NOVANEWS
01/07/2011
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In Ajami and Mas’ha, evidence of the continuing Nakba
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Forward: Israeli army doctors warned in ‘03 that CS gas in high concentrations could kill
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Sanchez’s PR man said Palestinians have no claim to Jerusalem
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Skeptical ‘Washington Post’ report on teargassing death is written by reporter said to have served in Israeli army
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Why does Israel ban Gazans from recycling?
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76% of children arrested in Silwan tell DCI they suffered some form of physical violence during arrest, transfer or interrogation.
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For Jawaher Abu Rahma: As one sleeps, another wakes up. As one dies, a whole generation is born.
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Well who does he remind you of?
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Israelis refused to ‘read or touch’ detailed Palestinian documents
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Atlanta Journal Constitution changes article headline after being faced with the reality of Gaza
In Ajami and Mas’ha, evidence of the continuing Nakba
Jan 06, 2011
Alex Kane
Sami Abushhadeh discusses Jaffa. (Video: Alex Kane)
Ramallah, West Bank–The Palestinian catastrophe, the Nakba of 1948, never really ended. What has happened since then, as Yehouda Shenhav, an Israeli sociologist and the author of Bounded by the Green Line, puts it, is a “continuation of the [1948] war by other means.” There are continuous effort by Israel to displace Palestinians of their land all over the occupied territories and inside Israel.
Two such efforts are evident in recently hearing the stories of Hani Amer, a Palestinian resident of the West Bank village of Mas’ha, and of the Palestinians living in Ajami, a neighborhood in Jaffa.
Amer sits down in his living room, talking with passion and at times smiling, despite his home being surrounded by the illegal separation barrier and Jewish-only settlements. For seven years, Amer and his family have been struggling against the barrier, which restricts their freedom of movement and ability to farm their surrounding land. As he explains, “until now, we’re being displaced”–a microcosm of Israeli efforts to confiscate Palestinian land and to push Palestinians out. “The situation we’re living in is horrible,” Amer says.
Hani Amer stands in the doorway of his home, which is completely surrounded by the separation barrier and illegal settlements. (Photo: Alex Kane)
But Amer’s story of displacement did not begin in 2003. Instead, it began in 1948, the year that Israel declared its independence in the midst of an ethnic cleansing campaign that expelled about 750,000 Palestinians. Amer is a refugee from Kafr Qassem, a Palestinian city east of Tel Aviv. If he had the chance, he says, he would return.
Amer is responsible for collecting water from his well. When he wants to go to the well, he has to make sure the Israeli army gate that leads to his land is open.
Amer tells of how he can only access his land at specific times in the day, and of the Israeli occupation’s harassment. For instance, at times Amer is forced to wait for what can be up to seven hours until the Israeli army lets him access his land.
“We are simple people facing a big entity,” he says. “The reason why we keep doing this is because we want to sustain our land.”
What Amer is up against is an individual family’s example of what the barrier and settlements are doing to Palestinians across the West Bank. In the village of al-Walajah, for example, the wall has surrounded “most of the village, with the side of the wall facing the Har Gilo settlement covered by Jerusalem stone and the side facing al-Walajah being exposed concrete,” according to the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem.
The same story of displacement—albeit a different chapter—is unfolding in the Palestinian neighborhood of Ajami, as depicted in the movie of the same name. There, the combination of gentrification and discrimination against Palestinians has led to a deteriorating situation, according to Sami Abushhadeh, a PhD student at Tel Aviv University who is writing a thesis on Jaffa as a center of Arab culture during Mandate Palestine.
After the 1948 war, Ajami became a Palestinian ghetto when Israeli forces “surrounded [the Palestinians there] by a barbed wire fence for a number of months,” according to the Israeli organization Zochrot. But currently, real estate developers looking to make Ajami into a hot-spot for Jewish families are displacing some of the residents and threatening others with eviction.
Isabelle Humphries, writing in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, explains:
Walking around Jaffa, our local Palestinian guide pointed out new exclusive building developments built upon the sites of recently demolished homes and buildings. Eviction orders are issued by Amidar, the housing company owned and operated by the Israeli government. Amidar claims to offer subsidized and rent-controlled housing in Israel, but the fact that its major stockholders are the Jewish Agency and the Jewish National Fund—two institutions openly mandated to support the Jewish population only—shows that it is not simply financial gain that authorities are pursuing. Indeed, since 1948 Palestinian representatives have been excluded from all stages of the urban planning process. Ben-Gurion’s vow that “Jaffa will be a Jewish city” remains the guiding principle.
As the cases of Mas’ha and Ajami show, Ben-Gurion’s vision of an ethnically exclusive state for Jews only remains the vision for the Israeli government today.
Alex Kane is a blogger and journalist based in New York City. He blogs on Israel/Palestine and Islamophobia in the U.S. at alexbkane.wordpress.com, where this post originally appeared. Follow him on Twitter @alexbkane.
Forward: Israeli army doctors warned in ‘03 that CS gas in high concentrations could kill
Jan 06, 2011
Philip Weiss
Angry Arab points out that the New York Times has become a propaganda machine on the teargassing killing–
the New York Times barely reported on the murder of Jawahir Abu Rahmi but it found it necessary to devote more than half a page for Israeli military propagandists to peddle their lies:
Meantime, the Forward is doing actual reporting on the case:
Abu Rahmah is the 21st person to die in these protests since 2004, according to Jonathan Pollak, a spokesman for the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, which organizes demonstrations in villages across the West Bank. Abu Rahmah’s own brother, Bassem, died in April 2009 at age 31 when a tear gas canister hit him in the chest.…
It may be a nonlethal weapon, but tear gas can have serious effects. A 2003 article published by four Israeli army doctors in Archives of Toxicology noted that CS gas — the type used by the IDF at these protests — causes tearing and burning for about 15 to 30 minutes, and this is lessened if people are moved into fresh air. The army has insisted on the safety of CS beyond these immediate effects. But the Israeli army doctors’ article noted, “At high concentrations, enclosed spaces, or prolonged exposures, severe side effects may occur and human deaths from lacrimating [tearing] agents have been reported.”
A 2009 article in the British Medical Journal came to similar conclusions, noting that tear gas is “not a gas at all, but a toxic chemical irrit
Sanchez’s PR man said Palestinians have no claim to Jerusalem
Jan 06, 2011
Steve Horn
The other day this site mentioned Rick Sanchez’s kowtowing to the lobby in the aftermath of his on-air blow-up on CNN that sent him packing in October 2010. Sanchez hired a new PR guy by the name of Ronn Torossian, who, and here the original piece cited his Wikipedia entry, “is a big (right wing) Israel supporter who has handled Girls Gone Wild,” as well as various other far right-wing Israeli organizations.
There’s more to the story.
Torossian, as spotlighted by a great article published in Haaretz in August of 2009, is also the main PR guy behind the contrived messaging that accompanies all Birthright Israel trips. Interestingly, the article mentions that many Jews, when they found out Torossian was behind the Birthright Israel messaging machine, became deeply disturbed and there was actually an uproar.
The article also mentions that Torossian founded an organization called “Yerushalayim Shelanu,” which in English means “Our Jerusalem.” This organization works to push Arab Israelis out of Jerusalem, or, in other words, actively works to ethnically cleanse Jerusalem. Indeed, in an April 2004 article published in The Forward, he had this to say: “The PLO or P.A., or whatever the gangsters call themselves today, have no place in Jerusalem. I feel the need to speak truth to power.”
