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NOVANEWS

The Freedom Riders of Bus 148

Nov 15, 2011

Mariam Al-Barghouti and Deema Al-Saafin

outsidebus
(Photo: Activestills)

The Palestinian Freedom Rides movement was inspired by the Civil Rights Act of 1961, when African Americans and Americans alike boarded buses and road throughout the south in order to break segregation marked by Jim Crow laws. This act branded them the name “Freedom Riders”.  Segregation of the 1960’s revolved around a direct schism between “blacks” and “whites” in every aspect of life imaginable; education, public eating, public transportation, and housing provinces. This began the Freedom Riders movement where Americans, “blacks” and “whites” alike, rode segregated buses . Inspired by such a movement, six Palestinian activists decided to do the same regarding segregated Israeli buses, in which they would be non-violently defying illegal Israeli settlements, and Israeli segregation.

freedomsigns
Freedom Riders waiting for the bus. (Photo: Ann Paq/Activestills)

Earlier Tuesday November 15th, 6 Palestinian activists as well as people of the press headed to the illegal Israeli settlement of  Kohav Yakov, where they attempted to board  segregated Israeli buses headed to Jerusalem in defiance of Israeli apartheid and segregation. The first bus passes the activists however, the driver keeps driving on. The second bus, and the third pass, to no avail. Five buses passed the activists without stopping to allow them to get in as passengers; instead they completely ignored their existence. Whilst they were waiting for a bus to stop, an IOF military jeep came to the location of the Freedom Riders.  It wasn’t until the sixth bus, bus number 148 that the Palestinian Freedom Rides activists were able to board. Illegal Israeli settlers boarded the bus with the Freedom Riders. At this point, history had already been made, as Palestinians had physically got onto segregation buses headed to Jerusalem. Aboard the bus, the Palestinian flag was flown.

         During the first and second Intifada, the waving of the Palestinian flag was an action enough to land a person in jail. During the weekly demonstrations in villages such as Nabi Saleh, Bil’in, Ni’leen and Walaja, waving the Palestinian flag can bring a person an arrest, or worse as in the case of Ashraf Abu Rahmah, administrative detention.

A settler aboard attempted to grab and confiscate the Palestinian flag, but his attempt was defied.

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Fadi Qura’an facing the Israeli Border Police.
(Photo: Oren Ziv/ Activestills)

Bus 148 began its move to its perceived destination: Jerusalem. The driver of the bus was following an Israeli police vehicle, while the bus was accompanied by Israeli Occupying Forces from behind. The bus was led to Hizmah checkpoint, which is one of 522 checkpoints that are spread throughout the West Bank. Upon arrival to Hizmah checkpoint, Israeli Border Police as well as Israeli soldiers boarded bus 148 which carried the six Palestinian Freedom Rides activists: Nadeem Al-Sharbate, Huwaida Arraf, Dr.Mazin Qumsieyeh, Fadi Qura’an, Basel Al-Araj, and Badee’ Dwaik, as well as several journalists documenting the event. The Police asked all the settlers on board and the driver to leave the bus, to which they obeyed but not before remarking to the activists still on board that “this is our land.” The settlers were able to board another bus heading to Jerusalem without any harassment from the Border Police. However the activists were asked for their ID’s, and confiscated them in an attempt to get the Freedom Riders to exit the bus. “I will show them my Palestinian ID card and say I want to go to Jerusalem. We’ll see what happens,” said Dr Mazin Qumsiyeh. However the Freedom Riders were determined to remain on the bus, saying over and over again “We are headed to Jerusalem.”

Journalists were then kicked out of the bus and fined 500 Israeli Shekels for “parking on the side of the road”. This is merely an attempt to punish those who spread the word of Israel’s apartheid regime and its racist implications to the rest of the world.

signsoutsidebus
(Photo: Activestills)

At this point, Freedom Riders had begun chanting, “We are not getting off, even if you throw us in jail”. They knew that they could be arrested but remained defiant, and most importantly, non violent. Palestinian activist, Badee’ Dwaik, resisted by nonviolently laying on the floor of the bus. He asked the Israeli Border Police “Why didn’t you ask a settler for his permission slip into Jerusalem? Is his blood red and mine blue?”

When journalists and settlers were removed from the bus, only IOF and Israeli Border Police remained with the Freedom Riders. The bus then began its move to a police station.

