Why is the World Silent in the Face of Israeli Apartheid?
By Neve Gordon, Dissident Voice 11/6/2003
Jerusalem: As the government of the Jewish state forces the Palestinians in ghettos, history must be turning in its grave. Qalqiliya, a city of 45,000, has been surrounded by a concrete wall and only those who are granted permits by the Civil Administration can enter and exit the city's single gate.
Along the West Bank's northwestern border, an additional 12,000 people are now living in enclaves between the wall and the pre-1967 border. They too have become captives; yet the so-called security wall does not separate these Palestinian residents from Jewish Israelis, but rather from their brethren in the West Bank.
After placing them on small "islands," Israel is now "encouraging" them to leave their ancestral homes by undermining their infrastructure of existence. The goal, so it seems, is to annex the land uninhabited.
More recently, another 15-km of the wall were approved to be built in the midst of East Jerusalem. Ten minutes drive from my Jerusalem apartment, parts of this concrete wall wind between houses in the Abu Dis neighborhood. A new Berlin wall in the making, only this time in the holy city.
This wall will ultimately place approximately 35,000 Palestinians in a ghetto. Not only will they be isolated from their source of livelihood, but the sick will not be able to reach hospitals and the children will not be able to reach schools. Even the cemeteries will be out of bounds.
The spiraling effects of occupation
By Leila Diab, Middle East Online 11/7/2003
For Palestinians, they want to know why the United Nations does not impose sanctions on Israel for its weapons of mass destruction -- "I am content to die on her land. / To be buried in her soil, / To dissolve and melt beneath her turf / Then rise / Grass on her earth and a flower / Caressed by a little boy's hand / A little boy in my homeland born. / I am content in my homeland's heart to stay: / Soil / Grass / And a flower - By Fadwa Touqan - 1968, Spring Is Here, Published in Palestine (2002) - Tania Nasir (Translated from Arabic: Tania Nasir and Khalid Mattawa)
Palestine, an Arab nation, with a people, a culture, a leadership and a land, the once indigenous people of Palestine, continue to remain steadfast, in its longing to achieve a free and democratic state. Paradoxically, the foundation for universal rights, justice and freedoms of Palestinians have been invisibly overshadowed in the mainstream media, unrecognizable and non-negotiable in a World Court that professes "mandatory protection of all people and nations under universal laws and covenants. What nation of mindful people will speak out against this phantom world of injustices, to plow and plant the seeds of human understanding, respect and human dignity, no matter how great the obstacles?
The antecedents of many long-term human struggles for Justice and freedom have prevailed as triumphant victories over their oppressors. In spite of the long list of so many unjust forms of violent discriminatory acts on their individual rights, economic opportunities, social services, land confiscation, and the dismantling of their leadership, the Palestinian people continue to hold on to their nation.
Hijacking the Palestinians’ narrative
By Ali Abunimah, Daily Star 11/8/2003
Israel’s hard-line supporters in the US Congress have fired the latest volley in their sustained campaign against the rights of Palestinian refugees and against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) that provides for their basic needs. On Oct. 28, members of the US House of Representatives, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Republican from Florida), Jerrold Nadler (Democrat from New York), and Frank Pallone (Democrat from New Jersey), introduced House Resolution 311, “expressing the sense of Congress that the international community should recognize the plight of Jewish refugees from Arab countries.”
It also requested that the UNRWA should resettle Palestinian refugees in their current host countries. Ros-Lehtinen was one of the lead sponsors of the recently passed Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act.
The new resolution claims “there is evidence that UNRWA facilities have been used for terrorist recruitment and training, as well as bases for terrorist operations, with little attempt by UNRWA to prevent attacks or alert relevant law enforcement authorities about terrorist attacks.”
The Joys and Sorrows of Ramadan
By Suzanne Russ, Palestine Chronicle 10/28/2003
The bittersweet month of Ramadan is here once again, amidst unfathomable sorrows, amidst joy. And yet, as my father-in-law, who is nearly seventy years old reminded me, “Palestine has not seen such a bitter Ramadan in many many years”.
It seemed so painful to me, as I broke bread with my family before dawn, that millions of Palestinians refugees would be fasting with us, and they would have no bread to break their fast at the end of the day. Moreover, thousands would not only continue their fast due to lack of food, but their hardship would be compounded due to forced homelessness, wrought by the Israeli army, just this week in Gaza.