Even Jeffrey Goldberg, a former IDF prison guard and thus, no lefty, had this to say of Torossian in a blog he wrote in Oct. 2008: “It’s said of Ronn Torossian that he represents ‘right-wing’ Israeli politicians, but this description does not do his clients justice. ‘Right-wing’ is Bibi Netanyahu. Torossian represents the lunatic fringe…[A]t various points in his career, has more or less advocated the ethnic cleansing of Israel of its Arab citizens”
It’s worth mentioning that this issue has also been written about by Adam Horowitz here, but I thought a reminder was in order.
The moral of the story? As Israel becomes increasingly and terrifyingly right-wing with each passing day, it is naturally teaming up with those who represent this ideology to help them with “message control” to prevent “delegitimization” of Israel. While this occurs, the Netanyahu-led Israeli government’s actions, with the complicity of the United States, are actually the sole cause of Israel’s delegitimization. The great Gideon Levy points this out astutely in his column today.
The real key then, is educating the “great ambivalent middle” of (predominately) young American Jews, who are mostly liberals, whom John Mearsheimer referred to in his April 2010 “The Future of Palestine: Righteous Jews vs. the New Afrikaners” speech at the Palestine Center. It must be made known that Israel has moved so far to the right in the past few decades that it naturally aligns with Torossian and many others of his ilk. Birthright trips, for certain, won’t tell them that.
Mearsheimer correctly stated, “The critical question, however, is: what will happen to those Jews who comprise the great ambivalent middle once it is clear to them that Israel is a full-fledged apartheid state and that facts on the ground have made a two state solution impossible? Will they side with the new Afrikaners and defend apartheid Israel, or will they ally with the righteous Jews and call for making Greater Israel a true democracy? Or will they sit silently on the sidelines? I believe that most of the Jews in the great ambivalent middle will not defend apartheid Israel but will either keep quiet or side with the righteous Jews against the new Afrikaners, who will become increasingly marginalized over time. And once that happens, the lobby will be unable to provide cover for Israel’s racist policies toward the Palestinians in the way it has in the past.”
Men like Torrosian must be exposed. The lobby’s legitimacy (but not yet its sway), slowly but surely, is being chipped away at.
Skeptical ‘Washington Post’ report on teargassing death is written by reporter said to have served in Israeli army
Jan 06, 2011
Philip Weiss
Jonathan Cook shares my interest in confused-nationalities in correspondents for major American papers:
A recent predecessor of [Ethan] Bronner’s, Joel Greenberg, did reserve duty in the Israeli army while he was reporting for the paper, apparently a fact known by the editors but also not considered a conflict of interest. Most of the NYT’s correspondents in the past two decades appear to have been Jewish.
Alison Weir says that this fact on Greenberg comes from the Jewish Week, and he was bureau chief for the Times at the time.
Well here’s Joel Greenberg, writing for the Washington Post as a “special correspondent” on the Jawaher Abu Rahmah killing. The thrust of the piece is that the claimed cause of death is questionable. First two sentences and last one:
The Israeli army, which had questioned reports by Palestinian witnesses and doctors that tear gas led to the death of a woman after a protest against Israel’s separation barrier in the West Bank on Friday, said Wednesday that it is still conducting its own inquiry into the death and will make an announcement after its completion.
Military officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, had earlier suggested that an existing medical condition might have contributed to 36-year-old Jawaher Abu Rahma’s death. ..
The army said the Palestinian medical reports “raise many questions and doubts,” and it described Palestinian cooperation in investigating the incident as “poor.”
Why does Israel ban Gazans from recycling?
Jan 06, 2011
Hani Almadhoun
A little over a year ago when I was visiting my family in Gaza, driving all the way from the southern tip of this narrow strip to the northern tip, “About an hour’s drive”, it was hard to imagine all the news Gaza received for being such a tiny piece of land. But throughout the drive on Salah Aldeen Road, one could not help but notice piles and piles of scrap metal stored in huge warehouses on the road. Anyone visiting Gaza can tell you those scrap metal piles cannot be missed.
When I asked my family about those warehouses, I was told those loads of scrap metal were waiting to be let into Israel for recycling. Since 2006 Israel, where the only recycling facilities are, has not allowed the Palestinian warehouses that collect and process the scrap metal to let it into Israel so they can be recycled and brought to life again. As a kid, I remember old men on donkey-pulled carts with annoying horn mics asking people to bring their metal junk–mostly aluminum and copper back then, but now they also take steal and plastic.
As a kid I would sell old kitchenware pans and pots for a few shekels that would pay for ice cream after school. I would also see kids collecting empty soda cans and whatever they thought they could sell and wait for the old man on his donkey-pulled cart to show up. Items like car parts, pipes, cans, and barbed wire are also popular items to recycle. That was the late 90s, and early 2000, but once Israel imposed its siege on Gaza, Israel banned the import of all metal junk from the Palestinians.
According to a recent article by Elaph.com, the Arabic news site, there is now 100 thousand tons of scrap metal in Gaza waiting for permission from Israel to be recycled. There are 20 large warehouses that collect recycling material, those twenty warehouse are individually owned by Palestinians. Although the people of Gaza appreciate replacing and having less trash to deal with, for the many Palestinians this is purely a business transaction. For example, a ton of scrap metal in Gaza is bought for a 100 shekels (about 30 US dollars), the warehouse would sell it to the Israeli recycling facilities for 250 shekels (about 70 US dollars). On average, each of those 20 warehouses sold 500 tons of scrap metal a month. Prior to the blockade each of those 20 warehouses employed 10 workers, and there are a reported 9 thousand individuals with donkey-pulled carts.”
Those warehouses would make a nice profit, improve the environment and provide local jobs.
As for the Israeli recyclers, they seem to have found alternatives for the time being as the Israeli government continues to maintain the blockade on importing the Gaza scrap metal. More recently, a few tunnel operators started smuggling their brass, aluminum and copper into Egypt for recycling, but there is so little you can smuggle underground when you are talking about 100 thousand tons of scrap metal. For Israel, it is about economic activities. They do not want anyone in Gaza to have an economy that stands on its own; instead, they want the people of Gaza to turn into a nation of beggars chasing food stamps. According to Israel this breaks their will and tells them that Hamas is really bad for them. But when Palestinians recycle and create jobs in the process, Israel’s hideous and cruel plans fail.
76% of children arrested in Silwan tell DCI they suffered some form of physical violence during arrest, transfer or interrogation.
Jan 06, 2011
Seham
And other news from Today in Palestine:
Settlers/ Land, Property, Resource Theft & Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing
Study: Israelis seized 86 per cent of east Jerusalem
Israeli authorities have seized 86 per cent of the land area in east Jerusalem, imposing a fait accompli that is unchangeable by the “peace process”, a Palestinian researcher said in a report.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87M
Palestinian businesses demolished in East Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities on Wednesday demolished the businesses of a Palestinian resident northeast of Jerusalem, witnesses said. Forces destroyed two garages, a car wash and building materials belonging to Abed Al-Aziz Al-Khatib, a resident of Hizma. The buildings provided the main source of income for Al-Khatib’s 50-member family, he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=348288
Silwan committee: New settlement at Job’s Well
JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — A new settlement project in the Jerusalem community of Silwan will see the neighborhood split in two, a spokesman for the area’s Land and Real Estate Defense Committee said on Thursday. The new development, set for 5 dunums of land some of which take up the Silwan valley, a fertile area southeast of the Old City walls known alternatively as the Valley of Jehosaphat, or Kideron Valley.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=348681
Abu Shaar condemns $18 million mosque conversion
Gaza religious affairs minister Talib Abu Shaar condemned Wednesday Israel for a multi-million dollar move to Judaize two mosques in the city of Jerusalem.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k
Top Palestinian officials besieged by colonists
Ramallah: Israeli colonists besieged top Palestinian officials in a house in the city of Hebron in the West Bank, hurling stones on the house. The house owner and his family members were also stuck with them. Hebron Governor Kamel Abu Hamid, Civil and Security Coordination chief Mohammad Khalaidah and other top officials from Hebron were surrounded in the house by the colonists, and until the time of filing this report were not allowed to leave the house.
