Gaza Flotilla Journalist Ban Dropped By Israel

JERUSALEM (AP) – The Israeli government on Monday dropped a threat to issue lengthy deportation orders against journalists aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla, in an attempt to scale back a crisis with the international media.

On Sunday, Israel's Government Press Office sent a letter warning that any journalist caught on board the flotilla would be violating Israeli entry laws and could face deportation and a 10-year ban from the country.

The warning sparked an outcry from foreign journalists and was fiercely debated in Israeli media.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that after the issue was brought to his attention he ordered authorities not to apply the regular measures taken against infiltrators and to find a formula for the reporters intending to take part in a flotilla that violates Israel's entry laws.

He did not provide any details — only that an exception will be made for the journalists on board.

"In parallel, it was agreed that Israeli and international journalists join the navy ships in order to create transparency and reliable coverage of the events," his office said in a statement.

The Foreign Press Association, which represents hundreds of journalists working for international news organizations in Israel and the Palestinian territories, had sharply condemned Israel's original threat, saying they should be allowed to cover a legitimate news story.

"The government's threat to punish journalists covering the Gaza flotilla sends a chilling message to the international media and raises serious questions about Israel's commitment to freedom of the press," it said in a statement.

The Israeli warning highlighted an already strained relationship with the international media and reflected Israeli jitters over the flotilla, which comes just more than a year after a similar mission ended in the deaths of nine Turkish activists in clashes with Israeli naval commandos.

Israel is eager to avoid a repeat of last year's raid, which drew heavy international condemnation and ultimately forced Israel to ease its blockade on Hamas-controlled Gaza. Israel says the embargo is needed to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons into the territory.

Israel said media on board the flotilla would be complicit in an illegal breach of its naval blockade of Gaza.

Netanyahu spokesman Mark Regev said an exception would be made for journalists.

"The first decision was taken at a lower working bureaucratic level but when the issue went to the top, the prime minister made a decision that he thought would serve the country's interests," he said.

Comments

[spindok]

01:14 PM on 07/04/2011

Good move by Netanyahu.

He just seems to get better under pressure. Impressive diplomatic and legal maneuvers by Israel to avoid an open confrontation. Also impressive that Israel was able to shift it's policy and realize that economic blockade failed to cause the collapse of Hamas.

Hamas has done little to help itself or the Palestinians they are supposed to be governing. The unity pact seems to be going nowhere. If the Palestinians accept a Lebanese model it would be a tragic mistake. They must have a unified government. Current history is proving that right now.

Worst part of this flotilla madness is the tragic waste of resources when there are so many actual humanitarian crises going on.

[Fred Ricardo]

11:22 AM on 06/30/2011

Israel's land-stealing policy is the source of Middle Eastern instability. America is hated because American money and weapons are what enable Israel to steal Palestine from Palestinians.

As numerous Middle East experts have pointed out, what is decried as "Arab terrorism against Israel" is, in fact, the only tactic Muslims have for calling the world's attention to the plight of the Palestinians, about which Americans are generally ignorant.

I say this for the love of Israel, make peace, make Palestine prosper and Israel will live forever.

[courtb]

12:26 PM on 06/30/2011

What was the source of ME instability the centuries before the establishment of Israel?

[Fred Ricardo]

04:11 PM on 06/30/2011

Religion.

[ArthroughpadNY]

12:45 PM on 06/30/2011

Read a history book. You do not know what you are talking about.

[Fred Ricardo]

04:13 PM on 06/30/2011

http://ksgnotes1.harvard.edu/Research/wpaper.nsf/rwp/RWP06-011

The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy.
Walt, Stephen and John J. Mearsheimer. "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy." KSG Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP06-011, March 2006.
RWP06-011
Date Submitted: 03/28/2006.
Paper Categorized as: International Affairs / Globalization, International Security


Read this paper on the Harvard web site.

