Wonderful piece by Andrew Bacevich at Tom Dispatch, proving that realists and leftists must break bread with one another (realists must learn to talk about human rights, lefties must think about national interests) if we are going to make any progress in fighting the neoconservative/militarist agenda for the Middle East. Read the whole piece to see Bacevich's conclusion about Israel learning to live with its neighbors (will it ever?).
Also, my hobby-horse: Bacevich says that Israel went first with a strategy of occupation/settlement. Now I know the U.S. is bad, and has pursued two disastrous occupations, but how much of this policy was emulation, and came out of Zionist-neocon thinking re the Islamic world pervading the U.S. establishment post Cold War?
Among nations classified as liberal democracies, only two resisted this trend. One was the United States, the sole major belligerent to emerge from the Second World War stronger, richer, and more confident. The second was Israel, created as a direct consequence of the horrors unleashed by that cataclysm. By the 1950s, both countries subscribed to this common conviction: national security (and, arguably, national survival) demanded unambiguous military superiority. In the lexicon of American and Israeli politics, “peace” was a codeword. The essential prerequisite for peace was for any and all adversaries, real or potential, to accept a condition of permanent inferiority. In this regard, the two nations -- not yet intimate allies -- stood apart from the rest of the Western world.
When we talk about the Israel/Palestine conflict, we cannot talk about it in the third person. It is our conflict, as it is our taxpayer dollars that supply Israel’s weapons of war and our diplomatic cover that allows war crimes and human rights abuses to thrive.
When our own government fails to end the violence – or worse, encourages violence and conflict – then it is time for the common people to step in.
It is with that concern that the Olympia Food Co-op board of directors added Israeli products to its list of boycotts. The call for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) on Israel originated from Palestinian civil society organizations and has been endorsed by Jewish Israeli peace activists and by organizations around the world.
The goal is for Israel to end its illegal military occupation, abide by international law and respect Palestinian human rights.
A boycott is a tactic for change. It is not a tool for rejection. When people boycotted the Montgomery buses, they were working to end segregation, not to reject buses. When activists boycotted South Africa, they were working to end apartheid, not to push the whites into the ocean.
In the cool summer evening air of the Jerusalem hills last Tuesday evening, hundreds of Palestinians and Israelis descended on the small village of al-Walaja for a screening of the critically acclaimed documentary Budrus. The screening was jointly organized by Israelis and Palestinians who are working to non-violently resist the construction of Israel’s separation barrier on the village’s land.The screening bore special significance for the people of al-Walaja as the film follows the story of a West Bank village’s unarmed struggle against the construction of Israel’s separation barrier on its farmland and its subsequent success in having the route of the wall changed.
The village of al-Walaja sits between Beit Jala and Jerusalem next to the settlements of Gilo and Har Gilo, both of which have been built on historic al-Walaja land. Since 1967, the village’s boundaries have been shrinking as subsequent Israeli governments have expanded the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem while trying to keep al-Walaja in Palestinian controlled territory. Recently, Israel has started to construct a portion of its separation wall on al-Walaja’s land. The wall will completely surround the village leaving only one entrance to be controlled by an Israeli military checkpoint which will isolate the village from Jerusalem, a main area of employment for many villagers. In some portions, the wall will be as close as five meters from houses of al-Walaja residents. Last Sunday, the Israeli High Court, on appeal from the residents of al-Walaja, decided to request a ‘full explanation’ from the state about the route of the wall. The state has forty five days to explain itself to the court although work is allowed to continue during this time.
On the heels of this important decision, the resemblance between the situation the people of Budrus faced during the time of the film and the threat al-Walaje is facing now made for an emotional screening. Budrus was one of first Palestinian villages to embrace a model of unarmed resistance to the creation of Israel’s separation barrier on its land. Due to the success of this model of resistance other villages such as Bi’lin and Ni’lin have adapted similar tactics in confronting the theft of their valuable land.
