{"id":279753,"date":"2024-01-09T08:47:09","date_gmt":"2024-01-09T08:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=279753"},"modified":"2024-01-11T07:50:53","modified_gmt":"2024-01-11T07:50:53","slug":"balls-of-steel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=279753","title":{"rendered":"Balls of Steel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mike Whitney \u2013 The Unz Review Jan 8, 2023<\/strong><\/h1>\n

\u201cI learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.\u201d \u2015 Nelson Mandela<\/p>\n

There are 120 members in the Israeli Knesset, but one man towers above them all. His name is Ofer Cassif, and he is, perhaps, the most despised man in Israel. His crime\u2014if you can call it that\u2014is that he put his moral convictions into practice by signing a petition in support of \u201cthe upcoming hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague\u201d\u2026 \u201caccusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.\u201d (Times of Israel<\/a><\/em>) Here\u2019s what he said:<\/p>\n

\u201cMy constitutional duty is to Israeli society and all its residents, not to a government whose members and its coalition are calling for ethnic cleansing and even actual genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naturally, Cassif\u2019s comments have been universally condemned in Israel where some surveys show more than 80 percent of Israelis support the current military operation in Gaza. Also, a number of Cassif\u2019s most strident critics have called for the ethics committee to remove him from the Knesset after he announced his intentions. (According to Israeli media: 70 members of the Knesset have already voted to remove Ofer as soon as Monday morning.) Even so, the beleaguered lawmaker has courageously withstood the blistering attacks and forged ahead with his righteous crusade.<\/p>\n

The Jerusalem Post provided an example of the attacks on Ofer\u2019s character by other members of the Knesset. Here\u2019s what MK Oded Forer said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe treasonous words of MK Kasif can no longer be heard while the blood of our soldiers and citizens is crying out from the ground. MK Kasif, who was previously disqualified from running for the Knesset following a petition I submitted to the election committee, has chosen during the war to join one of the most destructive initiatives for the security of the State of Israel, and thus he supports the struggle of Hamas against Israel. He must soon find himself beyond the borders of the Knesset and preferably beyond the borders of the State of Israel. Israeli far-left lawmaker joins Gaza genocide lawsuit at ICJ<\/a>\u201d The Jerusalem Post<\/em><\/p>\n

While MK Oded Forer\u2019s opinion is not uncommon in Israel, it is widely disputed in the rest of the world where the vast majority of humanity feel that the IDF\u2019s vicious rampage in Gaza is not just a ghastly and unjustifiable massacre of innocent civilians, but also stain on Israel\u2019s reputation that will never be wiped clean. Add to that, the fact that the prosecution has compiled voluminous evidence that Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza are \u201cgenocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent\u2026 to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group.\u201d The facts speak for themselves.<\/p>\n

The truth is, it takes a real patriot to stand up to a raging mob and tell them \u2018they\u2019re wrong.\u2019 And that is what Cassif has done. He has defended the defenseless and openly defied the fanatics and pychos who control the levers of state power. He even admitted as much when he said the following:<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who hurt the country and the people are the ones who led South Africa to turn to The Hague, not me and my friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bravo, Ofer. You are an inspiration to us all. Take a minute and watch this short clip of Cassif at a Palestinian protest delivering a powerful statement on human rights while the shots ring-out and tear gas can be seen wafting behind him. Tell me this guy doesn\u2019t have balls of steel.<\/p>\n

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Israeli politician, Ofer Cassif, says he will provide evidence in support of South Africa\/Palestine at the ICJ.<\/p>\n

Every time I\u2019ve seen Cassif demonstrate for Palestinians he\u2019s almost always beaten up by Israeli police (Sheikh Jarrah May \u201821). Shin Bet may go after him this time. https:\/\/t.co\/wZFLosX5Cb<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/ji4f4WvAno<\/a><\/p>\n

— Naks Bilal (@NaksBilal) January 7, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n