Merry Christmas World....From the Bethlehem Ghetto.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
الحق للقوة أم للحق الذي يمتلك القوة
"من لا يرى ولا يدرك خصوصية القضية الفلسطينية النابعة من خصوصية الحق الفلسطيني، ومن خصوصية المشروع الصهيوني المؤسس على الاستيلاء بالقوة على فلسطين، وطرد شعبها من بيوته وأراضيه إلى خارجها، وإحلال "شعب" آخر مكانه، فإنه يخطئ خطأ كبيرا
....
ضمن هذا الوضع الجديد الذي تشكلت فيه القضية الفلسطينية، لم يكن هنالك من قانون حاكم غير قانون الغاب، قانون "الحق للقوة"، ولكن كان لا بد من تغليفه بقرارات دولية من هيئة الأمم المتحدة، ومن دبلوماسيات دولية تتزعمها الدول الكبرى لتحويل الصراع من جانب الفلسطينيين إلى صراع يرتكز إلى المطالبة بتنفيذ القرارات الدولية، رغم ما حملته من تكريس لعملية دعم ما أحدثته القوة من نتائج، ثم الاستناد في العقدين الأخيرين إلى ما يسمى المفاوضات والعملية السياسية أو التسوية السلمية.
هذا التحويل يستهدف أول ما يستهدف نزع أي تفكير في امتلاك القوة فلسطينيا وعربيا وإسلاميا لمواجهة قانون الغاب أو قانون "الحق للقوة". وذلك بالإيهام بأن من الأفضل ومن الأعقل ومن الواقعي التخلي عن إستراتيجية المقاومة فلسطينيا وإستراتيجية الحرب عربيا وإسلاميا. ومن ثم الركون إلى المفاوضات والتسوية والرهان على أميركا
....
هذا التحويل لمجرى الصراع أو لمواجهته من جانب الفلسطينيين والعرب كان متعارضا تعارضا شديدا مع طبيعة الصراع مع المشروع الصهيوني في فلسطين، وهي الطبيعة القائمة على أساس إحلال "شعب" مكان شعب آخر أي صراع وجود، ومتعارضة مع الأهداف الحقيقية لإستراتيجية الكيان الصهيوني والإستراتيجية الأميركية الذاهبتين -رغم بعض المواقف- إلى التكريس الكلي لما حدث من اغتصاب لفلسطين، وصولا إلى اغتصاب حتى الحق في فلسطين خارج قانون "الحق للقوة".
وذلك عبر إرساء ما يسمى "يهودية الدولة" بما يمس أصل الحق في فلسطين. وهنا التفاصيل كثيرة في ترجمة هاتين الإستراتيجيتين على أرض الواقع، تحت غطاء المفاوضات والعملية السياسية، ويكفي ما جرى ويجري من توسع استيطاني في الضفة الغربية وشرقي القدس
....
المهم أن من تبنوا هذا التحول أو تغزلوا به حتى الغرق، وشربوا كأسه مترعة حتى الثمالة، وإذا بالتجربة الواقعية التي لا تدحض أثبتت أن طريق المفاوضات والعملية السياسية متناقض 180 درجة مع طبيعة الصراع، ومع طبيعة المشروع الصهيوني وإستراتيجيته وأهدافه كما مع الإستراتيجية الأميركية، خصوصا بعد أن أصبح اللوبي اليهودي الأميركي جزءا عضويا في تقرير سياساتها من داخل مراكز القوى الأميركية القائدة نفسها.
الأمر الذي دحض كل ما قيل من تنظيرات حول المفاوضات والعملية السياسية ومواجهة الصراع.
...."
....
ضمن هذا الوضع الجديد الذي تشكلت فيه القضية الفلسطينية، لم يكن هنالك من قانون حاكم غير قانون الغاب، قانون "الحق للقوة"، ولكن كان لا بد من تغليفه بقرارات دولية من هيئة الأمم المتحدة، ومن دبلوماسيات دولية تتزعمها الدول الكبرى لتحويل الصراع من جانب الفلسطينيين إلى صراع يرتكز إلى المطالبة بتنفيذ القرارات الدولية، رغم ما حملته من تكريس لعملية دعم ما أحدثته القوة من نتائج، ثم الاستناد في العقدين الأخيرين إلى ما يسمى المفاوضات والعملية السياسية أو التسوية السلمية.
هذا التحويل يستهدف أول ما يستهدف نزع أي تفكير في امتلاك القوة فلسطينيا وعربيا وإسلاميا لمواجهة قانون الغاب أو قانون "الحق للقوة". وذلك بالإيهام بأن من الأفضل ومن الأعقل ومن الواقعي التخلي عن إستراتيجية المقاومة فلسطينيا وإستراتيجية الحرب عربيا وإسلاميا. ومن ثم الركون إلى المفاوضات والتسوية والرهان على أميركا
....
هذا التحويل لمجرى الصراع أو لمواجهته من جانب الفلسطينيين والعرب كان متعارضا تعارضا شديدا مع طبيعة الصراع مع المشروع الصهيوني في فلسطين، وهي الطبيعة القائمة على أساس إحلال "شعب" مكان شعب آخر أي صراع وجود، ومتعارضة مع الأهداف الحقيقية لإستراتيجية الكيان الصهيوني والإستراتيجية الأميركية الذاهبتين -رغم بعض المواقف- إلى التكريس الكلي لما حدث من اغتصاب لفلسطين، وصولا إلى اغتصاب حتى الحق في فلسطين خارج قانون "الحق للقوة".
وذلك عبر إرساء ما يسمى "يهودية الدولة" بما يمس أصل الحق في فلسطين. وهنا التفاصيل كثيرة في ترجمة هاتين الإستراتيجيتين على أرض الواقع، تحت غطاء المفاوضات والعملية السياسية، ويكفي ما جرى ويجري من توسع استيطاني في الضفة الغربية وشرقي القدس
....
المهم أن من تبنوا هذا التحول أو تغزلوا به حتى الغرق، وشربوا كأسه مترعة حتى الثمالة، وإذا بالتجربة الواقعية التي لا تدحض أثبتت أن طريق المفاوضات والعملية السياسية متناقض 180 درجة مع طبيعة الصراع، ومع طبيعة المشروع الصهيوني وإستراتيجيته وأهدافه كما مع الإستراتيجية الأميركية، خصوصا بعد أن أصبح اللوبي اليهودي الأميركي جزءا عضويا في تقرير سياساتها من داخل مراكز القوى الأميركية القائدة نفسها.
الأمر الذي دحض كل ما قيل من تنظيرات حول المفاوضات والعملية السياسية ومواجهة الصراع.
...."
Al-Jazeera Video: Muted Christmas in Iraq
"Despite threats of violence against their community, Iraqi Christians have gathered at a church where less than two months ago dozens of parishioners were killed by armed gunmen.
Religious leaders have advised worshippers to celebrate Christmas only with prayer out of fear for their safety.
Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh reports from Baghdad. "
Al-Jazeera Video: The Listening Post - 'The war you don't see'
A VERY GOOD INTERVIEW
With John Pilger
"On the show this week we interview renowned filmmaker and journalist, John Pilger about his new film, The War You Don't See, Iran and Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks...."
With John Pilger
"On the show this week we interview renowned filmmaker and journalist, John Pilger about his new film, The War You Don't See, Iran and Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks...."
Making the Rich Happy
By ALEXANDER COCKBURN
CounterPunch
".........The prime constant factor in American politics across the past six decades has been a counter-attack by the rich against the social reforms of the 1930s.
Twenty years ago the supreme prize of the Social Security trust funds – the government pensions that changed the face of America in the mid-1930s - seemed far beyond Wall Street’s grasp. No Republican president could possibly prevail in such an enterprise. It would have to be an inside job by a Democrat. Clinton tried it, but the Lewinsky sex scandal narrowly aborted his bid.
If Obama can be identified with one historic mission on behalf of capital it is this – and though success is by no means guaranteed, it is closer than it has ever been.......
Right now Obama’s job approval rating, as measured by Gallup, is running at about 46 per cent, as against the disapprovers who are around 48 per cent, having dropped back from an early autumn high of over 50 per cent. He’s now fairly set upon the right-wing course Clinton embarked on after 1994: wars abroad (Yugoslavia for Clinton, Afghanistan for Obama); a war-on-terror policy worthy of Bush-Cheney, as exemplified in the abandonment of pledges to shut down Guantanamo and the swift drafting of new and repressive espionage laws in the wake of WikiLeaks. Last Thursday Bill Quigley and Vince Warren had an ominous piece on this site, Obama’s liberty Problem.....
Clinton, the self-proclaimed ‘Comeback Kid’, took the same turn with his 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act., which was Act One of the Patriot Act. Clinton launched his successful onslaught on welfare in his second term, also the attack on Social Security which Obama now aims to consummate.
As with Clinton, we have an opportunistic, neoliberal president without a shred of intellectual or moral principle. We have disconsolate liberals, and a press saying that Obama is showing admirable maturity in understanding what bipartisanship really means. Like Clinton, Obama is fortunate in having pwogs to his left only too happy to hail DADTell as the rationale for continuing to support this spineless slimeball. The landscape doesn’t change much, as evidenced by the fact that Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida and George W’s brother, looks as though he’s ready to make a bid for the Republican nomination. "
CounterPunch
".........The prime constant factor in American politics across the past six decades has been a counter-attack by the rich against the social reforms of the 1930s.
