US 'Torture' Claim: Apparently, Blockading Gaza is Fine, But Bumping a Yacht Isn't?
When a US activist from a Gaza flotilla alleges 'psychological torture' after being 'kidnapped, stripped, zip-tied, blindfolded' by the Israeli military, it rightly makes headlines. David Adler's account of being sent to a 'prison camp' after attempting to break the blockade on Gaza is compelling, of course. (Who wouldn't be perturbed by such treatment?) But the silence from most US media on the
17-year blockade itself, which traps over two million Palestinians in what has been widely called an open-air prison, is deafening, as is the lack of outrage over their collective punishment, including documented instances of physical torture by Israeli forces within Gaza since 2007 (source: B'Tselem). Meanwhile, the US continues to funnel billions in military aid to Israel, with nary a critical
glance from Congress, many members of whom receive significant contributions from pro-Israel lobbying groups like AIPAC. Former Rep. Ted Lieu, for instance, received over $200,000 from AIPAC-affiliated PACs in recent cycles (source: OpenSecrets.org), consistently voting for aid packages that underwrite the very blockade the flotilla aimed to challenge. One must wonder if the 'psychological
torture' of a US citizen, however valid, is somehow more newsworthy than the daily reality of 2.3 million people living under siege, a reality made possible by unwavering US support.