NOVANEWS
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Dana: ‘we’re seeing an absolute last ditch and panicked effort by the Israeli government to control the narrative of the flotilla’
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Bibi’s son: ‘it is our duty to do the minimum to save our honor and boycott every Arab business or product. Beside, I boycotted those shits even before.’
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Is Greece being blackmailed to put the brakes on Gaza flotilla?
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Ethan Bronner’s ‘benign occupation’
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Israel warns foreign journalists who go on flotilla they could be barred from country for 10 years
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Why a ‘spectacularly modest’ flotilla letter signed by 6 Congress people bucks the Likud culture of Washington
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Report: Amb Rice says there is ‘no greater threat’ to US funding for UN than Palestinian statehood initiative!
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Do-gooding young American Jews aren’t that interested in Israel
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Palestinian sports community appeals to UEFA to stop 2013 football tourney in Israel
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Ross on anti-Zionism
Dana: ‘we’re seeing an absolute last ditch and panicked effort by the Israeli government to control the narrative of the flotilla’
Jun 26, 2011
annie
(segment of interview)
Joseph Dana: “I do fear for my safety in covering the flotilla but I believe this is an important international news story and with the information the Israeli government will be embedding its own journalists on Israeli navy ships as well as training IDF crews to photograph the passengers I believe it is of the upmost importance to provide both sides to the international press.
AJ: Do you fear another Mavi Marmara-style incidence? The reason I’m asking is because the uproar was so huge last time and I’m wondering if you think the Israel government will do it again basically?
Dana: I think that we have to take the statements of the Israeli government very seriously and the Israeli government has said it will use all and any diplomatic and military measures at its disposal to stop the flotilla ships from arriving in Gaza . I also think that the statements of the US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton that have basically green lighted any sort of military action against the flotilla are very serious and we have to prepare for the worst which could be a repeat of last years Mavi Marmara attack.
AJ: Could make it difficult for you personally couldn’t it? You’re going on an American ship is that right?
Dana: I am traveling on the American ship that’s correct.
AJ: OK, you’re on an American ship. You said your secretary of state has effectively green lighted any action against these ships. You’re an American-Israeli citizen. This is very big for you, difficult?
Dana: It’s absolutely difficult, I can’t reiterate the fact that I’m quite fearful for my own personal safety, specifically because I am a journalist. I intend to be using the social network platform Twitter from the ship as much as I can depending on whether the Israelis jams the satellite communications and so I feel I will be a target despite being clearly marked as press.
AJ: Interesting that the Israelis would choose to put a specific press warning this time on board the Mavi Marmara, I know I keep referring back to that but that is the benchmark now isn’t it. On board last time were all sorts of people they were human rights workers, there were just people who wanted to be part of it. This time specifically for journalists, why do you think ?
Dana: I think we’re seeing an absolute last ditch and paniced effort by the Israeli government to control the narrative of these flotilla ships. It’s well known that activists on board last years flotilla recorded all events that took place and Israel has confiscated and destroyed most of the footage and so I think the Israeli government specifically addressing journalists is sending a message to the international community that Israel is going to, at all costs, control the narrative and control the story of these flotilla ships. Now the fact journalists have not wavered I think is a good sign for the international media and press freedom.
Update: I urge everyone to follow Dana’s Twitter feed@ibnezra
Bibi’s son: ‘it is our duty to do the minimum to save our honor and boycott every Arab business or product. Beside, I boycotted those shits even before.’
Jun 26, 2011
Kate
The racist Facebook rants of Netanyahu’s son / Noam Sheizaf
972mag 24 June — Haaretz’s Uri Blau uncovered todayracist comments and extreme right-wing rhetoric on Yair Netanyahu’s Facebook page. Yair, the eldest son of PM Netanyahu, is currently in mandatory IDF service, in the army’s spokesperson unit. He called for the boycott of Arab businesses (he was even the admin of a Facebook group for that, but only 23 members joined him), made racist comments about Muslims and Arabs, and expressed fierce opposition to a Palestinian state … About two years ago, aides to Netanyahu also told the press not to think much of other racist comments about Arabs, made in an interview to Maariv by the PM’s father, 99 year-old Ben-Zion Netanyahu.
And more news from Today in Palestine:
Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Apartheid
Foundation: Israel razes Muslim gravestones
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 26 June — Israeli authorities bulldozed over 100 gravestones in a 12th-century Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem overnight Saturday, the Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage said. The foundation said three bulldozers, two trucks and around 20 workers entered the historic Mamilla (Ma’man Allah) cemetery at 11 p.m. and destroyed over 100 gravestones, loading rubble from the gravestones into a truck … In 2009, Israel disinterred over 1,500 graves in the historic cemetery to build a Museum of Tolerance on the historic site, funded by the US Simon Wiesenthal Center … Prophet Muhammad’s companions, numerous Sufi saints, jurists and Palestinian dignitaries are said to be buried at the site.
link to www.maannews.net
Hamas calls for urgent moves to save Ma’manullah cemetery
DAMASCUS (PIC) 26 June — Hamas strongly condemned the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) on Sunday for its continued destruction of the ancient Islamic Ma’manullah cemetery west of Jerusalem. It said in a press release that the IOA was trying to wipe out the cemetery’s Islamic history through building on its ruins museums and other settlement projects, describing the IOA act as ‘racist’ and a blatant violation of heavenly religions and international norms.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b
Jerusalem’s parliamentarians – Fact sheet
MEMO 26 June — Palestinian Parliament members Detained at the Red Cross in Jerusalem *On July 1st 2010 four democratically elected members of the Palestinian Legislative Council sought refuge in the compound of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Jerusalem. *Muhammed Abu Teir, Ahmad Attoun, Muhammed Totah and Khaled Abu Arafeh (former Palestinian Authority Minister of Jerusalem Affairs) were elected in 2006, but like many others elected officials were subsequently imprisoned … *In June 2010 the four PLC members were served with expulsion orders for disloyalty to the Israeli state and had their East Jerusalem residency permits revoked….
link to www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk
IOA imposes heavy fine on Jerusalemite for unlicensed building
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 26 June– The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) imposed 150,000 dollars fine on the Jerusalemite citizen Fayez Abu Diyab for building without permit in Silwan town, south of the Aqsa mosque in occupied Jerusalem. Abu Diyab said that the house was built back in 1997 and since then the family has been trying to obtain a license but was always faced with fresh demands despite meeting all requirements … The man’s wife feared worse demands in the future in light of the IOA practices. She said, “They don’t allow us to build and if we apply for a construction permit they reject it. We know that they want to evict all Arabs from Jerusalem especially in Silwan and its Bustan suburb in particular. But we will remain in our homes despite all arbitrary measures and despite the heavy fine.”
