Saturday, February 10, 2007
Dear Speaker Pelosi ...letter by Wendy Murphy
H-232, US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-0100
POLITICAL DETENTION
The Infinite Violation of Human Rights
Throughout the decades of Israeli military occupation, Palestinians from all walks of life have been illegally detained by Israel. Since the beginning of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories in 1967, over 650,000 Palestinians have been detained by Israel. This forms approximately 20% of the total Palestinian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Considering the fact that the majority of those detained are male, the number of Palestinians detained forms approximately 40% of the total male Palestinian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).
IMAGINE freedom for Palestine too...
Top Story 1990: Freedom for Nelson Mandela
Political Prisoners in Israel/Palestine
1 Israeli is being held prisoner by Palestinians, while 9,599 Palestinians are currently imprisoned by Israel.
| | “Since the beginning of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories in 1967, over 650,000 Palestinians have been detained by Israel. This forms approximately 20% of the total Palestinian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).” |
Source: The Mandela Institute for Human Rights – Palestine (last updated April 30, 2006) and Reuters.
Breakdown of Palestinian Prisoners
Palestinian Prisoners | |
|---|---|
Juveniles Imprisoned | |
Women Imprisoned | |
Men Imprisoned | 9,477 |
The Rift
The Israeli occupation divided cities, towns, and villages. Families were separated… and brides were unable to cross over the divide to join their bridegrooms. Palestinians in enemy prisons were tortured. Tamam Al-Akhal, 1999
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| Artist: | Josef Winterhalter The Younger |
| Location: | Unspecified |
| Medium: | Oil Painting on Canvas |
message in a bottle

The carving in this bottle shows off a talented artist. A cross forms the central supports. Attached to the cross is a large heart, whittled in three pieces. On one side is a beautifully carved bird and in front of the heart is an anchor with a whittled chain on top. The bird is the Holy Spirit and stands for Faith; the anchor stands for Hope, and the heart signifies Charity. These symbols are favorites in Christian art.
in homage to the artist's wife

The Responsible Woman
This painting is an homage to artist James Christensen's wife, Carole. He began to contemplate all her roles in life and the many weighty responsibilities she shouldered as a full-time wife and mother of five young children. Women everywhere relate to the need to confidently soar above life's troubles and challenges. In a given day she may shuttle the children, prepare a gourmet feast, keep to hectic time schedules and more, but she always keeps her head up and carries the light of hope to those around her. ... Among the important women's roles portrayed in this painting are: Mother, Pet caretaker, Chef, Housekeeper, Leader (Lighting the way with wisdom), Scheduler. How many more can you find?The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine & The Meanness of Separation: Politics and Apartheid
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By Newton Garver
"Now everyone is prouder--and poorer." --Orhan Pamuk
Jimmy Carter's most recent book, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, has raised a storm of criticism from the Derschowitz-AIPAC wing of American Judaism, stung by his even-handed recounting of events and conversations, as well as his straightforward presentation of the failure to implement UN Security Council resolutions. From the criticism one might think that in the book Carter places all the blame on the Israelis, but that is far from the case. There is, in fact, at least one point (page 13) where he seems unbalanced in the other direction, citing the rise of Islamic fundamentalism as among continuing impediments to peace. Fair enough. But is not the rise of Jewish fundamentalism also a continuing impediment, responsible for the persistence and intransigence of settlement expansion, the massacre in the mosque in Hebron, and the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin? Of course not every detail can be included. The book is impressive for its plain speaking, its illumination of the big picture, Carter's personal history in the discussions, and its careful attention to accuracy about the facts.
One of the features of Carter's style is to recount sympathetically and without judgment conversations he has had with key figures on all sides to the various controversies. It is this unjudgmental reporting that must be so infuriating to the AIPAC-Derschowitz crowd. One can readily understand that the facts and stories about what has happened and continues to happen in the supposedly Arab land of the West Bank and Gaza are on their face outrageous-unless the victims are themselves to blame for their distress. Carter refrains from expressing outrage, keeping instead his focus on the need for peace and reconciliation. But it is a feature of partisans and their pride in their side to regard evenhanded unjudgmental presentations as themselves intrinsically outrageous.
