Israel's boarding and capture in international waters of The Spirit
of Humanity, an unarmed boat carrying relief supplies to the suffering
people of Gaza, shows that state-sponsored piracy is a real peril today.
It is just one more breach of international law added to the global
"rap sheet" of a rogue state that, as Netanyahu remarked a few
weeks ago, is not like other countries. But Israel's capture of this
boat was also Netanyahu's test of Obama's resolve – a test
Obama failed, to his shame and discredit.

The Past as Prologue

It isn't the first time Israel has done something like this.
Virtually everyone who manages to get into Gaza is appalled by the
destruction and suffering there. Most of the destruction occurred during
Israel's savage onslaught against Gaza six months ago, accompanied
by applause from the US Congress and the Bush Administration, and
silence from President-elect Obama. Most of the suffering, before and
since that attack, occurred because of the blockade Israel has imposed
on Gaza, reducing the flow of basic necessities to a bare minimum and
post-attack recovery aid to a meaningless trickle.

A key part of this policy of strangulation has been Israel's naval
blockade of Gaza's coast and its interception, removal or capture of
several small boats attempting to bring humanitarian assistance to the
population of Gaza. Tuesday's totally illegal seizure of The Spirit
of Humanity was relatively restrained – they merely intercepted and
surrounded the boat in international waters at night, electronically
disrupted its onboard navigational devices, then boarded and captured
the ship and crew, including several Americans. In the past, they've
rammed and nearly sunk relief boats (December 2008) or beaten the crew
after boarding it (February 2009). Israel always denies wrongdoing and
claims it was intercepting war material – the olive trees carried on
The Spirit of Humanity doubtless being camouflaged missiles.

The Present as Portent

Israel's blockade of the Gaza coast is a violation of international
law, of course, as is boarding a peaceful ship in international waters
under threat of armed attack, and Israel's treatment of Gaza
overall. There is no ambiguity whatsoever in these matters, which is why
Israel never cooperates with any international effort to investigate
them – even when a UN commission is headed by a Jewish jurist (from
South Africa) with impeccable credentials. Israel, like all the truly
guilty throughout history, dares not let its actions be exposed
officially. But owning most of the US Congress and a major part of the
mainstream media apparently means, to them, never having to say
you're sorry.

This incident, however, had the potential to be different. It is not
just that piracy in any form is commonly viewed as a plague. It is that
few principles are so embedded in US tradition as that of the freedom of
the seas, and with it the inviolability of US citizens. Some of the
earliest victories two centuries ago by the fledgling American Republic
were over the Barbary pirates of North Africa, and the US has joined in
combating piracy recently off Somalia. Moreover, Obama himself has been
something of a cipher to Israel – not so much because of what he has
done (they haven't lost a penny or a bullet in US aid under him),
but because of uncertainty concerning his character and his intentions.
A test of the new president was clearly in order.

And this was that test. The US knew The Spirit of Humanity was en route
to Gaza and that Americans were aboard. The US also knew that Israeli
gunboats were en route to intercept the relief ship, and that the
interception would occur in international waters. The US understood that
the Israelis would not simply send their gunboats out and then recall
them, absent outside pressure. And once those gunboats surrounded and
began assailing the relief ship, the only question was whether they
would ram and perhaps sink it, or board and capture it and the people
aboard, unless the US intervened.

If Obama seriously meant to change the US role in the region and the
dynamics of the conflict, this was the time and place to take a stand. A
single call to Netanyahu might have caused the Israelis to abort the
attack. A single US destroyer or frigate from the 6th Fleet, with orders
to enforce international law and protect The Spirit of Humanity in
international waters, thereby safeguarding US citizens, absolutely would
have done it. An open encounter with a US warship would inevitably have
unpleasant consequences for the Israelis, costing them several gunboats
and opening a can of political worms they dare not allow the American
public to see — and it is a great pity that did not happen.

But it didn't. Obama kept quiet, as he did during the Gaza onslaught
– perhaps he is writing a book called Profiles in Silence? – the
US 6th Fleet did nothing, and the world has the joy of yet another
successful Israeli act of piracy and breach of international law.
Netanyahu and Lieberman must be laughing. Their prisoners, including
American citizens abandoned yet again by their government, are not. And
neither are the oppressed Palestinians.

A Future?

The suffering in Gaza needs to end, but the rest of the world needs to
realize that they can expect little or no tangible help from the US, at
least for the present. Obama may have good intentions, and his words are
good, but his policies increasingly give them the lie. Perhaps
Israel's crimes are too complex for him to grasp. More likely, he is
politically incapable of holding it to account. If any other country did
what Israel has done here and in Gaza, Obama would likely treat it as an
act of war, or at least do to it what NATO did to Yugoslavia in the
1990s. But not Israel, not now, and certainly not by Israel's
sitting president pro tempore in the White House.
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*Alan Sabrosky (Ph.D, University of Michigan) is a ten-year US Marine
Corps veteran and a graduate of the US Army War College. He can be
contacted at docbrosk@

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