July 24, 2014

I figure we'd better set the record straight right away, or else the Fox Effect will kick in (it already has, I'm sure) and we'll see Google echoing Ted Cruz' lies throughout the Internet.

Lie #1: "The FAA singled out Israel but didn’t ban travel to Pakistan, Yemen or Ukraine, where a commercial airline was just shot down."

From the State Department's Travel Warning page, which any fool can find with a few keystrokes and The Google:

Pakistan: Alert February 5, 2014
Yemen: Warning July 21, 2014 updates warning from January, 2014
Ukraine: Warning June 5, 2014

There's a whole passel of warnings and alerts on that page.

Turning to the FAA, now. This too, was easily discovered with Google's assistance:

Pakistan: Travel warning in effect
Yemen: FAA's special notice on Yemen.
Ukraine: FAA notice banning all flights in sectors of Ukraine.

As an added bonus, I'll just say that they've also banned travel to Libya, because BENGHAZI!

Lies #2 and 3: “Is the Obama administration giving $47 million that will go to Hamas, who is actively trying to kill civilians, while simultaneously imposing millions of dollars of economic harms on our friend and ally Israel?”

Hamas is actively trying to kill civilians - Here are some facts about the Palestinians. Since 2006, they've been besieged. They live in extreme poverty, their children are hungry, and they have no way to get food, medicine or building materials for shelter.

From a letter from physicians in Gaza:

The blockade on Gaza has tightened further since last year and this has worsened the toll on Gaza's population. In Gaza, people suffer from hunger, thirst, pollution, shortage of medicines, electricity, and any means to get an income, not only by being bombed and shelled. Power crisis, gasoline shortage, water and food scarcity, sewage outflow and ever decreasing resources are disasters caused directly and indirectly by the siege.1

People in Gaza are resisting this aggression because they want a better and normal life and, even while crying in sorrow, pain, and terror, they reject a temporary truce that does not provide a real chance for a better future. A voice under the attacks in Gaza is that of Um Al Ramlawi who speaks for all in Gaza: “They are killing us all anyway—either a slow death by the siege, or a fast one by military attacks. We have nothing left to lose—we must fight for our rights, or die trying.”2

Gaza has been blockaded by sea and land since 2006. Any individual of Gaza, including fishermen venturing beyond 3 nautical miles of the coast of Gaza, face being shot by the Israeli Navy. No one from Gaza can leave from the only two checkpoints, Erez or Rafah, without special permission from the Israelis and the Egyptians, which is hard to come by for many, if not impossible. People in Gaza are unable to go abroad to study, work, visit families, or do business. Wounded and sick people cannot leave easily to get specialised treatment outside Gaza. Entries of food and medicines into Gaza have been restricted and many essential items for survival are prohibited.3 Before the present assault, medical stock items in Gaza were already at an all time low because of the blockade.3 They have run out now. Likewise, Gaza is unable to export its produce. Agriculture has been severely impaired by the imposition of a buffer zone, and agricultural products cannot be exported due to the blockade. 80% of Gaza's population is dependent on food rations from the UN.
Much of Gaza's buildings and infrastructure had been destroyed during Operation Cast Lead, 2008—09, and building materials have been blockaded so that schools, homes, and institutions cannot be properly rebuilt. Factories destroyed by bombardment have rarely been rebuilt adding unemployment to destitution.

Despite the difficult conditions, the people of Gaza and their political leaders have recently moved to resolve their conflicts “without arms and harm” through the process of reconciliation between factions, their leadership renouncing titles and positions, so that a unity government can be formed abolishing the divisive factional politics operating since 2007. This reconciliation, although accepted by many in the international community, was rejected by Israel. The present Israeli attacks stop this chance of political unity between Gaza and the West Bank and single out a part of the Palestinian society by destroying the lives of people of Gaza. Under the pretext of eliminating terrorism, Israel is trying to destroy the growing Palestinian unity. Among other lies, it is stated that civilians in Gaza are hostages of Hamas whereas the truth is that the Gaza Strip is sealed by the Israelis and Egyptians.

Assign that whatever weight you wish, but these physicians don't have much reason to lie. Sending a paltry $47 million in humanitarian aid is the least we can do, and if Ted Cruz has a problem with that I can't help him.

Lie #3: This administration is anti-Israel - Yeah, not so much. Lest we forget, the US has already sent over $3.1 billion in aid to Israel this year based on a budget Congress approved and the President signed.

Thus ends your Ted Cruz lie debunking of the day. At least until he opens his mouth and spews a few more.

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon