Land theft and destruction/Ethnic cleansing
Israel forces surround Jerusalem home
Jerusalem – Ma’an – Israeli forces deployed around a Palestinian home south of Jerusalem following fierce clashes between local landowners and settlers attempting to expand a road in the area, onlookers said. The settlers were using bulldozers to enlarge a street in advance of plans to install a mobile home in Beit Safafa, witnesses said. Many settlements in the occupied West Bank began as simple structures placed on Palestinian land.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=293987
Beit Yehonatan residents: We will evict Arabs ourselves
Members of the Jewish residence in Silwan claim the State discriminates against them, give advantage to Arab residents. As such, they are threatening to evacuate Arab families from house they claim belongs to Jews.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3909629,00.html
PCHR condemns ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Jerusalem
Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights has strongly condemned the "aggressive measures" taken by Israeli forces in occupied East Jerusalem, describing them as "part of a series of measures aimed at ethnic cleansing and creating a Jewish majority in the city."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=293865
France says Jerusalem’s decision to raze Palestinian homes "counter productive"
PARIS, June 22 (Xinhua) — France considers Jerusalem’s decision to destroy 22 Palestinian houses in the controversial east of the city as "counter productive," the French Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. "We deplore the approval by the Jerusalem mayor of a settlement project in East Jerusalem, which allowed the demolition of Palestinian homes," the ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-06/23/c_13364345.htm
Egypt denounces Israeli decision to demolish 22 houses in Jerusalem
CAIRO, June 22 (Xinhua) — Egypt denounced Tuesday Israeli government’s decision to demolish 22 Palestinian houses in Jerusalem. Hossam Zaki, spokesman of Egypt’s Foreign Ministry, said in a statement that such a decision reflected Israel’s intransigent position which violates the international law.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-06/23/c_13364032.htm
Activism/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
Swedish dockworkers boycott Israel
Swedish dockworkers have launched a week-long boycott of cargo to and from Israel to protest against the raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that killed nine people last month. About 1,500 members of the Swedish Dockworkers Union began the boycott on Wednesday across the country’s ports, which handle more than 95 per cent of Sweden’s foreign trade. Rolf Axelsson, a union spokesman, said the blockade was launched "because of the assault on the ship to Gaza, that we supported before they took off … and the blockade of the Gaza strip, which affects the civilian population".
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/06/2010623114558557329.html
Swedish dockworkers follow Oakland’s BDS lead
Following the amazing lead given by citizen activists and dockworkers/longshoremen in Oakland, California at 5 a.m. on Sunday, today dockworkers in Sweden announced they will try to institute a week-long ban on loading or unloading Israeli ships and cargoes coming to or from Israel.
http://justworldnews.org/archives/004050.html
Protesting Israel at the Oakland Docks
Long before 5:30 a.m. on June 20 about 800 protesters traveled the mile from West Oakland’s BART station, near San Francisco, to Berth 57 of the Oakland docks. The early risers were determined to block the gates and discourage longshoremen from unloading a Zim cargo ship. Zim is an Israeli shipping company. A second shift of more than 200 hundred protesters kept the gates closed for the 4:30 p.m. work crew too. Gloria La Riva organized the personal vehicle shuttle service that transported both waves of protesters.
http://www.counterpunch.com/galleymore06232010.html
Over 10,000 March in Detroit to Open U.S. Social Forum
Thousands of people from across the country marched through Detroit Tuesday afternoon to kick off the opening ceremony of the US Social Forum. The colorful, joyous, and sometimes raucous procession down Detroit’s Woodward avenue included social movements and community organizations struggling for justice on everything from health care, the environment, fair trade, labor solidarity, immigrant rights and racial profiling to Palestine solidarity, ending the wars, police brutality, and the devastating impact of the recession on people’s lives and sense of security.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/23/over_10_000_march_in_detroit
Lebanon to UN: Israel will suffer consequences if our ships are attacked
Israel warns it would use ‘any means necessary’ to stop Lebanon Gaza-bound flotilla from breaking blockade.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/lebanon-to-un-israel-will-suffer-consequences-if-our-ships-are-attacked-1.297715?localLinksEnabled=false
Iranian, Jordanian sea and land aid convoys head to Gaza soon
The Iranian Red Crescent (IRC) plans to send 1100 tons of relief material to the Gaza Strip aboard a ship dubbed "A ship for Gaza children".