http://gulfnews.com/news/region/palestinian-territories/top-palestinian-officials-besieged-by-colonists-1.741615
Umm al-Fahm neighborhood organizes general strike in response to home demolitions
After the Israeli government demolished a 3-story building Tuesday in the neighborhood of Umm al-Fahm in East Jerusalem, the residents of the neighborhood declared a general strike in protest of Israel’s demolition policy.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60360
Murder of Non Violent Activist Jawaher Abu Rahmah
IDF scales back defense over death of Palestinian protester
Brother Ashraf shot after hands cuffed and eyes bound. The military court is set to hold a sentencing hearing today for a Lt. Col. Omri Borberg, convicted of ordering a soldier under his command to aim a rifle at a bound Palestinian protester two years ago. The protester, identified as Ashraf Abu Rahmah, is also the brother of Jawaher Abu Rahmah, the woman who died last Saturday following a protest in Bil’in Friday and the circumstances of whose death are in dispute. Borberg, who was relieved of his post as battalion commander following the incident with Ashraf Abu Rahmah, was convicted of intimidation and of conduct unbecoming an officer.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/idf-scales-back-defense-over-death-of-palestinian-protester-1.335470?localLinksEnabled=false
Ira Chernus: Israel’s Deadly Tear Gas Made in USA
When activists find things marked “Made in USA” lying on the ground they deliver them directly to the US ambassador to Israel.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ira-chernus/israels-deadly-tear-gas-m_b_804666.html
More on the Bilin incident, Stephen M. Walt
This is a follow-up to my previous post on the death of Jawahar Abu Rahmah. I’m trying to get ready for a trip to Southeast Asia and hadn’t intended to write about it again, but subsequent events deserve a brief commentary. After the initial press reports cited in my original post, IDF officials mounted awide-ranging challenge to the story that Ms. Abu Rahmah died as a result of inhaling tear gas. In particular, an IDF spokesman (who apparently met with a select group of sympathetic bloggers and questioned whether Rahmah had been at the rally), noted some alleged inconsistencies in the medical records, and suggested that Rahmah might have been suffering from other illnesses, including cancer. The clear implication was that the IDF’s actions had nothing to do with her death.
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/01/05/more_on_the_bilin_incident
Haaretz Knocks Haaretz On Israeli Coverage of Death of Bil’in Woman, Alex Kane
Two days ago, the Israeli daily Haaretz added to the Israeli media’s shameful reporting on the death of Jawaher Abu Rahmah, a Bil’in village resident who was killed at last Friday’s anti-wall demonstration due to Israeli Defense Forces-fired tear gas. Ironically, in a separate article today on Abu Rahmah’s death, the paper slightly knocks Israeli media coverage that repeated the IDF’s claims as fact–something that Haaretz did itself.
http://alexbkane.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/haaretz-knocks-haaretz-on-israeli-coverage-of-death-of-bilin-woman/
Jawaher Abu Rahmah Not the First to Die from Israeli Tear Gas, Joseph Dana
Contrary to Israeli claims, Abu Rahmah is not the first to have died as a result of tear-gas inhalation. Already during the years of the First Intifada, Amnesty International had reportedforty deaths from CS tear gas inhalation from December 1987 to June 1988 alone in its report “Israel and the Occupied Territories: Amnesty International’s concerns in 1988” (published 1989).
http://josephdana.com/2011/01/jawaher-abu-rahmah-not-the-first-to-die-from-israeli-tear-gas/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=jawaher-abu-rahmah-not-the-first-to-die-from-israeli-tear-gas
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions
Physicist: Naalin shooting tape doctored, Police says it was not edited
(Video) Expert says geometric, ballistic analysis of tape showing soldier firing rubber bullet at bound Palestinian during anti-fence rally determined it is not authentic. Police: I wasn’t edited
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4010082,00.html
Bil’in’s Abdallah Abu Rahmah sentenced to a year in prison
Bil’in protest organizer Abdallah Abu Rahmah was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment today, for his involvement in his village’s unarmed struggle against the wall. Abdallah Abu Rahmah was sentenced today to 12 months in prison, plus 6 months suspended sentence for 3 years and a fine of 5,000 NIS. In the sentencing, the judge cited the non-implementation of an Israeli High Court ruling which declared the current route of the wall on Bil’in’s land illegal as a mitigating factor. The military prosecution is likely to appeal this sentencing – as they did in the case of Adeeb Abu Rahmah, who was also sentenced for 12 months on similar charges but is still in prison after 15 months, pending the decision about the prosecution’s appeal. The defense attorney, adv. Gaby Lasky, is considering an appeal against Abu Rahma’s conviction.
http://popularstruggle.org/content/bilins-abdallah-abu-rahmah-sentenced-year-prison
Adnan Ghaith arrested by Israeli forces
Al-Bustan Popular Committee member Adnan Ghaith was arrested by Israeli forces at 2pm today. Ghaith, who also holds the position of Fatah secretary general in Silwan, has been fighting a lengthy legal battle with Israeli authorities against the military-issued order that will become active on 12 January, banning Ghaith from the Jerusalem area for a period of four months. The ban is regarded by many as an escalation in Israeli attempts to crack down on Palestinian political activity in Jerusalem.
http://silwanic.net/?p=10045
Two E.Jerusalem political activists arrested (AFP)
AFP – Israel police have arrested two Palestinian activists from a flashpoint neighbourhood in east Jerusalem in a move local officials said on Wednesday was politically motivated.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110105/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestiniansjerusalemarrestsilwan
Siyam will appear in court tomorrow
The Israeli court has accepted the appeal lodged by detained Wadi Hilweh Information Center director Jawad Siyam’s legal counsel. Siyam will appear in the Jerusalem Central Court at 1pm tomorrow.
http://silwanic.net/?p=10048
New poster focuses on Palestinian political prisoners
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/new-poster-focuses-on-palestinian-political-prisoners.html
Italian singer brings Gaza twinning accord
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Deputy Gaza Mayor Nezar Hejazi welcomed renowned Italian opera singer Joseph Fallisi to the Strip on Wednesday. Fallisi arrived in Gaza with the Asia 1 aid convoy. A delegation from Gaza’s Culture Ministry and the head of the Palestinian union of artists Zakareyah Zein Din joined the deputy mayor to greet Fallisi.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=348330
Join Huwaida Arraf & Adam Horowitz on an Interfaith Peace-Builders Delegation in May 2011!
This delegation will explore Palestinian and Israeli efforts to achieve peace and a resolution to their conflict based on justice. The delegation will feature meetings with Palestinian and Israeli peacemakers – leaders of civil society groups, grassroots organizers, religious leaders and more. IFPB’s May-June delegation also traditionally focuses on the annual commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba (Catastrophe) and the founding of the State of Israel. Visithttp://www.ifpb.org/del36/default.html for more details. To express interest, email office@ifpb.org and get more information!
