Land theft and destruction/Ethnic cleansing
PLO: New Settlers Homes In Jerusalem Is A Blow To Peace Efforts
Ramallah – PNN – Israel’s plans to construct new settling homes in East Jerusalem, is a severe hit against the International and American efforts to resume real Peace negotiations, the Palestine Liberation Organization stated on Thursday. On Wednesday the District Planning Committee of the Jerusalem municipality in Israel approved 1600 new settlers’ homes in East Jerusalem. The new homes will be built in the Ramat Shlomo settlement in the east side of Jerusalem. This move comes while the U.S Envoy to the Region George Mitchell is visiting Israel and Palestine as part of his efforts to resume peace talks.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8366
Settlers ‘building in West Bank despite freeze’
JERUSALEM — Israeli settlers are continuing to build in the occupied West Bank despite a partial moratorium on new projects that expires later this year, the Peace Now settlement watchdog said Thursday. Authorities do not appear to have issued any new construction permits since the start of the year, but the group said it had documented dozens of instances in which settlers have begun building new structures in violation of the ban.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gJqdmansLUBwa02VQLaYhakFljKg
Fatah: Israel plans to separate West Bank from Gaza
Ramallah – Ma’an – Fatah said Israel aims at cutting off the Gaza Strip from the West Bank and "end the Palestinian national project," a party spokesman said Wednesday. Ahmad Assaf said the movement denounced all interim solutions "affecting the territorial integrity of an independent Palestinian state on the borders of 1967."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=292571
PLO slams Jerusalem settlement expansion
Bethlehem – Ma’an – The PLO mission to the US denounced Israel’s approval of 1,600 new homes in an East Jerusalem settlement on Wednesday, a statement read, describing the move as "provocative." Israel gave the building plans the final green light on Tuesday, despite the move derailing indirect peace talks in March when it was announced during US Vice President Joe Biden.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=292588
Settlers storm Hebron homes, residents say
Hebron – Ma’an – Dozens of Israeli settlers living on the notorious Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron raided the homes of several Palestinian residents in the nearby Jabal Jales village at midnight and destroyed farmland, residents said Wednesday. Shaker Az-Zaru At-Tamimi, 61, said similar raids are a daily occurrence. He appealed to international institutions and human rights groups to visit the Hebron district to monitor the increase in settler violence against Palestinians.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=292562
Masked Attack
On Saturday morning, 30 to 35 masked Israeli settlers stormed the village of At-Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills. Armed with metal clubs, slingshots, knives, and stones, the attackers targeted the house closest to the edge of the woods. International observers stationed in the village arrived in time to witness and document the final phases of the assault. Michael Carpenter investigated for Palestine Monitor.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1453
“we want to be”…settlers, activists and soldiers do a dance in the south Hebron hills
Video from a last Saturday’s action in the South Hebron Hills. There are no English subtitles but the situation is quite clear. Soldiers remove shepherds from their farmlands, activists try to stop them and settlers attack Palestinians. The dance continues every day, every week.
http://josephdana.com/2010/06/we-want-to-be-settlers-activists-and-soldiers-do-a-dance-in-the-south-hebron-hills/
Activism/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
VIDEO: Stalemate in Gaza Resolution Debate Following 10 Hour Hearing
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ meeting on Tuesday lasted until Wednesday, at last ending this morning at 12:03 AM. Hundreds of members of the public stood for hours in a City Hall corridor for the opportunity to speak for three minutes each on a controversial — yet nonbinding and ultimately symbolic — resolution condemning Israel for its role in the fatal May 31 raid on a flotilla of ships heading to Gaza.
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2010/06/video_stalemate_in_gaza_resolu.php
Istanbul to erect monument for nine killed aboard Gaza-bound flotilla
ISTANBUL, June 16 (Xinhua) — Istanbul will erect a monument in Uskudar district to commemorate the nine people who were killed aboard the Gaza-bound aid ship Mavi Marmara, the semi-official Anatolian news agency reported on Wednesday. The monument would be erected at the Besiktas Ferry Port and would be a prototype of the ship, said the report.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-06/16/c_13353410.htm
Al Manar Interview with Paul Larudee
We’ll Break Gaza Siege by Air; Revive Right of Return From Ben Gurion’s Airport
16/06/2010 Larudee says that plans have been set to break the siege of Gaza by air and announces a new undaunted strategy to press the right of return of Palestinians back to the forefront of events. Paul Larudee is an American citizen whose visit to Jordan back in 1965 was his first close acquaintance – from a different angle – with what was happening in Palestine. He got engaged with the cause ever since and gradually learned the price that he, and his peers, would have to pay for defying Israel and defending the rights of the Palestinians.
http://www.almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=142396&language=en
Eyewitness to the Israeli Assault on the Mavi Marmara, DAVE LINDORFF
Kevin Neish of Victoria, British Columbia, didn’t know he was a celebrity until he was about to board a flight from Istanbul to Ottawa. “This Arab woman wearing a beautiful outfit suddenly ran up to me crying, ‘It’s you! From Arab TV! You’re famous!’” he recalls with a laugh. “I didn’t know what she was talking about, but she told me, ‘I saw you flipping through the Israeli commando’s book! It’s being aired over and over!’”