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%
Activism / Solidarity
We will not be uprooted — tree planting in Fasayel
JVS 26 June — Today local and international activists joined families affected by last week’s demolitions in the Palestinian community of Fasayel in the occupied Jordan Valley as they planted 300 olive trees on their land … The group planted olive trees for nearly 3 hours, putting down new roots in defiance of Israel’s brutal attempts to ethnically cleanse the village. Many of the trees were labeled with the names of Palestinian villages destroyed during the 1967 occupation, a symbolic act meant to connect the history of ethnic cleansing in Palestine to the ethnic cleansing taking place today in Fasayel. On June 14, 2011, the Israeli army destroyed the homes of 18 families in the village of Fasayel. The families have been without shelter for over a week now, and have still received no meaningful aid.
link to www.jordanvalleysolidarity.org
The most important Jewish anti-occupation group needs your support / Noam Sheizaf
972mag 26 June — Facing mounting legal costs, Anarchists against the Wall have issued an urgent plea for donations. This is why I think we should support them … The name of the group might be misleading. AATW are not like similarly named groups in the West. Their main interest is not capitalism or environment, but the occupation. It is a position that assumes real responsibility for their identity as Israelis, and does not shy away from the difficult political reality in which the group operates, in favor of more abstract ideals. Unlike other organizations working in the West Bank, AATW is not backed by any fund, political party or institution. While there were Jewish groups that supported the Palestinian cause in the past, AATW were the first to actually join the unarmed protest in the West Bank villages and towns.
http://972mag.com/the-most-important-jewish-anti-occupation-group-needs-your-support/
Settlers
Hebron: 11 settlers armed with knives, stones attack Palestinian shepherds in South Hebron Hills
AIC 26 June — Around 10 am on Saturday 25 June, Palestinian shepherds were grazing their sheep and goats in the Meshakha Valley when they were attacked by 11 settlers who came over the hill from the nearby illegal outpost of Havat Ma’on, armed with stones and knives. Some of the settlers were masked as they ran toward the shepherds throwing stones, yelling blasphemies against Islam and stating that internationals were now not present to protect them. According to Shaady from Maghayr al Abeed, a settler attacked his donkey with a knife, and when he attempted to stop the attacker and protect his donkey, he was then hit by stones in the back and torso. Blows that took his breath away. Shaady has a huge welt on his back and bruising as a result of the attack. Sheep and goats were also pummeled with rocks and the shepherds were forced to run to protect their flock. The shepherds were chased for several hundred meters. According to the Palestinian shepherds the soldiers saw the incident and refused to get involved. After the attack, Israeli soldiers were seen greeting and shaking hands with the settlers as they walked back into the trees of the outpost of Havat Ma’on. link to www.alternativenews.org
Israeli police, settlers dance together through Hebron streets
AIC 26 June — On Thursday 23 June, Israeli police officers and settlers danced with a Torah through the streets of Hebron to commemorate the one year anniversary of the killing of an Israeli police officer south of the nearby settlement of Kiryat Arba. According to the settler-affiliated Arutz 7 news site, this event was a joint initiative of the Israeli police and the Jewish settlers in Hebron. The commemoration began at the Ibrahimi Mosque (Cave of the Patriarchs), the site of Baruch Goldstein’s horrific 1994 massacre, in which the Kiryat Arba settler killed 29 Palestinians praying in the mosque and wounded another 125. From here the police officers and settlers danced through the streets to the police station in Kiryat Arba.
link to www.alternativenews.org
Peace Now : Pardon Golani soldiers
Ynet 26 June — Leftist group says troops who were photographed with provocative T-shirts were victims of rightist ploy … “The Defense Ministry and the IDF must cut all ties with the Shomron Settlers’ Committee, investigate the incident and examine the possibility of pursuing criminal proceedings against the citizens who took part in the scheme,” [Oppenheimer of Peace Now] said. “Meanwhile, the soldiers whoexpressed regret and claimed they were deceived by the settlers should be pardoned.”
link to www.ynetnews.com
Gaza
2 injured in explosions in Gaza Strip
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 26 June — A man and a child were injured Sunday in two explosions in the Gaza Strip, witnesses said. A child sustained critical injuries when an ordnance exploded in his hands while he was playing outside his home near Khan Younis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip, locals said.
Meanwhile a man was injured in the early hours of Sunday morning in blast near Ansar security compound west of Gaza City. He was taken to the Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Locals reported hearing a huge explosion in the area.
link to www.maannews.net
Limited goods to enter blockaded Gaza Strip
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 26 June — Liaison officer Raed Fattouh told Ma‘an that Israeli officials decided to allow around 250 truckloads of supplies into Gaza through the southernmost Kerem Shalom crossing [Sunday].
link to www.maannews.net
Flotilla
Gaza flotilla to set sail Tuesday
Ynet 26 June — Significantly smaller fleet to set sail to Strip from Greece. Jerusalem believes flotilla will include only 10 vessels, 500 people … Jerusalem believes that the reduced scope of the convoy can be attributed to the Foreign Ministry’s intensive “anti-flotilla” campaign vis-à-vis its European counterparts. Saturday saw the first vessel – a French ship – leave from Corsica carrying six people.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Israel warns journalists against covering the flotilla / Joseph Dana
972mag 26 June — Athens — The Israeli government hasannounced today that Israel will not differentiate between journalists and passengers on board any ship taking part in the Gaza flotilla. The Israeli government press office announced in a statement this morning that “is a dangerous provocation that is being organized by western and Islamic extremist elements to aid Hamas.” Journalists from CBS, CNN, The New York Times, Democracy Now and The Nation (I am on assignment for the Nation) will be on board the US boat to Gaza, set to sail later this week from Greece. Previously, Israel warned activists on board the boat that they will be subject to a ten year ban from the State of Israel if the boats are intercepted by the state of Israel. In a bold statement, the government of Israel has now extended the same warning to the press wishing to cover the flotilla. It has also stated that equipment will be impounded and additional fines could be levied against any journalists on board. Israel has said that it will ‘embed’ members of the press on Israeli navy ships sent to intercept the boats. Army commandos are also being equipped with advanced recording devices to film any raids that take place aboard the flotilla ships. Israel has not released any footage collected by activists– it has confiscated all footage and has subsequently ‘lost’ all of the footage collected– on last year’s flotilla.
