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| Bethlehem from south. Palestinian woman at a well, drawing water. Bethlehem, Palestine; 1938 |
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Gabi Baramki … Boundless giving, undefeatable spirit
1929 – 2012
30 August 2012
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Protest march in 1987 by students and faculty of Birzeit University led by Dr. Gabi Baramki
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Days before he departed, Gabi asked his life
companion, Mrs. Haifa Baramki, to read for him the latest email from the
Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
(PACBI), so he could contribute to the discussion and share his views
regarding a letter PACBI was drafting to encourage BDS campaigners in
South African Universities to intensify their efforts. We in PACBI’s
Steering Committee were astonished to see Gabi’s timely answer to the
email! How could anyone in the intensive care unit, barely clinging on
to his life, keep on thinking about resistance and his contribution to
the national struggle till his last breath?
But here is where the secret lies, our dear colleague
and friend Gabi was not just “anyone;” he was a distinguished, highly
accomplished professional, yet also a most principled, dignified and
compassionate human. He dedicated his entire life to education and
resisting Israel’s colonization as well as the fight for the full rights
for the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination,
freedom, justice and the right of return.
Gabi never made us or anyone else feel his
prominence as a Palestinian figure, or even his seniority in terms of
age, despite his eight decades with all their wealth of experiences,
eminent achievements and lessons learned. He used to engage and
participate with everyone as colleagues on equal terms, and did not seek
to be distinguished, though distinction was in his DNA.
When we decided to launch a campaign against the
Israeli museum that was established in the place of his birth in
Jerusalem – the Baramki House – that was confiscated by Israel in the
1948 Nakba, we used to go over the details of the Israeli theft of the
house, a fate endured by tens of thousands of Palestinians who were
ethnically cleansed, forced out of their homes and turned into refugees
by the Zionist paramilitary groups and later by the state of Israel. We
discussed the intricacies of the house, poring over its particulars,
architectural beauty, the details of the family uprooting and banishment
to what became known as East Jerusalem… and Gabi participated in the
discussion throughout while rising above his own personal sorrow. This
continued till he described to us how his father, the architect and
owner of the house, used to visit the separation line that divided West
and East Jerusalem everyday and sit for hours watching his stolen home,
in silence and anguish and with determination to reconnect with it, at
least spiritually. At that point, Gabi, and only for a moment, was
overwhelmed by his emotions.
Gabi never succumbed to his personal history of
dispossession or resigned to the role of the victim; he resisted and
triumphed in many ways: from becoming acting president of Birzeit
University, after its president, Dr. Hanna Nasir was exiled by the
Israeli occupation authorities, to leading his fellow colleagues in
national demonstrations against the closure of Palestinian universities
in 1988, in the midst of the first Intifada. He had many other major
accomplishments, especially in developing education in Palestine through
his prominent posts at the Ministry of Higher Education and the Council
for Higher Education, as well as through his voluntary work in leading
non-governmental organizations. Gabi commanded national respect and
admiration like few others.
His contribution to building the boycott, divestment
and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel through his voluntary work
in the Steering Committee of PACBI was powerful, sophisticated, and
marked by generosity and creativity. Gabi was without a doubt the
'Campaign’s diplomat’, par excellence. He was the man for tough jobs who
did not hesitate for a moment in knocking on the door of a minister or
senior official to set things right and resist normalization with Israel
or to spread the culture of BDS in schools as an integral component of
bringing up a generation rooted in principles of dignity, freedom, and
self-determination realized through resisting oppression.
The best of educators is that person who inspires
people to think, to learn, and to take action on their own accord and
without indoctrination, who instead of 'teaching’, in the traditional
sense, nourishes learning and leads by example. We have all
learned from Gabi, without him needing to 'teach us’. We learned from
him to combine dignity, humility and boundless giving in the process of
struggling for freedom and liberation of the mind.
We will miss Gabi; all Palestinians will miss him. Indeed, all those fighting for freedom, justice and dignity will too.
My letter to the Washington Post RE What about Israel’s nuclear weapons? by ombudsman Patrick B. Pexton
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| Media freedom entails the right of any person to freedom of opinion and expression on a public basis, which includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers, as stated in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. |
RE: What about Israel’s nuclear weapons? by Patrick B. Pexton
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/patrick-pexton-what-about-israels-nuclear-weapons/2012/08/31/390e486a-f389-11e1-a612-3cfc842a6d89_story.html
Dear Editor
KUDOS to your brave ombudsman, Patrick B. Pexton, for carefully but honestly exploring the subject of Israel's nuclear weapons AND for pointing out that criticizing Israel can hurt your career.
Fact is for decades Israeli propagandists playing left right and center have been freely waging a psychological war on America, seriously undermining our democracy, our fourth estate- and the marketplace of ideas... AND Middle East peace.
Tax payers here and there should not be coerced into subsidizing state funded religious 'scholars' and schemes: Ending the Israel-Palestine conflict with a secular two state solution based on complete respect for international law and universal basic human rights would go a long way towards stopping the arms race, religious extremism, bigotry, injustice, despair, corruption and crimes inspired by the conflict.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
NOTES
Carter
Center Calls for Accountability After Corrie VerdictArtists Against Apartheid
Israel's Ongoing Policy of Destroying Homes & Displacing Palestinians
Bulldozing the Special Relationship: The Rachel Corrie verdict should be a wakeup call to America.
The Truth is Stranger than Fiction in Palestine
Guardian: Nick Hayes on the Rachel Corrie court verdict – cartoon
Rachel Corrie
ALERTNET: Gaza not "liveable" by 2020 barring urgent action - U.N.
CSM: Severe attack on Palestinian teen spotlights conflict's impact on Israeli youths
Breaking the Silence: More than 30 former Israeli soldiers have disclosed their experiences of the treatment of Palestinian children during military operations and arrests, pointing to a pattern of abuse.
Ending the Israel-Palestine conflict: "It is the view of the United Nations that there is a responsibility not only on the parties themselves but on all member states to consider their action and their language in light of the goal,"
We Palestinian are locked in a fierce struggle for our independence....to make the matter straight and simple this is not a clash of religions...
Israel, Iran and the Nuclear Challenge... Since Israel has nuclear weapons, other countries in the region want them, too.
Violent attacks by settlers on Palestinians and their property, mosques and farmland had increased by 150% over the past year.
'Separate and Unequal' is Unacceptable to Palestinians
"If you have to modify it, it isn't really a democracy."
********
The Office of
International Religious Freedom (
http://www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/
) Given the U.S. commitment to
religious freedom, and to the international covenants that guarantee it
as the inalienable right of every human being, the United States seeks
to:
Promote freedom of religion and conscience throughout the world as a fundamental human right and as a source of stability for all countries
Refugees and the Right of Return: "Palestinian refugees must be given the option to exercise their right of return (as well as receive compensation for their losses arising from their dispossession and displacement) though refugees may prefer other options such as: (i) resettlement in third countries, (ii) resettlement in a newly independent Palestine (even though they originate from that part of Palestine which became Israel) or (iii) normalization of their legal status in the host country where they currently reside. What is important is that individual refugees decide for themselves which option they prefer - a decision must not be imposed upon them."
The Arab Peace Initiative
"It is in Israel's vital interest to come to a
complete resolution
of
the conflict between it and the Palestinian people sooner rather than
later, relieving the weight of this tragic conflict from both of our
peoples' shoulders. We owe it to ourselves. We owe it to the world." Maen
Rashid
Areikat: The
Time for a Palestinian State Is Now
"Where, after all, do universal human rights
begin?
In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot
be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the
individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college
he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the
places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal
opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights
have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without
concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in
vain for progress in the larger world."Eleanor
Roosevelt
The Golden Rule... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
The Golden Rule... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Washington Post ombudsman Patrick B. Pexton: What about Israel? Why no stories about its nuclear weapons?
"Among the less benign reasons U.S. sources don’t leak is that it can
hurt your career. Said Perkovich: “It’s like all things having to do
with Israel and the United States. If you want to get ahead, you don’t
talk about it; you don’t criticize Israel, you protect Israel. You don’t
talk about illegal settlements on the West Bank even though everyone
knows they are there.”"
Readers periodically ask me some variation on this question: “Why does the press follow every jot and tittle of Iran’s nuclear program, but we never see any stories about Israel’s nuclear weapons capability?”
It’s a fair question. Going back 10 years into Post archives, I could not find any in-depth reporting on Israeli nuclear capabilities, although national security writer Walter Pincus has touched on it many times in his articles and columns.
I spoke with several experts in the nuclear and nonproliferation fields , and they say that the lack of reporting on Israel’s nuclear weapons is real — and frustrating. There are some obvious reasons for this, and others that are not so obvious.
First...READ MORE
As ombudsman, Pexton serves as a reader representative and The Post’s internal critic.
What about Israel’s nuclear weapons?
by Patrick B. PextonReaders periodically ask me some variation on this question: “Why does the press follow every jot and tittle of Iran’s nuclear program, but we never see any stories about Israel’s nuclear weapons capability?”
It’s a fair question. Going back 10 years into Post archives, I could not find any in-depth reporting on Israeli nuclear capabilities, although national security writer Walter Pincus has touched on it many times in his articles and columns.
I spoke with several experts in the nuclear and nonproliferation fields , and they say that the lack of reporting on Israel’s nuclear weapons is real — and frustrating. There are some obvious reasons for this, and others that are not so obvious.
