MONDOWEISS ONLINE NEWSLETTER

NOVANEWS
12/17/2010

• State Department hails ‘civil society activists’ around the world but refuses to say anything for imprisoned Abdallah Abu Rahmah

• Editable comments | Site Improvements

• House vote against Palestinian statehood actually showed that Israel lobby is losing its grip

• Miami Jewish Federation smear-video says that Jimmy Carter and Walt and Mearsheimer want Israel ‘wiped off the map’

• Congress is fueling terrorism by denying Palestinans authority and empowerment

• Israel can’t defeat Hezbollah –Israeli expert [Hint: So it should stop trying]

• BBC badgers Barak as no American outlet would: What is the US getting for its billions in aid?

• Talks foundered because– U.S. does not know what Palestinians want!

• Sourani, in 1999: ‘We should wait on no one to claim what is rightfully ours’

State Department hails ‘civil society activists’ around the world but refuses to say anything for imprisoned Abdallah Abu Rahmah

Dec 16, 2010

Philip Weiss

 

Why did we vote for Obama? Joseph Dana reports that AP reporters have now pressed PJ Crowley, ass’t sec’y of State, three times over the imprisonment of Abdallah Abu Rahmah, a leader of nonviolent protest of the unending landgrab in the West Bank. And… the State Department says jacks—. Many other countries have been monitoring this case and denouncing Abu Rahmah’s treatment. And our country? Dana:

On Friday, 10 December, AP reporter Matt Lee directly addressed Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s case during a US State Department briefing. US State department spokesman PJ Crowley responded that he was unable to provide a comment on the trial. When Matt Lee pushed, arguing that the EU and other foreign dignitaries had labeled Abu Rahmah a human rights defender, Crowley responded that he will “[find] out what we know.”…

The current US administration has made repeated statements on the need to support civil society activists, such as the one made by Secretary of State Clinton in July, 2010 the Krakow Community of Democracies meeting, in which she saluted “civil society activists around the world who have recently been harassed, censored, cut off from funding, arrested, prosecuted, even killed.” Clinton explained that when we defend civil society activists “we are defending an idea that has been and will remain essential to the success of every democracy.”..

Yesterday, 15 December 2010, the issue of Abu Rahmah was followed up by the AP. Crowley answered that the case is ‘watched closely’ by US representatives in Israel. Far from releasing a statement on Abdallah Abu Rahmah, Crowley confirmed the silent position on Palestinian non-violence that the United States has maintained in recent months.

Video links of the relevant State Department briefings can be found here (10.12.2010, minute 13:08), here (13.12.2010, minute 17:08),here (14.12.2010, minute 21:33) and here (15.12.2010, minute 22:20). 

     

Editable comments | Site Improvements

Dec 16, 2010

alec

 

Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed to the end of the year matching fundraising drive! Our target is in sight with less than $5000 of new contributions to reach $40K.

The first improvement to the site has just been implemented.

Over our time together at Mondoweiss, there have been lots of calls for either comment preview or comment editing from kapok, lysias, annie, bob, LeaNder, the pair eGuard, Mooser, tree, Dickerson, Richard Parker and Citizen. (Now that you’ve got it Citizen, use it man, and please stop pasting hard breaks into your comments.)

We’ve avoided this as comment preview is messy, slow and uses up a lot of code. Preview also doesn’t let you fix what you’ve published.

On the other hand, permanent comment editing could cause some huge issues (who said what when), but some kind of comment editing would save a lot of typos and double posting with corrections.

We’ve now added comment editing so you should be able to pick up any typos and fix them right after posting. To prevent after the fact changes, we’ve made the edit window ten minutes long. That’s enough time to notice a mistake but not enough time to send discussions kiltering off course.

Thanks for the suggestion! We have lots of other great improvements planned in the New Year.

The most substantial is each user will have his or her own profile page, on which you’ll be able read all of his or her comments and/or posts. This should be a huge help to new users to understand who the different personalities are.

Of course, unless you enjoy reading the same self-indulgent thing over and over again in never ending and never interesting variations, I’d suggest you avoid Witty’s profile page! Over 14,257 choice bits of tripe. Not for the faint of digestion.

On the positive side, you’ll be able to quickly access the relatively rare but substantial contributions like those of Eva or PilgrimSoul.

Hopefully this new found visibility will encourage more substantial commentary, at least among those who cherish their reputations.

    

House vote against Palestinian statehood actually showed that Israel lobby is losing its grip

Dec 16, 2010

Josh Ruebner

 

Yesterday the House of Representatives passed a resolution, H.Res.1765, “condemning unilateral measures to declare or recognize a Palestinian state.” At first glance, this vote appears to be yet another in a long string of resolutions shoring up unconditional Congressional support for Israeli occupation and apartheid. In reality, however, it demonstrates more a weakening—rather than a strengthening—of support for Israel on Capitol Hill at present.

“How does House passage of another anti-Palestinian resolution exhibit a slackening of Congressional support for Israel?” you might rightfully ask. Allow me to explain the paradox.

As are most “pro-Israel” resolutions, H.Res.1765 was brought to a vote under a procedure known as “suspension of the rules.” This procedure, which is supposed to be reserved for non-controversial resolutions such as the naming of a post office, prohibits the resolution from being amended and limits debate on it. In exchange for these restrictions, the resolution must get at least a 2/3 vote to pass rather than a simple majority.

However, unlike most “pro-Israel” resolutions, which often are not voted on for months after being introduced in order to give the Israel lobby time to marshal an overwhelming number of co-sponsors, H.Res.1765 was pushed through quickly with the co-sponsorship of only 53 Representatives.

In fact, the resolution was done in such a helter-skelter fashion that it was put on the calendar for a vote late Tuesday night while Rep. Howard Berman, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was still drafting it. Most Congressional offices did not even see the text of the resolution until a few hours prior to the vote. Many Congressional offices were reportedly infuriated that such an important foreign policy declaration was being treated in such an inconsiderate manner.

The ability of the Israel lobby to pass a resolution before the text of it is even officially made public undoubtedly reflects its still-considerable power. However, the way in which the resolution was debated and voted upon demonstrates that all is not well in the fairy tale world of Israel’s supporters on Capitol Hill.

Berman, who managed the debate on the House floor for the Democrats, appeared flustered and befuddled as he looked repeatedly and anxiously around the chamber for Representatives to appear magically to speak on behalf of the resolution. In the end, Berman mustered only himself and three other Jewish Representatives—Gary Ackerman, Eliot Engel, and Shelley Berkley—to offer full-throated support for the resolution.

The racism and paternalism of these Representatives’ statements make clear why so few of their colleagues wanted to associate themselves with this resolution. Berman patently knows what is best for Palestinians: “The Palestinian people don’t want a bunch of declarations of statehood.” And if Palestinians continue seeking the statehood that they don’t even really want, Berman reminded them that “This body [Congress] has been very generous in its support of their worthy efforts to build institutions and the economy in the West Bank. In fact, I believe that we are the most generous nation in the world in that regard. So I think our friends should understand: If they persist in pursuing a unilateralist path, inevitably, and however regrettably, there will be consequences for U.S-Palestinian relations.”

Without irony, Ackerman affirmed that “The only way to peace is negotiating in good faith and making the hard choices that it demands. Israel has shown time and again that it is ready.” He termed Palestinians’ objections to Israel colonizing their land as “overwrought.”

Engel called it “preposterous” to establish a Palestinian state based on the requirements of UN Security Council Resolution 242. At least he told the truth: “Everyone knows that Israel would never and could never agree with it.”

Last, but not least, Berkley excoriated Palestinians as if she were a teacher and they were students lollygagging in the hall after the bell rings. Palestinians must “return immediately to negotiations,” she thundered. Because “While Israel has a strong country and a good education system, a vibrant economy, a national identity, a cultural identity and a strong democracy, the Palestinians, because of their poor leadership, have absolutely none of those.”

Berman managed to trot out two more Democrats—Reps. Sheila Jackson-Lee and, I kid you not, the non-voting delegate of American Samoa Eni Faleomavaega—to make half-hearted statements of support. In her ponderous remarks, Jackson-Lee repeatedly advocated a “two-party state” to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Faleomavaega must not have received the memo since he believes that “Palestine should be given as an independent and sovereign state.”

Republicans only eked out two speakers in support of the resolution, one of whom—Rep. Ted Poe—wondered aloud, “Is this [Palestinian state] going to be a sovereign state within the sovereign State of Israel?” Huh? Is this really the best that Israel’s advocates can do these days?

By contrast, Rep. Lois Capps did a masterful job of deconstructing the intent of the resolution. After rising “in very reluctant support” of what she termed “yet another one-sided resolution,” Capps decried the resolution for failing to mention “Israel’s expansion of settlements.” She noted that “Resolutions, like the one we are considering today, are clearly done for domestic political consumption much more than for having any positive impact on the conflict. We should not be ignorant of the fact that this Chamber’s pattern of passing resolutions that are one-sided can, indeed, undermine our credibility to be serious brokers for peace.”

Having been put in his place by Capps, Berman called for a voice vote rather than a recorded vote. Fewer than ten Representatives then on the floor voted by “unanimous consent” to adopt the resolution, giving the illusion that the entire House gave its imprimatur to it.

It is common for only a few Representatives to be on the floor when a unanimous consent vote is taken; however, it is highly unusual for the Israel lobby not to ask for a recorded vote so that its supporters can be rewarded and opponents can be punished. In the case of H.Res.1765, Berman clearly feared that a recorded vote would have led to an embarrassing outcome: more Representatives agreeing with Capps’ assessment and voting to express their displeasure at the resolution.

