.https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2024/08/omni-israel-palestine-anthology-17-from.html
Compiled by Dick Bennett FOR A CULTURE OF PEACE, JUSTICE, and ECOLOGY
(#1 Feb. 22, 2011; #2 Feb. 16, 2012; #3 March 1, 2012; #4 May 18, 2012; #5 August 13, 2012; #6 October 29, 2012; #7 Dec. 17, 2012; #8 March 29, 2013; #9 Oct. 21, 2013; #10 April 28, 2014; #11, July 1, 2015; #12, June 21, 2016; #13, August 13, 2016; #14, May 15, 2021; #15, May 17, 2021; #16, May 25, 2021)
CONTENTS
Rabbi Arthur Waskow. “…One More Murder.” An important “Hamas” distinction; three tasks.
Julia Frankel. The Unprecedented Death Toll.
George Yancy. Reporting Judith Butler’s Call for Ceasefire.
Ahmad Abuznaid, USCPR. Cease Fire!
LTE on Fida Jiivis’ Stranger in My Own Land.
As’ad AbuKhalil. Rev. of Rashid Khalidi’s book, The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine.
You Tube. Speech in Irish Parliament.
Three Views of Oslo Accords from WRMEA.
Seven Views of Breakout from WRMEA.
Philip Weiss. American Anthropological Assoc. Votes to Boycott Israeli Academic Institutions.
Ramzy Baroud. Murdered Palestinian Children.
Nada Al Kahlout. Death of a Palestinian Child.
Palestine Chronicles. “Save the Children” Report.
Musafa Sheta. “Assault on Jenin.”
Chris Hedges and Asa Wistanley on Weaponizing Anti-Semitism v. Jeremy Corbin.
Jeremy Kuzmarov. Israeli Attack on US Ship Remembered.
People’s Dispatch. Nakba Is Every Day.
SOURCES
I occasionally list my sources, to support the argument of Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky in Manufacturing Consent, that the propaganda function of the mass or mainstream media is to mobilize bias in support of special interests that dominate the state by controlling news choices. My sources originate outside the propaganda machine. The list is not complete: Note Julia Frankel’s six sources.
Answer Coalition
Chris Hedges Report
Consortium News
Counterpunch
Covert Action Magazine
Julia Frankel’s 6 sources
Mondoweiss (several articles)
Palestine Chronicle
People’s Dispatch
Sanction Israel Campaign
Syria Direct
The Shalom Report
Truthout
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights US CPR
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (several articles)
You Tube
TEXTS
Except for two,, all of the essays were published 2021-2023.
I fell behind, not in collecting good articles, but in editing them for publication. I have now enough for several Anthologies. When this morning I received the following essay by Rabbi Waskow, I decided to catch up a little by reaching back to the last Israel/Palestine Anthology I was compiling in 2023, full of the horrific killing, with his 2024 essay offering important clarifications as an introduction.
The following important letter is addressed to Jewish people everywhere, but I have had the good fortune of being on Rabbi Waskow’s mailing list for a decade or more. Always, like this letter, he speaks to all people for peace. Let us heed his call to non-Jewish allies to share in an ecological world. Dick
Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political wing of the Hamas Party, murdered by Netanyahu, was seeking peace.
The Shalom Report, The Shalom Center
“Ten Haftarahs, One (More) Murder.” 2024.
Dear companions,
We are in the season when the sacred Jewish calendar ends the year with ten haftarot. There are three before Tisha B’Av, three of rebuke to prime the People for accepting that the Temples were destroyed to punish us for our sins. Then come seven more, moving from the Shabbat after Tisha B’Av to Rosh Hashanah, the haftarot of comfort and consolation.
But in fact, all ten share a basic understanding of the world. It is a zero-sum understanding. In the first three haftarot, the Godwrestling people is miserable because it has sinned against YHWH, and the other nations are triumphant. In the last seven, Israel is triumphant because it has reconciled with YHWH, and the other nations are defeated and miserable.
There is very little suggestion that all humanity could be joyful together: That Israel and all other nations could share triumphantly in walking different but complementary paths. That YHWH, the Breath of all life, could fit our differences together to make up the jigsaw puzzle of peace and justice for us all.
I think this zero-sum assumption is a basic mistake. It comes out of a world-view that is hierarchical. Somebody must be top dog. It can be YHWH, heard as the Breath of mostly-Jewish iife, telling us what to do. And right beneath is the people Israel, obeying YHWH and telling everybody else what to do — except when we sin and others trample on us.
But there is an alternative basic view of the world: it draws deeply on ecology, and it takes the biological outlook in which all species give life to each other, into a broader way of thinking in which all cultures and all polities within the human community also share. From their very differences they share, they live, and they flourish.
