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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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Land and Property Theft and Destruction
Palestinian
herders fined for trespassing West Bank nature preserve
Yuval Azoulay - Haaretz - Late last year, three Palestinian brothers
who own a small herd from which they earn a living received the fine
from an inspector visiting the Jordan Valley. Each brother - from the
Daraghma family - was required to pay NIS 660. Advertisement The
incident occurred in the Um Zuka nature preserve in the West Bank near
Route 90 and the Jordan Valley settlement of Mehola. For years,
Palestinian shepherds, including those from the Daraghma family, have
marched their herds on their lands next to the road. Before the fining
incident, no one had interrupted their routine.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1151399.html
Inside Story - tensions rise over holy sites
Palestinians are angered by Israel's plan to restore two sites in the
West Bank.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQDhEEb_oUk&feature=youtube_gdata
Settlers want more sites added to Israeli heritage
list
Bethlehem
– Ma'an – Israeli settlers have called on their prime minister,
Benyamin Netanyahu, to add more religious sites in the occupied West
Bank to a list of Israeli heritage sites. The Hebrew-language daily
Ma'ariv reported Wednesday that two members of the Kiryat Arba council
sent a letter to Netanyahu calling on him to nationalize two holy
shrines in Hebron.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=263921
Silwan families: Israel serves 8 new demolition orders
Jerusalem
-
Ma'an - Eight families in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan
were handed orders announcing their homes were slated for demolition,
as Israeli municipality workers entered the area accompanied by
military guards on Wednesday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=263972
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott,
Sanctions
and
Divestment
Hebron protest sparks clashes
Tensions increase as Israel declares site of Hebron mosque Israeli
heritage location.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/02/20102251020844375.html
EU
court: West Bank goods not Israeli
Products
made in settlements subject to import duties because they are not
produced in Israel proper, European Union's high court rules Thursday.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3854620,00.html
Irish Foreign Minister first to enter Gaza Strip
Irish
Foreign Minister Micheal Martin has arrived in the Gaza Strip in the
first ever visit to the Hamas-ruled enclave by a top Western government
official. No American or European leader or senior figure has visited
since Gaza was taken over by Hamas in June, 2007. The EU and the U.S.
declared a boycott of Hamas at the time because of its refusal to
recognize Israel and renounce violence. Escorted by United Nations
vehicles, Martin entered through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
Israel had turned down his request last year to enter Gaza. He does not
intend to met with Hamas. Martin's visit to comes after widespread
anger in Ireland over the use of Irish passports by an alleged Israeli
hit squad that killed a Hamas militant in Dubai recently. As many as
ten legitimate Irish passports may have been used in the assassination.
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Irish-Foreign-Minister-first-to-enter-Gaza-Strip-85332762.html
Vanunu: Take me off list of Nobel peace prize
nominees
Israeli nuclear whistleblower says he does not want to be
associated with Nobel winner Shimon Peres.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1152034.html
Israel Ballet Protest: University at Buffalo 2/23
A
performance of the Israel Ballet at the University at Buffalo last
night was protested by UB Students for Justice in Palestine and the
Palestine-Israel Committee of the Western New York Peace Center.
Reports Jim Holstun, Professor of English, SUNY Buffalo: "One of our
members (a member of both groups), Irene Morrison, was ejected from the
pre-dance Q&A by, evidently, a university official who pronounced
political free speech out of bounds for the evening. "It’s funny:
Israelis come over here, and suddenly, everyone wants to start acting
like they’re at a checkpoint."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l06f53sMDBo&feature=player_embedded
Viva
Palestina To Send Convoy To Gaza
British
Legislator, George Galloway, stated that Viva Palestina is preparing to
send another convoy filled with humanitarian aid to the impoverished
Gaza Strip. Convoy members from different countries around the world,
will be sailing in June.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58057
'Chicago
Hearing' on Israel and U.S. values, April 18
The
Chicago office of the American Friends Service Committee and various
allies are organizing a public hearing on on April 18, on the important
question, Does U.S. Policy on Israel and Palestine Uphold Our Values?.
Giving testimony will be ICAHD's Jeff Halper on "Property Rights", Jad
Issac on "Freedom of Movement", and Cindy Corrie and Amer Shurrab on
"Military Aid". I am very honored that I'll be moderating the event.
