NEW ‘WAR’ ERUPTS IN ISRAEL….. OVER ARABIC LETTERS ON STREET SIGNS

July 13, 2009 at 3:40 pm (Activism, Extremism, Israel, Racism)

Racism has no limits. But, as long as it exists there will be those that oppose it….. even in Israel.
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Graffiti War Erupts Over Israel’s Road Signs

‘It’s a Public Service,’ Says an Activist With Arabic Stickers

DANIEL ESTRIN
What’s In A Name? After ultra-nationalists painted over Arabic lettering on this Jerusalem street sign, a new group of vigilantes restored it.

By Daniel Estrin

Jerusalem — On a recent night in this ethnically divided city, an Israeli and two American Jews patrolled the streets, armed with a ladder, adhesive spray and a pile of handwritten placards. Every few minutes, they hopped out of the car, slapped a sticker onto a road sign and snapped a picture.

Their operation, which has taken place four times since May, is aimed at countering ultra-nationalist vandals who had defaced the Arabic lettering on Jerusalem’s street signs. Over that vandalism, the new vigilantes, with a more pluralist vision of Israel, have put up stickers with large, flowing Arabic calligraphy spelling out the street’s name.

“It’s a public service,” said Romy Achituv, the Israeli behind the wheel, before speeding off to the next sign on the checklist.

So far, the “maintenance group,” as they call themselves, has gone out four times at night and attended to around 50 signs. The $100 or so that this has cost has come from their own pockets.

It’s the latest move in an ongoing graffiti war that has transformed Israel’s road signs into ideological battlefields. The conflict began in 1999, when an Israeli court ordered Arab-Jewish cities to include Arabic translations on street signs in addition to Hebrew and English. In the years since that order, anti-Arabic vandalism has appeared in mixed cities, such as Akko, as well as on highway signs throughout the country — but it is said to be most prominent in Jerusalem. There, residents have grown used to the Arabic translations of “Jehosaphat Street” or “Slow” being blotted out by black spray paint or covered up in ultra-nationalist bumper stickers.

DANIEL ESTRIN
Signs of Conflict: A group has placed stickers with florid Arabic calligraphy on Israeli street signs that had been vandalized.

“In Jerusalem, you have a lot of nationalists who do not accept the very existence of Arabs,” said Sammy Smooha, an Israeli political sociologist at the University of Haifa. “Arabic signs give them the feeling of binationalism, that the Jews have no exclusive monopoly on the town.” Achituv and others on his team contend that Israeli authorities have been uninterested in dealing with the defacing of the Arabic signs.

“The police are not working against this phenomenon,” said Abber Baker, who is an attorney with Adalah, an Arab rights group that petitioned for the Arabic lettering on street signs. “People are not deterred, because there is no accountability. It is never reported as a big issue we need to fight as a state matter.”

Besides the anti-Arab messaging implied in the vandalism, the covered-up Arabic poses a very practical problem for taxi drivers like Muhammed Dabash.

“When I need to take a passenger somewhere, I read the Arabic on the street signs,” Dabash told the Forward.

A Jerusalem policewoman patrolling near a sign pointing to Tel Aviv on which the Arabic had been marked out said she had not noticed the vandalism and that she was not responsible for dealing with such incidents. Stephen Miller, spokesman for Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat, said the city was working to improve its handling of graffiti and other sanitation issues.

“In a city of 800,000, there’s going to be graffiti,” Miller contended, adding that the vandalized road signs are “isolated incidents.”

The vigilante effort to fix what the municipality had not was initiated by Ilana Sichel, who became bothered by the extremist graffiti while spending the year in Jerusalem on a social justice fellowship given by the New Israel Fund and Shatil. Sichel enlisted the help of Josh Berer, a New Israel Fund fellow who previously studied traditional Arabic calligraphy in Yemen, to write the Arabic placards.

“This is fundamentally an issue of decency and neighborliness,” Sichel said.

The initiative is independent of the New Israel Fund, but Vered Nuriel-Porat, the Israeli coordinator of the New Israel Fund fellows, praised the project.

“We’re talking about equality and talking about respecting different cultures,” she said. “The strength of these fellows is just amazing, to keep on doing this.”

Sichel and her crew have made repeated trips to some signs after some of their stickers were ripped off. In one instance, they found a road sign that had been completely cleaned, with no trace of any kind of graffiti or stickers, theirs included. Sichel thought it might have been the municipality, but when she reported to a left-wing activist e-mail list what had happened, a fellow vigilante named Udi replied that he was the one who restored the street signs to their original look.

“I really think you are mistaken,” Sichel wrote in a polite but impassioned e-mail exchange in which she argued that erasing all traces of graffiti hid the real problem. Udi countered that cleaning the street signs was the ultimate goal.

On another front, the group asked the Shalom Hartman Institute, a Jewish research institution that operates a religious high school, to patrol its own vandalized road sign after Sichel reaffixed the Arabic sticker on the sign for the fourth time.

In the meantime, the vigilante maintenance crew invites visitors to Jerusalem to catch a glimpse of the Arabic calligraphy adorning the city’s street signs while they can. It is likely to be a temporary exhibit.

Source

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IT’S WRONG TO COMPARE THE HISTORY OF SLAVERY TO THE HOLOCAUST

July 13, 2009 at 9:22 am (Barack Obama, DesertPeace Exclusive, History, Illegal Settlements, Israel, Occupation, Palestine)

obama slavery

President Obama compared the history of slavery to that of the Holocaust, according to the CNN Web site.

“It’s one of those things that you don’t forget about,” Obama told CNN in an interview scheduled to air Monday on “Anderson Cooper 360,” according to a report on the Web site.

To see the full report on this…. click HERE

The truth is, one does not have to compare the history of slavery to that of the holocaust….. all one has to do is look at the illegal Israeli settlements being built on Palestinian soil….. TODAY.

The following is the reality that Obama choses to overlook….

There once was a law that forbade black slaves from learning to read and write. There were also criminals who broke the law by studying and teaching. Anyone who issues the order to raze a school for Bedouin, approves the order or carries it out aligns himself with the thinkers, jurists, and law enforcement officials of the slavery regime.

The paragraph in italics was taken from the following report…..


Israeli Jewish worldview sanctifies West Bank inequality
By Amira Hass


The Jahalin tribe sends happy tidings from the West Bank to their brethren in Gaza: The effects of the Israeli siege can be overcome by building homes from used tires filled and covered with mud. This way refuse can be recycled, construction costs minimized and structures insulated from the cold and heat, something concrete buildings cannot do.

In one of the Jahalin encampments in the West Bank’s Wadi Qelt region, they’re building a school and kindergarten from used tires. This ignites the imagination – turning rubbish into treasure. Since their expulsion from the Negev in 1948, the Jahalin tribe has lived on privately-owned land leased from neighboring Palestinian villages. This was long before expanding settlements repeatedly encroached on their property and military edicts denied them the chance to wander with their flocks in accordance with the seasons and available water sources.

The Jahalin themselves built the school close to their homes because the authorities in charge of the land and planning did not do it. The Israeli government and Civil Administration, which have exclusive control over Area C (60 percent of the West Bank), do not take the Bedouin into account when determining their overall planning. Without a master plan, there is no real procedure for obtaining building permits, not for permanent structures for large families or medical clinics. As a result, the Jahalin and other seminomadic groups in the Jordan Valley are not hooked up to the electricity grid and water system. They live in tents and shacks slated for demolition by the authorities. By extension, the “eco-friendly” school and kindergarten are also considered illegal and have been marked for demolition.


Some observers liken the “illegality” of these structures to that of the Israeli outposts. This comparison is not only deceitful but also hypocritical because the outposts are not dismantled despite any demolition orders. Also, behind every outpost is a government agency that has helped establish it. And there is the matter of the settlements, all of which are illegal, not just the outposts.

The root of the problem is not the illegality of the settlements and outposts, but the Israeli Jewish worldview that sanctifies inequality. In other words, what is naturally befitting for the Jews ought to be denied the Palestinians. What is painful and lacking for the Jews is not a problem for the Palestinians. The official talk of two states conceals the prevailing reality of one state, from the river to the sea, a state that embraces the South African ideology of “separate but unequal development of the races.” All on the same strip of land, all under the rule of the same government.

The Jews’ natural growth and their right to enclose balconies on territories that Israel conquered in 1967 have been the subject of discussions between its top officials and world leaders. The Bedouin exercising their right to educate their children under humane conditions in a place they have lived for the last 61 years has come to be considered a violation of the law.

The law is determined by man and reflects the current balance of power, either on a global or local scale. Equality, on the other hand, is a human attribute. Throughout history, this attribute has become clearer thanks to never-ending social struggles. Their success – either full or partial – influences the laws.

There once was a law that forbade black slaves from learning to read and write. There were also criminals who broke the law by studying and teaching. Anyone who issues the order to raze a school for Bedouin, approves the order or carries it out aligns himself with the thinkers, jurists, and law enforcement officials of the slavery regime.


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LET MY PEOPLE GO: AN EMERGENCY REPORT FROM VIVA PALESTINA

July 13, 2009 at 9:05 am (Activism, Gaza, Humanitarian Aid, Israel)

open rafah crossing

Gaza convoy stopped in Egypt

Viva Palestina

Alexandria, Sunday, July 12, 2009. Yesterday, four buses carrying American citizens and their badly needed cargo of medical supplies bound for the destitute people of Gaza were abruptly stopped by the Egyptian authorities at the Suez Canal and prohibited from proceeding further. This blockade of our buses into the Sinai is the latest in a series of obstacles and frustrating delay tactics erected against this humanitarian mission and aid convoy. On Thursday, two busloads of drivers were denied access in Alexandria to the 47 new vehicles intended to carry our medical supplies into Gaza. The drivers remain stranded in the port city to this day.

“These obstacles only serve to perpetuate the suffering of the Palestinians and enhance the determination of Viva Palestina participants to do all we can to alleviate the suffering and end the blockade”, said Rev. Werner Lange, a convoy participant and driver from Newton Falls Ohio, “the delay tactics also contradict the sentiment and statements of President Obama given in Cairo a mere month ago.”

On June 6, in Cairo, President Obama stated that “the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspirations for dignity, opportunity and a state of their own…And just as it devastates Palestinian families, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza does not serve Israel’s security…Progress in the daily lives of the Palestinian people must be part of a road to peace.”

“The blockade and delay tactics make a mockery of these noble words of President Obama”, said Rev. Lange, “We left the USA on Independence Day and we are determined to enter Gaza by Bastille Day in the fervent hope that one day soon we can all celebrate Palestinian Independence Day.”

