June 28 2005

In The War Against Palestinians

I’ve just come across a great article by Preston Taran.

Here are some lines to share:

Manipulating Language in the War Against Palestinians
“Of course the fallback position of the Israeli government is that (“if you are not with us, you are an anti-Semite”). So far this has been a winning combination for the supporters of Israel.
Extending this logic, all those who condemn France should be labeled as anti-Catholic. To criticize Pakistan would automatically make the accuser anti-Muslim, if we adopt the Israeli-American method of thinking.
When Israel attacked Lebanon in 1978 and 1982, this was praised as “daring,” as all other Israeli military expeditions have been. If Palestinian or Arab military units move militarily, such as Egypt did in 1973, it is a “sneak attack.” When a Palestinian group fights for its survival through a military action, much of the West calls the action “Iranian or Syrian-backed” or sponsored.
Israeli actions are conveniently portrayed as “heroic.”No mention of “American-backed” incursions. When Israelis commandeer aircraft or ships on the high seas in international waters, it is just a “diversion.” When any nation other than Israel or the United States partakes in similar actions, the word “terrorism” or the new American word “thugs” is trotted out.
A humorous aspect of the selective use of the English language revolves around the notion of incarceration.
If an American is unjustly arrested abroad he is said to be “imprisoned.” America has no prisoners in Guantanamo Bay or in other places around the world; we just have “detainees.”
Same with the Israelis.
Israel had a “security zone” in Lebanon and continues to have “security zones,” throughout their “occupied” territories. Who would dare call them occupation zones?”
You can read the article in full Here.

May 15 2005

Remembering Palestine’s Nakba…

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Alnakba.org

I’ve been wanting to write about today since the early morning, but I couldn’t find words strong enough to express my bitter feelings.
The 57th anniversary of the Palestinian nakba (disaster) the start of an everlasting struggle for freedom and justice, the first step in the journey of a 1000 miles of suffering and refuge…
Frankly I’m still not capable of writing anything, I feel speechless, every time I remember this terrible event, I feel so helpless…

So I’ll just cross-post some articles and posts that help give an idea about the nakba, and few examples of the Palestinian suffering throughout the year.

FREE PALESTINE! GIVE REFUGEES THEIR RIGHT TO RETURN!

May 9 2005

Al Aqsa VS Revava

It breaks my heart to watch any religious monument being destroyed, specially when the attacks are coming in the name of another religion.
I’ve always believed that religion means tolerance, peace, love and construction, but unfortunately many followers of religions insist in proving the opposite.

Yesterday during the news bulletin I watched an interview with a Palestinian official calling for the protection of Al Aqsa Mosque from the plots of Jewish extremists. I couldn’t tolerate the fact that other religious people are behind the threats to destroy Al Aqsa (Temple Mount). But then again, I remembered that what’s happening to Al Aqsa now has happened to Palestine long time ago when Israel had to be “re-built” as a state, on the land of Palestine, just because “it has always belonged to Jews ages ago”.
I mean if it’s justified for Israelis to occupy Palestine, erase its history, cross out its culture and make it a brand new country built on the blood and ruins of other people who had their own lives and work, then I guess no one should have any objection to any other population attacking a country of their choice and turning it into their own based on religious, historical or cultural claims!
The problem is, no one denies the fact that Palestine is a holy land, the land of the 3 religions, and all religion followers should live there in peace. No one says Jews should not live there, but when they live there, they should live with other Christians and Muslims, in peace. Each performing their own religion, respecting each other and working hand in hand to build a healthy society.
But extremism –no matter of what religion- goes beyond the normal standards of a peaceful life and never stops finding its way to destruction, and even worse, justifying that destruction with silly, horrible excuses, and doing that in the name of religion.
I’ve watched many Jews, very religious, talk about Al Aqsa and proving that there’s no need whatsoever for Jews to destroy it, supporting their talks with historical and religious facts, as well as many studies and never ending research.
But even if we disregard those who are against destroying Al Aqsa, is it really religious to destroy other religious monuments? Does it serve the noble goal of any religion to destroy something that belongs to other people? Are the results going to be more of positive or negative ones?

I believe it’s about time we draw the end line to destruction, war and injustice, and try for once to follow logic and commonsense. Let’s try to save what’s left to be saved!

“NO TO THE DESTRUCTION OF AL AQSA MOSQUE”

April 22 2005

Interview With An Israeli Activist

Jonathan Pollak is an Israeli activist who grew up in Tel Aviv and lives in Jaffa. He has been involved in non-violent direct action in the West Bank for the last two-and-a-half years, participating in more than 200 protests with Palestinians in the West Bank with the Israeli non-violent direct action group Anarchists Against the Wall and with the International Solidarity Movement. On April 3, 2005 an Israeli soldier shot Jonathan in the head with a teargas canister from an M-16 from a distance of approximately thirty meters at a peaceful protest against the Wall.