The front-table "listeners" will be: John J. Mearsheimer of the
University of Chicago, Barbara Ransby of the University of Illinois at
Chicago, Rabbi Brant Rosen of Ta'anit Tzedek (Jewish Fast for Gaza),
Dr. Zaher Sahloul of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater
Chicago, and Ghada Talhami, professor emerita at Lake Forest College.
http://justworldnews.org/archives/003891.html
Judith Butler: As a Jew, I was taught it was
ethically imperative to speak up
Philosopher,
professor and author Judith Butler talks about the dehumanization of
Gazans, and how Jewish values drove her to criticize the actions of the
State of Israel.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1152017.html
Recovering from Starbucks coffee memories
I'm
recovering
from my trip to the US. I spent more days at the airports
than in the US. Out of everything I disliked there, the most annoying
memory was meeting two students and a lecturer, from Kuwait and Egypt,
at Georgetown University who were well known protagonists of the
Palestinian cause who asked me to meet up with them outside...
Starbucks! No, really. It seems Starbucks has become the meeting place
of activists for justice in Palestine. Not only that, but one of the
students came out walking (after I refused to enter) with a Starbucks
coffee cup! After I bashed at him, the lecturer said I was bossy and
rude. Maybe he's right, mind you, we'll have to ask the surviving
relatives of the second Qana massacre whether the Starbucks funded
missiles that killed their babies were also bossy and rude. But, then
again, ignore the roots of my Muslim rage and despair, to borrow the
term from modern day, celebrity Bernard Lewis, Mr Bono. (One of my
anthropology professors at SOAS once came into class with a Coca
Cola... I tried explaining to him where his money just went to, but
shouldn't he already know that?)
http://gaza08.blogspot.com/2010/02/recovering-from-starbucks-coffee.html
Violence/Aggression
Medics:
Man shot by Israeli forces east of Gaza City
Gaza – Ma'an – Israeli forces operating east of the Ash-Shuja'iyeh
neighborhood of Gaza City shot and wounded a Palestinian man, medics in
the Ash-Shifa Hospital said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=264173
Settler and IOF violence at Sheikh Jarrah erupts
into riot
One
Palestinian man arrested, one woman and child pepper sprayed and two
children injured as settler provocation turns into a riot.
Spirits
were high in the protest camp outside the Gawi and Al-Kurd families’
houses. Each Wednesday the community gathers for a meal, bridging the
gap between the Palestinian, Israeli and international activists
bringing a sense of unity crucial for an effective movement. But things
change quickly in the holy land.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/02/11539
Union:
Farmer beaten by Israeli forces at Jubarah checkpoint
Tulkarem – Ma'an – A farmer on his way to agricultural lands near
Tulkarem was told to lie on the floor of the Jubara checkpoint and was
subsequently beaten while on the floor, the Agricultural Union said in
a report released hours after the alleged event Thursday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=264131
500
Jewish settlers storm Nabi Yousef tomb
Tens
of Israeli military vehicles escorted 500 Jewish settlers on an
unwelcome visit to the Nabi Yousef or Joseph tomb in Nablus city at
dawn Thursday.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/
CPT: Israeli soldiers arrest Palestinian shepherd,
assault Palestinian youth
On
Tuesday afternoon, February 23, 2010, Israeli soldiers arrested a
Palestinian shepherd, Khalil Ibrahim Abu Jundiyye, from the village of
Tuba. Abu Jundiyye, 19, was grazing his flock near Tuba when four
Israeli soldiers, coming from the nearby Ma’on settlement, chased him
and another shepherd back to Tuba. The soldiers aggressively pursued
the two shepherds while Tuba families attempted to keep the soldiers
away from them. One soldier head-butted a Palestinian youth who was
pleading for an explanation why his brother was being arrested. Another
soldier loaded his rifle and pointed it in the air, threatening to
shoot, forcing the families to quell their protest.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/02/11537
Detainees, Illegal Arrests
IDF nabs 20 Palestinians in Hebron
IDF
forces operating in the West Bank overnight apprehended 20 wanted
Palestinians. Eight of the Palestinians were apprehended in Hebron,
while the rest were detained near Bethlehem.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3854309,00.html
What's
been happening in Shu'afat Refugee Camp?
