What was Louise Arbour thinking?

By Mindelle Jacobs
May 15, 2006
The Edmonton Sun
Original Source: http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Columnists/Jacobs_Mindelle/2006/05/15/1580428.html

There are plenty of misinformed people in the world who bash Israel for daring to boldly strike back at terrorists, but I never imagined Louise Arbour would jump on the bandwagon. 
The UN's top human rights official and former Supreme Court of Canada justice suggested last week that Israel - the victim of an ongoing terrorism campaign - is as bad as the Palestinians in planning and launching such attacks. 
Is there something in the air at the United Nations that makes the place such a terrible breeding ground for moral relativism? 
The rising number of lives lost, whether as a result of targeted killings or suicide attacks, homemade missiles or artillery fire, is unacceptable, declared Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement last Friday. 
Civilians, particularly the most vulnerable, such as children, women and the elderly, should not pay the price for the neglect of human rights and humanitarian obligations, she said. 
Israel bears responsibility under international humanitarian law for the welfare of the Palestinians, she added. 
Arbour also referred to the new cycle of violence, as if both sides are equally responsible for the mess in the Middle East, when, in fact, a tiny democracy is simply defending itself against waves of indoctrinated suicide terrorists. 
If militant Palestinians laid down their weapons and focused on building a peaceable state next door to Israel, the so-called cycle of violence would end. 
But these murderous thugs don't understand the concept of co-existence. Israel's claim to a patch of the Middle East, based on 3,000 years of history, is irrelevant to these radicals. 
Apparently, only Muslim history counts. And since the Arabs conquered Jerusalem in the seventh century AD, nothing else matters. Come to think of it, doesn't that make Muslims the occupiers? 
But returning to the topic at hand, Arbour expressed concern about the risks of a humanitarian crisis for the Palestinians because of cuts in international aid. 
Well, who's fault is that? Certainly not Israel's. What did the Palestinians expect would happen when they voted in Hamas in January? Did they think it would be business as usual? 
If the Palestinians are suffering, the blame lies solely with Hamas, a terrorist group dedicated to destroying Israel. 
The Palestinians need to grow up and take responsibility for their own lives. Wallowing in self-pity and hatred is easy. Building a productive state is much harder. It requires a rejection of barbarity, compromise and a genuine push for democracy. 
How about a massive protest by Palestinians - not against Israel, but against Hamas, which has ensured they are farther away from a state than ever? 
Instead, we have Arbour criticizing Israel for hunting down terrorists and not doing enough to protect civilians. On the contrary, there is no other country that would react with such restraint and concern for the welfare of civilians in the face of repeated terrorist attacks. 
York University political science professor Anne Bayefsky is astonished by Arbour's remarks. 
This tells us exactly what the problem with the United Nations is. They can't tell the difference between a terrorist and a victim of terrorism, she says. 
Arbour's comments display a shocking ignorance of international law and a morally bankrupt assessment of human rights in the age of terrorism, adds Bayefsky, who is editor of www.eyeontheun.org. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised. It is, after all, the UN.