Saturday, January 25, 2025

America should not help Israel commit crimes against humanity.

Untitled (2024) by Alaziz Atef. This Week In Palestine- Ramallah Art Fair 2024

Dear Elected Leaders,

Were you aware that Joe Biden is widely known as "Genocide Joe" for arming Israel as Israel bombed and tortured refugees trapped in Gaza?

I am not sure what your nickname will become as you foolishly continue to fund and arm Israeli violence while cutting funds to pretty much everyone else, including Americans, but I do suspect that in time your choices now will be seen in a very different light... and not a good one.

After the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust the United Nations, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and UNWRA were established in hopes of shaping fair and just laws and a more peaceful way forward for everyone's sake.

Tragically for all, Israel is in long term and flagrant violation of international law, and has been for decades now.

America should not help Israel commit crimes against humanity. Jewish people should be safe and equal where ever they might live, here or there, and that should be true of every one regardless of their supposed race or religion... or lack thereof.

Please do not help Israel oppress, persecute, displace and denigrate native non-Jewish Palestinian and Arab men, women and children, and please do not help Israel subsidize and protect armed religious extremists and zealots here or there.

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab

American homemaker & poet

Notes https://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/search/label/Notes

Israeli Settlers threw molotov cocktails and rocks, breaking windows and setting several houses and cars on fire in each place they targeted in protest at the release of 90 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli jails in exchange for three Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

"Since the war in Gaza began, settler violence has intensified further, displacing entire villages for the first time. On many occasions, the Israeli army has been documented failing to stop settler attacks, or even joining in."

"“We can’t even cross the road to our olive trees now or they’ll shoot at us,” he said of the settlers. “This is our land, and our houses, but they want us to leave for good.”"

‘A constant state of panic’: how war in Gaza triggered new wave of depression and insomnia among Palestinian refugees from 1967 war The stress of seeing the destruction of their homeland sent rates of mental illness soaring in Jordan’s Jerash camp – and the ceasefire has brought scant relie

Revealed: Microsoft deepened ties with Israeli military to provide tech support during Gaza war- Leaked documents shed light on how Israel integrated the US tech giant into its war effort to meet growing demand for cloud and AI tools

LOVE, DESPITE ALL DIFFICULTIES AND OPPRESsION: We reflected collectively on this theme from the context of our suffering as Palestinian Christian women. We hope to inspire other women around the world to bear with one another in love during troubled times. ...

My neighbor has spent the past three days sitting over the rubble of what was once his home, grieving the loss of his eldest son. He does nothing but weep, his tears soaking the ruins as he recalls memories of his boy. Every day, he sits in silence, overwhelmed by pain, unable to move on from the devastation around him. When night falls, he slowly returns to his tent, where emptiness and sorrow await him. His grief is a heartbreaking reminder of the human cost of this tragedy, and his tears speak of a love and loss that words cannot capture.

If not forced to stop, the Israeli genocide… will not be confined to Gaza: Mark my words, says UN’s @FranceskAlbs predicting more war crimes

Poet Mosab Abu Toha's January 22, 2025 Statement on the destruction of the Edward Said Public Library in Gaza

Dear America- letter sent to my elected leaders: Please understand that our friend Israel already is a one state "solution" that has been oppressing and intentionally displacing the native non-Jewish Palestinians for decades now.

Unrwa may be forced to stop saving lives in Gaza. Will the world let that happen? Outrage over Israel’s attempt to dismantle our UN agency has largely petered out. The stakes are very high now Opinion piece by Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General

CSM ‘Cold is death.’ For Gazans in flimsy tents, a winter of sorrow and loss.

Human Rights Watch joins with nearly 90 other organizations in a letter opposing US sanctions against the International Criminal Court. It would be a terrible irony if a tool designed to penalize violators of human rights could instead contribute to their impunity.

"The U.S. provided $17.9 billion in military aid to Israel from October 2023 to October 2024, a substantial increase from the already $3.8 billion in military aid the U.S. gives Israel annually. "

The best idea is to start with full support for fair and just laws based on full respect for basic human rights.

