Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.
(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)
Showing posts with label Russell Tribunal on Palestine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Russell Tribunal on Palestine. Show all posts

Thursday, 11 October 2012

Wally & Co On Last Weekend's Kangaroo Court (videos)

"Palestine is not a faraway conflict between Jews and Muslims. Palestine is about us, all of us. Palestine is about human civilization and what it represents. Palestine is about the world we are living in. Its history, its present and its future. Palestine is about Greece, Spain. The names are different but the struggle is the same. It is a struggle for justice, dignity, freedom, respect, humanity, love – and it is an exhilarating one."

This hyperbolic (indeed, offensive) nonsense flowed last week from the pen of a Frenchman called Frank Barat, described as coordinator of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine, the 4th session of which was held in New York this past weekend.

Here, from the realm of pop, is what one of the Tribunal's newest "jurors" had to say about his own involvement (hat tip: reader Philo):


And here's a show biz Wally who's Jewish explaining why Israel is being targeted by this kangaroo court (of course, no "useful idiot" would describe it as such) and not, say, the Congo:


In the rest of his article, headed "Palestine is no longer a dirty word," Barat waxed upbeat and excited about the anticipated proceedings:
".... US activists are all saying in unison: ‘This is going to be huge. This is going to be an historic event, a milestone for Palestine solidarity in the US.’ The buzz around the tribunal is amazing. Even the mainstream press seems to have caught the bug. Time magazine, Le Monde, Le Monde Diplomatique, mainstream Swiss newspapers, The Nation, The Huffington Post, Democracy Now, Al Ahram, Al Jazeera English and the New York Times are all coming to cover the session.
On top of this, we now have personalities contacting us directly to be a witness of this event. World- renowned French philosopher Etienne Balibar will be in the room, Zwenlizima Vavi, one of the most respected and liked public figures in South Africa will also be there, Mariam Said, wife of late Palestinian Icon Edward Said will be present; US actor John Cusack told us he might pop in.
Deep down, I know that it is not going to stop. I have got this feeling that more and more people are going to join the struggle for justice that the Palestinians have been fighting for decades. Palestine is not a dirty word anymore and will soon be fashionable. Alice Walker, Angela Davis, Roger Waters, Ronnie Kasrils, Michael Mansfield, Stephane Hessel, Mairead Maguire, Cynthia McKinney, John Dugard, Miguel Angel Estrella and Dennis Banks, our jury members, will soon be joined by many more personalities.
The ones that crossed the picket line and ignored the Palestinian call for boycott, will have their place in history and will also be remembered – for all the wrong reasons. People will always be there to remind them and ask them: ‘Hey, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bob Dylan, Elton John, Madonna, where were you in 2012, when Palestinians were suffering from apartheid, persecution, and colonialism?...."
It would seem, from what he says in this video where he appears as a talking head, that the mainstream media was not as interested in the one-sided Tribunal as Barat wished.

Thursday, 21 July 2011

Kangaroo Court To Convene In Cape Town With Israel In The Dock


As I explained last November, when it sat in London, the Russell Tribunal on Palestine is billed as "an International People’s Tribunal created by a large group of citizens involved in the promotion of peace and justice in the Middle East."

The first Russell Tribunal was convened in 1966 during the Vietnam War by the distinguished leftwing Nobel Laureate, anti-nuclear campaigner, mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), whose phrase “May this tribunal prevent the crime of silence” has become the watchword of subsequent tribunals.

On its website we're told:
"The Russell Tribunal has no legal status but acts as a court of the people, a Tribunal of conscience, faced with injustices and violations of international law, that are not dealt with by existing international jurisdictions, or that are recognised but continue with complete impunity due to the lack of political will of the international community. Today, and in the same spirit, the Bertrand Russell Foundation supports the setting up of a Russell Tribunal to examine the violations of international law, of which the Palestinians are victims, and that prevent the Palestinian People from exercising its rights to a sovereign State.
 This Tribunal has been named the Russell Tribunal on Palestine. It will reaffirm the supremacy of international law as the basis for a solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict. It will identify all the failings in the implementation of this right and will condemn all the parties responsible for these failings, in full view of international public opinion.
It will thus examine the various responsibilities that lead to the continued occupation of the Palestinian Territories by Israel and the non-application of the United Nations resolutions, from Resolution 181 of the 29th of November 1947, on the partition of Palestine, to Resolution ES-10/15 of the 20th of July 2004, that acknowledges the Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – of the 9th of July 2004 – on the construction of the Wall by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and requests all the UN Member States to acquit themselves of their legal obligations as defined by the ICJ Opinion. The responsibilities of Israel and also of other states, particularly the United States and the Member States of the European Union, the Arab States and the international organisations concerned (United Nations, the European Union, the Arab League) will be scrutinised.
The Tribunal also aims, through this approach, to contribute to the mobilisation and the involvement of civil society in all the states concerned on the question of Palestine.
The Russell Tribunal on Palestine is composed of eminent people from all states, including Israel, which will be one of the states investigated. The legitimacy of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine does not come from a government or any political party but from the prestige, professional interests and commitment to fundamental rights of the Members that constitute this Tribunal."http://www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com/en/
This coming November, this kangaroo court will convene in Cape Town, opened by that inveterate eenemy of Israel Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

It's the third session of the tribunal, and will sit "to determine [whether] the treatment of Palestinian people by Israel meets criteria of the UN convention against the crime of apartheid".

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, that well-known supporter of human rights (you may recall that she's on record as having endorsed the brutal practice of "necklacing" and was sentenced to six years' impisonment, later reduced to a fine, for her alleged involvement in an unsavoury crime) as a star witness.