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/join-huwaida-arraf-adam-horowitz-on.html
Anti
MK Ben-Ari: Eradicate treacherous leftists
After Knesset approves establishment of inquiry commission into funding of left-wing Israeli organizations, National Union MK tells Jerusalem conference they are ‘enemies of Israel,’ equates them to Hamas, Hezbollah.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4009642,00.html
Breaking: Israeli Knesset plenum votes to investigate human rights groups
The folks over at the Reut Institute are either really proud of themselves just about now, or are beginning to be just a little bit alarmed by the openly anti-democratic lengths Israeli legislators are willing to go to shut down what Reut inelegantly calls the “delegitimatizers.” (First its human rights groups, and then?)
http://www.muzzlewatch.com/2011/01/05/breaking-israeli-knesset-votes-to-investigate-human-rights-groups/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Muzzlewatch+%28MuzzleWatch%29
Leftist groups: ‘Witch hunt’ against us will destroy democracy in Israel
Knesset plenum votes overwhelmingly in favor of establishing panel of inquiry to probe source of funding for rights groups accused of ‘delegitimizing’ the IDF.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/leftist-groups-witch-hunt-against-us-will-destroy-democracy-in-israel-1.335405?localLinksEnabled=false
#BDS: Bill being Drafted to Bar International Peace Activists from Entering Israel
Knesset Member Yariv Levin, of the right-wing Likud party, together with the pro-settlement group The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel, are currently working on an “anti-subversive” bill aimed at anarchists and supporters of the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). If approved the law would allow Israel’s Interior Ministry to bar international activists from entering Israel. The law would apply restrictions to anyone who acts against Israel, denies the Holocaust, works to boycott Israel and/or attempts to place Israeli leaders on international trial for what they did in the line of duty, reported Arutz Sheva.
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2011/01/bds-bill-being-drafted-to-bar.html
“Spin-off is great news for Motorola Israel”
“The spin-off is great news for Motorola Israel,” Motorola Solutions Israel CEO Shimon Dick told “Globes”, “because Motorola Solutions is expected to increase its investment in the technologies in which Israel has accumulated decades of world-class experience and expertise. This spin-off is therefore a lever for the growth of activity in Israel.” Work at Motorola Inc. began today as two separate companies: Motorola Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MOT) and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (NYSE: MMI), which will continue to develop, manufacture, and market mobile devices. The spin-off of the mobile division came after over two years of preparations aimed at refocusing the two companies on their core businesses.
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/spin-off-is-great-news-for-motorola.html
#BDS: Disney invests in Haifa entertainment complex
“The city of Haifa is already on the tourist map of Israel, but now it’s likely to get an even bigger chunk of the market with its new Disney-style theme park. The Walt Disney Company investment arm Shamrock Holdings and the Israeli New Lineo cinema chain have announced plans to build a $168 million amusement park and a multiplex movie center in the port city. The entertainment complex is said to open in 2013. It will include a 30,000 square meter amusement park and a 50,000 square meter compound with shops, 25 movie houses, and four theater auditoriums. “The project, which is still in its development stages, reflects our goal of providing quality entertainment for the people of Israel,” Avi Edery, Deputy CEO of New Lineo Cinema, told a news conference.”
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2011/01/bds-disney-invests-in-haifa.html
Human Rights/Humanitarian Issues/Siege
URGENT APPEAL – Children of Silwan
76% of children arrested in Silwan tell DCI they suffered some form of physical violence during arrest, transfer or interrogation.
http://www.dci-pal.org/english/doc/press/UA_2_11_SILWAN.pdf
Single Gaza crossing open for transport
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The southernmost Gaza-Israel crossing terminal was open for imports and export on Thursday, the last expected day of crossing activity for the week. Raed Fattouh, Palestinian liaison official at the crossing, said he was told to expect 160 to 170 truckloads of goods for the aid and commercial sectors, including 20 new cars and limited quantities of domestic gas and industrial diesel.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=348657
Egypt halts full aid delivery to Gaza
Egyptian authorities have prevented some convoy members, including Iranians and some Jordanians, from crossing into the besieged Palestinian territory and have refused to allow the convoy, which is worth some 1 million dollars of aid, to be delivered to Gaza through the Rafah border crossing.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/158808.html
VIDEO: B’Tselem worker beaten by Israeli soldier
Two Palestinian family members were beaten and arrested by an Israeli soldier in their own olive grove last November, following an unlawful detainment of their two teenage relatives. Filming for B’Tselem near Susiya in the southern Hebron Hills, ‘Aliaa a-Nawaj’ah, 12, and her 14-year old brother Hamzah were leading their sheep on their own land when, according to ‘Aliaa, around 7:30 AM, two soldiers arrived via an army jeep. The soldiers detained the siblings with plastic handcuffs before releasing them.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1661
Ramsey Clark: Siege on Gaza must end
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Former US Attorney General William Ramsey Clark said Wednesday that what he witnessed in Gaza was “far beyond expecations.” Clark said the trip had been tough and the journey exhausting. He waited for several hours at Cairo airport before he crossing to the blockaded coastal enclave by land at Rafah, he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=348548
Besieged Gaza Two Years after Cast Lead, Stephen Lendman
December 28 was Cast Lead’s second anniversary, a three week onslaught inflicting an appalling human, destructive and environmental toll. The war ended. Regular attacks continued, and Gaza remains suffocating under siege. Yet world leaders are doing nothing to end it or hold Israeli war criminals accountable. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) said “Gaza remains sealed-off from the outside world (after) the single most brutal event in” the occupation’s history, and “impunity for war crimes prevails.”
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16531
We don’t need Wikileaks to know what the closure is
It doesn’t take a Wikileaked cable to tell us that Israel’s policy towards Gaza has been one of economic warfare for the past several years, but yesterday’s article in Haaretz spelled it out again for anyone who hasn’t been paying attention.
http://www.gazagateway.org/2011/01/wikileaks/
Palestinian health ministries exchange accusations
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The health ministries of the rival Palestinian governments in Gaza and the West Bank exchanged accusations on Wednesday. The Palestinian Authority’s Health Ministry in Ramallah accused Gaza government security forces of arresting and dismissing health workers in the Strip, and summoning dozens more for questioning.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=348482
Racism & Discrimination
Zionism is racism, always
“In the corners of the living quarters of the Africans … you will find the filth, card games played for money, residents getting drunk, and prostitution. … The Africans bring this way of life with them when they migrate, and it is no wonder that crime in the country is on the upswing. Young women and even young men are again not safe going out on the streets alone after dark.” These harsh statements were not written about African refugees who recently arrived in Israel. They were written by Haaretz journalist Aryeh Gelblum on April 22, 1949, and referred to the Jews who had immigrated from North Africa, many of the same immigrants who either themselves or whose descendents now populate south Tel Aviv and who are now spouting similar rhetoric against newly arrived refugees from Africa.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/zionism-is-racism-always.html
MK Zoabi: Let Arab students speak in mother tongue
During heated Knesset debate over Jaffa principal’s decision to prohibit Arab students from speaking Arabic in classrooms, Arab MK says education system at fault ‘for not teaching Arabic over past 60 years.’ Rivlin: Anti-Israel propaganda.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4009488,00.html
Beitar Jerusalem soccer fans fined for racist remarks during game
Seven fans of the soccer team Beitar Jerusalem, who shouted racist remarks during last Saturday’s match, were called to the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court for a debate on whether to order them to keep away from games. Six of the fans agreed not to shout such remarks for the next year and a half. Four will be fined NIS 3,000 ($845) and two NIS 2,000 ($563). The seventh was released because he had not shouted such remarks, but only encouraged his companions. (Yair Altman)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4010081,00.html
Violence/Aggression/War Crimes
Two Gazans killed by Israeli gunfire (AFP)
AFP – The bodies of two Palestinians shot dead overnight in northern Gaza by Israeli troops were recovered Thursday by Palestinian medical officials.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110106/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestiniansconflictgazatoll
Israel troops fire on Palestinians at Gaza border (AFP)
AFP – Israeli troops opened fire on a group of Palestinians apparently trying to breach the Gaza Strip border on Wednesday, hitting at least one of them, the military said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110105/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestiniansconflictgaza
IOF troops raid southern, central Gaza Strip
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) raided central and southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday and bulldozed cultivated land lots, Palestinian security sources reported.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87
Clashes Enter Second Day
Today, eyewitness reports say Israeli military forces used tear gas in the Ein Silwan region, located between Al Bustan and Wadi Hilweh districts. Clashes were reported in Baten el Hawa as well. The violence has resulted in the injury of a number of Palestinians due to tear gas inhalation. Yesterday’s military forces used live fire. Fortunately, no one was shot during the clash. Israeli military forces were met with resistance to the violence-a military jeep was burned while occupying the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan.
