Saturday, May 13, 2006

Letters May 13th 2006


RE: Is the 'Israel lobby' a danger?
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/letters/bal-ed.le.israellobby13may13,0,7351896.story?coll=bal-oped-headlines
letters@baltsun.com

Dear Editor,

Israel's anti-Palestinian policies make the world a very ugly place. Reading on and on about the Israel lobby, I could not help but think of all things domestic. Creature comforts do make life ever so much more pleasant- helps put us all in a good mood. Most of us, regardless of race or religion, work hard to have a nice home. And it hurts to lose a home- or a child. Hurts and haunts in a deeply personal way.

Knowing that there are millions of Palestinian refugees intentionally displaced and impoverished and ignored - or attacked and demonized- by political Zionism, and knowing that America has been inundated by Zionist PR which seeks American sympathy, support, money and weaponry so that racist Israel armed as "The Jewish State" can keep on wrecking Palestinian homes- and killing Palestinian children, I can not help but think of those that make the world a nicer place.

Its the Moms and Dads - not the politicians, and certainly not the religious leaders using Zionized hate mongering for popularity, a nefarious tool to gain more money and power at our expense. Zionism is not all for Israel- it is all for morally bankrupt corruption and greed of any kind ! It's for usurping time and money and resources- stealing from families everywhere to nurture a war machine and institutionalized bigotry and injustice- and basic ugliness.

Peace is created one person at a time by the humble hard working Moms and Dads that plant and nurture gardens so that an entire neighbor is a beautiful visual adventure, a nice place to be. It's the Moms and Dads who take the time to help a neighbor. Its the Mom and Dads who treasure each child and every garden- and home- and neighbors.. and peace.

And you know what- Palestinian Moms and Dads and all their children and kith and kin really do have every right to return to their original homes and land in Palestine. Don't let the Israel lobby- or endless talk of the Israel lobby- make you lose sight of that central fact and that crucial basic human right which is clearly respected and spelled out by by international law - and the Golden Rule : Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab


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RE: Mideast policies
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/news_opinion_letters/
ctc-TribLetter@Tribune.com

Dear Editor,

Despite all the pretty Zionist fantasies promoted by misguided fools who sincerely believe that modern man made Israel is a good idea, modern man made Israel emerged as a haven for Jews from Europe enthusiastically doing unto the Palestinians what was wrongly done to them by nasty powers that be like Hitler.

100 years of political Zionism has brought the hell of institutionalized bigotry and injustice into the Holy Land, with widespread ramifications- none good.

If America wants to be effective with Iran and every other Muslim and Arab nation in the world, our best bet is to stop tiptoeing around what racist Israel really is and does. Re-embrace the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948- and put special emphasis on the importance of FULLY honoring and respecting the Palestinian refugees inalienable right of return.

Let Palestine return- with dignity and peace.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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RE: Neil Spun spinning "Genocide it isn't"
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/05/13/EDGDOIJHH41.DTL
letters@sfchronicle.com

Dear Editor,

Neil Spun is busy spinning " Genocide it isn't" to make racist Israel look oh so innocent. But the blood is on modern man made Israel's hands and always has been. Ethnically cleansing countless vulnerable men, women and children day after day after day for 58 years, Israel wants Palestine as a prison camp for the native non-Jewish Population of the Holy Land.

Israel clearly wants the Palestinians gone from Israel proper, the walled fortress of genocidal war- and we should not be aiding or abetting racist Israel's institutionalized bigotry and brutality - this demented quest to vilify and kill innocent Palestinian men, women and children, this home wrecking killing machine mistakenly called "The Jewish State" !

"The forced migration and ethnic-cleansing of Palestinian civilians from their homes and property in 1948, referred to as the Nakba of Palestine, led to the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to neighboring countries and various countries around the globe. The State of Israel was established on Palestinian towns and villages that had been cleansed of their original inhabitants. Palestinian civilians were scattered and Palestinian refugees came to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which were not occupied at the time, as well as to Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Most of these refugees continue to live in refugee camps, including 8 camps in the Gaza Strip. These refugees lost their property, land, homes and livelihoods and were therefore subjected to a state of poverty, deprivation and exposure."
Poverty in the Gaza Strip http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/Reports/English/provtry.htm

" Medical sources and Palestinian human rights centres reported that 22 children, the youngest Rawan Abu Zayd - 4 years old, were killed by Israeli gunfire, shells and rockets during the past few days of the incursion. The features of a different kind of human suffering have also started to surface, a precedent not seen in previous incidents, and incursions, where the Palestinian radio stations started to air pleas from anguished families and relatives looking for loved ones missing since the start of the Israeli operation, with the means of communications cut, and the sheer impossibility of reaching their places of residence whose state was unknown, in addition to the concentration of the occupation’s tanks and armour next to the ruins of their houses, and controlled by their guns…" http://www.prc.org.uk/data/aspx/d2/642.aspx


"Nora Amod will not play in the alleyways of Shati Camp tonight. The shelling is constant and, although she knows that it is further away than it sounds, the eleven year old will instead spend the evening at her mother’s side, terrified. " http://www.prc.org.uk/data/aspx/d0/2830.aspx

Not Genocide ? !!!!

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab


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RE: Different standard for Palestinians
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1147470610737&call_pageid=968332189003&col=968350116895
lettertoed@thestar.ca

Dear Editor,

Loved the letter by James Clark of Toronto, succinctly pointing out that there is indeed a "Different standard for Palestinians".

Israel was founded in 1948 by and with Zionist terrorism, which now wears a more formal uniform- most of the time. Although there are still many independent armed and angry Zionist Zealots, immigrants, settlers and squatters doing what they personally can to ethnically cleanse the Holy Land of its native non-Jewish population. There are also many Zionist warriors and fools dong what they can to promote Israel ideologically, bombarding the West with words meant to bully or charm us all into idolizing Israel as 'The Jewish State".

"May marks
the 58th anniversary of the founding of Israel in 1948 - and the expulsion of Palestinians from their land. With millions still living under occupation or in exile, what Palestinians call their 'nakba' remains at the heart of their national identity" Karma Nabulsi http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1773020,00.html

According to The Palestine Return Centre "The Fourth Palestinians in Europe Conference was successfully convened in the Swedish city of Malmo on 6 May 2006. It was held under the title ‘Deep rooted Identity and Firm Adherence to their Rights.'

