London – 14 May 2010 – At 22:45 Irish time last night, the MV Rachel Corrie, a 1200-ton cargo ship, part of the eight-vessel Freedom Flotilla, set sail from Ireland on its way to the Mediterranean Sea. There, ships from Turkey and Greece will join her, then sail to Gaza.
This past week reports from Israel have indicated that the Israeli authorities will not allow the Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza with its cargo of much-needed reconstruction material, medical equipment, and school supplies. According to Israeli news sources, clear orders have been issued
to prevent the ships from reaching Gaza, even if this necessitates military violence.
The Free Gaza Movement, which has launched eight other sea missions to Gaza, confirms that Israel has tried these kinds of threats and intimidation tactics before in order to try to stop the missions before
they start. “They have not deterred us before and will not deter us now,” said one of the organizers.
Ship to Gaza -- Sweden, a Freedom Flotilla coalition partner, together with parliamentarian Mehmet Kaplan (Green Party) yesterday asked for an audience with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, Carl Bildt, to discuss what measures the Swedish government and the European Union will take to protect the Freedom Flotilla’s peaceful, humanitarian voyage.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Israel seeks to silence dissent - Repressive practices long used in the West Bank and Gaza are now being used to limit civil liberties within Israel
UK Guardian - Ben White
Last Thursday, in the early hours of the morning, a Palestinian community leader's home was raided by Israeli security forces. In front of his family, the wanted man was hauled off to detention without access to a lawyer, while his home and offices were ransacked and property confiscated.
While this sounds like an all-too typical occurrence in West Bank villages such as Bil'in and Beit Omar, in fact, the target in question this time was Ameer Makhoul, a Palestinian citizen of Israel and head of internationally renowned NGO network Ittijah.
After being snatched last week, Makhoul's detention was subject to a court-enforced gagging order, preventing the Israeli media from even reporting that it had happened. This ban was finally lifted yesterday, as Israeli newspapers were being forced to report on angry protests by Palestinians in Israel without explaining the specific provocation.
It turned out that another Palestinian citizen of Israel, Balad party activist Omar Said, had also been arrested, and interrogated by the Shin Bet since the end of April. Now, both Makhoul and Said are to be charged with espionage and "contact with a foreign agent" – namely, Hezbollah. On Monday night, hundreds of demonstrators rallied in Haifa to protest against what they call "an escalating campaign to crack down on Israel's Palestinian citizens".
The gagging order recalls the Anat Kam case, where for several months it was forbidden to report that the former soldier was under house arrest and being investigated by the Shin Bet for "leaking classified military information". The facts about Kam were first circulated by bloggers and campaigners, something repeated in Makhoul's case (including this Facebook group).
The night raids, interrogations, and charges are not isolated incidents – indeed, Makhoul had been prevented from leaving the country in April, according to an order (PDF) by the interior minister. Days later, a West Bank Palestinian non-violent resistance organiser, Iyad Burnat, was also banned from travelling at the Jordan crossing, en route to, among other things, a conference on the Geneva conventions.
Several examples now point to an uncomfortable reality for the self-proclaimed "only democracy in the Middle East": practices that have long been routine in the military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza are being used in Israel to suppress dissent and limit civil liberties. The green line is increasingly blurry.
Last Thursday, in the early hours of the morning, a Palestinian community leader's home was raided by Israeli security forces. In front of his family, the wanted man was hauled off to detention without access to a lawyer, while his home and offices were ransacked and property confiscated.
While this sounds like an all-too typical occurrence in West Bank villages such as Bil'in and Beit Omar, in fact, the target in question this time was Ameer Makhoul, a Palestinian citizen of Israel and head of internationally renowned NGO network Ittijah.
After being snatched last week, Makhoul's detention was subject to a court-enforced gagging order, preventing the Israeli media from even reporting that it had happened. This ban was finally lifted yesterday, as Israeli newspapers were being forced to report on angry protests by Palestinians in Israel without explaining the specific provocation.
It turned out that another Palestinian citizen of Israel, Balad party activist Omar Said, had also been arrested, and interrogated by the Shin Bet since the end of April. Now, both Makhoul and Said are to be charged with espionage and "contact with a foreign agent" – namely, Hezbollah. On Monday night, hundreds of demonstrators rallied in Haifa to protest against what they call "an escalating campaign to crack down on Israel's Palestinian citizens".
The gagging order recalls the Anat Kam case, where for several months it was forbidden to report that the former soldier was under house arrest and being investigated by the Shin Bet for "leaking classified military information". The facts about Kam were first circulated by bloggers and campaigners, something repeated in Makhoul's case (including this Facebook group).
The night raids, interrogations, and charges are not isolated incidents – indeed, Makhoul had been prevented from leaving the country in April, according to an order (PDF) by the interior minister. Days later, a West Bank Palestinian non-violent resistance organiser, Iyad Burnat, was also banned from travelling at the Jordan crossing, en route to, among other things, a conference on the Geneva conventions.
Several examples now point to an uncomfortable reality for the self-proclaimed "only democracy in the Middle East": practices that have long been routine in the military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza are being used in Israel to suppress dissent and limit civil liberties. The green line is increasingly blurry.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Palestinian Teenager Killed in Israeli Settler Shooting East of Ramallah
IMEMC - .....a Palestinian youth has been killed... by a settler living in the occupied West Bank... [A settler is an Israeli living illegally on confiscated Palestinian land.]
Al-Jazeera reported that the teenager, Aysar al-Zaben, had left his home with friends, and that when the group returned without al-Zaben, they did not mention the stone throwing.
The Popular Struggle Co-ordination Committee has stated that al-Zaben was not involved in the throwing of stones at the settler, but had instead been tending to his family’s lands.
Palestinian ambulance drivers found the young man lying face down, Thursday evening, already dead. They stated that he had been shot in the back.
Also on Thursday, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Palestinian territories published their weekly report on the protection of civilians for the week, May 5-11.... at least nine incidents of violence involving Israeli settlers and Palestinian civilians, injuring five Palestinians, including three children. Full story
Al-Jazeera reported that the teenager, Aysar al-Zaben, had left his home with friends, and that when the group returned without al-Zaben, they did not mention the stone throwing.
The Popular Struggle Co-ordination Committee has stated that al-Zaben was not involved in the throwing of stones at the settler, but had instead been tending to his family’s lands.
Palestinian ambulance drivers found the young man lying face down, Thursday evening, already dead. They stated that he had been shot in the back.
Also on Thursday, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Palestinian territories published their weekly report on the protection of civilians for the week, May 5-11.... at least nine incidents of violence involving Israeli settlers and Palestinian civilians, injuring five Palestinians, including three children. Full story
Israel: Investigate Unlawful Destruction in Gaza War - Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch - Israel should investigate the unlawful destruction of civilian property during the 2009 Gaza hostilities and lift the blockade that hinders residents from rebuilding their homes, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.
The 116-page report, "‘I Lost Everything': Israel's Unlawful Destruction of Property in the Gaza Conflict" documents 12 separate cases during Operation Cast Lead in which Israeli forces extensively destroyed civilian property, including homes, factories, farms, and greenhouses, in areas under their control, without any lawful military purpose. Human Rights Watch's investigations, which relied upon physical evidence, satellite imagery, and multiple witness accounts at each site, found no indication of nearby fighting when the destruction occurred.
Israel has claimed that its forces destroyed civilian property only when Palestinian armed groups were fighting from it, or were using it to store weapons, hide tunnels, or advance other military purposes. Israel also claims that many Gazan homes were destroyed by Hamas booby-traps. The evidence in the incidents that Human Rights Watch investigated does not support such claims.
"Almost 16 months after the war, Israel has not held accountable troops who unlawfully destroyed swaths of civilian property in areas under their control," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Israel's blockade continues to keep Gazans from rebuilding their homes, meaning that Israel is still punishing Gaza's civilians long after the fighting is over."......
....Human Rights Watch documented the complete destruction of 189 buildings, including 11 factories, 8 warehouses and 170 residential buildings - roughly 5 percent of the total property destroyed in Gaza - leaving at least 971 people homeless.
In the cases investigated in the neighborhoods of Izbt Abd Rabbo, Zeitoun, and Khoza'a, Israeli forces had destroyed virtually every home, factory, and orchard within certain areas, indicating an apparent plan of systematic destruction in these locations. The destroyed industrial establishments include juice and biscuit plants, a flour mill, and seven concrete factories. Human Rights Watch did not determine whether these incidents represent a broader pattern, but Israel should thoroughly investigate these cases - including the lawfulness of any relevant policy decisions - and appropriately punish persons found to have acted unlawfully.
"The evidence shows that, in these cases, Israeli forces gratuitously destroyed people's homes and livelihoods," said Whitson. "If the Israeli government doesn't investigate and punish those responsible, it would be effectively endorsing the suffering that these civilians have endured."
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) lawyers told Human Rights Watch that the IDF is probing many of the cases of property destruction documented in this report. However, these are not criminal investigations by military police, but so-called operational debriefings that do not involve contacting Palestinian witnesses......... Full story
The 116-page report, "‘I Lost Everything': Israel's Unlawful Destruction of Property in the Gaza Conflict" documents 12 separate cases during Operation Cast Lead in which Israeli forces extensively destroyed civilian property, including homes, factories, farms, and greenhouses, in areas under their control, without any lawful military purpose. Human Rights Watch's investigations, which relied upon physical evidence, satellite imagery, and multiple witness accounts at each site, found no indication of nearby fighting when the destruction occurred.
Israel has claimed that its forces destroyed civilian property only when Palestinian armed groups were fighting from it, or were using it to store weapons, hide tunnels, or advance other military purposes. Israel also claims that many Gazan homes were destroyed by Hamas booby-traps. The evidence in the incidents that Human Rights Watch investigated does not support such claims.
"Almost 16 months after the war, Israel has not held accountable troops who unlawfully destroyed swaths of civilian property in areas under their control," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Israel's blockade continues to keep Gazans from rebuilding their homes, meaning that Israel is still punishing Gaza's civilians long after the fighting is over."......
....Human Rights Watch documented the complete destruction of 189 buildings, including 11 factories, 8 warehouses and 170 residential buildings - roughly 5 percent of the total property destroyed in Gaza - leaving at least 971 people homeless.
In the cases investigated in the neighborhoods of Izbt Abd Rabbo, Zeitoun, and Khoza'a, Israeli forces had destroyed virtually every home, factory, and orchard within certain areas, indicating an apparent plan of systematic destruction in these locations. The destroyed industrial establishments include juice and biscuit plants, a flour mill, and seven concrete factories. Human Rights Watch did not determine whether these incidents represent a broader pattern, but Israel should thoroughly investigate these cases - including the lawfulness of any relevant policy decisions - and appropriately punish persons found to have acted unlawfully.
"The evidence shows that, in these cases, Israeli forces gratuitously destroyed people's homes and livelihoods," said Whitson. "If the Israeli government doesn't investigate and punish those responsible, it would be effectively endorsing the suffering that these civilians have endured."
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) lawyers told Human Rights Watch that the IDF is probing many of the cases of property destruction documented in this report. However, these are not criminal investigations by military police, but so-called operational debriefings that do not involve contacting Palestinian witnesses......... Full story
PCHR Weekly Report: Palestinian Infant killed, 3 civilians wounded by Israeli forces this week
IMEMC - ... the Palestinian Center for Human Rights found that during the week of 06-12 May 2010, an infant died from tear gas inhalation fired by Israeli forces in Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron.
... 3 Palestinian civilians, including a child, were wounded by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank.
Israeli forces continued to use force against peaceful protests in the West Bank, including using a new type of tear gas against demonstrators.
Israeli forces continued to fire at Palestinian farmers and workers in border areas of the Gaza Strip.... Full story
... 3 Palestinian civilians, including a child, were wounded by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank.
Israeli forces continued to use force against peaceful protests in the West Bank, including using a new type of tear gas against demonstrators.
Israeli forces continued to fire at Palestinian farmers and workers in border areas of the Gaza Strip.... Full story
New Refugee Camp To Absorb Palestinians Forced Out Of The West Bank
IMEMC - The Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip... has decided to establish a new temporary refugee camp at the Erez Terminal, between the Gaza Strip and Israel, to absorb the Palestinians who were forced out of the West Bank recently.
The Palestinians were forcibly removed from occupied West Bank under the new Israeli order, number 1650, in which Israel allowed itself to deport Palestinians livening in the West Bank without a West Bank identity card or residency permit.
Israel controls the issuing of ID cards and permits, and therefore has the ultimate power to deny such applications, including family reunification applications.
The new law is another attempt to deport thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank and transfer them to Gaza, while thousands of Palestinians who came from Jordan and Arab countries will be deported to Jordan.
The Palestinian government in Gaza intends to seek the help of charity institutions and other resources to financially support the new camp and stated that the measure is temporary until the residents are allowed back home.
On Wednesday April 21, Israel deported Ahmad Sabah, 38, to the Gaza Strip after he spent more than nine years in Israeli prisons for his political activities. After serving his nine-year term, he was move to administrative detention for six months before he was deported to Gaza.
On Tuesday April 27, Israel deported Fadi al-Azazma, 19, from Hebron to the Gaza Strip. The army also deported Hani Eshtewy who lived in Be’er Sheva.
The Israeli order is yet another violation against freedom of movement of the Palestinians in the occupied territories, and violates international law, including the Fourth Geneva Conventions.
There are more than 1 million refugees in the Gaza Strip, with more than half of them living in eight overcrowded refugee camps; al-Shaty’, al-Boreij, Dir al-Balah, Jabalia, Khan Younis al-Maghazi, al-Nusseirat and Rafah refugee camps.
Israel controls the issuing of ID cards and permits, and therefore has the ultimate power to deny such applications, including family reunification applications.
The new law is another attempt to deport thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank and transfer them to Gaza, while thousands of Palestinians who came from Jordan and Arab countries will be deported to Jordan.
The Palestinian government in Gaza intends to seek the help of charity institutions and other resources to financially support the new camp and stated that the measure is temporary until the residents are allowed back home.
On Wednesday April 21, Israel deported Ahmad Sabah, 38, to the Gaza Strip after he spent more than nine years in Israeli prisons for his political activities. After serving his nine-year term, he was move to administrative detention for six months before he was deported to Gaza.
On Tuesday April 27, Israel deported Fadi al-Azazma, 19, from Hebron to the Gaza Strip. The army also deported Hani Eshtewy who lived in Be’er Sheva.
The Israeli order is yet another violation against freedom of movement of the Palestinians in the occupied territories, and violates international law, including the Fourth Geneva Conventions.
There are more than 1 million refugees in the Gaza Strip, with more than half of them living in eight overcrowded refugee camps; al-Shaty’, al-Boreij, Dir al-Balah, Jabalia, Khan Younis al-Maghazi, al-Nusseirat and Rafah refugee camps.
Israeli Troops detain 12 Palestinians During Invasions Targeting West Bank Communities [Detained 30 civlians since Monday]
IMEMC -
...invasions in Jericho and Jordan valley villages where troops searched and ransacked homes before taking the 12 men away.
The Israeli military announced that all detained were handed over to the Israeli Secret service Shin-Bit for questioning.
Since Monday, the Israeli military had detained at least 30 Palestinian civilians during morning invasions targeting the West Bank. Full story
...invasions in Jericho and Jordan valley villages where troops searched and ransacked homes before taking the 12 men away.
The Israeli military announced that all detained were handed over to the Israeli Secret service Shin-Bit for questioning.
Since Monday, the Israeli military had detained at least 30 Palestinian civilians during morning invasions targeting the West Bank. Full story
Israeli Settlers Torch Palestinian Olive Orchard In Silwan [burn down 300-year-old trees]
IMEMC
....three olive trees, over 300 years old, were burnt down while dozens of trees were partially burnt.
The attack took place while thousands of Jewish settlers held a provocative procession in Silwan under extensive Israeli police presence. Yet, the police did not prevent the settlers from torching the orchard.
On Tuesday at dawn, May 4, a group of fundamentalist settlers torched the main mosque of the al-Lubban al-Sharqiyya village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus....
This is the third mosque to be torched by the settlers this year...
In April, settlers torched three Palestinian vehicles in Huwwara town, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus and sprayed “price tag” graffiti on a local mosque.
Two days after the attack in Huwwara, the settlers torched two Palestinian cars in Jinsafut village, near the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia. The settlers also sprayed the star of David on a building in the same village.
In December of last year, a group of settlers torched a mosque in Yasuf village, near the central West Bank city of Salfit, and also sprayed “price tag” on its walls. Full story
....three olive trees, over 300 years old, were burnt down while dozens of trees were partially burnt.
The attack took place while thousands of Jewish settlers held a provocative procession in Silwan under extensive Israeli police presence. Yet, the police did not prevent the settlers from torching the orchard.
On Tuesday at dawn, May 4, a group of fundamentalist settlers torched the main mosque of the al-Lubban al-Sharqiyya village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus....
This is the third mosque to be torched by the settlers this year...
In April, settlers torched three Palestinian vehicles in Huwwara town, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus and sprayed “price tag” graffiti on a local mosque.
Two days after the attack in Huwwara, the settlers torched two Palestinian cars in Jinsafut village, near the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia. The settlers also sprayed the star of David on a building in the same village.
In December of last year, a group of settlers torched a mosque in Yasuf village, near the central West Bank city of Salfit, and also sprayed “price tag” on its walls. Full story
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Report: Israel training to block Freedom Fleet
Ma'an
Israel's naval forces are allegedly in training to prepare to seize eight boats scheduled to dock in the Gaza Strip on 24 May from Europe, Arabic-language media reported on Wednesday.
"About half of the Israeli naval forces will participate in an operation that was approved by the cabinet. [Israeli] Defense Minister Ehud Barak will supervise the operation," an Israeli official told the Arabic-language satellite TV station Al-Hurra.
An Israeli security source told Ma'an that authorities will prevent the arrival of the boats "at any price."
The Freedom Fleet is scheduled to set sail from the UK, Greece and Turkey. The European Free Gaza campaign said Israeli authorities informed them that the flotillas would be prevented from docking in Gaza.
The boats will be loaded with prefabricated homes, cement, and medicine and will be accompanied by 600 individuals in a bid to break the siege on Gaza.
Full Article
Israel's naval forces are allegedly in training to prepare to seize eight boats scheduled to dock in the Gaza Strip on 24 May from Europe, Arabic-language media reported on Wednesday.
"About half of the Israeli naval forces will participate in an operation that was approved by the cabinet. [Israeli] Defense Minister Ehud Barak will supervise the operation," an Israeli official told the Arabic-language satellite TV station Al-Hurra.
An Israeli security source told Ma'an that authorities will prevent the arrival of the boats "at any price."
The Freedom Fleet is scheduled to set sail from the UK, Greece and Turkey. The European Free Gaza campaign said Israeli authorities informed them that the flotillas would be prevented from docking in Gaza.
The boats will be loaded with prefabricated homes, cement, and medicine and will be accompanied by 600 individuals in a bid to break the siege on Gaza.
Full Article
Witnesses report limited Israeli incursion into Gaza
Ma'an
Witnesses reported Israeli artillery shelling east of Ash-Shuja'iyeh, northern Gaza, on Wednesday and an Israeli incursion into the area.
Witnesses said they heard a number of explosions, with army vehicles and bulldozers reportedly entering the area, which is close to the now defunct Nahal Oz fuel pipeline along the Israel-Gaza border.
The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, said its operatives fired a rocket-propelled grenade toward the Israeli military convoy entering Gaza...
Full Article
Witnesses reported Israeli artillery shelling east of Ash-Shuja'iyeh, northern Gaza, on Wednesday and an Israeli incursion into the area.
Witnesses said they heard a number of explosions, with army vehicles and bulldozers reportedly entering the area, which is close to the now defunct Nahal Oz fuel pipeline along the Israel-Gaza border.
The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, said its operatives fired a rocket-propelled grenade toward the Israeli military convoy entering Gaza...
Full Article
Israeli court extends detentions of [Palestinian-Israelis] Makhoul, Said
Ma'an
Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - The Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court extended the remand of prominent Palestinian leaders in Israel Amir Makhoul and Omar Said by five days, Israeli media reported.
Makhoul, who heads the umbrella organization for Palestinian associations in Israel Ittijah, was detained from his home at night on suspicion of espionage and contact with a foreign agent, Israeli media revealed after a military gag order was lifted late Sunday evening.
He has yet to receive access to his lawyer.
A remand hearing for Said, member of the Palestinian political party Balad in Israel, also took place on Wednesday, the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported, who has also remanded into custody until next week. Said was detained on 24 April.
Palestinian, international and Israeli Members of Knesset, political figures, human rights activists and other supporters gathered in protest before First Instance Court at Petah Tikva.
Full Article
Israel plans Jerusalem expansion over Green Line
Ma'an
Plans for Israel's expansion of Jerusalem's borders were revealed on Wednesday, which include a 12,000 housing unit complex on land belonging to the West Bank village of Al-Walaja, south of Jerusalem, The Islamic Christian Commission for Support of Jerusalem and the holy Places (ICC).
ICC Secretary-General Hasan Khatir said during a news conference that the new settlement would be called Giv'at Ya'el, and house approximately 45,000 Israelis, with plans laid for a large park.
Khatir added that the project would "foster the enclosure of Jerusalem from the south," lay the foundation for the appropriation of land between Jerusalem and Gush Etzion, and consolidate the illegal southern settlements of Har Homa (Abu Ghneim), Gilo and the smaller Har Gilo settlement in Beit Jala, Bethlehem governorate.
"While Israeli authorities refuse to allow the Palestinian residents of Al-Walaja to extend their building area and suppress anti-settlement demonstrations, they try to blackmail the residents through threatening to demolish their homes claiming they are built without permits," Khatir said.
He said Israeli authorities threatened to demolish 95 houses in Al-Walaja, telling residents that the demolition would be stayed if they complied with Israeli construction in the area.
Full Article
Plans for Israel's expansion of Jerusalem's borders were revealed on Wednesday, which include a 12,000 housing unit complex on land belonging to the West Bank village of Al-Walaja, south of Jerusalem, The Islamic Christian Commission for Support of Jerusalem and the holy Places (ICC).
ICC Secretary-General Hasan Khatir said during a news conference that the new settlement would be called Giv'at Ya'el, and house approximately 45,000 Israelis, with plans laid for a large park.
Khatir added that the project would "foster the enclosure of Jerusalem from the south," lay the foundation for the appropriation of land between Jerusalem and Gush Etzion, and consolidate the illegal southern settlements of Har Homa (Abu Ghneim), Gilo and the smaller Har Gilo settlement in Beit Jala, Bethlehem governorate.
"While Israeli authorities refuse to allow the Palestinian residents of Al-Walaja to extend their building area and suppress anti-settlement demonstrations, they try to blackmail the residents through threatening to demolish their homes claiming they are built without permits," Khatir said.
He said Israeli authorities threatened to demolish 95 houses in Al-Walaja, telling residents that the demolition would be stayed if they complied with Israeli construction in the area.
Full Article
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Left Claims Ban is "Patriotic": Israel Bars Arab Parties From Elections
CounterPunch - Jonathan Cook
The only three Arab parties represented in the Israeli parliament vowed yesterday to fight a decision by the Central Elections Committee to bar them from running in next month’s general election.
In an unprecedented move signalling a further breakdown in Jewish-Arab relations inside Israel, all the main Jewish parties voted on Monday for the blanket disqualification. Several committee members equated the Arab parties’ vocal support for the Gazan people with support for terrorism.
The decision follows the arrest of at least 600 Arab demonstrators since the outbreak of the Gaza offensive and the interrogation by the secret police of dozens of Arab community leaders. The three parties -- the National Democratic Assembly, the United Arab List and the Renewal Movement -- have seven legislators out of a total of 120 in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
The elections committee barred all three from putting up candidates for the Feb 10 election
The only three Arab parties represented in the Israeli parliament vowed yesterday to fight a decision by the Central Elections Committee to bar them from running in next month’s general election.
In an unprecedented move signalling a further breakdown in Jewish-Arab relations inside Israel, all the main Jewish parties voted on Monday for the blanket disqualification. Several committee members equated the Arab parties’ vocal support for the Gazan people with support for terrorism.
The decision follows the arrest of at least 600 Arab demonstrators since the outbreak of the Gaza offensive and the interrogation by the secret police of dozens of Arab community leaders. The three parties -- the National Democratic Assembly, the United Arab List and the Renewal Movement -- have seven legislators out of a total of 120 in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
The elections committee barred all three from putting up candidates for the Feb 10 election
Monday, May 10, 2010
Israeli Settlers Torch Palestinian Farmlands In Qalqilia
IMEMC - A group of Jewish settlers torched on Monday evening farmlands the belong to residents of Jet village near the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia. Full Story
Harman vs. Winograd: The Last Democratic Primary Worth Watching
CounterPunch - Jeffrey Blankfort
What may be the last Democratic primary race worth paying attention to is taking place in the 36th Congressional District along the Southern California coastline where incumbent Jane Harman is facing a serious challenge from Los Angeles school teacher, Marcy Winograd, with the candidates’ widely separated positions on the Israel-Palestine conflict dominating a critical section of the political landscape.
Harman is the second richest member of the House of Representatives with estimated assets between $112 and $377 million dollars. Whether it was her money or her Israeli connections that kept the Southern California Democrat from being indicted as a foreign agent five years ago or a combination of both is something the public is never likely to know.
What is clear is that the Bush administration’s Attorney General Alberto Gonzales neither investigated nor indicted the eight-term congresswoman after she was recorded on a National Security Agency wiretap in 2005 speaking to someone identified as an Israeli agent in which she reportedly agreed to intervene with the Justice Dept. on behalf of two top AIPAC officials, Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, who were then under indictment for passing classified information to Israel in an FBI-initiated “sting.”
Whether or not that phone call will come back to haunt her and be a factor in Harman’s heated race against Winograd, a strong critic of Israel and outspoken advocate for the Palestinians, won’t be known until June 8th, the date of the California primaries, but Harman is clearly running scared.
According to an expose of the wiretapping incident in Congressional Quarterly, in April, 2009, she signed off the conversation with the Israeli agent saying, "This conversation doesn't exist." The government investigators who had been wiretapping the Israeli were so concerned about Harman’s comments, wrote CQ, that they sought a FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) warrant —reserved for sensitive intelligence cases — to tune in on her conversations, as well. In a touch of irony, Gonzales, however, supposedly halted the investigation because it was believed that he would need Harman’s continuing support, as a Democrat, for the Bush administration’s warrantless wire-tapping program that was about to be exposed by the New York Times.
In exchange for Harman’s interceding on behalf of Rosen and Weissman, said CQ, the Israeli agent pledged to use his influence with Haim Saban, the Israeli-American billionaire and donor of millions to the Democratic Party (and to AIPAC) to persuade House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to appoint Harman chair of the House Select Intelligence Committee....
What may be the last Democratic primary race worth paying attention to is taking place in the 36th Congressional District along the Southern California coastline where incumbent Jane Harman is facing a serious challenge from Los Angeles school teacher, Marcy Winograd, with the candidates’ widely separated positions on the Israel-Palestine conflict dominating a critical section of the political landscape.
Harman is the second richest member of the House of Representatives with estimated assets between $112 and $377 million dollars. Whether it was her money or her Israeli connections that kept the Southern California Democrat from being indicted as a foreign agent five years ago or a combination of both is something the public is never likely to know.
What is clear is that the Bush administration’s Attorney General Alberto Gonzales neither investigated nor indicted the eight-term congresswoman after she was recorded on a National Security Agency wiretap in 2005 speaking to someone identified as an Israeli agent in which she reportedly agreed to intervene with the Justice Dept. on behalf of two top AIPAC officials, Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, who were then under indictment for passing classified information to Israel in an FBI-initiated “sting.”
Whether or not that phone call will come back to haunt her and be a factor in Harman’s heated race against Winograd, a strong critic of Israel and outspoken advocate for the Palestinians, won’t be known until June 8th, the date of the California primaries, but Harman is clearly running scared.
According to an expose of the wiretapping incident in Congressional Quarterly, in April, 2009, she signed off the conversation with the Israeli agent saying, "This conversation doesn't exist." The government investigators who had been wiretapping the Israeli were so concerned about Harman’s comments, wrote CQ, that they sought a FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) warrant —reserved for sensitive intelligence cases — to tune in on her conversations, as well. In a touch of irony, Gonzales, however, supposedly halted the investigation because it was believed that he would need Harman’s continuing support, as a Democrat, for the Bush administration’s warrantless wire-tapping program that was about to be exposed by the New York Times.
In exchange for Harman’s interceding on behalf of Rosen and Weissman, said CQ, the Israeli agent pledged to use his influence with Haim Saban, the Israeli-American billionaire and donor of millions to the Democratic Party (and to AIPAC) to persuade House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to appoint Harman chair of the House Select Intelligence Committee....
Israeli Soldiers Continue Targeting Palestinian Photographers in West Bank
WAFA - Palestinian press photographers have always been targeted by the Israeli forces and at least three have been arrested and two others have been physically attacked by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank since the start of April. “These incidents must stop,” Reporters without Borders said. “The Israeli army must investigate them and punish the soldiers responsible.
In the latest incident, an Israeli soldier fired a tear-gas grenade at photographer Muammar Jamil Awad, while he was covering the weekly protest in Beit Jala (a village 10 km south of Jerusalem) against the Israeli separation wall. He was taken directly to Jerusalem’s Sheari Tzedek hospital for treatment to a head injury.
An Israeli soldier arrested Najeh Al-Hashlamoun, a photographer with the ABA news agency, while he was covering clashes between Palestinians and ISRAELI ARMY troops in Beit Omar, a village to the north of Hebron, on 24 April. Al-Hashlamoun was released 45 minutes later but his camera was confiscated. The clashes were prompted by the seizure of land belonging to Palestinians.
In the latest incident, an Israeli soldier fired a tear-gas grenade at photographer Muammar Jamil Awad, while he was covering the weekly protest in Beit Jala (a village 10 km south of Jerusalem) against the Israeli separation wall. He was taken directly to Jerusalem’s Sheari Tzedek hospital for treatment to a head injury.
An Israeli soldier arrested Najeh Al-Hashlamoun, a photographer with the ABA news agency, while he was covering clashes between Palestinians and ISRAELI ARMY troops in Beit Omar, a village to the north of Hebron, on 24 April. Al-Hashlamoun was released 45 minutes later but his camera was confiscated. The clashes were prompted by the seizure of land belonging to Palestinians.
Muhib Al-Barghouti, a photographer with the newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, was detained by the Israeli army while covering the weekly demonstration against the separation wall in Bili’n (outside Ramallah) on 23 April. He was released at 8 a.m. the next day. During the demonstration, Agence France-Presse photographer Abbas Al-Moumni was injured as a result of a shot fired by an Israeli soldier.
Haytham Al-Khatib, a photographer for the Al-Lajna Al-Sha’biya (Popular League) website and the Friends of Freedom and Justice NGO, was arrested by the Israeli army while covering the weekly demonstration in Bili’n on 9 April. He told Reporters Without Borders: “They took me to a military camp and hit me while my hands were handcuffed behind my back. I was released at about midnight.”
The Israeli army also prevented several Palestinian photographers and cameramen from covering clashes between Palestinian youths and Israeli soldiers in Beit Awa (a village near Hebron) on 26 April following an Israeli army raid on the home of a member of the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.
The Israeli army is still on the Reporters Without Borders list of Predators of Press Freedom, an updated version of which was released on 3 May. At least 33 Palestinian journalists were physically attacked and injured by Israeli soldiers during 2009 and more than 30 have been since the start of 2010. Full story
Rights group: 75% of Palestinian children in East Jerusalem live in poverty [due to Israeli systemic discrimination]
Ha'aretz -
...In all, nearly two-thirds of Palestinian families live in poverty, compared to nearly one third of Jewish families, according to the report, titled Human Rights in East Jerusalem 2010, which was compiled by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI).
The report comes ahead of Israel's celebrations to mark 43 years since it captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War...
The ACRI cites a "severe state of discrimination and neglect" in East Jerusalem, which is inhabited by more than 300,000 Palestinians, or 36 percent of the city's total population.
Municipal services are worse in East Jerusalem than in the West, according to the report.
More than half of the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem have no suitable or legal connection to the water network. The group also reported a shortage of 1,000 classrooms and noted that while West Jerusalem had 42 post offices, East Jerusalem had eight.
Israeli authorities demolished 80 Palestinian homes in 2009, leaving 300 people homeless, the report said. The houses were built without legal permits, but Palestinian residents complain these are hard to get by.
"This past year, East Jerusalem has been on everyone's agenda, making headlines here and abroad," ACRI attorney Tali Nir said.
"Unfortunately, despite all this attention, the harsh reality of everyday life here remains unknown, ignored by both the authorities and the public." ... Full story
...In all, nearly two-thirds of Palestinian families live in poverty, compared to nearly one third of Jewish families, according to the report, titled Human Rights in East Jerusalem 2010, which was compiled by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI).
The report comes ahead of Israel's celebrations to mark 43 years since it captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War...
The ACRI cites a "severe state of discrimination and neglect" in East Jerusalem, which is inhabited by more than 300,000 Palestinians, or 36 percent of the city's total population.
Municipal services are worse in East Jerusalem than in the West, according to the report.
More than half of the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem have no suitable or legal connection to the water network. The group also reported a shortage of 1,000 classrooms and noted that while West Jerusalem had 42 post offices, East Jerusalem had eight.
Israeli authorities demolished 80 Palestinian homes in 2009, leaving 300 people homeless, the report said. The houses were built without legal permits, but Palestinian residents complain these are hard to get by.
"This past year, East Jerusalem has been on everyone's agenda, making headlines here and abroad," ACRI attorney Tali Nir said.
"Unfortunately, despite all this attention, the harsh reality of everyday life here remains unknown, ignored by both the authorities and the public." ... Full story
Yes, it is The Lobby - Analysis by Mazin Qumsiyeh
IAK - Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh
[We are reprinting the following excerpt from an article first published several years ago, because we feel it is critical that more people learn these essential facts.]
To me the most interesting misinformation disseminated both among some in the left and the right is that US foreign policy in Iraq and in supporting Israel’s destruction of Palestine are merely related to US “strategic interests.”
They may differ in their formulation of the main US “interests”, but you hear the same argument from leftists like Noam Chomsky and Stephen Zunes and rightists like Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle. This mistaken notion in fact was pushed and articulated by the Israeli lobby and Israeli apologists in the media for decades well before neocons and some leftists adopted it.
[We are reprinting the following excerpt from an article first published several years ago, because we feel it is critical that more people learn these essential facts.]
To me the most interesting misinformation disseminated both among some in the left and the right is that US foreign policy in Iraq and in supporting Israel’s destruction of Palestine are merely related to US “strategic interests.”
They may differ in their formulation of the main US “interests”, but you hear the same argument from leftists like Noam Chomsky and Stephen Zunes and rightists like Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle. This mistaken notion in fact was pushed and articulated by the Israeli lobby and Israeli apologists in the media for decades well before neocons and some leftists adopted it.
UN Report: Absence of human security has greatly impeded Palestinian progress
UNDP - Until Palestinians are afforded economic and environmental control, specifically control over macro-economic policy, trade, livelihoods, water resources and borders, sustained development will remain elusive, according to the latest Palestinian Human Development Report, released today by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Special Representative of the Administrator, Mr. Jens Toyberg-Frandzen.
...... the [Palestinian] economy has consistently weakened over the reporting period due to stringent [Israeli] control. Palestinians have no authority over their air space, territorial waters, natural resources, movement and the macro-economic instruments that enable economic autonomy.
.....Since 1967, the territorial breakup of the oPt has become gradually more pronounced. The Report argues that Israel’s systematic segregation of Palestinians communities into a series of fragmented archipelagos has had far reaching implications for Palestinian economic, social and cultural cohesion.The authors of the report contend that the territorial fragmentation of the oPt has severely weakened the central authority and central institutions of governance of the Palestinian Authority and intensified internal Palestinian political polarization....... Full story
To download the Report, go to http://www.undp.ps/en/hdr/index.html.
...... the [Palestinian] economy has consistently weakened over the reporting period due to stringent [Israeli] control. Palestinians have no authority over their air space, territorial waters, natural resources, movement and the macro-economic instruments that enable economic autonomy.
.....Since 1967, the territorial breakup of the oPt has become gradually more pronounced. The Report argues that Israel’s systematic segregation of Palestinians communities into a series of fragmented archipelagos has had far reaching implications for Palestinian economic, social and cultural cohesion.The authors of the report contend that the territorial fragmentation of the oPt has severely weakened the central authority and central institutions of governance of the Palestinian Authority and intensified internal Palestinian political polarization....... Full story
To download the Report, go to http://www.undp.ps/en/hdr/index.html.
Hebron-area village served with 10 stop work orders [Israel has demolished 65 Palestinian homes, school, health center in 2010]
Ma'an – Ten families in the Hebron-area village of Bani Na'im were served with stop work orders on Monday, and ordered to appear before a magistrate as early as 3 June to defend their homes from demolition.
The Bani Na’im municipality issued a statement Monday afternoon accusing Israel of failing to support the spirit of indirect talks and continuing their program of home demolitions and persecution of Palestinians.
The orders presented to the families said they must appear in an Israeli court on either 3 June or 3 September and make a case against the demolition of their homes and agricultural buildings......
.....The orders add to a growing list, with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs counting five orders delivered last week, against buildings as diverse as a health center near Nablus, a school near Jenin and three storage structures near Hebron. According to the report from the UN body, since the beginning of 2010, Israeli authorities have demolished a total of 65 Palestinian-owned structures in Area C, displacing 125 people, including 47 children. Full story
Israeli Air Force Bombards Two Tunnels in Rafah
IMEMC
Local sources reported that the Israeli Air force bombarded on Monday at dawn two siege-busting tunnels east of the Rafah Terminal, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Local sources reported that the Israeli Air force bombarded on Monday at dawn two siege-busting tunnels east of the Rafah Terminal, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
....Since Israel tightened the siege on the coastal enclave, tunnels have been the main source of much needed food supplies to the besieged 1.5 million Palestinians, Palestinians say.
......Some 45 Palestinians died when tunnels were gassed by Egyptian police in the past three years. Full story
......Some 45 Palestinians died when tunnels were gassed by Egyptian police in the past three years. Full story
Palestinian Infant Dies After Inhaling Gas Fired By Israeli Army In Hebron
IMEMC
Palestinian medical sources in Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank, reported Sunday that an infant died due to inhaling gas fired by the army at protestors in the nearby Beit Ummar town.
Palestinian medical sources in Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank, reported Sunday that an infant died due to inhaling gas fired by the army at protestors in the nearby Beit Ummar town.
The infant was identified as Hamza Samar Abu Maria, 18 months.
The sources stated that the soldiers fired on Friday evening a gas bomb at the home of Abu Maria who was already suffering from dehydration.
The infant was moved to a local clinic before he was moved on Sunday at dawn to a local hospital where he died shortly afterwards.
The incident took place after clashes erupted between local youths and Israeli soldiers near Karmie Tzur illegal settlement installed on privately owned Palestinian lands, between Beit Ummar and Halhoul, north of Hebron.
Soldiers fired dozens of gas bombs at the protestors inflicting several injuries.
The sources stated that the soldiers fired on Friday evening a gas bomb at the home of Abu Maria who was already suffering from dehydration.
The infant was moved to a local clinic before he was moved on Sunday at dawn to a local hospital where he died shortly afterwards.
The incident took place after clashes erupted between local youths and Israeli soldiers near Karmie Tzur illegal settlement installed on privately owned Palestinian lands, between Beit Ummar and Halhoul, north of Hebron.
Soldiers fired dozens of gas bombs at the protestors inflicting several injuries.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
How the US and Israel Draw Ever Closer Together: Cementing Relationships
CounterPunch - Brian Cloughley
Following Israel’s deliberate insult to the United States of America on March 9 some people thought there would be action taken by Washington to make it clear that in future it would be unwise to make a fool of the US Vice President.
No chance. You can humiliate the Vice President of the United States of America any time you want – if you’re the Israeli government... Full story
Following Israel’s deliberate insult to the United States of America on March 9 some people thought there would be action taken by Washington to make it clear that in future it would be unwise to make a fool of the US Vice President.
No chance. You can humiliate the Vice President of the United States of America any time you want – if you’re the Israeli government... Full story
Iran, China and Israel's Weapons of Mass Disruption: China in the Catbird Seat
CounterPunch - Peter Lee
.....China has attended all these confabs in its apparently successful efforts to stake out an advantageous and independent position on nuclear weapons policy and the Iran crisis - and counter Russian attempts to create a new, anti-China security condominium in alliance with the United States.
......America's most nagging NPT headache probably isn't America's glacial disarmament process, or even Iran: it's Israel. Israel's undeclared arsenal of nuclear warheads has always been an irritant in US's Middle Eastern diplomacy and its efforts to block Iran's nuclear program.
The double standards dilemma has been most acute for Obama, who has designed his geopolitical strategy (and collected a Nobel Peace Prize) around the idea of reducing the threat of nuclear weapons....
Embarrassingly, from an NPT perspective, Israel doesn't compare favorably with Iran at all.
.....China has attended all these confabs in its apparently successful efforts to stake out an advantageous and independent position on nuclear weapons policy and the Iran crisis - and counter Russian attempts to create a new, anti-China security condominium in alliance with the United States.
......America's most nagging NPT headache probably isn't America's glacial disarmament process, or even Iran: it's Israel. Israel's undeclared arsenal of nuclear warheads has always been an irritant in US's Middle Eastern diplomacy and its efforts to block Iran's nuclear program.
The double standards dilemma has been most acute for Obama, who has designed his geopolitical strategy (and collected a Nobel Peace Prize) around the idea of reducing the threat of nuclear weapons....
Embarrassingly, from an NPT perspective, Israel doesn't compare favorably with Iran at all.
Iran is a signatory to the NPT and an active if unhappy and not particularly candid participant in the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) safeguards program. Its current inventory of nuclear material amounts to less than 2 tons of radioactive dirt, perhaps 11 pounds of uranium enriched to just below the 20% threshold (equivalent to less than 3 pounds of HEU if fully enriched), and 0 pounds of bomb grade material.
Israel is not a signatory to the NPT. It joined the IAEA, but does not participate in any safeguards program, apparently regarding its membership primarily as a useful opportunity to pitch negative intel concerning Islamic nuclear ambitions over the Department of Safeguard's transom. It maintains an undeclared arsenal of at least 200 warheads - perhaps as many as 400. (3)
To build this arsenal, Israel evaded export controls, allegedly diverting heavy water supplied by Norway for peaceful uses to its weapons program and illegally obtaining US krytons (high speed switches) for use in its nuclear weapons program. (4)
And Israel has proliferated. It provided technical assistance and more to the apartheid regime of South Africa that resulted in the construction of six nuclear warheads that could be dropped by bomber on South Africa's many regional antagonists. It was alleged but never officially confirmed that the Israeli government had also agreed to supply six specially fitted ballistic missiles to carry the warheads, and that South Africa's sole nuclear test was a joint South African/Israeli affair. (5)
Israel is not a signatory to the NPT. It joined the IAEA, but does not participate in any safeguards program, apparently regarding its membership primarily as a useful opportunity to pitch negative intel concerning Islamic nuclear ambitions over the Department of Safeguard's transom. It maintains an undeclared arsenal of at least 200 warheads - perhaps as many as 400. (3)
To build this arsenal, Israel evaded export controls, allegedly diverting heavy water supplied by Norway for peaceful uses to its weapons program and illegally obtaining US krytons (high speed switches) for use in its nuclear weapons program. (4)
And Israel has proliferated. It provided technical assistance and more to the apartheid regime of South Africa that resulted in the construction of six nuclear warheads that could be dropped by bomber on South Africa's many regional antagonists. It was alleged but never officially confirmed that the Israeli government had also agreed to supply six specially fitted ballistic missiles to carry the warheads, and that South Africa's sole nuclear test was a joint South African/Israeli affair. (5)
.... Full story
Israeli Court delays homosexual father permission to bring children [Must prove he is biological father to bring his children into Israel]
JTA -- An Israeli court has denied a homosexual father permission to bring his twins, born to a surrogate mother in India, back to the country.
Dan Goldberg and his twin sons have been living in a Mumbai hotel for the past two months while they wait for permission from the Jerusalem Family Court to undergo a paternity test, Haaretz reported Sunday.
Goldberg must prove he is the biological father of the boys in order to bring them into the country.
Judge Philip Marcus ruled that he did not have the jurisdiction to order the paternity test. Other judges in the same situation have allowed the parents to enter with their children in order to take the test.
It is the third time that the judge has delayed establishing the parenthood of a homosexual parent, Haaretz reported.
The Jerusalem District Court agreed that that the paternity test would be in the children's best interest, but did not overturn the judge's decision. Instead, a trustee was appointed to make sure the tests are done.
Dan Goldberg and his twin sons have been living in a Mumbai hotel for the past two months while they wait for permission from the Jerusalem Family Court to undergo a paternity test, Haaretz reported Sunday.
Goldberg must prove he is the biological father of the boys in order to bring them into the country.
Judge Philip Marcus ruled that he did not have the jurisdiction to order the paternity test. Other judges in the same situation have allowed the parents to enter with their children in order to take the test.
It is the third time that the judge has delayed establishing the parenthood of a homosexual parent, Haaretz reported.
The Jerusalem District Court agreed that that the paternity test would be in the children's best interest, but did not overturn the judge's decision. Instead, a trustee was appointed to make sure the tests are done.
Catalunya cancels Shoah memorial ceremony over Gaza op ['Marking the Jewish Holocaust while a Palestinian Holocaust is taking place is not right,' says Barcelona official]
Ynet
... the local media has run endless stories comparing the Israeli stance on the situation in the Strip to Nazi atrocities.
Over 30,000 people marched in Catalunya's streets in support of Hamas, during the three-week campaign.... The overwhelming public support for the Palestinians has prompted the government to cancel the Holocaust Remembrance Day service....
"Marking the Jewish Holocaust while a Palestinian Holocaust is taking place is not right," a local City official told Barcelona's La Vanguardia newspaper.
......other European countries have also compared Israel's actions in Operation Cast Lead to those of Nazi Germany: A Norwegian diplomat stationed in Saudi Arabia sent a mass-distributed email stating that "the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors are doing the same thing to the Palestinians, as the Nazis did to their grandparents," using her official Norwegian Foreign Ministry address..... Full story
Barcelona pulls public service marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day in protest of Israeli offensive in Strip. 'Marking the Jewish Holocaust while a Palestinian Holocaust is taking place is not right,' says officialThe Catalunya government has called off the ceremony marking the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which was scheduled to take place on January 27, citing the Israeli offensive in Gaza as the reason.
... the local media has run endless stories comparing the Israeli stance on the situation in the Strip to Nazi atrocities.
Over 30,000 people marched in Catalunya's streets in support of Hamas, during the three-week campaign.... The overwhelming public support for the Palestinians has prompted the government to cancel the Holocaust Remembrance Day service....
"Marking the Jewish Holocaust while a Palestinian Holocaust is taking place is not right," a local City official told Barcelona's La Vanguardia newspaper.
......other European countries have also compared Israel's actions in Operation Cast Lead to those of Nazi Germany: A Norwegian diplomat stationed in Saudi Arabia sent a mass-distributed email stating that "the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors are doing the same thing to the Palestinians, as the Nazis did to their grandparents," using her official Norwegian Foreign Ministry address..... Full story
Report: Obama neglects Hamas outreach attempt
Ma'an – US President Barack Obama reportedly disregarded two letters from Hamas in Gaza sent two weeks ago in an attempt to break political deadlock the party says hinges on US stubbornness, Israeli media reported.
According to what the Hebrew language Israeli daily newspaper Yedioth Aharonoth called a "reliable source," de facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh wrote that that Hamas would be prepared to recognize Israel within the 1967 borders in exchange for a ceasefire agreement.
Hamas was reportedly disappointed by Obama's failure to read the letters, which remain in the White House, the daily wrote.
According to what the Hebrew language Israeli daily newspaper Yedioth Aharonoth called a "reliable source," de facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh wrote that that Hamas would be prepared to recognize Israel within the 1967 borders in exchange for a ceasefire agreement.
Hamas was reportedly disappointed by Obama's failure to read the letters, which remain in the White House, the daily wrote.
Threats against flotilla show weakness, activist says [Israel says it will fire at boats carrying humanitarian supplies to Gaza]
Ma'an - Israeli threats to open fire at a host of solidarity boats carrying aid to Gaza later this month reveal Israel's weakness, said Jamal Al-Khudari, head of Gaza's Popular Committee Against the Siege on Sunday.
......The popular committee organizer said the group was coming well-equipped, and would be ready should the Israeli navy surround them for a long period of time.
.....intent to deliver some 5,000 tons of building and medical supplies to the population under siege.
According to flotilla organizers, 600 activists will sail three cargo ships and five passenger boats for Gaza in what a statement called the "biggest internationally coordinated effort to directly challenge Israeli's ongoing occupation, aggression, and violence against the Palestinian people." Full story
......The popular committee organizer said the group was coming well-equipped, and would be ready should the Israeli navy surround them for a long period of time.
.....intent to deliver some 5,000 tons of building and medical supplies to the population under siege.
According to flotilla organizers, 600 activists will sail three cargo ships and five passenger boats for Gaza in what a statement called the "biggest internationally coordinated effort to directly challenge Israeli's ongoing occupation, aggression, and violence against the Palestinian people." Full story
Erekat declares official start of indirect talks
Ma'an - Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat officially declared the beginning of US-brokered talks with Israel on Sunday, according to reports.
Speaking after meeting with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell and President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, Erekat said "I can officially declare today that the proximity talks have begun," the Reuters news agency quoted the PLO official as saying... Full story
Speaking after meeting with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell and President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, Erekat said "I can officially declare today that the proximity talks have begun," the Reuters news agency quoted the PLO official as saying... Full story
Israel expels Hebron man to Jordan [fifth exupulsion since new Israeli military order went into effect in April]
Ma'an – Israeli forces detained a Palestinian man from Hebron and deported him to Jordan from the West Bank on Saturday...
...Murad Muhammad Zahda, 27, was told by Israeli officials that he had entered the occupied West Bank over 10 years earlier on a tourist visa and remained illegally after his permit expired.
As a result, he was deemed by Israeli officials to be illegally residing in the West Bank and expelled, PA police wrote.
The expulsion is the fifth since 13 April, when two new Israeli military orders went into effect, expanding the definition of an "infiltrator" to include any person residing in areas under Israeli control without Israeli permission. Rights organizations and governments from around the world have condemned the move.
One Tulkarem native was released from prison on in late April and dropped off at the Erez crossing; he was not permitted into Gaza and remains stranded at the crossing. He said he would remain there, in a protest tent set up by the de facto government, pending intervention by rights groups.
A second Palestinian man, born in Gaza but residing with his wife and children in the Palestinian community of Yaffa, in Tel Aviv, was detained from a hospital and transported to Gaza. The decision, however, was later reversed for unknown reasons, and he was permitted to travel back to his family.
A Hebron man was deported to Gaza two weeks ago, and a Beersheba resident visiting a Jerusalem eye clinic was also detained and sent into Gaza.
The new orders, by substantively changing the definition of an “infiltrator,” HaMoked said in a statement "effectively apply [the term] to anyone who is present in the West Bank without an Israeli permit," noting "the orders do not define what Israel considers a valid permit," and that "the vast majority of people now living in the West Bank have never been required to hold any sort of permit to be present therein."
The amendments apply to a 1969 order issued following the start of the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and Jerusalem. The order was first amended in 1980, when an infiltrator was defined as "a person who entered the Area knowingly and unlawfully having been present in the east bank of the Jordan, Syria, Egypt or Lebanon following the effective date."
In the latest order, an "infiltrator" is defined as: "A person who entered the Area unlawfully following the effective date, or a person who is present in the Area and does not lawfully hold a permit."
The presumption that the orders will be used to clamp-down on Palestinians participating in popular protests against land confiscation and the construction of the separation wall follows a series of failed measures by the Israeli army to stifle the increasingly broadly supported actions.
...Murad Muhammad Zahda, 27, was told by Israeli officials that he had entered the occupied West Bank over 10 years earlier on a tourist visa and remained illegally after his permit expired.
As a result, he was deemed by Israeli officials to be illegally residing in the West Bank and expelled, PA police wrote.
The expulsion is the fifth since 13 April, when two new Israeli military orders went into effect, expanding the definition of an "infiltrator" to include any person residing in areas under Israeli control without Israeli permission. Rights organizations and governments from around the world have condemned the move.
One Tulkarem native was released from prison on in late April and dropped off at the Erez crossing; he was not permitted into Gaza and remains stranded at the crossing. He said he would remain there, in a protest tent set up by the de facto government, pending intervention by rights groups.
A second Palestinian man, born in Gaza but residing with his wife and children in the Palestinian community of Yaffa, in Tel Aviv, was detained from a hospital and transported to Gaza. The decision, however, was later reversed for unknown reasons, and he was permitted to travel back to his family.
A Hebron man was deported to Gaza two weeks ago, and a Beersheba resident visiting a Jerusalem eye clinic was also detained and sent into Gaza.
The new orders, by substantively changing the definition of an “infiltrator,” HaMoked said in a statement "effectively apply [the term] to anyone who is present in the West Bank without an Israeli permit," noting "the orders do not define what Israel considers a valid permit," and that "the vast majority of people now living in the West Bank have never been required to hold any sort of permit to be present therein."
The amendments apply to a 1969 order issued following the start of the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and Jerusalem. The order was first amended in 1980, when an infiltrator was defined as "a person who entered the Area knowingly and unlawfully having been present in the east bank of the Jordan, Syria, Egypt or Lebanon following the effective date."
In the latest order, an "infiltrator" is defined as: "A person who entered the Area unlawfully following the effective date, or a person who is present in the Area and does not lawfully hold a permit."
The presumption that the orders will be used to clamp-down on Palestinians participating in popular protests against land confiscation and the construction of the separation wall follows a series of failed measures by the Israeli army to stifle the increasingly broadly supported actions.
Defying appeal from Gaza students, Atwood set to accept Israeli prize
EI - Kristin Srzemski
On Sunday, Booker Prize-winning author Margaret Atwood will accept the Dan David Prize at Tel Aviv University and her portion of the $1 million payout that goes with it. Meanwhile, a mere 40 miles away, students in the occupied and besieged Gaza Strip will still be struggling to find the ways and means to continue their educations.
Atwood will be accepting her prize despite a worldwide call -- initiated by the Palestinian Students Campaign for a Cultural and Academic Boycott of Israel (PSACBI) -- for her to turn down the award. The Canadian author, whose work often reflects issues of colonization, feminism, structures of political power and oppression, will be sharing the literary prize with Indian writer Amitav Ghosh, whose novels question the brutalities of colonial rule and post-colonial dispossession. Ghosh was also asked to turn down the prize, which he has declined to do.
Being an artist of conscience has been one of Atwood's hallmark characteristics throughout her career. She supported the South African anti-Apartheid movement and, according to filmmaker John Greyson, was the first public figure to speak out in support of gay rights after police arrested 300 men in Toronto in 1981. The late Palestinian scholar Edward Said named her as an "oppositional intellectual." That's why her acceptance of the Dan David Prize is fraught with ironies, not least of which is the requirement that she donate 10 percent of the prize money back to support graduate students at Tel Aviv University, while Gaza's students -- just a short drive away -- are enclosed in an open-air prison, unable to complete their studies.
"We have no fuel supply in Gaza for student transportation," Ayah Abubasheer of PSCABI wrote in an email on 21 April. "There are no basic supplies or stationery for students in Gaza. Basic materials such as pens, pencils, sharpeners, erasers and so on are not available. And, books? There are no books, research resources or any of the like in Gaza. Israel bombed the Islamic University's labs and student residences during the [winter 2008-09 attacks on Gaza]."
PSCABI is the student arm of the Palestinian Campaign for the Cultural and Academic Boycott of Israel. Both groups belong to the global boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, started in Palestine in 2005. The group is comprised of students representing all Palestinian universities in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip and has alliances with Palestinian student groups at Israeli universities, Abubasheer said. This coalition of activists wrote an open letter to Atwood on 4 April, asking her to turn down the prize. The letter went "viral" and was soon posted on websites and blogs across the Internet. It also spawned other letters and action alerts, all with the aim of persuading Atwood to stand in solidarity with Gaza's students.
Atwood admitted via email she was aware of the open letter, but said she did not receive it personally. She did not respond to the students in Gaza, but she did reply to Antoine Raffoul, a Palestinian architect living in London who is the founder of the organization 1948: Lest We Forget.
Cultural boycotts equal censorship, Atwood said. In addition, the Dan David Prize is a cultural event, funded by an individual, she said. "To boycott a discussion of literature such as the one proposed would be to take the view that literature is always and only some kind of tool of the nation that produces it -- a view I strongly reject."
Atwood also said via email that she is the international vice president of the literary organization PEN, which advocates for writers who are persecuted or imprisoned because of their work. As such, she is not allowed to participate in cultural boycotts, she said.
Dan David and Tel Aviv University
Dan David, 80, was born and raised in communist Romania. He joined the Zionist youth movement and helped organize aliyah or Zionist emigration to Israel, according to a 13 November 2007 article published by the Israeli daily Haaretz. David, who made his fortune in instant photo booths, used $100 million of his own money to found the Dan David Foundation, which administers the Dan David Prize. He also sits on the Board of Governors of Tel Aviv University (TAU), which is at the center of Israel's military-industrial complex.
Today, some 64 research projects in defense or national security are being funded by Israeli and US defense agencies on the TAU campus. "TAU is playing a major role in enhancing Israel's security capabilities and military edge," reads the introduction to an article entitled "Lifting the Veil of Secrecy" in the Tel Aviv University Review, Winter 2008/09 issue.
"'People are just not aware of how important university research is in general, and how much TAU contributes to Israel's security in particular,' says TAU President Zvi Galil in the article.
One project currently underway explores how to turn birds into weapons because they are relatively "unobtrusive," especially when compared to the much larger unmanned drones, according to the article.
Antoine Raffoul said that the Dan David Prize cannot be divorced from Israel. "Its institutions, whether cultural, educational, industrial, scientific, judicial, agricultural or military, are part and parcel of the political institution of the state ... working hand in hand to enforce the policies of an illegal occupation of Palestinian land," he said.
TAU was built upon the remains of a Palestinian village depopulated and destroyed by Zionist forces in 1948. "By accepting the prize at Tel Aviv University, you will be indirectly giving a slight and inadvertent nod to Israel's policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide. This university has refused to commemorate the destroyed Palestinian village on which it was built. That village is called Sheikh Muwanis, and it no longer exists as a result of Israel's confiscation. Its people have been expelled," the Gaza students wrote in their open letter.
Upholding the rights and voices of the persecuted
During an acceptance speech for the American PEN Literary Service Award in New York City in April, Atwood said oppressors share a commonality. "They wish to silence the human voice, or all human voices that do not sing their songs. They wish to indulge their sense of power, which is best done by grinding underfoot those who cannot retaliate."
Gaza's students are disappointed with Atwood's decision to accept the Dan David Prize, Abubasheer said. "We are deeply wounded by her decision. Students here have been asking about the sincerity of her novels and wonder whether she will reconsider her decision to stand on the wrong side of history"
In the end, for Atwood, at least, it comes down to whether or not a cultural boycott is equivalent to censorship. But as filmmaker Cathy Gulkin said in an article posted on the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel's website on 6 May, the two issues are distinct. Gulkin said that censorship is wielded by a force with the power to prevent a work from being presented, while a boycott asks artists to withdraw their work voluntarily. She participated in a boycott of the Tel Aviv International Film Festival last winter.
"Palestinian civil society has no power or will to silence or censor. They can only appeal to people of conscience ... to support them in their struggle to achieve their human rights," Gulkin wrote in her call to boycott last winter.
The Palestinian students and Raffoul point to a number of artists and authors, including Naomi Klein, Carlos Santana, Bono, Snoop Dog and Sting, who have heeded Palestinian civil society's call for the boycott of Israel.
Raffoul even pointed to actor Marlon Brando, who rejected his Academy Award in 1973 to protest the US government's treatment of Native Americans or the Beatles rejecting knighthoods in England.
"I sympathize with the very bad conditions the people of Gaza are living through due to the blockade, the military actions, and the Egyptian and Israeli walls," Atwood wrote in her email to Raffoul.
"We are not asking for sympathy!" Abubasheer said. "We want solidarity. ... You are either with justice or with injustice. There is no neutral zone."
Abubasheer added: "Thus, we all have an individual moral responsibility to boycott. Boycott is inclusive and it brings people together, fighting for peace through justice and accountability, from the youngest to the oldest, from the four quarters of the world, anyone can boycott. After the wiping out of entire families in broad daylight, what else do some public intellectuals need to see in order to make a bold move?"
Raffoul contends that today no one -- especially important cultural figures such as Atwood -- can exist in a vacuum. "You can't hide behind the cloak of literature," he said. "We don't live in a shell anymore. You cannot claim to be a humanitarian in any state and then ... fly into a zone called Israel [that is] killing people and dehumanizing innocent people."
Atwood said she plans to "observe" what she sees in Palestine and then write about it. She suggested this reporter hold off on writing this article until then.
But Abubasheer would not be comforted by this promise. Quoting Archbishop Desmond Tutu, she said: "If you choose to be neutral in situations of injustice, then you have chosen the side of the oppressor."
She added: "The position taken by Ms. Atwood ... is clear in the light of this statement."
 |
| Author Margaret Atwood |
Atwood will be accepting her prize despite a worldwide call -- initiated by the Palestinian Students Campaign for a Cultural and Academic Boycott of Israel (PSACBI) -- for her to turn down the award. The Canadian author, whose work often reflects issues of colonization, feminism, structures of political power and oppression, will be sharing the literary prize with Indian writer Amitav Ghosh, whose novels question the brutalities of colonial rule and post-colonial dispossession. Ghosh was also asked to turn down the prize, which he has declined to do.
Being an artist of conscience has been one of Atwood's hallmark characteristics throughout her career. She supported the South African anti-Apartheid movement and, according to filmmaker John Greyson, was the first public figure to speak out in support of gay rights after police arrested 300 men in Toronto in 1981. The late Palestinian scholar Edward Said named her as an "oppositional intellectual." That's why her acceptance of the Dan David Prize is fraught with ironies, not least of which is the requirement that she donate 10 percent of the prize money back to support graduate students at Tel Aviv University, while Gaza's students -- just a short drive away -- are enclosed in an open-air prison, unable to complete their studies.
"We have no fuel supply in Gaza for student transportation," Ayah Abubasheer of PSCABI wrote in an email on 21 April. "There are no basic supplies or stationery for students in Gaza. Basic materials such as pens, pencils, sharpeners, erasers and so on are not available. And, books? There are no books, research resources or any of the like in Gaza. Israel bombed the Islamic University's labs and student residences during the [winter 2008-09 attacks on Gaza]."
PSCABI is the student arm of the Palestinian Campaign for the Cultural and Academic Boycott of Israel. Both groups belong to the global boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, started in Palestine in 2005. The group is comprised of students representing all Palestinian universities in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip and has alliances with Palestinian student groups at Israeli universities, Abubasheer said. This coalition of activists wrote an open letter to Atwood on 4 April, asking her to turn down the prize. The letter went "viral" and was soon posted on websites and blogs across the Internet. It also spawned other letters and action alerts, all with the aim of persuading Atwood to stand in solidarity with Gaza's students.
Atwood admitted via email she was aware of the open letter, but said she did not receive it personally. She did not respond to the students in Gaza, but she did reply to Antoine Raffoul, a Palestinian architect living in London who is the founder of the organization 1948: Lest We Forget.
Cultural boycotts equal censorship, Atwood said. In addition, the Dan David Prize is a cultural event, funded by an individual, she said. "To boycott a discussion of literature such as the one proposed would be to take the view that literature is always and only some kind of tool of the nation that produces it -- a view I strongly reject."
Atwood also said via email that she is the international vice president of the literary organization PEN, which advocates for writers who are persecuted or imprisoned because of their work. As such, she is not allowed to participate in cultural boycotts, she said.
Dan David and Tel Aviv University
Dan David, 80, was born and raised in communist Romania. He joined the Zionist youth movement and helped organize aliyah or Zionist emigration to Israel, according to a 13 November 2007 article published by the Israeli daily Haaretz. David, who made his fortune in instant photo booths, used $100 million of his own money to found the Dan David Foundation, which administers the Dan David Prize. He also sits on the Board of Governors of Tel Aviv University (TAU), which is at the center of Israel's military-industrial complex.
Today, some 64 research projects in defense or national security are being funded by Israeli and US defense agencies on the TAU campus. "TAU is playing a major role in enhancing Israel's security capabilities and military edge," reads the introduction to an article entitled "Lifting the Veil of Secrecy" in the Tel Aviv University Review, Winter 2008/09 issue.
"'People are just not aware of how important university research is in general, and how much TAU contributes to Israel's security in particular,' says TAU President Zvi Galil in the article.
One project currently underway explores how to turn birds into weapons because they are relatively "unobtrusive," especially when compared to the much larger unmanned drones, according to the article.
Antoine Raffoul said that the Dan David Prize cannot be divorced from Israel. "Its institutions, whether cultural, educational, industrial, scientific, judicial, agricultural or military, are part and parcel of the political institution of the state ... working hand in hand to enforce the policies of an illegal occupation of Palestinian land," he said.
TAU was built upon the remains of a Palestinian village depopulated and destroyed by Zionist forces in 1948. "By accepting the prize at Tel Aviv University, you will be indirectly giving a slight and inadvertent nod to Israel's policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide. This university has refused to commemorate the destroyed Palestinian village on which it was built. That village is called Sheikh Muwanis, and it no longer exists as a result of Israel's confiscation. Its people have been expelled," the Gaza students wrote in their open letter.
Upholding the rights and voices of the persecuted
During an acceptance speech for the American PEN Literary Service Award in New York City in April, Atwood said oppressors share a commonality. "They wish to silence the human voice, or all human voices that do not sing their songs. They wish to indulge their sense of power, which is best done by grinding underfoot those who cannot retaliate."
Gaza's students are disappointed with Atwood's decision to accept the Dan David Prize, Abubasheer said. "We are deeply wounded by her decision. Students here have been asking about the sincerity of her novels and wonder whether she will reconsider her decision to stand on the wrong side of history"
In the end, for Atwood, at least, it comes down to whether or not a cultural boycott is equivalent to censorship. But as filmmaker Cathy Gulkin said in an article posted on the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel's website on 6 May, the two issues are distinct. Gulkin said that censorship is wielded by a force with the power to prevent a work from being presented, while a boycott asks artists to withdraw their work voluntarily. She participated in a boycott of the Tel Aviv International Film Festival last winter.
"Palestinian civil society has no power or will to silence or censor. They can only appeal to people of conscience ... to support them in their struggle to achieve their human rights," Gulkin wrote in her call to boycott last winter.
The Palestinian students and Raffoul point to a number of artists and authors, including Naomi Klein, Carlos Santana, Bono, Snoop Dog and Sting, who have heeded Palestinian civil society's call for the boycott of Israel.
Raffoul even pointed to actor Marlon Brando, who rejected his Academy Award in 1973 to protest the US government's treatment of Native Americans or the Beatles rejecting knighthoods in England.
"I sympathize with the very bad conditions the people of Gaza are living through due to the blockade, the military actions, and the Egyptian and Israeli walls," Atwood wrote in her email to Raffoul.
"We are not asking for sympathy!" Abubasheer said. "We want solidarity. ... You are either with justice or with injustice. There is no neutral zone."
Abubasheer added: "Thus, we all have an individual moral responsibility to boycott. Boycott is inclusive and it brings people together, fighting for peace through justice and accountability, from the youngest to the oldest, from the four quarters of the world, anyone can boycott. After the wiping out of entire families in broad daylight, what else do some public intellectuals need to see in order to make a bold move?"
Raffoul contends that today no one -- especially important cultural figures such as Atwood -- can exist in a vacuum. "You can't hide behind the cloak of literature," he said. "We don't live in a shell anymore. You cannot claim to be a humanitarian in any state and then ... fly into a zone called Israel [that is] killing people and dehumanizing innocent people."
Atwood said she plans to "observe" what she sees in Palestine and then write about it. She suggested this reporter hold off on writing this article until then.
But Abubasheer would not be comforted by this promise. Quoting Archbishop Desmond Tutu, she said: "If you choose to be neutral in situations of injustice, then you have chosen the side of the oppressor."
She added: "The position taken by Ms. Atwood ... is clear in the light of this statement."
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Haim Saban: protect Israel by controlling media - net worth is $3.3 billion
New Yorker - Connie Bruck
The Influencer
The Influencer
Haim Saban. - Photograph by Martin Schoeller.
..........Saban is not given to modest ambitions. Sixty-five years old, with a broad, dynamic countenance and slicked-down wavy black hair, he is known in Los Angeles as the man who brought the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers from Japan to America; the chairman and part owner of Univision, the nation’s leading Spanish-language media company; a staunch supporter of Israel (he has dual citizenship); and one of the largest individual donors to the Democratic Party.
“Haim is a force of nature,” his friend Barry Meyer, the chairman and C.E.O. of Warner Bros., said...... when Rupert Murdoch and Saban sold their joint venture, Fox Family Worldwide, to Michael Eisner, the C.E.O. of Disney: Saban made one and a half billion dollars. It was—and still is, he points out—the biggest cash transaction by an individual in the history of Hollywood. In March, Forbes estimated his net worth at $3.3 billion.
......Although Saban has lived in the United States for nearly thirty years, he remains deeply connected to Israel......
He remains keenly interested in the world of business, but he is most proud of his role as political power broker. His greatest concern, he says, is to protect Israel, by strengthening the United States-Israel relationship.
At a conference last fall in Israel, Saban described his formula. His “three ways to be influential in American politics,” he said, were: make donations to political parties, establish think tanks, and control media outlets. In 2002, he contributed seven million dollars toward the cost of a new building for the Democratic National Committee—one of the largest known donations ever made to an American political party. That year, he also founded the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, in Washington, D.C. He considered buying The New Republic, but decided it wasn’t for him. He also tried to buy Time and Newsweek, but neither was available. He and his private-equity partners acquired Univision in 2007, and he has made repeated bids for the Los Angeles Times.
...By far his most important relationship is with Bill and Hillary Clinton. In 2002, Saban donated five million dollars to Bill Clinton’s Presidential library, and he has given more than five million dollars to the Clinton Foundation. In February, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a major policy address at the U.S.-Islamic World Forum in Doha, co-sponsored by the Saban Center. And last November Bill Clinton was a featured speaker at the Saban Forum, an annual conference attended by many high-level Israeli and U.S. government officials, which was held in Jerusalem. Ynon Kreiz, an Israeli who was the chairman and chief executive of a Saban company and Saban’s closest associate for many years, attended the conference, and when I commented that his former boss appeared to be positively smitten with Bill Clinton, Kreiz replied, grinning broadly, “No! No! I remember once Haim was talking to me on the phone, and he said in Hebrew, without changing his tone so Clinton would have no idea he was speaking about him, ‘The President of the United States, wearing his boxers, is coming down the stairs, and I am going to have to stop talking and go have breakfast with him.’ ”
......Although Saban has lived in the United States for nearly thirty years, he remains deeply connected to Israel......
He remains keenly interested in the world of business, but he is most proud of his role as political power broker. His greatest concern, he says, is to protect Israel, by strengthening the United States-Israel relationship.
At a conference last fall in Israel, Saban described his formula. His “three ways to be influential in American politics,” he said, were: make donations to political parties, establish think tanks, and control media outlets. In 2002, he contributed seven million dollars toward the cost of a new building for the Democratic National Committee—one of the largest known donations ever made to an American political party. That year, he also founded the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, in Washington, D.C. He considered buying The New Republic, but decided it wasn’t for him. He also tried to buy Time and Newsweek, but neither was available. He and his private-equity partners acquired Univision in 2007, and he has made repeated bids for the Los Angeles Times.
...By far his most important relationship is with Bill and Hillary Clinton. In 2002, Saban donated five million dollars to Bill Clinton’s Presidential library, and he has given more than five million dollars to the Clinton Foundation. In February, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a major policy address at the U.S.-Islamic World Forum in Doha, co-sponsored by the Saban Center. And last November Bill Clinton was a featured speaker at the Saban Forum, an annual conference attended by many high-level Israeli and U.S. government officials, which was held in Jerusalem. Ynon Kreiz, an Israeli who was the chairman and chief executive of a Saban company and Saban’s closest associate for many years, attended the conference, and when I commented that his former boss appeared to be positively smitten with Bill Clinton, Kreiz replied, grinning broadly, “No! No! I remember once Haim was talking to me on the phone, and he said in Hebrew, without changing his tone so Clinton would have no idea he was speaking about him, ‘The President of the United States, wearing his boxers, is coming down the stairs, and I am going to have to stop talking and go have breakfast with him.’ ”
Congressman Obey, who opposed AIPAC, to retire
JTA - Obey, tough congressional appropriator, to retire
U.S. Rep. David Obey... chief congressional appropriator who at times has been unstinting in his criticism of AIPAC and Israel, is retiring. Obey (D-Wis.), who faces a tough re-election campaign in an anti-incumbent year, said Wednesday that he will not run in November.
.....He took on Israel and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in 1991-92, when AIPAC sought to overcome through Congress President George H.W. Bush's threat to withdraw loan guarantees unless Israel stopped settlement building. Israel was seeking $10 billion in loan guarantees to help settle the massive post-Cold War influx of Jews from the former Soviet Union.
Obey warned AIPAC that even if it got the votes on the House foreign operations appropriations subcommittee, which he chaired at the time, he would not allow a vote to override Bush to go through.
In his 2007 autobiography "Raising Hell for Justice," Obey recalled addressing a 1992 meeting in the Capitol that had been convened by then-Israeli Ambassador Zalman Shoval to consider ways to resist Bush's threat.....
"I will not be party to day-in, day-out end runs around the president on this issue. He is not of my party, but he is our president. He is defending longstanding U.S. policy and I will not cooperate in any attempt to undermine that policy."
The confrontation meant that Obey would never again enjoy an intimate relationship with the pro-Israel community.
In 2004, Obey told the Washington Post that AIPAC "pushed the Likud Party line and in the process has crowded out other voices in the Jewish community.".... Full story
U.S. Rep. David Obey... chief congressional appropriator who at times has been unstinting in his criticism of AIPAC and Israel, is retiring. Obey (D-Wis.), who faces a tough re-election campaign in an anti-incumbent year, said Wednesday that he will not run in November.
.....He took on Israel and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in 1991-92, when AIPAC sought to overcome through Congress President George H.W. Bush's threat to withdraw loan guarantees unless Israel stopped settlement building. Israel was seeking $10 billion in loan guarantees to help settle the massive post-Cold War influx of Jews from the former Soviet Union.
Obey warned AIPAC that even if it got the votes on the House foreign operations appropriations subcommittee, which he chaired at the time, he would not allow a vote to override Bush to go through.
In his 2007 autobiography "Raising Hell for Justice," Obey recalled addressing a 1992 meeting in the Capitol that had been convened by then-Israeli Ambassador Zalman Shoval to consider ways to resist Bush's threat.....
"I will not be party to day-in, day-out end runs around the president on this issue. He is not of my party, but he is our president. He is defending longstanding U.S. policy and I will not cooperate in any attempt to undermine that policy."
The confrontation meant that Obey would never again enjoy an intimate relationship with the pro-Israel community.
In 2004, Obey told the Washington Post that AIPAC "pushed the Likud Party line and in the process has crowded out other voices in the Jewish community.".... Full story
Lebanon charges army colonel with spying for Israel
Ynet - A Lebanese prosecutor on Friday charged an army colonel with spying for Israel and referred him to a military court.
Security sources said Colonel Gazwan Shahin, the fourth officer to be arrested on suspicion of espionage since last year, was arrested a few months ago.
A security source said Shahin provided Israel's spying agency with pictures, information and coordinates of civil and military posts during and after a 34-day war in 2006 between Hezbollah and Israel.
An investigation into spying for Israel has led to more than 50 arrests since last year, including holding a former brigadier general of the General Security directorate. More than 20 have been formally charged.
Lebanon, which is in a state of war with Israel, has described the arrests as a major blow to Israel's spying networks in the country..... Full story
Security sources said Colonel Gazwan Shahin, the fourth officer to be arrested on suspicion of espionage since last year, was arrested a few months ago.
A security source said Shahin provided Israel's spying agency with pictures, information and coordinates of civil and military posts during and after a 34-day war in 2006 between Hezbollah and Israel.
An investigation into spying for Israel has led to more than 50 arrests since last year, including holding a former brigadier general of the General Security directorate. More than 20 have been formally charged.
