DOCSLIB.ORG

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of The

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of The THE MISRULE OF GAZA ISRAELI ASSAULTS IN A LAND UNDER SIEGE by CRAIG A. JONES B.A (Hons.), The University of Manchester, 2007 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Geography) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) October 2010 ©Craig A. Jones, 2010 Abstract This thesis explores the relationship between war, law and visuality. It focuses on Israel‘s 23-day assault on Gaza that began in December 2008. The thesis has three main aims. First, to historicize the assault, and put forward the idea that Israel‘s resort to violence takes not only militaristic but crucially also legalistic forms (chapter 2). Second, to problematize the relationship between war and law through a discussion of the post-assault discourses on the indeterminate legality of the war (chapters 3&5). I suggest that in the age of what commentators are calling lawfare, law has reached its maximal instrumentalization and has become a military tactic. Third, to interrogate the visual archives of the assault in order to explore the ways in which war is being fought through visual fields and visual tactics which I call imagefare (chapter 4). The turn toward the legal and the visual in Israeli military strategy presents political, ethical and pragmatic problems for resisting and opposing war and so in relation to the current situation in Gaza and the ambivalent status of international law I conclude by posing the question: ‗what now?‘ (chapter 5). ii | P a g e Table of contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... ii Table of contents .......................................................................................................................................... iii List of tables .................................................................................................................................................. v List of figures ................................................................................................................................................ vi Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................................... vii Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................................... viii Dedication .................................................................................................................................................... ix Forward. Injunction to Destroy ...................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1. Operation Overkill ........................................................................................................................ 6 1.1. Outlines ......................................................................................................................................... 6 Law and war ........................................................................................................................................... 7 War and visuality .................................................................................................................................. 11 1.2. Backgrounds ................................................................................................................................ 12 The assault on Gaza ............................................................................................................................. 13 Why did Israel attack Gaza? ................................................................................................................. 22 A brief geography of Gaza in the lead up to the assault ........................................................................ 33 The isolation of Gaza ....................................................................................................................... 33 ―Disengagement‖ and blockade ........................................................................................................ 41 1.3. Foregrounds ................................................................................................................................. 48 Post-assault conversations .................................................................................................................... 49 Goldstone ........................................................................................................................................ 50 Israel‘s response ............................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 2. Law in Ruins ............................................................................................................................... 54 2.1. Beneath the ruins ............................................................................................................................... 54 Law and occupation ............................................................................................................................. 58 Birth by law .......................................................................................................................................... 60 Illegal occupation? ................................................................................................................................ 64 iii | P a g e Indeterminate occupation ..................................................................................................................... 66 2.2. Memories of Lebanon .................................................................................................................. 79 Chapter 3. Language of Law ......................................................................................................................... 87 3.1. Goldstone and the humanitarians ................................................................................................. 