“]

Palestinians distribute humanitarian aid in Gaza [MaanImages

Bethlehem – Ma’an - Jewish Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein will head to Gaza with 1,000 international delegates of the Gaza Freedom March in late December, the event’s organizers said on Friday.

Hedy Epstein, 85, was eight when Adolf Hitler came to power and remembers the Kristallnacht in Germany; the anti-semitism in school, the revocation of German citizenship, the burning of synagogues, and males over 16 being sent away to concentration camps.

In 1939, when Epstein was just 14, her parents found a way for her to escape the persecution, sending her on the Kindertransport to England. Epstein never saw her parents again; they perished in Auschwitz in 1942.

After World War II, Epstein worked as a research analyst at the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi doctors who performed medical experiments on concentration camp inmates.

After moving to the US, Epstein became an activist for peace and social justice causes. Unlike most Holocaust survivors, one of the causes she has taken up is that of the Palestinian people. She has traveled to the West Bank, collected material aid and now she hopes to enter Gaza.

“It is important to let the besieged Gazan people know they are not alone. I want to tell the people I meet in Gaza that I am a representative of many people in my city and in other places in the US who are outraged at what the US, Israeli and European governments are doing to the Palestinians and that our numbers are growing,” Epstein said.

Departing for Cairo, she and 1,000 international activists will caravan into Gaza to witness the devastation from last year’s attacks and on 31 December, will join Palestinians in a non-violent march from northern Gaza to the Erez border crossing with Israel. On the Israeli side of the Erez border Palestinians and Israelis will also call on the Israeli government to open the border.

Another prominent Jewish delegate, South African anti-apartheid leader Ronnie Kasrils whose grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Czarist Russia, will also join the Gaza Freedom March. He joined the African National Congress in 1960 after the Sharpeville massacre and was deputy minister of defense in South Africa’s first democratic government and intelligence minister until 2008.

Organizers say that other participants include Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker, leading Syrian comedian Duraid Lahham, French Senator Alima Boumediene–Thiery, author and Filipino Parliament member Walden Bello, former European Parliamentarian member Luisa Morgantini from Italy, President of the US Center for Constitutional Rights attorney Michael Ratner, Japanese former Ambassador to Lebanon Naoto Amaki, and French hip-hop artists Ministere des Affaires Populaires.

Also going are families of three generations, doctors, lawyers, diplomats, 70 students, an interfaith group that includes rabbis, priests and imams, a women’s delegation, a Jewish contingent, a veterans group and Palestinians born overseas who have never seen their families in Gaza.

“Inside Gaza, excitement is growing. Representatives of all aspects of civil society, including students, professors, refugee groups, unions, women’s organizations, NGOs, have been busy organizing and estimate that at least 50,000 Palestinians will participate. People from the different sectors will march in their uniforms, fishermen, doctors, students, farmers, teachers, etc. Local Palestinian rappers, hip-hop bands and Dabbkeh dancers will perform on mobile stages,” an organizer said.

The Gaza Freedom march has been described by organizers as “an historic initiative to break the siege that has imprisoned the 1.5 million people who live there. Conceived in the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and nonviolent resistance to injustice worldwide, the march will gather people from all over the world to demand that the Israeli government open the borders.”

Source: Maan News Agency

ANC Leaders Speak About Sanctions Against Israel – Ronnie Kastrils. P1:

Comment: This is part of four public meetings organized by BRICUP in the UK
it is titled

Israel, the Palestinians and Apartheid:

The Case for Sanctions and Boycott

speakers include:

* Ronnie Kasrils – former minister in Nelson Mandela’s ANC government and anti-Apartheid activist

* Bongani Masuku – International Secretary Cosatu – the South African trade union federation

* Omar Barghouti – Palestinian Campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions

“Manchester University, England. 7th December 2009. A public meeting takes place organised by the British Committee for Universities in Palestine (BRICUP). This clips features part 1 of former ANC Minister Ronnie Kastrils opening speech.

The aims of BRICUP are stated in a press release announcing a national tour by South African ANC leaders in support of boycott, divestment and sanctions against the Zionist state in Israel.

PRESS RELEASE

‘A Boycott of Israeli Goods and Institutions the British Launch of an International Campaign

LEADING FIGURES FROM THE SOUTH AFRICAN POLITICAL AND TRADE UNION LEADERSHIP WHO WORK FOR BOYCOTT AND SANCTIONS AGAINST ISRAEL WILL JOIN PALESTINIAN BOYCOTT ACTIVIST, OMAR BARGOUTI.

The debate on sanctions against Israel is about to heat up again. This week and next, there is a major initiative in the launch of a trade union boycott movement (boycott, disinvestment and sanctions or BDS) with public meetings in London, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The meetings will be addressed by one of the leading Palestinian figures in the boycott campaign, Omar Barghouti, from the Palestinian Boycott National Committee (BNC). Key figures from South Africa with their own experience of the sanctions campaign against Apartheid will also speak at the meetings.

Ronnie Kasrils, who was Minister of Water and of Minister of Intelligence Services in Nelson Mandelas ANC Government, has been a life-long fighter against Apartheid, and was a leading member of the ANC in exile. He will speak about the political and economic importance of the sanctions movement in bringing the white minority Government of Apartheid South Africa to the realization that it could not preserve white privilege forever.

Joining Kasrils will be Bongani Masuku, International Officer, and George Mahlangu, Campaign Officer, of the South African trade union federation, COSATU, speaking about the campaign against Israeli goods and cooperation in Africa, and about the role of the trade union movement internationally.

The meetings are organized jointly by the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine (BRICUP), War on Want, the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC), and the Palestine Society at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), and supported by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Also speaking at various of the meetings will be Dave Moxham (Deputy General Secretary of the STUC), Terry Brotherstone (General Council of the STUC), Yasmin Khan (War on Want), and Tom Hickey (National Executive Committee member of the University and Colleges Union (UCU), and a member of BRICUP).”

Part 1

Part 2

Palestine Video – A Palestine Vlog

ANC Leaders Speak About Sanctions Against Israel – Ronnie Kastrils Responds to Questions:

Comment: This is part of four public meetings organized by BRICUP in the UK
it is titled

Israel, the Palestinians and Apartheid:
The Case for Sanctions and Boycott

speakers include:

* Ronnie Kasrils – former minister in Nelson Mandela’s ANC government and anti-Apartheid activist
* Bongani Masuku – International Secretary Cosatu – the South African trade union federation
* Omar Barghouti – Palestinian Campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions

“Manchester University, England. 7th December 2009. A public meeting takes place organised by the British Committee for Universities in Palestine (BRICUP). This clips features ANC leader Ronnie Kastrils responding to questions.

The aims of BRICUP are stated in a press release announcing a national tour by South African ANC leaders in support of boycott, divestment and sanctions against the Zionist state in Israel.

PRESS RELEASE

‘A Boycott of Israeli Goods and Institutions the British Launch of an International Campaign

LEADING FIGURES FROM THE SOUTH AFRICAN POLITICAL AND TRADE UNION LEADERSHIP WHO WORK FOR BOYCOTT AND SANCTIONS AGAINST ISRAEL WILL JOIN PALESTINIAN BOYCOTT ACTIVIST, OMAR BARGOUTI.

The debate on sanctions against Israel is about to heat up again. This week and next, there is a major initiative in the launch of a trade union boycott movement (boycott, disinvestment and sanctions or BDS) with public meetings in London, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The meetings will be addressed by one of the leading Palestinian figures in the boycott campaign, Omar Barghouti, from the Palestinian Boycott National Committee (BNC). Key figures from South Africa with their own experience of the sanctions campaign against Apartheid will also speak at the meetings.

Ronnie Kasrils, who was Minister of Water and of Minister of Intelligence Services in Nelson Mandelas ANC Government, has been a life-long fighter against Apartheid, and was a leading member of the ANC in exile. He will speak about the political and economic importance of the sanctions movement in bringing the white minority Government of Apartheid South Africa to the realization that it could not preserve white privilege forever.

Joining Kasrils will be Bongani Masuku, International Officer, and George Mahlangu, Campaign Officer, of the South African trade union federation, COSATU, speaking about the campaign against Israeli goods and cooperation in Africa, and about the role of the trade union movement internationally.

The meetings are organized jointly by the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine (BRICUP), War on Want, the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC), and the Palestine Society at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), and supported by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Also speaking at various of the meetings will be Dave Moxham (Deputy General Secretary of the STUC), Terry Brotherstone (General Council of the STUC), Yasmin Khan (War on Want), and Tom Hickey (National Executive Committee member of the University and Colleges Union (UCU), and a member of BRICUP).”

Palestine Video – A Palestine Vlog

Address by Ronnie Kasrils to NADEL (National Association of Democratic Lawyers of South Africa): Topic “Goldstone Report & The Struggle of the Palestinian People” Cape Town, 24 October 2009

Justice Richard Goldstone is an internationally respected judge of integrity and credibility. Sober, reserved, most prim and proper, his reputation has been built on impeccable credentials. This has included his investigations into the apartheid-era hit-squads and violence; violations of international law in former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and in connection with the UN Iraq Oil for Food Programme; and of course his outstanding service with South Africa’s Constitutional Court.

Whilst it was expected that the apartheid era security services and generals would be afraid of the man, ironically in the aftermath of the release of the UN Report on Gaza, this life-long friend of Israel, a professed Zionist himself, has been vilified by Netanyahu and the Israeli Government; by the Chief Rabbi of South Africa; and in equally hysterical terms by many fellow Jews. It seems that this unlikely candidate for “self-hating Jew” has become top of their list. Without doubt the Israeli Government and Defence Force, and Zionist apologists world-wide, have come to fear and loathe this quiet, genteel, undemonstrative man who strives to serve truth, justice and the rule of law in the best way he can.

South Africa’s Chief Rabbi, Warren Goldstein, acting like some demented Israeli propagandist has weighed-in to the Goldstone Report on Gaza as “a political strategy for delegitimizing Israel”; alleging that it is “phrased in wild, undisciplined and aggressive language;” and violates the audi alteram partem (right to be heard) rule – injudiciously ignoring the fact that it was Israel that refused to participate and prevented the Goldstone team from setting foot in Israel and the West Bank. (Business Day, 20 October, 2009)

Israel’s atrocities against the besieged Gaza Strip which lasted 22 days – from 27 December last year until 17 January this year – resulted in up to 1,400 Palestinians killed (up to 74% civilians including some 200 children) whilst 13 Israelis died (3 of whom were civilians). Crucially the Goldstone findings concluded that Israel’s onslaught on Gaza was not an operation of self-defence in response to rocket attacks but was “directed at the people of Gaza as a whole, in furtherance of an overall and continuing policy aimed at punishing the Gaza population.”

And punish them they did. Their planes, tanks and artillery reduced homes, buildings, infrastructure to rubble. Neither schools, mosques, factories, water, sanitation and electricity plants nor UN food depots were spared. Women and children carrying white flags were fired on; civilians were used as human shields by Israeli soldiers; obscene weapons such as white phosphorous bombs rained down indiscriminately from the skies. Those munitions are banned by Geneva protocols even against military personnel let alone civilians and children. Many were horribly mutilated and died in unspeakable agony. By way of “balance” the Goldstone Report found Hamas guilty of human rights violations and war crimes for firing rockets into Israel — killing some ten civilians in as many years.

By now virtually everyone knows the reason why the Israeli Government and its supporters are so hot under the collar over Justice Goldstone’s Report whom they believe, in their crude racism, should have behaved like a “loyal” Jew. Certainly it is because the Report finds Israel “guilty of crimes against humanity” and many violations of international law and carried the stamp of Goldstone’s respectability. Compared to numerous other reports on the Gaza atrocity the findings are moderate. But it is certainly reinforced by those reports of Israeli, Palestinian and international NGOs as well as testament by Israeli soldiers of conscience. All these reports found that Hamas scrupulously observed the terms of last year’s ceasefire and that it was Israel that broke this on 4th November 2008 when it carried out an incursion into Gaza killing six Hamas activists. This led to a cycle of violent retaliation by both sides which culminated in Israel’s overwhelming punitive onslaught that commenced on 27 December 2008. Such facts put paid to Israel’s claim of having reacted in defence of its security and to protect its people. The idea that this can be better done by diplomatic means has always been anathema to those in Tel Aviv who prefer a militaristic solution.

The reason for the hysteria against Justice Goldstone’s Report goes far deeper than the findings. Goldstone is a self-professed Zionist, of liberal persuasion. Some like him believe that Israel can and should live up to its founding ideals and commitment to justice, equality and the rule of law – and act as an inspirational “light unto the nations.” He clearly and sincerely hopes that Israel will reform its ways. Unfortunately this commonly held view of the past sixty years hides the reality of the expropriation by force of an indigenous people’s land, and their dispersal in a bloody process of ethnic cleansing from 1948 to present times. In their place a colonial, racist state has been installed which has become more militaristic, morally bankrupt and grotesque with time. Quite naturally those who have been dispossessed will fight for their land and rights as has happened in all other such cases of dispossession and injustice, including South Africa. Liberal Zionists like Justice Goldstone, and many governments and people particularly in the West, succumbed to the confidence trick that projects the establishment of an ethnic home for the Jews in another people’s land as a righteous act of national liberation and independence. It is like saying that an untamed South Africa was liberated by the white settlers.

Where the Gaza atrocity of 2009 has changed things is that a turning point has been reached in the history of Israel’s persecution of the Palestinians. World opinion has been aroused against Israel as never before. In fact things can never be the same again and that is why Zionists like Goldstein are so vicious and intolerant of Zionists like Goldstone who take a principled stand in the face of such unquestionable criminal actions. What Israel’s merciless aggression has opened-up at last is a world-wide process whereby the questioning of the legitimacy of the Zionist project has been unleashed.

Israel is losing the moral and media struggle; the battle for hearts and minds everywhere. Israel and its supporters are petrified of the consequences. The Goldstone Report has called on the UN Security Council to require Israel to launch “appropriate investigations” into the violations that have been detailed. If no investigation is launched within six months the Security Council is requested to pass the case to the International Criminal Court at The Hague. This has caused huge alarm — hence the backlash and the reason why the Goldstone Report must be undermined by the likes of Rabbi Goldstein – the propagandist bent on sanctifying Israel’s inhumanity. Israel has long depended on America to do the job of sabotaging action by the United Nations. The USA is likely to quash the report by exercising its veto in the Security Council, but by doing this President Obama risks undermining efforts to restore America’s standing in the world, especially in the Middle East.

Those good people interested in resolving this problem in the best interests of all those living in the region need to take into account:

1. There are unfortunate divisions and weakness amongst the Palestinians and it is essential to encourage unity. This will be helped by the growing strength and influence of the Palestinian civil rights movement within the occupied territories and inside Israel itself. Victory is only possible on the basis of national unity.

2. The pattern of Israel’s wars of aggression against Palestinians and Arab states since 1948 demonstrates that Israel is not interested in genuine peace. The Zionist objective is of a Greater Israel, “from the river to the sea”, with bantustan enclaves for the remaining Palestinians side-by-side with weak Arab and Islamic states which explains the anxiety over the rising power of Iran. Unity between progressive Israelis – no matter how few at present (although they grow in numbers as did progressive whites in South Africa) — and the Palestinians for common interests is an important way to help secure peace and equality and isolate the scourge of Israeli militarism.

3. The Western countries have supported Israel as an ally in the strategic oil rich Middle East and as a buffer against the national liberation movements of the Arab people for genuine independence. Their populations must pressurize those governments to support justice and freedom for the Palestinians in the way that international solidarity helped bring about the end of apartheid.

It is important for us in South Africa to condemn Israel’s aggression and occupation of Palestinian territories; support the Goldstone Report and get it adopted by the UN; demand that Israel be brought before the International Criminal Court to face charges of crimes against humanity; and mobilize our people in united action behind the international Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.

I started by asking the question: Who’s afraid of Richard Goldstone? It is perfectly clear that Israel and its Zionist supporters are petrified of his findings. However if we are to really change things and make a difference, we must work to strengthen the BDS campaign. Israel and its apologists fear BDS even more than they fear Judge Richard Goldstone.

Source: australiansforpalestine.com

Ronald Kasrils (commonly known as Ronnie Kasrils) is a South African politician, Activist and Author. He was Minister for Intelligence Services from 27 April 2004 to 25 September 2008..

the other day a friend told me about a museum devoted to palestinian political prisoners at al quds university at abu dis. another friend who was at dinner with us at the time and who attends that university as an m.a. student had not heard of this museum. we decided to go there saturday morning before her classes and on my way home. we got off the service and walked onto campus. i didn’t know what to expect. i thought maybe a few rooms in a building. but what we found was something far more extravagant. the abu jihad museum for the prisoners movement affairs, as it is officially called, is in a huge, rather funky looking building on the southern edge of campus. if you look closely at the shot of it above you’ll notice you can see the apartheid wall imprisoning the prisoners’ museum and the rest of abu dis. the building itself and the museum inside is really quite striking in the interesting aesthetic it uses to to tell the story of palestinian political prisoners. there is a sign in the lobby that states the funding for this museum came from the state of kuwait and the arab fund for economic and social development. while i think the museum is rather amazing and tells a necessary story in the palestinian experience, i wonder just how much this museum cost to build and if that money couldn’t have been better spent in another sector of palestinian society (perhaps on prisoners themselves?).

as you walk inside you notice that the interior is made to look like a prison with bars for doors and windows within the museum space in several locations. but at the same time the space gives off a sense of freedom in the way large windows allow lots of light inside. first you see various photographs of israeli terrorist prisons and detention centers and a map, as pictured above, showing where all the various prisons are located. there are other photographs of israeli terrorists in uniform beating palestinians and then an artistic display of paintings showing the various common forms of torture used in israeli terrorists’ prisons. at each point in the exhibit there are explanations with history and context about each aspect of prisoners’ lives.

there are exhibits on martyrs, on old prisoners, on the longest serving prisoners (the two profiled, have thankfully been released in the last year and i can proudly say i was at their welcome party in beirut and nablus respectively: samir quntar and said al ‘atabeh), on female prisoners, on solidarity between palestinian political prisoners and others (notably bobbie sands in ireland), on hunger strikes in prison, on prisoners’ education, on prisoners’ letter writing, on prisoners’ artwork.

one of my favorite parts of the exhibit was the letters. i posted a photograph here of what some of them look like, but there were so many more displayed. you can see how small and meticulous the handwriting has to be. and you can see the capsules in the other photograph that the prisoners have to make in order to smuggle messages and letters out of the prisons. it reminded me of a scene in fateh azzam, ismail dabbagh, ‘abed ju’beh, and nidal khatib’s play ansar: a true story from an israeli military detention center (which can be found in salma khadra jayyusi’s anthology short arabic plays, which i have been teaching in my drama class. there is a scene with kifah gets zahran a present and kifah asks zahran to write a letter home for him because he doesn’t know how. this is a really beautiful part of the play because it initiates the scenes where we see palestinians starting to create schools in the various prison tents to educate one another on everything from hebrew to palestinian history. but when zahran writes the letter we see how space and size become an issue:

KIFAH: Now listen, Zahran, you write what I’m just going to tell you in brackets, so no one will read it except Mayss, understand? Tell her to tell Khulud that I miss her very, very, very much. Make sure you write “very” three times.

Zahran: There’s not much space to write all that, Kifah.

but another favorite part of mine was to see the various aspects of education in the exhibit. from a number of paintings and drawings that depicted prisoners as reading books to cases with books written by prisoners or read by prisoners this was a reminder of what the prison used to be in palestine: the university. scene twelve of the play ansar represents this rather well through a series of vignettes showing students attending various lectures and some of these vignettes are staged so that the lectures are delivered simultaneously and we are plopped into the middle of such lectures as in the ninth such vignette:

The two following monologues are delivered simultaneously, the impression being of lectures going on at the same time in two different tents.

PRISONER 1: For example, in the tenth century Palestine was an exporter of olives, raisins and carob as well as silk and cotton textiles. Jerusalem especially was famous for cheese, apples, bananas, mirrors, lamps and even needles. Yes, needles!

PRISONER 2: ‘Asqalan, Dahriyyeh and others were always detention centers, during the time of the British, then the Jordanians followed suit, and now the Israelis. Here, Ketziot, was also a detention center during British days, and they used to call it ‘Oja Hafeer. My grandfather, God rest his soul, was a prisoner there in ‘46.

i just finished reading another novel this weekend by john berger called from a to x: a story in letters. berger is a writer whose book ways of seeing many graduate students in english studies are required to read. but i had not really thought much about his more creative writing until my friend jamelie turned me on to his essays hold everything dear last year. he has a number of essays in it about palestine and lebanon and it’s quite moving and beautiful. berger was one of the people to lead the way for a cultural boycott of the zionist entity three years ago in a statement that was published on electronic intifada:

“There is a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon, albeit daily violated by Israeli overflights. Meanwhile the day to day brutality of the Israeli army in Gaza and the West Bank continues. Ten Palestinians are killed for every Israeli death; more than 200, many of them children, have been killed since the summer. UN resolutions are flouted, human rights violated as Palestinian land is stolen, houses demolished and crops destroyed. For archbishop Desmond Tutu, as for the Jewish (former ANC military commander presently South African minister of security), Ronnie Kasrils, the situation of the Palestinians is worse than that of black South Africans under apartheid. Meantime Western governments refer to Israel’s ‘legitimate right’ of self-defence, and continue to supply weaponry.

The challenge of apartheid was fought better. The non-violent international response to apartheid was a campaign of boycott, divestment, and, finally UN imposed sanctions which enabled the regime to change without terrible bloodshed. Today Palestinians teachers, writers, film-makers and non-governmental organisations have called for a comparable academic and cultural boycott of Israel as offering another path to a just peace. This call has been endorsed internationally by university teachers in many European countries, by film-makers and architects, and by some brave Israeli dissidents. It is now time for others to join the campaign as Primo Levi asked: If not now, when?

We call on creative writers and artists to support our Palestinian and Israeli colleagues by endorsing the boycott call. Read the Palestinian call (www.pacbi.org).

Don’t visit, exhibit or perform in Israel!”

more recently, berger produced a video of himself reading ghassan kanafani’s “letter from gaza,” which qui qui wrote about last december on kababfest. the video was played at the zapatistas’ conference in mexico and was published on their website and qui qui published the full text of kanafani’s “letter from gaza” on kabobfest as well.

interestingly berger’s new novel is also about letters. and it is also about prisoners. the book is dedicated to kanafani, which is what made me buy the book in the first place when i found it in al quds a few months ago. but the book is not about palestine. in fact, it is unclear where exactly the novel is set. there are all sorts of confusing location and identity markers in the novel. for instance the “a” stands for a’ida, an arabic name, of a a woman whose lover, xavier, standing in for “x” in the title, is in prison. the name xavier has basque origins. the letters are not dated, so not fixed in a particular time period. nor do they appear chronologically in the novel. and the letters are only from a’ida to xavier–there are none from him to her. but there are notes he left to a’ida on the backs of these letters that do locate the story in a particular time frame–the present. for example, he scrawls a note about hugo chavez on the back of one such letter:

“After almost 200 years we can say that the USA was designed to fill the entire world with poverty–whilst giving it the name of Freedom. The United States empire is the greatest threat which exists in the world today…” Chavez, Moscow, 27/07/2006 (44)

another such note from xavier places him ideologically and chronologically:

IMF WB GATT WTO NAFTA FTAA–their acronymns gag language, as their actions stifle the world.(70)

the novel is beautiful and moving, lyrical and striking. i love that you cannot place it precisely in the world because it means that in many ways this story of a political prisoner and resistance is one that is the same everywhere when one fights for liberation of one’s land. we cannot place a’ida even who calls her beloved at once habibi and mi guapo among other terms of endearment from various languages. but here are some of my favorite passages from the novel that speak to the commonality and specificity of place and struggle across the world. the italics indicate xavier’s notes and the rest is from a’ida’s letters.

I love your secrecy. It’s your candour. Two F16s have passed over flying low. Because they can’t break our secrets, the try to break our eardrums. I love your secrecy. Let me tell you what I can see at this moment.

Crammed windowsills, clotheslines, TV satellite dishes, some chairs propped against a chimney stack, two bird cages, a dozen improvised tiny terraces with their innumerable pots for plants and their saucers for cats. if I can stand up I can smell mint and molokhiyya. Cables, telephone and electric, looping in every conceivable direction and every month sagging more.Eduardo still carries his bicycle up three flights of stairs and padlocks it to a cable by his chimney. (29)

One by one the birds appeared; they didn’t fly into the tree, they appeared on its branches like prayers. Gassan’s house was destroyed by a missile, aimed, they claim at a hide-out! The birds perched there on the branches of the apple tree like answers, answers to questions which have no words. Watching the birds, I finally cried.

Gassan wasn’t there when his house was destroyed. He had gone to the market and was playing cards with some cronies. When he heard the news, he foundered and fell to the floor, making no sound.

The next day I accompanied him to the ruin. There were several epicenters where everything had been reduced to dust, surrounded by tiny fragments. Except for pipes and wires no recognisable objects remained. Everything which had been assembled during a lifetime had gone without trace, had lost its name. An amnesia not of the mind but of the tangible. (120)

The poor are collectively unseizable. They are not only the majority on the planet, they are everywhere, and the smallest event somehow refers to them. Consequently the activity of the rich is the building of walls–walls of concrete, of electronic surveillance, of missile barrages, minefields, armed frontiers, media misinformation, and finally the wall of money to separate financial speculation from production. Only 3% of financial speculation and exchange concerns production. I love you. (149)

My phone rang and there was Yasmina’s clipped voice–finches chirp quickly like this when their tree is at risk–telling me that an Apache had been circling above the old tobacco factory in the Abor district, where seven of ours were hiding, and that the neighbouring women–and other women too–were preparing to form a human shield around the factory and on its roof, to prevent them shelling it. I told her I would come.

I put down the telephone and stood still, yet it was as if I was running. Cool air was striking my forehead. Something of mine–but not my body, maybe my name A’ida–was running, swerving, soaring, plummeting and becoming impossible to sight or get aim on. Perhaps a released bird has this sensation. A kind of limpidity.

I’m not going to send you this letter, yet I want to tell you what we did the other day. Perhaps you won’t read it until we are both dead, no, the dead don’t read. The dead are what remains from what has been written. Much of what is written is reduced to ashes. The dead are all there in the words that stay.

By the time I got there, twenty women, waving white headscarves, were installed on the flat roof. The factory has three floors–like your prison. At ground level, lines of women with their backs to the wall, surrounded the entire building. No tanks or jeeps or Humvee yet to be seen. So I walked from the road across the wasteland to join them. Some of the women I recognised, others I didn’t. We touched and looked at one another silently, to confirm what we shared, what we had in common. Our one chance was to become a single body for as long as we stood there and refused to budge.

We heard the Apache returning. It was flying slowly and low to frighten and observe us, its four-bladed rotor blackmailing the air below to hold it up. We heard the familiar Apache growl, the growl of them deciding and us rushing for shelter to hide–but not today. We could see the two Hellfire missiles tucked under its armpits. We could see the pilot and his gunner. We could see the mini-guns pointing at us.

Before the ruined mountain, before the abandoned factory, which was used as a makeshift hospital during the dysentery epidemic four years ago, some of us were likely to die. Each of us, I think, was frightened but not for herself. (167-168)

Each new death prepares us for something–of course for our own deaths–mine not yours, nothing could prepare me for yours, I’ll sit on the earth, your head in my lap, their cluster bombs exploding, and I will refuse your death. Each new death also prepares us for a carnival, a carnival held under their very noses, and about which they can do fuck all, not even with their Predator Drones. I’m thinking of how they shot Manda. (174)

there is so much more that is beautiful and amazing about this novel. i strongly recommend it. but i will leave you with berger himself speaking about palestinian prisoners among other things in a beautiful, eloquent fashion:

Ronnie Kasrils – 5 March 2009 – Carleton University – Israeli Apartheid Week – Part 1 on Vimeo:

“Ronnie Kasrils was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, 1938. His grandparents are Jewish immigrants from Czarist Russia (Lithuania). He joined the ANC 1960 after Sharpeville massacre. This led to a lifetime of political activism. Ronnie was a member of ANC’s military wing at its inception in 1961. He became chief of military intelligence, operated from exile in neighboring African states and clandestinely in South Africa. For many years, he was a member of both ANC and Communist Party national executive committees. Ronnie was appointed deputy minister of defense in South Africa’s first democratic government (1994-99); Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry (1999-2004); Minister Intelligence Services (2004-2008). He has retired from government and devotes himself to writing, lecturing and Palestine solidarity work. His autobiography is entitled ‘Armed & Dangerous’ (publisher Jonathan Ball, Johannesburg).”

Part 1

Ronnie Kasrils – 5 March 2009 – Carleton University – Israeli Apartheid Week – Part 1 from AFF on Vimeo.

Part 2

Ronnie Kasrils – 5 March 2009 – Carleton University – Israeli Apartheid Week 2009 – Part 2 from AFF on Vimeo.

Palestine Video – A Palestine Vlog

Ronnie Kasrils — South Africa & Palestine: Long Roads to Freedom:

1:18:41 – Mar 28, 2009

Source: Pulsemedia.org

“Ronnie Kasrils spoke at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow on March 20, 2009 at a lecture organized by Pulsemedia.org and Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

- During the years of apartheid rule in South Africa, Ronnie Kasrils was a leader in the banned ANC and its military wing Umkonto we Sizwe
- Hunted by the security police, he was described by them as ‘armed and dangerous’
- Kasrils served as a government minister in post-Apartheid South Africa until 2008
- Today Kasrils is an activist in the Palestine Solidarity Committee, South Africa
- The Palestine Solidarity Committee in South Africa has won dock workers there to a policy of boycotting all Israeli ships that dock in South African ports
In quotes: WORSE THAN SOUTH AFRICAN APARTHEID ‘I will state clearly, without exaggeration, that any South African, whether involved in the freedom struggle, or motivated by basic human decency, who visits the Occupied Palestinian Territories are shocked to the core at the situation they encounter and agree with Archbishop Tutu’s comment that what the Palestinians are experiencing is far worse than what happened in South Africa, where the Sharpeville massacre of 69 civilians in 1960 became international symbol of apartheid cruelty.’ FOUR PILLARS OF STRUGGLE ‘With that moral advantag”

Palestine Video – A Palestine Vlog

Apartheid: From South Africa to Israel Part 1 or 3:

“Ronnie Kasrils, member of the African National Congress, said that Israel’s apartheid is far worse than the South African apartheid. In his recent talk, in Vancouver, BC, he explains why this is so.”

Part 1/3

2/3

3/3

Palestine Video – A Palestine Vlog

i don’t know if it is possible to keep track of the thousands of nakbas experienced by palestinians. if i were creating a blog today i think i would call it nakba watch. i would keep track of all the murders, massacres, land theft, and political prisoners. here are some of the most recent nakbas palestinians are experiencing this week alone:

from the palestinian information center:

1. Local sources in the occupied city of Jerusalem affirmed Friday that the Israeli occupation authority has notified seven Palestinian Jerusalemite families that their homes will be demolished alleging they were built without permits.

The sources also revealed that the Israeli occupation order was clear and aims at controlling the 16,000 square meter land near the wall of Jerusalem, adding that Israeli foundations were planning to establish tens of settlement units to absorb more Israeli settlers in the city.