link to 972mag.com
Ireland FM warns Israel against violent interception of Gaza flotilla
Haaretz 26 June — Eamon Gilmore reiterates Ireland’s position that Gaza blockade is ‘unjust and counterproductive’ but does not advise Irish nationals to join the flotilla, which includes the Irish boat MV Saoirse ….Some 25 Irish participants, including former and current members of parliament and the European parliament, trade union leaders and former Irish rugby international player Trevor Hogan are among the passengers expected to set sail on the Saoirse.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/ireland-fm-warns-israel-against-violent-interception-of-gaza-flotilla-1.369721
American Indian Movement activist joins Gaza Freedom Flotilla / Brenda Norrell
Narcosphere 26 June — The American Indian Movement and the Free Palestine Movement announced that Bill ‘Jimbo’ Simmons will be a member of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Delegation. Tony Gonzales of AIM-WEST in San Francisco said Sunday that Simmons, Choctaw, joins the flotilla in solidarity to break the blockade.
link to narcosphere.narconews.com
Frivolous lawsuit filed against Alternatives International for its support of Freedom Flotilla
AI 26 June — A complaint has been filed in the Superior Court of Ontario (Canada) against Alternatives International by Ms Cherna Rosenberg on June 2nd, 2011, concerning our support to the Canadian Boat to Gaza where she claims over a million dollars in damages. The claim alleges that the actions of Alternatives International «are a step in the chain of conduct that ultimately leads to the rocket attacks that have traumatized the Plaintiff and caused her much suffering and loss». It matters to recall what is the project. Freedom Flotilla-II, named “Stay Human,” includes one Canadian boat named Tahrir.
link to www.alternativenews.org
Fear and no clean clothing / Amira Hass
Haaretz 26 June — Social activist Stephan Corriveau warned all of us due to set sail on the Canadian ship dubbed the Tahrir – one of the boats participating in the upcoming Gaza flotilla – that we would have no opportunity to bathe during the three-day journey to Gaza but would have drinking water. There was no point in bringing a change of clothes, the Montreal-based Corriveau noted, because there would be nowhere to change, encouraging us to take as little as possible. In the best case scenario, we will make it to Gaza and can buy some clothing there, he said.
link to www.haaretz.com
MEP joining flotilla tells EI Eu’s honest broker image ‘a sham
EI 26 June — … DC: On the eve of your departure to join the flotilla, you gave a speech in Brussels accusing theEuropean Union of being complicit in Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people (“Video: EU must end complicity in Palestinian oppression,” 22 June 2011). Why did you make that accusation? PM: It is a sham that the EU pretends to be an honest broker and sometimes pretends to be a friend of the Palestinians. What I highlighted in the Parliament is that probably the grossest example of complicity is that Israeli arms companies are recipients of EU funding under its scientific research program. These are companies like Elbit and Israel Aerospace Industries that make the drones used against Gaza in 2008 and 2009 and make surveillance equipment for the wall in the West Bank.
link to electronicintifada.net
Detention
3 Palestinian teens arrested by Israeli army in Hebron
West Bank (Pal Telegraph) 26 June — Three Palestinian teens were arrested Sunday by Israeli army from al-Uroob refugee camp and Sa‘eer in southern West Bank city of Hebron. Israeli army sent the three Palestinian teens to unknown destinations.
Local sources said that a number of Israeli forces accompanied by officers wearing civilian clothes invaded Yasouf town in the east of Salfit and started taking photos of various sites in the area, causing a state of tension among residents in fear of further Israeli attacks and escalations.
Moreover, Israeli military troops broke into several houses and neighborhoods in Nablus in the north of the West Bank, claiming that they are searching for wanted people.
link to www.paltelegraph.com
Hamas prisoners to go on hunger strike after Israel places top officials in isolation
Haaretz 26 June — Palestinian prisoners to protest transfer of at least seven senior Hamas officials to solitary confinement, one of which suffers from serious health problems, according to Hamas.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/hamas-prisoners-to-go-on-hunger-strike-after-israel-places-top-officials-in-isolation-1.369724
A society is judged by the way it treats its prisoners / Gideon Levy
Haaretz 26 June — …Some of the Palestinians are political prisoners in every sense of the word; they were convicted of “membership” and other political offenses. Most were convicted by the military court system, whose connection to justice is like a military band’s to music. Among them are victims of frame-ups by collaborators – they have been jailed without committing a crime. These are not “thousands of murderers.” In any case, they all have rights according to Israeli and international law, rights they do not always receive. Some, especially those from the Gaza Strip, have not received family visits for years. And of course, there are no prison furloughs for Palestinians. Israeli Arab lifers do not even get their sentences reduced, the way any Jewish murderer does, which is scandalous in itself.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/a-society-is-judged-by-the-way-it-treats-its-prisoners-1.369635
Analysts: Shalit compared to 6,000 Palestinian prisoners
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 26 June — …Speaking to Ma’ariv, Israel’s prison commander Aharon Franco said the prison service had studied the conditions of Palestinian detainees. Franco said media reports that Palestinian prisoners were living in hotel-like conditions were exaggerated. He added that it was possible to arrange dishes served to 10 prisoners to look like a restaurant, but that in reality each detainee had a space of two square meters to spend days and nights. The commander said prisons in Israel were no different from those in most countries.
link to www.maannews.net
Racism / Discrimination
Arabs make up only 2.7% of academic teaching staff in Israel
Haaretz 26 June — Despite government target of 10% Arab employees in Israel’s public sector by 2012, figures presented to Knesset by Council for Higher Education show only 2.7% of teaching staff, 1.7% of administrative staff at colleges and universities are Israeli Arabs.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/arabs-make-up-only-2-7-of-academic-teaching-staff-in-israel-1.369723
Political / Diplomatic / International news
Fatah: Hamas prevented official from leaving Gaza
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 26 June — Hamas security forces stopped senior Fatah official Amal Hamad from leaving the Gaza Strip, a Fatah spokesman said Sunday … The deputy secretary-general of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council planned to travel via Israel to the West Bank. Al-Jaghoub said the move threatened the “positive atmosphere we have been trying to maintain recently.” Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement in May after years of hostility.
