Patriarch Sfeir Boycotts Ayatollah Fadlullah’s Funeral, Doesn't Give Condolences

Patriarch Sfeir Boycotts Ayatollah Fadlullah’s Funeral, Doesn't Give Condolences

07/07/2010 It is hard to understand how politics in Lebanon mingle with religion, personal interests, and in many cases intolerance.

When Ayatollah Sayyed Mohamad Hussein Fadlullah was pronounced dead, representatives from countries, parties, and associations as well as high level politicians, diplomats, and religious figures gathered at the Hassanein Mosque to offer condolences to the family of a man who became known for his openness, tolerance, knowledge, and dialogue. Shiite, Sunni, Druze, Christian, religious, non-religious figures expressed deep regret at the loss of Ayatollah Fadlullah.

“Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir alone boycotted Sayyed Fadlullah’s funeral and did not offer condolences,” said Hasan Olleik in Al-Akhbar newspaper on Wednesday. “He did not dispatch a representative, nor did he issue an obituary statement. Sfeir, among every other religious authority in Lebanon, still ignores the event.

Sfeir’s attitude is questioned by many circles as some politicians and monitors have pointed that he Patriarch was still angry at the Sayyed, since August 2009, when Ayatollah Fadlullah retorted at Sfeir’s comments about the rule of the majority and the opposition of the minority in Lebanon. They also put Sfeir’s attitude reflects his personal doubt in the patriotism and the objectives of a part of the Lebanese people who ‘pose a present threat to the Lebanese identity,’ according to the Patriarch.

Back then, Sayyed Fadlullah criticized ‘religious groups that say that Lebanon’s glory was granted to it’ and then projected his point of view saying that ‘Lebanon’s glory was only given to the resistant and the struggling people of Lebanon.’ Some circles have found Patriarch Sfeir’s silence during a pure human-centered and national event leading one politician to ask whether Sfeir was seeking to establish a ‘boycott with the Shiite sect’ or he wanted to say that ‘he is not tolerant of those who dare to argue about politics with him,” Olleik said in his article.

When Akel Hashem, the number-two in the Antoine Lahed’s South Lebanon Army (SLA), was executed by the Islamic Resistance back in 2000, Patriarch Sfeir dispatched a delegation to the occupied territories in the south to take part in the collaborator’s funeral.

Hashem was supposed to take the lead of the SLA after the retirement of chief collaborator Antoine Lahed.

His execution was delayed several times because Hashem was often accompanied by civilians, namely his wife and children.


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Jerusalemite officials facing eviction to escalate if their issue not resolved - International Campaign asks Red Cross to protect of J’lem MPs

Jerusalemite officials facing eviction to escalate if their issue not resolved

[ 07/07/2010 - 04:04 PM ]

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Two Jerusalemite lawmakers and one former minister threatened with expulsion from the occupied city of Jerusalem warned they would take further protest steps if their issue was not resolved soon.

They said in a press statement to the Palestinian information center (PIC) on Tuesday they would never yield to the Israeli decisions and would stay in their hometown regardless of all circumstances.

Mohamed Totah, one of the lawmakers, affirmed that Israel tried to silence any voice talking about the eviction of Palestinian officials from Jerusalem and spread lies about a signed agreement to end their issue.

"When we visited the UN envoy, he told us that that he was in the US consulate when Sheikh Mohamed Abu Tir was arrested and that he was surprised at his arrest because the occupation forces told him there was an agreement signed with them on stopping to exile the lawmakers, but when he contacted them to inquire, he was told that the agreement did not include Sheikh Mohamed Abu Tir," Totah explained.

"The representative of the European union told us during his visit to the tent that the occupation forces assured him there was a signed agreement, and our response was clear that they (Israeli occupation forces) have to provide us with a copy of it," the lawmaker added.

He also said that the Swiss ambassador and other foreign parties received the same Israeli misleading information about the alleged signed agreement, noting that spreading such lies were aimed at absorbing the international pressure.

"Immediately after the news of the agreement, we received a hail of phone calls congratulating us on solving the problem; Our response was that all information regarding an agreement was inaccurate and incorrect and the evidence is that we are still at the Red Cross headquarters in Al-Sheikh Jarrah and we still receive threats of exile from the city," the MP elaborated.

Israel withdrew the residence permits and IDs of one former minister and three lawmakers, one of them are Mohamed Abu Tir who was arrested while the two others pitched a sit-in tent in the courtyard of the Red Cross headquarters in Jerusalem.

In another context, the land research center in Jerusalem reported it documented 50 attacks carried out by Israeli troops on Jerusalemite citizens during June.

Some of the Israeli violations mentioned in the center's report were forcing a Palestinian citizen to demolish his home in Aqabat Al-Saraya in the Old City of Jerusalem, issuing demolition orders against 22 homes in Silwan area as a prelude to the demolition of 130 homes there and raiding eight homes.

The report pointed out that Israeli troops helped settlers to lay their hands on the rest of Salah family's real estate and brought a bulldozer to widen the area in order to bring mobile homes.

Israel also established during the reporting month a dirt wall that led to the isolation of 200 dunums of Palestinian lands in Al-Issawiya area for the benefit of national parks and its bulldozers demolished three agricultural facilities in Silwan area, according to the report.

The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) closed Ilaf charity and its troops raided and sabotaged Beit Hanina sport club. Many physical assaults on Palestinians and one death were also documented in the report.

International Campaign asks Red Cross to protect of J’lem MPs
[ 07/07/2010 - 06:34 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- The international campaign for the release of abducted MPs appealed to president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Jakob Kellenberger, to protect the Jerusalem parliament members sitting-in at the Red Cross headquarters in Jerusalem, and to block any attempt to harm or arrest them.

The international campaign, in a letter addressed to the director of the Red Cross headquarters in the Gaza Strip, condemned Israeli forces for their Tuesday intrusion into the Red Cross headquarters in Jerusalem and raid on the Jerusalem MPs’ sit-in tent in an attempt to assault and abduct them, without any regard for the international institution’s sanctity.

The international campaign addressed in its letter to the Red Cross all signatories of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits occupying powers from moving residents of occupied territories by force, in accordance with Article 49, just as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in accordance with Article 7 provides that forcible removal or transport of residents is a humanitarian crime. The campaign demands immediate action to stop the Israel’s unjust and bias decision against the Jerusalem MPs and former minister.

The campaign called on the ICRC to shoulder their responsibilities in the deportation case, and to coordinate efforts with international bodies to intervene in the forcible abduction of Jerusalem’s representatives, in addition to putting pressure on the Israeli government to stop its illegal deportation decision.

