All this talk of a proportionate response and Israel defending itself seems to be off the mark by the numbers. If a man hits you and you beat up his whole family is that proportionate response? Is shooting a man for throwing a rock at your window defending yourself?
The associated press reports that as of Wednesday, more than 985 Palestinians have been killed, including 382 civilians. This is comparison to 13 Israeli's who have been killed, including 3 civilians. It is estimated that 40% of all the Gaza casualties have been civilians. From 2005 through 2007 there were 86 Israeli's killed, 8 of which were civilians, meaning less than 10% of all Israeli's killed during the time were civilians.
Barack Obama was on ABC's this week and reiterated his statement "If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I would do everything to stop that, and would expect Israel to do the same thing."
Palestinians are seeing bombs dropped on their houses at a much more frequent rate than Israelis have had rockets shot at them, shouldn't they have the right to defend themselves too? Way more Palestinian daughters have died because of this conflict than Israelis.
We've all heard the statement about how an eye for an eye leaves US all blind. What about an eye for 200 eyes?
Does Israel expect to be greeted as liberators in Gaza. Every family member they kill just adds to the desperation and hatred of Israel that creates the rocket launchers and the suicide bombers that they are trying to fight.
According to Wikipedia, since 2005 not including the recent conflict, there have been 1290 Palestinian casualties vs 86 Israeli casualties. Of those casualties, there were 222 Palestinian civilians killed vs 8 Israeli civilians killed. From 1987 through 2005 their have been 3196 Palestinian casualties including, 620 civilians and 946 Israeli casualties including 112 civilians.
So in these past two weeks, Israel has killed as many Palestinians as they have for the past 4 years.
In the face of the murder, terror and dead children, US politicians are not condemning the violence or the war but defending Israel's right to defend themselves. David Patterson said "I believe the Israeli people, under constant attack from the Palestinian territories, have a right to protect themselves and I stand with them as they fight to defend the basic rights of humanity."
Is Hamas not under attack by Israel is well? Given the disproportionate amount of casualties, isn't it Palestine who is more need to defend their basic rights for humanity.
Mike Bloomberg said there is no measured response to terrorism, essentially saying that Israel has carte blanche to use what ever force it wants, regardless of civilian casualties.
I worked for many years as a teacher and had to break up several fights. If a 100 pound kid kicks 300 pound kid in the shins, and the 300 pound kid begins pummeling the 100 pound kid, I wouldn't say that the 300 kid had a right to defend himself I would tell them both to stop fighting and try and break it up.
Maybe one of the reasons the US has been slow to criticize Israel is the Iraq war. 100,000 Iraqi civilians (some have estimated it in the millions) have been killed vs 4,000 soldiers.
If this were a boxing match it would've been declared a TKO a long time ago. If it were a football game, Israel would've put in their second string. Without a referee, the game has already gotten far out of hand.
In war there is rarely a right side and wrong side. if Hamas was wrong for breaking the ceasefire, that does not mean Israel is right for killing 382 civilians.
Israel is doing very little to improve their relations with both Palestine and their middle eastern neighbors with the current war on Gaza. They are only fueling the hatred for Israel in the arab world.
While I've heard several good arguments justifying Israel's actions. I've always been told that number and pictures don't lie. Given the lopsided score on the casualty count and gruesome pictures of the casualties, it is very clear that Israel is in the wrong along with Hamas.
For more evidence of the brutality in Gaza check out a gallery of Palestinian casualties.

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Hamas did not break the ceasefire.
Reported 5th November 2008
Gaza – Ma’an – The death toll in the Gaza Strip rose to six on Wednesday morning after another Al-Qassam Brigades fighter died of wounds sustained in an Israeli airstrike near Khan Younis.
Five Hamas Al-Qassam Brigades activists were killed earlier on Tuesday evening by Israeli fire in the Al-Qarara area of Khan Younis and at Juhr Ad-Dik, in central Gaza.
An Al-Qassam Brigades leader, Mazin Sa’da, who is also a police officer, was killed and four civilians were injured including a woman as Israeli forces invaded Juhr Ad-Dik and clashed with Palestinian fighters, according to Muawiya Hassanein, director of ambulance and emergency service in the Palestinian health ministry.
Separately, an Israeli drone launched a missile at a group of Al-Qassam activists in Al-Qarara, killing four of them. Mu’awiya Hassanein identified the victims as Muhammad Ba’lusha, Omar Al-Alami, Muhammad Awad and Wajdi Muharib.
http://meltdown101.livejournal.com/22162.html
Thank you bb for correcting the statement about Hamas breaking the cease-fire. That seems to be Israel’s main arguing point in this slaughter, and it is a lie! (among many).
