Inside Story, Al Jazeera English : March 02, 2008
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has suspended peace talks with Israel, demanding that it ends its offensive on Gaza.
Israel's five-day offensive on the Gaza Strip has so far killed more than 100 Palestinians, many of them civilians.
Israel claims it is acting in self-defence in response to cross-border rocket attacks by Hamas.
But Israel has been strongly criticized by the European Union and United Nations, who have condemned its use of "excessive" and "disproportionate" force.
Inside Story, with presenter Sami Zeidan, examines the possible outcomes.
Part 1
Part 2
Showing posts with label gideon levy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gideon levy. Show all posts
Monday, 3 March 2008
Wednesday, 31 October 2007
Needed in Gaza: Israeli journalists
Gideon Levy - Ha'aretz -14 October 2007
The Gaza Strip has been completely closed to Israeli journalists for nearly a year. The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security service decided this because it is dangerous in Gaza. The place so present in the public consciousness, which dictates the security and diplomatic agenda, has been closed by the Israeli authorities to the Israeli media. Long before it was declared a "hostile entity," Gaza had become a closed territory, without any media coverage or documentation. Such is Israeli freedom of the press.
Anyone who expected such an intolerable reality to stir a protest was proven wrong. In any case, the readers do not want to read about it, the government and army do not want them to know and the journalists are not yearning to tell.
The Gaza Strip has been completely closed to Israeli journalists for nearly a year. The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security service decided this because it is dangerous in Gaza. The place so present in the public consciousness, which dictates the security and diplomatic agenda, has been closed by the Israeli authorities to the Israeli media. Long before it was declared a "hostile entity," Gaza had become a closed territory, without any media coverage or documentation. Such is Israeli freedom of the press.
Anyone who expected such an intolerable reality to stir a protest was proven wrong. In any case, the readers do not want to read about it, the government and army do not want them to know and the journalists are not yearning to tell.
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
Divide and Rule, Israeli-Style
Can the Arab world be turned into Gaza's jailers?
Jonathan Cook - June 27, 2007
The boycott by Israel and the international community of the Palestinian Authority finally blew up in their faces with Hamas' recent bloody takeover of Gaza. Or so argues Gideon Levy, one of the saner voices still to be found in Israel. "Starving, drying up, and blocking aid do not sear the consciousness and do not weaken political movements. On the contrary… Reality has refuted the chorus of experts and commentators who preached [on] behalf of the boycott policy. This daft notion that it is possible to topple an elected government by applying pressure on a helpless population suffered a complete failure."
But has Levy got it wrong? The faces of Israeli and American politicians, including Ehud Olmert and George Bush, appear soot-free. On the contrary. Over the past fortnight they have been looking and sounding even more smug than usual.
The problem with Levy's analysis is that it assumes that Israel and the U.S. wanted sanctions to bring about the fall of Hamas, either by giving Fatah the upper hand so that it could deal a knockout blow to the Palestinian government, or by inciting ordinary Palestinians to rise up and demand that their earlier electoral decision be reversed and Fatah reinstalled. In short, Levy, like most observers, assumes that the policy was designed to enforce regime change.
But what if that was not the point of the sanctions? And if so, what goals were Israel and the U.S. pursuing?
The parallels between Iraq and Gaza may be instructive. After all, Iraq is the West's only other recent experiment in imposing sanctions to starve a nation. And we all know where it led: to an even deeper entrenchment of Saddam Hussein's rule.
======================================
Let Gaza live
Gideon Levy, Ha'aretz - Sunday, 24 June 2007
Here is a success story: Israel and the West imposed a boycott on the Palestinian Authority with the aim of weakening Hamas, and a year and a half later this brilliant policy has yielded its fruits: Hamas has become stronger. If there is a lesson from the fiasco in Gaza, here it is: Starving, drying up and blocking aid do not sear the consciousness and do not weaken political movements. On the contrary.
Twilight Zone / 'Like chickens in a cage'
Gideon Levy, Ha'aretz - Friday, 22 June 2007
Jonathan Cook - June 27, 2007
The boycott by Israel and the international community of the Palestinian Authority finally blew up in their faces with Hamas' recent bloody takeover of Gaza. Or so argues Gideon Levy, one of the saner voices still to be found in Israel. "Starving, drying up, and blocking aid do not sear the consciousness and do not weaken political movements. On the contrary… Reality has refuted the chorus of experts and commentators who preached [on] behalf of the boycott policy. This daft notion that it is possible to topple an elected government by applying pressure on a helpless population suffered a complete failure."
But has Levy got it wrong? The faces of Israeli and American politicians, including Ehud Olmert and George Bush, appear soot-free. On the contrary. Over the past fortnight they have been looking and sounding even more smug than usual.
The problem with Levy's analysis is that it assumes that Israel and the U.S. wanted sanctions to bring about the fall of Hamas, either by giving Fatah the upper hand so that it could deal a knockout blow to the Palestinian government, or by inciting ordinary Palestinians to rise up and demand that their earlier electoral decision be reversed and Fatah reinstalled. In short, Levy, like most observers, assumes that the policy was designed to enforce regime change.
But what if that was not the point of the sanctions? And if so, what goals were Israel and the U.S. pursuing?
The parallels between Iraq and Gaza may be instructive. After all, Iraq is the West's only other recent experiment in imposing sanctions to starve a nation. And we all know where it led: to an even deeper entrenchment of Saddam Hussein's rule.
======================================
Let Gaza live
Gideon Levy, Ha'aretz - Sunday, 24 June 2007
Here is a success story: Israel and the West imposed a boycott on the Palestinian Authority with the aim of weakening Hamas, and a year and a half later this brilliant policy has yielded its fruits: Hamas has become stronger. If there is a lesson from the fiasco in Gaza, here it is: Starving, drying up and blocking aid do not sear the consciousness and do not weaken political movements. On the contrary.
Twilight Zone / 'Like chickens in a cage'
Gideon Levy, Ha'aretz - Friday, 22 June 2007
Monday, 28 May 2007
And now, a fetus
Gideon Levy, Ha'aretz, 20 May 2007
Memorial posters decorate the walls of the Rafidiya government hospital in Nablus, covering earlier posters of countless young people who have been killed. But this poster is like nothing we have seen before: a fetus covered in its own blood, its tiny head blown up by the bullet that struck its mother, and the caption - “Who gave you the right to steal his life?”
The killing of the unborn child, Daoud, by Israel Defense Forces troops raises a series of moral, legal and philosophical questions. Is the killing of a fetus manslaughter? Is it murder? And how old is the victim? But all these questions are dwarfed by the woman lying stunned and injured in the maternity ward of the hospital in Nablus, in agony, with all kinds of tubes attached to her, refusing to answer a single question.
It is obvious that Maha Katouni is still in a state of trauma. Wounded in the abdomen, she lies in bed, her elderly mother by her side. The tube in her nose makes it hard for her to speak. She is 30 years old and was in the seventh month of pregnancy, a mother who got up in the middle of the night to protect her three small children, sleeping in the other room, from the bullets that were whistling by outside. As soon as she got out of bed, the bullet struck her. Bleeding, she fell on the nightstand by her bed. Maha survived, but Daoud - as she and her husband planned to name their son - was removed from her womb with a bullet wound to the head.
“And babies?” a reporter once asked an American soldier who had taken part in the My Lai massacre in the Vietnam War. His succinct answer was just as chilling as the question. “Babies.”
And now, a fetus.
The day before, I had been in Soweto, near Johannesburg, South Africa, accompanied by the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, comparing the horrors of apartheid to the Israeli occupation in the territories. The next afternoon I was here, in the Rafidiya maternity ward, standing before the bed of the wounded Maha, who had lost her baby.
The biggest hospital in the territories is practically deserted, barely functioning. It has been this way for two months now. Like the other hospitals in the West Bank, Rafidiya accepts only emergency cases, because of the economic boycott of the Palestinian Authority, which also prevents the workers here from being paid. Only 20 of the hospital’s 168 beds are currently occupied, and only about a third of the hospital’s 380 staff members show up for work. In the emergency room we saw just one patient, who had arrived that morning. The rest of the beds were empty. In the past two and a half months, the workers have received just NIS 1,500 per person, from funds provided by the European Union.
Hospital director Dr. Khaled Salah says that the staff and patients don’t come to the hospital because of the difficulties in getting to Nablus and the cost of the trip, which has risen significantly because of the checkpoints. The Hawara checkpoint and the Beit Iba checkpoint, the two checkpoints on the city’s outskirts, are relatively deserted, because of the difficulty in getting past them.
Maha lies in bed, her eyes closed. A green headscarf covers her head. Her skin is ashen. Every once in a while she opens her eyes but then quickly closes them again. Once in a while she also murmurs a few words in a feeble voice and then goes quiet again. How are you? Silence. Maha is a resident of the Ein Beit Ilma refugee camp on the outskirts of Nablus. She is married to Rifat, a 36-year-old school janitor, and the couple have three children: Jihad, 10; Jawad, 7; and Jad, 3. Two uncles and her mother watch over her, not budging from her bedside. For the father of the family, it’s too hard to be here. He’s still in shock.
Last Wednesday was an ordinary day in the Katouni household. The father went to work, the kids went to school, and in the evening everyone went to bed - the parents in their bedroom and the three children in their room in the third-floor apartment. Shortly after two in the morning, Maha was startled awake by the loud sounds of gunfire from the street. She didn’t even manage to turn on the light when she got up to run to the kids’ room next door, to reassure her three little boys and keep them from getting scared. The gunfire was very heavy. The window of her room was open and her bed was close to the window.
Maha got out of bed, took one step, and then the bullet struck her in the lower back. She fell onto the nightstand. Another bullet struck the nightstand. Soldiers from the Nahal patrol battalion were standing on the roofs of the surrounding buildings. “Wherever we are sent - to there we go,” the poet Yaakov Orland once wrote in “The Nahal Anthem,” sung by the Nahal entertainment troupe, which also sang “The Song of Peace.”
Rifat rushed to call an ambulance. The children, who had awakened, were hysterical, especially the youngest, 3-year-old Jad, at the sight of the blood trickling from the front and back of their pregnant mother, who lay wounded on the floor. The bullet had struck her from behind, passed through the fetus’ head and the mother’s intestines and exited through the abdomen.
Family members say that about 45 minutes went by before the ambulance from the Medical Relief organization was permitted to approach. In the meantime, Maha’s mother, Umm Ibrahim, tried to leave her home nearby to come to her daughter’s aid. Umm Ibrahim says that when she tried to leave her house there was gunfire; she hurried back inside. “It’s a miracle that I was saved,” says the woman in the white headscarf. She could not reach her injured daughter and would not see her until two hours later, in the hospital.
The pain is written all over Maha’s face. One of her brothers somehow managed to cross the line of fire and get to her house; he tried to stanch the gaping wound in her stomach with a towel. Her husband, Rifat, was paralyzed with shock. Umm Ibrahim says that her son, who tended to Maha, could see through the hole in her abdomen that the fetus had been wounded in the head and was dead.
The gunfire finally subsided at around three in the morning and they were able to take Maha out to the street, carried by her brother and the paramedic from the ambulance that had parked in the nearby alley. The brother says that on the way to the hospital they were stopped twice by soldiers, who wanted to check the wounded woman’s identity and to make sure there were no wanted men hiding in the ambulance. Maha was barely conscious when she reached the hospital, but her mother says she understood right away that she had lost the baby.
The family says the IDF enters the camp nearly every night and that there is almost always gunfire. Umm Ibrahim managed to get to the hospital at four in the morning, when her daughter was in the operating room and the dead fetus had already been removed.
Dr. Ihab Shareideh was the surgeon who was summoned to the hospital in the middle of the night to operate on Maha. He says that her recovery has been more difficult and slower than usual, not only because of her injuries, but because of her traumatized mental state. Fortunately, not many blood vessels were injured, so the delay in getting her to the hospital did not cause further damage. It is too soon to gauge the extent of the damage to her digestive system, or to say whether she will be able to get pregnant again. The fetus died as a result of the bullet that penetrated its brain on the way to the mother’s intestines.
The anesthesiologist, Dr. Iyad Salim, a resident of nearby Hawara, roams the hospital corridors. On his cell phone camera is a video of the operation and the removal of the fetus. So close to being a fully developed baby, with a bullet wound to the head. The memorial poster shows the etus bleeding from the head. The image is unbearable.
They were going to call him Daoud, after an uncle, and also after a resident of the camp who was killed. At home they had everything ready: new clothes, diapers and a crib passed down from his older brothers. Daoud was buried in the camp cemetery. Only a few close family members attended the funeral of the unborn baby.
At press time, no response had been received from the IDF Spokesperson’s Office.
Memorial posters decorate the walls of the Rafidiya government hospital in Nablus, covering earlier posters of countless young people who have been killed. But this poster is like nothing we have seen before: a fetus covered in its own blood, its tiny head blown up by the bullet that struck its mother, and the caption - “Who gave you the right to steal his life?”
The killing of the unborn child, Daoud, by Israel Defense Forces troops raises a series of moral, legal and philosophical questions. Is the killing of a fetus manslaughter? Is it murder? And how old is the victim? But all these questions are dwarfed by the woman lying stunned and injured in the maternity ward of the hospital in Nablus, in agony, with all kinds of tubes attached to her, refusing to answer a single question.
It is obvious that Maha Katouni is still in a state of trauma. Wounded in the abdomen, she lies in bed, her elderly mother by her side. The tube in her nose makes it hard for her to speak. She is 30 years old and was in the seventh month of pregnancy, a mother who got up in the middle of the night to protect her three small children, sleeping in the other room, from the bullets that were whistling by outside. As soon as she got out of bed, the bullet struck her. Bleeding, she fell on the nightstand by her bed. Maha survived, but Daoud - as she and her husband planned to name their son - was removed from her womb with a bullet wound to the head.
“And babies?” a reporter once asked an American soldier who had taken part in the My Lai massacre in the Vietnam War. His succinct answer was just as chilling as the question. “Babies.”