One of those MPs and former Jerusalem minister, Khaled Abu Arafa denied in a press statement on Wednesday Hebrew press reports that the Jerusalemite deputies had signed an agreement by which they approved the deportation principle and that the issue was about to be solved.

He described the reports as sheer lies aimed at distracting the attention of solidarity activists away from the main cause, stressing that the deputies were adamant on remaining in Jerusalem under any circumstances.

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Poland hands over Mossad agent involved in Mabhouh assassination

[ 07/07/2010 - 06:27 PM ]

WARSAW, (PIC)-- A Polish court decided on Wednesday to hand over a suspected German Mossad agent who was arrested in Warsaw at the request of the German federal prosecutor for involvement in the assassination of Hamas commander, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, in Dubai about seven months ago.

“The court decided to transfer the suspect to Germany to follow up on punitive action,” said Judge Thomas Talkevich, explaining that the Court “will not decide on the offense of Ori Brodsky. It will only verify if the request for extradition is appropriate in terms of form, and that the suspect is actually the concerned person.”

The Mossad agent was taken to the regional court in Warsaw, guarded by seven masked and armed special unit members of the Polish police.

The suspect, who was arrested on the Fourth of June at the Warsaw airport under a European arrest warrant issued by Germany, has seven days to appeal.

The Mossad agent is suspected of involvement in illegally obtaining a German passport used in the assassination of Mabhouh, and of espionage, according to the Polish Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper.

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Seymour Hersh on Journalism, Afghanistan and Iraq

Via Pulse

UO Channel — Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh discusses journalism in the US in the atmosphere of a declining economy and the growing popularity of blogs and other unconventional mediums as news sources. According to Hersh, the internet has provided new opportunities for journalists to get more information to the public faster, but also diluted the quality of professional reporting standards. As an example Hersh points out the skewed and unprofessional coverage of the post-election crisis in Iran last June provided by the Huffington Post which flooded readers with an abundance of alarmist reports, many of which were from unverifiable sources. Near the end of this 30 minute interview Hersh also touches on Afghanistan and Iraq.

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Abu Zuhri affirms Hamas’s rejection of resuming direct negotiations with Israel

[ 07/07/2010 - 04:16 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Hamas spokesman Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri publicly rejected U.S. President Barack Obama’s invitation for the Fatah authority in Ramallah to resume direct negotiations, advising the Fatah movement not to get involved in any negotiations with Israel.

Abu Zuhri told a news briefing on Wednesday that the statements by Netanyahu during his meeting with Obama confirm that there is no hope for change in America’s present policy of political, material, and security support of Israel.

The spokesman said that “any participation in the negotiations with the [Israeli occupation authority] is a national crime which provides a cover for [Israel] to continue crimes against our people and our holy sites.”

He added that Obama's tribute to what he called “easing Israel’s siege” on Gaza is an attempt to beautify and legalize the siege and ensure its continuation, calling for continued international solidarity with Gaza until the siege is finally ended.

For his part, Hamas leader, Salah Bardawil, said in a press release on Wednesday, “In light of the ongoing blockade, Judiazation, and displacement of our people and representatives in Jerusalem, we consider entering into any negotiations, whether directly or indirectly, as a cover for these crimes, and direct involvement in them.”

Bardawil called on the Fatah movement to withdraw from such nonsense, to return to the Palestinian people’s side, and to adhere to Palestine’s inherent principles.

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Report on long-term effects of Israeli white phosphorus

Contributed by Michael

Middle East Monitor

MEMO, July 6, 2010

In a recent report into the white phosphorous used by Israel in its 2008-9 assault on the Gaza Strip, Italian experts have warned of the adverse long term effects of the three thousand five hundred shells that were dropped indiscriminately. In particular, the report addresses the impact of this weapon, the use of which against civilians is prohibited under international law.

The immediate effects of white phosphorous on human beings are well documented. When white phosphorous explodes it burns at high temperatures until deprived of oxygen and when it lands on skin it will eat through muscle and into the bone. According to Amnesty International, during the war on Gaza, white phosphorous was the cause of horrific burns and suffocation which left dozens dead and wounded.

However, the effects of white phosphorous have been found to extend to agricultural land and produce. In regions in the East of the Gaza Strip, such as the vicinity of Mount Rais, trees growing in land hit by phosphorous shells have become noticeably yellow in color. Gaza's ministry of agriculture confirmed that after the end of the military operation, it endeavored to prevent farmers growing crops or grazing animals on agricultural that had been shelled. Similarly, it warned against using water from shelled wells. These actions emphasize the belief that Israel used shells containing toxic, carcinogenic and radioactive material which directly affect the environment and render areas hit by such shells, dangerous to human health and to animals.

Many agricultural areas used for cultivating herbs and plants that were hit by Israeli weapons are now barren, or the trees have dried up a lot. On land that was hit by more than one shell, the situation is worse. However, a few months after the war, other effects of these banned weapons started to become evident. New plants and emerging plant shoots began showing genetic mutations such as physical distortions and yellowing. Many farmers also complain of the stunted growth of their agricultural crops, tress erosion and falling branches. Produce has become small and the yield from harvests is low while the situation continues to worsen.

According to Dr. Birch Manduca, a specialist in genetics at the University of Genoa and a researcher on the Italian team that produced the report, an analysis of soil samples from 2005 and samples taken after the war show marked differences, and the significant increase in the concentration of heavy metals has been attributed to the effects of Israeli missiles. The team also analysed samples taken from four craters left by bomb shells; two from the Israeli attack on Beit Hanoun and the Jabaliya refugee camp in July 2006, and two from apple orchards hit in the recent war. Results from analyses show differences in each case, indicating, according to Manduca, that different missiles caused each crater. Thus, different types of missiles appear to have different effects on soil. An interaction between toxins from missiles such as the Alvesforp, with white phosphorous is thought to be the cause of the current catastrophe for Gaza's agricultural sector.

The team also found concentrations of the highly toxic metal Molybdenum at 25 to 3000 times normal levels. Molybdenum is rarely found in soil, it is lethal to sperm and adversely affects both fertility and unborn babies.

Based on the results found by Menduca and his team, great concern has been voiced over the enormous quantities of pollution in Gaza caused by Israeli missiles which impact on the medium and long term health of the population. The fact that weapons like white phosphorous shells were indiscriminately exploded in the air, including in densely populated residential areas, means that their poisons are widespread and may yet manifest unknown effects on Gaza's general population.

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Palestinian prisoners in Shata jail attacked by Masada unit

[ 07/07/2010 - 02:20 PM ]

RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Al-Ahrar center for prisoners' studies and human rights said that an Israeli special unit attacked without prior notice after midnight Tuesday the Palestinian prisoners in Shata jail and went on the rampage in its sections.