It is the strong AIPAC lobby in DC that controls our wrong-headed support for Israel in this Gaza genocide.
I recommend yesterday’s GritTV show where this issue is discussed, especially the statements of Cynthia McKinney and Chris Evans of The Nation.
Keep saying it, bb, ‘Hamas did not break the cease-fire’ !!
I’ll watch it later..thanks. Gotta love McKinney. You might like this video from Israel; soldiers refusing to take part in the war crime.
Israelis Soldiers refuse to serve in Gaza
January, 13 2009 By Authors Many
Source: Israel Social TV
Israel broke the ceasefire. Hamas did not break the ceasefire. Your wish is my command..’G’..
http://www.zcommunications.org/zvideo/2978
In a press conference held today in Jerusalem, 9 Israeli human rights organizations called on the government and army to respect the laws of war and stop disproportionate harm to civilians. According to media reports and testimonies of Gazans, military forces are wantonly using lethal force, thus far killing hundreds of civilians and wreaking damage to infrastructure.
14 Jan.: Casualty update
Gaza: at least 970 killed, of them at least 300 children and 76 women. Over 4,400 injured, of them over 450 severely injured (Palestinian Ministry of Health figures). Israel: 3 civilians and 10 soldiers killed. Over 82 civilians injured, of them 4 severely injured, not including those treated for shock, and 71 soldiers injured, of them one in critical condition.
Suspicion that woman carrying white flag was shot to death
According to a report to B’Tselem from a Palestinian who is under siege with his family in the southeastern part of the Gaza Strip, a fifty-year-old woman from his family was shot when she exited the house while waving a white flag.
Testimony: Shelled house catches fire, burning occupants inside
On 4 Jan., the Israeli army shelled a home in Beit Lahiya. Ghadah Abu Halima told B’Tselem that the house went up in flames and five of its occupants burned to death, four of them children. As the wounded survivors made their way to hospital, soldiers fired at them.
Israel using phosphorous illegally
Various reports indicate that the Israeli army is using phosphorous in the Gaza Strip. This weapon causes severe burns and is capable of igniting fires. Its use in a crowded area such as the Gaza Strip is illegal.
Israeli use of indiscriminate weapon
An army investigation has concluded that the harm caused to civilians in the UNRWA school bombing on 4 Jan. resulted from the use of an imprecise weapon. B’Tselem demands that the army prohibit use of this weapon in the Gaza Strip.
http://www.btselem.org/English/index.asp
If you look at the maps of where the Hamas rockets have landed, they’re all along a fairly narrow strip along the Gaza border - limit of the rocket range, can we infer? So Israel would seem to have another, easier, cheaper, more humane, and less international-controversy-generative option for stopping the Israeli casualties, namely to withdraw citizens from that range and call the territory a DMZ or something. Given that option, why do the terrible things they have done instead? I would suggest this question indicates that avoiding Israeli casualties is not Israel’s primary objective.
Put it another, more individual way: If you decided your family should be living within rocket range of an enemy, then aren’t you a moron who’s recklessly endangering your family, and shouldn’t you just plain move?
Hamas did not break the ceasefire. The Israeli governmment broke the cease fire. Not just once, but twice and then rejected proposals for a ceasefire in mid-December. I find it remarkable that you should casually repeat such a flagrant falsehood.
Erdla
WPMU which is the software that runs this site has your posting stamped as follows:
January 14th. You posted this on January 14th. Let’s take a look at the humanitarian update from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for January 13th [PDF] shall we?
Now Let’s move on to the figure for January 14th [PDF] shall we?
Thus OCHA and PMOH are reporting that as of Janaury 14th there were:
1013 reported Palestinian dead. Of those 1013 reported Palestinian dead 322 were children and 76 were women. Those two figures combined equals at least 398 dead civilians. That figure of 398 does NOT include all male adult civilians. Anybody with the slightest amount of knowledge of military operations in urban areas* will be able to tell you that your figure of 382 dead civilians is arrant nonsense. The number is clearly going to be much higher than that even if we don’t know what it is yet. I can’t wait to read both your source and your justification for giving a figure of 382 civilians killed.
