Culture, Creation, Beauty Built to Endure Barbarism, Philistinism

Years Before Common Era and well over 20 Centuries

Syrian Arab Republic 

Ancient City of Damascus

Dates to 3rd millennium Before Common Era; place of “some 125 monuments from different periods of its history” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Convention https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/20

Ancient City of Bosra

Within its great walls “a magnificent 2nd-century Roman theatre, early Christian ruins and several mosques” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Convention https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/22

Palmyra (site of)

Dates from “the 1st to the 2nd century (its) art and architecture … standing at the crossroads of several civilizations…”; “oasis in the Syrian desert, north-east of Damascus” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Convention https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/23

Ancient City of Aleppo

Dates from the 2nd millennium Before the Common Era: “ruled successively by the Hittites, Assyrians, Arabs, Mongols, Mamelukes and Ottomans;” site of “13th-century citadel, 12th-century Great Mosque, multiple 17th-century madrasas (Muslim schools, colleges, universities). United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Convention https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/21

Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din

Two castles “illustrating exchange of influences and documenting evolution of fortified architecture in the Near East during the time of the Crusades (11th - 13th centuries)” The Crac des Chevaliers “ranks among the best-preserved examples of the Crusader castles.” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Convention https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1229

Ancient Villages of Northern Syria

Date from the 1st to 7th centuries (and) feature a remarkably well-preserved landscape and the architectural remains of dwellings, pagan temples, churches, cisterns, bathhouses etc. …” Grouped in “eight parks situated in north-western Syria…,” these forty villages are “testimony to rural life in late Antiquity and during the Byzantine period.” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Convention https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1348

Under 300 years

Late-stage Collapse Piling up Worldwide Enemies 

Rabid Belligerence: Unfriendly Relations

Militarism USA in Asia (West) 1996-2021

Doha, Qatar, area Al Udeid Air Base

11,000 US & “Coalition” personnel (estimates

60 Acres accommodating circa “100 aircraft as well as drones”

Militarism USA in Afghanistan and Iraq 20-year period (2001-2021)

• US personnel deployed in Afghanistan 800,000 (peak period 100,000 Bagram to Kandahar)
• US personnel deployed in Iraq 1.5 million-plus

Militarism USA in Iraq 2007

Personnel on site: 170,000 (estimated)

Militarism USA 2020 occupying 159 countries

US military personnel (troops) deployed: 173,000

Militarism USA in Iraq 2021

Personnel on site 2,500 (estimated)

Militarism USA 2021 Reports

US Bases Worldwide: 750

Occupying 80 countries (estimates)

Militarism USA in Middle East 2024 reports 

(estimates)
45,000 military personnel (troops)
(in Iraq, Syria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, and more)

Militarism USA in SYRIA 2024

900 US soldiers together with 

“Undisclosed number of contractors”

Militarism USA in West - East

USA militarism in Europe: 60,000 personnel (estimated) 

• Germany: 119 bases, 33,900 personnel (from 2006 period 72,400)
• Italy 12,300
• UK 9,300

USA militarism in Japan 120 active bases (53,700 personnel)

USA militarism in Republic of Korea: 73 bases (26,400 personnel)

General Reference plus Al Jazeera 2021 Mohammed Hussein and Mohammed Haddad “Infographic: US military presence around the world: The US controls about 750 bases in at least 80 countries worldwide and spends more on its military than the next 10 countries combined,” September 10, 2021  https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/10/infographic-us-military-presence-around-the-world-interactive

There was a time.
Commemorated Today

EVERY YEAR ON THE TENTH DAY OF DECEMBER Human Rights are highlighted; the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” (UDHR) — proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly meeting in Paris, France, on the Tenth Day of December in 1948 — is remembered.

RECOGNIZED and AFFIRMED in post WWII era 1948
Excerpt from the UDHR Preamble

The “INHERENT DIGNITY and … EQUAL AND INALIENABLE RIGHTS of all members of the human family is foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world….” (caps emphasis added)

The “disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind; and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND BELIEF AND FREEDOM FROM FEAR AND WANT has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people….” (caps emphasis added)

If human beings are “… not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression …, it is essential that human rights should be protected by the RULE OF LAW….” (caps emphasis added)

It “is essential to promote the development of FRIENDLY RELATIONS between (and among) NATIONS….” (caps emphasis added)

The “…peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the DIGNITY AND WORTH OF THE HUMAN PERSON and in the equal rights of men and women; and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom….” (caps emphasis added) https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

The Charter of the United Nations: the founding document of the United Nations signed June 26, 1945, in San Francisco (USA), at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organization. This Charter went into effect on October 24, 1945.” https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter; Human Rights Day 2024 https://www.ohchr.org/en/get-involved/campaign/hrd2024

Humanity, Beauty, Creation must be preserved

A decade ago, UNESCO’s Director-General, Irina Bokova raised the alarm of a rapidly deteriorating situation in Syria causing “incalculable” loss and suffering to human beings.

