Former Canadian MP sails against Gaza blockade

September 28, 2012, Gaza’s Ark http://www.gazaark.org (Canada)

Jim Manly (MP 1980-88) sails against Gaza Blockade

For immediate release

28 September 2012

Former Canadian MP (Member of Parliament 1980 to 88) and retired United Church Minister Jim Manly* will join a group of prominent internationals on the Freedom Flotilla’s “Estelle” sailing from Naples to Gaza in early October.

The mission of the Estelle, which started in Scandinavia and visited many European ports before reaching Italy yesterday, September 27th, is the latest initiative of the international “Freedom Flotilla Coalition” (FFC) to challenge the Blockade of Gaza.

The “Canadian Boat to Gaza” campaign is coordinating Jim’s trip and also playing a key role in the next FFC action: Gaza’s Ark, which is geared towards boat building in Gaza and encouraging Palestinian industry and exports to challenge the blockade from within.

FFC’s petition calling for an end to the Israeli Blockade of Gaza has been signed by over a hundred European Parliamentarians.

Jim Manly will be holding a press conference in Vancouver airport on the afternoon Wed., Oct 3rd as he leaves for Italy.

For more information or to get in touch with Jim Manly:

email: info@gazaark.org

Ehab Lotayef: +1.514.941.9792 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +1.514.941.9792 end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Irene MacInnes +1.604.737.1299 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +1.604.737.1299 end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Sandra Ruch +1.416.716.4010 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +1.416.716.4010 end_of_the_skype_highlighting

David Heap (in French): +1.519.859.3579 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +1.519.859.3579 end_of_the_skype_highlighting / +33 (6) 18 61 78 37 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +33 (6) 18 61 78 37 end_of_the_skype_highlighting

__________________________

* Jim Manly, a brief biography:

Jim Manly is a retired United Church minister who served as a New Democratic Party Member of Parliament from 1980-88, representing Cowichan-Malahat-the Islands, a BC Coastal riding. As MP, he was NDP critic for Indian Affairs and later critic for Fisheries and also International Development. As a United Church minister, Jim served mostly British Columbia congregations and has been active in the Church’s social justice work in Canada and the Americas. Ordained in 1957, he retired in 1997. He lives near Nanaimo, B.C. with his wife, Eva, and together they continue to be active in a number of areas including Mid-Islanders for Justice and Peace in the Middle East. This past spring he and Eva took part in a Pilgrimage of Solidarity to the Occupied Territory of the Palestinian West Bank.

Fórum Social Palestina Livre é lançado em Porto Alegre

26 setembro 2012, Vermelho http://www.vermelho.org.br (Brasil)

O Fórum Social Mundial Palestina Livre, que acontecerá de 28 de novembro a 1 de dezembro, em Porto Alegre, foi lançado oficialmente nesta segunda (24), com presença de autoridades brasileiras e palestinas e de integrantes dos movimentos sociais. Foi o pontapé inicial para a realização do encontro, que discutirá a realidade palestina e será palco para o apoio mundial à luta deste povo pelo seu Estado.

Em coletiva de imprensa, o governador do Rio Grande do Sul demonstrou sua solidariedade coma a causa palestina e apoio à realização do Fórum. Ele ressaltou que o Brasil defende o "direito de existência de um estado palestino livre soberano".

"É necessário que os setores políticos de Israel e da comunidade palestina se unifiquem, para que, com base na tolerância, no respeito à autodeterminação dos povos e ao direito de existência do Estado Palestino, comunguem para uma grande movimentação política, global, para o reconhecimento deste Estado e dos direitos históricos, culturais e sociais do povo palestino", afirmou Tarso.

Denúncia
A deputada Haneen Zoabi, uma das poucas palestinas a ter assento no parlamento israelense, destacou o papel do Fórum no sentido de conscientizar a comunidade internacional sobre a realidade da palestina. “Temos que ouvir o que Israel está dizendo: que não vão retirar as tropas até a fronteira de 1967, que não vão reconhecer Jerusalém ou permitir o retorno de refugiados palestinos”, disse a deputada.

Haneen integra uma geração de palestinos que já nasceu nos territórios ocupados. Para a parlamentar, a comunidade internacional tem feito "vista grossa" para a violação dos direitos humanos praticados pelo Estado sionista. “Israel não paga o preço dos danos que causa. São feitos 60 acordos com a União Europeia e também com outros países, como o Brasil, o que inviabiliza a cobrança do cumprimento às normas estabelecidas pela ONU para proteção aos palestinos”, afirmou.

De acordo com Haneen, Israel "se autoafirma como um estado democrático e diz que promove a ocupação e constrói um muro para isolar a Palestina do restante de Israel por questões de auto-defesa”. Mas a realidade é bem diferente, aponta.