First...READ MORE
Carter Center Calls for Accountability After Corrie Verdict
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 29, 2012
Contact: Deborah Hakes 1-404-420-5124
Carter Center Calls for Accountability After Corrie Verdict
Atlanta….On Aug. 28, the district court in Haifa, Israel, ruled that the State of Israel was not responsible for the 2003 killing of Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old U.S. peace activist who was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer as she attempted to nonviolently prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. Israel's policy of home demolitions has been widely criticized by human rights organizations as a form of collective punishment. It violates Israel's obligations under the Geneva Conventions. The Corrie family had requested $1 in symbolic damages and legal expenses.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro and human rights groups and have criticized Israel's investigation of the case for a lack of thoroughness, transparency, and credibility.
"The killing of an American peace activist is unacceptable," said former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. "The court's decision confirms a climate of impunity, which facilitates Israeli human rights violations against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Territory."
Approximately 94 percent of Israeli military investigations of soldiers suspected of violent criminal activity against Palestinians and their property end without indictments, according to the Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din. 91 percent of investigations into crimes committed by Israeli civilians against Palestinians in the Occupied Territory also end without indictment. In this case, the district court judge ruled that the drivers of the bulldozer could not see her, despite eyewitness testimony to the contrary.
In response to the verdict, Rachel Corrie's parents Cindy and Craig stated "We are deeply saddened and troubled by what we heard today in the court of Judge Oded Gershon. This was a bad day, not only for us, but for human rights, for humanity, the rule of law, and the country of Israel…Rachel was a human being who deserved accountability, and we as her family deserve that too."
In contrast, the family of James Miller, an Emmy Award-winning British filmmaker killed by Israeli forces in Rafah two months after Corrie's death, ultimately received over $2 million in damages from the Israeli government. The government of the United Kingdom had threatened to seek the extradition of the Israeli soldiers in question.
"I hope that the U.S. government will use all reasonable means to ensure that the rights of American citizens are protected overseas and that justice is done for the Corrie family," said former President Carter.
####
"Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope."
A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in more than 70 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; improving mental health care; and teaching farmers in developing nations to increase crop production. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.
Friday, August 31, 2012
My letter to the New York Times RE Report on Iran Nuclear Work Puts Israel in a Box
RE: Report on Iran Nuclear Work Puts Israel in a Box
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/31/world/middleeast/report-on-iran-nuclear-work-puts-israel-in-a-box.html?_r=1&ref=global-home
Dear Editor,
If Israel actually stepped up to abide by international law- dismantling its settlement projects and apartheid policies so that the Israel-Palestine conflict could actually end with a fair and just two state solution based on full respect for universal basic human rights, Iran would be forced to seriously rethink its own trajectory and rhetoric.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon warns about the current state of bellicose rhetoric coming from Israel and Iran, saying "a war of words can quickly spiral into a war of violence."
Ziad Asali founder of the American Task Force on Palestine wisely points out in a recent article that "Over the past 30 years, the rise of religious fanaticism in some parts of Palestinian society, mirroring that in the broader Arab world as well as among Jewish Israelis, has also undermined healthy social, cultural and educational attitudes. However, such fanaticism does not define the Palestinian mainstream or essential national culture. On the contrary, most Palestinians, while devout and socially conservative, remain essentially secular and fundamentally worldly."
Peace and earnest honorable support for a sovereign Palestinian state living in security alongside Israel is a win-win situation for all the people in the region. Religious extremists, nay sayers and hate mongers on all sides will object but religious extremists, naysayers and hate mongers should not be handed the power to exasperate the very real plight and suffering of the Palestinians.
Sincerely
Anne Selden Annab
NOTES
Bulldozing the Special Relationship: The Rachel Corrie verdict should be a wakeup call to America.
The Truth is Stranger than Fiction in Palestine
Guardian: Nick Hayes on the Rachel Corrie court verdict – cartoon
Rachel Corrie
ALERTNET: Gaza not "liveable" by 2020 barring urgent action - U.N.
CSM: Severe attack on Palestinian teen spotlights conflict's impact on Israeli youths
Breaking the Silence: More than 30 former Israeli soldiers have disclosed their experiences of the treatment of Palestinian children during military operations and arrests, pointing to a pattern of abuse.
Ending the Israel-Palestine conflict: "It is the view of the United Nations that there is a responsibility not only on the parties themselves but on all member states to consider their action and their language in light of the goal,"
We Palestinian are locked in a fierce struggle for our independence....to make the matter straight and simple this is not a clash of religions...
Israel, Iran and the Nuclear Challenge... Since Israel has nuclear weapons, other countries in the region want them, too.
Violent attacks by settlers on Palestinians and their property, mosques and farmland had increased by 150% over the past year.
'Separate and Unequal' is Unacceptable to Palestinians
"If you have to modify it, it isn't really a democracy."