Once at the police station, Israeli Border Police began forcibly removing Freedom Riders one by one. (Due to the camera shooting the live stream footage running out of battery, we were only able to see three arrests (Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, Huwaida Arraf and lastly Fadi Quran’s). Israeli Border Police tried to negotiate with activists Huwaida Arraf and Fadi Quran, if negotiating meant saying “You are here illegally. Yallah, you will be taken off the bus.” The Freedom Riders remained in their seats, staring straight ahead. IOF and Border Police then began to violently grab these activists one at a time forcing them off the bus. Whilst being arrested, Huwaida and Fadi both introduced themselves as Freedom Riders and said “We are only trying to go to Jerusalem.” Alongside the activists, Fajr Harb was also arrested, even though he was not on board the bus, nor part of the Palestinian Freedom Riders group, he was merely arrested for showing support for the cause, and being Palestinian. As Fadi Quran said as he was being arrested “We only want our freedom, justice, and dignity.” The activists and Fajr Harb were taken to the detention center of Atarot, where they remain now until further notice.

boycottapartheid
(Photo: Oren Ziv/ Activestills)

This post originally appeared on the website WrittenResistance. All the Freedom Riders have since been released from Israeli custody.

Mariam Al-Barghouti is a Palestinian-American graduated from high school May 2011, currently taking a gap year in attempt to bring more awareness to the Palestinian cause. 

Deema Al-Saafin is from both Gaza and West Bank,she also holds a British passport. She graduated from high school May 2011. She is continuing her studies at Birzeit University, where she is majoring in public administration.

Gaza Lives On

Nov 15, 2011

annie

Once again Filmmaker Ashraf Mashharawi of Gaza’s Media Town, producer of the stunning documentary A story of a war has produced yet another out of the ballpark film, Gaza Lives On. Enjoy, it is very precious and captures the beauty, struggle and spirit of Gazans in a very intimate way.

Mashharawi:

“I just wanted by this film to show how people here have a nice building spirit and to show their love of life and peace so we can see this nice color pictures despite the hard conditions that they have.”

“Gaza Lives On” will be shown 8 times this week on Al Jazeera English channel starting today:

  • 15 November 20:00 GMT

  • 16 November 12:00 GMT

  • 17 November 01:00 GMT

  • 18 November 06:00 GMT

  • 19 November 20:00 GMT

  • 20 November 12:00 GMT

  • 21 November 01:00 GMT

  • 22 November 06:00 GMT

Welcome to the new Mondoweiss

Nov 15, 2011

Philip Weiss and Adam Horowitz

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As you’ve surely noticed things are looking very different around here. We have been working on redesigning the site since the end of the summer, and we’re excited about Mondoweiss 3.0. To us it signifies the continuing evolution of the site away from being simply a blog, to an interactive website that delivers news, hosts thought-provoking analysis and spurs debate.

We hope the new design will be easier to navigate, and help highlight the wide breadth of writing, and writers, we feature on the site. In addition, we want the new site to deepen reader engagement, and bring our very active comments section to the fore.

As with all transitions this is very much a work in progress! Please let us know what you think, we’ll be continuing to tweak and adjust the site in coming days (and probably weeks). Please use the comments section here to share your thoughts and thanks so much for helping the site become what it is today!

Police end Wall Street occupation– for now

Nov 15, 2011

Philip Weiss

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The Bloomberg administration cleared Zuccotti Park in New York this morning, arresting hundreds of participants in Occupy Wall Street, and filling Broadway (below). Photos from Patrick Markee.

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Gaza Gateway provides a closer look at the siege on Gaza

Nov 15, 2011

Seham

Gisha’s Gaza Gateway has published a position paper presenting a brief overview of how Israel continues to maintain control in Gaza. Here are some examples:

The tax system
Israel continues to control taxation in the Gaza Strip, which forms part of a single customs envelope along with Israel and the West Bank. This means that Israel sets the customs and Value Added Tax rates collected for goods and in so doing influences product prices as well as Palestinian fiscal policy. To illustrate: a merchant in Gaza who purchases clothes from an Israeli manufacturer pays VAT at a rate determined by Israel, and Israel is responsible for transferring this amount to the Palestinian Authority. If the merchandise is imported, Israel sets and collects the customs for it and is responsible for transferring the amount to the Palestinian Authority. The VAT and customs rates set by Israel then affect the price the consumer pays for clothes in Gaza.