But what about Carter's opposition between peace and apartheid? Here there perhaps lies a perspective on the world that would be more alarming to world leaders than the even-handedness about Palestine. Does Carter mean to suggest that there can never be peace through apartheid? Is not the idea that you get peace through separation the principle behind a whole host of political sacred cows, including border fences, gated communities, bloated prisons, boycotts and blockades? Does enforced and ideologically buttressed separation lead to the sort of partisan pride that Pamuk has in mind, in the words above that he puts into the mouth of one of the wise minor figures in his recent novel?
Consider our prisons, for example. People are generally sent to prison for offenses against civil order, that is for having upset the peace of our society. One option might be to spend time and money to rehabilitate them, with the underlying thought that punishment is something the offender needs in order to regain his or her place in society (Simone Weil's idea), so that peace is regained by a kind of reconciliation. In practice, however, we lock them up and throw away the key, with the underlying thought that it is separation rather than reconciliation or integration that will bring peace. After all, we are so far superior to those criminals!! Isn't that why politicians support life sentences without the chance of parole, and imprisonment of the world's largest percentage of our own citizens? Has any sheriff or governor in recent history won office by promising to integrate convicted offenders more rapidly into society? One could raise similar questions about each of the other sacred cows mentioned above. And in each case there is partisan pride on at least one side.
The US is not only building a wall to separate us from Mexico but is also maintaining other walls to separate us from Cuba, Iran, Syria, and North Korea, often with the cooperation of wall-builders on the other side. The world might not call it peace, but our politicians think it means peace for ourselves, isolated from the miscreants who disdain our leadership and our good offices. And of course these separations are based on, and in turn reinforce, our sense of being the party of democracy and freedom, much superior to those brutal dictatorships, and better off isolated from them. Peace through apartheid. Just what Carter rules out, by implicit definition it seems, in his title.
Why does Carter disdain peace through separation, so much that he leaves it out of account? Could it be because he addresses this problem, as well as others, with his focus on the needs of government and the requirements of welfare rather than the ideas and tools of politcs?
Government is often confused with politics, but they are worlds apart. The aim of government is stability and prosperity, for which peace and tranquility are very helpful, if not necessary. The aim of politics is control and domination, for which crisis and war are convenient, and sometimes indispensable. Our elections are intensely political, since they concern who will be in power and best able to dominate the affairs of government. Sometimes those in power give us decent government. At other times mediocrity is perpetuated because there is a war, and the emergency powers of the commander-in-chief attracts support that overcomes political opposition. Carl Schmitt, one of the profound thinkers of the twentieth century, pointed out in The Concept of the Political that politics begins with a distinction between friends and enemies-a neglected insight that is confirmed over and over, both domestically and internationally. Politicians in the Middle East know who their enemies are, and they refuse to talk with them, just as Schmitt would expect. So, too, Bush refuses to talk with Iran or Syria, arbitrarily, but definitively, counting them as enemies. As elsewhere, the most successful Israeli and Palestinian politicians are fearmongers, reinforcing the walls of separation. There is little hope for peace along the lines that politics inhabits. Carter, without saying so, seeks to refocus the issues in terms of government and the welfare of people rather than politics, and so he speaks of the requirements of government in Palestine and Israel.
The thing about peace is that no one can be in control, because cooperation is required. Peace is a normal consequence of good government, and it can be achieved through negotiation, when there are legitimate and reliable negotiating partners; but it can no more come through politics than it can be achieved through apartheid.
In the work of Aristotle, politics just means government, but the words diverge sharply in our current discourse. Schmitt has his finger on the pulse of contemporary discourse. Because politics thrives on distinctions between friends and enemies, and enemies (unlike mere adversaries) can never become part of our community, politics entails apartheid. Carter could just as well have called his book, Palestine Peace or Politics. No doubt a different controversy would then have ensued, touching a wider range of issues. Carter's title is better suited to keeping the focus on Palestine. But the close interdependence between apartheid and partisan politics should not be forgotten.
Carter's message is one of hope, not fear, as is characteristic of steps toward peace and prosperity. Such a message goes contrary to partisan politics, as well as to apartheid. In a previous article ("Decider vs. Negotiator," I pointed out that there are many real life circumstances in which nice guys finish first, and meanness leads to impoverishment. In the context of that discussion, apartheid, or enforced and ideologically buttressed separation, together with the partisan politics that supports it, count as one prominent form of meanness, and one cause of the continuing public impoverishment.
-Newton Garver is SUNY Distinguished Service Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at University at Buffalo. An expanded edition of his book Limits of Power: Some Friendly Reminders (2005) will be published this spring by Center Working Papers (This article was first published by www.counterpunch.org).
Ethnic cleansing began in early December, 1947 when Palestinians comprised two-thirds of the population and Jews, mostly from war-torn Europe, the other third. The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe (Part I)
Sooner or later conflicts and repression end when bloodshed and suffering from them no longer are tolerated and outside forces see the injustice and futility and are willing to help..... The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe (Part II)

Better Together Buy this book with Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid by Jimmy Carter today!
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Israeli Apartheid Week comes to New York City
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| A Palestinian demonstrator holds a Palestinian flag next to Israeli soldiers, during a demonstration against the Separation Wall in the village of Bilin near the West Bank city of Ramallah, December 29, 2006. (MaanImages/Fadi Arouri) |
The 3rd annual Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) will take place in New York City from February 10-17 2007. It will be a week-long series of events organized by a coalition of different groups in the city and will feature lectures, film screenings, and cultural activities. Concurrent events are being held in Canada and the United Kingdom. "This week of events, being held in New York for the first time, adds to the growing international chorus of opposition to Israeli apartheid that includes voices of Palestinians, Israelis, South Africans, and many others who stand for justice," says Ryvka Bar Zohar, an organizer of the week.
The aim of IAW is to push forward the analysis of Israel as an apartheid state and to gather support for the international boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaign called for by over 170 Palestinian civil society organizations in 2005. The events of the week are organized around the three demands outlined in this call: full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, an end to the occupation and colonization of the West Bank and Gaza, and the implementation of the right of return and compensation for Palestinian refugees pursuant to UN resolution 194.
"Israeli apartheid has created a system where Palestinians live either as second-class citizens in Israel, as occupied subjects in the West Bank or as refugees denied the right to return to their homes" said Ahmad Shokr, another organizer of IAW. Shokr adds that "by supporting the boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaign the international community can isolate the apartheid regime and work toward a future where all inhabitants of the land can live in dignity as equals."
For more details please go to http://www.endisraeliapartheid.net. For further information contact 1-646-417-5523 or email us at israeliapartheidweek@yahoo.com
ISRAELI APARTHEID WEEK 2007
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| IDF continues to target Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. (PCHR) |
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)
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..... Furthermore, the humanitarian foreign aid to the OPT temporarily relieves Israel of the need to face its responsibility for destroying the Palestinian economy, and allows Israel to continue its assault on the OPT without having to answer to the international community for creating a humanitarian disaster.
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UNESCO voices 'deep concern' at Israeli construction work in Jerusalem
Report, UN News, 8 February 2007
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| Israeli bulldozers carry out controversial work on a pathway next to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, in the Old City of Jerusalem, 6 February 2007. (MaanImages/Magnus Johansson) |
The source of Gaza's troubles by Daoud Kuttab ..& more from IMEU
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| Palestinians often wait days to cross the frequently sealed border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. (Maan Images) |
On the other hand, while calling for an end of brother killing brother, some insist that the infighting, especially in Gaza, is a direct result of the big jail that the Israelis have created for Palestinians.
Israeli journalist Amira Hass bluntly says in the liberal Israeli daily Haaretz that the Israelis are responsible.
"The experiment was a success: The Palestinians are killing each other. They are behaving as expected at the end of the extended experiment called ‘what happens when you imprison 1.3 million human beings in an enclosed space like battery hens’."
There is also a feeling that the 39 years of forced military occupation has desensitised Palestinians; one killed here, one university burnt there is all in a day’s acceptable news.
Senior Hamas adviser Ghazi Hamad wrote a strong article a few months ago in one of the Palestinian newspapers, talking about the culture of violence that has become prevalent in Palestine.
Related stories |
It is no wonder then that 20-year-old Hamas, or the Fateh fighters, try to solve their problems using violence.
A quick look at the daily attempts by international and regional powers to solve their problems militarily makes it difficult to blame the Palestinians for doing the same.
For years, learned Palestinians have been warning that it is difficult to expect that a community’s violent rebellion against an outside occupier will not translate, sooner or later, into a legitimisation of rebellion against one’s own people. When a youth starts questioning authority and in fact rebels against it (and is honoured for it) it is very difficult to put a stop when this rebellion takes an inward look. When a young Palestinian youth is hailed as a hero for confronting a military occupier, it is hard to expect this hero to respect his teacher, parent or boss at work.