Twenty years ago the supreme prize of the Social Security trust funds – the government pensions that changed the face of America in the mid-1930s - seemed far beyond Wall Street’s grasp. No Republican president could possibly prevail in such an enterprise. It would have to be an inside job by a Democrat. Clinton tried it, but the Lewinsky sex scandal narrowly aborted his bid.
If Obama can be identified with one historic mission on behalf of capital it is this – and though success is by no means guaranteed, it is closer than it has ever been.......
Right now Obama’s job approval rating, as measured by Gallup, is running at about 46 per cent, as against the disapprovers who are around 48 per cent, having dropped back from an early autumn high of over 50 per cent. He’s now fairly set upon the right-wing course Clinton embarked on after 1994: wars abroad (Yugoslavia for Clinton, Afghanistan for Obama); a war-on-terror policy worthy of Bush-Cheney, as exemplified in the abandonment of pledges to shut down Guantanamo and the swift drafting of new and repressive espionage laws in the wake of WikiLeaks. Last Thursday Bill Quigley and Vince Warren had an ominous piece on this site, Obama’s liberty Problem.....
Clinton, the self-proclaimed ‘Comeback Kid’, took the same turn with his 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act., which was Act One of the Patriot Act. Clinton launched his successful onslaught on welfare in his second term, also the attack on Social Security which Obama now aims to consummate.
As with Clinton, we have an opportunistic, neoliberal president without a shred of intellectual or moral principle. We have disconsolate liberals, and a press saying that Obama is showing admirable maturity in understanding what bipartisanship really means. Like Clinton, Obama is fortunate in having pwogs to his left only too happy to hail DADTell as the rationale for continuing to support this spineless slimeball. The landscape doesn’t change much, as evidenced by the fact that Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida and George W’s brother, looks as though he’s ready to make a bid for the Republican nomination. "
Gaza: Two Years after the Horror
By Haidar Eid
Palestine Chronicle
"This week marks the second anniversary of the horror inflicted on the people of the Gaza Strip. Nothing has changed! Gaza has returned to its pre-invasion state of siege, confronted with the usual international indifference. Two years after the Israeli assault that lasted 22 long days and dark nights, during which its brave people were left alone to face one of the strongest armies in the world, Gaza no longer makes the news. Its people die slowly, its children are malnourished, its water contaminated, and yet it is deprived even of a word of sympathy from the President of the United States and the leaders of Europe.....
Today, there is a growing grassroots struggle inside Palestine, much as there was inside apartheid South Africa. An intensified international solidarity movement with a common agenda can make the struggle for Palestine resonate in every country in the world. Our goal now, as civil society organizations, is to lift the siege against Gaza. To accomplish this, many activists, Palestinian and international, have launched a boycott campaign modeled on the global South African anti-apartheid campaign. This campaign is a democratic movement based on the struggle for human rights and the implementation of international law. Our struggle is not religious, ethnic, nor racial, but rather universalist; it is a struggle that guarantees the humanization of our people in the face of a dreadful Israeli war machine.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, a staunch supporter of Palestinian rights, has said, "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor." While the Israeli armed forces were bombing my neighborhood, the UN, EU, Arab League and the international community remained silent in the face of atrocities. Hundreds of corpses of children and women failed to convince them to intervene......."
Palestine Chronicle
"This week marks the second anniversary of the horror inflicted on the people of the Gaza Strip. Nothing has changed! Gaza has returned to its pre-invasion state of siege, confronted with the usual international indifference. Two years after the Israeli assault that lasted 22 long days and dark nights, during which its brave people were left alone to face one of the strongest armies in the world, Gaza no longer makes the news. Its people die slowly, its children are malnourished, its water contaminated, and yet it is deprived even of a word of sympathy from the President of the United States and the leaders of Europe.....
Today, there is a growing grassroots struggle inside Palestine, much as there was inside apartheid South Africa. An intensified international solidarity movement with a common agenda can make the struggle for Palestine resonate in every country in the world. Our goal now, as civil society organizations, is to lift the siege against Gaza. To accomplish this, many activists, Palestinian and international, have launched a boycott campaign modeled on the global South African anti-apartheid campaign. This campaign is a democratic movement based on the struggle for human rights and the implementation of international law. Our struggle is not religious, ethnic, nor racial, but rather universalist; it is a struggle that guarantees the humanization of our people in the face of a dreadful Israeli war machine.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, a staunch supporter of Palestinian rights, has said, "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor." While the Israeli armed forces were bombing my neighborhood, the UN, EU, Arab League and the international community remained silent in the face of atrocities. Hundreds of corpses of children and women failed to convince them to intervene......."
Nazi-Like Jews to the Fore
By Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler
"BAT YAM, Dec 25, 2010 (IPS) - Emotions are running high in this working class town on the Mediterranean adjacent to Tel Aviv, the Israeli metropolis that has long been the symbol of liberal laissez-faire Israel. Principally, anti-Arab emotions: Racism is on the march.
A number of small, yet vociferous, anti-Arab demonstrations have taken place here recently in the wake of a national uproar triggered by a religious ruling signed by 50 rabbis forbidding the renting of homes by Jewish Israelis to "non-Jews". The signing rabbis are from all around the country and from Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Their target is Israel’s Arab citizens who number 1.3 million, about a fifth of the Israeli population.
Bat Yam Mayor Shlomi Lahiani said that the latest demonstration by rightwing activists, that included members of the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, and where there were calls to "keep Arabs out of our town", amounted to "inciting hate and racism.".....
For now, official Israel has managed to keep a lid on a potentially explosive situation.
But many of the rabbis are unrepentant. "Racism originated in the Torah," Rabbi Yosef Scheinen, who heads a religious seminary in Ashdod, a port town south of here, told Israel Radio. "The Land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel. This is what the Holy One, Blessed Be He, intended."....."
"BAT YAM, Dec 25, 2010 (IPS) - Emotions are running high in this working class town on the Mediterranean adjacent to Tel Aviv, the Israeli metropolis that has long been the symbol of liberal laissez-faire Israel. Principally, anti-Arab emotions: Racism is on the march.
A number of small, yet vociferous, anti-Arab demonstrations have taken place here recently in the wake of a national uproar triggered by a religious ruling signed by 50 rabbis forbidding the renting of homes by Jewish Israelis to "non-Jews". The signing rabbis are from all around the country and from Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Their target is Israel’s Arab citizens who number 1.3 million, about a fifth of the Israeli population.
Bat Yam Mayor Shlomi Lahiani said that the latest demonstration by rightwing activists, that included members of the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, and where there were calls to "keep Arabs out of our town", amounted to "inciting hate and racism.".....
For now, official Israel has managed to keep a lid on a potentially explosive situation.
But many of the rabbis are unrepentant. "Racism originated in the Torah," Rabbi Yosef Scheinen, who heads a religious seminary in Ashdod, a port town south of here, told Israel Radio. "The Land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel. This is what the Holy One, Blessed Be He, intended."....."
Invisible Bethlehem
As Christians flock to the birthplace of Jesus, the plight of the city's Palestinian inhabitants goes unnoticed.
By Lamis Andoni
Al-Jazeera
"On Christmas Eve, Christian pilgrims from all over the world flock to the birthplace of Jesus Christ, while millions more remember it in prayers and carols. But the Palestinian inhabitants of Bethlehem remain virtually invisible to most Christians, who treat the tiny city as an almost mythical place that somehow exists beyond the realm of the real world.
By Lamis Andoni
Al-Jazeera
"On Christmas Eve, Christian pilgrims from all over the world flock to the birthplace of Jesus Christ, while millions more remember it in prayers and carols. But the Palestinian inhabitants of Bethlehem remain virtually invisible to most Christians, who treat the tiny city as an almost mythical place that somehow exists beyond the realm of the real world.
This apathy, particularly but not exclusively felt in the West, largely reflects a widespread and willful ignorance - for in choosing to think of Bethlehem as an imaginary town, one abandons any responsibility to question Western, and especially American, support for Israel or to show solidarity with an indigenous population living under occupation.
Where are the witnesses?
There are a growing number of Western activists who lead solidarity campaigns with the Palestinians or choose to be at the forefront of non-violent resistance to Israeli occupation - sometimes risking and even losing their lives in the process - but I am continually puzzled by how the throngs of tourists who visit Bethlehem do not become honest witnesses to the Israeli suffocation of a city that is so revered in Christian prayers the world over.....
A recent study by Human Rights Watch cited the village of Jub Il Dib, in the district of Bethlehem, as an example of the devastating effect of racial discrimination as resources are channelled to the Jewish settlements that surround the Arab communities.
Tourists may not visit Jub Il Dib and may be excused for not knowing about what is happening there, but as they pass through the gate in Israel's separation fence, they may get a glimpse of what life is like for the besieged residents of Bethlehem who must have a permit to cross that same wall into Jerusalem or neighbouring Palestinian towns.