Similarly I can’t wait to hear your account of the “several good arguments justifying Israel’s actions” that you say you’ve heard. I truly can’t wait to read them. In my capacity as a professional military officer, who is married to another professional military officer, and whose father-in-law is yet another professional military officer let me tell you something Mr. Casey Gane-McCalla:
There is no good argument, NONE, for slaughtering civilians. Slaughtering civilians is a war crime. People have, quite rightly, been hanged for slaughtering civilians. The same applies to deliberately targetting doctors, clinics, and ambulances. Doing so is the act of a criminal not of a soldier obeying a legitimate order.
I really have to ask why you posted this unsourced badly written poorly argued aricle which contains at least one flagrant falsehood on a site like this. Did you think you wouldn’t be called on it?
dailykos.com
The Israelis often say they have a right to defend themselves. They have been imposing a cruel blockade of Gaza for two years iirc and yet frame their aggression as defense.
Does anyone know about the effectiveness of economic boycott against Israel so far and the international organization “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” or “BDS?”
Walls Come Tumbling Down, 13 January 2009 - Politicians from all four parties on Birmingham City Council have called on the Council leadership to pursue a policy of instituting sanctions against Israel.
About one hundred demonstrators angry with Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip shut down a Starbucks store Tuesday, shouting anti-Israel slogans and causing customers inside to flee.
http://www.bds-palestine.net/
Please remember that it is illegal for a US citizen to participate in a boycott of Israel. You don’t have to buy coffee at Starbucks, though; that would just be a personal choice of what coffee shop to go to.
WASHINGTON (AFP)–The U.S. military has to had to cancel a planned
shipment of munitions from a Greek port to a U.S. warehouse in Israel due
to objections from Athens, a Pentagon spokesman said on Tuesday.
forgot to say..”you’re welcome”..
Dennis Kucinich:
“Recent reports indicate that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is continues unabated. As the fighting moves into the densely populated, urban areas of Gaza, the potential for massive tragedy grows. Last week, the United Nations suspended humanitarian efforts after a UN school was destroyed by tank fire and UN aid workers were killed conducting emergency relief efforts. Additionally, the International Committee of the Red Cross reports that they are having difficulty reaching those in with the most desperate need. The world’s ability to mitigate disaster is steadily being withdrawn.
“In light of the ongoing humanitarian crisis, I call upon Prime Minister Olmert to clarify his nation’s goals for its military operation in Gaza. On Sunday, Mr. Olmert stated that Israel was “getting close to the goals it set for itself.” If Israel has set goals, I ask that Mr. Olmert share them with the world and use those goals as the basis for a meaningful dialogue.
“My goal is to help find a way that Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace without fear of terror, attack or poverty. That’s why I am currently working with leaders in Congress to develop a resolution that recognizes the humanitarian suffering in Gaza and calls for an immediate ceasefire.”
http://kucinich.house.gov/News.....tID=108426
Today on page 17 of the NY Times, a group of prominent liberal rabbis and other religious and cultural leaders called for a cease-fire in Gaza. They were backed by over 2,800 American citizens. Because they could not get their opinion presented in the major media they had to buy this full page ad. Haaretz considered it news. So far no U.S. media have considered it news. Why not? This is a great puzzle to me. I hope you will consider it news and will pass the ad around, sign it, even contribute if you can so it can be put in more places.
This is a story about Gaza but also about the way that liberal Jewish voices (shared by many other interfaith and secular people) are being shut out of the US media. No American rabbi has a longer or more substantial track record as a liberal on Israel/Palestine than Rabbi Michael Lerner, who convened the group and raised the money for the ad from 1200 people, mostly in small donations (he started Tikkun magazine 23 years ago as a counter to Commentary and the Jewish right), but he could not get his views into any oped pages of major newspapers despite valiant efforts since the Gaza invasion. He did however have this in the Times of London.
The text of the ad as it appeared in the NY Times can be read here in a downloadable pdf. Our press release is below. Haaretz reported the ad’s appearance here, though strange to say half the article has gone missing (AIPAC-friendly saboteur on the Haaretz website?) but we haven’t seen any mention yet in the US press. You can sign it here.
“We have had to buy space in the New York Times to make this call because the major national newspapers will not give room for this perspective,” says Rabbi Michael Lerner, Editor of Tikkun magazine, who convened the group.
Given the political clout of the Israel Lobby in the U.S., as manifested in the one-sided coverage that has made invisible Jewish opposition in Israel and the U.S. to Israel’s war in Gaza, it is unlikely that President Obama would be able to muster significant pressure on Israel to accept a settlement that would be just to the Palestinian people (and hence would last). For that reason, we are urging him to convene an International Conference in which other countries could play an important role in pushing both sides to make significant compromises for peace.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....58019.html
Does this logic apply to Palestinians?
Is there another country besides Israel which is supposed to commit suicide when they are attacked? If not, why not? What makes Israel different?
“Please remember that it is illegal for a US citizen to participate in a boycott of Israel”
Umm…can you explain?
So You Want to Boycott Israel…
No links, but exposed in Bamford’s Shadow Factory, Israel is deeply embedded into domestic U.S. electronic spying.
I just have to remind my friends that all of the same nitwits that were standing shoulder to shoulder to push and cheerlead the disastrous Iraq war are the same nitwits who are doing the exact same thing now.
-G
Slickly produced piece that shows Muslims as only terrorists.
Nice stuff.
-G
AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…
Firepup Freedom Fighters:
There will be no peace anywhere in the Middle East and no future for a modern Israel until the Israelis take their country back from the fascist politicians runnin’ the country through AIPAC and Washington D.C.
KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION, NO PROSECUTIONS-NO JUSTICE,NO JUSTICE-NO PEACE!!
At the end of the pro-Israel propaganda film that Kenoshakid has linked at comment 17, you will see the info that claims the illegality of a boycott of Israel.
thank you. is there enough info on the sourcing of the claim so that i might review the evidence?
Quite a stretch in many examples to tie products to Israel. Kinda like playing six degrees of Kevin Bacon. (Oddly, Bacon was one of Madoff’s victims.)
Not really. The claim is not spoken by the narrator, but imprinted over the footage like film credits. Take a look at the piece. It is clever. One of the commenters said that Goebbels would be proud. I concur.
teddy up at the mothership
I have a minor correction for you on this…
“Please remember that it is illegal for a US citizen to participate in a boycott of Israel.”
It is not illegal for US citizens to boycott Israel…there is however a congressionally inspired regulation in the Commerce Dept. that prohibts US Companies from discriminating against Israel.
A citizen can boycott Israel,Israeli made goods, boycott stores that sell Israeli goods, withdraw their pension fund from any fund that invest in Israel..and can actually state that their reason is they don’t like/approve/whatever of Israel.
It is only US companies regulated by the commerce department that can’t boycott Israel on import/export or sales . However we had the same no company boycott laws for S.Africa back when and they wern’t enforced then and I doubt if the same kind of boycott got started here the Israel one would be enforced either.
i had to stop near the beginning when jews with phds anywhere in the world were conflated with the israeli government - ie they must be boycotted if we are to boycott israel. sick bs.
bb, thanks!
I read recently that members of a trade union in Norway are asking their employers to boycott Israel.
Thank you, Carroll, this is very helpful.
Thank you, bluebutterfly, peony, Gorillas Guides for your comments here and links.
My book, ‘Churchill’s Promised Land’ by Michael Makovsky came in the mail today and I’m determined to learn more about the opinions, attitudes, and thinking of the world leaders in the period prior to, and at the time that the UN established the state of Israel in 1948. (it goes back to 1897).
For a long time I have asked myself, “Why didn’t the UN then establish definite boundaries for a state of Palestine?” Well, I’ve read far enough to get a glimpse of the answer. Churchill looked upon all Arabs somewhat like the South looked upon our Negroes from the time they were first brought here.
I was 11 years old when the UN established the state of Israel. We studied current events that covered that; so long ago, memory fades.
Until this shameful slaughter of the imprisoned people of Gaza, I had been all my life a strong supporter of Israel. Their conduct now makes no sense to me, for Israel is doing to the people of Gaza exactly what the Nazis did to the Polish Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto - crimes against humanity which now are also war crimes which deserve the same judicial punishment.
I’ll be reading my book for a few days, so hold the line, the 3 of you.
I appreciate all your work.
BTW…latest number for those killed in Gaza 1020, injured 3200.
But back to bocotting. The rest of the world is moving right ahead on boycotting Israel. Notable is what the EU had done…for the EU this is the equivilant of dropping a bomb…and giving the US the finger.
January 14, 2009
The diplomatic backlash begins
As reported in Ha’aretz the world’s diplomatic corps is beginning to turn on Israel after over two weeks of attacking Gaza. Today, President Evo Morales announced that Bolivia is breaking relations with Israel and he wants the International Criminal Court to bring genocide charges against top Israeli officials.
Also today, the EU said that the ongoing negotiations with Israel to boost their political and trade ties will be put on a “time out.” Ramiro Cibrian-Uzal, the EU envoy to Israel, said:
“In a war situation, in a situation in which Israel is at war, using its war means in a very dramatic way, in a powerful way in Gaza, everybody realises that it is not the appropriate time to upgrade bilateral relations which normally take place in a more … peaceful context.”
