There is something way too literal about Israel shooting out the eye of a witness to its crimes.
This photograph of Emily Henochowicz's bandaged face needs to be seen by the world.
Like many of us around the world, Henochowicz, a 21-year-old Cooper Union art student, joined protests on Monday against Israel's outrageous attack on the humanitarian flotilla. But unfortunately, the protest Emily attended was in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and like so many protests in the West Bank, it was violently attacked by the IDF. According to a report from the International Solidarity Movement, Emily was "hit in the face with a tear gas projectile fired directly at her by an Israeli soldier during the demonstration at Qalandiya checkpoint today." Sören Johanssen, a Swedish activist standing beside Henochowicz, reported that, "They fired many canisters at us in rapid succession. One landed on either side of Emily, then the third one hit her in the face."
This courageous young woman is now the wrenching embodiment of a policy that systematically targets witnesses and human rights advocates -- from Stop the Wall's Mohammad Othman, arrested on his way back from a European speaking tour, to the vicious smear campaign waged against Justice Richard Goldstone.
Visiting Emily's homepage, I was struck that eyeballs are a recurring theme in her work. Not surprising, I suppose, for a visual artist. But an eyeball was how she chose to present herself to the world.
And there are eyeballs all over this beautiful piece:
She devoted her life to seeing, to witnessing. And for this she lost her left eye.
We owe it to Emily to look at her tragedy -- both its physical and its metaphorical implications -- as hard as we possibly can.
This post originally appeared on MondoWeiss.net.
http://www.propheticimagery.com/Gaza%20Poem/The%20Cleansing%20of%20CoExistence.htm
"If a single picture is worth a thousand words, the picture above is worth immeasurably more!
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In this scene, a Palestinian woman -- ongoing victim of Israel’s oppressive occupation -- comes to the humane aid of a Jew, Emily Henochowicz, who lost an eye after being hit in the face by a tear gas canister fired by a fellow Jew.
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Emily was standing peacefully during a demonstration in West Bank at the Qalandiya checkpoint on that black Monday, May 31, 2010 -- to protest the Gaza Flotilla massacre -- when Israeli Border Police fired a large number of tear gas canisters directly at the heads of Emily and another International Solidarity Movement activist.Â
In addition to losing her left eye, three metal plates were inserted into Emily's head/face, and her jaw is wired shut. The bone surrounding her eye socket, cheekbone and jawbone are all fractured.
-- Dom Martin"
I wonder if this NY young artist will be welcomed back
by say Sen. Schumer, Mayor Bloomberg, Cong. Steve Israel,
or Ed Koch ?! Maybe throw a parade for her, I'm sure they
might if Arabs had done this to a Jew or Israeli.
Like many Americans I don't want anything bad to happen
to Israel or anyone anywhere. We just want right wing Israel
to Not INTERFER in US politics and government with it's
AIPAC, ADL, etc. and the spreading of Lie's, the killing
of over 1300 in Gaza, including 330+ CHILDREN !
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/u-s-demands-idf-probe-how-american-lost-eye-at-west-bank-protest-1.294566
The cannisters, to the astonishment of the IDF, levitated and fired themselves.
magic tear gas that wounds and disappears...without ownership...
It's a sad day when these human shields are actually injured after being manipulated into going into conflict zones manned by heavy military presence.
Sadder still when after being injured, the injuries of these human shields are touted around as trophies, used by by the ruthless and the immoral to recruit more gullible people into becoming human shields.
This was a peaceful demonstration. No one was armed.
Please describe the human shield activity?
This is how it works. They usually recruit westerners, as in whites, or people from the same race they're fighting.
They tell these recruits 'you have a right to protest' and 'no cop or soldier has a right to fire on you.'
This is a lie.
In a military zone, for example, anyone who steps into this zone will be fired upon if they do not turn back despite warnings.
The same in military curfews. In Phnom Penh, for example, after a certain hour in the evening, you're not allowed to go outdoors.
If you believe what a recruiter tells you -- that you have an 'absolute right' to protest and walk around any time of the day -- you will go out into the streets after curfew and then bang, bang! you're dead!
In Emily's case, she was used as a propaganda tool sent to protest in a very unstable country where people are running around with guns and rockets.
She thought she had immunity. That the concept of human rights means she can say whatever she want, wherever she want, when she want. She thought being Jew gave her this right to enter a very dangerous situation unharmed.
She was wrong. She was injured badly.
Now Emily's injury is being used to recruit more college kids like her.
ISM does not care about her. They're just using
that does that...
This is the way Israel treats its citizens who do not agree with the policies of their government. People there are trying to strip the Israeli MP who participated in the flotilla of her citizenship. That is how Israel deals with dissenting opinions.
I have little doubt, based on the many OTHER incidents involving injuries and deaths from Israelis shooting people with tear gas canisters, that they aimed right for her.
"Tristan Anderson, 38, an American citizen, was critically injured on Friday, March 13th by Israeli troops during protests against Israel’s Wall in the West Bank village of Ni’lin. He was hit in his forehead by a new type of high velocity, extended range teargas projectile. Tristan was hit while standing with a fellow protester inside the village, several hours after the army initially attacked a protest march of Ni’ilin’s residents (joined by Israeli and international activists) who attempted to march onto their own lands in the vicinity of the wall." http://justicefortristan.org/
The Swede standing next to her said the IDF fired tear gas CANNISTERS at her.
SURE seems like the IDF has a lot of "accidents" with Americans.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment_and_arts/10250452.stm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elU3etpW-YQ
Chris Hedges is a senior fellow at The Nation Institute in New York City. He spent nearly two decades as a foreign correspondent in Central America, the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans. He has reported from more than 50 countries and has worked for The Christian Science Monitor, National Public Radio, The Dallas Morning News and The New York Times, for which he was a foreign correspondent for 15 years. Hedges was part of the team of reporters at The New York Times awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for the paper’s coverage of global terrorism. He also received the Amnesty International Global Award for Human Rights Journalism in 2002. He has taught at Columbia University, New York University and Princeton University.
An 'aid ship' going into a maritime blockade chanting 'Khaybar!' and telling the navy to 'go back to Auschwitz!' is 'provocation.'
Beside these killed by lethal teargas canisters we must remember another American, Rachel Corrie, killed when an IDF bulldozer ran her over and crushed her to death.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/132522/shooting_of_u.s._activist_by_israeli_army_spotlights_excessive_force_used_against_protesters/
http://observers.france24.com/en/content/20090421-palestinian-man-killed-teargas-canister-israel-security-wall-bilin
That's what was really scary.
Waiting for Armageddon
and you will have your answer
http://www.recordpub.com/news/no_byline_article/4839639
American politicians are endangering their future and their country by blindly following an extremist movement to remake the Middle East.
Supreme Court in Egypt rules in favor of petition seeking to strip Egyptian citizenship of man who married woman from Israel. Lawyer: Importance of case is in creating separation fence between Egyptian and Israeli youth
Two wrongs don't make a right.
This is about 1.5 million people living in virtual prison. According to the UN 65% of children in Gaza are suffering from illnesses resulting from malnutrition.
Arguing what other people are doing bad is just an attempt to deflect blame.