http://www.counterpunch.com/lindorff06162010.html
Zionist logic: Support for Nasrallah equals ties to Hezbollah….Lebanese flotilla organizers found to have Hezbollah ties
Though businessman, journalist deny terror group behind sail, both discovered to support Nasrallah.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3906357,00.html
Aid Ship Sets Sail From Iran Bound For Gaza
One cargo ship full of humanitarian aid has departed from Iran bound for Gaza, with another ship planning to join it by the weekend. The Iranian flotilla, organized by the International Red Crescent Society and funded by private donations, follows an international aid convoy that was attacked by the Israeli navy on its way to Gaza two weeks ago, killing 9 aid workers.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58948
Campaigners plan new Gaza flotilla in July (AFP)
AFP – Pro-Palestinian groups plan to send another aid flotilla for Gaza next month, similar to the one involved in a deadly attack by Israeli commandos in May, an organiser said Wednesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100616/wl_mideast_afp/israelconflictgazablockadeflotillaeu
Irish Singer Concert In Israel Canceled
Malak Behrouznami – PNN -Legendary songwriter, performer and peace activist, Tommy Sands scheduled performance at the "Festival Bloomsday Concert " Sunday June 20 has been cancelled. The appearance was canceled after Sands refused to be censored during his performance. Sands was asked by the organizers of the events, the Israeli Ireland Friendship League in association with the Municipality of Ramat Hasharon , to not perform "Peace on the Shores of Gaza," the song he had written as the anthem for the MV Rachel Corrie that set sail from Ireland to Gaza.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8360&Itemid=1
TIAA-CREF: Divest from the occupation Ask one of the largest financial services in the United States to divest from the Israeli occupation.
http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/campaigns/tiaa-cref-divest-occupation
Darfur was a no-brainer for divestment by TIAA-CREF– why not the occupation?, Philip Weiss
Yesterday, Jewish Voice for Peace announced a major new divestment campaign aimed at convincing TIAA-CREF, the huge retirement fund that serves workers in the academic, cultural and medical fields, to divest from companies that serve the occupation of Palestine. JVP already has 250 signatures on its new petition, and it states that TIAA-CREF is invested in Caterpillar, Veolia, Elbit, and Motorola, all of which serve the occupation. Why TIAA-CREF?
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/06/darfur-was-a-no-brainer-for-divestment-by-tiaa-cref-why-not-the-occupation.html
Helem, Al-Qaws, ASWAT, and Palestinian Queers for BDS, "Arab Queers Say NO to Pinkwashing at the USSF"
We, the undersigned queer Arab organizations, are appalled by the US Social Forum’s decision to allow Stand with Us to utilize the event as a platform to pinkwash Israel’s crimes in the region. Stand with Us is cynically manipulating the struggle of queer people in the Middle East through its workshop entitled "LGBTQI Liberation in the Middle East". Stand with Us is a self-declared Zionist propaganda organization which describes itself as "an international education organization that ensures that Israel’s side of the story is told in communities, campuses, libraries, the media and churches through brochures, speakers, conferences, missions to Israel, and thousands of pages of Internet resources".
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/ussf160610.html
June 15, 2010: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: AMERICAN JEWS FOR A JUST PEACE TO CO-SPONSOR JEWISH BOAT TO GAZA
American Jews for a Just Peace (AJJP) has agreed to serve as the U.S. coordinator for the Jewish Boat to Gaza, its organizers have announced. The boat, sponsored by a coalition of international Jewish organizations dedicated to peace with justice in Israel/Palestine, is scheduled to sail from an undisclosed location in the Mediterranean this July. It will head toward Gaza in an effort to break the siege imposed by Israel in 2006. The passengers will include Jews from Germany, the U.K., and the United States, including at least one survivor of the Nazi Holocaust.
US Jews gather for anti-Zionist assembly
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Over 200 American Jewish participants and political partners will meet to focus on efforts for divestment from Israel and boycott campaigns a the first national anti-Zionist Jewish Assembly on Saturday in Detroit, a statement read. "We are anti-Zionist because Zionism established and maintains a Jewish-only homeland in the land of Palestine, resulting in the removal of the indigenous people of Palestine from their land and property," said Sara Kershnar, an organizer of the assembly and a founder of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN). "Safety for Jews, Palestinians, and all people comes from having fair access to resources and political power, not through military aggression and apartheid."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=292515
The Blinding of Emily Henochowicz – An Eye for an Eye, JOHNNY BARBER
It was another deliberate attack on an unarmed peace activist by the Israeli military. In and of itself this incident, an American student maimed by our main Middle East ally seems newsworthy. (Imagine for a minute that Hamas, Hizbullah, or Iran had maimed an American- the threats and condemnations would have been fierce and immediate.) Coming within 24 hours of the Freedom Flotilla attack it certainly should have been considered newsworthy. But it wasn’t.
