Jewish Voice for Peace: "We strive to build a world where every human and every plant can thrive without fear of being killed or uprooted... "

Jewish Voice for Peace

@jvplive

 

On Tu Bishvat, the Jewish new year for trees, we stand with Palestinians against the Israeli government’s systematic destruction of their land. 

 

As anti-Zionist Jews, we mark this holiday by resisting Israeli apartheid and colonialism on Palestinian land on the lands we live on. 

 

We strive to build a world where every human and every plant can thrive without fear of being killed or uprooted. 

 

A free Palestine means nurturing a lush, thriving land, filled with trees, from the river to the sea.     https://x.com/jvplive/status/2018051801501581755

 

We’re proud anti-Zionists at JVP.  But what is Zionism and why are we opposed to it?

 For 75 years, Zionism has been used to justify massacres of Palestinians by the Israeli military, the destruction of ancient villages and olive groves, and a military occupation that separates families from each other with checkpoints and walls.

The Israeli government, and the US Jewish institutions that defend Zionism and the state of Israel, want us to think Zionism was inevitable, and that to be Jewish is to be Zionist.

As anti-Zionists, we know our history of oppression, but we reject Zionism as the answer. We know our safety is — and always has been — in solidarity and a shared future... READ MORE   https://x.com/jvplive/status/2006087318084673996/photo/1   

 AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies] 

Germany's Berlin police raided and shut down a pro-Palestine event organised by a Jewish group in April 2024

 

Berlin police raided and shut down a pro-Palestine event organised by a Jewish group in April [GETTY]

A second pro-Palestine activist in Germany is facing trial for the use of the phrase "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free", in a case that rights groups say is part of an alarming state-led suppression of public support for Gaza.

Germany has implemented a crackdown on pro-Palestine demonstrations and cultural events since the outbreak of Israel’s war on Gaza, last October, seeing the arrest of activists and the banning of protests.

An activist identified as 'Daria' by their lawyer will face a hearing at a district court in Berlin on Thursday on charges of the 'circulation of symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organisations'...     READ MORE   https://www.newarab.com/news/germany-palestine-activist-faces-trial-river-sea

Second pro-Palestine activist faces trial in Germany for 'from river to sea' chant

German authorities have sought to suppress pro-Palestine activism in the wake of Israel’s war on Gaza and its own contentious history towards Jewish people.

[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] 

"For the White House to allow pro-Israel “word police” to define what is & isn’t acceptable language is a dangerous abuse of power" James J Zogby ... & Annie's Notes about the real meanings of some very crucial words that are being badly misconstrued by Biden & the Zionist Word Police

 James J. Zogby

@jjz1600

So the president is now condemning the word “intifada” as hate speech. It literally means “shaking off,” as in removing the shackles of the past. For the White House to allow pro-Israel “word police” to define what is & isn’t acceptable language is a dangerous abuse of power

What the “word police” say can’t be said: apartheid, genocide, ethnic cleaning, settler colonialism, “from the River to the sea…”, & now intifada. The list keeps growing as a way to shield Israeli policies from criticism. & to equate this w/ antisemitism is so wrong.

