OMNI NEWSLETTER NO. 3 on GAZA
BUILDING A CULTURE OF PEACE
AND JUSTICE. November 17,
2013 Compiled by Dick Bennett for a Culture of Peace. (#1:
3-3-08; #2 Nov. 16, 2012).
My blog: War Department/Peace Department
My Newsletters:
Index:
See: Israeli Aggressions, Israeli-Palestinian
Newsletter
CONTENTS
OF #1 March 3, 2008
Shalom
Center Appeal for a Cease Fire, and Petition
Sign
AVAAZ Petition Too.
Civilian
Medical Crisis from Physicians for Human Rights in Israel
Article:
“The Strangulation of Gaza
For
other reports and arguments see OMNI’s website—www.omnicenter.org, click on
“periodicals”
Contents
continued on web site:
Article
by Ramzy Baroud
More.
Contents of #2 Remembering the Past
Chomsky
on Gaza
Sacco,
Rafah History
SUPPORT
FOR THE FLOTILLAS
Naimon,
Freedom Flotilla 2010
Waskow
2011, Freedom Flotillas
Veterans
for Peace for 2011 Flotilla
2010
Writings
Alice
Walker
Veterans
for Peace
Article
in Haaretz
Starhawk
Ann
Wright
Book
in Praise of Gazans
Petras
Finkelstein
Goldstone
Report Not Retracted
Blum,
Anti-Empire Report
Chomsky,
Betrayal of Gaza
Code
Pink, Gaza
Jewish
Aid to Gaza
Book
Into Film: Tom Hurndall
Contents #3 Nov. 17, 2013
(This
newsletter is shorter than usual because I only today received the appeal for
the Mini-Arks.)
Freedom Boats:
Support Gazan Children’s Mini-Arks (model
boats)
Book Rev. by Miles: Berlin
2012
Bombings
Kathy
Kelly, Israeli Air Force Attack
Joshua Brollier’s Writings
Marc
Ash to President Obama
Rick Staggenborg Recommends
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http://www.gazaark.org/translation/
Help the Children of Gaza sail to Freedom on Nov. 30th
Support the mini-Ark project
Nahla, Mariam and Jamal with the mini-Arks (model boats) they helped assemble and will sail out to sea on November 30. Like messages in a bottle, these small boats, emblazoned with the names of sponsors from around the world, will hopefully wend their way across the Mediterranean, carrying the hopes and wishes from Palestinian children inGaza
"You can help brighten a dark path. Lead the way and sail with the children ofGaza towards freedom." said
Heba Hayek of Gaza , a member of Gaza 's
Ark
These efforts to launch mini-Arks are to spotlight the inhumane conditions under which the Palestinians inGaza Europe
will sail small boats on their lakes, rivers and swimming pools and stage
supporting actions on the same
day, November
30th.