During the screening, many in the audience were emotional as images of demonstrations in Budrus flashed before their eyes. Packed in a room of Israelis and Palestinians working together to protect a small village’s land from confiscation by Israel’s separation wall while watching the uplifting story of Budrus, it was hard not to be emotional. A key plot line of the film is the cooperation between Palestinian, Israeli and international in organizing and demonstrating against the wall. These demonstrations, which are documented in the film, often involved harsh Israeli repression in the form tear gas, sound bombs and the use of live fire against unarmed demonstrators.The residents of al-Walaja are accustomed to seeing the same type of violence from the Israeli army during their non-violent demonstrations.
From a "California Department of Corrections" press release:
New Billboard Alterations Salute Israel Following Raid on Gaza Flotilla
The California Department of Corrections (CDC) has unveiled a new campaign of billboard alterations on behalf of the State of Israel.
On July 28, 2010 a total of nine billboards were apprehended, rehabilitated and discharged throughout San Francisco, including the intersection of Guerrero and 18th Street (see attached photo). Additional billboards were discharged into Polk Gulch, the Tenderloin, South of Market, the Mission, the Haight, Potrero Hill and Bay View/Hunters Point. The nine billboards represent the number of civilian fatalities incurred during Israel’s May 31st raid on a flotilla carrying supplies to Gaza.
The CDC released the billboards to highlight the two month anniversary of the raid. The billboards also cap the month of July which saw a White House reception for Israel’s Prime Minister followed by an Israeli military investigation of the May 31 incident. The White House visit reaffirmed America’s unbreakable bond with Israel, and the army investigation exonerated Israeli soldiers of any wrongdoing during the raid. As a compliment to these public relations activities, the CDC has contributed its specialized services to defend Israeli soldiers facing international scrutiny.
Mondoweiss has already reported the demolition of Bedouin Palestinian homes in an-Naqab in the south of Israel. Neve Gordon and others have correctly contextualised the events in terms of the wider strategic aims of 'Judaising' the Negev.
The following story appeared in Ha'aretz the same day as armed forced and bulldozers razed Arab homes:
The government will be providing housing assistance for army officers who move to the Negev desert region, as army bases relocate from central Israel. Assistance will take the form of a two-year rent subsidy or a discount on buying land to build a home.
The ministerial committee on development of the Negev and Galilee, headed by deputy prime minister Silvan Shalom, yesterday approved a list of decisions to strengthen the two regions. In total, the moves will cost more than NIS 200 million. They include initiatives to encourage army personnel to relocate to the Negev...
Not surprisingly, given that the Committee on Foreign Affairs head is Democratic Rep. Howard Berman, a self-professed Zionist, a good portion of the testimonies focused on Israel/Palestine and Turkey’s role in the Gaza aid flotilla. The fact that Turkey is asserting its independence from Western hegemony and taking a stand in support of the Palestinians is worrisome to pro-Israel neo-cons. The hearing follows a stampede of anti-Turkish sentiment expressed by neo-conservatives and by mainstream media stories that have demonized Turkey and the Turkish aid group IHH.
I gravitate toward strong women. I grew up in a matriarchy and married into a matriarchy. In my bouts of therapy, I’ve always gone on and on about my mother’s power.
The signs of destruction were immediately evident. I first noticed the chickens and geese running loose near a bulldozed house, and then saw another house and then another one, all of them in rubble. A few children were trying to find a shaded spot to hide from the scorching desert sun, while behind them a stream of black smoke rose from the burning hay. The sheep, goats and the cattle were nowhere to be seen – perhaps because the police had confiscated them.
Scores of Bedouin men were standing on a yellow hill, sharing their experiences from the early morning hours, while all around them uprooted olive trees lay on the ground. A whole village comprising between 40 and 45 houses had been completely razed in less than three hours.
I suddenly experienced deja vu: an image of myself walking in the rubbles of a destroyed village somewhere on the outskirts of the Lebanese city of Sidon emerged. It was over 25 years ago, during my service in the Israeli paratroopers. But in Lebanon the residents had all fled long before my platoon came, and we simply walked in the debris. There was something surreal about the experience, which prevented me from fully understanding its significance for several years. At the time, it felt like I was walking on the moon.
