HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY ….. UNLESS YOU ARE A PALESTINIAN

Palestine has endured the longest occupation by a foreign power than any other nation in recent history.

Palestine does not have a day of Independence to celebrate, rather they have the Nakba to mourn over.

Palestine will and must be free!

The Right of Return is the way to bring justice to this situation.




The above images were all taken from the Palestine Pool Page….. see thousands more by clicking HERE

Happy Independence Day America….. YOU can make it happen here too!

FORBIDDEN FRUIT

Israel is pushing ahead with settlements, defying Obama to punish Adam, prophesies Khalid Amayreh in occupied Jerusalem



Netanyahu and Barak

In brazen defiance of American demands for freezing Jewish settlement expansion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the Israeli government has decided to build hundreds of additional settler units. On Monday, the government approved the expansion of the Adam colony, north of Jerusalem, despite repeated American and international calls for a total freeze of settlement expansion.

The approval, which okayed the building of at least 50 settler units, was made in coordination with settler leaders as well as the Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. According to Defence Ministry sources, as many as 1,450 settler units were being planned in the Adam settlement alone. The Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot said that at least 3,200 settler units were under construction in the West Bank by the end of 2008.

This means that Israeli settlement expansion is still going at full speed irrespective of the Obama administration’s policy. The audacious decision to defy the Obama administration came hours before Defence Minister Ehud Barak was due to meet in New York with US Special Envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell in an apparent effort to reach a “compromise formula” with the Obama administration. According to Israeli sources, the formula would allow Israel to keep up the building, though at a reduced pace.

Israeli commentators described the decision to build hundreds of fresh settler units as a “feeler” to test the American resolve vis-à-vis the settlement issue. “They wanted to see if the US is serious about halting the settlement expansion and to what extent the Obama administration will be willing to go to assert its resolve on this issue,” says Roni Shakeid, a noted Israeli commentator.

Shakeid pointed out that the current Israeli government was trying to get the American government to grant Israel “a time-out” that would allow Israel to examine its choices. “Barak is now Netanyahu’s left hand, and he is trying to reach a temporary settlement with Obama administration over the settlement freeze. At the same time, the hardcore rightwingers, people like Beny Begin and Moshe Yaalon are waiting to see what Barak is capable of doing to neutralise the crisis with Washington.”

Prior to his departure for Washington, Barak suggested that a way out of the “current crisis with Washington” could take the form of incorporating the settlement issue into a wider context. “Within this framework, it is possible to have effective and practical negotiations with the Palestinians, and within this framework it is also possible to find an appropriate solution to the issue of settlement construction.”

Meanwhile, it has been reported that Barak was likely to propose to Mitchell a certain freeze of settlement expansion for three months in return for receiving American consent for continued building in large Jewish settlements such as Maali Adomim and other colonies in and around East Jerusalem.

However, it seems that there is stiff opposition to this proposal from rightwing ministers who are arguing that a temporary freeze of settlement construction would create a precedent and might become permanent. According to Haaretz, three hawkish cabinet ministers (Avigdor Lieberman, Moshe Yaalon, and Benny Begin) insisted that Israel must not propose any temporary freeze without “a similar and equal concession” by the Palestinian Authority and Arab states.

It is unclear what these ministers mean by “similar and equal concession” from the Palestinians. In the past, rightwing Israeli leaders had the audacity to urge the Israeli government to prevent Palestinians from building homes in their own towns and villages in order to maintain the “demographic balance”.

It is uncertain though whether the Obama administration will enter into a confrontation with Israel over the settlements even if Israel keeps up settlement expansion against the wishes of the American government. So far, the Obama administration has given conflicting signals as to how it will deal with the Israeli refusal to terminate settlement expansion.

Last week, Mitchell refused to meet with Isaac Molho, an envoy dispatched by Netanyahu to the US to prepare for the American envoy’s meeting with Barak. The seemingly calculated affront led to the cancellation of a planned meeting between Netanyahu and Mitchell in Paris.

On the other hand, the Israeli media has been quoting unnamed American officials as indicating that they don’t rule out that Israel and the Obama administration will reach a “compromise” on the settlement freeze issue.

In the meantime, Palestinian Authority (PA) officials continued to insist that Israel must freeze all settlement expansion, including the so-called natural growth, as a precondition for any resumption of peace talks with Israel. This week, PA President Mahmoud Abbas was quoted as saying that the time for “prevarication and verbal juggling was over. We will not agree to renew peace talks with Israel unless Israel brings all settlement activities, including the so- called natural growth, to a complete halt.”

Abbas’s remarks came as a growing number of Palestinians were losing hope in the ability of the American administration to force Israel to end its occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. According to an opinion survey published this week, a solid majority of Palestinians said they were not optimistic about President Obama’s chances of forcing Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and allow for the creation of a viable Palestinian state.

Earlier this week, Abbas received good news from the Middle East Quartet which urged Israel to stop all settlement activity to pave the way for the resumption of the peace process. The group, which includes the US, EU, Russia and the UN, made the call on the sidelines of the G8 meeting of foreign ministers in the Italian city of Triest Saturday.

The call also stressed that the freeze must cover all settlement constructions, inside and outside existing settlements. The G8’s call was particularly disappointing for Israel since it was endorsed by some of Israel’s staunchest allies such as Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

MASTERS OF HYPOCRISY

Israel learned from the best……
hypocrisy

By Khalid Amayreh in occupied East Jerusalem

I have no doubt whatsoever that Shimon Peres, the President of the criminal state of Israel, would be the main winner in any international championship for the world’s worst liar and hypocrite.

This week, Peres participated in an interfaith conference in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, where he had the audacity to lecture delegates representing the world’s major religions on peace, human dignity, moral ethics and religious tolerance.

During his speech, Peres, whose country carried out a virtual genocide in Gaza only six months ago, urged believers to show respect toward those who differ with them.

He also called on the King of Saudi Arabia to meet with him in occupied Jerusalem, in Riyadh or in any other place “in order to fulfill his prayer for peace among all people, without differences of religion.”

Peres was making his sanctimonious statements about peace with Arabs only a few hours after the Israeli government decided to build additional hundreds of Jewish settler units outside the Adam colony in the West Bank, in utter defiance of calls by the international community, including Israel’s guardian-ally, the United States, for a freeze on Jewish settlement expansion activities.

So, Peres wants to make peace with the Saudis, the Kazakhs, the Indonesians, the Mauritanians, even Muslims in the innermost parts of Black Africa. It is only the Palestinians he insists on stealing their land, arrogating their rights and narrowing their horizons.

Peres represents and embodies a country that lives and thrives on murder, theft and mendacity. Hence, it is sufficiently obvious that he can’t be honest about Israel’s criminal behavior. It is a country that is almost totally ugly from head to toe.

It is nearly impossible to gauge the level of Israeli-Zionist hypocrisy. Indeed, one wouldn’t go too far by saying that Israel is the world’s most hypocritical nation-state.

The evidence is as conspicuous as overwhelming.

First of all, Israel itself is built right on top of another people, the Palestinian people, without whose destruction and obliteration, this evil entity wouldn’t have seen the light of the day. This is the fact that some Israelis are beginning to recognize.

In his book, the Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, Illan Pappe, Professor of Political Science at Haifa University wrote that “The ethnic cleansing of Palestine by Israel was not an unintended consequence, or fortuitous occurrence, or even a ‘miracle’, as Israel’s first president Chaim Weizmann later proclaimed; it was the result of long and meticulous planning.”


In fact, the ethnic cleansing of Palestine was not a one-time operation that ended with the initial hostilities, e.g. in 1948, as happened in Europe during the Second World War.

It has been going on ever since the establishment of the hateful colonial entity and is now continuing unabated in the form of seizing Palestinian land and property in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and building Jewish colonies on the very land Palestinians are being told will be the home of their future state.

Peres is utterly unqualified to invoke human values since he and his colleagues in racism and terror, people like Ariel Sharon, Ehud Olmert, Ehud Barak and other war criminals, have been among history’s worst offenders.

In 1996, during his brief premiership following Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination, Peres ordered his army to commit the genocidal massacre of Qana in Southern Lebanon where Zio-Nazi troops mercilessly massacred more than 100 Lebanese children and women.

The horrific scenes of decapitated and mutilated children could only be compared with some of the worst Nazi atrocities in eastern Europe more than six decades ago.

Interestingly, until this moment, this false man of peace, this virulent hypocrite, has not had the moral courage to say “sorry” for the heinous carnage he committed in cold blood.

Peres has tons of innocent blood on his hands, hence the sins he should apologize for are numerous and nearly countless. In fact, I am not sure that his apologies, even if sincere, which is utterly unlikely, would make much of a difference anyway.

After all, we are talking about an irredeemable liar, hypocrite and war criminal.

This is a man who remained silent while the bulldozers of the Nazis of our time were crushing the bones and sculls of dead Muslims at the Mamillah cemetery in Jerusalem a few years ago in order to build a Museum of Tolerance!!! to celebrate “Zionist tolerance toward non-Jews”

I really wonder why none of the delegates at the Astana conference confronted this despicable thug with this issue?

More to the point, Peres is the President of the country that adamantly refuses to allow millions of Christians and Muslims in occupied Palestine to access their respective religious places in al-Quds.

For example, this writer, who lives not far from Jerusalem, has been utterly unable to enter the city for the past 15 years, even for a brief prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This is while people from around the world can easily and freely visit the holy city.

So, one is really at loss trying to reconcile this hateful racist policy of religious discrimination against Palestinian Christians and Muslims with Peres’ call for religious tolerance.

In his visit to Astana, Peres was accompanied with another hypocrite, Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metger.

And in characteristic Zionist self-absorbedness, Metzger utterly ignored that fact that his country was holding as many as 11,000 Palestinian political prisoners, including democratically elected officials, in inhuman conditions in slimy dungeons and concentration camps all over occupied Palestine.

So, delegates should at least have asked this pseudo religious leader if he had thought that the safety and freedom of a single Israeli soldier were more important than the safety and freedom of more than eleven thousand Palestinian prisoners languishing in Zionist jails, most of them didn’t commit any real violation, apart from demanding freedom for their own captive people.

Hypocrisy spells moral depravity. It is one of the worst human vices. However, when readily practiced by “religious leaders” who claim to adhere to a higher standard of morality, it becomes a disastrous trait of immensely sinful proportions.

It is indeed lamentable that certified war criminals, like Shimon Peres, and racist rabies representing an evil state, like Yona Metzger, are invited to address religious conferences whose goal is to build a better world based on justice and equality, two characters that are completely incompatible with the Zionist mindset.

It was also sad that only one delegation, the Iranian delegation, walked out of the conference hall when the terrorist President of Israel began giving his speech.

Unfortunately, many of these official delegates represented tyrannical and despotic regimes which are only Muslim by name and don’t really represent the real spirit of Islam which upholds the dignity of human beings and rejects racism, tyranny and oppression.

NEW YORKERS PROTEST THE PIRACY ON THE MEDITERRANEAN …… PHOTO ESSAY

KIDNAPPED PASSENGERS OF HUMANITARIAN AID SHIP TO GAZA CHARGED WITH ‘ILLEGAL ENTRY INTO ISRAEL’


Israel has a way of twisting the facts…. in the same manner that they twist their traditional Sabbath bread…. one is called ‘
Challah‘, the other is called ‘Chutzpah‘!

Commentary by Chippy Dee, Photos by Bud Korotzer….

On Wednesday afternoon, July 1st, hundreds of people gathered in NYC outside the Israeli Consulate to protest an act of piracy by the Israeli Navy. The navy attacked the Spirit of Humanity, a small boat flying the flag of Cyprus, in international waters, which was loaded with humanitarian supplies for the people of Gaza. The 21 aide workers were kidnapped and taken to Israel where they are still being held. One of the aide workers was Cynthia McKinney, former representative to the House of Representatives from Georgia and candidate for president on the Green Party ticket. The demonstration was called by NYC Councilmember Charles Barron and supported by several groups that oppose the Israeli occupation of Palestine and want justice for the Palestinian people.

There were many speakers. All decried the acts of piracy and kidnapping, demanded the release of all aide workers, and expressed solidarity with the people of Gaza. Israel’s refusal to allow aid to reach Gaza was considered an act of genocide. It was pointed out that when a similar act occurred by young Somalis US Navy SEALS were sent in and they were shot. But the acts of Israel are being ignored by the US government and the press.

One of the speakers was Yonatan Shapira, a former captain and pilot in the Israeli Air Force. He called the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) a terrorist organization and urged the crowd to work for boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel. Using a megaphone he addressed the people in the consulate in Hebrew. The time for meetings and talks are over, he said.

Other speakers, Shaka Shakur, NYC chair of the New Black Panther Party and Roger Wareham of the December 12th Movement Blacks Against Genocide said that the Black community here had much in common with the Palestinians in that they had a common enemy – racism.

As the demonstration was about to conclude Councilman Barron led the crowd across the street to the doors of the consulate. Many police stood between the doors and the crowd. He said he was taking this step to drive home the point that Israel must release all the kidnapped workers, including Cynthia McKinney, and they must allow humanitarian aid to reach the devastated people of Gaza. Israel has turned Gaza, the most densely populated spot on earth, into a huge prison. The people there are in a desperate situation without homes, fuel, food, and medicine after the brutal Israeli attacks this winter when about 1400 people were killed, mostly civilians, including 400 children. If our demands are not met, he said, we will return again and again. Charles Barron will be part of the huge humanitarian aid convoy led by British MP, George Galloway, and Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic (”Born on the 4th of July”) that will be leaving for Egypt, en route to Gaza, on the 4th of July.

This morning we heard one of the aides talking to Amy Goodman by phone from her cell. She said that they were all charged with illegal entry into Israel! That is the best example of chutzpah that I have ever heard. They seize these people on the high seas, haul them to Israel against their will, and then charge them with being in Israel illegally. If it wasn’t such an outrage it would be funny.

Photo identifications: YONATAN SHAPIRA Former captain in the IDF Air Force. Shaved head – black T shirt with We Will Not Be Silent written in German. CHARLES BARRON Black shirt, open collar, tan pattern on shirt. COURTNEY SHEETZ – Her mother Katherine is one of the kidnapped aide workers. Young woman, long brown hair, white shirt with green underneath, holding mike in left hand. SHAKA SHAKUR – white cap and green dashiki, NYC Chair of New Black Panther Party. FRED GOLDSTEIN – Worker’s World newspaper. Black T shirt, baseball cap, glasses BRENDA STOKE a/k/a Nsia – N.E. Regional organizer Million Worker March Movement Light skin Black woman in a purple dress. NAYO SIMMONS – Co-chair of Operation P.O.W.E.R. – Going to Gaza with the Galloway-Kovic convoy. Young black woman wearing a white blouse and a scarf. CORINNE WILLINGER – with Women In Black and Raging Grannies. Older woman wearing a black T shirt with We Will Not Be Silent on it. LEONARD WEINGLASS – Prominent civil rights/civil liberties lawyer. Defended many from the Chicago 8 to the Cuban 5. Older man in yellow short sleeved shirt. JOYCE CHEDIAC – Lebanese-American activist in the Palestinian cause. Dark hair, sleeveless black dress, holding mike in left hand.

Photos © by Bud Korotzer












~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HaAretz published the following this morning…..

Jewish UN official: IDF seizure of Gaza-bound ship is ‘criminal’
By Reuters

A United Nations human rights investigator on Thursday called Israel’s seizure of a ship carrying relief aid for the Gaza Strip “unlawful” and said its blockade of the territory constituted a “continuing crime against humanity”.

Israeli authorities on Tuesday intercepted the vessel, which was also carrying 21 pro-Palestinian activists, and said it would not be permitted to enter Gaza coastal waters because of security risks in the area and its existing naval blockade.

Richard Falk, an American Jew and the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, said the move was part of Israel’s “cruel blockade of the entire Palestinian population of Gaza” in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibiting any form of collective punishment against “an occupied people”.


Falk, who is an expert on international law, said Israel’s two-year blockade of Hamas-ruled Gaza restricted vital supplies such as food, medicine and fuel to “bare subsistence levels”.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a report this week that Israel was also halting entry to Gaza of building materials and spare parts needed to repair damage from its 22-day invasion late last December.

“Such a pattern of continuing blockade under these conditions amounts to such a serious violation of the Geneva Conventions as to constitute a continuing crime against humanity,” Falk said in a statement released in Geneva.

Prior to leaving Cyprus, the ship was inspected by Cypriot authorities in response to Israeli demands to determine whether it carried any weapons, according to the UN investigator. “None were found and Israeli authorities were so informed.”

“Nonetheless, the 21 peace activists on the boat were arrested, held in captivity and have been charged with ‘illegal entry’ to Israel even though they had no intention of going to Israel,” Falk added.

Israel envoy calls remarks’biased’

Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Aharon Leshno-Yaar, rejected the remarks by Falk whom he said was “known for his bias against Israel and anti-Israel statements”.

Israel is allowing relief aid to reach Gaza in coordination with Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, Leshno-Yaar said.

“Clearly the purpose of that ship was to create a buzz and serve as a propaganda vehicle against Israel,” he told Reuters.

Activists from the U.S.-based Free Gaza movement said that Irish Nobel peace prize laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. congresswoman Cynthia McKinney were among those aboard.

Falk has had his own difficulties with Israeli authorities in trying to fulfill his independent mandate for the UN Human Rights Council.

Last December, he was detained and turned back from Israel, forcing him to abort a planned mission to Gaza — a deportation denounced by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

In a report last March, Falk said Israel’s year-end military assault on the densely population coastal strip of 1.5 million appeared to constitute a grave war crime.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also see…..

Emergency Email To Obama Re Gaza , Israel`s Act Of Piracy
By Cindy Sheehan

Dear President Obama,

My friend, Cynthia McKinney and Nobel laureate, Mairead Maguire and 20 other people were trying to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, which, as I understand, is something that you have encouraged Israel to allow.

The Honorable Cynthia McKinney served six terms in the US Congress and she was the Green Party candidate for the office that you eventually won. It is an outrage that the Israeli Navy would block the boat that she and 21 others were on in international waters and board the boat and kidnap the crew and humanitarian aid workers.

President Obama, when an American captain was kidnapped by Somali `pirates` US Navy SEALS were sent in to rescue him. He was the captain of a private, for profit, ship and the US military was used to rescue him.

What Israel did, outside of its waters, to an unarmed boat filled with aid for Gazans who have been trapped in a concentration camp by Israel, is an act of international piracy and you must demand that Israel release Ms. McKinney and her fellow captors with all haste.

I just received word that the illegally detained captives have been moved to another prison and may be charged with trying to enter Israel illegally, when they were trying to get aid to Gaza and were not even in Israeli waters.

I can`t even express my immense outrage at this overt breach of international law that has been perpetrated by Israel.

Use your influence as the greatest dispenser of military aid to Israel to force that rogue state to release Ms. McKinney et. al., then we can talk about their immoral occupation of Palestine and the inhumane blockade of Gaza.

With urgency,

Cindy Sheehan

ACTION ALERT TO HELP FREE THE VICTIMS OF ISRAELI PIRACY

IS THE US CORPORATE MEDIA RACIST?
THIS is a must read before you read any further…..
If these ‘people’ support the kidnapping at sea, then you MUST do whatever is possible to get them freed.

Action Alert: Protests in front of Israeli embassies tomorrow

London, 2 July, (ECESG) – The European campaign to end the siege on Gaza (ECESG) called today for international human rights organizations and lobbying groups to organize large protests in front of Israeli embassies across Europe in solidarity with activists of Freegaza Movement. Activists onboard of the humanitarian boat were kidnapped by Israeli naval forces while they were sailing in a peaceful mission to end the siege.

The call aims at creating factual movements on the ground to release “the spirit of humanity” activists. Additionally, head of ECESG, Dr. Arafat Madi contacted EU officials and MPs to urge on moving to release the activists immediately.

British Baroness, Jenny Tonge, expressed her deep anger and concerns towards the Israeli doing. She said that, “I shall take up the matter with the Foreign office.”

Sinn Féin Justice Spokesperson Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD has described the Israeli government’s decision to board and hijack a peace boat on route to Gaza carrying medical aid as contemptible, adding; “The piracy of the Israeli Navy in boarding the boat in international waters and towing it towards Israel this is yet another astounding example of just how beyond reproach this administration believes it is.”

The boat was boarded by highly-profiled people like Mairead Maguire, winner of a Noble Peace Prize and a former U.S. congressperson, Cynthia McKinney. The vessel was forcibly taken to one of the Israeli seaports under direct threats from naval boats.

Maguire, winner of a Noble Peace Prize was taken against her will and isolated from the rest of the team. The Israeli army cared about neither her old age nor her position. Two activists were released only while the rest are in Israeli detention of Ramallah. The exemplary punishment against the activists is a small glimpse of what’s happening to 12 thousand Palestinians in Israeli jails.

ECESG is organizing a number of protests in various European
countries to call on releasing the kidnapped peace activists.

Actions’ Timetable


Israeli Embassy in Roma, Italy

Location: Via Michele Mercati, 14

In front of the Israeli embassy

3rd of July 2009

12:30 pm


Embassy of Israel in Copenhagen, Denmark

Lundevangsvej 4

2900 Hellerup

12:30 pm


Israel Embassy, Sweden

Torstenssonsgatan 4

Stockholm

Sweden

12:30 pm

Embassy of Israel

Chancellery

Alpenstrasse 32

P.O.Box

3006 Bern

12:30 pm


Israeli Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands

Embassy of Israel in The Hague, Netherlands

Ambassade van Israel

Buitenhof 47

2513 AH Den Haag

12:30 pm

THE ILLUSTRATED PALESTINIAN RIGHT OF RETURN

The Right To Return Will Never Be Forgotten……. Palestinian Refugees……

Photos taken by Ayman Quader





More photos of the artwork can be seen HERE


The following is taken from United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194


Resolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible;

Instructs the Conciliation Commission to facilitate the repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of the refugees and the payment of compensation, and to maintain close relations with the Director of the United Nations Relief for Palestine Refugees and, through him, with the appropriate organs and agencies of the United Nations.



REMEMBERING THE CHILDREN OF CHERNOBYL (PRYPIAT)

In memory of the children of Prypiat, Ukraine, whose lives were
abruptly stopped by the tragedy of Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

To know more about the city of Prypiat, abandoned in 1986 following
the Chernobyl accident visit:
http://pripyat.com/en/

This artwork was based upon images of Timm Suess: http://timmsuess.com/


Image ‘Copyleft’ by Carlos Latuff


“ARE YOU A SUBVERSIVE?”

Rambling down Memory Lane…….

July 1st has always been a special day for me. Forty two years ago today I left the United States and applied for Landed Immigrant Status in Canada. My wife and I picked this date as it was a National Holiday and we figured there would be less security at the Toronto Airport…. and less questions. It was a special day in Canada, it was the 100th anniversary of Confederation.

My suspicions proved correct…. there was only a handful of security personnel on duty and I was asked only two questions…
“How long do you plan on staying in Canada?”…. to which I responded “Forever!”
The second question was “Are you a subversive?”…. to which I responded quite naively “What does that mean?”
“Do you consider yourself a threat to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second or any one of her heirs?” (pronounced ‘hairs’ when I verbalise this story)…. to which I responded “Definitely not!”
“Welcome to Canada! Here is your Landed Immigrant Status Card!”
(Let it be known that in no way did I consider the Royal Family ‘Divine’ in any way, but I did not feel I was a threat to their existence.)

Little did that Immigration Officer know, but in the United States I WAS considered a subversive…. in fact, I carried with me a ten page document of allegations against me from Army ‘Intelligence’ which ended with the words “Your entrance into any branch of the Armed Forces at any time would be detrimental to the security of our nation.” How much more of a ’subversive’ can one hope to be?

It would be ’safe’ to say that I owe my life to the FBI. The document I mentioned above was full of information provided by them. Their ‘planted’ informants knew the exact date and time that I joined the Communist Party of the United States. They knew every move I made during all my years of activity.

On my 18th birthday I registered with the Draft Board. We had to do that by law in those days. A few years later I received my order to report for my physical examination. I will never forget the short, burly man in charge that day…. Sgt. Randazzo. His face and voice haunts me to this day. The day I had to report was like a mini High School Reunion. Almost every male in my graduation class was present that day. We were lined up and were asked if we were interested in volunteering for the Marines. As this was a sure way to be sent to Viet Nam, there wasn’t a single volunteer. Randazzo then proceeded to pick every third person in line to serve in the Marines. But…… immediately before that an announcement was made…. “Anyone that was ever arrested, please go to Room 101.” Off I went….. which meant that poor Michael, who was standing next to me, was picked to be a Marine…. it should have been me, but I was being interrogated instead. Needless to say, Michael does not speak to me to this day.

If you move the ‘timer’ to 9:10 on the following video, you will get a pretty good idea what that interrogation was like….

A few months later I received my 4F. At first I was given ten days to deny the allegations in the document I received…. non compliance earned me my 4F. The rest is history…..

Moving on…. here we were in a new country, a country with totally different values and definitions than the one we had just left. But, I felt that we were still not ‘home free’…. our new government might discover our past and deport us, so we prepared for this by purchasing a framed photograph of Her Majesty and hanging it in the hallway of our new apartment. If the Royal Mounted Police ever came to ‘visit’ it would be the first thing they saw. We had two new statuses that we did not want to lose…. Landed Immigrant and NON Subversive!

My political activities continued throughout my years in Canada, including running in elections for both the Federal Parliament and the Province of Ontario…. on the ticket of the Communist Party of Canada. This Party was/is legal, so my status of Non Subversive did not change.


The Mounties never came and we were never deported. Canada was a totally different world than the one we had just came from… that was in 1967. Things are a bit different today, unfortunately. Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party hacks have ‘bridged the gap’ between the two countries. Canada today is as close to a 51st State of the United States as Israel is…. this makes me very sad. Hopefully things will change and Canada can once again pride itself for being the country represented as ‘”The true North, proud and free!” As long as the Tories remain in power that will not be the case.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA!
Also see

THE PRESS CONFERENCE THAT NO ONE ATTENDED…..

DESERT PEACE EXCLUSIVE

If it’s about Israel…. the media is not interested.
If it condemns Israel…. the media is definitely not interested.

Yesterday afternoon, NYC Council Member Charles Barron called a Press Conference to discuss ‘zionist piracy on the high seas’. Not a single member of the Corporate Media attended the conference… in fact, the only people representing the ‘media’ at all in attendance were our roving photographer Bud and his sidekick Chippy Dee. Again, the power of the Blogesphere proves its strength.

On this note…. Chippy Dee had the following observation:


Interestingly, if you Google the event there is loads of info on the blogs but nothing in the press.  We’d be in total ignorance without bloggers.  No wonder they’re trying so hard to get rid of this thorn in their side.   With all the tumult, are you hearing about the military coup in Honduras? It is starting – attempts to destroy the new democracies.


The Press apparently decided that the confiscation of children’s toys, medical supplies and building materials is OK…. as it is a way of protecting their beloved Israel. It’s also OK to kidnap Human Rights Workers aboard the ship as they are a threat to the security of Israel as well…. so, it’s best to just ignore the issue just in case anyone might disagree with the tactics used by the Israeli government.

A leaflet was distributed calling for a demonstration later today…. it appears at the bottom of this post.

The following photos of Mr. Barron (in light brown collarless suit) and his aid Lamont Carolina were taken at the ‘attempted’ Press Conference.

Photos © by Bud Korotzer



EMERGENCY DEMONSTRATION
Against Israeli Piracy & Kidnapping
Free Cynthia McKinney and all kidnapped human rights workers!


WEDNESDAY 4-6 PM

at the

ISRAELI MISSION
800 Second Avenue
(Second Avenue @ 43rd St.)

Last night, Israeli Occupation Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries, including Noble laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. The passengers and crew are being forcibly dragged toward Israel.

The seizure of humanitarian supplies and abduction of human rights workers is an act of piracy, a crime under international law. When the boat was attacked, it was not in Israeli waters and was on a human rights mission to Gaza. Israel’s deliberate and premeditated attack on an unarmed boat in international waters is a clear violation of international law. Join us tomorrow from 4 to 6 pm at the Israeli Mission to demand an immediate and unconditional release of the

SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, all 21 human rights workers, and the humanitarian supplies.


According to an International Committee of the Red Cross report released yesterday, the Palestinians living in Gaza are “trapped in despair.” Thousands of Gazans whose homes were destroyed earlier during Israel’s December/January massacre are still without shelter despite pledges of almost $4.5 billion in aid, because Israel refuses to allow cement and other building material into the Gaza Strip. The report also notes that hospitals are struggling to meet the needs of their patients due to Israel’s disruption of medical supplies.

Let the Humanitarian Aid through!
Free Cynthia McKinney and all kidnapped human rights workers!
Stop the blockade of Gaza!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This just in…….
Katherine Sheetz, a United States citizen, nurse and noted filmmaker, was also kidnapped. Her daughter, Courtney Sheetz is pleading for help to find out where her mother is.
She called today asking:
“My mom was one of those captured today by the Israeli Navy!  I don’t know what to do, I am so sick about this.  Can you help me?  Can you call, or write letters, send faxes about my mom, find out how she is, tell them to release her!  I have never been so scared in my life.  I know there are other people who have been kidnapped, but I can’t focus on anything but my mother.  You have networks of friends who care, maybe they can also help me.  Can you set up a protest, get media attention, something to help?”

Courtney

Tomorrow join Courtney, who was on the Free Gaza boat last August with her mom and passed through the blockade to deliver their humanitarian aide to the citizens of Gaza. She received an award for her courageous mission. Read more from her blog:
Courtney Sheetz: OMG! Just spoke with my friend, Mark Regev, the spokesperson for the prime minister’s office and he commented after being asked to establish the wellbeing of the kidnapped workers stated, “I refuse to help you because I think what they are doing is wrong.”
Courtney Sheetz: My mother has been kidnapped and detained by Israel. I just called the state department overseas 202-647-5225 and spoke to the answering machine of – Ms. Joanne Hunter. My concern is=2 0that they will not treat the passengers on this boat correctly, and I am worried for my mother’s safety. Please call if you find a few seconds and you can go to freegaza.org to find more information and numbers.
Protest from 4 to 6 pm at the Israeli Mission to demand an immediate and unconditional release of the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, all 21 human rights workers, and the humanitarian supplies.

The seizure of humanitarian supplies and abduction of human rights workers is an act of piracy, a crime under international law.  When the boat was attacked, it was not in Israeli waters and was on a human rights mission to Gaza.  Israel’s deliberate and premeditated attack on an unarmed boat in international=2 0waters is a clear violation of international law.

ISRAEL ATTACKS JUSTICE BOAT; KIDNAPS HUMAN RIGHTS WORKERS; CONFISCATES MEDICINE, TOYS AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

spirit of humanity

********PLEASE REPOST WIDELY & ASAP***************

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
30 June 2009

For more information contact:
Greta Berlin (English)
tel: +357 99 081 767 /

friends@freegaza.org

Caoimhe Butterly (Arabic/English/Spanish):
tel: +357 99 077 820 /
sahara78@hotmail.co.uk
www.FreeGaza.org

[23 miles off the coast of Gaza, 15:30pm] – Today Israeli Occupation Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries, including Noble laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (see below for a complete list of passengers). The passengers and crew are being forcibly dragged toward Israel.

“This is an outrageous violation of international law against us. Our boat was not in Israeli waters, and we were on a human rights mission to the Gaza Strip,” said Cynthia McKinney, a former U.S. Congresswoman and presidential candidate. “President Obama just told Israel to let in humanitarian and reconstruction supplies, and that’s exactly what we tried to do. We’re asking the international community to demand our release so we can resume our journey.”

According to an International Committee of the Red Cross report released yesterday, the Palestinians living in Gaza are “trapped in despair.” Thousands of Gazans whose homes were destroyed earlier during Israel’s December/January massacre are still without shelter despite pledges of almost $4.5 billion in aid, because Israel refuses to allow cement and other building material into the Gaza Strip. The report also notes that hospitals are struggling to meet the needs of their patients due to Israel’s disruption of medical supplies.

“The aid we were carrying is a symbol of hope for the people of Gaza, hope that the sea route would open for them, and they would be able to transport their own materials to begin to reconstruct the schools, hospitals and thousands of homes destroyed during the onslaught of “Cast Lead”. Our mission is a gesture to the people of Gaza that we stand by them and that they are not alone” said fellow passenger Mairead Maguire, winner of a Noble Peace Prize for her work in Northern Ireland.

Just before being kidnapped by Israel, Huwaida Arraf, Free Gaza Movement chairperson and delegation co-coordinator on this voyage, stated that: “No one could possibly believe that our small boat constitutes any sort of threat to Israel. We carry  medical and reconstruction supplies, and children’s toys. Our passengers include a Nobel peace prize laureate and a former U.S. congressperson. Our boat was searched and received a security clearance by Cypriot Port Authorities before we departed, and at no time did we ever approach Israeli waters.”

Arraf continued, “Israel’s deliberate and premeditated attack on our unarmed boat is a clear violation of international law and we demand our immediate and unconditional release.”

###

WHAT YOU CAN DO!

CONTACT the Israeli Ministry of Justice
tel: +972 2646 6666 or +972 2646 6340
fax: +972 2646 6357

CONTACT the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
tel: +972 2530 3111
fax: +972 2530 3367

CONTACT Mark Regev in the Prime Minister’s office at:
tel: +972 5 0620 3264 or +972 2670 5354

mark.regev@it.pmo.gov.il

CONTACT the International Committee of the Red Cross to ask for their assistance in establishing the wellbeing of the kidnapped human rights workers and help in securing their immediate release!

Red Cross Israel
tel: +972 3524 5286
fax: +972 3527 0370

tel_aviv.tel@icrc.org

Red Cross Switzerland:
tel: +41 22 730 3443
fax: +41 22 734 8280

Red Cross USA:
tel: +1 212 599 6021
fax: +1 212 599 6009
###

Kidnapped Passengers from the Spirit of Humanity include:

Khalad Abdelkader, Bahrain
Khalad is an engineer representing the Islamic Charitable Association of Bahrain.

Othman Abufalah, Jordan
Othman is a world-renowned journalist with al-Jazeera TV.

Khaled Al-Shenoo, Bahrain
Khaled is a lecturer with the University of Bahrain.

Mansour Al-Abi, Yemen
Mansour is a cameraman with Al-Jazeera TV.

Fatima Al-Attawi, Bahrain
Fatima is a relief=2 0worker and community activist from Bahrain.

Juhaina Alqaed, Bahrain
Juhaina is a journalist & human rights activist.

Huwaida Arraf, US
Huwaida is the Chair of the Free Gaza Movement and delegation co-coordinator for this voyage.

Ishmahil Blagrove, UK
Ishmahil is a Jamaican-born journalist, documentary film maker and founder of the Rice & Peas film production company. His documentaries focus on international struggles for social justice.

Kaltham Ghloom, Bahrain
Kaltham is a community activist.

Derek Graham, Ireland
Derek Graham is an electrician, Free Gaza organizer, and first mate aboard the Spirit of Humanity.

Alex Harrison, UK
Alex is a solidarity worker from Britain. She is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.