Conforme a parlamentar explicou, Israel expulsou 85% dos palestinos no final da década de 1940 para construir o seu Estado. Além disso, confiscou 85% das terras particulares dos palestinos que vivem lá. Hoje, 50% dos palestinos estão abaixo da linha de pobreza. Apesar dos palestinos representarem 18% da população no Estado de Israel, as universidades têm apenas 8% de árabes.

Além disso, Israel domina econômica e culturalmente o território, com 35 leis que autorizam a descriminação racial, religiosa e econômica. “Somos menos de 1% no setor privado e 7% dos cargos públicos", destaca a deputada. Ela fez um chamado para que se unifique a luta em solidariedade aos palestinos, não apenas em torno do fim da ocupação, como também em relação ao direito de retorno dos palestinos. Estima-se que seis milhões de palestinos estejam refugiados em diversos países do mundo.

O prefeito de Belém, na Palestina, Victor Batarseh também participou do evento em Porto Alegre e denunciou a política israelense. “Com o muro de oito metros, estamos vivendo em uma prisão. Só 15% têm permissão para trabalhar. A nossa agricultura foi afetada com a construção do muro e era nossa principal fonte de sobrevivência. Pessoas adoecem ou sofrem infarto e não podem ser atendidas em Jerusalém. Cristãos e muçulmanos são proibidos de rezar”, relatou.

Já o embaixador da Palestina no Brasil, Ibrahim Alzeben, disse que o Fórum Social Mundial Palestina Livre será uma oportunidade para os refugiados denunciarem o que vivem há 65 anos, desde a divisão do território palestino pela Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU). "Nosso povo está dividido em vários lugares do mundo, mas está unido num mesmo ideal. Queremos uma vida digna, sem ocupação e sem discriminação", destacou.

O deputado estadual Raul Carrion (PCdoB) - autor da Lei Estadual de Solidariedade ao Povo Palestino - reiterou a necessidade de realizar debates sobre o tema e elogiou a iniciativa do evento. “Somos solidários à criação do Estado Palestino, à negociação, à paz na região”, disse o parlamentar.

Organização
Antes da coletiva, aconteceu o primeiro encontro de trabalho da organização do Fórum, para discutir a estrutura e mobilização para o evento. E, em seguida, foi realizado um seminário de formação, no qual, além da deputada palestina, participou também a professora Analucia Pereira, da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS).

Analucia fez um apanhado histórico de como a intervenção imperialista europeia na região do Oriente Médio, promovida principalmente pela Grã-Bretanha e a França, levou à situação atual. “O sionismo começou tímido porque os judeus estavam espalhados por vários países da Europa, mas conquistou apoio importante dos banqueiros e estabeleceu um fundo nacional judaico, que permitiu compra de terras na Palestina. A combinação entre os interesses britânicos e os do movimento sionista se aprofundou e, em 1948, logo após a 2ª Guerra Mundial, resultou na partilha do território para a criação de dois estados, na qual se previa que 57% das terras seriam destinadas aos judeus e o restante para os palestinos, cuja população era infinitamente maior, além do estabelecimento das nações árabes como se conhece hoje”, resgatou.

Entidades
A coordenação do Fórum conta com cerca de 40 movimentos sociais, sindicatos e ONGs. A ideia é fazem uma ampla mobilização, para que o evento seja representativo e mais pessoas possam conhecer a realidade palestina hoje.

"O lançamento foi muito bom. A presença do governador foi importante, demonstra como o estado está comprometido. Nossa tarefa agora é ampliar e trabalhar a mobilização para que o fórum seja o mais participativo possível", disse o presidente da Federação Árabe-Palestina do Brasil (Fepal), Elayyan Aladdin. Segundo ele, a Fepal já tem programada uma agenda de viagens, para convidar as comunidades palestinas a participar do encontro de novembro. Ele destacou ainda a importância de agregar à atividade o meio estudantil e acadêmico.

A presidenta do Cebrapaz, Socorro Gomes, também ressaltou a importância do apoio do governo ao Fórum e à causa palestina. Segundo ela, o evento foi uma grande demonstração da determinação das entidades brasileiras no apoio à questão. "Em meio às diferenças, foi construída uma unidade sobre a realização do Fórum, que divulgará a cultura palestina, denunciará o sofrimento daquele povo, vai expor a solidariedade mundial e traçará uma agenda de lutas em defesa do Estado palestino", disse.

Socorro também denunciou a intransigência de Israel sobre o assunto. "Israel não obedece às resoluções da ONU, é uma potência extremamente armada - inclusive com armas nucleares - e que ameaça os países que não se submetem à sua política racista", colocou, defendendo que o Estado palestino é uma questão "de justiça, humanitária e essencial para a paz no mundo".