And now, a fetus.
The day before, I had been in Soweto, near Johannesburg, South Africa, accompanied by the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, comparing the horrors of apartheid to the Israeli occupation in the territories. The next afternoon I was here, in the Rafidiya maternity ward, standing before the bed of the wounded Maha, who had lost her baby.
The biggest hospital in the territories is practically deserted, barely functioning. It has been this way for two months now. Like the other hospitals in the West Bank, Rafidiya accepts only emergency cases, because of the economic boycott of the Palestinian Authority, which also prevents the workers here from being paid. Only 20 of the hospital’s 168 beds are currently occupied, and only about a third of the hospital’s 380 staff members show up for work. In the emergency room we saw just one patient, who had arrived that morning. The rest of the beds were empty. In the past two and a half months, the workers have received just NIS 1,500 per person, from funds provided by the European Union.
Hospital director Dr. Khaled Salah says that the staff and patients don’t come to the hospital because of the difficulties in getting to Nablus and the cost of the trip, which has risen significantly because of the checkpoints. The Hawara checkpoint and the Beit Iba checkpoint, the two checkpoints on the city’s outskirts, are relatively deserted, because of the difficulty in getting past them.
Maha lies in bed, her eyes closed. A green headscarf covers her head. Her skin is ashen. Every once in a while she opens her eyes but then quickly closes them again. Once in a while she also murmurs a few words in a feeble voice and then goes quiet again. How are you? Silence. Maha is a resident of the Ein Beit Ilma refugee camp on the outskirts of Nablus. She is married to Rifat, a 36-year-old school janitor, and the couple have three children: Jihad, 10; Jawad, 7; and Jad, 3. Two uncles and her mother watch over her, not budging from her bedside. For the father of the family, it’s too hard to be here. He’s still in shock.
Last Wednesday was an ordinary day in the Katouni household. The father went to work, the kids went to school, and in the evening everyone went to bed - the parents in their bedroom and the three children in their room in the third-floor apartment. Shortly after two in the morning, Maha was startled awake by the loud sounds of gunfire from the street. She didn’t even manage to turn on the light when she got up to run to the kids’ room next door, to reassure her three little boys and keep them from getting scared. The gunfire was very heavy. The window of her room was open and her bed was close to the window.
Maha got out of bed, took one step, and then the bullet struck her in the lower back. She fell onto the nightstand. Another bullet struck the nightstand. Soldiers from the Nahal patrol battalion were standing on the roofs of the surrounding buildings. “Wherever we are sent - to there we go,” the poet Yaakov Orland once wrote in “The Nahal Anthem,” sung by the Nahal entertainment troupe, which also sang “The Song of Peace.”
Rifat rushed to call an ambulance. The children, who had awakened, were hysterical, especially the youngest, 3-year-old Jad, at the sight of the blood trickling from the front and back of their pregnant mother, who lay wounded on the floor. The bullet had struck her from behind, passed through the fetus’ head and the mother’s intestines and exited through the abdomen.
Family members say that about 45 minutes went by before the ambulance from the Medical Relief organization was permitted to approach. In the meantime, Maha’s mother, Umm Ibrahim, tried to leave her home nearby to come to her daughter’s aid. Umm Ibrahim says that when she tried to leave her house there was gunfire; she hurried back inside. “It’s a miracle that I was saved,” says the woman in the white headscarf. She could not reach her injured daughter and would not see her until two hours later, in the hospital.
The pain is written all over Maha’s face. One of her brothers somehow managed to cross the line of fire and get to her house; he tried to stanch the gaping wound in her stomach with a towel. Her husband, Rifat, was paralyzed with shock. Umm Ibrahim says that her son, who tended to Maha, could see through the hole in her abdomen that the fetus had been wounded in the head and was dead.
The gunfire finally subsided at around three in the morning and they were able to take Maha out to the street, carried by her brother and the paramedic from the ambulance that had parked in the nearby alley. The brother says that on the way to the hospital they were stopped twice by soldiers, who wanted to check the wounded woman’s identity and to make sure there were no wanted men hiding in the ambulance. Maha was barely conscious when she reached the hospital, but her mother says she understood right away that she had lost the baby.
The family says the IDF enters the camp nearly every night and that there is almost always gunfire. Umm Ibrahim managed to get to the hospital at four in the morning, when her daughter was in the operating room and the dead fetus had already been removed.
Dr. Ihab Shareideh was the surgeon who was summoned to the hospital in the middle of the night to operate on Maha. He says that her recovery has been more difficult and slower than usual, not only because of her injuries, but because of her traumatized mental state. Fortunately, not many blood vessels were injured, so the delay in getting her to the hospital did not cause further damage. It is too soon to gauge the extent of the damage to her digestive system, or to say whether she will be able to get pregnant again. The fetus died as a result of the bullet that penetrated its brain on the way to the mother’s intestines.
The anesthesiologist, Dr. Iyad Salim, a resident of nearby Hawara, roams the hospital corridors. On his cell phone camera is a video of the operation and the removal of the fetus. So close to being a fully developed baby, with a bullet wound to the head. The memorial poster shows the etus bleeding from the head. The image is unbearable.
They were going to call him Daoud, after an uncle, and also after a resident of the camp who was killed. At home they had everything ready: new clothes, diapers and a crib passed down from his older brothers. Daoud was buried in the camp cemetery. Only a few close family members attended the funeral of the unborn baby.
At press time, no response had been received from the IDF Spokesperson’s Office.
Sunday, 27 May 2007
Cry, the beloved country
Gideon Levy, Ha'aretz, 25 May 2007
PRETORIA, South Africa - It was like being in the movies. Only there would you see an inert photo suddenly come to life. We were standing at the memorial museum in Soweto, next to a photo of a dead boy with other children around him, and our guide Antoinette was telling us about it. Antoinette said that the young girl in the picture was her.
The photo is at the entrance of the museum, built to commemorate the blacks' struggle against apartheid, which began here. Across the way is Nelson Mandela's tiny hut, nearby is the house of Desmond Tutu and down the street is the present home of Winnie Mandela.
The picture was stunningly familiar to us. We were four: MK Ran Cohen (Meretz); Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations; Diana Buttu, a former legal advisor to the PLO; and myself. We were all making the same associations: Hector is Mohammed al-Dura; the white soldiers shooting at children are us.
The passage of time was evident with Antoinette. The teenager in the picture was now a woman in her late forties. Her brother would have been 44, but a bullet from the rifle of a white policeman deprived him of the chance to witness the miracle of how the cruel racist regime collapsed.
It was another UN conference about peace with the Palestinians, but this time it was being held in a particularly "loaded" location. We were only two Israelis there, but the calling cards I collected were quite varied: Arab and African ambassadors, the previous Egyptian foreign minister, representatives of Muslim countries and diplomats posted in Pretoria. The Syrian ambassador smiled and did not offer his card; the Libyan ambassador did the same. But they listened to us attentively.
The new regime has been good for South Africa; no Palestinian refugee camp looks nearly as attractive as Soweto 2007. But not far away is a shantytown called Alexandra and the sights there are worse than in any Palestinian refugee camp we've seen. This is where South African blacks who haven't been able to pull themselves out of poverty live, together with refugees from neighboring Zimbabwe.
Less than a kilometer separates the impoverished Alexandra from a fancy Johannesburg neighborhood called Sandton. There, behind the electric fences and personal bodyguards, hide the city's wealthy - many of them Jews and a good number former Israelis. On Shabbat we ate cholent. On Friday night we dined with a former Israeli from Nahalal. We drove to Alexandra with a guy who originally hails from Tivon, who has been here for 30 years and owns a huge agricultural enterprise that employs 1,800 black workers earning $2 an hour.
It's impossible not to admire what has occurred in this battered land since the yoke of white tyranny was lifted.
Not in his name
At the conference luncheon, Ronnie Kasrils, South Africa's minister for intelligence services, hurried over to grab a seat next to us. Kasrils, a Jew, had never been to Israel (where he has relatives) until his visit to the territories earlier in the month, when he invited Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to his country. He then made his first, quick trip to Tel Aviv, saw Rabin Square and ate fish in Jaffa. "It was the most pleasant evening I had," he acknowledges.
Tom Segev once wrote that he is "a guy I wouldn't choose to be stuck in an elevator with," but I would be glad to get stuck with Ronnie Kasrils, inside or outside an elevator. He is a Jew in conflict with his people, perhaps also with his identity - a courageous freedom fighter and communist, who joined the oppressed race in its struggle, was exiled from his country for 27 years and is now a minister.
A son of Lithuanian Jews, who had a bar mitzvah and belonged to Jewish youth movements, Kasrils is one of the most fascinating characters to come out of the local Jewish community - which now thoroughly denounces him. He brandishes his Jewishness openly, perhaps defiantly, even when he recently made an official visit to Iran and Syria. He once founded a movement called "Not in My Name," to underscore his disassociation from the injustices committed by Israel in the territories. Ronnie Kasrils hates the Israeli occupation.
When we talked he said the Israeli occupation is worse than apartheid: The whites never shelled the black neighborhoods with tanks and artillery.
Just like the pogroms
If this warm, outgoing 69-year-old has any personal security protection, it is invisible. We sat in a vacant room in a building on the University of Pretoria campus and talked. "You're an Israeli and I'm a South African," he emphasized immediately, as if to negate any common identity. "I'm confident that the circle will be closed one day and people will understand that I'm not anti-Jewish or anti-Israeli ... It really pains me as a Jew that in this country such hostility has developed toward Israel, because of its treatment of the Palestinians ...
"When we saw on television the drama going on in your country, the oppressive pictures of the methods you use toward the Palestinians, the uprooting of trees, the tanks entering Jenin, and the old woman weeping over the demolition of her house and crying 'The Jews, the Jews' - it's just like what my grandmother used to tell me about the pogroms: The Cossacks are coming, the Cossacks are coming. I'm trying to say: It's not the Jews, it's Zionisms that's doing this. So I decided to get up and say something. I found this in the Jewish tradition: to open your mouth, in the name of conscience.
"The man who greeted me when I returned to South Africa after the years of exile was Rabbi Cyril Harris ... He gave me a red skullcap with a dedication: to the freedom fighter. When I started to express criticism of Israel, I thought that the Jews would denounce Ariel Sharon, but then I found out that I was naive. I was stunned to see that the Jewish community here didn't care who was in power in Israel and how extreme the policy was against the Palestinians ...
They would blindly support any government. Rabbi Harris became my enemy. He called me a fringe Jew and my response was: We were the only ones who stood up against apartheid and now we're the minority against the injustice.
"When I visited the territories I also passed through Israel and I saw the forests that cover the remnants of the Palestinian villages. As a former forestry minister, this was especially striking to me. I also went into a few settlements. It was insane. Young Americans spat on the flag that was on my car. The occupation reminds me of the darkest days of apartheid, but we never saw tanks and planes firing at a civilian population. It's a monstrousness I'd never seen before. The wall you built, the checkpoints and the roads for Jews only - it turns the stomach, even for someone who grew up under apartheid. It's a hundred times worse.
"We know from our experience that oppression motivates resistance and that the more savage the oppression, the harsher the resistance. At a certain point in time you think that the oppression is working, and that you're controlling the other people, imprisoning its leaders and its activists, but the resistance will triumph in the end.
"We saw the entrance to Qalqilyah, the wall, the people standing hours in line at the checkpoints. It's a beautiful country, I love its landscapes, but I know that it's big enough to contain more people. Israel has developed very impressively, but how much more impressive it would be if you brought about a just solution ... I don't care if it's two states or one - it's up to you, the Israelis and the Palestinians, to decide.
"I had coffee with the commander of the Erez checkpoint. It reminded me of the central prison in Pretoria, a place I've visited many times. And it was so awful to go through this thing in order to get to Gaza. At first I said that I don't want to speak with the man at the checkpoint, but then I decided that was foolish. The Israelis were actually very nice to me.
"What is Zionism to me? When I was 10 years old, it meant security and a national home for the Jews. I waved the Israeli flag at my bar mitzvah and I was very proud of my Judaism. The first book I received for my bar mitzvah was 'The Revolt,' by Menachem Begin. My biggest hero was Asher Ginsberg, Ahad Ha'am ... Later on I started reading not only Herzl, but also [historians] Ilan Pappe, Benny Morris and Tom Segev, and I came to see 1948 in a different light. I understood that it was an ethnic cleansing.
"South Africa changed me and strengthened my South African identity. And then I began to understand that the main problem of Zionism is the exclusivity of the establishment of a national home and the concept of the chosen people. Very soon I started to oppose it. The establishment of a national home for Jews alone seemed to me like a parallel of apartheid. The apartheid leaders also spoke about a chosen people. In 1961, prime minister Hendrik Verwoerd said that Israel is like South Africa. That opened my eyes. For many years we were also aware of the military cooperation between Israel and South Africa - a joint offensive naval force, missile boats, the Cheetah planes and the big secret of the nuclear weapons. Prime minister Johannes Vorster, who had a declared Nazi past, received a hero's welcome from you. This added to my feelings regarding Israel.
"I am very conscious of the Holocaust and of anti-Semitism, but my experience here leads me to one conclusion: that all forms of racism must be fought by means of a common struggle. I have a dream: That you will change your outlook, as happened here, and that change will come. When politicians reach agreements, it's amazing how fast ordinary folks can come to a change in thinking. Change the leadership and the economic conditions and you'll see how easy the change is."
PRETORIA, South Africa - It was like being in the movies. Only there would you see an inert photo suddenly come to life. We were standing at the memorial museum in Soweto, next to a photo of a dead boy with other children around him, and our guide Antoinette was telling us about it. Antoinette said that the young girl in the picture was her.
The photo is at the entrance of the museum, built to commemorate the blacks' struggle against apartheid, which began here. Across the way is Nelson Mandela's tiny hut, nearby is the house of Desmond Tutu and down the street is the present home of Winnie Mandela.
