Related
Sites..A-infos A multi-lingual news service by, for, and about anarchists, regularly posts reports by Israeli anarchists working in solidarity with the non-violent Palestinian resistance. All Nations Cafe The All Nations Café is first and foremost a strong team of Israelis, Palestinians and internationals, who work together, visit each other’s homes and see themselves as part of one family. Alternative Information Center The AIC is a Palestinian-Israeli organization which disseminates information, research and political analysis on Palestinian and Israeli societies as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while promoting cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis based on the values of social justice, solidarity and community involvement. Ariga Articles and extensive links to Israeli and Palestinian Human Rights & Peace groups Bat Shalom Israeli & Palestinian Women’s Peace Group - Bat Shalom is an Israeli national feminist grassroots organization of Jewish and Palestinian Israeli women working together for a genuine peace grounded in a just resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict, respect for human rights, and an equal voice for Jewish and Arab women within Israeli society. Breaking The Silence Breaking the Silence is an organization of veteran Israeli soldiers that collects testimonies of soldiers who served in the Occupied Territories during the Second Intifadah. Bridges: Israeli-Palestinian Public Health Magazine bridges, the Israeli-Palestinian Public Health Magazine, is a unique publication conceived, written, edited, produced and managed jointly by Palestinian and Israeli academics and health professionals under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO). The magazine embodies the WHO paradigm of “Health as a Bridge for Peace”: the integration of peace-building concerns, strategies and practices with health care. Buddhist Peace Fellowship Buddhist Peace Fellowship’s open-hearted engagement with the world is expressed through expanding programs in the United States and Asia. Through BPF, Buddhists of many different traditions are developing individual and group responses to socially conditioned suffering. Campaign for Secure Dwellings A network of congregations in North America working to end the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Christian Peacemaker Teams, Campaign for Secure Dwellings, Palestinian Land Defense Committee, Rabbis for Human Rights, Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions. Christian Peacemaker Teams - Palestine Projects Since 1995 the CPT has maintained a continuing presence in the Hebron District (occupied West Bank). Team members stand with Palestinians and Israeli peace groups engaged in nonviolent opposition to Israeli military occupation, collective punishment, settler harassment, home demolitions and land confiscation. Coalition of Women for Peace The Coalition of Women for Peace brings together independent Israeli women and 10 feminist peace organizations who work relentlessly for peace and justice. Founded in November 2000, after the outbreak of the Second Intifada, the Coalition today is a leading voice in the peace movement. Combatants for Peace We are a group of Israeli and Palestinian individuals who were actively involved in the cycle of violence in our area. The Israelis served as combat soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces and the Palestinians were involved in acts of violence in the name of Palestinian liberation. Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) Interfaith Peace Builders - Delegations to Palestine FOR’s interfaith Middle East program sends regular delegations to Israel/Palestine where participants live in Palestinian and Israeli homes, learn from peace activists on both sides of the conflict and experience the situation of Palestinians living under military occupation. Grassroots Jerusalem Grassroots Jerusalem sets out to provide an “Evolving Map” of the current grassroots activities and organizations working in the Jerusalem area. We provide a picture of what is currently happening on the ground, the pending urgent issues, the local solutions and where support is needed to further the work. HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual An Israeli human rights organization whose main objective is to assist Palestinians of the Occupied Territories whose rights are violated due to Israel’s policies. This site contains information relating to these human rights violations. Intercultural Encounter - International Centre of Bethlehem At the very heart of our mission is a commitment to promote cultural exchange between Palestine and the rest of the world, providing people from different cultures, contexts and backgrounds a forum to meet. Whether as volunteers-in-mission, youth exchanges, educational workshops, theological conferences, academic consultations or grass-roots encounters, these programs help build bridges of understanding and create communities of fellowship between peoples globally. International Solidarity Movement The International Solidarity Movement is a Palestinian-led movement of Palestinian and International activists working to raise awareness of the struggle for Palestinian freedom and an end to Israeli occupation. We utilize nonviolent, direct-action methods of resistance to confront and challenge illegal Israeli occupation forces and policies. Israel Imperial News A magazine edited by Israeli dissidents. Against the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land by Jewish settlers. Against Israel’s cruel treatment of the Palestinians. And against Israel’s policy of ethnic cleansing. Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information - IPCRI IPCRI, founded in Jerusalem in 1988, is the only joint Palestinian-Israeli public policy think-tank in the world. It is devoted to developing practical solutions for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. IPCRI deals with the cardinal issues in the Israeli-Arab conflict - issues where the two sides find themselves at loggerheads, and where cooperation is necessary. Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions (ICAHD) is a non-violent, direct-action group originally established to oppose and resist Israeli demolition of Palestinian houses in the Occupied Territories. Machsom Watch Machsom Watch was founded in January 2001 in response to repeated reports in the press about human rights abuses of Palestinians crossing army and border police checkpoints. It is a group of Israeli women conducting daily observations at military checkpoints to monitor human rights abuses. Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality - Dukium In 1997 a group of Arab and Jewish residents of the Negev (the southern part of Israel) established the Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality. Its aim is to provide a framework for Jewish-Arab collaborative efforts, in the struggle for civil equality and the advancement of mutual tolerance and coexistence. Occupation Magazine The aim of this Israeli website is to provide information and alternative commentary on the ongoing developments in the Occupied Territories - the West Bank and the Gaza Strip - in Hebrew, English and Russian. Stop US Military Aid to Israel This website is a cooperative effort between Sami Abuhamdeh (US citizen of Palestinian descent) and Benjamin Balak (Israeli citizen and professor of economics in the US). The Other Israel The Other Israel, published bimonthly, aims to provide extensive coverage of the diverse struggles waged by the Israeli peace movement at large. Includes reports on undereported activities and commentaries on events in Israel and the Middle East from a perspective in which the interests of Israelis and Palestinians are ultimately reconcilable. http://members.tripod.com/~other_IsraelVisions of Peace with Justice in Israel/Palestine Visions of Peace with Justice in Israel/Palestine (VOPJ) is an association of Jews in Greater Boston working to promote a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians based on mutual respect, justice, and equality. Yesh Din Israeli volunteers for human rights who have come together to take concrete action against the constant human rights abuses inflicted on the Palestinian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Zochrot The activities of Zochrot include: organizing tours to villages destroyed by Israeli forces in the Nakba and in 1967, led by Palestinian refugees, posting signs at the remains of the destroyed villages, teaching the history and geography of the Nakba and translating these materials into Hebrew, maintaining a Hebrew-language database of maps and other information about the Nakba, developing educational materials, organizing demonstrations, and participating in the activities of refugees organizations. E-mail us a
link to your
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Page
from brochure of Zochrot, an Israeli group that organizes tours to villages destroyed
by Israeli forces in the Nakba and in 1967, teaches the history and geography
of the Nakba, and translating these materials into Hebrew, (Zochrot)
The family of Ahmed al-Khatib, a 12 year old fatally shot last
week by Israeli troops who mistook his toy gun for a real rifle, have donated
his organs at a Haifa hospital "for the sake of peace between peoples."
His organs helped save the lives of six patients. His heart
was given to a 12-year-old girl; his liver was divided in two and given to two
patients, a six-month old baby and a 56-year-old woman; his kidneys were given
to a 5-year-old boy and his lungs were given to a 5-year-old boy and a 4-year-old
girl, Israel Radio reported.
The boy died of his wounds on Saturday.
Dr. Tzvi Ben-Yishai, a spokesman for Rambam Medical Center in
Haifa, where Khatib had been treated, said that the boy's parents decided to donate
his organs "to bring hearts closer and bring peace closer."
The boy's uncle, Jamal Khatib, confirmed that the family had
donated the organs.
"This is not a political issue, but a personal one,"
the boy's father told Channel Two news. "I had an older brother who suffered
from kidney failure and there were no transplants available. When the doctor told
me that my boy was clinically dead, I remembered my brother and thought of ways
to help."more..
Drumming
Circle, Jahalin Beduin Children near Ma'ale Adumim. The Israeli Committee Against
House Demolitions (ICAHD), in coordination with Bustan li Shalom and Rabbis for
Human Rights, sponsored cultural events to raise awareness and funds for the Jahalin
Beduin, who were were expelled from their traditional lands by Israel. (ICAHD)
Palestinians,
Israelis join together in Battle of Bilin
By Mark MacKinnon, International Solidarity Movement/Globe and Mail, January 7,
2006 BILIN, WEST BANK — Nimrod Eshel is shouting
out his disgust at the barrier his country is building through the West Bank when
the tear gas starts to fly.
The 24-year-old student from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem
pants mildly as he dashes through an olive grove to find a safer vantage point.
The peaceful protest of a few minutes before is beginning to disintegrate; Palestinian
youths, their faces covered with bandanas to protect them from the effects of
the gas, hurl stones back at the helmeted Israeli troops, who respond with rubber
bullets and more tear gas.
“I think it’s really important for Israelis to see
this. It’s really sad what’s going on,” Mr. Eshel said, waving
his hand in an arc that included both the ongoing barrier construction and the
Israeli dispersal of the protest.
The Battle of Bilin, as the weekly anti-wall protest here
in this tiny West Bank community is known, begins every Friday after midday prayers.
Several dozen unarmed residents of the town, supplemented by foreign and Israeli
peace activists, meet each week outside the local mosque and march together toward
the bulldozers and front-end loaders that are preparing the ground for the next
growth spurt in the 685-kilometre-long separation barrier.more..
Archives:
More about Israelis and Palestinians Working
Together
Fayyad: Building Palestinian state requires cooperation from Israel The National 26 Jan 2012 - Davos: Authority premier debates with Israeli president at global forum in Switzerland. Film shows Palestinians, Jews saving lives Jerusalem Post 26 Jan 2012 - Film shows cooperation between Jewish and Palestinian volunteer paramedics in United Hatzalah. Palestinian Activists Play Football During Protest Against Israeli Checkpoint Palestine Solidarity Project 21 Jan 2012 - On Saturday January 21, 2012, the Popular Committee in Beit Ommar organized its weekly protest in coordination and cooperation with the Popular Committee of Yatta, the Palestine Women’s Struggle Committee, and supported by Israeli and international solidarity activists. The demonstration was held for the first time... In 6-5 decision, Israeli court rules against citizenship for Palestinians married to Israelis IMEMC - Mixed Palestinian-Israeli families that have been in limbo since the Israeli legislature passed an ‘emergency, security measure’ in 2003 will remain in limbo for the foreseeable future, after the Israeli High Court on Wednesday rejected a petition that would allow these families to stay together. ... Cooperation not normalization Michael Warschawski, Alternative Information Center 1/10/2012 The last in the Alternative Information Center's three-part series about normalization between Israelis and Palestinians, this article discusses the crucial differences between normalization and cooperation. Rejection of normalization with the Israelis doesn't rule out political cooperation, on the contrary. The Palestinian national movement and most of the popular Palestinian organizations have made very clear in numerable occasions that it is looking favorably for such cooperation, but with several conditions. a) No symmetry The relationship should be based on the leadership role of the Palestinian partners, and not on a fake symmetry between Palestinian and Israelis. The framework of political action is a Palestinian national struggle against Israeli colonialism, not a "joint struggle for peace". The Israeli anti-colonialist forces are asked to support that struggle, with their own specific means and approach, and not to try to impose a mid-of-the-way program that could cope with the colonialist perceptions of the Israeli public opinion, including parts of the "peace movement"; b) Supporting the core of the Palestinian national program Endorsing the Palestinian liberation program means to support its three main dimensions: - ending the colonial occupation - full individual and collective national rights for the Palestinian minority in Israel; - the right of return of the refugees.....more..e-mail Avoiding the regional ramifications of stalemate Hassan A. Barari, Bitterlemons 12/8/2011 For Jordan, the impasse of the Israeli-Palestinian track could not be more threatening. Time and time again, King Abdullah II has stressed that the failure of a two-state solution would be detrimental to the national security of his country. For this reason, Amman has pushed both Palestinians and Israelis to get their act together and hammer out an historic deal to allay the fears of Jordanians. Two weeks ago, the king made a rare visit to Ramallah to meet President Mahmoud Abbas and discuss ways of resuming peace negotiations with Israel. Implicit in this visit was Jordan's desire to play a role after Egypt had pulled back from its longstanding status as third party and bridge between Israel and the rest of the Arabs. Also, the king received Israeli President Shimon Peres in Amman to discuss ways of reviving the stalled peace process. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Jordan--after having been kept in the dark for years regarding Palestinian-Israeli interactions--is looking for ways to expand its regional role. Indeed, Jordanians have begun to feel that they cannot afford to sit idly by while regional developments sweep the region at an alarming rate. The timing of the Ramallah visit was very important as Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas' political bureau in Damascus, is expected to visit Jordan soon. Almost ten years after being expelled from Jordan, Hamas leaders seek to mend fences with Amman in case the regime in Syria falls. Explicit in the king's latest moves is a message to Hamas leaders that in reconciling with them Jordan is not about to shift gears and change its diplomacy concerning the desired outcome of the peace process. Public debate in Jordan has focused for some time on threatening Israeli moves in Jerusalem. The Mughrabi bridge issue is a source of concern for Jordanians who have little faith in the Israeli government. Additionally, statements coming from Israeli right-wing politicians have reinforced deep-seated suspicions of Israel's intentions vis-a-vis Jordan.... -- See also: Bitterlemons: Jordan and the Palestinian issuemore..e-mail Panetta: Israel & Palestine must ‘Get to the Damn Bed’ Dr. Ashraf Ezzat, Intifada-Palestine 12/6/2011 (ALEXANDRIA, Egypt) – In remarks made at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Friday, Panetta said: “The problem right now is we can’t get them [Israel's leaders] to the damn table to at least sit down and begin to discuss their differences. “We understand the concerns of Israel, we understand the concerns of the Palestinians. “If they sit at a table and work through those concerns and the United States can be of assistance in that process, then I think you have the beginning of what could be a process that could lead to a peace agreement. “But if they aren’t there, if they aren’t at the table, this will never happen. So first and foremost get to the damn table.” One is obliged to say that Panetta’s statement reflects nothing less than sound and timely thinking. And I’m sure he is proposing this entirely innovative and unprecedented idea for the interest of both the Israelis and the Palestinians and that the call for both parties to get together and work through their fears is not just one of the usual American stunts prior to the upcoming presidential elections. But then again, what is the point of getting them together, no offence intended here, but what will they be talking about? Land for peace? Well, the Palestinians almost ran out of that item, they have no more land they can offer in exchange for peace. East Jerusalem? Out of the question … West Bank? No, that is Samaria and Judea now. The refugees .. what about them? they will remain refugees. Gaza, that’s the junk yard of the region … who would want to live in a junk yard, crammed in dirty slums.more..e-mail Alice Walker: 'Going through Israeli checkpoints is like going back in time to American Civil Rights struggle' Dr. Hanan Chehata, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 11/24/2011 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW American Pulitzer Prize winning author, Alice Walker, was a juror with the Russell Tribunal on Palestine which took place in South Africa this year. A prolific writer of novels, poetry and short stories her books, fiction and non-fiction, have sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. While she is most well-known for "The Colour Purple" she is also a dedicated political activist and campaigner. MEMO's Dr. Hanan Chehata caught up with Ms Walker in Cape Town to ask her why she has been so drawn to the Palestinian cause. During the course of the interview the similarities between the Palestinian struggle for liberation and the African-American struggle during the Civil Rights era is evident. She expresses her belief that "Americans have a duty to be active in the defence of Palestinian people" and further proposes that the illegal settlements paid for unwittingly by American tax payers should be lived in by the Palestinians to whom the land belongs and who should all "come home". Hanan Chahata: How and why did you first get involved in Palestinian activism? Alice Walker: I married a Jewish man, a lawyer, and we were together during the Six Day War [1967] and we were very glad because the assumption then was that Israel was always the underdog and always threatened and so we felt really good that it could defend itself, blah, blah, blah. But we disagreed over the land question because I said they have to give the land back right away. I said, "OK the war is over, now give the land back." He said, "No they [Israelis] need that land because if they don't have that land the Arabs, generally, will bomb Israel." I just didn't buy it. I thought that if you take a people's land you do them damage, a harm that they will never recover from. So that started my interest. I was aware of the massacres in Sabra and Shatila [massacres in Beirut, 1982]; I was aware of Golda Meir saying there was no such thing as a Palestinian and so on....more..e-mail [uruknet.info] Joint Palestinian-Israeli peace radio' station shut down by Israeli authorities Uruknet November 19, 2011 - A radio station that has worked for 7 years to bring together Palestinians and Israelis in joint broadcasts and dialogue was shut down by Israeli authorities on Saturday, with the claim that the station lacked the proper license - despite the fact that the station broadcasts from the West Bank and is... Joint Palestinian-Israeli ‘peace radio’ station shut down by Israeli authorities IMEMC - A radio station that has worked for 7 years to bring together Palestinians and Israelis in joint broadcasts and dialogue was shut down by Israeli authorities on Saturday, with the claim that the station lacked the proper license – despite the fact that the station broadcasts from the West Bank and is not under Israeli jurisdiction. ... UNESCO distances itself from Israeli government youth conference Global BDS 18 Nov 2011 - The Palestinian BDS National Committee ( BNC ), the largest coalition in Palestinian civil society struggling to uphold Palestinian rights, recently discovered that the Israeli Ministry of Education was claiming to be organizing a youth conference in Jerusalem “in cooperation with UNESCO (United Nations),” as the Ministry’s website claims . Specifically,... Israel’s UNESCO fiasco Abe Hayeem, Israeli Occupation Archive 11/4/2011 Despite the machinations by Israel and the US, there was great joy expressed at the UNESCO Assembly when Palestine was voted in as a member state Like thwarted spoiled bullies, both Israel and the US reacted with theatrical pique and fury. The US, never applying sanctions against Israel’s decades- long war crimes in Gaza and the OPT’s by suspending its steadfast cornucopia of billions in aid and arms, immediately withdrew its $80 million contribution to UNESCO as a collective punishment. In addition Haaretz reported that it will “consider new legislation to impose additional restrictions on American funding of the UN, threaten cutting aid to the Palestinian Authority, and slash military assistance to key foreign countries in retaliation to their support for the Palestinian bid for full UN membership.” The US is bound by law to cut the funding to any UN body involved with recognition of a Palestinian state, even at the risk of harming its own and international interests Israel went even further, using the settler-type “price tag”. Haaretz reported the possibility of Israel “imposing sanctions on the Palestinian Authority… increasing settlement construction, and halting the transfer of tax money which Israel collects for the Palestinian Authority.” Israel announced the go-ahead for yet another 2000 homes in East Jerusalem, using illegality and theft of land to punish a democratic vote in favour of the Palestinians, as it did with the democratic election of Hamas in 2006 (www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-it-is-israel-s-right-and-obligation-to-build-in-jerusalem-1.393341). Israel’s warning that it “will now reconsider its cooperation with UNESCO” is the biggest irony. Like its relentless impunity to international and humanitarian law and UN resolutions, Israel had disregarded all the warnings by UNESCO ever since its illegal annexation of East Jerusalem not to change the status of the historic Old City and its environs. -- See also: Ajazeera: The UNESCO mess by MJ Rosenberg and YouTube: Celebrations as Unesco vote to give Palestinians full membershipmore..e-mail Yalla Peace: Celebrating freedom... together Jerusalem Post 25 Oct 2011 - The real fight in Israel and Palestine is between extremists and moderates. I know the majority of Palestinians and Israelis are moderates. Campaigners: EU research projects support occupation 10/20/2011 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestinian civil society groups called on European research bodies to halt cooperation with Israeli institutions implicated in violating human rights, in a statement issued Thursday. The release said Israel's association agreement with the EU gives it equal access to research funding as members, "despite Israel's consistent violation.... [uruknet.info] Obama Sold Israel Bunker-Buster Bombs Uruknet September 23, 2011 - While publicly pressuring Israel to make deeper concessions to the Palestinians, President Obama has secretly authorized significant new aid to the Israeli military that includes the sale of 55 deep-penetrating bombs known as bunker busters, Newsweek has learned. In an exclusive story to be published Monday on growing military cooperation between the two allies,... Deputy FM Ayalon warns Palestinians of Israeli sanctions Ha'aretz - "Future assistance and cooperation could be severely and irreparably compromised," Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told the Palestinian Donors Conference Lifting Zionism’s cloak Shafiq Morton, Cape Town, Al-Ahram Weekly 9/8/2011 The Palestinians suffer from exactly the same kind of exclusion and discrimination as did black South Africans before the end of the apartheid regime. The other day a mainstream newspaper published a piece I wrote exhorting Israelis to throw off the cloak of Zionism. They had to do this, I said, to see the integrity of recent Palestinian efforts towards unity, negotiation and peaceful statehood. Egyptian-brokered efforts endorsed by Syria to bring Hamas and Fatah together after a four-year impasse had met with some success, especially after Turkey's intervention in May this year. I also said that the recent Arab Spring had changed the face of the Middle East. In the same way the Arab street had lost its fear of dictators, it was now equally unfazed by Israel. The diplomatic stage would never be the same again, and subservient actors such as Egypt's former vice- president Omar Suleiman were no longer on the scene. In my piece, I pointed out too that informed commentary on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict always made the critical distinction between Zionism and Judaism. Zionism was purely an ethnic, political ideology. To interrogate Zionism, therefore, was not anti-Semitic. It was an act of political discourse. I expected to be inundated by angry letter writers, vituperative SMSs and tweets after my article appeared. I don't know whether the newspaper's editors protected me, but the few responses that came in on the letters page were fairly subdued. Whilst I would argue that most of the points made against me missed the point, the main objection seemed to be my portrayal of Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal....more..e-mail [uruknet.info] Historic Declaration by Palestinians, Israelis in Support of Israeli Social Protest, Anti-Colonial Struggle Uruknet September 6, 2011 - Some 20 political parties and social movements from both sides of the Green Line issued an historic declaration in support of the social protests currently rocking Israel and their necessary linkage to the struggle against Israel's occupation and colonial policies Together for putting an end to occupation and racism, in support of the struggle... Joint Palestinian-Israeli statement supporting J14, end to occupation Hagai Matar, +972 Magazine 9/6/2011 A large group of left-wing Palestinian and Israeli parties, unions and civil society groups has issued an unprecedented joint statement in support of the Israeli struggle for social justice. The group demands unity in the struggle against occupation and racism. For the first time since the launch of J14 movement, and perhaps for the first time in regional history, official Palestinian parties and NGOs are showing their support for an Israeli civilian struggle for social justice and against capitalism. Alongside their general statement of support, signatories mentioned the influence Arab revolutions have had on the Israeli movement, and stressed the importance they see in the ground-breaking widespread cooperation between Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel. In addition, the signatories call upon J14 to connect their struggle with the one against the illegal settlements and the occupation, and to stop the Israeli government’s from attempting to sideline the struggle in the face of “outside security threats” such as the upcoming vote on recognition of Palestinian statehood at the UN on 20 September. “We understand that one of the primary reasons for the social and economic distress of citizens in Israel, in addition to the capitalist economic policies, is the continuation of the occupation and excessive security budgets, which Israel’s government seeks to justify as needed for defending the security of the settlements on the one hand and the state borders on the other,” reads a part of the joint statement. “We therefore believe that an end to the occupation and establishment of a fair and just peace are essential for a life of peace and welfare. We welcome the participation and integration of the Palestinian population in Israel in the social protest....more..e-mail Abbas: I met recently with Barak to discuss Israel-Palestinian ties Ha'aretz - During meeting in Ramallah with Israeli intellectuals, Palestinian PM says that security cooperation with Israel will continue, regardless of UN vote on Palestinian statehood. U.S. envoy: Mideast stability impossible without Israeli-Palestinian peace Ha'aretz - Daniel Shapiro tells regional cooperation conference that Israel and the Palestinians must build a "strong foundation" to ensure a viable accord. Turkey and Israel: Turkey does the right thing Lawrence Davidson, Redress 9/4/2011 In the wake of the dubious UN investigatory report which all but exonerated Israel for its 31 May 2010 attack on the Mavi Marmara – an attack that killed eight Turkish citizens and one Turkish-America – Turkey has downgraded its diplomatic relations with Israel and suspended all military cooperation. Ankara had little choice in this matter. The Israeli attack was egregious. It took place in international waters against an unarmed civilian vessel and was carried out in defence of a barbaric and illegal policy of collective punishment against one million Palestinians bottled up in Gaza by an Israeli blockade. ”Above international laws and human conscience" For their part, the Israelis claim that they murdered the Mavi Marmara Turks in self-defence. I juxtapose the words self defence and murder quite deliberately, for the Turkish passengers were in the process of defending themselves from a violent assault when they were gunned down by Israeli soldiers who now describe their actions as self-defence. This scenario is a tragic parody of a hundred years of Zionist action in the Middle East. Having come to the region in the baggage train of an imperial occupying power (Great Britain) and successfully establishing themselves by evicting the native population (a process that is on-going), the Israelis define all acts of resistence to their aggression as attacks which require their defending themselves. The Mavi Marmara action fits neatly into this Zionist world of peculiar logic. In this sense, they turn the world upside down. The Turkish government will have none of this and demanded the minimum of decency from the Israelis – an apology and compensation. In so doing they stand for civilized behaviour. The Israelis refuse to apologize. After all, when you have turned the world upside down in the fashion described above, any admission that there lies a bit of faulty reasoning in your outlook threatens to collapse your universe like a deck of cards....more..e-mail J14 and the rift between Israeli and international activists Noam Sheizaf, +972 Magazine 8/30/2011 Former allies in fight against occupation are battling over the meaning of the tent protest. Can the relationship be rescued, and should it be? The tent protest, also known as J14, already had an effect on many groups in Israeli society, forcing them to re-examine their political positions and alliances. And while we have yet to see what comes out of this process, it is safe to say that in the last few weeks a new conversation has emerged. One of these developments, perhaps an unwelcome one, was a growing rift between Israeli left-wing activists and some progressive bloggers and writers outside Israel. These two groups have deepened their cooperation in recent years, usually around issues concerning the joint struggle against the occupation. In other cases, they were able to exchange information and help fight against anti-Palestinian rhetoric in the West (which is more and more often generated or sponsored in Jerusalem) and against political persecution in Israel proper. J14 revealed the limits of this cooperation. While most Israeli activists on the left welcomed the protest and were among the first to join it—often using it as a platform for a more general call for political change and justice that would include non-Jewish groups—the demonstrations were met with suspicion from pro-Palestinian activists and writers abroad. Some of them argued that J14 neglects the ethnic dimension of the political system in Israel and concentrates on benefits for the dominant Jewish group rather than on the rights of Palestinians, who are discriminated against west of the Green Line and oppressed to its east; and are subject to a mechanism of separation everywhere.more..e-mail Why was the PA hosting American Kabbalah tourists in Nablus? Electronic Intifada: 17 Aug 2011 - Michelle Gyeney The Electronic Intifada Nablus The Palestinian Authority cooperated with Israeli forces to host a fabricated “Peace and Freedom Day” rally in Nablus, while prohibiting local Palestinian tour guides from discussing politics with Kabbalist tourists from the US .more The PA and September Saleh Al-Naami, Al-Ahram Weekly 8/4/2011 Determined to petition the UN next month to recognise Palestine, leaders in Ramallah are busy convincing Washington and Tel Aviv that the move is nothing to worry about. The meeting sponsored by Qatari Minister of International Cooperation Khaled Al-Ateya went on until 4am Friday morning, attended by Saeb Ereikat, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and a number of top British international law experts at a hotel in London. The goal was to prepare a working paper of legal blueprints for the PLO to present to the UN when it applies for recognition of a Palestinian state in September. The British legal experts assured Ereikat that based on international law the PLO has several strong legal arguments to present to the UN. At first glance, the meeting seemed to indicate Palestinian determination to forge ahead with its September commitment, especially that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas insists that the Palestinian Authority (PA) will seek out UN recognition for Palestine. But on closer look some dubious signs emerge about how serious the plan is, such as statements by Ereikat himself in which he said a date has not yet been set to go to the UN -- contrary to what Palestinian leaders have been saying, namely that this step will take place in September. Other signs include attempts by Abbas to re-launch bilateral talks with Israel in the hope that the outcome of these talks could be an alternative to going to the UN in September. Palestinian and Israeli media have revealed that Israeli President Shimon Peres cancelled a secret meeting with Abbas after Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu refused to give Peres any positive message to deliver to Abbas that could result in progress and convince the Palestinian president not to go to the UN. Palestinian circles reject this position, arguing that the PA will achieve nothing by going to the UN while negotiations are in progress.more..e-mail Can water end the Arab-Israeli conflict? Arwa Aburawa, Al Jazeera 7/29/2011 Could solving the water crisis in Israel and Palestine also help resolve the entrenched occupation and conflict? Around three weeks ago on a late Tuesday morning, Israeli soldiers armed with a truck and a digger entered the Palestinian village of Amniyr and destroyed nine water tanks. One week later, Israeli forces demolished water wells and water pumps in the villages of Al-Nasaryah, Al-Akrabanyah and Beit Hassan in the Jordan Valley. In Bethlehem, a severe water shortage have led to riots in refugee camps and forced hoteliers to pay over the odds for water just to stop tourists from leaving. Palestinians insist that the Israeli occupation means that they are consistently denied their water rights which is why they have to live on 50 litres of water a day while Israeli settlers enjoy the luxury of 280 litres. Clearly, water is at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, but commentators are now insisting that shared water problems could help motivate joint action and better co-operation between both sides, which could in turn help end the conflict. "It's a shame that water is being used as a form of collective punishment when it could be used to build trust and to help each side recognise that the other is a human being with water rights," says Nader Al-Khateeb, the Palestinian director of the environmental NGO Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME). "We should be using water as a tool for peace and to bridge the gap of confidence in the region - not to create a water crisis," he adds. As part of his work with FoEME - which also operates in Israel and Jordan - Al-Khateeb says he has already witnessed the success of co-operative water projects. Over the past ten years, the FoEME "Good Water Neighbors" initiative has brought together 29 cross-border communities to encourage them to work together to resolve shared water problems.more..e-mail The sham solidarity of Israel’s Zionist left Budour Youssef Hassan, Electronic Intifada 7/28/2011 On 15 July, thousands of Israelis marched in occupied East Jerusalem to show their support for a Palestinian “state” in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Portrayed by its Israeli organizers as a joint Palestinian-Israeli march and ornamented with the slogans of “shared struggle” and “solidarity,” the Palestinian participation in the event was however scarce — a fraction of those in attendance were Palestinians. This event came a few weeks after a similar march in Tel Aviv, and while the Jerusalem march garnered more publicity due to its location, both events expose the failures of the purported solidarity of the Israeli Zionist “left” with the Palestinians. The term solidarity — much like co-existence — is so overused in the liberal Zionist discourse as to render it meaningless. The misconception of solidarity raises the question: what does solidarity mean and, more specifically, when can an act carried out by Israelis in the name of supporting Palestinians be considered an act of true solidarity? Can every instance of Israelis flocking to the streets chanting “End the occupation” be blithely described as solidarity? Should every occasion of Israelis carrying Palestinian flags be ecstatically celebrated as a major boost for the Palestinian cause? Should Palestinians be simply grateful that, amid the increasing construction of settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the overwhelming surge of racism in Israeli society, there are still some Israeli voices willing to “recognize” a Palestinian state? When persons in a position of privilege formulate and design a solution and impose it on a colonized and occupied people as the only viable solution and the “sole remaining constructive step,” as the 15 July call to action put it, this is not solidarity but rather another form of occupation. Solidarity means not telling people what you think their problem is, let alone telling them what you think the solution should be. Solidarity means not agreeing on everything or even agreeing on a fixed solution but fighting for a shared cause irrespective of the differences.more..e-mail OIC Secretary General condemns strongly the construction of new settlement units in the West Bank Relief Web 20 Jul 2011 - Source: Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Country: occupied Palestinian territory Date: 20/07/2011 The Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, condemned in the strongest terms the decision of the Israeli Government to build 336 housing units... Palestinians and Israelis march together AlJazeera 15 Jul 2011 - Hundreds come out on streets of East Jerusalem to back Palestinian bid for UN recognition. Land Research Center Reports on Israeli Violations of Human Rights in Jerusalem PNN - Jerusalem - PNN - The non-governmental Palestinian organization the Land Research Center (LRC), in cooperation with the Civic Coalition for Defending the Palestinians' Rights in Jerusalem, has published a report detailing Israeli... Palestinians and Israelis to March Together in Jerusalem for First Time Since 20 Years WAFA Co-Resistance vs. Co-Existence Maath Musleh, Ma’an News Agency 7/14/2011 For decades, many powers worked on portraying the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as a problem of co-existence. Millions have been pumped into co-existence projects, projects that have just reinforced relations between the oppressor and the oppressed. If any had had a little time to read history, they would know that Palestine was actually the land of co-existence for hundreds of years. It’s the land that hosted the Armenians when they were massacred by the Turks. It’s the land that embraced the Jews who were oppressed in Europe. And the co-resistance that takes place daily here is a clear example that there isn’t any co-existence problem. The real problem is Zionism. Zionism is not only the enemy of the Palestinians and Arabs, but also, the enemy of the Jews worldwide. A lot of Jews who were born with Israeli citizenship have realized that Zionism and the Israeli regime is their enemy. It’s our common enemy. Thus, the trend of co-resistance has been evolving for years in Palestine. Jews carrying Israeli citizenship have been part of the popular resistance taking place in Palestine. Co-resistance is a danger to the state of Israel. Even the mainstream media has been avoiding recognizing those activists as Israelis. The Israeli media refers to them as just “Anarchists”. Co-resisting with Israeli citizens has been also a sensitive topic in the Palestinian community. A lot of activists fear to fall in the trap of normalization. The basis to this fear is true. The PA and its supporters tried on several occasions to counter Palestinian activists that diverted from the PA’s political path with rumors...more..e-mail Aliyah arrivals destined for Palestinian areas of Israel 7/12/2011 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- An Israeli organization has announced plans to bring more than 2,500 Jewish Americans and Canadians to Israel this summer, as it seeks to resettle the new arrivals in areas with high Palestinian populations. The organization, Nefesh B'nefesh, which promotes Aliyah, or Jewish-only immigration to Israel, said it would cooperate.... Greek president in Israel as ties warm 7/11/2011 - JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Visiting Greek President Karolos Papoulias met with Israeli leaders on Monday, as long-frosty relations between the two Mediterranean nations reach new heights of cooperation. Papoulias's three-day trip, which will also take him briefly to the Palestinian territories, comes a week after Athens effectively prevented a flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists from reaching.... Israelis and Palestinians train together at Jerusalem boxing gym The Guardian 27 Jun 2011 - Boxers put aside political differences at an underground club in Jerusalem converted from a bomb shelter French Mideast conference plan sows confusion 6/24/2011 - BRUSSELS (AFP) -- Europe's leaders Friday backed a French plan for a Palestinian donor conference as President Nicolas Sarkozy insisted it had a wider goal of gathering Palestinians and Israelis together for peace talks. Confusion surfaced when EU leaders issued a summit statement backing "a conference in Paris to provide economic support for the.... B'Tselem’s Camera Project B'tselem 11 Jun 2011 - In 2007, B'Tselem’s Video Department launched its camera project, in which the organization distributes video cameras to Palestinians living in areas in the West Bank,East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip in which clashes are commonplace. The cameras enable them to present the reality of their lives to the Israeli and international public, thereby encouraging action to improve the situation. The project is unique in that it enables Palestinians themselves to document the infringement of their rights and to present their daily lives, their anger, pain, joy, and hope to Israelis who live so close and yet so far away from them. The hundreds of volunteers film a reality that the Israeli public is usually unaware of. The video footage, together with the footage of security cameras set up at locations where violence is common, provides additional documentation. The unlawful shooting of a bound and blindfolded Palestinian demonstrator, daily harassment by settlers inHebron, attacks on Palestinian farmers in the southernHebronhills, and army incursions into Qalqiliya are just some of the events that have already been filmed and distributed thanks to the project. Footage taken by the volunteers is frequently broadcast by Israeli and international media, exposing to a large audience incidents that previously remained concealed. B'Tselem uses the footage as a basis for its complaints to the army and the police following suspected breaches of the law by security forces. In some cases, the footage provides vital evidence in legal proceedings. In a few cases, broadcast of the footage has contributed to genuine policy changes. OIC chief calls for media campaign to publicise Israeli aggression Middle East Monitor 25 May 2011 - The Secretary General of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has urged the media in member states to step up the production of public information programmes in cooperation with their Palestinian colleagues as part of a campaign to highlight Israeli aggression. Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu also... Fayyad: We want a home 5/13/2011 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Prime Minister in Ramallah Salam Fayyad said Thursday the Palestinians have created all the conditions for establishing a Palestinian state but they need Israel to cooperate. Asked by an Israeli newspaper if Israel's leadership wanted "to trip you up," Fayyad said "it is important to me that our position.... Report: Barak says Hamas must recognize Israel 4/30/2011 - TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Saturday that the Palestinian Authority and Hamas must explicitly recognize Israel before establishing a united government, Israeli media reported. In a phone call with the UN head, Barak said world leaders should only cooperate with a new Palestinian.... Europe more open than US on reconciliation deal 4/29/2011 - BRUSSELS, Belgium (Ma'an) -- EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton issued a statement Thursday saying she will follow with "great interest" the latest unity agreement between Fatah and Hamas. The statement came as Israeli and US officials said the deal could be the end of cooperation with the Palestinian Authority, while a UN official.... Israelis, Palestinians try to hash out differences in bid for Olympic cooperation Palestine Note 20 Apr 2011 - Haaretz - Israeli and Palestinian Olympic officials reaffirmed their desire to build stronger ties Wednesday, but came away without any tangible breakthroughs during a Sports for Peace meeting in Italy. The meeting was arranged by International Olympic Committee vice president... Israelis, Palestinians try to hash out differences in bid for Olympic cooperation Ha'aretz - Palestinian committee head calls for freedom of movement, while Israeli counterpart urges end to boycott against athletes; 'Sports should not know borders,' says Palestinian committee head. The Hives and Honey of Palestine Palestine Monitor: 19 Apr 2011 - Beekeeping is a Palestinian tradition nearly seven millenia old - the oldest archaeological remnants shows mud beekeeping in the Canaanite era in the Babb El Wad area, now called West Jerusalem. In the modern century, two Christian brothers from Bethlehem, Emeel and Philip, quoted beekeeping activity in Palestine in 1881. Since these two brothers, beekeepers progressively organized themselves into cooperatives through Ottoman, British Mandate and Israeli colonial rule. The first were created in Qalqiliya and Gaza around 1985; currently there are ten in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah, Nablus, Qalqiliya, Tulkarem, and Jericho, with two in Gaza. In 2009, there were about 1,500 beekeepers, fifteen percent of which owned three to ten hives, sixty percent owned ten to thirty. A quarter of them operate professionally with fifty or more hives. At ten kilos of honey per hive, Palestine produces 500 tons of honey every year from over 60,000 hives. Although beekeepers...more Final hour confrontation Saleh Al-Naami, Al-Ahram Weekly 4/14/2011 While stopping short of a Gaza ground war, Israel is hitting Palestinian resistance movements hard before the impact of Arab revolutions is felt. Soheib, who is only seven years old, refuses to leave his aunt's house in Deir Al-Balah in the centre of the Gaza Strip and return to his family home in Om Al-Jimal on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip -- a region of confrontation and intense activity by occupation forces. Although a truce and ceasefire were announced, the psychological trauma Soheib endured during the Israeli aggression at the end of 2008 makes him live in a state of fear and uncertainty that calm can be restored. His father, Jamal, hopes to convince the boy to come home so he can return to school. This is not the only family that quickly fled areas of confrontation as soon as Israel began its recent attacks. Many left to live with relatives in other areas away from confrontations on the morning of 4 April. A stream of cars returned to the border zone a week later bringing back the families that had fled Israeli air strikes that killed 23 and hospitalised tens of Palestinians. Hamas and Israel are accusing each other of breaching the truce: Hamas believes that when Israel assassinated three of its military leaders two weeks ago it had to respond by targeting an Israeli bus; Israel insists that attacking the bus triggered confrontation since Tel Aviv does not believe that killing the leaders and members of the Palestinian resistance is contentious. It is evident that the Egyptian government played a critical role in ending Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, in cooperation with the UN. Sources told Al-Ahram Weekly that the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, under the directives of Foreign Minister Nabil Al-Arabi, contacted the US, EU and UN to curtail Israeli assaults....more..e-mail Israel Fears West Bank Escalation IMEMC - Friday April 08, 2011 - 10:41, Israeli military leaders expressed fears that the current state of calm in the West Bank, induced by the tight security cooperation with the Palestinian Security Forces, could collapse at any given moment. Goldstone’s Rethink Dissident Voice: 5 Apr 2011 - Israeli leaders have barely hidden their jubilation at an opinion article in last Friday’s Washington Post by