 

 ~~~~~~

 Annie's Notes about the real meanings of some very crucial words that are being badly misconstrued by Biden & the Zionist Word Police

 

 

Dove of Peace w Key ASA copyright 2009

Intifada- shaking off

 

From the River to the Sea-  Freedom, equality & respect everywhere for everyone- empowering the rule of fair and just laws.

Apartheid- 1940s: from Afrikaans, literally ‘separateness’, from Dutch apart ‘separate’ + -heid (equivalent of -hood):  SEGREGATION

Ethnic Cleansing- the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically or religiously homogenous.

Settler Colonialism- Settler colonialism occurs when colonizers invade and occupy territory to permanently replace the existing society with the society of the colonizers

 Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people^[a] in whole or in part.  

In 1948, the United Nations Genocide Convention defined genocide as any of five "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group". These five acts were: killing members of the group, causing them serious bodily or mental harm, imposing living conditions intended to destroy the group, preventing births, and forcibly transferring children out of the group. Victims are targeted because of their real or perceived membership of a group, not randomly

Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin coined the term genocide in his 1944 book Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, combining the Greek word γένος (genos, "race, people") with the Latin suffix -caedo ("act of killing"). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide

 

Semite, name given in the 19th century to a member of any people who speak one of the Semitic languages, a family of languages spoken primarily in parts of western Asia and Africa. The term therefore came to include Arabs, Akkadians, Canaanites, Hebrews, some Ethiopians (including the Amhara and the Tigrayans), and Aramaean tribes.

 

Notice that indigenous Arab Palestinians, including Arab Christians, are being erased -ethnically cleansed- from historic Palestine while also being intentionally and persistently excluded from the definitions of antisemitism:

 

Antisemitism- hostility to or prejudice against Jewish people. The term anti-Semitism was coined in 1879 by the German agitator Wilhelm Marr to designate the anti-Jewish campaigns underway in central Europe at that time. Nazi anti-Semitism, which culminated in the Holocaust, had a racist dimension in that it targeted Jews because of their supposed biological characteristics—even those who had themselves converted to other religions or whose parents were converts. This variety of anti-Jewish racism dates only to the emergence of so-called “scientific racism” in the 19th century and is different in nature from earlier anti-Jewish prejudices.

There are enough weapons of war and destruction already on planet earth.

 

Dear Biden, Harris...etc... my elected leaders,

Stop funding weapon sales to foreign countries. FULL STOP!   

We must stop escalating war worldwide.   Start by sending the clear message to Russia that land grabs are wrong by firmly condemning all Israeli land grabs, illegal settlements, and bombing campaigns.

Israel has spent the past 6 months pulverizing Palestinians in Gaza with American made bombs, mainly killing women and children.  Israel's war has already killed at least 34,049 Palestinians and wounded another 76,901

Protesters worldwide loudly chant End Apartheid, Free Palestine, Stop the Genocide!

And what do American officials do- our elected leaders force American taxpayers to hand Israel more weapons and more excuses to pulverize more Palestinian homes and families.

Zionists demand that Americans "protect Jews".  What they really want is for America to arm and protect Israeli Apartheid.

Columbia U. does what it can to "protect Jews" by trying to silence Human Rights protesters who object to Israel's ongoing war on the indigenous non-Jewish people of historic Palestine.

USC cancels all graduation speakers because their best & brightest student, valedictorian Asna Tabassum, supports Palestinians on her social media accounts. Tabassum in turn urges everyone "to see past our deepest fears and recognize the need to support justice for all people, including the Palestinian people."

There are enough weapons of war and destruction already on planet earth.  The only way to build a just and lasting peace (and to protect Jews plus every one else) is to invest all energies into full respect for Human Rights for ALL human beings, regardless of supposed race or religion.  That means one state or two to end the Israel/Palestine conflict, start with FULL RESPECT for every refugee's inalienable legal and moral right to return to original homes and lands.

