MONDOWEISS ONLINE NEWSLETTER

NOVANEWS

09/13/2010

• A Jordanian complains about his king and the Zionists
• 91 year old, and his grandson, among three farm workers killed by Israeli shells in Gaza
• On 9/11 anniversary, Park 51 Islamic center sparks rallies, for and against
• After Birthright: ‘We’re not stereotypes’
• Injustice is Injustice

A Jordanian complains about his king and the Zionists

Sep 13, 2010 

Philip Weiss

 

The other night in Jordan my wife and I ate at a fancy place and when the bill came, I had to walk off to the cash machine to get more money. 

When I got back my wife was sitting with the restaurateur and two of his friends drinking tea and having a political conversation. The men were complaining about King Abdullah of Jordan. The night before the king’s brother had had a wedding in the desert. 15 million dinar ($22 million). Earlier this year the queen had had a birthday. 10 million dinar. Then the queen was off to Italy to help the poor children of Italy. There are no poor children here?

I was excited to hear Jordanians complaining about their king. They spoke English well, they were sophisticated men. I sat on a plastic chair that a boy brought over.

The king doesn’t care about his people. There is a layer of rich people and then nothing, and then there are the common people. Many make 3-500 dinar a month. But it takes 1000 dinar a month to live in this country.

I said, What will it take to change that? The restaurateur said, “Obama can change it, maybe.”

In that moment, the conversation made a sudden turn.

I felt he was saying that Obama was propping the king up to support Israel and that only when American support for Israel changed would the corrupt dictatorships of the Arab world begin to loosen.

I said, “Do you think Obama can bring middle east peace?”

The man made a face. “No. He canot. No one can do that.”

Why not? “When someone takes your land and your house, and make you flee, and they rape your mother and kill your sister, do you think that you can forget that? No. No one can forget that.”

Besides, he went on, there was a difference between the Palestinians in the 67 territories and the ones in the 48 territories. In the 48, they are relatively comfortable, they can make money. But in the 67 it is a prison. You know, he went on, Netanyahu is more powerful than Obama. “Because what is the most powerful thing in the world, money. And who has the most money? The Jews. So Netanyahu doesn’t have to do anything he doesn’t want.”

I said, “But Abdullah and ‘Asad just met in Damascus and said that they would accept Israel on the 67 lines. The Arab League has said the same. Why isn’t that possible?”

My wife stood up. “Phil I’m gong tback to the hotel.” She finds political conversations boring. I told her to wait a minute.

He said, “No one can make a peace. God can’t make a peace. Besides, there are too many people making money off the situation.”

And after that we shook hands and left.

A few comments: I went to Jordan to learn more about the Arab context of the problem. And it is interesting that this man has a more sophisticated understanding of the root of the problem than most people in the United States, when he speaks so feelingly of the Arab dispossession and persecution of the Palestinians. Few people in the U.S. are aware of these things. Even though Brown scholar Glenn Loury talks about the Nakba on bloggingheads.tv, this is a minority understanding. If you read Michael Beschloss’s book on great presidential decisions or Robert Kaplan’s book on The Arabists, you will find that the creation of Israel is described as a great liberal advance. But it wasn’t a liberal advance. It was solving a European problem with a colonial enterprise that resolved itself with ethnic cleansing. The ethnic cleansing is remembered and resented across the Arab world. The Israelis thought that they could merely push the problem away, and they still think that, but it has haunted them.

The conversation reminds me of why I am for the right of return. Because it is way overdue, because as Gideon Levy says in his column that Adam quoted here the other day, it is the soul of the issue, because it is right, because it is about respect, because the U.N. demanded it again and again and again, and because it would heal more than anything else would heal. These old grievances must be dealt with. There is only one way to put them aside, acknowledgment, apology, compensation. And yes, restoration of villages and homes when people wish to return (without eviction).