Director of the center Fouad Al-Khafsh added that the prison administration also deprived the prisoners of family visits for one month and the university students of pursuing their studies for six months.

Khafsh pointed out that Israel lately escalated its violations against Palestinian prisoners in an unprecedented way and used the special unit called Masada to suppress Palestinian prisoners in different jails.

He added that the Masada unit participated in the deadly attack on the Freedom Flotilla aid convoy and its members are notorious for their sadist behavior and their thirst for blood and violence.

In a related incident, the international Tadamun (solidarity) foundation for human rights reported that the administration of Megiddo prison imposed fines on a number of prisoners and took punitive measures against others.

A researcher at the foundation Ahmed Al-Beitawi said that the administration forced 20 prisoners to pay a fine of about $120 each and took a number of punitive measures against others such as depriving them of family visits for one month at the pretext of finding two cell phones in their cells.

Consequently, dozens of prisoners' families and representatives of human rights institutions rallied outside Megiddo prison in the 1948 occupied lands in protest at the latest arbitrary measures taken against their sons.

The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) declared the perimeter of the prison a closed military zone and prevented the protesters from approaching the gate.

Protesters made appeals in their speeches for protecting their sons against the escalating Israeli violations committed against them in the jail and held the IOA fully responsible for what is happening inside.

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Report: Secret Document Affirms U.S.-Israel Nuclear Partnership

Infidah Palestine
07. Jul, 2010

According to Army Radio, the U.S. has reportedly pledged to sell Israel materials used to produce electricity, as well as nuclear technology and other supplies.

By Haaretz Service, Barak Ravid and Reuters

Israel’s Army Radio reported on Wednesday that the United States has sent Israel a secret document committing to nuclear cooperation between the two countries.

According to Army Radio, the U.S. has reportedly pledged to sell Israel materials used to produce electricity, as well as nuclear technology and other supplies, despite the fact that Israel is not a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Other countries have refused to cooperate with Israel on nuclear matters because it has not signed the NPT, and there has been increasing international pressure for Israel to be more transparent about its nuclear arsenal.

Army Radio’s diplomatic correspondent said the reported offer could put Israel on a par with India, another NPT holdout which is openly nuclear-armed but in 2008 secured a U.S.-led deal granting it civilian nuclear imports.

During Tuesday’s meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama, the two leaders discussed the global challenge of nuclear proliferation and the need to strengthen the nonproliferation system.

They also discussed calls for a conference on a nuclear-free Middle East, which was peoposed during the 2010 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NTP) review conference in New York and which Netanyahu said he would not take part in because it intends to single out Israel.

Obama informed Netanyahu that, as a co-sponsor charged with enabling the proposed conference, the United States will insist that such a conference have a broad agenda to include regional security issues, verification and compliance and discussion of all types of weapons of mass destruction.

Obama emphasized the conference will only take place if all countries “feel confident that they can attend,” and said that efforts to single out Israel would make the prospects of such a conference unlikely.
The two leaders agreed to work together to oppose efforts to single out Israel at the IAEA General Conference in September.

Obama emphasized that the U.S. will continue to work closely with Israel to ensure that arms control initiatives and policies do not detract from Israel’s security, and “support our common efforts to strengthen international peace and stability.”

Dan Meridor, Netanyahu’s deputy prime minister in charge of nuclear affairs, said Obama’s endorsement was not new but that its public expression – two months after Washington supported Egypt’s proposal at a review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) – was significant.

Obama’s statement “was without a doubt a special and significant text. It was important for us, and it was important for the region,” Meridor said.

Israel neither confirms nor denies having nuclear weapons under an “ambiguity” strategy billed as warding off foes while avoiding public provocations that can spark regional arms races.

The official reticence, and its toleration in Washington, has long aggrieved many Arabs and Iranians – especially given U.S.-led pressure on Tehran to rein in its nuclear program.
Source: Haaretz.com

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Getting By With False Flags and Terrorism

kenny's sideshow

The fifth anniversary of the 7/7 London train bombings shows that control of the investigative and judicial processes along with media compliance equals getting by with murder. The British public just was not serious enough about the 'war on terror' and had to be taught a lesson. 9/11 wasn't good enough, it had to be close to home.

Part 2 ..... Part 3

The use of terrorism in the 20th century to achieve means to an end reached critical mass in Israel with the Irgun and other groups. Once upon a time even the elite insiders in the media reported on this as a matter of fact calling it a model for 'liberation.'

Posted by kenny's sideshow at 10:07 AM  

Labels: false flag attacks, war on terror fraud

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‘THE BIG BOYCOTT WEEK’:

band annie’s Weblog

July 9 – 17th 2010

By bandannie

BIG BOYCOTT ACTIONS AT MORRISONS and SAINSBURY
SUPERMARKETS
BIG BOYCOTT PHONE IN
BIG BOYCOTT WRITE IN
BIG BOYCOTT BADGE PLEDGE

People of conscience all over the world want nothing to do with the Apartheid State of Israel. We don’t want Israeli goods in our supermarkets.

Week of action: July 9 – 17th 2010.

Demand an end to the sale of Israeli produce in our supermarkets.
The BIG Boycott Phone in: Friday July 9th 2010.
On July 9th – join the BIG boycott phone in: Use your voice – complain; ask questions.
Phone Morrisons; 0845 611 6111 (Lines open 730 a.m. – 6.30 p.m).
Phone Sainsbury 0800 636 262 (lines open 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.)

Ask why and demand answers:
Why is your supermarket sourcing produce from a country that repeatedly violates international law?
Why is your supermarket sourcing produce from companies that operate on land where Palestinians cannot live or work? (the Jordan Valley)

Why are you sourcing produce from companies that operate in illegal settlements and which benefit from an Apartheid system inside Israel?

Why are you sourcing produce from companies which are all benefitting from the illegal theft of Palestinian water and the theft of Palestinian land?

The BIG Boycott Write in: July 9th 2010

Write to Morrisons Head Office or to your local store manager.

To e mail: http://www.morrisons.co.uk/Store-finder/About-customer-services/Contact-Us1/
Or write to: Morrisons head Office: Hilmore House, Gain lane, Bradford, BD3 7DL.

Write to Sainsbury Head Office: J. Sainsbury plc, Holborn Place, 33 Holborn, Londond EC1 N2HT. Head Office Phone no: 0207 6956000.

Challenge them on the fact that they are trading with Israeli companies. Call for an end to business with Israeli companies which are profiting from Israeli occupation and Israel’s apartheid policies. The Israeli export companies known to be supplying British supermarkets, including Carmel Agrexco, Arava and Mehadrin Tnuport Export (MTEX) are all profiting from Israel’s violations of international law.
The BIG Boycott Badge Pledge: July 9th 2010

Make a pledge to wear your Boycott Israeli Goods badge, or any Boycott Israel badge.

