Mondoweiss Online Newsletter

NOVANEWS

• South African advertising watchdog rules that Israel can be referred to as an ‘apartheid state’

• UN report on ‘Freedom Flotilla I’ was questioned from the start

• Ron Paul blasts ‘transparently one-sided’ Congress on Israel/Palestine

• Israel deports five activists and bars journalists from boarding plane in preparation for ‘Welcome to Palestine’ campaign

• In response to biased IDF report on Gaza, the International Red Cross says ‘the situation is grave and serious’

• Steve Walt edges ever closer to… One democratic state

• NYC launch party for ‘Fast Times in Palestine’

• How many synagogues will give their blessing to July 15 march?

• Do you deny Israel’s right to exist in a lowcut red dress?

• Israelis are like the whites in Alabama in the 60s (Not in the NYT, in Haaretz)

South African advertising watchdog rules that Israel can be referred to as an ‘apartheid state’

Jul 07, 2011

Kate

South Africa ASA ruling: Israel can be labeled an apartheid state
Johannesburg (PNN) 7 July — Earlier this week in a bold statement against Israel, South Africa’s media watchdog the ‘Advertising Standards Agency’ (ASA), dismissed complaints relating to an advert of 5fm radio that called for a boycott of Israel while comparing Israel to Apartheid South Africa. The advert aired in South Africa in February this year, starred Dave Randall, lead guitarist of the band Faithless, where he stated: “Twenty years ago I would not have played in apartheid South Africa; today I refuse to play in Israel. Be on the right side of history. Don’t entertain apartheid. Join the international boycott of Israel.” As a result an official complaint was filed to ASA by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), expressing that the adverts claim that Israel was an Apartheid State was “untrue, not supported by any evidence… and contains a lie which amounts to false propaganda.” This week the ASA completely dismissed every complaint made by SAJBD against the advert.

And more news from Today in Palestine:

