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"Nothing can prepare you for the evil we have seen here."
Gideon Levy, journalist with the IsraeliEnglish-language daily paper Ha'aretz writes things that virtually no paper in the US would dare print for the outcry among Zionists (Jews and Christians) it would elicit.
In this link he reports on the visit of 21 South African human rights activists to the Palestinian Occupied Territories:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1000976.html
Excert:
She was deputy defense minister from 1999 to 2004; in 1987 she served time in prison. Later, I asked her in what ways the situation here is worse than apartheid. "The absolute control of people's lives, the lack of freedom of movement, the army presence everywhere, the total separation and the extensive destruction we saw."
Madlala-Routledge thinks that the struggle against the occupation is not succeeding here because of U.S. support for Israel - not the case with apartheid, which international sanctions helped destroy. Here, the racist ideology is also reinforced by religion, which was not the case in South Africa. "Talk about the 'promised land' and the 'chosen people' adds a religious dimension to racism which we did not have."
Equally harsh are the remarks of the editor-in-chief of the Sunday Times of South Africa, Mondli Makhanya, 38. "When you observe from afar you know that things are bad, but you do not know how bad. Nothing can prepare you for the evil we have seen here. In a certain sense, it is worse, worse, worse than everything we endured. The level of the apartheid, the racism and the brutality are worse than the worst period of apartheid. Gideon Levy, journalist with the IsraeliEnglish-language daily paper Ha'aretz writes things that virtually no paper in the US would da... more -
Can Palestinians understand the Holocaust? Yes.
Ever since I went to Yad Vashim in Jerusalem I have understood the Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian territory as a direct product of fear on a pathological level that was created by not only the Jewish experience in the Holocaust but by the world's indifference. I toured the Holocaust museum with my then 8 year daughter and was moved to tears - not because of the crimes shown, but because many of the photographs I saw are available today - the Warsaw Ghetto, the children with Jewish stars facing Gestapo soldiers with guns pointed at them. All you have to do is replace Palestinians for the Jews.
Now don't go and get all Anti-Semitic on me. Of course it's not the same. The magnitud and extent quite simply arent there - and never will be I dare to say. However, the Occupation is a violation of international law, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (written in part by a French Jew working to prevent the Halocaus from repetlition) are violated by Israel over and over.
What the Israeli government does in the name of security should be renamed as what they do in the name of fear. I think this lawyer is on to something. I would like to see something similar taht would include pictures of the Occupation - not just the Nakbah. Ever since I went to Yad Vashim in Jerusalem I have understood the Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian territory as a direct product... more -
From Triumph to Torture
John Pilger, of the UK's Guardian newspaper wrote about Muhammed Omer, a young Palestinian (Gaza) journalist who writes for many different media organizations about the Israeli occupation. He was given an award in Britain, by Pilger and upon returning home by way of the Allenbe Bridge (across the Jordan) was detained and roughed up/tortured by Israeli border guards.
I've been across this bridge a few times with my family when we lived in Jordan and my husband's work took him to Hebron (he builds water wells. we used to live in Gaza). The guards there were universal pricks. Mean and abusive just cause they can get away with it. We (my husband mostly) were harassed and our crossing slowed. They peppered my husband (a Canadian citizen) with questions and he got pissed off and argued back. Over the years we've been slowed down with "additional quetions - just for security I hope you understand" going through border control at Ben Gurion and at Eilat, but NOTHING compared to Allenbe. It's like a free for all there.
Another friend of mine, born in the Wst Bank, made a refugee in 1948 at the age of 6 was trying to go to Bil'in for the nonviolent work being conducted by the villagers there fighting the wall - he was roughed up and held (slowed) but eventually released. They said his name was the same as a wanted suspected terrorist.
So I completely believe what happend to Omer.
Please read the story and the petition - sign it and pass it on.
John Pilger, of the UK's Guardian newspaper wrote about Muhammed Omer, a young Palestinian (Gaza) journalist who writes for many diffe... more -
Israeli Deputy Prime Minister criticised over Iran threat
A key defence official has accused one of Israel's deputy prime ministers of threatening to attack Iran in order to boost his own political standing.
On Friday Shaul Mofaz said military strikes to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons looked "unavoidable".
Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai said Mr Mofaz was using the issue to position himself to challenge Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's leadership.
Mr Mofaz's comments were partly blamed for a record oil price surge.
Mr Vilnai told Israel Radio Mr Mofaz's comments were linked to a likely leadership contest in Mr Olmert's Kadima party, if the prime minister is forced to step down over corruption allegations.
Olmert denies taking $500,000 in bribes or illegal campaign donations. He has not been charged, but says he would resign if indicted.
