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The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil,    but because of the people who don't do anything about it

Occupation magazine - Commentary Home page  back Print  Send To friend US Condemns Murder of Israelis -- But Never of Palestinians M.J. Rosenberg The Huffington Post 1.9.10 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mj-rosenberg/us-condemns-murder-of-isr_b_702442.html?ref=email_share The first statement to come out of the meeting today between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu was Obama`s strong condemnation of the horrific killing of four Israeli settlers on the West Bank. These were civilians who were simply driving in a car when Hamas snipers took them out. The President was right to condemn these murders. Of course, we rarely, if ever, officially condemn the killing of Palestinians by the Israelis even though Israel is an established government (not a terror outfit), the largest recipient of US foreign aid and uses the weapons we supply (gratis) to do the killing. We did not condemn the Gaza onslaught in which the IDF killed 1,200 Palestinians (including 432 kids). We do not condemn the routine killing of Palestinian civilians by the army or the settlers. We did not condemn the the shooting of the American Jewish girl from Maryland who lost an eye for protesting the Gaza ship raid. We did, however, condemn the Goldstone Report for delineating what the IDF did in Gaza. And we wonder why no one, except our government, considers us to be `honest brokers` between Israelis and Palestinians. Honest brokers would condemn all killings of innocent people. The fact is that we act like old fashioned colonialists. The Israelis are the `white guys` and the Palestinians are the `natives` and nobody much bothers with the deaths of natives. (I notice that every article on the supposed peace negotiations talks about the tremendous reduction in the number of violent acts against Israelis by Palestinians. The far greater number of acts of violence by Israelis against Palestinians don`t merit a mention). Someday we Americans will recognize that all innocent dead are the same, and particularly all innocent dead children. But we aren`t there yet, not by a long shot. And that is why only Americans consider America to be an `honest broker.` The rest of the world sees us, in former Clinton official Aaron Miller`s words, as `Israel`s lawyer.` I thought all children were the same in the eyes of God. I guess ONLY in his eyes. rh Links to the latest articles in this section Is there still a chance to break the cycle of revenge and bloodshed? Israelis Against Apartheid Statement Following ICJ Hearing Three weeks into the Gaza War - a somber and sober assessment, with some historical perspectives