And more news from Today in Palestine:
Settlers/ Land, Property, Resource Theft & Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing
Soldiers Deny Palestinians Access to Lands in Hebron
On Friday morning, the Israeli military prevented Palestinian farmers from working on their lands, adjacent to the separation wall, in the western part of the town of Beit Ula, northwest of Hebron.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59786
Israeli occupation decide to banish Kabaha from his birthplace
Former Palestinian minister, Wasfi Kabaha, said that the Israeli occupation has decided to banish him from his birthplace, Bartaa al-Sharqeyya, near the northern West Bank city of Jenin.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq
Arab League report reveals that Israel’s Wall is almost all built on occupied land
Arab League report reveals that Israel’s Wall is almost all built on occupied landIsrael’s so-called “Separation Wall” is nearly all built on Palestinian land occupied by the Zionists state since 1967, according to a report produced by the Arab League. The more commonly-called Apartheid Wall is also “an overt violation of the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice”, as well as international law which prohibits occupation forces from controlling occupied land by force.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/articles/arab-media/1693-arab-league-report-reveals-that-israels-wall-is-almost-all-built-on-occupied-land
Jordan slams UN official for urging Palestinian refugees to resettle in Arab states
Amman minister criticizes comment by UNRWA official, according to which Palestinian refugees must discard illusions they will return one day to their homes.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/jordan-slams-un-official-for-urging-palestinian-refugees-to-resettle-in-arab-states-1.321643?localLinksEnabled=false
Israeli rights orgs demand action over settler vandalism
JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Four human rights organizations collaborated on a project documenting settler vandalism during the 2010 olive harvest, reporting a total of 35 incidents of tree vandalism during the six-week season. The organizations, all based in Israel, included The Association of Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), B’Tselem, Rabbis for Human Rights and Yesh Din. Following the documentation effort the group sent an urgent letter to senior Israeli military commanders, calling on the commanders to take all necessary steps to ensure that Palestinians and their properties were protected from violence and damage during the remainder of the season.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=328692
Netanyahu: Settlement building won’t affect final status peace deal
PM comment comes as Palestinians consider UN Security Council vote on unilateral declaration of statehood if Israel does not cease its recently resumed settlement constructing.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-settlement-building-won-t-affect-final-status-peace-deal-1.321678?localLinksEnabled=false
Rivlin: “Settlement Issue used by Palestinians as an excuse to End Peace talks”
On Thursday, Israeli Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin lambasted the Palestinian leadership, accusing them of using the issue of Israeli settlements as an excuse to end peace talks currently on hold in Washington.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59778
Settler numbers rise at almost 3 times nat’l average
Central Bureau of Statistics figures show West Bank Jewish population at 303,900 in June 2010, up 7,200 in six months.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=193215
The War of the Olive Harvest: Palestinians vs. Settlers
It is ritual of autumn, like homecoming or leaf peeping in more decorous parts of the world: Come fall, Palestinians go out to harvest their olives. And Israeli settlers come down from the hilltops to stop them. “There! There! All these olive trees were burned,” says Bureen mayor Ali Eid, with an angry gesture that takes in a hillside once colored with the dusty green of ancient trees, and now charred after the settlers had come through. “We have lost more than 16,000 olive trees by cutting or burning since 2005. Every year is worse than the year before.”
