And other news from Today in Palestine:
Land and Property Theft and Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing
OCHA: Israel displaced dozens of children and their families last August
OCHA reported that Israel last month displaced 50 Bedouin families at least, including 39 children and destroyed their tents in an area near Doma village in Nablus.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7
Danon: Chief Rabbi permits building during Sukkot
Likud MK tells ‘Post’ requested special dispensation from Amar saying permissible to build during period usually used to reduce workload.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=187526
Solidarity/Activism/Boycott, Sanctions & Divestment
California Israel Divestment Campaign: “DIVEST FROM ISRAEL” CALIFORNIA BALLOT INITIATIVE LAUNCHES IN LA ON WEDNESDAY WITH A SIGNING CEREMONY IN FRONT OF ISRAELI CONSULATE
http://www.israeldivestmentcampaign.org/
Spanish Parliament condemns Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s conviction
The Spanish Parliament followed the footsteps of the EU and the Desmond Tutu of the Elders, and joined the rising tide of international criticism over Abu Rahmah’s conviction of incitement by an Israeli military court. The Spanish Parliament’s Intergroup for Palestine issued a statement that expressed their “deep concern that Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s potential incarceration aims at preventing him and other Palestinians from exercising their legitimate right to protest against the existence of the Wall in a non violent manner.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/09/14307/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+%28International+Solidarity+Movement%29
CARE USA drops board member over ties to Lev Leviev’s settlement building empire, Adam Horowitz
Having connections to the settlements is really becoming a scarlet letter, isn’t it? Adalah-NY reports that the international humantarian organization CARE USA has dropped a member of its board of directors over their relationship to Lev Leviev’s Africa Israel which builds homes in West Bank settlements.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/care-usa-drops-board-member-over-ties-to-lev-levievs-settlement-building-empire.html
Report: Rights groups plan ‘Mother of all flotillas’
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — International rights groups are preparing to send the "mother of all flotillas" to the besieged Gaza Strip, Israeli press said Tuesday. European Jews for a Just Peace is one of the organizers of the mission to send more than 30 ships to protest Israel’s four-year blockade of the coastal enclave, Hebrew-language daily Ma’ariv reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=313867
Scottish activists campaign for nationwide boycott against Israel
EDINBURGH — Activists launched a national campaign last weekend to boycott Israeli products throughout Scotland. The group said it will target Muslim-owned shops in Scotland as a first step. The Scottish Sunday Herald reported that after the campaign achieved success in Glasgow, campaign organizers decided to expand the boycott to Muslim shops throughout Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, and Fife.
http://www.jnoubiyeh.com/2010/09/scottish-activists-campaign-for.html
For a morally consistent boycott of Israel
While we welcome acts of protest against any manifestation of Israel’s regime of colonialism and apartheid — including the recent announcement by 150 prominent Israeli academics, writers and cultural figures to boycott Israel’s settlements — we believe that these acts must be both morally consistent and anchored in international law and universal human rights.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11510.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Boycott grows as Stephen Sondheim, Mira Nair and Julianne Moore join call against settlement theater; Palestinian activists say keep focus on the big picture, Adam Horowitz
Jewish Voice for Peace’s campaign to support 60 leading Israeli actors and playwrights who are refusing to play a new theater in Ariel continues to grow. New notable figures are joining by the day. Ed Asner explains his support, "It is always amazing when actors turn down jobs.To have the actors of Israel say they will not work in those venues is truly an act of courage.. I applaud them and would live to instill the actors of America with that courage." And Corey Fischer, co-founder of the Traveling Jewish Theater (now Jewish Theater San Francisco), expressed his admiration in the spirit of the season, “It seems to me that, as often happens in our times, these artists are taking on what was traditionally the task of the Hebrew Prophets: speaking truth to power. I hope someone is listening.”