The final statement, among many other highly inspiring and pertinent comments each one more precious and potent than the next, firmly "
salutes the heroic Palestinians in the lands occupied in 1948 and expresses its pride in their stubborn endurance in their land and noble defence of the sacred Islamic and Christian sites." http://www.prc.org.uk/data/aspx/d2/2822.aspx

I think it is becoming more and more obvious to all the world what the persecuted, impoverished and vilified Palestinians have known all along: Israel as "The Jewish State" stands for institutionalized bigotry and escalating brutality whereas Palestine stands for real freedom, real justice, real peace... and a real home where all God's children are loved.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab


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RE: letters How Rachel Corrie Died & A Long Way to 'Common Ground' in the Mideast
& NEWS Criteria for Assessing Aid to Egypt Lacking, Study Says & In Egypt, an Old Beacon of Tolerance Flickers
Fatal Stabbings Underline Growing Sectarian Tensions in Historic Port City of Alexandria
letters@washpost.com

Dear Editor,

Bravo to letter writer David Krohn, proud to be an American Jew- not an Israeli. I applaud the fact that he has his priorities straight- and that he stepped up to firmly protest the way Zionists use the terms "Jews" and "Israeli" interchangeably in order to reinforce the idea of Israel as 'The Jewish State" .

So many problems have been created by Israel "The Jewish State", which happens to be the recipient of the largest share (
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/12/AR2006051201786.html) of all U.S. foreign military assistance... our tax dollars at work:

"Yet the city's celebrated tolerance has been more legend than reality for 50 years. An exclusionist Arab nationalism, combined with anti-foreign sentiment nourished by the 1956 Suez War and the 1967 Middle East war with Israel, gradually drained the city of its cosmopolitan populace and character." (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/12/AR2006051202173.html)

Frankly I am convinced that Israel- racist Israel as "The Jewish State" is a huge mistake and disaster. And it will only get worse as the only Jewish immigrants left willing and able to be Israelis are the type that either defend or drive bulldozers and bigotry, making more and more Palestinian refugees and then targeting the trapped with heavy weaponry.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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RE: Palestinian article isn't the whole story
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/letters/la-le-saturday13.3may13,0,1891671.story?coll=la-news-comment-letters
letters@latimes.com

Dear Editor,

Palestinians are being intentionally displaced, harassed, imprisoned, impoverished- and starved to death... and Zionist letter writers scurry out to spin the story into praise for Israel as "The Jewish State" and yet another way to vilify Israel's victims !

Thanks to blatantly racist Israeli laws and walls the poverty rate in the Occupied Territories is nearly 50%, with the Gaza Strip rate at approximately 70% :


"- The forced migration and ethnic-cleansing of Palestinian civilians from their homes and property in 1948, referred to as the Nakba of Palestine, led to the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to neighboring countries and various countries around the globe. The State of Israel was established on Palestinian towns and villages that had been cleansed of their original inhabitants. Palestinian civilians were scattered and Palestinian refugees came to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which were not occupied at the time, as well as to Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Most of these refugees continue to live in refugee camps, including 8 camps in the Gaza Strip. These refugees lost their property, land, homes and livelihoods and were therefore subjected to a state of poverty, deprivation and exposure."
Poverty in the Gaza Strip http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/Reports/English/provtry.htm


Zionists should be ashamed- deeply ashamed. Innocent children are suffering and dying. This is intentional genocide! But all Zionist fools can see is another opportunity to promote Zionist lies and propaganda so that Israel can continue to hate, divide, conquer and destroy the children of Palestine.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab




5-13-2006 notes to send w my letters

5-13-2006 notes ....
Wadi el Maleh: History and life of ancient community endangered
Wadi el Maleh, in the northern Jordan Valley, is an ancient resort used for centuries by visitors and the local population for its hot mineral springs. What has been a bustling tourist facility, until the occupation of the Valley in 1967, is today a site where Palestinians struggle to exist. With Zionist colonies expanding throughout the Valley, the community of Wadi el Maleh is under serious threat of expulsion. [MORE] http://www.stopthewall.org/
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"Save Jerusalem from the Apartheid Wall and Ethnic cleansing"
The new comprehensive factsheet on Jerusalem shows the dramatic process of Judaization that the city is undergoing. http://www.stopthewall.org/
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The great catastrophe Monday marks the 58th anniversary of the founding of Israel in 1948 - and the expulsion of Palestinians from their land. With millions still living under occupation or in exile, what Palestinians call their 'nakba' remains at the heart of their national identity, argues Karma Nabulsi

"Palestinians are reclaiming their past - of the nakba and dispossession - and at the same time preparing the next phase of their fight for justice. By some miracle of the general will, every Palestinian has somehow, through different journeys, arrived together at the same place," writes Karma Nabulsi http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1773020,00.html
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"The plain fact is there shall be no peace in the Middle East without the return of the refugees to their homes," writes Dr. Salman Abu Sitta. http://www.plands.org/articles/4.htm
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Links on AL NAKBA and RETURN:
Al Nakba 1948 The Aftermath Land and People Zionist Myths Return Plan
http://www.plands.org/power/index.htm
Creation of Israel: an Imperialist-Zionist Joint Venture http://al-awda.org/zionists2.html
The 1948 War: A Cover up for Ethnic Cleansing http://al-awda.org/zionists4.html
David Ben-Gurion believed that the Zionists had to exert pressure to force the British to act. But if necessary, he wrote in his diary, "We must ourselves prepare to carry out the removal of the Palestinians".http://www.al-awda.org/zionists01.html
********************************************************************************************The Palestinian Nakba at 58  Return to Lifta
On 13 May 2006, Palestinian refugees will return to their village of Lifta, albeit symbolically. http://www.badil.org/Publications/Press/2006/press416-06.htm
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MAY 2006
FINAL STATEMENT OF THE FOURTH PALESTINIANS IN EUROPE CONFERENCE
(please go to link for full text & much additional information - beautifully written inspiring text )
FIRST: the conference insisted that the Palestinian people wherever they are constituted a unified body that would resist every attempt to fragment and divide them......
SECOND: the Malmo conference reaffirmed the decisions taken in London, Berlin and Vienna concerning adherence to the right of return. They warned of the dire consequences of attempts to undermine or jeopardise this right. They demanded the urgent implementation of this right in a manner that would enable the Palestinians to return to the homes from which they were forcibly expelled.....
THIRD: the conference appreciated with pride the steadfastness and great sacrifices made by the Palestinian people including their martyrs, wounded and prisoners in defence of their dignity, country, homes and sacred sites for the better part of the last century.....
FOURTH: the Palestinians in Europe conference congratulate the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories for the successful manner in which they conducted the recent democratic elections which were carried out in an open and free manner.....
FIFTH: the conference salutes the heroic Palestinians in the lands occupied in 1948 and expresses its pride in their stubborn endurance in their land and noble defence of the sacred Islamic and Christian sites. The conference expressed its absolute solidarity with them in the light of the current occupation which targets their identity and imposes on them racist and discriminatory laws.
SIXTH: the conferees expressed their gravest concern with the growing threats against the noble city of Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine. They are part of an ongoing programme of judaization and attempt to change the Arab character of the city.....
SEVENTH: the conference drew attention to the continued annexation of land and racist designs intended by the construction of the wall which has been condemned internationally through the advisory ruling of the International Court of Justice and the UN General Assembly. The wall confines the Palestinian people to isolated enclaves, expropriates their land and leaves them in a huge prison......
EIGHTH: the conference reaffirmed the right of the Palestinian people to resist foreign occupation of their land, their homes and holy sites and to repel the constant aggression meted out against them......
http://www.prc.org.uk/data/aspx/d2/2822.aspx
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The 15th of May is not only a day to remember the tragedy of Palestine; it is a time to rethink the policies done in the past decades. Indeed, the Palestinian question began in the United Nations partition plan for Palestine.
Rethinking positions By: Dr. Salim Nazzal http://www.amin.org/eng/uncat/2006/may/may12-1.html
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Negotiating on Behalf of Palestinians?
We are now witnessing one of the more bizarre chapters in the history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. A final peace agreement - negotiated between Tel Aviv and Washington - is already in the process of being implemented. As a side show, the Palestinians are being told to shape up or starve in exchange for an invitation to negotiations that were concluded way back in October 2004. It's all a little like getting an invitation to attend your own funeral - a year after the burial.
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093112374

