Monday 19 March 2007

Tanya Reinhart, a powerful voice has been lost

ISM Media Team, March 18th

Tanya Reinhart, Israeli anti-apartheid activist, died suddenly of a stroke in New York last night, March 17, 2007. She was 63 years old.

Reinhart received her B.A. and M.A. in Philosophy and Comparative Literature from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem and later became a professor of linguistics at Tel Aviv University.

Reinhart’s thesis supervisor was Noam Chomsky. So it’s not hard to imagine her special interest on politics and media of the Middle East.

She was a strong supporter of the academic boycott of Israel, was a co-founder of the Coalition of Women for Peace, and author of many articles and books, including:Israel/Palestine: How to End the War of 1948

In this book, Reinhart delves into the root causes of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, exposes the ways in which Israel has systematically worked to undermine the Oslo peace agreements, and highlights the connections between the Israeli/Palestinian issue and the U.S. War on Terrorism.

Reinhart was a dedicated political and human rights activist, committed to a peaceful and just resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Thank you, Tanya, for your amazing words, unforgettable humanitarian work, and commitment to peace and justice!

In memory,
International Solidarity Movement

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https://lists.riseup.net/www/arc/againstwall/2007-03/msg00071.html
Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2007 10:54 AM
Subject: [CWP] Sad, sad news

Dear friends, Yesterday we lost Tanya Reinhart.

She died in New York, a sudden death.

It's hardly possible to describe Tanya's fundamental contribution and significance for the field of linguistics. Tanya was a wonderful colleague, a challenging and at the same time most supportive advisor and mentor, and a most dedicated political and human rights activist.

The linguistics department at TAU and the cognitive program owe a great debt to Tanya. She was a crucial part of what we tried to build here for so many years. Her excellence was an inspiration to many of us.

We shall always remember Tanya. She was our friend. The best you could wish for.

Sadly,

Mira Ariel
Rachel Giora
Tal Siloni

=======

http://lists.riseup.net/www/arc/againstwall/2006-08/msg00019.html
From: Tanya reinhart
Subject: Farewell
Date: Mon, 07 Aug 2006 01:48:47 +0200

Dear againstwallers,

At the peak of these dark days, I am sending my farewell to the many of you that I know through shared years of struggle. The reasons and background for my leaving are explained in the interview below, and it was decided, in fact, before the last horrors. In my heart, I remain with you and it is your marvelous spirit that has given me hope here all last years. I pledge to keep the struggle also from abroad, and I hope to join you again in the summers.

Tanya

Nablus: Operation "Hot Winter" - Interview with Human Shield



This short interview was conducted in the aftermath of the Israeli Occupation Forces' operation "Hot Winter" in the West Bank city of Nablus.

The 11-years-old girl Jihan Tahdush was kidnapped by IOF troops and repeatedly forced to serve as a human shield for soldiers in their house-to-house searches in the Old City.

The full interview in better quality can be downloaded at: https://video.indymedia.org/en/2007/03/767.shtml

This short clip is a co-production of a-films and RJI. The authors can be contacted at a-films@no-log.org and ripplescross@yahoo.com.

Remembering Rachel Corrie, 4 Years and Still No Justice

MARCH 16th, DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

Rachel Corrie: Myths and Facts

Rachel’s Emails

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Martinez: It’s been a week since I returned home here to Palestine.

And it has been four years since a twenty-three year old American peace activist, named Rachel Corrie, was killed by an Israeli Occupation Forces bulldozer in the Gaza Strip.

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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/palsolidarity/message/518
Rafah: Rachel Corrie Murdered by Israeli Army

At about 5.20 pm today Rachel Corrie from Olympia in Washington State, USA died of her injuries in A-Najar Hospital in Rafah after being deliberately run over by an Israeli military bulldozer.

Rachel had been working as an ISM activist in Rafah for seven weeks when she was killed trying to prevent the demolition of Palestinian homes and property in the Hi Salaam area of Rafah.

The confrontation between the ISM and the Israeli Army had been under way for two hours when Rachel was run over. Rachel and the other activists had clearlyidentified themselves as unarmed international peace activists throughout the confrontation.

The Israeli Army are attempting to dishonour her memory by claiming that Rachelwas killed accidentally when she ran in front of the bulldozer. Eye-witnesses to the murder insist that this is totally untrue.

Rachel was sitting in the path of the bulldozer as it advanced towards her. When the bulldozer refused to stop or turn aside she climbed up onto the mound of dirt and rubble being gathered in front of it wearing a fluorescent jacket to look directly at the driver who kept on advancing. The bulldozer continued to advance so that she was pulled under the pile of dirt and rubble.