Today, the hundreds of participants of Viva Palestina and their hundreds of thousands of active supporters in the USA and beyond echo the passionate call of a prophet in these lands millennia ago to LET ME PEOPLE GO!

Submitted by,
Rev. Werner Lange
Newton Falls, Ohio
Professor of Sociology, Edinboro University of PA;
One of three Ohio participants in the Viva Palestina convoy including Raed Khatib of Boardman and Nader Mostaffa, Cleveland.

PLEASE CONTACT THE WHITEHOUSE NOW AND ASK PRESIDENT OBAMA TO PRESSURE PRESIDENT MUBARAK TO OPEN THE BORDER WITH GAZA:

Phone Numbers
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
TTY/TDD
Comments: 202-456-6213
Visitors Office: 202-456-2121
EMAIL:
Contact the White House
You can also call or write to the President: The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500. Please include your e-mail address …

www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/

Source

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ISRAELI ‘THOUGHT POLICE’ DECLARE ALL OUT WAR ON THE WEB

July 12, 2009 at 3:52 pm (Blogging, Internet, Internet Security, Israel, Palestine, zionist harassment)

thought control
Thought-police is here
By Rona Kuperboim

The Foreign Ministry unveiled a new plan this week: Paying talkbackers to post pro-Israel responses on websites worldwide. A total of NIS 600,000 (roughly $150,000) will be earmarked to the establishment of an “Internet warfare” squad.

The Foreign Ministry intends to hire young people who speak at least one language and who study communication, political science, or law – or alternately, Israelis with military experience gained at units dealing with information analysis.

Beyond the fact that these job requirements reveal a basic lack of understanding in respect to the dynamics of the online discourse – the project’s manager argued that “adults don’t know how to blog” – they are not too relevant either. An effective talkbacker does not need a law degree or military experience. He merely needs to care about the subject he writes about.

The sad truth is that had Israeli citizens believed that their State is doing the right thing, they would have made sure to explain it out of their own accord. Without being paid.

Foreign Ministry officials are fighting what they see as a terrible and scary monster: the Palestinian public relations monster. Yet nothing can be done to defeat it, regardless of how many foolish inventions will be introduced and how many bright communication students will be hired.

The reason is that good PR cannot make the reality in the occupied territories prettier. Children are being killed, homes are being bombed, and families are starved. Yet nonetheless, the Foreign Ministry wants to try to change the situation. And they have willing partners. “Where do I submit a CV?” wrote one respondent. “I’m fluent in several languages and I’m able to spew forth bullshit for hours on end.”

Anti-democratic initiative
Any attempt to plant talkbacks online must fail. Especially if the State is behind it. Not only because it’s easy to identify responses made on behalf of someone, but also because it’s anti-democratic. When the Israel Electric Company or other companies do it, it’s annoying. Yet when the State does it, it’s dangerous.

Imposters on behalf of the government are threatening free discourse even if they only wander through the virtual space. The Internet was meant to serve as an open platform for dialogue between people, rather than as a propaganda means.

Something worrisome is happening here lately. We see the accumulation of silencing attempts. The Nakba Law, the bill calling for a ban on protests outside the homes of politicians, Lieberman’s Loyalty Law, and the biometric information database. The free speech hunting season is on.

Thankfully we have the Internet, and it enables us to identify processes, discuss them, warn about them, and join forces against them. We can assume that soon we’ll see the establishment of a website opposed to this new initiative, unless such site already exists. Perhaps even a group on Facebook. I wonder whether all its members will be Foreign Ministry agents, or whether it will also include some real people.

This is not a police state: This is a thought-police state.


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VIVA PALESTINA UPDATE FOR SUNDAY, JULY 12th

July 12, 2009 at 1:40 pm (Activism, Gaza, International Solidarity, Palestine)

viva-palestina

Viva Palestina Convoy update July 12, 2009

Kevin Ovenden, Viva Palestina coordinator

July 12, 2009

Viva Palestina Convoy Update #2 2:45 A.M. Cairo

The 100 Viva Palestina humanitarian volunteers have decided to stay the night in their buses at the Mubarak Peace Bridge over the Suez Canal despite pressure from the Egyptian security officials to return to Cairo.

The official reason given at the checkpoint for refusing to allow them to cross is that the officials there did not have a list of the names of the members of the convoy. Such a list was, however, at the request of the Egyptian authorities before any of the convoy members set foot in Egypt sent to the Egyptian ambassadors to Washington, D.C., and London.

The US Embassy in Cairo has now stepped in to forward a newly provided list of those convoy members aboard the buses at the bridge to the Egyptian foreign ministry to clear the way for the convoy’s passage.

Nancy Mansour Leigh, a spokeswoman for the Viva Palestina delegation at the Suez crossing, says, “It’s going to be an uncomfortable night, but it’s nothing compared with what the people of Gaza must live through every day. We’ve already succeeded in securing internet access and are negotiating other necessary facilities. But whatever facilities are provided or not, our determination will see us through the night and all the way to Gaza.”

New York City Councilman Charles Barron is on the scene at the Suez Canal and acting as chief negotiator with Egyptian security officials. “The Viva Palestina movement has had a great success this morning with our stand at the Suez crossing. We’ve now got an agreement for us to stay until the list of our convoy members reaches the foreign ministry. It shows what can be achieved with the determination and commitment of a collective body of people. We are determined to cross onto Gaza, and no matter what happens next, out of this first small confrontation, we’ve achieved a success for the movement in support of the Palestinian people.

The convoy is going to move on, and we ain’t gonna let nobody turn us around.”

British Member of Parliament George Galloway offered these words of encouragement for the delegation being held up at the crossing: “This is an American convoy. And Americans are used to refusing to give up seats on buses in the struggle for justice. I regard everyone who’s putting themselves on the line tonight at the Suez Canal for the success of this humanitarian mission as nothing short of a hero.”

Kevin Ovenden

Viva Palestina coordinator

Source

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UPDATE….. Cynthia McKinney will be joining Convoy shortly….

Report from John Parker, West Coast Coordinator of the International Action Center. Parker is one of four IAC activists participating in the Viva Palestina delegation to Gaza.

A delegation of about 200 people left for Cairo, Egypt from July 4th to July 7th, en route to Gaza to make the political demand of breaking and defying Israel’s illegal and genocidal siege of Gaza and to provide much-needed humanitarian aid to the people–wheelchairs, walkers and medical supplies.
We are currently split up into two groups.  One group is made up of the drivers of the vehicles that will transport some of the aid from Alexandria, Egypt, through the border of Gaza.  I am part of this group.  The other group is gathering and organizing other medical supplies in Cairo, and they will meet up with us at the border.
New York City Councilmember Charles Barron has already joined the group in Cairo and will also be at the border for the crossing.  Former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney will also be joining us at the border of Gaza before we cross.  McKinney was released only a few days ago from an Israeli jail, where she and 20 other activists were held after being abducted by the Israeli navy from the Spirit of Humanity boat which was carrying aid to Gaza.
I am proud to be a part of building and participating in this tremendous effort to expose the horror of Israel’s war against the Palestinian people, which the media tries to hide from the world.  As Ron Kovic, one of the initiators of this campaign in the U.S., along with British MP George Galloway said, “We are going there to offer a hand of friendship and solidarity, not bombs and terror.”
Israel’s bombing of Gaza for 23 days starting last December caused an immense and terrifying amount of damage.  At least 20 percent of the children there suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of the bombing.  Half of the hospitals in Gaza and 47,000 homes were damaged.
However, one thing wasn’t damaged–the will of the people of Gaza to survive and to strongly demand self-determination.  This is what inspires us to do all we can.
Judging from the reaction we receive here in Egypt from people who see our Viva Palestina USA T-shirts, many of the Egyptian people are proud and inspired by the courageous people of Gaza.  For example, a young woman who spoke English asked Judy Greenspan, another IAC organizer on the trip, what her T-shirt meant.  After Judy told her, she replied that a family member of hers works in a pharmacy and she wanted to donate medical supplies for the convoy.
This delegation is the second such convoy initiated by British MP George Galloway.  He organized the first in the UK.  The second one, which left from the U.S., was organized in collaboration with Vietnam veteran and anti-war activist Ron Kovic, author of “Born on the Fourth of July.”
However, in the U.S., this effort is the result of the work of many in the Arab community, in the Mosques, in organizations like Al-Awda and others, in addition to anti-war and social justice organizations. On the delegation are members of CAIR, Middle East Childrens Alliance, Cuba Coalition, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, MECHA, International Action Center, International Socialist Organization, Workers World Party, ANSWER Coalition and many more.  All of the organizations participated in making this campaign possible.  However, along with the UK team of Viva Palestine, the lion’s share of the credit must go to the Arab and Muslim communities in the U.S., which raised much of the funding for this effort.
Media coverage of our trip has been good.  Photographs here are from the most recent press conference in Cairo.  The press conference held on July 9 was covered by Al Jazeera and by one of the largest media outlets in Egupt.  In addition, there have been many interviews of individuals on the trip.   With Cynthia McKinney joining us at the border and the presence of Councilmember Charles Barron, that coverage will increase.
I should also mention the very impressive showing of support by members of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement represented by four Black youth.  One of them, Brandon, is shown here holding a red, black and green African Liberation flag.  He began his remarks at the press conference by giving a “shout out” to the people of Africa on the continent and referenced the people of Africa on the U.S. delegation, who were showing their solidarity with Palestine.  He made the links between the racism and repression faced by Palestinian people and the occupation of Gaza with the repression faced by Black people in the U.S. by police brutality and occupation of their neighborhoods.  He said he was inspired to come on the delegation by the actions of Cynthia McKinney.
Delegates here in Alexandria are anxiously waiting to load up and decorate the vehicles and begin their journey to Gaza.  These vehicles will be donated to the people of Gaza.
*Click here to follow Viva Palestina’s updates from the convoy.
*Click here to donate to Viva Palestina USA
*Click here to donate to help with the costs of the International Action Center’s delegation.

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AFGHANISTAN ~~ DOUBLE STANDARDS

July 12, 2009 at 8:40 am (Afghanistan, Corrupt Politics, Deceit, DesertPeace Editorial, War Crimes)

FLASHBACK….. Remember 1979? Remember the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union? Remember the outcry and crocodile tears in support of the people of that country?

FLASHBACK #2….. Remember 2001? Remember the invasion of Afghanistan by the United States? Where was the outcry and crocodile tears in support of that nation then?

There weren’t any…. because the crimes committed by US troops were hidden….. covered up…… LIED ABOUT!

