"80 years ago an atomic bomb destroyed Hiroshima. This must be a reminder to all of us of the irremediable risk of nuclear war, but also of the death and devastation that war — all wars — continue to inflict on human beings caught in conflict. Every day, right now. #Hiroshima80" Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Tricycle of a 3 year old boy named Shinichi Tetsutani, who died 1,500 meters from the hypocenter of Hiroshima atomic bombing, 1945. Shinichi's tricycle has been preserved by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

 Filippo Grandi

@FilippoGrandi

UN High Commissioner for @Refugees

 

80 years ago an atomic bomb destroyed Hiroshima. This must be a reminder to all of us of the irremediable risk of nuclear war, but also of the death and devastation that war — all wars — continue to inflict on human beings caught in conflict. Every day, right now. #Hiroshima80

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“The Israeli economy is structured to sustain the occupation that has now turned genocidal...” GLOBAL ACTION is needed to stop Israel !

Francesca Albanese speaks at an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel, in Bogota, Colombia [Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters]

UN rapporteur demands global action to stop Israel’s ‘genocide’ in Gaza

Francesca Albanese addresses delegates from 30 countries to discuss ways nations can try to stop Israel’s offensive.

The United Nations’s special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territory has said that it is time for nations around the world to take concrete actions to stop Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.

Francesca Albanese spoke to delegates from 30 countries meeting in Colombia’s capital, Bogota, on Tuesday to discuss Israel’s brutal assault and ways nations can try to stop the offensive in the besieged enclave.

Many of the participating nations have described Israel’s war on Gaza as a genocide against the Palestinians.

More than 58,000 people have been killed since Israel launched the assault in October 2023, according to Palestinian health authorities. Israeli forces have also imposed several total blockades on the territory throughout the war, pushing Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to the brink of starvation.

“Each state must immediately review and suspend all ties with the State of Israel … and ensure its private sector does the same,” Albanese said. “The Israeli economy is structured to sustain the occupation that has now turned genocidal.”

The two-day conference organised by Colombia and South Africa is being attended mostly by developing nations, although Spain, Ireland and China have also sent delegates.

The conference is co-chaired by South Africa and Colombia, which last year suspended coal exports to Israeli power plants. It includes the participation of members of The Hague Group, a coalition of eight countries that earlier this year pledged to cut military ties with Israel and comply with an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

For decades, South Africa’s governing African National Congress party has compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the West Bank with its own history of oppression under the harsh apartheid regime of white minority rule, which restricted most Black people to areas called “homelands”, before ending in 1994... READ MORE  https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/15/un-rapporteur-demands-global-action-to-stop-israels-genocide-in-gaza?traffic_source=rss

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Growing Gardens for Palestine... #Christmas #Palestine #PalmTrees #Mary... Informative, inspiring and entertaining facebook posts today from my friend Mike

Growing Gardens for Palestine

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

#Christmas #Palestine #PalmTrees #Mary

Informative, inspiring and entertaining facebook posts today from my friend Mike -

Mike Hanini Odetalla

8 mins ·

So I was in the Mall yesterday when I heard some ladies discussing #Christmas and the weather. A couple of them had just gotten back from Florida and were commenting about palm trees decorated with lights and how out of place it felt, and so, once again, sensing an opportunity to educate and inform, I chimed in by asking them if they had ever seen a Nativity Scene. "Of course" they all replied. I them asked what kind of tree is always included in those scenes. They gave me a puzzled look, and finally one of them said "I am almost sure its a palm tree". I said that is correct, a palm tree because the trees that you are used to seeing decorated originated in European tradition, not #Palestinian because those trees are not at all native to #Palestine, the birth place of #Jesus., while palm trees are.

I then asked them why is a palm tree included in the nativity scene, and of course none of them knew, thinking it was there for "decoration". I then informed them that in the Quran, where the blessed Virgin Mary has her own story, we are told that after having given birth, weak and hungry, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her and instructed her to "nudge the palm tree" for sustenance, whereby ripe dates would fall for her to eat, and today, science has proven that dates are a "super food"...They were amazed, and by now I had an audience of about 10 people, and so we went in depth about Palestine, Islam and Jesus, and I was peppered with questions which I was most certainly more than happy to answer, complete with pictures because I "conveniently" keep thousands of relevant photos of Palestine, #Bethlehem, and #Jerusalem...One at a time

Jesus is Born

The pains of childbirth drove her to clutch at the trunk of a date-palm tree and she cried out in anguish:

“Would that I had died before this, and had been forgotten and out of sight!” (Quran 19:23)

Mary delivered her child right there, at the foot of the date tree. She was exhausted after the birth, and filled with distress and fear, but nevertheless she heard a voice calling out to her. .

