NOVANEWS

• Israel seeks to ban the Palestinian protest movement from iOS store

• Gazan fishermen recount narrow escape from Israeli fire

• Israel demolishes bedouin community in the Jordan Valley; 42 people homeless, including 21 children

• Israeli army begins dismantling the Wall in Bil’in

• American flotilla passengers set to challenge U.S. support for Gaza blockade

• Gen’l Ashkenazi, architect of Gaza onslaught, joins Brookings Institution as ‘Visiting Fellow’

• Peres awaits, Shakira

• Why am I organizing the Gaza boat? Because Jewish history commands me

• Don’t bother, Shakira

• ‘Move over AIPAC’ protester assaulted by police during peaceful demonstration

Israel seeks to ban the Palestinian protest movement from iOS store

Jun 22, 2011

alec

Settler Squatter Censor
Yuli Yoel Edelstein

Not only is Israel killing protesters and banning any kind of pro-Palestinian demonstration, they are now trying to ban Palestinians from cyberspace.

Yesterday Israel’s “Public Diplomacy Minister”  wrote a letter to Steve Jobs demanding that an application “Third Intifada” be removed from the app store.

Reuters reports:

The application offers users a stream of news stories and editorials in Arabic, announces upcoming protests, and includes links to nationalistic Palestinian videos and songs.

Reuters quotes Minister Yuli-Yoel Edelstein (a settler/squatter in Neve Daniel):

I am convinced that you are aware of this type of application’s ability to unite many toward an objective that could be disastrous….

Companies like this that have a global reach also have a responsibility, and they are aware of this responsibility, and I am sure that Apple will act in the same way (as Facebook)

Apparently the Israelis are not content choking the breath out of Palestinians in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Now the Israeli government believe that it’s their right to muzzle the entire world.

There’s a good chance Apple will roll over, as did Facebook in May. Martin Niemöller’s famous words take on a new sinister slant:

First they came for the communists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

Arab springtime is welcomed in Syria and Libya but not in Israel. Some animals are more equal than others. Israel’s determination to follow South Africa’s apartheid path seems relentless.

Gazan fishermen recount narrow escape from Israeli fire

Jun 21, 2011

Ruqaya Izzidien

At around 9.00 am on June 21, two fishing boats were attacked at about two and a half miles off the coast of the Gaza Strip.

Since 2008, Gazan fishermen have experienced a reduction in the areas in which they are permitted to fish. The 20 mile limit, which was agreed during the Oslo Accords was first reduced to six and later to the current three-mile limit. But yesterday seven fishermen and two children faced open fire while still within this limit, which is imposed by the Israeli Navy.

Yaser Baker holding bullet shrapnel from inside the motor of his boat. (Photo: Ruqaya Izzidien)

Yaser Baker was aboard the first boat to come under fire, along with three other fishermen who had been at sea since about 6.30am. “We were at around two and a half miles out to sea when they shot at our motor and it broke. We stopped thehasaka boat and all moved to the front of it, away from the engine so that we wouldn’t get hit. Then they shot at the front, right at us, the bullets just missed our bodies and one landed right by my leg.” Baker added, “They shot to kill.”

Baker on the bullet-riddled bow of his boat. (Photo: Ruqaya Izzidien)

Mohammed Bakri Sabir came to aid Baker’s boat but then came under fire himself. First his engine was shot and disabled, and then he and his crew came under fire, along with the two sons, aged nine and ten, who were also aboard.

Sabir explained, “One week ago they shot a hole in the boat, which I patched up. Two years ago they confiscated my fishing net. This boat is what brings us food. Fifteen of us live in one room in my house, six of them are sick. And now? I can’t work. This is how the siege kills people; I don’t know what else to tell you.”

Baker explained, “Eventually, about 20 fishing boats came to the rescue, they surrounded our two disabled boats and escorted them back to shore. We only escaped because one of the kids, a nine-year-old boy pretended to be dead, he saved the day. He had to play dead, it was the only way we could get them to stop firing.”

Mahfouz Kabariti, President of Palestine Association for Fishing and Marine Sports explained the intensity of the situation, “It sounds like a movie, but they have no choice. Those who fish inhasaka boats are the poorest fishermen here, they don’t have large or multiple boats. This is all they have to make their living.”

Baker pointed to a crate of fish and uttered, “These are the fish which we die for,” as Sabir recalled, “One year ago they shot and killed Mohammed Mansour Bakar, who was a 22-year-old fisherman. It was the same situation; same story.”

Sabir said, “I want the world to come to see how life is for Gazan fishermen, for Gazan children. I want you to put me on camera, come and see what it is like. It has been five years of this death-siege and now my boat is broken. How am I going to feed my family?”

Over 8,000 people work in the fishing sector in the Gaza Strip, with a total of around 50,000 people depending on the fishing industry as their main source of income.

Israel demolishes bedouin community in the Jordan Valley; 42 people homeless, including 21 children

Jun 21, 2011

Kate

Israel demolishes homes in Tubas district, displacing 27 Palestinian children, adults
[MAP] AIC 21 June — On Tuesday morning (21 June) the Israeli army demolished 29 structures in al-Hadidiya, Tubas Governorate, displacing 27 people from six households, including 11 children. A further 15 people were affected, including 10 children … Al-Hadidiya is a Bedouin community relying on herding. Some community members report having born in this location in the 1950s, but community members have been displaced multiple times. The community estimates that about 40 families have been permanently displaced from Al-Hadidiya since 1997 due to a combination of factors, primarily demolitions (1997, 2005-2007, 2008, and 2011), confiscations (2000) and access restrictions (increasing since 2000). In May 2009, the IDF placed large cement slabs throughout the Jordan Valley, including Al-Hadidiya, that have “Danger Firing Zone Entrance Forbidden” written on them in Arabic, English and Hebrew. The IDF distributed these signs throughout the area. However, the community has reported not noticing military activity in their immediate vicinity. All households displaced this morning live outside the closed military zone.
Big wave of demolitions in the northern Jordan Valley
JVS 21 June — Today, June the 21st, Israeli military demolished Palestinian homes in two communities in the Jordan Valley. At six am five military Jeeps, two Israeli Civil administration cars and two bulldozers entered the Bedouin community of Al Hadidya. They proceeded to demolish four homes and 12 animal shelters, leaving 32 people homeless. After the demolition of Al Hadidya, the bulldozers drove on to nearby Khirbet Yerza, where they demolished two homes and two animal shelters. As a result ten people were left homeless.

And more news from Today in Palestine:

Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Settlers
US activists visit exile-threatened Jerusalem officials
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 21 June — U.S. academics from various universities and rights activists paid a visit Monday to Palestinian public officials at their sit-in tent inside the Red Cross compound in Jerusalem. The group includes anti-racism activists who have been arrested seeking freedom and equality and supporting the oppressed … The Palestinian officials, who are threatened to be banished from their native Jerusalem by Israeli occupation authorities, include two legislators, Mohammed Toutah and Ahmed Attoun and former minister Khalid Abu Arafeh. They recently received another foreign delegation including activists from Norway, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcO
Patriarch prohibited from conducting Hebron visit
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 21 June — The Governor of Hebron Kamel Hmeid and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fuad Twal were prevented from carrying out a tour of the city Monday, delegation members said. The officials visited areas affected by the presence of an estimated 700 Israeli settlers and 1,500 soldiers in the city center, but were prevented from walking down the former market hub Ash-Shuhada Street … Part of the tour involved visiting the city’s university, meeting with the Hebron University President Awni Al-Khatib and inspecting its facilities. Hmeid called the visit a show of national unity and Palestinian strength, while Twal expressed regret at the “lack of respect from the occupation forces to religious officials,” but said he was glad to meet the “sons and daughters of Hebron,” and said he would continue to support their struggle for rights and freedoms.
link to www.maannews.net
Israeli army begins dismantling the Wall in Bil‘in
Pop Struggle 21 June — This morning army bulldozers began work to dismantle the fence in Bil‘in. As early as 2007, after two years of weekly protests in the village and following a petition filed by the residents, Israeli high court declared the path of the Barrier illegal. The court ruled that the route was not devised according to security standards, but rather for the purpose of settlement expansion. Despite the high court’s ruling four more years of struggle had to elapse for the army to begin dismantlement. During these years two people were killed in the course of the weekly protests and many others injured. Yet even according to the new path, sanctioned by the high court, 435 acres of village land will remain on the “Israeli” side of the Barrier. [and presumably the land taken for the ‘old’ fence is already ruined, trees destroyed, etc., while more land will be ruined for the new one]
https://www.popularstruggle.org/content/israeli-army-begins-dismantling-wall-bilin
5 settlers released after ‘price tag’ allegations
Ynet 21 June — Two Jerusalem courts ordered the release Tuesday of five settlers police had arrested on suspicion of carrying out revenge acts against Palestinians, commonly dubbed ‘Price tag’ acts. Yaska Weiss, 20, was released along with a 17-year old girl. Both were suspected of torching Palestinian vehicles in Hebron. During the hearing police appealed for a remand of their arrest, though their representative had already admitted there may not be enough evidence to charge the two.Earlier three residents of the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar – suspected of torching the car of a police commander during the razing of Ali Ayin outpost – were also released. Yitzhar settlers were furious at police conduct in the case, and a source in the settlement accused officers of performing unnecessary arrests instead of properly investigating the vandalism. “It has become the norm to perform stupid and baseless arrests in the small hours of the night, frightening children and infants,” the source said.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Jewish settlers in West Bank nurture land to consolidate Palestinian territories
Bethlehem (PNN) 21 June — Victoria Delacroix — Jewish settlers that are living in the West Bank are opening their guarded gates to the world and to other Israelis, in an attempt to show the international community what is going in the West Bank, through their eyes. One day tours that are booked through a regional settler council attempt to illustrate how settlers are nurturing and cultivating the land that Palestinians want back in order to gain sovereignty and declare a Palestinian State … One should also not expect to meet with any of the local Palestinian farmers — or ‘local Arabs’ as the tour calls them — that own this land and more than likely were the ones cultivating it before the occupation. Most of the tour group members see themselves as ‘former Christians’ who firmly believe that Jesus Christ is the messiah and saviour, but many of them partake in Jewish traditions and abide by some of the Jewish law.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10277&Itemid=49
Living and dying in the Golan Heights
Majdal Shams — PNN Exclusive — Victoria Delacroix — 21 June — Ameer Jabal was born and grew up in the town of Majdal Shams, in the Golan Heights.  He was born under occupation and died under it. When he was only four Ameer stepped on a mine, a mine that had been placed by the Israeli army in the town.  As one field ends, another one begins, except that this orchard is not full of cherries, olives or wild flowers. A small yellow signs hangs on the barbed wire fence, “Danger Mines.” This is the reality of the Golan under Israeli occupation. This is the reality that the people of Majdal Shams live in.
link to english.pnn.ps
IOF troops arrest five citizens in Majda Shams
RAMALLAH (PIC) 21 June– Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested five citizens in the Majdal Shams town in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights at dawn Tuesday, the Israeli radio said. It said that the IOF soldiers stormed the town after obtaining new information during interrogation of previously held youths from the town and detained the five young men at the pretext they participated in the Naksa Day protests.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd8
Israeli forces
Two fishing boats shot off Gaza coast
ISM 21 June — At around 9am on June 21, two fishing boats were attacked by the Israeli Navy, with bullets piercing both engines, rendering them unusable. The first boat was shot at in the motor, at the rear end and, when the 4-man crew took cover at the front of the boat, away from the shots directed at the motor, the front of the boat was fired upon. Yaser Baker is one of the four fishermen who were aboard the first boat which was shot. “We were at around two and a half miles out to sea when they shot at our engine and it broke. We stopped the boat and all moved to the front, away from the engine so that we wouldn’t get hit. Then they shot at the front, right at us, the bullets just missing our bodies and one landed right by my leg.” A second boat, manned by Mohammed Bakri Sabir came to assist the first, but was also attacked, both in the engine and the front of the boat, where the crew was taking cover. Aboard the second boat were three fishermen and two of their children, aged nine and ten years old.
http://palsolidarity.org/2011/06/19025/
Video: Officer indicted for vandalizing Palestinian vehicles
B’Tselem 21 June — On 12 and 13 October, B’Tselem documented eight vehicles owned by Palestinians that had been vandalized, apparently by soldiers, near Jenbah in the southern Hebron hills … On 19 June 2011, the media reported that the military prosecutor had filed an indictment against a former infantry company commander. The officer, who has been discharged from the army in the meantime, was charged, inter alia, with intentionally damaging property, in that he and soldiers under his command vandalized a number of Palestinian vehicles, burning some of them, in the southern Hebron hills.
link to www.btselem.org
Gaza
UN: Israel approves Gaza housing projects
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 21 June — Israel has approved construction of two housing projects in the southern Gaza Strip, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said Tuesday. UN Relief and Works Agency spokesman in Gaza Adnan Abu Hasnah said two major projects would be constructed to house families from Rafah and Khan Younis whose homes were demolished by Israel in 2001. The new buildings will also provide housing for families made homeless during Israel’s 2002 Operation Defensive Shield, Abu Hasnah said. Major Guy Inbar, spokesman for the defense ministry department responsible for liaison with the Palestinian territories, told AFP Israel had approved materials to build 1,200 homes and 18 schools. He said the materials would be consigned to UNRWA. The UN welcomed the decision. Abu Hasneh said UNRWA was waiting for authorities to take practical steps to allow thousands of truckloads of construction materials into the coastal enclave. He said the building would start with projects funded by Saudi Arabia and Japan, as well as the construction of eight schools. UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said the agency had learned of Israel’s decision “informally.” “We welcome this reported approval which follows lengthy negotiations with the Israeli authorities,” he said.
link to www.maannews.net
In Gaza, border opening brings little relief
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) 21 June — The reopening of the Gaza Strip’s main border crossing with Egypt brought widespread relief to Palestinians suffering from a four-year blockade. But one month later, some 20,000 people are on a wait list and despair is growing in this crowded territory. Residents still must apply for travel permits, and the first available dates to cross are in late August. Frustrated travelers gather at the crossing each day, clutching medical reports, foreign residency permits and university registration documents in hopes of persuading the authorities to let them through. And after a brief period of goodwill, many are openly asking whether Egypt’s new government is truly committed to improving relations with the Palestinians.
link to www.cbsnews.com
Haniyeh applauds Miles of Smiles aid convoy
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 21 June – Prime Minister of the Hamas government in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh said Monday that he was proud and thankful for the support of international activists, who arrived in Gaza Sunday with the European aid convoy Miles of Smiles … For his part, the convoy’s coordinator, Isam Yousif, promised to continue organizing other aid convoys to support the Palestinian people.  “Miles of Smiles came to draw a smile on the faces of Gaza’s children,” he said. He highlighted that the convoy brought medicines worth half a million dollars in addition to milk and other food products.
link to www.maannews.net
300 truckloads of goods to enter Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 21 June — Palestinian officials were notified Tuesday morning that 300-310 truckloads of goods would be allowed into the Gaza Strip.
link to www.maannews.net
Goods – Needs vs. supply May 15 – June 11
link to www.gazagateway.org
Introducing the ‘Palestinian Gandhi Project’ / Yousef Munayyer
[with video] There is a consistent effort to portray Palestinians as violent individuals, and this effort is tied directly to attempts to justify any Israeli action against Palestinians in the name of “security” or “defense.” In reality, Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation and colonization of their land is diverse and overwhelmingly non-violent. Just because Palestinian non-violence doesn’t get the media attention violent conflict does, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. But how would anyone outside of Palestine know? (Image right: A Palestinian woman defies Israeli declared “buffer zone” in Gaza to harvest wheat.)
