Latest Blood Libel: Zionist Crop-Killing Chemicals of Doomᵀᴹ

A new blood libel has come to my attention, thanks to pathological Israel hater and DouchebloggerTM Richard Silverstein.

This is what the article to which he links claims:

cropdusterIsrael Continues to Spray Crop-killing Chemicals on Gaza Farmlands

Israeli planes have reportedly sprayed chemical substances on farmlands across the besieged Gaza Strip, killing off the crops in the already impoverished Palestinian territory.

Several farmers informed that Israeli planes had sprayed their lands with pesticides, in the area between (Kissufim, and Srij) east of al-Qarara village, northeast of Khan Younis, according to Al Ray correspondence.

Witnesses pointed out that the Israeli occupation aircraft were spraying pesticides inside the border fence, and were hovering on low level .

The continuing Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip is putting the lives of people at risk, taking a heavy toll on the enclave’s agriculture sector.

Farmers are struggling to meet growing demands of 1.8 million Gazans who are living in the tight grip of the Israeli siege. They face many challenges due to shortages in farming equipment and more importantly, approved pesticides.

Due to the decline in production and Israel’s ban on the entry of basic commodities, Gazan farmers have resorted to the use of banned chemical substances to maximize crop yield. This poses a serious health hazard to both farmers and their consumers.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has expressed concerns over the excessive use of toxic pesticides by Gaza farmers.

Many medical experts in Gaza are worried about a rise in the number of registered Gazan cancer patients, especially in the agricultural areas.

They warn that children are more susceptible to diseases, such as leukemia, than adults in such regions.

The Gaza Strip has been under Israel’s blockade since June 2007. The crippling siege has caused a decline in living standards as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.

Let me first point out that self-professed “journalist” Silverstein has not investigated the veracity of claims. He did not go and interview people on the ground – from both the palestinian and Israeli sides – or see what happened for himself. He has merely accepted as fact the IMEMC’s hatchet job.

As I have shown in the past, the IMEMC posts blatant falsehoods and blood libels against Israel. Here are just a few examples.

So right off the bat, your spidey senses need to be tingling, asking why Silverstein would retweet this. The answer is simple: he hates Israel with a passion, and cares not for the truth, but for our destruction.

Now let’s get to the critical thinking section of this post and look at the IMEMC’s claims.

The main claim is that Israel is spraying pesticides to kill off palestinian crops. Israel does clearly spray pesticides – on all crops. And there is a committee looking into it:

The Knesset Labor, Welfare and Health Committee on Tuesday approved changes in regulations that would reduce the maximum permitted levels of pesticide residue in food crops. The Israel Union for Environmental Defense (Adam Teva V’Din) says it welcomes the changes, but called on the committee to follow the lead of European countries and the United States in banning outright the use of pesticides that are hazardous to health.

After examining the issue of residual levels of pesticides for a number of years, an interministerial committee decided to update the regulations regarding the maximum levels of 500 pesticides in edible crops and to ban, completely or almost completely, the use of 45 pesticides.

Exposure to high concentrations of pesticides can damage health in a number of ways that include causing cancer, damage to the nervous system and neurological and cognitive damage.

According to data issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Israel has the highest pesticide use of any OECD member state. Crops in which relatively high amounts of pesticide residue has been found include herb plants.

According to a report by the ministries of health and agriculture, the need to update the regulations stems from the introduction of new types of pesticides, as well as changes to safety assessments regarding their use in general and on specific crops.

If a certain pesticide is banned, a substitute must be found. This happened when certain pesticides were prohibited for use on herb plants and on certain pumpkin and winter squash varieties.

So Israel clearly uses pesticides. What might be happening is Israel spraying all crops with the same pesticides – whether on the Israeli or palestinian side. And outlets like IMEMC are inventing a blood libel that they are designed to kill off the palestinian crops (rather than save the crops, which is the actual role of pesticides).

If Israel was engaged in such nefarious palestinian crop-killing activities, I doubt we would have a committee looking into our use of pesticides! Remember, we have a vibrant democracy with Arab political parties and much discussion. If Israel was indeed committing such crimes, it would surely have come to the attention of the Arab members of the Knesset who would be objecting to them and calling for heads to roll. But this is not happening.

Now also look at the next part of the report.

Due to the decline in production and Israel’s ban on the entry of basic commodities, Gazan farmers have resorted to the use of banned chemical substances to maximize crop yield. This poses a serious health hazard to both farmers and their consumers.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has expressed concerns over the excessive use of toxic pesticides by Gaza farmers.

Here, IMEMC is actually admitting that palestinian farmers are using dangerous chemicals on crops, harmful to people’s health. Of course, they are somehow trying to blame it on Israel, but if true, this is the crime here, not some fabricated claim about Zionist Crop-Killing Chemicals of Death.TM

So once again what we have here is a blood libel against Israel, plain and simple.

And you needn’t even be the cream of the crop to see it.

2 thoughts on “Latest Blood Libel: Zionist Crop-Killing Chemicals of Doomᵀᴹ”

  1. “Witnesses pointed out that the Israeli occupation aircraft were spraying pesticides inside the border fence, and were hovering on low level”
    Firstly, every time there are photos or videos of Palestinian demonstrations or gatherings, there are plenty photos of the Palestinians taking selfies. But, conveniently, whenever some accusation against Israel is made, there is not a single phone around to take even one photo as evidence? Isn’t that curious?

    Secondly, why do they keep forgetting about the Egyptian border? If only they remembered that it exists, their lives would be so much easier. Their Arab brothers wouldn’t let them suffer, would they?

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