Shu'afat
Refugee Camp has the dubious privilege of being the only UN-run
Palestinian refugee camp that lies within the boundaries that the
Israeli occupation authorities unilaterally drew inside the West Bank,
in 1968, for an expanded Municipality of Jerusalem. It is home to some
22,000 Palestinians. Over the past two weeks, the camp has been the
scene of repeated raids by the Israeli security forces, who over this
period have reportedly arrested some 92 camp residents.
http://justworldnews.org/archives/003888.html
Siege/Humanitarian/Human
Rights/Abuse
Israeli Denial: Suppressing the Practice of Torture
The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PACTI - stoptorture.org)
"believes that torture and ill-treatment of any kind and under all
circumstances is incompatible with the moral values of democracy and
the rule of law." Yet it's systematically practiced by the Israeli
Police, General Security Service (GSS), Israeli Prison Service (IPS),
and Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15764
The Silent War: Israel's Blockade of Gaza
Israels blockade of Gaza has been in place for almost three years.
Building
on existing closures and restrictions, the blockade means the delay or
denial of a broad range of items food, industrial, educational, medical
deemed "non-essential" for a population largely unable to be
self-sufficient at the end of decades of occupation. The blockade
prevents access by sea, land and air, effectively closing off a
population of 1.5 million Palestinians from the outside world. This
short film examines what the blockade means for the people of Gaza, as
they struggle to rebuild their lives over a year after Operation Cast
Lead.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDcZ57UaGUg&feature=player_embedded
The Gaza Ghetto At 2010
Growing
up in Israel, one of the most striking things I learned about the
Holocaust was that the Nazis were not just content to kill Jews. They
wanted to rob them of their human dignity, to dehumanise them. This
policy was particularly evident in the way the Nazis created and ran
their infamous ghettos. One of the most well-known of those was the
Warsaw ghetto.
http://www.countercurrents.org/abarbanel240210.htm
Occupational
Hazards
In Gaza, even scrap metal collection has its
hazards. OCHA reminds us this
week in its monitor of the “buffer
zone”
in place inside Gaza, an area in which the Israeli military prevents
Gaza residents from getting within 300 meters of the border between
Israel and Gaza – even those trying to earn an unlikely livelihood.
This week, OCHA reports,
Israeli
soldiers entered Gaza and arrested 10 Palestinian civilians who
were collecting scrap metal near the border; they were later released.
Arrests in this area and sporadic incursions are of course a clear
reminder to Gaza residents that Israel still exercises control
over their lives, even if control over the movement of goods and
people, felt via an invisible
hand, has a greater effect on their lives.
http://www.gazagateway.org/2010/02/occupational-hazards/
Industrial
Fuel – Needs Vs. Supply – Jan 24 – Feb 20
http://www.gazagateway.org/2010/02/industrial-fuel-needs-vs-supply-jan-24-feb-20/
Goods – Needs Vs. Supply – Jan 24 – Feb 20
http://www.gazagateway.org/2010/02/goods-needs-vs-supply-jan-24-feb-20/
War Criminals
UN human rights chief defends Goldstone report findings
United
Nations
human rights chief Navi Pillay defended on Wednesday the
controversial Goldstone report on last year's winter conflict between
Israel and Hamas in Gaza, saying both its methods and conclusions were
sound.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1152047.html
Expert: UN could 'bury' Goldstone report
Chicago
–
Ma’an Exclusive – A year after Israel's assault on Gaza, bureaucratic
wrangling is threatening to "bury" a UN report that accuses Israel and
Palestinian militias of committing war crimes, a UN expert on the issue
said on Wednesday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=264091
Israel's Arab Helpers (more under extra-judicial
assasination)
Egypt arrests Chinese nationals en route to Israel
Al-Arish
-
Ma'an - Egyptian authorities arrested three Chinese nationals in
central Sinai on Wednesday, security sources said. The three
unidentified detainees were en route to Israel, Egyptian security
sources told Ma'an. The men surrendered after Egyptian forces opened
fire in the air, the sources said. Under questioning, the men said
they were attempting to enter Israel to search for jobs, the sources
said, adding that they had paid 1,000 US dollars to international
smugglers.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=264035
Egypt building military towers on border with Gaza
Egyptian
authorities
began on Wednesday evening to build fortified military
towers along the border with the Gaza Strip. It was reported that the
Egyptian army, before the middle of the night, brought in military iron
towers into Al-Salam and Yebna areas, south of Rafah. Huge machines
were brought to the area, and a number of Egyptian soldiers were seen
working on erecting these military towers. Last year, Egypt started
building an underground steel wall along the border with the Gaza
Strip, in order to cut off smuggling tunnels used by Gazans to transfer
food and other necessary commodities.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/4392-
egypt-building-military-towers-on-border-with-gaza
Lebanon Says It Arrested Man Who Confessed to Spying for Mossad
Feb.
