i wish i could snap my fingers

moments of peace would rain

dropping light like snowflakes

on the mountainside at dawn

sun reflecting the inner light

i have seen in every stranger

passing moment, recognition

like bells and wings of angels

This part is an update to that post Christmas last year. I was moved to make that post before. I am now moved by common sense, this does not erase the fact that there was something wrong, just adds the fact that I am not judging Dr. Phil McGraw on this, because it might have been a simple error of the person who arranged or produced the show. I have no intention to judge Dr. Phil because I am not the judge. He seems to be nice to people most times, but needs to moderate the programming to reduce bias shown against Christmas, but this is not a personal judgment of him as a psychiatrist. I hope we can be inspired by God to do good in relevant ways, doctors, lawyers, and judges, teachers, priests, mothers, and fathers, sons and daughters.

I’d do a show and talk about some relevant concepts of goodness with reps from major religions, like Judaism, branches of Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and other good religions, never ones that intend harm or show bigotry/lack of peace.

I am really seeking peace, I was to worried before about material issues and now this does not matter. Iwould rather have good friendships, time with family, and planning of a good future than worry about money. Ergo, in summation, I am not worried about money and regret that I worried so much.

Also, I don’t know how to change the title of my blog story, “Catholic life, faith, and prayer” I am not really trying to flaunt my faith, and it doesnt need to be in the title. I read all sorts of Catholic saint readings in the past 5-10 years, and I had some comments of what I feel.

At one time or another we all ask, Who am I?  and Why am I here?

The answer is simple.
You are the glorious child of a loving God.  And your purpose is to be free of all fear.

Being without fear …
… engenders hope,
… allows you to extend and receive love more fully,
… opens your mind and heart to allow God’s Holy guidance,
… heals your heart, your mind and your body,
… encourages you to be your best self at all times,
… causes you to always remain calm and calms others,
… keeps you in a joyous state and attracts joy to you,
… protects you and yours and keeps you safe in the light and love of God,
… allows you to be open to the abundance of a loving God,
… promotes forgiveness without condoning or condemning,
… lets you walk quietly in the world with your heart and mind open to all possibilities,
… guarantees you a life dedicated to serving a higher purpose,

Leaving fear behind is a journey and takes patience and decision. You can practice this daily (and moment by moment) by simply looking straight at what disturbs your peace, and with a gentle, knowing smile, understand that the Universe has something better for you than this. May you walk gently and in peace this day knowing that you are blessed and can bless with your tiny willingness to forgive all things and be at peace.

 It’s that time of year.  Another year older and wiser.  I’m taking this time to tell family and friends that they have been a wonderful blessing to me.  I am so thankful that I get to speak to them all the time.  Thank you to the many that have emailed me from cyberspace.  This is the time of year I love for many reasons. One thing I have learned is if you trust a fool you are a bigger fool than them. Read God’s letter and you will be able to deal with anything that comes up in life.  I  can not believe how the  world is ever-changing.  Thank You Lord for protecting me.  I know you take care of your own. Wishing I could do more for the helpless families there are so many. I serve a living God. Trust him he will provide. Where there is a will there is a way. Remember God is not a seasonal God. God is always there, yesterday, today, tomorrow. God’s gives us victory. I’m going to read St. John Ch. 8   We are judged by God’s Law. “Be Free” 

Deuteronomy means:  these words.

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DATE:  2009.12.11 (FRIDAY)

EARTH GROOVE “make your peace”

Venue: FAVELA IN AOYAMA

TIME: 22:00 – 05:00

DOOR: 3,000 yen / 2,500 with flyer

DJs Sam Fitzgerald (P4P), Aosawa (Redbox / Freerange Tokyo), Ahimsa (Burning Desire), DJ Yap (XLNTZ), and more…

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Address:  MR Bldg. 7F, 3-2-2 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo

So my friend’s new boy toy got me thinkin…..

