Finland’s YLE pro-Palestinian activist, journalist, Hannu Reime, is back to his old tricks with his latest article “Hamas hasn’t always been disapproved of internationally”
I won’t Fisk the entire article –though it is well deserving of such– but just highlight a couple of points worth noting. For someone who is supposed to be knowledgeable about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, Hannu Reime makes it a habit of consistently shunning the entire facts surrounding the issues he writes about. Take for example the recent (unwise) release of over 250 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
“Israel ja Yhdysvallat ovat tukeneet Abbasin toimia. Israel on luvannut vapauttaa 250 palestiinalaista lähes 10 000 vangitusta aktivistista…”
Translation: “Israel and the US have supported Abbas’ actions. Israel has promised to free 250 Palestinians from nearly 10 000 jailed activists…”
Notice that he labels every person sitting in an Israeli jail as an “activist”. Using such a benign descriptive tells me that –in spite of the obvious denial– he is sympathetic to the murderers sitting in jail. For Reime, being a Palestinian murderer of Jews = being a Palestinian victim of Israel. The “devil made me do it”. So in this kind of moral relativist world, cold blooded killers like Ahlam ‘Aref Ahmad al-Tamimi and Marwan Barghouti can simply become just…activists. See how easy it is?
Then there is this gem:
Ennen islamisteja samaan aikaan, kun maallisempia palestiinalaisjärjestöjä vainottiin ankarasti. Esimerkiksi vuonna 1988 Israel karkotti kristityn palestiinalaisen pasifistin Mubarak Awadin, joka kannatti gandhilaista väkivallatonta vastarintaa miehityksen lopettamiseksi. Samaan aikaan Hamasin hengellinen johtaja, sheikki Ahmed Yasin sai levittää juutalaisvastaisia kirjoituksiaan ja uhotakansannousua ja sen aikanakin Israelin miehitysviranomaiset ja turvalisuuskoneisto suosivat selvästi Israelin tuhoamisesta.
Translation: “Before and during the uprising, Israel’s occupation officials and security machine clearly approved of the Islamists, at the same time when more secular Palestinian organizations were persecuted severely. For an example in 1988 Israel expelled Palestinian Christian pacifist, Mubarak Awad who supported a Gandhi like violence free resistance to end the occupation. At the same time the Hamas’ spiritual leader, Sheik Ahmed Yassin was able to spread anti-Jewish literature and brag about Israel’s destruction.”
While it’s true that it was hoped that it would reduce Arafat’s level of influence in the territories, what Reime conveniently leaves out is that at the time Sheik Yassin founded the Islamic Organization, it dealt first and foremost with social welfare. It’s not Israel’s fault that he got all “juiced up” through the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, besides, he was later arrested on two different occasions, only to be released later each time, in subsequent prisoner exchanges.
Contrary to the myth offered by Reime, Awad was in fact supporting “armed resistance” against Israel. Though Mubarak Awad did promote a non-violent message for his followers, but that was to be used as just one means, right alongside the violence of other Palestinians. The “supplement to the ‘armed struggle’ for liberation.” In other words, this Palestinian “Gandhi” had feet in both camps, supporting pacifism as well as “resistance”. “In the Middle East setting, “armed struggle” is a notorious code word for terrorism.”
Due to Awad’s renouncing of his Israeli citizenship –preferring to move to the US, where he became a naturalized US citizen– he was reduced to visiting the area only with an American tourist visa, which by the way was over extended. Reime’s claims/assertions are half baked.
The only reason why Yassin was able to spread his messages of hate to his followers in 1988 –as I stated earlier– was due to his being released from prison. This is truly one “activist” that should have been locked up for good. *L* KGS
