Op-Ed: Iran and Israel not so different after all

Now that U.S. President Barack Obama has become a Nobel Peace Prize Winner, can one expect change in foreign policy with Israel?

Many events have led to Iran’s spotlight in the Western media this year: The detention of Roxana Saberi, the Iran election, the Green Opposition Movement, and now the news that Iran has a secret nuclear weapons plant, referenced by Iran in a letter to the IAEA. Heads of State, news commentators, talking heads, and bloggers have come out strongly against Iran, highlighting its rogue attitude, violations of human rights, fundamentalism and rebellion as a government. Twitter was busy with news of night raids, excessive police brutality during the Green Movement and the death of Neda Soltani invoked an international movement of support. While the rest of the world watched Iran, wondering what it was going to do next, an equally dangerous and rebellious country went unnoticed, continuing to follow international law as it saw fit, creating policy of general unfairness and implementing military tactics that ring of a “kill-now-excuse-later” mantra that not only is it disturbing, but a crude violation of life. Fundamentalism has grown, putting into office individuals that share the same dangerous attitude in an already sensitive region of the world. This country has gone unnoticed, except by the countries it surrounds, who are marked as enemies of the world based on military fundamentalism that represents not all the people, not even some of the people, but few of the people. Equally offensive is that this country encompasses the Holy Land, a place held sacred by the three major world religions. This place is Israel, and if you do not know what has been happening there, you either haven’t been paying attention or depend on the mass media of the United States for your news. While the world cried for the release of Roxana Saberi, the Iranian-American journalist who spent six years living in Iran and was charged with spying, later to be released on a suspended sentence when it was revealed she had stolen documents she had copied, many Palestinian and Israeli journalist faced detention and harassment by IDF forces. A month ago, reporter Jackie Rowland had tear gas fired upon her while reporting live from Bil’in. Many have their cameras smashed into the ground or film taken. Further, many have died – for every Daniel Pearl, there is a James Miller. Or Alaa Murtaja or Ihab al-Wahidi or Omar Silawi. In August of 2009, nine journalist were arrested from their homes in one weekend. While talk was about how repressive the Iranian government was on freedom of speech, nothing is said about Israel’s requirement of a signed declaration by journalist, limiting what is reported on, or that two copies of any reports written must go to a governmental office called the Military Censor for approval. Nor is anything said about the radio stations, newspapers, and television shows that the IDF have taken upon themselves to close down, the last as recently as two months ago in Bethlehem. Media blackouts are not owned by Iran, either, with Israel enforcing a complete press blackout while supplies were blockaded from reaching Gaza strip before Operation Cast Lead and prohibitng foreign journalist from covering Operation Cast Lead. When demonstrators were fired upon, beaten, and arrested by basij forces in Iran, the world watched from their computers, horrified that there was a country that could implement such brutal force against its own people. Every Friday in the small village of Bil’in, this force is demonstrated consistently by Israeli Occupied Forces, spraying crowds with ’skunk oil’ – a combination of sewage, animal manure and chemicals – firing tear gas canisters, using physical force, and even killing participants in non-violent demonstrations. Members of the EU experienced this for themselves when they suffered from inhalation of tear gas. A Nobel Peace Prize winner was injured in the leg when a rubber-coated bullet made contact. Three children, all aged ten, were killed by the IOF at a non-violent demonstration in Nil’in. An American sits in coma after being hit in the head with a new tear gas canister that the IOF tested out during a demonstration, using Palestinians, Israeli Peace activists, internationals and journalists as guinea pigs. Why? Like the Green Movement, they were participating in a non-violent protest, which the Israeli military tries to suppress through harassment, night curfews, night raids, detention without charge, threats against family, and physical violence. Iran’s system of kangaroo courts has been strongly spoken out against, from the trial of Roxana Saberi and complaints of non-transparency, to the forced confessions of prisoners on trial for appearing during the Green Movements demonstrations. Nothing is said about Israel’s military court system – one that violations international laws and human rights, tries children as young as twelve with adults, and has created a set of military orders that make court procedures not only discriminatory, but ethically questionable. The charge of