25
(Bloomberg) -- Lebanon arrested a man who has confessed to being a
Mossad agent, extending a crackdown on an alleged Israeli spy ring, the
head of Lebanon’s internal security forces said. “We arrested him just
over two weeks ago, and he confessed to working for the Israeli
Mossad,” Major General Ashraf Reefi said in a telephone interview
today. “We were pursuing him for a few months and he had traveled
abroad when we began to crack down on a cell of collaborators with
Israel last year, and he then came back to the country thinking we had
forgotten about him.”
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-25/
lebanon-says-it-arrested-man-who-confessed-to-spying-for-mossad.html
The PA doesn’t seem to care who they meet or where,
Antony Loewenstein
This is truly absurd.
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad meets with some of
America’s most right-wing Jewish leaders who don’t believe in ending
the occupation or ceasing settlement building.
http://antonyloewenstein.com/2010/02/25/the-pa-doesnt-seem-to-care-who-they-meet-or-where/
Zionism
Tel
Aviv municipality supports racist 'chastity' patrols
Tel
Aviv is often portrayed by Israeli hasbaristas as a hip, modern, and
very liberal kind of place. So why do we learn now, from Dimi Reider,
that the city is putting money into a program to "treat" young Jewish
women who date and/or marry Arab men? Petty apartheid, anyone?
http://justworldnews.org/archives/003887.html
Political Developments and Diplomacy
Israeli defense minister meets UN chief (AP)
AP
-
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
spent about an hour Wednesday discussing peace prospects with the
Palestinians and broader Mideast issues.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100224/ap_on_re_us/un_un_israel_barak
Clinton hopes Mideast peace talks will resume soon
(Reuters)
Reuters
- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday she hoped
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks will resume soon, taking a more upbeat
tone about efforts to end the conflict than typical for U.S. officials.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100224/pl_nm/us_palestinians_israel_usa
US slams Israel over designating heritage sites
(AP)
AP
- The Obama administration criticized Israel Wednesday for designating
two shrines on Palestinian territory as national heritage sites.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100225/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_clinton_mideast
UN chief raises concern over Palestinian talks (AP)
AP
-
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon raised concern at a meeting Wednesday
with Israel's defense chief that Israel's recent designation of holy
sites in the West Bank as heritage sites and demolitions in East
Jerusalem could hinder a resumption of stalled peace talks with the
Palestinians, a U.N. spokesman said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100225/ap_on_re_us/un_un_israel_barak
PLO:
If Netanyahu wants our holy sites, he can't have peace talks
Ramallah
–
Ma'an - The Executive Committee of the PLO will not support talks
with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu government in light of its decision to
declare sites in Palestinian areas "Israeli heritage sites," the body
announced after a meeting Wednesday. "We will reject any kind of
negotiations, even indirect talks," Secretary General of the PLO body
Yasser Abed Rabbo said after the meeting in Ramallah.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=264137
Islamic
conf. calls on Palestinians to unite before aggression
CAIRO, Feb 25 (KUNA) -- The Palestinian people with all their factions
are required to unite in the face of the unjust aggression that targets
their own existence, the 22nd General Congress of the Supreme Councils
for Islamic Affairs made this call here Thursday.
The Islamic conference urged the Palestinians to put an end to their
inner conflicts and shift to the conflict with their archenemy, namely
the worldwide zionism and the state of Isreal. Further, the four-day
conference that ended today called on, in its final recommendations,
the Islamic world with all its states, peoples and organizations to
take necessary measures that may strengthen the Palestinian society and
brace them for a long drawn-out conflict with their foe that makes use
of all mechanisms and tools of the conflict.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2064270&Language=en
Obama needs to get his poll numbers up -- in Israel
(Reuters)
Reuters
- U.S. President Barack Obama needs to get his poll numbers up -- in
Israel -- if he hopes to make peace between Israelis and Palestinians,
a senior Israeli official said Wednesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100225/pl_nm/us_israel_palestinians_obama
Extra-Judicial
Assassination
Assassins caught on video reveals possible
Mossad-Fatah link
There is speculation he met Iranian officials to arrange another
shipment of the missiles that Hamas regularly fires into Israel's towns
and cities. And then there's the matter of two Palestinians
associated with the intelligence and security operation of Fatah,
Hamas' rival for political control of the Palestinians in the West Bank
and Gaza. Ahmad Hasnin and Anwar Shekhaiber are reported by the
Dubai police to have arranged hired cars and hotel rooms in Dubai for
the Mossad hit squad. And one of them met chief assassin Elvinger.