We are asking you, without delay, to:
1) Sponsor a Mini-Ark individually, in partnership or through a local organization. Share this sponsorship opportunity with others through word of mouth, Facebook, Twitter, your blog or any other social platform you have access to:http://www.gazaark.org/2013/10/26/sponsor-a-mini-ark-now/
2) Create a Mini-Ark Action: Make your own Mini-Arks with your children and/or children in your community. Write a message of solidarity or write: "Gaza Gaza
Please also Like us on Facebook and ask others to like us too. Every person counts! Tell anybody and everybody: help us end the blockade and the silence: https://www.facebook.com/GazaArk; and Follow us on Twitter and ask your followers to follow us too. Tweet and re-tweet about the Gaza Mini-Ark project using "mini #GazaArk": https://twitter.com/GazaArk
Join the mini-Ark Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/172344456298624/
Stay tuned for our next announcement. We want everyone who reads this plea from the children ofGaza
The mini-Arks initiative is supported by a growing number of Palestinian organizations in Gaza, including:
Al Amal Institute for orphans - https://www.facebook.com/Alamal.for.orphans
El Wedad association - http://www.npaid.org/Our-work/Countries/Middle-East/Palestine/Partners-in-Palestine/El-Wedad
Atfaluna association - http://www.atfaluna.net/en/atfaluna_crafts/
Rehabilitation and development program for women - https://www.facebook.com/rdpwgaza
Dr. Haider abed el Shafi Center for Training - https://www.facebook.com/htcgaza
Society and Family development association - https://www.facebook.com/tanmia.pal
For Palestine children ( Atfal Palestine) - https://www.facebook.com/atfalpal
Al Qalaa center for training and development - https://www.facebook.com/alqlaa.Center
Zahrat E-Tfoola
Khwarzmi
National agency for family care
Help the Children of Gaza sail to Freedom on Nov. 30th
Support the mini-Ark project
Nahla, Mariam and Jamal with the mini-Arks (model boats) they helped assemble and will sail out to sea on November 30. Like messages in a bottle, these small boats, emblazoned with the names of sponsors from around the world, will hopefully wend their way across the Mediterranean, carrying the hopes and wishes from Palestinian children in
"You can help brighten a dark path. Lead the way and sail with the children of
These efforts to launch mini-Arks are to spotlight the inhumane conditions under which the Palestinians in
We are asking you, without delay, to:
1) Sponsor a Mini-Ark individually, in partnership or through a local organization. Share this sponsorship opportunity with others through word of mouth, Facebook, Twitter, your blog or any other social platform you have access to:http://www.gazaark.org/2013/10/26/sponsor-a-mini-ark-now/
2) Create a Mini-Ark Action: Make your own Mini-Arks with your children and/or children in your community. Write a message of solidarity or write: "
Please also Like us on Facebook and ask others to like us too. Every person counts! Tell anybody and everybody: help us end the blockade and the silence: https://www.facebook.com/GazaArk; and Follow us on Twitter and ask your followers to follow us too. Tweet and re-tweet about the Gaza Mini-Ark project using "mini #GazaArk": https://twitter.com/GazaArk
Join the mini-Ark Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/172344456298624/
Stay tuned for our next announcement. We want everyone who reads this plea from the children of
The mini-Arks initiative is supported by a growing number of Palestinian organizations in Gaza, including:
Al Amal Institute for orphans - https://www.facebook.com/Alamal.for.orphans
El Wedad association - http://www.npaid.org/Our-work/Countries/Middle-East/Palestine/Partners-in-Palestine/El-Wedad
Atfaluna association - http://www.atfaluna.net/en/atfaluna_crafts/
Rehabilitation and development program for women - https://www.facebook.com/rdpwgaza
Dr. Haider abed el Shafi Center for Training - https://www.facebook.com/htcgaza
Society and Family development association - https://www.facebook.com/tanmia.pal
For Palestine children ( Atfal Palestine) - https://www.facebook.com/atfalpal
Al Qalaa center for training and development - https://www.facebook.com/alqlaa.Center
Zahrat E-Tfoola
Khwarzmi
National agency for family care
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Book Review: Freedom Sailors
by Jim Miles August
31, 2012
Freedom
Sailors. Ed. Greta Berlin and
Bill Dienst, M.D. Free Gaza
It is difficult to
imagine the thoughts and feelings of the people who are forcing the hypocrisy
and lies of the Israeli government out into the open by sailing small boats
through international waters to Gaza
The commentaries,
while outlining the sequence of events, provide a clear view into the fears and
hopes before and during the voyage. It also presents the strength of commitment
of the participants while under both emotional and physical stress. The simple
stresses of travel and delayed dates and times are common to most travelers.
Add to that the necessary secrecy and purposeful ignorance of all events, the
latent fears of Israeli agents attacking either the boats or the people
involved, the stresses of committing to time frame that, while somewhat
scheduled, is prone to delays. Financial difficulties cause further
frustrations and anxieties. Finally, the voyage itself carries the fear of
Israeli military interception with unknown results—death, drowning,
incarceration in Israeli jails—as well as the physical pain of seasickness, and
the discomforting vagaries of the weather.
