Total number of comments: 114 (since 2011-02-16 04:16:06)
Graber
I am a feminist community organizer with a variety of interests - writing, photography, philosophy, and radio broadcast. I am an organizer with the Philadelphia Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Coalition and a co-host of Radio Against Apartheid on West Philadelphia's community radio station, WPEB 88.1.
Website: http://phillytravels.wordpress.com
Showing comments 114 - 101
Page: 2 1
Showing comments 114 - 101
Page: 2 1
Yup! That's how I read it. Israel is happy to outlaw commemoration of the Nakba and BDS. I'm sure that all of us are on some list somewhere. Based on this line, I wouldn't be surprised to see increased efforts to target activists, journalists, and academics in the US. That's what Oren is prescribing in the WSJ.
Over 1.5 billion people in the world practice Islam.
In a completely unrelated matter, at the top of sponsors of the Equality Forum is the Comcast Corporation. How much do we have to wonder as to whether David Cohen convinced Malcolm Lazin to have Israel as the "featured nation"? And what collaboration does the Equality Forum have the Israeli Ministry of Tourism and the Israeli Embassy in Washington?
Also, Annie, though San Francisco and New York have been prominent in the US LGBTQ cultural scene, let us not forget Philadelphia and the role that ACT UP played in securing rights to treatments for HIV+ individuals at a time when the LGBTQ community was decimated by AIDS.
The latest from Gideon Levy in Haaretz:
'Israel is paranoid about pro-Palestinian activists'
link to haaretz.com
"The roots of this paranoia are deep and thought-provoking. Were Israel convinced of the justice of its path, it wouldn't behave this way. If Israel really thought the occupation is just and legal, it wouldn't be frightened by every conscientious activist who opposes it. If it had nothing to hide, it would respectfully invite them to visit.
But when the ground is burning beneath our feet, and the fire of doubt and insecurity is consuming everything, the only response is a violent and unrestrained attack. On Sunday, when the farce of arrests and the grotesque expulsion take place once again, the activists will register another significant victory: Once again they will prove that Israel does have something to hide, that in spite of all its propaganda, Israel is well aware that there are skeletons in its closet and anyone who dares come near them will suffer the same fate - expulsion."
'There is a Palestinian led liberation movement that we support as allies. And there is a Jewish liberation movement that we are leading. '
I often hear about 'healing' the Jewish community. Yet how can a movement that does not include those who are going through the MOST pain have any righteousness?
For example, do you see Khader Adnan, Hana Shalabi, and the many other Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike as allies, or are they a part of your struggle?
If the Palestine solidarity movement does not internalize the suffering of the Palestinians, then there will be no way forward for justice.
Amnesty International has a petition to stop this aid. I found it farcical at first, as if military aid and weapons are used for anything besides abuse
Rather divisive to be promoting this album, at the same time that the petition condemning the anti-semitic messaging of Gilad Atzmon is being circulated by the Electronic Intifada, the US Palestinians Community Network, among others.
From the petition:
'With this letter, we call for the disavowal of Atzmon by fellow Palestinian organizers, as well as Palestine solidarity activists, and allies of the Palestinian people, and note the dangers of supporting Atzmon’s political work and writings and providing any platforms for their dissemination. We do so as Palestinian organizers and activists, working across continents, campaigns, and ideological positions.
Atzmon’s politics rest on one main overriding assertion that serves as springboard for vicious attacks on anyone who disagrees with his obsession with “Jewishness”. He claims that all Jewish politics is “tribal,” and essentially, Zionist. Zionism, to Atzmon, is not a settler-colonial project, but a trans-historical “Jewish” one, part and parcel of defining one’s self as a Jew. Therefore, he claims, one cannot self-describe as a Jew and also do work in solidarity with Palestine, because to identify as a Jew is to be a Zionist. We could not disagree more. Indeed, we believe Atzmon’s argument is itself Zionist because it agrees with the ideology of Zionism and Israel that the only way to be a Jew is to be a Zionist.'
link to uspcn.org
Mondoweiss has made a very important contribution to undermining the white male supremacist (ashkenazi) power structure in Israel by highlighting the violence they must use to maintain control. That, to me, has been the easy part of doing this work in the USA.
What is much more difficult is confronting white male supremacy here at home. The conversation usually begins by highlighting the violence by which white males maintain control (prisons, immigration policy, capitalism, etc.), but we must also begin to elaborate on alternative power strictures.
I wonder if mondoweiss would allow for articles on race and gender in the United States. I know it is not where you began with your consideration of 'ideas on the middle east', but shouldn't that be where you end up going?
Bravo Jamil!
Dan, I'm a little surprised by your disdain for queer theory.
What brings you to this work? What political theory and instilled values drive you to stand up and say that what Israel is doing is wrong?
As Darnell shows, Queer theory allows for individuals to self-define their own sexual preferences, without having to conform to a specific identity. Furthermore, queer theory allows for sexual preference to be disconnected wholly from gender identity, and thus allows for a fluid conception of sexual preference.
You refer to this as arbitrary, but what is it that allows for individuals to self-define their sexual preferences that is so threatening to you? I only say that because you sound angry and threatened, particularly when you say 'Why can’t you just as a friggin human being be against Israel’s policies, walls etc – along with “ideas that diminish our humanity”?'
From my understanding, Darnell is against walls and constructions based upon identity because he sees the walls in Hebron as analogous to so many of the walls constructed elsewhere in society, metaphorically and physically.
Queer theory creates a political space for equality, free from the social division created by sexism, racism, and classism. When individuals are allowed to be as they wish, without having to conform to the stereotypes and histories associated with their identity, they are free.
My reflections on Occupy AIPAC:
Occupy AIPAC inspired me more than any other protest or demonstration that I have been a part of. So I wanted to share these experiences with the Mondoweiss crowd, as I believe that we can all learn methods and strategies from organizing from my experiences this weekend.
First off, it was the Palestinian women who were there at Occupy AIPAC who inspired me. Because of their actions, I'll forever be changed for the better.
Allow me to elaborate.
Sunday was slated to be the day of action, with thousands of people attending the AIPAC conference at the DC Convention Center, and our hundreds gathering outside. Obama and Peres were scheduled to address the conference around 9:30, so Code Pink wanted folks to be there early.
I was there around 7:30, and I met up with a group about 50-strong. Some students among us went incognito, and distributed fact sheets about AIPAC to student leaders among the attendees. Others, such as Anne Wright, remained across the street from the convention center in the park, with banners, a simulation Apartheid wall, and a loudspeaker.
I was among fewer than a dozen who were directly confronting AIPAC attendees. Each encounter was as daunting as the next, as AIPAC attendees collectively dismissed my assertions of the lunacy of a strike on Iran.
As the group went into the convention center, our numbers grew as theirs diminished, finally ending with us confronting their stragglers, and then gathering ours signs for a demonstration to Obama's motorcade en route to the convention center.
We all massed together, rehearsing chants, and staging ourselves appropriately for that one glance that we would get from Obama from inside of his limousine. Our angles had to be just right, so as to enhance visibility. The chants were, to be honest, rather drone. 'Free Free Palestine!', and 'No War on Iran!' chief among them. I tried my best to add rhythm and rhyme with lines such as 'Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation!', and '1, 2, 3, 4, no to sanctions, no to war!', but the flair was lost in repetition as we lingered around, badgered by the local police and relegated to a side street for a couple hours, awaiting the Obama motorcade.
Obama drove by, with some among us exchanging glances with Obama's daughters as we screamed 'Free Palestine!', yearning for our words to have some reception.
