Mideast Just Peace

Norman Finkelstein discusses Gaza, U.S. policy toward Israel, the Goldstone Report, and his new book, This Time We Went Too Far

Video from Democracy Now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3zoHaqgnso

NYT Kristof calls Israeli occupation “morally repugnant”

On July 1 the New York Times published a powerful opinion piece by Nicholas D. Kristof, ‘The Two Sides of a Barbed-Wire Fence,’ in which Kristof slams the Israeli occupation as ‘morally repugnant.’

In the op-ed, Kristof examines how the occupation promotes large disparities between the lives of Palestinians and Israeli settlers in the southern Hebron Hills. In the Bedouin village of Umm al-Kheir for example, Palestinians lack basic necessities and are subject to severe building restrictions while settlers across a barbed wire fence enjoy lush gardens and air-conditioned homes among other benefits. In the village of Tuba, Palestinian farmers similarly lack access to adequate drinking water and struggle to earn a living while settlers nearby have no such difficulty. Kristof also highlights the regular settler harassment of Palestinian elementary schoolchildren from Tuba — a situation which has required protection of the children by foreign volunteers from Christian Peacemaker Teams and Operation Dove.

Kristof maintains that the growth of settlements may be ‘the most odious aspect of the occupation’ and does not mince words when he states with conviction that ‘Israel, is using American military support to maintain an occupation that is both oppressive and unjust.’

For the complete piece see:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/01/opinion/01kristof.html

Skip Schiel, a socially engaged photographer, comes to Traverse City on Sunday, June 27, 7:00 p.m. at Higher Grounds (806 Red Drive on the Old Hospital grounds). His presentation stems from his current project, a photographic examination of conditions in Palestine and Israel. The event is sponsored by Traverse City Friends Meeting House, the NMC Green Party, and MidEast: JustPeace. It is free and open to all; donations are accepted. More information on Skip at http://teeksaphoto.org and http://skipschiel.wordpress.com.

“EU to open market fully to Palestinian exports” (Ynetnews.com

The European Commission plans to open European Union markets fully to Palestinian exports in the coming months to help strengthen the Palestinian economy, the EU trade chief said on Thursday.

“Presbyterian report condemns Israeli policies in Palestinian territories” by David Waters (The Washington Post)

America’s largest Presbyterian denomination is preparing for a contentious General Assembly next month as delegates will be asked to consider approving a strongly worded report that calls on the U.S. to stop sending billions of dollars in aid to Israel until it changes its policy toward Palestinians.

“Arab chief on landmark visit to Gaza” (AFP)

Arab League chief Amr Mussa on Sunday called for Israel’s four-year siege of the Gaza Strip to be “broken” as he made a landmark visit to the impoverished Palestinian enclave.

“ICRC says Israel’s Gaza blockade breaks law” by Imogen Foulkes (BBC)

Israel’s blockade of Gaza is a clear violation of international humanitarian law, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said.

“Pressure on Israel to lift Gaza blockade” by Donald Macintyre (The Independent)

Israel’s cabinet meets today under the heaviest international pressure yet - in the aftermath of its lethal naval commando assault on a pro-Palestinian flotilla a fortnight ago - to relax the three-year economic embargo on Gaza.

“Oxfam calls for end to Gaza blockade” (CNN.com)

Oxfam, a UK-based International Aid agency, is calling on EU officials and the Middle East Quartet to pressure Israel into lifting the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

“Don’t single out Helen Thomas” by Saree Makdisi (Los Angeles Times)

Unconscionable. Offensive. Hurtful. Bigoted. Terrible. Hateful. These are the words being used to describe Helen Thomas’ recent comment about Israel and Palestine.

“Those complicit in the siege are now its curious critics” by Tony Karon (The National)

The Gaza blockade is “untenable and unsustainable”, says the US president Barack Obama, echoing the sentiments in the corridors of power throughout the West since the flotilla debacle. The Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak even ordered the Rafah crossing permanently opened, while the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the blockade “should end once and for all”.

“EU presses Israel to lift Gaza blockade” by Slobodan Lekic (Atlanta Journal Constitution)

The European Union pressed Israel Monday to lift the blockade of Gaza, deeming it “unacceptable” while the Israeli Cabinet approved an investigation into the deadly raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla in an effort to counter international criticism.

Learn more:

    www.EndTheOccupation.org

www.freegaza.org    www.witnessgaza.com    www.bdsmovement.net

Contribute to Gaza Relief

Checks payable to MidEast:JustPeace

P.O. Box 815 Suttons Bay, MI 49682

Stop the Madness: An Essay by Rob Chapman

Israel’s recent attack on a humanitarian aid mission to Gaza - in International Waters - was an act of terrorism.  There is little difference between it and what Somali pirates have been condemned for doing off the coast of Africa.

Unfortunately, it’s nothing new.  This is the 43^rd year of Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip.  What Israel does on a daily basis to the Palestinian people is cruel and inhumane.  They use Hamas as an excuse to have their way, including missile attacks, building walls on Palestinian soil and restricting commerce so that Palestinians cannot survive. 

