‘We care for human rights’, just not Palestinians
says Sunny Hundal in the title of a post mocking my recent blog post criticising his 6th form defense of Pilger. Hundal’s argument is that:
“It’s more amusing that for a blog so concerned with human rights and all that jazz, they’ve published two separate editorials supporting the BBC boycott of the DEC Gaza appeal”.
Leaving aside the clear (and unjustified) implication from Sunny’s post that the BBC cares not a jot about human rights and “all that jazz” because of its stance on the DEC Gaza appeal, I have to take issue with the accusation that my support of human rights does not extend to Palestinians.
Here is a brief review of all of my posts about the recent conflict in Gaza:
The BBC decision on the DEC appeal
In which I give three reasons why the BBC decision on the DEC Gaza appeal is wrong and say “It is a humanitarian appeal, not a political action. There is a clear difference. As someone who thinks Israel is right to take appropriate military action against Hamas, I think it is important to do whatever we can to ease the suffering of those caught in the middle of a war. We are not all Hamas, and neither are Palestinians.”
I know he is in good hands, that they will take care of him with devotion
In which I note that Israelis are treating Palestinians in their hospitals, and the fact that the weaponry being deployed against Israel is becoming increasingly sophisticated. I also state that if (still a big if now) Hamas is removed as a consequence of the Israeli action, and a more stable regime replaces it, then it may be that in the long term there may be less deaths on both sides. At the moment I have yet to be convinced by the outcome of the conflict that the price was worth paying.
TUC Gaza Appeal
In which I draw attention to a Trade union appeal for Gaza another leftist blog had found. Neither of Hundal’s sites appeared to run this appeal, despite his keen interest in trawling here for material to object to.
US anti-imperialists on Gaza
In which I draw attention to the views of minor US leftist sects on the legitimacy of Israel. I make no comments about Palestinian human rights.
A balanced voice to boycott?
In which I draw attention to an Israeli academic who says that “No one can help but be horrified by the pictures of killed, maimed and terrified Palestinian children. And even though we despise an enemy that is not bound by any rules of recognisable civilisation, we must not let them dictate the terms of engagement.
[…]I will never stop criticising Israeli policies that I take to be wrong-headed, short-sighted or immoral.”
The only way forward is peace
In which I highlight the story of Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian doctor, and note that “In the long term, peace is the way forward. That may or may not involve Hamas, but in the wake of this war it should be the objective of true friends of both Israel and the Palestinian people. Dr Abuelaish can do it; so should we all.”
None of my posts suggest that Palestinians do not have human rights – rather the opposite. Hundal appears to have the Strawman syndrome that affects other critics of this site in the comments. Rather than engaging in rational argument about the posts themselves, they throw glib insults at an imagined Harry’s Place that bears no relation to the actual material posted. Do they imagine this makes themselves look clever?