Bethlehem is by no means unique in its suffering; Gaza is most certainly suffering the most stifling blockade inflicted upon the Palestinians. But as pilgrims enter Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, I hope that the religious sentiments that accompany their pilgrimage will open their eyes to the hardships experienced daily by the city's residents - and to the Palestinian struggle for freedom and dignity."
Friday, December 24, 2010
The Palestinian 'legitimacy war'
Civil movements have led to positive changes on a global level in the past, setting a precedent for the BDS movement.
Richard Falk
Al-Jazeera
"..... It is against this background, that two contradictory developments are to be found that will be discussed in more detail in subsequent articles: the waging of an all out Legitimacy War against Israel on behalf of the Palestinian struggle for a just peace and a backlash campaign against what is called 'Lawfare' by Israeli hardliners. A Legitimacy War strategy seeks popular mobilization on the basis of nonviolent coercion to achieve political goals, relying on the relevance of international law and the accountability of those that act on behalf of states in the commission of crimes of state.
Legitimacy vs. Lawfare
The Goldstone Report illustrates this interface between a Legitimacy War and Lawfare, reinforcing Palestinian contentions of victimization as a result of Israel’s use of force as in the notorious Operation Cast Lead (2008-09) and driving Israel’s top leaders to venomous fury in their effort to discredit the distinguished jurist, Richard Goldstone, who headed the UN mission responsible for the report, and the findings so convincingly reached.
With Israeli impunity under growing threat there has been a special pressures placed on the United States to use its geopolitical muscle within the UN to maintain the mantle of impunity over the documented record of Israeli criminality, and to make sure that the UN remains a selective sanctuary for such outrageous grants of impunity. These issues of criminal accountability are on the front lines of the Legitimacy War, and provide the foundation for efforts throughout the world in relation to the growing BDS Campaign (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions).
The Lawfare counterattack at one level acknowledges the strength of civil society efforts, but it is also cynically and polemically undertaken to discredit reliance on international law by those who are victimized by abusive and oppressive uses of military and police power.
The Palestinians have been victimized in these respects for more than 62 years, and their efforts to end this intolerable set of realities by an innovative reliance on nonviolent resistance and self-defense deserves the support of persons of conscience throughout the world.
Whether this reliance on a Legitimacy War can finally achieve justice for the Palestinian people and peace for both peoples, only the future can tell, but there is no doubt that this struggle is the best contemporary instance of 'a just war'."
Richard Falk
Al-Jazeera
"..... It is against this background, that two contradictory developments are to be found that will be discussed in more detail in subsequent articles: the waging of an all out Legitimacy War against Israel on behalf of the Palestinian struggle for a just peace and a backlash campaign against what is called 'Lawfare' by Israeli hardliners. A Legitimacy War strategy seeks popular mobilization on the basis of nonviolent coercion to achieve political goals, relying on the relevance of international law and the accountability of those that act on behalf of states in the commission of crimes of state.
Legitimacy vs. Lawfare
The Goldstone Report illustrates this interface between a Legitimacy War and Lawfare, reinforcing Palestinian contentions of victimization as a result of Israel’s use of force as in the notorious Operation Cast Lead (2008-09) and driving Israel’s top leaders to venomous fury in their effort to discredit the distinguished jurist, Richard Goldstone, who headed the UN mission responsible for the report, and the findings so convincingly reached.
With Israeli impunity under growing threat there has been a special pressures placed on the United States to use its geopolitical muscle within the UN to maintain the mantle of impunity over the documented record of Israeli criminality, and to make sure that the UN remains a selective sanctuary for such outrageous grants of impunity. These issues of criminal accountability are on the front lines of the Legitimacy War, and provide the foundation for efforts throughout the world in relation to the growing BDS Campaign (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions).
The Lawfare counterattack at one level acknowledges the strength of civil society efforts, but it is also cynically and polemically undertaken to discredit reliance on international law by those who are victimized by abusive and oppressive uses of military and police power.
The Palestinians have been victimized in these respects for more than 62 years, and their efforts to end this intolerable set of realities by an innovative reliance on nonviolent resistance and self-defense deserves the support of persons of conscience throughout the world.
Whether this reliance on a Legitimacy War can finally achieve justice for the Palestinian people and peace for both peoples, only the future can tell, but there is no doubt that this struggle is the best contemporary instance of 'a just war'."
Merry Christmas From "Israel"
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (Ma'an) -- Christmas festivities in the Holy Land focus on the West Bank town of Bethlehem, where Christians believe Jesus was born and the Palestinian Authority hosts annual celebrations.
Israel's government highlights events in Nazareth, a predominantly Palestinian city in Israel where Jesus is believed to have spent much of his life growing up with his mother Mary and her husband Joseph.
But there will be no celebrations this year in a Jewish suburb of Nazareth, after its mayor sparked outrage by refusing to allow Christmas trees to be placed in town squares, calling them provocative.
Nazareth Illit, or Upper Nazareth, is adjacent to Nazareth. It has a sizable Palestinian Christian minority, as does mostly Muslim Nazareth itself.
"The request of the Arabs to put Christmas trees in the squares in the Arab quarter of Nazareth Illit is provocative," Mayor Shimon Gapso told Agence France-Presse.
"Nazareth Illit is a Jewish city and it will not happen -- not this year and not next year, so long as I am a mayor," he said Wednesday of the northern Israeli town.
"Nazareth is right next door and they can do what they want there," he said.
Gabso's decree sparked accusations of racism from the mayor of Nazareth proper.
"This is a racist decision," said Ramiz Jaraisy, Nazareth's mayor. "But it comes as no surprise, unfortunately, because this person is already well known for his racist views."
Reached by phone, Jaraisy told Ma'an that his counterpart "should respect the religious feelings and beliefs of everyone in Nazareth Illit, not just his own religion's."
In any case, Christians as well as Muslims in the suburb will ignore Gapso's dictates, Jaraisy said.
Israel's government highlights events in Nazareth, a predominantly Palestinian city in Israel where Jesus is believed to have spent much of his life growing up with his mother Mary and her husband Joseph.
But there will be no celebrations this year in a Jewish suburb of Nazareth, after its mayor sparked outrage by refusing to allow Christmas trees to be placed in town squares, calling them provocative.
Nazareth Illit, or Upper Nazareth, is adjacent to Nazareth. It has a sizable Palestinian Christian minority, as does mostly Muslim Nazareth itself.
"The request of the Arabs to put Christmas trees in the squares in the Arab quarter of Nazareth Illit is provocative," Mayor Shimon Gapso told Agence France-Presse.
"Nazareth Illit is a Jewish city and it will not happen -- not this year and not next year, so long as I am a mayor," he said Wednesday of the northern Israeli town.
"Nazareth is right next door and they can do what they want there," he said.
Gabso's decree sparked accusations of racism from the mayor of Nazareth proper.
"This is a racist decision," said Ramiz Jaraisy, Nazareth's mayor. "But it comes as no surprise, unfortunately, because this person is already well known for his racist views."
Reached by phone, Jaraisy told Ma'an that his counterpart "should respect the religious feelings and beliefs of everyone in Nazareth Illit, not just his own religion's."
In any case, Christians as well as Muslims in the suburb will ignore Gapso's dictates, Jaraisy said.
The under-appreciated heroes of 2010
The endless whirr of 24/7 corporate news ignores the people who actually make a difference
By Johann Hari
(Currently the most read comment)
"Who did we under-appreciate in 2010? In the endless whirr of 24/7 corporate news, the people who actually make a difference are often trampled in the stampede to the next forgettable news-nugget like Lady Gaga's meat-dress. So in the final moments of this year, let's look at a few people who deserved more of our attention.
Under-Appreciated Person One: Bradley Manning. While we were all fixated on Julian Assange, the story of the young American soldier who actually leaked the classified documents passed almost unnoticed. If Manning was mentioned at all, it was to be described as an impetuous, angry kid who downloaded the documents on to a CD and leaked them as a result of a "grudge" or "tantrum".
Here's what really happened.....
Under-appreciated Person Three: Senator Bernie Sanders. In 2010, the hijacking of American democracy by corporations and the super-rich became almost complete. Almost no politician in the US runs for office without begging and scrounging huge campaign funds from the rich – so when they are elected, they presumably feel they must serve their interests, not those of ordinary Americans.
You can see the results everywhere. In the middle of a recession, there was a massive tax cut for millionaires and billionaires – and a tax rise on the poorest Americans. Bill Gates pays less; a family living in a cold trailer-park with no health care pays more – with Obama stitching up the deal with Republicans.
But one American politician, more than any other, showed that there can still be a different, democratic way of doing politics in America......
Under-Appreciated People Four: The Saudi Arabian women who are fighting back. Women like Wajehaal-Huwaider are struggling against a tyranny that bans them from driving, showing their face in public, or even getting medical treatment without permission from their male "guardian". The streets are policed by black-clad men who enforce sharia law and whip women who express any free will.
Saudi women are being treated just as horrifically as Iranian women [Actually much, much worse.] – but because their oppressors are our governments' allies, rather than our governments' enemies, you hear almost nothing about them......"