Land, property, resources, culture theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Apartheid
Candlelit rally in J’lem in solidarity with officials threatened with exile
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 6 July — Hundreds of Jerusalemite natives went on a candle march on Tuesday evening in solidarity with the three officials who are still facing a deportation order from their holy city issued by the Israeli occupation authority (IOA).  The protesters gathered in the soccer field of the neighborhood before heading to the Red Cross headquarters in the holy city where they held a candlelit vigil outside the building … The Red Cross building has become the home of two Jerusalemite lawmakers and one former minister since the IOA issued its arbitrary exile order against them last year.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd
IOF storm Issawiya area, violently attack its young men
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 7 July — A number of Palestinian young men from Issawiya district in occupied Jerusalem were badly wounded last night when an Israeli military force stormed their area all of a sudden and started to open fire at them. Eyewitnesses said one of the young men called Ahmed Al-Masri sustained a serious injury in his neck as he was near his workplace in the area …
In a separate incident, the IOF on Wednesday stormed Marda village in Salfit district and ransacked the house of a Palestinian detainee in Israeli jails. Eyewitnesses said Israeli troops violently raided the house of prisoner Rami Suleiman and smashed its furniture after they locked up all members of his family in one room for nearly two hours. The mother of prisoner Suleiman suffered a nervous breakdown as a result of the violent raid and was taken to a hospital in Nablus city to receive medical care. The IOF also kidnapped Hosam Suleiman, a student at Annajah university, from his home in Marda village. Another family in the same village was handed a summons from the invading troops ordering their 19-year old son, Qutaiba Rasmi, to meet intelligence officers for interrogation.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87M
Rebuilding Al Hadidiya (video included)
JVS 6 July — Today activists from the Jordan Valley Solidarity Campaign joined the community of Al Hadidya as they pitched new tents, replacing ones that had been destroyed 2 weeks ago by the Israeli Occupation Forces. Six tents were distributed to four different families affected by the demolitions, and errected meters from where their former tents stood. The families have remained steadfast on their land despite repeated attempts to displace them, and continue to rebuild despite repeated demolitions … Al Hadidya is located in the northern Jordan Valley between the illegal settlements Ro’i and Beka’ot, which were built partly on their farmland.
link to www.jordanvalleysolidarity.org
Settlers
PA report: Israeli settler violence on the rise
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an/AFP) 7 July — Israeli settler violence against Palestinians increased “dramatically” in June, according to a Palestinian Authority report released Wednesday. The report documented 139 attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank by the Israeli army and settlers during the month, including the demolition of 95 buildings and over 3,600 olive trees and vines. Fires in the villages of Madama on Tuesday, and in Aqraba on Monday, both near Nablus, were also attributed to settler violence, the report said … A spokesperson from the Palestinian government media center said the incidents “are part of a campaign to terrorize Palestinian farmers and their families. When settlers destroy trees by burning or bulldozing, they are destroying a family’s means of earning its living.” The spokesperson highlighted poor accountability for settler violence saying “such attacks are so frequent that the Israeli authorities must be able to take action if they choose to. But there is little evidence of settlers being brought to justice. They seem to be above Israeli law.”
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP he was unaware of any statistics indicating a rise in violence in the West Bank.”Any reports of violence, whether by settlers or by Palestinians, is investigated and dealt with after an official complaint is received,” he said. Annual figures compiled by Israeli rights group Yesh Din about complaints of settler offenses have repeatedly shown that nine out of 10 police investigations fail to lead to a prosecution.
link to www.maannews.net
More than a half million settlers in West Bank, East Jerusalem
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 7 July — The Israeli Population Registry said Thursday that there are more than 334,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank. According to Israeli media outlets, data suggests that the greatest hike in settler population was recorded in Kiryat Sever. But the figure does not include settlements surrounding occupied Jerusalem. The latest data shows that nearly 180,000 Jews have settled there, placing the number of Jewish settlers in the territories occupied after 1967 at over a half million.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bc
Violence / Incursions
IOF soldiers advance hundreds of meters [into the] south of Gaza Strip
KHAN YOUNIS (PIC) 7 July — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) advanced hundreds of meters to the east of Khan Younis on Thursday morning amidst indiscriminate shooting and firing of smoke bombs. Local sources told the PIC reporter that IOF troops in a number of army tanks and military bulldozers infiltrated 300 meters east of Abasan Al-Kabira and bulldozed the area amidst random firing of live bullets. The sources said that the soldiers were bulldozing land along the border fence and were heading southwards toward Khuza‘a village in the vicinity of Khan Younis.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcO
Israeli soldier injured by explosion in Gaza
GAZA (Ma‘an) 7 July 16:08 — An explosion in Khan Younis lightly injured an Israeli soldier Thursday morning, Israeli media reported. Five Israeli tanks and several bulldozers entered approximately 300 meters into the southern Gaza governorate, witnesses said. Israeli daily Haaretz reported that an explosive device planted near the soldiers tank had exploded causing shrapnel wounds.
link to www.maannews.net
Fatah group claims responsibility for Gaza explosion
GAZA (Ma‘an) 7 July 21:57 — An armed group affiliated with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs brigade, the armed wing of Fatah, claimed responsibility on Thursday for detonating an explosive charge near Israeli armored vehicles in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
link to www.maannews.net
Israeli forces surround Jenin refugee camp
JENIN (Ma‘an) 7 July — Israeli forces entered Jenin Thursday morning, surrounding the city’s refugee camp, locals said Thursday, noting that no detentions were reported. Police told Ma‘an that 15 Israeli military vehicles approached Jenin camp and surrounded it for around an hour, before withdrawing without any house raids or detentions.
link to www.maannews.net
Gaza
Egypt to increase passenger numbers at Rafah crossing
GAZA (Ma‘an) 7 July — The Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Gaza Strip Mohammad Awad said Thursday that the government has received assurances from Egyptian officials that the country will begin increasing the volume of passengers using the Rafah crossing. “The problem of the crossing was presented to more than one official in the Egyptian government, the military council, intelligence and ministry of foreign affairs, who promised to help in gradually increasing the number.” … The Egyptians did not set a deadline for completing improvements to the Rafah crossing.
link to www.maannews.net
In Pictures: Women of Gaza
AJE 6 July — Despite the devastation Palestinians of the Gaza Strip have faced due to the ongoing Israeli siege and occupation, an elegant community spirit prevails. Life continues, as do traditions and self-respect – resistance to suffering has become standard. Women are continuing to care for their families, striving for education and pursuing careers. This is a look at the everyday lives of women in Gaza.
link to english.aljazeera.net
There’s more to Gaza than broken slabs of concrete / Sami Kishawi
[photos] EI 7 July — …Decades of occupation, years of siege, and intermittent invasions are typically employed as subject headers for most reporting about the Gaza Strip. But despite how these topics represent one very dominating aspect of life in Gaza, they inexcusably ignore the more uplifting aspects of reality including Gaza’s cultural vibrancy, its territory-wide coziness, and its population’s sheer resiliency in resisting the oppression that constantly befalls it … When was the last time you saw photographs of Gaza’s rooftops and its glowing night lights? When was the last time you read an article on a businessman’s success story in Gaza? Have you ever even heard of the Thai stir-fry with an Arab twist served in the busy al-Rimal district of Gaza City to hungry bystanders? These are the questions I face from Gaza’s city-dwellers on a daily basis and these are the questions that journalists and news agencies should really begin to consider and incorporate in their reportage of life in the Gaza Strip.
link to electronicintifada.net
Remembering Vittorio Arrigoni  — Stay Human summer camp
ISM 7 July — At Vittorio’s funeral in Gaza the crowds chanted “Viktor is with the fisherman, Viktor is with the farmers”, Vittorio is still with the people of Gaza. He lives on in their hearts. He has been honored with a football tournament in Rafah, with a street in Gaza, with a school in the Jordan Valley, but I think that perhaps the honor that would be closest to his heart is the Vittorio Arrigoni — Stay Human summer camp in Beit Hanoun. Vittorio had worked in Beit Hanoun his entire time in Gaza. Riding in ambulances during Cast Lead and supporting the weekly demonstrations against the buffer zone since then. The Fursan Al Ghad Youth Center honored him by naming their summer camp in his honor
link to palsolidarity.org
UNRWA: Name has not changed
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 7 July — An UNRWA spokesperson said Thursday that the Palestinian refugee agency has not changed its name, after reports of a new title sparked protests in Gaza on Tuesday. Adnan Abu Hasnah said the only change was a logo update which actually added the term UNRWA, in English and Arabic, to the image.
link to www.maannews.net
Detention
Children not exempt from widespread torture in Israeli detention
EI 6 July — Sleep-deprived and suffering from a broken leg, 16-year-old Muhammad Halabiyeh endured days of torture at the hands of Israeli soldiers and police officers, who punched him repeatedly in the face and abdomen, shoved needles into his hand and leg and threatened the Palestinian teenager with sexual abuse. Arrested near his home in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Abu Dis in February 2010, Halabiyeh confessed after days of abuse and torture to the charge that he threw a Molotov cocktail at an Israeli army base. More than one year after his arrest, which was spent in Israeli custody, Halabiyeh was found guilty in an Israeli military court. His conviction came despite the fact that the Israeli military judge in his case stated that she believed the teenager was tortured. However, the judge argued that there was no evidence that his confession was the direct result of the torture he endured..
http://electronicintifada.net/content/children-not-exempt-widespread-torture-israeli-detention/10143
Group says three detainees placed in solitary confinement