http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/
Assassins+caught+video+reveals+possible+Mossad+Fatah+link/2606321/story.html
Pictures of 26 'agents' sought over Hamas killing
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8517716.stm
Dubai
murder suspects: flight movements into and out of Dubai
The Dubai police have released flight information for 22 of the suspects
in
the Mabhouh murder last month. See the data as a spreadsheet: • Get
the data• Interactive
guide to the flight patterns
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/feb/25/dubai-mabhouh-murder-suspects-flights
At least 10 Israelis share names of new Dubai hit
squad suspects
Video of Suspects: : 10 of those suspects share the names of Israelis
who hold dual citizenship, Haaretz has learned.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1152025.html
Australia calls in Israel envoy over forged passports
in Dubai hit
The
Canberra government has called in Israel's ambassador after three
Australians were named as suspects in the assassination of a Hamas.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1152161.html
Israel's friends in Dubai
"Now
back in Israel, Dovik Peer, Shahar's father, told Army Radio a bit
about what it was like. The organizers' efforts to ensure that Shahar
participate and make it home in one piece entailed extremely high
security. They took up the whole floor of a hotel, a different one from
where the rest of the players were staying. An extensive security
detail kept a watchful eye on them in a way "I think is very similar to
the prime minister's security in Israel," he said: First, second and
third circles of security meticulously scoured the vicinity before
allowing them out of the room. The closest routes between hotel and
car, car and private dressing room, dressing room and court were
chosen, to minimize Peer's exposure. Most meals were ordered in, the
few taken outside were done with bodyguards. Needless to say, they
didn't see much of Dubai. Work with us here, the guards told them.
Things are tense. Asked whether he was scared, Dovik said, "Not for a
second." Peer herself told the press upon her return that everyone in
Dubai took good care of her and tried to make her feel as comfortable
as possible. It was a difficult week but an important one, she said, at
the end of which she felt she had friends in Dubai."
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/02/israels-friends-in-dubai.html
NYT's Watch
NYT,
Ethan Bronner and Conflicts of Interest
A
recent assignment of mine covering Israel's presumed links to the
assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh provoked some more
thoughts about the New York Times reporter Ethan Bronner. He is the
Jerusalem bureau chief who has been at the centre of a controversy
since it was revealed last month that his son is serving in the Israeli
army. Despite mounting pressure to replace Bronner, the NYT’s editors
have so far refused to consider that he might be facing a conflict of
interest or that it would be wiser to post him elsewhere.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15765
Factchecking Kershner, Seham
Check
out Isabel Kershner in the Times, on a clash in Hebron over two "hotly
contested" sites in occupied territories that Israel is claiming as
national heritage sites.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/02/factchecking-kershner.html#comments
Analysis/Opinion
Dissent Of The Day, Andrew Sullivan
Yes, that's an unofficial t-shirt, popular among some IDF soldiers,
celebrating the notion that by shooting an armed pregnant Palestinian
woman, you can also kill her unborn child. They were particularly
popular after the Gaza assault.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/02/dissent-of-the-day-4.html#more
MJ Rosenberg: Yes, Kramer Did Advocate Palestinian
Genocide
The
other day I happened upon a speech delivered by a professor affiliated
with Harvard in which he seemed to advocate reducing the Palestinian
population through means akin to genocide (and which match the legal
definition of genocide). The speech was delivered at the prestigious
Herzliyah conference in Israel earlier this month. The Herzliyah
conference, which has a focus on Israel's foreign policy and strategy,
is a Middle East version of the Aspen Institute. Everybody who is
anybody wants to be seen there.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mj-rosenberg/yes-kramer-did-advocate-p_b_475350.html
Rosen–DoD contractor, Kramer’s patron, and dominant
male–epitomizes Harvard’s reigning ideology, neoconservatism
Martin Kramer’s patron at Harvard is Stephen Peter Rosen, a neocon and professor of
national security. Rosen also helps run “Long Term Strategy Group”, a consulting company, along
with Jacqueline Newmyer. They had a lucrative
DOD gig providing bland “strategic” planning guidelines and the odd
slide show in DC. It seems they pulled in a mere $2 million in the last few years from Defense.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/02/harvards-reigning-ideology-
neoconservatism-is-epitomized-by-rosen-dominant-male-and-patron-to-sandbox-man.html
A Palestinian reflects on the lifelong experience
of Israeli viciousness, Anees of Jerusalem
Anees in an email: I am still wondering about the criticism of
the use of the term genocide by EI
in the Martin Kramer flap. I cannot decide if it is unwarranted or
hyperbolic. After all, Israel’s blockade of Gaza is in fact directly
responsible for the deaths of hundreds (or more?) of Palestinians, and
Kramer is adamantly supportive of it in the context of ‘limiting birth
rates’. (See Sara Roy’s very recent detailing of such things as Gaza’s
infant mortality rate post-blockade.)
