Da: kobrenj
Oggetto: Janet’s Gaza/Palestine Digest (7/5/09)
Data: 06 luglio 2009 5:02:29 GMT+02:00
Thirteen items today…Janet
Free Gaza Boat Hijacking
1. Some UK FreeGaza 21 detainees likely to be deported Monday
2. U.S. State Department “response” to boat hijacking
3. No Comment on Kidnapping of McKinney
4. “The Israelis hijacked us because we wanted to give crayons to the children of Gaza”
5. Gaza activist talks to Al Jazeera from Israeli jail – 4 Jul 09
6. Report from the Kidnapped Passengers in Ramle Prison, July 4, 2009
7. Letter from an Israeli Jail, by Cynthia McKinney
8. Interview from a kidnapped passenger, Adie Mormech – Prison Cell, Givon Jail, Ramle, Israel
9. Free Gaza on Twitter
Commentary
10. New foreclosure remedy: Become Jewish & move to Israel! By Jane Stillwater
11. Am I being anti-semitic — or just being anti-injustice? Asks Jane Stillwater
12. Sunday Perspective: Israeli settlements exist on unlawful grounds
13. Crimes cannot be forgotten (disturbing photos)
1. Some UK FreeGaza 21 detainees likely to be deported Monday
5 July 2009 22:36:15 GMT+02:00
Some of the UK FreeGaza 21 detainees likely to be deported Monday, should arrive to Heathrow 13.30 Monday.
We have just heard that at least 3 of the 6 British FreeGaza detainees are being put on a flight to London in the morning, due to arrive at Heathrow at 13.30 p.m.
Because it is a Sunday and we have only just heard this news, we are trying to spread the word as well as we can – so we’d be really really grateful if you could forward this email to your contacts. Some relatives and supporters will be there to meet them – but we ask anyone in the London area who is able to go to the airport to meet them to do so.
We are currently unable to make contact with the group, who have been moved to cells at Ben Gurion airport detention center. Once we have confirmation that they are on the morning flight, we will post to our website: www.freegaza.org
If you live in the London area, please try and make it down to Heathrow to meet them. We expect to have journalists at the airport to report on their deportation, and we are trying to arrange for a press conference in London for later in the afternoon.
More to follow! …
www.freegaza.org
2. U.S. State Department “response” to boat hijacking
Excerpt from
Ian Kelly
Department Spokesman
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
1 July 2009
MR. KELLY: Yeah, go ahead.
QUESTION: Erin Connors from Press TV. Former congresswoman Cynthia McKinney
and members of the Free Gaza Movement were intercepted by the Israeli army
when they were on a humanitarian mission over there. What’s being done about
that? Are they on their way home? Will they be deported? What’s the next
step there, and will their supplies ever get to where they’re going?
MR. KELLY: On that last question, I don’t know the answer, actually. I think
I have to refer you to the Government of Israel. We can confirm that the
Israeli navy did arrest those on board this – the ship which is known as
Spirit. We can’t comment on any of the individuals or the number of
individual American citizens on board because of Privacy Act concern. Our
Embassy has been in touch with the Israeli authorities. We have been told
that the boat was stopped in Israeli waters and is being escorted to an
Israeli port, or may have already gone to an Israeli port. We understand
passengers are safe and all accounted for. We’re seeking consular access to
the American citizens who are on board. And we don’t take any position
regarding the Free Gaza Movement or any of its messages.
QUESTION: Anything on Mitchell-Barak meeting yesterday?
MR. KELLY: I think we issued a statement…… Blah, blah, blah. Peace
process. Blah, blah, blah. Stop terrorism. Blah, blah, blah. Freeze
settlements. <wink, wink, wink>
See entire transcript at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2009/july/125545.htm
3. No Comment on Kidnapping of McKinney
Black Caucus Muzzled
July 3, 2009
By Russell Mokhiber
Got to hand it to J. Jioni Palmer.
He’s learned the ropes of Washington well.
Palmer is the spokesperson for the Congressional Black Caucus.
Rang up Palmer on Wednesday.
Wanted to know whether the Congressional Black Caucus and Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-California), it’s chair, had any comment on the hijacking of the Free Gaza boat – the Spirit of Humanity.
On board – a former Congressional Black Caucus member – Cynthia McKinney.