Growing unease on Capitol Hill over these “one-sided resolutions” is attributable to several factors: Israel’s deliberate humiliation of President Obama on settlements; recognition that Israeli and U.S. interests are not one and the same; and a hard-to-define yet palpable Israel fatigue.

Driving and reinforcing this change of sentiment on Capitol Hill is an increasingly effective grassroots movement demanding a change in U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine to support human rights, international law, and equality. A few hours after breaking the news about the vote on H.Res.1765, the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation collected nearly 9,000 signatures on a petition opposing the resolution that was delivered to Berman prior to the vote. At least a half a dozen national organizations, and many more local ones, put out similar alerts.

Several Congressional offices marveled at this efficient outpouring of coordinated opposition and said yesterday that they were receiving many calls against H.Res.1765. While the Israel lobby retains enormous power and influence, the tides are beginning to turn. Join this growing movement today!

Josh Ruebner is the National Advocacy Director of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, a national coalition of more than 325 organizations working to change U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine to support human rights, international law, and equality. He is a former Analyst in Middle East Affairs at Congressional Research Service.

     

Miami Jewish Federation smear-video says that Jimmy Carter and Walt and Mearsheimer want Israel ‘wiped off the map’

Dec 16, 2010

Philip Weiss

 

The Jewish Federation of Greater Miami is having a big event on the delegitimation of Israel this weekend. What larks, huh! Debbie Wasserman Shultz the Democratic congresswoman will be there, but also many rightwingers and Republicans, like dour Daniel Pipes and Natan Sharansky. Honey, you made your bed, now you have to lie in it!

The poster for this exciting event is below the jump. Meantime, here’s a video that the Jewish Federation is featuring that is all about delegitimation, I believe by the Jewish Community Relations Council. I’m not sure what that means, delegitimation. For myself, this campaign is about basic human rights. Honor those rights and you won’t have any problem.

But you’ll see that the video connects the boycott movement to the Walt/Mearsheimer book The Israel Lobby and Jimmy Carter’s book too and says right after it mentions those books, “They’re lying about America’s relationship with Israel and they will not stop until Israel’s leaders are in the Hague and the state of Israel is wiped off the map.” This is a disgusting slander against Walt and Mearsheimer and Jimmy Carter, all of whom are for a two-state solution, and also an end to the endless colonization. Also there’s a clip of a demo in which a guy is shouting “Long live Hitler.” Allegedly in LA in 2009. Scare and smear.

Congress is fueling terrorism by denying Palestinans authority and empowerment

Dec 16, 2010

Maggie Sager

 

Many are responding with outrage to Congress’s passage of a resolution seeking to block any recognition of a unilaterally-declared Palestinian state. The text of this resolution is not up on the Congressional site, even though Congress passed it. But AIPAC has a copy. Maggie Sager’s full post on the subject appears on Resisting Occupation:

Palestinians are no closer to achieving statehood, and instead are being called upon by congress to continue to engage “without precondition” (read: while simultaneously letting Israel confiscate Palestinian land in violation of international law). Why on earth should they? Simply because Congress is under the impression that peace can only be achieved through direct negotiations, despite the utter lack of progress toward a lasting solution, and continuous steps in the opposite direction.

Congressmen Poe and Berman would rather attempt to strong-arm Palestinians and the international community at large into sitting down to Israel’s table. This brings us to the next issue with the bill: the United States government’s insistence on actively interfering with Palestinian diplomacy on behalf of Israel. The United States is perfectly warranted in refusing to recognize a Palestinian state along pre-1967 borders. There are many states within the United Nations that do not recognize one another. However, actively attempting to convince other nations to follow suit, and threatening to veto any legislation that would otherwise pass through the Security Council is not only inherently wrong and prejudiced, but perfectly exemplifies one of the main reasons the United States is a consistent target of terrorism.   Authors of The Israel Lobby John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt contend that there is “abundant evidence that U.S. support for Israel encourages anti-Americanism throughout the Arab and Islamic world and has fueled the rage of anti-American terrorists.” Mearsheimer and Walt go on to explain:

While some Islamic radicals are genuinely upset by what they regard as the West’s materialism and venality, its alleged “theft” of Arab oil, its support for corrupt Arab monarchies, its repeated military interventions in the region, etc., they are also angered by U.S. support for Israel and Israel’s harsh treatment of the Palestinians. Thus, Sayyid Qutb, the Egyptian dissident whose writings have been an important inspiration for contemporary Islamic fundamentalists, was hostile to the United States both because he saw it as a corrupt and licentious society and also because of U.S. support for Israel. Or as Sayyid Muhammed Husayn Fadlallah, spiritual leader of Hezbollah, put it in 2002, “I believe that America bears responsibility for all of Israel…America is a hypocritical nation…for it gives solid support and lethal weapons to the Israelis, but it gives the Arabs and the Palestinians only words.”

Unconditional American support for Israel was also one of the chief reasons Al Qaeda used to target the World Trade Center in 2001. The 9/11 commission determined in a background study, bin Laden attempted to expedite the attack upon witnessing the beginning of the Second Intifada in the fall of 2000 and again when he learned Ehud Barak was to visit Washington in June 2001. What’s more, the 9/11 Commision Report states Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the so-called “principle architect” of the attack, had an animus toward the United States that “stemmed not from his experiences there as a student, but rather from his violent disagreement with U.S. foreign policy favoring Israel.”

 

In the same vein, Osama bin Laden articulated myriad justifications for targeting the US and its citizens in his global jihad in his 2005 “Letter to America.” First and foremost, bin Laden explains that “it is very simple: Because you attacked us and continue to attack us.” His first example: “You attacked us in Palestine.”Pre-dating the letter by nine years, bin Laden’s 1996 Fatwa was primarily concerned with the fact that “people of Islam had suffered from aggression, iniquity and injustice imposed on them by the Zionist-Crusaders alliance and their collaborators; to the extent that the Muslims blood became the cheapest and their wealth as loot in the hands of the enemies. Their blood was spilled in Palestine and Iraq.” The title of the fatwa was “Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places.”   Clearly, US foreign policy in general and unwavering support for Israel in particular has contributed greatly to the United States’ problem with terrorism. When politicians advance such potentially destructive pieces of legislation, they must keep this fact in mind, or be prepared to face the consequences –hopefully not with calls to escalate the War on Terror, thereby missing the point entirely.   This is not to say that Americans should yield uncritically to the demands of terrorists, letting them control US foreign policy as citizens cower in fear. Yet the United States consistently exacerbates its own problems by arrogantly dabbling in the affairs of other nations, offering fuel for the fire, and American citizens and troops (not to mention citizens of other countries) pay the price, …all for what? The truth of the matter is that congress is worried that unilateral declaration and recognition of a Palestinian state will not offer Israel the guarantees it was hoping to squeeze out of the PA with the help of its largest benefactor.Unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state, and the subsequent recognition of that state by the international community will not solve the conflict. It will simply allow Palestinians to act from a place of authority and empowerment when settling final status issues with Israel.  Without some kind of political capital to rely on, the PA will not be able to guarantee a just solution for its people. Far from being concerned with simply settling the conflict –which the United States could easily do by applying serious pressure to Israel and the PA equally, the US wants to settle the conflict on Israel’s terms.   Some might contend that this characterization is overly cynical, and perhaps congress truly believes negotiations are the answer. Unfortunately, regardless of the veracity of that contention, one can say with confidence that it is the not the way the international community, or the enemies of the United States for that matter, will view such legislation.  
     

Israel can’t defeat Hezbollah –Israeli expert [Hint: So it should stop trying]

Dec 16, 2010

Seham

 

and other news from Today in Palestine:

Settlers/ Land, Property, Resource Theft & Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing
Settlers begin construction of housing at East Jerusalem yeshiva
New construction starts on 18 apartments around the Beit Orot Yeshiva on the Mount of Olives.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/settlers-begin-construction-of-housing-at-east-jerusalem-yeshiva-1.330821?localLinksEnabled=falseIsrael Approves the Construction of New Settlements Near Beit Orot Yeshiva
According to Israel Radio, the Jerusalem Municipality gave approval, on Thursday, the construction of 24 additional Jewish houses, near the Ultra-Orthodox center Beit Orot in the occupied East Jerusalem. Ma’an News reported.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60189Israel denies plans to expand East Jerusalem hotel, but documents prove otherwiseForeign Ministry says reported plans for construction on Jordanian-owned compound are from 1988 – but Haaretz has obtained blueprints and letter from 2010 that show recent approval for expansion.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-denies-plans-to-expand-east-jerusalem-hotel-but-documents-prove-otherwise-1.330930?localLinksEnabled=falseIsrael moves to legalize segregated Jewish-only communities
In October, the Israeli parliament moved to enshrine in law the right of “cooperative associations” — communities mostly established since Israel’s creation in 1948, comprising nearly 70 percent of all communities in Israel — to accept only Jews.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11676.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29 
Report: Israel to expand hotel owned by Jordan
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — Israel is planning a major expansion to a Jordanian-owned hotel atop the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, an Israeli newspaper reported Wednesday.  The Seven Arches Hotel belongs to the Jordanian royal family but it was taken over by Israel when Jordan withdrew from the West Bank in the 1967 Six-Day War. The hotel is in East Jerusalem, which is part of the occupied Palestinian territories. 
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=342442 
Israeli Military demolishes water wells and cisterns in the South Hebron Hills
The Israeli military demolished three water cisterns and two wells in the Khashem Ad Daraj – Hathaleen region on Tuesday, December 14th . The military gave no reason for the destruction of the wells and cisterns.  The demolitions follow a pattern of destruction of Palestinian property by the Israeli military in Area C, as defined by the Oslo Accords. Rather than delivering the demolition orders to the residents of the villages in the area, the Israeli army instead left the orders under a stone two days earlier.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/12/16061/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+%28International+Solidarity+Movement%29
Settlers doggedly intimidate Palestinians
At around 3:30pm, Israeli police arrested a 19-year-old Palestinian man named Imen in Sheikh Jarrah, following a confrontation with settlers.  The settlers’ dog, on a 2-meter long chain, attacked Imen as he stood on the street outside of his former home, which the settlers had dispossessed. The settlers responded with laughter and walked up to another house, which they are occupying although it had been the home of another Palestinian. 
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/12/16051/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+%28International+Solidarity+Movement%29 
Israel maps out plan to move Iran’s Jewish population to Palestine
The Israeli Ministry of Immigrant Absorption has announced mapping out a plan to migrate all of Iran’s 20,000 Jews to occupied Palestine.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Q
How settlers and the IDF carve up the West Bank
Between 22 November and 2 December, nine members, supporters and friends of the AWL took part in a solidarity delegation to Israel and Palestine, visiting Palestinian resistance organisations, Israelis supporting them and workers’, youth, women’s, anti-occupation and solidarity organisations in both countries. Sacha Ismail discusses some of the political impressions he had during their visit.
Firstly, I want to first discuss the ways in which Israel is undermining the emergence of a two-state settlement.  One thing leftists in Britain often argue is that a two-state solution could be no different from a series of Palestinian bantustans controlled by Israel. When you go to the West Bank you see all the ways in which it would be different.  The West Bank is currently divided into three zones; only 20 percent is under full Palestinian control. 60 percent is under the control of the Israel in terms of both “security” and administration. That amounts a constant regime of harassment and intimidation against Palestinians, for instance in terms of arbitrary house demolitions, one of which we witnessed.
http://www.workersliberty.org/story/2010/12/16/how-settlers-and-army-carve-west-bank
Israel’s demographic policy in Jerusalem and the elimination of a Palestinian state solution
Since the annexation of Jerusalem in 1967, Israeli authorities have carried out a concerted “Judaization” program of the city, parallel to the eradiction of Palestinian identity and heritage. Today Israeli civil and military authorities continue to work alongside private settler organizations to consolidate Jewish territorial power over the eastern part of the city, thus eliminating any possibility of the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem its capital.  Identity politics The Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967 has jeopardized the legal status of its Palestinian population ever since. Israeli law ruled that Jerusalem’s Palestinians were classified as “residents”, not citizens of a state. Jordan’s renouncement of all claims to the West Bank in 1988 suddenly left thousands of Jerusalemite Palestinians with Jordanian ID cards of their Jordanian citizenship. The Oslo Accords, signed in September 1993 between the government of Israel and the PLO, then ruled that Palestinian residents of Jerusalem were prevented from holding Palestinian nationality. 
http://silwanic.net/?p=9166
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions
Oppose Today’s House Resolution Denying Palestinian Self Determination
We are outraged to learn that Rep. Howard Berman, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is trying to push through Congress today a resolution “condemning unilateral declarations of a Palestinian state.”  As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in his famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” the worst stumbling block to freedom’s advance is the person who “paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s [or woman’s] freedom.”
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/oppose-todays-house-resolution-denying.html 
CodePink invites you to the Gaza Strip, January 30 to February 6, 2011
As we approach the two year anniversary of the Israeli invasion of Gaza, join CODEPINK on a delegation to examine how the people of Gaza have fared in the past two years and how the restrictions on trade and travel continue to impact their lives. We will meet with UN representatives, NGOs, students, government officials, human rights monitors and businesspeople.  We will enter Gaza via the Egyptian crossing at Rafah, departing from Cairo the morning of January 30 and returning to Cairo the evening of February 6. Payment of $1,000 includes transportation from Cairo to Gaza and within Gaza, program, translation, 2 meals/day, Gaza accommodations, donations to local organizations.
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/codepink-invites-you-to-gaza-strip.html 
#BDS: STL-PSC Boycott Motorola FlashMob- Video
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/12/bds-stl-psc-boycott-motorola-flashmob.html
#BDS: Marrickville Council supports BDS
Last night Bethlehem’s sister city in Australia again made history by voting to support theUnified Palestinian Call for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions. Marrickville is the first municipality in Australia to take this important step to support human rights and international humanitarian law in Palestine.  Residents concerned about Israel’s ongoing violations of human rights sat through four and a half hours of debate on local issues before Council finally reached  Item 11 – Notice of Motion: Supporting the Global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign.  Marrickville Council’s website says “As a community, we stand for what is fair and right. It doesn’t take much for us to come together – whether it is working for a better environment, fighting proposed school closures or simply joining in at a local fundraiser or rally.”
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/12/bds-marrickville-council-supports-bds.html
Why I was willing to risk arrest at the AIPAC annual dinner, Noura Khouri
Though I’ve been a community organizer for several years, Monday night was the first time I was willing to get arrested for an action. Though unfortunately, we didn’t get the chance to finish performing our dance and sharing our message before we got ‘escorted’ out, I felt we accomplished our mission. As I sat in jail, with the 6 additional activists, for 6 hours Monday night, I had a chance to reflect on why I was willing to risk arrest to disrupt AIPAC’s annual dinner in Oakland.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/why-i-was-willing-to-risk-arrest-at-the-aipac-annual-dinner.html 
Youth Against Normalization’s pictures of the AIPAC protest in Oakland
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3beee/5262494829/in/set-72157625602585828/
Anti

Outcry in Denmark over firm’s involvement in occupation
The Danish-British security firm G4S has come under scrutiny after it was revealed last month that it supplies equipment and services to Israel for use at checkpoints and settlements in the occupied West Bank and at Israeli prisons.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11678.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29 

Israeli academic hosted in Riyadh to give lecture
News reports said that an Israeli academic from Britain is making a visit to Saudi Arabia nowadays to deliver a lecture at King Faisal center for research and Islamic studies.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcO Been to Israel/Palestine lately? The FBI may come knocking on your door, Cecilie Surasky
By the time she was in high school, Sarah Smith had already been named one of the 100 most influential women in Chicago by Chicago’s business magazine, Crain’s. Now Smith, who happens to be Jewish, has been subpoenaed by the FBI to appear before a grand jury on January 25 to explain her trip to Israel-Palestine with two Palestinian women friends. (As terrifying as this whole episode is for everyone involved, it says something about Palestinian safety that only Smith has come forward publicly.) All three young Chicago residents have been subpoenaed, joining ranks with 14 other peace activists from the Midwest who have been similarly targeted in recent months.
http://www.muzzlewatch.com/2010/12/15/yes-virginia-the-fbi-really-can-subpoena-you-just-for-going-to-palestine/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Muzzlewatch+%28MuzzleWatch%29 Abuse of Palestinian Children

Otherwise Occupied / Labour is concerned
No, not Labor. The British parliament is the one debating the treatment of underage Palestinian detainees by Israeli military tribunals.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/otherwise-occupied-labour-is-concerned-1.330315 

Full Text: Letter from Congressman Brian Baird criticizes Israel for targeting Palestinian children in Gaza
http://palestinenote.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/12/15/full-text-letter-from-congressman-brian-baird-criticizes-israel-s-for-targeting-palestinian-children-in-gaza.aspx Refugees/Siege/Rights Violations/Restriction of MovementWeekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (09 – 15 December. 2010)
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MDCS-8C7JNW?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Goods – Needs Vs. Supply – Nov 14 – Dec 11
http://www.gazagateway.org/2010/12/goods-%e2%80%93-needs-vs-supply-%e2%80%93-nov-14-%e2%80%93-dec-11/
Nahr al-Bared residents prep for return
BEIRUT: As the first displaced inhabitants of the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp prepare to return to their rebuilt homes early next year, donors have provided enough contributions to cover the evacuees’ living expenses for the first three months of 2011, a number of UN officials said Wednesday.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=122593 
Bethlehem mayor complains about Israeli limits (AP)
AP – Bethlehem’s mayor has lit up his town’s main Christmas tree while complaining that Israel’s limitations on access to his West Bank town are weighing heavily on holiday cheer.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101215/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_palestinians_bethlehem 
Desolation in Hebron’s Old City
Hebron – Al Khalil in Arabic – is the infamous theater of violent clashes between Israeli settlers and the IDF on the one side, and Palestinian residents on the other. Ever since 1968 when a group of Jewish settlers led by Rabbi Moshe Levinger occupied one of the main hotels in the city and the first settlement, Kiryat Arba was subsequently established, more radical Jews have kept coming to Hebron and settlements have been expanding.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1650 
PA says it will challenge draft prisoners law
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority announced Tuesday that it would challenge in court a draft Israeli law to prohibit Palestinian prisoners from family visits.  PA prisoners minister Issa Qaraqe said the law was unprecedented in the history of legislation worldwide.  “By permitting its intelligence services to ban attorneys from meeting prisoners, especially during lengthy investigations, Israel is actually practicing torture and harassment against isolated prisoners,” he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=342447 
Gaza’s Al-Quds hospital gets new emergency room (AFP)
AFP – The emergency room at Gaza City’s Al-Quds hospital, which was damaged during Israel’s 2008-2009 invasion, reopened on Wednesday as part of a two-million-euro project funded by France.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/wl_mideast_afp/palestiniansgazahealthaidfrance

Racism and Discrimination

Israeli towns continue to rewrite bylaws to keep Arabs out
Regional council in the Galilee presents guidelines that ‘preserve their Jewish and Zionist character.’
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israeli-towns-continue-to-rewrite-bylaws-to-keep-arabs-out-1.330844?localLinksEnabled=false