Then I considered with some friends, 'Should we get lunch now?', thinking that our action for the morning had come to an end. Well, we did our best, Obama gave us a glance. Shall we call it a day, get some good food, and reflect on our movement?
Nancy of Existence is Resistance and Ashira Hakan grabbed two megaphones, and started leading chants. The pace was hurried, the chants organic and striving. With their energy, we quickly gathered steam and regrouped, collectivizing as we marched back from the side street to the front of the convention center. We screamed into the glass of the convention center, 'From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free!'. My friend and co-conspirator, Evan Hoffman, banged his drum, and Nancy pointed the megaphone directly into the faces of AIPAC attendees.
Our pulsating crusade marched on, shaking the walls of the convention center. Then we marched right on to the steps of the convention center, peering in on attendees. The small police force at the mouth of convention center nervously held us back, as our numbers could have easily stormed through the building. They called for reinforcement, as we balanced our own passion with our consideration of the fact that, well, none of us wanted to get arrested today.
The chants continued, with 'From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free!' mixed with the Arabic version, 'Miin al Mai'a la Mai'a, Falastine Arabiya!', and 'Free Free Palestine!' all beating out of our hearts, with drums beating and fists raised.
Ashira and Nancy continued leading the chants. Ashira had arrived from Palestine just two days ago, and certainly the confrontation with police officers on the steps of the AIPAC convention is analogous in many ways to a confrontation with an IOF soldier on the hills of Bil'in and Nabi Saleh. Ashira spoke to this connection, and made everybody aware of exactly what AIPAC was promoting. In her impromtu speech, she spoke to her family losing their land, her brothers, sisters, and cousins being targeted, imprisoned, and in the case of Mustafa Tamimi, murdered by the Israeli Occupation Forces.
Then, as our several-hundred strong group beat with one collective heart on the steps of the AIPAC convention, many took to the microphone. Medea Benjamin, Former Colonel Ann Wright, and Udi, a former soldier of the IOF and current organizer of the Global Justice Working Group of Occupy Wall Street, all took to the microphone, speaking passionately and eloquently on just why we must occupy AIPAC.
Then the attendees began trickling out of the convention center. Code Pink assembled several signs and forums spanning the city block. In addition to speeches, the mock check point went back up, and then we went back to confronting the attendees of the conference.
I joined several of my friends - students from Temple SJP, friends from Philly BDS, Abbas from Al Awda, and Nancy and Ashira. We confronted every attendee that we came across as they made their way across the street. No, we would not let them escape the AIPAC conference with clean consciences. What they are supporting is despicable. They're wrong.
I've never done this before. I've always preferred to engage those who are not involved with Israel and Palestine, and tried to inform them. I've never actively engaged and challenged those who conform to Zionism. This was very much out of my element. But as the blood continued to flow in me, and the fire and energy of my friends seethed within me, there was no stopping me.
I have read about Palestine, and been there myself, for a few years now. I know what is happening. And this was my opportunity to say, 'No', 'Stop this', and to confront those who are responsible for so much oppression.
Ashira was commenting to attendees, 'You have blood on your hands!', and they would literally look at their hands. This moment of hesitation on their part gave Ashira the opportunity to elaborate how their attending the conference amounts to support and complicity in Israeli crimes. And they will all be held responsible, when the day comes when Palestinians do have justice.
Then Nancy and my friend Kareema, from Philly BDS, confronted a man in his sixties. He struck back harshly to them, denouncing them and speaking about their mothers. Then, as fierce words were exchanged, he coolly put his finger to his lips.
'Shhhhh'.
And he turned his back on Nancy and Kareema and walked away with a look of satisfaction on his face.
This lit me up. I've never before in my life confronted somebody like I did at this moment. I sprung. I jumped right in his face, 'You do NOT speak to other people like that! Have some respect! You go right back over there and you speak to them! You have no dignity, no respect!'
It was so fucked up what he did. A white man attending the AIPAC conference feels entirely contented to shush Palestinian women as they are screaming for justice for their families. It goes back to all of the misogyny that you see against women in Israel, and all of the racism inherent in the Israeli position. Further, it exemplifies everything that I see wrong here in America. White men of wealth and privilege of given every opportunity to speak, while Palestinian women are silenced. Its our media, its in our movements, and its everywhere in society.
I'm not going to stand for it any longer. Any misogyny, racism, sexism, nationalism, or classism, I just simply won't stand. I love these women, and I love people too much to allow for them to be silenced. I'm going to listen, and I'm going to ensure that others listen, because we all need to hear what they are saying.
At one point, a young man said that Ashira and Nancy were 'too passionate'. I corrected him. We wouldn't have been nearly as successful had they not been as passionate. Certainly, we can look to curtail some of the actions of our movements so as to avoid arrest. But by and large, it is Palestinian voices that will lead our movement, and dictate strategy and messaging. They are the ones that are suffering the most, and they know what we need. If we attempt to stifle their voices, we are only perpetuating the very system which we are seeking to dismantle.
The difference that I saw between Code Pink and the Palestinians at Occupy AIPAC was clear. Code Pink is standing up for justice, and asking for permission to dissent. For Palestinians, it isn't a choice. Their families and friends are subject to extreme violence, and they need justice. There is no other option. Seems like a lesson to be learned by many within the Occupy movement.
The young woman was Ashira Hakan.
Here's a photograph of the scene: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=342063862501964&set=a.341776445864039.72651.195473957160956&type=1&theater
I've been searching for a quality video, but have yet to find one.
Khader Adnan, an innocent man according to the Israeli military court (which finds 99.74% of Palestinians "guilty"), will be held in Israeli prison for 5 months.
Michael Plitnick hits the nail on the head. This abhorrent practice is now routine for Israel and the United States, among other countries which find it politically expedient in their repression of alternative political perspectives.
I don't know if desperation is the correct word for this. Based on Doraed's demeanor, and that of many of the Palestinians whom I met in the West Bank, it's not necessarily desperation. To me, it speaks of a moral rectitude and moral clarity that is undeniable. The occupation and Israel's treatment of Palestinians is so abhorrent, resistance is the clear, unshakable, and moral aspect of Palestinian life. As Doraed said, it's not about the political or religious affiliation of an individual undertaking resistance. Rather, its the acts of resistance.
Also, using the word desperation doesn't give justice to the Palestinian demand of dignity and equality. Doraed was so dignified in this video. He speaks with such moral clarity, such righteousness.
There is no rebuttle to Doraed. There is no rebuttle to Khader. The Israel hasbarists can't refute their claims. It makes the revolution that grants Palestinians justice and equality feel not only inevitable, but forthcoming.
BIC, where are you based? What are you doing?
If you were paying attention, you would have noticed that the resolution on Princeton's campus last year to have an alternative to Sabra Hummus was proposed almost entirely by one resolute student, then was quickly dispelled. This shows that 1: campaigns must be organized by a well-organized organization and 2: there is very little buy-in on campuses for resolutions to actually pass, due to the huge influence that Israel DOES HAVE on America's campuses.
As far as campus divestment - the majority of universities, after the 1980's, no longer allow for students to have access and input into how the universities invest. So that is a huge barrier to any divestment campaigns on campuses, and would probably take lots of hand-wringing and political lobbying before students are even able to propose divestment initiatives.
The way you speak as if it's so easy shows that you're clearly not actually involved in any campus activism. If you were, you'd see the huge amounts of political and media pressure that students who do solidarity work are under in the United States.
Video of "Shit Zionists say" is up!
link to youtube.com
The "Shi* People Say..." phenomenon has produced some really interesting social commentary. I saw this video the other day: "Shi* White Girls say to Black Girls... Is Not Racist" in which the speaker breaks it down.