By Johann Hari
(Currently the most read comment)
"Who did we under-appreciate in 2010? In the endless whirr of 24/7 corporate news, the people who actually make a difference are often trampled in the stampede to the next forgettable news-nugget like Lady Gaga's meat-dress. So in the final moments of this year, let's look at a few people who deserved more of our attention.
Under-Appreciated Person One: Bradley Manning. While we were all fixated on Julian Assange, the story of the young American soldier who actually leaked the classified documents passed almost unnoticed. If Manning was mentioned at all, it was to be described as an impetuous, angry kid who downloaded the documents on to a CD and leaked them as a result of a "grudge" or "tantrum".
Here's what really happened.....
Under-appreciated Person Three: Senator Bernie Sanders. In 2010, the hijacking of American democracy by corporations and the super-rich became almost complete. Almost no politician in the US runs for office without begging and scrounging huge campaign funds from the rich – so when they are elected, they presumably feel they must serve their interests, not those of ordinary Americans.
You can see the results everywhere. In the middle of a recession, there was a massive tax cut for millionaires and billionaires – and a tax rise on the poorest Americans. Bill Gates pays less; a family living in a cold trailer-park with no health care pays more – with Obama stitching up the deal with Republicans.
But one American politician, more than any other, showed that there can still be a different, democratic way of doing politics in America......
Under-Appreciated People Four: The Saudi Arabian women who are fighting back. Women like Wajehaal-Huwaider are struggling against a tyranny that bans them from driving, showing their face in public, or even getting medical treatment without permission from their male "guardian". The streets are policed by black-clad men who enforce sharia law and whip women who express any free will.
Saudi women are being treated just as horrifically as Iranian women [Actually much, much worse.] – but because their oppressors are our governments' allies, rather than our governments' enemies, you hear almost nothing about them......"
This week in the Middle East
Charities that fund the settlers; Egypt's vanishing migrants; Christmas extravagance in the Gulf, and an unhappy New Year
Brian Whitaker
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 23 December 2010
"This is the start of a regular weekly look at the Middle East, focusing on some of the issues and stories that you may have missed......
As it turned out, the report on Israel didn't get a lot of media coverage, probably because it only confirmed what most people know already. The US state department, for example, noted: "Many of the issues covered in the HRW report are also covered in great detail in the state department's annual Human Rights Report."
But one important point from HRW's report has been largely ignored. This concerns the way illegal settlement activity is subsidised by American taxpayers through tax-exempt charities. The report urges Congress to investigate and "ensure that tax-exempt status is not granted to organisations that facilitate human rights violations or violations of international humanitarian law"......
No Saudi celebrations: And a miserable New Year to you all. That's the seasonable message from Saudi Arabia's religious police, the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
Bang on cue, they have warned that anyone caught celebrating New Year in public will be punished – along with any shops selling "items symbolising the occasion".
Now, I know they don't like Valentine's Day or Halloween (though, judging by a recent WikiLeaks document, they have trouble keeping the damper on that), but what exactly is wrong with New Year? Where in the Qur'an does it say you can't have a party at midnight on 31 December?......"
Brian Whitaker
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 23 December 2010
"This is the start of a regular weekly look at the Middle East, focusing on some of the issues and stories that you may have missed......
As it turned out, the report on Israel didn't get a lot of media coverage, probably because it only confirmed what most people know already. The US state department, for example, noted: "Many of the issues covered in the HRW report are also covered in great detail in the state department's annual Human Rights Report."
But one important point from HRW's report has been largely ignored. This concerns the way illegal settlement activity is subsidised by American taxpayers through tax-exempt charities. The report urges Congress to investigate and "ensure that tax-exempt status is not granted to organisations that facilitate human rights violations or violations of international humanitarian law"......
No Saudi celebrations: And a miserable New Year to you all. That's the seasonable message from Saudi Arabia's religious police, the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
Bang on cue, they have warned that anyone caught celebrating New Year in public will be punished – along with any shops selling "items symbolising the occasion".
Now, I know they don't like Valentine's Day or Halloween (though, judging by a recent WikiLeaks document, they have trouble keeping the damper on that), but what exactly is wrong with New Year? Where in the Qur'an does it say you can't have a party at midnight on 31 December?......"
In Bethlehem, shepherds watching their flocks by night are a dying breed
Jewish settlements, Israeli army checkpoints, closed military zones and the separation wall make them an increasing rarity
Ana Carbajosa in Bethlehem
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 23 December 2010
"If an "angel of the Lord" were to appear in the sky over Bethlehem today, there would be scarcely any shepherds keeping watch over their flocks to witness the scene.
Spending nights and days in the fields herding sheep has become an almost impossible task for the fast-diminishing community of shepherds in this biblical Palestinian town.
Jewish settlements, Israeli army checkpoints, closed military zones and the West Bank separation barrier have reduced the grazing area to such an extent that a growing number of Bethlehem shepherds have been forced to give up their traditional livelihoods. "I miss the freedom of the wilderness. Everything is different now. We can barely move," says Adel Alsir, a 35-year-old Palestinian who herds his flock less than 100 metres from a biblical site known as the shepherds' fields......"
Ana Carbajosa in Bethlehem
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 23 December 2010
"If an "angel of the Lord" were to appear in the sky over Bethlehem today, there would be scarcely any shepherds keeping watch over their flocks to witness the scene.
Spending nights and days in the fields herding sheep has become an almost impossible task for the fast-diminishing community of shepherds in this biblical Palestinian town.
Jewish settlements, Israeli army checkpoints, closed military zones and the West Bank separation barrier have reduced the grazing area to such an extent that a growing number of Bethlehem shepherds have been forced to give up their traditional livelihoods. "I miss the freedom of the wilderness. Everything is different now. We can barely move," says Adel Alsir, a 35-year-old Palestinian who herds his flock less than 100 metres from a biblical site known as the shepherds' fields......"
Rape in the Imperial Army.....Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Military sexual abuse 'staggering'
In part two of our series, Al Jazeera examines the often hidden world of rape and abuse in the US military.
Dahr Jamail
Al-Jazeera
"Every year, rape increases at an alarming rate within American military institutions – and even males are victims of the cycle.
In fact, due to raw demographics, one can roughly surmise that most victims of sexual abuse in the military are male.
Regardless of gender, reports of victims of military sexual assault have been increasing. In 2007, there were 2,200 reports of rape in the military, whilst in 2009 saw an increase up to 3,230 reports of sexual assault.
Many of the victims suffer from Military Sexual Trauma (MST) and are shamed into silence, with numerous cases not even reported.
A disturbing trend, however, is how military officials seem to be sweeping this damaging issue under the rug and deflecting blame.......
She is putting together a class action suit against the DOD for failure to protect service-members from MST, aims to file it in February, and hopes the case will bring significant and lasting reform in the DOD’s stance on MST.
They’ve been saying for years that they just need more time, that they’re getting their act together," Burke adds, "You can’t expect to have a properly functioning military without discipline problems being addressed, and if you can’t address rape, you have a real problem.""
Dahr Jamail
Al-Jazeera
"Every year, rape increases at an alarming rate within American military institutions – and even males are victims of the cycle.
In fact, due to raw demographics, one can roughly surmise that most victims of sexual abuse in the military are male.
Regardless of gender, reports of victims of military sexual assault have been increasing. In 2007, there were 2,200 reports of rape in the military, whilst in 2009 saw an increase up to 3,230 reports of sexual assault.
Many of the victims suffer from Military Sexual Trauma (MST) and are shamed into silence, with numerous cases not even reported.
A disturbing trend, however, is how military officials seem to be sweeping this damaging issue under the rug and deflecting blame.......
She is putting together a class action suit against the DOD for failure to protect service-members from MST, aims to file it in February, and hopes the case will bring significant and lasting reform in the DOD’s stance on MST.
They’ve been saying for years that they just need more time, that they’re getting their act together," Burke adds, "You can’t expect to have a properly functioning military without discipline problems being addressed, and if you can’t address rape, you have a real problem.""
Stuttgart Declaration
contributed by ipk
Closing Document of the Palestine solidarity conference
“Separated in the past – together in the future”.
Stuttgart, 26-28 November 2010
Equality – or nothing (Edward W. Said)
From 26-28 November 2010, over 200 participants came together for a “Palestine Solidarity Conference”. The theme of this three-day conference, with the title Separated in the past – together in the future, was “Barriers and Perspectives for a just solution” of the conflict between the state of Israel and the Palestinians.
The speakers were the Israeli historian Prof. Ilan Pappé from the University of Exeter (U.K.), Prof. Haidar Eidfrom the Al Aqsa University Gaza, Prof Mazin Qumsiyeh from Bir Zeit University Ramallah, the co-founder of the Internet Portal Electronic Intifada Ali Abunimah, the Palestinian activist Lubna Masarwa, the international law expert from Hamburg Prof. Norman Paech, the journalist and human rights activist Evelyn Hecht-Galinski, Annette Groth MP from the parliamentary fraction of the left party (DIE LINKE), lawyer Jörg Lang, and Attia Rajab and Verena Rajab from the Stuttgart Palestine Committee. The jazz musician Gilad Atzmon supported the conference with his welcome address. The actress Julianna Herzberg and Samir Mansour with his Layalina Ensemble performed in the cultural programme. The patron of the conference was the Israeli-German lawyer and human rights activist Felicia Langer.
