NOVANEWS
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Latest US peace effort has failed –Haaretz
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Knesset passes anti-boycott bill, even as London Lit Fest approves
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The Rapture will be televised
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New study shows that ‘separation wall’ seizes nearly 1/7th of Palestinian territory (equivalent to Russia grabbing Alaska)
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Israel withheld video evidence of Rachel Corrie’s killing, says her father Craig
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Col. Travers: Israel’s treatment of Palestinian children shows that it does not seek peace
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‘Please continue to be with us’ –a Palestinian’s letter to int’l supporters
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Is it too much to hope that Murdoch scandal brings an Arab spring to western journalism?
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Halfway there! Help your donation go further with a 2-for-1 match
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Killing off a dead Oslo
Latest US peace effort has failed –Haaretz
Jul 11, 2011
Philip Weiss
Barak Ravid in Haaretz, early Tuesday a.m. in Israel:
The intensive U.S. efforts to create an agreed outline for renewed negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians have failed, Israeli and Palestinian sources have told Haaretz. The sources said the Palestinian leadership is more determined than ever to pursue the recognition of an independent Palestinian state at the United Nations in September.
Knesset passes anti-boycott bill, even as London Lit Fest approves
Jul 11, 2011
Eleanor Kilroy
On the eve of the passing of the anti-boycott bill in the Israeli Knesset today by a majority of 47 to 38, a debate on cultural boycott was held at the London Literature Festival in the Southbank Centre, initiated by Naomi Foyle of British Writers in Support of Palestine (BWISP). The debate motion was: “Where basic freedoms are denied and democratic remedies blocked off, cultural boycott by world civil society is a viable and effective political strategy; indeed a moral imperative.”
Supporting the motion, Omar Barghouti, founding member of PACBI, and Seni Seneviratne, British-Sri Lankan poet and performer; opposing, Jonathan Freedland, columnist for The Guardian and the Jewish Chronicle, and Carol Gould, expatriate American author, film maker, and ‘a vocal critic of what she sees as increasing anti-Americanism and antisemitism in Britain’.
Although the chair referred to the Palestinian call to boycott Israel as a ‘model boycott’, the debate was in theory not specific to I/P. Seneviratne, who is very knowledgeable about the South African experience, opened with a poem of Brecht’s, “When evil-doing comes like falling rain”, and addressed the history of cultural boycott, arguing that it is up to the oppressed people to decide what they can, and cannot, endure. She emphasised that the Israeli state strategy to co-opt culture showed it understood art was not beyond politics, the same way other countries have feared and murdered intellectuals and banned the work of cultural producers. Otherwise the debate was entirely focused on I/P.
As expected from those opposing the motion, there was much ‘whataboutery’: “look at Syria, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia”, as well as misrepresentation: “you will be shunning the dissenters, individual artists, writers, scholars”, and outright lies: “there was not a consensus in Palestinian society on BDS.” Perpetrating the myths of liberal Zionism was Freedland, who began smugly as the Voice of Cultural Sensitivity, Dialogue & Coexistence and ended up tetchy and defensive in the face of polite demands from the other side for moral consistency and the reminder that no state committing the crimes of Israel is “welcome in the Western club of democracies”.
Given that Freedland is still under the intentional illusion that this a conflict between two nations, rather than a case of settler colonialism, his empty rhetoric was not surprising. He might have wished for someone less morally compromising on his team, however. Carol Gould ‘judaized the debate’ as Barghouti put it, and to a repulsive degree. One particularly shocking statement of hers was that Israel’s industry ’emerged from the ashes of the Holocaust’. She concluded with an extraordinary defense of ‘dovish’ Israeli president Shimon Peres’s order to shell the UN compound in Qana, Lebanon in 1996, which resulted in the deaths of over 100 civilians.
Barghouti and Seneviratne made a strong team and while their approaches to the subject matter were different, the message was the same: ‘We will never convince the colonial masters to give up their privileges’, so boycott is a legitimate tactic.
Pro-boycotters were in the majority that night, and the motion passed easily.
In the audience was Tony Greenstein, and over at his blog there is a good summary of the debate: Debate At South Bank – For or Against the Cultural Boycott of Israel. He spoke directly to Gould’s insistence that ‘boycott is a poisonous word in Jewish history’, and the bizarre spin on her clearly belligerent position that she ‘held no grudges’ against her perceived enemies, unlike boycott advocates. Greenstein elaborates on Jewish history and boycotts here:
the only Boycott in the Nazi era was the boycott of German goods organised by the Jewish unions and the international labour movement. The so-called boycott of Jewish shops on April 1st 1933 by the SA [Sturm Abteilung Nazi stormtroopers] was nothing of the kind – it was an armed siege, just as Gaza today experiences an armed siege. But even more pertinent, the SA intended the ‘boycott’ to last indefinitely. Hitler called it off after one day after Goring and the German capitalists panicked at the effects of the Jewish Trade Union Boycott of German goods. In late March Goring called the German Jewish leaders to see him and they said they had no influence. But also invited, after lobbying, was the German Zionist Federation which openly stated that it opposed the Boycott as an ‘unZionist’ way to do things. Unsurprisingly because the Zionist movement was intent on laying their hands on German Jewish wealth (this was openly stated). They therefore concluded Ha’varah, The Transfer Agreement between Nazi Germany and Jewish Palestine (Yishuv)! 60% of capital investment in the Yishuv between 1933-39 came from Nazi Germany! But what benefitted Zionism did not benefit Jews. The Jews able to take advantage of Ha’avarah were wealthy German Jews who could have got out anyway. What it did was seal the fate of ordinary and poor German Jews for whom no other weapon was available. For those interested, read Edwin Black’s book ‘The Transfer Agreement’.