"Israel se comporta como a África do Sul na época do apartheid e deve ser tratado como um estado racista e genocida, que não obedece às leis internacionais", encerrou.

Durante os dias de realização do Fórum, organizações brasileiras e internacionais e pessoas que apoiam o fim da ocupação israelense e da colonização das terras árabes estarão discutindo formas de intervenção para promover justiça e paz na região. Além da denúncia, a ideia é dar visibilidade à causa e à solidariedade que ela tem conquistado ao redor do mundo.  (Com agências)

Chomsky califica de “odiosa” película antislámica

25 septiembre 2012, HispanTv http://www.hispantv.ir (Irán)

El lingüista, filósofo y activista estadounidense Noam Chomsky ha afirmado este martes que la película antislámica producida en Estados Unidos viola la normativa internacional y la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos.

Durante una entrevista con la agencia iraní de noticias Mehr, Chomsky ha calificado de odiosas la producción y emisión de la blasfema película ˈLa inocencia de los musulmanesˈ, dirigida por un israelí-estadounidense, y ha afirmado que esta insultante medida ha suscitado muchos retos.

En cuanto a la opinión de algunos estadounidenses respecto a la legalidad de este largometraje, pese a su inmoralidad, el filósofo norteamericano ha señalado que “la producción de esta repugnante película, no solo no es un muestra de libertad de expresión, sino que manifiesta odio y una cierta actitud agresiva”.

La película antislámica, según Chomsky, contradice el Pacto Internacional de los Derechos Civiles y Políticos de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos en torno al respeto de los derechos de los demás, así como la salvaguarda de la seguridad y el orden.

“La libertad de expresión no es un derecho sin límites, y en Europa y otros puntos del mundo existen normas que restringen este derecho”, ha afirmado.

Respecto a las reacciones al largometraje en EE.UU., el activista norteamericano ha expresado su deseo de que las autoridades estadounidenses que han condenado la película, lo hayan hecho de forma honesta para que, por lo menos, no hayan actuado en el marco del engaño, una actitud que adoptan normalmente.

La ira del mundo islámico por la película ˈLa inocencia de los musulmanesˈ se intensificó después de que el semanario satírico francés ˈCharlie Hebdoˈ publicara una serie de caricaturas que profanan la figura del profeta del Islam, Hazrat Mohamad (P).

Norway: no more tax breaks for funding settlements

23 september 2012, Alternative Information Center http://www.alternativenews.org (Israel)

The Norwegian Ministry of Finance resolves that: gifts to organisations that provide funds to Israeli settlements are no longer tax-deductible.

(The Karmel-instituttet paid for half of the houses in Alonei Shilo (above), a settlement illegal under both international and Israeli law (Photo: Peace Now)

Following advocacy-work and pressure from Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) and the Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees (NUMGE), the Norwegian Ministry of Finance today (20 September) announced their decision to exclude the Norwegian organisation “Karmel-instituttet” from the list of organisations to which the Norwegian public may get tax deductions for providing funds to. The reason behind the decision is that the organisation provides financial support to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

- We are very pleased that the Ministry of Finance has made this decision, based on the fact that Karmel provides funds to the illegal Israeli settlements. The decision follows a letter sent by NPA and NUMGE in January this year, asking them to look into the issue’, says the Secretary-General of NPA, Liv Tørres.

The Ministry of Finance, in their press release today, writes that their intention is to ensure that the system of tax deductions does not benefit organisations that actively support or contribute to acts that are in contravention of international law. On the basis of information from the Karmel-institute about their transfer of financial support to Israeli settlements and the organisation’s own stated intention to continue providing such support, the Ministry of Finance has decided that gifts to the organization are no longer tax-deductible.

Commenting on the decision, Stein Guldbrandsen of NUMGE said: ‘Norwegian citizens who have provided financial support to Karmel-instituttet through the years must now contemplate that their support has constituted a contribution to breaches of international law’.

Tørres and Gulbrandsen promise that the NPA and NUMGE will continue to focus on how we may prevent all Norwegian financial support to the Israeli settlements’ and add that ‘we see the decision of the Ministry of Finance as an important political signal from the Norwegian government, that such activities are unacceptable’.

Background-information

NPA and NUMGE’s work on Norwegian links to the Israeli occupation: In May 2012, NPA and NUMGE released a report (in Norwegian) looking at Norwegian links to the Israeli occupation, in the form of trade with, investments in and financial support to the settlements or corporations that are involved in the Israeli occupation.

