The Guardian and other British newspapers have long been less sympathetic to Israel's actions and perhaps to Israel itself than their American counterparts. Sometimes they may be right. The use of torture is illegal in Israel, just as it is in the US, technically speaking, but both countries have loopholes in the law or have simply ignored its authority.
The Center for the Defense of the Individual and B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, has released a report, according to The Guardian, which asserts that Palestinian prisoners have been subjected to starvation, interminable and severe interrogations, sleep deprivation and more and that half of them had been beaten by the military before being handed over to Shin Bet.
According to the Gonzales/Bush definition of torture, they were probably handled humanely by virtue of having survived and there's the problem. The US can hardly lecture about morality and rule of law to Israel and that leaves only the Israelis themselves to protest and perhaps to do something about it. Now that people are out in the street demanding Olmert's resignation, perhaps there's a glimmer of hope that the incompetents and the religious right and the morally "creative" will effectively opposed in Israel. In the US we may have to wait until 2008.
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2 comments:
I don't think there's any debate over how wrong Israel's treatment of some Palestinians is... It's so complicated, but torture is wrong, period.
That said, have you seen Spielberg's Munich? It was as controvertial to me as it was hyped to be before its release. I'm really torn over it -- it reveals how NOT black and white the world truly is.
Israel fought terror with terror, and the film seemed very balanced, and reinforced how torn many Israelis (and outside observers) are over Meir's reaction to Munich. I confess, I, too am torn.
Munich is one of those movies I can't watch. It's too much of a reminder of what animals we all are.
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