87 The terms of legal critique .................................................................................................................... 94 3.2. Israel‘s legal assault: defensive and offensive ................................................................................ 98 Delegitimizing the ‗delegitimizers‘ ........................................................................................................ 99 Defensive ........................................................................................................................................... 102 Offensive 2.0 and the production of legalities ..................................................................................... 107 Killing turned humanitarian ................................................................................................................ 117 Chapter 4. Shooting Gaza: Visual War........................................................................................................ 120 Gaza‘s visual fields ............................................................................................................................. 120 Hasbara .............................................................................................................................................. 124 Of victims and perpetrators ................................................................................................................ 130 Visual-legal performances ................................................................................................................... 134 Visual economy .................................................................................................................................. 141 ‗What the Arabs see‘ ........................................................................................................................... 143 What we (cannot) see ......................................................................................................................... 148 Equivocating suffering, eliminating politics ........................................................................................ 151 Exposing frames: violences within ...................................................................................................... 159 Chapter 5. Violence Legislates .................................................................................................................... 165 5.1. Collaborative achievements ........................................................................................................ 165 The other Goldstone .......................................................................................................................... 166 Cordon sanitaire: normalizing war.......................................................................................................... 168 5.2. Violence legislates ...................................................................................................................... 172 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................... 181 iv | P a g e List of tables Table 1. Timeline of the assault on Gaza, June 2008 - January 2009, source: Al
Load more

Recommended publications
  • German Jewish Refugees in the United States and Relationships to Germany, 1938-1988
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO “Germany on Their Minds”? German Jewish Refugees in the United States and Relationships to Germany, 1938-1988 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in History by Anne Clara Schenderlein Committee in charge: Professor Frank Biess, Co-Chair Professor Deborah Hertz, Co-Chair Professor Luis Alvarez Professor Hasia Diner Professor Amelia Glaser Professor Patrick H. Patterson 2014 Copyright Anne Clara Schenderlein, 2014 All rights reserved. The Dissertation of Anne Clara Schenderlein is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Co-Chair _____________________________________________________________________ Co-Chair University of California, San Diego 2014 iii Dedication To my Mother and the Memory of my Father iv Table of Contents Signature Page ..................................................................................................................iii Dedication ..........................................................................................................................iv Table of Contents ...............................................................................................................v
    [Show full text]
  • Radio 4 Listings for 6 – 12 June 2009 Page 1 of 12 SATURDAY 06 JUNE 2009 Political Correspondent Terry Stiasny and Professor John Claiming a Nazi Pedigree
    Radio 4 Listings for 6 – 12 June 2009 Page 1 of 12 SATURDAY 06 JUNE 2009 Political correspondent Terry Stiasny and Professor John claiming a Nazi pedigree. Curtice discuss increasing pressure placed on the prime minister SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b00kr7fs) after cabinet resignations. Steve speaks to Balham locals, including Radio 4 favourite The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Arthur Smith, and tracks down experts. He explores the reality Followed by Weather. James Naughtie details the ceremonies marking the 65th behind the Nazis' spy operation and their plans for invasion, anniversary of the D-Day landings. gaining privileged access to the original documentation detailing the Third Reich's designs on Britain. SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b00kvg9j) Correspondent Alex Bushill meets Roger Mansfield, one of the Claire Harman - Jane's Fame first men to try surfing in Cornwall. SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (b00krgd6) Episode 5 David Gleave, who runs the consultancy firm Aviation Safety It's been a tumultuous political week in which, for a while, Investigations, discusses news that debris salvaged from the sea Gordon Brown's grip on government appeared to loosen. Alice Krige reads from Claire Harman's exploration of Jane was not from the Air France jet that went missing. Austen's rise to pre-eminence from humble family scribblings A clutch of ministers resigned. But, after carrying out a to Hollywood movies. Samantha Washington, of Money Box, explains claims that car reshuffle, the Prime Minister insisted that HE would not walk insurers are 'bullying' people to settle claims when they have away.