For all that, the
participants proceed, and succeed, supported by a large land crew and many
supporters around the world. Of particular note is the response of the Greeks
and Cypriots who were more than willing to spend extra time and effort in
supporting a cause that they believed as right and just.
It is a heroic tale
simply written. Heroic not because the people involved are larger than life and
great public figures, but because of the opposite. The participants are
everyday people, perhaps with more personal gusto and drive than average
people, but none the less are everyday citizens demonstrating possibilities
against the siege imposed on Gaza
Background
A few of the
commentaries provide more context to the situation in Gaza
Donna Wallach
describes succinctly the effects of the occupation and blockade, the collective
punishment of the Palestinians in Gaza
Lauren Booth decries
the description of Gaza Gaza
Booth makes other
comments about family visitation denial, the lack of fuel for cooking and
electricity, and the divisive and non-democratic laws concerning marriage and
residence. From her observations she concludes that according to best
definitions, that “Gaza 2008 is not a prison. It is the largest internment
camp, and is slowly becoming the largest concentration camp, in history.”
Jeff Halper, one of
the more recognizable figures within the group, presents a more political
perspective in his discussion of what the trip signifies. He essentially covers
two areas: the ideas of occupation; and the ideas of peace partners. After the
success of the mission, Halper says, “Israel
As for peace, he
recognizes that it is not the Palestinians that are unwilling peace partners,
but that the Jews are the unwilling peace partners: “we Israeli Jews are the
problem. The Palestinians years ago accepted our existence in the country as a
people and are willing to accept ANY [emphasis in original] solution. It is us
who want exclusivity over the land
of Israel
A concluding
analysis of why the naval blockade and the murder of Palestinian fishermen over
the years relates to the gas fields
found in Gazan and international waters. With Israel
The people of Gaza
Palestinians in Gaza Israel
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We
Want It to Stop By Kathy Kelly
On November 15, 2012, day three of the recent eight
day bombardment of
When Ahmed went into the room, he saw, with horror,
that it was true. A fleck of shrapnel from the rocket had killed his youngest
son, eight year-old Fares Basyouni. Fares had been completely decapitated but
for a strip of flesh from the side of his face. The child’s blood covered the
ceiling, the walls and the floor. Fares’s father and mother spoke softly
about their murdered son. “He was a kind boy, sometimes naughty,” said Ahmed,
“but very kind.” Fares’s mother told us that he was crazy about food. He
would finish his breakfast and announce that he was ready for seconds. And he
loved to play. Once he completed his homework, he was ready for games. “He
was the life of the house,” the father added. “Now the home seems so quiet.”
Across the road, the home of Jamal Abdul Karim Nasser
is uninhabitable. The ruins of the home face directly onto the missile
crater. Young relatives explained to us that shrapnel from the missiles had
killed Odai Jamal Nasser, age 15. We were standing on the edge of the crater
when Odai’s brother Hazem, age 20, asked us what remained of his home.
The missile explosions had shattered every window,
and done extensive damage to walls and floors. Hazem and his family had been
sleeping in a hallway, so as to be safer from attack, when suddenly the house
was falling down on top of them. “My father’s arm and head were bleeding,”
said Hazem, “and he was looking for a flashlight to check on the children.”
Hazem’s mother took the two youngest sons out of the house and headed for
their uncle’s home. Hazem’s father suddenly realized that the son sleeping
next to him, Hazem’s brother Odai, was dead. Hazem’s other younger brother,
Tareq, started crying out for help and then lost consciousness. After calling
for an ambulance Hazem’s father began heading for the nearby mosque to seek
help. But the mosque was ablaze. They waited ten agonizing minutes for the
firemen to arrive. The moment the firemen arrived, so did another rocket,
injuring several of the first responders.