http://silwanic.net/?p=10103
Detainees held by IOF and PA
17 Year Old Boy Arrested
Israeli forces arrested M.S., a 16 year old resident of Bir Ayyoub in the Silwan district. His arrest comes during the second day of clashes between Silwan residents and Israeli forces that have left many residents injured due to tear gas.
http://silwanic.net/?p=10105
The Israelis arrest three Beit Rema municipality officials
The Israeli army arrested Thursday four Palestinians from the northwest Ramallah town of Beit Rema, three of them members of the town municipality, said Palestinian rights expert Fouad al-Khuffash.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87M
Hamas: PA arrests two members from Ramallah
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Hamas forces in the West Bank accused the Palestinian Authority of detaining two members of the party from the Ramallah area on Wednesday evening.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=348692
Hebron governor visits Hamas-affiliated detainees
HEBRON (Ma’an) – Hebron governor Kamil Hamid on Wednesday visited Hamas-affiliated detainees held by Palestinian Authority security services. Hamid told Ma’an he wanted to check up on the prisoners after they partially ended a hunger strike, and to listen to their demands and pass them on to President Mahmoud Abbas.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=348589
Report: One third of Palestinians deprived of visiting their detained relatives
A statistics report indicated that around 30% of relatives of Palestinian detainees in the West Bank are deprived of visiting their next of kin held in Israeli jails.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bc
Political Developments
Collective punishment: Wikileaks doc says Israel kept Gaza on ‘brink of collapse’ partly as response to capture of Gilad Shalit, Philip Weiss
The Wikileaks cable first reported by Aftenposten and mentioned by Amy Goodman this morning on Democracy Now (and picked up by Robert Mackey at the Times and Andrew Sullivan too). The assault on the banking system was documented in November 2008, a few weeks before Cast Lead. And all justified by starving a “terrorist regime” of funds– including the gov’t salaries of any Hamas members. Consistent with the destruction of government buildings that Goldstone later scored as a likely war crime.
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/collective-punishment-wikileaks-doc-says-israel-kept-gaza-on-brink-of-collapse-in-part-because-of-capture-of-gilad-shalit.html
‘Israelis demand bribes to let US products into Gaza’
WikiLeaks: Coca Cola, P&G, HP and others charged 75 times the standard price to import goods through the Karni crossing. US businesses complained that Israeli officials demanded bribes in order to allow American goods into Gaza, according to a diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks on Thursday.
http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=202452
Israel security official in 2007, ‘Sooner or later we’ll have to deal with Hamas’, Helena Cobban
The Norwegian daily Aftenposten has been posting a lot of new Wikileaks material. In there is this cable from 26 July, 2007– just a few weeks after the elected Hamas leaders of Gaza rebuffed a U.S.-backed coup attempt led by Fateh strongman Mohamed Dahlan. It’s a record by a U.S. diplo in Tel Aviv of a meeting that GWB aide Fran Fragos Townsend had with Israeli National Security Council officials on July 12.
http://justworldnews.org/archives/004121.html
US appears toothless in latest Wiki snapshot, Philip Weiss
Another Wikileaks cable from the US State Department notes that 3 weeks before Israel unleashed the Gaza onslaught in 2008, the American government was pushing Israel to allow more cash into Gaza as the Palestinian Authority had requested…
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/us-appears-toothless-in-latest-wiki-snapshot.html
Palestinians look for early vote on UN resolution (AFP)
AFP – A Palestinian resolution condemning Israel’s settlement building could be voted on at the UN Security Council as early as next week, the Palestinian representative to the UN said Wednesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110105/wl_mideast_afp/palestiniansisraelpeaceun
Ex-US attorney general visits Gaza Hamas leader (AP)
AP – Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark visited the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip Wednesday on a solidarity mission.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110105/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians
Jordan: Swift action needed for peace
In phone conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu, King Abdullah discusses need for ‘serious and effective peace talks’. ‘Deadlocked peace process threatens entire region,’ says king.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4009638,00.html
Mubarak says Israel must revise position on talks (Reuters)
Reuters – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Thursday Israel needs to revise its position over peace talks and settlement-building to reach a final accord with the Palestinians.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110106/wl_nm/us_palestinians_israel_egypt
Netanyahu to meet Mubarak in Sharm
JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads Thursday to Egypt for talks with President Hosni Mubarak on ways to break the impasse in peace negotiations with the Palestinians, his office said. The two leaders will meet in the Red Sea resort of Sharm Ash-Sheikh for talks that will also focus on threats facing the region.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=348678
Israeli-Palestinian stalemate set to continue: analysts
JERUSALEM, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) — Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Tuesday that 2010 had been the quietest year regarding attacks against Israel in a long time, but he also warned that “a complicated reality continues to surround us.” Speaking to reporters during a tour to the Negev desert, Barak also restated the need to achieve an agreement with the Palestinians, local daily Ha’aretz reported.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-01/06/c_13678097.htm
Israel’s Lieberman to stay put in coalition govt
JERUSALEM — Israel’s ultra-nationalist Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman appears set on becoming the new champion of the Israeli right although for the time being, he is happy to stay within the ruling coalition. Describing his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leader as “correct,” Lieberman told AFP he thought the makeup of the current coalition was “the best solution.”
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5geIhDwSPbN1xPN3MaU1nPS4upjIw?docId=CNG.05a6e85bfb37cddd7fe037aaf5164bc0.401
Israel says Palestinian alternatives a “mirage” (Reuters)
Reuters – Israel urged the Palestinian leadership on Wednesday to set aside a diplomatic campaign to widen the stalled Middle East peace process and get back instead to direct talks.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110105/wl_nm/us_israel_palestinians
“Rejectionist front”: Maariv details Netanyahu’s refusal to directly negotiate with PA
As Israel’s diplomatic position erodes and the Palestinian Authority’s campaign for the unilateral recognition of a state in the 1967 borders gains ground, the demand for “direct negotiations” has become a central talking point of Israeli government spokespeople. Here’s the latest example, from a January 2 Associated Press report…
http://coteret.com/2011/01/03/rejectionist-front-maariv-details-netanyahus-refusal-to-directly-negotiate-with-pa/#more-2955
Netanyahu woos top Labor minister in bid to save coalition
Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer offered perks in hopes he won’t carry out his threat to lead Labor out of the coalition.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/netanyahu-woos-top-labor-minister-in-bid-to-save-coalition-1.335469?localLinksEnabled=false
Lieberman blames Turkey for strain in relations
JERUSALEM (AFP) — Turkey is to blame for the crisis in relations between Israel and Ankara, and the state will not become a Turkish “punching bag,” Israel’s foreign minister said on Thursday. In a commentary published in the English-language Jerusalem Post, Avigdor Lieberman accused Ankara of anti-Israel incitement, and warned the situation in Turkey reminded him of Iran just before the Islamic revolution.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=348753
64% of Turks: Freeze ties with Israel
Survey finds US, Israel seen by Turkish citizens as top threat, followed by Iran; only 27.9 percent say ties with Jewish state should be improved.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4009536,00.html
Israel asks U.S. to ban Turkish charity behind Gaza flotilla
IHH is banned in Israel over its alleged support for Hamas; WikiLeaks shows U.S. has expressed concern over its link to terror group.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-asks-u-s-to-ban-turkish-charity-behind-gaza-flotilla-1.335454?localLinksEnabled=false
Examples of Hasbara
Fall of Palestinian strongman Dahlan shows just how powerful Abbas is
Since the former PA adviser’s falling out with the Palestinian president, Dahlan has been essentially banished from the political scene.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/fall-of-palestinian-strongman-dahlan-shows-just-how-powerful-abbas-is-1.335407?localLinksEnabled=false
Israel to Palestinians: How can we make peace if you won’t talk to us?