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2028009,00.html?xid=rss-world&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+time%2Fworld+%28TIME%3A+Top+World+Stories%29#ixzz13hY7wotD
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions
Israeli Forces Suppress Al-Ma’sara Protest
Bethlehem – PNN – Israeli troops stopped the weekly protest march against the wall and settlements in the Palestinian village of al-Ma’sara. Israeli troops broke up the protest with tear gas and sound bombs. One unnamed Israeli activist was beaten by police and taken away. Villagers and international supporters were also commemorating the 54th anniversary of the 1956 Kafr Qasem massacre, in which Israeli troops killed 49 unarmed Palestinians. The story is developing.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9035&Itemid=59
One Injured, Dozens Suffer Ffrom Gas Inhalation At Bil’in Weekly Protest
Ramallah – PNN – One Palestinian was injured and dozens were treated for tear gas inhalation after a confrontation with Israeli troops during the weekly march to protest the wall in the village of Bil’in. The protestors shouted slogans against the wall and Israel’s settlement and detainment policies. When they reached the wall and tried to cross into the Palestinian land on the other side, the Israeli military shot rubber bullets, sound bombs, and tear gas canisters at them. Samir Barnat, 34, was injured when a tear gas canister exploded on his shoulder. The march, organized by the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, was joined by Sten Rinet, a Norwegian member of parliament, and Toron Hovik, a member of the Norwegian worker’s party, as well as Bil’in villagers and dozens of Israeli and international peace activists.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9034&Itemid=59
Peace Group Director ‘Forced to Accept’ Plea Bargain On Spy Charges, Palestine Monitor
An Arab-Israeli political activist accepted a plea bargain on charges of espionage yesterday. Ameer Makhoul, head of the peace group Ittijah, was accused of spying for the Lebanese Hizbollah party. He admitted guilt for crimes that will see him serve seven to 10 years in exchange for more serious charges being dropped.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1587
Take Action: Help Stop Delivery of CAT Bulldozers to Israel, Josh Ruebner
For more than five years, we’ve been working to hold Israel, Caterpillar, and the United States accountable for Israel’s misuse of Caterpillar bulldozers to commit human rights abuses of Palestinians. These bulldozers are provided to Israel as U.S. taxpayer-funded military aid. Earlier this week, we learned from Israeli media that Caterpillar has decided to delay the delivery of tens of D9 bulldozers–the same kind that the Israeli military used to kill U.S. peace activist Rachel Corrie as she nonviolently tried to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home in the occupied Gaza Strip in March 2003. Together with the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church, (U.S.A.), and Jewish Voice for Peace, we are pressing the Obama Administration to make sure that the delivery of these bulldozers does not go through.
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/take-action-help-stop-delivery-of-cat.html
#BDS: The Palestinian Civil Society Campaign for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Marks 5 Years
In meeting rooms and conference halls, on high streets and university campuses, the Palestine solidarity movement is changing. In the dozen years following the signing of the Oslo Accords, few doubted the determination and resolve of solidarity campaigns, but there were fears that they were beginning to lose direction. Today, as we mark the fifth anniversary of the 2005 Palestinian Civil Society Call for a campaign of boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it complies with international law, a truly global movement is rapidly emerging whose concrete forms of solidarity is not only changing the discourse surrounding the Palestinian struggle, but are also achieving concrete results towards the isolation of the Israeli regime.
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/10/bds-palestinian-civil-society-campaign.html
Anti
Jewish organizations debate BDS in online forum, Adam Horowitz
Zeek, a Jewish journal of thought and culture, has hosted a liberal Jewish exchange on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Jewish Voice for Peace speaks in favor of BDS, while the New Israel Fund speaks against. Below are two snippets of their arguments. Zeek is providing a great service in helping bring this debate out into the open, which helps illustrate the developing fault lines in American liberal Jewish thought.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/10/jewish-organizations-debate-bds-in-online-forum.html
NY Jewish group raises 15,000 signatures in support of Israeli occupation, Philip Weiss
Good coverage in the Forward, written by Joy Resmovits, of the Ahava boycott, which is led by Code Pink, which targets Ricky’s, Brooklyn store, which sells Ahava cosmetics, which steals Palestinian minerals in the occupied West Bank, which beat the dog, which bit the kid that my father bought for two zuzim. That’s a Jewish joke. Sorry. From a Passover song. Because my new theme here is to pound not just the Jewish establishment, but rank and file liberal Jews who support the occupation. Like the flock of Brooklyn Rabbi Andy Bachman, who urges people to buy from Ricky’s. Flock, tell me, if your rabbi really wants two states, he should be pushing Israel out of the longest occupation in recent history, right? (And not just leading demonstrations about Darfur. Darfur Jews, finding a place to stand up for human rights. Charity begins at home.)
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/10/ny-jewish-group-raises-15000-signatures-in-support-of-israeli-occupation.html
Siege/Rights Violations/Restriction of Movement
Gaza borders closed for weekend
GAZA (Ma’an) — Israeli crossings authorities operating on the Gaza borders informed their Palestinian counterparts on Friday that the borders would not be open for goods transport that day. While crossings are scheduled to open on Friday, the Muslim holy day, Israeli officials have announced their closure every week since the August 2009, barring one where emergency fuel supplies were delivered at the request of officials. decided Friday to close all borders to the Gaza Strip.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=328697
Hamas-Fatah divide turns the lights out on Gazans
Deep distrust between Hamas and Fatah, which are due for another round of reconciliation talks next week, has led to a dispute over who should pay the electricity bill.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/69af9kVaiNE/Hamas-Fatah-divide-turns-the-lights-out-on-Gazans
Gaza’s rubble collectors
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VH7EGv8lL0&feature=youtube_gdata
Sun Deprived in Palestine, Robin Yassin-Kassab
Balata Camp started as tents in the fifties, grew cement blocks in the sixties, installed sewage and water in the seventies, and has stretched ever upwards until now. The camp boasts the densest population in the West Bank: at least 25,000 people in a couple of square kilometres (the inhabitants claim up to 40,000).
