“CAIR Says Targeting of Gaza Infrastructure a ‘War Crime’; Bush Administration Urged to Condemn Attacks on Bridges, Electrical Supply,” a CAIR press release from US Newswire, with thanks to LGF, where Charles points out: “CAIR does not condemn the kidnappings, the constant rocket attacks against Israel, or the use of human shields by Palestinian terrorists.”
WASHINGTON, June 28 /U.S. Newswire/ — A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today said Israel’s targeting of the Palestinian civilian infrastructure is a “war crime” that should be condemned by the Bush administration.
Following a Palestinian attack on a military post, Israeli warplanes fired missiles at the Gaza Strip’s only power station, cutting electricity to most of Gaza. Israel also targeted three Gaza Strip bridges. Palestinian officials say the cut in power will impact water supplies and health services.
In reaction to the Israeli strikes, a White House spokesman said: “In any actions the government of Israel may undertake, the United States urges that it ensures that innocent civilians are not harmed, and also that it avoid the unnecessary destruction of property and infrastructure.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a statement released today: “Mild rebukes for the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure in Gaza will not stop Israeli missiles. The Bush administration should condemn these war crimes and demand that Israel stop using American taxpayer- funded weapons to carry out attacks that will only serve to intensify the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”
CAIR recently called on President Bush to help end the Israeli and international “siege” imposed on the Palestinians because of the results of democratic elections.
The Washington-based group also condemned Israel’s killings of Palestinian civilians and has repeatedly condemned Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians.
I just did a search for “Israeli civilians” at the CAIR website and came up with nothing. If they have really condemned Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians, they have evidently not done so using that term in press releases, action alerts, or news briefs — the three searchable categories at the CAIR site. All come up with 0 results for “Israeli civilians.”
Then I searched for “civilians” under “press releases” and got these results:
Press Releases | Monday, June 12, 2006
‘Marines’ Cheer Song About Killing Iraqi CiviliansPress Releases | Tuesday, May 17, 2005
CAIR Condems Massacre Of Civilians In UzbekistanPress Releases | Monday, November 15, 2004
CAIR Says Civilians in Fallujah Must Receive AidPress Releases | Thursday, October 14, 2004
CAIR Condemns Killings of Civilians in GazaPress Releases | Tuesday, July 23, 2002
Israel uses U.S. weapons to massacre palestinian civiliansPress Releases | Thursday, March 28, 2002
CAIR condemns attacks on civilians
Note that most of these are in defense of jihadists. The first one is particularly despicable; it’s about the Marine Josh Belile’s “Hadji Girl” song, which is actually a song about Iraqi civilians trying to kill a Marine and getting killed in the process. That last one, however, from March 28, 2002, is indeed a condemnation of a Palestinian attack on a Passover celebration. But it contains this sleazy bit of moral equivalency:
“We ask the international community to similarly condemn actions by the Israeli armed forces that also target civilians and impose daily humiliation and suffering on an entire population through blockades, home demolitions, assassinations, indiscriminate shooting, torture, land confiscations and a wide variety of Apartheid-like and oppressive practices.
No recognition, of course, of the fact that Palestinian jihadists stage attacks from civilian areas in order to try to provoke a retaliation that will give them a PR victory.