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| Remember Nuremberg |
U.S.-Israeli selective memory pretends there was no Nuremberg
Re-reporting, editing by
Carolyn Bennett
“Special Relationship” in crime: Israel, USA
“… If something is not done quite soon by the American
People and the International Community to stop Israeli war crimes and crimes
against humanity against the Palestinian People,” Professor Francis Boyle
writes, “[the situation] could very well degenerate into genocide ─ if Israel
is not there already.”
Francis Boyle has written “International Laws of Belligerent
Occupation.” AIPAC’s week in Washington seems an apt time to republish some of
what Boyle said about U.S. government officials’ “special friend” in the Middle
East and, in the light of Nuremberg, its heinousness crimes against the Palestinian
People.
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| Violent quest for ownership |
“A crime against humanity is the direct historical and legal
precursor to the international crime of genocide as defined by the 1948
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
“The theory here was that what Hitler and the Nazis did to
the Jewish People required a special international treaty that would codify and
universalize the Nuremberg concept of ‘crime against humanity.’ That treaty
ultimately became the 1948 Genocide Convention…
“…There are different degrees of heinousness for war crimes (beyond
a general idea of war crime). In particular, the more serious war crimes
denominated ‘grave breaches’ of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
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| War on Gaza's children |
Every day since the start of the Al Aqsa Intifada, the world
has seen those inflicted by Israel against the Palestinian People living in
occupied Palestine: e.g., willful killing of Palestinian civilians by the Israeli
army and Israel’s illegal paramilitary settlers.”
The Second Intifada also known as
the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the Oslo War was the second Palestinian uprising – a
period of intensified Palestinian–Israeli violence, which began in late
September 2000 and ended around 2005. The death toll, including both military
and civilian, is estimated to be more than 3,000 Palestinians, around 1,000
Israelis (Jews and Arabs), and 64 foreigners. (Wikipedia note)
“These Israeli ‘grave breaches’ of the Fourth Geneva
Convention,” Boyle writes, “mandate universal prosecution for their
perpetrators, whether military or civilian; and prosecution for their
commanders, whether military or civilian including Israel’s political leaders.”
Crimes against humanity
Though “the U.N. Human Rights Commission did not go so far
as to condemn Israel for committing genocide against the Palestinian People, it
has condemned Israel for committing crimes against humanity, which is the
direct precursor to genocide.”
Answering “what is a ‘crime against humanity,’” Boyle replies
that the concept “goes all the way back to the Nuremberg Charter of 1945 for
the trial of the major Nazi war criminals. In the Nuremberg Charter of 1945 ─
drafted by the United States Government ─ there was created and inserted a new
type of international crime specifically intended to deal with the Nazi
persecution of the Jewish People…”
Crime suffered becomes crime inflicted
Israel’s “crime against humanity” against the Palestinian
People
Determined by U.N. Human Rights Commission pursuant to United
Nations Charter
“The paradigmatic [model] example (theoretical/philosophical
framework) of a ‘crime against humanity’ is what Hitler and the Nazis did to
the Jewish People. This is where the concept of crime against humanity came
from.
And this is what the U.N. Human
Rights Commission determined that Israel is currently doing to the Palestinian
People: Crimes against humanity.
Israel’s Crimes against Humanity
against Palestinians ─ legally, [this is] just like what Hitler and the Nazis did
to the Jews.
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rancis Anthony Boyle is a harsh critic of Israel, Zionism and American foreign policy toward Israel. His a professor of international law
at the University of Illinois’s College of Law. His article appeared at the Council
for the National Interest website.
NUREMBERG in brief
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| Nuremberg Tribunal |
The Nürnberg (also spelled Nuremberg) Trials were a series
of trials held in Nürnberg, Germany (1945–1946), in which former Nazi leaders
were indicted and tried as war criminals by the International Military
Tribunal.
The former Nazi leaders were indicted on four counts:
(1) Crimes against peace (the
planning, initiating, and waging of wars of aggression in violation of
international treaties and agreements);
(2) Crimes against humanity
(exterminations, deportations, and genocide);
(3) War crimes (violations of the
laws of war); and
(4) “A common plan or conspiracy to
commit” the criminal acts listed in the first three counts.
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his week as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
(AIPAC) conferred and lobbied in Washington ─ 13,000 members of the pro-Israel
lobby visited offices of all members of the U.S. House and Senate ─ CNI’s its
president, Alison Weir, penned the alert: “Israel Lobby narrows its sights on
three pieces of legislation.…; bills not in America’s best interest; initiatives
far worse — more dangerous — than in recent years.
“THE LOBBY DEMANDS FULL FUNDING FOR ISRAEL’S WAR MACHINE.
“They want to be exempt from sequestration—the mandatory
reduction of all federal expenditures.
Social Security payments are
undergoing cuts.
FBI expenditures are being reduced.
Education Department services are
decreasing.
What about trimming the $3.2
billion in American military aid to Israel?
“Not one dime if the Israel Lobby gets its way. While not a
specific bill, they are lobbying Congress for subtle changes to its
sequestration statutes and procedures so Israel’s military pipeline to American
tax dollars will not be affected.
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“
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Please tell your Representative that Americans want a fair
foreign policy that encourages peace and justice in the Middle East. The
history of our ‘Israel first’ policies has crippled U.S. strategic, economic,
diplomatic, and humanitarian activities in that vital region of the world.