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7i5knYyaWEuSPsFer0hM36JwDkvjg%2fd1G268pDjg1sOJq1Cs4jExQF7zccCOw0UWW7sQdg343au8D2QUkuFAUzKWK4VICsZt2CDriICYcaoo%3d
Fatima Mohammedi gives eyewitness account of Israeli military boarding of Mavi Marmara
Fatima Mohammadi is an Iranian-born American citizen, lawyer & activist. Here she recounts her experience on board the Mavi Marmara during the Israeli military’s attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla.
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/fatima-mohammedi-gives-eyewitness.html
Iara Lee: The Video Israel Doesn’t Want You to See: Smuggled Footage From the Flotilla Attack
As a passenger of the Mavi Marmara, the flagship vessel of the humanitarian convoy that Israel attacked in international waters, I am cautiously optimistic about Israel’s announced plan of "easing" the Gaza blockade. Easing, after all, is not the same as "complete lifting," and it is yet to be determined what the nature of this easing process will be. Still, I am encouraged by the fact that this small step resulted in the first place from the Freedom Flotilla’s nonviolent act of civil disobedience. However we must never forget that nine civilian peace activists — including one American citizen — were unjustly killed in the process, and that the challenge still remains of bringing Israel to account for its actions on May 31st.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/iara-lee/the-video-israel-doesnt-w_b_621788.html
Jewish group protests ‘Brand Israel’ in North Carolina
Jews for a Just Peace-NC set up a "Palestinian house demolition" tableau in front of the Durham Performing Arts Center to protest an American Dance Festival performance by the Israel-based Inbal Pinto & Avshalom Pollak Dance Company on June 17, 2010. The protesters exposed the fact that Israel’s cultural exports have become a tool to divert attention from Israel’s human rights violations. The setup of a demolished home guarded by Israeli soldiers returns the spotlight to those violations. It represents the more than 24,000 Palestinian homes destroyed since 1967 and symbolizes Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem and the collective punishment of 1.5 million Gazans under siege due to Israel’s blockade.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/06/jewish-group-protests-brand-israel-in-north-carolina.html
We Can Stop These Outrageous Congressional Resolutions
Learn about Congressional resolutions justifying Israel’s attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla and its illegal blockade of the occupied Palestinian Gaza Strip, and how you can take action to oppose them.
http://endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=2696
Gaza moves New York City mother from apathy to activism
Last New Year’s Eve, Debbie Mardon did not celebrate with noise makers or confetti — instead, she headed to Cairo’s main square to participate in the Gaza Freedom March with her son and daughter. It was an unlikely place to be for a previously apolitical mother who voted for George W. Bush and as recently as three years ago relied on right-wing radio hosts to help her make sense of the world. Alex Kane reports.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11349.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Israel Prepares for Humanitarian Convoy as if Preparing for War
Preparing for flotillas like on eve of war
IDF examining ways of improving non-violent siege-enforcement methods ahead of next aid sails to Gaza while political rank holds frequent status evaluation meetings, which some say are unnecessary.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3909678,00.html
Israel’s Arab Helpers
Hamas: Abbas’s militias kidnapped more than 30 of our cadres in W. Bank
The Hamas Movement said Tuesday that Mahmoud Abbas’s security militias kidnapped more than 30 people of its cadres in the West Bank last night, warning of the repercussions of such escalation.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7HjqU1PZOMhqKPOL4MpbKHNC1ZJSIYlilPUEM4m7%2barYvzBgVA%2fJmXHUtSCWbbkEtnHL1Ls8zfac3bleUp%2fCLNskt5QQGItzTGAqO%2f4rG9AM%3d
Egyptian authorities intensify torture of Hamas detainee
The Egyptian authorities have intensified lately their persecution of detained Hamas activist Ayman Nofal, the committee for solidarity with Nofal reported on Tuesday.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s744baog68K1GdC43d80Bf7b%2bIMaEQWKbGOQhdb1ujpeoKmXaqUvj1FLUzKvNBqJ9ybT6H%2fnqFLO4Xzc7dOsSkUaqC4BLkrKnJMuLfbYMj5%2bw%3d
Siege/Human Rights/Humanitarian Issues
Road shipments of Gaza aid begin
Israel’s critics and humanitarian groups say the easing of the blockade is ‘not enough’. Road shipments of aid to the Gaza Strip are under way following Israel’s decision to change the conditions of its blockade of the Palestinian enclave. Al Jazeera’s Nicole Johnstone, reporting from the Kerem Shalom crossing, said on Tuesday more than 100 lorries loaded with goods had begun arriving in Gaza. Israel has said it will allow the import of "civilian" goods, but will continue to restrict items they say could be used to build weapons, including cement and steel rods.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/06/2010622143623545662.html
Children cancer patients demand an end to Gaza siege
Palestinian children afflicted with cancer have called for lifting the Israeli siege on Gaza which has been in place for almost four years now and to allow them to travel abroad for treatment.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7%2fgVQsxg%2f5oyzpKj%2f5VuxPBw6f5%2f%2b1ItOEIbskYFIy2HzMm1CuodzxgasGsEw40hURZlM78ZWXdi4azdV%2fzVTsEHqkCS9EXweTn0a5qZlljU%3d
