Stay Human

Freedom Flotilla

In a world of ever increasing inhumanity and insanity, staying human becomes the ultimate act of courage.





Of course the Flotilla is a political provocation

Yes, out solidarity is political. Yes, it is provocative. And unlike the racism and oppression of Zionism and its enablers, there is nothing shameful about it.

A little refresher course in Palestinian history for our talking points in the coming days may be useful. Neutralizing the propaganda of media and criminal governments is one small way of staying human.

They give people both their heroes and their villains

The leaking of 'secret' documents continues but this time without the Wikileaks name attached.  The controlled opposition English version of Al Jazeera in partnership with the Guardian now brings us "The Palestine Papers,"  nearly 1,700 files related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.





As with Wikileaks, who benefits from these 'leaks' is Israel. The Palestinian Authority is seen for what they actually are, a zionist controlled collaborator. More dividing tactics from most likely the same folks who brought us Wikileaks.

Al Jazeera gives ex-CIA and current CFR member Robert L. Grenier the opportunity to sum up the position that Israel wants ...

"The overwhelming conclusion one draws from this record is that the process for a two-state solution is essentially over."

Israel is now pushing  a Palestinian state in provisional borders, an interim agreement not involving evacuating settlements or transferring significant additional territory to the PA. They even have a map. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat calls it a joke.

It all comes down to money ... and power ... and it's not a joke.

The Panics the crashes the wars and the illness
That keep you from finding your Spiritual Wholeness
We rig the game and we buy out both sides
To keep you enslaved in your pitiful lives

The Banker

Nullification of the "Chosen Ones"

Archbishop Cyrille Salim Butros of Newton, Mass,  the leader of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in the U.S., has caused a little 'spat' in Catholic and Jewish relations by remarks made at a Vatican meeting of Middle Eastern bishops.

Unless I'm mistaken, until the jewish creation of "christian zionism' what Butros said was standard Christian theology. Basically  it's that Jesus' teachings nullified the concept of the 'chosen ones' and introduced the novel idea that everyone is equal. It was out with the old and in the new.

Jewish supremacists don't like that kind of talk so they had the ADL's hatchet man Abe Foxman do what he's paid to do ... attack.

Butros said: "We Christians cannot speak of the ‘promised land’ as an exclusive right for a privileged Jewish people,” adding: "This promise was nullified by Christ. There is no longer a chosen people – all men and women of all countries have become the chosen people.”

and 

In number eight of the Message, we say that we cannot resort to theological and Biblical assumptions as a tool to justify injustice. We want to say that the promise of God in the Old Testament, relating to the ‘promised land’ … as Christians, we’re saying that this promise was essentially nullified [in French, “abolished”] by the presence of Jesus Christ, who then brought about the Kingdom of God. As Christians, we cannot talk about a ‘promised land’ for the Jews. We talk about a ‘promised land’ which is the Kingdom of God. That’s the promised land, which encompasses the entire earth with a message of peace and justice and equality for all the children of God.

There is no preferred or privileged people. All men and women from every country have become the ‘chosen people.’ This is clear for us.

We cannot just refer to the ‘promised land’ to justify the return of the Jews in Israel, and [ignore] the Palestinians who were kicked out of their land. Five million Jews kicked out three or four million Palestinians from their land, and this is not justifiable.

There’s no ‘chosen people’ any longer for Christians. Everybody is the ‘chosen people.’ What we say is something political. Sacred scripture should not be used to justify the occupation of Palestinian land on the part of the Israelis. {more}

Shocking, outrageous and anti-jewish whines Foxman.

"By stating that God's Covenantal promise of land to the Jewish people, "was nullified by Christ" and that "there is no longer a chosen people," Archbishop Bustros is effectively stating that Judaism should no longer exist. This represents the worst kind of anti-Judaism, bordering on anti-Semitism."

Foxman twists words to fit his agenda.  Bustros wasn't implying that judaism shouldn't exist but more like Helen Thomas would say, "Just get the hell out of Palestine."  And stop with that "god gave us Israel" bull.

It seems Bustros makes a whole lot more sense if you're looking for peace than the fat Foxman apologist for zionist land theft, genocide and a myriad of criminal activities.

But the Catholic Church will dance around this issue, the jews will continue to bitch about anyone who questions their 'chosen' status and Palestinians will pay the price by being forced from more of their land and languishing in the prison of Gaza.

Most so called "Christians" will remain silent.

Israel History in Quotes

A reminder ...

via Uprooted Palestineans

Hebrew essayist Achad Ha-Am, after paying a visit to Palestine in 1891:
"Abroad we are accustomed to believe that Israel is almost empty; nothing is grown here and that whoever wishes to buy land could come here and buy what his heart desires. In reality, the situation is not like this. Throughout the country it is difficult to find cultivable land which is not already cultivated."

Theodore Herzl, founder of the World Zionist Organization, speaking of the Arabs of Palestine,Complete Diaries, June 12, 1895 entry:
"Spirit the penniless population across the frontier by denying it employment... Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly."

The Balfour Declaration to Baron Rothchild, on the 2nd of November, 1917:
"His Majesty's Government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."

Lord Sydenham, Hansard, House of Lords, 21 June 1922:
"If we are going to admit claims on conquest thousands of years ago, the whole world will have to be turned upside down."

Vladimir Jabotinsky, The Iron Wall, 1923:
"Zionist colonization must either be terminated or carried out against the wishes of the native population. This colonization can, therefore, be continued and make progress only under the protection of a power independent of the native population - an iron wall, which will be in a position to resist the pressure to the native population. This is our policy towards the Arabs..."

Vladimir Jabotinsky, founder of Revisionist Zionism (precursor of Likud), The Iron Wall, 1923:
"A voluntary reconciliation with the Arabs is out of the question either now or in the future. If you wish to colonize a land in which people are already living, you must provide a garrison for the land, or find some rich man or benefactor who will provide a garrison on your behalf. Or else-or else, give up your colonization, for without an armed force which will render physically impossible any attempt to destroy or prevent this colonization, colonization is impossible, not difficult, not dangerous, but IMPOSSIBLE!... Zionism is a colonization adventure and therefore it stands or falls by the question of armed force. It is important... to speak Hebrew, but, unfortunately, it is even more important to be able to shoot - or else I am through with playing at colonizing."

David Ben Gurion, future Prime Minister of Israel, 1937, Ben Gurion and the Palestine Arabs, Oxford University Press, 1985:
"We must expel Arabs and take their places."

Joseph Weitz, head of the Jewish Agency's Colonization Department in 1940. From "A Solution to the Refugee Problem":
"Between ourselves it must be clear that there is no room for both peoples together in this country. We shall not achieve our goal if the Arabs are in this small country. There is no other way than to transfer the Arabs from here to neighboring countries - all of them. Not one village, not one tribe should be left."

Israeli official Arthur Lourie in a letter to Walter Eytan, director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry (ISA FM 2564/22). From Benny Morris, "The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem 1947-49", p. 297:
"...if people become accustomed to the large figure and we are actually obliged to accept the return of the refugees, we may find it difficult, when faced with hordes of claimants, to convince the world that not all of these formerly lived in Israeli territory. It would, in any event, seem desirable to minimize the numbers...than otherwise."

David Ben-Gurion, May 1948, to the General Staff. From Ben- Gurion, A Biography, by Michael Ben-Zohar, Delacorte, New York 1978:
"We should prepare to go over to the offensive. Our aim is to smash Lebanon, Trans-Jordan, and Syria. The weak point is Lebanon, for the Moslem regime is artificial and easy for us to undermine. We shall establish a Christian state there, and then we will smash the Arab Legion, eliminate Trans-Jordan; Syria will fall to us. We then bomb and move on and take Port Said, Alexandria and Sinai."

David Ben-Gurion, in his diary, 18 July 1948, quoted in Michael Bar Zohar's Ben-Gurion: the Armed Prophet, Prentice-Hall, 1967, p. 157:
"We must do everything to insure they (the Palestinians) never do return." Assuring his fellow Zionists that Palestinians will never come back to their homes. "The old will die and the young will forget."

David Ben-Gurion, one of the father founders of Israel, described Zionist aims in 1948:
"A Christian state should be established [in Lebanon], with its southern border on the Litani river. We will make an alliance with it. When we smash the Arab Legion's strength and bomb Amman, we will eliminate Transjordan too, and then Syria will fall. If Egypt still dares to fight on, we shall bomb Port Said, Alexandria and Cairo... And in this fashion, we will end the war and settle our forefathers' account with Egypt, Assyria, and Aram"

[Begin, and Yitzhak Shamir who were members of the party became Prime Ministers.] Albert Einstein, Hanna Arendt and other prominent Jewish Americans, writing in The New York Times, protest the visit to America of Menachem Begin, December 1948:
"Among the most disturbing political phenomena of our time is the emergence in the newly created State of Israel of the Freedom Party (Herut), a political party closely akin in its organization, method, political philosophy and social appeal to the Nazi and Fascist parties."

Martin Buber, Jewish Philosopher, addressed Prime Minister Ben Gurion on the moral character of the state of Israel with reference to the Arab refugees in March 1949.
"We will have to face the reality that Israel is neither innocent, nor redemptive. And that in its creation, and expansion; we as Jews, have caused what we historically have suffered; a refugee population in Diaspora."

Moshe Dayan (Israel Defense and Foreign Minister), on February 12 1952. Radio "Israel.":
"It lies upon the people's shoulders to prepare for the war, but it lies upon the Israeli army to carry out the fight with the ultimate object of erecting the Israeli Empire."

Martin Buber, to a New York audience, Jewish Newsletter, June 2, 1958:
"When we [followers of the prophetic Judaism] returned to Palestine...the majority of Jewish people preferred to learn from Hitler rather than from us."