This time the impact of the destruction sank in immediately. Perhaps because the 300 people who resided in al-Arakib, including their children, were sitting in the rubble when I arrived, and their anguish was evident; or perhaps because the village is located only 10 minutes from my home in Be'er Sheva and I drive past it every time I go to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem; or perhaps because the Bedouins are Israeli citizens, and I suddenly understood how far the state is ready to go to accomplish its objective of Judaising the Negev region; what I witnessed was, after all, an act of ethnic cleansing.
Earlier this month, activist Rachel Marcuse spent 10 days in Israel as part of the Taglit-Birthright program -- a fully sponsored trip for young North American Jews to learn more about the country. She went to bear witness and ask questions about the Israeli state's treatment of Palestinians, and to learn about other complex issues in Israel today. After the program, she spent another 10 days elsewhere in Israel and the West Bank of Palestine talking to Israeli Jews, Palestinian citizens of Israel, international activists, and Palestinians in the occupied territories. This is the second of a seven-part series on what she found. You can read the first part here. This series first appeared in rabble.ca and this story can be found here.
Day 3
We wake up to a breakfast of amazing tomatoes, cheese, yogurt, bread and eggs on Kibbutz Efik in the Golan Heights area of Israel/Syria. Some of my fellow participants complain about the Israeli custom of having "salad" for breakfast, but the tomatoes are much tastier than Canadian ones and I'm thrilled, save for my exhaustion.
Upon arrival at the Tel Aviv airport the previous day, with very little on-board sleep, we were driven to numerous stops in Central Israel including Caesarea and its Ralli Museum (which has some unexpectedly great Latin American art, though we were too tired to really appreciate it). We didn't arrive at the kibbutz until 8:30 p.m. -- more than 48 hours after I left Vancouver. This becomes an underlying theme of the trip: exhaustion to the point of near dysfunction.
After a tour of the fully-automated Robotic Dairy Farm (for real!), our Ukraine-born tour guide, who made aliyah 15 years past, tells us the story of Eli Cohen, the Israeli spy hung in Syria, while we sit on a mountain peak overlooking Syria and Lebanon. (Several other Birthright tour groups near us are probably being told similar tales.)
"The nice green is Israel," our guide tells us, "and the dry yellow area is Syria" -- failing to mention that Israel monopolizes water supplies in the region. We are told that "archaeological history shows the presence of Jews in the Golan heights," an assertion which is loosely linked to her explanation of the occupation of the Golan after Israel's land grab in the 1967 Six-Day War.
We leave the Golan to go "rafting," which is really more like floating down a stream. Slowly. A couple of local boys grab onto our boat and splash around, flirting with us. My boatmates are less than impressed and scream to get "the Israelis" off the boat.
We arrive back at Kibbutz Efik for Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest. As this is the most secular of the Birthright trips, it is to be "our Shabbat," and there is very little pressure to do anything that could be construed as religious. Only two of the some 20 men of our group wear yarmulkes, the head covering signifying humility and religiosity.
After dinner, we all sit outside in the lovely courtyard of the kibbutz hotel (the accommodations for our trip are all shockingly comfortable...and expensive), and are asked to share comments about our connection to Judaism -- "or whatever," our leader quickly adds. Many of the participants come from inter-faith families and consider themselves "culturally" or "spiritually" Jewish as opposed to religious. I decide to "out" my politics. But gently.
8000 rockets are no excuse Suicide bombers, it’s all just a ruse Unless you’re Israel, self-defense is right A Jewish army response is disproportionate might The activists sailed to deliver their aid Jihad cash is what they were paid Turkish delight in the media’s glare Slashing knives don’t seems fair And the song goes on… This is [...]
Penn State President Graham Spanier has refused to sign a Students for Justice in Palestine petition condemning the Israeli flotilla attack citing a policy against signing petitions. Somehow this wasn’t an issue for an anti-boycott American Jewish Committee petition he signed in 2007. SJP thinks there might be something else behind it. The Daily Collegian [...]