A key defence official has accused one of Israel's deputy prime ministers of threatening to attack Iran in order to boost his own poli... more -
Israel urged to end blockade of Gaza as talks begin in London
Israel will be urged today to ease its blockade of the Gaza Strip to avert a humanitarian disaster as the Middle East "quartet" meets to consider the state of the faltering peace process.
Oxfam and five other UK aid agencies are calling for the quartet to end its "complacency" by putting the "highest diplomatic pressure" on Israel over its strategy of isolating the Islamist movement Hamas at meetings in London on the Annapolis negotiations and Palestinian economic development in the West Bank.
"The collective complacency of the quartet is putting the future of the people of Gaza on the line," said Oxfam GB director Barbara Stocking. "We need the fuel, humanitarian supplies and essential equipment withheld by Israel for more than nine months to ease this human suffering and avert a disaster.
"It is well within the power of the EU and the US to make this happen ... They should insist on an immediate end to Gaza's suffering."
But there is no sign that the quartet - the US, Russia, the EU and the UN - will drop the principle of boycotting Hamas while Israeli officials and some western diplomats blame the group for attacking the Gaza crossing points and not distributing available fuel. The EU recently noted Hamas's "share" in the crisis.
Israel will be urged today to ease its blockade of the Gaza Strip to avert a humanitarian disaster as the Middle East "quartet" meets ... more -
Israel strike kills Reuters camerman
An Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip has reportedly killed 11 Palestinians after a Hamas attack which left three soldiers dead.
Five children are among those killed by the strike near Bureij refugee camp, doctors say, and a Reuters cameraman was killed, apparently by a tank shell.
Confirming the Bureij strike, Israel said it had targeted gunmen.
In all, 22 people were killed on one of the bloodiest days since Israel's Gaza incursions in February-March.
At least 100 people were killed during those operations which Israel launched after Palestinian rocket attacks on its territory.
Medics told the BBC that five people were also injured by the Israeli air strike near Bureij.
DAY OF BLOODSHED IN GAZA
An Israeli helicopter launches a missile towards the Gaza Strip on 16 April
Children among 11 Palestinians killed by Israeli air strike near Bureij
Three Israeli soldiers killed near Nahal Oz
Four Hamas militants killed by Israeli troops east of Gaza City
Reuters cameraman and two bystanders killed by blast
One man killed on air strike on car near Beit Lahyia
Most of those killed were civilians, Hamas and medical officials said.
According to Hamas, Israeli helicopters launched four missiles.
Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana, 23, was killed along with two bystanders after he got out of a vehicle marked "TV" and "Press" in central Gaza, the agency reports.
Film recovered from his camera shows an Israeli tank opening fire several hundred metres away, Reuters adds.
It goes blank about two seconds after the shell is fired - apparently at the moment of impact.
Local residents said earlier he had died in an Israeli air strike.
Four Hamas militants were also killed by Israeli troops east of Gaza City early on Wednesday.
An air strike on a car also killed one Palestinian near Beit Lahyia, in the north of the strip.
Earlier on Wednesday, three Israeli soldiers were killed and three wounded when Hamas gunmen approached the security fence near the Nahal Oz crossing, the army said.
The soldiers were killed as they pursued two Hamas fighters who had planted a bomb. They were ambushed by a second Hamas group lying in wait, the military said.
Hamas said it had mounted a "sophisticated ambush".
Israel's military losses were its biggest single toll in the area since 2006.
It is hard to say whether the recent spike in Israeli military casualties is down to more effective tactics by Hamas or simply the result of increased Israeli activity in Gaza and therefore increased exposure, says BBC defence and security correspondent Rob Watson.
A recent Israeli study by a research group with close ties to Israel's defence establishment said Hamas was currently engaged in the broadest and most significant military build-up in its history.
Some generals argue a major Israeli incursion will eventually be needed to prevent Hamas growing even stronger militarily.
But they also fear the possible consequences of a lengthy campaign in the crowded cities and refugee camps of Gaza, our correspondent says. An Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip has reportedly killed 11 Palestinians after a Hamas attack which left three soldiers dead. ... more -
Israeli Op Ed: Fooling Ourselves
Or, as another friend of mine said when talking about the proper role for the United States in resolving (with justice) the conflict: "Friends don't let friends drive drunk".
Excerpt: For years the same old dance has been going on in which the Americans scold and the Israelis promise, as though the Israelis have decided to make every effort to thwart the solution that everyone knows is the only solution. Time is running out and the self-deception is continuing. Not the Americans, but rather the Israelis will bear the results of this continued disorder.
Or, as another friend of mine said when talking about the proper role for the United States in resolving (with justice) the conflict: ... more -
What Christians don't know about Israel but should
When I was a teenager, I became a born-again Christian and an avid reader of the "Late Great Planet Earth" the endtimes book that preceded the "Left Behind" series popular today among those who think the end is near. One of the signs of the second coming of Christ, according to interpreters of the Revelations (like the authors of books above) is the creation of the State of Israel.
When the Yom Kippur War hit, I was on the phone with my born again girlfriends, all of us excited that this was it.... the Rapture was surely going to happen soon.
When it didn't, I wasn't worried, no problem, I'll just go live in Israel and volunteer on a kibbutz and help my Jewish brothers and sisters make the desert bloom.
As I grew up, reality kicked in and the fervor of adolescence faded. What remained was a fondness for Israel - and the belief that it was besieged on all sides. The Palestinians? Nothing but irrational terrorists who raised their children to hate and kill Jews.
Then, my husband was offered a short term assignment through his groundwater engineering job in Gaza, and we, my four-year old daughter and I went along too.
And thus began my permanent detour off my own Road Map.
The detour involved for awhile a profound internal struggle as I tried to reconcile my previous bias with the reality of occupation and oppression I was witnessing. Everyday I saw the result of the fear when the once fearful become the powerful. Someday, if Israel doesn't change its policies in time (and many Israelis I know are concerned that it is too late now) the backlash will be devastating.
Now we are back in the US and I work hard at my second job - to raise awareness among Americans in general, my Presbyterians co-congregants in particular that the key to Israel's survival is the United States, but not in the way most commonly thought. Rather, we must hold Israel accountable (as we do the Palestinians) to the international code of conduct accepted by all nation-states. That attacks on civilians is illegal, that an occupying state may not establish civilian settlements on occupied land, that separation barrier ("security fence") must be on the Green Line, not within the Palestinian Territories..... all these violations (and more), must stop.
But when the US restricts its admonitions to a mere slap on the wrist, the Israelis know they can keep on keeping on.
My church, the Presbyterians will be considering a resolution this summer calling the US government to enforce our nation's own Arms Export and Foreign Assistance laws that prohibit US aid be used in violations of international human rights law. It's a beginning. And our church is not the only one. Across the country, individuals and groups small and large are joining voices in opposition to continued, uninterrupted flow of our tax dollars to Israel. Even a temporary suspension can have an impact.
At the very least, we should consider that nothing our country has done to date has ended the conflict. Time for something new. When I was a teenager, I became a born-again Christian and an avid reader of the "Late Great Planet Earth" the endtimes book that prec... more -
Imagine LIfe
Imagine life where your entire country is prevented from importing the food, fuel, medicine it needed. That all that you and your neighbors needed was in the town on the other side of the border, but that the border had a 7 mile long fence/wall/barrier built not by you, not by that country on the other side of the border, but by a third nation. That the third nation told your nation’s leaders and the leaders of the neighboring nation that the border must remain shut.
Now, watch the slide show.
Imagine life where your entire country is prevented from importing the food, fuel, medicine it needed. That all that you and your neig... more -
Palestinians to Return
Time to call the bluff? Time for Palestinians around the world to return to their homeland. the Palestinian National Authority is calling for Palestinians to assert their universal human rights - not wait for a diluted version generated at the negotiation table. May 14th, the day Israel wants the world to see its 60th anniversery of "independence" it's time the world (USA) sees it as the Nakba. When one googles the headline for news, only the Jerusalem Post reported it. Time to call the bluff? Time for Palestinians around the world to return to their homeland. the Palestinian National Authority is ca... more
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Baby dies waiting for passage to Isareli doctors; "security threat" claims Israel
A one year old baby, born in Gaza with a heart defect was being treated in Israel (even doctors in Gaza know better care is available there). But the Shin Bet (Israeli security) refused to allow the baby`s parents to return with her - "SECURITY". They missed that appointment and made another and arranged other family family (not the parents) to take her. She died three days prior to the appointment.
A one year old baby, born in Gaza with a heart defect was being treated in Israel (even doctors in Gaza know better care is available ... more -
Cheney to meet Abbas in bid to revive peace efforts
US Vice President Dick Cheney is set to meet in the West Bank Sunday with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and prime minister Salam Fayyad as part of an Easter weekend bid to revive peace efforts.
Cheney, who met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Saturday, promised an "unshakeable" defense of Israel's security whilst assuring Palestinians of US "goodwill", as he renewed efforts to secure a peace deal before US President George W. Bush's term ends in January 2009. US Vice President Dick Cheney is set to meet in the West Bank Sunday with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and prime minister Salam... more -
Israel pulls troops from Gaza
The Israeli army is withdrawing its troops from the Gaza Strip as military operations there are 'winding down'. This comes after almost a week of intense Israeli assaults on the territory which killed more than 100 people. Hamas has called this welcomed withdrawal a 'victory' for Palestine, and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has suspended all contact with Israel over the attacks.
This spate of violence prompted international outcry, and was condemned by EU officials and the UN. The Israeli army is withdrawing its troops from the Gaza Strip as military operations there are 'winding down'. This comes after almos... more -
Beit Al Hadad
These 7 minutes come from a feature length film documenting the rebuilding of a demolished house in The West Bank. The issue in Palestine isn't only territory, but rather who controls it. It questions whether the Palestinians will get a real and a viable state or one controlled almost entirely by Israel.
The film is not about taking sides - the activists we see are mostly Israelis who have gone to see for themselves what life is like for the Palestinians living sometimes only 15 minutes from their door. These 7 minutes come from a feature length film documenting the rebuilding of a demolished house in The West Bank. The issue in Palest... more -
Scientologists trying to missionize traumatized Sderot residents
Later, people who undergo free workshops are convinced that they must correct flaws in their personality by taking Scientology courses. Those who are hooked end up giving all their possessions to the Church of Scientology Later, people who undergo free workshops are convinced that they must correct flaws in their personality by taking Scientology courses... more
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Israel high court gives thumbs up to 'economic warfare' against Gaza
Israel's Supreme Court upheld the government's decision to cut off power and fuel supply to Gaza, ruling that it was an acceptable form of "economic warfare" against Hamas and not a collective punishment against Gaza's 1.5 million residents and a violation of their human rights.
"We emphasize that the Gaza Strip is controlled by a murderous terror group that operates incessantly to strike the state of Israel and its citizens, and violates every precept of international law with its violent actions," the judges wrote.
The ruling makes it officially ok for Israel to begin reducing its delivery of electricity to Gaza, and continue cutting back fuel shipments –– fuel used to run Gaza's power plant, generators and vehicles. Israel has promised to deliver enough supplies to cover "vital humanitarian needs" but Gazan officials argue that the pending cuts will still lead to blackouts in hospitals.
Tell me again how this isn't a collective punishment but rather a useful measure of economic warfare over a smaller ruling group? Israel's Supreme Court upheld the government's decision to cut off power and fuel supply to Gaza, ruling that it was an acceptable for... more -
Dozens killed in Pakistani army assault on Taliban chief's mountain
The Pakistani army have launched an air and ground assault on the mountain stronghold of Baitullah Mehsud, the Taliban chief linked to Benazir Bhutto's assassination. Dozens were killed as 'the battle for control of the lawless region near the Afghan border intensifies,' causing civilians to flee the area.
'Hundreds of soldiers supported by tanks, helicopter gunships and a multi-pronged artillery barrage encircled Mehsud's home territory in South Waziristan, sending refugees fleeing into North West Frontier province, some on foot.' The Pakistani army have launched an air and ground assault on the mountain stronghold of Baitullah Mehsud, the Taliban chief linked to... more -
Lighting Up Gaza
Power and basic supplies have been in short supply in the Gaza strip since Israel imposed a blockade on the territory. Breaching the borders between Gaza and Egypt, Palestinians have been crossing over in large numbers in order to stock up on food and fuel. Power and basic supplies have been in short supply in the Gaza strip since Israel imposed a blockade on the territory. Breaching the b... more
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Israeli airstrike kills two Hamas militants
The fighting early on Saturday came a day after Israel closed the borders to Gaza and bombed an empty Hamas building in increasing efforts to stop rocket fire from Hamas onto Israeli border towns.
Hamas vowed to continue fighting. The fighting early on Saturday came a day after Israel closed the borders to Gaza and bombed an empty Hamas building in increasing eff... more -
Israeli Prime Minister: "we are at war with Hamas"
Update: Israeli forces have flattened the Hamas Interior Ministry in the Gaza Strip. The attack came as Israel claims it is trying to ward off Palestinian rocket attacks. At least 34 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza this week, and militants on the Palestinian side have fired more than 110 rockets into the Jewish state in the last three days alone.
The Israeli prime minister yesterday described worsening clashes with Hamas militants as "a war". The comments by Ehud Olmert reflected a sense of national anger at repeated rocket attacks launched from the Gaza Strip.
Following these statements, Israel has closed off the Gaza crossings in response to the cross-border rocket fire, preventing anyone, including UN humanitarian supplies, from getting in.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article...
This escalating tension is not looking good.
Update: Israeli forces have flattened the Hamas Interior Ministry in the Gaza Strip. The attack came as Israel claims it is trying t... more
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Middle East Conflict