link to www.maannews.net
Israel may halt flights to Denmark over security row
Haaretz 26 June — Israel is considering halting all flights from Copenhagen to Tel Aviv, Haaretz learned on Sunday, as a response to Denmark’s refusal to allow Israeli security personnel to perform independent security checks in Copenhagen for Israel’s Arkia Airlines’ newly launched Copenhagen-Tel Aviv route. After a meeting between Israeli and Danish officials over the weekend, it became evident that Denmark is unwilling to allow Israeli personnel to perform security checks on passengers traveling from Copenhagen to Ben Gurion Airport. Moreover, Denmark is also opposed to the Israeli security guards holding weapons in Copenhagen Airport.
link to www.haaretz.com
Other news
Tel Aviv buses ‘go religious’
Ynet 26 June — Religious status quo undermined: The new transportation reform in central Israel, to go into effect July 1, will mean that buses that up until now were allowed to travel shortly before the Shabbat ends will no longer be able to do so.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Analysis / Opinion
West Bank struggles without security / Hugh Naylor
ABU DIS, WEST BANK (National) 25 June — Communities along Israel’s separation barrier have complained of an increase in crime and tribal-based violence in the absence of state security … Israeli police no longer patrol the neighbourhoods of Abu Dis and Sawahera, as they did before the barrier was built six years ago, severing tens of thousands of Palestinians from their families and businesses in nearby East Jerusalem … Mr Bader and others said the purported increase in crime and violence stems from dysfunctional security arrangements left over from the nearly two-decades-old Israel-Palestinian peace process, known as the Oslo Accords … Palestinian officials complain that Israel not only shirks its responsibilities in West Bank Palestinian areas where it ultimately controls security, such as Abu Dis, but also regularly prevents Palestinian law enforcement from doing its job.
link to www.thenational.ae
What’s really going on at the Israeli Institute for Biological Reseach? / Saleh El-Naami
Exposing Israel’s Most Dangerous Secret — 24 June — …The IIBR is staffed by some 300 scientists and technicians employed in one or more of its many departments, each of which specialises in a specific area of chemical or biological research generally aimed at the production of chemical or biological weaponry. One of these departments, for example, is reported to have developed the poison that was used by the notorious Mossad assassination unit, Kidon, in its botched attempt to eliminate Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshaal in 1997. Nevertheless, if there remains some question over the accuracy of this information, which was reported in Haaretz, no one disputes that the first time the institute’s products were used in an assassination operation was in late 1977 when then prime minister Menachem Begin ordered Mossad to eliminate Wadie Haddad.
link to www.uruknet.info
Is Greece being blackmailed to put the brakes on Gaza flotilla?
Jun 26, 2011
Medea Benjamin
Medea Benjamin of Code Pink, who is sailing on the US boat to Gaza, sent out an email last night. An excerpt:
It appears that the Greek government is bowing to intense pressure from the Israelis—and possibly the U.S. government—to try to block the flotilla. The American passengers on the U.S. boat, called The Audacity of Hope, are pushing the Greek government to do a quick inspection, as they are convinced the ship would pass muster. “The boat we are leasing for this journey has been worked on for months by qualified technicians and is ready to sail,” said organizer and passenger Ann Wright. “We do not believe it needs to be re-inspected, but we are open to the Greek authorities doing this quickly so that there will be no further delays.”
The move to block the U.S. boat is just the latest in a flurry of recent activity designed to thwart the flotilla. Israel has publicly stated that it is pressuring countries around the world to stop their citizens from participating. Its pressure on the Turkish government was so intense that the Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, the same ship that was so violently attacked last year, recently announced that it would not be joining the flotilla.
Several boats in the international flotilla are now docked in Greece. To its credit, the Greek government has taken a position that the blockade on Gaza must be lifted and many people in the government are sympathetic to the aims of the flotilla. But Greece is being battered by a severe economic crisis that has wreaked havoc within the government itself. The passengers speculate that Israel, which has extensive trade and investment ties with Greece, is callously taking advantage of the economic hardship the Greek people are experiencing right now to put the screws on the Greek government.
They also see the hidden hand of the United States behind this, as the Obama administration has been publicly railing against the flotilla, calling it a “provocative act” against Israel and issuing harsh travel warnings to Americans against any attempts to reach Gaza by boat. The U.S. passengers speculate that the Obama Administration is using economic blackmail on the Greek government. Greece’s economic and political crisis is a result of extreme austerity measures imposed by the European Union and the largely U.S.-controlled International Monetary Fund (IMF). The United States may well be using its leverage at the IMF over the implementation of an ongoing bailout of European banks with massive Greek debts to compel the Greek government to block the U.S. boat.
“Greece is not going to be able to meet the targets that it is pledging to the IMF and the European authorities. In this situation the IMF and therefore the U.S. government will have enormous leverage because these institutions will decide what will be acceptable benchmarks for Greece to receive future tranches of IMF/EU funding,” said Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington DC.
Passengers on the U.S. boat are asking Greek government officials to clarify the situation. “Is our boat being blocked from leaving Greece because of an anonymous request of a private citizen concerning the seaworthiness of the ship, a situation could be easily dealt with by a quick inspection, or is this a political decision by the Greek government in response to economic pressure?,” asked passenger and political analyst Robert Naiman.
Ethan Bronner’s ‘benign occupation’
Jun 26, 2011
Ilene Cohen
Prior to the First Intifada in December 1987 Israelis used to boast about their “benign” occupation—indeed, the “most benign occupation” in the world. Following the outbreak of the First Intifada, that mantra disappeared from the discourse. But, when things are looking bad on the PR front and you’ve got nothing else to pull out of your hat, I guess it’s time to bring it back. The “benign occupation” trope (again, without using those words) has been a key Netanyahu talking point in discussing the “economic miracle” of the West Bank. They lapped it up in Congress last month.
Presumably even Ethan Bronner doesn’t have the chutzpah to use those words, but the meaning of hisfront page article in today’s New York Times is clear. Here is the opening:
GAZA — Two luxury hotels are opening in Gaza this month. Thousands of new cars are plying the roads. A second shopping mall — with escalators imported from Israel — will open next month. Hundreds of homes and two dozen schools are about to go up. AHamas-run farm where Jewish settlements once stood is producing enough fruit that Israeli imports are tapering off.
As pro-Palestinian activists prepare to set sail aboard a flotilla aimed at maintaining an international spotlight on Gaza and pressure on Israel, this isolated Palestinian coastal enclave is experiencing its first real period of economic growth since the siege they are protesting began in 2007.