Uri Lubrani, PM Ben-Gurion's special adviser on Arab Affairs, 1960. From "The Arabs in Israel" by Sabri Jiryas:
Rabin's description of the conquest of Lydda, after the completion of Plan Dalet. "We shall reduce the Arab population to a community of woodcutters and waiters"

Aba Eban (the Israeli Foreign Minister) stated arrogantly. New York Times June 19, 1967:
"If the General Assembly were to vote by 121 votes to 1 in favor of "Israel" returning to the armistice lines-- (pre June 1967 borders)

Dr. Israel Shahak, Chairperson of the Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights, and a survivor of the Bergen Belsen concentration camp, Commenting on the Israeli military's Emergency Regulations following the 1967 War. Palestine, vol. 12, December 1983: "Hitler's legal power was based upon the 'Enabling Act', which was passed quite legally by the Reichstag and which allowed the Fuehrer and his representatives, in plain language, to be what they wanted, or in legal language, to issue regulations having the force of law. Exactly the same type of act was passed by the Knesset [Israeli's Parliament] immediately after the 1067 conquest granting the Israeli governor and his representatives the power of Hitler, which they use in Hitlerian manner."

Golda Meir, March 8, 1969:
"How can we return the occupied territories? There is nobody to return them to."

Moshe Dayan, address to the Technion, Haifa, reported in Haaretz, April 4, 1969:
"Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not even know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you because geography books no longer exist. Not only do the books not exist, the Arab villages are not there either. Nahlal arose in the place of Mahlul; Kibbutz Gvat in the place of Jibta; Kibbutz Sarid in the place of Huneifis; and Kefar Yehushua in the place of Tal al- Shuman. There is not a single place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population."

Golda Maier Israeli Prime Minister June 15, 1969:
"There was no such thing as Palestinians, they never existed"

Israeli General Matityahu Peled, Ha'aretz, 19 March 1972:
"The thesis that the danger of genocide was hanging over us in June 1967 and that Israel was fighting for its physical existence is only bluff, which was born and developed after the war."

Yoram Bar Porath, Yediot Aahronot, of 14 July 1972:
"It is the duty of Israeli leaders to explain to public opinion, clearly and courageously, a certain number of facts that are forgotten with time. The first of these is that there is no Zionism, colonialization or Jewish State without the eviction of the Arabs and the expropriation of their lands."

Joseph Weitz, Director of the Jewish National Fund, the Zionist agency charged with acquiring Palestinian land, Circa 194. Machover Israca, January 5, 1973 /p.2:
"The only solution is Eretz Israel [Greater Israel], or at least Western Eretz Israel [all the land west of Jordan River], without Arabs. There is no room for compromise on this point ... We must not leave a single village, not a single tribe."

Yitzhak Rabin, leaked censored version of Rabin memoirs, published in the New York Times, 23 October 1979:
"We walked outside, Ben-Gurion accompanying us. Allon repeated his question, What is to be done with the Palestinian population?' Ben-Gurion waved his hand in a gesture which said 'Drive them out'"

Menahim Begin, speech to the Knesset, quoted in Amnon Kapeliouk, "Begin and the Beasts". New Statesman, 25 June 1982:
"[The Palestinians are] beasts walking on two legs."

Raphael Eitan, Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defence Forces, New York Times, 14 April 1983:
"When we have settled the land, all the Arabs will be able to do about it will be to scurry around like drugged cockroaches in a bottle."

Rafael Eitan, Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces - Gad Becker, Yediot Ahronot 13 April 1983, New York Times 14 April 1983:
"We declare openly that the Arabs have no right to settle on even one centimeter of Eretz Israel... Force is all they do or ever will understand. We shall use the ultimate force until the Palestinians come crawling to us on all fours."

Chairman Heilbrun of the Committee for the Re-election of General Shlomo Lahat, the mayor of Tel Aviv, October 1983:
"We have to kill all the Palestinians unless they are resigned to live here as slaves."

Isreali Prime Minister, Yitzhak Shamir, in a speech to Jewish settlers New York Times April 1, 1988:
"The Palestinians" would be crushed like grasshoppers ... heads smashed against the boulders and walls."

Israeli Rabbi Yitzhak Ginsburg, Inferring that killing isn't murder if the victim is Gentile. Jerusalem Post, June 19,1989:
"Jewish blood and a goy's [gentile's] blood are not the same."

Benyamin Netanyahu, then Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister, former Prime Minister of Israel, tells students at Bar Ilan University, From the Israeli journal Hotam, November 24, 1989:
"Israel should have exploited the repression of the demonstrations in China, when world attention focused on that country, to carry out mass expulsions among the Arabs of the territories."

Former Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir declares at a Tel Aviv memorial service for former Likud leaders, November 1990. Jerusalem Domestic Radio Service:
"The past leaders of our movement left us a clear message to keep Eretz Israel from the Sea to the Jordan River for future generations, for the mass aliya [immigration], and for the Jewish people, all of whom will be gathered into this country."

Ariel Sharon, Israeli Foreign Minister, addressing a meeting of militants from the extreme right-wing Tsomet Party, Agence France Presse, November 15,1998:
"Everybody has to move, run and grab as many hilltops as they can to enlarge the settlements because everything we take now will stay ours... Everything we don't grab will go to them."