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/boycott-grows-as-stephen-sondheim-mira-nair-and-julianne-moore-join-call-against-settlement-theater-palestinian-activists-say-keep-focus-on-the-big-picture.html
Vanessa Redgrave’s ‘Zionist Hoodlums’ Speech Shocks Hollywood
With the Vietnam War over, one might have thought the early-Super70s tradition of offering up a political diatribe instead of an Academy Awards acceptance speech (see especially "Brando Refuses Oscar") had gone the way of Sensurround by March 29, 1978. But on that night, Vanessa Redgrave shocked nearly a billion worldwide television viewers watching the Academy Awards with the last great Academy Awards protest speech of 20th century.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvMoGAy7q9c&feature=player_embedded
Global BDS against Israel is Working, Stephen Lendman
In July 2005, a coalition of 171 Palestinian Civil Society organizations created the Global BDS movement for "Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel Until it Complies with International Law and Universal Principles of Human Rights" for Occupied Palestinians, Israeli Arabs, and Palestinian diaspora refugees.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16249
Letter: From Gaza with love; support a boycott
I am in besieged Gaza for the fifth time as I write this letter. The Israeli occupation/siege/imprisonment continues despite UN condemnation, international outcry and violation of international law. As citizens of the world we should all be outraged by the atrocious human rights violations occurring here and in the West Bank. The cattle herding of Palestinians through the one border and the trickle of "supplies" (food, no building materials), purporting to be Israel’s "relaxing" of the grasp on all borders (only due to flotilla pressure), is an obscenely small gesture in light of the slow strangulation of the people here in Gaza.
http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=5&SubSectionID=5&ArticleID=27679
Artist Action for Education in Palestine
solidarity concert for the World Education Forum in Palestine fall 2010 Friday September 24th 21h 2010 suggested donation: $10-20 Cabaret Mile-End 5240 avenue du Parc (close to Fairmount) Montréal, Québec featuring performances by Kalmunity Jazz Project Kalmunity Jazz Project the Jazz element to the city-wide Kalmunity artist network, featuring multiple horn instruments, drums, percussion, vocals, guitar, bass and additional music.
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/7854
The Siege (Gaza & West Bank)/Humanitarian/Restriction of Movement/Human Rights/Racism
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (02-07 September 2010)
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/FERB-894GJN?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Israel imposes full closure on WB
West Bank, September 8, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli occupation authorities decided to impose a security comprehensive cordon on the West Bank that starts from midnight tonight until midnight next Sunday.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6928:israel-imposes-full-closure-on-wb&catid=59:west-bank&Itemid=135
Israel bans sheikh from entering Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Sheikh Ali Abu Sheikha was issued an Israeli order at 1 a.m. on Tuesday banning him from Jerusalem until 12 November. Abu Sheikha, an adviser to the Islamic Movement for Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Affair, said he received the order along with a map of Jerusalem detailing the areas he was forbidden to enter. He added that the order was signed by head of the Israeli army’s Home Front Command Major General Yair Golan.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=313915
Israeli forces turn back 4 buses at Allenby
JERICHO (Ma’an) — Travelers at the Allenby Bridge crossing said Israeli forces denied four buses passage into Jordan Tuesday evening. Israeli forces turned back four buses Tuesday evening at the Allenby Bridge crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, travelers said. Allenby Bridge director Mustafa Ghannam said 35 buses had crossed the bridge into Jordan, and assured that those which were turned back would be priority passengers on Wednesday. Israeli forces announced a reduction in operating hours at the crossing on Wednesday and Thursday due to Jewish holidays.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=313940
IOF prevents Norwegian delegation from reaching Jenin
Jenin, September 8, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli soldiers prevented a Norwegian delegation of solidarity of the Norwegian youth movement to support of Palestine from entering the city of Jenin in the West Bank, and forced them to return to the city of Jericho.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6930:iof-prevents-norwegian-delegation-from-reaching-jenin&catid=59:west-bank&Itemid=135
IDF to close off West Bank for holiday
Wary of additional terror attacks in wake of peace talks, army deploys troops, sets up roadblocks.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3951458,00.html
Stopping the Water
At 7:00 am in the morning, the Israelis arrived too late to help a poor farmer. The men with guns were already there, sitting on the farmer’s well. An argument broke out in Hebrew between the settlers and the Israeli human rights group Taayush. Every week, they enter the West Bank to work alongside Palestinians threatened by settlers and soldiers. Both groups broke the rules of Shabat: settlers and activists used video cameras and cell phones as tempers rose with the temperature. One settler sat silently behind black sunglasses, a handgun tucked into his pants and a large machine gun hanging across his chest. Behind the escalating debate, the Palestinian farmer packed up his water house and readied his empty water tanker for the road home.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1531
PCBS: Women 3 times more likely to be illiterate
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Women and girls make up three-quarters of illiterate Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, a study from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics found. Released in honor of International Literacy Day on 8 September, the study found 93,475 females and 29,558 males living in the West Bank and Gaza were illiterate.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=313729
The Female Factor: Peeking Out From Under Hamas’s Veil
Palestinian women in Gaza who are loyal to Hamas work to expand their role, but usually within the strict confines of Islam.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=756c623f1ded8c7847af667fc8414e52
Violence and other Provocations
Voices from the Occupation
The human cost of the blockade – Children shot whilst collecting building material in Gaza.
http://www.dci-pal.org/english/doc/press/Gaza%20-%20Abdullah%27s%20Case%20-%2022%20June%202010.pdf
Settler Open Fire At Palestinian Cars, Soldiers Arrest Civilians
An Israeli settler opened fire on Tuesday at Palestinian cars driving near the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59371
Israeli forces raid Nablus village
NABLUS (Ma’an) — Israeli forces raided a village south of the West Bank city of Nablus Tuesday night. More than 20 Israeli military vehicles entered Al-Majdal Bani Fadel, and dozens of soldiers began to search the area, locals said, adding that forces imposed a curfew on the village. An Israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers entered the village in response to reports of gunfire in the area, but was not aware of any curfew imposed.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=313935
IOF raids Hebron, closes main markets
Hebron, September 8, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli authorities Prevented last night people from entering the markets of the town of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6929:iof-raids-hebron-closes-main-markets&catid=59:west-bank&Itemid=135
WAFA: Israel’s Attacks Left 101 Palestinian Journalists Injured Since The Start Of 2010
Ramallah – PNN – The Palestine News And Information Agency WAFA relased a report on Wednesday documenting the Israeli violations against Palestinian Journalists since the start of 2010 until August 31st. According to WAFA’s report 101 Palestinian journalists were injured during the reported period by Israeli’s military tear gas bombs, rubber-coated steel bullets and sound bombs. 52 journalists were detained and arrested by the Israeli military while troops damaged equipment in 12 separate incidents. In total there was 166 violations aginst journalists since the start of this year, WAFA says 11 of those attacks were committed during the month of August alone. The state run Agency WAFA announced that during the reported period there was one death case. A Turkish journalist was killed during the Israeli navy attack on the Free Gaza Flotilla while sailing in international waters. The attack left 8 other killed and 54 injured.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8749&Itemid=64
War Crimes
Eyewitness to the Nakba
Public hearing at Zochrot, 61 Ibn Gvirol St., Tel-Aviv, June 17, 2010. The audience consisted of about twenty people. Initiated and organized by Amir Hallel. The testimony was video-recorded by Lia Tarachansky. Miri Barak prepared the transcription. Eitan Bronstein edited, summarized, and added footnotes. Translated to English by Asaf Kedar.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/eyewitness-to-the-nakba.html
Israel’s evidence questioned as Corrie trial resumes
Testimonies resumed in the ongoing civil suit lodged by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel in Haifa’s District Court this week, as the state’s defense team called three witnesses to the stand.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11511.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Rachel Corrie trial: Israeli military Colonel states, “There are no civilians in war zones.”
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/09/14331/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+%28International+Solidarity+Movement%29
Revolving Door: IDF soldier convicted of killing U.K. activist in Gaza released from jail
Taysir Hayb found guilty of manslaughter over the April 2003 shooting of Thomas Hurndall during an International Solidarity Movement protest in the Gaza Strip city of Rafah.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/idf-soldier-convicted-of-killing-u-k-activist-in-gaza-released-from-jail-1.312954
Arab Helpers
Palestinians arrest Israeli settler attackers (AFP)
AFP – The Palestinian Authority has arrested several Hamas members for organizing and carrying out two recent attacks on Israeli settlers, a senior official said on Tuesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100907/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestinianspeaceconflictarrest
Hamas warns PA: Stop arresting our people or we’ll strike
Announcement comes after PA security officials arrest 6 Hamas-linked operatives suspected of two shooting attacks against Israelis last week.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/hamas-warns-pa-stop-arresting-our-people-or-we-ll-strike-1.312948?localLinksEnabled=false
Factions: PA arrests ‘desperate attempt to quell resistance’
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Palestinian opposition factions criticized the Palestinian Authority Tuesday, for what it described as "a desperate attempt to quell resistance" in the West Bank, following a wave of detentions after the fatal shooting of four Israeli settlers in Hebron. Speaking to reporters in Gaza City, faction representatives called on the PLO and human rights organizations "not to remain silent" toward the the arrests.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=313984
"Peace" Talks/Political Developments
Sha’ath: PA will never recognize Israel as Jewish
Week after launching of direct talks, Palestinian negotiator says recognizing Israel as Jewish state would ‘directly threaten Muslims, Christians’ and prevent Palestinian refugees from ‘returning to their homes’.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3951626,00.html
Erekat confirms new meeting after Egypt talks
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — There will be a direct bilateral meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the 14-15 September peace talks in Egypt, officials told Ma’an. The Israeli Hebrew newspaper Ma’ariv said the two would meet in Jerusalem immediately after talks. Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat told Ma’an Radio on Tuesday that a meeting was discussed but no date or location had been set.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=313876
Palestinians, Israelis doubt talks but collapse unlikely (AFP)
AFP – Palestinian and Israeli officials on Tuesday were cautious about the latest round of peace talks but indicated the US-backed negotiations were not likely to collapse.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100907/wl_afp/israelpalestinianspeacesettler
PM says ‘peace not at any price’ in New Year greeting
Netanyahu sends Rosh Hashana greetings to Israeli public via YouTube channel, wishes for happy holiday while giving hints to Palestinians. ‘We need to achieve peace, but we’re not naive,’ he says.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3951176,00.html
Peace in Middle East will not come ‘quick’ : Obama (AFP)
AFP – US President Barack Obama warned Tuesday that progress towards peace in the Middle East would not come easily, or quickly, despite the launch of direct Israeli-Palestinian talks.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100907/pl_afp/israelpalestinianspeaceusobama
Israel worried by Jones proposal for int’l force in W. Bank
American proposal to establish a multi-national force in the West Bank could be way to expedite a withdrawal following any peace deal with Palestinian Authority.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=187516
Other News
Palestinian nabbed for arms deal in Miami
Florida police arrest Abdalaziz Aziz Hamayel on suspicion of trying to purchase hundreds of stolen weapons, ammunition; transfer arms to ‘his people’.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3951172,00.html
New groups enlist in public relations war in support of IDF
Bein Hakavanot founder: Group seeks to fight issues such as left-wing organizations’ pressure on army and legal advice influencing orders in the field.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/new-groups-enlist-in-public-relations-war-in-support-of-idf-1.312827?localLinksEnabled=false
OECD: Israel pays teachers half of Western average
The OECD’s annual report on education shows Israel trailing other developed nations in spending per student and teacher salaries.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/oecd-israel-pays-teachers-half-of-western-average-1.312773?localLinksEnabled=false
Analysis/Opinion/Human Interest
Looking at Hamas and Seeing the I.R.A., ROBERT MACKEY
Does excluding Hamas from Middle East peace talks ignore what was learned in Northern Ireland when peace was achieved only after the I.R.A.’s political representatives were included?
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=dc57b45af134d0171e3491183074f3f8
This time in Washington, honest brokerage is not going to be enough, Avi Shlaim
The pope, according to a no doubt apocryphal story, maintains that there are two possible solutions to the Arab-Israeli conflict – the realistic and the miraculous. The realistic solution involves divine intervention; the miraculous solution involves a voluntary agreement between the parties themselves. The American-sponsored peace talks that got under way in Washington last week may be viewed in this light.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/07/peace-talks-washington-israel-palestinians
Peace requires more US action
When Hillary Clinton addressed the media on September 3 following the resumption of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, she got much right. But in suggesting that the US will not invoke an agreement, Clinton misinterpreted the reality under which the talks are being held.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=17&article_id=119016#axzz0yr4Gh6kN
Spoiler Alert, Amjad Atallah
On Aug. 31, four Israeli settlers were killed by Palestinian gunmen near the West Bank city of Hebron. Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades, said the group "announces its full responsibility for the heroic operation in Hebron."
