Tuesday, January 11, 2011

On The ISM

Finally, a serious study.

For example:

While ISM activists do not directly participate in terrorist attacks against Israel, both in its manuals and in statements its senior figures have justified the Palestinian's armed campaign, even at the height of the Palestinian suicide bombing attacks (during the second intifada). In addition, an analysis of ISM activities on the ground showed that ISM activists sheltered a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative involved in suicide bombing and shooting attacks, and in laying IEDs. They also hindered IDF counterterrorism activities, including the detonation of an explosives laboratory where bombs used in suicide bombing attacks were made. Moreover, in addition to activities to support the Palestinians, ISM activists participated in events which included "soft" violence where both Palestinian demonstrators and IDF security forces suffered casualties. ISM activists, fully aware of the risks involved, carried out activities in war zones where the IDF was operating against Palestinian terrorists, risking their own lives. In 2006 several ISM activists holding weapons were photographed arriving in Judea and Samaria.
And this:

It has an anti-Israeli ideology: The ISM frequently represents itself as against violence and in favor of human rights, as respecting international law and UN resolutions, and as striving for a "just peace." However, an examination of its official papers and the statements made by its senior figures indicates that its orientation and ideology are anti-Israeli and anti-Zionist, adopting the Palestinians' most extreme demands. Its hostility to Israel is often based on a critical worldview of the United States and its policies, especially regarding the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq after the September 11 attacks. The ISM not only rejects the policies of every Israeli government ("the Israeli apartheid in Palestine"), but also the existence of Israel as a national homeland for the Jews. Publications and statements of ISM activists stress the implementation of the Palestinian refugees' "right of return" to Israel, reject the Oslo Accords, and make no mention of a two-state solution. However, the ISM is often somewhat vague about its basic positions, which makes it easier to find a common denominator with human rights and peace activists, including Jews, some of whom do not deny Israel's right to exist but strongly oppose its policies toward the Palestinians.


Read it here.

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