The conference participants from England, France, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, the USA and Germany discussed strategies and objectives that they could follow together.
The great majority determined that the dogmatic adherence to the 2-State Solution ignores the actual realities and assumes a false parity between a colonized and occupied people on one side, and a colonial state with its military superiority on the other. This falsely propagates the possibility of achieving a peace in which the Palestinians living in the areas occupied in 1967 are granted limited national rights, while the rights of those living within the borders of 1948 and of the expelled are denied their rights.
The adherence to a 2-State Solution condemns Palestinians with Israeli citizenship to live as second class citizens in their historic country, in a racist state in which they are not allowed the same rights as Jewish citizens. Furthermore, the continuance of a Zionist state on the land of the Palestinian refugees denies these refugees the internationally recognized right to return.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Al-Jazeera Video: Rediscovering Holy Land sites
"A number of churches in the West Bank have remained hidden from view, which Palestinians blame on Israel's monopoly over tourism.
Called the forgotten churches, the Christian sites are not found on most operated tours of the Holy Land. But some operators are trying to change that.
Christian pilgrims are now able to get a look at some of the previously hidden historical sites.
Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh reports. "
Al-Jazeera Video: Empire - Hollywood and the war machine
A VERY GOOD PROGRAM
Hosted by Marwan Bishara
Featuring Oliver Stone, Chris Hedges and Michael Moore
"Empire examines the symbiotic relationship between the movie industry and the military-industrial complex."
Hosted by Marwan Bishara
Featuring Oliver Stone, Chris Hedges and Michael Moore
"Empire examines the symbiotic relationship between the movie industry and the military-industrial complex."
FBI Expands Probe into Antiwar Activists
Democracy Now!
With Amy Goodman
"The FBI’s probe into antiwar activists is growing. In September, FBI agents raided the homes and offices of activists in Chicago and Minneapolis. Subpoenas that were withdrawn have been reactivated, and a new subpoena was served to a Palestinian solidarity activist in Chicago. We speak with two of the people targeted and two former FBI agents....."
With Amy Goodman
"The FBI’s probe into antiwar activists is growing. In September, FBI agents raided the homes and offices of activists in Chicago and Minneapolis. Subpoenas that were withdrawn have been reactivated, and a new subpoena was served to a Palestinian solidarity activist in Chicago. We speak with two of the people targeted and two former FBI agents....."
High-Risk Raids Into Pakistan
More Than Psywar
By GARETH PORTER
CounterPunch
"This week's leak to the New York Times of a proposal for U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) raids against Afghan insurgent sanctuaries in Pakistan may be intended to put more pressure on the Pakistani military to take action against those sanctuaries....
And the position of the Barack Obama administration on the necessity of attacking insurgent safe havens in Pakistan appears to be in line with the proposal for cross-border raids.
Carrying out such raids would probably provoke a new level of anti-U.S. sentiment in Pakistan, with dangerous political consequences in that country, according to experts on Pakistan, but the behaviour of the national security organs of the United States in the recent past suggests that such dangers are being rationalised....
But the Obama administration has painted itself into a corner by refusing to acknowledge publicly that the Petraeus war strategy is not working, despite obvious scepticism about it in the White House. A Dec. 16 story in the Washington Post reported that senior officials had already decided to base the administration's arguments for a "significant drawdown" of troops to begin in July 2011 not on the obvious failure of the Gen. Petraeus's strategy but on his claims that the strategy is succeeding.
They consider that course "less politically dangerous" than arguing that the Petraeus strategy hadn't worked, according to the Post story. "It's always better to call it success as opposed to failure," a senior official was quoted as saying....."
By GARETH PORTER
CounterPunch
"This week's leak to the New York Times of a proposal for U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) raids against Afghan insurgent sanctuaries in Pakistan may be intended to put more pressure on the Pakistani military to take action against those sanctuaries....
And the position of the Barack Obama administration on the necessity of attacking insurgent safe havens in Pakistan appears to be in line with the proposal for cross-border raids.
Carrying out such raids would probably provoke a new level of anti-U.S. sentiment in Pakistan, with dangerous political consequences in that country, according to experts on Pakistan, but the behaviour of the national security organs of the United States in the recent past suggests that such dangers are being rationalised....
But the Obama administration has painted itself into a corner by refusing to acknowledge publicly that the Petraeus war strategy is not working, despite obvious scepticism about it in the White House. A Dec. 16 story in the Washington Post reported that senior officials had already decided to base the administration's arguments for a "significant drawdown" of troops to begin in July 2011 not on the obvious failure of the Gen. Petraeus's strategy but on his claims that the strategy is succeeding.
They consider that course "less politically dangerous" than arguing that the Petraeus strategy hadn't worked, according to the Post story. "It's always better to call it success as opposed to failure," a senior official was quoted as saying....."
Haaretz journalist doubles as anti-"delegitimization" operative
Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 23 December 2010
(Left: Cnaan Liphshiz)
"Haaretz has an international reputation as Israel's most liberal and reliable newspaper. But The Electronic Intifada has discovered that one of the newspaper's regularly-featured reporters, Cnaan Liphshiz, used his news reports for the publication to promote the agenda of an extreme pro-Israel group with which he was also employed.
At the same time, Liphshiz appears to have made efforts to conceal his work with the Dutch Zionist group CIDI (Centre for Documentation and Information on Israel), an undisclosed conflict of interest which calls into question the reliability of his reports and the editorial standards of Haaretz.....
While reporters and journalists may have affiliations to, and may advocate for political and activist groups in accordance with basic freedoms of association and expression, the essence of ethical practice is disclosure of these relationships whenever relevant, especially if they could be seen as affecting the reporter's work or judgment. In this case Liphshiz has been passing off his advocacy for CIDI as "news" reporting under the banner of Haaretz.
Perhaps Liphshiz sees his "journalism" work as a mere continuation of his time "as an intelligence corps researcher in a unit monitoring the intelligence apparatuses of hostile and rival entities" -- in which case disclosure would of course be a problem.
If Haaretz wishes to rescue its journalistic reputation it would be well-advised to ensure that it does not become a mere vehicle for political smear campaigns conducted by extremist organizations and their operatives."
Standing together against US government witch hunt
Editorial, The Electronic Intifada, 22 December 2010
"As The Electronic Intifada reported in November, international solidarity and anti-war activists are facing a new wave of repression in the United States.
Since 24 September, two dozen activists in Minneapolis, Chicago and other cities across the country have been handed subpoenas by the FBI to appear before a grand jury.....
The ongoing government campaign against anti-war activists is a stark reminder of the unabated deterioration of civil liberties and political rights in the United States. These developments admonish us to remember that the last protection for our ability to work freely for an end to the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan or Colombia, for an end to US military aid to Israel and for justice and peace in Palestine, is the solidarity we offer each other by exercising those rights before they are taken away.
We call on all our readers and friends to remain informed and to make their voices heard against this outrageous witch hunt which threatens not merely a few dozen individuals, but the rights every one of us has to work for a more peaceful world.
For more information please see: www.stopfbi.net "
Stealth Resolutions by Congress
by Philip Giraldi, December 23, 2010
Antiwar.com
".....The resolution in question was – surprise, surprise – on the Middle East, another expression of the will of Congress and the American people that Israel should be able to do anything it wants and the Palestinians should be grateful that they have not been completely exterminated. House Resolution 1765 "Supporting a negotiated solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict and condemning unilateral measures to declare or recognize a Palestinian state, and for other purposes." The resolution was drafted by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and sponsored by Congressman Howard Berman, currently Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. There were 53 co-sponsors.
House Resolution 1765, in spite of its title, has little interest in any solution and is more concerned with stopping Palestinians from taking unilateral steps....
I would like Frank and all the other clowns in Congress who sponsored and voted for HR 1765 to experience just one tiny bit of the reality that the Palestinians live with every day at the hands of the Israelis enabled by the United States of America. Does Frank really wonder why nearly all the world hates us and why we are confronting a growing terrorist threat? You have created that evil, Frank, you and all your buddies in Congress who line up to do AIPAC’s bidding and pass shameful pieces of paper like House Resolution 1765, which do terrible damage to the United States and its interests on behalf of Israel. Dante’s Ninth Circle of Hell, the lowest level, was reserved for those who betray their own country. If God truly exists and will someday mete out justice, I expect to learn that you and many of your colleagues from the 111th Congress someday will be doing hard time there."
Antiwar.com
".....The resolution in question was – surprise, surprise – on the Middle East, another expression of the will of Congress and the American people that Israel should be able to do anything it wants and the Palestinians should be grateful that they have not been completely exterminated. House Resolution 1765 "Supporting a negotiated solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict and condemning unilateral measures to declare or recognize a Palestinian state, and for other purposes." The resolution was drafted by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and sponsored by Congressman Howard Berman, currently Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. There were 53 co-sponsors.
