I'm staying on in Gaza with Code Pink, the feminist antiwar group, which is leading a delegation of 66 activists from 18 states and 10 nations. The formidable Medea Benjamin is here (in pink), and so is Norman Finkelstein, and we have met with countless Palestinians, everyone from children at an orphanage to a Hamas spokesman and minister. The unending theme is humiliation, the way that the Israeli occupation has utterly stripped the population here of its dignity.
Much of this damage is social. Families broken by endless and arbitrary imprisonment of the fathers by the Israelis. The growing use of barbiturates to deaden the insults of hard living. Imprisonment and the loss of the ability to travel are of course the most obvious humiliations. But one other intimate example, before I go to bed. At the right is Mohammed Ali Omar, who runs a rehabilitation center in Gaza City (he's alongside Carolyn, a delegate from Maine). He says that his group has conducted more research than any other rehab outfit in the Middle East on the sexual rehabilitation of people who suffer spinal injuries.
"The people here do not love to talk about [sexuality] in the open," he told us, so the research is done quietly. But the aim is to help those who have been paralyzed to have a "functional" sexual life, if not a "normal" one, so as to sustain the family.
The National Center for Community Rehabilitation has 170 cases of spinal-cord injury, and 120 of them were created by Israeli aggression, Omar said.
Sexual rehabilitation? Has any one asked the camels for their perspective om this?
It's wonderful news that you'll be able to stay longer in Gaza.
We were not able to speak when we actually saw Finkelstein in person somewhat recently, but we wanted to ask about his lectures on the applicability of the philosophy of Gandhi in the Levant. It seems to us that the British at the end of their empire were inclined to a silly kind of sympathy that could be exploited, whereas the Israeli is inhuman and perfectly merciless and it has already been demonstrated that (1) nonviolent resistance just means Tzahal will have an easier time engaging targets, and (2) Gandhi and King had the media lopsidedly on their side and anyone the Jews choose to hate will have the media marshalled like a great army against them, blacking out problems on one side and pointing up hoaxes on the other.
So, what is Norman like in person? Is he an advocate for a single-state? Is he sympathetic to the thesis of Omar Barghouti, who does advocate for a single-state via non-violent means? Or, is he more sympathetic with the aims and methods of Hamas? Or, is he more sympathetic with the views of Steve Walt? What is he for?
I am so glad you are all there to witness this. Thank You so much! It gives me some hope. You missed the Israeli Day Parade in N.Y. What a horror. We saw so many maps being shown that include Gaza and the West Bank as part of Israel. My son was protesting and some counter protesters actually were chanting "Rachel Corrie, rot in hell" and there was even a very large 'Caterpillar' banner. My son was videotaping. It was pretty alarming, the amount of hatred spewed at them. Many were yelling at the protesters that there is no Palestine!
Bless you Deejay. We shall overcome. Phil and Adam, I love you guys. We are all fighting for the basic principles of the Enlightenment: the equality of all people regardless of religion. The non-jews of Palestine were the most gentle and secular people before this madness was unleashed on them. As Rachel Corrie said: yeah, we have to all stop what we're doing and fix this problem.
Well, Richard, I guess that's the end of the road for Phil Weiss. When your "disciplining cadre" is Norman Finkelstein and Medea Benjamin you're bound to come out stuffed to the gills with Palestinian propaganda, huh. But I'm sure Phil will appreciate they way you always challenged all of Jake's and any other bigoted statements about Palestinians. And your constant championing of Phil's journalistic integrity will leave him in your debt.
Yeah Witty, I'm sure Phil spent every second he could interrogating Finkelstein on his views, and I'm sure he asked all the questions from your perfectly objective perspective.
Friends, this is the exact quote by Rachel Corrie, before she was killed by a Caterpillar bulldozer driver who speaks Hebrew with a Russian accent. (She saw what I saw, when I spent half a year in Israel. But she was braver than I was.) Rachel wrote: "I'm rambling. Just want to write to my Mom and tell her that I'm witnessing this chronic, insidious genocide and I'm really scared, and questioning my fundamental belief in the goodness of human nature. This has to stop. I think it is a good idea for us all to drop everything and devote our lives to making this stop." http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/mar/18/usa.i...
You are doing outstanding work, Phil.
I was trying to show in Two Weeks in September that Zionists try to steal everything from Palestinians down to their last shred of dignity. Yet we must remember that Zionists are ripping off all of us and that Daniel Maldonado is part of a project that starts with American Muslim and that will eventually be extended to all Americans.
Corrie, a study in Darwinian theory of why idiots normally do not live long enough to breed, was a hate-filled ULF for Hamas and supporters of Islamic fascism. What is alarming is the number of other idiots holding her up to be some kind of martyr. Maybe a martyr for satan, but that's about it.