The obligation “is codified in the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict” and is “consistent with customary international humanitarian law.”

Upholding these commitments and adhering to these principles “must be part of wider efforts to end violence, to protect human life, and to move toward peace. “I appeal to all parties to the conflict … to abstain from using … cultural property or their immediate surroundings … for any military purposes.”

UNESCO February 20, 2014 “UNESCO Director-General condemns military presence and destruction at World Heritage Sites in Syria,” https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/1108/

Sanctity of Life and Creation

Protection of Human Rights, Cultural Heritage

“Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict with Regulations for the Execution of the Convention” Date and place of adoption: May 14, 1954, The Hague, Netherlands; Entry into force: August 7, 1956, in accordance with Article 33; Signatories: 49; Number of States Parties 136; Depositary: UNESCO; Registration at the UN: 4 September 1956, No. 3511 https://www.unesco.org/en/legal-affairs/convention-protection-cultural-property-event-armed-conflict-regulations-execution-convention

RECOGNIZED, AFFIRMED Pre & Post-Wars 
Excerpt, minor edit

“Cultural property has suffered grave damage during … armed conflicts and … it is in increasing danger of destruction … (given) … the developments in the technique of warfare….”

“… Damage to cultural property belonging to any people whatsoever means damage to the cultural heritage of all mankind, since each people makes its contribution to the culture of the world.”

“… The preservation of the cultural heritage is of great importance for all peoples of the world and … it is important that this heritage should receive international protection”

Under guidance of “principles concerning the protection of cultural property during armed conflict… established in the Conventions of The Hague of 1899 and of 1907 and in the Washington Pact of April 15, 1935…”; and while acknowledging that “such protection cannot be effective unless both national and international measures have been taken to organize it in time of peace…, yet “determined to take all possible steps to protect cultural property.”

Final Thoughts

The militarists, war profiteers, destroyers, sadists cannot endure. They are the real threats to the world: threat to whatever and wherever they call their homeland; threat to themselves.

The evidence is clear. The present tyrants or neocolonialists or imperialists can neither sustain nor survive. They are incapable of creation. They are incapable of matching or improving the endurance of the ancients.

Thoughts Worth Pondering

Perhaps 

###

PROLIFIC SOUTHERN-BORN AMERICAN WRITER DR. CAROLYN LADELLE BENNETT focuses on People, Press, Politics USA; Domestic and Foreign Affairs (no copyright claimed in direct quotes and individual image)

Latest book: Are There No Champions? Yes and No

Links: https://www.facebook.com/carolynladelle.bennett

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Human Rights and Freedom for All People— A Call not to Isms but to Conscience

    This long-lasting humanitarian scandal …challenging the conscience of all of humanity … involves the entire Palestinian population of Gaza— Richard Falk, Board Chairman of Euro-Med Monitor

Richard Falk is an international law and international relations scholar; an author (whose books include books include A Study of Future Worlds, Public Intellectual: The Life of a Citizen Pilgrim, and Protecting Human Rights in Occupied Gaza (co-editor); an academic (Princeton University, University of California), board chair of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. Professor Falk; and a former United Nations Special Rapporteur
https://richardfalk.org/category/global-justice/
https://www.claritypress.com/book-author/richard-falk/
https://euromedmonitor.org/en/gaza

Euro-Med Monitor

Reporting from the Ground, with Essential Context

In a thirteen-year period (2008-2021), Israeli forces launched four unprovoked attacks (in addition to sporadic air and ground attacks) on the Gaza Strip:

• Operation Cast Lead (2008-2009): three weeks of Israeli forces’ dropping “around 1 million kilograms of explosives on the strip,” destroying “nearly 4,100 houses and damaging 17,500 others”; and leaving “nearly 1,500 (1,436)” Palestinians dead and “about 5,400 others” wounded (including many children and women).