The United Nations & The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Always, no matter what.... Even Wars Have Rules

"If the U.S. had held Israel accountable for the killing of other Americans like Rachel Corrie or Shireen Abu Akleh, perhaps Israeli soldiers would not feel so emboldened to kill Americans, and other civilians, today." Hamad Ali in The Hill 12/14/24

Dear America- Israel and its propagandists claim it is all about self-defense, but Israel is and has been the aggressor and the rule breaker.

Dear Elected Officials- Stop poisoning the land, and undermining international law.

My Letters https://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/search/label/letters

"Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world..." https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

Friday, January 24, 2025

Nathalie Handal Recieves National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing fellowship 2025

French-American poet, playwright, translator, and editor Nathalie Handal is originally of a Palestinian family from Bethlehem. She has lived in Europe, Latin America, the Arab world, and the United States.

Poetry Foundation

a poem https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/nathalie-handal

Others Are Us

By Nathalie Handal

He said I was different because I was dark. She said I was different because  I wore a scarf. He said I was different because I had an accent. She said I was different because I couldn’t read. He said I was different because I stuttered. She said I was different because I couldn’t hear or speak. He said I was different  because I should be a girl. She said I was different because I should be a boy. We are all different so doesn’t that mean we are the same? I mean it’s like heartbeats, we all share the same beats per minute but not exactly.

Source: Poetry (March 2021)

poets.org https://poets.org/poet/nathalie-handal

Nathalie Handal is the author of several books of poetry, including Life in a Country Album (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2019) and The Republics (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2015), which received a 2016 Arab American Book Award

About Nathalie Handal

Israeli Settlers threw molotov cocktails and rocks, breaking windows and setting several houses and cars on fire in each place they targeted in protest at the release of 90 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli jails in exchange for three Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

"“We can’t even cross the road to our olive trees now or they’ll shoot at us,” he said of the settlers. “This is our land, and our houses, but they want us to leave for good.”"

Mohammed al-Fukaha, 46, inspects his father’s burnt-out truck. Photograph: Quique Kierszenbaum/The Guardian

‘It’s not the damage, it’s the terror’: Israeli settlers run riot after ceasefire deal

Violent settlers descend on Sinjil and other West Bank towns to protest against release of Palestinian prisoners

By Bethan McKernan and Sufian Taha in Sinjil, West Bank

Thu 23 Jan 2025 00.00 EST

Last modified on Thu 23 Jan 2025 11.34 EST

Sundus al-Fukaha was watching the news at home in the occupied West Bank village of Sinjil on Saturday evening when she heard the sound of running and muffled voices outside. The next thing she knew, a molotov cocktail thrown by an Israeli settler crashed through the window, setting the sofa and curtains on fire.

In a video taken by an elderly relative, one of Sundus’ daughters, aged 12, can be seen throwing a pot of water at the blaze, while her 14-year-old sister tries to smother the flames with a cushion....READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/23/its-not-the-damage-its-the-terror-israeli-settlers-run-riot-after-ceasefire-deal

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

‘A constant state of panic’: how war in Gaza triggered new wave of depression and insomnia among Palestinian refugees from 1967 war The stress of seeing the destruction of their homeland sent rates of mental illness soaring in Jordan’s Jerash camp – and the ceasefire has brought scant relie

Umm Ahmed practises tatreez, a centuries-old embroidery technique passed down through generations and now used as a therapy by Palestinian women in ‘Gaza camp’, named after the region most of the residents came from in 1967

Photographs by Alaa Atwah

Supported by

About this content

Thaslima Begum

Thaslima Begum is an award-winning journalist with a focus on women, conflict and human rights

Fri 24 Jan 2025 04.00 EST

Last modified on Fri 24 Jan 2025 04.03 EST

Among the hills of northern Jordan, three miles west of the Roman ruins of Jerash, a sprawling settlement is home to more than 40,000 Palestinian people. Set up as an emergency shelter to accommodate 11,500 Palestinians forcibly displaced from Gaza during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Jerash camp – known locally as Gaza camp – was intended as a temporary solution.

The initial clusters of tents have since evolved into a more permanent settlement, where generations of refugees have grown up. Jordan hosts the largest number of Palestinian refugees in the world and most of the 2.3 million living there have been granted citizenship.

But the Palestinians who arrived in 1967 remain stateless. Without national IDs, they cannot find work, own property or receive state benefits. More than 88% of people in Gaza camp do not have health insurance.