There are a number of passages from the classical Hebrew Prophets that would express this world-view. There are also a number of passages from prophetic figures whom we should anoint as true Prophets. From them we can find a far better series of ten haftarot for this season of the year.
Actually opening the sacred scroll to new Prophets should be one important project in creating a new Diaspora Judaism.
Now why did I add “one more murder” to the title of this letter to you?
During the last week, the week when we are supposed to listen to our own failings as pointing toward our own disasters, the Netanyahu government of Israel assassinated — that is, murdered — Ismail Haniyeh. Most of the mass media called him a Hamas leader. Fewer media named him the leader of the political wing of Hamas.
And that’s the crucial difference. Calling him just “Hamas” invites the public to think of him as one of the villains who planned and carried out the atrocious October 7th attack on Israeli civilians. But in fact, as the leader of the political wing of Hamas, he had been doing a lot of planning toward peace with Israel. He was the key chief Palestinian negotiator for a ceasefire and return of the captives kidnapped by the military wing on October 7th. And the political wing for months has been trying to work out how they could join with a transformed Palestinian Authority on the West Bank to create a broader and peace-oriented Palestinian governing body that could negotiate a peace between two self-governing peoples, in two states or confederation. The murder of Haniyeh has made the task much harder.
Why was he murdered by the Israeli ultra-right-wing government led by Mr. Netanyahu? Because they rejected peace with the Palestinian people, just as the military wing of Hamas rejects peace with the Israeli people. Both de-facto governments are obsessed with greed for land, greed to increase their own power, and the zero-sum “game” that says each of them must be top dog.
There are three tasks that face the American Jewish community:
(1) Working with non-Jewish allies toward a US government that sees Israelis, Palestinians, and others as sharing in an ecological world where the sum of the energy is far greater than zero. Where both peoples can govern themselves with internal democracy and external peace.
(2) Moving as much as possible of both what we may call the Jewish Establishment and what we might call Insurgent Jews, to exert their own energy in direct contact with Israelis and Palestinians of all communities to achieve a peace between two self-determining peoples.
(3) Inviting American Jews who seek the union of Spirit and Politics for the pursuit of Justice to join in creating a coherent yet decentralized New Diaspora Judaism.
For me, that is the future I hope to see for The Shalom Center and many partners. I welcome your comments on that vision.
With blessings of shalom, Arthur
.
The Shalom Center , 6711 Lincoln Dr , Philadelphia, PA 19119-3119
Julia Frankel. “The staggering toll of death + Palestinians are not ‘regarded as people’ by the rulers of Israel and the U.S.” Nov. 5, 2023.
Forwarded Sonny San Juan via uark.onmicrosoft.com
These numbers show the staggering toll of the Israel-Hamas war
[The stark difference in the conditions facing displaced Palestinians and Israelis is not mentioned…the former struggling to survive in the open air or in camps that are still bombed, the latter protected in safety and relatively good conditions.]
JERUSALEM (AP) — The latest Israel-Hamas war has quickly become the deadliest and most destructive of the five wars fought between the sides since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 from the Palestinian Authority. The fighting erupted on Oct. 7 when Hamas carried out a surprise attack in southern Israel. Since then, Israel has relentlessly pounded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes that have wrought unprecedented destruction, flattening entire neighborhoods. Here’s a look in numbers at the toll of the war as of Nov. 5, sourced from the Gaza Health Ministry and Israeli officials, as well as international observers and aid groups: https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-death-toll-numbers-injured-5c9dc40bec95a8408c83f3c2fb759da0?user_email=ba0b200971400943548535de476a7aae1ecc8efec9795edbb54d1547866c36d1&utm_medium=Morning_Wire&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_campaign=Morning%20Wire_6%20November_2023&utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers
. . . 200,000 The number of residential units destroyed in Gaza.
Sources: Associated Press reports, Gaza Health Ministry, Israeli military, U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Palestinian Red Crescent.
George Yancy. “Judith Butler. Palestinians Are Not Being “Regarded as People” by Israel and US.” TRUTHOUT, October 31, 2023.
Judith Butler calls for immediate ceasefire, Palestinians’ right of return, and the dismantling of colonial structures.
What’s happening in Gaza is genocide. The bodies keep falling, piling up. This is happening under our collective watch, our moment in history.
Israeli forces have now killed more than 8,300 people in Gaza, including at least 3,400 Palestinian children, and tens of thousands more face an acute risk of death as the Israeli military continues to prevent people in Gaza from accessing adequate food, clean water and functional medical care. The U.S. State Department has reportedly estimated that 30,000 babies under 6 months of age with barely formed immune systems are currently drinking contaminated water in Gaza. I dread to imagine the colossal ways in which illness and starvation wrought by conditions like these may soon push the death toll exponentially higher, even as Israel continues expanding its ground attacks under the cover of the ongoing communications blackout caused when Israeli forces severed Gaza’s phone and internet systems.
