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Jul. 31, 2010 |
From
Susan Holder,
Moderator,
Interfaith Peace Initiative:
A compelling new list of "Global Actions to End the Israeli
Occupation" is available through the Interfaith Peace Initiative at
http://www.interfaithpeaceinitiative.com/globalactions.pdf. It
demonstrates clearly that the era of ignoring Israel's excesses and
its abuse of human rights has ended. The world will no longer be
silent. The tide has turned.
In 2009, the Interfaith Peace Initiative posted a 44-page list of
actions by countries and organizations around the world designed to
end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. On May 31, 2010,
Israel's military raid on the flotilla of ships carrying
humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip generated widespread global anger
and opposition. It was followed by marches, demonstrations,
declarations and plans for new flotillas by many groups around the
world. The list has been updated, and now fills 88 pages, including
actions by businesses, governments, labor unions and religious and
consumer organizations. Among these are many Jewish and Israeli
groups. Readers may obtain more information about each action using
links provided.
Throughout history, regimes built on oppression and apartheid
have failed. If the determined and creative actions documented in
the new list are sustained, Israel's oppression of Palestinians
cannot last. The Interfaith Peace Initiative wishes to celebrate the
courage and initiative shown by countless individuals and
organizations who have finally said, "Enough!" Special thanks should
go to the committee of Ann Arbor Quakers who first initiated the
list (piag_@mac.com)
in the hope it would inspire others to action. The massive global
surge of resolve reflected in the new report will hasten an end to
Israel's occupation so a just peace may finally prevail.
Interfaith Peace Initiative | Global Actions to End Israel's
Occupation Double After Flotilla AttackWorld Actions to End
Israel's Occupation Double After Flotilla Attack
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Jul. 31, 2010 |
MIFTAH | Sincerity a must for Mideast Peace - by Ahmad Y.
Majdoubeh
...people count, not just politicians. Previous Mideast peace
experiences (with Egypt and Jordan, for example) show that peace
initiatives and the eventual agreements must be acceptable to the
people. Otherwise, anything that gets signed will be ink on paper.
Real peace, we should remind, is warm peace, not cold peace. And
peace cannot be warm without the blessings of the people.
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Jul. 31, 2010 |
Methodist missionary Lissa Caldwell writes: This
just came from a Jewish Israeli friend. As you can see Israeli
discrimination and cruelty are not just reserved for those in the
West Bank and Gaza.
Forwarded by a Jewish Israeli Friend | Going to Al Arakib
Village
Today, about a hundred people
arrived to demonstrate solidarity with the Al Arakib villagers. Many
were Jewish Israelis and others were from other unrecognized
villages. Nasser Ghawi, head of one of the East Jerusalem
Palestinian families thrown out of their home one year ago on August
2, was there as well. A number of students from abroad (France, the
Netherlands, the US, South Africa, to name a few) were with us.
Among the organizations
represented were B’tselem, The Forum for Coexistence in the Eastern
Negev, the Christian Peace-Maker Teams, and the Jewish-Arab
Partnership for Peace. |
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Jul. 31, 2010 |
Uri Avnery, Gush Shalom | Bogeyman
BOGEYMAN
Netanyahu has retrieved
From the Junkyard
The bogeyman called
“The Eastern Front”.
The aim:
Ethnic cleansing
Of the Jordan valley.
It started this week
With the eradication of
Parsieh village.
Ad published in Haaretz, July 30, 2010
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Jul. 31, 2010 |
MIFTAH | "Never in My Life have I Experienced Such Pressure"
[July 25 – July 31]
On July 29, the Arab League gave the Palestinians the green light
to enter into direct negotiations with Israel, but said the final
decision was President Mahmoud Abbas as to when the time was right
to move forward. Qatari Foreign Affairs Minister Hamad Bin Jassim
Bin Jabr Ath-Thani, who headed the meeting said that while "there is
agreement, it is an agreement over the principles of what will be
discussed and the manner of the direct negotiations," adding that he
was "full of doubts" over Israel's seriousness.... |
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Jul. 30, 2010 |
Iyad Burnat, Friends of Freedom and Justice Bil'in | Dozens
suffered from tear gas inhalation and stun grenades in Bil'ins
weekly demonstration, two injured
Today 30 July 2010 the people of Bil'in were joined by several
groups of internationals, including a group of rappers from Britain
and the US. A large part of the demonstrators managed to approach
the soldiers who had already entered the gate. Two people were
detained for a while, following large amounts of tear gas,
eventually forcing the protestors back towards the village. One
Israeli protestor was hit by a tear gas canister in his leg, causing
pain, while another British citizen was dragged several meters by
soldier, causing his back bruising and bleeding. About 200
protestors; Palestinians, Israeli and Internationals were today
carrying posters asking for a boycott of Israel, and also honoring
Rachel Corrie's hometown Olympia, that recently introduced a boycott
of Israeli goods. 45 people were from Spain, another group from
Italy and France, in addition to individuals coming to show
solidarity. People were singing and dancing all the way up to the
road leading to the illegal Wall.... |
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Jul. 30, 2010 |
Daoud Kuttab | Will someone please pay attention to the
suffering of those crossing the bridge?
The King Hussein Bridge is the only crossing point available to
the 3.5 million Palestinians of the West Bank. It is officially open
from 8:00am till midnight, but in reality the last bus leaves at
10:00pm and people are often turned back on the Jordanian side after
9:00pm because of the summer congestion. More people are leaving the
West Bank than visiting it, according to statistics issued by the
Palestinian side. The Palestinian Authority reported that the
traffic was moderate in first week of June. It saw the departure of
17,473 people from Jericho and the entry of 9,411 into the West
Bank. This doesn’t include East Jerusalemites who cross the bridge
directly without going to the Jericho crossing. Estimates of
Jerusalemites who end up at the same terminal on the Jordanian side
is about 3,500 a week. No published statistics have been issued by
the Jordanian authorities.... |
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Jul. 30, 2010 |
Mazin Qumsiyeh, Human Rights | Wanted again, ethnic cleansing
and more
After attending a workshop on developing curricula for
nonviolence/popular resistance, I returned with a harrowing 12+ hour
experience at the crossing from Jordan to the occupied Palestinian
territories. This included being served with an order/warrant for an
appearance at the apartheid colonial ‘security’ offices in ten days
and rifling through the books I brought back. I recorded a 10 minute
video telling of this experiences (common for Palestinians):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFwdl0r6hpY |
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Jul. 29, 2010 |
World Council of Churches | Young Muslims, Jews and Christians
become peace facilitators
While peace is a commonly held value within Judaism, Islam and
Christianity, other religious values can often become sources of
conflict. In order to build community beyond faith boundaries a
group of young adults from each of the three faith groups spent a
week focusing on the common value of peace recently. |
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Jul. 29, 2010 |
America Magazine, the Catholic Weekly | Of Many Things:
Editor Drew Christianson, SJ, talks about Strategies of Peace:
Transforming Conflict in a Violent World (Oxford) edited by
Daniel Philpott and Gerard F. Powers
One of the notable contributions of this book is to highlight
less examined fields like religious peacebuilding. The co-editors’
own contributions are especially strong in this regard. Philpott’s
“Reconciliation: An Ethic for Peacebuilding” is a model of exact yet
accessible interdisciplinary thinking on one of the promising
peacemaking sub-specialties. Powers’s “Religion and Peacemaking”
examines the engagement of organized religion in peacebuilding, a
valuable resource in religio-ethnic conflicts and in failed states,
where organized religion is often the only viable institution. |
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Jul. 29, 2010 |
Counter Currents | Israeli Mother Addresses European
Parliament - Dr. Nurit Peled-Elhanan
Thank you for inviting me to this today. It is always an
honour and a pleasure to be here, among you (at the European
Parliament).
However, I must admit I believe you should have invited a
Palestinian woman at my stead, because the women who suffer most
from violence in
my county are the Palestinian women. And I would like to
dedicate my speech to Miriam R`aban and her husband Kamal, from Bet
Lahiya in the
Gaza strip, whose five small children were killed by Israeli
soldiers while picking strawberries at the family`s strawberry
field. No one
will ever stand trial for this murder...
Dr. Nurit Peled-Elhanan is the mother of Smadar Elhanan, 13 years
old when killed by a suicide bomber in Jerusalem in September 1997.
Click on the link above for Nurit's speech made on International
Women's Day in Strasbourg. |
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Jul. 29, 2010 |
The Veritas Handbook | The Veritas Handbook- Download Now!
The Veritas Handbook is an extensive handbook containing
vital information and resources for anyone and everyone interested
in the plight of Palestinians for justice and equality and will be
distributed online, free of charge. |
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Jul. 29, 2010 |
If Americans Knew | Red Cross: Israeli policies make many
West Bank Palestinians worse off than Gazans; children's growth
stunted, deaths because Israeli forces block access to medical
care
The road to al-Hadidiya village in the northeastern West Bank
district of Tubas is dotted with boulders etched with a warning in
Hebrew, Arabic and English: “Danger - Open Fire Area”.
The boulders arrived about six months ago, and are positioned at
the entrance to Palestinian villages, indicating that chunks of the
Jordan Valley have become a closed military zone claimed by the
Israeli army. They signal a further squeeze on the Bedouin
communities here. |
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Jul. 29, 2010 |
Lutheran Worldwide Federation | Palestinian Bishop Elected
President of the Lutheran World Federation
Bishop Munib A. Younan is a Passionate Campaigner for Peace and
Inter-Faith Dialogue in the Middle East |
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Jul. 28, 2010 |
Huffingtion Post | Chas Freeman Lets Rip on Israel as a
Strategic Liability - by Sharmine Narwani
Freeman, whose nomination as Chairman of the National
Intelligence Council was scuttled by Jewish-American groups in the
early days of the Obama administration, could well become their
worst nightmare. On the inside, he would have had to toe the party
line. But having been very publicly and unfairly discredited by the
pro-Israel crowd, Freeman can walk that rare line and speak honestly
about the Jewish state without drowning in the caveats that
accompany most such attempts in Washington. |
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Jul. 28, 2010 |
Christian Peace Team | At Tuwani: Palestinian shepherd
videotapes Israeli settlers stealing sheep
As the activists began to walk down the remaining street, the
soldiers and police followed; then several soldiers dashed into the
crowd to seize demonstrators. CPTers observed the soldiers grabbing
activists around the neck, violently pushing observers. A
participant reported that the soldiers pulled one international by
the hair as she covered the body of another woman to protect her on
the ground. One activist later related that a soldier from behind
him punched him in the side of his forehead. By the end of this
chaotic scene, the Israeli Military and police had arrested 6
activists: 3 French, 1 Swede, 1 Israeli and 1 Palestinian....
Photos |
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Jul. 28, 2010 |
Mazin Qumsiyeh, Human Rights
| Notes from Turkey
I am in Istanbul, Turkey where we (3 Palestinians plus 17 others
from many countries) attended a workshop exploring development of
curricula on nonviolent or popular resistance. The examples used
include Eastern Europe, South Africa, Latin America, Palestine and
elsewhere. It was a very useful opportunity to network and reflect
on our common human struggles and strategize as to how to advance
the causes of justice around the globe.... |
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Jul. 28, 2010 |
Hassan Fouda, Northern California
Sabeel,
writes:
Keep in mind the Bedouin are Israeli citizens. They pay taxes and
receive no services. Their only crime is that they are not Jews and
are living in the "only democracy and equal rights" in the Middle
East. Please follow the link below and take a look at the video.
BBC News | Israel police raze 'illegal' Bedouin village in Negev
"We were stunned to witness the violent force being used," Al-Arakib
spokesman Awad Abu-Farikh told Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot
following the razing. |
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Jul. 27, 2010 |
The Villages Group: Cooperation in Israel-Palestinel | Another
Well and Another Goat - by David Shulman
Everyday, normative violence by settlers is the heart of that
reality, and it hasn’t changed in recent weeks. We hear the usual
stories. Shepherds were out grazing their sheep when armed settlers
arrived and stole a sheep, loading it onto their vehicle as soldiers
stood by and watched. Other settlers attacked a herd and shot
several of the sheep and beat the shepherds. Yaakov Talya, the
notorious settler-rancher near Bi’r al-’Id, tried to take possession
of the well we cleaned of endless mud and stones just a few weeks
ago. All this is standard, tedious, odious, and probably permanent.
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Jul. 27, 2010 |
Haaretz Editorial | Thanks to the critics: It is time to thank
the critics for forcing the IDF to examine itself and amend its
procedures.
It is regrettable that so much time had to be wasted on false
denials. It is also doubtful whether it is proper for the IDF to
investigate itself. |
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Jul. 27, 2010 |
Palestine Note | Pink Floyd reunites for Palestinian benefit
concert
For the first time in half a decade, rock legends Pink Floyd
reunited for a benefit concert in England to raise money for young
Palestinian refugees.... |
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Jul. 27, 2010 |
Electronic Intifada | No words to console Gaza child after
mother is killed by Israeli shelling - by Vittorio Arrigoni
Flechettes are small metallic daggers with barbed points, four
centimeters long with four small fins in the back. According to the
Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, flechettes are loaded into
shells fired by tanks. When the shells explode in mid-air, 30 meters
from the ground, they propel a swarm of 5,000 to 8,000 flechettes,
covering a cone-shaped radius, 300 meters wide and 100 meters long
("Flechette shells: an illegal weapon").
Although flechette shells are considered an illegal weapon,
Israel continues to use them. In 2002, the Israeli high court
rejected a petition presented by Physicians for Human Rights-Israel
and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights to end use of the
flechettes in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Flechettes were
also used by Israel during is July 2006 invasion of Lebanon. |
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Jul. 27, 2010 |
Adam Keller, Gush Shalom | Law providing released soldiers with
free higher education in settlements might damage Israeli
academia
As if it was not enough that Israeli youths are conscripted for
three years of military service, which many of them spend in daily
oppression of the Palestinians, from now on they will, also after
discharge from the army, be directed towards an 'academic'
strengthening of the occupation, settlement and dispossession of
Palestinians. This is a stain on the entire Israeli academic system
plunging it deeper into complicity with the occupation. " |
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Jul. 27, 2010 |
International Solidarity Movement | Hebron report: military
violently repress protests, following heightened wave of settler
violence
The recent escalation of settler violence in Al-Khalil (Hebron)
was matched by unwarranted military violence and the arbitrary
arrest of peaceful protestors at the latest protest against the
closure of Shuhada Street and illegal presence of Israeli settlers
on Saturday 24 July 2010. |
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Jul. 27, 2010 |
Occupation Magazine | Police destroys a whole Negev village -
200 children left homeless
Netanyahu calls Bedouin citizens of Israel `real threat` - and
next, an entire village in the Negev is demolished
Early this morning police raided the unrecognized Bedouin village
of al-Arakib in the Negev, destroyed all 40 of its houses, and
evicted more than 300 residents. The residents, mostly children,
were left homeless. The unprecedented raid began at about 4:30 in
the morning, residents were surprised to wake up surrounded by a
huge force of 1,500 police with guns, stun grenades, helmets and
shields, including hundreds of Special Riot Police (Yasam) as well
as mounted police, helicopters and bulldozers. |
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Jul. 27, 2010 |
BBC News | UK Prime Minister David Cameron describes blockaded
Gaza as a 'prison'
The British government's policy has been to call for an end to
the blockade, but never before has a British prime minister been so
blunt.... |
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Jul. 27, 2010 |
Free Gaza Movement | UN Promises Delivery of Freedom Flotilla
Cargo to Gaza - by Greta Berlin
London, July 26, 2010, Six weeks after the Freedom Flotilla ships
were forcibly boarded in international waters, their passengers
illegally jailed and the cargo impounded by the Israeli authorities,
the office of the United Nations Special Co-ordinator for the Middle
East (UNSCO) has promised to deliver the full humanitarian aid cargo
to UN. agencies in Gaza. |
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Jul. 27, 2010 |
Intifada Voice of Palestine | Exclusive Intifada Interview with
Archbishop Theodosios (Atallah) Hanna
First of all, I should stress on the fact that the Christian
Palestinians were here since Jesus times, where in the Books of Acts
in the bible it was mentioned that there were Arabs listening to the
Apostles in Jerusalem. Christians Arabs had and still have a big
effect in the development of the Arab societies in the Middle East.
