Good question. Why is the Red Cross holding seminars for Hamas?

...The Times article goes on to describe the three-day seminar that the Red Cross conducted for Hamas last month. It included role-playing and case studies, noting that "one exercise involved an armed group firing on an invading tank from the garden of a civilian home near a hospital." How educational! Mamadou Sow, head of Red Cross operations in Gaza, breezily noted to the Times that earlier this year, when he presented Hamas leadership with a critique of their conduct during last summer's Gaza war, they "welcomed it" and "indicated that they are a learning organization." The article does not indicate whether Sow was able to maintain a straight face while uttering such inanity.

Michael Freund..
Pundicity/JPost..
19 August '15..

This past Sunday, The New York Times ran a story encapsulating all that is wrong with the Western world's approach to extremist Islamic fundamentalism.

In a report appearing in its first section, the paper revealed a startling bit of news: "Red Cross offers workshops in international law to Hamas."

That's right. The global institution, which claims that it works "to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles," is busying conducting seminars for terrorists in Gaza on how they can be, umm, more humanitarian when attacking Israel.

What's next? Teaching table manners to the Taliban? The Times article goes on to describe the three-day seminar that the Red Cross conducted for Hamas last month. It included role-playing and case studies, noting that "one exercise involved an armed group firing on an invading tank from the garden of a civilian home near a hospital." How educational! Mamadou Sow, head of Red Cross operations in Gaza, breezily noted to the Times that earlier this year, when he presented Hamas leadership with a critique of their conduct during last summer's Gaza war, they "welcomed it" and "indicated that they are a learning organization."

The article does not indicate whether Sow was able to maintain a straight face while uttering such inanity.

But lest you suspect that Hamas' indiscriminate firing of thousands of rockets at Israel may indicate that it is somewhat indifferent to the value of human life, Red Cross leaders went out of their way to stress that "they have seen an increasing commitment from Hamas leaders and linemen alike" to respect international humanitarian law.

While Schalit Denied IRC visit - Palestinian in Israeli prison awarded PhD

Dr. Aaron Lerner
IMRA
04 September '10

While Schalit Denied IRC visit - Palestinian in Israeli prison awarded PhD Prisoner awarded PhD in jail
www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=313049

Published yesterday (updated) 04/09/2010 15:17 GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian prisoner held in the Negev prison was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration from the American World University, the Center for Detainees' Studies announced Sunday.

Abdel Hafez Saadi Gaithan's doctoral thesis was entitled Strategic Planning in Qabilia, a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank district of Nablus, a statement issued by the center's director Rafat Hamdouna said.

Hamdouna said prisoners celebrated Gaithan's success by distributing sweets, biscuits and soft drinks, with many describing his achievement as "a victory over the occupation."

"[Gaithan's] Phd was a challenge to break the policy of occupation, which attempts to abuse the captive and isolate him from the world," the statement read.

The PhD was awarded to Gaithan by AWU in conjunction with Birzeit University.

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Obama’s Pressure, Not Support for Israel, Harms U.S. Interests

Jonathan Tobin
Contentions/Commentary
21 June '10

Israel’s decision to ease the restrictions on nonmilitary goods let into Hamas-controlled Gaza earned the Obama administration’s praise yesterday. The White House coupled its approval with the announcement of the rescheduling of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with the president, which will, we don’t doubt, be more cordial than the brusque reception he got the last time he ventured into Obama’s presence.

Given Israel’s almost complete diplomatic isolation, Netanyahu’s move was probably an unavoidable response to an impossible situation. If Israel is to have any hope of maintaining its shaky alliance with the United States during Obama’s term in office, Netanyahu knows that he must do what he can to appease the White House’s appetite for Israeli concessions. If letting in luxury items — as opposed to the basic food and medicine already flowing unimpeded into Gaza — was the price for retaining American support for the naval blockade of the Hamas-run entity and avoiding an Obama endorsement for an international kangaroo court in which Israel’s actions would be judged, then it can be argued that what Netanyahu has conceded will not alter the strategic balance in favor of the Islamist terrorist group.

But no one should be under the impression that such a move will moderate international criticism of the Jewish state. With the secretary-general of the United Nations as well as the International Red Cross condemning the blockade as a matter of principle, it’s clear that international opinion has reached a tipping point in terms of the legitimizing the Hamas regime. The United States has not gone that far in terms of its public stance on the situation and the pressure it has exerted upon Israel, but the White House needs to understand that the price it has forced Israel to pay for Obama’s “good will” in fact will undermine U.S. interests in the Middle East.

Forcing Israel to loosen the blockade will be rightly seen as a victory for Hamas.

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