http://pulsemedia.org/2010/10/28/sun-deprived-in-palestine/
British clowns lift spirits in Gaza
ZAYTOUN, GAZA (Ma’an) — A troupe of six British circus performers are touring the Gaza Strip in an effort to lift children’s spirits in the besieged enclave. The group, called Circus2Gaza, in the middle of a 10-day tour, doing performances in schools and community centers. On Thursday afternoon, the troupe performed in the Samouni compound, home to the family of the same name that lost 29 people in what became the most famous massacre of Israel’s 2009 attack on Gaza.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=328639
Refugees
Lebanon’s refugee camps no better than those in Gaza – UNRWA official, One-third of school graduates unemployed, while others poorly paid, study finds
BEIRUT: The conditions of Palestinians living in and outside of Lebanon’s 12 refugee camps are equal to, or even worse, than those in Gaza, a top United Nations Refugee and Work Agency (UNRWA) official said Thursday. “The situation in Gaza under full Israeli blockade is very difficult,” UNRWA Lebanon director, Salvatore Lombardo, said at the opening of the annual World Education Forum. “But the situation in Lebanon is far from acceptable.”
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=120905#axzz13hT7z600
Teenager killed, three wounded in Beddawi blast
BEIRUT: A teenager was killed and three other people were wounded when a grenade exploded outside a scrap-metal yard in the northern Palestinian refugee camp of Beddawi, the state-run National News Agency reported Thursday. “13-year-old Mohammad Ashkar died in hospital of injuries sustained when a hand grenade exploded outside a scrap metal yard in the Beddawi camp,” 5 kilometers north of the port city of Tripoli, the Palestinian source told AFP. “We believe the owner of the yard was sifting through his metal, found the grenade and tossed it outside where the children were standing,” the source added.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=120923#axzz13hSsP900
A refugee, single mother, worker, struggler
Seventy-year-old Amna Hammad managed to raise three children — now grown men — despite decades of separation from her husband and despite displacement and occupation in Gaza.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11594.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Racism & Discrimination
Shas spiritual leader may back ban on renting to Arabs
Former chief rabbi Ovadia Yosef cites centuries-old interpretation of halakhic ruling barring the sale of land to non-Jews.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/shas-spiritual-leader-may-back-ban-on-renting-to-arabs-1.321695?localLinksEnabled=false
IDF bars Palestinian children from Tel Aviv film festival
Army West Bank villagers from entering Israel in time for children’s film festival in the Tel Aviv Cinematheque.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/idf-bars-palestinian-children-from-tel-aviv-film-festival-1.321690?localLinksEnabled=false
African refugees: We’re being sold
Human rights groups warn against Netanyahu’s plan to pay African states to absorb illegal migrants.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3976311,00.html
Violence & Aggression
Israeli police shoot legislator as racists march in Arab town
Israeli police injured two Arab legislators on Wednesday in violent clashes provoked by Jewish right-wing extremists staging a march through the northern Arab town of Umm al-Fahm.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11595.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Israeli Police Shoot ‘Hated’ Arab Legislator in Back, Jonathan Cook – Nazareth
Israeli police injured two Arab legislators yesterday in violent clashes provoked by Jewish rightwing extremists staging a march through the northern Arab town of Umm al-Fahm. Haneen Zoubi, a parliament member who has become a national hate figure in Israel and received hundreds of death threats since her participation in an aid flotilla to Gaza in the summer, was among those hurt. Ms Zoubi reported being hit in the back and neck by rubber bullets as she fled the area when police opened fire. In an interview, she said she believed she had been specifically targeted by police snipers after they identified her.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16367
Israeli Navy Opens Fire at Palestinian Fishermen
Israeli Navy gunboats opened fire on Friday at dawn at several Palestinian fishing boats near the central district and Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. No injuries were reported.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59782
Troops Invade Towns in Jenin
Israeli soldiers invaded, on Friday morning, the towns of ‘Araba and Yamoun in Jenin, in the northern West Bank.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59783
Limited incursion into south Gaza reported
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli forces carried out a limited incursion into the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday evening, onlookers said. There were no reports of injury or damage. Two tanks and a bulldozer drove 200 meters east of Rafah, where they bulldozed land while combing the area, witnesses said. Also, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees said its Salah Ad-Din Brigades fired six mortar shells at an invading force in the same area. An Israeli military spokeswoman said the army was unaware of either reported incident.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=328650
Detainees
3 Palestinians detained near Nablus
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained three Palestinians Thursday near a Nablus checkpoint, officials said. An Israeli military spokeswoman said they were carrying “a number of improvised handguns and pipe bombs” near the Huwara checkpoint. The three unnamed Palestinians were taken for security questioning, she added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=328649
Female Detainee on Hunger Strike for Third Day
The Mandela Institute in the Occupied Territories reported on Friday that detainee Linan Abu Ghalama, imprisoned at the Ha-Sharon Israeli prison, went on hunger strike three days ago demanding the prison administration to allow her to be joined with her detained sister.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59787
Nafha detainees on hunger strike
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) – Detainees at Israel’s Nafha prison began a hunger strike on Friday, protesting what representatives said were inhumane practices by prison authorities. Attorney Buthayna Duqmaq with the Mandella Association told Ma’an that during a visit to the prison facility she had spoken with several detainees angered over a series of night raids on inmates cells.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=328752
War Crimes
Arabs mark Kfar Kassem massacre anniversary
MKs, Arab leaders and some Jews remember those killed by Border Police officers 54 years ago, call out against current government’s ‘racist discourse’.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3976683,00.html
Political “Developments”
Egypt: No breakthrough in Mideast peace talks
Egyptian officials meet with PA President Mahmoud Abbas and confirm Egypt’s support for Palestinian demand that Israel freeze West Bank settlement construction before talks can continue.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/egypt-no-breakthrough-in-mideast-peace-talks-1.321638?localLinksEnabled=false
Abbas: We’ll demand UN recognition within months
Following talks with senior Egyptian officials, Palestinian president says ‘Israel has been taking unilateral steps for decades.’ Abbas also blames Netanyahu government for not preventing ‘criminal settler violence’.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3976494,00.html
Israel could lease Palestinian lands in exchange for Palestinian statehood: report
In exchange for a state of their own, Palestinians would lease Israel parts of the long-contested lands for the next 40 to 99 years, according to a report today in Al-Sharq al-Awsat.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/KhVxsMXhk2U/Israel-could-lease-Palestinian-lands-in-exchange-for-Palestinian-statehood-report
Hamas leader: Next unity talks in Damascus
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A Hamas leader said Thursday that the next round of reconciliation talks would be held in Damascus, despite a recent dispute between President Mahmoud Abbas and Syria’s leadership. Negotiations to reconcile the rival movements Hamas and Fatah came to a sudden halt this month when Fatah pulled out of scheduled talks in the Syrian capital after President Bashar Al-Assad criticized the Ramallah government.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=328607
Hamas warns Israel against launching new offensive on Gaza
Gaza – A Gaza-based high-ranking Islamic Hamas movement leader on Thursday warned Israel againts launching any new large- scale offensive on the Gaza Strip similar to the late 2008 ‘Cast Lead’ campaign. “‘We seriously consider Israel’s threats to launch another war on Gaza, but we frankly say if Israel tries to enter Gaza, it will cost it a lot and it won’t be able to achieve its goals,’ said Mahmoud al- Zahar during a workshop in Gaza.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1594855.php/Hamas-warns-Israel-against-launching-new-offensive-on-Gaza
Hamas official: We were warned of possible Israeli strike
Sources in Gaza claim at least one Arab state warned Islamist group of possible Israeli attack if rearmament in Gaza continues.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3976711,00.html
Netanyahu: Direct talks are only path to true Mideast peace
PM’s comment comes after Abbas says considering appeal to UN Security Council to approve unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-direct-talks-are-only-path-to-true-mideast-peace-1.321667?localLinksEnabled=false
MK Ya’alon: Peace won’t happen if Jerusalem is divided
“Peace wouldn’t stand a chance if, god forbid, the control of parts of Jerusalem would be transferred to Muslim authorities,” Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya’alon said during a book launch. “Our experience in the Middle East proves that there is no religious tolerance from the side of the Muslim Arabs,” he added. “Not in Ramallah, not in Bethlehem, and not in neighboring countries. The only way to reach peace is by keeping Jerusalem united under Israeli control.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3976541,00.html
Is Clinton (Bill) poised to return to Mideast diplomacy?
