And more news from Today in Palestine:
Settlers/ Land, Property, Resource Theft & Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing
IOA deprives two Palestinian villages of potable water
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has been depriving villages of Brukin and Kufr Al-Deek, west of Salfit district, of potable water for the fifth day on Sunday, locals reported.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7
Israeli police threaten to tear down Sahwa Mosque in Negev area again
The inspector-general of the Israeli police, who personally supervised the demolition of Al-Sahwa mosque said the mosque will be razed again after the Palestinians there finish rebuilding it.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b
Defiant Bedouin rebuild Rahat mosque razed by state
Residents relay foundations after police demolish illegal building funded by Islamic Movement activists.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/defiant-bedouin-rebuild-rahat-mosque-razed-by-state-1.323466?localLinksEnabled=false
Al-Aqsa preacher slams demolition of Negev mosque
JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — The orator of Jerusalem’s iconic Al-Aqsa Mosque condemned on Sunday Israel’s demolition of a mosque in the Bedouin town of Rahat, in the Negev, as a part of an attempt to drive Palestinians off their land. Yousef Jumah Salamah said the demolition was a “crime that was carried out by Israeli soldiers.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=331739
Jerusalem: 32 housing units approved for construction in Pisgat Zeev
The Jerusalem Municipality’s Planning and Building Committee approved the construction of 32 housing units in the neighborhood of Givat Zeev Mizrach, located beyond the ’67 borders.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3981486,00.html
Netanyahu faces embarrassment in U.S. over new Jerusalem building plan
Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee published details of program that will allow 930 new housing units to be built beyond the Green Line.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-faces-embarrassment-in-u-s-over-new-jerusalem-building-plan-1.323597?localLinksEnabled=false
Full Haaretz expose / How the state helped right-wing groups settle East Jerusalem
A Haaretz investigation shows the state used a controversial law to transfer East Jerusalem assets to the rightist organizations Elad and Ateret Cohanim without a tender, and at very low prices.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/full-haaretz-expose-how-the-state-helped-right-wing-groups-settle-east-jerusalem-1.323312?localLinksEnabled=false
Incentives for settlement freeze likely on agenda as Netanyahu heads to Jewish GA
Netanyahu envoy arrived in Washington earlier this week to meet chief Palestinian negotiator on ways to renew negotiations.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/incentives-for-settlement-freeze-likely-on-agenda-as-netanyahu-heads-to-jewish-ga-1.323293?localLinksEnabled=false
Yossi Sarid / GA delegates – beware when you cheer for Netanyahu
When it comes to America, Netanyahu’s rules change suddenly: The U.S. will continue to give generously, and will get an obscene hand gesture in return.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/yossi-sarid-ga-delegates-beware-when-you-cheer-for-netanyahu-1.323291?localLinksEnabled=false
Barghouthi: IOA exploiting negotiations to impose facts on the ground
MP Dr. Mustafa Al-Barghouthi said that giving the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) a fresh breathing space to continue negotiations would not be of any good.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7
Local & Global Actions: Week Against the Apartheid Wall 9-16 November 2010
Nov 7, 2010– The list of Local & Global actions for the National & International Week Against the Apartheid Wall between the 9th -16th of November 2010. Updated Continuously [MORE]
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2391.shtml
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions
Israeli forces remove the memorial of Samer Sarhan amidst daily unrest in Silwan
Today, workers from the Jerusalem municipality and Israeli forces removed the Memorial of Samer Sarhan, this morning. They also removed the water supply donated on the soul of Samer Sarhan and the olive tree planted in the place, although the tree was present prior to the monument. The operation took place under the monitoring of an Israeli helicopter in the area. Vehicles of municipal workers and Israeli forces emerged after the enforcement of the task in less than ten minutes. One eyewitness and a resident of the region said, “members of the Israeli police came earlier to take pictures of the site of the memorial. They must have have studied how to implement the process in a very short time and leave before a large number of residents noticed them.” He adds, “police were not alone
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/11/15410/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+%28International+Solidarity+Movement%29
Ten Protesters Injured During Nabi Saleh Demonstration; Four Hospitalized
In another outbreak of military violence against protesting civilians, soldiers and Border Police officers confronted demonstrators with rubber-coated bullets and tear-gas; torched olive tree.
http://josephdana.com/2010/11/ten-protesters-injured-during-nabi-saleh-demonstration-four-hospitalized/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ten-protesters-injured-during-nabi-saleh-demonstration-four-hospitalized
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign in Support of Palestinian Human Rights Moves Forward in Australia After Landmark Conference: Worldwide Activism, Australian BDS Campaign, Nov 4, 2010
From October 29-31 more than 150 Palestine solidarity activists and supporters of human rights gathered in Melbourne for Australia’s first national Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions (BDS) conference. The conference represents a watershed moment in the Palestinian solidarity movement in Australia with activists across various campaigns coming together and addressing the way forward in the global campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions.
http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/2390.shtml
Join the Anti-Apartheid Media Marathon on 12 and 13 November
Nov 8, 2010– The annual Week Against the Apartheid Wall from 9-16 November is starting! Palestinian and international activists will again mobilize in the streets and organize a series of events across the globe. This mobilization on the ground will be complemented by a fast paced 48 hour media marathon on 12 and 13 November. We call on media to join 48 hours non-stop coverage!
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2392.shtml
Local & Global Actions: Week Against the Apartheid Wall 9-16 November 2010
Nov 7, 2010– The list of Local & Global actions for the National & International Week Against the Apartheid Wall between the 9th -16th of November 2010.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2391.shtml
8th Week against the Apartheid Wall, November 9 – 16 2010
Sep 1, 2010– Eight years into the construction of the Apartheid Wall, over 60% has already been built to ghettoize communities, threatening over 260,000 people with displacement and stealing land and water resources.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2361.shtml
A scene from the boycott movement, 2010
Eva-Lee Baird took this photo in September outside Ricky’s cosmetics store in Brooklyn. That’s Nancy Kricorian of Code Pink on the left, she’s led the boycott against Ahava products made from stolen minerals in the occupied West Bank, and she’s giving a piece of her mind to some of the young men who come out to mock the boycotters wearing clown wigs. Great street theater.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/a-scene-from-the-boycott-movement-2010.html
#BDS: Marilyn Monroe launches ‘Boycott Israeli Blood Diamonds’ campaign in Dublin
On Saturday 30th October 2010 the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) held a nationwide awareness-raising day to expose the contamination of the global diamond market with Israeli “blood diamonds” ahead of the annual meeting of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KP) in Jerusalem on November 1st. To launch the Boycott Israeli Blood Diamonds campaign activists from the IPSC in Cork, Galway, Limerick, Wexford and Waterford activists from the IPSC handed out thousands of leaflets and collected petition signatures to while in Dublin, a blood-stained Marilyn Monroe even turned up to endorse the campaign saying “the fact that Israeli diamonds are sold as ‘conflict free’ means that diamonds can no longer be considered a girl’s best friend!”
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/11/bds-marilyn-monroe-launches-boycott.html
Goosebumps video links American sacrifices in civil rights struggle to Palestinian protesters’ travails
One of my strongest impressions of my last trip to Palestine is what a great price people are paying for their sturdy resistance to occupation. This is also a theme of Budrus, the fine new documentary. Well now Sana Kassem (whose work we grabbed last week) sounds the same theme with another stirring video, this one marrying Barbara Dane’s civil-rights anthem, It Isn’t Nice (backed up by the Chambers brothers), to images of the struggle in Palestine. Notice especially the three last pictures in the sequence
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/goosebumps-video-links-american-sacrifices-in-civil-rights-struggle-to-palestinian-protesters-travails.html
#BDS: ‘Lonely Planet’ guidebook rates Tel Aviv among world’s ‘top ten cities’ despite boycott calls
In the midst of a worldwide boycott campaign urging tourists to refuse to visit Israel until Israeli authorities adhere to international law and signed agreements, the ‘Lonely Planet’ travel guide company has listed Israeli city Tel Aviv as #3 in its ‘top ten cities for 2011’. The company has been the subject of a targeted campaign by the Israeli tourism ministry after boycott activists encouraged the company to support a boycott of Israel.
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/11/bds-lonely-planet-guidebook-rates-tel.html
#BDS: Turning the tables on BDS
Don’t just react; undermine the credibility and influence of groups promoting boycott, divestment and sanctions.
The North American Jewish community has taken an important step to counter the delegitimization campaigns targeting Israel. Directed by the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) in partnership with the Jewish Council of Public Affairs (JCPA), the Israel Action Network should be a vital resource to combat these assaults.
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/11/bds-turning-tables-on-bds.html
The tired “academic freedom” argument
Once again, the specter of the suppression of academic freedom has been invoked in what is now becoming an organized campaign to counter the growing global movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) of Israel, and the academic and cultural boycott in particular. This time, a number of American, European, and Israeli Nobel laureates have been enlisted in the campaign, in the hope that their plea to defend “academic freedom” will stem the tide of this ever-expanding movement.
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/8307
For Family of Activist Killed in Gaza, No End in Sight for Case
“I don’t see this as about Israel’s legitimacy,” she said in an interview. “My family is not anti-Israel. What Rachel saw when she went to Gaza was extremely troubling and because of what happened to her we are now connected to the Palestinian issue. But Israeli peace activists shared her concern and are helping us with our case. From our family’s perspective, this is about human rights for all people and holding governments accountable.” Cindy Corrie added, “An Israeli colonel said at this trial that there are no civilians in a war zone. But there are. If that hadn’t been the army’s attitude, maybe my daughter would still be with us.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/world/middleeast/08corrie.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
‘New Yorker’ connects Elvis Costello’s use of the word ‘nigger’ 30 years ago to his recent participation in boycott of Israel, Philip Weiss
From Abe Foxman’s lips to the New Yorker’s ear. Nick Paumgarten profiles Elvis Costello in the new New Yorker magazine, and links the entertainer’s use of the n-word in an episode 30 years ago to his participation this year in boycott of Israel, another “mess” that Costello made for himself. Ali Gharib, who brought this to my attention, writes: “There is no mention of a positive reaction to Costello’s move (I sure saw the Facebook postings and got the blast e-mails); it is merely suggested as a racist ‘bookend’ to his career or the ‘arbitrary… singling out of Israel.'” Does the New Yorker understand the moral/political universe that Costello is operating in? In the occupation, a Palestinian is killed every other day, and inside Israel, hundreds of Jewish towns have been created in the last 60 years, and not one new Palestinian town, and meanwhile the foreign minister talks about expelling Palestinians. This is why boycott has traction.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/new-yorker-connects-elvis-costellos-use-of-the-word-nigger-30-years-ago-to-his-recent-participation-in-boycott-of-israel.html
Israel’s Lieberman denounces settlement boycott (Reuters)
Reuters – Israel’s ultranationalist foreign minister Monday accused left-wing artists threatening to boycott a theater in a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank of waging “cultural terrorism.”
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101108/wl_nm/us_palestinians_israel_settlements
Siege/Rights Violations/Restriction of Movement
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (28 Oct. – 03 Nov. 2010)
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/VVOS-8AWQEQ?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Goods – Needs Vs. Supply – Oct 10 – Nov 6
http://www.gazagateway.org/2010/11/goods-%e2%80%93-needs-vs-supply-%e2%80%93-oct-10-%e2%80%93-nov-6/
Source: United Nations General Assembly: Israeli Restrictions Deepen Palestinian Hardships, Second Committee Told as It Considers Arab Sovereignty over Natural Resources in Occupied Lands
Israel’s continuing restrictions on Palestinian movement and access to natural resources, its expansion of settlements, and its military offensive against the Gaza Strip in December 2008 and January 2009 had deepened the hardship suffered by the Palestinians, Amr Nour, Director of the United Nations Regional Commissions New York Office, told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EGUA-8AWL5Y?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Israeli government documents show deliberate policy to keep Gazans at near-starvation levels
Documents whose existence were denied by the Israeli government for over a year have been released after a legal battle led by Israeli human rights group Gisha. The documents reveal a deliberate policy by the Israeli government in which the dietary needs for the population of Gaza are chillingly calculated, and the amounts of food let in by the Israeli government measured to remain just enough to keep the population alive at a near-starvation level. This documents the statement made by a number of Israeli officials that they are “putting the people of Gaza on a diet.”
http://www.imemc.org/article/59843
UN fears Defense Ministry control of Jerusalem crossings will delay aid
For several years, the IDF has been gradually handing over responsibility for crossings into the West Bank to the Defense Ministry Crossing Authority.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/un-fears-defense-ministry-control-of-jerusalem-crossings-will-delay-aid-1.323472?localLinksEnabled=false
Israel denies doctor entry to Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities denied entry to a doctor visiting Gaza as part of a French group Sunday, medical sources said. The Iraqi doctor holds British nationality, and is an anesthestist. He was part of a delegation with Professor Christophe Oberlin, a specialist in hand surgery, a statement from Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=331841
Gaza worker dies collecting rubble
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A 19-year-old worker died of asphyxiation Sunday after he fell in a ditch and was buried under rubble as he collected stone aggregates in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Gaza medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiyya identified the victim as Mahmoud Salem Abu Araqa, and said his body was transferred to Nasser Hospital.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=331784
Stressed out Gazans need therapists, pop pills
JABALYA, Gaza Strip (Reuters) – If ever there was a little corner of the world where trauma therapists hanging out their shingle should do a boom business, it has to be Gaza.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6A71UF20101108
Racism and Discrimination
Supreme Court okays Jewish-only buildings in Jaffa
Three apartment blocks approved for Arab neighborhood Ajami – despite discrimination claims.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/supreme-court-okays-jewish-only-buildings-in-jaffa-1.323474?localLinksEnabled=false
Bnei Brak rabbis: Don’t rent to refugees
Six of ultra-Orthodox city’s religious leaders sign halachic ruling forbidding locals to rent apartments to Africans. ‘Yeshiva students scared to walk on street at night,’ says neighborhood rabbi, calling upsurge in Sudanese residents a ‘spiritual danger’.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3981441,00.html
MK: Tel Aviv to turn into African city
National Union’s Yaakov Katz warns that ‘within a few years, Israel will have more than 100,000 African immigrants.’ Tel Aviv’s residents will have to move to Judea and Samaria, he adds.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3981335,00.html
Fundamentalists Attack Chilean Tourist After “Suspecting” He Is Arab
A group of Israeli fundamentalists attacked, on Thursday after midnight, a Chilean tourist while walking through a public park in Jerusalem after “suspecting” that he is an Arab.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59847
War Criminals
IOF soldiers shot any Palestinian talking on mobile phone in Gaza war
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) invading the Gaza Strip in late 2008 and early 2009 shot at any Palestinian citizen talking on a mobile phone, Hebrew website Walla said.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?x
Inside Story – Abandoning ‘universal jurisdiction’?
Britain’s foreign minister has pledged that the UK will quickly amend a law that has allowed pro-Palestinian activists to request arrest warrants for visiting Israeli officials over alleged war crimes. Activists in Britain have sought the arrest of Israeli officials in the past under the principle of “universal jurisdiction”, which allows courts to prosecute alleged war crimes from elsewhere in the world. The reassurance came after Israel suspended suspended ‘special strategic dialogue’ with the UK in protest over the law. But what message is the UK sending to the rest of the world?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNqJUmFITFQ&feature=youtube_gdata
Israel is right to be concerned, Rami G. Khouri
We can learn much from the Israeli government’s decision this week to suspend a special strategic dialog with the United Kingdom because of concerns that Israeli officials could be arrested and indicted with crimes against humanity in the UK, according to a British law that provides for “universal jurisdiction” in such cases, i.e., a suspect of any country can be charged, detained and tried in a British court even if the alleged crimes occurred in a third country and did not include British citizens among the victims. Israel’s Kadima Party leader Tzipi Livni recently cancelled a trip to London as did Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor this week, because he was advised that he risked being arrested.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=121218#axzz14dFrT96M
Violence & Aggression
IOF troops fire at residential quarters in Rafah, round up more West Bankers
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) fired at Palestinian citizens’ homes and land east of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, on Sunday night but no casualties were reported.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Q
“targeted assassinations,” in Gaza, again, Max Ajl
I meant to write about this earlier but forgot. Several days ago, to conscience-shattering silence, the Israeli Defense Forces carried out a “targeted assassination” in downtown Gaza City, blowing up a car belonging to Mohammed Jamal al-Nimnim, a senior member of the Army of Islam. The little black crosses, xananas (drones) that buzz above Gaza constantly apparently hit the car with a missile, “pre-empting” several “terrorist attacks” against “American and Israeli” targets al-Nimnim was planning in the Sinai. IDF spokeswoman Lt.-Col. Avital Leibovitz said that “Earlier today, the Israeli army targeted a ticking bomb,” and since army spokeswomen are incapable of emitting truth, we know how to take that assertion (Someone tell me what “American” targets are sitting in the Sinai—sun-burnt tourists in Sharm al-Sheikh?) Enjoy also the color the racist Jerusalem Post added to the story: “Hamas said he was a senior aide to Mumtaz Dughmush, commander of the Army of Islam. Dughmush is a former Hamas activist and heads the violent Dughmush clan in Gaza City,” a bizarre Orientalist way to describe the Dughmush family, as though they’re sitting around a campfire in the Gazan dunes with their scimitars plotting the next Jew-killing.
