NOVANEWS
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University of Johannesburg to officially sever ties with Israel’s Ben-Gurion University
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Establishing the timeline on ‘Cast Lead II’
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One killed, 30 hurt in Jerusalem bombing; no claims of responsibility
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US activists respond to IDF spying on internationals
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Libya’s resistance and civilians under fire by Qadhafi forces
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Is another ‘Cast Lead’ in the offing?
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Talk about a bad review: IDF compares Miral to Mein Kampf
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I Wish You Egypt: An open letter to people of conscience in the West
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Five years ago today, Walt and Mearsheimer gave Americans the vocabulary to discuss a central issue
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‘JPost’ says Israel is US’s only constant ally in shifting Middle East
University of Johannesburg to officially sever ties with Israel’s Ben-Gurion University
Mar 23, 2011
Adam Horowitz
The University of Johannesburg (UJ) has officially announced that it will cut ties with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev beginning on April 1. This will affect a joint project between the schools to reduce algae in South Africa’s drinking water. The decision comes after months of debate and lobbying on both sides. Supporters of cutting off ties include Desmond Tutu, Breyten Breytenbach, John Dugard and Antjie Krog, in addition to international figures such as Judith Butler, Vijay Prashad, Ernesto Laclau, and John Berger. Here is a press release from the organizers behind to campaign to cut ties:
Today, setting a worldwide precedent in the academic boycott of Israel, the University of Johannesburg (UJ) has effectively severed ties with Israel’s Ben-Gurion University (BGU).
This was after UJ’s Senate rejected a last ditch motion by pro-Israeli lobbyists to have two separate bilateral agreements – one with a Palestinian University and another with an Israeli University. UJ chose instead to uphold its previous Senate Resolution that required taking leadership from Palestinian universities. Palestinian universities unanimously rejected any collaboration with BGU (in any form) and have come out in full support of the the academic boycott of Israel. UJ chose to respect this.
UJ is the first institution to officially sever relations with an Israeli university – a landmark moment in the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) of Israel campaign. Throughout the campaign, academics and international human rights activists have been anticipating this decision. This boycott decision, coming from a South African institution, is of particular significance. This has set a precedent and must start a domino boycott effect!
The movement to end ties with BGU was boosted by the overwhelming support given to the UJ Petition (www.ujpetition.com) – a statement and campaign in support of UJ academics and students who were calling on their university to end its apartheid-era relationship with BGU. As the UJ senate met today, over 400 South African academics, including nine Vice-Chancellors and Deputy Vice-Chancellors, had signed the UJ Petition.
Included in the list of supporters are some of South Africa’s leading voices: Professors Neville Alexander, Kader Asmal, Allan Boesak, Breyten Breytenbach, John Dugard, Antjie Krog, Barney Pityana and Sampie Terreblanche. South Africa’s popular cartoonist Jonathan “Zapiro” Shapiro, Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu, Bishop Rubin Phillips, former Minister Ronnie Kasrils and leading social activist Zackie Achmat also backed the campaign.
Further, over 100 internationals began to lend their support, including several prominent international scholars: Professors Judith Butler, Vijay Prashad, Michael Burawoy, Wendy Brown, Ernesto Laclau, and acclaimed British author, John Berger.
Today UJ has made history by upholding and advancing academic moral integrity. Palestinians, South Africans and the international academic and solidarity community celebrate this decisive victory in isolating Israeli apartheid and supporting freedom, dignity and justice for the Palestinian people. UJ now continues the anti-apartheid movement – against Apartheid Israel.
Establishing the timeline on ‘Cast Lead II’
Mar 23, 2011
Ben White
In a post today, Alex Kane asked the question, ‘Is another ‘Cast Lead’ in the offing?‘ I wanted to just add a couple of supplementary thoughts on the current “escalation” in Gaza.
Firstly, the AIC have published a useful article that includes a chronological summary of events in the last week or so:
On 16 March the Israeli air force attacked a Hamas training base near the former settlement of Netzarim. Two Hamas militants, Adana Eshtaiwi, 27 years old, and Ghassan Abu Amro, 25 years old, were killed in the attack, while a third person was injured.
While “the Israeli military claimed the strike was in response to a single mortar projectile launched from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel”, the AIC observes that “no Palestinian faction claimed responsibility for the firing, and the Israeli press reported that the projectile was launched by a small, unknown organization.”
This was a point reflected in a piece in Ha’aretz on 20 March. Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel observed that the previous day’s mortar fire was presented by Hamas as a response to the IDF’s fatal strike against Hamas forces on 16 March, which in turn was said to have been “precipitated by a Qassam strike a few hours earlier”. Then the two analysts wrote:
Hamas said – and to a certain extent justifiably – that Israel had exceeded the unwritten rules of the game. The Qassam had been fired by a marginal Palestinian group, and the accepted response would have been a bombing of empty Hamas offices or an escape tunnel without casualties.
So as Alex pointed out, the parallels are there, particularly in terms of both establishing an atmosphere of ‘inevitability’ about an assault as well as provoking Hamas into a response to create the PR-friendly casus belli (as in 2008).
Secondly, some have suggested that Hamas’ mortar fire last week was designed to derail reconciliation efforts, or distract from March 15 protests. This is possible. However, it is also plausible that Netanyahu is seeking to stir up a ‘cycle of violence’ in Gaza/the south as a response to being pushed into a corner internationally, and facing numerous domestic political challenges.
One killed, 30 hurt in Jerusalem bombing; no claims of responsibility
Mar 23, 2011
Kate
Dozens hurt, woman dead in Jerusalem bombing
Ynet 23 Mar 17:29 — A 60-year-old woman was killed and dozens of people were wounded Wednesday afternoon after an explosive device was detonated in a phone booth near the Jerusalem Convention Center. Medical officials 39 people were hurt in the blast, including three who were seriously hurt. Five other victims were moderately wounded and the rest sustained light injuries.
Early morning fire on Gaza injures 1
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 23 Mar 14:46 — Israeli forces resumed military strikes on the Gaza Strip Wednesday morning injuring a militant, in a string of attacks that have left eight dead, including four civilians. Another 12 civilians were wounded, including three young children. Israeli forces struck twice Wednesday, the first time with artillery fire, and the second from helicopters, both in the Ash-Shuja‘iyya neighborhood east of Gaza City. Palestinian medical sources told Ma‘an that the injured militant, affiliated to the Islamic Jihad’s military wing, had his leg amputated as a result of the morning artillery strike.
Fresh air strikes kill 4 in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 22 Mar 21:32 — Israeli warplanes killed four Palestinians in an air strike on Az-Zaitoun neighborhood south of Gaza City on Tuesday evening, medics said. The attack came hours after Israeli artillery fire hit a home east of Gaza City killing a child, a teenager and three adults. Emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said the four victims of the latest strike were members of the Al-Quds Brigades. They were all in their 20s, he said …. The army official said the men targeted were from the same group that launched a Grad rocket into Israel on February 23, but could not say how they had been identified.
Hamas calls day of mourning; Abbas demands end to fire
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 23 Mar 15:37– Gaza government officials declared Wednesday a day of mourning, with a collective funeral in central Gaza City at midday, for the four civilians and four militants killed by Israeli fire a day earlier. In Moscow, President Mahmoud Abbas asked the Russian foreign minister to exert pressure on Israel, and demand a halt to what he described as an “escalation” against Gaza.
Not in the US press: Palestinian victims
Photo — This is one of the children who was killed by Israeli tanks yesterday.
Netanyahu: Israel will continue to operate against terrorists in Gaza
Haaretz 23 Mar 10:32 — After barrage of rocket and mortar fire, Vice Premier Shalom says Israel may have to consider wide operation in Gaza; Minister Limor Livnat: Operation Cast Lead 2 may be in order.
Worst Israel-Gaza clashes since 2009 war
CSM 23 Mar — Escalating attacks between Israeli defense forces and Gaza militants mark some of the worst violence since the Gaza war, and resemble the pattern of violence that led to the 2009 conflict. Israeli forces and Palestinian militants have been exchanging rockets and attacks since Saturday. In that time Hamas has fired at least 60 rockets, and Israeli forces have conducted numerous air strikes and artillery attacks in response. At least 10 Palestinians have died so far.
Two Grad rockets his Be’er Sheva; IAF strikes Gaza launching squad
Haaretz 23 Mar 6:00 — Tensions continued along Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning, as Gaza militants fired two Grad-type Katyusha rocket at the southern city of Be’er Sheva and a barrage of mortar shells on the western Negev.
PCHR condemns killing of Gaza teens
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 23 Mar — The death of two Gaza teens on Saturday, killed by Israeli fire 300 meters from the border area was an act of “excessive and lethal force,” a condemnation from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights said. The two, both 17, were killed east of Johur Ad-Dik in the central Gaza Strip. Medics were only permitted to retrieve their bodies more than 12 hours after they had been killed. According to an investigation conducted by the PCHR, the organization said, at approximately 9:30 p.m. on 19 March Israeli forces fired several artillery shells at the teens killing them instantly … They were identified as Imad Mohammed Issa Faraj Allah and Qasem Salah Abu Uteiwi, both from the An-Nuseirat refugee camp. According to PCHR, they were both civilians.
Gaza, déjà vu: context matters / Yousef Munayyer
23 Mar — Over the past 24 hours I couldn’t help but feel I have lived these moments before. I suppose that is because recent events are so similar to events which lead to the beginning of Israel’s 23-day campaign in Gaza which left over 1,400 dead, most of whom were civilians … when the war on Gaza inevitably started at the end of December in 2008, it permitted many editors to create this simple, context free story line: “Israel must defend itself. And Hamas must bear responsibility for ending a six-month cease-fire this month with a barrage of rocket attacks into Israeli territory.” In fact, that is precisely how the NY Times began their lead editorial on Dec. 30th, addressing the bombing of Gaza that started the war. The Times had completely dismissed the fact that it was the Israelis which escalated the situation on Nov. 4th when the entire world was busy paying attention to the election.
The sanctity of the soaring Qassam / Amira Hass
Haaretz 23 Mar — The Hamas authorities once again forgot that the neighbor/occupier to its east is crazy. Fact: Over Shabbat, Hamas’ military wing fired more than 50 mortar shells at Israel. Or perhaps it didn’t forget: Perhaps it merely thought the Palestinian people in Gaza were ready for another high-tech Israeli onslaught, for another Israel Defense Forces video game in which children playing on a roof are identified as lookouts and sentenced to death.