The picture was stunningly familiar to us. We were four: MK Ran Cohen (Meretz); Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations; Diana Buttu, a former legal advisor to the PLO; and myself. We were all making the same associations: Hector is Mohammed al-Dura; the white soldiers shooting at children are us.
The passage of time was evident with Antoinette. The teenager in the picture was now a woman in her late forties. Her brother would have been 44, but a bullet from the rifle of a white policeman deprived him of the chance to witness the miracle of how the cruel racist regime collapsed.
It was another UN conference about peace with the Palestinians, but this time it was being held in a particularly "loaded" location. We were only two Israelis there, but the calling cards I collected were quite varied: Arab and African ambassadors, the previous Egyptian foreign minister, representatives of Muslim countries and diplomats posted in Pretoria. The Syrian ambassador smiled and did not offer his card; the Libyan ambassador did the same. But they listened to us attentively.
The new regime has been good for South Africa; no Palestinian refugee camp looks nearly as attractive as Soweto 2007. But not far away is a shantytown called Alexandra and the sights there are worse than in any Palestinian refugee camp we've seen. This is where South African blacks who haven't been able to pull themselves out of poverty live, together with refugees from neighboring Zimbabwe.
Less than a kilometer separates the impoverished Alexandra from a fancy Johannesburg neighborhood called Sandton. There, behind the electric fences and personal bodyguards, hide the city's wealthy - many of them Jews and a good number former Israelis. On Shabbat we ate cholent. On Friday night we dined with a former Israeli from Nahalal. We drove to Alexandra with a guy who originally hails from Tivon, who has been here for 30 years and owns a huge agricultural enterprise that employs 1,800 black workers earning $2 an hour.
It's impossible not to admire what has occurred in this battered land since the yoke of white tyranny was lifted.
Not in his name
At the conference luncheon, Ronnie Kasrils, South Africa's minister for intelligence services, hurried over to grab a seat next to us. Kasrils, a Jew, had never been to Israel (where he has relatives) until his visit to the territories earlier in the month, when he invited Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to his country. He then made his first, quick trip to Tel Aviv, saw Rabin Square and ate fish in Jaffa. "It was the most pleasant evening I had," he acknowledges.
Tom Segev once wrote that he is "a guy I wouldn't choose to be stuck in an elevator with," but I would be glad to get stuck with Ronnie Kasrils, inside or outside an elevator. He is a Jew in conflict with his people, perhaps also with his identity - a courageous freedom fighter and communist, who joined the oppressed race in its struggle, was exiled from his country for 27 years and is now a minister.
A son of Lithuanian Jews, who had a bar mitzvah and belonged to Jewish youth movements, Kasrils is one of the most fascinating characters to come out of the local Jewish community - which now thoroughly denounces him. He brandishes his Jewishness openly, perhaps defiantly, even when he recently made an official visit to Iran and Syria. He once founded a movement called "Not in My Name," to underscore his disassociation from the injustices committed by Israel in the territories. Ronnie Kasrils hates the Israeli occupation.
When we talked he said the Israeli occupation is worse than apartheid: The whites never shelled the black neighborhoods with tanks and artillery.
Just like the pogroms
If this warm, outgoing 69-year-old has any personal security protection, it is invisible. We sat in a vacant room in a building on the University of Pretoria campus and talked. "You're an Israeli and I'm a South African," he emphasized immediately, as if to negate any common identity. "I'm confident that the circle will be closed one day and people will understand that I'm not anti-Jewish or anti-Israeli ... It really pains me as a Jew that in this country such hostility has developed toward Israel, because of its treatment of the Palestinians ...
"When we saw on television the drama going on in your country, the oppressive pictures of the methods you use toward the Palestinians, the uprooting of trees, the tanks entering Jenin, and the old woman weeping over the demolition of her house and crying 'The Jews, the Jews' - it's just like what my grandmother used to tell me about the pogroms: The Cossacks are coming, the Cossacks are coming. I'm trying to say: It's not the Jews, it's Zionisms that's doing this. So I decided to get up and say something. I found this in the Jewish tradition: to open your mouth, in the name of conscience.
"The man who greeted me when I returned to South Africa after the years of exile was Rabbi Cyril Harris ... He gave me a red skullcap with a dedication: to the freedom fighter. When I started to express criticism of Israel, I thought that the Jews would denounce Ariel Sharon, but then I found out that I was naive. I was stunned to see that the Jewish community here didn't care who was in power in Israel and how extreme the policy was against the Palestinians ...
They would blindly support any government. Rabbi Harris became my enemy. He called me a fringe Jew and my response was: We were the only ones who stood up against apartheid and now we're the minority against the injustice.
"When I visited the territories I also passed through Israel and I saw the forests that cover the remnants of the Palestinian villages. As a former forestry minister, this was especially striking to me. I also went into a few settlements. It was insane. Young Americans spat on the flag that was on my car. The occupation reminds me of the darkest days of apartheid, but we never saw tanks and planes firing at a civilian population. It's a monstrousness I'd never seen before. The wall you built, the checkpoints and the roads for Jews only - it turns the stomach, even for someone who grew up under apartheid. It's a hundred times worse.
"We know from our experience that oppression motivates resistance and that the more savage the oppression, the harsher the resistance. At a certain point in time you think that the oppression is working, and that you're controlling the other people, imprisoning its leaders and its activists, but the resistance will triumph in the end.
"We saw the entrance to Qalqilyah, the wall, the people standing hours in line at the checkpoints. It's a beautiful country, I love its landscapes, but I know that it's big enough to contain more people. Israel has developed very impressively, but how much more impressive it would be if you brought about a just solution ... I don't care if it's two states or one - it's up to you, the Israelis and the Palestinians, to decide.
"I had coffee with the commander of the Erez checkpoint. It reminded me of the central prison in Pretoria, a place I've visited many times. And it was so awful to go through this thing in order to get to Gaza. At first I said that I don't want to speak with the man at the checkpoint, but then I decided that was foolish. The Israelis were actually very nice to me.
"What is Zionism to me? When I was 10 years old, it meant security and a national home for the Jews. I waved the Israeli flag at my bar mitzvah and I was very proud of my Judaism. The first book I received for my bar mitzvah was 'The Revolt,' by Menachem Begin. My biggest hero was Asher Ginsberg, Ahad Ha'am ... Later on I started reading not only Herzl, but also [historians] Ilan Pappe, Benny Morris and Tom Segev, and I came to see 1948 in a different light. I understood that it was an ethnic cleansing.
"South Africa changed me and strengthened my South African identity. And then I began to understand that the main problem of Zionism is the exclusivity of the establishment of a national home and the concept of the chosen people. Very soon I started to oppose it. The establishment of a national home for Jews alone seemed to me like a parallel of apartheid. The apartheid leaders also spoke about a chosen people. In 1961, prime minister Hendrik Verwoerd said that Israel is like South Africa. That opened my eyes. For many years we were also aware of the military cooperation between Israel and South Africa - a joint offensive naval force, missile boats, the Cheetah planes and the big secret of the nuclear weapons. Prime minister Johannes Vorster, who had a declared Nazi past, received a hero's welcome from you. This added to my feelings regarding Israel.
"I am very conscious of the Holocaust and of anti-Semitism, but my experience here leads me to one conclusion: that all forms of racism must be fought by means of a common struggle. I have a dream: That you will change your outlook, as happened here, and that change will come. When politicians reach agreements, it's amazing how fast ordinary folks can come to a change in thinking. Change the leadership and the economic conditions and you'll see how easy the change is."
Friday, 22 December 2006
24.11.06
White Sisters?
Paul Heywood - Smith QC, November 20, 2006
The Australian government's silence regarding Mr. Tamir's comments and its rejection of Senator Allison's bill raises some troubling questions regarding Australian foreign policy. To what extent do Mr. Tamir's comments reflect the Australian government's perception of Australia's place in the world?
Two White Sisters in Asia: Israel and Australia
M. Shahid Alam, November 7, 2006
Perhaps, it is this changing global scenario that is causing some Israelis to emphasize their root constituency: white solidarity. Is this why Ambassador Naftali Tamir is advising Israel to forge a deeper partnership with Australia? It is possible that deep down, some Australians too feel beleaguered among a 'sea of Asians,' even though no Asian country threatens Australia. Perhaps, the Ambassador speaks as an insider. Perhaps, that is why he thinks it might be a good idea to exploit these Australian fears.
Israel's white Australia policy!
Mark Elf, Friday, October 13, 2006
Check this out. It's a report in Ha'aretz about how the Israeli ambassador to Australia has suggested that Israel and Australia should unite on the basis of the whiteness of the populations that count in those two states.
As'ad AbuKhalil: The glorious country of Micronesia (which had sent one soldier into Iraq to support the American occupation) is in the news again: "Voting "no" were the United States, Israel, Australia, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru and Palau. Abstaining were Canada, Ivory Coast, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu."
U.N. assembly presses Israel to withdraw from Gaza
Saturday November 18, 06:36 AM
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Friday to deplore a deadly Israeli artillery attack in Gaza, six days after the United States vetoed a similar measure in the Security Council.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Iraq war was good for Israel: Olmert
Dan Williams, Wednesday November 22, 3:16 PM ET
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Iraq war was a boon for Israel's security, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Wednesday, voicing fresh endorsement for a Bush administration sapped by the unpopularity at home of its Middle East policies.
WEXNER ANALYSIS: ISRAELI COMMUNICATION PRIORITIES 2003
For a year - a SOLID YEAR - you should be invoking the name of Saddam Hussein and how Israel was always behind American efforts to rid the world of this ruthless dictator and liberate their people. Saddam will remain a powerful symbol of terror to Americans for a long time to come. A pro-Israeli expression of solidarity with the American people in their successful effort to remove Saddam will be appreciated.
Peretz's office admits 'irregularities' in use of cluster bombs during war
Meron Rapoport, Ha'aretz, November 21, 2006
Meanwhile, for the first time yesterday, the IDF admitted targeting populated areas with cluster munitions. In a statement released by the IDF Spokesman's Office, "the use of cluster munitions against built-up areas was done only against military targets where rocket launches against Israel were identified and after taking steps to warn the civilian population." The statements released by the minister's office contradict Israel Defense Forces' claims - made both during and after the war - regarding the use of cluster munitions.
Civilians bear brunt of abuses, UN rights chief says
Report, UN News, November 23, 2006
International court on trial
Ian Black
Israel, another significant non-signatory, fears prosecutions over its behaviour in occupied Palestinian territories - such as the incident in which 18 Gazan civilians were killed by shelling this month. Still, the court's reach is fairly limited. Though the UN security council can ask the ICC to launch investigations, it has no police force or coercive powers of its own.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Swedish human rights worker viciously attacked by Jewish extremists in Hebron
ISM Hebron, November 18, 2006
A 19-year old Swedish human rights worker had her cheekbone broken by a Jewish extremist in Hebron today. Earlier the same day at least five Palestinians, including a 3-year-old child, were injured by the settler-supporting extremists, who rampaged through Tel Rumeida hurling stones and bottles at local residents. Palestinian schoolchildren on their way home were also attacked. The Israeli army, which was intensively deployed in the area, did not intervene to stop the attacks.
Nigel Parry's Hebron Diary
International Solidarity Movement updates
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hollow Visions of Palestine's Future
Jonathan Cook, November 18, 2006
Peace will need more than David Grossman - or Uri Avnery.
A project of dispossession can never be a noble cause
Ahdaf Soueif, November 17, 2006
Israel's liberal intellectuals lament the malaise that grips their country - but refuse to face up to the ethnicide at the heart of it.
Realities of death - November 2006
The value of life has little to do with the value accorded to death and the latter, writes Azmi Bishara, is determined as much by who did the killing as by the identity of the victim.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Israel ups the stakes in the propaganda war
Stewart Purvis, November 20, 2006
Amir Gissin talked last week of plans to get Israeli video onto sites like YouTube which he said were viewed by opinion "shapers". And his cousin Dr Ra'anan Gissin, formerly Ariel Sharon's media adviser, has endorsed the idea of having picture power at the country's disposal ready for future conflicts. Referring to Israel's opponents, he put it in his usual direct way: "You need to shoot a picture before you shoot them."
SourceWatch: Hasbara refers to the propaganda efforts to sell Israel, justify its actions, and defend it in world opinion. The premise of hasbara is that Israel's problems are a matter of better propaganda, and not one of an underlying unjust situation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bright lights and promises
The new Palestinian government of technocrats may bring an end to sanctions, and hope for the peace process reports Khaled Amayreh.
Fatah is likely to take the Foreign Ministry and a number of other service- oriented portfolios. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Palestinian Democratic Initiative headed by Mustafa Barghouti and the Third Way, headed by former minister of finance Salam Fayad, are all expected to take part in the upcoming government.
A committed intellectual - November 2006
Mustafa Barghouti reflects on the work and life of Edward Said.
Propaganda and war
Edward Said, September 2001
Never have the media been so influential in determining the course of war as during the Al-Aqsa Intifada, which, as far as the Western media are concerned, has essentially become a battle over images and ideas. Israel has already poured hundreds of millions of dollars into what in Hebrew is called hasbara, or information for the outside world (hence, propaganda).
Perpetual discord - November 2006
Dina Ezzat is shocked by the Arabs' endless ability to accommodate Israeli violations and American arrogance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Killing Hope in Beit Hanoun
Ramzy Baroud, November 18, 2006
The Worst Ramadan
A prayer in paradise
Gideon Levy, Haaretz, November 23, 2006
The kindergarten teacher is lying on a stretcher, covered with blood. The minibus is parked alongside. From somewhere to the left, the army cannon is firing shells. The children are lying on the ground next to one another. That is how one of the children described the morning when they were driving to their kindergarten in Beit Lahia and an Israel Defense Forces shell or missile - the army spokesman refuses to say - exploded several meters away and mortally wounded the teacher before their eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Caterpillar Homewrecker's Visit to London
Tom Hayes, November 24, 2006
On Wednesday around 50 protesters including the rhythms of resistance samba band turned out to 'greet' Mike Baunton, the Vice President of Caterpillar, who was due to speak at the Institute of Mechanical Engineers' Annual Dinner.
