The Verity Courier
Double Standards
By Ron Estes
April 8 2022
Since its creation, Israel has portrayed itself as the United States’ best ally, but it has just proved it does not share American values. Israel has rejected a request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's to supply his country with weapons. According to Israeli media, the request came during a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. US officials have told Israel that the US will look favorably on it supplying Ukraine with weapons. Israel, however, is reluctant to damage its relations with Russia given its perceived need to coordinate operations with Russia in Syria. The Israeli position is attracting criticism of the Israeli leadership inside Israel itself and in the US.
Israel also rejected a Ukrainian request to purchase the Israel spyware Pegasus. Pegasus was developed by the Israeli cyber-arms company NSO Group. Pegasus can stealthily enter a smartphone and gain access to everything on it, including its camera and microphone. Israel has sold Pegasus to the US, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Togo, and the United Arab Emirates. It has reportedly been used in 45 countries. Ukraine wants the Pegasus capability to tap telephones in Russia.
The international community has rarely been as united as it is today to apply sanctions against Russia for its invasion and occupation of sovereign Ukrainian territory.
There is, however, one area of the world holding itself apart from the US and the western world initiatives against Russia.There have been no protests in Arab capitals against the Russian attack on Ukraine. Instead, the Arab world considers the US and the western community guilty of double standards for supporting sanctions and international war crimes charges against only Russia for its invasion and occupation of Ukraine. They also cite the US and NATO allies attack on the Iraqi army and driving it from Kuwait, after Iraq had invaded and occupied Kuwait in 1990.
The Arab critics point out, however, that the US, and those same allies, do not hold Israel to the same standards, and have blocked any initiatives to apply sanctions and level war crimes charges against Israel for its invasion and occupation of Palestinian territories, which has lasted 55 years.
There are at present approximately 4.3 million Ukrainian refugees. There are over 7 million Palestinian refugees. Most of the Palestinian refugees are descendants of the Palestinians who fled the 1967 Israeli invasion of the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem. A UN Special Committee listed allegations of the destruction of over 400 Palestinian villages during the Israeli invasion.
In 1948, the UN published the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which defined the rights of every person in the world. Double standards inherently violate the most fundamental human rights, and should not be ignored.
Ron Estes served 25 years as an Operations Officer in the CIA Clandestine Service.