“Things are better than a year ago,” said Jamal El-Khoudary, chairman of the board of the Islamic University, who has led Gaza’s Popular Committee Against the Siege. “The siege on goods is now 60 to 70 percent over.”
The article’s title in the paper I received this morning was “A Construction Boom in Gaza’s Lingering Ruins.” It now appears online as “Building Boom in Gaza’s Ruins Belies Misery That Remains.” Either way, the takeaway is the same – what is freedeom or liberty or self-determination when you’re lucky enough to have Israel as your occupier/overlords?
Israel warns foreign journalists who go on flotilla they could be barred from country for 10 years
Jun 26, 2011 08:27 am | Philip Weiss
In Haaretz. These people are crazy. And our government is with them all the way? They stopped press coverage of the Gaza conflict of ’08-’09 too.
The letter, signed by Government Press Office director Oren Helman, states that the flotilla “is a dangerous provocation that is being organized by western and Islamic extremist elements to aid Hamas.”
Why a ‘spectacularly modest’ flotilla letter signed by 6 Congress people bucks the Likud culture of Washington
Jun 26, 2011
Philip Weiss
Robert Naiman of Just Foreign Policy comments at Common Dreams on that very weak letter on the Gaza flotilla signed by six congresspeople, and explains why it’s an achievement:
The actual text of the letter is spectacularly modest. The six Representatives express their concern for the safety of a group of American citizens; urge the Secretary of State to act to protect them (as she is legally obligated to do as part of her job); note that the Israeli government, like any other government, must conform to international law; note that The Audacity of Hope has declared its cargo of letters from Americans to Gazans to be “open to international inspection”; and note the commitment of the passengers on The Audacity of Hope to nonviolence and international law.
In any other arena of contemporary advocacy for peace, getting six Members of Congress to sign on to a letter designed to be spectacularly modest advocacy of basic common sense would not be something to crow about.
But this is not any other arena. The Freedom Flotilla is challenging the Israeli blockade of 1.6 million Gazans, and therefore, in official Washington, the Freedom Flotilla is “radioactive.”
So these six Representatives deserve a huge round of applause. There is no question that if it were possible to anonymously sign Congressional letters, this letter would have many more signatures. These six Representatives were willing to publicly sign their names to this basic appeal, knowing full well that there is a dedicated and well-financed crew of pro-Likud activists in Washington determined to punish any deviance from the Likud line.
It will be interesting to see how the pro-Likud activists respond to this letter. Because the letter is so reasonable and modest, it puts the pro-Likud activists in a lose-lose situation. If they attack the six Members for expressing concern for the safety of a group of American peace activists, the Likudniks will be exposed as extremists. But if they let the letter pass, then a precedent will be established that six Members of Congress can speak up for basic decency on an issue related to Palestine without anything bad happening to them. And then maybe next time it will be twelve Members of Congress, and after that 20. On the first vote on the Afghanistan war, only Barbara Lee voted no. When the House voted a few weeks ago, only eight Democrats voted for open-ended continuation of the war.
In this way, the Congressional letter is like the Flotilla itself. By doing something so mundane – bringing humanitarian aid, or in the case of the American boat, letters – the Flotilla puts the Likud authorities in a lose-lose situation. Either they let our boats pass, in which case they concede that they are not politically invincible, or they stop our boats with force, in which case they expose themselves as extremists.
Report: Amb Rice says there is ‘no greater threat’ to US funding for UN than Palestinian statehood initiative!
Jun 26, 2011
Kate
and other news from Today in Palestine:
Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Apartheid
Exile-threatened Jerusalem officials mark one year in asylum
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 25 June — A year has passed since Jerusalem’s Palestinian officials first sat down at the Red Cross headquarters seeking asylum after Israeli occupation authorities threatened to exile them from their native city. They marked the anniversary of their refusal to depart the holy city by sending an open message to the world. In it they proposed a new initiative prioritizing Jerusalem and condemned the international silence against their dilemma of being banished.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Army stops land reclamation project
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 25 June — The committee for the union of agricultural workers said Friday that the Israeli army had prevented work from taking place on land reclamation projects in the villages of Jurish and Aqraba, south of Nablus and Imreiha, west of Jenin. Project coordinator for the union Sa‘ada Abu Sheikha said in a statement that “the Israeli army seized a heavy vehicle that was working on the lands in Aqraba and detained the workers for hours who were building the retaining walls. They prevented them from completing their work as well as stopping work on 20 dunams of land in Jurish, near the illegal settlement of Migdalim. They also stopped work on 50 dunams of land in the village of Imreiha in Ya‘bad.”
Land reclamation projects aim to improve the source of income for families which rely on agriculture and also serve to protect vulnerable land from Israeli confiscation. [The project] is funded by the Dutch government.
link to www.maannews.net
Picasso in Ramallah, bulldozers in Bir Al-Ad and the fear of missiles / Adam Keller, Gush Shalom
PNN 25 June — This week there arrived at the International Academy of Art, Palestine – in Ramallah – the painting “Buste de Femme,” which Pablo Picasso painted in 1943 when he lived in Nazi-occupied Paris … Its value is estimated at seven million dollars and it was lent to the Palestinian gallery for one month.
On that same day, at almost exactly the same hour that the valuable painting arrived at the showroom in Ramallah, bulldozers of the Israeli Defense Forces made their way to the tiny village of Bir Al-Ad in the South Hebron Hills, and in less than an hour demolished its miserable huts, destroyed sacks of animal food, uprooted plants and shrubs, leaving behind heaps of rubble and ninety homeless people. The nearby caves, also used for housing, were on this occasion not demolished, but the soldiers made sure to cut and sever the electricity cables which the inhabitants had installed to light them. “You here don’t deserve to have electricity!” said one of the soldiers to a resident who dared to protest. Ezra Nawi and Rabbi Arik Asherman, Israeli peace activists who arrived at the spot after hearing the inhabitants’ desperate pleas for help, were immediately taken off to military detention … Had I wanted, I could have post here every week – and maybe two or three times a week – the story of the latest destruction, and they would all be alike as two peas in a pod (or two drops of blood), different only with changing name of the most currently destroyed village. As usual in such stories, the land of Bir Al-Ad is coveted by settlers.