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab

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

"Art is the language of peace, love and life. Drawing and playing with children are the only tools of resistance I have to improve living conditions" Basel Elmaqosui of Palestine

AP News: Israeli strikes on southern Gaza city of Rafah kill 18, mostly children, as US advances aid package

In the vibrant tapestry of Palestine, Christians and Muslims intertwine as friends –each Christian cherishing a Muslim companion, and every Muslim embracing a Christian confidant. (NABLUS TAMREYAH recipe) in This Week in Palesitne

Handala- the Palestinian Refugee Child

Dismantling the culture of silence... "On Remembrance: When Words Become Our Strength"

Palestine Museum US: Today we mark the opening of the exhibition "Foreigners in Their Homeland: Occupation | Apartheid | Genocide"

"What was the crime of the Palestinian child?" a poem on Palestine by Ahmad Ibsais

Time: Imagining a Free Palestine by Ahmad Ibsais, a first-generation Palestinian American who writes the newsletter State of Siege.

Palestinian-American Poet Fady Joudah Wins $100,000 Jackson Poetry Prize 2024 “Distinguished by his courage to speak in the face of the unspeakable, in poems of lyric concision and intensity.”

Shhhh.... that's ANTI- SEMITIC

Years from now students will study the Palestinian GENOCIDE and wonder HOW DID NO ONE STOP THIS??

UN experts deeply concerned over 'scholasticide’ in Gaza 18 April 2024 “When schools are destroyed, so too are hopes and dreams.” Even UN schools sheltering forcibly displaced civilians are being bombed, including in Israeli military-designated “safe zones.” “These attacks are not isolated incidents. They present a systematic pattern of violence aimed at dismantling the very foundation of Palestinian society,” the experts said.

In northern Gaza, famine sets in: ‘We will eat anything’... [CSM] Reports indicate that the amount of flour entering Gaza may be ticking up slightly, but the need is urgent. Palestinian families are becoming increasingly desperate.

"I fear we are forgetting lessons from that terrible history" Eva Ladipo... My family’s past, and Germany’s, weighs heavily upon me. And it’s why I feel so strongly about Gaza

The Guardian view on the catastrophe in Gaza: it must not be overshadowed by the Iran crisis Editorial

UNRWA: A man-made famine is "tightening its grip" across Gaza

Israeli forces have killed over 33,900 Palestinians and injured over 76,000 since 7 October... Of the total killed, 13,900 of them were children.

Reuters photographer Mohammad Salem's haunting image of a grieving Palestinian woman embracing her little niece, killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza, has just won the 2024 World Press Photo of the Year Award.

No Tech for Apartheid campaign ... Google fires 28 employees for protesting Israel cloud deal

Time Magazine's The 100 Most Influential People of 2024: Palestinian Photo-Journalist Motaz Azaiza "We need to stop this war.”

Stop wasting America's time and resources playing word games for racist Israel

UN rights body demands Israel be held accountable for possible war crimes..."in just six months, more humanitarians have been killed in this conflict than in any war of the modern era.”

Palestine was not an empty piece of land before Israel 

 

Where, after all, do universal human rights begin?

The UN Mediator for Palestine, Count Folke Bernadotte, believed that the Palestinians displaced had a right to return to their homes and wrote several UN reports to that effect.

"It would be an offence against the principles of elemental justice if these innocent victims of the conflict were denied the right to return to their homes while Jewish immigrants flow into Palestine, and, indeed, at least offer the threat of permanent replacement of the Arab refugees who have been rooted in the land for centuries."

Bernadotte was assassinated on Friday 17 September 1948 by members of the group Lehi, a Zionist terrorist organization, commonly known in the West as the Stern Gang

 

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

 PALESTINE REMEMBERED

Stop wasting America's time and resources playing word games for racist Israel

377-44-1: House passed a resolution that the "slogan, 'from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free' is antisemitic and its use must be condemned." https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2024/roll1  

 

Dear Biden, Harris...etc... my elected leaders,

