so, it has come to this

the united nations is supposed to represent the people of the world. by targeting their facilities, israel says "fuck you" to all of us. it says, "we don't give a shit what you say, for we have the bombs and that's all that matters." again, let us not forget that every bomb israel drops is also an american bomb. this is a joint venture between these two bloodthirsty nations, and should be analyzed as such. as blum has documented, both countries have a diplomatic history at the un of ignoring the will of the world, from the cuban embargo to apartheid in south africa to the right of colonized people to defend themselves and even including voting against a resolution strenthening actions meant to curtail nazis and fascists. at first, one may find it odd that israel would vote against such a resolution, until one remembered the kind of state israel is. this diplomatic history is horrific. now, we also have a military history of actions taken by both nations against the un. of course, they will blame everything on hamas, for surely, it was because of hamas that israel had to arm el salvador in the 80's, and it was because of hamas that israel attacked lebanon, and it was because of hamas that israel bulldozed jenin, and it was because of hamas that rachel corrie was killed, and it is because of hamas that israeli settlers assault palestinians in hebron, stabbing children and seizing land, as documented in "palestine inside out." yes, it is all because of hamas.

the idea of the scapegoat is alive and well. many of us jews know well how scapegoating works. once, millions of us were primary victims of the practice. now, many of us in israel are perhaps the leading current users of the ideology. yestersday, hamas was the goat. today, it's the un.

first they came for hamas, and i did not speak out, because i was not in hamas. then, they came for the rescue workers, and i did not speak out, because i was not a rescue worker. then, they came for the children hiding in shelters, but i did not speak out, for i was not a child hiding in a shelter. then, they came for the un, but at that point, it didn't matter, because, due to the collective silence and complicity of the west, israel had won.

and so, we sit back, awarding academy awards to those who make films about tragedies that happened decades ago, as our tax dollars go to funding current tragedies. we have tom cruise trying to kill hitler, and a film about an uprising against the nazis, as we prosecute two wars and fund a third. our children read night, but have never heard of dahr jamail. i'm sorry, but crimes are crimes, no matter who commits them. if we can get to where we can acknowledge that simple truth, perhaps things will begin to change. but, we will never get to that point, because the new season of american idol is about to start. there just ain't time.


UN Headquarters in Gaza Hit by Israeli 'White Phosphorus' Shells
by Sheera Frenkel and Philippe Naughton

JERUSALEM - The main UN compound in Gaza was left in flames today after being struck by Israeli artillery fire, and a spokesman said that the building had been hit by shells containing the incendiary agent white phosphorus.

Palestinian firemen extinguish a blaze at the UN warehouse in Gaza City. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has told visiting UN chief Ban Ki-moon that Israeli troops had shelled a UN compound in Gaza in response to fire coming from the building. (AFP/Mahmud Hams)The attack on the headquarters of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) came as Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary-General, arrived in Israel on a peace mission and plunged Israel's relations with the world body to a new low.

Mr Ban expressed his "strong protest and outrage" at the shelling and demanded an investigation, only to be told by apologetic Israeli leaders that their forces had been returning fire from within the UN compound.

"The Israeli forces were attacked from there and their response was severe," Ehud Olmert, the Prime Minister, told the UN chief, according to a statement released by his office.

"We do not want such incidents to take place and I am sorry for it but I don't know if you know, but Hamas fired from the UNRWA site. This is a sad incident and I apologise for it."

UNWRA, which looks after around four million Palestinian refugees in the region, suspended its operations in Gaza after the attack, in which three of its employees were injured.

Chris Gunness, a UNRWA spokesman, said that the building had been used to shelter hundreds of people fleeing Israel's 20-day offensive in Gaza. He said that pallets with supplies desperately needed by Palestinians in Gaza were on fire.

"What more stark symbolism do you need?" he said. "You can't put out white phosphorus with traditional methods such as fire extinguishers. You need sand, we don't have sand."

The Israeli military has denied using white phosphorus shells in the Gaza offensive, although an investigation by The Times has revealed that dozens of Palestinians in Gaza have sustained serious injuries from the substance, which burns at extremely high temperatures.

The Geneva Convention of 1980 proscribes the use of white phosphorus as a weapon of war in civilian areas, although it can be used to create a smokescreen. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said today that all weapons used in Gaza were "within the scope of international law".

The attack on the UN compound came as Israeli forces pushed deeper into Gaza City and unleashed their heaviest shelling on its crowded neighbourhoods in three weeks of war. At least 15 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli attacks, medical officials said, pushing the death toll up towards 1,100 - a level that Mr Ban described as "unbearable".

It was not clear whether the escalation signalled a new phase in the conflict. Israel has held back from all-out urban warfare in the narrow alleyways of Gaza's cities, where Hamas militants are more familiar with the lay of the land.

Black smoke billowed over Gaza City, terrifying civilians who said that they had "nowhere left to hide" from the relentless shelling.

"I am telling you that Gaza is on fire, everything is under attack. We cannot begin to answer all the calls for help, it is desperate. We cannot reach the people, everyone is trapped and we do not know how to help them," said Doctor Moussa El Haddad at Shifa Hospital.

Maha El-Sheiky, 36, said that she fled her home in the western suburbs of Gaza City two days ago, moving her family into a school in the centre of the city. "We thought it would be safer here. But now there is shelling everywhere. It is schools and mosques and hospitals. We don't know what will be next," she said. "We are hiding, it is in God's hands."

There were reports that the al-Quds hospital in the Tal El Hawa district, Gaza's second-largest, had been shelled, while more than 500 patients were being treated inside.

An explosion also blasted a tower block that houses the offices of Reuters and several other media organisations, injuring a journalist working for the Abu Dhabi television channel.

Reuters journalists working at the time said it appeared that the southern side of the 13th floor of the Al-Shurouq Tower in the city centre had been struck by an Israeli missile or shell. Reuters evacuated its bureau.

Several organisations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross and Human Rights Watch, said that they were "certain" that Israel was using white phosphorus shells in Gaza. Human rights workers said that the use of phosphorus in the densely populated Gaza City could constitute a war crime.

Israel launched the offensive on December 27 in an effort to stop militant rocket fire from Gaza that has terrorised hundreds of thousands of Israelis. It says that it will press ahead until it receives guarantees of a complete halt to rocket fire and an end to weapons smuggling into Gaza from neighbouring Egypt.

The attack on the UN compound prompted international protests.

Lord Malloch-Brown, the Foreign Office Minister, said that there was "absolutely no excuse" for the shelling, which, he said, reminded him of a similar attack on a UN observation post during the Israeli offensive into Lebanon in 2006.

He told peers: "With over 1,000 people now dead in Gaza, many of them civilians and children, the urgent need for a diplomatic solution is clear. A robust and immediate ceasefire is the only way the current situation in Gaza can be addressed."