Israel Matzav: Human rights leaders get their priorities in order

Human rights leaders get their priorities in order

If anyone is up for some biting sarcasm, this is excellent.

But as they sipped their goblets of vintage French and German wines in Geneva, these brave men and women of conscience knew something else: that the aggregate suffering of all of these terrible wars, revolts, uprisings and protests paled in comparison to the single most pressing human rights issue of the day – indeed, of the century.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” began the distinguished chairman of the proceedings, as he took the dais. “We cannot hope to deal with all the abuses that have been documented. Therefore, we must prioritize, must we not, and direct our energies to confronting the most egregious, the most flagrant encroachments: those carried out by the Jews – or rather by the Israelis, though it amounts to the same thing – against their peace-loving neighbours, the peace loving Palestinians.

“All other infringements of fundamental human rights, pale beside that now being inflicted upon the peace-loving Palestinians.

“Please raise your hands if you agree that we humanitarians would be derelict in our duties as sentinels of civil liberty if we failed to speak the disturbing truth about the heinous acts perpetrated against the peace-loving Palestinians.”

And lo, like an obedient army saluting its commander, the delegates promptly raised their hands in unanimous agreement. “Yes, we know that a handful of peasants have complained about Russian fighter jets raining down missiles on towns and villages in Chechnya and Georgia,” the distinguished chairman continued.

“But can we turn a blind eye to the plight of peace-loving Palestinians, forced to undergo hours of humiliating inspection at Israeli army checkpoints, simply because one or two of them might want to visit a pizza parlour in Jerusalem or a discotheque in Tel Aviv with an unfashionable belt tied around their waist?

“I think we all know the answer.

“Yes, the Sudanese government has armed and trained gangs of mercenaries, which have raped, pillaged and murdered tens of thousands.

I therefore urgently call for a formal commission of inquiry under the auspices of the United Nations to hold hearings that will probe these grievous charges. We must get to the bottom of it.

“I don’t care if it takes years.

“But what are the killing fields of Darfur when measured against the injustice of the vast, impersonal separation wall that has been erected along the border between what was once Palestine and the West Bank, and with which peace-loving Palestinians must now sadly contend?

“I think we all know the answer.

Read the whole thing; it's superb (and unfortunately all true).

The picture at the top is the Gaza City coffee shop with the huge flat screen monitor that shows all the suffering 'Palestinians.'

Israel Matzav: Human rights leaders get their priorities in order