The video above provides the context. When President Barack Obama made these comments, he didn’t know the facts. He has assumed, wrongly, that Officer James Crowley had racial profiled Henry Louis Gates Jr. We now know the facts of this case, and it certainly wasn’t one involving any sort of racial profiling. If I criticize Obama for this behaviour, I will criticize other’s including those on the other side of the aisle.
Suffice to say, I was disgusted with Michael Coren’s opinion on the Mavi Marmara incident. He said that Israel was at fault for this incident as it not only set up a blockade in international waters but boarded a ferry that was bringing supplies to Palestinians. For those who haven’t yet heard, at least ten people were killed when the Turkish ferry tried to run the Israeli blockade. The Islan Haklary Ve Hurriyetleri Vakfi (IHH) had sent a flotilla to Israel under the pretense of providing Palestinians with aid. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) demanded to inspect the shipment, which was supported by Egyptian authority who offered to do the search as a neutral third party, but was refused by the IHH. The situation then turned violent after the Mavi Marmara, in the dead of night, tried to force it’s way through the blockade. IDF forces responded by flying a bordering team over to the ferry to take control of the vessel, but were attacked as they descended from the helicopter. Armed with only paintball guns and sidearms, the first team was quickly subdued and a second team was brought in to assist. After being stabbed, clubbed and badly beaten, as well as one IDF soldier being tossed from the upper deck to the lower deck, the IDF soldiers were given permission to use their sidearms. While some may say this is simply the IDF’s side of the story, video of the event not only confirms it, but disproves the IHH’s story about how they were ambushed while sleeping on deck. Hat-tip to Hot Air’s Allahpundit for these videos.
and…
As for the claim that these individuals were simply “peaceful protesters”…
Here is footage of one of the “peaceful protesters” attacking an IDF officer with his knife. Hat-tip to Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey for this video.
More information is coming out about these protesters and their ties to terrorism. Jonathan Schanzer at The Weekly Standard has reported on the fact that the IHH was founded by the Union for Good (Ittilaf al-Kheir), an Islamic organization headed by the radical Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, a supporter of violence, which includes suicide bombing, against Israeli civilians. Qaradawi also has ties to the various Islamic terrorist organizations like Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. The IHH itself is listed by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization, so there shouldn’t be any debate as to whether or not this was a mercy mission by a humanitarian organization. While Schanzer’s article highlights many troubling facts about the IHH (ex: they aided Ahmed Ressam in his failed millennium bomb plot), there is much more that is still coming about these events which points to a far different conclusion than the one reached by Coren and others like him; this wasn’t a humanitarian mission at all, but a publicity stunt funded by terrorist organizations.
What really aggravates me about Coren’s comments on Monday’s program was that it reeks of his “David Frum-esk” streak where he will adopt a left of center position in a failed attempt to gain credibility in left-wing political circles. We see this with his “Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin are bad” comments that squeak out every now and then, but it is far more troubling when Coren, who is a supporter of Israel, comes out and takes such a position without knowing the facts. I understand he had to make a comment on the events, but John Turley-Ewart, an associate editor for the National Post, seemed to be the only person on the panel discussing the incident who knew even the most basic information about the event. Why didn’t Coren at least read the stories coming out about the incident instead of relying on news reports which NewsBusters.org’s Noel Sheppard highlighted for reporting only one side of the story, like the Los Angeles Time’s take on the incident which omitted key facts concerning the attack on IDF soldiers with the variety of weapons displayed above. Even CNN, a news organization known for their left-wing bias, was reporting the violent methods of the “peaceful protesters”, so why didn’t Coren give their story a read?
The fact is that much like Obama’s comments on the Henry Louis Gates Jr arrest, Coren’s comments on this appear to be a knee-jerk reaction. When an incident like this occurs, there are bound to be a variety of Islamic apologists coming out to condemn any action taken by Israel, like Helen Thomas who referred to this event as a “deliberate massacre”, but I expected more from Coren, especially since he publicly supports Israel. Condemning the IDF the way he did simply emboldens those behind this incident. Israel has this blockade to prevent groups like the IHH from getting weapons to Hamas, a group which has vowed to wiped the Jewish state from the map, and the reason they do it in international waters and not twelve miles from shore is because it prevents small craft from breaking the blockade and smuggling the dangerous cargo ashore. How can you support Israel and not acknowledge the importance of such actions to the safety of the Israeli people? What many don’t seem to understand is that with its very existence at stake, the Israeli government will take necessary action that we here in the West do not approve of. Am I condoning all action by Israel? Of course not, but at least I am not pretending that the Jewish state is the aggressor so many would like to paint them as.