The Rapture will be televised
Jul 11, 2011
Lizzy Ratner
Fresh off his first visit to Auschwitz, born-again Jew-lover Glenn Beck has arrived in Israel for several spectacle-filled days of Israel-pumping and Islam-bashing. The visit comes a little more than a month before his Restore Courage Rally in Jerusalem, which is being billed as “an opportunity to demonstrate to the world that Israel does not stand alone,” but which might better be described as the official marriage ceremony of the Christian right to the Zionist front, right, and center. Think of this week’s visit as the engagement party for the happy couple–that’s certainly how it’s playing out. Never mind that the groom is a bona fide anti-Semite with a pungent history of anti-Jewish eruptions, he has been greeted as nothing short of a visiting Prince Charming come to rescue his besieged bride. His appearance earlier today before the Knesset’s Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee, as described by Ami Kaufman at +972, gives some sense of the mutually-assured love-bombing on display between Beck and his fans.
Here is MK Danny Danon, the committee chairman who invited Beck to speak, introducing him to the standing-room only crowd inside the Knesset’s Negev Room:
If we didn’t have someone like Glenn Beck we would have had to invent someone like him.
Here is MK Arieh Eldad, rabid settler and latter-day Jabotinsky-ite, applauding Beck’s call for “truth”:
It’s true we must say our truth, as you say Mr. Beck. We are in an era where people are opposed to the truth. The truth is, that we must end the occupation: the Islamic occupation of the land of Israel!
MK Michael Ben Ari, an unapologetic disciple of Meir Kahane, had this to say:
I think Glenn Beck should take my seat in the Knesset. Whoever helps Israel is a partner in the work of God, who returned his land to his people.
It’s worth noting that Ben Ari’s aide, Baruch Marzel, was also in attendance and even managed to snag a few private, post-speech moments with Beck. Marzel lives in Hebron and spent time both as the secretary and chairman of Meir Kahane’s Kach movement, which, Noam Sheizaf points out, is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada, and the European Union. Judging by the picture, it looks like the two shared an intent little chat.
But today’s love fest wasn’t only for wing-nuts. The so-called center was represented as well in the form of of Labor-turned-Independence Party MK Anat Wilf, who took advantage of her access to offer this hard-hitting statement:
The battle for Israel is moving to the media, in an effort to delegitimize Israel and Zionism.
I’d like to ask you one thing. Don’t portray us as the victim. We are not the victim. But I thank you for your help.
So there you have it, the great Defenders of the Jews, the True Jews, the ones who attack everyone else as self-haters, kissing up to a racist, quasi-fascist, anti-Semite. All because his shared Islamophobia and end-times philosophy inspires him to say things like:
Antisemitism is about to go through the roof. Because when tragedy happens, it’s always the Jew’s fault. My event here on August 24th could be the biggest ever. It is not for courage here in Israel. Israel already has enough courage. I’m doing it here, because the solution will be found here. I knew it when I read the book of Ruth and Esther. I want people to hear what I have learned from those books, that “your god is my god, where you go I will go.”
With leaders like these, who needs — well, you get it.
New study shows that ‘separation wall’ seizes nearly 1/7th of Palestinian territory (equivalent to Russia grabbing Alaska)
Jul 11, 2011
Kate
and other news from Today in Palestine:
Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Apartheid
Study: Israel’s wall segregates 13% of West Bank
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 11 July — Israel’s separation wall will annex 773 sq. km. of Palestinian land, a study by the Applied Research Institute in Jerusalem said on the anniversary of a judicial ruling which called on Israelis to stop building. Just 6.5% of the wall is constructed along the pre-1967 armistice lines internationally recognized as the basis of an independent Palestinian state, ARIJ said Saturday in the report marking the International Court of Justice advisory opinion. The wall, 473 km. of which has been constructed, 54 km. under construction, and 247 km. planned for building, separates Palestinians from 13% of the total area of the West Bank, ARIJ said in its survey of the June 2011 status of the wall.
link to www.maannews.net
IOA endorses new road in Silwan, serves demolition notice in same village
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 11 July — The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) authorized the construction of a new four-meter wide road in Silwan town, south of the Aqsa Mosque, on Sunday to serve settlement outposts in occupied Jerusalem. The IOA-controlled Jerusalem municipality approved the construction of the road starting from Ras Al-Amud suburb to Al-Bustan street. The new road, which would be completed by the end of the year, passes through densely populated neighborhoods.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Israel demolishes six structure in Area C, destroying livelihood of Palestinian refugee families
AIC 11 July — Today, 11 July 2011, six structures were demolished in Al Khalayla, a dislocated community of Area C on the Jerusalem side of the Barrier. The demolished structures were used for livelihood purposes by six families, of whom at least two families are refugees.
Background — Al Khalayla is inhabited by some 700 Palestinians, including 250 West Bank ID holders, and is entirely located in Area C on the Jerusalem side of the Barrier near Giv’on Hadashah settlement (Giva’at Ze’ev settlement bloc). It is built on lands that are historically part of the nearby Al Jib village. Approximately half of the West Bank ID holders are UNRWA registered refugees. Following construction of the Barrier in 2005, Al Khalayla residents were cut off from the remainder of the West Bank and could only enter the West Bank through Al Jib checkpoint (on foot) or via Ramot and Beit Iksa checkpoints (vehicle). Residents’ names (both West Bank and Jerusalem IDs) are on a list at Al Jib checkpoint so that they can reach service centers such as Bir Nabala and Biddu enclaves. Residents, including children, must always carry their identification documents to cross. There are no schools, clinics, mosques or a cemetery in Al Khalayla and access by visitors or relatives is only possible for those who are able to obtain permits. There is a Palestinian-plated bus (with one driver) to transport students to Al Jib, Beit Iksa and Biddu that can cross through Al Jib. Residents can only bring in a limited amount of food item through the checkpoints and there are often problems and coordination requirements regarding the entry of meat, dairy products, gas and construction materials.
link to www.alternativenews.org
Israeli authorities uproot, confiscate 450 olive trees in Salfit
SALFIT (WAFA) 11 July — Israeli authorities Monday uprooted and confiscated 450 olive trees in Wadi Qana, an area west of Deir Estia near Salfit in the northern West Bank, according to Nazmi Salman, mayor of Deir Estia. Israeli soldiers prevented Palestinian farmers from reaching their land in Wadi Qana under the pretext of it being classified as a closed military area, said Salman … He said that Israeli forces confiscated the olive trees and the fence that surrounds the lands. It is believed that they took the trees to the nearby settlements of Karnei Shomron, Yakir and Nofim.
link to english.wafa.ps
Army invades al Essawiyya town, clashes reported
Israeli troops invaded, on Sunday evening, the Al Esawiyya town, in occupied Easy Jerusalem, and clashed with local youths who hurled stones and empty bottles at them … Soldiers fired gas bombs and rubber-coated metal bullets leading to several injuries, medical sources in Jerusalem reported.