The House formally condemns words- specifically the pro-Palestine pro-Democracy phrase "From the River to the Sea", while foolishly ignoring the horrific violence of the sovereign nation state that fully controls all the airspace and borders between the actual river and sea!!!

Decade after decade for 75 years now & counting, Israel as "The Jewish State" has been intentionally impoverishing, denigrating, displacing and/or killing countless Palestinian men, women and children between the river and the sea. 

Israel as "The Jewish State" is a man made entity and tourist trap that American preachers & politicians idolize and arm with taxpayers' money plus American made military weaponry: American $$$ SHOULD NOT be used to fund and arm a very foreign country's preferred religion, bigotry, injustice, brainwashing and brutality.  

Our charity should be healthy food for the hungry- NOT WEAPONRY & WORD GAMES for Israeli war mongers! 

Israel claims self defense as "The Jewish State" in order to destroy more Arab homes and neighborhoods because Israel wants the land but not the indigenous non-Jewish people of that land.  Who is the terrorist?!  And why are you not using your position and public podium to condemn Israel's apartheid practices & its extensive state sponsored terrorism.

Why are you not clearly advocating full and equal rights for all people, regardless of supposed race or religion!  Maybe it is in part because the "All the News that's fit to print" NYTimes has a word list its journalists have been told to avoid using when writing about the Israel/Palestine conflict: Refugee Camps. Occupied Territory. Slaughter. Massacre. Carnage. Genocide. Ethnic Cleansing.  

Stop wasting America's time and resources playing word games for racist Israel!!!

Please start using your own position and power to advocate American ideals and good investments such as secular democracy with freedom of and from religion for all people, including Israelis and Palestinians.   

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab

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

Israel’s War on Gaza

The Intercept: Leaked NYT Gaza Memo Tells Journalists to Avoid Words “Genocide,” “Ethnic Cleansing,” and “Occupied Territory”

Israeli forces are broadcasting fake sounds of women screaming and babies crying to lure Palestinians out and kill them, a rights monitor has found.

The face of America’s ugly Gaza policy: "... Can we really celebrate Black women [Kamala Harris] in power who can’t use said power to prevent death and starvation inflicted on a stateless people? I — like an increasing number of voters — don’t think so." Karen Attiah

"Trauma in Palestine is collective and continuous. PTSD is when your mind is stuck in a traumatic loop. In Palestine, the loop is reality." Dr Samah Jabr

2024 USC canceled Asna Tabassum's valedictorian speech after receiving a wave of hate online for supporting Palestine.... please read her statement in full

Thank You for The Literature of Palestine

Zeina Azzam, Alexandria’s poet laureate, whose parents fled Palestine, creates potent art from the devastation in Gaza- with her poem "Write My Name"

driven slightly mad by injustice....

Please no more funds, weaponry, and support for war mongering Israel

CSM: Snapshots from Gaza: By sheer will, Palestinian women eke out a life

Israel bombs UN school in central Gaza twice in 24 hours... the school shelters a large number of displaced people, mostly women and children.

Settlers rampage through West Bank, burning cars and injuring Palestinians Palestinians in the West Bank faced large-scale attacks by Israeli settlers on Friday and Saturday, as cars were set alight and dozens injured

CNN: Israeli settlers storm village in West Bank and kill at least 1 Palestinian.

"... and birds shall return" The Deluge and the Tree poem by Fadwa Tuqan, written in 1967, right after the Naksa (ongoing israeli made Nakba) & remembered #Gaza 2024

17 children’s books for Arab-American Heritage Month - 2024 - Rebekah Gienapp [nurturing antiracism]

Christians for a Free Palestine just shut down the US Senate cafeteria. If our leaders don't let Gaza eat, then they don't deserve to eat lunch.

Debating ancient Middle East history is a distraction from the death and human suffering now ravaging Palestine | Opinion in my local newspaper

Palestine Is Poetry by Sabrin Hasbun ..... "Grief and loss and violence and pain have been forced on us constantly, for over 75 years."

The indiscriminate killing, the manmade starvation and the bombing of aid workers must bring the west to a moment of decision -Chris McGreal