Wear your Boycott Israeli Goods badge and keep on wearing it! Israel has been in the news so much that people are noticing badges and now is the time to tell people about the boycott, in whatever way we can. Wear badges; give out badges on the street; call on all your supporters to wear badges

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Demolition of home in Arara village trigger clashes between citizens and troops

[ 07/07/2010 - 04:12 PM ]

NAZARETH, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation police wounded and arrested a number of Palestinians during clashes that broke out Wednesday morning in Arara village, north of the 1948 occupied lands, following the demolition of a Palestinian home at the pretext of unlicensed construction.

Local sources reported that the three-story house was under construction and located in the northern area of Ara neighborhood

They said that hundreds of Arara people rushed to the scene to defend the home against demolition and threw stones at the Israeli troops who responded by firing stunt and tear gas grenades. They also reportedly kidnapped three young men.

Israeli bulldozers escorted by a large force of policemen stormed the village at dawn today and embarked on demolishing the home of Noman Abu Salem who resorted to Israeli courts many times to prevent its demolition, but to not avail, although his house was built on his own piece of land.

In a separate incident, the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) ordered three Palestinian citizens to demolish their homes and a foundry in Burka village, northwest of Nablus, at the pretext they are built in area C and in violation of Israeli conditions.


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Who Cares About The Iranian People?

JNOUBIYEH | 9:40 AM
|

By Kourosh Ziabari

The world countries are competing with each other in imposing new financial sanctions against Iran. While the Iranian people still hasn't forgotten the bitter memory of 8-year war with the Baathist Iraq which was masterminded and fostered by the United States and its European allies, new rounds of crippling sanctions directed against the most strategic industries of Iran come after one another in what is claimed to be the international movement of preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Although the International Atomic Energy Agency and the G5+1 have so far failed to put forward hard evidence that demonstrates the deviation of Iran in its nuclear activities towards military purposes, the fourth round of United Nations Security Council sanctions was agreed on June 9, 2010, targeting a number of Iranian companies and individuals who have allegedly participated in Iran's nuclear and missile program.

The Iranian people still remember the painful days of war with Iraq under the late dictator Saddam Hussein who was armed and equipped by the United States and 14 European countries. The First Persian Gulf War cost the lives of more than 500,000 Iranians and imposed some US $500 billion damage on Iran.

On June 9, 1992, Ted Koppel reported on ABC's Nightline program that Saddam Hussein received much of its financing, intelligence and military help from the United States and the administration of George H. Bush. In 1982, Iraq was removed from the U.S. list of State Sponsors of Terrorism and this enabled the Reagan Administration to transfer a huge amount of dual-use technology to Iraq. According to a May 1994 report by the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, pathogenic (disease producing), toxigenic (poisonous), and other biological research materials were exported to Iraq [during the 8-year war with Iran] pursuant to application and licensing by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The United Kingdom, Soviet Union, Netherlands, Italy, France and Germany also played their own role in helping Saddam massacre and slaughter the Iranian people. Britain was said to have exported thiodiglycol (a mustard gas precursor) and thionyl chloride (a nerve gas precursor) to Iraq in 1988 and 1989. France sold first-line Mirage F-1 fighter-bombers to Iraq, as well as providing Super Etendard attack aircraft. Between 1977 and 1987, Paris contracted to sell a total of 133 Mirage F-1 fighters to Iraq. In 1984, Italy's state-owned Agusta helicopter manufacturer sold $164 million worth of helicopters to Iraq. In early 1987, Moscow delivered a squadron of twenty-four MiG-29 Fulcrums to Baghdad. Soviet Union also helped train the Iraq's infantry and delivered a number of surface-to-air missiles, air-to-air missiles, helicopters and interceptors to Baghdad.

The erosive war was claimed to be a counterbalance to the post-revolutionary Iran which was experiencing the first years of extrication from the monarchy of a U.S.-backed Shah. It was declared to be a battle against the newly-established government; however, it paralyzed the economy of the country, killed thousands of innocent civilians, immersed the nation into a long period of social crisis and aggravated the daily lives of ordinary people.

Seemingly, the history is being repeated once again. The western leaders send sympathetic messages to the Iranian people and declare that they want the well-being of our nation. They express their understanding of the status of Iranian people and assert that they want to empower the "subjugated" and "oppressed" Iranians. In a March 2010 televised message directed at Iran, the U.S. President Barack Obama stated the willingness of his country to provide the Iranians with the facilities of a more hopeful future. He said that his country believes in the dignity of every human being. He vowed the pursuance of diplomatic efforts to incorporate Iran into the international community and expressed hopes that his country can reach out to the Iranian people in peaceful, constructive ways.

"Our offer of comprehensive diplomatic contacts and dialogue stands," Mr. Obama said in the video. "Indeed, over the course of the last year, it is the Iranian government that has chosen to isolate itself and to choose a self-defeating focus on the past over a commitment to build a better future.

However, the United States and its European allies, in long with their past trajectory, are recurrently failing to practice what they preach. The financial sanctions which have been imposed on Iran by the UNSC, U.S. and EU tend to worsen the daily life of ordinary Iranians whose are inextricably dependent on the state revenues of oil and gas industry. Already stricken with the consequences of continued domestic failures in economy and growing inflation, the new sanctions will harm the Iranians by doubling the prices and reducing their purchasing power.

The new sanctions against Iran have nothing to do with the government of Iran which the western leaders are entangled in a tedious and uninteresting conflict with. These sanctions, and any kind of unpremeditated actions like this, will only injure the ordinary people of Iran who should suffer from the effects of power game between the governments.

Countercurrents.org

Labels: Crimes of Zionism, Iran sanctions, UN hypocrisy, US Hypocrisy, Wars for Israel

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Erdogan Consoles Sayyed Nasrallah over Ayatollah Fadlullah's Death

Erdogan Consoles Sayyed Nasrallah over Ayatollah Fadlullah's Death


07/07/2010 Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered his condolences to Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah over the death of Muslim Shiite spiritual leader Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlullah. In a statement for Hezbollah Media relations reported Wednesday that Sayyed Nasrallah thanked Erdogan and the Turkish nation.

According to the report, Sayyed Nasrallah spoke with the Turkish leader via telephone following the ayatollah's death which was publicized to Muslims throughout the world. Erdogan expressed his sorrow to the family of Fadlullah and the Lebanese people. Sayyed Nasrallah thanked him for the call and for his stance in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, saying "your positions have given hope to the Arab and Muslim world."

Sayyed Fadlullah's funeral was held Tuesday after hundreds of thousands of Lebanese and many others who came from different Arab and Islamic World accompanied him on his last journey throughout Beirut’s Southern Suburb.