Government spokesman Mark Regev urges the Palestinian leadership to rid itself of the ‘mirage’ that there can be any alternative to a negotiated agreement.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-to-palestinians-how-can-we-make-peace-if-you-won-t-talk-to-us-1.335426?localLinksEnabled=false
Other News
‘Dangerous’ political websites blocked from viewing at Israel’s airport
Get your news fix before you leave home, because you’ll have only limited access before flying.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/dangerous-political-websites-blocked-from-viewing-at-israel-s-airport-1.335467?localLinksEnabled=false
Israel-Syria Wedding Takes Place At U.N. Buffer Zone (PHOTOS)
For newlywed couples, a wedding day usually represents a milestone transition into wedded bliss. And like most brides, Samar Salman al-Khayal looked the part of a storybook princess, donning a flowing white dress and carrying a fragrant bouquet as she went forward to meet her groom. Only for Khayal, the transition will be the even more significant. As Haaretz is reporting, the 26-year-old Syrian bride had to cross the Syrian-Israeli checkpoint at al-Quneitra before she could marry her fiance Nabih Farhat, an Israeli Druze who lives in the Golan Heights.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/05/israel-syria-wedding_n_804963.html
Beilin: Pardon Katsav
Former justice minister tells Army Radio ‘real punishment’ for ex-president ‘is not to be separated from society but rather to remain on his street.’ Gal-On: A rapist’s place is in prison.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4009606,00.html
Israeli foreign official accused of sexual harassment
A senior official in the Israeli foreign ministry is under investigation for sex crimes against two Asian women, Israeli channel two reported Wednesday.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcO
Orthodox lawyer’s refusal to grant wife a ‘get’ stirs U.S. public dispute
Hundreds of protesters across the country have joined demonstrations urging Republican tax lawyer Aharon Friedman, 34, to release Tamar Epstein, 27, from chains of marriage.
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/orthodox-lawyer-s-refusal-to-grant-wife-a-get-stirs-u-s-public-dispute-1.335404
Court: Segregation only upon consent
High Court rules ‘kosher’ bus lines can continue to serve haredi public, but women must not be coerced into sitting in back. Judges order Transportation Ministry to supervise lines to make sure passengers not being harassed.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4009846,00.html
Analysis/Op-ed
Oh, no. I want Israel to keep underestimating the enemy. Israeli arrogance is in our favor
“As one very senior German intelligence expert told me: “The Israelis’ problem has always been that they underestimate everyone—the Arabs, the Iranians, Hamas. They are always the smartest and think they can hoodwink everyone all the time. A little more respect for the other side—even if you think he is a dumb Arab or a German without imagination—and a little more modesty would have saved us all from this embarrassing entanglement.””
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/oh-no-i-want-israel-to-keep.html
Cowardice of Arab governments
“” […] no coincidence that Israel would give the name Leviathan to the massive gas field it discovered and claims is within its regional waters, although it is at a distance of 129km off the northern coast of Palestine and therefore, situated in the un-chartered waters between Palestine and Lebanon. The field in question is believed to contain 450 billion cubic meters of natural gas, which would cover Israel’s needs for 90 years. No wonder then that Israeli officials issued a pre-emptive threat, vowing to use force to protect its gas reserves. Surprisingly, not one Arab organisation showed the slightest interest. It was only Hizbollah that warned about Israel’s transgression on Lebanese waters, supported by the chairman of the Lebanese parliament who was the only Arab official to question whether this new discovery was in Lebanese waters.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/cowardice-of-arab-governments.html
Gaza on the edge of no return, Amira Hass
A fragile ceasefire holds in Gaza, but it can’t last. Amira Hass – an Israeli journalist who lived there for three years – reports on the unbearable tension of life inside the strip
http://www.newstatesman.com/middle-east/2011/01/israel-gaza-hamas-palestinian
Gaza Diary, day 13: seeds of the next Intifada?, Max Ajl
Gaza from a distance is quiet, bestilled, stuck in political stasis—the government quietly accruing power, the population quiescent, the Israeli army engaged in obscured, never-reported incursions in Farraheen, Khoza’a, Abasan, savagely flaying the rural edges of Gaza, squeezing the Strip geographically and, in turn, economically. The buffer zone protests have subsided, or been quashed. For a brief period they were going on frequently, three or even four times a week, or multiple protests simultaneously: in Rafah, Meghazi, Beit Hanoun.
But those have mostly stopped, in part because people got so scared after IDF snipers showed how they were prepared to enforce that buffer zone. At quick glance, there seems to be very little organized political protest. But beneath the surface, Omar Shaban of Pal-Think tells me, sentiment is bubbling fiercely. There’s ongoing political debate and discussion: lectures, seminars, strategy sessions, self-education, and so on. Last week I was at a brief movie viewing and discussion about the apartheid analogy, hosted by Haidar Eid, where we discussed the benefits and costs of using the apartheid analogy for the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Yesterday I went to a lecture and open discussion on Western Media Discourse toward the Palestinian Issue, given by Mousheer Amer, a professor of Linguistics at the Islamic University of Gaza—he discussed the Chomsky and Herman propaganda model, did a discourse analysis of the way the conflict is reported. Other professors, journalists, old leftists I know filled the room, along with several of the hyper-literate young writers from Gaza that have been filing their reminiscences of the Cast Lead massacre, on its biennial, at the Mondoweiss site. At that event a female university student was carrying Amira Hass’s Drinking the Sea in Gaza. She said that the situation is “hopeless,” in that exasperated way some people have here of announcing its hopelessness with their secret hope that it is anything but. Anyway, most of the people here, young and old alike, say this, and most carry on, stolid, implacable.
www.maxajl.com/?p=4688&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+http%2Fwwwmaxajlcom%2Ffeedrss2+%28Jewbonics%29
Gaza Two Years Later: 23 days of my life, Jehan Al-Farra
My first semester at IUG, the Islamic University of Gaza, was quite intense; different life style, freshman zeal, new faces, new troubles, architecture major, and most significantly >> war. My first final exam – Applied Physics – was scheduled to be on the 27th of December. As usual, I was hardly prepared and I was actually wishing they’d postpone it!
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/gaza-two-years-later-23-days-of-my-life.html
What More Can Obama Do, George S. Hishmeh
Barack Obama must be very disappointed these days since he was hardly applauded in the American media which reviewed his domestic and foreign policies, especially his stance on the Middle East, at the beginning of the century’s second decade. In foreign affairs, his “signature issue” throughout his first two years has been the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, which disappointingly remains in limbo, despite his key appointment of former senator George Mitchell as his Middle East peace envoy just as he stepped triumphantly into the White House.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16530
Well who does he remind you of?, Philip Weiss
Maybe I’m wrong, but the use of this photograph by Didi Remez strikes me as an Israeli’s cry to the world for help.