the South African jurist Richard Goldstone reconsidering the findings of his United Nations-appointed inquiry into Israel’s attack on Gaza in winter 2008. For the past 18 months the Goldstone Report had forced Israel on to the defensive by suggesting its army – as well as Hamas, the ruling faction in Gaza – had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s three-week Operation Cast Lead. Some 1,400 Palestinians were killed, including hundreds of women and children. Goldstone’s report, Israeli officials worried, might eventually pave the way to war crimes trials against Israeli soldiers at the International Criminal Court in the Hague. In what appeared to be a partial retraction of some of his findings against Israel, Goldstone argued that he would have written the report differently had Israel cooperated at the time...more Israel May Have Squandered Its Last Best Chance for Peace Patrick Cockburn, CounterPunch 3/25/2011 Arab Upheavals Augur Tougher Times Ahead The bomb attack on a bus in Jerusalem this week killed one woman and wounded 24 people. The casualties were not high compared with similar bombings in the city over the last 20 years. I lived off the Jaffa Road for four years in the mid-1990s when bus bombings were common. I used to walk to look at the smoldering carcass of the latest bus to be hit, its metal panels bulging out from the force of the explosion. The latest bombing is having more impact than its predecessors because it is the first in Jerusalem for seven years. It comes just as there is an increase of violence between Israelis and Palestinians on the West Bank and in and around Gaza. None of this might have serious repercussions except that these incidents are happening just as the political landscape of the Arab world is being radically transformed to a degree that has not happened for half a century. Suppose the uprisings across the Middle East had happened five years ago: Israel could not have been certain of the inaction of Arab leaders as it launched two limited wars. The Israeli bombardment and ground invasion of Lebanon in 2006 created a furious popular reaction in the region. But this did not much matter because power among Israel's neighbous was in the hands of kings and presidents who covertly hoped that the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon would be destroyed or crippled. The same thing happened during "Operation Cast Lead" in 2008-9 when Israel launched a three week-long air and land bombardment of Gaza which killed at least 1,200 Palestinians. Thirteen Israelis died during the conflict. Throughout, the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak cooperated with Israel, in sealing off Gaza from the outside world....more..e-mail Israeli Army Cooperates with Settlers in Attacks on Palestinians Uruknet March 21, 2011 - Following the killing of five settlers in Itamar on 11 March, there has been a substantial increase in violence toward Palestinian residents of the West Bank by the Israeli army and settlers, who act in tandem. On 12 and 13 March, settlers from Yitzhar entered the Huwara village in the Nablus district and threw stones... Israeli Army Cooperates with Settlers in Attacks on Palestinians Alternative Information Center - Following the killing of five settlers in Itamar on 11 March, there has been a substantial increase in violence toward Palestinian residents of the West Bank by the Israeli army and settlers, who act in tandem.... Abbas running out of options Saleh Al-Naami, Al-Ahram Weekly 1/24/2011 Amid vast regional transformations, pressure is mounting for the Palestinian president to reconcile with Hamas and stand up to the Israeli occupation. There was good reason for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, his advisers and Fatah leaders to be worried. Contrary to all expectations, a large number of those who took part in the massive demonstrations on the streets of Ramallah demanding an end to internal divisions were from Shabiba, Fatah's student movement. What was particularly disconcerting for Abbas and his aides is the clear demand of demonstrators not to return to negotiations and to end all forms of security cooperation with the Israeli occupation. Instead, all efforts should be invested in reaching national reconciliation with Hamas. "Everything has come to a halt," Khaled Eissa, a Fatah activist told Al-Ahram Weekly. "Negotiations have reached a dead end; the US mediator has abandoned us in an insulting and shameful manner, and great changes are underway in the Arab world which do not serve the political platform of our group. We must change our course entirely." Aisha Hassan, a university student who is a Fatah supporter, believes that President Abbas should make the next move and go to the Gaza Strip to end divisions once and for all. "This is a moment of truth for Abbas," Hassan told the Weekly. "It is certain that continuing negotiations and relying on the US is suicide, not only for the president but for Fatah as a whole." Majed Abu Shamala, a leading Fatah figure and member of the group's bloc in parliament, called on Abbas to sponsor a national dialogue by inviting parliamentary blocs to initiative direct discussions inside parliament. Abu Shamala argued that regional developments demand "Palestinian-Palestinian dialogue" to "reach appropriate formulas to end divisions, and work to bring the Palestinian cause back to the top of the agenda of the Arabs and the world.more..e-mail Netanyahu wary of new international efforts in peace process Ha'aretz - Prime Minister has yet to say whether or not he will cooperate with an upcoming Quartet meeting with Israeli, Palestinian officials, fearing Israel's participation could allow world to dictate peace-talks terms. A UN First! Both Israel and Palestine Co-Sponsor Resolution Condemning Libya Violence Palestine Note 23 Feb 2011 - Mark Leon Goldberg, UN Dispatch - Leave it to Muammar Qaddafi to bring together the Israelis and Palestinians at the United Nations. I have just obtained the copy of a draft resolution from the Human Rights... The desperate race to cobble together a Palestinian stateEU’s “magic wand” diplomacy Uruknet February 17, 2011 - "The government are a friend to both Israelis and Palestinians," UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, a dedicated Israel fan, told Parliament this week. The desperate race to cobble together a Palestinian state Stuart Littlewood, Redress 2/17/2011 EU’s “magic wand” diplomacy "The government are a friend to both Israelis and Palestinians," UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, a dedicated Israel fan, told Parliament this week. We are calling for both sides to show the visionary boldness to return to talks and make genuine compromises. Talks need to take place on the basis of clear parameters. In our view, the entire international community, including the United States, should now support 1967 borders as the basis for resumed negotiations... Being St Valentine's Day, he must have been feeling a sudden and unaccustomed upsurge of romantic love for our Palestinian brothers and sisters. The next day European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said that the international community is still seeking to achieve a peace deal and a Palestinian state by September, despite the revolutionary turmoil in the region and pathetic whining from the delinquent Israeloi foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, that the Iranian problem must be solved first. There is of course no Iranian problem. There is no Palestinian problem. There is only the Israel problem. It’s been festering for 63 years. That’s what has to be solved. Unless they’ve undergone a dramatic conversion to justice and Ashton and Hague start banging the table about enforcing international law and implementing long overdue EU sanctions against Israeli trade, such as the scrapping of the EU Association Agreement (the terms of which Israel is in permanent breach), what on earth do they think a Palestinian state cobbled together from lopsided “negotiations” is going to look like?more..e-mail Brookyn-Jenin: The Binational Popular Front for the Liberation of the Middle East Mondoweiss - On a frosty New York weekend afternoon we demonstrated together across at the United Nations building, side by side: Palestinians, Jewish Israelis, Egyptians, Tunisians, and other young people from the Mediterranean region, in fraternity with the forces of freedom arising in the Middle East. Our joint... A reconciliation to kill the dream Dr. Azzam Tamimi, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 1/28/2011 The recent revelations made jointly by Al-Jazeera TV Channel and the Guardian newspaper have vindicated my long held position of opposition to any reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah. My position was initially premised upon the fact that the Egyptian-mediated reconciliation efforts were aimed primarily at subjugating Hamas. This subjugation strategy had a long history stretching back to the early 1990s. The latter part of this history is more interesting because it manifested itself in the form of open warfare against Hamas, not just by the Israelis and their US backers but also by a number of Arab regimes as well. The unanticipated success of the movement in the January 2006 legislative elections left the parties concerned with the Palestinian question perplexed; the objective of the Palestinian democratic process was, supposedly, to contain Hamas, which is why it was pushed by the Israelis and their allies. It was never intended to have to hand over the reins of power to the Islamic Resistance Movement. When these parties recovered from the shock of the massive win by Hamas, their immediate reaction was to set out certain conditions to be fulfilled if Hamas was to qualify for membership of the "political players club". These became known as the Quartet conditions. The USA, the UN, the EU and the Russian Federation demanded the following from Hamas before there could be any dealings with the newly-elected government: first, recognition of Israel's right to exist; second, disarm and renounce violence; and third, accept all agreements thus far signed between the PLO and Israel. Fatah, the controller of both the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the PLO, was so bitter at the loss of the election that it wholeheartedly joined the campaign aimed at proving that unless Hamas cooperated with the "international community" it would never be able to run a viable administration. One of the commonest pretexts was that international donors would simply refrain from supporting a Palestinian Authority headed by Hamas unless Hamas accepted the aforementioned conditions.more..e-mail Documents reveal PA-Israel collaboration to target resistance Uruknet January 26, 2011 - Details on the growing security cooperation between the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, the United States and the United Kingdom were revealed yesterday, the third day of Al Jazeera network's release of more than 1,600 internal documents and secret correspondence from the last decade of negotiations between the Israeli government, the Palestinian Authority and the United States.... Leaks claim Palestinian 'collusion'Leaked US cables say Palestinian security forces engage in extensive co-operation with their Israeli counterparts. Uruknet January 25, 2011 - The Palestinian security forces engage in extensive co-operation with their Israeli counterparts, according to documents released by the WikiLeaks website. The cables quotes Yuval Diskin, the head of Shabak, Israel's security service, as saying his agency has "friendly, professional and honest" information exchanges with the Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs the occupied West Bank. The... Leaks claim Palestinian 'collusion' 26 Jan 2011 - London, (Pal Telegraph) - Leaked US cables say Palestinian security forces engage in extensive co-operation with their Israeli counterparts Documents reveal PA-Israel collaboration to target resistance Electronic Intifada: 26 Jan 2011 - Details on the growing security cooperation between the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, the United States and the United Kingdom were revealed yesterday, the third day of Al Jazeera network's release of more than 1,600 internal documents and secret correspondence from the last decade of negotiations between the Israeli government, the Palestinian Authority and the United States.more Palestine papers: George Mitchell The Guardian 24 Jan 2011 - US special envoy from 2009 combines resolve to bring Israelis and Palestinians together, with realistic take on likelihood of deal George Mitchell came to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process with previous experience of the Middle East, as... Israeli Settlers Violence Report: November, December 2010 Ahmad Jaradat, Alternative Information Center 1/18/2011 The Alternative Information Center monitored and recorded Israeli settler attacks and violations during the final two months of 2010. Introduction As will be demonstrated, settler attacks continued during this period and were concentrated in the north of the West Bank, especially in the Nablus District. Trees were the most common target, with burnings and land confiscations, especially land close to settlements, which serve the aim of expanding settlements and providing strategic points for attacks on Palestinian residents traveling by road. Several of the attacks were done with full cooperation of the Israeli army and in plain sight of soldiers, who did nothing to prevent the settlers from attacking and burning trees. Hebron and South West Bank Region At midday on 11 November, settlers from the Takoa settlement to the southeast of Bethlehem threw stones at the students of the girls school in the Tako’a village. Students from the school were engaged in a demonstration against the soldiers who had stopped in front of the school, which is located near the main road. Settlers who were travelling on the road stopped their cars and threw stones at the students. On 11 November, settlers from the Beitar Illit settlement, west of the Bethlehem District, opened the pipes of the settlement’s sewage onto the land of the Hosan village to the east of the settlement. The site targeted by the sewage is called Al-Haraeq and is planted with grape vines and olive trees....more..e-mail Content this week: A police state in Palestine? and more Uruknet January 21, 2011 - Five Items in this week’s digest: 1)Wikileaks reveals US, Egyptian, Israeli, and Palestinian "cooperation" during Israel’s war crimes in Gaza (and in the case of the US pre-knowledge of the humanitarian crisis that would develop before the attack even commenced). PA officials clearly did not want any demonstrations where confrontation with Israeli soldiers occur (something... IOC: Israeli Olympic chiefs ready to help Palestinians 1/20/2011 - GENEVA (AFP) -- Representatives of Israel's Olympic committee are ready to help Palestinian athletes train for the London 2012 Games, the International Olympic Committee said Thursday. The offer came during a "constructive and cooperative" first meeting of Israeli and Palestinian Olympic officials in the Swiss city of Lausanne hosted by IOC President Jacques Rogge.... Several shells fired by Palestinian groups into Israel; two foreign workers injured IMEMC - 10 Jan 2011 - Monday January 10, 2011 - 07:28, At least six homemade shells were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel on Saturday, one of which landed in a kibbutz (farming cooperative) in Sha'ar Hanegev, according to Israeli sources. The armed wing of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza claimed responsibility for the attack, which they said was targeting a military base. Women's groups called to mass protest in Bil'in Palestine Monitor: 8 Jan 2011 - Women's unions, cooperatives and civil society groups from across Israel and Palestine were called on Thursday to participate in a mass memorial service for Bil'in's Jawaher Abu Rahma, who died of tear-gas inhalation on Saturday. Those commemorating Jawaher will participate in Bil'in's weekly demonstration against continued land confiscations and Israel's separation wall, which cuts off villagers from their agricultural fields. Jawaher was watching the 31 December demonstration when she was hit with the tear-gas fumes and collapsed. Israeli military officials cast doubt on the claim that the cause of Jawaher's death was in fact tear-gas inhalation, assertions that sparked outrage with friends, family and witnesses to the event, who gave testimony to local activist groups which appeared to dispel the allegations. An Israeli military spokesman told Radio Israel on Thursday that Palestinian medical officials and a military inquiry were cooperating to find a definitive cause of death. Local organizations in...more No Mideast peace for 'at least a decade:' Lieberman Uruknet January 4, 2011 — Controversial hard-right Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told AFP on Tuesday "at least a decade" would be needed to reach a peace accord with the Palestinians. "I think that we have good cooperation (with the Palestinians) on the economy and security and we must continue cooperation on these two levels and postpone the political solution... No Mideast peace for 'at least a decade:' Lieberman Uruknet January 4, 2011 — Controversial hard-right Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told AFP on Tuesday "at least a decade" would be needed to reach a peace accord with the Palestinians. "I think that we have good cooperation (with the Palestinians) on the economy and security and we must continue cooperation on these two levels and postpone the political solution... MKs urge boycott of Israeli companies building new Palestinian city Ha'aretz - Forty-eight MKs call on cabinet ministers to stop cooperation with some 20 Israeli companies who committed to divest from Israeli settlements during construction of Rawabi. MKs urge boycott of Israeli companies building new Palestinian city Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2011 - Forty-eight MKs call on cabinet ministers to stop cooperation with some 20 Israeli companies who committed to divest from Israeli settlements during construction of Rawabi. Hamas calls on PA to end cooperation with Israel 12/22/2010 - BEIRUT, Lebanon(Ma'an) -- Hamas representative in Lebanon Ali Baraka called on President Mahmoud Abbas to "stop his futile negotiations and security cooperation with the Israeli occupation state" and release all political detainees from jails in the West Bank, the Palestinian Information Center reported Wednesday. According to the Hamas-affiliated news website, Baraka made his.... Apartheid Law: Keeping Jews and Arabs Apart Palestine Chronicle: 15 Dec 2010 - By Jonathan Cook - Katzir The pretty two-storey home with a red-tiled roof built by Adel and Iman Kaadan looks no different from the rows of other houses in Katzir, a small hilltop community in northern Israel close to the West Bank. But, unlike the other residents of Katzir, the Kaadans moved into their dream home this month only after a 12-year battle through the Israeli courts. The small victory for the Kaadans, who belong to Israel's Palestinian Arab minority, dealt a big blow to a state policy that for decades has reserved most of the country's land for Jews. Katzir is one of 695 so-called "co-operative associations", communities mostly established since Israel's creation in 1948, whose chief purpose is to bar non-Jews from residency. In October, the Israeli parliament moved to enshrine in law the right of these associations, comprising nearly 70 per cent of all communities in Israel,...more A message from Israeli military prison on International Human Rights Day Majida Abu Rahmah, The Huffington Post, International Solidarity Movement 12/10/2010 My imprisoned husband Abdullah Abu Rahmah passed the fallowing message through his lawyer: A year ago tonight, on International Human Rights Day, our apartment in Ramallah was broken into by the Israeli military in the middle of the night and I was torn away from my wife Majida, my daughters Luma and Layan, and my son Laith, who at the time was only nine months old. As the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements I was convicted of “organizing illegal demonstrations” and “incitement.” The “illegal demonstrations” refer to the nonviolent resistance campaign that my village has been waging for the last six years against Israel’s Apartheid Wall that is being built on our land. I find it strange that the military judges could call our demonstrations illegal and charge me for participating in and organizing them after the world’s highest legal body, the International Court of Justice in The Hague, has ruled that Israel’s wall within the occupied territories is illegal and must be dismantled. Even the Israeli supreme court ruled that the Wall’s route in Bil’in is illegal. I have been accused of inciting violence: this charge is also puzzling. If the check points, closures, ongoing land theft, wall and settlements, night raids into our homes and violent oppression of our protests does not incite violence, what does? Despite the occupations constant and intense incitement to violence in Bil’in, we have chosen another way. We have chosen to protest nonviolently together with Israeli and International supporters. We have chosen to carry a message of hope and real partnership between Palestinians and Israelis in the face of oppression and injustice.... -- See also: Sourcemore..e-mail Israelis and Palestinians march together against demolitons 12/5/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - 3 December - Friday, hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians marched together in the Issawiya neighborhood of East Jerusalem against recent brutality toward the village by the Israeli government: house demolitions by Israeli authorities, a siege on entrances to the neighborhood, and police misconduct with local residents. This is the first joint protest to be held in.... Israeli prosecution indicts Palestinian in 1948 land for cooperation with Hamas PIC 2 Dec 2010 - The Israeli attorney general filed an indictment against Islam Amin, a young man from Fredees village in the 1948 occupied Palestine, for alleged cooperation with Hamas in recruiting youth. UN Report Uncovers Israeli Efforts to Drive Palestinians from Jerusalem PNN - Cairo – PNN - The Cairo-based UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released a report on Monday saying that Israeli settlers in Jerusalem cooperated with Israeli police to seize... An Arab-Israeli Thanksgiving, one day Palestine Note 26 Nov 2010 - It's hard to think of Arabs and Israelis celebrating Thanksgiving together. The relations between the two have been the worst, especially between Palestinians and Israelis. Israelis are living the high life. The Wall has allowed them... Arava Institute claims to promote peace, but remains silent on justice Mondoweiss - The Arava Institute’s online event “With Earth and Each Other,” held Sunday, November 14, exemplified why the Palestinian call for a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions is vital. The event was billed as a celebration of Palestinians, Israelis and Jordanians working together for the environment. But... Israelis and Palestinians join together to pray for rain Ha'aretz - Forecasters are predicting a dry winter and expect precipitation to fall below the 30-year average. Economic Prison Zones 11/21/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Sam Bahour, Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP) - Sam Bahour is a Palestinian business management consultant living in Ramallah. This essay was made possible with partial support from the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. - When a project mixes the feel-good words of jobs, economic development and Israeli- Palestinian cooperation, how can anyone complain? These things are.... Related: Source Economic prison zones Sam Bahour, Ma’an News Agency 11/20/2010 When a project mixes the feel-good words of jobs, economic development and Israeli-Palestinian cooperation, how can anyone complain? These things are some of what the international community has been promising to deliver through the construction of industrial free trade zones in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The free trade zone model has been promoted locally and globally by powerful third parties like the United States, France, Germany, Turkey and Japan for two decades, but none has much to show for the enormous efforts and amounts of money spent to bring these zones to life. Nonetheless, the project’s proponents expect the zones to constitute the economic foundation for a future Palestinian state. They hope that, by bolstering Palestine’s economy, the zones will make Palestinians less prone to social upheaval, less insistent on their national rights and more amenable to the status quo. The idea is that a peace agreement with Israel will ensue. While this expectation is unlikely to be realized -- at least not in the way that the projects’ advocates anticipate -- these mega-employment projects present a serious challenge to those who strive to build an independent and viable economic foundation for a future Palestinian state. Because the zones will depend on Israeli cooperation to function, and because they will exist within an Israeli-designed economic system that ensures Palestinian dependence on Israel, they cannot form the basis of a sovereign economy. Relying on them will perpetuate the status quo of dependency. The industrial zones currently under construction in the West Bank are the al-Jalama zone, in the north near Jenin, led by Germany with the support of Turkey; the Bethlehem zone led by France....more..e-mail Video: Valleys of Hope and Despair Uruknet November 14, 2010 - The battle over access to clean water sources is ongoing across the West Bank, with illegal Israeli settlements frequently blocking access and polluting Palestinian farmers' irrigation. But in the valley of Wadi Fukin, Palestinian and Israeli villagers work together on projects to preserve water supplies and protect their local environment. This cooperation is exceptional in... Jewish Values vs. Israeli Policies: Why five young Jews disrupted PM Netanyahu in New Orleans Rae Abileah, Mondoweiss 11/9/2010 Being young and Jewish and realizing what Israel’s occupation is really like, contrary to what we may have been taught in our religious schools or high school trips to the holy land, can be a lonely journey. It can be compared to a “coming out” experience, where sharing your perceptions with friends and family, let alone a room full of over 4,000 Jews, can be a daunting task. While more American Jews—and particularly young American Jews—are growing disillusioned with Israeli policies implemented in the name of all Jews with the support of old-guard groups such as AIPAC, it is still often a scary thing to publicly criticize Israel within the broader community. In New Orleans during the Jewish Federation’s General Assembly (GA), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) created a safe space for young Jews, like myself, whose stomachs are still churning from the bombings in Gaza nearly two years ago, and whose eyes can no longer be averted from the daily reality of oppression for Palestinians. We came together to organize effectively and from the heart. And if we have faith in our generation’s capacity to transform politics and create peace, then we can believe in JVP’s mission as possible in the face of all odds. Picture 5Image from Israeli television news of Emily Ratner being removed from the GA. On Monday morning, the GA plenary began with Oscar the Grouch -- seriously, the Sesame Street puppet opened the plenary with a satire about how gross it was that Israelis were so friendly, always sharing, caring and helping each other out. Next, New Orleans Mayor Landrieu stressed a belief in tikkun olam, the Jewish principle of “repairing the world”, and almost in the same breath, an unending support for Israel. Contradiction? We think so. Our well-orchestrated protest began with the bold voice of local New Orleans resident Emily Ratner, who stood up after applause for Netanyahu and proclaimed, “The Loyalty Oath delegitimizes Israel!” as she unfurled a banner with the same message.... -- See also: The Young Jewish Declarationmore..e-mail UN will be judged on whether it upholds Palestinian rights Electronic Intifada: 5 Nov 2010 - "It is time, after 43 years, to acknowledge the intolerable burdens of prolonged occupation on a civilian population." In his last report to the United Nations General Assembly in his term as Special Rapporteur on the Situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Richard Falk describes the lack of cooperation of the Israeli government and the deteriorating human rights situation on the ground.more Erekat: Settlers have Israeli authorities' full cooperation 10/27/2010 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erekat "strongly condemned" on Wednesday a flood of raw sewage that destroyed a Palestinian olive grove in the near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, which Israeli settlers are suspected of perpetrating. Residents in the village of Deir Al-Hatab said 660 olive trees were poisoned by.... Legitimizing occupation Muhammad Shtayyeh, Ma’an News Agency 10/21/2010 Last January, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development announced that Israel would host its next Tourism Committee Summit in Jerusalem. For Palestinians, this was a startling and misguided decision, coming from such a well-respected multilateral player. First, holding this conference in illegally-annexed and Israeli-occupied Jerusalem would appear to lend legitimacy to Israel's universally unrecognized claims to the city. Second, the conference, including the attention and revenue Israel will garner from it, will serve to reward Israel, despite its continuing occupation and colonization of Palestine, including East Jerusalem. Most antithetical to this conference’s purposes perhaps, all of this is done while Israel exercises complete control over tourism to the occupied Palestinian territory and while Israel expands its colonial enterprise throughout the occupied territories in brazen defiance of the overwhelming international consensus. Nowhere has Israel's colonial onslaught been more provocative or sustained than in the Holy City of Jerusalem. Our original request to move the meeting to another host country, or even to Tel Aviv, was rejected. Instead, the OECD decided to hold the meeting only in "West" Jerusalem, the area of Jerusalem more commonly viewed as part of Israel. Crucially, however, Israel does not differentiate between East and West Jerusalem, but covets all of Jerusalem as its "eternal and undivided capital." Palestinians could only wonder what areas of occupied Jerusalem Israel would showcase during the meeting, given that most holy sites are located in occupied East Jerusalem, in particular in and around the Old City. Two weeks ago, a small ray of hope was emitted from Israel’s Ministry of Tourism when it announced that the government of the United Kingdom would not attend the meeting....more..e-mail The Violence Debate: Teaching the Oppressed How to Fight Oppression Palestine Chronicle: 21 Oct 2010 - By Ramzy Baroud An American activist once gave me a book she wrote detailing her experiences in Palestine. The largely visual volume documented her journey of the occupied West Bank, rife with barbered wires, checkpoints, soldiers and tanks. It also highlighted how Palestinians resisted the occupation peacefully, in contrast to the prevalent media depictions linking Palestinian resistance to violence. More recently, I received a book glorifying non-violent resistance, and which referred to self-proclaimed Palestinian fighters who renounced violence as “converts”. The book elaborated on several wondrous examples of how these “conversions” came about. Apparently a key factor was the discovery that not all Israelis supported the military occupation. The fighters realized that an environment that allowed both Israelis and Palestinians to work together would be best for Palestinians seeking other, more effective means of liberation. An American priest also explained to me how non-violent resistance is happening on an impressive...more BDS Victory: Veolia Sells Shares in Jerusalem Light Rail Alternative Information Center - Veolia has signed a principled agreement to sell its shares in the Jerusalem Light Rail to the Israeli transportation cooperative Egged, reports TheMarker today (15 October). This sale marks a substantial victory for the Palestinian-led international... Settlers violently attack Ezra Nawi’s car in the South Hebron Hills (Video) Uruknet October 13, 2010 - Last Saturday afternoon, Ta’ayush activists were helping Palestinian farmers in the South Hebron Hills near the settlement of Susya as is the custom for the last seven years. The group’s name, which means 'working together’ in Arabic, conveys its mission to work together and break down the physical and psychological barriers between Israelis and Palestinians.... Olympics chief concludes regional tour 10/9/2010 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge concluded his visit to the region Friday after holding "very constructive" talks with the Israeli president, Shimon Peres. Concerns over the free movement of Palestinian athletes and officials were raised in the meetings. Peres offered "his constructive cooperation" to find solutions, the committee said in.... In photos: Israelis, Palestinians rally in Beit Fajjar 10/6/2010 - MaanImages / Luay Sababa - Clashes in the West Bank village of Beit Fajjar erupted on 5 October following a demonstration that saw Israelis and Palestinians march together in universal condemnation of the burning of a West Bank mosque, apparently by extremist settlers, the day before.... Gaza on the Ground: Angry Gazan Accuses Hamas of 'Protecting the Borders With Israel' Mohammed Omer, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs 9/18/2010 The anger prompting a controversial e-mail from a Gazan calling himself "Mr. Joker" was unmistakable. After all, it was sent at the very time Israel was coming under heavy international criticism for its deadly May 31, 2010 attack on the humanitarian Gaza Freedom Flotilla. Despite requests from the U.N., Turkey and other countries and international organizations for an independent investigation of the assault, Netanyahu's right-wing government was showing little intention of cooperating with, much less undertaking, such an investigation. As the furious e-mail was circulated, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was declaring ad nauseam that, no matter what Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or anyone else says, the ethnic cleansing of East Jerusalem will continue—this despite the fact that, according to the Fourth Geneva Convention and numerous U.N resolutions, settlement-building in the occupied West Bank and the forced dispossession of non-Jewish East Jerusalemites are illegal. Many Palestinian Muslims and Christians consider Israel's actions akin to a declaration of war and a clear indication that it does not want peace. Nevertheless, as a demonstration of their willingness to re-enter peace talks with Israel, leaders of Gaza's ruling Hamas movement were aggressively cracking down on militia groups launching homemade rockets into Israel—creating controversy among Gaza's various factions. As Fatah-affiliated parties in the West Bank continue to attempt to challenge Hamas' authority in Gaza, and Israel continues to flout international law, some Gazans have begun to view Hamas as complacent—and, even worse, as furthering the Jewish state's agenda. Like many Palestinians, Mr. Joker sees Israel's actions against Jerusalem, along with its Muslim and Christian holy sites and residents, as justification for attacks on Israel. He also considers the efforts by Hamas to prevent the launching of rudimentary rockets from Gaza as akin to treason.more..e-mail Jewish Activists Organise Boat, Ready for Voyage to Gaza Alternative Information Center - Jews for Justice for Palestinians (JfJfP), in cooperation with members of the German Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East, have organized a boat for Gaza. The group announced last week (15 September)... Two States, One Holy Land: A Framework for Peace Palestine Chronicle: 14 Sep 2010 - Editor's Note: On September 5, Benjamin Netanyahu urged a new approach to issues that have defied resolution in past Israeli-Palestinians negotiations, telling reporters that, for the new round of negotiations to succeed, "we will have to learn the lessons of 17 years of experience from negotiations and to think creatively -- what's called 'outside the box'." Between 1988 and 2000, international lawyer John Whitbeck's "Two States, One Holy Land" framework for peace was published 40 times, in various lengths and in the Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German and Hebrew languages. In response to the Israeli prime minister's call for creative, "outside the box" thinking and in the hope stimulating such thinking, Palestine Chronicle is publishing below an updated version of Mr. Whitbeck's framework for a two-state solution which, rather than separating Israelis and Palestinians, would bring them together in "a new society of peaceful coexistence, mutual respect and human dignity"....more Apropos 'Peace Talks' Gilad Atzmon, Dissident Voice 9/10/2010 Needless to mention, I don’t hold my breath for the outcome of the current ‘peace talks’. As I mentioned many times before, Israelis are not interested in peace as they fail to grasp what peace is all about or what it stands for. Shalom, the Hebrew word for peace, is interpreted by Israelis and most Jews as ‘security for the Jews’. Shalom therefore has nothing to do with reconciliation or living amongst others. Shalom is a judeo-centric concept, it conveys an image of hope to one people only. The Israeli Palestinian conflict can never be resolved by a ‘shalom initiative’. Shalom is there to split the land and separate the people. It is there to deny the Palestinians of their elementary rights such as the Right of Return. But let us assume for a second that I am completely wrong in my reading of the Israelis and their cultural and political understandings. Let’s for that purpose look into an imaginary scenario in which an Israeli PM wakes up one sunny morning with the unusual determination to bring about true peace. In the wee small hours, wisdom embraces him or her. He or she realises that Israel is in fact Palestine: it is stretched over historic Palestine at the expense of the Palestinian people, their livelihood and their history. He or she grasps that the Palestinians are the indigenous people of the land, and the rockets they shoot from time to time are nothing but love letters to their stolen villages, orchards, vineyards and fields. Our imaginary Israeli PM realises that the so-called Israeli Palestinian conflict can be resolved in 25 minutes once both people decide to live together. Following the Israeli unilateral tradition, an immediate televised press conference is called on the same day at 2 PM. Captivated by true righteousness the PM announces to the world and his people “Israel realises its unique circumstances and its crucial responsibility for world peace. Israel calls the Palestinian people to return to their homes. The Jewish state is to become a state of its citizens where all people enjoy full equal rights”.more..e-mail Global BDS Against Israel Is Working Stephen Lendman, Dissident Voice 9/7/2010 In July 2005, a coalition of 171 Palestinian Civil Society organizations created the Global BDS movement for “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel Until it Complies with International Law and Universal Principles of Human Rights” for Occupied Palestinians, Israeli Arabs, and Palestinian diaspora refugees. The Tel Aviv-based Reut Institute (RI) provides “real-time strategic decision-making” support in areas of national security and socioeconomic policy. Its new report titled “The Gaza Flotilla: The Collapse of Israel’s Political Firewall” suggests it’s working. It followed an earlier one on “creating a political firewall” against Israel’s “delegitimization challenge,” recommending sabotage and subterfuge against growing global forces it fears, not an equitable solution it rejects. Focusing now on the Gaza Flotilla, it called it “the tip of the iceberg” attempt along with the BDS movement and Durban conference against racism to cause “tangible and significant damage to Israel.” Unmentioned was how expert Israel is in self-inflicting it by decades of occupation and crimes of war and against humanity. Clearly they’re having an effect, RI saying opposition “momentum is gaining,” its aim “to delegitimize Israel in order to precipitate its implosion, inspired by the collapses of” apartheid South Africa and the Soviet Union. Calling the challenge global, systemic and political, RI blames two cooperating forces: – the Iran/Hamas/Hezbollah “Resistance Network;” and – the “Delegimization Network” based in cities like London, Brussels and San Francisco. Their “constantly adapting” strategy requires Israel to adopt “a comprehensive systemic treatment” of the challenge it faces.more..e-mail Netanyahu to U.S. congressman: Mideast peace possible within year Ha'aretz - PM says he hopes Abbas won't abandon peace process, after Palestinian leader says he will refuse to concede to Israel over refugees or borders., Israel and Russia sign military cooperation deal, a long-term agreement which may lead to additional Russian purchases of Israeli military technology. Netanyahu to U.S. congressman: Mideast peace possible within year Ha'aretz 6 Sep 2010 - PM says he hopes Abbas won't abandon peace process, after Palestinian leader says he will refuse to concede to Israel over refugees or borders., Israel and Russia sign military cooperation deal, a long-term agreement which may lead to additional Russian purchases of Israeli military technology. Israel tells schools not to teach nakba Uruknet August 21, 2010 - Government officials warned Israeli teachers last week not to cooperate with a civic group that seeks to educate Israelis about how the Palestinians view the loss of their homeland and the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. Israel’s education ministry issued the advisory after Zochrot – a Jewish group that seeks to raise... Netanyahu Running with Nowhere to Hide Palestine Chronicle: 16 Aug 2010 - By James Gundun, Washington D.C. Last week the US government and media lauded Israel’s decision to cooperate with a UN investigation into the Freedom Flotilla raid. Although Israeli opinion was more critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision, the general consensus realized he had no choice. Stonewall here and Israel would have absolutely nothing to stand on going into the pivotal month of September, when Israel’s settlement “freeze” in the West Bank expires and the UN will debate Palestinian statehood. "We thank both governments (Israeli and Turkish) for the constructive and cooperative spirit they have shown and the Secretary General for his leadership and determination," said Susan Rice, US Ambassador to the UN. Seven days later and no one is praising Ban Ki-moon anymore. Only hours after Netanyahu testified to the UN that Turkish decision-making was ultimately to blame, the UN Secretary-General “quashed what he called a rumor” that Israeli...more Report: Israel to end assistance to planned city 8/12/2010 - TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- Israel will stop any assistance offered to the Palestinian Authority to build a new city, Ar-Rawabi, in the West Bank, Israeli press reported Thursday. Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak will inform the PA that assistance will be withdrawn, despite months of cooperation, because the construction does not.... Israel to cut funding for West Bank planned city Palestine Note 12 Aug 2010 - Washington – After months of cooperation and planning, Israeli authorities have decided to cut all funding to Rawabi, the first planned Palestinian city being built in the West Bank, Ma’an News Agency reported Thursday. The hills... Could Tourism Save The Jordan Valley? Palestine Monitor: 5 Aug 2010 - Without major re-development work, the Jordan Valley will face “a catastrophe within the next decade”, according to economic expert Saeb Bamya of the AIX group. With 30% unemployment, just 4% of land cultivated, and settlements and military training zones absorbing more of the area, local Palestinians face an uncertain future. Radical solutions are needed. The Dead Sea AIX, an Israeli/Palestinian think tank have focussed on promoting tourism as a tool of re-development. The unique religious and ecological significance of the Jordan Valley, combined with marquee destinations like Jericho and the Dead Sea, have enormous appeal to a wide range of tourists. These are already used in cross-border tours between Jordan and Israel, which could be expanded to take in the West Bank. “Mutual interest is the key, ” says Bamya, “ co-operation can reflect the interests of all parties”. “We look at tourism as a substitute for agriculture” , says Nader...more Obama's Costly Appeasement of Israelis Palestine Chronicle: 20 Jul 2010 - By George S. Hishmeh –Washington, D.C. It was a session replete with superlatives when the assistant secretary of state for political and military affairs, Andrew J. Shapiro, spelled out in unprecedented detail the Obama administration’s approach to U.S.-Israel security cooperation, reassuring the Israelis of “preserving (their country’s) qualitative military edge.” The crowded event, held at the Brookings Saban Center founded by a wealthy Egyptian-Jew, seemed to serve as an obvious attempt by the administration to reassure Israelis that President Barack Obama, whose popularity in Israel is very low (about 10 percent), means well in his lethargic bid to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Shapiro, a onetime a senior research assistant at the pro-Israeli think-tank, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and for eight years a former foreign and defense adviser to Hillary Clinton before she was named secretary of state, reminded his audience of her “deep sense of pride in...more Off the Grid in the South Hebron Hills Iris Keltz, CounterPunch 7/16/2010 Down Highway 60 Bedouin villages in the South Hebron Hills are poised to skip the industrial age and take a leap from primitive to sustainable. They will never have to worry about reducing their carbon footprint– unlike those of us from affluent societies in the US or Israel. Renewable energy systems– wind turbines and solar panels are being built for the poorest and most marginalized communities in the occupied West Bank. This help is a matter of life-support. Environmental studies reveal their cisterns are toxic and they have been denied access to the electricity grid servicing nearby settlements. The project is a joint initiative of Israelis and Palestinian community workers who believe borders of fear and racism are best overcome by neighbors working together. I am traveling on Highway 60 with Ilan, cofounder of Breaking the Silence, a group of former Israeli soldiers who insist on telling their fellow citizens the price of occupation. Historically this road connected seven major cities: Nablus/Shchem, Genin, Tul-Karem, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Hebron/Halil and Be’ersheva. In 95-6 during the Oslo agreements, the road was shifted to lead ’around’ the Bethlehem area. The tunnels near Beit Jallah were dug, establishing the first "Israeli only roads", marking the beginning of "separate roads." Check Points were set up, not quite on the Green Line, shaving land away from Palestinians (as usual). Internationals are supposed to go through Bethlehem near Rachel’s Tomb Checkpoint, turning the Beit Jallah "tunnels" into a de-facto apartheid checkpoint. To pass through, one must have either a Blue ID- Israeli citizenship, or ’the Right of Return’. Neither of which I have, but Ilan does not seem worried. West Bank Palestinians are not aloud into Jerusalem without permits and green license plates are not aloud within Israeli ’67 lines. They are however allowed on Highway 60 if it is within the Occupied Territory. Jerusalem is effectively off from the the road as is historical continuity, the traditional economy and of course the people.more..e-mail Palestinian students, teachers condemn Italian university's normalization project Electronic Intifada: 7 Jul 2010 - The Italian Development Cooperation (DGCS), with the support of UNESCO, has engineered the partnership of three Israeli universities with that of Al-Quds University in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in a masters program that allows 20 Israeli and Palestinian students to participate in learning about "cooperation, humanitarianism, peace and cultural preservation." This act of normalization aims to blur the boundaries between oppressor and oppressed, colonizer and colonized, occupier and occupied, executioner and victim, and ultimately aims at whitewashing Israel's war crimes. Israeli intelligence services put pressure on Palestinian students Uruknet July 6, 2010 - Reports suggest that Palestinian medical students are being coerced into cooperating with Israeli intelligence services in return for permits to train in hospitals in occupied Jerusalem. Based on testimonies from students at the University of Abu Dis in Jerusalem, as well as the nature of complaints received by Physicians for Human Rights, it is claimed... Settlement workers concerned over livelihoods 7/5/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - Palestinians employed in Israeli settlements in the West Bank are worried about the political stance of the PA, and wondering if the rhetoric will cost them their livelihoods. The Workers Hotline in cooperation with the Palestinian Federation of Trade Unions released a report Monday, documenting recent actions taken by settlement employers seeking to.... Nocturnal Terror in Silwan Jesse Bacon, Israel: The Only Democracy in the Middle East? 7/3/2010 Another night sets in on Silwan. Just two days ago, hundreds of Israeli and Palestinian demonstrators marched together along the narrow streets of the neighborhood, to support the local residents, facing the municipality’s plan to demolish 22 houses. But here, as anywhere in east Jerusalem, happenings do not cease for a moment. In previous weeks, more and more appeals to the solidarity activists of Sheikh Jarrah came in from the residents of Silwan. In view of our successful campaign, more and more Palestinians have been trying to find a way for Arab-Jewish cooperation. During recent tours in Silwan, we all had a sense of urgency and shared destiny. We must act, and act fast, before catastrophe hits us, before the abyss becomes too deep and wide to bridge. And we must act together, against all the risks and against all the suspicion which has built up here over the years. And now we are here, climbing up the narrow alleys, together with the locals. Just one hour ago, tens of private security guards, escorted by border policemen, entered Palestinian homes around “Beit Hadvash” (house of honey in Hebrew…) and “Beit Yehonatan”. The settlers have only managed to seize two houses in this area, but this is enough to bring the place to the brink of eruption. Nightly border police patrols, private security personnel, armed with guns, undercover policemen and “Mistaarvim” (Israeli soldiers disguised as Arabs) have turned the place into a war zone. This alley is narrow, dark. Tens of meters above us, shots are being fired and explosions can be heard. A helicopter is hovering above us, projecting rays of light onto alleys where the municipality has never thought of installing street lights. Twenty activists cling to the walls, and keep going forward. All of a sudden the alley comes to an end, and a battlefield lies ahead of us. The small street around Beit Hadvash is all strewn with rifle bullet casings, unexploded grenades