Are Human Rights For Some, But Not For Others?

I found this speech posted on Jpost and thought it important to reprint it in its entirety.

Liraz Madmony, a 23-year-old law student from Sderot, addressed the UN Human Rights Council Special Session on Gaza in Geneva on behalf of the European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS) on Monday, before the vote by the council that condemned Israel's military offensive in Gaza and resolved to send a fact-finding mission to investigate alleged Israeli abuses against Palestinians.

Here is the text of her speech.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I come from Sderot, the city in Israel that for eight years has been terrorized, by 10,000 rockets fired against us from Gaza.

As a law student, I learned - and I believe - that all human beings have the right to peace and security.

But when I see today's resolution, I ask: Why is the United Nations ignoring my suffering? When the terrorists committed these 10,000 violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, why was the UN silent?

Are human rights for some, but not others?

The constant assault on Sderot has destroyed our ability to lead a normal life. The warning before each attack gives us only 15 seconds to run for shelter. Fifteen seconds that will decide, life or death.

Mr. President, who will protect our right to life? My family does not have a bomb shelter, so we run to the most protected room, which is the shower.

There is one attack I will never forget. We heard the siren at seven in the morning. We ran to the shower. The rockets fell next to my house. My little brother, who was 14, went to see if anyone needed help. He found a man whose legs were blown off, and a woman blown to pieces.

My youngest brother is six. The rockets have been falling for eight years. He knows no other reality.

Everyone suffers in Sderot. Fathers and mothers are afraid to go to work, creating poverty. Kids are afraid to go to school. I have missed many of my law classes. My friends are afraid to visit. The streets lie empty.

I dream of the hometown that I remember. When the park near my house was filled with happy families and children playing. When people enjoyed life.

I still dream of peace. It will come when the rulers of Gaza choose humanity over hate, when they stop firing on our children while hiding behind their own.

We refuse to grant victory to the terrorists. We choose to live, staying strong with our faith, family and love of country.

Mr. President, who will protect our most basic human rights? My country is now trying its best, and all who love life and desire peace should pray they succeed.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I cannot imagine in my worst nightmare what it must be like for the people of Sderot and the other towns targeted by thousands of rockets from Hamas. Hamas has one goal, to eradicate Israel. It is the most basic human rights violation, the eradication of a people, yet the world turns a blind eye.

Forget for a moment who started what. Forget for a moment who is on who's land. Forget for a moment who may or may not have a biblical right to be somewhere. Is it right to subject a people to constant attack with the sole goal of eliminating them? If it is wrong for Israel to attack the Gazan people, is it not also wrong for the Gazans, led by Hamas, to attack Israel? At the very minimum, world condemnation should be equally divided between Hamas and Israel.

Now, take into account that Israel does not purposely target civilians; that Hamas uses civilians as human shields, hides weapons in schools, hospitals, masques, and cemeteries; that Hamas' charter makes the destruction of Israel its goal; that Isreal provides humanitarian aide to the people of Gaza; that Hamas steals that aide and sells it to the highest bidder; that Hamas uses tunnels to smuggle weapons into Gaza' that Hamas purposely targets civilian populations in Israel, and you wonder how the world can sit by and claim with a straight face that Israel is the true violator of Human Rights.

Its a shame that not only is the world condemnation of Israel so universally accepted, but that this falsehood is so openly spread by world media. The media's continued biased reporting is nothing short of disgusting. The American mainstream media should be ashamed of itself. It has not crawled out from under the rock that it placed on itself in years. From false national guard memos, to investigative reporting that presumes its own conclusion, to not fairly reporting on election candidates, to failing in line to condemn Israel. The media has shamed itself to such a degree that it has lost most of its credibility. Printing obviously false and doctored photos, to running propaganda video, to reporting on national security issues. The media has caused more harm than good and has made a mockery of all that it stands for.