Sami Kishawi : How low can you go?

Sami Kishawi hits a new low in his latest essay 'On Gilad Shalit’s fifteen minutes of fame and the hummus he ate' Forgive me if I dont link to the sack o'crap.

Sami's spews are in italics:

'I wonder how long it will take for Gilad Shalit, his family, and his supporters, to realize that his fifteen minutes of fame are almost up.'

It was 5 Years, Sami. 5 years.

"Here is a soldier, a military combatant, a conscientious member of an army implementing the illegal occupation of a people and its land. Shalit is nothing special — the Israeli military currently employs tens of thousands of his prototypes. The only thing that stands out from the ordinary is that Shalit happened to be captured while on active military duty."

Sami, Gilad as a POW would have been entitled to the rights of all prisoners under the Third Geneva Convention, e.g., the right to humane treatment (Art. 13); the right to have knowledge of a POW's location (Art. 23); and the right to unfettered access to the Red Cross

"But soon after, the memory of Shalit disappeared almost as fast as he did. Except by his family and close friends, he was no longer considered a hot topic."

No, Sami. We never forgot.





We didn't forget him in San Francisco, where he was made an honorary citizen. He wasn't forgotten in Paris, France, Rome, Italy ,Miami, FL, New Orleans, LA, Baltimore, MD, and Pittsburgh, PA, all of whom adopted him as their own.

"As it turns out, all they could find was a skinny Shalit. So, in a frantic effort to condemn Shalit’s treatment, they blamed Gaza’s hummus. He wasn’t starved, they admitted, “but the menu was primarily Gazan and not really nutritious. There were pitas and a lot of hummus.” In other words, Shalit’s captors inhumanely denied his right to appetizers and deserts from a five-star restaurant along the beautiful coast."

Yes, Sami. An emaciated, gaunt pale Gilad Shalit was released. A boy who had been in solitary confinement for 5 years. One who hadn't seen daylight in 5 years. The International Committee of the Red Cross repeatedly asked Hamas for permission to visit Shalit . Even B'Tselem issued a statement saying "international humanitarian law absolutely prohibits taking and holding a person by force in order to compel the enemy to meet certain demands, while threatening to harm or kill the person if the demands are not met"

"Although the Gazan diet wasn’t good enough for Shalit, it is good enough for thousands of Palestinians facing a siege that prevents foods as simple as chocolate and nutmeg from entering the territory. If pita and hummus isn’t all that nutritious for Shalit, it likewise isn’t all that nutritious for those who have nothing else, those who have no access to the necessary vitamins and minerals, those whose foods spoil at the Eretz border crossing."

Sami, the rumors of "starving Gaza " are just so yesterday. The only goods that are currently restricted are arms, weapons, ammunition, and items that have military as well as civilian applications. 6,946 tons of goods and gas (including 360 tons of fruit) entered Gaza from Israel this week alone. Last year, an article in the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal reported a 34.1% obsesity rate for males in Gaza, and 41.6% rate for women.

Sami, I suspect the core of your problem isn't lack of information. Your problem is lack of empathy and a singular lack of compassion.