The message of the bulldozers
Jeff Halper, November 19, 2006
Israel's policy of demolishing Palestinian homes is part and parcel of an overall policy of displacement in which 80% of the Palestinians have been pushed from what has become Israel. Almost half of the entire Palestinian people (those living in the Occupied Territories) are being confined to a truncated Bantustan. Millions of refugees continue to languish in camps and 'Israeli Arabs', Palestinian citizens of Israel, find their own status increasingly threatened.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Artist Suzanne Klotz's Indispensable Guide to the Holy Land
Mulham Assir, November 24, 2006
Her commitment to the Palestinian cause is above all else spiritual. A deeply compassionate and genuine humanist, Klotz believes that the spiritual teachings of all major religions are the same. She also believes that Zionism has not only perverted and misrepresented Judaism to both Jews and Christians but is also misrepresenting and demonizing Muslims and Islam to the world. Her current work is a collection of 99 books she is creating, each representing one of God's attributes.
Karen Armstrong: How Religious Movements Prolong the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Carlton Cobb, CNI, November 20, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace never - November 2006
In Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Dina Ezzat seeks out the Israeli drive for peace.
Nine Israeli human rights organizations speak out about Gaza
Statement, Israeli human rights organizations, November 17, 2006
Israel/Palestine: Violence Hasn't Worked
Vivienne Porzsolt, November 22, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Palestinians hail Irish academics' support of Palestine
David Lundy, Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, November 21, 2006
Irish academics were thanked this week in an open letter, signed by over 100 academics and 1,000 students of Birzeit University near Ramallah, Palestine. The thanks were addressed to the 61 Irish academics who wrote a public letter in September calling for a moratorium on EU aid to Israeli universities, until Israel abides by international law and basic human rights norms.
Why The Academic Boycott Is Necessary
Lawrence Davidson, November 2006
Paul Heywood - Smith QC, November 20, 2006
The Australian government's silence regarding Mr. Tamir's comments and its rejection of Senator Allison's bill raises some troubling questions regarding Australian foreign policy. To what extent do Mr. Tamir's comments reflect the Australian government's perception of Australia's place in the world?
Two White Sisters in Asia: Israel and Australia
M. Shahid Alam, November 7, 2006
Perhaps, it is this changing global scenario that is causing some Israelis to emphasize their root constituency: white solidarity. Is this why Ambassador Naftali Tamir is advising Israel to forge a deeper partnership with Australia? It is possible that deep down, some Australians too feel beleaguered among a 'sea of Asians,' even though no Asian country threatens Australia. Perhaps, the Ambassador speaks as an insider. Perhaps, that is why he thinks it might be a good idea to exploit these Australian fears.
Israel's white Australia policy!
Mark Elf, Friday, October 13, 2006
Check this out. It's a report in Ha'aretz about how the Israeli ambassador to Australia has suggested that Israel and Australia should unite on the basis of the whiteness of the populations that count in those two states.
As'ad AbuKhalil: The glorious country of Micronesia (which had sent one soldier into Iraq to support the American occupation) is in the news again: "Voting "no" were the United States, Israel, Australia, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru and Palau. Abstaining were Canada, Ivory Coast, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu."
U.N. assembly presses Israel to withdraw from Gaza
Saturday November 18, 06:36 AM
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Friday to deplore a deadly Israeli artillery attack in Gaza, six days after the United States vetoed a similar measure in the Security Council.
The assembly voted 156-7 with six abstentions to approve a resolution put forward by Arab states that also urged the Jewish state to immediately withdraw its troops from Gaza.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Iraq war was good for Israel: Olmert
Dan Williams, Wednesday November 22, 3:16 PM ET
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Iraq war was a boon for Israel's security, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Wednesday, voicing fresh endorsement for a Bush administration sapped by the unpopularity at home of its Middle East policies.
WEXNER ANALYSIS: ISRAELI COMMUNICATION PRIORITIES 2003
For a year - a SOLID YEAR - you should be invoking the name of Saddam Hussein and how Israel was always behind American efforts to rid the world of this ruthless dictator and liberate their people. Saddam will remain a powerful symbol of terror to Americans for a long time to come. A pro-Israeli expression of solidarity with the American people in their successful effort to remove Saddam will be appreciated.
Peretz's office admits 'irregularities' in use of cluster bombs during war
Meron Rapoport, Ha'aretz, November 21, 2006
Meanwhile, for the first time yesterday, the IDF admitted targeting populated areas with cluster munitions. In a statement released by the IDF Spokesman's Office, "the use of cluster munitions against built-up areas was done only against military targets where rocket launches against Israel were identified and after taking steps to warn the civilian population." The statements released by the minister's office contradict Israel Defense Forces' claims - made both during and after the war - regarding the use of cluster munitions.
Civilians bear brunt of abuses, UN rights chief says
Report, UN News, November 23, 2006
International court on trial
Ian Black
Israel, another significant non-signatory, fears prosecutions over its behaviour in occupied Palestinian territories - such as the incident in which 18 Gazan civilians were killed by shelling this month. Still, the court's reach is fairly limited. Though the UN security council can ask the ICC to launch investigations, it has no police force or coercive powers of its own.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Swedish human rights worker viciously attacked by Jewish extremists in Hebron
ISM Hebron, November 18, 2006
A 19-year old Swedish human rights worker had her cheekbone broken by a Jewish extremist in Hebron today. Earlier the same day at least five Palestinians, including a 3-year-old child, were injured by the settler-supporting extremists, who rampaged through Tel Rumeida hurling stones and bottles at local residents. Palestinian schoolchildren on their way home were also attacked. The Israeli army, which was intensively deployed in the area, did not intervene to stop the attacks.
Nigel Parry's Hebron Diary
International Solidarity Movement updates
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hollow Visions of Palestine's Future
Jonathan Cook, November 18, 2006
Peace will need more than David Grossman - or Uri Avnery.
A project of dispossession can never be a noble cause
Ahdaf Soueif, November 17, 2006
Israel's liberal intellectuals lament the malaise that grips their country - but refuse to face up to the ethnicide at the heart of it.
Realities of death - November 2006
The value of life has little to do with the value accorded to death and the latter, writes Azmi Bishara, is determined as much by who did the killing as by the identity of the victim.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Israel ups the stakes in the propaganda war
Stewart Purvis, November 20, 2006
Amir Gissin talked last week of plans to get Israeli video onto sites like YouTube which he said were viewed by opinion "shapers". And his cousin Dr Ra'anan Gissin, formerly Ariel Sharon's media adviser, has endorsed the idea of having picture power at the country's disposal ready for future conflicts. Referring to Israel's opponents, he put it in his usual direct way: "You need to shoot a picture before you shoot them."
SourceWatch: Hasbara refers to the propaganda efforts to sell Israel, justify its actions, and defend it in world opinion. The premise of hasbara is that Israel's problems are a matter of better propaganda, and not one of an underlying unjust situation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bright lights and promises
The new Palestinian government of technocrats may bring an end to sanctions, and hope for the peace process reports Khaled Amayreh.
Fatah is likely to take the Foreign Ministry and a number of other service- oriented portfolios. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Palestinian Democratic Initiative headed by Mustafa Barghouti and the Third Way, headed by former minister of finance Salam Fayad, are all expected to take part in the upcoming government.
A committed intellectual - November 2006
Mustafa Barghouti reflects on the work and life of Edward Said.
Propaganda and war
Edward Said, September 2001
Never have the media been so influential in determining the course of war as during the Al-Aqsa Intifada, which, as far as the Western media are concerned, has essentially become a battle over images and ideas. Israel has already poured hundreds of millions of dollars into what in Hebrew is called hasbara, or information for the outside world (hence, propaganda).
Perpetual discord - November 2006
Dina Ezzat is shocked by the Arabs' endless ability to accommodate Israeli violations and American arrogance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Killing Hope in Beit Hanoun
Ramzy Baroud, November 18, 2006
The Worst Ramadan
A prayer in paradise
Gideon Levy, Haaretz, November 23, 2006
The kindergarten teacher is lying on a stretcher, covered with blood. The minibus is parked alongside. From somewhere to the left, the army cannon is firing shells. The children are lying on the ground next to one another. That is how one of the children described the morning when they were driving to their kindergarten in Beit Lahia and an Israel Defense Forces shell or missile - the army spokesman refuses to say - exploded several meters away and mortally wounded the teacher before their eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Caterpillar Homewrecker's Visit to London
Tom Hayes, November 24, 2006
On Wednesday around 50 protesters including the rhythms of resistance samba band turned out to 'greet' Mike Baunton, the Vice President of Caterpillar, who was due to speak at the Institute of Mechanical Engineers' Annual Dinner.
The message of the bulldozers
Jeff Halper, November 19, 2006
Israel's policy of demolishing Palestinian homes is part and parcel of an overall policy of displacement in which 80% of the Palestinians have been pushed from what has become Israel. Almost half of the entire Palestinian people (those living in the Occupied Territories) are being confined to a truncated Bantustan. Millions of refugees continue to languish in camps and 'Israeli Arabs', Palestinian citizens of Israel, find their own status increasingly threatened.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Artist Suzanne Klotz's Indispensable Guide to the Holy Land
Mulham Assir, November 24, 2006
Her commitment to the Palestinian cause is above all else spiritual. A deeply compassionate and genuine humanist, Klotz believes that the spiritual teachings of all major religions are the same. She also believes that Zionism has not only perverted and misrepresented Judaism to both Jews and Christians but is also misrepresenting and demonizing Muslims and Islam to the world. Her current work is a collection of 99 books she is creating, each representing one of God's attributes.
Karen Armstrong: How Religious Movements Prolong the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Carlton Cobb, CNI, November 20, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace never - November 2006
In Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Dina Ezzat seeks out the Israeli drive for peace.
Nine Israeli human rights organizations speak out about Gaza
Statement, Israeli human rights organizations, November 17, 2006
Israel/Palestine: Violence Hasn't Worked
Vivienne Porzsolt, November 22, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Palestinians hail Irish academics' support of Palestine
David Lundy, Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, November 21, 2006
Irish academics were thanked this week in an open letter, signed by over 100 academics and 1,000 students of Birzeit University near Ramallah, Palestine. The thanks were addressed to the 61 Irish academics who wrote a public letter in September calling for a moratorium on EU aid to Israeli universities, until Israel abides by international law and basic human rights norms.
Why The Academic Boycott Is Necessary
Lawrence Davidson, November 2006
Witnessing an Undercover Operation in Ramallah
A Tale of Two Sisters: Witnessing an Undercover Israeli Operation in Ramallah
Annemarie Jacir, occupied Palestine, 15 November 2006
Emily Jacir's blog from Ramallah
Today is November 15th. Today is our supposed "Independence Day". A joke. Was almost killed today. This will be brief and inarticulate. I am still in shock.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Book Review: The Second Palestinian Intifada by Ramzy Baroud
Fred Wilcox, 7 November 2006
Palestinians who resist the occupation suffer terrible consequences, but they are not alone. An Israeli sniper in the Jenin refugee wounded Ian Hook, a United Nations coordinator. Mr. Hook bled to death when the IDF refused to permit an ambulance to take him to a hospital. On the same day Hook was murdered, Israeli soldiers shot and wounded a twenty-three year-old Irish activist, Caoimhe Butterly, who was standing in the line of fire between the IDF and Palestinian children.
Treacherous Road to Oslo Begins Here
Ramzy Baroud, November 13, 2006
Pinochet in Palestine
Joseph Massad, 9 - 15 November 2006
Academic set for Palestinian 'unity' leadership
Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem, 14 November 2006
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Gaza: While the world looked elsewhere, another week of death and misery
Donald Macintyre In Beit Hanoun, 11 November 2006
How a Beit Hanun Family was Destroyed
Amira Hass, November 13, 2006
Not Without my Daughter
Gideon Levy, November 13, 2006
Above all, this is the story of a little girl whose life was ruined during the festive first trip in the family car that her father had bought, when it was hit by an air force missile. Perhaps it was supposed to kill a wanted man, but instead it hit the new car and wiped out an innocent family. But no less than that, this is also the story of her father, Hamdi Aman, a young man of 28 who lost his small son, his wife, his mother and his uncle during the cursed family outing, and whose life's work is now his disabled daughter's rehabilitation.
Preparing for the next invasion
Amira Hass, Haaretz, 15 November 2006
The management of the Beit Hanun hospital decided to dig a well in the hospital's yard. By Saturday, laborers and bulldozers were already on the job. That is how the hospital is readying itself for the next invasion by the Israeli army.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
US vetoes Security Council draft resolution on Israeli operations in Gaza
Report, UN News, 11 November 2006
Exercising its veto in the Security Council today, the United States blocked a draft resolution that won the endorsement of 10 other members and would have called for a United Nations fact-finding mission in response to a recent Israeli operation in Gaza resulting in at least 18 civilian deaths.
UN expert urges Israel to stop destruction in Gaza, calls for military sanctions
Report, UN News, 13 November 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Dissenting Note on the Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917
On the Anti-Semitism of the Present Government
By Lord Montague
South Africa seen as model for Palestine
Ali Abunimah, The Chicago Tribune, 13 November 2006
Lieberman And Israeli Apartheid
Saree Makdisi, 15 November, 2006
The only thing that distinguishes Avigdor Lieberman from run of the mill politics in Israel is that he is willing to take Israel's vision of itself to its logical conclusion. Rather than tolerating non-Jews as second or third class citizens, he wants them out altogether. The issue, then, is not that Lieberman is more racist than other Israeli politicians. It is, rather, that he shamelessly utters what most of his peers dare not say aloud.
The Anatomy of a Beautiful Soul
Raymond Deane, The Electronic Intifada, 9 November 2006
Of Israeli literature's "three wise men", Grossman is the one who universally gleans most respect. When the "three wise men" came out against the recent Lebanon war two weeks after it had started, this was widely reported and totted up to their credit. The fact that they had initially backed it enthusiastically wasn't reported at all.
