The Plural of "Lie" is not "Progress"
Repeating the odious genocide libel again and again is not the same as winning an argument
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin appeared in front of the US Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday and said that “the Pentagon had no evidence that Israel was carrying out a genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.” In normal times getting up and stating something that is obviously true would not be newsworthy. But in the current moment this rated a headline in the New York Times. Not only did it make the news, but Austin’s appearance was controversial enough that it was disrupted several times by demonstrators protesting American support for Israel in its war against Hamas.
The question was asked of Austin by Republican Senator Tom Cotton, presumably because of claims by the demonstrators who disrupted the meeting of the committee that Israel is doing just that. Demonstrators also interrupted service at the Congressional Cafeteria demanding an end to US military support for Israel and a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
At the International Court of Justice on Tuesday, Germany was called on to defend itself against charges of aiding genocide. The case was brought by that international paragon of democracy and human rights, the Republic of Nicaragua. The linked article reports that German legal representatives said the case had no basis in fact or law, and was based on an assessment of the conduct of Israel, which is not a party to the case. The case was rushed into court on the basis of “the flimisiest evidence”, “by a Nicaraguan government that itself has been widely accused of repression and human rights violations” according to the German representative.
This article documents a widespread campaign of harassment and intimidation against Democratic office holders by people claiming to be angry about American support for Israel in its war against Hamas. As the article points out, none of these people are picketing Republicans. These people have a very clear goal, which is to deprive Israel of American support.
On April 9, the Times of Israel reported that Senator Elizabeth Warren told an audience at a mosque what they wanted to hear. In response to a question about what she thought would happen in the case against Israel at the Hague, she said, “If you want to do it as an application of law, I believe that they’ll find that it is genocide, and they have ample evidence to do so”. On Monday her office tried to walk these comments backed. Senator Warren also told the people at the mosque that Israel is deliberately causing starvation in Gaza.
Image: Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III rejects claims Israel is committing genocide in Gaza — Source: NBC News
Some readers will recall what we wrote about the case at the Hague. It was clear then that the claims of genocide were trumped up and I won’t repeat the arguments here. You can read the earlier article by following the embedded link below.
I also wrote recently about how the UN Special Rapporteur, Francesca Albanese had used the same libelous claim of genocide to advance the case that Israel should be subject to the same treatment as Apartheid South Africa. She called before the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the revival of the UN anti-Apartheid committee, with a mandate to act against Israel. Followers of this blog will know that the foundations for this move have been built up over two decades, by so-called “human rights” organizations who participated in the openly antisemitic NGO conference along side the Durban Human Rights conference held in September of 2001.
With the cacophonous cries of genocide all around us, we have to remind ourselves that hearing the claim repeated thousands of times by so-called progressives in not the same as making a false thing true.
American Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is a man whose job makes it essential that he know what kind of behaviour constitutes genocide. He presides over the vast American military and is responsible for making sure that the military acts lawfully. His answer ought to matter, but of course the people who are trying to intimidate the leadership and candidates of the Democratic party into adopting their position on Israel are not at all interested in his opinion. They don’t seem to be much interested in the rule of law in America, much less on the battle fields of Gaza. Those of us who do care about such things should take is answer very seriously.
The loudness of anti-Israel voices does not make a false statement true. The repetition of a lie in the name of progress doesn’t make it so. The plural of “lie” is not “progress”, no matter how widely self-described progressives disseminate the lie.
A one year paid subscription to Canadian Zionist Forum costs $100 (Canadian) or $10/month. If you live in Canada, HST will be added. Please join our growing cadre of paid subscribers if you are able to. This helps us to keep up the work we are doing.
If you are a paid subscriber you can leave a comment.
To everyone thank you for reading Canadian Zionist Forum.
Thanks so much for the article. Despite all the protests drowning out the truth, it's good to know that people in positions of power/influence in the U.S. and in Germany, know and are able to state the truth clearly.