Denis Healey, UK
Denis is Captain of the Spirit of Humanity. This will be his fifth voyage to Gaza.

Fathi Jaouadi, UK
Fathi is a British journalist, Free Gaza organizer, and delegation co-coordinator for this voyage.

Mairead Maguire, Ireland
Mairead is a Nobel laureate and renowned peace activist.

Lubna Masarwa, Palestine/Israel
Lubna is a Palestinian human rights activist and Free Gaza organizer.

Theresa McDermott, Scotland
Theresa is a solidarity worker from Scotland. She is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.

Cynthia McKinney, US
Cynthia McKinney is an outspoken advocate for human rights and social justice issues, as well as a=2 0former U.S. congressperson and presidential candidate.

Adnan Mormesh, UK
Adnan is a solidarity worker from Britain. He is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.

Adam Qvist, Denmark
Adam is a solidarity worker from Denmark. He is traveling to Gaza to do human rights monitoring.

Adam Shapiro, US
Adam is an American documentary film maker and human rights activist.

Kathy Sheetz, US
Kathy is a nurse and film maker, traveling to Gaza to do human rights monitoring.

###

DEATHS CONTINUE TO MOUNT IN GAZA AS A RESULT OF THE ISRAELI BLITZKRIEG

One dead and three injured as war-damaged house collapses in Gaza

Katherine Orwell

mir_farshad_ebrahimi.jpg
A Palestinian under the rubble of a destroyed building in Gaza – by Amir Farshad Ebrahimi

A house in Eastern Gaza, that had been damaged by shelling during Israel’s offensive in Gaza in the beginning of this year, collapsed on Monday killing one Palestinian and injuring three others.

According to witnesses the house collapsed while workers were doing repairs.

It has been reported that there might have been three more people missing in the house.

The three injured sustained moderate injuries and were taken to the hospital.


S O S ….. ISRAELI WARSHIPS THREATENING AID SHIP TO GAZA

Updates from the ‘Spirit of Humanity’

Most recent update…..

We need your help to get to Gaza

Tuesday, 30 June 2009 13:23 Written by Free Gaza Team

Dear Friends, We’ve just received word from the Spirit of Humanity. They are 24 miles off the coast of Gaza, and are still surrounded by Israeli warships. Israeli Occupying Forces have threatened to take violent action against the small boat unless it turns around. They will not turn around.

Our people on the boat have slowed their speed significantly and are telling the Israelis that they must not fire on unarmed human rights workers and journalists, including Nobel peace prize laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. Regardless of Israeli threats, they will not turn around. They continue, slowly, sailing toward Gaza.

PLEASE immediately call Israeli Occupying Forces and demand that they STOP threatening the Spirit of Humanity.


CALL & FAX the Israeli Navy at:
tel: +972 3737 7777 or +972 3737 6242
fax: +972 3737 6123 or +972 3737 7175

CALL Mark Regev in the Prime Minister’s office at:
+972 2670 5354 or +972 5 0620 3264

mark.regev@it.pmo.gov.il

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CALL Shlomo Dror in the Ministry of Defense at:
+972 33697 5339 or +972 50629 8148
mediasar@mod.gov.il


Update on the Spirit

Tuesday, 30 June 2009 03:03 Written by Free Gaza Movement

Dear Friends,

We just spoke again with our people aboard the Spirit of Humanity. The Israeli Navy is continuing to try and intimidate the ship, and is actively jamming its radar, GPS, and navigation systems in direct violation of international maritime law. This jamming is extremely dangerous and directly threatens the welfare and safety of everyone aboard our civilian ship.

Because their instrumentation is being jammed, they are using compass & paper to attempt to navigate. They are in international waters & they believe their location is approximately 110km off of the town of Hadera. Everyone is tired but determined. They are not being deterred by the Israeli aggression & are continuing toward Gaza. Please help them.

Please CALL or FAX Major Liebovitz from the Israeli Navy at:
Tel + 972 5 781 86248 or +972 3737 7777 or +972 3737 6242
Fax +972 3737 6123 or +972 3737 7175

CALL Mark Regev in the Prime Minister’s office at:
Tel +972 2670 5354 or +972 5 0620 3264

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CALL Shlomo Dror in the Ministry of Defence at:
Tel +972 3697 5339 or +972 50629 8148

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—–
Free Gaza Movement
357 99 081 767
www.freegaza.org
www.flickr.com/photos/29205195@N02/

Call off your attack dogs – Cynthia McKinney

Tuesday, 30 June 2009 01:15 Written by Free Gaza Team

We just spoke to the passengers. Everyone is OK, but the situation is still very tense. They continue to be surrounded by Israeli warships which are threatening to open fire. The Israeli Navy is actively jamming all navigation systems in violation of international maritime law, endangering the people on board.

Former U.S. Congresswoman, Cynthia McKinney, speaking from on board the SPIRIT, stated, “I am extremely angry. We demand that the Israeli government call off their attack dogs. We are unarmed civilians aboard an unarmed boat delivering medical and reconstruction aid to other human beings in Gaza. Why in God’s name would Israel want to attack us and threaten our safety and welfare. I call on President Obama and the international community to intervene now to prevent this situation from escalating with potentially drastic results to the civilians on board.”

Since the boat’s navigation equipment is being jammed, it has turned westward in order to stay in international waters.The Captain and crew are working from the most ancient of navigation equipment…the compass to stay clear of Israeli waters.
Read more…


URGENT ALERT – Israeli Navy surrounding SPIRIT and threatening to open fire

Monday, 29 June 2009 23:57 Last Updated on Tuesday, 30 June 2009 00:07 Written by Free Gaza Team

At 1:40 am, the Israeli Navy surrounded the SPIRIT while in international waters off the coast of Israel as it is on its way to the Gaza Strip. We got a call from the boat saying that they were being threatened, told to turn back or they would be fired on.

Huwaida Arraf, one of the delegation leaders, was on the phone with the Israeli gunboats, and we could hear her saying, “You Cannot Open Fire on Unarmed Civilians” several times. At this writing, they are surrounded by several ships shining bright lights into the SPIRIT.

CALL or FAX Major Liebovitz from the Israeli Navy at:
Tel + 972 5 781 86248 or +972 3737 7777 or +972 3737 6242
Fax +972 3737 6123 or +972 3737 7175

CALL Mark Regev in the Prime Minister’s office at:
Tel +972 2670 5354 or +972 5 0620 3264

mark.regev@it.pmo.gov.il
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it // <![CDATA[// <![CDATA[
document.write( '' );
// ]]>

CALL Shlomo Dror in the Ministry of Defence at:
Tel +972 3697 5339 or +972 50629 8148

mediasar@mod.gov.il


All of the above VIA …… watch this site for updates

A CALL FOR ACTION IN NEW YORK CITY……
DATE & TIME: Tuesday June 30, 2009 12PM

PLACE: Front of 250 Broadway Avenue (across from City Hall)

Councilmember Barron Calls on President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton to Call off Israeli Warships which are threatening the life of Fmr Rep Cynthia McKinney and those aboard the Spirit of Humanity

New York, NY, June 29, 2009—Councilmember Barron will hold an emergency press conference to call on President Obama and Secretary Clinton to demand the Israeli navy stand down its military activities against the Spirit of Humanity, a humanitarian aid ship carrying Cynthia McKinney and aid workers from Cyprus to Gaza. The Spirit, which is caring medical and other aid to the Gaza Strip, was in international waters heading to Gaza when the warships surrounded the unarmed ship and is threatening to open fire.

Councilmember Barron denounces the Israeli Blockade of Gaza and is calling on our elected leaders to stand up against the inhumane treatment of the peoples of Gaza. “I am asking President Obama to back up his speech in Egypt with some action! Tell Prime Minister Netanyahu to allow the ship to pass and to assure the safe return home of Cythina McKinney and all aboard. It is in international waters and is on a mission of peace.”

The Free Gaza boat the “Spirit of Humanity” departed Cyprus July 29th with Twenty-one human rights and solidarity workers representing eleven different countries aboard. The passengers include Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. The ship also carries three tons of medical aid, children’s toys, and rehabilitation and reconstruction kits for twenty family homes.

“I am extremely angry. We demand that the Israeli government call off their attack dogs. We are unarmed civilians aboard an unarmed boat delivering medical and reconstruction aid to other human beings in Gaza. Why in God’s name would Israel want to attack us and threaten our safety and welfare. I call on President Obama and the international community to intervene now to prevent this situation from escalating with potentially drastic results to the civilians on board.” -Cynthia McKinney, aboard the spirit of humanity

As a show of support to the peoples of Gaza, Councilmember Barron will accompany MP George Galloway, Fmr Rep. Cynthia McKinney, Ron Kovic, and many others on this humanitarian mission to Gaza. The mission will included hundreds of volunteers who will deliver millions of dollars worth of medical aid to the Gaza Strip. The trip will began to leave on July 4th.