Cibrian-Uzal declined to say how long the “time out” will last.’
LOL.. that ‘timeout’ is the most polite “sanction” I have heard in a long time. Chavas has already kicked out the Israeli Abm there and one other country I noticed yesterday but can’t remember which one..and article today about New Zeland considering severing all ties with Israel.
A long time ago I predicted the Israeli fetish in our congress would end being the US and Israel against the world…and that is exactly what is happening.
One billion Arabs and the rest of the world vr. ISR’meric…we will lose.
A..
If you really,really want to study Israel or the ME in an absolutely factual manner, untainted by any opinions, let me suggest the British National Archives. Generally considered by historians to be the definitive source on the pre and post Israeli ME. They use to let you pay a fee and read the documents online….I haven’t checked lately to see if they still do. You can also buy the documents in book form…very expensive though. However if you do some searching or ask your local library they might be able to find a central library depository that has some of them or you could check some of the major University libraries if any are near you…Harvard, Duke, Univ of Mich, Yale, Georgetown, NYU and etc.
http://www.archiveeditions.co......sp?tid=124
Near & Middle East Titles:
Zionist Movement And The Foundation Of Israel 1839–1972, The
ISBN: (13) 978-1-84097-050-0
Extent: 10 volumes, 8,000 pages
Price: £2,995
Editor: B. Destani
Author:N/A
ISBN: (10) 1-84097-050-2
Published: 2004
Paper: Printed on acid free paper
Binding: Library bindings with gilt finish
——————————————————————————–
These ten volumes draw together documents found in the British National Archives to trace the origins and development of the Zionist movement in the 19th and 20th centuries, with specific reference to the idea, and eventually the goal, of establishing a Jewish homeland. Material is relatively sparse in the 19th century and volume 1 is rather an historical volume covering the rise of Zionism, including the work of Theodor Herzl and the first Zionist Congress at Basle, ending in 1916 with the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The bulk of the material, volumes 2 to 8, relates to the years 1916-1948 when the Zionist debate raged, the movement became factionalised, split, and eventually, partly because of events surrounding World War II, achieved its goal of the creation of Israel. Volume 10, like volume 1 ranges over a greater number of years in less detail, covering the period after the creation of Israel in 1948 to the most recent releases by the British government from 1972.
They can fight all they want, but in the end it amounts to nothing. In a war where people die and buildings are destroyed it amounts to devastation.
I have to agree with Tony Blair who said it doesn’t matter who started it, they just have to find a way to stop and somehow live peacefully.
I think the idea of a DMZ to give them some breathing room, apart from one another, makes good sense. I don’t know the territory well enough to say whether it’s really feasible. I hope it is.
Thanks, Carroll, I appreciate your thorough reference. I’ll finish my book and then see what I need to F/U on. The author of my book had a researcher doing work for him in the Brit Nat’l Archives.
I’m reading with a very critical eye.
Could we please take the blinders off regarding Israel’s quest for “peace” with the Palestinians?
The only “peace” Israel seeks is spelled “piece” and the “piece” Israel plainly wants is all of West Bank and Gaza land/water for expansion space minus any responsiblitly for ensuing refugee creation or political and culutural expunging of Arab Palestinians.
Wreaking ruin and devastation and dealing death to what likely will prove to be closer to 2,000 Gazans–many being civilian children and women and families–is not a bid for peace.
It is an Israeli bid for enraging Gazans and hoping for more radical outcomes which then can be even more ruthlessly treated and destroyed. Israel having hijacked WashingtonDC’s GWOT is twisting it to suit Israeli territorial desires.
Why are the Americans in WashingtonDC so stupidly being pulled into this Israeli ruse? Why is WashingtonDC so in lockstep with Israeli warmongering and illegal,brutal Israeli occupation conduct? Are there no Americans in the U.S.Senate or in the House who can think this through more clearly?
What is with this automatic American near total support of Israel?
Will President Obama be any better or different than G.W.Bush in any of this?
Is SOS Clinton going to carry AIPAC/Israeli water like Condi Rice has done?
This complacency of stupidity in WashingtonDC is fully suspect of a full range of gross money politics and influences being bought and sold.