Also, troops broke into Biddo Club, northwest of Jerusalem, and confiscated several computers after destroying furniture and property. Head of the club, Khaled Mansour, reported that this is not the first attack against the club, and that soldiers repeatedly searched it and destroyed its property.
link to www.imemc.org
Teen arrested in village facing continuous raids
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 11 July — Israeli forces detained two people, including a minor, from Husan village east of Bethlehem on Monday. Israeli troops entered the village, ransacking a number of homes, before detaining Montaser Mohammed Za‘ul, 20, and Ahmed Ali Hamamra, 15, witnesses told Ma’an.
link to www.maannews.net
2,500 US Jews aim to fill gaps in northern occupied territories
NAZARETH (PIC) 11 July — An Israeli organization has announced plans to bring more than 2,500 Jews from North America to the [1948] occupied Palestinian territories this summer, as it seeks to resettle the regiment in areas with high Palestinian [‘Israeli Arab’] populations … The first batch of 245 immigrants should land on Tuesday 12 July at the Ben-Gurion airport, the organization said. Nefesh B’nefesh recently launched a project encouraging resettling the immigrants in the northern region of the territories occupied in 1948, where there is a high concentration of Palestinians, a step observers say is an attempt to change the demographic features of the area. The project, dubbed “go north”, has cost a total of 10 million US dollars. It aims at settling 1,500 Jews in neighborhoods in the Triangle, Galilee, Marj Ben Amir, as well as Tabariya and Golan. The formerly Arab city of Haifa and vicinity, which have a Jewish majority, were excluded from the project..
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Conference to discuss strengthening Israel’s control of West Bank
NAZARETH (PIC) 11 July — Zionist organizations are gearing to help stage a conference to study options for strengthening Israeli control of the West Bank. The development comes as Zionist figures have begun to discuss plans to extend the boundaries of Israel’s Jerusalem municipality to the east. The conference, organized by Women for Israel’s Tomorrow (Women in Green), aims at exploring “practical steps of asserting Israeli sovereignty, including Jewish, Zionist, political, diplomatic, economic, and legal ramifications,” the Israel National News has reported. Slated for 21 July in a center seized by Jewish settlers near the Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil, the conference will be attended by Knesset member Tzipi Hotovely, Caroline Glick, Yoram Ettinger, Professor Rafi Yisraeli, Eran Bar-Tal, Att. Elyakim Haetzni, and Gabi Avital.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Settlers
The latest in settler tourism: hiking the West Bank
Forward blog 11 July — …Increasingly frustrated that they are having little luck expanding settlements, settlers and settler sympathizers are increasingly trying to make their mark on the parts of the West Bank that lie outside settlement fences. In this mission, hiking has become a key issue. There’s a strong push in settler circles to walk the West Bank to stake an ownership claim. It’s essentially a statement that, in their view, the Jewish West Bank doesn’t stop at the edge of settlements. Favorite destinations are those that highlight that there is Jewish history in the West Bank.
link to blogs.forward.com
Watch: West Bank escort program shatters long-held perceptions
CTV News 10 July — Every day for the last seven years, a group of Israeli soldiers in the West Bank have discreetly followed marching orders that fly in the face of the nation’s long-standing conflict with Palestinians. With guns in tow, a team of Israeli Defense League soldiers in the restive village of Al Twani spends one hour every day escorting a group of Palestinian children to and from school. The intent is to protect the children from right-wing Jewish settlers in Ma’on, a community that sits along the children’s route to school. In the absence of the soldiers, some of the Palestinian children report being harassed by hard-line settlers. “They attacked me with stones,” Delal Assad-Ali told CTV. “They broke my hand.”
link to www.ctv.ca
Border Guard violence
Medics: Palestinian shot at Hebron checkpoint
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 11 July — Israeli soldiers shot and injured a young Palestinian man Monday in the occupied West Bank, medics said. Bassam Abdel Hamid Nofal sustained a gunshot wound to the right leg while crossing a checkpoint in the Hebron area, Red Crescent officials said. Medics at Al-Ahli Hospital described his injuries as moderate. Medics said Nofal was on his way to work in Jerusalem when troops at Daharia checkpoint opened fire. An Israeli border police spokesman said no such incident had been reported.
link to www.maannews.net
2 Border Guards indicted for assaulting Palestinians
Ynet 11 July — The Police Internal Affairs Bureau filed charges Monday against two Border Guard officers accused of assaulting and intimidating illegal aliens at a checkpoint near Bethlehem. Gennady Mazevich, 22, and Moshe Alkobi, 21, were charged with obstruction of justice as well … The officers noticed the infiltrators, stopped them and lined them up against a nearby fence. At this point, Mazevich began slapping the Palestinians, kicking them and shoving them against the fence. One of them, Zalah Rani, a resident of the village of al-Khaḍr, fell from the force of the push, and Alkobi used the opportunity to kick the man in the face, breaking his teeth.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Fly-in / Flytilla
‘Flytilla’ activists go on hunger strike
PressTV 11 July — Dozens of ‘Welcome to Palestine’ activists went on hunger strike on Monday in protest against their incarceration under stringent conditions in Israeli jail, a Press TV correspondent reported. The strike comes three days after Israeli forces arrested them at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport. The activists had flown to Israel and had sought to head to the Palestinian territories on a peaceful mission to visit Palestinian families … Minors and elderly persons with medical conditions are reportedly among the activists. Hikmat Al-Sabty, 57, of Rostock, Germany, for instance is being denied much needed medication, and his wife has not been allowed to speak with him directly.