http://www.maxajl.com/?p=4400&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+http%2Fwwwmaxajlcom%2Ffeedrss2+%28Jewbonics%29
Detainees
Palestinian prisoner society calls for firing Habbash from his post
The Palestinian prisoner society called on Mahmoud Abbas to remove his minister of religious affairs Mahmoud Habbash from his post after he expunged 200 names of pilgrims.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6
Political “Developments”
Netanyahu tells Biden: Peace agreement must not be forced on us from above
Netanyahu meets with U.S. VP Biden on sidelines of Jewish GA in New Orleans; says that Palestinians must be stopped from taking unilateral action to establish a state.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/netanyahu-tells-biden-peace-agreement-must-not-be-forced-on-us-from-above-1.323469?localLinksEnabled=false
Biden: US opposes unilateral moves
After meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, American vice president addresses Jewish leaders, stresses his country will do all it can to fight de-legitimization campaign against Israel. He cautions both Israel, Palestinians from taking unilateral actions.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3981195,00.html
`Unilateral statehood unwise at this juncture`
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A limited accord was reached between Israeli and Palestinian leaders discussing the issue of a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood when the two met on Hard Questions, the Palestinian talk show. Former Palestinian Ambassador to Cairo Nabil Amr debated the issue alongside Palestinian member of the Israeli Knesset Jamal Zahalqa with questions from chief editor of Ma’an Nasser Lahham.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=331255
Abbas: Palestinian State Could be Declared Within a Year
Speaking at the first Sir Bani Yas Forum on Peace and Global Security in Abu Dhabi, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that Palestinians will declare a sovereign state within a year, if negotiations with Israel fail.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59848
Bahar: West Bank lawmaker can’t hold PLC meeting
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Palestinian Legislative Council Deputy Speaker Ahmad Bahar criticized a West Bank lawmaker for claiming to hold a session of the parliamentary body on Sunday. This came in response to an announcement by Fatah lawmaker Jamal Abu Ar-Rub that the PLC would hold a special session in Ramallah to discuss making arrangements for Palestinian prisoners’ families to perform the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=331723
Hamas wants Gaza security structure included in future deals
Hamas Interior Minister Fatthi Hammad said Sunday that Hamas security services must remain inside the framework of any future agreement with Fatah party. Hammad said security forces in Gaza “have succeeded in running the Gaza Strip,” adding “this thing should not be bypassed in any reconciliation agreement.” Hammad’s statements came during a parade for his ministry’s security services all over the Gaza Strip, which Hamas has been controlling since routing pro-Abbas forces in 2007.
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/7191056.html
Hamas slams German foreign minister’s refusal to meet
GAZA CITY (DPA) — The Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip on Monday slammed as “insulting” the refusal by German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle to meet it while visiting the salient. Senior Hamas leader and legislator Kamal Shrafi said that while the Islamist Palestinian movement welcomed a visit by an official of his standing, it was “completely wrong to come to Gaza and not meet with the legal government’s representative.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=332001
Fatah using Iran bogey to justify surrender to Israel
To justify its moral and political bankruptcy, the Fatah movement, under PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, is trying to use the so-called Iran bogey to justify its effective surrender to the Zionist regime.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq
Other News
West Bank most-wanted terrorist list has dwindled to almost nil
The situation is a reflection of both the improved security situation in the West Bank and the increasing cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian Authority security forces.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/west-bank-most-wanted-terrorist-list-has-dwindled-to-almost-nil-1.323465?localLinksEnabled=false
Eli Yishai to Netanyahu: Push for the release of Jonathan Pollard during U.S. visit
Shas chairman says the request is now justified since Israel is asked to make concessions for peace; Netanyahu refuses to take MKs’ letter asking for Pollard’s release to the U.S.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/eli-yishai-to-netanyahu-push-for-the-release-of-jonathan-pollard-during-u-s-visit-1.323278?localLinksEnabled=false
Maariv: Geert Wilders to express support for “Jordan is Palestine” at Tel-Aviv conference
Cooperation between the extreme right wing in Holland and Israel: Dutch anti-Muslim nationalist Geert Wilders will come to Israel in order to support the idea that “Jordan is the Palestinian nation state,” which is being promoted by MK Arieh Eldad (National Union).
armed UNRWA
“UNRWA — the “United Nations Relief and Works Agency” for Palestinian refugees — has had plenty of problems through the years. But, if it now starts to shoot at Palestinians, it’s situation in Gaza will become untenable. What good are four “submachine” guns going to do, if there’s a real attack on the UNRWA Director of Operations, John Ging, who these weapons are reportedly meant to protect? Maybe the UN should pull out of Gaza, instead of running around with a few powerful weapons. If the UN begins shooting up the place, there’s no telling what will happen next.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/11/armed-unrwa.html
Analysis/Opinion/Human Interest
It’s time to dismantle the PA, Ahmed Moor
Salam Fayyad is surviving on borrowed time – or money. By now everyone’s aware that the Netanyahu-engineered “economic miracle” is the predictable result of periodic cash injections into a closed economic space. Pretending that Palestinian growth in the West Bank is viable is like pretending a six-year-old is rich because his mother handed him twenty dollars. But it’s more insidious than that. The unsustainable bubble economy fails to capture the means of production and therefore strengthens the occupation. That’s because the European donor funds (that’s how the Europeans remain ‘relevant’ to the ‘peace process’ – they pay for what Israel breaks) are meted out in salary form to sustain Fayyad’s repressive police statelet.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/its-time-to-dismantle-the-pa.html
Erekat: “I Will Not Join the Zionist Movement”
Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat equates Israel’s request at recognition as a “Jewish state” with a request to join the “Zionist movement,” army radio reported on Saturday., Erekat reportedly made the remark during his visit to Washington where he has met with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, as well as other senior State Department officials, saying “they [Israel] want me to join the Zionist movement. I will not.”, In addition, he said, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu must choose between settlements and peace, referring to the reason peace talks were stalled on when building moratorium expired on September 26. The Palestinians have demanded a resumption of the freeze as a condition for rejoining direct talks., Last week, Erekat said that the Palestinians are willing to give the United States at least two more weeks to break the impasse in the peace process and to return both sides to the negotiating table, despite a looming deadline set by the Arab League., Despite the fact that the Arab League on October 9 gave the US only 30 days to find a way to continue the talks, Erekat said the Palestinians were willing to give the US the time it needed., Source: Jerusalem Post
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=161209&language=en
‘Let us out of the box’, Scott McConnell
On Thursday, Palestinian chief negotiatior Saeb Erakat sat down for an hour and half “conversation” with former peace processor Aaron David Miller at the Woodrow Wilson Center in DC. They spoke in a cozy theater on the sixth floor, a setting perfect for peace process theater. Erakat is a decent and intelligent man, who said wryly that negotiating with Israel is the only thing on his CV, he’s been involved in such things for twenty years. The same could be said of Miller. The conversation was not clarifying. Erakat expressed frustration in various ways, and must have used some variant of the phrase “in a box” , or “let us out of the box” a dozen times.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/let-us-out-of-the-box.html
Former AIPAC aide calls J Street fleas and liars, Philip Weiss
Josh Block used to work at AIPAC (and before that for Edward Kennedy). He just left the organization and, freed from institutional restraint, teed off on J Street, and J Street knocked him back. And now Block has gone back after J Street in a note to Adam Kredo of Washington Jewish Week. There’s a lot of vicious invective here that I pass along because it is so repulsive. I wonder what Block is afraid of?
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/former-aipac-aide-calls-j-street-fleas-and-liars.html
Alienated affection: Israel relationship is costing the U.S. its alliance with Turkey, Gil Maguire
Israel and its U.S. lobby’s insistence on unquestioning U.S. support for Israel in its brutal and illegal conduct toward Palestinian and Turkish civilians has cost the U.S. a major, strategic ally, Turkey, and has severely undermined U.S. foreign policy goals, strategy, and power in the Middle East. President George W. Bush has been accused of having the most disastrous foreign policy in U.S. history. Unfortunately, President Obama’s apparent inability to stand up to Israel’s U.S. lobby may have created a foreign policy catastrophe that exceeds even that of his hapless predecessor by costing the U.S. the loss of Turkey as our main strategic ally in the region, and by drastically reducing U.S. influence and power in the Middle East.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/alienated-affection-israel-relationship-is-costing-the-u-s-its-alliance-with-turkey.html
Cornerstone of Zionism is to Conquer, Not Negotiate, Hasan Afif El-Hasan
Only through force and sheer violence, not negotiations, an exclusively Jewish state could be established in a country inhabited and owned by another people. It is humanly inconceivable that people surrender their country to strangers through negotiations. Thus violence against the indigenous Palestinians has been a central component of the Zionist movement since it was conceived as a colonial enterprise. Violence as an instrument to intimidate the Palestinians has been embedded in the Zionist ideology and in its popular culture.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16390
Political Roulette in Palestine, Dr. Eyad El Sarraj – Gaza
– She asked: Where have you been all day? I was worried about you! And why did you turn off your mobile?
– Then he replied meekly:”It was an exhausting day, long strategy meetings and discussions of administration and finance. I have a meeting tonight with “the Elders”.
– “What elders?”
– “They are the group of Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and other international figures who are to tell the truth on the world’s troubles”
– “And what is the benefit of meeting them?”
– “It is very important to tell them our story” then almost begging “Now, I want to rest for a while so that I can go to the meeting.”
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16391
A Lost Decade in Israel-Palestine: Diary Series Kickoff, Assaf Oron
This diary opens a collaborative effort to profile the past decade in the life of Israel-Palestine. A Lost Decade in all respects. Far worse than Japan’s “Lost Decade.” Unfortunately, the events that set this decade onto its lamentable trajectory happened shortly before the advent of the blogosphere. Therefore, in living blogo-memory, it has always been like this: a partisan tit-for-tat between “I”s and “P”s, accompanied by bigotry and shrill name-calling, and a sense of helpless circularity – or rather, of gradually spiraling down.
http://theonlydemocracy.org/2010/11/a-lost-decade-in-israel-palestine-diary-series-kickoff/
Israeli State Violence and the Value of Palestinian Life, Elia Zureik
Disregard for Palestinian life has characterized the attitudes of Israeli authorities towards its Arab citizens since the establishment of the state. The Palestinians constitute what the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben calls homo sacer, according to which the laws of humanity do not apply to them. For Israel, the Palestinians exist in conditions of “bare life”. Their minimal existence is tolerated but not enhanced. Invariably, the law is suspended when it comes to rectifying Palestinian grievances. Israel is usually quick to cite “national security” as justification for its lethal actions. Life for Palestinian citizens of the state is in a perpetual state of emergency where exception to the universal application of the law is the rule. As a colonial state, life in Israel is best viewed from a racialized prism where ethnicity and race govern the treatment of its citizens. As in all colonial regimes, territory and population are the two central elements which occupy the colonizer, and Israel is no exception. Both of these components provide the cornerstone of modern Zionism.
http://www.kabobfest.com/2010/11/israeli-state-violence-and-the-value-of-palestinian-life.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kabobfest%2FGrillMe+%28KABOBfest%29
Is Netanyahu a Botha or a de Klerk?