One of the camp’s earliest inhabitants was Mokhtar Yahya, who arrived there as a baby. Born in Rafah a few weeks before the 1967 war broke out, his parents fled from Gaza to Jordan carrying him in a blanket.

They had sought refuge in Gaza camp firmly believing that their exile would be shortlived. But three generations of the family have now spent their entire lives in the camp..... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jan/24/palestinian-refugees-jordan-jerash-camp-gaza-grief-depression-mental-illness

Thursday, January 23, 2025

Revealed: Microsoft deepened ties with Israeli military to provide tech support during Gaza war- Leaked documents shed light on how Israel integrated the US tech giant into its war effort to meet growing demand for cloud and AI tools

Revealed: Microsoft deepened ties with Israeli military to provide tech support during Gaza war- Illustration: Guardian Design

Harry Davies and Yuval Abraham in Jerusalem

Thu 23 Jan 2025 06.00 EST

The Israeli military’s reliance on Microsoft’s cloud technology and artificial intelligence systems surged during the most intensive phase of its bombardment of Gaza, leaked documents reveal.

The files offer an inside view of how Microsoft deepened its relationship with Israel’s defence establishment after 7 October 2023, supplying the military with greater computing and storage services and striking at least $10m in deals to provide thousands of hours of technical support.

Microsoft’s deep ties with Israel’s military are revealed in an investigation by the Guardian with the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and a Hebrew-language outlet, Local Call. It is based in part on documents obtained by Drop Site News, which has published its own story.

The investigation, which also draws on interviews with sources from across Israel’s defence and intelligence establishment, sheds new light on how the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) turned to major US tech companies to meet the technological demands of war.... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/23/israeli-military-gaza-war-microsoft?CMP=share_btn_url

LOVE, DESPITE ALL DIFFICULTIES AND OPPRESSION: We reflected collectively on this theme from the context of our suffering as Palestinian Christian women. We hope to inspire other women around the world to bear with one another in love during troubled times. ...

Art by Halima Aziz created in honor of the World Day of Prayer 2024

“I Beg You… Bear With One Another in Love”

Ephesians 4:1-3
March 1, 2024

This program calls us to bear with each other in love, despite all difficulties and oppression. The program was written by a group of ecumenical Christian Palestinian women in response to the passage from Ephesians 4:1-7. We reflected collectively on this theme from the context of our suffering as Palestinian Christian women. We hope to inspire other women around the world to bear with one another in love during troubled times.

https://worlddayofprayer.net/palestine-2024.html

History & Culture

Who among you has not heard of this tiny spot in the Middle East, that for over 3000 years has been significant to three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

However, the region is much older and has had many names, depending on the many tribes that have settled at different times in the land. The land has been nourished by an unfolding series of civilizations and structures because of its strategic position as a crossroad to three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe.

In 1967, when Israel occupied the Palestinian territories, Western powers called the region the West Bank, because it was on the west bank of the Jordan River. After the Oslo Accords of 1993-1995, the West Bank was divided into Areas A, B and C. In order to travel between any of the areas in the West Bank, Palestinians must go through checkpoints.

As of July 31, 2019, 138 of the 193 United Nations member states have recognized Palestine as a state, and the Palestinian flag now flies outside of the United Nations.

There is a perception/belief around the world that women in the Middle East region are passive, silent, and non-influential. However, the role of women in Palestine (both historically and in modern times) is active and influential. They are steadfast, strong and courageous.

Although Palestinian women have played an influential role in society, there is still room for better conditions. Recently, some Protestant churches have progressed on gender issues, such as ordaining Sally Azar as the first Palestinian female pastor in Palestine.

About the Art & Artist

Halima Aziz (b.1999 in Hagen, Germany) is a passionate Palestinian visual artist and design student based in Germany. She spent her childhood in Palestine. Halima experienced the war in Gaza in 2008 and survived it. In 2009 she moved back to Germany.

This artwork is made in honor of the World Day of Prayer. Through her artwork, Halima represents three Palestinian women praying together in nature in a peaceful place. In her work, she has different motives and symbols that indicate the origin of these women and their cohesion.

Olive trees/ branches are a sign of everlasting and abundant life because they can live for thousands of years.

