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The Charlotte Jewish News - February 2014 - Page 24 Pavlovian Obsession: Human Rights Watch Targets Ariel Sharon By GeraldM. Steinberg/JNS.org Like vultures eireling a eareass, the leaders of New %rk-based Human Rights Wateh (HRW) pre pared yet another attaek against Ariel Sharon. Within hours of his death on January 11, HRW proved that their Pavlovian obsession has not waned, publishing a press re lease that again highlighted this organization’s double standards and irresponsible disregard of both faets and international law. Sharon, as HRW’s stand-in for all issues related to Israel, was ae- eused of every eoneeivable “war erime” and violation, while the history of mass terror and other forms of Arab and Palestinian bru tality was erased. Onee again, the radieal ideologues and immoral Israel-bashers who eontrol HRW demonstrated that in their eyes, Is raelis are sub-human and there fore have no human rights. The inflated aeeusations and abusive language in HRW’s state ment following Sharon’s death stand in glaring eontrast to their immoral silenee regarding Arab and Middle Eastern terror leaders and tyrants. When Yasser Arafat died in November 2004, HRW is sued no statement referring to im punity for erime s against human ity resulting from the Palestinian leader’s eentral role in mass terror eampaigns. Additionally, HRW’s state ments following the death of Osama bin Laden are a textbook example of moral eonfusion and obfuseation, referring vaguely to “the devastating human toll that terrorism has brought to every eontinent of the world” and to the September 11, 2001 attaeks and other attaeks for whieh “bin Laden’s al Qaeda organization is blamed.” Regarding the Ameriean anti-terror operation that killed bin Laden, HRW deeided that it did “not have enough information about the killing to draw eonelu- sions about whether it was lawful or not.... The US government should provide all the relevant faets about Osama bin Laden’s death to elarify whether it was jus tified under international law.” HRW’s abysmal reeord in the Middle East is partieularly salient in the endorsement of Libyan’s tyrant Muammar Qaddafi and his sons as “human rights reformers.” In May 2009, HRW Middle East and North Afriea direetor Sarah Leah Whitson authored an artiele in the influential US-based publi- eation Foreign Poliey, titled “Tripoli Spring” and subtitled “How Libya’s behind-the-seenes reformer is aetually, well, reform ing.” Whitson’s praise was un- equivoeal: “the real impetus for the transformation rests squarely with a quasi-govemmental organ ization, the Qaddafi Foundation for International Charities and De velopment.” On Deeember 12, 2009, HRW held what was pre sented as a news eonferenee in Libya—the U.S State Department referred to this event as helping to “solidify Saif al-Islam’s reputa tion as a ‘reformer.’” Two op-eds written by HRW offieials were published in the Guardian and by the Institute for Poliey Studies. The first was titled “Is Libya opening up,” and the seeond, writ ten by Whitson, was headlined “Posteard from... Tripoli” and embraeed the Qaddafi human rights reform fraud. In eontrast, Whitson and HRW have a long history of automati- eally and viseerally eondemning Israel, based on little or no eredi- ble information. HRW’s statement eondemning Sharon upon his death briefly and seleetively quoted from the judieial eommis- sion that investigated Sharon’s re sponsibility related to the Christian Phalange killings of Palestinians in the 1982 Lebanon war, distorting the proeess and re ports beyond reeognition. This again highlights HRW’s eonsis- tent anti-Israel obsession and ex Shimon Peres (second from left) and then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon seen during the 80th birthday celebration for Peres in the Prime Minister s Office in Jerusalem on September 21, 2003. Crediit: Avi Ohayon/GPO/Flash90. ploitation of universal human rights prineiples to promote per sonal and ideologieal agendas. HRW also plays a eentral role in the proeesses by whieh national and international legal struetures and prineiples are being abused as part of politieal warfare. While Sharon was serving as Prime Min ister and had the grave responsi bility for ending the Palestinian terror eampaign of brutal bus bombings and other war erimes, HRW offieials ehose instead to support a eynieal effort by Pales tinian groups to bring a frivolous lawfare ease against Sharon in Belgium. This ease triggered a flood of efforts to exploit “univer sal jurisdietion” statutes and frameworks, ineluding the Inter national Criminal Court, that were ereated in order to bring genoeidal leaders to justiee, for the pursuit of partisan politieal eampaigns. In 2009, the founder of Human Rights Wateh, Robert Bernstein, highlighted the moral failures of his own organization, partieularly in ignoring the systematie abuses of Middle Eastern regimes. Bern stein also referred to HRW reports on the Israeli-Arab eonfiiet “that are helping those who wish to turn Israel into a pariah state.” Indeed, as the latest obsessive attaek demonstrates, it is HRW itself that is leading this eampaign, based on double standards and misinforma tion, to delegitimize Israel.^ Gerald M. Steinberg is presi dent of Jerusalem-based research institution NGO Monitor and is professor of political science at Bar Ban University. % When I grouj qp, I'm cjonna be a police officer To aek. reqcjy, JpS helps me: * Work ip x fup com(vi(jpik.i^ * UPder6kaPc| cuu&e 8- effect. * Mqke precjicUop6 * Shoui cqre for others'. .1. y. p G i ft 5 S'! ^ re. Fqtl Registration open Full & fdqJf Dqy, Schetjufe Togr Totjqyl ?04-i6^-8395 • infoyp5onSqrais,or3 * jfSonSarais.orj
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