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Hamas slams Israel's decision of banned items

Hamas slams Israel's decision of banned items

[ 07/07/2010 - 09:03 AM ]


DAMASCUS, (PIC)-- The Hamas Movement rejected outright all attempts to reproduce the blockade and ration the Gaza people's vital needs and said that Israel's talk about banned items debunked its claims about lifting the siege.

In a press release on Tuesday, Hamas warned of the seriousness of dealing with this Israeli policy and called for ending the blockade fully and completely.

Hamas also appealed to pro-Gaza pressure groups and the free people around the world to continue their solidarity with Gaza until the blockade is lifted.

For his part, director of Al-Mizan center for human rights Isam Younis stated that the Israeli replacement of the list of goods to be allowed in for a list of banned stuff is a flagrant attempt to circumvent international calls for necessarily ending the siege imposed on Gaza.

Younis stressed the need for ending the mass punishment of Gaza people, which he described as a war crime, and all restrictions that deny them their right to freedom of movement and prevent them from importing and exporting products.

The popular committee against the siege, for its part, refuted the Israeli premier's claims about alleviating the siege on Gaza in a letter it sent to US president Barack Obama.

The committee called in its letter on Obama to pressure the Israeli government to end the blockade on Gaza immediately and completely and to deal fairly and humanely with Gaza issue.

The committee described the White House's welcome of Israeli media statements about the alleviation of Gaza blockade as "hasty" because it did not make sure that Israel would take action to ease the siege.

It underscored that it cannot be said that the siege has ended before all Gaza commercial crossings were opened and Israel allowed the flow of goods and building materials.

The Palestinian international campaign to end the siege also criticized Israel's decision to issue a list of items banned entry into Gaza, saying this move would dwarf the mounting international demands for ending the siege.

The campaign noted that Israel wants to dump consumer goods in Gaza, thus exacerbating the humanitarian and economic crisis and increase the population's dependence on international aid.

In a statement to the Palestinian information center (PIC), economic analyst Mu'iyn Rajab affirmed that Gaza is in dire need of building materials, hardware and raw materials in order to cycle the Palestinian economy and not for consumables.

"We need to rotate the economy, re-run factories and reduce unemployment in the Palestinian street through providing them with job opportunities, and this can be realized after allowing in raw materials for production," he stated.

Palestinian gov't slams Israel's attempt to manage Gaza siege rather than end it

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Boycott the International Geographical Union's regional conference in Tel Aviv!

Press release, Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, 6 July 2010

The following press release was issued by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) on 2 July 2010:

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) issued an open letter on 29 October 2009 urging the Executive Committee of the International Geographical Union (IGU) to relocate its upcoming regional conference (July 2010) out of Israel ("PACBI calls for Boycott of the International Geographical Union's Regional Conference in Tel Aviv"). The IGU Executive rejected that demand.

A few months later, nearly 500 geographers, faculty, students and people of conscience collectively petitioned the IGU to reconsider its position and to take immediate steps to relocate the regional conference outside Israel. The open letter emphasized the complicity of Israel's academic establishment (and geography in particular) with the Israeli state's colonial, discriminatory and oppressive policies towards Palestinians. In addition it underlined the prevailing and deeply disturbing role of Israeli universities in developing the very weapons and military doctrines used against Palestinians. Moreover the letter highlighted the tragic irony of geographers holding a conference about "Bridging Diversity in a Globalizing World" in a country built on urban destruction and gradual ethnic cleansing, a state which defines itself as an exclusively Jewish state, not a state of all its citizens, one that continues to violate human rights with total impunity and stands accused of war crimes for its latest war on the people of Gaza.

Among those who signed the call were associations representing hundreds of Palestinian, Israeli and international university teachers, students and employees such as the Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees, the Israeli Boycott campaign from within, the French Association des Universitaires pour le Respect du Droit International en Palestine and the Canadian coalition Faculty for Palestine. Moreover, scholars from more than 30 countries, including geographers such as David Harvey, Neil Smith, Derek Gregory, Erik Swyngedouw, Ghazi-Walid Falah, Richard Peet and Laura Pulido endorsed the call. The IGU did not reply to this call.

Today, a month after the massacre of nine human rights activists in international waters aboard a flotilla carrying aid and supplies sailing to break the four-year closure of the Gaza Strip, we call once again upon the IGU to take a courageous and principled stand and to cancel the Tel Aviv conference. While the world looks at Gaza, Israel continues with the repression, imprisonment and expulsion of Palestinian political and human rights figures in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Israel. Moreover, house demolitions and expulsions intensify in East Jerusalem and the West Bank which are ever more fragmented and isolated as a result of the unrestrained colonial infrastructure and the Kafkaesque bureaucracy that encompass the tiniest details of Palestinian everyday lives. The IGU cannot remain passive in the face of the impunity with which the State of Israel continues to violate international law, with the disgraceful complicity of a majority of governments from the international community. Nor can it be accepted any longer that these criminal actions are presented and justified as a self-righteous battle saturated in a narrative of eternal victimhood.

We urge the IGU Executive and its members not to disregard the Palestinian call for the academic and cultural boycott of Israel and to join the growing international campaign led by scholars, intellectuals, trade unions and other civil society organizations until Israel is held accountable for its violations and abides by international law.

We encourage all geographers and people of conscience not to attend the Tel Aviv conference and to write letters of protest to the members of the IGU Executive. If it takes places, the Tel Aviv conference will only serve to whitewash Israel's crimes.

In solidarity

Geographers for the Academic Boycott of Israel

Members of the IGU Executive Committee

Ronald F. Abler rabler@aag.org

Professor Woo-ik Yu iguseoul@snu.ac.kr

Professor Irasema Alcantara-Ayala irasema@unam.mx

Professor Giuliano Bellezza giuliano.bellezza@uniroma1.it

Professor Ruth Fincher r.fincher@unimelb.edu.au

Professor Aharon Kellerman akeller@univ.haifa.ac.il

Professor Vladimir Kolosov vladimirkolossov@gmail.com

Professor Markku Loeytoenen markku.loytonen@helsinki.fi

Professor Michael Meadows michael.meadows@uct.ac.za

Academician Dahe Qin qdh@cma.gov.cn

Professor Dietrich Soyez qdh@cma.gov.cn
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

IOA extends detention of Palestinian female lawyer for 10th time

[ 07/07/2010 - 08:06 AM ]

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli court in Jerusalem on Tuesday extended the detention of the Palestinian lawyer Shirin Al-Issawi along with her two brothers Midhat and Ra'fat for 11 days for the tenth consecutive time.