• Operation Pillar of Defense (2012): eight days of Israeli warplanes’ killing “162 Palestinians” and wounding “nearly 1,300” others; destroying “200 houses,” and damaging “another 1,500 homes.”

• Operation Protective Edge (2014): fifty-one days 60,664 Israeli land, sea and air raids’ killing “2,147 Palestinians (in many cases, involving one family) and wounding 10,870 others;” hitting “17,123 homes,” and obliterating “2,465” of them.

• Operation Guardian of the Walls (2021): eleven days of the Israeli army’s air and artillery attacks on the Gaza Strip’s infrastructure (“especially streets, water wells, and public facilities, as well as the Strip’s economic and productive capacities”) and killing “254 Palestinians” (including 66 children, 39 women, and 17 elderly people), and wounding “about 1,948 others.”

After October 2023 the Collective West (government officials and major media) openly armed and cheered the Israeli militarists’ willful and unchecked belligerence. Reported by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor in May 2024:

The Israeli Army during its forced evacuation of civilians “kills 12 members of same family for no reason” Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor concluded that

The family members were killed deliberately in the context of Israeli crimes against civilians, i.e., (they) were targeted simply because they were Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during Israel’s crime of genocide, ongoing since 7 October 2023.

The Israeli army has committed hundreds of crimes, the details of which are still unknown due to the ongoing Israeli invasion and attacks. Field teams from Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor are diligently and retroactively documenting war crimes, including planned killings of civilians throughout the Gaza Strip.

There remains “an urgent need … for the swift formation of an international investigation committee,” and the dispatch of “experts” … to the Strip to investigate the genocide unfolding there and to collect evidence before it is destroyed by (the belligerents).” https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6314/During-its-forced-evacuation-of-civilians,-Israeli-army-kills-12-members-of-same-family-for-no-reason

Caprice and Callousness

The Israeli government in 1971 constructed on the Israeli side a fence, border barrier or wall separating Israel from Gaza. An Oslo Agreement, signed by the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel in 1994, permitted Palestinians to sail up to 20 nautical miles (about 37 km) off the Gaza coast. But the agreement has never been honored: “Israel has arbitrarily limited fishing to an ever-changing zone that is never farther than 12 nautical miles out.”

Restrictions on Movement

    “Before Israel imposed its blockade on Gaza, individuals and goods moved in and out through six crossings: Erez, Karni, Nahal Oz, Kerem Shalom and Sufa via Israel and Rafah via Egypt. Once the blockade was enforced, all of them were closed except for Egypt’s Rafah crossing and Israel’s Erez (for people) and Kerem Abu Shalom (for goods).” And even the Egyptian authorities “impose restrictions on the number and type of people allowed to cross the border.”

    “Palestinians in Gaza are forced to pay high unofficial ‘coordination fees’ to travel through the Rafah crossing without encountering security restrictions or delays.” And Egyptian authorities assail Palestinians “frequent searches…” causing a “journey between the Rafah crossing and Cairo International Airport”—a trip that should take no more than six hours—“to take up to 72 hours.”

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor documents the Gaza Strip’s “Almost unlivable (conditions) after 17 years of blockade”

“Farming and the impact of the ‘buffer zone’”

    An Israeli government-imposed “buffer zone” —prohibiting movement of Palestinians—extends well beyond the border fence. From its 2008 assault, the Israeli government opposed “off-limits” land has represented about 35 percent of the Gaza’s land suitable for agriculture; and Israeli forces have destroyed or contaminated much of this arable land. Through the 2012 Israeli attack and since then Israeli forces have routinely targeted farmers working “in permitted areas.” “Israeli aircraft repeatedly spray herbicide on Palestinian lands along the borders, causing damage to agricultural crops, even in areas that are more than 300 meters from the fence;” thus “threatening farmers’ only source of livelihood.”

    Actual boundaries of a “security zone” separating Israel and Gaza are unclear and, like the designated sea area in which fishing is permitted, “the line always seems to be shifting.”

Strangulation

    “Over the years, Israeli authorities have worked to broaden and deepen the isolation of the Gaza Strip. One of the most draconian restrictions in its impact was Israel’s separation of Gaza from the West Bank. This separation policy restricted Palestinians’ entry into and exit out of Gaza, preventing university students in Gaza from receiving education in West Bank universities, professionals from participating in continuing education, patients from receiving healthcare, businessmen from trading, and families from staying united.”