Since October 7 — when Hamas militants killed over 1,000 people in Israel and took hundreds of hostages and Israel began its ongoing campaign of mass murder — I have been in a state of profound grief. I am sick to my stomach in the face of so much death, so much destruction, so much displacement, oppression and genocide faced by so many Gazans. When I look at my own beloved children, I imagine with horror the over 3,400 Palestinian children who have been murdered, their tender and vulnerable bodies torn apart and buried under rubble. They are not terrorists! They are just as precious as any other children around the world. In my eyes, they are just as precious as Israeli children. . . . https://truthout.org/articles/judith-butler-palestinians-are-not-being-regarded-as-people-by-israel-and-us/
A prominent U.S. philosopher, Butler is distinguished professor in the Graduate School of the University of California, Berkeley, and holds the Hannah Arendt Chair at the European Graduate School. Butler is the author of numerous influential books, including The Force of Nonviolence, Gender Trouble, Precarious Life, Notes Toward a Performative Theory of Assembly, and most recently, What World Is This? A Pandemic Phenomenology. Butler is also an advisory board member of Jewish Voice for Peace who recently sent an open letter to President Joe Biden publicly declaring their “opposition to what the Israeli government is doing with American assistance” and calling on the U.S. government “to seek an immediate ceasefire.”
“NO CEASEFIRE, NO VOTES! Welcome to USCPR Action.”
Ahmad Abuznaid, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. (USCPR) January, 2024
Dear Dick,
In the past 75 days of this genocide, millions of Americans have taken action for Palestinian rights, pouring into the streets to protest and making the phones in Congress ring off the hook.
This much is clear: The people support Palestinian rights. Breaking poll numbers yesterday from Quinnipiac showed that, for the first time ever, a strong majority of Democrats, 58%, support our demand to stop arming Israel. A shocking 1 in 3 Democrats dropped their previous support for weapons to Israel over the past two months. Yet the majority of Congress, out of touch with the public, have shamefully dragged their feet on calling for a ceasefire—killing hundreds of Palestinian people every day.
It is our people power and advocacy that stopped Biden’s deadly deal with $14.3 billion of weapons to Israel, currently stalled in the Senate until January, and now we must go bigger.
As we head into the 2024 election year, I’m proud to announce that the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights is launching our advocacy and political arm, USCPR Action. . . . MORE
Want to get involved, Dick? Sign up to receive future email alerts from USCPR Action so you can take action with us in real-time.
Packed with news and views of Palestinians.
LTE “Praise for Fida Jiiyis’ book Stranger in My Own Land.“ What the establishment of Israel meant to Palestinians—in Israel, the occupied territories, Lebanon, and in the diaspora. “…it is difficult to understand how our history has allowed us to repeat racism, violence, torture, imprisonment, kills of civilians. . . .”
Review: The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine.
Editor. mronline.org (9-21-23).
Historian Rashid Khalidi’s concise and at times personal take on a century of colo
nial conquest and resistance in Palestine is a highly accessible read that focuses on key events and themes.
Originally published: Consortium News on September 18, 2023 by As’ad AbuKhalil (more by Consortium News) | (Posted Sep 20, 2023)
Culture, Ideology, Movements, WarMiddle East, PalestineNewswire, ReviewDiya’ Al-Khalidi, Husayn Khalidi, Khan Yunis, Lloyd George, Oslo Accords, PLO, Rashid Khalidi, The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine, Theodore Herzl, Winston Churchill, Yasser Arafat
There is a plethora of books on the Arab-Israeli conflict and yet those of us who teach the subject on college campuses are desperately looking for new ones to use as textbooks on the Palestinian question. Rashid Khalidi’s new book, The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonial Conquest and Resistance, 1917-2017, takes a fresh new approach.
Even among the good informative books on the conflict, like Sami Hadawi’s Bitter Harvest or Charles D. Smith’s Palestine and the Arab Israeli conflict, the tendency is to produce an overly detailed, blow-by-blow account of wars to introduce students to the origins and evolution of the conflict.
In his book, Khalidi refreshingly avoids presenting a tedious descriptive chronology and opts for a highly selective account of the conflict, dividing the book into themes and events.
He also adds personal details, regarding himself or his family, or even other members of the extended Khalidi family, giving the book a more interesting and accessible take. The historian was my advisor at the American University of Beirut at undergraduate and graduate levels.
Sudden refugees forever, Palestine Nakba 1948. (Hanini, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons)
He wrote his own PhD dissertation under Albert Hourani, entitled British Policy Toward Syria and Palestine and knows the history inside out. He also participated in Middle East negotiations as an advisor to the Palestinian delegation in Madrid and later in Washington D.C. Not surprisingly, Khalidi has written prolifically about Palestine, including a book on the formation of Palestinian identity.
Damning Account of Balfour Declaration
By avoiding the production of a chronology, his book focuses on key events and personalities. His account of the Balfour Declaration is concise but damning about the cunning British policy, a theme he had dealt with in his PhD dissertation.
He also includes correspondence at the very end of the 19th century between prominent Ottoman politician Diya’ Al-Khalidi and Austro-Hungarian political activist Theodore Herzl, considered the father of modern Zionism. The correspondence puts to rest the notion that Herzl, or early Zionists in Europe, simply did not know that Palestine was already inhabited or that the Palestinians did not fear very early on a grave danger from the Zionist project, which intended to steal their land, and subsequently their entire, ancestorial homeland.
Khalidi cites the words of Herzl himself, who wrote in his diary:
We shall try to spirit the penniless population across the border by procuring employment for it in the transit countries… .Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly.
Colonial Myths Dispelled
Herzl is still treated in the West as a humanist dreamer. He surely dreamt of the forceful wholesale expulsion of the native population. It is a racist mindset that led people like Herzl to assume Palestinians were too backward politically to manifest national attachment to their homeland and to fight for its retention.
The notion that ethnic cleansing of the natives happened as an accident is belied by the evidence contained in the early writings of Herzl. The entire Zionist project was predicated on the principle of creating a new Jewish homeland over the ruins of an existing Palestinian homeland, where the majority of the population was not Jewish and where Jews and non-Jews had lived side-by-side for centuries. It is Zionism that poisoned this relationship.
Khalidi does not fill the book with numerous facts and events, but selects the most important to give the reader a good view of the overall picture. He, for example, informs us that in the Arab Revolt of 1936-39, 10 percent of the adult Arab population was “killed, wounded, imprisoned or exiled”. This in itself shows how the British acted as the midwife for the crime of erasing the Palestinian homeland to make room for a new homeland intended solely for Jewish immigrants from Europe. Local Jews were initially opposed to Zionism.
Khalidi also dispels the myth that Palestinian and Arab societies were in a state of stagnation. He points out that “thirty-two new newspapers and periodicals were established in Palestine between 1908 and 1914, with even more in the 1920s and 1930.” He builds on his previous work on Palestinian identity to show Palestinians forged a national identity not different from modern national identities of other groups.
Lord Peel and Sir Horace Rumbold, chairman and vice chairman of the Palestine Royal Commission, leaving their offices in Jerusalem during the Arab Revolt in 1936. (Creative Commons/Public Domain)
Responding to the Zionist notion that Palestinian nationalism only emerged in response to Zionism, Khalidi points out that Zionism itself was shaped in response to antisemitic hatred in Europe.
British Trickery and Deception. . . .MORE
Bob Billig sent me a rousing speech given in the Irish Parliament, below. It’s inspiring. It’s about Israel/Gaza. A lot of people around the world are calling for fairness for the Palestinians. – Art https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f7fMYRJpglM
watch address by Matt Carthy TD on Palestine
OSLO ACCORDS
“”Three Views: The Oslo Accords Killed Palestinian Dreams for Independence.”
Farah Najjar. “’Olive Branches, Victory Signs’: How the Oslo Accords Failed the Palestinians.”
Miko Peled. “Understanding Oslo Is Crucial for Moving Forward.”
Yara Hawari. “Palestinian Authoritarianism Has Its Roots in the Oslo Accords.”
Washington Report on Middle Eastern Affairs (Nov-Dec 2023).
The Break out from the Gaza Prison October 2023
“Seven Views: Operation Al-Aqsa Flood Changes Everything.”
Ramzy Baroud. “A Day to Remember: How ‘Al-Aqsa Flood- Altered the Relationshiop
Between Palestine and Israel Forever.”
Gordon Levy. “Israel Can’t Imprison 2 Million Gazans without Paying a Cruel Price”.
Ali Abunimah. “Biden Lied about Seeing Photos of Beheaded Israeli Children.”
Tareq Hajjaj. “Palestine Letter: Israel Is Impoising a Blackout on Gaza to Hide a Massacre.”
Mohammed R. Mhawesh. “Why Bomb Schools? Gaza Families Have No Safe Place.”
David Rovics. “The Gaza Ghetto Uprising.”
Dale Sprusansky. “The Perilous Future of Palestinian Solidarity Activism.”
A few notes about Rovics’ essay. He lives in Portland, OR; is a touring singer and pundit;
article was first pub. in CounterPunch; his website is davidrovics.com.
Within the parallel context of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising during WWII 1943, Rovics condemns the Western mainstream media failure to explain the motives and methods of Hamas in rising up against an occupation army. –D
“American Anthropological Association endorses academic boycott of Israel.” Editor. mronline.org (7-27-23).
