How the Israel lobby works and how it might be challenged

The bombing by Israel of yet a third UN school that was being used as a shelter by people seeking refuge from Israeli bombing elsewhere has enraged even more people who normally give Israel unquestioned support. The UN Secretary General has called it a “moral outrage”, a statement signed by the EU and European commission presidents on behalf of 28 members said that Gazans were suffering “intolerable violence”, and even British prime minister David Cameron, goaded by condemnations by the Labor and Liberal party leaders for not speaking out more strongly, has said, “I’m not an international lawyer… but international law is very, very clear that use of force always has to be proportionate and civilians should not be targeted.” The French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said “How many more deaths will it take to stop what must be called the carnage in Gaza? The tradition of friendship between Israel and France is an old one and Israel’s right to security is total, but this right does not justify the killing of children and the slaughter of civilians.” Some of these statements are accompanied by calls for Hamas to stop sending missiles into Israel but these are sounding increasingly like pro-forma balancing statements.
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How can we be calm when discussing so many dead children?

Israeli attack kills Palestinian babyGiles Fraser is British journalist who has had it up to here with what is going on in Gaza.

He says that he is fed up with the language of studied neutrality that reporters try to maintain in the Gaza conflict when they are constantly having to deal with dead children, blasted to bits by Israeli shelling, like fellow journalist Peter Beaumont who encountered a tear-stricken father who had gathered up the remains of his two-year old son in a plastic bag. The photograph on the right that accompanied Giles’s article is of a 40-day old baby who died as a result of Israeli attacks, one of the many that has led him to this state where he thinks that maintaining a studied distance is no longer possible for him.
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The Israeli propaganda playbook

In January 2009, Israel took advantage of the period before Barack Obama’s inauguration to unleash a yet another massive assault on Gaza, killing over 1,400 Palestinians, again mostly civilians and children. Operation Cast Lead, as it was called by Israel, created a major worldwide outcry because of the sheer brutality of the Israeli bombardment, similar to what is happening again now, and even led to a UN commission to investigate.
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UNRWA official breaks down after Israel bombs yet another school

Chris Gunness works for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza and is someone I’ve shown before commenting on the attacks by Israel on civilians in Gaza. In an interview with Al Jazeera, after describing the latest atrocity that killed 19 people in an attack on yet another UN school, he breaks down right after the interviewer thanks him for his time.
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Israel’s assault on Gaza continues

Today comes reports that Israel has bombed the only power plant in Gaza as well as water processing plants, adding to the list of war crimes since bombing essential infrastructure necessary for civilian life is prohibited by the rules of war. Radio and TV stations were also hit. A refugee camp and hospital were also bombed and eight children were killed in a park.
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