Israel's attack on ship deserves U.S. condemnation

The U.S. government should condemn the attack by Israeli forces on the humanitarian aid convoy to Gaza. It is not necessary to wait for an independent investigation before taking a stand against this deeply disturbing assault. Enough information is available right now. An investigation with international participation must be done; however, we must speak out now.

"Israel is guilty of shocking behavior by using deadly weapons against unarmed civilians on ships that were situated in the high seas where freedom of navigation exists, according to the law of the seas," said Richard Falk, U.N. special rapporteur.

Violence by Hamas must also be disavowed, and our government regularly does so. What is lacking is a courageous, honest official stance by the United States holding Israel accountable for its actions. To condemn indefensible policy and practice by the government of Israel is neither betrayal of an ally nor a position of hatred toward the nation of Israel or the Jewish Diaspora. Indeed, it is the position an honest ally must take in the struggle for critically needed resolution.

As author David Grossman wrote in the Guardian: "The crimes of the leaders of Hamas, who have held the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit captive for four years without once allowing the Red Cross to visit him, and who fired thousands of rockets from the Gaza Strip at Israeli towns and villages, are acts that must be firmly dealt with, utilizing the various legal means available to a sovereign state. ... The ongoing siege of a civilian population is not one of them." Or, in the words of Navi Pillay, U.N. high commissioner for human rights: "Nothing can justify the appalling outcome of this operation."

Israel continues a deeply disturbing policy predicated on the disproportionate use of force. This misguided approach has not and will not move the peace process forward. The United States should oppose the practice, not enable it.

The Obama administration should broker a peace process with all members of the conflict at the table and no preconditions. This means the inclusion of Hamas. The U.S. government should be involved in a resolution process, but it must become a much more honest broker in allowing all sides in the conflict to negotiate from their own positions of strength. Historically, this has not been done.

The blockade of Gaza should end immediately. As Falk has pointed out, the blockade is a massive form of collective punishment, tantamount to a crime against humanity, and "unless prompt and decisive action is taken to challenge the Israeli approach to Gaza, all of us will be complicit in criminal policies that are challenging the survival of an entire beleaguered community."

Our government leaders would do well to heed the advice of Nobel Peace Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who released a statement condemning the Israeli attack. They further called for "a full investigation into the incident," and urged that "the U.N. Security Council ... debate the situation with a view to mandating action to end the closure of the Gaza Strip."

How much more evidence is needed -- and how many more innocent people must die or be injured -- before the United States officially recognizes that Israel will not deescalate its assault on Gaza without our insisting that it do so? The United States can stand as a courageous ally to the state of Israel by pressing for all aspects of the truth about this tragedy to come out.

Death on the Mavi Marmara does not have to become one more step backward in the struggle for a just and peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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Erika Thorne is interim executive director of Friends for a Non-Violent World, a Minnesota peace organization.

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