and the parts of destroyed cars. The soldiers are standing in groups at the entrances to houses and on the balconies, shooting into the houses around them....more..e-mail When the Police Have an Illegal Headquarters David Cronin, Inter Press Service 6/30/2010 BRUSSELS - Talks aimed at reaching an intelligence-sharing agreement between the European Union and Israel have skirted around the location of Israel’s national police headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem. In 2005, the EU decided that Europol, its law enforcement office, should negotiate a formal cooperation agreement with Israel. Although Europol stated last year that a draft accord had been completed, it has now acknowledged that the question of Israeli police basing their headquarters on Palestinian land has not been properly addressed. "The negotiations so far have not touched upon the issue of the location of the main office of the Israeli police in East Jerusalem," a Europol spokesman told IPS. The issue is highly sensitive because the EU has never recognised Israel’s 1967 occupation of East Jerusalem, and has opposed Israel’s policy of evicting Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, the neighbourhood where Israel’s police and public security ministry are headquartered. A report by EU diplomats from March last year complained about a marked acceleration in the pace with which Israeli settlements are being built in East Jerusalem as part of a deliberate policy to sever it from the remainder of the West Bank. "Israel is, by practical means, actively pursuing the illegal annexation of East Jerusalem," the report said. Israel is one of several countries - including Russia, the U.S. and Canada - to have entered into talks on sharing information with Europol. As part of an eventual agreement, Europol would expect to have representatives stationed in Israel’s police headquarters. Such a move would involve a reversal of a decades-old EU policy as it would mean a de facto recognition of Israel’s takeover of East Jerusalem.more..e-mail Hamas: Jawwal undermining national plan 6/28/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - The largest Palestinian telecommunications provider, Jawwal, turned down a request to cooperate with the Gaza government plan to dissuade residents from becoming collaborators, a statement from Hamas officials said Sunday. De facto Interior Ministry spokesman Ihab Al-Ghussein said the request was part of a national campaign to "confront Israeli efforts against the people.... We Are Everywhere: Sew Far Sew Good Palestine Monitor: 19 Jun 2010 - The old city market in Hebron has turned into a ghost town. Israeli settlers occupying the homes above the market, use the walkways below as their personal trash can and the constant harassment from Israeli soldiers has forced shopkeepers to move. But, there is a light of life in the old city market. It is here where you can find the Palestinian Women's Embroidery Co-operative. Most shops are closed in the old city. A net has been placed above the walkway to collect the garbage thrown down by Israeli settlers. The PWEC was created by Nawal Slemiah just over 6 years ago. Nawal started her embroidery business in the small village of Idna but struggled due to a lack of customers. One day, she heard on television that internationals frequently visited the Ibrahimi Mosque. With a mind for business, she left Idna to seek out the promising, new, international market.... We are Everywhere! Palestine Monitor: 19 Jun 2010 - The old city market in Hebron has turned into a ghost town. Israeli settlers occupying the homes above the market, use the walkways below as their personal trash can and the constant harassment from Israeli soldiers has forced shopkeepers to move. But, there is a light of life in the old city market. It is here where you can find the Palestinian Women's Embroidery Co-operative. Most shops are closed in the old city. A net has been placed above the walkway to collect the garbage thrown down by Israeli settlers. The PWEC was created by Nawal Slemiah just over 6 years ago. Nawal started her embroidery business in the small village of Idna but struggled due to a lack of customers. One day, she heard on television that internationals frequently visited the Ibrahimi Mosque. With a mind for business, she left Idna to seek out the promising, new, international market.... Two Italian Supermarkets Suspend Sales of Settlement Products Palestine Monitor: 23 May 2010 - COOP AND NORDICONAD SUPERMARKET CHAINS SUSPEND SALES OF PRODUCTS FROM SETTLEMENTS IN THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: An important success for the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israeli apartheid May 22, 2010 - Following lobbying efforts by the Italian Coalition Against Carmel-Agrexco, two major Italian supermarket chains, COOP and Nordiconad, announced the suspension of sales of products from Agrexco, the principal exporter of produce from Israel and the illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Nordiconad director Mr. Covili announced that as of the end of April Agrexco products will no longer be found in their supermarkets. Nordiconad is a cooperative responsible for central purchasing and distribution operations for CONAD in northern Italy. COOP Italia, via quality assurance director Mr. Zucchi, instead confirmed that there is a problem with traceability, namely that the consumer is unable to verify whether or not the product in question comes from the... OECD Rewards Israel's Occupation Palestine Chronicle: 21 May 2010 - By Brian Napoletano – Paris The governments of the 31 member states of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) all agreed on May 10 that Israel's illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories, its institutionalized discrimination against non-Jewish citizens, and its multiple alleged war crimes will not disqualify the state from joining the ranks of the world's strongest economic powers. The only reservations these issues raised among the member countries were those expressed by Switzerland, Ireland and Norway--who pointed out that some of Israel´s economic data was misleading because it aggregated statistics in the Occupied Palestinian Territories with its internal statistics. Once Israel agreed to provide disaggregated statistics, to allow the OECD to add a footnote to its reports "stating that the data are supplied by and under the responsibility of the Israeli authorities and that their use by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the...more The Ongoing Nakba Of Palestinians Palestine Monitor: 18 May 2010 - Demonstrations have been organised this week in all the occupied Palestinian territories, to commemorate the 62nd Anniversary of the Nabka, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their houses and driven out of their homeland. Palestine Monitor interviewed Palestinian singer Rim Banna. / Rim Banna Photo: Activestills Rim Banna sings the notes of Onadikum, the notorious ballad of the Palestinian folkloristic tradition, whilst behind the scenery of the stage the Israeli Army is patrolling the entrance of Al- Masara. This West Bank village lies 13 km from Bethlehem and, like the 8 other villages in the area, is completely encircled by the illegal Israeli settlement of Efrat (part of the Gush Etzion block). In Al-Masara on Friday the internationally-known Palestinian singer openedthe rallies commemorating the Nakba, an event organised by the local committee with the support of the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, and in cooperation with the Minister... ‘I will not cooperate with any Israeli institution while Palestinians are denied basic human rights’ Mondoweiss - Two friends of mine, both professors at prestigious universities, have refused to review research proposals for the BSF (United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation), a high level grant-awarding institution, established by the governments of the United States and Israel in 1972, to support cooperative research projects of... Bending the Rules for Israel Nadia Hijab, CounterPunch 5/11/2010 Welcome to the Club Israel’s inexorable accession to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development country club -- is set to be confirmed this month barring last-minute hitches. Although several OECD members have doubts about Israel’s qualifications both on technical grounds and lack of shared values, no state has dared publicly oppose. Instead, public opposition has been left to a loose and unusual network of Palestinian and Jewish organizations that have been hard at work lobbying European countries, Turkey, the United States, and other members. It has also provided a rare point for common action between Palestinian official and civil society organizations. The "technical issues" that worried the OECD include corruption, particularly in the arms industry; intellectual property rights, particularly in the drugs industry; and the occupation. More specifically about the occupation, Israel included data covering its illegal settlements and annexed territories in its economic report, according to a leaked OECD document cited by 18 Irish parliamentarians who called on their government to oppose Israel’s membership. The OECD has apparently resolved this issue by inserting a disclaimer. It will use Israeli data without prejudice to the status of the occupied territories, as Avi Shlaim and Simon Mohun wrote in their Guardian comment calling for OECD conditions on Israeli membership. However, prominent legal experts have raised serious problems regarding state obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention if OECD member states pursue this planned course of action. And this may still throw up a last-minute hurdle.more..e-mail How the US and Israel Draw Ever Closer Together Brian Cloughley, CounterPunch 5/7/2010 Cementing Relationships Following Israel’s deliberate insult to the United States of America on March 9 some people thought there would be action taken by Washington to make it clear that in future it would be unwise to make a fool of the US Vice President. No chance. You can humiliate the Vice President of the United States of America any time you want – if you’re the Israeli government. To recap on what happened : in March Vice President Biden went to Israel, supposedly in an attempt to persuade the Israelis and Palestinians to at least begin to start to engage in talks. He didn’t have a hope of succeeding, but he did what vice presidents are designed for : he sought to convey the impression that the US Administration is serious about an international problem that it has no intention of fixing. And while he was in Tel Aviv the Israelis announced that they were going to build yet more settlements on Arab lands, in defiance of international law, human decency, and everything else associated with civilized behavior. Nothing new about that – but it does raise the matter of a calculated insult to the United States, because Israel yet again defied a Security Council ruling that the construction of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land is illegal. The official policy of the United States is to encourage adherence to UN Security Council resolutions. Washington, after all, refers to them repeatedly in regard to alleged violations by North Korea and Iran. So perish the thought that the President of the United States should deem some resolutions less relevant or operative than others.more..e-mail Public Figures Call For Delay In OECD Vote On Israeli Entry Palestine Monitor: 9 May 2010 - Public figures launched an urgent appeal to Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries, which are due to vote on Israel's accession to the group on Monday. In a Sunday statement, signtories such as 1976 Northern Ireland Nobel Prize for Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire, former South African Special Rapporteur of UN on Palestine John Dugard and former Italian vice-President of the European Parliament Luisa Morgantini, are calling for a delay in the process until Israel fulfills its obligations toward the Palestinians under international law and abides fully with OECD principles and benchmarks. "OECD's mission includes promotion of world trade and economic development," the statement said, noting that "Israel allows only 81 items into Gaza, while Palestinians are not allowed to export their produce." The document said the "inhumane policy defies logic, not to mention basic moral principles, and makes us wonder how an organization like OECD would find... A different type of Memorial Day Palestine Note 8 May 2010 - EILOT REGION, South Israel - For The Arava Institute-a college for environmental studies in the south of Israel where Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians and Americans study together-these recent weeks have posed unique challenges. This period included Holocaust... Will Turkey veto Israel’s OECD membership? Alaa Tarti, Ma’an News Agency 5/8/2010 Israel starts its countdown to join the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and to prove to the international community that it is a "civilized" country that respects human rights and democracy, that it deserves to be in the most developed countries’ club, and it deserve to be the 31st member of the OECD. This might be great news and a dream to be fulfilled for the "admission engineer," Stanley Fischer, the governor of the Bank of Israel. However, is it good news for the OECD itself to accept the membership of a country that violates the fundamental values of the OECD? Is it good news for the peace process in the Middle East where the international community may legalize the Israeli occupation in the West Bank? Is it good news for the Palestinian state’s formation process that is supposed to be announced next year? And will Turkey, represented by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, show again its commitment to stand with the oppressed people in the occupied Palestinian territories, and veto the Israeli membership in the OECD? After his visit to Israel in January 2010, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria stated, "We are probably going to complete (the membership process) in 2010, that’s when it was scheduled for." This statement was declared after three years of the issuance of the Road Map for the Accession of Israel to the OECD Convention. However, such a statement arguably ignores the fundamental values of the OECD, ignores the facts on the ground, and only adds more darkness and disappointment to the peace process. As the Road Map document itself states on its second page, these fundamental values that Israel must comply with include "a commitment to pluralist democracy based on the rule of law and the respect of human rights, adherence to open and transparent market economy principles and a shared goal of sustainable development."....more..e-mail Israeli jailers starve Palestinian prisoner to press him to work as informer Uruknet May 5, 2010 - The Palestinian prisoner society said that Israeli interrogators in the Ashkelon prison starved a 19-year-old prisoner and told him he would remain without food until he cooperates with them and work as an informer. The society said that the interrogators took advantage of the prisoner’s illiteracy and forced him to place thumbprints on papers he did... South African policy revised for Palestine? Iqbal Jassat, Ma’an News Agency 5/3/2010 South African Deputy Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Ebrahim Ebrahim’s visit to Gaza will undoubtedly be characterized with the usual denunciations of Israeli policies. That this is to be expected is in line with foreign policy imperatives in a post-apartheid era, though many would argue that such pronouncements – necessary as they are – fall short of action. Since the period of the apartheid regime’s close alliance with Israel witnessed overt and covert collaboration in the perpetration of some of the most gruesome oppression in both pariah states, it remains an unfulfilled yearning of many pro-Palestinian activists to have these links severed, which unfortunately continue to this day. Though the argument for democratic South Africa to ditch ties with Israel is also made by leading political figures from the country’s major labor movement COSATU, it remains an embarrassing fact that the ruling African National Congress keeps finding dubious reasons to justify the presence of an Israeli mission in Pretoria. Does it reflect a dire lack of transformation in foreign policy? Or worse, does it reflect a betrayal of solidarity with Palestine? Or is it a combination of both? Is it not the case that historic ties with the Palestinian freedom struggle ought to be the principal guide in determining the basis for any engagement with a colonial entity that was equally responsible in sustaining the oppression and denial of fundamental human rights of the majority during apartheid? The fact is that South Africa has entered her sixteenth year of democracy, while the Palestinian vision of a free, independent and democratic state remains an illusion.more..e-mail Fair Trade and the Palestinian Context Shadi Mahmoud, This Week in Palestine 4/29/2010 Although Palestine is the most active country in fair trade in the whole Arab region and Middle East, as demonstrated through its prominent role in the First Arab Fair Trade Forum held by the Palestinian Fair Trade Network (PFTN)* in Amman in December 2009, the term “fair trade” is still unfamiliar to many Palestinians. According to the World Fair Trade Organization (the WFTO), fair trade is “a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It also contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers - especially in the South.” Given that we Palestinians have been suffering from brutal occupation for almost 62 years, the concept of fair trade comes naturally to Palestinians, by instinct; it was neither a foreign concept learned abroad nor was it imported or imposed from the outside. The fair trade movement in Palestine started as a spontaneous relief intervention during the first Intifada (1987-1993), at a time when Israeli-imposed curfews, mass arrests, and widespread unemployment caused extreme economic hardship for many Palestinians. During that period, the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC) started to support and spread the concept of household economies and rural productive cooperatives. PARC began a “Home Garden” programme that distributed seedlings, seeds, and sheep to thousands of poor and marginalised rural families who were living under the Israeli-imposed siege and curfew. Then it started to assist those co-operatives in selling their produce in Palestinian cities. During that time, fair trade in Palestine was relief work. Today, however, fair trade has grown tremendously to become an important means for achieving sustainable development. It has become a culture that helps the poor avoid humanitarian aid and earn a living in dignity. In 1993, PARC established a separate fair trade department in order to better organise the Palestinian fair trade movement and to expand the movement’s reach into international fair trade markets for the benefit of thousands of disadvantaged small-scale farmers and women in rural areas of Palestine....more..e-mail BNC Calls On Trade Unions To Urgently Intervene With Their Government To Stop Israel From Joining The OECD Palestine Monitor: 26 Apr 2010 - Occupied Palestine, 22 April 2010 – In a few days Trade Unions will commemorate the achievements of the labor movement. The origins of the International Worker's Day date back to the 1886 Chicago protests where police killed several workers marching to demand their rights. Every week, Palestinian human rights defenders march in their villages protesting Israel's encroachment of their land. The Israeli army also greets them with live ammunition, indiscriminately killing many. Despite these crimes, Israel continues to be rewarded by the international community, this time with the prospects of membership in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) calls on Trade Unions to use the significance of May Day to intervene with their governments to block Israel's membership to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) until it complies with international law and OECD standards. It is expected... Richard Falk: 'I believe that Hamas should be treated as a political actor' Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 4/9/2010 Richard Falk is the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. In 2001 Falk served on a United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Inquiry Commission for the Palestinian territories with John Duggard. He is also an American Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University with a long and distinguished career in academics, politics and law. He recently gave this exclusive and revealing interview to the Middle East Monitor’s Dr Hanan Chehata. HC: Following your appointment as UN Rapporteur to the Occupied Palestinian Territories in 2008 you traveled to Israel in order to begin your investigations. Can you tell us a little more about how you were received by Israel? RF: I was denied entry and expelled at Ben Gurion Airport when I tried to enter Israel for the purpose of carrying out my duties as UN Special Rapporteur. These duties consist mainly of reporting on Israeli compliance with human rights obligations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and include duties of compliance with respect to international humanitarian law. Israeli authorities confined me for more than 15 hours in a detention cell with five other detainees before putting me on a plane. I was given no explanation beyond that my expulsion order came from the Israeli Foreign Ministry that had objected to my appointment from the outset. As my itinerary on the West Bank had been previously submitted to the Israeli embassy in Geneva, and as visas had been granted to the two UN employees assisting me on the mission, it seems clear that Israel wanted to have the incident at the airport rather than tell me in advance that I would be denied entry. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and other UN officials did object to the Israeli refusal to allow me to do my job as Special Rapporteur. It should be pointed out that the UN Charter in Article 2(2) requires Members to cooperate with the UN in carrying out its functions, and that this duty is reinforced by an international treaty outlining this duty of cooperation. HC: You were denied entry into the OPT. Have you been allowed at any point to enter the territory? If not, how have you been able to do your job?....more..e-mail Fayyad’s big gamble Uri Avnery, Ma’an News Agency 4/11/2010 I met Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister, two weeks ago, and was again impressed by the calm and modesty he radiates. Generally, I meet him at demonstrations, such as those at the Bi’lin fence. This time, too, there was no opportunity for more than a perfunctory handshake and a few polite words. We appeared together at the Land Day event in a small village near Qalqiliya, whose name is known only to a few: Izbat Al-Tabib. The village was established in 1920, and the occupation authorities do not recognize its existence. They want to demolish it and transfer its extensive lands to the nearby Alfei Menashe settlement. We were surrounded by a large group of respectable personalities – the heads of neighboring villages and officials of the parties that belong to the PLO – as well as the inhabitants of the village. I could speak to him only from the rostrum. I entreated him to strengthen the cooperation between the Palestinian leadership and the Israeli peace camp, a cooperation that has weakened since the assassinations of Yasser Arafat and Faisal Husseini. It is impossible not to like Fayyad. He radiates decency, seriousness and a sense of responsibility. He invites trust. None of the filth of corruption has stuck to him. He is no party functionary. Only after much hesitation did he join a small party (the Third Way). In the confrontation between Fatah and Hamas, he does not belong to either of the two rival blocs. He looks like a bank manager – and that is what he indeed was: a senior official of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The 58-year old Fayyad is the very opposite of Arafat, who first appointed him as finance minister. The Ra’is (Arabic for head or chief) radiated authority, the prime minister radiates diffidence. Arafat was an extrovert, Fayyad is an introvert. Arafat was a man of dramatic gestures, Fayyad does not know what a gesture is.more..e-mail Netanyahu's Days May Be Numbered Palestine Chronicle: 31 Mar 2010 - By George S. Hishmeh – Washington, D.C. Believe it or not, Benjamin Netanyahu may be coming back to Washington next weekend. The Israeli prime minister has apparently wiped the spit – – not rain – – off his head, which he earned after his stressful encounter with President Barack Obama last month on ending illegal Israeli settlement construction on occupied Palestinian land, especially in East Jerusalem where the Palestinians hope to establish their capital. But whether he will have his tail tucked between his legs remains to be seen. The Israeli prime minister will be one of 40 world leaders expected to participate in the April 12-13 nuclear security summit conference, sponsored by President Obama, “to enhance international cooperation to prevent nuclear terrorism.” What he may have to say here will be eagerly watched by all those who are eagerly awaiting any revelation about Israel’s nuclear arsenal. Whatever, the serious...more Military investigator testifies that head of IDF Southern Command instructed bulldozer operator not to cooperate with investigation 3/30/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Rachel Corrie Foundation, 29 March 2010 -- Monday, March 22 and Wednesday March 24, 2010 the Haifa District Court saw the fifth and sixth days of testimony in the civil lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie's family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza. Rachel