Simply astonishing. The continuing crisis. Here is a list of the 14 worst–most undemocratic– bills in the Knesset, compiled and commented upon by ACRI, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel: 1) Knesset Members Declaration of Allegiance Bill (MK David Rotem, Yisrael Beitenu): Members of Knesset would be obliged to declare allegiance to Israel as [...]
I wonder how much the last bullet has to do with the all the others:
The unending spy drama in Lebanon The farcical Hariri Tribunal Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah’s 7/16 and 7/22 speeches The Sayyed’s upcoming 8/3 speech (he is supposed to tell [...]
Why do I insist on talking about Jewish money when I talk about the Israel lobby? Because it’s a real factor (and I am struggling to study reality). Here is Martin Indyk, of the Saban Center at Brookings (funded by Haim Saban, a giant giver to Democrats, whose central concern is Israel), talking to Natasha [...]
Smart answer by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak about why folks are losing sympathy for Israel, in interview with Janine Zacharia of Washington Post. And though he resists moral equivalence, of course there is moral equivalence.
WP: Indeed, you were known as a master of stealth in Entebbe, Beirut, when you dressed as a [...]
From the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ recent report on the Gaza conflict, absolving a soldier who shot at a group of terrified women who were waving white flags as they left their homes in an eastern Gaza village at 7 in the morning on Jan. 13, 2009. The soldier shot one of the women [...]
Here’s Mort Zuckerman at US News & World Report saying that only Israel can defend its borders (wherever they are) and therefore we can’t have a two-state solution, and for security reasons the Palestinians must exist in political paralysis forever. This is straight-up Israel lobby stuff (Kosovo and Tajikistan and Pakistan get a state, never [...]
Here’s something important I’ve missed: a debate of Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions in the July issue of Tikkun magazine, with Jeremy Ben-Ami of J Street and editor Michael Lerner, against, and on the pro side, Maya Wind of the Israeli refusenik group Shministim, Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb and Rebecca Vilkomerson of Jewish Voice for Peace. The debate is not [...]
Ten years after negotiations fell apart between Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat at Camp David, Ben White surveys the status of Jerusalem in the Christian Science Monitor:
After Camp David, Jerusalem was highlighted as one of the thorniest so-called final status issues blocking an Israeli-Palestinian deal. Now, as the peace process stalls and stutters, “facts on [...]
News reports confirm the report we ran last night of Israel’s bulldozing of a Bedouin village in the Negev, uprooting 40 families, 200 people, to make way for what–a forest created with the auspices of the Jewish National Fund? Here’s the shocking report from CNN–shades of the cheering for the war on Gaza:
The left is driving the discourse, and the mainstream is being forced to contend with our ideas about the conflict. The circle of official agreement on conventional wisdom grows narrower and narrower. Howard Kohr of AIPAC explained this process a year back at AIPAC in his amazing "Predicate for Abandonment" speech, when he said [...]
Mort Klein of the Zionist Organization of America talks about foreign aid during tough economic times:
Why should the PA even consider ending incitement against Israel and making concessions for peace when it receives massive, unmerited rewards like this diplomatic upgrade, as well as the huge reward under President Obama of an increase [...]
"Thousands of police are in the Negev desert village of el-Araqib right now (5:30 a.m. in Israel), beginning a mass evacuation, demolition, and erasure of this historical Bedouin village," writes Yeela Raanan of the Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages (RCUV). "If you have access to the media, please send them to [...]
Being glass half-full, I say America is changing, that 9/11 and its horrifying sequels have opened informed Americans up at last to Muslims’ views of the world. What else can you say about the beautiful column that Roger Cohen penned for the Times today about Furkan Dogan, the 19-year-old American-Turkish youth slain on the Mavi [...]
Apropos of Roger Cohen’s lament about No media attention for the killing of Furkan Dogan, here’s a superb report on Al Jazeera on the killing in East Jerusalem last month of Ziad Jilani, a 41-year-old who is said to be Palestinian-American. We’ve covered this case a number of times on this site. A few noteworthy [...]