UN rights body demands Israel be held accountable for possible war crimes..."in just six months, more humanitarians have been killed in this conflict than in any war of the modern era.”

Palestine was not an empty piece of land before Israel

Dean Obeidallah: Two words  [#FreePalestine] that made Ramy Youssef’s ‘SNL’ monologue historic 

Easter Sunday: The Nazarene (الناصري), oil on canvas, 1993 painting by Sliman Mansour

1963 Martin Luther King Jr's I Have A Dream speech about equity for all still rings true: "Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children"      https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/i-have-a-dream-speech

Where, after all, do universal human rights begin?

The UN Mediator for Palestine, Count Folke Bernadotte, believed that the Palestinians displaced had a right to return to their homes and wrote several UN reports to that effect.

"It would be an offence against the principles of elemental justice if these innocent victims of the conflict were denied the right to return to their homes while Jewish immigrants flow into Palestine, and, indeed, at least offer the threat of permanent replacement of the Arab refugees who have been rooted in the land for centuries."

Bernadotte was assassinated on Friday 17 September 1948 by members of the group Lehi, a Zionist terrorist organization, commonly known in the West as the Stern Gang

 

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

 PALESTINE REMEMBERED

“From the River to the Sea.” A Poem by Samer Abu Hawwash, translated by Huda Fakhreddine "every whisper, every touch, every street, every house, every room..."

Literary Hub

“From the River to the Sea.” A Poem by Samer Abu Hawwash, translated by Huda Fakhreddine

"every whisper, every touch, every street, every house, every room"

April 1, 2024  By Samer Abu Hawwash and Huda Fakhreddine

 

From the River to the Sea

every street, every house, every room, every window, every balcony, every wall, every stone, every sorrow, every word, every letter, every whisper, every touch, every glance, every kiss, every tree, every spear of grass, every tear, every scream, every air, every hope, every supplication, every secret, every well, every prayer, every song, every ballad, every book, every paper, every color, every ray, every cloud, every rain, every drop of rain, every drip of sweat, every lisp, every stutter, every yamma, mother, every yaba, father, every shadow, every light, every little hand that drew in a little notebook a tree or house or heart or a family of a father, a mother, siblings, and pets, every longing, every possibility, every letter... READ MORE https://lithub.com/from-the-river-to-the-sea-a-poem-by-samer-abu-hawwash-translated-by-huda-fakhreddine/

 

Samer Abu Hawwash is a Palestinian writer and translator. He was born in Lebanon to a Palestinian refugee family. He has published ten volumes of poetry, starting with his debut collection Life is Printed in New York (1997). He is also a prolific translator of English-language fiction and non-fiction. Among his notable translations are works by Charles Bukowski, Langston Hughes, Jack Kerouac, Yann Martel, Hanif Kureishi, Denis Johnson and Marilynne Robinson.  

 

 [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

Together, we have the power to shift the narrative on Palestine and build a future of collective liberation- Visualizing Palestine NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

Visualizing Palestine

@visualizingpal

As 2023 closes, we vow stronger resolve to continue to expose Israeli oppression of Palestinians. Together, we have the power to shift the narrative on Palestine and build a future of collective liberation. Join us: use our visuals, subscribe, become a member.

 

All I want for Christmas is a Right of Return FREE PALESTINE

In 1948, in response to the mass displacement and forced exile of the native non-Jewish men, women and children of historic Palestine, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 194, including paragraph 11 which provides, in part, that:

…the [Palestinian] refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.

Resolution 194 endorsed the right of Palestinian refugees to choose whether to repatriate to what is now Israel or to be resettled elsewhere, and codified the accepted principles of customary international law. It has been reaffirmed by the General Assembly every year since its adoption.

The right of return for all refugees also is well-established under other international law, including:

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted in 1948): “Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country” (Art. 13(2)).

Pointing out facts about Israeli Apartheid and Zionist brutality is not racism... my letter to my elected leaders