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/09/02/spoiler_alert?page=0,0
British Palestinian rapper conducts a ‘musical intifada’
"It’s a musical intifada, a musical uprising," says Shadia Mansour squinting in the sunshine outside the hip hop workshop she is running in the West Bank city of Hebron. From inside, a DJ can be heard cutting out beats on his decks. Ms Mansour has been dubbed "the first lady of Arabic hip hop", but she is perhaps the only lady of Arabic hip hop. The 24-year-old British Palestinian rapper grew up in South London, but she is currently on tour in the West Bank.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11215298
Meet the Chernicks, Philip Weiss
A few weeks back Juan Cole created a data point to explain the neocons: "They have more assets than is visible on the surface. They have perhaps half of America’s 400 billionaires on their side." I am deeply grateful to Cole for that assertion. Even if it’s imprecise, even if it’s off, it’s obviously based on knowledge of how the discourse works and it’s got a large truth in it: it explains the fiendish persistence inside the political establishment of neoconservatism. I wish Chris Matthews would have Cole on and ask him why he believes this, ask him who gives money to Yale and why Yale wouldn’t have Cole but Yale would have a conference that attacked Palestinian identity formation and "self-hating Jews."
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/meet-the-chernicks.html
Mearsheimer: There will be no two-state solution, only a greater Israel, and Palestinians will need the int’l community in the coming fight against apartheid, Philip Weiss
Something you won’t see on American television: Al Jazeera ran a long piece on the peace talks (linked here at Pulse.). "Empire" host Marwan Bishara is incisive; he speaks of the "Zionist lobby" and the emergence of a state in Kosovo with far less rigmarole than the endless peace process. His guests, on barstools in a rooftop interview in view of the White House, are Nabil Shaath of the P.A., former negotiator Rob Malley, and John Mearsheimer.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/mearsheimer-there-will-be-no-two-state-solution-only-a-greater-israel-and-palestinians-will-need-the-intl-community-in-the-coming-fight-against-apartheid.html
Arafat’s legacy is ignored, but his mistakes should not be, Tony Karon
This week’s photograph of four Middle Eastern leaders striding purposefully alongside the US president down a White House red carpet was nearly identical to an image from 15 years earlier. The only man to appear in both pictures was Egypt’s president Hosni Mubarak, who last Wednesday joined Jordan’s King Abdullah, the Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the US president Barack Obama at a White House dinner to inaugurate a new round of direct peace talks. The 1995 edition, a signing ceremony for a second phase of the Oslo Accords, featured King Abdullah’s father, King Hussein, the former president Bill Clinton, the late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, and the PLO leader Yasser Arafat.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100906/OPINION/709059960/1080
Road to Jerusalem now moved from Baghdad to Tehran!, Philip Weiss
Wonderful post at Lobelog by Eli Clifton: The neocons used to insist that the road to peace in Jerusalem led through Baghdad. Guess what, now they’re saying it leads “through Tehran.” And the sad news, they’re still in the ideological driver’s seat.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/road-to-jerusalem-now-moved-from-baghdad-to-tehran.html
Israeli Security vs. Palestinian Economy, Jamil Salman
Following 17 years of failure under the Oslo regime and 2 years of stalemate since the last round of peace discussions (Annapolis), this week saw the commencement of renewed peace talks in Washington under the watchful gaze of American diplomats. Depending on what you read or hear, the talks seem to offer both a glimmer of hope and no abundance of pessimism. With a one year deadline having been publicly announced as a timeframe on agreeing a final peace settlement, the talks have reportedly already stalled around the issue of Israeli settlements. This in itself is not surprising considering that both sides would, reluctantly, need to accept hard compromises if any agreement is to be reached. This holds especially true for Israel, who will need to allow for various concessions when addressing the issue of rebuilding Palestinian economic structures that have been largely eroded by Israeli dominance during the Oslo era.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16248
Why Negotiate, Again?, Elias Akleh
Another round of the Palestinian/Israeli bargaining negotiations started September 2nd despite all the predictions and expectations of miserable failure. The two parties had met for the nth time, within the last 17 years, where they had discussed the same old issues again and again, and then departed without any positive results despite the American mediation (falsely called the honest broker).
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16250
Kairos and Christian Advocacy in the ‘Holy Land’, Timothy Seidel
Much is said about Palestine-Israel. There is no shortage of reporting, analysis, and opinion. And there is no shortage of expressions of personal commitments to ‘peace’. One need only glance at recent headlines to discover this, especially with another push to reinvigorate the ‘peace process’. But there is also much that is not said. For example, in many reports of Israel’s attack on an aid flotilla headed to Gaza earlier this year there was a glaring absence of a back story. Why are basic relief supplies needed in Gaza?
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16252
The Misnomer of the Peace Talks, John Chuckman
I don’t know how anyone given the task could draw a map of Israel: it is likely the only country in the world with no defined borders, and it actually has worked very hard over many decades to achieve this peculiar state. It once had borders, but the 1967 war took care of those. It has no intention of ever returning to them because it could have done so at any time in the last forty-three years (an act which would have been the clearest possible declaration of a desire for genuine peace with justice and which would have saved the immense human misery of occupation), but doing so would negate the entire costly effort of the Six Day War whose true purpose was to achieve what we see now in the Palestinian territories.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16251
Gaza ‘train’ symbol of lost connections
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — "We had a tough time collecting all the parts – mostly spares – the raw materials were mostly from dismantled cars and things, but we collected what we could until we had this: what we call a train." The project was an initiative by Hussam Badawi and Gaza Mechanical Engineers, where he works. Badawi said the train-like vehicle, which travels at 30km/hour, was based on the American Jeep, with several alterations in scale and power.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=311490
Iraq
Another Iraqi TV journalist killed in Mosul (AP)
AP – Gunmen on Wednesday killed an Iraqi TV journalist, the second to be slain in Iraq in as many days, highlighting the dangers media workers continue to face in the country seven years after the U.S.-led invasion.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100908/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq
Five killed in attacks as Baghdad bans motorcycles (AFP)
AFP – A spate of bomb attacks and shootings in Iraq on Wednesday killed five people, including a television presenter, as Baghdad imposed a ban on motorcycles ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100908/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrest
Tuesday: 2 US Soldiers, 14 Iraqis Killed; 15 Iraqis Wounded
Gunmen killed two U.S. soldiers in one of at least three attacks on American targets. At least 14 Iraqis were killed and 15 more were wounded as well. Meanwhile, six months have passed since national elections, yet the new government has not been selected. Also, looted artifacts are slowly being returned to Iraq.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/09/07/tuesday-2-us-soldiers-14-iraqis-killed-15-iraqis-wounded/
Iraq unable to meet current power demand until 2013: US (AFP)
AFP – Iraq will need at least another three years before it is able to satisfy current electricity demand, the US general charged with the military’s reconstruction efforts in the Middle East said on Tuesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100907/wl_mideast_afp/iraqelectricityus
US and Iran favour Maliki as Iraq PM six months after polls (AFP)
AFP – Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has the backing of Washington and US arch-foe Iran to keep his job, six months after he narrowly lost an election to ex-premier Iyad Allawi, politicians said Tuesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100907/pl_afp/iraqpolitics
Hussein’s Kalashnikov Returned to Iraq
The rifle had been looted as a war trophy by an American soldier after the 2003 invasion.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=47981526a91699ec5ca01d4a5d568b9e
Hundreds of looted artefacts returned to Iraq
* 542 items returned, mainly from U.S.
* Foreign minister pledges to retrieve all stolen relics
* Artefacts to go on display in Iraqi museum
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE6861UY.htm
Conditions in Iraq have never been as worse as they are now
The latest bombings in Iraq, particularly in Baghdad, show that the government is losing control despite ostensible measures to boost security. One good indication of how fragile conditions have become is the daring attack last Sunday on a major army base and headquarters in the heart of Baghdad. Unidentified gunmen barged into the former Defense Ministry building and barricaded themselves, waging a ferocious battle for about three hours, killing at least 12, and injuring many others.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2010-09-07\kurd.htm
Lebanon
Hizbullah, Syria welcome Hariri’s change of heart on accusations
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s remarks to pan-Arab daily Ash-Sharq al-Awsat were welcomed on Tuesday by Damascus and praised by Hizbullah which described the premier’s condemnation of false witnesses as a step toward uncovering the truth behind his father’s killing.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=119099
Aoun steps up criticism of president
BEIRUT: Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun reiterated Tuesday his sharp criticism of President Michel Sleiman and four ministers, holding them responsible for the "collapse of state institutions." But the FPM chief denied that he sought the resignation of the Cabinet, at least under the current circumstances.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=119101
Israeli commissions confirm Nasrallah’s footage authentic
BEIRUT: Two commissions formed by the Israeli Army said footage displayed by Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in August of a 1996 resistance operation to ambush an Israeli commando force was authentic, Israeli daily Maariv reported Tuesday.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=119102
MP Sami Gemayel Says Phalange Party Not Ashamed of Past
Phalange party MP Sami Gemayel reiterated on Wednesday that his party was not ashamed of its past despite accusations that the party was proud of its collaboration with Israel during the civil war. In a press conference he held, Gemayel said the Phalange party is not ashamed of resorting to Israel during the civil war to arm itself.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=153390&language=en
Peacekeeper killed, another injured in road accident
BEIRUT: A United Nations peacekeeper was killed and another injured when their vehicle turned over while conducting routine engineering work in south Lebanon on Tuesday.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=119104
Inside Story – A change of heart?
Relations between Syria and Lebanon have improved and now Hariri has dramatically changed track. But why now? Who is behind it? And where does it leave the investigation into Rafik Hariri’s death?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc3jt-can1k&feature=player_embedded
Iran
Iran sticks to its guns on nuclear report
The United Nations’ atomic energy agency says Iran is hampering the work of its inspectors and continuing to enrich uranium, in contravention of Security Council demands. To the Americans, this shows Tehran is moving closer to nuclear weapons capability. To Tehran, the latest report, while "unbalanced", proves for the 23rd time that Iran is sticking to a peaceful program.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LI09Ak01.html
Russian official: U.S. hindering resumption of talks with Iran
The comments, made to a discussion group of Russia experts, appeared aimed at nudging Washington towards restarting stalled UN-backed talks to provide Iran with nuclear fuel for a Tehran research reactor.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/russian-official-u-s-hindering-resumption-of-talks-with-iran-1.312547
Iran suspends death by stoning case
Controversial punishment for Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani put on hold amid "review" following international outcry.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2010/09/201098122526772598.html
U.S. and Other World News
US to Spend $6B a Year on Afghan Troops
The United States expects to spend about $6 billion a year training and supporting Afghan troops and police after it begins pulling out its own combat troops in "2011", The Associated Press has learned.
http://www.military.com/news/article/us-to-spend-6b-a-year-on-afghan-troops.html?col=1186032310810
Sentencing Terrorism Suspects to Death — Without Trial, Anthony D. Romero and Vincent Warren
We simply cannot accept the proposition that the government should have unchecked authority to carry out extrajudicial killings, including of U.S. citizens, far from any actual battlefield. Nor can we accept the contention that the entire world is a battlefield.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/02/AR2010090204463.html
There are no "do-overs" in long wars, Stephen M. Walt
Last week I offered up "Ten reasons why wars last too long," which tried to explain why it was hard for leaders to recognize they are in a losing war and difficult for them to simply "cut their losses" and disengage. Coincidentally, last week Stephen Sestanovich of Columbia University published a smart piece entitled "How do long wars become so long?" in The New Republic. TNR dropped off my "must-read" list a long time ago, but Sestanovich’s piece is excellent and well worth a look. He argues that many "long wars" begin with a half-hearted, desultory effort (as in Vietnam in the early 1960s, or Afghanistan from 2003-2007), often because U.S. leaders have more pressing priorities. When it becomes clear that things aren’t going well, however, presidents and their advisors normally conclude that they haven’t given the war their best shot and tend to assume that a serious effort will turn the tide.
