NOVANEWS
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Top media ethics expert: Times’ Ethan Bronner is in ‘very dicey ethical territory’
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Rabbi Ellen Lippmann changes her mind on the boycott
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Campaign to end military aid to Israel enters NY, underground
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Welcome to ‘Apartheid Street’
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Art museum’s censorship destroys its integrity
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The declaration of ‘The Jewish Authority in Eretz Yisrael’
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Palmer report’s absurd contention that Israel is not punishing Gaza’s civilian population renders it useless
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You’ve got to be carefully taught
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Israeli campaign in West Bank targets… cisterns
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Turner victory in overwhelmingly Dem district suggests that Obama could be primaried from the right
Top media ethics expert: Times’ Ethan Bronner is in ‘very dicey ethical territory’
Sep 15, 2011
Max Blumenthal
Yesterday I reported for the Columbia Journalism Review that New York Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief Ethan Bronner is on the speaker’s bureau of Lone Star Communications, an Israeli public relations firm that pitches him stories. Bronner has provided extensive coverage to several of the firm’s clients, including those involved in major political controversies. What’s more, the firm’s CEO and founder, Charley Levine, is a settler, media advisor to several right-wing government ministers, and a Captain in the Israeli army Spokesman’s Unit. Today, Ali Abunimah reported on Levine’s casually racist attitude towards Arabs. So Levine and his firm — which yesterday removed all mentions of their connection to Bronner — have a clear ideological slant. I have trouble understanding how this relationship does not violate Times ethics guidelines.
The Times has been warned before about Bronner. When the Electronic Intifada reported that Bronner’s son had joined the Israeli army, then-Public Editor Clark Hoyt recommended that Bronner be reassigned. As with his son’s army service, Bronner did not appear to have disclosed to the Times his relationship with Lone Star Communications. When I asked the Times’ Standards Editor Phil Corbett if Bronner’s involvement with the PR firm violated Times ethics policy, he did not request further details or allow me to submit specific questions. Instead, I was informed through an intermediary, Times’ VP for Corporate Communications Eileen Murphy, that the Times viewed Bronner’s emailed response to me as sufficient, and had no doubts about his integrity. It seems fairly clear at this point, after two major conflicts of interest have been exposed, that the Times has afforded Bronner a level of impunity that no reporter should enjoy.
While reporting my story, I spoke to one of the country’s leading experts on journalism ethics, Robert Steele, who directs De Pauw University’s Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics. I described Bronner’s relationship with Lone Star in detail to Steele. His comments did not make into my report for CJR, so I have reproduced them below. In short, Steele concluded “with confidence” that Bronner has waded into “very dicey ethical territory.”
Here’s Steele:
“The fact that [Bronner] has this business relationship with a public relations firm that represents other clients whom he covers creates at the least a perception of competing loyalties — that his business relationship is one that could affect his own personal finances, how often they book him, where and how much — so he has a loyalty to that firm and the firm has a loyalty to him. And if that PR firm also has relationship with individuals or companies that he covers, one might reasonably ask whether there are competing loyalties that create a potential conflict of interest. At the very least, he and the NY Times would have to be fully transparent about these connections to reveal both his involvement with that PR agency and the related connections with the agency to newsmakers or other companies that the NY Times is covering. The transparency at least shines the light of scrutiny on these potential competing loyalties and potential conflicts of interests. It doesn’t make them go away however. The NY Times code of ethics seems to indicate that this is very dicey ethical territory.
I would certainly want to know what conversations took place between Times editors and Bronner and why the editors were satisfied that there is not an ethical problem. I have no reason to question his integrity but this business relationship could create at the least some ethical pitfalls. Any time journalists are using a speakers bureau to market themselves, you have some potential ethical issues to address in terms of the nature of groups a journalist is speaking to, the kind of service the firm is providing, the amounts of compensation. All of those could be problematic at a low level and if there is a pressure point from what the journalist covers as a reporter and the business connections of the speakers bureau or the PR agency then you have a potential problem.
I just don’t remember a case where the journalist is covering other individuals who are affiliated With the same speaker’s bureaus. But I think that intersection of covering companies and non-profits that have a business relationship with that same firm — it’s very dicey ethical territory. I can say with confidence that it’s dicey ethical territory.”
This post originally appeared on Al Akhbar English.
Rabbi Ellen Lippmann changes her mind on the boycott
Sep 15, 2011
annie
On the eve of a significant Open Jewish Conversation about Cultural Boycott of Israel reported here last monthStolen Beauty has published a letter from highly regarded Rabbi Ellen Lippmann, founder of the the Progressive Jewish congregation Kolot Chayeinu in Park Slope, which is hosting the event tonight. The letter is addressed to other signatories of the Brooklyn Rabbis Letter, a letter originally signed by seven rabbis criticizing the boycott of Ahava Cosmetics.
Stolen Beauty prefaces:
After a visit to the West Bank, Lippman wrote to the other rabbis saying that she had changed her mind and now supported the boycott of settlement products, including Ahava.
Dear rabbis,
I am writing this note which I have meant to write since returning from the human rights mission to Israel and Palestine that I co-led in October; a trip organized by Rabbis for Human Rights-North America. It was an amazing trip in many ways, and a sorrowful one too, as we saw the painful places where human rights are damaged if not discarded. I urge you to go on next year’s trip, which will take place in mid-November.
Among many other things, we saw the destruction that is wrought by too many Israeli settlers. We stood on the charred ground that had been a thriving olive grove only days before, before settlers set fire to it, as they also poison and cut down other trees and groves, seemingly just because they are owned and run by Palestinians. We stood with cave dwellers in the south Hebron Hills and a day later they and Israeli advocate Ezra Nawi were attacked by armed and masked “bandit” settlers. We visited Hebron, where streets are empty of life except in the area of the Cave, because Palestinian shops have been locked and so have many homes, and where the main street near the Cave is divided by a cement barrier; Palestinians walk on one side, Israelis, Americans, on the other, watched by a soldier.
Israel has many real security needs. But I have come to know that the ways in which the occupation of the West Bank is enforced go way beyond those needs to the realm of harsh discrimination and ready violence, aided by a complicity military and government.
This is all preface to my main point to you: I have changed my mind about the purchase of products made in the Jewish West Bank. All the rabbis I spoke to in Israel, who were not only RHR rabbis, are not buying West Bank products. I have decided to join them. Therefore, I will no longer oppose those who refuse to buy Ahava products.
The list produced by Gush Shalom is attached, if you want to think about this as well.
I have no interest in embarrassing any of you, my colleagues. I will not be standing in front of Ricky’s urging a boycott. But I have come to think I must support it.
Thanks for “listening.” I leave Monday for a month’s sabbatical, so will have little chance to talk to any of you before going. I would be happy to talk when I return, if you like.
I wish you all a happy and hopeful new year.
Ellen
Rabbi Ellen Lippmann Kolot Chayeinu / Voices of Our Lives www.kolotchayeinu.org
Campaign to end military aid to Israel enters NY, underground
Sep 15, 2011
Philip Weiss and Adam Horowitz
Report on the “Be on Our Side” campaign on the local New York CBS news.
The Jerusalem Post is covering the 25 ads in the New York subway system from the “Be On Our Side” campaign, against military funding to Israel. Reporter Jordana Horn:
The 25 posters in 18 Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Bronx subway stations are part of a mass transit advertising campaign by Be On Our Side to remedy what the advertisements call “the flawed and skewed representation in mainstream media” of Israeli-Palestinian relations.
This is the seventh city in which these ads have been displayed. The posters have been approved by the city’s Metropolitan Transit Authority, and will be displayed for one month.
“Be on our side. We are on the side of peace and justice. End US military aid to Israel,” the advertisements state…
And like clockwork right-wing Israel supporters have gone apoplectic over the ads. Dov Hikund is featured in the news bit above. Here’s what Pamela Geller has to say:
Atlas readers are well aware of the antisemitic ad campaign bouncing from city to city. We successfully fought back against racism and judeophobia in Seattle. But the anti-Israel ads have run in San Francisco and DC, while our pro-Israel ads have been rejected.
The Jew-hating ads are scheduled to run later on this month on at least 1,000 subway cars (minimum buy $20,000 – $36,000); who is funding the racist haters? . . .
I have submitted our pro-Israel ad. I am waiting for ad approval as we speak. Please contribute to Atlas to fund these ads. . . If they refuse my ad, we will sue. Immediately.
And here’s the ad Geller wants to get placed:
It’s no surprise Caroline Glick is behind her 100%.
The Gothamist has now picked up the story:
Hikind, who you’ll recall was equally outraged when the MTA permitted anti-Islam ads hates pedestrian islands,tells CBS 2, “This is a one-sided mean-spirited attempt to undermine the security and well being of the people of Israel. They say this is for peace. This is not for peace. This is for war.” In case you’re unclear on how exactly cutting military spending is mean and pro-war, CBS 2 turned to commuters for insightful analysis. “It says be on our side, so it’s like who’s side are we on?” wonders New Yorker Kayla Sanders.
The campaign, which has already run in six major U.S. cities, features ads in 18 subway stations through October 3rd. A mean-spirited spokesperson for one of the groups sponsoring the campaign dangerously explains, “Instead of funding Israel’s unlawful occupation, I would like to see the thirty billion dollars that our government has committed to the State of Israel over the next ten years be redirected to Americans right here at home to help with job creation, increased funding for education, affordable housing investment, environmental conservation, and upgrading our national transportation infrastructure.”
Welcome to ‘Apartheid Street’
Sep 15, 2011
Seham
welcome to apartheid street via @almagdela
Hebron road renamed “Apartheid Street”
HEBRON (Reuters) — Palestinians changed the name of Hebron’s Shuhada street to Apartheid Street on Wednesday, to protest the prevailing conditions in areas of the West Bank town which are controlled by Israeli troops. Aide to Hebron’s Governor, Rafiq al-Jabari, said the name change would remain in effect until what he described as apartheid-like conditions had been eradicated in Hebron.
Israel Plans to Demolish School, Houses in Hebron Area
HEBRON, September 14, 2011 (WAFA) – The Israeli military authorities informed a number of Palestinians that it plans to demolish their houses and a local school in Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron, Wednesday said security sources. They told WAFA that Israeli military raided Arroub camp Tuesday night and handed number of residents notices to demolish their houses and another notice to demolish Arroub camp school. Israeli soldiers, meanwhile, raided Hebron and nearby Dora, southwest of Hebron, erected two checkpoint and inspected vehicles and passengers personal documents, said the sources.
And more news from Today in Palestine:
Israeli Military Carries Out Demolitions in Jordan Valley; Further Orders Presented in Hebron
The Israeli military has carried out demolitions and handed out five new demolition orders, on Thursday, Ma’an News reports.
link to www.imemc.org
Palestinian statehood: The olive tree of al-Walaja – video
Farmer Salah Abu Ali tells how his village has lost land and people since the foundation of the state of Israel in 1948
link to www.guardian.co.uk
Wadi Fuqeen: Palestine’s Valley of Hope and Despair
The film Valley of Hope and Despair, by Joshka Wessels, Jakob Schiller and Lubna Sharief, illustrates how the Israeli occupation deprives Palestinians of their water resources and how illegal settlements continue to pour raw sewage into the many valleys of the occupied West Bank. Villages are being imprisoned by an eight-metre-high wall, causing severe environmental and human impact.
link to www.redress.cc
Israel prevents Palestinians from free movement (AP)
AP – Ahmad Ayyash once had a construction job in Israel, earning good money. Now he is a goat herder struggling to eke out a living, barred from working in Israel and restricted from entering his olive grove next to this West Bank village.
link to us.rd.yahoo.com
Settlers
Jewish settlers attack Palestinian citizens, burn cars
Jewish settlers attacked Palestinian citizens and their cars in Nablus province before dawn Thursday and Wednesday morning wounding three civilians and burning four cars, local sources reported.
link to goo.gl
Settlers Attack Palestinians Near Nablus; Arson and Assaults Reported
Israeli settlers from Itamar, near Nablus, have carried out two attacks against Palestinians on Thursday.
link to www.imemc.org
Settler Rally Closes West Bank Road; Cars Pelted with Stones
The Ma’an News Agency are reporting that hundreds of settlers from the illegal settlement of Yitzhar, near Nablus held a rally, Monday night, leading to the closure of a West Bank road.
link to www.imemc.org
Settlers attempt to raid Jenin village, 2 Palestinians detained
JENIN (Ma’an) — Dozens of settlers tried to raid the village of Arraba in Jenin overnight Wednesday, Palestinian security sources said. Israeli forces were stationed on the western side of the village to prevent dozens of settlers from the adjacent Mevo Dotan settlement from entering, Palestinian security sources told Ma’an.
link to www.maannews.net
Siege on Gaza / Attacks on Gaza
IOF incursion in central Gaza damages land
Israeli occupation forces mounting three army tanks escorted military bulldozers and advanced 300 meters east of Breij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip on Tuesday, eyewitnesses said.
link to goo.gl
PCHR Condemns Israeli Escalation against Fishermen in the Gaza Strip
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns ongoing Israeli attacks targeting Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip, and expresses grave concern regarding the escalation of these attacks in recent days.
link to www.imemc.org
Israeli navy detains five Palestinian fishermen at sea
Five Palestinian fishermen were detained at sea off the coast of the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah at dawn Thursday at the hands of Israeli navy forces.
link to goo.gl
Egypt approves entry of World Food Programme aid to Gaza
EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) — Egyptian authorities on Wednesday approved the entry of aid from the World Food Programme to Gaza, a PA crossing official said. PA official Amr Hadhud told Ma’an that the WFP had donated 55 tons of biscuits to Gaza. The aid was unloaded at al-Oja crossing in Egypt and the goods will be allowed into the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom crossing.
link to www.maannews.net
Egyptian authorities detain 19 Palestinians
EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) — Egyptian authorities detained 19 Palestinians on Wednesday, security sources said. Five people were detained at the entrance to El-Arish, north Sinai. They were reportedly on route to Cairo, Egyptian security sources told Ma’an. Police also arrested 12 Palestinians 100 kilometers from the city of El-Arish. Four had expired visas. A woman and her seven children were among the group. A Palestinian man working for Hamas security forces in Gaza was also detained in El-Arish for having an expired visa, and security forces arrested another man who had entered Egypt via a Gaza tunnel, security forces said.
link to www.maannews.net
Four Jordanians Arrested In Sinai
Egyptian security sources reported Wednesday that four Jordanians were arrested in north Sinai for illegally entering the country, and illegally entering the Gaza Strip, the Maan News Agency reported.
link to www.imemc.org
Haneyya: We are still waiting for Egypt to break siege
Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haneyya said he is still waiting for a bold decision by Egypt to break the siege on the Gaza Strip and open up the Rafah border crossing.
link to goo.gl
Detainees
Israel plans to evacuate criminals from prisons to make room for Palestinians
The Israeli occupation authorities are planning on allowing the criminal population of the Israeli prisons to serve their sentences in their homes to make room for Palestinians..
link to goo.gl
IOF troops round up minors in Silwan, others in Nablus
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested a 15-year-old boy in Silwan town in occupied Jerusalem on Thursday less than three months after his release from Israeli custody, local sources reported.
link to goo.gl
Local youth, Ameer Qaraeen, targeted again by Israeli forces
Israeli forces arrested local youth Ameer Qaraeen yesterday, Tuesday 13 September. Qaraeen, 15, was taken from Wadi Hilweh district of Silwan on the pretext of being absent at a scheduled court appearance. Qaraeen has been subject to an ongoing targeting by Israeli authorities, including a series of arrests, interrogations and house arrest sentences.
link to silwanic.net
Exiled activist Adnan Ghiath returns to Silwan
Tuesday 13 September marked the final day of local activist Adnan Ghaith’s four-month sentenced exile from his home village of Silwan. Ghaith, secretary-general of Fatah in Jerusalem and local popular committee member, spent the four-month sentence in Ramallah, separated from his family. The sentence was imposed by the Israeli Ministry of Defence, who based the decision on information it refused to release to the public or Ghaith’s legal team. Yesterday saw Ghaith’s return to Silwan amidst a large crowd of friends, family and supporters. Residents gathered at the local protest tent for a series of celebrations and ceremonies to welcome him home. The celebrations were overshadowed by a heavy presence of Israeli forces and settler security squads, who spread throughout the streets from Bir Ayyub district, harassing residents without reason. Although clashes managed to be avoided, local youth Moayed Sulaiman Froukh was arrested by Israeli forces as he awaited the arrival of Ghaith.
link to silwanic.net
The Israeli Authority calls for Adnan Ghaith after few hours of his return to Jerusalem
The Israeli security departments called for the secretary of Fateh Party in Silwan Adnan Ghaith after few hours of his return to Jerusalem from his eight months deportation in Ramallah This was due to Israeli Military decision adopting the emergency law which has been practiced since the British Mandate . According to Silwanic site phone call with Adnan he said “ they threatened me of being dragged by Israeli forces if I don’t go to the Interrogation center in Al Masqobeia tomorrow morning “ worth mentioning that Adnan Ghaith suffers severe pains and can’t move.
link to silwanic.net
Multiple Arrests by Israeli Military Across the West Bank
Several Palestinian residents have been arrested in raids in numerous locations accross the West Bank on Thursday.
link to www.imemc.org
Hamas detainee in PA security prison taken to hospital
Nader Sawafta, a detainee in the prison of PA preventive security in Tobas, was carried to hospital at a late hour on Wednesday night after his condition worsened.
link to goo.gl
Israeli Regime Attacks on Palestinian Activists
Army Attacks Protest In Hebron, Injuries reported
Israeli soldiers attacked on Thursday a nonviolent protest in the Al Arroub refugee camp, in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and injured several residents, including one child.
link to www.imemc.org
BDS
Ground rules went too far, free speech expert says at Irvine 11 trial
A UC Irvine professor overstepped his boundaries when he told students no disruptions were allowed during the Israeli ambassador’s visit to campus last year, another professor testifies. A UC Irvine professor overstepped his boundaries when he told students that no disruptions were allowed during the Israeli ambassador’s visit on campus last year, according to testimony given Wednesday in the so-called Irvine 11 trial in Santa Ana.
link to feeds.latimes.com
NEW! BBC Proms Protest: peaceful disruption versus Israeli destruction
The IPO proudly celebrates its long-standing relationship with the Israeli military and proclaims the fact that plays special concerts for the army in the Occupied Palestinian Territories on its website. It describes itself as Israel’s “cultural ambassador”. The protest inside the hall started during the orchestra’s first piece, when a choir, seated behind the stage, stood up and displayed letters that spelt out “Free Palestine”. They then sang a version of “Ode to Joy” that started with the words “Israel, end your Occupation”. Before the second piece began, and again after the interval, protesters waved Palestinian flags and shouted slogans. This is the first time that a political protest has halted the live broadcast of a BBC Prom.
link to www.youtube.com
TUC Votes For Palestine And Review Links With Organisations Complicit With Israel’s Occupation
The Trades Union Congress, representing 6.5 million workers in the UK, voted overwhelmingly today (14 September 2011) to deplore the ‘anti-democratic law’ passed by the Israeli Knesset banning individuals and organisations in Israel from calling for the boycott of Israel.
link to www.imemc.org
WE ARE NOT TIRED! WEEK AGAINST THE APARTHEID WALL, NOV 9 – 16
Sep 14, 2011– Together we will tear down the Apartheid Wall!
-Join the 9th-annual International Week against the Apartheid Wall: November 9-16, 2011
-Stand with the Palestinian popular resistance.
-Show Israel that no Walls can stop our pursuit of justice and self-determination.
-Pressure your governments, institutions, and corporations to stop their support of Israeli apartheid!
-Mobilize and organize events in your community:
-Awareness-raising campaigns on the Wall and settlements
-Awareness-raising campaigns on Israel’s repression of Palestinian popular resistance
-Boycott and divestment campaigns against companies building the Wall
-Support the Palestinian call for a comprehensive and mandatory military embargo on Israel
link to stopthewall.org
Presbyterian Church committee recommends church divest from Caterpillar, HP and Motorola over Israeli human rights abuses
The Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment has recommended that the church divest from Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola Solutions due to their relationship to Israeli human rights abuses in the occupied territories. This decision comes as the result of a corporate engagement process which began in 2004 and sought to influence corporate policy vis-a-vis the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/09/presbyterian-committee-recommends-church-divest-from-caterpillar-hp-and-motorola-over-israeli-human-rights-abuses.html
Zionist lobby says Nazi comparisons wrong and yet rather loves calling enemies anti-Semitic, Antony Loewenstein
Where to begin with this confused statement? The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, a key Zionist lobby group who rather loves defending the war crimes of Israel, release this today about BDS, Israel, Nazis, Palestine, Nazis, Jews, Nazis and you guessed it, Nazis. You can almost see feel the tension in the statement, essentially saying, “we aren’t saying you BDS backers are anti-Semitic but really you are actually anti-Semitic”. No mention of the occupation, of course. Nor why BDS is thriving globally. BDS isn’t about Jewish businesses because they’re Jewish, you dishonest Zionist lobby. It’s called targeting the unaccountable Zionist state, an increasingly anti-democratic entity, and those associated with it.
link to antonyloewenstein.com
Global ‘boycott Israel’ campaign grows
“Despite widespread condemnation of Israeli policies by the United Nations, other international bodies, human rights organisations and internationally respected lawyers Israel continues to deprive Palestinians of their rights of freedom, equality, and self-determination. Israel’s ethnic cleansing, racial discrimination and aggressive expansion through colonisation are well documented. As the global community has repAeatedly failed to hold Israel accountable for its actions, on July 9, 2005, a large section of Palestinian civil society called upon their counterparts and people of conscience the world over to launch a campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against the Israeli state until it adheres to international law and the universal principles of human rights.”
link to youthanormalization.blogspot.com
“A world party and we are all invited”: #BDS by Omar Barghouti
Among the books we read, some go farther than others toward informing our thinking, opinions and actions in the world. These invariably become the books we read and refer to over and over again, the pages dog-eared, passages underlined, margins filled with notes.
link to youthanormalization.blogspot.com
Statehood Bid (TIP coverage of statehood bid should not be viewed as endorsement)
EU seeks limited upgrade of Palestinians’ UN status
Ashton proposal includes specific mention of talks, does not rule out full UN membership for Palestinian state in future, say diplomats.
link to www.haaretz.com
Zionists are afraid of losing their collaborators: J Street lobbies Congress to ensure U.S. won’t cut off aid to Palestinian Authority
Move comes as leftist pro-Israel lobby recently announces its opposition to Palestinian UN bid. After J Street announced its opposition to the Palestinian statehood bid at the United Nations, the leaders of the leftist pro-Israel group recently launched a new campaign lobbying members of Congress to support a new Congressional letter urging President Barack Obama to ensure that the U.S. will not cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority.
link to www.haaretz.com
Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, “Salvaging September: An ICAHD Statement regarding the Palestinian Statehood Initiative at the UN”
Now, just two or three weeks before the approach to the UN, a fierce debate has erupted within the Palestinian community around a number of key questions: Will the September initiative be based on the recognition of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders? If so, then what does Abbas want to negotiate with Israel? Minor territorial adjustments or a return to the fruitless trap of negotiations of the past 20 years which render the 1967 borders irrelevant? Who, in the absence of elections to the PNC or a referendum, has authorized Abbas to pursue a two-state solution? Even if he does approach the UN in his capacity as the head of the PLO and with the backing of its Executive Committee, will the Palestinian Authority, on becoming the recognized Government of the State of Palestine, replace the PLO and thus disenfranchise half the Palestinian people? In particular, would the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders compromise the refugees’ right of return and the national rights of Palestinians within Israel? Does recognition of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders foreclose forever the emergence of a single state in historic Palestine, be it democratic or bi-national, or will it permit further political efforts and evolution in that direction? Until these questions are answered, it would be difficult for ICAHD to support the September initiative.
link to mrzine.monthlyreview.org
Fatah official: Any new US proposal will have to wait
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Palestinian leadership will not discuss any last-minute proposals from the US or Europe until after the upcoming bid for full UN membership, senior Fatah official Mohammad Shtayyeh said Tuesday. Shtayyeh told Ma’an the Palestinian Authority expected the US and Europe to put forward a proposal to try and convince the Palestinians to stop their UN bid for statehood.
link to www.maannews.net
Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen tells Haaretz: We must stop Palestinians’ ‘dangerous scheme’
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is behind a bill that would cut U.S. funding for UN organizations who support recognition of Palestine as state.
link to www.haaretz.com
Road to Palestine does not run through U.N.-Clinton
WASHINGTON, Sept 13 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday that the path to a two-state solution creating a Palestinian state beside Israel runs through Jerusalem and Ramallah, not through New York. Speaking at a news conference, Clinton repeated the U.S. view that the Palestinians should not seek full membership in the United Nations later this month and instead should resume direct talks with the Israelis. She said she is sending two U.S. envoys, David Hale and Dennis Ross, to Israel and the Palestinian territories to try to find a way to revive talks.
link to www.trust.org
US ready to fight UN bid to bitter end
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States has decided to fight to the bitter end to convince the Palestinians to abandon their bid for UN membership, despite the rather small chance that the battle will succeed. “We want to leave no stone unturned in our effort to get these parties back to the table,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday as two US envoys headed to the Middle East for talks with Israel and the Palestinians.
link to www.maannews.net
Israel warns of ‘harsh’ consequences of UN bid
JERUSALEM (AFP) — Hardline Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned Wednesday there will be “harsh and grave consequences” if the Palestinians persist with their plan to seek UN membership as a state. Speaking shortly before a scheduled meeting with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Lieberman did not elaborate on the possible consequences.
link to www.maannews.net
Elders support Palestinian UN appeal
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Elders group says it warmly welcomes Palestinian efforts to seek support for statehood by the UN and believes such a move is capable of changing the dynamics in the peace process. In a statement Tuesday, the group of world leaders said they wrote to the foreign ministers of the 27 member states of the EU urging them to adopt a strong common position on the initiative. Such a move would be in line with European Council conclusions of December 2009 which called for a two-state solution with Israel and Palestine living site by side in peace, the Elders statement pointed out.
link to www.maannews.net
UN official: Future Palestinian state may falter without Mideast peace
State-building efforts could be undone by continued occupation, peace process stall, says Robert Seryy; IMF: Palestinian Authority may suffer blow from lack of donor money.
link to www.haaretz.com
Amid Palestinian statehood push, a grim World Bank report on the West Bank, Gaza
The World Bank report underscores the extreme dependence of the Palestinian Authority on foreign aid. It is now facing a fiscal crisis due to unmet aid promises.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/world/~3/DrvrTw-tWsk/Amid-Palestinian-statehood-push-a-grim-World-Bank-report-on-the-West-Bank-Gaza
Fayyad: PA reducing foreign aid dependency
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Wednesday that the PA is succeeding in reducing its dependency on foreign aid, the official news agency in Ramallah reported. In his weekly radio address, Fayyad said the PA is formulating measures to overcome the financial deficit by 2012. The process will not affect essential services, and measures should be approved within the next few weeks, he was quoted as saying by WAFA.
link to www.maannews.net
Hamas: “Abbas’ U.N Move, Uncalculated Leap”
Dr. Salah Bardaweel, one of the senior political leaders of the Hamas movement, warned of what he called “the dangers of the Palestinian-UN bid” asking the UN to recognize a Palestinian State in the 1967 border, adding that this move is an “uncalculated leap into the air”, and a “move that leads to recognizing the Zionist entity”.
link to www.imemc.org
Palestinian villagers sceptical about bid for UN statehood – in pictures
Perched between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, the village of al-Walaja has long found itself caught between the two sides of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and residents are sceptical that the bid for statehood at the UN will improve their lives.
link to www.guardian.co.uk
Noam Chomsky: U.S. to Veto Palestinian Statehood Bid Despite “Overwhelming International Consensus”
President Obama publicly confirmed Monday that the United States will oppose any attempt by the Palestinians to achieve statehood at the United Nations, but Palestinians leaders are still vowing to move ahead with their bid for statehood this week. What will the ramifications of a U.S. veto be? For more, we speak with Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Emeritus Noam Chomsky. “If the Palestinians do bring the issue to the Security Council and the U.S. vetoes it, it will be just another indication of the real unwillingness to permit a settlement of this issue, in terms of what has been for a long time an overwhelming international consensus,” Chomsky says. [includes rush transcript]
link to www.democracynow.org
The west will not prevent a Palestinian state’s eventual birth, Pankaj Mishra
Next week the Palestinian Authority, stepping away from years of a fruitless “peace process” with Israel, will ask the UN to recognise Palestine as an independent state. It is very likely to be obstructed in the security council by the US, Israel’s long-suffering but faithful friend. There is no question, however, that an overwhelming majority in the general assembly will back the Palestinians. The birth of Israel had an anti-imperialist pedigree. And Palestine is the unfinished business of that process of self-determination.
link to www.guardian.co.uk
Media Bias / Incitement
WAFA Monitors Incitement and Racism in Israeli Media Date
RAMALLAH, September 14, 2011(WAFA) – Palestine News and Information Agency (WAFA) Wednesday monitored incitement and racism against the Palestinians and Arabs published by the Israeli media between August 28 and September 9. Host of “the Last Word” show on Gale Tsahal Israeli radio station, Avery Gilad, who’s known for his racist opinions, called to withdraw Israeli citizenship from Arabs living in the Triangle, saying “we don’t have to ask Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, because there will come a day when we’ll draw completely different borders that will change Israel into a Jewish state, as much as possible.”
link to english.wafa.ps
Blumenthal: NYT’s Bronner is stabled at speakers bureau headed by settler dedicated ‘first and foremost’ to ‘Zionist mission’
At CJR, Max Blumenthal has published an incisive piece of reporting showing that Times Jerusalem bureau chief Ethan Bronner is represented by an Israeli speakers bureau called Lone Star Communications that has rightwing bonafides, and that Bronner has several times reported on Lone Star’s clients. The Times issued a pro forma defense of Bronner, that it respects his professionalism and impartiality. Say, remember when the Times publicly rebuked contributor Daniel Ming for going to pro-Palestinian rallies when he was writing about Jewish Voice for Peace for the newspaper? Bronner had a son in the Israeli army, too. Does his enmeshment in Israeli society ever cross a line for the Times?
link to mondoweiss.net
Israeli PR firm scrubs Bronner from website as investigative report appears, Adam Horowitz
Max Blumenthal’s investigative report into Ethan Bronner’s relationship with the Israeli PR firm Lone Star Communications references a photo of Bronner “arm-in-arm” with Charley Levine, the West Bank settler who founded the firm. When I went to the Lone Star website I couldn’t find it. Blumenthal sent me the following screen shot and said this page appeared here as late as last week:
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/09/israeli-pr-firm-scrubs-bronner-from-website-as-investigative-expose-appears.html
Turkey / Israel
Erdogan warns Israel: Turkey can send warships to east Mediterranean at any time
Turkish PM says Israel could not do whatever it wants in the eastern Mediterranean.
link to www.haaretz.com
Israel decides not to respond to Erdogan rhetoric
Having discussed Turkey crisis Turkey, eight-minister forum decides to let PM Erdogan ‘to continue to lash out.’ Meanwhile, Turkish leader meets PA’s Mahmoud Abbas, representatives of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Netanyahu to convene senior ministers to discuss Israel-Turkey crisis
The prime minister wants to calm the situation as much as possible but also to make preparations in case the situation deteriorates.
link to www.haaretz.com
Turkish PM throws weight behind Arab cause
Reuters – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told Arab states on Tuesday it was time to raise the Palestinian flag at the United Nations and accused Israel of obstructing peace in the Middle East.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110913/wl_nm/us_egypt_turkey
The real reason why Erdogan did not go ahead with Gaza visit
Egyptians amassed outside the Cairo Opera House on Tuesday calling on visiting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to show support for the besieged Gaza Strip.
link to goo.gl
Why the Palmer Report Deserves No Deference, Audrey Bomse
Almost all the factual findings, as well as the legal analysis and conclusions of the recently leaked UN Secretary General’s Panel of Inquiry into the “Flotilla Incident” on May 31, 2010 (Palmer/Uribe Panel) directly contradict those of an earlier UN report of the Human Rights Council Fact-Finding Mission (FFM, whose conclusion that Israel’s blockade of Gaza, including the naval blockade is illegal, was just reaffirmed on September 13, 2011 by five independent UN rights Special Rapporteurs. In line with all statements Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon has made about Gaza, the Goldstone report, and statements by other international agencies, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), these UN international law experts rejected the Palmer/Uribe conclusions and demanded that “[t]he Israeli blockade of Gaza must end immediately and the people of Gaza must be afforded protection in line with international law.”
link to www.counterpunch.org
Egypt / Israel
Egypt’s military rulers ignored pleas from US as mob attacked Israeli embassy
With six Israeli security guards fending off an angry mob rampaging through the mission, Leon Panetta, the US defence secretary, tried for two hours to get hold of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Egypt’s de facto head of state, to demand an immediate rescue operation. Aides told Mr Panetta that the general could not be found, Israeli officials were quoted as saying. The response prompted fury in Washington, and threats of US retribution. Field Marshal Tantawi’s mysterious disappearance intensified speculation that Egypt’s generals had deliberately failed to protect the embassy for political gain.
link to www.telegraph.co.uk
Israeli workers flee Egypt, Max Ajl
Israeli managers at the Delta Galil textile factory also fled Egypt in the midst of the recent citizen diplomacy against the Israeli embassy there. In fact they fled on the same plane as the diplomats. Under current trilateral trade regulations – the Free-Trade Zones Accord the United States, Israel, and Egypt signed in 2005 – Israeli companies (meaning Israeli-American companies) and Egyptian companies that purchase Israeli (meaning Israeli-American) goods get to enter US markets duty-free. The upshot is that the Egyptian working class becomes a half-in half-out part of the American working class, except they work for much lower wages, and their exploitation gets blamed on Israel and Israeli capitalists and capitalism (as though there are such things).
link to www.maxajl.com