"Shi* White Girls say to Black Girls" just does for white people what mass media does to black folks every day, with one very important difference. Its a joke. Its not trying to present itself as the real thing. But the media's caricatures of blackness are trying to be the real thing. And that's why the video's not racist."
Dershowitz berated the NYT editorial staff for this in his speech at UPenn. Made me smile when I watched the video.
From my transcript:
...the answer is not, "Yes we stole your land, but we're good to gays". That was the article that was in the New York Times a few weeks ago. One of the stupidest articles ever run in the New York Times by this idiot professor that says that the only reason that Israel treats gays well is so that they can treat Palestinians badly. How the Times would allow that piece of drech to slip through the editorial pages is just remarkable to me. I've never seen a lower standard of editorial judgement than that article.
A lot more of my analysis is up on my website: link to radioagainstapartheid.libsyn.com
Thank you Sarah, and thank you Phil. This weekend was spectacular, and I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity to share such moral clarity with everybody there.
President Gutmann's statement in the Daily Pennsylvanian today (link to thedp.com
was co-signed with David Cohen, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of UPenn and the Executive Vice President of the Comcast Corporation.
Mondoweiss readers may remember Cohen, as he was the dinner chairman of the Friends of the IDF fundraiser back in November, and will be the honoree of the March 29 fundraiser here in Philadelphia.
Annie, this is the climate that Penn BDS is working with. It is a wonder that the students at Penn were able to put this conference together. But the Penn administration is making it evident to the Philadelphia community where they stand. Cohen introduced Dershowitz this evening.
(Will anybody be reporting on that Dershowitz speech??? He said that he spoke with Netanyahu AND Obama over the phone??? And he seems completely prepared to bomb Iran.)
We covered the story of Taiseer, Lana, Yusra, and Adnan on Radio Against Apartheid last Wednesday. Lana was able to get the permit to be with her family this year from the state of Israel. Yet as many as 30,000 other families face a similar situation of having to ask permission to stay together, with many of them not being so fortunate.
Radio Against Apartheid: link to radioagainstapartheid.libsyn.com
Tonight's Radio Against Apartheid will have an exclusive interview with Taiseer. Will post the link once it's up online!
Ugh. I was going to pick up Gorenberg's book, but after not recognizing his own contradictions, it just doesn't seem worthwhile. More logic, please!
As you pointed out, Phil, the prescription for Jews in the diaspora is an expression of ethnocentricity, the exact ethnocentricity which Gorenberg asked the reader to reject in the previous paragraph!
"Think about it: You don’t believe in the inborn superiority of particular ethnic groups any more than you believe in the opposite, the inherent inferiority of ethnic groups."
Think about it, Gorenberg! Then don't ask for a Jewish majority in a sovereign state on somebody else's land!
Thanks everybody! The podcasts are available online at RadioAgainstApartheid.Libsyn.com. We are still working on the equipment, and in all likelihood, this week's podcast will come in a much better quality. Though it doesn't have to deal with Israel and Palestine, we'll be speaking about Nigeria and the latest outbreak of violence there, and the origins of it.
Amazing the levels of partisanship and identity-based vitriol on Mondoweiss on MLK Day, particularly in response to an article denouncing racial supremacy.
It's also so startling to read the Post Gazette's article. Rather than hailing and celebrating such ideological courage as that expressed from Jesse and Erika, they warn readers and only describe the essays as "searingly honest".
In fact, it's almost as if they missed the point entirely. Why not just come out and say that these are two teens who have struggled with and overcome racial stereotypes?
Thanks Scott. And we're looking forward to it and working hard preparing.
Yeah that article is great. I had no idea Bibi graduated from Cheltenham High School... Philly boy I guess...
Completely unrelated to this, David Cohen, the Executive VP of Comcast, will be the keynote speaker at the JNF fundraiser in Philly in March. If you don't recall, he also made an appearance alongside Governor Rendell at the Friends of the IDF Fundraiser here in Philly. (HT Phil link to mondoweiss.net
I'm just so proud of this city...
They did pharmaceutical testing on him?
Jimmy's on my shit list.
From the Times article:
“I think it is probably going to be inevitable, and I don’t think it is going to be detrimental for the military to retain some special status,” he said.
...
“If the civilian leadership decided to give the SCAF immunity from prosecution, say, for the death of the people in Tahrir Square over the last few months, I would have no objection to that,” Mr. Carter said. Protecting the military budget from full civilian scrutiny might be another point where civilian political leaders could compromise, he said.
The thing that makes me most disappointed in all of this is Iran's crackdown on civilians in 2009 following the stolen elections. If Iran hadn't adopted militarism as the means of policing its own people, then I doubt that they would have adopted militarism as the means to finding justice for Palestinians (vis-a-vis Hezbollah).
The project called "The Great Book Robbery" (link: link to thegreatbookrobbery.org
is doing a spectacular job of documenting and retrieving the books stolen from Palestinian libraries in 1948.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Karina Goulordava, the communications manager of the project, and Susan Abulhawa, about orientalism and the power of Palestinian literature.
The podcast of that conversation is available here: link to radioagainstapartheid.libsyn.com
Is the video available?
Cheers to that.
I really think it's essential for BDS folks to get involved with Occupy, and Occupy folks to become involved with BDS. Those who support Zionism make up a small contingent of the world's financial elite, and the elite's disillusionment with the Zionist project is waning (as per international consensus).
I do believe that the majority of financial elites will give up their support for the Zionist project in an effort to spare themselves from the humiliation of the colonization. Yet after giving up on Zionists, they will continue with imperialism, particularly in Africa.
And the end of the Zionist project will create an opportunity to engage in a conversation as to America's history of colonization, and the power and morality of indigenous people, creating further schisms among supporters of capitalism.
(I just wonder how many will have to die for this to happen... Or if they'll just continue with their hegemony for many more generations with a quiet war against all people).
Can't wait to try these! Thanks for sharing.
Any ideas as to what the content of the "pressure" applied to CAP by the Israel lobby consisted of? The Forward article just says it was "due to a barrage of criticism hurled at the group from Jewish and pro-Israel activists", and then goes on to cite CAP's links to the Democratic party. But there isn't a clear distinction between the supporters of CAP and the supporters of Media Matters.
My guess is that there is some division within CAP, and it seems like a very likely ally in the future - but not at present.
And meanwhile, M.J. Rosenberg does some great work.
Does anybody have any links to information regarding where Israeli/American military support lies in Syria? The fact that Clark says "We are going to start with Iraq and then we are going to move to Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Iran seven seven countries in five years." sounds about accurate, as far as Libya, Somalia, Iran, and Sudan are concerned. But what political/military interference has American done in Syria and Lebanon?
What struck me most in the Ehrenreich article was the interview with Bassem Tamimi. Ehrenreich made it clear to readers that Israel targeted Tamimi for imprisonment for organizing the weekly nonviolent demonstrators in Nabi Saleh.
From the article:
"Tamimi had a strange, stiff sort of calmness about him, as if his long face and blue eyes were directed at some other, less tumultuous world. He had not been home for days. “I am wanted,” he explained, and smiled sadly. Late one night the previous week, Israeli soldiers had arrested his cousin Nabi and then came looking for him.
...
"Five days after we talked in March, Tamimi risked a visit to Nabi Saleh. He had been back home for ten minutes when the soldiers arrived at his door. He has been inprison ever since."
I'm not certain of the relation of Mustafa Tamimi to Bassem, but I assume that they're extended family members. And the systematic targeting for imprisonment of Bassem makes me believe that Mustafa was also a marked man.
I haven't had the chance to read Arendt, but she is widely cited by Judith Butler, both in previous works, and in Butler's latest lecture series at Bryn Mawr. From those readings and from other citations, such as this one Phil, it seems to me that Arendt made a valuable contribution to the canon of moral philosophy based on Jewish tradition.
I think I could be much more joyful if it weren't for the contribution of Zionism also being a part of the Jewish canon of theory.
Can I do a (somewhat) personal plug? There have been a lot of discussions of the efficacy and consideration of BDS on this thread. I hope some of you will come to Philly in February to contribute those viewpoints at UPenn's BDS conference: pennbds.org.
On the main mondoweiss page, the article is entitled "French museum cancels competition after prize-sponsor Lacoste rejects Palestinian artist"
Ron Paul is a libertarian, which means that he wants to leave the American government up to the bare minimum. This means that he wants to end regulation of the environment (EPA), end public education, and end the funding of American wars and foreign aid.
In this respect, I see him very similar to many of the other candidates - he wants a corporatocracy. Whether the other candidates call for the corporations running a government, and the government being at the helm, or Paul calling for an end to government funding, and then corporations taking the helm, it all sounds the same to me.
I think it's naive to think that he's taking a moral stand on any of these issues. He's taking a capitalistic stand, and letting the money that funds him talk.
Sorry to burst bubbles. You may be angry with me saying this, but you may also think that I'm right.
Thank you for this. Peace from Philly.
From Friedman's article today in the NYT:
"As for Newt, well, let’s see: If the 2.5 million West Bank Palestinians are not a real people entitled to their own state, that must mean Israel is entitled to permanently occupy the West Bank and that must mean — as far as Newt is concerned — that Israel’s choices are: 1) to permanently deprive the West Bank Palestinians of Israeli citizenship and put Israel on the road to apartheid; 2) to evict the West Bank Palestinians through ethnic cleansing and put Israel on the road to the International Criminal Court in the Hague; or 3) to treat the Palestinians in the West Bank as citizens, just like Israeli Arabs, and lay the foundation for Israel to become a binational state. And this is called being “pro-Israel”?"
My response:
This feels like an absolute slap in the face of the Palestinians in Gaza, '48, and living in exile. As if the Palestinians living in the West Bank are the only ones who matter because its their land that is currently being stolen by Israel. I'd love to see Friedman go to Gaza and wake up to reality.
How ironic that Friedman, by denying the lives and experiences of the other Palestinians, engages in the exact same negation that he is denouncing.
I often wonder about the psychology of the occupiers. They target youth and teenagers among the Palestinians - often I think because it's their own youth and teens who are serving in the military.
And now they're limiting funding for foreign NGO's. But it really seems like the US should be investigating who is funding AIPAC... Which 'foreign agents' are there influencing US politics?
Israel is most frightened of Israel (link to richardsilverstein.com
Thanks for the support everyone! I really appreciate it and really mean what I wrote in the article - I'm hoping that the project is just an opening up of dialogue and conversation, and I invite the many brilliant voices attending to this website to contribute.
Jeff, do you think that Israel occupies the American government? What would Israel look like if there were no American influence there? What would America look like if there were no Israeli influence here?
So who occupies whom? Some may say that Israeli influence upon American politics is the tail wagging the dog. But I'd contend that that's just how the damn dog is. What may be perceived as Israeli interests in American politics isn't as much Israeli interests as it is what Americans wish for Israel to do next.
I'm really skeptical about you saying 'our subservience to Israel.'
Can anybody unpack the Jewish Exponent quote for us readers a bit? I think there are some who would look at a mention of threats to 'Israel's physical security' and absolutely cringe. And then there are others who may read that and take it as a given, as a right.
And I think debunking quotes like that can go a long way towards gaining acceptance at the Daily KoS, for instance. And finding a place in American discourse.
I just haven't got the time at the moment, but I certainly would like to. Last week I attended a lecture at Bryn Mawr by Judith Butler entitled 'Towards an Ethics of Co-Habitation," in which she railed against Jewish 'communitarianism' and ethnic exclusivity. This quote reminds me of the lecture.
Her lecture unfortunately won't be available until publication in 2012.
If you loved the book, or you want to know more about Palestinian cultural preservation and destruction, the latest show of Radio Against Apartheid featured a conversation about the Great Book Robbery with the always-insightful Susan Abulhawa and the Communications Manager of the Great Book Robbery, Karina Goulordava.
Podcast is up at: link to soundcloud.com
Hey Pam,
I have a radio show on West Philadelphia's community radio station WPEB 88.1, entitled "Radio Against Apartheid." We are "amplifying voices for justice and equality in the Middle East".
We just started a few weeks ago, and we've already featured Omar Offendum and Susan Abulhawa. This week's show features an interview with Joseph Dana and Jesse Rosenfeld, and we have plans to speak with representatives from the Great Book Robbery as well as a discussion with philosopher Judith Butler.
We would love the opportunity to feature more Palestinian voices on the radio. RadioAgainstApartheid@Gmail.com if you have any particular contacts who may be interested.
Thanks in advance!
The US doesn't have the launch a war with Iran. It sounds more and more as if Israel is getting the go-ahead from the US. Israel has mandatory service in the army for all citizens - plenty of foot soldiers.
And "there is ZERO upside for America or Europe to any war with Iran" ????
Have you not been paying attention? The people who MAKE the weapons are driving the policy! Why wouldn't they want to have another war to profit from? More reasons for weapons sales!!! WOOOT!
Does anybody have any resources on Hesbollah? Any books/articles/documentaries that give a good history of the movement and political party? Really – please reply.
Since when was Oslo a great thing for Palestinians? Everybody I've talked to in Palestine felt that Arafat had sold the farm with Oslo, so I don't know why people on this thread feel as though the non-implementation of Oslo was a devastating blow to Palestinians.
If you look at Oslo, it left 2.3% of the West Bank and Gaza as Area A, meaning that there is full PA authority in these areas. 25.1% of the land was designated as Area B, meaning that the PA has civil authority and Israel has security control, and 72.2% of the West Bank and Gaza was designated as Area C, which is autonomous Israeli territory.
But when Israel has security control over Area B, this really means that soldiers and settlers can do as they please with impunity.
So Palestinians are left with 2.7% of their own land under the Oslo Accords. And now there are steps being taken to nullify Oslo because Israelis feel that they didn't get enough of the land.
And just as a note, eee wrote: "Only the Jewish settled areas will be annexed and any Palestinian living there will get to choose if he wants to be an Israeli citizen, like the Druze in the Golan or the Arabs of East Jerusalem."
And this makes me wonder about where eee is working from. If he were speaking from a knowledgeable position, then he would know that "Jewish settled areas" exclude Palestinians.
Just want it to be noted that Larry Derfner is now writing for +972 Magazine.
Some of his work:
link to 91.228.126.171
link to 91.228.126.171
And his profile description from the website:
I was a columnist and feature writer for The Jerusalem Post, as well as the correspondent in Israel for the U.S. News and World Report, for many years. I wrote feature articles for the Sunday Times of London during the second intifada, and have been writing for American Jewish publications since 1990. Politically, I would describe myself as an ultra-liberal Zionist; as journalist Bradley Burston put it, I’m “probably as far left as a centrist can be.” I was born in New York, grew up in Los Angeles and moved to Israel in 1985.
With criticism, you gotta give credit where credit is due. You do none of that. Instead, your language claims authority over the author in this case, and I find that alarming because you're a western male and the author is a female in Egypt.
As far as 'homegrown problems and monsters,' the problem is that the 'monsters' are actually client regimes paid for by foreigners. So there is really nothing 'homegrown' about them.