    The Israeli blockade has driven the Gaza Strip’s economy into long-term, general recession “resulting in the near-total closure of commercial crossings and severe restrictions on the movement of traders and other businesspeople.” The years of wars (just in recent times from 2008 through 2021) have “exacerbated the crisis” in the Gaza Strip, “paralyzing all enterprise” as plants and offices and jobs were destroyed, consequences that extend “long after ceasefires (are) declared.”

    The average number of people living below the poverty line in the Gaza Strip is “twice higher than that of the West Bank.”

• Gaza Strip Unemployment rate by the beginning of 2023: 47 percent (compared to 23 percent in 2005)
• Gaza Strip citizens dependent on aid: 80 percent
• Gaza populations’ poverty rate by the beginning of 2023: 61.6 percent (compared to 40 percent in 2005)

• Land suitable for agriculture deducted by the buffer zone: 35 percent
• Gaza agriculture’s share of the total GDP: 7.1 percent
• Value of agricultural sector losses due to the Israeli blockade and military attacks (2006 - 2022): (in US dollars) $1.3 billion
• Livestock impaired that grazed in the buffer zone: 70 percent

• Area allowed for fishing: 3-6-12 nautical miles
• Number of Monthly incidents in which Israeli Navy targeted fishermen’s boats in 2022: 30
• Gaza’s fishermen living below the poverty line: 90 percent
• Number of registered fishermen in Gaza: 4,000 (fall from 10,000 since the year 2000)

In its April 2024 Report

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor recommends

• That the international community fulfill its legal and moral obligations to the people residing in the Gaza Strip, ensuring that international law and rulings of the International Court of Justice are respected and implemented; and that the genocide the Court has declared as likely to have occurred in Gaza in January (and ongoing for nearly six months) be ended

• That all nations fulfill their international obligations and halt all military, financial, and political support for Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip—particularly, the immediate halt of all arms transfers to Israel, including export permits and military assistance.

• That Appropriate Entities facilitate the entry of necessary humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip without delay in order to stop the spread of famine—stressing that, under international law, Israel, as the occupying power, bears the primary responsibility for supplying food, medical supplies, and other necessities to the Gaza Strip’s residents.

• That funding be reinstated for UNRWA immediately, as it is the main humanitarian agency in the Gaza Strip—on which more than two million people depend for their survival—putting an end to collective punishment against the Palestinian people and supporting UNRWA* and all other humanitarian institutions operating in the Strip.

• That an independent investigation be opened into the killing of starving people, especially the horrifying massacres for which Israel has tried to evade responsibility.

UNRWA 

    United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was established after the 1948 War by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 302 (IV) on December 8, 1949. Its mission is “to carry out direct relief and works programs for Palestine refugees.” The Agency began operations on May 1, 1950. “The Agency’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance, including in times of armed conflict.”

    “The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN Member States;” and receives “some funding from the Regular Budget of the United Nations, which is used mostly for international staffing costs.”
https://www.unrwa.org/

Genocide Convention

    The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted by nations of the United Nations General Assembly (GA Resolution 260 A (III)) on December 8, 1948. 

    The Resolution entered into force in accordance with article XIII on January 12, 1951. Coming out of the Second World War and reflecting on the atrocities of that period, the contracting parties or signatories, “having considered the declaration made by the General Assembly of the United Nations in its resolution 96 (I) dated December 11, 1946, agreed that 

genocide is a crime under international law, contrary to the spirit and aims of the United Nations and condemned by the civilized world; and

recognizing that at all periods of history, genocide has inflicted great losses on humanity, and

being convinced that, in order to liberate mankind from such an odious scourge, international co-operation is required.

And thus, the contracting parties agreed to the naming and defining of the crime:

    In Article 2 is the definition of genocide as “any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

In Article 1 the “contracting parties” (or signatories) confirm that 

Genocide—whether committed in time of peace or in time of war—is a crime under international law which they (the contracting parties or signatories) undertake to prevent and to punish. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-prevention-and-punishment-crime-genocide




Sources

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor is a Geneva-based independent organization with regional offices across the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region and Europe

Euro-Med Monitor, “Almost unlivable after 17 years of blockade.” https://euromedmonitor.org/en/gaza

_____. “Gaza: Israel deliberately militarizes civilian objects, turns schools into military bases.” May 1, 2024. https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6296/Gaza:-Israel-deliberately-militarizes-civilian-objects,-turns-schools-into-military-bases

“Palestinian Territory - As part of its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, ongoing for the seventh month now, the Israeli army has militarized civilian objects, including schools and educational facilities. Israel’s turning of these facilities into military bases is in flagrant violation of international law and the rules of war.”

