tagged w/ UN General Assembly
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How the South African people feel about Israels Apartheid state in the Mideast. Amazing similarities. People need to stand up against this terrible state...here is the info:
We, South Africans who faced the might of unjust and brutal apartheid machinery in South Africa and fought against it with all our strength, with the objective to live in a just, democratic society, refuse today to celebrate the existence of an Apartheid state in the Middle East. While Israel and its apologists around the world will, with pomp and ceremony, loudly proclaim the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel this month, we who have lived with and struggled against oppression and colonialism will, instead, remember 6 decades of catastrophe for the Palestinian people. 60 years ago, 750,000 Palestinians were brutally expelled from their homeland, suffering persecution, massacres, and torture. They and their descendants remain refugees. This is no reason to celebrate.
When we think of the Sharpeville massacre of 1960,
we also remember the Deir Yassin massacre of 1948.
When we think of South Africa’s Bantustan policy,
we remember the bantustanisation of Palestine by the Israelis.
When we think of our heroes who languished on Robben Island and elsewhere,
we remember the 11,000 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails.
When we think of the massive land theft perpetrated against the people of South Africa,
we remember that the theft of Palestinian land continues with the building of illegal Israeli settlements and the Apartheid Wall.
When we think of the Group Areas Act and other such apartheid legislation,
we remember that 93% of the land in Israel is reserved for Jewish use only.
When we think of Black people being systematically dispossessed in South Africa,
we remember that Israel uses ethnic and racial dispossession to strike at the heart of Palestinian life.
When we think of how the SADF troops persecuted our people in the townships,
we remember that attacks from tanks, fighter jets and helicopter gunships are the daily experience of Palestinians in the Occupied Territory.
When we think of the SADF attacks against our neighbouring states,
we remember that Israel deliberately destabilises the Middle East region and threatens international peace and security, including with its 100s of nuclear warheads.
We who have fought against Apartheid and vowed not to allow it to happen again can not allow Israel to continue perpetrating apartheid, colonialism and occupation against the indigenous people of Palestine.
We dare not allow Israel to continue violating international law with impunity.
We will not stand by while Israel continues to starve and bomb the people of Gaza.
We who fought all our lives for South Africa to be a state for all its people demand that millions of Palestinian refugees must be accorded the right to return to the homes from where they were expelled.
Apartheid was a gross violation of human rights. It was so in South Africa and it is so with regard to Israel’s persecution of the Palestinians!
Organisational endorsements:
* African National Congress
* Al Quds Foundation
* Anti-Privatisation Forum and its 28 affiliates
* Azanian Peoples Organisation
* Congress of South African Trade Unions
* Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
* End Occupation Campaign
* Groundworks
* Media Review Network
* Muslim Judicial Council
* Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa
* Not In My Name
* Palestine Solidarity Alliance
* Palestine Solidarity Committee
* Palestine Solidarity Group
* Social Movements Indaba
* Socialist Party of Azania
* South African Communist Party
* South African Council of Churches
See here for the full list of signatories: http://jewssansfrontieres.blogspot.com/2008/05/anti-apartheid-activists-see-no-reason.htmlHow the South African people feel about Israels Apartheid state in the Mideast.... more
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Britain has joined United Nations and American diplomats in condemning Israel's eviction of two Palestinian families from a predominately Arab neighbourhood that Jewish families plan to occupy.
The British Consulate which is located in Sheikh Jarrah, the same neighborhood near Jerusalem's Old City where the evictions took place, released a statement that said officials were "appalled" by the action.
"These actions are incompatible with the Israeli professed desire for peace," the statement said. "We urge Israel not to allow the extremists to set the agenda."
--------------more strory at link
More countries are stepping up to the plate to denounce and condemn Israel for what some say is an ethnic cleansing in order to gain control over the city of Jerusalem.Britain has joined United Nations and American diplomats in condemning Israel's... more
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Most of the world is not surprised. Not only have they defended their atrocious crimes, they've prepared documents and are sending a legal team to the Hague to field oncoming charges.
The report isn't even done and Israel is preparing this team. Talk about feeling guilty! Nevertheless, I assume the Israeli government will have a fair impartial trial for their crimes.