http://www.counterpunch.org/barber06082010.html
End the Blockade of Gaza Posters Spring up in San Francisco
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47681186@N07/
Murder of Ziad al-Jilani
Report: Israel Police shot Palestinian instead of arresting him, Amira Hass
East Jerusalem man who ran over Border Police officers was reportedly shot twice in the face from close range while lying on the ground. A motorist from East Jerusalem who ran over and wounded several Border Police officers Friday was shot twice in the face from close range while still lying on the ground, eyewitnesses said. Neighborhood witnesses said the fatal shots were fired once the officers no longer had reason to fear that their lives were in danger, and could have easily arrested the suspect. Witnesses in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Wadi Joz told Haaretz that the motorist, Ziad Jilani, suddenly swerved his car and hit the group of officers walking further up the road. They said, however, that they believed the collision was an accident, and not committed intentionally as initially reported.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/report-israel-police-shot-palestinian-instead-of-arresting-him-1.296422
Detainees
Report: IOF troops detained 468 Palestinians in Al-Khalil in 2010
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) detained 468 Palestinian citizens in Al-Khalil district since the start of 2010, a report by the Palestinian prisoner’s association said.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7HnL3unukbV8Fsn%2fH1Lfj0h%2bC8JLk4Ob5HSDsa7HgRAiVamvnRA90ZGGsMZ%2fl8TXnyYMC4yrszAmN1nVes97MJNhSTK08Yf4nwCel4ffeHS4%3d
Siege/Human Rights/Humanitarian Issues/Restriction of Movement
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory 10- 16 June 2010
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/CJUE-86HHH6?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
The GSS Must Cease Coercion of Palestinians Medical Students to Provide Information as a Condition for Granting them Permits to Practice in East Jerusalem Hospitals
(Haifa, Israel) On 13 June 2010, Adalah Attorney Haneen Naamnih, in cooperation with Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-I) and the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights in Gaza, sent a letter to the Israeli Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense and the Attorney General demanding that they issue orders to the General Security Service (GSS or "Shabak") to stop coercing Palestinian medical students studying at Al Quds University in Abu Dis and conditioning the granting of permits to them to enter East Jerusalem to practice in hospitals on collaborating with the Israeli security services.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/CJUE-86HFUR?OpenDocument
World Says Gaza Blockade Must Go, Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH — Under intense international pressure Israel declared last week that it would ease its crippling blockade on Gaza by permitting an additional but limited number of daily items, including food, into the coastal enclave. Following Israel’s deadly assault on the Free Gaza (FG) flotilla several weeks ago in international waters, during which nine activists were shot dead and dozens wounded, as the flotilla tried to deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid to the besieged strip, Israeli authorities came under enormous pressure to lift the blockade.
http://original.antiwar.com/frykberg/2010/06/16/world-says-gaza-blockade-must-go/
Lifting Gaza blockade linked with inter-Palestinian reconciliation: Fatah official
GAZA, June 16 (Xinhua) — A Gaza-based senior official in President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party said Wednesday that ending the three-year Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip is linked with reaching an inter-reconciliation treaty. Zakareya al-Agha, member of Fatah central committee and Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) executive committee, told Xinhua in a special interview on the occasion of Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip by force for three years that "Lifting the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip is linked with reaching a real inter-Palestinian reconciliation."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-06/17/c_13353470.htm
Israel to ‘liberalise’ Gaza embargo
Move to ease land blockade of Palestinian territory dismissed as "propaganda" by Hamas.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2010/06/20106178232371674.html
Israel to ease Gaza blockade, but major restrictions remain in small print, Ian Black
Lifting of restrictions on some civilian goods not enough to constitute breakthrough many had hoped for after Freedom Flotilla raid.
Expectations that Israel would lift its blockade of Gaza were raised amid international outrage over the bloody interception of the "Freedom Flotilla" that set out to deliver aid to the Palestinian coastal territory. The reality so far looks rather different.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/17/israel-gaza-blockade-smallprint
Israeli ease of blockade not lasting solution for Gaza
JERUSALEM, June 17 (Xinhua) — Israel will in the near future lift some of the restrictions placed on the import of goods into the Gaza Strip. The decision was taken on Thursday by the country’ s security cabinet, comprising senior government ministers. The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a brief statement to the media immediately after the meeting, which lasted for two days, but government spokespeople would not detail the measures to be taken. However, local analysts suggest the relaxation is not a permanent solution for the Gaza siege. They believe that a final-status deal is not possible before Hamas and Fatah reach reconciliation, hence a single organization representing the Palestinians.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-06/17/c_13355633.htm
EU may send naval mission towards Gaza: Ashton (AFP)
AFP – The EU may send a naval mission towards Gaza to help control the transit of goods if Israel lifts its blockade of the Palestian territory, the bloc’s foreign affairs chief said Wednesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100616/wl_mideast_afp/israelconflictgazaeu
Gaza blockade hurts Christians too, says local Catholic priest
The pastor of the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip says that the effect of an Israel blockade is to “undermine people’s lives.” Father Manawel Mussallam said that the blockade—aimed to weaken the Hamas terrorists who control the Gaza Strip—has had a debilitating effect on innocent civilians, stunting trade and bringing the local economy to a virtual standstill. “There are no differences between Christians and Muslims because we all suffer the same way,” he said.