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 6 July — Three Palestinians in Israeli custody were placed in solitary confinement Tuesday, a prisoners rights group said, as Israel stripped detainees of privileges under new guidelines. Rawhi Mishthi, Atef Al-Masri and Hassan Fayyad were placed in solitary confinement at the Hadarim prison in line with a new policy of pressuring Hamas by placing supporters under stress, the detainees center said.
link to www.maannews.net
Report: The number of children kidnapped this year markedly rose
RAMALLAH (PIC) 7 July — Ansar Al-Asra (advocates for prisoners) society said it documented the detention of 1,552 Palestinian citizens in the first half of this year, including 215 children. According a report released by the society on Thursday, there was a marked increase in the kidnapping of Palestinian minors this year and their number rose to 350 children. 19 Palestinian lawmakers from Hamas Movement were also among the detainees who were kidnapped during this year.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bc
Israeli forces arrest daughter of Al-Bireh mayor
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 6 July — “Israel’s army has arrested Bushra Al-Tawil, 18, daughter of Jamal Al-Tawil, Mayor of Al-Bireh, after raiding her family home in the Um Ash-Sharayet neighborhood in Al-Bireh,” a researcher from the organization Ahmed Al-Beitawi said. Israeli soldiers raided the house and seized computers and personal documents, before taking Bushra to the Russian compound for interrogation. Bushra Al-Tawil had finished her Tawjihi, or general secondary, exams two days ago, Al-Beitawi said. Israeli forces had arrested her father, the current mayor of Al-Bireh, during the first Intifada. Jamal Al-Tawil was detained for several months under administrative detention without being charged.
link to www.maannews.net
Soldiers seize Palestinian in raid on Bethlehem camp
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 6 July — Israeli forces detained a young man at dawn Wednesday in the occupied West Bank. Abdul Qader Al-Zighari, 24, of Duheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem, was detained, his brother Ali said. An Israeli military spokeswoman told Ma‘an the army arrested four Palestinians in the West Bank overnight.
link to www.maannews.net
Israeli military court sends MP Zeidan to administrative detention
RAMALLAH (PIC) 7 July — An Israeli military court on Wednesday transferred Palestinian lawmaker from Hamas Abdulrahman Zeidan to administrative detention for six months … The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) kidnapped MP Zeidan from his home in Deir Ghusun village, northeast of Tulkarem, earlier last month and locked him in Megiddo jail.
The same Israeli court also ordered on the same day the administrative detention of senior Hamas official Nazih Abu Aoun and his son-in-law Ahmed Malaysha for six months. Abu Aoun and his son-in-law were kidnapped a few days ago from their home and taken to Megiddo prison.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd
Tamimi still on hunger strike
GAZA (PIC) 7 July — The Waed society for prisoners affirmed that the Palestinian prisoner Ahlam Al-Tamimi was still on hunger strike for the 9th day running insisting on meeting all her demands. Former prisoner and board member of Waed Samar Subaih told the PIC on Thursday that news reports that Tamimi ended her hunger strike were not true.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b
Israeli Druze sentenced to 8 months in prison for violence on Naksa Day
Haaretz 7 July — A Nazareth court sentenced a Majdal Shams resident to eight months in prison for hurling rocks at Israeli security forces on Naksa Day, June 5th. The resident of the northern Druze village, 37-year-old Nasser Shaer, was also fined 2,500 shekels.
link to www.haaretz.com
Nablus court sentences man to 7 years for ‘aiding enemy’
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 7 July — A Nablus court sentenced a man to seven years imprisonment and hard labor on Thursday for collaboration with Israel. The man, identified only as A.J. from Nablus in the northern West Bank, was charged with aiding the Israeli military since 2005. Public Prosecutor’s Office representative Hussam Khalaf said the man was charged under article 110 of the Penal Code of 1960.
link to www.maannews.net
Security arrests longest running spy in Gaza Strip
GAZA (PIC) 7 July — Security services have arrested the longest running Israeli agent in the Gaza Strip, security sources said. The agent, A.H., is in his fifties and has been spying for Israel for the past 23 years after returning from a neighboring Arab state, Al-Majd security site said, quoting sources. The source said A.H. continued to cooperate with Israeli intelligence during this period. He also frequently travelled to the West Bank and Arab countries. According to the sources, A.H. held several sensitive and prestigious positions in the former authority and had links with leading figures in one Palestinian organization.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b
Flotillas
French boat to Gaza blocked in Crete
JERUSALEM (AFP) 7 July  — A lone French yacht carrying activists hoping to run the Israeli blockade on Gaza was on Thursday blocked in Crete by the Greek coast guard when it stopped to refuel, an organizer said. “The Dignite/Al Karama was taken to Sitia in Crete by the Greek coast guard after being stopped in a nearby port while it was refueling,” Claude Leostic told AFP by telephone from Paris. “The authorities are stopping the boat from setting sail for various administrative reasons,” Leostic said. The boat, which is carrying 12 pro-Palestinian activists, had sneaked out of a Greek port early on Tuesday
link to www.maannews.net
Second flotilla ship sets sail to Gaza
ATHENS (PIC) 7 July 09:14 — A Swedish-Norwegian ship [Juliano] has managed to set sail to Gaza as the second ship on Freedom Flotilla II despite an official ban that Greek authorities have enforced on the flotilla’s vessels, the European campaign to end the siege on Gaza has reported. That was after the crew managed to repair the ship’s propeller, which was sabotaged by men suspected of having links with the Israeli Mossad. The ECESG, a key flotilla organizer, said in a press statement that technicians have repaired the damage and the crew has been able to meet onerous conditions Greek authorities have set on the ship’s sailing to Gaza to challenge Israel’s maritime siege of the tiny coastal enclave.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87
In dealing with the flotilla, Israel is anything but smart / Amira Hass
Haaretz 7 July — Outsourcing, aggressive and vocal diplomacy and ridiculous lies thwarted the flotilla, but they have not taken Gaza off the international agenda.
link to www.haaretz.com
Flotilla report delayed at Turkey’s behest
Ynet 7 July —  Though an inquiry committee investigating the 2010 flotilla has already drawn conclusions, the UN has agreed to postpone its due date for the report until Turkey and Israel come to an agreement on its content, Israeli officials say. The request to delay the report came from Turkey. Its findings, some of which have already been published, indicate that Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip is legal as well as its raid of the Mavi Marmara.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Fly-in / Flytilla / Flightilla
Tourism Ministry launches ‘Welcome Mat’ initiative
Ynet 7 July 11:34 —  Following the near military operation-style preparations for the foreign activists “Gaza fly-in” to Ben Gurion International Airport, the Tourism Ministry announced Thursday that it was “preparing to welcome the thousands of tourists expected to arrive in Israel this weekend.” The ministry also said that the Ben Gurion Airport branch of the Tourism Ministry would be reinforced by additional employees who will welcome the tourists with flowers and explanatory pamphlets.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Incoming tourists receive flowers
Ynet 7 July 23:47 — One tourist hopes some flowers are saved for fly-in activists, ‘to show them Israel is not just scary’ — Representatives of Israel’s Tourism Ministry handed out flowers to people arriving in Ben Gurion International Airport Thursday evening, as promised earlier by Minister Stats Misezhnikov. Incoming passengers mainly appeared bewildered by the gesture
link to www.ynetnews.com
Israel police decrease presence at airport after pro-Palestinian activists stopped abroad
Haaretz 7 July 22:57 — Police believe most of the 300 pro-Palestinian activists blacklisted by Israel to be prevented from flying at airports abroad; Israel security forces lower state of alert — The first wave of activists is due to arrive between 1 A.M. and 4 A.M. overnight Thursday, but police believe only a small number of activists will actually be arriving …
France’s foreign ministry expressed concern about the risk of clashes between activists and Israeli security forces if the former reached their destination. “France is worried by the risk of incidents and clashes that could develop at Tel Aviv airport on Friday,” spokesman Bernard Valero said in a statement. [How nice to know they are so concerned for activists’ welfare — just like the Greek gov’t with the flotilla.]
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-police-decrease-presence-at-airport-after-pro-palestinian-activists-stopped-abroad-1.372016
Israel instructs foreign airlines to prevent departure of 300 pro-Palestinian activists
Haaretz 7 July 19:07 — Transportation Ministry hands foreign airlines blacklist of 300 passengers who will be refused entry to Israel; move may prevent activists from reaching Israel …Thus far, no activists were known to be prevented from boarding flights abroad, but most of the flights are only expected to depart on Thursday night. “This event will end with either no problems or as a catastrophe. There will not be a middle ground,” a senior official at Ben-Gurion International Airport told Haaretz. He said that it only takes about 30 activists to make a scene at the airport for media outlets to widely report on it and thus hand the activists their victory. A senior official at a European airline told Haaretz that this was an unprecedented request on Israel’s part. “In the past we have gotten one or two names that authorities had banned their entry,” he said. “This move is problematic because if we receive an updated list later on, we will have to fly back the plane at the expense of other passengers who had purchased regular tickets.” On Thursday at 10 P.M., a military command post will be opened at Ben-Gurion, in order to directly tend to the pro-Palestinian activists expected to arrive over the weekend.
link to www.haaretz.com
Israel bars 300 activists from flying to Israel
Ynet 7 July 18:34 — Ahead of fly-in, state issues blacklist of pro-Palestinian activists blocked from boarding Israel-bound flights. Organizer says airlines complying, cites emails sent to passengers canceling trips ‘as per Israel’s instructions’ .. .Israel told the airlines that the blacklisted individuals, most of whom come from France, are unauthorized to enter the state … One organizer, Nicholas Shashani, told Ynet that an airline official told them that she was following the Israeli Interior Ministry’s orders, and showed them the list of barred individuals. Shashani claimed that they filed a complaint with police at the airport.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Gaza fly-in organizers thank Bibi for PR
Ynet 7 July — Left wing activists and the organizers of the planned pro-Palestinian fly-in to Ben Gurion Airport thanked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch for the extensive publicity their endeavor has been garnering in the global media.  “We should be thanking Netanyahu because without him this wouldn’t have worked,” one of the fly-in organizers said Thursday. “If we would have paid thousands of shekels in PR it would not have worked our so well,” he added.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Political / Diplomatic / International news
US renews objections to Palestinian statehood bid