_____. “Gaza: With its potential military operation in Rafah, Israel threatens to execute over 1.2 million Palestinians.” May 6, 2024. https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6306/Gaza:-With-its-potential-military-operation-in-Rafah,-Israel-threatens-to-execute-over-1.2-million-Palestinians.

Palestinian Territory - The Israeli army issued on Monday new evacuation orders against 10s of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the far south of the Gaza Strip.

_____. “With Gaza's only lifeline cut off, humanitarian catastrophe looms in Rafah.” May 8, 2024. https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6309/With-Gaza%27s-only-lifeline-cut-off,-humanitarian-catastrophe-looms-in-Rafah

Palestinian Territory - A multidimensional humanitarian catastrophe looms in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, two days after Israel’s army ordered the forced displacement of local residents and previously displaced people, the Israeli ground incursion, and the seizure of the Rafah border crossing.

_____. “During its forced evacuation of civilians, Israeli army kills 12 members of same family for no reason.” May 10, 2024. https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6314/During-its-forced-evacuation-of-civilians,-Israeli-army-kills-12-members-of-same-family-for-no-reason

Palestinian Territory - Twelve civilians were killed, and three others were injured in a direct and deliberate attack by Israel on 4 December 2023, for no reason, a Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor investigation conducted over the past months has revealed.

_____. “Israeli army carries out random killings, new forced displacement campaign in Gaza City’s Zaytoun neighborhood.” May 10, 2024. https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6317/Israeli-army-carries-out-random-killings,-new-forced-displacement-campaign-in-Gaza-City%E2%80%99s-Zaytoun-neighbourhood

Palestinian Territory - As part of its ongoing military operation in Gaza City, the Israeli army carried out a second day of random killings in the city’s southeastern Zaytoun neighborhood. Israel’s clear aim is to impose a new forced displacement campaign, destroying Gaza City and the Gaza Strip’s northern region, and evacuating its residents.

_____. “New Report: Killing starving Palestinians, targeting aid trucks is a deliberate Israeli policy to reinforce famine in the Gaza Strip.” April 3, 2024. https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6259/New-Report:-Killing-starving-Palestinians,-targeting-aid-trucks-is-a-deliberate-Israeli-policy-to-reinforce-famine-in-the-Gaza-Strip

Palestinian Territory - A new Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor report titled “Killing starving Palestinians and targeting aid trucks: A deliberate Israeli policy to reinforce famine in the Gaza Strip” reveals the killing of 563 Palestinians and the injury of 1,523 more due to Israel’s targeting of people waiting for aid, distribution centers, and workers responsible for organizing, protecting, and distributing aid.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor. 2024. “Killing Starving Palestinians and Targeting Aid Trucks: A Deliberate Israeli Policy to Reinforce Famine in The Gaza Strip.” Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.” April 2024. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P7yQYp7KC2eG711baOY9Ijwa5nht7a4B/view

_____. 2024 “New Report: Killing starving Palestinians, targeting aid trucks is a deliberate Israeli policy to reinforce famine in the Gaza Strip.” April 3, 2024. https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6259/New-Report:-Killing-starving-Palestinians,-targeting-aid-trucks-is-a-deliberate-Israeli-policy-to-reinforce-famine-in-the-Gaza-Strip

Palestinian Territory - A new Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor report titled “Killing starving Palestinians and targeting aid trucks: A deliberate Israeli policy to reinforce famine in the Gaza Strip” reveals the killing of 563 Palestinians and the injury of 1,523 more due to Israel’s targeting of people waiting for aid, distribution centers, and workers responsible for organizing, protecting, and distributing aid.

Composition, Compilation Commentary excluding quoted material and individual images

Copyright © Carolyn LaDelle Bennett

Author’s links: https://www.xlibris.com/en/search?query=Carolyn+LaDelle+Bennett

https://www.xlibris.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/828689-epitaph

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https://insightbeyondtodaysnews.blogspot.com/

nolandanisland@hotmail.com

 

 

Going along to get a Long is Too Great a Sacrifice …

Of Principle, Morality, Humanness, Justice (not caprice) under Law

Some Resist

Refuse

To Acquiescence

To Lie Down and Play Dead

To Surrender Humankind’s (our) 

Essential Character of Goodness

“Within the framework of its principled position of respect for life, we are sending this official statement to the State of Israel”— María Nela Prada Tejada, Bolivian diplomat and public official serving as the minister of the presidency since 2020.

