OK, this one is a little disturbing.
A conservative blogger, Omri Ceren, believes that Human Rights’ Watch military researcher, Marc Garlasco, is a Nazi paraphernalia junkie.
There are two Marc Garlascos on the Internet. One is a top human rights investigator who, having joined Human Rights Watch after several years with the Pentagon, has become known for his shrill attacks on Israel.
The other is a Marc Garlasco who’s obsessed with the color and pageantry of Nazism, has published a detailed 430 page book on Nazi war paraphernalia, and participates in forums for Nazi souvenir collectors.
Both Marc Garlascos were born on September 4, 1970. Both have Ernst as their middle name. Both live in New York, NY. Both have a maternal grandfather who fought for the Nazis. I’ve put links and screenshots on all this after the jump, and you can click through for full-sized versions. It’s hard to escape the conclusion that both Marc Garlascos are the same person.
Bloggers and activists concerned about Israel have been baffled and frustrated by the first Garlasco almost since he joined HRW. On his public photography site he posts gratuitous Palestinian and Lebanese death porn in between galleries of cute Western-looking kids playing soccer (no link – keeping his kids out of it). He provides a seemingly never-ending stream of interviews to all kinds of outlets, where he spins tales about ostensible Israeli atrocities. The only problem is that many of these tales – per Soccer Dad and IsraPundit and Elder of Ziyon and NGO Monitor and CAMERA and LGF – are biased and inaccurate. That doesn’t stop Garlasco from putting them into the kind of HRW reports that make their way into international anti-Israel condemnations and academic anti-Israel dissertations.
There’s more, but that’s the gist of it.
There are many people who are fixated with Nazidom who are not politically Nazis. They are fascinated by the forbidden. They like the style. They are drawn to that which they hate.
Then, there are the David Irvings of this world.
In any event Nazi memorabilia collectors are… an odd bunch. The odd helmet, a bullet, a fragment of shell casing: perhaps. But when it becomes a lifestyle choice, something strange is going on.
Marc Garlasco has been involved in producing a number of HRW reports, including the investigation into the use of white phosphorous, the investigation into the deaths during shelling on Gaza Beach, and a series of other investigations into Israeli military conduct.