No tax breaks for Arabs
High Court ruled tax breaks based on location discriminate against Arab communities but government ignored ruling.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4000393,00.htmlIsraeli Chief Rabbi Orders Shop Owners Who Employ Jewish Girls Not to Hire Arabs, Richard Silverstein
I couldn’t have made this up myself if I’d tried: the rabbis of the largely Yemenite city of Rosh Ha-Ayin (English), including the chief rabbi, declared aban on hiring Arabs at stores which employ Jewish girls.  I swear to you, it’s true.  If you’d told me this story came out of Pakistan or Kandahar I might’ve believed you, but no, it’s from Israel’s Rosh Ha-Ayin.
http://uruknet.info/?p=m72897&hd=&size=1&l=eA Racist Decree: Real Estate and Israeli Rabbis, LAWRENCE DAVIDSON
On Tuesday, the 7th of December, some fifty Israeli rabbis issued a “decree” forbidding their Jewish fellow citizens from “renting or selling homes or land to Arabs and other non-Jews.” The “decree” was soon endorsed by an additional 250 Israeli rabbis. That makes about 300 in all, most of orthodox persuasion and many of great influence. Just to make sure that those who have property to rent or sell know what is at stake, the same rabbis announced that those Jews who fail to obey will be “ostracized.”  There has been some protest about this. Rabbis who do not agree with this command called it a “distortion of Jewish religious law.” Well maybe. All law is open to interpretation and the present debate, such as it is, is about whose interpretation is going to be dominant. Prime Minister Netanyahu has said he thinks Jewish law commands that one should treat the stranger with kindness, and wouldn’t Jews protest if no one would rent to them? But one gets a strong whiff of hypocrisy coming from the Prime Minister on this note. After all, is it not his government that is chasing all the non-Jewish neighbors out of East Jerusalem?
http://www.counterpunch.org/davidson12142010.html 
The rabbis’ racist letter: many words, little action
While public figures in Israel condemned the latest rabbinical Fatwa against renting homes to Arabs, little to no action was taken against its authors. Also, some secular Jewish communities are introducing their own version of the racist letter.
http://www.promisedlandblog.com/?p=3634
Muslim hotel staff allege discrimination on Israeli visit (AFP)
AFP – Muslim employees of a Washington hotel alleged that they were discriminated against when Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak visited at the weekend, a group representing them said Wednesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/pl_afp/usisraeldiplomacyislam
Refugees face deportation in Israel
Israel is set to introduce tough new measures to stop what it calls a flood of ‘infiltrators’ from seeking work or refuge in the country. Every month up to 1,500 people, mostly Africans, pour into the state. The Israeli government, however, says that this influx could destroy the fabric of Jewish society. Those refugees who are unable to find work, meanwhile, are mostly being held in jails or detention centres. Al Jazeera’s Tony Birtley reports from Tel Aviv. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVh4WZZCBs0&feature=youtube_gdata
Violence/Aggression

Israeli police trash Palestinian store in Jerusalem, break worker’s foot
Israeli troops raided Wednesday night a Jerusalem shop, trashing the store’s contents, and attacking the workers. The owner’s son’s foot was broken in the incident. Other employees were apprehended.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcO

Issawiya: ‘Border Guards maced innocent bus passengers’
Border Guard officers use pepper spray on e. Jerusalem bus passengers, when 14-year-old boy fails to show ID. “How can we maintain order when police abuse us?’ Issawiya mayor Darwish Musa Darwish asks. ‘Those under 16 must carry birth certificate,’ police say.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3999955,00.html

Two Palestinians, including child, wounded in IOF shooting
Two Palestinian civilians were wounded in northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday when Israeli occupation forces (IOF) opened fire at them while collecting gravel from destroyed buildings.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b

Nine Arrested Overnight; Settlers Attack Shepherd, Kill Sheep
Hebron – PNN – In a series of overnight raids mainly focused on the southern West Bank city of Hebron, Israeli troops arrested nine Palestinians before Thursday morning. Meanwhile, a Palestinian shepherd in the northern West Bank reported he was assaulted by Israeli settlers who killed his sheep.  Local sources in Hebron said that seven of the detainees were from Dura village near Hebron, where troops raided their homes and searched their belongings. One of them, 27-year-old Yusef Khamees, works for the Bethlehem Magistrate Court.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9276&Itemid=64IOA serves summons to MP Salhab
Hamas MP Dr. Azzam Salhab said on Wednesday that Israeli occupation soldiers stopped him before entering the mosque along with his wife and children.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcDetainees (held by Israelis and the PA)

Israeli Forces Storm al-Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, Arrest Woman
Hebron – PNN – Preliminary reports from the southern West Bank city of Hebron indicate that Israeli soldiers entered the al-Ibrahimi Mosque (Mosque of Abraham) and arrested a 31-year-old woman named Ramya Hasan Abu Samira.  Abu Samira is the wife of Amjad Abu Samira of Yatta village, south of Hebron, who is serving a life sentence in Israeli military prison.  Eyewitnesses said the troops entered in the middle of prayers, arrested Abu Samira, and took her to an unidentified location.  There were no further details as of press time.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9277&Itemid=64

Nine Palestinians Detained in Hebron Area During Night Raids
Israeli forces arrested, on Wednesday night, nine Palestinians from Hebron region and transported them to an unknown location, Ma’an News and PNN echoed.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60190Hamas: PA forces arrested 12 affiliates
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – Hamas accused PA security forces of arresting 12 of its members from across the West Bank in a statement released on Thursday.  According to the statement the men were detained from the Nablus, Qalqiliya, Hebron and Tulkarem areas.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=342573Village leader released from Israeli custody
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Ramallah’s Center for Detainees reported Wednesday that head of the Rantis village council, 48-year-old Salim Shaker, was released from Israeli custody after 22 months in prison.  Head of the center Foad Al-Khafsh said that Salim was elected to head the village council more than three years earlier, following his release from more than 7 years in Israeli prison.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=342596
War/Occupation Crimes

In A Letter Send To Turkish PM; Likud MK Says Israel Should Have Killed All Marmara Passengers
Israeli sources reported Wednesday that Israeli Member of Knesset of the Likud Party, Dani Dannon, sent a sarcastic letter to Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, telling him that Israeli soldiers should have killed all of the passengers of the Marmara Ship that was heading to Gaza to deliver humanitarian supplies.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60186 

Deputy FM: Israel won’t apologize for Gaza flotilla raid
Danny Ayalon’s statement comes in the wake of recent reports of Israel-Turkey talks aimed at ending the diplomatic crisis between the two nations.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/deputy-fm-israel-won-t-apologize-for-gaza-flotilla-raid-1.330813?localLinksEnabled=falseThe shame, the shame! ‘I got him to crap himself’ is brag in latest Israeli soldiers’ testimonies, Philip Weiss
Shocking new anonymous soldiers’ testimonies from the occupation collected by Breaking the Silence are now being posted at +972. Go and read them. And if they don’t make you, I don’t know what, well, then check your pulse. Joseph Dana speaks of the moral corruptionof Israeli society.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/the-shame-the-shame-i-got-him-to-crap-himself-is-brag-in-latest-israeli-soldiers-testimonies.html PA Repression

Palestinian Authority cracks down on mosques to promote moderate Islam
EL BIREH, WEST BANK – Each week, Mahmoud Habbash, the Palestinian Authority’s minister of religious affairs, sends an e-mail to mosques across the West Bank. It contains what amounts to a script for the Friday sermon that every imam is required to deliver.
http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=8eedaa8066a824795486acc5a17d0afd 

Political Developments

Norway upgrades PLO mission, supports statehood
OSLO, Norway (Ma’an) — Norway’s foreign ministry announced Wednesday that the status of the Palestinian representative’s office in Oslo would be upgraded to a diplomatic mission as part of an effort of the scandanavian nation to support Palestinian efforts toward building a state.  The announcement came while Prime Minister Salam Fayyad was in Oslo, where officials announced the coming international donors conference to take place in the city in April 2011. During the announcement the official said he hoped a Palestinian state could be established within the year. 
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=342571