1948 is an infamous year. It was the year that Jews largely separated themselves from non-Jewish people in Palestine, and it was the year that the system of Apartheid began in South Africa. Afrikaners progressively separated themselves from blacks and coloreds in a racist system. The system continued through the years that Die Groot Krokodil (Afrikaans for “The Big Crocodile”) P. W. Botha- the religious, former Minister of Colored Affairs- led South Africa. For many, the ending of Apartheid seemed unfathomable, yet the system of racial separation in South Africa ended under President F. W. de Klerk.
http://palestinenote.com/blogs/blogs/archive/2010/11/07/is-netanyahu-a-botha-or-a-de-klerk.aspx
For Palestinians, Mid-Term Elections don’t Mean Much, Joharah Baker for MIFTAH
Many of us were disheartened by the outcome of the United States’ mid-term elections and for good reason. It has been decades since the Republicans have made such a sweeping victory, taking over the House of Representatives and sizably increasing their number in the Senate. This set off alarm bells, not only for Democrats, but for plenty of others the world over. The Palestinians, who always watch US elections closely, did so this time around too, not because they are so concerned with internal US affairs but because they always seem to think that US elections, kind of like Israeli elections, will have a direct impact on the peace process.
Aisheen: Still Alive in Gaza
Shot a few weeks after the end of Israel’s January 2009 offensive, this sensitively crafted doc captures the human suffering and devastation wrought on Gaza’s Palestinian residents as they struggle daily to survive. “Where is the ghost town?” asks the little boy to the theme park attendant. “It’s there, right there. But it has been bombed. Do you want to see it?” With these words, Aisheen begins. The film is a compelling, impressionistic journey through a devastated Gaza after the war. And the ghost town? Gaza is the ghost town. Clowns trying to make children forget the bombing with balloons and make-up; a beached whale “as big as a building” picked clean in a matter of hours by hungry residents; a scrawny stuffed lion hanging limply in a zoo cage—these surreal scenes convey the absurdity of a nation living on the brink, seemingly forever.
http://www.cinemapolitica.org/node/1859
My family, the enemy
Israeli film-maker Noa Ben-Hagai went in search of a forgotten great-aunt and found cousins who are Palestinian Arabs. What happened next? Back when peace did not seem such an impossibility, it was fashionable to cast the Middle East conflict as a family feud. Jews and Arabs were held to be if not brothers then long-lost cousins – the descendants, of Isaac and Ishmael, perhaps, or of Jacob and Esau – who would one day end their estrangement in an embrace. After the collapse of the Oslo peace process, a second intifada and a lethal military offensive in Gaza, you don’t hear that kind of talk so much these days.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/nov/08/israel-palestine-jewish-film-festival
The proxy war in the Middle East may escalate in the coming weeks, David Ignatius
While American eyes were focused on the midterm elections, a bitter conflict has continued between the US and Iran for influence in the Middle East. The flash points have been Iraq and Lebanon, where the Iranians have been pushing through their proxies for what amounts to political control.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=121220
Lebanon
Court sentences man to death for collaborating with Israel
BEIRUT: A Lebanese man was sentenced to death Friday on charges of collaborating with Israel. The Permanent Military Tribunal headed by Judge Nizar Khalil had demanded the death penalty for detained Gerges Elias Farah on charges of collaborating with Israeli authorities and providing them with information about military headquarters belonging to Hizbullah along with civilian structures.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=121250
Media watchdog: Israel interrupted radio frequency
BEIRUT: The Samir Kassir Eyes (SKeyes) foundation mentioned an Israeli violation of a Lebanese radio frequency in its monthly media freedom report Friday. The radio frequency 90.3 FM, used by the Lebanese radio station Light FM, was interrupted by the station Sawt al-Mashreq, the official station for what was known as the South Lebanon Army militia.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=121237
Hezbollah: False Witnesses to Be Transferred to Judicial Council
06/11/2010 Hezbollah renewed on Saturday calls for transferring the file of the false witnesses in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri’s case to the Judicial Council, wondering about the reasons preventing some Lebanese politicians from taking such decision. In this context, member of the Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc MP Hussein Moussawi said that Hezbollah was determined to transfer the false witnesses to the Judicial Council as soon as possible in order to sue the ones who harmed the country and hurted its relations with brothers. He accused those who’re seeking to cover the false witnesses and protect them of being additional false witnesses.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=161257&language=en
Hezbollah to Kouchner: STL Tool in US War on Resistance!
06/11/2010 French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Beirut… The French top diplomat, who became a “close friend” to some Lebanese politicians thanks to his various visits to Beirut, held a series of meetings in the Lebanese capital, stressing once again his country’s “commitment” to Lebanon’s sovereignty and stability as well as international resolution 1701 and, of course, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=161239&language=en
Anti-landmine group welcomes Lebanese ban of cluster bombs
BEIRUT: A leading anti-landmine campaign group welcomed Sunday Lebanon’s decision to become the 46th country to ratify an international treaty banning the use of cluster munitions.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=121285
How Israel fights wars (and gets humiliated)
“Bush voiced disappointment in the Israel Defense Forces’ performance against Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006 (though he does not say, at least according to the excerpts released so far, that while he gave Israel unlimited time for action in Lebanon, he tied its hands by vetoing its plan to strike Lebanon’s infrastructure ).“
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-israel-fights-wars-and-gets.html
Chou Sar? What Happened in Lebanon?, LARRY PORTIS
His name is De Gaulle, and he knows well what happened on December 9, 1980. He was ten years old on that sunny afternoon in the northern Lebanese village of Edbel, 20 miles north of Tripoli—Lebanon’s second largest city—when almost his whole family was killed before his eyes. De Gaulle, named after the famous French general and president in honor of the then independent foreign policy of the French government concerning the Middle East, knows well what happened because he knew the killers he saw and heard. They were from the same village.
http://www.counterpunch.com/portis11052010.html
Iraq
Car bombings in Iraq kill 18 (AFP)
AFP – Twin bombings in Shiite holy cities targeting Iranians killed at least 18 people on Monday, 10 of them pilgrims from Iran, at the start of a ninth month of wrangling over a new government.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101108/wl_afp/iraqunrest
Car bomb kills 3 in Iraq’s holy city of Najaf
NAJAF, Iraq, Nov 8 (Reuters) – At least 3 people were killed and 10 others wounded when a car bomb exploded near buses transporting Iranian pilgrims in Iraq’s holy Shi’ite city of Najaf on Monday, a health official said.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE6A70UT.htm
Activists mock political greed in Baghdad skit (AFP)
AFP – Activists staged a satirical play in a Baghdad square on Saturday to protest against greedy politicians, as Iraq marked eight months without a new government since an inconclusive parliamentary election.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101106/wl_mideast_afp/iraqpoliticsparliamentdemo
France to treat Iraqis wounded in church siege (AFP) [Great news for the wounded, but what about the Muslims that are targeted every day?]