And more news from Today in Palestine:
Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Settlers
Israeli settler violence: not even the animals are safe / Yousef Munayyer
Does PETA have an international division? After reading this post in Mondoweiss this morning, I figured I’d add some context and numbers to the poignant images which captured events all too common and far too underdiscussed … when it comes to settler violence, shepherds and farmers are sitting ducks, and so are their sheep, cows, horses and the occasional camel. Our database did not code specifically for attacks on animals, but we did record injury, killing or mutilation (yes, mutilation) of livestock … These data points should give you an idea of the inherent risks of being a Palestinian shepherd under occupation:
http://blog.thejerusalemfund.org/2011/03/israeli-settler-violence-not-even.html
Settlers attack Aqraba farmland
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 22 Mar — Settlers on Tuesday destroyed agricultural land owned by Palestinian villagers near Nablus in the northern West Bank. The Agricultural Work Committees Union recently planted hundreds of seedlings on the land around Aqraba village. Residents of the illegal Itamar settlement uprooted the seedlings and destroyed water wells in the area, the union said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371280
On World Water Day, support the academic boycott call
EI 22 Mar — Israel prevents Palestinians from developing normal water infrastructure and from continuing to use the natural resources that Palestinians have been using for centuries … Israeli settlers in the Jordan Valley export water-intensive crops to Europe, virtually exporting an amount of water equal to about one quarter of the total amount of water that 2.5 million Palestinians have for domestic purposes, agriculture and industry — while many Palestinians survive on just twenty liters of water per person per day! Meanwhile, springs located amid Palestinian farmland between Palestinian villages continue to be stolen by illegal Israeli settlers with the support of the Israeli military, such as those at Nabi Saleh in the northern Ramallah district and Wadrahal in the Bethlehem district, just to name two recent examples where the theft is current or only recently transpired.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11872.shtml
International abductions
Kiev says not involved in Gazan’s arrest
Ynet 23 Mar — Ukrainian law enforcers say they were not involved in last month’s arrest of a Palestinian engineer and his transportation to an Israeli prison. National Security Service spokeswoman Marina Ostapenko said Wednesday the agency is unaware how Dirar Abu Sisi, a top engineer at Gaza’s power plant, disappeared from Ukraine and ended up in custody in Israel.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4046617,00.html
Ukraine seeks answers on Palestinian’s detention
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) 23 Mar — The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday it plans to summon Israel’s ambassador for an explanation of how a Palestinian engineer disappeared from Ukraine and ended up jailed in Israel … The Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights on Monday cited Abu Sisi as saying he was dragged out of his sleeper car, hooded and handcuffed by Israeli agents, forced onto a plane and taken to Israel. The United Nations refugee agency has said Abu Sisi’s trip to Israel resembled a “violent abduction” and not a legal extradition. Abu Sisi’s wife denied speculation that he was tied to Hamas militants.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110323/ap_on_re_eu/eu_ukraine_palestinian_held
Gazans protest abduction of engineer
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 22 Mar — Friends and family members of a Gaza engineer held a sit-in Tuesday in front of UN headquarters in Gaza City protesting Israel’s abduction of Dirar Abu Sisi, director of Gaza’s sole power plant … On Sunday, Israeli media confirmed earlier reports that he was abducted by Israeli officials after the state partially lifted a gag order on reporting the man’s disappearance. The gathered protesters were demanding his release. The engineer’s son, 10-year-old Mousa, held a photo of his father and urged the Ukrainian president to pressure Israel to release him. He said his father was held in Israel’s Ashkelon prison “for no offense.” … A delegation representing the Gaza Strip’s union of engineers joined the sit-in, including union chief Kan’an Ubeid. They raised posters in English and Arabic calling on Ukrainian authorities to intervene and free their colleague.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371215
Israel abducts two Lebanese shepherds near Rmeish
DS 23 Mar — BEIRUT: Israel abducted two Lebanese shepherds Tuesday in an act that prompted calls for international action to be taken against the Jewish state following its latest violation of Lebanese sovereignty.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=126355#axzz1HOSD59vn
Detention
Clashes near Jerusalem: 2 injured, 5 detained
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 23 Mar — Two Palestinians were injured and five others detained during clashes that erupted between Israeli forces and residents of the Jerusalem-district village of Qatanna Wednesday afternoon. Residents said the clash started when an Israeli patrol entered the village, adjacent to the separation wall northwest of the Old City of Jerusalem. … Jerusalem municipality spokesman Abu Silman identified those injured as Mujahed Samer Al-Faqih, 16, and Yehya Abdel Salam Shamasneh, who were both hit with rubber-coated bullets. One witness said live fire was also used. Abu Silman said five others were detained, all between 15-16 years old.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371515
Israeli forces injure 1, detain 3 near Beit Ummar
HEBRON (Ma‘an) — Israeli forces injured one Palestinian and detained three others, during a funeral north of Beit Ummar on Wednesday, local sources said. The southern West Bank town’s popular committee spokesman, Muhammad Ayyad Awad, said forces fired sound grenades and tear gas at mourners, after stones were thrown at a settler’s car in the area.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371703
Hamas says PA political arrests continue
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) — Hamas leaders in the West Bank said Wednesday that Palestinian Authority security officers detained three Hamas members during the week. A Hamas statement said the detentions were carried out in the Tulkarem and Nablus districts.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371503
Siege / Restriction of movement
Gaza delegation to Ramallah amid crossings crisis
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 23 Mar — Gaza crossings officials and the local Transport Union agreed Wednesday that Israel’s decision to close all but one commercial import terminal had precipitated a crisis … When no action was taken to re-open the Karni crossing, last week Transport Union officials said a new strike would be introduced Sunday. Transport Union officials met with delegates from Gaza’s Chamber of Commerce for an urgent meeting to discuss the announced strike measures.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371525
Israel opens sole operating crossing for limited deliveries
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) 22 Mar – Israeli authorities allowed 250 trucks of goods to enter the besieged Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Palestinian officials said. Liaison officer Raed Fattouh said nine trucks would bring cement for UN building projects in Gaza through the sole operating crossing Kerem Shalom. Fattouh added that Israel would allow two trucks of flowers grown in Gaza to leave the enclave for export to Europe. Prior to Israel’s blockade, hundreds of truckloads of Gazan produce were exported every day.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371022
Goods: needs vs. supply Feb 20 – Mar 19
http://www.gazagateway.org/2011/03/goods-%E2%80%93-needs-vs-supply-%E2%80%93-feb-20-%E2%80%93-mar-19/
Industrial fuel: needs vs. supply Feb 20 – Mar 19
http://www.gazagateway.org/2011/03/industrial-fuel-%E2%80%93-needs-vs-supply-%E2%80%93-feb-20-%E2%80%93-mar-19/
Settler suicide prompts checkpoint closures
NABLUS (Ma‘an) — The suicide of a settler in the northern West Bank saw Israeli forces close down several checkpoints, implement intensive checks and road closures, during the initial stages of investigation into the death. Israeli media reported a dead body found in a settlement, which Palestinian sources said was the Revava settlement, south of Palestinian villages Deir Istiya and Kifl Haris in the Salfit district.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371633
Racism / Discrimination
Knesset passes ‘Nakba bill’
Ynet 23 Mar — The Knesset passed two controversial bills late Tuesday night, infuriating many MKs from Arab and left-wing parties, who claim the bills are racist and run counter to democratic values.The “Nakba bill”, proposed by Yisrael Beiteinu, requires the state to fine local authorities and other state-funded bodies for holding events marking the Palestinian Nakba Day by supporting armed resistance or racism against Israel, or desecrating the state flag or national symbols. On Nakba Day Palestinians mark the “catastrophe” of Israel’s inception in 1948 …
The second bill, which passed by a majority of 35 to 20, formalizes the establishment of admission committees to review potential residents of Negev and Galilee communities that have fewer than 400 families. It was passed after 2 am. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel immediately filed a petition against the bill, claiming that it sanctions discrimination against Arabs, haredim, Mizrahi Jews, and even single mothers …
But the Knesset truly erupted in violence when MK Tibi took the stand. “You must read Jewish history well and learn which laws you suffered from. Do you remember anything about the prohibition of interracial marriage? Do you need an Arab on the stand to remind you of your history?” he asked.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4046440,00.html
Knesset passes segregation law / Roi Maor
22 Mar — The Knesset passed a segregation bill today. Palestinian Israelis are not allowed to live in Jewish localities built on land confiscated from them. Government policy also makes sure they cannot build on the little private land that was left in their ownership. How long can Jewish Israelis continue pretending that Palestinians do not exist? … It would be upsetting enough if the only element of discrimination was the principle of segregation which it enshrines. But as bad as that is, there is much worse discrimination at work here. In the first decades of Israel’s existence, through a variety of legal and pseudo-legal means, vast amounts of land were confiscated by the state, almost all of it Arab-owned private land. Much of this land was transferred to the Jewish National Fund, which has a charter forbidding it to allocate land for the use of non-Jews….
http://972mag.com/knesset-passes-segregation-law/
Anti-solidarity, anti-BDS
Ayalon: Don’t let nationals take part in Gaza flotilla
JPost 22 Mar — Amid reports that IHH planning 2nd flotilla, deputy FM calls on foreign diplomats to keep their nationals from joining “dangerous provocation.” … Ayalon’s comments are part of a Foreign Ministry policy to take the likelihood of future flotillas very seriously, and to embark on stopping them long before they set sail.
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=213324
Kiss bassist Gene Simmons says boycotters of Israel are fools
AP 22 Mar — Kiss’s Israeli-born singer-musician Gene Simmons is shouting out loud at the string of musicians who refuse to perform in his homeland. They’re fools,” the legendary bassist told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday, on his first return to Israel since leaving the country as a child more than 50 years ago
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/kiss-bassist-gene-simmons-says-boycotters-of-israel-are-fools/article1952037/
Politics / Diplomacy
West Bank: Fayyad’s five-week period to form government expires
22 Mar — Five weeks after Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad dissolved his Cabinet, saying he needed to better prepare for upcoming elections and eventual statehood, he has yet to form a new government. Fayyad tendered his government resignation to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Feb. 14. According to Palestinian law, Fayyad had three weeks to form a government. The three weeks passed and Fayyad had not formed one. So he asked for two more weeks and he got them. So far everything is legal. Monday was the last day for the two-week extension, and Fayyad had not yet presented his government.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/03/west-bank-fayyads-five-week-period-to-form-government-expires.html
Erekat reasserts that Hamas is a legitimate Palestinian national movement
MEMO 23 Mar — The ex-Chief Negotiator of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation has rejected the Israeli Prime Minister’s demand for the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah to choose between Israel or Hamas. Dr. Saeb Erekat said that such a choice is rejected and it is “completely unacceptable” for Benjamin Netanyahu to call for it. “There is no scope for comparison between Israel and the Palestinian movement of Hamas,” he asserted. “Israel is an occupying power and we hope to establish peace with it by ending the occupation; the state terrorism it practices; the policies of assassination and detention, and settlement construction on our occupied land.”
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/2165-erekat-reasserts-that-hamas-is-a-legitimate-palestinian-national-movement
Abbas: Ramallah-Gaza road shortest path to unity
MOSCOW (Ma‘an) 23 Mar — President Mahmoud Abbas renewed his pledge to go to Gaza in a push for reconciliation with Hamas, saying Tuesday that the Gaza-Ramallah road remained the shortest route to unity between Fatah and Hamas. Speaking from Moscow where he remains for an official visit, Abbas said that a successful visit to Gaza remains a possibility, and is “feasible for immediate implementation.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371470
UN’s Serry condemns killing of civilians in Gaza
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 22 Mar — The UN’s envoy to the Middle East Robert Serry on Tuesday condemned Israel’s killing of civilians in Gaza. On Tuesday afternoon, an Israeli tank fired at a family playing football outside their home in the eastern part of the Ash-Shaja’iya neighborhood in Gaza City. The Israeli military said it regretted harm to innocent civilians, but blamed Hamas, who it said operated in civilian areas.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371419
US Gates condemns ‘horrific’ Jerusalem attack
CAIRO, March 23 (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said a bomb attack in Jerusalem on Wednesday was a “horrific terrorist attack”. Gates, speaking during a visit to Cairo, said he did not see the situation in Israel deteriorating, despite the attack.[Let’s see, did we hear anything from him about the killings of civilians in Gaza this week? Thought not.]