WASHINGTON (AFP) 7 July — The United States warned Palestinians against seeking UN recognition of a future state not first defined in talks with Israel, as a top Palestinian official met with US diplomats. “We don’t see a contradiction between the efforts being exerted to revive the peace process and our bid to go to the UN,” senior PLO official and former chief negotiator Saeb Erakat told reporters after his talks at the US State Department.
Amid the diplomatic tussling, the US House of Representatives churned towards voting by week’s end on a symbolic resolution warning the Palestinians they risk US aid cuts if they pursue their plans at the United Nations. The House was expected to overwhelmingly back the measure authored by Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Democratic House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer just one week after the Senate passed a similar resolution.
The resolution also urges Obama to consider suspending aid to the Palestinian Authority pending a view of a unity deal between president Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction and the rival faction Hamas. “Any Palestinian unity government must publicly and formally forswear terrorism, accept Israel’s right to exist, and reaffirm previous agreements made with Israel,” it says.
link to www.maannews.net
Abbas postpones formation of unity government in bid to appease Western allies
Haaretz/AP 7 July — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas may hold off on the formation of a unity government with the Islamic militant group Hamas to avoid alienating his Western allies ahead of a UN vote on statehood, a senior PLO official said Thursday.
link to www.haaretz.com
Netanyahu falls short of securing Bulgarian pledge against Palestinian UN bid
Reuters 7 July — PM meets with Bulgarian counterpart in Sofia, commends him on Bulgaria’s Holocaust record in effort to buttress Balkan bonds ahead of UN vote on Palestinians state in September.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-falls-short-of-securing-bulgarian-pledge-against-palestinian-un-bid-1.371971
Turkmenistan rejects Israeli ambassador, says he is ‘Mossad spy’
Haaretz 6 July — Turkmen Foreign Ministry says Israel’s designated ambassador Haim Koren’s past employment as instructor at the National Security College is proof of his involvement in espionage –…This follows Turkmenistan’s refusal in late 2009 to accept Israel’s first candidate, Reuven Daniel, who had served in the Mossad in the past. 
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/turkmenistan-rejects-israeli-ambassador-says-he-is-mossad-spy-1.371845
China grants Israeli envoy honorary citizenship
Ynet 6 July — Mayor of Chengdu holds ceremony for Amos Nadai, first foreign ambassador ever to be given such honor … The ties between both countries grew stronger following the devastating earthquake that took place in China in 2008, when Israel helped out with the rehabilitation efforts. Last November the relations between Israel and the city of Chengdu peaked when the Chinese celebrated “Israel Week.”
link to www.ynetnews.com
US: Israel included in terror watch list by mistake
WASHINGTON (Ynet) 7 July – Israeli diplomats stationed in the United States was surprised to discover that Israel was one of 36 countries included in a new Homeland Security terror watch list.  The list, which was attached to a May 10 document from the DHS Inspector General’s office, also included a number of other close US allies such as Turkey, Bahrain, Morocco and Philippines.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Other news
MADA reports 13 violations against journalists in occupied territories last month
Ramallah (PNN) 7 July — The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) has reported today that it monitored 13 violations against journalists during the month of June. The occupying Israeli army was the main perpetrator of the violations; however violations from the Palestinian security services also exist. The Israeli occupying force was involved in arresting, detaining, assaulting and preventing travel of journalists. Such abuses greatly obstruct journalists from doing their work.[Details of some violations follow]
link to english.pnn.ps
PCBS: Graduate unemployment improving, but slowly
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) 7 July — …The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said 44.8 percent of Palestinians who completed university degrees were not in employment, an improvement on the 2009 figure of 47 percent.
link to www.maannews.net
British documents reveal Begin refused entry to UK in 1950s
Haaretz 7 July — Britain refused to allow Menachem Begin, “leader of the notorious terrorist organisation Irgun,” to visit London in the 1950s, documents released by Britain’s National Archives this week reveal.
link to www.haaretz.com
Ministers facing corruption charges could lose immunity
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 7 July — The Palestinian Authority anti-corruption chief announced Thursday that the legal immunity of several ministers has been removed to make way for corruption charges. Head of the anti-corruption commission Rafiq An-Natsheh told state radio broadcaster Voice of Palestine that President Mahmoud Abbas supported the move in order to end corruption in the government. A number of ministers are accused of presiding over financial and administrative mismanagement, unfair hiring policies, and pilfering ministerial budgets for their own use, An-Natsheh said.
link to www.maannews.net
Leak causes Negev’s worst ever environmental disaster
Ynet 7 July — Ministry takes out work cessation order against Eilat-Askelon Pipeline Company, they in turn disavow responsibility following jet fuel leak that ravaged Nahal Zin nature reserve … The Environmental Protection Ministry and the Nature and Parks Authority estimate that the leak reached a depth of up to 5 meters in some places. As for the restoration process, current estimations see the need for the removal of tens of thousands of cubic meters of contaminated soil from the area.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Analysis / Opinion
East Jerusalem suffers heroin plague / Kieron Monks
AJE 6 July — Activists fight to save addicts in towns without prospects or security — “I didn’t think I would ever stop”, Abu Salah tells the circle. “After 14 years of buying and selling, hashish, heroin and cocaine, I had lost control of my life. I had no job. I would never speak to my family.” His story, and the clinic we are sitting in, is an indication of how Palestine’s drug problem is fast becoming a crisis. The towns in and around East Jerusalem have become breeding grounds for addiction, made vulnerable by poverty and a lack of security. Unlike neighbouring Egypt and Lebanon, Palestine has no historic connection with the drugs trade. Its arrival has been sudden and spectacular, with heroin in particular spreading like wildfire. Al Quds University estimates there are over 6,000 addicts in East Jerusalem today, compared with 300 in 1986. In the town of Al Ram, pressed up against Israel’s Separation Barrier, degradation has set in. Once a lively suburb of Jerusalem, since 2006 it has been locked out by the Barrier, which surrounds it on three sides. The effect of this sudden disconnection from the city has been devastating. One-third of all businesses have been forced to close, 75 per cent of youths under 24 are unemployed, and around half of the town’s 62,000 residents have been denied the ID they require to enter Jerusalem. Al Ram, like neighbouring Abu Dis and Al Ezzariya, has been left in limbo … Addressing the supply to Palestinians is problematic, given the lack of autonomy in and around Jerusalem. It is a widely held belief among Palestinians that the Israeli authorities encourage addiction in Arabs, in a conspiratorial effort to undermine their national aspirations. While such a claim is impossible to prove, and likely exaggerated, there is little effort from Israeli police to halt the supply to Arabs. The same dealers can be seen in plain sight day after day.
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/06/201162874544676539.html
What is the ‘right’ type of resistance? / Ibrahim Shikaki
AJE 6 July — Media coverage of the Palestinian resistance movement is shaped to fit the Western narrative of nonviolence — Over the past few months, several international media outlets have published articles fixating on the so-called “new” Palestinian nonviolent movement. Two fallacies have accompanied such reporting and analysis. First the use of the term “nonviolent” and its connotations; and second, the narrative surrounding the movement. Unfortunately, the source of these articles is often respected media outlets that have reported fairly on the Palestinian cause, including Al Jazeera English.The latest articles in the series are Al Jazeera English’s “Green shoots emerge at Qalandia checkpoint”,  the Economist blog’s “Here comes your non-violent resistance”,  and Time magazine’s“Palestinian Border Protests: The Arab Spring model for confronting Israel”.  The articles are replete with quotes such as “but the traditional resistance of burning tires and throwing stones will not change overnight. We need to give the world a picture of nonviolent Palestinian resistance”, and “we’re going to continue marching in nonviolence until it is very clear in the international media who is violating human rights”.
link to english.aljazeera.net
Human dignity in Jerusalem / Rashid Khalidi
Jadaliyya 5 July — The lengthy history of Jerusalem is distinguished by diverse episodes of both benevolent tolerance and inhumane intolerance. For several lengthy periods, such as most of the nineteenth century, a spirit of coexistence generally characterized the holy city. On too many other occasions, it witnessed sectarian persecution and cruel massacres. Two of the most horrific of these episodes took place after Jerusalem was captured following a prolonged siege, once by the Persians in 614 CE, and again by the Crusaders in 1099. In both cases, the victors slaughtered thousands of the city’s residents. An area adjacent to the ancient Mamilla Pool west of the city walls of Jerusalem was the scene of the first of these massacres, as well as the burial site of its victims. This place of carnage subsequently became the most reputed Muslim burial place in Palestine, the Maman Allah (Mamilla) Cemetery. Thus the Los Angeles based Simon Wiesenthal Center’s ongoing project to build a “Center for Human Dignity,” or alternatively the “Museum of Tolerance,” on part of the Mamilla cemetery is not the first indignity that this venerable site has witnessed. This construction project has continued in spite of repeated protests by Palestinians and Israelis, and two unsuccessful litigation attempts in Israeli courts.
link to www.jadaliyya.com
Inside Torah Hamelech, the Jewish extremist terror tract endorsed by state-employed rabbis / Max Blumenthal
[with VIDEO] 7 July — Why is Torat Hamelech so explosive? Yuval Dror, an Israeli journalist and academic, excerpted some of the book’s most incendiary passages. What appeared was Jewish exclusivism in its most extreme form, with non-Jews deemed permissible to kill, or Rodef, for the most inconsequential of wartime acts, including providing moral support to gentile armies. The book is a virtual manual for Jewish extremist terror designed to justify the mass slaughter of civilians. And in that respect, it is not entirely different from the Israeli military’s Dahiya Doctrine, or Asa Kasher and Amos Yadlin’s concept of “asymmetrical warfare.” The key difference seems to be the crude, almost childlike logic the book’s author, Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira, marshals to justify the killing of non-Jewish civilians. Here are passages from Torat Hamelech, as excerpted by Dror and translated by Dena Bugel-Shunra:
link to maxblumenthal.com
groups.yahoo.com/group/f_shadi (listserv)
www.theheadlines.org (archive).

