More reports of chemical use in Turkey, Turkish doctors arrested for treating patients
Here's a
disturbing account of the protests in Istanbul over the weekend. It includes another report of the the use of chemicals by the Turkish authorities against unarmed civilians, and it speaks for itself. Where are Physicians Without Borders and Physicians for Human Rights, which always rush to protest any perceived Israeli fault in Judea, Samaria or Gaza? Do they only care when it's Jews fighting with Muslims, and not when it's Muslims fighting with Muslims? How does that fit in with the Hippocratic Oath? Ooops - never mind. Muslims have a
different version of the Hippocratic Oath.
This is from the first link.
Claudia Roth, co-head of the German Green
Party and a member of parliament, was among those in the park. She described the
scene to Reuters as “war-like,” adding that “we tried to escape and the police
followed us.”
During the clashes, Roth and hundreds of protesters took
refuge in the nearby five-star hotel Divan, which houses a makeshift first-aid
infirmary that was set up during the initial clashes.
After a tense
stand-off between the police and the protesters in the hotel, the riot police
sprayed tear gas through the gates in the lobby in order to force the protesters
to come out.
Several medical personnel in the infirmary were arrested
overnight for not having obtained proper licenses to treat patients, according
to the Turkish Medical Association.
It issued an “urgent call” to the
World Health Organization and World Medical Association to condemn the arrest of
“volunteer physicians.”
In its statement, TMA said that “the police
forces are using chemical gases savagely on the unprotected civil masses... Over
11,000 people declared that they have been affected by the
gas.”
Appealing to the government to stop the use of excessive force and
initiate a prompt investigation into allegations of abuse, TMA claimed that
“data shows that the gas bombs were targeting the people.
Many of them
[have] injuries of [the] head, face, eyes, thorax and abdomen which could be
fatal.”
One of many Istanbul residents affected by heavy tear gas is the
author of this report.
Read the whole thing.
Labels: Istanbul, Physicians for Human Rights, Turkey, Turkish spring
Like father-in-law, like son-in-law
You will recall that last week, a French appeals court
dismissed a libel lawsuit by Jamal al-Dura, father of the fake 'Palestinian martyr' Mohamed al-Dura, against Dr. David Yehuda, a doctor at Sheba Tel HaShomer Hospital who treated the father in 1994. At Sunday's cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu hailed Dr. Yehuda's victory as
a victory over 'Palestinian' propaganda, and declared Dr. Yehuda an '
Israeli hero.' It should be noted that the government did not - at least until now - pay Dr. Yehuda's legal expenses.
Enter Haaretz, which on Sunday afternoon published an op-ed by one Rafi Walden, who is, according to Haaretz deputy director of Sheba Medical Center, a member of the board of directors of the Physicians for Human Rights, and a lieutenant colonel in the IDF reserves. According to my sources, he is also a
son-in-law of Israel's moonbat President, Shimon Peres. This one was so bad that Haaretz actually took it down. I got it first as an email, and eventually someone supplied me with the Google cached page, which is
here. Here's the key part:
My sole intention is to address testimony provided by Dr. David, who has been praised by the prime minister for having acted with integrity and persistence to defend the reputation of the state of Israel. The facts are completely different. After the incident in 2000, Jamal al-Dura was treated in Gaza, and transported the next day to Amman's King Hussein Hospital. His entire medical file has been relayed to me; it is 50 pages in length, and features pictures of the wounds and x-rays.
Dr. David claimed it was indisputable that the wounds were identical to ones treated eight years previously. The fact is that the medical documentation compiled in Amman shows completely different wounds: there is a gunshot wound in the right wrist, a shattered forearm bone, multiple fragment wounds in a palm, gunshot wounds in the right thigh, a fractured pelvis, an exit wound in the buttocks, a tear in the main nerve of the right thigh, tears in the main groin arteries and veins, and two gunshot wounds in the left lower leg.
Diagnoses in this file also provide detailed documentation of the 1992 wounds, including a paralyzed nerve in the right hand which was, in fact, treated by Dr. David. Photographs, x-rays, surgery reports, expert consultation reports and the rest of the data compiled in this medical file corroborate the diagnoses. I regretfully state that the statements made by my colleague, formulated as though "there isn't a shadow of doubt," are not well founded.
It apparently never occurred to the brilliant Dr. Walden that a hospital in Amman might have substituted different records for those of Jamal al-Dura circa 2000. As far as we can tell, Dr. Walden never saw al-Dura and had no way of knowing whether the records supplied to him from Amman were al-Dura's or someone else's. Dr. Yehuda, on the other hand, treated al-Dura in 1994 and knew exactly what wounds he had suffered in 1992.
Even Haaretz apparently recognized that Dr. Walden was taking the Amman hospital records on faith and took the article down. That's why I had to get it from Google cache. Perhaps Dr. Walden owes Dr. Yehuda an apology.
But then, taking everything one is told on faith runs in Dr. Walden's extended family, doesn't it? Think how we got into the Oslo mess in the first place....