Recent report claims former US president will return to politics in region in one capacity or another, may be involved in peace process.
http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=193165
Report: Israel slams UNESCO decisions as biased
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A week after UNESCO passed five resolutions on their work and mandate in Palestine, Israeli officials condemned the decisions as anti-Israeli. An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman being interviewed on Radio Israel on Friday said UNESCO had accused Israel of conducting excavations beneath Rachel’s Tomb, cordoned off from Bethlehem and its surrounding Muslim cemetery by the separation wall in 2004.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=328728
Other News
Tens of thousands rally for Islamic Jihad in Gaza (AFP)
AFP – Tens of thousands of Palestinians turned out for a rally in the Gaza Strip on Friday to mark the 23rd anniversary of the founding of the hardline militant group Islamic Jihad.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101029/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestiniansconflictgazajihadanniversary
New York Times execs visit West Bank city
Publisher, senior editors of influential American newspaper given tour of Ariel as part of Yesha Council PR campaign.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3976644,00.html
Virginia House candidates battle over Israel in final debate
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Republican Scott Rigell said NPR’s recent firing of news analyst Juan Williams is a sign America is falling into the “trap of true political correctness.” During a debate Thursday, Rigell also took a stand against the construction of a mosque near Ground Zero in New York City and said Israel has a right to sovereignty over the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/126445-virginia-house-candidates-battle-over-israel-in-final-debate-
Minister backs segregated haredi housing
Housing minister says ultra-Orthodox sector will take over secular neighborhoods if haredi cities not planned. ‘I wouldn’t let my kids meet with secular youth,’ he notes.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3976199,00.html
IDF commanders to get ‘haredi glossary’
What is glatt kosher? IDF commanders to receive 18-page booklet explaining long list of religious terms, as more haredim show interest in joining army; hundreds of ultra-Orthodox enlist for army service in recent years.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3976475,00.html
US college president: Anti-Israel professor cannot be fired
Tenured Pennsylvania professor who questioned Shoah, referred to Israel as ‘hydra-headed monster’ cannot be fired, university president says; Pakistan-born lecturer gets green-light to express his opinions outside classroom.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3976608,00.html
Analysis/Opinion/Human Interest
Collaborator, Palestine Monitor
From Algeria to Cuba, national liberation movements have been plagued by informers. It is the dirtiest game of any occupation and Israel’s stranglehold on Palestine is no different.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1588
Will the Palestinians Take Their Case to the U.N.?, Tony Karon
Time.com – Skeptical of the Obama Administration’s peace effort, PLO leaders could appeal to international law. But political calculations are likely to hold them back.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20101028/wl_time/08599202794400
Israel Lobby’s Last Minute GOP Push, MJ Rosenberg
The usual suspects have been warning President Barack Obama almost since Inauguration Day that there would be a literal price to pay if he assumed the role of “honest broker” in the Middle East. Following Obama’s 2009 Cairo speech and then his short-lived stand against Israeli settlements, Obama was warned by Democrats close to the lobby (including some inside the White House) that publicly disagreeing with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu would offend donors. That would harm the Democrats in 2010 and doom his re-election chances in 2012.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mj-rosenberg/israel-lobbys-last-minute_b_775382.html
‘In my opinion, every Jewish town needs at least one Arab. What would happen if my refrigerator stopped working on a Saturday?’, Eva Smagacz
Asked David Rotem, chairman of Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee after said committee approved unanimously a law that allows communities to reject potential residents if they do not meet criteria of “suitability to the communities fundamental outlook” so that they are free to reject candidates on the grounds of age, sex, religion and socio-economic status.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/10/in-my-opinion-every-jewish-town-needs-at-least-one-arab-what-would-happen-if-my-refrigerator-stopped-working-on-a-saturday.html
Such is the Peace Process: Obama as a Salesman, Ramzy Baroud
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to claim that the resumption of peace talks between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority have thus far yielded nothing of value, at least not as far as settling the decades-long struggle. For one, the media has paid the talks little attention, aside from the ceremonial coverage of the first round of talks in Washington on September 2. It barely noticed the following round in the Middle East nearly two weeks later. What did capture the media’s attention was US President Barack Obama’s attempt to minimize the damage he invited upon himself for merely pressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to issue a partial moratorium on settlement building (about 11 months ago), and then to extend the settlement freeze.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16368
Democracy in Illinois: Pro-Israel Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Maidhc Ó Cathail
Helen Keller’s pithy observation about American democracy being little more than a choice ‘between Tweedledum and Tweedledee’ was never more true than in the upcoming midterm elections in the ninth congressional district of Illinois. In a district which includes the affluent northern suburbs of Chicago along the shore of Lake Michigan, the central issue is not the two wars—or is it now three?—the country is fighting, nor is it the tanking economy, in great part caused by those debt-inducing wars. No, the burning issue here is… who cares more about Israel?