(http://e.gov.kw/News/KUNAMoreNews_Eng.aspx?NewsId=56342) (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1248277897030&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull)
here's THIS story:
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has released a detailed report in defense of Tel Aviv's three-week-long all-out offensive on the Gaza Strip.
The report, published on Thursday, claims that Israel had "both a right and an obligation to take military action" against the blockaded people of Gaza in response to Hamas rockets fired into Israel, Haaretz reported.
In the 163-page document, entitled 'The Operation in Gaza - Factual and Legal Aspects,' Tel-Aviv admits for the first time that the Israeli army used munitions containing white phosphorous in Gaza.
Despite the existence of proof in form of pictures, soldiers' testimonies, and the victims' medical records, Tel Aviv had been denying the use of controversial chemical white phosphorous shells and depleted uranium munitions, claiming that it had fought a 'noble war' in the sliver.
Intentional killing of civilians, bombing of residential areas, shelling of a UN school-turned-refugee-camp, are among other human rights violations that Tel Aviv is accused of committing during the war on Gaza.
According to the report, Israel is conducting investigations into 100 complaints, including 13 criminal investigations after inquiries from UN and human rights groups.
The document comes ahead of two 'harsh reports' that are expected to be published by the United Nations soon, Haaretz reported.
Israel's offensive against the Gaza Strip left more than 1,400 Palestinians killed and injured at least 5,450 others. Several human rights groups have accused Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza.Most of the world is not surprised. Not only have they defended their atrocious... more
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Finally! Israel bowing down to International pressure. How much more evidence do they need? And..will they have an outside source do the actual investigation, one that is unbiased? That would be crucial to the veracity of the inquest.
story:
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military has ordered 14 criminal probes into the conduct of soldiers during the war on the Gaza Strip at the turn of the year, the Jerusalem Post reported on Thursday.
It said the military is currently reviewing close to 100 complaints from a number of sources, including from soldiers who took part in the devastating 22-day operation on Gaza, as well as Palestinians and human rights groups.
The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
Some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed during the December-January war that left swathes of the aid-dependent, Hamas-run territory in ruins.
Among the Palestinians killed, 926 were civilians, 313 of them children, according to Palestinian figures which Israel disputes.
In a report earlier this month, Amnesty International accused both Israeli forces and Hamas militants of war crimes.
Also this month, an Israeli human rights group said Israeli soldiers were told to shoot first and worry about the consequences later, and used Palestinian civilians as human shields.
Instructions received before battle led to trigger-happy soldiers, civilian deaths and massive destruction in the densely populated Palestinian enclave, the Breaking the Silence group said in a report based on testimony from 30 soldiers.
In April, the military said its investigations showed the army "operated in accordance with international law," maintaining "a high professional and moral level" while facing an enemy who deliberately fought from within civilian areas.Finally! Israel bowing down to International pressure. How much more evidence do they... more
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Here we go again-say ANYTHING against Israel and you are ANTISEMITIC! ANYTHING!!!! Israel has a foul smell today after that fire---------ANTISEMITIC!! Israels prices are too high. ANTISEMITIC!!!!!
C'mon people, this is worn out.
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A proposal being considered by the United Church of Canada that seeks peace in the Middle East through boycotts of Israeli institutions is an expression of "anti-Semitic behaviour" and an "obscene gesture from a religious group," major Jewish organizations say.
The resolutions, which will be brought before the Church's upcoming general council, call for a "comprehensive boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions at the national and international levels" and refer to the recent assault on Gaza as a "visible reminder of the ongoing Israeli regime of exclusion, violence and dehumanization directed against Palestinians."
They also say that Israel was "built mainly on land ethnically cleansed of its Palestinian owners," and make reference to the effectiveness of boycotts when dealing with state-sponsored racial discrimination and violence as was the case in South Africa.
"This puts the United Church in some very questionable company," said Eric Vernon, director of government affairs for the Canadian Jewish Congress. "The use of boycott, divestment and sanction has been a weapon used by Israel's enemies to destroy it. Those are elements of anti-Semitic behaviour in the contemporary world."
"I am disgusted with the proposal," said Frank Dimant, the chief executive officer of B'nai Brith Canada.
"I think at a time when we are fighting Islamofascism around the world, when Canadian soldiers are fighting Islamofascism [in Afghanistan], the attempt by these resolutions is to hurt in a most profound way one of the countries at the forefront in that battle. This is an obscene gesture by a religious group, and my hope is that Christians will turn their backs on this resolution," Mr. Dimant said.