When we heard of the attacks in Gaza, where more than two thousand people were displaced and their homes destroyed in one night, we called my father-in-law right away, who lives in Nuseirat Refugee Camp, outside of Gaza City. He told us that the majority of the “newest refugees” came to Nuseirat for shelter. The army ordered them out of their homes in the middle of the night, and by dawn, everything was in ruins. No time was given for anyone to collect precious things, belongings, no time was given to change clothes. So most of the refugees arrived in their pajamas. It was another little Diaspora, yet another daily “Nakba” or catastrophe.
Geneva Agreement: Attaining National Provisions Or A Contract Of Free Submission?
By Ahmad Saadat, Al-Hayat 11/8/2003
In light of the challenges that our Arabs nations are facing today, amidst the new American-Zionist imperialist interests that were elicited by the invasion of Iraq, we Arabs must reformulate the dynamism of struggle to obstruct this new kind of imperialism. In light of the heightening of tensions prompted on our people by Zionism, after Sharon came to power in Israel where he chose to empower himself by opening a front against our people leaving all options open, we Arabs must endorse our national identities by preserving our unity, legitimacy, sovereignty and safeguarding our resources.
Amidst all these exceptional circumstances that the region faces today - the invasion of Iraq that made it possible for Sharon to amplify his policies of constant aggression to attain exceptional strategic victories. This being so by solidifying the consent of reaching a political settlement based on discarding the Palestinian's right of return, and further solidifying the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. Within these perpetual circumstances, augmented by the strong resistance in Palestine and Iraq there was a need for a compromise, and the "Geneva agreement" came about as a scuffmark for a political understanding dealing with the essence of the Arab Palestinian-Zionist struggle. The "Geneva agreement" was labeled as a tactical advancement on the level of negotiations, which sought to identify the core elements or principles in this struggle, and signified the essence of historical interests between our people and the Palestinians living in Palestine. The "Geneva agreement" dealt with two main issues of intrinsic national concern: the right of return, the nature of the state of Israel, in addition to the final settlement in the peace process.
Sharon vs. the generals: a new rift in Israel
By Ed Blanche, Daily Star 11/8/2003
BEIRUT: Stinging public criticism of the Israeli government’s counter-terrorism strategy by the country’s military chief of staff, Lieutenant General Moshe Yaalon, has exposed a serious rift between the top echelons of the Israeli Army and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s administration at a critical moment in the Middle East. Yaalon has said that Israel’s vaunted military cannot defeat the Palestinians and, in the words of Haaretz, “that the policy being pursued by the government is undermining security and causing irreversible damage to Israeli society.”
This is not the first time an Israeli general has publicly criticized the political echelon, but it was probably the most vituperative, at a time of mounting crisis both in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and in the region following the US-led conquest of Iraq. The criticism was given all the more weight by the fact that Yaalon himself is a hard-line hawk and because the raw truths he defined capped a growing rift between the general staff and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz. His controversial judgments may reopen debate on the issue in both camps and help salvage the dwindling democracy that Israelis keep bragging about.
Yaalon’s unprecedented attack on government policy led him into treacherous ground, violating the rule that serving Israeli generals stay out of politics. His confrontation with Sharon, Mofaz and Avi Dichter, director of the General Security Services, popularly known as Shin Bet, has the potential to cause serious damage to both the military command and the government and comes at a time when fears of a dangerous stalemate between the Israelis and Palestinians are high.
Does Liberty matter?
By Ahmed Amr, Media Monitors Network 11/7/2003
"Does the Liberty Matter? Today, more than ever. More than any other incident, the USS Liberty gave the Israeli Lobby cause to believe that they could get away with anything." -- Should the long dormant file on the USS Liberty be opened again? Is there any new development that would warrant a congressional investigation? The survivors of the Israeli assault on the Liberty have been lobbying Capitol Hill to probe the matter for thirty-six years. Why should a single sworn affidavit by a retired Navy captain make a difference? Does the USS Liberty still matter?
The answer to all these questions is yes. Does that mean we will get a congressional hearing? May be. Maybe not. There are plenty of reasons for pessimism. A detailed and compelling narrative of the Liberty ‘incident’ has long been available in the form of a book by one of the officers who survived the assault, Lt. James Ennes. Anyone who has read his “Assault on the Liberty” or attended one of his lectures will likely arrive at the same conclusion as Eric Margolis who called it ‘America’s most shameful secret’.