Originally published: Mondoweiss on July 24, 2023 by Michael Arria (more by Mondoweiss) | (Posted Jul 26, 2023). Mondoweiss describes itself as a liberal, progressive Jewish media org.
Education, Empire, Movements, State Repression, StrategyAmericas, Israel, Middle East, Palestine, United StatesNewswireAcademic Boycott, American Anthropological Association (AAA)
Members of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) have overwhelmingly endorsed a resolution to boycott Israeli academic institutions. 71% of the members who voted backed the measure while just 29% opposed it.
Philip Weiss. “Biden, Jayapal, and liberal Zionists rush to prop up the Israel lobby for 2024.” Mronline.org (7-21-23).
Originally published: Mondoweiss on July 18, 2023 (more by Mondoweiss).
Empire, Ideology, State Repression, StrategyAmericas, Israel, Middle East, United StatesNewswire2024 Election
Liberal Zionists rushed to affirm their support for Israel and hatred of anti-Zionism in the wake of the Pramila Jayapal “racist state” comment because they are afraid the Israel lobby will abandon the Democratic party.
Ramzy Baroud (Posted Sep 09, 2023) “The twisted Israeli logic of murdering Palestinian children, and what can we do to stop it?” Editor. mronline.org (9-10-23).
The problem for Palestinians is not just that of Israel’s violence, but also the lack of international will to hold Israel accountable.
Originally published: Palestine Chronicle on September 6, 2023 (more by Palestine Chronicle).|
Human Rights, Inequality, State Repression, StrategyGaza, Israel, Middle East, PalestineNewswireInternational Law, Israeli Occupation, Palestinian Children, West Bank
Israel kills Palestinian children as a matter of policy. This claim can easily be demonstrated and is supported by the latest findings of a Human Rights Watch report.
The question is: why? When the police or military shoot a child anywhere in the world, though utterly tragic, it can be argued, at least in theory, that the killing was an unfortunate mistake. But when thousands of children are killed and wounded in a systematic, ‘routine’ and comparable method within a relatively short period of time, the killing of children must be deliberate.
In a recent report, entitled ‘West Bank: Spike in Israeli Killings of Palestinian Children’, HRW reaches a strong conclusion based on an exhaustive examination of medical data, eyewitness accounts, video footage, and field research—the latter pertaining to four specific cases. . . .MORE
“Caged, stripped, beaten: Latest ‘Save the Children’ report on Palestine makes chilling read.” Editor. mronline.org (7-13-23).
According to a just-released report by the international rights organization, Save the Children, four out of five Palestinian children in the Israeli military detention system are beaten and 69 per cent are strip-searched.
Originally published: Palestine Chronicle on July 10, 2023 by The Palestine Chronicle, MEMO (more by Palestine Chronicle) | (Posted Jul 12, 2023).
Empire, Human Rights, Inequality, WarIsrael, Middle East, PalestineNewswireabuse, Detention Center, Israeli Military, Save the Children
The research found that nearly half—42 per cent—are injured at the point of arrest, including suffering gunshot wounds and broken bones. Worse, some report violence of a sexual nature and some are transferred to court or between detention centers in small cages, the child rights organization said.
New Evidence
The new research comes as the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 presents evidence today to the Human Rights Council on Palestinian children in detention. It is estimated that there are between 500 and 1,000 children held in Israeli military detention each year. . . .MORE
“‘Beautiful Dreams’: The 5-year-old Palestinian kindergartener who died of fear.” Editor. Mronline.org (5-25-23).
Mohammed is still grieving, and he cannot help thinking about what life would have been if Tamim was still alive, disassembling and reassembling his toys, his head filled with beautiful dreams.
Originally published: Palestine Chronicle on May 22, 2023 by Nada Al Kahlout (more by Palestine Chronicle) | (Posted May 24, 2023).
Culture, Human Rights, Inequality, WarIsrael, Middle East, PalestineNewswireGaza Strip, Mohammed Daoud, Tamim
In their home in the western Gaza Strip, Mohammed Daoud, 36, was finally able to calm his 5-year-old son, Tamim, and convince him to go to sleep despite the sounds of Israeli missiles falling around them. Mohammed did not know, at that moment, that Tamim would eventually fall asleep on his lap, though never to wake up. . . .MORE
“‘The gravity of the situation cannot be overstated’: an eyewitness account from the Israeli assault on Jenin.” Editor. Mronline.org (7-7-23).
As the occupation relentlessly tightens its grip on the Jenin refugee camp, the message is crystal clear–punish the stronghold of popular resistance. But they will not succeed and will only breed a new generation to carry the torch.
