By Ingrid Srinath, CIVICUS Secretary General 
Release Date: 15 January 2009 = e-CIVICUS 421

"An eye for an eye, and soon the whole world is blind," declared Mahatma Gandhi. Israel has, over the past three excruciating weeks in Gaza, used the ancient Biblical and Hammurabic dictum as a fig-leaf to justify its inhumane, collective punishment of defenceless Palestinians. The world has simply watched in horror as about 1000 men, women, children and even relief workers have been ruthlessly killed, subjected to state terror and deprived of the most basic humanitarian relief -- in apparent retaliation for the actions of Hamas militants.

On their part, the Israeli spokespersons have dismissed the outrage over civilian casualties, claiming justification in precedents set by the so-called war on terror. And both parties have ignored with utter impunity all the demands from civil society, world leaders and the United Nations Security Council for an immediate cessation of violence and secure access to humanitarian agencies, observers and the media.

CIVICUS strongly believes that the Hamas rocket attacks and the civilian casualties they have caused are illegal and reprehensible. As are, without question, the anti-Semitic attacks in various parts of the world. Despite this, however, it is hard to argue against the allegation of the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories that, in its disproportionality, its collective targeting of civilians in violation of international laws and its refusal to comply with UN resolutions, Israel's actions qualify as war crimes.

It is equally clear that Israel is able to maintain its illegitimate economic, political and military strangle-hold over Palestinians - tragic in its similarity to conditions in the Warsaw ghetto, for instance -- only because of the support, overt and tacit, that it enjoys from the US and other Western powers. The very governments who have often threatened, and sometimes visited, sanctions and worse on other nations for alleged human rights violations continue to defend Israel's actions.

These powers, have forfeited their claim to be arbiters of global norms and are, in fact, majorly responsible for the undermining of these moral values. To Palestinians, to people around the world, and to many of their own citizens, their words and actions -- in fact, the lack of them -- have exposed the hypocrisy of their claims as champions and defenders of democratic and human rights for our world. As with the war on terror, we can be certain that we will all suffer long-term consequences of this erosion of values.

The callous disregard for Palestinian lives, already reduced to destitution and indignity by policies that the UN and others have deemed an illegal blockade, smacks to many of racist bias. A bizarre calculus appears to equate thousands of one nationality or ethnicity to dozens of another, meriting differential responses from the global community. This asymmetry, not only confirms the worst suspicions of many Arabs and Muslims, and increases support for extremist positions in the Islamic world and beyond, but also weakens the credibility of global institutions of justice and governance.

Where governments and international institutions have failed, ordinary citizens have spoken loudly, clearly and persistently. In a world of competing tribalisms - Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, xenophobia - it is critical that civil society resolutely maintains a perspective based on human rights and international law.

CIVICUS joins its partners around the world and millions of ordinary people everywhere in expressing solidarity with the citizens of Gaza and in calling for an immediate cease-fire by all parties. We demand guaranteed access and protection to humanitarian relief agencies and that the restrictions on international media be lifted. Further, we call on the Secretary General of the United Nations and the UN Commissioner on Human Rights to initiate an urgent enquiry into the violations of human rights and humanitarian law (including the Geneva Conventions). And for punitive action against all those who are guilty.

With best wishes for the year ahead, which promises to present civil society with its greatest challenges yet, and immense opportunities to effect real change,  

Ingrid Srinath