Corrie, an American human rights defender from Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death on March 16, 2003 by a Caterpillar D9R bulldozer. She had been nonviolently demonstrating against Palestinian home demolitions with fellow members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land using nonviolent, direct action methods and principles. An Israeli military police investigator, who was part of the team that investigated Rachel's killing, completed his testimony on March 22. Palestinian Land Day: The Non-Violent Struggle Continues Palestine Monitor: 30 Mar 2010 - In the occasion of the Palestinian Land day several non-violent demonstrations will be held during the week: March 30, 2010: Land Day: Qarawet Bani Zeid Friday March 2, 2010: Bilin, Nilin, Ma'sara, Nebi Saleh, Sheikh Jarrah The non-violent struggle in West Bank: Since the construction of the separation and Apartheid Wall began on June 16th 2002, Palestinian villages across the West Bank have cooperated in non-violent resistance. The communities of Qalqiliya, Jayyous, Budrus, Bil'in, Ni'lin and Al Masara and Umm Salamonah have all non-violently resisted the Wall being built around them. Weekly non-vio-lent demonstrations against the Wall are held in several villages, which bring together Palestinians and Israelis, as well international activists. Weekly Non- Violent Demonstrations Week from 22.3.10 to 28.3.10 BI'LIN Palestinian, Israeli and international activists braved foul weather conditions to demonstrate in West Bank village of Bi'lin on Friday. Dr Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National... Israel, Hamas urged to cooperate with UN inquiry 3/27/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Amnesty International has called on the Israeli government and Hamas to cooperate fully with the committee of independent experts which the UN Human Rights Council voted to establish on 25 March. The committee's task will involve monitoring domestic investigations into war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law alleged to have occurred during the 22-day conflict in Gaza and southern Israel between 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009. "The committee's assessment of the Israeli and Palestinian investigations should be made available to the UN Human Rights Council, General Assembly and Security Council in the coming months," said Philip Luther, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa. "A comprehensive assessment of the domestic investigations could provide a solid basis for decisions on. . . Coordination: PA, Israel team up to fight mixed marriage 3/25/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - It wasn't the first time Israelis and Palestinians joined together in an attempt to break up a Jewish-Muslim couple, only the most recent. Years after authorities ended a similar relationship in Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem, they're at it again. First it was phone calls from the woman's "family. ""Hello, we represent Sima's family and we come in the name of. . . . organization. We ask you to return the girl to her parents. ""Hello, we represent Sima's father. He came to us as a clan and we demand that you return the girl. ""Hello, I'm Rabbi. . . . Tell your husband that we are ready to pay him half a million shekels if he returns you to your parents. " These were just a fraction of the phone calls that continued as the weeks and months went on since Muhammad Hamamra, from the Husan village west of Bethlehem, fell in love with a Jewish woman, Sima, from the neighboring settlement. Hamas report: IOF and Abbas’s militias killed last year 1,090 Palestinians PIC 9 Mar 2010 - Hamas said that the Israeli occupation forces and Mahmoud Abbas’s militias killed during 2009 a total of 1,090 Palestinians and kidnapped 3,665 others in the context of their security cooperation. Is Europe Planning Seal of Approval for Israeli Settlers?Israel Set to Join Club of Richest Nations Uruknet March 8, 2010 - An exclusive club of the world’s most developed countries is poised to admit Israel as a member even though, a confidential internal document indicates, doing so will amount to endorsing Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian and Syrian territories. Israel has been told that its accession to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is all... Is Europe planning seal of approval for Israeli settlers? Jonathan Cook, Dissident Voice 3/8/2010 Israel Set to Join Club of Richest Nations An exclusive club of the world’s most developed countries is poised to admit Israel as a member even though, a confidential internal document indicates, doing so will amount to endorsing Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian and Syrian territories. Israel has been told that its accession to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is all but assured when the 30 member states meet in May. But a draft OECD report concedes that Israel has breached one of the organisation’s key requirements on providing accurate and transparent data on its economic activity. The information supplied by Israel, the report notes, includes not only the economic activity of its citizens inside its recognised borders but also Jewish settlers who live in the occupied territories of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Golan in violation of international law. Israel’s accession to the OECD on such terms threatens to severely embarrass many of the organisation’s member states, especially those in the European Union that are publicly committed to avoiding collusion with the occupation. The OECD report proposes that these legal difficulties may be circumvented by asking Israel to produce new statistics within a year of its accession excluding the settler population – even though, an OECD official has admitted, Israel would have the power to veto such a demand after it becomes a member. “The OECD seems to be so determined to get Israel through its door that it is prepared to cover up the crimes of the occupation,” said Shir Hever, a Jerusalem-based economist.more..e-mail Beit Ummar rally teargassed by Israeli forces 3/6/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an -Dozens of Beit Ummar residents joined in protest at the eastern entrance of the village on Saturday, calling for an end to land confiscations and closed zones that prevent farmers from accessing agricultural lands. Palestine Solidarity Project spokesman Mohammad Ayad Awad said the group was met with tear gas when they reached the gate of the village. "Israeli soldiers fired soundand gas bombs on the rally, organized by the national committee against the wall in cooperation with the Palestinian solidarity project," Awad said. An Israeli military spokeswoman said a group of "60 rioters, not just Palestinians, were hurling rocks and blocking the main road in the Judea and Samaria region [the West Bank]," and that Israeli forces responded with "riot dispersal methods. "The incident continued for nearly an hour, as residents refused to leave the area and demanded their right to protest. Za’noon appointed speaker of Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union 3/3/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Palestinian National Council (PNC) speaker Salim Za'noon was appointed the head of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Unionon Tuesday, replacing Sheikh Ahmad Al-Esa'y. The appointment came during the opening session of the union's 16th conference, held in the headquarters of the Egyptian parliament, attended by speakers of Arab parliaments, national parties, as well as representatives of diplomatic missions and NGOs. Za'noon delivered a speech applauding Egypt for hosting the conference, pinpointing the importance of the role of the AIPU and calling for more cooperation in order to maintain it. Furthermore, the new AIPU head urged the union to play a more significant role in countering the threats encompassing Palestine, particularly the recent Israeli decision to include the Ibrahimi Mosque and Rachel's Tomb, both in the West Bank, and the walls of occupied East Jerusalem's Old City, on a list of Israeli heritage sites. PA security forces arrest PFLP comrades in Nablus Uruknet February 25, 2010 - Palestinian Authority security forces arrested a group of comrades in Nablus today, February 25, 2010, as part of their "security cooperation" with the Israeli occupation. Comrade Khalida Jarrar, member of the Political Bureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, strongly denounced the arrests, saying that this action serves only the interests of the... Listen to the Heroes of Israel John Pilger, Antiwar.com 2/25/2010 "Our children," said Nurit at a rally last December to mark the anniversary of the Israeli assault on Gaza, "have learned this year that all the disgusting qualities which anti-Semites attribute to Jews are actually manifested among our leaders: deceit, greed, and the murder of children … " I phoned Rami Elhanan the other day. We had not spoken for six years and much has happened in Israel and Palestine. Rami is an Israeli graphic designer who lives with his family in Jerusalem. His father survived Auschwitz. His grandparents and six aunts and uncles perished in the Holocaust. Whenever I am asked about heroes, I say Rami and his wife Nurit without hesitation. Soon after when we met, Rami gave me a home videotape that was difficult to watch. It shows his daughter Smadar, aged 14, throwing her head back, laughing and playing the piano. "She loved to dance," he said. On the afternoon of 4 September, 1997, Smadar and her best friend, Sivane, had auditions for admission to a dance school. She had argued that morning with her mother, who was anxious about her going to the centre of Jerusalem. "I didn’t want to row," said Nurit, "so I let her go." Rami was in his car when he turned on the radio to catch the three o’clock news. There had been a suicide bombing in Ben Yehuda shopping precinct. More than 200 hundred people were injured and several were dead. Within minutes, his mobile phone rang. It was Nurit, crying. They searched the hospitals in vain, then the morgue; and so began, as Rami describes it, their "descent into darkness." Rami and Nurit are two of the founders of the Parents Circle, or Bereaved Families Forum, which brings together Israelis and Palestinians who have lost loved ones. "It’s painful to acknowledge," he said. "but there is no basic moral difference between the [Israeli] soldier at the checkpoint who prevents a woman who is having a baby from going through, causing her to lose the baby, and the man who killed my daughter. And just as my daughter was a victim [of the occupation], so was he."....more..e-mail Israel: PA thwarts West Bank projectile fire 2/22/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Palestinian Authority cooperated with the Israeli military in foiling the planned launch of a homemade rocket-like projectile from the West Bank into Israel, Israel said on Monday. In a statement the military hailed the effort as an example of "successful cooperation between the IDF, the Civil Administration and the Palestinian Security Forces. "According to the military, the alleged projectile was of the same type fired into Israel from Gaza. The so-called "Qassam" rockets are usually metal pipes packed with explosives. The rockets are unguided and militarily ineffective. Israel waged a three-week war on the Gaza Strip last year with the stated aim of stopping such projectiles. An account published in the Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv revealed more details of the alleged operation. The newspaper said PA forces received information on a group affiliated to Hamas' armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, operating in the villages of Beit Surik and Beit Liqya, near Ramallah. Israel is accused of waging covert war across the Middle East Sheera Frenkel in Jerusalem, Axis of Logic 2/21/2010 Israel is waging a covert assassination campaign across the Middle East in an effort to stop its key enemies co-ordinating their activities. Israeli agents have been targeting meetings between members of Hamas and the leadership of the militant Hezbollah group, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. They are also suspected of recent killings in Dubai, Damascus and Beirut. While Israel’s Mossad spy agency has been suspected of staging assassinations across the world since the 1970s, it does not officially acknowledge or admit its activities. The current spate of killings began in December when a "tourist bus" carrying Iranian officials and Hamas members exploded outside Damascus. The official report by Syria claimed that a tyre had exploded but photographs surfaced showing the charred remains of the vehicle — prompting speculation that a much larger explosion had taken place. Several weeks later a meeting between members of Hamas, which controls Gaza, and their counterparts from Hezbollah in its southern Beirut stronghold in Lebanon was also attacked, resulting in several deaths. Hamas had sought to cover up the incidents because it was embarrassed, a senior Palestinian official in Ramallah told The Times. "There has been growing co-operation between Gaza and Iran. Israel can read the writing on the wall and they know that with the help of Iran, the Hamas Government in Gaza will become stronger and will fight better...."more..e-mail One Gaza crossing opened for limited export 2/21/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Israeli authorities opened the Kerem Shalom crossing into the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, said to Palestinian border crossings official Raed Fattouh. Between 77 and 87 truckloads of humanitarian aid and commercial goods were schedelued for transfer into Gaza through Kerem Shalom, as well as limited quantities of domestic gas and industrial fuel, he said. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, despite an increase in the import of cooking gas into the coastal enclave, this represents only 49 percent of the weekly needs of gas (1,400 tones), as estimated by the Gas Station Owners Association. "Since November 2009, quantities of gas available at the Palestinian General Petroleum Cooperation (PPC) are being distributed to bakeries and hospitals first, as a priority, due to ongoing shortfalls," OCHA said. Bil'in: 5 years of anti-Wall struggle Palestine Monitor: 18 Feb 2010 - This Friday, Palestinians, Israelis and internationals will together celebrate five years of anti-Wall protest in Bil'in. The anniversary takes place only one week after court ordered work to reroute the Wall began. Bil'in: 5 years of anti-Wall struggle Palestine Monitor: 18 Feb 2010 - This Friday, Palestinians, Israelis and internationals will together celebrate five years of anti-Wall protest in Bil'in. The anniversary takes place only one week after court ordered work to reroute the Wall began. PA begins enforcing ban on settlement goods 2/16/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Hundreds of turkeys smuggled from Israeli settlements in the northern West Bank were seized en route to Bethlehem on Tuesday, a Palestinian Authority official said. Bethlehem Governor Abdul Fattah Hamayil said a truck driver transporting the poultry claimed it came from Jenin, however, investigators discovered it was smuggled from Israeli settlements. Hamayil said the poultry was seized as a result of cooperation between PA preventative security services in Bethlehem and Jenin, customs agents, the Bethlehem governorate and its municipal council. The poultry was confiscated, he added. "After the birds were examined and proved fit [for consumption], authorities decided to slaughter them and distribute the meat to charities working for the disabled, elderly people, and children," he said, vowing to crack down on the smuggling of settlement products. Arab 'terrorism' vs Jewish Eternal 'victimization' Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD, Desert Peace 2/13/2010 We have been extremely busy here.The presence of soldiers in Beit Sahour gave us ample time to talk to them on Thursday and on Friday; we spent the morning planting trees in threatened private lands. We were proud of young and old, internationals and Palestinians, working together, some 150 people in all.Even a bus of elderly from the elderly home in Beit Sahour showed up to help.My 77 year old mother was among them.It was such a meaningful thing.The day before was meaningful in a different way.The hours we spent talking to soldiers on Thursday was important too we believe. Foot soldiers in an army of occupation know so little other than what their government tells them.They tell them lies about Arabs “terrorism”, Jewish eternal “victimization”,the need to be strong to “defend” a country created so that they could simply live alone away from the anti-Semites (who are essentially all the Christians and the Muslims).They tell them that it is an unexplainable phenomenon this hatred of the Jews and it has nothing to do with what Jews do or did. It is almost a genetic thing. A friend wrote to me that: ”My visit to Yad Vashem in 2006, during the war with Lebanon, was a painful lesson. The museum of the Shoah is being used to indoctrinate young Israelis, esp. the military, that the whole world is and always has been against the Jews, and that the only solution is for Israelis to be firm and resolute against the whole world, even if it means being inhuman to the Palestinians.The “righteous among the nations” are cited as flukes, as anomalies, with no explanations offered for their sacrifices because for the Israelis though these people did something good, their motivations MUST remain in the shadows (e.g. Christian faith; social justice; their own experiences of oppression, etc.) so that the survival of the State of Israel can remain the one and only center stage concern.... Related: Mamilla Campaign and VIDEO - Palestinian Families Appeal to UN Over Israeli Construction of “Museum of Tolerance” on Jerusalem’s Historic Mamilla Cemetery -- See also: Mamilla Campaign and VIDEO - Palestinian Families Appeal to UN Over Israeli Construction of “Museum of Tolerance” on Jerusalem’s Historic Mamilla Cemeterymore..e-mail Fayyad: PA committed to settlement produce ban 2/13/2010 - Tulkarem - Ma'an -Caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad spoke of the Palestinian Authority (PA)'s enforcement of a ban on settlement goods in the Palestinian market during an opening speech at a conference on the settlement issue in Tulkarem. The Saturday conference, hosted by Al-Quds Open University, was titled "Settlements: Either bridges of peace and economic development or the destruction of people and the environment. "The Ramallah-based government is following up with countries committed to the Hague's decision on the illegality of Israeli settlements in accordance with the Fourth Geneva Convention, Fayyad told conference goers, adding that the PA placed great importance on working to replace settlement goods in the global market. Fayyad further said the PA is strengthening cooperation and partnership in the private sector to advance Palestinian economy. Al-Aqsa TV yet to air PA sex scandal tape 2/13/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV has yet to air a videotape Israeli Channel 10 TV released Tuesday, which allegedly reveals Palestinian Authority corruption in a sex scandal tape. On Thursday, Fatah official in charge of Jerusalem affairs Hatim Abdul Qader was quoted praising de facto government Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh for his decision not to air the videotape, though it was not clear whether the decision to avoid airing the clip came directly from the Hamas leader. Israel News One said the alleged ban was a result of Hamas officials trying to avoid the appearance of cooperating with Israeli media. The clip reportedly shows a PA sting operation where head of the president's office Rafik Al-Husseini propositions a job applicant for sex in a Ramallah hotel room. The footage was provided by Fahmi Shabana, the former head of the PA's anti-corruption department. Students find school vandalized after settler visit 2/12/2010 - Nablus - Ma'an - Students at the Ma'zuz Al-Masri Girls School found the building vandalized by what officials say was settler mischief during an army-organized visit to a nearby religious site in Nablus on Thursday morning. The Israeli military, however, said it was their soldiers who damaged the building "in order to secure" a visit to Joseph's Tomb by approximately 500 settlers the night before. An Israeli military spokesman explained: "While entering, minor damage was caused to the school. The IDF took note of the damage and is cooperating with the Palestinian authorities in order to fix the damage. "When teachers and students arrived at the school they found it had been broken into, with several windows smashed and garbage thrown in the school water reserves, school officials reported. The Nablus municipality said its health crews examined the water and found it had been contaminated by trash. The reserve had to be emptied, disinfected and re-filled, officials said. Israeli forces demolish wells, sheds near Hebron 2/11/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - Israeli bulldozers demolished five water wells and three small storerooms, confiscated electric generators and water pumps in Idhna, a town west of Hebron. Abdullah Al-Asoud, whose irrigation systems were destroyed in the demolition raid, said the area affected was in agricultural lands near the separation wall. The farmer noted that the other residents whose wells were affected, had filed petitions with the Israeli court challenging the demolition notices. Since the suits were in progress, Al-Asoud said, farmers were surprised to see demolition crews Thursday morning. Al-Asoud noted that while the wells and irrigation systems were ripped up, fields planted with crops were destroyed. The mayor of Idhna, Jamal At-Tamzi, said that the municipality will work in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority to reconstruct the agricultural projects and the wells in the area. Pro-boycott protesters: Don’t help ’occupier’s economy’ 2/11/2010 - Nablus - Ma'an - Thirty young men and women and number of members of the Palestine People's Party took to the streets of Nablus on Thursday, marching through the city center while carrying banners calling for boycotting Israeli goods. The protesters were urging locals not to help "the occupier's economy. "Kahled Mansur, a member of the PPP politburo office and coordinator of the popular campaign to boycott Israeli goods, said the "PPP is carrying out a campaign to boycott Israeli goods as a form of popular resistance, a kind of resistance the party is working to enforce to spread it all parts of Palestine as a tool to end occupation and achieve legitimate Palestinian goals. " Naser Abu Jeish, PPP secretary and member of its central committee said that "we will work in cooperation with organizations and unions to expand the campaign and to intensify its activities. . . " Hamas raps Fayyad over attending Israeli conference PNN 3 Feb 2010 - Hamas has denounced the Palestinian Authority for the participation of the caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in an Israeli conference. Fayyad addressed Israel's 10th annual Herzilya conference on Tuesday, following remarks by Tel Aviv's Defense Minister Ehud Barak. The Palestinian Authority's cooperation with Israel reached a political level and this is a serious indicator that this national side has connected its projects... Hamas criticizes Fayyad’s participation in Herzilya conference 2/2/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri condemned caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's participation in a Herzilya conference which began on Tuesday. "The Palestinian Authority's cooperation with Israel reached a political level and this is a serious indicator that this national side has connected its projects with Israeli interests and policies," the spokesman said in a statement. The conference, organized by the Strategic Studies Institute, is held annually in Israel and contributes to decisions on Israeli policy and strategy relating to security and politics. [end] Call for International Day of Action to re-open Shuhada Street to Palestinians 1/29/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Open Shuhada Street - On 25 February 2010 activists and organizations from around the world will join together in solidarity with the Palestinian residents of Hebron, through local protests, and petitions to the Israeli Government. We will be calling to re-open Shuhada Street to all Palestinians, bring life back into the city of Hebron, and to end the Occupation. Our demands: Open Shuhada Street to Palestinian movement and commerce, Full civil and human rights for all Israelis and Palestinians, End the occupation. Shuhada Street used to be the principal street for Palestinians residents, businesses and a very active market place in the Palestinian city of Hebron. Today, because Shuhada Street runs through the Jewish settlement of Hebron, the street is closed to Palestinian movement and looks like a virtual ghost street which only Israelis and tourists are allowed to access. Soldiers ’attack’ journalists near Nablus 1/29/2010 - Nablus - Ma'an - A group of Palestinian photojournalists documenting tree-planting near Nablus on Thursday afternoon said they were accosted by Israeli forces, who declared the area a closed military zone. The tree-planting, on the edges of Burin village, was set to see 250 olive saplings dug into the soil under a new "Green Palestine" project in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Agriculture. Journalists, including Ma'an photographer Rami Swidan, said soldiers descended on the group, insisting that because they were in a closed military zone, no photographs could be taken in the area. Swidan said soldiers approached the group and ordered them to stop filming, but that they refused. He said a soldier hit him on his chest and tried to take the camera by force. Several journalists