“Grieve not! Your Lord has provided you a stream of clear water under you; and shake the trunk of palm tree towards you; it will let fall fresh ripe dates upon you. So eat and drink and be glad...” (Quran 19:24)

God provided Mary with water, as a stream suddenly appeared beneath the place she was sitting. He also provided her with food; all she had to do was shake the trunk of the date tree. Mary was scared and frightened; she felt so weak, having just given birth, so how could she possibly shake the immense trunk of a date tree? But God continued to provide Mary with sustenance.

The next event was indeed another miracle, and as human beings we learn a great lesson from this. Mary didn’t need to shake the date tree, which would have been impossible; she only had to make an effort. As she attempted to follow God’s command, fresh ripe dates fell from the tree and God said to Mary: “…eat, drink and be glad.” (Quran 19:26)

Mary now had to take her new born child and go back to face her family. Of course she was afraid, and God knew this well. Thus He directed her not to speak. It would not have been possible for Mary to explain how she had suddenly become the mother of a new born child. Since she was unmarried, her people would not believe her explanations. God said:

“And if you see any human being, say: ‘Verily! I have vowed a fast unto the Most Gracious (God) so I shall not speak to any human being this day.’” (Quran 19:26)

 Bethlehem, Palestine...Circa 1898

 

Prize Winning Palestinian Teacher Returning To A Hero's Welcome In The West Bank Says "It's Time For All Kinds Of Violence To Stop."

Palestinian teacher Hanan al-Hroub, left is kissed by her father Hamed Obeidallah during a welcome ceremony upon her arrival back home, in the West Bank city Jericho, Wednesday, March 16, 2016. Officials, family members and friends celebrated the teacher upon her return to the country after attending the One Million Dollar Global Teacher Prize nnouncement ceremony at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai last Sunday, March 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Palestinian teacher Hanan al-Hroub, right, holds her One Million Dollar Global Teacher Prize at a welcome ceremony upon her return to the West Bank city Jericho, Wednesday, March 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Hanan al-Hroub, 43, a primary school teacher in el-Bireh near Ramallah, spoke to a jubilant crowd Wednesday as she crossed the Jordanian border into the West Bank.

Judges with the Varkey Foundation's Global Teacher Prize on Sunday recognized her work in teaching non-violence via her book "We Play and Learn.".... READ MORE

 Palestinian teacher Hanan al-Hroub, left, holds her trophy along with the Palestinian Education Minister Dr. Sabri Saidam during a welcome ceremony in the West Bank city Jericho, Wednesday, March 16, 2016. Officials, family members and friends celebrated the teacher upon her return to the country after attending the One Million Dollar Global Teacher Prize announcement ceremony at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai last Sunday, March 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Palestinian teacher Hanan al-Hroub, holds her trophy while attending a welcome ceremony upon her arrival back home, in the West Bank city Jericho, Wednesday, March 16, 2016. Officials, family members and friends celebrated the teacher upon her return to the country after attending the prize announcement ceremony at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai last Sunday, March 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-3495714/Palestinian-teacher-returns-home-winning-1M-prize.html#ixzz439cU9ggr 

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Now that his three-year world tour for "The Wall" has finally come to an end, Roger Waters wants to set the record straight over criticism he's received from Jewish groups regarding his use of the Star of David symbol in the show and his support for a cultural boycott of Israel.

In its three-year span, "The Wall" show went on to become the highest grossing tour of all time by a solo artist. Waters next stop is the Broadway musical version, which begins workshops in January....

In this April 1, 2011 file photo, Roger Waters performs during his "The Wall Tour 2010/2011" in Milan, Italy. Now that his three-year world tour for “The Wall” has finally come to an end, Waters wants to set the record straight over criticism he’s received from Jewish groups regarding his use of the Star of David symbol in the show and his support for a cultural boycott of Israel. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)

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http://www.statesman.com/ap/ap/entertainment/rogers-waters-defends-use-of-religious-symbolism/nb8q7/

Monday, Dec. 2, 2013

Rogers Waters defends use of religious symbolism

By JOHN CARUCCI

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — 

Now that his three-year world tour for "The Wall" has finally come to an end, Roger Waters wants to set the record straight over criticism he's received from Jewish groups regarding his use of the Star of David symbol in the show and his support for a cultural boycott of Israel.

The 70-year old Pink Floyd co-founder says his intention was never to offend the Jewish people. "I worry about it every day. It's a huge concern to me that I would be considered to be a bully," Waters says.

The controversy began with the use of the Star of David, which appears on Israel's flag and is a symbol of its government, in the show as one of the animated symbols dropped from a fighter jet during the song "Goodbye Blue Sky." Other symbols included a crucifix, crescent moon, and the U.S. dollar sign.

"'Goodbye Blue Sky' is all about and how I feel about the fields of the earth being bathed in blood because we're so determined to bombard our fellow man with our bit of ideology, or our bit of this, or our religion, and some took issue with that," Waters says.

Waters communicated with Anti-Defamation League national director Abraham Foxman and the rocker agreed to move the Stars of David further away from the dollar signs...READ MORE

My online comment posted 11-22-2013 RE UN secretary-general: JFK left indelible imprint on me

President Kennedy addresses Red Cross youth group at the White House on Aug. 29, 1962. Ban Ki-moon is second to the right of JFK.( Photo: Family photo)

RE: UN secretary-general: JFK left indelible imprint on me
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/11/22/ban-ki-moon-un-secretary-general-jfk/3639233/

comment i left on usatoday website

Delighted to see UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon's inspiring op-ed "JFK left indelible imprint on me"...  In giving sincere thanks, and telling such a charming story, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon helps elevate an important person, but more importantly he promotes magnificent ideas and ideals. 
Annie Annab

****************

UN secretary-general: JFK left indelible imprint on me

Ban Ki-moon 6 a.m. EST November 22, 2013

Meeting the president as a youth led to my decision to choose a life of public service.

Story Highlights

• President Kennedy that day reminded us that we could be friends even if our governments were not.
• His last speech at UN reads like a primer for addressing the problems that still plague us today.
• I deliver the message JFK gave me: Be a global citizen and love your country by serving the world.

One of my great personal regrets is not having better preserved the autograph I received from President Kennedy when I had the overwhelming good fortune to meet him as a nameless teenager from a dusty village in Korea.

I was in the United States as part of an eye-opening tour organized by the Red Cross for a group of young people from around the world. It was more than a visit to a foreign country -- it was a pilgrimage to the land of possibility, a shining democracy that had helped to save my nation in its darkest hour.

President Kennedy's signature was quickly dispersed among the many fingerprints of my friends who grabbed at the glossy White House Bulletin and passed it around with such eagerness that by the time it returned to me no trace of his writing remained.

But nothing could remove the imprint the American president made on my life...READ MORE

 

 

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PBS Convenes Nat’l Dialogue on Arab Americans... & Shadid Remembered at Book Awards

Shadid Remembered at Book Awards You are invited to honor the life and work of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Anthony Shadid (1968-2012) on Saturday, Sept. 29 at the AANM, as Nada Bakri (right) accepts a Lifetime Achievement Award on her husband’s behalf during the 2012 Arab American Book Award Ceremony. This event celebrates the year’s best books by and about Arab Americans; it features a sumptuous strolling buffet, open bar, live music, and following the award ceremony, a book signing with authors including Diana Abu-Jaber (above left). Tickets, just $20/$15 Museum Members/students, are available online only HERE. Click HERE to listen to a recent Democracy Now interview with Bakri, a respected journalist in her own right; as was her husband, Bakri is a correspondent for The New York Times. Shadid died while reporting from Syria earlier this year, just prior to the publication of his book, House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family and a Lost Middle East.

PBS Convenes Nat’l Dialogue on Arab Americans Public libraries in major U.S. cities including Los Angeles, Houston, Boston and Detroit are being asked to host events, forums and dialogues in connection with the new PBS series Arab American Stories, currently airing on stations across the country. The Battle Creek, Mich.-based W.K. Kellogg Foundation has granted series originator Detroit Public Television (DPTV) $250,000 to bring the television content to life through community conversations, beginning next month, that are designed to engage non-Arab Americans as well as Arab Americans. A website will compile and convene content, and host virtual community discussions featuring topical experts. DPTV will also write a curriculum for middle and high school students that will meet national core standards. Read more and see a list of participating libraries HERE.

''The Arabs'' by Bailey Fisher for MIFTAH

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 http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=25031&CategoryId=13

Yesterday, I attended a checkpoint tour through the West Bank, organized by an Israeli nonprofit organization. Traveling through the seam zone between the West Bank and the Green Line, we sat on an air-conditioned tour bus and pointed at various hills containing settlements, valleys with a few patches of Palestinian farmland, and about five checkpoints, three of which we stopped to take photos and listen to a few examples of injustice. Filled mostly with Israelis between the ages of 50 and 80, the tourists were eager to listen and learn. Yet there were things that kept ringing as the tour went on, red flags marking subtle rhetoric and a lack of understanding within the supposedly understanding group. I found the questions and points I wanted to be addressed were not only avoided, but perhaps even consciously ignored. Where I wanted there to be progress, there wasn’t any.

Before I proceed, I would to like to preserve the anonymity of the group as well as the individuals I am talking about, so I will not mention any proper names. Furthermore, this organization should be commended for its work within checkpoints themselves - aiming to ensure the safety and dignity for Palestinians - its public call within Israeli society to end the occupation, and its attempts to educate Israeli society on several injustices coming with the occupation. My account does not encompass all of Israeli activism and does not try to; rather, it is simply a personal interpretation of one example of Israeli activism.

~

Our tour guide repeated several times as she began her talk: THIS IS NOT A POLITICAL TOUR. WE WILL NOT TALK POLITICS HERE. As many times she repeated these words in different English sentences, there were still trace amounts of fear, as if she was afraid the bus would rise up in arms if she even breathed the word “Palestine” or “occupation”.

And thus the tour began. Our first destination was a small agricultural Palestinian village inside of the seam zone. We filed off of the bus and observed an agricultural checkpoint, witnessing a Palestinian boy stopped in front of the gate because he didn’t have a permit for his bag of fertilizer. The tour guides agreed publicly it was awful, but did not fail to keep throwing in security logic along the way: “If he wanted to blow himself up, why would he do it in his own village?”, answering the questions of the more security-minded folk in the audience. While that is a valid response in terms of security, they were failing to address the larger picture.

The next stop was a meeting with an “Arab friend”, a Palestinian man who told his story between constant reassurances of his friendship with the Israeli people, an effort seemingly tending to the invisible yet ever-present (and in my opinion, many times irrational) fear of international hatred towards Jews. He served us water, coffee and tea, and faced many questions from the audience not about the checkpoint dehumanization he faced, but about the lack of authority the PA held, as if Israel was no longer responsible for the frustrations he faced.

After this we stopped for lunch at a falafel shop in a small town still inside the seam zone. People lined up to use the one-stall bathroom and gave extra money to the cashier, a deed seemingly valiant but, in all honesty, quite patronizing.

Following lunch were several bathroom stops, a stop in Jayyous where we did not even step a foot off of the air conditioned bus, listening instead to a villager repeatedly reassure us he had “many Israeli friends”; only after this was repeated several times did he quickly tell his story and then sold everyone olive oil. We then stopped again, this time to buy real life “Arab sweets”, and then continued our in-bus trek winding through steep hills, pointing out settlements on top and Palestinian villages below, and finally coming back to the seam zone where we stopped at two checkpoints, one deserted and one still fully functioning.

Stopping briefly in the parking lot, we listened to the tour guide stress, “Yes, and once President Obama told Israel to get rid of this checkpoint, it did! See? Oh and it used to be awful, one of the worst. And now it is gone. Well, not really gone, because it is still blocking the road. But there are no soldiers here anymore.” Did Israel add any others to replace this one? I wanted to ask.

Before any of us really had time to process what we were seeing, we were back at the bus station in Israel, filing civilly off of our tour bus.

And I couldn’t help but feel . . . strange. While I was hoping to learn more about the construction, use and abuse of checkpoints, I instead received subtle rhetoric on the legitimacy of Israel (which I am not denouncing, however that decision should be my own, and not be constantly forced onto me), an inaccurate and frankly completely separated view of “the Arabs” (the use of that word alone exemplifies a lack of understanding) and a look into factions of supposedly leftist Israeli society. We were all spoon-fed a few examples of injustice mixed with a subtle separation from “the Arabs”, not drawing on similarities between the two peoples but instead separating them even more. It was as if the message was, “well, they do suffer, but they all also want to kill us minus a few of them. So we still need a lot of separation and security from them.”

Yet with this separation, peace will never be possible. If the Israeli society is unwilling to understand and relate to those they call “the Arabs”, (and conversely if the Palestinians are unwilling to understand the Israeli point of view) a lasting peace will never be a reality.

Bailey Fisher 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. 

Weighing In

             Weighing In

A Pollster called last night
about the Presidential election
here in America. Asked what issues
matter most to me I kept it simple:

"Ending the Israel-Palestine conflict."

She was startled but kind,
warm- wanted me to help work
on the Obama campaign.
Campaigns are everywhere

some formal and named, some not.

We volunteer to notice, elect to
make some news more important
help polls and surveys
and wishful thinking come true

in different ways.

When I say "Our words have a way
of echoing out into either war or peace"
I do not just mean ours - and America
But yours too... everywhere

everyone weighing in.

poem copyright ©2012 Anne Selden Annab