UN report on ‘Freedom Flotilla I’ was questioned from the start

Jul 07, 2011

Alex Kane

Media outlets are reporting that the results of a United Nations inquiry into last year’s raid on the first “Freedom Flotilla” is set to be released soon, though diplomatic wrangling between Turkey and Israel appear to have held up publication of the report for now.

The reports indicate that the inquiry has found that Israel’s blockade of Gaza is legal under international law, but that the Israelis used “excessive force” during their naval raid on the Mavi Marmara, which resulted in the deaths of nine people. It’s important to keep in mind, though, that many observers have cast doubt on the impartiality of the report given the panel’s make-up–a point boosted by the fact that the UN appears to be sanctioning an Israeli blockade that numerous UN-affiliated reports and individuals have concluded is an illegal act of collective punishment.

This inquiry was separate from a UN Human Rights Council report released in September 2010, which found that Israeli forces violated international law in attacking the flotilla and used “unnecessary, disproportionate, excessive and inappropriate” force. Israel, just as they did during the Goldstone mission, did not cooperate with that report. On the other hand, Israel did cooperate with the panel set up by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, and it appears that cooperation has, at least partially, paid off.

The New York Times reports:

Diplomats said Turkey and Israel were eager to find a compromise over the wording of the report by a United Nations committee that is led by former Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer of New Zealand and has Turkish and Israeli representatives. Diplomats said the committee’s findings — made following heated deliberations that lasted nearly a year — would be likely to leave both countries uncomfortable.

According to United Nations diplomats, the latest draft of the report asserts that Israel’s blockade of Gaza was legal, but that in some cases its commandos had used excessive force in seizing the ship. Turkey, the diplomats said, is taken to task for having made an insufficient effort to prevent the ship from sailing. In addition, the motives of the I.H.H., the charity that organized the flotilla, are called into question.

The report’s released has been delayed amid squabbling over its wording, although it could be made public as soon as Thursday.

For many, the panel was discredited from the start. This report–written shortly after the announcement of the establishment of the UN inquiry–from Inter Press Service explains why:

Norman Solomon, executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, told IPS: “How truly independent will this inquiry be?” That’s the key question, he said.

“My initial concern is that the panel membership appears to be tied in with politically powerful interests — not a good sign. Whether this will be a clarifying or whitewashing effort remains to be seen,” he added.

[Phyllis] Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies told IPS that the irony, of course, is that the international and UN-backed team reflects Israel’s continuing US-backed influence at the United Nations.

In particular, the appointment of former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe Velez “guaranteed” the “failure” of the report, as an analysis that appeared in theElectronic Intifada put it. Uribe himself is implicated in massive human rights abuses and is a known supporter of the State of Israel. An excerpt from the Electronic Intifada piece:

It is hard to believe that, in spite of Uribe’s appalling human rights record, he has been chosen to be part of a UN human rights commission. Going beyond Uribe himself, any representative of the Colombian state must be suspect when it comes to investigating human rights violations as official and “unofficial” state-sanctioned human rights abusers act with impunity; 98 percent of such cases remain unprosecuted (“Baseless Prosecutions of Human Rights Defenders in Colombia,” February 2009).

It also strains credibility to believe that Colombia, the biggest recipient of US military “aid” after Israel and Egypt, a country that has agreed to host seven new US military bases on its territory last year, can be impartial in relation to Israel. Both the Israeli and Colombian governments share an ideological approach to their opponents, based on a belief that respecting human rights is a non-issue when it comes to pursuing their military goals against rebel groups. Unsurprisingly, there is also large-scale military cooperation between the two rogue states.

In recent years, according to news reports, Israel has become Colombia’s number one weapon supplier, with arms worth tens of millions of dollars, “including Kfir aircraft, drones, weapons and intelligence systems” being used against opponents of the Colombian regime (“Report: Israelis fighting guerillas in Colombia,” Ynet, 10 August 2007). According to a senior Israeli defense official, “Israel’s methods of fighting terror have been duplicated in Colombia” (“Colombia’s FM: We share your resilience,” 30 April 2010)…

The admiration is mutual, and Uribe undertakes his role of impartial investigator weighed down with awards from various Zionist organizations. These include the American Jewish Committee’s “Light unto the Nations Award” and descending further into Orwellian doublespeak, the “Presidential Gold Medallion for Humanitarianism” from B’nai Brith.

While the Colombian government and Uribe are entitled to their choice of friends, this — to say the least — indicates that there will be no objectivity whatsoever with regard to Uribe’s role in the commission.

It appears that Israel only agreed to cooperate with this particular UN inquiry as there is very little chance this commission will take an independent stance and deliver an unbiased verdict on the brutal Israeli attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. Indeed, Israel has declined to cooperate with the other UN commission into the attack appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. It can be reasonably argued that Colombian and Israeli cooperation in this matter is a further step towards jointly “doing more in terms of the fight against terrorism” (to paraphrase Bermudez’ remarks in Israel).

Alex Kane, a freelance journalist currently based in Amman, Jordan, blogs on Israel/Palestine at alexbkane.wordpress.com, where this post originally appeared.Follow him on Twitter @alexbkane.