She , according to a newspaper report, "is expected to testify about the tools the apartheid government used against her, including bannings, detentions and house arrest."

The report continues:
'Two veteran Israeli human rights lawyers, Michael Sfard and Leah Tsemel, will also testify, along with South African international law professor John Dugard, who was until recently the UN's special rapporteur on human rights in Palestine.
Kasrils joins Nobel peace laureate Mairead Maguire, Spanish Supreme Court Judge Jose Antonio Pallin and globally acclaimed author Alice Walker [of recent flotilla infamy] on the jury.
Kasrils said that the ANC government must follow Cosatu's lead and take "stronger measures" against Israel.
"We've applauded governments in Latin America and one in Africa. Those were the governments that actually decided to sever ties with Israel," said Kasrils.'
Read more: http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2011/07/20/people-s-court-to-put-israel-in-the-dock
And for the London session last November see:
http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/2010/11/judahs-lion-told-to-hop-it-by-kangaroo.html
http://richardmillett.wordpress.com/2010/11/09/russell-tribunal-on-palestine-presents-ken-loach-at-amnesty/
http://www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com/en/sessions/london-session/video-of-proceedings

Wednesday, 10 November 2010

Judah's Lion told to Hop It – by a Kangaroo Court! The anti-Israel Russell Tribunal swings into action

‘Tis getting towards what’s commonly called “the season to be jolly”, but for many of Israel’s implacable foes in the UK – those incorrigible types who obtain their jollies by berating and defaming the Jewish State – that season has come early, for this month sees in London what Jonathan Hoffman of the Zionist Federation has aptly dubbed an anti-Israel “Hatefest from the Red/Green Alliance of As-A-Jews, Communists and Islamists” in the guise of the Russell Tribunal.

The Russell Tribunal on Palestine is billed as “an International People’s Tribunal created by a large group of citizens involved in the promotion of peace and justice in the Middle East.” The first Russell Tribunal was convened in 1966 during the Vietnam War by the distinguished leftwing Nobel Laureate, anti-nuclear campaigner, mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), whose phrase “May this tribunal prevent the crime of silence” has become the watchword of subsequent tribunals.

“The Russell Tribunal has no legal status but acts as a court of the people, a Tribunal of conscience, faced with injustices and violations of international law, that are not dealt with by existing international jurisdictions, or that are recognised but continue with complete impunity due to the lack of political will of the international community”, we learn from the present tribunal’s website.
"Today, and in the same spirit, the Bertrand Russell Foundation supports the setting up of a Russell Tribunal to examine the violations of international law, of which the Palestinians are victims, and that prevent the Palestinian People from exercising its rights to a sovereign State.
This Tribunal … will reaffirm the supremacy of international law as the basis for a solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict. It will identify all the failings in the implementation of this right and will condemn all the parties responsible for these failings, in full view of international public opinion."
On 20-21 November this “kangaroo court” will be in session on the premises of the Law Society, prompting distinguished barrister Jonathan Goldberg QC to observe:
"It is hard to think of any other learned profession in the United Kingdom which has benefited so much from its distinguished Jewish members over the centuries as the solicitors’ profession. Examples abound, right up to the present Supreme Court Judge Lord Collins of Mapesbury. It is deeply offensive to British Jews and lawyers that the Law Society is hosting this controversial political event. It is little more than an Israel-bashing fest, in the guise of a kangaroo court, which has arrogantly summonsed companies doing business with Israel to appear before it to justify themselves. Many of the usual cast of hard left-wing Zionist-haters are speaking."
And Jonathan Hoffman has added:
"It seems that the Law Society has been duped into thinking that this is some kind of high minded quasi-judicial inquiry. But it is a sham show trial with the result predetermined. By using the credibility of the Law Society, the organisers - utterly cynically - are trying to give it a veneer of respectability. They are bringing the name of the Law Society into disrepute and that should be sufficient to lead to the cancellation of the booking. Let's hope the Society's Officers make the right decision. If they do not, many lawyers will question why they should remain members and why they should hold events there."
Last evening, a preliminary session of the Russell Tribunal took place at the headquarters of Amnesty International. The panel comprised film director Ken Loach, well-known for his odious anti-Israel invective, journalist Ewa Jasiewicz (no stranger to readers of the Israel-hating Guardian), whose accomplishments allegedly include helping to desecrate a wall of the Warsaw Ghetto with anti-Israel slogans, and others of their ilk.

Standing sentry as the room filled up was Amnesty’s campaigns director Krystian Benedict, and when this flunkey of the kangaroo court saw Jonathan Hoffman about to enter he barred the man whose leonine courage in speaking up for Israel is legendary.  Mr Hoffman protested, whereupon Mr Benedict wasted no time in summoning not one but four Mr Plods to escort Judah’s Lion off the premises.

 “Rather than try to deal with my on-point objections to the speakers’ comments, I was censored”, notes Hoffman. “Bertrand Russell would surely be turning in his grave. Totalitarian societies begin with curbing free speech. It seems that Amnesty's espousal of 'human rights' does not extend to the right of Jews to protest at antisemitism during Amnesty meetings.”

However, on hand to report on (and photograph) last evening’s event was the doughty Richard Millett, who relates on his blog that “Last night at Amnesty felt less about the delegitimisation of Israel and more about the delegitimisation of Jews.”

Read more at richardmillett.wordpress.com/.../russell-tribunal-on-palestine-presents-ken- loach-at-amnesty/