Daniel Sieradski is something else.
My mother forwarded the following email to me this morning, from author Naomi Ragen:
—Original Message—
From: Naomi Ragen <redacted>
Date: Sun, 06 Jun 2010 23:57:10
To: <redacted>
Subject: Heavy weapons found in cargo of Mavi MarmaraFriends:
I cannot understand why no news station is broadcasting this information!!! Has everyone gone mad?
NaomiHEAVY WEAPONS FOUND IN THE CARGO OF THE M/S. MAVI MARMARA FLOTILLA VESSEL.
This video shows that during the unloading of the Marmara boat in the port of Ashdod, behind the bags of flour were boxes of heavy weapons and ammunition: mortars, artillery shells, bazookas, without counting a trunk where more than one million euros was found intended for Hamas. This video should be widely distributed as evidence of why the IDF Naval commandos were dispatched to intercept the six vessels including the M/S Mavi Marmara. One wonders what is aboard the Irish vessel, the M/S. Rachel Corrie, that Israel will intercept sometime today when it approaches the Naval blockade line off the coast of Gaza. Clearly the Turkish AKP Islamist government is complicit in permitting this military cargo to be loaded on the ‘peaceful’ Free Gaza Flotilla. Please distribute this video widely. If you had any doubt about what was on the flotilla, here is the video. The French explains that the arms on display w ere hidden behind sacks of grain.Have patience with this video. First there is a commercial for Pantene! But
wait until it’s over. You won’t believe your eyes.
(The email went on to provide what is alleged to be an account from an Israeli soldier aboard the Mavi Marmara that I have truncated as it is not pertinent to this post.)
The problem with the video described above is that, while it does in fact show Israeli forces uncovering an illegal weapons cache hidden within a seized shipping container, it cannot possibly show freight seized from the Mavi Marmara, as the video is clearly dated November 4, 2009 and the video upload is dated November 5, 2009, a full seven months before the recent flotilla raid.
Also, in contradiction of the claimed presence of weapons aboard the Mavi Marmara is the fact that Israel’s U.S. embassy spokesman Mark Regev told Al Jazeera English last week that at no point has Israel even alleged that the Mavi Marmara was carrying heavy artillery. I will provide a link to Regev’s remarks, which I saw on air, if and when one becomes available.
Obviously, the situation around the flotilla raid is inflamed and complex enough without having fully falsified reports inserted into the discourse. It would behoove Israel’s supporters to avoid worsening their nation’s lot by faking evidence to support Israel’s already tenuous case.
[Update · 6:45pm] Naomi Ragen responds:
I sent out a correction immediately concerning the weapons video, which was from another ship last year. If you were on my list, you should have received the correction at the same time as the original. My apologies. But I’m glad you watched it. Now you see why Israelis have not choice but to stop these ships from getting to Gaza.
To which I, in turn, responded:
Oh, I don’t disagree at all with Israel’s right and responsibility to protect its citizens from incoming rocket fire, and I’m sympathetic to Israel’s desire to prevent arms shipments from reaching Gaza.
But I also think there are problems inherent in a) claiming that Gaza is no longer under occupation when Israel is controlling the flow of goods in and out of Gaza, b) enforcing a blockade that is claimed to prevent arms smuggling but which also prevents the entry of products that compete with Israeli brands sold in Gaza, c) engaging in arms interdiction efforts in international waters where Israel’s jurisdiction is questionable, d) holding others responsible for arms smuggling while providing a safe haven for international arms smugglers like Arcadi Gaydamak, and e) sending commandos to board a civilian ship loaded with international activists and journalists, even with probable cause, when the consequences of doing so are destructive to Israel’s long term public relations goals.
Raiding that ship was just a dumb idea, justifiable or not.
My report on this matter has since also been seconded (sort of) by the Israel Project (h/t ASC).