Fresh from the success of the Viva Palestina: Lifeline from Britain to Gaza aid convoy – which took over 100 vehicles to Gaza from the UK, Member of Parliament, George Galloway has linked up on his US tour with the Vietnam veteran and peace campaigner, Ron Kovic, to launch a similar venture from the States. “There’s a new atmosphere in the US over Palestine,” says Galloway, “the phenomenal response to this tour demonstrates that.”

Viva Palestina USA is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, but individuals and groups from across the nation have organized locally to generate support for the convoy, which has raised millions of dollars for humanitarian aid and will use several hundred volunteers and vehicles to deliver the aid into Gaza.

Cynthia Ann McKinney is a former United States Representative and was the 2008 Green Party nominee for President of the United States. She is the first African-American woman to have represented Georgia in the House.

George Galloway is an outspoken British politician, author, and broadcaster, who has been a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1987.

Ron Kovic, whose story was immortalized in Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July, will be one of the co-leaders of the convoy.

GAZA DIARY: RELIVING THE HORRORS OF THE ISRAELI BLITZKRIEG

A Dairy form Gaza

Ayman Quader

Gazans aspire peace & stability, Israel aspires killing & instability


Photo by Sameh H. Habeeb


6 missiles hit save area of Al Buraij camp, Middle of the Gaza Strip today noon (terrifying voice) Recalling the scene of the WAR on Gaza….. unhumanity.

Today, at 3 pm in Gaza time, horrendous sounds heard in Jouher Al deek, east of Al Buraj Refugee of the middle area of the Gaza Strip. There were about 6 missiles fired form the Israeli side toward the people of Al Deek district causing dreadful feeling for all the people of the middle area as the voices were extremely high and audible and took them back 6 months ago.

The 23 nights of war haven’t been forgotten form the Children memory, specially the children of camps. Consequently, I saw some children started running to get a save place in their home recalling back the same sound of missiles during the while of war (27 Dec. 2008). Ghdeer is a young girl (10 years old) living in Al Buraj Refugee Camp couldn’t control herself when she heard the sound of missiles, I found her dramatically confused. I directly pointed out the reason but I wanted to ask her WHY???!!!! . she immediately replied it was the GAZA WAR coming back again. I took her aside and started talking to her as I always like to here from children. She told me her own experience in the day and in the nights of the war. She narrated her experience as if it is a play and needed to be dramatized. acutely I am younger than her but I have become assured that those days will never be forgotten from the children memory. IT WILL NEVER!!!!!!!!

“All we aspire is the prevail of peace and security not killing and fear” Ghadder ended her speech with me and she has left me thinking of the great sin that those young kids committed to merit the way they treated. What they needed was to grow up safely and in happiness.

REALITY CHECK; ILLEGAL CHECKPOINTS IN PALESTINE NOW OPERATED BY PRIVATE COMPANIES

FOOD is now confiscated by those operating these sites. FOOD!!!!

Anyone that has ever visited a Palestinian village or city knows that mealtime is not necessarily just a family event, it is a community event. Especially on Fridays, it is not unusual to share your meal with relatives from both sides of the family, their children, and neighbours. It is a way of life in Palestine, a way of life that the Israelis apparently have a problem with…. a way of life that Israelis do not want us to know about.

A dear friend of mine just spent some time in Ramallah, one of her observations (in part) follows….

It is ILLEGAL for Israeli citizens to go into the West Bank (the occupied Palestinian territories) or Gaza. Illegal. They are not supposed to go there. Even Israeli Arabs are not supposed to go there. Israeli settlers are evidently the exception to this rule, as they LIVE in the occupied territories.

It’s important to understand that Arab family lines cross these arbitrary boundaries. It is illegal for Israeli (Arab) citizens to visit their families if they live in the occupied territories!

This is merely an attempt to keep Israelis from ‘knowing’ the truth of what is happening in the territories. The official government line would be that they don’t want Israelis to be abducted and then have to work to free them. Sounds reasonable, but what if there could be a waiver that Israelis could sign saying they would not hold the government responsible? I think that’s a great idea.

The law is being used to engender fear – Don’t go there… you might not come back. It is also being used to hide the truth from good people who might question their own government if they ‘get to know’ the people on the other side of the wall and the conflict.

You can read the rest of her views HERE.

Amira Hass reported the following today: “The typical Palestinian laborer in Israel has a 12-hour workday, including travel time and checkpoint delays. Many leave home as early as 2 A.M. in order to wait in line at the checkpoint; tardiness to work often results in immediate dismissal. Workers return home around 5 P.M. The wait at the checkpoint can take one to two hours in each direction, if not longer.

The food quantities allowed by Modi’in Ezrahi do not meet the daily dietary needs of the workers, and they prefer not to buy food at the considerably more expensive Israeli stores”

The above was selected BY

The article by Ms. Hass is at the end of this post.

This post is not about food. This post is about the government of Israel systematically destroying the very nature of the Palestinian Nation. Destroy the culture of a people, limit the movements of a people, in reality….. destroy the people!

You might now understand why it is illegal for Israelis to see this. We are led to believe that Palestinians are terrorists. We are led to believe that Palestinians hate us. NOTHING is further from the truth on both counts…… BUT, Israel seems to know that ‘the truth will set us free’, so they will continue hiding it from us.

Israel wants you to believe that it is dismantling the illegal checkpoints…. the reality check is that more are being built….now operated by private companies.

Below is the article I mentioned by Amira Hass…..

Privately run checkpoint stops Palestinians with ‘too much food’
By Amira Hass

A West Bank checkpoint managed by a private security company is not allowing Palestinians to pass through with large water bottles and some food items, Haaretz has learned.

MachsomWatch discovered the policy, which Palestinian workers confirmed to Haaretz.

The Defense Ministry stated in response that non-commercial quantities of food were not being limited. It made no reference to the issue of water.

The checkpoint, Sha’ar Efraim, is south of Tul Karm, and is managed for the Defense Ministry by the private security company Modi’in Ezrahi. The company stops Palestinian workers from passing through the checkpoint with the following items: Large bottles of frozen water, large bottles of soft drinks, home-cooked food, coffee, tea and the spice zaatar. The security company also dictates the quantity of items allowed: Five pitas, one container of hummus and canned tuna, one small bottle or can of beverage, one or two slices of cheese, a few spoonfuls of sugar, and 5 to 10 olives. Workers are also not allowed to carry cooking utensils and work tools.

MachsomWatch told Haaretz that Sunday, a 32-year-old construction worker from Tul Karm, who is employed in Hadera, was not allowed to carry his lunch bag through the checkpoint. The bag contained six pitas, 2 cans of cream cheese, one kilogram of sugar in a plastic bag, and a salad, also in a plastic bag.

The typical Palestinian laborer in Israel has a 12-hour workday, including travel time and checkpoint delays. Many leave home as early as 2 A.M. in order to wait in line at the checkpoint; tardiness to work often results in immediate dismissal. Workers return home around 5 P.M. The wait at the checkpoint can take one to two hours in each direction, if not longer.

The food quantities allowed by Modi’in Ezrahi do not meet the daily dietary needs of the workers, and they prefer not to buy food at the considerably more expensive Israeli stores.

MachsomWatch informed the Israel Defense Forces about the new bans but received no response, the organization said. Modi’in Ezrahi issued a statement saying questions should be directed to the Defense Ministry’s crossings administration.

MachsomWatch activists said a security guard on duty told them the food restrictions were imposed due to “security and health risks.” However, at the nearby Qalqilyah checkpoint, which is still run directly by the IDF, workers have been allowed to carry through all the food items banned at Sha’ar Efraim.

However, responsibility for the Qalqilyah checkpoint is supposed to be transferred to a private company this week, and workers voiced concerns that similar restrictions might be imposed there.

The IDF Spokesman’s office said in a statement: “There are no limits on food quantities. They may take through food necessary for personal consumption during a day’s work. When a worker arrives with a large quantity of goods intended for sale rather than for personal use, he is asked to pass through the goods crossing instead, where the goods are handled appropriately and with the appropriate customs checks. This crossing is intended for pedestrians and not for goods.”

MICHAEL JACKSON … TEXT PORTRAIT

(Ben Heine © Cartoons)
Click on image to enlarge text

SUNDAY’S IRANITOONS

Both images ‘Copyleft’ by Carlos Latuff
Click on images to enlarge

PHOTO MONTAGE ~~ EMPEROR OBAMA’S NEW CLOTHES

Just who is pulling those strings?
Can we say that President Obama is the first President with ’strings attached’…. or were there others before him?


Photo found on Uruknet’s site

THE TORTURE OF PALESTINIAN CHILDREN DOCUMENTED


Israeli ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian children – a report

Defense For Children International (DCI-Palestine) released a report which documents the widespread ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian children at the hands of the Israeli army and police force – Palestinian Child Prisoners: The systematic and institutionalized ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian children by Israeli authorities.

The release of the report came just days after an article was published in The Independent newspaper reporting the testimonies of two Israeli soldiers which detail the deliberate abuse of Palestinian children. One soldier is reported as saying that in an incident that occurred in a Palestinian village in March, he saw a lot of soldiers ‘just knee (Palestinians) because it’s boring, because you stand there for 10 hours, you’re not doing anything, so they beat people up.’

