This weekend this blog covered the upcoming “Russell Tribunal on Palestine” meetings in London, noting the roles of Warsaw ghetto desecrator Ewa Jasiewicz and conspiracy loon Cynthia McKinney.
The introductory meeting will be held at Amnesty International’s Human Rights Action Centre on 8 November. The main session will take place at the Law Society on 20-21 November. It will be followed by a press conference on 22 November, once again at Amnesty’s Human Rights Action Centre.
This conference is nothing but a show trial for Israel.
Consider Gisèle Halimi, one of Cynthia McKinney’s fellow “jurors“. Here is a profile of her, written in 2003. Keep in mind that Palestinian terrorists were on a mass murder spree at the time, bombing buses, restaurants and shopping malls. So what was Halimi’s view?
In her Paris office, Halimi explains why she is currently representing Marwan Barghouti, leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the Palestinian militant group that has killed and maimed an estimated 200 soldiers and civilians.
…
Halimi, who has met him twice recently in Israel, says: “He is an intellectual, a political leader and a humanist. He is someone who suffers from the situation in his country. He would condemn all terrorism against Israel as soon as Israel ends its occupation of Palestine.”
This was part of a pattern:
Those familiar with Halimi’s professional trajectory will not be surprised at this alliance between a rabbi’s granddaughter and a Palestinian militant. In the 1960s she acted as counsel for the Algerian National Liberation Front and represented Algerian militants seeking to end French rule; in Spain she pleaded for Basque separatists; and she fought the corner of four leftwing militants who had acted to overthrow the government of President Marien N’Gouabi in the Congo. In 1967, she presided over the Russell Tribunal which investigated American crimes in Vietnam
For one must be careful with the “t” word, you know:
“I condemn terrorism when it hits innocent people,” she says. “But there are innocent victims for the best causes in the world. In Algiers, in Dresden… in Israel, too, before its creation, there was terrorism. It’s important to ask the right questions. You say: ‘Why terrorism?’ I say: ‘Why occupation?’ As long as there is occupation contrary to international law, you can expect terrorism. Once there is an end to the occupation, not only will I condemn it, but there will be no terrorism.”
Never mind all the rhetoric about annihilation from Hamas and other hardliners, for years on end. It can be skipped right over.
What about antisemitism elsewhere? It’s Israel’s fault.
Although France has the highest number of incidents against Jewish targets in Europe, Halimi does not believe there is a rise in anti-semitism in the country. It is racism, she says, which can be imputed to events in Israel. “The problem is that most people see Jews as unconditional supporters of Israel, and helping an unfair cause. If there was a solution to the Middle East problem then the problem of anti-semitism will disappear.”
Ha ha.
Why are the Law Society and Amnesty International hosting this bunch of cranks, lending them legitimacy with their prominent names?
In Amnesty’s case the decision is particularly shocking, if unsurprising. It is not in this for a few bob. No, its website says:
Please note that our facilities are only available to non-commercial organisations working on human rights or social justice issues.
The booking form asks conference organisers for this information:
Our vision is to provide a centre for human rights activism in the UK: building capacity within the human rights community; encouraging activism and raising awareness of human rights issues amongst a wider audience. Please use the space below to give a brief description of your event and how it fits with Amnesty’s vision for the Human Rights Action Centre
Perhaps Amnesty could share the show trial organisers’ answer with the rest of us.
