Sanctions on Israel, not Iran

A strong case can be made for imposing sanctions on Israel rather than Iran. Israel has hundreds of nuclear weapons, and its clandestine program has never been under UN oversight. Israel even jailed in solitary confinement Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu who blew the whistle on the covert nuclear weapons program.

It is Israel which threatens Iran, not vice versa. The Wall Street Journal (7/8/09) reported that "an Israeli submarine believed to be carrying nuclear-tipped missiles" had moved towards Iran. Whereas Iran has not invaded another country since the late 18th century and occupies no one, Israel invades and attacks at will and illegally occupies Palestine and parts of Syria and Lebanon. Iranian President Ahmadinejad speaking at Columbia University 9/24/07 and elsewhere on American TV stated that he did not seek the destruction of the Israeli people but only wished for a change in their leadership so as to end their illegal occupations. Ahmadinejad said he would agree to any peace with Israel endorsed by the Palestinian people. He also explained that he did not deny that the Nazi Holocaust happened, he only wanted more research into the details and stressed that the German atrocities against the Jews should not be used to try to excuse Israeli atrocities against the Palestinians.

Many groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and even Israeli veterans have reported that Israel committed war crimes during its Gaza massacre in January. More than 1400 Palestinians were killed including at least 900 civilians according to human rights groups. Three Israeli civilians were killed. (The Boston Globe 7/16/09)

A 9/15/09 report by the UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict found Israel guilty of numerous war crimes against innocent civilians. Israelis used disproportionate force and deliberately attacked civilian targets, such as schools and hospitals, with heavy artillery and precision missiles from drones. They shot in cold blood civilians who were waving white flags and following Israeli instructions. They wantonly destroyed food, water, and sewerage facilities and rained down incendiary deadly white phosphorus on civilians. They shelled mosques during evening prayers and a UN relief compound which they knew was sheltering 700 civilians and which contained stored fuel.

Meanwhile, despite US objections, illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank keep expanding. The New York Times 9/14/09 reports that the Jewish settlers plunk down their settlements between Palestinian villagers and their farmlands. The Israelis then block their way so that the Palestinians can not get to their land at which time the settlers seize the Palestinian farmland claiming that it was "abandoned." Another favorite settler trick is setting fire to the Palestinian farms and orchards. It is not surprising that Israel's brutal occupations breeds the expected response from resistance groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

Israel's crimes must end. It is time for sanctions.