Poetic license
Meron Benvenisti, Ha'aretz, 16 November 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
French troops 'came close to shooting down Israeli jets'
Angela Charlton in Paris, 10 November 2006
The French government has demanded that Israel stop mock raids over Lebanon after French peacekeepers came within seconds of shooting down Israeli warplanes.
Military sales to Israel challenged
Richard Norton-Taylor, Wednesday November 15, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Contract of the Distilled Egotism
Benny Ziffer (Tziffer), Zalman Amit (translator)
Ha'aretz, November 8, 2006
We already have experience with one thousand and one cases where Palestinians were killed by mistake.
No one is guilty in Israel
Gideon Levy, November 14, 2006
A few hours after the disaster, while the Gaza Strip was still enveloped in sorrow and deep in shock, the air force was already hastening to carry out another targeted killing, an arrogant demonstration of just how much this disaster does not concern us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How Gaza Offends Us All
Jennifer Loewenstein, Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford University's Refugee Studies Centre, 11.09.2006
What a terrible shame it is that Gazans have not yet attained the status of Human in the eyes of the Western powers, for the resistance there will continue to be an enigma until this changes. For now, however, the slaughter will continue unabated.
Cultural diplomacy
Jessica Robertson Wright, The Jerusalem Fund, 13 November 2006
With reactions ranging from bugged-out eyes to shocked silence, I have started tempering my response to the job question by mumbling that I work for a Middle Eastern nonprofit. However, my husband, who loves to rile people up and dismisses my soft-pedaling, usually leans over when he hears me and chimes in with a hearty "It's a Palestinian organization." And there the conversation dies.
The Democrats Don't Care
Kathleen and Bill Christison, 13 November 2006
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Photostory: The Old City of Nablus
November 14th, 2006 Posted in Journals, Nablus Region,
Photos by Bill Dienst MD, November 13th
Nablus, population 113 thousand, is the West Bank's second largest city: second only to East Jerusalem. Founded during the time of the Romans, it is over 2000 years old.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear student, what does Dad think of the army?
Meron Rapoport, Ha'aretz, 15 November 2006
The homeroom teacher did not tell the students the truth, and maybe she didn't know it herself. Those questionnaires were not meant "to remain with the youth counselors." They were meant to reach the Education Corps and to help it find "problematic clients," the young people who are not happy about army induction and to give them personal attention. The IDF uses the direct-mailing method. The product it is marketing with this method is the military draft.
Israel opted for cheaper, unsafe cluster bombs in Lebanon war
Meron Rapoport, Haaretz, 14 November 2006
The main reason for the use of the U.S.-made weapons: Israel uses military aid funds to purchase cluster bombs from the U.S., and in order to buy IMI-made bombs, the Israel Defense Forces would have to dip into its own budget.
How Israel put Gaza civilians in firing line
Peter Beaumont, foreign affairs editor, Sunday November 12, 2006
The IDF has claimed a fault in the artillery radar system's co-ordinates for the missiles changed the margin of error from 25 to 200m, but that still does not explain why it waited until the following day to return fire to a general area - a policy that the Israeli peace group B'Tselem describes as a 'war crime'.
Grave suspicion of extrajudicial execution of two wounded Palestinians
B'Tselem - 8 November 2006
B'Tselem's investigation indicates that Salim Abu al-Heijah and Mahmoud Abu Hassan were executed by soldiers while they lay wounded, unarmed and posed no risk to the soldiers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For Evangelicals, Supporting Israel Is 'God's Foreign Policy'
David D. Kirkpatrick, The New York Times,14 November 2006
Christian Zionism: An Egregious Threat to Middle East Understanding
Report, Council for the National Interest, 26 October 2006
Save a Jew, Save Yourself!
10.25.2004
Mark Ames reviews The American Prophecies by Michael D. Evans
http://www.christianzionism.org/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As'ad AbuKhalil reviews Time Magazine's
The Middle East: The History,the Conflict, the Culture, the Faiths
12 November 2006
Norman Finkelstein on Jimmy Carter's Peace Not Apartheid (New York: 2006)
10 November 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Photostory: How to Harvest Olives In Palestine
Omar, with photos, editing, and English translation by Dr. Bill
Dienst writing from Qraawa-Beny-Zed, occupied Palestine, 13 November 2006
Annemarie Jacir, occupied Palestine, 15 November 2006
Emily Jacir's blog from Ramallah
Today is November 15th. Today is our supposed "Independence Day". A joke. Was almost killed today. This will be brief and inarticulate. I am still in shock.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Book Review: The Second Palestinian Intifada by Ramzy Baroud
Fred Wilcox, 7 November 2006
Palestinians who resist the occupation suffer terrible consequences, but they are not alone. An Israeli sniper in the Jenin refugee wounded Ian Hook, a United Nations coordinator. Mr. Hook bled to death when the IDF refused to permit an ambulance to take him to a hospital. On the same day Hook was murdered, Israeli soldiers shot and wounded a twenty-three year-old Irish activist, Caoimhe Butterly, who was standing in the line of fire between the IDF and Palestinian children.
Treacherous Road to Oslo Begins Here
Ramzy Baroud, November 13, 2006
Pinochet in Palestine
Joseph Massad, 9 - 15 November 2006
Academic set for Palestinian 'unity' leadership
Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem, 14 November 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gaza: While the world looked elsewhere, another week of death and misery
Donald Macintyre In Beit Hanoun, 11 November 2006
How a Beit Hanun Family was Destroyed
Amira Hass, November 13, 2006
Not Without my Daughter
Gideon Levy, November 13, 2006
Above all, this is the story of a little girl whose life was ruined during the festive first trip in the family car that her father had bought, when it was hit by an air force missile. Perhaps it was supposed to kill a wanted man, but instead it hit the new car and wiped out an innocent family. But no less than that, this is also the story of her father, Hamdi Aman, a young man of 28 who lost his small son, his wife, his mother and his uncle during the cursed family outing, and whose life's work is now his disabled daughter's rehabilitation.
Preparing for the next invasion
Amira Hass, Haaretz, 15 November 2006
The management of the Beit Hanun hospital decided to dig a well in the hospital's yard. By Saturday, laborers and bulldozers were already on the job. That is how the hospital is readying itself for the next invasion by the Israeli army.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
US vetoes Security Council draft resolution on Israeli operations in Gaza
Report, UN News, 11 November 2006
Exercising its veto in the Security Council today, the United States blocked a draft resolution that won the endorsement of 10 other members and would have called for a United Nations fact-finding mission in response to a recent Israeli operation in Gaza resulting in at least 18 civilian deaths.
UN expert urges Israel to stop destruction in Gaza, calls for military sanctions
Report, UN News, 13 November 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Dissenting Note on the Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917
On the Anti-Semitism of the Present Government
By Lord Montague
South Africa seen as model for Palestine
Ali Abunimah, The Chicago Tribune, 13 November 2006
Lieberman And Israeli Apartheid
Saree Makdisi, 15 November, 2006
The only thing that distinguishes Avigdor Lieberman from run of the mill politics in Israel is that he is willing to take Israel's vision of itself to its logical conclusion. Rather than tolerating non-Jews as second or third class citizens, he wants them out altogether. The issue, then, is not that Lieberman is more racist than other Israeli politicians. It is, rather, that he shamelessly utters what most of his peers dare not say aloud.
The Anatomy of a Beautiful Soul
Raymond Deane, The Electronic Intifada, 9 November 2006
Of Israeli literature's "three wise men", Grossman is the one who universally gleans most respect. When the "three wise men" came out against the recent Lebanon war two weeks after it had started, this was widely reported and totted up to their credit. The fact that they had initially backed it enthusiastically wasn't reported at all.
Poetic license
Meron Benvenisti, Ha'aretz, 16 November 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
French troops 'came close to shooting down Israeli jets'
Angela Charlton in Paris, 10 November 2006
The French government has demanded that Israel stop mock raids over Lebanon after French peacekeepers came within seconds of shooting down Israeli warplanes.
Military sales to Israel challenged
Richard Norton-Taylor, Wednesday November 15, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Contract of the Distilled Egotism
Benny Ziffer (Tziffer), Zalman Amit (translator)
Ha'aretz, November 8, 2006
We already have experience with one thousand and one cases where Palestinians were killed by mistake.
No one is guilty in Israel
Gideon Levy, November 14, 2006
A few hours after the disaster, while the Gaza Strip was still enveloped in sorrow and deep in shock, the air force was already hastening to carry out another targeted killing, an arrogant demonstration of just how much this disaster does not concern us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How Gaza Offends Us All
Jennifer Loewenstein, Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford University's Refugee Studies Centre, 11.09.2006
What a terrible shame it is that Gazans have not yet attained the status of Human in the eyes of the Western powers, for the resistance there will continue to be an enigma until this changes. For now, however, the slaughter will continue unabated.
Cultural diplomacy
Jessica Robertson Wright, The Jerusalem Fund, 13 November 2006
With reactions ranging from bugged-out eyes to shocked silence, I have started tempering my response to the job question by mumbling that I work for a Middle Eastern nonprofit. However, my husband, who loves to rile people up and dismisses my soft-pedaling, usually leans over when he hears me and chimes in with a hearty "It's a Palestinian organization." And there the conversation dies.
The Democrats Don't Care
Kathleen and Bill Christison, 13 November 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Photostory: The Old City of Nablus
November 14th, 2006 Posted in Journals, Nablus Region,
Photos by Bill Dienst MD, November 13th
Nablus, population 113 thousand, is the West Bank's second largest city: second only to East Jerusalem. Founded during the time of the Romans, it is over 2000 years old.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear student, what does Dad think of the army?
Meron Rapoport, Ha'aretz, 15 November 2006
The homeroom teacher did not tell the students the truth, and maybe she didn't know it herself. Those questionnaires were not meant "to remain with the youth counselors." They were meant to reach the Education Corps and to help it find "problematic clients," the young people who are not happy about army induction and to give them personal attention. The IDF uses the direct-mailing method. The product it is marketing with this method is the military draft.
Israel opted for cheaper, unsafe cluster bombs in Lebanon war
Meron Rapoport, Haaretz, 14 November 2006
The main reason for the use of the U.S.-made weapons: Israel uses military aid funds to purchase cluster bombs from the U.S., and in order to buy IMI-made bombs, the Israel Defense Forces would have to dip into its own budget.
How Israel put Gaza civilians in firing line
Peter Beaumont, foreign affairs editor, Sunday November 12, 2006
The IDF has claimed a fault in the artillery radar system's co-ordinates for the missiles changed the margin of error from 25 to 200m, but that still does not explain why it waited until the following day to return fire to a general area - a policy that the Israeli peace group B'Tselem describes as a 'war crime'.
Grave suspicion of extrajudicial execution of two wounded Palestinians
B'Tselem - 8 November 2006
B'Tselem's investigation indicates that Salim Abu al-Heijah and Mahmoud Abu Hassan were executed by soldiers while they lay wounded, unarmed and posed no risk to the soldiers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For Evangelicals, Supporting Israel Is 'God's Foreign Policy'
David D. Kirkpatrick, The New York Times,14 November 2006
Christian Zionism: An Egregious Threat to Middle East Understanding
Report, Council for the National Interest, 26 October 2006
Save a Jew, Save Yourself!
10.25.2004
Mark Ames reviews The American Prophecies by Michael D. Evans
http://www.christianzionism.org/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As'ad AbuKhalil reviews Time Magazine's
The Middle East: The History,the Conflict, the Culture, the Faiths
12 November 2006
Norman Finkelstein on Jimmy Carter's Peace Not Apartheid (New York: 2006)
10 November 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Photostory: How to Harvest Olives In Palestine
Omar, with photos, editing, and English translation by Dr. Bill
Dienst writing from Qraawa-Beny-Zed, occupied Palestine, 13 November 2006
Academic Boycott: "We do not want to continue business as usual"
We overcame our fear
Jameela al-Shanti in Beit Hanoun
Thursday November 9, 2006
Yesterday at dawn, the Israeli air force bombed and destroyed my home. I was the target, but instead the attack killed my sister-in-law, Nahla, a widow with eight children in her care. In the same raid Israel's artillery shelled a residential district in the town of Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip, leaving 19 dead and 40 injured, many killed in their beds. One family, the Athamnas, lost 16 members in the massacre: the oldest who died, Fatima, was 70; the youngest, Dima, was one; seven were children. The death toll in Beit Hanoun has passed 90 in one week.
Israel kills 18 in shelling of Gaza town
08 Nov 2006 07:43:17 GMT, Source: Reuters
Nidal al-Mughrabi
BEIT HANOUN, Gaza, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Israeli tank shells killed 18 civilians in Gaza on Wednesday including 13 members of one family, Palestinian officials and residents said, in one of Israel's deadliest strikes in the territory in months.UN officials voice 'shock and dismay' at deadly
Israeli shelling of Gaza civilians
Report, UN News, 8 November 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Women of Beit Hanoun
Eliza Ernshire, November 7, 2006
The winter rains have started and the temperatures are falling everyday. Unsealed roads are fast becoming muddy tracks. The heavens are weeping too, witness to the frightful events that are unfolding now in that devastated and forgotten strip of land that we call Gaza, home to 3 million Palestinians.
Gaza women killed in mosque siege
Friday, 3 November 2006, 22:15 GMT
The BBC's Matthew Price in Jerusalem says that in television footage of the incident, some men are visible in the crowd, but there is no evidence that they were carrying guns.
Israeli troops open fire on women outside mosque
Staff and agencies, 3 November 2006
Video: http://multimedia.repubblica.it/home/463524
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/help/3681938.stm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A blog by Dr. Mona El-Farra, a physician by training, a human rights and women's rights activist by practice, in the occupied Gaza Strip.
http://fromgaza.blogspot.com/
Laila El-Haddad, journalist, mom, occupied Palestinian-all packed into one.
http://a-mother-from-gaza.blogspot.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Casualties Mount in New Israeli Attack on Gaza
Thursday, November 2nd, 2006
Amy Goodman interviews Jennifer Loewenstein, visiting research fellow at the Refugee Studies Centre at Oxford University, currently in Gaza City.