After she had disappeared from view the driver kept advancing until the bulldozer was completely on top of her. The driver did not lift the bulldozer blade and so she was crushed beneath it. Then the driver backed off and the seven other ISM activists taking part in the action rushed to dig out her body. An ambulance rushed her to A-Najar hospital where she died.

Rachel joins 1,900 Palestinians who have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers since September 2000,

For further information contact:
• Tom on +*** ** *** ***
• Joe on +*** ** *** *** or
• Nick on +*** ** *** ***

=======================================

Michael
ISM Media Coordinator
Beit Sahour
Occupied Palestine
Phone: +***-*-*******
Cell: +***-**-*** ***
web: http://www.palsolidarity.org/

Olmert Reveals the Real Goal of War in Lebanon

The Real Goal of Israel's War on Lebanon
Jonathan Cook - 14 March, 2007

Olmert's Testimony to Winograd

Israel's supposedly "defensive" assault on Hizbullah last summer, in which more than 1,000 Lebanese civilians were killed in a massive aerial bombardment that ended with Israel littering the country's south with cluster bombs, was cast in a definitively different light last week by Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert.

His leaked testimony to the Winograd Committee -- investigating the government's failures during the month-long attack -- suggests that he had been preparing for such a war at least four months before the official casus belli: the capture by Hizbullah of two Israeli soldiers from a border post on 12 July 2006. Lebanon's devastation was apparently designed to teach both Hizbullah and the country's wider public a lesson.

Olmert's new account clarifies the confusing series of official justifications for the war from the time.

First, we were told that the seizure of the soldiers was "an act of war" by Lebanon and that a "shock and awe" campaign was needed to secure their release. Or, as the then Chief of Staff Dan Halutz -- taking time out from disposing of his shares before market prices fell -- explained, his pilots were going to "turn the clock back 20 years" in Lebanon.

Then the army claimed that it was trying to stop Hizbullah's rocket strikes. But the bombing campaign targeted not only the rocket launchers but much of Lebanon, including Beirut. (It was, of course, conveniently overlooked that Hizbullah's rockets fell as a response to the Israeli bombardment and not the other way round.)

=================

Olmert primed for war before a pretext came
Conal Urquhart in Tel Aviv, Sydney Morning Herald - March 10, 2007
Preparations for Israel's war in Lebanon last July were drawn up at least four months before two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped by Hezbollah in July, the Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, has admitted.

His submission to a commission of inquiry, leaked on Thursday, contradicted the impression at the time that Israel had been provoked into a battle for which it was ill-prepared.

Israel's right to be racist

Israel's right to be racist
Joseph Massad, The Electronic Intifada, 15 March 2007
Israel's struggle for peace is a sincere one. In fact, Israel desires to live at peace not only with its neighbours, but also and especially with its own Palestinian population, and with Palestinians whose lands its military occupies by force. Israel's desire for peace is not only rhetorical but also substantive and deeply psychological.

With few exceptions, prominent Zionist leaders since the inception of colonial Zionism have desired to establish peace with the Palestinians and other Arabs whose lands they slated for colonisation and settlement.

The only thing Israel has asked for, and continues to ask for in order to end the state of war with the Palestinians and its Arab neighbours, is that all recognise its right to be a racist state that discriminates by law against Palestinians and other Arabs and grants differential legal rights and privileges to its own Jewish citizens and to all other Jews anywhere.

The Easiest Targets

13-Minute Video: The Easiest Targets
Five women – Palestinian, American, Muslim, Christian, and Jewish – tell stories of humiliation and harassment by Israeli border guards and airport security officials.

Tuesday 6 March 2007

A Democratic Constitution for Israel

A Democratic Constitution for Israel
Laila El-Haddad, February 28, 2007
Adalah, a legal organization dedicated to upholding the rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel, has proposed a draft constitution forthe country (Yes, Israel has never had a constitution) to address some of the radical inequalities and exclusions upon which the state is based.

Video: The Israeli military in Nablus

Video: The Israeli military in Nablus
RJI, March 1st, 2007
The Israeli military invaded Nablus on February 25 in an operation called "Hot Winter." The following videos were jointly produced by the Research Journalism Initiative (RJI) and the "a-films" film collective.