[pomegrante]

08:44 AM on 06/30/2011

MODERATORS:

Once again, one of your moderators has erased one of my links, this one is from Nelson Mandela to Tom Friedman, New York Times:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/14423943/A-Letter-from-Nelson-Mandela-to-Thomas-Friedman

[courtb]

12:29 PM on 06/30/2011

Do you know why it was erased? BECAUSE IT ISN'T TRUE!

Jeez, do 5 minutes of research. Arjan El Fassed, co-founder of the Electronic Intifada, wrote it in response to a Friedman mock memo:

"The main purpose of the Mandela-memo was to respond in a satirical way to Thomas Friedman using the exact same style and even phrases he uses in his columns. Obviously, the 'mock memo' had been forwarded to several e-mail lists containing the memo, which originally included the title "Mandela's First Memo to Thomas Friedman" and a byline "by Arjan El Fassed", but eventually was forwarded without my name and sometimes without title."

[pomegrante]

12:52 PM on 06/30/2011

Contact the South African Embassy for verification so you can feel better and you can stop wasting energy with your attempt to discourage truth.

Maybe then you won't feel so helpless and delusional.

[Amariri]

12:56 AM on 06/30/2011

WIKILEAKS UNMASKS the true motives of the blockade and embargo of Gaza

[SUBJECT: CASHLESS IN GAZA? ]

"Israeli officials have confirmed to Embassy officials on multiple occasions that they intend to keep the Gazan economy functioning at the lowest level possible consistent with avoiding a humanitarian crisis".
[...]
"As part of their overall embargo plan against Gaza, Israeli officials have confirmed to econoffs on multiple occasions that they intend to keep the Gazan economy on the brink of collapse without quite pushing it over the edge."
[...]
"The Israeli National Security Council (NSC) abides by the principal that Gaza should receive just enough money for the basic needs of the population but it is not interested in returning the Gazan economy to a state of normal commerce and business."

http://www.aftenposten.no/spesial/wikileaksdokumenter/article3972840.ece

[Sam Adamson]

02:16 AM on 06/30/2011

Apparently they are not starving and there is no humanitarian crisis. As a terrorist entity, it does not prosper also.

sounds OK to me.

[realpeace285]

04:06 PM on 06/29/2011

Just to review, Israel thought about banning anti-Israel journalists if they support the anti-Israel activists, but chose not to, and the result is almost 2,000 posts of rabid anti-Israel hate, mostly from people who are basically just copying-and-pasting garbage and flood-pasting it here, because some sort of mental illness compels them to believe that if they spend their day making people hate Israel just a little bit more, they've somehow accomplished something in their life. Later.

[Amariri]

07:17 PM on 06/29/2011

If Israel does not want to be classified as a DICTATORSHIP, it must first produce a document defining what is an "anti-Israel journalist," what exactly constitutes the crime of "anti-Israel journalism", and on what legal basis --if any-- is supposedly based this offense, before going on to accuse a person of such a lunatic and bizarre crime.

[realpeace285]

07:25 PM on 06/29/2011

Ridiculous nonsense: "If Israel does not want to be classified as a DICTATORSH­IP..."

Reality Check: Israel has free elections for 100 percent of its citizens. Therefore, no one sane would ever consider calling it what you are mindlessly calling it.

Have a good day!

[pomegrante]

03:39 PM on 06/29/2011

MODERATORS:

one of you removed my link from the BBC re: Desmond Tutu. I am posting again:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1957644.stm

[realpeace285]

03:57 PM on 06/29/2011

This guy is just flooding the board with spam

[realpeace285]

04:19 PM on 06/29/2011

That article is from 2002, during the days Hamas was successfully blowing up innocent Israeli civilians in buses, restaurants, etc. on a weekly basis, and has nothing to do with the topic.

[realpeace285]

03:02 PM on 06/29/2011

Israel is the most free, modern and liberal country in the region of the world it exists.

It's more free and liberal than Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Lebanon, etc.