Listen to Maj. Gen. Stern
Gideon Levy, 7 November, 2006
In recent months, almost no day has gone by without Palestinians being killed in Gaza. Instead of asking why, we get a prime minister who boasts to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee about "300 terrorists" dead within four months, as if killing in itself were an enormous achievement. This is the lesson from Ehud Olmert, and it is immeasurably more grievous than all his alleged corruption affairs.
Another Hamas Peace Plan Ignored
Ira Chernus, 4 November 2006
Video: Norman Finkelstein on Hamas, current crisis
Lebanon, Hezbollah (Burlington, VT, 09.30.2006)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After a six-day barrage, Israel leaves Gaza town to count dead
Sa'id Ghazali in Beit Hanoun and Eric Silver in Jerusalem
Published: 08 November 2006
Beit Hanoun: Israelis pull out leaving trail of death
Rory McCarthy in Beit Hanoun
Wednesday November 8, 2006
Hours after the Israeli military pulled out of the town of Beit Hanoun yesterday morning, Talal Nasr was at the cemetery to search for a spot to bury the body of his 13-year-old daughter.
Olmert to press on with Gaza offensive
Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem
Monday November 6, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gaza: ICRC deplores the death of two Palestine Red Crescent volunteers carrying out their humanitarian duties
5-11-2006 Press Release 06/121
International Red Cross says Israeli forces hit clearly marked ambulance workers November 5, 2006
The Associated Press
Red Cross deplores the deaths of two paramedics in Gaza
Report, ICRC, 6 November 2006
Palestinian friends and relatives attend the funeral of paramedic Ahmed al-Madhoun, 43, who was killed during clashes with Israeli forces in Beit Hanoun in Gaza, 4 November 2006.
Red Cross: IDF hit clearly marked ambulance workers
Last update - 07:59 06/11/2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Transcripts of Campus Conflict & Vincent/Danby Interview
Dateline, SBS - November 8, 2006
Targeting the University
Joseph Massad, 3 June 2005
Neocon Man
Eyal Press - April 22, 2004
Pipes conceded to me that there was an element of "wishful thinking" among supporters of the war, "including in myself." He might have been more sober-minded had he listened to some of the arguments being made by members of the profession he once, a long time ago, aspired to join.
Pipes' personal views on the conflict can be traced back to the early days of the struggle. In 1923, Ze'ev Jabotinsky, an ideological father to the Israeli right wing, wrote that there would be no peace until the Arabs in Israel were psychologically crushed. "As long as the Arabs preserve a gleam of hope that they will succeed in getting rid of us, nothing in the world can cause them to relinquish that hope," he declared.
"AIPAC has undertaken a massive effort to educate all congressional candidates on the value of the U.S.-Israel relationship. Nearly every candidate has met with AIPAC professional staff members and submitted a position paper summarizing his or her views on U.S. policy toward the Middle East. A non-partisan organization, AIPAC has for decades worked with Republican, Democratic and Independent members of Congress to strengthen the ties between the United States and Israel."
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2006/11/aipac-has-undertaken-massive-effort-to.html
Israel Comes First - Pelosi at AIPAC
Joshua Frank, 31 May 2005
Blaming the lobby
Joseph Massad, March 2006
A Note of Dissent: On the Israel Lobby Piece by Mearsheimer and Walt
As'ad AbuKhalil, Friday, March 17, 2006
Since I returned from Qatar on Thursday, I must have received a copy of the Israel Lobby article by Mearsheimer and Walt from more than 20 different sources, at least. It is clear that this is one of those pieces that get wide circulation over the internet (the internet? that is where Walid Jumblat "found" evidence that Shib`a Farms are not Lebanese). I of course read it with interest. This is what I think. I will be referring to the full text that appeared as a Faculty Research Working Papers Series by the Kennedy School of Government.
Debating the Lobby in Manhattan - Israel Sends in the Clowns
Michael J. Smith, 29 September 2006
The Demographics of American Jews
Lenni Brenner, 24 October 2003
The Lobby and the Great Protestant Crusader
The NYT Confronts Mearsheimer and Walt--Not Quite Head On
Lenni Brenner, 17 March 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Academic Boycott: "We do not want to continue business as usual"
Birgit Althaler, 8 November 2006
Final Report of the Conference
"The Struggle Continues: Boycotting Israeli Apartheid"
Jameela al-Shanti in Beit Hanoun
Thursday November 9, 2006
Yesterday at dawn, the Israeli air force bombed and destroyed my home. I was the target, but instead the attack killed my sister-in-law, Nahla, a widow with eight children in her care. In the same raid Israel's artillery shelled a residential district in the town of Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip, leaving 19 dead and 40 injured, many killed in their beds. One family, the Athamnas, lost 16 members in the massacre: the oldest who died, Fatima, was 70; the youngest, Dima, was one; seven were children. The death toll in Beit Hanoun has passed 90 in one week.
Israel kills 18 in shelling of Gaza town
08 Nov 2006 07:43:17 GMT, Source: Reuters
Nidal al-Mughrabi
BEIT HANOUN, Gaza, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Israeli tank shells killed 18 civilians in Gaza on Wednesday including 13 members of one family, Palestinian officials and residents said, in one of Israel's deadliest strikes in the territory in months.UN officials voice 'shock and dismay' at deadly
Israeli shelling of Gaza civilians
Report, UN News, 8 November 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Women of Beit Hanoun
Eliza Ernshire, November 7, 2006
The winter rains have started and the temperatures are falling everyday. Unsealed roads are fast becoming muddy tracks. The heavens are weeping too, witness to the frightful events that are unfolding now in that devastated and forgotten strip of land that we call Gaza, home to 3 million Palestinians.
Gaza women killed in mosque siege
Friday, 3 November 2006, 22:15 GMT
The BBC's Matthew Price in Jerusalem says that in television footage of the incident, some men are visible in the crowd, but there is no evidence that they were carrying guns.
Israeli troops open fire on women outside mosque
Staff and agencies, 3 November 2006
Video: http://multimedia.repubblica.it/home/463524
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/help/3681938.stm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A blog by Dr. Mona El-Farra, a physician by training, a human rights and women's rights activist by practice, in the occupied Gaza Strip.
http://fromgaza.blogspot.com/
Laila El-Haddad, journalist, mom, occupied Palestinian-all packed into one.
http://a-mother-from-gaza.blogspot.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Casualties Mount in New Israeli Attack on Gaza
Thursday, November 2nd, 2006
Amy Goodman interviews Jennifer Loewenstein, visiting research fellow at the Refugee Studies Centre at Oxford University, currently in Gaza City.
Listen to Maj. Gen. Stern
Gideon Levy, 7 November, 2006
In recent months, almost no day has gone by without Palestinians being killed in Gaza. Instead of asking why, we get a prime minister who boasts to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee about "300 terrorists" dead within four months, as if killing in itself were an enormous achievement. This is the lesson from Ehud Olmert, and it is immeasurably more grievous than all his alleged corruption affairs.
Another Hamas Peace Plan Ignored
Ira Chernus, 4 November 2006
Video: Norman Finkelstein on Hamas, current crisis
Lebanon, Hezbollah (Burlington, VT, 09.30.2006)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After a six-day barrage, Israel leaves Gaza town to count dead
Sa'id Ghazali in Beit Hanoun and Eric Silver in Jerusalem
Published: 08 November 2006
Beit Hanoun: Israelis pull out leaving trail of death
Rory McCarthy in Beit Hanoun
Wednesday November 8, 2006
Hours after the Israeli military pulled out of the town of Beit Hanoun yesterday morning, Talal Nasr was at the cemetery to search for a spot to bury the body of his 13-year-old daughter.
Olmert to press on with Gaza offensive
Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem
Monday November 6, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gaza: ICRC deplores the death of two Palestine Red Crescent volunteers carrying out their humanitarian duties
5-11-2006 Press Release 06/121
International Red Cross says Israeli forces hit clearly marked ambulance workers November 5, 2006
The Associated Press
Red Cross deplores the deaths of two paramedics in Gaza
Report, ICRC, 6 November 2006
Palestinian friends and relatives attend the funeral of paramedic Ahmed al-Madhoun, 43, who was killed during clashes with Israeli forces in Beit Hanoun in Gaza, 4 November 2006.
Red Cross: IDF hit clearly marked ambulance workers
Last update - 07:59 06/11/2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Transcripts of Campus Conflict & Vincent/Danby Interview
Dateline, SBS - November 8, 2006
Targeting the University
Joseph Massad, 3 June 2005
Neocon Man
Eyal Press - April 22, 2004
Pipes conceded to me that there was an element of "wishful thinking" among supporters of the war, "including in myself." He might have been more sober-minded had he listened to some of the arguments being made by members of the profession he once, a long time ago, aspired to join.
Pipes' personal views on the conflict can be traced back to the early days of the struggle. In 1923, Ze'ev Jabotinsky, an ideological father to the Israeli right wing, wrote that there would be no peace until the Arabs in Israel were psychologically crushed. "As long as the Arabs preserve a gleam of hope that they will succeed in getting rid of us, nothing in the world can cause them to relinquish that hope," he declared.
"AIPAC has undertaken a massive effort to educate all congressional candidates on the value of the U.S.-Israel relationship. Nearly every candidate has met with AIPAC professional staff members and submitted a position paper summarizing his or her views on U.S. policy toward the Middle East. A non-partisan organization, AIPAC has for decades worked with Republican, Democratic and Independent members of Congress to strengthen the ties between the United States and Israel."
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2006/11/aipac-has-undertaken-massive-effort-to.html
Israel Comes First - Pelosi at AIPAC
Joshua Frank, 31 May 2005
Blaming the lobby
Joseph Massad, March 2006
A Note of Dissent: On the Israel Lobby Piece by Mearsheimer and Walt
As'ad AbuKhalil, Friday, March 17, 2006
Since I returned from Qatar on Thursday, I must have received a copy of the Israel Lobby article by Mearsheimer and Walt from more than 20 different sources, at least. It is clear that this is one of those pieces that get wide circulation over the internet (the internet? that is where Walid Jumblat "found" evidence that Shib`a Farms are not Lebanese). I of course read it with interest. This is what I think. I will be referring to the full text that appeared as a Faculty Research Working Papers Series by the Kennedy School of Government.
Debating the Lobby in Manhattan - Israel Sends in the Clowns
Michael J. Smith, 29 September 2006
The Demographics of American Jews
Lenni Brenner, 24 October 2003
The Lobby and the Great Protestant Crusader
The NYT Confronts Mearsheimer and Walt--Not Quite Head On
Lenni Brenner, 17 March 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Academic Boycott: "We do not want to continue business as usual"
Birgit Althaler, 8 November 2006
Final Report of the Conference
"The Struggle Continues: Boycotting Israeli Apartheid"
Memorial on the 50th Anniversary of the Kafr Qasem Massacre
First it was the ABC, now senator has new target
Jason Koutsoukis, October 22, 2006
KEY Howard loyalists are set to launch a scathing attack on multicultural broadcaster SBS and force it to answer accusations of blatant left-wing bias.
Influential Victorian Liberal Senator Michael Ronaldson will lead the assault on SBS and its executives at a special Senate estimates hearing next week.
He singled out SBS's coverage of the recent Hezbollah-Israel conflict as one of the most appalling examples of biased reporting he had ever seen. "Their commentary on international events, particularly the conflict between Lebanon and Israel, just displayed a clear lack of impartiality and completely lacked any balance whatsoever," Senator Ronaldson said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Israel's scandalous siege of Gaza
Patrick Seale, October 27, 2006
The situation is all the more urgent because, according to reports from Israel, something bigger and still more lethal is in prospect. Fresh from the indiscriminate slaughter they unleashed on Lebanon this summer - and no doubt eager to efface the memory of that fiasco - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, and the chief of staff, General Dan Halutz, are said to be about to mount a military offensive against Gaza, on a far larger scale than the bombardments and armored incursions of recent months.
"What We Did Was Insane and Monstrous"
Israel's Cluster Bomb War
Saree Makdisi, October 23, 2006
When the count of unexploded cluster bomblets passed 100,000, the United Nation's undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, Jan Egeland, expressed his disbelief at the scale of the problem. "What's shocking and, I would say to me, completely immoral," he said, "is that 90% of the cluster-bomb strikes occurred in the last 72 hours of the conflict, when we knew there would be a resolution, when we really knew there would be an end of this."
Mystery Of Israel's Secret Uranium Bomb
Robert Fisk, 28 October 2006
Did Israel use a secret new uranium-based weapon in southern Lebanon this summer in the 34-day assault that cost more than 1,300 Lebanese lives, most of them civilians?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Israel's Minister of Strategic Threats
Jonathan Cook, October 25, 2006
The furore that briefly flared this week at the decision of Israel's Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, to invite Avigdor Lieberman and his Yisrael Beiteinu party into the government coalition is revealing, but not in quite the way many observers assume.
Lieberman to power
Gideon Levy, Haaretz, 16 October 2006
Peace-seekers should support the move to bring Avigdor Lieberman into the government. It is impossible to understand the opposition of several Labor party ministers to having Yisrael Beitenu join the government after all, just what precisely are they afraid will happen? That Israel will embark on an unnecessary war? That the settlement enterprise will be reinforced? That the government will reject Syria's peace proposal? That racism toward Arab citizens of Israel will increase, or that the occupation army will be cruel to the Palestinians?