Labels: Jamal al-Dura, libel and slander, Physicians for Human Rights, Shimon Peres
US-EU nonresponse to Libyan crisis deplored
24 human rights organizations have called on the United States and the European Union to
confront the slaughter going on in Libya in the United Nations Security Council and 'Human Rights' Council, where, incredibly, Libya is a member and has sat in judgment on Israel for the last five years.
Signatories include the U.S.-based National Endowment for Democracy and Physicians for Human Rights, the Geneva-based UN Watch, and 21 other groups from Switzerland, India, Liberia, Italy, Nigeria, Germany, Sudan, Venezuela, Somalia, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.
The letter asserts that the widespread atrocities committed by Libya against its own people are “particularly odious” actions that amount to war crimes, requiring member states to take action through the Security Council under the responsibility to protect doctrine.
The appeal also calls for an emergency session of the Human Rights Council, in which Libya’s membership on that body would be suspended, and an international inquiry team dispatched to he country.
“The muted response of the US and the EU to the Libyan atrocities is not only a let-down to the many Libyans risking their lives for freedom, but a shirking of their obligations, as members of the Security Council and the Human Rights Council, to protect peace and human rights, and to prevent war crimes,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, and an international lawyer who represents Libyan torture victims.
“Baroness Ashton’s call today for Libyan forces to exercise ‘restraint’ is entirely inappropriate. We’re dealing with the deliberate murder and massacre of hundreds of peaceful protesters. By signaling diplomatic caution in the face of a bloodbath – instead of urgency and action — the EU is failing the victims. It’s time for basic human rights to come before oil,” said Neuer.
“The EU should also urge the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to send urgently-needed medical supplies into Libya, particularly for hospitals in Benghazi. Ashton should attempt to visit Libya after her trip to Cairo tomorrow.” Exiled Libyans in Cairo and members of Egypt’s Doctors Syndicate have sent urgent medical supplies to Libya, but the international community needs to step in, said Neuer.
As you may recall, Neuer represented the Bulgarian nurses and 'Palestinian' doctor who were tortured by the Libyans for '
spreading AIDS' (video of their testimony to the 'Human Rights Council' at that last link).
Labels: Hillel Neuer, Libya, Physicians for Human Rights, UN Watch, United Nations, United Nations Human Rights Council
Im Tirtzu: Arab money supporting Israeli Leftist groups
In a report released on YNet's website on Monday night, Im Tirtzu, the group that exposed the New Israel Fund's connection to the Goldstone Report, described how
Arab and European moneys fund Leftist groups in Israel.
According to Im Tirtzu, a centrist extra-parliamentary movement that "strives to strengthen the values of Zionism in Israel," the findings prove the need for the establishment of an inquiry commission. The report focuses on two Palestinian organizations – the Welfare Association and the NGO Development Center –which it claims work together to fund pro-Palestinian activities in Israel and the territories.
The report states that the organizations' yearly budget, which is estimated at tens of millions of dollars, comes from a number of sources: Countries and organizations in Europe - including the European Union, Sweden, Switzerland, Holland and Denmark – as well as Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria and Qatar.
According to Im Tirtzu, large banks, such as the Islamic Development Bank, as well as Arab funds, also allocate money to the Welfare Association and the NGO Development Center, which then transfer 97% of the funds to Palestinians in the territories and some 3% to leftist Israeli organizations.
The report also claims that the Welfare Association is directly involved in Arab activity in Israel, including a campaign against obligating Arab youths to participate in Israel's National Service program.
Im Tirtzu said that among the Israeli organizations to receive funds from the Welfare Association are Adalah, Mada al-Carmel and the Galilee Society.
According to the report, $2.65 million were allocated by the Welfare Association to finance activity in Israel, specifically to boost the socio-economic status of Arab-Israelis and to preserve and foster Palestinian national identity.
The Welfare Association also supports two local councils – Nazareth and Kafr Kana.
Over the past few years the Welfare Association's annual budget stood at roughly $40 million, making it one of the key channels for the transfer of funds to the Palestinians.
The Arab countries also fund 13 Israeli Leftist organizations including B'Tselem, Mossawa, Adalah, Breaking the Silence, Yesh Din, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, the Public Committee against Torture, HaMoked Center for the Defense of the Individual and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.
Read the whole thing. A lot of the money is coming from Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Holland. I suspect that will be news to most Israelis. In particular, there's been a lot of hostility toward us from Sweden over the last couple of years (it was their media that accused the IDF of stealing organs from dead 'Palestinians'), and I suspect that a lot of Israelis will not be happy when and if they find out the truth.
Labels: Association for Civil Rights in Israel, B'Tselem, Breaking the Silence, Im Tirtzu, Physicians for Human Rights, Yesh Din
Caroline Glick on the NGO investigation
Caroline Glick weighs in on the proposal to investigate the
sources of funding of Israel's NGO's.
ONE OF the reasons that false stories by the likes of B’Tselem and its fellow Israeli-staffed anti-Zionist pressure groups are treated with respect by the local media and the international community alike is because they are perceived as Israeli groups.