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/well-who-does-he-remind-you-of.html
In the ‘Forward,’ Pogrebin condemns the ‘un-Jewish’ smear campaign of Goldstone by Jews,Susie Kneedler
As an admirer of Letty Cottin Pogrebin, a founding editor of Ms. Magazine, for nearly 40 years, I was dismayed by her fervent defense of Hillary Clintonin a debate over the 2008 election with her daughter, Abigail Pogrebin, who supported Barack Obama. I was disappointed that someone who’d helped the country envision the liberation of women could define HRC as a “revolutionary” rather than an “establishment” figure.
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/in-the-forward-pogrebin-condemns-the-un-jewish-smear-campaign-of-goldstone-by-jews.html
Declaring Palestine: Revisiting Hope and Failure, Ramzy Baroud
When late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat read the Declaration of the Palestinian Independence just over 22 years ago, Palestinians everywhere were enthralled. They held onto his every word during the Palestinian National Council (PNC) session in Algeria on November 15, 1988. The council members incessantly applauded and chanted in the name of Palestine, freedom, the people and much more. Back in Nuseirat, a refugee camp in Gaza, a large crowd of neighbors and friends watched the event on a small black and white television.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16532
The invisible world inside Israel, Audrey Farber
In a dream world, I would write about Palestinians in Israel. I would write about my experiences working and living in Israel, why I care and why it matters. I would talk about the myriad of perspectives, the layers and layers and layers of complications, melanges of heritages and cultures and languages and religions and nationalities that pretend to coexist here. Most importantly, I would bring this knowledge home, challenging the dominant memes and rhetoric and discourse. I want the world to see these debates are not two-sided and the dichotomies don’t make sense.
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/the-invisible-world-inside-israel.html
Seeing Through the Smokescreen, Joharah Baker
Anyone who has followed the Palestinian-Israeli peace process over the past decade and a half would be virtually blind not to see just how dysfunctional the entire setup really is. In this case, Israel’s inconsistencies seem so obvious, it is surprising that anyone takes some of the statements from some of its officials with anything but a grain of salt. For example, Israel’s recent ire over the Palestinians’ refusal to return to negotiations is ridiculous. Palestinians have said from the start that they would no longer sit at a table with Israel’s leaders as long as settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem continue to expand. Logically, since Israel refuses to stop its illegal expansion of Jewish colonies on Palestinian land, Palestinians have decided to take another route in their pursuit of liberation. Instead of relying on the negotiating process, which has clearly proven a failure, the Palestinian leadership, led by President Mahmoud Abbas is looking to the international community to acknowledge their national rights and aspirations.
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=23013&CategoryId=3
A New Year’s song of hope for Gaza
On New Year’s Eve, my family and I planned to escape the immense pressure we and everyone else in Gaza continue to endure. We ended up at a party that contradicted the notion that conservative Gaza is being ruled by freedom-curtailing Islamists.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11714.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Any Respect For International Law Left In The US Congress?, Franklin Lamb
The US administration, as revealed in a State Department cable posted by Wikileaks, has been working overtime with Israel to parry further condemnation of Israeli crimes documented in the Richard Goldstone and Richard Falk Reports, among others
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27197.htm
Atlanta Journal Constitution changes article headline after being faced with the reality of Gaza
I wrote the following after reading an obviously biased headline and news story regarding an International group of peace activists who were bringing medicine and medical supplies to Gaza. The mercy ship was seized and the activists abducted and thrown in an Israeli jail, including one former American Congresswoman, Cynthia Mckinley. Ironically enough, few media outlet were even making note, much less talking and upset about these events. The few media outlets that did speak of this news were obviously biased and spinning the usual dish of Israel is the most moral blah blah bologne. It is important to note that my letter did make a difference, I know people think they are often powerless but we are not. Ideas and headlines have consequences, this is one example of challenging media bias which later resulted in changing the headline to one that does not set up bias in the reader’s mind.
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/atlanta-journal-constitution-changes-article-headline-after-being-faced-with-the-reality-of-gaza.html
Salena Tramel: Gaza, Then and Now
Today, the siege on Gaza continues with no end in sight. Truckloads of wheat reportedly sit idle on a conveyor belt that has acted as a lifeline to Palestinians. And now, military violence against Gaza has escalated again.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/salena-tramel/gaza-then-and-now_b_801616.html
Signs of desperation in the lobby, Philip Weiss
A bunch of jobs are being advertised by the rightwing shoppe, The Israel Project, Lanny Davis’s old outfit that is Israel-right-or-wrong. Why are they hiring so many people? I believe because they’re flailing, because public opinion is changing fast on the special relationship, and even the elites are quietly starting to desert, realizing that Israel is killing the U.S. brand. And now all the lobby has is money. But they sure got a lot o money. Interns, web masters, India affairs specialists… I wonder what kind of talent they’ll get. Hardliners. Monobrows and low foreheads.
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/signs-of-desperation-in-the-lobby.html
Tilting Towards Israel: Journalist Jonathan Cook Reveals The Bias In ‘Balance’ On Israel-Palestine
Towards the end of last year, we sent out two media alerts – Put The Palestinians On A Diet and Too Toxic To Handle? – about the corporate media’s failure to report the release of documents detailing Israel’s deliberate policy of near-starvation for Gaza. “The idea”, explained a senior Israeli official, “is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger.” The human rights group Gisha published explicit Israeli formulas for the amount of food, animal feed and poultry to be allowed into Gaza, and the cold calculation of “breathing space”: the number of days before these essential supplies would run out.
Lebanon
UN refuses Lebanon request to intervene in Israel gas drilling
Lebanese FM urged Ban Ki-moon to prevent Israel from exploiting Lebanon’s maritime wealth, but UN spokesman says it won’t demarcate border.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/un-refuses-lebanon-request-to-intervene-in-israel-gas-drilling-1.335403?localLinksEnabled=false
Southern villagers protest one-week blackout
BEIRUT: Residents of the southern village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyya set tires on fire Wednesday night and blocked the village’s eastern entrance in protest of more than a one-week blackout in some neighborhoods.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=123324
Iraq
Wednesday: 6 Iraqis Killed; 6 Iraqis, 4 Iranians Wounded
At least six Iraqis were killed and six more were wounded in light violence. Also, four Iranians were wounded. Meanwhile, Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr made an unannounced return to his home in Najaf for the first time in almost five years today and, coincidentally, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi also visited Iraq to cement ties with the new government.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2011/01/05/wednesday-6-iraqis-killed-6-wounded-6-iranians-wounded/
More than 2,000 Iraqi army officers killed in the past few months
Attacks, mainly by silencer guns and explosive devices targeting Iraqi army officers, have surged recently and more than 2,000 officers are reported to have been killed in the past few months. Intelligence sources, refusing to be named, said in the face of the “new form of terror,” Iraqi security forces have intensified their searches of individuals and vehicles particularly in Baghdad. The intelligence sources said there were organized “assassination groups” whose main target was killing Iraqi army officers.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2011-01-05\kurd.htm
Iran’s foreign minister in Iraq to cement ties
Iran’s new foreign minister is pushing to cement ties with neighboring Iraq at a time when American troops are preparing to go home and Tehran’s influence is expected to rise.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/01/05/132346.html
U.S. and other world news
Private memo exposes US fears over Wikileaks
The White House has instructed every US government department and agency to create “insider threat” programmes that will ferret out disgruntled or untrustworthy employees who might be tempted to leak the sort of state secrets recently made public by the website WikiLeaks.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/private-memo-exposes-us-fears-over-wikileaks-2177041.html
Foreign occupation troops kill 3 civilians
Afghan residents Wednesday accused US-led troops of killing three civilians in an overnight raid in Afghanistan’s restive south.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h8fPSkx9mabLRtb4YwNqmNMc9ZLw?docId=CNG.850d68793570b46d02fb10bce04d9b6d.b41
Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey move closer to economic integration
AMMAN, Jordan – A Jordanian official says Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey have moved closer to economic integration. The official Petra agency said Thursday that the countries signed an agreement establishing a committee to unify their legislation to enhance economic integration. It quoted Transport Minister Alaa Batayneh as saying Jordan has been tasked to draw up joint plans to develop the transport sector. Syria is to work on energy, Lebanon on tourism and Turkey on industry. Batayneh also says the ministers want to draw up a regional transport plan, involving road and railway links.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/world/breakingnews/jordan-syria-lebanon-turkey-move-closer-to-economic-integration-112996429.html
Egyptian police charge activists
Eight Muslim activists who joined Coptic demonstrations against Alexandria attack charged with disturbing public safety.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/01/20111517119192942.html
Thousands bury Tunisian whose protest sparked unrest
Thousands of people vowing revenge attended the funeral Wednesday of a young Tunisian who died after setting himself alight in a protest over unemployment that sparked a wave of unrest, witnesses said.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/01/05/132355.html
silence on Tunisia
“Not even torture, which is rampant or live bullets which the Tunisian authorities are using with greater frequency stop them. […] The United States State Department remains silent in face of the Tunisian protests. Since the protests began on December 17, 2010, there has been little media coverage in the mainstream US media, virtually nothing on mainstream television, nothing in the New York Times or Wall Street Journal, or for that matter even Democracy Now!”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/silence-on-tunisia.html
Riots quelled in Jordanian town
Jordanian police say they have restored order in the southern city of Maan, after two days of anti-government riots there.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-12122259
Iran ‘detains US woman on spying’
State media says authorities arrest 55-year-old woman who entered the country without visa and with “spying equipment”.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/01/2011168265100969.html
www.TheHeadlines.org
For Jawaher Abu Rahma: As one sleeps, another wakes up. As one dies, a whole generation is born.