On June 30th 2009 Israeli Occupation Forces forcibly boarded the boat.
They kidnapped McKinney, Nobel peace prize laureate Mairead Maguire and 19 other human rights workers and journalists who were on their way to deliver much needed humanitarian and reconstruction supplies to besieged Gaza.
So, I just wanted to know from Jioni Palmer – uh, given that McKinney is a former member of the Congressional Black Caucus, you have a comment on the hijacking, right?
No comment, Jioni said.
Okay, Jioni, how do I spell your name.
What, you are going to quote me saying no comment?
No, Jioni, I’m going to quote you as saying – We’re so freaked out about pissing off AIPAC, that of course, we’re not going to issue a statement condemning the hijackers. Who gives a rat’s ass whether Cynthia McKinney is being held in a jail in the Israeli port city of Ashdod?
Because that’s what you should say, Jioni, if you were telling the truth.
But you’re BS-ing your way – the Washington way.
You send me an e-mail asking exactly what I’m after.
I tell you.
So you say – uh, well, let me get back to you.
You don’t get back to me.
I ring you up again.
I’m trying to get something for you – you say.
My apologies if I don’t meet your deadline — you say.
Well, don’t apologize to me, Jioni.
Apologize to the Palestinian prisoners of Gaza.
It’s not about you or me or McKinney and her colleagues in jail in Israel.
It’s about basic human decency.
Check it out at freegaza.org.
Russell Mokhiber is editor of Corporate Crime Reporter and founder of singlepayeraction.org
http://www.counterpunch.org/mokhiber07032009.html
4. “The Israelis hijacked us because we wanted to give crayons to the children of Gaza”
4 July 2009
In Israeli jail, McKinney expects more from Washington
Former US lawmaker Cynthia McKinney, who is in an Israeli jail for trying to take humanitarian aid to Gaza, says the White House has done nothing to secure her release.
Speaking to Press TV from inside the Israeli jail, she said US taxpayers paid for Israel’s 22-day war on the Gaza Strip.
“Operation Cast Lead was made possible by the US taxpayers’ gift to the Israeli war machine in the form of F16s, helicopters gunship, white phosphorous, depleted uranium, cluster bombs and anything that kills,” she told Press TV from inside the Israeli jail on Saturday.
McKinney has been in Israeli custody since Tuesday when she and 20 other humanitarian activists were arrested by the Israeli Navy while trying to take humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip.
She also criticized US President Barack Obama and his special envoy for their policies in the region, saying she was seeking to do what “neither President Obama nor his special envoy has done and that is to visit Gaza in the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead.”
McKinney along with her group refused to sign a document admitting they violated Israel’s blockade soon after they were taken to custody.
Family, friends and supporters say Cynthia McKinney believed she was in international waters and was free to pass.
“The Israelis hijacked us because we wanted to give crayons to the children of Gaza”, McKinney said.
They are due to appear in an Israeli court on Sunday.
SB/MD
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=99800§ionid=351020202
5. Gaza activist talks to Al Jazeera from Israeli jail – 4 Jul 09
Five of the 21 from Bahrain have been released.
“We refuse to be criminalized because we wanted to go to the aid of the people of Gaza”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v558kjFaYGQ&feature=player_profilepage
6. Report from the Kidnapped Passengers in Ramle Prison, July 4, 2009
Sunday, 05 July 2009 11:21 Written by Free Gaza Team
On Monday, June 30, 21 passengers going to challenge the blockade of Gaza on board the Spirit of Humanity were seized by the Israeli Navy and taken to Israel against their will. All their equipment was taken and some of were roughed up. All were thrown into prison to await Israel’s decision on how and when they would be deported.
The majority of the group ended up in Ramle Prison. Those of us who are Free Gaza organizers had been hearing some news from them, statements, interviews and letters since they arrived. From the first night, the Free Gaza 21 have been busy trying to get news out of the prison about the illegality of Israel’s actions in relation to themselves and the other inmates inside Ramle Prison who have no voice.
Report from E: I received a 2am phone call during one of the first sleepless nights from Ramle Prison to let me know that in one of the cells, four of the FG group had been busy writing a press release on an old phone one of their cellmates had loaned them. It had taken them hours to write the press release. but they were just ready to send it out, and ‘could I check my email to see if I had received it?’