Why would Israelis lie about their own army? On Wednesday, the Knesset voted to form a commission of inquiry to examine these groups’ sources of funding. The rationale behind this parliamentary investigation is clear. The time has come to determine just how “Israeli” these organizations that form such an integral part of the international political war against Israel actually are. How much of their funding comes from foreign governments? And if their foreign funding is significant, then how can they claim to be Israeli groups? B’Tselem for instance receives funding from the British, Swiss and Irish governments, Christian Aid, the Ford Foundation, DanChurchAid (funded by the Danish government), Diakonia (funded by the Swedish and Norwegian governments and the EU), Trócaire (funded by the Irish and UK governments), and others.
Yesh Din, which specializes in conducting domestic lawfare against the IDF, is funded by the Irish, Dutch, British, German and Norwegian governments, the EU, and George Soros’s Open Society Institute.
Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, Breaking the Silence, Bimkom, Peace Now, Gush Shalom, Adalah, the Geneva Initiative, the Committee for Peace and Security and so on and so forth all receive massive funding from foreign governments.
The Samaria Regional Council alleges that over the past decade, foreign governments have donated hundreds of millions of euros, dollars and shekels to these Israeli “grassroots” groups.
The fact is that these groups’ claim to grassroots status is as credible as their allegations of Israeli criminality and Palestinian victimhood. In truth, these NGOs are local agents of foreign governments who use them to advance their anti-Israel policies.
The Knesset’s move to investigate these groups was greeted by righteous rage from the groups’ leaders and sympathetic Leftist Knesset members.
The Knesset’s decision was castigated as “McCarthyite” and “anti-democratic.” But it is clear these groups and their parliamentary allies doth protest too much.
No one is talking about shutting them down. But the Israeli public has a right to know what these groups really are. And our political representatives have an obligation to investigate and expose subversive foreign agents. Israel and Israel’s democratic system are weakened, not strengthened, when the state’s international reputation and domestic discourse is hijacked by foreign governments who hide behind their Israeli foot soldiers.
She's got it right. For lots more evidence,
read the whole thing.
Labels: B'Tselem, human rights NGO's, NGO funding, Physicians for Human Rights, Yesh Din
Physicians for Human Rights calls for Amir's release from isolation
I never thought I would see the day that I would agree with something that Physicians for Human Rights had to say about Israel. That day has come. Physicians for Human Rights has called for the release of
Yigal Amir from the isolation he has suffered for the last fifteen years. I could not agree more.
"Psychological damage caused by isolation will manifest in a number of ways," a Physicians for Human Rights statement said, "including difficulty sleeping, depression, irrational fears, psychotic episodes such as visual and auditory hallucinations, episodes of paranoia, the experience of distortions in time and space, confusion and cognitive difficulties."
The organization rejected the state's claims that Amir must remain in isolation because his life would be in danger if he was kept in contact with other prisoners in the general prison population.
"Physicians for Human Rights calls upon representatives of the state to study other ways of dealing with the prisoner that will protect his person and his health. The state's solutions must negatively affect as little as possible the physical and psychological health of prisoners, including Yigal Amir," the organization said.
The excuse for keeping Amir in isolation is just that. The real reason the State wants to keep him in isolation is vengeance for the murder of 'peace.' And a fear that if he were not in isolation, he might retain his sanity and start telling the truth.
If you're wondering how the yefei ha'nefesh are taking this, here's
Haaretz. (For starters, while JPost's headline referred to Yigal Amir, Haaretz's referred to 'Rabin's assassin').
The far-right Orthodox Amir pleaded guilty to killing Rabin, as he had opposed the prime minister's efforts to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians.
PHR said that the Israel Prison Service, which has systematically opposed ending Amir's solitary confinement, is aware of the ramifications for a person's mental state caused by this treatment.
It noted that following its appeal with the Israeli human rights organization the Center for the Defense of the Individual, a joint panel from the Prison Service and the Defense Ministry wrote in 1996 that solitary confinement had deep psychological impact.
...
Arguing for Amir to remain in isolation, the state claims that Amir could incite other prisoners, and that entering the prison population would constitute a threat on his life.
There's a Supreme Court hearing on Amir's request to leave his isolation on Monday. Israel Radio reports that the State said it would release Amir from isolation if it could find an appropriate cell mate (how about his brother?). Amir said he had unfettered access to a phone for the first nine years that he was in prison and never incited anyone.
If I haven't made it clear enough in the past, there are videos showing Amir shooting Rabin (which I have posted), but what you see in the videos is contradicted by the hospital report. I believe that any decent criminal lawyer could have at least gotten Amir off on a reduced charge. But no such lawyer would agree to take his case at the time.
Given what the Left did to
Margalit Har Shefi just a few weeks ago, I would bet on them fighting tooth and nail to keep Amir in isolation. You can bet that they will claim that there is no appropriate cell mate - among other things.
Labels: Margalit Har Shefi, Physicians for Human Rights, Yigal Amir, Yitzchak Rabin