Since the eastern part of Jerusalem city came under the Israeli occupation in 1967, the successive Israeli occupation governments spared no time in judaizing the city and attempting to introduce drastic demographic changes in favor of the Jews in the city to preempt any future political settlement with the Palestinians regarding the city.

In Nablus district, big numbers of IOF troops raided the tiny village of Til, west of Nablus city, and rounded up seven Palestinian youths after they ransacked and wreaked havoc in many Palestinian homes in the village.

Another Palestinian youth identified as Mahmood Talal Zaidan, 25, from Jenin city was also rounded up at the Shafi Shamron checkpoint while returning home from work.

from ma’an news:

2. Dozens of Palestinians and international peace activists confronted Israeli bulldozers working in the towns of Ras Teera and Wad Ar-Rasha, southeast of the West Bank city of Qalqiliya.

Local sources said that “the residents of those towns confronted the bulldozers that began to uproot the olive trees there.”

Another insisted that “these bulldozers began uprooting, backed by intensive guard of the Israeli soldiers and policemen, to prevent the residents from obstructing their work.”

The residents called on international organizations to immediately intervene to stop the bulldozing of their land that would lead to destroying sections of electricity, water networks, greenhouses and water wells.

from ma’an news:

3. The Al-Hanoun and Al-Ghawi families have been stationed in front of their Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem, homes since early on 14 March in an effort to prevent their forced evacuation.

The two families, comprising a total of 52 members, received evacuation orders effective 15 March, after which point Israeli authorities said they intend to demolish the homes.

The Coalition for Jerusalem has organized mass rallies outside the homes of the two families in order to bring attention to what they call “Israel’s ethnic cleansing policy” and try to prevent the destruction of the buildings.

According to the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement (ISM), both the Al-Ghawei and Al-Hanoun families were evicted from their homes by Israeli police in 2002, after Israeli settlers used falsified documents to claim ownership of these houses.

Family members lived in tents for four months before returning to their homes. The families were able to present their documents proving their legal ownership before the courts on the 19th of February, but the eviction orders still remain in effect.

from ghassan bannoura:

4. Bulldozers belonging to the Israeli municipality demolished a Palestinian-owned home, located in Beit Safafa neighborhood in Jerusalem city.

The home is part of a seven story building owned by Abu Khalaf, a Palestinian from Jerusalem. Israeli troops arrived at Beit Safafa on Tuesday morning and surrounded the building. Shortly after, troops forced everyone out and demolished the seventh floor. The Israeli municipality says the home was built without the necessary permission.

Home owner Suha Abu Khalaf told IMEMC, “[f]or several months they have wanted to demolish the flat, but gave no date. It is difficult because they do not give us permission to build the homes which we need to live in. They talk about peace, and then they come and demolish our homes.”

The number of Palestinian-owned homes in Jerusalem that Israel has stated it intends to demolish has reached 179 since the beginning of 2009. The Jerusalem municipality handed out demolition orders to 96 Palestinian families in the first week of March.

in February, demolition orders were isssued for 88 homes in the al-Bustan neighborhood, located immediately south of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s old city. Thousands of Palestinians could become homeless. Local activists fear that yet more orders will be issued shortly.

from ma’an news:

5. The home of 80-year-old Hajj Abdul Mu’ti Salah in Kafr Jammal is on Jewish land, the elderly West Banker was told Sunday, and he must evacuate the property immediately.

Since the beginning of March Israeli forces were seen in the 2,000-year-old village northwest of Qalqiliya, filming, plotting maps, and making detailed notes.

On Sunday, Israeli officers handed a warrant to Salah telling him to evacuate his home claiming it is a Jewish property. The home is known as the “Abu Khilaf home.” Salah grew up in the home, inherited it from his father, and raised his own children there.

“We never heard from our ancestors anything about what the Israeli authorities are claiming now,” local resident Hazim Abd As-Salam said. “The village has been an Arab-Palestinian village since the beginnings of history. The area they claim to be Jewish property is an archeological site dating back to more than two thousand years, It’s full of Roman and Byzantine artifacts, and there is no single clue to support what they claim.”

The house, added Abd As-Salam, “is next to an ancient mosque,” that his parents’ parents’ grandparents prayed in, “The whole village belongs to the Arab and Islamic civilization,” he added.

The eviction and confiscation order came the same day Israeli forces re-occupied the Ar-Rajabi home in Hebron. The home had been claimed using illegal sale documents and occupied by ultra-orthodox Israeli settlers. The settlers were ordered out of the home by the Israeli high court, and when the reused to leave they were forcibly evicted on 4 December. During the incident settlers from the nearby Kiriyat Arba settlement rioted and shot a Palestinian bystander at point blank range.

Israeli soldiers, not settlers this time, occupied the home and claimed as a military base.

Also on 15 March the eviction orders on two homes in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, took effect. A mass eviction and demolition order also stands on 88 Palestinian homes in Silwan, another neighborhood in East Jerusalem.

In early February it was revealed that an Israeli military tribunal had issued a decision rejecting eight separate petitions, each representing dozens of Palestinians, objecting to a 2004 declaration by the Israeli Civil Administration to designate some 1,700 dunums (1.7 square kilometers) of land north of the West Bank settlemtn Efrat as “state land.”

In Kafr Jammal, Salah is so sick that he can’t speak and his wife feels powerless to stop the eviction and confiscation of her home.

6. More than thirty ancient olive trees were uprooted today in the West bank village Ras a Tira, in order to build new route for the separation fence that passes most of the village lands to the settlement Alfe Menashe. Watch for yourself:

from ma’an news:

7. Israel will not allow shipment construction materials need to rebuild the Gaza Strip until captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is released, the director of the UN’s relief agency for Palestinian refugees said on Tuesday.

for some context as to why israeli terrorists keep enacting nakba after nakba one must understand that zionism = racism. ben ehrenreich has an amazing op ed in my home town newspaper, the los angeles times this week explaining the racist roots of zionism in a most eloquent essay:

It’s hard to imagine now, but in 1944, six years after Kristallnacht, Lessing J. Rosenwald, president of the American Council for Judaism, felt comfortable equating the Zionist ideal of Jewish statehood with “the concept of a racial state — the Hitlerian concept.” For most of the last century, a principled opposition to Zionism was a mainstream stance within American Judaism.

Even after the foundation of Israel, anti-Zionism was not a particularly heretical position. Assimilated Reform Jews like Rosenwald believed that Judaism should remain a matter of religious rather than political allegiance; the ultra-Orthodox saw Jewish statehood as an impious attempt to “push the hand of God”; and Marxist Jews — my grandparents among them — tended to see Zionism, and all nationalisms, as a distraction from the more essential struggle between classes.

To be Jewish, I was raised to believe, meant understanding oneself as a member of a tribe that over and over had been cast out, mistreated, slaughtered. Millenniums of oppression that preceded it did not entitle us to a homeland or a right to self-defense that superseded anyone else’s. If they offered us anything exceptional, it was a perspective on oppression and an obligation born of the prophetic tradition: to act on behalf of the oppressed and to cry out at the oppressor.

For the last several decades, though, it has been all but impossible to cry out against the Israeli state without being smeared as an anti-Semite, or worse. To question not just Israel’s actions, but the Zionist tenets on which the state is founded, has for too long been regarded an almost unspeakable blasphemy.

Yet it is no longer possible to believe with an honest conscience that the deplorable conditions in which Palestinians live and die in Gaza and the West Bank come as the result of specific policies, leaders or parties on either side of the impasse. The problem is fundamental: Founding a modern state on a single ethnic or religious identity in a territory that is ethnically and religiously diverse leads inexorably either to politics of exclusion (think of the 139-square-mile prison camp that Gaza has become) or to wholesale ethnic cleansing. Put simply, the problem is Zionism.

It has been argued that Zionism is an anachronism, a leftover ideology from the era of 19th century romantic nationalisms wedged uncomfortably into 21st century geopolitics. But Zionism is not merely outdated. Even before 1948, one of its basic oversights was readily apparent: the presence of Palestinians in Palestine. That led some of the most prominent Jewish thinkers of the last century, many of them Zionists, to balk at the idea of Jewish statehood. The Brit Shalom movement — founded in 1925 and supported at various times by Martin Buber, Hannah Arendt and Gershom Scholem — argued for a secular, binational state in Palestine in which Jews and Arabs would be accorded equal status. Their concerns were both moral and pragmatic. The establishment of a Jewish state, Buber feared, would mean “premeditated national suicide.”

The fate Buber foresaw is upon us: a nation that has lived in a state of war for decades, a quarter-million Arab citizens with second-class status and more than 5 million Palestinians deprived of the most basic political and human rights. If two decades ago comparisons to the South African apartheid system felt like hyperbole, they now feel charitable. The white South African regime, for all its crimes, never attacked the Bantustans with anything like the destructive power Israel visited on Gaza in December and January, when nearly1,300 Palestinians were killed, one-third of them children.

Israeli policies have rendered the once apparently inevitable two-state solution less and less feasible. Years of Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem have methodically diminished the viability of a Palestinian state. Israel’s new prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has even refused to endorse the idea of an independent Palestinian state, which suggests an immediate future of more of the same: more settlements, more punitive assaults.

All of this has led to a revival of the Brit Shalom idea of a single, secular binational state in which Jews and Arabs have equal political rights. The obstacles are, of course, enormous. They include not just a powerful Israeli attachment to the idea of an exclusively Jewish state, but its Palestinian analogue: Hamas’ ideal of Islamic rule. Both sides would have to find assurance that their security was guaranteed. What precise shape such a state would take — a strict, vote-by-vote democracy or a more complex federalist system — would involve years of painful negotiation, wiser leaders than now exist and an uncompromising commitment from the rest of the world, particularly from the United States.

Meanwhile, the characterization of anti-Zionism as an “epidemic” more dangerous than anti-Semitism reveals only the unsustainability of the position into which Israel’s apologists have been forced. Faced with international condemnation, they seek to limit the discourse, to erect walls that delineate what can and can’t be said.

It’s not working. Opposing Zionism is neither anti-Semitic nor particularly radical. It requires only that we take our own values seriously and no longer, as the book of Amos has it, “turn justice into wormwood and hurl righteousness to the ground.”

Establishing a secular, pluralist, democratic government in Israel and Palestine would of course mean the abandonment of the Zionist dream. It might also mean the only salvation for the Jewish ideals of justice that date back to Jeremiah.

also worth checking out is my dear friend naji ali’s interview with ronnie kasrils on crossing the line this week. you can download the mp3 by clicking this link. kasrils, a jewish south african who was active in the anti-apartheid movement, gives a very clear comparison between the apartheid he grew up under and the one here in palestine.

on a related note, the palestinian boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement have organized an important conference on this subject of the apartheid, racist zionist state to dovetail with the world conference on racism in geneva:

The Israel Review Conference will take place in Geneva on 18 – 19 April, two days before the United Nations’ Durban Review Conference (http://www.un.org/durbanreview2009/) will examine the progress made in implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) adopted by the World Conference Against Racism (2001) and strengthen its recommendations.

The Israel Review Conference will bring together internationally renowned experts and actors for social and political justice who will:

examine how the UN anti-racism instruments apply to Israel’s policies and practices regarding the Palestinian people; and,

develop practical recommendations on how to make Israel accountable to international law and protect the rights of the Palestinian people.

The second day of the conference will be reserved for self-organized workshops and planning meetings of the global Campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it complies with international law.

The Israel Review Conference is open to the public. It will be held at the Hotel Le Grenil, Avenue Sainte-Clotilde 7, 1205 Geneva.

carlos latuff

and the boycott of israeli products (though, unfortunately, not american products: please, someone tell me, why/how people can be so willing to give up their lives, to fight and die in order to liberate their land, but they still cannot sacrifice the 2-3 minutes the flavor of coca cola on their tongues. seriously: i want to know the answer to this question because it keeps me up at night. it bothers me that much) is taking off in palestine, it seems. i say “it seems,” because i am very cynical about how this is being framed and who is doing the framing. it is the palestinian authority that seems to be taking the lead here, but i bet that if we went into the offices of these folks we’d find all things israeli. but if they want to coopt this campaign and push their fatah-normalizing followers to boycott too, the more the merrier. here is what was reported late last week:

Buying Palestinian products is a patriotic act of resistance which plays a major role in helping the Palestinian people stay steadfast on their land, said Head of Palestinian Presidential Bureau Rafiq Al-Huseini Saturday.

Al-Huseini spoke at a conference where the Palestinian Authority (PA) announced an initiative to support the production and improvement of Palestinian products as part of a boycott of Israeli goods as well as an effort to strengthen the local economy.

Such an action, he said, “is a peaceful means of countering Israeli settlement plans; it is also something ordinary people can easily participate in.”

The initiative aims at enhancing Palestinian products by improving quality, reducing price and increasing the ability of Palestinian producers to compete against world products both at home and abroad.

“Our vision is to have national products capable of competing in internal and external markets,” Al-Huseini said. “We also aim at strengthening consumer loyalty to Palestinian brands,” he told assembled politicians and businessmen in the Ramallah government compound on Saturday.

Palestinian minister of the Economy Kamal Hassuna said supporting national products was a moral duty, noting that the caretaker government had, from the “beginning, worked to support the private sector through new legislations.”

Head of the Union of Palestinian Industries Basim Khouri, said the union endeavored to increase the portion of national products in the local market by providing high-quality products meeting international standards at competitive prices.

Representative of the Palestinian investment fund Jamal Haddad described supporting national products as a pillar of the Palestinian resistance against occupation because it frees the Palestinian people from dependence on Israeli products and supports local business owners.

and for those of you who think that making responsible choices when you go shopping doesn’t have an effect on the israeli terrorist regime, think again and read what shir hever has to say about it:

Although the Israeli economic media doesn’t concern itself with the moral dimension of the attacks on Gaza, the economic dimension of recent events have created a rising level of concern. In order to demonstrate this trend, here are summaries of four articles that appeared in the Israeli The Marker magazine for economic news:

1. On 2 February, Guy Grimland warned about a growing phenomenon of boycott of Israeli high-tech companies, and several Israeli companies received letters from European and U.S. companies explaining that they cannot invest in Israel for moral reasons.

2. In 3 February, Nehemia Strassler, one of Israel’s most famous economic correspondents, attacked the Israeli Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor, Eli Yishai, for calling on the Israeli military to “destroy one hundred homes in Gaza for every rocket that falls in Israel.” Strassler had nothing to say about the Palestinians living in these homes or about the loss of life, but he warned:

“[the minister] doesn’t even understand how the operation in Gaza hurts the economy. The horror sights on television and the words of politicians in Europe and Turkey change the behavior of consumers, businessmen and potential investors. Many European consumers boycott Israeli products in practice. Intellectuals call for an economic war against us and to enforce an official and full consumer boycott.

Calls are heard in board meetings of economic corporations to boycott trade relations with Israel. So far deals were cancelled with Turkey, the UK, Egypt and the Gulf States, and visits by economic delegations were cancelled. It’s much easier now to switch providers while abandoning Israeli providers. Many company boards are required to take wide considerations into account with regards to the good of society and the environment, and they put political considerations in that slot as well.

Of course there is an economic cost to severing diplomatic ties. Qatar cut its trade relations with Israel, Venezuela and Bolivia cut diplomatic relations. Mauritania recalled its ambassador and the relations with Turkey worsened considerably—and this bad ambiance seeps into the business sector decisions. Here, just yesterday Dudi Ovshitz, who grows peppers for export, said that ‘there is a concealed boycott of Israeli products in Europe.’”

3. On 6 February, Shuki Sadeh wrote about even more companies that have decided to boycott relations with Israel. A Turkish company demanded that Israeli companies sign a document condemning the Israeli massacre in Gaza before they can offer their services for it. Sadeh quoted Naomi Klein’s recent call for boycott, the 2005 Palestinian civil society call for boycott and Israeli organizations that support the boycott and provide information for the global BDS movement. Sadeh’s article also had concerned quotes by Israeli businessmen who demanded government intervention to protect them from the growing boycott.

4. In 11 February, Ora Koren reported that the Israeli business sectors feel the effects of the attack on Gaza. She reported that Israeli businessmen in Turkey are hiding their names so that the local BDS organizations won’t learn about their activities, and that the situation is even worse in the UK.

These four articles are a sign that there is a shift in the effectiveness of the BDS movement against Israel, and that if the momentum is maintained and strengthened, Israeli businessmen may decide to move their headquarters away from Israel, or to begin to put pressure on the Israeli government to begin respecting international law, and ending the occupation.

reporting on israel apartheid week in canada, mel frykberg gives us some context for bds not only because of the israeli terrorist state’s action at “home,” but also for their complicity in apartheid south africa itself:

In the wake of the BDS campaign, critics of Israel have lashed out at what they see as parallels between South Africa’s former apartheid system and Israeli racism.

They point to Israel’s discriminatory treatment of ethnic Palestinians within Israel who hold Israeli passports, and the extensive human rights abuses against Palestinians in the occupied territories by Israeli security forces.

During the apartheid era, ties between Israel and South Africa were extremely strong, with the Jewish state helping to train South Africa’s security forces as well as supplying the regime in Pretoria with weapons.

Meanwhile, Toronto, where the Israel Apartheid Week movement was born, will hold forums, film shows, cultural events and street protests to mark IAW week. One of the guest speakers is former South African intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils.

Kasrils is no stranger to controversy. His parents fled from Tzarist Russian pogroms carried out against Jews, and immigrated to South Africa at the beginning of the last century.

During white rule, as a member of the African National Congress (ANC), working both in exile and underground in South Africa, he was reviled by many white South Africans as a “terrorist”.

He has also been labelled a self-hating Jew by many Israelis and South African Jews due to the strong stand he and the ANC have taken against Israel’s policies.

and today we have great news from the united kingdom. they are making the moral choice not to accept office space in the man who has african and palestinian blood on his hands, lev leviev (now if we can only get the uk to sanction the zoinist regime then we’d be getting somewhere, but i suppose that is too much to ask. i mean, where would the zionist entity be without their british friends?):

The British embassy in Tel Aviv has stopped negotiations to lease a floor in Africa-Israel’s Kirya Tower because of the company’s role in West Bank settlement construction.

The British embassy had been expected to move from its current Hayarkon Street location into the office tower on the corner of Kaplan and Begin. The lease would have cost $162,000 a year, the British press reported.

Africa-Israel is owned by Lev Leviev, a tycoon who recently left Israel and settled in Britain.

jamal juma’ has an article in electronic intifada this week encouraging us on to continue our actions, to build on this momentum with bds as civil society, but his reference to latin america is an important reminder that one of the reasons for bds is that we, as civil society members need to use boycott and divestment pressure to encourage governments to sanction the zionist entity:

Latin America, on the other hand, is the only region wherein popular anger was more or less reflected in official discourse and action. It is no coincidence that Bolivia and Venezuela, the two countries in the region that cut diplomatic ties with Israel, are also the two states whose governments operate, both in principle and in practice, according to the needs of the majority.

Palestine has developed into a global litmus test for democracy. While more progressive states in Latin America stood up for Palestine and BDS, repressive Middle Eastern regimes did their best to crush popular mobilization. The EU governments stood somewhere in the middle, giving further proof of their special form of “democracy” wherein people are allowed to express their opinions but not influence government decisions.

Regardless of governmental political leanings, the mobilizations evidence a considerable and growing popular support for the Palestinian people. Yet, these protests, while encouraging, do not guarantee longer-term political gains. The most recent and sobering example of this were the record numbers of people who turned out to protest the most recent invasion of Iraq and the subsequent problems that have plagued the creation of an effective anti-war movement.

Instead, we should look to the concrete BDS victories that followed Gaza as evidence of lasting political change. The actions of South African workers and Latin American social movements, to mention only a few examples, represent not only anger over Gaza, but also its effective channeling into an organized movement that far predates this most recent atrocity. They indicate that we have managed to build, in a short period of time, an effective focal point for uniting international solidarity and support for the Palestinian cause.

i get impatient with those organizing in the u.s. very easily, one of the many reasons i left the country, because there is still so much educational work to be done before people can see why bds is necessary. i wish that students in american universities, for instance, would work to occupy their institutions and divest now rather than educating, but at the same time i suppose it is important to remember that the students at hampshire college worked on their campaign for 2 years before getting to where they are now. and the research one needs to do in order to discover what israeli and american and european companies that invest in the israeli terrorist state takes a long time. thus, columbia university seems to be on the right path as david judd reports:

Students at Columbia University are taking up the fight for Palestinian rights and have begun organizing around a set of demands for the university’s divestment from Israel.

The students’ demands, released on March 2, include full disclosure of Columbia’s budget and endowment, a public forum on divestment, partnership with a Palestinian university, scholarships for Palestinian students and statements of support for Palestinian academic freedom and self-determination.

Students plan to host a forum on March 4, on “Columbia University’s Relationship to Palestinian rights.” A rally in front of the administration building is planned for the next day.

This comes just two weeks after more than a hundred Columbia University faculty members signed a letter demanding that the university’s president take a stand for academic freedom in Palestine.

at columbia university and elsewhere along the east coast my dear friend ziad abbas, who is a refugee from the village of zakariya in 1948 palestine though he grew up in deheishe refugee camp, is starting his speaking tour this week for israel apartheid week and i strongly encourage people to attend. he is inspirational and amazing in every way:

Ziad Abbas, a Palestinian refugee and journalist from Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, is the cofounder of the Ibdaa Cultural Center. Ziad has worked with Palestinian and international media and has participated in the production of several documentary films. He recently completed his M.A. in Social Justice from the School for International Training (SIT). Currently on leave from the Ibdaa Cultural Center, Ziad works with Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA), a non-profit organization which provides humanitarian aid to children in Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq. The tour will help support MECA’s efforts in Gaza.

Atlanta, GA

TUESDAY March 3rd, 2009 – 7pm
Testimony, Apartheid and Resistance
Harland Cinema
Dobbs University Center/Drawer B
Emory University
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!!!
Donations to MECA welcome!!
Contact Saba at skhali3(at)emory.edu or Atasi at atasi.das(at)gmail.com
Sponsored by Emory Advocates for Justice in Palestine

Brattleboro, VT

WEDNESDAY March 4th, 2009 – 6:30 pm
International Center (IC) 101
SIT Graduate Institute
1 Kipling Road
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!!!
Donations welcome!!
Contact Jennifer at Jennifer.McClearen(at)sit.edu or Atasi at atasi.das(at)gmail.com

Marlboro, VT

THURSDAY March 5th, 2009 – 7pm
Ragle Hall
Marlboro College
2582 South Road
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!!!
Donations to MECA welcome!!
Contact Mikaela at mikaela_sims(at)wsesu.org

New York, NY

TUESDAY March 10th, 2009 – 6:30pm
Silver Center, Room 703
New York University
31 Washington Square Place
(btwn Greene St. & Washington Square East)
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!!!
Donations to MECA are welcome!!
Contact Morgan at morgan.l.brennan(at)gmail.com or Atasi at atasi.das(at)gmail.com

WEDNESDAY March 11th, 2009 – 7:30pm
Columbia University
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!!
Donations to MECA are welcome!!
Contact Shaina at srl2127(at)columbia.edu

Washington D.C.

THURSDAY March 12th, 2009 – 7pm
Busboys @ 5th & K.
1025 5th Street NW, DC
(202) 789-2227
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!!
Donations to MECA are welcome!!
Contact Vera at vera.leone(at)gmail.com

Harrisonburg, VA

FRIDAY March 13th, 2009 – 7pm

Strite Conference Room in the Campus Center (main building in center of campus)
Eastern Mennonite University
1200 Park Rd
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!!!
Donations to MECA are welcome!!
Contact Suzi at suzi(at)clementinecafe.com

Portland, ME

SUNDAY March 15th, 2009 – 7pm
Meg Perry Center
644 Congress St.
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!!
Donations to MECA are welcome!!
Contact Dan at fugedaboutit(at)gmail.com

Lewiston, ME

MONDAY March 16th, 2009 – 7pm
Bates College
Location: TBA
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!!!
Donations to MECA welcome!!
Contact Samy at sqarmout(at)bates.edu or Grif gpeterso(at)bates.edu

finally, for those who are in palestine, here is the list of events for israel apartheid week–in arabic followed by english–that you can attend in refugee camps and universities throughout the west bank:

للنشر الفوري: 3 آذار 2009

بيان صحفي صادر عن اللجنة الوطنية الفلسطينية لمقاطعة إسرائيل وسحب الاستثمارات منها، وفرض العقوبات عليها

الجامعات ومخيمات اللاجئين في الضفة الغربية المحتلة تطلق حملة فعاليات أسبوع الفصل العنصري الإسرائيلي (2 – 9 آذار 2009)

يصادف هذا الأسبوع والممتد من الثاني من آذار وحتى التاسع منه، الدورة الخامسة لأسبوع الفصل العنصري الإسرائيلي، والذي يعقد في أكثر من أربعين موقعاً في العالم. وقد امتد هذا الأسبوع إلى فلسطين المحتلة، حيث ان هذه هي السنة الثانية التي ينظم فيها هذا الأسبوع في عدد من الجامعات والمخيمات الفلسطينية في الضفة الفلسطينية المحتلة. ويتضمن أسبوع الفصل العنصري لهذا العام سلسلة من الفعاليات المتنوعة، تشمل المحاضرات والعروض الثقافية، وعروضاً للأفلام الوثائقية وتنظيماً للمعارض، إضافة إلى تنظيم التجمعات والمظاهرات والنقاشات التي تهدف إلى تسليط الضوء على نظام الفصل العنصري الإسرائيلي، وزيادة الدعم لحركة التضامن المحلية والعالمية الداعية لمقاطعة إسرائيل وفرض العقوبات عليها حتى تذعن للقانون الدولي وقرارات الشرعية الدولية ذات الصلة.

ينظم أسبوع الفصل العنصري الإسرائيلي لهذا العام في فلسطين المحتلة تحت عنوان: لنقف صفاً واحداًُ مع غزة، التي تعرضت وسكانها الفلسطينيين إلى هجمة إسرائيلية متوحشة مع بداية عام 2009، أدت إلى استشهاد 1400 معظمهم من السكان المدنيين، والتي ترافقت مع حالة من السخط العالمي الشعبي على المجازر الإسرائيلية، تمثلت في التضامن غير المسبوق مع الشعب الفلسطيني وفي المطالبة بمقاطعة إسرائيل وفرض العقوبات عليها.

هذا وتنظم فعاليات أسبوع الفصل العنصري الإسرائيلي في عدد من الجامعات ومخيمات اللاجئين الفلسطينيين في الضفة الغربية المحتلة، وستأخذ هذه الفعاليات عدة أشكال نضالية سلمية ضد نظام الابرتهايد الإسرائيلي. ورغم انه قد درج استخدام أسبوع الفصل العنصري الإسرائيلي إلا أن الفعاليات ستستمر خلال شهر آذار، وستتكلل بمسيرة جماهيرية بتاريخ 30 آذار 2009 الذي يصادف يوم الأرض. هذا وستنظم مجمل الفعاليات الجماهيرية لهذا اليوم تحت عنوان: مقاطعة إسرائيل وفرض العقوبات عليها. وسترفع الفعالية المركزية شعار:
لنجعل يوم الأرض يوم مقاطعة إسرائيل وسحب الاستثمارات منها وفرض العقوبات عليها.

لقد أصبح أسبوع الفصل العنصري منذ انطلاقته في العام 2005، احد أهم الأنشطة على أجندة التضامن العالمي مع القضية الفلسطينية. ففي العام المنصرم، شاركت 25 مدينة عالمية في الأنشطة والفعاليات المختلفة المنبثقة، إلى جانب مشاركتها في إحياء الذكرى الستين للنكبة الفلسطينية. إن الحضور والمشاركة في فعاليات أسبوع مقاطعة إسرائيل، تعتبر عوامل أساسية للتواصل مع الحركة المحلية والعالمية المتصاعدة الداعية لمقاطعة إسرائيل، وتساعد على فهم طبيعة ومضمون نظام الابارتهايد والاستعمار الاحلالي، والاحتلال الإسرائيلي العدواني.

وفيما يلي قائمة بالمواقع المشاركة في الأسبوع في الضفة الغربية:
القدس: جامعة القدس (ابو ديس)، مخيم شعفاط.
رام الله: جامعة بيرزيت، مخيم الجلزون.
بيت لحم: بيت ساحور، مخيم عايدة.
الخليل: مخيم الفوار.
جنين: الجامعة الامريكية، مخيم جنين.
اريحا: جامعة القدس المفتوحة، مخيم عقبة جبر.
نابلس: جامعة النجاح الوطنية، مخيم بلاطة.
طولكرم: جامعة القدس المفتوحة، كلية خضوري، مخيم نور شمس.
طوباس: مخيم الفارعة

للمزيد من التفاصيل الرجاء التواصل مع: محمد جيوس، الحملة الشعبية لمقاومة الجدار (0599649815)،
وللمزيد من التفاصيل حول الفعاليات في مخيمات اللاجئين الرجاء التواصل مع: حازم سليمان، مسؤول التواصل في بديل/ المركز الفلسطيني لمصادر حقوق المواطنة واللاجئين: (2747346+)، أو (2777086+)، ومباشرة على: info [at] bdsmovement.net

**For Immediate Release**

“Israeli Apartheid Week” Taking Place in Universities and Refugee Camps
Across the Occupied West Bank

March 2nd – March 8th 2009
Jerusalem, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Jericho, Nablus, Qalqilya, Tulkarem, Tubas
For a detailed list of events, please see: http://apartheidweek.org

BDS National Committee (BNC), Occupied Palestine, 26 February 2009 – The fifth international Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) – occurring in over 40 cities in Palestine and worldwide – will be held across the West Bank from 2-8 March 2009.

This is the second consecutive year IAW is hosted in the West Bank. The week will feature lectures, film screenings, art and photography exhibits, cultural events and demonstrations aiming at deepening the apartheid analysis of Israel, while gathering support for the growing local-Palestinian and international movement for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) until Israel complies with international law.

The theme of this year’s IAW is “Standing United with the People’s of Gaza” – a focus which comes in the wake of the brutal Israeli military attacks on the people of Gaza in early 2009. Over 1,400 Palestinians were killed in the assault, more than 5,000 injured, and 14, 000 homes were totally or partially destroyed. Apartheid week will build upon the widespread protest and indignation witnessed during Israel’s assault and seek practicable ways to hold Israel accountable.

Campus and refugee camp boycott campaigns will be launched and developed during the week, in the lead-up to the 30 March (Land Day) BDS global day of action.

Since its initial launch in 2005, IAW has grown to become one of the most important global events in the Palestine solidarity calendar. Last year, more than 25 cities around the world participated in the week’s activities, which also commemorated 60 years since the expulsion of the Palestinian people from their homes and land in 1947-1948. Attending IAW is important for anyone interested in understanding and connecting with the rising student and youth movement in the West Bank that has taken a pivotal role in organizing and mobilizing against Israeli apartheid, occupation and colonialism.

The full list of locations is as follows:

Jerusalem: al-Quds University (Abu Dis), Shu’fat Refugee Camp
Ramallah: Birzeit University, Jalazon Refugee Camp
Bethlehem: Beit Sahour and ‘Aida Refugee Camp
Hebron: Fawwar Refugee Camp
Jenin: Arab-American University, Jenin Refugee Camp
Jericho: al-Quds Open University, Aqabat Jabr Refugee Camp
Nablus: al-Najah University, Balata Refugee Camp
Tulkarem: al-Quds Open Unversity, al-Khadouri Collge, Nur Shams Refugee Camp
Tubas: Far’a Refugee Camp

For media contacts and inquiries, please contact:
For campus initiatives:
Mohammad Jayyousi, Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, +972-599649815

For initiatives in the refugee camps:
Hazem Suleiman, Badil Resource Center +972-2-277-7086

Please, direct email inquiries to: info [at] bdsmovement.net

in an article in electronic intifada the other day, the always politically astute ali abunimah offered his assessment of the rising fascism in the zionist entity:

Yisrael Beitenu’s manifesto was that 1.5 million Arab Palestinian citizens of Israel (indigenous survivors or descendants of the Palestinian majority ethnically cleansed in 1948 ) be subjected to a loyalty oath. If they don’t swear allegiance to the “Jewish state” they would lose their citizenship and be forced from the land of their birth, joining millions of already stateless Palestinians in exile or in Israeli-controlled ghettos. In a move instigated by Lieberman but supported by Livni’s allegedly “centrist” Kadima, the Knesset recently voted to ban Arab parties from participating in elections. Although the high court overturned it in time for the vote, it is an ominous sign of what may follow.

Lieberman, who previously served as deputy prime minister, has a long history of racist and violent incitement. Prior to Israel’s recent attack, for example, he demanded Israel subject Palestinians to the brutal and indiscriminate violence Russia used in Chechyna. He also called for Arab Knesset members who met with officials from Hamas to be executed.

But it’s too easy to make him the bogeyman. Israel’s narrow political spectrum now consists at one end of the former “peace camp” that never halted the violent expropriation of Palestinian land for Jewish settlements and boasts with pride of the war crimes in Gaza, and at the other, a surging far-right whose “solutions” vary from apartheid to outright ethnic cleansing.

What does not help is brazen western hypocrisy. Already the US State Department spokesman affirmed that the Obama administration would work with whatever coalition emerged from Israel’s “thriving democracy” and promised that the US would not interfere in Israel’s “internal politics.” Despite US President Barack Obama’s sweet talk about a new relationship with the Arab world, few will fail to notice the double standard. In 2006, Hamas won a democratic election in the occupied territories, observed numerous unilateral or agreed truces that were violated by Israel, offered Israel a generation-long truce to set the stage for peace, and yet it is still boycotted by the US and European Union.

Worse, the US sponsored a failed coup against Hamas and continues to arm and train the anti-Hamas militias of Mahmoud Abbas, whose term as Palestinian Authority president expired on 9 January. As soon as he took office, Obama reaffirmed this boycott of Palestinian democracy.

The clearest message from Israel’s election is that no Zionist party can solve Israel’s basic conundrum and no negotiations will lead to a two-state solution. Israel could only be created as a “Jewish state” by the forced removal of the non-Jewish majority Palestinian population. As Palestinians once again become the majority in a country that has defied all attempts at partition, the only way to maintain Jewish control is through ever more brazen violence and repression of resistance (see Gaza). Whatever government emerges is certain to preside over more settlement-building, racial discrimination and escalating violence.

There are alternatives that have helped end what once seemed like equally intractable and bloody conflicts: a South African-style one-person one-vote democracy, or Northern Ireland-style power-sharing. Only under a democratic system according rights to all the people of the country will elections have the power to transform people’s futures.

But Israel today is lurching into open fascism. It is utterly disingenuous to continue to pretend — as so many do — that its failed and criminal leaders hold the key to getting out of the morass. Instead of waiting for them to form a coalition, we must escalate the international civil society campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions to force Israelis to choose a saner path.

abunimah references lieberman’s desire to execute palestinians living in 1948 palestine who he deems “disloyal.” azmi bishara was one of those people subjected to this racist agenda as he wrote a couple of years ago:

During my years in the Knesset, the attorney general indicted me for voicing my political opinions (the charges were dropped), lobbied to have my parliamentary immunity revoked and sought unsuccessfully to disqualify my political party from participating in elections — all because I believe Israel should be a state for all its citizens and because I have spoken out against Israeli military occupation. Last year, Cabinet member Avigdor Lieberman — an immigrant from Moldova — declared that Palestinian citizens of Israel “have no place here,” that we should “take our bundles and get lost.” After I met with a leader of the Palestinian Authority from Hamas, Lieberman called for my execution.

unfortunately there are also american jews who support this kind of thinking (and who also distort what libeberman actually calls for) that led to bishara’s exile:

But the Anti-Defamation League, an organization that is quick to spot instances of discrimination, says Lieberman is right to be concerned about apparent acts of disloyalty by Israeli Arabs.

Abraham Foxman, the ADL’s national director, noted with concern the trips by Arab Israeli Knesset members to enemy states and expressions of solidarity with Hamas by Israeli Arabs during Israel’s recent military operation in the Gaza Strip.

and for those who think that israeli colonists reserve their racism just for palestinians, a reminder of how their racism is also directed against its ethiopian citizens:

In a conversation the real estate agent had with A., the owner of one of the building’s apartments, A. asked about the potential buyers. When he heard that they were Ethiopian immigrants, he replied, “Out of the question… This is unacceptable in my apartment.

“Excuse me, but there are no Ethiopians in this area at all, and there won’t be any. This is our policy. I have no problem with them living somewhere else… Anyone can come, but not Ethiopians. This is how it is in the entire building, at least I hope it is, in order to preserve the apartment’s value and the building’s value.”

but back to the that saner path of boycott, divestment, and sanctions (bds), which is picking up so much steam every day that it is difficult to keep track. even in jordan there is a boycott campaign that seems to be gaining momentum. but perhaps the most significant news comes from hampshire college in the u.s. which just received the honor of being the first american university to divest from the israeli terrorist, colonialist state:

Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, has become the first of any college or university in the U.S. to divest from companies on the grounds of their involvement in the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

This landmark move is a direct result of a two-year intensive campaign by the campus group, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The group pressured Hampshire College’s Board of Trustees to divest from six specific companies due to human rights concerns in occupied Palestine. Over 800 students, professors, and alumni have signed SJP’s “institutional statement” calling for the divestment.

The proposal put forth by SJP was approved on Saturday, 7 Feb 2009 by the Board. By divesting from these companies, SJP believes that Hampshire has distanced itself from complicity in the illegal occupation and war crimes of Israel.

Meeting minutes from a committee of Hampshire’s Board of Trustees confirm that “President Hexter acknowledged that it was the good work of SJP that brought this issue to the attention of the committee.” This groundbreaking decision follows in Hampshire’s history of being the first college in the country to divest from apartheid South Africa thirty-two years ago, a decision based on similar human rights concerns. This divestment was also a direct result of student pressure.

The divestment has so far been endorsed by Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Rashid Khalidi, Vice President of the EU Parliament Luisa Morganitini, Cynthia McKinney, former member of the African National Congress Ronnie Kasrils, Mustafa Barghouti, Israeli historian Ilan Pappe, John Berger, Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire, and Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, among others.

The six corporations, all of which provide the Israeli military with equipment and services in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza are: Caterpillar, United Technologies, General Electric, ITT Corporation, Motorola, and Terex (see above link for info sheet for more information on these corporations.) Furthermore, our policy prevents the reinvestment in any company involved in the illegal occupation.

there is a larger context for hampshire college taking the lead in the u.s. as they were also the first to divest from south africa when it was under its apartheid regime:

Hampshire played a similar leading role in the struggle against apartheid South Africa. In 1977, students in the Committee for the Liberation of Southern Africa occupied the college’s administrative offices. They won their demands, and Hampshire became the first U.S. college to divest from apartheid South Africa.

By 1982, similar struggles won divestment at other colleges and universities, including the nearby Umass Amherst, the University of Wisconsin, Ohio State University and the entire University of California system (which withdrew $3 billion in investments). By 1988, over 150 institutions had divested from South Africa.

By the end of the 1980s, as well, dozens of cities, states and towns across the U.S. had put in place some form of economic sanctions against the apartheid regime in South Africa. Inspired by the resistance of Black South Africans, the U.S. movement pressured Congress to pass (over a veto by President Ronald Reagan) sanctions against the racist regime. The solidarity movements around the world provided important support to the struggle of Black South Africans that defeated apartheid.

Hampshire College’s role in the campus anti-apartheid movement was an inspiration and a tool for SJP’s movement for divestment from corporations that support Israeli apartheid, according to SJP member Brian Van Slyke. “That Hampshire was the first college to divest from apartheid South Africa was really a rallying cry for us on this campus,” he said.

the students at the university of rochester will hopefully follow suit, though their recent sit-in at their institution, like those in the u.k., had limited demands. here is what one of the organizers says about their solidarity sit-in with gaza:

Kyle: (LIke Ryan and Adriano said) SDS at UR organized an occupation of Goergen Atrium and Auditorium on campus in solidarity with Gaza. Beforehand, they had presented the administration with an official letter demanding that UR divest from corporations that profit from Israel’s occupation of Palestine, and to provide direct aid to the people of Gaza. This wasn’t an occupation like the illegal sit-down strikes of 1930’s because the campus administration allowed SDS to reserve the building in the interest of “peaceful dialogue”. They also provided the Dean of Student Affairs for negotiation of the demands.

As the day went on, the Dean informed the organizers that UR students would be punished if not out of the building by midnight. So we decided to call for as many campus and community members to mobilize around that time as possible to put as much pressure on the Dean as possible to deliver on our demands.

The Dean agreed to negotiate at 10pm and we had maybe 75 people in the building for support. Through the negotiations, the Dean agreed to the following plan of action: that the administration organize a public forum with UR investors, SDS and the community on the university’s investment policy and its investment in Israel; that UR commit resources and provide any needed information for a campus-wide fund drive for Palestine; that UR work to assess needs in Gaza and donate surplus supplies to universities, such as computers and books; and that UR commit to reaching out to Palestinians with international student scholarships.

Feb 6th was a day of education, debate and mobilization. It was a concrete show of solidarity with the people of Gaza and protest against Israel’s occupation. It was a concrete demonstration of real democratic decision-making and flexibility.

and at the university of manchester students made some headway with their occupation of their university in support of palestinians:

On Wednesday 11th Feb the University of Manchester Students Union passed a motion in support of the people of Gaza, which includes a resolve to boycott Israel, in an emergency general meeting . The meeting, which was attended by over 1000 students, was called in response to the crisis in Gaza. It follows a week long occupation of University of Manchester buildings by students. The University of Manchester Students Union is the biggest in Western Europe, and is also the first western students union to pass a motion includes an out and out boycott of Israel.

The policy that was passed compared Israel to apartheid South Africa and supported the global Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement. It called for the Union to divest from Israel, boycotting all companies which support or benefit from the Israeli occupation, and to lobby the University to adopt a similar boycott policy towards Israel. The motion also condemned the University for its lack of progress in divesting from arms companies. Following the meeting the union will send a letter to the BBC condemning their refusal to air the Disaster Emergency Committees (DEC) appeal for Gaza, as well as facilitating a day of fundraising with proceeds going to the DEC.

a note on some of these occupations of british universities: many of them came into existence as a way to protest the israeli terrorist aggression on gaza. as a result so much of their language is rooted in solidarity with gaza, which is great. but the recent attacks on gaza cannot be separated from the attacks on palestinians more generally and the colonial project that has been going on for over 60 years. while we certainly need to lend our support to palestinians in gaza, the bds movement is about liberating palestine in general, not just gaza. only then will we justice be rendered. it is also problematic when some boycott campaigns fixate on particular companies that are only being boycotted because they are operating in colonies in the west bank; there are many others that have factories on the land of destroyed villages in 1948–like nestle (osem)–that need to be boycotted as well:

Now for the challenge. I want all of you to boycott Nestle, all their products and find substitutes. Post the substitutes you find on the wall. We can help each other. Second everyone is to find three friends and convince them to join the challenge. Do not just forward this message, people ignore them, I know I do sometimes. And ask them to be honest if they are going to join or not. If 2 out of the three will join you need to find a third friend. And you have these friends convince at least 3 friends. Try to find friends around the world to join the boycott. The more people and countries involved the better.

And we obviously have to let Nestle know we are boycotting them. There will be a draft letter on the discussion board to be sent to Nestle.

Valentine’s Day and Easter is when companies make the most money from chocolate sales. They depend on this money for the rest of the year. The power is ours. Buy Cadbury Easter eggs, Caramilk bars, etc… Let’s win this challenge.

Palestine is crying for our help. Will you answer the call?

Letter to be sent to Nestle:

Dear Mr. Paul Bulcke,

I write with reference to Nestle’s continued support for Israeli apartheid.

By Nestle’s investments in Israel it is directly helping perpetuate gross violations of human rights upon Palestinians. I urgently request you to reconsider your support for a state that has a track record of persistent abuse of basic human rights, by henceforth, divesting your holdings from Israel.

In the meantime, I will have no alternative but to boycott your products, and encourage others to do so. I look forward to receiving your assurances that you will no longer be investing and, thus supporting, Israeli apartheid.

Regards,

To send this letter to Nestle, use this link.
http://www.nestle.com/Common/Header/ContactUs.htm?CTY=BF2F535E-5671-443B-AE7A-98652690816D

A website to show you what Nestle goods to boycott. It’s broken down by country for ease of use. Together we can do this!!!

http://www.infactcanada.ca/nestle_boycott_product.htm

http://www.nestleusa.com/PubOurBrands/Brands.aspx

indeed it is valentine’s day tomorrow–another holiday i loathe for its hyper consumption among other reasons–but i approve of valentine’s day related activities that surround boycott and there are a few, starting with blood diamond boycotting:

Fifty-five New York rights advocates called today on the city’s shoppers to boycott Israeli diamond mogul and settlement-builder Lev Leviev. The pre-Valentine’s Day protest was the 13th demonstration held in front of Leviev’s Madison Avenue jewelry store since it opened in November, 2007. Many New York shoppers paused to look at the heart-shaped signs and a Dating Game skit featuring a protester playing Leviev, and to listen to the noisy chants and the song “Lev’s Diamonds are a Crime’s Best Friend.”

The protesters oppose Leviev’s construction of Israeli settlements on Occupied Palestinian land in violation of international law, as well as his abuses of marginalized communities in Angola, Namibia and New York. Riham Barghouti of Adalah-NY explained, “The campaign to boycott Leviev is part of a growing international movement to boycott Israeli businesses due to their involvement in human rights abuses. We had more people protesting today and the boycott movement is growing worldwide due to outrage over Israel’s attack on Gaza, which killed approximately 1300 Palestinians, over 400 of whom were children.”

or this action protesting flowers from israeli colonists:

Two days before Valentine’s Day a group of 15 women have locked themselves to the gates of Israeli export company Carmel Agrexco to stop the delivery of Valentine’s roses.

The flowers are grown in illegal settlements on Palestinian land and therefore constitute illegally traded goods. The women say that they will blockade Carmel Agrexco until they are cut from the gates and arrested. Three women have already been violently arrested.

okay, one caveat on the valentine’s day thing: if the flowers come from falasteen, especially gaza right now, i approve:

Israel has made a pre-Valentine’s Day gesture by allowing 25,000 carnations to cross the border in the first exports permitted from blockaded Gaza in a year. But the shipment through the Kerem Shalom crossing was condemned as a “propaganda” move by Gaza growers used to exporting 37 to 40 million carnations a year and are unlikely to reach Europe in time to be sold in shops tomorrow.

but yet another valentine’s day (indeed every day) boycott we should participate in is related to the united states’ modern-day slave labor in its prison system where they make lingerie (among other products) that many consumers will likely be purchasing for valentine’s day:

With Valentine’s Day approaching, perhaps you’re planning a trip to Victoria’s Secret. If you’re a conscientious shopper, chances are you want to know about the origins of the clothes you buy: whether they’re sweatshop free or fairly traded or made in the USA. One label you won’t find attached to your lingerie, however, is “Made in the USA: By Prisoners.”

In addition to the South Carolina inmates who were hired by a subcontractor in the 1990s to stitch Victoria’s Secret lingerie, prisoners in the past two decades have packaged or assembled everything from Starbucks coffee beans to Shelby Cobra sports cars, Nintendo Game Boys, Microsoft mouses and Eddie Bauer clothing. Inmates manning phone banks have taken airline reservations and even made calls on behalf of political candidates.

the best news to come out about boycott this week, however, i must say comes from the city of tulkarem, which is a bit north of where i live. they have taken the moral high ground to boycott israeli goods as a city. here in nablus we are still struggling to remove their products from an najah university, though of course our goal is to remove them from the city at large. i am elated at this recent development:

The city of Tulkarem will begin a total boycott of Israeli goods starting March, the chamber of commerce announced Thursday.

The chamber, in conjunction with several local merchants and organizations, decided to launch the campaign, called “Keeping Tulkarem Clean of Israeli Goods.” The city will have assistance in organizing popular awareness of the efforts from coordinators from the popular anti-wall campaigns including Jamal Jum’ah.

Member of the local coordination committee Jamal Barham stressed the importance of unifying efforts to ensure the success of the campaign. This will include helping shop owners identify non-Israeli goods to replace common items like milk, flour, juice and chocolate.

The goal of the Tulkarem project is to increase the production of Palestinian goods from supplying 15% to 25% of consumer goods in Palestinian areas. They anticipate that this jump will provide at least 100,000 jobs in the production sectors.

Palestine is the second largest consumer of Israeli goods and imports 2.6 billion US dollars of Israeli made products per year.

this news from tulkarem is making me rethink the whole valentine’s day thing. i’m wondering if i can ask a city to be my valentine.

for those who feel inspired by this onslaught of bds movement i encourage you to read below and organize some sort of action for the global bds day on march 30th:

Join the Global BDS Action Day, March 30th

launched at the WSF 2009 in Belém

In December 2008, Israel decided to mark the 60th anniversary of its existence the same way it had established itself, perpetrating massacres against the Palestinian people. In 23 days, Israel killed more than 1,300 and injured over 5,000 Palestinians in Gaza. The irony of history is that Israel targeted those Palestinians and their descendants – whom it had expelled from their homes and pushed into refugee-hood in Gaza in 1948, whose land it has stolen, whom it has oppressed since 1967 by means of a brutal military occupation, and whom it had tried to starve into submission by means of a criminal blockade of food, fuel and electricity in the 18 months preceding the military assault. We cannot wait for Israel to zero in on its next objective. Palestine has today become the test of our indispensable morality and our common humanity.

We therefore call on all to unite our different capacities and struggles in a Global Day of Action in Solidarity with the Palestinian people and for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel on March 30th.

The mobilization coincides with the Palestinian Land Day, the annual commemoration of the 1976 Israeli massacre of Palestinians in the Galilee in struggle against massive land expropriation, and forms part of the Global Week of Action against the Crises and War from March 28 to April 4.

We urge the people and their organizations around the globe to mobilize in concrete and visible BDS actions to make this day a historic step in this new anti-apartheid movement and for the fulfilment of the rights and dignity of the people and the accountability of the powerful. In our March 30th BDS actions, we will particularly focus on:

* Boycotts and divestment from Israeli corporations and international corporations that sustain Israeli apartheid and occupation.

* Legal action to end Israel’s impunity and prosecute its war criminals through national court cases and international tribunals.

* Cancelling and blocking free trade and other preferential agreements with Israel and imposing an arms embargo as the first steps towards fully fledged sanctions against Israel.

The time for the world to fully adopt and implement the Palestinian call for boycotts, divestment and sanctions is NOW. This campaign has to become an urgent part of every struggle for justice and humanity, by adopting widespread action against Israeli products, companies, academic and cultural institutions, sports groups, international corporations supporting Israeli policies of racism, ethnic cleansing and military occupation and pressuring governments for sanctions. It must be sustained until Israel provides free access to Gaza, dismantles the Apartheid Wall and ends its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands; recognizes the right of the Arab Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and respects, protects and promotes the rights of the Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties.

For more information, see: www.bdsmovement.net

For information on how to join the action day and how to develop BDS action in your country, organization and network, please contact the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) at: info [at] bdsmovement.net.

just one request for those who choose to take the moral highground and participate not only in a day of boycott action on march 30th but who change their daily behaviors as a result of the boycott: we must do this in response to the totality of israeli terrorist colonialism on every square inch of the land that is palestine, not just what people call “occupation” unless they mean all of historic palestine. all of palestine is occupied and this is what the bds movement should seek to end.

poor baha’a was not able to leave for gaza this morning. he’s so distraught. but there is some confusion in the various media reports about the lebanese ship and whether or not it left and who was on board. it seems that march 14th/mustqabal prevented certain people were not allowed to leave at the last minute. those passengers were the palestinians on board. layers and layers of collusion. of collaborators. it is like suffocation. but check the different versions of this story in arabic and english starting with al akhbar:

العدد ٧٣٨ الثلاثاء ٣ شباط ٢٠٠٩

مرفأ طرابلس ـ ثائر غندور

المطران كبوجي أمسالمطران كبوجي أمسلأجل موعد مع غزة، لكسر الحصار، وصلوا بأمتعتهم. احتمالات الدخول للقطاع، احتمال الاصطدام بالاسرائيليين كان محور أحاديث النهار. وعندما رأوا السفينة «الظافر» راسية في مرفأ طرابلس، ظنوا أن الحلم يتحقق. ينظرون إلى الباخرة: «عمرها من عمر النكبة» يصرخ أحدهم ضاحكاً. «لا يهم» تجيبه صديقته. الخبر المشؤوم الرقم واحد: السلطات اللبنانيّة رفضت السماح للسفينة بالانطلاق. السبب: إنها غير آمنة. يتحرّك المسؤولون في «المبادرة الوطنيّة لكسر الحصار» ويؤمنون أخرى: «تالي».

يحمل المتطوعون الستة والثمانون أمتعتهم ويصعدون إلى السفينة. الحلم أصبح قريب القطاف. «هناك سفن أوروبية تنتظرنا في قبرص للذهاب إلى غزة»، يقول أحد المتطوعين.
هذا يعني أملاً كبيراً في الوصول.

تمرّ الساعات بطيئة. يصل رئيس تجمع اللجان والروابط الشعبيّة معن بشور قائلاً إنه يحمل خبراً سيئاً «أبلغتنا السلطات أن الذهاب إلى غزة غير وارد بهذه السفينة لأنها سفينة شحن، وهناك خياران: إما أن لا تذهب السفينة أو تذهب بدون المتطوعين».

يسود صمت رهيب. تكفهرّ الوجوه. ينسى الجميع تعب الساعات التي وقفوها على أرجلهم من دون طعام وتحت المطر. يخرج نقابي شيوعي ليقول «هناك قرار سياسي بمنعنا. ألم يكونوا موافقين حتى صباح اليوم على السفينة الأولى»؟ تعلو صرخات الاستهجان. يطلب بشور تنظيم النقاش «حتى نأخذ قراراً موحداً». يتحدّث بعض رجال الدين في الإطار ذاته: «ذاهبون إلى غزة شاء من شاء وأبى من أبى. هم وافقوا على سفر السفينة التجاريّة. قالوا أحضروا سترات النجاة وأحضرناها، ما الذي تغيّر؟ من المسؤول؟ هل هو الاعتدال العربي؟».

يقول معن بشور إن الرؤساء الثلاثة ووزير النقل على اطلاع على ما يجري وهم لا يريدوننا أن نقع في مشكلة قانونيّة. لا يقنع الكلام أحداً. ماذا نفعل؟ يقترح عربي العنداري رئيس المجلس الوطني في اتحاد الشباب الديموقراطي اللبناني «التظاهر حتى ذهاب السفينة بمن عليها».

«نريد فعل الخير وهم يعرقلوننا» يقول مطران القدس في المنفى هيلاريون كبوشي، ويضيف «السبب هو الخارج أي دول الاعتدال العربي». يعلّق أحد الموجودين «الاسرائيليون مأزومون ولا يريدون أن يمنعوا هم السفينة فمنعها اللبنانيون وفق طلب أميركي». لم ييأس المتطوعون. قلّة منهم تعتلي متن السفينة، قبل أن ترفع القوى الأمنيّة السلم، وتمنع الباقين من الصعود. المفاوضات مستمرة. هناك من يطالب الدولة بتأمين سفينة إذا ما كانت جادة. الشتائم تطال الوزير غازي العريضي «وزير الاعتدال العربي» كما نعته البعض.
يقولون إن العريضي مخطئ وسيدفع ثمن موقفه. لا يريدون التراجع. لكن قرار حكومة الوحدة الوطنيّة أقوى منهم. اثنتا عشرة ساعة من الوقوف تحت المطر من دون أكل أو راحة. الثامنة مساءً. تطلع قوة امنية الى متن السفينة وتطلب من الجميع مغادرتها. يقترح أحد المنظمين أن تسافر السفينة بثمانية اشخاص معظمهم من الاعلام المرئي. يرفض المعتصمون. هم قابَ سفينة من غزة. وحتى كتابة هذه السطور، كان الانتظار سيد الموقف. بكلمات قليلة: سفينة كسر الحصار محاصرة من الدولة ومن عدم تنسيق المنظمين لرحلتهم. بكلمات وجدانيّة: حلم زيارة فلسطين تأجّل، لكنه لم يتلاشَ.

عدد الثلاثاء ٣ شباط ٢٠٠٩

and this from as safir:

¯ العريضي: باخرتا شحن غير مجهزتين للركاب ¯ بشور: موعودون بباخرة ثالثة للباقين
»سفينة الأخوة« تبدلت وأبحرت إلى غزة وعلى متنها ٨ أشخاص من أصل ٨٢

غسان ريفي
طرابلس :

… وأبحرت »سفينة الأخوة اللبنانية« إلى لارنكا، ومنها إلى غزة عند منتصف ليل أمس، بعد مخاض عسير، وبعد يوم طويل من المفاوضات التي خاضها الوزير السابق بشـارة مرهج وعضو الحملة الوطنية لكسر الحصار عن غزة (منــظمة الرحلة) معن بشور مع وزير الأشغال العامة والنقل غازي العريضي وتدخل في مجرياتها رئيس الجمهورية ميشال سليمان ورئيس مجلس النواب نبيه بري.

وبينما كان مقرراً أن تنطلق السفينة »ظافر« عند الثانية عشرة من ظهر أمس، وعلى متنها ٨٢ راكباً من شخصيات وإعلاميين ومتطوعين ناشطين محملة بالمساعدات إلى غزة، فإن السفينة التي غادرت مرفأ طرابلس هي واحدة أخرى اسمها »تالي« وعلى متنها »مطران القدس في المنفى ايلاريون كبوجي والشيخ صلاح الدين علايلي ورئيس رابطة علماء فلسطين الشيخ داوود مصطفى ومنسق الحملة هاني سليمان واربعة إعلاميين من قناتي الجزيرة والجديد مؤهلين تقنياً للبث المباشر من الباخرة في البحر في حال تعرّضت لها قطع بحرية إسرائيلية أو غيرها«، بحسب ما قال بشور لـ»السفير«. وتابع: »أما الباقون من الركاب فمن المفترض أن يؤمن رجل أعمال فلسطيني سفينة أخرى للركاب لتقلهم إلى غزة«. »تالي كانت منعت من الإبحار بالمشاركين جميعهم، بعدما تبين للعريضي أنها معدة للشحن وأن فيها ثغرات من الممكن إصلاحها إذا قرر المنظمون تأجيل الرحلة. لكن المفاوضات انتهت بالسماح بإبحار »تالي« وعلى متنها ثمانية ركاب من أصل ٨٢ بينما عاد الباقون ادراجهم.
ماذا في تفاصيل اليوم الطويل؟

عند الثامنة صباحاً تجمّع ناشطون حقوقيون وأطباء وإعلاميون في شارع الحمراء للانتقال إلى طرابلس. وفي المرفأ، وبعد تحميل الباخرة »ظافر« بالمساعدات وصعود الركاب إليها، جاء كشف المسؤولين في المرفأ بأنها غير صالحة للإبحار بالركاب وغير مجهزة لسلامتهم. بعد اتصالات من اللجنة المنظمة، تم تأمين الباخرة »تالي« التي نقلت إليها الحمولة، ما استدعى تأخيراً في الإبحار حتى الساعة الرابعة عصراً. لاحقاَ منعت الباخرة الثانية من الإبحار بهذا العدد من الركاب، بعدما تبين للعريضي أن الباخرة الثانية للشحن ليست معدة لنقل الركاب.

العريضي شرح لـ»السفير« أنه أوقف سفر الباخرة »ظافر«، لأنها تفتقر الى مواصفات السلامة العامة، وبعض المواصفات القانونية التي تمنعها من الملاحة. وتابع: ظهر أن هناك ملاحظات حول ميكانيك السفينة وطاقمها، ووسائل الحماية، وقد أجرينا كشفاً عليها فتبين أنها غير صالحة لمثل هذه الرحلة نظراً للمسؤولية المترتبة عن حياة الركاب. ولا يمكن بالتالي السماح لأسباب قانونية بنقل ركاب مع الحمولة، فطلبنا من القيمين على الرحلة تأجيل الموضوع لحين توفر باخرة بديلة. وأضاف: اتصل بنا النائب السابق بشارة مرهج ومعن بشور، كما اتصلا برئيس الجمهورية ميشال سليمان، فاتصل الرئيس بي وشرحت له الوضع، فأيد موقفي، ثم أبلغني مرهج وبشور أنهما أمنا باخرة أخرى (الباخرة تالي)، فطلبنا ملفها، فتبين أنها باخرة شحن لا ركاب، وبالتالي، فبحسب القانون الدولي لا يمكن السماح بركوب ركاب فيها إذ يمكن توقيف الباخرة في أي ميناء دولي، عدا عن أن الأمر يسبب تسيباً في المرافئ اللبنانية، ناهيك عن الثغرات فيها والتي يمكن إصلاحها أو معالجتها. وأبدينا استعداداً للمساعدة وطلبنا التريث مجدداً لتوفير بديل أفضل وأصلح وقانوني. فاتصلا بالرئيس نبيه بري طالبين تدخله، فاتصل بي وشرحت له الموقف، فأيد موقفي وأكد ثقته بي«.
من جهته، قال مرهج لـ»السفير« إن الباخرة »تالي« مجهزة بعشر غرف وثلاثة صالونات ومحركاتها جيدة جداً. لاحقاً على تحميل المساعدات على متنها عرفت أن العريضي منع الإبحار، فاتصلت به فأخبرني أنها للشحن وإبحارها بالركاب غير قانوني. فقلت له إن السفينة ممتازة والمسؤولين في المرفأ كانوا متعاونين معنا ولم يخبرنا أحد منهم بأي مشكلة فيها، وهي محملة بالمساعدات وليست تجارية، بل في سبيل قضية إنسانية، لذا فموقفك قوي قانونياً، لكن الوزير تمسك برأيه«.

لكن المفاوضات وصلت لاحقاً إلى التسوية الليلية بأن يصعد على متن السفينة رجال الدين الثلاثة وسليمان إضافة إلى الإعلاميين الاربعة.
من جهته، قال بشور لـ»السفير« إن الحملة كانت أمام خيارين، فإما إلغاء الرحلة وإدخال الموضوع في مجال التجاذبات السياسية، وإما تنطلق بالأشخاص الثمانية، فاعتمدنا الخيار الثاني. وتساءل بشور »عن سبب المنع المفاجئ عند الساعة الرابعة عصراً وليس صباح الأحد حيث كان مقرراً أن تنطلق »ظافر« إلى غزة«.

المشاركون
وكان المشاركون في الرحلة أصيبوا بالإحباط مع حلول ساعات المساء الأولى، وبعد يوم مرهق من الانتظار والانتقال من باخرة إلى أخرى ومن منع إلى آخر. بعضهم اقترح »تحدي القرار« والخروج بالسفينة، وإن استدعى الأمر مواجهة مع السلطة، لأنه »عندما شاهدَت (السفيرة الأميركية) ميشال سيسون الرايات الفلسطينية فوق السفينة أصدرت تعليماتها للسلطة بمنع إبحارها«، قالت إحدى المشاركات فيما تحدث آخرون عن ضغوط سياسية مورست من قبل »جهات معينة« لمنع اللبنانيين من التضامن مع أخوتهم في غزة. »هذا ما توقعته منذ أن أبلغونا بضرورة استبدال السفينة«، قال أحدهم.
من جهته، نفى العريضي ما تردد عن »ضغوط مورست عليه لمنع إبحار السفينة«، وقال لـ»السفير«: في موضوع فلسطين والمقاومة لا أحد يزايد أو يضغط عليّ.
تبقى الكلمة الأخيرة للمطران كبوجي الذي طلب من الجميع »الدعاء إلى أهالي غزة، والابتهال إلى الله بأن يوصل باخرة »الاخوة« والمتضامنين الذين على متنها إلى قلب غزة للتعبير عن التضامن مع أهلها وكسر الحصار والوحدة التي يعيشونها، مؤكداً أن »إسرائيل لا تستطيع أن تمنع الباخرة من الدخول إلى غزة فهي متوجهة إلى أرضها وترابها، وإسرائيل معتدية ومغتصبة لهذه الأرض، وعليها أن ترحل وان توقف عدوانها الهمجي على غزة وعلى أهلها بشكل فوري، وأن ترفع هذا الحصار الجائز. وقال إنه اشتاق إلى أرض فلسطين وتراب غزة.

and now check out lebanon’s an nahar:

A cargo ship carrying activists and supplies sailed late Monday from Lebanon en route to the Gaza Strip in defiance of an Israeli blockade.

The ship, carrying 60 tons of medicine, food, toys, books and stationery, left the northern port city of Tripoli for Larnaca in Cyprus at around midnight.

On board the “Brotherhood Ship” were eight people including the former Greek-Catholic archbishop of Jerusalem, Monsignor Hilarion Capucci, who left Jerusalem in the 1970s after serving time in an Israeli jail for membership of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

“We have decided to go ahead with this mission in solidarity with the people of Gaza so that they don’t feel cut off from the world,” organizer Hani Suleiman told Agence France Presse before the boat left Tripoli.

“There is no reason whatsoever for Israel to prevent us from reaching Gaza,” he added. “We have no rockets, no weapons, just aid for the people of Gaza.”

The Togolese-registered Tali was headed first to Cyprus where authorities were to search the vessel to ensure transparency, before continuing on to the Gaza Strip.

Beirut, 03 Feb 09, 09:40

and then ha’aretz, which clearly just pulled from an nahar for its version:

An organizer says a cargo ship carrying activists and supplies has set sail from Lebanon en route to the Gaza Strip in defiance of an Israeli blockade.

The Togo-flagged ship Tali is carrying about 60 tons of medicine, food, toys, books and stationery, as well as eight activists and journalists.

The ship set sail early Tuesday from Tripoli in northern Lebanon. It will stop in Larnaca, Cyprus, before proceeding to Gaza.

Organizers say they hope to arrive mid-week. But Israel has imposed a blockade of the coastal Palestinian territory and has turned back similar aid boats trying to reach Gaza.

A similar trip planned for December was put off because of the recent Israeli offensive against Hamas militants who control

meanwhile there is beautiful news about boats coming from south africa–israeli terrorist boats to be more specific:

South African dockworkers announce ban on Israeli ship

Posted by StopTheWall on Tue, 02/03/2009 – 10:15

February 3, 2009 – LINKS – In a historic development for South Africa, South African dock workers have announced their determination not to offload a ship from Israel that is scheduled to dock in Durban on Sunday, February 8, 2009. This follows the decision by COSATU to strengthen the campaign in South Africa for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against apartheid Israel.

The pledge by the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) members in Durban reflects the commitment by South African workers to refuse to support oppression and exploitation across the globe.

Last year, Durban dock workers had refused to offload a shipment of arms that had arrived from China and was destined for Zimbabwe to prop up the Mugabe regime and to intensify the repression against the Zimbabwean people. Now, says SATAWU’s General Secretary Randall Howard, the union’s members are committing themselves to not handling Israeli goods.

SATAWU’s action on Sunday will be part of a proud history of worker resistance against apartheid. In 1963, just four years after the Anti-Apartheid Movement was formed, Danish dock workers refused to offload a ship with South African goods. When the ship docked in Sweden, Swedish workers followed suit. Dock workers in Liverpool and, later, in the San Francisco Bay Area also refused to offload South African goods. South Africans, and the South African working class in particular, will remain forever grateful to those workers who determinedly opposed apartheid and decided that they would support the anti-apartheid struggle with their actions.

Last week, Western Australian members of the Maritime Union of Australia resolved to support the campaign for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel, and have called for a boycott of all Israeli vessels and all vessels bearing goods arriving from or going to Israel.

This is the legacy and the tradition that South African dock workers have inherited, and it is a legacy they are determined to honour, by ensuring that South African ports of entry will not be used as transit points for goods bound for or emanating from certain dictatorial and oppressive states such as Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Israel.

COSATU, the Palestine Solidarity Committee, the Young Communist League and a range of other organisations salute the principled position taken by these workers. We also take this opportunity to salute the millions of workers all over the world who have openly condemned and taken decisive steps to isolate apartheid Israel, a step that should send shockwaves to its arrogant patrons in the United States who foot the bill for Israel’s killing machine. We call on other workers and unions to follow suit and to do all that is necessary to ensure that they boycott all goods to and from Israel until Palestine is free.

We also welcome statements by various South African Jews of conscience who have dissociated themselves from the genocide in Gaza. We call on all South Africans to ensure that none of our family members are allowed to join the Israeli Occupation Forces’ killing machine.

In celebration of the actions of SATAWU members with regard to the ship from Israel, and in pursuance of the campaign for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel, and our call on the South African government to sever diplomatic and trade relations with Israel, this coalition of organisations has declared a week of action beginning on Friday, February 6, 2009. The actions will be organised under the theme: FREE PALESTINE! ISOLATE APARTHEID ISRAEL! Activities that have already been confirmed for this week will include:

* Friday, February 6: A protest outside the offices of the South African Zionist Federation and the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, 2 Elray Street, Raedene, off Louis Botha Avenue. Both these organisations unquestioningly supported the recent Israeli attacks against Gaza, and supported the massacre of civilians and the attacks on schools, mosques, ambulances and UN refugee centres. Protesters will be addressed by, among others, SATAWU General Secretary Randall Howard, and ex-minister Ronnie Kasrils. Protest starts at 14:00.

* Friday, February 6: A picket outside parliament in Cape Town. COSATU members and solidarity activists will be joined by a number of members of parliament. Picket starts at 09:30.

* Friday, February 6: A mass rally in Actonville, Benoni, at the Buzme Adab Hall. The rally will be addressed by, among others, COSATU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, PSC spokesperson Salim Vally, South African Council of Churches General Secretary Eddie Makue, and ex-minister Ronnie Kasrils. Rally starts at 19:30.

* Sunday, February 8: A protest at the Durban Harbour mouth, off Victoria Embankment [Margaret Mncadi Avenue]. Protesters will be addressed by, among others, COSATU President Sdumo Dlamini. Protest starts at 10:00.

* Sunday, February 8: A mass rally in Cape Town at Vygieskraal Rugby Stadium. The rally will be addressed by, among others, COSATU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, and Allan Boesak. Rally starts at 14:30.

fyi: here is an article about the weak (read: no cajones) statement by south african jews. notice they have nothing to say about boycott, divestment, and sanctions.

& in other news: israeli terrorists are sanctioning al jazeera here:

The government will impose sanctions on Israel-based employees of the Al Jazeera network in response to the closure last month of the Israeli trade office in Qatar, which hosts and funds the network. Qatar had closed the office in opposition to Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Following the closure, the Foreign Ministry, in conjunction with the newly-formed national information directorate in the Prime Minister’s Office, considered declaring the station a hostile entity and closing its offices in Israel. After submitting the idea to legal review, however, concerns emerged it would not be permitted by the High Court of Justice.

Instead, it chose to limit the network’s activity in Israel and the Palestinian Authority. First, Israel will not renew the visas of Al Jazeera’s non-Israeli employees or grant visas to new employees. Second, station representatives will have reduced accessibility to government and military bodies, and will not be allowed into briefings or press conferences.

according to my oxford english dictionary cease-fire means:

cease-fire:
noun
a temporary suspension of fighting, typically one during which peace talks take place; a truce.
• an order or signal to stop fighting

yesterday, of course, the united nations security council voted for a “cease-fire.” 14 voted in favor of this. 0 voted against it. 1 abstained (u.s.) un sc resolution 1860 reads:

“The Security Council,

“Recalling all of its relevant resolutions, including resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 1397 (2002), 1515 (2003) and 1850 (2008),

“Stressing that the Gaza Strip constitutes an integral part of the territory occupied in 1967 and will be a part of the Palestinian state,

“Emphasising the importance of the safety and well-being of all civilians,

“Expressing grave concern at the escalation of violence and the deterioration of the situation, in particular the resulting heavy civilian casualties since the refusal to extend the period of calm; and emphasising that the Palestinian and Israeli civilian populations must be protected,

“Expressing grave concern also at the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza,

“Emphasising the need to ensure sustained and regular flow of goods and people through the Gaza crossings,

“Recognising the vital role played by UNRWA in providing humanitarian and economic assistance within Gaza,

“Recalling that a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be achieved by peaceful means,

“Reaffirming the right of all States in the region to live in peace within secure and internationally recognized borders,

“1. Stresses the urgency of and calls for an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire, leading to the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza;

“2. Calls for the unimpeded provision and distribution throughout Gaza of humanitarian assistance, including of food, fuel and medical treatment;

“3. Welcomes the initiatives aimed at creating and opening humanitarian corridors and other mechanisms for the sustained delivery of humanitarian aid;

“4. Calls on Member States to support international efforts to alleviate the humanitarian and economic situation in Gaza, including through urgently needed additional contributions to UNRWA and through the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee;

“5. Condemns all violence and hostilities directed against civilians and all acts of terrorism;

“6. Calls upon Member States to intensify efforts to provide arrangements and guarantees in Gaza in order to sustain a durable ceasefire and calm, including to prevent illicit trafficking in arms and ammunition and to ensure the sustained re‑opening of the crossing points on the basis of the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access between the Palestinian Authority and Israel; and in this regard, welcomes the Egyptian initiative, and other regional and international efforts that are under way;

“7. Encourages tangible steps towards intra-Palestinian reconciliation including in support of mediation efforts of Egypt and the League of Arab States as expressed in the 26 November 2008 resolution, and consistent with Security Council resolution 1850 (2008 ) and other relevant resolutions;

“8. Calls for renewed and urgent efforts by the parties and the international community to achieve a comprehensive peace based on the vision of a region where two democratic States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace with secure and recognised borders, as envisaged in Security Council resolution 1850 (2008), and recalls also the importance of the Arab Peace Initiative;

“9. Welcomes the Quartet’s consideration, in consultation with the parties, of an international meeting in Moscow in 2009;

“10. Decides to remain seized of the matter.”

Statements before Vote

BERNARD KOUCHNER, Minister for Foreign Affairs of France, speaking in his national capacity, said the Council was meeting in the common cause of achieving a ceasefire. In Gaza, there was an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. He said he was moved and distressed by the plight of the victims and families on both sides. The immediate end to hostilities was something the European Union and President Nicolas Sarkozy had been committed to.

He said the draft called for the end to the firing of rockets, the end to the Israeli operations, the opening of the border crossings and an end to arms smuggling. Those parameters were something the President of France had brought up with the leaders of the region and President Hosni Mubarak had drawn up a proposal. That plan was the only way to peace. He expressed regret that it had not been possible to give a little more time to reconcile different views or to endorse the results of negotiations now under way. The message of hope needed to be heeded without delay and negotiation under way needed to achieve prompt results.

Action

The Council then adopted resolution 1860 (2009) by a vote of 14 in favour with 1 abstention (United States).

there are many problems with this un resolution, number one being that there is no reference, of course, to the united nations’ role in creating this problem by going against its own charter and partitioning and colonizing palestine in the first place via un resolution 181. there is no reference to un resolution 194 codifying palestinians’ right of return, although un resolution 242, which is referred to, reaffirms that legal right for all palestinian refugees. like many un resolutions, palestinians and israeli terrorists are treated as equal entities, which they are not: palestinians are not equal to palestinians as they are colonized by israeli terrorists. moreover, this resolution names hamas and not palestinians as if all palestinians–indeed the world if you see the protests in the streets–are not behind the people of gaza. this war is against the people of gaza, not hamas. the resistance fighters in gaza cannot be reduced to hamas: dflp, al aqsa martyrs brigades, these are all resistance fighters from a wide range of ideological perspectives. in any case this un resolution once again shows the united nations’ impotence with respect to protecting the rights of palestinians to live in their land free from alien settler colonist terrorists or to return to their original villages. moreover, as could be expected israeli terrorists live according to their own rules and not only have not acted according to this agreement, during the voting i watched a split screen on al jazeera that showed the voting and speeches on one side of the screen and the increased intensity of the bombing on the other side. here is what the israeli terrorist regime had to say:

A few hours after the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1860 calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the limited cabinet including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak convened Friday morning to decide whether Operation Cast Lead should be expanded, or if fire should be held.

Israel has shown a certain level of apathy to the resolution, and Hamas has also stated it is not bound by and will not accept the decision.

“Israel has acted, is acting, and will continue to act only according to its calculations, in the interest of the security of its citizens and its right to self defense,” Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said.

here is an account of what happened as the voting was taking place in new york city:

A series of explosions has rocked the Gaza Strip despite the UN Security Council passing a resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire” there.

Al Jazeera’s Zeina Awad, reporting from the Israel-Gaza border, said air raids, tank shelling and gunfire had continued in the early hours of Friday, moments after the resolution had passed.

About half a dozen explosions were heard in Gaza as council members at the UN building in New York were extolling the virtues of the resolution that came after days of diplomatic wrangling.

And there was no sign that either Israel would stop its offensive in the Palestinian territory – now in its 14th day – or Hamas would stop its rocket attacks.

The Israeli military said air raids hit 50 targets in Gaza overnight.

israeli terrorist actions over the past 24 hours since un sc 1860 was passed is indicative of what happened in the last 72 hours of the july 2006 israeli terrorist invasion of lebanon when they littered the whole of south lebanon with american-made cluster bombs in violation of the u.s. arms export control act. it is worth taking another look at un sc 1701, which “ended” that summer’s war of colonial, expansionist violence by israeli terrorists; like un sc 1860 palestinians are forced into submission by this resolution just as lebanese were forced into submission via 1701.

here is the al jazeera footage of the united nations meeting approving the resolution:

it is worth remembering the last time there was a so-called “cease-fire” and who broke that “cease-fire” given that israeli terrorists like to repeat the lie that it was hamas. it was not:

On Nov. 4 — just when the ceasefire was most effective — the IDF carried out an attack against a house in Gaza in which six members of Hamas’s military wing were killed, including two commanders, and several more were wounded. The IDF explanation for the operation was that it had received intelligence that a tunnel was being dug near the Israeli security fence for the purpose of abducting Israeli soldiers.

Hamas officials asserted, however, that the tunnel was being dug for defensive purposes, not to capture IDF personnel, according to Pastor, and one IDF official confirmed that fact to him.

After that Israeli attack, the ceasefire completely fell apart, as Hamas began openly firing rockets into Israel, the IDF continued to carry out military operations inside Gaza, and the border crossings were “closed most of the time”, according to the ITIC account.

meanwhile israeli terrorists stepped up their attacks today on palestinians in gaza on a number of fronts as the number of murdered palestinians rose to 801. this is what “cease-fire” looks like to israeli terrorists:

Less than twelve hours after the UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza was passed another 29 Palestinians were confirmed dead as a result of the Israeli air and artillery strikes.

By mid-afternoon the Israeli cabinet adjourned and announced that the operation in Gaza would be “widened.”

Director of Ambulance and Emergency Services in the Palestinian Health Ministry Muawiyah Hassanain said that the death toll over two weeks of the Israeli offensive in Gaza is 781 with more than 3,300 injured.

The latest victim to be identified was a woman, Nareman Abu Au’da, who was killed by the shrapnel of an artillery shell that hit her house in Beit Hanoun, in the north of the Gaza Strip. Medical officials identified her on Friday evening.

Three Family homes targeted

As the news of the Israeli rejection of the ceasefire came out shelling was reported in northern Gaza, which targeted the home of the Sa’id family, killing 42-year-old Fatima Sa’eed Sa’id, 25-year-old Sumeya , and 12-year-old Ata Jamil, in an air strike on the home in Al-Qarem in northern Gaza.

When strikes targeted the Abu Hasna home in Old Gaza City Friday morning one of the Abu Hasna boys was killed and several others killed. He was taken to the nearby Kamal Udwan hospital where he was identified as 15-year-old Muhammad Atef Abu Al-Husna and pronounced dead.

Seven Palestinians from the Salha family were killed by an Israeli tank shelling at 4am that leveled their home in the town of Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip. Among the dead were 60-year-old Mohammad Mubarak Saleh, his wife Halima Saleh. Another son was also injured.

Air raids level empty houses

Israeli airstrikes demolished ten homes overnight, including the residence of the chief of police in Gaza Abu Obeida Al-Jarrah, in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City.

Warplanes also destroyed the house of the head of Palestinian security in the southern city of Rafah, a man who is said to be affiliated to Hamas’ armed wing.

A police station in the Zaitoun neighborhood of Gaza was also demolished, along with the Ar-Rebat Mosque in Khan Younis and an office linked to Islamic Jihad.

Israeli Navy attacks central Gaza

In the town of Al-Zawaydah, in the central Gaza Strip, three were killed and seven injured by shelling from Israeli gunboats. The victims were taken to Al-Aqsa Hospital.

Tanks pushing across Khan Younis district

Also at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, nine corpses and 40 injured people arrived overnight, victims of an attempt by Israeli tanks to cut across the middle of the Gaza Strip to the sea. Israeli tanks have already cut across in one place farther north.

Among those killed in the central Gaza incursion is a member of the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad. The movement said Jihad Abu Mudif died after being seriously wounded in fighting with Israeli troops near the city of Khan Younis.

and of course, americans are not only supplying the weapons to israeli terrorists: they are also supplying the manpower:

The US Army Corps of Engineers has been helping the Egyptian government detect tunnels used to move weapons and other contraband into Gaza, the Pentagon said Thursday.

A small number of US civilians with the Corps have been providing technical advice to the Egyptians over a period of months, said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary.

“There has been a concerted effort for some time by the Egyptians to go after some of these tunnels — detect them, block them, eliminate them — and I think the Army Corps of Engineers has provided some technical advice on how to do so,” Morrell said.

in addition to these terrorist activities listed above they attacked the media just like their american terrorist counterparts like to do in iraq:

Israeli airstrikes hit the Jawwara building in Gaza City on Friday afternoon.

The building was home to more than 20 local, national and international press offices.

No injuries were reported, but the already limited information coming out of Gaza, given Israel’s decision to bar international journalists from the area, will be further compromised.

there were chinese, turkish, arab, and iranian foreign journalists in that building. and rafah was razed today as this video footage from the guardian/international solidarity movement shows:

so israeli terrorism persists. but it would persist with or without a united resolution. it will persist with or without global protests, although there have been many all around the world from kenya to jordan:

perhaps as a result of some of this protesting–the likes of which we did not even see in the summer of 2006 when israeli terrorists were invading lebanon and gaza at the same time–there is some important movement with respect to boycott, divestment and sanctions. here is a sampling of some of those important developments:

A coalition of major humanitarian, human rights and development organizations called on the European Union today [7 January 2009] to immediately suspend any further enhancement of its relations with Israel, known as an “upgrade,” until it agrees to a comprehensive ceasefire and provides unimpeded humanitarian access. Both Israel’s offensive in Gaza and Hamas rocket attacks into Israel have caused unacceptable civilian casualties.

A Nobel Peace Prize laureate on Sunday called on both the United Nations secretary-general and UN General Assembly president to “seriously consider” trying Israel for war crimes.

Ma’an learned that Laureate Mairead Maguire is insisting the UN establish an International Criminal Tribunal for Israel (ICTI), according to a letter sent to Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and General Assembly President Father Miguel D’Escoto on Sunday.

Maguire called on UN leaders to add their voices “to the many calls from international jurists, human rights organizations and individuals” calling for trying Israel for “atrocities against the people of Gaza and Palestine.”

Canadian Response to Gaza Situation

Dear Prime Minister Harper and Foreign Affairs Minister Cannon: We the undersigned [300] academics and educators express our condemnation of Israel’s attack on Gaza. With over 600 dead, including 100 children, we call on the Canadian government to demand an immediate cessation of Israeli hostilities.

As per the position of UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Palestine, Richard Falk, the attack constitutes a war crime in that it is completely disproportionate to the threat posed, and violates international humanitarian law on at least three grounds: Collective punishment, Targeting Civilians, Disproportionate military response.

We call on the Canadian government to implement sanctions against the Israeli government until it ceases its attack against the people of Gaza and fully complies with international law.

In Malaysia and Italy, critics of Israel’s Gaza assault have called for a boycott of Israeli and US goods.

“We cannot remain silent about what is happening in Gaza. We had thought of drawing up a list of businessmen who have links with Tel Aviv because people do not know who they are,” Giancarlo Desiderati, a member of a small group of Italian traders who called for the boycott on its website, said.

At least 5,000 people protested outside the US embassy in Malaysia on Friday, and around 300 held a noisy protest outside the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur to urge Arab countries to cut off oil supplies to the US and boycott goods from Coca-Cola, Colgate and Starbucks.

Addressing the crowd, Mahathir Mohamed, a former prime minister, told Malaysians that they “will not die if they do not use the US goods” and urged those working for US companies such as fast-food giant McDonalds to quit their jobs.

“I hope Starbucks and McDonald’s employees will stop working there,” he said.

Survivors of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims protested in front of the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo on Thursday to call on Washington to stop Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Munira Subasic, who lost her son and husband when Bosnian Serbs took over the eastern town of Srebrenica, said she felt solidarity with the Palestinian people.

“In 2009, Palestinian mothers are going through ordeals we experienced in 1995 and we are raising our voice because we know about pain and suffering. We know how it feels to lose a child or husband,” said Subasic.

Protesters said they felt they had to react to killings of more than 660 Palestinians and the suffering of refugees in the 13-day-old offensive launched by Israel.

Jordan has recalled its ambassador to Israel in protest of the IDF’s offensive in Gaza, Ynet learned Friday evening.

Ambassador Ali al-Ayed was summoned to Amman by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry and was instructed by the government to remain in the Hashemite Kingdom.

After Hugo Chavez expelled Israel’s Ambassador to Venezuela earlier this week, Jordanians left flowers by the Venezuelan embassy in Amman on Thursday, January 8th, as a show of respect.

A number of prominent South Africans have condemned the brutal attacks currently being perpetrated by the Israeli army in Gaza, and have called for diplomatic sanctions as a response. Among those who have voiced their condemnation are Eddie Makue, General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches; former government Minister Ronnie Kasrils; Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven; and University of Johannesburg academic Professor Steven Friedman.

and, finally, i quote naomi klein’s article from the nation telling us that now is FINALLY! the time to call for, participate in, push for boycott:

It’s time. Long past time. The best strategy to end the increasingly bloody occupation is for Israel to become the target of the kind of global movement that put an end to apartheid in South Africa.

In July 2005 a huge coalition of Palestinian groups laid out plans to do just that. They called on “people of conscience all over the world to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era.” The campaign Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions–BDS for short–was born.

Every day that Israel pounds Gaza brings more converts to the BDS cause, and talk of cease-fires is doing little to slow the momentum. Support is even emerging among Israeli Jews. In the midst of the assault roughly 500 Israelis, dozens of them well-known artists and scholars, sent a letter to foreign ambassadors stationed in Israel. It calls for “the adoption of immediate restrictive measures and sanctions” and draws a clear parallel with the antiapartheid struggle. “The boycott on South Africa was effective, but Israel is handled with kid gloves…. This international backing must stop.”

Yet many still can’t go there. The reasons are complex, emotional and understandable. And they simply aren’t good enough. Economic sanctions are the most effective tools in the nonviolent arsenal. Surrendering them verges on active complicity. Here are the top four objections to the BDS strategy, followed by counterarguments.

1. Punitive measures will alienate rather than persuade Israelis. The world has tried what used to be called “constructive engagement.” It has failed utterly. Since 2006 Israel has been steadily escalating its criminality: expanding settlements, launching an outrageous war against Lebanon and imposing collective punishment on Gaza through the brutal blockade. Despite this escalation, Israel has not faced punitive measures–quite the opposite. The weapons and $3 billion in annual aid that the US sends to Israel is only the beginning. Throughout this key period, Israel has enjoyed a dramatic improvement in its diplomatic, cultural and trade relations with a variety of other allies. For instance, in 2007 Israel became the first non-Latin American country to sign a free-trade deal with Mercosur. In the first nine months of 2008, Israeli exports to Canada went up 45 percent. A new trade deal with the European Union is set to double Israel’s exports of processed food. And on December 8, European ministers “upgraded” the EU-Israel Association Agreement, a reward long sought by Jerusalem.

It is in this context that Israeli leaders started their latest war: confident they would face no meaningful costs. It is remarkable that over seven days of wartime trading, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s flagship index actually went up 10.7 percent. When carrots don’t work, sticks are needed.

2. Israel is not South Africa. Of course it isn’t. The relevance of the South African model is that it proves that BDS tactics can be effective when weaker measures (protests, petitions, back-room lobbying) have failed. And there are indeed deeply distressing echoes: the color-coded IDs and travel permits, the bulldozed homes and forced displacement, the settler-only roads. Ronnie Kasrils, a prominent South African politician, said that the architecture of segregation that he saw in the West Bank and Gaza in 2007 was “infinitely worse than apartheid.”

3. Why single out Israel when the United States, Britain and other Western countries do the same things in Iraq and Afghanistan? Boycott is not a dogma; it is a tactic. The reason the BDS strategy should be tried against Israel is practical: in a country so small and trade-dependent, it could actually work.

4. Boycotts sever communication; we need more dialogue, not less. This one I’ll answer with a personal story. For eight years, my books have been published in Israel by a commercial house called Babel. But when I published The Shock Doctrine, I wanted to respect the boycott. On the advice of BDS activists, I contacted a small publisher called Andalus. Andalus is an activist press, deeply involved in the anti-occupation movement and the only Israeli publisher devoted exclusively to translating Arabic writing into Hebrew. We drafted a contract that guarantees that all proceeds go to Andalus’s work, and none to me. In other words, I am boycotting the Israeli economy but not Israelis.

Coming up with this plan required dozens of phone calls, e-mails and instant messages, stretching from Tel Aviv to Ramallah to Paris to Toronto to Gaza City. My point is this: as soon as you start implementing a boycott strategy, dialogue increases dramatically. And why wouldn’t it? Building a movement requires endless communicating, as many in the antiapartheid struggle well recall. The argument that supporting boycotts will cut us off from one another is particularly specious given the array of cheap information technologies at our fingertips. We are drowning in ways to rant at one another across national boundaries. No boycott can stop us.

Just about now, many a proud Zionist is gearing up for major point-scoring: don’t I know that many of those very high-tech toys come from Israeli research parks, world leaders in infotech? True enough, but not all of them. Several days into Israel’s Gaza assault, Richard Ramsey, the managing director of a British telecom company, sent an e-mail to the Israeli tech firm MobileMax. “As a result of the Israeli government action in the last few days we will no longer be in a position to consider doing business with yourself or any other Israeli company.”

When contacted by The Nation, Ramsey said his decision wasn’t political. “We can’t afford to lose any of our clients, so it was purely commercially defensive.”

It was this kind of cold business calculation that led many companies to pull out of South Africa two decades ago. And it’s precisely the kind of calculation that is our most realistic hope of bringing justice, so long denied, to Palestine.

Ronnie Kasrils:

“Ronnie Kasrils on Sabc discussing the violence on the Palestinians”

Palestine Video – A Palestine Vlog

Yesterday, November 19, was World Toilet Day, and as New York Times reporter and blogger, Andrew Revkin, reminded his readers (at his excellent Dot World Blog) “… more than a third of the world’s human population has no sanitary place to defecate.” Many of those are in Africa.

Revkin posted a short interview he had with journalist Rose George, who’s written a book on poop called “The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why it Matters.”

In the interview George gives some love to a number of people, including former South African government minister Ronnie Kasrils (he resigned from the Cabinet when Thabo Mbeki was forced out) who she refers to as South Africa’s onetime “Minister for Toilets.” According to George, Karils “was actually willing to talk publicly about them, unlike most politicians to this day.”

I know what George was trying to praise Kasrils.  But South Africa never had a Minister of Toilets. Kasrils was Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.

I could not help make the connection between “Minister of Toilets” and “toilets in the veld.” Inside South Africa that reminds South Africans of sub-standard state-led housing developments (usually plagued by corrupt practices) for South Africa’s black poor, first under Apartheid and since 1994.

Meanwhile, read Revkin’s interview with Rose George and watch a UNICEF short film on poop here.

HonestReporting Media BackSpin, 26. Oktober 2008

Schlimm genug, dass die Johannesburg Star im April eine ekelhaften Tirade des südafrikanischen Geheimdienstministers Ronnie Kasrils (Abb. links) veröffentlicht hatte. „Red Ronnies“ Kommentar (nicht mehr online) beschuldigte Israel des Massakers von Sabra und Shatilla im Jahr 1982.

Der Kolumne waren drei Fotos beigefügt: Eines von Sabra und Shatilla, ein zweites nach dem (Nicht-) Massaker in Jenin und ein drittes von Tyros nach einem israelischen Luftangriff während des zweiten Libanonkrieges. Die Fotos und deren Betitelung haben sicher Kasrils Vorstellung von einer blutrünstigen IDF verfestigt.

Jetzt hat Joe Thloloe (Abb. rechts), Ombudsmann der Johannesburg Star, eine unausgegorene Entschuldigung (online nur abrufbar für feste Abonnenten) herausgegeben, in der er lediglich einräumte, dass es kein Massaker in Jenin gab. Und die Anschuldigung, Israel wäre verantwortlich für Sabra und Shatilla? Keine Entschuldigung, obwohl klar ist, dass christliche Falangisten dafür verantwortlich waren.

In einer unverschämten Verteidigung der Bildauswahl offenbart Ombudsmann Joe Thloloe seinen (und den des Johannesburg Star) gravierenden Mangel an Objektivität, wenn er schreibt (Dank an It’s Almost Supernatural):

Ob man nun mit Kasrils über die Ursache der Gewalt übereinstimmt oder nicht, so ist doch wahr, dass Israel sich auf einem blutigen Pfad befand. Die Zeitung stellte diese Bilder ein, um diesen Pfad zu illustrieren.

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