Here is another quote from Corrie, "Shit! I can't believe I'm this stupid! That bulldozer is only moving 6 miles an hour and i can't get out of the way! Where is my breathing coach when I need him? Shit!"
They are just ripping off your intellectual property. And getting 3 cents per metric tonne. But they feel it's still getting away with murder as the intrinsic value is less then 1 cent per 100 metric tonne. It appears that there are some neo-nazis who lap the shit up.
too funny~
You would get your face kicked if you said this in public. Pretend that Satan is your father, then Corrie could be your sister. This comment's offensive and you should think about what you say before you write it.
"Finklestein shit kid! Son of a bitch!" If you know what movie that's from, you're cool. "THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE. IT IS JUST AN ARAB TACTIC FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL!" ——– "The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct 'Palestinian people' to oppose Zionism. "For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa. While as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan." (PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein, in a 1977 interview with the Dutch newspaper Trouw.) ——– This fact is also clearly expressed in the covenant of Fatah, the ruling faction of the PLO: http://www.fateh.net/e_public/constitution.htm#Go...
Here's a tip to make your script more believable: Show the photographs of the 1st Palestinian leader and convicted Nazi war criminal, Haj amin Husseini, meeting with Hitler. And later Eichmann to discuss the the extermination of Jews. Then do a dramatization of the radio broadcasts that this Palestinian racist made in Germany, urging other Muslims to commit atrocities against the Jews http://media.terrorismawareness.org/files/NaziRoo... http://media.terrorismawareness.org/files/NaziRoo... It is important to stand up to Islamic intimidation and manipulation. We'll end up like France in WW2 if we allow them to control our media.
Corrie really was dumb, huh? Genocide? I thought she was college educated. Don't populations DECREASE during genocides? The Arab population inside Israel has gone from 160,000 in 1948 to 1.6 million today!! I won't even get into the overpopulation going on in the disputed territories. Hardly genocide by intellectual standards. The strange thing is that thousands of Palestinians were killed by Jordanians in one week in 1970, yet this is never labeled genocide (even though it was an attempt at it.) I guess she thought its okay for Arabs to massacre Arabs and Jews, but not okay for the Jews to fight back.
Maybe you should show the 9,000 terrorist attacks by Palestinians during 1949-1956. But first show the massacres of Jews in Hebron in August 1929 as well as the other massacres initiated by Pal Arabs during the 1920's and 1930's. Then show the thousands more of modern Palestinian attacks all over the world in the 1960's, 1970's, airplane hijackings, airport terrorist attacks, Munich Olympics, murder of an American in a wheelchair on a cruise ship. The multiple homicide on top of the Empire State Building by a Palestinian: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a79_1238692787 The murders of a people at an El Al counter at LAX on July 4th. End it with this horrible attack: Arab Man Murders 13-Year-Old Jewish Boy With Axe http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a79_1238692787 You might look legitimate at this point, and not like the douche bag racist that you appear to be judging by your bigoted comments.
cooking spray 2 (4.3 ounce) boxes long grain and wild rice mix 30 ml olive oil 475 ml chicken broth 235 ml water 190 g frozen California blend vegetables 12 frozen chicken tenders 15 ml olive oil salt and black pepper to taste 1 g paprika Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the contents of the long grain and wild rice boxes into prepared baking dish. Drizzle rice with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Pour chicken broth and water over the rice. Top with frozen vegetables and frozen chicken tenders. Drizzle chicken with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper; sprinkle with paprika. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Place casserole in preheated oven. Bake until rice is soft and chicken juices run clear, approximately one hour.
As Israel has no right to Occupied Territories and has no right to determine fate of people in Territories, then it is entirely up to Palestinians what they want to do with their land as long as they remain neutral with regard to Israel.
Presumably, Phil,. you mean "curtails family life," not "entails." I fail to see any point in this article other than prurience, anyhow.
Haj Amin al-Husseini did nothing that Zionists did not do more effectively in terms of trying to collaborate with the German Nazis. I discuss the real threat to American and the world in Jewish Peril: 1933 Versus 2009.
Despite all efforts of Zionists to create a body of International Jewish Shyster Law to make Zionist genocide and ethnic cleansing irreversible, under Nuremberg Law, which is a major part of International Law, Palestinians and their supporters have absolute right to attack Zionists and their supporters with impunity at any time and any place. I allude to the precedents established at Nuremberg in Homeless in Gaza, but really need, one day when I have time, to outline the application of Nuremberg decisions to the conflict over Palestine.