Only after Tareq was safely at the hospital did
Hazem’s father dare tell his mother that her son Odai was dead. The burial
was the following day.
“Our area was safe,” said Hazem, “and we couldn’t
imagine that this would happen. It was very strange. No one could believe
that the Israelis would target our area.” He paused before adding, “They want
to clear everything.”
This memory will always be with Hazem. “I will
remember what happened to my brother and my house and that will affect my
choices in the future.” He asked us to tell this story to others. “Ask them
to look at our suffering and how we are slaughtered every day,” he urged,
speaking softly.
Outside the home, as we spoke, young men had arrived
with a donkey, a cart, and plastic buckets. They were filling the buckets
with chunks of debris from the
We asked the young workers, most of whom were
relatives of the
[A version of this story was published in The Catholic Worker (Jan. Feb. 2013)
about 8-year old Fares Basyouni, decapitated by shrapnel. –Dick]
Kathy Kelly (Kathy@vcnv.org) co-coordinates Voices for Creative
Nonviolence (www.vcnv.org)
WRITINGS BY JOSHUA BROLLIER 2009-2013
[I ran across Brollier in The Catholic Worker, “Workers in Gaza Under Siege,” Jan.-Feb.
2013.—Dick]
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Letters
Left
Speechless: Doctors and Medics Operate Under Fire and Siege in
by Joshua Brollier, December 06, 2012
Gazans in the medical field
have been working in unimaginable circumstances for years. During
Walid al
Nassasra stands next to the former home of his brother near Rafah (photo by
Johnny Barber)
Our conversation moved to the experiences of this war. Though
Al-Quds hospital was not directly attacked this time and the doctors there
had not seen evidence of injuries from white phosphorus, they described
third-degree burns and amputations caused by Israel’s “non-lethal” warning
bombs and the many casualties from larger missiles fired from F-16s financed
by the United States. Bashar spoke of the difficulties of functioning as a
medical service in a society under siege. Emergency medical technicians must
improvise without basic supplies like gauze for the injured and enough body
bags for the intake of casualties. Field medics and emergency medical
technicians have limited contact with the hospitals because the blockade restricts
them to having only insufficient analogue radios instead of modern digital
communications technology. Al-Quds was running on a gas generator due to the
unstable supply of electricity. The hospital had just attained a three month
buffer supply of basic medicines, all of which were depleted in the conflict.
Abu Murad continued, “It is hard to even think clearly in these conditions.
All 1.5 million Gazans are suffering from PTSD from this war.” The doctors
were not excluded from his statement.
Later that afternoon, we interviewed two young ambulance
drivers, Shadi al Tayef and Aadl el Azbot. We asked them how they summoned
the courage to carry on in this work during the recent war after ambulances
were targeted in Operation Cast Lead. Shadi replied, “This war was not
unfamiliar from the last. In the final days, the streets were empty. Everyone
was waiting in their houses. We do it only because we care about saving the
people. It is all for the people.” Aadl continues to drive ambulances and is
not deterred even though he was previously injured by shrapnel when the
Israelis fired upon a site for the second time after the emergency vehicles
arrived. According to the drivers, the Israeli military had to be aware of
the emergency medics’ presence, not only from the elaborate surveillance
systems comprised of drones and hot-air balloons equipped with cameras, but
also because they must first coordinate every rescue mission with the Red
Cross which is in direct contact with the Israeli military. Ambulance workers
have often been denied access to sites until it is too late to save the
wounded, only to be fired upon after receiving clearance. “We are still
suffering from trauma even up to this moment,” Aadl declared anxiously. The
Red Crescent society does offer psychological services to its employees, but
it’s hard to conceive that it can keep up with the level of need. Six
ambulances were destroyed and seven workers were injured during the “Pillar
of Cloud” conflict. “We must cope with the situation at work, but we are
given space to be human and take time at home,” Shadi asserted.
