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Taking (or giving?) One for the Greater Good

Remember when you were a kid and they had the sponsored runs at school. You went around and got the neighbors and your family to... more

eldamon
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Steve mcnair Sahel Kazemi vacation photos

Check out the pictures Steve McNair & Sahel Kazemi during a vacation. They were spotted enjoying ..

celebglitz
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the United States is .......

Since 1945, by deed and by example, the US has overthrown 50 governments, including democracies, crushed some 30 liberation... more

Highr0ller
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Web site for unwanted goods seeks to raise funds for schools, environment & charities for free

A bake and yard sale veteran, Falmouth, Maine, resident Carolyn Gillis decided to take school fundraising to a higher level. She... more

CarolynGillis
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An American Fairy Tale

http://www.peacefreedomprosperity.com/?p=1818 Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water, Jack fell down and... more

polochick85
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United Kingdom Talk Video Thursday 9th July 2009

Thursday's edition of my three times a week talk show.Watch the show here on CURRENT TV on Tues, Thurs & Sats. In... more

ChrisReardon
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A Jews View: Visit to Gaza was an assault on sense of justice

By Joyce Ravitz
When I was growing up, my parents instilled in me the knowledge that Jews were hardworking people who would not stand for injustice. My Jewish education taught me that Jews were obliged to fight against discrimination and other wrongs whenever they occurred. And we met discrimination ourselves. My parents left the Lower East Side and I grew up in a small Pennsylvania town. My uncle, brother and I were the only non-Christians in the school system. A friend asked to see my horns. It was difficult. No wonder I returned to the Lower East Side.

When I was 13, my grandmother took me on a pilgrimage with Hadassah (the Zionist women’s organization) to Israel in 1956. I remember the wonderful feelings I had traveling around this new exciting pioneer state. This land opened its doors to people who had survived the Holocaust, to people who had been banished from their homes because they were Jews. The United States and other countries did not let these refugees enter their borders but, in essence, gave them a small piece of land on which they could resettle. It was a time of hope and passionate belief in how special Israel was and would become. I grew up believing that a people who had no land were given a land that had no people.

I am heartbroken and appalled by what Israel, the land I loved, is doing in Gaza today. On my trip in late May of this year, I witnessed physical and psychological damage from the Israeli occupation of Gaza. Israel had been blockading Gaza — by air, sea and land — for years before this recent December and January assault. The years-long blockade itself threatened the lives of adults and children. Most Gazans were unable to get medication or go to hospitals. Think of what your life would be like without ordinary items, such as fabric, thread, needles, candles, matches, mattresses, sheets, blankets, cutlery, crockery, cups, glasses, musical instruments, books, tea, coffee, chocolate, sesame seeds, nuts, crayons, clothing and shoes. These have not been allowed legally into the Gaza Strip for years. People in Gaza essentially live in a prison colony that they cannot leave.

Yes, Hamas sent rockets into nearby cities. And yes, these rockets violated international law since they were aimed at civilians. Israel returned with sophisticated weapons and an all-out assault on areas densely populated with Palestinian civilians who cannot leave, killing more than 1,400 people, including many children. Thirteen Israeli soldiers were killed during the December-January bombing. The number of deaths is disproportionate for Israel’s claim to be acting in self-defense.

I can’t ignore the context of this violence. Palestinians have been struggling by legitimate means to end the occupation of Gaza. The proper Israeli response to such actions should be a true withdrawal from the occupied territories. Israel still controls key aspects of day-to-day Gazan life, even though it withdrew the military bases and settlements. I ate at a beachside cafe watching Israeli gunboats patrol the Gaza coast. Do prisoners control a jail because they are the only workers in the laundry, library and kitchen?

During the December assault, the residents of Gaza were told to go to safe areas. I met families who thought they were in “safe” areas during the last assault. One grandfather of a family I met was killed instantly when a white-phosphorous bomb came through the roof of his home. The mother in the same family, sitting near him, was seriously injured. When friends tried to drive her by tractor to a hospital, she was killed by Israeli solders. Her 3-year-old daughter, now motherless, has scars over both legs and a 3-inch white-phosphorous burn around her middle. This same quiet child clings to a teenage relative, afraid to leave him even for a minute. They learned that there are no safe areas in Gaza.

Israeli pressure is shrinking the actual area available to the people of the Gaza Strip further.---more belowBy Joyce Ravitz When I was growing up, my parents instilled in me the knowledge that Jews were hardworking people who would not... more