Early and brief! Both because this afternoon I will go to the Old City in Jerusalem to attend a photo and slideshow exhibition at the Austrian Hospice. The exhibit is by Pat Westwater-Jong on ‘Courage and Compassion in the Holy Land.’ I accompanied Pat one day (perhaps 2?) to the Salfit area of the WB to meet and talk to some of my favorite friends. They of course won’t be allowed to attend, being Palestinians and not residents of Jerusalem, but their pictures and stories will be there for others to see, along with many additional ones that Pat worked hard to acquire.
It irks me no end that my Palestinian friends cannot come to visit me or to attend an exhibit as this one. Israel’s military occupation and colonization of Palestine is shitty and worse. Excuse my language, but truly, were some country to do to Jews what Israel does to Palestinians, then we’d hear at least a ruckus. True, that didn’t happen during WWII. But neither did we hear then about others who suffered at the hands of the Nazis—Gypsies, for instance, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Gays, for instance, and others—not until the end of the war. Was that right? No! So why don’t governments cry out now for justice for Palestinians? Help me, please, get the message across! Maybe if enough of us shout we’ll eventually get the message out.
Only 4 items today.
In item 1 Amira Hass tells us about preparations for the flotilla by those going on the Canadian ship (which she apparently is going to be on). Amira lived many years in Gaza, and was on a previous boat (not flotilla, though) attempting to break the blockade.
In item 2 Philip Weiss records a Q and A between a reporter and a not very eloquent representative of the US State Department on the issue of the flotilla. Would be amusing were it satire. Unfortunately, it apparently is true, which, though, makes it no less satirical.
In item 3 Mazin Qumsiyeh relates today’s Theater of the Absurd. Absurd, indeed. Funny? No.
Item 4 is the compilation for June 25, 2011 of Today in Palestine. Several of its items towards the end you received in my message yesterday. So that means less reading for you. Please do, however, scan the rest.
Thanks.
Dorothy
=============================================
1. Haaretz,
June 26, 2011
Latest update 02:37 26.06.11
Fear and no clean clothing: Amira Hass preparing to sail for Gaza
Participants aboard the Canadian ship dubbed the Tahrir are gearing up to join the upcoming Gaza flotilla.
Social activist Stephan Corriveau warned all of us due to set sail on the Canadian ship dubbed the Tahrir – one of the boats participating in the upcoming Gaza flotilla – that we would have no opportunity to bathe during the three-day journey to Gaza but would have drinking water. There was no point in bringing a change of clothes, the Montreal-based Corriveau noted, because there would be nowhere to change, encouraging us to take as little as possible. In the best case scenario, we will make it to Gaza and can buy some clothing there, he said.
There are about 50 of us, men and women, due to sail on the Tahrir, whose name is a reference to the Cairo square where protests earlier this year led to the downfall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s regime. Several hundred other activists, from about 20 countries, and several dozen journalists are currently preparing to set sail for Gaza.
At several Mediterranean ports, ships await their participants for the upcoming flotilla. The vessels were acquired in a transatlantic fund-raising effort which began about a year ago, immediately after the Israeli Navy killed nine partcipants aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla ship, the Mavi Marmara, last May. The new flotilla has been organized by a coalition of organizations, all of which refuse to accept the Israeli argument that the Gaza Strip is no longer besieged and that if there is a siege, it is only because of the arms Hamas has been smuggling into the territory. The activists’ participation is designed to apply popular pressure on their own governments to stop cooperating with the Israeli policy.
Canadian activists raised about $350,000 over the past year for the operation, setting up an account in the name of a group called Turtle Island Humanitarian Aid. The Canadian government has announced it does not support the flotilla, viewing it as a provocation against Israel. Other governments have had a similar reaction to the effort in response to the participation of their nationals. Only the Irish government has called on Israel to refrain from violence in response to the flotilla.
Last Thursday, the Greek port authority announced it had received a claim contending that the the Amercian boat, whose delegates are mostly from the U.S. but some are Israelis, was not seaworthy and the ship’s departure would be delayed until the claim was investigated. Flotilla organizers say they believe the claim to be politically motivated. Their lawyer is currently negotiating with authorities over the issue but the plan is to set sail with the rest of the flotilla.
Although the Tahrir has been generally referred to as Canadian, it was purchased for about $500,000 with contributions that also came from Australia, Denmark and Belgium; nationals of all of these countries will be on board when it joins the flotilla. The donations came primarily from individuals and non-governmental organizations, said David Heap, a Canadian professor of linguistics and French who has a history of activism against apartheid in South Africa and on behalf of native peoples in North America.