The description of Jewish power will strike many people as anti-Semitic. And I guess it is; certainly it is imprecise and makes gross generalizations about a group of people. Some years ago Tom Friedman (who is rich as Croesus) spluttered that the Arab world is filled with conspiracy theories; surely he meant talk like this. While it is true that I should have said to the man that I am Jewish, (my wife was impatient, I wanted to ask him if he was Palestinian and didn’t), I would just point out that his statement is consistent with, a, Seymour Hersh saying on Amy Goodman that the Iran bombing push is about “Jewish money” in the political system, b, MJ Rosenberg saying recently that Netanyahu has more power in Congress than Obama does, again because of election contributions/the lobby, c, Juan Cole saying that neoconservative ideas persist because half of the Fortune 400 billionaires are neocons (which yes is shorthand for rightwing Jews), d, Netanyahu saying, in a recently discovered video from ten years back, that the U.S. is “something that can be easily moved” (or similar words; lousy internet connection here).  I have always said that an honest descripton of how much money Jews bring into the political process is necessary if we are going to straighten this issue out. Denying Jewish power is an intellectual dodge–yes, one widely undertaken to prevent another Holocaust. Well sorry it’s not helping. 

The conversation gave me a sense of purpose. Zionism created this thoughtful man’s rage. Which, yes, is shared across the Arab world. This grievance must be answered. Only madmen want to strip Jews of power in western societies. Jewish power is just the flavor of the elite these days, the meritocratic culture of the west. The idea is to change Jews. Young Jews, liberal Jews, aware Jews, empowered Jews, universalist Jews, led by people like Lynn Gottlieb and Rebecca Vilkomerson, freely acknowledge the man’s grievance and are working to change the Jewish adherence to Zionism. That is the most productive work I can do.

91 year old, and his grandson, among three farm workers killed by Israeli shells in Gaza

Sep 13, 2010

Adie Mormech

When 91 year old Ibrahim Abu Sayed left his home this morning to check on his land and animals by the remains of his old house, he took with him his 17 year old grandson Hossam and his friend and neighbour Ismail Abu Oda, who was 16. His son and Hossam’s father didn’t want to come because it was the final day of EID, the muslim celebration that follows Ramadan.

Despite his age, Ibrahim Abu Sayed was still mobile enough to regularly check his three dunums of land, as he had done for decades, the last decade being the hardest as his house was destroyed in 2000 by Israeli bulldozers and his rebuilt house destroyed in the three-week attacks by Israel on Gaza over the new year of 2009.

But early Saturday evening would be the last time Ibrahim, Hossam and Ismail would work their land. 700 metres from the border where their land was located, north of Sharab street, Israeli tanks made an incursion into Gaza. The grandfather, his grandson and friend did not stand a chance as the tanks fired shells directly at them.

We met the family members at the hospital. The wife of Ibrahim was devastated, screaming in horror at the fate that had befallen her family.

“I was there half an hour before it happened”, said Mohammed Abu Oda, another relative. “I saw them by their sheep. I heard the shells from the Israeli tanks, the shells we learned soon afterwards had killed our relatives.”

They were killed instantly, and according to the doctor (who wished to remain anonymous) who examined once they had arrived at Beit Hanoun hospital. Ibrahim suffered severe shrapnel injuries to his face, chest and stomach and his grandson Hossam had the back of his head blown away. We verified this immediately as we saw the mutilated bodies in the morgue. Ismail, the friend of Hossam, had arrived at the hospital 30 minutes after the others but had been buried before we got there; most part of his head was shot away. The boys were close friends, studying in the 9th and 10th grade respectively, and had expected to return to school the following day after Eid.

But on that day they still were on holidays, so they helped Ibrahim, like they were used to do. Because despite of having faced their hardest times, after their house was destroyed and their land bulldozed, the bedouin family still had no other job other than farming. Although they were obliged to farm their land close to the border, it was still far enough away to be outside the Israeli imposed “buffer zone”

“Israel claims that there’s a three hundred meter buffer zone, but they were 700 meters far from the border”, said an Uncle of Ismail, Majdy Abu Oda. “The people there are farmers who’ve been living there for years. We, the people here, were never dangerous for the Israelis. They have photos of the people who live and work here, the area is full off observation cameras. So they knew them.”

That was why the family considered themselves to be safe, even though there were tanks at the border. But they paid with their lives for that. More victims of Israel’s ‘collective punishment’, a crime against humanity according to article 33 of the Geneva Convention of which Israel is a signatory member.

So a 91 year old man, his grandson and a friend of his were killed while tending to their livestock on their own farm, 700 metres from the border with Israel. Where is the clamour for justice? Where is the international outrage that at least should be comparable to the Israeli settlers shot a week ago, who actually were not settled on their own land according to international law? Israeli armed forces have continued to wage a war against civilians in Gaza, long after the Israeli air and ground assault in the winter of 2008/2009.

With the family clearly posing no threat, and known as long term residents of the area, there is little imagination required to understand the ease with which these Israeli soldiers felt they could kill these three men with impunity, once their livelihood had already been destroyed.

Saber Zaneen General Coordinator of the Beit Hanoun solidarity group, ‘Local Initiative’ released a callout for justice in a statement:

“Today the occupation committed a new crime which will be added to its black list. Three martyrs now rest in heaven after the shelling an again we call on the international community and civil society to pressure the occupation forces to stop such crimes against Palestinian civilians and to start working on giving some protection to the local people in the Gaza Strip.”

Adie Mormech is a human rights advocate based in the Gaza Strip who was previously abducted by the Israeli navy from the eighth Free Gaza Movement boat, the Spirit of Humanity. He volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement.

On 9/11 anniversary, Park 51 Islamic center sparks rallies, for and against

Sep 12, 2010

Alex Kane and Ellen Davidson

Thousands rallied in Manhattan’s City Hall Park, near the site of Ground Zero, on the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks to denounce anti-Muslim bigotry, while blocks away an equal number demonstrated against the proposed Cordoba House Islamic community center at 51 Park Place in lower Manhattan.

At the Unity and Solidarity Rally, speakers denounced racism, urging protesters to fight growing anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the Israel/Palestine conflict. The multiracial crowd heard antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan, former U.S. Rep. and Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney, former U.S. Attorney Ramsey Clark, the Raging Grannies and representatives of peace, religious, labor, and community organizations including the Albany Central Labor Federation, the Bail Out the People Movement, Riverside Church, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, the Islamic Society of North America, United for Peace and Justice, the Center for Constitutional Rights and Veterans for Peace. The anti-Islamophobia protest was organized by the International Action Center and backed by a broad coalition of leftist, Muslim, Arab and Palestine solidarity groups. Demonstrators marched to Foley Square, chanting and holding signs against anti-Muslim bigotry.

At the anti-Cordoba House rally, the mostly white participants waved U.S. flags and chanted “No mosque here.” Speakers at the anti-community center rally included Pamela Geller, a leading voice on the Islamophobic right, and the notorious Dutch politician Geert Wilders, who has stated that he “hates Islam.”

The slide show below features pictures from both actions.

This report originally appeared in the Indypendent.

 
After Birthright: ‘We’re not stereotypes’

Sep 12, 2010 

Rachel Marcuse

 

A short film made in December, 2007 by Images for life project with Al-Rowwad center in Aida refugee camp.

Last month, activist Rachel Marcuse spent 10 days in Israel as part of the Taglit-Birthright program — a fully sponsored trip for young North American Jews to learn more about the country. She went to bear witness and ask questions about the Israeli state’s treatment of Palestinians, and to learn about other complex issues in Israel today. After the program, she spent another 10 days elsewhere in Israel and the West Bank of Palestine talking to Israeli Jews, Palestinian citizens of Israel, international activists, and Palestinians in the occupied territories. This is the sixth of a seven-part series on what she found. You can read the entire series here. This series first appeared in rabble.ca and this story can be found here.

Hannah and I wait for the green-and-white bus in Jerusalem to take us to the checkpoint where we’ll cross into the West Bank on our way to Bethlehem. As soon as we’re on board, it feels like we’re entering a very different place — Arab music plays on the bus radio and a poster of a horse hangs above the driver. We get out at the heavily-fortified checkpoint and are waved through by a bored-looking guard who glances at our foreign passports, but doesn’t inspect them.

We get into a taxi and pass the Separation Wall, covered by some incredible graffiti. The taxi driver offers to take us on a tour of the art of the famous street artist, Banksy, who has done numerous pieces on the wall and around Bethlehem. We decline as we have an appointment at the Al-Rowwad Centre in the Aida Refugee Camp just outside Bethlehem.

The group sums up its work:

Al-Rowwad (Pioneers for life) is a cultural and theatre training centre, established in 1998….Alrowwad, initiator of the “Beautiful Non-violent Resistance”, is an independent, dynamic, community-based not-for-profit organization which strives to empower children and women by targeting behaviour, knowledge, concepts and practices through beautiful and non-violent means. 

We are greeted by three friendly staff when we arrive. One of the young men, it turns out, started using Al-Rowwad’s services himself 11 years ago. He’s now 22 and runs IT for the Centre. There is zero green space in Aida Camp, where the houses are stacked on top of each other, and it becomes clear that the Centre plays a vital role in the camp for kids who don’t have much in the way of resources or community services and are often just really bored.

We’re shown several videos about the separation wall and the checkpoint, all created by people at the centre, including, of course, the children. We are shown images of the line-ups at the checkpoint: 5,000 Palestinians cross each day into Jerusalem — many to go to work — often lining up at 3 a.m. in order to make it through in time.

Two of the staff members, Murad and Ahmed, both in their early 20s, take us on a tour of the UN-administered refugee camp. We see kids filling containers with water at a pump, because, we are told, “you never know when the Israelis are going to turn off the water.” We wander through a housing compound and are quickly offered tea by several residents. This is typical. Throughout the West Bank, we are offered tea and coffee constantly — everyone, it seems, wants to sit us down and tell us their story. The friendliness, the hospitality, is almost overwhelming. We stop at one woman’s house and she brings us black tea with mint and a plate of watermelon. Her little girl is fascinated by my camera and puts on my hat and sunglasses. She doesn’t speak any English, but, as always with kids, it doesn’t really matter.

We hear something from this family that we hear echoed in stories from many Palestinians: “We’re not stereotypes,” i.e., “We’re not terrorists.” It’s interesting that this thought is articulated so clearly — and in English at that! It almost feels like many of the folks we talk to have received media training — but perhaps it’s more about practicality. The Palestinians’ very livelihood, in many ways, depends on support from the international community and everyone takes the opportunity to talk to a foreigner, especially if she’s writing about them.

Later in the day, in Ramallah, we meet other folks who really do get media training. These are the activists with the International Solidarity Movement:

The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is a Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the Israeli apartheid in Palestine by using nonviolent, direct-action methods and principles. Founded by a small group of primarily Palestinian and Israeli activists in August 2001, ISM aims to support and strengthen the Palestinian popular resistance by providing the Palestinian people with two resources, international solidarity and an international voice with which to nonviolently resist an overwhelming military occupation force.

“Fred,” our Australian media contact, meets us at a café in central Ramallah. (Fred is not his real name: all of the activists take code names to counter the frequent harassment from the Israel Defense Forces.) The café, named “Stars and Bucks,” has no formal connection to Starbucks, although it certainly imitates the aesthetic of the global chain. “Fred” checks us out with some care and eventually brings us back to the ISM apartment so I can interview some of the activists.

I’m interested in why they’re here. The response from the half dozen young people we meet, all between 22 and 30, is that the movement connects directly to them. They feel that their home governments are complicit in oppression of the Palestinians and that they had to do something. A sense of justice comes out in the conversations.

“Hassan,” a former business consultant from London, explains his decision to come to the West Bank: “First, my government supports and legitimizes the crimes of the Israeli state. Second, the conflict is a key source of geo-political conflict in the world. It’s up to citizens of the world to stop it when the solution is so simple.”

Hassan shows me a tear gas canister that nearly hit him at a demonstration a couple of weeks back. He tells me that these large metal canisters are frequently shot into crowds — as opposed to over, which is theoretically the soldiers’ obligation — wounding, and even killing, many in the process. The ISM activists act as human shields. They take the lead from local Palestinians and hope that their presence as internationals will reduce the number of injuries… and deaths. They are not always successful. I think of Rachel Corrie. ISM’ers take photographs, record video and disseminate these records around the world.

“Eli,” also from the U.K., was politicized while doing her Master’s degree. It’s her second time in Palestine. She’s still shocked by the situation, especially in Hebron: that’s where she saw graffiti that read “Gas the Arabs.” I ask her why she thinks more Israelis aren’t involved in peace activism. She tells me that the Israel propaganda machine keeps people willfully ignorant. She says, if you’re a Jew in Israel, it’s “easy to have a nice life.” The soldiers, she worries, are “just teenagers who are bored.”

We leave the apartment and head to an inexpensive hotel near the central square in Ramallah. We drop our stuff off and go out to get some food. Although we are two of the very few women on the street after dark, no one bothers us. The men strike us as less aggressive than in Israel. We grab some shwarma — possibly the best I’ve ever had — and head back to the hotel. We fall asleep to the sound of the call to prayer.

Tomorrow, Hannah and I will go to Hebron. It turns out to be the most tense place I have ever been.

Rachel Marcuse is a Vancouver-based activist, facilitator and apparatchick. The executive director of the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE), a municipal political party, she also freelances, focussing on facilitation skills, youth-engagement and strategic planning. Her views do not necessarily represent the positions of any organization whatsoever.

Injustice is Injustice

Sep 12, 2010 

Joseph Glatzer

Yesterday, I started this 9th 9-11 anniversary as I would any other day: watching Al Jazeera English video clips from their You Tube channel. 

I start with an “Inside Story” about Mohamed ElBaradei and other opposition movements inside Egypt demanding change.

Next, I watch a report about Iranian opposition figure Mehdi Karroubi’s house being attacked and vandalized.  He was put on unofficial house arrest by Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Basij forces to prevent him attending the annual al-Quds day march.

The regime fears a repeat of last year’s Green Movement tour de force; when they used the oppurtunity for mass protests: against Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians and the ruling regime in their country.

Then, a Nour Odeh report from the West Bank.  Even on Eid many Palestinian families are denied visits to their loved ones.  Hundreds of Palestinians’ are buried in unmarked graves, identified by number only.  Israel refuses to return the bodies to the families.

Then, a short interview with Jesse Jackson on the NY Mosque and images of the counter-protests are shown.

Finally, a segment about a new “Museum of Shame” in Turkey; commemorating the victims of the 1980 military coup.  Several referendums will be voted on tomorrow in Turkey, including one that lifts immunity for military officials involved in the 1980 coup.

From a pro-US authoritarian government in Egypt, to an anti Imperialist & pro-Palestinian government in Iran, to a pro-US/anti-Palestinian government in Israel, to anti-mosque protesters in the US, all the way to a pro and anti-US/pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian government in Turkey.  It doesn’t matter.

It’s not about pro or anti anything.  It’s about insider vs. outsider, people in power vs. the people, the marginalized vs. the glorified.

No matter the purported ideology of the government they are all fighting the people, and the people are fighting for justice.

After watching these clips in succession it hit me: I’m not just for the Palestinians.  I’m for anyone anywhere fighting the power that oppresses them; no matter what ideological disguise it uses to cloak itself.