Pam Bailey, an American “corporate refugee” as she calls herself, traveled to Gaza to see for herself what was happening in the region. The product of her trips became “The Palestinian Gandhi Project” which Permission to Narrate is proud to feature here.
link to blog.thejerusalemfund.org
Videos: Palestinian Gandhis Part II: Blogging to resist / Yousef Munayyer
…This first video profile features two of many bloggers who have begun writing about the reality of life in the Gaza Strip. Although Gaza-based blogs date back to 2004, there has been a virtual boom since Israel launched its massive attack on the densely populated Strip in the winter of 2008/9. In a classic example of “blowback” (unintended consequences), Israel’s aggression served as a motivator for many young Palestinians in Gaza to find new, creative ways of speaking out. The first young blogger featured, Sameeha Elwan, speaks eloquently of being “shocked” into activism.
link to blog.thejerusalemfund.org
Flotillas
Letter from Athens: A city in chaos / Joseph Dana
I flew into this disorderly city this morning to cover the flotilla for the The Nation magazine along with journalist par excellence Mya Guarnieri. Over the next week, we will be observing the preparations and training of the American boat to Gaza, dubbed “The Audacity of Hope.” In the coming days, I will be observing the preparation of the ship, the nonviolence training of the passengers as well as the general climate in Athens, which is seeing historic riots about the Greek financial crisis. Stay tuned to +972 and my twitter feed over the next week for on-the ground coverage of what is certainly going to be one of the biggest stories of the summer in Israel/Palestine.
link to 972mag.com
American flotilla passengers set to challenge US support for Gaza blockade / Alex Kane
Mondo 21 June — The pressure is mounting on the second “Freedom Flotilla” to Gaza.  Anti-flotilla lawsuits in New Yorkand Toronto have been filed, the Israeli government is ramping up its propaganda efforts and the Turkish Mavi Marmara ship isno longer sailing following U.S. pressure. But the American passengers are still determined to sail on The Audacity of Hopelater this month, and they are now on their way to Greece to complete the initial leg of their journey before setting off to the Mediterranean from an undisclosed port. And if there was one important and unifying message the American flotilla passengers conveyed yesterday at a press conference where they took questions from reporters, it was this:  the U.S. Boat to Gaza effort is a direct challenge to American support for Israel and its crippling blockade of Gaza.
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/06/american-flotilla-passengers-set-to-challenge-u-s-support-for-gaza-blockade.html
IDF relieved by Turkish group’s pullout from Gaza flotilla but still goes ahead with preparations
Haaretz 20 June — Israel’s navy is going ahead with preparations to stymie a planned flotilla slated to attempt to break the blockade on Gaza in two weeks, despite the fact that the Turkish group IHH has pulled out of the effort. Israeli security experts believe that flotilla participants could violently oppose the navy’s effort to stop the ships and plan to bring photographers with them to document any resistance they face … Top navy officers were relieved yesterday by the announcement that the Marmara, the largest vessel slated for the flotilla, would not sail. “That saves a lot of work for us,” said one navy officer. “The Marmara would have carried 500 passengers; its exclusion scales down the operation.” Despite the IHH pullout, a coalition of 23 pro-Palestinian organizations have announced their intention to take part in this new flotilla.
link to www.haaretz.com
Parliamentary honour for Gaza activists sparks outrage
21 June — THE decision by Greens MP David Shoebridge to host a farewell function at Parliament House this week for activists preparing to set sail to break Israel’s blockade on Gaza has sparked outrage among Jewish leaders … NSW Jewish Board of Deputies acting president Jeremy Spinak questioned why a state MP would encourage people to break the law of a legitimate government. “It’s a sad state of affairs that the Greens are using Parliament House, with its proud history, to promote an event that will be in violation of international law,” Spinak said.”The organisers of the event know that the flotilla seeks to break a blockade, which is in place because of Hamas’ ongoing war on Israel.”
link to www.jewishnews.net.au
Refugees, World Refugee Day
Report: ‘30% of Palestinians in the W. Bank, 67% in Gaza, are refugees
IMEMC 21 June — The Palestinian Census Bureau reported that nearly half of the Palestinians in the occupied territories are internally displaced refugees, and that, since its creation in Palestine in 1948, Israel forcibly removed two-thirds of the Arab population … In 1948, nearly 957,000 Palestinians were removed and fled from their cities and villages due to the creation of Israel in the historic land of Palestine. This figure resembles nearly 66% of the total population back then, according to United Nations estimates in 1950 …  By mid-2010, the number of refugees registered by the UNRWA arrived to 4.8 million. 41.6% of the total population in Jordan are Palestinian refugees, 8.9% in Lebanon and 9.9% in Syria. Refugee camps in the Palestinian territories are the poorest among the total population as at least 32.1% of the refugees are below poverty levels.
link to www.imemc.org
UNRWA: “You can’t leave Palestine refugees behind”
972mag 21 June — There is no doubt in my mind that you cannot have a just and durable peace unless 4.8 million refugees are brought out of their 63-year exile, statelessness and dispossession — Chris Gunness, UNRWA Spokesman, 20 June 2011 — Roee Ruttenberg: There are critics who say the UN treats the Palestinians with some favoritism, that the Palestinians refugees have their own UN agency — your agency, UNRWA — dedicated specifically to their cause, something no other group has. And just this week, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the international community treats the Palestinians like “spoiled children.” How do you respond to such criticisms? Chris Gunness, UNRWA Spokesman: It’s very vindictive and it’s political wishful thinking because if UNRWA went away and UNHCR took over the refugees, their inalienable rights would not disappear. So the right of return, which is enshrined in the “Universal Declaration (of Human Rights)” wouldn’t suddenly go away because UNRWA went away.
http://972mag.com/interview-chris-gunness-unrwa-spokesman-on-palestinian-refugees/
Jordanian PM: Continue funding for UN refugee agency
Jordan warns of instability if UN Palestine Refugee Agency’s funds cut UNRWA Commissioner General appeals for Arab funds — Jordan, 21 June 2011: The Prime Minister of Jordan, Marouf al-Bakheet, has warned of instability if the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees, UNRWA, is not properly funded and the Agency’s essential services to millions of Palestine refugees in the Middle East are cut. In a speech to UNRWA’s Advisory Commission delivered by the Deputy Prime Minister, Saed Hayel el-Sror, Mr. al-Bakheet said that in light of the transformations in the Middle East, Palestinian rights had to be maintained.
link to 972mag.com
Video: Gazans mark World Refugee Day
PressTV 20 June
link to www.youtube.com
Detention
Ministry asks UN to see release of Gazans held under ‘unlawful combatant law’
GAZA (PIC) 21 June — The Gaza prisoner affairs ministry has called on the UN to intervene as Israel has refused to release six Gazans whose prison terms have ended using an unlawful combatant law.  The Knesset, Israel’s legislative body, and the Israeli courts passed the law against Gaza prisoners after Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip in 2005. The ministry considers the law an attempt to circumvent the Geneva Convention, which protects civilians.  Under the law, Israel has enabled itself to continue holding detainees from the Gaza Strip indefinitely without an indictment, evidence, or a fair trial.
In a separate development, the Israeli Prison Service has moved several leading prisoners into isolation, in a move considered to be “a declaration of open war” against Palestinian prison leadership.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87
IOF storm home of liberated Hamas leader, question him
JENIN (PIC) 21 June — The Israeli military commander of Jenin area accompanied Israeli occupation forces (IOF) in storming the home of recently released Hamas leader Ali Abul Rub in Qabatiya village, south of Jenin city, at dawn Tuesday and questioned him. Sources close to the leader told the PIC that the pre dawn raid took place at 0200 am and that the commander asked for exchanging views with Abul Rub on a number of personal issues such as his plans for the near future and activities within Hamas in addition to his expectations on national reconciliation. Abul Rub was released on 6th March this year after 18 years imprisonment. He is a chemical engineer, married with a son and a daughter, and is well known for his Islamic propagation in Qabatiya mosque.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq
1500 sick Palestinian detainees refused to take medicine in protest step
RAMALLAH (PIC) 21 June — Palestinian human rights sources said that 1500 Palestinian sick detainees in Israeli occupation jails would not take their medication or go to clinics on Tuesday in solidarity with a comrade on hunger strike. The sources said that Atef Wreidat has been on hunger strike for two weeks in protest at moving him to Askalan jail where there is no appropriate medical care for his condition. He suffers from heart problems and breathing difficulty. They said that the Israeli prison services deliberately place sick prisoners under bad incarceration conditions and delay their treatment, and it is responsible for the life of Wrediat and all other sick internees.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcO
Poll: Majority of Israelis support release of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for Shalit
Haaretz 21 June — Sixty-three percent of Jewish Israelis support swapping captive soldier Gilad Shalit for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 450 specifically requested by Hamas, some of whom are mass murderers, according to a survey carried out by the Rafi Smith polling company on behalf of the campaign for Shalit’s release.
link to www.haaretz.com
Racism / Discrimination
Yishai reinstates nationality on ID cards
Ynet 21 June — Interior Ministry Eli Yishai has signed a regulation that reinstates the nationality notation in the identification cards of all citizens who were eligible for the document before 2002. Yishai decision’s calls for the nationality section in ID cards issued to people who converted to Judaism through the Reform or Conservative movements to remain blank — a measure that defies a High Court of Justice ruling that officially recognizes the converts as Jews.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Israeli bus company advocates segregated seats despite court ruling
Haaretz 12 June — The Egged bus company has allegedly violated a Supreme Court ruling which forbids segregation on public transportation buses on the basis of gender. In an announcement with the company logo, published in early June in a local Haredi magazine, the arrangements for gender segregation on Egged buses in the city were detailed.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israeli-bus-company-advocates-segregated-seats-despite-court-ruling-1.368789
