JUNE 21 — Alwyn Lau’s article ,”Israel, Hamas and the UN General Assembly”, published in the Malay Mail on 20th June 2018 has revealed him to be a true-blue apologist for the Zionist apartheid state.
His line of argument is clearly that of a person who is an uncritical consumer of Zionist propaganda, a part of which is the self-serving lie that the parties in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict are of equal footing. It is so patently clear to anyone who is an objective observer that that definitely isn’t the case.
One party has such overwhelming might in all the areas that matter, military, economic and diplomatic, more so when supported unquestioningly by a superpower with UN veto power while the other party does not even come close to having a fraction of the might of its adversary. Tragically, and of great concern to the whole world, the stronger party has unrelentingly perpetrated systemic oppression on the weaker party over the past seven decades. Israeli crimes against Palestinians have gone unpunished simply because of blind US support.
Lau, through either ignorance or naivety, has chosen to gloss over this and put the blame on the Palestinian victims for the perpetuation of the conflict. Truly a man after Nikki Haley’s own heart!
Eager to divert attention from the main point that the overwhelming majority of UN member states condemn the violent and unlawful Israeli response to the Great Return March (GRM), Lau makes a big deal that 62 countries were in favour of the US-sponsored draft amendment blaming Hamas while 58 were against. A majority, he describes it. How wrong he is! As an imbiber of Zionist propaganda, he neglected to mention that there were 42 abstentions. In a situation where a two-third majority is required for an amendment to carry, an abstention is almost as good as a vote against.
Lau, in saying that Hamas should be reproached for initiating GRM, is purveying the tired old Zionist trope, much beloved by Nikki Haley and her ilk, that Hamas is behind the protest. Unsurprisingly, he has not bothered to offer a shred of evidence to support that assertion.
We pray that in his saner moments Lau would reflect on some very pertinent questions.
Is it at all conceivable that a mere political organisation not exactly awashed with resources can have such a hold over society that it can make hundreds of thousands of unarmed civilians march into harm’s way and to almost certain death?
Is it Hamas who by sniper fire is cold-bloodedly killing and maiming protesters consisting of unarmed men and women civilians, handicapped people, journalists, medical workers?
If the answer to those questions is no, then Lau should be honest with himself and other people and stop parroting the Zionist line of blaming Hamas.
Lau says that “the Israel-Palestinian conflict will not end if Israel is painted to be Public Enemy #1”. On the contrary, the Israel-Palestine conflict will have its greatest chance of ending when Israel is finally recognised to be Public Enemy #1.
Why shouldn’t the Zionist apartheid state be Public Enemy #1?
A Palestine where Jews, Christians and Muslims lived together in peace and dignity was a living breathing reality until 1948 with the advent of the Zionist state.
The Zionist apartheid state establishes and reinforces its existence through the massacre, displacement and continuous oppression of Palestinians. Why shouldn’t it be Public Enemy #1?
It conducts all the above in the name of all Jews despite knowing full well many Jews are anti-Zionists. Why shouldn’t it be Public Enemy #1?
Israel has scant respect for the sovereignty of its neighbours. Ever since its birth it has invaded and attacked Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. Why shouldn’t it be Public Enemy #1?
It is a sham democracy with its domestic laws formulated to impose apartheid and justify highly discriminatory treatment of its citizens who are Palestinian and the Palestinian population in the occupied territories. If treating apartheid South Africa as Public Enemy #1 was successful in ending apartheid, why shouldn’t Israel be Public Enemy #1?
Israel has on countless occasions acted with blatant disregard for international law or any sense of proportionality against Palestinians. Numerous UN resolutions against it have gone unheeded. Assured of continuous US support, it has behaved like an outlaw and rogue state. Why shouldn’t it be Public Enemy #1?
It is the only Middle Eastern country with nuclear weapons and yet it agitates for the US to abandon its treaty with Iran, which was intended to de-escalate the latter’s nuclear programs to peaceful purposes, on the tenuous grounds that Iran has not been abiding with the terms of the treaty. Why shouldn’t such hypocrisy earn it the label of Public Enemy #1?
Lau should educate himself further about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Hopefully he will discover which side the victim is and which side the oppressor. To be fair and just does not mean one has to be unfailingly even-handed to the point of blaming the victim. It also helps to recognise the crime and demand that its perpetrator be held accountable.
* This is the personal opinion of the writers and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
