Ariel Sharon is dead

[Comrade Jaraxxus]

Sorry, I can't post links since I'm new, but this seems to be relevant so I'll post it here.

Thoughts?

[adipocere]

one down...

[Goblin]

The man was a tyrant who had the blood of innocent people on his hands. I'm glad to hear he's dead.

[boiler]

good riddance

[Full Metal Bolshevik]

Never heard of him :/

When I read 'one down' here, I had hope it was the Australian mine owner, because the name Ariel Sharon sounds feminine.
Then I googled, and the name of the ***** is Gina Rinehart.

[Ceallach_the_Witch]

unfortunately it's not going to erase what he did and what he stood for :( He was a butcher and he's going unmourned in this house at least

[blake 3:17]

Ariel Sharon feared genocide charges over Israel's role in Sabra and Shatila
Notes from 1983 cabinet meeting show former defense minister was concerned that the entire government, including Prime Minister Menachem Begin, would be accused of genocide in the massacres at Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon if the Kahan commission's findings were accepted.
By Ofer Aderet | Feb. 21, 2013 | 4:12 PM | 15

Ariel Sharon feared charges of genocide and demands for compensation following the first Lebanon War, state archives have revealed.

The State Archives has just released the protocol of the cabinet meeting in February 1983, in which the commission’s findings were discussed. The protocol reveals some fascinating quotations from the former prime minister, who served as defense minister during that invasion and would return and lead the country two decades later.

Sharon worried that if the government were to accept some of the conclusions of the Kahan commission of inquiry set up to investigate the 1982 massacres at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, it would expose itself to charges of war crimes.

Arriving late at the cabinet meeting, held on February 10, 1983, Sharon launched into a speech outlining his response to the commission’s report. “I’ve had a chance to read it thoroughly, and there are definitely some parts of it which we should embrace. However, there are sections in it that we cannot accept,” he said in his opening comments. “I’ve concluded that some sections must be emphatically rejected by the cabinet. There are portions in the report that we, as Jews and citizens of Israel, as ministers of the Israeli government, cannot accept.”

Sharon lashed out in particular at the commission’s determination that the country’s civilian and military leaders had ignored the risks of such a massacre taking place. “This goes well beyond the personal issue on everyone’s mind, of whether I stay or go,” added Sharon. “The report’s words ‘ignored’ imply that this was done knowingly. That includes all of us sitting around this table who appeared before the commission, including you, Prime Minister [Menachem Begin]. The commission has specifically said that not only was there a risk of a massacre, but that all of us knew this yet ignored it.”

Sharon raised the concern that if the cabinet accepted that they knew of the risk, it would thus set into motion demands for reparations based on acts of genocide.

“People wishing us ill, and I’ve already heard this, will say that what occurred in those camps was genocide. I’ve heard this from Rashad al-Shawa, the former mayor of Gaza. He stated that such claims are appropriate, linking the massacres to genocide,” Sharon warned.

Sharon read out to the cabinet the 1950 statute against genocide, and warned that in his interpretation they could all be considered accomplices to the massacre, according to the letter of the law. To illustrate this, he elaborated on the roles of accomplices.

“We all urged this, we all enabled it, by asking them (the Phalangist Christian militias) to enter the camps. We were present, we lit up the area and we evacuated casualties. It is common knowledge that we were in the area to keep the opposition away, and we did not isolate it from other areas. We kept forces in the area to ensure the mission was carried out, and in case they ran into trouble and needed help getting out.”

Based on this interpretation, Sharon asked the cabinet to reject this portion of the report. “Shouldn’t this section shock us? The commission did not hesitate to compare Israel to indirect supporters of pogroms, who committed atrocities against our people. I am revolted by any hint of such an accusation,” he said.

“I reject the conclusion that there was a constant threat of bloodshed wherever the Phalangists were present. It was accepted among us that during the earlier Peace for Galilee operation, in which they operated alongside our forces, they had behaved appropriately."