The resolutions, one of dozens of proposals on many different issues, will be debated and voted on at the Church's general council in August. Proposals are brought forward by different regional bodies rather that a central committee of the whole Church, so it is impossible to tell how much support the proposal will have, said Reverend Bruce Gregersen, a United Church spokesman.
In 2006, a proposal to cut financial investments in Israeli companies never made it to a vote because a clear majority of delegates at that time had no interest in the measure, Rev. Gregersen said. Instead, he said, a resolution was passed to invest in Israeli companies that promote peace.
He said the Church has also criticized such countries as Myanmar and the Sudan for human rights abuses but only the former apartheid regime of South Africa was ever subject to a church boycott.
"The Canadian Jewish Congress has consistently argued that language that seeks to undermine the existence of the state of Israel is anti-Semitic. And we would agree with that," Rev. Gregersen said.
"But these proposals are not meant to undermine the state of Israel but rather calling on them to make moves towards peace.
"In 2003, the Church said that we affirm the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state. And that's a significant commitment. What is means is that we are strongly supportive of the existence of Israel for the sake of the Jewish people in the world."
The current proposal also makes clear that Palestinians have to stop suicide bombings and other violent attacks directed at Israeli civilians.
Mr. Vernon of the Canadian Jewish Congress said he believes the vast majority of United Church members are decent people and when they are made aware of the facts they will reject the proposal.
"They have a commendable sense of issues dealing with international justice, but they just seem to have a very problematic perspective on the situation between Israel and the Palestinians."
National Post
clewis@nationalpost.coHere we go again-say ANYTHING against Israel and you are ANTISEMITIC! ANYTHING!!!!... more
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In a burst of uncharacteristic honesty, the then Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert asserted in 2007 that "[m]ore and more Palestinians ... want to change the essence of the conflict from an Algerian paradigm to a South African one ... That is, of course, a much cleaner struggle, a much more popular struggle - and ultimately a much more powerful one. For us, it would mean the end of the Jewish state."
The apartheid paradigm here fearfully evoked by Olmert has crept slowly but surely into mainstream political discourse on the Palestine issue, but is still avoided by many who are otherwise supportive of the Palestinian cause.
This is because the paradigm seems to offer a hostage to fortune: it is too easy for Israel's apologists to rebut it by instancing the many systemic differences between Israel and apartheid South Africa.
What has often been overlooked is that the UN General Assembly's International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid (November 1973) extended the term to "similar policies and practices of racial segregation and discrimination as practiced in southern Africa" while defining the crime in more general terms as "inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them." Israel's practices need not be compared with those of apartheid South Africa -- which they often resemble -- but evaluated on their own terms in the light of the Convention.
The UN itself contributed to the occultation of the Convention's relevance by omitting it from its 2002 "Compilation of International Instruments," apparently on the mistaken belief that with the end of South Africa's apartheid regime it had become obsolete.
In 1987 the Israeli academic Uri Davis published Israel: An Apartheid State, following it in 2004 with Apartheid Israel: Possibilities for the Struggle Within. In 2001 he founded the Movement Against Israeli Apartheid in Palestine (MAIAP). These hints were taken up by organizations like the Stop the Wall Campaign, which consistently proposed the apartheid paradigm as something more than a mere analogy with South Africa.In a burst of uncharacteristic honesty, the then Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert... more
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Ignoring this situation by media makes them partners to the suffering of hundreds of thousands children needing food, medicine and schooling. When will the media end their suppression of what is really happening?
If the shoe was on the other foot, you can bet your sweet bippy that they'd be on it big time.
Do editors have a good conscious about this?
Can editors and journalists really wake up in the morning and look in the mirror knowing that they ignore some of the worst atrocities happening to children-right under their noses?
While they KNOW what is happening? Where are their ethics?
here is the story from the United Nations:
Just one month before the start of the academic year in Gaza, the education of thousands of school students is being jeopardized by the ongoing blockade of crossings into the area, a chorus of United Nations voices warned today in an urgent call for Israel to open the borders.