Father of the detainees said that the three presiding judges in court held a hearing to look into the case of his offspring, bringing two of them Shirin and Ra'fat first where their detention was extended until 17/7.

The court then brought Midhat alone and extended his detention until 13/7, the father said, noting that Midhat was not allowed to meet his brother and sister.

He expressed concern at the court's proceedings, adding that the constant delay in their case reveals that the Israeli intelligence had failed in convicting them especially when the lawyer refuted all charges leveled against her.

Shirin and her brothers are accused of transferring money for Gaza prisoners in Israeli jails, who are deprived of such a privilege due to the Israeli siege on the Strip.


River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Pakistan: Solidarity campaign with Palestinians launched

[ 07/07/2010 - 07:49 AM ]

LAHORE, (PIC)-- A campaign of solidarity with the Palestinian people was launched in Lahore (Pakistan) earlier this year which is now gathering momentum.

Campaign founders, including Amanullah Kariapper, Qalandar Memon, and Dr. Magid Shihade, a Palestinian scholar teaching at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), discussed the initiative “Pakistanis for Palestine” at the Lahore Press Club.

The campaign’s first step has been to call on Pakistani academics and cultural workers, artists, writers, poets, and filmmakers, to join the growing boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel that has been spreading around the world.

The campaign is focusing initially on asking Pakistanis to endorse the boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions, as called for by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).

Kariapper, a local activist, said, “This is the first anniversary of Israel’s war on Gaza. We oppose any kind of normalization of relations between Pakistan and Israel, including normalization of Israeli discourse about terrorism that masks the realities of occupation and denial of human rights.”

Dr Shihade said, “We wish to send a message to the Palestinian people, who suffer daily dispossession and denial of their rights to sovereignty, that Pakistani people of conscience support them in their struggle for justice and equality as men and women, children and youth, workers and the working poor. We are aware that Israel is aided by the economic and military might of the US, and we oppose their imperialist aggressions that are devastating the region. We also view this campaign as part of ongoing struggles in Pakistan to oppose displacement, discrimination, and inequality.”

The Palestinian movement for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (representing the overwhelming majority among Palestinian civil society parties, labor unions, networks and organizations) emphasizes fundamental Palestinian rights, sanctioned by international law and universal human rights principles, which ought to be respected by Israel to end the boycott.

The PACBI calls for a non-violent campaign of boycott of Israeli institutions, inspired by the movement to end apartheid in South Africa, until "Israel ends its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantles the Wall; recognizes the fundamental rights of the Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and respects the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties".

The boycott is important in Pakistan because, according to Khalid Mahmood, director of the Labor Education Foundation and founding member of the campaign, it is important to re-energies ethical political engagement in Pakistan and the region and for Pakistanis to join initiatives in other nations that have already taken steps to show concrete solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Qalandar Memon, who teaches at FC College and is the co-editor of the journal Naked Punch Asia, said it was an effort to revive a politics of Third World solidarity in Pakistan and to call on progressive people of the world and people of conscience to oppose US imperialist policies.

Kariapper said even in Pakistan there has been increasing circulation of spokespersons and academics advocating Israeli positions and media articles valorizing Israeli policies of “counter-terrorism.”

Interview with Dr Magid Shihade, Scholar of Middle East Studies and Professor, Department of Social Sciences and Humanities, LUMS:

Why do you think this campaign is important in Pakistan at this moment?

There are many reasons: most immediately, the first anniversary of the invasion of Gaza and in response to the call of PACBI to boycott and divest from Israel, I think that as an academic teaching in Pakistan that this is a very good time to launch a campaign that will show solidarity of Pakistanis for the Palestinian people. Also, the campaign will be a challenge to the normalization of Israeli discourse in the Pakistani media, and among academics and NGOs here that is very troubling.

The timing is even more important at this time in Pakistani history where ethical political engagement is required on a local, regional, and global level. We have seen Israeli products in Pakistani stores, which is abhorrent, given the rhetoric of support of Palestine that you see in the country.

What are your impressions of the ways in which the Palestinian issue is expressed here, based on your experiences in Lahore?
It has been refreshing to see how common people in Lahore, people of all backgrounds, convey their support of the Palestinian people and admiration of the Palestinian struggle. But what we don’t see is concrete steps to materialize that solidarity which is similar to the politics on the ground on Pakistani issues as well.

What is the need for a boycott campaign, however, in a state that officially does not have relations with Israel?

While officially there are no relations with Israel, there are documented talks of meetings between Pakistani and Israeli officials. More important for us, since it is a question of civil society, we are not just concerned with the official line of governments; we are also concerned with the Pakistani people.

Book review: pocket-sized volume deflates Canada's "peacemaker" myth

Hicham Safieddine, The Electronic Intifada, 6 July 2010

Most Canadians today would probably agree that their country's foreign policy is pro-Israel. Even Canada's "liberal" supporters of Israel complain about this policy. Siding so explicitly with Israel, they lament, damages Canada's long-time role of a peacemaker. It signals a shift away from the country's perceived balanced approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict. But in his latest book, Canada and Israel: Building Apartheid, Yves Engler contends that Canada's lopsided support for Israel is neither a shift nor the product of current government policy. Engler argues that the support goes as far back as Zionism itself, long before conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper or his anti-immigration minister Jason Kenney learned the alphabet of pro-Israel speak.

Pocket-sized, thin and with an appendix of web sources for activists, the book may be easily pigeonholed as an anti-Zionist activism manual. But Engler, an iconoclast of Canada's foreign policy mythmaking, delves deep into the diplomatic, economic, ideological, religious and security ties between the two countries that span over a century. The material is already out there, but the author skillfully constructs a coherent narrative that brings it together into one accessible volume. His well-referenced and easy-to-follow exposé leaves little doubt of the strength and longevity of the Canada-Israel relationship.

More arguably perhaps, Engler adheres to a Chomskian interpretation of this alliance. Namely that it is driven more by Canada's backing of American-led imperialism rather than the appeasement of the Zionist lobby. The latter, Engler claims, plays an undeniable role in funding Israeli apartheid. But in terms of steering policy in Ottawa, it is pushing against an open door. Ottawa, the author says, is already sold on backing a satellite of imperialism like Israel in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the Jewish vote in Canada is too scattered to make a substantial difference in most electoral districts.