    [Show full text]
  • Saturday 28 December 2019 12:04 All Night Programme 6:08 Storytime 7
    Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason explores Matilda and the Forgetments, by the history of instruments and Lorinda Creighton, told by Rashmi 3:04 The 3 O'Clock Drama studio innovations which have Pilapitaya; The Wicked Stepmother, shaped popular music over the past by Dugald Ferguson, told by Highlighting radio playwriting and century and speaks to musicians, Matthew Chamberlain; Royal performance (RNZ) producers, engineers and inventors Babysitters, by Joy Cowley, told by 4:06 A History of Music and Saturday 28 December 2019 - Early Electronic Music Pioneers (2 Stephen Clements; Mosley's Dad, by Technology of 9, BBC) Norman Bilbrough, told by Turei 12:04 All Night Programme Reedy (RNZ) Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason explores the history of instruments and A selection of the best RNZ National 5:00 The World at Five 7:30 Insight studio innovations which have interviews and features including A roundup of today's news and An award-winning documentary shaped popular music over the past 3:05 Fish 'n' Chip Shop Song by Carl sport (RNZ) programme providing century and speaks to musicians, Nixon (RNZ) 5:10 White Silence comprehensive coverage of national producers, engineers and inventors 6:08 Storytime and international current affairs - The Electric Guitar (3 of 9, BBC) The Caravan - 40 years after Air New (RNZ) The Silkies, by Anthony Holcroft, told Zealand Flight TE901 crashed into by Theresa Healey; Helper and the side of Mount Erebus disaster, 8:10 The Weekend with Lynn 5:00 The World at Five Helper, by Joy Cowley, told by Moira 'White Silence' tells the
    [Show full text]
  • The First Draft: Deja Vu
    Internet News Record 27/07/09 - 28/07/09 LibertyNewsprint.com U.S. Edition The First Draft: Deja vu - it’s China EU to renew US bank and healthcare again scrutiny deal By Deborah Charles (Front Row (BBC News | Americas | World terrorism investigators first came to Washington) Edition) light in 2006. The data-sharing agreement was struck in 2007 after Submitted at 7/28/2009 6:04:13 AM Submitted at 7/28/2009 3:04:02 AM European data protection authorities Presidents are never afraid of The EU plans to renew an demanded guarantees that European beating the same drum twice. agreement allowing US officials to privacy laws would not be violated. Today, President Barack Obama scrutinise European citizens' banking Speaking on Monday, EU Justice continues his quest to boost support activities under US anti-terrorism Commissioner Jacques Barrot said "it for healthcare reform with a “tele- laws. would be extremely dangerous at this town hall” at AARP. Then he talks EU member states have agreed to stage to stop the surveillance and the about relations with China, just like let the European Commission monitoring of information flows". on Monday. negotiate new conditions under A senior member of Germany's With Obama’s drive for healthcare which the US will get access to ruling Christian Democrats (CDU), reform stalled in the Senate and the private banking data. Wolfgang Bosbach, said any new House — even though both chambers US officials currently monitor agreement had to provide "certainty are controlled by his fellow transactions handled by Swift, a huge about data protection and ensure that Democrats — the president is inter-bank network based in the personal data of respectable looking to ordinary Americans to Belgium.
    [Show full text]
  • Tribes, Identity, and Individual Freedom in Israel
    Tribes, identity, and individual freedom in Israel BY Natan SacHS AND BRIAN REEVES The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and policy solutions. Its mission is to conduct high-quality, independent research and, based on that research, to provide innovative, practical recommendations for policymakers and the public. The conclusions and recommendations of any Brookings publication are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the Institution, its management, or its other scholars. This paper is part of a series on Imagining Israel’s Future, made possible by support from the Morningstar Philanthropic Fund. The views expressed in this report are those of its author and do not represent the views of the Morningstar Philanthropic Fund, their officers, or employees. Copyright © 2017 Brookings Institution 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20036 U.S.A. www.brookings.edu Table of Contents 1 The Authors 3 Acknowlegements 5 Introduction: Freedom of divorce 7 Individual autonomy and group identity 9 The four (or more) tribes of Israel 12 Institutionalizing difference 14 Secularism and religiosity 16 Conclusion 18 The Center for Middle East Policy 1 | Tribes, identity, and individual freedom in Israel The Authors atan Sachs is a fellow in the Center for rian Reeves is a senior research assistant Middle East Policy at Brookings. His at the Center for Middle East Policy at work focuses on Israeli foreign policy, do- Brookings. His work focuses primarily on Nmestic politics, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and U.S.- Bthe Israeli-Palestinian dispute, American Jewish Israeli relations. He is currently writing a book on thought pertaining to Israel, and the U.S.-Israel re- Israeli grand strategy and its domestic origins.
