A proud Hamas rally was held recently in Gaza and this was one of the photographs taken by Reuters which accompanies their article (see Special Links). It is of course a photograph which emphasises the military dimension of Hamas and does not show the great humanitarian work that they do for their oppressed people.
I have been watching the fortunes of Hamas since they won a legitimate election and then tried to form a Government against the complete opposition of Israel, America and much of the pro-Israeli West. I have shaken my head in disbelief many, many times.
Hamas Parliamentarians have been arrested by Israel and put in jail; their money has been cut off by Israel, America and some of the West causing huge suffering to all Palestinians; and they have continued to be labelled as terrorists because they resolutely refuse to recognize Israel. Why should they?
Their spiritual leader, Sheik Yassin, (shown on the right), a cripple in a wheelchair, was assassinated by an Israeli missile. He was one of many who died in this way. Then to add insult to injury, President Abbas, a member of the losing Fatah Party, sadly, actively ingratiated himself with both Israel and the West further undermining the legitimacy and power of Hamas. Hamas Prime Minister Haniyeh (shown on the left) was refused entry to Gaza by Israel because he was carrying money to ease the poverty of his people...the provocations are endless.
But the major irony is that the genesis of Hamas (and that of other legitimate Palestinian resistance groups), a group feared by Israel, has been caused by forty year of brutal occupation, imperialism and genocide by Israel in the Palestinian Territories.
The Israelis, stupidly, continue to forget what their Bible says clearly: You reap what you sow.
Israel will continue to reap a bitter harvest for generations!
15 comments:
Hey, Biby, any visitor from India (or most anywhere else) is most welcome on this blog. Namaste!
Daniel, I agree whole heartedly with your expressed sentiments.
The other night there was a documentary on the cluster bombs dropped in Lebanon by Israel. There was a shepherd interviewed who'd lost his leg and the other foot as a result of stepping on an unexploded bombett (baby of a bigger bomb, one of seven thousand in one birthing!!).
Asked his views, he replied, "the people who do this have no religion! any person who could prepare such a deadly thing can not believe in a God"...so simply put.....
Even the Israeli Prime Minister admitted that "perhaps the bombetts were a mistake in Lebanon" Conveniently after they were dropped without authority?? ..They were "out of date" American rejects from the Vietnam war and were used prior and within three days of the ceasefire.
If Israel would just leave the occupied lands and not believe itself to be the sherriff of the Middle East, peace would return!
Is there any hope at all that the Jews will give an inch?...I don't think so....
Mary Walsh
The situation highlights the problem with fanatical religious belief, Mary. It tends to stupify! Cheers.
I have an idea Dan. Why don't you get a hit counter so you can see how many are actually reading!
I think that would cheer you up no end!
ps. Not in a narcassistic way....just to see that your message is getting 'out there'
Zoe XXX
Thanks for your suggesting but I've had a hit counter since the blog started, Zoe. Too often it resembles a yo-yo! When it's low, so am I. Silly, isn't it?
Namaste!
-Okay, so the image of Hamas "does not show the great humanitarian work that they do for their oppressed people."
If the ALP, Greens or anyone else was to double, no, triple our social welfare payments, would they be any more responsible if their policies also included slaughtering innocent women and children?
Would we still classify the Greens (or anyone else) as "Humanitarian"? Can you imagine a news bulletin: They quadrupled payments to "worthy" recipients, AND also blew up a bus of school children!?
Would you support an Australian party that did this? Would you? Where is your humanity? Is this how you would improve mankind, by approving this slaughter? By giving subtle support to this type of murder, do you see yourself as offering an improvement to mankind?
Hamas is a Right-wing, seriously religious nutter organisation that makes Christians like George Bush look agnostic.
By all accounts, they should be classified by your Blog as the enemy. Hamas proudly stands for:
"RELIGIOUS FANATICISM"
"MILITARISM AND WAR"
"POLITICAL EXTREMISM"
('By God, there will be no Jew left in Palestine': Former hamas head Abdel Rantisi, July 2003)
Qualities all seen as disdainful by your blog's principles.
These "qualities" of Hamas contribute NOTHING towards the improvement of our Humanity. This is not justice. You must support a separate humanity to me.
It's a bizarre combination: you're so hateful of Israel, you'd even compromise your principles to support an ideological opponent.
-If a right-wing crackpot such as Pauline Hanson won the next elections, and our Asian neighbours sought to dissassociate themselves from us, even slap on sanctions, could you blame them?
(I bet you'd even support them for doing so while conservative Howard is in power!).
And yet, while you'd no doubt support Asian disengagement or sanctioning against a far Right-wing Pauline Hanson government, you seem to decry the fact that a similar mob of reprehensible Right-wing religious Hamas fanatics have been isolated and sanctioned by other countries.
This is an atrocious double standard.
Did you have a fight with your wife, Playful?
I support the underdog, the oppressed, Pete, while you...
It's a terrible prediction, Worried. If you can get rid of Bush et al, surely America can make ammends!
Truth is an abomination to some people, Worried. It upsets their carefully contrived, constipated, constricted minds. Cheers!
More censorship from Daniel, as if the viewpoints and logic presented from the other side are too burdensome for his soul to bear. They must be banished from his single minded blog.
And yet, my question remains unasnwered.
Will you, Daniel, promote support for Asian countries' sanctions against Australia if we would vote in a far Right-wing Pauline Hanson government?
And would you join my conservative commentator's blog, with a pledge to be the resident gay basher?
For someone who supposedly stands up for the oppressed, can you see the hypocrisy in your homophobic prejudice, your ingrained hatred for oppressed homosexual communities, as they too battle against intolerance and persecution?
Don't run from the moral dilemna Daniel. Your own contradictions only prove your fallibility, like all men.
But at least acknowledge them. Pushing them down, suppressing them by deleting my post, won't make them disappear. They will still remain with you.
Playful, I have again published another of your comments despite my misgivings. Let me make this clear. If you continue to send comments which attack me, my blog or the many people who support my blog, you will be banned. Disagree all you like with my views (I disagree with most of yours) but leave the vitriol and snide remarks out of it.
Regarding the comment above it is so silly it is not worth responding to!
Cheers!
I fail to see how, purely on argumentative grounds, this comment should be included amongst the silly:
"Will you, Daniel, promote approval (or support) for Asian countries' sanctions against Australia if we would vote in a far Right-wing Pauline Hanson government?"
It's a perfectly legitimate politcal question.
Pete, you've put your finger right on it when you said, '...purely on argumentative grounds.' That's your game isn't it? Using the blog world to engage in arguments. You're simply a professional arguer! Well I'm not!
Read the sentence located just under the TITLE of this blog carefully, Pete. Try your best to comprehend its meaning.
Cheers!
You just will not address this political question.
Because you would, of course, back an Asian boycott of an Australian far Right-wing party taking power here.
But nevertheless lament that Europeans states and Israel have done the same to the far Right-wing religious nutters of Hamas.
This you just don't like.
Pete, it's nice to see the change in the tone of your comment.
Regarding the Israel matter I think both Israel and Hamas could be properly described as right-wing religious nutters!
Regarding your question, we already have a Right-wing party governing Australia. Fascism could be its next objective!
Cheers!
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