Engler stresses the fact that the roots of Zionism in Canada are Christian rather than Jewish. He chronicles Canada's involvement at every state of Zionist history by citing the prominent role Canadian Zionists played at each of those stages: businessman and Christian Zionist Henry Wentworth Monk was campaigning to raise funds and buy land in Palestine long before Herzl "thought of a Jewish state." In 1881, Monk proposed setting up a National Jewish Fund. Clergymen like Albert Thompson and Charles Russell spoke of turning the "wilderness" of the holy land into the "very garden of the lord." But Monk's efforts bore little financial fruit. By 1906, Canadian Zionism had raised a mere $6,000 in support funds. Things changed during the First World War. Close to 400 Canadian soldiers took part in British General Allenby's invasion of Ottoman Palestine. Some were mobilized by then-president of Zionist Societies of Canada Clarence De Sola. Following the war and Britain's Balfour Declaration in November 1917, which declared support for a Jewish national home in Palestine, Canadians raised close to half a million dollars for Zionism between 1919 and 1921 -- a giant increase compared to Monk's time.

The Canadian military contribution to the British conquest of Palestine turned into outright participation in the 1948 Palestine War and the Nakba, the forced expulsion of Palestinians from Palestine. The main recruiter for the Zionist Haganah militia in Canada -- and heir to giant retailer Tip Tops -- Ben Dunkelman put the number of Canadians who fought to establish Israel at 1,000. Canadian participation left its clearest mark perhaps on Israel's air force. Engler states that the Zionists' central base commander was Canadian Sde Dov while Canada's most decorated Jewish serviceman Sydney Shulemson is considered the "father of the Israeli air force." At least 53 Canadians are believed to have enlisted in Israel's small air force during the 1948 war.

The birth of Israel also marked another watershed in Canada's commitment to Zionism at the official level. This is symbolized by the influential role of one of Canada's most revered Prime Ministers, Lester B. Pearson. Pearson was Undersecretary of State for External Affairs at the time and chaired the UN Committee on Palestine in 1947 (UNSCOP). Canadian Supreme Court Justice Ivan Rand was also a member of the commission and is considered by some as the chief architect of the UN's partition plan of Palestine. Pearson actively lobbied and advocated for the partition plan. Engler identifies the Pearson era as a time of gradual transfer of Canada's services from British-led imperialism to those of the United States. Canada for instance gladly obliged when the Eisenhower administration was hesitant to directly sell heavy weapons to Israel lest it upset Arab governments and by extension Washington's Cold War planning in the region. Ottawa struck the arms deals in lieu of Washington.

The weapons sales, among other things, set the stage for a much more institutionalized form of cooperation between Canada and Israel that spanned the intelligence, military and business fields. Engler cites reports by Canadian diplomats on the close cooperation between the two countries' spy agencies. The Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) and Israel's Mossad not only share information, but also conduct joint operations according to these sources.

One of the most contentious issues surrounding joint security operations is the use of Canadian passports in Israeli assassination operations. Israeli agents who carried out the 1997 botched assassination attempt of Hamas leader Khaled Meshal in Amman entered Jordan on Canadian passports.

Although the Mashal incident brought the passport issue to public attention, Engler traces this practice all the way to the 1970s. At that time, Israel had also promised not to use Canadian passports when assassinating Palestinians abroad after two such cases were exposed. In By Way of Deception, former Mossad agent Victor Ostrovsky described Israel's passport forgery factory and laboratory and claimed that in the 1980s he saw more than a thousand blank Canadian passports, which were the Mossad's favorite. Intelligence collaboration between Canada and Israel reached new heights in the wake of the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US.

Fighting "terror" eventually led to forging formal CSIS-Mossad relations under the rubric of a border and security agreement between the two countries -- even though they don't share any borders! Intelligence ties were matched by military ones. Israel was invited to joint military operations with the North American Treaty Organization (NATO) in Canadian skies. In addition, Canadian companies actively maintain Israeli technical infrastructure of the military-industrial complex that sustains its occupation of the Palestinian territories and apartheid policies. Canadian support for the Palestinian arm of this infrastructure, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority and its security apparatus, was also fostered in the last few years and grew following the election of Hamas to power in 2006.

On the financial and business front, Engler points to the charity status in Canada of discriminatory institutions like the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and the millions of dollars invested by Canadian banks and communities in Israel Bonds (the highest per-capita investment in the world). Attempts to legally challenge this charity status in the 1990s did not bear fruit. Mining magnates like Peter Munk and Seymour Schulich have also pumped millions of dollars into Canadian and Israeli academic institutions.

At the political level, Engler points out that support for Israel is bipartisan. He singles out Pierre Trudeau as the only prime minister who at times did not tow Washington's line of uncritical support for the Zionist state. Former Prime Minister Jean Chretien comes a distant second. But even Trudeau's occasional criticism remained in the realm of words and was moot in the face of overwhelming support of Israel among his party members and base.

Engler does not spare the Canadian left from his critique. The left, he argues, failed to stand up against pro-Zionist policies. Canadian Unions, the author points out, purchase close to $20 million worth of State of Israel Bonds annually. Engler argues that there has been a "significant reversal" in left-wing support for Israel since the mid-1980s, and more so in the wake of the mounting boycott, divestments and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israeli apartheid across North American university campuses and beyond.

Engler unfortunately doesn't devote as much space for the latest developments in BDS. This shortcoming applies to his discussion of the current machinations of Israeli apartheid and Canada's role in it, something readers might have expected given the title of the book. The book is also short on discussing proposals for different courses of action to counter apartheid (less than 10 pages). Engler lists a number of long-term goals such as halting all weapons sales to Israel, revoking the JNF's charitable status, pressuring unions to divest from State of Israel Bonds, and rescinding security agreements with Israel. More generally, he calls for "de-ethnicizing" the conflict -- namely emphasizing that it is not an Arab or Jewish question but one about basic human dignity. This is the direction the anti-apartheid and BDS campaign has taken for many years now.

Canada and Israel: Building Apartheid is a harsh reminder of what this campaign is up against. Engler seems to think the issue is mostly about ignorance. If only Canadians knew what their government was up to and the realities of the conflict, then most would support his long-term goals and strategies. But just as one cannot underestimate the power of moral argument and human solidarity appeals, one must not overestimate it. Moral imperatives are necessary but not sufficient for political change. Calculations of cost and benefit are crucial. The BDS campaign is well aware of that. Israel will only relent when the cost of its apartheid system outweighs the benefits. The same logic applies to mainstreaming BDS beyond the conscientious few. There are billions of dollars in education, industry and business at stake in the joint building of apartheid between Canada and Israel. The question Engler's book forces us -- and hopefully him -- to consider is this: after showing the ugly face of Canadian-Israeli collusion, how can one make ending it more beneficial than costly for most Canadians?

Hicham Safieddine is a Toronto-based researcher and journalist.


Related Links

• Purchase Canada and Israel: Building Apartheid on Amazon.com

Obama, Netanyahu call for starting direct negotiations

[ 07/07/2010 - 07:31 AM ]

WASHINGTON, (PIC)-- US president Barack Obama agreed with visiting Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu on the importance of advancing from indirect to direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian authority in Ramallah.

