Two terrorist attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets in Buenos Aires in the 1990s that killed scores of people were carried out by a secret Hezbollah unit whose operatives, contrary to widespread claims, were not abetted knowingly by Argentine citizens or aided by Iran on the ground, according to an investigation by the Mossad, Israel’s secret service.The internal Mossad study, the written findings of which were shared with The New York Times, provide a detailed account of how the attacks were planned — including how material for the explosives was smuggled into Argentina in shampoo bottles and chocolate boxes.While Mossad stresses that Israeli intelligence still believes that Iran, a supporter of Hezbollah, approved and funded the attacks and supplied training and equipment, the findings counter longstanding assertions by Israel, Argentina and the United States that Tehran had an operational role on the ground. They also countered suspicions in Argentina that local officials and citizens there had been complicit.In the first attack, which killed 29 people in 1992, the Israeli Embassy was blown up. The second, in 1994, targeted the headquarters of a Jewish community center, killing 86 people, including the bomber, in one of the deadliest anti-Semitic crimes since World War II.
Now, what should a human rights leader take out of this story, if anything?
Ken Roth, outgoing head of HRW, tweeted this:
Two 1990s attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets in Buenos Aires that killed scores "were carried out by a secret Hezbollah unit whose operatives, contrary to widespread claims, were not abetted knowingly by Argentine citizens or…Iran on the ground.”
The only part of the article he wants to share with his human rights community is to minimize Iran's culpability for the attack!
Even though everyone knows that Hezbollah does Iran's bidding. Even though Iran funded the bombings and bought the equipment.
In every other context, HRW (and Amnesty) always wants to maximize culpability for any human rights crime. But when it comes to attacks on Jews, HRW consistently tries to minimize the culpability of the attackers - as Roth claims that Hamas and Hezbollah aren't guilty of using human shields. They bend over backwards to find obtuse reasons to make Israel appear guilty of violating international laws but they act just as energetically to find Israel's enemies innocent, even when they are directly attacking civilians.
This is a consistent pattern. For these NGOs, human rights are paramount - but Jews are less than human.
|
Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424. Read all about it here! |
|
