Foxy,

<<The Zionist lobby that has managed
to single out Israel for opprobrium and
international sanction out of all proportion to any other
party in the Middle East>>

No. People like you have done that --because you ignore all the other greater infringements

You lot are like a pack of Duracell Bunnies performing your preprogrammed routine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaF6FxmixJk
(the only thing I can't figure is where they insert your batteries!)

Hi Foxy

Yes its difficult to be a humanitarian commenter. Such inhumanity as the destruction of Gaza appears to be excused on a national, religious or racial basis.

A Jewish homeland is important but defending it with mass bombing is anathema.

Of the apologists for excessive Israeli violence one can only say:

Their knuckles drag but they gibber off-key.

Regards

Pete

Dear Ms Cohn. There are so many misleading and false claims in your commentary, it's hard to know where to begin.

"Israel...commenced full-scale warfare on the people of Gaza":

1. Do you really think that if the Israeli army launched a full-scale war it would have taken them any longer than 9 hours to take over the Gaza Strip, let alone the 9 days it has been going for so far with no conclusive results? A hint: it took the Israeli army less than 6 days to take over the Sinai, an area nearly 200 times that of the Gaza Strip, in a conflict with the vastly superior Egyptian army back in 1967.
2. Against the people of Gaza? Is that why the Israelis drop warning pamphlets and make phone calls to get Gaza civilians out of the way prior to an operation?

In your opinion, "Israel's overwhelming use of military force constitutes collective punishment, which is a war crime". The deliberate targeting of Israeli civilians by thousands of Hamas rockets is glossed over because "no Israelis have been killed" (which is not true by the way). Would it make you happier if more Israelis were killed? How many Israelis need to die before you are satisfied?
Have you seen the calls from Hamas leadership to their citizens to act as human shield? Who is committing war crimes here?

"...now that the Palestinians have a unity agreement..."

Unity? Is this why the PA negotiated a ceasefire and Hamas rejected it? Is it unity when the PA supports a 2-state solution and Hamas calls for the destruction of Israel?

"...the world's largest "open air prison," as Israel maintains a tight blockade..."

Let's conveniently forget that Gaza shares a border with Egypt. That border is not under Israeli control.

"...Justice Richard Goldstone concluded, ... violence against civilians were part of a deliberate policy [by Israel]..."

Did you not think it relevant to mention Mr Goldstone's own reservations about this report following evidence that came to light 2 years later?

These are just some of the issues. Unfortunately my word limit is up.

Israel is in the death throes of it's power. The powerful banking Rothschild family developed this concept of Israel soon after their WW1.Many of the people living there now have absolutely no genetic connection to this area and are really Anglo Saxons stealing another land.

The world power is moving towards the BRICS nations and this is what enrages Israel since the Central Banking system which created this state is now under siege.

Make no mistake, Israel is desperate and sees a global nuke conflict as their last chance of global dominance. Israel has 200 + nukes and the means to deliver them.

I really do admire the Israelis. I admire their social cohesion, which North Europeans seem to have forgotten is essential for the survival of their race and culture. But the Jews never forgot it, because they have been the victims of so much persecution throughout history, that they understand the basics of survival.

No race on Earth has done more to advance western scientific thinking than the Jews. The number of Nobel Prizes held by Jews is way out of proportion to their numbers. I think that this collective high intelligence among "western" Jews is fundamental to the survival of Israel. It is utterly incredible that such a tiny country, which lacks every kind of resource (except the intelligence of it's people) can not only thrive but consistently defeat in battle the enemies of it's people, who are determined to exterminate them.

How a woman with a Jewish name like "Cohn" could commit treason against what appears to be her own people, is an interesting question. If she is Jewish, then I would love for her to reply to that question.

But one suspects that the reason for her treason is much like that of so many ideological traitors. They simply hold to a higher ideal than supporting their own people. The cause of Internationalism, and the idea that wars can be avoided by identifying the victims and oppressors, and supporting the victims while rebuking the oppressors, is the overwhelming ideal.

But how people like Marjorie Cohn can misidentify the Muslim Arabs as victims, and the Jews as oppressors, is the mystery here. One only has to look at past and recent history to figure out what is really going on.

The only thing I can't figure out is why Israel persists in supplying water and electricity to it's enemies who are shooting rockets at them. Turning off the taps, and switching off the electricity, looks like a far more effective ( and cheaper) way of ethnically cleansing Gaza, than airstrikes

Marjorie Cohn spouts trite one liner after another.

There are a few facts about which there is no doubt:

Hamas started this exchange, has fired nearly 1500 rockets at civilian targets and continued through an Egyptian organised cease fire,
Hamas purchased and built this weapons stockpile with resources meant for improving the lives of its people,
Hamas stores its weapons amongst schools and hospitals, and fires many of its rockets from these positions.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BswnFHUCYAABE7p.jpg:large

All of which are considered war crimes, but the left whinge media ignores.

Israel has the right to defend itself as has acknowledged by the UN, and has been striking weapons caches and rocket firing sites in Gaza. The casualty number given out by the palestinians classifies every one as civilians, most of whom were probably firing the rockets.

The reality is that this situation that the palestinians find themselves in is the direct responsibility of Hamas.