During a Presidential debate in September, 2008, Candidate Obama was quoted as saying….
“We should end this war responsibly. We should do it in phases. But in 16 months we should be able to reduce our combat troops. … We cannot separate Afghanistan from Iraq, because what our commanders have said is we don’t have the troops right now to deal with Afghanistan. So I would send two to three additional brigades to Afghanistan.”

This is what actually happened……. Obama Promises 10,000 More Troops for Afghanistan
Instead of seeing the CHANGE we were promised, we are literally being SHORTCHANGED and lied to.

The reality can be seen below….

WASHINGTON — After a mass killing of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Taliban prisoners of war by the forces of an American-backed warlord during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, Bush administration officials repeatedly discouraged efforts to investigate the episode, according to government officials and human rights organizations.
…..“At the White House, nobody said no to an investigation, but nobody ever said yes, either,” said Pierre Prosper, the former American ambassador for war crimes issues. “The first reaction of everybody there was, ‘Oh, this is a sensitive issue; this is a touchy issue politically.’ ”

Read the article that came from HERE.

(View an interactive version of this timeline.)

November 20, 2001: General Abdul Rashid Dostum and US-allied Northern Alliance surround Kunduz, Afghanistan, where Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters hide amongst civilians.

November 24, 2001: The New York Times reports the beginning of the surrender of Taliban troops to the US and Northern Alliance near Kunduz, Afghanistan.

November 25, 2001: As the surrendering fighters exit Kunduz, a revolt erupts at the Qala Jangi fortress in Mazar-e Sharif.

November 28, 2001: Many of the prisoners who surrendered to Dostum and allies are transferred to cargo container trucks at the Qala-e-Zeni fortress for transport to Sheberghan prison.

November 30, 2001: According to reports, when the container trucks are opened at Sheberghan Prison, hundreds of prisoners are found dead of heat, thirst, asphyxiation and shooting.

January 11, 2002: The first detainees from Afghanistan arrive at Camp X-Ray at Guantánamo Bay Prison, Cuba.

January 16-21, 2002: PHR researchers Jennifer Leaning, MD, and John Heffernan visit Sheberghan Prison, document appalling conditions there, and report the presence of an alleged mass gravesite at nearby Dasht-e-Leili.

January 28, 2002: PHR informs the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Security Operations, Dr. Joseph Collins, of the existence of alleged mass graves at Dasht-e-Leili.

February 7, 2002: President Bush signs an order stripping detainees at Guantánamo Bay and elsewhere of Prisoner of War status and certain protections provided by the Geneva Conventions.

February 7-14, 2002: Under the auspices of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, PHR sends forensic experts William Haglund, PhD (Forensic Anthropologist and then-Director of PHR’s International Forensic Program) and Stefan Schmitt, MS (Forensic Consultant) to conduct a preliminary forensic assessment of various mass graves in northern Afghanistan, including Dasht-e-Leili. PHR completes an internal report on the mass graves (PDF).

March 1, 2002: PHR sends a letter addressed to then-Chairman of the Interim Government of Afghan Hamid Karzai (PDF) calling for the protection of mass graves and a plan for further investigation of the Dasht-e-Leili site.

March 15, 2002: A copy of the letter to Chairman Karzai (PDF) and the internal PHR report on the site (PDF) are delivered to Secretary of State Colin Powell; Pierre Richard Prosper, US Ambassador for War Crimes; Lorne Craner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Department of State; and Dr. Joseph Collins, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense.

Dr. Collins forwards the PHR report to senior Department of Defense officials for further review. Mr. Craner informs Department of State officials about PHR report. PHR receives no response.

Early 2002: FBI Special Agent in Charge Dell Spry, head of the FBI component of the Criminal Investigative Task Force at Guantnamo Bay, interviews ten survivors of the alleged “Death Convoy” and files witness reports with FBI headquarters. Spry is told to stop any further investigation of the incident.

April 26 – May 7, 2002: PHR forensic experts William Haglund, PhD (Forensic Anthropologist and then-Director of PHR’s International Forensic Program) and Nizam Peerwani, MD (Forensic Pathologist) conduct a preliminary investigation of the Dasht-e-Leili site, which includes digging a test trench that exposes fifteen bodies, and conducting autopsies on three exhumed bodies. The manner of death is determined to be homicide and cause of death in each of the autopsied bodies is determined to be consistent with suffocation.

May 1, 2002: The New York Times publishes a story titled, “Study Hints at Mass Killing of the Taliban,” by Carlotta Gall.

May 2, 2002: Following the first public media report of the mass gravesite in the May 1 article, PHR makes public its report on findings at Dasht-e-Leili (PDF) in January and February 2002, together with a press release calling for the protection of, and further investigation of, the site (PDF).

June 13, 2002: In response to video testimonies released by filmmaker Jamie Doran, PHR reissues its public call for protection of gravesites and a full investigation in a press release (PDF). PHR’s John Heffernan appears on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, also calling for protection of Afghan gravesites and a full investigation.

August 2002: Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan and National Security Council Senior Director for Southwest Asia Zalmay Khalilzad meets with Pierre Prosper, Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues at the Department of State, and discourages Prosper from investigating the Dasht-e-Leili site.

August 5, 2002: PHR again meets with Deputy Assistant Secretary Collins. He tells PHR that the Department of Defense will take no action to secure the Afghan mass gravesite or to investigate it.

August 7, 2002: PHR sends a letter to high-level UN officials asking the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to support the protection and further investigation of the Dasht-e-Leili gravesite.

August 20, 2002: Newsweek provides the first comprehensive reporting on Dasht-e-Leili. The magazine’s cover story, “The Death Convoy of Afghanistan,” which describes suffocation of prisoners, reportedly in container trucks following their surrender at Kunduz, raises questions regarding US involvement.

August 22, 2002: PHR issues a press release entitled “Physicians for Human Rights Welcomes Afghan Government’s Pledge to Investigate Mass Grave but Says Afghans Lack Expertise and Resources To Do it Alone; U.S. Response Insufficient; Urges UN to Authorize Commission of Inquiry” (PDF).

August 26, 2002: PHR sends a letter to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (PDF), asking for the assurance of security at the gravesite and for the US Department of Defense to review its own responsibilities regarding its ally’s compliance with the Geneva Conventions.

September 19, 2002: The UN authorizes an official investigation of mass graves in Afghanistan, including the site at Dasht-e-Leili. However, early 2003 plans for an exhumation of the site by PHR experts are postponed indefinitely due to failures to provide protection for the investigation and apparent lack of political will to support the effort.

September 30, 2002: In a Newsweek article, “War Crimes: Digging up the Truth,” Roy Gutman and John Barry report that the UN and the Afghan government agree to allow a forensic team to investigate the mass grave at Dasht-e-Leili.

December 21, 2002: US Human Rights organization leaders meet with Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz. At that meeting, PHR requests protection for its forensic team, security for site and a full investigation of the grave.

June 11-12, 2003: PHR’s Deputy Director, Susannah Sirkin, discusses the Dasht-e-Leili case with Special Forces officers, military/humanitarian law experts, and human rights organizations at Fort Bragg during an “Ethical Dilemmas for Special Forces” workshop. The discussion focuses on US responsibility under the Geneva Conventions for fully investigating the incident and protecting evidence as well as its responsibilities for violations by allies who are known human right violators.

2003-2006: PHR continues to advocate for protection of the site and investigation of the grave, including with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and UNAMA, realizing, however, that the politics of the situation and conditions on the ground in Afghanistan are not conducive to meeting this goal at this time.

June 21, 2006: Having received no response to its advocacy, and concerned that investigation of the gravesite had still not occurred, PHR submits a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the US Department of State, the Department of Defense, the Air Force, the Navy, the US Central Command, and the Central Intelligence Agency for all information relating to occurrences on and around November 2001 in the region of Dasht-e-Leili. (PDF)

August 5, 2006: Apparent Earth moving equipment and one pit present at Dasht-e-Leili site (see for entry for June 2009).

February 19, 2008: PHR files a legal complaint in US District Court for the District of Columbia against the Department of Defense (PDF) for its failure to respond to the June 2006 FOIA request.

July 6, 2008: As part of a larger UN forensic assessment mission, IFP Forensic Director Stefan Schmitt visits Dasht-e-Leili and documents large pits in the area where mass graves were documented in 2002, indicative of large-scale destruction of evidence. Schmitt raises concerns in meetings with UN and Afghan officials in Kabul.

November 17, 2008: Believing that the FOIA documents (part 1 [PDF 7.3MB], part 2 [PDF 5.5MB]) received to date do not represent a thorough search of the relevant records, PHR files a Motion for Summary Judgment against the Department of Defense for its failure to respond appropriately to PHR’s June 2006 FOIA request.

December 9, 2008: IFP Director Stefan Schmitt submits his confidential written report to UNAMA and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR) with findings and recommendations from his June 24 – July 17, 2008, assessment trip to Afghanistan.

December 11, 2008: McClatchy Newspapers’ Tom Lasseter reports evidence of grave site tampering at Dasht-e-Leili, which had been observed by the PHR forensic expert.

December 12, 2008: PHR issues a press release entitled: “PHR Calls for Probe into Removal of Mass Graves in Afghanistan”

December 19, 2008: PHR writes to President Karzai asking him to request assistance from ISAF (International Security Forces-Afghansitan) to protect the mass gravesite.

December 22, 2008: PHR sends a letter to General David McKiernan, Supreme Commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, requesting that he offer ISAF (International Security Forces-Afghanistan) assistance to the Government of Afghanistan to secure the mass grace site and protect witnesses.

December 27, 2008: General McKiernan responds to PHR’s letter requesting investigation of the grave site and protection of the witnesses, saying it is the Afghan government’s responsibility to request this assistance.

June 2009: PHR learns through satellite imagery analysis provided by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), that apparent earth-moving equipment was present at the site on August 5, 2006. The image shows the presence of one large pit, and apparent earth-moving equipment in a second area. A subsequent photo reveals a second pit where the apparent earth-moving equipment had been.

July 10, 2009: New York Times article by Pulitzer Prize winning reporter James Risen reveals new evidence that the Bush Administration impeded at least three federal investigations into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan beginning in 2002. The Times reports PHR’s call for the Department of Justice to investigate alleged obstruction of justice by the Bush Administration for shutting down an FBI criminal probe, and at least two other federal investigations, of the alleged Dasht-e-Leili massacre.

PHR reiterates its call on the Government of Afghanistan, which has jurisdiction over the alleged mass grave site, to:

  • secure the area with the assistance of ISAF (International Security Assistance Force-Afghanistan);
  • protect witnesses to the initial incident and the ensuing tampering; and
  • ensure a full investigation of remaining evidence at the site, including the tracing of the substantial amount of soil that appears to have been removed in 2006.

July 10, 2009: PHR releases short documentary film, War Crimes and the White House: The Bush Administration’s Cover-Up of the Dasht-e-Leili Massacre, along with a transcript of the video (PDF).

Source

4 Comments

SUNDAY’S TOON ~~ MOTHER PALESTINE WANTS HER CHILDREN FREED

July 12, 2009 at 8:35 am (Associate Post, Cartoons, Israel, Palestine)

Image ‘Copyleft’ by Carlos Latuff

1 Comments

BLAMING THE VICTIM……

July 11, 2009 at 5:47 pm (Activism, Chutzpah, Humanitarian Aid, Ignorance, International Solidarity, zionist harassment)

“Reckless” to sail in international waters – official

Stuart Littlewood

spirit


I thought I would share this with you.

Britain’s foreign secretary David Miliband – or rather, a henchman on his behalf – has written to me about the government’s response to Israel’s hijacking of the mercy ship Spirit of Humanity on the high seas and the outrageous treatment of six peace-loving British citizens (including the skipper), en route to Gaza not Israel, who had their gear stolen or damaged and were thrown into Israeli jails. The letter contains the usual wet and meaningless expressions like deplore and press and raise the issue, which are the familiar hallmark of Foreign Office mentality.

And I’m told it is “reckless” to travel in international waters. It should, of course, be safe – and would be if the high and mighty Western allies, always talking big against terror, were to enforce maritime law and rid the Eastern Mediterranean of marauding Israeli pirates.

Miliband’s spokesman says: “The Israeli Navy took control of the Spirit of Humanity on 30 June, diverting it to Ashdod port in Israel. All those on board, including six British nationals, were handed over to Israeli immigration officials. British consular officials had good access to the British detainees and established that they were treated well. The Israeli authorities deported the detainees on 6 July.”

Treated well? That’s not what the peaceful seafarers say. They were assaulted, put in fear of their lives and deprived of their liberty for fully a week – a long time in a stinking Israeli jail.

Miliband’s spokesman: “The Foreign Secretary said in the House of Commons on 30 June that it was ‘vital that all states respect international law, including the law of the sea. It is also important to say that we deplore the interference by the Israeli navy in the activities of Gazan fishermen’.”

Such fine words. Where is the action to back them up? Gaza’s fishermen suffer increasingly unjust restrictions and are still fired on.

Miliband’s spokesman: “When the Foreign Secretary spoke to the Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, on 1 July he raised the issue with him and asked for clarification about whether or not the Spirit of Humanity had been intercepted in international waters. We will continue to press the Israeli authorities for clarification.”

It’s well over a week and Lieberman hasn’t clarified anything. There’s a surprise! Was the Israeli ambassador in London summoned and given a dressing down? Has London demanded compensation for the Britishers’ losses and damage? Has the boat and its cargo been returned? Have arrangements been made for the aid to be delivered? Our Zionist-leaning government apparently takes pleasure in Britain’s repeated humiliation. Not long ago the British consul-general in Tel Aviv (a woman) was strip-searched by Israeli security perverts.

Miliband’s spokesman: “We regularly remind the Israeli government of its obligations under international law on a variety of issues, including with respect to humanitarian access to Gaza as well as Israel’s control of Gazan waters and the effect this has on Gaza’s fishing industry.”

Ever get the feeling they’ve switched off their collective hearing aid? What is the point of obligations if they never have to be met? Miliband and the rest should hang their heads in shame, particularly over the Gaza fishing scandal.

Miliband’s spokesman: “As I said on the phone, our Travel Advice makes clear that we advise against all travel to Gaza, including its offshore waters; that it is reckless to travel to Gaza at this time; and that medical and other essential specialist staff needing to travel to Gaza should coordinate their entry to Gaza with the major international humanitarian organisations already on the ground.”

Why does London perpetuate the blockade of Gaza by colluding in Israel’s unlawful conduct? Where are the consequences and penalties for breaching international law and all codes of human decency?

On the other point, Gaza’s Ministry of Health is surely best placed to know what’s needed.

Miliband’s spokesman: “Our Embassy in Tel Aviv and our Consulate General in Jerusalem have also similarly advised those wishing to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza to do so through existing humanitarian organisations which can advise, particularly with regards to medicines, [and] which items if any are currently required.”

Private suppliers should be free to deliver aid through whatever channels they wish.

Miliband’s spokesman: “The UK has been unequivocal in its calls for Israel to lessen restrictions at the Gaza crossings, allowing the legitimate flow of humanitarian aid, trade and reconstruction goods and the movement of people. This is essential not only for the people of Gaza, but also for the wider stability of the region.”

“Unequivocal”? “Essential”? More splendid but empty words. The needs of the crushed and devastated and half-starved people of Gaza have been urgent for 3 years, ever since Britain ganged up with the Zionist axis to bring Gaza to its knees.

Miliband’s spokesman: “Recent events in Gaza are a tragic reminder of the importance of progress on the peace process.”

No kidding……. They are also a tragic reminder of the West’s perverse failure in its duty to enforce compliance with international law, human rights and UN resolutions.

Miliband’s spokesman: “The UK, with the support of our international allies, will continue to pursue vigorously a comprehensive peace based on a two-state solution, involving a secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state.”

But never vigorously enough. The world is still waiting after sixty-one years. And let’s change those worn-out words around. How does a secure Palestine alongside a viable Israel sound?

Britain and its allies need to try a new tack… like first establishing the rule of international law and forcibly breaking the siege. It’s so blindingly obvious.

Meanwhile, doesn’t the gut-churning, cowardly shambles that is Gaza make you proud to be British? Or American? Or European?

Stuart Littlewood
11 July 2009

Source

The truth is…..

It’s zionism that is reckless!

Steve Amsel

11 July, 2009

zionism is not healthy

3 Comments

CHILDREN OF GAZA RELIVING THE HORRORS OF WAR IN THEIR ARTWORK

July 11, 2009 at 8:46 am (DesertPeace Exclusive, Gaza, Palestine, People's Art, War Crimes)

Children should be painting pictures of life…. not war and death, but the children of Gaza are still reliving the horrors of the Israeli blitzkrieg.

These children are talented, but their memories and nightmares have taken over their creativity.


Let the pictures speak……..!!!!!!!


Photos of the images were taken by Ayman Quader




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Also read the following related post from Uruknet…..

Gaza’s children struggle with memories of war

by Patrick Moser

pic

Palestinian Ghasan Matar, 14, who lost his legs in an explosion during the Israeli war on Gaza, sits on a bed at his family’s house in Gaza City

GAZA CITY (AFP) – Fourteen-year-old Ghasan Matar won’t talk about the explosion that cost him his legs and killed his brother. In fact, six months after the end of the Israeli war on Gaza, he still barely talks at all.

He spends most of his time staring at the walls and a huge poster depicting his older brother against a bloody background of war featuring a Kalashnikov assault rifle and dead Israeli soldiers.

He says he never thinks about the day when the house was hit during heavy shelling of Gaza City’s Zeitun neighbourhood. He insists he has no nightmares. “I’m doing fine,” he says, and then clams up.

“He’s very traumatised. He doesn’t speak, tries to act like nothing happened,” says social worker Nisrin Ramadan during a visit to the boy’s crumbling brick home.

“There are many cases like this of deep shock and loss of hope,” says Ramadan, who works with the Society for the Physically Handicapped.

More than 300 children were among the 1,400 Palestinians killed and many more were wounded during the 22-day Israeli offensive that ended on January 18, according to Palestinian figures.

And experts say a vast majority of the children who make up more than half of Gaza’s 1.5 million population, will bear the psychological scars for years to come.

“Children here have lost joy in life. They can laugh but there is no joy. They are unable to maintain hope,” says psychiatrist Eyad Sarraj, who heads the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme.

Seven-year-old Ahmed Salah al-Samuni smiles timidly as he is tossed a green plastic ball but quickly loses interest, instead digging his nails into a couch in a brightly coloured room used for psycho-social counselling sessions.

“I remember that Israelis came and ordered us out. Shells were fired,” he says when asked what he remembers of the war.

“Grandmother and grandfather are dead,” he says, going on to list about 10 others who died when his house was bombed. In all, 29 were killed in the attack, 18 of them from his direct family.

“I love Azza and want her back,” he says of his two-and-a-half year-old sister who was among the dead.

After the attack, he lay in a pool of blood. It’s only when he cried out for his mother that she realised he was still alive.

A large scar runs across his face, another along his hip. His nose is still deformed from the shrapnel wounds.

Just a few months ago he had regular fits of rage, when he’d beat his brothers and break whatever was in his path.

“He’d scream out at night: ‘The Jews are coming to kill me’,” his father says.

His psychological scars are also starting to heal. “But it’s a long process. He has seen so many dead bodies,” says counsellor Sabri Abu Nadi.

A huge number of children went through “horrible situations” during the war, says Saji Elmughanni, the Gaza spokesman for the UN children’s agency UNICEF. “Nowhere was safe” in the overcrowded sliver of land wedged between Israel, the Mediterranean and Egypt.

“All children here went through some degree of exposure to violence.”

Many bury their feelings deep inside.

Njood Basal, 14, who suffered serious shrapnel wounds to the head, spends much of her time sitting on her bed in a room where light filters through holes in the tin roof.

She chats on the Internet with friends “in other countries, mainly the West Bank.”

“I don’t tell them what happened … they ask, but I always change the subject. I feel upset when I talk about the situation.”

Outside her house, a poster depicts her cousin Talat Basal. Her family says he was a “martyr,” a member the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamist Hamas movement that rules Gaza.

Psychiatrist Sarraj says the exposure to extraordinary levels of violence is certain to turn many of today’s children into tomorrow’s extremists.

“I’m sure there will be a new breed of militants, they’ll want a more militant group than Hamas to feel protected,” he says.

Reminders of the war that Israel launched to halt rockets fired by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups are everywhere: buildings reduced to rubble, shell-scarred facades, charred car wrecks.

At night, firing can be heard from the Israeli naval ships that ensure fishermen don’t venture more than a few kilometers (miles) from shore.

Mental health experts say many children in the tiny coastal enclave still live in fear of renewed military attack.

“Whether consciously or unconsciously, the fear of another war is always there,” says Sarraj.

Awad Sultan, 12, lives in one of dozens of tents set up north of Gaza City to house families who lost their homes in the war.

He says he still has nightmares. “Israeli soldiers try to catch my dad and destroy houses.”

What was once his family home is now just rubble.

The bicycle he loved riding is a charred piece of wreckage. Now he plays with other kids from the camp in a large tent set up by social workers.

“We have fun, but what’s the use. We come back and think about the war.”

8 Comments

VIVA PALESTINA CONVOY UPDATES

July 11, 2009 at 8:18 am (Activism, Gaza, Humanitarian Aid, International Solidarity, Palestine)

pa 1
pa 2
pa 3

Photos, from top to bottom: New York City Councilperson Charles Barron and Abdullah in his son’s cab; some of Abdullah’s children; Charles Barron with an elder from the village.

by Sarah Ikhmayes, Al-Awda-NY
On our way to Alexandria
The day started out beautifully. Most of the 80 people that were heading to Alexandria to pick up the trucks that will be driving us into Gaza, were in the lobby by 8. You can really feel the excitement within the delegates. Not because we were going into a different city, but because this was really a step forward toward Gaza.
About 2 hrs later we began boarding the bus. And supposedly 2 1/2 hrs later we were supposed to be in Alexandria. But things don’t always work out as you plan. We eventually reached Alexandria 4 hrs later. We stopped at a McDonalds so that everyone can stretch and get something to eat. An hour and a half later we found ourselves heading to Customs, where the Egyptians were holding the cars. But get this, they didn’t give it to us. After waiting nearly 2 hrs for them, the Egyptians informed us that the Minister of Investment was visiting and was inside the building. Therefore for “his safety”, we were not allowed inside to get a hold of the vehicles. The authorities told us to come back on Saturday because Friday is a holy day for Muslims and many government institutions are closed.
One of our fellow delegates was not feeling to well. So we were told that we would be taken to this hotel so that we may rest and freshen up. About an hour passed before we got off the bus and into this residential building that we were going to be spending the next 2-3 days. However, many of us were disgusted at what we saw and went Hotel Hunting.

We did not go Hotel Hunting because we can’t handle hardship and dirt, but because we would rather pay the same money for something much cleaner.
And here we are, almost 9 hrs later in Alexandria. Awaiting the day the Egyptian government releases those cars so that we can make our way into the hearts of the Gazans.
Because no matter how much they try to delay us or try to make it impossible for us to reach Gaza, we will continue to stand here waiting. Time of course is not on our hands on this journey, but we will continue to stand. Viva Palestina!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Praying to return…
Dima & Dahlia Abi Saab (Al-Awda NY)

Dozens of children were running around the streets greeting us today when we arrived at Abdullah’s house, the cab driver we met a couple of nights before. He invited a group of us from the Viva Palestina convoy to his house for some tea, and we were blessed with the presence of Councilman Charles Barron.
When we arrived, we had our cameras out and were video taping and taking pictures of all the children. They all ran towards us and began posing for the camera, and jumping on top of each other and screaming take a picture of me, take a picture of me! Their faces lit up when ever the cameras came out and the dirt on their face from a long day’s worth of playing covered their little faces.
The conditions of the neighborhood didn’t seem much different from those in a refugee camp that we’ve seen in videos so many times. Tightly compressed areas (although not nearly as compressed as those in Palestine), not in great conditions and children running around playing with a soccer ball with clothing that were ripped and covered with dirt from the ground that was purely dirt and sand. All the children surrounded us and began kicking the soccer ball to us and we played a short game. The young boys began showing their talent by kicking the ball in the air, bouncing it on their knees, and then flipping it behind them. Then the elders began approaching us after seeing our bright blue Viva Palestina shirts.
People were asking us about our Viva Palestina shirts, and we told them about our mission. To our surprise, Abdullah told us that 95% of the people living in Teqseem Abu Taleb are Palestinians who were exiled from Palestine. So when they found out about the convoy, the older men of the village began telling us about their experiences, and how they left Palestine. After a few minutes of conversing, Abdullah took us up stairs.
We met his five boys, his daughter, Shaima and his gracious, beautiful wife. We all sat crowded in a room, and everyone took out their video cameras as Abdullah repeated his story for the Councilman as we drank the delicious sage tea. Mr. Barron had many questions for Abdullah, but one that stood out the most to us was when he asked if Abdullah wanted to return to Palestine. Abdullah answered with an emotional response: he said he prays everyday that he can return there with his children, and die there because he wouldn’t want to die on foreign land.

Sitting with Abdullah, yet again, reminded us all of why we were here in Egypt, how important this convoy is and the value of our organization — Al-Awda: the Palestine RIGHT TO RETURN coalition. We also realized that when four women came to talk to us as we were leaving Abdullah’s home. They were asking if we can take some medicine for their family living in Gaza who are in dire need of medication. They kept saying that all they want is medication, the people of Gaza NEED medicine to survive and the criminal blockade and siege on Gaza is preventing the sick from receiving any medication and people will end up dying.
These particular women had a family member who had recently received a kidney transplant and not only was her medicine completely unavailable in Gaza but the pharmacies in their area wouldn’t sell them more than one at a time due to some restrictions. They endlessly thanked us for our mission as we assured them we all desire the some thing, for a Free Palestine!
To get a real taste of life in Egypt, and see how many Palestinians residing in Egypt live, we needed to go to Abdullah’s house and enter his life for an hour or so. All the people we met, young and old all wanted one thing — and that was to return to their land and live in peace in their homes. Abdullah again reminded us of how important this mission is, and reminded us that these are conditions that we are in temporarily, but for the people living in this village, for the Palestinians living in diaspora — this is their life.

4 Comments

WOULD YOU BUY A USED CAR FROM THIS MAN?

July 11, 2009 at 7:58 am (Associate Post, Corrupt Politics, Deceit, Israel, Palestine)

Quick paint job

Would you buy a used car from this man, asks Khalid Amayreh in occupied Jerusalem


Netanyahu

The Israeli government headed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is making concerted efforts to avoid a looming crisis with the Obama administration over the issue of Jewish settlement expansion in the West Bank.

United States President Barack Obama is demanding that Israel freeze all settlement expansion projects in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in order to enable the creation of a viable Palestinian state.

However, Netanyahu has so far been defying American demands, resorting to diversionary tactics and vague statements about accepting a Palestinian entity in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

On Monday, 6 July, the Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak, who is effectively acting as an extraordinary foreign minister in lieu of the widely- despised Avigdor Lieberman, met once again in London for 90 minutes with US Peace Envoy George Mitchell.

Barak was trying to sell the Obama administration its usual bill of goods, offering to dismantle “illegal outposts” in return for obtaining an American consent for allowing construction of settlement buildings in “legal outposts”.

The two had met earlier in New York and held “intensive discussions” on the settlement expansion issue. Barak described the meeting as “positive and constructive”, saying that “there was no crisis in relations between the US and Israel.”

However, subsequent reports indicated that the New York meeting was a failure as Mitchell refused to accept salesman Barak’s used-cars which would allow Israel to continue building thousands of settler units under the rubric of “natural growth”.

A few weeks ago, a Western diplomat confronted Israeli officials on the “illegal settlements”, asking them why Israel, an ostensibly democratic state where the rule of law is upheld, allowed illegal outposts to be established in the first place. The officials evaded the question, arguing that the issue was “more complicated than it seems”.

According to the Israeli media, Barak has been trying to impress Mitchell with an offer to dismantle 26 outposts, three of which have already been dismantled. The Americans, however, have a list of at least 100 outposts they insist Israel must dismantle. The bulk of these outposts were established after the end of the “Oslo era”, especially since 2000, and are built mostly on private Palestinian land seized at gunpoint by settlers, often in coordination with the Israeli occupation army.

In 2005 and 2008 Israel made commitments to dismantle the very same outposts, but to no avail. This probably explains why Barak gave Mitchell no timetable for removing the posts, a sign that Israel doesn’t really intend to carry out this old commitment, which is part of the American-backed roadmap.

Some Israeli commentators have labelled Israeli efforts to cajole the US to accept a “compromise” on settlement expansion “playing on borrowed time”. Writing in Haaretz this week, Akiva Eldar said that Israel should realise that the US considers all Jewish settlement activities illegal, even in East Jerusalem. “There is no magical formula by which Israel can convince the Obama administration to accept the settlement expansion.”

If the sought “compromise” with the US fails to materialise, it is widely expected that Israel will declare its “willingness” to freeze settlement construction in return for far-reaching concessions from the Arab camp: first, a recognition by the Palestinians of Israel as an exclusively Jewish state in which non-Jews have to accept racial inferiority or leave, and, second, a deep multi-faceted normalisation between Israel and the entire Arab world.

Israel, of course, realises that the Palestinians and other Arabs would never accept such humiliating preconditions which amount to a kind of capitulation to Israeli intransigence. Hence, such a declaration would be a continuation of the policy of posturing, which represents the modus operandi of the Netanyahu government discourse.

It is also an indication that Israel is not really interested in reaching an honest and dignified peace with the Palestinians but is only trying to throw the proverbial ball into the Arab or at least the American court.

Netanyahu has actually been bragging about succeeding in creating “a national consensus” on the restrictions and proscriptions that would make his “acceptance” of Palestinian statehood null and void.

In his speech at Bar Ilan University last month, Netanyahu, who barely uttered the word “Palestinian state” once, said Israel would have to tightly control of the borders, border crossings, air space, water resources, and foreign relations of such a state which he said had to be completely demilitarised.

Netanyahu also said the Palestinians would have to give up the right of return for millions of refugees uprooted from their homes when Israel was created in Palestine in 1948. He also said occupied East Jerusalem would remain part of Israel in the context of any peace agreement with the Palestinians.

Preferring to appease and please his extreme right-wing coalition partners rather than to deal honestly with growing international demands for ending the 42-year-old Nazi-like occupation, Netanyahu is increasingly betting on Barak, who is mendaciously marketed by the Israeli hasbra machine as “leftist” and Israeli President Shimon Peres, the presumed “dove of peace”.

Last week, Peres, who participated in an interfaith conference in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, called on Saudi King Abdullah “to meet me in Jerusalem, or Riyadh or any other place to make the promise of peace come true.”

Viewed widely as a master of hypocrisy and moral duplicity, Peres utterly ignored the fact that the dream of peace has been virtually killed by the inexorable Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank and also by consistent Israeli rejection of all Arab peace offers, including Saudi Arabia’s own Arab peace initiative.

Nonetheless, it is increasingly clear that neither Netanyahu’s prevarication, nor Barak’s salesman tactics, and not even Peres’s public relations magic are making many people give Israel the benefit of the doubt.

On Monday, 6 July, former Israeli foreign minister and opposition leader Tzipi Livni accused Netanyahu of being dishonest and disingenuous about his declared commitment to the two-state solution.

“He doesn’t know that this is the right path for Israel, but he understands this is the right thing to say. The world is demanding it, so he says ‘I have to say it,’ this is how he explained his speech to his faction members,” Livni was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, the expansion of settlements goes on unabated as if there is no crisis over the matter. The Jerusalem Post on 6 July reported that the government was providing financial inducements to encourage settlers to buy homes in the West Bank.

The heavy subsidies, said Peace Now, which monitors Jewish settlement expansion in the West Bank, would help potential settlers move to the settlements. “In this way, the government proves its rejection of the two-state solution.”

6 Comments

CAR WRECK IN THE MAKING

July 11, 2009 at 7:51 am (Associate Post, Corrupt Politics, Israel, Palestine, Palestinian Authority)

Fatah is on a collision course with itself, bemoans Khalid Amayreh

Palestinians pray over the rubble of a supermarket in the Arab town of Umm Al-Fahm, 60km north of Tel Aviv, on Friday. Israeli authorities destroyed the supermarket, which they said was built without legal permission, two days ago

Despite strong opposition from Fatah’s Executive Committee, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has decided to hold the pivotal Fatah congress in the West Bank in the first week of August.

The decision, taken without consultation with the senior Fatah leadership, has already generated a lot of tension and confusion within the movement, raising fears that Fatah might fall victim to possible fragmentation and disintegration.

Farouk Kaddumi, ostensibly the number-2 man in Fatah, has called Abbas’s decision “grave and illegal”. Kaddumi warned that he would organise an alternative Fatah congress abroad should Abbas go ahead with plans to hold the long overdue congress “under the umbrella of the Israeli occupation”.

He further argued that it was utterly illogical for a liberation movement to hold its most important conference in the shadow of Israeli tanks. “It is a scandalous contradiction.”

Kaddumi and allies, who are mostly based abroad, argue that Israel, which occupies and controls every part of the West Bank, will have the final say as to who will be allowed to attend the congress in case it is held in Ramallah or Bethlehem.

However, the real worries of the Kaddumi camp seem to stem from fears that Abbas and his allies, people like Mohamed Dahlan, will try to manipulate the lists of members eligible to participate in the conference for the purpose of securing a majority in support of their political line, namely that the current peace process with Israel is the only option available to the Palestinians and that Palestinians must make painful concessions for the sake of statehood.

Abbas reportedly has warned Kaddumi against disrupting preparations for holding the conference in the West Bank, threatening to “isolate him” or “render him irrelevant if he doesn’t behave.”

Abbas, exasperated by Fatah’s failure to hold the conference (the last Fatah congress took place in Algiers 20 years ago), told the Fatah executive committee that it was unbearable to postpone the convening of the conference for the umpteenth time because “we have become a laughingstock and our people are no longer taking us seriously.”

“It is now or never,” Abbas reportedly told the executive committee of Fatah.

Despite Abbas’s decision to hold Fatah’s convention in the West Bank, several knots need to be untied in order for the convention to proceed unhindered.

First, Fatah delegates to the conference from the Gaza Strip can’t access the West Bank. To resolve this problem, Abbas in his recent visit to Damascus asked Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to pressure Hamas to allow Fatah members to the conference to leave the Gaza Strip.

However, it is uncertain whether Hamas will consent in this regard especially in light of the failure of the latest session of national reconciliation talks between the Islamic movement and Fatah.

Moreover, the continued harsh crackdown on Hamas by the Fatah-backed government of Salam Fayyad in Ramallah is likely to further stiffen Hamas’s attitudes in this regard.

Second, even if Hamas relented and allowed Fatah delegates to the conference to leave the Strip, Israel would still have the final say as to who will be allowed entry into the West Bank.

True, Fatah members would leave via the Egyptian- controlled Rafah border crossing. However, there is a long standing Israeli policy of barring Gazans from entering the West Bank from Jordan.

Hence the prospects of Gaza Fatah members having smooth access to the West Bank remains a real problem that has to be resolved to ensure a successful conference.

Some Palestinian sources have intimated that the PA will ask the Obama administration to pressure Israel to allow Gaza’s delegates to the conference to travel to the West Bank via Israel.

However, the prospects of Israel playing a factor in the working of the conference could very well be used by Abbas’s opponents to undermine the integrity of the conference.

Then there is the more formidable task of getting hundreds of Fatah leaders who are based in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, to the West Bank to participate in the sixth congress.

Abbas has promised to obtain permits from Israel to enable these mostly non-conformist Fatah members, most of whom oppose the Oslo Accords as a matter of principle, to get to the West Bank.

However, some of these members are actually wanted by Israel and might get arrested the moment they set foot in the West Bank.

More to the point, it is unlikely that Israel is interested in having some of its most ardent enemies come to the West Bank for the purpose of undermining and weakening its presumed peace partner, namely Mahmoud Abbas.

Abbas has signalled that he may not nominate himself for the president of the PA in the elections that would take place in January 2010.

But it is uncertain if the elections will take place on time, given the still unresolved rift with Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. Without national reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, no election may take place in Gaza.

Similarly, if Fatah doesn’t reconcile its own internal problems, and if Abbas goes ahead with Fatah’s sixth congress in the West Bank without resolving the feuds with his opponents, it is quite possible that Fatah itself will crack wide open.

1 Comments

IRAQ WAR VET REPORTS ON HUMANITARIAN CONVOY TO GAZA

July 10, 2009 at 10:52 am (Activism, Gaza, Humanitarian Aid, International Solidarity, Palestine)

The journey to Gaza begins
‘After five days in Cairo, we are ready to set off with vehicles and medical supplies’

Michael Prysner

michael prysner

Iraq war veteran Michael Prysner speaks to tens of thousands at a “Let Gaza Live” mass protest in Washington, D.C., January 2009.

Iraq war veteran and ANSWER Coalition representative Michael Prysner reports on the Viva Palestina delegation’s journey to challenge the Israeli blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian supplies.


We filled New York’s JFK airport on July 4 with Palestinian flags and kaffiyehs, chanting “Viva, Viva Palestina!” as hundreds of international travelers watched us unload a truck full of wheelchairs, walkers and medical aid.

This powerful image was a visual reminder of the hundreds of people in Gaza who have endured amputations and crippling injuries from U.S. munitions fired by Israel during the recent December-January massacre. The cruel Israeli blockade prevents even wheelchairs from entering Gaza.

At the Cairo airport, the Egyptian security forces were overwhelmed by the number of Viva Palestina t-shirts amassed outside. With local press trying to cover the event, the Egyptian police tried to shut down the spectacle and shuffle everyone onto busses. Everyone stood strong, ignoring the Egyptian authorities and giving the media ample time to get images and conduct interviews.

The people in Egypt have expressed their support and gratitude for what we are doing here. Since our arrival, our solidarity trip has been covered by many media outlets, including Al Jazeera, Press TV, and several of the largest Egyptian television stations. I have been interviewed several times on behalf of ANSWER.

A very large press conference was held at the Egyptian Journalists Union, where a banner hangs outside protesting the working conditions imposed by the Egyptian government. It was attended by more than a dozen media outlets.

I spoke on behalf of the ANSWER Coalition, reporting on the growing movement in the United States—a movement that will fight until the Israeli siege ends and there is real justice for every Palestinian. One Egyptian newspaper journalist hugged me and said, “You are always welcome in Egypt.”

This morning, half of our delegation left to begin the drive to the first city where we’ll stop on our way to Gaza. We have purchased 47 brand new vehicles that we will leave in Gaza. Vehicles in Gaza are just as vital as medical aid to meet the need for public transportation, ambulances and more. Many of the vehicles break down and are no longer functional. The vehicles we have purchased will serve the people of Gaza for years to come.

The rest of us have remained in Cairo for an additional day to use the remainder of our funds to purchase as much medical aid as possible. We will then set out to meet up with the rest of the team, load the vehicles and head for Gaza.

The energy and morale in the group are very high. There are nearly 200 people here who will deliver aid to Gaza, provide medical care, and return home to tell their stories about the realities on the ground. Cynthia McKinney is due to join us after spending just one night in the U.S. following her return from an Israeli prison.

We are setting out for Gaza to break the siege—to disobey the criminal blockade that forbids toys for children and materials to rebuild the homes, schools and hospitals that have been reduced to rubble. We are going in the largest delegation from the United States to ever head to Palestine. Not only are we making history on this trip, but we are defining a new period by setting the stage for a renewed struggle for the liberation of Palestine from colonial rule. Every day the movement to free Palestine grows. Every day we are closer to victory.

Meet Michael Prysner

Michael Prysner joined the U.S. Army when he was 17 years old, hoping that he would get a college education and, in his own words, “believing that the U.S. government stood for freedom, justice and equality.” Prysner was later deployed as part of the initial invasion of Iraq.

Of his experience, Michael wrote: “I spent 12 months in Iraq, doing everything from prisoner interrogations, to ground surveillance missions, to home raids. It was my firsthad experiences in Iraq that radicalized me. I soon realized that my purpose in Iraq was to be the oppressor, and to clear the way for U.S. corporations with no regard for human life.

“I separated from the Army in 2005. I understood that illegal conquering of Iraq was for profit, carried out by a system that serves a tiny class of superrich whose endless drive for wealth is at the expense of working people in the United States and abroad.

“I still had the same drive to fight for freedom, justice and equality as I did when I joined, and I understood that fighting for those things meant fighting against the U.S. government, not on behalf of it.”

Funds are Urgently Needed

Funds are urgently needed to help build the struggle for a free Palestine. We can’t do it without your help. You can make a contribution through a secure server by clicking here, where you can also find information on how to contribute by check.

A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
http://www.answercoalition.org/
- info@internationalanswer.org
National Office in Washington DC: 202-544-3389
New York City: 212-694-8720
Los Angeles: 213-251-1025
San Francisco: 415-821-6545
Chicago: 773-463-0311



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DESTROYING GAZA

July 9, 2009 at 7:59 pm (Corrupt Politics, Gaza, Israel, Palestine)

By Sara Roy

Gaza has been reduced to a state of abject destitution. (Wissam Nassar/MaanImages)

The recent meeting between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu generated speculation over the future relationship between America and Israel, and a potentially changed US policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Analysts on the right and left are commenting on a new, tougher American policy characterized by strengthened US demands on Israel. However, beneath the diplomatic choreography lies an agonizing reality that received only brief comment from Obama and silence from Netanyahu: the ongoing devastation of the people of Gaza.

Gaza is an example of a society that has been deliberately reduced to a state of abject destitution, its once productive population transformed into one of aid-dependent paupers. This context is undeniably one of mass suffering, created largely by Israel but with the active complicity of the international community, especially the US and European Union, and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

Gaza’s subjection began long before Israel’s recent war against it. The Israeli occupation — now largely forgotten or denied by the international community — has devastated Gaza’s economy and people, especially since 2006. Although economic restrictions actually increased before Hamas’ electoral victory in January 2006, the deepened sanction regime and siege subsequently imposed by Israel and the international community, and later intensified in June 2007 when Hamas seized control of Gaza, has all but destroyed the local economy. If there has been a pronounced theme among the many Palestinians, Israelis and internationals who I have interviewed in the last three years, it was the fear of damage to Gaza’s society and economy so profound that billions of dollars and generations of people would be required to address it — a fear that has now been realized.

After Israel’s December assault, Gaza’s already compromised conditions have become virtually unlivable. Livelihoods, homes and public infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed on a scale that even the Israeli army admitted was indefensible. In Gaza today, there is no private sector to speak of and no industry. Eighty percent of Gaza’s agricultural crops were destroyed and Israel continues to snipe at farmers attempting to plant and tend fields near the well-fenced and patrolled border. Most productive activity has been extinguished.

One powerful expression of Gaza’s economic demise — and the Gazans’ indomitable will to provide for themselves and their families — is its burgeoning tunnel economy that emerged long ago in response to the siege. Thousands of Palestinians are now employed digging tunnels into Egypt — around 1,000 tunnels are reported to exist although not all are operational. According to local economists, 90 percent of economic activity in Gaza — once considered a lower middle-income economy (along with the West Bank) — is presently devoted to smuggling.

Today, 96 percent of Gaza’s population of 1.4 million is dependent on humanitarian aid for basic needs. According to the World Food Program, the Gaza Strip requires a minimum of 400 trucks of food every day just to meet the basic nutritional needs of the population. Yet, despite a 22 March decision by the Israeli cabinet to lift all restrictions on foodstuffs entering Gaza, only 653 trucks of food and other supplies were allowed entry during the week of 10 May, for example, at best meeting 23 percent of required need.

Israel now allows only 30 to 40 commercial items to enter Gaza compared to 4,000 approved products prior to June 2006. According to the Israeli journalist Amira Hass, Gazans still are denied many commodities (a policy in effect long before the December assault): building materials (including wood for windows and doors), electrical appliances (such as refrigerators and washing machines), spare parts for cars and machines, fabrics, threads, needles, candles, matches, mattresses, sheets, blankets, cutlery, crockery, cups, glasses, musical instruments, books, tea, coffee, sausages, semolina, chocolate, sesame seeds, nuts, milk products in large packages, most baking products, light bulbs, crayons, clothing and shoes.

Given these constraints, among many others — including the internal disarray of the Palestinian leadership — one wonders how the reconstruction to which Obama referred will be possible. There is no question that people must be helped immediately. Programs aimed at alleviating suffering and reinstating some semblance of normalcy are ongoing, but at a scale shaped entirely by the extreme limitations on the availability of goods. In this context of repressive occupation and heightened restriction, what does it mean to reconstruct Gaza? How is it possible under such conditions to empower people and build sustainable and resilient institutions able to withstand expected external shocks? Without an immediate end to Israel’s blockade and the resumption of trade and the movement of people outside the prison that Gaza has long been, the current crisis will grow massively more acute. Unless the US administration is willing to exert real pressure on Israel for implementation — and the indications thus far suggest they are not — little will change. Not surprisingly, despite international pledges of $5.2 billion for Gaza’s reconstruction, Palestinians there are now rebuilding their homes using mud.

Recently, I spoke with some friends in Gaza and the conversations were profoundly disturbing. My friends spoke of the deeply-felt absence of any source of protection — personal, communal or institutional. There is little in society that possesses legitimacy and there is a fading consensus on rules and an eroding understanding of what they are for. Trauma and grief overwhelm the landscape despite expressions of resilience. The feeling of abandonment among people appears complete, understood perhaps in their growing inability to identify with any sense of possibility. The most striking was this comment: “It is no longer the occupation or even the war that consumes us but the realization of our own irrelevance.”

What possible benefit can be derived from an increasingly impoverished, unhealthy, densely crowded and furious Gaza alongside Israel? Gaza’s terrible injustice not only threatens Israeli and regional security, but it undermines America’s credibility, alienating our claim to democratic practice and the rule of law.

If Palestinians are continually denied what we want and demand for ourselves — an ordinary life, dignity, livelihood, safety and a place where they can raise their children — and are forced, yet again, to face the destruction of their families, then the inevitable outcome will be greater and more extreme violence across all factions, both old and increasingly new. What looms is no less than the loss of entire generation of Palestinians. And if this happens — perhaps it already has — we shall all bear the cost.

Sara Roy is a senior research scholar at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University. She is the author of Failing Peace: Gaza and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict. This article was originally published by The Harvard Crimson and is republished with the author’s permission.


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HOW TO MAKE A JEWISH MOTHER PROUD OF YOU

July 9, 2009 at 3:49 pm (Extremism, Ignorance, Israel)

Surely not by behaving like the animals described in the report below. Does Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) have to be synonymous with behavior not acceptable by most other humans? Surely the photo below is a better way to get one’s point across…. but the story that follows???? No mother, Jewish or not wants their son to be an animal….

How many times have we heard a Jewish mother speak of “her son the doctor” or “her son the lawyer” or “her son the successful business man”? Have you ever heard them speak proudly of “her son the animal”?

Haredi boys wearing sacks as a sign of mourning during a march near Jerusalem’s Mea She’arim neighborhood as part of a peaceful protest against the opening of a parking lot near the Old City on Shabbat.
Photo: AP

Reporter feels mob’s hate in the Holy City

By Middle East correspondent Anne Barker


Middle East correspondent Anne Barker.

‘Humiliated and degraded’: ABC Middle East correspondent Anne Barker (ABC News)

//

The ABC’s Middle East correspondent Anne Barker became caught in violent street protests involving ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem at the weekend. This is her graphic account of her ordeal.

As a journalist I’ve covered more than my share of protests. Political protests in Canberra. Unions protesting for better conditions. Angry, loud protests against governments, or against perceived abuses of human rights.

I’ve been at violent rallies in East Timor. I’ve had rocks and metal darts thrown my way. I’ve come up against riot police.

But I have to admit no protest – indeed no story in my career – has distressed me in the way I was distressed at a protest in Jerusalem on Saturday involving several hundred ultra-Orthodox Jews.

This particular protest has been going on for weeks.

Orthodox Jews are angry at the local council’s decision to open a municipal carpark on Saturdays – or Shabbat, the day of rest for Jews.

It’s a day when Jews are not supposed to do anything resembling work, which can include something as simple as flicking a switch, turning on a light or driving.

So even opening a simple carpark to accommodate the increasing number of tourists visiting Jerusalem’s Old City is highly offensive to Orthodox Jews because it’s seen as a desecration of the Shabbat, by encouraging people to drive.

I was aware that earlier protests had erupted into violence on previous weekends – Orthodox Jews throwing rocks at police, or setting rubbish bins alight, even throwing dirty nappies or rotting rubbish at anyone they perceive to be desecrating the Shabbat.

But I never expected their anger would be directed at me.

I was mindful I would need to dress conservatively and keep out of harm’s way. But I made my mistake when I parked the car and started walking towards the protest, not fully sure which street was which.

By the time I realised I’d come up the wrong street it was too late.

I suddenly found myself in the thick of the protest – in the midst of hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews in their long coats and sable-fur hats.

They might be supremely religious, but their behaviour – to me – was far from charitable or benevolent.

As the protest became noisier and the crowd began yelling, I took my recorder and microphone out of my bag to record the sound.

Suddenly the crowd turned on me, screaming in my face. Dozens of angry men began spitting on me.

Spit like rain

I found myself herded against a brick wall as they kept on spitting – on my face, my hair, my clothes, my arms.

It was like rain, coming at me from all directions – hitting my recorder, my bag, my shoes, even my glasses.

Big gobs of spit landed on me like heavy raindrops. I could even smell it as it fell on my face.

Somewhere behind me – I didn’t see him – a man on a stairway either kicked me in the head or knocked something heavy against me.

I wasn’t even sure why the mob was angry with me. Was it because I was a journalist? Or a woman? Because I wasn’t Jewish in an Orthodox area? Was I not dressed conservatively enough?

In fact, I was later told, it was because using a tape-recorder is itself a desecration of the Shabbat even though I’m not Jewish and don’t observe the Sabbath.

It was lucky that I don’t speak Yiddish. At least I was spared the knowledge of whatever filth they were screaming at me.

As I tried to get away I found myself up against the line of riot police blocking the crowd from going any further.

Reassurance

Israeli police in their flak jackets and helmets, with rifles and shields, were yelling just as loudly back at the protesting crowd.

I found them something of a reassurance against the angry, spitting mob.

I was allowed through, away from the main protest, although there were still Orthodox Jews on the other side, some of whom also yelled at me, in English, to take my recorder away.

Normally I should have stayed on the sidelines to watch the protest develop.

But when you’ve suffered the humiliation and degradation of being spat on so many times – and you’re covered in other people’s spit – it’s not easy to put it to the back of your mind and get on with the job.

I left down a side street and walked the long way back to the car, struggling to hold back the tears.

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LEGAL SLAVE TRADE IN ISRAEL ~~ PART 2

July 9, 2009 at 9:11 am (Chutzpah, DesertPeace Editorial, Human Rights, Israel)

LEGAL SLAVE TRADE IN ISRAEL (PART 1)

(Part 2 is below)


The wall of Apartheid in Israel has made it virtually impossible for many Palestinian workers to cross over to the Israeli side for work purposes. This has resulted in a mass influx of foreign workers, especially those that work as caregivers for the old and sick of the nation. Hundreds of thousands of these people are in Israel today, most with valid visas, many who are here illegally.


The tales they tell are unbelievably shameful and expose yet another aspect of the racism inherent in zionism…. I’ll deal with just one of these stories in this post, but keep in mind that this is just one of a thousand of such examples…

A disabled man was approached not long ago by a man who asked if he had or needed a caregiver. The disabled person was wheelchair bound which made him an ‘easy target’ for the scam in the making….

He was informed that he could get a worker in his home for ten hours a week and it would not cost him a thing…. that’s a hard offer to refuse.

Papers were filled out, documents were signed, interviews with government agencies, etc., etc….
Finally, all was approved and a foreign worker from Sri Lanka was on his way to what he hoped would be a possible way to make a few bucks to help his destitute family back home…. BOY, was he in for a surprise!

Upon arrival in Israel the ‘agency’ that brought him here demanded $1,500 up front to start the process of obtaining the proper documents for his employment. At the Minister of Interior’s office he had to shell out another $40 to get the work permit stamped in his passport…

He was then ready to go to work….. but where?
His visa was obtained in the name of the disabled man mentioned at the beginning of this post…. but he won’t actually be working for him full time… just for 10 hours a week… at no cost to him. What happens the rest of the week??, and who pays this worker for the 10 ‘free hours’ of labour???

The ‘agency’ arranges for this worker to perform his duties as caregiver in someone else’s home…. someone that was not able to obtain a visa in their own name. The wage is way below the minimum, the hours are long, and the person must be available during his ‘free time’.

Accommodation is often provided at a fee…. usually higher than one would normally pay. At the end of the month, his salary is barely enough for him to survive, let alone send money to his family as was planned….

The ten ‘free hours’ are ‘payment’ to the original person for obtaining the visa.. NO ONE PAYS FOR IT…. the worker is a virtual slave to this person.

This entire procedure is considered the ‘norm’ in Israel…. as it was in the southern American States after slavery was officially ended. It is a demonstration of the non value of life placed upon those ‘not of the tribe’ by the Israeli government.

What happens if this worker refuses to do his ‘obligated’ free hours? Simple, his visa is revoked and he darts off to unknown territory and becomes a soldier in the army of illegal immigrants… eventually caught and deported…. AT THEIR OWN EXPENSE….

The ‘agency’ then arranges to bring over a new worker from abroad and the entire process is repeated as well as more money going into the coffers of these scam masters.

In this particular case, the worker had a lucky streak…. he told the original person involved what was going on…. the man was shocked beyond belief. He told the worker that he would not have to work for him, that he would not report this and his visa would not be canceled. He was then free to work wherever he wanted, legally.

The ‘agency’ got wind of the situation and visited the disabled person at home, wanting to know why the worker was not doing his ‘time’ for him. The man explained that he did not need his services as he had a regular worker come in once a week to clean the house, that was all he required… simple explanation…. but not so simple reaction…

The agency contacted the foreign worker, told him that he would have to give them an additional $150 a month to cover the cost of the man’s cleaning help… or they would cancel his visa. Can we call this blackmail??

The worker then visited the man and wanted to know if he intended to cancel his visa… he was told that he was promised otherwise and not to worry and NOT TO GIVE THE ‘AGENCY’ THE $150…. the ‘agency’ could NOT cancel the visa without the man’s approval.

In this case, the worker continues to function legally with no fear of deportation…. the ‘agency’ lost out on their scam… and all ended well. This is not the case for thousands of others who are virtually slaves to this inhumane system… a system known about and allowed to continue by the zionist regime…

Israel does not discriminate in who they discriminate against… racism, exploitation, occupation, and now slavery are an integral part of their system… I wonder what Abe Foxman would say about all of this…. I’m sure one of his cronies will direct him to this post.

The above is a post from my archives…..

Below is an article from today’s HaAretz….. the nightmare continues…..

MKs warn of ‘terrible injustice’ to children in roundup of migrants
By Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondent


Lawmakers yesterday called for a halt to the “manhunt” for foreign workers, warning their deportation of foreign workers and that of their children would constitute a “terrible injustice” and infringe on the children’s basic rights.

The Knesset’s Committee on the Rights of the Child yesterday discussed the state’s treatment of foreign workers and asylum seekers’ children, following the police’s extensive drive to round up and expel foreign workers.

MK Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz), who called the discussion, said the roundup and deportation would have harmful implications on the workers’ children, who had been born and raised here and have no other country but Israel.


“This is a terrible injustice. They’re deporting people while bringing new workers into the country,” Horowitz said. “If the policy was to deport foreign workers in view of rising unemployment, so be it. But bringing in new workers casts doubt over the motives for the deportation scheduled for August.”

“These children were born here, Hebrew is their language and Israel is the only country they know. They’re not Jewish, but they’re Israelis. The immigrants from Russia also have numerous non-Jews among them but receive a legal status here nonetheless,” he said.

Tziki Sela, commander of the “Oz” task force, which replaced the former Immigration Police, told the committee that some 300,000 foreign workers reside in Israel illegally.

Some 2,800 children of migrant workers and asylum seekers live in Israel, according to the Knesset Research and Information Center.

MK Ilan Gilon (Meretz) called on the authorities to “stop the manhunt on foreign workers immediately.”

Dr. Yitzhak Kadman, director of the National Council for the Child, said “thousands of children in Israel have no legal status. They are not entitled to health services and are forced to receive treatment from unauthorized persons. Israel turns its back on those who have no status,” he told the committee.

Committee chairman Danny Danon (Likud) compared the foreign workers’ children to the children of the settlers who were evacuated four years ago in the disengagement from the Gaza Strip. “I see the evacuated children and the traumas they sustained since then. We must treat these children with sensitivity,” he said.

The immigration task force rounded up 60 migrants earlier this week and sent them to a detention center in Holon. The force detained 300 migrants last week.

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HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN THREE PARAGRAPHS

July 9, 2009 at 7:12 am (Barack Obama, Current Affairs, Economy, History, Humour)

Over five thousand years ago, Moses said to the children of Israel “
pick up
your shovel, mount your asses and camels, and I will lead you to the
promised
land”.



Nearly 75 years ago, Roosevelt said, ” Lay down your shovels, sit on
your
asses, and light up a camel, this is the promised land”.


Now Obama has stolen your shovel , taxed your asses, raised the price of
camels, and mortgaged the promised land.


‘Life’s tough……it’s even tougher if you’re stupid.”
– John Wayne

10 Comments

ISRAEL; ‘WE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD SETTLEMENTS, WE WILL CONTINUE TO LIE ABOUT THIS, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO HIDE THE TRUTH FROM YOU’

July 8, 2009 at 8:23 pm (Activism, Illegal Settlements, Israel, Occupied West Bank, Settler Violence)

MIDEAST-PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL-SETTLER-DEMO

Two representatives of the Peace Now organization and members of an Israeli television crew were attacked last week by a settler who objected to their presence in the West Bank as they documented construction in the settlements.

The footage, originally broadcast on Channel 2 Television and posted online by Peace Now, shows a security guard at the Dolev settlement snatching and destroying the TV crew’s camera equipment and later attacking the activists’ car with rocks.



3 Comments

MICHAEL JACKSON ~~ ‘WE HAD HIM’

July 8, 2009 at 3:43 pm (Associate Post, Entertainment, Poetry)

High resolution version of this image for printing
purposes available HERE 4800 x 7070 pixels, 300 dpi


The following poem was written by Maya Angelou for
Michael Jackson’s public memorial at the Staples Center
in Los Angeles. It was read by Queen Latifah, one of the
many celebrities that paid tribute to the King of Pop.

We Had Him

By Maya Angelou (*)

Beloveds, now we know that we know nothing, now that our bright and shining star can slip away from our fingertips like a puff of summer wind.

Without notice, our dear love can escape our doting embrace. Sing our songs among the stars and walk our dances across the face of the moon.

In the instant that Michael is gone, we know nothing. No clocks can tell time. No oceans can rush our tides with the abrupt absence of our treasure.

Though we are many, each of us is achingly alone, piercingly alone.

Only when we confess our confusion can we remember that he was a gift to us and we did have him.

He came to us from the creator, trailing creativity in abundance.

Despite the anguish, his life was sheathed in mother love, family love, and survived and did more than that.

He thrived with passion and compassion, humor and style. We had him whether we know who he was or did not know, he was ours and we were his.

We had him, beautiful, delighting our eyes.

His hat, aslant over his brow, and took a pose on his toes for all of us.

And we laughed and stomped our feet for him.

We were enchanted with his passion because he held nothing. He gave us all he had been given.

Today in Tokyo, beneath the Eiffel Tower, in Ghana’s Black Star Square.

In Johannesburg and Pittsburgh, in Birmingham, Alabama, and Birmingham, England

We are missing Michael.

But we do know we had him, and we are the world.

(*) Dr. Maya Angelou is an American poet born in 1928. She is known as one of the great voices of contemporary literature. As a poet, educator, historian, best-selling author, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer and director, she continues to travel the world, spreading her wisdom. Within the rhythm of her poetry and elegance of her prose lies Angelou’s power to help readers of every orientation span the lines of race.

——————

The poem appeared on www.mtv.com

4 Comments

FOXMAN HAS HIS WORK CUT OUT FOR HIM

July 8, 2009 at 10:27 am (ADL Hatemongering, DesertPeace Editorial, Gaza, Health Crisis, Israel, Palestine, Sarcasm)

Image ‘Copyleft’ By Carlos Latuff
israels point of view
We all know that criticism of Israel is tantamount to anti Semitism. We are told this time and time again. So why does it continue? Have we not learned that Israel has friends in ‘high places’, including Heaven itself? Do we not fear the wrath of God for daring to speak against His ‘chosen people’? Worse yet, do we not fear Abe Foxman, the self appointed protector of those people?

Apparently not…. as the criticism continues…. as the crimes continue. Below is the latest….. I can hardly wait to see the response from Foxman…. for him to remain silent on this issue would surely mean he’s in agreement…. WHICH I HIGHLY DOUBT.

Israel criticised for thwarting medical mission to Palestinian territories

Vikram Dodd

• Border guards turn away team including British medics
• Doctors had planned to perform surgeries on children

Israel was yesterday criticised after it refused to allow a group of doctors on a humanitarian mission organised by the French government to enter Gaza.

The team, including three British medics, was turned back by Israeli border guards on Sunday and Monday. They say their mission is purely humanitarian, aimed to helping those in medical need, and some of whom were left injured and in need of surgery after Israel’s attack on Gaza earlier this year.

One of the Britons refused entry to Gaza, Sonia Robbins, who is a reconstructive plastic surgeon, said: “I don’t know why we are being refused permission to enter.

“The consequences are that patients will not be operated on, children will have to wait until next time for surgery, and that won’t happen until six months time.

“I think it is unacceptable to refuse a humanitarian mission.”

The team had tried to enter through the Erez crossing. Robbins said she had been allowed to work in Gaza before. She said the team of nine medics were concentrating on surgery to the upper limbs, and that their papers to gain entry into Gaza were all in order. She added the border guards had been courteous as they refused the medical team permission to enter Gaza, where as well as treating the injured, they would help teach Palestinian doctors.

The mission is organised by the French doctor Professor Christophe Oberlin. His lawyer has sent a letter to the Israeli defence ministry, demanding an explanation, and wrote: “The purpose of their meeting was for the both teams, to hold activities together of medical consultation, surgery and teaching.”

The letter says the denial of entry to the medical team amounts to Israel violating “the basic international humanitarian law principles, the obligations of Israel as the occupying power of the occupied territories, [and] its obligations under the international covenant of civil and political rights and the convention on the rights of the child.”

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