Jameel makes very good and accurate points in his comment in the previous article. Via Twitter, he added some more interesting details of the event, such as that pistols were found along with large amounts of cash. However, no amount of talking points can stand in the face of what has been one of the biggest mistakes Israel has made in a past checkered with PR mistakes.
All else aside, why do it in international waters? If it is true that boarding a ship in international waters is an act of piracy, then the activists on the ship were legally acting in self defense. I don’t like to write these words, and this is the main reason I blame the Israeli government. I blame them for making me ashamed.
Why does this remind me of Sabra and Shatilla? Maybe because no explanation will sufficiently explain the terrible error in judgment, and also perhaps because it will be the downfall of Ehud Barak, just as Sabra and Shatilla appeared to put an end to all political life for Ariel Sharon, back in the day. He recovered, but it took about 20 years for the stigma to be white-washable.
There is another ship, ironically named the MV Rachel Corrie, on its way to attempt to break the blockade. I’m confident this time Israel will find a less confrontational method to deal with it.
a twice-told tale 
You asked for it, you got it baby! 😉
I am not sure what Israel did is illegal. I think it is possible to board a ship in international waters. I read an article about this yesterday (which I forget which publication) but there is an article about it by Alan Dershowitz on Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-dershowitz/israels-actions-were-enti_b_596285.html). I am not saying he is the absolute authority, or that what they did is legal but I don’t think you can say it is illegal either at this point.
I certainly think this is a “PR” nightmare for Israel (although not sure I am cheesing it up by calling this PR), but certainly Israel does not do a good job in shining a light on itself. And while I do think that Israel does itself no favors in terms of generating their own good press, I do think in some ways this is refreshing. Plus, I am not sure that it is Israel’s ‘spinning’ that is causing the bad press. I think it is more (or at least equally) the world’s rush to judgment about any Israeli actions. Many nations exploit the Palestinian situation and any action Israel takes and I think, after a lot of intellectualizing that all their reasons add up to just one underlying current, antisemitism.
Who does Turkey think they are kidding anyway? They are screaming for Israel’s punishment, calling what happened a war crime, saying that Israel has no respect for human life. Where was there respect last week when they were firing rockets into Kurdistan?
Please don’t mistake me in thinking that I am of the opinion that Israel is totally innocent here, or that the government or IDF do not make severe lapses in judgment. All I am saying is that we, Israelis, Americans and the press and people the world over need to take a balanced view of the facts and not use this incident to further politicize the situation. Fat chance that’s going to happen though, right?
But a few things do seem clear to me from what I have read:
1. Israel tried, through a variety of methods to stop the flotilla from departing, saying clearly that they would not allow the flotilla to approach Gaza and would stop them.
2. Israel did, at sea communicate with the flotilla and tried to get them to stop and turn back. They offered also to deliver the humanitarian aid into Gaza (which actually they are doing today), so the point was never really I think to keep humanitarian aid out of Gaza.
3. The other 5 boats in the convoy were boarded peacefully and without any violence.
4. The IDF soldiers boarding the 6th boat were attacked by the inhabitants of the boat upon landing. Video clearly shows one soldier being forceably thrown overboard.
5. I did read that the soldiers initially boarded the boat with paint ammunition rather than live rounds but only switched after being attacked.
Of course all this is based on what I have read in various press articles. I think none of us will really know what has happened until an impartial investigation has been launched.
Yes, I did ask, and reading your response, I find myself nodding my head and agreeing with each point you’ve made, just as I agreed with all the points made by Jameel. I have no doubt the IDF and the Israeli government was in some sense set up have this blow up in their faces and I also think Israel and Egypt have a right to require that all aid meets their security concerns. I too prefer to have the IDF check all materials transferred to Gaza to ensure no dangerous contraband is included. The problem is that regardless of the fact that Israel allows a huge amount of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the rest of the world believes otherwise.
I guess my problem isn’t so much in what they did by diverting the ships, but in how they did it. And of course, the loss of life should always be avoided, although it sounds like in this case, once the SEALs found themselves under attack, the use of live fire was mandatory on their part.