link to english.pnn.ps
Activism / Solidarity
Among tear gas and injuries, Bil‘in celebrates victory / Noam Sheizaf
[photos and videos] 978mag 25 June — Hundreds gathered in the West bank village to witness the removal of the Separation Wall after more than six years of protest, but the IDF was in vindictive mood — Some context: Instead of having its separation wall on the Green Line — the internationally recognized border until 1967 — Israel decided to have it run deep into the Palestinian territory, cutting through villages and neighborhoods, separating farmers from their lands and families from their loved ones, and most important, annexing to Israel lands which had excellent market value, for their proximity to the Israeli cities along the Mediterranean coastline. Under the pretext of “security concerns,” communities like Bil‘in, Ni‘lin and Budrus saw their fields being taken away, olive trees uprooted, and valuable land annexed to nearby settlements. Palestinian residents of these villages made two important choices: To fight for their lands — the source of most of their livelihood — and in doing so, to use popular, unarmed resistance … Around the time the protest began, the people of Bil’in filed a petition to the Israeli high court, demanding the barrier be removed and their land returned to them. It was not an easy decision on their part: Petitioning to court is seen as recognition of the Israeli occupation and the authority of its institutions over the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank, who have no civil rights or representation in those institutions. But the need to get even some of the land back overcame this argument. [long and informative article with links to others]
link to 972mag.com
Video: 6-year-old girl from Nabi Saleh explains
24 June — 6 years old girl, Jana, from Nabi Saleh explains what happens in her home town every Friday. This interview took place on the Friday of “Freedom in Colors” that was organized to draw a smile on the children’s faces. It included kite-making workshop and face paintings. As the children moved to fly their kites on the hill, the army attacked them with gas and stun grenades. [See Photos from Palestine Youth Voice – Nabi Saleh’s Freedom in Colors Friday]
link to www.youtube.com
IOF closes Nablus village, rounds up six Palestinians
NABLUS (PIC) 25 June — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Saturday morning closed off the Iraq Burin village, south of Nablus city, declaring it a closed military zone to prevent its weekly protest march against confiscation of land. Local sources said that IOF soldiers installed a roadblock at the entrance to the village and blocked traffic in and out of it and examined IDs of youth at the pretext of looking for wanted persons. They said that the soldiers were also deployed in the vicinity of the village to bar entry of foreign activists or media reporters across the nearby mountains.
Meanwhile, Palestinian sources said that IOF soldiers rounded up six citizens in various west Bank areas at dawn Saturday. They said that the soldiers broke into homes in Tobas, Jenin, and Al-Khalil amidst heavy shooting.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Restriction of movement
Israeli prosecutor bans academic travel of West Bank professor
NABLUS (PIC) 25 June — The Israeli Public Prosecutor has informed the HaMoked rights group that a West Bank professor has been denied permission to leave the occupied Palestinian territories to join a media conference in Qatar. Al-Najah University professor Dr. Farid Abu Dhaheir said in a statement after HaMoked informed him of the decision that he was said to have “posed a threat” to Israeli security, adding that the grounds for the decision were “laughable.” The professor explained that he planned on travelling to Qatar to join a conference staged by UNESCO and the World Conference of Science Journalism on June 26 to share the Palestinians’ experience in science journalism.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Gaza
Video: Gaza summer games kick off with Olympic-style torch festival / Annie
Mondo 25 June — The 2011 Gaza Summer Games opened on Thursday with an Olympic-style torch relay through the Strip. 57 kids carried the flame thru Gaza and finished the marathon with a ceremony lighting a huge torch placed on the top of UNRWA’s Headquarters, ushering in six weeks of sports, swimming, arts and drama.
link to mondoweiss.net
PWA welcomes UFM desalination plant in Gaza
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 25 June — Head of the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), Shaddad Attili, in a press release Saturday welcomed the Union for the Mediterranean’s (UfM) formal adoption of a proposal to construct a desalination plant for Gaza on Friday … WA said that the proposal put forward by the Palestinian Authority includes the construction of a desalination plant capable of generating up to 100 million cubic metres (MCM) of water a year, as well as the development of a North-South carrier system designed to transport fresh water throughout Gaza … The press release said that the water crisis facing Gaza continues to worsen as the coastal aquifer that runs mainly beneath Gaza remains the only source of fresh water available to Gaza’s 1.6 million residents.
link to english.wafa.ps
Gaza government releases 25 prisoners
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 25 June — The Hamas-run government in Gaza released 25 detainees Saturday in honor of the recent arrival of a European aid convoy Miles of Smiles. The detainees were released from Al-Katiba prison in Gaza City in the presence of activists from the convoy, a Ma‘an reporter said. [why? Criminal or political prisoners?]
link to www.maannews.net
Flotilla
Latest: Passengers on the Audacity of Hope prepare for the journey to Gaza
Photos from the orientation and nonviolence training everyone has just completed in Athens. More updates coming soon. [much else at this site]
link to ustogaza.org
Video: Yonatan Shapira, U.S. Boat to Gaza crew
25 June – Crew member Yonatan Shapira talks about why he is going aboard the US Boat to Gaza with the Stay Human Flotilla at the end of the month. I was a captain in the Israeli Air Force and a Black-Hawk Pilot until 2003 when together with other pilots I initiated the pilots’ letter and refused to take part in the crimes of the occupation.
link to www.youtube.com
Hedy Epstein, U.S. Boat to Gaza passenger
14 June — Passenger Hedy Epstein talks about why she is going aboard the US Boat to Gaza with the Stay Human Flotilla at the end of the month. Bio: Hedy Epstein was born in Germany in 1924. She was 8 years old when Hitler came to power in 1933. In 1939, she left on a Kindertransport (children’s transport) for England. Her parents and other family members perished during the Holocaust.
link to www.youtube.com
Complaint against US boat threatens Gaza voyage / Mya Guarnieri
ATHENS, Greece (Ma‘an) 25 June — Organizers of the second Freedom Flotilla say that an administrative complaint has been filed against the US Boat to Gaza, claiming that the vessel is not seaworthy. This could delay or altogether prevent the “Audacity of Hope” from leaving Athens. The harbor master received notification of the complaint Thursday afternoon, two days after a group of suspicious persons showed up at the ship and began asking questions of the crew members, at one point offering money for the members to leave the ship unattended. The complainant is unknown and a Greek lawyer representing the flotilla is working to obtain more details. Israel has been open about its intentions to stop the flotilla using any means possible — including diplomatic avenues, lawsuits, and a media smear campaign … The one-two punch of the US government’s attempts to distance itself from its citizens, and the administrative complaint filed against the US Boat to Gaza, spurred American participants to pay a visit to their embassy in Athens on Thursday afternoon.