Nablus in the Aftermath of Operation "Hot Winter"
Cara Loverock, News from Within, 18 March 2007
The most recent Israeli invasion of Nablus, dubbed operation "Hot Winter," ended on 1 March. A couple days later in the early morning hours, a few of us entered the city and headed to the Yasmina Hotel to meet a local man, Mohammed, who works with the International Solidarity Movement and had arranged for us to meet with some individuals who could explain their experiences during the Israeli sweep.

While we sit down for coffee, Mohammed gives us a briefing of the facts: two men were killed, 35 injured and 150 detained. Many houses were occupied, shops were blown up and there was a 24 hour a day curfew over the old city, which had been declared a closed military zone. The Turkish Baths, a significant building for the economy as well as of historical significance, was occupied by the military and then destroyed.

Jewish coalition calls for open debate on Palestine

Jewish coalition calls for open debate on Palestine
Ben Cubby, Sydney Morning Herald, 06.03.07
A Coalition of prominent Australian Jews, including the philosopher Peter Singer, publisher Louise Adler and Robert Richter, QC, has sparked a furore in the Jewish community by announcing it will challenge what it sees as extreme pro-Israeli bias among Jews in Australia.

The movement, the day after
Antony Loewenstein, March 6th, 2007
A senior journalist at a major Sydney paper summed up the feeling of many when he told me today that some of his fellow reporters were relieved the Jewish community may finally be ready to challenge the bullying and militant Zionist reading of the Israel/Palestine conflict.

"Israel Can Do What it Wants": The Stark Truth From Ilan Pappe

AUDIO: "Israel Can Do What it Wants": The Stark Truth From Ilan Pappe
Crossing The Line: Life in Occupied Palestine, 16 February 2007
http://ctl.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=182723

2nd anniversary of weekly non-violent Bilin demonstration against illegal wall


Roughly 1,500 protesters gathered in Bil'in today to celebrate the second anniversary to demonstrations against the wall in the village. Neither the large number of attendants nor the bigger than usual participation of Israelis (over 200) deterred the army from using severe violence against the demonstrators. Even the large presence of journalists, who were attacked themselves, did not sway the army to moderation.

[far better resolution here: http://mishtara.org/blog/?p=154 ]
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Water cannon fails to dampen spirits on Bil’in second anniversary demo
ISM media team, February 23rd, 2007
Around 1500 demonstrators attended today’s second anniversary protest against the Apartheid Wall in Bil’in. Despite the peaceful nature of the protest the IOF used violent means to try to disperse the crowd, including firing sound bombs directly at protesters at close range. Several needed medical treatment for injuries incurred when the sound bombs exploded on them.

Before today’s march to the Wall protesters had a chance to view a photo exhibition of the two years of resistance in Bil’in as well as some of the props used in various creative actions. Bil’in villagers were joined by other Palestinians, including two Palestinian Legislative Council members and Member of the Knesset Jamal Zahalka, as well as 200 Israeli activists and 50 internationals.

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Over a thousand protesters mark two years of resistance


2nd anniversary of weekly non-violent Bilin demonstration against illegal wall: 1500 attend
Polly Bangoriad - IMEMC & Agencies, Friday February 23, 2007
On Friday the village of Bil'in, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, celebrated the second anniversary of the civil non-violent resistance of the illegal Israeli wall and settlements being built on the village land.

Twelve-year old undergoing surgery after being shot in the head at Bil’in

Twelve-year old undergoing surgery after being shot in the head at Bil’in
ISM media team, March 2nd, 2007
Twelve-year old Mahmoud Yusef Abu Rahme is undergoing surgery on his skull in Sheikh Zaid hospital in Ramallah after being shot at close range by rubber bullets in Bil’in today. Two other children and one Palestinian adult were hospitalised after being shot at close range with rubber bullets but have been discharged. According to eyewitnesses, 16-year old Fares Abu Ghosh said something to a soldier and walked away. As he was walking away the soldier shot him three times with rubber bullets in his legs and arms from about 10 metres.

Bil'in, 02.03.2007

Over 600 demonstrators from all over the West Bank marched in Bil'in today, accompanied by Israelis and internationals. The DFLP (Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine) marked its 38th anniversary by joining the demonstration. The hundreds who came to participate charged the demonstration with new energies.

The army, however, presented nothing new, reacted to an extravagant spirit of liberty by even greater use of violence than normally. Twenty one demonstrators were injured in varying degrees of severity, including four that had to be hospitalized. One of them, twelve-year old Mahmoud Yusef Abu Rahme was shot in the forehead, suffered a broken skull and underwent a lifesaving operation in Sheikh Zaid hospital in Ramallah.