May 31, 2010

Members of the United Nations Security Council on Monday urged Israel to lift its economic blockade of the Gaza Strip, in an emergency session to discuss the deadly Israel Navy raid on a convoy of international activists sailing to the coastal territory.

An old high school friend, who\’s taken great exception to a couple of my most recent Jerusalem Post columns, has been telling me of late on my Facebook page how out of touch with American Jewry I am. He let loose again today. Here\’s what he had to say:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a planned visit to the White House following the deaths of nine protesters on a Gaza-bound ship boarded by Israel\’s Navy.

Commentator Moshe Yaroni has it exactly right. This is Israel\’s Kent State. Also see Brad Burston in Ha\’aretz.

[Ashdod, Israel] It was an inconsequential morning in Ashdod, a sleepy port city on the southern end of Israel’s Mediterranean coast. The sky was clear, the air warm, and the morning opened with a light, calming breeze.

As Israel fended off worldwide condemnation for the deaths of nine international activists aboard a Gaza-bound ship and blamed the rioting on the flotilla\’s organizers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a planned visit to the White House.