Ron Paul blasts ‘transparently one-sided’ Congress on Israel/Palestine

Jul 07, 2011

Philip Weiss

Ron Paul’s statement yesterday on that Congressional resolution opposing the Palestinian statehood initiative in the U.N. and opposing Hamas-Fatah reconciliation:

Mr. Speaker I rise in opposition to this resolution. While I certainly share the hope for peace in the Middle East and a solution to the ongoing conflict, I do not believe that peace will result if we continue to do the same things while hoping for different results.  The US has been involved in this process for decades, spending billions of dollars we do not have, yet we never seem to get much closer to a solution. I believe the best solution is to embrace non-interventionism, which allows those most directly involved to solve their own problems.

This resolution not only further entangles the US in the Israeli/Palestinian dispute, but it sets out the kind of outcome the United States would accept in advance. While I prefer our disengagement from that conflict, I must wonder how the US expects to be seen as an “honest broker” when it dictates the terms of a solution in such a transparently one-sided manner.

In the resolution before us, all demands are made of only one side in the conflict. Do supporters of this resolution really believe the actors in the Middle East and the rest of the world do not notice? We do no favors to the Israelis or to the Palestinians when we involve ourselves in such a manner and block any negotiations that may take place without US participation. They have the incentives to find a way to live in peace and we must allow them to find that solution on their own.  As always, congressional attitudes toward the peace process in the Middle East reveal hubris and self-importance. Only those who must live together in the Middle East can craft a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine.

Israel deports five activists and bars journalists from boarding plane in preparation for ‘Welcome to Palestine’ campaign

Jul 07, 2011

Adam Horowitz

Israel is gearing up for the “Welcome the Palestine” campaign. Five activists have already been detained and deported, and El Al Airlines barred two Dutch journalists from boarding a flight from Amsterdam to Tel Aviv to cover the protest and the flotilla to Gaza.

Mazin Qumsiyeh, a professor at Bethlehem University, author of Popular Resistance in Palestine: A History of Hope and Empowerment and international coordinator for the Palestine Justice Network which has helped organize the protest, writes about the importance of the”Welcome to Palestine Campaign” and how it fits into the history of Palestinian popular resistance for the Electronic Intifada:

This week, hundreds of activists plan on challenging Israel’s apartheid apartheid by flying in to Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv as part of the “Welcome to Palestine” initiative. Heraclitis once stated that “There is nothing permanent except change,” and indeed human history is a chronicle of change — and the Welcome to Palestine project follows that tradition.

No change happens without challenging the status quo. Few people reflect even on modern history to understand how we achieved things like civil rights in the US, enlightenment in Europe, ending slavery, giving women the right to vote and establishing democracies around the world. All these changes from an unjust situation (thestatus quo) required the agency of mass movement.

On our horizon today is of course the mass movement of Arab peopleyearning for freedom from decades of dictatorships — many of those structures created and supported by the West.

Rebellion against injustice of course is also a hallmark of the struggle against apartheid in Palestine, a struggle that can be traced back to the first Zionist colony built 131 years ago and that took a giant leap forward by the 1948 founding of the racist state of Israel as a culmination and embodiment of this colonial venture, and the subsequent expansion of this state in 1967 to occupy the rest of Palestine . . .

Our next step toward freedom is a series of events are the plans taking place between 9-16 when hundreds of men, women and children are planning to fly into Tel Aviv to visit us in Palestine. The international community must recognize our basic human right to receive visitors from abroad and support the right of their own citizens to travel to Palestine without harassment.

With the delay in the sailing of the Freedom Flotilla, these two initiatives may coincide temporally. As Israel works to isolate us, we invite you to join with us openly and proudly as the decent human beings you are. We do not accept the attempts to keep us apart or to force you to speak less than with the honesty you are used to.

Guests will enjoy Palestinian hospitality and a program of networking, fellowship and volunteer peace work in Palestinian towns and villages. Local activist groups in Europe and in the United States have organized delegations and hundreds have booked their flights. Once here, much can be done. But whether you volunteer or participate in any of these initiatives or any others, the key word is participation. There are ongoing revolutions everywhere against tyranny. Human spirits cannot be enslaved forever. We must all join in the struggle for freedom because silence is indeed complicity.

Read the entire article “Challenging Israeli apartheid — by plane” here.

In response to biased IDF report on Gaza, the International Red Cross says ‘the situation is grave and serious’

Jul 07, 2011

Johanna Nouri

In late April the spokesman of the Israeli army (IDF) published an interview with Mathilde Redmatn, deputy director of the Red Cross in Gaza. According to this article Redmatn says that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, life seems to be reasonably normal, products are available in shops, there are restaurants and even a beautiful beach.

The Israeli press (such as the Jerusalem Post, Haaretz and Arutz Sheva) as well as numerous predominantly pro-Israel websites reported on the interview. Many were eager to state that the reports available up to now, not only by the Red Cross but by the UN and the World Bank for instance as well, were grossly exaggerating when describing the situation of Gaza, as illustrated by headlines such as ‘The Red Cross admits…’. As if by magic the Red Cross transformed from an organization sometimes accused of being biased into the messenger of the truth.

As is often the case, reality is not that simple. The article was published by a party in the conflict: the IDF. The message seems to run counter to recent publications from the same source (the Red Cross, or rather: the ICRC, the International Committee of the Red Cross), which show a very worrying picture of Gaza.

That’s a situation demanding counterchecking the information, which is exactly what I did when I contacted ICRC’s Jerusalem office, which is responsible for promoting compliance with humanitarian law in Israel and the Occupied Territories. I asked them to comment on the statements made by their employee Mathilde De Riedmatten. ICRC spokesman Cecilia Goin emailed me from Jerusalem:

‘the article was edited and therefore, does not reflect ICRC’s view of the current humanitarian situation in Gaza. Independently from what has been reported, what is important is that the situation is grave and serious.’

Why she refers to the situation as ‘grave and serious’ is made clear by what she wrote more:

‘Regarding the article published by IDF web site please be aware that it contains many inaccuracies and, as such, does not fully reflect ICRC’s view of the situation in Gaza. The life of 1.5 million people in the Strip is far from being a normal and dignified life. The extremely high unemployment rate, the lack of freedom of movement, the problematic access to healthcare, clean water and sanitation, as well as the continuous threat of violence affects the lives of Gaza people on a daily basis. In addition, an almost absolute ban on exports and limited imports hamper a sustainable economic recovery, which is essential to any viable development.’

In The Netherlands tv station PowNed and others mentioned the article. In Dutch parliament the new ‘Red Cross position’ was raised by the spokespersons of Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party and the ruling Party for Freedom and Democracy in a debate about the upcoming second Gaza Flotilla. The Freedom Party’s spokesperson went so far as to say that there is no suffering because the Gazans’ life expectancy is good. The line of argumentation was simple: if there is no humanitarian crisis, there is no need for humanitarian assistance and therefore an aid convoy would not be necessary. Foreign Affairs secretary Uri Rosenthal was apparently referring to the IDF article when he stated that the Red Cross does not label the situation in Gaza as an absolute emergency. And other parties’ spokesmen did not give the impression that they checked the article at the source: the Red Cross as well.

Had they done so, then just like Joop (Dutch opinion site) editor Hasna El Maroudi they would have found that The Netherlands Red Cross distances itself from the IDF reports. Had they verified, then the ICRC spokeswoman would have told them that the IDF article contains many inaccuracies and was edited, and as such does not reflect ICRC’s view on the current humanitarian situation in Gaza. A situation that ICRC still characterizes as ‘ grave and serious’, ‘far from being a normal and dignified life’.