He’s a junior, he’s attractve, he was in the military, he’s drivin, and he SINGS!!!!!!!! HE SINGS!!! (and well!!!!)

Is it wrong that I’m attracted to him? I mean I’m only human right? It’s not like I want to be with him but is it wrong that I’m slightly jealous of the aCe just because she is available to talk to him?

Don’t get me wrong……I love my fiance with all of my being but a part of me still wonders what life would be like with someone else…….or even alone for that matter.

But then he reminds me why no one else in this world could make me smile the way that he does;

how no one in this lifetime will put me at peace the way that he does;

and how in no one else’s arms will I feel as secure and loved.

No one will ever love me the way he does

and I’m happy with that!!

=]

..Flesh and Bone

LNS was this past weekend, and it was freaking amazing. It wasn’t as emotional as retreats have been for me before, but that’s not necessarily bad..Adoration was so beautiful and peaceful. It was great to meet new people, reconnect with old friends, and get closer to current friends. One of the best things was fixing the somewhat broken bond I had with one of my best friends…

Brian Kim from Sungsam gave us a great idea. Mina, Heidi and I did our very first oovoo Rosary! Tell me if you want to join us next week!

Life is good.

I’ve been reading With an Iron Pen, a newly translated anthology of Israeli protest poetry from the past two decades.  I can’t recommend it enough – especially for those prefer poetry that goes straight to the heart and the gut.

The anthology contains a broad range of Israeli poets – I have heard of a few but most were brand new to me.  Until discovering Iron Pen, I was also fairly unaware of the remarkable depth and magnitude of this particular genre.

It’s a diverse collection, but they all have in common a strong protest against Israel’s oppressive treatment of Palestinians dating back to the days of the First Intifada. Taken as a whole, the collection felt to me like nothing other than forty-two poets letting loose one singular prophetic howl of rage and sorrow over what their nation has wrought.

And like all protest poetry, this is art that clearly seeks to transform. As the editors write in introduction:

The ethical stand taken by the poets and poems of this anthology represents today the minority position – a minority that is seen by the majority of the Jewish Israeli public as “self-hating” and as desecrators of sacred ideals. And still, throughout history, literary creations have expressed  the forbidden and revolutionary and have preceded – in fact precipitated – changes in attitudes and societal norms. The day will come when the poems collected in With an Iron Pen will be read as the voice of reason and of honest hearts in dark times.

I see something so quintessentially Jewish in the inner struggle reflected these poems – and at the same time, their collective voice of protest is so clearly universal. I can’t help but think that these works represent, in their way, a contemporary form of sacred text.

Click below for two of my favorites:

“Order of the Day”

Remember
that which
Amalek did,
to you of course,
Over.
Do unto Amalek
what Amalek
did, to you
of course, Over.

If you can’t
find yourself
an Amalek, call
Amalek whomever
you want to do
to him what
Amalek did,
to you of course,
Over.

Don’t compare
anything
to what Amalek
did, to you
of course, Over.
Not when
you want to do
that which
Amelek did,
to you of course,
Over and Out,
Remember.

- Yitzhak Laor (translated by Gabriel Levin)

___________________________________________

“Then We Didn’t Yet Know”

Then we didn’t yet know
That the Occupation would be forever.
Even when it would be forcibly extracted like a tooth
and tossed behind electric fences
and magnetic crossings
while cement and petrol magnates
traveled from Ramallah to Gaza -
even then it would be remembered longingly -
how young it was, the Occupation,
composed only of Arab women bent over tomatoes
in Jewish fields, men with nylon bags
waiting for work at Ashkelon junction,
jumping into grey service Peugots,
and the Secret Service men who lived three to a villa in Afridar
actually changing their license plates to army license plates before
going off to work, so they wouldn’t be identified.
It was young. In the restaurants they peeled vegetables into large tins, then
fried them, built on scaffolds. There were many organizations.
And they were young:
volunteers with Chinese weapons, poets,
but the Occupation didn’t recognize them,
because it was busy arguing in the classroom whether to return territories or not
and Ofer P., whose father was wounded in the battlel of Jenin,
and had shrapnel stuck in his back
said, “In any case, there’ll be another war.”
That’s what his father taught him.
That’s how young the Occupation was,
and look at it now.