Ehud Barak, Prime Minister of Israel at the time - August 28, 2000. Reported in the Jerusalem Post August 30, 2000:
"The Palestinians are like crocodiles, the more you give them meat, they want more"...

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, quoted in Associated Press, November 16, 2000:
"If we thought that instead of 200 Palestinian fatalities, 2,000 dead would put an end to the fighting at a stroke, we would use much more force...."

Israeli president Moshe Katsav. The Jerusalem Post, May 10, 2001:
"There is a huge gap between us (Jews) and our enemies? Not just in ability but in morality, culture, sanctity of life, and conscience. They are our neighbors here, but it seems as if at a distance of a few hundred meters away, there are people who do not belong to our continent, to our world, but actually belong to a different galaxy."

Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, October 3, 2001, to Shimon Peres, as reported on Kol Yisrael radio:
"Every time we do something you tell me America will do this and will do that . . . I want to tell you something very clear: Don't worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it."

"Israel Koenig, "The Koenig Memorandum":
"We must use terror, assassination, intimidation, land confiscation, and the cutting of all social services to rid the Galilee of its Arab population.

Joseph Weitz, head of the Jewish Agency's Colonization Department. From Israel: an Apartheid State by Uri Davis, p.5:
"There are some who believe that the non-Jewish population, even in a high percentage, within our borders will be more effectively under our surveillance; and there are some who believe the contrary, i.e., that it is easier to carry out surveillance over the activities of a neighbor than over those of a tenant. I tend to support the latter view and have an additional argument:...the need to sustain the character of the state which will henceforth be Jewish...with a non-Jewish minority limited to 15 percent. I had already reached this fundamental position as early as 1940 [and] it is entered in my diary."

Ben Gurion:
In 1899, Davis Triestsch wrote to Herzl: " I would suggest to you to come round in time to the "Greater Palestine" program before it is too late... the Basle program must contain the words "Great Palestine" or "Palestine and its neighboring lands" otherwise it's nonsense. You do not get ten million Jews into a land of 25,000 Km2". " The present map of Palestine was drawn by the British mandate. The Jewish people have another map which our youth and adults should strive to fulfill -- From the Nile to the Euphrates."

Vladimir Jabotinsky (the founder and advocate of the Zionist terrorist organizations), Quoted by Maxime Rodinson in Peuple Juif ou Problem Juif. (Jewish People or Jewish Problem):
"Has any People ever been seen to give up their territory of their own free will? In the same way, the Arabs of Palestine will not renounce their sovereignty without violence."

David Ben Gurion (the first Israeli Prime Minister) quoted by Nahum Goldmann in Le Paraddoxe Juif (The Jewish Paradox), pp121:
"If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country. It is true God promised it to us, but how could that interest them? Our God is not theirs. There has been Anti - Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They see but one thing: we have come and we have stolen their country. Why would they accept that?"

source: Window into Palestine

A strategy of liberation requires emancipation

 

The case for “Palestinian voice”

A critique through the eyes of an exiled Palestinian

By nahida the Exiled Palestinian

After almost one century of Zionist terrorism in Palestine, the world is gradually waking up to this racist and destructive ideology.

Contributing to the heroic Palestinian Resistance, this growing awareness will incidentally precipitate the abolition of the Zionist ideology and its hideous manifestation, just like slavery or Nazism were abolished.

The Palestinian Resistance and its allies represent an exemplary model of diversity and cooperation across borders, race, age, economic circumstances, religion or nationality.
In essence, the Palestinian Resistance is a model of inclusion, the radical contrary of the exclusivist Zionist ideology.

Contrary to the gory Zionist project, our true and sincere aspirations are long lasting Peace, Justice and Freedom. For us, this will restore of the true foundations of Palestinian society.

After almost a century of unrepentant Zionist terrorism in Palestine, all doubts have vanished: The only real road to Peace is a full and unconditional Liberation of Palestine, liberation from this supremacist ideology and liberation from the perpetrators. That will inevitably mean a return to the original, peaceful society Palestine was before the Zionist invasion.

To be called again “The Holy Land”, Palestine must be reunified with its people, the Palestinians.

Only Palestinians can heal the disfigured landscape and Holy City of Jerusalem, for the benefit of humanity. Only Palestinians will open its doors to all those who come in Peace, as they had in the past, contrary to the present day Zionist occupiers and their apocalyptic weaponry and dishonesty, their bulldozers uprooting millennial olive groves, destroying biblical World Heritages, evicting entire families from their ancestral houses and neighborhoods, bringing harm and destabilization all across the Middle-East and to the world.

To aim towards the Liberation of Palestine, it is vital to establish a clear, firm and visionary strategy, one that is not sabotaged by diversions, deflections, dilutions, obfuscation or control by anyone with slightly different objectives than the Palestinians themselves.

As a person who holds this Liberation dear to my heart, and as someone who was involved for many years- with various shades and colours of activism in support of the Palestinian struggle, I can testify personally of the significant change in people’s awareness and level of support to this just cause; thanks to the endurance and perseverance of Palestinians and the passionate hard work of our supporters across the globe.

read the rest at Uprooted Palestinians

Highly recommended in its entirety.