Sharon stressed that nobody could have foreseen how drastically things would deteriorate.

“I take no issue with the Mossad or with Military Intelligence. Their assessments included no such eventuality. All their experts, as well as civilian and army top brass, swore under oath that they had not foreseen such a risk."

Referring to the commission’s arguments against him personally, Sharon said that he saw no error in his decision to protect the lives of Israel Defense Forces soldiers.

“I want to say something about my alleged errors," he says in the report. "The most serious allegation was that I did not anticipate what would happen when the militias went in. The commission tried to put themselves into my shoes and understand my actions. They explained that by considering saving IDF lives by letting the militias in, I was distracted and disregarded the possible consequences. Honorable Prime Minister, I don’t consider taking action to save our soldiers’ lives a mistake. This should be our primary consideration. I cannot accept that this could ever not be so. I would repeat this again to each one of you individually, before you chop my head off.”

Sharon called on the cabinet to fire him if that was their decision, but said he would not willingly resign. “You can cut off my head any way you choose. You won’t hear a peep from me, but do you wish to force me to do it myself?”

http://www.haaretz.com/news/israeli-elections-2013/whos-who/ariel-sharon-feared-genocide-charges-over-israel-s-role-in-sabra-and-shatila.premium-1.505001

[Queen Mab]

2014 off to a good start then...

[Eleutheromaniac]

Good. He is a perpetrator of very heinous crimes against humanity. (Qibya Massacre stands out)

[DasFapital]

Well since we lost Mandela and Chavez last year it was only a matter of time before things started looking up again.

[Sinister Intents]

Good Riddance!

[Manic Impressive]

Ariel Sharon’s burial plot set to displace 15,000 Palestinians



TEL AVIV: Following the death of former Israel prime minister Ariel Sharon – who has been in a coma since 2006 – plans for the 85-year-old’s state funeral have now been released.
According to arrangements made by the Israeli government, Sharon’s burial plot is set to displace over 15,000 Palestinians living in the West Bank. The plot, located on the outskirts of Hebron, will take over land lived and farmed by Arabs for at least four centuries and will be surrounded by a five-metre tall concrete wall with armed sentry posts on each corner. It will also be connected to Israel by a four-lane commemorative highway.
“It’s what he would have wanted,” said a source.
Article updated January 11, 2014


http://www.panarabiaenquirer.com/wordpress/ariel-sharons-funeral-plot-set-to-displace-15000-palestinians/

[Hermes]

Ariel Sharon’s burial plot set to displace 15,000 Palestinians



TEL AVIV: Following the death of former Israel prime minister Ariel Sharon – who has been in a coma since 2006 – plans for the 85-year-old’s state funeral have now been released.
According to arrangements made by the Israeli government, Sharon’s burial plot is set to displace over 15,000 Palestinians living in the West Bank. The plot, located on the outskirts of Hebron, will take over land lived and farmed by Arabs for at least four centuries and will be surrounded by a five-metre tall concrete wall with armed sentry posts on each corner. It will also be connected to Israel by a four-lane commemorative highway.
“It’s what he would have wanted,” said a source.
Article updated January 11, 2014


http://www.panarabiaenquirer.com/wordpress/ariel-sharons-funeral-plot-set-to-displace-15000-palestinians/


Those comments are making me sick, ugh.

[Devrim]

Those comments are making me sick, ugh.

You do realise that that piece is satire, don't you? It isn't true.

Devrim

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

How do your comrades in the CPUSA feel about this?
Are they awaiting Obamas word first?
Keep us informed.

You've been here long enough to know the rules. I'm surprised a mod hasn't picked up on this and, as for TATs comment that we shouldn't be policing ourselves - that's an odd comment to come from someone on the left.

And, secondly, I think that you know this comment was just un-necessary. If you wanna say that sort of thing then:

a) expect people like me to pick you up on it because it's the sort of thing that continues to fuck up the board's atmosphere;
b) maybe just keep it to PM? The rest of us don't need to know that you can be ironic. It's very impressive, yes.

