Tuesday, March 04, 2014

This was not a good idea. The treatment in Gaza would have been worse.

 
Mar 4, 2014 7:22 AM ET

A co-founder of the U.S. peace groupCode Pink, (click here) Medea Benjamin, who was detained at Cairo airport en route to the Gaza Strip, has been deported.

Benjamin has been deported to Turkey, Code Pink said in a Twitter posting. The activist was on her way to Gaza as part of an International Women’s Day delegation.

“The police pulled my arm out the socket, my arm is dislocated,” Benjamin said by phone from Cairo airport jail earlier today...

A trip to Israel to protest the treatment of those in Gaza would have been a far better idea. It is nearly impossible for movement in Gaza and between Israel and Gaza. I am no one to complain if there are no deaths on either side of the border.

I am grateful she is okay. Her intentions were noble, but, the methods misguided. Gaza is a very dangerous place. One woman would not change that and more than likely would be a captive. I take it, Ms. Benjamin doesn't regularly wear a head scarf and would insist on being a model of a woman without oppression in her life. Right? That would not go over well in Gaza.

These are not people that value diversity. There is no indication that will change even in the next generation.  Children in Gaza are taught at an early age about violence. The Palestinians in Gaza are among the most extreme and have a long way to go. I don't believe those very same people should be punished; they need less punishment; but one American woman isn't going to change that. Those are huge policy issues that are completely dependent on international policy.

The reason Ms. Benjamin was deported was to insure she was safe and did not cause an international incident. 

Palestinians torch synagogues in former Gaza settlements (click here)  

By Amos Harel  
Haaretz Service and Aluf Benn 
Sep. 9, 2005 
12:00 AM

Palestinians moved into the evacuated Gaza Strip settlement of Morag before dawn Monday, after Israel Defense Forces troops pulled out of the area, and set the synagogue on fire. Huge flames leapt into the sky.
Palestinians also set fire to synagogues in the evacuated settlements of Netzarim and Kfar Darom.
In one of the synagogues, gunmen climbed on the roof and waved flags of militant groups, including Hamas, shouting "God is great".... 

Code Pink should not ever believe they are ineffective in their efforts on USA soil. They are noticed. I am sure there are places in DC they are discussed and their opinions are important. Their greatest influence is in DC, not Gaza. They don't need to be victims, they need to be voices of the voiceless.