Schools to bridge racial divide
Ynet 20 June —  The Education Ministry has decided to bridge the divide between Jews and Arabs with a new plan, entitled ‘Education for coexistence’. According to the new initiative, teachers of grades 1-12 will study about the culture, language and heritage of the other race[?!]. In addition, the ministry will encourage Arab teachers to teach at Jewish schools, and vice-versa.
link to www.ynetnews.com
International abduction
Ukraine exchanged Abu Sisi in return for Israeli trade pact and US lobbying aid / Richard Silverstein
A former high ranking Israeli minister has confirmed a line of thought I’ve developed regarding collusion between the Israeli and Ukrainian governments over the extraordinary rendition of Dirar Abusisi.  I’ve been reporting consistently the sneaking suspicion that the kidnapping involved various quid pro quos between the two countries.  Now, a former government official has confirmed that Israel said to Ukraine: “Give us Abu Sisi, and we’ll give you any trade agreement you ask for, plus lobbying services in Washington.” Over the past few months, I’ve noted visits by the Ukrainian prime minister to Israel (just after Abu Sisi’s kidnapping) at which major new trade deals were announced.  Yesterday, I pointed to a major new aviation agreement that would dramatically increase the number of Ukrainian and Israeli pilgrims visiting each others’ countries.
link to www.richardsilverstein.com
Political / Diplomatic / International news
Abbas: UN in place of no other options
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 21 June — The Palestinian leadership will continue its pursuit of support for an appeal to the UN for membership and the recognition of statehood, and Salam Fayyad will head the new unity government, President Mahmoud Abbas told the Lebanese satellite channel LBC on Monday night. In the absence of negotiations with Israel, Abbas said, a move at the UN would be the chosen course of action. If the United States, Israel and Europe have objections to a UN appeal, he continued “they must come up with an alternative.”
link to www.maannews.net
Abbas: Given options, we won’t go to UN
Ynet 21 June — Palestinian president says negotiations deadlocked due to two problems — borders and security — leading to planned September statehood declaration backed by 116 states. “But if US has another option, we won’t go to UN,” he says … “We have so far not discussed the core issues with Netanyahu. I only spoke with Netanyahu for altogether 15 hours and met with him three times over two years. We spoke only of security issues…”
link to www.ynetnews.com
Opinion poll shows Fayyad favored for PM
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 21 June — A poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found the majority of Palestinians would prefer Salam Fayyad as prime minister and Mahmoud Abbas as president. The results of the poll, released Monday, also showed that reconciliation talks had improved the public perception of Hamas more than Fatah. The poll was conducted in the West Bank and Gaza Strip by PCPSR between June 16-18 … A majority of 59 percent of Palestinians believe Fatah and Hamas will succeed in implementing the reconciliation agreement and unifying the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the survey revealed.
link to www.maannews.net
Fayyad to stay in place as Palestinian Authority premier
Bloomberg 21 June — Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said he will resist pressure to resign and aims to continue in office while the rival Hamas and Fatah factions try to form a joint government. Fayyad, speaking to reporters today in the West Bank city of Ramallah, said he wants to at least complete his two-year plan to build the institutions for Palestinian statehood that are supposed to be ready in August. “There’s an action plan that needs to be implemented,” Fayyad said. At the same time, he said that he doesn’t want to be an “obstacle to unity.”
link to www.bloomberg.com
Hamas: Abbas does not have the power to appoint Fayyad
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 21 June — An admission by President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday that Salam Fayyad would be appointed Prime Minister of a unity government was slammed by Hamas as an “unjustified media escalation.” Abbas made the comments on Lebanese television
link to www.maannews.net
Obama: Israel, US stalwart allies
Ynet 21 June — “One inviolable principle will be that the United States and Israel will always be stalwart allies and friends, that that bond isn’t breakable and that Israel’s security will always be at the top tier of considerations in terms of how America manages its foreign policy – because it’s the right thing to do, because Israel is our closest ally and friend, it is a robust democracy, it shares our values and it shares our principles,” Obama said to roaring applause.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Netanyahu: Israel needs to separate from the Palestinians
Haaretz 21 June — The prime minister tells cabinet that it’s more important to ‘preserve a solid Jewish majority inside the State of Israel’ than holding land home to a Palestinian majority.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/netanyahu-israel-needs-to-separate-from-the-palestinians-1.368795
Senior US official: Israeli-Palestinian impasse is unsustainable
Haaretz 21 June — Official tells reporters Israel should not be expected to negotiate with Hamas, and that administration awaiting results of Palestinian negotiations.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/senior-u-s-official-israeli-palestinian-impasse-is-unsustainable-1.368927
Two months before UN vote on Palestinian state, Israel lacks ambassadors in key cities
Haaretz 21 June — As September nears, Israel still hasn’t filled important diplomatic postings in Berlin, Rome, Madrid, and Brussels … The source said the turnover of ambassadors at such a critical and sensitive time would make the battle against unilateral Palestinian moves at the UN more difficult.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/two-months-before-un-vote-on-palestinian-state-israel-lacks-ambassadors-in-key-cities-1.368797
Israeli Migdal Oz plan outlines response to Palestinian reactions to declarations of statehood
IMEMC 20 June — Israel is drawing up plans for a series of eventualities come September and a Palestinian declaration of statehood. The Migdal Oz plan, seen by YNet, is the Israeli document on how the army plans on maintaining order in the aftermath of the September state bid … The most likely scenario according to the commanders is a period of reflection by Palestinians where they compare reality with their expectations. However other scenarios include immediate protests and rioting or, according to some, all out war. The plan outlines a series of measures for dealing with these scenarios including the acquisition of extra crowd dispersion tools such as tear gas as well as newer methods such as the “Scream” acoustic system which emits a load noise that aids in crowd dispersion. The Israeli army has recently doubled its annual purchases of crowd dispersion weapons in preparation for September, according to YNet.  Military officials have stated that they would deal with any attempts to cross the Israeli separation barriers by the same means dealt with Palestinian refugees seeking to cross the border during Nakba and Naksa day protests.
link to www.imemc.org
Netanyahu woos Erdoğan with letter
Ynet 21 June — Ahead of second Gaza flotilla, PM sends letter to Turkish counterpart congratulating him on third term, describing wish to ‘renew cooperation, friendship that characterized relations between two peoples for so long’
link to www.ynetnews.com
Palestinian leader in Turkey for talks
ANKARA (AFP) 21 June — Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas arrived here Tuesday for talks with Turkish leaders amid disagreements over the formation of a Palestinian unity government, officials said.
link to news.yahoo.com
Israel and weaponry
US: Israeli missile defense system can protect our Mideast bases
Haaretz 20 June — The Israeli missile defense system will be integrated into a regional defense array planned by the U.S., General Patrick O’reilly, head of the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency, said Monday.
link to www.haaretz.com
Paris Air Show: Israeli companies unveil defense systems
Ynet 21 June — The Israeli mission to the 2011 International Paris Air Show held in Le Bourget comprised of 15 companies representing Israel’s top defense systems manufactures, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Tuesday … In 2010, Israel’s defense exports amounted to $7.2 billion.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Israel reveals it has returned dozens of kilograms of nuclear waste to the US
Haaretz 20 June — Israel’s Nuclear Energy Commission head tells IAEA commission that Sorek reactor’s nuclear waste was returned to U.S. as part of agreement, while Dimona still stores nuclear waste.
link to www.haaretz.com
Israel to stress safety of its nuclear reactors at IAEA special session
VIENNA (Haaretz) 20 June – The Israeli Atomic Energy Commission will announce today that it is stepping up its supervision of two nuclear reactors in Israel and the handling of nuclear waste. The new measures will be mentioned in the speech which Dr. Shaul Horev, head of the commission, will make before a special session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA ).
link to www.haaretz.com
Other news
NATO strike kills Palestinian family in Tripoli
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 21 June –The ministry explained in a statement published Tuesday on the government news agency Wafa, that the International Red Crescent Association had relayed the news. The family, according to Wafa’s report, had lived in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, before moving to Tripoli. Palestinian ambassador to Libya Atif Udah told Ma’an radio the family was in a three-story building targeted by a NATO air attack. He identified the victims as Abdullah Muhammad Ash-Shihab, his wife Karima and his 6-month-old twins Khalid and Jumanah.
link to www.maannews.net
Israel urges Apple to remove pro-Palestinian app
21 June — (CBS/AP) 21 June — The Israeli government on Tuesday appealed to Apple Inc. to remove an application called “ThirdIntifada” from its App Store, saying the program glorifies violence against the Jewish state.  Israel’s information minister, Yuli Edelstein, sent the request in an email to Steve Jobs, the chief executive of the American iPhone maker.
link to www.cbsnews.com
Analysis / Opinion
Analysis: Why Christians leave Bethlehem / Greg Wilkerson
Ma‘an 21 June – I spent a month last Autumn working with the Christian organization, Arab Educational Institute in Bethlehem, carrying out research and interviews, through which I spoke with dozens of Palestinian Christians, in part, about the temptations of leaving for a more comfortable and peaceful life abroad. As opposed to comments by the the Archbishop of Canterbury last week, who said Palestinian Christians were being marginalized and pushed out of Bethlehem by the Muslim majority, all of the reasons I was cited stemmed directly from the Israeli occupation. Chief among them were the day-to-day difficulties and humiliation of checkpoints, restrictions on access to Jerusalem, and the impact of Israeli occupation and border controls on business, travel and tourism.
link to www.maannews.net
groups.yahoo.com/group/f_shadi (listserv)
www.theheadlines.org (archive)