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It is said that a "picture is worth a thousand words"...
Most of these photos were taken by me, others are from various sources...
http://www.hanini.org/pictures.html
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Six decades ago, my family lived in Jerusalem, a multicultural city that was home to Christians, Muslims, and Jews.

Then, in 1948, Palestinian society was destroyed. More than 700,000 Palestinians -- many, like us, Christians, but even more Muslims -- fled or were forced into exile by Israeli troops. The Palestinians' only fault was that they were not Jewish, and, by their presence and predominant ownership of the land, were obstacles to the creation of a Jewish state. Their exodus -- called the Nakba or "catastrophe" by Palestinians -- was already nearly half- complete by May 1948.....
Remembering the future George E. Bisharat, May 12, 2006 http://imeu.net/news/article001.shtml
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Out of Money but Not Resources
With Aid Cut Off, Palestinians Turn to Each Other to Get By http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/11/AR2006051102089_pf.html
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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines 12-05-06 ~ http://www.theheadlines.org/06/12-05-06.shtml
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Two Palestinian Civilians Killed and 6 Others Wounded by IOF Artillery Shelling of the Northern Gaza Strip (07-May 2006)
During the reported period, IOF killed 9 Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. On 5 May 2006, IOF extra-judicially executed 5 Palestinians in Gaza City. On the same day, IOF shot dead a Palestinian civilian near a checkpoint at the northeastern entrance of Nablus. (04- 10 May 2006): http://www.pchrgaza.org/
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" Likewise, the poverty rate in the OPT is nearly 50%, with the Gaza Strip rate at approximately 70%. This in turn has impacted the per capita income, which decreased by 32% over the past three years, and is actually 40% lower today than it was three years ago. On the economic front, the gross national product decreased to dangerous levels, threatening the agricultural, industrial, commerce, transportation and tourism sectors."

"- The forced migration and ethnic-cleansing of Palestinian civilians from their homes and property in 1948, referred to as the Nakba of Palestine, led to the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to neighboring countries and various countries around the globe. The State of Israel was established on Palestinian towns and villages that had been cleansed of their original inhabitants. Palestinian civilians were scattered and Palestinian refugees came to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which were not occupied at the time, as well as to Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Most of these refugees continue to live in refugee camps, including 8 camps in the Gaza Strip. These refugees lost their property, land, homes and livelihoods and were therefore subjected to a state of poverty, deprivation and exposure."
Poverty in the Gaza Strip http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/Reports/English/provtry.htm
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Israeli Soldiers Shoot Two International Peace Activists In The Head at Bil'in
“I saw blood gushing out of his head, and helped bandage it. As we were getting him into the ambulance an Israeli soldier grabbed his long hair and they all tried to stop him from leaving in the ambulance even though they knew he was injured”. Both Phil and BJ are currently in Tel Hashomer hospital in Tel-Aviv. The bullet caused a hemorrhage to Phil’s brain, though he is now conscious. BJ required stitches to the head. Eight Palestinians were also injured by rubber-coated steel bullets
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2006/05/12/israeli-soldiers-shoots-two-foreigners-in-the-head-at-bilin/

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The lives of Palestinian people are so cheap here. It seems as though Palestinian people have no right to live while the United States and Europe boycott and punish Palestinians for their democratic choice. And here again, we would still call it the democratic US and Europe? http://rafah.virtualactivism.net/news/todaymain.htm
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Ending the funding to the health system will lead to the death of thousands of people in the short term and to extensive morbidity in the long term..... At least four patients have died as a direct result of this lack of funding. Report: Collapse of the Palestinian Health System http://www.phr.org.il/phr/article.asp?articleid=336&catid=42&pcat=42&lang=ENG
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The Quartet meeting -- due to be held in New York with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia in attendance -- is at best a formality. Anything you will hear about the roadmap is likely to be little more than lip service; a ruse meant to give Israel time and delude the Arabs and Palestinians. With Hamas in a fix, with democracy uprooted, and with Israel getting its way, what exactly is left for Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden and Abu Musaab Al-Zarqawi to accomplish? End of Palestine By Salama A Salama http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/794/op4.htm
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from antiwar.com : Save Darfur? by Joshua Frank "Want to help bring peace to the Middle East? Why not pressure the U.S. government to halt all funding to Israel? That'd be a heck of a start."
http://www.antiwar.com/frank/?articleid=8967
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“It is a timely and an important issue because it is the most important single issue in the Middle East for the long-term security agenda of the United States.” But, he continued, the Arab Americans have “failed to communicate” this point, since all other Middle Eastern issues are linked to the Palestinian problem. Arab Americans, he went on, need to develop “the self-discipline and the smarts to talk about it in that context, that is, why it is in the US interest and thereby the obligation of the congressman or the administration official to address it”. Lobbying, American style by George S. Hishmeh
http://jordantimes.com/fri/opinion/opinion4.htm
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Rachel Corrie's Legacy
As the world now knows, their 23-year-old daughter, an Evergreen State College student, died while defending a Palestinian home from demolition by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). A bulldozer killed her. It took over my life, says 58-year-old Cindy, a onetime flautist who, like her husband, wears a green plastic bracelet with the dates of Rachels birth and death. Living in Olympia, Cindy and Craig, a 59-year-old former insurance executive, now work full time seeking accountability, not only for Rachels death, but for what they believe are the unjust policies that caused it.
http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/0619/rachel-corrie.php