Part of the minimum requirements for any stable society is a collective sense of identity and direction. While for many years the Palestinian sense of identity has been very strong, there is a big question mark about the direction Palestine and Palestinians are going in.
To read the full article please visit The Jordan Times.
Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, IMEU | Paul Findley, Chicago Tribune | San Francisco Chronicle |
Russia calls for lifting PA embargo
IMEMC (Feb 10, 2007)
Palestinians being suffocated by blockade
The Guardian (Feb 10, 2007)
Hamas: Prisoner exchange deal closer than ever
Ynet News (Feb 10, 2007)
France urges world to back Palestinian accord
Reuters (Feb 9, 2007)
Jerusalem 'tense' after clashes
BBC (Feb 9, 2007)
Where to, after the Mecca agreement?
Rami Khouri, The Daily Star (Feb 9, 2007)
New PA government creates a real problem for Israel
Haaretz (Feb 9, 2007)
Gaza celebrates unity deal
Al-Jazeera (Feb 9, 2007)
Clashes as Israeli forces storm Al-Aqsa mosque compound
Maan News (Feb 9, 2007)
Friday, February 09, 2007
Right of Return Ring of Blogs 2-9-2007
Right of Return Ring of Blogs
2-9-2007
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al-falasteenyia

Israeli Apartheid Week WORLDWIDE!!
IAW week is here!!! for details, checkout endisraeliapartheid.net in the meantime, here 's a list of events:
ISRAELI APARTHEID WEEK 2007
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peacepalestine
Friday, February 09, 2007
Gilad Atzmon - Words and Deeds
What matters is what the Palestinians doDavid Ben Gurion, the legendary Zionist leader as well as Israel’s first Prime Minister, used to say: “What matters is not what the Goyim say, what matters is what the Jews do”.
A few days ago a group of Jews who may have been independent at one stage decided to gather and to form a new collective peace-loving humanist synagogue. They call themselves the Independent Jewish Voices (IJV). They are determined to challenge the hegemony of the Board Of Deputies Of British Jews (BOD). I am far from being a supporter of the Board of Deputies, in fact, I despise them. Yet, being a Jew by origin, I have never regarded this body as a representative of either myself or any of my so-called Jewish friends.
Furthermore, being a practicing independent thinker, I regard the BOD as a representation of everything I fight against. Yet, I do acknowledge that this body indeed represents the community of Jews in Britain. I do understand as well that the majority of Jews in Britain and around the world do support Zionism. This is indeed very sad and rather concerning. Yet, far more concerning, is the fact that IJV are not exactly against Israel or Zionism. Like the BOD, they do believe in the right of the Jews to live in peace in Palestine. In their favour it must be said that though they are in favour of the Idea of Jewish state, they want it to be different. They believe in the possibility of morally orientated colonialism in which the colonialists (those who live in Tel Aviv) and the ethnically cleansed (those who live in Gaza, for instance) live in ‘peace’ side by side.
On the face of it, an internal Jewish dispute between two Zionist synagogues shouldn’t really become one of the top priorities of British society. This debate should have taken place on the very yellow pages of the Jewish Chronicle. Yet, the IJV wanted to get the British public on their side. How did they do it? They have peppered their declaration with some humanist post-colonial terminology and planted the word Palestine in every other sentence. It quite important to mention that in the declaration itself the BOD is not mentioned even once. Palestine, on the other hand, is mentioned six times.
Out of the five principles presented by the IJV, three are dedicated to the Israeli-Palestine conflict. The author of the declaration must be aware that the British people are gradually becoming more and more aware of the emerging level of Israeli crimes against the Palestinian population. It is rather crucial to emphasize that while the IJV insists upon conveying an image of commitment to the Palestinian issue, they clearly refrain from any substantial ethical commitment to Palestine, Palestinians or humanism. The IJV do not extend beyond the Israeli Left’s Peace-Now rhetoric. Though, they refer to human rights, they clearly refrain from mentioning the Palestinian right of return. They are succumbing to the old leftist Zionist trick; they identify the entire Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as its resolution, with the occupation and its demise. This is obviously a lie and the authors of the IJV declaration are fully conscious of this lie. I would like to believe that more than a few of the IJV signatories are not aware of the sophisticated manipulative document they have signed on.