Palestinians appeal to European countries: Recognize statehood even without peace deal
In wake of EU’s decision to wait until ‘appropriate’, PA negotiators bring request for the first time to individual countries – France, Britain, Sweden and Denmark – as well as to the European Union envoy.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinians-appeal-to-european-countries-recognize-statehood-even-without-peace-deal-1.330945?localLinksEnabled=falseArabs wants UN resolution against Israel settlements (AFP)
AFP – The Arab League decided on Wednesday to seek a UN Security Council resolution against Israeli settlement construction on Palestinian land.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestinianspeacearabun Israel downplays focus on settlement growth
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – The settlement construction issue is simple, minor, not so important, and marginal, says spokeswoman of the Israeli foreign ministry Amira Oron during a chat Tuesday with Ma’an radio.  Oron said the Netanyahu government was exerting serious efforts to resume negotiations leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state. She said the government of Israel endeavored to reach a two-state solution asserting that both the Palestinians and the Israelis along with the US administration should exert more efforts. 
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=342309 
Arab FMs against Mideast talks without U.S. stance on borders
Qatari FM: Arabs skeptical that U.S. can pressure Israel on core issues after failure to get Israel to renew settlement freeze.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/arab-fms-against-mideast-talks-without-u-s-stance-on-borders-1.330817?localLinksEnabled=false 
Arabs reject Israel talks without ‘serious offer’ (AFP)
AFP – Arab foreign ministers on Wednesday rejected any resumption of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks unless it was based on a “serious offer” guaranteeing an end to the conflict.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestinianspeacearab 
Palestinian street riled at latest talks upset
NABLUS (Ma’an) — Palestinians were upset by the American failure to secure a settlement construction freeze on Palestinian lands, and riled over the attempt to swap cash and weapons for the freeze.  “Does America rule Israel or does Israel rule America?” Mused 66-year-old Nablus resident Hajj Abu Muhammad, “If you knew the answer you would know why America failed to convince Israel.”  As US officials rallied and announced a new approach to peace talks in the wake of the failure, political science professor at An-Najah National University Raed Na’erat said “the political process is at a dead end, it is at a stage where taking hard decisions is crucial.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=340395 
Fatah official: Upcoming unity talks will be last
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The next round of negotiations with Hamas will be the last, a top Fatah official said Wednesday.  Azzam Al-Ahmad said the party would not participate in further negotiations after the talks later this month in Damascus.  Al-Ahmad, who heads the party’s reconciliation team, said Hamas should sign the Egyptian reconciliation document.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=342379 
MJ Rosenberg: AIPAC Palestinian Bashing Bill Rushed to House Floor
The Berman bill to condemn Palestinians for their considering a unilateral declaration of statehood, drafted only yesterday, will be voted on today because when it comes to pleasing AIPAC there are simply no limits.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mj-rosenberg/aipac-palestinian-bashing_b_797287.html
Mitchell calls ‘parallel’ talks with Israel, Palestinians (AFP)
AFP – US special envoy George Mitchell has proposed six weeks of “parallel” negotiations with Israeli and Palestinians negotiators, a Palestinian official said on Wednesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/pl_afp/israelpalestinianspeaceusmitchell
Mubarak Separately Meets Abbas, Mitchell
On Wednesday, Egypt’s President, Hosni Mubarak, held separate talks in Cairo with Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, and U.S Middle East Envoy, George Mitchell, and discussed the means to resolve the current deadlock in peace talks.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60187 
US envoy Mitchell to meet top EU, French diplomats (AFP)
AFP – US Middle East envoy George Mitchell will meet with the top EU and French diplomats this week as part of efforts to reset the Israeli-Palestinian peace process after months of setbacks.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/pl_afp/israelpalestinianspeaceuseufrance
Israeli MK proposes alternate peace plan
JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Chairman of the Israeli Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Shaul Mofaz proposed on an alternative peace plan last week, presenting the initiative to policymakers and journalists as US mediation efforts continue to flounder.  The plan centered on the creation of a demilitarized Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza “when a legitimate Palestinian government can rule as one authority on the ground,” without set borders but wit the aim of following the 1967 line. The final confines of the state would become clear as security arrangements were made for each sector, he explained.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=340024 
‘The Palestine Cables’: WikiLeaks dox expose Netanyahu’s vision of Palestinian bantustan, Alex Kane
Last week Alex Kane began a series called The Palestine Cables, based on Wikileaks data. His second entry.  The Obama administration’sfailure to bribe Israel’s right-wing government into accepting a three-month settlement “freeze” should have ended talk about the “peace process,” but Obama’s Middle East team is still crawling towards a two-state solution with little light at the end of the tunnel. State Department cables released by WikiLeaks will dim the lights further.  The cables show that Israeli officials’ stated vision of a Palestinian state is one that is feeble and toothless–a vision that could snuff out any remaining hope of a viable Palestinian state.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/the-palestine-cables-wikileaks-dox-expose-netanyahus-vision-of-palestinian-bantustan.html
Leaked US cable: Dutch lobbied hard on UN Gaza resolution
The EU-27 responded to new U.S. flexibility at UNGA64 by collaborating pragmatically on our top priorities, and by providing essential voting support. Ably led by Sweden’s EU presidency, EU member states shared the burden on lobbying the G-77 regarding human rights resolutions. They stood firm against G-77 ideology on economic/social resolutions, notably voting No on the Right to Development, and voting No with us on the trade resolution, for only the second time at UNGA.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=341397 
Other News

Israel ‘wants more stealth fighters’ (AFP)
AFP – Israel is still looking to acquire another 20 US-built F-35 strike fighters, even though Washington withdrew such an offer after the Jewish state refused a new settlement ban, a senior government official said on Wednesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/wl_mideast_afp/israelusdefenceweaponscompanylockheed

Rudd failed to consult Israel over call for nuclear inspection, Opposition claims
“If the reports are correct and Israeli officials were taken by surprise, it reveals Kevin Rudd has not learnt any lessons from his past mistakes,” said the opposition’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, Julie Bishop.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/rudd-failed-to-consult-israel-over-call-for-nuclear-inspection-opposition-claims/story-fn59niix-1225971427422 Palestinian donors conference to be held in April 2011: Oslo (AFP)
AFP – International donors will meet to discuss the financial needs of the Palestinian Authority in April 2011, Norway’s foreign minister announced Wednesday, adding he hoped a Palestinian state could be established next year.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/wl_mideast_afp/mideastpalestiniansnorwaydiplomacy Submitting to criticism, Libya charity drops politics to avoid angering Israel
The foundation, led by Gadhafi’s son, sent a Gaza-bound aid ship in November, but now claims its priority is ‘assisting the poor in sub-Saharan Africa.’
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/submitting-to-criticism-libya-charity-drops-politics-to-avoid-angering-israel-1.330947?localLinksEnabled=false
Gaza runner’s Olympic struggle
Nader el Masri talks about his hopes of running for Gaza at the London Olympics.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/sport2/hi/olympic_games/london_2012/8815396.stm
ADL director: Nixon was a bigot, but a practical supporter of Israel
Foxman calls Watergate-era recordings on which Nixon and Kissinger can be heard making disparaging marks against Jews ‘ironic.’
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/adl-director-nixon-was-a-bigot-but-a-practical-supporter-of-israel-1.330956?localLinksEnabled=false
Analysis/Op-ed

The problem with Israel’s Jewish ‘refugee’ initiative | Rachel Shabi
The Israeli government’s demand that Palestinians recognise exiled Arab Jews as ‘refugees’ is political point-scoring.  While the US has given up pressing for a freeze on illegal settlement building, one Israeli minister has been cranking up the volume on an issue he apparently considers more pressing. The deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, recently launched a new initiative to demand that Palestinians “recognise Jews who exiled from Arab lands as refugees”.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/16/israel-palestinian-refugee

Middle East peace process: Dead but not buried
The US has given up trying to persuade Netanyahu to stop building on occupied land as a prerequisite to talks
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/16/middle-east-process-editorialBBC badgers Barak as no American outlet would: What is the US getting for its billions in aid?, Susie Kneedler
Two nights back BBC’s “World News America” anchor, Matt Frei, stood up more for America in the face of Israeli-government intransigence than the American Congress and press.  The BBC hid its provocative interview behind a bland precis, “Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak talks to Matt Frei from the United Nations in New York about the prospects for peace,” but it nevertheless violated several taboos that limit press freedom in the U.S. Barak didn’t “talk to” Frei about peace. Instead, Matt Frei actually pressed Barak about the money: “Now, over the years, over the decades, America has given Israel unwavering support, as well as billions of dollars in aid,” as well as “What are you giving them at the moment [in return]?”
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/bbc-badgers-barak-as-no-american-outlet-would-what-is-the-us-getting-for-its-billions-in-aid.htmlSourani, in 1999: ‘We should wait on no one to claim what is rightfully ours’, Philip Weiss
The U.S. Congress, affirmed by voice vote last night a resolution that the U.S. must block international recognition of any self-declared Palestinian state. The legislation was sponsored by New York liberal Democrats Anthony Weiner and Gary Ackerman among others. (It’s after the jump.)
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/sourani-in-1999-we-should-wait-on-no-one-to-claim-what-is-rightfully-ours.html
The railroad not taken, in the Middle East, Jeff Klein
In 1914, a traveler could board a train in Istanbul and – with a few detours around some unfinished tunnels – cross the Anatolian plateau past the Taurus Mountains into Syria. From Damascus, the new Hejaz Railway continued on through modern-day Jordan to Medina in Arabia, with branch railways connecting to Beirut and Haifa on the Mediterranean coast. Another line ran between the main Palestinian port of Jaffa and Jerusalem. A major rail project to link Damascus and Baghdad — and eventually Basra on the Persian Gulf — was under construction, with long segments already completed.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/the-railroad-not-taken-in-the-middle-east.html 
‘I want to say one word to you. Just one word.’ Benjamin: ‘Yes, sir.’ ‘Zionism!’
Howard Kohr the head of AIPAC made $450,000 in 2009. Far beyond Jeremy Ben-Ami, the head of J Street, $200,000 in 09. David Harris of American Jewish Committee, $499,000… Mort Klein of the Zionist Organization of America, $361,000, Malcolm Hoenlein, $295,000, Matthew Brooks of Republican Jewish Coalition, $350,000. Martin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, $350,000. And Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League, $563,000.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/fyi-graduates-i-want-to-say-one-word-to-you-just-one-word-yes-sir-zionism.html 
Obama’s Last Card – Will He Play It?, Alan Hart
Now that he doesn’t have to honour any of the promises Secretary of State Clinton is said to have made to Prime Minister Netanyahu in a desperate (and predictably doomed) effort to persuade him to deliver a 90-day settlement freeze, Obama does have one last card that he could play.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27070.htm 
When in Rome, do as the Israelis do, Philip Weiss
Scott McConnell wrote recently that because of the special relationship, we have gotten a lot of really bad ideas in our country from the Israelis, like occupying Arab lands and Islamophobia. Well, this is from the Washington Post, reported by Tara Bahrampour. Notice the euphemistic headline, “Muslims criticize handling of Israelis’ stay at D.C. hotel”. What does that mean?
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/when-in-rome-do-as-the-israelis-do.html
US Nakedness: Zero Consequence for Israel, Iqbal Jassat – Pretoria
Noam Chomsky calls it one of the most humiliating moments in US diplomatic history.  Sam Bahour refers to it as a dead end.  Both are referring to President Obama’s pathetic capitulation to Israel on the issue of settlement freeze. Indeed, watching Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on TV broadcasts explaining why America has backed off from these demands, revealed beyond any doubt that the US is extremely weak with questionable motives and thus cannot be trusted as a fair and impartial mediator.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16485 
One Way out for the Palestinians, George S. Hishmeh
When President Barack Obama described the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives in the mid-term elections last month as a “shellacking,” he was praised for his outright admission of his shocking defeat. But when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave him (and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) an unprecedented slap in the face by refusing to freeze his colonial expansion into occupied Palestinian territory, which now houses some 500,000 Israelis, the American head of state remained speechless, seemingly bowing his head down.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16488 
Yossi Melman / Iron Dome anti-rocket system was never meant to protect Israeli towns
Israelis misled into believing the development of Iron Dome would help defend them from attacks.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/yossi-melman-iron-dome-anti-rocket-system-was-never-meant-to-protect-israeli-towns-1.330850?localLinksEnabled=false
Al Wehdat and Faisali: The Tip of the Iceberg, Tammy Obeidallah
‘Stop criticizing us—just look at how your own kind treats you.’  This cliché, so often sneered by Israelis and their apologists, attempts to downplay the occupation of Palestine and to make Palestinians look like the pariahs of the Arab World. Unfortunately, this backward viewpoint is fueled by incidents such as the recent violence following a game between rival soccer clubs Al-Wehdat and Faisali in Amman, Jordan.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16486 
We pay for every Israeli war at the gas pump, Max Ajl
How about a new slogan for the anti-war and Palestine solidarity movements? We pay for every Israeli war at the gas pump! No aid to Israel!
http://www.maxajl.com/?p=4572&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+http%2Fwwwmaxajlcom%2Ffeedrss2+%28Jewbonics%29
John Pilgers: ‘The War You Don’t See’ Available to view in it’s entirety on the ITVPlayer 
(For those living in the UK or with a UK, IP address) John Pilger investigates the media’s role in war. He traces the history of ’embedded’ and independent reporting from the carnage of WWI to the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
http://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.itv.com%2Fitvplayer%2Fvideo%2F%3FFilter%3D198443&session_token=8Lc2uToS4PMyT74A_3KiKy0P5lZ8MTI5MjUyNjQ3Mg%3D%3D
Holbrooke or Milosevic: Who is the Greater Murderer?, DIANA JOHNSTONE
It is usually considered good form to avoid sharp criticism of someone who has just died. But Richard Holbrooke himself set a striking example of the breach of such etiquette. On learning of the death in prison of Slobodan Milosevic, Holbrooke did not hesitate to describe him as a “monster” comparable to Hitler and Stalin.
http://www.counterpunch.com/johnstone12152010.html 
Lebanon