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" The United States and Israel have finally agreed on a plan to resolve the decades-long Israel-Palestine conflict. Israel will continue lobbing missiles into civilian areas of Gaza and the West Bank while the US cuts off food and other vital aid to the territories. That way they can maximize the human suffering while preparing the Palestinian people for a violent death. Bush to Palestine: “Go Starve to Death” by Mike Whitney May 10, 2006 http://www.dissidentvoice.org/May06/Whitney10.htm
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Helping Israel kill Palestinians By Ali Abunimah The Electronic Intifada 10 May 2006 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4696.shtml
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"The roots tend to grow deep into the ground, anchoring the tree steadfastly to the soil that surrounds. It is the reason that olive trees are rarely, if ever, blown down by storms and high winds. The only way they can be uprooted is by man’s cruel machines such as the Caterpillar built Israeli bulldozers that pluck the ancient olive trees out of their native soil as if they were mere “weeds” in a garden." Of Olive Trees and Freedom By Mike Odetalla www.hanini.org
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Nearly two-thirds of Israelis want their government to encourage the country's Arab minority to emigrate, according
to a new report. The 2006 Israeli Democracy Index found that 62% of respondents want the government to pursue
policies in order to persuade the 1.3 million Arabs, who account for about one- fifth of the population, to leave Israel.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/93D3D235-0465-4374-BA66-FB8C7CADF1DE.htm
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75- year old man seriously injured after settler rammed him with his car
The resident was heading towards his farmland located north of Efrat settlement which is installed on Palestinian annexed lands. Meanwhile, Israeli sources claimed that the resident was hit by a vehicle of an American tourist driving in the area.
http://www.imemc.org/content/view/18598/1/
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Uprooting and Land Devastation – Renewed Attacks in Ramin
Occupation Forces destroyed over 50 trees belonging to villagers in Ramin on the evening of Monday May the 8th, as devastation of Palestinian land in the region continued. Soldiers used chainsaws to uproot 6 dunums of land running close to a main Palestinian road. The road now usurped by settlers for their own exclusive use has been a frequent scene of settler attacks on Palestinian farmers and their families in recent months.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/1152.shtml

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In the Wake of Identity: Silencing the Palestinian Voice By Dr. Norma Masriyyeh
“One particular Palestinian poet is worth 10,000 fedayeens.” Moshe Dayan Former Israeli Defence Minister
http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/index.php
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Study: AP Covers Palestinian Deaths at a Rate Vastly Lower Than Israeli Deaths
Full Report: http://www.ifamericansknew.org/media/ap-report.html
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Diana Buttu: On Journalism and Media:
Watching Western television or reading newspaper reports of Palestine always leaves me perplexed. If I did
not live in Palestine and bear witness to Israel's military occupation, I would be left with the impression that
Palestinians and Israelis are equals - with no occupation existing - and that this conflict simply requires
"concessions" on both sides.
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"Jordan, which is already home to around 1.7 million Palestinians who fled Israeli violence over the years, had previously rejected criticism from human rights groups, saying it could cope with no more refugees." Syria takes in Palestinian refugees stranded on Iraq border
http://jordantimes.com/wed/news/news8.htm
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Report: "37 Palestinians, including 6 children, killed in April"
A monthly report prepared and published by the National and International Office at the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) revealed that Israeli soldiers killed in April 37 residents, including 6 children, in fourteen assassination attacks. 182 residents, and 5 international peace activists were injured in the Israeli strikes and attacks.
http://www.imemc.org/content/view/18433/1/

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"To Palestinians, as well as to an increasing number of people the world over, Al-Nakba represents the largest, longest, planned ethnic cleansing in modern history" Salman Abu Sitta http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/761/focus.htm ( http://www.umkahlil.blogspot.com/)
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Along with more than 400 other Palestinian villages, Umm al-Zinat was entirely demolished by the Israeli army to prevent the refugees from ever returning. Children held aloft colored placards bearing the names of all the destroyed villages, while others waved Palestinian flags, an act of defiance that could potentially land them in jail. Jonathan Cook in Umm al-Zinat, near Haifa http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4682.shtml
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Palestinian pain, one kid at a time
Israel claims it needs to restrict Palestinian movement in response to the new Hamas-led government. But the reality is that Israel first established its system of permits and closures in 1991, and we have been living under these difficult conditions ever since
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-oe-taamallah6may06,1,5490483.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california
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May 05, 2006 The Other Side of the Story By Joharah Baker for MIFTAH
"...In addition to the refugee problem, Israel has little to be proud of when it comes to its neighbors, the Palestinians. Crammed into demeaning cantons, each city severed from the next, fighting off poverty, unemployment and international condemnation for resisting 39 years of Israeli military occupation, the Palestinians are clear proof that Israel is a country based on racism and double standards. As it oppresses, occupies and aims to annihilate the national cause of an entire people, it portrays itself to the world as a democracy and a peace-loving nation under fire."
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=10148&CategoryId=5
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Surviving in Israel's buffer zone by Laila El-Haddad in Gaza
"They shell us round the clock. If not by land, then by air or sea. It never stops. If it does, we think something bad has happened," he quips." http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D4ADB793-C39C-4D83-B94B-0E535848D430.htm
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Mourning a West Bank wife "We were sitting next to each other and the Jews shot her while we were speaking together. There were no weapons, there were no bombs. Why they do this? Why?"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4963598.stm

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Brandeis pulls artwork by Palestinian youths Halperin, 27, an Israeli Army veteran, received images of planes dropping bombs, snakes, and a famous scene of a father and child cowering from gunfire near Gaza City in September 2000. In her ''Voices from Palestine" exhibit, she hung the paintings near the names and photos of the young artists and synopses of their hopes and dreams. A Palestinian psychologist and a child-care worker spoke at an opening reception.
''This was, for me, an opportunity to bring to Brandeis the Palestinian voice that is not spoken or heard through an Israeli or an American Jew, but directly delivered from Palestinians," Halperin said. ''Obviously, that was just too much for Brandeis." http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2006/05/03/brandeis_pulls_artwork_by_palestinian_youths/

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MAY 2, 2006 Five-year old boy detained by Israeli forces
http://www.dci-pal.org/english/display.cfm?DocId=486&CategoryId=1 On around the fifth time of passing, the Hummer stopped and three soldiers got down and started walking towards Samer. Pointing at Motaz, the soldiers asked if the boy was Samer's son and said he'd been throwing stones at the jeep. As Samer started to protest, pointing out that his son was only five years old, other soldiers appeared from an olive grove beside the house. As they walked up to Samer and Motaz, one soldier told the others standing there “That boy was throwing stones”.

..... The soldiers then dragged Motaz from his father, shouting at the boy who started screaming and begging his father to help him. Samer tried to hold onto and protect Motaz, but his efforts only angered the soldiers further. They turned and beat Samer, separating him from Motaz whom they slapped and yelled at. The soldiers bound Samer's hands and blindfolded him before pushing him into the jeep, shoving Motaz in after him.

