by William Hughes

“The IDF...acted in violation of basic human values.” - Report of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel. (1)

One must praise the ability of Israel Worshippers to change the subject! As I write, the 1.5 million people of Gaza are barely existing under the heel of a brutal Israeli occupation and its most recent terror-driven siege. From Dec. 27, 2008 to Jan. 18, 2009, in a 22 day rampage, about 1,400 innocent Gazan civilians, many of them children--Christian and Muslim alike--were slaughtered by the IDF. (2) Prior to that blood bath, the population was subjected to and continues to be victimized by an Israeli blockade of vital goods necessary to sustain life. (3) George Galloway, MP, a champion of a “Free Palestine,” put it this way: Gaza is “locked-up!” (4)

Yet, the world appears to have put all of that out of its mind by now. Why, you might ask? One big reason is the news about Mary Robinson that was catapulted into the global spotlight.

Mary Robinson is one of Ireland’s finest daughters. Trained for the law as a Barrister, Ms. Robinson hails from the market town of Ballina, in County Mayo, in the west of Ireland. She was a Feminist in country then-dominated by an arch-conservative RC clergy. Ms. Robinson taught Constitutional Law at Dublin U. and served for 20 years in the Senate of the Irish Republic. From 1990-97, she was the first female President of Ireland. When she left that office, Ms. Robinson had a huge approval rating. (5)

Here’s how the Israel Worshippers changed the subject from Gaza: On July 30, 2009, the White House issued a press release announcing that Ms. Robinson and 15 other individuals were on Aug. 12th, to be recipients of the “Presidential Medal of Freedom” for their work as “agents of change.” (6) Usually, when this type of award ceremony is posted, it brings out a positive response from the populace. But, not this time. A highly coordinated smearing of Ms. Robinson was launched. And, it was done on a massive scale. If you google Mary Robinson’s name, along with the words, “presidential medal of freedom,” you will see what I’m talking about.

Some comments were more shrill than others. In the middle somewhere was an item from a Rupert Murdock-owned tabloid, the New York Post. In an editorial, “An Undeserved Award,” dated, Aug. 12, 2009, it charged that Ms. Robinson was “a key critic of Israel,” and “a protector of regimes, like Saddam Hussein’s.” It also claimed that Ms. Robinson, who ran the UN Commission on Human Rights Commission from 1997 to 2002, built a notable...anti-Israel legacy...Her one-sided hits on Israel won special notice.” It cited the UN-sponsored “Durban Conference of 2001.”

Sure, we’ve heard this line of attack before. Let me translate it for you: If you criticize Israel’s human rights’ record, as Ms. Robinson has done over the years, we (the Israel Worshippers) will come after you--full throttle, no holds barred. She was even labeled a “War Criminal” out in the blogosphere.

There is a well thought out method to this kind of slick campaign of persona bashing. Ex-Rep. Paul Findley (R-IL) wrote a best selling book about one particular pattern: an individual speaks critically of Israel and then becomes the subject of off-the-wall, nasty attacks from Israel’s zealot-like defenders. It is called: “They Dare to Speak Out.” (7) Rep. Findley served 11 terms in Congress beginning in 1961. He accused the Israel Lobby, aka the Israel Worshippers, of causing his defeat, in 1982.

Getting back to the slurring of Ms. Robinson. Gregory Levey’s commentary, (Aug. 6, 2009, Newsweek), warrants mentioning. To his credit, Mr. Levey’s remarks, are mostly balanced. Although, his reliance on knee jerk Zionist supporters of Israel, such as the ADL and AIPAC, to make his case, hurt his credibility as far as I was concerned. Here are two lines from Levey’s spiel entitled, “Medal Nettle,” that really bothered me. “Even to many moderates who support Israel, Robinson is not just an an annoyance who has made unfortunate statements. She is ‘an outright villain.’”