The Face Off

Noura Qawariq, 85, hugged her dead grandson Salah Muhammad Qawariq, 18, who was killed near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank on Sunday.



The Fanatics of Israel vs the U.S. and World Opinion

"Bibi" Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, is a disciple of Ze'ev Jabotinsky, the founder of the most radical, racist, and militant form of Zionism. The West should know that there can be no appeasement with such fanatics who are devoted to an ideology of Jewish supremacism and Greater Israel. The fact that the U.S. and the international community have now clearly condemned illegal Israeli settlements is piling pressure on Netanyahu and his government of extremists. The crucial question now is how will Netanyahu respond to this pressure? This is a dangerous situation because Zionist zealots usually react with violence and terrorism.

The Obama administration and the international community have finally confronted Israel's illegal settlements, its Wall of Apartheid, and the racism inherent in Zionism. The dispute over illegal Israeli settlements on occupied land puts the Obama administration (and the U.N. and international community) into a political face off with the extreme right-wing regime led by the prime minister from the Likud, Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu. Who will prevail? The U.S. government and the American people need to stand firm against the racism and dangerous fanaticism of Zionists like Netanyahu.

How can any American support a state like Israel that is built on a basis of racial and religious segregation? If apartheid was wrong in South Africa, how can it be acceptable in Palestine? Only a racist could support the apartheid state created by Zionism. Why does the U.S. support the Jewish racism of Israel? Why are U.S. taxpayer dollars being used to build illegal settlements and Israel's hideously ugly wall of separation? It is high time for the American people to boycott Israeli racism and demand that U.S. foreign policy reflect fundamental American principles and values.

It should be clear to all that the so-called "Two State Solution" to the problem in Palestine is no solution. The only viable solution, and the only solution the United States should promote, is a non-racist democratic state in the whole of Palestine in which Christians, Muslims, and Jews are all allowed to live as equals under the law. International law, a number of U.N. resolutions, and common sense tell us that the Palestinian refugees must be allowed to return to their homes, villages, and land that were stolen from them by Zionist terrorism. The Zionists were allowed to settle in Palestine with the specific agreement that the rights and interests of the native Palestinian population would not be compromised in any way. The racist laws and policies of the Zionist state must be dismantled. It's that simple. To think that any peaceful compromise can be reached with fanatical Zionism, a racist ideology based on religion, is foolish and dangerous.
more - Christopher Bollyn

Palestine by reham alhelsi

from A Voice From Palestine

No Peace on Earth

Psychotic Israelis Indict Bilin Leader for Showing Spent Tear Gas Canisters to the World

Spent tear gas grenades and projectiles used on the village of Bil’in for which Abu Rahmah was indicted. Photo: Oren Ziv ActiveStills

 

Christmas Eve in Occupied East Jerusalem 

Israel's answer to 'climate change' - close the sole oil and gas terminal on Gaza border

"Our initial efforts to save the world from catastrophic climate change through an internet-based campaign to encourage Jews to light one less candle during Hanukkah, thereby saving 15 grams of CO2 per menorah and reducing the kosher pollution fingerprint of Jews in the world has fallen short of expectations.Our top rabbis felt this was not appropriate.

After consulting with our good friend Al Gore, we decided that our only option was to cut off a significant portion of the oil and cooking gas to Gaza.


The Nahal Oz crossing will only be open one day a week, down from seven. This reduced Gaza's gas needs 97% in the first week of November and 83% in the second.

By continuing the policy of eliminating these polluting fuels, we declare that Israel is in the forefront of the war against our planet and will maintain our position of being a leader in carbon reduction.

We call upon the other nations attending the Copenhagen Climate Conference to follow our lead in saving the planet."

excerpts from Netanyahu's environmental speech to the world ... Dec. 6, 2009

Hillary Clinton's traitor tour reaches new lows

"What the prime minister has offered in specifics of a restraint on the policy of settlements... is unprecedented," Clinton said at Saturday's press conference, adding that "there has never been a pre-condition, it's always been an issue within negotiations."


It marked a sharp easing of tone on the thorny issue. In May, following US President Barack Obama's first meeting with Netanyahu, Clinton had said that Obama "wants to see a stop to settlements. Not some settlements, not outposts, not natural growth exceptions."

Israeli analysts said the change of tone came after Washington realised that its main ally would just not give in on settlements, supported by the vast majority of the electorate of Netanyahu's right-leaning government.

"The Obama administration has proven once again that it is no different from previous administrations, because it will support whatever Israel accepts and will not support what Israel does not accept."
{more}

Continued theft is what the U.S. will accept...

I am Israel

Take and Destroy...The Israel way

Israeli Defense Minister to allow settlement expansion - settlers say it's not enough

The Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, is scheduled to announce that he will allow the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank by several hundred units before implementing a temporary six-month hold on further expansion. But Israeli settlers, who live on Palestinian territory in contravention of international law, have called the plan a 'mockery', arguing that they should have a right to expand without restrictions.