The 18 schools that were completely destroyed and the 280 others that were damaged in the Israeli military offensive six months ago have not been rebuilt or rehabilitated because of restrictions placed on the movement of reconstruction materials and other supplies into Gaza, according to a joint news release issued by various UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
In north Gaza, 9,000 students from 15 damaged schools have been spread among 73 schools in the same area, with 4,000 of them squeezed into two schools, and some 1,200 secondary students running the risk of being left without a school next month.
“The blockade has caused untold suffering to children in Gaza, who face another academic year in terrible conditions,” said Philippe Lazzarini, acting UN Humanitarian Coordinator of the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) in the joint statement.
----------more at the link
btw,
************************ATTENTION JOURNALISTS and EDITORS*******************************
Do your part-FOR CHRISTS SAKE, DO SOMETHING! The almighty dollar cannot be that important or more important than children lives.Ignoring this situation by media makes them partners to the suffering of hundreds of... more
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is dispatching four of its most senior foreign policy and security figures to Israel this coming week with the same message on two open questions causing friction between the close allies: Don't do it.
Taking a firmer line with Israel than the Bush administration, President Barack Obama is urging Israel to stop all settlement construction in the West Bank or risk closing off the most promising avenues for peace negotiations.
more story at link
Israel is only complicating issues for the whole world by their arrogant and criminal stance. There are more ways to dealing with this as Obama has said.
Again, Israels arrogance and greed is putting the whole world in Jeopardy. Israel needs to be dismantled and re-made with some intelligent people, not insane idiots.
Bravo to President Obama for standing up!WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is dispatching four of its most... more
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The Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday that Iran would strike Israel's nuclear facilities if Tel Aviv attacked the Islamic state, state television reported.
"If the Zionist Regime (Israel) attacks Iran, we will surely strike its nuclear facilities with our missile capabilities," Mohammad Ali Jafari, Guards commander-in-chief, told Iran's Arabic language al-Alam television.
The Revolutionary Guards are the ideologically driven wing of Iran's military with air, sea and land capabilities, and a separate command structure to regular units.
Iranian leaders often dismiss talk of a possible strike by Israel, saying it is not in a position to threaten Iran, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter. They say Iran would respond to any attack by targeting U.S. interests and Israel.
The United States, Israel and their Western allies fear that Iran is enriching uranium with the aim of producing nuclear weapons and have not ruled out military action if diplomacy fails to resolve the row.
Iran says it is pursuing only a nuclear power generation program.
Israel, widely believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear power, has repeatedly described Iran's nuclear program as a threat to its existence. Iran refuses to recognize Israel.
"NOT SCARED"
Jafari said Israel was entirely within the reach of Iran.
"Our missile capability puts all of the Zionist regime (Israel) within Iran's reach to attack," Jafari said. Military experts say Iran rarely reveals enough detail about its new military equipment to determine its military capabilities.
----------more story at link
If Israel thinks its doing a service for its people, they are only fooling themselves. US President Obama is telling Israel to "...stand down on Iran" and "...stop settlement activities immediately."
Israel is only complicating issues for the whole world by their arrogant and criminal stance. There are more wys to dealing with this as Obama has said.
Again, Israels arrogance and greed is putting the whole world in Jeopardy. Israel needs to be dismantled and re-made with some intelligent people, not insane idiots.
Bravo to President Obama for standing up!The Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday that Iran would strike Israel's nuclear... more
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Faux News: The end is near...here's the story:
According to NBC's top Pentagon correspondent, the Department of Defense is furious with Fox News analyst Ralph Peters, who said on July 19 that the Taliban should murder 23-year-old Private First Class Bowe Bergdahl, captured after he strayed from his post, to save the Army "legal hassles and legal bills."
Peters, a well-known Neoconservative and frequent Fox News guest, attempted to clarify his shocking statement on Tuesday night's O'Reilly Factor, telling right-wing host Bill O'Reilly he believes that Bergdahl had "deserted" his unit and deserved no sympathy. He did not apologize. O'Reilly added that Bergdahl must be "crazy."
However, Wednesday night MSNBC's Rachel Maddow fired back, interviewing Jim Miklaszewski, NBC's top Pentagon correspondent, who said the Department of Defense is furious with Peters and Fox News, adding there is no evidence that Bergdahl is a deserter.