Phil and Norman are friends from what I understand. I would hope that Phil would ask him difficult questions. Norman takes the partisan solidarity approach too cavalierly for my intellectual comfort. The standards of objectivity and absence of bias in FACT, not only in appearance, but also in appearance, apply to academia and to journalism. I was formerly an auditor. The same critical requirement of independance and objectivity applied to my work practise. If I published an audited financial statement claiming that I was independant relative to the company being audited, and I wasn't in fact or in appearance, then I would be breaking my professional ethical code, and I would lose my license. There is no license for a journalist, and none for a blogger. Norman was denied tenure partially because of that absence of independance. He can write and speak to his hearts content, and should. But his reputation is rationally questioned, and that limits the degree that his message will be heard beyond a club. Phil is obviously trying hard to remain independant in appearance, and hopefully in fact. He is concerned that his comments will merely disappear into partisan oblivion. I'm reading Juan Cole book, "Engaging the Muslim World", which is also apparently rational and thoughtful, hopeful even as he notes great cultural miscommunication and disrespect. But, I sadly, still remember his comments during the Lebanon War defending Nasrallah, and repeating Nasrallah's lies that the abduction occurred in Lebanon, even after the UNIFIL summary and Hezbollah itself acknowledged that the abduction operation had been planned for months, and did occur within Israel. I lost faith in his objectivity at that point. He didn't state "might". He gullibly stated the location as fact, apparently on the basis of Nasrallah's words.
"The National Center for Community Rehabilitation has 170 cases of spinal-cord injury, and 120 of them were created by Israeli aggression, Omar said."
Jeez, Witty, why didn't you tell me this sooner? Here I am, just a dumb schmendrick thinking that Jaun Cole knew something about the Middle East and reading him regular, all the time. And whatever you do, Witty, don't let nothing jar you out of your "intellectual comfort". Cause you've got it so right, Richard. The correct solution too any problem with people is to find what gives you "intellectual comfort" you can never go wrong, that way. Stay comfortable, Witty, and stay as sweet as you are.
wolf-EATER, the man is a ziocaine addict. When he's high, you really can't hold him responsible for what he says. Diminished capacity, you know. And the name "Rachel Corrie" has been known to produce spontaeneous overdoses of this self-created, very debilitating drug. We are trying to get him into Zionon, but there has to be basic psychological health before a person is suceptible to rehab. It's a sad story, but we can warn the young and tell them: "This is your brain on ziocaine"
Ah, Jacob, if Israel is not paying you a salary, they should. Such service you give! How could anyone with a shred of human dignity fail to become completely entranced with the Zionist cause when they read you inspiring words. As my Aunt Helen used to say: Me ken brechen!
"I fail to see any point in this article other than prurience, anyhow" Functional sexual rehabilitation from spinal cord injuries is your idea of prurience? Holy Mackerel, what do you do at the beach? You can see every gorgeous vertebrae on some of those girls. And if you shut your eyes, you could drown!
You're only saying that because you were aching for a chance to use the word 'prurience' :)
Rowan, what he wrote makes sense to me. "Loss of Palestinian dignity under occupation entails intimate family life." Human dignity includes the right to have an intimate life and to form a peaceful society. Spinal cord injury in many cases eliminates the capability to experience sexual intimacy or to have children. The Israeli State policy of violence against Palestinians, in the effort to remove inconvenient human obstacles to expansion of control over territory, results in a large number of people to whom this happens. These people become symbolic of the inability of Palestinian society to protect it's members. Such violence has as a consequence the loss of cohesion that comes from sexual intimacy, as well as diverting resources to the care of the infirm in an environment of scarcity, and the loss of the potential contributions to the family of those harmed to such an extent. The affects of the Israeli occupation is pervasive in Palestinian society; the more ways in which it undermines social stability, the more brutal the effect on the dignity of the people.
There is a gliche in CodePink's philosophy and the framework within which it functions. In being made aware that whilst preparing for its entry across the Rafah border, that there were two international doctors at the Rafah border who had been refused entry by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its cohorts. The couple had been suspended at the border for fifty days (including seven days on hunger strike) one of whom is a reconstructive surgeon under contract to an NGO in Gaza and both would have deeply appreciated the help of the delegation. The CODEPINK organiser refused to assist. She made it clear that to offer its resources or indeed to try and help doctors or humanitarian aid workers to gain passage across the border would jeopardise CodePink's mission or indeed that of future delegations.So the very patients that Phillip Weiss mentions in his piece are the one and the same that these doctors could have helped in their rehabilitation. In short, Codepink collaborates with the dictates of the Israeli government. Difficult descisions to me made I agree but in appears NO collaboration NO aid. But given the situation in Gaza it is not enough to act as a regular Father Christmas oblivious of the bigger picture.