An empty car
Gideon Levy, Haaretz, 22.10.06
Labor accepts inclusion of ultra-nationalist in Israeli government
Hamas touts 10-year ceasefire to break deadlock over Israel
Ewen MacAskill and Harriet Sherwood, The Guardian, November 1, 2006
Hamas is urging Britain to back its proposal for a ceasefire of up to 10 years as a way of breaking the impasse over its refusal to recognise the state of Israel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ramallah Friends School Hit by Denial of Entry Policy
Paul D. Pierce, Quaker International Affairs Representative - Jerusalem
October 2006
When Renee Bowyer left Ramallah for Jordan at the beginning of October, she thought she would spend a couple of days in Amman, Jordan and return to teaching English at The Friends School in Ramallah the following week. Unfortunately, when she tried to re-enter Israel and renew her three-month visa at the Allenby Bridge in the middle of October, she was denied entry. Her 7th grade students at the Friends School would have to do without their teacher as a result. Bowyer, who holds an Australian passport, joins hundreds and perhaps thousands of foreign passport holders who have been denied entry as a result of a new Israeli policy.
Not Only the Right to Worship is Sacred
Amira Hass, Haaretz, 25 October 2006
During the past two weeks, there has been fresh proof of the importance of collective struggle: The U.S. State Department has complained about the ethnic discrimination Israel practices at border crossings when it restricts the entry of American citizens of Palestinian and Arab origin into the occupied territories. An American complaint like this - though only against one of the aspects of the policy of oppressing Palestinian freedom of movement - is a rare thing.
Even Palestinian-Americans are being turned back at the border
Amira Hass, Haaretz, 18.10.06
Keepers of the Peace
Rima Merriman, 24 October 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Art of resistance
October 21 2006, The Guardian
Ahdaf Soueif on how Palestinians are reaching out across the globe creatively
Book Review: The Persistence of the Palestinian Question
Sally Bland, 26 October 2006
Taking stock over a decade later, it is obvious that the pragmatic approach was not at all pragmatic, for it failed miserably. Far from ushering in peace, the Oslo accords paved the way for Israel to grab more land and tighten its control over Palestinian lives. Massad doesn't waste time bemoaning this outcome, but rather seeks the roots of the problem, delving into awkward corners that most prefer to ignore.
Dems Repudiate Carter Book
"Top Democrats are rushing to repudiate former President Carter's controversial new book on the Middle East, in which he accuses the Israeli government of maintaining an apartheid system. Two key party leaders - Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, party chairman, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi - and several congressmen issued statements Monday saying that the book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," does not represent their views on the Jewish state."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Settlements grow on Arab land, despite vow to U.S.
Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
A secret, two year investigation by the defense establishment shows that there has been rampant illegal construction in dozens of settlements and in many cases involving privately owned Palestinian properties.
The information in the study was presented to two defense ministers, Amir Peretz and his predecessor Shaul Mofaz, but was not released in public and a number of people participating in the investigations were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements.
According to security sources familiar with the study, the material is "political and diplomatic dynamite." In conversations with Haaretz, the sources maintained that the report is not being made public in order to avoid a crisis with the U.S. government.
..........
Tel Rumeida Diary: The Israeli Idea of "Quiet"
Mary, October 14th, 2006
This is the "quiet" of the Israeli army. The settlers, no matter how badly they behave or how unreasonable their demands, are always put first. The Palestinians, no matter how conciliatory they are, always come last.
Olive Harvest in Tel Rumeida under Threat from Settlers
H has experienced continual harassment from the settlers who want to force him out and occupy his house and land. They have put razor wire across a path so that he cannot access a safer way to his home and have built their own steps down onto this land so that they can work it themselves. One of the main people responsible for this is a woman who recently moved to the Tel Rumeida settlement after having been evicted from the settlements in Gaza.
Israeli barrier and settlement to leave West Bank village with nowhere to go
Rory McCarthy in Wadi Fukin
Monday October 30, 2006
Land confiscation and pollution threaten future of ancient farming community
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twilight Zone / Loss upon loss
Gideon Levy, Haaretz, 20.10.06
Mohammed was 53 years old; Ismail was 27 and Hanan was 15. Their only crime, according to the evidence, was that they emerged from their house in the middle of the night, frightened by the thunder of the shell or missile that landed on their house. And then the soldiers standing in the street fired at them, killing them one after the other.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MEMORIAL on the 50th Anniversary of the Kafr Qasem Massacre
Fifty years ago, on October 29, 1956, 49 Palestinian residents of Kafr Qasem were murdered by Israeli border police who at that time were officially attached to the military. Countless more were wounded and left bleeding and unattended. Their families were unable to offer aid because of a 24 hour curfew lasting for some two days and three nights. Violation of the curfew was punishable by death.
For Arabs Only: Israeli Law and Order
Jonathan Cook, June 14, 2006
Arab citizens have not forgotten the massacre of 49 men, women and children by a unit of soldiers who enforced a last-minute curfew on the Israeli village of Kfar Qassem in 1956, executing the villagers -- Arabs, of course -- at the checkpoint one by one as they innocently returned home from a day's work in the fields. During their trial, the Haaretz newspaper reported that the soldiers received a 50 per cent pay increase and that it was obvious the men were "not treated as criminals but as heroes". Found guilty of an "administrative error", the commander was given a one penny fine.
Jason Koutsoukis, October 22, 2006
KEY Howard loyalists are set to launch a scathing attack on multicultural broadcaster SBS and force it to answer accusations of blatant left-wing bias.
Influential Victorian Liberal Senator Michael Ronaldson will lead the assault on SBS and its executives at a special Senate estimates hearing next week.
He singled out SBS's coverage of the recent Hezbollah-Israel conflict as one of the most appalling examples of biased reporting he had ever seen. "Their commentary on international events, particularly the conflict between Lebanon and Israel, just displayed a clear lack of impartiality and completely lacked any balance whatsoever," Senator Ronaldson said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Israel's scandalous siege of Gaza
Patrick Seale, October 27, 2006
The situation is all the more urgent because, according to reports from Israel, something bigger and still more lethal is in prospect. Fresh from the indiscriminate slaughter they unleashed on Lebanon this summer - and no doubt eager to efface the memory of that fiasco - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, and the chief of staff, General Dan Halutz, are said to be about to mount a military offensive against Gaza, on a far larger scale than the bombardments and armored incursions of recent months.
"What We Did Was Insane and Monstrous"
Israel's Cluster Bomb War
Saree Makdisi, October 23, 2006
When the count of unexploded cluster bomblets passed 100,000, the United Nation's undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, Jan Egeland, expressed his disbelief at the scale of the problem. "What's shocking and, I would say to me, completely immoral," he said, "is that 90% of the cluster-bomb strikes occurred in the last 72 hours of the conflict, when we knew there would be a resolution, when we really knew there would be an end of this."
Mystery Of Israel's Secret Uranium Bomb
Robert Fisk, 28 October 2006
Did Israel use a secret new uranium-based weapon in southern Lebanon this summer in the 34-day assault that cost more than 1,300 Lebanese lives, most of them civilians?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Israel's Minister of Strategic Threats
Jonathan Cook, October 25, 2006
The furore that briefly flared this week at the decision of Israel's Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, to invite Avigdor Lieberman and his Yisrael Beiteinu party into the government coalition is revealing, but not in quite the way many observers assume.
Lieberman to power
Gideon Levy, Haaretz, 16 October 2006
Peace-seekers should support the move to bring Avigdor Lieberman into the government. It is impossible to understand the opposition of several Labor party ministers to having Yisrael Beitenu join the government after all, just what precisely are they afraid will happen? That Israel will embark on an unnecessary war? That the settlement enterprise will be reinforced? That the government will reject Syria's peace proposal? That racism toward Arab citizens of Israel will increase, or that the occupation army will be cruel to the Palestinians?
An empty car
Gideon Levy, Haaretz, 22.10.06
Labor accepts inclusion of ultra-nationalist in Israeli government
Hamas touts 10-year ceasefire to break deadlock over Israel
Ewen MacAskill and Harriet Sherwood, The Guardian, November 1, 2006
Hamas is urging Britain to back its proposal for a ceasefire of up to 10 years as a way of breaking the impasse over its refusal to recognise the state of Israel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ramallah Friends School Hit by Denial of Entry Policy
Paul D. Pierce, Quaker International Affairs Representative - Jerusalem
October 2006
When Renee Bowyer left Ramallah for Jordan at the beginning of October, she thought she would spend a couple of days in Amman, Jordan and return to teaching English at The Friends School in Ramallah the following week. Unfortunately, when she tried to re-enter Israel and renew her three-month visa at the Allenby Bridge in the middle of October, she was denied entry. Her 7th grade students at the Friends School would have to do without their teacher as a result. Bowyer, who holds an Australian passport, joins hundreds and perhaps thousands of foreign passport holders who have been denied entry as a result of a new Israeli policy.
Not Only the Right to Worship is Sacred
Amira Hass, Haaretz, 25 October 2006
During the past two weeks, there has been fresh proof of the importance of collective struggle: The U.S. State Department has complained about the ethnic discrimination Israel practices at border crossings when it restricts the entry of American citizens of Palestinian and Arab origin into the occupied territories. An American complaint like this - though only against one of the aspects of the policy of oppressing Palestinian freedom of movement - is a rare thing.
Even Palestinian-Americans are being turned back at the border
Amira Hass, Haaretz, 18.10.06
Keepers of the Peace
Rima Merriman, 24 October 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Art of resistance
October 21 2006, The Guardian
Ahdaf Soueif on how Palestinians are reaching out across the globe creatively
Book Review: The Persistence of the Palestinian Question
Sally Bland, 26 October 2006
Taking stock over a decade later, it is obvious that the pragmatic approach was not at all pragmatic, for it failed miserably. Far from ushering in peace, the Oslo accords paved the way for Israel to grab more land and tighten its control over Palestinian lives. Massad doesn't waste time bemoaning this outcome, but rather seeks the roots of the problem, delving into awkward corners that most prefer to ignore.
Dems Repudiate Carter Book
"Top Democrats are rushing to repudiate former President Carter's controversial new book on the Middle East, in which he accuses the Israeli government of maintaining an apartheid system. Two key party leaders - Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, party chairman, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi - and several congressmen issued statements Monday saying that the book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," does not represent their views on the Jewish state."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Settlements grow on Arab land, despite vow to U.S.
Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
A secret, two year investigation by the defense establishment shows that there has been rampant illegal construction in dozens of settlements and in many cases involving privately owned Palestinian properties.
The information in the study was presented to two defense ministers, Amir Peretz and his predecessor Shaul Mofaz, but was not released in public and a number of people participating in the investigations were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements.
According to security sources familiar with the study, the material is "political and diplomatic dynamite." In conversations with Haaretz, the sources maintained that the report is not being made public in order to avoid a crisis with the U.S. government.
..........
Tel Rumeida Diary: The Israeli Idea of "Quiet"
Mary, October 14th, 2006
This is the "quiet" of the Israeli army. The settlers, no matter how badly they behave or how unreasonable their demands, are always put first. The Palestinians, no matter how conciliatory they are, always come last.
Olive Harvest in Tel Rumeida under Threat from Settlers
H has experienced continual harassment from the settlers who want to force him out and occupy his house and land. They have put razor wire across a path so that he cannot access a safer way to his home and have built their own steps down onto this land so that they can work it themselves. One of the main people responsible for this is a woman who recently moved to the Tel Rumeida settlement after having been evicted from the settlements in Gaza.
Israeli barrier and settlement to leave West Bank village with nowhere to go
Rory McCarthy in Wadi Fukin
Monday October 30, 2006
Land confiscation and pollution threaten future of ancient farming community
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twilight Zone / Loss upon loss
Gideon Levy, Haaretz, 20.10.06
Mohammed was 53 years old; Ismail was 27 and Hanan was 15. Their only crime, according to the evidence, was that they emerged from their house in the middle of the night, frightened by the thunder of the shell or missile that landed on their house. And then the soldiers standing in the street fired at them, killing them one after the other.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MEMORIAL on the 50th Anniversary of the Kafr Qasem Massacre
Fifty years ago, on October 29, 1956, 49 Palestinian residents of Kafr Qasem were murdered by Israeli border police who at that time were officially attached to the military. Countless more were wounded and left bleeding and unattended. Their families were unable to offer aid because of a 24 hour curfew lasting for some two days and three nights. Violation of the curfew was punishable by death.
For Arabs Only: Israeli Law and Order
Jonathan Cook, June 14, 2006
Arab citizens have not forgotten the massacre of 49 men, women and children by a unit of soldiers who enforced a last-minute curfew on the Israeli village of Kfar Qassem in 1956, executing the villagers -- Arabs, of course -- at the checkpoint one by one as they innocently returned home from a day's work in the fields. During their trial, the Haaretz newspaper reported that the soldiers received a 50 per cent pay increase and that it was obvious the men were "not treated as criminals but as heroes". Found guilty of an "administrative error", the commander was given a one penny fine.
Israel's white Australia policy!
The Struggle for Palestine's Soul
Jonathan Cook, October 6, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fatah's US saviour
Erica Silverman, Al Ahram, 19 - 25 October 2006
The United States is standing squarely behind Fatah as rumours spread of possible new legislative elections.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ten Palestinians Killed in Gaza Past Two Days
Report, PCHR, 15 October 2006
In the past two days, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed 10 Palestinians and wounded 11 others, including a child, in the Gaza Strip. Six of the victims, including two civilians, were killed during an incursion conducted by IOF into the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabalya. The remaining victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF in Beit Lahia and Gaza City.
Gaza doctors say patients suffering mystery injuries after Israeli attacks
Rory McCarthy in Gaza City, Wednesday October 18, 2006
Starvation continues
Al Ahram, 12 - 18 October 2006
Amid defiance on the part of Hamas and endurance by the population, no end seems in sight to the policy of starving the Palestinians into submission, writes Erica Silverman.