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/02/a-palestinian-reflects-on-the-lifelong-experience-of-israeli-viciousness.html
In new ads that try to change the subject, Israel
reveals racism
What is so amazing about
these three new government-sponsored ads urging ordinary Israelis to go
forth and change Israel’s image
is that it is precisely when Israel tries to change the subject that it
is most overtly racist. The conceit of the ads is that they pretend to
show how ignorant
foreigners portray Israel in their news reports: the English speaker
says Israelis ride around on camels, the French broadcaster confuses a
party and fireworks with a bombing campaign, the Spanish reporter says
Israelis only eat kabobs cooked over primitive fires — "primitive and
delicious" she says after taking a bite. And then in Hebrew, at the end
of each fake report, the voice says
something like: "if you don’t like the picture, change it" [commenters,
please help] — and then invites viewers to submit their own spots that
show the real Israel (which would presumably be fast cars, Thai food
and endless beach parties). I think that’s what the Hebrew is saying.
We don’t ride camels or eat kabobs — in other words, we’re not Arabs,
we’re white Europeans, love us!
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/02/in-new-ads-that-try-to-change-the-subject-israel-reveals-racism.html
Listen to the Heroes of Israel, John Pilger
I
phoned Rami Elhanan the other day. We had not spoken for six years and
much has happened in Israel and Palestine. Rami is an Israeli graphic
designer who lives with his family in Jerusalem. His father survived
Auschwitz. His grandparents and six aunts and uncles perished in the
Holocaust. Whenever I am asked about heroes, I say Rami and his wife
Nurit without hesitation. Soon after when we met, Rami gave me a home
videotape that was difficult to watch. It shows his daughter Smadar,
aged 14, throwing her head back, laughing and playing the piano. "She
loved to dance," he said. On the afternoon of 4 September, 1997, Smadar
and her best friend, Sivane, had auditions for admission to a dance
school. She had argued that morning with her mother, who was anxious
about her going to the centre of Jerusalem. "I didn’t want to row,"
said Nurit, "so I let her go."
http://original.antiwar.com/pilger/2010/02/24/listen-to-the-heroes-of-israel/
Israel intends to provoke a reaction
Some
might consider it an insensitive move on the part of the Israeli
government to add two holy sites situated in the West Bank to a list of
their own heritage sites; others may simply call it cynical. The nature
and timing of the move, however, reveals the motives to be much more
disturbing.Over the past weeks, both Israeli and Palestinian officials
have hinted at the possibility of indirect talks taking place through a
US mediator.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=17&article_id=112110
What’s In a Name?, Philip Giraldi
The
public has become so accustomed to extrajudicial killings and
kidnappings by the United States and Israel that such activities most
often receive little media coverage and are hardly noticed. The recent
massive assassination operation carried out by Israel’s Mossad in Dubai
has been an exception, however. It has attracted considerable media
attention in Europe though relatively little in the United States,
possibly because any American outcry would be the pot calling the
kettle black. Europeans have mostly been outraged by the Israeli
cloning of genuine European passports to carry out their dirty work,
less so by the killing itself.