The report can be downloaded in Norwegian here http://www.folkehjelp.no/no/nyheter/2012/?module=Articles&action=Article.publicShow&ID=19080

Karmel-instituttet: This Norwegian organisation has for a number of years provided financial support to the illegal Israeli settlement of Alonei Shilo, in the occupied Palestinian territories. According to the organization, around half of the houses in the settlement (23 caravan-homes and 3 “study centres”) are paid for through funds collected by Karmel-instituttet from Norwegian citizens. In addition to being illegal according to international law, the settlement of Alonei Shilo does not have an official permit from the Israeli government, and is hence an illegal settlement also according to Israeli law.

The legal basis for the decision: Effective from 1 January 2012, the Norwegian Ministry of Finance can remove organisations from the list of organisations approved for tax-deductible gifts, with the stated purpose of ensuring Norwegian follow-up of resolutions from the UN Security Council. One such resolution is UN SC Resolution 465 (1980), which calls on all states ‘not to provide Israel with any assistance to be used specifically in connection with settlements in the occupied territories’. As tax-deductions should be seen as a form of government-subsidizing, the letter from NPA and NUMGE asking the Ministry to look into the case of Karmel, referring to this resolution as the basis for the request. The Ministry of Finance, in their decision on the issue, did not refer to particular UN resolutions or international conventions, but stated that their intention is to ensure that the system of tax deductions does not benefit organisations that actively support or contribute to acts that are in contravention of international law.

La ONU denuncia la impunidad de los colonos judíos que atacan a la población palestina

24 septiembre 2012, Naiz.Info http://www.naiz.info (Euskal Herria/País Vasco)

La alta comisionada adjunta para los Derechos Humanos de la ONU, Kyung Wha-Kang, ha denunciado la impunidad que protege las violaciones de los derechos humanos que cometen los colonos judíos contra la población palestina.

Ginebra -- La alta comisionada adjunta para los derechos humanos, Kyung Wha- Kang, ha presentado ante el Consejo de Derechos Humanos de la ONU, que se ha reunido en Ginebra, una evaluación sobre el nivel de cumplimiento por parte de Israel de las recomendaciones que le formuló una comisión investigadora en los territorios ocupados palestinos.

En ella, Kang ha denunciado la impunidad que protege las violaciones de los derechos humanos que perpretan los colonos judíos conta la población palestina, sus propiedades y los olivos.

Ha señalado que los representantes de su oficina «continúan documentando esa violencia» y ha añadido que es obligación de Israel garantizar que los responsables respondan ante la justicia.

La representante de la ONU ha lamentado que todavía «nadie ha sido acusado por ninguno de los incidentes documentados por la comisión», por lo que ha remarcado la necesidad de que Israel persiga «con más seriedad» a los responsables de los ataques.

Según los datos que ha expuesto, solo entre el 1 de agosto y el 11 de setiembre pasados, 426 olivos fueron dañados o destruidos en 25 episodios de violencia protagonizada por colonos.

JUDITH BUTLER RESPONDS TO ATTACK: ‘I AFFIRM A JUDAISM THAT IS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH STATE VIOLENCE’

August 27, 2012, http://mondoweiss.net (USA)

by Judith Butler

Yesterday the Jerusalem Post published an attack on the awarding of a major international prize to Judith Butler, the philosopher and Berkeley professor of comparative literature, because Butler favors boycotting Israel. Butler wrote this response and, unhopeful that the Post would publish it, sent it to us. --Editors.

The Jerusalem Post recently published an article reporting that some organizations are opposed to my receiving the Adorno Prize, an award given every three years to someone who works in the tradition of critical theory broadly construed. The accusations against me are that I support Hamas and Hezbollah (which is not true) that I support BDS (partially true), and that I am anti-Semitic (patently false). Perhaps I should not be as surprised as I am that those who oppose my receiving the Adorno Prize would seek recourse to such scurrilous and unfounded charges to make their point. I am a scholar who gained an introduction to philosophy through Jewish thought, and I understand myself as defending and continuing a Jewish ethical tradition that includes figures such as Martin Buber and Hannah Arendt. I received a Jewish education in Cleveland, Ohio at The Temple under the tutelage of Rabbi Daniel Silver where I developed strong ethical views on the basis of Jewish philosophical thought. I learned, and came to accept, that we are called upon by others, and by ourselves, to respond to suffering and to call for its alleviation. But to do this, we have to hear the call, find the resources by which to respond, and sometimes suffer the consequences for speaking out as we do. I was taught at every step in my Jewish education that it is not acceptable to stay silent in the face of injustice. Such an injunction is a difficult one, since it does not tell us exactly when and how to speak, or how to speak in a way that does not produce a new injustice, or how to speak in a way that will be heard and registered in the right way. My actual position is not heard by these detractors, and perhaps that should not surprise me, since their tactic is to destroy the conditions of audibility.

I studied philosophy at Yale University and continued to consider the questions of Jewish ethics throughout my education. I remain grateful for those ethical resources, for the formation that I had, and that animates me still. It is untrue, absurd, and painful for anyone to argue that those who formulate a criticism of the State of Israel is anti-Semitic or, if Jewish, self-hating. Such charges seek to demonize the person who is articulating a critical point of view and so disqualify the viewpoint in advance. It is a silencing tactic: this person is unspeakable, and whatever they speak is to be dismissed in advance or twisted in such a way that it negates the validity of the act of speech. The charge refuses to consider the view, debate its validity, consider its forms of evidence, and derive a sound conclusion on the basis of listening to reason. The charge is not only an attack on persons who hold views that some find objectionable, but it is an attack on reasonable exchange, on the very possibility of listening and speaking in a context where one might actually consider what another has to say. When one set of Jews labels another set of Jews “anti-Semitic”, they are trying to monopolize the right to speak in the name of the Jews. So the allegation of anti-Semitism is actually a cover for an intra-Jewish quarrel.

In the United States, I have been alarmed by the number of Jews who, dismayed by Israeli politics, including the occupation, the practices of indefinite detention, the bombing of civilian populations in Gaza, seek to disavow their Jewishness. They make the mistake of thinking that the State of Israel represents Jewishness for our times, and that if one identifies as a Jew, one supports Israel and its actions. And yet, there have always been Jewish traditions that oppose state violence, that affirm multi-cultural co-habitation, and defend principles of equality, and this vital ethical tradition is forgotten or sidelined when any of us accept Israel as the basis of Jewish identification or values. So, on the one hand, Jews who are critical of Israel think perhaps they cannot be Jewish anymore of Israel represents Jewishness; and on the other hand, those who seek to vanquish anyone who criticizes Israel equate Jewishness with Israel as well, leading to the conclusion that the critic must be anti-Semitic or, if Jewish, self-hating. My scholarly and public efforts have been directed toward getting out of this bind. In my view, there are strong Jewish traditions, even early Zionist traditions, that value co-habitation and that offer ways to oppose violence of all kinds, including state violence. It is most important that these traditions be valued and animated for our time – they represent diasporic values, struggles for social justice, and the exceedingly important Jewish value of “repairing the world” (Tikkun).

It is clear to me that the passions that run so high on these issues are those that make speaking and hearing very difficult. A few words are taken out of context, their meaning distorted, and they then come to label or, indeed, brand an individual. This happens to many people when they offer a critical view of Israel – they are branded as anti-Semites or even as Nazi collaborators; these forms of accusation are meant to establish the most enduring and toxic forms of stigmatization and demonization. They target the person by taking the words out of context, inverting their meanings and having them stand for the person; indeed, they nullify the views of that person without regard to the content of those views. For those of us who are descendants of European Jews who were destroyed in the Nazi genocide (my grandmother’s family was destroyed in a small village south of Budapest), it is the most painful insult and injury to be called complicitous with the hatred of Jews or to be called self-hating. And it is all the more difficult to endure the pain of such an allegation when one seeks to affirm what is most valuable in Judaism for thinking about contemporary ethics, including the ethical relation to those who are dispossessed of land and rights of self-determination, to those who seek to keep the memory of their oppression alive, to those who seek to live a life that will be, and must be, worthy of being grieved. I contend that these values all derive from important Jewish sources, which is not to say that they are only derived from those sources. But for me, given the history from which I emerge, it is most important as a Jew to speak out against injustice and to struggle against all forms of racism. This does not make me into a self-hating Jew. It makes me into someone who wishes to affirm a Judaism that is not identified with state violence, and that is identified with a broad-based struggle for social justice.

My remarks on Hamas and Hezbollah have been taken out of context and badly distort my established and continuing views. I have always been in favor of non-violent political action, and this principle has consistently characterized my views. I was asked by a member of an academic audience a few years ago whether I thought Hamas and Hezbollah belonged to “the global left" and I replied with two points. My first point was merely descriptive: those political organizations define themselves as anti-imperialist, and anti-imperialism is one characteristic of the global left, so on that basis one could describe them as part of the global left. My second point was then critical: as with any group on the left, one has to decide whether one is for that group or against that group, and one needs to critically evaluate their stand. I do not accept or endorse all groups on the global left. Indeed, these very remarks followed a talk that I gave that evening which emphasized the importance of public mourning and the political practices of non-violence, a principle that I elaborate and defend in three of my recent books: Precarious Life, Frames of War, and Parting Ways. I have been interviewed on my non-violent views by Guernica and other on-line journals, and those views are easy to find, if one wanted to know where I stand on such issues. I am in fact sometimes mocked by members of the left who support forms of violent resistance who think I fail to understand those practices. It is true: I do not endorse practices of violent resistance and neither do I endorse state violence, cannot, and never have. This view makes me perhaps more naïve than dangerous, but it is my view. So it has always seemed absurd to me that my comments were taken to mean that I support or endorse Hamas and Hezbollah! I have never taken a stand on either organization, just as I have never supported every organization that is arguably part of the global left – I am not unconditionally supportive of all groups that currently constitute the global left. To say that those organizations belong to the left is not to say that they should belong, or that I endorse or support them in any way.