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16366
Associated Press Hasbara: Palestinians of Israel ‘enjoy equal rights under Israeli law’, Alex Kane
An Associated Press article on yesterday’s clashes between Palestinian citizens of Israel and Israeli police and extreme rightists marching through the the town of Umm el-Fahm states.
http://alexbkane.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/associated-press-hasbara-palestinians-of-israel-enjoy-equal-rights-under-israeli-law/
Wolfensohn: “no-one particularly likes the Jews, no-one particularly likes the Palestinians”, Antony Loewenstein
James Wolfensohn, former World Bank President and former head of the Middle East Quartet, was on Australian TV last night talking about Israel/Palestine and the message was clear; America is Israel’s lawyer.
http://antonyloewenstein.com/2010/10/29/wolfensohn-no-one-particularly-likes-t
Daoud Kuttab: Jewish or Israeli
I feel that it is problematic to erase differences between “Israeli” and “Jew.” It bothers me when Palestinians use these two terms interchangeably.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daoud-kuttab/jewish-or-israeli_b_775181.html
The art of sucking up, Philip Weiss
Elena Kagan goes skeet shooting with arch-conservative Antonin Scalia. Demonstrating that wherever she is, this woman orients herself toward the powerful. A lot here. The decline of the Jewish meritocracy, the decline of the Jewish liberal tradition, the decline of Jewish intelligence, the dissipation of Obama’s promise.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/10/the-art-of-sucking-up.html
Living Simply At Age 108: Beautiful Memories From The Oldest Person In ‘Issawiya Village
Jersualem – Maysa Abu Ghazala – PNN/Exclusive – “It was a beautiful life. We ate what we grew and we drank the well water that we carried on our shoulders.” This was the simple life of Sarya Muhammad Alyan, now 108 years old and the oldest person in ‘Issawiya village. She speaks about the early years of the last century, where there were no noisy cars, no complicated new technology, and no chemicals in the crops. After she married her cousin in her thirties, Sarya had six children, three boys and three girls. The oldest of them is now 77. Between her children, grandchildren, and great-grand children, the number exceeds 200 people.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9031&Itemid=1
Winning the War in Afghanistan at $50 Million per Kill, NICHOLAS C. ARGUIMBAU
Michael Nasuti of Kabul Press recently published an article in which he calculated that killing each Taliban soldier in Afghanistan costs on average of $50 million to the US. The article, seemingly carefully. researched with all assumptions laid out so that anyone can examine them, is well worth reading. Nasuti, “Killing Each Taliban Soldier Costs $50 million.” He points out that at this rate, killing the entire Taliban forces (only 35,000) would cost $1.7 trillion, not a small amount for a country suffering from a severe economic downturn to spend on a war with no apparent purpose. And Nasuti’s number, of course, assumes that they coud not be replaced faster than they are killed, but it appears that they can, easily.
http://www.counterpunch.com/arguimbau10282010.html
Gitmo’s Indelible Stain, SHERWOOD ROSS
Although U.S. officials have attributed the torture of Muslim prisoners in their custody to a handful of maverick guards, in fact such criminal acts were widely perpetrated and systemic, likely involving large numbers of military personnel, a book by a survivor suggests. Additionally, guards were responsible for countless acts of murder, including death by crucifixion, lynching, poisoning, snakebite, withholding of medicines, starvation, and bludgeoning of innocent victims. And the murders committed by U.S. troops numbered at least in the hundreds, according to reliable sources.