Once again, the truth must be said. The Palestinian cause is largely about the right of return and a solution to the refugee problem.
....more
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Noted Arab Citizens Call on Israel to Shed Jewish Identity
Israel Misused Cluster Bombs U.S. Delivered last August
Israeli army shells a Lebanese army post
************************************************Raising Yousuf, Unplugged
Thursday, February 08, 2007Palestinian factions agree on Unity Government
Well, that's what the press is saying. I've just finished watching the press conference live on Aljazeera.
Its obvious the agreement was more to please the outside world than each other. It is also clear that the intl community won't have it either way, so it seems futile in that regard: the've said in no uncertain terms they will not accept a government with Hamas members in it, particularly one that does not meet its ridiculous demands. Ultimately, the demands remain hypocratical and unjust. What borders are they agreeing to when Israel itself does not have internationally recognized borders and why shoud anyone be forced to wholeheartedly accepted peace deals that are almost unanimously considered flawed, or give up their right to self-defence, when they are still Occupied? The whole thing is too bizarre for words, too Kafka-esque for even Kafka himself.
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Sabbah's
Feb9th2007Footage from Jerusalem Battle - Al Aqsa Mosque
Here is a low quality recording of Iareli terrorist attack on Al Aqsa mosque prayers today. This is a new Zionist crimes. More than 6000 thousand Israeli terrorist attacking around 3000 prayers in Al Aqsa mosque, mostly women and elders. Another Zionist crime while the world is watching!The Battle for Jerusalem
Update (12pm GMT): More than 6000 Israeli terrorist attacked about 3000 Palestinian prayers in Al Aqsa mosque. Footage of the attacks are on its way online. Stay tuned! Update (11am GMT): The Zionist terrorist forces invaded Al Aqsa mosque few minutes ago. Live footage on Al Jazeera you can hear the shooting inside, but cameras of reporters were not allowed to enter the Mosque yard. This time the crime will go unrecorded. Praying to God that no lives are lost. Israel did not allow anyone older than 45 years to enter the holy city for more than 4 days now. Of course they are afraid of facing the unarmed Palestinian prayers.
Did you know?
Did you know that the Israeli farmer who shot Arab “intruder” 3 times in back, freed to “home arrest”?Did you know that Netanyahu uses the words that push US war buttons: “Iran and Holocaust.” Netanyahu knows which strategists and PR people to use to give him the right words (with a little help and $ from his Neocon pals), the right strategy, to push America’s congressional and emotional buttons. Once ousted for corruption, he is coming back. There hasn’t been an Israeli Prime Minister in years who was NOT ousted for corruption. No big deal. (And who could possibly be behind the corruption investigations of Olmert?)
Did you know that Yad Vashem head says “Settler Abuse of Palestinians Recalls pre WWII Anti Semitism!”
Did you know that Israeli army admits that the 44 barriers it said it removed, did not actually exist!!!
Did you know that there is a large rise in number of rapes, date rape drugs in Israeli Terrorist Army? If it’s good enough for the President of the country, it’s good enough for the troops.
Did you know that Israeli army shoots 17 year old in leg and lets him bleed to death?
Did you know that a multi-party committee of MPs is pressing for sanctions over Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians? Time to get serious about Israel…
Did you know the “list of prohibitions” in Palestinian Life? Forbidden in Palestine under a whole, long list of Israeli prohibitions:
Here is a leaked Israeli document gives frightening glimpse of apartheid!
Oh. My. GOD! “Worldwide… Jews have decreasing interest in Israel“.
Truth time: Sanctions on Hamas have backfired on Israel & no “Palestinian State”!
“The accomplishments of this policy resemble those of the international sanctions policy imposed on Iraq: It has not deposed the Hamas government, Qassam rockets continued to land in Israel and it did not serve as an alternative for the need for IDF action. Even worse, the Palestinians’ effort to extricate themselves from the sanctions has given new power brokers - Syria and Iran - a basis of support in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
“….But unlike other sanction regimes, Israel is setting conditions but not promising anything in return. Thus, even if Haniyeh starts wearing a skullcap and Khaled Meshal begins humming Hatikva, and even if Abbas makes it mandatory to teach the heroic story of Masada in Palestinian schools, Israel does not want and is unable to propose a diplomatic alternative that would lead to the establishment of an independent and democratic Palestinian state. It does not want to - because any such proposal would mean a withdrawal from most of the territories and the dismantling of most of the settlements.
