Kasrils om en 60-årig historia

Ronnie Kasrils, informationsminister i Sydafrika, och en av många judar som involverade sig i kampen mot Aparthied, skriver en personlig och intressant artikel med anledning av 60-årsjubileet för staten Israels bildande.

Idag för 60 år sedan massakrerades till exempel hundratals människor i byn Deir Yassin, av sionistiska förband.

One of the attacking force, a shocked Jewish soldier named Meir Pa'el, reported to the head of his Haganah command:

"It was noon when the battle ended...Things had become quiet, but the village had not surrendered. The Etzel [Irgun] and Lehi [Stern] irregulars ... started ... cleaning up operations ... They fired with all the arms they had, and threw explosives into the houses. They also shot everyone they saw ... the commanders made no attempt to check the ... slaughter. I ... and a number of inhabitants begged the commanders to give orders ... to stop shooting, but our efforts were unsuccessful ... some 25 men had been brought out of the houses: they were loaded into a ... truck and led in a 'victory parade' ... through ... Jerusalem [then] ... taken to a ... quarry ... and shot ... The fighters ... put the women and children who were still alive on a truck and took them to the Mandelbaum Gate." [4]

Och Kasrils lägger själv till.

Precisely because Israel was allowed to get away with such crimes, it continued on its bloody path. […] Unless Israel confronts the past, as so many have attempted to do in South Africa, it will continue to be viewed with revulsion and suspicion. Israelis will continue to regard Arab life as worthless and will continue to live by the sword and deceit, feigning surprise when Palestinians violently respond. Without dealing with the agony it has caused there can be no healing and no solution.

Jag undrar förresten om Fredrick Federley diskuterade presentationen av Deir Yassin-massakern under sin trevliga lunch med Israels ambassadör häromvecken.