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| A war paradigm U.S. in Iraq |
“Many of the most serious dangers facing Americans today
stem from our highly unusual relationship with Israel.
Our uniquely massive support for
Israel has cost trillions of dollars and multitudes of lives.
It has diminished our moral
standing in the world, lessened our domestic freedoms, and exposed us to
unnecessary and growing peril.
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“
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The majority of Americans – as well as our diplomatic and
military experts – oppose this unique relationship. Yet, special interest
lobbies continue to foment policies that are disastrous for our nation and
tragic for the region.
“If we are to have sensible, effective policies that promote
safety rather than danger, then it is essential that all Americans become
active and informed. Lives depend on it.”
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he Council for the National Interest, according to its
website, “seeks to encourage and promote a U.S. foreign policy in the Middle
East that is ─
consistent
with American values,
protects
our national interests, and
contributes
to a just solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict
Sources and notes
“The International Laws of Belligerent Occupation” (by Francis Boyle), February 20, 2013 19:31, http://www.councilforthenationalinterest.org/component/k2/item/2433-the-international-laws-of-belligerent-occupation
Governing “belligerent occupation,” Francis Boyle writes, are
“The Hague Regulations of 1907, the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, and the
customary laws of belligerent occupation.”
Francis A. Boyle
Francis Anthony Boyle, a harsh critic of Israel, Zionism,
and American foreign policy toward Israel, is a professor of international law
at the University of Illinois’s College of Law
In 2007 Boyle denounced the ‘ongoing criminal activities
perpetrated by the [George W.] Bush administration and its nefarious foreign
accomplices in allied governments such as in Britain, Australia, Japan, South
Korea, Georgia, etc.”
Boyle is reported saying in a 2007 speech that the Bush
administration ─
‘would
welcome the outbreak of a Third World War’ [and] is fully prepared to use
tactical nuclear weapons against Muslim and Arab states and peoples.’
“… [T]hat American treatment of
Muslims and Arabs since the attacks of September 11, 2001 is ‘almost to the
same extent that America inflicted upon the Japanese and Japanese Americans
after Pearl Harbor.’
“[And that] American lawyers [should]
‘lead the fight against the Bush Jr. dictatorship.’
Boyle took his academic credentials at University of Chicago
(A.B. in Political Science, 1971), Harvard Law School (J.D., 1976), Harvard
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Department of Government (A.M., 1978; Ph.D.,
Political Science, 1983)
He is author of The
Future of International Law and American Foreign Policy, World Politics and
International Law, Defending Civil Resistance under International Law, and
Palestine, Palestinians, and International Law.
Boyle bio Wikipedia and University of Illinois Law School, http://www.law.illinois.edu/faculty/profile/FrancisBoyle
Alert from CNI President Alison Weir, March 7, 2013, http://www.councilforthenationalinterest.org/
Council for the National Interest (CNI)
501 (c) 4 non-profit,
non-partisan organization advocating “for Middle East policies that
serve the national interest; that represent the highest values of our founders
and our citizens; and that work to sustain a nation of honor, decency,
security, and prosperity.”
The Council for the National Interest, according to its
website, “seeks to encourage and promote a U.S. foreign policy in the Middle
East that is ─
consistent
with American values,
protects
our national interests, and
contributes
to a just solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict
It is CNI’s goal to restore a political environment in
America in which voters and their elected officials are free from the undue
influence and pressure of foreign countries and their partisans.
The Council for the National Interest Foundation (CNIF) is
an independent 501(c) 3 non-profit
organization that provides information and analysis on the Middle East, its
relationship to the United States, and about policy formation regarding this
region. Its primary focus is on Israel-Palestine.
The Council for the National Interest (CNI) is a 501 (c) 4 non-profit, non-partisan
organization that advocates for Middle East policies that serve the national
interest; that represent the highest values of our founders and our citizens; and
that work to sustain a nation of honor, decency, security, and prosperity. http://www.councilforthenationalinterest.org/about-us
Historic National 2013 Summit (CNI)
The public is invited to the National Summit to Reassess the
U.S.-Israel ‘Special Relationship’ to be held in Washington in the fall of 2013].
“This will be a nonpartisan symposium examining the impact of the U.S.-Israel
relationship on Americans. Panels will include top military, diplomatic,
intelligence, academic, governmental, and economic experts, as well as former
Congressional representatives.” Details TBA.
NUREMBERG Principles
Principle I
“Any person who commits an act which constitutes a crime under international law is
responsible, therefore, and liable to punishment.”
Principle II
“The fact that internal law does not impose a penalty for an
act which constitutes a crime under international law does not relieve the
person who committed the act from responsibility under international law.”
Principle III
“The fact that a person who committed an act which
constitutes a crime under international law acted as Head of State or
responsible government official does not relieve him from responsibility under
international law.”
Principle IV
“The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government
or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under
international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him.”
Principle V
“Any person charged with a crime under international law has
the right to a fair trial on the facts and law.”
Principle VI
“The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes
under international law …”
Principle VII
“Complicity in the commission of a crime against peace, a
war crime, or a crime against humanity as set forth in Principle VI is a crime
under international law.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Principles
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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy
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