Countries and organizations sympathetic to Gazans working
under fire have extended medical and financial solidarity to provide services
to the population and rebuild facilities. Around the corner from Al-Quds, we
toured a Moroccan military field hospital that was set up just days after the
major hostilities ended. Initially, we were somewhat intimidated by the long
lines, the tight Moroccan security surrounding the compound, and the foreboding-looking
communications director. Wearing opaque sun glasses and full army fatigues
and towering over six feet tall, this public relations representative looked
more like a commander than a humanitarian worker. We were put at ease when he
welcomed us proudly, “Ahlan wa Sahlan,” and readily introduced us to the
primary physician.
Dr. Hassan Ismael explained that the Moroccan king ordered the
hospital to be equipped with 26 doctors and 15 specialists. As of Dec. 4, the
doctors had been working for nine days, seeing over 4,000 people and
providing over 6,000 services at no cost to the patients. Services include
treatment for severe burns and broken bones, emergency surgical operations,
and the dispensing of medicines, many of which were not regularly available
in
It was impressive to see the quality and efficiency of what
was taking place in the field hospital when the military infrastructure,
which is so often used by the majority of countries for nothing more than a
tool of domination and destruction, was converted to serve human needs. When
much of the world stood by silently and watched, Moroccans also set up a
similar medical camp and provided financial aid to rebuild Al-Quds hospital
after Operation Cast Lead.
Members from the international emergency delegation to
Sitting with families over the past week, most of whom have
“facts on the ground” and stories every degree as distressing as that of Dr.
Majdi Na’eim’s tragic loss of his son, I have often felt a complete lack of
words. What can one say when visiting the home and farm of Walid and Tawqfiq
al Nassasra, Bedouin farmers and brothers living near Rafah? On Nov. 19 at 10
p.m., an Israeli war plane targeted Tawqfiq’s tin-roofed home. The house was
completely destroyed, leaving a massive crater in the ground. Tawqfiq’s two
teenage sons, Ahmed and Mohamed, were both killed. They did not suffer any
bone fractures. The pressure from the bomb caused their internal organs to
explode. It is amazing there were any survivors. Tawqfiq is still
hospitalized, while his wife was blinded and his young daughter was severely
burned. What apologies will matter to the wife or daughter, who are now
permanently disfigured and disabled, whose tearful gazes pierced our lifeless
cameras and shredded our notebooks full of numbers and statistics? What
prospects for recovery or receiving advanced treatment do they have while
Read more by Joshua
Brollier
·
The Struggle for Land
Rights Near the Gaza Border –
December 16th, 2012
1.
Left Speechless: Doctors and Medics Operate Under Fire
and Siege ...
original.antiwar.com/brollier/.../left-speechless-doctors-and-medics-o...
by Joshua Brollier, December 06, 2012.
Print This | Share This.
2.
The Struggle for Land Rights Near the Gaza Border
by Joshua ...
original.antiwar.com/brollier/.../the-struggle-for-land-rights-near-the-...
by Joshua Brollier, December 17, 2012 ... Under the siege, Israeli “closed
military zones” have confiscated up to 35% of Gaza's arable ... He is one of only five
who are able to work in the fields and now
the family will be without his help for a ...
3.
fishers
| Gaza's Ark
www.gazaark.org/tag/fishers/
Jan 22, 2013 –
4.
Refusing to Acquiesce in Gaza «
Aletho News
alethonews.wordpress.com/2012/12/.../refusing-to-acquiesce-in-gaza/
By JOSHUA BROLLIER | CounterPunch |
November 30, 2012 ... To “carry on” in Gazadoes not mean
returning to predictable routines or a reasonable .... After all, the
5.
Culture
of Peace and Social Justice Studies in New Hampshire
culture-of-peace-nh.blogspot.com/
6 days ago – Categories: gazapalestinewritings by Joshua Brollier. By Joshua Brollier. Doctors and Medics
Operate Under Fire and Siege in
6.