Dahlia Falah (translated by Rachel Tzvia Back)

Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek,
but a means by which we arrive at that goal.
~ Martin Luther King Jr

I decided that the title of this blog, which has summed up my entire approach to life so far, epitomises exactly why I have had so much struggle with life.

“Emily’s Quest”.  It suggests that I am somehow searching for something I don’t have, ‘questing’ for some answers I will never find.  It suggests I am wanting some kind of destination or answer more than I want the moment I already dwell in.

I decided what I need is not a change of circumstance but rather a change of mindset.  I do not need to reach some specific goal or destination.  There is no holy grail at the end of the quest, without which my whole life journey has been in vain.  Rather, I have looked down and realised I have held this holy grail in my hands the whole time. 

I am already alive.  In every moment, I have arrived.  I don’t need to wait for life to begin.  It is already here, and every moment is available to me to enjoy or not, as I please.

So no more questing.  But that does not mean to stop living or to stop exploring – quite the opposite.  It means to view each step along the way as worthy in and of itself.  It means to love each moment as it is, rather than as it was or should/could be.

For all my pontificating on the value of the present moment, it has only really hit me in the last couple of days what it really means to live that truth as a reality.

So instead of questing all the time for something else, instead I choose to say YES to life, and YES to every moment within it.

I will be doing that here: http://aheartyyes.blogspot.com

For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin – real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. This perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one.

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

~ Souza

Hey guys.. I have moved.

From here on out everything will be posted at-

www.rhettcanipe.com

See you there…

-Rhett

Part1-Arrest to be the last resort in case of IPC 498a (Dowry Harassment & Cruelty law)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbtH3-snyAg

I hope that you will find within this video something extraordinary. I have long admired the simple approach to healing and loving that Jerry Jampolsky has promoted to the world. As I mentioned in the previous post Smile lights up the world, his book ‘Love Is Letting Go Of Fear’ remains one of the landmarks within my life.

In this video he and his partner Diane Cirincione talk about their own philosophies for life, starting with their daily ‘ritual’ of waking at 4.30 a.m. and saying a prayer and then a visualisation to show gratitude for another day of living.

In subsequent blog posts I will explore more of what the couple have to say in this nine-minute clip. To begin with here are two key moments near the beginning to contemplate.

Ms Cirincione says: “Peace of Mind is having the harmony and integrity of what I think, say and do.”

Mr Jampolsky says: “Health is inner peace and healing is the wiliness to let go of fear. And the core is forgiveness, which means letting go of all the blocks that all of us have with our egos that interfere with our natural state of peace, our natural state of love, our natural state of happiness.”

“Your light is all that I see, it is but a reflection of the light in me.”

“And if we allow ourselves to sing that song, regardless of behaviour and allow ourselves to see the light in each person that we know is there then I think the world begins to change and you see the world based on cooperation rather than competition, and joining rather than separation. Our work is really healing the illusion that we are separated from each other.”

There is real healing to be found here. I went from a place of frustration to one of peaceful contemplation simply through listening for a moment to the words spoken here.

I could give you my version of what is being said here, but it is better and more honest to hear directly the words of Diane and Jerry. If you have time now, view the first two minutes of this video clip and absorb these parts of the conversation and what they mean in your life.

” Let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”

A woman came with great faith seeking the Lord’s divine love. But, the people who were there branded her as “sinner”, yet by His matchless love He forgave her sins and sent her happy saying, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace”(Luke 7:50). he is the only One who has the power to forgive sins because He is the One who offered His body as a living sacrifice on the cross to die for our sins and iniquities. With the same love, even today, He is ready to show His grace and mercy to all who cry out to Him for forgiveness and pardon. He will forgive our iniquity and He will forget our sins(Jeremiah 31:34).

Once there lived a man who did not love his wife, his children and his relatives. Even in his workspot, he was arrogant and would not obey any one. So, no one loved him in this world. His children refused to accept him as their father and hated his presence at home. He made it a habit to come home fully drunk thrash his wife and children and then go to sleep. One day, he had a dream. In it, he saw the Lord hanging on the cross with His hands and feet nailed to it. From the cross, it looked as if He was speaking to him saying, ” My son! I am already wounded for your sins. Why do you hurt Me and make me bleed again? Will you not love Me?” This broke his heart to pieces! When he opened his eyes, he found all the members of the family asleep. His children were groaning in sleep because of the pain he inflicted on them. With teards in his eyes, he hugged them and kissed them. He woke up his wife and told her what happened. The same moment, he became a true christian. His life changed upside down.

Dearly beloved! The love of God can change any hard hearted man(Hosea 11:4). Now, you do a little bit of introspection about your own life and see if there are any evil  thoughts, wicked ideas and other vices in your life. The same God who changed the drunkard in the above incident says, ” My son! My daughter! Give me your heart”(Proverbs 23:26). Accept His loving call and surrender your life to Him!

From the book A Good word for the day by Sis.Stella Dhinakaran.

“Lynne Stewart: America’s Newest Political Prisoner”
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

NEW YORK — On November 19 about 200 people of every possible race and ethnicity, representing a wide spectrum of political ideology, came to the Federal Courthouse on Worth St. in lower Manhattan to support Lynne Stewart as she handed herself over to marshals to begin a 28 month sentence in a federal prison. The crowd chanted “Free Lynne.” Some were crying. Some expressed the concern that she was being made an example of to send a message to attorneys that may defend the detainees coming to N.Y. from Guantanamo.

Lynne Stewart outside Federal Plaza
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ordered the judge that originally sentenced her, Judge John G. Koeltl. to hold a hearing on December 2nd to determine whether or not to increase the 28 month sentence he ordered in 2006.

“Do Not Criminalize The Lawyer”
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Stewart arrived accompanied by her husband and Brooklyn Councilman Charles Barron. She told the crowd that she loved them all and that she was not a criminal. She said that she knew she would be O.K. because she was part of a big movement.

Supporters standing with Stewart outside the courthouse
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

A Bouquet of Thankfulness

JESUS my Lord and Savior -Anastasia Diamond

As our nation prepares for Thanksgiving 2009, let us look back to the foundation of the decree that established this day to thank, praise and acknowledge God for His abundant blessings.

In 1863, prominent magazine editor of her time, Sarah Josepha Hale wrote a letter urging President Abraham Lincoln to establish a national day of Thanksgiving and Praise.

President Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

Washington, DC—October 3, 1863

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well as the iron and coal as of our precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the imposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purpose, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, and union.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 3d day of October, A.D. 1863, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

Everyday we take our chances with the thougts we think, the words we speak, and the actions we take. Everyday is an opportunity to be dealt a new hand. We have the choice to change our thoughts and actions or to sit on what we have, take our chances with what we are holding.

If you find yourself holding negative thought patterns, remember, you daily commit to the spin of the wheel. Every bid of change you make toward positive thought processes, will bring you closer to a winning hand.

No matter how far down your losses are, be it financial, anxiety, depression, loneliness or dis-ease, you can change your luck, request new cards, and bet BIG on yourself!  Have confidence and faith in spirit, and your supernatural abilities to heal and to win!

Give yourself time to mourn your losses, forgive, and let go. When you bust, recoop your losses by giving yourself a new perspective of your next hand. Know that you are human. Pamper, pray, and praise self. Give yourself over to the next roll of the dice, your true authentic self…Invision triple cherries, a straight flush, 21!  Win the jackpot!!!

The prize: A positive, relaxing, grateful, peacefilled, giving, loving, new you!!

And so it is…..

“Don’t rent to racists, it’s an error. Just say no to settler terror.” — Chant

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

NEW YORK — Over 50 human rights activists gathered in N.Y.C. outside the Park Avenue offices of Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to demand that he intervene to stop the Mets from renting their facility at Citi Field to the Hebron Fund. That group planned to do a fundraiser at the Caesars Club, right above the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. The protestors pointed out that renting the space to a racist group would taint the Mets commitment to diversity and offend the memory of Jackie Robinson. The demonstration was organized by Adalah-NY, CodePink, Jews Against the Occupation NYC, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, Jews Say No, and Jewish Voice for Peace. The protest came after 2600 emails were sent to the Mets and countless phone calls were made. Jay Horowitz, V.P. for Media Relations for the team, told one caller that the Mets were being “bombarded” with phone calls.

On November 3rd a fully documented letter was sent to Fred Wilpon, Chairman of the Board of the New York Mets, explaining why the Mets shouldn’t rent their space to the Hebron Fund. It was signed by 11 groups from both Israel and the U.S. that work for human rights, peace, and justice in the Middle East. The letter explained exactly what the Hebron Fund is. It said that by renting to the Hebron Fund the Mets were helping Hebron’s Jewish settlers, described worldwide as violent racists, ethnically cleanse Palestinians from their homes in Hebron, a West Bank city on Palestinian territory. Their goal is to drive Palestinians out of the historic old district of the city. A few years ago, Baruch Goldstein, a settler from the nearby Kiryat Arba settlement, killed 29 unarmed Palestinians praying in a Hebron mosque, and wounded 125. Goldstein’s tomb is a pilgrimage site for settlers.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

The Hebron Fund is challenging Obama’s position against settlement expansion by saying, on their website, “Join us in support of Hebron and in protest of today’s building freeze….” Also on their website, they say that, “The Hebron Fund has raised more than $10 million for Hebron’s settlers from 2000 to 2008.”

The Hebron settlement is illegal. It violates international law according to the UN, the International Court of Justice, and Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states that “The occupying Power shall not deport of transfer parts of it’s own civilian population in the territory it occupies.”

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

According to the Israeli human rights group, B’Tselem, and the Association for Human Rights in Israel (ACRI) Hebron “settler attacks include physical assault, including beatings, at times with clubs, stone throwing, hurling of refuse, sand, water, chlorine, empty bottles and other objects, occasionally using sharp objects, destruction of shops and doors, shattering of windows, thefts, cutting of fruit trees, destruction of merchants stands, and verbal insults.” A November 2008 report by the organization, Defense for Children International – Palestine Section, states that in Hebron, “Settler children routinely verbally harass, chase, hit and throw stones at the Palestinian school children. Their parents and other adults engage in similar behavior.” There are very many records of physical attacks by Hebron’s Jewish settlers against indigenous Palestinians. A U.S. non-profit, Christian Peacemakers Team (CPT), said that “Graffiti such as ‘Die Arab Sand-Niggers!’ is often sprayed on Palestinian houses by Israeli settlers.”

On it’s website, if you click on the symbol that says, ‘Give to the Hebron Fund’, you will be taken to the donation page which states, “Keep Hebron Jewish for the Jewish people!”

The Mets claim that it is a business decision.

Demonstrators holding up signs, chanting, and singing original songs in the street, attracted the attention of people passing by. Leaflets were distributed explaining why they were there. Some people were interested enough to come over and ask questions.

Sydney Levy of Jewish Voice for Peace, reports that the settlers of Hebron, aware of the protest being made by email, phone and letters, described those protesting as “infectious bacteria”, “germs… eating away at the Mets front office.” They were, interestingly, paraphrasing Nazi terminology. In 1938, Der Stuenmer, “Jews are pests and disseminators of disease. In whatever country they spread themselves they produce the same effects as are produced in the human body by germs.” Or, in a Nazi children’s book in the German Propaganda Archive, “Bacteria…appear not only in the form of the tiniest of living creatures but also in human form. They are the Jews!”

Lamis Deek
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

NEW YORK — On November 12, at the Center for Constitutional Rights in N.Y.C., people gathered to hear a talk by Ala ‘Jaradat, former Palestinian political prisoner and activist, on tour for the Palestinian organization, Addameer. The subject was something most Americans know nothing about, prisons in Israel and the “administrative detentions” of thousands of West Bank Palestinians. Attorney, Lamis Deek, introduced the subject and the participants. She began by quoting David Ben Gurion’s statement about the Palestinians, “The old will die and the young will forget”, and said that for the Palestinian people the slogan, “Existence is Resistance”, is very true. On order to understand the story of Palestinian political prisoners we have to start with a look at Zionism. From the beginning, the idea was for a land with only Jews. Zionist militias ethnically cleansed the area, expelling and murdering as they expanded and annexed as much land as they could. The areas cleared of Palestinians were occupied by soldiers, settlers were brought in, and the soldiers stayed. The imprisonment of their land eventually led to the imprisonment of the people. The very identity and existence of the Palestinian people was criminalized. When Obama took office people thought that, because of his relationships with Palestinians in Chicago, things would be better. Instead things got worse.

Ala ‘Jaradat
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Ala ‘ Jaradat explained that since 1967 the West Bank has been under military occupation. Administrative detainees are arrested by the Israeli occupying forces on the basis of Military Order 1591, which empowers military commanders to detain an individual for up to 6 months if they have “reasonable grounds to presume that the security of the area or public security require the detention”. The military usually comes to arrest the person in the middle of the night. The prisoner need not be charged and may never know why he is there or for how long he will be held. On or just before the expiration date, the detention order is frequently renewed. Arrest and detention are a way to legalize an illegal occupation. Laws are created to criminalize all aspects of life. They affect what you read, associations, business, and how you live. There are 1,660 military orders.

An IDF military commander governs the area. He assigns tribunals, translators, judges, and police. They all report to him and follow his orders. 800,000 Palestinians have been arrested and detained. 30% to 40% of the population have been in prison. Between 3 and 4 out of 5 Palestinian men have been in prison. There is hardly a household that has not had a member in prison. Any member of the Israeli military (IDF) can make an arrest and hold the person for 8 days. Then the detainee will come before a military tribunal where he can be held for another 80 days for interrogation. During this period there is an effort to convince the prisoners to become informants (collaborators). The prisoner may not see a lawyer for 90 days and his family will not be notified as to him being held or where he is being held. It is at this time, also, that torture is most likely to take place. A report by the Israeli human rights center, B’ Tselem, stated that 85% of the prisoners Israel interrogated each year were subjected to some form of torture, and that torture was practiced as routine policy. Women and children are not exempt. From January 2008 to June 2009 there were an average of 9 children in detention every month. On May 15, 2009, the UN Committee Against Torture expressed “concern regarding numerous, ongoing, and consistent allegations of the use of torture and ill treatment taking place before, during, and after interrogations” by Israel. If a detainee makes a statement under torture it is immediately acted upon. No further evidence is required – there will be a prosecution by a military tribunal.

With 1,660 military directives it is easy to find people guilty of something. All political parties, labor unions, and the PLO are illegal (even though Israel negotiates with the PLO). Political symbols are illegal. The Palestinian flag is illegal. A child drawing a picture of the mere outline of the Palestinian flag is committing an illegal act and can be punished. Being in a union can earn a person 20 years in prison.

Administrative detention allows the military to arrest people for being a “threat to security”, but sometimes the judges say that they are going to keep the person in prison even though they know that they are not a “threat”. In effect, this amounts to holding people hostage because they are guilty of being Palestinian.