House Resolution 1765, in spite of its title, has little interest in any solution and is more concerned with stopping Palestinians from taking unilateral steps....
I would like Frank and all the other clowns in Congress who sponsored and voted for HR 1765 to experience just one tiny bit of the reality that the Palestinians live with every day at the hands of the Israelis enabled by the United States of America. Does Frank really wonder why nearly all the world hates us and why we are confronting a growing terrorist threat? You have created that evil, Frank, you and all your buddies in Congress who line up to do AIPAC’s bidding and pass shameful pieces of paper like House Resolution 1765, which do terrible damage to the United States and its interests on behalf of Israel. Dante’s Ninth Circle of Hell, the lowest level, was reserved for those who betray their own country. If God truly exists and will someday mete out justice, I expect to learn that you and many of your colleagues from the 111th Congress someday will be doing hard time there."
Assange: Wikileaks to Release Info on Mabhouh, Israel
Al-Manar
COMMENT
COMMENT
Finally, Al-Manar perhaps sees Wikileaks as not being a "Zionist conspiracy," as Ahmadinejad has asserted. Still, total silence from Iran.
Good that Al-Manar is showing some independence.
"23/12/2010 The founder of the whistle-blowing WikiLeaks site, Julian Assange, says his website had not yet begun to publish the majority of the information it has on Israel. In an interview with Al-Jazeera [I posted the Arabic story yesterday], Assange said that what has been published on Israel till now constitutes just "1-2%" of the information, which includes intelligence on the Mabhouh assassination and the Second Lebanon War.
Assange, who is in Britain after having been released from custody, added that of the 3,700 documents on Israel in his possession, some 2,700 came from within the Zionist entity.
He also promised to reveal high-level communications on "the assassination of a Syrian official by a sniper", apparently referring to Muhammad Suleiman, who was a top aide to Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The process of revealing all this paperwork is scheduled to take around six months, the website founder said.
But Assange categorically denied rumors that have surfaced recently, regarding a possible deal between WikiLeaks and Israel. "We have had no direct or indirect contact with the Israelis," he said, adding, however, that the Mossad and other intelligence agencies were closely monitoring the website.
In addition, Assange said, publications of various documents depended on the various newspapers and their interest in different subjects. However no deal had been struck with Israel not to publish detrimental findings on the state, he said."
Good that Al-Manar is showing some independence.
"23/12/2010 The founder of the whistle-blowing WikiLeaks site, Julian Assange, says his website had not yet begun to publish the majority of the information it has on Israel. In an interview with Al-Jazeera [I posted the Arabic story yesterday], Assange said that what has been published on Israel till now constitutes just "1-2%" of the information, which includes intelligence on the Mabhouh assassination and the Second Lebanon War.
Assange, who is in Britain after having been released from custody, added that of the 3,700 documents on Israel in his possession, some 2,700 came from within the Zionist entity.
He also promised to reveal high-level communications on "the assassination of a Syrian official by a sniper", apparently referring to Muhammad Suleiman, who was a top aide to Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The process of revealing all this paperwork is scheduled to take around six months, the website founder said.
But Assange categorically denied rumors that have surfaced recently, regarding a possible deal between WikiLeaks and Israel. "We have had no direct or indirect contact with the Israelis," he said, adding, however, that the Mossad and other intelligence agencies were closely monitoring the website.
In addition, Assange said, publications of various documents depended on the various newspapers and their interest in different subjects. However no deal had been struck with Israel not to publish detrimental findings on the state, he said."
Video Interview with Transcript: 'Pollard's release, a political gain'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will make a public plea to President Barack Obama to free Jonathan Pollard, an Israeli spy who is serving a life sentence in the US.
Interview with former CIA officer Philip Giraldi
Press TV
"Washington has not yet commented on the issue. Pollard's case has been a source of tension between the two allies for a quarter of a century.
The following is the transcript of Press TV's interview with former CIA officer Philip Giraldi on the issue.
Press TV: Israel has been trying relentlessly in the past 25 years to secure the release of Jonathan Pollard. Why is Pollard so important for Israel?
Giraldi: There have been various reasons for that at various times but in the current situation it is because some of Netanyahu's partners in the government, some of the more extreme right-wing parties, believe that Jonathan Pollard is a hero and they have as a major issue in their policy platforms… the desire to have him set free… So Netanyahu is basically doing this as something to gain more support from his own allies.
Press TV: Mr. Giraldi, you have said "Pollard is just one symptom of the asymmetrical relationship that makes many mutter “wag the dog” whenever the subject of Israel comes up." Can you expand on that?
Giraldi: Well, Pollard is actually kind of an anomaly, Pollard is the only Israeli spy that has been arrested and really punished for doing what he does. There have been many Israeli spies that have been arrested at one time or another and none of them have seriously been punished. The significance of Pollard is that he is the exception to the rule. His crime was so outrageous, he stole so much secret information, much of which did not go to Israel alone, it went to places like Russia, which was an enemy of the US at that time. So his crime was so egregious that he was actually punished for it, and that is what makes him so interesting to me, because none of the others are.
Press TV: How likely is it to see him being released?
Giraldi: That is a very good question. Obama is obviously in a very weak situation and he might feel that there might be some gain for him, politically speaking, to do it, a number of democratic congressmen recently wrote a letter calling for the release of Pollar, so this is an idea that is out there among supporters of Israel in the government and outside it. I don't know, there will be strong pressure from the intelligence community, from the Pentagon not to release him. "
Interview with former CIA officer Philip Giraldi
Press TV
"Washington has not yet commented on the issue. Pollard's case has been a source of tension between the two allies for a quarter of a century.
The following is the transcript of Press TV's interview with former CIA officer Philip Giraldi on the issue.
Press TV: Israel has been trying relentlessly in the past 25 years to secure the release of Jonathan Pollard. Why is Pollard so important for Israel?
Giraldi: There have been various reasons for that at various times but in the current situation it is because some of Netanyahu's partners in the government, some of the more extreme right-wing parties, believe that Jonathan Pollard is a hero and they have as a major issue in their policy platforms… the desire to have him set free… So Netanyahu is basically doing this as something to gain more support from his own allies.
Press TV: Mr. Giraldi, you have said "Pollard is just one symptom of the asymmetrical relationship that makes many mutter “wag the dog” whenever the subject of Israel comes up." Can you expand on that?
Giraldi: Well, Pollard is actually kind of an anomaly, Pollard is the only Israeli spy that has been arrested and really punished for doing what he does. There have been many Israeli spies that have been arrested at one time or another and none of them have seriously been punished. The significance of Pollard is that he is the exception to the rule. His crime was so outrageous, he stole so much secret information, much of which did not go to Israel alone, it went to places like Russia, which was an enemy of the US at that time. So his crime was so egregious that he was actually punished for it, and that is what makes him so interesting to me, because none of the others are.
Press TV: How likely is it to see him being released?
Giraldi: That is a very good question. Obama is obviously in a very weak situation and he might feel that there might be some gain for him, politically speaking, to do it, a number of democratic congressmen recently wrote a letter calling for the release of Pollar, so this is an idea that is out there among supporters of Israel in the government and outside it. I don't know, there will be strong pressure from the intelligence community, from the Pentagon not to release him. "
Al-Jazeera Cartoons: Abbas, the Ass....
Going to the Security Council....
The US Has Left Him Naked and Twisting in the Wind....
(He Still Insists That There is no Alternative to Negotiations!)
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Breaking news Proffesor Nazem Qumsiyyeh arrested during peaceful protest
Israelis Arrest Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh and Others Again During Peaceful Protest
More allegations of illegal behavior from Israel's military, more theft of Palestinian homes and property...
 Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh and others were arrested for non violent protest against the destruction of Palestinian land by Israeli military bulldozers. |
(BETHLEHEM) - This afternoon at around 2:30 p.m. Salem-News.com writer Mazin Qumsiyeh learned that the Israeli military was preparing to illegally raze another Palestinian village. He told his wife that they had to go to Al-Walaja immediately.
 IOF soldiers today in Al-Walaja |
After arriving at the scene , this esteemed Professor who has taught at both Duke and Yale Universities, was arrested again by the Israeli military. His only 'crime' was vocally objecting to more inhumane treatment of indigenous Palestinian citizens. This account is by his significant other, J. Qumsiyeh:
He said he just got a call from the villagers that Israeli bulldozer was clearing an area in a different side of the village (the villagers were still trying to figure out the legal situation) than the familiar site where illegal Israel wall construction has been going on for the past year.
أسانج: لا اتفاق بيننا وبين إسرائيل
Al-Jazeera
Watch a video segment (Arabic)
"نفى مؤسس موقع ويكيليكس جوليان أسانج ما راج مؤخرا بشأن اتفاق سري قد يكون عقده مع إسرائيل مقابل عدم نشر أي شيء عنها في سلسلة الوثائق الدبلوماسية الأميركية المسربة التي ينشرها موقعه.
وقال أسانج في برنامج "بلا حدود" على قناة الجزيرة مساء أمس الأربعاء إنه لم يعقد أي اتفاق مع إسرائيل، وكشف أن موقعه سينشر المئات من الوثائق المتعلقة بها في الشهور القادمة، مؤكدا أن بحوزته حوالي 3700 وثيقة في هذا الشأن، 2700 منها فقط مصدرها إسرائيل.