Along with other survivors, Ennes has set up a web site (www.ussliberty.org) that tracks developments relating to the assault. No single American has contributed more to keeping the issue alive than Ennes. For over three decades, Jim Ennes has led the futile effort to bring this matter to closure. He has adamantly maintained that the Israeli attack was deliberate and that there was a government cover-up. Many senior Navy officers have backed up his allegations, including Admiral Thomas Moorer.
Phooey on Tough Talk
By Charley Reese, Antiwar.com 11/8/2003
I would feel better about President George Bush's tough schoolboy rhetoric if he were in Baghdad, Fallujah or Tikrit instead of lolling about on his ranch or at Camp David in between fund-raising trips and photo ops. He ought to go to Iraq to see what his policy has wrought.
Dwight Eisenhower went to Korea during that war. Why shouldn't President Bush go to Iraq? He could even stop by Ramallah and the Gaza Strip on the way back to see what his Palestinian-Israeli policy has wrought.
The president has said that the "terrorists and killers" want us to run, but America will not run. That is, of course, expressing geo-political strategic concepts in the language of schoolboys. But to use that language, we "ran" from Vietnam, from Lebanon and from Somalia, and we might yet "run" from Iraq.
To use more adult language, in Vietnam, Lebanon and Somalia, the United States decided that what it was doing was not worth the costs and simply withdrew. That might or might not happen in regard to Iraq, but adult language rather than churlish childish language would help the American people understand the situation better.
Love and marriage in Israel
By Suraya Dadoo, Electronic Intifada 11/7/2003
In February last year, Gili and Sagi, a young Israeli couple, were "married" at sea - a marriage that was not legally recognised by the State of Israel. Although they are both Jewish, the couple objected to the only marriage option open to them in Israel: an Orthodox Jewish ceremony. Instead, they chose a marriage contract that they drew up themselves, together with a lawyer, thus rendering their union illegal.
On the other side of the divide, Aneesa, an Arab Israeli, who holds a Jerusalem ID, married a Jordanian three years ago. "Because he also carries a Gaza identity card, he is not allowed in Jerusalem. Forget getting his own Jerusalem ID, he is not even allowed to visit here," says Aneesa. She cannot remember the last time she saw her husband.
For all the differences that exist between these two couples, they share one major parallel: both couples are unhappy with the current marriage laws in Israel. Paradoxically, Israel is touted as the only "democracy" in the world that does not offer its citizens the option of civil marriage. Since 1953, only Orthodox Jewish marriages, and civil marriages performed outside Israel, have been legally recognised by the Israeli state. While interfaith and other religious marriages are not prohibited, they are also not legally recognised by the state.
The art of escalation
By Doron Rosenblum, Ha'aretz Friday Magazine 11/7/2003
"Escalation with Syria is inevitable." - Major General Amos Gilad
"I can't cancel the war! I've already paid a month's rent on the battlefield!" - President Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx in "Duck Soup") To: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon CC: Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, the General Staff, the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Sheikh Nasrallah
Gentlemen, First, let me congratulate you on your wonderful achievements in an artistic sphere that few people appreciate: the art of escalation.
For generations, this noble art has been badmouthed and scorned, constantly under attack by the effete and the bleeding hearts of this world. "What do we need it for?" people wondered in the Thirty Years' War. "What's it good for?" the party poopers pondered in the Hundred Years' War. And I don't even want to mention the Vietnam War or the Lebanon War, both of which would still be with us today had they not been aborted by the malicious machinations of the de-escalators, the spoilers.
Until you rose up: the Einsteins and the Newtons of escalation. And even if you have to share the credit with the Palestinians, you are to be commended for the tremendous achievement of successfully moving from stone throwing at West Bank road junctions to the brink of an all-out regional war; from two or three people with rifle wounds to blood that is shed like water, to towering walls, economic ruin, the waste of billions, to internal fissures and international isolation. Your joint deeds will one day be recorded in the Leaden Book of Escalation and will be taught in the academies alongside the works of Machiavelli and the Marquis de Sade.