********
The Office of
International Religious Freedom (
http://www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/
) Given the U.S. commitment to
religious freedom, and to the international covenants that guarantee it
as the inalienable right of every human being, the United States seeks
to:
Promote freedom of religion and conscience throughout the world as a fundamental human right and as a source of stability for all countries
Refugees and the Right of Return: "Palestinian refugees must be given the option to exercise their right of return (as well as receive compensation for their losses arising from their dispossession and displacement) though refugees may prefer other options such as: (i) resettlement in third countries, (ii) resettlement in a newly independent Palestine (even though they originate from that part of Palestine which became Israel) or (iii) normalization of their legal status in the host country where they currently reside. What is important is that individual refugees decide for themselves which option they prefer - a decision must not be imposed upon them."
"It is in Israel's vital interest to come to a
complete resolution
of
the conflict between it and the Palestinian people sooner rather than
later, relieving the weight of this tragic conflict from both of our
peoples' shoulders. We owe it to ourselves. We owe it to the world." Maen
Rashid
Areikat: The
Time for a Palestinian State Is Now
"Where, after all, do universal human rights
begin?
In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot
be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the
individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college
he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the
places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal
opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights
have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without
concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in
vain for progress in the larger world."Eleanor
Roosevelt
The Golden Rule... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
The Golden Rule... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Thursday, August 30, 2012
UN chief Ban Ki-moon warns about the current state of bellicose rhetoric coming from Israel and Iran, saying "a war of words can quickly spiral into a war of violence."
 |
| Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (R) and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon listen to a speech by Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi during the 16th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran August 30, 2012. REUTERS/Majid Asgaripour/Mehr News Agency |
"...Ban, whose presence at the summit
had been criticised by the United States and Israel, also took Iran's
leaders to task for recent comments calling Israel a "cancerous tumour"
that should be cut out of the Middle East. He urged both Iran and Israel
to cool the bellicose language.
"I strongly reject any threat by
any (UN) member state to destroy another, or outrageous comments to deny
historical facts such as the Holocaust," Ban said in his summit speech.
"Claiming another UN member state
does not have the right to exist or describe it in racist terms is not
only utterly wrong but undermines the very principles we have all
pledged to uphold," he said.
"I urge all the parties to stop
provocative and inflammatory threats. A war of words can quickly spiral
into war of violence. Bluster can so easily become bloodshed. Now is the
time for all the leaders to use their voices to lower, not raise,
tensions..."
World leaders squirm as Iran summit turns tense
[AS
ALWAYS
PLEASE GO TO THE LINK
TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN
FULL: HELP SHAPE
ALGORITHMS (and
conversations) THAT EMPOWER
DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE &
PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]
My letters RE Rachel Corrie & American Elections
 |
To be clear: Return... a poem by Anne Selden Annab in Growing Gardens for Palestine |
RE: GOP foreign policy shows it's easy to talk tough
http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/trudy_rubin/20120830_Worldview__GOP_foreign_policy_shows_it_s_easy_to_talk_tough.html
Dear Editor,
Trudy Rubin hits the nail on the head regarding GOP foreign-policy dreams and the political realities..."And as for Israel - for which the Republican platform pledges "unequivocal support" - a Romney White House would also be faced with the tragic realities that Obama confronted."
Ending the Israel-Palestine conflict with a fair and just negotiated settlement based on full respect for international law and universal human rights will not erase the tragic realities and all the many negative ramifications created by that conflict but it will help disarm the religious extremism and bigotry inspired by that conflict.
Sincerely
Anne Selden Annab
***********
RE: Israeli court rules military not at fault in U.S. activist Rachel Corrie’s death
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israeli-court-rules-military-not-at-fault-in-activist-rachel-corries-death/2012/08/28/35d3ccbc-f116-11e1-892d-bc92fee603a7_story.html
Dear Editor,
Thank you for publishing news concerning Rachel Corrie and her family's ongoing quest for a thorough, credible and transparent investigation by Israel. It is indeed a bad day for human rights, for humanity, for the rule of law and also for the country of Israel.... and for Palestine as Israel continues to demolish Palestinian homes and usurp Palestinian land.
It is a bad day for America too as candidates are rewarded for idolizing Israel and punished if they don't, essentially pressuring our politicians and pundits to become Israeli agents sabotaging fair and just negotiations to end the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Sincerely
Anne Selden Annab
NOTES
"Corrie's story has become a case study of the impunity with which the Israeli political and legal system treats its adversaries." Hussein Ibish
Guardian: Nick Hayes on the Rachel Corrie court verdict – cartoon
"What’s interesting about Jayous and the occupation’s effect on it is how the occupation doesn’t have its ABCs. The rules are random, inconsistent, unpredictable and bizarre. What works today at one gate, with one soldier may not work tomorrow, at the same gate and with the same soldier. Here, you can’t take anything for granted; everything depends on everything else." The Truth is Stranger than Fiction in Palestine
"The Palestinian youths, from Ras el-Amud in East Jerusalem, were out for an evening walk in West Jerusalem’s Zion Square when they heard “Death to the Arabs” and were set upon by a crowd. Julani’s friends escaped, but he fell and was beaten unconscious." CSM: Severe attack on Palestinian teen spotlights conflict's impact on Israeli youths
Breaking the Silence: More than 30 former Israeli soldiers have disclosed their experiences of the treatment of Palestinian children during military operations and arrests, pointing to a pattern of abuse.