What’s the source of their power?  Well, it’s us.  The Israeli Government continues to be funded by military aid from the US (to the tune of $2.77 billion this year), owing to the clout they have in our government.
 
A successful campaign of misinformation has pardoned the atrocities of the Israeli government by always claiming Palestinian provocation, and by preventing the filming of most of their acts.  Please note that I do not lay blame on followers of the Jewish faith.  It is the government of Israel that has co-opted the cause of a “Jewish Homeland”, and invoked the centuries-old persecution of Jews in order to increase its power and clout in the region.  Odd, isn’t it, how they have coincidentally eliminated the freedom and civil rights of Palestinians in the process?  It’s another case of using religion as an excuse to achieve not-so-pious political goals. 

Sadly, misusing religion to advance a political cause is what governments and political parties often do.  Remember the Crusades?  More recently, remember how a certain party in our country left behind its political ideology of fiscal conservatism, hoisted the abortion banner, and successfully made the Deep South solid red?  It was a clever move by Karl Rove - but does anyone actually believe that his motivation was morality and ethics rather than contrived political gain?

Similarly, Israel has appealed to Jews in all nations to support the continuing oppression of Palestinians “for the homeland”.  This oppression of Palestinians - in the same area Muslims consider to be THEIR homeland - is probably the biggest source of Muslim hatred for the West.

Al-Qaeda, a military-political organization, has taken a page from the same playbook, and intertwined politics with religion for its own gain.  It pretends to represent true Islam.  It cites the oppression of Palestinians by the government of Israel and conveniently equates Israel with the US.  It logically follows, then, that the US is the enemy of Islam, and voila – you have thousands lining up to wear explosives for Al-Qaeda.  And we live in fear.

How might we stop this madness?  Well, we could begin by discontinuing our unabashed support of Israel’s military presence in Palestine.  In removing our military support, we could force Israel to end both its settlement expansion and its wanton oppression of the Palestinian people.  Israel would be forced, finally, to negotiate to find a way to peacefully coexist in a region that Jews, Christians and Muslims all claim as homeland.   If we ever hope to have peace in the region, we have to tell our scrappy little ally – Israel - to behave. 
 
We can also help by trying to recognize truth as truth and lies as lies, and spread the word.  Israel controls the mass media streaming from the region.  They control everything in Palestine by military force.  The tidbits of truth that emerge are reported by people on the ground:  Peace activists who travel there and risk injury and death to stand with the Palestinian people and report what they see, firsthand.  You won’t hear these people on CNN; you have to seek them out.

One such person is Anna Baltzer, a Jewish-American activist for Palestinian human rights.  I heard her speak some years ago, and she is the real deal; she wants Peace and Justice in the Mideast and has devoted her life to achieving it by being there on the ground and reporting what she sees.  In the past, her stories have been corroborated by other friends I know and respect - people who have also gone there and seen with their own eyes what the Palestinians must endure on a day-to-day basis.  You can Google her, or follow her blog at http://annainpalestine.blogspot.com/  Her most recent account follows.

The Aftermath of the Flotilla   Last night marked one week since Israel’s attack in international waters on the Mavi Marmara Turkish humanitarian ship bound for Gaza, killing nine. One by one, the hundreds of witnesses aboard the vessels have been returning home to tell their stories after being stripped of any and all footage. By confiscating all non-military evidence of the incident, Israel has been able to successfully dominate the narrative, at least in the US where news of the attack had begun to dwindle by the time witnesses were released. One wonders, if Israel is conveying the whole story of what happened that night, why eliminate every single other piece of documentation? What does Israel have to hide?

“Western leaders are too cowardly to help save lives” by Robert Fisk (The Independent)

Has Israel lost it? Can the Gaza War of 2008-09 (1,300 dead) and the Lebanon War of 2006 (1,006 dead) and all the other wars and now yesterday’s killings mean that the world will no longer accept Israel’s rule?

“U.S. must condemn Israel for ship killings” by Amjad Atallah (CNN.com)

President Obama, in his memorable speech almost exactly one year ago in Cairo, Egypt, urged Palestinians to pursue nonviolent means toward securing their freedom and raised the hopes of many Muslim-majority nations who saw a new, unbiased Mideast policy in the making. Those hopes were shattered by America’s tepid response to the killings aboard a ship on a peaceful humanitarian mission Sunday night.

“Israeli aid boat attack has opened worlds eyes to Gazas plight” by Sheera Frenkel (Times Online)

Israels botched commando raid has succeeded in doing the one thing that Tel Aviv will have wanted to avoid drawing attention to the Jewish states harsh three-year blockade of Gaza.

“Israel’s latest brutal blunder” by Stephen M. Walt (Foreignpolicy.com)

By now you’ll all have heard about the IDF’s unwarranted attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, a fleet of six civilian vessels that was attempting to bring humanitarian aid (i.e., medicines, food, and building materials) to Gaza. The population of Gaza has been under a crippling Israeli siege since 2006.

“Turkey: All options are on the table” by Nuh Yilmaz (Foreignpolicy.com)

“All options are on the table” is the best phrase to describe how Turkey feels about Israel’s attack on humanitarian aid flotilla carrying more than 600 activists from 32 countries. What happened on Sunday night is a real game changer. Israel will, most likely, no longer be seen as a friendly state nor an ally, but will be treated as a rogue state by Turkey.