The spokeswoman pointed out to me a couple of recent ICRC articles that do portray the alarming humanitarian situation in Gaza accurately. Three months ago the organization reported that despite the easing of the closure and the partial lifting of export bans, continued restrictions on the movement of people and difficulties in importing building materials still hamper sustainable economic recovery and dash any hope of leading a normal and dignified life. According to the World Bank 2010 data, the unemployment rate remained stubbornly high at 39 per cent.

Gaza is still facing a drugs shortage and as well as a serious electricity shortage. Power cuts during treatment puts dialysis patients at great risk. This could be treated by medication, but the necessary drugs are not available. Patients with other chronic diseases such as haemophilia and cancer are experiencing the same problems. Power fluctuations take a heavy toll on medical machines, resulting in frequent breakdowns. To make the necessary repairs spare parts are needed, but there is a shortage and import takes several months. Gaza’s one and only power station experiences the same problem: it was partially destroyed by Israeli shelling in 2006 and the building materials required to carry out repairs are not allowed in. Backup generators require scarce fuel. Nevertheless 43 thousand patients received emergency surgical care or treatment at the Artificial Limbs and Polio Centre, mainly thanks to the ICRC, which in 2010 supplied 242 tonnes of drugs, disposables, consumables, spare parts, training and technical assistance to the health ministry for hospitals in Gaza.

The water and sanitation infrastructure is problematic as well. Every day, thousands of liters of untreated wastewater are dumped into the Wadi Gaza. The water snakes through densely populated urban areas on its way to the sea, jeopardizing the health of the population and exposing them to parasites such as amoebae and giardia. On top of that, the wastewater is contaminating the coastline and endangering biodiversity. The quality of drinking water is deteriorating rapidly, with nitrate and chloride levels up to seven times above the level set by the World Health Organization. Much of the water from the Gaza aquifer is undrinkable and gradually becoming more saline. Rehabilitation of the water and sanitation infrastructure requires spare parts and building materials such as cement, steel and water pipes which are still scarce because of the restrictions on the import of construction materials.

Mathilde De Riedmatten of the ICRC in Gaza is concerned about the fact that the one and a half million people in Gaza are unable to live a normal and dignified life as well. In an interview on the ICRC website published mid-May she not only notes the abovementioned factors, but also points to the structural violence and its impact on the civilian population of Gaza. Her statements include the following:

‘Gaza is more dependent than ever on outside aid. For young people – fully 50 per cent of Gaza’s 1.5 million residents are under 18 years of age – there is a crushing lack of prospects, and it is a constant struggle for them to maintain hope in the future.

The strict limits on imports and the almost absolute ban on exports imposed by Israel make economic recovery impossible. The unemployment rate currently stands at nearly 40 per cent. It will remain ruinously high as long as the economy fails to recover. This difficult situation exacerbates the considerable hardship already caused by the collapse of previously prosperous branches of the economy.

Over the years, access to land suitable for agriculture has been eroded by restrictions imposed in the areas near Israel and the levelling of land and destruction of trees by the Israel Defense Forces. To make matters worse, the high price or even total lack of some farm inputs such as fertilizer, pesticides, etc., and the lack of export opportunities have weighed heavily on the primary sector. In addition, many fishermen have lost their livelihood as a result of Israel reducing the area at sea within which it allows fishing to three nautical miles from Gaza’s coastline.

Because Israel retains effective control over the Gaza Strip, in particular by maintaining authority over the movement of people and goods, it must fulfil its obligations under the law of occupation and allow the civilian population to lead as normal a life as possible.’

Johanna Nouri is a Dutch blogger, married to a Jordanian. Her main topics are the Middle East, the humitarian impact of war and violence, migration and islam. She works as a project manager, trainer and consultant in non-governmental organizations for war trauma and refugees.

Steve Walt edges ever closer to… One democratic state

Jul 07, 2011

Philip Weiss

The most noble work inside the American establishment on our issue right now is to challenge our leaders on the two-state solution and say, How do you see that coming to pass? As I frequently say, I’m not against Partition (aren’t they about to do Partition in the Sudan?) but on what terms? What has Israel left the Palestinians with? Does it mean anything to you that Israel keeps stealing water and land and houses every day, and denies Muslims access to Jerusalem?

At Foreign Policy, Steve Walt uses Akiva Eldar’s brave piece in Haaretz on the death of the two-state solution to try and break the news inside the U.S.– and savage Dennis Ross’s responsibility for two-state’s demise. This argument is a noble one because if our leaders start to change their minds on this question, and American Jews start to wake up to democracy, the likelihood of massive bloodshed decreases. Italic is mine:

In what other line of work could someone fail consistently for two decades and still have a job? If you were a baseball manager and your team didn’t make the playoffs for two decades running, you’d have been canned long ago. If you were a CEO and you lost money for twenty straight years, the Board of Directors or the shareholders would have hired a replacement long ago. If you were a dean or a university president and faculty quality, student achievement and the size of the endowment kept declining on your watch, it’s a safe bet you’d be told that your services were no longer required.

But when it comes to U.S. Middle East policy, there is hardly any accountability. And the tragic irony is that advisors like Ross — who make no secret of their deep attachment to Israel — have in fact done an excellent job of scuttling prospects for a two-state solution that is Israel’s best hope of long-term security and international acceptances. After all, the only alternatives to “two states for two peoples” are 1) a binational democracy (which means the end of Zionism), 2) another round of ethnic cleansing (which would be a crime against humanity), or 3) some form of apartheid, with the Palestinians confined to a shrinking set of disconnected enclaves under de facto Israel control. And let’s not forget that this affects us too: our one-sided mismanagement of the “peace process” is one of the main reasons the United States is so unpopular throughout the Arab and Muslim world.

If Eldar is right — and I obviously think he is — then the post-Oslo peace process is over and the two-state solution is either dead or on life support. And as I’ve said repeatedly, if that is the case, then which of the alternatives listed above will the United States support?Which of the various possible solutions to the long conflict over the Holy Land are consistent with America’s supposed commitment to democracy, individual freedom, and basic human rights? (Hint: the United States is a liberal democracy where all races, religions and ethnic group are supposed to enjoy equal rights). When the two-state option is dead and buried and everyone admits it, what will presidents and secretaries of state say when they are asked what alternative they now support? For that matter, how would Dennis Ross answer that question?

NYC launch party for ‘Fast Times in Palestine’

Jul 07, 2011

annie

No fair! Why is all the fun in NYC? The official book launch of Fast Times in Palestine is coming up tonight. And Pamela Olson has invited everyone!

Being an enamored fan of this book I mentioned I’d be following up with a few more excerpts. Before I leave you with another brief vignette I wanted to reiterate why I think this is an important book. It’s extremely accessible and I don’t use that word lightly. Its inviting pace coupled with historical data and personal stories make this a book that will resonate with a multitude of readers whether young, old or in between. It brought back lots of memories for me (lying in bed hearing Israeli rockets or whatever it is they shoot off the coast at night to remind you of their constant presence) and tugged at my heart, but this book also makes for a perfect primer for those otherwise reluctants (like friends or parents that just don’t ‘get it’). Because Olson’s voice is young, fresh and inquisitive she doesn’t just sway, she touches and captures.

