against Obama and blame him for the impasse. The only reason that the GOP are still in the game is that the electorate are so disillusioned that they really don’t care. The citizens that are predominantly involved are the bases of both parties and the Republicans are hoping that their base will prove more reliable than that of the Democrats.

WHAT THE WESTMINSTER PARLIAMENTARY MODEL COULD DO FOR AMERICA.

Firstly, the party model is entirely different there so the Tea Party would not be able to take over a Party by pretending that they are Republicans. You join a Party that has your same broad principles and you stick to them or get chucked out. Also if they have a Primary, in the American sense, only card carrying members can vote. So the Tea Party, with their policies, would have to be a third Party and instead of taking over the Republican Party would be confined to the dust bin of history where they belong.

Then elections are not held on a fixed date. They are announced three months before and then only can electioneering begin. Think of how much more money the Kochs would have to give to the arts if that applied here. Money in electioneering thus plays a far lesser role. The elections take place every four years and as no-one is exactly sure when they are going to take place the public are not fed a daily diet of electioneering.

In addition there is no separate election for the Prime Minister, (President). The latter is the leader of the Party that gets the most elected representatives so his agenda is obviously that of the majority members of parliament.

There is only one legislative chamber. Long long ago the second chamber, the House of Lords, was neutered. Other democracies based on the Westminster model have largely dispensed with the power of the upper chamber i.e. the Senate.

The Judiciary has no say in running the country. The highest court deals with property rights and crime. They have no power to change legislation.

It is winner take all. The party that gets the most representatives sets the agenda. Not too much pretense at compromise. So most important, for better or for worse, the roads get funded, the country finances its debt and so on. One is not subjected to bread and circuses that are being force-fed to the USA citizenry right now.

Not so unattractive is it?

WHAT THE FOUNDING FATHERS MUST BE THINKING.

While turning in their graves at the distortions of the intent of their hard painstaking work for democracy some of them have to be rethinking whether it was such a good idea to throw all that good tea into the sea. Their heroic attempts to ensure that all men are created equal have been made a mockery of. The Supreme Court have ruled that if you own a corporation you are at least two individuals. The first one like everyone else, well almost, and the other as a shareholder of your corporation you can deprive people, less equal, of their rights. Then a corporation in its own right is an individual that again has enormous powers over less equal individuals. Freedom of speech is now equal to how much money you have and exercising the biggest equalizer of them all, voting rights, has become tougher and tougher for the less equal. 

And on and on. 

Most of all they have to be rethinking their provision that citizens not born in the USA cannot run for the Presidency thereby nixing the opportunity for Jay H. Ell to run against Ted Cruz, born in Canada, for whom that provision apparently does not count.

BUT ONE CAN HOPE

One can only hope that the electorate will send such a message to the Republicans that the intent of the Founding Fathers will once again reign supreme. In that happy event Jay H. Ell will gladly accept his second class citizen status thereby not allowing him to move from his log cabin in Illinois to the WhiteHouse. It is after all time that the elected representatives pulled together and collaborated so this country with its many diverse backgrounds from Western and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the rest can function again. In a land where Utah has less in common with California, than Spain has with Hungary, where Connecticut and Texas are literally a continent away from each other and New York is like no where else in the USA, the mechanism of compromise, wisely anticipated by the Founding Fathers, has to become a central feature of the political process again.