[Sea]

Don't worry. I'm not new, I'm just not young. It's about as meaningful as being flipped off by a group of teenagers.

People can/will say whatever they want, moderators will selectively intervene, and CPUSA will continue being the only coherent communist party in the US.Huh, maybe I was a little too hard on TAT...... :o

[Prometeo liberado]

A lot of leftists join CPUSA because, well, it's named "Communist Party of the United States of America" and that sounds pretty darn credible to someone who is new to the radical left.
Indeed. If one is to call ones self a communist and spout of things like "good riddance" then one should have arrived at these conclusions through study, query and a thirst for truth. Not through the route of the CPUSA first, leaving the thinking part to chance. In no way can you justify a post on this thread about a very horrible man whom they called the "Bulldozer" with a blaze defense of "A lot of leftist....". No they are not leftist but something more akin to what my English comrades would call "Tankie".
Back to the bulldozer.

[Manic Impressive]

You do realise that that piece is satire, don't you? It isn't true.

Devrim
Yeah I wasn't sure if he thought it was real or that making a joke about Sharon was in bad taste.

Anyway more from the pan-Arabia enquirer

Journalists worldwide “really struggling” with Ariel Sharon obituary


With former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon reportedly close to death, journalists the world over have revealed that they are finding his upcoming obituary among the most difficult articles they’ve ever had to write.
“When you put together these kind of things, you’re generally expected to offer a small modicum of respect. Because it’s an obituary, right, and the person is going to have died,” said Terence F. Wallbanger, chief reporter at the South Canberra Gazette in Australia.
“But with this guy… someone who was nicknamed ‘The Bulldozer’ for f***’s sake… to say it’s been tough is to put it mildly. What with his time as defence minister when he orchestrated the invasion of Lebanon and… jeez, how am I supposed to write something even remotely courteous about the man responsible for Sabra and Shatila? Then there’s when he was PM and the construction of West Bank settlements and that wall. It’s an absolute nightmare… my piece is currently reading more like a slash horror story about a psychopathic killer than a quiet, sombre look at one man’s life.”
Vanessa Moses, chief sub at Brazil’s Sao Paulo Advertiser echoed this view.
“Even if you go back before Sharon got into politics, all the evidence suggests he was nothing short of a murderous shit. I mean, he headed up the Unit 101 special forces team who were behind one of the worst massacres of the century,” she exclaimed.
“We’re desperately trying to find anything at all half decent to say about him. At the moment we’ve got that ‘he cooked a good omelette’ and ‘had a nice garden’, but we’re not even sure if these are true.”



Overwhelming number of applicants for Ariel Sharon funeral sign language translator

January 11, 2014

TEL AVIV: Organisers of the state funeral for former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon – who passed away earlier today – have revealed that they have been “overwhelmed” by the number of applicants for the position of sign language translator.
“Honestly, when we put out the call this afternoon, we thought we’d get a couple of people interested, but the response has been truly remarkable and we’ve been inundated with applications,” said a source from the Israeli Prime Minister’s office. “To be honest, I didn’t even think there were that many sign language speakers in the region.”

[Sinister Cultural Marxist]

He's been comatose for years and the current administration is even more militantly anti-Palestinian. There are bigger things afoot than the death of an already-sick old general-turned-prime-minister

[Sea]

He's been comatose for years and the current administration is even more militantly anti-Palestinian. There are bigger things afoot than the death of an already-sick old general-turned-prime-ministerWell when one of them croaks it sort of rockets it into the media, which means it's gonna be more of a talking point.

[Hermes]

You do realise that that piece is satire, don't you? It isn't true.

Devrim

I do.

I was saying that about the actual comments to the article, not the article itself, such as:

"If only this were true, only I’d make the plot bigger so it would displace all of them…permanently."

If all the Zionists who are commenting saying that they only wish it had been worse are also using satire, then it's my mistake, but then I believe it's not really in good taste.