Yet Israel receives 5,000 times more criticism.

Go figure.

[gibranII]

10:08 PM on 06/29/2011

because they are not free for all its citizens and we all know the track history of their neighbors..they do not claim to be free.

[courtb]

08:06 AM on 06/30/2011

I don't know, people on here seem to think Lebanon (and now Egypt) are free...

[Fred Ricardo]

11:25 AM on 06/30/2011

None of those other countries have a boot on the neck of another people.

Do you think Israel will go another 60 years if they do not make peace with Palestine? Keep building on their land. Israel will then disappear.

[realpeace285]

02:59 PM on 06/29/2011

War and terrorism against Israel resulted in checkpoints.

People who object to the checkpoints yet refuse to address why they came to exist are being dishonest and not helpful.

[nomoredead]

12:03 PM on 06/29/2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW3a1bw5XlE

[pomegrante]

10:27 AM on 06/29/2011

http://www.guernicamag.com/blog/2794/michael_archer_qa_with_alice_w/

The above is titled "Michael Archer: Q&A with Alice Walker, June 15, 2011.

[austinreid]

10:26 AM on 06/29/2011

Why did you capitalize New York Times like it was so important I use The New York Times to back up what I say all the time and people say it’s a bias new source. So it’s fine if it’s saying something bad about Israel but not if it says something good.

[pomegrante]

10:34 AM on 06/29/2011

NEW YORK TIMES

[gibranII]

10:09 PM on 06/29/2011

biased as compared to the WSJ

[muck-raker]

11:05 AM on 06/29/2011

pomegrante, I just favd 5 of your post(s) . keep up the good work

[pomegrante]

11:37 AM on 06/29/2011

Thanyou muck-raker. Blessings!

[realpeace285]

03:00 PM on 06/29/2011

Yeah, flooding Israel topics with irrevelant anti-Israel crap is amazing!

[pomegrante]

09:35 PM on 06/28/2011

The Use and Abuse of Martin Luther King Jr. by Israel’s Apologists

http://www.blacksandjews.com/MLKIsrael.html

[GilGamish]

10:58 PM on 06/28/2011

the use of fake Nelson Mandela quotes by people who can't be bothered with the truth. Now let's see if the truth will remove the blindfold.

http://arjanelfassed.tumblr.com/post/431008597/mandela-memo

[courtb]

08:10 AM on 06/30/2011

Thank you! No matter how many times I tell people that the Mandela letter is not from Mandela and was never meant to be taken for Mandela - people still post it and fan and favorite it.

Sheep, I swear.

[realpeace285]

01:11 AM on 06/29/2011

Mods, this pomegrante guy, who has been spamming the board with unrelated garbage, is now promoting antisemitic hate from Louis Farrakhan

[Cynthia Rays]

08:16 PM on 06/28/2011

There are Israeli journalists on board the flotilla. Israel should be assured that a true picture of the activists will be reported.

[realpeace285]

12:14 AM on 06/29/2011

As far as I've heard, only extreme far-left, biased Israel-haters are on the flotilla, like Amira Hass. I'm sure you're a fan of hers.

[gibranII]

10:16 PM on 06/29/2011

oh yes the dreaded Left wing self hating anti-Israel Jewish block rises again... come back when you get a clue that Jewish History is filled with brave civil rights advocates that risked their lives to save others....

[thebosssssny]

11:46 AM on 06/29/2011

Just like we have Americans who are Muslem and anti America, so does Israel have sick Israelis who are anti Israel. Doesn't mean they tell the truth.

[gibranII]

10:17 PM on 06/29/2011

nor does the blinded Israel can do no wrong crowd... ummm funny how that works.

[jwcmass]

05:45 PM on 06/30/2011

theboss..

I don't know whether you live in the US or Israel, or elsewhere.

But any healthy democratic and free society cannot exist, or ever improve itself, if it is intolerant of dissent.