The troubling thing about all this is that I enjoy watching ‘The Michael Coren Show’, and I agree with Coren himself the majority of the time. Instead of emulating Barack Obama, Coren should have waited for all the facts to come in before making such ill-informed and offensive statements… Pity…
UPDATE: Like I said, I do enjoy watching ‘The Michael Coren Show’ and, although this isn’t an apology of any kind of his previous comments, at least Coren is on the right side in condemning these outlandish statements by Turkey about the incident on the Mavi Marmara. Thanks to SDAMatt2, for this video I have to show you.
UPDATE: Today’s episode of ‘The Michael Coren Show’ opened with a ignorant and downright offensive discussion on the incident aboard the Mavi Marmara. SDAMatt2 was right, Marianne Meed Ward is “pretty and pretty stupid”, but she wasn’t the only one making stupid comments. This wasn’t a full military assault on the Turkish ferry, it was a IDF inspection which became violent as these “peaceful protesters” turned out to be armed Islamic radicals. The IDF were armed with paintball guns, standard equipment for dealing with protesters, not knife-wielding terrorist supporters. Matter of fact, if the IDF soldiers were armed with heavier weaponry, those on board the Mavi Marmara might have thought twice before trying to murder, YES murder, the inspection team. Also, how are Israel’s supporters in the international community the victims in all this? There is no shame is supporting a country which is desperately trying to defend it’s own borders. I am surprised to find myself turning to Vice-President Joe Biden for a far more educated and downright intelligent analysis on this incident. Hat-tip to Hot Air’s Allahpundit for this quote.
They’ve said, Here you go. You’re in the Mediterranean. This ship — if you divert slightly north you can unload it and we’ll get the stuff into Gaza’. So what’s the big deal here? What’s the big deal of insisting it go straight to Gaza? Well, it’s legitimate for Israel to say, ‘I don’t know what’s on that ship’. These guys are dropping… 3,000 rockets on my people… Look, you can argue whether Israel should have dropped people onto that ship or not — but the truth of the matter is, Israel has a right to know — they’re at war with Hamas — has a right to know whether or not arms are being smuggled in… As we put pressure, and the world put pressure on Israel to let material go into Gaza to help those people who are suffering, the ordinary Palestinians there, what happened? Hamas would confiscate it, put it in a warehouse [and] sell it.
So much for an intelligent look at world events from Michael Coren and his guests… Pathetic…
UPDATE: What did I say about how the Mavi Marmara was not on a humanitarian mission? Blazing Cat Fur has video of these violent Islamists preparing themselves for the IDF soldiers. I have a hard time seeing how any apologist could justify this nonsense.
UPDATE: Michelle Malkin has a post up about this incident which I recommend my modest readership give a look. Her post also includes a video which is not only disturbing, but demonstrates, as did the previous video, that these weren’t “peaceful protesters.” I wonder if Michael Coren will change his opinion knowing that these radicals were reciting the Islamic “Kill the Jews” battle cry. I would really like to think this will have an effect on his opinion.
Gaza or martyrdom? Tell me again how these people were “peaceful protesters”? Pathetic…
UPDATE: After all these disturbing videos, I feel it is time to liven up this blog post with a little humour. PJTV’s Andrew Klavan on all this Israel/Jew bashing…
UPDATE: Seeing how it relates to this story, Hot Air’s Allahpundit is reporting on the White House’s promise to aid Turkey in pressuring Israel to end the blockade of Gaza. How is it that Vice-President Joe Biden conveyed at least an understanding for Israel’s position yesterday, and yet have administration officials today support those wishing the destruction of the Jewish state? Once again we see the anti-Israel streak the Obama administration is known for… Pathetic…
