Settlements in Beit Sahour hosted a gathering of over 100 town people and
guests (including Nabil Shaath of Fatah Central Committee) to brief them on
what is going on at Ush Ghrab with the military watch tower erected. The
discussion revolved around the popular resistance. We explained the nature
of our activities and it was made clear that even though the mayor would
prefer that we limit our activities to just being in the park, that the
committee has monthly schedule of events that we would like people to
participate in. The next two popular resistance events here will be 1) a
march from the Nativity square in Bethlehem to Rachel’s tomb area (Sunday at
11:30 AM), 2) land day events in Ush Ghrab throughout the site beginning at
10 AM to 2 PM on Tuesday (in Beit Sahour).
Land day will be commemorated in hundreds of cities around the world on
March 30th as a day to promote boycotts, divestments, and sanctions (act in
your area please) as it has been since the first land day in 1976 when
Palestinians inside the Green Line (Palestine of 1948) rose-up against the
continued unfair land expropriation. My wife, who does not yet have a
Palestinian ID card, was thus able to travel to Nazareth area and brought
pictures and stories of the beauty of the stolen lands of the Galilee where
my maternal grandmother comes from. The greenery and the richness of the
soil reminded me of my grandmother’s stories about how idyllic rural village
life in Palestine was before 1948 and the ethnic cleansing that followed.
We also had a press conference with Omar Ala’Eddin who was abused by the
Israeli soldiers. Amira Hass attended the conference and reported the story
in
Omar’s case was highlighted today in the weekly demonstration in Al-Masara
also attended by Imam Tamimi (for this and previous events mentioned and
other activities of the popular committees, see new short video posted
the Hospital
When Omar would try to show him bruises on his side, the “doctor” would look
at his arm and so on and telling him to shut up. This is not the first or
the last Palestinian to be treated that way. In fact I was reminded by a
friend that another Omar was also beaten, this one a young journalist from
Gaza of exactly the same age as our friend Omar from Al-Masara (see story in Haaretz )
and the extremist Israeli apartheid government is only PR efforts. The US
voted against four resolutions dealing with Israel at the United nations
Human Rights Council. Even the resolution that simply reiterated the
internationally recognized right of self-determination for Palestinians was
voted against (45 countries voted for, no abstentions, US against; i.e.
unanimous with the exception of the US). The US continues to cow-tow to a
noisy lobby in Washington that claims to represent Jews (see their
self-definitions and claim of importance here)
and its supporters claim . So we MUST keep pressuring the Obama administration, keep writing, and keep
ACTING. In good news, Britain took the modest step of expelling an Israeli
“diplomat” (a Mossad agent) over the forgery by Israeli intelligence of
British passports while violating International law by extrajudicial
executions. Let us hope more countries follow. I also got this from Code
Pink that put a smile on my face and showed that few dedicated individuals
can make a difference (imagine such action wherever US officials appear):
“On Monday morning, just days after we marched for peace with thousands in
DC, CODEPINK issued a fake press release from The American Israel Public
Affairs Committee (AIPAC) calling for the freeze of Israeli settlements in
the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Many media outlets bought it including
CSPAN, which showcased this “breaking news” during Hillary’s Clinton’s
speech to AIPAC. Most commentators noted that our fake release forced AIPAC
to say it was not against settlements, thus putting AIPAC at odds with the
White House and the State Department. Later that night, CODEPINK activists
interrupted Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu during his keynote speech at the
AIPAC gala dinner. Rae courageously stood on a table a few feet away from
the podium to unfurl a banner that read: “Netanyahu: Build Peace Not
Settlements.” While most of Congress still bows in fear before AIPAC,
CODEPINK stands up for a peaceful and just future for both Palestinians and
Israelis. We can’t wait for our government to lead the way; we need to join
the Palestinians, Israelis and international activists around the world who
are using Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) to pressure Israel to
respect human rights and international law.
