Right Swallows Israel's Flotilla Lies
By Rev. Ted Pike
Al-Jazeerah, CCUN, June 21, 2010
As nearly 700 “Free Gaza” flotilla survivors return to 20 nations, they bear witness to the same message—all five vessels, bringing aid to Gaza, were attacked by Israel. Preliminary shooting, including live rounds, came from Israeli attack boats and helicopters. All passengers were poorly, if not roughly, treated or assaulted. Are these the ravings of terrorist sympathizers, worthy of attack – as Israel and its PR rep, the ADL – as well as most evangelicals, contend?
The flotilla carried professionals, public officials and parliamentarians – including a member of Israel’s Knesset. Those contradicting Israel's story include a Brazilian filmmaker, a retired German parliamentarian and professor, two German parliamentarians, an acclaimed Swedish academic, an Irish Ulsterman with American citizenship, an Irish medical doctor, a retired Jewish-American math teacher, an American structural engineer, a best-selling Swedish novelist and an Israeli-born Swedish artist. The subsequent flotilla of ships included former United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Denis Halliday and Irish Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mairead McGuire. (Click here for testimonies.)
Incredibly, Christian/conservatives reject testimony from these credible witnesses and accuse them of crafting an elaborate and bizarre falsehood.
Such false testimony would not be successful for long. Their stories would quickly unravel as more honest members of the flotilla confirmed Israel’s account. Today, two weeks after the attack, the nearly 700 members of the flotilla speak with one voice. The British Guardian tells us, “The details of the wounds came as yet more survivors return to the UK and gave their account of the attacks.”
…Ismael Patel, the 47-year-old chairman of the Friends of aal Aqsa…claimed that as soon as the Israeli Defense Force helicopter appeared above the Mavi Marmara, ‘it started using…live ammunition,’ without any warning being issued. After the first victim fell the white flag was raised, he said, ‘But Israeli forces continued firing.’ Patel: ‘I think the Israeli soldiers were shooting to kill because most of the people who died were shot in the top part of their bodies.’ He called it, ‘the cold-blooded murder and killing of our colleagues. These deaths were avoidable…’ ("Gaza flotilla attack autopsies Reveal Intensity of Israel's Military Force," June 4)
Patel calculated that during the bloodiest part of the assault, Israeli commandos shot one person every minute. One man was fatally shot in the back of the head just 2 feet in front of him and another was shot once between the eyes. He added that as well as the fatally wounded, 48 others were suffering from gunshot wounds… ("Gaza Flotilla Activists Were Shot in Head at Close Range," June 4 th)
Alex Harrison, on the smaller Challenger I, said the Israelis attacked using "rubber bullets, sound bombs, and tasers against them…. We stood and tried to obstruct the armed, masked men and made no other defense and still they used violence." Harrison saw the Mavi Marmara stormed and said the "Israelis started firing before the troops landed on the boat… You must remember that these are unarmed civilians on their own boat in the middle of the Mediterranean. People picked up what they could to defend themselves against armed, masked commandos who were shooting." ("Gaza flotilla attack autopsies Reveal Intensity of Israel's Military Force," June 4)
Turkish Autopsies Reveal Israel's Violence
Citing the coroner’s report of the Turkish government, the Guardian suggests that Israeli commandos were hardly intent on non-violence. It relates that Furkan Dogan, the 19-year-old American-Turkish activist, was shot 5 times from a close range: in the right side of his nose, the back of his head, his back, and twice in his left leg. The oldest victim was 60-year old Ibrahim Bilgen, a Turkish politician, engineer and activist, who was married with 6 children. He was shot once in the right temple, once in the right side of his chest, once in his back and once in his hip. Cetin Topeuoglu, a 54-year-old former taekwondo champion who worked as a coach for the Turkish national team, was shot three times – once in the back of his head, once in his hip, and once in his belly.
Here is a summary of the other seven:
Alquyz: 4 gunshot wounds - back of head, side of face, back, leg.
Yaldiz: 4 gunshot wounds – chest, left leg, right leg twice.
Bengi: 6 gunshot wounds – chest, belly, right arm, right leg, left hand twice.
Topeuoglu: 3 gunshot wounds – back of head, left side, right belly.
Yildirim: 2 gunshot wounds – right shoulder, left back.
Kiliclar: 1 gunshot wound, middle of forehead.
Songur: 1 gunshot wound – front of neck.
Injuries to these nine Turks tell a different story than Israel’s. It was an orgy of excessive gunfire—yes, a massacre. Do you really think nine dead and 47 injured from gunshot wounds constituted a proportionate response to a group wielding rods, batons, kitchen knives and a sack of marbles?
If Israel had really intended non-violence, it could have snarled the ships’ propellers and rudders with no loss of life. Negotiations could have occurred in daylight to allow the orderly, nonviolent transfer of command. Instead, Israel chose to take over the ships in darkness in the most terrifying manner. It was a terrorist attack.
If Israel is so intent on sharing the whole truth, and has no need of a “biased” international investigation, why did it sabotage the flotilla passengers’ communication with the outside world before, during, and for days after the raid? Why did Israel seize their cameras, computers, and notebooks? Why does Israel insist that in its investigation IDF forces involved in the raid will not be questioned? Clearly, Israel wants no contrary voices as it propagandizes the world – including 70 million gullible evangelicals and their media who are eager (in fact, theologically duty-bound) to believe Israel.
Tea Party Leaders Believe Israel
For the past six months, e-alerts from the National Prayer Network have been educating over 500 Tea Party chapters in America. Yet after my article "Is Israel Exempt from International Law?" a torrent of protest came back. Readers shouted the same thing: “Pro-terrorist flotilla members are involved in an elaborate scam to make Israel look bad. Only Israel can be trusted!”
Most evangelicals will probably remain uninterested in more evidence from survivors in the weeks ahead. They are content to believe anything Israel says. This choice will doubtless show itself even more adaptive as Israel, which scripture portrays as Babylon the Great ascends to its prophesied rulership of the nations. (See, "'Babylon the Great' is Israel") Scripture predicts that Israel will be able to deceive the whole earth because the nations have capitulated to its lies. By prostituting their God-given birthright to speak only the whole truth, Israel-first evangelicals have also drunk the wine of Israel's spiritual whoredom. As a result, regarding matters Jewish, they have gone theologically and politically insane. It is clear that evangelicals’ support for Israel is so boundless and unquestioning that even as Israel ascends to world dominion they will be compelled to bless and promote the Great Harlot.
Christ foretold that someday believers will be drawn up to the synagogues of Satan in Jerusalem to be tried and convicted (Luke 21:12)—probably by ADL as "anti-Semitic" hate criminals. Evangelical response since the flotilla attack leads us to predict many will bless and believe in apostate Israel right to the bitter end— to the very moment when Israeli firing squads, like Israel’s commandos on the Marmara, put bullets between their eyes.
TAKE ACTION!
Call the United Nations at 1-212-963-5012 and demand a full, unbiased international investigation of Israel's raid of the "Free Gaza" flotilla. (More contact information on freegaza.org)
~~~~~~~~~
Rev. Ted Pike is director of the National Prayer Network, a Christian/conservative watchdog organization.
TALK SHOW HOSTS: Interview Rev. Ted Pike on this subject. Call (503) 631-3808.
The freedom-saving outreach of Rev. Ted Pike and the National Prayer Network is solely supported by sale of books, videos and your financial support. All gifts are tax-deductible.
NATIONAL PRAYER NETWORK, P.O. Box 828, Clackamas, OR 97015 www.truthtellers.org