link to www.presstv.ir
Israel expels 39 pro-Palestinian activists over weekend, holds 81 more in jail
Haaretz 11 July 18:34 — A standoff between Israel and dozens of detained European pro-Palestinian activists continued Monday, with some of them refusing to be put on return flights. More than 81 were still being held in an Israeli jail early Monday, three days after being refused entry on landing at Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion International Airport … Some 39 had been expelled by Monday, including 10 Germans who landed in Frankfurt late Sunday. Among the expelled was an 82-year-old German, who complained that despite his advanced age, he was kept on a transportation vehicle for hours, then brought to Beer Sheva prison with the other activists. He said he had only told Israeli security at Ben-Gurion that he wished to “visit friends in Israel and Palestine.” Palmor said he had no information of the specific case, which outraged many.
link to www.haaretz.com
Were ‘air flotilla’ activists arrested in West Bank demonstrations? / Joseph Dana
978mag 9 July — According to media reports carried by all major news outlets in Israel, four ‘air flotilla’ passengers were arrested/detained Saturday in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh during an unarmed demonstration this morning … None of these reports seem to based on facts on the ground in Nabi Saleh. Kobi Snitz, an Israeli activist with the Anarchists Against the Wall, told me by telephone from Nabi Saleh that he has not seen any ‘air flotilla’ passenger in the course of the day. He told me that four people were indeed arrested, but they were all Israeli Jews from Tel Aviv. In fact, the Israeli activists are being charged with assaulting soldiers despite clear video footage to the contrary according to Snitz.
link to 972mag.com
Detention
Israeli forces detain teen in Jenin Camp
JENIN (Ma‘an) 11 July — Israeli forces detained a teenager early Monday in Jenin refugee camp, after entering a number of homes and questioning residents. Palestinian security officials told Ma‘an that Israeli military personnel raided several homes in the northern West Bank camp, and a number were questioned. Najeeb Mustafa Abu An-Nasr, 19, was blindfolded and detained by Israeli soldiers, and taken from the camp, they said. An Israeli army spokesperson said An-Nasr had been detained, but could not confirm the circumstances behind the detention. Questioning of Jenin camp residents was “routine security activity,” he said.
link to www.maannews.net
Female detainee released after two years
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 11 July — A 35 year-old woman from Nablus was released by Israeli authorities on Sunday, after spending two years in Israeli jails. Nelly Zahi As-Safadi was incarcerated in the Israeli prison Hasharon, and was due for release a month ago, according to Ahmad Al-Betawi, a researcher with the International Solidarity Organization.
Al-Betawi said As-Safadi was detained at an Israeli military checkpoint at the entrance to Ramallah in November 2009, as she was traveling to visit her brother. Israeli forces took her to an interrogation center in Petah Tekva near Jerusalem, where she was interrogated and physically and psychologically tortured over three months, Al-Betawi said … During her confinement, Israeli forces detained her brother Hassan and mother-in-law, and raided her family home twice, to put pressure on her he said … Upon release, As-Safadi left behind her blind husband, O’bada Belal, who has spent 10 years in Israeli jail.
link to www.maannews.net
PA security arrests 3 liberated prisoners
RAMALLAH (PIC) 11 July — Preventive security agents, loyal to the Ramallah authority, arrested three Palestinians, who were previously held in Israeli jails, over the past few days in the West Bank. Locals said that the detainees were taken from their homes in Nablus, Salfit, and Tulkarem, noting that one of them was released from Israeli jails less than a week ago.
The Israeli occupation for its part arrested three Palestinians who were recently released from PA security prisons.
Meanwhile, Hamas lawmakers in the West Bank called on the PA security apparatuses to release Mohamed Al-Aruri who has gone on hunger strike three days ago to protest his continued detention despite the end of his jail term.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Boycott law
Israeli house passes ban on settlement boycotts
JERUSALEM (AP) 11 July — Israel’s parliament has approved a contentious law against boycotts targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The vote late Monday was 47 to 36 in favor of the law. It allows settlers or settlement-based businesses to sue Israelis who promote boycotts of settlements for damages. Backers of the law insists it is necessary to protect Israelis living in the West Bank. Opponents charge it is an anti-democratic attempt to curtail freedom of speech.
link to news.yahoo.com
Heated debate in Knesset over boycott law: ‘Legislation will stain Israeli democracy’
Haaretz 11 July 19:38 — The Knesset discussed Monday the “boycott law”, which proposes penalizing persons or organizations who call for a boycott of Israel or the settlements. Later on Monday the MKs will vote on the law. MK Nitzan Horowitz from Meretz blasted the proposed law, calling it outrageous and shameful. “We are dealing with a legislation that is an embarrassment to Israeli democracy and makes people around the world wonder if there is actually a democracy here,” he said. Ilan Gilon, another Meretz MK, said the law would further delegitimize Israel.
link to www.haaretz.com
Palestinians denounce ‘boycott bill’
Ynet 11 July — PLO official Yasser Abd Rabbo says if bill placing sanctions on those who boycott Israel passes Knesset vote, Quartet announcement regarding renewal of negotiations is as good as void … Speaking to Ynet, Abd Rabbo, a senior Palestinian negotiator, noted that “the bill will turn settlements into sacred places and whoever comes near them will be fined. What kind of negotiations and solutions can we talk about then?”
link to www.ynetnews.com
Uri Avnery, will the boycott law make you stop calling to boycott the settlements?