I Stand with Palestine billboard 2023- sponsored by If Americans Knew

 

Dear Elected Leaders,

Protesting against injustice, bigotry, violence and war is not racism. 

Pointing out facts about Israeli Apartheid and Zionist brutality is not racism.

Wearing a pin for Palestine or emblazoning a billboard with the words "I Stand With Palestine" is not racism. 

Palestine is a historic name for a historic place, and it is also the hope and dream that someday the native non-Jewish people of historic Palestine will be free and equal, with either one state or two states to end the Holy Land Hostilities.

"From The River to The Sea" endorses and empowers the idea of fair and just laws, security, equality, and true democracy for all people regardless of supposed race or religion, with either one state or two states to end the Holy Land Hostilities. 

That phrase "From The River to The Sea" took hold because for its entire 75 year long sovereign statehood Israel has been oppressing, imprisoning, impoverishing, and displacing Palestinian men, women, and children. 

Israel's own blatantly racist anti-Arab rhetoric and numerous big bombing campaigns as well as smaller scale violence wrought by Israeli soldiers and settlers is in fact the current basis of increasing antisemitism and also rising anti-American sentiments and scorn for democracy world wide.

Human beings come in all different shapes and sizes, colors and creeds. 

Please don't help others learn to hate:  Stop arming Israel and start arming a just and lasting peace. 

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab

We won’t stop speaking out about Gaza’s suffering – there is no climate justice without human rights - Greta Thunberg

U.S. and Israeli MILITARISM fuels GENOCIDE and ECOCIDE

Pray for Palestine

An Ongoing Displacement- The Forced Exile of the Palestinians since 1922

74 Palesinians Killed in Gaza by Israel were OLDER THAN THE STATE of ISRAEL #elders

109 total journalists killed by Israel 2000-2023

Invest Time & Money in American Ideals - NOT ISRAEL ... letter to my elected officials

Today's Nativity scene inspired by Israeli Bombing Campaigns 2023 #Gaza #Bethlehem, #Palestine #Christmas

GAZA UPDATE: More than 6,600 Palestinian children in Gaza have been killed by Israeli forces since October 7, according to the Governmental Media Office. Thousands more are still missing under the rubble.

The Universal Declaration is a roadmap, helping to end wars, heal divisions and promote lives of peace and dignity for all. Learn more & join the movement to help achieve a world of freedom, equality & justice for all

My letter to The Guardian RE The people of Gaza need a UN protection force

Israel (& America & the UK & Europe)'s cruel War on Gaza & the Children of Palestine 2023

The WEST BANK archipelago

ISRAEL SWALLOWING GAZA STRIP: Israel has no borders, neither by its own admission or by international law. That is why it is grabbing any land it can. - Salman Abu Sitta

The daily, grinding violence in the West Bank is worse than ever before. Why does it go unseen? ... in The Guardian

Symbols of #Palestine

O Little Town of Bethlehem, Palestine

"We collect, translate and publish texts from Palestinian writers confronting the genocide in Gaza, to lift up their words." @arablit : Hiba Abu Nada 1991-2023

Israeli settlers steal Palestinian farmers’ land in occupied West Bank: Emboldened by curfews and raids on Palestinians, illegal settlers have stepped up violence and property theft.

Dear Elected Leaders- Yes there are still some useful idiots willing to idolize Israel. But good leadership should not.

To quote a well known American hero...  "Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children."  I Have A Dream speech by Martin Luther King Jr.  in 1963

One day the wind will carry laughter instead of screams... from the river to the sea Palestine will be free

 

YOU DID NOTHING WRONG BY ASKING TO BE TREATED RIGHT

 

Hats off to the artist who came up this! This is genius! If you’re looking at this on a phone, angle it down to see the message. 🍉

When Israel kidnaps Palestinians, holding them without charge or trial, no one calls those Palestinians hostages- but we should.

Pray for the Day protest sign 2023

 RE Hostages in Gaza & Israel

Dear President Biden,

When Israel kidnaps Palestinians, holding them without charge or trial, no one calls those Palestinians hostages- but we should.

Before HAMAS's despicable October 7 attack Israel was holding nearly 5,200 Palestinian detainees, including 170 children, 33 female prisoners... nearly a month later... the number of political prisoners has risen to 7,000, including 200 child prisoners, 100 female prisoners, and 2,070 administrative detainees.  https://www.thenation.com/article/world/war-on-palestinian-political-prisoners/