reportedly interfered and separated the two. MADA condemns Malsin deportation 1/28/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) strongly condemned Israel's deportation of Ma'an News Agency's chief English editor last week. In a statement issued the day after Jared Malsin's expulsion last Wednesday, MADA said it considered "this act as a serious breach" in freedom of expression, and called on the International Federation of Journalists to intervene. Malsin was detained at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv on 12 January 2010. He was interrogated for eight hours in a detention hall during which time he had no access to a lawyer or to his consulate. He was denied entry into the country for "failing to cooperate" with Israeli security personnel, and because he had authored news stories "inside the territories" and articles "criticizing the State of Israel. " Israeli soldiers 'attack' journalists near Nablus Uruknet January 28, 2010 - A group of Palestinian photojournalists documenting tree-planting near Nablus on Thursday afternoon said they were accosted by Israeli forces, who declared the area a closed military zone. The tree-planting, on the edges of Burin village, was set to see 250 olive saplings dug into the soil under a new "Green Palestine" project in cooperation with the... Israel To Demolish 11 Homes, Cooperative Society and A Clinic In Hebron IMEMC 28 Jan 2010 - Thursday January 28, 2010 - 00:37, The Israeli Authorities decided to demolish eleven Palestinian homes, a Cooperative Society and a Clinic in the Al Baq’a area, and in Ithna town, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron. Israel To Demolish 11 Homes, Cooperative Society and A Clinic In Hebron Uruknet January 27, 2010- The Israeli Authorities decided to demolish eleven Palestinian homes, a Cooperative Society and a Clinic in the Al Baq’a area, and in Ithna town, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron. Local sources in Ithna reported that the army handed seven orders for demolition of their homes in the town...The orders are illegal as those areas... Israeli tourism minister invited to Iran -- or not 1/22/2010 - Freedom Syndicate - Israel is participating in Madrid's FITUR, the largest tourism fair for the Spanish-speaking and the Latin American market, and is showcasing airlines, hotels and travel agencies in the Israeli exhibit in order to encourage tourism to the nation. The delegation, headed by Israel's tourism minister Stas Misezhnikov, is also interested in increasing cooperation in this field with other nations, including those in its own region. The Israelis visited the exhibits of Morocco, Egypt and Jordan, and Misezhnikov also exchanged warm greetings with the director-general of the Palestinian tourism minister, expressing hope for successful cooperation. The Syrians ignored the Israeli delegation. But a pleasant surprise awaited the Israelis upon arrival at the Iranian exhibit, according to the Israeli tourism ministry. Hesitating at first, the Iranian representative presented the exhibit of Iran's. . . . Qaraqi: Case of Palestinian prisoners to be taken to the Hague 1/20/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Palestinian Minister of Prisoners and ex-Detainees' Affairs Issa Qaraqi announced on Wednesday that a professional committee has been established to prepare the case of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails to be taken to the International Criminal Court at the Hague. The file in question relates to Palestinian prisoners considered Prisoners of War under the Third Geneva Convention. Qaraqi made the announcement during a meeting with the UN Commissioner for Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territories Eva Tomitch at the UN headquarters, where he and a delegation from the Ministry discussed the legal mechanism to employ within the UN's framework. Recently, a delegation of lawyers visited Cairo and met with committees in the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to construct a case for the Hague, in cooperation with Arab League, which has endorsed the move. Jordan to UN: Restore Dead Sea Scrolls to rightful owner 1/16/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - Jordan submitted an official complaint to the United Nations last week, asking the body to intervene and return the Dead Sea Scrolls to the country. The scrolls were seized from a museum by Israel following the 1967 war. The complaint, filed with UNESCO, followed Canada's refusal to hold the scrolls, which were on exhibit in Toronto in cooperation with the Israeli Ministry of Antiquities. Jordan asked Canada to take care of the historical artifacts until a court could decide who their rightful owner was. "The kingdom has filed a complaint to UNESCO that the scrolls belong to Jordan," Rafea Harahsheh of the country's antiquities department said in a statement quoted by the AP, noting "the government has legal documents that prove Jordan owns the scrolls. " The scrolls were found between 1948 and 1957 by Jordanian archaeologists following the first find by Palestinian Bedouins in 1947. UNESCO urges ’Malsin’s immediate and unconditional release’ 1/15/2010 - Subject: Detention of Ma'an News Agency's Chief English EditorUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO and the office in the occupied Palestinian territories and Gaza strip is expressing deep concern about the detention of the Chief English Editor of the Ma'an News Agency, Mr. Jared Malsin, a U. S. citizen by the Israeli authorities at the Ben Gurion International airport on 12 January, 2010 and the plans to deport him. Ma'an is editorially independent and pluralistic Palestinian news agency, based in Bethlehem. During the past five years, UNESCO has worked together with Ma'an to supported several initiatives and projects in cooperation with Ma'an that promote freedom of expression, access to information and development of the Palestinian society. "We urge the Israeli authorities to consider Mr. Malsin's immediate and unconditional release. . . " Hamas: Blame blockade for tunnel industry 1/15/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Deputy Prime Minister in Gaza aide Ziad Ath-Thatha called on Arab and Islamic nations to deal directly with the Palestiniansrather than with Israeli authorities over the opening of the Rafah crossing. Ath-Thatha made the comments Thursday at the Gaza City Ministry of Information offices, and stressed the role of Egypt and the necessity of direct communication to ensure full cooperation and the realization of rights for Palestinians in Gaza. "The amounts of industrial fuel allowed into Gaza for the power generator, [amounts of] and cooking gas do not cover half of what Gazans need," he said, and urged Egypt to look for a way to ensure Rafah was able to transport goods and fuel into the Strip. Israel has created a prison in Gaza, Ath-Thatha said, adding that the population of that prison was made up of more than 50% children. Egyptian media to broadcast Ma’an Hebrew press review 1/13/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - A Palestinian weekly program, hosted by Nasser Laham, is to be broadcast on Egyptian television, Ma'an revealed on Wednesday. Following a meeting with Abdul Latif Al-Menyawi, general manager for Egyptian TV's news department signed a contract with the Ma'an Network on whereby the Nile Channel will broadcast A Review of the Hebrew Press, presented by Nasser Laham, editor in chief of the Ma'an News Agency. The program, which specializes in Israeli affairs, has been broadcast for the past ten years on local Palestinian television by Ma'an, and weekly on Palestine TV for the past two years. "This is the first time that a Palestinian program is being purchased by a significant station like the Nile Channel. This is just the beginning of Arab media cooperation with the Ma'an Network," said Laham. Pa May Reconsider Security Relations With Israel
IMEMC
3 Jan 2010 - Saturday January 02, 2010 - 10:55, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stated that the Palestinian Authority may reconsider its security cooperation with Israel, after Israeli military forces assassinated three Fatah activists in Nablus on December 26 of last year, Palestinian media sources reported. Abbas mulls cutting security ties over Nablus deaths 1/2/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Palestinian Authority may consider re-thinking its security ties with Israel in light of the assassination of three Palestinians by Israeli forces on 26 December, President Mahmoud Abbas told Palestine TV during a Friday interview. The comment followed calls by several Palestinian parties to stop security cooperation with Israel in the wake of an invasion of Nablus by the Israeli army, and testimony from family members that three Fatah supporters were executed in their homes, in one case a man was in bed beside is seven-month-pregnant wife. Because Nablus is an area under complete Palestinian security control, Israeli military operations involve a degree of communication with the PA security services. Local officers generally have to clear the streets and retreat when Israeli forces enter the area. Abbas Threatens to Stop Security Liaison with Israel 2 Jan 2010 - Ramallah, January 2, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has threatened to stop the progress of security liaison with Israel following the December 26 Israeli raid in Nablus. The Israeli troops killed three Palestinians who were members of Fatah in the West Bank. "The coordination and cooperation with Israel aims at protecting the Palestinian interest," Abbas said in... Report: Israel ready to respond to UN on Gaza findings 12/28/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - An Israeli news outlet reported on Monday that the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs completed its response to a UN report alleging war crimes in Gaza. Israel refused to cooperate with South African Jurist Richard Goldstone's UN Fact Finding Mission into last winter's Gaza war. In November the UN General Assembly asked Israel and Palestinian authorities to carry out their own investigations of the allegations in Goldstone's 575-page report on the Gaza war. The website of Israel's Reshet Bet radio station reported that Israel will soon deliver its response to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon after Israel's political and military leaders debate whether to make public their findings. The news site also said that Israel's response was the result of months of deliberations involving the Prime Minister's Office, the Justice Ministry, the National Security Council, and the Foreign Ministry. P.A Complains To The US Over Nablus Assassinations
IMEMC
27 Dec 2009 - Sunday December 27, 2009 - 09:50, The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank filed a complaint to the United States after the Israeli army invaded the northern West Bank city of Nablus and executed three Palestinians on Saturday at dawn. The United States only demanded ‘explanations’ and called on both parties to continue their cooperation. Report: US seeks clarification about Nablus killing 12/27/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The US President Barack Obama's administration asked Israel to explain a raid on Nablus in which special forces killed three Palestinian men, an Israeli newspaper reported on Sunday. The daily newspaper Haaretz said Israel's National Security Adviser Uzi Arad shared intelligence with the US officials reportedly linking the men to the fatal shooting of a settler on Thursday. Unnamed Israeli sources told the newspaper that the Obama administration did not formally protest or complain about the incident, but only sought clarifications, passing on a complaint from the Palestinian Authority. A senior US official quoted in the article said the United States sought to calm the situation and "encouraged both sides to continue their security cooperation. "The PA complained to the US on Saturday that Israel had violated agreements by invading Area A of the West Bank, which is supposed to be under full Palestinian control. Israel Menaces all-out War on Gaza 24 Dec 2009 - Palestine, December 24, 2009 (Pal Telegraph)- Israel has threatened another massive war against the Gaza Strip as the impoverished enclave continues to suffer in the aftermath of the devastating January offensive. Israeli planes have been dropping thousands of leaflets across Gaza, warning Palestinians against cooperating with the resistance fighters based in the coastal sliver. The leaflets also threaten Gazans with... Settlement goods confiscated in Jericho 12/16/2009 - Jericho - Ma'an - Large quantities of settlement-bought products were confiscated and destroyed on Wednesday in Jericho, following a market inspection undertaken by customs officers, the Palestinian ministries of health and economy, in cooperation with the PA preventative security. The ministries said in a statement that the confiscated illegal settlement goods amounted to approximately 50,000 US Dollars, adding that a prior market inspection in the north of the West Bank led to the seizure of further settlement goods estimated at 148, 248 Israeli Shekels. The items seized included cosmetics such as make up and body lotion, children's toys and expired food which were all additionally deemed unfit for human use or consumption, having exceeded their expiration date, the statement added. Additionally, in Nablus, customs officials confiscated large quantities of sweets bought from the nearby Barkan settlement. [uruknet.info] LRC: "14 Homes Demolished In Jerusalem In November" Uruknet December 08, 2009 - The Land Research Center (LRC) of the Arab Studies Society in Jerusalem reported that the Israeli authorities conducted 187 against Jerusalem in November, and demolished 14 Palestinians homes in addition to issuing orders to demolish 170 homes. The center prepares and publishes its reports in cooperation with the Civil Coalition to Defend Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem.... Qalqiliya strawberry farm backed by Israeli NGO 12/5/2009 - Qalqiliya - Ma'an - The Peres Center for Peace cooperated with Palestinian farmers in Qalqiliya to boost strawberry farming in the area, according to Israeli media on Saturday. During the past months Israeli experts have trained Palestinian farmers in the particulars of strawberry farming, as well as provided the necessary equipment to export the crops, according to a report on Israel's Channel Two broadcast this week. The project, Strawberry Fields for Peace, aims to "encourage dialogue and positive interaction between Palestinians and Israelis while fostering an environment in which innovation and inventiveness flourish. This collaboration and the mutual exchange of skills and ideas furthers the goals of peace and prosperity for both Palestinians and Israelis,"¯ according to the Peres Center. "I was the initiator for the strawberry cultivation,"¯ said Ahmad Salmi Zaid, who has planted more than five dunums of strawberries. Haniyeh receives Syrian soap stars in Gaza 11/23/2009 - Gaza - Ma'an -De facto government Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh received a delegation of Arab actors visiting the besieged Gaza Strip on Sunday. During a reception held for the delegation of actors at the de facto government offices in Gaza City, Haniyeh asserted that Hamas was willing to reach a reconciliation agreement and had undertaken great efforts to cooperate with Arab countries. "We are an inseparable part of Levant, and we feel close to the people and the leadership of Syria. The Palestinian people always watch Syrian TV productions which are always committed to the Arab causes in general and the Palestinian cause in particular. The latest popular soap Bab Al-Hara symbolized the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip,"¯Haniyah said, addressing the delegation of Syrian actors in Gaza. Haniyeh added that, "Inter-Palestinian rivalry is an exception, and we want real Palestinian. . .
Israelis ’putting politics aside’
Alex Sehmer in Ramle, Al Jazeera 2/9/2009
Israeli citizens may be divided politically, but differences between the country’s Palestinian-Israelis and its Jewish population are left to one side on a daily basis in the interest of co-existence. In the town of Ramle, just outside Tel Aviv, Palestinian-Israeli stallholders work side-by-side with their Jewish counterparts. A local taxi firm is jointly owned by a Palestinian-Israeli and his Jewish business partners and is staffed by both Jewish and Palestinian-Israeli drivers. Behind the market, a mosque and a synagogue sit opposite each other in the same street. Yoel Lavi, Ramle’s mayor, said his town was a "model" of multiculturalism, but admitted it was not without its problems. " On the individual level people are living together and having a good relationship … they are sharing the same jobs on the land or the supermarket, or it doesn’t matter which company," he told Al Jazeera. more..e-mailIsraeli teenage refuseniks speak to Palestinians in Bethlehem
Ma’an News Agency 2/9/2009
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Five young Israelis who refused military service defied a ban on Israelis entering Palestinian Authority territory on Saturday evening to share their tales of prison, isolation, and struggle with an audience outside the West Bank city of Bethlehem. They were four women and one man. All but one have already been to prison for their objection to serving in the occupying army. They slipped into Bethlehem in order to bring the message of the refusal movement to the Palestinians who face the guns wielded by their teenage peers every day. “These soldiers don’t have to be bad people. They’re very ordinary people, but they’re doing these things. They are responsible,” said Sahar Vardi, 18, from Jerusalem,On Tuesday Israelis are expected to elect the most right-wing government in recent memory, but these five, represent a countervailing. . . more..e-mailJews and Palestinians unite in basketball ’peace league’
Steve Klein, Ha’aretz 2/6/2009
Scores of teenage boys Thursday - Israeli and Palestinian -helped kick off the second season of the Jerusalem Peace Basketball League, a joint initiative of the Jerusalem municipality and PeacePlayers International - Middle East. The league is comprised of six integrated teams of Arab and Jewish youth, who participate in the Twinned Basketball Clubs program, and four other teams from across Jerusalem and a West Bank town. The league is actually in its second incarnation, according to Michael Cherubin, the organization’s operations manager and co-director of the league. The first, he explained Thursday, ran about six years before falling apart in the early days of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Cherubin noted that the involvement of Americans helped to bring this league to fruition in a city entrenched in the heart of the conflict. more..e-mailAUDIO - Processing peace: the Jaffa Photography Project
Haroon Siddique, The Guardian 2/4/2009
Based in the Israeli city, the Jaffa Photography Project teaches photography to Arab and Jewish teenagers, allowing them to document their homes, lives and communities for themselves, and aiming to lay a foundation for future peace. Haroon Siddique talks to founder Leila Segal and 19-year-old Sama Shakra about the pictures taken by the group [end] -- See also: Palestinian heritage being stripped from JaffaNobelists lead flock behind Barenboim’s message for justice
Daily Star 2/2/2009
Petition - Almost a month ago, Daniel Barenboim wrote a short statement about peace between Israelis and Palestinians. In a period of two weeks, artists and thinkers from all over the world gave their support by signing the statement. The famous pianist and conductor who created in 1999, together with his late friend Edward W. Said, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra composed of Palestinian and Israeli musicians, manifests in the text his disapproval of the use of force and calls for equal rights for both peoples. To be published in the New York Review of Books today, this humanistic message is signed by 10 Nobel laureates in literature including J. M G Le CLezio, Russel Banks, J. M Coetzee, Orhan Pamuk and Kenzaburo Oe, and more than 130 other eminent personalities, such as Desmond Tutu, Oscar Niemeyer, Alfred Brendel, Yo-Yo Ma, Pierre Boulez, Placido Domingo, William Christie, Zubin Mehta,. . . -- See also: 'Please Listen, Before It Is Too Late'more..e-mail’Please Listen, Before It Is Too Late’
Daniel Barenboim and various undersigned, New York Review of Books 2/26/2009
To the Editors: Your readers may be interested in the following statement by Daniel Barenboim and the list of those who have supported it. -- For the last forty years, history has proven that the Israeli–Palestinian conflict cannot be settled by force. Every effort, every possible means and resource of imagination and reflection should now be brought into play to find a new way forward. A new initiative which allays fear and suffering, acknowledges the injustice done, and leads to the security of Israelis and Palestinians alike. An initiative which demands of all sides a common responsibility: to ensure equal rights and dignity to both peoples, and to ensure the right of each person to transcend the past and aspire to a future. more..e-mailVictims forever
Akiva Eldar, Ha’aretz 1/29/2009
A new study of Jewish Israelis shows that most accept the ’official version’ of the history of the conflict with the Palestinians. Is it any wonder, then, that the same public also buys the establishment explanation of the operation in Gaza? A pioneering research study dealing with Israeli Jews’ memory of the conflict with the Arabs, from its inception to the present, came into the world together with the war in Gaza. The sweeping support for Operation Cast Lead confirmed the main diagnosis that arises from the study, conducted by Daniel Bar-Tal, one of the world’s leading political psychologists, and Rafi Nets-Zehngut, a doctoral student: Israeli Jews’ consciousness is characterized by a sense of victimization, a siege mentality, blind patriotism, belligerence, self-righteousness, dehumanization of the Palestinians and insensitivity to their suffering. more..e-mailArab-Israeli orchestra cancels concerts in Qatar, Egypt amid security concerns
The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 1/7/2009
BERLIN - Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim and his orchestra of Arab and Israeli musicians have canceled performances in the Middle East this weekend because of fighting between Israel and Hamas, he said yesterday. Instead, they will play in the German capital. Two concerts were scheduled for this weekend - one each in Doha, Qatar and Cairo - but Barenboim said organizers in those countries called off the shows amid security concerns. "Officially, the concerts are postponed and we hope to reschedule," Barenboim said. The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra will perform works by Beethoven and Brahms at the Staatsoper on Monday, and the remainder of the group’s 10th anniversary tour of other cities - including Moscow, Vienna and Milan - will continue. Argentinean-born Barenboim has advocated peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and heavily criticized a military solution. more..e-mailConductor Barenboim urges Mideast peace
Pierre Feuilly - VIENNA, Middle East Online 1/2/2009
The Gaza conflict cast a shadow over the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s concert, as Israeli-Argentinian conductor Daniel Barenboim Thursday urged Israel to excercise caution after six days of punishing airstrikes.
While recognizing Israel’s legitimate right to self-defence, Barenboim -- who also holds honourary Palestinian citizenship -- questioned in a statement whether the Jewish state should "punish all Palestinians" for the actions of the militant group Hamas.
And as he offered his New Year’s greetings at the magnificent Musikverein hall, the 66-year-old conductor expressed hope that 2009 would be a "year of peace in the world and of human justice in the Middle East. "
The concert marked Barenboim’s debut conducting the traditional January 1 concert that featured another first: a piece by Austrian composer Josef Haydn -- Symphony No. more..e-mailVIDEO - NBA’s finest train female basketball hopefuls in Palestinian East Jerusalem
Haaretz Staff and Channel 10, Ha’aretz 9/1/2008
Haaretz. com/Channel 10 daily feature for August 31, 2008.
A basketball court in Jabel Mukaber was the site of an unlikely encounter last week between two very disparate demographics. Palestinian girls from the East Jerusalem neighborhood trained with basketball coaches from the NBA, who visited Israel and the Palestinian Territories in order to give children an opportunity made rare by political and cultural restrictions. However, as is so often the case for girls from traditional backgrounds, visible participation in physical activity generally reserved for their male peers rubs many in the community the wrong way. Related articles:NBA’s only Jew visits Israel to instruct Jewish, Arab children Palestinians and Israelis come together to lose weight, make peaceFrom Australia to Israel, on a footballing peace mission Also on Haaretz. more..e-mailLeo Kramer: Israeli, Palestinian Doctors Affect Change on Ground
Leo Kramer Middle East Times, Palestine Media Center 7/24/2008
Last week, Prof. Marc Gopin wrote an article titled, "Leo the Healer: an untold story of Jewish/Palestinian medical partnership. "The first responses have been positive and encouraging.
The article asks what we can do to help Israelis and Palestinians live in peace with justice. Prof. Gopin examined one of the foremost difficulties existing between the two sides: the border closing problems between Israel and The West Bank/Gaza, and the daily struggle of medical practitioners to save lives when political issues interfere.
How can people who care deal with these issues? Writing about them publicizes an unspoken reality, which lends support to those working to find solutions; conferences bring together those who want to help.