Haaretz 11 July — Uri Avnery, will the Boycott Law lead you to stop calling for a boycott of goods from the settlements?“The boycott law is a sophisticated law. It doesn’t impose criminal sanctions on someone who calls for boycotting the settlements. If it did, we wouldn’t have the slightest problem; we would go to jail. Instead, this law makes everyone who calls for boycotting the settlements liable for paying millions of shekels in compensation to the settlers. “There is no limit to the sum that the settlers can demand of us in compensation for damages, without their even having to prove it [the damages] … “This is most the draconian law in the history of Israel. Obviously I am concerned. It’s not a hollow, demonstrative law that is empty of content. It is a substantive law that turns the dictatorship of the settlers into the basis of Israeli law.”
link to www.haaretz.com
Watch: Roger Waters speaks against boycott bill, endorses BDS / Noam Sheizaf
972mag 11 July — At the time of writing, it’s not clear yet whether the the boycott bill will go for a second and third vote in the Knesset today, or whether it will happen next week. In both cases, the proposed law, criminalizing any opposition to the occupation that would take the form of a boycott call, is expected to pass with a clear majority. From the moment it’s published as a state law, even a call not to visit occupied Hebron might get someone prosecuted and heavily fined. I will write more about this bill later this week but meanwhile, here is a call to oppose it and an endorsement of the BDS, that was made just now by legendary leader of the Pink Floyd, Roger Waters.
link to 972mag.com
Rachel Corrie case
Rachel Corrie’s family claims Israeli military withheld vital video evidence
Guardian 11 July — Craig Corrie, Rachel’s father, told a press conference in Jerusalem that the footage from a surveillance camera near the scene of his daughter’s death submitted to the court was “incomplete”. Additional video material obtained by the family showed Rachel’s body in a different spot to the place identified by some military commanders, he said. He also alleged that the Israeli military had misled US officials on the position of Rachel’s body when she was killed.
link to www.guardian.co.uk
Gaza
Hamas organizes summer outings for poor
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 11 July– The Hamas movement has initiated a campaign to boost the spirits of poor people in Gaza this summer. The Islamist movement says it is spending some $30,000 to arrange boat trips for about 1,000 families from the Jabaliya refugee camp area. The free trips would include transportation costs, a fancy dinner, a stay in a tent inside a park, and even a gift for each participating child. Hamas leader Ibrahim Salah said “the start of the campaign aims to decrease the suffering and depression of the Palestinian people under difficult circumstances, particularly due to the blockade.”
link to www.maannews.net
Limited goods to be allowed into Gaza Strip
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 11 July — With just one commercial goods crossing operating five days a week for one and half million and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, some goods and humanitarian aid are expected to be allowed into the coastal enclave Monday.
link to www.maannews.net
Traumatized Gaza children relieved by mind-body techniques
GAZA (Xinhua) 11 July — The 10-year-old Nariman al-Attar had suffered from nightmare and a low learning level since the end of Israel’s three-week military operation in the Gaza Strip nearly two and a half years ago. But this semester, Nariman has done better in school while nightmare and fear she used to feel have almost gone. That was only when Nariman started attending sessions to treat the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in her neighborhood in northern Gaza Strip. The treatment uses techniques involving mind and body without any drugs. The training is sponsored and overseen by the Washington-based Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM), run by the U.S. psychiatrist James S. Gordon.
link to news.xinhuanet.com
Political / Diplomatic / International news
Mideast Quartet meets to avoid looming crisis
AFP 11 July — WASHINGTON (AFP) — Envoys from the Middle East diplomatic Quartet meet on Monday in Washington in one of the final attempts to avoid a major confrontation at the United Nations between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
link to www.maannews.net
Analysis: Palestinians start to feel pain from new strategy
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) 11 July – The Palestinians’ drive to forge a new Middle East strategy, opposed by Israel and the United States, is starting to exact a financial price that will test their resolve. Palestinian Authority employees, who received only half wages in July, are getting a taste of what could be in store if their leaders defy Washington and follow through on plans to take their statehood quest to the United Nations in September. Dependent on aid from Europe, the United States and its Arab allies, some of which has not been forthcoming this year, the Palestinians are facing a financial crisis which a senior official linked directly to their decision to go on the diplomatic offensive at the United Nations General Assembly.
link to old.news.yahoo.com
Canada rejects Palestinian statehood bid at UN
CBC News 11 July — Canada is rejecting a Palestinian effort to win recognition at the United Nations as an independent state. The move is not surprising given that the Harper government has forcefully highlighted its loyalty to Israel and the United States. Both oppose the Palestinian initiative.
link to www.cbc.ca
Ya’alon: September is all about scare tactics
Ynet 11 July — In an interview with Ynet on Monday Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Strategic Affairs Moshe Ya’alon said that even Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is not interested in a UN declaration of the establishment of a Palestinian state. “He knows what it means to deal with Hamas without IDF assistance,” he said.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Haneyya meets with high-profile Fatah delegation
GAZA (PIC) 11 July — Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haneyya met Monday with a delegation from the Fatah party headed by the personal representative of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The meeting was held at the prime minister’s headquarters in Gaza, our correspondent said, and it was attended by Abbas’s representative Rouhi Fattouh as well as MP Ashraf Jum’ah and Diab al-Lauh. The men discussed the reconciliation deal and the obstacles it has so far encountered.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Israeli soldiers blocked Icelandic foreign minister’s car with rocks
IceNews 11 July — The Icelandic FM’s visit to Palestine has now drawn to a close with one of the biggest headlines being Skarphedinsson’s declaration that Iceland would support any UN resolution on Palestinian independence and UN membership … “Today [Sunday] we were in a long car entourage with Icelandic and Palestinian flags en route to the city of Qalqiliya to see how the Israeli army has literally walled it in. When we went to a checkpoint where passports are checked, we were not allowed to continue. To underline the fact, soldiers rolled large rocks out into one of the two streets at the crossroads. After a lot of fuss and bother, we had no choice but to take the other road and the trip which should have taken 45 minutes took three hours. This is the daily lot of people living in this area…”
link to www.icenews.is
Peres thanks Greece for thwarting Gaza-bound flotilla
Haaretz 11 July — Israeli and Greek presidents discuss their countries’ strengthening ties during meeting in Jerusalem.
link to www.haaretz.com
Egypt detains kosher food delivery to Israeli embassy
Ynet 10 July — Israel’s tense relations with Egypt were strained further recently, after Egyptian border guards stationed at the Taba Border detained vehicles transporting kosher food to the Israeli diplomatic staff stationed at the Cairo embassy, Ynet learned Sunday. The vehicles underwent an extensive security check, which included stripping them from their cargo, before they were allowed to cross into Egypt.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Tunisians protest against Israel ties
AFP 11 July — Some 600 people demonstrate against Tunis’ wish to restore diplomatic ties with Jerusalem
link to www.ynetnews.com
Qaddafi representatives visit Israel
IMEMC 11 July — Military correspondent of Israel’s TV Channel 2, Roni Daniel, reported Sunday that Libyan envoys, representing president Moammar Qaddafi, arrived in Israel several days ago in order to hold a meeting with Kadima opposition party head, Tzipi Livni … Furthermore, a paper in the Arab Gulf reported that Qaddafi is trying to convince Israel to open an embassy in Tripoli, an issue that is currently rejected by Tel Aviv.