Rachel Corrie
Ending the Israel-Palestine conflict: "It is the view of the United Nations that there is a responsibility not only on the parties themselves but on all member states to consider their action and their language in light of the goal,"
Hanan Ashrawi: Israeli incitement creating culture of impunity
Out of Sight, Out of Mind: "As a result, stability is conflated with peace and it is used to justify maintaining the status quo in the pretext of maintaining “peace”."
The Palestinian Authority thanks South Africa for the decision to label settlement products as "Occupied Palestinian Territory" rather than "Israel."
Violent attacks by settlers on Palestinians and their property, mosques and farmland had increased by 150% over the past year.
'Separate and Unequal' is Unacceptable to Palestinians
"If you have to modify it, it isn't really a democracy."
********
The Office of
International Religious Freedom (
http://www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/
) Given the U.S. commitment to
religious freedom, and to the international covenants that guarantee it
as the inalienable right of every human being, the United States seeks
to:
Promote freedom of religion and conscience throughout the world as a fundamental human right and as a source of stability for all countries
Refugees and the Right of Return: "Palestinian refugees must be given the option to exercise their right of return (as well as receive compensation for their losses arising from their dispossession and displacement) though refugees may prefer other options such as: (i) resettlement in third countries, (ii) resettlement in a newly independent Palestine (even though they originate from that part of Palestine which became Israel) or (iii) normalization of their legal status in the host country where they currently reside. What is important is that individual refugees decide for themselves which option they prefer - a decision must not be imposed upon them."
"It is in Israel's vital interest to come to a
complete resolution
of
the conflict between it and the Palestinian people sooner rather than
later, relieving the weight of this tragic conflict from both of our
peoples' shoulders. We owe it to ourselves. We owe it to the world." Maen
Rashid
Areikat: The
Time for a Palestinian State Is Now
"Where, after all, do universal human rights
begin?
In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot
be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the
individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college
he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the
places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal
opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights
have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without
concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in
vain for progress in the larger world."Eleanor
Roosevelt
The Golden Rule... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
The Golden Rule... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Bulldozing the Special Relationship: The Rachel Corrie verdict should be a wakeup call to America.
BY HUSSEIN IBISH | AUGUST 28, 2012
[AS
ALWAYS
PLEASE GO TO THE LINK
TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN
FULL: HELP SHAPE
ALGORITHMS (and
conversations) THAT EMPOWER
DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE &
PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]
Only the most naive observers would be surprised by the verdict from an Israeli court on the civil case brought by the parents of Rachel Corrie, the American activist killed in 2003 at the hands of the Israeli military. The court ruled this week that Israel was not responsible for the death of the 23-year-old student, referring to it as a "regrettable accident" that Corrie herself could have prevented by staying out of the area. But while this latest official Israeli whitewashing is not unexpected, it does raise important questions about the nature of the U.S.-Israel relationship and how far Israel can go in dealing so cavalierly with inconvenient Americans -- and, indeed, with the United States.
Corrie's story has become a case study of the impunity with which the Israeli political and legal system treats its adversaries. She was in southern Gaza during the Second Intifada with the International Solidarity Movement, an organization that stages nonviolent protests against the Israeli occupation and was then engaged in a campaign to protect Palestinian wells and homes from destruction. She was killed when she was run over by an Israeli bulldozer as she was trying to protect the home of a Gazan pharmacist, Samir Nasrallah....READ MORE
The Truth is Stranger than Fiction in Palestine
[AS
ALWAYS
PLEASE GO TO THE LINK
TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN
FULL: HELP SHAPE
ALGORITHMS (and
conversations) THAT EMPOWER
DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE &
PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]
29/08/2012
By Melkam Lidet for MIFTAH
Last Saturday, my friends and I went to Jayouss, an agricultural village in the north western part of the West Bank, close to Israel’s separation wall. It is one of the Palestinian villages that won a non-violent battle against the construction of the wall back in 2005, leading to a court order to reroute the wall. While the rerouting returned some dunams of the land to the village, 75% of the agricultural land still remains in the ‘seam zone’; locked between the Green Line and the separation wall. As a result, farmers now have to get permits to go through the barrier to access their lands. But the rules for permit eligibility and ‘access’ are not very clear or consistent.