Two further points. I do support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement in a very specific way. I reject some versions and accept others. For me, BDS means that I oppose investments in companies that make military equipment whose sole purpose is to demolish homes. It means as well that I do not speak at Israeli institutions unless they take a strong stand against the occupation. I do not accept any version of BDS that discriminates against individuals on the basis of their national citizenship, and I maintain strong collaborative relationships with many Israeli scholars. One reason I can endorse BDS and not endorse Hamas and Hezbollah is that BDS is the largest non-violent civic political movement seeking to establish equality and the rights of self-determination for Palestinians. My own view is that the peoples of those lands, Jewish and Palestinian, must find a way to live together on the condition of equality. Like so many others, I long for a truly democratic polity on those lands and I affirm the principles of self-determination and co-habitation for both peoples, indeed, for all peoples. And my wish, as is the wish of an increasing number of Jews and non-Jews, is that the occupation come to an end, that violence of all kinds cease, and that the substantial political rights of all people in that land be secured through a new political structure.

Two last notes: The group that is sponsoring this call is the Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, a misnomer at best, that claims on its website that “Islam” is an “inherently anti-semetic (sic) religion.” It is not, as The Jerusalem Post has reported, a large group of Jewish scholars in Germany, but an international organization with a base in Australia and California. They are a right-wing organization and so part of an intra-Jewish war. Ex-board member Gerald Steinberg is known for attacking human rights organizations in Israel as well as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Their willingness to include Israeli infractions of human rights apparently makes them also eligible for the label, “anti-Semitic.”

Finally, I am not an instrument of any “NGO”: I am on the advisory board of Jewish Voice for Peace, a member of Kehillah Synagogue in Oakland, California, and an executive member of Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian Peace in the US and The Jenin Theatre in Palestine. My political views have ranged over a large number of topics, and have not been restricted to the Middle East or the State of Israel. Indeed, I have written about violence and injustice in other parts of the world, focusing mainly in wars waged by the United States. I have also written on violence against transgendered people in Turkey, psychiatric violence, torture in Guantanamo, and about police violence against peaceful protestors in the U.S, to name a few. I have also written against anti-Semitism in Germany and against racial discrimination in the United States.

Racial segregation on Israeli public bus: driver refused to transport Palestinian workers

19 august 2012, Alternative Information Center http://www.alternativenews.org (Israel)

A bus driver on the line from Tel Aviv to the West Bank settlement of Ariel did not allow Palestinians from the West Bank onto his bus. When forced to by a police officer, the driver made the workers get off the bus at the Barkan settlement, which was not their destination.*

Afikim bus
On 9 August several Palestinian passengers wishes to get on the bus from the Tel Aviv central bus station to the West Bank settlement of Ariel so they could return home to the West Bank. The driver refused to let them on and called the police. The police officer who arrived, however, told him that as the workers possessed work permits, public transportation regulations meant the driver had to take them.

Neriah Marek, another passenger on the bus, told the Israeli media outlet nrg.co.il that at the entrance to the settlement of Barkan the driver called the settlement guard and requested that he take the Palestinians off the bus. “When they got off the driver said to a passenger that ‘only this way they will learn, everyone who got on today will not get on anymore,’” related Marek.

Marek sent a letter to Israel’s Ministry of Transportation stating that “the behaviour of the driver was racist, discriminating between people based on nationality, and thus a gross violation of the orders of the police officer. The driver humiliated people and treated them as inferior.”

The Director of Afikim Public Transportation, Ben Hor Ahvat, told nrg that tThe driver acted precisely as expected of him.” “The policy is to board every passenger who has money to pay the far. That means we have no choice but to also board Palestinians in Israel and to take them to Judea and Samaria, even though this creates problems with the Israeli passengers and there is physical and verbal violence from both sides.”

According to Ahvat, it is the authority of every driver to decide that a Palestinian is suspicious and to call the police, as occurred in this case. He emphasized that the driver fulfilled the police officer’s orders. “Within Judea and Samaria the situation is different as it is prohibited for Palestinians to enter Israeli communities without a permit from the security officer and an armed person accompanying him, and there was accordingly a need to take them off,” he explained.

Ahvat adds that “the Palestinians make their lives easy when they travel with us via the Cross Samaria Highway, which is meant for Israelis only.”

Israel’s Ministry of Transportation responded that “The complaint will be checked and taken care of as is normal in such cases. Palestinian passengers possessing permits to enter Israel are permitted to use the transportation services.”