Peters' and O'Reilly's insidious comments drew a sharp reaction from a bipartisan group of 22 veteran members of Congress, who all signed a letter demanding Fox News CEO Roger Ailes apologize to Bergdahl's family for allowing a guest on his network to provide "aid and comfort" to America's enemies.
"Mr. Peters' indefensible comments call into question, without any supporting evidence whatsoever, PFC Bergdahl's patriotism and commitment to his country, and suggest in a non-subtle way that he deserved to be captured," they wrote. "The truth is that Mr. Peters' words give more aid and comfort to the enemy…and put PFC Bergdahl at additional risk of harm."
Congressman Eric Massa (D-NY), a former Navy commander who joined the 22 members of Congress in signing the letter, went a step further and called on Fox News to fire both O'Reilly and Peters.
------------more story at link, meanwhile, I will be preparing an epitaph for this fake news showFaux News: The end is near...here's the story:
According to NBC's top... more
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Hamas has been cast as a terrorist organization by some people, and to others, Hamas is merely fighting for their peoples rights by defending themselves from blockades, kidnappings, invasions as well as land being taken, crops destroyed and their economic and social infrastructure methodically being destroyed.
Some months ago, before and during the recent bloody Israeli incursion, I had been in contact with government and United Nations representatives to get aid to the most affected areas of Gaza thru donations from citizens of the world to these organizations and be earmarked for Gaza. Mostly foods for infants and children who were being affected the most. This brought me in contact with many Human rights people, journalists, UNRWA /UN employees as well as Red Cross and several other approved organizations who were in direct contact with the people in need. When I had the opportunity to talk to some of them, I mentioned that peace is not achieved thru violence and that to their benefit, a good PR campaign (to replace the rockets) to show the world who and what and why they are, should be implemented. Look at what it does for other countries-including Israel. I hope my advice of non-violence was the seed, look of what Gandhi achieved with non-violence in the face of violence!
Here's the story and I do hope this 'change' is indelible and will sustain, that the oppression that has been imposed on these mostly innocent people is showed to more of the world. The last year, especially after the latest bloodshed, the world began to wake up. Now, will Israel wake up and learn to live with their neighbors?
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By ETHAN BRONNER
July 23, 2009
GAZA — Seven months after Israel started a fierce three-week military campaign here to stop rockets from being fired on its southern communities, Hamas has suspended its use of rockets and shifted focus to winning support at home and abroad through cultural initiatives and public relations.
In Gaza City, a poster advertised a movie about Emad Akel,commander of the Hamas military wing who was killed by Israel.(poster to right courtesy Deviant Art http://delt4.deviantart.com/art/Free-Gaza-Part-2-108697583)
The aim is to build what leaders here call a “culture of resistance,” the topic of a recent two-day conference. In recent days, a play has been staged, a movie premiered, an art exhibit mounted, a book of poems published and a television series begun, most of it state-sponsored and all focused on the plight of Palestinians in Gaza. There are plans for a documentary competition.
“Armed resistance is still important and legitimate, but we have a new emphasis on cultural resistance,” noted Ayman Taha, a Hamas leader and former fighter. “The current situation required a stoppage of rockets. After the war, the fighters needed a break and the people needed a break.”
Mr. Taha and others say that the military has replaced field commanders and restructured itself as it learns lessons from the war. The decision to suspend the use of the short-range Qassam rockets that for years have flown into Israel, often dozens a day, has been partly the result of popular pressure. Increasingly, people here are questioning the value of the rockets, not because they hit civilians but because they are seen as relatively ineffective.
“What did the rockets do for us? Nothing,” Mona Abdelaziz, a 36-year-old lawyer, said in a typical street interview here.
How long Hamas will hold its fire and whether it will obtain longer-range missiles — which it says it is seeking — remain unclear. But the shift in policy is evident. In June, a total of two rockets were fired from Gaza, according to the Israeli military, one of the lowest monthly tallies since the firing began in 2002.
----more of the story at the link. A word to racists: If you cannot be constructive, please dont post your propaganda and BS here-do it somewhere else. It only shows your racism even more. >>PLEASE....Show some humanity for a change!Hamas has been cast as a terrorist organization by some people, and to others, Hamas... more
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Eye witness accounts in this video of the massacre of hundreds of innocent Palestinians-including women and children.