AFP – Almost 40 Iraqis wounded in a deadly Al-Qaeda hostage crisis in a Baghdad church are to be flown to France for hospital treatment, the French embassy in the Iraqi capital said on Saturday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101106/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestchristianslebanonfrance
French asylum for Iraqi Christians
France has offered to grant asylum to 150 Iraqi Christians, including those wounded in church attack.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/11/201011884743146470.html
Robert Fisk: Only justice can bring peace to this benighted region
The speed with which the Baghdad church massacre by al-Qa’ida has frightened the peoples of the Middle East is a sign of just how fragile is the earth’s crust beneath their feet.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-only-justice-can-bring-peace-to-this-benighted-region-2126754.html
Iraqi Kids Struggle on Dangerous Edges in Syria (OneWorld.net)
OneWorld.net – DAMASCUS, Nov 7 (IPS) – Leila, 17, presses her hijab-clad head against the front door and strains to hear outside. “There’s nothing,” she says cautiously, turning towards her mother Rawda, the head of the household, in their quiet basement apartment. Along the brocade couch sit her two sisters, Mona, 19, Nadja, 15, and 10-year-old brother Khaled.*
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/oneworld/20101107/wl_oneworld/world3696201289171048
Chart Of The Day
Each pixel represents a death: U.S. soldiers blue, Iraqi troops green, enemies grey, and civilians orange.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/11/chart-of-the-day-1.html
U.S. & Other World News
ANALYSIS / Bush’s memoir explains: U.S. can’t appear to be doing Israel’s bidding
In excerpts released from soon-to-be-published book, ex-president says was asked by then PM Olmert to strike Syria’s nuclear reactor.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/analysis-bush-s-memoir-explains-u-s-can-t-appear-to-be-doing-israel-s-bidding-1.323296?localLinksEnabled=false
Senator: US must neuter Iran
Lindsey Graham says Obama will ‘feel a lot of Republican support if he decides to be tough with Tehran beyond sanctions,’ adding, ‘Last thing world needs is nuclear-armed Iran’.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3980736,00.html
Netanyahu to press U.S. for military threat on Iran (Reuters)
Reuters – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will tell U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday that only a credible military threat can deter Iran from building a nuclear weapon, Israeli political sources said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101107/ts_nm/us_usa_israel
Netanyahu to Biden: Sanctions are not stopping Iran’s nuclear program
Premier meets U.S. Vice President on sidelines of Jewish GA, says that Palestinians must be stopped from taking unilateral action to establish a state.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-to-biden-sanctions-are-not-stopping-iran-s-nuclear-program-1.323448?localLinksEnabled=false
What Did WikiLeaks Really Tell Us about Iran?, Ali Gharib
Use caution in reading the Iraq war logs—and news coverage of them. A source provides details to the American government about the nefarious activities of a Middle Eastern country. That information ends up in scores of secret U.S. government documents. Subsequently, the information winds up on the front pages of major newspapers, and is heralded by war hawks in Washington as a casus belli.
http://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/what_did_wikileaks_really_tell.php
Now Sweden accuses US of spying
Sweden joins Norway in alleging US embassies spied on citizens People linked with the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm have performed surveillance activities in Sweden without the knowledge of the host nation’s authorities, a government officials said Saturday.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/sweden-accuses-spying/
Obama’s midterm blues elicit advice from Israel, Philip Weiss
More craziness from Israel– pressure on Obama without the usual lobby middlemen. Aluf Benn, an editor at Haaretz, echoes David Broder’s column saying that a U.S. attack on Iran would resurrect the economy and reelect Obama (Broder link here), then goes further and advises Obama to carry out such an attack so as to win Israel’s compliance with international law re colonies in West Bank. Israel sure is a tough lay!
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/obamas-midterm-blues-elicit-advice-from-israel.html
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen once called for the assassination of Fidel Castro, Josh Rogin
Ever since we published our election night profile of Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the next head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, we’ve received dozens of e-mails pointing us to a video clip where the Florida-based Cuban-American lawmaker appears to call for the assassination of former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. “I just feel such a great source of pride of being here in the United States Congress representing so many freedom fighters both in exile in the United States and on the island as well. I welcome the opportunity of having anyone assassinate Fidel Castro and any leader who is oppressing the people,” Ros-Lehtinen says in the video clip, recorded in a 2006 interview for the British documentary 638 Ways to Kill Castro.