Good News From Gaza
Ran HaCohen, October 16, 2006
But even in these darkest days there is a single ray of light. There is someone who does care about the people of Gaza, someone who does see them as human beings deserving food, shelter, freedom and dignity. Guess who. Mother Teresa? Close, but no cigar. The answer is: the Israeli army. At least if you ask Israel's by far most popular portal, YNET, the website of Israel's most selling daily Yediot Achronot. Read along (Hebrew; translation: ynetnews.com ).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just Another Mother Murdered
Alison Weir, October 6, 2006
Weekend Reading: Collateral Damage
Gideon Levy, October 11, 2006
Let the chips fall where they may, the saying goes, but this time the chip was a terrifying concrete beam that was sent flying into the air hundreds of meters from a house the IDF bombed in the middle of the night. It landed in the bedroom of a 14-year-old girl, Dahm al-Az Hamad. Sometimes children are killed, but this time the girl was her parents' only child. Her mother is paralyzed. Sometimes tragedies happen, but the tragedy of the Hamad family is almost too much to describe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The BBC and Israel's plan for a military strike on Iran
Jonathan Cook, 12 October 2006
A re-run of the Lebanon war in Palestine?
Hasan Abu Nimah & Ali Abunimah, 11 October 2006
Israeli / US Cluster Bombs Litter Lebanon
James Brooks, October 17, 2006
Official: Israel used phosphorous bombs
23 October 2006, USA Today
JERUSALEM (AP) -- The Israeli army used phosphorous artillery shells against Hezbollah guerrilla targets during their war in Lebanon this summer, an Israeli Cabinet minister said, confirming Lebanese allegations for the first time.
Extreme right-winger to join Israeli government
Ben Lynfield in Jerusalem, Scotsman, 23 October 2006
A FAR-RIGHT politician dubbed "the most dangerous politician in the history of Israel" because of his anti-Arab and authoritarian views last night looked set to join the Israeli government.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Air Condi - The Mystery of America
Gideon Levy, Haaretz, October 9, 2006
It happens once every few months. Like a periodic visit by an especially annoying relative from overseas, Condoleezza Rice was here again.
Denial of Entry: Rice's Probe and the Israeli Administration
Rima Merriman, October 17, 2006
2 pictures speak volumes + denied entry update
Sam Bahour, October 14, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Israel's white Australia policy!
Mark Elf - Friday, October 13, 2006
Israeli envoy faces sack over race slur
David Humphries and Edmund Tadros, October 16, 2006
Careless words are often an indication of underlying racism
Iain Gillies, Thursday, October 19, 2006
Katsav urged to quit
Agencies, 16/10/2006
Israeli President accused of rape
PM - Monday, October 16, 2006
Reporter: David Hardaker
A soul-searching mission
Arthur Neslen, October 19, 2006
Allegations against Israel's president have opened up a dialogue on sexual violence - one of many things the country needs to talk about.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Academic to quit post in anger over Israel
Penelope Debelle The Age October 11, 2006
http://lists.riseup.net/www/arc/againstwall/2006-08/msg00019.html
Israeli academic condemns ethnic cleansing
Tony Iltis, Green Left Weekly, October 18, 2006
Review of week of solidarity with Palestine
Rahul Prassad & Amber Pike - Sydney
Green Left Weekly, October 18, 2006
600 Attend Landmark BDS Conference in Toronto
Press Release, CAIA, October 10, 2006
Jonathan Cook, October 6, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fatah's US saviour
Erica Silverman, Al Ahram, 19 - 25 October 2006
The United States is standing squarely behind Fatah as rumours spread of possible new legislative elections.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ten Palestinians Killed in Gaza Past Two Days
Report, PCHR, 15 October 2006
In the past two days, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed 10 Palestinians and wounded 11 others, including a child, in the Gaza Strip. Six of the victims, including two civilians, were killed during an incursion conducted by IOF into the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabalya. The remaining victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF in Beit Lahia and Gaza City.
Gaza doctors say patients suffering mystery injuries after Israeli attacks
Rory McCarthy in Gaza City, Wednesday October 18, 2006
Starvation continues
Al Ahram, 12 - 18 October 2006
Amid defiance on the part of Hamas and endurance by the population, no end seems in sight to the policy of starving the Palestinians into submission, writes Erica Silverman.
Good News From Gaza
Ran HaCohen, October 16, 2006
But even in these darkest days there is a single ray of light. There is someone who does care about the people of Gaza, someone who does see them as human beings deserving food, shelter, freedom and dignity. Guess who. Mother Teresa? Close, but no cigar. The answer is: the Israeli army. At least if you ask Israel's by far most popular portal, YNET, the website of Israel's most selling daily Yediot Achronot. Read along (Hebrew; translation: ynetnews.com ).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just Another Mother Murdered
Alison Weir, October 6, 2006
Weekend Reading: Collateral Damage
Gideon Levy, October 11, 2006
Let the chips fall where they may, the saying goes, but this time the chip was a terrifying concrete beam that was sent flying into the air hundreds of meters from a house the IDF bombed in the middle of the night. It landed in the bedroom of a 14-year-old girl, Dahm al-Az Hamad. Sometimes children are killed, but this time the girl was her parents' only child. Her mother is paralyzed. Sometimes tragedies happen, but the tragedy of the Hamad family is almost too much to describe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The BBC and Israel's plan for a military strike on Iran
Jonathan Cook, 12 October 2006
A re-run of the Lebanon war in Palestine?
Hasan Abu Nimah & Ali Abunimah, 11 October 2006
Israeli / US Cluster Bombs Litter Lebanon
James Brooks, October 17, 2006
Official: Israel used phosphorous bombs
23 October 2006, USA Today
JERUSALEM (AP) -- The Israeli army used phosphorous artillery shells against Hezbollah guerrilla targets during their war in Lebanon this summer, an Israeli Cabinet minister said, confirming Lebanese allegations for the first time.
Extreme right-winger to join Israeli government
Ben Lynfield in Jerusalem, Scotsman, 23 October 2006
A FAR-RIGHT politician dubbed "the most dangerous politician in the history of Israel" because of his anti-Arab and authoritarian views last night looked set to join the Israeli government.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Air Condi - The Mystery of America
Gideon Levy, Haaretz, October 9, 2006
It happens once every few months. Like a periodic visit by an especially annoying relative from overseas, Condoleezza Rice was here again.
Denial of Entry: Rice's Probe and the Israeli Administration
Rima Merriman, October 17, 2006
2 pictures speak volumes + denied entry update
Sam Bahour, October 14, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Israel's white Australia policy!
Mark Elf - Friday, October 13, 2006
Israeli envoy faces sack over race slur
David Humphries and Edmund Tadros, October 16, 2006
Careless words are often an indication of underlying racism
Iain Gillies, Thursday, October 19, 2006
Katsav urged to quit
Agencies, 16/10/2006
Israeli President accused of rape
PM - Monday, October 16, 2006
Reporter: David Hardaker
A soul-searching mission
Arthur Neslen, October 19, 2006
Allegations against Israel's president have opened up a dialogue on sexual violence - one of many things the country needs to talk about.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Academic to quit post in anger over Israel
Penelope Debelle The Age October 11, 2006
http://lists.riseup.net/www/arc/againstwall/2006-08/msg00019.html
Israeli academic condemns ethnic cleansing
Tony Iltis, Green Left Weekly, October 18, 2006
Review of week of solidarity with Palestine
Rahul Prassad & Amber Pike - Sydney
Green Left Weekly, October 18, 2006
600 Attend Landmark BDS Conference in Toronto
Press Release, CAIA, October 10, 2006
Sunday, 17 December 2006
Death and Tears in Nablus : Eliza Ernshire, Sep 2006
Condemned to desolation
On the brink of starvation, Gazans wonder if the world is blind as well as deaf.
Erica Silverman, 14 - 20 September 2006
Hundreds of desperate parents swarmed lists of coupon numbers tacked to the walls of the UNRWA relief centre in the Beach Refugee Camp of Gaza City Sunday, nervously trying to locate their assigned lot to collect emergency food packages only being offered to families with at least 11 members.
Gaza: The children killed in a war the world doesn't want to know about
Donald Macintyre In Rafah, September 19, 2006
Nayef Abu Snaima says his 14-year-old cousin Jihad had been sitting on the edge of an olive grove talking animatedly to him about what he would do when he grew up when he was killed instantly by an Israeli shell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Boy who was Buried Twice
Gideon Levy, Ha'aretz - September 14, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Death and Tears in Nablus
Eliza Ernshire, September 16 / 17, 2006
While war raged in Lebanon throughout the month of July and death was a daily occurrence in Gaza, other regions in this war-torn part of the world also experienced weeks of torment and torture at the hands of the Israeli Military. Among these regions is Nablus.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kill Arabs, Cry Anti-Semitism
Norman Finkelstein on the UK's Report of the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry Into Antisemitism - September 2006
A central thesis of my book Beyond Chutzpah is that whenever Israel faces a public relations debacle its apologists sound the alarm that a "new anti-Semitism" is upon us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Irish academics call on EU to stop funding Israeli academic institutions
IRELAND PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN
PRESS RELEASE September 16, 2006
In a letter published in the Irish Times today, 61 Irish academics from a wide variety of disciplines call for a moratorium on EU support of Israeli academic institutions until Israel abides by UN resolutions and ends the occupation of Palestinian territories.
British Trade Unions: "Tear down the Apartheid Wall"
Worldwide Activism, Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign
September 17th, 2006
Britain's largest trade union body, the TUC, has passed a motion calling on Israel to tear down its 'apartheid wall'.
The Israel Veolia "Connexxion"
Adri Nieuwhof, September 13, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two killed in the West Bank one of them a pregnant woman
Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies - Tuesday, 19 September 2006
Two West Bank residents were killed by the Israeli army on Tuesday morning, one of them a pregnant woman who was delayed at an army checkpoint.
An Israeli's short cut, a Palestinian's occupation
Ben Sharpton writing from occupied West Bank, 18 September 2006
Today, on my way to Jordan and my flight home, I did something no Palestinian from the West Bank can do. I woke up in Ramallah (in the West Bank), went to Jerusalem (already impossible!), got on a bus and rode eastward and then northward THROUGH the West Bank's Jordan river valley and into northern Israel without having to stop at any checkpoint or show my ID to anyone. How did I do this amazing thing? Answer: I was travelling as an "Israeli."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lebanese Fields Sown with Israeli Cluster Bombs
Patrick Cockburn, September 19, 2006
The war in Lebanon has not ended. Every day, some of the million bomblets which were fired by Israeli artillery during the last three days of the conflict kill four people in southern Lebanon and wound many more.
US may ban sale of cluster bombs to Israel
Patrick Cockburn in Nabatiyeh, south Lebanon, September 20, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate and Honorary President of Peace People, Northern Ireland visits Israeli Nuclear Whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu
September 16 /17, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dissecting Israel's freeze on visas
Rima Merriman, September 13, 2006
'Israelis want Palestinian ethnic cleansing'
Motasem A Dalloul in Gaza, August 30, 2006
On the brink of starvation, Gazans wonder if the world is blind as well as deaf.
Erica Silverman, 14 - 20 September 2006
Hundreds of desperate parents swarmed lists of coupon numbers tacked to the walls of the UNRWA relief centre in the Beach Refugee Camp of Gaza City Sunday, nervously trying to locate their assigned lot to collect emergency food packages only being offered to families with at least 11 members.
Gaza: The children killed in a war the world doesn't want to know about
Donald Macintyre In Rafah, September 19, 2006
Nayef Abu Snaima says his 14-year-old cousin Jihad had been sitting on the edge of an olive grove talking animatedly to him about what he would do when he grew up when he was killed instantly by an Israeli shell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Boy who was Buried Twice
Gideon Levy, Ha'aretz - September 14, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Death and Tears in Nablus
Eliza Ernshire, September 16 / 17, 2006
While war raged in Lebanon throughout the month of July and death was a daily occurrence in Gaza, other regions in this war-torn part of the world also experienced weeks of torment and torture at the hands of the Israeli Military. Among these regions is Nablus.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kill Arabs, Cry Anti-Semitism
Norman Finkelstein on the UK's Report of the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry Into Antisemitism - September 2006
A central thesis of my book Beyond Chutzpah is that whenever Israel faces a public relations debacle its apologists sound the alarm that a "new anti-Semitism" is upon us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Irish academics call on EU to stop funding Israeli academic institutions
IRELAND PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN
PRESS RELEASE September 16, 2006
In a letter published in the Irish Times today, 61 Irish academics from a wide variety of disciplines call for a moratorium on EU support of Israeli academic institutions until Israel abides by UN resolutions and ends the occupation of Palestinian territories.
British Trade Unions: "Tear down the Apartheid Wall"
Worldwide Activism, Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign
September 17th, 2006
Britain's largest trade union body, the TUC, has passed a motion calling on Israel to tear down its 'apartheid wall'.
The Israel Veolia "Connexxion"
Adri Nieuwhof, September 13, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two killed in the West Bank one of them a pregnant woman
Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies - Tuesday, 19 September 2006
Two West Bank residents were killed by the Israeli army on Tuesday morning, one of them a pregnant woman who was delayed at an army checkpoint.
An Israeli's short cut, a Palestinian's occupation
Ben Sharpton writing from occupied West Bank, 18 September 2006
Today, on my way to Jordan and my flight home, I did something no Palestinian from the West Bank can do. I woke up in Ramallah (in the West Bank), went to Jerusalem (already impossible!), got on a bus and rode eastward and then northward THROUGH the West Bank's Jordan river valley and into northern Israel without having to stop at any checkpoint or show my ID to anyone. How did I do this amazing thing? Answer: I was travelling as an "Israeli."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lebanese Fields Sown with Israeli Cluster Bombs
Patrick Cockburn, September 19, 2006
The war in Lebanon has not ended. Every day, some of the million bomblets which were fired by Israeli artillery during the last three days of the conflict kill four people in southern Lebanon and wound many more.
US may ban sale of cluster bombs to Israel
Patrick Cockburn in Nabatiyeh, south Lebanon, September 20, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate and Honorary President of Peace People, Northern Ireland visits Israeli Nuclear Whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu
September 16 /17, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dissecting Israel's freeze on visas
Rima Merriman, September 13, 2006
'Israelis want Palestinian ethnic cleansing'
Motasem A Dalloul in Gaza, August 30, 2006
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