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April 30, 2006
Let us wake up the moral forces in Palestine
http://www.amin.org/eng/uncat/2006/april/april30-1.html

By: Dr. Salim Nazzal*

We need to pay more attention to the spiritual position of Palestine in order to wake up the moral strength in the Palestinian society. We have no oil in Palestine, nor have we natural sources like other countries.

What we have is not only unique; it is the unique of the uniqueness. It is the particularity of a country which carries a great spiritual heritage. It is time to formulate a Palestinian project that can reach humanity.

Here exactly the strength of Palestine and the weakness of the Zionist project. The Zionist project is based on a narrow minded and racist ideology, the Palestinian project is a project opened to humanity. In this Palestine is not only a small piece of land, but, rather, a message of love and tolerance to all.

We need to remember that the area of states is not always the criteria for its importance. The Vatican influence is more important than many big countries. Of course there are differences between the Vatican and Palestine. Yet the real challenge remains how we can translate the uniqueness of our country into a great spiritual power.

We need to promote the culture of tolerance, human rights, equality and justice in Palestine.

Palestine can play a great role in the question of coexistence among cultures and nations, no body else is more qualified than Palestine to play this role.

By working to develop the human resources in Palestine we are in the right direction in defeating Zionism.

* Dr. Salim Nazzal is a Palestinian researcher. He has written extensively on social and political issues in the Middle East.

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POINTS OF UNITY http://al-awda.org/pou.html
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR History Doubletalk

http://palestinechronicle.com./story.php?sid=050406235227


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Feel good art exhibits, which include a handful of Palestinian artists, many of whom are not allowed entry to Tel Aviv, rubbing elbows with Alisa Olmert, serve merely to postpone justice, a term, like so many other terms and endeavors, co-opted and twisted by Zionists to obfuscate and mislead. http://www.umkahlil.blogspot.com/
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What remains behind is the adamant refusal of George Bisharat to be erased. In Rite of Return to a Palestinian Home, none other than the biggest dissembler of them all, Golda Meir, of "there is no such thing as a Palestinian" fame, resided in his Jerusalem family house, which was usurped, lock, stock, and barrel, by the Zionist invaders. Twice, Bisharat, visited the house built by his grandfather, and twice he was told by the Jewish occupants, one an Eastern European, and another, an American, "The family never lived here."
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Oh, Jerusalem April 22, 2006 by Joharah Baker for MIFTAH
Irony is a powerful tool and one Israel exploits to a tee. Imagine, a cowboy from Texas, a rocket scientist from the Ukraine or a new Jewish immigrant from Ethiopia can all enter Jerusalem unfettered, walk the aged alleys of its Old City and even visit the Aqsa Mosque compound where the magnificent gold-domed Dome of the Rock is situated. Virtual strangers to the city and its people have full rights to visit here and frolic among the aromatic smells of spices and sweets that make Jerusalem so distinct, while the city is cruelly prohibited to most Palestinians, those people who hold it dearest to their hearts.
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=10060&CategoryId=5
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FACTSHEET
The Right To Return, a Basic Right Still Denied
http://al-awda.org/facts.html
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Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide http://www.hrweb.org/legal/genocide.html
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

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UN refugee report: Most protracted and largest of all refugee problems in the world remains unresolved Arjan El Fassed and Laurie King, The Electronic Intifada, 26 April 2006
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4662.shtml

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MY LAND Directed by: Tone Anderson Language: English..... Film Synopsis:

My Land documents the threat that husband and wife Ali and Trees face from the Zionist occupation authority to destroy the home the family built on their own land in the town of Sakhnin (Galilee region, north Palestine). About 1.3 million Palestinians who were issued 'Israeli citizenship' are still struggling 57 years after the imposition of the Zionist state for their rights to their own property and land. The film shows one of those many struggles.


To get your own copy of My Land on DVD, simply make a tax-deductible donation of $25.00 or more to Al-Awda by following the instructions at http://www.al-awda.org/donate.html


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Chicago Palestine Film Festival 2006 announcement
The committee members of the Chicago Palestine Film Festival (CPFF) are proud to present our 5th annual festival of Palestinan films and films about Palestine. The festival will take place at the Gene Siskel Film Center from May 6-May 25 and at St. Xavier University from May 17-May 20.
http://www.palestinefilmfest.com/chicago/festivals/2006/festival_2006_announcement
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MADE IN PALESTINE, the first U.S. exhibition of contemporary Palestinian art, opens in New York City from March 14- May 27, 2006 ! ....MADE IN PALESTINE is a groundbreaking show. It has been well-received by art critics nationally: “It’s hard to imagine peace if Palestinians can’t even be heard on their own terms.”
The New York Times, November 21, 2004 http://www.aljisser.org/
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"Who knows what keeps us living and struggling, while all things break about us?"
Yet, "while all things" broke "about us" Dr. Salman Abu Sitta and Dr. Walid Khalidi named the villages that are "no more," in their monumental works, The Atlas of Palestine and All That Remains. And Dr. Abu Sitta has shown that not only is it just to implement UN Resolution 194 but also feasible. http://www.plands.org/atlas/index.htm

"Now God be thanked that the name of a hill is such music, that the name of a river can heal. Aye, even the name of a river that runs no more." (wrote Alan Paton in Cry, the Beloved Country.) Wednesday, May 10, 2006
'The Name of a River Can Heal'
http://www.umkahlil.blogspot.com/
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The writing really is on the wall- for a glimpse explore Al-Awda
http://www.al-awda.org/
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Look into My Eyes
Outlandish Song based on Words by Gihad Ali
Major hit in Danish charts in 2005
Look into My Eyes - Outlandish

Friday, May 12, 2006

letters 5-12-2006
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RE: Obstacles to peace in the Middle East letter by Dr. Stephen Leah
http://comment.independent.co.uk/letters/article364636.ece

Dear Sir,

I was delighted to see
Dr. Stephen Leah's letter " Obstacles to peace in the Middle East " pointing out the hypocrisy of the Israeli who claims to be seeking peace- while living in an illegal settlement and calling it Israel.

Zionist claims simply do not hold up under the test of time. .. time and time again the lies are pointed out, and yet still Zionist fools insist on assassinating the truth about Israel in much the same way Israel has been intentionally assassinating Palestinian leadership whenever it can:

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/717/pa011.htm
(go to link to see photo)
<>"YEARS OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY: Ghassan Kanafany, one of the most gifted Arab fiction writers and intellectuals, also the spokesperson of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is assassinated by the Israelis in Beirut on 8 July, 1972. The hunt down had begun; eight months later three top Palestinian leaders were murdered in their homes in Beirut by a special Israeli unit, led by Ehud Barak. Targeted assassinations of Palestinian leaders continue to the present day."

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab


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The great catastrophe Monday marks the 58th anniversary of the founding of Israel in 1948 - and the expulsion of Palestinians from their land. With millions still living under occupation or in exile, what Palestinians call their 'nakba' remains at the heart of their national identity, argues Karma Nabulsi
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1773284,00.html

Dear Sir,

I was stunned to see "The great catastrophe" by Karma Nabulsi, remembering Al Nakba. It was his beautifully clear bright language and honest thought that struck me most. Times have changed and the Palestinians are finally being heard. Alleluia !

The torch for return has not only been passed from one generation to the next, it is obviously burning brighter and brighter than ever before- everywhere. Passed all around the world. It is burning in the words of talented young Palestinian poets and blogs and websites and it is burning in the hearts of any one any where who sincerely abhors injustice and racist hate.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

notes
http://www.aljazeerah.info/Letters%20to%20the%20Editor/2006%20Letters/April/Letters%20to%20the%20Editor,%20April%2027,%202006.htm

The definition of the occupation…

Occupied, terrorized, genocide – while the whole world is hypnotized,

Sixty years, incessant tears – no day passes by without countless fears,

For our lives, our wives, our children’s cries – yet the world turns away, and our spirits die,

For my land, I do stand – but I remain hopeless without a helping hand,

Oppression, suppression, depression – every aspect of my life, you’ve taken possession,

Our weapons are stones, to protect our homes – but your bulldozers win and terror roams,

Yours are tanks, helicopters, and military jeeps – to kill the young man, as his mother weeps,

You control our electricity, you control our seas you control our streets, and uproot our trees,

You close our schools, our children can’t learn – you deny the refugees their right to return,

Suffering orphans, under your persecution – when they rise up, they face execution,

Families are separated, and farmers recall – the land they lost, by your Apartheid Wall,

Through your ‘diplomacy’, and your foreign relations – you attempt to justify and give credence to your occupation,

Palestine is my land, and I won’t let you take it – and while you put the world to sleep, I try to wake it.

Abdelnasser Rashid,
11th
Grader



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Out of Money but Not Resources
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/11/AR2006051102089.html
letters@washpost.com

Dear Editor,

I was thrilled to hear of the compassionate generosity of Palestine's native son, Zuhair Jubran, in remembering his village and doing what he can to stave off inevitable suffering and strife caused by racist Israel's cruel economic stranglehold on all of Palestine.

Quite a contrast really between Arab hospitality and decency- and Zionist greed. We are fools to believe that Israel even is "The Jewish State". That's an insult to every good and decent Jew on earth, as well a way to keep empowering the treacherous ideologues of political Zionism who have made such a mess of the Holy Land.

"Then, in 1948, Palestinian society was destroyed. More than 700,000 Palestinians -- many, like us, Christians, but even more Muslims -- fled or were forced into exile by Israeli troops. The Palestinians' only fault was that they were not Jewish, and, by their presence and predominant ownership of the land, were obstacles to the creation of a Jewish state. Their exodus -- called the Nakba or "catastrophe" by Palestinians -- was already nearly half- complete by May 1948..... "
Remembering the future
George E. Bisharat, May 12, 2006 http://imeu.net/news/article001.shtml

May 15th marks the day Palestinians remember the pain and betrayal of Israel's establishment. Zionist terror destroyed hundreds of beautiful beloved Palestinian villages in 1947/48 and Zionist terror continues to this day.

For all our children, for our future and for our past, for civilization itself, I think ALL the world should just say NO to racist Israel.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab


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The lessons of war that few have learned
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/14558503.htm
Proposal may hint of easing in Hamas stand
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/14558489.htm
Palestinian infighting turning more violent
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/14558473.htm
Inquirer.Letters@phillynews.com

Dear Editor,

I very much appreciated the column "
The lessons of war that few have learned" by John Grant , president of the Veterans for Peace chapter in Philadelphia. And I thank him for all his efforts- and his obvious loyalty to American ideals, not war.

I read his thoughtful insights, noticing not just his wisdom but his talent as a writer, and I cringe knowing that so very many other gifted individuals never come back from war to live, love and share their many various gifts, talents, compassion and knowledge to society at large.

America has been foolishly investing far too much money and precious resources, including our young, in two very dangerous twined killing machines- our own military industrial complex- and racist Israel. Both have disastrous consequences and negative ramifications that undermine democracy and peace world wide. Including right here at home.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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Independence Day couldn't be spoiled
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/14560377.htm
HeraldEd@herald.com

Dear Editor,

I quite agree with Uri Dromi that it is totally wrong that a member of Israel's government, should insist that "Arab MKs were collaborators who should have been executed". However, I draw a very different conclusion than Dromi about Warren Buffett. I think it is a huge mistake that America's prophet of profit and investment guru with thousands of loyal fans, is investing in Israel- racist Israel, the nation of the perpetual apartheid laws, walls, and war.

Of the Jews still willing to immigrate to, live in and defend "The Jewish State" more than half believe that their government should encourage and "persuade" the remaining indigenous Arab population to leave Israel proper.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/93D3D235-0465-4374-BA66-FB8C7CADF1DE.htm

I don't think any one should be funding and empowering political Zionism and Israel's obvious institutionalized bigotry, injustice and ethnic cleansing of the Holy Land. Already racist Israel has created the most painfully protracted and largest of all refugee problems in the world which not only remains unresolved, it continues to get worse !

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
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RE: Islamic Leaders Call for Aid to Palestinians
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/12/world/middleeast/12fatwa.html?_r=1&oref=login
From Prison, a Palestinian Plan to Form a State
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/12/world/middleeast/12mideast.html
letters@nytimes.com

Dear Editor,

Our misguided allegiance with racist Israel is elevating Islam in the region as the only voice of righteous indignation and the only instrument of social change.

As a Christian, I am convinced that the religious leaders from a number of Muslim countries are quite right to call for aid to the Palestinians, alongside a declaration that no part of historic Palestine could be ceded or negotiated away.

Zionist immigrants, tourists, and fools who invest the institutionalized bigotry and apartheid laws and walls have been making a mess of the Holy Land for years. Islam should not be the only religion to object. Secular America should too.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

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RE: Palestinian militants draft accord
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.mideast12may12,0,7231102.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines
letters@baltsun.com

Dear Editor,

A more accurate headline would have been. "Palestinian prisoners draft accord".

And perhaps we should keep in mind that confessions extracted under torture or duress are not authentic heartfelt truths- or reliable indicators of what really is.

Level a neighborhood and slaughter or scatter its terrorized residents, then perch armored tanks and bulldozers on the edge of next vulnerable community over, rev the engines and there's a very good chance you can harass and cajole the residents to say what they have to in order to protect their children, homes and what what is left of livelihoods.

Despite all the pretty PR, Israel as "The Jewish State" is fiasco and a failure. That's not the persecuted and impoverished Palestinians fault and they should not be punished for realizing how wrong Israeli racism really is.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
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AskDOJ@usdoj.gov
Dear Attorney General Alberto Gonzales,

I am sincerely concerned about Dr. Sami Al-Arian, and the punitive maneuvers to punish a vilified man who was charged- but not convicted by a jury of his peers.