    [Show full text]
  • Sexuality – the New Agenda a Guide for Local Authorities on Engaging with Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Communities Revised April 2007 Acknowledgements
    sexuality – the new agenda a guide for local authorities on engaging with lesbian, gay and bisexual communities revised April 2007 Acknowledgements....................................................................... 5 Foreword ........................................................................................ 6 Introduction.................................................................................... 7 1. Getting started ........................................................................ 8 Context ........................................................................................................ 8 Challenges.................................................................................................... 9 Experiences................................................................................................. 12 Checklist for action ..................................................................................... 15 2. Corporate planning ............................................................... 19 Making a corporate commitment ................................................................ 19 Working with partners ................................................................................ 20 Corporate levers.......................................................................................... 20 Legislative requirements.............................................................................. 21 Taking responsibility...................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Apartheid Smear Israel Is Not an Apartheid State the Allegation Damages the Peace Process
    The ApArTheid SmeAr Israel is not an apartheid state The allegation damages the peace process Professor Alan Johnson BRITAIN ISRAEL COMMUNICATIONS & RESEARCH CENTRE 2 The Apartheid Smear As a movement we recognise the legitimacy of Palestinian nationalism just as we recognise the legitimacy of Zionism as a Jewish nationalism. We insist on the right of the state of Israel to exist within secure borders, but with equal vigour support the Palestinian right to national self-determination. We are gratified to see that new possibilities of resolving the issue through negotiation have arisen since the election of a new government in Israel. We would wish to encourage that process, and if we have the opportunity, to assist.1 Nelson mandela, 1993 The whole world must see that Israel must exist and has the right to exist, and is one of the great outposts of democracy in the world … Peace for Israel means security and that security must be a reality.2 martin Luther King Jr, 1967 The charge that Israel is an apartheid state is a false and malicious one that precludes, rather than promotes, peace and harmony.3 Judge richard J. Goldstone (former Justice of the South African Constitutional Court, who led the United Nations 2008-9 fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict), 2011 If Israel were an apartheid state, I, for example, would not be allowed to work for a Jewish newspaper or live in a Jewish neighbourhood or own a home. The real apartheid is in Lebanon, where there is a law that bans Palestinians from working in over 50 professions.
    [Show full text]
  • LIBERAL PRETENCE of a JEWISH STATE of the Three Common And
    CHAPTER FOUR LIBERAL PRETENCE OF A JEWISH STATE Unless one counts the centuries-long, largely unrecorded, and dispersed resistance of the vanished native people against white settler colonialism in the Americas, no liberation movement in modern times has encountered an adversary like the one the Palestinians have faced. Israel obviously shares many similarities with South Africa and may in time come to resemble the apartheid state more than most liberal Zionists suspect. …. A colonialism committed to replacing the native people, it is racist and extremist by nature. Yet, a product of the Western metropolis, constituted mostly of the dispos- sessed, of dissidents and the persecuted, it is often liberal in ideology and humane in rhetoric (Ahmad 2006, 302–303).1 Of the three common and generally state-centric conceptions of citizen- ship – namely, liberal, republican and ethno-nationalist – it is the liberal- individualist version which, when applied to Israel, gives the impression of being most inclusive. It appears to protect and prioritize the rights of all members of Israeli society, even in the absence of any active engagement with the state, such as in the form of military service.2 The liberal variant of Zionist thought, or liberal-Zionism, was initially a principal trend within the Zionist movement. Not affiliated with any single political group in Israel, liberal-Zionism (in its various forms) maintains a key presence in contemporary Israeli politics, particularly in the face of its Western adherents, and translates into an acknowledgment of greater rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel and the need for Palestinian statehood, among other points.
    [Show full text]
  • Germany Minds