The municipal governments of a number of Israeli settlements have complained that the Israeli government has prevented them from expanding as much as they would like to, and are now criticizing Barak's announcement that 500 new units will be allowed. They argue that tens of thousands of new units should be allowed right now, with many more to come, in order to allow their settlements to expand.

All Israeli settlements are constructed on Palestinian land seized by military force from the indigenous Palestinian population, and are thus considered illegal under international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory. {more - uruk}

Settlers uproot olive trees from Palestinian land near Ramallah

Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli settlers uprooted 50 olive trees near the Palestinian village of Al-Maghayir, north of the city of Ramallah on Monday afternoon, according to Israeli radio.

Israel’s military believes the attack was a preemptive response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to reduce construction in West Bank settlements. {more - uruk}

Only in Israel

White House Knocks Israel Over Settlements

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs released a statement strongly criticizing Israel's decision to approve the construction of hundreds of housing units in West Bank settlements.

The Obama administration has called on Israel to freeze all construction in the settlements, which are Israeli outposts set up on land claimed by Palestinians.

"We regret the reports of Israel's plans to approve additional settlement construction," Gibbs said. "Continued settlement activity is inconsistent with Israel's commitment under the Roadmap." {more}

Lip service with no teeth. So what is Obama and Congress going to do about it? Cut off the billions of free money and the armaments we give them each year? Yeah, right.

Obama in Cairo...Same rhetoric, same lies...

Obama in Cairo June 4, 2009...pointing the finger.

As usual, Obama's speech this morning in Cairo had part consoling words and part lies. Mixing the two is an age old ploy to confuse the issues and perpetuate myths that do nothing to end the wars and occupations.

Excerpts from his speech below in italics:

The Al Qaeda and 9/11 'arabs did it' myth is the most blatant.

Because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject: the killing of innocent men, women, and children. And it is my first duty as President to protect the American people.

The situation in Afghanistan demonstrates America's goals, and our need to work together. Over seven years ago, the United States pursued Al Qaeda and the Taliban with broad international support. We did not go by choice, we went because of necessity. I am aware that some question or justify the events of 9/11. But let us be clear: Al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day. The victims were innocent men, women and children from America and many other nations who had done nothing to harm anybody. And yet Al Qaeda chose to ruthlessly murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their determination to kill on a massive scale. They have affiliates in many countries and are trying to expand their reach. These are not opinions to be debated; these are facts to be dealt with.

Make no mistake: we do not want to keep our troops in Afghanistan. We seek no military bases there. It is agonizing for America to lose our young men and women. It is costly and politically difficult to continue this conflict. We would gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan determined to kill as many Americans as they possibly can. But that is not yet the case.

Continuing on, Obama bows to his masters in praising Israel as a "friend" and the distortion of the holocaust and jews as forever victims. That 6 million number must always be in the picture.

The second major source of tension that we need to discuss is the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world.

America's strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied.

Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed - more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless, ignorant, and hateful. Threatening Israel with destruction - or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews - is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve.

Obama throws the Palestinians a bone. The two state solution is the only option with Obama. Will that ever work?

On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people - Muslims and Christians - have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than sixty years they have endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations - large and small - that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.

For decades, there has been a stalemate: two peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history that makes compromise elusive. It is easy to point fingers - for Palestinians to point to the displacement brought by Israel's founding, and for Israelis to point to the constant hostility and attacks throughout its history from within its borders as well as beyond. But if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.

That is in Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, America's interest, and the world's interest. That is why I intend to personally pursue this outcome with all the patience that the task requires. The obligations that the parties have agreed to under the Road Map are clear. For peace to come, it is time for them - and all of us - to live up to our responsibilities.

Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding. This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe to Indonesia. It's a story with a simple truth: that violence is a dead end. It is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. That is not how moral authority is claimed; that is how it is surrendered.

Now is the time for Palestinians to focus on what they can build. The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people. Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, and to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israel's right to exist.

At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.

Israel must also live up to its obligations to ensure that Palestinians can live, and work, and develop their society. And just as it devastates Palestinian families, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza does not serve Israel's security; neither does the continuing lack of opportunity in the West Bank. Progress in the daily lives of the Palestinian people must be part of a road to peace, and Israel must take concrete steps to enable such progress.

The Iran nuclear program is once again a topic. Nuclear weapons and the Non-Proliferation Treaty are talked about in the context of Iran but absent is any mention of Israel and their nuclear stranglehold over the middle east.

The third source of tension is our shared interest in the rights and responsibilities of nations on nuclear weapons.

This issue has been a source of tension between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. For many years, Iran has defined itself in part by its opposition to my country, and there is indeed a tumultuous history between us. In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically-elected Iranian government. Since the Islamic Revolution, Iran has played a role in acts of hostage-taking and violence against U.S. troops and civilians. This history is well known. Rather than remain trapped in the past, I have made it clear to Iran's leaders and people that my country is prepared to move forward. The question, now, is not what Iran is against, but rather what future it wants to build.