The report published contains the testimonies of 33 children, one as young as 10 years old, who bear witness to the abuse they received at the hands of soldiers from the moment of arrest through to an often violent interrogation.

Most of these children were arrested from villages near the Wall and illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. There is evidence that many children are painfully shackled for hours on end, kicked, beaten and threatened, some with death, until they provide confessions, some written in Hebrew, a language they do not speak or understand.

Following are some excerpts from this chill-shocking report. It is a must-read report and worth saving for your reference in the future. It can be downloaded from here and here (both PDF format):

Executive summary

The Israeli military court system in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has operated for over 42 years almost devoid of international scrutiny. Each year an average of 9,000 Palestinians are prosecuted in two Israeli military courts operating in the West Bank, including 700 children.

From the moment of arrest, Palestinian children encounter ill-treatment and in some cases torture, at the hands of Israeli soldiers, policemen and interrogators. Children are commonly arrested from the family home in the hours before dawn by heavily armed soldiers. The child is painfully bound, blindfolded and bundled into the back of a military vehicle without any indication as to why or where the child is being taken. [...] Most children confess and some are forced to sign confessions written in Hebrew, a language they do not comprehend. These interrogations are not video recorded as is required under Israeli domestic law.

Children as young as 12 years are prosecuted in the Israeli military courts and are treated as adults as soon as they turn 16 [...] In 91% of all cases involving Palestinian children, bail was denied. [...] With no faith in the system and the potential for harsh sentences, approximately 95% of cases end in the child pleading guilty, whether the ofence was committed or not. [...] Many children receive no family visits whilst in prison and limited education [...]

Some examples of torture


What amounts to torture or ill-treatment will depend on the circumstances of each individual case. However, it is useful to list some of the types of circumstances that have been held to amount to torture and ill-treatment by the Committee as a general guidance:

- Restraining in very painful conditions;
- Hooding under special conditions;
- Playing loud music for prolonged periods of time;
- Threats, including death threats;
- Violent shaking;
- Kicking, punching and beating with implements;
- Using cold air to chill;
- Excessive use of force by law enforcement personnel and the military;
- Incommunicado detention (detention without access to a lawyer, doctor or the ability to communicate with family members);
- Solitary confnement;
- Sensorial deprivation and almost total prohibition of communication;
- Poor conditions of detention, including failure to provide food, water, heating in winter, proper washing facilities, overcrowding, lack of amenities, poor hygiene facilities, limited clothing and medical care.

The above list is by no means exhaustive and in every case, the particular vulnerability of the victim, such as his or her young age or medical condition should be taken into consideration.

Case Study No. 15

Name: Islam M.
Date of arrest: 31 December 2008
Age at arrest: 12
Accusation: Throwing stones

On 31 December 2008, 12-year-old Islam from a village near the West Bank city of Nablus, was out hunting birds in an olive grove when he and his friends were arrested by Israeli soldiers and accused of throwing stones. The olive grove was located about 500 metres from an Israeli settler bypass road.

At around 4:00pm we decided to go home. We collected the nets. Our houses are about one kilometre away. After walking 20 metres we heard a gun shot from the bypass road. We began walking faster towards our houses in the opposite direction to the bypass road. When we reached the edge of the village, we were surprised to see Israeli soldiers, about 10 to 20 metres behind us, with their guns pointed at us. They were shouting at us to stop in Hebrew. We stopped where we were. [...] One of them approached me and grabbed my hand. Another soldier grabbed Hasan’s hand. They then tied our hands together with the same plastic cord. They tied my right hand to Hasan’s left hand. The soldiers then pushed us and forced us to walk towards our house. The soldiers did not tell me why they were arresting me [...] When we reached the jeep, the soldiers blindfolded me and Hasan with a piece of cloth that the soldiers had. They pushed me inside the jeep. I fell on the ground. I was seated on the floor of the jeep. I lifted the blindfold using my untied left hand and looked around. I saw six soldiers inside the jeep, sitting on seats. Hasan and I were seated between their legs.

Twelve-year-old Islam was arrested by Israeli soldiers while out hunting birds. He was transferred to an Israeli military base for interrogation. Ten minutes later a soldier asked me [...] whether I threw stones at the soldiers. Three minutes later a captain called Hasan, wearing a military uniform, came to us … He took me to a pine tree and made me sit on the ground. ‘Have you seen kids throwing stones at the soldiers?’ he asked. ‘Yes,’ I answered. ‘Do you know them?’ He asked. ‘No,’ I said. He threatened to pour hot water on my face. ‘I don’t know who threw stones,’ I said. Five minutes later he took me to a place full of thorny bushes. He ordered me to sit in the bushes. I refused. He pushed me and I fell in the bushes. That really hurt me. They placed me inside a jeep [...] Captain Hasan approached me and asked me to confess to throwing stones. I refused. ‘We’ll put you in jail, patriotic boy’ he said. [...] A policeman in blue uniform came and took me to interrogation. I was still tied and blindfolded, but managed to see things from beneath the blindfold. In the interrogation room, there was one policeman with a solider sitting next to him. ‘You threw stones. You were photographed while throwing stones’ the policeman said. I denied it [...] I asked the soldiers for food. They brought me an apple, one half rotten. I ate the good half and gave the rotten half back to the soldier [...] They seated me on a chair for about five hours without asking me anything.

A policeman in blue uniform came and took me to an office. He allowed me to watch a DVD that had children throwing stones at soldiers. ‘See yourself throwing stones?’ He said. I did not see myself because I had not thrown stones. He then took me out of the room. I was kept alone, tied and blindfolded, sitting on the ground for three hours. (2 February 2009)

Islam was charged with throwing stones and fned NIS 1,000 (US$ 250) by a military court after entering into a plea bargain. He spent three days in detention in Ofer.

Case Study No. 22

Name: Afaf B.
Date of arrest: 5 February 2008
Age at arrest: 16
Accusation: Contact with a wanted person and the intention to carry out a suicide bombing

On 5 February 2008, Afaf and her father voluntarily went to the Israeli intelligence headquarters at Ras al-Amoud, Jerusalem, after being ordered to attend. Afaf was immediately taken for interrogation where she was accused of having contact with a wanted person and intending to carry out a suicide bombing. Afaf’s father was not permitted to remain with her during interrogation. Afaf was then interrogated for 59 consecutive days and then sentenced to 16 months imprisonment inside Israel.

The interrogator began asking me general questions about myself and how I was doing. I asked him to stop asking such questions and get straight to the reason why they brought me here. He said that I had committed some security ofences [...] he then asked me about a young man called Murad … I agreed that I had never seen Murad but I used to talk to him on the phone [...] The interrogator did not charge me directly with any wrongdoing, and he did not accuse me of a specifc accusation. He only said that I had committed some security ofences without giving any further details [...] An hour later, the interrogator came back to the room and told me I was under arrest and that they would transfer me to Al Mascobiyya Interrogation and Detention Centre in Jerusalem. [...]

Two interrogators named Arsan and David were already in the room. They had a typed paper written in Hebrew. They told me that this paper was sent via fax from the same interrogator who interrogated me earlier in Ras al-Amoud, and that I had confessed to doing many things. I told them that what was in the paper was a lie and that I did not confess to anything and no specifc accusation was made against me. They said that the paper says that I knew a young man named Murad and I knew that he was wanted by the intelligence … This interrogation lasted until midnight. [...] In the morning of 6 February 2008, they came and took me to Jerusalem’s Magistrate’s Court. My hands and feet were tied. A lawyer hired by the State was waiting for me, but none of my family was there [...] In the court, the prosecution asked for my detention to be extended for 10 days, relying on a secret file submitted to the judge. My lawyer objected and asked for my immediate release. However, the judge decided to extend my detention [...]

Israeli Military CourtIsraeli Military Court

My interrogation lasted for several hours for 59 consecutive days. In one of the interrogation rounds, a tall interrogator told me that I should confess that I had asked Murad to help me carry out a suicide bombing. I denied that of course, and he slapped me so hard that I fell over to the ground and my mouth began bleeding.

On the seventh day of my arrest [...] the interrogator told me that Murad had been arrested, and he had interrogated him. He added that Murad confessed that I asked him to help me to carry out a suicide bombing. [...] After 10 days of interrogation [...] I came back from the court and I was put in a room inside the Centre with another detainee named Nisreen Z. She was detained on a theft case. On the same day I had a stomach ache. Nisreen handed me a white pill, which turned out later to be a narcotic pill. I fainted for some time. When I woke up, Nisreen told me that I had said many things and confessed to many things and that it was recorded. I was then removed from the room and taken to the interrogation room. The tall interrogator asked me to confess to everything but I refused [...] the interrogator played the recording. I heard myself speaking with Nisreen who was asking me many questions about Murad and carrying out a suicide bombing, and I would answer her ‘yes’ without giving further details [...] I did not sign any confession papers. (23 December 2008)

Afaf was charged with contact with a wanted person and the intention to carry out a suicide bombing. She was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment by a military court after entering into a plea bargain. She is currently detained in Telmond Prison inside Israel. Afaf was released on 7 May 2009.

Case Study No. 33

Name: Ezzat H.
Date of arrest: 11 June 2008
Age at arrest: 10
Accusation: None

On 11 June 2008, Israeli soldiers stormed Ezzat’s family’s shop in a village near the West Bank town of Qalqiliya, situated near the Wall. The soldiers said that they were looking for a hand gun.

At around 10:30am, I was sitting in my father’s shop selling animal feed and eggs. I was wearing a red T-shirt and blue jeans. My brother Makkawi (7) and sister Lara (8) were sitting with me [...] I was surprised by the arrival of two Israeli soldiers to the shop. One of them had dark skin, wearing khaki jeans and a black T-shirt with a blue vest on top. The other one was in green clothes. Both of them were wearing helmets and carrying black weapons. The soldier with the black T-shirt was carrying a pistol around his chest in addition to the assault rife.

They suddenly walked into the shop. Once they entered the shop, the soldier with the black T-shirt began shouting at me, telling me: ‘your father has sent us to you and we want the pistol your father has.’ I became terrifed and said: ‘my father has nothing. He doesn’t own such things.’ He slapped me hard across my right cheek and he slapped my brother on the face too. He then asked my siblings to get out of the shop. He asked me all over again and I told him we had nothing. He asked me to get out the pistol from the animal feed sacks. I answered him we had no pistol. He slapped me again and this time it was on my left cheek. [...]

A group of locals gathered around the store and some of them tried to enter and help me, but the soldier standing by the door prevented them from doing so. When the other soldier did not find anything, he asked me again to tell him where the pistol was. When I answered him back saying: ‘we don’t have anything’ he punched me hard in my stomach and I fell over onto the empty egg boxes. I was crying and screaming because I could not stand the pain and I was terrified too.

The soldier with the black T-shirt made fun of me and imitated my crying. He spoke very fluent Arabic. He kept me inside the shop for 15 minutes. He then grabbed me by my T-shirt and dragged me out of the shop. I asked him to let me close the shop but he said leave it open so that it would be robbed. Some of my friends who were at the scene closed the shop.

When he dragged me out of the shop, he ordered me to walk in the street in front of him. He and the other soldier, who was pointing his weapon at me, walked behind me, and some people gathered around. While walking, the soldier in the black T-shirt would slap me hard on my neck now and then … I was slapped three to four times on my nape while walking towards the house. When we reached the house, 100 meters away, I saw many soldiers around the house and a number of dark green military vehicles. The word ‘Police’ was written on an olive coloured jeep. When I entered the house [...] the soldier with the black T-shirt made me stand in the yard and asked me to get the pistol out of the flower basin. When I was about to answer him and say we had no pistol, he slapped me so hard that I fell down on my face in the fower basin. [...]

My father was standing by the door of the guest room, where my family was held. The soldier slapped me on my nape in front of my father and I fell to the ground. He slapped me again on my nape and I fell to the ground after I stood up. All of this was in front of my father. He then lifted me in the air after he grabbed my T-shirt. He told my father that he was going to take me to prison [...] He threatened to arrest my older sister who was 19 years old [...] he then pushed me into the guest room where my mother and siblings were held. My mother was crying. When she saw me crying, she asked me why and I told her that I had been hit. She asked them to leave me alone and hit her instead. They told her that they would take me to prison. [...] The soldier with the black T-shirt took me to the bedroom and slapped me at the door. He then brought my older sister to search and interrogate her while forcing me to stand by the kitchen door. They then moved me to another bedroom.

Torturing Ezzat HTorturing Ezzat H

While passing me, the soldier with the black T-shirt slapped me so hard on my face that I fell on the ground. He asked me to stay there in the room. He would go for five minutes and then come back to slap me on the face, and punch me several times in my stomach. I would shout and burst into tears. He would imitate me and make fun of me. He continued coming to the room around six times where he would hit me and slap me. [...] I spent about one hour in the room all alone with the soldiers. During this hour, the soldier with the black T-shirt ordered me to stand on one foot and lift my hands up in the air with my back against the wall. This lasted for about half an hour. I was exhausted but I did not dare to put my foot on the ground because he ordered me not to. [...] The soldier with the black T-shirt [...] then brought my older sister and asked me whether I cared about her or not. I said: ‘yes I do.’ He then asked me to tell him where the pistol was and he would not tell my father. I said we did not have a pistol, so he took my sister out, and then came back and hit me all over my body. He left the room and after a while he came back and ofered me 10 Shekels if I would tell him where the pistol was. I told him I did not care about money. He really became so angry that he took of his helmet and hit me with it from two metres away. He asked me to bring him the helmet and when I did, he threw it again at me, but this time he missed. He again asked me to bring him the helmet but this time he did not hit me with it. Instead, he left the room for five minutes and came back and slapped me on the face and stomach without asking me anything. Once again he left the room and was gone for a while, and I was all alone in the room. He then came back and asked me about the pistol and I answered that we did not have any pistol. He slapped me twice on my face and pushed me back. He then left the room for a while and came back to repeat it all over again. [...]

Afterwards, a soldier wearing black sunglasses came into the room where I was held and pointed his rife at me. The rife barrel was a few centimeters away from my face. I was so terrified that I started to shiver. He made fun of me and said: ’shivering? Tell me where the pistol is before I shoot you.’ I replied by saying that we had nothing. He lowered his rife and took out the bullets [...] (21 June 2008)

After initially wishing to file a complaint against the soldiers involved, Ezzat’s father changed his mind for fear of retaliation.

Since DCI-Palestine last published a report on Palestinian child detainees (April 2008), the practice of ill-treatment and torture has continued unabated. During the course of the reporting period DCI-Palestine continued to receive numerous testimonies from Palestinian children speaking of their ill-treatment and torture at the hands of Israeli soldiers, policemen and security operatives. This abuse occurs from the moment of arrest, and continues during transfer, interrogation and detention. The ill-treatment documented by DCI-Palestine appears to be widespread, systematic and institutionalised, suggesting complicity at all levels of the political and military chain of command. This abusive system operates with the knowledge and assistance of some doctors, and is overseen by a military court system that ignores basic principles of juvenile justice and fair trial rights, whilst willfully turning a blind eye to the presentation in court of one coerced confession after another. This system imposed by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory operates beyond international legal norms and within a general culture of impunity.DCI-Palestine continues in its eforts to bring this situation to the attention of the international community which is itself bound by a number of legal obligations to ensure that these violations are fully investigated, and where appropriate, prosecuted and that such conduct is not rewarded.

Without some measure of accountability, it is unlikely that the situation endured by Palestinian children described in the pages above, will improve.

* Defence for Children International – Palestine Section (DCI-Palestine) is a national section of the international non-governmental child rights organisation and movement, Defence for Children International (DCI), established in 1979, with consultative status with ECOSOC. DCI-Palestine was established in 1992, and is dedicated to promoting and protecting the rights of Palestinian children in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), as well as other international, regional and local standards. As part of its ongoing work to uphold the rights of Palestinian children, DCI-Palestine provides free legal assistance, collects evidence, researches and drafts reports and conducts general advocacy targeting various duty bearers.

Thanks to Sabbah for this

PHOTO ESSAY ~~ NEW YORKERS AGAINST TORTURE

Photos © by Bud Korotzer







UN REPORT “MADE NO MENTION OF ISRAEL’S EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS TO AVOID CIVILIAN CASUALTIES” ….. I WONDER WHY

“……. it made no mention of Israel’s extraordinary efforts to avoid civilian casualties.”

Israel envoy blasts UN report on Palestinians as ‘biased’
By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent

The Israeli ambassador to the United Nations on Thursday blasted a report on Israel’s conduct vis-a-vis the Palestinians, put together by the UN Humanitarian Affairs chief John Holmes.

In a strident letter addressed to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Gabriela Shalev accused the UN of political bias, ahead of a special Security Council session devoted to “the protection of civilians in armed conflicts.”

“I sincerely hope that future reports in the name of the secretary general will avoid politically-charged semantics, accusations and omissions,” she wrote.

Holmes’ report is likely to be discussed in great detail during the Security Council session. The report implicitly accused Israel of human rights violations, and blasted the impact of Israel’s policy on the Palestinian civilian population.

“I write to express my deep concern regarding the report on the protection of civilians in armed conflicts,” Shalev also wrote. “The portion of the report regarding the situation in southern Israel and the Gaza Strip is deeply disturbing. They not only embrace flawed terminology but reflect a distorted reality that wholly fails to address the situation on the ground in an accurate manner.”

“The report completely ignores the context in which Israel’s defensive actions were taken, while it made no mention of Israel’s extraordinary efforts to avoid civilian casualties. Equally alarming is the failure to mention the thousands of missile fired by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip into Israel,” Shalev concluded.



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