Heap said he was not surprised by the Canadian government’s opposition to the flotilla, and claimed Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper had been a founder of a think tank that supported South Africa during the apartheid regime and that opposed sanctions against the regime and the release of anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela.
In advance of the departure of our ship, we – the particpants – sat in a Greek hotel, getting to know one another and rehearsing the prospect that the Israeli Navy would take control of the ships in the flotilla. In simulation drills over several hours, about 50 civilians – ranging in age from 20 to 69 – attempted to imagine themselves facing Israeli warships and M16 rifles with fighter helicopters hovering overhead, along with water cannon, tear gas and Taser stun guns. The participants also imagined verbal abuse along with physical blows, dogs, and masked commandos.
The activists concluded from the exercise that they should acknowledge their fears and learn as a group of people, mutually responsible for one anther, how to confront their fears.
To all: By now you’ve no doubt heard the news about Hillary’s people defining the about to take off Gaza flotilla as a “provacative act”! Could Obama be getting a bit nervous that he might have to take a stand? He may be nervous but not as much as the Israeli government that is throwing everything in the book at them to prevent them from even leaving the shores. Below is a partial dialogue from the State Dept. press conference where Matt Lee of the AP was a bit persistent in his questioning. I’m sure he’ll pay for it in some way but good on him as Molly used to say.
Reporters hector State: Is the blockade legal? What right does Israel have to ‘defend itself’ from humanitarian aid?
by Philip Weiss on June 25, 2011
Matt Lee of AP is on fire. Be like Matt Lee, you docile bovine seven-stomached beasts of the mainstream media, grow a pair. And it looks like other State Department reporters are emulating him. Here’s the video . And here’s an extended excerpt from the briefing, below. Gaza is just about the first order of business. And listen to Lee’s genius question toward the end about Saudi Arabian women driving and breaking the law. “It seems to me that’s a pretty provocative act,” too, but Hillary Clinton defends them. I have to believe stuff is shaking. Oh brave flotilla, be safe and make it to Gaza!!!! QUESTION: This morning, Victoria, you put out a statement – or a statement went out in your name – about the flotilla. This is the third warning in three days from this building or people in this building about this. What is the big concern here? Are you – is there a worry that this is going – that this may upend your efforts to get the peace talks restarted? MS. [Victoria] NULAND: I think this just continues a year of diplomacy and public statements that we’ve had making clear that we don’t want to see a repeat of the very dangerous situation that occurred last year. So we thought it was timely to put out all in one place our views on this issue, and I do commend to all of you the very detailed statement that we put out earlier in the day. QUESTION: Right. But is there a concern that this may have broader – if it goes ahead, that there may be broader implications for the effort? MS. NULAND: We have seen some warming in relations between Turkey and Israel, as we talked about I think it was on Tuesday. We want to see that effort continue. We want to see those who want to aid humanitarian situation in Gaza use the appropriate channels. There has been some progress, as the statement makes clear, in opening the way for more humanitarian aid. More humanitarian aid is getting in through legitimate channels. So we’d like to see that process continue and not have a repeat of the dangerous situation we had last summer. QUESTION: Okay. Well, one of the things that the Secretary said yesterday in – when – in her comments to this was that attempts to go into Israeli waters were provocative and irresponsible. And it’s my understanding that the flotilla organizers do not intend to go into Israeli waters but in – they will stay in international waters. Is that your understanding or is that not your understanding per what the Secretary said yesterday? MS. NULAND: I can’t speak to the intentions of those involved in the flotilla. I think the Secretary was clear it was in response to a question yesterday — QUESTION: Correct. MS. NULAND: — as you remember, so that also speaks to the fact that publicly this issue is out there, that we do not want to see the bad situation of last year repeated. We do believe that channels exist for providing humanitarian aid to Gaza in a safe and secure way and that that situation is improving. And we urge all NGOs who want to participate in that to use those channels. QUESTION: But does a flotilla sitting in international waters off the Gaza – off the coast of Gaza, is that a problem for the U.S.? MS. NULAND: Again, I don’t want to get into the Law of the Sea issues here. I simply want to say that we don’t want to see a conflict at sea, on land. We want to see appropriate legitimate channels used for the — QUESTION: I understand, but in the briefing that just preceded this — MS. NULAND: Yes. QUESTION: — you talked about wanting to – in another instance, in the South China Sea, the U.S. has been very concerned about the freedom of navigation. MS. NULAND: Yeah. QUESTION: And so I’m not quite sure what the U.S. problem would be with a flotilla that stays in international waters, whether it’s off the coast of Gaza or off the coast of the Philippines. MS. NULAND: I think we’re not talking about a freedom of navigation issue. We’re talking about appropriate and safe and agreed mechanisms for delivering aid to the people of Gaza. QUESTION: So it’s — MS. NULAND: So I think the statement speaks for it — QUESTION: Well, but you believe that Israel is within its rights to defend itself to take on or to prevent ships from going into international waters? MS. NULAND: Again, I’m not going to speak to international waters, territorial waters. I’m simply saying that we are encouraging those who want to aid the people of Gaza to use the channels that have been established. QUESTION: All right. And then was – on the flotilla – this is on the Middle East – I just want to know, wondering if there’s any update on the Quartet meeting in Brussels? MS. NULAND: Simply that they had a good meeting today, they did begin a conversation about when they’re going to meet next, and they’re looking to do that in the next few weeks. But I don’t have any specific announcements out of the Quartet today. QUESTION: Is there – is the thought that the next meeting would be at the principals level or is it going to be, again, at the – at an envoy level? MS. NULAND: I think decisions have not been made on that subject.
Yes. QUESTION: To follow up on — QUESTION: Just to – this is a follow-up. MS. NULAND: Are we on flotilla too or are we — QUESTION: We’re on flotilla. Just to make sure, does the U.S. consider that blockade legal? MS. NULAND: I think the main point that we were trying to make in the statement was that we’ve got to use the channels that are safe, the channels that are going to guarantee that the aid get where it needs to go to the people it’s intended for, and to discourage, in strongest terms, any actions on the high seas that could result in a conflict. QUESTION: Right, but again, that doesn’t answer the question of the legality or the – whether the U.S. perceives that blockade as legal or not. MS. NULAND: I don’t have anything for you on legality here. We can take a stronger look at that if you’d like, but again, the reason that the Secretary spoke to this yesterday when she was asked, the reason that we’ve put out this very fulsome statement that points people in the correct direction, is because we want to avoid the problems of last year, and we do believe that there are good and reliable channels for getting assistance to the people of Gaza. QUESTION: And just one more. I’m sorry. The people who are putting this together have a rather elaborate website, and they say that – on that that the U.S. should be protecting the rights of American citizens, protecting their safety abroad. So that is the argument that they are making. They’re very disappointed and shocked that the State Department would be warning people off. What do you say to that? MS. NULAND: It is in the interest of protecting both Americans and other citizens from around the world who might be thinking about engaging in provocative moves like this that we were putting out these warnings so strongly in the same season where we had this problem last year. We don’t want to see a repeat, and we do believe that those who want to aid Gaza can do so and need to do so in the correct manner.
Please. QUESTION: You kept repeating that they have available to them — MS. NULAND: Yes. QUESTION: — proper channels and so on. What – could you share with us some of these proper channels? MS. NULAND: Well, the Rafah Crossing, as you know, is open again, and we have seen an uptick in the humanitarian aid that is going through there. There are also channels through Israel, and we’ve been relatively encouraged that the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza through these appropriate channels is improving. QUESTION: But the Rafah Crossing was only recently opened. I mean, until then, it was completely closed. So that’s one issue. And another: Could you clarify for us whether, in fact, the Gaza waters or crossing through the Gaza waters, is that legal or illegal under the Laws of the Seas and so on? Could you clarify that, please? MS. NULAND: I think that’s the same question that Jill was asking. And I will admit to you I’m not a Law of the Sea expert here, but let me take the question. QUESTION: Okay. And a quick follow-up on the Quartet: You said that it was a good meeting. Now what constitutes a good meeting? How was the, let’s say, the meeting today different or improved the situation from, let’s say, 24 hours ago? MS. NULAND: Well, as you saw and as we’ve been discussing here for the course of the last week, David Hale has been involved very intensively with the parties, with the regional states. For the members of the Quartet, I think it was a chance to compare notes on diplomacy that we’ve been doing, on diplomacy that other members of the Quartet have been doing in our shared effort to get these parties back to the table. So, from that perspective, there was a lot to discuss and then to take stock of where to go next.
Please. QUESTION: Can I do a follow-up on the flotilla? MS. NULAND: Please, yeah. QUESTION: My understanding is that there were a number of the Americans who planned to participate and went into your – I believe in your Embassy in Athens and sought some advice. Can you tell us what the message to them in person was today? MS. NULAND: I’m sure that the message to them in person was identical to the statement that we’ve put out today, that we would ask them to use established and reliable channels and to refrain from action that could lead to the kind of difficulty that we saw last year. QUESTION: When you say that you want – you don’t want a repeat of last year, you want people to refrain from action that could lead to the kind of difficulty that you saw last year, does that only apply to the flotilla organizers or does that also apply to Israel? MS. NULAND: We’ve been urging all sides, whether it’s the NGOs or whether it’s governments involved, that we not have a repeat of what happened last year. QUESTION: Right. Well — MS. NULAND: And I think this speaks to the fact that the neighboring states that – to Gaza have worked hard to establish legitimate mechanisms, efficient mechanisms to get aid in so that people have a way to do this other than to risk provocative action.
Please, Jill. QUESTION: Another subject? MS. NULAND: Anybody – anything else on this? Lachlan? QUESTION: Just one more on this. Yeah. I don’t think you said it, but people at the State Department have said Israel has a right to defend itself against these flotillas. What exactly would it be defending against, though? That’s what’s not clear to me. MS. NULAND: Like all states, Israel has a right of national self-defense. Again, I don’t want to get into where the boat might be and Law of the Sea and all this kind of stuff. We are simply saying this is the wrong way to get aid to Gaza. The correct way to get aid to Gaza is through the established mechanisms which are improving, which are open, and which can get aid to the people that it’s intended for. QUESTION: But it’s just humanitarian aid, so I don’t see why it would be – Israel would have to defend itself if it’s just humanitarian aid coming in. MS. NULAND: It’s the matter of all states to provide coastal defense, but I’m – again, I’m not going to get into the Law of the Sea issues here. We’re simply trying to make the point that we want this done in a way that not only is going to get the aid where it’s intended, but is going to ensure that we don’t have dangerous incidents. QUESTION: In general, would you say that the Administration, the U.S. Government, is – would advise anyone against provocative acts? MS. NULAND: I think that’s a fair point. QUESTION: It is. Okay. So you don’t see, when the Secretary comes out in support of women who want to drive in Saudi Arabia, deliberately violating Saudi laws and regulations, that – her support of that is – doesn’t mean that you’re not – I mean, I don’t understand where you – if you’re coming out against all provocative acts, it seems to me that that’s a pretty provocative act, and yet she’s supporting that. MS. NULAND: The Secretary was supporting the right of not only Saudi women, women around the world, to live as men do. She wasn’t encouraging any particular course of action one way or the other. She was simply making a strong public statement of empathy and support for the campaign that these women are on to have these laws changed. QUESTION: Okay. So a provocative act in support of the Palestinians in Gaza is not okay, though? MS. NULAND: I don’t think we are supporting provocative acts of any kind. I think you can’t equate these two issues. The Secretary was simply speaking to the aspirations of Saudi women to have the laws of their country changed. She wasn’t encouraging any particular course of action for that. QUESTION: Okay. Let me try and put it a different way, then. You believe that because there are established – already established means, the Israeli port where things are inspected and the Rafah Crossing, that in this case, being provocative is unnecessary and unwise because it’s just not needed; there are other ways to do it? Is that – that’s the bottom line? MS. NULAND: That’s certainly the case, and we don’t want further incidents. It’s not in anybody’s interest. QUESTION: Is the regular blockade a provocative act? MS. NULAND: I think we’ve gone as far as we’re going to go on this subject. QUESTION: I’ll ask again. Is the naval blockade a provocative action? MS. NULAND: We would consider it provocative and it would be dangerous to have a repeat of the situation that we saw last year. QUESTION: But the current existing blockade, the naval blockade of Gaza, is that provocative action or is it not? MS. NULAND: As I said, we believe that there are legitimate and efficient ways to get assistance into Gaza and that those mechanisms are working and that we’re seeing, as a result of them, an improvement in the humanitarian situation.
Jill, are we moving on now? Yeah. Thanks. Please, go ahead.