Originally published: Mondoweiss on July 3, 2023 by Mustafa Sheta (more by Mondoweiss) | (Posted Jul 06, 2023)
Human Rights, Inequality, State Repression, WarIsrael, Middle East, PalestineNewswireIsraeli Military, Jenin, Palestinian Resistance
Today, Monday, July 3, 2023, I stand before you to share my personal account of the events that unfolded in Jenin refugee camp early this morning. The Israeli military operation commenced with an aggressive assault on sites believed to be affiliated with the Palestinian resistance. They claimed these locations as their targets, launching three missiles that resulted in the loss of innocent lives and left many wounded.
Soon after, a full-scale invasion ensued, with an overwhelming presence of military forces. Jeeps, armoured vehicles, and military bulldozers stormed into Jenin, asserting their dominance over the ground. The skies above were not spared either, as a multitude of drones hovered ominously. . . . MORE
To criticize the apartheid state of Israel and defend the rights of Palestinians means being viciously attacked in orchestrated smear campaigns as an anti-Semite, even if you are Jewish. Listen · 30M
When the socialist Jeremy Corbyn became the leader of the Labour Party in Britain in 2015 and mounted a grassroots campaign in 2017 to become the British Prime Minister the ruling corporate elites, along with the war industry, panicked. They conspired with the Israel lobby to mount a vicious campaign of character assassination against Corbyn and his supporters, accusing them, even if they were Jewish, of anti-Semitism. Corbyn has been a long-time champion of Palestinian rights. The media did its part to crucify Corbyn as a bigot while Labour party officials ruthlessly purged the party of Corbyn supporters. Corbyn was eventually driven out of the party in 2020 after the snap election loss against Boris Johnson. The neutralization of Corbyn is an ominous precedent. The purging of Corbyn and his supporters effectively emasculated the left within the Labour Party. This was its goal. The unholy alliance between Israel, the war industry and the corporatists raise the question of whether it is possible in Britain or the United States to reform the system from within. Joining me to discuss these issues is Asa Winstanley an associate editor and reporter with the website Electronic Intifada and the author of “Weaponizing Anti-Semitism: How the Israel Lobby Brought Down Jeremy Corbyn”. . . . MORE
Asa Winstanley. Investigative journalist and podcaster. Author of Weaponising Anti-Semitism: How the Israel Lobby Brought Down Jeremy Corbyn, out now from OR Books: https://www.orbooks.com/catalog/weaponising-anti-semitism/
Jeremy Kuzmarov. “State of Israel and Lyndon B Johnson Deliberately Murdered 34 American Sailors in 1967, Fabricated Massive Cover-Up Still in Effect After 55 Years.” Covert Action Magazine. June 8, 2023.
Evidence suggests that the Israelis were ordered to attack the ship as part of a false-flag operation aimed at provoking a U.S. invasion of Egypt that was to result in the overthrow of Gamal Abdel Nasser. The Johnson administration then planned to carry out a nuclear first strike with the aim of “clobbering Russia,” and securing unfettered global hegemony. READ MORE →
“Israel is built on the ruins of hundreds of Palestinian villages.”
Peoples Dispatch. Mronline.org (5-13-23).
The International People’s Assembly (IPA) organized an online event to mark 75 years of the Nakba and the Palestinians’ continued resistance against the Zionist colonial apartheid occupation of Israel
By Peoples Dispatch (Posted May 12, 2023)
Originally published: Peoples Dispatch on May 11, 2023 (more by Peoples Dispatch) |
Ideology, Inequality, Race, State RepressionIsrael, Middle East, PalestineNewswireInternational Peoples’ Assembly (IPA), Nakba
Today’s Israel is built over the ruins of hundreds of Palestinian villages which were destroyed by Zionist militias during Israel’s formation in 1948, said professor and historian Ilan Pepe. He emphasized that the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their lands and homes was nothing but ethnic cleansing carried out by Israeli armed forces. Professor Pepe was speaking during an online event called “75 years of Nakba, 75 years of people’s resistance,” organized by the International People’s Assembly (IPA) on Wednesday, May 10, ahead of the Palestinian Nakba Day which is commemorated annually on May 15.
Thousands of Palestinians were killed and hundreds of thousands (according to some estimates around 750,000 to 800,000) were forcefully expelled by Israeli forces from their lands and villages inside the historic Palestine during the months leading up to Israel’s creation in 1948. Each year, Palestinians commemorate their forceful expulsion and dispossession as the Nakba, or the “great catastrophe” in Arabic.
Apart from Professor Pepe, Bassam al-Salhi, a member of the executive committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), Palestinian journalist Mariam Barghouti, and Mehdi Salhi from the Belgium Workers Party also spoke during the event moderated by Georgia Gusciglio of IPA Belgium.
The occupation is unleashing Nakba every day
All the speakers underlined the fact that Nakba was not a one-time event and that Palestinians continue to face Israeli oppression, atrocities, discrimination, killings, and forceful displacement on a daily basis. . . .MORE
“AJC is panicked by United Church of Christ’s solidarity with Palestinians under settler-colonialism.” Editor. Mronline.org (8-29-21).