In an interview by telephone on 7 April 2005, Jonathan Pollak said :
“Palestinians are protesting, and others with them, against the theft of their land, against the steps the Israeli government and Israeli army are taking to make their lives impossible — basically to commit a quiet ethnic cleansing. They are making life so impossible that people have to leave and the border areas near the Green Line are being emptied of Palestinians. The Israeli government is constructing the Wall in a way that is making enclaves of the West Bank and rendering a Palestinian state impossible. — Jonathan Pollak

[Via: Je Blog]

April 18 2005

Remember Palestinian Prisoners

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Yesterday was the Palestinian Prisoner Day. The Palestinian Prisoner who is suffering the worst treatment any prisoner could get, who is being denied the basic rights of a human being, and who is being trapped in prison for no crime. Yes, many Palestinian prisoners are thrown in prison just for the heck of it.
It doesn’t matter whether guilty or not, a child or not, handicapped or not, paralysed or not; suspicion is enough to throw whoever is Palestinian in prison till they rot. Even if suspicion wasn’t present, excuses could simply be made to justify taking away the freedom of a Palestinian. After all, the world is watching, and no one seems to be having a problem with innocent people thrown in prison, even if they were harmless children!
According to data collect by the Department of Planning and Census at the Ministry of Detainees and Liberated, 177 Palestinian detainees died in Israeli prisons since 1967, 69 of them died of torture. The data revealed that 37 detainees died of medical neglect, 70 died during interrogation and torture, 55 detainees died over the last four and a half years.
Here are few examples of the Torture of Palestinian Prisoners.
The last detainee who died in detention was Rasem Suleiman Ghneimat, from Kafer Malik near Ramallah, died January 27, 2005, after fire broke out in Majeddo detention, detention facilities lacks first aid materials or fire distinguishing tools.

Other than that, Israeli prisons lack cleaning materials, and disinfectants, in addition to the bad ventilation and sewerage systems. They’re also filled with insects, bugs and cockroaches. The administration is neglecting the Palestinians’ demands of receiving cleaning materials in order to clean their rooms.
The Palestinian Prisoners Society revealed that Israeli arrested in 2004, 63 females, from several Palestinian areas, among them wives of detainees and residents who were killed by the army. Also, soldiers arrested 14 girls under the age of 18; the youngest two female detainees are Hiba Yaghmour, 14, who was also shot and wounded when she was arrested on February, 26, 2005, and Ghada Saber Abu Hmeid, 14, from Hebron, who was arrested on September, 5, 2004.
By the beginning of 2005, 129 female detainees were imprisoned in Israeli prisons and detention facilities, currently there are 120 female detainees, including 13 mothers, and 23 underage; 15 female detainees are sick and need medical attention AND ARE BEING ATTACKED REPEATEDLY BY ISRAELIS!
Stop the Medical neglect, Stop the torture, and release the innocent Palestinians who have committed no crimes to be thrown in prison! Free the children and the under-aged!
This is an appeal to the international community and the International Red Cross to interfere and impose pressures over the prison authorities to carry out the needed procedures to fight the disease and improve their living conditions and save 20 child detainees imprisoned and facing harsh living conditions and treatment.

  • Related: International Solidarity Day With Palestinian Prisoners, and International Day of Action at ICRC
  • Sources: IMEMC2
  • April 4 2005

    Support Mohammad!

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    Other than the radiation facility used to scan Palestinians at a check point in Rafah, there are other incursions the Palestinians in that area suffer from. Cancerous Radiations may be the least of their problem, a lot of them won’t live long enough to see it’s effects anyways…
    Rafah Today is run by Mohammad Omar, a photo journalist living in Rafah. His site includes photos and articles written about his hometown: the community, the demolitions, the children, the camps, and the everyday tragedies.

    He has taken some of the most stunning photos you have ever seen.
    What is amazing about them is that each photo has a story to tell. They are not taken by some random TIME magazine photographer looking for a hefty bonus, Mohammad has a personal connection with the people and their tragedies, he is a part of this community. He knows the stories of the people made homeless by the occupation. And all the homes that were demolished. Including his own!
    In fact, his story is entwined with his community’s…

    “October 1st: Mohammed’s younger brother Issam was seriously injured and was taken to the hospital about a week ago. His leg was amputated and he is undergoing medical treatment. And on October 18: Mohammad’s younger brother, Hussam Al-Mouhagir [17 yrs old], was killed by the Israeli army today. Hussam was sitting at home when he was shot in the face, chest, back, legs. He had nothing to do with any violent or even political movement. Hussam’s crime is that he was a Palestinian”.

    Send Mohammad an email of support.