“Following Israeli Raid On Flotilla, Egypt Opens Its Border With Gaza” by David Gura (NPR)

Egypt has decided to open its border with Gaza, following an Israeli raid on six ships. Linda Gradstein, reporting for NPR, says that, “if the border stays open, it will be a victory for the Islamist Hamas movement, which controls Gaza.”

“Turkey calls for punishment of Israel for killings” by Jeffrey Heller and Ibon Villelabeitia (Reuters)

Israel detained or deported hundreds of activists who were aboard a flotilla of ships seized en route to the Palestinian enclave which has been under Israeli blockade since 2006.

“World leaders demand probe into Israel raid” (AFP)

World leaders demanded Tuesday an investigation into Israel’s deadly commando raid on a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla and the swift release of their seized citizens.

“Human Rights Watch Urges Inquiry Into Israeli Raid” by Henry Meyer and Massoud A. Derhally (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)

Human Rights Watch urged Israel to carry out an immediate and impartial investigation into the killing of at least nine activists in an Israeli commando raid on a flotilla bringing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

“The U.S. Should Break the Gaza Blockade” by Michael Kieschnick (The Huffington Post)

Brutal violence is all too commonplace. But usually it is not public, as was the Israeli Navy’s attack on the flotilla bringing aid to Gaza. The flotilla was designed to bring public attention to the plight of civilians of Gaza, and it has done so.

May 31, 2010
We Gaza based Palestinian Civil Society Organizations and International activists call on the international community and civil society to pressure their governments and Israel to cease the abductions and killings in Israel’s attacks against the Gaza Freedom Flotilla sailing for Gaza, and begin a global response to hold Israel accountable for the murder of foreign civilians at sea and illegal piracy of civilian vessels carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza.

Al Awda Centre, Rafah

For updates go to http://witnessgaza.com/ and http://www.freegaza.org/

PROTEST ISRAELI ATTACK
ON GAZA FREEDOM FLOTILLA
From United for Peace and Justice

Last night the Israeli navy attacked humanitarian ships in international waters in the middle of the night. Reports indicate that 10-16 humanitarian activists were killed and 50-60 were injured. The ships were seized by the Israeli navy and taken to Haifa to avoid press at Ashdod. UFPJ condemns the Israeli Government for their brutal attack on unarmed civilians. Protests have taken place across the world and a number of Governments are taking action.

The U.S. arms Israel to the tune of billions of dollars a year and hence shares responsibility for this atrocity. How many more must die before the Obama Administration cuts off the aid we give to Israel each year?

On board were 750 people of conscience from 40 different countries, including 35 international politicians intent on breaking the Israeli-Egyptian blockade. We offer our sincerest condolences to family and friends who have lost loved ones in the attack. One of the boats was named after Rachel Corrie, to honor this strong young woman killed by the Israel Defense Forces in April 2003.

Demonstrate!

Demonstrations are being organized in Washington DC, New York, and Boston. Please join in where you can or organize your own. It is time to end the blockade of Gaza and the Israeli occupation of Palestine by ending US support for Israeli slaughter.

New York - 3pm today (Monday, May 31), Times Square

Washington, DC - 3pm today, Israeli Embassy, 3514 International Drive NW (Van Ness metro) - Moving on to the White House at 5pm

Boston - 4pm today, Park Street Station

Use Memorial Day to memorialize all the brave activists, show our outrage, and let the world know we are not sleeping!

Contact the White House!

Call or email to demand an immediate cutoff of U.S. aid to Israel.
Email the White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact.
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414

Contact the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and demand that U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice vote to support a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel’s action and initiating an investigation. 212-415-4062

Background

The UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Richard Falk, urged Monday the international community to bring to justice those responsible for the killing of some 16 unarmed peace activist, when Israeli armed commandos stormed a convoy of ships carrying aid to Gaza.

“Israel is guilty of shocking behavior by using deadly weapons against unarmed civilians on ships that were situated in the high seas where freedom of navigation exists, according to the law of the seas,” Mr. Falk said. “It is essential that those Israelis responsible for this lawless and murderous behavior, including political leaders who issued the orders, be held criminally accountable for their wrongful acts.”

By sailing directly to Gaza, outside of Israeli waters, with cargo banned illegally by Israel, such as the 10,000 tonnes of badly needed concrete, toys, workbooks, chocolate, pasta and substantial medical supplies, the flotilla is exercising international law and upholding article 33 of the Geneva Convention which clearly states that collective punishment is a crime against humanity.

The hardships of Israel’s closure of Gaza have been well documented by all human rights groups operating, most recently by Amnesty International in their Annual Human Rights Report concluding that the siege has “deepened the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Mass unemployment, extreme poverty, food insecurity and food price rises caused by shortages left four out of five Gazans dependent on humanitarian aid. The scope of the blockade and statements made by Israeli officials about its purpose showed that it was being imposed as a form of collective punishment of Gazans, a flagrant violation of international law.”