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/23/israel-explosion-usa-idUSWEA043220110323
Abbas condemns blast, IDF
Ynet 23 Mar — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas published a statement Wednesday condemning the Jerusalem terror attack. In the statement, the Palestinian leader also condemned the IDF attacks in the Gaza Strip that killed eight Palestinians, including three civilians.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4046838,00.html
Other news
State comptroller: Israel must stop ignoring earthquake warnings
Haaretz 23 Mar — The Israeli government has done nothing to improve its status quo of unpreparedness for an earthquake, despite more than a decade of warning, State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss said Wednesday.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/state-comptroller-israel-must-stop-ignoring-earthquake-warnings-1.351357
Egypt Air removes Israel from map
Ynet 23 Mar — Jordan stretches to sea in online map by Egypt’s largest airline, though it continues to fly to Israel
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4046460,00.html
Jerusalem tram winds its way around city’s political, religious, and archaeological barriers
JERUSALEM 22 Mar — After years of delays, Jerusalem’s historic light rail is set to begin running next month, completing a journey that has circumvented ancient bones, archaeological treasures, budget overruns and political controversies that have repeatedly threatened to derail the project … In a place where everything is shaped by political overtones, Palestinians accuse Israel of using the project to solidify its hold on the disputed eastern sector of the city.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/jerusalem_tram_winds_its_way_around_citys_political_religious_and_archaeological_barriers/2011/03/22/ABDPSsBB_story.html
Analysis / Opinion
Aid industry doing no harm in Palestine? / Samer Abdelnour
EI 22 Mar — Palestinians are among the most aid-subsidized people on earth … Discourses of ‘aid’, ‘development’ and ‘reconstruction’ shield Israel’s ongoing occupation and colonial project. A full third of the Palestinian Authority budget is aid-subsidized. In addition to funding a distorted Palestinian political system, the aid industry directly removes from Israel the burden of responsibility for the destruction of Palestinian lives, livelihoods and infrastructure. In doing so, it allows Israel to focus its resources and efforts on the acceleration of Palestinian poverty, the expansion of settlements, the expropriation of Jerusalem and the destruction of Gaza.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11870.shtml
I wish you Egypt / Omar Barghouti
22 Mar — An open letter to people of conscience in the West. I wish you Egypt! I wish you empowerment to resist; to fight for social and economic justice; to win your real freedom and equal rights. I wish you the will and skill to break out of your carefully concealed prison walls … I wish you Egypt so you can decolonize your minds, for only then can you envision real liberty, real justice, real equality, and real dignity.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/omar-barghouti/i-wish-you-egypt_b_839160.html
Israel is blind to the Arab revolution / Aluf Benn
Guardian 23 Mar — Israel’s view of the Arab uprising reflects ideas of itself as a liberal bastion in a sea of backwardness — Even in its third month, the Arab revolution fails to resonate positively in Israel. The Israeli news media devote a lot of space to dramatic events in the region, but our self-centered political discourse remains the same. It cannot see beyond the recent escalation across the Gaza border, or the approaching possibility of a Palestinian declaration of statehood in September. Israel’s leaders are missing the old order in the Arab world, sensing only trouble in the unfolding and perhaps inevitable change.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/23/israel-blind-to-arab-revolution
Fukushima is here / Sefi Rachlevsky
Haaretz 23 Mar — If there is one country in the world that should not have built nuclear reactors, it is Japan, and that is not 20-20 hindsight. The traumas of World War II, of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, along with the fact that Japan sits on the seam of tectonic plates, should have kept it away from that path. But Japan became a leader in the construction of reactors after all. If there is one country in the world that should not have fallen into the chasm of anti-democratic racism, it is Israel. The traumas of World War II and the horrors that racism and hatred wreaked on democracy, along with the fact that Israel sits on the seam of the Islamic world, should have kept it away from that path. But the government threatens to turn Israel into a rising anti-democratic power after all.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/fukushima-is-here-1.351247
The return of colonial theology / Yitzhak Laor
Haaretz 22 Mar — Two other Arab uprisings are going on aside from the civil war in Libya. But no one in Washington has called on Bahrain’s government to step down, and Saudi Arabia, which cuts off the hands of thieves, has been allowed to invade the emirate to take part in the suppression there. Protesters are being slaughtered daily in Yemen, and the West is helping. As always, Arab blood, high octane, is on sale. To claim that this is a double standard is like complaining that a missile has a warhead and a tail.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/the-return-of-colonial-theology-1.351029
Iraq, Afghanistan
Tuesday: 5 Iraqis killed, 33 wounded
At least five Iraqis were killed and 33 others were wounded in today’s violence. Most of the attacks took place in Baghdad. An unapproved demonstration in a city in eastern Iraq turned into clashes when police arrived to shut it down.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2011/03/22/tuesday-5-iraqis-killed-33-wounded/
Afghan security transition to start in 7 areas
KABUL, March 22 (Reuters) – Afghanistan’s leader announced on Tuesday seven areas would be included in the first phase of a gradual transition of security from NATO troops to Afghan forces in July, including volatile cities in the south and north. The announcement was the first tentative step in a long process that will end with the withdrawal of all foreign combat troops from Afghanistan by 2014, a process agreed by U.S. and NATO leaders last year.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/afghan-security-transition-to-start-in-7-areas
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US activists respond to IDF spying on internationals
Mar 23, 2011
annie
The following press release was sent out by the organizers of the US Boat to Gaza:
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the Israeli government is “launching a public campaign” today, March 22, 2011 aimed at stopping the planned International Freedom Flotilla set to sail this spring. This news comes on the heels of information that the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) announced it has formed a special unit to “monitor” foreign nationals opposed to its policies, including the flotilla.
The U.S. Boat to Gaza project has been organizing a boat called The Audacity of Hope that will be one of the approximately 15 boats that will sail to Gaza with people from over 22 countries. This non-violent, international flotilla will be sailing close to the one year anniversary of a flotilla that was brutally attacked by the IDF, killing nine people and injuring many more.
Organizers of The Audacity of Hope are outraged that the Israeli government is monitoring people in this country, as well as other nations, who are doing nothing illegal or threatening to that government.
“If the Israeli government is worried about so-called “delegitimization” they should put an end to their immoral siege against the people of Gaza. Instead of monitoring people in other countries, the Israeli government should be ending their illegal, counterproductive, and often violent policies towards Palestinians and internationals protesting peacefully,” said Gail Miller, one of the organizers. “Israeli authorities seem intent on silencing dissent from within and without. If Israel believes that infiltrating, spying on, and perhaps once again attacking, un-armed human rights advocates in international waters or elsewhere is going to serve Israel’s interest or lessen criticism of its unsustainable policies they are wrong.”
Jane Hirschmann, another of The Audacity of Hope organizers, stated, “The U.S. Boat to Gaza and the international flotilla is committed to non-violently bringing attention to Israel’s policy of siege, blockade, and occupation. We are not attacking or harming Israel, nor will we enter Israeli territory. Our plan is to sail peacefully to Gaza as part of a humanitarian mission consistent with U.S. and global values rooted in international law and human rights. If that is a crime in the eyes of Israeli officials then perhaps the U.S. government should re-assess the amount of diplomatic, military and financial support that U.S. taxpayers provide Israel with annually.”
Organizers of the U.S. Boat to Gaza believe these new actions by Israel should be responded to quickly by the U.S. government and the international community. Our government cannot sit quietly by as the armed forces of another nation announce their plans to monitor U.S. citizens. Instead, the U.S. government must insist that such monitoring immediately end, and non-violent activities are not met with brutal or deadly force by the Israeli forces.
The Audacity of Hope plans on sailing in the late spring carrying U.S. citizens to the Gaza Strip as part of the International Freedom Flotilla. The goal of this journey is to create and strengthen ties with civil society and human rights groups in the coastal strip, which is home to 1.5 million Palestinians, most of whom are refugees. In addition, the flotilla hopes to shed light on the collective punishment the Israeli blockade and siege has imposed on the people of Gaza.
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Libya’s resistance and civilians under fire by Qadhafi forces
Mar 23, 2011
Seham
Libya’s rebels under fire
And more news from the Arab uprisings:
Developments
Fighting in town southwest of Tripoli, 9 killed
Fierce fighting erupted in the town of Yafran southwest of Tripoli on Tuesday between Moamer Kadhafi’s forces and Libyan rebels controlling the area, residents reached by telephone said.
http://www.emirates247.com/news/world/fighting-in-town-southwest-of-tripoli-9-killed-2011-03-22-1.371637
Misrata resident says snipers fire on hospital
BEIRUT, March 23 (Reuters) – Snipers are firing at the clinic in Libya’s rebel-held Misrata where people wounded in fighting over the city are being treated, and three people have been killed, a resident told Reuters by telephone.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/misrata-resident-says-snipers-fire-on-hospital
Gaddafi forces shell rebel town of Zintan:resident
ALGIERS, March 23 (Reuters) – Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have resumed their bombardment of the rebel-held town of Zintan, about 90 km (55 miles) south-west of the capital, a resident said. “Gaddafi’s brigades started bombardment from the northern area half an hour ago. The bombardment is taking place now. The town is completely surrounded. The situation is very bad,” the resident, Abdulrahman, told Reuters by telephone from the town. “They are getting reinforcements. Troops backed with tanks and vehicles are coming. We appeal to the allied forces to come and protect civilians,” he said.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/gaddafi-forces-shell-rebel-town-of-zintanresident
Libya Forces Intensify Shelling Of Rebels In East; Gaddafi Speaks
AJDABIYA, Libya — International airstrikes forced Moammar Gadhafi’s forces to withdraw tanks that were besieging a rebel-held western city Wednesday, residents said, while people fleeing a strategic city in the east said the situation was deteriorating amid relentless shelling. Western diplomats, meanwhile, said an agreement was emerging about NATO would take responsibility for a no-fly zone over Libya after the United States which has effectively commanded the operation until now – reiterated that it was committed to the transition.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/23/libya-forces-intensify-attacks_n_839415.html
Video: Children Massacred in Misrata (Warning: Very Graphic)
While Gaddafi throws a fit to the international community about the enforcement of the No-Fly-Zone, he continues to kill whoever he can in a desperate attempt to show that he has power.
http://feb17.info/media/video-children-massacred-in-misrata-warning-very-graphic/
Attack on Libya’s Zintan kills at least 10-resident
ALGIERS, March 22 (Reuters) – Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi killed at least 10 people in their bombardment of the western town of Zintan on Tuesday, a resident told Reuters by telephone. “Gaddafi’s forces bombarded Zintan this morning and killed 10 to 15 people,” said the resident, called Abdulrahman. “After the bombardment they retreated from the eastern area of Zintan. I think they want to reorganise themselves.” “But they have not withdrawn from the northern area. There is still a huge number of soldiers there, backed with 50 to 60 tanks and several vehicles. The situation here is bad.”
