Tag: Israel

Israeli Court Rejects Ban on Live Dogs in IDF Medical Corps

The Jerusalem Post reported recently that Israel’s High Court of Justice had rejected a petition by Let the Animals Live that called for an end to the use of live dogs in a course that teaches surgeons and doctors how to deal with trauma.

The course in question is Advanced Trauma Life Support and has been taught by the Israeli Defence Force Medical Corp’s School of Military Medicine since 1990. Dogs are anaesthetized before the beginning of the training session and euthanized afterward.

Let the Animals Live argued that there were non-animal simulators that could impart the same information without involving the use of dogs. The IDF responded that this was not true, and the High Court of Justice deferred to the IDF saying, “We did not find a flaw in this claim [that the simulators were not as effective as live animals] which justified our intervention.”

IDF Medical Corps Commander Brig.-Gen. Giora Martonovits told the Jerusalem Post,

The life of a human being is more important than other considerations. Even though there is a conflict, we are pleased that the High Court of Justice gave us back the tools we need to meet our heavy responsibility to train doctors and medical crews to save the wounded at the critical moment when their lives are in the balance.

Source:

High Court rejects petition against using live dogs in IDF medical trauma course. Dan Izenberg, The Jerusalem Post, March 28, 2003.

PETA Defends Letter to Arafat

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ Daphna Nachminovitch wrote a letter to The Washington Times in February defending PETA’s decision to send a letter to Yasser Arafat that asked the Palestinian leader to exert pressure to stop the use of animals such as donkeys in terrorist attacks. The letter came in the wake of a failed terrorist attack in which explosives attached to a donkey were detonated in a failed attempt to kill Israeli citizens.

PETA was accused in many corners, including by The Washington Times‘ Gene Mueller of wearing moral blinders and caring more about animals than human beings. Nachminovitch responded,

PETA opposes violence and cruelty to all beings, but while millions of people and hundreds of organizers work to help the people in the Middle East, almost no one cares about the animals, who also suffer. We at PETA have chosen to work for animal rights because the animals need help — not to the exclusion of helping people, but in addition to it. Just a few months ago, we did both when we sent a delegation to this troubled spot to distribute healthful vegetarian food to both Arab and Israeli children, bringing a simple message of nonviolence along with nutritious food.

I wish Mr. Muller [who, while writing in defense of shooting animals for sport, probably has not asked Mr. Arafat to stop killing people] had been able to meet one of my fellow PETA employees, Ravei Chand, who worked tirelessly to share a message of compassion for animals. But he is not available for an interview because he is also a U.S. Marine. He has just shipped out with his platoon for the Middle East. He has put his life on the line to defend his country, yet he, like so many in Israel, can see what Mr. Mueller missed: We don’t have to choose between people and animals. Indeed, we can care for all.

If PETA can care for both humans and animals, that simply begs the question of why Ingrid Newkirk would write a letter to Arafat whose effect was to ask Arafat to stop using donkeys in future terrorist attacks. This would be a bit like somebody in favor of freedom for Tibet writing a letter to Arafat asking the Palestinians to ensure they don’t buy any explosives for China.

Source:

Make the Middle East safe for people and other living things. Daphna Nachminovitch, The Washington Times, February 25, 2003.

Israel’s the Only Racist Country Left

The results of the World Conference Against Racism pretty much confirm that the United States was right to pull out of it, and it will probably be joined shortly by the European Union countries. The amusing part is that the conference has prepared a draft statement that condemns exactly one country for its racist practices: Israel.

It is also a bit odd to see Zimbabwe and Namibia leading the cause for slavery reparations, when both of those countries also actively use not only racist but homophobic policies as a matter of course (a couple years ago Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe claimed there were no homosexuals in Zimbabwe because homosexuals are the product of degenerate Western cultures).

It is a bit like being lecture by China about the horrors of capital punishment.

Modern Slavery … In Israel?

The U.S. State Department recently released a report on the continuing remnants of trafficking in human beings. Modern slavery in Sudan and other countries in Africa has received substantial press coverage, as has the trafficking in women and children in Asia. But I was genuinely surprised to see Israel listed as a country which does not meet the State Department’s minimum requirements on human trafficking and is not making significant progress toward compliance. It’s joined by countries like Sudan, Kazakhstan, and Burma.