Lebanon, which is in a state of war with Israel, has described the arrests as a major blow to Israel's spying networks in the country..... Full story
Head of Israeli religious school indicted for shooting student
Ynet - Yeshiva head suspected of shooting student indicted
Three days after his arrest, the Jerusalem District Prosecution filed an indictment against Ben Ish Chai Yeshiva head Menachem Edri, who allegedly shot and wounded one of his students following an argument.... Full story
Three days after his arrest, the Jerusalem District Prosecution filed an indictment against Ben Ish Chai Yeshiva head Menachem Edri, who allegedly shot and wounded one of his students following an argument.... Full story
Israeli official in LA denounces National Geographic water exhibit [Palestinians must purchase water Israel takes from them]
Ma'an - Israeli Consul General in Los Angeles Jacob Dayan reportedly sent a letter of complaint to the venue hosting a National Geographic photo exhibition highlighting Israel's unequal water policy, Israeli media reported on Friday.
The Annenberg Space for Photography exhibit, coinciding with the magazine's special issue Water: Our Thirsty World, features the works of award-winning photographers looking at the water from environmental, social, political and cultural perspectives.
The Consul General voiced complaint over photo captions which include "Israelis relax by the Sea of Galilee, a lake near the Golan Heights that is fed by the Jordan River and that supplies a third of Israel’s fresh water. Since 1967, Israel has blocked Syria’s access to the shoreline," the Israeli news site Yedioth Aharonot reported....
The original feature published in April 2010 by the National Geographic writes that since occupying the West Bank in 1967, settlements have been supplied water by Mekorot, Israel's national water authority, "which has drilled 42 deep wells in the West Bank, mainly to supply Israeli cities."
The article further said according to a 2009 World Bank report, "Israelis use four times as much water per capita as Palestinians, much of it for agriculture. Israel disputes this, arguing that its citizens use only twice as much water and are better at conserving it."
In contrast, Don Belt writes, West Bank Palestinians "have been largely prevented from digging deep wells of their own, limiting their water access to shallow wells, natural springs, and rainfall that evaporates quickly in the dry desert air."
When these sources run dry in the summer, experts told Belt, Auja's Palestinians "have no choice but to purchase water from Israel for about a dollar a cubic yard—in effect buying back the water that's been taken out from under them by Mekorot's pumps, which also lower the water table and affect Palestinian springs and wells."
The three Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian experts interviewed by Belt were further featured in an a recent IRIN article, in which the environmentalists paint a grim picture of the state of the Jordan River, and urge swift action.
"If immediate action is not taken the River Jordan will run dry by 2011," Baha Afaneh, Jordanian coordinator for the Jordan River Project of Friends of the Earth Middle East (FOEME), said at a conference in Amman on 3-4 May.
According to a FOEME report, the once mighty river is now barely a trickle, fed by saline water and sewage from Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.
"Israel has diverted saline water from springs into the river. Today some 20,000 million cubic metres [of saline water] flow into the river annually,'' said Gideon Bromberg, the Israeli director of FOEME.
Some three million cubic meters of untreated sewage per year pours into the river from Beit Shea'an Municipality in Israel, despite the fact that Israel is considered a leading country in the region in terms of sewage treatment, Bromberg said.
In March, four days after an Israeli minister threatened to restrict the West Bank's water supply, Israeli authorities closed off the main water source used for agriculture in a Jordan Valley village committee members and lawyers said. Full story
The Annenberg Space for Photography exhibit, coinciding with the magazine's special issue Water: Our Thirsty World, features the works of award-winning photographers looking at the water from environmental, social, political and cultural perspectives.
The Consul General voiced complaint over photo captions which include "Israelis relax by the Sea of Galilee, a lake near the Golan Heights that is fed by the Jordan River and that supplies a third of Israel’s fresh water. Since 1967, Israel has blocked Syria’s access to the shoreline," the Israeli news site Yedioth Aharonot reported....
The original feature published in April 2010 by the National Geographic writes that since occupying the West Bank in 1967, settlements have been supplied water by Mekorot, Israel's national water authority, "which has drilled 42 deep wells in the West Bank, mainly to supply Israeli cities."
The article further said according to a 2009 World Bank report, "Israelis use four times as much water per capita as Palestinians, much of it for agriculture. Israel disputes this, arguing that its citizens use only twice as much water and are better at conserving it."
In contrast, Don Belt writes, West Bank Palestinians "have been largely prevented from digging deep wells of their own, limiting their water access to shallow wells, natural springs, and rainfall that evaporates quickly in the dry desert air."
When these sources run dry in the summer, experts told Belt, Auja's Palestinians "have no choice but to purchase water from Israel for about a dollar a cubic yard—in effect buying back the water that's been taken out from under them by Mekorot's pumps, which also lower the water table and affect Palestinian springs and wells."
The three Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian experts interviewed by Belt were further featured in an a recent IRIN article, in which the environmentalists paint a grim picture of the state of the Jordan River, and urge swift action.
"If immediate action is not taken the River Jordan will run dry by 2011," Baha Afaneh, Jordanian coordinator for the Jordan River Project of Friends of the Earth Middle East (FOEME), said at a conference in Amman on 3-4 May.
According to a FOEME report, the once mighty river is now barely a trickle, fed by saline water and sewage from Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.
"Israel has diverted saline water from springs into the river. Today some 20,000 million cubic metres [of saline water] flow into the river annually,'' said Gideon Bromberg, the Israeli director of FOEME.
Some three million cubic meters of untreated sewage per year pours into the river from Beit Shea'an Municipality in Israel, despite the fact that Israel is considered a leading country in the region in terms of sewage treatment, Bromberg said.
In March, four days after an Israeli minister threatened to restrict the West Bank's water supply, Israeli authorities closed off the main water source used for agriculture in a Jordan Valley village committee members and lawyers said. Full story
Netanyahu To “Legalize” Illegal Outposts
IMEMC - Responding to a request from the Israeli High Court regarding two illegal settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli government stated that it intends to “legalize” Hersha and Givat Hayovel.
Soldiers Use Tear Gas To suppress the Weekly Nonviolent Protest In Nil'in
IMEMC - Many were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation as the villagers of Nil'in, central West Bank, protested on Friday Israeli wall built on their lands... Full story
One Injured, Six Detained During The Anti Wall Weekly Bil’in Protest
IMEMC
One resident was injured; Six others detained, on Friday by the army during the weekly anti wall protest at the village of Bil'in, central West Bank.
The villagers were joined by international and Israeli activists...
Today's demonstrators, consisting of Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals... Halfway along the route, the procession picked up additional demonstrators in the form of several men dressed entirely in black, carrying a coffin with a man inside.
The grim scene symbolized the Palestinians' loss of land during the Nakba and their inability to return to these lands. Most importantly, the coffin symbolized the fact that Palestinian refugees are not allowed to bury their deceased loved ones on their native soil...
The army fired teargas which caused fire in the olive groves. A local man was shot by a teargas canister and he was transferred to Ramallah for medical treatment.
The army detained three residents, Ashraf Abu Rahmah, 28 years old, Abed and Al-fatah Burnat, 53 years old. Haitham Alkhateeb 34 years old. Two Israeli activists, Dr. Roy Vakner, 37 years old, Ori Baytmen, 27 years old, and an American activist, Stormy, 27 years old were also arrested. Full story
One resident was injured; Six others detained, on Friday by the army during the weekly anti wall protest at the village of Bil'in, central West Bank.
The villagers were joined by international and Israeli activists...
Today's demonstrators, consisting of Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals... Halfway along the route, the procession picked up additional demonstrators in the form of several men dressed entirely in black, carrying a coffin with a man inside.
The grim scene symbolized the Palestinians' loss of land during the Nakba and their inability to return to these lands. Most importantly, the coffin symbolized the fact that Palestinian refugees are not allowed to bury their deceased loved ones on their native soil...
The army fired teargas which caused fire in the olive groves. A local man was shot by a teargas canister and he was transferred to Ramallah for medical treatment.
The army detained three residents, Ashraf Abu Rahmah, 28 years old, Abed and Al-fatah Burnat, 53 years old. Haitham Alkhateeb 34 years old. Two Israeli activists, Dr. Roy Vakner, 37 years old, Ori Baytmen, 27 years old, and an American activist, Stormy, 27 years old were also arrested. Full story
Israel To Impose Further Sanctions On Detainees [arrested over 70,000 Palestinians since 2000, 8000 of them childdren]
IMEMC - Israeli paper, Maariv, reported that Israeli Internal Security Minister, Yitzhak Aharonovitch, retracted his opposition to imposing further sanctions and restrictions on the detainees in an attempt to push Hamas movement to change its stances on prisoner-swap.
Maariv said that imposing sanctions would push Hamas to conclude a swap-deal under Israel’s terms.
Likud member of Knesset, Danni Ayalon...... believes that denying the detainees from their basic rights will be the most effective measure to pressure Hamas.......
.....Palestinian detainees are tortured during interrogation, held for extended periods without charges or trial, and denied their right to medical treatment.
The latest casualty among the detainees was Raed Abu Hammad who died on April 16 after he was hit by Israeli interrogators on the center of his spine and the back on his neck.
Nearly 200 Palestinian detainees died of torture and abuse, more than 50 died of medical negligence. Hundreds of detainees died after their release due to illnesses and effects of torture and gunshot wounds suffered prior or during the course of their arrest.
On April 17, the Palestinian Prisoners Day, the PPS reported that Israel arrested more than 70.000 Palestinians since 2000, 800 of them were women and 8000 were children.
... the current number of detainees imprisoned by Israel is 7000, held in 25 prisons, interrogation centers and detention camps.
... Israel is holding captive 16 legislators and ministers, 36 female detainees including 4 mothers, and 340 children. 5700 detainees are from the West Bank, 780 are from the Gaza Strip, 450 from Jerusalem and 47 detainees from the Arab world
[ Israel refuses to release figures on the number of American citizens it is imprisoning. See the Foreign Service Journal article: "Special Report: Israel's Treatment of Americans"] Full story
On Wednesday, Aharonovitch held a special session on the issue and stated that he fears such sanctions would lead to “riots” in prisons and detention camps.
Maariv said that imposing sanctions would push Hamas to conclude a swap-deal under Israel’s terms.
Likud member of Knesset, Danni Ayalon...... believes that denying the detainees from their basic rights will be the most effective measure to pressure Hamas.......
.....Palestinian detainees are tortured during interrogation, held for extended periods without charges or trial, and denied their right to medical treatment.
The latest casualty among the detainees was Raed Abu Hammad who died on April 16 after he was hit by Israeli interrogators on the center of his spine and the back on his neck.
Nearly 200 Palestinian detainees died of torture and abuse, more than 50 died of medical negligence. Hundreds of detainees died after their release due to illnesses and effects of torture and gunshot wounds suffered prior or during the course of their arrest.
On April 17, the Palestinian Prisoners Day, the PPS reported that Israel arrested more than 70.000 Palestinians since 2000, 800 of them were women and 8000 were children.
... the current number of detainees imprisoned by Israel is 7000, held in 25 prisons, interrogation centers and detention camps.
... Israel is holding captive 16 legislators and ministers, 36 female detainees including 4 mothers, and 340 children. 5700 detainees are from the West Bank, 780 are from the Gaza Strip, 450 from Jerusalem and 47 detainees from the Arab world
[ Israel refuses to release figures on the number of American citizens it is imprisoning. See the Foreign Service Journal article: "Special Report: Israel's Treatment of Americans"] Full story
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