It will be hard to overcome decades of mistrust, but we will proceed with courage, rectitude and resolve. There will be many issues to discuss between our two countries, and we are willing to move forward without preconditions on the basis of mutual respect. But it is clear to all concerned that when it comes to nuclear weapons, we have reached a decisive point. This is not simply about America's interests. It is about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path.

I understand those who protest that some countries have weapons that others do not. No single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons. That is why I strongly reaffirmed America's commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons.

And any nation - including Iran - should have the right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. That commitment is at the core of the Treaty, and it must be kept for all who fully abide by it. And I am hopeful that all countries in the region can share in this goal.

On democracy...Obama needs to start at home before he can speak to the world. Rule of law, transparency and government that doesn't steal from the people are fine words but are not backed up here in our own country. The U.S. government stealing is the rule and not the exception. Freedom of speech is diminishing and rule of law doesn't extend to war criminals.

I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years, and much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq. So let me be clear: no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other.

But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. Those are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere

Once again Obama speaks some fine words but will he back them up or bow to special interests, Israel foremost, and corporations that seek to continue their profiteering at the expense of millions of lives.

The issues that I have described will not be easy to address. But we have a responsibility to join together on behalf of the world we seek - a world where extremists no longer threaten our people, and American troops have come home; a world where Israelis and Palestinians are each secure in a state of their own, and nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes; a world where governments serve their citizens, and the rights of all God's children are respected. Those are mutual interests. That is the world we seek. But we can only achieve it together.

The entire transcript is here.

video here.

After his speech, Obama visited the pyramids and Sphinx.

Perhaps he could reflect on the fact that no matter how great an empire and its accomplishments are.....without truth, honesty, freedom and rights for all people, the sands of time will wear away at the monuments of empire and leave only vague memories of what once was.

_____________

also see: Obama's Speech in Cairo {from aangirfan}

Israel and Gaza on a summer mind

Posted by thomaspainescorner on May 24, 2009

Graphic by the amazing David Dees

Essay by Scott Ewing

I think I can safely credit Israeli foreign policy with ruining my summer. If you’re the empathic type – it’s hard to go to the beach and swim in the sun while, several thousand miles beneath your feet, people are being killed en masse by people who should know better about how not to treat people – based on their own historical experience.

Israel violated a ceasefire and launched a sustained assault on Gaza last Boxing Day while many of us were on our bach couches, sailing our boats, and favoring a stretched stomach.

1,400 people died from planes, tanks, bombs, missiles, and small arms.
You can reread that last line again if you need to.

These are events. And they happened.

At the time, if any of us looked at the daily newspaper about the events then our own vague take-home from reading would be that the events were a religious squabble, fueled by some Islamic splinter group hell bent on global dominance.

As in the past, the events would be explained to you minus any historical context and the conflict timeline would begin with some random act of Palestinian aggression – such as kidnapping a couple of soldiers or some loose use of ordinance. This aggression would be treated as discrete – almost as if it came from out of nowhere, unprovoked and unconnected to anything that had gone before.

If you had read your newspaper at the time of the events, then you might have glanced at an advertisement from a group encouraging you to think of any media outlet that criticizes Israeli foreign policy as ‘unbalanced’ – before you flipped to the sports section to load up on info to exchange with your friends over a beer at today’s bar-bee.

If, at the time, you were only watching the news on TV then there’s every chance that you could have missed the events completely, as the state and standards of local television news broadcasting have never been worse.

If you were watching news coming from England and America on the internet, then you would have understood (even perhaps agreed with) the wisdom of bombing densely populated urban areas in response to such acts of aggression.

If, however, you were watching news coming from other parts of the world on the internet – then you would have noticed something else entirely.

You would have noticed news footage of chemical weapons being used on suburbs, cell phone videos of human body parts scattered along city streets as bombs fell, interviews with physicians discussing bizarre never-before-seen war wounds, and dead kids. Lots and lots of pictures of dead kids.

Had you read some of the endless commentary and analysis available, you would have discovered that Israel was founded as a “Jewish state” in 1948 through the ethnic cleansing of Palestine’s non-Jewish majority Arab population.

You would have also learned that Israel has been maintained in existence only through Western support and constant use of violence to prevent the surviving indigenous population from exercising political rights within the country, or returning from forced exile.

At this point, you may have even begun to suspect that your choice of news outlet determines your own opinion of the events.

Assuming, of course, that you give a damn. If you were raised by racists, then these events probably won’t bother you. Feel free to flip on to the next article – we probably don’t have much to say to each other anyway.

But if you weren’t raised by racists and if you were following the events on the internet – then you would have seen global outrage over these events on a far wider scale than previously seen (even when Israel bombed Lebanon in 2006).

What also emerged were new levels of dialogue regarding Israel’s behavior on the world.

For instance: In the many comments sections of the blogosphere, I witnessed the age old charge of anti Semitism shot down in flames and exposed as a red-herring act of misdirection as it seems that most Semitic people speak Arabic.