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=6664
Flotilla Fallout/Developments
International lawmakers may probe Israeli decision to censure Arab MK
The Inter-Parliamentary Union is set to discuss recommendation to strip Balad MK Hanin Zuabi of privileges over Gaza flotilla participation.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/international-lawmakers-may-probe-israeli-decision-to-censure-arab-mk-1.296615?localLinksEnabled=false
Turkey freezes defense deals with Israel in wake of Gaza flotilla raid
According to Turkish paper, Turkey may not resend its ambassador to Israel and is considering downgrading ties to ‘charge d’affairs’ level.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/turkey-freezes-defense-deals-with-israel-in-wake-of-gaza-flotilla-raid-1.296733?localLinksEnabled=false
Turkey set to freeze ties with Israel: report (Reuters)
It also reported that military deals, including plane and tank modernisation and missile projects, worth $7.5 billion, were to be frozen. Military cooperation, including joint exercises and pilot training, would also be halted, as would intelligence sharing, the Star said. It said the sanctions against Israel would be introduced gradually.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100616/wl_nm/us_turkey_israel
Turkey to enhance relations with Arab countries
ISTANBUL, June 17 (Xinhua) — Turkey said on Thursday that it will enhance its relations with Arab countries, saying there was great potential in Turkish-Arab relations, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported. The statement was made by State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan at the International Arab Banking Summit 2010: From Crisis to Financial Stability. The report quoted him as saying that "the background, all materials and everything else are ready. There is only a need for political will for Turkish-Arab relations."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-06/17/c_13355349.htm
Turkey forms committee to probe Israeli raid on Gaza flotilla
Turkey Foreign Ministry announces probe of the IDF’s raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla last month; IHH tells European Parliament members it has assembled six ships for flotilla to sail next month.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/turkey-forms-committee-to-probe-israeli-raid-on-gaza-flotilla-1.296590?localLinksEnabled=false
Syria warns of backlash on Israel
Israel’s deadly assault on a ship carrying aid to Gaza increases the chances of a regional war, Syria’s president tells the BBC.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/world/middle_east/10337041.stm
Source: Human Rights Watch: Israel/Gaza: Weak Mandate Undermines Flotilla Inquiry
(Jerusalem) – The Israeli government has undermined the credibility of the panel appointed to investigate its military’s deadly interception of the "Gaza aid flotilla" by preventing it from questioning Israeli soldiers or compelling the military to provide evidence, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch reiterated its criticism of Israel’s blockade of Gaza, now entering its fourth year, as a form of collective punishment against the civilian population.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/RMOI-86GV5X?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Israeli panel on Gaza raid says will work quickly (Reuters)
Reuters – Israel’s committee of inquiry into a deadly raid on a Gaza aid flotilla convened for the first time on Wednesday and said it hopes to finish its investigation as quickly as possible.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100616/wl_nm/us_israel_flotilla_committee
U.S. Jewish groups skip meet with Turkish officials
ADL National Director Abraham Foxman says ‘there comes a point at which it becomes useless to have a conversation.’
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-jewish-groups-skip-meet-with-turkish-officials-1.296694?localLinksEnabled=false
Americans in the Service of Israel: US lawmakers blast ‘disgraceful’ Turkey over Iran, Israel (AFP)
"There will be a cost if Turkey stays on its present heading of growing closer to Iran and more antagonistic to the state of Israel," warned Representative Mike Pence, the number three House Republican. The group, firing an unusually harsh rhetorical broadside at a NATO ally, rebuked Turkey for backing the aid flotilla, criticizing Israel, and opposing US efforts to impose new sanctions on Tehran over its suspect nuclear program. ..."They don’t deserve to be a part of the EU until they start behaving more like the European nations and a whole lot less like Iran," she said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100616/pl_afp/usturkeymideastisraelpoliticsiran
Democrats demand flotilla "terrorists" be denied entry into U.S.
A half-dozen elected Democrats called on the State Department to ban every flotilla participant from entering the United States.