    SCHENDERLEIN GERMANY ON THEIR MINDS German Jewish Refugees in the United States and Their Relationships with Germany, 1938–1988 GERMANY ANNE C. SCHENDERLEIN ON THEIR is is a solid, comprehensive study of German Jewish refugees in the United States, especially in Los Angeles and New York. It is probing and judicious. Michael A. Meyer, Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion MINDS THEIR ON GERMANY roughout the 1930s and early 1940s, approximately ninety thousand German MINDS Jews ed their homeland and settled in the United States, prior to that nation closing its borders to Jewish refugees. And even though many of them wanted little to do with Germany, the circumstances of World War II and the postwar era meant that engagement of some kind was unavoidable—whether direct or indirect, initiated within the community itself or by political actors and the broader German public. is book carefully traces these entangled histories on GERMAN JEWISH REFUGEES both sides of the Atlantic, demonstrating the remarkable extent to which German Jews and their former fellow citizens helped to shape developments from the IN THE UNITED STATES AND THEIR Allied war e ort to the course of West German democratization. RELATIONSHIPS WITH GERMANY, 19381988 Anne C. Schenderlein is the managing director of the Dahlem Humanities Cen- ter at Freie Universität Berlin. After receiving her doctorate in modern European history at the University of California, San Diego, she was a research fellow at the German Historical Institute from 2015 to 2019. Her research has been sup- ported by numerous fellowships, including the Leo Baeck Fellowship and, more recently, a grant from the American Jewish Archives, where she conducted research on American Jewish boycotts and consumption of German products.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction - Recent Events in Gaza Rose Mishaan
    Hastings International and Comparative Law Review Volume 32 Article 7 Number 2 Summer 2009 1-1-2009 Introduction - Recent Events in Gaza Rose Mishaan Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/ hastings_international_comparative_law_review Part of the Comparative and Foreign Law Commons, and the International Law Commons Recommended Citation Rose Mishaan, Introduction - Recent Events in Gaza, 32 Hastings Int'l & Comp.L. Rev. 639 (2009). Available at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/hastings_international_comparative_law_review/vol32/iss2/7 This Comment is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Hastings International and Comparative Law Review by an authorized editor of UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. Introduction - Recent Events in Gazat By ROSE MISHAAN* On December 27, 2008, Israeli air and naval forces attacked the Gaza Strip. Israel's justification for the attack was self-defense, citing rockets launched into southern Israel in recent months as the basis for this claim.' The stated aim of the assault in Gaza was to rid the area of the Hamas militants who have carried out these missile attacks against Israeli civilians.2 After a week of aerial bombardment, Israel began a ground invasion, sending soldiers and tanks into Gaza. On January 18, 2009, Israel and Hamas each declared unilateral cease-fires, ending the military assault.3 In the three-week conflict, over 1,300 Palestinians were killed, among them at least 288 children, and over 5,000 Palestinians were injured.4 Thirteen Israelis were killed, ten of them while serving in a military capacity.5 During the operation, Israel used its air force to bomb targets inside Gaza.
    [Show full text]
  • US 2016: Election Night in America
    ‘U.S 2016: Election Night in America’ special coverage across the BBC globally on 24/7 TV, radio, online and social media BBC News in the U.S has announced special coverage of U.S election night on 8 November for international audiences as America decides on its new President. Anchored from New York and Washington, coverage will include analysis with a uniquely global perspective from the BBC’s 2016 election campaign team. As the world watches America go to the polls, BBC News will be providing live analysis of the incoming results across its global TV, radio and digital outlets, as well as covering international reaction to the evening’s events as they unfold. BBC News US (@bbcnewsus) Election Night coverage There will be ongoing coverage of U.S election night on the BBC’s 24 hour news channel BBC World News, bbc.com/US2016, BBC World Service radio, the BBC News app and social media outlets. Special coverage will also broadcast across BBC outlets in the UK. Highlights will include: 24/7 TV: In the final days ahead of the election GMT with Lucy Hockings (@LucyHockingsBBC) will be live from Washington on November 8 at 11:00pm AEDT on BBC World News, keeping audiences around the globe up to date on the very latest twists and turns in the campaign, as well as getting the wider global view on events in America. Election Day: On Election Day, from 8:00am AEDT on Wednesday November 9, there will be a rolling U.S Election News special on BBC World News.
    [Show full text]
  • 2016 Yearbook
    — THE LIVING STONES OF THE HOLY LAND TRUST _________________________________________________ Registered Charity No. 1081204 'An ecumenical trust seeking to promote contacts between Christian Communities in Britain and those in the Holy Land and neighbouring countries.’ You are permitted to redistribute or reproduce all or part of the contents of the Yearbook in any form as long as it is for personal or academic purposes and non-commercial use only and that you acknowledge and cite appropriately the source of the material. You are not permitted to distribute or commercially exploit the content without the written permission of the copyright owner, nor are you permitted to transmit or store the content on any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system. The Living Stones of the Holy Land Trust makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the contents in its publications. However, the opinions and views expressed in its publications are those of the contributors and are not necessarily those of The Living Stones of the Holy Land Trust. The Living Stones of the Holy Land Trust Yearbook and its content are copyright of © The Living Stones of the Holy Land Trust. All rights reserved. [email protected] 1 Living Stones of the Holy Land Trust Yearbook 2019 2 Contributors Living StoneS Yearbook 2016 i Living Stones of the Holy Land Trust Yearbook 2016 ii Contributors Living StoneS Yearbook 2016 The inter-relationship between religion and politics in the Middle East Living StoneS of the hoLY Land truSt Registered charity no. 1081204 iii Living Stones of the Holy Land Trust Yearbook 2016 © Living Stones of the Holy Land Trust 2016 all rights reserved.
    [Show full text]