link to www.imemc.org
Other news
PA urges patience as corruption inquiry drags on
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) — The Palestinian government in Ramallah says it is committed to accountability and transparency. But a week after its anti-corruption unit announced that the legal immunity of several ministers had been removed to make way for charges, the PA has indicated that its investigation is far from over. “Removing immunity, according to the law, is when there are people to be taken to court and not when they are questioned,” said PA spokesman Ghassan Khatib, in a statement. “So far, there are no lists of charges and no judiciary measures.”
link to www.maannews.net
Illiteracy levels among Palestinian women still very high [?]
GulfNews 12 July — Latest figures point to a relatively young population, high population density and a falling fertility rate — Ramallah: The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) on Monday announced that the total population of the Palestinian Territories in mid-2011 stood at about 4.17 million. Of these, 2.58 million were in the West Bank and 1.59 million in the Gaza Strip. The new figures were released to mark World Population Day and give a review on the status of the Palestinian population. The number of males stands at 2.12 million while 2.05 million are females. Ola Awadi, who heads the bureau said that 7.8 per cent of females aged 15 years and above are illiterate — a figure more than three times higher than that of males (2.4 per cent) but still quite low compared to much of the world]. She said that the data revealed that the Palestinian population is a young population, with individuals aged 0-14 constituting 40.8 per cent of the total population while the elderly (65 years and above) constitute 2.9 per cent.
link to gulfnews.com
Video: Palestinian brewery to expand abroad
BBC 11 July — It is the only brewery in the Palestinian territories but, against an uncertain economic and political backdrop, Taybeh beer is still going strong. The West Bank company sells its bottles as far apart as London to Tokyo. But getting its product to the international market requires negotiating time-consuming Israeli checkpoints. So, the company is looking to overcome the barriers by expanding its business abroad.
link to www.bbc.co.uk
American Jew refused entry to Israel on suspicion of converting to Islam / Amira Hass
Haaretz 11 July — Two years after participating in a Taglit-Birthright tour, Harald Fuller-Bennett was denied entry into Israel. The Shin Bet claimed he had links to terrorists and suspected him of no longer being Jewish.
link to www.haaretz.com
Israel gives award to tank shell used against civilians in Gaza
IMEMC 8 July — The Israeli Defense Ministry awarded the “Israel Defense Prize” to the Calanit artillery tank shell, a new type of shell which has been deployed in tanks stationed along the Israel-Gaza border … In the award ceremony, military official Danny Peretz praised the shell, saying, “In this new reality we must hurt the people themselves, the enemy, who know where to hide.” … Five Palestinian children killed by these shells in the last four months went unmentioned by the military officials in the ceremony. Among the casualties of Calanit shells were Mahmoud Jalal al-Hilu, 10, of Shujaiya, east of Gaza City, Gaza, killed, with his 15-year old cousin and their granduncle, by military shelling near thir home.
link to imemc.org
New ‘Kosher’ preventive driving course
Ynet 11 July — The Transportation Ministry has opened segregated preventive driving courses for ultra-Orthodox men wishing to avoid studying alongside women.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Analysis / Opinion
Freedom Flotilla II: No to a kinder, gentler siege
HuffPost 4 July — It was never about aid. Freedom Flotilla II is, like its assaulted predecessor of a year ago, a political act. The passengers came together in shared determination to challenge Israel’s five-year siege of Gaza and to exercise their right to travel through international waters to Palestinian shores and, by so doing, support the Palestinian right to freedom. Many have misrepresented this political act as being about aid. If Palestinians had a dollar for every time the State Department bleated, “there are established channels for aid to Gaza,” they would never need another donated dime. Instead, because of U.S. policy the highly educated and enterprising Palestinians have been stripped of their dignity and forced to live on international charity.
link to www.huffingtonpost.com
Israel uses ‘crazy democracy’ to justify security needs / Zvi Bar’el
Haaretz 10 July — The peace activists of the flotilla, or flytilla, represent a point of view that Israel has been trying to eradicate for years, that Israel is not immune to outside pressure, and that when Israel declares itself to be the only democracy in the Middle East it means it … Israel aspires to become a “crazy democratic state.” On one hand, a state with an elected government, a multiparty system and concern for civil rights that listens to its citizens. On the other hand, a state it’s best not to mess with because when it comes to security it is completely unpredictable. A state that shoots first and asks questions later. If innocent civilians are killed – Palestinians, Turks or “deluded peace activists” – it is not just human error, an accident of war, but a tool to reinforce the “crazy” reputation, the purpose of which is deterrence. Israel did not invent the method. The greatest democracy of all, the United States, operates the same way in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
link to www.haaretz.com
Protests in Israel are not only legitimate, they’re vital / Gideon Levy
Haaretz 10 July — The common perception of protests in Israel is that of an irritating public nuisance. Only rarely can Israel stomach a demonstration, provided it’s a properly organized popular rally, a cultural gathering on a square, obviously with a license from the police … Governments don’t like protests, and this is only natural. In Israel, the public doesn’t like protests either, which is seriously disconcerting. Any protest here is met with a hostile reaction from the decent public.