Physical control of the Gaza Strip
Following “disengagement” in 2005, Israel continued to control the area adjacent to its border with the Gaza Strip on the Palestinian side. In 2008, Israel expanded this area, referred to as the “no-go” zone, and today it covers a distance ranging from 300 to 1,500 meters from the border1.  The area which is restricted in practice includes both areas which have officially been declared off-limits and areas where one risks being shot at. It amounts to some 17% of the entire territory of the Gaza Strip and a third of its agricultural lands.

The land crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt
The 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access marked the end of Israel’s military presence at the Rafah Crossing on the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, yet allowed Israel to maintain substantial control over the terminal. This control was exercised via Israel’s continued control of the Palestinian population registry, which determines who may travel through Rafah, the ability to monitor individuals traveling through the crossing, and the power to decide when and if to close Rafah. The crossing operated routinely as per the Agreement on Movement and Access until June 2006. 

Territorial waters
Israel has complete control over Gaza’s territorial waters and prevents movement of people and goods by sea. It also limits fishing to a distance of three nautical miles from Gaza’s coastline. In 2008, Israel made an exception and allowed six ships to reach Gaza, but has since prevented the arrival of any vessels.  Israel has cited various legal sources as the basis for the ban on maritime travel off the Gaza coast: until 2005 it maintained the ban was imposed pursuant to the laws of occupation; beginning in 2005, it justified its control of Gaza’s territorial waters as “security restrictions on fishing areas off the Gaza Strip coast” , and, at times, as an exclusion zone or a combat zone.  On January 3, 2009, in the midst of the large scale military operation “Cast Lead”, Israel declared a maritime blockade off Gaza’s coast, and though the operation ended that same month, the blockade has remained in force.  In 2001, despite its commitment to allow the construction of a seaport in the Gaza Strip, Israel destroyed the site facilities belonging to the foreign company which was about to begin construction of a port and has since prevented construction by failing to provide donors with assurances that such port would not be destroyed.

Airspace
Israel maintains complete control over Gaza’s airspace and prevents movement of people and commercial goods by air. Gaza’s airport, built in 1998, was closed in October 2000, following the outbreak of the Second Intifada, and bombed by Israel in 2001. Since then, there has been no air traffic into and out of the Strip. The only exception is Israeli aircrafts, manned and unmanned, which fly over the Gaza Strip to carry out observations, collect information and bomb targets including in “targeted killings”, that is to say the assassination from the air of individuals defined by Israel as wanted.

Control of civilian infrastructure
Israel controls the supply of infrastructure upon which the Gaza Strip is reliant. Gaza’s electricity system, as developed since 1967, is largely based on power supplied from Israel through 11 high voltage transmission lines1.  A power station was built in Gaza in 1998, but its capacity has been limited since it was bombed by Israel in 2006. The station has never been fully repaired. Restrictions on the transfer of equipment and the entrance of trained professionals, as well as on the shipping of equipment for repairs outside Gaza, have also impaired the ability to upgrade the electricity system. Another factor that interfered with the operation of the power station was the restrictions Israel imposed on the transfer of industrial diesel into Gaza beginning in October 2007 as part of its policy of “economic warfare”, designed to undermine Gaza’s economy. A dispute over finances between the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip further decreased industrial diesel supply to Gaza in 2010. In early 2011, the shortage was partially resolved by the purchase and transport of diesel for the power station through the tunnels. As a result, the power station’s dependence on Israel has decreased, though it still relies on Israel, to a degree, for shipping equipment for repairs, importing parts, bringing in expert engineers and sending engineers from Gaza for professional training and business meetings. Additionally, Israeli-supplied electricity still makes up the lion’s share of Gaza’s electricity, and there is no plan for an alternative in sight.

Gaza Strip and the West Bank
Following Hamas’ takeover of internal control in Gaza in June 2007, the Palestinian Authority’s influence over Gaza has significantly diminished, and most of the routine administration of the government and public services, such as the education system, policing, sanitation and hospitals, is carried out by the Hamas regime. However, the Palestinian Authority still maintains significant responsibilities, particularly the financing of major public services such as the healthcare system and the supply of electricity. The Palestinian Authority continues to coordinate the passage of people and goods with Israel, and taxes levied on goods transported from Israel through the crossings are collected by Israel on behalf of the PA. Additionally, Palestinian Authority officials remain responsible for transferring applications for changes in the population registry to Israeli authorities, including for the purpose of issuing passports. For this reason, Israel’s control over the Palestinian Authority, which operates both in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, influences the latter’s ability to make independent decisions related to Palestinian residents, govern them and fund public services.