October 31, 2023, Orinoco Tribune reporting on Plurinational State of Bolivia whose government has announced “its decision to sever relations with ‘Israel’ in consideration of the war crimes being committed in the Gaza Strip against the Palestinian people” and “to communicate officially through the diplomatic channels established between both countries consistent with the principles and purposes of the United Nations charter.” Orinoco Tribune October 31, 2023 “Bolivia Severs Diplomatic Relations with Israeli Entity,” https://orinocotribune.com/bolivia-severs-diplomatic-relations-with-israeli-entity/

United Mexican States and Federative Republic of Brazil Leaders have “demanded cease-fire.”

October 31, 2023, The Guardian-U.S. reports: Republics of Chile and Colombia have “recalled their ambassadors from Israel.”

• Plurinational State of Bolivia’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Erwin Freddy Mamani Machaca said his government’s decision sends a message of “‘repudiation and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip’” and the far-reaching “‘threat to international peace and security.”.

• Republic of Colombia’s President Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego pointed to the grounds for his country’s recall of ambassador as Israel’s “massacre of the Palestinian people”.

• Republic of Chile’s President Gabriel Boric Font withdrew his country’s ambassador “to discuss “Israel’s ‘unacceptable violations of international humanitarian law’ being committed in Gaza.”

Federative Republic of Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Tuesday reflected on mass killings caused by Israel military forces’ bombing of “a refugee camp in northern Gaza”…: 

“‘For the first time, we are witnessing a war in which the majority of the dead are children…For the love of God, stop!”

The Guardian U.S. “South American countries recall ambassadors and cut ties with Israel over war with Hamas,” October 31, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/31/bolivia-israel-hamas-gaza-war-crime

November 1, 2023 First Post reporting: “Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday (October 27, 2023) saying “‘What we have now is the insanity of Israel’s prime minister, who wants to wipe out the Gaza Strip’.” https://www.firstpost.com/world/latin-american-nations-sever-diplomatic-ties-with-israel-over-gaza-conflict-13330442.html

The world ‘“must boycott and prosecute” Israel for its ‘ongoing crimes against humanity,’” says Rabbi David Mivasair (Jewish activist, member of Independent Jewish Voices, a U.S. citizen based in Ontario, Canada) in an October 30, 2023, Press TV news interview. “Israeli attacks in Gaza ‘war crimes tantamount to genocide’: Jewish activist” https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/10/30/713689/israeli-attacks-gaza-war-crimes-tantamount-genocide-jewish-activist

Human Rights Org’s failure to Champion Human Rights
A Resignation

“As a human rights lawyer with more than three decades of experience in the field, I know well that the concept of genocide has often been subject to political abuse”— Craig Mokhiber.

“But the current wholesale slaughter of the Palestinian people, rooted in an ethno-nationalist settler colonial ideology, in continuation of decades of their systematic persecution and purging, based entirely upon their status as Arabs, and coupled with explicit statements of intent by leaders in the Israeli government and military, leaves no room for doubt or debate—Craig Mokhiber writes in his resignation letter to the UN. Source Daily Maverick November 1, 2023 “ISRAEL/PALESTINE CRISIS / LETTER
‘The Gaza assault is a textbook case of genocide’ top official tells UN in resignation letter” https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-11-01-the-gaza-assault-is-a-textbook-case-of-genocide-top-official-tells-un-in-resignation-letter/

Excerpt from Craig Mokhiber’s letter (Emphasis added)

“I came to this Organization first in the 1980s because I found in it a principled, norm-based institution that was squarely on the side of human rights (even) in cases where the powerful United States of America and United Kingdom and Europe were not on our side.

The United Nations “was standing up for oppressed peoples… when many affluent governments and subsidiary institutions and many media outlets in the United States were still supporting or justifying South African apartheid, Israeli oppression, and Central American death squads.”

“We had international law on our side. We had human rights on our side. We had principle on our side. Our authority was rooted in our integrity.”

“…No more.”

A substantive change of course is urgent, Mokhiber writes.