link to www.haaretz.com
Did you ever talk to Sheikh Raed Saleh? Did you ever really listen to him? / Rahela Mizrahi
MEMO 9 July — With a resounding absence of a reasonable explanation for the arrest of Sheikh Raed Salah in the British press, he is still represented, following the Israeli press, as a dangerous Muslim extremist. Actually, Sheikh Raed Salah says nothing more radical than what the great majority of the Palestinians and many other people around the world think: he rejects Israeli house demolition, graveyard demolition, the takeover of land and holy places – focusing in Jerusalem – and the siege on Gaza. He does not recognize the Zionist regime, including its parliament, as legitimate; he is not ready to give up Palestinian land, and the refugees’ right of return. But Sheikh Raed Salah says it loudly; he speaks in a clear voice, shows only one face. Threats of prison or assassination will not stop him doing or saying what he believes is right. And that is probably the reason that the Israeli establishment does not stop persecuting him. But let us ask a simple question: Has anyone in the British press ever spoken with Sheikh Raed Salah? Has the British public ever really had the opportunity to hear what he has said? Have they ever had the opportunity to read his writings? He has not associated himself with violence. If you listen to what he has to say, you would know why he is appreciated by so many Palestinians and others around the world.
link to www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk
Survey: Theater helps Israeli youth humanize Palestinians / Dahlia Scheindlin
972mag 9 July — It’s unusual to get good news about levels of tolerance toward the other, when it comes to Israelis, Palestinians and the conflict – especially youngsters. As my colleagues and I found in a large study of Israeli youth, intolerance, exclusive and discriminatory attitudes are embraced by a large and perhaps growing numbers of young folks. So this rare, happy finding reported in Haaretz this week caught my eye:
“A new study found a link between culture and tolerance: Israeli teens who watched plays about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict became more optimistic about the chances of achieving peace and viewed Palestinians more positively.”
link to 972mag.com
groups.yahoo.com/group/f_shadi (listserv)
www.theheadlines.org
Israel withheld video evidence of Rachel Corrie’s killing, says her father Craig
Jul 11, 2011
Philip Weiss
The Corrie family held a press conference in Jerusalem today. From the Guardian:
The family of Rachel Corrie, the US activist killed in Gaza while protesting against house demolitions in 2003, on Monday claimed the Israeli military authorities withheld video evidence during the Corries’ civil lawsuit and misled US officials on crucial details.
Craig Corrie, Rachel’s father, told a press conference in Jerusalem that the footage from a surveillance camera near the scene of his daughter’s death submitted to the court was “incomplete”. Additional video material obtained by the family showed Rachel’s body in a different spot to the place identified by some military commanders, he said.
He also alleged that the Israeli military had misled US officials on the position of Rachel’s body when she was killed.
Col. Travers: Israel’s treatment of Palestinian children shows that it does not seek peace
Jul 11, 2011
Philip Weiss
Today I talked to Col. Desmond Travers, a member of the U.N. Human Rights Council’s mission on the Gaza conflict, who lives in the Republic of Ireland, about the Israeli treatment of children in the occupied territories.
Col. Travers: If the British had behaved toward children who threw stones at them in the manner that is the norm on the West Bank for the Israeli security forces– whereby children are rounded up in the evening and taken to places of detention, hooded, beaten, and in some cases tortured– the northern Ireland problem would not be resolved today. It would still be a place of conflagration.
Why is that?
We talked to a psychiatrist in Gaza, and he said, “We already see in our schools in Gaza the next generation of Hamas revolutionaries, children exposed to so much violence, they have no option but to terminate their childhood and move into a different frame, and the likelihood is that they will never stabilize.”
But what would have happened had this taken place in Northern Ireland?
We could not have stood idly by– the Republic of Ireland would not have stood idly by. Our prime minister said that [in 1969]. He was specifically referring to severe discriminatory and violent behavior toward Catholic enclaves in Belfast and Derry [in northern Ireland]. They were in danger of being annihilated. And in that scenario there [would have been] no option for the Irish…. Even without an army.. if they had crossed the border in some fashion, militarily, they would have internationalized the event, and the U.S. couldn’t ignore it, and certainly the int’l community and European community couldn’t have ignored it.
Make the connection to children.
If this were done to Irish children, we would have had a conflagration that would have forced a Republic of Ireland intervention, which would have imposed an American intervention– if the Irish Diaspora had any influence.
Just as important, if they had targeted children, they would have created a multigenerational conflict that could still be with us today. You know, we still have conflict today but it’s the old loyalists and old Republicans that are at this. Whereas in the West Bank and Gaza, the predictions are that it’s the young children who have been brutalized and traumatized who will be tomorrow’s activists.
So you are telling me that the situation in Palestine is an extreme one.
Well it wasn’t extreme when I lived in Israel 25 years ago. It is now.
What are you saying? Now is all that matters.
I am saying that it is deliberate. Someone made a conscious decision, peace is not in our interest. Control and instability are best for business. Managed instability is in their long term best interest.
‘Please continue to be with us’ –a Palestinian’s letter to int’l supporters
Jul 11, 2011
Hekmat Bessiso
A letter from a Palestinian woman to the supporters of Palestine.
I would like to talk to you as the voice of the thousands of Palestinians who appreciate what you are doing. You who have a great commitment to human rights and who actually act upon your beliefs, you risk your life to both witness and tell the truth of what you see. You are a group of people who understand what is happening in the holy land and have decided to dedicate your time, money and energy to the issue. You demonstrate that religion nor race is important when it comes to standing up for the rights of human beings. And every step you take justice and humanity wins.
I want you to trust that your actions are making a difference and changing the violence we see here in our land. Your solidarity is helping fuel our nonviolent fight. Palestinians face many kinds of violence and torture. However, being ignored is the worst punishment of all. Those who refuse to hear and see us are just as bad as those who occupy us. Those who stand in solidarity with us send a strong message of humanity and are helping us to overcome our suffering. In the middle of all this crisis, your help puts a smile on our face. From this smile you will always be welcome in our hearts even if you are unable to enter our land.
Your solidarity reminds the world that we are all one human family and that we Palestinians are still part of it. Please do not give up. Even if your boats do not make it to the shores of Gaza or if your planes refuse to fly, the unseen effects are still huge.
I want to say thank you for all that your work involves. Thank you for booking your tickets, taking time off from work, leaving your loved ones, and for all of the other small things, I am truly grateful.
Please continue to be with us, hand in hand, in our non-violent struggle. We need to reach the end of the path of occupation and your presence on this journey is crucial, we cannot make it alone.