Israel can’t defeat Hezbollah: Israeli expert (Reuters)
Reuters – Israel cannot defeat Hezbollah in a direct engagement and the Lebanese guerrilla group would inflict heavy damage on the Israeli home front if war broke out, a former Israeli national security adviser said Thursday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101216/wl_nm/us_israel_lebanon

Sayyed Nasrallah: Israeli Threats Do Not Scare Us Anymore
Well over a million people filled the streets of Dahiye to mark Ashura; the tenth of the Hijri month of Muharram, when Imam Hussein son Imam Ali Bin Abi Taleb, and grandson of Prophet Mohamad peace be upon them, was martyred along with his household by the army of the tyrant Caliph Yazib Bin Moawiyah, 61 A.H.  Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah was waiting for the procession at the Raya field in Haret Hreik to renew allegiance to Imam Hussein and his grandson Imam Mahdi (pbuh), the savior who will fill earth with justice after it was filled with tyranny and oppression.  The Raya field was full as people were still flocking on foot from a distance of more than two kilometers away. They responded to Sayyed Nasrallah request to participate en masse in the procession to retort to the plots being sewed against the resistance. “The whole world will be looking at your faces, at your eyes, at your fists tomorrow.”
http://www.almanar.com.lb/newssite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=166146&language=enNasrallah: Israeli enterprise has come to an end
Hassan Nasrallah said that thanks to the resistance movement that gained a victory in 2000 when Israel left Lebanon “humiliated without gains” the greater Israel enterprise has come to an end.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%Nasrallah: Forbidden to give up any part of Palestine – from sea to Jordan
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said that “it is forbidden for any man to give up Palestine, from the sea to the Jordan River, and it is forbidden to give up Jerusalem”. In a speech he gave in honor of a Shiite holy day, Nasrallah said: “We will never recognize Israel. We will never give up an inch of our land, we will not forget the holy place.” 
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4000136,00.html
Retired IDF general: Deterrence is our best option against Hezbollah
Giora Eiland says another war between Israel and Hezbollah ‘will be a war between Israel and the State of Lebanon and will wreak destruction on the State of Lebanon.’
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/retired-idf-general-deterrence-is-our-best-option-against-hezbollah-1.330953?localLinksEnabled=false
Blast reported off Lebanese coast; ‘Israeli overflights in area’
Local media say sea mine went off near city of Sidon; explosion accompanied by ‘unprecedented’ IAF overflights, according to reports.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3999914,00.html 
Nasrallah: Hezbollah ready to repulse any Israeli attack, despite internal tension in Lebanon
Lebanese army claims to uncover two Israeli spy cameras overlooking Beirut; explosion reported off the coast of Sidon on Wednesday evening.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/nasrallah-hezbollah-ready-to-repulse-any-israeli-attack-despite-internal-tension-in-lebanon-1.330830?localLinksEnabled=false
Lebanon: We uncovered Israeli spy equipment
Army official claims two Israeli long range spy cameras spotted in hills overlooking Beirut; says information received by Hezbollah.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3999840,00.html 
Army Succeeds in Dismantling Israeli Spy System in Barouk 
The Lebanese Army announced on Thursday that a technical unit from the military succeeded at dawn in dismantling an Israeli espionage system that was installed in the Barouk region.   The army command stated that the system was placed at a height of 1715 meters and contains a receiver and a transmission device covering the towns of the western and central Bekaa, a number of towns in the South, and regions in Syria.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=166219&language=en
Nasrallah: Status quo concerns Israel
After surveillance cameras found in mountains overlooking Beirut, Hezbollah chief says Israel ‘continuing to spy.’ Adds: Status quo enables Israel’s enemies to prepare for next conflict in comfortable conditions.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3999920,00.html 
Hezbollah tells Lebanon govt to leave UN Hariri court to it (AFP)
AFP – Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday called on Lebanon’s government to step aside and allow his armed movement to singlehandedly deal with a UN court on the murder of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/wl_mideast_afp/lebanonunhariritribunalhezbollah
Hariri denies use of Israeli-made security device
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s press office dismissed Wednesday as “fabricated” an Israeli media report claiming that security agencies responsible for Hariri’s security use an advanced Israeli-made device when taking protection measures.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=122609 
Shiites in Lebanon mark Ashoura with anti-Israeli slogans (Roundup)
Beirut – Up to 300,000 black-clad Shiite Muslims, some beating their chests and others slashing their heads with blades, on Thursday commemorated the death 14 centuries ago of their martyr, Hussein ibn Ali, by vowing not to recognize Israel.  The leader of the radical Shiite movement Hezbollah, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, used the occasion to threaten the Jewish state. 
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1606108.php/Shiites-in-Lebanon-mark-Ashoura-with-anti-Israeli-slogans-Roundup
Iraq
Wednesday: 6 Iraqis Wounded
Because of Ashuraa observances, reports of violence have been scant the last few days except for significant attacks. Only six casualties were reported today and all of them survived. However, there were a number of important news stories in the headlines today.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/12/15/wednesday-6-wounded/ 
Bombs kill 2 Iraqis on way to religious ceremony (AP)
AP – Bombs hidden in trash cans exploded near a group of pilgrims in a town north of Baghdad, killing two people Thursday as millions of Shiites headed to ceremonies to mark a day of mourning.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101216/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq
Iraq holds 73 as two million throng shrine city (AFP)
AFP – Iraq has arrested 73 Al-Qaeda-linked suspects officials said were implicated in plotting “chaos” during Ashura in Karbala, as two million pilgrims thronged the Shiite shrine city on Thursday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101216/wl_mideast_afp/iraqreligionshiitesashura
Iraq has executed 257 since 2005: minister (AFP)
AFP – Iraq has executed 257 people, including six women, since 2005, deputy justice minister Busho Ibrahim told AFP on Thursday, amid calls from the United Nations for Iraq to abolish capital punishment.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101216/wl_mideast_afp/iraqexecutionrights
Iraq gets U.N. green light for civil nuclear program (Reuters)
Reuters – The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday gave Iraq a green light to develop a civilian nuclear program, ending 19-year-old restrictions aimed at preventing the country from developing atomic weapons.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101215/pl_nm/us_iraq_un
Security Council ends Saddam-era Iraq sanctions (AFP)
AFP – The UN Security Council on Wednesday ended key international sanctions imposed on Iraq in a major move to bring closure on the Saddam Hussein era.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestsanctionsuncouncil 
Wikileaks Iraq: how to visualise the text
In October, WikiLeaks released 391,832 reports from the Iraq War, the most comprehensive set of documents about the conflict to date. Each is a report of a specific incident in the Iraq war. At the rate of one document per minute, it would take 272 days non-stop to read every report — and you still might miss the big picture. This is exactly the sort of problem where visualization can help, by turning patterns in the documents into patterns in a picture. 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/dec/16/wikileaks-iraq-visualisation
Wikileaks/U.S. and other world news

WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange bail granted by British court
WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange was granted bail today in Britain. Confusion about who had appealed his bail led to ‘Anonymous’ hacker attacks on the wrong website.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/vfQRjosryks/WikiLeaks-Julian-Assange-bail-granted-by-British-court