—
Greta Berlin, Co-Founder
+33 607 374 512 witnessgaza.com www.freegaza.org http://www.flickr.com/photos/freegaza ==============================
Subject: [HumanRights] Theater of the absurd
Theater of the absurd http://popular-resistance.blogspot.com/2011/06/theater-of-absurd.html The theater of the criminal and absurd continue. Merril Lynch reported that Israeli millionaires’ net assets rose from $43 billion to $52 billion in
2010. Apartheid Prime minister Netanyahu announced that he will strip
Political prisoners held by Israel of basic rights like the right to
continue their education. It is believed this announcement came in response to his unwillingness to exchange prisoners with Hamas (sad note: leaked documents showed that Abbas authorities lobbied hard against any release of prisoners in exchange for a captured apartheid soldier). Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) also invaded several Palestinian communities in the past few days including setting up flying checkpoints in the middle of area A (Palestinian “security forces” withdrew upon orders from Israeli
commanders). This also happened in my village of Beit Sahour (one young man was kidnapped by the invading IOF criminals) the same day that our mayor had departed town to Jordan. Syrian troops killed 15 demonstrators Friday. Bil’in residents tried to bring down the apartheid wall separating them from their land. NATO forces killed a Palestinian family in their raids in Libya “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.” And Fatah and Hamas seem to have backed down on their promises to the Palestinian people about forming a technocrat government and to allow for a representative PNC of the PLO.
It is difficult to know though what is happening behind the scenes: my
feeling is that the growing civil society participation and pressure on all
these governments and quasi-governments is putting them in a very difficult spot. But more needs to be done by us to tip the balance and authorities still resist doing what is right. Perhaps that is why the US government, instead of demanding Israel comply with international humanitarian law, had to send three outwardly threatening statements to its own citizen about joining the freedom flotilla (see below). The European Union meanwhile, while visibly showing no sign of weakening its complicity in war crimes, is working feverishly behind the scenes to respond to the changing political landscape. A high level official told me privately that what we are doing at the grassroots level is getting lots of attention behind closed doors and at the highest levels of Western capitals. I always reiterate that silence is complicity especially at this extremely sensitive period in our history.
For us here in Palestine and abroad, activists are focusing on the flotilla
(http://www.freedomflotilla.eu/) and on the July 8-16 initiative
(http://palestinejn.org ). We hope you will give your support. Many
volunteers are needed especially to disseminate information via the internet
and increase pressure on mainstream media and politicians to finally make
the right choices and end the last remaining apartheid system on earth (as
defined by the UN Convention on the Suppression of the Crime of Apartheid and Racial Discrimination).
Famous novelist Alice Walker writes in CNN: Why I’m sailing to Gaza http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/06/21/alice.walker.gaza/ An American Jew writes in Haaretz why he is joining the freedom flotilla http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/a-moment-before-boarding-the-next-flotilla-1.369336 An ex Jew (now Pagan) Starhawk writes brilliantly on the Gaza flotilla http://starhawksblog.org/?p=546 State Department Made a Travel Warning: If You Try To Sail To Gaza, Israel May Kill You http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/06/22/251355/state-travel-warning-israel/ ACT NOW: Call the state Department (202-647-5291 and press 1 to leave
comment) then call the white house 202 456 1111 (I did it and it takes just
a few minutes and I talked to a real person)
Brilliant letter from “Boycott from within” Israeli citizens asking for
boycotts http://boycottisrael.info/content/israeli-citizens-armin-van-buuren-please-d
ont-play-apartheid-eilat-israel A good cause to donate to? Here are three examples http://pal-youth.org/donate_to_support_PYN http://pcr.ps/read/donate-pcr http://www.alrowwad-acts.ps/etemplate.php?id=136 Great song released: Freedom for Palestine – OneWorld http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V28HnPTYz-I The arc of the moral universe is long, But it bends toward justice.
-Abolitionist Theodore Parker, c. 1850’s
The choice: A poem (I am not a poet so bear with me!)
Our choice is not between
Israelis vs Palestinians
Afghans vs Americans
Muslims vs Christians
seculars vs religious
collaborators vs rebelious
Our choice crystalizes when facing
A child who lost a leg ..moaning
A mother who lost a son.. grieving
A father jailed. yearning
An uprooted tree.. wilting
A Refugee . longing
in pained eyes, we look or stay away
the balance of where we sway
Between ignorance and compassion
Between love and hateful obsession
Between Justice and repression
Between might makes right
.and right makes might
Children not of “our tribe” wait silently
We must kneel to look at their faces intently
in those dark troubled eyes,
in the fleeting brief smiles
We see our reflection, our bonding
But we need to do the deciding
To find our inner voice
To finally make the choice
For dignified life not criminal apathy
To shun death and gain empathy
To shed paralyzing fears
To taste joyful tears
Now that our hearts get uncovered
Alas.love and humanity are (re)discovered
Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
A bedouin in cyberspace, a villager at home http://qumsiyeh.org