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Early in the morning of Friday, April 9, 1948, commandos of the Irgun, headed by Menachem Begin, and the Stern Gang attacked Deir Yassin, a village with about 750 Palestinian residents. It was several weeks before the end of the British Mandate. The village lay outside of the area that the United Nations recommended be included in a future Jewish State. Deir Yassin had a peaceful reputation and was even said by a Jewish newspaper to have driven out some Arab militants. But it was located on high ground in the corridor between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and one plan, kept secret until years afterwards, called for it to be destroyed and the residents evacuated to make way for a small airfield that would supply the beleaguered Jewish residents of Jerusalem.
By noon over 100 people, half of them women and children, had been systematically murdered. Four commandos died at the hands of resisting Palestinians using old Mausers and muskets. Twenty-five male villagers were loaded into trucks, paraded through the Zakhron Yosef quarter in Jerusalem, and then taken to a stone quarry along the road between Givat Shaul and Deir Yassin and shot to death. The remaining residents were driven to Arab East Jerusalem.
That evening the Irgunists and the Sternists escorted a party of foreign correspondents to a house at Givat Shaul, a nearby Jewish settlement founded in 1906. Over tea and cookies they amplified the details of the operation and justified it, saying Deir Yassin had become a concentration point for Arabs, including Syrians and Iraqis, planning to attack the western suburbs of Jerusalem. They said that 25 members of the Haganah militia had reinforced the attack and claimed that an Arabic-speaking Jew had warned the villagers over a loudspeaker from an armored car. This was duly reported in The New York Times on April 10.
A final body count of 254 was reported by The New York Times on April 13, a day after they were finally buried. By then the leaders of the Haganah had distanced themselves from having participated in the attack and issued a statement denouncing the dissidents of Irgun and the Stern Gang, just as they had after the attack on the King David Hotel in July 1946. A 1987 study undertaken by Birzeit University's Center for Research and Documentation of Palestinian Society found "the numbers of those killed does not exceed 120".
The Haganah leaders admitted that the massacre "disgraced the cause of Jewish fighters and dishonored Jewish arms and the Jewish flag." They played down the fact that their militia had reinforced the terrorists' attack, even though they did not participate in the barbarism and looting during the subsequent "mopping up" operations.
They also played down the fact that, in Begin's words, "Deir Yassin was captured with the knowledge of the Haganah and with the approval of its commander" as a part of its "plan for establishing an airfield."
--------------------------------more of piece of history at the linkEye witness accounts in this video of the massacre of hundreds of innocent... more
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The conflict between Israelis and the Palestinians has a long history. What do the Palestinians want? Why did Arafat refuse that "generous offer"? And why does the US bend over backwards to defend Israel? Read on...
Aren't Palestinians terrorists?
That's what the Israeli Government wants you to believe. Don't let the mass media do your thinking for you. Palestinians are no different to you or me. If they had a choice, they would be happy to live in peace, raise their kids, go to work, play music, party, and lead normal lives. What makes them different is that for the past 58 years, Israel has made their lives hell...
Please go to Comments for the Rest of the simplified historyThe conflict between Israelis and the Palestinians has a long history. What do the... more
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“If Israel continues settlement activity, it will not only be acting contrary to international law but also to a strong international consensus,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon warned Wednesday at the United Nations International Meeting on the Question of Palestine in Geneva.Facts are still coming in.
I was invited to this meeting but because of a family issue, I was not able to make it. I do, however, have some other human rights and government people there that I work with.
*******************************ELIMINATE THE ROGUE STATE OF ISRAEL**************************
What we need is for the UN to do is to dis-ban the state of Israel-it did, in 1948 they put it together, so, its theoretically and legally possible to eliminate 'the' bad apple. If a vote was taken today with every vote equal-a democratic vote-Israel would be returned to nothing and then we can begin to put in people that are not felons, dont ignore International law and dont commit human rights (gross) violations-like murder of innocent people and dont steal land not belonging to them.
Here are some things a new Far right Zionist organization (Z Street) proclaims about Israel and below each proclamation is THE fact check:
"Z STREET is an organization of Zionists who join together at this time of great danger to the Jewish State of Israel and, increasingly, to world Jewry.
Fact check: Israel creates its own enemies through extremism, lawlessness, wars of choice, and decades of contempt for Palestinians, other Arabs and Islam.
