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The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Turkey
September 2011
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In May 2010, six ships, manned by a multinational group of anti-Israel activists, formed a flotilla which challenged the Jewish state’s right to maintain a blockade on Hamas-ruled Gaza. After warnings from Israeli security to go no further, all but one—the Turkish Mavi Marmara—surrendered peacefully without incident. When the Mavi Marmara showed no signs of stopping, Israeli naval commandos boarded the Gaza-bound Turkish ship, only to be attacked with iron bars by terrorists posing as passengers. Israeli security fought back, killing eight Turkish activists and one American of Turkish descent. Investigate After the incident, Israel empaneled a committee, headed by former Supreme Court Justice Yaakov Turkel, to investigate. Not long after, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon established an investigative panel, chaired by
PA Risks All
former New Zealand Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer. The Palmer committee included an Israeli, Joseph Ciechanover, and a Turkish representative, Ozdem Sanberk. Although many sectors in the international community have challenged Israel’s right to maintain the blockade on Gaza, the Palmer Report found that “the naval blockade was imposed [by Israel] as a legitimate security measure in order to block weapons from entering Gaza by sea and its implementation complied with the requirements of international law, including the requirements of notification, effectiveness, and enforcement.” Equally gratifying for Israel was the report’s finding that the Jewish state “is complying with its humanitarian obligations.” “The blockade does not constitute collective punishment of the civilian population of the Gaza Strip,” said the report.
Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice & Opinion” “Organized and Violent” The UN panel noted that Israeli forces who boarded the Mavi Marmara in order to prevent it from breaching the blockade faced “organized and violent resistance from a group of passengers,” which, the report said, required the IDF to use force. The report condemned the flotilla passengers, accusing them of acting “recklessly in attempting to breach the naval blockade” and questioning the “conduct, true nature, and objectives of the flotilla organizers, particularly the IHH,” an Islamist-Turkish organization with ties to terrorist groups. The report added that while Turkey attempted to convince flotilla organizers to avoid a clash at sea, “more could have been done.” Criticism Israel, however, was not in the clear. The report found the force used by the Israeli Navy commandoes “exces-
sive and unreasonable” and Israel’s treatment of the passengers after the raid inappropriately harsh. While acknowledging that Israeli forces faced violent resistance on board the ship, the report blamed Israel for the deaths of the nine Turkish activists. “Forensic evidence showing that most of the deceased were shot multiple times, including in the back or at close range, has not been adequately accounted for in the material presented by Israel,” said the report. The report added that Israel’s treatment of flotilla passengers following the raid “included physical mistreatment, harassment, and intimidation, unjustified confiscation of belongings and the denial of timely consular assistance.” The report concluded with the recommendation that Israel offer “an appropriate statement of regret” and pay compensation to the families of the nine people killed.
bers of the PA standing in for Mr. Abbas. Fighting Murderers During the first week in September, the PA TV program “In a Fighter’s Home,” highlighted the driver and mastermind of the Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing ten years ago, in which 15 Jews, ranging in age from 2 to 62, were murdered. The program honored Mohammed Wael Daghlas, who planned the attack and sent the suicide bomber who carried it out, and Ahlam Tamimi, a young, attractive Arab woman who drove the suicide bomber to the Sbarro pizza shop in Jerusalem. Mr. Daghlas and Ms. Tamimi are serving 15 and 16 life sentences, respectively.
During the TV program, which was translated by PMW, the host visited Mr. Daghlas’s family and decided to send special greetings and praise to Ms. Tamimi as well. “We wish her freedom— she and [the rest of] our glorious female prisoners,” said the host. In the middle of August, a PA kindergarten camp also presented a show of violence as the five-year-olds acted out scenes of terror, death, and martyrdom for their families. During the graduation ceremony, two plays were performed—one based on “Little Red Riding Hood,” and the second “The Martyr’s Wedding,” a story glorifying death in battle with Israel for the sake of Islam. S.L.R.
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one of its groups after Ms. Mughrabi and the other one for Arafat. According to Arutz Sheva, Mr. Abbas has been directly involved in efforts to transform Ms. Mughrabi into a role model for PA Arabs. In 2009, Mr. Abbas established a computer center that was named for her,
and, in 2010, he sponsored an event to mark what would have been her 50th birthday. In March 2010, while US Vice President Joe Biden was in Israel, Mr. Abbas hastily cancelled a ceremony to name a public square after Ms. Mughrabi. The ceremony was held anyway with other mem-