'Academicese' is intended to recontextualize language. So many important debates are hijacked by the media and then the words take on different associations, denigrating the original meanings of those words.
I hope Mondo readers will take the time to read this piece and give thoughtful consideration to it. It is a valuable contribution to Mondo. Paul Norheim, you should be ashamed of yourself for believing that you can issue any judgment in regards to the credibility of Sarah Hawas. The fact that you have only leads me to dismiss the credibility of your own analysis.
As with many of her pieces here at Mondo, what she has brought is a thoughtful consideration of current events and a valuable contextualization which is fully absent from traditional media analysis and lacking within the blogosphere.
I've been considering Egyptian protesters to be the new politicians of Egypt, and thus I give greater credibility to their demands than to any of the politicians or military officials who suppose to represent them. As such, just as Turkey recently dismissed the Israeli Ambassador, I see the moves at the Israeli protest as the Egyptians' dismissal of the Israeli Ambassador.
As Robert Fisk noted on Al Jazeera's Inside Story - link to english.aljazeera.net
- as the two Arab states which have recognized Israel, the dismissal of the Israeli ambassadors from Turkey and Egypt effectively pushes back the normalization of Israel's recognition 30 years.
As a solidarity activist based in the United States, I appreciate the criticism of BDS. Many activists do get caught up in BDS, thinking it the only means to perform solidarity work. Further, I really appreciated your considerations of J14 and the politics of 'negotiations' - "There is no room in revolution for a politics of legitimacy when you are rendered subhuman to begin with."
Whereas some solidarity organizations - in Britain I believe - have taken stances in support or opposition to the Statehood Initiative, I think the most cogent response was from the Israeli Coalition Against Home Demolitions:
September 15, 2011
Salvaging September: an ICAHD Statement Regarding the Palestinian Statehood Initiative at the UN
Jeff Halper, ICAHD Director
September 14th, 2011
The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) has been one of the leading critical Israeli peace and human rights organizations struggling for Palestinian rights during its more than 14 years of existence. ICAHD activists resist the demolition of Palestinian homes, both inside Israel and in the Occupied Territory, and together with our Palestinian and International partners, we have rebuilt 175 homes as political acts of resistance to Occupation. Besides our resistance efforts "on the ground," we engage in a vigorous campaign of international advocacy on behalf of a just peace. In this we are aided by our branches abroad - ICAHD UK, ICAHD-USA and ICAHD Finland - as well as by hundreds of civil society groups around the world with which we work.
Where, then, do we stand on the question of the PLO/PA's September initiative? As non-Palestinians, ICAHD activists do not advocate for a particular solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Overall, we subscribe to the three basic principles embodied in the Palestinian Civil Society Call: (1) ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall; (2) recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and (3) respecting, protecting, and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194. Believing that it is the Palestinian people's right to determine what they consider a just peace and it is our role as their Israeli partners to support them - with one caveat: that any solution be inclusive of all the people residing in Palestine/Israel - we will follow the lead of our Palestinian partners regarding particular initiatives or resolutions to the conflict.
As non-Palestinians, we find ourselves in a bind regarding "September." During the months leading up to the approach to the UN in late September, and especially in the last couple weeks, we have received mixed messages from our Palestinian civil society partners. Most Palestinians in the Occupied Territories and Israel seem to be sitting out the September initiative at the UN - although Marwan Barghouti did issue an impassioned plea for international support and involvement from his prison cell. One influential Palestinian commentator has called September a "non-event;" others, especially in the Palestinian Diaspora, are actively opposing it. Even Abbas himself seems reluctant to go the UN. He recently told a group of visiting Israeli intellectuals that his post-September priorities are to "negotiate, negotiate, negotiate [with Israel]." But he is trapped by the high expectations the idea has generated around the world. The half-hearted juggernaut moves on towards the fateful date of September 21st.
Now, just two or three weeks before the approach to the UN, a fierce debate has erupted within the Palestinian community around a number of key questions:
Will the September initiative be based on the recognition of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders? If so, then what does Abbas want to negotiate with Israel? Minor territorial adjustments or a return to the fruitless trap of negotiations of the past 20 years which render the 1967 borders irrelevant?
Who, in the absence of elections to the PNC or a referendum, has authorized Abbas to pursue a two-state solution? Even if he does approach the UN in his capacity as the head of the PLO and with the backing of its Executive Committee, will the Palestinian Authority, on becoming the recognized Government of the State of Palestine, replace the PLO and thus disenfranchise half the Palestinian people? In particular, would the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders compromise the refugees' right of return and the national rights of Palestinians within Israel?
Does recognition of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders foreclose forever the emergence of a single state in historic Palestine, be it democratic or bi-national, or will it permit further political efforts and evolution in that direction?
Until these questions are answered, it would be difficult for ICAHD to support the September initiative. This, however, raises two key issues. First, how do we deal with the fall-out of September? Regardless of internal Palestinian politics and the genuine problematics of Abbas's approach to the UN, "September" is going to happen. With only a week to go, the PLO/PA's game-plan is still not clear, but a General Assembly vote would undoubtedly see the vast majority of the international community recognizing Palestinian statehood within the 1967 borders.
What is our game-plan? How will we channel the energy, if not euphoria, of the "day after" - or the anger and despair if, in fact, nothing happens on the ground? While many Palestinian intellectuals and organizations of the left are critical of the initiative, the Palestinian "street" is nevertheless organizing for the non-violent assertion of their national rights, including marches on settlements. What can be done so as not to abandon them? And what about the expectations that have been raised among the thousands of activists around the world who have devoted so much time and effort to the Palestinian cause over the years? If "September" simply fizzles, will they stay the course? Most important, what if the General Assembly vote does turn out to be a genuine game-changer, if it releases a political dynamic that neither the PA nor Israel nor any other actor can control - the resignation or collapse of the PA if, in fact, nothing does change in the Occupied Territory, perhaps triggering an Israel re-occupation of the cities of the West Bank and Gaza? How should we respond?
The second issue arises from the first: no struggle for Palestinian rights can be pursued without the leadership of the Palestinian people - which for ICAHD and many activists around the world, means our partner organizations on the Palestinian left, whether inside Palestine or abroad. The popular committees and other activists "on the ground" play a key role in keeping the struggle alive and focused, but they have no political program. On the level of international advocacy, boycotts, divestment, sanctions (BDS) has become a powerful campaign vehicle for raising public awareness of the Palestinian issue; in fact, ICAHD was one of the first Israeli organizations to endorse it. But, in the end, it is merely a tool. It cannot replace a multi-faceted political strategy.
Two requirements for an effective post-September program seem evident: our Palestinian civil society partners should articulate a clear vision of where they see the struggle headed, if not a detailed program; and all of us working for Palestinian self-determination - Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists alike - should hold urgent and critical discussions regarding our next steps. Our activism and our campaigns need to be accompanied by Palestinian-led strategizing, together with far more coordination and communication. We in ICAHD believe that the vote at the UN - or even a non-vote in the UN - is going be a game-changer. At least it is likely to clear the table of all the obstacles to pursuing a truly just peace: fruitless negotiations, the two-state "solution," and, very possibly, the PA itself, which has too long enabled Israel to prolong its occupation. We must be prepared for that shifting of the political ground. We must be pro-active, united, and effective.
ICAHD, then, will respect the internal disagreement among its Palestinian partners. ICAHD has long argued that the two-state solution, which has anyway been buried under the Israeli settlements, cannot serve as a just and workable solution to the Israel/Palestine conflict. We would have supported the initiative as a stage in achieving full national rights for the Palestinian people, but since our partners have raised concerns that the recognition of a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders will foreclose those rights, and given the level of opposition, ICAHD will basically "sit it out." We find this a painful decision because we believe that civil society engagement in the political process is crucial. Our dilemma certainly highlights the need for all of us to be more strategic and pro-active, so we don't get caught in such political paralysis.
Remaining concerned over how to deal with the fall-out of the September initiative, we urge the convening of a regular forum of consultation among all civil society activists, which can be networked if the issue of leadership is a problem. We remain committed to the struggle for Palestinian self-determination. We stand in solidarity with the people suffering on the ground, in the refugee camps as well as in the occupied Palestinian territory, and we look forward to close cooperation as we develop effective political strategies for achieving a just peace and equality for all the people of Palestine/Israel.
Good point Antidote. I was just thinking about the connection between the Holocaust and 9/11.
In particular, I was thinking about how the memories of those who died in 9/11 have been used to justify so much more murder, and how effectively I feel dirty even mourning for those people. It's a terrible disservice to them, what's been done.
It all reminds me of Norman Finkelstein's "The Holocaust Industry." I haven't read it, but I have heard a number of his lectures. Anybody read it?
Just read this now David. I really appreciate your eloquence. Thanks for this.
I've been hobnobbing around the "Cultures of Resistance" website and have been thinking lately about the Palestinian culture of resistance. I saw a documentary on two girls in the West Bank who were trying to learn to rap a while ago. In the doc, several adults were debating as to whether rap is a legitimate form of resistance.
And I couldn't help by being struck by the fact that parents were most proud of children that were involved in resistance, and they wanted that for their children.
And I think that is a very stark contrast to my own culture. There is only a very small culture of resistance here in the US, at least as I've experienced in my own white, middle-class upbringing. I do see it in some function in black culture, especially with resistance to policing, militarization, and imprisonment. But within the culture that I have been raised, parents are most proud of children who make money.
So when Friedman talks about Egypt or other regions of the Middle East being "behind," I really think he is referencing their peoples' abilities to mobilize their governments (and the military) on behalf of capitalist interests. In that regard, the United States IS the most advanced society in the world. But if we're judging a society by their morals, by cultures which strive for the realization of justice, then I think the United States is well behind the people of the Middle East.
With maps like this, people are going to start talking more about a one-state solution, and less about a two-state solution.
It's one of those beautiful ironies of domination - on one hand, those exercising domination wish to boast of their own exploits. On the other hand, they must find ways to legitimize their exploitation.
(Mental note: is it worth replying to Witty?)
Witty, those receiving money are accountable to those who give them that money. If they don't do the job, then they don't get the money. Phil and Adam have been doing spectacular reporting, and their readers appreciate it and donate.
But Fayyad isn't being paid by Palestinians. And so that raises a great deal of skepticism as far as who Salaam Fayyad is accountable to. A little further research into the matter reveals that this skepticism is well-founded, and the PA Prime Minister is by no means accountable to the Palestinian people.
I wish it were fiction. I wish people didn't even have to imagine such horror. But truth? It's hard to wrap my head around that. Thank you for sharing some truth.
I'm sorry for passing through much of the commentary to comment on the post. I had read it previously, and I'm now reading the book "The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex" by Incite! Women of Color Against Violence, and the essay entitled "The political logic of the non-profit industrial complex" by Dylan Rodriguez had just too many parallels to your commentary, Phil, for me to not post.
p.34-35
"... Robert Allen surmises that the emergence of a white liberal hegemony over the non-profit industry during the 1970s was an explicit attempt - in fact an authentic conspiracy of collaboration among philanthropists and state officials, including local police and federal administrators - to dissipate the incisive and radical critique of US white supremacist capitalism, the white supremacist state, and white civil society that was spreading in the wake of domestic Black and Third World liberation movements. What Allen does not explicitly state, although he does imply, is that the rise of the white liberal philanthropic establishment had lasting political effects that equaled (and in some ways surpassed) the most immediate repressive outcomes of COINTELPRO and its offspring. It is the paradigm-shaping political influence of the post-1970s white philanthropic renaissance that remains the durable and underanalyzed legacy of late 20th-century White Reconstruction."
Please, don't start off your comments with commands. If you do - say please. Otherwise, state your opinions and don't tell others what to do. Thanks.
Does anybody know what land the PA will be proposing for statehood, especially considering the reconciliation deal with Hamas? Will it only be Area A in the West Bank? Area A and Gaza? Area A and Area B?
Dan, if you go to occupy the West Bank, I'm going to throw a rock at you
I'm really put off by the number of people among the commenters who entertain the idea of exchanging the Israeli occupation with a NATO occupation. It doesn't bode well for people who supposedly want justice to turn around and say they actually want to see an occupation.
We've seen, for instance at Qalandiya on Nakba Day, a more brutal occupier in PA forces than in Israeli forces.
And, to me, this exposes the PA bid for statehood for what it is, namely a wolf in sheep's clothing hoping to further consolidate the occupation of the West Bank by giving it the flair of international legitimacy which is associated with NATO.
But I suppose it's not all that surprising, considering the theme for 2011 has been the US government standing up and saying, "Yup! That's me! I support that violence!" every time Israel has been held to account for their crimes against Palestinians (settlement veto, flotilla, statehood).
I WISH I could find the specific post on Mondo, but I remember a post regarding an article from a major Israeli financial publication. The article interviewed business leaders of Israel, and they said that the largest hurdle that their economic success faces is the occupation - because of the boycott.
I find that so striking, considering, from what I've read, that the protests have an entirely different message coming from the streets.
Amazing! Awesome work by Carol and Greta!
It's true too. In the past year, the United States has had to make so many public statements and acts to prop up the Israeli Apartheid regime. I'm thinking of the UN veto of the settlements, for starters. No longer is the puppet being held behind the curtains, and this is major progress.
Hrm. I e-mailed the Mondo e-mails (Adam and Mondo) about this about two weeks ago. What is the best way to submit new stories that Mondo may want to pick up?
Boycott.
Walid, that one word in the photo is the White House telling Israel to go ahead in Sheikh Jarrah - get rid of all of the Arab homes. Because if Jerusalem is classified as in Israel, then it's in the Jewish, Democratic State of Israel, in which Palestinians are second-class citizens, if they are able to stay at all.
And this is why Hamas refuses to recognize the Israeli government, and why it was a "capital sin" in "most Arab countries" to pronounce the word, "Israel." It is an act of collusion with the occupier and ethnic cleanser, white washing the crimes of the past.
Thanks for your post Ahmed, and your response, Anne. I tend to be more on the side of Anne. I'm underemployed - food stamps, no med insurance, no dental - and I have no children. I want to see the whole system crumble, and I'm encouraged to see it happening sooner rather than later. I know the building will fall on top of me. But I also know that there is a sky behind that building.
And in response to Dan Crowther's post below:
Yes, as America's government falls more and more in debt, they'll be looking for more diverse ways to steal resources from others. But America and Israel are becoming pariah states, and increasingly, we're seeing the "international community" turn away from the US and Israel, and say, uh, fuck you.
In light of the fact that the US utilizes such horrifying levels of violence, a lower credit rating could be a really good thing. Basically, fewer countries will want to do business with us.
I really think the Arab Spring will be coming stateside, too. As I said, I am underemployed and am willing to fight for something better.
The rabbi next door to me told my housemate that he had a solution to the "demographic problem" - castration.
Thanks for the spectacular reporting and analysis, Ira.
