- In July 2005, a coalition of 171 Palestinian Civil Society
organizations created the Global BDS movement for "Boycott, Divestment
and Sanctions against Israel Until it Complies with International Law and
Universal Principles of Human Rights" for Occupied Palestinians, Israeli
Arabs, and Palestinian diaspora refugees.
-
- The Tel Aviv-based Reut Institute (RI) provides "real-time
strategic decision-making" support in areas of national security and
socioeconomic policy. Its new report titled "The Gaza Flotilla: The
Collapse of Israel's Political Firewall" suggests it's working. It
followed an earlier one on "creating a political firewall" against
Israel's "delegitimization challenge," recommending sabotage
and subterfuge against growing global forces it fears, not an equitable
solution it rejects.
-
- Focusing now on the Gaza Flotilla, it called it "the
tip of the iceberg" attempt along with the BDS movement and Durban
conference against racism to cause "tangible and significant damage
to Israel." Unmentioned was how expert Israel is in self-inflicting
it by decades of occupation and crimes of war and against humanity.
-
- Clearly they're having an effect, RI saying opposition
"momentum is gaining," its aim "to delegitimize Israel in
order to precipitate its implosion, inspired by the collapses of"
apartheid South Africa and the Soviet Union. Calling the challenge global,
systemic and political, RI blames two cooperating forces:
-
- -- the Iran/Hamas/Hezbollah "Resistance Network;"
and
-
- -- the "Delegimization Network" based in cities
like London, Brussels and San Francisco.
-
- Their "constantly adapting" strategy requires
Israel to adopt "a comprehensive systemic treatment" of the challenge
it faces.
-
- RI gave its version of the Gaza Flotilla interdiction,
specifically against the Mavi Marmara mother ship, a "grave incident
devlop(ing) during the takeover (when) Members of the Turkish IHH organization
attacked Israeli forces with knives and metal bars, and in some cases with
live fire. In the ensuing confrontation, nine Israeli soldiers were injured
and nine Turkish activists killed."
-
- An earlier article discussed the truth, not RI's revisionism,
accessed through the following link:
-
- http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/05/brave-israeli-commandos-slaughter-aid.html
-
- Israeli commandos (trained killers), planned and executed
a premeditated attack in international waters against nonviolent, unarmed
humanitarian activists, trying to deliver essential to life aid to besieged
Gazans - to break Israel's attempt to suffocate and starve them.
-
- RI ignored the crime, focusing instead on world outrage,
including anti-Israeli demonstrations in dozens of major cities, increased
BDS efforts, international investigations, and the "stronger perception
of cooperation between Israel's Arab citizens and the Resistance and Delegitimization
Networks." Turkey also "exploited" the incident, "deepen(ing)
the crisis with Israel."
-
- Israel followed with two inquiry commissions, an IDF
one under reserve Major General Giora Eiland and another under retired
Supreme Court Judge Jacob Turkel, both mandated to whitewash the crime,
what RI won't admit, instead saying:
-
- "The mandates of both commissions reflect the mindset
that mistakes surrounding the Gaza Flotilla were technical-operational
or tactical-political in nature. The commissions are thus focused on the
reasonableness of the actions taken by decision-makers on existing laws,
regulations, and accepted practices."
-
- In addition, RI is conducting its own inquiry, "based
on a methodology of systemic policy analysis and on its conceptual framework
for confronting the delegitimization challenge....to contribute to understanding
the strategic significance of the event and to suggest principles for preventing
similar occurrences in the future."
-
- RI, of course, means preventing world outrage from boiling
over, followed by actions harming Israeli interests, not its repeated crimes
of war, against humanity, and high seas outrages. It worries instead about
a new challenge because of two developments:
-
- -- Hamas' "increased sophistication and efficiency
and the Resistance Network's 'Logic of Implosion.' " It aims to precipitate
Israel's collapse from overstretch, benefitting from the unpopular occupation,
promoting its delegitimization, and engaging in asymmetric tactics against
Israeli civilians; and
-
- -- the Delegitimization Network's evolution, aiming to
portray Israeli as a pariah state, gaining support from "the Western
liberal progressive elite (through) a variety of means aimed at blurring
its true intentions."
-
- In recent years, the Resistance and Delegitimization
Networks have created connections able to accelerate the following dynamics:
-
- -- "Promoting the one-state paradigm;" and
-
- -- Foiling Israel's ability to contain or deny legitimacy
to Hamas and Hezbollah.
-
- Both lead "a systemic and systematic attack against
Israel's political and economic model, which has already had strategic
consequences and may become existential if ignored or inadequately addressed."
In addition, Israel hasn't developed an effective response to this challenge.
-
- Hamas gained "agility" from 2006 electoral
victory. Israeli "rigidity" followed - policies unable to change
Hamas' positions or precipitate its demise. "On the contrary, Hamas
went from strength to strength" despite Israel's imposed siege and
Cast Lead. It continually adapts to new circumstances, "demonstrating
a relatively clear strategic logic....while strengthening its domestic
and international status" and ability to promote Israeli delegitimization.
-
- The Gaza Flotilla and others planned are "the latest
manifestation of a systemic and systematic attack" to undermine Israel's
legitimacy with considerable support from the BDS campaign, the "lawfare"
war against senior Israeli officials, and effect of the Goldstone Commission.
-
- The Flotilla was "a first-of-its-kind collaboration"
between Hamas and the Resistance and Delegitimization Networks. Turkey's
involvement was the "difference that made the difference." In
addition, its organizers' ability to gain Western progressive elite support
turned Israel's interdiction into a "global and politically explosive
event." RI called it a "clash of brands," Israel tarnished
and defeated in the eyes of world public opinion.
-
- Indeed so but not enough. Still RI concludes that Israel's
firewall is eroding because it's increasingly viewed as not "genuinely
striving for peace, consistently and honestly committed to ending control
over the Palestinians, or concerned with alleviating the humanitarian situation
in Gaza."
-
- Israel doesn't understand the gravity of the delegitimization
threat, and hasn't addressed it effectively. The campaign promoting it
will continue, perhaps in new forms. RI urges confronting it strategically
by "systematically collect(ing) intelligence (and) identif(ing) key
(delegitimization) catalysts," as well as adopting a:
-
- "consistent and honest....commitment to end....control
over the Palestinians, advance human rights (at least rhetorically), and
promote greater integration and equality for its Arab citizens...."
-
- "It takes a network to fight" one, says RI.
Disrupting it is job one by training Israeli diplomats to work in delegitimization
hubs, developing its own network, re-branding itself to promote a new image,
and engaging "liberal progressive elite(s)." The objective -
delegitimize, isolate and marginalize the delegitimizers and BDS movement.
-
- Its earlier "delegitimize challenge" report
recommended sabotage and subterfuge against growing forces it fears. Perhaps
now it's softening but not enough. It omitted the right of return, East
Jerusalem as Palestine's capital, the logic of a one-state solution, the
renunciation of conflict, an admission of Israeli crimes of war and against
humanity, accountability for those responsible, demilitarization as a show
of good faith, legislation granting all Israeli citizens equal rights,
an occupation end date, a full commitment to the rule of law, and restitution
to compensate victims for decades of crimes and destructive harm for starters.
-
- Short of fundamental change, Israeli delegitimization
will prevail over half-hearted measures, more rhetorical than substantive
the way they've always been for decades.
-
- Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at
lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com
and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the
Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays
at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs
are archived for easy listening.
-
- http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
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