I have no issues with satirizing Sharon's death, however.

[Five Year Plan]

It was a better death than he deserved.

[Marshal of the People]

Ariel Sharon’s burial plot set to displace 15,000 Palestinians



TEL AVIV: Following the death of former Israel prime minister Ariel Sharon – who has been in a coma since 2006 – plans for the 85-year-old’s state funeral have now been released.
According to arrangements made by the Israeli government, Sharon’s burial plot is set to displace over 15,000 Palestinians living in the West Bank. The plot, located on the outskirts of Hebron, will take over land lived and farmed by Arabs for at least four centuries and will be surrounded by a five-metre tall concrete wall with armed sentry posts on each corner. It will also be connected to Israel by a four-lane commemorative highway.
“It’s what he would have wanted,” said a source.
Article updated January 11, 2014


http://www.panarabiaenquirer.com/wordpress/ariel-sharons-funeral-plot-set-to-displace-15000-palestinians/



How dare they! I think that the international community should defend Palestine and sanction the hell out of Israel.

[GerrardWinstanley]

While Sharon is obviously scum, according to the Angry Arab, 93% of the Israeli public supported the invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Shocking figure, even for Israel.

[Marshal of the People]

How dare they! I think that the international community should defend Palestine and sanction the hell out of Israel.

Looks like that price was satire, oops.

[DoCt SPARTAN]

I hope his death will start to kill the idea of Zionism. And recognize all the atrocities it has committed.

[blake 3:17]

Later, as prime minister, Sharon more directly reversed Oslo by launching Operation Defensive Shield, a reinvasion of areas that were supposed to have been passed to the control of a Palestinian government-in-waiting, the Palestinian Authority.

He would finally pen the Palestinians into a series of enclaves by approving and starting construction of a 700km steel-and-concrete "separation barrier" across the West Bank.

The wall he began has dramatically expanded in subsequent years to become a series of fortifications - from new wall-building ventures such as the recent bid to separate Israel from Egypt to missile defence systems like Iron Dome - designed to turn Israel into an invulnerable "Jewish fortress".

Yet, in the months before he fell into a long-term vegetative state in early 2006, many analysts were all too ready to revise their assessments of Sharon. In death, he is again being feted as the military hawk who ended his days a "man of peace".

Nothing, however, could be further from the truth, according to Klein and Warschawski.

The reason cited for reassessing Sharon's legacy is his decision to withdraw some 7,000 Jewish settlers, as well as the soldiers protecting them, from the Gaza Strip, in the so-called "disengagement" of 2005.

...

"Sharon finally accepted that the Palestinians could not be made to disappear. He wanted a Greater Israel but understood that he could not expel the Palestinians to achieve it."

He also understood, adds Klein, that Israel could not afford to maintain, long term, a direct reoccupation of the West Bank - either in terms of the financial cost or the expected price in soldiers' lives.

Instead, Sharon devised what Warschawski calls the "Swiss cheese model". "He treated the region like a big block of Swiss cheese, with Israel as the cheese and the Palestinians as the holes. Any bits he did not care about could belong to the Palestinians. It was about creating cantons, and the largest was Gaza."

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/01/ariel-bulldozer-sharon-dies-2014189155907953.html

[Quail]

I've trashed the off-topic stuff.

This post is a verbal warning to jbeard for flaming.

[Ceallach_the_Witch]

Not that I'd usually link to the Huffington Post, but I did find this article fairly interesting:

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mehdi-hasan/ariel-sharon-war-crimes_b_4584178.html

I was only really a kid when he was prime minister so I didn't really engage with what what happened in his term - or what he'd done before that - so these figures seem pretty shocking to me, at least.

[1789]

He's been dead for 8 years. His coma life run out.

[Futility Personified]

Blair is doing a speech at his funeral. Oh dear.