At the beginning, a lot of permits were issued to almost everyone in the village: children, youths, the elderly, and even the deceased. Thinking the rejection of these permits would lead to complete loss of their land many Jayoussis embraced their lot and accepted the permits. But in time, the Israeli authorities started refusing to renew permits. A child and an elderly member of a household would be given a permit but the adults who could actually work the land would be refused; or only the one person whose name is written on the land ownership deed would get the permit but the children or other family members would be denied; or the permit would be valid for planting season but not the harvest and a family would lose its harvest or would have to ask/pay others to collect it on their behalf. Moreover, the army uses the permit system as deterrence against protests: families whose children have prison or detention records are denied permits. Considering the constant army raids, protests and arrest/detention of young adult males, the system is often used as a tool to quell political activism and resistance against the occupation.
But the oddity and unpredictability of the permit system is not the only worry Jayouss farmers and their families face. Even when they have a permit, farmers have to wait for the brief openings of the checkpoints, at most three times a day and not for more than an hour, before they can go to their fields. They have to stick to the schedules of the soldiers which may or may not come at all or on time and follow their orders based on their mood or the new “army order” of the day. Furthermore, four out of the six wells of the village are behind the wall and are administered by Israeli authorities who have put a quota and a meter to monitor agricultural water usage. If usage exceeds the quota, then the farmers are charged extra money.
What’s interesting about Jayous and the occupation’s effect on it is how the occupation doesn’t have its ABCs. The rules are random, inconsistent, unpredictable and bizarre. What works today at one gate, with one soldier may not work tomorrow, at the same gate and with the same soldier. Here, you can’t take anything for granted; everything depends on everything else. For example, your tractor may get a permit but your jeep for the winter months may not. Your children may not get a permit but your employees might. You or your children may have “business permits” which allow you to travel around Israel but your farmland can be off limits “for security reasons”. And the latest and the most preposterous one I’ve heard: you cannot take a donkey with you if you are under the age of 45. But your 70-year old parent can come, pass through with the same donkey, hand it to you on the other side, in front of the soldier and go back to the village as you head to the field!
When I heard these stories, the reasonable, rational “me” tried to look for some kind of reason, any kind of sound reason, no matter how unjustifiable, for these “orders”. This kind of absurdity didn’t seem acceptable to me even under the standards and rules of occupation. I was convinced that there must be something more than just a mission to frustrate people, a “reasonable” pretext of some kind, lying beneath “it’s a new order, you can’t go with your donkey if you are younger than 45”. But I couldn’t find any.
The truth is, the rationality behind these nonsensical, unpredictable and inconsistent rules is only visible if you look at the bigger picture of the occupation: more of Palestine without the Palestinians. The more frustrated, divided, incarcerated, impoverished, exiled or dead the Palestinians, the more land to annex, cultivate, settle on and call Zion. The truth is, if you haven’t been to Palestine to witness the violations, oppressions and injustices Palestinians face as a result of the occupation, these kinds of stories would only seem blatant allegations you would scoff at, because let’s be honest, they are too outrageous to be true. But the truth is this: truth is far stranger than fiction in Palestine.
Melkam Lidet is a Writer for the Media and Information Department at the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH). She can be contacted at mid@miftah.org.
By Melkam Lidet for MIFTAH
Last Saturday, my friends and I went to Jayouss, an agricultural village in the north western part of the West Bank, close to Israel’s separation wall. It is one of the Palestinian villages that won a non-violent battle against the construction of the wall back in 2005, leading to a court order to reroute the wall. While the rerouting returned some dunams of the land to the village, 75% of the agricultural land still remains in the ‘seam zone’; locked between the Green Line and the separation wall. As a result, farmers now have to get permits to go through the barrier to access their lands. But the rules for permit eligibility and ‘access’ are not very clear or consistent.
At the beginning, a lot of permits were issued to almost everyone in the village: children, youths, the elderly, and even the deceased. Thinking the rejection of these permits would lead to complete loss of their land many Jayoussis embraced their lot and accepted the permits. But in time, the Israeli authorities started refusing to renew permits. A child and an elderly member of a household would be given a permit but the adults who could actually work the land would be refused; or only the one person whose name is written on the land ownership deed would get the permit but the children or other family members would be denied; or the permit would be valid for planting season but not the harvest and a family would lose its harvest or would have to ask/pay others to collect it on their behalf. Moreover, the army uses the permit system as deterrence against protests: families whose children have prison or detention records are denied permits. Considering the constant army raids, protests and arrest/detention of young adult males, the system is often used as a tool to quell political activism and resistance against the occupation.