I was horrified to hear of Judge Moody's manipulative, exploitive, totally unprofessional, ill-informed and bigoted comments at the conclusion of the case, and feel that this helped set the mood for continued harassments of this Palestinian by our Government's paid employees.

Israel's Zionist ideologies are dangerous and divisive- and wrong. Al-Arian was legally lynched by a Zionist campaign hijacking America's media & justice system to silence one the Palestinians so that Americans will continue to foolishly fund and empower Israel as "The Jewish State".

I object.

I object to the fact that a foreign country is allowed so much freedom to wreck havoc on American democracy.

I object to the fact that a foreign country is allowed to hate monger and ruin people lives right here in America, and our leaders are not standing up to say NO.

Say NO to Israel. Say NO to racist hate and injustice and endless war.

Say NO to the continued harassment of Dr. Sami Al-Arian.

Stand up for what is right and just and good.... and free Al Arian and all of America from political Zionism's war on us all.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
a very concerned American citizen
5-12-2006 notes ....
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"The global media offer the new arena of the old dynamic of colonial domination and anti-colonial resistance. It is the only arena where Arabs have been able to fight the Anglo-Americans to a draw, or even to triumph in some cases" ‘Choose your weapon, pass the remote control’ by Rami G. Khouri
http://jordantimes.com/fri/opinion/opinion2.htm
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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines 11-05-06 ~ http://www.theheadlines.org/06/11-05-06.shtml
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The lives of Palestinian people are so cheap here. It seems as though Palestinian people have no right to live while the United States and Europe boycott and punish Palestinians for their democratic choice. And here again, we would still call it the democratic US and Europe? http://rafah.virtualactivism.net/news/todaymain.htm
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Two Palestinian Civilians Killed and 6 Others Wounded by IOF Artillery Shelling of the Northern Gaza Strip (07-May 2006)

During the reported period, IOF killed 9 Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. On 5 May 2006, IOF extra-judicially executed 5 Palestinians in Gaza City. On the same day, IOF shot dead a Palestinian civilian near a checkpoint at the northeastern entrance of Nablus. (04- 10 May 2006): http://www.pchrgaza.org/
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The Quartet meeting -- due to be held in New York with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia in attendance -- is at best a formality. Anything you will hear about the roadmap is likely to be little more than lip service; a ruse meant to give Israel time and delude the Arabs and Palestinians. With Hamas in a fix, with democracy uprooted, and with Israel getting its way, what exactly is left for Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden and Abu Musaab Al-Zarqawi to accomplish? End of Palestine By Salama A Salama http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/794/op4.htm
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Six decades ago, my family lived in Jerusalem, a multicultural city that was home to Christians, Muslims, and Jews.

Then, in 1948, Palestinian society was destroyed. More than 700,000 Palestinians -- many, like us, Christians, but even more Muslims -- fled or were forced into exile by Israeli troops. The Palestinians' only fault was that they were not Jewish, and, by their presence and predominant ownership of the land, were obstacles to the creation of a Jewish state. Their exodus -- called the Nakba or "catastrophe" by Palestinians -- was already nearly half- complete by May 1948.....
Remembering the future George E. Bisharat, May 12, 2006 http://imeu.net/news/article001.shtml
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from antiwar.com : Save Darfur? by Joshua Frank "Want to help bring peace to the Middle East? Why not pressure the U.S. government to halt all funding to Israel? That'd be a heck of a start."
http://www.antiwar.com/frank/?articleid=8967
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Ending the funding to the health system will lead to the death of thousands of people in the short term and to extensive morbidity in the long term.
At least four patients have died as a direct result of this lack of funding.
Report: Collapse of the Palestinian Health System http://www.phr.org.il/phr/article.asp?articleid=336&amp;catid=42&pcat=42&lang=ENG
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“It is a timely and an important issue because it is the most important single issue in the Middle East for the long-term security agenda of the United States.” But, he continued, the Arab Americans have “failed to communicate” this point, since all other Middle Eastern issues are linked to the Palestinian problem. Arab Americans, he went on, need to develop “the self-discipline and the smarts to talk about it in that context, that is, why it is in the US interest and thereby the obligation of the congressman or the administration official to address it”. Lobbying, American style by George S. Hishmeh
http://jordantimes.com/fri/opinion/opinion4.htm
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For one thing, the Israelis are not a good example to follow. If their hooligan settlers or fully equipped soldiers carry arms and shoot Palestinian children, women and men in cold blood, we should not do the same.
The need to disarm the Palestinian street by Ahmad Y. Majdoubeh http://jordantimes.com/fri/opinion/opinion3.htm
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Rachel Corrie's Legacy
As the world now knows, their 23-year-old daughter, an Evergreen State College student, died while defending a Palestinian home from demolition by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). A bulldozer killed her. It took over my life, says 58-year-old Cindy, a onetime flautist who, like her husband, wears a green plastic bracelet with the dates of Rachels birth and death. Living in Olympia, Cindy and Craig, a 59-year-old former insurance executive, now work full time seeking accountability, not only for Rachels death, but for what they believe are the unjust policies that caused it.
http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/0619/rachel-corrie.php

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" The United States and Israel have finally agreed on a plan to resolve the decades-long Israel-Palestine conflict. Israel will continue lobbing missiles into civilian areas of Gaza and the West Bank while the US cuts off food and other vital aid to the territories. That way they can maximize the human suffering while preparing the Palestinian people for a violent death.

This is not what Palestinians bargained for when they accepted the western-model of democracy.

The Road Map has become a cul-de-sac of aggression, subjugation and outright murder.

Bush to Palestine: “Go Starve to Death” by Mike Whitney
May 10, 2006
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/May06/Whitney10.htm
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Helping Israel kill Palestinians By Ali Abunimah The Electronic Intifada 10 May 2006 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4696.shtml
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10 May 2006 Patients die as doctors run out of drugs to treat them By Chris McGreal in Gaza City, The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1771199

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"The roots tend to grow deep into the ground, anchoring the tree steadfastly to the soil that surrounds. It is the reason that olive trees are rarely, if ever, blown down by storms and high winds. The only way they can be uprooted is by man’s cruel machines such as the Caterpillar built Israeli bulldozers that pluck the ancient olive trees out of their native soil as if they were mere “weeds” in a garden." Of Olive Trees and Freedom By Mike Odetalla www.hanini.org
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The communists who saved the Jewish state
Immediately after the Partition (OF PALESTINE) Plan was passed, Ben-Gurion began searching for sources to supply arms to the Israeli defense forces, but found that the legal sources in the United States and most European countries were closed off to the institutions of the Jewish state in formation. The only alternative seemed to be illegal arms acquisitions and an appeal to the Soviet bloc.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/713711.html