The golden roots are underlining the fact that the Palestinians will always exist and as they exist, they will always resist for their rights and freedom. Poppy flowers are abundant and meaningful to Palestinians. They remind Palestinians of loved ones who have given their lives for their country.

The women are wearing traditional Palestinian dresses like the tatreez (embroidery) thobe (dress) or the white scarf. And the keys are a symbol of the hope to return back to Palestine.

My neighbor has spent the past three days sitting over the rubble of what was once his home, grieving the loss of his eldest son. He does nothing but weep, his tears soaking the ruins as he recalls memories of his boy. Every day, he sits in silence, overwhelmed by pain, unable to move on from the devastation around him. When night falls, he slowly returns to his tent, where emptiness and sorrow await him. His grief is a heartbreaking reminder of the human cost of this tragedy, and his tears speak of a love and loss that words cannot capture.

My neighbor has spent the past three days sitting over the rubble of what was once his home, grieving the loss of his eldest son. He does nothing but weep, his tears soaking the ruins as he recalls memories of his boy. Every day, he sits in silence, overwhelmed by pain, unable to move on from the devastation around him. When night falls, he slowly returns to his tent, where emptiness and sorrow await him. His grief is a heartbreaking reminder of the human cost of this tragedy, and his tears speak of a love and loss that words cannot capture.

ROLA

@1rrzs

Palestinian writer| speaker| humanitarian from Rafah in Gaza striving to help my people relieve their suffering.

If not forced to stop, the Israeli genocide… will not be confined to Gaza: Mark my words, says UN’s @FranceskAlbs predicting more war crimes

Poet Mosab Abu Toha's January 22, 2025 Statement on the destruction of the Edward Said Public Library in Gaza

Mosab Abu Toha: This is what I worked in the past seven years to build for my people with the help of friends in Gaza and outside.

@MosabAbuToha

Statement on the destruction of the Edward Said Public Library in Gaza January 22, 2025

My name is Mosab Abu Toha and I’m a Palestinian poet and writer from Gaza.

Today [this] morning with a heavy heart I received the news of the destruction of the Edward Said Public Library in Beit Lahia, north Gaza.

The news and pictures came through just three days after Gazans were allowed to return to north Gaza.

Starting 2016, I started collecting books from around the world to build Gaza’s first English language library. With the endorsement and support of authors and intellectuals around the world, I raised the needed funds to open the library in the summer of 2017.

It took me around eight weeks to receive each box of books that friends and supporters were sending from the United States and Europe.

A few people were sending a selection of books from their own home libraries, and I was planning to name certain shelves in the library in Gaza after them.

In September 2019, a second branch was opened in Gaza City. News of the horrible damage done to the branch was relayed to me a few months ago.

All the dreams that I and friends in Gaza and abroad were drawing for our children have been burnt by Israel’s genocidal campaign to erase Gaza and everything that breathes of life and love.

The destruction of the Edward Said Public Library is just one war crime committed against Gaza and Gazans in the past 15 months.

The obliteration of Gaza’s universities, schools, cultural centers as well as religious sites must be condemned.

Moreover, the world of culture and literature must respond to this atrocity by publicly it and by boycotting Israeli cultural institutions and anyone coming from that part. I demand that the American Library Association (ALA) issue a statement condemning the destruction of the Edward Said Public Library in Gaza and boycott Israeli libraries and cultural institution.

In January 2020, and as part of the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, I delivered a presentation about the struggle libraries in Palestine face, and I told the story of the Edward Said Public Library. I also urge American libraries and authors, some of whose books were on the shelves of the library, to stand in solidarity with the libraries in Gaza and to express their commitment for a protected cultural life in Palestine.

In December 2023, Do’a Al-Masri, the librarian at the Gaza City branch of the library, was killed in an air strike with her mother and siblings in Tuffah neighborhood.

Lastly, I’m committed to rebuilding the library, its two branches, and even expand the project to build one in Rafah and another in Khan Younis.

My only two concerns now are whether I can get books into Gaza and also whether I will find children who are convinced that this is safe and important to visit the library, especially after all the trauma and losses each of us experienced.

Mosab Abu Toha, Author and founder of the Edward Said public Library-Occupied Palestine

Edward Said Public Library established in Gaza 2019

Edward Said Public Library today 2025- destroyed by Israel

*Edward Said 1935-2003 was a Palestinian American Professor of Literature at Columbia University who was born in Jerusalem, Palestine in 1935 to a Palestinian Christian family. Said's father served in the United States Army during World War I.

