| by Jonathan Kuttab The recent Israeli attack on the negotiating team in Qatar may well have achieved Netanyahu’s goal in pushing away any danger of a ceasefire and an end or even a pause in the ongoing massacres in Gaza. It also marked a new stage in Israel’s crossing yet another red line with impunity. Netanyahu’s taking responsibility for this brazen attack on the soil of another country, attacking non-military targets, individuals who are in the midst of diplomatic discussions, was done with defiance and utter disregard of international law, normal practices, and the opinions of others. Yair Lapid (leader of the Israeli opposition), while expressing concern over its impact on Israeli hostages, nonetheless saw this raid as a good thing that displays Israeli power and its ability to hit its enemies anywhere as it chooses. Together with the drone attack (this time on Tunisian waters) against the lead ship in the Global Sumud Flotilla aiming to bring food and medicines into Gaza, Israel is serving notice on the rest of the world that it will do whatever it chooses to do, wherever it chooses to do so, regardless of international law, international public opinion, or the rights and sovereignty of other nations. Yet, Israel is too small a country to totally defy the rest of the world, or to project its military power far and wide and to ignore international norms if it were not for the active complicity as well as shameful silence of all other countries in the world. Israel’s operating principle seems to be that as long as the umbrella of US diplomatic support exists, it can safely ignore the rest of the world. The tremendous damage to its reputation, as well as the interests of its friends and allies, including the US, is met with a shrug and a new word that has entered its Hebrew discourse: “So what!” For those of us who have been protesting the genocide taking place in Gaza and who are horrified at the images and facts that cannot be ignored, this requires a reevaluation of our strategy as well as our tactics. It is no longer sufficient or even necessary to document and publish the facts of the ongoing atrocities, which are now known universally. Despite the prohibitions on foreign journalists entering Gaza, the relentless assassination of over 200 journalists in Gaza, and the pressure on international and even social media, the truth is out. Israelis say: “So What!” It is intolerable that the world community can be impotent and utterly powerless in the face of this brazen attitude. The first step in this reevaluation should take the form of identifying and naming the governments, corporations, media outlets, and individuals outside Israel who are complicit in the crime of genocide. Whatever their reasons or excuses, these actors, who include, alas, churches and church leaders, need to be named and shamed. Secondly, a robust strategy must be undertaken to confront those complicit organizations, corporations and individuals and force them to pay a price for their complicity as direct and indirect perpetrators of the genocide. People’s Tribunals should publicly indite and call out their crimes and complicity. Campaigns to expose and divest complicit actors, like the new Complicit Corporations: Expose and Divest campaign, are also required. Third, Israelis, when travelling abroad or doing business anywhere in the world, must be confronted and challenged. They can no longer pretend to be part of the normal and civilized world when they are practicing and benefitting from a brazen and shameless genocide, starving children, denying food and medicine, systematically destroying all forms of civilian lives, and ordering the removal of people from their homes and lands. The concern that such blanket sanctions and boycotts of Israelis and their institutions constitutes antisemitism must be roundly rejected, and the fear of such false accusations must be weighed against the horrors of the ongoing atrocities and their daily toll. There is evidence that this process has already started, and is escalating. The BDS movement and AFSC (American Friends Service Committee) have published lists of corporations needing to be boycotted and confronted, including Chevron, Intel, and others. These boycotts must be organized and energized. The Spanish and Italians have massively protested Israeli sports teams. Spanish villagers picketed the Israeli Cycling Team, with a field of Palestinian flags totally disrupting their participation. Italian teams and coaches have demanded the Israeli soccer team be evicted from UEFA and the upcoming world soccer competitions. In Canada, protesters have challenged Israel’s participation in Tennis Canada’s Davis Cup tournament. Dock workers in different parts of the world are beginning to refuse to load or unload Israeli ships or ships going to Israel. Countries are threatening to pull out of Eurovision unless it excludes any Israeli participation. In Philadelphia, Prayers for Peace and Red Letter Christians turned a Philly baseball game into a political rally against genocide and calling for a ceasefire by hanging Palestinian flags and banners in the stands and having the celebrity throwing the first ball give a few words in favor of peace and a ceasefire. Every sports event can be an opportunity to raise the issue. US politicians are increasingly being confronted. Over 60 Mennonites were recently arrested as they held a sit in at the offices of Senator Warner in DC, presenting him with a petition and demanding he meet with them to discuss his support for the genocide and his taking money from AIPAC. President Trump was confronted by Code Pink protestors when he tried to dine out in Washington D.C. Politicians must be daily challenged and confronted over their complicity in this genocide. If we cannot go to Gaza to confront the criminals, at least we can confront those who are complicit wherever they are located. |