Dissent if a vital part of any free society. And Dissent does NOT mean that the person is somehow "anti- (country of your choice)"

Was Martin Luther King anti-American? Many thought so at the time, Now we have a holiday in his honor.

How about the American Indian Movement, which struggled for the rights of their people. Are THEY anti-American?

Of course maybe it is easier for Americans to accept this necessary part of a free society because we were born in revolution, -- the greatest dissent of all.

As for determining the truth, well, that is a tricky thing in an age of media manipulation. and spin. That is something we each have to do in the way that our conscience directs us.

So these Israeli dissenters may be wrong. I may be wrong, so may you. -- But at least give them the dignity of recognizing that they are following their conscience, and don't condemn them as "anti-Israel"

It is dangerously easy to put people into boxes like "anti-Israel" or "anti-Palestinian." I reject that kind of dualism. It is an easy temptation to fall into, because then we don't have to listen to them or to their ideas, and thoughts.

It can be a frightening thing to listen to one whose views are so different, Frightening, because it may challenge our beliefs down to the foundation, and force us to completely re-examine things we thought we were certain of.

That is a thing frightening to many people --- far easier to label someone and put them in a "box" and thus not have to listen to them. No they HAVE to be wrong, because they are criticizing Israel, or the Palestinians, or the US, or the Vatican (this is a universal principle by no means limited to the Middle Eastern conflict.)

[realpeace285]

07:43 PM on 06/28/2011

At some point, can it be pointed out that HuffPo user pomegrante is SPAMMING all these discussion threads?

[Tony Andrews]

08:19 PM on 06/28/2011

Of course.

Just so long as that allegation is factual, and that it is acknowledged, as is very plain, that there are as many posts from some individuals who hold a different view as s/he posts.

[jennyopines]

10:51 PM on 06/28/2011

realpeace, you do know everyone else has the same right to post here as often as they like, right? Every time I read this thread, you're here no less, than anybody else, maybe even more so, blasting anyone you disagree with.... are you spamming?

[pomegrante]

07:17 PM on 06/28/2011

Apartheid Laws in Israel - The Art of The Obfuscatory Formulation

Excerpts from an article by Uzi Ornan, published the Israeli daily Ha'aretz 17 May 1991 ( Hebrew ) top of page

It is impossible to turn one's back on reality and deny that the State of Israel is not, likewise, an Apartheid state, and that as a result of this, Israeli democracy - which all its leaders and political pundits swear by - is being perverted, if not destroyed. This Apartheid has been entrenched in a system of laws, regulations and practices which govern the operation of state institutions. What characterizes most of those discriminatory laws that have been legislated in various Knesset is that on the surface, they do not appear to be discriminatory. However, a more in-depth analysis of some of the basic ones quickly reveals the extent to which they discriminate between "Jews" and "non-Jews". By studying them one cannot fail to reach a conclusion, which cannot but be embarrassing to many of us: namely, that Israel is an Apartheid state, and the Apartheid not only manifests itself socially, but that it is also embedded in the legal system. The following is devoted to a few of these laws.

[realpeace285]

07:44 PM on 06/28/2011

Israel is the most free country in the middle east.

Israeli minorities (a million Arabs) live more free, higher quality lives than any minorities in any other place in the Middle East.

Bigots like pomegrante don't care. They just NEED to demonize Israel.

[hellothereandhere]

08:48 PM on 06/28/2011

The fact remains that what Israel is doing in Gaza and the West Bank is not pretty !
Who needs protection ? Is it one people more than the other one: if so which one, Israelis or Palestinians or both of them equally ?

[WalterRaleigh]

11:06 PM on 06/28/2011

Nope, pre-war Iraq and Iran are more free.

[lawdini]

08:22 PM on 06/28/2011

Your post highlights the fact that Israel has a free press, and free speech. Divergent opinions on matters of gravest consequence are permitted and encouraged. Unlike the Arab dictatorships you apparently admire. How's Syria doing these days?