Samaria Regional Council, where the Barkan settlement is located, responded that: “According to directives of the {army’s} Central Command, community and industrial areas are prohibited for Palestinians to enter..unless they possess a work permit specifically for that place. ..”An entry permit to Tel Aviv is not an entry permit to Barkan according to the directives of the security system.”

*This article was corrected on 20 August. The original text noted that Afikim had Veolia's contracts for Road 443. However, these contracts were transferred in the last tender to the Kavim Company.

HATE IS NOT A JEWISH VALUE -- Rabbis for Human Rights-North America

August 17, 2012, Rabbis for Human Rights רבנים למען זכויות האדם http://www.rhr-na.org (USA)

Rabbis for Human Rights-North America Calls on Rabbis, Jewish Leaders to Teach: Hate Is Not a Jewish Value


***For Immediate Release***

In the wake of a violent attack by Israeli teenagers on Palestinian youths, Rabbis for Human Rights-North America calls on rabbis, cantors, Jewish educators, and community leaders to teach our children that hate is not a Jewish value.

Today, a mob dozens of Israeli teens attacked three Palestinian youths in Jerusalem’s Zion Square. One of the victims was beaten so severely that he required resuscitation and remains in critical condition. Witnesses described the scene as a “lynching” and said that the perpetrators shouted “death to Arabs” and other racist epithets.

As rabbis and cantors, we are shocked and embarrassed by the behavior of these teens. Regardless of our political opinions or our desired resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we have a responsibility to teach our children that Judaism condemns the shedding of blood, as all people are equal creations in the divine image.

We applaud the swift action of the Acting Jerusalem Police Chief, General Menachem Yitzhaki, in already setting up a special investigative team for the case. We urge the police and prosecutors to thoroughly investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of this horrific hate crime. And we praise the Magen David Adom rescue team who administered first aid, and the doctors and staff at Hadassah Hospital who continue to care for the victims. These medical personnel embody the Torah’s command, “You shall not stand against the blood of your neighbor.”

On this Shabbat, as we enter the reflective period of the month of Elul, we ask rabbis, cantors, and educators to spend a few minutes speaking with our children and our communities about today’s incident in Jerusalem. These conversations should emphasize that political differences are no excuse for bigotry. We pray that our children will help us to realize a world free of hatred or violence.

For more information, contact Joshua Bloom, Rabbis for Human Rights-North America's Director of Israel Programs, at jbloom@rhr-na.org or 718-683-2548

----------------------


From Mondoweiss:

‘TODAY I SAW A LYNCH WITH MY OWN EYES, IN ZION SQUARE, IN THE CENTER OF JERUSALEM’

by Annie Robbins on August 17, 2012

Jerusalem 2012. The account first appeared on Facebook in Hebrew. Translated by Haaretz:
Dozens of Jewish youths attacked three young Palestinians in Jerusalem's Zion Square early on Friday morning, in what one witness described as "a lynch" on Facebook.

.......

The three were allegedly attacked by youths shouting "Death to the Arabs" at them, as well as other racial slurs. One of them fell on the floor, and his attackers continued to beat him until he lost consciousness. They subsequently fled from the scene.

Within a short period of time rescue volunteers and Magen David Adom rescue services arrived on the scene, and found the victim with no pulse and not breathing. After a lengthy resuscitation attempt, he was transferred to hospital.

Writing on her Facebook page, one eye witness decribed the attack as a lynch: "Its late at night, and I can't sleep. My eyes are full of tears for a good few hours now and my stomach is turning inside out with the question of the loss of humanity, the image of God in mankind, a loss that I am not willing to accept."

"But today I saw a lynch with my own eyes, in Zion Square, the center of the city of Jerusalem ….. and shouts of 'A Jew is a soul and Arab is a son of a –,' were shouted loudly and dozens (!!) of youths ran and gathered and started to really beat to death three Arab youths who were walking quietly in the Ben Yehuda street," the witness wrote.

"When one of the Palestinian youths fell to the floor, the youths continued to hit him in the head, he lost consciousness, his eyes rolled, his angled head twitched, and then those who were kicking him fled and the rest gathered in a circle around, with some still shouting with hate in their eyes."

"When two volunteers [from local charities] went into the circle, they tried to perform CPR the mass of youths standing around started to say resentfully that we are resuscitating an Arab, and when they passed near us and saw that the rest of the volunteers were shocked, they asked why we were so in shock, he is an Arab.

About Annie Robbins:
Annie Robbins is Writer at Large for Mondoweiss, a mother, a human rights activist and a ceramic artist. She lives in the SF bay area.