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/attack-on-libyas-zintan-kills-at-least-10-resident
U.S.: Libya forces attack civilians in third largest city of Misrata
U.S. Navy Adm. Locklear says the allies are considering all options in light of the attacks; U.S. F-15E crashed in Libya overnight and its two crew members were rescued.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/u-s-libya-forces-attack-civilians-in-third-largest-city-of-misrata-1.351159?localLinksEnabled=false
Moammar Kadafi’s forces continue attacks on rebels in Libya
The military assaults suggest that the Libyan leader wants to stamp out what remains of the popular rebellion and underscore questions about whether the U.S.-led air campaign is succeeding. Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi carried out attacks on several rebel-held areas and deployed an elite military brigade to help bolster defenses, U.S. officials said, despite sharply stepped-up coalition airstrikes against his regime.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/8z0IuYHtM5c/la-fg-us-libya-20110323,0,7743643.story
Libya’s rebels struggle to retake territory, despite UN help
A key test of whether Libya’s rebels will be able to make headway is Ajdabiya, a hotbed of anti-Qaddafi sentiment. So far, it’s not looking promising for the rebels.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/MBGiWA87WJ0/Libya-s-rebels-struggle-to-retake-territory-despite-UN-help
Rebel leaders press U.N. envoy for Libya ceasefire
RABAT, March 22 (Reuters) – Libyan rebel leaders met a United Nations special envoy in the eastern town of Tobruk on Tuesday and demanded that Muammar Gaddafi’s forces to lift a siege of several towns and implement a ceasefire.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/rebel-leaders-press-un-envoy-for-libya-ceasefire
Al-Jazeera Video: Front line stalls outside Ajdabiya
Four days into an international military operation that has crippled Muammar Gaddafi’s air force and air defence and forced the retreat of his ground troops in the east, rebels still can’t seem to break through to Ajdabiya. Al Jazeera’s James Bays filed this report nine kilometres outside the town, where the AJE team had earlier come under missile fire from Gaddafi’s forces.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKoI6D_kRvc&feature=player_embedded
Leader of a Gaddafi brigade killed in Libya-Jazeera
TRIPOLI, March 22 (Reuters) – One of the heads of a Gaddafi brigade near Tripoli has been killed, Al Jazeera television reported on Tuesday. The broadcaster gave the commander’s name as Hussein El Warfali.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/hussein-el-warfali-one-of-the-heads-of-the-gaddafi-battalions
Live Caller: Doctor in Misrata says captured mercenaries today (English)
March 22, 2011: A live caller from Misrata describes the dire situation in the city, and talks about captured mercenaries.
http://feb17.info/media/live-caller-doctor-in-misrata-says-captured-mercenaries-today-english/
Libya rebels name interim head of government – TV
CAIRO, March 23 (Reuters) – Libya’s rebel national council based in the country’s east has named Mahmoud Jabril to head an interim government and pick ministers, Al Jazeera television reported on Wednesday. Jabril, a reformer who was once involved in a project to establish a democractic state in Libya, is already the head of a crisis committee to cover military and foreign affairs.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libya-rebels-name-interim-head-of-government-tv
Libyan council forms government
The Benghazi-based National Transitional Council has taken the step of declaring a government, to be headed by former foreign envoy Mahmoud Jibril. Nisan Gouriani, spokesman for the council, speaks to Al Jazeera’s James Bays about the political development.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ5MfHkccRU&feature=youtube_gdata
Libyan rebel council vows democracy, to keep oil deals
PARIS, March 23 (Reuters) – Libya’s rebel national council wants to establish a secular democracy that would respect oil contracts awarded under Muammar Gaddafi if it toppled the Libyan leader, members of the council said in Paris. Ali Zeidan, one of 31 members of the Libyan National Council, told reporters the rebels could overcome Gaddafi’s forces in ten days if the coalition of Western powers continued its U.N.-mandated strikes.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libyan-rebel-council-vows-democracy-to-keep-oil-deals
Gadhafi defiant as Libya bleeds
TRIPOLI: Moammar Gadhafi’s forces attacked two west Libyan towns Tuesday, killing dozens, while rebels were pinned down in the east and NATO tried to resolve a dispute over who should lead the Western air campaign.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=126357
Gadhafi: Foreign ‘fascist’ forces will end up in history’s dustbin
Beleaguered Libya leader’s speech comes as U.S.’s Clinton estimates Gadhafi may be considering exile in wake of foreign strikes.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/gadhafi-foreign-fascist-forces-will-end-up-in-history-s-dustbin-1.351252?localLinksEnabled=false
INTERVIEW-West helping rebels’ cause – Libyan minister
TRIPOLI, March 22 (Reuters) – Western forces are more interested in helping rebels advance than protecting civilians and they have made it clear they intend to assassinate Muammar Gaddafi, Libya’s deputy foreign minister said on Tuesday. “That’s the problem now we are seeing, the coalition forces they are part of the war against the legitimate government,” Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim told Reuters in an interview, adding that coalition forces were even striking soldiers in their barracks.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/western-forces-are-more-interested-in-helping-rebels-than-protec
Libyan officials decry air strikes as immoral and undemocratic
On a tour of a missile storage area that was still smoldering, Libyan officials cast the UN-sanctioned air strikes as contrary to Western values and inconsistent with the stated aim of protecting civilians.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/Hr8T-T1HQ38/Libyan-officials-decry-air-strikes-as-immoral-and-undemocratic
A talk with Libyan Deputy FM Khalid Kaim
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat- Libyan Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Khalid Kaim spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat via telephone from Tripoli about the latest developments on the ground in Libya after UN Security.
http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=24605
Fate of Libyan-American Student and Rebel Fighter Muhannad Bensadik Unknown After Shooting in Libya
Muhannad Bensadik is a 21-year-old Libyan-American medical student who has joined the armed struggle against Col. Muammar Gaddafi’s forces. He was reportedly shot during fighting near Brega earlier this month, but it’s unclear if he is dead or missing. We air an interview conducted by Democracy Now!’s Anjali Kamat with Bensadik just two days before he disappeared. We’re also joined by Bensadik’s mother, Suzi Elarabi. She recently learned that her son may not have died in the shooting as previously believed.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/3/23/fate_of_libyan_american_student_and
International Intervention
Shooting at Libyan civilians who attempted to greet US “rescuers”
“Six Libyan villagers are recovering in hospital after being shot by American soldiers coming in to rescue the U.S. pilots whose plane crash-landed in a field. The helicopter strafed the ground as it landed in a field outside Benghazi beside the downed U.S. Air Force F-15E Eagle which ran into trouble during bombing raid last night. And a handful of locals who had come to greet the pilots were hit – among them a young boy who may have to have a leg amputated because of injuries caused by a bullet wound.” Now, look at the typical convoluted explanation that the New York Times gives: “Channel 4 News in Britain reported that six villagers were shot by American troops in rescuing one of the two airmen. None of the villagers — who were interviewed by a reporter in a nearby hospital — were killed, although a small boy may need to have a leg amputated.” And has there ever been a case in which civilians are killed by US troops and in which the US military does not engage in clear obfuscations, fabrications, cover-ups, and ridiculous rationalizations? Just one case?
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/03/shooting-at-libyan-civilians-who.html
Gaddafi’s air force ‘defeated’
The commander of British aircraft operating over Libya says that Colonel Gaddafi’s air force “no longer exists as a fighting force”.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-africa-12837330
Air strikes hit Gaddafi air base:Misrata resident
ALGIERS, March 23 (Reuters) – Western air strikes early on Wednesday hit an air base south of Libya’s rebel-held Misrata where government forces are positioned, but snipers shot two people dead in the centre of the city, a resident said. “This morning, air strikes twice hit the airbase where Gaddafi’s brigades are based,” the resident, called Sami, told Reuters by telephone from Misrata. “Two people were killed by snipers an hour ago in the centre of the town. Their bodies are now at the hospital, which I visited a while ago. Shooting is still going on there (in the city centre) now,” he said.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/air-strikes-hit-gaddafi-air-basemisrata-resident
Western jets attack Gaddafi warplane – Al Jazeera
CAIRO, March 22 (Reuters) – Western warplanes attacked a military aircraft belonging to Muammar Gaddafi’s armed forces that was flying towards the rebel-held city of Benghazi on Tuesday, Al Jazeera reported, quoting its correspondent.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/western-jets-attack-gaddafi-warplane-al-jazeera
Gaddafi’s air force significantly damaged- admiral
WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) – Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s air force is now unlikely to have a negative impact on U.N. backed operations after it was hit hard enough by allied military strikes, U.S. Admiral Samuel Locklear told reporters on Tuesday. Locklear said air forces from the Gulf state of Qatar would be “up and flying” by the weekend as part of efforts to police the no-fly zone.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/weakened-gaddafi-air-force-will-not-have-negative-impact-on-west
Gaddafi not complying with UN resolution -admiral
WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) – Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his forces have not complied with a Security Council resolution demanding an end to attacks on civilians, despite the imposition of a U.N.-backed no-fly zone by coalition forces, a U.S. military official said on Tuesday.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/us-military-official-says-gaddafi-and-forces-not-yet-in-complian
Turkish navy to help enforce Libya embargo
Ankara offers ships and submarine to help enforce arms embargo on Libya as talks over NATO’s role in Libya continue.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2011/03/2011323142534477747.html
UK says can’t put time frame on Libya operation
LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Tuesday he could not say how long Britain would be involved in enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya. “We regard ourselves as in the early stages of it,” Hague said, speaking at a conference on Africa organised by the Times newspaper. “I don’t think you can put a deadline or a time objective to that.”
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/uk-says-cant-put-time-frame-on-libya-operation
Obama: Gaddafi a threat to Libyans if he stays
SAN SALVADOR, March 22 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday the Libyan people face potential threats from Muammar Gaddafi if he remains in power. Unless Gaddafi is willing to step down, “there are still going to be potential threats toward the Libyan people,” Obama told a news conference with El Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes. U.S. officials have emphasized that removing Gaddafi is not the objective of military intervention in Libya. But they have said the United States would like to see an end to his 41-year rule.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/obama-gaddafi-a-threat-to-libyans-if-he-stays
Clinton On Libya: Gaddafi Is ‘Game Playing’ But Could Be Looking For Exit Strategy
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, said that Gaddafi was engaged in “theater” and “game playing,” but that he might be looking for an exit strategy. After claiming that allies have allegedly been reaching out on Gaddafi’s behalf, Clinton acknowledged that a lot of the Libyan leader’s actions were “theater.” However, she then added that “some of it, we think, is exploring. You know, what are my options, where could I go, what could I do. And we would encourage that.” The U.S., which is currently cooperating with an international coalition on Operation Odyssey Dawn, has said repeatedly that Gaddafi must leave power in Libya. However, Clinton refused to speculate on the outcome of the military operation, declining to say that she was confident the strongman would be removed.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/22/clinton-libya-gaddafi-exit-strategy_n_839298.html
U.S. sees more Arab participation on Libya in days
WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) – The United States expects more Arab nations in the next several days to contribute to the no-fly zone being imposed over Libya, a senior U.S. official told reporters on Tuesday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said the United States was confident that it could find a way to use NATO military capabilities while bringing in countries from outside the Western security alliance.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/us-sees-more-arab-participation-on-libya-in-days
Kuwait and Jordan to contribute to Libya effort
LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) – Kuwait and Jordan are to make logistical contributions to back efforts to protect civilians in Libya, Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron said on Wednesday, emphasising broad support for operations. He also said a no-fly zone was in place over Libya, and 11 nations were contributing over 150 aircraft. “I think as we discussed on Monday there has been an early and good effect in terms of regime forces having to retreat from Benghazi, but clearly there is great concern about what the regime is doing in Misrata,” he told parliament. “We will be getting logistic contributions from countries like Kuwait and also Jordan,” he added.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/kuwait-and-jordan-to-contribute-to-libya-effort
U.S., allies agree on key NATO role in Libya campaign
Allies have stopped short of explicitly endorsing NATO political leadership of the mission, which they fear could be a hard sell for NATO member Turkey and undercut shaky Arab support.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/u-s-allies-agree-on-key-nato-role-in-libya-campaign-1.351190?localLinksEnabled=false
Medvedev slams Putin’s ‘inexcusable’ Libya ‘crusade’ comments
The sharp exchange of words on Monday reveals what some Russia experts say is a growing rift between Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/bmnyIezqJpU/Medvedev-slams-Putin-s-inexcusable-Libya-crusade-comments
Splits widen among Western leaders over way forward in Libya
As the US moves to transfer command of Libya operations to Western allies, Europe is grappling with who should take the lead to enforce UN Resolution 1973.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/QqPdZHb8RPM/Splits-widen-among-Western-leaders-over-way-forward-in-Libya
Most French back Libya military action – poll
PARIS, March 22 (Reuters) – A majority of French support the Western military action in Libya, according to the first poll carried out in France since operations started against Muammar Gaddafi’s forces on Saturday.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/most-french-back-libya-military-action-poll
U.S. Treasury aims to crimp Libya oil revenues
WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday banned Americans from doing business with 14 companies that it said were owned by Libya’s National Oil Corporation and might be raising revenues for Libya. The action by Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control was aimed at blocking National Oil Corporation from being a source of funding for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/us-treasury-aims-to-crimp-libya-oil-revenues
Anti-Intervention
Kucinich pushes to block funds for Libya intervention
WASHINGTON – Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) on Tuesday announced that he will offer a measure to deny funds to the Obama administration for military attacks against Libya aimed at protecting civilians and ousting tyrant Muammar Gaddafi. “I intend to offer an amendment to the forthcoming Continuing Resolution or Omnibus Appropriations bill that would prohibit funding for U.S. involvement in military operations in Libya,” Kucinich wrote in a letter to colleagues. “I urge you to support this amendment.”