I highly recommend people follow the work of Mazin Qumsiyeh. He is a former professor at Yale, Duke, and the University of Tennessee, and he currently works out of Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem. He manages a listserv at link to lists.qumsiyeh.org
He was the conceptual architect for the fly-in's to Tel Aviv, and he has been targeted for arrest as he takes action at the al Walaja protests weekly. In short, he is a moral giant who needs our support.
Check out Judith Butler's collection of essays entitled 'Precarious Life - The powers of mourning and violence' from 2004. She has one article entitled 'The charge of anti-Semitism: Jews, Israel, and the risks of public critique.'
Her concluding paragraph from the essay:
'What is needed is a public space in which such issues might be thoughtfully debated, and for academics to support the commitment to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry that would support a thoughtful consideration of these issues. What we are up against here is not only the question of whether certain kinds of ideas and positions can be permitted in public space, but how public space is itself defined by certain kinds of exclusions, certain emerging patterns of censoriousness and censorship. I have considered the way in which the charge of anti-Semitism against those who voice opposition to Israeli policy or to its founding ideology seeks to discredit that point of view as hatred, or, indeed, hate speech, and to put into question its permissibility as protected speech or, indeed, valued political commentary. If one cannot voice an objection to violence done by the Israeli state without attracting the charge of anti-Semitism, then the charge works to circumscribe the publicly acceptable domain of speech. It also works to immunize Israeli violence against critique by refusing to countenance the integrity of the claims made against that violence. One is threatened with the label, "anti-Semitic," in the same way that within the US, to oppose the most recent US wars earns one the label of "traitor," or "terrorist sympathizer" or, indeed, "treasonous." These are threats with profound psychological consequence. They seek to control political behavior by imposing unbearable, stigmatized modes of identification which most people will want more than anything to avoid identification with. Fearing the identification, they fail to speak out. But such threats of stigmatization can and must be weathered, and this can only be done with the support of other actors, others who speak with you, and against the threat that seeks to silence political speech. The threat of being called "anti-Semitic" seeks to control, at the level of the subject, what one is willing to say out loud, and at the level of society in general, to circumscribe what can and cannot be permissibly spoken out loud in the public sphere. More dramatically, these are threats that decide the defining limits of the public sphere through setting limits on the speakable. The world of public discourse, in other words, will be that space and time from which those critical perspectives will be excluded. The exclusion of those criticisms will effectively establish the boundaries of the public itself, and the public will come to understand itself as one that does not speak out, critically, in the face of obvious and illegitimate violence - unless, of course, a certain collective courage takes hold.
Chaos, I think you're mistaking the PA for a democratic leadership. Remember: these are the guys who were giving away the Right of Return according to the Palestine Papers.
So when you say that it is the ONLY way to move forward, then we must consider WHO is moving forward. Some people thought that the Oslo Accords were a way to move forward. In actuality, it just consolidated a puppet Palestinian Authority in the West Bank that ended up being in some ways crueler than Israelis in the enforcement of the occupation (examples: torture and imprisonment, Nakba protests this year).
I'm not sure of anything these days... But I am certainly wary of foxes dressed in sheeps' clothing, or rather, Palestinians who enforce the occupation.
From link to cpti.ws
Palestine
Tax resistance was one of the actions of the first intifada, the mass resistance of Palestinians against the Israeli occupation. It was chosen as a tactic to separate Palestinians from the Israeli economy and administration. In 1989 the mostly Christian Palestinian village of Beit Sahour unanimously decided to withhold taxes from the regime.
“We will not finance the bullets that kill our children, the growing number of prisons, the expenses of the occupying army. We want no more than what you have: freedom and our own representatives to pay taxes to,” read part of a statement from the town on October 19, 1989.
Before long the Israeli government responded by declaring the town a “closed military zone.” Telephone lines were cut, entry into the area was prohibited, and a curfew was imposed from evening until morning. During this time property was seized from individuals and businesses. Tax collectors confiscated truckloads of personal belongings, and many citizens were fined or jailed. International support was drawn to Beit Sahour, and the solidarity of its citizens continued despite the harassment. Beit Sahour was nominated by the Nobel Committee for the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize and received the annual award of the Danish Peace Foundation in 1990. This resistance continued until 1995 when the Palestinian Authority took over.
(Source: Conscience, Winter 1990; NWTRCC Network News, July 1990; Al Fajr, June 4, 1990; More Than a Paycheck, April 1997.)
Thank you for sharing this.
Standing in solidarity with Palestinians, for me, provides me with a conception of how beautiful the world COULD be if our work expands. It is Palestinians who have taught me what it means to stand for justice and compassion, wholeheartedly and unequivocally. With that in mind, I do this work not just for Palestinians, but for everybody.
Update: Joseph Dana via facebook
"breaking! Israeli organization takes responsibility for complaint against US boat to Gaza: link to glz.co.il
Google translation: link to translate.google.com
My ex, who is a current resident at NYU's hospital, sent me this article with the tagline: "Israel is CRAZY into ivf"
link to jezebel.com
It isn't surprising to me. But it is surprising to me that somebody in the medical community who knows very little about Israel and Palestine knows this about Israel.
I'm no child of punk, and I could be discredited as such. Still, my housemate scorns Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, and points to the punk music of Northern Ireland (he's from those parts) as the pinnacle of musical experience.
And when my housemate talks about Jello as still being relevant, and talks about how his audience in Tel Aviv will be entirely different than the audience of Paul Simon or Bob Dylan, I'm inclined to believe him. In fact, his audience may already be incredibly critical of their own government.
Is there a place for artists to break with the Boycott, assuming of course that Jello WILL say something critical of Israeli policies, and may even inspire Israelis to critical analysis and action? After all, Israeli anarchists have a very rich history of political action.
There is another, similar piece by Mohammad Omer at al Jazeera: "Gaza's hospital stock running on near empty," link to english.aljazeera.net
We should all be outraged. And all support the US Boat to Gaza in any way shape or form we can.
Does anybody here review the Journal of Palestine Studies? In the Winter 2011 edition, Prof. Ghada Karmi reviews the prospects and process for the one-state solution. link to jstor.org
I also know that there was a recent conference held at an Israel (or maybe Palestinian?) University re: the one-state solution. Does anybody have more details on that?
Matt Graber
And, Avi, which do you think is true?
Last week, I shared the story of Hannah Schwarzchild - link to thehill.com
- with my parents, and gave them this as a context for understanding why I work in solidarity with Palestinians. They've been beautifully supportive of me since I started this work less than a year ago, but they often worry that I dedicate too much of my energy to it, rather than things like establishing a career for myself.
And they were watching the show on PBS the other night when I spoke with them, and they were sharing their stories of the Freedom Riders, and their memories of 1961 and the press coverage of the riders.
And all the while, there was a timbre of respect and admiration for the work that I am doing. And I am so enthusiastically humbled by the moral giants who I have the pleasure of working with in this community.
And I encourage all of you to use this as an opportunity - the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Riders and the launch of the Audacity of Hope as part of the international flotilla to stay human - as an opportunity to welcome your friends, loved ones, and strangers into our community.
Evergreen College divested. Hampshire divested. Leviev took major hits.
In fact, 80% of Israel's economy has direct or indirect ties with the occupation and/or settlements. So the only way to make sure that the occupation and settlements are no longer profitable for those companies is to say that we won't buy them as long as they're profiting that way....
This was just up until 1994 - the same year that the Oslo Accords were signed. Oslo has been the effective administrative procedure since then.
Under Oslo, Israel takes administrative and military control of Area C. Israel has military (policing) control of Area B, and the PA has administrative control of Area B. And Area A is the full responsibility of the PA.
This effectively gave 59% of the West Bank (Area C) to Israel. If Palestinians are being cleared from their land, their only legal recourse is to go to Israeli courts. Which means that they're basically defenseless.
