Representing Jewish Communities in 100 Countries Across Six Continents
Representing Jewish Communities in 100 Countries Across Six Continents
06 March 2012
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said time is running out to put a stop to Iran's nuclear programme. In a speech to the AIPAC Conference in Washington, Netanyahu used the example of 1944 correspondance from the World Jewish Congress (WJC) to counter claims from some quarters that the option of military action to stop Iran's nuclear program would be more dangerous that allowing the rogue state to develop nuclear weapons.
In 1944, the WJC wrote to the US War Department asking it to bomb the Auschwitz concentration camp to stop the murder of millions of Jews. However, the War Department replied that "such an effort might provoke even more vindictive action" by the Germans and chose to do nothing. Netanyahu said that Israel was "determined to prevent Iran having nuclear weapons but unfortunately, Iran's nuclear programme has continued to march forward." He stressed that all options were on the table, but that containment - leaving Iran to develop its programme under monitoring - was not an option. "Israel has waited for diplomacy to work, we've waited for sanctions to work. None of us can afford to wait much longer. As prime minister of Israel I will never let my people live in the shadow of annihilation."
In a meeting with Netanyahu at the White House on Monday, US President Barak Obama said the bond between their countries was "unbreakable". He said the US believed there was "still a window that allows for a diplomatic resolution", on Iran, but added that the US would consider all options. "I know that both the prime minister and I prefer to resolve this diplomatically," Obama said. "We understand the costs of any military action." For his part, Mr Netanyahu said: "I believe that's why you appreciate, Mr. President, that Israel must reserve the right to defend itself." He went on to add that Israel must remain "the master of its fate".
In his own address to the annual AIPAC gathering on Sunday, Obama said there had been too much "loose talk" of war with Iran, which was benefiting Tehran as it was driving up the price of oil, which funds the nuclear programme. He said Iran was isolated and there was an opportunity "for diplomacy - backed by pressure - to succeed. Iran's leaders should know that I do not have a policy of containment - I have a policy to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. And as I've made clear time and again during the course of my presidency, I will not hesitate to use force when it is necessary to defend the United States and its interests."
» Talking remains Obama’s preferred solution to Iran dispute - Financial Times, UK
» Correspondance between WJC and US War Deparment - 1944
» Text of Prime Minister Netanyahu's speect to the AIPAC conference.
» Obama: Diplomacy still best way to stop Iran nukes, but military option on table - JTA
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White phosphorus in Gaza: from flat dnieal to final admissionCatherine Philp, Diplomatic CorrespondentRecommend? (1)The “media buzz” to which Israel claims to have bowed began on the morning of January 5. The Times broke news that Israel was using white phosphorus against Gaza and carried a photograph of the distinctive white plumes above densely populated civilian streets. The Israeli military was quick to deny the story, but as the days and weeks wore on, the evidence mounted.Sheera Frenkel, a Times correspondent in Israel, first heard that Israel was using the incendiary weapon from a former military source. Michael Evans, the defence editor of The Times, then showed defence experts photographs of the shells exploding. They confirmed the finding.White phosphorus itself is not illegal if used on the battlefield against combatants. Its primary use is as a smokescreen for advancing troops. The controversy in this case was its use in civilian areas where particles of ignited white phosphorus could fall on non-combatants, burning them through to the bone.Israel's refusal to allow journalists to enter Gaza complicated efforts to follow up the story. On January 8 The Times published accounts from Palestinian doctors contacted by telephone in Gaza of casualties with “strange, very deep burns”.Related Links * Israel backs down over white phosphorusTimes correspondents later established incontrovertible proof that white phosphorus shells were being used after tracing the serial numbers of shells photographed on both sides of the conflict first stacked beside an Israeli howitzer on January 4, then later partially exploded on the Gazan side.On January 14 The Times reported the accounts of Israeli soldiers attesting to the use of white phosphorus. The next day, the compound of the United Nations relief agency in Gaza was hit by what UN officials testified were white phosphorus shells.With Gazan hospitals unable to cope with this kind of burn, victims able to travel were taken to Egypt. Frenkel travelled to Cairo to find some of the worst injured, including the 14-year-old Mahmoud Mattar, one of dozens of victims who have since been traced.On January 19 Amnesty International announced that it had also found proof of white phosphorus being used in civilian areas it discovered shell remnants still smouldering in streets and alleyways.Two days later the Israeli military finally admitted its use of white phosphorus and ordered an inquiry.
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