Commenter Profile

Total number of comments: 7 (since 2010-02-04 06:58:35)

samjnickels

Human Rights Worker

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  • Israeli occupation contributes to the water crisis in the South Hebron Hills
    • samjnickels December 18, 2010 at 6:02 pm

      See an additional report by +972's Mairav Zonszein, where she comes to a similar conclusion:

      "The destruction of these water sources fits in nicely with the broad strategy of attrition espoused by the Israeli authorities and their settler cohorts. The idea is to make life extremely difficult, if not impossible, for Palestinians in this area, such that they ultimately feel compelled to relocate and concentrate in urban centers (such as Yata), which then frees up the land for Jews to move in. According to an archaic Ottoman law applied by Israel, land not accessed for three consecutive years is expropriated by the state, so the authorities have every interest in keeping Palestinian access to their agricultural land as limited as possible.

      It is not just settler whims and violence, but also formal and open Israeli policies, that are depriving Palestinians of basic human rights, and rapidly changing demographic facts on the ground in the West Bank."

      link to 972mag.com

  • The reunification of my parents
    • samjnickels November 5, 2010 at 1:59 pm

      Linah, an incredibly moving and tragic story about your family. Thank you for sharing a piece of your life, I am confident stories like these will help to mobilize many to take action to help bring about freedom for Palestine.

  • Report from Israel: the occupation is the Stanley Milgram experiment, for American Jews
    • samjnickels October 21, 2010 at 11:39 am with 4 replies

      Very well written, Phil. Obviously from the depths of your heart, which makes it really powerful.

      My question is: so what about non-Jewish Americans? Your piece is largely written to/for the Jewish American community. I do feel that non-Jewish Americans have every reason and right to engage in this struggle because the occupation results in inhumane treatment of my fellow human beings, and it's my tax dollars.

      So where does the distinction lie between Jews and non-Jews when speaking about engaging the occupation? Do non-Jewish Americans have any role in changing Jewish American opinions? I tend to think so, just as people working against the occupation have a responsibility to change public opinion at large, whether those people be Jews or non-Jews. I am interested to hear others opinions about this.

  • Can you support the Palestinians when you live on their stolen land?
    • samjnickels October 14, 2010 at 10:48 am

      I like the general idea here, entering the same position of those with whom you are solidary (Freire).

      Although, I haven't had enough time to properly think this through, there is a part of your suggestion here that sits uncomfortably with me. Moving to live in the occupied West Bank may seem like solidarity in some respects, but it also strikes me as a more extreme version of colonialism than say, living in a suburb in Tel Aviv. For example, rather than taking up residence in the City of David, you choose to live in Silwan in solidarity with the Palestinians who are subject to the harassment of the Palestinians? So you're still a settler right, just a nicer one who is taking up residence with Palestinians and seeking to undermine the occupation?

      For me it comes down to the wishes of those whose land it is. Choosing, as an Israeli, to live in the West Bank without doing some serious listening to Palestinian voices, would be a serious mistake.

  • Beinart's hermetics
    • samjnickels May 26, 2010 at 12:04 pm

      I appreciate your recognition that the piece existed solely within a Jewish space, firmly within the Jewish establishment. As a non-Jew, I had a sense of that while I was reading the piece, but I couldn't identify exactly what I was feeling. For me, if the conversation doesn't go further, into how this Zionism, that he describes, affects US foreign policy and how it drains dollars from the budget, then the conversation remains distant for non-Jews.

  • I don't like
    • samjnickels May 7, 2010 at 3:45 pm

      But it's so much easier to navigate. I can actually find things I am looking far and can find old(ish) things much easier, especially if I am looking for a specific journalist.

  • Who would teargas 'Avatar'?

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