"I. Z STREET proudly asserts the right of the Jewish people to a state."
Fact check: Israel denies one to Palestinians, occupies their land, and expropriates it for its own use in violation of international law.
"II. Z STREET proudly reclaims the words 'Zionist' and 'Jewish State' as ones to wear with pride, in direct opposition to their recent branding as shameful or impolite terms."
Fact check: Zionism's extremist, destructive ideology is explained above.
"III. Z STREET maintains that Jews have the right to live anywhere in the world, including, and especially, within greater Israel."
Fact check: Palestinians are denied all rights, including to live securely on their own land in their own country in peace.
"IV. Z STREET is dedicated to maintaining and strengthening the Jewish State of Israel in the firm belief that there can be no compromises or agreements with, and no concessions to, any Terrorist Entity or any individual Terrorists."
Fact check: For over six decades, Israel has committed slow-motion genocide against indigenous Palestinians who want peace, not conflict; are willing to recognize the Jewish state in return for their own; and who deserve equal rights to Jews and all others, but are denied them by an oppressive occupier.
"V. Z STREET is dedicated to rejecting and refuting the condemnation of any actions taken by Israel which are not similarly condemned when taken by any other individuals or political entities."
Fact check: Israel acts lawlessly, chooses violence over peace, and calls legitimate self-defense "terrorism."
"VI. Z STREET is dedicated to constantly and consistently declaring and affirming the facts which fully support the legal, moral and historical right of the Jewish State to exist in peace and security without physical or verbal assault against its sovereignty or legitimacy. This necessarily entails adamantly opposing the dismantling of and/or handing over territory to any other entity or entities."
Fact check: Israel demands special rights as "God's chosen people" but denies any to indigenous Palestinians. In addition, its settlements and human rights abuses violate international law.
continued below“If Israel continues settlement activity, it will not only be acting contrary to... more
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Students & Universities across the globe are beginning to 'divest' from Israel. Many scholars, celebrities and government leaders are divesting from Israel. What is Divestment? It's the opposite of 'Investment'. Investing into corporations stocks and securities (or anything for that matter) that profit Israel directly or indirectly helps Israel to oppress the people in Palestine, it helps Israel to break International laws, it helps Israel to take advantage of human rights and moreover, it is supporting Israels gross violations of human rights as well as a slow and calculated genocide of the Palestinian people.
Not very nice to support an organization that murders and steals from people that do not have the broad resources to protect themselves from this 'school bully'. Israel is the school bully that steals your lunch money.
Here is the University that started it all and was successful in the Divestment from Apartheid South Africa. In comments section below, I will continue this model as well as post the list of impressive and well known people that support this and have done something about it.
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Traditionally, Hampshire College has advocated for the oppressed, taking unpopular stands when others have preferred to turn away. In 1977 Hampshire College was the first college in the US to divest from Apartheid South Africa. In 2001 Hampshire was the first college to object to the war in Afghanistan.
In this spirit and in light of the fact that the Israeli occupation is the longest ongoing occupation since World War II, we state our objection to the oppression of the Palestinian people. The Hampshire community hereby declares its commitment to work towards the end of this occupation. Furthermore we call upon Israel to end its policies of discrimination and to respect international law and Palestinian rights, including the right to self-determination. We support the Palestinian right to resist the occupation in accordance with international law. Our commitment includes the following policies ratified by Hampshire College:
• As an institution Hampshire College will not support, invest, or finance any individual, group or institution that directly profits from the occupation of Palestine. We call on other colleges and universities to enact similar policies.
• Hampshire College calls on the United States Government to stop financing Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
In addition to economic measures, Hampshire College as an institution and a community hereby expresses its commitment to support the autonomy and self-determination of the Palestinian people, including but not limited to the following:
• We support dialogue on our campus about the conflict as long as it is sincere and serious about its intentions to end the oppression of the Palestinian people.
• Due to our mandate as an institution of higher education, we are committed to support the Palestinian right to education, through exchange programs and academic support
• In solidarity with the Palestinian people, our educational program will provide a stage for unheard Palestinian voices.
Hampshire College, in accordance with its moral imperatives, will persist in this course of action until the end of the occupation as defined by UN resolutions.
