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People and Politics by Patrick Roberts

David Trimble to be Israel observer on Gaza flotilla inquiry

Posted on Monday, June 14, 2010 at 04:00 AM

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David Trimble will be one of the two foreign observers on the Israeli government investigative committee which will examine Israeli Defence Forces actions against the Gaza flotilla ships.

That is a little like putting the fox in charge of the hen house.

Trimble has a Nobel Prize for helping bring about the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland but his bona fides on Israeli issues are suspect to say the least.

He is known to be close to Dore Gold, a close associate of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Indeed, Trimble recently joined the "Friends of Israel" initiative which was launched in Paris some weeks ago.
He is about as unbiased on Israel as he is on Ulster unionism.

With his Nobel Prize he offers some clever camouflage for the Israeli inquiry into what went on when the troops landed on board a Turkish boat and nine Turks were killed

But he is utterly biased.

Unionists in Northern Ireland overwhelmingly associate with Israel while nationalists associate with the Palestinians.

You will see Israeli flags in many Loyalist neighborhoods, as the sense of a siege mentality, and surrounded by enemies runs deep in both the Israeli and Unionist mindsets.

The fact that there is an Irish dimension to the flotilla, involving another Nobel Prize winner Mairead Maguire and activists who have ties to Northern nationalism, further weakens Trimble's stance as an unbiased observer.

His instinctive sense will be to side with Israeli authorities.

In that respect his detractors will see him playing the role of a useful idiot to an inquiry that seems highly unlikely to find the Israeli forces at fault.

Maybe Trimble will surprise but I doubt it.

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Realist | Jun 15, 2010, 07:18 AM EDT

Israeli flags fy in many Loyalist neighborhoods therefore Trimble is not unbiased....lol. It is the author who makes little effort to hide his anti-Unionist bias. This is like an article in a school magazine for pity's sake.

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shuvonn | Jun 15, 2010, 06:27 AM EDT

LOL it's a pointless appointment alright, they are merely observers to the investigation the Israelis did not want to have happen but it is transparent that it is a sham when a person with such a hateful past and history against Irish nationalism is appointed. His hands are tied (NOT like the hands of the people kidnapped in international waters) but he has NO power but even his observations will be biased.

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IrishAndProud | Jun 14, 2010, 10:18 PM EDT

And btw...if appointing Trimble is 'irrelevant,' as you repeatedly say in your posts below, then why all of a sudden is it like 'appointing Judas' to do so? Apparently another case where you cannot make up your mind, shuvonn. Does Trimble matter, or doesn't he?

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IrishAndProud | Jun 14, 2010, 10:14 PM EDT

Perhaps the same with a person like yourself, shuvonn.

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shuvonn | Jun 14, 2010, 07:26 PM EDT

Appointing David Trimble to oversee this inquiry is like appointing Judas to oversee an inquiry into the last supper...

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SydWalker | Jun 14, 2010, 06:28 PM EDT

Like Tony Vliar's sinecure, this 'job' for Trimble is essentially just another case of welfare for the very well-off. The US or EU taxpayer will doubtless pay the bill. Just another way of transferring wealth from the poor to the rich, so the will of the outraged majority can be flouted in the style to which these Apartheid apologists have become accustomed.

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shuvonn | Jun 14, 2010, 06:20 PM EDT

Joining *friends of Isreal* makes him unbiased in YOUR opinion IRISHANDPROUD???? The *OBSERVERS* have NO power anyway, another waste and cover up...

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IrishAndProud | Jun 14, 2010, 03:25 PM EDT

Patrick, you write that Trimble is 'utterly biased.' Are you therefore (by inferred contrast) NOT 'utterly biased,' yourself? Trimble may be biased in favor of Israel (I don't really know), but you are CERTAINLY biased in favor of the Arabs. That's the inherent weakness of pointing out someone else's 'bias'; you're trying to make it look as if THEY are the only biased ones, but your OWN views are of course NOT 'bias'; they're just the 'way things are.' That doesn't work, Patrick. We all have our biases and opinions, but let's not even by inference pretend that we're somehow above it ourselves, and that it's only the 'other side' who's biased (which is not necessarily a bad thing, by the way). It's impossible NOT to be biased toward or against things. It's part of being human. We have our opinions based on our beliefs, and we go with it.

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shuvonn | Jun 14, 2010, 11:38 AM EDT

It actually makes no difference as it has been made clear that the two international observers will have no bearing on the findings anyway, looks like another waste of tax payers money. Does not matter WHOM he sides with....

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CanadianPat | Jun 14, 2010, 10:11 AM EDT

Trimble is pro-Isreal (as and when it suits him),like most loyalist he sees that excusing Isreal's aggression excuses past British aggression.That makes him a very poor choise indeed!

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Strongbow | Jun 14, 2010, 10:03 AM EDT

In this instance it is obvious that Patrick Roberts is the "utterly biased" one. Who is he to speak for the whole nationalist community by declaring that they support the palestinian cause. Only the most hardened Irish terrorist would support the campaign of suicide attacks perpetrated by Hamas, PLO, Al-Aqsa, etc., yet Patrick Roberts has no qualms about aligning Irish Nationalists with these groups.

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shuvonn | Jun 14, 2010, 09:26 AM EDT

You think the Irish need to get over the obsession of backing terrorists? Israel has indeed the right to protect their homeland, BUT that RIGHT does NOT extend into International Waters or UAE with stolen passports. That is not protecting your country or your citizens that is acting like a rogue state. You anti Muslim BIAS is blatant, just like Trimble's anti nationalist bias was obvious during his time in office.

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bonbon1 | Jun 14, 2010, 08:43 AM EDT

I think it would be a wonderful thing if the Irish could get over are obsession with backing terrorists and terrorism.Israel has been the homeland of the jewish people for over five thousand years(check the old testament) and they deserve their home land just as much as we Irish.Everywhere the muslims go they're trouble.The muslims control half the world and no muslim country will take in the paleistinans. Do you know why? Ask Scotland Yard and they can give you thousands of reasons.

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shuvonn | Jun 14, 2010, 08:39 AM EDT

His joining the friends of Israel initiative does not make it look as if he is capable of being unbiased in this case. His rabid hatred of nationalists has been pretty well documented in his time in office. Why should we take his nobel peace prize seriously if Mairead Corrigan's was belittled by some of the pro-Israelis on this board? Lets be fair now :-)

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Realist | Jun 14, 2010, 08:18 AM EDT

WoundedKnee: Why is having Nobel Peace Laureate Lord Trimble as a Human Rights Observer a "joke"? Please explain.

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