We are not visitors or strangers to Palestine. Our history is deeply
rooted in this area of the world. On the other hand, our numbers are
dwindling due to the occupation and the bitter reality it is
causing. But we are not afraid that Christians will disappear from
Palestine, because there will be always Christians in Palestine to
continue the message of Jesus Christ. |
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Jul. 26, 2010 |
DW World | Palestinian bishop elected to lead Lutheran Church
A Palestinian protestant bishop is the newly elected head of the
Lutheran church around the world after a vote in Stuttgart. Bishop
Munib Younan has said he will strive for peace in the Middle East. |
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Jul. 26, 2010 |
The Reverend James M. Wall, Methodist, Wall Writings | Freeman
To Goldstone to Sherrod: An 18-Month Obama Nightmare
If agreement had been reached at that [11 July 2000 Camp David]
summit, the history of the past ten years would have been completely
different from what it has been. The Israelis and Palestinians would
have experienced a decade of peace and security. We would not be
talking about the presumed danger of an Iranian nuclear programme,
or the estrangement between Turkey and Israel, and we probably would
not have witnessed the terrible events of 9/11or the invasion of
Iraq and Afghanistan. |
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Jul. 26, 2010 |
Juan Cole, Informed Comment | Jahanpour: Iran, Turkey and
Israel: New Global Realities - by guest writer Farhang Jahanpour
The internet brings the Israeli and Arab media into every
newsroom of every media outlet in the US. The story was there, but
the media is a part of the alliance of the pro-Israel MSM media and
American politics that protect the White House from having to face
the unpopular truth about Israel. That is why it is called
“enabling”. |
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Jul. 26, 2010 |
Juan Cole, Informed Comment | The Israel Lobbies and
Breitbartism: Dirty Tricks, Taboos and the threat to American
Democracy
Luckily, in this case CAMERA over-reached and as far as I can
tell nobody cares what they think about my analysis of
Israel-Turkish relations or about Mr. Wedeman´s citation of it.
Nobody should care what they think of anything else, and should be
doubly careful when they accuse journalists in future of getting
some fact wrong about Israel, because they have repeatedly shown
themselves dishonest. |
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Jul. 26, 2010 |
Christian Peace Team | At Tuwani: Palestinian shepherd
videotapes Israeli settlers stealing sheep
According to the shepherd, a resident of Tuba village, two
Israeli settler vehicles stopped on the nearby settler bypass road.
A settler exited from one of the vehicles, walked toward the
shepherd’s flock, grabbed a sheep by the ear, and dragged the animal
a few yards. He then loaded the sheep onto his shoulders and walked
back to the road, where two other settlers, one of them armed, were
waiting. The settlers loaded the animal into a vehicle. During this
time the shepherd remained at a distance filming the theft with a
camera from the Israeli human rights association B’Tselem, given to
Palestinians in the area to document attacks by settlers.
The young Palestinian pointed out that during the theft, on the
road not far from the settlers cars, there was an Israeli military
jeep. Although the soldiers were present during the incident they
left the scene without intervening....
Video |
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Jul. 25, 2010 |
Uri Avnery, Gush Shalom | A Bill
A BILL
Knesset members,
From Kadima to
The Kahanists,
Signed a bill that says:
Boycotting the products
Of the settlements
Is tantamount to
Boycotting the
State of Israel,
And will be punished.
A law that says that
The settlements and
Israel
Are one and the same –
Will inevitably intensify
The world-wide boycott
On the State of Israel.
Ad published in Haaretz,
July 23, 2010 |
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Jul. 25, 2010 |
Iyad Burnat | Urgent need for support to release 17 year old
Ahmad Abed Al-Fatah from jail
Urgent need for
support to release 17 year old Ahmad Abed Al-Fatah from jail
19. July 2010 Bil'in was subjected to yet
another Israeli Occupation Forces night raid when an unusually heavy
number of Israeli soldiers entered the outskirts of the village to
arrest a local youth; 17 year old Ahmad Abed Al-Fatah Burnat – who
unfortunately was arrested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86QAchT2swI&feature=player_embedded |
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Jul. 25, 2010 |
Website of Father Dave, Anglican, Australia | What Drives
Israel? - by Ilan Pappe
Probably the most bewildering aspect of the Gaza flotilla affair
has been the righteous indignation expressed by the Israeli
government and people.
The nature of this response is not being fully reported in the UK
press, but it includes official parades celebrating the heroism of
the commandos who stormed the ship and demonstrations by
schoolchildren giving their unequivocal support for the government
against the new wave of anti-Semitism.
As someone who was born in Israel and went enthusiastically
through the socialisation and indoctrination process until my
mid-20s, this reaction is all too familiar. Understanding the root
of this furious defensiveness is key to comprehending the principal
obstacle for peace in Israel and Palestine. One can best define this
barrier as the official and popular Jewish Israeli perception of the
political and cultural reality around them.
A number of factors explain this phenomenon, but three are
outstanding and they are interconnected. They form the mental
infrastructure on which life in Israel as a Jewish Zionist
individual is based, and one from which it is almost impossible to
depart - as I know too well from personal experience.... |
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Jul. 24, 2010 |
Adalah - NY | New Yorkers Celebrate Five Successful Years of
Palestinian-Led Boycott Movement Against Israel
New York, NY, July 11, 2010 – In a joyful celebration of the
Palestinian peaceful and creative grassroots resistance, 40 New York
human rights activists conducted a musical walking tour of
businesses complicit in Israeli Apartheid in the Lower East Side of
Manhattan. The “Off-Off-Broadway BDS Tour” was part of the
international commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the
Palestinian United Call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)
against Israel....
Also:
the video |
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Jul. 24, 2010 |
Uri Avnery, Gush Shalom | Rosemary's Baby
In Roman Polanski’s movie “Rosemary’s Baby”, a nice young woman
gives birth to a nice baby, which turns out to be the son of Satan.
The attractive leftist vision of the one-state solution may grow up
into a rightist monster. |
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Jul. 24, 2010 |
Adam Keller, Crazy Country | Nasty words and white phosphorus
bombs
For a whole year Judge Goldstone was attacked. Ministers of the
government of Israel daily abused him, and the government's official
spokespersons, and its unofficial spokespersons, and its friends and
agents all over the world. He was called an enemy of Israel, and a
self-hating Jew, and an antisemite, and a servant of the Iranian
regime, and a servant of the Apartheid regime. Even at the Bar
Mitzvah of his grandson an attempt was made to prevent him from
attending. The Goldstone Report was continually denounced as a
collection of lies and vicious propaganda. |
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Jul. 23, 2010 |
Electronic Intifada | Women prepared to break the siege of Gaza
| by Mona Alami
The Maryam, an all-female Lebanese aid ship, currently docked in
the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli, is getting ready to set sail
for Gaza in the next few days. The ship, which aims to break
Israel's siege on the Palestinian territory, will carry about fifty
aid workers, including some US nuns keen to deliver aid to the
long-suffering women and children of Gaza. |
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Jul. 23, 2010 |
There's
a story I've told a number of times in the past. Please lend me an
ear. I'm motivated today to tell it again. It was during the
mid-1980s. The month, if I remember right, was October. I was the
Vicar at St. Elizabeth's Church, San Diego at the time. Elizabeth,
as we know, was the mother of John the Baptist and a cousin of Mary,
the mother of the Christ. One morning I was sitting at the desk in
my office drinking coffee and reading The
Episcopalian magazine ... which has since been re-named
Episcopal Life ...
"As we Christians make our rightful claim to Jerusalem, we
acknowledge that Muslims and Jews also have rightful claims to
Jerusalem from their perspectives. It is useless to argue about
sovereignty in the Holy City." |
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Jul. 23, 2010 |
Friends of Freedom and Justice in Bil'in | Dozens suffered from
tear gas inhalation in Bil'ins weekly protest
Dozens suffered from tear gas inhalation in Bil'ins weekly
protest , former vice president of the European Parliament detained
by the army and one Israeli protester arrested Today the people of
Bil'in were joined by about 100 international supporters, among them
an Italian group including Lousia Morgantini, the former vice
president of the European Parliament. The army fired tear gas at the
protesters, and managed to grab and detain Morgantini. She was
released after about half an hour, while an Israeli protester who
tried to help her ended up getting arrested.... |
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Jul. 23, 2010 |
Mondoweiss | Netanyahu moves ahead on taking Jordan Valley - by
Philip Weiss
Days after it was reported that Netanyahu said in 2001 that
Israel would defeat the two-state process by declaring military
zones all across the Jordan Valley, Amira Hass reports that Israeli
soldiers destroyed a Palestinian village in the Jordan Valley on
Monday for just that purpose.... |
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Jul. 22, 2010 |
Foreign Policy | The problem with judging a blog by its
commenters (updated) - by Stephen M. Walt
Smith's article is just another illustration of what has become a
familiar and depressing story here in the United States. Anyone who
writes or says something that is critical of Israeli policy, who
questions the wisdom of the special relationship, or who talks about
the negative influence of the Israel lobby, is almost certain to
smeared, usually by being labeled either an anti-Semite or a
self-hating Jew. It is as predictable as the sun rising in the east
each morning. |
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Jul. 22, 2010 |
Just Vision | Stay tuned for the theatrical release of Budrus in
LA, Chicago, Boston, Detroit, Ann Arbor and other cities across
the US
The film, Budrus, demonstrates the power of non violent
resistance and follows the efforts of the inhabitants of a small
Palestinian village to effect change. The filmmakers would very much
like to pack the theater to show support for the film as well as
reveal to the film festival that there is active support for this
type of content. |
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Jul. 22, 2010 |
Jewish Voice for Peace | Israeli-Palestinian Conflict 101
Q: What is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict really about?
A: The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is, in essence, a conflict
over territory. Although religion plays a role in defining the
identities of the parties to the conflict, and for some Jews, in
justifying their claims to the land, the conflict is not,
fundamentally, a religious conflict.
Click on link above for more Q and A. |
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Jul. 22, 2010 |
Mazin Qumsiyeh, Human Rights | A day of celebration in the
occupied Palestinian territories
Nearly 86,000 Palestinian students sat this year for the final
high school unified matriculation exam (called Tawjihi) in the
occupied West Bank and Gaza. Today the results of the exams were
released and they were phenomenal. It is a noisy day of celebration
for thousands of people who worked very hard and achieved good
results. There was no divisions here, the unified examinations were
given in Gaza and the West Bank with cooperation of the ministry of
education employees in both places and without political
considerations. Considering the slaughter of Gaza last year, the
results from Gaza were remarkable (and equivalent to the West Bank).
The highest six students (4 females, 2 males) in the science section
got the score of 99.5% and they represent refugees, villagers, and
city dwellers, from Asira
Al-Shjamaliya (near Nablus), Khan Younis (Gaza), Nablus City,
West Gaza, Shufat (Jerusalem), and Beni Nuaim (Hebron area). In the
humanities section, the top ten come from Tulkarem, Rafah, Nablus,
Khan Younis, Qabatiya, and Jenin. My own nephew got 93.6% even
though his father died in the middle of these exam (I had shared the
story of Hazem with you earlier). This remarkable result by our
young people shows the possibilities of the people of Palestine. Of
course, the colonial apartheid system limits the options open to our
high school graduates but ultimately nothing can stand in the way of
determined individuals. |
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Jul. 22, 2010 |
INDIE GOGO | Contribute to Corner Store: Help fund the
TV Cut $2700 in 27 days! The producers of
Corner Store are anxious to continue to pursue oportunities to
share this amazing story with the world. The next step is to create
a shorter format to appeal to tv broadcaster. So don't wait - help
us raise the $2700 we need to do this and keep us moving! All
donations are made tax-deductible through this projects partnership
with the San Francisco Film Society. |
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Jul. 22, 2010 |
The Independent | They’re All Grovelling and You Can
Guess the Reason - by Robert Fisk Needless to
say, the only good guys in this story are the courageous Jewish
Americans who oppose the thieves in Netanyahu's government and the
racism of his foreign minister, the Ahmadinejad-like Avigdor
Lieberman. And which Western newspaper was bold enough to point out
that the house destruction in Jerusalem "effectively end(ed) an
unofficial freeze of such internationally condemned demolitions"?
The New York Times? The Washington Post? No, the Israeli newspaper
Haaretz, of course. And anyone who thinks Haaretz is alone in
condemning the illegal actions of the Israelis should read the
excellent Jewish magazine Tikun in the US, which goes for Israel's
Likud lobbyists – for they are Likudists – like a tiger. |
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Jul. 22, 2010 |
Ann Hafften, a Texas Lutheran's Voice for Middle East Peace |
ELCA Middle East Network Newsletter highlights boycott, divestment
and sanctions policies The Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America's Peace Not Walls Campaign has issued its
July 2010 Middle East Network Newsletter. There is a lot of
information in this edition, including an important memo detailing
ELCA policies regarding boycott, divestment, and sanctions and
relevant actions from 2005 and 2007 churchwide assemblies. |
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Jul. 21, 2010 |
Al Abram Weekly | White House Whiplash - by James Zogby
Administration officials point with pride to the quietening of
Israeli behaviour in Jerusalem and the easing of the blockade on
Gaza as the result of their efforts -- all of which they feel
justified a White House embrace. (Although in both instances they
acknowledge that much more needs to be done, and they insist that
they are committed to seeing more done.) For battered Palestinians
who lack trust in Netanyahu's words or, at this point, in the
promises of any US president, "seeing is believing". They have
experienced too many failed settlement freezes, too many rounds of
fruitless talks, too many retractable "confidence building
gestures", and more than enough unmet deadlines. They are feeling a
bit of whiplash, themselves, not knowing whether to just be angry
and believe that the Israelis won another round, or to trust this US
president and his promise to help deliver peace. |
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Jul. 21, 2010 |
The Reverend Roy Hayes, Episcopal, writes: The
International Community took another step in the right direction.
Ways were discussed to improve relations between Fatah and Hamas.
Palestine needs a unified government, a government which represents
all the Palestinian people, to negotiate effectively with the
Israelis. Peace, Roy
BBC News | Turkey foreign minister meets with Hamas leader
Turkey's foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu has met with exiled
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Syria, Turkey's official news agency
reports.
The pair discussed ways of improving relations between Hamas and
Fatah Palestinian groups, according to Anatolia news agency. |
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Jul. 21, 2010 |
The Reverend Roy Hayes writes:
Mark
Braverman (Jewish) and
Jim Wall
(Methodist) and I (Episcopalian) see eye-to-eye on what was
accomplished at the Presbyterian Church's General Assembly meeting
earlier this month. Mark writes
about the Jewish-Presbyterian dialogue: "The rules have changed."
Please read on. Peace, Roy |
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Jul. 21, 2010 |
The Reverend Stephen Sizer | The Armour of God: Ephesians 6
With heightened anxiety over Iran’s aspirations and pre-emptive
strikes by Israel and/or the USA, never before has the importance of
diplomacy to solve international disputes been so critical. And yet,
there is another war, a far more insidious, destructive war, that
engulfs our world.
It is a war the Church appears as ill-prepared to respond to as
our political leaders do in the Middle East. For this war has cosmic
as well as eternal consequences. |
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Jul. 20, 2010 |
Common Dreams | Food Co-Op in Rachel Corrie's Hometown Boycotts
Israeli Goods - by Natasha Mozgovaya
The Olympia Food Co-op announced last week that no more Israeli
products will be sold at its two grocery stores. |
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Jul. 20, 2010 |
Adam Keller, Crazy Country | Death in the Fire Zone
Nowadays, everything is electronically sophisticated. Throughout
the Gaza border area, machine-gun positions are linked to TV
cameras, and they can be shot by remote control from secure and
protected command centers several kilometers away. As the army
reported with more than a bit of pride a few weeks ago, the unit
responsible for the whole complex is composed purely of women –
truly the height of Feminism. The most talented of the eighteen-year
old girls joining the army in every annual recruiting cycle are
given long and arduous training. At the end they are ready to take
charge of a TV screen showing the situation on one sector of the
border and of the remote-control machine-gun trigger, ready to flood
the "Fire Zone" near the border with a deadly barrage. They
themselves are never in any danger, other than perhaps some bad
dreams at night. |
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Jul. 20, 2010 |
Adam Keller, Crazy Country | Latest News from the Only Democracy
in the Middle East
In Jerusalem, the Eternal Reunited Capital of Israel it was
decided this week to build 32 publicly funded housing units for Jews
only in Pisgat Zeev, so as to increase the Jewish presence in East
Jerusalem.