[Niall]

Cant say Im sorry to hear this. Or that Im overly surprised about Blair doing a speech at the funeral

[Flying Purple People Eater]

Why is this cause for celebration? The monster was able to live until he was old and comfortable. That's not a fact to celebrate. The bastard deserved to be offed decades ago.

[blake 3:17]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-forgotten-massacre-8139930.html


He has a point, of course. While presidents and prime ministers have lined up in Manhattan to mourn the dead of the 2001 international crimes against humanity at the World Trade Centre, not a single Western leader has dared to visit the dank and grubby Sabra and Chatila mass graves, shaded by a few scruffy trees and faded photographs of the dead. Nor, let it be said – in 30 years – has a single Arab leader bothered to visit the last resting place of at least 600 of the 1,700 victims. Arab potentates bleed in their hearts for the Palestinians but an airfare to Beirut might be a bit much these days – and which of them would want to offend the Israelis or the Americans?

It is an irony – but an important one, nonetheless – that the only nation to hold a serious official enquiry into the massacre, albeit flawed, was Israel. The Israeli army sent the killers into the camps and then watched – and did nothing – while the atrocity took place. A certain Israeli Lieutenant Avi Grabowsky gave the most telling evidence of this. The Kahan Commission held the then defence minister Ariel Sharon personally responsible, since he sent the ruthless anti-Palestinian Phalangists into the camps to "flush out terrorists" – "terrorists" who turned out to be as non-existent as Iraq's weapons of mass destruction 21 years later.

Sharon lost his job but later became prime minister, until broken by a stroke which he survived – but which took from him even the power of speech. Elie Hobeika, the Lebanese Christian militia leader who led his murderers into the camp – after Sharon had told the Phalange that Palestinians had just assassinated their leader, Bashir Gemayel – was murdered years later in east Beirut. His enemies claimed the Syrians killed him, his friends blamed the Israelis; Hobeika, who had "gone across" to the Syrians, had just announced he would "tell all" about the Sabra and Chatila atrocity at a Belgian court, which wished to try Sharon.

Of course, those of us who entered the camps on the third and final day of the massacre – 18 September, 1982 – have our own memories. I recall the old man in pyjamas lying on his back on the main street with his innocent walking stick beside him, the two women and a baby shot next to a dead horse, the private house in which I sheltered from the killers with my colleague Loren Jenkins of The Washington Post – only to find a dead young woman lying in the courtyard beside us. Some of the women had been raped before their killing. The armies of flies, the smell of decomposition. These things one remembers.

[Sinister Intents]

He's been dead for 8 years. His coma life run out.

Why do I think you're a troll...

[Raquin]

Ding dong the witch is dead?

[blake 3:17]

From Human Rights Watch Jan.11/2014:


In February 1983, the Kahan Commission, Israel’s official commission of inquiry investigating the events, found that the “serious consideration… that the Phalangists were liable to commit atrocities… did not concern [Sharon] in the least.” Sharon’s “disregard of the danger of a massacre” was “impossible to justify,” the commission found, and recommended his dismissal as defense minister. He remained in the Israeli cabinet as a minister without portfolio and later became prime minister in 2001, serving until his stroke in January 2006.

Israeli justice authorities never conducted a criminal investigation to determine whether Sharon and other Israeli military officials bore criminal responsibility. In 2001, survivors brought a case in Belgium requesting that Sharon be prosecuted under Belgium’s “universal jurisdiction” law. Political pressure led Belgium’s parliament to amend the law in April 2003, and to repeal it altogether in August, leading Belgium’s highest court to drop the case against Sharon that September.

Sharon long promoted establishing unlawful Israeli settlements in Gaza and the West Bank. In 2005 he ordered Israel’s withdrawal of nearly 8,000 settlers from the Gaza Strip and the evacuation of four West Bank settlements, but during his term as prime minister, the number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights, increased from roughly 388,000 to 461,000. The transfer by an occupying power of its civilians into an occupied territory is a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions, and a potential war crime.

http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/01/11/israel-ariel-sharon-s-troubling-legacy