http://www.counterpunch.com/ross10282010.html
Mike Elk: Jon Stewart Rally Represents Elitism, Consumerism, and Disrespect for the Progressive Movement
Many Jon Stewart followers see his “Rally to Restore Sanity” on Saturday as a progressive rallying cry. Stewart claims on his website it is not, saying, “If we had to sum up the political view of our participants in a single sentence… we couldn’t. That’s sort of the point.” However, over 200,000 attendees, who mostly identify themselves as progressives have RSVP’ed for the rally on Facebook. The rally is being backed by major progressive forces like Arianna Huffington–who is paying to bus in 10,000 supporters from New York City to attend the rally. Stewart himself on his website compares the rally to major progressive events like Woodstock and the more recent Million Man March for civil rights. Whether or not Stewart intends the Rally to Restore Sanity to be a left wing political event, progressive activists throughout the country see it as an important political statement that counters the message of Glenn Beck and the Tea Party.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-elk/jon-stewart-rally-represe_b_775409.html
Lebanon
Hezbollah urges Hariri case boycott
Hassan Nasrallah warns against Lebanese co-operation with investigation into 2005 assassination of Rafiq Hariri.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/10/2010102819122690558.html
US accuses Syria, Iran over Lebanon tensions (AFP)
AFP – The United States on Thursday accused Syria and Iran of fuelling tensions in Lebanon with arms supplies and other support for the Hezbollah militia in contravention of UN resolutions.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101028/pl_afp/lebanonunrestus
Israel traded 52 prisoners for missing soldier’s gun: report (AFP) [Guns are more important than Gilad Shalit?]
AFP – Israel traded 52 Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners to the Hezbollah militia in exchange for the gun of an Israeli airman who went missing in southern Lebanon in 1986, a newspaper said on Thursday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101028/wl_mideast_afp/israelconflictlebanonarad
The encounter in the clinic in the southern suburbs of Beirut
Talal, a comrade and friend who heads a division at a major medical center at well-known US university, sent me this regarding the “visit” by a Hariri tribunal team to the clinic of a Lebanese physician: ”Is it not interesting that the International Tribunal sanctions practices in Lebanon that would be banned in the native countries of its investigators and jurists? For example, they went into a clinic in the Southern district of Beirut asking to check on the names and files of a large number of women who attend the clinic. That would not fly in the USA. One cannot just come in, even with legal sanction, and check wholesale on the FILES (containing sensitive personal information) of ALL those that come through (they claimed to start with 17 names but it was made obvious that it was to be an open ended investigation with a free hand to investigate any file in the clinic). Such a act would constitute a serious violation of Medical Privacy laws, unnecessarily exposing not only their names of a large number of individuals but also the details of their medical conditions as well as other private information. This is ILLEGAL under any of a number of medical privacy laws. One is usually presented with a court order to obtain information on a SPECIFIC person, and no other subjects so as to safe guard people’s privacy. I am amazed the Physician in question even let them in. She should have been the first to kick them out of the clinic, court order notwithstanding. Shame on the Lebanese government and the Lebanese Order of Physicians for providing cover for such a travesty to take place.” [end]
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/10/encounter-in-clinic-in-southern-suburbs.html
Squeezing Hezbollah, FRANKLIN LAMB
Beirut is abuzz over some pretty bizarre events that have been unfolding the past few months concerning Hezbollah and the UN created International Tribunal for Lebanon, set up in 2007 to bring to justice those involved in the Valentine Day 2005 assassination of then Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. One such event occurred yesterday morning, 10/27/10, at 9:00 am at Dr. Iman Charara’s street-level private obstetrics and gynecology clinic, here in Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah south Beirut neighborhood which is still recovering from Israel’s 33 days of carpet bombing in 2006 which destroyed pretty much everything including more than 250 homes, scores of businesses, and much of the infrastructure.
http://www.counterpunch.org/lamb10282010.html
Iraq
Thursday: 4 Iraqis Killed, 19 Wounded
At least four Iraqis were killed and 19 more were wounded in the latest violence. Meanwhile, the Iraqiya party continues to use the Wikileaks Iraq reports to bolster their claim that the prime minister is unfit for a second term.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/10/28/thursday-4-iraqis-killed-19-wounded/
One million cubic tons of garbage dumped in Tigris River
The Tigris River which bisects Baghdad and several other major Iraqi cities has about one billion cubic meters of polluted materials dumped into it, according to a senior environment expert. Kamel al-Saadi, Baghdad Province’s expert on environment, said pollution was surging in the river “at an alarming scale” and called for immediate measure to put a halt. “The rate of pollution (in the Tigris River) has reached one billion cubic meters and is on the increase,” Saadi said. He said the volume of pollution has been documented by a group of experts selected by the Province of Baghdad.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2010-10-28\kurd.htm
Chlorine blast sickens Iraqis (AP)
AP – Officals say more than 200 people were sicked by a chlorine gas explosion at a water purificiation plant in southern Iraq.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101029/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq
Iraqi Kurdistan: Journalists Under Threat
(New York) – Journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan who criticize the regional government have faced substantial violence, threats, and lawsuits in recent months, and some have fled the country, Human Rights Watch reported today. Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government needs to ensure an independent and transparent inquiry into the killing of journalist Sardasht Osman in May 2010, that will lead to the identification and prosecution of all those responsible, Human Rights Watch said. An investigation by an anonymous committee appointed by President Masoud Barzani did not substantiate its findings, Human Rights Watch added. “This secret investigation into Sardasht Osman’s murder is exactly the opposite of what’s needed,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The Kurdistan government needs to get to the bottom of this killing with an open and independent inquiry that will include looking into allegations of government involvement.”