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Trapped between the Wall and Israeli Military Checkpoints, Thaher Al Abed village In a Hell http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/english/details.asp?name=15845
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Nearly two-thirds of Israelis want their government to encourage the country's Arab minority to emigrate, according
to a new report. The 2006 Israeli Democracy Index found that 62% of respondents want the government to pursue
policies in order to persuade the 1.3 million Arabs, who account for about one- fifth of the population, to leave Israel.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/93D3D235-0465-4374-BA66-FB8C7CADF1DE.htm
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Negotiating on Behalf of Palestinians?
We are now witnessing one of the more bizarre chapters in the history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. A final peace agreement - negotiated between Tel Aviv and Washington - is already in the process of being implemented. As a side show, the Palestinians are being told to shape up or starve in exchange for an invitation to negotiations that were concluded way back in October 2004. It's all a little like getting an invitation to attend your own funeral - a year after the burial.
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093112374

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75- year old man seriously injured after settler rammed him with his car
The resident was heading towards his farmland located north of Efrat settlement which is installed on Palestinian annexed lands. Meanwhile, Israeli sources claimed that the resident was hit by a vehicle of an American tourist driving in the area.
http://www.imemc.org/content/view/18598/1/
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Uprooting and Land Devastation – Renewed Attacks in Ramin
Occupation Forces destroyed over 50 trees belonging to villagers in Ramin on the evening of Monday May the 8th, as devastation of Palestinian land in the region continued. Soldiers used chainsaws to uproot 6 dunums of land running close to a main Palestinian road. The road now usurped by settlers for their own exclusive use has been a frequent scene of settler attacks on Palestinian farmers and their families in recent months.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/1152.shtml

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In the Wake of Identity: Silencing the Palestinian Voice By Dr. Norma Masriyyeh
“One particular Palestinian poet is worth 10,000 fedayeens.” Moshe Dayan Former Israeli Defence Minister
http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/index.php
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Study: AP Covers Palestinian Deaths at a Rate Vastly Lower Than Israeli Deaths
Full Report: http://www.ifamericansknew.org/media/ap-report.html
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Diana Buttu: On Journalism and Media:
Watching Western television or reading newspaper reports of Palestine always leaves me perplexed. If I did
not live in Palestine and bear witness to Israel's military occupation, I would be left with the impression that
Palestinians and Israelis are equals - with no occupation existing - and that this conflict simply requires
"concessions" on both sides.
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"Jordan, which is already home to around 1.7 million Palestinians who fled Israeli violence over the years, had previously rejected criticism from human rights groups, saying it could cope with no more refugees."
Syria takes in Palestinian refugees stranded on Iraq border
http://jordantimes.com/wed/news/news8.htm
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Report: "37 Palestinians, including 6 children, killed in April"
A monthly report prepared and published by the National and International Office at the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) revealed that Israeli soldiers killed in April 37 residents, including 6 children, in fourteen assassination attacks. 182 residents, and 5 international peace activists were injured in the Israeli strikes and attacks.
http://www.imemc.org/content/view/18433/1/

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Links on AL NAKBA and RETURN:
Al Nakba 1948 The Aftermath Land and People Zionist Myths Return Plan
http://www.plands.org/power/index.htm
Creation of Israel: an Imperialist-Zionist Joint Venture http://al-awda.org/zionists2.html
The 1948 War: A Cover up for Ethnic Cleansing http://al-awda.org/zionists4.html
David Ben-Gurion believed that the Zionists had to exert pressure to force the British to act. But if necessary, he wrote in his diary, "We must ourselves prepare to carry out the removal of the Palestinians".http://www.al-awda.org/zionists01.html
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Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 7 May 2006 http://pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2006/47-2006.htm
In the past two days, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have escalated artillery shelling of the northern Gaza Strip, targeting Palestinian civilians and their property. Two Palestinian farmers have been killed and 6 other civilians, including a woman, have been wounded by IOF artillery shelling.
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"To Palestinians, as well as to an increasing number of people the world over, Al-Nakba represents the largest, longest, planned ethnic cleansing in modern history" Salman Abu Sitta http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/761/focus.htm
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Along with more than 400 other Palestinian villages, Umm al-Zinat was entirely demolished by the Israeli army to prevent the refugees from ever returning. Children held aloft colored placards bearing the names of all the destroyed villages, while others waved Palestinian flags, an act of defiance that could potentially land them in jail. Jonathan Cook in Umm al-Zinat, near Haifa http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4682.shtml
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Palestinian pain, one kid at a time
Israel claims it needs to restrict Palestinian movement in response to the new Hamas-led government. But the reality is that Israel first established its system of permits and closures in 1991, and we have been living under these difficult conditions ever since
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-oe-taamallah6may06,1,5490483.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california
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May 05, 2006 The Other Side of the Story By Joharah Baker for MIFTAH
"...In addition to the refugee problem, Israel has little to be proud of when it comes to its neighbors, the Palestinians. Crammed into demeaning cantons, each city severed from the next, fighting off poverty, unemployment and international condemnation for resisting 39 years of Israeli military occupation, the Palestinians are clear proof that Israel is a country based on racism and double standards. As it oppresses, occupies and aims to annihilate the national cause of an entire people, it portrays itself to the world as a democracy and a peace-loving nation under fire."
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=10148&CategoryId=5
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Surviving in Israel's buffer zone by Laila El-Haddad in Gaza
"They shell us round the clock. If not by land, then by air or sea. It never stops. If it does, we think something bad has happened," he quips." http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D4ADB793-C39C-4D83-B94B-0E535848D430.htm
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Mourning a West Bank wife "We were sitting next to each other and the Jews shot her while we were speaking together. There were no weapons, there were no bombs. Why they do this? Why?"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4963598.stm

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Brandeis pulls artwork by Palestinian youths
Halperin, 27, an Israeli Army veteran, received images of planes dropping bombs, snakes, and a famous scene of a father and child cowering from gunfire near Gaza City in September 2000. In her ''Voices from Palestine" exhibit, she hung the paintings near the names and photos of the young artists and synopses of their hopes and dreams. A Palestinian psychologist and a child-care worker spoke at an opening reception.
''This was, for me, an opportunity to bring to Brandeis the Palestinian voice that is not spoken or heard through an Israeli or an American Jew, but directly delivered from Palestinians," Halperin said. ''Obviously, that was just too much for Brandeis." http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2006/05/03/brandeis_pulls_artwork_by_palestinian_youths/

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MAY 2, 2006 Five-year old boy detained by Israeli forces
http://www.dci-pal.org/english/display.cfm?DocId=486&CategoryId=1 On around the fifth time of passing, the Hummer stopped and three soldiers got down and started walking towards Samer. Pointing at Motaz, the soldiers asked if the boy was Samer's son and said he'd been throwing stones at the jeep. As Samer sta