First the party invitation, then an excerpt from the book:

Join me and host Noor Elashi for the OFFICIAL BOOK LAUNCH of Fast Times in Palestine! The program will include a presentation, interview, readings, Q&A, book signing, lots of laughs, and FREE Mediterranean Food (including mini-musakhan, my favorite Palestinian dish).

Time:
Thursday, July 7 at 7pm

Place:
The New School’s fabulous Wollman Hall
65 West 11th St. (at 6th Avenue), 5th Floor
New York, NY

RSVP: Facebook or projectpalestinenyc@gmail.com

Below is a segment from Invasion Party:

Yasmine invited an even mix of foreigners and Palestinians to our house one evening. It was a going away party for a Norwegian woman who was taking a new job in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, the weather was perfect, and we congregated in out little overgrown front yard under a fig tree to drink Taybeh beer and eat barbecue chicken pizza from a restaurant called Angelo’s.

We were still talking about the Wall when we heard a sudden commotion. I glanced up and saw Yasmine ushering guests into the house as if an unexpected thunderstorm had broken out. Behind her an Israeli army Jeep, its yellow lights flashing, pulled up next to our house. Yasmine shut the door once everyone was inside. Soon we began hearing muffled explosions. Our guest took it in stride for the most part, vainly making guesses as to how far away each explosion was and what kind of damage it might have done.

I was terrified. Israeli soldiers had just killed a professor and his son in Nablus with no repercussions. Professor Salah had been joking around with his family, assuring them everyone would be OK, just minutes before he and his son were killed. If the Israeli army bombed our house, they could probably blame faulty-top secret intelligence, or claim a wanted man was hiding among us, and that would be that. For all I knew there might actually be a wanted man in a neighbor’s house, and he might get flushed out and seek shelter in ours.

The American man turned to me. “This is odd. Incursions like this are pretty rare in Ramallah these days.”
“Why?”
“Well, this is where the centers of power are located, and most of the press and ex-pats. The foreign aid money flows thru Ramallah, so it attracts the most qualified and connected people. If business is good here, it gives us less of an incentive to rock the boat.”

The army Jeep stayed next to our house for the rest of the night, blocking access to the main road. I stayed up with our trapped guests as long as I could, then I went to my room and tried to figure out where I could put my bed so it would have the slimmest profile in case a bullet happened to slice through a window. I soon gave up because I was too scared to do anything but pass the window quickly and lay down on my bed as flat as I could. I woke several times with a clod sweat, groggy with dreams, half expecting the house to blow up at any minute.

The Jeep was gone the next morning, and so were our guests. When I got to work, I learned that six people had been arrested, three of whom worked for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. All were taken to unknown places. Arafat’s compound was surrounded again. Someone said two houses were demolished, several doors blown down, and two children injured. Details were sketchy because a curfew had been in place during the incursion, which meant anyone who ventured outdoors risked being shot on site.

For more information about the book, click here.

To read Chapter One of Fast Times, click here.

To purchase the book on Amazon.com, click here.

To purchase the eBook, click here.

Olsen has also been helping the Gaza Freedom team edit their book and turn it into an eBook, check it out

[This post updates the original party announcement 2 days back]

How many synagogues will give their blessing to July 15 march?

Jul 07, 2011

Philip Weiss

OK, so on July 15 there are going to be marches for freedom all over Palestine. And in Israel they’re going to have a solidarity march that writer Yael Sternhell compares to southern whites marching against segregation. Sternhell’s point sent one reader running to this: a 1965 sermon by Rabbi William Frankel at a synagogue in Wilmette, Illinois, after he took part in the march in Montgomery, Alabama.

I excerpt the sermon to make one point: Look how easy it was for American Jews to come out against segregation in the ’60s. (And yes, mom, there was self-interest at work). How many synagogues are standing up now for freedom?

Harry Truman called the March “silly.” It was not silly. The Montgomery March was a historic symbol.Unless one has lived in the deep South, one cannot appreciate the full impact of that event. For 30,000 men and women, black and white, to march on what was once the capital of the Confederacy over which the Confederate flag and not the stars and stripes still flies; to hold a mass meeting for three-and-a-half hoursbeneath the windows of the Governor of Alabama; to sing “We shall overcome” and to hear certain that thehistoric significance of the moment was not lost on the power structure of the South. It has brought to theforefront some of the responsible white elements and even the attitude of the Governor has changedsomewhat in recent days. History was on the march that day and as Dr. King said “No one ain’t going to turnus around.”

Allow me to add a personal note. I have been pleased by the numerous calls and letters which I received in support of my trip. During the evening prior to my departure for Alabama, a Synagogue officer called me toinform me, in the name of the Board of Directors, that I would be going south not merely as an individual but as a representative of my congregation. This was a most gratifying gesture.I hope that these sentiments will continue when the Civil Rights struggle moves…

Do you deny Israel’s right to exist in a lowcut red dress?

Jul 07, 2011

annie

File under: “I thought I’d seen it all.” Dimi Reider introduces us to one of the most outlandish (“excruciatingly bad“) attempts at hasbara I’ve ever seen.

+972 was able to confirm through a source the video was commissioned by the GOI.

,

Is this for real? Your guess is as good as mine. This is so embarrassingly counterproductive one feels it simply has to be satire. But then again, so is our foreign policy.

Reider’s assessment of the video is right on, I recommend the link.

(Hat tip ddi)

Update: Benjamin Doherty has an update at Electronic Intifada giving some background on the video:

[Dimi Reider] identified the actress as Aimee Neistat. Max Blumenthal looked further and found that “Neistat is a Haaretz employee who translates Hebrew content into English.” She also wrote articles for The Jerusalem Post between 2007 and 2010.

The Electronic Intifada has learned that Zed Films produced the short video. Gil Roeh, the founder of Zed Films, wrote the script. The actor in the film is named Björn Nordholm. These facts were on the Zed Films web site as “recent news” on 22 June 2011 but have since been scrubbed. The Google cache of the pagestates:

“Rorschach test” video

We finished filming to “Rorschach test” video Staring Aimee Neistat and Bjorn Nordholm, Script: Gil Roeh.. Editing now. The video we’ll [sic] be out soon..

Israelis are like the whites in Alabama in the 60s (Not in the NYT, in Haaretz)

Jul 07, 2011

Philip Weiss

A sorrow and a pity. That the New York Times and CBS are not Every Day banging the tocsin of freedom, that august American media institutions do not have the character or ability to say what Haaretz reminds us, Israel/Palestine is Jim Crow. Yael Sternhell, writing a piece that should be on the front page of the Times. And writing it lonely: For Israeli society is against Sternhell in her call for support of Palestinian freedom. I’m told this is a landmark piece inside Israel, Sternhell is a former news anchor and the daughter of Zeev Sternhell.

We, the Jews who live in Israel, participate each day, each hour, in the denial of basic rights to Palestinian citizens, in the perpetuation of the settlements and the occupation. We’re in a similar position to that of many whites in the United States in the 1960s.

Most of us find it hard to support the Palestinian struggle for independence, whether out of laziness, indifference or a basic loathing of those we’ve been told all our lives are a necessary enemy. Most of us find it hard to stand up to the story told by the government and most of the media that the Palestinian declaration of independence is a disaster for Israel, exactly as most whites in the South saw the granting of voting rights to blacks as the end of civilization.

Most of us find it hard to believe that it’s possible to live together in peace, just as those whites in Alabama found it hard to imagine life in a free society in which members of all races have the same rights.