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HRW/b51f9177690aadcfbb884d08ce0ecc63.htm
Iraqi TV personality takes on a perilous job: Giving a microphone to the masses, Leila Fadel
BAGHDAD – On a recent morning, as Minas Suheil and his crew set up their cameras in the working class area of Bab al-Sharji, people instantly swarmed the Iraqi television personality.
http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=df05fa683f523e02688ce5bb5301ed73
A new effort to preserve Iraq’s rich biodiversity, from mountains to marshes
As an international conference noted this week, the world’s biodiversity is threatened. Iraq is no exception – but before anything can be done, it needs Iraqis who understand the problems.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/VUipchp8FGw/A-new-effort-to-preserve-Iraq-s-rich-biodiversity-from-mountains-to-marshes
Wikileaks
Iraq war logs: ‘The US was part of the Wolf Brigade operation against us’
Omar Salem Shehab tells of torture at hands of notorious Iraqi police unit and says US forces were involved in his capture. During the foreboding months of 2005, one police unit struck more fear into Iraqis than the entire occupying US army. They were known as the Wolf Brigade. Brutal even by Iraqi standards, their soldiers and officers seemingly answered to no one. They were seen as indiscriminate and predatory. The unit’s reputation had been known Iraq-wide and results of their numerous raids are still bogged down in Iraq’s legal system.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/28/iraq-war-logs-iraq
Iraq war logs: Prisoner beaten to death days after British handover to police
High-level diplomatic protests were made to Iraqi interior minister after death of Abbas Alawi while in custody of Basra police. An Iraqi criminal prisoner was tortured and beaten to death within three days of being turned over to police in Basra by British troops. This latest detailed evidence of previously covered-up Iraq atrocities has emerged following the leak of a vast number of Iraq war logs compiled by the US army and containing hour-by-hour military field reports.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/28/iraq-war-logs-abbas-alawi
U.S. and other world news
Even though Obama’s latest offer to Iran revealed
Ali GharibIran has yet to respond to an invitation for the P5+1 talks that are now only a few weeks away, officials in the Obama administration are leaking details to the New York Times of an offer that could be on the table.
http://www.lobelog.com/obamas-latest-offer-to-iran-revealed/
Guantanamo inmate Khadr ‘sorry’
Canadian-born detainee apologises to widow of US soldier he killed in Afghanistan in his first remarks to trial.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/americas/2010/10/20101028204444173841.html
Security Tight At Bahrain Trial Of Shi’ites
DUBAI (Reuters) – The trial of 25 Bahraini Shi’ites accused of plotting to topple the Sunni-dominated political system began on Thursday with defendants saying they were tortured and police encircling the area to keep protests at bay.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=1cacdffdd08ae997035351c715e6d12c
Al-Shabab executes two girl ‘spies’
Somali armed group publicly execute by firing squad two teenage girls accused of spying “for the enemy”.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/10/20101028161122648300.html
Exposing the infrastructure of anti-Muslim hate
The dismissal of Juan Williams’ from NPR once again exposes the difficulty America is having discussing Islam in a cool or rational manner. Williams’ exchange with Bill O’Reilly featured much of the usual ignorance, with both agreeing that, although undefined “good Muslims” do exist, all Muslims must be considered potential soldiers in an Islamic war against America. This ludicrous belief is not only a distortion of reality, but also poses a serious threat to the well-being and security of the United States. In adopting this position, Williams and O’Reilly were reflecting the climate of hatred against Muslims that is fueled by prejudice and lack of knowledge.
http://onfaith.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2010/10/exposing_the_infrastructure_of_anti-muslim_hate_1.html
Tea Party Founder Judson Phillips Admits He Has ‘Real Problem With Islam’
Judson Phillips, founder of the Tea Party Nation, fortified a recent email encouraging Minnesotans in the 5th Congressional District to vote Rep. Keith Ellison (D) out — in part because he’s a Muslim — by stating that he, as well as most Tea Party members, had serious qualms with Islam.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/28/judson-phillips-tea-party-islam_n_775260.html
www.TheHeadlines.org