These efforts, however, must also be directed toward achieving results on the ground. more..e-mailPalestinians and Israelis come together to lose weight, make peace
Reuters, Ha’aretz 5/23/2008
A Slim Peace - There’s the weekly weigh-in, the tips on healthy snacking and the chit-chat between women about unruly kids or errant husbands. But this is a slimming group with a difference: half its members are Palestinian, half are Israeli and the aim is to foster dialogue, through a common battle with weight. "I never felt good about myself and my body, and that’s something that women all over the world struggle with," said Yael Luttwak, an American-born Israeli who started the groups. "I thought this would be a great way to bring together women who wouldn’t normally meet each other." Israelis and Palestinians around Jerusalem are separated by the West Bank barrier and a network of army-guarded checkpoints. Decades of conflict have entrenched mutual suspicion and ordinary people from across the divide rarely get the chance to sit down and swap stories, let alone form friendships. more..e-mailBarenboim to lead concert for peace in Jerusalem
Donald Macintyre, The Independent 3/28/2008
Daniel Barenboim, the Israeli conductor and, since January this year, honorary Palestinian citizen, will lead 33 young Israeli and Palestinian musicians in a special "concert for two peoples" in Jerusalem today. Barenboim said the musicians, some of whom have not played together in public before, will take part in two performances of what he called a concert "against ignorance and lack of curiosity" among the peoples on both sides of the conflict. The Argentinia-born maestro, champion of Palestinian rights and friend of the late Palestinian intellectual Edward Said, said he would not be taking part in celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Israel’s foundation as a state. He said of the anniversary, which to Palestinians is that of the nakba, when hundreds of thousands of refugees fled or were driven from their homes: "It is 60 years of Israel’s independence, which also means that it is 60 years of suffering of the people who were here. " more..e-mailDaniel Barenboim shuns Israel’s 60th anniversary
Associated Press, YNetNews 3/27/2008
Controversial conductor to lead orchestra of Israeli, Palestinian youths in concert ’against ignorance’ in Jerusalem, says he will not partake in upcoming festivities marking Israel’s independence out of respect for Palestinian suffering - Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim will lead an orchestra of 33 young Israeli and Palestinians in Jerusalem Friday in what he called a concert ’’against ignorance and lack of curiosity’’ on both sides of the conflict. At a news conference Thursday in the concert hall of the YMCA on the Jewish side of the city, Barenboim said Friday’s two performances, entitled ’’A concert for two peoples,’’ will be the first time the young musicians have played together in public. Barenboim, who was born in Buenos Aires and grew up in Israel, has drawn much criticism for his views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and his decision to perform the works of Hitler’s favorite composer, Wagner. more..e-mailIsraeli, Arab musicians to play Wagner in Berlin fundraiser for Ramallah
The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 3/14/2008
The orchestra is scheduled to perform Wagner’s "Die Walkuere" on August 23 at Berlin’s Waldbuehne - an arena built as part of the complex for the 1936 Olympics by the Nazis. Barenboim said that "Hitler and Wagner would be turning in their graves" if they found out about the concert. He denied, however, that his group had grand political ambitions. "The only thing we say is that we do not believe there is a military solution to the conflict in Palestine," he said. "People need to learn how to live with each other and listen to each other. That’s what we do as musicians every day." He said a concert hall in Ramallah would go far in improving the daily lives of Palestinians. "Political negotiations are important, but everyday life is even more important," he said. more..Down by the riverside, in Tul Karm and Emek Hefer
Zafrir Rinat, Ha’aretz 2/25/2008
Israelis and Palestinians are working to build a Peace Park that would improve the environmenton both sides of the Green Line.
Many cities throughout the world, including in Israel, have recently declared their commitment to preserve the environment, and some have started projects aimed at saving energy and establishing ecological neighborhoods. It is relatively easy for a prosperous city in western Europe or a flourishing town in Israel such as Kfar Sava to devote more attention to environmental awareness. But what about cities that are struggling, isolated and closed off, such as the Palestinian town of Tul Karm, located less than half an hour’s drive from Kfar Sava? It turns out that even there, Israelis and Palestinians have been working together to improve the environmental situation. Recently, they have been trying to advance a project to set up the Alexander-Zemer Peace Park. more..Increase in Palestinian population living under occupation
Middle East Online 2/10/2008
RAMALLAH, West Bank - The Palestinian population in the West Bank, Gaza and Arab east Jerusalem has risen to 3,761,646, according to the preliminary results of a Palestinian Authority census published on Saturday. Most Palestinians, 2,345,107, live in the West Bank, an increase of 30 percent in 10 years. In the Gaza Strip, the census put the population at 1,416,539, a 39-percent increase, with east Jerusalem at 362,502, a 10-percent rise, Loai Shabana, director of the Palestinian central statistic bureau, told reporters. Final results of the census, carried out every 10 years, would be made public in the coming weeks, the director said. He also condemned the refusal of Israeli authorities to cooperate in the census in Arab east Jerusalem, which was occupied by the Israelis in 1967 and illegally annexed later. more..Barenboim becomes first to hold Israeli and Palestinian passports
Kate Connolly in Berlin, The Guardian 1/15/2008
The Israeli pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim has been granted Palestinian citizenship for his work in promoting cultural exchange between young people in Israel and the Arab world. The Argentine-born musician is believed to be the first person in the world to possess both Israeli and Palestinian passports after receiving his new documentation at the end of a piano recital in Ramallah in the West Bank at the weekend. "Under the most difficult circumstances he has shown solidarity with the Palestinian people," Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian MP and presidential candidate, said at the recital held to raise money for medical aid for children in the Gaza Strip. Barenboim, 65, who is musical director of the Staatsoper in Berlin and Milan’s La Scala opera house, established his West-Eastern Divan orchestra with the American-Palestinian intellectual Edward Said in 1999 following a workshop in Germany. more..Israeli Pianist Daniel Barenboim Takes Palestinian Citizenship
Palestine Chronicle 1/15/2008
"It is a great honor to be offered a passport," he said late on Saturday after a Beethoven piano recital in Ramallah, the West Bank city where he has been active for some years in promoting contact between young Arab and Israeli musicians." I have also accepted it because I believe that the destinies of... the Israeli people and the Palestinian people are inextricably linked," Barenboim said. "We are blessed - or cursed - to live with each other. And I prefer the first." Advertisement "The fact that an Israeli citizen can be awarded a Palestinian passport, can be a sign that it is actually possible," he continued. Former Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouthi, who helped organize Saturday’s concert, said the passport had been approved by the previous government of which he was a member and which was replaced in June. The passport had actually been issued about six weeks ago, he added. more..Israeli musician gets Palestinian passport
Kate Connolly in Berlin, The Guardian 1/14/2008
The Israeli pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim has been granted Palestinian citizenship in recognition of his work in promoting cultural exchange between young people in Israel and the Arab world. The Argentine-born musician is believed to be the first person in the world to possess both passports after receiving his new documentation at the end of a piano concert of Ludwig van Beethoven sonatas, which he performed in Ramallah in the West Bank at the weekend. "Under the most difficult circumstances he has shown solidarity with the Palestinian people," Mustafa Barghouti, the Palestinian MP and presidential candidate said at the charity concert to raise money for medical aid for children in the Gaza Strip. Barenboim, 65, who is musical director of the Staatsoper in Berlin and Milan’s La Scala opera house, established his West-Eastern Divan orchestra with the American-Palestinian intellectual Edward Said in 1999 following a workshop in Germany. more..Israeli pianist Daniel Barenboim takes Palestinian citizenship
News Agencies, Ha’aretz 1/14/2008
Daniel Barenboim, the world renowned Israeli pianist and conductor, has taken Palestinian citizenship and said he believed his rare new status could serve a model for peace between the two peoples. "It is a great honor to be offered a passport," he said late on Saturday after a Beethoven piano recital in Ramallah, the West Bank city where he has been active for some years in promoting contact between young Arab and Israeli musicians. "I have also accepted it because I believe that the destinies of... the Israeli people and the Palestinian people are inextricably linked," Barenboim said. "We are blessed - or cursed - to live with each other. And I prefer the first." "The fact that an Israeli citizen can be awarded a Palestinian passport, can be a sign that it is actually possible," he continued. more..Controversy, from Wagner to occupation
Noam Ben Ze'ev, Ha’aretz 1/14/2008
The encore for Daniel Barenboim’s 1998 recital at the Jerusalem Sherover Theater was dedicated to a Palestinian friend of his from Ramallah who attended the concert. Barenboim told the crowd that Tania Nassir, wife of the president of Bir Zeit University, had been barred from entering the city for many year by the Israeli authorities. That was the year that the world-famous pianist began forging friendships and work-related ties with Palestinian musicians and scholars - primarily with the late Palestinian-American intellectual Prof. Edward Said, from Columbia University. Said and Barenboim went on to coauthor "Parallels and Paradoxes" (Random House Books, 2004). Said also became Barenboim’s partner in the Diwan East-West Orchestra, which aimed to bring Palestinian and Jewish musicians together. Barenboim has since often performed in Ramallah, where he founded a music education network. more..From now on, it’s Barenboim, the Israeli-Palestinian pianist
Reuters, Ha’aretz 1/14/2008
RAMALLAH - Daniel Barenboim, the world-renowned Israeli pianist and conductor, has taken Palestinian citizenship and said he believed his rare new status could serve a model for peace between the two peoples. "It is a great honor to be offered a passport," he said Saturday after a Beethoven piano recital in this West Bank city, where he has been active for years in promoting contact between young Arab and Israeli musicians. "I have also accepted it because I believe that the destinies of... the Israeli people and the Palestinian people are inextricably linked," Barenboim said. "We are blessed - or cursed - to live with each other. And I prefer the first. The fact that an Israeli citizen can be awarded a Palestinian passport, can be a sign that it is actually possible." Former Palestinian information minister Mustafa Barghouti, who helped organize Saturday’s concert, said... more..Bridging the Arab-Israeli divide through music
Film tells story of West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, founded by Edward, Daily Star 11/8/2007
Special to The Daily Star Thursday, November 08, 2007 REVIEW BEIRUT: Is it possible to dissolve political conflict within the crucible of cultural exchange? The question has considerable currency these days. It also has a success story of sorts in the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, founded by the late literary and cultural critic Edward Said and piano virtuoso and symphony conductor Daniel Barenboim. The two men met in the early 1990s and, at first glance, the Palestinian-American critic of Israeli policy and the Israeli Jew seemed unlikely friends. They formed a warm relationship, though, based on their mutual love of music and shared vision of a peaceful Middle East. The story of the Arab-Israeli musical ensemble born out of Said and Barenboim’s friendship is the subject of "Knowledge is the Beginning: the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra," an award-winning documentary by Paul Smaczny. more..Barenboim: New Wagner staging would make Hitler ’turn in grave’
The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 10/17/2007
An opera by Richard Wagner - whose music and anti-Semitic writings influenced Adolf Hitler - will be performed at an open-air theater built under the Nazi regime by an orchestra made up of Israeli and Arab musicians and conducted by a Jew. Star conductor Daniel Barenboim told Germany’s Die Zeit newspaper that the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which he co-founded, plans next year to perform the first act of Wagner’s Die Walkuere at Berlin’s Waldbuehne - an arena built as part of the complex for the 1936 Olympics by the Nazis. "Can you imagine that? " Barenboim was quoted as saying in the interview, released Wednesday. "The Waldbuehne was built by Hitler. The music is Wagner. Played by us! Hitler and Wagner would turn in their graves." Barenboim said the Divan Orchestra, made up of young musicians from Israel, the Palestinian territories and neighboring Arab countries, is clearly the most important musical project of his life. more..At Davos, Palestinian and Israeli youths tell Abbas, Livni and Peres, ’Enough!’
Ma’an News Agency 1/26/2007
Ordinary young Palestinian and Israeli citizens were given an unprecedented opportunity on Thursday 25 January. At the World Economic Forum, held in the Swiss resort of Davos, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni listened to video statements from youths in Ramallah, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. These youths, mobilized by the youth movement, OneVoice, had had "Enough!" They had one question for their leaders – and for everyone else attending the conference or watching live online – ’What Are You Willing to Do to End the Conflict? ’ On a large screen behind the podium, Nisreen Shaheen, the Executive Director of OneVoice Palestine, appeared to give a statement by video from Al Qasaba, the largest hall in the West Bank city of Ramallah. more..Emma Thompson bids for Palestinian Rights
Electronic Intifada/Enough! 1/27/2007
Broadbased coalition in support of an end to Israeli occupation set for launch -- Record-breaking actor Emma Thompson revealed today why she is helping to make political history by supporting Britain’s first broad-based alliance for a just peace in the Middle East. Ms Thompson earned her Oscars for best actress in Howard’s End and for best-adapted screenplay for adapting Jane Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility. The only person ever to have won film Oscars for acting and writing is backing a new historic drive for a just settlement between Israelis and Palestinians. The ENOUGH! coalition, representing over three million people in charities, trade unions, faith and campaign groups has come together to mark this year’s 40th anniversary of the Israeli military occupation of the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem. more..Israeli, Palestinian DJs plan joint performance in London
Ha’aretz 11/28/2006
Two disk jockeys, one Israeli and one Palestinian, are planning put on a joint performance in London on December 21. Israeli Srulik Einhorn and Palestinian Khalil Kamal have performed together in the past, along with Jordanian DJ Kalis, at the Ha’Oman 17 Club in Jerusalem, despite initial attempts by the Interior Ministry to block Kalis’s entry into Israel. The London party, titled "Bridge of Peace," is being organized by Einhorn along with the World Zionist Organization. Einhorn invited Kalis to perform at the London party as well, but Kalis refused, because it was being organized by the WZO." WZO officials approached us after they read about the Jerusalem party on the Internet and invited us to come and perform in a party that would show young Jews in London that cooperation between Jews and Arabs is possible," said Einhorn. more..Haredi settlement donates medical supplies to Palestinians
YNet News 10/26/2006
Residents of Modeiin Elite donate NIS 30,000 in medical equipment to neighboring Palestinian village. Residents of both celebrate in ceremony in Modeiin Elite -- Is there a chance for Israeli-Palestinian coexistence in the West Bank? Thursday, residents of the Modeiin Elite settlement donated NIS 30,000 worth of medical equipment to an ambulance from the neighboring Palestinian village of Naleen. The ambulance itself was purchased by village residents, but they didn’t have enough money for equipment inside the ambulance. Resident Husseini Nafar said that they originally appealed to Palestinian Authority sources, who told them to "find another donor". Their next appeal was made to head of Modeiin Elite’s security Shuky Guterman, who remains in constant contact with village residents. more..VIDEO - Occupied Minds
LinkTV 7/26/2006
Broadcast Schedule - July 26, 8 PM -- Occupied Minds is the story of two journalists, Jamal Dajani, a Palestinian-American and David Michaelis, an Israeli citizen, who journey to Jerusalem, their mutual birthplace, to explore new solutions and offer unique insights into the divisive Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The film takes viewers on an emotional and intensely personal odyssey through the streets of one of the world’s most volatile regions. Dajani and Michaelis grew up in Jerusalem just a few miles apart from one another—but in reality, worlds apart. Both have extensive and complex ties to their homeland. Jamal traces his family history in Jerusalem back to the 7th century, while David was born in Jerusalem to parents who had immigrated from Germany in the 1920’s to escape growing anti-Semitism. -- Video: View a 9-minute trailer in streaming formatmore..Collect ID cards from all of them - the Jews, too'
Ha'aretz 4/17/2006
The ugly reality only penetrated the pleasant bubble that surrounded the bus passengers as they returned to central Jerusalem on Friday last week. About 30 adolescents and several adults, Jewish and Arab residents of Jerusalem and the surrounding area, had participated in the tour. Most of the Jewish teens were observant members of the Conservative Movement and the Movement for Progressive Judaism. The Arab teens were Muslims and Christians. Some of the Arabs were Israeli citizens and others were residents of the Old City and Palestinian neighborhoods beyond the Green Line. The tour, organized by the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel (ICCI), was the culminating experience of a year-long educational process for 12th graders - six of them Jews and six of them Arabs, both boys and girls more..Cleaning campaign in Hebron
Ma'an News 3/1/2006
Hebron- Maan- More than thirty Palestinian, Israeli and foreign volunteers participated in a voluntarily work day in Tel Rumaidah in Hebron city Wednesday. They clean the areas closed to the settlement of Ramat Shai, these areas are used by the Israeli settlers also who do not care about its cleanness. The citizens of the area participated with the volunteers in the area cleaning and expressed gratitude to them. [end] more..Muslims, Jews unite in quest for peace
YNetNews 2/22/2006
Breaking the Ice organization set to send delegation of men, women from Israel, PA, Iran on journey to Sahara desert, Libya. Objective: To prove cooperation, dialogue possible in face of challenges. Ynet will be there with them -- At the beginning of March, ten men and women from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and the United States will set out on a journey in the Sahara desert. The group will departure from Jerusalem, and arrive in Tripoli, Libya, 5,500 kilometers later. They will pass through Ramallah, Jericho, Beit Shean, Amman, and the Suez Canal. The Breaking the Ice organization, based in Berlin, is behind the initiative, and succeeded two years ago in uniting Israelis and Palestinians on a joint journey to Antarctica. more..Muslims, Jews unite in quest for peace
YNetNews 2/22/2006
Breaking the Ice organization set to send delegation of men, women from Israel, PA, Iran on journey to Sahara desert, Libya. Objective: To prove cooperation, dialogue possible in face of challenges. Ynet will be there with them -- At the beginning of March, ten men and women from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and the United States will set out on a journey in the Sahara desert. The group will departure from Jerusalem, and arrive in Tripoli, Libya, 5,500 kilometers later. They will pass through Ramallah, Jericho, Beit Shean, Amman, and the Suez Canal. The Breaking the Ice organization, based in Berlin, is behind the initiative, and succeeded two years ago in uniting Israelis and Palestinians on a joint journey to Antarctica. more..Conference Discusses Coexistence in Holy Places in Israeli-Palestinian Context
Palestine Media Center/Jerusalem Post 1/4/2006
A two-day international conference is bringing more than two dozen Israeli, Palestinian and international experts together to highlight examples of coexistence and confrontation in holy places related to the Israeli-Palestinian reality. The "International Conference on Confrontation and Coexistence in Holy Places: Religious and Legal Aspects in the Israeli-Palestinian Context" begins today at Haifa University and continues Wednesday at the Al-Qasemi Academy in the Arab village of Baka al-Gharbiya. more..Three-story home in Baka al-Garbiyeh for sale; Jews encouraged to apply
Ha'aretz 1/4/2006
A well-tended three-story home in the center of Baka al-Garbiyeh, with a garden and a two-car parking space is about to go on the market. The sellers, Iman and A'adal Ka'adan, are asking $200,000. They buyers, they say, will be Jewish. "I am completely serious," A'adal Ka'adan said Tuesday. "I am hereby declaring that the person who will live in my house, near my brothers, will be a Jew. ".... "And when Jews buy my house I'll prove that Arabs can live with Jews and that Jews can live with Arabs. " more..Hebrew University poll: Half of Israelis favor talks with Hamas
Ha'aretz 12/21/2005
Half of Israelis would favor peace talks with Hamas, despite the Islamic movement's calls to destroy the country, a poll published Wednesday showed. Fifty percent of Israelis polled in mid-December by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem would support talks with Hamas if this was necessary to reach a peace deal, while 47 percent would be opposed, said Yaacov Shamir, who conducted the survey. Shamir said Israelis had not grown more accepting of Hamas, but understood that the movement's popularity among Palestinians was growing. more..Arab students attend West Bank college
YNetNews 12/5/2005
Politics don't dissuade Palestinians, Israeli Arabs from studying in Ariel, one of Israel's largest West Bank settlement -- Every day, Nida Hussein takes a trip that for most Palestinians would be unthinkable - a two-hour bus ride from Jerusalem to the College of Judea and Samaria in Ariel, one of the largest West Bank settlement. Hussein, an 18-year-old from eastern Jerusalem, is one of more than 300 Arab students, many of them Israeli citizens, enrolled at the college built on land the Palestinians claim belong to them. more..Israeli and Palestinian players buoyed by Barca peace match
Ha'aretz 12/1/2005
Israeli and Palestinian soccer players returned home on Wednesday from a friendly match against Barcelona to promote Middle East peace, saying the objective had been achieved in style. The "Peace Team," which included Israeli internationals and Palestinians from the West Bank, lost 2-1 to Barcelona at the Nou Camp stadium. "I feel the message from this excellent trip has got through. We all understand we can live side-by-side. We all know peace is not so difficult to attain," Hapoel Tel Aviv midfielder Yossi Abuksis said on return to Israel. more..
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