Divestment Addendum
Due to numerous questions over the nature of divestment in the above call for divestment, SJP has added the following addendum to clarify what is meant by divestment.
Investments should not be made in any company that provides products or services, including financial services, to Israeli governmental or military bodies that are used to facilitate or undertake violent acts against civilians or violations of international law, or to Israeli or Palestinian organizations or groups that are used to facilitate or undertake violent acts against civilians or violations of international law.
For the purposes of this investment screen this would include companies that:(MORE BELOW & AT LINK)Students & Universities across the globe are beginning to 'divest' from... more
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I am typing up the contents of pafes 111, 112, qnd 113 from this great book. You will be stunned to hear the truth from this great writer (John Pilger) whom the Guardian has said that "the truth in his hands is a weapon, to be picked up and brandished nd used in the struggle aainst evil and injstice.'
IJohn Pilger challenges us in the West to 'look in the mirror' at the actions of 'or' governments for the true source of much of the world's fear and insecurity - and terrorism.
John Pilger's vivid eyewittness reporting, backed by meticulous research, blows away the secrets and lies of our rulers and turns a searchlight on events consigned to shadows and an unrecognised yet virulent censorship.
World–renowned journalist John Pilger looks at five nations (Palestine, Diego Garcia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and South Africa) that have undergone long and painful struggles for freedom, yet are still waiting for its realizationI am typing up the contents of pafes 111, 112, qnd 113 from this great book. You... more
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President of UN General Assembly urges Israel to be recognized as an Apartheid state.
UN General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto referred to Israel as an Apartheid state. Phyllis Bennis analyzes the significance of this identification as compared to South African apartheid and the popular resistance struggles worldwide that helped end it. Israeli apartheid is built into a system of roads, walls, and fences which create segregation of Palestinians and Jews both inside the West Bank and between the West Bank and Israel. Gazan Palestinians are separated from Israel and West Bank Palestinians by the siege imposed by Israel after the election of Hamas. Bennis analyses the validity of the term 'apartheid' in the case of Israel and the proposed peace plan many Arab states have presented as a possible solution.
Phyllis Bennis is a Senior Analyst at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC. She is the author of Before and After: US Foreign Policy and the September 11 Crisis and Challenging Empire: How People, Governments, and the UN Defy US Power.
Her newest book Understanding the US-Iran Crisis: A Primer will be available in September 2008.President of UN General Assembly urges Israel to be recognized as an Apartheid state.... more
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World leaders, senior diplomats and religious figures condemned extremism and terrorism Wednesday at a U.N. conference on interfaith dialogue that brought Israel and Arab countries together to promote tolerance.
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, the event's chief sponsor, opened the meeting with a call for greater understanding in the Middle East, saying that religious and cultural differences in the region have "engendered intolerance, causing devastating wars and considerable bloodshed."
"Terrorism and criminality are the enemies of every religion and every civilization," said Abdullah, in his first address before the U.N. General Assembly as Saudi Arabia's leader. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice attended the speech, and President Bush will address the conference Thursday.
The conference provides an opportunity for Saudi Arabia, which prohibits the public practice of non-Islamic faiths, to present a more tolerant image on the world stage. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers in the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, were Saudis.
(more at the link)World leaders, senior diplomats and religious figures condemned extremism and... more
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Pepe Escobar: World leaders speak at the UN about economic crisis, war and the multipolar world.
World leaders met at the UN general assembly on Tuesday. They spoke about the global financial crisis and the need for sweeping reforms of multilateral institutions. The Real News Network analyst Pepe Escobar comments on the emergence of new global realities.
Pepe Escobar, born in Brazil is the roving correspondent for Asia Times and an analyst for The Real News Network. He's been a foreign correspondent since 1985, based in London, Milan, Los Angeles, Paris, Singapore, and Bangkok. Since the late 1990s, he has specialized in covering the arc from the Middle East to Central Asia, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He has made frequent visits to Iran and is the author of Globalistan and also Red Zone Blues: A Snapshot of Baghdad During the Surge both published by Nimble Books in 2007.
Pepe Escobar: World leaders speak at the UN about economic crisis, war and the... more
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Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin will meet next week with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in New York, on the sidelines of the opening of the U.N. General Assembly, according to Afghan officials in Washington. Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin will meet next week with Afghan... more
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