The population registry
Israel continues to control the Palestinian population registry which is common to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Any change made in these records requires Israel’s approval, including the registration of births, marriages, divorces, deaths or address changes. The Palestinian Authority may amend or issue an ID card only after Israeli approval is granted. Israel updates all the changes in its copy of the population registry, which determines who is recognized as a Palestinian resident for the purpose of travel permits. Palestinian passports are issued by the Palestinian Authority only to residents who are listed in the Israeli-administered population registry. Physically, coordination on issues pertaining to the population registry for Gaza is done through meetings between representatives from Israel and the Palestinian Authority in Gaza which are held at Erez Crossing.

And more news from Today in Palestine:

B’tselem: The Israeli gov’t speeds wall construction on its borders with Egypt
B’Tselem center for human rights said the Israeli government accelerated the building of the huge iron wall on its borders with Egypt in the Sinai and finished about 70 kilometers of it.


Aid convoy “Arab Spring” to arrive in Gaza soon
The European campaign to end the siege on Gaza said it is making preparations in cooperation with the European commission for humanitarian aid to send an aid convoy to Gaza later this month.


Nida’ Mohammed (Mohammed’s Cry): Help Kickstart a Gaza Video Documentary

link to sabbah.biz

Land theft and destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Palestinian culture & history


Israel to invite bids for 800 East Jerusalem homes
JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel is to invite tenders for the construction of more than 800 new homes in two settlement neighborhoods of annexed East Jerusalem, a housing ministry spokesman said on Tuesday. Ariel Rosenberg told AFP the ministry had published formal notice of its intention to invite tenders to build 749 housing units in the southern Har Homa neighborhood, and another 65 in Pisgat Zeev in the north.
link to www.maannews.net

Palestinian family given two weeks to vacate East Jerusalem home

Himnuta, a subsidiary of the Jewish National Fund to evict longtime residents, transfer house to settlers.

link to www.haaretz.com

Palestinian family to be evicted within two weeks
Silwanic has learnt that Israeli authorities plan to evict a Palestinian family living in Wadi Hilweh within the next two weeks. The family received a court order notifying them of the eviction expected to take place any time before 28 November 2011. The threatened family owns the house, and have been engaged in a long legal battle for it with Israeli authorities since the first half of last decade. The family has already lost a plot of  land to the Elad settlement association. Should they succeed in appropriating the house, Israeli authorities seek to turn it over to settlers. The Israeli Department of Procedures has demanded that the family pay 2 million NIS as the only means to keeping the property. Under Israeli law, however, this is impossible. Over the decades, authorities have used the same tactics to appropriate many other Palestinian homes and properties in Silwan, claiming that the land belonged  to Jewish people. On occasion when defendants have proved this to be incorrect, the nominated Absentee Property guardian orders the threatened family to leave their house complaining the real owner live out of the country. Through a persistent limiting of defendant families’ legal options, the houses are then acquisitioned by the state who turn them over to Elad and other settlement organisations.
link to silwanic.net

Al Hadidiye to be demolished once again: Halt this new wave of ethnic cleansing!

Immediately contact your consulate and embassy through our email action! While the international community discusses Palestinian statehood, on the ground Israel is continuing the ethnic cleansing and colonization of Palestine with a further displacement push in the Jordan Valley. Al Hadidiye is a Bedouin community of some 112 permanent inhabitants and some 130 further inhabitants that during the two cold winter months return back to villages near Tobas as Israeli forces have destroyed their homes already and they have not found the necessary means to build shelters that can protect them from the winter cold. On Thursday November 10, the Israeli authorities served the community nine new demolition orders that target 17 structures and will affect 72 people , including women and children.

link to www.stopthewall.org

JERUSALEM, November 14, 2011 (WAFA) – The Israel Antiquities Authority Monday approved the resumption of digs at the site of a Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem for the construction of the ‘Museum of Tolerance’ despite the discovery of ancient skeletons at the site, said a Fatah leader in Jerusalem. Member of the Revolutionary Council of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah), Dimitri Diliani, said in a press conference that “the Antiquities Authority has approved digs of 1000 graves in Mamilla, which comes as part of the offensive project called ‘Museum of Tolerance.’” He said the digging process is being resumed extensively under a huge media blackout to hide any discoveries, despite the evident proof of ancient skeletons found in the historical cemetery. Diliani said that desecration of the Mamilla cemetery, which holds unique religious and historical value, is part of Israeli historical and cultural forgery and ethnic cleansing against Palestinians, which affects the dead also.

