2014-08-05    2014 Israel is like 1931 Japan

From 1931 to 1945 Japan illegally occupied much of China. Japan was an occupying power. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese died at the hands of Japanese cruelty. Chinese resistance fighters fought a long campaign to repel the Japanese invasion.

In 1967 Israel began its illegal occupation of Gaza and other Palestinian territories. Despite various agreements since 1967 allowing a certain amount of self-government in Gaza, Israel is the de facto occupier of Gaza - according to the European Union, Human Rights Watch and several United Nations reports.

Like Japan in China, Israel has been a ruthless occupier, denying basic rights to the people of Gaza. Gaza has been called the world's largest prison, with a population of nearly two million crowded into an area about half the size of Hong Kong's New Territories.

There is one big difference between 1931 Japan and 2014 Israel. In the 1930's and 1940's, the United States helped China repel Japan. But in 2014 the US is making and providing the bombs that are killing children as they sleep in UN shelters in Gaza.