Besides having been a public intellectual & academic, Edward Said was an accomplished pianist.

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Dear America- letter sent to my elected leaders: Please understand that our friend Israel already is a one state "solution" that has been oppressing and intentionally displacing the native non-Jewish Palestinians for decades now.

Israeli made Apartheid Wall illustrated by Palestinians

Dear America,

Please understand that our friend Israel already is a one state "solution" that has been oppressing and intentionally displacing the native non-Jewish Palestinians for decades now.

I detest HAMAS & Hezbollah, but I care deeply about historic Palestine and the families who lived in historic Palestine before modern man-made Israel was established after the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust.

I also care deeply about international law and respecting universal basic human rights "Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world" https://www.ohchr.org/en/human-rights/universal-declaration/translations/english

America should stand on the side of justice and liberty- real democracy and refugee rights, including the Palestinian refugees' inalienable right to return to original homes and lands. We should also be fully funding UNWRA, as well as The United Nations.

Racist notions and religious bigotry will not create a just and lasting peace for the people of Israel and Palestine or anyone else.

Respect for fair and just laws and policies is the best way forward. Please do not invest tax payer's money in religious extremism here or there.

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab

Notes https://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/search/label/Notes

Unrwa may be forced to stop saving lives in Gaza. Will the world let that happen? Outrage over Israel’s attempt to dismantle our UN agency has largely petered out. The stakes are very high now Opinion piece by Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General

“We need leaders not in love with money but in love with justice. Not in love with publicity but in love with humanity. Leaders who can subject their particular egos to the pressing urgencies of the great cause of freedom…..a time like this demands great leaders.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dear Morton Salt: I want to buy American made, not Israeli.

Sliman Mansour of Palestine: Peace (سلام)، oil on canvas, 1990

Mosab Abu Toha 's Ceasefire poem January 2025

The Ceasefire in Gaza: The crisis is far from over...

Never Forget! Hind Rajab- a little 5 year old Palestinian girl hit by 355 bullets fired by Israel's IDF in Gaza

Israel admits soldiers used ambulance in raid on Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank: “Israel is no longer trying to hide its war crimes and is acting as though the norms and rules of international law do not apply,’’ said the prominent Israeli rights group B’Tselem, which investigated the incident."

OCHA OPT (Palestine) - In Gaza, the fuel crisis threatens the operation of essential services. - Explosive weapons in 2024 left about 15 children a day with potentially life-long disabilities. - +12,000 patients need urgent medical evacuation outside Gaza. - etc....

Nour Elassy Poet and writer based in Gaza: Why I won’t stop telling Gaza’s stories. I continue to report from Gaza, not because I believe my words may end the war, but because I want to make a record of our existence – our dignity, resilience, hope.

Gaza deaths top 46,000 as one study suggests it could be much higher, and some pin ceasefire hopes on Trump

Could Other Countries Prosecute Soldiers in Gaza? A growing legal movement has turned to the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows national courts to take on war-crimes cases, regardless of where those crimes were committed or the nationality of the perpetrator.

Netanyahu's top administration official Ben-Gvir brags today about blocking past ceasefire deals that would've released Israeli hostages.

CSM- In Israel’s democracy battle, an added front: Politicized police "a mass protest movement – unprecedented in size and duration in Israel’s history – was mobilized to counter what democracy activists portrayed as a naked power grab. Demonstrations packed streets around the country for about 40 weeks straight, until the devastating Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas assault thrust the country into war and brought the overhaul efforts to a halt."

CSM Where kindness meets crisis: This police unit put away its riot gear. Now it walks and talks with protesters [Columbus Ohio].

Tasneem, the daughter of journalist Ayman Al-Amraiti, was killed by Israel this morning [January 14, 2025]

The rules of war, also known as international humanitarian law: Recognize the right of civilians to be protected from the dangers of war and receive the help they need. Every possible care must be taken to avoid harming them or their houses, or destroying their means of survival, such as water sources, crops, livestock, etc.

The rules of war are universal. The Geneva Conventions (which are the core element of IHL) have been ratified by all 196 states. Very few international treaties have this level of support.