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/09/07/no_do-overs_in_long_wars
9 Shameless Warmongers Who Call Fox News Home
Media Matters takes a look at the track record of wrong predictions and shoddy analysis about the war in Iraq by many of Fox News’ contributors and analysts.
http://www.alternet.org/story/148086/9_shameless_warmongers_who_call_fox_news_home?page=entire
New top music tour destination: Damascus
Damascus is increasingly on the radar for international music tours. Artists have been surprised at the huge turnout to performances.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/Mj_I6xzeo5s/New-top-music-tour-destination-Damascus
Sex, violence, Islam: Syrian TV soap raises drama
BEIRUT — In a new Syrian soap opera, a beautiful green-eyed young woman named Layla is torn over whether to take off the niqab, the billowing black Islamic garb that hides every part of her except her eyes. "I cannot take this pressure anymore," she says in one episode. "I want to take off the veil." But her rebelliousness has unintended consequences: She is shunned by society, her mother refuses to take her calls and her brother plots her death.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hvvvxw4JPZJQyzlb2ylgwLQ_jP4AD9I3JRC81
Islam in the U.S.
White House: Koran Burning Endangers Troops
WASHINGTON — The White House said Tuesday that a Florida church’s threat to burn copies of the Muslim holy book could endanger U.S. troops abroad, while the State Department denounced the plan as "un-American" and said it would put American diplomats and travelers at risk. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs noted the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus, has warned that images of a burning Quran would be used by extremists to incite violence.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/07/white-house-koran-burning_n_707794.html
US religious leaders condemn ‘anti-Muslim’ frenzy
* State Department calls planned Koran-burning un-American
* Muslim leader urges Muslims abroad to ‘take a step back’
* Protests in Kabul
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N07250891.htm
Anti-Muslim Acts In Five States Being Investigated By Department Of Justice
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is investigating a handful of apparently anti-Muslim incidents in four states, including the stabbing of a Muslim cab driver in New York City. FBI agents and civil rights division investigators also are looking into vandalism and other incidents at mosques or mosque construction sites in Arlington, Texas; Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Madera, Calif.; and Waterport, N.Y.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/07/antimuslim-acts-in-five-s_n_708088.html
Major pro-Israel giver funds ‘Jihad Watch’
Group opposing Ground Zero mosque is organizing rally on the 9th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks.
http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=187113
Author Tim Wise Slams Ground Zero Mosque Opposition
After all, there is scarcely a square foot of land upon which we tread that is not, for someone, Ground Zero. I am sitting atop one now: a killing field for Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Creek; a graveyard in which are buried the bones — and if no longer the bones, then surely the dust — of peoples whose evisceration occurred not so long ago, and is still remembered by those who have not the luxury of forgetting.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/07/author-slams-ground-zero-mosque-opposition_n_707830.html
Concern Is Voiced Over Religious Intolerance
Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, said: “We know what it is like when people have attacked us physically, have attacked us verbally, and others have remained silent. It cannot happen here in America in 2010.” The clergy members said that those responsible for a poisoned climate included politicians manipulating a wedge issue in an election year, self-styled “experts” on Islam who denigrate the faith for religious or political reasons and some conservative evangelical Christian pastors. The Rev. Richard Cizik, president of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good, said: “To those who would exercise derision, bigotry, open rejection of our fellow Americans of a different faith, I say, shame on you. As an evangelical, I say to those who do this, you bring dishonor to those who love Jesus Christ.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/us/08muslim.html
Gainesville Muslim Community Organizes Vigils, Teach-Ins to Counter Planned Koran Burning
Global condemnation grows over a Florida church’s plan to burn the Koran on September 11th. General David Patreaus warns it could endanger US troops abroad. We speak with a Gainesville student who is helping to organize a series of counter events in the community, Mayor Craig Lowe, the first openly gay mayor who was targeted by the Florida church during his campaign, and Moustafa Bayoumi, author of "How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being Young and Arab in America."
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/9/8/gainesville_muslim_community_organizes_vigils_teach
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