I hope one day to share a coffee with you in my home or in yours, for when this day comes we will have reached our freedom.
Hekmat Bessiso is a Gazan living in Ramallah 
Is it too much to hope that Murdoch scandal brings an Arab spring to western journalism?
Jul 11, 2011
Philip Weiss
The Murdoch scandal is great news for those of us seeking a more open discourse on the Middle East. For Murdoch has maintained a fiercely pro-Israel line in his papers, and at least two commentators, the Arab News and Robert Fisk in the Independent, suggest that the corruption and sleaze of his London operation could have foreign-policy consequences. Maybe it could even affect the New York Post? (hope springs eternal.)
1, The Arab News editorializes that the scandal might finally bring down Murdoch’s “evil empire.”
This [global reach] wouldn’t be so serious if News Corp.’s agenda was only driven by business interests. As with Fox News, sensationalism, jingoism and a campaign of lies and hatred against minorities drive this Orwellian empire. And unabashed championing of Israel, support for Western wars and persistent hostility toward Arabs and Muslims are the hallmarks of its agenda. Let’s hope this scandal will finally help rein in the evil empire, subjecting it to scrutiny as everyone ought to be in a democracy. It’s time Murdoch stopped playing god.
2, In the Independent, Robert Fisk tells amazing tales of why he had to leave the Times under Murdoch, and says Murdoch is as bad as any charge westerners lodge against Arab authoritarians…
Murdoch was owner of The Times when I covered the blood-soaked Israeli invasion and occupation of Lebanon in 1982. Not a line was removed from my reports, however critical they were of Israel. After the invasion, Douglas-Home and Murdoch were invited by the Israelis to take a military helicopter trip into Lebanon. The Israelis tried to rubbish my reporting; Douglas-Home said he stood up for me. On the flight back to London, Douglas-Home and Murdoch sat together. “I knew Rupert was interested in what I was writing,” he told me later. “He sort of waited for me to tell him what it was, although he didn’t demand it. I didn’t show it to him.”
But things changed. Before he was editor, Douglas-Home would write for the Arabic-language Al-Majella magazine, often deeply critical of Israel. Now his Times editorials took an optimistic view of the Israeli invasion. He stated that “there is now no worthy Palestinian to whom the world can talk” and – for heaven’s sake – that “perhaps at last the Palestinians on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip will stop hoping that stage-strutters like Mr Arafat can rescue them miraculously from doing business with the Israelis.”
All of which, of course, was official Israeli government policy at the time.
Then, in the spring of 1983, another change. I had, with Douglas-Home’s full agreement, spent months investigating the death of seven Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners of the Israelis in Sidon. It was obvious, I concluded, that the men had been murdered – the grave-digger even told me that their corpses had been brought to him, hands tied behind their backs, showing marks of bruising. But now Douglas-Home couldn’t see how we would be “justified” in running a report “so long after the event”.
In other words, the very system of investigative journalism – of fact-checking and months of interviews – became self-defeating. When we got the facts, too much time had passed to print them. I asked the Israelis if they would carry out a military inquiry and, anxious to show how humanitarian they were, they duly told us there would be an official investigation. The Israeli “inquiry” was, I suspected, a fiction. But it was enough to “justify” publishing my long and detailed report. Once the Israelis could look like good guys, Douglas-Home’s concerns evaporated….
I don’t believe Murdoch personally interfered in any of the above events. He didn’t need to. He had turned The Times into a tame, pro-Tory, pro-Israeli paper shorn of all editorial independence. If I hadn’t been living in the Middle East, of course, it might have taken me longer to grasp all this.
But I worked in a region where almost every Arab journalist knows the importance of self-censorship – or direct censorship – and where kings and dictators do not need to give orders. They have satraps and ministers and senior police officers – and “democratic” governments – who know their wishes, their likes and dislikes. And they do what they believe their master wants. Of course, they all told me this was not true and went on to assert that their king/president was always right.
Halfway there! Help your donation go further with a 2-for-1 match
Jul 11, 2011
Philip Weiss and Adam Horowitz
Thank you! We’re already about half way to our goal of raising $40,000. That money will help us hire a part time editorial assistant and put the site on far more solid footing. Towards this end, we are excited to announce that a very generous donor has come forward and offered to help us meet our goal by matching every donation over $100 from here on out. This means your donation will now go twice as far in helping us bring you the news and stories you’ve come to expect from Mondoweiss.net.
And also remember, we are marking our exciting new partnership with the Center for Economic Research and Social Change, and Haymarket Books by offering all donors of $100 or more a copy of Omar Barghouti’s new book on BDS and Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappe’s book,Gaza in Crisis.
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Killing off a dead Oslo
Jul 11, 2011
Chris Keeler
Akiva Eldar recently wrote a piece in the Israeli dailyHaaretz, in which Eldar pushes for the end of the Oslo Accords and all of the false hope that comes with them. The Oslo Accords were signed in 1993 (Oslo 2 was signed in 1995) and a permanent final status agreement was to be agreed upon by 1999. But then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist and the far right of the Israeli political spectrum took control with the election of Benyamin Netanyahu (for the first time) and the Oslo Accords were killed. Netanyahu admitted as much, taking credit for deceiving the United States and destroying the Oslo Accords.
Yet Oslo just won’t go away. The West Bank is still divided into Areas A, B, and C, the Palestinian Authority is still pushing for an independent Palestine and Israel is still colonizing its way across the entirety of the West Bank. Eldar argues that it is time to ‘put the Oslo Accords out of their misery.’ Rather, it is time for Palestine, Israel and the United States to stop living in the fantasy of a world where Oslo continues to be relevant. The Oslo Accords have already been killed. It is time for leaders to move on to the acceptance stage of the grieving process.
The United States is certainly still in the denial stage.
Stephen Walt writes that the continued presence of Dennis Ross is a clear sign that the US is still pushing for something that is no longer viable. As Eldar points out and Walt highlights, Ross has been nothing but an abject failure when it comes to Middle East peace. He has watched over the stagnation of negotiations and the continuation of Israeli colonization over the course of four presidencies lasting nearly two decades. As Walt puts it:
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.