Did you hear of Israelis shameful treatment of Holocaust survivors? It will be a crime to deny Holocaust, but not to lie to begin a war, or occupy another land Hypocrites! On the way to more killing of innocent people, to pushing the world into a war against Iran, which it cannot be denied DOES NOT HAVE NUCLEAR WEAPONS!!! Israel pushed the world through a resolution that make it a worldwide crime to deny the Holocaust, that’s fine. However, Israel EXPLOITS the Holocaust and all who died in it in a shameful and disgraceful way, and while it is easy to respect the dead, it KEEPS LIVING HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS IN POVERTY!!! - Zionist are selfish, self centered people with no morals, no ethics, no compunction about the shooting of children in the head, leaving a million cluster bombs in Lebanon, or exploiting the death of millions. FIRST, ISRAEL SHOULD LEARN TO RESPECT THE HOLOCAUST; THEN IT CAN ASK OTHERS TO DO SO!!!
Did you know that Israel will move the apartheid fence to include 1,500 settlers, leaving 20,000 Palestinians in between? They moved the Wall five kilometers eastward from the “Green Line” (which is supposed to be the borders between Palestine and Israel) in the area of Modi’in Ilit, in order to take in the settlements of Nili and Na’aleh. The new route will create two Palestinian enclaves containing about 20,000 people. Nili and Na’aleh together have some 1,500 residents.
Israel and Reality: Did you know that Olmert thinks Israel was “victorious” in Lebanon?
Did you know that Egypt has charged 3 Israelis, Egyptian with spying for Israel? (is spying a part of the peace treaty?) Badawi said the Israelis had recruited Attar while he was living in Turkey in August 2001, and had assisted him in obtaining a residency permit in Canada under a fake name and found him work in a bank.
Did you know that six Israeli defense ministry officials confess to taking bribes from contractors?
What Israel’s “Right to Exist” Means to Palestinians? “What Israel, within what borders, is involved? Is it the 55 percent of historical Palestine recommended for a Jewish state by the UN General Assembly in 1947? The 78 percent of historical Palestine occupied by the Zionist movement in 1948 and now viewed by most of the world as “Israel” or “Israel proper”? The 100 percent of historical Palestine occupied by Israel since June 1967 and shown as “Israel” (without any “Green Line”) on maps in Israeli schoolbooks? I would like to hear what Condi, Merkel or Solana, Hillary, some of the others have to say about this. How about you Mr. Blaschke? Or is the answer only, whatever Israel wants, we don’t want to go into details???
Did you know that under the cover of the sound of explosions in Gaza and Olmert’s nice words to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the Kadima-Labor government is proceeding with a settlement strategy that explains why the minister of strategic affairs, Avigdor Lieberman, is so quiet. (For the freedom Israel has to build new settlements, new Jewish only roads, work on destroying the Al Aqsa Mosque - which Israel would like to collapse, so it can build a third Temple on the site - we can give great thanks the paid for Democratic Congressional men and women like Debbie Stabenow, Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Joe Lieberman, and an endless number of others, who talk peace but vote occupation, war, and anything Israel wants.)
Shhh! Israel quietly razes 6 houses in Negev, leaving 70 of Bedouins homeless.
Read the rest of this entry »
George Galloway’s speech to Parliament, January 2007
I missed this one last month, so here it is…Israel “Misused” Cluster Bombs U.S. Delivered Last August" href="http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2007/02/08/israel-misused-cluster-bombs-us-delivered-last-august/" rel="bookmark">This land is MINE! Israel “Misused” Cluster Bombs U.S. Delivered Last August
Update: Steve suggested changing the title of this post and passed this photo (Thanks Steve): 
It is funny to hear and use the word, “misused.” What do you expect these bombs to be used for? I mean, what is the “good use” of cluster bombs? Hunting dinosaur , elephants, whales? Why are they manufactured for? What did U.S. expect Israel to use them for? And last but not least, How come they didn’t ask the Israelis before they supply them with more cluster bombs, what did they do with the bombs they had?
....moreAsk me again: “Why do we hate them?”