http://www.salon.com/news/israel_flotilla_attack/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2010/06/14/times_square_flotilla
Israel brands Turkish charity ‘terrorist organisation’: TV (AFP)
AFP – Israel considers the Turkish Muslim charity IHH involved in organising a flotilla of aid ships to Gaza last month as a "terrorist organisation," public television said Wednesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100616/wl_mideast_afp/israelconflictgazaturkeycharity
Turkey to react harshly if Turkish companies face problems in Israel: official
ISTANBUL, June 16 (Xinhua) — Turkish Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan said here on Wednesday that Turkish government would react harshly to Israel if Turkish companies face any problem following the crisis in the two countries relationship.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-06/16/c_13353404.htm
Political Developments
Time for Elections…. Abbas: Palestinian, U.S. positions "completely identical"
RAMALLAH, June 17 (Xinhua) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday he feels the Palestinian National Authority ( PNA) and the U.S. administration’s positions are completely identical. Abbas, who returned Wednesday to the West Bank after visiting five countries, including the United States, said "the most important thing in this tour is that the U.S. and Palestinian positions were completely identical."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-06/17/c_13355291.htm
Mitchell returns to the Middle East (AFP)
AFP – US envoy George Mitchell headed back to the Middle East on Wednesday in a new bid to advance indirect peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, the State Department said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100616/pl_afp/mideastdiplomacyus
Fatah: PA shuffle delayed by ‘political preoccupations’
Ramallah – Ma’an – An anticipated Palestinian Authority cabinet shuffle has been stalled due to ministerial differences, said the head of Fatah’s parliamentary bloc and Central Committee member Azzam Al-Ahmad on Wednesday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=292497
Suspects in mosque desecration released
Police say investigation did not produce enough evidence to link yeshiva students to crime.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3906340,00.html
Racist Zionists
Top Palestinian journalist barred from Jerusalem due to ‘security considerations’
Defense Ministry needs to answer why Nasser Laham was denied access to the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem to obtain a visa for an official meeting with Obama.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/top-palestinian-journalist-barred-from-jerusalem-due-to-security-considerations-1.296670?localLinksEnabled=false
Israel’s Palestinian Minority Thrown into a Maelstrom, Jonathan Cook
The first reports of Israel’s May 31 commando raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla surfaced among the country’s 1.4 million Palestinian citizens alongside rumors that Sheikh Ra’id Salah, head of the radical northern wing of the Islamic Movement of Israel, had been shot dead on the lead ship, the Mavi Marmara. Salah is alive, but at the time his demise seemed confirmed when it emerged that large numbers of police had been drafted into northern Israel, where most of the Palestinian minority lives, in expectation of widespread violence.
http://www.merip.org/mero/mero061610.html
100,000 haredi demonstrators protest segregated education ruling
Bnei Brak demonstrators follow bus bringing Ashkenazi parents to jail for refusing to send their daughters to school with Sephardi girls.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/100-000-haredi-demonstrators-protest-segregated-education-ruling-1.296746?localLinksEnabled=false
Haredim hurl racial slurs at Ethiopian officers
Ultra-Orthodox protesting excavation works in Jaffa yell at police commander ‘you look like Eichmann’.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3906300,00.html
Police fear mass Haredi protests over segregated West Bank school
Jerusalem Police expect 20,000 protesters after the High Court of Justice on Tuesday threatened to jail defiant Ashkenazi parents who have refused to desegregate an ultra-Orthodox school in the settlement of Immanuel.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/police-fear-mass-haredi-protests-over-segregated-west-bank-school-1.296601?localLinksEnabled=false
Extortion in God’s name
Just look at what’s been happening here in recent days: Parents in Emanuel declare that they will not adhere to the High Court of Justice’s decision, thereby rebelling against an order issued by our top judicial authority in a democratic state. And what kind of noble values is this “rebellion” promoting? Genetically-based racism wrapped in a veneer of longwinded arguments.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3906274,00.html
Other News
Liar: Uri Brodsky to Polish court: I’m the wrong man
As Poland seeks to hand Israeli suspected in Dubai hit over to Germany, man’s lawyer insists he is merely businessman with same name as wanted Mossad agent.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3906504,00.html
Police recommend indicting Sharon brothers for fraud
Omri and Gilad Sharon, sons of former PM Ariel Sharon, allegedly brokered $3 million in bribes transferred to their father.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/police-recommend-indicting-sharon-brothers-for-fraud-1.296628?localLinksEnabled=false
US stops financing Egypt’s iron wall in Rafah area
The Israeli army radio reported that the US stopped financing the construction of the iron wall on the borders between Egypt and the Gaza Strip and summoned its engineers.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7sZiXjF1Z2asRv3eT4rtD1PZ06k4XFe75RnUQeiShP8jb1UvdINxT0QmcQwX9cC7TKgiKBwdGZk1WID%2bLyDkEoGuj8a2t1e%2fWuojwkcZZZAY%3d
Egypt rights group protests France’s blocking Hamas TV (AFP)
AFP – An Egyptian human rights group condemned on Wednesday a decision by France to block broadcast by Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV for alleged "incitement to hatred."
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100616/wl_mideast_afp/mideastfrancehamasmediaeutelsategypt
Media Bias
Terry Gross has no empathy for Palestinians, Susie Kneedler
Tomorrow night, Terry Gross, the longtime host of Fresh Air on National Public Radio, will submit to questions in an event at Town Hall in New York, hosted by Brian Lehrer, a talk-show host at WNYC. Both radio personalities bend over backwards for Israel. Maybe someone will ask Gross to speak sincerely about her personal attachment to Israel–how many times have you been there? Do you have family there? Do you think it’s necessary because of antisemitism in the West? Meanwhile, Susie Kneedler goes back to the audiotape.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/06/terry-gross-has-no-empathy-for-palestinians.html
Israeli comedy show says Obama wants to exterminate the ‘dirty Jews’
This is the Caroline Glick tv show Latma, a right wing comedy show. There is a segment in it of an "interview" with Obama Saturday Night Live style with a comedian playing Obama and then he breaks into song. I’m sure it is some classic melody I recognize and on the tip of my tongue but can’t name (Frank Sinatra I’m almost positive). The lyrics are amazing and provided in the subtitles. The song starts at 2:26 in the video.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/CJUE-86HFUR?OpenDocument
Analysis/Opinion
A danger called constitution, Aluf Benn
A constitution that decides fundamental questions of national identity will cause internal divisions, especially in the current political climate, in which the right is trying to crush the Arab community’s power.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/a-danger-called-constitution-1.296458
Chuck Schumer, Helen Thomas, & the Media: A tale of two statements
Last Wednesday, New York State Democratic Senator Charles “Chuck” Schumer addressed the Orthodox Union, one of the United States’ largest Orthodox Jewish organizations, saying, “Since the Palestinians in Gaza elected Hamas, while certainly there should be humanitarian aid and people not starving to death, to strangle them economically until they see that’s not the way to go, makes sense.”
