Because Of Human Rights Violations, Caterpillar Loses Its Award, Yet Palestinians Awarded A State?

That thought just occurred to me after reading this--US National Building Museum Cancels Caterpillar Award Ceremony:

Given in partnership with Turner Construction, the prize is awarded annually to recognize "an invention, an innovative methodology, and/or exceptional leadership...in construction technology."

Opposition to the award stems from Caterpillar's long history of complicity in widespread human rights violations within the occupied Palestinian Territories. Caterpillar routinely provides Israel with equipment designed specifically for military use knowing it is used to demolish Palestinian homes, to kill and injure Palestinian and international civilians, to destroy olive trees and farmland, and to facilitate expropriation of Palestinian territory through construction of Jewish-only settlements and Israel's apartheid wall.

If a "long history of complicity in widespread human rights violations within the occupied Palestinian Territories" is a reason to cancel a reward, then why is the UN going to reward Abbas with recognition of a Palestinian state?

After all, we already know that Abbas has consistently lied about putting an end to the incitement of hatred of Israel.


Remember last year when Abbas lied to Obama that he had stopped inciting hatred against Israel

And I say in front of you, Mr. President, that we have nothing to do with incitement against Israel, and we’re not doing that. What we care about is to live in coexistence with Israel, in order to bring about the independent Palestinian state that will live side by side with Israel in peace and stability.

Last year, Israel Behind The News came out with a number of  reports of Palestinian incitement of hatred of Israel leading into 2010:

• Palestinian incitement from November 2009 to January 2010
• Palestinian incitement during January and February 2010
• Palestinian incitement during March 2010

Since then, the focus of the reports has been on the UNRWA.

Palestinian Media Watch also has been keeping track of incitement of hate by Abbas and the PA.

Last May, Itamar Marcus presented on Capitol Hill his report, From Terrorists to Role Models: The Palestinian Authority’s Institutionalization of Incitement which reported on the Palestinian Authority policy of naming schools, streets, sporting events, summer camps and ceremonies after terrorists.

• In addition, PMW also issued reports on Palestinian incitement for May and June
• There was also a report for Palestinian incitement during July and August

More chilling, the massacre this year of the Fogel family in Itamar came just 3 weeks after Abbas' Palestinian Authority televised a video praising terrorist "martyrs"--including one terrorist who murdered Israelis in Itamar in 2002:

A Palestinian Authority video TV tribute to "Martyrs" three weeks ago included the terrorist who killed three Israelis in a 2002 terror attack in the West Bank town of Itamar. Itamar was the scene of Friday's terror attack, in which Ruth and Udi Fogel and their three children were murdered.

The video was in honor of the anniversary of the founding of the DFLP (Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine), and was broadcast on PA TV several times daily for four days. It featured a collage with photographs labeled "Martyrs (Shahids) of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine in Nablus." It included the picture of terrorist Habash Hanani, who in May 2002 entered Itamar and murdered three students in the local high school.

And the incitement still continues.

Palestinian Media Watch reports PA TV host sends "best wishes" to "our glorious" prisoner who transported suicide bomber to attack that killed 15, including 7 children



Yid With Lid details the horror of that Palestinian terrorist attack on the Sbarro pizza shop.

The point of the Palestinian incitement of hatred and terrorism is that Palestinian incitement is a violation of the Crime of Genocide as outlined in the 1948 Genocide Convention, as Joel Fishman describes in his article Palestinian Incitement: The Real “Deal Breaker”:

Robert Cryer, in his entry on incitement in The Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity, described the nature of this crime:

Direct and public incitement to commit genocide is criminalized in Article III( c ) of the 1948 Genocide Convention. A provision akin to Article III ( c ) can be found in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Article 25 (3) (e)). Incitement is one of a limited group of crimes related to genocide (the others are attempts at genocide and conspiracy to commit genocide) which do not require the commission of one of the genocidal acts set out in Article II of the 1948 Genocide Convention. Incitement, attempt, and conspiracy are crimes in themselves.As none of these offenses requires an act of genocide to be committed, they are referred to as inchoate (incomplete) crimes. Their incompleteness does not change the fact that they are criminal...(emphasis added)

Dr. Fishman continues:

Scholars in the relatively new field of genocide studies have also recognized the danger of incitement. Gregory H. Stanton, president of Genocide Watch, described what he termed “The Eight Stages of Genocide” in a 1996 briefing paper, which he originally presented at the American State Department. According to Stanton, these are the eight identifiable stages:

1) Classification
2) Symbolization
3) Dehumanization
4) Organization
5) Polarization
6) Preparation
7) Extermination
8) Denial.

Incitement belongs to stage 3, which Stanton described as Dehumanization: One denies the humanity of the other group, the members of which are equated with animals (such as apes and pigs) vermin, insects, or diseases. Dehumanization numbs the normal human revulsion against murder. At this stage, hate propaganda in print and on radio is used to vilify the victim group. In combating this dehumanization, incitement to genocide should not be confused with protected speech. Genocidal societies lack constitutional protection for countervailing speech and should be treated differently than democracies. Local and international leaders should condemn the use of hate speech and make it culturally unacceptable. Leaders who incite to genocide should be banned from international travel and have their foreign finances frozen. Hate radio stations should be shut down, and hate propaganda banned. Hate crimes and atrocities should be promptly punished.”13

Stanton’s description, which is based on concrete historical experience, offers a
chillingly accurate characterization of Palestinian incitement today.(emphasis added)

So the question remains: if Caterpillar's reward is cancelled because of "widespread human rights violations"--why in the world is the UN poised to award recognition to a Palestinian state?

Technorati Tag: Israel and Terrorism and Palestine.