Cry all you want Uber-Zionist chief of staff the requisite kowtowing to AIPAC. No change there. Must over there. Let’s face it they’re rag heads nobodies going to do anything but think dark thoughts. Israel first no matter what. Especially when they’re slaughtering those damn Arabs…Let’s face it the United States is owned by Israel has been for years. I wonder who in government isn’t working for Israel, bunch of traitors. We tell them we’re closing the checkbook it would stop on a dime. Worst of all this is we’ll probably have to pay for Israel to re up the weapons. And to rebuild whatever gets rebuilt if anything gets rebuilt. After all wanton destruction is what this is all about. Bomb em back to the stone age. I often think Hamas is just a Israeli false flag op I know it started as one. They will sweep the Palestinians into the ocean sooner or later. Then we get to pay to defend them for all time. Already every country in the region is destabilized by the refugees and it’s just gonna get worser and worser. Israel isn’t our friend they’re just another special interest group that has to be reigned in but probably won’t be. They’re too special, the truth is that all the Israel Firsters in Government are short bus special and the madness will go on and on.
I will have to search through a few days worth of history to find the gov’t website I’d linked from…somewhere… in the last few days.
The Kenosha Kid’s Blog
Your video captions are..
Rally in Support of Israel, NYC
Counter-demonstrators… ANTISEMITES!!!
http://thekenoshakid.blogspot.com/
You have a link to Firedoglake, so FDL is a good place to visit except when we object to war crimes by Israel? Are you reading the links posted at FDL to learn what your fellow Jews in Israel are doing to protest what their country is doing to the people of Gaza?
..’for any US person to participate’..I think that is other than just an owner of a business? I think we need a lawyer’s answer or maybe someone can phone their local commerce department and ask.
Antiboycott Issues
Background
During the mid-1970s the United States adopted two laws that seek to counteract the participation of U.S. citizens in other nation’s economic boycotts or embargoes. These “antiboycott” laws are the 1977 amendments to the Export Administration Act and the Ribicoff Amendment to the 1976 Tax Reform Act. Boycotts of Israel in some Arab nations — although less stringent today than in past years — are the principal foreign economic boycotts that U.S. companies must be concerned with today. The antiboycott laws, however, apply to all boycotts imposed by foreign countries that are unsanctioned by the United States.
It is currently a federal criminal offense under U.S. “antiboycott laws” for any U.S. person to participate in another nation’s boycotts or embargoes of third countries. The definition of “boycott” is expansive and includes such seemingly benign activity as furnishing information about the nationality of past or present business partners to an inquiring government. The penalties imposed for each “knowing” violation can be a fine of up to $50,000 or five times the value of the exports involved, whichever is greater, and imprisonment of up to five years. Under certain circumstances, the criminal penalties for each “willful” violation can be a fine of up to $50,000 and imprisonment for up to 10 years.
http://www.uschamber.com/inter.....oycott.htm
One more..I am more confused now than before..
The antiboycott provisions of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) apply to the activities of U.S. persons in the interstate or foreign commerce of the United States. The term “U.S. person” includes all individuals, corporations and unincorporated associations resident in the United States, including the permanent domestic affiliates of foreign concerns. U.S. persons also include U.S. citizens abroad (except when they reside abroad and are employed by non-U.S. persons) and the controlled in fact affiliates of domestic concerns. The test for “controlled in fact” is the ability to establish the general policies or to control the day to day operations of the foreign affiliate.
http://www.bis.doc.gov/complia.....liance.htm
Turkey’s prime minister defended his outspoken criticism of Israel’s Gaza offensive on Tuesday and said it did not mean he was anti-Semitic, though he also remarked that the “Jewish-backed media” was falsely suggesting that Hamas uses civilians as human shields in the Gaza Strip.
Turkey, a predominantly Muslim but secular country with good ties with both Israel and Arab countries, has been trying to help broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist group which rules the Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has described Israel’s 18-day-old military offensive against Gaza as “a crime against humanity” and defended those remarks on Tuesday in a speech to his ruling AK Party in parliament, broadcast live on television.
“There are people who are disturbed by me speaking of my discomfort over the killing of civilians, (including) children … If we do not state what is just and lawful, then we will lose our self-respect,” he said.
Turkish public opinion is increasingly hostile to Israel’s Gaza offensive and hundreds of thousands of Turks have protested against the 18-day-old campaign launched with the declared aim of ending Hamas’s cross-border rocket attacks.
“Excuses are found for mass killings of children at schools, hospitals and mosques, especially by Jewish-backed media,” he said. “News stories saying that terrorists hide among children or (describing bombings) as technical errors or accidents are aimed at making fun of the world (public opinion).”
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1055194.html