ISRAEL/PALESTINE NEWSLETTER #11

OMNI

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS NEWSLETTER #11, July 1, 2015.

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).

These essays express Palestinian perspectives or sympathy for Palestinians.

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

     With painful irony, Israel has become the oppressor, but we cannot forget the depth of fear that pervades that nation.  Belligerent Netanyahu was elected to office.  The Holocaust was and is ever-present in their hearts and minds, as well as the three Arab invasions beginning in 1967.   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 attacls and retaliations were increasing.  And of course his words applied to all the Middle Eastern combatant nations,  and to all 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.

    

Blog: http://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/

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

Historical Origins of Conflict:  PBS, “1913: Seeds of Conflict”
Dick, Palestine

PBS, “1913: Seeds of Conflict, “ Google Search

Conflict Today: 

Invasion of Gaza

Settlement Funds

Resistance Today

Organizations

Free Palestine Movement, Google Search

US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

The Washington Report on Middle Eastern Affairs  

B’Tselem

Catholic Church, 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


Individual Commentators:  Zunes, Qumsiyeh, Abunimah
Prof. Zunes’s Articles
Qumsiyeh’s latest letter:  the Repression, Presbyterian Divestment, Biodiversity
      in Palestine
Ali Abunimah, The Battle for Justice in Palestine, publisher’s announcement and review by Glenn Greenwald in The Intercept (April 27, 2014).

US Double Standards
Greenwald in The Intercept


OMNI’S ISRAEL/ISLAM ACTIVITIES 2001-2007.

Contact Representatives
Contents of Newsletters 4-10

 

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. 

The studies by Cole and Drake are powerfully reinforced by the PBS documentary, 913: Seeds of Conflict,” which traces the gradual invasion of Jews into Palestine, particularly by the rise of Zionism and the spread of settlements throughout Palestine, which continues today in the minuscule territory left to the Arabs.  In the late 19^th century, Jews, Christians, and Arabs lived amicably together; Old Jerusalem was not divided into religious sectors; all considered themselves members of the Ottoman Empire.  But with the Zionist movement, Jews in ever growing numbers arrived and bought land, segregated themselves, and began planning a Jewish state.  Arabs and Christian Ottomans gradually began to resist, until in 1913 violence broke out.

1913: Seeds of Conflict, Google Search July 1, 2015

[The first entry, from PBS, offers an excellent summary and details.  –D]

1.   1913: Seeds of Conflict –

1913seedsofconflict.com/

Breaking new ground, 1913: SEEDS OF CONFLICT, a one-hour documentary directed by filmmaker Ben Loeterman, explores the divergent social forces ...

2.   1913: Seeds of Conflict | PBS Programs | PBS

www.pbs.org/program/1913-seeds-conflict/

PBS

Examine the seeds of today's Middle East conflict, sown in pre-World War I Ottoman Palestine. By weaving Arab and Jewish histories, the film dispels old myths ...

3.   1913: Seeds of Conflict | Watch Online | PBS Video

video.pbs.org/program/1913-seeds-conflict

PBS

Watch 1913: Seeds of Conflict videos on demand. Stream full episodes online. Explore an overlooked moment in pre-WWI Palestine when people's identities ...

In the news

4.    San Diego Audience Reacts To '1913: Seeds Of Conflict'

5.    KPBS‎ - 1 day ago

Tonight, PBS will air the documentary "1913: Seeds of Conflict." It explores the little-known ...

6.    PBS docudrama '1913: Seeds of Conflict' deftly delves into Middle East drama   National Catholic Reporter‎ - 23 hours ago

7.    What's on TV tonight? 'Zoo,' 'Scream,' '1913: Seeds of Conflict'

NOLA.com‎ - 1 day ago

More news for 1913 seeds of conflict

8.   1913: Seeds of Conflict | Atlanta Jewish Film Festival

ajff.org/film/1913-seeds-conflict

Atlanta Jewish Film Festival

Tapping an enlightening new vein of contemporary scholarship, 1913: SEEDS OF CONFLICT dissects the oft-overlooked but pivotal pre-WWI genesis of ...

9.   Amazon.com: 1913: Seeds of Conflict: .: Movies & TV

www.amazon.com › ... › DVD › Documentary

Amazon.com, Inc.