Rundown Streets Inspire Humanitarian Genius
Askar girls return from representing Palestine at the Intel ISEF in America, having bagged 2nd prize for their medical innovation which will help the blind on the uneven streets of Askar Refugee Camp. Nicky Elliott reporting for Palestine Monitor.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1459
Turkey: Siege relief insufficient
Ankara: Easing of Gaza blockade positive step, but ‘inhumane’ siege should be fully lifted.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3909199,00.html
Sha’ath: Easing the siege legitimizes it
Ramallah – Ma’an – The Netanyahu-Blair plan to ease the siege on Gaza is meant to protect Israel from international pressure, Fatah Central Committee member Nabil Sha’ath said Tuesday. "Easing the siege will only consolidate Israel’s control of [Gaza’s] terminals, which should be under the control of the Palestinian Authority and international monitors," Sha’ath said, rebuking Israel’s Sunday announcement that the siege on Gaza would be relaxed and re-defined.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=293875
Army chief: We have right to impose siege
Israel has ‘natural right’ to inspect ships heading to Gaza, army chief says, stresses Strip must not turn into Iranian port; addressing lethal raid on Turkish ship, Ashkenazi says: I salute fighters, they operated exceptionally well.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3909227,00.html
Israel opposition attacks Binyamin Netanyahu for easing blockade
Tzipi Livni, leader of centrist Kadima party, said Israel has to make decisions based on its own interests, not those of others. Tzipi Livni, the Israeli opposition leader, today attacked Binyamin Netanyahu for the way he eased the three-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, following pressure from the international community over its deadly interception last month of a flotilla attempting to break the siege. "In the neighbourhood where we live Israel has to take decisions on the basis of its own interests and not under pressure," she said. "Acting under pressure signals weakness and we cannot allow ourselves to do that."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/22/israeli-opposition-attacks-prime-minister-blockade
Lifting of Gaza blockade latest low point achieved by Netanyahu-led government
On Monday, people in Gaza started eating coriander, sweets, pasta and jam, while we in Israel are the only ones who continue to eat dirt. This is the case when we have a rightist government with two left feet, a clumsy leadership that leads us from one nadir to another; every act it takes, which aims to rectify a previous crisis, merely pushes us into a new low in terms of our public image and deterrence.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3909036,00.html
Blair: Raid put pressure on Israel
Tony Blair, the Middle East envoy for the UN, EU, US and Russia, has been speaking to Al Jazeera about Israel’s deadly raid last month on an aid flotilla heading for Gaza. Blair said the attack helped push the Israeli government into easing restrictions on the blockaded territory. [June 22, 2010]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBKfEpIuEfE&feature=youtube_gdata
Mubarak: Israel shirking responsibility of Gaza Strip
Egyptian leader says Israel trying to place responsibility towards Strip on Cairo, claims it is taking advantage of internal Palestinian division to continue delaying peace process.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3909667,00.html
Restriction of Movement/Discrimination and Racism
Israeli guides in Bethlehem, as tourists can’t get out
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli tour guides were ceremoniously welcomed to Bethlehem for the first time Monday and given regular permission to access the West Bank city unhindered. Entry and exit is not so smooth, however, for foreign tourists using private cars and Palestinian buses, despite a guarantee of passage promised in the same package of "goodwill" measures that announced the admittance now enjoyed by Israeli tour guides. On Tuesday, an American woman, who asked not to be identified, said she was pulled off the 21 bus to Jerusalem from Beit Jala, a town connected to Bethlehem and a central departure point for tourists.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=293637
Israeli Court Begins Trial Against Palestinian Official For ‘Illegally Praying’ At al-Aqsa Mosque
Court proceedings began Wednesday morning in Jerusalem for Hatem Abdel Qader, the Palestinian Chief of Jerusalem Affairs. He was charged with "violating a military order" preventing him from praying at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The mosque is considered the third-holiest site in Islam, but many Muslims are prohibited by Israeli authorities from praying there. Israeli authorities control access to the mosque and its grounds, which are located in the Old City of Jerusalem.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58985
Yediot: How an Israeli college succeeded in shutting out Arabs from student body elections
In this morning’s (June 23 2010) Yediot, Uri Misgav reports on how the management of an academic college in northern Israel intervened in the student body elections in a successful effort to shut-out Palestinian-Israeli representatives.
http://coteret.com/2010/06/23/yediot-how-an-israeli-college-succeeded-in-shutting-out-arabs-from-student-body-elections/
Siege Related Deaths/Violence and Aggression
Gaza tunnel worker killed by electric shock
Gaza – Ma’an – Medics on Tuesday afternoon removed the body of a worker killed earlier by an electric shock in a tunnel under the border between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip. Medical officials at the site of the apparent accident in Rafah identified the victim as 22-year-old Abdullah Abu Hammad of Khan Younis.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=293902
Settlers attack Palestinians near Bethlehem
Hebron – Ma’an – Furious after their own government demolished two houses in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian property in the latest incident of the "price tag" phenomenon. Dozens of residents of the illegal Israeli settlement of Bat Ayin, in the Bethlehem Governorate, were seen throwing stones and empty bottles at Palestinian homes in Safa, an adjacent village next to the Beit Ummar town north of Hebron.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=294029
Israeli settlers break into Safa area
Hebron, June 23, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli settlers broke into Safa area north of Hebron city, in the West Bank, where they attacked the citizens. Mohammed Awad, the spokesman for the Palestinian solidarity project, said that Israeli settlers broke into Ain Al-Bida area near Bait Ain settlement and threw stones at the citizens and opened fire at air. He confirmed that the Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinians under the protection of the Israeli soldiers who eased their movement.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/6492-israeli-settlers-break-into-safa-area
To neutralize, Amira Hass
Unlike in the case of their Jewish counterparts, when it comes to offending Arab drivers, the Israeli Border Police would rather kill than arrest.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/to-neutralize-1.297780
Detainees
Israel detains 4 Palestinians in Ramallah
Ramallah, June 23, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) detained on Wednesday four Palestinians in Ramallah, in West Bank, local sources reported. The Israeli forces roamed a number of towns in Ramallah, raided houses and then detained the four Palestinians. IOF carries out search operations and raids on daily basis aim to arrest Palestinian youth under the pretext that they are wanted by the Israeli occupation authorities.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/6493-israel-detains-4-palestinians-in-ramallah
Speculation rife over identity of Israel’s prisoner ‘Mr X’
A mysterious arrest carried out recently by Israel’s security services has renewed condemnation from human rights groups about the country’s treatment of prisoners and its possible infringement of press freedoms. A report last week on the website of Israel’s biggest newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, said that a so-called “Mr X” is being held in complete seclusion at the maximum-security Ayalon prison, and his identity is being kept so closely under wraps that it is not even known to his prison guards or fellow inmates.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100623/FOREIGN/706229889/1135/commentary
Israel prevents prisoners from studying
Palestine, June 23, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – The Israeli Prison Service prevents Palestinian prisoners from completing their university study and seized their books. Yaser Abu Baker, Palestinian leader prisoner in the Askalan Israeli jail, said that the prisoners’ conditions in the jail are very bad as a result of the brutal restrictions imposed by the jail administration. The Israeli Prison Service has started a campaign of seizing the prisoners’ books as it seized more than 300 books and only allowed the holly Quran, he said.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/6494-israel-prevents-prisoners-from-studying
War Criminals
Palestinians sue Israeli leaders at Belgium court
A group of 14 Palestinians filed a lawsuit with a court in Belgium against 14 Israeli leaders on suspicion of committing crimes against humanity during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. The leaders include Defense Minister Ehud Barak, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Opposition Chairwoman Tzipi Livni.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3909717,00.html
Political Developments/Flotilla Fallout
Hamas: Fatah isn’t serious about unity deal
Gaza – Ma’an – Hamas warned Wednesday of unspecified repercussions if the Palestinian Authority continues its ongoing detention campaign against West Bank-based supporters and leaders of the Islamic movement. Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, is asserting that 30 affiliates were detained overnight and at least 70 more summoned for interrogation by the Ramallah-based PA, which has partial security control over some Palestinian cities.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=293921
Lieberman: Kadima can join gov’t only if they support populated land swap
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman says coalition will not compromise on plan to exchange populated territories with Palestinians, rather than giving up land for peace.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/lieberman-kadima-can-join-gov-t-only-if-they-support-populated-land-swap-1.297703?localLinksEnabled=false
FM: Coalition won’t change after freeze
Avigdor Lieberman says end of construction freeze in September is ‘ real test for country’; does not foresee changes in government. Senior source: We have no peace partner.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3909157,00.html
Top Israeli official pessimistic about U.S.-led Mideast peace talks
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s national security adviser said Tuesday that the push for Palestinian statehood has weakened Israel’s standing in the world and suggested that the outlook is bleak for U.S.-mediated negotiations in the region.
http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=d4c5f481384e361ffbfda83226b04100
Clinton, Barak to discuss reviving direct peace talks: US (AFP)
AFP – US Secretary Hillary Clinton and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak will focus on reviving direct Israeli-Palestinian talks "as soon as possible" when they meet here Wednesday, a US official said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100622/pl_afp/mideastusdiplomacybarak
Malaysia seeks emergency UN session on Gaza-flotilla deaths
Diplomatic sources say effort stems from a desire to embarrass Israel in response to what Arab states consider a lax UN response to the raid.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/malaysia-seeks-emergency-un-session-on-gaza-flotilla-deaths-1.297814?localLinksEnabled=false
Report: US upset over ‘geriatric’ flotilla panel
Bethlehem – Ma’an – High-ranking US officials have reportedly expressed resentment and disappointment over the “laughable” probe appointed to investigate Israel’s deadly attack on a Turkish aid ship which was part of the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla earlier this month. According to the Hebrew-language Israeli daily Maariv, the US was angered that the Israeli government appointed 75-year-old retired justice Yaakov Tirkel to head the panel. The other two panel members are aged 93 and 89. Israeli media outlets played up the age factor by publishing photographs of 93-year-old Shabbtai Rozen, a member of the inquiry, in his summer pajamas along with his Filipino caretaker.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=293915
Other News
Israel launches spy satellite
Israel boosts space presence: Ofek 9 satellite launched from central Israel Air Force base; security official says Jewish State now has several satellites operating simultaneously, thereby boosting results considerably.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3909270,00.html
An Israeli tycoon, the Virgin Islands, and Africa’s blood diamonds
Israeli diamond tycoon Dan Gertler, grandson of Israel Diamond Bourse founder Moshe Schnitzer, recently purchased stakes in oil and mining projects in the Congo. It’s unclear where the money is going.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/RlP9w844nyM/An-Israeli-tycoon-the-Virgin-Islands-and-Africa-s-blood-diamonds
Hamas TV remains on air as it appeals French ban (AFP)
AFP – The Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV station in Gaza said on Tuesday it was in negotiations over a French ban and would continue to broadcast to Europe through Thursday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100622/wl_mideast_afp/mideastfrancehamasmediaeutelsat
Chutzpah: Israel slams Palestinians for lack of direct talks
JERUSALEM, June 22 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the Palestinians on Tuesday for the absence of direct peace talks and insisted negotiations should resume right away "without delay and without preconditions". Israeli-Palestinian talks were renewed on an indirect basis last month under U.S. sponsorship, after an 18-month hiatus since a war in Gaza and disputes over Jewish settlement building in occupied land.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE65L220.htm
Out damn Palestinomania
Israeli Kadima politician Yulia Shamalov Berkovich speaking in the Knesset: Israeli academia apparently suffers from ‘Palestinomania,’ a mild psychological illness whose symptoms include self-hatred, an affinity for Israel’s enemies, Jewish anti-Semitism and/or anti-Zionism. “The spread of ‘Palestinomania’ demands the immediate and painful treatment for all of our sake, and the sooner the better.
http://antonyloewenstein.com/2010/06/24/out-damn-palestinomania/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antonyloewenstein%2Ffeed+%28Antony+Loewenstein%29
Yediot’s legal affairs editor on “the emergence of apartheid and fascism” in Israel
Yediot’s legal affairs editor, Judge (ret.) Boaz Okon, lists a series of undemocratic events in the Israeli public sphere and urges his readers to come to contemplate what they mean when seen together.
http://coteret.com/2010/06/23/yediots-legal-affairs-editor-on-the-emergence-of-apartheid-and-fascism-in-israel/
Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff working at kosher pizzeria in Baltimore
Abramoff served more than three years for fraud and corruption and was released to a halfway house this month.
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/news/disgraced-lobbyist-jack-abramoff-working-at-kosher-pizzeria-in-baltimore-1.297892?localLinksEnabled=false
NPR and Other Media
Lawrence Wright: ‘most ideal outcome of entire flotilla episode’ would be…. release of Gilad Shalit!, Philip Weiss
The New Yorker’s expert on human rights in Gaza is interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air, alongside Ali Abunimah and John Mearsheimer. I’m sorry, that was a joke: the Abunimah and Mearsheimer. When it comes to Israel, the adventurous Gross can’t leave her comfort zone.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/06/lawrence-wright-most-ideal-outcome-of-entire-flotilla-episode-would-be-release-of-gilad-shalit.html
‘Fresh Air’ gets Gaza’s history wrong, Henry Norr
Besides the comments Phil has already posted, there are lots more things that could be said about Terry Gross’s interview with Lawrence Wright about Gaza on NPR’s Fresh Air today. Here’s the comment I sent today to Fresh Air and NPR’s ombudsman, Alicia Shepard: On Fresh Air on June 22, 2010, guest Lawrence Wright said "Then in 2007, there was an election in the Palestinian territories, and to the astonishment of practically the entire world community, Hamas won." In fact, the election Hamas won (to the Palestinian Legislative Council) was on January 25, 2006, not 2007 (see, for example, the Linda Gradstein report entitled "Hamas Appears to Win Majority in Palestinian Elections" on Morning Edition, Jan. 26, 2006).
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/06/fresh-air-gets-gazas-history-wrong.html
Analysis/Opinion
Integrating Palestine into the US progressive left
As progressive forces in the United States prepare to convene the second US Social Forum this week in Detroit, Noura Erakat comments on the gap between Palestinian and Arab dreams of an America committed to justice and the reality of the work it would take to achieve this dream.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11352.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
And what of all the other deaths?
The decision to indict Staff Sgt. S. for killing two women during Cast Lead has caused a stir. But his lawyer will rightly ask, ‘Why him, and not all the others who killed civilians?’
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/and-what-of-all-the-other-deaths-1.297363
After escaping flotilla uproar, Israel faces new flap over Jerusalem
A Jerusalem municipal council approved plans to install a tourist park in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, which calls for demolishing 22 Palestinian homes. The US warned that the plan threatens Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/FstXkbxtdy0/After-escaping-flotilla-uproar-Israel-faces-new-flap-over-Jerusalem
Ramat Hasharon schools to print Israeli flag on uniforms in effort to enhance nationalism
Central city’s Mayor says they want to encourage Zionism and national pride; students who oppose the decision will not be forced to wear the shirt.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/ramat-hasharon-schools-to-print-israeli-flag-on-uniforms-in-effort-to-enhance-nationalism-1.297519
A History of Impunity. Yousef Munayyer
Last week the government of Israel announced the launch of an investigation into the events surrounding the deadly Memorial Day flotilla raid which left nine activists dead. Many international bodies including the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU), as well as human rights groups like Amnesty International, are calling for an independent and impartial, international investigation into the incident. In fact, The UN Human Rights Council has already called for an investigation and chosen a principle investigator. Turkey too has decided to launch its own investigation. The Mahmoud Abbas-led Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah, which can in no way be construed as a pro-Hamas entity, also slammed the Israeli investigation.
http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/ht/display/ContentDetails/i/13665/pid/2254
What’s the difference between incitement and patriotism?
Here you have an Israeli government minister, Vice Premier Moshe Ya’alon, praising the founder of the Stern Gang. Only a little while back, the official Israeli/hasbara talking point du jour was to beat up on Palestinians for incitement, which they defined as naming a street in Ramallah after a terrorist. So how now do you square this circle? What grade do we give Moshe Ya’alon’s speech in praise of Avraham Stern on our ‘incitement report card’?
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/06/whats-the-difference-between-incitement-and-patriotism.html
Ghetto Israel, Philip Weiss
Are you watching the World Cup? It is amazing how many different "races," whatever races are, are mingled in the action, in former apartheid South Africa. There is a piece on Yahoo about the diversity of the American team, all the different backgrounds. The German chancellor has praised the diversity of her country’s team, immigrants from Poland, Brazil and the astonishing midfielder Ozil, of Turkish background.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/06/ghetto-israel.html
Hating Arabs and getting Murdoch to pay for it
Former Republican Presidential candidate and Fox News host Mike Huckabee loathes Arabs and Palestinians and believes Israel has the right to do what it wants, where it wants. Christian Zionism in action.