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/03/22/kucinich-pushes-to-block-funds-for-libya-intervention/
Humanitarian Crisis
Libyans lack access to food, health care
Most of the country remains off limits to aid workers, who say they have sketchy information about the humanitarian situation.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libyans-lack-access-to-food-health-care-aid-agencies
Refugees report thousands displaced in eastern Libya: UNHCR
GENEVA: The U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday that that thousands of Libyans have fled their homes in the east of the country, according to witnesses crossing the border into Egypt. “UNHCR staff at Egypt’s border with Libya have been hearing from new arrivals that thousands of Libyans are displaced in the east of the country, taking refuge in homes, schools and university halls.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=126335
Thousands of African migrants stranded in southern Libya
Deterioration in security and limited number of aid groups in Libya makes it difficult to provide relief to these migrants – UNHCR
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/thousands-of-african-migrants-stranded-in-southern-libya
Media & Oppression/Suppression
Uncertainty and Cruelty Followed Times Journalists Held in Libya, ANTHONY SHADID, LYNSEY ADDARIO, STEPHEN FARRELL and TYLER HICKS
Four Times journalists described their treatment at the hands of government troops before their release.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=4eed289c89f721e716e19a73ae3af0e8
Al Jazeera’s James Bays comes too close to fighting in Ajdabiya
Our Libya correspondent has to cut his report short when an explosion occurrs 400m away from where he was stationed, just outside the city of Ajdabiya, where fighting has been raging. “We have to get out of here. We are too close. We have to go,” he said.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz12JbYEMsk&feature=youtube_gdata
Missing journalists ordered freed in Libya -Getty
WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) – Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has ordered the release of three journalists missing in Libya, including two working with Agence France-Presse and a Getty Images photographer, Getty said on Tuesday.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/missing-journalists-ordered-freed-in-libya–getty
Other News
Libyan oil seen out for year even without sabotage
* No oil from Libya for up to 18 months – funds, analysts
* Damage from air strikes, looting, sabotage feared
* May take years to rebuild industry
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libyan-oil-seen-out-for-year-even-without-sabotage
Analysis/Op-ed
Libya fighting rages as international division grows
Western-led air strikes on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s forces continue for a fourth consecutive night. Despite this, Gaddafi’s forces have continued to bombard the towns of Misurata, Ajdabiya and Zintan, as well as the rebel held stronghold of Benghazi. Al Jazeera’s Hazem Sika reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSOAC5tdhFs&feature=youtube_gdata
East Libyans lurch from fear to joy as West acts
BENGHAZI, Libya, March 22 (Reuters) – Rescued by Western air strikes from what rebels predicted would be a bloodbath at the hands of Muammar Gaddafi’s forces, the people of east Libya have swung between despair and jubilation within the past few days. Sheer desperation when Gaddafi’s forces stormed the strategic rebel town of Ajdabiyah and advanced towards their headquarters in Benghazi gave way to unbridled joy when the United Nations decided to impose a no-fly zone over Libya.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/east-libyans-lurch-from-fear-to-joy-as-west-acts
Libyan rebels content to wait
An uneasy stalemate settles in eastern Libya as rebel units hold back until troops loyal to Moammar Kadafi run out of supplies or allied airstrikes destroy their weapons advantage. On Libya’s eastern front, as allied warplanes circled Tuesday, the word on the lips of several rebel fighters near the government-held city of Ajdabiya was sabor , or “patience” in Arabic.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/yGGLBvjZEP4/la-fg-libya-stalemate-20110323,0,6764132.story
Some find their voice in Libya capital
Since the start of the Western-led bombing campaign against Libya’s armed forces, government’ opponents in Tripoli have been emboldened. He woke up in a fright as the air raids and antiaircraft guns opened up over Tripoli. But when Abdul-Momen climbed to his rooftop to watch the tracer fire streaking the sky, it was not fear that filled his heart. It was hope.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/I-Dh10C5yqU/la-fg-libya-kadafi-20110323,0,3910385.story
In Tripoli, Airstrikes and a Change of Atmosphere
During an organized stroll through the old city with government minders Tuesday, residents approached foreign journalists to offer their disdain or impatience with the Qaddafi government.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/23/world/africa/23tripoli.html
Gaddafi’s brutality has united Libya
My colleagues and I defected from the Libyan mission to the UN to draw attention to Gaddafi’s attacks on unarmed protesters
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/22/gaddafi-brutality-libya-libyan-mission
US fighter pilot talks to Al Jazeera
As objections mount against the bombing of Libyan sites, allegations of “mission creep” in the operation are rising. Former US fighter jet pilot Jay Stout tells Al Jazeera that the military involvement in Libya has reached beyond what is usually expected in enforcing a no-fly zone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpk4b9FZV7o&feature=youtube_gdata
Who’s rethinking support for Libya’s no-fly zone – and why
After a few days of Western airstrikes on Libya, initial international support is beginning to fall apart as disputes arise about what levels of military action are authorized by Thursday’s UN resolution.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/j-PDLqbzKaw/Who-s-rethinking-support-for-Libya-s-no-fly-zone-and-why
Libya campaign lacks a leader
After days of joint airstrikes, no one has stepped up to take command of the coalition trying to rein in Libyan dictator Moammar Kadafi. Depending on whom you ask, the warplanes sent to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya are there to carry out Operation Odyssey Dawn, Operation Ellamy or Operation Harmattan.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/nBINB7wWJM0/la-fg-libya-command-20110323,0,2304206.story
Riz Khan – Endgame in Libya
As European and US military jets continue their operations against Gaddafi’s forces, will it bring peace to the country?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KT0l6f3k20&feature=youtube_gdata
Anonymous press release 22.3 011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb_r07IWW1o
Jeffrey Feltman and Qadhdhafi’s henchman, Musa Kusa
“FM-equivalent Musa Kusa assured visiting Acting A/S Feltman July 27 that the Government of Libya was prepared to launch a bilateral Human Rights Dialogue; would sign the HEU-LEU agreement in time to meet the September deadline to transfer its nuclear spent fuel; was ready to move forward on security cooperation, including signing the end-use monitoring agreement; was prepared to take a second look at some kind of participation in the Trans Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP); and was discussing a plan to expedite the visa approval process for U.S. officials, business travelers, and technical experts. On signing a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), Kusa did not give a clear answer but stated that strategic dialogue was possible in the international sphere. Kusa confirmed that the GOL was planning to host a one-day AU Summit meeting in Tripoli August 31 to discuss crisis spots in Africa. Kusa also noted that counterterrorism and Darfur would be on the Leader’s agenda for any possible meeting with POTUS on the margins of the upcoming UN General Assembly. Feltman asserted that any potential meeting would be enhanced by Libyan agreement to the several issues raised and that the Libyan side would be well-advised to make efforts to temper Qadhafi’s rhetoric while in New York to the extentpossible.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/03/jeffrey-feltman-and-qadhdhafis-henchman.html
John McCain Was In Favor Of Supplying Military Aid To Gaddafi Before He Was For Supplying Military Aid To The Forces Looking To Topple Gaddafi
During his 2010 reelection campaign, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) frequently made great sport of his rival, J.D. Hayworth, for Hayworth’s tendency to misstate basic facts about American military history. But now, McCain is in full-on “we are all Benghazians” mode, and on this morning’s edition of CBS’s “The Early Show,” McCain made a big deal about how Muammar Gaddafi has “American blood on his hands.” But over at Salon’s War Room, Justin Elliott finds that there’s ample opportunity for Hayworth to claw back a little bit of his lost pride.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/22/john-mccain-was-in-favor-_n_839249.html
In Libyan school: Reading, writing and Kadafi
At a middle school in Tripoli, Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi’s portraits adorn all the walls and students and teachers sing his praises. His Green Book, part of the curriculum, is taught by a specially designated instructor. Col. Moammar Kadafi’s portraits hang from the walls of the middle school. All of the walls.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/TQ0QRF15Quo/la-fg-libya-school-20110323,0,4481845.story
The difference with Libya, Brian Whitaker
Unlike Bahrain or Yemen, the scale and nature of the Gaddafi regime’s actions have impelled the UN’s ‘responsibility to protect’
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/23/libya-bahrain-yemen-un-responsibility-protect
As’ad AbuKhalil Professor of political science, California State University, Stanislaus
Western governments, or “the West”, never intervene in the Middle East without invoking the loftiest of ideals. Western armies, since the days of Napoleon, descend on the region uninvited, promising reforms and change that are never consistent with people’s aspirations and desires. And the promises never materialise.
http://www.economist.com/debate/days/view/673
Debating Intervention: Is U.S.-Led Military Action the Best Solution to Libya Crisis?
Forces loyal to Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi continue to advance on rebel-held towns amidst ongoing U.S.-led air strikes. Gaddafi’s deadly crackdown on the Libyan uprising has sparked debate on longstanding questions around international intervention. We host a debate between Libyan poet, scholar and University of Michigan professor Khaled Mattawa, who supports U.S.-led intervention, and UCLA law professor Asla Bali, who says the U.S.-led coalition has ignored viable alternatives to military attacks.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/3/23/debating_intervention_is_us_led_military
Gaddafi, moral interventionism and revolution, Richard Falk
Intervening in Libya now will set a poor precedent on when the use of force is justified.
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/03/2011322135442593945.html#
The Mustafa `Abd Al-Jalil council
“The behavior of the fledgling rebel government in Benghazi so far offers few clues to the rebels’ true nature. Their governing council is composed of secular-minded professionals — lawyers, academics, businesspeople — who talk about democracy, transparency, human rights and the rule of law. But their commitment to those principles is just now being tested as they confront the specter of potential Qaddafi spies in their midst, either with rough tribal justice or a more measured legal process.Like the Qaddafi government, the operation around the rebel council is rife with family ties. And like the chiefs of the Libyan state news media, the rebels feel no loyalty to the truth in shaping their propaganda, claiming nonexistent battlefield victories, asserting they were still fighting in a key city days after it fell to Qaddafi forces, and making vastly inflated claims of his barbaric behavior.” I should only add that the `Abd Al-Jalil marginalized the lawyers and professionals and secularists.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/03/mustafa-abd-al-jalil-council.html
Here we go again, Rory Stewart on the Libyan intervention
Until yesterday, I thought we were at the end of the age of intervention. The complacency that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union had been shattered by the Balkan wars; despair was followed by the successful interventions in Bosnia and then Kosovo; then triumphal pride led us to disaster in Iraq and Afghanistan. Midway through the period, in 2000, it seemed we could intervene anywhere. By 2010, it felt as though we would not venture abroad again. What had begun with the irresistible victory of democracy, the free market and the United States, ended with occupation, financial crisis and American impotence.
http://www.lrb.co.uk/2011/03/18/rory-stewart/here-we-go-again
Though the risks are very real, the case for intervention remains strong | Jonathan Freedland
Not to respond to Gaddafi’s chilling threats would leave us morally culpable, but action in Libya is fraught with danger. Newton’s law applies to geopolitics as much as it does to physics: every action causes an equal and opposite reaction. So the failure of the US military intervention in Somalia in 1993 haunted the Clinton administration, making it recoil from action to halt the Rwanda genocide in 1994. Guilt over that inaction prompted Bill Clinton to commit troops to halt Slobodan Milosevic in Kosovo five years later. The lessons Tony Blair drew from that conflict led him, in turn, to pursue the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Which brings us to Libya, and to today.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/22/case-for-intervention-still-strong
Vilifying Gaddafi externalises evil | Richard Seymour
The demonology used by the media to describe dictators is just part of a bid to monopolise the moral ground. The air strikes on Libya are, under the terms of the UN resolution, supposedly intended to protect civilians and result in a negotiated settlement between Colonel Gaddafi and the rebels. This has resulted in some controversy, as air strikes devastated Gaddafi’s compound – Bab El-Azizia, the presidential palace abutting military barracks in Tripoli. The defence secretary Liam Fox has insisted, against British army opposition, that Gaddafi would be a legitimate target of air strikes. Assassination, whatever else may be said about it, would leave Gaddafi unavailable for negotiations. But a “compound” – what could be wrong with bombing such a facility?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/22/gaddafi-demonology-media
Intervention in Libya: Human Rights War or Resource Grab?
The recent attack on Libya by the US, UK and France surprised nearly everyone with the speed with which it was authorized and executed. Although hard data on what’s actually going on is scarce, what is clear is that after non-violent protests in Tripoli were met with the murder of a large number of protesters, an armed rebellion began which includes some members of the Libyan armed forces, who are primarily located in the eastern part of the country. The Libyan army and air force responded fiercely, and within the last week, began to rout the rebels in town after town, finally approaching the city of Benghazi, which as of this writing, is still in rebel hands.
Jon Stewart on Libya
http://www.arabist.net/blog/2011/3/23/jon-stewart-on-libya.html
Bahrain
Bahrainis mourn woman killed at checkpoint
Mourners have gathered in Bahrain for the funeral of Bahiya Aradi, a woman who was shot and killed as she approached a military checkpoint last week. The police and army moved in to end weeks of protests in the kingdom, which were inspired by a wave of uprisings across the Arab world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCI42D7Oqys&feature=youtube_gdata
U.N. rights office calls on Bahrain to uphold law
GENEVA, March 22 (Reuters) – Activists and medical staff have been arrested or harassed in Bahrain, where up to 100 people have been reported missing since a crackdown last week, the United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/un-rights-office-calls-on-bahrain-to-uphold-law
U.S. issues new warning against travel to Bahrain
WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) – The United States is urging Americans to avoid Bahrain because of the threat of violent political demonstrations. “We urge U.S. citizens to defer travel to Bahrain at this time. U.S. citizens currently in Bahrain should consider departing,” the U.S. State Department said in a travel warning issued on Tuesday.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/us-issues-new-warning-against-travel-to-bahrain
Bahrain Punishes Lebanon
A confidential Bahraini source sent me this: “Please note that Bahrain goverment stopped Lebanese from entry to Bahrain, suspended gulf air flights and restricted direct phone calls to lebanon.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/03/bahrain-punishes-lebanon.html
Bahrain to focus on restoring security
Bahrain’s foreign minister said Tuesday his country would focus on restoring security and pushing ahead with political consultations after Gulf troops quashed one month of protests while the U.N. human rights office called on Manama to uphold international law.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=126338
Many Bahraini Protesters Angry With United States
Last week’s crackdown on protesters in Bahrain has left many in the capital, Manama, angry with the United States. They say they believe the White House tacitly approved the attacks on demonstrators and put its strategic interests over democratic principles. On Friday at the Sadiq Mosque in Manama, the preacher recounted the week’s extraordinary events. Sheik Issa Qassim criticized Bahrain’s royal family for sending in soldiers and police to crush an anti-government rebellion — an assault that left at least seven dead and hundreds wounded. Then, he criticized the United States for not doing more to prevent it. “They have influence they’re not using to save the people here,” he said.
http://www.npr.org/2011/03/21/134738662/many-bahrain-protesters-angry-with-united-states?sc=tw&cc=share
Oil interests muted Bahrain criticism: analysts (AFP)
AFP – Saudi Arabia’s massive oil wealth and Sunni solidarity against Shiite Iran is the main reason Arab states remained muted over repression in Bahrain, while loudly protesting over the crushing of a popular revolt in Libya, analysts say.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110322/wl_mideast_afp/mideastunrestlibyagulfiran
Kuwait sues Shiite daily over Saudi ‘invasion’ (AFP)
AFP – A Shiite newspaper in Kuwait faces trial for its use of the term “invasion” to report on the Saudi troop deployment in Bahrain to help quell protests, its editor and local media said on Tuesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110322/wl_mideast_afp/bahrainpoliticsunrestkuwaitmediatrial
VIDEO: Assessing the turmoil in Bahrain
Bill Law examines the real story behind the continuing unrest in Bahrain.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/9433490.stm
Bahrain update
A confidential source sent me this: “There is something very strange going on in Bahrain. Bahrain’s General Labor Union called off the general strikes today morning. All these people started saying that the union’s head was be threatened by the government or that the information was false. The seven opposition societies then came out and said that despite what the union said, they are calling all workers to continue the strike. The union then comes out and denies that it was threatened and releases a clear statement calling for the strikes to end. The seven opposition societies then come out and say that they support the unions decision and call for the end of the strikes. The youth movement then come out and say that they are against the opposition’s decision and that the strikes should continue. Meanwhile, although violence has subsided in some areas, there was renewed shooting in the village of Naim and fighter jets flying really low from the sky.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/03/bahrain-update.html
Yemen
Yemen imposes state of emergency
Yemen’s parliament approves the imposition of a state of emergency amid escalating street protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-12831981
Yemen opposition calls mass protests for Friday
SANAA, March 23 (Reuters) – Yemen opposition groups called on protesters to march on President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s Sanaa palace on Friday to force him out, hoping to end a crisis his allies abroad fear will benefit Islamic militants.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/yemen-opposition-calls-mass-protests-for-frida
YEMEN: Forty killed in clashes in northern governorate of Al-Jawf
SANAA, 23 March 2011 (IRIN) – The anti-government uprising, backed by opposition parties, has sparked clashes between pro- and anti-government tribesmen in the northern governorate of Al-Jawf where at least 40 people have been killed in the past few days, said Sheikh Abdulhamid Amer, chairman of local NGO Social Development and Peace Association.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/yemen-forty-killed-in-clashes-in-northern-governorate-of-al-jawf
Yemeni pres. seeks Saudi asylum’
Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh has reportedly requested asylum from Saudi Arabia after announcing he will step down by the end of the year.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/171185.html
Yemen’s leader says he will step down
Yemen’s embattled US-backed president pledged to step down more than a year early but refused to immediately resign on Tuesday, infuriating tens of thousands of demonstrators demanding his ouster.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/yemens-leader-says-he-will-step-down-2249551.html
Yemeni opposition rejects gradual transfer of power
President Ali Abdullah Saleh, his support within Yemen’s government crumbling, offers to leave office before his term ends in 2013, though not immediately. ‘No deals,’ an opposition leader says. Yemen’s political crisis deepened Tuesday as opposition groups rejected an offer by President Ali Abdullah Saleh to negotiate a gradual transfer of power.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/ebziC3K9xks/la-fg-yemen-president-20110323,0,4517531.story
Yemen president invites youth for dialogue
SANAA, March 22 (Reuters) – Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, facing youth-led street protests demanding his ouster, invited young people to join what was described as a transparent and open dialogue, the state news agency said on Tuesday. “President Ali Abdullah Saleh is truly sympathetic with the youth and is interested in their problems and causes,” state news agency Saba said, citing an official source. “The president calls the youth to a transparent, sincere and open dialogue,” it said.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/yemeni-president-invites-youth-to-dialogue-said-to-be-sympathet
Yemen conflict – civil war or Saleh out?
There have been mixed messages from President Ali Abdullah Saleh. On the one hand, he has offered to step down by the start of next year, on the other, he’s warning of “grave repercussions” over any dissent. He has dispatched his foreign minister to Saudi Arabia to seek mediation, but the demonstrators still out in the capital Sanaa and across the country remain defiant and galvanised with military generals offering them protection. But the defense minister has declared the army is sticking by the president and tanks have manouvered to guard the presidential palace. Inside Story presenter Laura Kyle is joined by guests: Mohamed Qubaty, a former adviser to the Yemeni prime minister; Joseph Kechichian, columnist for Gulf News newspaper and Bernard Haykel, a professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. This episode of Inside Story aired on Tuesday, March 22, 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oVhi25zGrQ&feature=youtube_gdata
Yemen defections shake government rule
Three army commanders, including a top general defected saying they are now with the protesters calling for the end of Ali Abdullah Saleh’s thirty year rule. The move came as thousands took to the streets of Sanaa on Friday to mourn the deaths of protesters killed by sniper fire. The most senior to defect is Major General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a long-time confidant of Saleh, along with Bridadiers Ali Mohsin Saleh and Hameed Al-Qushaibi. Also in recent days, the most prominent tribal council has thrown its lot with the protest movement and a number of newly appointed cabinet ministers have resigned. But will these mass defections, be enough to force a peaceful handover of power? Or in a country still recovering from years of civil war is this divide a spark for another one? Inside Story, with presenter Mike Hanna, discusses with guests: Hassan Nafaa, a professor and Chairman of Political Science Department at Cairo University; Khaled Fahmy, a professor and Chair of the Department of History at the American University in Cairo and in Washington DC, Mark Perry, he’s a Foreign Affairs Analyst. This episode of Inside Story aired from Monday, March 21, 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg2pDtkH1zE&feature=youtube_gdata
Yemen military figures switch sides
High profile members of Yemen’s military have defected to support the anti-government protesters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1esL3nceUtc&feature=youtube_gdata
Syria
Syria security forces kill 6 in attack on Daraa mosque, witnesses say
Among victims is a doctor from a prominent Daraa family who arrived at the protest hub to help victims of the attack.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/syria-security-forces-kill-6-in-attack-on-daraa-mosque-witnesses-say-1.351283?localLinksEnabled=false
Syrian forces ‘open fire on protesters’
Residents say at least five people killed in the southern city of Daraa, where protests have been held since Friday.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/03/20113231127592364.html
Syria Protests Spread As Child Dies From Tear Gas
Unrest spread in southern Syria on Monday with hundreds of people demonstrating against the government in three towns near the main city of Deraa, but authorities did not use force to quell the latest protests. Security forces killed four civilians in demonstrations that erupted last week in Deraa, in the most serious challenge to President Bashar al-Assad’s rule since the 45-year-old succeeded his father 11 years ago.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/22/post_667_n_838978.html
Protest Spreads to New Southern Syrian Village
Protests spread in southern Syria Tuesday as hundreds of people marched to demand reforms in a previously peaceful village, witnesses and activists said.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=73f6d302bc054256debc2351aaa819e1
UN calls for Syria probe as hundreds protest
UN human rights chief calls for investigation into weekend crackdown as protesters take to the streets for a fifth day.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/03/2011322155925612161.html
Syria fires governor after seven anti-government protesters killed
Syrian Human rights group says leading campaigner for southern protesters demanding end to government corruption was taken from his home by Syrian authorities on Tuesday.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/syria-fires-governor-after-seven-anti-government-protesters-killed-1.351168?localLinksEnabled=false
Syria security threatens channel over coverage
A Syrian businessman said employees at a private channel he owns had to resign following threats by Syrian security officials over coverage of recent protests against the regime.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/03/22/142568.html
France urges Syria to make immediate political reforms
PARIS, March 22 (Reuters) – France urged Syria on Wednesday to carry out political reforms without delay and respect its commitments to human rights. “France calls on Syria to follow its international commitments to human rights, to which it has signed up especially with regard to freedom of expression and opinion,” foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said in a daily briefing to reporters. “Political reforms must be put in place without delay to meet the aspirations of the Syrian people,” he said.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/france-urges-syria-to-make-immediate-political-reforms
Daraa protests are the spark Syria needed | Maher Arar
The security forces’ violent clampdown on protesters in Daraa will inspire repressed Syrians to finally break their silence. Syria seemed relatively stable before massive protests erupted last week in the city of Daraa, a small city south of the capital. Demonstrators chanted for freedom and for the end of corruption.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/23/daraa-protests-syria
Saudi Arabia
Saudi arrests 100 Shi’ite protesters: rights group (Reuters)
Reuters – Saudi authorities arrested 100 Shi’ite protesters during demonstrations in the east of the country last week, a Saudi human rights group said on Wednesday. Hundreds attended protests in and around the region’s main Shi’ite center, Qatif, calling for the release of prisoners and withdrawal of Saudi forces from Bahrain.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110323/wl_nm/us_saudi_arrests
Saudi Arabia to hold municipal polls
Local bodies elections could be concession extended to protesters seeking political change in kingdom.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/03/2011323101416723875.html
Analysis/Op-ed
Arab revolution is an unstoppable force
While the world’s attention is focussed on Libya, people across the Middle East are rising up against dictators
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/23/arab-revolution-unstoppable-force
The Alternative Opposition in Jordan and the Failure to Understand the Lessons of the Tunisian and Egyptian Revolutions
In Jordan, no one seems to have learned from the lessons of Tunisia and Egypt. Especially not the “opposition,” which can be divided into the “official” opposition and the “alternative” opposition. The “official” opposition—comprised of the legalized opposition parties and professional associations—still seeks weak reformist goals that constitute a continuation of its collapsing course that began in 1989 (the year marking the end of martial law in Jordan and the onset of the so-called “democratic era”). This official opposition is made up of three broad sets of groups: the Islamists, featuring the Muslim Brotherhood and their political wing the Islamic Action Front; the nationalists, including two Ba’thist parties (one connected to the Iraqi faction and the other to the Syrian faction); and the leftists, including the Jordanian Communist Party, the Popular Unity Party (affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine), and the People’s Democratic Party (affiliated with the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine). This official opposition (which resembles all the official oppositions around the Arab world) has been subjected to substantial and incisive criticism over the past two decades—particularly around their absorption into the regime structure and inability to deliver meaningful political change—and there is no need to expand here on this issue.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/959/the-alternative-opposition-in-jordan-and-the-failure-to-understand-the-lessons-of-the-tunisian-and-egyptian-revolutions
Is another ‘Cast Lead’ in the offing?
Mar 23, 2011
Alex Kane
Are we witnessing the stirrings of a new, large-scale Israeli military operation? Haaretz today reports that “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Wednesday that the Israel Defense Forces would continue to use ‘firm determination and assaults’ on Gaza…[Netanyahu said:] ‘It could take the form of exchanges of fire, it could continue for a particular length of time.’”
UPDATE (1:40 PM EST): The New York Times is reporting on a statement put out by Defense Minister Ehud Barak in the aftermath of today’s deadly bombing in Jerusalem. From the Times: “Israel held Hamas responsible for Wednesday’s rocket attacks, and added that ‘responsibility comes with a price.’ The Israeli army will ‘continue to act to protect citizens of the state and to carry out preventive actions’ along the Gaza border, he added. ‘There will be ups and downs. It will not be over by tomorrow, but we are determined to restore security and calm.'”
Indeed, the stars seem to be aligning for another brutal Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip two years after “Operation Cast Lead” killed some 1,400 Palestinians, the vast majority of them civilians, and completely destroyed 3,000 homes in what Judge Richard Goldstone termed a “deliberately disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate and terrorize a civilian population.”
Eerie parallels between the period leading up to “Cast Lead” and the situation now exist, and there’s nothing to stop Israel from launching another assault, given that the United States has sent the world the message that Israeli war crimes will go unpunished.
First, the parallels:
In the months leading up to the 2008-09 assault on Gaza, a tenuous truce held between Hamas and Israel as Hamas stopped firing rockets at Israeli communities and attempted to reign in other armed groups in Gaza from doing so. An August 2008 WikiLeaks cable that describes a visit by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak to Egypt reports:
Regarding the Tahdiya [“calm” in Arabic], Hacham said Barak stressed that while it was not permanent, for the time being it was holding. There have been a number of violations of the ceasefire on the Gaza side, but Palestinian factions other than Hamas were responsible. Hacham said the Israelis assess that Hamas is making a serious effort to convince the other factions not to launch rockets or mortars. Israel remains concerned by Hamas’ ongoing efforts to use the Tahdiya to increase their strength, and at some point, military action will have to be put back on the table. The Israelis reluctantly admit that the Tahdiya has served to further consolidate Hamas’ grip on Gaza, but it has brought a large measure of peace and quiet to Israeli communities near Gaza.
Despite this “peace,” Israel decisively broke the truce on November 4, 2008 when they raided Gaza and killed six members of Hamas, leading to an increase in Hamas and other armed groups’ rocket attacks on Israel. According to a January 2009 report by investigative journalist Gareth Porter, Israel rejected a Hamas ceasefire offer in December 2008.
After the assault ended in January 2009, a tenuous lull, punctuated by sporadic violence on the Gaza-Israel border, has held. In January 2011, Hamas again attempted to reign in other armed groups from firing at Israeli communities.
But now this lull seems to be breaking down. The Israeli daily Haaretz reports on what has occurred in the last week:
The current tensions began exactly a week ago when Israel launched an air attack on a Hamas base in the ruins of the settlement of Netzarim, killing two Hamas men. That attack came in response to a Qassam fired from Gaza that landed in an open area. Hamas then responded with a barrage of 50 mortars on communities south of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli attacks on Gaza over the last few days have left eight people dead, including five civilians, and another twelve civilians have been wounded. The air strikes came after Hamas offered a truce–events that bear a striking resemblance to what occurred in the run-up to “Operation Cast Lead.”
What makes a renewed assault seem more possible is the fact that strident warnings are coming from Israeli leaders. Tzipi Livni, the head of the opposition party Kadima and who was the foreign minister during the 08-09 Gaza assault, recently said that “the right way to contend with [the recent rocket attacks] is through force, as Israel did during Operation Cast Lead and after it.” Both the Vice Premier and and the culture minister have voiced similar warnings.
The frightening warnings and attacks on Gazan civilians could stop if the international community would pressure Israel. But what’s to stop Israel if they have U.S.-guaranteed impunity? The Goldstone report recommended that proceedings against Israelis and Palestinians who committed war crimes occur if domestic systems do not uphold international law. No high-level officials, on the Palestinian or Israeli side, have been held accountable. The U.S. has ensured that Israeli leaders who committed war crimes will get off free.
A promise of law is that the deterrent effect of punishment may prevent future crimes. That promise goes out the window if there is no punishment–exactly what happened after the publication of the Goldstone report.
Alex Kane blogs on Israel/Palestine and Islamophobia in the U.S. at alexbkane.wordpress.com, where this post originally appeared. Follow him on Twitter @alexbkane.
Talk about a bad review: IDF compares Miral to Mein Kampf
Mar 23, 2011
Adam Horowitz
Deborah Sontag has an interview with Julian Schnabel in today’s New York Times about Miral. The piece covers much of the same territory that has already been discussed in past interviews, but there were some more snippets on his time in Israel/Palestine shooting the film.
Q. Did you have any pressure on this film from the Israeli government or the Palestinian Authority?
A. Not really. I lost a location. I was looking for a prison. There was a location man who sent a version of the script to somebody from the I.D.F. [the Israeli Defense Forces]. The guy wrote back to me and said, “Helping you to make this movie would be like helping Hitler make a movie out of ‘Mein Kampf.’ ” I didn’t answer him.
Schnabel also gives some more details on travelling through Ben Gurion Airport with Rula Jebreal, an experience which certainly left an impression on him:
Q. Was that the first time you had been there?
A. No. I had a show in the Israel Museum in 1987, when Teddy Kollek was mayor. My mother had been saying, “Go to Israel — you’re going to get that special feeling,” from the time I had my bar mitzvah. It’s something I didn’t want to do. I didn’t want to be like everybody else. Art was my religion. But eventually, I thought, “O.K., I owe this to my mom,” and I organized that show.
Q. And did you feel that special something?
A. I did feel something. But later I went back to Israel with Rula, and the interrogator at the airport said, “Uh, what’s your relationship?” I said, “She’s my girlfriend.” He said, “Well, how many times do you see her a week?” I said, “How many times a week do you see your girlfriend?” He said, “Come with us.” I don’t think that was the special feeling my mother was talking about.
There is also this interesting tidbit from a interview today with Reuters:
Q. Why don’t many American filmmakers tackle this topic?
A. “Most directors probably need the job. And don’t want to get blackballed. People don’t want to get fired for supporting something that might not be popular. Personally, I don’t need to get hired. I don’t care. I am not looking for a job. If people don’t want to make any more movies with me, it’s fine. I don’t even know that I am going to make another movie.”
“So people say, don’t buy the guy’s paintings cause he made this movie? I don’t think that will happen.”
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I Wish You Egypt: An open letter to people of conscience in the West
Mar 23, 2011
Omar Barghouti
I wish you Egypt!
I wish you empowerment to resist; to fight for social and economic justice; to win your real freedom and equal rights.
I wish you the will and skill to break out of your carefully concealed prison walls. See, in our part of the world, prison walls and thick inviolable doors are all too overt, obvious, over-bearing, choking; this is why we remain restive, rebellious, agitated, and always in preparation for our day of freedom, of light, when we gather a critical mass of people power enough to cross all the hitherto categorical red lines. We can then smash the thick, cold ugly, rusty chains that have incarcerated our minds and bodies for all our lives like the overpowering stench of a rotting corpse in our claustrophobic prison cell.
Your prison cells, however, are quite different. The walls are well hidden lest they evoke your will to resist. There is no door to your prison cell — you may roam about “freely,” never recognizing the much larger prison you are still confined to.
I wish you Egypt so you can decolonize your minds, for only then can you envision real liberty, real justice, real equality, and real dignity.
I wish you Egypt so you can tear apart the sheet with the multiple-choice question, “what do you want?”, for all the answers you are given are dead wrong. Your only choice there seems to be between evil and a lesser one.