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    Via: The Black Iris

    March 30 2005

    29 Years And Counting…

    Today marks the 29th anniversary of Land Day.
    Land Day has been observed since 1976 when Israeli Arabs launched a strike on 30 March in which six Arabs were killed in clashes with security forces after a government decision to expropriate land in Galilee.
    The event, held for the past 29 years, has been observed by Israel’s large Arab minority each year to protest against ongoing discrimination and the appropriation of their land by the Jewish majority.
    This year, Israel’s Arab minority will hold a central rally in an unrecognized Bedouin village in the Negev to commemorate Land Day.
    The rally will be held in Abu Tlul, an unrecognized Bedouin village that is home to 3000 people in the Negev desert while parades and commemorations will also take place in the northern Galilee region.

    Palestine will always be remembered; Palestinians will never give up their right in having their own land back for as long as life will go on!

  • Related: 28 years and for as long as it might take…
  • March 28 2005

    Daniel Day-Lewis & Sunday Times, Thanks

    Please take a minute to thank the Sunday Times and Daniel Day-Lewis for an excellent article in the March 20 edition entitled “Inside scarred minds”, in which the renowned actor, on his first visit to the Gaza Strip, meets Palestinian families living in conflict and the psychologists who are counseling them.
    Our thanks and support are all the more important because the Zionist Federation has today urged its members to complain about the article, which it described as “very unpleasant”. We must not allow the newspaper or celebrity to be silenced, as this will discourage other high-profile figures from speaking out.
    Write to letters[at]sunday-times.co.uk. To assess response rates, please Bcc your letters (which will remain confidential) to info[at]arabmediawatch.com

    Via: The Black Iris, Source: Arab Media Watch

    March 25 2005

    Uffff…More Attacks!

    I just came across Rafah Pundit’s post: Blogversation, which mentioned the post: Zippy and the very odd day. Being the curious person I am, I simply went to read that post. I wish I never did. It turned out another post with misconceptions and fake facts, obviously from a not very well-informed background about neither Palestinians nor Muslims.
    With all my respect to Anne, who wrote the post, but I believe one should at least search the right sources and be fair enough in order to write such an offensive post.
    It’s not only because I highly admire and respect Rafah Pundits, it’s because I’ve always believed writing is responsibility, it affects millions, and therefore one should never spread lies, market false ideas and mislead people who read what one is writing just to serve personal interest.

    I always say everyone is free to believe what they want to believe, and like or dislike whatever they choose, but only when they tend to keep it personal and not start an attack that will harm other people whoever they were. I wont go on replying to every lie I unfortunately found in that post insulting every Palestinian, and blaming every Muslim since the time of prophet Mohamed (pbuh), I’ll cut it short and summarize what I want to say in 2 points:

    1. A Muslim is not considered a Muslim if (s)he does not believe in Christianity or Judaism, if (s)he does not respect them, be good to them and believe that Islam is just a continuation of these 2 religions, and therefore a relationship of respect and friendship should be between people belonging to any religion. The prophet did not kill Jews or Christians or non-believers unless they were attacking. Islam is based on the fact that it should be spread but no one should join Islam or believe in it by force. Everyone is free to believe what they want as long as they are leaving Muslims in peace. Whoever acts differently threatening the lives of Muslims or non-Muslims, is not a Muslim by all means!
    2. Allow me to use your own phrasing Anne to explain this point: [It’s the common (and getting old) routine of “they’re not all bad” and “it’s just a few extremists.” I have encountered this notion time and time again, and all I can think is that it didn’t take all the Germans, or even all the Nazis, to kill two out of every three Jews in Europe”] why don’t you think the same way when it comes to Palestinians? It takes only few Israelis to erase Palestinians from the face of this Earth, did Palestinians hate all Jews? Did they reject peace-gestures from Israeli peace-activists? Palestinians who -unlike you- believe in the suffering of Jews throughout the history, ask for nothing but having their own land, the Holy Land in which Muslims, Christians and Jews should live peacefully, it doesn’t have to be taken from them by force and called a different name and be restricted to Israelis! It’s the HOLY LAND!!!!! They want nothing but to be fair to them and let them live in peace. I really don’t know where you got these “Palestinians shoot Israeli kids in their sleep” and all that stuff, but take my advice, refer to reliable sources of information next time you write.

    I know that no matter what I say here whoever wants to hate Palestinians and Muslims will do even if they saw facts contradicting their wrong ideas. I just thought I’d clear up the above points for those who are willing to know and who are willing to be neutral and unbiased.

    March 23 2005

    Palestine Wins Saddest Photo Prize

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    Palestine won the prize for the saddest photo in the BBC “Sadness and Joy” photography contest.
    The photo captured by the Palestinian TV producer Abdul-Rahman Al-Humran, shows three young girls weeping in sorrow for their brother, who was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the city of Rafah in Gaza, won the first place in the competition.
    The winning photo was published in six different languages on the BBC websites.

    [Via: PalestineBlogs, and Sabbah’s Blog]