Since that first night I have been hearing more increasingly about the plight of the other inmates of the prison; men and women who have not nearly as good an opportunity as our folk for media coverage of their stories and not nearly as good an opportunity as our folk of ever getting out of Ramle Prison.
To Fathi Jaouadi, Adie Mormesh, Ishmael Blagrove, and Captain Denis Healy, the situation of their fellow inmates is something they want to talk about and act upon. Fathi wanted to pass on news of what they have been doing inside Ramle prison; he wanted to let everyone who supports the Free Gaza Movement know that ‘Free Gaza Members are never lost for things to do when it comes to trying to expose Israel’s appalling treatment of not just Palestinians, but all people who come to Palestine and get caught up in Israel’s abuse of justice and the law.’
Fathi Jaouadi has been actively involved in Palestinian rights since he was 15 years old. Now in Ramle prison, he has already managed to organize a meeting with a UN representative and to raise the issue of the other inmates with him. He said that the UN official has agreed to follow up on some of the cases; Fathi has also been in contact with local NGO’s to raise the issue of many of the inmate’s situations. He told me he wants to focus on the fact that none of the inmates have any access to legal advice or help, most of the inmates have not been able to contact family to let them know of their situation and none of the inmates have committed anything that warrants them to be held indefinitely inside Ramle prison.
Fathi is in the process of collecting statements from all the inmates, and he is translating them from Arabic. He says the majority of the inmates in their cell are from Arab countries, and they have not had access to their embassy officials. He will follow up with the UN and other organizations once he is released, contact all the families and give statements and details to the relevant embassies.
Ishmael Blagrove is a well-known documentary filmmaker and has been speaking extensively about the Palestinian struggle for more than twenty years. In Ramle prison, he has been working tirelessly to get contact with refugee councils and organizations in Britain to present to them the case of the refugees inside. He says that many of the men from neighbouring Arab countries just want to go home, they don’t want to stay in Israel and yet they are not being given the opportunity to speak. Ishmael says that many of the inmates are entitled to legal representation, but they do not know this, nor do they have any idea how to contact any refugee organization to advise them. Ishmael is in the process of establishing links between the refugee councils in Britain and the inmates of his cell in Ramle Prison.
Fathi and Ishmael have already established channels to publish these issues in Britain on their release.
When we called Ramle Prison today Fathi said that Adie had just finished his daily English lesson with the inmates. Adie is reportedly very happy with the progress of his students and said this morning they had successfully completed an intense session on Past Participles. Adie Mormesh has also been very active for the rights of Palestinians for many years. He spent two weeks in the West Bank with the Olive Coop (Zeitoun) and Action Palestine in 2007. He worked with and documented the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction Campaign and participated in the World Social Forums for Palestine in Porto Alegre and Mumbai in 2003 and 2004. He has now become a teacher of English in Ramle prison.
Captain Denis Healey who has been the Free Gaza Movement’s captain since October 2008 and bravely steered the DIGNITY to safety in December when she was attacked by the Israeli Navy at sea, has also been quite busy; he has been giving in-depth lectures to his fellow inmates about life at sea. Apparently there are many interested parties amongst the inmates; some hope that they may pursue a life on the sea when (and sadly if) they ever get out. They are full of questions as to the procedure of getting qualified to work on and sail boats in the Mediterranean, and Captain Denis is giving them a good run down on what they should do to follow such a dream.
This is how four of our passengers have been keeping busy during the past week, they wanted to let you all know; they also said they realize the news they are sending out is not new to any of us. We have all been working with these issues of injustice for years. But that doesn’t mean that every new story about the violation of human rights, about the cruelty, brutality and flagrant misuse of justice by Israel should not be published.
Our friends are stuck in Ramle prison, because they tried to visit the war-stricken people of Gaza, and they are furious at what they are seeing. They know they have generated media interest around the world, and that sooner or later, they will leave Ramle Prison, but they also know that the other inmates of the prison have no such privilege, and without our interest in them, they could well be stuck inside Ramle prison for the rest of their lives, or exiled to some foreign country that is not their home, facing a life without family or loved ones to share it with. And so it is for the 11,000 Palestinian prisoners at present inside Israeli jails. Every one of them has a story that ought to be heard.
Statement #1 taken by Fathi Jaouadi.
From Ramle Prison, 3rd July 2009.
My name is M.
I am 26 years old.
I am a Palestinian born in Al Quds and I hold a birth certificate showing this. My family comes from a village called Sour Bahr.
We have two houses there owned by my grandfather who fled in ’48 to Jordan and left the houses with my Aunt.
When I was 5 years old I went with my family to Jordan to bring back the papers that proved our ownership of these two houses. We stayed in Jordan for 2 years and then, when we had all the papers we came back to Sour Bahr.
I lived all my life in one of the houses and some of my family lived in the other. We always used to make our way between our two houses which were only minutes apart from each other.
However when the Wall was built, it split our two houses apart. It used to take minutes and then it took 4 ½ hours to go from house to house.
The house I lived in was in the West Bank, the other on the side of the Wall that is Al Quds.
When I was 16 I began the process to try and obtain Israeli ID so that I could continue to enter Al Quds and go to our house that was on the other side of the Wall.
Every day my mother would go to the Interior Ministry to try and obtain my ID. She contacted many lawyers about the case but although she worked on this for 8 years, there was no result. During this time I tried often to visit our house on the Al Quds side of the wall and every time I was caught by the Israeli forces and sent back to the West Bank.
When I was 24 years old I had a fight with a friend, I was caught by Israel during the fight and imprisoned for 1 ½ years.
I am a normal Palestinian trying to live a normal life. I am not involved in any political movement and I have no security issues with Israel. I am just trying to live my life, but when I had served my time in prison for fighting with a friend, Israel could not decide where to release me.
My birth certificate said Al Quds but I had no Israeli ID. When Israel started investigating, they discovered that when I was 5 years old I had gone with my family to Jordan for 2 years.
It was then that I was told by an Israeli judge that the Law states:
‘Any Palestinian who spends 2 years outside Israel has no right to return’
I have since seen Judge twice in the past two months. and he has told me that I will be returned to Jordan.
But Jordan has refused to accept me. So now I have been told I will just have to wait in prison.
I am very depressed now and hate my life. I am afraid of how long they will make me wait. It could be years. I am afraid I will be sent to Jordan. I have no one in Jordan. I was there when I was 5 years old! All my family are in Palestine. I know if they send me to Jordan I will never be allowed back into Palestine. I will never be allowed to see my family again. And I have done nothing.
I just want to be allowed to live a simple life with my family and the people I know and love, in my own land.
http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/testimonies-from-israeli-jail/990-report-from-the-kidnapped-passengers-in-ramle-prison-july-4-2009
7. Letter from an Israeli Jail, by Cynthia McKinney
July 2, 2009
[Original audio message available here: http://freegaza.org/it/home/56-news/984-a-message-from-cynthia-from-a-cell-block-in-israel]
Excerpts:
The Israeli authorities have tried to get us to confess that we committed a crime … I am now known as Israeli prisoner number 88794. How can I be in prison for collecting crayons to kids?
Zionism has surely run out of its last legitimacy if this is what it does to people who believe so deeply in human rights for all that they put their own lives on the line for someone else’s children. Israel is the fullest expression of Zionism, but if Israel fears for its security because Gaza’s children have crayons then not only has Israel lost its last shred of legitimacy, but Israel must be declared a failed state.
http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/56-news/986-letter-from-an-israeli-jail-by-cynthia-mckinney
8. Interview from a kidnapped passenger, Adie Mormech – Prison Cell, Givon Jail, Ramle, Israel
July 4, 2009
Adie Mormech, one of over 21 human rights workers and crew taken prisoner on Tuesday 30th June when their boat was forcibly boarded by the Israeli navy, has spoken by mobile phone from his prison cell at Givon jail, Ramle, near Tel Aviv.
Amongst the other prisoners from the Free Gaza Movement boat, Spirit of Humanity, are Nobel Peace prize winner, Mairead Maguire, and former US Congresswoman, Cythnia McKinney. A message from McKinney on 2nd July condemned Israel for its “illegal” action in “dismantl[ing] our navigation equipment” and confiscating both the ship and its cargo of medical aid, childrens’ toys and olive trees.
McKinney went on to say that “State Department and White House officials have not effected our release or taken a strong public stance to condemn the illegal actions of the Israeli Navy of enforcing a blockade of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians of Gaza, a blockade that has been condemned by President Obama.”
The Free Gaza campaign succeeded in entering Gaza by sea on several occasions in 2008, carrying humanitarian aid, medical personnel, journalists and human rights workers. However, later attempts have been met with aggression by the Israeli navy, with one boat, the Dignity, having to seek refuge and repairs in Lebanon after being rammed three times by an Israeli warship.
In a brief interview with Andy Bowman of Manchester’s Mule newspaper (http//www.themule.info), Mr Mormech gave the following account:
How are you being treated?
It’s bad, but the conditions are OK for me, I’ve not been beaten up, they’re a bit nasty sometimes and when they boarded the boat we had our faces slammed against the floor. It was bad for the older women like Mairead.
The four other UK nationals are in the cell with me. There’s 14 of us in the 7 by 7 meter cell which includes the toilet and shower, so very crowded. It’s very hot and there’s only a tiny window. We get awakened at 6 in the morning for an inspection and have to stand to attention, and then they repeat that at 9 am, and we are only allowed out of the cells for a few hours each day. They keep giving us forms to sign but they are in Hebrew so we don’t. Although I’m able to cope here, other people are less comfortable than me in the situation. If we’re here for a long time – like some of the other people in here have been – then it will be tough.
Have you had access to a lawyer yet?
We have, and at the moment we’re discussing what to do about our deportation. They’ve taken our personal items – laptops, cameras, phones and many other valuables, and we want to find out where these are. They obviously want to deport us as quickly as possible, but some of us are thinking about fighting the deportation. Firstly on the basis that if we get deported we won’t be allowed into the occupied West Bank or Israel for another 10 years, but also, because we didn’t intend to come here to Israel – we intended to go to Gaza, and went directly from international waters into Palestinian waters. There is nothing legal about what Israel has done to us grabbing us like this. We’re considering fighting the deportation on the grounds that we shouldn’t accept and legitimize this barbaric military blockade of Gaza.
If you challenge the deportation could you remain in prison for a while longer?
Yes we could – there’s some people that need to get home, but some will challenge. And for those it will be a few more weeks in prison at least, we expect.
And you?
I’m veering towards challenging it on the basis that it’s a scar on my name to accept that I shouldn’t have been here, but in fact I have every right to go to Gaza just as everyone else does. That’s the whole point of these voyages and that’s the principle we want to stick to.
Have they told you what has happened to the cargo of the boat?
No, we don’t know what they’re doing with it. We’ve been told a lot of lies so far about where we’re going and what’s happening to us, so we just don’t know. They’re already prepared to deprive the people of Gaza of a lot of aid anyway.
What is your message to people back in the UK?
This is not about us here in the cells, it’s about the denial of human rights to the people of Palestine, and in particular the inhumane blockade of Gaza. People must not forget about what is happening to Gaza. At the moment they are even being denied food and medical supplies. After the carnage of the 1500 people killed in January, we won’t forget and we’ll keep on going and keep fighting for the human rights of the people of Palestine.
http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/56-news/985-interview-from-a-kidnapped-passenger-adie-mormech-prison-cell-givon-jail-ramle-israel
9. Free Gaza on Twitter
http://twitter.com/freegazaorg
10. New foreclosure remedy: Become Jewish & move to Israel! By Jane Stillwater
July 4, 2009
Daily Kos
Lately I’ve been hearing a whole bunch of horror stories about American families who’ve been forced to go through foreclosure and stand helplessly by as their homes were repossessed and their posessions thrown out on the streets by the banks. According to USA Today, “Foreclosure filings surpassed 3 million in 2008.” Watching this happen is like watching the grim 1930s dust bowl foreclosures happen all over again. As Woodie Guthrie once said, “Some will rob you with a six-gun, and some with a fountain pen.”
But not to worry. Help is on the way.
In these hard times of trouble, our government is spending billions of dollars on financial programs and bailouts designed to strengthen our banks. And our government is also spending billions of dollars on manufacturing weapons far above and beyond even Dr. Strangelove’s wildest defense needs. But does our government spend billions of dollars on programs that will also help out the approximately six million ordinary salt-of-the-earth Americans who have lost their homes in the last three years?
Yes!
* Jane Stillwater’s diary :: ::
Our American government is currently financing and maintaining a fabulous all-comprehensive housing program that can provide you with modern newly-constructed state-of-the-art housing at either subsidized prices — or free! And talk about location location location. This wonderful model housing program isn’t located in undesirable places like the grungy old Boston inner city or shabby run-down parts of L.A. And, unlike those tacky bankrupt schools in California and Mississippi, this place has outstanding schools too. And its healthcare services, shopping centers and freeways are also top-of-the-line.
These fabulous new housing programs are located in a place that is sunny, modern, upscale and family-friendly — Israel!
According to USA Today, “Nefesh B’Nefesh, a non-profit organization, provides grants of $3,000 to $10,000 as an incentive for Jews to move [to Israel]. Nefesh B’Nefesh, which means ‘Soul to Soul,’ also helps arrange housing, jobs and schools for immigrants’ children.”
“But what do I have to do to be eligible for all this wonderful subsidized housing?” you might ask. That’s easy. Just become Jewish. And apply. It’s your birthright. You’re in!
“But if America is sponsoring a housing program that is available to only one religious group, isn’t that against our Constitution and civil rights? Doesn’t this program have to be available to ALL Americans to be legal? And doesn’t it go against the separation of church and state?” Nah. Not a problem. There are no churches involved.
“But I heard that it was hard to convert to Judaism and that it takes years of study and that you’ve got to learn Hebrew and get circumcised…” Nope, that’s not an obstacle either.
I recently talked with a visiting Israeli citizen and asked him just exactly what kind of bureaucratic hoops an American who had just been foreclosed upon would have to jump through in order to prove they were Jewish so that they could take advantage of all this free American-subsidized housing in Israel.
“You don’t need to do anything,” the visiting Israeli replied. “There are Russians and Ethiopians and indigenous peoples from the remote Andes of Peru who have been accepted into this program — people who are no more Jewish than, say, Madonna or Brad Pitt. All they had to do was to SAY that they’re Jewish. That alone got them in — with full access to assisted housing, pre-arranged employment opportunities and even free single-payer healthcare! They got the whole schmear. And so will you.”
I was shocked.
Apparently Israel is no longer just a safe haven for European Jews who survived the camps like it used to be. Sadly, most of that whole generation is pretty much gone. The new face of Israel is different. Israel is now home for thousands of Russian mafia oligarch wannabees who couldn’t make it in Moscow — and who aren’t even Jewish. All you gotta do to be eligible is produce a yarmulke and some bobby-pins and you’re in! And American taxpayers will support you for the rest of your life.
Does anybody but me find that weird?
PS: Apparently I’m not the only American concerned about about out-of-control foreclosure issues who has thought of this solution. In an article entitled, “Thousands of Jews to immigrate to Israel this summer,” Israel News states that, “The Jewish Agency is expecting an increase of about 15% in the number of immigrants to Israel in 2009 in comparison with last year.” And if Washington keeps funding all those high-rise condos in East Jerusalem and the West Bank instead of funding badly-needed new housing back in the USA — Katrina victims are STILL living in FEMA trailers for instance — then hundreds of thousands more Americans will also be immigrating soon.
If you build it, they will come.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/7/4/151653/2670
11. Am I being anti-semitic — or just being anti-injustice? By Jane Stillwater
July 4, 2009
Daily Kos
I recently posted a rather funny (I thought) satirical article in my diary that declaimed (tongue in cheek) America’s policy of giving subsidies to Israel and Wall Street but not giving subsidies to Americans who have had their homes foreclosed on. So the Daily Kos gave me a warning that I was being anti-semitic. And I have no way to contest that ruling either. That’s unfair.
What if, after hearing that I’ve been judged to be anti-semitic, the 1.2 million people who read the Daily Kos might think that I actually am. I’m not anti-semitic. I’m not against Jews. I’m against Wall Street bailouts and mulit-billion-dollar fiscal support for Israeli neo-cons who have destroyed approximately 20,000 Arab and Christian Palistinian homes in the last nine years in order to replace them with modern condos — which anyone in the world can claim and move into just by telling Israeli neo-cons that they are Jewish.
That’s not anti-semitic. That’s anti-injustice.
Suppose that I had written an article stating that the US government was paying subsidies to Muslims and I was objecting to that? Would I still be in such deep dog dookie? Would I be charged with being anti-Muslim? I think not!
Or if I had said that, somewhere, Christians were getting preference over Jews? Would I be considered anti-Christian?
In his book, “Taking on the System,” Markos Moulitsas talked about how he was attacked for something he had written about not feeling sorry for people waging war for profit — and because of this he was attacked. “I regret the way it was phrased,” responded Markos after he had been attacked on all sides. “It was not very politically correct. But the sentiment behind it was very appropriate, and I still stand by it.”
PS: To view the disputed article, click here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/7/4/151653/2670
Go to http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/7/4/750031/-Am-I-being-anti-semiticor-just-being-anti-injustice to participate in the poll.
12. Sunday Perspective: Israeli settlements exist on unlawful grounds
By Sarah Leah Whitson
Commentary, Contra Costa Times
7/5/09
The debate over Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories is often framed in terms of whether they should be “frozen” or allowed to grow “naturally.”
But that is akin to asking whether a thief should be allowed merely to keep his ill-gotten gains or steal some more. It misses the most fundamental point: Under international law, all settlements on occupied territory are unlawful. And there is only one remedy: Israel should dismantle them, relocate the settlers within its recognized 1967 borders and compensate Palestinians for the losses the settlements have caused.
Removing the settlements is mandated by the laws of the Geneva Conventions, which state that military occupations are to be a temporary state of affairs and prohibit occupying powers from moving their populations into conquered territory. The intent is to foreclose an occupying power from later citing its population as “facts on the ground” to claim the territory, something Israel has done in East Jerusalem and appears to want to do with much of the West Bank.
The legal principles were reaffirmed in 2004 by the International Court of Justice, which cited a U.N. Security Council statement that the settlements were “a flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.” The International Committee of the Red Cross and an overwhelming number of institutions concerned with the enforcement of international humanitarian law have concurred in that view.
The economic and social cost of Israeli settlements to the Palestinian population, stemming in part from Israel’s need to protect them, is enormous. The 634 (at last count) roadblocks, barriers and checkpoints erected to control the movement of lawful residents of the territory make travel an ordeal. Sometimes even getting to work, school or the home of a relative is impossible for Palestinians. Every day, they must wait in line for hours to show their IDs, and some days they are randomly rerouted, told to go home or, worse, detained for questioning.
Similarly, the fact that Israel is building 87 percent of its projected 450-mile “security barrier” on Palestinian territory has less to do with protecting Israel from suicide bombers — which could have been accomplished by erecting a wall on the Green Line — than it does with putting 10 percent of West Bank territory, including most settlers, on the Israeli side.
And while Israeli troops protect the settlers from armed Palestinian groups, there is little protection for Palestinians from the settlers’ marauding militias and gangs, which have terrorized the local population, destroying their crops, uprooting their trees and throwing stones at their houses and schools.
Too little attention is given to the pervasive system of government-sponsored discrimination against Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where Israel has constructed roads exclusively for settlers and established vastly unequal access to water, fuel, education, health care, transportation, infrastructure and virtually every other social service.
Israeli authorities readily grant settlers building permits that they deny to Palestinians, whose “illegal” homes they often demolish at short notice. The glaring discrepancy in Israel’s treatment of two populations living on the same land has taken a significant moral toll on Israel, as well as a political one, with wide coverage of humiliation and abuse at the hands of its security forces.
The common refrain of Israeli and even American politicians who recognize that the settlements must go is that it would be politically difficult to dismantle them, in part because it would stir the ire of the settlers and their supporters, an important voting bloc in Israel. Instead, politicians argue that settlements must be a part of future negotiations and a possible land swap.
But this only serves as further incentive to expand settlements and makes a political resolution even more difficult. It also condones in the interim Israel’s continuing human-rights abuses in the name of settler security, leaving respect for Palestinians’ rights a second-tier consideration that must await the conclusion of peace talks that have already gone on for decades.
Israel has a duty to protect its citizens, but not in a way that violates the rights of Palestinians. The lawful rights-respecting way to protect the security of settlers is to move them back to Israel. That should be the starting point of any discussion on settlements.
Whitson is Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/columns/ci_12733217?FORM=ZZNR6
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