Pre-order Price Guarantee! Order now and if the Amazon.com price decreases between your order time and the end of the day of the release date, you'll receive ...

10.                1913 Seeds of Conflict | Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/1913seedsofconflict

1913 Seeds of Conflict. 116 likes · 17 talking about this. Based on the book Jerusalem 1913, SEEDS explores the seeds of today's Middle East conflict in...

11.                PBS docudrama '1913: Seeds of Conflict' deftly delves into ...

ncronline.org/.../pbs-docudrama-1913-seeds-c...

National Catholic Reporter

23 hours ago - The comprehensive and compact docudrama "1913: Seeds of Conflict" reveals little-known facts that conflated to become what writer/director ...

12.                1913: Seeds of Conflict DVD - shopPBS.org

www.shoppbs.org/product/index.jsp?productId=57580716   Shop PBS

Buy 1913: Seeds of Conflict DVD - 1913: Seeds of Conflict examines a critical yet overlooked moment of transformation in Palestine, long before the Balfour ...

13.                “1913: Seeds of Conflict”: New Doc Explores Little-Known ...

religiondispatches.org/1913-seeds-of-conflict-new-d...   Religion Dispatches

2 days ago - It is thus appropriate that Ben Loeterman's new film “1913: Seeds of Conflict” deploys an agricultural metaphor. History is a jungle. The film ...

CONFLICT TODAY

GAZA: Israel’s “Operation Protective Edge” Summer 2014

'Indiscriminate' Killing in Gaza Was Top-Down War Plan, say Israeli Veterans

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/05/04/indiscriminate-killing-gaza-was-top-down-war-plan-say-israeli-veterans

Over 60 officers and soldiers who took part in 'Operation Protective Edge' anonymously testify about acts they committed or witnessed

By Sarah Lazare, staff writer, Monday, May 04, 2015 by Common Dreams

The "massive and unprecedented harm" inflicted on the population of Gaza during last summer's 50-day Israeli military assault stemmed from the top of the chain of command, which gave orders to shoot indiscriminately at civilians, according to the anonymous testimony of more than 60 officers and soldiers who took part in "Operation Protective Edge."
The Israeli group Breaking the Silence, an organization of "Israeli Defense Force" veterans who engaged in combat, on Monday released the 240-page collection of testimony entitled, This is How We Fought in Gaza.
"While the testimonies include pointed descriptions of inappropriate behavior by soldiers in the field," the report states, "the more disturbing picture that arises from these testimonies reflects systematic policies that were dictated to IDF forces of all ranks and in all zones."
Breaking the Silence said that the war on Gaza operated under the "most permissive" rules of engagement they have ever seen.
"From the testimonies given by the officers and soldiers, a troubling picture arises of a policy of indiscriminate fire that led to the deaths of innocent civilians," said Yuli Novak, director of the group, in a press statement. "We learn from the testimonies that there is a broad ethical failure in the IDF’s rules of engagement, and that this failure comes from the top of the chain of command, and is not merely the result of 'rotten apples.'"   MORE  http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/05/04/indiscriminate-killing-gaza-was-top-down-war-plan-say-israeli-veterans

RESISTANCE

ORGANIZATIONS: Free Palestine Movement, U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, B t’selem, Catholic Church

Free Palestine Movement

Its latest newsletter (May 31, 2015) describes blocking Israeli ships and its bus ad campaign.   Specifically their coalition with other groups have blocked the Israeli Zim Line at Oakland, and the bus ads are: “Israel’s War Crimes: Your Tax Dollars at Work” and “Boycott Israel until Palestinians Have Equal Rights.”

1.     Free Palestine Movement, Google Search, June 18, 2015  freepalestinemovement.org/

The Global Movement Against Israeli Apartheid: Achievements and Prospects ... Dear friends, The Free Palestine Movement is using its newsletter to help recruit ...

‎News - ‎About FPM - ‎Points of Unity - ‎Become a Volunteer!

2.   About - Free Palestine Movement

www.freepalestinemovement.org/about.html

The Free Palestine Movement (FPM) is a California-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit ... Israeli policies and actions that deny Palestinians their human rights, and in ...

3.   Free Palestine Movement

www.freepalestinemovement.org/home.html

The Free Palestine Movement (FPM) and its affiliates and sponsors will now consider a proposal to create a new project for Syria, so as to maintain the original ...

4.   Free Palestine Movement | Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/.../Free-Palestine-Movement/1341773966410...

Below is an appeal sent out by the Free Palestine Movement on behalf of the Palestine Children's Welfare Fund (because FPM has an extensive email list and ...

5.   Palestinian freedom of movement - Wikipedia, the free ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/.../Palestinian_freedom_of_movement

Wikipedia

The restriction of the movement of Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories by the Israeli government is an issue in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. According ...

‎Background - ‎History - ‎Restriction of movement in the ...

6.   Palestinian nationalism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_nationalism

Wikipedia

Palestinian nationalism is the national movement of the Palestinian people. It has roots in the national liberation movements emerging in the 19th and 20th  ...

7.   Images for free palestine movementReport images

More images for free palestine movement

8.   Palestine Solidarity Campaign

www.palestinecampaign.org/

Palestine Solidarity Campaign

But it is also complicit in Israel's brutal occupation of Palestine and grave breaches of international ... Help us to build a movement for solidarity with Palestine.

9.   Free Palestine Movement | Cultures of Resistance

www.culturesofresistance.org/groups-we-support-free-palestine-movement

The Free Palestine Movement (FPM) is a California-based human rights organization with several working groups inside and outside the U.S. FPM's mission is ...

10.                International Solidarity Movement | Nonviolence. Justice ...

palsolidarity.org/

International Solidarity Movement

12th June 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al Khalil Team | Al Khalil, ... 27th May | Miguel Hernández | Gaza, Occupied Palestine The family El Najjar .... and counting https://t.co/Dx3Eoa3Ilp #FreeAdnan #FreePalestine 14 hours ago ...

US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

http://www.endtheoccupation.org/

Register for Our National Conference!

Our 14th Annual Conference will take place 9/25-9/27 in Atlanta, GA.

A national coalition of more than 400 groups, the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation works to end U.S. support for Israel's occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. We support a U.S. policy that upholds freedom, justice and equality.

Need Resources?

Get them here.

Take Action.

Get Involved.

Give.

Sustain Our Work.

The Washington Report on Middle Eastern Affairs  

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

B'Tselem | The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights , Google Search, January 15, 2015

1.   B'Tselem | The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights ...

www.btselem.org/

B'Tselem

Muhammad Sabah, B'Tselem field researcher in Gaza, has been hard at work documenting life amidst the ruins left in the wake of this summer's fighting: “The ...

‎Statistics - ‎About B'Tselem - ‎First - ‎Video

2.   B'Tselem - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B'Tselem   Wikipedia

B'Tselem (Hebrew: בצלם‎, "in the image of [God]") is an Israeli non-governmental organization (NGO) founded on February 3, 1989 by a group of prominent ...

3.   B´Tselem - NGO Monitor

www.ngo-monitor.org/article/b_tselem

NGO Monitor

B'Tselem faces serious criticism for its misrepresentations of international law, inaccurate research, and skewed statistics including casualty lists.

4.   Israel bans national service with rights group B'Tselem in ...

www.theguardian.com › World › Israel   The Guardian

Aug 15, 2014 - B'Tselem has called on Uri Orbach, the government minister in charge of the authority for national civic service and a member of the ...

5.   B'Tselem | The Electronic Intifada

electronicintifada.net/tags/btselem

The Electronic Intifada

Dec 10, 2014 - A new Amnesty International report details eight cases in which Israeli airstrikes targeted residential buildings and inflicted huge numbers of ...

6.   ‫B'Tselem בצלם | Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/btselem

B'Tselem בצלם‎, Jerusalem, Israel. 54831 likes · 8330 talking about this. B'Tselem - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied...

7.   Israeli 'Human-Rights' Group B'Tselem Admits Holocaust ...

www.algemeiner.com › Featured

Algemeiner Journal

Oct 5, 2014 - After weeks of strong denials and acrimonious debate over statements made by one of its Palestinian researchers, the Israeli NGO B'Tselem, ...

8.   B'Tselem banned from National-Civilian Service - Israel ...

www.jpost.com/.../BTselem-banned-from-National-Ci...   The Jerusalem Post

Aug 14, 2014 - B'Tselem will no longer be able to have National-Civilian Service volunteers work in its organization, the National-Civilian Service Authority ...

9.   B'Tselem בצלם (@btselem) | Twitter

https://twitter.com/btselem

2137 tweets • 190 photos/videos • 18.2K followers. Check out the latest Tweets fromB'Tselem בצלם (@btselem)

10.                btselem - YouTube

www.youtube.com/user/btselem

B'Tselem - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, endeavors to educate the Israeli public and policymakers about human ...

Searches related to B'Tselem

b'tselem casualties  haaretz  b'tselem wiki  b'tselem twitter  b'tselem pronunciation

b'tselem statistics  b'tselem usa  b'tselem human shields

POPE FRANCIS

Today Pope Francis visited the israeli apartheid wall built thru occupied territory.

The Pope at the Wall By Mazin Qumsiyeh, Bethlehem

[Qumsiyeh, formerly a university professor in the US, now works in Bethlehem.  He visited Fayetteville while he still resided in the US.   –D]

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”?  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
<http://lists.qumsiyeh.org/pipermail/humanrights/attachments/20140526/37d96752/attachment.html>
______________________________________________
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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"

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

A short and thoughtful analysis [from HAW].  Netanyahu: 

etanyahu Unaware of Camera

 INDIVIDUAL COMMENTATORS:  ZUNES, QUMSIYEH, ABUNIMAH

 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
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The Battle for Justice in Palestine

·         Palestine

BY ALI ABUNIMAH

Winner of the 2014 Palestine Book Award

Efforts to achieve a “two-state solution” have finally collapsed; the struggle for justice in Palestine is at a crossroads. As Israel and its advocates lurch toward greater extremism, many ask where the struggle is headed. This book offers a clear analysis of this crossroads moment and looks forward with urgency down the path to a more hopeful future.

About the author

Ali Abunimah is the author of One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli Palestinian Impasse, and co-founder and director of the widely acclaimed publication The Electronic Intifada. Based in the United States, he has written hundreds of articles and been an active part of the movement for justice in Palestine for 20 years. He is the recipient of a 2013 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship.

Video

Reviews

"Every community that stands fast, loving its people and its land, its customs and its ways, will be seen, eventually, as worthy of saving. This is because it is our own humanity we are learning from, our own value. There will also arise a special voice to champion us, one that is brave, trustworthy and true. In The Battle for Justice in Palestine it is the voice of Ali Abunimah, fierce, wise - a warrior for justice and peace - someone whose large heart, one senses, beyond his calm, is constantly on fire. A pragmatist but also a poet. This is the book to read to understand the present bizarre and ongoing complexity of the Palestine/Israel tragedy. And though it is filled with the grim reality of this long and deadly, ugly and dehumanizing, conflict, it also offers hope: that as more people awaken to the shocking reality of what has for decades been going on, we can bring understanding and restitution to the Palestinian people. Their struggle to exist in dignity and peace in their own homeland - and this may be the biggest surprise of Abunimah's book - is mirrored in the struggles for survival and autonomy of more than a few of us."
—Alice Walker

"This is the best book on Palestine in the last decade. No existing book presents the staggering details and sophistication of analysis that Abunimah’s book offers. Abunimah’s scope includes an analysis of the politics, economics, environmental policies, identity politics, international relations, academic scholarship and activism, global solidarity, and official and unofficial lobbies that have come to bear on Palestine and the Palestinians. The Battle for Justice in Palestineis the most comprehensive treatment of Palestinian suffering under Israeli control and offers the only possible way to end it. It is a must read for anyone seeking to understand the current situation of the Palestinians and Israel."
—Joseph Massad, Columbia University

"With incisive style and scrupulous attention to documentation and detail, Ali Abunimah's new book offers a complex portrait, from every angle, of the Palestinian struggle for justice today."
—Rebecca Vilkomerson, Executive Director, Jewish Voice for Peace

"A crucially needed dose of educated hope. This is what hits me from this fascinating amalgam of incisive journalism, analytic prose and intellectually compelling vision that emanates from many years of brilliant activism. Sailing effortlessly from the domestic to the global, from Johannesburg to Belfast and from Chicago to Tel Aviv, Ali Abunimah paints a lucid, accessible picture out of a complex web of racism, racialized oppression, and creative resistance. Abunimah does not give us hope; he helps us dig for it within us by meticulously laying out before us the facts, the trends, the challenges and the inspiring resistance to them."
—Omar Barghouti, Palestinian human rights activist, co-founder of the BDS movement, author of Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions: The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights

"In The Battle for Justice in Palestine, Ali Abunimah—the most astute commentator writing on Palestine today—bursts the leaky myths of Israeli exceptionalism while carefully examining where the battle for Palestine is currently being waged. Forget the endless “peace process,” which has ushered in little more than massive economic exploitation, tragic environmental degradation, and servile and destructive politics. Focus instead, Abunimah tells us, on the many civil society and campus initiatives around the world that are bravely ushering in a new era of global grass-roots organizing for justice. Rich in information and deep in analysis, The Battle for Justice in Palestine will inspire readers that Palestinian self-determination is not only possible but absolutely necessary."
—Moustafa Bayoumi, author, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America

DISPATCHES

Excerpt from The Battle for Justice in Palestine

By Glenn Greenwald,  The Intercept, 27 Apr 2014.

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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

US DOUBLE STANDARDS

Compare How U.S. Responds to the Killing of American Kids Based on Identity of the Killers

By Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept   26 October 14

ast Wednesday in Jerusalem, a three-month-old American baby was killed, and eight other people injured, when a car plowed into a crowded sidewalk; the driver, a 20-year-old Palestinian named Abed a-Rahman a-Shaludi, was killed by police when he tried to flee the scene. The family of the driver insisted it was an accident, but Israeli officials immediately called it a “terrorist act.” Some Israelis speculated that it was in retaliation for the killing in the West Bank of a 5-year-old Palestinian girl days earlier by an Israeli settler who ran his car into her (and another Palestinian girl, seriously injured) and then fled the scene (Palestinian officials denounced that incident as “terrorism”).

Yesterday, a soldier in the Israeli military shot and killed a 14-year-old boy in the West Bank who was participating in a protest against the 5-decade Israeli occupation. The boy, Orwah Hammad (pictured above at his funeral), was a U.S. citizen as well as a Palestinian; he was born in New Orleans and moved with his family to the West Bank when he was 6. The IDF claimed he was throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers and that another man was preparing to throw a Molotov cocktail, and that this justified the live ammunition they fired.

The U.S. State Department issued a statement about the two incidents. Here’s the one it issued about last week’s Jerusalem incident where the Palestinian driver killed the American baby, issued on the very day the incident took place (i.e., prior to any investigation):

Terrorist Attack in Jerusalem

The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms today’s terrorist attack in Jerusalem. We express our deepest condolences to the family of the baby, reportedly an American citizen, who was killed in this despicable attack, and extend our prayers for a full recovery to those injured. We urge all sides to maintain calm and avoid escalating tensions in the wake of this incident.

Here’s the markedly different statement the State Department issued last night about the fatal shooting by an Israeli soldier of the 14-year-old American boy:

Death of a U.S. Minor in Silwad

The United States expresses its deepest condolences to the family of a U.S. citizen minor who was killed by the Israeli Defense Forces during clashes in Silwad on October 24. Officials from the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem are in contact with the family and are providing all appropriate consular assistance. We call for a speedy and transparent investigation, and will remain closely engaged with the local authorities, who have the lead on this investigation. We continue to urge all parties to help restore calm and avoid escalating tensions in the wake of the tragic recent incidents in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

There is certainly nothing wrong with waiting for the results of an investigation before making definite statements, but that’s not what the State Department did in the Jerusalem incident, which was instantly labelled a “despicable” act of “terror.” Moreover, when the U.S. calls for a “speedy and transparent investigation” of the West Bank shooting, what they mean is that they want the IDF – the occupying force which killed the American teenager – to investigate (and inevitably clear) itself (Rania Khalek today documents how reflexively Israeli authorities clear Israeli settlers and soldiers while instantly finding Palestinians guilty in similar circumstances). As the driver’s family told Israeli media:

A few days ago a Jewish settler knocked over two girls near Ramallah. He killed one and the other is in serious condition. The police immediately said it was a car accident. In our case they said the opposite in seconds. This is because the driver was an Arab driver. When a Jewish driver was involved in an accident the attitude was different and no one shot him.

Whatever else is true, IDF soldiers should not be in the West Bank given that the occupation they are there to enforce is regarded as illegal by virtually the entire world.

Most importantly, the U.S. Government has a remarkable history of exhibiting indifference, or even support, when Israel kills American citizens. The State Department never uttered a peep of protest over the Israeli bulldozer killing in 2003 of peace activist Rachel Corrie, and then implicitly endorsed the killing by Israel of the Turkish-American teenager Furkan Dogan aboard the anti-blockade Mavi Marmara flotilla (in stark contrast to the Turkish government, which – acting as most governments would – was furious that Israel had killed its citizens).

In general, countries become indignant when other nations kill their own citizens. But all of the normal rules are inapplicable when the countries in question are the U.S. and Israel. Thus, when a Palestinian runs his car into an American child, this is instantly declared a “despicable act” of “terrorism” which is condemned in “the strongest possible terms”: no investigation needed. But when an Israeli occupying soldier shoots and kills an American child, the most tepid, nonjudgmental and careful language is used to politely call for an “investigation” by the very occupying military responsible for the killing.

Profiles in Courage: 38 Dems Publicly Break With Netanyahu's War Polemic

1.    Profiles in Courage: 38 Dems Publicly Break With Netanyahu's War Polemic  Huffington Post‎ - 23 hours ago

A recent CNN poll found that four out of five Democratic voters oppose the Israeli Prime ...

2.    Profiles in Courage: The 38 Democrats Who Publicly Broke With Netanyahu's War Polemic   Truthout‎ - 20 hours ago

More news for Naiman, Profiles in Courage

3.   Profiles in Courage: 37 Dems Publicly Break with ...

www.dailykos.com/.../-Profiles-in-Courage-37-Dems-Publicly-...   Daily Kos

2 days ago - Robert Naiman is Policy Director at. 6:16 PM PT: Apparently Sen. Elizabeth Warren has called for Netanyahu's speech to be postponed. This is ...

OMNI’S PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI ACTIVITIES 2001-2007

(Our many activities exceeded my ability to record; I hope someone else did.)

August 2001 Reading the names of Palestinian and Israeli civilian victims.

January 2003 Roundtable on Religious Peace Traditions included a Muslim (Winy ? from Indonesia) and a Jew (Mike Lieber).

2003 Gladys organized the first “Conversation” at UA Multicultural Center to enable local Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Humanists to talk with each other about Israel and Occupied Palestine.

OMNI PeaceWriting Award 2003 to Kathleen Kern for her novel about a Christian peacemaker team in Hebron protecting Palestinians.

Fall 2003 Forum on P-I, a film of a lecture by Rabbi Michael Lerner, who sets forth principles for reconciliation between the two sides (sponsored by OMNI and UA Multicultural Center).

A  second “Conversation” was organized by Gladys Tiffany in 2004.

Fall 2003 Film on the Jenin refugee camp sponsored by Al-Islam   Jenin Jenin??

Fall 2003 Religious Peace Traditions Forum included a Muslim (Hameed Naseem).and a Jew (Darla Newman). 

2004 Fayetteville Film Fest OMNI Award to a film on Palestinian refugees made by Jefferson Fletcher.

Spring 2004 Film “Jenin Diary” on Israeli reservists inside the Jenin camp, shown in The Deep End by the Jewish student Hillel Club, facilitated but not sponsored by OMNI.  [David Druding’s criticism eventuated in the formalization of our practice of enabling all presentations from all points of view.  OMNI henceforth would not select what would and would not be shown about the Middle East, but would assist all in communicating their points of view.]  [Dick 2013:  Members of Temple Shalom never again requested use of our Center.]

Spring 2004 Religious Peace Traditions Symposium included a Muslim (Hugh Talat Halman).

Spring 2004 Lecture by Jim Harb on Middle East Conflicts and P-I.

Spring 2004 Forum on Muslim Peacemaking and Peacemakers (2 out of town speakers, with Profs. Cornell and Halman) (March 5)

John Pilger’s film, “Palestine Is Still the Issue,” Underground Video March 12, 2004.

Spring 2004 Essay Contest for school youth on P-I and public meeting at awards (Erin Cowsert).

Spring 2004 Forum on P-I. (Gigi Secuban, Hameed Nasseem, Mike Lieber, Rhett Baird, Erin Cowsert, Gladys Tiffany, Dick Bennett, and all are welcome to participate) (April 14).

[All of our 2005 and 2006 activities have gone unrecorded.  I should have realized long ago I could not keep up with everything and found someone to focus just on this very important aspect of OMNI’s struggle for a Culture of Peace in NWA.]

In 2005 or 2006 OMNI continued to facilitate any and all points of view with no attempt to screen or censor.  OMNI would provide space and projector/screen if needed.    In June 2007 we decided to ask each speaker, initiator to be responsible for own publicity, except that OMNI would notice each event in OMNI’s Current Events Newsletter.

2007

Events from Jan. 1 to May 11?

May 11, Compassionate Conversation started, renewing 2004-05 efforts to enlarge dialog among NWA Muslims, Jews, Christians, Humanists, and Atheists with ultimate aim a fruitful dialog about Israel and Palestinian Occupied Territories.  Anita Schnee was convenor and moderator using Non-Violent Communication NVC orientation.

June 12, 2007 Jefferson Fletcher gave another strongly pro-Palestinian illust. lecture on the Israeli Wall in the West Bank.

June 20, 2^nd Compassionate Conversation with Anita Schnee.

Thursday June 28, Time: 6:00-7:45, Place: Fayetteville Public Library, 2nd floor study room (north side of building)

July 12, 2007 Mr. Fletcher’s 3rd lecture on Israeli Settlements in West Bank.

 Wednesday, July 18, Compassionate Conversation, 1:00-2:30, at the Yoga Room.  Anita Schnee.

Two observations? October 11, 2013:

This is only a partial list of our I-P events.  Here are more for which I could find no dates:

 OMNI sponsored a visit by Prof. Mazin Qumsiyeh and other Palestinians on the national bus tour, “Wheels of Justice.”   Mazin was a professor at a northeastern university.  Soon afterward he moved back to the West Bank, became a professor at Bethlehem Univ., started a newsletter on nonviolent action, which I continue to receive (2015).

A visit of Anna Baltzer, recently returned from living in the West Bank and author of a pro-Palestinian book— Witness in Palestine.  Ms. Baltzer became US coordinator of  the US Campaign to End the Occupation of Palestine and its BDS Movement, and continues (2015) to advocate for Palestinian rights.

Also for about 2 years, 2006-07?-- I organized about a dozen small meetings/luncheons of members of Temple Shalom (Mike Lieber) and me and an occasional supporter of Palestinians.   I urged TS to endorse Palestinian statehood and oppose the settlements.   The meetings were not fruitful, we eventually ceased.

Around this time Gladys Tiffany met occasionally with a group of local Muslim women, but the dialog did not grow and ceased after a year or so.

None of the senators or representatives publishes his e-mail address, but each can be contacted by filling in forms offered through his website.

Senator John Boozman: (202)224-4843

Website Email: http://www.boozman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-me

Senator Tom Cotton: (202)224-2353,

Website Email: http://www.cotton.senate.gov/content/contact-tom

Rep. Rick Crawford, 1^st District: (202)225-4076

Website Email: http://crawford.house.gov/contact/

Rep. French Hill, 2^nd District: (202)225-2506

Website Email: https://hill.house.gov/contact/email

Rep. Steve Womack, 3^rd District: (202)225-4301

Website Email: http://womack.house.gov/contact/

Rep. Bruce Westerman, 4^th District: (202) 225-3772

Website Email: https://westerman.house.gov/contact

President Barack Obama: Comments: 202-456-1111, Switchboard: 202-456-1414

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

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 NEWSLETTER #11