link to english.wafa.ps

Israeli army steps up attacks on Palestinian water
Speaking to the American Congress in May, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remarked that Israel would maintain a long-term presence in the West Bank’s Jordan Valley. In the months that followed, the Israeli army stepped up its attacks on the water wells of the Palestinians who live there.

link to www.alternativenews.org

Pathology of a Checkpoint in Service of Settlers

Tamar Fleishman – The Palestine Chronicle – “In order to give this prohibition validity, a special decree […] signed by the commander in charge of the Central Command, Yaeir Nave, had been issued in 2006. The procedure was called ‘regulatory selection’ and as the commander of the checkpoint explained: ‘during the regulatory selection we stop the car, check whether it’s a Jew or an Arab, if it`s a Jew – check to see if he is disoriented and warn him from heading on to Ramallah’. When I mentioned the bad historic connotation of the expression, he laconically replied: ‘the army has enough to deal with. It can`t be bothered with every single word…’”

link to palestinechronicle.com

Five Republican congressmen take Christian Zionist solidarity tour of settlements, Philip Weiss and Adam Horowitz

From the Arutz Sheva article “Congressmen with ‘Judeo-Christian Spirit’ Tour Heartland”: On November 9, five US Congressmen ventured into otherwise uncharted territory, at least by the standards of traditional diplomatic delegations to Israel. A strong affinity to Israel and genuine frustration with repeated fatal failures of “peace processes” drove these American leaders to take a fresh look at Israel’s heartland…
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/11/5-republican-congressmen-take-christian-zionist-tour-of-settlements.html
Israel routinely produces new ploys to counter Palestinian pleas for justice. But is anybody interested?
Israeli Violence & Warmongering
Israeli tanks bomb east of Gaza
Israeli tanks on Tuesday morning fired a barrage of artillery shells at the eastern part of Gaza city.
link to www.palestine-info.co.ukMedia: Israel military chief favors Gaza offensive (AP)
AP – Israeli media report the nation’s top military commander as saying he favors a major offensive in Gaza because of rocket attacks.
link to us.rd.yahoo.com

Settler threatens resident with gun in Ras al-Amoud
Eyewitnesses report seeing an Israeli settler point a gun at a Palestinian resident in Ras al-Amoud district of Silwan on Friday night, 10 November. The incident followed confrontations between Palestinian residents and Israeli forces in Al-Hara al-Wasta district, which lies next to Ras al-Amoud. The settler involved was not questioned or charged by police. Settler violence has long been an unfortunate fact of life for Palestinian inhabitants of Silwan. Last year Samer Sarhan, 36, was shot dead by a settler guard, and this year Milad Ayyash, 16, met the same fate. Many others have been grievously injured, including Mazen Audeh, 23, who was shot in the leg by a settler; Ameer Froukh, 13, shot; and Ahmad Qaraeen, 39, who was shot in both legs with an M-16 rifle by a settler on leave from his military service.

link to silwanic.netReport: Settlers vandalize Palestinian home in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Settlers wrote graffiti on a Palestinian owned apartment in Jerusalem on Tuesday in a suspected “price tag” attack. Israeli police arrested two suspects who confessed to the vandalism charges, the official news agency Wafa said. The family had received death threats in the past from Jewish extremists, Wafa added. Hardline Jewish settlers have adopted what they call a “price tag” policy under which they have attacked Palestinians and their property in response to Israeli government measures against settlements.
link to www.maannews.net

Political Detainees / Other Prisoner News

Confrontations throughout Silwan, one arrested

Clashes erupted in Bir Ayyub district of Silwan on Saturday night, 12 November, when Israeli forces provoked confrontations with local residents. Clashes quickly spread to other neighborhoods, with Israeli forces firing tear gas and rubber bullets on residents. A 16-year old boy, Mahmoud Atyeh, was arrested and beaten by Israeli officers. Eyewitnesses state that violence erupted when a number of Israeli forces chased a group of local youth who had been standing in the street.

link to silwanic.net

PA security kidnaps four Hamas members in W. Bank areas
The Palestinian authority security forces detained in recent raids four Palestinian citizens affiliated with Hamas Movement in the West Bank.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

IOF soldiers round up six West Bankers
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up six Palestinians in different West Bank areas at dawn Tuesday including three young men in Doheisha refugee camp south of Bethlehem.

link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

The minister of women’s affairs in Gaza, Jameela al-Shuntee, has denounced a decision by the Israeli Prison Authorities to install surveillance cameras in female common areas inside the Hasharon Prison. Al-Shuntee asserted that this arbitrary measure which violated their rights was immoral, and that its goal was to harm and provoke the prisoners. In a written statement from Al-Shuntee, she stated that the surveillance of female prisoners was a violation of the legal and human rights laws which the Israeli occupation and international organizations trumpet, and which call for the safeguarding of human rights. She asserted that, “What the occupational army does consistently confirms that it is bereft of every moral value.”
The freed prisoner, Amal Fayez Jumaah, has languished in the Nablus Specialist Hospital in the northern West Bank for more than two weeks following a serious deterioration in her health subsequent to her release from Israeli prison. She was released from prison as part of the recent prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas. Jumaah has suffered from cancer for many years alongside a range of other diseases and conditions resulting from her captivity including back and stomach problems. The visages of extreme fatigue are apparent on her as a result of the Israeli policy of serious medical neglect suffered by Palestinian prisoners and which results in a multitude of accumulated diseases and conditions.
 Other Human Rights Violations / Racism
JERUSALEM, November 14, 2011 (WAFA) – Moaz Za’tari, General Manager of Al-Maqdese for Society Development (MSD), strongly condemned the decision of Israeli Ministerial Committee for legislation to pass discriminatory laws, hindering the civil work and human rights organizations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, according to a press release published by MSD on Monday. These discriminatory Israeli bills will hinder the work of human rights organizations and CSOs registered in Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. This includes the Israeli left wing and Palestinian organizations, he said.
link to english.wafa.psMore racist laws are on the way in Israel
Israel’s Knesset (parliament) is set to discuss a number of bills in its winter session which Palestinians regard as racist, continuing a policy of “unprecedented racist legislation in 1948 Palestine” aimed at undermining the very existence of Palestinians in their own land. As part of the “Judaisation” process, a proposed law calls for the end of Arabic as an official language of the state of Israel, a move which would marginalise ever further one-fifth of the population for whom Arabic is the mother-tongue. Indeed, Arabic was the official language of Palestine during the British Mandate period before the 1948 Nakba (Catastrophe). The former head of Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet, has drafted the proposed law. Avi Dichter, MK for the Kadima Party, has included the language stipulation in a bill headed “Israel as the national state of the Jewish people” in collaboration with the Strategic Institute for Zionism, and supported by one-third of the Jewish members of the Knesset.

Solidarity/ Activism/ Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions
Watch Follow the Freedom Rides, by Adam Horowitz
live streaming video from freedomriders at livestream.com The following statement was made at the start of the Freedom Ride protest this morning: My name is Hurriyeh Ziadah. I am the media spokeswomen for the Palestinian Freedom Rides campaign. Thank you all for being here today. Fifty years ago brave African American civil rights activists challenged the racist and unjust laws of Jim Crow by boarding buses to the segregated South, thereby embarking on a campaign of civil disobedience and direct action.
link to mondoweiss.netStatement of the Palestinian Freedom Riders, Jesse Bacon
As of now, 6 Palestinian Freedom Riders are about to be arrested just inside Jerusalem. Read why the Palestinian human rights activists boarded segregated buses below. My name is Hurriyeh Ziadah. I am the media spokeswomen for the Palestinian Freedom Rides campaign. Thank you all for being here today. Fifty years ago brave African American civil rights activists challenged the racist and unjust laws of Jim Crow by boarding buses to the segregated South, thereby embarking on a campaign of civil disobedience and direct action.
link to theonlydemocracy.org

For today’s Freedom Riders– an old letter from a Birmingham Jail

Because he is arguably the most beloved, esteemed American not only of my generation but for all time, revered and loved internationally, neither this letter nor its author require further introduction. May these timely excerpts serve to open and expand hearts and minds not only for our current tribulations but for stressful passages inflicting future generations. The full text can be found here.

