Webloggin » Fancy That — Intelligent Words at the UN

Unsurprisingly, the intelligent words in my post title come from Israeli envoy Dan Gillerman. If Obama’s the man concerned about too much cynicism, then Gillerman is the one to expose that cynicism where it really exists. First, he exposes Hamas’ incredibly crude tactics to try to take the heat off of itself in the Palestinian territories:

Hamas is trying to bring an Israeli presence back into Gaza by provoking the government into action with its Qassam attacks on civilians, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Dan Gillerman told the Security Council Tuesday.

Because of the worsening security situation and infighting in Gaza, “Hamas fires its rockets to kill Israeli women and children, while cynically trying to provoke Israel’s reaction and…thereby blame the common enemy of the Palestinian people, which – as Palestinians are brainwashed from childhood to believe – is Israel.”

Of course, I expect little from Hamas. It’s like a ravaging, savaging wild animal, or some cyborg programmed solely to kill, with Jews as its main target. One might expect a little bit, just a wee little bit, more from other nations, but Gillerman elegantly exposes those nation’s cynicism as well:

“We often hear the international community refer to terrorism as a ‘global phenomenon requiring a global response.’ Yet sometimes the absence of international outcry to the terror that Israel faces shows a disconnect between rhetoric and reality.”

Gillerman emphasized Israel’s right to self-defense, saying it would behave as any other nation would “if placed in the same intolerable situation.”

Because those people at the UN seem a bit slow to learn, Gillerman reminds them, perhaps speaking cynically himself, that it is to their benefit, and the benefit of the majority of the world’s Muslims, to aid Israel, rather than to demonize her:

“Iran and Syria, Hamas and Hizbullah, represent one side of a clash that is working to destabilize our region – and indeed the entire world.”

Gillerman cited a “clash of civilization” among moderate and extreme Muslims. “These are warring forces within Muslim civilization. They are battling for the soul of Islam. They are battling for the hearts and minds of the region. The extremists use terror to intimidate and indoctrinate,” Gillerman said.

“Therefore, today more than ever, it is the duty of the international community to embolden the moderates and isolate the extremists. While the international community cannot dictate the outcome of this clash, it can decide how to relate to the different actors.”

As such, Gillerman called on the international community to continue exerting pressure on Hamas to accept Quartet preconditions vis-a-vis Israel, namely, recognition of the State, renunciation of violence and acknowledgment of previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinian leadership.

“The Quartet’s conditions – to recognize Israel, renounce violence and terror, and abide by previous agreements – are integral to ensuring that a future Palestinian state is one that is founded on the basis of good governance and democracy,” he said.

Hear! Hear!

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