Here is a smart Zionist (better called Nazi) boy explaining the ABC of Zionism as he learned it:************************************************
Body on the Line
الجمعة, شباط 09, 2007
The Third Intifada
Well, I'm furiously writing away so I haven't had time to write, but I was diverted today as I watched CNN International with its live footage all afternoon of Israeli Jewish soldiers invading the Al Aqsa mosque compound in the middle of Friday prayer. Because the Israelis provoked this by their construction project near the wall of the Islam's third holiest site, they seemed to do their usual shut down and only allow men over the age of 45 and women inside to pray today. Thus, the ambush of the mosque looked particularly tragic given whom the IOF was firing on. In light of the Hamas-Fatah agreement in Saudi this is the best news I've heard in a long time. It is so good to see resistance using its energy against Israel's unnecessarily provocative acts.
I took a break to write this because I heard this story, which was played for a few hours this afternoon on CNN International, has not yet played on CNN in the U.S. Another story I wonder if it got any play is the fact that the Israelis are once again engaging in border clashes along the Lebanese border. Yet another provocation, but again, I'd much rather see Lebanese energy directed towards its aggressive southern neighbor than inward on itself.
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Annie's letters
- GAZA: UN RESUMES FULL AID OPERATIONS INTERRUPTED BY FACTIONAL FIGHTING
- The Pencil
- To Speak Out!
- Is a Two State Solution Still Possible?
- Backdropped by a section of Israel's separation b...
- & more letters
- Criticism of Israel and the question of its right to exist & Saudi statesmanship
- Clashes erupt at al-Aqsa mosque
- Noted Arab Citizens Call on Israel to Shed Jewish Identity
- Picture Balata coming to the U.S. in April 2007
- ROCKY ROAD TO MIDDLE-EAST PEACE by Reuters
- Palestinian farmers fight Israel eviction threat & more from Reuters
- Prisoners are a metaphor for all Palestinians... & more from IMEU
- A Message of Concern to the Palestinian People
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DesertPeace
Friday, February 09, 2007SHOULD ISRAEL SHED ITS JEWISH IDENTITY?
There has been much talk over the past few days over a document signed by a number of prominent Israeli Arabs, a document which basically calls for the state of Israel to shed it's Jewish identity. From the document itself, written by the most part by the Committee of Arab Mayors in Israel... 'They call on the state to recognize Israeli Arab citizens as an indigenous group with collective rights, saying Israel inherently discriminates against non-Jewish citizens in its symbols of state, some core laws, and budget and land allocations.'...more
Thursday, February 08, 2007
EYE ON THE MEDIA~~ TOMORROW'S NEWS ABOUT HILLARY TODAY
(Ben Heine © Cartoons)
The Forward will be publishing THIS article about Ms. Clinton's speech to the AIPAC gathering last week in tomorrow's edition. I'm not sure if keepng this particular issue 'alive' is an attempt to expose her as the liar and hypocrite that she is, or do they really believe her sincerity on the issues involved?Hillary speaks for and to a largely Jewish voting block from New York... it would be wise of her to realise that there are other voters in the United States as well... voters that are fed up with the war and determined not to support another one.
In her own words ...
"...As Americans we are humbled by Israel’s commitment to civic engagement and open debate, free expression and the rule of law, even in the face of grave dangers. The balance between a life lived in faith and the civic life of a democratic state producing dynamism and vigor in Israeli politics and society.
And both Israelis and Americans know so well, a democracy is far more than just holding elections. Democracy has to spring from an active and open citizenry dedicated to tolerance, to respect for differences, to the rule of law, to policies that lift us up not tear us down as fellow human beings, and to the value of human life. ..."
Has she been living in a vacuum? Is she not aware of what has been going on in Israel.... with the blessings of AIPAC?
Perhaps it would be wise for her to read Jimmy Carter's book and see that the country she speaks so highly of is not quite what she thinks it is. Perhaps the leadership of AIPAC should do the same.
Below is the text of the actual speech she gave to the AIPAC gathering...
Senator Hillary Clinton's Remarks to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)
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ABIR ARAMIN'S LAST MORNING AT HOME
(Ben Heine © Cartoons)
Hopefully none of you will ever know, first hand, the pain of burying a dead child. Hopefully no one in Palestine will experience that pain again.Abir Aramin has become more than 'just another dead child', she has become a symbol to all who struggle for peace and justice in this region. Her family has found the strength to continue these struggles through the outpouring of love and support they have received since their tragedy occurred.
You can still send condolences to them via THIS petition on line.