http://globalcomment.com/2010/chuck-schumer-helen-thomas-and-the-media-a-tale-of-two-statements/
Chomsky in Lebanon, Ahmed Moor
Chomsky is no villain, but he can’t afford to be associated with them either. But despite how I feel, we owe Chomsky an immense debt of gratitude. His fifty years of activism and record of speaking truth to power cannot be disregarded or diminished, no matter what his position may be today.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/06/chomsky-in-lebanon.html
Former US President explains how Israel has put Palestinians in open air prisons on their land
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QosB-_WDPTY&feature=player_embedded
Israel and the Palestinians: The Irish connection
Recent attempts to deliver aid to Gaza by sea, in defiance of the Israeli blockade, revealed a strong Irish dimension. Vincent Dowd reports from Dublin on the connections between Ireland and the Palestinian cause.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/10294057.stm
Rough days ahead, Joel Kovel
The Times Square "rally" by the fearsome five: Rangel, Maloney, Engel, Nadler and Quinn, made for grim watching, but had its farcical side as well. Watching them on Youtube reminded me of some of the lonelier moments I, and I’m sure, most of us have had on the political hustings in odd spots speaking to tiny and indifferent audiences–except this was in the middle of Times Square and the speakers were the Manhattan Bigs. Yet there didn’t seem to be more than 25 people present and they were mostly dull-eyed and apathetic except for a few comrades hooting and casting heavy aspersions on the veracity of the speakers. Rangel in particular looked uncomfortable; and I suppose he was mainly there out of fear for his tuchus given the recent downturn in political fortunes.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/06/rough-days-ahead.html
Gaza flotilla raid: Will it change Turkey’s regional role?
Anger with Israel over the Gaza flotilla raid, which ended in the deaths of nine Turkish activists, has illustrated the difficulty of Turkey’s effort to bridge East and West.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2010/0616/Gaza-flotilla-raid-Will-it-change-Turkey-s-regional-role
Credibility, once shredded, is impossible to piece together again, Paul Woodward
“The man who ordered the attack on the aid flotilla to Gaza, set up the inquiry, chose its members and determined its mandate, has announced its outcome even before it has started,” wrote Chris Doyle, noting Benjamin Netanyahu’s visible satisfaction, confident that he has mounted an effective response to international pressure. If the only audience the Israeli prime minister needed to satisfy was made up by the likes of Jeremy Ben-Ami and Barack Obama, Netanyahu could indeed take satisfaction as he proves how easy it is to win unprincipled support.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/06/credibility-once-shredded-is-impossible-to-piece-together-again.html
The NYT and the Flotilla Inquiry, ALISON WEIR
The New York Times, whose regional bureau chief has a son in the Israeli military, reports that Israel has just appointed a panel charged with investigating its attack on an aid flotilla that killed nine aid volunteers, including a 19-year-old American. Isabel Kershner, who is an Israeli citizen and has refused to answer questions about her possible family ties to the Israeli military, writes the report.
http://www.counterpunch.org/weir06162010.html
MJ Rosenberg: Kick Turkey Out of NATO!
Both the Israeli government and its cutouts here have been sticking it to Turkey lately. (See this silliness from the House today and this from Rep. Gary Ackerman, chair of the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and, more relevantly, a powerful and devoted ally of the "pro-Israel" lobby.) The bash-Turkey movement did not start with the flotilla incident. It began when Turkey spoke out against Israel’s bloody invasion of Gaza in 2009.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mj-rosenberg/kick-turkey-out-of-nato_b_615097.html
Turkey and Israel: The broken alliance
As long as their respective prime ministers are still in power, the unlikely Turkish-Israeli alliance is history. It would be a mistake to trace the entire crisis in relations to the deaths in the Free Gaza flotilla, however, as signs of a collapse in confidence between the countries have been evident for nearly two years. – Sami Moubayed
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LF18Ak02.html
On Israel, Congress Still Obedient, MJ Rosenberg
Forget that "collective punishment" is illegal under international law. Forget that Turkey is a NATO ally to whom we are bound by treaty (an armed attack on Turkey is considered an attack on the United States). And definitely forget the admonition to have "a decent respect to the opinions of mankind…." None of these come into play when the government of Israel requires the government of the United States to defend it from criticism (no matter what the provocation). and, to be honest, the Obama administration behaves no differently in this regard than previous administrations. It’s all "your wish is my command." That is the gist of a Bloomberg News story today called "Obama’s Policy Showing No Difference With Clinton-Bush."
http://politicalcorrection.org/fpmatters/201006150004
Lobby stomped journalist over Armenian genocide, Philip Weiss
Jewish organizations have rediscovered the Armenian genocide, now that Turkey isn’t friends with Israel. It was different when Turkey was Israel’s buddy. And at Salon, Mark Arax, an Armenian-American who once worked for the LA Times, tells the story of how he sought to expose the Jewish denial of the Armenian genocide in the paper– and ended up losing his job. Note that he was told that as an Armenian, he could not tell the story. Imagine that standard applied to the New York Times on Israel coverage! (A standard the Times used to maintain, which has been attacked by Tom Friedman and David Margolick and others.)