For the pilots' information
By Gideon Levy, Ha'aretz Friday Magazine 11/7/2003
Mohammed Tabazeh lost a son and a nephew in an IDF assassination operation in Gaza. Three of his sons were wounded, one is fighting for his life. Yet the air force reported there were no civilians near the targets' vehicle. -- Here is what the precise hit of an Israeli Air Force missile, launched at a vehicle carrying Hamas operatives in Gaza on October 20, in a completely "targeted assassination," looks like: Young Mahmoud Tabazeh, just 14, lies on a bed in the intensive care department of Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, writhing in pain. Chills wrack his body; his legs - one shredded and the other broken - are bandaged; his whole body is bruised and pockmarked from the countless pieces of shrapnel that penetrated it. His complexion is pale and sallow, his head is shaven and scratched, blood drains from his abdomen into a bag. In a hoarse voice, he begs his father to do something to ease his pain. Mahmoud cries.
Two weeks after he was injured, the doctors say that his life is still in danger. The shrapnel struck his liver and apparently his pancreas, too, and the infection that spread in his body is life-threatening. A 14-year-old boy who went out to the street when he heard a loud explosion nearby, whose brother and cousin were killed, and three other brothers were wounded - but no one has told him all of this yet. For the information of the pilots who pressed the button that hurled missile after missile at the suspects' vehicle on the main road next to the Nuseirat refugee camp and later reported a direct hit.
Mustafa Barghouthi Describes Palestine “On the Ground”
By Genevieve Cora Fraser, Palestine Media Center 11/8/2003
Support Palestine as 1st Arab Democracy -- In June, knowing he was dying, Dr. Edward W. Said made a special request to his long-time friend Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Director of the Health, Development, Information and Policy Institute in Ramallah, Palestine. He wanted Barghouthi to deliver the keynote address this year at the Sixth Annual Eqbal Ahmad Lecture at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. He asked Barghouthi to tell the audience the truth about what's happening in Palestine and of a recently established democratic opposition movement they co-founded and for which Barghouthi serves as Secretary, the Palestinian National Initiative, a.k.a. Mubadara.
Dr. Said, a Columbia University literary scholar who was considered to be the foremost advocate of the Palestinian cause in the United States, died on September 25 after a long battle with leukemia. In 1999 following Eqbal Ahmad’s death, Said credited Ahmad as “perhaps the shrewdest and most original anti-imperialist analyst of the post-war world.” Ahmad was Professor of International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts as well as managing editor of the quarterly Race and Class. The first Eqbal Ahmad Lecture was delivered by Kofi Annan who spoke on the crisis of knowledge in the Third World.
On November 4, Dr. Barghouthi fulfilled the promise he made to his dying friend and delivered the Eqbal Ahmad Lecture before a packed and attentive audience. The topic, "There Is a Vision: Civil Society and the Prospects for Peace in the Middle East," opened with graphic details of the reality on the ground in the West Bank and Gaza and a brief history of Israel’s 55 year-long land grab which started with 55% of the Palestinian territory, then expanded to 88%. And if Ariel Sharon has his way with an annexed Palestine, according to Barghouthi, Israel will own 91% or more of the original territory with the 3.6 million Palestinians confined to ghettos, reminiscent of but larger than those in Warsaw prior to Germany’s attempt at a Final Solution.
On fringes of West Bank Barrier, Palestinian Lives Sink into Absurdity
By Jean-Marc Mojon, Miftah 11/8/2003
MASHA, West Bank, Nov 7 (AFP) - Leaning on his old walking stick, Hani Aner sits on the one narrow strip of porch the bulldozers didn't tear off and watches incredulously as workers finish putting up fences all around his house.
As Israel completes the construction of its separation barrier in the West Bank, the 46-year-old farmer's land on the edge of this village has shrunk to a tiny parcel around his small home, which is about to be completely surrounded by barbed wire.
The Palestinian father of six gives a tour of his shrivelled estate.
"Let me show you the limits of my prison: a metre from my bedroom window is the fence protecting the Elqana settlement, opposite my living room an eight-metre (26-foot)-high concrete wall and an army gate on either side."
Masha lies five kilometres (three miles) east of the Green Line that separated the West Bank from Israel after the 1967 Middle East war.
A month ago, the fortified barrier that had loosely followed the Green Line along the northern section of the West Bank began to plough its way south towards Masha, cutting deep into Palestinian territory and ripping through the acre (one-third hectare) of land on which Aner had his flower nurseries.
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