http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2010/02/24/whats-in-a-name/
Lebanon
British Daily Reveals Mossad Behind Moghniyyeh
Assassination
24/02/2010
While media outlets are preoccupied these days with publishing details
of the assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud Mabhouh in Dubai, and the
time Dubai police is accusing the Israeli Mossad of standing behind the
crime, British Daily 'The Independent' confirmed the responsibility of
the mentioned Mossad in the assassination of Hezbollah top military
commander Imad Moghniyyeh (Hajj Redwan) in Syria two years ago. The
daily said that in just 60 years, Israel's secret service has become a
byword for ruthlessness and audacity. Yet, and as the storm surrounding
its Dubai operation intensifies, Gordon Thomas, author of the
definitive history of Mossad, reveals the inside story of its most
daring hit in a book to be published within days.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=126104&language=en
Poll:
84% of Lebanese Trust Resistance Capabilities
25/02/2010 Beirut Center for Research and Information conducted an
opinion poll on the repercussions of the latest speech delivered by
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah in the occasion of
the Martyr Leaders' day and whether this speech removed the possibility
of an imminent war or increased it. The poll was conducted between
February 19 and 22, 2010, included a sample of 200 surveyed people from
different Lebanese factions, religions, sects, ages, genders, and
regions. The poll showed that 84% of Lebanese believe in the
capabilities of the Resistance in confronting any Israeli aggression.
Furthermore, 74% of Lebanese believe that the Resistance capabilities
can deter Israel from starting an aggression. 60% of Lebanese think
that Sayyed Nasrallah's latest speech made the possibility of a war far
according to the poll.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=126310&language=en
Top Muslim clerics urge unity to mark Prophet’s
birthday
BEIRUT:
Sectarian strife benefits the destructive goals of Israel, warned
Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah Wednesday during
a speech to mark Prophet Mohammad's birthday celebrated on February 26
this year. Fadlallah said the occasion should remind Muslims that they
follow the Prophet's message of unity. "Muslims might disagree on the
date of birth of the Prophet.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=112117
Committee demands boycott of Arab League summit in
Libya
BEIRUT: Lebanon should boycott the Arab League summit in Libya and
should assume its responsibilities, demanded the Higher National
Committee to follow up on the case of Imam Musa Sadr on Wednesday. The
committee held a meeting presided over by vice president of the Higher
Shiite Council, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, after which it concluded
that Lebanon should not participate in the summit that will be held in
Libya.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=112128
Palestinian principles committee launched in Beirut
BEIRUT:
The
establishment of the "National Palestinian Committee for Defending
Principles" (NPCDP) was announced Wednesday at the Bristol Hotel in
Beirut during a gathering of Palestinian and Lebanese figures, and the
NPCDP founding members. "The Arabs' right to resist Israel, and the
right of return are not based on international law or UN decisions but
stem from history.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=112122
Iraq
Four policemen killed, five injured in separate
incidents in Mosul
Four
Iraqi policemen were killed and five others were injured Tuesday in
separate violent incidents in the city of Mosul northern Iraq.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2063862&Language=en
At least three dead, five injured in Baghdad suicide
bombing
A suicide bomber killed at least three people, including himself, and
wounded at least five in central Baghdad Tuesday.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1535894.php/
Wednesday: 1 Iraqi Killed, 5 Wounded
Violence
was light today, but several stories that are all possibly election
related made the headlines. The most important ones are the creation of
a new Ba'athist blacklist, attacks against Christians, and the strange
story about 67 unidentified bodies that a candidate told at a press
conference. Unless those 67 corpses turn up, only one Iraqi was killed
today and five more were wounded.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/02/24/wednesday-1-iraqi-killed-5-wounded
Iraqi parliamentarian denies U.S. charges of
terrorism (McClatchy Newspapers)
McClatchy
Newspapers - BAGHDAD — Abu Mahdi al Mohandas is one of more than 6,000
candidates who are running in the Iraqi parliamentary elections next
month, but he's probably the only contender who won't set foot on the
campaign trail for fear of a U.S. assassination attempt.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20100224/wl_mcclatchy/3435726
In an Iraqi City, the Real Ballot Contest Is for
Shiite Leadership
As
the March 7 parliamentary election approaches, Nasiriya, where two
coalitions of religious parties are vying for votes, offers a glimpse
at Iraqi sectarian politics.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/world/middleeast/25shiite.html
Sistani Call Likely to Boost Shia Turnout
Top
Shia cleric urges citizens to vote but refuses to endorse parties. By