Below are some thoughts expressed by Abir's father Bassam the other day. May he continue to be strong and may his other children grow up in a free Palestine, free of hatred and free of violence.
A Plea for Peace From a Bereaved Palestinian Father
...more
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Peace For Palestine
Friday, February 09, 2007An Interpretation of What Makes a Suicide Bomber
posted by Housewife4Palestine 4 بيت فلسطين at 6:52 PM
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Parking for Palestinian’s only, All Others Will Be Towed


What is really going on in Palestine, DO Not allow the media to deceive you. Open your eyes and free your minds.
RAFAH TODAY
7 February 07
Return to the Gaza City Mortuary:
Click on images to view larger images:
Palestinians in Rafah call for end to internal fighting and replace it by brotherhood
Palestinian child pretending being injured during a protest demonstration in Rafah
Palestinian teachers protest internal faction fightings and political fanticism in Rafah
Palestinian passangers waiting to cross Rafah border into the outside the world as the border has been closed for nearly a month
Palestinian children burning plastic wepons as a symoble of ending fighting
Palestinian children feigning death during a protest against internal fighting in Rafah Refugee Camp
“For what crime are we being cold-bloodedly killed? we are only passing by, with no connection to Hamas or Fatah,” said the mother of one of the children killed during Hamas-Fatah clashes in Gaza City few days ago.
Inside Al Shifa hospital, the mother had come to see the body of her child, Anas, killed in the fighting. Young men carry Anas’ body, taking it from the refrigerator to the funeral. The mother screams, before collapsing, "For God's sake, please, please let me have a last look at his body, for just one minute!" She continues screaming and crying, her cries heard throughout the hospital.
It starts me thinking. Why should all those kids and innocents be killed?
,...more
Today in Palestine! www.TheHeadlines.Org
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umkahlil
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Bonsoir...
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Blue Fog
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American Palestinian New Generation
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karmalised
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Saree Makdisi Archive
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secularavatar
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Screamer in the Matrix
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http://www.fmreview.org/palestine.htm
http://www.al-awdasandiego.org/facts.html
http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Right-Of-Return/
http://www.un.org/unrwa/index.html
http://www.badil.org/index.html
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=10241&CategoryId=4
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/687/region_ror.htm
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/israel-palestine/returnindex.htm
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/
http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/refugees.shtml
http://imeu.net/news/background-briefings.shtml
Palestine Calender: February
February 17
The Lavon Affair (1955)
Israeli Defense Minister Lavon forced to resign after exposure of Israeli spy ring terror attacks in Egypt. February 25
Hebron Massacre (1994)
Baruch Goldstein, a fanatic settler from New York, storms the Ibrahimi Mosque with an automatic weapon and kills 29 praying Muslims. GAZA: UN RESUMES FULL AID OPERATIONS INTERRUPTED BY FACTIONAL FIGHTING

Press Release - UN News Center
Feb 8 2007
The United Nations agency that tends to Palestinian refugees has resumed full operation of its humanitarian activities in Gaza after they had been interrupted by recent inter-factional fighting.
The closing of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) installations and facilities, including its headquarters and field offices, 83 schools and a food distribution centre, had been a last resort, but the situation had simply become too dangerous for its staff and for the thousands of children in its schools. Full services were restored on Tuesday.
In a meeting with head teachers from the worst-affected schools in Gaza City,
UNRWA Director of Operations in Gaza John Ging delivered a clear message of reassurance of the agency's continued commitment to deliver humanitarian services in spite of the new and dangerous challenges.
"We have to make up the time these children lost in school days, and I assure the wider refugee population in Gaza that through the bravery and dedication of our staff, UNRWA will continue to deliver services as long as it is possible to ensure a measure of safety for our staff," he said.
"Our services are vital: 860,000 refugees depend on our food assistance, 1 million depend on our health services and we have 195,000 children in our schools. We are all hoping that the political leaders meeting in Mecca will have the courage and wisdom to find solutions to avoid a return to the violence of the past days," he added, referring to a summit meeting between the Fatah and Hamas factions in Islam's holiest city.
Over the past two months Mr. Ging and other UN officials have repeatedly warned that the armed clashes between the rival Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip, in which dozens of people are reported to have been killed or wounded, were endangering UN humanitarian operations.
UNRWA, created in 1949 to care for Palestinian refugees after the foundation of