http://antonyloewenstein.com/2010/06/23/hating-arabs-and-getting-murdoch-to-pay-for-it/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antonyloewenstein%2Ffeed+%28Antony+Loewenstein%29
Commit Yourself To The Truth: Cutting Through the Confusion About Israel/Palestine, Richard Forer
They claim to care about Israelis but their continued support of a brutal occupation only demeans an entire people and perpetuates conflict for both sides of the issue. It also paints Judaism, once known for its commitment to ethics and justice, as a religion and culture of hypocrisy and bigotry.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25788.htm
Why this Obsession with Israel and the Palestinians?, Robert Fowke
I’m not alone in my disproportionate interest in Israel – but why do so many of us pick away at this conflict like it’s a giant scab?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/22/obsession-israel-palestinians-conflict
Barriers, Borders, and Blockades: Policing Movement and Controlling Information
To keep some out. To fence others in. To police movement, instill fear, uncertainty, and instability. Palestine is a land cross-hashed with separation barriers, walls, fences and checkpoints. For many people, these structures make one either an exile or a prisoner, barred from returning or unable to leave. But in addition to the policing of movement, these mechanisms correspond to a policing of information, a control of what truths are able to travel beyond the borders of these territories, to reach the world outside.
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=22268&CategoryId=13
‘Free Palestine’, Not Only Gaza, Hasan Afif El-Hasan
One thing is missing in the ‘Free Gaza’ movement. Activists and civil societies and journalists who support the Palestinian cause are rightfully angry at Israel’s murderous campaign against the aid-loaded ‘Freedom Flotilla’ that was going to the besieged and starved residents of Gaza, but they ignore the overall conditions in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the refugee camps.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16079
Phyllis Bennis: Turning Points: Israel Caves Under Flotilla Pressure
Turning points occur in every campaign for human rights and equality. There are moments when, before victory is certain and whether or not the effect is immediately felt on the ground, the discourse, the assumptions, the terms of reference – not so much for supporters and opponents, as for heretofore observers, all are shaken. Most often, though not always, those turning points involve a significant escalation of violence, whether individual or widespread.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/phyllis-bennis/turning-points-israel-cav_b_621958.html
Iraq
Tuesday: 14 Iraqis Killed, 35 Wounded
At least 14 Iraqis were killed and 35 more were wounded in the latest attacks across central and northern Iraq. Also, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is considering accepting the resignation of his electricity minister, but he also praised his designee Karim Waleed and said Iraqis should expect more years of disrupted power service.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/06/22/tuesday-14-iraqis-killed-35-wounded/
Iraq faces ‘more power shortages’
Prime minister says improvement will take at least two years as outages spark protests.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2010/06/2010622182956306629.html
Tempers flare over Iraq power outages
Thousands of Iraqis in Basra, Nasiriyah and Karbala have staged protests against Iraq’s frequent blackouts over the last few days. Early-summer temperatures in Iraq have soared above 50 degrees, but many Iraqis receive just six hours of electricity per day. Al Jazeera’s Omar al-Saleh reports from Baghdad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_PGc8nYEHc&feature=youtube_gdata
IRAQ: Killing for water
BAGHDAD, 23 June 2010 (IRIN) – In the early hours of 18 June, gunmen broke into Faisal Hassan’s west Baghdad home killing him, his wife and their two young children. The motive was not sectarian, political or even economic – but water-related. Forty-year-old Hasan was an employee of a local irrigation department in Abu Ghraib city – 32km west of Baghdad and famed in recent times for scandals surrounding its prison.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MMAO-86PDBX?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
B.C researcher probes soaring Iraq cancer rate
VANCOUVER — A researcher from Simon Fraser University is investigating childhood leukemia in southern Iraq, where the rate of the blood cancer in some areas is now four times that of neighbouring Kuwait. Tim Takaro and his associates from the University of Washington, Mustansiriya University in Baghdad and Basrah University said in a newly published study that the rate of leukemia in children under 15 from Basrah rose to 8.5 cases per 100,000 from three per 100,000 over the 15-year study period. The rate in nearby Kuwait is two per 100,000.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/researcher+probes+soaring+Iraq+cancer+rates/2641745/story.html?cid=megadrop_story
5 Million Iraqis Killed, Maimed, Tortured, Displaced
Is the suffering our leaders inflict on innocent civilians relevant to deciding whether to support our present war-making in Afghanistan and Pakistan? Would it matter if the N.Y. Times had run daily profiles and photos of Iraqi civilian victims since 2003, as it did of U.S. victims after 9/11?