link to www.maannews.net
Suspected Israeli agents try to sabotage Freedom Flotilla II ship’s engine
ATHENS (PIC) 25 June — A group suspected of being linked with the Israeli foreign intelligence agency the Mossad was reported to have tried to thwart the sailing of a Greek ship slated to join the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla II due to set sail sometime next week. The elements tried to sabotage the ship’s engine, but a crew discovered the men while checking the equipment, Quds Press said, quoting sources from the flotilla’s organizing body, on Saturday. The sources added that the men fled the scene. Since the incident, participants have been taking turns watching guard in anticipation of another shot at foiling the mission to deliver much needed humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Arab ship to participate in Gaza Freedom Flotilla II
AMMAN (KUNA) 25 June — The participation in the Freedom Flotilla II is widening and diversifying day after a day despite the pro-Israeli lobby efforts to scare international activists away from joining it. The latest of these gains is the announcement of the Jordanian Lifeline Committee on Saturday that an Arab-owned ship would participate in the second flotilla. In statements to reporters, Head of JLC Wael Sakka said that the Committee has signed an agreement to purchase a ship worth 560,000 euros to participate in the flotilla II expected to sail to Gaza Strip from several European ports late this month.
link to www.kuna.net.kw
Italian activists ask Frattini to guarantee their safety aboard Freedom Flotilla
ROME (PIC) 25 June — Italian activists taking part in the Freedom Flotilla II have announced their insistence on going ahead in their plan to join the humanitarian fleet. They asked Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini to provide protection for them in face of Israeli threats to attack the fleet on its siege-busting mission … The activists published their demand on the Facebook three days before the scheduled date for their sail to Gaza
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Blog: Of course the flotilla is a political provocation / Joe Catron
PNN 25 June — As the launch of the Freedom Flotilla – Stay Human approaches, increasing numbers of Zionist officials and commentators illuminate the depths of their moral and intellectual bankruptcy by arguing that it is a political — not humanitarian — project … The Freedom Flotilla is indeed “a political provocation.” Why shouldn’t it be? And when has it pretended to be anything else? Like its predecessors, from the successful Free Gaza boats of 2008 to the Freedom Flotilla that suffered lethal violence by Israeli commandos in international waters last year, this Flotilla is an unabashed act of solidarity with a people fighting colonialism, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid.The Flotilla targets the denial of Palestinian self-determination, not a humanitarian crisis.
link to english.pnn.ps
Video: US Dept of State Daily Press briefing June 24 2011
June 24, 2011: U.S. Department of State Spokesperson Victoria Nuland squirms as she is grilled by Matt Lee on the subject of US attempts to stop the flotilla. See transcript on Mondoweiss here
link to video.state.gov
Detention
Hamas: Only a prisoner swap can release Shalit
DAMASCUS (PIC) 25 June — Hamas has reiterated that captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit would only be released in a prisoner exchange deal, holding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for failures in the swap. The statement comes as some 350 Israelis rally in southern 1948 occupied Palestine to mark five years since Shalit’s capture and as Netanyahu threatens to toughen conditions of Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons. In the fresh statement released Saturday, Hamas called on rights organizations to urgently mobilize to protect the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody and to pressure the occupying government to release them immediately.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
PRC: Netanyahu stalled Shalit’s release
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 25 June — …PRC spokesman Abu Mujahid said Netanyahu was fully responsible for stalling a deal to release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit. The prime minister created obstacles to the exchange which showed he had no intention of implementing the swap deal, Abu Mujahid said … Protesters in Gaza City organized an event to mark the anniversary, setting up a fake jail cell. A banner over the cell said: “The Red Cross asked for the release of Shalit, but we are asking the Red Cross if it has heard of the 7,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.”
link to www.maannews.net
Israeli, Palestinian rights groups unite for Shalit
JERUSALEM (AFP) 25 June — Israeli, Palestinian and international human rights groups issued a joint statement on Friday calling on Gaza militants to end “inhumane” treatment of an Israeli soldier they hold captive. The declaration comes as Israel marks the fifth anniversary of the capture of Gilad Shalit by three groups, including the Islamist Hamas. It was signed by Israeli group B’Tselem, the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and eight others.
link to news.yahoo.com
Hasbara / Pinkwashing / Dirty tricks / Israeli pressure on companies
Israel lobby group outlines dirty tricks against campus Palestine activists / Ali Abunimah
EI blog 24 June — What is the best way to smear Palestinians and Palestine solidarity activists and get away with it? That is the question David Bernstein, Executive Director of the pro-Israel propaganda group, The David Project, asks in a surprisingly frank article titled “How to ‘Name-And-Shame’ Without Looking Like a Jerk” posted on Israel Campus Beat, a website sponsored by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
link to electronicintifada.net
Israeli actor in anti-Gaza pinkwashing video identified / Benjamin Doherty
EI 25 June — The disillusioned “gay activist” called “Marc” who appeared in a YouTube video condemning the Gaza Freedom Flotilla for alleged homophobia, that was tweeted by the Israeli Government Press Office, has been identified as an Israeli called Omer Gershon. This definitely proves that the video is either a hoax or a piece of propaganda designed to discredit the flotilla and use a mask of concern for gay rights to pinkwash Israel and justify the persecution of Palestinians in Gaza. Last night The Electronic Intifada confirmed that one of the first people to tweet the video was Guy Seeman, a staffer in the office of the Israeli prime minister. The following images clearly identify Gershon by his face and tattoo.
link to electronicintifada.net
Apple bans Palestinian activist app from iTunes, but allows Israeli government propaganda app / Zaid Jilani
TP 24 June — …The “Israel MFA” app features a newsroom, YouTube videos, and photos that portray the Palestinians as obstinate and violent, and convey the message that Israel is committed to peace. In the newsroom section, there are links to stories such as “Palestinian incitement distances peace” and praising the supposed “Israeli humanitarian lifeline to Gaza”:
link to thinkprogress.org
Racism / Incitement
WAFA monitors incitement and racism in Israeli media June 9-18
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 25 June — Boaz Shapira published an instigating article against the Palestinian President Abbas on ‘NFC’ website, in which he said … “Abbas’ stance regarding Israel and Zionism was made clear through his PHD thesis, which undermined the holocaust and through his role in Munich brutal massacre.” … ‘Makor Rishon’ newspaper published a racist editorial by Ariel Kahana, in which he said that, “Arabs are only being Arabs! They kill and slaughter their own people, and they honor killing and butchering Jews. They are simply not ready to establish a stable government.” … ‘NFC’ published a racist article written by Nurit Greenberg, in which she described the Palestinians as ‘Devils’ … She added,”“If Israel cut the gas, water, electricity and medicine of the PA, they will collapse without firing one bullet.” Nurit said, “We must ask UN to find a country that will accept to host the Palestinians. They can stay in Israel if they want, but they must follow the Israeli law.” [etc.]