Those detainee numbers represent real human beings with thoughts and feelings and hopes and dreams of real freedom and justice. 

Israel's state sponsored violence and injustice is pervasive from "the river to the sea" and has been for decades: In addition to numerous home demolitions and land grabs, the arrest and torture of Palestinian men, women and children are just as much a part of Israel’s assault on the native non-Jewish people of historic Palestine as any airstrike.

As of yesterday Israel has killed 17,144 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including 7,208 children, 3,716 women, and a total of 15,482 civilians. More than 33,830 Palestinians in Gaza have sustained various injuries.  Meanwhile Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed 216 Palestinians in the West bank in the past 6 weeks.

7,208 children dead, and countless more traumatized children whose homes and families have been destroyed by Israeli bombs and bulldozers... Arming religion with taxpayers' funds plus lethal weaponry is a really bad ideal, with devastating consequences.

Your statements on Israel and Palestine prove your inability to see beyond Israeli propaganda. No foreign country should ever have so much influence over these United States of America.

Did you know that Christians made up about 25% of Jerusalem's population back in 1922, but today they number only 2% of the population. Blame Israel, not HAMAS for that.

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab

NOTES

"The escalation of Israel’s arrest and torture campaign has been aided by several legal measures taken by the Israeli government to allow for the collective punishment of Palestinians."  November 20, 2023 The War on Palestinian Political Prisoners: The number of Palestinians in detention has soared since October 7. https://www.thenation.com/article/world/war-on-palestinian-political-prisoners/

"Even during the darkest of times, we should not lose hope of a better future with no cruelty and dehumanization." Sliman Mansour of Palestine

To Honor Children Globally

BORN UNEQUAL ABROAD & Zionist Modus Operandi

It’s #WorldChildrensDay on November 20th every year. The 2023 theme for World Children’s Day is “For every child, every right”.

Raja Shehadeh: Israel has long wanted Palestinians out of Gaza – my father saw it firsthand

ADC Reminder "Tens of millions in the US are struggling, and will go through Thanksgiving with little to no food on the dinner table..."

From my dear friend Nancy who heard it from Naomi: "Word this morning is that poet Mosab Abu Toha has been kidnapped by Israeli forces"

From my dear & beautiful friend Amal in California - Artist Amo Mahmood Abu Askar donated his work to House of Palestine.

Alison Weir of IF AMERICANS KNEW on America's Bias and Distorted Media Coverage

FROM TURTLE ISLAND TO GAZA by Palestinian-Greek-Canadian artist: Christina Damianos

MC Abdul - The Pen & The Sword (Official Video)

MC Abdul - Shouting At The Wall

The very first Christians were in fact Palestinians ...

Sunbird poem by Fady Joudah

The Western World will be putting up Nativity Scenes in their homes and churches which are about Middle Eastern people seeking refuge & look awful lot like those being bombed in Gaza

Water is life. The denial & destruction of it is genocide. .. Visualizing Palestine

The last Palestinians resisting in the olive groves: ‘The settlers are trying to take away the food we put on the table so they can then take our land’

8-year-old Mohammed from Gaza sits on the rubble of his family's house

Dear America- STOP RACIST HATE

To quote a well known American hero...  "Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children."  I Have A Dream speech by Martin Luther King Jr.  in 1963

Palestinians in the West Bank say Israeli settlers attack them, seize their land amid the war with Hamas CBS News with video

Dear world, we see you By Joharah Baker for MIFTAH November 16, 2023

"Do mainstream news outlets like Fox, NBC, CBS etc even have a fact checking department anymore? ..." Susan Muaddi Darraj

Stand for Humanity

For the Palestinian Christians in Gaza who are being ethnically cleansed along with their Muslim neighbors.

Statement on the Celebration of Advent and Christmas in the Midst of War Novemeber 10, 2023 The Patriachs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem

If you've ever wondered what you'd do during slavery, the holocaust, or the civil rights movement- you're doing it right now