Opinion Editorials, June 2010

Killing and Piracy by Israel in International Waters Must Be Prosecuted

By Sam Hamod

The killing and piracy against a Peace Flotilla, in International Waters by the IDF, without justification, was a terrible crime and tragedy for many reasons:

1. This was piracy and killing of people on a mission of mercy and peace, in International Waters; this is prosecutable by death. Thus, those responsible, namely Binyamn Netanyahu, must be tried in the International Court of Justice for these deaths, and anyone who helped him plan this heinous and non-Jewish attack ( it is against the Torah and its teaching).

2. People on the flotilla were needlessly killed and the food, medicine and other supplies were comandeered by the IDF. This was a mission of mercy, not of war; but, the mercy bringers were attacked by warships, helicopters, Israeli marines and the IDF, on orders from the top of the Israeli Government. Thus, all those involved in this massacre should, and must be held accountable. No one can say they did not know the flotilla of peace was coming to give aid and mercy to Gaza; thus, those who planned this response are guilty, by clear evidence of murder, piracy and more, on the high seas, which is clearly punishable by death. In this case, the motives of murder were premeditated and then carried out; this, according to all law of all nations, and I learned this while studying law at The University of Chicago Law School, are grounds for prosecution on First Degree Murder charges, no less.

3. Some Israeli attackers were killed, but they will say, they were "only following orders." They cannot use the "Eichman defense," because Eichman was put to death, it did not hold water. See Hannah Arendt's, a concentration camp survivor, excellent book on Eichman, also, see the ruling of the Nuremburg judges on this type of killing, "following orders,"
was insufficient as a defense for murdering innocent people.

4. The ships could have been blockaded and/or guided to another port, but this was not done. They were attacked first, killing people. Also, the IDF did not allow the peace group people to speak to reporters after the attack, and even jammed their phones and radios while the attack was going on.
As the Israeli writer, Gilad Atzmon points out, this was pure terrorism, brutality and killing that had no justification. Atzmon called it, "Butchery on the High Seas," and it was.
They did not have to shoot or kill anyone, nor did they have to board the flotilla and terrorize the people, and terrorism it was, without a doubt, under anyone's definition of terrorism.

5. No one can justify what the IDF did today because even the blockade of Gaza has been seen as a war crime, and this compounds the matter to the point of non-forgiveness. There must be prosecutions for this terrorism, otherwise the world is hell bent on more killings, and as Mahatma Gandhi once said, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, will leave us all blind and toothless." So it is, this must be condemned and prosecuted, if it is not, then no law in any land, is worth the paper it is written on. I went to law school at The University of Chicago, every international law has been broken, and thus, must be prosecuted if law is to have any remaining place in this world; if not, then, there is no hope for justice and people will resort to killing in a vigilante style, which no one in this world will be safe.

All because Netanyahu and his minions have a desire to destroy the Gazans, the Palestinians and anyone who would dare have the courage to help those suffering thousands trapped in Gaza by an inhumane, immoral and illegal blockade by Israel. This will not wash, no matter how many times Netanyahu, Peres, Barack, or anyone else who tries to justify this, wash their hands nor how often they pray to God, because even God will not forgive this type of bestiality and brutality without cause.

America must now reign Israel in, for the sake of justice, for peace in the Middle East, for decency and justice for Palestinians, and for the sake of Israelis who want to live in peace. Perhaps it is time for the Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews to run Israel, not the Ashkenazim like Netanyahu, Peres, Barack and those bloodthirsty leaders. Then, there is a chance for peace, if not, then all hell will continue in this area. Ultimately, Israelis and Palestinians, and Americans will all lose, because the word and value of America's word and leadership is almost nil in the world.

Blessed be the peacemakers, and may the devil take the war makers,
Peace, Shalom, Salaam, Namaste,

Professor Sam Hamod writes on international affairs; he was an advisor to the U.S. State Department on Middle Eastern Affairs, attended Law School at The University of Chicago, and has spoken on peace and justice in over 20 countries and at the United Nations.

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