وتابع "لم تكن لنا أي اتصالات مباشرة ولا غير مباشرة مع الإسرائيليين، ولكن الاستخبارات الإسرائيلية (الموساد) وغير الإسرائيلية تتابعنا وتحاول توقع ما سنقوم به. وأنا متأكد من أن الاستخبارات الإسرائيلية مهتمة بنا ولكنها لم تتصل بنا، قد تكون لها اتصالات بأفراد كانوا ينتمون لمؤسستنا ولكن في الوقت الحالي لا توجد أي اتصالات بيننا وبينهم".
وثائق حساسة
وأضاف أن ما نشر عن إسرائيل حتى الآن يمثل 1% أو 2% من الوثائق المتعلقة بها، لكنه أكد أن الصحف العالمية التي اتفق معها على نشر الوثائق هي التي تختار ما تنشره حسب اهتمامها، وقال إن ذلك قد يعكس "انحياز" بعض هذه الصحف، وأن الموقع سينشر كل الوثائق التي لديه عن إسرائيل.
وكشف أسانج أن هناك وثائق حساسة ومصنفة على أنها سرية وتتحدث عن حرب إسرائيل على لبنان في صيف 2006، وأخرى تتناول موضوع اغتيال القيادي في حركة المقاومة الإسلامية (حماس) محمود المبحوح في دبي، وأن هناك حركة برقيات دبلوماسية حول موضوع الجوازات التي استعملها الموساد في هذه العملية.
وقال إن هناك برقية مثيرة للاهتمام حول شبكة اتصالات حزب الله في لبنان، تتحدث عن ألياف بصرية مرّ أحدها قرب جدار السفارة الفرنسية ببيروت، مشيرا إلى أن هذه المسألة "تقلق واشنطن لأن السيطرة على الاتصالات مهمة".
وأوضح أن هذه الوثائق السرية تتضمن أيضا إشارات إلى الموساد معظمها سري وتتحدث عن اتصالات رفيعة في قضية اغتيال شخصية سورية برصاص قناص، مشيرا إلى أن عملية نشر هذه الوثائق المتعلقة بإسرائيل وبعض الدول العربية قد تستمر ستة أشهر."
Watch a video segment (Arabic)
"نفى مؤسس موقع ويكيليكس جوليان أسانج ما راج مؤخرا بشأن اتفاق سري قد يكون عقده مع إسرائيل مقابل عدم نشر أي شيء عنها في سلسلة الوثائق الدبلوماسية الأميركية المسربة التي ينشرها موقعه.
وقال أسانج في برنامج "بلا حدود" على قناة الجزيرة مساء أمس الأربعاء إنه لم يعقد أي اتفاق مع إسرائيل، وكشف أن موقعه سينشر المئات من الوثائق المتعلقة بها في الشهور القادمة، مؤكدا أن بحوزته حوالي 3700 وثيقة في هذا الشأن، 2700 منها فقط مصدرها إسرائيل.
وتابع "لم تكن لنا أي اتصالات مباشرة ولا غير مباشرة مع الإسرائيليين، ولكن الاستخبارات الإسرائيلية (الموساد) وغير الإسرائيلية تتابعنا وتحاول توقع ما سنقوم به. وأنا متأكد من أن الاستخبارات الإسرائيلية مهتمة بنا ولكنها لم تتصل بنا، قد تكون لها اتصالات بأفراد كانوا ينتمون لمؤسستنا ولكن في الوقت الحالي لا توجد أي اتصالات بيننا وبينهم".
وثائق حساسة
وأضاف أن ما نشر عن إسرائيل حتى الآن يمثل 1% أو 2% من الوثائق المتعلقة بها، لكنه أكد أن الصحف العالمية التي اتفق معها على نشر الوثائق هي التي تختار ما تنشره حسب اهتمامها، وقال إن ذلك قد يعكس "انحياز" بعض هذه الصحف، وأن الموقع سينشر كل الوثائق التي لديه عن إسرائيل.
وكشف أسانج أن هناك وثائق حساسة ومصنفة على أنها سرية وتتحدث عن حرب إسرائيل على لبنان في صيف 2006، وأخرى تتناول موضوع اغتيال القيادي في حركة المقاومة الإسلامية (حماس) محمود المبحوح في دبي، وأن هناك حركة برقيات دبلوماسية حول موضوع الجوازات التي استعملها الموساد في هذه العملية.
وقال إن هناك برقية مثيرة للاهتمام حول شبكة اتصالات حزب الله في لبنان، تتحدث عن ألياف بصرية مرّ أحدها قرب جدار السفارة الفرنسية ببيروت، مشيرا إلى أن هذه المسألة "تقلق واشنطن لأن السيطرة على الاتصالات مهمة".
وأوضح أن هذه الوثائق السرية تتضمن أيضا إشارات إلى الموساد معظمها سري وتتحدث عن اتصالات رفيعة في قضية اغتيال شخصية سورية برصاص قناص، مشيرا إلى أن عملية نشر هذه الوثائق المتعلقة بإسرائيل وبعض الدول العربية قد تستمر ستة أشهر."
Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll
This poll asks:
Do you see the new Iraqi government bringing security and national reconciliation?
With over 1,100 responding so far, 87% said no.
Do you see the new Iraqi government bringing security and national reconciliation?
With over 1,100 responding so far, 87% said no.
Al-Jazeera Video: Frost over the World - Julian Assange
"The WikiLeaks founder talks about secrets, leaks and why he will not go back to Sweden. "
Al-Jazeera Video: Syrian Christians struggle to survive
"As millions around the world prepare to celebrate Christmas, a small Syrian Orthodox community in East Jerusalem is trying to survive against the odds.
The community is shrinking amid Israel's occupation, which it says makes even the most basic tasks difficult.
Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros reports from Jerusalem's old city."
Wikileaks cable: Israeli intelligence chief encouraged Hamas takeover of Gaza Strip
"In the latest revelation to come out of the hundreds of thousands of leaked diplomatic cables provided by the website 'Wikileaks', a diplomatic exchange between then Israeli Director of Military Intelligence, Major General Amos Yadlin, and US Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones showed Israeli support for a Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip which Israel could then declare Gaza to be a 'hostile entity'.....
In the transcript, Yadlin told the US Ambassador that he would be “very happy” if Hamas formed a government in Gaza “as long as they have no (air or sea) port.” He added that Israel would then work with the rival Palestinian political party, Fateh, to form a government in the West Bank and work to undermine the Hamas government in Gaza.
That is exactly what took place, just after the meeting between Yadlin and Ambassador Jones, as Hamas created its government in Gaza and Israel launched a massive siege, and the largest-ever assault on Gaza in late December 2008...."
In the transcript, Yadlin told the US Ambassador that he would be “very happy” if Hamas formed a government in Gaza “as long as they have no (air or sea) port.” He added that Israel would then work with the rival Palestinian political party, Fateh, to form a government in the West Bank and work to undermine the Hamas government in Gaza.
That is exactly what took place, just after the meeting between Yadlin and Ambassador Jones, as Hamas created its government in Gaza and Israel launched a massive siege, and the largest-ever assault on Gaza in late December 2008...."
Rethinking Imperialist Theory
By James Petras
"....Imperial theorizing totally ignores the role of non-economic socio-political power configurations in shaping imperial policy, over and against major economic institutions like MNC, up to and including major military commitments. The role of zionist power configurations and militarist ideologues in shaping US Middle East policy (2000-2010) is a crucial consideration in discussing contemporary imperialism in theory and practice.
Imperial impacts are largely determined by the kinds of imperial states (predominantly economic or military and the sub categories of each), the kind of “targeted” or “host” state (neo-liberal run by collaborators, bourgeois nationalist “partners”, nationalist-statist adversaries) the kinds of policies on foreign capital inflows (sectors open, content and joint-venture rules, technology transfers, financial controls) as well as on capital and profit outflows (tax on profits, time constraints on buy and sell of stocks/bonds).
The issue of imperial domination is not based so much on how much capital flows from imperial countries. Rather it is based on class relation: between imperial and domestic classes....."
Imperial impacts are largely determined by the kinds of imperial states (predominantly economic or military and the sub categories of each), the kind of “targeted” or “host” state (neo-liberal run by collaborators, bourgeois nationalist “partners”, nationalist-statist adversaries) the kinds of policies on foreign capital inflows (sectors open, content and joint-venture rules, technology transfers, financial controls) as well as on capital and profit outflows (tax on profits, time constraints on buy and sell of stocks/bonds).
The issue of imperial domination is not based so much on how much capital flows from imperial countries. Rather it is based on class relation: between imperial and domestic classes....."
For CIA drone warriors, the future is death
By Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
"Seduced by visions of a "stabilizing" pipeline cutting through huge swathes of Afghanistan and Pakistan, US President Barack Obama now has a hot war on in both countries. This will keep his spooks busy remote-controlling mayhem from the air. Take cover - the Year of the Drone is upon us....
