In the end, even if the leaders of Russia, China and India decide to join the condemnation of the Syrian government and support Britain and France's draft resolution condemning it at the United Nations Security Council, the international picture is a sad one. Assad does whatever he pleases, and even the symbolic and empty act of condemnation will not prevent him - he who has already butchered more than 1,200 people - from continuing to do so. The masquerade taking place right before our very eyes with regard to Syria is nothing new historically. It's clear to everyone that economic and military interests are dictating the international community's agenda, particularly when it comes to world powers. Countries like China and Russia - beacons when it comes to preserving human rights - will not be the ones to ruin the shameful display that leaves moral observers embarrassed. Why is Assad's blood considered redder than that of his fellow dubious dictator Moammar Gadhafi- Yet it appears that the greater embarrassment can be registered here, in Israel. And by that I am referring to those same intellectuals and energetic human rights groups who are quick to condemn the Israel Defense Forces. Precisely now, when an event that has the indicators of genocide is taking place no more than 300 kilometers from Tel Aviv, their usually sharp and scathing voices are nowhere to be heard. The term "genocide" was coined by Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin in 1944, when he characterized the systematic killing of Jews during the second World War. Four years later, in 1948, the U.N. signed a resolution to prevent genocide and outline which acts meet the definition of that word. What meets the criteria? The attempt to exterminate an ethnic, religious or racial group or nation. The actions of the Alawi minority and their army cohorts, ruled by the Assad family, include such cruel means of suppression as the targeted killing of children, women and the elderly - all of this, just to maintain control over the protesters, most of whom are part of the Sunni community. These acts contain the indicators of genocide. In light of this, we would expect to hear the same authors, journalists, academics and their friends who accuse Israel of systematically ignoring international law vociferously speaking out against the Assad regime. Those same people who consistently express surprise about how the Jewish nation, which lost millions of its own during the Holocaust, acts with force, are suddenly silent when faced with horrible acts of murder in Syria. Precisely when the actions of our despicable neighbor to the north challenge all those who exalt the universal lessons of the Holocaust, their voices disappear. As the song "Jerusalem of Gold" says, "the marketplace is empty." Bashar Assad is a leader who sees himself as part of the aforementioned international masquerade. He understands the laws of his country, and acts as he does knowing that nothing will happen to him within the international community. However, he probably never expected silence from the Israelis - and especially not from the intellectuals among them.