“In the immediate term, we must work for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the longstanding siege on Gaza; stand up against the ethnic cleansing of Gaza, Jerusalem, and the West Bank (and elsewhere); document the genocidal assault in Gaza; help to bring massive humanitarian aid and reconstruction to the Palestinians; take care of our traumatized colleagues and their families; and, in the political offices of the United Nations, engage seriously, deliberatively and respectfully “in principled approaches.”

“… Abandon the failed paradigm of the past” — “the UN’s failure in Palestine thus far is not a reason to depart.” “Embrace fully a more principled course.” Add the UHCHR “logo to the banner of equality and human rights for the Palestinian people” (and) “join the anti-apartheid movement that is growing around the world.”

All of us “will be accountable for where we stood at this crucial moment in history …. Let us stand on the side of justice.”

Craig Mokhiber, director of the United Nations Office of Human Rights in New York, has resigned from his post because the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as a body has failed to address properly the Israel-Palestine crisis. RT News October 31, 2023, “Top UN official resigns over failure to stop ‘genocide’ of Palestinians: The organization has ‘surrendered to the power of the US’ and given in to the ‘Israeli lobby,’ Craig Mokhiber has said,” https://www.rt.com/news/586302-un-official-gaza-resignation/; https://www.ohchr.org/en/about-us
United Nations HEADQUARTERS | SIEGE | NEW YORK, NY 10017, TEL.: + 212 963 5931 | craig.mokhiber@un.org, October 28, 2023, cm_final_letter_signed_pdf

November 1, 2023 Casualty Estimates (update)

Total Deaths 8,796 Palestinians	Dead Children 3,648	Dead Women 2,290	Total Wounded 22,219
Total Missing 2,000	Missing Children 1,100

Press TV news November 1, 2023, “First group of injured Palestinian evacuees from Gaza cross into Egypt through the Rafah border crossing, as Israel’s war machine is constantly bombing the besieged Palestinian territory” https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/11/01/713833/Palestine-Israel-Hamas-Gaza-Egypt-Rafah-crossing-injured

Bear in Mind 

“The Foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world” (is) … 

“The INHERENT DIGNITY and equal and inalienable rights (of all human beings)”

THERE WAS A TIME when Prominent Americans were Principled People. Manifest in words and deeds were sound humanistic and moral principles and commitment to the rule of law. 

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted in such a moment. The First Lady of the United States of America (1933-1945), a Diplomat (beginning in 1945 a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly) and first Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights was a key participant in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She was New York native (b. 1884, d. 1962) Anna Eleanor Roosevelt also known as “First Lady of the World.” 

UN https://www.un.org/en/observances/human-rights-day/women-who-shaped-the-universal-declaration

Women’s History Eleanor Roosevelt bio 2017 by Debra Michals, https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/eleanor-roosevelt; Image ELEANOR ROOSEVELT of the United States holding a poster of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Lake Success, NY, November 1949. UN Photo https://www.un.org/en/observances/human-rights-day/women-who-shaped-the-universal-declaration

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (document created December 10, 1948) excerpted with minor edits. 

CONTEXT: “Disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts that have outraged the conscience of mankind.”… “…If man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, … human rights should be protected by the rule of law.”

DECLARED: “The INHERENT DIGNITY and equal and inalienable rights (of all human beings) is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.” “… A WORLD in which human beings enjoy FREEDOM of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want …, the highest aspiration of the common people.” “ESSENTIAL PROMOTION of … the development of friendly relations between (and among) nations” “…

REAFFIRMATION of peoples of the United Nations” (previously set out in UN Charter) “faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women; and determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.” “PLEDGE of Member States … to achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms” “AFFIRMED that “common understanding of the rights and freedoms (declared in the UDHR) is of the greatest importance for full realization of the pledge.”

PROCLAIMED in GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE UNITED NATIONS: 

“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (is) a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.”

Composition, Compilation Commentary excluding quoted material and individual images

Copyright © Carolyn LaDelle Bennett

Author’s links: https://www.xlibris.com/en/search?query=Carolyn+LaDelle+Bennett

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nolandanisland@hotmail.com

Brazenly Callous Disregard for Life

Ensconced in the House and Senate

“War is never short of horrifying, but cluster munitions stand out even amid the terrible weaponry of modern war.… [A mandate of the U.S. Congress has prohibited] the transfer of cluster munitions with

over a 1 percent failure rate to any foreign nation. 