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/06/lobby-stomped-journalist-over-armenian-genocide.html
‘a wretched reality that should appall anyone with an ounce of humanity’ (still Israel seeks to justify blockade), Ben White
Israel’s apologists in Britain, aware that they’re fighting a losing battle, haven’t got many options left when it comes to making excuses for apartheid. With renewed focus on the collective punishment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the hasbarists have opted for a familiar refrain: it’s all about self-defence.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/06/a-wretched-reality-that-should-appal-anyone-with-an-ounce-of-humanity-still-israel-seeks-to-justify-blockade.html
Turkey Accepts the Challenge; Middle East is Changing, Ramzy Baroud
‘Even despots, gangsters and pirates have specific sensitiveness, (and) follow some specific morals.’ The claim was made by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a recent speech, following the deadly commando raid on the humanitarian aid flotilla to Gaza on May 31. According to Erdogan, Israel doesn’t adhere to the code of conduct embraced even by the vilest of criminals.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16066
Is Benjamin Netanyahu Rational?, Philip Giraldi
Is Benjamin Netanyahu rational? The question has to be asked because Netanyahu, the leader of a country that is paranoid about its own security, controls a secret nuclear arsenal and has the capability to bomb just about anybody. Rational behavior in the context of a head of state is admittedly an elusive quality, but it generally means that occasional lying is okay, particularly if it is tenuously based on something that might be true. Lying with a straight face or completely evading critical questions might even be considered a perk of office. But when the chips are down and hard decisions have to be made, a head of government should at least behave like a mature adult employing some logical process. That would mean weighing up the plusses and minuses of various actions, risks versus gains, and coming up with a response that serves the country’s interests with the least collateral damage possible.
http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2010/06/16/is-benjamin-netanyahu-rational/
Roseanne Barr Says Israel Must End Their Blockade and Occupation of Gaza
Well-known actress and comedian, Roseanne Barr, has been a consistent and persistent voice for decades against some of the acts committed by the state of Israel. Specifically, she has vigorously, unflinchingly, unequivocally, uncompromisingly, and courageously called upon Israel to end its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. With this latest incident of the flotilla raid by Israeli commandos, we sat down for a talk.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathleen-wells/roseanne-barr-says-israel_b_615482.html
The ‘Mavi Marmara’ and the ‘Rachel Corrie’ (and non-violent resistance), Robin Yassin-Kassab
This is in large part an amalgam of other pieces I’ve written on the topic. It’s a response to a debate over nonviolence at Mondoweiss.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/06/the-mavi-marmara-and-the-rachel-corrie-and-non-violent-resistance.html
Israel Investigating Itself, by Emad Hajjaj
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ZxKAf8oOwtI/TBlbEiXUIeI/AAAAAAAAjmo/uZdsnKLysfE/s1600/mahjoob.bmp
Iraq
Wednesday: 8 Iraqis Killed, 39 Wounded
At least eight Iraqis were killed and 39 more were wounded in attacks mostly within Mosul and Baghdad. Activity between Turkish troops and PKK rebels is increasing on the border with Turkey where at least eight have died there and four more were wounded in today’s attacks.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/06/16/wednesday-8-iraqis-killed-39-wounded/
Iraq: Bomb kills Sunni militia leader near Baghdad
The leader of a government-backed Sunni militia was killed in a bombing west of Baghdad Wednesday, one in a series of attacks targeting Iraqi security forces and their allies.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_IRAQ?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-06-16-04-20-27
Qaeda in Iraq claims deadly central bank raid (AFP)
AFP – Al-Qaeda has said it was behind a weekend raid on the Central Bank of Iraq involving suicide bombers disguised in military uniforms who killed 18 people, jihadist Internet forums reported.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100617/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestqaeda
Top cleric seen tipping Iraq’s political balance (AP)
AP – Iraqis hoping for a secular, nonsectarian government are worried about signs that the country’s most revered Shiite cleric has stepped into the postelection fray with moves that appear aligned with Iran’s own ambitions in Iraq.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100617/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq_clerics_and_politics
Lebanon
Lebanese leaders delay defence strategy talks (AFP)
AFP – Rival Lebanese politicians on Thursday postponed until August 19 talks on a national defence strategy that would incorporate the arms of Hezbollah, the government said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100617/wl_mideast_afp/lebanonpoliticshezbollahdialoguedefence
Hezbollah Urges Arabs to Act to Avoid Losing Jerusalem
16/06/2010 Hezbollah condemned on Wednesday the Israeli enemy’s new plan to build 1600 new units in the Ramat Shlomo settlement in occupied Jerusalem, saying it is a new step in the Zionist entity’s plan to destroy the city’s real identity. The party said in a statement that Israel is making light of all international and Arab stands that have condemned the settlement plan when it was uncovered three months ago.