Jan 06, 2011
Mohammed Rabah Suliman
The tragic death of the Palestinian protester Jawaher Abu Rahma in Bil’in left all of us grieving very deeply as we sat helpless, leafing through the news stories of her sad death. That, in fact, was not an extraordinary incident to me, but rather a new episode in the long series of events that show that Palestinians embody the essence of what sacrifice means. As one sleeps, another wakes up. As one dies, a whole generation is born.
A scenario that didn’t happen
(The sun is about to set behind the horizon; the trees stand on the two sides of the gritty road; nothing is heard in the background but the demonstrators marching amongst whom is Jawaher, her heart beating really hard. The demonstrators carry the Palestine flags, red flags, and yellow ones. Some are busy taking photos. A sudden stream of thoughts invades Jawaher’s mind as few Israeli soldiers come within her range of vision in the distance.)
“Here we go,” Jawaher says to herself, still marching ahead. “here is 1, 2…3” Jawaher turns her head a little bit to the right, “4, 5, hmm” and as a new soldier, his gun diagonally overturned across his chest, comes into view from behind a hill (supposedly there is one) she continues “and here is 6” Jawaher lowers her head to the ground as she marches ahead.
(The protesters start whispering to each other, some hastening their steps to catch up with others and pointing with their hands in different directions. A middle-aged protester with shabby hair, putting on sun glasses, and wearing ugly green striped Bermudas hastens his steps so that he becomes by the side of Jawaher.)
“There are another two,” he says to Jawaher.
(Only then a whole troop of soldiers appear from behind the hill. Barely visible, four soldiers in the lead followed by a dozen behind them who show up gradually in pairs, all helmeted and carrying their guns aggressively.)
“Yeah two.” Jawaher replies shortly.
“It will be tense this time, will it not?” the middle-aged protester states rather than poses a question.
Jawaher nods silently.
(As they come closer and closer to where the soldiers positioned themselves over the hill, the demonstrators slow down, and some of them eventually stop marching. They gather in one spot, a couple here communicating their hopeful expectations for the new year, and a group of four there agitated over the unexpected arrival of the soldiers. Some continue matching, however. An old woman comes over to where Jawaher is now standing alone. She is followed by a young lady of Jawaher’s age.)
“Mama,” Jawaher is surprised to see her mother. “I’ve been looking for you.” Jawaher addresses her mother.
“Where have you been?”
“At the back of the demonstration, close to the fence.” The young lady replies.
“I think we should go home, daughters. I feel worried.” The mother says.
The daughters don’t reply.
(All at once, all hell breaks loose as a sharp screeching sound is heard, immediately followed by another and another, then thickening rising smoke covers the area; the crowd of protesters scatter in different directions; some start backing away; others hide their faces in their hands, and others continue marching ahead, tightly covering their mouths and noses. Some looking backward as they backed away and stumbled. Jawaher’s mother and sister start withdrawing from the scene clasping Jawaher’s hand who staggers behind.)
“We did this last time.” Jawaher thinks to herself.
“They did this last time.” Jawaher’s sister says aloud.
“And the one before.” Jawaher thinks as she struggles to catch a breath. “Last month we did the same,” trying to keep her balance as she followed her mother, she continues raising her voice. “last year we withdrew; each day we do the same, and then we lost my brother.” (Jawaher struggles to keep her vision, but everything becomes blurry as she feels terrible pain tearing through her throat and chest.)
(A cloud of smoke covers the place, and nothing is clear. A few moments later, the vision clears: the demonstration is dispersed momentarily. The soldiers are still over the hell; some protesters, barely visible, gather at the end of the road. Silence reigns in once again.)
(Behind the walls of a nearby house, surrounded by her mother, her sister, and a strange woman, Jawaher is lying on the lawn, foam brims out of her mouth and trickles down her chin. Jawaher mutters incomprehensibly, her vision comes in and out of focus.)
“I can see it coming. We’re one step closer.” Jawaher tightens her grip around her mother’s hand and smiles.
(Outside the lawn, the protesters start gathering again very close to the fence. They grow in number. The demonstration continues.)
Mohammed Rabah Suliman, 21, is a student of English Literature at the Islamic University of Gaza. He blogs at http://msuliman.wordpress.com/. 
Well who does he remind you of?
Jan 06, 2011
Philip Weiss
Maybe I’m wrong, but the use of this photograph by Didi Remez strikes me as an Israeli’s cry to the world for help.
Israelis refused to ‘read or touch’ detailed Palestinian documents
Jan 06, 2011
annie
Didi Remez juxtaposes conflicting reports–Netanyahu’s magnanimous offer of ““continuous direct one-on-one negotiations until white smoke is wafting ” while the Hebrew press tells quite another story. Maariv daily:
In the past weeks, Israeli representatives, including Netanyahu, have repeatedly rejected official documents that their Palestinian counterparts have tried to submit to them, with details of the Palestinian positions on all the core issues. The Israeli representatives are completely unwilling to discuss, read or touch these documents, not to speak of submitting an equivalent Israeli document with the Israeli positions…This completely contradicts the Israeli position, according to which everything is open for negotiation, and Netanyahu is willing to talk about all the core issues and go into a room with Abu Mazen in order to come out of it with an arrangement.
in the latest meeting that was held between the two negotiators, Dr. Saeb Erekat from the Palestinian side and Attorney Yitzhak Molcho from the Israeli side. The meeting was held in Washington a few weeks ago, in the presence of the American mediators. During the meeting, Erekat surprised Molcho, took an official booklet out of his briefcase bearing the logo of the Palestinian Authority and tried to hand it to Molcho. When the Israeli inquired as to the content of the booklet, Erekat said that this was, in effect, the detailed and updated Palestinian peace plan, with the detailed Palestinian positions on all the core issues. Molcho refused to take the booklet or examine it. According to sources who are informed about what took place there, he said to Erekat, and to the Americans, that he could not touch the Palestinian booklet, read it or take it, because as soon as he would do so, “the government will fall.”