The US called for accelerating such a shift before the temporary Israeli freeze on building of settlements in the Wet Bank expires next September.

Netanyahu told a press conference on Tuesday in Washington after meeting Obama that time is ripe for shifting to direct negotiations, lauding his talks in the White House.

Obama, for his part, expressed belief that Netanyahu was "serious" about making peace with the Palestinians, adding that Washington was keen on Israel's security and on special relations with it.

The PA in Ramallah engaged in indirect talks with Israel early last May under auspices of American envoy George Mitchell but no tangible progress was made.

Obama was keen on congratulating Netanyahu on his decision to ease the siege on Gaza, which Hamas had described as "worthless".

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

The deceptive rhetoric of "Invest for Peace"

Charlotte Silver, The Electronic Intifada, 6 July 2010

Micro-finance programs ignore Israel's deliberate debilitation of the Palestinian economy and only perpetuate economic dependency. (Hatem Omar/MaanImages)

The boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement is gaining significant momentum cross the United States and Europe, including at US campuses. In response, opposition to the movement is devising new ways to divert attention from efforts to hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law and flagrant abuses of Palestinian human rights.

At Stanford University, the school I graduated from last year, the Stanford Israel Alliance has created a counter-divestment campaign called "Invest For Peace." Cloaked in the language of good intentions, Invest For Peace suggests that their campaign will work to uplift Palestinian society and economy by raising money to invest in micro-finance organizations in Israel and the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Their mission states that in contrast to divestment, Invest For Peace makes positive contributions that "move beyond counterproductive rhetoric." Invest For Peace calls for campus unity by suggesting it aspires to the same goal as the divestment movements, but by different means. This campaign muddies the issue by conflating the goals of campus unity and advancing justice, not to mention aligning itself with the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The goal of divestment is to expose Israel's oppressive policies and bring pressure to bear on Israel to end them. Stanford's Invest For Peace campaign utterly denies Israel's integral role in the debilitation of the Palestinian economy and therefore can have no credibility as a force to ameliorate the conflict. It ignores the fact that Israel has systematically and deliberately devastated Palestinian civil and economic society through its decades of usurpation of resources and military occupation.

The similarity in rhetoric between Invest for Peace and the Netanyahu government is conspicuous. Last year, Netanyahu called for an "economic peace" with the Palestinians, as opposed to a peace based on negotiations, rights and justice. In spite of his talk of improving the standard of living among Palestinians, Netanyahu has continued and expanded Israel's policy of building settlements on Palestinian land in violation of international law while the siege of Gaza enters its 36th month. Netanyahu's talk of an "economic peace" is empty rhetoric designed to disguise nefarious policies.

Moreover, investing in micro-finance organizations while demanding continued unquestioned US aid to Israel and its military is like dropping a quarter in someone's tin cup after you've chopped off her hands. When Israel disconnects Palestinian orange groves from their water supplies, uproots its olive trees and cuts Gaza off from any potential trade, it commits intentional acts of destruction to the Palestinian economy. Invest For Peace speaks of the deterioration of the Palestinian economy as though it were a natural disaster, without specific and man-made origins, designed to ensure Palestinian economic dependency and penury.

In her book Failing Peace and other works, Harvard's Sara Roy chronicles the deterioration of the Palestinian economy as it relates directly to Israel's occupation and control of trade and borders. Roy identifies Israel's imposition of closure policies as well as its division of Palestinian land as the principle culprits of the rapidly declining Palestinian economy. She states that "The result is de-development -- a process I define as the deliberate, systematic and progressive dismemberment of an indigenous economy by a dominant one, where economic -- and by extension -- societal-potential is not only distorted but denied."

Roy is not alone in her assessment. The World Bank has indicted Israel's system of checkpoints, roadblocks, and obstructions to Palestinian movement as the chief source of the decaying economic life in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In a 2007 report entitled "Movement and Access Restrictions in the West Bank," the World Bank called for an overhaul in Israel's treatment of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, prescribing "a fundamental reassessment of closure practices, a restoration of the presumption of movement, and review of Israeli control of the population registry and other means of dictating the residency of Palestinians" ("West Bank Restrictions," [PDF]).

Considering the brutality of Israeli policies and the clear effects they have on the Palestinian economy, it is hard to take seriously the Invest For Peace campaign's assertion that it is seeking to take "effective action" to remediate poverty in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. In an op-ed published by the Stanford Daily, Stanford student and member of the Stanford Israel Alliance and Invest For Peace, Yishai Kabaker argued that "In my experience with divestment when applied to this conflict, damage is wrought, but nothing positive comes of it." He added: "In the past, divestment campaigns helped combat apartheid in South Africa and genocide in Darfur. However, the divestment campaign against Israel is a crass bludgeon, which reduces an incredibly complex situation to euphemisms and demonizations" ("We Choose to Invest," 4 May 2010). Yet, the dissolution of Israel's policies is precisely the "positive" outcome that divestment campaigns intend to achieve.

Historically, Israel-allied groups have inhibited Palestinian solidarity groups from gaining prominence on college campuses across the country. But that time is ending. The astonishing mobilization and collaboration that divestment efforts at schools like UC Berkeley, Hampshire College and Evergreen State College are generating reflect the broad support for divestment and the success that it will eventually achieve. Public opinion is catching up to the radical reality of Israeli policies in Palestine. The train for BDS has left the station, and you're not going to catch it if you're running in the opposite direction.

Charlotte Silver is a litigation assistant at the American Civil Liberties Union, Immigrant Rights Project and was active in the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement at Stanford. She lives in San Francisco and can be reached at charlottesilver A T gmail D O T com.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

World tired of us: Israeli minister

Press TV

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:54:59 GMT

Israeli Minister of Trade, Industry and Labor, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, says the world is tired of Israel and that Israel, rather than the Gaza Strip, is actually blockaded.

"We're not the ones maintaining a blockade. We're blockaded, utterly isolated. We're in a situation where the world is tired of us," the Jewish Daily quoted Ben-Elezier as saying in an interview in the Yediot Ahronot Friday supplement.

"They're tired of hearing our explanations, of showing empathy for our troubles, even if they're real troubles. (The world is) Tired of understanding us. This business just isn't working anymore. After 43 years, nobody wants to hear any more explanations about why this occupation is continuing and how we have nobody to talk to." Elezier continued.

Born in 1936 in Basra in southern Iraq, Binyamin “Fuad” Ben-Eliezer is the senior leader of the Labor Party’s hawkish wing, a tough-as-nails ex-general and currently the party’s grand old man.

HJL/MGH

The Tide Has Changed - Gilad Atzmon

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian