ISRAEL-PALESTINE NEWSLETTER #11

OMNI

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS NEWSLETTERS #11, July 14, 2014.

Compiled by Dick Bennett FOR A CULTURE OF PEACE AND JUSTICE.   (#1 Feb. 22, 2011; #2 Feb. 16, 2012; #3 March 1, 2012; #4 May 18, 2012; #5 August 13, 2012; #6 October 29, 2012; #7 Dec. 17, 2012; #8 March 29, 2013; #9 Oct. 21, 2013; #10 April 28, 2014).

What’s at stake:  Particularly when attacks and retaliations are increasing, with Dag Harmmarskjold let us recognize the fear felt by all sides and affirm the dignity and worth of all people. With painful irony, Israel has become the oppressor, but we cannot forget the depth of fear that pervades that nation.   The Holocaust and the Arab attacks were and are ever-present in their hearts and minds.   It would be well for us all to remember what Dag Hammarskjold wrote about fear and its resistance in 1956 following his trip to the Middle East to try to restore adherence to armistice agreements, when attacks and retaliations were increasing.  And his words apply to all the Middle Eastern combatant nations, then and today. 

     “Why is war and fear of war in the headlines of every daily paper, if not because man fears man and nation, nation? . . .  Can there be a greater challenge for us to work for such a recognition of the dignity of man as would eliminate the fear which is eating our world like a cancer?”  See the full passage p. 249, Lipsey, Hammarskjold.

      Because of the immense imbalance of power between Israel and Palestine, the illegal settlements, and other reasons, these essays express mainly Palestinian perspectives and sympathy for Palestinians.

"...if way to the Better there be,
it exacts a full look at the Worst."
—Thomas Hardy

    

    

Here is the link to all OMNI topical newsletters:

http://www.omnicenter.org/newsletter-archive/   For a knowledge-based peace, justice, and ecology movement and an informed citizenry as the foundation for change.   Here is the link to the Index:  http://www.omnicenter.org/omni-newsletter-general-index/

Contents Israel-Palestine Newsletters #4-10 at end
Contents Israel / Palestine Newsletters # 11
Rabbi Lerner, Cease Fire!  Choose Peace.
Pope Francis
   Qumsiyeh, Pope Francis Visits West Bank
   Vatican, Pope Francis Brings Together Israeli and Palestinian Presidents, the
       Courage for  Peace
   Phyllis Bennis on Pope Francis
Cindy Sheehan’ The Soapbox
Rebecca Vilkomerson, It’s the Settlements
ABC News Misreports the Violence
Dick, Palestine
Prof. Zunes’s Articles
Qumsiyeh’s latest letter:  the Repression, Biodiversity in Palestine
Books and Articles about Israel and Palestine from the Washington Report
Ali Abunimah’s new book, The Battle for Justice in Palestine, reviewed by Glenn Greenwald in The Intercept (April 27, 2014).
Recent Related Newsletters
Contact Senators

Contents of Newsletters 4-11


Tikkun  to heal, repair and transform the world
            A note from Rabbi Michael Lerner            Join or Donate Now!
Once again the violence of the Israeli Occupation of the West Bank and the blockade of Gaza and the violence of Hamas and other extremist groups in Gaza have combined to create a spiraling violence that serves the extremists on both sides who can point to the intended violence on the other side to justify their own. We call upon both sides to agree to an immediate cease fire from both sides.

In my book Embracing Israel/Palestine, I show how both sides have co-created this mess, and why it is futile, stupid, intellectually lacking in credibility, and ethically perverse to try to pin the blame on one side or the other, because both sides have been incredibly tone deaf to the suffering of the other side and the most negative possible interpretation of the other side's intentions increasingly prevails in the public perceptions on each side of the intentions of the other. Of course at the moment there is no equivalence in power or violence. Israel has already killed over 150 Palestinians, and wounder hundreds; Gazans have not inflicted any deaths and few injuries on Israelis (which I'm glad about--I don't want Israeli blood to flow any more than I want Palesitnian blood to flow! My fervent prayer: STOP ALL THE VIOLENCE, END THE OCCUPATION AND CREATE A LASTING PEACE AND A RECONCILIATION OF THE HEART.  This reconciliation does not deny the vast inequality of power between Israel and Palestinins, and the corresponding responsiblity of the more powerful force to take the first major steps toward a real peace, NOT a "peace process" which goes nowhere, but a true resolution of the conflict.

 Please order Embracing Israel/Palestine and create a study group around it in your neighborhood, friendship circles, synagogue, church, mosque, ashram, political party, civic organization, labor union or professional organization. Order the book at www.tikkun.org/eip or on Kindle at Amazon.com. 

Nothing is going to change in the Middle East until we can change the way the struggles are understood both in the media and in the larger publics that have increasingly moved toward extremist perceptions of one side or the other. The extremists who killed three Israeli teens must be celebrating at the moment--because Netanyahu rewarded them by giving them precisely what they wanted, the kind of violent repression in the West Bank of Hamas sympathizers that would push Hamas into feeling the need to retaliate with a resurgence of missile strikes on Israel, thereby precipitating the predictable scenario: the ultra-nationalist Netanyahu has to show his toughness by escalating attacks on Gaza while Hamas in Gaza has to show its toughness by escalating attacks on Israel.

 Of course, at any point either side could have broken this cycle. Israelis could have refused to allow Netanyahu to use the tragic murder of those teens as excuse to arrest dozens of West Bank Hamas supporters and refused to let the IDF break into hundreds of homes. Hamas could have refused to allow their even more extreme opponents in the Islamic fundamentalist world to use the situation to resume bombings of Israeli towns. (The bombs have no impact except to provide justification of Netanyahu’s militarist approach).

Netanyahu could have told Israelis the truth: that the bombs from Gaza are militarily so unlikely to cause significant loss of life that it could be seen as politically and militarily irrelevant, given Israel's missile shield.

But instead, the ridiculous and yet dangerous and murderous leadership
on both sides choose their insane path: Hamas chooses to continue the shelling of Israel, refusing to acknowledge that none of its missiles are going to do any damage but only supply the Israeli militarists with the excuse they need to enter and decimate Gaza; Netanyahu, faced with even more extremist pressure from his political right, uses this opportunity to create a hysteria in Israel and the global Jewish community so that they will resist future pressures to push Israel to end the Occupation, and will insist that the Palestinian Authority stop its reconciliation with Hamas.

And the resulting anti-Arab riots scare Israeli Palestinians into feeling that they can't trust their Jewish neighbors, and gives "proof" to Arabs and Muslims around the world that Israel is indeed a hate-dominated society. And all this will only increase the likelihood of the Occupation continuing, the oppression of Palestinians continuing, and the recruitment of more Palestinians to extremist groups and suicidal attacks on Israel and Jews around the world.
So yes, a first and critical step is to change the discourse, and only you and hundreds of thousands of others can do that by refusing the dominant discourse, challenging the media and the politicians who side blindly with Israel no matter how horrible its escalating violence becomes, and challenging the leftists who rightly criticize Israel's occupation as the central cause of the present violence but wrongly refuse to challenge Hamas' violence or to see how that violence is a gift to the Israeli settlers who insist that it is they who will provide the first line of protection against Palestinian extremists.

What can you do?
 Challenge the public discourse everywhere you can.

 Form a local chapter of the Network of Spiritual Progressives (need help--email Cat@spiritualprogressives.org).  Go to media and picket their buildings until they give a fairer and more nuanced account of what has caused the current mess. Meet with your elected officials and insist that they publicly endorse the Tikkun plan for peace (outlined in Embracing Israel/Palestine). Form a study group to read Embracing Israel/Palestine and to read articles in Ha'aretz newspaper--so that you and fellow participants can feel adequately knowledgeable to challenge the distortions that exist on both sides. Challenge the dehumanizing of each side by the other, of Israel by the Left in Western countries and of Palestine and Palestinians by the Right.

Stop saying, "I don't know enough about it to actively participate in discussions,"  and instead LEARN ABOUT IT  in all its complexities. Above all, refuse every act that seems to dehumanize the other side. YOU, YES YOU, can be the vehicle for spreading a new way of thinking. And to do that you need to prepare yourself for a tough and long-lasting process of consciousness changing. And that is precisely what the Network of Spiritual Progressives is all about--It's about changing consciousness locally, nationally and globally to achieve a New Bottom Line of love, kindness, generosity, environmental sanity, social and economic justice, and awe/wonder/radical amazement the grandeur and mystery of the universe. Help make this happen: join the Network of Spiritual
Progressives and help build a new consciousness in your area.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, July 15, in a one-day Fast for Peace, called by some a Hunger Strike Against Violence. TIKKUN's ally Rabbi Arthur Waskow and the Shalom Center point out:  This day is in both Muslim and Jewish traditions a time of Fasting from sunrise to sunset, arousing inner spiritual reflection and shared effort to turn from violence to compassion, from idolatry to celebration of the One. This year it is specially intended as a response to the worsening spiral of violence between Israelis and Palestinians.  Tuesday, July 15, in the Jewish calendar is the 17th of Tammuz. It commemorates the day in 586 BCE when the Babylonian Army broke through the walls of Jerusalem. Three weeks later, on Tisha B’Av (the 9th of Av) the  invaders destroyed the First Temple. The Fast therefore recalls the suffering of people subjected to  war and conquest by more powerful armies, and renews our sacred calling for compassion rather than hatred.

 This year, the Jewish lunar month of Tammuz coincides with the Muslim lunar month of Ramadan, during which Muslims fast on every day from sunrise to sunset. During that month Mohammed the Prophet, peace be upon him, first received the early revelations that came to make up the Quran.

This day of fasting is NOT JUST FOR JEWS AND MUSLIMS--IT'S FOR EVERYONE (SECULAR HUMANISTS, CHRISTIANS, BUDDHISTS, HINDUS, JAIN, WICCA, AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO WANTS TO SAY "NO" TO NETANYAHU AND THE ISRAELI FORCES OF VIOLENCE AND "NO" TO HAMAS AND THE PALESTINIAN FORCES OF VIOLENCE. INSTEAD, WE MUST SAY "YES" TO PEACE, RECONCILIATION OF THE HEART, NON-VIOLENCE AND DEDICATION TO THE STRUGGLE FOR THE PEACE, ENVIRONMENTL SANTIY FOR ALL PEOPLE ON THE PLANET.

But of course, fasting is not enough. Neither are demonstrations against the violence on both sides. These are valuable things to do. But a more serious effort will begin when you and others you know are ready to articulate what a world of love and kindness could look like, in the Middle East but also here in the U.S., how it could work, and what you and your neighbors are going to do to make it all happen! And the NSP will help you do that.

Join us. Join the (interfaith and secular-humanist-welcoming Network of Spiritual Progressives. at www.spiritualprogressives.org. (with membership comes a free sub to Tikkun Magazine).

Warm regards,
Rabbi Michael Lerner     rabbilerner.tikkun@gmail.com

And please read the following articles from Ha'aretz:
It's time for Israel to seek a cease-fire in Gaza
Israel should declare that it achieved its aim of punishing Hamas, before tragic surprises strike on either side.
Haaretz Editorial | Jul. 13, 2014 | 3:14 AM |  3
 Smoke rises following an Israeli strike on Gaza Strip, Saturday, July 12, 2014.
Smoke rises following an Israeli strike on Gaza Strip on Saturday. Many Israelis say 'The only way is to keep pounding them, because the Arabs – especially the Palestinians – only understand force.' Photo by AP

RELATED ARTICLES
Israel's real purpose in Gaza operation? To kill Arabs
By Gideon Levy | Jul. 13, 2014 | 2:42 AM |  6
Gaza crisis will exact price from Israel in spirit, if not in blood
By Amir Oren | Jul. 13, 2014 | 3:10 AM
Like in previous operations in which the Israel Defense Forces has confronted Hamas, throughout Operation Protective Edge politicians and commentators have been using numbers to describe the balance of forces.

After six days of the operation the meaning of these figures should be questioned. Does it really matter how many targets the IDF hit in the Gaza Strip? Is there any meaning to the number of missiles Hamas has fired so far? Only one piece of data has chilling significance, and that is the number killed.

Israel can note with satisfaction that thus far Hamas missiles have only inflicted damage to property, while in Gaza the number of killed has passed the 100 mark. Many of them are innocent citizens, children and women, whose death was a result of “collateral damage,” the type that reputedly is unavoidable in war.

The decision makers in Israel, and at their head, the prime minister, are still finding it difficult to define the operation’s purpose. “The attack will continue until there is quiet,” says Benjamin Netanyahu. The foreign minister, Avigdor Leiberman, has a far-reaching suggestion of his own, “to go all the way,” that is to conquer the Gaza Strip. Others are offering ideas such as conquering Gaza, then handing over its control to Mahmoud Abbas, and forming a Palestinian army along the lines of the South Lebanese Army. These solutions are imaginary and untenable.

Operation Pillar of Defense brought quiet for a year and a half. Operation Cast Lead produced a longer period of quiet. In both an attempt was made at “going all the way,” which clarified time after time that it is possible to reach understandings with Hamas. In doing so, Hamas recognizes that the missiles will not destroy the State of Israel, while in Israel the recognition exists that “wiping out the terrorist infrastructure” is a nice motto that cannot be carried out.

In the absence of a diplomatic process, Israel has to depend on partial understandings and arrangements that do not guarantee absolute solutions, but do allow periods of normalcy. This is the type of understanding Israel must reach with Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.

Israel can wait until public opinion worldwide and in the Arab countries begins to rage. It can also expect that, as in several previous operations, tragic surprises on the Israeli or Palestinian side could produce strategic changes in direction.

On the other hand, Israel could declare that the operation’s aims, especially punishing Hamas, have been achieved. This is the time to let the mediators achieve a cease-fire and leave the infrastructure alone for another long period of quiet.

*****************************
The shame of an Israel dripping with venom
A new protest is forming, and not just against the occupation. It's against the racism that’s erupting everywhere.
By Uzi Baram | Jul. 14, 2014 | 3:29 AM
 Palestinian protester scuffles with Israeli soldiers at Nakba protest in al-Walaje
Palestinian protester scuffles with Israeli soldiers at Nakba protest in al-Walaje, May 15, 2014. Photo by Reuters

Text size
 Comments (0)
 Print Page
 Send to friend
 Share on Facebook
 Share on Twitter
 Share
RELATED TAGS
Opinion
Israel protest
Israeli Arab
Gaza war
Benjamin Netanyahu
Naftali Bennett
RELATED ARTICLES
Israel's real purpose in Gaza operation? To kill Arabs
By Gideon Levy | Jul. 13, 2014 | 2:42 AM |  6
Stop the rockets, stop the settlements
By Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie | Jul. 12, 2014 | 4:10 PM |  4
The tension is affecting us all, regardless of our political opinions. Whenthe bombing of Gaza and the rocket fire at Israel cease, the question will be asked once again – did the terrible destruction wreaked on Gaza change the rules of the game? What are those rules? A cease-fire for a year or two? A budding insurrection against Hamas in the Strip? No one can tell.

What’s clear to me is that the past two months can’t be ignored as if they didn’t happen. We should be ashamed of an Israel dripping with venom toward the other, an Israel that easily moves on after the Facebook comments about the burning to death of an Arab boy.

I tried to think up a response to these questions, even a partial one, involving a wider opposition, an enhanced Jewish-Arab solidarity. I was told I had to wait because the entire country was anxiously waiting to learn about the fate of the three kidnapped teenagers.

When their bodies were found I was told the pain would make any protest seem pathetic. Then came the military operation with its bombastic name and unattainable goals, during which real or phony patriotism extinguished every other aspect of Israel.

Suddenly, however, came articles by young writers expressing shame and scorn about the Internet comments by paid hacks or volunteers. There was a feeling that something was brewing.

The 2011 social protests revolved around one issue: the way of life of Israel’s productive sectors – young people who won’t ever be able to afford housing or enjoy a secure pension. So when the match was lit it showed the way for many people.

The current protest isn’t the usual one of the left protesting the occupation’s evils. It’s one that addresses the country’s basic values and the path it’s following. It’s targeting the racism that’s erupting everywhere, the hatred and disregard shown toward the pain of others.

Many people yearn for a different kind of Israel. The protest won’t succeed through decisions by opposition parties or parties that joined the Netanyahu government and are now straddling the fence. The protest will come from a wider community that's ashamed of an Israel that has abandoned its democratic goals. These people are ashamed of an archaic, faith-based interpretation of concepts such as Zionism and Judaism.

The slogan “We want a different Israel” could attract tens of thousands of people — or more. Clearly this would be an anti-establishment protest, and some people would try to steer it in totally different directions.

Astute commentators have stated recently that the left no longer exists in Israel. This may be true based on the way these writers define the left and its objectives. Their left is clear and concrete but powerless to attract communities that don’t think the way it does, despite the common revulsion for the new right, for hysterical Economy Minister Naftali Bennett or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who fails to confront the filth. In every corner one can sense anger, fury and shame.

“We want a different Israel” can be a rallying cry for Israel’s Arab citizens who, according to opinion polls, seek to integrate into the country’s fabric. When an Israeli cabinet member visits the family of the murdered Arab boy that minister is hit by threats to his family on Facebook, we can’t remain silent. This isn’t the Israel envisioned by its founders, and something needs to be done about it.

In the Haaretz supplement that accompanied the paper’s Israel Conference on Peace, writers seemed divided on the solution. They offered models for attaining peace, but all seemed anachronistic and unfeasible. A nation that desires peace is one that will fight for a different kind of country and society. The new mutation on the extreme right, whose rabbis have contempt for anyone different, demands a clear statement: This shall not pass.
web: www.tikkun.org
email: info@spiritualprogressives.org
Copyright © 2012 Tikkun® / Network of Spiritual Progressives®.
2342 Shattuck Avenue, #1200
Berkeley, CA 94704
510-644-1200 Fax 510-644-1255

 

POPE FRANCIS VISITS PALESTINE: 3 REPORTS

 

today pope francis visited the israeli apartheid wall built thru occupied territory

The Pope at the Wall

By Mazin Qumsiyeh, Bethlehem

The children of Al-Rowwad from Aida Refugee Camp delivered a message to Pope

Francis when he stopped to pray at the apartheid and annexation wall. They

emphasized prisoners plight and the right to return home. This impromptu

stop was in my opinion the most memorable part of the Pontiff's visit to

Bethlehem. The Pope recognized "The State of Palestine" (Google just did it

too!) and also met with refugee children at Dheisheh and shared food with

some family members who each had a story to tell him about horrific

suffering under Israel's colonial occupation. Christians and Muslims here

were all genuinely touched by the visit of this more humble Pope and his

gestures of understanding and solidarity. But most said they wished he

would use his influence more to pressure the Zionist regime. The Western

Zionist dominated media tried to hide things including the Pope's gestures

of solidarity with us but social media was prominent and the story could

not be ignored.



See pictures here

www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.662587883813204.1073741947.409078369164158&type=1

From David Druding:

Let's see the spin US mainstream media puts on this one  [Did “Zionist dominated media..hide things”?  How?  An excellent project for journalism, media, communications, corporations classes, and other students both on college and high school levels.    --Dick]

Here’s Qumsiyeh’s full  letter:

[HumanRights] The Pope at the Wall

Mazin Qumsiyeh

The Pope at the Wall
By Mazin Qumsiyeh, Bethlehem

The children of Al-Rowwad from Aida Refugee Camp delivered a message to the
Pope when he stopped to pray at the apartheid and annexation wall. They
emphasized prisoners plight and the right to return home. This impromptu
stop was in my opinion the most memorable part of the Pontiff's visit to
Bethlehem. The Pope recognized "The State of Palestine" (Google just did it
too!) and also met with refugee children at Dheisheh and shared food with
some family members who each had a story to tell him about horrific
suffering under Israel's colonial occupation. Christians and Muslims here
were all genuinely touched by the visit of this more humble Pope and his
gestures of understanding and solidarity. But most said they wished he
would use his influence more to pressure the Zionist regime. The Western
Zionist dominated media tried to hide things including the Pope's gestures
of solidarity with us but social media was prominent and the story could
not be ignored. See pictures here
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.662587883813204.1073741947.409078369164158&type=1

The Pope later went on to Tel Aviv to be was sandwiched between two Zionist
Polish liars who continue to build walls of hate and destruction: Persky
(aka Peres) and Mileikowsky (aka Netanyahu). The Pope had to listen as both
atheists said that God gave this land to the Jews and that Israel was "the
land of the Jewish people" and is a "democracy that guarantees freedom of
religion"! Unfortunately, the Pope is also forced to lay a wreath at the
tomb of Theodore Herzl (in addition to the obligatory stops at "Yad Vashem"
and Herod's retaining wall). Herzl is another atheist who is "credited"
with organizing a world-wide Zionist movement that resulted in hundreds of
thousands of deaths (not counting those crimes committed by its subservient
armies like the US army killing Iraqis etc). It is a movement that has
created millions of refugees and continues to commit crimes against
humanity as it consolidates an apartheid system here while money laundering
billions of illicit financial gains money. Israel continues to demolish
homes and lands.  Just to welcome the Pope: Israel murdered Palestinian
youth, imprisoned many, destroyed over 1500 trees in the Land of the Nassar
family (called Tent of Nations) and more. Israeli Jewish "activists" even
distributed flyers calling for destruction of Churches (claiming Christians
worship idols according to Jewish law), and some sprayed graffiti on
Churches that "Mary is a Cow" and "Jesus: a son of a Whore"!

Who are these Zionist leaders that brilliantly brainwashed Jews to support
racist Zionism and pressured some Gentiles to do the same?

Shimon Peres was born as Shimon Perski in Vishniva, Poland (now Belarus).
He and his parents came to Palestine in 1934 (under British rule). He
joined the underground terrorist group the Haganah, and served as a chief
of its manpower division in the 1940s and participated in the ethnic
cleansing of 1948-1949. He is the architect of Israel's nuclear program.
Appointed in 1953 as director general of the ministry of defense, he
immediately started exploring the nuclear development.  In the late 1950s
and early 1960s, Israel developed its nuclear program primarily with the
help of France while maintaining the Peres doctrine of "ambiguity."  The US
and Britain and other countries looked the other way. He is known as a
slick politician able to lie with ease claiming wanting peace but rejecting
any responsibility for his ethnic cleansing of Palestine and rejecting the
rights of refugees to return to their homes and lands. He was awarded (with
Rabin and Arafat) the Nobel Peace Prize for their disastrous Oslo accords.
Many Nobel committee members later signed a letter regretting their
awarding Perski the Nobel Peace Prize (based on his actions as member of
the Sharon government during its war crimes spree).

Benyamin Mileikowsky (aka Netanyahu) was born to Benzion Mileikowsky (later
changed names to Netanyahu), a polish immigrant. His Americanized father
became secretary to terrorist leader Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky (aka
Zeev Jabotinsky) founder of "revisionist" Zionism and supported groups like
Irgun terrorist organization during the mandate in Palestine. His son
continues to idolize these early Jewish terrorists. Both Benjamin and his
brother served in units of the Israeli forces responsible for
assassinations on foreign lands (in violations of international law) and
committed war crimes. Benjamin Miliekowsky (Netanyahu) is known both among
Israelis and globally as a consummate liar who refused to accept the Oslo
accords (even though they were partial to Israel) and has gotten rich off
of his political activities. Here is a video of him thinking the camera was
off explaining his true contributions during his first stint as Israeli
prime minister in the 1990s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrtuBas3Ipw .
see also this
http://972mag.com/netanyahu-clinton-administration-was-%E2%80%9Cextremely-pro-palestinian%E2%80%9D-i-stopped-oslo/135/
This is after all the same terrorist who gave a speech to dozens of
Likud
Party members in Eilat in which he admitted this is his strategy. According
to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz (15 July 2001): "...giving his audience a
bit of advice on how to deal with foreign interviewers (Netanyahu
said):'Always, irrespective of whether you're right or not, you must always
present your side as right.' In 2011, the French president, Nicolas
Sarkozy, described Netanyahu as a liar in a private exchange with US
President Barack Obama at the G20 summit (it was inadvertently broadcast to
journalists). "I cannot stand him. He's a liar," Sarkozy told Obama. The US
president Obama responded by saying: "You're fed up with him? I have to
deal with him every day."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/08/sarkozy-obama-netanyahu-gaffe-microphone
.

Other Zionist leaders have even more interesting backgrounds. See
http://qumsiyeh.org/israelileaders/

But in very good news, and inspite of sending in legions of professional
propaganda men to DePaul University, the students there voted to support
Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/depaul-students-vote-divestment-despite-israeli-government-interference

The BDS campaign must grow. Other forms of resistance must grow. Injustice
must end. Join the struggle.

Mazin Qumsiyeh
Bethlehem University
http://qumsiyeh.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.qumsiyeh.org/pipermail/humanrights/attachments/20140526/37d96752/attachment.html>
_______________________________________________
HumanRights newsletter
http://lists.qumsiyeh.org/listinfo/humanrights
This message was sent to jbennet@uark.edu.  To unsubscribe, visit:
http://lists.qumsiyeh.org/options/humanrights/jbennet%40uark.edu

Attachments area

Pope: Peacemaking calls for courage, much more so than warfare 
http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-peacemaking-calls-for-courage-much-more-so-th 

N"Pope Francis in Palestine"  [from HAW]

By Phyllis Bennis, Foreign Policy in Focus, posted May 28, 2014

A short but thoughtful analysis

etanyahu Unaware of Camera

We all Live in Gaza: End the Violence!  The General's Son by Miko Peled Due to the continuing Israeli bombardment of Gaza, Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox replays this November, 2012 interview. Cindy interviews Zionist turned Peace Activist, Miko Peled about his inspirational story of sacred transformation! Click Player to Listen United National Antiwar Coalition: Statement about Israel/Palestine  ISRAEL: STOP THE KILLING OF PALESTINIANS UNITED STATES: END ALL AID TO ISRAELFREEDOM AND JUSTICE FOR PALESTINE Israel, fully backed by the United States, has engaged in collective punishment of the Palestinian people since 1948 through forced evacuation, war, occupation, apartheid practices, expanding settlements, mass incarceration, and outright terrorism. From its inception, the Zionist objective has been ethnic cleansing and land appropriation. The Israeli propaganda machine always has a pretext, based on charges of anti-Semitism and “existential” threat, to justify its murderous actions against the indigenous Palestinian population. Today, they blame Hamas for the kidnapping and killing of three teenagers. This comes in the context of the Israeli government’s anger at the recent reconciliation agreement between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. In “retaliation” for the slain Israeli youth, reminiscent of the Southern lynchings in the U.S., a racist gang of thugs kidnapped a Palestinian 16-year old, Mohammad Aba Khudair, and brutally beat and tortured him and finally, burned him alive. Days later, his American 15-year old cousin, Tarek Abu Khdeir, was savagely beaten by masked police and others, and then arrested and held while medical treatment was withheld. Read More...   Soapbox donations at an all time low Show Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox some Summer of Love Support. Donate today to keep the Soapbox Alive  Click on Image to Donate Visit the Soapbox Shop  To Shop Click on Image Click on Image Empire News  At Some Point, Progressives Need to Break Up With the Democratic Party  Alterne t July 4, 2014 More...   World at War  The One Underlying Factor That Explains All of Today’s Wars The Nation July 8, 2014 More... Israeli Leader Says He Feels No Pressure to Quit Bombing Gaza NYTimes July 11, 2014 More... Pillay alarmed at mounting civilian toll in Gaza, appeals to all sides to abide by international law UNHR July 13, 2014 More...  Child Fighters Sucked Into Iraq's War Reuters/HuffPo July 11, 2014 More... Ukrainians flee fearing revenge attack PressTV July 12, 2014 More... Activists in Action  PASTORS, COMMUNITY LEADERS ARRESTED BLOCKING HOMRICH GATES TO STOP DETROIT WATER SHUT-OFFS Voice of Detroit July 10, 2014 More... Detroit activist blasts local TV reporter on MSNBC Motor City Muckraker July 8, 2014 More... Protests worldwide condemn Israeli action in Gaza i24News July 13, 2014 More...  Environment Monsanto's Herbicide Linked to Fatal Kidney Disease Epidemic: Could It Topple the Company? Truthout July 10, 2014 More...   Cop Watch  Cop With History of ‘Malfunctioning’ Body Cam Shoots 19-year-old Girl. Yep, Another ‘Malfunction’ The Free Thought Project June 30, 2014 More... Sonoma County D.A.: No criminal charges for sheriff's deputy in Andy Lopez shooting Press Democrat July 7, 2014 More...  Human Rights  Worst of the American Spirit:’ Advocates Decry Anti-Immigrant Protests, Urge Asylum for Children  Nation of Change July 11, 2014 More... Facts All US Citizens Need to Know About Israel and Palestine Washigton Blog July 12, 2014 More...

This message was sent to jbennet@uark.edu by CindySheehansSoapbox@gmail.com Unsubscribe | Manage Subscription | Forward Email | Report Abuse

PO BOX 6264, VACAVILLE, CA, 95696

Share this THE SETTLEMENTS This week in Speakout: . . .Palina Prasasouk reports from a New York City march supporting the people of Gaza; Rebecca Vilkomerson, executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace, points out that the occupation of Palestinian lands by Israel with US support is the true cause of violence as Israel bombards the Gaza Strip; and more.                  Read the Articles  Support Truthout with a tax-deductible donation  Please add messenger@truthout.org to ensure you receive our messages Truthout is a proud member of the Newspaper Guild/CWA, Local 36047  ABC News Tells Viewers That Scenes of Destruction in Gaza Are in Israel Rania Khalek, The Electronic Intifada, Truthout, July 13, 2014: There is no equating the killing and maiming of dozens of innocent Palestinians with scared Israelis seeking shelter from crude rockets that rarely cause damage. But that hasn't stopped media outlets from trying, and in some cases, outright lying, to distort the violence. Read the Article and Watch the Video

 

There Was a Palestine by Dick Bennett

      For as long as I can remember, discussion of Israel and Palestine and of the two-state solution with Zionist Jews has been skewed by their refusal to concede the historical existence of “Palestine.”  They permitted only the world “Palestinians,” never “Palestine.”   Israel had a state; Palestinians were only scattered Arabs.  The cards of history were stacked from the beginning.

     Recently, two articles in the same number of a magazine corrected this distorted history.   In The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (June/July 2014) appeared “Pictures Don’t Lie: refuting #there_was_no_Palestine” by Juan Cole and “The Hope and Ultimate Tragedy of the 1919 King-Crane Report” by Richard Drake. 

     Cole makes the case that “Palestine has been used for a very long time to refer to the geographical area south of Sidon and north of the Sinai.”  For evidence he argues regarding this area, for example, that “At the Versailles Peace Conference, the Class A Mandate of Palestine was created, and in 1939 it was scheduled for independence within 10 years.”   But these plans were “forestalled” by the Zionist “ethnic cleansing campaign of 1947-48. . .which made most Palestinians refugees and stateless.”

     Cole’s argument is reinforced by Drake’s account of the disposition at the Paris/Versailles Peace Conference, 1918, of the Arab lands (in the article also referred to as “Palestine”) formerly occupied by the defeated Ottoman Empire.  The King-Crane Commission, created by President Woodrow Wilson, “concluded that the people of the Middle East fervently desired independence,” and did not want British or French rule to replace the Turks.  King and Crane also reported that the Arabs “bitterly opposed the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine,” and that such a state would produce “an endless force of arms against the non-Jewish residents of Palestine.”

      I have only barely represented the rich assembly of historical facts these two articles provide. 

Zunes articles #164: the US and Israel/Palestine

James R. Bennett

I communicate your ideas and distribute your articles in appropriate newsletters of mine. Thanks for this impressively helpful list. Dick

Stephen Zunes [Zunes@usfca.edu]

 Thursday, June 05, 2014 6:45 PM

You replied on 6/9/2014 10:45 AM.

My latest article looks at the failures of U.S. diplomacy in the recent round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and the Obama administration's opposition to Palestinian accession to human rights treaties:
http://fpif.org/u-s-culpability-failure-israeli-palestinian-peace-talks/

Below are links to some other articles of mine on U.S. policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict:
    * On how U.S. acquiescence of Israeli settlements flouts international law:http://ncronline.org/news/global/israels-settlements-outside-official-border-flout-international-law 
    * On the importance of activism to push the U.S. government to challenge Israel’s legal impunity:http://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/can-united-states-citizens-end-israels-legal-impunity
    * On bipartisan Congressional efforts to undermine the peace process: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-zunes/house-resolution-israel_b_1553439.html
    * On Obama’s disappointing efforts at the United Nations to undermine international law in addressing Israeli-Palestinian conflict:  http://www.tikkun.org/nextgen/obama-palestine-and-the-united-nations
    * On Congressional efforts to support the Israeli occupation and block Palestinian self-determination:http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/2127:congress-and-its-colonialist-agenda
    * On Congressional Democrats joining Republicans in siding with Netanyahu against Obama’s initial peace efforts: http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/1442:netanyahus-speech-and-congressional-democrats-embrace-of-extremism
    * On the Obama administration’s veto of an otherwise unanimous US Security Council resolution reiterating Israel’s legal obligations regarding settlements in occupied territories: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-zunes/obamas-veto-on-israeli-se_b_838060.html
    *On bipartisan Senate efforts to undermine Obama’s initiatives for Israeli-Palestinian peace:http://fpif.org/senate_again_undermines_obamas_middle-east_peace_efforts/

Finally, last weekend marked the fourth anniversary of the Israeli attack on an unarmed humanitarian aid convoy in international waters which initially left nine people dead, including a 19-year old U.S. citizen, who was shot execution-style in the back of the head while lying wounded on the deck. (A tenth victim, in coma since also being shot in the head, died two weeks ago.) Here are a series of articles I wrote at that time addressing the decisions by the Obama administration and a broad bipartisan majority of Congress to defend the Israeli action in the face of overwhelming international criticism:
http://fpif.org/pavlovian_congress_jumps_to_israels_self-_defense/
http://fpif.org/israels_dubious_investigation_of_flotilla_attack/
http://fpif.org/democratic_party_defends_israeli_attack/
http://fpif.org/will_the_flotilla_attack_be_our_kent_state_moment/
http://fpif.org/us_support_for_israel_mirrors_80s_support_for_el_salvador_junta/
http://fpif.org/israels_latest_violation/

You can find additional articles of mine and other information on my website: www.stephenzunes.org

Please feel free to forward this on to others and invite them to contact me about being on my email list. And please let me know if you no longer wish to be on my email list.

Stephen Zunes
Professor of Politics
University of San Francisco
phone: 415-422-6981
skype: szu

QUMSIYEH ON THE REPRESSION, PRESBYTERIAN DIVESTMENT,  AND BIODIVERSITY IN
     PALESTINE

Bad news followed by Good news: In the past 10 days, Israeli occupation
soldiers murdered 7 Palestinians (including a 13 year old child), injured
dozens, kidnapped nearly 400, demolished many houses, destroyed contents
and broken doors on hundreds of homes invaded in the middle of the night,
blocked travel to hundreds of thousands, and continues to imprison
thousands many on hunger strike for being held without charge for months.
... Read more and leave comments at
http://popular-resistance.blogspot.com/2014/06/presbyterian-divest.html

Also we created a listserve for those interested in biodiversity and
natural history in Palestine. We sent invitations to join to those who
showed earlier interests. If you have not received the invitation from
googlegroups and is interested do let us know.

Mazin Qumsiyeh
Professor
Bethlehem University
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.qumsiyeh.org/pipermail/humanrights/attachments/20140623/10e56942/attachment.html>

BOOKS ABOUT ISRAEL AND PALESTINE

Every number of The Washington Report on Middle Eastern Affairs  contains a review of a book, nine annotated citations, and several references to books in the articles.  Excellent magazine well-worth the subscription price.  –Dick

DISPATCHES

Excerpt from The Battle for Justice in Palestine

By Glenn Greenwald,  The Intercept, 27 Apr 2014.

·         Facebook

·         Google

·         Twitter

·         LinkedIn

·         Email

Like most of what he writes and says, Ali Abunimah’s new book, The Battle for Justice in Palestine, is provocative, erudite, impassioned, aggressive, and certain to make even some political allies uncomfortable with their tacitly held beliefs (beginning with the book’s very first sentence: “The Palestinians are winning”). One need not agree with all of his Read more

CONTACT ARKANSAS SENATORS

Boozman, John - (R - AR)

Class III

320 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510

(202) 224-4843

Contact: www.boozman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-me

Pryor, Mark L. - (D - AR)

Class II

255 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510

(202) 224-2353

Contact: www.pryor.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactMe

CONTENTS OF NUMBERS 4-11

Contents of #4
Jerusalem March
Palestinian Non-Violence
UN Condemns Settlements
 Americans for Peace Now
Jean Zaru,  Occupied with Nonviolence
Rev. of Two Books  Beinart and Bar-On
Atzmon, The Wandering Who

Contents of #5
APN:  Reject the Levy Report
Qumsiyah’s Newsletter: Gradual Destruction of Indigenous Palestinians

 Qumsiyah, Destruction of Palestinian State   

Palestinian Nonviolent Resistance

Leila Khaled Resistance Fighter

Palestinian Gandhi

Palestinian Nakba

Bedisha, Testimonies of Palestine 2011

3 Films:

 Christian Zionism, With God on Our Side

 Palestinian Child, Miral

 Wall in Binin, 5 Broken Cameras

Contents #6

Shehadeh: The Occupation

Kestler-D’Amours: Israel’s Apartheid Wall Extending

Social Forum in Brazil on the Occupation

Veterans for Peace

APN Call to Jews to Defend Civility and Justice

Rachel Corrie Verdict

Parallel Cases

Bachevich, Israel/US

Safieh:  Israel’s Mistreatment of Its Palestinians

Loewenstein & Moor: One State Solution

Contents #7

Sign J-Street Petition Against Closing Palestinian Mission

Live from Palestine

Breaking the Silence: Israeli Soldiers’ Confessions

U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

Free Palestine Movement

Contents #8  March 29, 2013

2012 Russell Tribunal on Palestine

UN Welcomes Palestinian State: 3 Views

Film: 5 Broken Cameras, Resistance

Carey, Four Films: Cameras, The Gatekeepers, The Law in These Parts, Towards a Common Archive

Hajjar, Israeli Court System Palestinians, Courting Conflict

Kaufman-Lacusta:  P&I Nonviolent Resistance

Jamiel Rev. of Lerner, Embracing Israel/Palestine (see Newsletter #2, 2-16-12)

Contents #9 Oct. 21, 2013

Qumsiyeh:  Occupation

Lazare:  Palestinians in Hebron

Abulhawa: Novel about Palestinian Refugees

David Swanson on Ruebner’s Shattered Hopes

Bar-Tal, Two New Books:  Effects of Occupation on Israel and Long-Lasting Conflicts

Jebreal, Miral, Book and Film

Just Vision Palestinian-Israeli Documentry Films (Budrus, My Neighbourhood, etc.)

Khalidi, US Deceit in ME

Blumenthal, From David to Goliath

Israel’s Nuclear Bombs

Contents Israael/Palestine Newsletter #10

Good News, Palestinians Given Protections and Responsibilities of Geneva

      Conventions 

Four Letters from Mazin Qumsiyeh

    The Latest, Packed with Grim and Happy News and Avenues for Action

    Qumsiyeh, Being Positive

    3 Actions and Information

    Prawer Plan, Murder of Palestinian, and more

Federman’s Report on Half-a-Million Settlers

Hedges, Myth of Israel

Chomsky, One or Two States? 

Blumenthal, Goliath

Ali Abunimah, Palestinian Solidarity Movement is Winning

Israel Democracy Institute, Peace Index

Contact Arkansas Senators

Contents Nos. 4-9

END ISRAEL/PALESTINE NEWSLETTERS #11, July 14, 2014

Sent WS, Blog