an IWPR-trained journalist in Najaf (ICR No. 325, 24-Feb-10)
http://www.iwpr.net/EN-icr-f-360517
Allawi warns Iraq of return to sectarianism
The
former
prime minister says the government is risking a return to
widespread violence by stirring tensions, such as excluding candidates
and intimidating opponents, in the run-up to next week's general
election.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2c68f7e0-2168-11df-830e-00144feab49a.html
Sunni leader decides to take part in Iraq election (AP)
AP
-
A top Sunni lawmaker, who less than a week ago said he was pulling
his party out of the election after he was banned from the race,
reversed course on Thursday, saying that his party is back in the race.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100225/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq
Women Call
for More Political Power
Conference
delegates say greater parliamentary representation has helped, but
isn’t enough. By Mariwan Hama-Saeed in Sulaimaniyah (ICR No. 325,
25-Feb-10)
http://www.iwpr.net/EN-icr-f-360535
Iraq's cell phone operators must improve service or
pay up (AFP)
AFP
- Iraqi mobile phone operators Zain and Asiacell must improve their
service or pay their full license fees in advance, government spokesman
Ali al-Dabbagh said on Wednesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100224/wl_mideast_afp/iraqtelecommobile
US war embezzlement visualized: 4-minute video
banned from Congress testimony: “Iraq for Sale”
http://www.examiner.com/x-18425-LA-County-Nonpartisan-Examiner%7Ey2010m2d23-
US-war-embezzlement-visualized-4minute-video-banned-from-Congress-testimony-Iraq-for-Sale
A Scorpion From Iraq Trying to Sting in America
The
Iraqi metal band Acrassicauda, named after a black scorpion, looked
at cross-purposes before it started to play on Tuesday night: both
hesitant and ready to rip. But the singer and rhythm guitarist Faisal
Talal Mustafa pushed ahead, beginning the ceremony. “This song’s called
... ” he barked, “ ‘Message! From! Baghdad!’
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/arts/music/25metal.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
U.S.
and other world news
Marjah: ‘This is not Fallujah’
Marjah
also represents the US project of replacing the UN with NATO as the
world’s peacekeeper. The coalition of almost 60 nations is pursuing an
illegal war launched by the US , with the UN -- the only legitimate
forum for world peacekeeping -- now in tow solely as window dressing.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24854.htm
33 Civilians Killed by NATO Airstrike in Afghanistan
At least we said we're sorry. I know an "aw, shucks" statement would
calm my rage if those had been my kids. Yup. Like a charm.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/derrick-crowe/33-civilians-killed-by-na_b_472423.html
In war, casualties are more than numbers; they have
names
Let's
relate those numbers to people - people dying one at a time, or in
groups of three, or in a house of 12.Innocent people. Slain civilians
caught up in a war that is far from being over.
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1188230&
lang=eng_news&cate_img=140.jpg&cate_rss=news_Opinion
Civilian body counts 28 civilian deaths in Marjah
The
Afghan
human rights commission reported Wednesday that 28 civilians
have been killed so far in NATO's offensive on the Taliban stronghold
of Marjah, and urged pro-government forces to take greater care in
distinguishing between noncombatants and militants.
http://www.newsday.com/news/world/afghan-body-counts-28-civilian-deaths-in-marjah-1.1777740
U.S.: CIA Briefed Congress on Renditions
The
U.S.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) briefed members of Congress from
both political parties numerous times about the agency's interrogation
and detention programmes, several prominent human rights groups said.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24849.htm
US demands Syria distance itself from Iran
Secretary
of
State Hillary Clinton said that Syria must stop intervening in
Lebanon's affairs, stop providing weapons to Hezbollah, and promote
renewed peace talks with Israel.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3854164,00.html
Muslim woman files complaint over head-scarf firing
A
Muslim college student has lodged a complaint with federal officials
after she said she was fired from her job at a San Mateo clothing store
for refusing to remove her hijab, or head scarf. Hani Khan, 19, of
Foster City said was terminated from her job.
http://feeds.sfgate.com/click.phdo?i=945f1c215b4d6ec53df1d6e541a53c8d
This
tide of anti-Muslim hatred is a threat to us all | Seumas Milne
If
young British Muslims had any doubts that they are singled out for
special treatment in the land of their birth, the punishments being
meted out to those who took part in last year's London demonstrations against Israel's war on Gaza will
have dispelled them. The protests near the Israeli embassy at the
height of the onslaught were angry: bottles and stones were thrown, a
Starbucks was trashed and the police employed unusually violent
tactics, even by the standards of other recent confrontations, such as
the G20 protests.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/feb/25/anti-muslim-hatred-threat-to-all |
| For further information contact Shadi Fadda |
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