Freedom Riders on the West Bank?
In May 1961, 13 Freedom Riders left Washington DC on Greyhound and Trailways buses headed to New Orleans in order to directly challenge segregation in the Jim Crow South by staging mixed-race bus rides.  Inspired by this action 50 years later, this Tuesday, November 15th, Palestinian Freedom Riders will be challenging the Israeli military occupation through nonviolent civil disobedience by boarding segregated Israeli public transportation headed from the West Bank to Occupied East Jerusalem.

Separate Is Not Equal: Standing in solidarity with the Palestinian Freedom Riders, Adam Horowitz

The above image is part of a protest Jewish Voice for Peace is planning tomorrow in solidarity with the Palestinian Freedom Rides. The artist, Ethan Heitner, explains in a post on the Just Seeds Artists Cooperative website how the images fit into the protest…

US Freedom Riders woke a nation. Palestinian Freedom Riders must wake the world, Clarence B. Jones
Last month I was invited as a guest to a reunion of former Assistant and Deputy Attorneys General from the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department during the presidencies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Pulitzer-Prize-winning civil rights historian Taylor Branch and civil rights activists Julian Bond and Robert Moses also attended. Moses had been Mississippi Field Director of Voter Registration for the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee during the 1960s. The reunion was also the occasion for the celebration of the 90th birthday of John Doer, the former Civil Rights Division’s Deputy Attorney General.

Freedom Waves: Another Challenge to the Israeli Naval Blockade of Gaza and the U.S. Congress, Kit Kittredge
Why I wanted to Challenge the Israeli Naval Blockade of Gaza. In the overland five trips I have made to Gaza since March, 2009, I have seen the disastrous effect of the brutal Israeli land and sea blockade has had on the Palestinian people.  I have seen the terrible level of destruction that the 2008-2009 Israeli attack wrecked on Gaza, in which 1,400 Palestinians were killed in the 22 day attack, 5,000 were wounded and 50,000 were made homeless.  I was on the Gaza Freedom March in 2009 and I was a passenger on the US Boat to Gaza, the “Audacity of Hope” that was forbidden from sailing June, 2011 by the Greek government on behalf of the Israeli government.
link to dissidentvoice.orgPalestinians express solidarity to NYC ‘Occupy’ camp before raid; Activist in tweet controversy linked to Israel PR groups, Abraham Greenhouse
Sieradski has also provided professional services to groups whose core mission is to influence public opinion in support of the Israeli state by whitewashing its crimes against Palestinians. His LinkedIn profile notes his work with Israel21c, a hasbara organization which “redefines the conversation about Israel” by diverting media and public attention away from Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and instead toward it’s “vibrant diversity, humanity, creativity, innovative spirit, and responsiveness”. The organization, which has also “trained more than 1,500 Israel activists in seven US cities,” is currently headed by former AIPAC PresidentAmy Friedkin. It should be no surprise that an “anarchist” who not only supports the concept of states, but believes “strongly” in the “need” for an ethnocratic state, in which the domination of one ethnic group over another is enshrined in law, sees no problem in aligning himself with far-right individuals and institutions when its suits his purposes.
link to electronicintifada.net

Occupy movement cannot be silent on Israel/Palestine, say 3 Jewish groups
This is a statement from Jewish Voice for Peace-NY, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, and Jews Say No! As Jewish-American organizations, we regret that right wing media outlets, organizations, and individuals have tried to undermine the Occupy Movement with unfounded accusations of anti-Semitism. We have been particularly concerned to see the conflation of anti-Semitism with criticism of Israel. Anti-Semitism is an expression of bigotry while criticism of Israel, just like an anti-capitalist or an anti-war statement, is an expression of a political position. It is important to maintain this distinction between bigotry against an ethnic or religious group and criticism of a state or its policies and actions. The Occupy space has been a consistent venue for expressions of non-violent resistance to economic injustice and other forms of government oppression, including solidarity for the occupied people of Palestine. As Jewish-Americans who endorse the goals of OWS and are committed to the struggle for justice in Israel-Palestine, we believe it would be an egregious double standard to ask the Occupy movement, which has so admirably raised the call for justice and freedom around the world, to silence itself when it comes to Israel-Palestine. Instead, we seek to ensure that space is created at OWS to speak about Israel-Palestine when appropriate and that this space is a welcoming, safe space for all people.