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/11/05/ileana_ros_lehtinen_once_called_for_the_assassination_of_fidel_castro
Ex-Clinton strategist: Obama needs event ‘similar’ to OKC to ‘reconnect’ with voters
Former Hillary Clinton campaign adviser and current public relations executive Mark Penn suggested that President Obama needs a moment “similar” to the tragic terrorist attack on the Oklahoma City federal building, in order to “reconnect” with voters.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/exclinton-strategist-obama-event-similar-okc-reconnect-voters/
None of Us Were Like This Before: American Soldiers and Torture: Reporter Joshua Phillips
With the support of Adam’s mother and the cooperation of his Army buddies—investigated Adam’s death. What Phillips uncovered was a story of American veterans psychologically scarred by the abuse they had meted out to Iraqi prisoners. http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/2010/jun/15/american-soldiers-and-torture/
http://www.versobooks.com/books/483-none-of-us-were-like-this-before
Inside Story – US human rights abuses
The US has, for the first time, faced the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva over accusations of human rights violations. Is it an opportunity for Washington to defend its human rights record, or an opportunity for others to shatter the US’ public commitment to international human rights?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBf8YyzEeNg&feature=youtube_gdata
Amnesty International: Slideshow: Photographs from The Invisibles
Every year, thousands of migrants face kidnap, rape and murder in Mexico. Driven by grinding poverty and insecurity back home, they travel through Mexico in hope of reaching the USA with its promise of a better life. But all too often their dreams are turned to nightmares. Told over four parts, The Invisibles exposes the truth behind one of the most dangerous journeys in the world and reveals the untold stories of the people who make the journey north through Mexico.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/slideshow-photographs-invisibles-2010-11-08
Tunisian leader defends law accused of limiting free speech
TUNIS: Tunisia’s President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali defended Sunday a controversial law that critics say limits press freedom as he announced increased subsidies to opposition parties and their newspapers.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=121266
Egypt Cracks Down as U.S. Stands
NEW YORK, Nov 7, 2010 (IPS) – In the face of police brutality, crackdowns on political parties and media, and a host of other violations ahead of Egypt’s Nov. 28 parliamentary election, human rights advocates are calling on President Barack Obama to use U.S. leverage to persuade Egypt to reform its electoral process, allow international monitors to assess the election, and conduct transparent and accountable balloting.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=53481
Egyptian Christian Women Convert To Islam To Obtain Divorce
BAGHDAD — Al-Qaida’s front group in Iraq has threatened more attacks on Christians after a siege on a Baghdad church that left 58 people dead, linking the warning to claims that Egypt’s Coptic Church is holding women captive for converting to Islam. The Islamic State of Iraq, which has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s assault on a Catholic church during Mass in downtown Baghdad, said its deadline for Egypt’s Copts to release the women had expired and its fighters would attack Christians wherever they can be reached.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/05/egyptian-christian-women-convert-divorce_n_779644.html
Popular Saudi supermarket chain snubs fatwa against use of women cashiers
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia: Women cashiers were at work in several Jeddah supermarkets over the weekend as their employer ignored a fatwa by the country’s highest religious authority forbidding female checkout clerks.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=121258
Syrians working harder on child labor
DAMASCUS, Syria (IRIN) — The Syrian government and international agencies are focusing efforts on tackling child labor, amid concerns that rates in the country are rising. “Child labor is a serious issue in Syria and the government, UNICEF and the ILO [International Labour Organization] all look at it as an issue of concern,” said Sherazade Boualia, UNICEF country representative.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=331492
Scepticism surrounds Jordan polls
Jordanians are making their choice for a new parliament on Tuesday. The vote is being boycotted by the country’s main opposition group. Last year, Jordan’s king dissolved parliament after accusing politicians of failing to address the people’s needs. Al Jazeera’s Nisreen El-Shamayleh reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v6k1UgOvbk&feature=youtube_gdata
Iran and Qatar renew cultural ties
Iran’s ancient culture is on display at a week-long event in Qatar. Relations between the two countries precede the Islamic Revolution of 1979. While Iran struggles to promote a harmonious image to the world, Qatar is proving to be an important partner in the process. Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari has some of the highlights.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWZA3I8yHy0&feature=youtube_gdata
Acclaimed Indian Author Arundhati Roy on Obama’s Wars, Poverty and India’s Maoist Rebels
Maoist rebels in India called for a strike Monday to protest President Obama’s visit. The Indian media reports Maoists blew up a new school building and killed four persons in the eastern Indian states of Orissa and Bihar. We speak with author and essayist Arundhati Roy about the struggle of the Maoist rebels in India and her assessment of President Obama.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/11/8/acclaimed_indian_author_arundhati_roy_on
Netherlands politician has angry words for Muslims
Parliament member Geert Wilders compares the Koran to Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ and wants the followers of Islam deported. He says his legal fight is putting the right to free speech on trial. He calls Islam a “totalitarian ideology.” He compares the Koran to “Mein Kampf” and wants it banned. He says that millions of Muslims who have settled in Europe ought to be deported, taking their “retarded” culture with them.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/h48RSL8U3r8/la-fg-netherlands-wilders-20101107,0,522057.story
Ignorance and prejudice in the New York Times, As`ad Abukhalil
I don’t know who this guy is, and I have never heard of his name, but I can easily tell that he knows no Arabic whatsoever. The Syrian people live under a repressive regime and yet they show tremendous courage and defiance and innovation in the face of censorship and repression. Days ago I was talking to a guy who stopped me near Bab Tuma in downtown Damascus: and he was complaining about censorship and how arbitrary it seems. He told me that Al-Akhbar is sold in Syria but is regularly banned on Saturdays, when my article appears. 1) I don’t mind that the article talks about repression in Syria but the paper ignores repression–worse repression–in pro-US regimes, like Saudi Arabia or Libya; 2) the article does not give credit to the Syrian people in how they defy the regime; 3) look at this passage: ”I had seen what he meant just the previous night, wandering past a cafe where dozens of Syrians had gathered outdoors as usual to watch, on a big screen, “Bab al-Hara,” a hugely popular soap opera across the Arab world about life in Damascus at the turn of the last century. In it women gossip, men shoot guns and shout at one another. It’s what passes for popular culture — not worse than what passes for it in Rome or Red Hook, maybe, except that for Syrians the alternatives are few.” That was what really irked me. This guy knows no Arabic and sat down to watch people watch a program and wrote this. I happen to have seen all episodes of this season’s Bab Al-Harah and wrote a critique of the show, but this lousy and silly description does not do justice to the show and its actors and actresses. Another moment of shame, prejudice, and ignorance at the New York Times. When it comes to covering Arabs and Muslims, they don’t disappiont–the classical bigots and racists, that is.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/11/ignorance-and-prejudice-in-new-york.html
www.TheHeadlines.org