In reading these spirited arguments and debates, I came to understand how geographically localized and racist perspectives can wither and die in the crushing grip of global human common sense – when the excuses used to justify such murderous behavior, are picked apart and disassembled by wider groups.

I also noticed an intense and ineffective propaganda effort designed to help me blame Islam for this bloodbath.

I don’t really think that religion is very central to this dispute.

I think it has more to do with ‘who gets to live where’. About who owns and distributes the resources. About who drinks the rivers.

Instead of being a behavioral motivator, Islam is more an unfortunate flag of solidarity against continuous western territorial encroachment and political dominance in the South West Asian region. But try telling that to someone who knows only what they are shown on FOX, CNN, and the BBC.

Places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and most of Eastern Europe all suffer greatly from western meddling and interference.

The root cause of the conflict between the Zionists and the Palestinians is as follows.

Israel is expanding and has done so since it was established by force as a nation state more than 60 years ago.

Palestinian House Demolitions + Israeli Settler Colonies = Israeli Border Expansion.

The unfortunate concentration of ownership of commercial news media outlets and the self censorship of the people within those organizations means that consumers of western press are more likely to believe that Hamas & Islam are directly to blame for the conflict.
Thanks to the lack of historical context provided, shooting rockets at Israel is not widely understood as a potential downstream effect of occupation and abuse of dominance.

Israel’s “war” was not about rockets.

They served the same role in its narrative as the non-existent weapons of mass destruction did as the pretext for the American-led invasion and occupation of Iraq (and I’m still waiting to be carefully led through a clear explanation for that one).

Gaza does not exist and act in isolation. Israel never stopped occupying Gaza even though it recently made a show of doing so. This is because Israel thoroughly controls the borders of Gaza through force – turning the area into one giant open air concentration camp. If you don’t believe me, then try reaching Gaza by boat. See how far you get.

This border control severely limits the flow of life giving resources to the people living there. And those people exist with the daily choice dealt to them by an Israeli foreign policy of “let us take your land and your life or we’ll shoot you”. Try to imagine how you and members of your family would react when faced with such impossible options.

And in the case of this recent and sustained attack on Gaza, Israel has once again demonstrated that it possesses the power and the lack of moral restraint necessary to commit atrocities against a population of destitute refugees it has caged and starved.

The dehumanization and demonization of Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims has escalated to the point where Israel can bomb their homes, places of worship, schools, universities, factories, fishing boats, police stations – in short everything that sustains civilized and orderly life – and claim it is conducting a war against terrorism.

In the absence of any political and moral legitimacy (beyond that which it affords itself in a froth of self righteous fury) the only arguments it has left are bullets and DIME bombs.

Heavily armed and left to its own devices Israel will certainly keep trying – as it has for sixty years – to massacre Palestinians into submission.

It is not widely known that there are very vocal and active Israelis that are furious at the actions of their government, just as there are Americans that are furious at US policies.

Personally, I restrict my disgust to the Israeli government for the same reason I’ve never held America and Americans all liable for the foreign policies of the Bush administration.

Israel’s recent achievement in Gaza has been to make South Africa’s apartheid leaders look wise, restrained and humane by comparison.
One of the factors that helped bring an end to the brutal apartheid regime in South Africa was international pressure for economic, sporting and cultural boycotts. Israel is starting to feel similar pressure from world opinion, and its true nature as a failed and brutal colonial project has been laid bare with its genocide upon Gaza (and yes, killing 1,400 people with military weapons is indeed genocide – don’t try and tell me that it isn’t).

It is time that Israeli and American foreign policy makers rejoin the international community – instead of cynically pretending that they represent it.

These events in Gaza will also likely be seen as the turning point when Israeli propaganda lost its power to mystify, silence and intimidate as it has for so long. Even the Nazi Holocaust, long deployed by Zionists to silence Israel’s critics, is becoming a liability – now that once unimaginable behavioral comparisons are now routinely heard.

If Hitler were alive today (and maybe living somewhere near Bogota) he would probably be smirking beneath that stupid-looking little grey moustache of his.

I’d rather not care about this. I have better things to do with my time than research racism and murder. Better things to do than fielding playground-type abuse and threats from aggressive and poorly informed Israeli supremacists (many of which seem to be suffering from an unrealistic kind of hubris).

But, if genocidal behavior like the events in Gaza and Ossetia becomes normalized – then none of us are safe. And everything New Zealand soldiers fought and were killed for in the past was for nothing.
If my country was being overrun and bombed by some oppressive force bent on occupation, then I would sure as hell want someone else on the other side of the world to give a damn. Just like we did with Kuwait in the early nineties, remember?

Israel is expanding – and has done so ever since it forced itself on the region in 1948.

This is the root cause of the conflict.

Many in the west are unable or unwilling to consider this slow Israeli border expansion as a possible factor in the Palestinian rocket attacks.

If the democratically elected Hamas is to recognize Israel as a precondition for peace – then which Israel is it supposed to recognize? 1967 Israel? 1982 Israel? 2009 Israel?

Can someone point me in the direction of a map with fixed borders?

Thanks –

source: Thomas Paine's Corner