“Since most stockpiled U.S. cluster munitions have a failure rate of 2 percent to 6 percent (independent studies and humanitarian organizations cite much higher estimates that range from 10 percent to 40 percent), this effectively functions as a ban on U.S. transfers. 

“But recent requests from members of Congress and from officials in Ukraine are calling on President Biden to waive this transfer prohibition.” Defense One by Nuria Raul April 13, 2023: “Biden Must Resist Calls to Send Cluster Munitions to Ukraine Transferring the weapons may bring tactical benefits but would be a strategic disaster.” https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2023/04/biden-must-resist-calls-send-cluster-munitions-ukraine/385142/

DISREGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE

Boasted by

Same creatures who champion “rights” of “preborns” 

“‘I hope every effort will be made to look into providing the cluster bombs (as) we have two million available,’” a sadistic Wilson utterance heard and reported by various news outlets. 

A South Carolina lawyer with non-active-duty military service and entrenched state and federal government employment (including staffer of U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond) dating to the early 1970s; seated in the U.S. House by special election in 2001; and in September 15, 2009, reprimanded by the U.S. House of Representatives for interrupting the President’s remarks before a Joint Session; the action by the Congressman “was a ‘breach of decorum and degraded the proceedings’ of the Joint Session”— Charleston, South Carolina, native Addison Graves WILSON (who calls himself “Joe” Wilson (Biographical Directory of the United States Congress).  Almayadeen News April 28, 2023 “Congressman Pushes for sending banned cluster bombs to Kiev,” by Al Mayadeen English (Source: Agencies), https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/congressman-pushes-for-sending-banned-cluster-bombs-to-kiev

Shouted in a press release dated March 21, 2023, Members of the US House and Senate call for export of cluster bombs to conflict arena in Eastern Europe: 

U.S., Senators James E Risch of Idaho and Roger Frederick Wicker of Mississippi along with U.S. Representatives Michael Thomas McCaul Sr. of Texas and Michael Dennis Rogers of Alabama fire off a missive (or missile) to the President of the United States (cc to arms-export advocates heading defense and state) urging his administration “to immediately provide cluster munitions… to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.” https://www.foreign.senate.gov/press/rep/release/risch-wicker-mccaul-rogers-urge-biden-to-send-dpicm-to-ukraine

BACKGROUND on Cluster Bombs

Deadly Significance of this issue

The Convention on Cluster Munitions adopted in 2008 grows out of civilization’s caring and deep concerns for human health and broader regional and international, societal and environmental concerns, some of which are these: 

• “That civilian populations and individual civilians continue to bear the brunt of armed conflict” 

• “That the remnants of cluster munitions kill or maim civilians, including women and children, obstruct economic and social development, including through the loss of livelihood, impede post-conflict rehabilitation and reconstruction, delay or prevent the return of refugees and internally displaced persons, can negatively affect national and international peace-building and humanitarian assistance efforts, and have other severe consequences that can persist for many years after use” 

• The determination of States Parties to the Convention “to put an end for all time to the suffering and casualties caused by cluster munitions at the time of their use, when they fail to function as intended, or when they are abandoned.”

Article I section 1: Each State Party undertakes never under any circumstances to: 

(a) Use cluster munitions 

(b) Develop, produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer to anyone, directly or indirectly, cluster munitions

(c) Assist, encourage or induce anyone to engage in any activity prohibited to a State Party under this Convention.

The Convention was adopted on May 30, 2008, in the Republic of Ireland (Dublin), by 107 States and signed seven months later in Norway (Oslo). On August 1, 2010, the Convention “entered into force” and “became binding international law.” The current total of Member States of the Convention is 123: 111 States Parties and 12 Signatories.

Convention States Parties in the Americas:

Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.

NON-STATES PARTIES in the Americas: 

• Argentina
• Brazil
• United States of America
• Bahamas
• Dominica
• Barbados
• Suriname

United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs: Convention on Cluster Munitions
https://treaties.unoda.org/t/cluster_munitions
Status of the treaty https://www.clusterconvention.org/states-parties/

Composition and Commentary excluding quoted material and individual images

Copyright © Carolyn LaDelle Bennett 

Author’s links: www.BennettsAmericanEpitaph.com

https://www.facebook.com/carolynladelle.bennett 

https://insightbeyondtodaysnews.blogspot.com/

https://www.xlibris.com/en/search?query=Carolyn+LaDelle+Bennett

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