This implies a key Pipelineistan chapter - the never-ending saga of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, which has been at the very core of the troubled Washington-Kabul marriage since the mid-1990s.
The TAPI inter-government agreement was finally signed in mid-December. Make no mistake; this is Washington in overdrive. The Washington-backed Asian Development Bank is to come up with the bulk of the $7.6 billion (and counting) financial package. The 2,000 kilometer-long TAPI - to be built by an international consortium - should snake through a very dodgy 735 kilometers of Afghanistan and 800 kilometers of Pakistan.
Hype apart, there's no hard evidence that TAPI will "stabilize" Afghanistan or contribute to India and Pakistan trading kisses instead of insults. AfPak in this case are both transit countries. Most of the Afghan stretch will be underground - much as the US-supported BTC from Baku in Azerbaijan to Ceyhan, Turkey. In theory, local villages will be paid to guard the pipeline. But that still does not guarantee security to a steel serpent crossing western Afghanistan and then going east through Kandahar....."
Asia Times
"Seduced by visions of a "stabilizing" pipeline cutting through huge swathes of Afghanistan and Pakistan, US President Barack Obama now has a hot war on in both countries. This will keep his spooks busy remote-controlling mayhem from the air. Take cover - the Year of the Drone is upon us....
This implies a key Pipelineistan chapter - the never-ending saga of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, which has been at the very core of the troubled Washington-Kabul marriage since the mid-1990s.
The TAPI inter-government agreement was finally signed in mid-December. Make no mistake; this is Washington in overdrive. The Washington-backed Asian Development Bank is to come up with the bulk of the $7.6 billion (and counting) financial package. The 2,000 kilometer-long TAPI - to be built by an international consortium - should snake through a very dodgy 735 kilometers of Afghanistan and 800 kilometers of Pakistan.
Hype apart, there's no hard evidence that TAPI will "stabilize" Afghanistan or contribute to India and Pakistan trading kisses instead of insults. AfPak in this case are both transit countries. Most of the Afghan stretch will be underground - much as the US-supported BTC from Baku in Azerbaijan to Ceyhan, Turkey. In theory, local villages will be paid to guard the pipeline. But that still does not guarantee security to a steel serpent crossing western Afghanistan and then going east through Kandahar....."
Israeli arms firm to benefit from EU-funded research
David Cronin, The Electronic Intifada, 21 December 2010
"BRUSSELS (IPS) - Arms traders are seeking to convince the European Union that publicly-funded scientific research grants should help develop weapons for future wars.
In a series of secret discussions, Brussels officials and representatives of the arms industry are examining if the EU's multi-billion euro "framework program" for research can be used for projects of a military nature....
Although Israel is not formally a member of the European Union, it has been a participant in the EU's science activities since the 1990s. A recent paper by the Quaker Council on European Affairs noted that Israel "appears to be standing out" in its ability to receive funding earmarked for security research. The Quakers expressed concern about how companies that have supplied weapons used against Palestinians and provided services to illegal settlements in the West Bank are among the recipients of EU research grants. The report said: "Israeli industries that profit from the occupation in Palestine should not be eligible to apply for EU funding.""
"BRUSSELS (IPS) - Arms traders are seeking to convince the European Union that publicly-funded scientific research grants should help develop weapons for future wars.
In a series of secret discussions, Brussels officials and representatives of the arms industry are examining if the EU's multi-billion euro "framework program" for research can be used for projects of a military nature....
Although Israel is not formally a member of the European Union, it has been a participant in the EU's science activities since the 1990s. A recent paper by the Quaker Council on European Affairs noted that Israel "appears to be standing out" in its ability to receive funding earmarked for security research. The Quakers expressed concern about how companies that have supplied weapons used against Palestinians and provided services to illegal settlements in the West Bank are among the recipients of EU research grants. The report said: "Israeli industries that profit from the occupation in Palestine should not be eligible to apply for EU funding.""
Obama Order to Formalize Permanent Detention Without Trial
Officials Insist Detention Part of Plan to 'Close Gitmo'
By Jason Ditz
Antiwar.com
"In the latest indication yet that the Obama Administration has no intention of ever allowing most of the detainees at Guantamao Bay to see the inside of a courtroom, the president is said to be preparing an executive order formalizing their permanent detention without trial.
Even though the primary objection to the Guantamao Bay detention center was the administration’s insistance on holding people there without formal charges or actual trials, one official with the administration insisted that the move to continue doing so was “part of the plan” to close the facility.
Which is an overt lie on a number of fronts, but doubly galling in that the claim comes just days after the House formally banned the closure of the detention center and at least a year and a half after the last time the Obama Administration did anything to indicate they intend to close the facility....."
Nixon adopted this tactic in Vietnam. It won't work any better now than it did then
(Click on cartoon by Carlos Latuff to enlarge)
By Patrick Cockburn
"Could US Special Forces make a lunge across the Pakistan border in pursuit of the Taliban just as American and South Vietnamese troops briefly invaded Cambodia in pursuit of the Vietcong and North Vietnamese forces in 1970?
The precedent is not good. What US officers have in mind for the Pakistan border regions is much smaller in scale than President Nixon's venture, but is unlikely to be any more successful. Possible military gains are limited, while the danger of a political backlash is acute....."
"Could US Special Forces make a lunge across the Pakistan border in pursuit of the Taliban just as American and South Vietnamese troops briefly invaded Cambodia in pursuit of the Vietcong and North Vietnamese forces in 1970?
The precedent is not good. What US officers have in mind for the Pakistan border regions is much smaller in scale than President Nixon's venture, but is unlikely to be any more successful. Possible military gains are limited, while the danger of a political backlash is acute....."
The Empire Has No Boundaries: US military pushes Obama to allow more Pakistan raids
By Rupert Cornwell in Washington
The Independent
"In a move that would stir intense Pakistani anger, US military chiefs in Afghanistan are pushing the Obama administration to expand cross-border commando raids against Taliban and al-Qa'ida militants hiding in Pakistan's remote tribal areas.
The plan, if implemented, would be a significant escalation in the nine-year war, and a bold gamble to create conditions that would allow US combat forces to leave Afghanistan by the target date of 2014, with an initial draw-down starting next summer.
But it also would place a heavy new strain on Washington's delicate and sometimes fraught relations with Pakistan....."
The Independent
"In a move that would stir intense Pakistani anger, US military chiefs in Afghanistan are pushing the Obama administration to expand cross-border commando raids against Taliban and al-Qa'ida militants hiding in Pakistan's remote tribal areas.
The plan, if implemented, would be a significant escalation in the nine-year war, and a bold gamble to create conditions that would allow US combat forces to leave Afghanistan by the target date of 2014, with an initial draw-down starting next summer.
But it also would place a heavy new strain on Washington's delicate and sometimes fraught relations with Pakistan....."
WTF? OMG, LOL! CIA gives WikiLeaks taskforce naughty name
US spy agency forms taskforce to assess fallout from 250,000 leaked US cables
The Guardian
"The CIA has launched a taskforce to assess the impact of 250,000 leaked US diplomatic cables. Its name? WikiLeaks Task Force, or WTF for short.
The Guardian
"The CIA has launched a taskforce to assess the impact of 250,000 leaked US diplomatic cables. Its name? WikiLeaks Task Force, or WTF for short.
The group will be charged with scouring the released documents to survey damage caused by the disclosures. One of the most embarrassing revelations was that the US state department had drawn up a list of information it would like on key UN figures – it later emerged the CIA had asked for the information.
"Officially, the panel is called the WikiLeaks Task Force. But at CIA headquarters, it's mainly known by its all-too-apt acronym: WTF," the Washington Post reported.
WTF is more commonly associated with the Facebook and Twitter profiles of teenagers than secret agency committees. Given that its expanded version is usually an expression of extreme disbelief, perhaps the term is apt for the CIA's investigation.
Earlier this month the Guardian revealed that the CIA was responsible for drafting the data "wishlist" that the US state department wanted on UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, and other senior members of the organisation....."
Extreme Hypocrisy of the Empire: While Pushing Sweden to Charge Assange with Fictitious Rape...Rape is rampant in US military
Statistics and soldiers' testimonies reveal a harrowing epidemic of sexual assault in the US military.
By Dahr Jamail
Al-Jazeera
By Dahr Jamail
Al-Jazeera
"......While it will go to any length to maintain public silence over the issue, the military machine has no such qualms within its own corridors. Guzman discloses, “Through the gossip mill we would hear of women who had reported being raped. No confidentiality was maintained nor any protection given to victims. The boys’ club culture is strong and the competition exclusive. That forces many not to report rape, because it is a blemish and can ruin your career.”
The department of defence reported that in fiscal year 2009, there were 3,230 reports of sexual assault, an increase of 11 percent over the prior year.
However, as high as the military’s own figures are of rape and sexual assault, victims and advocates Al Jazeera spoke with believe the real figures are sure to be higher....."
The department of defence reported that in fiscal year 2009, there were 3,230 reports of sexual assault, an increase of 11 percent over the prior year.
However, as high as the military’s own figures are of rape and sexual assault, victims and advocates Al Jazeera spoke with believe the real figures are sure to be higher....."
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