I wish you Egypt so you can, like the Tunisians, the Egyptians, the Libyans, the Bahrainis, the Yemenis, and certainly the Palestinians, shout “No! We do not want to select the least wrong answer. We want another choice altogether that is not on your damned list.” Given the choice between slavery and death, we unequivocally opt for freedom and dignified life — no slavery, and no death.
I wish you Egypt so you can collectively, democratically, and responsibly re-build your societies; to reset the rules so as to serve the people, not savage capital and its banking arm; to end racism and all sorts of discrimination; to look after and be in harmony with the environment; to cut wars and war crimes, not jobs, benefits and public services; to invest in education and healthcare, not in fossil fuel and weapons research; to overthrow the repressive, tyrannical rule of multinationals; and to get the hell out of Afghanistan, Iraq, and everywhere else where under the guise of “spreading democracy” your self-righteous crusades have spread social and cultural disintegration, abject poverty and utter hopelessness.
I wish you Egypt so you can fulfill your countries’ legal and moral obligations to help rebuild the ravished, de-developed economies and societies of your former — or current — colonies, so that their young men can find their own homelands viable, livable and lovable again, instead of risking death — or worse — on the high seas to reach your mirage-washed shores, giving up loved ones and a place they once called home. You see, they’re “here” because you were there… and we all know what you did there!
I wish you Egypt so you can rekindle the spirit of the South African anti-apartheid struggle by holding Israel accountable to international law and universal principles of human rights, by adopting boycott, divestment and sanctions, called for by an overwhelming majority in Palestinian civil society. There is no more effective, non-violent way to end Israel’s occupation, racial discrimination and decades-old denial of the UN-sanctioned right of Palestinian refugees to return.
Our oppression and yours are deeply interrelated and intertwined — it is never a zero-sum game! Our joint struggle for universal rights and freedoms is not merely a self gratifying slogan that we raise; rather, it is a fight for true emancipation and self determination, an idea whose time has vociferously arrived.
After Egypt, it is our time. It is time for Palestinian freedom and justice. It is time for all the people of this world, particularly the most exploited and downtrodden, to reassert our common humanity and reclaim control over our common destiny.
I wish you Egypt!
Omar Barghouti is a Palestinian human rights activist, former resident of Egypt, and author of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS): The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights(Haymarket Books, 2011)
Five years ago today, Walt and Mearsheimer gave Americans the vocabulary to discuss a central issue
Mar 23, 2011
Scott McConnell
What stood out from the first page was the tone—measured but firm, uncompromising but not strident. Every assertion seemed precisely weighed, put forth without exaggeration, flamboyance, or polemical excess. Also striking was the absence of gratuitous deference towards the opponent. There was no pulling of punches, no telltale signs of anxiety about the consequences of an argument taken too far, or indeed made at all. Such was my first reaction to reading John Mearsheimer’s and Steve Walt’s Israel Lobby paper, posted five years ago today on the website of Harvard’s Kennedy School, and published in shorter form in the London Review of Books. It had arrived at the opening of business one morning in an email from Michael Desch, then a professor at Texas A&M’s George H. W. Bush School of Government. I sent it across the hall to my colleague Kara Hopkins, a woman a generation my junior, somewhat less engaged than I by the Middle East, and certainly less persuaded that a coterie of neocons had gotten George W. Bush on a leash and were leading him this way and that. Three minutes later I walked into her office, where she had the paper up on her screen. “This is exactly what I believe,” said Kara, words that I had never heard from her before on any subject, much less this one.
American Christians who are neither ignorant nor bigots have a difficult time finding the right words to discuss Israel and its special relationship to the United States. Anyone with knowledge of European history knows of the connection between discourses about Jewish power and anti-Semitism. Inevitably this history has intruded on American discussions of Israel and its lobby. Save a handful of exceptions, mainstream dissent from the special relationship with Israel has taken the form of the dry aside or the understated sentence or two published amidst a lot of other stuff, almost as if the author hoped it would not be noticed. Occasionally public figures at the end of their careers made remarks that more resembled outbursts, the parting shot of the seventy- five year old senator or aging general. But more often than not, ever sensitive to the perils of anti-semitism, Americans let their fears of contributing to injustice shut off necessary debates. People rolled their eyes or took refuge in wry remarks: “What’s the matter with the rest of them?” said a friend upon seeing a Washington Post story about the 360 members of Congress who had showed up to pay homage at one of AIPAC’s annual gatherings.
The reasons differed for every individual, and were composite. There was the worry about offending close Jewish friends or colleagues, concerns over possible adverse professional consequences, or the general inhibitions associated with the Jewish power/leading to anti-Semitism/leading to the Holocaust nexus.* The result was that critical analysis of the special relationship was shoved to the margins of American political discourse. The discussions may have been richer and more involved on the Marxist and anti-imperialist Left than on the quasi-isolationist Old Right, but in neither case did they much influence the political mainstream. Even in the wake of the Iraq disaster, with the looming prospect more American wars in the Middle East, Israel’s role was alluded at most in passing, but seldom really pursued.
The evasions could be almost comical.
In the second issue of The American Conservative, in the fall of 2002, we published an outstanding 8000 word essay by Paul Schroeder, a distinguished diplomatic historian, who argued that Americans had a great stake in preserving an international system which inhibited preventive wars of the sort Washington was preparing to wage against Iraq. After being granted 8000 words, Schroeder added some footnotes, the fourth of which stated, inter alia, “It is common for great powers to try to fight wars by proxy, getting smaller powers to fight for their interests. This would be the first instance I know where a great power (in fact, a superpower) would do the fighting as the proxy of a small client state.”
To Schroeder’s consternation, this footnote was the only item from his argument mentioned a few months later in a Washington Post oped, where it was cited it amongst other examples of the supposed anti-semitism of Iraq war critics who had deigned to notice that the push for war was connected to Israel.
Five years ago, John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen Walt of Harvard stepped directly into these bogs of understatement, circumlocution and the relegation of major points to footnotes. Here are some of the points the two made in the first pages of their paper:
For the past several decades, however, and especially since the Six Day War in 1967, the centerpiece of U.S. Middle East policy has been its relationship with Israel. The combination of unwavering U.S. support for Israel and the related effort to spread democracy throughout the region has inflamed Arab and Islamic opinion and jeopardized U.S. security…
More importantly, saying that Israel and the United States are united by a shared terrorist threat has the causal relationship backwards: rather, the United States has a terrorism problem in good part because it is so closely allied with Israel, not the other way around…
This situation has no equal in American political history. Why has the United States been willing to set aside its own security in order to advance the interests of another state?
In the essay that followed, the two backed up these and other equally forceful assertions with tightly-argued, factually-based paragraphs and extensive footnotes. They were not, of course, the first pioneers in pursuing this subject from an establishment vantage point: on at least two occasions, the Israel subject had been addressed by Americans of comparable eminence. George W. Ball, probably the wisest figure to hold high positions in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, had late in life co-authored with his son an important book on America’s “entangling alliance” with Israel —a book whose antecedent was in an article written for Foreign Affairs in the late 1970’s, proposing that America “save Israel from itself” by stopping its incipient campaign to colonize the West Bank. A few years earlier, Senator William Fulbright, probably the leading foreign policy intellectual among Americans who held elective office in the postwar era, bemoaned the Israel lobby’s influence, and pushed for an American security guarantee for Israel within the 1967 borders.
Both Fulbright and Ball came to the subject at the close of long careers. In contrast Mearsheimer and Walt published their paper during their professional primes. Their argument had none of that “Now I can finally say it” quality; instead the authors arrived with every intent of carrying their argument forward. They had tenure at two of the country’s top universities. They had reached the top of a profession which rewards clear writing and thinking, and possessed the argumentative eloquence that comes from years of lecturing before the nation’s brightest students. They were political moderates—whose careers had placed them squarely in the “vital center” of American academic foreign policy discourse. They were fully prepared to go larger, and in eighteen months turned the paper into a best-selling book.
Of course it mattered somewhat that the Israel lobby used every tool at its disposal smear the authors and bury their argument. Every journal and newspaper that had ever felt the need to stress its “pro-Israel” credentials published a negative review of the book. (The Israel Lobby received generally far more favorable reviews in Europe and, in fact, in Israel.) But the sheer volume and intensity of the attacks on the paper may have been self-defeating. By April 2006, it seemed that everyone with an interest in foreign policy had read the article and was eager to talk about it. (I would note that in that month I went on a trip with a church group to Syria, Israel, and the occupied West Bank, on a schedule that included five or six meetings a day for ten days. Excepting the purely religious figures, it is no exaggeration to say that every single Arab intellectual, government or NGO official we met with mentioned the Mearsheimer and Walt paper. It was also the very first topic raised by Owen Harries, the very wise retired editor of The National Interest, at a private dinner I gave in his honor when he was visiting from Australia that May. )
Like the original essay, the book itself was a blend of precise analysis and exact documentation. As a resource it is unparalled. If someone confidently asserts that Israel and its backers had nothing whatever to do with encouraging the United States to invade Iraq ( a “canard” is the usual dismissal phrase), one can find in The Israel Lobby five or six pages of quotes from television appearances and opeds by leading Israeli political and military figures, who utilized their untrammeled media access to convey their war-mongering points to the American public. The same holds true for dozens of other subtopics of their broader subject: precise generalizations, supported by facts, authoritatively and contextually presented in a rhetoric that neither overheats nor backs down.
There are several different frames of reference in which to discuss Israel, the Palestinians, and the United States. One potentially critical new front is now being opened by some Jewish liberals, who charge that Israel’s longstanding occupation policies contravene Jewish values. But important as this argument is, it initiates a debate in which the vast majority of Americans have no standing to participate.
This underscores the achievement, and the yet unrealized potential, of Mearsheimer and Walt’s essay and book. As international relations scholars and centrist “realists,” the two examined the American relationship with Israel through the prism of American national interests and values—or at least the non-racist and democratic values America has aspired to for most of the past century. They found the Israel relationship deficient on both counts. In doing so they not only wrote a milestone paper and book— what political work in the past decade comes close to The Israel Lobby in importance? They provided the tens of millions in the vast American political center with a vocabulary and a conceptual frame to discuss a subject of critical importance to them. Non-Jews especially, for the reasons discussed above, desperately needed such a vocabulary, for without it they were all but mute. No matter that this potential remains, as yet, relatively underutilized: it is still there, ready to be deployed. In the long run, this may prove the greatest contribution of the two scholars, one which far surpass what the book has achieved thus far.
*These inhibitions included the fear of offending other non-Jews. My wife, whose father was a UN official with extensive responsibilities for Middle East peacekeeping, grew up with a far more critical attitude towards Israel than I had. It was not until my own (previously neoconservative) views began to change in the mid 90’s, fifteen years into our marriage, that she acknowledged to me some of her pro-Palestinian sympathies.
‘JPost’ says Israel is US’s only constant ally in shifting Middle East
Mar 23, 2011
Jeffrey Blankfort
Here is a JPost piece on the changing Middle East and the constant that is Israel . It is an important article describing how Israel, thanks to its friends in the US, have been able to entwine its Military Industrial Complex with that of the US and our economy:
• In the 1970s, NSC advisers objected to members of Congress calling Israel an American ally or a strategic asset. Today, only a handful of Israel’s most strident detractors would echo those sentiments.
• With Israel considered a strategic ally, the US helps develop and fund some of its cutting-edge military technology, such as the Arrow missile and the Iron Dome system to shoot down rockets and missiles in the arsenals of Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas. US foreign aid permits “offshore procurement” of equipment.