As WikiLeaks’ Assange Freed on Bail, Alleged Military Leaker Bradley Manning Imprisoned Under Inhumane Conditions
A High court in London has upheld a decision to grant bail to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. But what about US Army Private Bradley Manning? The army intelligence analyst has been held for the last seven months on suspicion of leaking the massive trove of government documents to WikiLeaks. Manning. Salon.com blogger Glenn Greenwald says Manning is being held under conditions that constitute cruel and inhumane treatment—and even torture.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/12/16/alleged_wikileaks_whistleblower_bradley_manning_imprisonedUS: Don’t Prosecute WikiLeaks Founder: Human Rights Watch
“Prosecuting WikiLeaks for publishing leaked documents would set a terrible precedent that will be eagerly grasped by other governments, particularly those with a record of trying to muzzle legitimate political reporting.”
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/12/15/us-don-t-prosecute-wikileaks-founder Naomi Wolf: Sweden’s Serial Negligence in Prosecuting Rape Further Highlights the Politics Behind Julian Assange’s Arrest
According to numerous reliable reports, the same Swedish authorities going after Julian Assange do a worse job prosecuting reported rapes than do police and the judiciary in any other comparable country.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-wolf/post_1435_b_797188.html
The inhumane conditions of Bradley Manning’s detention, Glenn Greenwald
Bradley Manning, the 22-year-old U.S. Army Private accused of leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks, has never been convicted of that crime, nor of any other crime.  Despite that, he has been detained at the U.S. Marine brig in Quantico, Virginia for five months — and for two months before that in a military jail in Kuwait — under conditions that constitute cruel and inhumane treatment and, by the standards of many nations, even torture.  Interviews with several people directly familiar with the conditions of Manning’s detention, ultimately including a Quantico brig official (Lt. Brian Villiard) who confirmed much of what they conveyed, establishes that the accused leaker is subjected to detention conditions likely to create long-term psychological injuries.
http://www.salon.com/news/wikileaks/index.html?story=/opinion/greenwald/2010/12/14/manning
Wikileaks Mirrors: Wikileaks is currently mirrored on 2194 sites, Click to view list
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27007.htm
WikiLeaks cables: Chevron discussed oil project with Tehran, claims Iraqi PM
Embassy cable reveals Nouri al-Maliki believed US energy firm negotiated with Iran about cross-border oilfield despite sanctions.  The US energy firm Chevron negotiated with Tehran about developing an Iraq-Iran cross-border oilfield in spite of tight US sanctions, according to the Iraqi prime minister in leaked diplomatic cables.  Nouri al-Maliki’s claim, reported in the cables, that Chevron was in discussions with the Iranian government will raise eyebrows in Europe and other parts of the world where international companies have come under significant pressure from Washington to end investments and other financial dealings with Tehran.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/15/wikileaks-chevron-iran-iraq-oilfield-claim
WikiLeaks: US Cables: Swedish government ‘hid’ anti-terror operations with America from Parliament
The Swedish government asked American officials to keep intelligence-gathering “informal” to help avoid Parliamentary scrutiny, American diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks show.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8202745/WikiLeaks-Swedish-government-hid-anti-terror-operations-with-America-from-Parliament.html
Oil or Terrorism: Which Motivates U.S. Policy More?
One cable by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in December 2009 notes that “donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide.” Despite this, “Riyadh has taken only limited action to disrupt fundraising for the UN 1267-listed Taliban and LeT [Lashkar e-Tayyiba] groups that are also aligned with al-Qaeda.”
http://www.fpif.org/articles/oil_or_terrorism_which_motivates_us_policy_more
WikiLeaks Conspiracy Charges? U.S. Tries To Build Case
Federal prosecutors, seeking to build a case against the WikiLeaks leader Julian Assange for his role in a huge dissemination of classified government documents, are looking for evidence of any collusion in his early contacts with an Army intelligence analyst suspected of leaking the information.  Justice Department officials are trying to find out whether Mr. Assange encouraged or even helped the analyst, Pfc. Bradley Manning, to extract classified military and State Department files from a government computer system. If he did so, they believe they could charge him as a conspirator in the leak, not just as a passive recipient of the documents who then published them.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/15/wikileaks-conspiracy-charges_n_797454.html 
Inside Story – Fighting Extradition
Inside Story asks if Julian Assange’s case is merely a legal one or connected to WikiLeaks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyASqsnw-EY&feature=youtube_gdata
Ellsberg, Other Anti-War Protesters To Chain Themselves To White House Fence
Even as President Obama on Thursday attempts to put a good face on the war in Afghanistan, Vietnam-era whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg and several dozen other anti-war protesters will be chaining themselves to the White House fence, inviting arrest in the name of peace.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/15/ellsberg-antiwar-protesters-white-house-fence_n_797410.html 
Pro-WikiLeaks Hackers Send Open Letter To Glenn Beck
The group professing to be Anonymous, the organization allegedly behind Operation Payback, has issued an open letter to Glenn Beck.  Essentially, ‘Anonymous’ would like Beck to know that a) they are not affiliated with WikiLeaks and b) revolution is a good thing and Beck is more than welcome to join theirs.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/16/prowikileaks-hackers-send_n_797570.html
Air Force Academy Sex Assaults Up 150%, Most Among Service Academies Since 2008
DENVER — Reported sexual assaults at the three U.S. military academies rose 64 percent in the 2009-10 academic year compared with the previous year, the Defense Department said Wednesday.  Officials said the increase could reflect that more students are reporting assaults, rather than a jump in the number of assaults themselves.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/15/air-force-academy-sex-ass_n_797304.html 
Italian court ups sentences for 23 CIA agents
An Italian court on Wednesday upped the sentences for 23 CIA agents convicted in absentia of abducting an Egyptian imam in one of the biggest cases against the US “extraordinary rendition” programme.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iqonKaaaugdqFna7gL2Ja7qHbvog?docId=CNG.392d1ff158beced710b2f76ae920bf97.b61
NATO Kills Afghan Civilian, children hurt in NATO strike
NATO aircraft accidentally killed an Afghan civilian and wounded two children, the coalition said on Wednesday.
http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-53583120101215?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=southAsiaNews&rpc=401 
Red Cross says Afghan conditions worst in 30 years
Spreading violence in Afghanistan is preventing aid organisations from providing help, with access to those in need at its worst level in three decades, the Red Cross said on Wednesday.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6BE2K020101215
US intelligence pessimistic on Afghan war: reports
Two intelligence reports, one on Afghanistan and one on Pakistan, offer a more pessimistic view of the war than top US officials and military leaders, who have touted progress in the fight against Taliban insurgents.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/pl_afp/afghanistanunrestpakistanusmilitaryintelligence 
Revealed: How the CIA protected Nazi murderers
US shielded war-time collaborators to try to destabilise Soviet Union.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/revealed-how-the-cia-protected-nazi-murderers-2158071.html
Mubarak needs to convince army
Leaked US documents suggest Hosni Mubarak could fail to convince the army that his son should be next president.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/12/201012158103985404.html 
Kuwait court cuts writer’s jail term to three months
KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait’s appeals court reduced Wednesday to three months a one-year jail term given to a prominent writer and journalist for allegedly slandering the prime minister, his lawyer said. The ruling means that Mohammad Abdulqader al-Jassem, who was arrested on November 22, will remain in jail at least for the time being, Abdullah al-Ahmad told AFP.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=122579 
Shiites in Muslim world solemnly mark day of grief (AP)
AP – Shiites across the Muslim world commemorated their most somber day of the year Thursday with solemn processions where some beat their chests or cut themselves with swords and chains to mourn the death some 1,300 years ago of one of their most beloved saints.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101216/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_mideast_ashoura

 www.TheHeadlines.org 
     

BBC badgers Barak as no American outlet would: What is the US getting for its billions in aid?

Dec 16, 2010

Susie Kneedler

 

Two nights back BBC’s “World News America” anchor, Matt Frei, stood up more for America in the face of Israeli-government intransigence than the American Congress and press.

The BBC hid its provocative interview behind a bland precis, “Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak talks to Matt Frei from the United Nations in New York about the prospects for peace,” but it nevertheless violated several taboos that limit press freedom in the U.S. Ehud Barak didn’t “talk to” Matt Frei about peace. Instead, Frei actually pressed Barak about the money: “Now, over the years, over the decades, America has given Israel unwavering support, as well as billions of dollars in aid,” as well as “What are you giving them at the moment [in return]?”

Barak, seemingly surprised at Frei’s effrontery, fobs him off with the usual spiel: “Oh-oh….America keeps giving a lot to Israel a lot….making sure our security is okay and making sure there is a qualitative military edge for the Israeli Defense Forces….we are part of the American, Western, way of life….the only democracy in the Middle East…surrounded by an ocean of different kind of systems. And I think that that’s a great contribution…now at the forefront against, terror, radicalism, proliferation, rogue states….”

Frei tries to interrupt Barak’s recitation. Finally, Frei repeats his question about the dough, the massive generosity from the U.S. that receives no return from Israel: “Fine, but considering the amounts of money flowing in your direction from the United States, considering the unwavering declarations of friendship from this country, don’t you think that Israel should be giving a little bit more at the moment in order to facilitate a peace process which both sides have agreed to?”

Barak “….We have to do it not because are getting a lot of support from the United States but because it is in the real interests of Israel, …region and the world as a whole [NO mention of the U.S. interests]….we owe it to ourselves…not doing a favor to the Palestinians by making a peace….core issues…break the deadlock and achieve an agreement.”

Frei asks a third time about the U.S. generosity and Israeli lack of reciprocity, this time crossing a new line, imagining that Americans might one day cut Israel off from the spigot: “But the real danger politically in this country is that you have a whole number of people throwing hands up in despair, Hillary Clinton for one, the American public for another. Is it not possible that at some stage, that that unwavering friendship and the money that comes with it is just going to run out?”