In that same City of Jerusalem the municipality this week
demolished six houses that Palestinians built for themselves with
their own money , because it is necessary to enforce the law and
also make life hell for the Arabs who insist on living in Jerusalem.
But the huge "Jonathan House" which the settlers built in the heart
of Silwan, the, Municipality decided not to destrioy. Though it is
illegal, these are after all Jews and they have a lot of good
friends at City Hall. |
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Jul. 20, 2010 |
ynet | Jewish and democratic? Op-ed: Shulamit Aloni slams
Citizenship Law amendment, ‘Jewish’ pledge of allegiance
The gist of the Citizenship Law amendment, which will entrench
the ban on family unification between Arab-Israelis and
Palestinians, through a demand to pledge allegiance to a “Jewish,
democratic state,” is discrimination against these citizens. After
all, they would not be able to make such pledge, and in fact I too
would not be able to do it, because a Jewish state cannot be
democratic....
...The Knesset unanimously approved these Basic Lines, and as
noted, they are commensurate with the Declaration of Independence.
The shift from “Israel” to “Jewish, democratic state” reflects harm
to democracy, because “Jewish” and democratic do not go hand in
hand. Just look at the laws pertaining to marriage and divorce and
the horror of conversion, which are certainly reminiscent of the
dark days in Spain when everyone was required to be Catholic.
Those who did not accept Catholicism considered doing so and
faced less suffering than that inherent in Orthodox conversion,
while Minister Eli Yishai watches over and seeks to expel any
immigrant who had not converted. This, despite what we learned in
Even Ha’ezer, which explicitly notes that those who were integrated
and assimilated into us should not face inquiries and scrutiny, with
all such families considered “kosher” Jews. |
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Jul. 20, 2010 |
Electronic Intifada | Water restrictions in the occupied West
Bank
Rights body Amnesty International accuses Israel of denying
Palestinians the right to access sufficient water supplies in the
West Bank by maintaining total control over the shared water
resources and preventing the development of adequate water
infrastructure there.
The Mountain Aquifer is the only source of water for Palestinians
in the West Bank, but one of several for Israel, which also has sole
access to water available from the Jordan river. |
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Jul. 20, 2010 |
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate | Open Letter of Appeal to
the Jewish people
I write to ask for your help in gaining the freedom of a good
man, a man of peace, and a man of conscience..... |
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Jul. 20, 2010 |
Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) |
Taking water to the Jordan - By Doris R., Ecumenical Accompanier
in Yanoun, and the EAPPI summer team 2010
Yesterday evening I was handing out bottles of water within a few
miles of Israel/Palestine’s only major river. The village of Al
Fasayel lies in a desert landscape, a contrast to nearby Israeli
agricultural settlements, which have access to almost unlimited
water. Al Fasayel itself has not had clean water on tap for over
seven weeks. |
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Jul. 20, 2010 |
From Mark Braverman, Jewish:
Mark Braverman, The Politics of Hope | Report from the
Presbyterian General Assembly – Part 2, The Jewish Response
The struggle for justice in Palestine is not an interfaith
project. It is not about repairing the damage of 2000 years of
Christian anti-Jewish behavior and maintaining vigilance about
anti-Semitism – although this is an important and valid activity.
Confusing the pursuit of justice in historic Palestine with
interfaith reconciliation has provided the basis for “the rules” for
over six decades. The struggle for justice in Palestine is, rather,
about building a universal community to confront the full range of
urgent issues facing humanity and the planet. |
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Jul. 20, 2010 |
Christian Peace Team | Al Khalil/Hebron Release: Israeli Border
Police Demolish Water Infrastructure in Al Baqa'a Valley
For the third time in 12 days, Israeli Border Police carried
out demolitions in Al Baqa'a valley, a fertile farming area
northeast of Hebron, along route 60. On July 19, the Israeli Border
Police, with the assistance of hired laborers using heavy machinery,
destroyed a cistern and removed irrigation pipes from 1.5 acres (6
dunams) of vegetable fields. |
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Jul. 19, 2010 |
Zenit | 1st Holy Land Christian Radio Station to Air Soon: Aims
to Build Interreligious Bridges
"It will be a Christian
voice, but it certainly will be a different kind of voice: a voice
for peace and hope, dialogue and reconciliation," [Father Raed Abu
Sahliye] affirmed. |
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Jul. 19, 2010 |
Churches for Middle East Peace | Community of YES: URGING
DETERMINED U.S. ACTION TO ACHIEVE A TWO STATE SOLUTION IN THE
HOLY LAND
Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is working with the
Community of Yes campaign to build broad bi-partisan support for
balanced and determined U.S. leadership in working with Israel and
the Palestinians to achieve a two state solution as part of a
comprehensive Middle East peace. |
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Jul. 19, 2010 |
Huffington Post | Slandering the Good Guys: Some Basic Facts
About IHH - by Iara Lee
We must remember that an attack on IHH is an attack on all
humanitarian groups around the world. Given that IHH is among the
most courageous humanitarian NGOs in the world -- risking their
lives to work in places like Somalia, cleaning up American messes in
Iraq and Afghanistan -- our politicians should perhaps be thanking
them, rather than trying to tarnish their stellar reputation.
Thankfully, IHH's track record speaks for itself, as do the actions
of their accusers -- a comparison which does not calculate favorably
for the Israeli government when asking just who, exactly, the
terrorists are. |
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Jul. 19, 2010 |
Friends of Freedom and Justin, Bil'in | Night Raid on Bil'in
19-07-2010
Tonight, Bil'in was subjected to yet another Israeli Occupation
Forces terror raid at 1.30 am when an unusually heavy number of IOF
soldiers entered the outskirts of the village to arrest a local
youth; 17 year old Ahmad Abed Al-Fatah Burnat - which unfortunately
was effected. At least twelve jeeps were spotted most of which
hovered as backup at the nearby Apartheid-Annexation Wall which
coupled with a heavy IOF presence at last Friday's peaceful
demonstration - peaceful that is, until the protesters were
viciously deluged with salvoes of tear gas as soon as they reached
the Wall which the shabab, commendably, fiercely resisted with
stones - has given rise to well founded speculation that the IOF are
currently blooding new recruits to occupation methods; heavy on
violence, light on human rights.
|
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Jul. 19, 2010 |
The National | Netanyahu admits on video he deceived US to
destroy Oslo accord - by Jonathan Cook
Seated on a sofa in the
house, he tells the family that he deceived the US president of the
time, Bill Clinton, into believing he was helping implement the Oslo
accords, the US-sponsored peace process between Israel and the
Palestinians, by making minor withdrawals from the West Bank while
actually entrenching the occupation. He boasts that he thereby
destroyed the Oslo process.
He dismisses the US as “easily moved to the right direction” and
calls high levels of popular American support for Israel “absurd”.
|
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Jul. 19, 2010 |
The Reverend James M. Wall, Methodist, Wall Writings | Who “Won”
the PCUSA Assembly? The Answer May Surprise You
With respected Protestant leaders like Henderson as allies, the
state of Israel tried to do exactly what the US private healthcare
industry did when it kept a public option out of President Obama’s
health care bill: Control the process in their favor. |
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Jul. 19, 2010 |
The Reverend Roy Hayes, Episcopal, writes:
Peers,
Some days the news from the Holy Land is encouraging:
Russian PM Putin condemns Israeli raid on Gaza-bound ship and
EU Foreign Policy Chief urges Israel to open Gaza borders and
UN voices concern over demolitions, settlement approval in East
Jerusalem. Some days we are so surprised by the news that we
don't know quite what to think:
US State Department at Brookings Institute Discussion. One thing
is certain. "Burnout" is not an option we can afford.
Peers, how would you manage the crisis if you were the President?
I know what I would do. I would be doing most of the things
President Obama is doing. I would find it necessary to assure the
pro-Israel forces in the US that I'm working in Israel's best
interests. I would continue to call for direct talks between the
Israelis and the Palestinians even tho I know I would meet with
opposition from many of my friends in Palestine. As soon as direct
talks were underway I would signal for the Arab League to come
forward with the Arab Peace Initiative one more time. As soon as the
Israeli negotiators showed signs of hysterics I would make it
possible for Fatah and Hamas to announce that they have reconciled
and are ready to negotiate the final status issues. See: Haniyeh:
Hamas willing to accept Palestinian state with 1967 borders -
Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News. Before panic could break out
in the Israeli streets, I would give George Mitchell the nod to give
the nod to Ireland (or Norway) to recognize Palestine's unity
government, and nations around the world would be quick to follow
suit.
All the while I would keep the USS George Washington on station
in the Persian Gulf in the event that it became necessary to
intercept Israeli missiles and/or bombers enroute to Iran. Please
read on.
Peace,
Roy
Note: The United Nations .... along with the US, the EU and Russia
... is a member of the Quartet.
On 6 July of this year Benjamin Netanyahu was invited to the White
House for
talks. What's going on? In October of 2001 Ariel Sharon
boasted:
"We Control America". Was Sharon correct? The article pasted
below is dated 13 July 2010. |
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Jul. 19, 2010 |
The Reverend Roy Hayes, Episcopal, writes: I
once heard a Muslim student in Jerusalem say: "I don't hate Jews.
Hating Jews is against my religion. It's Israel's government that I
hate." Peace, Roy |
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Jul. 19, 2010 |
Haaretz |The Orthodox Jews fighting the Judaization of East
Jerusalem - by Nir Hasson
Leading the demonstrations of solidarity with Palestinian
residents of Sheikh Jarrah are some young Israelis with a religious
background. They explain their activism and how it correlates to
their conception of the true meaning of the Torah. |
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Jul. 19, 2010 |
Common Dreams | Demands for Release of Nuclear Whistleblower as
Israel Holds Vanunu in Solitary Confinement - by Billy Briggs
Amnesty International is calling for Vanunu's immediate release
and his brother, Meir, contacted the Sunday Herald to express fears
over Vanunu's wellbeing after being the first person to visit him in
seven weeks. |
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Jul. 18, 2010 |
BBC News | EU envoy urges Israel to open Gaza borders
Israel must go beyond easing its blockade of Gaza and throw open
its long-closed border, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has
said. |
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Jul. 17, 2010 |
Gush Shalom | Following Gush Shalom's appeal, Supreme Court
opens way for Tirkel Committee to summon military personnel
In a compromise reached between the petitioners from Gush Shalom
and the State prosecutors, based on the suggestion of Judge Naor, it
was agreed that if the Tirkel Committee will ask to investigate
military officers, and the Government will not enable it, the issue
will go back to court. The compromise was given the status of a
court decision. |
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Jul. 17, 2010 |
Lonely Planet | St. George's College: The Holy Land [video]
Students of all ages at St. George's College in Jerusalem make
an emotional connection to their faith and the actual places
described in the Bible. |
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Jul. 17, 2010 |
Huffington Post | Abbas says Israel must accept foreign border
force - by MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he'll resume direct
peace talks if Israel accepts its 1967 frontier as a baseline for
the borders of a Palestinian state and agrees to the deployment of
an international force to guard them. |
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Jul. 17, 2010 |
Friends of Freedom and Justice, Bil'in | Dozens suffered from
tear gas inhalation in Bil'ins weekly demonstration 16 July
against the wall
16 July 2010 -Today the people of Bil'in were joined by about 100
internationals. People were carrying posters to honor Fayyes Tanin,
a Palestinian leader of the grassroot's movement who passed away 6
weeks ago. As the protesters stopped some meters from the gate,
facing the soldiers on the other side, the army started shooting
tear gas without any warning and without a single stone being
thrown. Majd Burnat 12 year old carrying a camera to document
military violence passed out from the inhalation, and had to be
taken back to the village. Another young boy was hit by a tear gas
canister in his stomach, and suffered from pain. Seven of the
internationals joining today were from a French group named CCIPPP,
arranged by Mustafa, coming to support the Palestinian struggle.
Another five Palestinians came from Tulkarem, where Fayyes Tanin is
from. A number of members of the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front
were also coming from all over Palestine to support Bil'in this
Friday. The soldiers were already standing close to the gate as the
protestors reached the top of the hill, accompanied by border
police, obviously ready to run in and make arrests. After less than
a minute, much tear gas was shot into the crowd, both cylinder
shaped and the regular round shaped. As people ran towards the
village, gas continued to be shot, in addition to a few stun
grenades. About ten soldiers lined up on the road, preventing people
to come close to the gate, while another ten went in among the olive
trees, shooting tear gas from a closer distance. The cylinder shaped
tear gas canisters can cause severe damage when they hit from a
short distance. Today a young boy was hit in his stomach,
fortunately from such distance that did not cause a serious injury.
Another 12 year old boy carrying a camera to document military
violence, passed out from too much tear gas, and had to be taken
back to the village. No arrests were made today, in spite of much
effort from the Israeli army, and the demonstration came to an end
after 1,5 hours |
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Jul. 17, 2010 |
Mazin Qumsiyeh, Human Rights | Netanyahu exposed and more
Young people do what is called 'party hopping': going from one
party to another in the same night when the parties are held in
parallel time. You
get to meet more people but you have the disadvantage of not
spending enough time at one place to really get connected. We
decided this Friday to try a similar thing for the Friday
demonstrations in Bethlehem area and hop-visit Al-Walaja, Al-Ma'sara,
and Wad Rahhal. Maybe that was because we missed the action but in
any case, it was not a good idea. While we did meet more people, we
missed the real actions (although we had a small dose of tear gas
remnants in Al-Ma'sara!). Life here never has a dull moment. Six
homes were demolished in East Jerusalem on the 13th, we are giving
lots of talks to internationals visiting here, there are many summer
camps for young Palestinians, we meet new people every day who are
interested in helping, popular resistance acts are everywhere, we
have new projects and ideas that take work that are being
launched.... The news around us (good and bad) give us fuel for
further action. |
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Jul. 17, 2010 |
The
Reverend Roy Hayes, Episcopal, writes:
The United Nations .... along with the US, the EU and Russia ...
is a member of the
Quartet. On 6 July of this year Benjamin Netanyahu was invited
to the White House for talks. What's going on? In October of 2001
Ariel Sharon boasted:
"We Control America". Was Sharon correct? The article pasted
below is dated 13 July 2010. Peace, Roy
United Nations | UN voices concern over demolitions, settlement
approval in East Jerusalem
13 July 2010 – The United Nations today expressed concern over
the demolition by Israeli authorities of buildings, including homes,
and the approval of the construction of a new settlement in East
Jerusalem, urging all parties to respect international law and avoid
provocative actions.
United Nations | ‘Provocative’ settlement construction in Jerusalem
undermines trust – Ban
1 July 2010 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today reiterated his
call for an end to the building of settlements in Jerusalem,
stressing that the construction damages trust and stokes unrest in
the region.
“Settlement construction should stop, as should measures which
discriminate against Palestinian residents of the city and the
ability of Palestinians to access the city,” Mr. Ban said at the
start of the United Nations African Meeting on the Question of
Palestine, which is focusing on the question of Jerusalem. |
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Jul. 17, 2010 |
MIFTAH | Threat to Peace Talks as Israelis Demolish Home - by
Catrina Stewart
Israeli bulldozers razed six buildings in East Jerusalem,
including three Palestinian homes, marking the end of Israeli
efforts to refrain from contentious demolitions that could undermine
peace talks.
With excavators preparing to tear down one of the homes in Beit
Hanina, a Palestinian suburb of Arab-dominated East Jerusalem,
relatives and friends were given just one hour to save the
belongings of the owners, who were out at the time.
Amid the Obama administration's intensified efforts to bring the
two sides back to direct talks after an 18-month hiatus, the renewed
demolitions sparked fresh international condemnation of Israel's
policies towards Palestinians in East Jerusalem. |
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Jul. 17, 2010 |
MIFTAH | Israel Set to Force all Citizens to Swear Oath to
Jewish State - by Catrina Stewart
New Israeli citizens may soon be required to swear an oath of
loyalty to a "Jewish and democratic" state, a step that has drawn
harsh criticism from human rights groups.
Israel's Cabinet, which meets tomorrow, is expected to approve
this and extend a raft of existing measures that make it harder for
Palestinians to achieve citizenship.
The wording of the oath, which would apply to new applicants for
citizenship, was slammed by Arab advocacy groups, who accused Israel
of "racist" policies that attempt to link citizenship to ideology.
"It's another step in the direction of getting the Arabs out of
Israel," said Uri Avnery, a former MP and founder of the Israeli
Gush Shalom peace movement. "Parliament has become a lynching mob."
|
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Jul. 17, 2010 |
MIFTAH | Waiting for November - by George S. Hishmeh
How can Obama close his eyes while Netanyahu proceeds glaringly
in his two-faced policies. Or must we all wait until the election in
November? And what are the choices for the Palestinians if he loses?
|
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Jul. 17, 2010 |
MIFTAH | More Dollars to Israel as Settlements Grow [July 11 –
July 17]
The United States will give Israel the largest "security package"
ever, according to its Assistant Secretary of State Andrew Shapiro
on July 16. Shapiro said the security aid package would be "the most
extensive in history", elaborating that in 2010, the administration
requested from Congress $2,775 billion in security assistance
funding specifically for Israel. According to its own rationale, the
US says this boost in money to Israel's security would help to
advance the peace process with the Palestinians. |
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Jul. 17, 2010 |
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America | 2010 Holy Land Youth
Trip Arrived Safe and Sound
July 13: We have crossed checkpoints and cultural boundaries,
listened to Israelis and Palestinians, held our breath in the
garbage-soaked refugee camp called Shufat Camp, the only refugee
camp in Jerusalem, which is consequently being carved out of
Jerusalem by the wall. We have been horrified by the evil that
humanity can inflict upon others in the name of race, ethnicity or
religion at Yad Vashem. We have sweated through a tour overlooking
the continued illegal settlements of East Jerusalem, been dwarfed by
the 30-ft. high separation wall built on Palestinian land. We gazed
at the years-old rubble of a home demolition, even as today we
continued to get alerts asking for us to come and try to help halt
the Palestinian homes that were being destroyed in Beit Hanina,
Issawiya and the Jordan Valley. We visited the area of Jerusalem
known both as the City of David and Silwan, where Palestinians homes
are being destroyed by archeology, policy and tunnels and Israeli
settler violence invades Palestinians even in their homes.
|
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Jul. 17, 2010 |
Uri Avnery, Gush Shalom | A Parliamentary Mob
WHEN I was first elected to the Knesset, I was appalled at what I
found. I discovered that, with rare exceptions, the intellectual
level of the debates was close to zero. They consisted mainly of
strings of clichés of the most commonplace variety. During most of
the debates, the plenum was almost empty. Most participants spoke
vulgar Hebrew. When voting, many members had no idea what they were
voting for or against, they just followed the party whip. |
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Jul. 16, 2010 |
Reuters | Fidel Castro appears again, warns of war - by Jeff
Franks
Castro's sudden re-emergence after four years in seclusion has
raised questions about what it all means. But his message has been
consistent -- a devastating war is at hand if the United States, in
alliance with Israel, tries to enforce international sanctions
against Iran for its nuclear activities. |
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Jul. 16, 2010 |
Juan Cole, Informed Comment | Libyan Aid Ship Extracts
Concessions from Israel; Resumption of House Demolitions in
Jerusalem
The Qadhafi Foundation is very unlikely to be the last NGO to
attempt to get aid to Gaza, and each round of attempted relief will
put Israel in a bad light in the eyes of the world and will risk
Israeli violence against a humanitarian mission. |
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Jul. 16, 2010 |
BBC News | Israeli pig-farming kibbutz draws religious ire
The kibbutz faces strong criticism in a society with a
deep-running secular-religious divide. |
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Jul. 16, 2010 |
BBC News | House-by-house struggle for East Jerusalem by Jeremy
Bowen
Mr Luria [an Israeli who works for a Jewish group called Ateret
Cohanim, an organisation that helps Jews buy houses, flats and land
from Palestinians] says his side is winning. But there is no chance
of peace in Jerusalem if Israel ignores Palestinian rights in the
holy city that both sides believe is their birthright. |
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Jul. 16, 2010 |
BBC News | In pictures: Israel's alternative 'world cup'
The Football 4 Peace tournament brings together children from
Arab and Jewish families, most of whom have never met a child from
the other community. |
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Jul. 16, 2010 |
Letter from Maria Khoury | Taybeh News
Sadly, many people from Taybeh living in Jordan were denied an
entry visa by Israel. We cannot understand why Israel is so
unfriendly to visitors and for the first time in 30 years I have
personally been denied the usual three month visitor’s visa that I
have been able to get in the past which allows the freedom to move
around with a foreign passport. I am no longer Palestinian just in
spirit but also now on paper and unfortunately locked in a prison
behind a huge wall. |
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Jul. 16, 2010 |
US TO GAZA | U.S. boat, The Audacity of Hope
We are planning to launch a U.S. boat to Gaza, joining a flotilla
of ships from Europe, Canada, India, South Africa and parts of the
Middle East due to set sail in September/ October of this year. In
order to succeed in this essential but costly human rights project,
we need significant financial support. |
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Jul. 16, 2010 |
Michael Heart | Song for Gaza available on internet
In January of 2009, during the war in Gaza, Michael wrote and
released a song in support of the Palestinian civilian victims. The
song is called "We will not go down (song for Gaza)". It was posted
on YouTube and made available as a free mp3 download. |
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Jul. 16, 2010 |
Christian Peace Team | AL KHALIL/HEBRON: Israeli Border Police
destroy vegetable fields in Al Beqa’a Valley
[This account was posted earlier in the month,
but now there are links to the video and photos]
Israeli border police destroyed several
Palestinian fields in Al Beqa’a Valley just east of Hebron
on 6 July 2010, directly affecting the livelihood of more
than one hundred Palestinians. |
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Jul. 15, 2010 |
Gaza Life | 3rd Annual Rachel Corrie Soccer Tournament
Fundraiser
What: A community football tournament at
the Unity Youth Field in the Yebna neighborhood of Rafah,
Gaza.Why: Cut off from the world by a brutal siege the
people of the Gaza strip live with hunger, massive
unemployment and frequent attacks by the Israeli army.
Extreme vulnerability and insecurity, coupled with bleak
prospects for the future, feed hopelessness and rage with
the youth being particularly vulnerable. This innovative,
community-developed football tournament gives neighbors a
chance to strengthen bonds and relieve the stress caused by
the dire situation.
When: The month of Ramadan, the 11th of August through
the 9th of September.
Fundraiser Target: $10,000 U.S.
Fundraiser Ends: August 15th |
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Jul. 15, 2010 |
Common Dreams | Israel Chokes Gaza Despite Announced Easing - by
Mel Frykberg
There appears to be "no change in the
policy of inflicting economic warfare or by preventing entry
of goods necessary for production," says the Gisha report.
"Textiles, industrial-sized buckets of margarine, glucose,
packaging boxes and other raw materials are still banned. |
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Jul. 15, 2010 |
Book TV |Fatal Embrace: Christians, Jews and the Search for
Peace in the Holy Land - by Mark Braverman
-
Sunday, July 18th at 5pm (ET)
-
Monday, July 19th at 2am (ET)
About the Program
Mark Braverman takes a critical look at Israel's
treatment of the Palestinians in the occupied territories.
Mr. Braverman argues that Israeli security does not need to
come at the expense of justice for the Palestinians. He
spoke at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina.
About the Authors
Mark Braverman
Mark Braverman is co-founder and executive director of
Friends of Tent Nations North America, an organization that
supports Palestinian land rights in historic Palestine. He
also serves on the board of directors of the Israeli
Committee Against House Demolitions-USA and on the advisory
council of the Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle
East Peace. For more, visit:
markbraverman.org. |
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Jul. 15, 2010 |
Palestinian Center for Human Rights | Israeli Forces Kill One
Palestinian Woman and Wound Another Three Civilians, Including
Two Women, in Central Gaza
On Tuesday evening, 13 July 2010, Israeli
Occupation Forces (IOF) killed a Palestinian woman and
wounded another three civilians (an elderly man and two
women), all of the same family, after bombarding their home
with artillery shells. The Palestinian Centre for Human
Rights (PCHR) condemns this crime, which constitute the
highest degree of disregard for Palestinian civilians'
lives. PCHR stresses that failure to open investigations
into the actions of suspected Israeli soldiers officially
encourages them to commit further crimes. |
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Jul. 15, 2010 |
Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions | Jerusalem
Municipality demolishes 6 houses across East Jerusalem
Yesterday, 13.7.10, the Jerusalem
municipality demolished 6 houses in East Jerusalem claiming
they were built illegally, ignoring the fact the
municipality makes it impossible for Palestinians to obtain
permits in order to build legally. |
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Jul. 15, 2010 |
Sojourners | A 'Hidden History' in the Holy Land - by Ben White
The Israeli group Zochrot seeks to
introduce fellow Israelis to the people who lived on the
land before them -- and to engage Jews and Palestinians in
an open recounting of their painful common history. |
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Jul. 15, 2010 |
BBC News | UK Jews 'back Israel two-state solution'
A majority of British Jews believe Israel
should swap territory for peace, and negotiate with Hamas, a
survey suggests. |
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Jul. 15, 2010 |
American Association for Palestinian Equal Rights | Join the
Palestine Freedom Walks!
Last year, AAPER launched its First Annual Palestine Freedom
Walks, which are silent marches for an
equitable U.S. policy toward Palestine that advances freedom
and equal rights for the Palestinian people. More than 25
cities participated and raised more than $25,000. That was
just the beginning...
Today, AAPER announces the Second Annual Palestine Freedom
Walks, to be held on October 2, 2010! |
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Jul. 15, 2010 |
Jewish Voice for Peace | Sign Petition TO TIAA-CREF: Please
refrain from investing in any company that contributes to
violations of human rights or international law
Petition: As one of the largest financial
services companies in the world, changing your policies will
send a message of hope to Palestinians and Israelis who seek
peace and justice. |
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Jul. 15, 2010 |
Uruknet | Blockade! Dockworkers, Worldwide, Respond to Israel's
Flotilla, Massacre and Gaza Siege - by GREG DROPKIN
Three weeks after the massacre on the
Freedom Flotilla, ILWU dockworkers in the San Francisco Bay
area delayed an Israeli Zim Lines ship for 24 hours, the
Swedish Dockworkers Union began a week-long blockade of
Israeli ships and containers, dockers in the Port of Cochin,
India, refused to handle Israeli cargo, and the Turkish
dockworkers union Liman-Is announced their members would
refuse to service any Israeli shipping. In South Africa,
Durban dockers had already boycotted a Zim Lines ship in
response to the invasion of Gaza last year. On the 5th
Anniversary of the United Palestinian Call for Boycott
Divestment and Sanctions, Israel faces the prospect of
targetted industrial action to implement boycotts. How did
it happen, what does it mean, and how can the solidarity
movement respond to the new opening? |
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Jul. 15, 2010 |
Common Dreams | Israeli Military Report on Its Gaza Flotilla
Actions Underscores Need for an Independent Investigation - by
Ann Wright
As a 29 year military veteran and a
survivor of the Gaza Flotilla, I strongly believe that the
Israeli military report on its conduct in boarding the six
ships of the Gaza Flotilla underscores the need for an
independent investigation. As we have found from
investigations done by our own U.S military on its actions
in Iraq and Afghanistan, militaries, to their moral and
ethical peril, seldom are critical of the conduct of their
operations. |
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Jul. 15, 2010 |
Zenit | "Mother Church" Develops '11 Christian Unity Week:
Jerusalem Communities Point to 1st-Century Harmony
"This is the challenge before us. The
Christians of Jerusalem call upon their brothers and sisters
to make this week of prayer an occasion for a renewed
commitment to work for a genuine ecumenism, grounded in the
experience of the early Church." |
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Jul. 14, 2010 |
The Guardian | BDS campaign wants Israel to abide by
international law by Dr Nev Gordon
There is a considerable amount of
misunderstanding about Boycott Divestment and Sanctions. BDS
is not a principle but a strategy; it is not against Israel
but against Israeli policy; when the policy changes BDS will
end.BDS is not about a particular solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but the demand that Israel
abide by international law and UN resolutions.
It is, accordingly, something that you can support if you
are for a two-state solution or a one-state solution. You
can even support it as a Zionist.
It arises from the realisation, following years of
experience, that the occupation will not end unless Israelis
understand that it has a price. |
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Jul. 14, 2010 |
Common Dreams | Gaza Aid Ship 'Diverted to Egypt'
"Eight Israeli warships are surrounding
the Libyan aid ship for Gaza and preventing the continuation
of its journey," Yousseuf Sawani, executive director of the
Gaddafi Foundation which charteredthe vessel, said early on
Wednesday.Sawani said earlier that the warships were
"threatening" the Amalthea, also known as Al Amal, which he
said was still headed for Gaza. But he made it clear that
those on board would not violently resist any efforts to
stop them.
"First and foremost, we want to arrive to Gaza. If this
is impossible, we don't want to subject anyone to danger,"
he told Al Jazeera.
Sawani said that communications with the boat had been
jammed and the vessel was moving at a slow pace because of
the Israeli warships that were trailing it. |
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Jul. 14, 2010 |
MIFTAH | Olive Branches All Around: The Debate about Palestinian
Non-Violence" - by Leah Hunt-Hendrix
I finally saw the olive trees. I had been
in Ramallah for over a week, but had been so preoccupied
with adjusting to a new environment and finding my way
around, I had not even noticed all the twisted trunks and
the thin grey-green leaves that filled the city. Until, one
day, when I was walking home, an olive fell on my head. At
first I reacted with displeasure, as we often do when
impersonal forces set out to cause us embarrassment. But
when I looked up to find the source of this annoyance, I was
suddenly struck with the beauty. Above me was a web of
branches and leaves that embodied the life source of this
region. And as I began to look around, to look out over the
hill upon which Ramallah is set, I realized that the horizon
was full of these silent compatriots, whose branches have
long been a symbol of peace. |
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Jul. 14, 2010 |
BBC News | Libyan ship with Gaza aid heads for Egypt, Israel
says
Analysis by Malcolm Brabant, BBC New,
Athens:According to the ship's owner, Alex Angelopoulos,
the Amalthea did not suffer a mechanical breakdown - the
story about engine failure was a ploy, invented by the Cuban
captain, after the Israelis surrounded the vessel and gave
him an ultimatum to change course away from Gaza.
The captain was trying to buy some time for the Libyan
charity to muster international diplomatic support to
pressure the Israelis to let the vessel through. He
restarted the engines around midday local time and is now
underway.
Mr Angelopoulos earlier said this expedition was a risky
venture, although he prided himself on taking chances.
He said he was motivated by humanitarian reasons, but he
is also acting in the tradition of Greek shipowners like
Aristotle Onassis, who made fortunes by breaching embargoes. |
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Jul. 14, 2010 |
Religion News | Why Not a Black-Palestinian Liberation Theology?
- by Dallas Darling
Like Black Liberation Theology, that
recognizes centuries of enslavement, Palestinian Liberation
Theology calls attention to Jesus, who as a Palestinian Jew,
also lived under the brutal and militant conditions of the
Roman Empire and its religious perpetrators. Central to both
theologies is an emphasis on land, that was either stolen
through harsh abductions, or seized through violent
expulsions. A Black-Palestinian Theology would confront both
the narrow biblical interpretation of Jewish and Christian
Zionism, and a White European ethnocentric history that
still attempts to justify conquests and exploitation. |
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Jul. 14, 2010 |
Common Dreams | The Hypocrisy of Preaching Nonviolence to
Palestinians - by Ira Chernus
Now, instead of waiting for another
miraculously gifted leader, we should each be speaking out
and acting up, doing whatever little bit we can. We may not
see the greatness of a Gandhi or King again for a very long
time. But that's no reason to give up the quest for
nonviolent resolution of our problems. It's all the more
reason for each of us to take responsibility for ourselves
and our own people, to stop telling others what they should
do and start, right now, changing what we do. |
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Jul. 14, 2010 |
Counterpunch, Jonathan Cook | Remote-control Killing: The Spot
and Shoot Game
It is called Spot and Shoot. Operators sit
in front of a TV monitor from which they can control the
action with a PlayStation-style joystick.The aim: to kill
terrorists.
Played by: young women serving in the Israeli army.
Spot and Shoot, as it is called by the Israeli military,
may look like a video game but the figures on the screen are
real people -- Palestinians in Gaza -- who can be killed
with the press of a button on the joystick.
The female soldiers, located far away in an operations
room, are responsible for aiming and firing
remote-controlled machine-guns mounted on watch-towers every
few hundred metres along an electronic fence that surrounds
Gaza. |
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Jul. 14, 2010 |
Dissident Voice, Jonathan Cook | Witch Hunt Begins in Israeli
Schools and Colleges: Minister to Punish Boycott Supporters
Hundreds of Israeli college professors
have signed a petition accusing the education minister of
endangering academic freedoms after he threatened to
“punish” any lecturer or institution that supports a boycott
of Israel.The backlash against Gideon Saar, a member of
the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, comes
after a series of moves suggesting he is trying to stamp a
more stridently right-wing agenda on the Israeli education
system. |
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Jul. 14, 2010 |
My Catbird Seat | Has Obamageddon signed the world’s death
warrant? - by Stuart Littlewood
So, while Obama and Netanyahu take the
floor for the Armageddon waltz, let us pray – fervently. |
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Jul. 14, 2010 |
Mondoweiss | J Street campaign, and Central Fund letter, show
‘Times’ settlement article hit a nerve - by Adam Horowitz
Please launch an investigation into
whether or not the organizations funding settlement
activities in the Occupied Territories, including those
named in a recent New York Times report, have broken the
law.The alleged links between the named organizations and
former officials and donors associated with far-right Jewish
groups that are classified as terrorist organizations by the
United States provide a reasonable starting point for an
investigation. |
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Jul. 13, 2010 |
The Real News | ONE STATE OR TWO, THERE SHOULD BE ECONOMIC
JUSTICE: Paul Jay Interview with Shir Hever is an economic
researcher in the Alternative Information Center
And so you could hear proposals: Let's
give the Palestinians a state, but they'll have to use our
currency, but they'll have to use our tax system, but they
will be under a kind of a free-trade zone, which in reality
would mean they will be completely subject to Israeli
economic policies. So there is an economic interest in the
one-state solution. There is also an economic interest for
the two-state solution, because that would mean that
although Palestinians will remain completely controlled
under the Israeli economic regime and it will be completely
dependent on the Israeli economy, they would not be Israeli
citizens, and as such would not receive all the benefits,
such as minimum wage law, such as pension plans, such as
health care, which would make it a lot cheaper for Israeli
companies to exploit them. So they will become consumers of
Israeli products. They are already consumers of Israeli
products. They would become the cheap labor for Palestinian
companies. They're already the cheap labor. |
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Jul. 13, 2010 |
The Real News | RATIONAL AND IRRATIONAL ZIONISM: Paul Jay
Interview with Shir Hever is an economic researcher in the
Alternative Information Center
And they're [Magal] also building
equipment for the wall between the United States and Mexico.
And they were interviewed by an Israeli journalist and were
asked—their CEO was asked, is building the wall with Mexico
the same as building the wall in the West Bank? And he said
no, it's not the same, because the wall in Mexico is only
designed to stop people, while the wall in the West Bank
kills them. That is a company that analysts in the stock
markets say is a good stock to buy whenever you hear there's
a terrorist attack—their stock will go up. |
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Jul. 13, 2010 |
Juan Cole, Informed Comment | Erdogan vows that Turkey will not
Let Israel Get away with Flotilla Attack
Eyewitnesses reported that one seated
photographer was abruptly shot between the eyes, and that
another innocent’s head exploded when he was shot from
above. |
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Jul. 13, 2010 |
Zenit | Pope to Holy Land Catholics: Be Signs of Unity
Benedict XVI added that he was pleased to
see the numbers of Catholics in the Holy Land on the rise,
"due to the Latin residents and immigrants of other
continents, including Europe, Africa and Asia." |
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Jul. 13, 2010 |
Reuters | Israel razes inhabited Palestinian home in Jerusalem -
by Jeffrey Heller
Israel razed an inhabited Palestinian home
in East Jerusalem on Tuesday for the first time in eight
months, effectively ending an unofficial demolition freeze
imposed under U.S. pressure to revive peace talks.
...Palestinians now wanted to know, he said, just "how the
Americans will act...because things have started to escalate
after Netanyahu's visit to Washington". |
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Jul. 13, 2010 |
Reuters | Israeli navy challenges Gaza-bound Libyan ship - by
Dan Williams
"This story is not related only to
delivering humanitarian goods, but also to breaking the
siege on Gaza and opening a sea lane," Hamas official Sami
Abu Zuhri told Reuters, noting that Egypt, which also
borders Gaza, was maintaining its own closure. |
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Jul. 13, 2010 |
The
Reverend Roy Hayes, Episcopal, writes:
We're familiar with Sabeel's website:
www.sabeel.org.
Please note my highlight in Sabeel's weekly mailing pasted below. To
learn more about the growing non-violent resistance movement, see
this article:
Stride Toward Peace. Peace, Roy
Each Thursday at noon in Jerusalem , Sabeel holds a Communion
service that is open to the community. It is a time to join together
to celebrate the Eucharist, to discuss how the scriptures apply to
our lives today, and to pray for the needs of this region and our
world. Starting in the Pacific Islands, passing through Palestine ,
Europe, the Americas and on around the globe, we pray for peace with
justice.
Wave of Prayer, Thursday, July 15, 2010
Ø We give thanks for the
growing movement of non-violent resistance in the West Bank and
Jerusalem which is constantly challenging the Israeli occupation. It
is also meeting increasingly violent tactics from the police and
military forces. Last Friday in Sheikh Jarrah security forces
kicked and hit protestors, including a former Israeli Attorney
General. We pray for the safety and wellbeing of all who
courageously challenge the occupation with non-violent tactics.
Ø In the coming two weeks, forty young adults from Palestine and
around the world will gather in Jerusalem to participate in the
fifth annual Sabeel international Young Adult Conference: "From the
Belly of the Whale: A Palestinian Christian Cry for Justice." May
their time of pilgrimage and learning inspire them to pursue peace
with justice in Palestine and Israel and in all conflicts wherever
they may be in the world.
Ø More and more churches are understanding that it is necessary
to see justice applied to the situation here before we can progress
to peace and reconciliation. There is substantial criticism now
being made of the policies of Israel and pressure is mounting on the
social and political leadership. We give thanks for these winds of
change around the world and pray for energy, enthusiasm and
imagination for all the movements and individuals who devote
themselves to freedom for the Palestinian people.
Ø Ahlan wa Sahlan is the traditional welcoming greeting here. And
it is heartily meant to all who come and visit. In the first half of
the year over 1000 people have visited Sabeel to hear about this
ministry and what it means to live as a Palestinian under
occupation. We give thanks for this engagement and ask for prayers
as we prepare for and seek interested people to participate in the
Sabeel Witness Visit in October 2010 and the eighth international
conference in February 2011.
This week we join with the World Council of
Churches in praying for:
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama |
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Jul. 13, 2010 |
The
Reverend Roy Hayes, Episcopal, writes:
There's a short article [click on link] below which all of us
should read.
Other articles making the rounds on the Internet this week
include:
Senior Palestinian calls Jerusalem a ‘time bomb’ | Jordan Times
and
AIPAC works with Netanyahu to set colonization policy and
Pro-Israel PAC Contributions to 2010 Congressional Candidates.
Please fit this one in:
Palestine Think Tank: Israel's Negotiating Strategies.
Peace,
Roy+
U.S. Congress United in its Support of Israel, says Republican
Minority Whip
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Jul. 13, 2010 |
Information Clearing House | On Being Led By the Nose: The
Unchallenged Power of the Israel Lobby - by [former Senator]
JAMES ABOUREZK
Does anyone beside a few people in the
United States see the danger to our country in being led
around by the nose by the Israeli government? |
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Jul. 13, 2010 |
Shabbah Report | What Sort of Christians Become Zionists? - by
Stuart Littlewood
"We categorically reject Christian Zionist
doctrines as a false teaching that corrupts the biblical
message of love, justice and reconciliation" – The Jerusalem
DeclarationNot all Jews are Zionists. Many reject the
Zionist project and fight against it.
So why on earth would a non-Jew wish to be one? Indeed,
how could a genuine Christian seriously consider becoming a
Zionist? It has puzzled me for a long time. The two ideas
are incompatible, are they not? |
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Jul. 13, 2010 |
Mondoweiss | In ‘NYT,’ commenters brand Israel ‘fascist’
Ethan Bronner
got the scoop today on Israel's investigation of the
flotilla raid concluding that the 9 killings were
justified. The piece included one line at odds with the
Israeli narrative, the last line: "Passengers aboard the
flotilla have mostly told a very different story, with some
witnesses accusing the commandos of shooting randomly as
they came aboard." Funny; it's like a parody of propaganda.
But here's the news. Read the comments section. No one's
fooled. The readers are going after Israel. What hath the
internet wrought? A few examples... |
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Jul. 13, 2010 |
BBC News | Israel admits Gaza flotilla raid 'mistakes'
An Israeli military inquiry into the naval
raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla says commandos were
under-prepared and mistakes were made at a senior level.
Comment by Jonathan Marcus, BBC Diplomatic Correspondent:
"This Israeli military investigation confirms things went
badly wrong when troops stormed the Mavi Marmara, but
largely exonerates the naval commandos.
"However, its findings that serious mistakes were made
confirm that questions also need to be asked of Israel's
political leaders, who approved the operation." |
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Jul. 12, 2010 |
Salon | Octavia Nasr's firing and what The Liberal Media allows
- by Glenn Greenwald
...All of this would be so much more
tolerable if CNN would simply admit that it permits its
journalists to hold and express some controversial opinions
(ones in accord with official U.S. policy and orthodox
viewpoints) but prohibits others (ones which the neocon
Right dislikes). Instead, we are subjected to this patently
false pretense of opinion-free objectivity.
The reality is that "pro-Israel" is not considered a
viewpoint at all; it's considered "objective." |
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Jul. 12, 2010 |
Mazin Qumsiyeh, Human Rights | Palestinian Responsibility
Nowhere else in the world today is there a
more obvious example of massive and blatant injustice of
ethnic cleansing, colonization, murder, and distortions of
reality than that associated with creation and maintenance
of a ‘Jewish Zionist state’. That this process was initiated
and promoted by Europeans and later Americans leaves the
people of these countries with the duty to act to rectify
this injustice. Many take this very seriously. I was touched
by the passion and dedication of many Italians to the
Palestinian cause. But ultimately, the main responsibility
for Palestinian liberation and wellbeing falls on us
Palestinians. |
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Jul. 12, 2010 |
The Reverend James M. Wall, Methodist, Wall Writings | This is
No Longer Your Daddy’s Presbyterian Church (USA)
Two years from now a revised
Jewish-Christian document could be available, reflecting a
more Middle Eastern perspective.That is when the
ecclesiastical tectonic shift rumbled through the horse
farms of Kentucky. The 219th General Assembly overwhelmingly
chose to reach out to its Muslim co-religionists, in
defiance of a still prevalent bias against Islam in American
culture.
This shift shakes up the Jewish-Christian dialogue
paradigm which has controlled American Protestant
understanding of the Middle East since the 1947 creation of
the modern state of Israel. |
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Jul. 12, 2010 |
America Magazine, Catholic Weekly | Book Review by Gerald J.
Schiffhorst : An American in Damascus by Stephanie Saldaña
Many readers will value the book for its
cultural importance, for the sharp observations Saldaña
makes about Americans in the Middle East, based on her
knowledge of the region and her ability to demolish certain
stereotypes about Christian-Islamic relations. Although she
stands out as an American woman in an anti-American setting,
she finds in individuals a common bond of humanity that
disarms her. Teaching The Book of Islam in English at a
Koranic school for girls, Saldaña has her misgivings allayed
by the students’ cheerful acceptance of her as a Christian
and the Sheikha’s assurance that non-Muslims “can go to
heaven provided that they follow what is in their own holy
books.” |
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Jul. 12, 2010 |
America Magazine, Catholic Weekly | Christians and Statecraft:
Taking stock of the new evangelical internationalism - by Dennis
R. Hoover
Another longstanding characteristic of
many evangelicals, especially those of a fundamentalist
bent, is unwavering support for the State of Israel. This
derives in part from a particular theological tradition
called dispensational premillennialism, which leads many
evangelicals to interpret the founding of the State of
Israel in 1948 as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy and as
a sign of Jesus’ Second Coming. Evangelical Zionists have
swelled the ranks of a variety of pro-Israel advocacy
organizations like Stand for Israel, International
Fellowship of Christians and Jews, Churches United With
Israel, American Alliance of Jews and Christians and
Christians United for Israel. |
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Jul. 12, 2010 |
America Magazine, Catholic Weekly | A Freedom Deferred: Why
religious liberty schould be a U.S. foreign policy priority - by
Thomas Farr
This much is clear: the advance of
international religious freedom, while difficult, remains
critical to individuals, societies, world peace and American
national interests. Despite signs to the contrary, we should
all hope that the advance of religious liberty will be part
of the Obama foreign policy legacy. |
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Jul. 12, 2010 |
America Magazine, Catholic Weekly | Making Peace With Terrorists
- Editors
Potential peacemakers, like those working
for Catholic Relief Services, Caritas Internationalis, World
Vision or Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International
Peace Studies, may now be liable to prosecution. Without
special exemptions that will compromise mediators’
credibility, participation in programs to teach terrorist
groups how to demobilize their weapons, enter into an
electoral process or engage antagonistic religious groups in
discussion will be considered illegal. Producing manuals for
such activities may be regarded as treasonous if the manuals
are found in terrorist hands, though their purpose is to
wean the rebels away from terrorism. Even writing an op-ed
on methods for engaging terrorists in conflict resolution
may be held to be in violation of the Patriot Act.
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Jul. 12, 2010 |
Jewish Voice for Peace | Presbyterian Church USA: Don't profit
from injustice
Caterpillar's unwillingness to engage
with authenticity and openness is unique and disappointing.
Their actions do not provide much encouragement about the
possibility for real change coming through conversation and
correspondence conducted “behind the scenes.”Despite
this realistic assessment, the church did not choose to
divest from Caterpillar. Instead, the Presbyterian Church
USA chose to denounce Caterpillar's profit-making from the
demolition of Palestinian homes while continuing its own
profits from these endeavors:
On the basis of Christian principles and as a matter
of social witness, the 219th General Assembly strongly
denounces Caterpillar's continued profit-making from
non-peaceful uses of a number of its products. We call upon
Caterpillar to carefully review its involvement in obstacles
to a just and lasting peace in Israel-Palestine, and to take
affirmative steps to end its complicity in the violation of
human rights. We hope that, by God's grace, Caterpillar will
come to exercise its considerable power and influence in the
service of a just and lasting peace in Israel/Palestine.
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Jul. 12, 2010 |
New York Times | Waiting for Gandhi - by Nicholas Kristof
I don’t know whether Palestinians can
create a peaceful mass movement that might change history,
and their first challenge will be to suppress the
stone-throwers and bring women into the forefront. But this
grass-roots movement offers a ray of hope for less violence
and more change. |
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Jul. 12, 2010 |
Mark Braverman, The Politics of Hope | Report from the
Presbyterian General Assembly, Part 1
Something Wonderful HappenedI’ve just
returned from Minneapolis, having attended the 219th General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA at the invitation of
the denomination’s Israel Palestine Mission Network. The
PC(USA) is at the epicenter of the struggle of the Christian
community in the U.S. to come to terms with the challenge of
the Israel-Palestine conflict. |
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Jul. 12, 2010 |
Institute for Middle East Understanding | Presbyterian Church
shouldn't accept bullying at the pulpit - Dr. Hanan
Ashrawi
While the Presbyterians "affirm the
legitimacy of Israel as a state," they rightly recognize the
"continuing occupation of Palestine (West Bank, Gaza, and
East Jerusalem) to be illegitimate, illegal under
international law, and an enduring threat to peace in the
region." Without strong and immediate nonviolent action
challenging the Netanyahu government's policies, the stated
U.S. goal of a two-state solution will soon be derailed by
Israeli settlement activity. Many Israel lobby voices will
urge the Presbyterians not to act this week. But as Reverend
Martin Luther King, Jr. said in March of 1968, drawing on
his spirituality, "...there comes a time when one must take
a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular,
but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right." |
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Jul. 12, 2010 |
MIFTAH | Israel, The Master of Exploitation - by Joharah Baker
History and religion can be powerful tools
in justifying the present. And nobody does this better than
Israel. The problem is that Israel, its leaders and by
proxy, its people, expect that they can exploit and twist
history and religion without ever feeling the sting from the
backlash of such exploitation from others. |
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Jul. 12, 2010 |
MIFTAH | After End of Freeze, Settlers Plan Major Building [July
4 – July 10]
Netanyahu was sure to throw the diplomatic
ball into the Palestinian leadership's court by offering to
start direct negotiations, something the Palestinians say
can only happen if settlement expansion is stopped
completely both in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
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Jul. 11, 2010 |
BBC News | Gaza aid ship to dock in Egypt after Israel pressure
A ship with supplies for Gaza will dock at
el-Arish in Egypt, officials say, after Israeli pressure to
stop the vessel breaking its Gaza blockade. |
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Jul. 11, 2010 |
Letter from Dr. Maria Khoury | Miracle in Albania
My particular presentation was on the
struggle and nightmare of the Palestinians to survive and
keep their dignity and land with specific focus on the
suffering Christian community.
Now, I am in need of your prayers to pass the Israeli
security and return to my family. |
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Jul. 10, 2010 |
Life on Wheels | Week [19]67 – Remembering Palestine
This week, I travelled through Paris, Lyon
and Geneve on my way to Frankfurt in Germany, to meet Hamde,
who I lived with for most of my time in Bil’in, Palestine.
Six months was a long time, so now he’s more than a brother.
Although most of our three days together were full of
happiness, there was a sad element to the trip as it made us
remember the months spent together under the endless
frustration of occupation. It was surreal to traverse
through the streets of Frankfurt together, him riding a bike
and me sitting on a wheelchair and holding onto the side.
Dark with the night, but not a soldier in sight…
“Jody, how do the people here not understand?” Hamde
asked. Sometimes I’m left asking myself the same question. |
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Jul. 10, 2010 |
The Trench | America and Israel's Show Must Go On - by James
Gundun
Having been invited by Netanyahu to tour
Israel, Obama will touch down sometime before September for
a whirlwind tour to swing support. This will be his last
chance, either to pull off a heist or wreck his hopes along
Israeli settlement blocs. Meanwhile the show will go on
until curtains fall.But based on its first and second
act, Palestinians won't be applauding at the end.
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Jul. 10, 2010 |
BBC News | Palestinians urge Obama to stop settlement tax breaks
"It simply makes no sense that on one hand
the American government says the settlements are one of the
primary obstacles to peace, and on the other hand gives tax
credits for funding the settlements," said Ghassan Khatib,
head of the Palestinian Government Media Center, in a
statement. |
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Jul. 10, 2010 |
Arab Film Festival | Arab Film Festival Presents the films
Gaza-strophe and Gaza’s Winter @ Roxie Theatre
Thursday, July 29th @ 7pmRoxie Theatre
3117 16th Street
San Francisco, CA
Followed by a discussion with a distinguished panel |
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Jul. 10, 2010 |
Juan Cole, Informed Comment | The Orientalism of Israeli Troops
Dancing
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Jul. 10, 2010 |
Juan Cole, Informed Comment | US Ally Maliki & Octavia Nasr Both
Praised Fadlallah
The whole conundrum only makes sense from
an Israel Lobby point of view. It is better, the Israel
lobbies in the US think, for al-Maliki to be in charge of
Iraq than for Saddam Hussein to have been. Al-Maliki doesn’t
actively funnel money to the Palestinians and is distracted
by internal Iraq faction-fighting now that the Iraqi state
and army have been destroyed. So that the new Shiite
political elite in Baghdad reveres a figure like Grand
Ayatollah Fadlallah is overlooked.But with Ms. Nasr, it
is not a comparative issue, it is an absolute one. No figure
in US media is allowed to show any understanding of or
appreciation for any aspect of the life and works of someone
the Lobbies have decided must be demonized and vilified (and
in Fadlallah’s case, preferably killed). Theirs is a
politics of demonization and marginalization in which no
rounded, considered judgment is permitted. Fadlallah had
severe flaws, including his condoning of suicide bombings
against Israelis. But he condemned the 9/11 attacks and the
Morocco suicide bombings as pure terrorism, and that has to
be reported, too. (It mostly wasn’t). And, he authorized
Muslim women to actively defend themselves against domestic
violence, which was the thing Nasr had in mind. |
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Jul. 10, 2010 |
Naharnet | Briton's Foreign Office Refuses to Condemn Frances
Guy for Praising Fadlallah
The British Foreign Office has refused to
condemn its ambassador to Beirut, Frances Guy, for posting a
comment on her blog praising Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein
Fadlallah. |
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Jul. 10, 2010 |
Adam Keller, Crazy Country | Cinderella in Trouble
What a great ball it was, there in
Washington. So wonderful. Dancing and dancing, on and on
into the night. For a moment all the troubles were
forgotten, the step sisters and the Palestinians and the
Turks. And Prince Obama was so nice and friendly and
considerate, not at all the way I thought.But now the
clock struck midnight and the carriage turned back into a
pumpkin , and soon the settlements will get out of freeze.
How, oh how am I ever going to get my foot into that
'67-borders shoe? |
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Jul. 10, 2010 |
Uri Avnery, Gush Shalom | Two Sit-Ins
AT THIS moment, two sit-ins are taking
place in Jerusalem, two kilometers apart. In West Jerusalem,
the Shalit family is sitting in a protest tent in front of
the Prime Minister’s residence, swearing to remain there
until the return of their son. In East Jerusalem, three
members of the Palestinian parliament are holed up in the
building of the International Red Cross.The word that
connects the two is: Hamas. |
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Jul. 10, 2010 |
Haaretz | Lift the blockade on us all - by David Grossman
Instead of focusing on just a prisoner
exchange deal, Israel should seek to reach a broader
understanding with Hamas. |
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Jul. 10, 2010 |
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship | GA approves ‘Breaking Down the
Walls’ report on Middle East
The 219th General Assembly approved the
recommendation of the Middle East Peacemaking Issues
Committee on Friday regarding the report “Breaking Down the
Walls,” which spotlights the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The full Assembly action followed a unanimous decision by
the committee to accept an amended version of the report,
which came to it from the GA Middle East Study Committee (MESC).
The was a lot of heat coming in regarding this report,
Cindy Bolbach, Moderator of the 219th General Assembly, told
members of the press gathered Friday. The committee worked
hard to find an avenue on which the Assembly could agree,
she said.
The action taken was “Presbyterians at our best,” said
Bolbach. |
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Jul. 10, 2010 |
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship | Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
Supports Jewish Ship to Gaza
The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
announces a new nonviolent initiative, joining with European
Jewish groups to send a boatload of humanitarian supplies to
Gaza. The Peace Fellowship has raised $10,000 from its
members to lend solidarity to the three groups organizing
the unarmed civilian action: European Jews for a Just Peace
in the Middle East, Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the
Middle East (both in Germany) and Jews for Justice for the
Palestinians (UK).In an undisclosed Mediterranean harbor,
the three groups are loading the boat with medicines, baby
food, children’s clothing, outboard motors for fishermen,
school supplies, art supplies and musical instruments. On
board will be approximately 14 passengers, both Jewish and
interfaith, with the possibility of a second boat. Also on
board will be members of the media to document the unarmed
attempt to break the state of Israel’s three year blockade
on Gaza, where 1.5 million Palestinians are trapped in a
humanitarian crisis in an area less than one-tenth the size
of Rhode Island. |
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Jul. 10, 2010 |
Palestine News Network | Presbyterian Peace Fellowship To
Partner With "Jewish-Ship-To-Gaza"
This week it was announced that the
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship would partner with a number of
European Jewish groups who are planning to sail to Gaza to
break the Israeli blockade.ImageThe vessels are scheduled
to launch within the next few weeks from an undisclosed
location. A press release issued by the Presbyterian Peace
Fellowship detailed that the ship would be carrying
“medicines, baby food, children’s clothing, outboard motors
for fishermen, school supplies, art supplies, and musical
instruments.” |
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Jul. 10, 2010 |
Palestine News Network | Presbyterian Peace Fellowship To
Partner With "Jewish-Ship-To-Gaza"
This week it was announced that the
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship would partner with a number of
European Jewish groups who are planning to sail to Gaza to
break the Israeli blockade.ImageThe vessels are scheduled
to launch within the next few weeks from an undisclosed
location. A press release issued by the Presbyterian Peace
Fellowship detailed that the ship would be carrying
“medicines, baby food, children’s clothing, outboard motors
for fishermen, school supplies, art supplies, and musical
instruments.” |
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Jul. 10, 2010 |
Sabbah Report | Britain more interested in saving Israelis from
garden shed rockets than British citizens from Israeli pirates -
by Stuart Littlewood
Liberal Democrat party leader Nick Clegg
is Britain's deputy prime minister. A month ago, while
reports were coming in that Israeli gunboats had
"intercepted" the Free Gaza flotilla 90 miles out to sea and
told the humanitarian workers they would be boarded and
towed to an Israeli port, I emailed Clegg: "Where is the
Royal Navy when it's needed to protect life and limb of the
30-odd British nationals?" |
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Jul. 10, 2010 |
Zenit | Is Islam Part of God's Plan? Interview With Jesuit
Father Samir Khalil Samir by Mirko Testa
The coexistence of Christians and Muslims
is good for civil society because their mutual questioning
of the other's faith acts as a stimulus and leads to deeper
understanding, says a Jesuit priest who is an expert in
Islamic studies. |
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Jul. 9, 2010 |
Friends of Freedom and Justice Bil'in | Bil'in Weekly Demo
9-07-2010
Besides Palestinians the demonstration
drew activists and people with live conscience from far
afield as Tulkarm, Tel Aviv, Turkey, the US, Egypt, the UK
and Ireland and many others of indeterminate nationality who
loudly and angrily called for signatories of the Geneva
Conventions, Hague Conventions and defenders of
international law to implement the advisory opinion of the
ICJ and not allow this ruling to wither on the vine of
indifference and the double standards of the so called
“international community,” particularly Israel’s paymaster
and protector, the US. To reinforce this point, large scales
representing justice heavily weighted in Israel’s favour,
was carried to the Wall and displayed to the Occupation
Forces protecting it, who immediately responded with salvoes
of gun fired and hand thrown tear gas resulting in much
distress and an injury to a young Tulkarm man and outbreaks
of fire in the tinder-dry olive groves to which a fire
engine had to be summoned to quench them. To further
terrorize the protestors, snatch squads were sent to arrest
as many of the fleeing as possible, but met strong and
obdurate resistance from the local stone throwing shabab who
successfully forced their temporary retreat and their next
two sallies. |
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Jul. 9, 2010 |
The
Reverend Roy Hayes, Episcopal, writes:
How would you have responded to CNN had you been in Octavia
Nasr's shoes last Wednesday? See my highlight in BBC's report pasted
below.
I know how I would have responded. I might not have said enough
about the Shiite Cleric who died on Sunday because I don't know that
much about him. But I would have had lots to say about
Hassan Nasrallah. I admire the man
enormously. From my perspective, that man is a TRUE Muslim, and he
has been demonized over the years ... unfairly ... by the media and
by the US State Department. Have you noticed? Hizbollah ... like
Hamas ... has a vast social services network which provides
extensive services for the needy, a fact that has gone unreported by
the press. Dan Rather reported on it once while he was at CBS, but
the word never got around because there was a blockage in
communications someplace. Let the truth prevail. It was Hizbollah
that persuaded Israel to end the 20-year-occupation of the southern
1/10th of Lebanon ten years ago. Israel still hasn't returned Shebaa
Farms to Lebanon. See: Shebaa
Farms: A Lebanese Land Occupied by Israel -- Brief History.
Israel's government ... as usual ... cites "security reasons".
Zionist Israel is a
Culture of Fear.
Please [follow the link below to the article].
Peace,
Roy+
BBC News | UK envoy's praise for Lebanon cleric draws Israel anger
Two days ago, CNN sacked a veteran Middle East editor who wrote
on Twitter that she "respected" the late cleric, saying that her
credibility had been compromised.
BBC News | Thousands attend Beirut funeral of Ayatollah Fadlallah |
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Jul. 9, 2010 |
The
Reverend Roy Hayes, Episcopal, writes:
Please read Jim Wall's latest essay [link below]. As usual, Jim
makes poignant observations.
I cannot agree with Jim when he writes that Obama has
"surrendered" to Bibi. Don't ask me why. I'm still trying to make
sense of it all myself. I'm trying not to jump to conclusions. See:
Obama-Netanyahu Press Conference, 6
July (video).
But also see:
Russia is conducting direct talks with Hamas.
That development could not have come as a surprise to Obama.
Russia's President Medvedev was at the White House for talks just a
few days ago. Also see:
European envoys accept Israel offer to visit
Gaza. Read between the lines. It
seems to me that international cooperative efforts to resolve the
Arab-Israeli conflicts are underway. What do you think, Peers? I
honestly believe Obama is in the process of outsmarting Bibi and is
positioning himself for a definitive move (behind closed doors).
Notice the date on this article:
Netanyahu hints at flexibility on Jerusalem |
JTA. Where do you suppose Tony
Blair fits in these days? If I couldn't trust President Obama and
Tony specifically on the Mideast issues ... no matter what other
folks say about them ... I'd go crazy and lose my dignity. Who else
on the political track is there to trust? From my perspective, both
men and George Mitchell need international support on the Holy Land
issues, and we must hold them responsible to their offices and true
to their previously stated positions. Study
www.aipac.org
and
www.cufi.org
and watch FOX News to learn where the snags are in the peace
process. Realize that silence on our part is complicity. Please read
on. Jim has a lot to say.
Peace,
Roy+
The Revered James M. Wall,
Methodist | Post Columnist Milbank Calls Obama-Bibi Meeting A
“Surrender” |
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Jul. 9, 2010 |
Palestine Center | Apartheid South Africa’s Secret Relationship
with Israel with Dr. Sasha Polakow-Suransky
Carter was attacked for making this
argument [Israel as an apartheid state], but when Ehud Barak
said the same thing, or essentially the same thing this past
February, and said that - I’m paraphrasing here – “If
there’s only one political entity between the Jordan and the
sea, and the Palestinians vote, then it’s a binational
state, and if they don’t, it’s an apartheid state.” And he
used the “A word.” He did not face the same level of vitriol
as Carter did, when he said something similar. Ehud Olmert
said something very similar without using the word
“apartheid” in 2007 after the Annapolis Conference. He said
that Israel would face a South African style struggle if it
didn’t get out of the West Bank and move towards a two-state
solution very soon. The argument is essentially the same as
Barak’s. So the real question is whether this analogy is
going to apply in the future, and I argue in the epilogue to
my book that if Israel does not get out of the West Bank,
and if there’s not a viable serious Palestinian state in the
very near future, then this label is actually going to
stick. |
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Jul. 8, 2010 |
The
Reverend Roy Hayes, Episcopal, writes:
Please read the memo from the Desk of Ambassador Warren Clark.
It's pasted below. Who can frame the current situation in the Holy
Land more accurately than that?
CMEP needs our help. See:
www.cmep.org.
It's time for the American public to hear an objective
perspective, an intelligent perspective on the matter. What's the
alternative? Pastor John Hagee and those who share his duteous
mindset in concrete?
Peace,
Roy+
Churches for Middle East Peace | From the Desk of Warren Clark:
Pressures and Positioning on Israel-Palestinian Negotiations,
July 8, 2010 |
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Jul. 8, 2010 |
Haaretz | Obama: Israelis suspicious of me because my middle
name is Hussein
U.S. president tells Channel 2 Israel is
unlikely to attack Iran without coordinating with the U.S. |
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Jul. 8, 2010 |
Common Dreams | Norman Finkelstein: Results, Not Rhetoric
Since the Oslo Accords in 1993, there are
three times as many settlers and Israel has annexed 42% of
Palestinian land for even more expansion. Though Obama waxes
eloquently about "direct negotiations," there are no signs
of Israel withdrawing to the 1967 borders that would only
begin to indicate a successful peace process. |
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Jul. 8, 2010 |
Electronic Intifada | Human Rights: Affidavits from eyewitnesses
to Rachel Corrie killing (Schnabel, Dale, Purssell)
I the undersigned, Nicholas James Porter
Durie....I, the undersigned, Thomas Edward Dale....
I, the undersigned, Richard, J.A. Purssell.... |
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Jul. 8, 2010 |
Zenit | How to Get a Church Built Quickly in Egypt, New Cities
Should Have Places for Worship, Says Government
Under normal circumstances, it can take as
many as 30 years and a signature from the president to get a
new church built in Egypt.That's why Coptic Catholics are
happy to be benefiting from a unique opportunity that will
bring them a new church in no time. |
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Jul. 8, 2010 |
New York Times | In Israel, the Noble vs. The Ugly by Nicholas
D. Kristof
He [Rabbi Arik Ascherman, executive
director of Rabbis for Human Rights] ] responds that he is
struggling to uphold his religious and moral values. But he
also argues that building bridges between Jews and
Palestinians helps make Israel a safer place for his
children. “In the long run, we’re going to live here
together,” he says, “or we’re going to die here together.”
“When we get the death threats and people say we’re
traitors and anti-Israel, I think, ‘Who is really doing more
for Israel’s physical survival?’ ” he says. “ ‘Those who
demolish homes and uproot trees, or those who rebuild homes
and replant trees?’ ” |
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Jul. 8, 2010 |
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Jul. 8, 2010 |
Gilah [AKATrudy] forwards this message
from Ibrahim Abu El Hawa:
Dear Friends and Family,
We are the brothers and sisters from Jerusalem
Peacemakers Around the World and We ask you to join us on a
special day of the memory of our Holy Brother and Teacher,
the Sufi Sheik, Abdulla Azziz Bukhari, who left us on the
31st of May to be with God, in the time when he had a ticket
to fly to Turkey to meet with the Prime minister, but God
welcomed him to put him in heaven and according to our
Islamic traditions, we make a special gathering to pray and
remember him as we invite you to be with us on Monday the
12th, starting 7;30 at The Redeemer Lutheran church in The
Old City, next to the Holy Sepulchre Church in the Old City.
We will be hosted by a Rev. Uwe Graeb, a Lutheran Pastor, a
family member, a Sufi Sheik and an Orthodox Rabbi. As on the
12th of July at 7:00 pm. we will be happy to meet at Jaffa
Gate and will walk down together to The Redeemer Church. For
any information and any help, please call me on 050 554 8105
or call Eliyahu MacLean at 050 671 0087. We will be happy to
Meet with you and welcome you.
Thank You So Much
Ibrahim Abu El Hawa
WEBSITE FOR IBRAHIM'S HOUSE OF PEACE
Gilah's reply:
Thank you for thinking of me. I will be doing a little
Shma Yisroel on July 12. Will send list to those who will
want to pray with you
xo xo Gilah aka Trudy |
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Jul. 8, 2010 |
Jerusalem Post | Sufi sheikh who preached nonviolence laid to
rest: Bukhari was a proponent of interfaith unity by LAUREN
GELFOND FELDINGER
In a small and ancient family plot
attached to his ancestral home in Jerusalem’s Old City,
regional Sufi leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bukhari was laid to
rest on Tuesday at age 61, after a long struggle with heart
disease. He was head of the mystical Naqshabandi Holy Land
Sufi Order.A longtime proponent of nonviolence and
interfaith unity, Bukhari found his inspiration in Islamic
law and tradition, as well as in the writings of Mohandas
Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.
“The stronger one is the one who can absorb the violence
and anger from the other and change it to love and
understanding. It is not easy; it is a lot of work. But this
is the real jihad,” he once told the Globaloneness Project
in an interview. |
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Jul. 8, 2010 |
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Jul. 8, 2010 |
Common Dreams | Israel's Foes Embrace New Resistance Tactics:
Hamas and Hezbollah Find Inspiration In Flotilla, Support
Protest Movements by Charles Levinson
Hamas and Hezbollah, groups that have long
battled Israel with violent tactics, have begun to embrace
civil disobedience, protest marches, lawsuits and
boycotts-tactics they once dismissed. |
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Jul. 7, 2010 |
BBC News | Daily View: Israel's Netanyahu in the US
Commentators from the
US, Israel, and the Middle East look at Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington to meet US
President Barack Obama. |
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Jul. 7, 2010 |
BBC News | Analysis: Little room to manoeuvre by Wyre
Davies
... a nice framed
photo of himself with a beaming Mr Obama is indeed all that
Mr Netanyahu may leave Washington with at the end of the
week. |
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Jul. 7, 2010 |
BBC News | Gaza hopes to get back to business as blockade
eases
Israel has confirmed
it will ease its four-year blockade of the Gaza Strip,
allowing more materials into the embattled territory. The
BBC's Jon Donnison asks some business owners in Gaza City
what difference they think the decision will mean for them
and for the people of Gaza. |
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Jul. 7, 2010 |
BBC News | Political theatre masks US-Israel tensions by
Jeremy Bowen
The president appears
to be an intellectually consistent man - the word
professorial is used about him as a term of abuse by some of
his critics in the United States - so unless he has
performed a gigantic flip-flop, there is no reason to
suppose that his views have been altered by a more civil
couple of hours with Mr Netanyahu. |
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Jul. 7, 2010 |
The Huffington Post | Obama Yields to Bibi, Plus Me vs. Petraeus
by M.J. Rosenberg
Throughout the next
week there will no doubt be a great deal of maneuvering
between both sides as they seek to get their points across
and bring the delegates over to their side. We can only
hope that they will remember the daily suffering of
Palestinians when the final deliberations take place. |
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Jul. 7, 2010 |
Palestinian News Network | Discovering Bethlehem by Joy Stacey
I
had been shocked to find out that the
location of my beloved Christmas story was now home to a
community struggling for their freedom, and I wanted to see
it for myself. My motivations were and still are purely
humanitarian. |
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Jul. 7, 2010 |
Palestinian News Network | Report: Presbyterian General Assembly
Throughout the next
week there will no doubt be a great deal of maneuvering
between both sides as they seek to get their points across
and bring the delegates over to their side. We can only
hope that they will remember the daily suffering of
Palestinians when the final deliberations take place. |
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Jul. 7, 2010 |
Christian Peace Team | Al Khalil/Hebron: Israeli Border Police
Destroy Vegetable Fields in Al Baqa'a Valley
Badran Mohammed Jabber, looking out onto his destroyed fields, uttered in
exasperation, "I have spent 43 years under the Israeli reign of terror. I have lived my life in fear; I never know what the Israelis will do tomorrow. They have destroyed my land; they have destroyed my life; these fields are my life." |
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Jul. 7, 2010 |
The Independent | Patrick Cockburn: American politicians face
domestic constraints to talking tough with Israel
Meetings between US
presidents and Israeli primes ministers are
usually preceded by speculation that the US leader will
finally demand that Israel stop expanding settlements in the
West Bank, displacing Palestinians in East Jerusalem and
embarrassing the US by misjudged military actions.... |
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Jul. 7, 2010 |
The Independent | Soldiers indicted over civilian deaths during
Gaza offensive by Catrina Stewart in Jerusalem
Sarit Michaeli, spokeswoman for the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, said that the army's actions were welcome, but did not go far enough to address the rules of engagement.
"The main questions about the Gaza War concern policy, and a military investigation can't handle this," she told The Associated Press. "There must be an external investigation that will deal with the whole chain of command and chiefly with the people at the top who approved the directives."
The Independent | Leading article: Time for action, Mr Obama
Two steps forward, two
steps back. Middle East diplomacy often resembles the world
of Lewis Carroll; no matter how fast the Red Queen runs, she
stays put. Likewise, no wonder most people were not holding
their breath for Barack Obama's White House meeting with
Israel's leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, yesterday. How can
anyone still feel optimism about a peace process that has
consumed so much energy and yielded so little? It was clear
this time that Mr Netanyahu would get a red carpet. In
March, Mr Obama barely put out a welcome mat, because he was
so deeply displeased by Israel's humiliation of his
Vice-President, Joe Biden, who had recently arrived in
Israel just in time to find that the
government
had signed off a new round of Jewish settlements in occupied
East Jerusalem.
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Jul. 7, 2010 |
The Independent | Exposed: The truth about Israel's land grab in
the West Bank Catrina Stewart in Jerusalem and David Usborne
As President Barack
Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet, a
report reveals 42 per cent of territory is controlled by
settlers
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Jul. 7, 2010 |
Jerusalem Post | Holywood [sic] stars snub film festival by RUTH
EGLASH
Hollywood actors such as Meg Ryan backed out of attending this year’s annual Jerusalem Film Festival, which is set to kick off this coming Thursday, following the international outcry over Israel’s attack on a Turkish-led flotilla that attempted to break the Gaza blockade on May 31, The Jerusalem Post learned Monday.
According to Cinematheque associate director Yigal Molad Hayo, while neither gave the political climate as a direct reason for canceling their participation in the festival, “it became quite clear that this was the reason,” he said.
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Jul. 6, 2010 |
H2onews | Bringing Holy Land News to the World
The Holy Land is
marked by complex political tensions and religious
disagreements which often reflect current events, feeding
fear and division. Because of this, it becomes necessary to
tell another "story", one that reveals the cultural, human
and spiritual vitality of this strip of land upon which the
peace of the world depends.
For this reason H2onews has decided to launch a
collaborative initiative with the Franciscan Multimedia
Center, the broadcast center of the Custody of the Holy Land
in Jerusalem opened in 2008. Its purpose is not only to
voice the needs and hopes of the local Catholic community
but also to recount events related to cultural and religious
realities of the Orthodox and Protestants, as well as Islam
and Judaism.
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Jul. 6, 2010 |
New York Times | Tax-Exempt Funds Aid Settlements in West
Bank
HaYovel is one of many groups in the United States using tax-exempt donations to help Jews establish permanence in the Israeli-occupied territories — effectively obstructing the creation of a Palestinian state, widely seen as a necessary condition for Middle East peace.
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Jul. 6, 2010 |
Adam Keller, Crazy Country | Ghost at the Table
Update: as yet, the
army's bulldozers have bypassed the little village Al-Farsieyah,
mentioned in my previous posting
Get
out - no matter where to!
The army handed its residents deportation orders, effective
within 24 hours, but the immediate blow fell on their
neighbors at Ras al Ahmar.
Daphne Banai, MachsomWatch activist who
devotes much time and energy to residents of the Jordan Valley
sent the following account....
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Jul. 6, 2010 |
Jerusalem Post | Encountering Peace: And we will dwell in
peace... by GERSHON BASKIN
...We must enter this process with the working assumption that we don’t trust each other. We don’t expect each other to fulfill our most basic obligations. That is simply the reality. If this is the case, developing a peace agreement cannot be based on a bilateral process which is predicated on mutual trust, and no amount of artificial confidence-building measures will create that trust. After years of failure, violence and suffering, new trust can only be based on the actual fulfillment of obligations and commitments agreed to in the context of treaties. But if we don’t trust them and they don’t trust us, how can we possibility proceed? We must insist that there be a reliable third party who will monitor implementation and verify that all aspects of all agreements are being fully implemented.
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Jul. 6, 2010 |
International Middle East Media Center | Soldiers Attack
Palestinian Detainees In Majiddo
Israeli soldiers attacked
several Palestinian detainees after raiding their cells in
section 4 and 5 of the Majido prison. The army said that the
soldiers were searching for a mobile phone reportedly in
possession of the detainees.
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Jul. 6, 2010 |
Coteret | Hasbarapocalypse — Leaked Frank Luntz memo: Israeli
public diplomacy in US on Flotilla failed dismally
Luntz’s findings are
grim. Here’s a summary:
- 56% of Americans agree with the claim
that there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza;
- 43% of Americans agree with the claim
that people in Gaza are starving;
- [Only] 34% of Americans support the
Israeli operation against the Flotilla;
- [Only] 20% of Americans “felt support”
for Israel following announcement of easing of Gaza closure.
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Jul. 6, 2010 |
Haaretz | Leading Israeli figures accuse police of targeting
leftist East Jerusalem protesters
A number of prominent
jurists, intellectuals, writers and leftist public figures
co-sign letter that charges Jerusalem police with 'illegal and
inequitable' conduct towards Sheikh Jarrah protesters.
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Jul. 6, 2010 |
B'Tselem | By Hook and By Crook: Israel’s Settlement Policy in
the West Bank
Some half a million Israelis are now living over the Green Line: more than 300,000 in 121 settlements and about one hundred outposts, which control 42 percent of the land area of the West Bank, and the rest in twelve neighborhoods that Israel established on land it annexed to the Jerusalem Municipality. The report analyzes the means employed by Israel to gain control of land for building the settlements. In preparing the report, B'Tselem relied on official state data and documents, among them Attorney Talia Sasson’s report on the outposts, the database produced by Brigadier General Baruch Spiegel, reports of the state comptroller, and maps of the Civil Administration.
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Jul. 5, 2010 |
Mazin Qumsiyeh, Human Rights | In Vienna: Hitler and Hertzl vs
Mozart, Popper, and Freud
[Quoting Freud] "...I do not think that Palestine could ever
become a Jewish state, nor that the Christian and Islamic worlds
would ever by prepared to have their holy places under Jewish
care."
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Jul. 5, 2010 |
Uruknet | Study suggests that Gaza siege will have long-term
effect on Palestinian health - Middle East Monitor
Palestinian health experts who have studied the impact of the
Israeli siege on Gaza have said that the siege will have
long-term damaging effects on the health of Palestinians. Of
particular concern is the fact that the siege has resulted in
many cases of malnutrition in children.
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Jul. 5, 2010 |
Uruknet | Enough With the Empty Words by Joharah Baker
That
is not the point though. The point is, the US, the UN, Europe
and Israel use these empty words to satisfy the press, offer up
some limp semblance of concern and avoid any real responsibility
towards an issue that requires decisive action. The demolition
of 22 homes is not "concerning" or even an "obstacle". It is
appalling, in complete violation of international law, in
contravention of any decent value system that has any regard for
human dignity and it is doubly as appalling since it is Israel –
the self-proclaimed beacon of democracy in the Middle East –
which is the perpetrator.
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Jul. 5, 2010 |
Uruknet | Israel's Attack on Egypt in '67 was not 'Preemptive'
by Jeremy R. Hammond
It is
often claimed that Israel's attack on Egypt that began the June
1967 'Six Day War' was a 'preemptive' one. Implicit in that
description is the notion that Israel was under imminent threat
of an attack from Egypt. Yet this historical interpretation of
the war is not sustained by the documentary record.
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Jul. 5, 2010 |
Uruknet | Arab Intellectuals: rise up to the challenge –
"Freedom First" by Laila Faisal
A
nation under occupation cannot afford to stray off its course,
neither to the right nor to the left, that is an intellectual
luxury it cannot afford.
A fight for freedom and independence, such as that of the
Palestinians, should not fall into the trap of turning into an
internal ideological struggle or a rift inside a besieged –
oppressed – cleansed nation.
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Jul. 5, 2010 |
Amman News | Turkish Ambassador in Amman: "Israel must
apologize"
Turkish Ambassador in Amman Ali Koprulu said that Israel must apologize "soon" to his country for the crimes it committed in killing and injuring a number of Turkish nationals who where on board the "Freedom Flotilla" humanitarian aid convoy that was en route to the Gaza Strip last month.
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Jul. 5, 2010 |
This Is Bristol | Condemnation over Gaza attack
BRISTOL City Council has voted to condemn Israel for the Gaza
convoy incident that saw nine human rights activists killed.
Members called for the Government to "hold
Israel to account for this illegal action" and to impose
sanctions on the country until it "complies with international
law and ceases perpetrating human rights abuses".
Two Bristol men were aboard the Freedom
Flotilla of ships when the Israeli military opened fire on May
31. One of them, Cliff Hanley, spoke in support of the motion
before last night's council debate.
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Jul. 5, 2010 |
Deutsche Welle | The German parliament has united in denouncing
Israel's handling of Gaza, calling for an end to the blockade.
Germany's government called Friday
for an immediate end to the blockade of the Gaza Strip after a
unanimous vote in the country's Bundestag parliament condemning
Israel's handling of the territory.
"We have
repeatedly made it clear that Israel has to enable access to the
Gaza Strip on humanitarian grounds and for the sake of
reconstruction," said Ulrich Wilhelm, the German government's
spokesman.