Dirigente cutista presencia assassinato à queima-roupa de jovem palestino por soldado de Israel

16 Dezembro Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT) 2011 http://www.cut.org.br (Brasil)

Polícia israelense detém presidente do Sindicato dos Metalúrgicos de Porto Alegre por mais de três horas, apreende laptop e vasculha e-mails

Escrito por: Leonardo Severo

(Foto: Palestinos protestam contra assassinato de Mustafá)

Policiais israelenses mantiveram incomunicável, sob pressão, chantagens e ameaças, “numa verdadeira tortura”, durante mais de três horas no aeroporto Internacional de Telavive, o presidente do Sindicato dos Trabalhadores Metalúrgicos de Porto Alegre, Lírio Segalla, que viajou em missão oficial de representação da CUT ao Congresso Sindical da Federação de Sindicatos Palestinos (PGFTU).

Após ser levado a uma sala em separado no aeroporto Bem Gurion, Lírio foi submetido a um extenso interrogatório e teve seus objetos pessoais vistoriados. Sob ameaça, os policiais vasculharam o conteúdo do seu celular e do laptop, incluindo e-mails e redes sociais, anotando tudo, numa clara violação de privacidade. “Queriam saber os meus contatos, nomes, telefones, e-mails, endereços, o que eu achava de Israel e da Palestina, o que eu tinha ido fazer lá. Um insulto já ao descer do avião, na imigração”, denunciou Lírio, que é negro.

(Foto: Mustafá Mamimo, de 27 anos, a mais nova vítima do terrorismo de Estado de Israel)

Chegado na última quarta-feira de Ramalah, na Cisjordânia, onde permaneceu por cerca de uma semana, Lírio denuncia "a grave crise humanitária a que vem sendo submetido o povo palestino pela ocupação israelense, que toma suas terras, destrói suas casas, ergue assentamentos ilegais, usurpa, humilha". “É uma situação muito mais absurda e criminosa do que pensamos, é uma política de terrorismo de Estado que atinge indistintamente a todos os palestinos”, frisou.

Em relação às crianças e jovens que tomam a frente das manifestações contra a agressão israelense, denunciou o dirigente cutista, “a situação é ainda pior, pois as tropas atiram para matar, na altura dos olhos e à curta distância”. “Eu mesmo presenciei o assassinato à queima-roupa de um jovem palestino pelo exército de Israel. Dispararam um tipo de bomba de gás que é proibida internacionalmente. O invólucro é de aço e, como são lançados de muito perto, destroem a cabeça das pessoas. Foi isso o que aconteceu com o jovem Mustafa, de apenas 27 anos, assassinado na minha frente às 10 horas da manhã do dia 10 de dezembro em Nabi Saleh”.

(Foto: Bomba de gás utilizada por Israel vira bomba de fragmentação. Arma foi banida internacionalmente)

Impedido de circular pela Cisjordânia e barrado de entrar na Faixa de Gaza, Lírio denuncia a multiplicação dos “pontos de controle” israelenses por todo o território palestino, num cerco total: “há mais de 750 quilômetros de muros do apartheid, com seis metros de altura, arames farpados e todo tipo de sensores e alarmes”. “A ocupação ilegal vai encurralando os palestinos, tomando as suas terras e construindo assentamentos. Nestes locais os israelenses são doutrinados para hostilizar os árabes. Em Hebron, cidade milenar palestina, eu vi locais onde os israelenses jogam lixo e ácido nos árabes, que tentam se proteger como podem. Nesta mesma cidade milenar eu vi os israelenses caminhando tranquilos pelas avenidas, protegidos pelas suas tropas, e os palestinos obrigados a andar por estreitos corredores. Quando os israelenses estão mais próximos, eles cospem, chamam de porco, insultam de tudo o que é jeito”, relatou o sindicalista.

Conforme Lírio, “esta realidade não aparece nos meios de comunicação do Brasil. Não dá para ter noção, as pessoas estão sitiadas, desempregadas, humilhadas. Tudo o que vi me deixou com um nojo muito grande dos israelenses. É algo de embrulhar o estômago. Não quis comprar nada de Israel, não quero ter nada que me lembre aquele país”, acrescentou.

CUT defende punição exemplar aos criminosos
O secretário de Relações Internacionais da CUT, João Antonio Felício, enviou carta nesta sexta-feira ao Embaixador de Israel no Brasil, Rafael Eldad, e ao ministro de Relações Exteriores do Brasil, Antonio Patriota, defendendo a investigação do assassinato de Mustafa Tamimi e cobrando a apuração do crime e a punição exemplar dos responsáveis no âmbito da lei internacional, em especial a IV convenção de Genebra.

Em relação à afronta a Lírio, a CUT exige uma retratação formal das autoridades israelenses, bem como solicita às autoridades brasileiras que acompanhem o caso, a fim de que tão vergonhosos fatos não mais se repitam.