As the video in my first comment on this entry shows, the ethnic cleansing is happening right now.
Video from last Friday, May 6, entitled "Israeli army forces 6 families out of their land in Amniyr, South Hebron Hills"
link to youtube.com
IOF Soldier: "Old man, one minute and none will be here."
Old man: "You said before that here was ok to stay."
Soldier: "Did you hear? One minute and none here!"
Old man: "We will leave. But listen to me..."
"But where are the borders?"
Several families and children are then seeing standing around, talking with the soldiers. A soldier nonchalantly tosses a sound grenade, and a boy of probably 9 years flees, knowing exactly what the grenade is.
GuiltyFeat, could you expand on your thought that Mondoreaders deal in generalities? And how this article contradicts some of those generalizations?
Now that the Israeli government is withholding cash transfers to the PA, it will be interesting to see how the PA overcomes the budget shortage. Or if they do at all.
link to english.aljazeera.net
Beautiful story. Thanks for posting.
The Egyptian Revolution isn't over yet. It only began with the fall of the Mubarak regime.
It's going to take a tremendous deal of modesty for Americans to begin to listen to the people of the Middle East and North Africa. But the alternative is oppression and inequality.
Krista Tippett, of On Being, has an interview with Mohammad Darawshe on her latest episode. They discuss his dual identity as a Palestinian and as an Israeli citizen. link to being.publicradio.org
Thank you for sharing Pam! I completely agree with you, and I'm so happy that you put this into public space. Though I haven't had the opportunity to go to Gaza, Vik's story is inspirational for me, and I have no doubt in my mind that the work that Juliano and Vittorio were doing will only increase in the coming months.
If you haven't seen it, this story is vividly told in the documentary 'To Shoot an Elephant.' Here's a clip of it from youtube featuring Arrigoni calling in a press release: link to youtube.com
The documentary follows ISM members and hospital workers during Cast Lead, and has footage from inside a hospital of the hospital being bombed.
I've been so stuck on this quote lately:
'Discourse is not simply that which translates struggles or systems of domination, but that for which and by means of which struggle occurs' - Foucault
And in an almost direct reference to Foucault, Juliano Mer-Khamis said in an interview from 2006 (link to electronicintifada.net
"Art, in our case, can combine and generate and mobilize other aspects of resistance. All I care about is resistance. I'm not doing art for the sake of art. I don't believe in art for the sake of art. I think art can generate and motivate and combine and create a universal, liberated discourse. This is my concern about art." - Juliano Mer Khamis
Israeli President Peres met with Obama 2 days ago.
link to mfa.gov.il
I don't even care whether or not they talked about Operation Scorching Summer. The US supports this attack. We know that.
On the anniversary of MLK Jr's assassination. I think this is the most bitter irony one could possibly take.
Thank you for the magnificent contribution here, Susan!
The 1967 Terrorism Act in South Africa criminalized support for divestment from apartheid South Africa. I'm not sure what the original sentence was, but in 1986 the minimum sentence for an individual convicted of this advocacy was 5 years imprisonment, and the maximum sentence was the death penalty.
Palestinians living in Area B and Area C have as much legal protection as undocumented immigrants in America - none. Both of these populations can be subject to the exploitation, collective punishment, and theft by those who do control the legal realm, be they Israelis or Americans.
Tearing down the wall is just one small part of a larger picture, and anyone who advocates for equal rights for immigrants and/or Palestinians realizes this.
And one more thing: showing parallels between causes doesn't divide people, it only strengthens their resolve and builds their organizing capacity. The work of ASWAT and al qaws to show that everybody that believes in equality between heterosexuals and the LGBTQ community should also be advocating for equality for Palestinians has been astounding.
I hope to see more groups taking a public stance in solidarity with Palestinians.
In short, this is amazing.
Is it Harding or the NYPD who is calling converting to Islam a 'radical impulse'? To me that's a very sloppy bit of journalism to not have a quote to go by.
Here in Philly Islam is by no means marginal, and by no means a new phenomenon. The mosques in north Philly are just as popular as the churches. This just isn't a part of the MSM's narrative.
I was thinking about how sad the murder of the family in Itamar is. I certainly hope that there will be swift justice served in the memory of the settler family.
And yet... as I thought this, I thought about how justice, in this case, is an idealist's dream with no basis in reality. There will be no justice. There is no court of his peers to try a Palestinian in this case. Because he wasn't in Area A, he will be tried in Israeli military court. That probably won't fare very well.
But that won't happen either. No. Because justice, here, is the murder of the perpetrator, the "demented terrorist". He doesn't get to have a name, or to be a person. He is already guilty, no trial needed.
And to go even further, I don't know if the Israeli military will even try to find one personal accountable. They will hold ALL Palestinians accountable for this. And lord protect us from the violence that this will be used to justify.
After seeing "Breaking the Silence," I saw so many parallels between those who I have known in abusive relationships and the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
I wrote a blog post in response to it at: link to phillytravels.wordpress.com
My basic premise is that the occupation is an abusive relationship, with Israelis feeling as they have the right to dominate Palestinians, and thus go unpunished for their crimes.
Analysis from Saudi Arabia: link to jadaliyya.com
"For now, it seems that those who are calling for reforms are giving their dying king a chance before they start to seriously consider other options. How they will do it, in the face of one of the strongest petro-states in the world, remains to be seen. What happens next in Bahrain, the “Gulf’s Guinea Pig Society (Link: link to islamicommaparty.com
),” in the aftermath of King Hamad’s meeting with King Abdullah two days ago, is sure to have a huge impact on Saudi political and revolutionary imaginaries. "
And then they'll have the support the Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and everyone in the neighborhood.
That's really one of the first defenses of the abuser when the abused tries to leave: You need me! You can't do it on your own!
I was just considering this. Unfortunately, I think there are far more Americans in the pro-Israel corner than this essay gives credit to. I think that the Americans would stand by Israel, and end up alongside Israelis murdering nonviolent protesters. Most Americans people don't understand the oppression of the Arab people. Most people are still confused as to whether what happened in Egypt was a good thing or not.
Given that, I think the American media would do a bang-up job of convincing Americans that the new unrest in Palestine needs to be controlled, and order needs to be restored. Given the recent vote in the UN Security Council, I think its clear where the rest of the world will stand.
Egyptians are going to keep their promise and march straight on to al Quds. There will be martyrs. The Arab revolution will come to fruition with 20 million martyrs marching on Jerusalem.
Bio, calling for democracy is a far cry from hating people. The fact of the matter is that there is less than a majority of Jewish people in Israel. So that Jewish minority has no right to impose their values upon the rest of the population. But they choose to do it anyways - by force.
But what's most frightening is the adherence to the language of domination. The idea that might makes right. We have so many brave Palestinians engaging in nonviolent protests, only to be met with strict applications of violence. If the entire Arab world engages with Israel nonviolently, what will Israel do?
Thanks Sumud!
Dear Omar,
We in Philadelphia were anxiously awaiting your arrival, and the opportunity to meet with you, hear you talk, and exchange ideas with you. We're following what Haymarket books' response is to the VISA denial, and will be looking for ways to coordinate actions with the ACLU, PEN, and the Center for Constitutional Rights.
For now, we will be consistently calling the state department and letting them know that the suppression of speech is not what we want from our government.
Department of State:
Visa Services
Public Inquiries Division
202-663-1225
usvisa@state.gov
We'll also 'like' the facebook page "Let Omar Barghouti Be Heard".
I personally am looking forward to reading your book in April, and, n'shallah, meeting you.
In solidarity,
Matt Graber
Philly BDS