But the oddity and unpredictability of the permit system is not the only worry Jayouss farmers and their families face. Even when they have a permit, farmers have to wait for the brief openings of the checkpoints, at most three times a day and not for more than an hour, before they can go to their fields. They have to stick to the schedules of the soldiers which may or may not come at all or on time and follow their orders based on their mood or the new “army order” of the day. Furthermore, four out of the six wells of the village are behind the wall and are administered by Israeli authorities who have put a quota and a meter to monitor agricultural water usage. If usage exceeds the quota, then the farmers are charged extra money.
What’s interesting about Jayous and the occupation’s effect on it is how the occupation doesn’t have its ABCs. The rules are random, inconsistent, unpredictable and bizarre. What works today at one gate, with one soldier may not work tomorrow, at the same gate and with the same soldier. Here, you can’t take anything for granted; everything depends on everything else. For example, your tractor may get a permit but your jeep for the winter months may not. Your children may not get a permit but your employees might. You or your children may have “business permits” which allow you to travel around Israel but your farmland can be off limits “for security reasons”. And the latest and the most preposterous one I’ve heard: you cannot take a donkey with you if you are under the age of 45. But your 70-year old parent can come, pass through with the same donkey, hand it to you on the other side, in front of the soldier and go back to the village as you head to the field!
When I heard these stories, the reasonable, rational “me” tried to look for some kind of reason, any kind of sound reason, no matter how unjustifiable, for these “orders”. This kind of absurdity didn’t seem acceptable to me even under the standards and rules of occupation. I was convinced that there must be something more than just a mission to frustrate people, a “reasonable” pretext of some kind, lying beneath “it’s a new order, you can’t go with your donkey if you are younger than 45”. But I couldn’t find any.
The truth is, the rationality behind these nonsensical, unpredictable and inconsistent rules is only visible if you look at the bigger picture of the occupation: more of Palestine without the Palestinians. The more frustrated, divided, incarcerated, impoverished, exiled or dead the Palestinians, the more land to annex, cultivate, settle on and call Zion. The truth is, if you haven’t been to Palestine to witness the violations, oppressions and injustices Palestinians face as a result of the occupation, these kinds of stories would only seem blatant allegations you would scoff at, because let’s be honest, they are too outrageous to be true. But the truth is this: truth is far stranger than fiction in Palestine.
Melkam Lidet is a Writer for the Media and Information Department at the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH). She can be contacted at mid@miftah.org.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Rachel Corrie
VOA Middle East Voices
Pictured is Rachel Corrie.... Yesterday Israeli courts
denied responsibility for her death. What do you think of this reaction?
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Corrie was killed on 16 March 2003, crushed under an Israeli military
bulldozer while trying to obstruct the demolition of a Palestinian home
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Rachel Corrie verdict exposes Israeli military mindset
August 28, 2012
Corrie's parents have not received justice, but their quest reveals the lie of the IDF's claim to be the world's 'most moral army.'
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Rachel Corrie verdict exposes Israeli military mindset
August 28, 2012
Corrie's parents have not received justice, but their quest reveals the lie of the IDF's claim to be the world's 'most moral army.'
******************
Homes Demolished in Israel and Palestine
0 Israeli homes have been demolished by Palestinians and 24,813 Palestinian homes have been demolished by Israel since 1967.
ALERTNET: Gaza not "liveable" by 2020 barring urgent action - U.N.
Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:31 GMT
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| A Palestinian mourns during the funeral of a gunman in Gaza. Mohammed Salem / Reuters |
* U.N. foresees nearly 25 percent more people by 2020
* Safe water one of Gaza's greatest concerns
* About 80 percent of Gaza is aid-dependent
* No sign of Hamas-Israel peace or end to blockade
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Gaza will no longer be "liveable" by 2020 unless urgent action is taken to improve water supply, power, health, and schooling, the United Nations' most comprehensive report on the Palestinian enclave said on Monday.
"Action needs to be taken now if Gaza is to be a liveable place in 2020 and it is already difficult now," U.N. humanitarian coordinator Maxwell Gaylard told journalists when the report was released on Monday.
Five years into an Israeli blockade supported by Egypt, and living under one-party rule, Gaza's population of 1.6 million is set to rise by 500,000 over the next eight years, say the authors of the U.N.'s most wide-ranging report on the territory.
Gaza has one the youngest populations in the world, with 51 percent of people under the age of 18.
"Action needs to be taken right now on fundamental aspects of life: water sanitation, electricity, education, health and other aspects," Gaylard said.
Since 2007, Gaza has been under the control of the Islamist Hamas organisation, an armed political movement which rejects permanent peace with Israel. They fought a three-week war in January 2009, and Israel is resisting international pressure to lift its blockade, which it says prevents arms reaching Hamas.
Gaza has no airport and no sea port. The border is tense, with frequent clashes over rocket or mortar fire from Gaza and air strikes by Israel. Gaza rockets hit Israeli land on Sunday, damaging a factory in the town of Sderot, east of the enclave.