Finkelstein says international law is powerful weapon for boycott
Jews for Boycotting Israel Goods – The public will want to know, you are asking us to boycott until when? Until the Occupation ends, as defined in international law, or until Israel ends? If the latter, you will have no possibility of reaching beyond the people in this room.”
link to jews4big.wordpress.com

Israel trip divides Chicago Jewish group
Josh Nathan-Kazis – The Forward – A social service trip to Israel may seem like an innocuous program for a Jewish social service organization. But Avodah, a Chicago-based Jewish anti-poverty group, has become deeply divided by controversy over just such a trip, with some members demanding that the itinerary include the Palestinian territories and that otherwise the trip would become an act of whitewashing Israeli occupation and oppression of the Palestinians.
link to www.forward.com

Political News
Ben-Eliezer: Israel, Egypt on collision course
Labor MK and close friend of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warns of Muslim Brotherhood’s growing influence.
link to www.ynetnews.com
RAMALLAH, November 14, 2011 (WAFA) – Minister of Economy, Hassan Abu Libdeh told Voice of Palestine Monday that “Israel’s decision to freeze Palestinian Authority’s tax revenues is a denial to the international conventions.”  He added, “These revenues are not a grant from Israel; they are Palestinian money that Israel collects in exchange of 3% of the value.” He expressed hope that the United States of America will be able to put pressure on Israel to retract this decision.

Reintegrating Jordan and West Bank
Jordanian officials, including King Abdullah II, have repeatedly voiced of late their frustration and despair with regard to Israel’s intransigence and anti-peace policies.

AP – Weeks after a new round of fighting with Gaza militants subsided, a senior Israeli military official said Sunday that Israel is ready and able to topple the territory’s Hamas government, though it has no immediate plans to do so.

Drill conducted amid severe threats of abductions following the completion of the Shalit prisoner swap.

Sarkozy pledges ‘friendship’ to Netanyahu after gaffe
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has written to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reaffirm friendship despite what he refers to as their “differing views on the Middle East,” Israeli officials said on Monday.

U.S. & Other Mideast News

FBI: Anti-Muslim ‘hate crimes’ up 50 percent in U.S.
WASHINGTON — So-called “hate crimes” against Muslims rose nearly 50 percent in the United States in 2010, according to FBI statistics released Monday. The figures, part of a report on hate crimes, showed actions motivated by anti-Muslim prejudice rose to 160 in 2010 from 107 the prior year. Anti-Jewish crimes were down from the previous year at 887 incidents from 931 the previous year. The number of crimes motivated by anti-Catholic sentiment rose to 58 last year, from 51 in 2009. The total number of incidents classified as hate crimes rose marginally in 2010 to 6,628. Of the total, 47.3 percent were motivated by race and 20 percent by religion, the FBI statistics showed.

In an interview this morning with Meet the Press’ David Gregory, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) repeated her claim that the Iraq should pay America for the privilege of having their nation invaded and occupied for most of the last decade — and then doubled down by calling for Iraq to pay millions of dollars for each American killed in that country…

Malaysia hosts symbolic trial against Bush, Blair (AP)
AP – Malaysian-led activists plan to hold a symbolic trial this month against former President George W. Bush and British ex-leader Tony Blair on charges of committing crimes against peace in the Iraq war.

link to us.rd.yahoo.com

Syria calls for Arab League meeting
President Assad requests summit of regional bloc a day after the body votes to suspend Damascus over bloody crackdown.

Iraq official slams Arab League’s Syria suspension (AP)
AP – An Iraqi government spokesman says a decision by the Arab League to suspend Syria over the country’s bloody crackdown of an eight-month uprising may make matters worse.

Jailed UAE activists begin hunger strike
Move aimed at pressuring authorities to release activists unconditionally and halt judicial proceedings against them.

Iran
US expert: We must wage all-out financial war on Iran
Former Treasury official Avi Jorisch talks to Ynet about US’ efforts to stifle Iran’s economy and what is stopping Obama administration from taking more drastic measures.
link to www.ynetnews.com
United States also does not seem thrilled at the prospect of launching another war in the region.

Iran dismisses IAEA report as ‘meaningless’
Parliament speaker likens UN agency’s assessment of atomic programme to “a copy of orders” issued by US and Israel.

link to english.aljazeera.net

‘Don’t believe Iran blast was an accident’
Western intelligence source tells Time magazine Mossad was behind Saturday’s blast in Iranian missile

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