link to english.wafa.ps
Political / Diplomatic / International news
Erekat outlines demands to Quartet
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 25 June — The Palestinian Authority passed on four official demands to the Mideast Quartet for discussion in upcoming meetings, PLO official Saeb Erekat told Saudi newspaper Al-Watan on Friday … Erekat said the demands included a complete halt to all Israeli settlement activity, 1967 borders as the basis for peace negotiations with mutually agreed land swaps, EU support for reconciliation talks “which will strengthen peace opportunities” and EU support for a Palestinian UN statehood bid in September. He also wanted EU acknowledgment that a UN statehood bid does not contradict peace negotiations.
link to www.maannews.net
US threat to cut cash over Palestinian vote
24 June — The U.S. could withdraw funding from the United Nations if its members decide to recognize an independent Palestinian state, a close ally of President Barack Obama has warned. Susan Rice, the American ambassador to the UN, said there was “no greater threat” to U.S. support and funding of the UN than the prospect of Palestinian statehood being endorsed by member states … Two congressmen have already vowed to initiate bills to withdraw UN funding in the House of Representatives.Such a development could be devastating to the UN. The U.S. provides almost a quarter of its $2.5 billion annual budget.
link to www.canada.com
Other news
Khater: No Arab support for Jerusalem
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 25 June — The Islamic-Christian commission in support of Jerusalem has regretted the minimal Arab support for the occupied city and its holy shrines. Hassan Khater, the commission’s secretary general, said that millions of dollars that had been allocated for the holy city in the last Arab summit conference did not reach the city or its inhabitants. He said in a press release on Saturday that the summit held last year in Sirte, Libya earmarked 500 million dollars for the support of Jerusalem but nothing was collected.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Andrew Gilligan facing defamation claim in High Court
MEMO 24 June — Farooq Bajwa & Co, solicitors acting on behalf of Shaykh Raed Salah, head of the Islamic movement, have confirmed that a formal letter has been sent to the Daily Telegraph journalist Andrew Gilligan regarding false and defamatory statements he publishedabout their client. The letter stated that Gilligan made no attempt to contact their client before publishing the article which ‘demonstrates a recklessness and lack of concern to our client’s reputation.’ Failure to apologise and retract the article concerned would result in legal proceedings in the High Court. Gilligan has 14 days to reply to Salah’s solicitor. A similar letter has also been sent to Ms Robyn Rosen of The Jewish Chronicle
link to www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk
Palestinian youth perform at William Paterson University
WAYNE, New Jersey USA 24 June — Young Palestinian musicians and dancers will celebrate their cultural heritage in a performance at William Paterson University in Wayne on Thursday, June 30, at 7 p.m. in Shea Center on campus. The event is the culmination of a six-city Palestinian Youth Cultural tour. The Palestine Strings of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music will perform both classical and folkloric music. The Danadeesh Dance Group presents modern and folkloric dance routines inspired by Palestinian cultural heritage.
link to www.northjersey.com
Video: Palestine Strings performing Sagolandet in Birzeit
from the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music
link to www.youtube.com
Analysis / Opinion
Endemic pro-Israel coverage in UK TV coverage, new book finds / Asa Winstanley
EI 25 June — Glasgow University Media Group’s ambitious new study of British TV’s coverage of Israel and the Palestinians, More Bad News from Israel, is the second edition of 2004’s Bad News From Israel. Led by academics Greg Philo and Mike Berry, this work is precise, fair-minded and detailed. It constitutes irrefutable evidence of endemic pro-Israel bias. Those of us regularly subjected to BBC and ITV news won’t exactly find this conclusion surprising but the importance of detailed documentary evidence like this book provides cannot be overstated.
link to electronicintifada.net
Sacred mantras / Uri Avnery
Gush Shalom 25 June — THE PALESTINIANS are planning something thoroughly obnoxious: they intend to apply to the UN for statehood. Why obnoxious? Any Israeli spokesman (not to mention spokeswoman) will tell you readily: because it is a “unilateral” move. How dare they proclaim a state unilaterally? How dare they do so without the consent of the other party to the conflict – us? A stickler for detail might ask at this point: “But was the State of Israel not proclaimed unilaterally?” Our state, it may be remembered, was declared by David Ben-Gurion and his colleagues on May 14, 1948, without asking anyone. But who would dare to compare?
link to zope.gush-shalom.org
Why is Israel conducting unprecedented drills? / Nasser Laham
Ma‘an 26 June — …Over the past few days, Israel has conducted unprecedented major military and home front drills. The immediate question that pops in is what exactly is Israel doing and why? The drills are all about the home front, not the army, and Israel seeks to achieve three goals: The first goal is to maintain a small and smart army instead of a large and heavily armed one. This army will operate in the future inside Arab cities rather than in the Negev desert, the Golan Heights, or the Jordan Valley. This is to keep the home front and the Jewish people steadfast. The battle inside the enemy’s land will be fought only by the air force, the navy, the submarines, and long-range missiles. Secondly, Israel wants to train the home front and the different cities to remain steadfast and to stop complaining as they used to do.
link to www.maannews.net
groups.yahoo.com/group/f_shadi (listserv)
www.theheadlines.org (archive)
Do-gooding young American Jews aren’t that interested in Israel
Jun 26, 2011
Philip Weiss
Here’s an interesting data point. Daniel Sieradski reports on a new study of Jewish millennials (18-35) and their volunteer/service work. Zionism is not mentioned in the full report.
Much of the volunteer work is local, as cited by nearly 80% of respondents, and focuses on efforts to ameliorate disparities in economic resources and educational opportunity. Indeed, as it relates to the focus of respondents’ primary volunteer work, the three most cited are material assistance to the needy, health care/medical research, and education/literacy. Conversely, only 1% of respondents cited Israel/Middle East Peace as the primary focus of their volunteer work.