So, some in Israel think Ms. Robinson is “an outright villain?” Well, I’ll tell you Mr. Levey who is “an outright villain” in my mind: The parties responsible, on June 8, 1967, for the slaughter of 34 Americans and the wounding of 171 others on the USS Liberty. (8) They are outright villains! The individual, on March 16 2003, who ran over peace and justice activist, Rachel Corrie, age 23, from Olympia, WA, with a 9-ton bulldozer--not once but twice. He is an outright villain, according to the eyewitness accounts. (9) The operatives in Tel Aviv who organized and approved the criminal treachery of Jonathan Pollard, a committed Zionist, against the security and safety of America--an America that has given Israel over a hundred billion dollars in aid. They are outright villains! (10)

And, as a further aside to the irate Mr. Levey: If you believe President Barack Obama’s choosing Ms. Robinson for an award was a “disservice to the Israelis,” then why don’t you just help your Israeli cousin make this declaration: “We proud Israelis have had enough silly crap from the White House. We’re now going off the U.S. dole! We refuse to accept any more freebees from the U.S. taxpayers. We are doing this, not because the U.S. is in a serious recession, (Chicago currently is shut down one day a week), but because our feelings have again been deeply hurt.”

What I can’t help but also notice on this subject matter is how the power of the Israel Worshippers has grown over the years. You can start your history with Rep. Findley’s tome if you like or check out some of Grant Smith’s excellent books. (11)

In any event, today, it’s like the Israel Worshippers can push a magic button, use an invisible code, and/or transmit on a special frequency, and have an Op Ed posted to their liking just about anywhere. In fact, it all appears to be oh so cleverly staged! I know writers, who are darn good pundits, who have never gotten an Op Ed piece published in a major newspaper or magazine, although they have tried many times. Yet, Mr. Levey, and others like him, don’t seem to have that problem.

In fairness, not all of the Jewish community around the world joined the abusive chorus against Ms. Robinson and her nomination for the presidential medal of freedom. Some brave hearts spoke out, calling the attacks on her, “unwarranted.” (12) Kudos to them. Also, credit is due to President Obama for not folding under the barrage of the unjust reviling of Ms. Robinson. She received her medal of freedom award from him, in D.C., on August 12th.

Finally, let us not be manipulated by the tactics of the Israel Worshipers. Keep the focus on Occupied Gaza! (13) That is the best way to defend and honor Ms. Robinson, and other courageous souls such as her, who have dared, since 1948, to speak out against Zionist Israel’s wrongdoing. (14)

Notes:

1. http://www.phr.org.il/phr/article.asp?articleid=702&catid=55&pcat=-1&lang=ENG
2. http://www.hrw.org/en/features/israel-gaza
3. http://www.pchrgaza.org/ and http://www.wrmea.org/
4. http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=liamh2#play/search/0/
buaaxybnSgk and http://www.amnesty.org/
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Robinson
6. http://www.amnesty.org/
7. http://www.counterpunch.org/findley10162007.html
8. http://www.gtr5.com/
9. http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/site/ and http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article1263.shtml
10. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15222134/ and
http://jya.com/traitor.htm and
http://www.wrmea.com/archives/November_2008/0811010.html
11. http://www.irmep.org/ILA/default.asp
12. http://www.humanrights-geneva.info/Israeli-rights-groups-defend,4825
13. http://www.pchrgaza.org/ and http://www.wrmea.org/
14.
http://www.middleeastbooks.com/aetbookclub/nonfiction/finkelstein-imageandrealityoftheisraelpalestineconflict.html
and
“Still the Chosen One?” by Robert Dreyfuss, Mother Jones, Sept./Oct., 2009
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=liamh2#play/search/0/Gl6t99GPCO0
“Warriors for Jerusalem” by Donald Neff and
http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/lavon.html?q=lavon.html and
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=liamh2#play/search/1/1oAcbwScE6Y and
http://petras.lahaine.org/index.php and
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=liamh2#play/uploads/35/XjV3JrLmAqY and
http://www.israelshamir.net/ and
http://www.palestineremembered.com/

©2009,William Hughes. All Rights Reserved.

William Hughes’ videos can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=liamh2
. His latest book, “Saying ‘No’ to the War Party,” is available on Amazon. Email Contact: liamhughes@comcast.net.=

"The Smearing of Mary Robinson", by William Hughes published at the Los Angeles IMC: http://la.indymedia.org/news/2009/08/229935.php