stone throwing can be punished up to 20 years in prison, according to Israeli Military Order 378. Administrative detentions are often used to hold Palestinians, creating a system where no charges need be filed, and when tried in court, the reason for detention is often ’secret’ information from a ’secret’ file that the defense is forbidden from having access to. This is Israeli Military Order 1226. Attorneys often do not meet with their clients until minutes before their trials, a combined result of travel restrictions on Palestinian lawyers and lax cooperation of the Israeli military court. Detainees are interrogated, using the same tactics Iran has used – deprivation of the senses, force, torture, and threat to family and friends. If one doesn’t speak Hebrew, one is punished further, unable to understand the questions being asked, unable to cooperate even if one did. A piece of paper is often placed in front of detainees, asking for their signature, the same way that Iranian officials extracted ‘confessions’ from protesters, demonstrators, and political leaders during the recent Green Movement. One exception, however, is that international law is broken by holding Palestinians in Israeli prison and not in the occupied territories of Palestine, since Israel is not considered their state. This does not take into account the homes that have been demolished, making room for illegal settlements that even the United States has denounced. Heeding no warning, however, the settlements continue to be build despite promises of a settlement freeze. In fact, one day after the announcement of a settlement freeze, 450 more units were ordered by the Israeli government. Nor does this take into account checkpoints, where for no clear reason, one can be stopped, searched, and detained in metal containers with no windows or bathroom for many hours before released and allowed to return home. Children on their way to school. Adults on their way to work. Israeli peace activists on their way to help. And this doesn’t take into account the barrier wall, ruled by the International Court of Justice to be contrary to international law on July 9, 2004. Villages like Qalqilya, completely enclosed by the wall on four sides or villages like Bil’in, where farmers have lost more than 60% of their farmland – their livelihood- because of the barrier wall. Two years ago, Israel Supreme Court (note, not military court) ruled that the wall path be redrawn, giving Bil’in back some of their land. The wall has yet to move. Like Iran, Israel feels being armed with nuclear weapons is important for their national security. Unlike Iran, however, is that Israel doesn’t allow weapon inspectors into their country. Nor have they signed the PTA agreement nor work in coordination with the IAEA. The world just heard President Barack Obama condemn Iran for developing weapons in secret, however, unlike Iran, this has been policy with Israel for over forty years, dating back to the Nixon Administration when their only objective was to keep the rest of the world from finding out. Never fully admitting to their own nuclear program, it is estimated that Israel has approximately 150 -200 nuclear warheads. When put in the hands of a country that chooses not to abide by international law, nor honor political agreements with allies, and have an increasingly fundamentalist military, it is unsettling. Israel continues to escape inspection and sanctions. Recently, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been trying to sell U.S lawmakers on the idea of militarily striking Iran, yet the United States continues to make Iran their main concern, choosing to ignore Israel’s increasingly rogue behavior. Unlike the Green Movement, where the world watched for a moment in time, waiting to see if revolution was impending and offering aid anyway possible, the hardships and violations faced by Palestinians at the hands of Israel does not end after the movement dies down. Each day it continues on, with more and more rights being lost as time passes.Unless Israel is made to be responsible for its behavior, including further investigation of the Goldstone Report and a strong nuclear weapons policy, it has been allowed to perpetrate state-sponsored fundamentalism. More European countries are now speaking out against human rights violations and violations of international law, encouraging investigations into alleged war crimes on both the Israeli and Hamas front. The United States continued support of Israel, despite evidence of misdeeds, creates a relationship not of allies, but of accomplices, passively participating in the occupation of Palestinian territories, while looking the other way, perhaps the greatest and most offensive ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy implement by legislation of the United States today. As President Obama stands with the world leaders in front of him, condemning Iran for their violation of human rights and nuclear weapons programs, he needs to take a look at the man standing beside him, Prime Minister Benjamin Natahyahu, and let him know that everything he just said, goes for Israel too.