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Howard Linett
Why Israel Will Always Lose...Even When It Wins!
September 18, 2009
After
many years of continuous rocket and mortar attacks on its northern Negev
desert civilian population centers by terrorists operating from within
the Gaza Strip, in December 2008, Israel launched a major air and ground
assault against its attackers. In the history of modern warfare one
would be hard pressed to identify an armed conflict more justified than
Israel's Operation Cast Lead or a campaign fought with more care to
avoid civilian casualties. But facts do not matter. All that matters is
what the world media presents; photos and sound-bites lacking context
and sufficient explanation. And what the world media reports, correctly
or incorrectly, becomes fact.
Worldwide
the IDF (the Israeli Defense Forces) is facing a total of approximately
100, and still counting, criminal and civil actions and governmental
inquiries of substance, alleging that the IDF's conduct throughout
Operation Cast Lead constitutes War Crimes and other Crimes Against
Humanity. There is no end to the countries that will allow such actions
to be brought in their courts and no lack of prosecutors willing to
issue an indictment.
In
response to this unprecedented legal attack and in an attempt to put
Operation Cast Lead into context, this July the State of Israel released
a 160 page report entitled, The Operation in Gaza 7 December 2008 -
18 January 2009 Factual and Legal Aspects. I learned of this Report
from a notice distributed to the members of the press via Email from the
Israeli Government Press Office. I was able to "click" on a link and the
entire English language document downloaded to my computer. I took about
30 seconds to skim the first few pages and decided to forward the Report
to every newspaper and magazine editor on my Email list and to others I
thought might be interested. I also copied the document to the CD of
"Read Me" materials I am compiling to read while flying to the USA this
November, if the movies on the flight are not worth watching or if there
is some delay of several hours or more.
To my
surprise, one of the magazine editors contacted me and requested I write
an article about a portion of the Report. His magazine pays for
articles, a very modest amount, double with photographs.
I
immediately contacted the IDF Spokesperson's Office and asked for
photographs from the Operation, photographs not used in the Report.
Perhaps there was a CD of photos? I was told there was no CD of
photographs. The Spokesperson's Office had no budget for CDs. (CD costs
me retail in Israel about 30 cents.) However the photos, if there were
any, could be emailed to me. Great! - But. For some reason they could
only successfully Email photographs from the Spokesperson's Office to a
Gmail account. Ah, hold on, my son has a Gmail account. That was
acceptable. I provided the young soldier on the other end of the line
with my son's Email address. If there were photos they would be emailed
during the following 10 days. None came.
While I
waited for photographs I read the Report. It was certainly a mammoth
work containing a detailed history of the terrorism emanating from
within the Gaza Strip. The Conventions, Treaties and other Laws by which
Armed Conflict was to be waged were cited and explained. There was a
comprehensive collection of facts about attacks and the numbers of
mortar bombs, rockets and others means of death and destruction that
rained down, sometimes poured down on Israeli civilian population
centers. The history and analysis was good, but the arguments put forth
condemning the terrorists' conduct and defending the IDF's conduct were
meandering, hesitant and soft-hitting, that is if you were still reading
and hadn't dozed-off or simply closed the Report promising yourself to
perhaps finish reading the 160 page document at some later date.
While I
continued to wait for photos, I wrote the article, using some of the
photographs from the Report to illustrate several of my points. In so
doing I critically analyzed the Report I was using as a major source for
my article. I came away under-whelmed and somewhat distressed. I am an
attorney trained to write Federal Appellate Court briefs and to argue
the appeal orally before a panel of impatient Judges. I'm good at it! I
was taught to write and to argue in law school. Taught is the wrong
word. Professor Jerry Wenig beat it into us, unmercifully, God Bless
him. He had one rule - go for the jugular! The Report doesn't. At
best it is a third too long. Nor is the Report especially persuasive. I
felt as if the author(s) needed to produce lots of pages to show how
hard they worked. The Anglo-Saxon English, not American English
document, once completed should had been sent to a ruthless editor who
had a proven track-record of writing convincing, persuasive arguments,
to be turned into lean, mean, fighting words. Alas that didn't happen.
I sent my
article to the magazine's editor. He wrote back that the article was
good, but needed the photographs, good quality, publishable copies and
permission to use them. I concurred and contacted the IDF Spokesperson's
Office asking for copies of 6 to 7 of their photos used in the Report
and written permission to use them. I've even readied several of my own
blank CDs for the IDF's use. "Someone will contact you," was my answer.
No one did. I was next advised to "Send us an Email explaining what you
want." I did. No answer to the Email. I was asked to resend the Email
again, 4 hours later. I did. Still I received no response.
In my
frustration I contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Report was
actually released (if not written) by the MFA. They could not help with
photographs. I was told that the Ministry had specifically only
requested and received permission to use the photos that had appeared,
"in the Report.” The Ministry did not have authority to allow anyone
else to use the photos. OK. And yes, in answer to my question, the MFA
did know that, "Photographs make the article and sell the magazine."
Why
invest so much in preparing a mammoth work, then distribute it to the
media, but render yourself unable to assist someone actually trying to
make positive use the Report and publicize it? Such action defies
imagination. Once again those in the Israeli Government charged with
making Israel's case in the world media try . . . and fail. I continue
to contact the IDF Spokesperson's Office, on a daily basis, asking after
"the photographs." As I Email in this story to the NewMediaJournal.us,
I'm still waiting for a response. |
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