http://www.almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=142473&language=en
UN official hopes long-term ceasefire between Lebanon, Israel
BEIRUT, June 16 (Xinhua) — United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams said Wednesday that he hoped the current cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel could be pushed to a long-term ceasefire, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s office said. After the meeting with Hariri in downtown Beirut, Williams said that the main focus of their discussions was the implementation of UN resolution 1701.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-06/17/c_13353482.htm
Army gives women parity with men except in combat
BEIRUT: Gender discrimination in the workplace stubbornly haunts even the most progressive of societies.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=116071#axzz0r7YW6FKl
U.S. and other World News
Nothing Will Happen To Them: US troops charged in Afghan deaths
Five soldiers face possible death penalty over killings of three civilians in Kandahar.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/asia/2010/06/201061701715503570.html
Democracy Now: With Rumored Manhunt for Wikileaks Founder and Arrest of Alleged Leaker of Video Showing Iraq Killings, Obama Admin Escalates Crackdown on Whistleblowers of Classified Information
Pentagon investigators are reportedly still searching for Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange, who helped release a classified US military video showing a US helicopter gunship indiscriminately firing on Iraqi civilians. The US military recently arrested Army Specialist Bradley Manning, who may have passed on the video to Wikileaks. Manning’s arrest and the hunt for Assange have put the spotlight on the Obama administration’s campaign against whistleblowers and leakers of classified information. We speak to Daniel Ellsberg, who’s leaking of the Pentagon Papers has made him perhaps the nation’s most famous whistleblower; Birgitta Jónsdóttir, a member of the Icelandic Parliament who has collaborated with Wikileaks and drafted a new Icelandic law protecting investigative journalists; and Glenn Greenwald, political and legal blogger for Salon.com.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/17/wikileaks_whistleblowers
Democracy Now: Jeremy Scahill on Blackwater Owner Erik Prince’s Rumored Move to UAE and Obama Admin’s Expansion of Special Forces Operations Abroad
The Justice department has told a federal appeals court there was more than enough untainted evidence to justify a trial for the five Blackwater Worldwide guards involved in the 2007 Nissour Square massacre in Baghdad. In court papers seeking to reinstate criminal charges that were dismissed last year, the Justice department said the judge "unjustifiably drew the curtain on a meritorious prosecution." This legal development comes amidst a report that Erik Prince, the owner and founder of the the notorious private security firm, could be planing a move to the United Arab Emirates, a country that has no extradition treaty with the United States. We speak to independent journalist Jeremy Scahill.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/17/blackwater_special_ops
Internet ‘kill switch’ proposed for US
A new US Senate Bill would grant the President far-reaching emergency powers to seize control of, or even shut down, portions of the internet.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/internet-kill-switch-proposed-for-us-339303838.htm
Inside Story – The plight of the displaced
Last year saw the highest number of displaced people worldwide in decades according to the Global Trends report released by the United Nation’s High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). What is behind an apparent increase in the number of refugees? And how should the world act to address their plight?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLXLKsFBbXM&feature=youtube_gdata
U.S. announces unilateral Iran sanctions
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unveils a list of Iranian organizations and individuals to be targeted in an effort to isolate Iran from the international financial sector. The Obama administration Wednesday announced unilateral sanctions against a number of Iranian organizations and individuals as it took its first steps to build on the international sanctions adopted last week by the United Nations Security Council.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/w09QpY7quME/la-fg-iran-sanctions-20100617,0,6329540.story
Twitterati report: Syria trip mixes work with play, Josh Rogin
The State Department’s two leading Twitterati, Special Advisor on Innovation Alec J. Ross (@alecjross) and Policy Planning staffer Jared Cohen (@jaredcohen), are in Syria this week leading a delegation of tech companies hoping to, as the Wall Street Journal‘s Jay Solomon puts it, "woo President Bashar al-Assad away from his strategic alliance with Iran" with offers of networking equipment, computer software, and the like.
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/06/16/twitterati_report_syria_trip_mixes_work_with_play
Terror suspect speaks about life under ‘house arrest’
A man judged to be a threat to national security has decided to break his strict bail conditions so he can speak out about the difficulty of his life under virtual house arrest.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/8743947.stm
Amnesty International: Tunisia law aims to silence government critics
An amendment to the penal code is intended to target human rights activists who lobby foreign bodies such as the EU, to put pressure on the government over its human rights record. A law passed by the Tunisian parliament this week is designed to silence government critics and human rights activists, Amnesty International has warned.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/tunisia-law-aims-silence-government-critics-2010-06-17
Muslim states seek UN action on West’s "islamophobia"
* Want investigation into West’s media on religion
* Say racism, xenophobia rife in Europe
* Part of majority group on U.N. rights council
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE65F1XO.htm