2009/12/21
Lessons Learned from the Gaza Freedom March ...
wnpj.server270.com/node/3154
Dec 21, 2009 – 1/8/10 - Report back
from Joshua Brollier, a Co-Coordinator for
Voices for ... Early this morning, my
co-workers and I received an email from our
friend inGaza, saying ... Given Israel's
continuing siege and bombardment of Gaza, I am ... that indigenous
Africans suffered under the white supremacist
regime in ...
7.
8 - Displaying items by tag: Gaza
www.vocfm.co.za/index.php?option=com_k2...tag...Gaza...
Nov 27, 2012 – We are under siege and we don't have
materials to rebuild,” Noura Kharma, .... While humanitarian
organisations are hard at work on the ground to ensure.... FEATURE by by Joshua Brollier - “The problems
started for me at ...
8.
Gaza »
Counterpunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names
www.counterpunch.org/tag/gaza/
Why the Self-Defense Doctrine Doesn't
Legitimize
9.
Palestine
» Counterpunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names
www.counterpunch.org/tag/palestine/
Doctors and Medics Operate Under Fire and Siege in
10.
Lessons from the Gaza Freedom March | Voices for Creative ...
vcnv.org/lessons-from-the-gaza-freedom-march
Jan 8, 2010 – Categories:
palestinewritings by Joshua Brollier ... Gaza to contribute toward
ending the siege and preventing future
air assaults and invasions, ...
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The world is watching
the United States as Israel continues its assault on Gaza
Mr. President: Call Off Benjamin Netanyahu
By Marc Ash, Reader Supported News, 18 November 12
Dear Mr. President,
Understand this now, the ongoing assault of Gaza
by the Israeli military harms the people of Gaza ,
harms the people of Israel
and harms the people of the United
States
The rockets fired by
Hamas have no military significance. Their sole aim is to focus world attention
on the situation. It is a classic Gandhian strategy, not - as you well know - a
realistic threat to the safety of Israeli citizens.
Hamas' military
commander Ahmed Jabari was targeted
after truce was negotiated. His assassination was an act of Israeli
retribution, and was intended for the sole purpose of provoking a military
confrontation.
If Israel US
[Dick: Firing rockets is not “a classic Gandhian
strategy,” but its violence is the opposite of ahims/satyagraha.]
Yesterday the US 's
ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, was the sole member of the UN Security
Council to block a motion to condemn Israel 's
use of "overwhelming disproportional force" in their country's
conflict with the dispossessed people of Gaza
I urge anyone concerned about
this dangerous, potentially spiralling conflict to watch or read this video interview below with
Prof Vijay on Truthout's news service. If we are to become informed about
what is actually happening in Gaza we must look
for news sources outside the US
shalom, david
d
Jessica Desvarieux, The Real News Network: The US
blocks the UN Security Council from condemning the Israeli attack on Gaza
Of everything I have read on the current situation in
In solidarity for peace and justice,
Rick Staggenborg, MD
Chapter 72, Portland
Founder, Soldiers For Peace International
Coos Bay, OR
541-217-8044
Write or Call the White House
President
Obama has declared his commitment to creating the most open and accessible
administration in American history. That begins with taking comments and questions
from you, the public, through our website.
Call
the President
PHONE NUMBERS
Comments:
202-456-1111Switchboard: 202-456-1414
TTY/TTD
Comments:
202-456-6213Visitor's Office: 202-456-2121
Write a letter to
the President
Here are a
few simple things you can do to make sure your message gets to the White House
as quickly as possible.1. If possible, email us! This is the fastest way to get your message to President Obama.
2. If you write a letter, please consider typing it on an 8 1/2 by 11 inch sheet of paper. If you hand-write your letter, please consider using pen and writing as neatly as possible.
3. Please include your return address on your letter as well as your envelope. If you have an email address, please consider including that as well.
4. And finally, be sure to include the full address of the White House to make sure your message gets to us as quickly and directly as possible:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington , DC 20500
END GAZA
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