Israeli army begins dismantling the Wall in Bil’in

Jun 21, 2011

Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

Six years into the weekly protests and nearly four years after the high court declared the path of the Barrier illegal; the army began dismantling the Wall in the village of Bil’in. But even according to the new path 435 acres of village land will remain behind the fence.

This morning army bulldozers began work to dismantle the Barrier in Bil’in. As early as 2007, after two years of weekly protests in the village and following a petition filed by the residents, Israeli high court declared the path of the Barrier illegal. The court ruled that the route was not devised according to security standards, but rather for the purpose of settlement expansion. Despite the high court’s ruling four more years of struggle had to elapse for the army to begin dismantlement. During these years two people were killed in the course of the weekly protests and many others injured.

Yet even according to the new path, sanctioned by the high court, 435 acres of village land will remain on the “Israeli” side of the Barrier.

Mohammed Khatib of the village’s popular committee said in response “On the ground, nothing has changed yet. All we know is that although the Israeli court officially pronounced our claims to be just, the army continued to protect the original route shooting and arresting protesters, thereby completely ignoring the ruling. We will continue to struggle until all the land is returned to our people and until we see an end to the Israeli occupation.”

Although on 4 September, 2007, the high court ordered the state to come up with an alternative path for the existing Barrier in Bil’in within a reasonable period of time, many months elapsed and no new plan was offered. On the 29.05.08 the residents filed a petition to hold the state in contempt of the court due to this delay. In response to the petition, the state offered an alternative path. However, the plan failed to comply with the high court’s ruling as the proffered path left a large area designed for settlement expansion on the “Israeli” side of the Barrier. The only difference between the two paths being that the latter offered to award 40 acres of land back to the residents.

A second petition claiming the alternative path not in accordance with court ruling was then filed. On 3 August 2008 the court declared that the first alternative path indeed fails to adhere to the ruling. The court ordered the state to come up with another alternative path.

On 16 September 2008 the state offered a second alternative path. This path also left a large area designed for settlement expansion on the “Israeli” side, offering to return a100 acres of village land to the residents. A lawyer for the residents asked that the state be held in contempt of the court for violating a court ruling for the second time.

On 15 Decemebr 2008 the high court ruled that the second alternative path was not in accordance with the original court ruling.

In April 2009 the state offered a third alternative path which left most of the area destined for settlement expansion on the “Palestian” side of the Barrier, thereby returning to the village 150 acres of 490 acres annexed by the original path.

American flotilla passengers set to challenge U.S. support for Gaza blockade

Jun 21, 2011

Alex Kane

The pressure is mounting on the second “Freedom Flotilla” to Gaza.  Anti-flotilla lawsuits in New York and Toronto have been filed, the Israeli government is ramping up its propaganda efforts and the Turkish Mavi Marmara ship is no longer sailingfollowing U.S. pressure.

But the American passengers are still determined to sail on The Audacity of Hope later this month, and they are now on their way to Greece to complete the initial leg of their journey before setting off to the Mediterranean from an undisclosed port.

And if there was one important and unifying message the American flotilla passengers conveyed yesterday at a press conference where they took questions from reporters, it was this:  the U.S. Boat to Gaza effort is a direct challenge to American support for Israel and its crippling blockade of Gaza.

Gabriel Schivone, an Arizona resident and activist, said that he will be wearing a Star of David around his neck on his journey to Gaza to “symbolize the root meanings of Judaism that are not emphasized enough, namely welcoming a stranger as you were a stranger, helping free the slave as though you were once enslaved.  So rather than travel to contribute to more death and suffering, I choose to travel there to directly and nonviolently protest the support and participation of my own government in these crimes.”

Schivone is joining 36 other Americans who are off to Gaza.  Hundreds of people from some 20 countries are set to take part in the flotilla aiming to break Israel’s blockade.

“We have a special responsibility,” said Richard Levy, a labor and civil rights lawyer joining the boat.  “Our country is not supporting what [Bashar] Assad is doing.  It is not supporting what [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad is doing…But the fact is, we are the main supporters of what Israel is doing in the Middle East.  And that support has been destructive not only to the Palestinian people but to this country in a very, very large way.”

Levy also reported details of a meeting U.S. flotilla activists had with the State Department in which they provided details about the mission and asked for protection.  The activists also wanted to “talk policy issues,” which the State Department declined to meet with them about.

A State Department spokesperson told reporters June 1 “that groups and individuals who seek to break Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza are taking irresponsible and provocative actions that entail a risk to their safety.”

Shortly after the meeting, according to Levy, the State Department sent them a communique that “warned people not to go on the flotilla, that Israel could be expected to use force, and that Israel expected to enforce its blockade.”

“The State Department is on notice, the president is on notice,” said Levy. “Communications have been made with all levels of the State Department and the administration to let them know that this is a boat of U.S. citizens on a peaceful mission, and that we expect the United States government to speak to Israel or to do what it needs to do to protect its citizens.”

Alex Kane, a freelance journalist based in New York City, writes on Israel/Palestine and Islamophobia at alexbkane.wordpress.com.  Follow him on Twitter @alexbkane.

Gen’l Ashkenazi, architect of Gaza onslaught, joins Brookings Institution as ‘Visiting Fellow’

Jun 21, 2011

Philip Weiss

Tomorrow the Brookings Institution is having a panel on how Israel has defended itself from terrorism for the last 60 years. Triumphs and failures. And look who’s on the panel: Brookings Saban Center Visiting Fellow Gabi Ashkenazi, former chief of staff of the Israeli army, who helped direct the Gaza onslaughtof 2008-2009 that killed nearly 400 children and who is cited in the Goldstone Report.

This is a reflection of the power of the Israel lobby: how enmeshed it is in our discourse, and why it is that the U.S. invariably provides Israel impunity for its actions against Palestinians.

I asked Ken Pollack, head of the Saban Center (yes it’s backed by Haim Saban, an ardent Zionist by his own description) about Ashkenazi. He didn’t respond. I bet even he is embarrassed by this. But I got a note back from Gail Chalef, director of communications for Foreign Policy at Brookings Institution:

I understand you had a question about Saban Center Visiting Fellow Gabi Ashkenazi. General Ashkenazi joined the Saban Center at Brookings as a visiting fellow on June 1.

Saban Center visiting fellows are leading thinkers and practitioners within their fields who help the Center stay at the forefront of research trends and policy developments through a temporary period of residence within the Center.

Saban visiting fellowships are typically three-to-six months in duration. During their stay, the visiting fellows contribute to the Center’s diversity of thought and research. The fellows also contribute to the Center’s reach, educating and informing a wide audience of political, corporate, and civic leaders, as well as the general public.

Visiting fellows also may use their time at Brookings to write and to attend and participate in Center events. They are also asked to provide others in the Brookings community with insights on their area of expertise. One other point – visiting fellows are not considered employees of The Brookings Institution.

Thanks to Ali Gharib for pointing this out to me.

Peres awaits, Shakira

Jun 21, 2011

Eleanor Kilroy

Ynet’s article on Shakira’s visit to Israel used a photo of the singer with the caption, “Peres awaits”. The two will finally meet this afternoon during the press conference at the opening of the Presidential Conference. I imagine the president’s anticipation:

Shakira, my pop princess, I await you! I am as fresh and youthful (well, perhaps not so young anymore) as your new fragrance, S by Shakira – so simple, so lacking in discord. Here in Israel I have always promoted harmony, but it is not so easy as creating a perfume I assure you. We are a hated people, the Jews, and we have found sanctuary here on this small piece of land that we must constantly defend from the Arabs. Well, not all the Arabs – you are one of the few exceptions of course! There was the tiring war with Lebanon: the people are so stubborn there – it took some of our most sophisticated weaponry to repel Hezbollah and the people sheltering them.

They say I ordered innocent men and women and children to be killed with these flechettes, but they are just little arrows really, like those you shoot into my heart, pretty one! Oh, you are as sweet as nectar. Speaking of honey, we once had to set such a trap for a man – not a real man you understand: a traitor and a coward, Vanunu had revealed our secret – he had betrayed us; imagine how you would feel if that boy Gerard Piqué stabbed you in the heart like that.

Humanity and children are close to my heart too – this is why I like this Barefoot Foundation you have. You helped the Latino children who were victimized by poverty and displacement; it is terrible to think of, like in the darkest days of our Jewish history. Importantly we agree that education is the key: we start our little ones young, instilling in them pride in their country – we even teach them how to save the president from the Hamas!

Ah the vision of you surrounded, protected by our brave young soldiers in a united Jerusalem, and that boy Gerard, praying at our Wall (the Western one, I mean) gives me hope. Yes, hope that we shall overcome all these terrible things people are saying about our Jewish democracy: apartheid, war crimes! Forgive me, how can I even discuss such things in your company! Come, let’s talk about making the world a better place.

Hasta la vista!

Shimon (Peres)

Why am I organizing the Gaza boat? Because Jewish history commands me

Jun 21, 2011

Jane Hirschmann

People often ask me why I am part of a team to organize a U.S. Boat to Gaza that will be sailing this month with the next International Flotilla to break the siege of Gaza. They often make clear they are asking because I am an American Jew, whose family survived the Holocaust with some surviving family members ending up in Israel. And my only answer is: How could I not?

My parents raised me with stories about what happened in Germany and their family’s escape. I came to see that Israel represented for them a safe haven should there be another attempt at annihilating Jews. And yet, at the same time, they worried it was not so safe a haven given the animosity and physical threats and violence in the area.

But no one ever mentioned the displacement of 750,000 Arabs that was the result of the creation of Israel. I vaguely knew there were people living there, but I was never curious about who these “others” were. All I took away from my family’s history and the atrocities endured was that this should never happen again to anyone, anywhere.

Growing up in the ‘60s, I became active in opposition to the war in Vietnam, the anti-apartheid struggle and the women’s rights movement and later became involved in opposing the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. As a social worker, I was focused on social justice issues but never questioned the relationship between the U.S. and Israel and their policies regarding Palestinians.

Then came the war on Gaza and a real political awakening for me.

Operation Cast Lead and the Goldstone Report were the catalysts. In November 2008, the ceasefire ended: Israeli soldiers broke it in a cross-border raid killing six members of Hamas and, in response, rockets were launched into Israel. Israel, fortified with American weaponry, attacked the people of Gaza. Approximately 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed compared to 13 Israelis. Gaza was pulverized. Judge Richard Goldstone and his team did a thorough report of the causalities on both sides. There was no doubt that the people of Gaza were disproportionally affected.

Right after the invasion in Gaza I realized I could no longer remain silent. I became one of the organizers of a group called Jews Say No! in New York City. We wanted to speak out and to make clear that the Israeli government did not speak in our name as they claimed. I began reading about the occupation, settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the building of the separation wall, Jewish-only streets for Israeli settlers, special identity papers for Palestinian citizens of Israel (one step away from wearing a yellow star) and the other indignities endured by the people of Palestine on a daily basis. And I saw the total collusion by the U.S. government – its unconditional support no matter what the Israeli government did, including giving them 30 billion dollars over a 10-year period for weaponry (F16s, Apache helicopters, white phosphorous, Caterpillar bulldozers used to destroy homes in Bedouin encampments) used ruthlessly against the Palestinians. This was intolerable for me.

I understand the fears and frustrations of Israelis being fired upon by rockets and the resultant deaths and injuries. But what about the thousands of Palestinians being killed and whose homes, schools, hospitals, farms, mills, factories and infrastructure are being destroyed? What about a people living under a brutal occupation who are being denied the right to live with dignity in their own homeland?

The siege and blockade of Gaza continue. The Israeli government controls the land, sea and air of this small area (25 miles long and roughly six miles wide) where 1.6 million people live. There has been no movement in recent years unless Israel allowed it. (Egypt’s partial opening of the Rafah gate to human traffic, though not to commerce, is a positive sign if it is allowed to grow). Most people cannot travel in or out of Gaza because of continuing restrictions, 61 percent of the population is food insecure, the unemployment rate is around 45 percent, one of the highest in the world, and exports remain banned with the exception of limited items like strawberries and carnations for European markets. Gaza is called an open-air prison even by England’s Prime Minister, David Cameron.

Given all this, I can remain silent no longer. Every day Palestinians are confronting the Israeli government at the wall, at check points, at demolition sites. They risk their lives. Like the Freedom Rides our boat is sailing to call attention to the illegal occupation and siege of Gaza.

My humanity and my Jewishness – Jewish history – demand my being part of an organizing effort to end the inhumane treatment of the Palestinians. The U.S. Boat, called The Audacity of Hope, will sail in late June to Gaza as part of the Freedom Flotilla 2-Stay Human. We will be approximately 50 individuals from across the U.S. committed to non-violence, human rights and freedom and justice for the Palestinian people.

To date, tens of thousands of individuals and over 80 organizations have endorsed this U.S. campaign and each day more sign on to travel with us in name. We travel in peace for justice, and I am proud to be part of this international effort.

Jane Hirschmann is a member of Jews Say No!, a psychotherapist from New York City, co-author of three books, and one of the organizers of the U.S. Boat to Gaza. More information about the The Audacity of Hope is available at www.ustogaza.org.

UPDATE: Original headline on this post said that Hirschmann is on the boat. She is not.

Don’t bother, Shakira

Jun 21, 2011

Lizzy Ratner

Colombian pop goddess, Shakira, confirmed late last week that she will be flying to Israel today to speak at Shimon Peres’s three-day hasbara extravaganza, the Israeli Presidential Conference: Facing Tomorrow. Shakira is not slated to sing but she will be holding a press conference with Peres and speaking at the opening plenary alongside girl-comedian Sarah Silverman and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales about “My Recipe for a Better Tomorrow.”

Now the good folks of BOYCOTT! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within are asking her (and her soccer star beau, Gerard Pique, who may attend with her) to cancel her trip. Here is a text of their statement:

FROM ISRAELI CITIZENS – SHAKIRA AND GERARD PIQUÉ, PLEASE SING FREEDOM FOR PALESTINE INSTEAD OF ENDORSING SHIMON PERES AND ISRAELI APARTHEID!

Dear Shakira and Gerard Piqué
We are a group of Israeli citizens and residents, Jews and Palestinians; many of us have been fans of your music.
We recently learned that you have been invited to the Israeli Presidential Conference. We hope that you will allow us to explain why you should refuse to participate in international cultural events facilitated by the Israeli establishment and its most senior leaders.

The Israeli State has initiated a rebrand’ campaign in order to distract attention from Israel’s ongoing violations of Palestinian human rights and legitimize its senior politicians, like Shimon Peres. Your participation in the Israeli Presidential Conference will endorse this campaign.
We realize that cancelling at this late stage may seem drastic, but this should be understood in the context of Israel’s utilization of international cultural events to construct a facade of normalcy to a reality in which 1.6 million Palestinians (44% of which are children under the age of 14) are kept under siege in Gaza, 2.5 million are kept under martial-law in the West Bank with no civil rights, and millions more are subject to racially discriminating laws inside Israel.
If you attend the Presidential Conference, you will accept that that a Palestinian fan of your work living under Israeli occupation will not be allowed by law – and denied by an illegal wall built on annexed private Palestinian land, fences and military checkpoints – the chance to attend it.
Hundreds of artists, academics, filmmakers, and writers worldwide have expressed their support for the human rights based Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement, and recognized its pivotal role in the process of bringing an end to Israel’s systematic human-rights violations.
Mobility in the West Bank is just one of the examples which illustrate the environment in which international cultural events in Israel take place. But Israel’s human-rights abuses against Palestinians go much further than this: violent nightly incursions into Palestinian villages, systematic arrests of children as young as 11, the killing of non-violent demonstrators – these are not single occurrences of atrocities, they are the infrastructure of a system of oppression, practically unaffected by any criticism or international rulings that demand changes.
Israel’s violations have been documented by the UN and respected human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Oxfam, and recognized as unlawful by international judicial bodies. The necessity in steady substantial pressure on Israel has also been highlighted in a recent report by 21 human rights organizations in regard to ensuring “an immediate, unconditional, and complete lifting of the blockade” of Gaza, where Israel implements a policy of “deliberate reduction” for basic goods – using mathematical formulas to measure the amount of food sufficient to keep Gaza inhabitants alive at a near-malnutrition level; allowing in an average of less than a third of the needed goods.
Artists United Against Apartheid, who made it unfashionable for artists to play in South Africa, had a huge impact on the South Africa divestment movement; the financial pressure of that divestment movement was instrumental in bringing about the end of apartheid in South Africa. The Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it complies with international law and universal principles of human rights, was launched in 2005 by over 170 civil society Palestinian organizations. Today, the BDS campaign, backed by almost the entire community of Palestinian cultural workers, is supported by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the international alliance Artists Against Apartheid, South-African Artists Against Apartheid, Creative Workers Union of South Africa, 500 Montreal artists, 200 Irish artists, and many acclaimed cultural figures worldwide including director Ken Loach, musicians Roger Waters and Brian Eno, and UK duo Massive Attack. In the past year alone, dozens of artists, actors, and cultural figures have expressed their support for BDS and canceled their scheduled performances in Israel. Among them are Mike Leigh, Vanessa Paradis, Carlos Santana, Elvis Costello, Devendra Banhart, Gil Scott-Heron, The Pixies, Tindersticks, Leftfield, and Faithless.
The decision by Palestinian organizations to call for a cultural boycott campaign, as well as that of Israelis to support it, was not taken lightly. Civil society has stepped up its call for boycott because Israel has been utilizing cultural events to whitewash its crimes and render its system of oppression invisible.
In a radio program discussing a new law-proposal that would fine boycott supporters in Israel, an Israeli Foreign Ministry representative announced that their office endorses cultural events “so that people (abroad) will see the humane values of Israel”. Heeding the Palestinian call for boycott is instrumental to the attempts to bring an end to Israel’s human rights violations, because it first and foremost opposes Israel’s message of ‘business as usual’ facade.
In addition to the aforementioned reasons for supporting the BDS movement, we must add a few words about Israeli president, Mr. Shimon Peres, with whom you are about to cooperate. Mr. Peres has been a senior member or a propagandist for Israeli governments which have used cluster munitions, flechette artillery shells and white phosphorus bombs in densely populated civilian areas in Gaza and Lebanon, have built more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), and have imposed separate legal systems for Israeli settlers in the oPt and their Palestinian neighbors. Mr. Peres authorized the kidnapping and ill-treatment of an Israeli citizen in Rome (Mr. Mordechai Vanunu, September 1986), a clear violation of international law. He argues consistently that it is acceptable for (only) one state in the Middle East to acquire nuclear weapons, a situation which necessarily brings about a dangerous arms race in this volatile region. Mr. Peres he authorized, as Prime Minister in April 1996, the mass bombing of villages in Southern Lebanon, explicitly aimed at creating a wave of refugees flooding Beirut. We suspect that he has not learned that it is illegal to inflict lethal collective punishment on a civilian population. Dear Shakira and Gerard Piqué , is this your partner for global activism?

We urge you to heed the call by Palestinian civil society, and we ask that you not undermine the efforts of a rapidly growing human rights based international movement to bring a just solution to the oppressed in Israel/Palestine. We therefore urge you to cancel your participation in the conference!
Please feel free to respond and/or ask for additional information.
Sincerely,

Noa Abend
Oshar Bar
Neta Golan
Iris Hefets
Shir Hever
Liad Kantorowicz
Assaf Kintzer
Edo Medicks
Ofer Neiman
Dr. David Nir
Leehee Rothschild
Yonatan Shapira
Jonatan Stanczak
Elian Weizman
Michal Zak
on Behalf of
BOYCOTT! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within
http://boycottisrael.info/

‘Move over AIPAC’ protester assaulted by police during peaceful demonstration

Jun 21, 2011

Radio Rahim

Police brutality is a daily occurrence; it is not weird, nor unusual. Unarmed, non-violent citizens are victimized by officers of law who use physical force as a means of communication. Contrary to what some may believe, this is not the exception, but the rule. Since the horrific attacks on 9-11, police policy has institutionalized racial and ethnic profiling, especially against Muslims. This human rights violation targets minorities, either because of their faith, ethnicity, political views and/or activism. Under the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act passed by Congress, local police departments are not required to maintain records of police brutality nor does the Act criminalize police brutality as a human rights violation.

And so, on Sunday May 22nd when I was aggressively choked by a Washington DC metropolitan police officer on a public sidewalk, without any provocation, it really didn’t surprise me.

It was the annual AIPAC convention in Washington DC and I was focused on informing those attending that Americans of conscience would not be silent in light of the conference’s anti-American agenda. Some may be surprised that I am describing AIPAC as anti-American, but I believe that it is anti-American to pressure policy makers to use taxpayers’ money for the funding of the ethnic cleansing of the native people of Palestine.

It was approximately 9:30 AM and the convention was finally beginning- and so did we. We crossed the street towards the convention center and began marching slowly towards 7th Street on the sidewalk. At this point I began leading the chants with my large boom box. I noticed three undercover Caucasian police officers directing the main security individuals (who all happened to be of African-American descent) around our group. There was a few times where one of these officers brushed passed me, almost whispering something. I completely ignored these incidences and continued to participate in the protest. Our loud chants of “Freedom for Palestine!” were further amplified between the towering buildings, and convention attendees were peering through windows at us. Here, I have to express my gratitude for the organization and leadership ofCodePink. By the time we made it back to the main protest location, we were unified and cohesive in our march, without any confrontation with the security personnel.

At this point, I was exhausted and thirsty and took shade under one of the tents that we had put up earlier in the morning. I sat there for a short while, reflecting on the purpose of attending such a protest. We were protesting a convention that symbolized a continued ethnic cleansing, no different to that which occurred on American soil against the indigenous population, my ancestors. I felt slightly exhilarated that I was, at the very least, trying to do something to fulfill my responsibility towards humanity and to the souls of my ancestors, even if this was through a simple protest.

It was then announced that President Obama’s motorcade was approaching. I picked up a sign and walked towards the sidewalk, and sure enough, his secret service SUVs began rolling by and the President’s limousine soon followed. I felt a nudge and noticed one of the African-American police officers standing next to me. First, I thought that it was strange for the officer to be so far away from the main protest and secondly, that he was touching me, as if trying to instigate a response. I stepped away from him and confidently told him with a respectful tone that he did not have the right to touch me. Needless to say, he did not like that. In the matter of a few seconds, he grabbed me aggressively by the throat and began squeezing intensely. I could feel his thumb pushing against my jugular vein and my throat began burning. From the moment that he gripped my throat, I did not resist, and simply stared at his face. It really seemed like an attempt to force me to react in self-defense, in order to “escalate” the situation, which of course would have lead to more force on his behalf and inevitably, my arrest. Therefore, I did not scream, touch, kick, or even breathe. After several seconds of this assault, the officer let go and immediately turned and walked away towards the main protest. He had an arrogant swag to his walk, as though he knew he could get away with such brutal force and aggression against a non-violent pedestrian. Unfortunately, I knew that there was little I could do without getting arrested. I did not defend myself which prevented me from getting arrested but it also meant that my throat was burning intensely and that my neck was in pain. The whole debacle made me recall various friends and family members who had also been assaulted and attacked by law enforcement for no apparent reason. They too, had not received justice. It makes me think of the final Radio Raheem scene from Do The Right Thing when the white cops choke Raheem to death. This resembled that scene except in this case; it was an African-American choking a Native American.

After the assault, I was thinking to go to a nearby clinic, but then decided to obtain the officer’s information and let him know that he did not have the right to touch me, nor choke me. I found him speaking with a group of other officers in the middle of Mass. Avenue. When they saw that I was approaching, they rushed towards me and began to yell aggressively. I did not respond, but put my hands in the air showing that I was unarmed and simply wanted to talk. I looked at the officer who choked me and inquired if I could ask a question. After ranting for a minute, he finally asked what I wanted. I asked him, “Did you find it necessary to choke me a few minutes ago?” He did not respond immediately but then said “You were standing in the road”. I knew it was pointless to argue with such an arrogant and power hungry individual. To say I was standing in the road was completely absurd – at the time, there were several secret service SUVs covering the entire road, making it impossible for me to be standing on the road. I did not ask the officer anything further but told him “Today is a great day, a black cop choking a minority”.

I turned and walked back to the tent to pick up my boom box. At the tent, I met a kind, young Jewish woman who informed me that she had witnessed the entire incident and that my neck was extremely red. I then noticed the pain that my body was in, especially my neck and head. After obtaining the young lady’s information for a witness report, I gathered my belongings and went to the clinic on Connecticut Avenue. After two hours of waiting with other injured people the doctor took a look at me and noted extreme strain and swelling to my neck muscles. He prescribed some pain-killers and anti-swelling medicine for the remainder of the week.

I headed home and until today, I’ve been reflecting on the day’s events, and the bitter situation of the world. While our economy is suffering, and many Americans suffer in poverty, billions of US tax dollars are being sent across the globe to a small country in the Middle East to ensure that it continues its policy of colonialism. The native inhabitants of Palestine live under tyranny, and this only increases the hatred that I feel for the foreign policies of my own country. Being of native descent and a person of conscience, who cares for the peace and security of all people on earth, I cannot be silent on the great injustices against the natives of Palestine. The pain that I felt was only a sample of the pain that Palestinians feel under a life of occupation. It was a fraction of the humiliation that those living in apartheid in the West Bank have to go through when passing through hundreds of illegal Israeli checkpoints. There were numerous other cases of brute force against the protestors – most notably, Rae Abileah, who ended up in the hospital with a neck brace after being assaulted by AIPAC members. And yet again, nobody has been charged with assault.

If it takes being assaulted in my own country on a public sidewalk to object to anti-American appeal to consume my tax dollars to continue crimes against humanity and freedom, then so be it. I have learned from the civil rights movement that those with truth and justice on their side will be victorious and more importantly, that I should not fear standing up for it. The continued criminalization of pro-Palestinian activism in the United States is becoming a stark reality. The anti-boycott legislation, the lawsuit against the Irvine 11, and increased police brutality are only a few signs of a reality that becomes clear as each day passes. Americans must educate themselves, not only of the human rights abuses it sponsors across the globe, but of the ones it inflicts on its own population.

Written by Radio Rahim, Edited by Fatemah Meghji

Born in Washington DC in 1985, Radio Rahim grew up in a multi-cultural home. Rahim’s mixed ancestry includes Native American leader Osceola and Persian mystical poet Sayyid Razi ad-Din Artimoni. By the time he graduated high school he had published his first book, “Necessary and Proper” and his first album “Borne Phoenix”. In addition he starred in an indie film, and was featured on Turner South “My South Speaks” poetry TV series. After a brief hiatus from performing to acquire higher knowledge and travel around the globe, his second album “Let the People Know” produced by Chicago’s legendary PANIK (Molemen Records) is set to be released Summer 2011.