Israel partly eased restrictions in mid-2010, and Gaza's crippled economy began to revive from rock bottom. Real GDP is estimated to have risen by 28 percent in the first half of 2011 as unemployment fell to 28 percent in 2011 from 37 percent.
But the report, involving expertise from more U.N. agencies and making projections further into the future than before, said growth over the next eight years would be slow, since Gaza's current isolation renders its economy essentially non-viable.
RECONSTRUCTION BUT NO PEACE
The people in the narrow coastal strip live mainly on U.N. aid, foreign funding and a tunnel economy which brings in food, construction materials, electronics and cars from Egypt.
But the smuggling trade is no solution. Robert Turner, director of operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), said Gaza by 2020 will need 440 more schools, 800 more hospital beds and over a 1,000 additional doctors.
Gaylard called on international donors to increase their aid to a population which is 80 percent aid dependent.
"Despite their best efforts the Palestinians in Gaza still need help," he said. "They are under blockade. They are under occupation and they need our help both politically and practically on the ground."
Israel in fact withdrew from Gaza in 2005, removing troops and settlers after 38 years of occupation.
A lack of clean drinking water is the greatest immediate concern, said Jean Gough of the UNICEF. The report projects a 60 percent increase in the enclave's water needs, while urgent action is already needed to protect existing water resources.
By 2016, Gaza's aquifer may become unusable, she said. Palestinians are already drilling deeper and deeper to reach groundwater and there is a need for more desalination plants. A seawater plant costing about $350 million is planned.
The U.N. says only a quarter of Gaza waste water is treated. The rest, including raw sewage, goes into the Mediterranean Sea.
Gaylard said Gaza needs peace and security to improve the lives of its people. "It will certainly have to mean the end of blockade, the end of isolation and the end of conflict."
There is as yet no sign of an end to the conflict between Hamas and Israel. The Islamist movement is shunned by the West as a terror organisation and there is no prospect of diplomatic contacts leading to peace talks as long as Hamas rejects Israel's right to exist....READ MORE
Monday, August 27, 2012
CSM: Severe attack on Palestinian teen spotlights conflict's impact on Israeli youths
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| An Israeli soldier stands guard at the main entrance to the unauthorized Jewish outpost of Migron near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Feb. 8, 2012. Its inhabitants pay Israeli taxes, are hooked up to the Israeli electricity grid, and get round-the-clock protection from Israeli soldiers. Baz Ratner/Reuters |
Israelis wonder what it says about society that their youths attacked Palestinian teens in Jerusalem last week. In the past, they've often blamed such attacks on extremists and the mentally ill.
Jerusalem
“I don’t know what to call it, but a fight is when one is hitting the other,” says Nariman Julani, sitting by the hospital bedside of her son Jamal Julani, a 17-year-old high school student, who is recovering after coming out of his coma on Aug. 19.
The Palestinian youths, from Ras el-Amud in East Jerusalem, were out for an evening walk in West Jerusalem’s Zion Square when they heard “Death to the Arabs” and were set upon by a crowd. Julani’s friends escaped, but he fell and was beaten unconscious.
“Even two or three on one, that’s getting beaten up,” says Mrs. Julani. “But 40 on one? That’s a death sentence. It’s a miracle my son is alive.”
The thought that Israeli youths are capable of such violence has unleashed a stream national soul-searching and self-criticism. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack as “reprehensible,” while President Shimon Peres said that the incident filled him with “shame.”
Most remarkably, no one has tried to excuse it as an aberrant incident perpetrated by extremists or someone who is mentally ill.
There are indications, according to a new study, that children’s exposure to the politically motivated violence of the Israeli-Palestinians conflict makes them more aggressive. The study, completed by a team of American, Israeli, and Palestinian researchers and funded by the US National Institutes of Health, identified a rising trend of violence among children here, finding a correlation between their exposure to political violence and their own violent behavior.
Hours before the beating incident, six members of a Palestinian family living in the West Bank were injured when the car they were driving in was hit by a Molotov cocktail, setting the car on fire and causing it to flip over. Five of the six family members are still in hospital, recovering from serious burns, including a five-year-old boy. Israeli police yesterday arrested three 12- and 13-year-olds from the Israeli settlement of Bat Ayin as suspects in the attack, fueling further debate about violence among youths....READ MORE
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Breaking the Silence: More than 30 former Israeli soldiers have disclosed their experiences of the treatment of Palestinian children during military operations and arrests, pointing to a pattern of abuse.
"For years credible reports of human rights abuses against children
living under Israeli military occupation have emerged," he said. "These
latest testimonies from young soldiers given the task of enforcing the
occupation provide further evidence of its deeply corrosive effects on
all. The testimonies lay bare the day-to-day reality of the occupation.
These are not isolated incidents or a question of 'a few bad apples'.
This is the natural and foreseeable consequence of government policy."
