Iranian Gaza Protest Targets Wrong Person

Iranian protesters have targeted Ebadi, even after her organization has condemned Israel’s overwhelming aggression against Gaza.  She is accused of being soft on Israel.  Right now, as Muslim sympathies for Palestinians are growing, Arab nations are increasingly nervous about keeping their hands out of the bloodbath.  Weakened American influence on these nations could tip the balance from passive to aggressive.  Ebadi is an example of misdirected anger based on a presumption.  Because she represents Human Rights, she is considered suspect.  Iran’s Government is being eerily quiet about Gaza righht now.

Nobel laureate’s Tehran home attacked

• Protesters chanted, “Ebadi supports Israel’s murders,” Ebadi’s center says
• Protesters are required to get a permit from the local city office, Ebadi says
• Ebadi had condemned Israel’s actions toward Gaza, her spokeswoman says
• EU has called on Iran “to respect their international human rights commitments”

Nobel Peace Prize 2003

For her efforts for democracy and human rights, especially the rights of women and children, in Iran and the Muslim world in general.

The protesters chanted, “Ebadi supports Israel’s murders,” according to a statement from Ebadi’s Center for the Defenders of Human Rights.

“Ironically, the chanting of the slogan comes shortly after the Center for the Defenders of Human Rights issued a statement condemning the violence in Gaza and demanding quick action by international organizations,” the organization said.

Iran keeps Nobel laureate’s office shut

• Iran shuts down offices headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi
• Human rights campaigner was briefly held during raids on her offices
• Ebadi earned Nobel Peace Prize in 2003; she is the first Iranian to win the honor
• Iran shuts down offices headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi
• Human rights campaigner was briefly held during raids on her offices
• Ebadi earned Nobel Peace Prize in 2003; she is the first Iranian to win the honor
• Ebadi said Iranian authorities had no justification for raids, called them illegal

The campaign to silence Ebadi

Ebadi’s role in a potent women’s rights movement may have something to do with the recent attempts to intimidate her. She has lent her international prestige to a grass-roots campaign that has forced a conservative Parliament to accept slightly more progressive changes to a “Family Protection Bill” backed by the regime. Under the new version, a man must receive the permission of his first wife before he can take new wives. This may seem a modest reform, but to the rulers of Iran’s theocratic and patriarchal state the activities of reformers like Ebadi are obviously intolerable.

Global Protests Condemn Gaza Attacks

Demonstrators Decry Israeli Bombardment Of Gaza Strip As Radical Muslims Call For Holy War; Arrests In India, Russia, Egypt.

(CBS/AP) Protests against the Israeli bombardment of the Hamas-run Palestinian territory, now in its seventh day, have swept several Mideast capitals and other major cities worldwide as demonstrator condemn Israel’s air strikes which have killed more than 400 and wounded about 1,700 others.

Arab leaders face Gaza test

The Gaza crisis has exposed the growing disconnect between Arabs and their leaders.

An enraged Arab street is seeking an immediate end to the death and destruction, but Arab governments have been slow to react in the face of the Israeli offensive.

While public anger at Israel, and its staunchest ally the United States, reaches boiling point, protesters at demonstrations being held across the world are attacking Arab governments for apparently failing to act.

Worldwide protests denounce Israel

Angry protests against Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip have continued throughout the world, with two of the largest demonstrations taking place in London and in Sakhnin in northern Israel.

Palestinians demonstrate in the Israeli town of Sakhnin [AFP]

“Arab states repeatedly criticise Israel’s actions, but there is only so much they can do, as Israel is not minded to listen to them, and the US is not minded to listen to them either”

Robert Lowe,  Chatham House

The timing of this aggressive event is perfect because America’s hands are tied for another 2 weeks.  Bush peeps from the White House that its all Hamas  fault.  That may be the short answer.  The long answer has Bush’s fingerprints all over it.

   Tagged: Arab World, Gaza, Hamas, humanitarian, Iran, Israel, Nobel, Palestine, protests, Shirin Ebadi