http://www.alternet.org/story/147281/5_million_iraqis_killed,_maimed,_tortured,_displaced_–_think_that_bothers_war_boosters_like_christopher_hitchens/
Lebanon
Hizbullah planning to sue US for instigating strife among Lebanese
BEIRUT: Hizbullah is considering plans to file a lawsuit against the United States administration on charges of instigating strife among the Lebanese. The move was announced by Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc MP Nawwaf al-Moussawi, a Hizbullah official, during a news conference at Parliament on Tuesday.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=116291
Ex-CIA ‘spy for Hizbullah’ fights to stay in US
BEIRUT: A former CIA agent accused of spying for Hizbullah has launched a campaign to regain her United States citizenship, according to her personal blog. Lebanese Nada Prouty, who immigrated to the US and became an anti-terrorism spy, pleaded guilty in 2007 to citizenship fraud and illegally accessing an FBI computer system and was accused as working for Hizbullah as a double agent.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=116279#ixzz0rcasdxW4
Afghanistan
U.N. to remove Taliban from sanctions list – Afghan gov’t
The United Nations has agreed to remove Taliban members who renounce ties to al Qaeda from a U.N. blacklist on a "gradual" basis, Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s office said on Tuesday.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/06/21/eveningnews/main6604606.shtml
Full Report: Warlord, Inc.: Extortion and Corruption Along the U.S. Supply Chain in Afghanistan
After a six-month investigation, the report exposes the circumstances surrounding the Department of Defense’s outsourcing of security on the supply chain in Afghanistan to questionable providers, including warlords
http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/HNT_Report.pdf
Inside Story – Funding the Afghan Taliban
In an ironic twist of events, US citizens have discovered that it is their tax money that indirectly funds Taliban – the very people their troops are fighting in Afghanistan. What are the ramifications for the strategy of the US and its allies in Afghanistan? And how will this impact the Karzai government?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO87DRevyzE&feature=youtube_gdata
President McChrystal?
This man is dangerous — and in his eagerness not to appear weak, Obama has foolishly allowed himself to be cornered. If Obama backs down, McChrystal will be vindicated; the president is indeed a wimp. If Obama asserts his authority and fires McChrystal, he will forever be blamed for ‘losing Afghanistan’. The general wins either way. However, the latter case is more worrying. Now that Petraeus is out as a potential nemesis after fainting at the congressional hearing, it means in 2012 Obama will be running against an ambitious, telegenic, and media savvy potential GOP candidate with all the braggadocio and machismo that appeals to everyone from the Christian Right to Thomas Friedman.
http://pulsemedia.org/2010/06/23/president-mcchrystal/
U.S. and other World News
US lifts restrictions on refugees in Mich. (AP)
AP – The U.S. State Department is changing a two-year-old policy that limited refugee resettlement to the Detroit area because of Michigan’s struggling economy.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100622/ap_on_re_us/us_iraqi_refugees_detroit
As Turkish-Israeli relations deteriorate, the Obama administration is in a bind
Congress is expressing alarm and demanding that Turkey pay a price for its leaders’ increasingly anti-Israel rhetoric in the wake of Israel’s interception of a Gaza aid flotilla last month and Turkey’s recent vote against a U.S.-backed Iran sanctions resolution. Turkey, meanwhile, is demanding that Israel apologize for killing its citizens in the flotilla and has expressed dismay that the U.S. did not take up an Iranian nuclear fuel swap deal that it negotiated in May.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0610/38806.html#ixzz0rcZkiJn2
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange breaks cover but will avoid America
Assange appeared in public in Brussels for the first time in almost a month to speak at a seminar on freedom of information at the European parliament.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jun/21/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-breaks-cover
The Fate of the Internet. Decided in a Back Room
The Wall Street Journal just reported that the Federal Communications Commission is holding "closed-door meetings"with industry to broker a deal on Net Neutrality – the rule that lets users determine their own Internet experience. Given that the corporations at the table all profit from gaining control over information, the outcome won’t be pretty.
http://www.savetheinternet.com/blog/10/06/22/fate-internet-decided-back-room
Midwest Town Mandates Immigration Check for Renters
The ordinance aims to zero in on illegal aliens in the workplace and at their temporary homes. Under the ordinance, renters would have to apply for a license, which includes a police check of the applicant’s legal status. Undocumented aliens would be turned over to the federal government.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/immigration-debate-heats-fremont-nebraska/story?id=10972180
EGYPT: Surviving on a crust in Cairo’s expanding slums
CAIRO Wednesday, June 23, 2010 (IRIN) – For seven-year-old Ahmed Yasser, it is normal to have just a crust of bread to munch on throughout the afternoon as he plays with other children in a narrow alley in the sprawling slum of Arab al-Maasarah, 20km south of Cairo.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=89590
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