Barak: ” I don’t think so and I hope not,….share with the American people a way of life….democracy, freedom, and so on….Peacemaking takes two…it’s like tango, not like war….Palestinians have to make tough decisions on their own.”

Frei brings up U.S. support for Israel an unprecedented fourth time and hints again that it could be curtailed: “But the American administration is very frustrated by what Israel has been doing, especially when it comes to settlements and settlement freezes. Are you not worried that at some stage they will really throw their hands up in despair and say ‘Enough is enough: you’re on your own!’?” 

Barak’s answer seems almost to hint at blackmailing a weak U.S. President who needs the (fake) “peace process”: “I don’t think so, I think that too much has been invested…too much is dependent on it…major challenges, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran…radical wave of Muslim terror….proof of the pudding is in the eating, so we still have to deliver and we intend to.” 

This interview would be less than the bare minimum if the U.S. press would actually report facts or Congress act on them. Matt Frei didn’t introduce Ehud Barak as the “Defense” Minister who plotted the war crimes committed in the 2008-9 attack on Gaza, killing hundreds of imprisoned Gazan civilians–a bombardment planned well before Israel pledged itself to the previous six-month truce with Hamas. Frei didn’t remind viewers that Israel first broke the ceasefire on Nov 4, 2008, and then after Hamas then offered to renew the truce indefinitely, exploded the calm with a surprise attack on Dec. 27.

Nevertheless, Frei and BBC out-do the American news-“readers.” In a fair world, we wouldn’t have to feel glad for so little truth, but against the censorship now silencing salient facts about Palestine and Israel, Frei’s willingness to keep asking about American money and Israeli ingratitude makes me grateful today. Would that our press and Congressional representatives would do as much. After all, the flow of such gargantuan amounts of money should be the obvious premise of every debate about Israel–for that indulgence enables its illegal Occupation of Palestine–let alone the rights to justice and self-determination of the Palestinian people.

 

Talks foundered because– U.S. does not know what Palestinians want!

Dec 16, 2010

Ira Glunts

 

Am I being overly cranky by being pissed off by this headline and summary I copied from GoogleNews? I could not even read the article. Can you imagine that the US does not know what the parties want?

Report: Mitchell proposes six weeks of ‘parallel’ Israel-Palestinian talks … Ha’aretz – Barak Ravid – ‎40 minutes ago‎ Palestinian source tells AFP news agency that the aim of the talks ‘is for the US administration to form an idea of what the two parties want.’
     

Sourani, in 1999: ‘We should wait on no one to claim what is rightfully ours’

Dec 16, 2010

Philip Weiss

 

The U.S. Congress affirmed by voice vote last night a resolution that the U.S. must block international recognition of any efforts by the Palestinians to unilaterally declare a state. The legislation was sponsored by New York liberal Democrats Anthony Weiner and Gary Ackerman among others. (It’s after the jump.)

Now here is the great human-rights leader Raji Sourani, writing 11 years ago in the International Herald Tribune:

Two hundred and twenty two years ago, the people of the American colonies banded together to issue their Declaration of Independence. They did not ask leave of any king or great power to do so. It was a unilateral action. Of course, declarations of independence are, by definition, unilateral. Otherwise, they would be oaths of fealty.

Nearly 187 years later, when Martin Luther King Jr. led the civil rights movement to expand that declaration and revolution to African Americans, he wrote a letter of response from his Birmingham prison cell to white ministers who had urged him to hold on and not push ahead with his campaign of civil disobedience. King devastatingly laid out the blighting effects of segregation on his children, and asserted that “Justice too long delayed is justice denied.”

On May 4, 1999, we, the Palestinian people, had hoped that our leaders would be able to stand up to Israel and the United States and declare our independence after decades of Israeli occupation…

We are worthy of better than for Representative John Lewis — a man who walked through hell on earth to speed his people’s day of freedom and self-determination — to tell us to hold on and wait still longer. We should wait on no one to claim what is rightfully ours.

Yet, so thoroughly have the parameters of the debate been shaped for us that even should we obtain all of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem we would only be securing 22 percent of historic Palestine. Any further settlement, or splintering of the West Bank will make a Palestinian state nonviable and will rekindle support for other solutions, including a binational state in which Palestinians would soon compose the majority.

To Mr. Lewis, other individual members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and to all congressional leaders and Americans of goodwill who spoke out against the grotesque consequences of apartheid, we beseech you to once again find your conscience and your voice. Generations of Palestinians have abhorred the “politics of dispossession” practiced by one American administration after another, but retain a fundamental confidence in the good sense of the American people to do right by oppressed peoples around the world. The madness of using the peace process to foist apartheid upon us surely cannot be the will of the American people.

This past month has seen the neutering of your cigarette advertising and the renewal of pressure on the National Rifle Association. To make it a troika by challenging the iron grip of the pro-lsrael lobby over America’s policy in the Middle East would do much to advance the cause of a just peace in the region. From our confinement here, we can only hope that the day when the voices of thousands of American Christians, Jews, and Muslims are heard calling for a more fair American approach to the Palestinian-lsraeli conflict is not far off.

The nonstop process of parley and obfuscation of our Israeli interlocutors is beginning to look like a good deal more than delay. It is justice denied, perhaps irrevocably and forever. We Palestinians, and indeed all freedom-loving people, are worthy of far better.

Now here is the Congress’s resolution:

H.RES.1734 — Whereas a true and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians can only be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties; (Introduced in House – IH)

HRES 1734 IH

111th CONGRESS2d Session

 

H. RES. 1734

 

Reaffirming Congressional opposition to the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state, and for other purposes.

 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

November 29, 2010

Mr. POE of Texas (for himself, Ms. BERKLEY, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. WEINER, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, and Mr. ACKERMAN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

RESOLUTION

 Reaffirming Congressional opposition to the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state, and for other purposes.

Whereas a true and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians can only be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties;

Whereas the leadership of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) have repeatedly refused to negotiate directly with the Government of Israel, demanding unprecedented preconditions from Israel in exchange for their return to direct negotiations;

Whereas Palestinian leaders have repeatedly threatened to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state and to seek recognition of a Palestinian state by the United Nations and other international forums;

Whereas Palestinian leaders are reportedly holding high-level discussions on pursuing recognition of a Palestinian state by the United Nations and other international forums;

Whereas UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry on October 26, 2010, expressed his support for recognition of a Palestinian state by the United Nations;

Whereas, on March 11, 1999, the Senate adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 5, and on March 16, 1999, the House of Representatives adopted House Concurrent Resolution 24, both of which resolved that `any attempt to establish Palestinian statehood outside the negotiating process will invoke the strongest congressional opposition.’;

Whereas Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stated on October 20, 2010, that `There is no substitute for face-to-face discussion and, ultimately, for an agreement that leads to a just and lasting peace.’;

Whereas Secretary Clinton stated on November 10, 2010, that `Negotiations between the parties is the only means by which all the outstanding claims arising out of the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict can be resolved. . . . So we do not support unilateral steps by either party that could prejudge the outcome of such negotiations.’;

Whereas, on November 10, 2010, the Israeli Knesset adopted a resolution `reject[ing] entirely the threats of some Palestinian leaders to declare unilateral Palestinian statehood . . . [affirming] that all points of dispute must be debated only within the framework of direct negotiations . . . [and] call[ing] on the Palestinian leadership to return to the negotiating table.’;

Whereas Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, in a speech at Bar Ilan University in Israel on June 14, 2009, stated that `[A] fundamental prerequisite for ending the conflict is a public, binding and unequivocal Palestinian recognition of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people. . . . Therefore, today we ask our friends in the international community, led by the United States, for what is critical to the security of Israel: Clear commitments that in a future peace agreement, the territory controlled by the Palestinians will be demilitarized. . . . If we receive this guarantee regarding demilitarization and Israel’s security needs, and if the Palestinians recognize Israel as the State of the Jewish people, then we will be ready in a future peace agreement to reach a solution where a demilitarized Palestinian state exists alongside the Jewish state.’;

Whereas efforts to bypass negotiations and to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state or to appeal to the United Nations or other international forums for recognition of a Palestinian state would clearly and fundamentally violate the underlying principles of the 1993 Oslo Accords and the Middle East peace process, and represent another instance of the Palestinian leadership’s noncompliance with its commitments under existing agreements; and

Whereas United States opposition to any unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood or related measures should be reaffirmed strongly and unequivocally: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, by the House of Representatives that Congress–

•  

  (1) reaffirms its strong opposition to any attempt to establish a Palestinian state outside the negotiating process;

•  

  (2) strongly and unequivocally opposes any attempt to seek recognition of a Palestinian state by the United Nations or other international forums;

•  

  (3) calls upon the Administration to continue its opposition to the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state;

•  

  (4) calls upon the Administration to affirm that the United States would deny any recognition, legitimacy, or support of any kind to any unilaterally declared `Palestinian state’ and would urge other responsible nations to follow suit, and to make clear that any such unilateral declaration would constitute a grievous violation of the principles underlying the Oslo Accords and the Middle East peace process;

•  

  (5) calls upon the Administration to affirm that the United States will oppose any attempt to seek recognition of a Palestinian state by the United Nations or other international forums and will veto any resolution to that end by the United Nations Security Council;

•  

  (6) calls upon the President and the Secretary of State to lead a high-level diplomatic effort to encourage the European Union and other responsible nations to strongly and unequivocally oppose the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state or any attempt to seek recognition of a Palestinian state by the United Nations or other international forums; and

•  

  (7) supports the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the achievement of a true and lasting peace through direct negotiations between the parties.