The United Church of Christ resolution calling Israel’s continued “oppression” of Palestinians a “sin” has alarmed the American Jewish Committee and for good reason: Other Protestant churches are sure to follow, with measures that pose a real threat to apartheid.
Originally published: Mondoweiss on August 24, 2021 by Mark Braverman (more by Mondoweiss) | (Posted Aug 27, 2021).
Culture, Ideology, Inequality, RacePalestine, United StatesNewswireAmerican Jewish Committee, American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris, Apartheid, Protestant church, the United Church of Christ (UCC)
American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris is scared. Earlier this month he sounded the alarm about the “antisemitic leftwing tide that is sweeping up vulnerable Jews.” Harris’ over-the-top warnings (young Jews on campuses are being “picked off” by antisemites!) illustrates how panicked the Jewish establishment is about the erosion of support for Israel, not only among young Jews but with long-time, reliable allies in the mainline churches. . . . MORE
“Police are trying to stifle our solidarity with Palestinians. Help us make sure this backfires.” Rachel, World BEYOND War 5-25-21.
Dear Dick,
The last few days have been a rollercoaster — let me tell you a bit about it.
Over the past two weeks, like so many people around the world, I couldn’t tear myself away from the terrible violence against Palestinians. I couldn’t stop scrolling through the images and videos of families being massacred by airstrikes, worshippers being attacked in one of the holiest sites for Muslims in the world, children being arrested, entire residential buildings being bombed to the ground, tens of thousands being forced from their homes, hundreds of people killed, and thousands wounded.
Last week in Toronto I organized fellow Jewish community members and allies to stand up with me in solidarity with Palestinians. We felt a need to respond not only to the Israeli government’s militarized violence but also to the Canadian government’s complicity in it — through its diplomatic support, the Canada-Israel arms trade, and allowing the Israeli embassy to go so far as to illegally recruit Canadians to join the Israeli military.
It felt like the type of rare moment where everyone was seeing the horrific violence of a military superpower for what it was and we had to drop everything to take action.
On Friday we gathered outside the Israeli consulate in Toronto and spilled a river of blood (washable paint) from the building’s doors right down to the street. We made the bloodshed from Israel’s brutal occupation, military attacks, and ethnic cleansing in Gaza and across historic Palestine visible right on the consulate’s doorstep.
We knew we had made a powerful statement but we did not expect the deluge of media. Our protest was covered in dozens of local, national, and international outlets, and translated into many languages. In this CTV news article Israel’s Consul General was even forced to go on the defensive and answer to why a river of blood was coming out of her office. On Friday night an interview with me was broadcast on the evening TV and radio news by Canada’s national public broadcaster. Here’s a clip.
And right when things were starting to calm down on Saturday evening, we found out the Toronto police were pressing charges on Rabbi David Mivasair. I was honoured to stand beside Rabbi David on the steps of the Israeli consulate on Friday morning as this longtime solidarity activist and member of Independent Jewish Voices powerfully shared how his Judaism is a part of his resistance (watch this clip filmed live at the consulate). The coverage of his arrest has put the story of our solidarity action all over the media again. . . .MORE
Rachel Small
Canada Organizer, World BEYOND War
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“Syrians Stand In Solidarity With Palestine!” By Walid Al Nofal.
Syrians stand in solidarity with Palestine in the face of Israeli aggression (Photos) – Syria Direct
SYRIA DIRECT May 19, 2021.
AMMAN — Although the war machine of the Bashar al-Assad regime and its allied Russian and Iranian forces continue to take the lives of Syrians and forcibly disappear thousands in detention centers, Syrians demonstrated in support of the Palestinian people facing Israeli aggression in occupied East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
Many cities and towns in the provinces of Hama, Aleppo, Idlib, Daraa and others—as well as the Palestinian refugee camps in Syria—have witnessed demonstrations and protests denouncing Israeli hostilities.
This coincided with pro-Palestinian stances from Syrian opposition political bodies and figures. In an Eid al-Fitr message posted to social media, the National Coalition for Revolutionary and Opposition Forces wrote, “We affirm that the Syrian people stand alongside our brethren in occupied Palestine,” adding that “we stress the need for serious global action to stop the occupation’s aggression against the holy al-Aqsa Mosque and all Palestinian cities, especially Jerusalem and Gaza, and an end to the hateful occupation policies against the Palestinians.”
Photos of the demonstrations are seen at: Syrians stand in solidarity with Palestine in the face of Israeli aggression (Photos) – Syria Direct
“Thousands on way to DC for May 29 national march for Palestine.” ANSWER Coalition via uark.onmicrosoft.com. 5-28-21.