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Jul. 5, 2010 |
MIFTAH | US Questions its Unwavering Support for Israel by Chris
McGreal
There are questions that
rarely get asked in Washington. For years, the mantra that
America's intimate alliance with Israel was as good for the US
as it was the Jewish state went largely unchallenged by
politicians aware of the cost of anything but unwavering
support.
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Jul. 5, 2010 |
MIFTAH | For Netanyahu, to Freeze or Not to Freeze is the
Question by Joharah Baker
A follow-up to this article will certainly be written after September 25, the cutoff date for the end of the Israeli government's so-called moratorium on settlement construction in the West Bank. For now, however, the question is whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will heed to the probable pressure from US President Barack Obama to extend the freeze or will he kowtow to his right-wing ministers and settlers who demand that the freeze end just as Bibi promised?
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Jul. 5, 2010 |
BBC News | Israel's rocky friendship with Barack Obama by
Jeremy Bowen
If anyone doubts the
power of Israel's friends in the US, they ought to sign up now
for Aipac's annual policy conference.
Take a look at their website, which boasts
that it attracts half the Senate, a third of the House of
Representatives and "countless Israeli and American policymakers
and thought leaders".
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Jul. 5, 2010 |
The Reverend James M. Wall, Methodist, Wall Writings | 219th
Presbyterian Assembly Faces Its Moment of Truth
At some point during this week, the delegates (commissioners) will vote to approve or disapprove–parts or all–a report from their own Middle East Study Committee (MESC), a report two years in the making. written by a cross-section of church members, officials and clergy.
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Jul. 5, 2010 |
The Huffington Post | How Gilad Shalit Will Save Netanyahu by
Jamal Dajani
Mark my words, Gilad
Shalit is coming home. He will soon be set free but not because
of German mediations or the thousands of appeals made by his
parents and their supporters. He's coming home because Bibi
needs Gilad more than Gilad needs him.
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Jul. 5, 2010 |
J Post | Schalit march ends day in Tel Aviv
Over 10,000 supporters joined
the Schalit family towards the end of their march from Kibbutz
Shefayim to Tel Aviv.
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Jul. 4, 2010 |
BBC News | Netanyahu prepares to meet Obama
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will leave for the US on Monday for a meeting with US President Barack Obama.
On his previous trip to Washington, Mr Netahyau was rebuked on how some Israeli policies were affecting prospects for peace with the Palestinians.
The BBC's Wyre Davies reports from east Jerusalem.
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Jul. 4, 2010 |
The
man below is a religious Israeli who served in the army. Now he
runs guided tours highlighting the abuse of the Palestinians.
It's controversial and dangerous work - so why does he do it?
Donald MacIntyre finds out on a unique tragical history tour.
Morarwen's Mansion | A Rough
Guide to Hebron, Part II (2008)
The
man who attracts such hatred from the Hebron settlers has, at
only 24, already led a remarkable life. He was described by the
celebrated Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, to whom he acted
as a guide in the city two years ago, as "one of the righteous
this country has". He was a co-founder of Breaking the Silence,
the growing group of dissident ex-soldiers - the core of whom
served in Hebron at the peak of the intifada like him - who have
testified on the persistent abuses they say the military has
committed during the years of warfare.
Morarwen's Mansion | A Rough
Guide to Hebron, Part III (2008)
Another milestone in the long journey that led Shaul towards
this point began early in his Army service. Shaul explains that
the seminal historic event in every settler child's early
education is the 1929 massacre during the riots against Jewish
immigration to Palestine, when 67 Jews were slaughtered on a
single day - though 435 survived after being sheltered by their
Arab neighbours. And then he recalls how he saw an elderly
Palestinian woman coming down from the hillside neighbourhood of
Abu Snena to be greeted by settler children throwing stones at
her. "I said to a child of about 10 'What do you think you are
doing?' he said, 'Do you know what this woman did in 1929?'"
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Jul. 4, 2010 |
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Jul. 4, 2010 |
Haaretz | Iran: World has not done enough to curb Zionist
atrocities
FM Mottaki says Israel
would not have raided Gaza flotilla if the UN had taken a
stronger stance against 'Zionist crimes.'
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Jul. 4, 2010 |
Haaretz | Report: Israel seizes oxygen machines donated to PA
Israel confiscated seven oxygen machines en route to hospitals in the West Bank and Gaza based on the claim that there was a chance the generators attached to the machines would not be used for medical purposes, Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported Saturday.
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Jul. 4, 2010 |
BBC News | Hezbollah 'mentor' Fadlallah dies in Lebanon
He welcomed the
election of Barack Obama as US president in 2008, but last year
expressed disappointment with his lack of progress in the Middle
East, saying he appeared to have no plan to bring peace to the
region.
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Jul. 4, 2010 |
Haaretz | Israel can't be trusted to probe Gaza flotilla raid,
say Rachel Corrie's parents
"Our personal experience has made it all too painfully clear that the Israeli government is unable or unwilling to adequately investigate itself and that the U.S. does not, apparently, have the ability or will to compel such an investigation," the Corries said.
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Jul. 4, 2010 |
Crazy Country, Adam Keller | Get out -- no matter where to?
In 1967, just after
the Israel Defense Forces soldiers captured the whole of the
West Bank, Yigal Allon came to see the place. He was at the time
a senior government minister, considered a serious candidate for
prime minister. Allon went to Nablus and Hebron and didn't like
what he saw: too many Arabs, they could become a demographic
threat. But to the east, at the Jordan Valley, his eyes lit up -
the Arab population there is thin on the ground, and the region
seemed fit to be annexed, so as to expand the borders of Israel.
Allon's plan has never formally been approved
by any government, but its implementation began vigorously,
already in 1967. One by one model kibbutzim and moshavim were
established (not settlements, God forbid, just enlightened
communities of the progressive Israeli Labor movement.) There
was only one remaining problem - the Arabs. True, their
population was sparse and scattered all over the Jordan Valley,
but still they are there. The ideal - a Jordan Valley completely
free of Arabs - is still far from realization.
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Jul. 4, 2010 |
Uri Avnery, Gush Shalom | A Broomstick Can Shoot
Immediately after the Turkel Commission was set up to investigate the flotilla incident, Gush Shalom filed a petition to the Supreme Court of Justice against its appointment. We demanded its replacement by a full-fledged State Commission of Inquiry. The court hearing was fixed for last Wednesday. But on Tuesday afternoon, the Attorney General’s office called our lawyer, Gabi Lasky: the Prime Minister had decided at the last moment to increase the powers of the commission, and the government was about to confirm the change. Therefore, the Attorney General asked us to agree to a postponement of the hearing for ten days.
Not a single Israeli newspaper had published a word about our application – something unthinkable if it had been the initiative of a right-wing organization. But after the change, it became impossible to ignore it anymore: almost all papers pointed out that our application had played an important role in Netanyahu’s decision.
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Jul. 3, 2010 |
Ma'an News Agency | Gaza father appeals to Saudi king to save
son
A father from Gaza appealed
Saturday to the king of Saudi Arabia help secure urgent medical
treatment for his son, not yet one year old, in need of a kidney
transplant.
...A report released on
Tuesday by Physicians for Human Rights accused Israel of severe
violations of medical ethics, saying its policy of allowing
treatment for only life-threatening cases, and then only at times of
general political calm, was in contravention of international law,
international human rights law, and the UN convention on torture.
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Jul. 3, 2010 |
Ma'an News Agency | Paris: Donors call on Israel to live up to
commitments
International donors funding projects and services in Palestine gathered in Paris on Thursday, where they called on Israel live up to its promises on the Gaza blockade, and to ease West Bank movement restrictions.
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Jul. 3, 2010 |
Haaretz | Twilight Zone / A night in Hebron by Gideon Levy
Soldiers seized a high-school
student, held burning cigarettes to his forehead and hands and cut
his cheek with a penknife.
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Jul. 3, 2010 |
Eileen Fleming, We Are Wide Awake | What's Wrong with American
Christians?
This American Irish dissident with Russian and Jewish DNA came to know Jesus as a social justice NONVIOLENT Palestinian devout Jewish road warrior who agitated Temple and State during my first of seven trips to Israel Palestine in 2005, and ever since I have irritated many Christians who are more interested in socializing than in the social gospel.
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Jul. 3, 2010 |
Holylander's Blog | The case of St. John’s Hospice
Is it the Israeli law or the
incompetence of the lawyers of the Church?
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Jul. 3, 2010 |
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights | Weekly Report On Israeli
Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (
24-30 June 2010)
Israeli forces continue systematic
attacks against Palestinian civilians and property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
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Jul. 3, 2010 |
Zenit | Holy Father's Address to Iraqi Envoy
"The Fundamental Rights of
All Should Be Recognized, Protected and Promoted"
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Jul. 2, 2010 |
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America | ELCA Presiding Bishop
Leads Middle East Talks with White House Official
"The greatest antidote to religious extremism in the world is to see us, who are not religious extremists, consistently work with people of other faiths to achieve a just and lasting peace; and for people to see successes from these efforts," Hanson said.
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Jul. 2, 2010 |
Letters from Palestine | New Book: Palestinians speak about
their lives, their country, and the power of non-violence by
Kenneth Ring and Ghassan Abdullah
Many books have been written dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the pro-Israeli perspective. However, relatively few reflect the Palestinian point of view. Letters from Palestine is one of the rare books that offers an American audience the chance to listen to and learn about the lives of actual Palestinian people as they describe what it is like to live in the occupied territories of the West Bank or Gaza, or to grow up as a Palestinian in the U.S. Their accounts are lively, poignant, searing, tragic, yet often laced with touches of surrealistic humor. Most of all, they show Palestinians in all their humanness and will help American readers see beyond the usual stereotypes. The stories in this book are meant to introduce Americans to contemporary Palestinians who represent both the traditions of their culture and the bright promise of their future.
All
proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the
Atfaluna School for the Deaf in Gaza or to NGOs in the West Bank
fighting against the Occupation.
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Jul. 2, 2010 |
Travel Weekly | Israeli tour guides permitted in Bethlehem by
Michelle Baran
Israeli tour guides and tour operators have been permitted to
return to Bethlehem for the first time in a decade.
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Jul. 2, 2010 |
The World Council of Churches | UK METHODISTS "DARE MORE THAN
WORDS" FOR JUST PEACE IN PALESTINE AND ISRAEL
The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse
Tveit has congratulated the United Kingdom's National Methodist Conference
“important and forward looking resolutions by your church around the
question of a just peace for Palestine and Israel.”
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Jul. 2, 2010 |
The Reverend Roy
Hayes, Episcopal, writes:
Tuesday, July 6, is a day to mark on our
calendars. Benjamin Netanyahu will return to the
White House for talks. Note the concluding
paragraph in particular.
Also on Tuesday the Queen of England will
address the United Nations General Assembly. See:
Queen to make historic appeal for world peace.
Peace, Roy
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Jul. 2, 2010 |
Center for Constitutional Rights | Rights Group Files FOIA
Requests Regarding Israel Attack on Flotilla Delivering Aid to
Gaza
Yesterday, the
Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed eight
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests regarding
the United States government’s knowledge of, and
actions in relation to, the May 31, 2010 attack by
Israel on a flotilla of six vessels in international
waters seeking to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza,
and U.S. policy towards the blockade of Gaza, which
has entered its fourth year. The FOIA requests were
made to a number of U.S. departments and agencies,
including the Coast Guard, the Department of State,
the Navy and the U.S. European Command.
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Jul. 2, 2010 |
Friends of Freedom and Justice in Bil'in | Dozens suffer from
tear gas inhalation in Bil'in Friday 2 July 2010
The protesters went together singing, some dancing and saying slogans up to the wall. There the soldiers were waiting on the other side, and the protest went on for about ten minutes before soldiers started shooting tear gas and sound grenades into the crowd, and into the farm land.
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Jul. 2, 2010 |
The Methodist Church of Great Britain | Methodist Church to
boycott goods from illegal Israeli settlements
The Methodist Church has today voted to boycott all products from Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories, and to encourage Methodists across Britain to do the same.
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Jul. 2, 2010 |
Zenit | Pius XII's Efforts to Save Jewish Culture Revealed
The recently
opened sections of the Vatican Secret Archives have
revealed that Pope Pius XII not only helped save
thousands of Jews, but also their patrimony, from
the Nazis.
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Jul. 1, 2010 |
New York Times | The Two Sides of a Barbed-Wire Fence by
Nicholas D. Kristof
The Israeli occupation of the West Bank is widely acknowledged to be unsustainable and costly to the country’s image. But one more blunt truth must be acknowledged: the occupation is morally repugnant.
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Jul. 1, 2010 |
Mazin Qumsiyeh, Human Rights | Reflections: Italia-Palestina
Israeli
colonization in Palestine over the past 62 years
came rather late in the the history of humanity
after most countries [had] abandoned colonialism. It
has all the usual characteristics of colonization
but also required the added 'feature' of being built
on layers of religious and other mythologies.
...this issue of
Israel/Palestine is critical for all. If we want our
lives to be meaningful, we cannot ignore this issue.
We are fortunate in being able to effect a change in
history at this critical junction.
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Jul. 1, 2010 |
World Council of Churches | Week of Prayer 2011 looks to
Jerusalem for essentials of unity
Next year's
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will be grounded
in the experience of the churches in Jerusalem.
Resources in five languages have already been made
available on the website of the World Council of
Churches (WCC).
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Jul. 1, 2010 |
World Council of Churches | Statement on Status of Jerusalem
drafted in 1998
The WCC
has repeatedly addressed the question of Jerusalem
since 1948. Jerusalem has been at the heart of the
Israel-Palestine conflict since the time of the
League of Nations Mandate and Partition, yet the
issue of Jerusalem has consistently been postponed
to "future negotiations" due to the complexities of
the issues involved. The inability of the parties
and of the international community to settle this
question has left Jerusalem vulnerable to a series
of unilateral actions which have radically altered
its geography and demography in a way which violates
especially the rights of Palestinians and poses a
continuing threat to peace and security of all the
inhabitants of the city and the region.
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Jul. 1, 2010 |
Uruknet | Israel transfer of Hamas men from Jerusalem may be war
crime, UN envoy says
Israel's
intention to expel four Palestinian residents of
East Jerusalem to the West Bank could constitute a
war crime, a UN human rights expert charged on
Tuesday.
...Falk also
criticized Israel's plan to demolish some 20
Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem, calling it
illegal and saying it reflected its systematic bid
to drive Palestinians out of the holy city.
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Jul. 1, 2010 |
If Americans Knew | The Costs of Occupation: A Better Blockade?
Here's a
question: Since the blockade is illegal under
international law, could the Palestinians of Gaza
organize some kind of class action suit against
Israel and seek compensation for the agonies they
have suffered since 2006? For all those dead due
to lack of access to care? The children stunted due
to malnourishment? The school years lost, the crops
and land and infrastructure destroyed. The list is
long, but it is long past time to total up and claim
the costs of Israel's occupation.
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Jul. 1, 2010 |
Travel Weekly | Former U.K. leader focuses on tourism to build
up Palestine by Arnie Weissman
Some pilgrims
were willing to put up with a certain degree of
inconvenience and unpredictability to visit
Christianity's holiest sites, especially Bethlehem's
Church of the Nativity, built over the site believed
to be Jesus' birthplace.
But other West Bank attractions, including ruins in
Sebastia and Jericho, and even Old Testament sites
like Jacob's Well in Nabulus or Abraham's Tomb in
Hebron, disappeared from the itineraries of tour
operators.
[Note: See
Holy Land Institute for a pilgrimage that goes
to Bethlehem, Nablus, and Jericho as well as
Jerusalem and Galilee and Jordan]
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Jul. 1, 2010 |
The Huffington Post | Gaza Flotilla: Global Citizens Must
Respond Where Governments Have Failed by Stéphane Frédéric
Hessel
"Non-violent citizen-led initiatives, exemplified by the Flotilla and the various boycott and divestment campaigns around the world, present the most promising way to overcome the failure of world governments to stand up to Israel's intransigence and lawless behavior."
--Stéphane
Frédéric Hessel
Stéphane Frédéric Hessel
is a diplomat, former
ambassador, French resistance fighter and BCRA
agent. Born German, he obtained French nationality
in 1937. He participated in the drafting of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.
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