Administrative detentions can be renewed indefinitely. The imprisonment and torture can go on for many years. Sometimes, on the scheduled day of release, with the family waiting to take the person home, the order is extended. Other times the detainee will reach home only to find the military police there waiting to bring him back to prison because the order has been renewed. The files on all detainees are kept secret. Neither the detainee, nor his lawyer, have any access to the information. They will never know why he is being held or for how long. Family visits are limited and require a permit. Male relatives between the ages of 16 and 46 cannot apply for a permit to visit a prisoner and visiting female relatives may have to undergo a body search.

Ayesha Mahmooda
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

There were several other speakers at the meeting who represented civil rights organizations here in N.Y. Ayesha Mahmooda works for DRUM (Desis Rising Up and Moving), an organization with 600 members of mostly South Asian backgrounds in Queens, N.Y. The FBI has been coming into their community and asking people questions about their neighbors. The main targets are in the Muslim community where people have been asked to be informants about what is happening in their mosques. DRUM has been speaking to people in the community, going door-to-door, and telling people what their rights are and how to file complaints about the activities of the FBI. They had a press conference in front of the Flushing Library where they reported what was going on and told how racial profiling violated people’s lives. DRUM has been getting help from the students at the City University of New York Law School in Queens.

Lumumba Bandele
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Lumumba Bandele, from the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, and a teacher at Medgar Evers College (CUNY) in Brooklyn, spoke about providing support for incarcerated political activists in the U.S. He said that the description of life on the West Bank reminds him of stories he heard about life in Apartheid South Africa and that the Palestinian freedom movement should be supported. The international struggle against illegal detention, where indigenous peoples are criminalized, must be supported. There are many political prisoners in U.S. prisons today. In COINTELPRO the FBI documented their plots against community workers. Activists want to free their freedom fighters. We must control the language in the dialogue and educate the community. Hip-Hop is now being used to connect people around the world and teach people about freedom fighters, from all over, that are in prison. We should be speaking to new people, not the same ones again and again, who already agree with us. When speaking to our community, strategize. He quoted Fidel Castro saying that, “solidarity is a verb”, you have to be doing something or there is no solidarity.

The 4 speakers and the contributions from the audience made for a very informative, interesting, and, in some ways, a very sad evening. It was made clear that there is substantial understanding of what the Palestinian people are being subjected to in communities where racism is a daily fact of life. There are people in these communities that will continue to work to build solidarity with the Palestinians. Last summer there were participants from the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement in the Viva Palestina convoy breaking the Israeli siege to bring medical supplies to the people of Gaza. Also clear, was that since 9/11 the U.S. began rounding-up people from all over the globe (the people at Guantanamo come from 17 countries), and putting them in prison without charging them with a crime, giving them no access to lawyers, holding them indefinitely, and torturing them. That is exactly what Israel had been doing for decades before the U.S. started following the same pattern in pursuing the “war on terror”. It seems to be a universal characteristic of the oppression that goes with empire building and stealing what belongs to other people. Finally, the administrative detentions, and the sadistic way they are carried out, show that the Israelis are intent on either killing every last Palestinian, as in Gaza where genocide is being actively carried out, or driving them out of their homes and off their land, as on the West Bank. The system of administrative detentions, along with the destruction of their crops, the checkpoints, the house demolitions, the wall separating them from their families, water, schools, medical care, etc, and the zealous settlers (colonists) or the IDF beating and shooting at their children as they play, creates a hell on earth for the Palestinian people. It also makes it very clear that they have absolutely no control over their lives. The daily Israeli message to them is that resistance is futile. Yet they continue to resist. Their very survival is resistance. It is incumbent on people of conscience everywhere to do what they can to help. One way is for us to educate ourselves as to what is happening there, help educate others, and support the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Campaign. Zionist groups are expressing upset about the campaign, not just for financial reasons, but because it is getting people to think and talk about Israeli apartheid and the abuse of the Palestinian people. Israel’s stature and credibility in the world diminishes as the truth becomes known. We have to act quickly before it is too late, especially for the people of Gaza.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)