Dear Dick,
ANSWER Coalition organizers, activists, and volunteers are coming to Washington DC tomorrow from all over the country to participate in the national march for Palestine. The demonstration tomorrow was initiated by a coalition of Muslim American organizations, and hundreds of other organizations, including the ANSWER Coalition, are endorsing and building for the action. We have been working tirelessly—night and day—organizing, mobilizing, and building solidarity actions with the people of Gaza and all Palestinian people in cities and towns across the U.S. during the last three weeks. We want to thank everyone who has given their time, energy, and have made a financial contribution in this nationwide effort for the U.S. government to end all aid to apartheid Israel. We look forward to meeting everyone tomorrow, May 29, at Lincoln Memorial at 3PM. If you cannot join, but still want to show your support, you can make an urgently needed donation to help us defray transportation costs involved in bringing people to DC for the national march.
We have reached a turning point. The steadfastness and determination of the Palestinian people and the growing global solidarity movement are pointing to a new day. Just as the apartheid government in South Africa was ended by international solidarity, so too will the apartheid government of Israel.
Thank you again, and we will see you at the Lincoln Memorial tomorrow. Free Palestine! In solidarity,
Brian Becker, National Director, ANSWER Coalition
Nation of Change (5-31-21)
Jessica Corbett. “ DC March for Palestine demands Biden and Congress ‘hold Israel accountable for its war crimes in Gaza’.”
The #March4Palestine was a part of the new national #SanctionIsrael campaign urging the Biden administration and members of Congress to sanction Israel. Read more →
Mondoweiss <dave@mondoweiss.net> 5-28-21 (the following 7 items)
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News / Opinion / Activism / Culture / Media Analysis
“Now it’s ‘antisemitic’ to say that Israel practices ‘apartheid’.”
Israel lobbyists have opened a new front in their effort to characterize Palestinian solidarity as “antisemitic.” Now that two House members and leading human rights groups have said Israel practices “apartheid,” Israel’s friends want to shut down the discussion. It’s a good battle to have, as even mainstream groups say the shoe fits Israel. READ MORE
“San Francisco teachers union endorses BDS movement.”
The United Educators of San Francisco has become the first American K-12 public school union to endorse the BDS movement. READ MORE
“What archives teach us about Instagram infographics and solidarity with Palestine.”
If our commitment as social media users is truly to solidarity and allyship, then we must move past virtue signaling through shares and actually engage with like-minded users in the real world to work towards collective action. READ MORE
“This country has no future living by the sword: an interview with Angela Godfrey-Goldstein.”
Michael Winship interviews Angela Godfrey-Goldstein on Jerusalem, Gaza and the evolution of her activism from South Africa to Israel. READ MORE
“The fall and rise (and fall?) of apartheid.”
Apartheid in South Africa ended in part due to sanctions and pressure from the international community. It is once again on the international community to ensure that international law is upheld and apartheid sees its demise — this time in Palestine.
“Over 600 artists worldwide sign MusiciansForPalestine letter.”
Over 600 musicians, including Belly and Anwar Hadid, Black Thought and Questlove from The Roots, Cypress Hill, NARCY, NoName, Patti Smith, and Run the Jewels, have signed a statement demanding justice, dignity and the right to self-determination for the Palestinian people, and calls on artists to refuse to perform at Israel’s complicit cultural institutions. READ MORE
“Palestinians welcome Ireland’s ‘historic’ condemnation of Israel’s ‘de facto annexation’ of Palestine.”
In a unanimous vote, the Irish parliament, the Dáil, passed a motion calling Israel’s ongoing settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territory as “de facto annexation.” Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq praised the motion on Wednesday, saying “Ireland stood up in defense of human rights and became a beacon for the world to follow.” READ MORE
CONTENTS: ISRAEL-PALESTINE NEWSLETTER #16
http://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2021/05/omni-israel-palestine-newsletter-16-may.html
CURRENT EVENTS MAY 2021
Prashad, Israel Attacks Occupied Palestinian Territory OPT
Omar and Tlaib v. US Weapons to Israel, Common Dreams
AFSC and FCNL
Mondoweiss Coverage May 12-22
Abby Martin, Israeli Assault on Gaza
HISTORY
Bazian’s Book on Settler Colonial Occupation of Palestine
Israel Demolishes West Bank Village, The Guardian
BDS Movement 12 Years Old, Anna Baltzer
J Street Perspective: Defend the 2-state solution, stop the demolitions, build peace.
Book by Chomsky and Pappe, On Palestine
Book by Pappe, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine
Islamophobia
Book by Wajaht Ali, Fear, Inc.: The Roots of the Islamophobic Network in America
Balfour Declaration
Levine and Mossberg in Tikkun
Two Articles in Washinton Report on Middle East Affairs
Film by Independent Jewish Voices
Israeli Lobby
Articles by Hanan Ashrawi and John Mearsheimer
Interview of Grant Smith, author of Big Israel