If you ever wonder why the State of Israel has adopted a "go it alone we don't care what you think" foreign policy, check out the world reaction to the unfortunate shoot-out aboard the Marmara in the waters off Gaza on May 31.
Background: Since 2005 Israel, in compliance with the terms of the 1994 Oslo Accords, ceded administrative authority in Gaza to the Palestinian Authority. That would be Yassar Arafat's Palestinian Authority who spent better than 40 years trying to add Israel to the list of extinct countries. (America and Rand McNally disapproved.) Anyway, to express its gratitude for being given this semi-autonomous region all to themselves, the Palestinians responded by electing the single most radical violent government this side of North Korea: Hamas. That newly minted government immediately began lobing mortars and rockets into western Israel. Unwilling to accept the Hamas explanation that these were just fireworks in celebration of their new government, the Israelis sent in the Army (more about this later). Peace was restored (sort of) however the Israelis were concerned that governments hostile to Israel ( a list that includes about everyone except Lichtenstein) might try to supply the Hamas government with some new exploding greeting cards. That is why the Israelis have been blockading Gaza ports.
Fast forward to the events of May 31, 2010. A flotilla of "aid ships" attempts to run the Israeli blockade. Israel responds with commandos who repel onto the deck of the Marmara. Ship's crew takes dim view of uninvited guests. Using clubs and pipes they ask the commandos to leave. The commandos, armed with paint ball rifles but loaded side arms (don't ask me. I never shot a paintball.) respond to this poor hospitality by shooting 14 crewmen. The resultant worldwide response was akin to that of the Holocaust. (Oh, wait! There was no worldwide response to the Holocaust.)
Of particular interest is the response from places like Gaza, Russia and Iran. If these countries are not careful they will exhaust the world supply of irony. For any country like Iran to accuse Israel of "state sponsored terrorism" would be funny if it weren't said so seriously. The president of Bosnia likened the blockade to the siege of Sarajevo in 1992. The difference in loss of life was a mere 10,000 to 11. In Bosnia anything can be compared to the siege of Sarajevo.
The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, expressed "shock". Considering the thousands who die each year in senseless wars in Africa over issues no one understands, Ban mustn't be easily shocked. Honestly, the United Nations created the State of Israel in 1947 and has spent the 63 intervening years apologizing for the decision. In all the years of debate in both the General Assembly and the Security Council, nary a good word is ever uttered about a country whose entire neighborhood is determined to negate its existence. Now more than ever we see that the UN exists entirely to afford a peanut gallery of countries the opportunity to express their worthless useless opinions. What a waste of valuable East Side real estate.
There is little doubt that the death of nine crewmen aboard the Marmara was avoidable and Israel probably could have handled things differently but, the forced outrage by world leaders is not only outsized it's outlandish. What did we hear when 46 South Korean sailors were killed when their ship was torpedoed by a genuine bad actor Kim Jong Il? Nothing. What was the British government's response to the murder of 11 oil rig workers when BP ignored safety precautions resulting in their horrific deaths? Crickets! It appears that world outrage is very specific and situational. If you want to kiss the collective asses of the Muslim/Arab world, piss on Israel. If you want to show your Muslim minorities that you really, really care about them, piss on Israel. If you want to appeal to the anti-American faction in your country but don't wish to aggravate Uncle Sam (and lose those foreign aid dollars) piss on Israel.
France has been less than useless in the debate over Iran. Japan has been less than no help in the confrontation over N. Korea. All any of these countries can agree upon is that it's safe to condemn Israel for anything. If there is a Hebrew word for pinata is should be sewn into the Israeli flag.
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