The State Department summarizes the current situation in Israel:

Israel is a destination country for trafficked persons, primarily women. Women are trafficked to Israel from the New Independent States (specifically Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine), Brazil, Turkey, South Africa, and some countries in Asia.

The Government of Israel does not meet the minimum standards for combating trafficking in persons, and has not yet made significant efforts to combat the problem, although it has begun to take some steps to do so. The Government recognizes that trafficking in persons is a problem, but devotes limited resources to combating it. NGO’s and some concerned government officials have criticized the Government for failing to undertake vigorous efforts against trafficking, especially given the occasional violent methods of traffickers and the significant numbers of women who are trafficked into the country. In June 2000, the Knesset amended a 1997 prostitution law to prohibit the buying or selling of persons, or forcing a person to leave their country of residence to engage in prostitution. The penalties for rape and violation of the 1997 prostitution law require roughly a doubling of the sentence if the victim is a minor. The Government has convicted one trafficker under the new legislation. The Government has provided training to immigration officials at Ben Gurion airport. The Government has not formally begun cooperation with other governments on trafficking cases, but has worked with Ukrainian officials on one trafficking case. The Government has not conducted anti-trafficking information campaigns or other efforts aimed at prevention. Little protection is provided to trafficked persons. Victims of trafficking are detained, jailed in a special women’s prison separate from other female prisoners, and deported. Victims who are willing to testify against traffickers may be granted relief from immediate deportation, but the Government does not actively encourage victims to raise charges against traffickers. Israeli NGO’s have encouraged victims to take legal action. Some victims have accused individual police officers of complicity with brothel owners and traffickers. The Government provides limited funding to NGO’s for assistance to victims.

Other countries with close ties to the United States who are non-compliant and not making significant efforts to combat trafficking include Greece, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Turkey.

Israel’s Water Shortage

Israel is experiencing severe water shortages at the moment, though most of the shallow media coverage of the problem completely missed the main reason for the shortages — Israel’s massive subsidies that encourage wasteful water use.

The BBC recently reported that Israeli Water Commissioner Shimon Tal will call for a total ban on watering lawns for the next three years and cut available water supplied to Israeli industry by ten percent. The entire issue is a political hot potato since Israel diverts water from the Palestinian territories to provide it to Jewish settlements.

But the shortages are caused because the government underprices water to farmers. Since the 1960s, Israel has sold waters to farmers at a rate that is 35 percent below what it sells to households and industry (and the price it sells to households and industry is also likely below the market cost of water).

Not surprisingly, agricultural use of water is through the roof, with 500 million cubic meters of subsidized water expected to be used for agriculture in 2001 alone. One of the things driving this use is that much of the subsidized water use in settlements is used for nonagricultural purposes.

Israeli National Infrastructure Minister Avigdor Lieberman wants to scrap the water subsidy, which is really the only way to restore a bit of sanity to Israeli water use. Unfortunately it is likely to be politically unpopular.

Sources:

Lieberman seeks end to water subsidy for farmers. Amiram Cohen, Ha’aretz, April 16, 2001.

Israel faces water crisis. Paul Wood, The BBC, May 23, 2001.

Israel’s Water Shortage

Israel is experiencing severe water shortages at the moment, though most of the shallow media coverage of the problem completely missed the main reason for the shortages — Israel’s massive subsidies that encourage wasteful water use.

The BBC recently reported that Israeli Water Commissioner Shimon Tal will call for a total ban on watering lawns for the next three years and cut available water supplied to Israeli industry by ten percent. The entire issue is a political hot potato since Israel diverts water from the Palestinian territories to provide it to Jewish settlements.

But the shortages are caused because the government underprices water to farmers. Since the 1960s, Israel has sold waters to farmers at a rate that is 35 percent below what it sells to households and industry (and the price it sells to households and industry is also likely below the market cost of water).

Not surprisingly, agricultural use of water is through the roof, with 500 million cubic meters of subsidized water expected to be used for agriculture in 2001 alone. One of the things driving this use is that much of the subsidized water use in settlements is used for nonagricultural purposes.

Israeli National Infrastructure Minister Avigdor Lieberman wants to scrap the water subsidy, which is really the only way to restore a bit of sanity to Israeli water use. Unfortunately it is likely to be politically unpopular.

Sources:

Lieberman seeks end to water subsidy for farmers. Amiram Cohen, Ha’aretz, April 16, 2001.

Israel faces water crisis. Paul Wood, The BBC, May 23, 2001.