|
Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
|
Land theft
Archbishop Hanna: 'Palestinians in Jerusalem are natives, not strangers'
Archbishop
of the Greek Orthodox Church in Palestine and Jerusalem,
Atallah Hanna, stated on Thursday that the Palestinian people in
Jerusalem are the natives of the land and not strangers or intruders.
Hanna slammed the illegal Israeli policies in East Jerusalem and said
that Israel wants to demolish Palestinian homes and annex Palestinian
lands. “This is a racist policy, this policy is unjust and illegal”, he
stated, “We reject these policies, the Palestinians in Jerusalem are
natives, not intruders or strangers, but Israel wants to terrify and
intimidate the Palestinians in order to leave the city”.
http://imemc.org/article/59870
Israeli group strives to commemorate Palestinian villages destroyed in 1948
SIMSIM RUINS, Israel (AFP): "Every time I come back here I cry," says
Ramadan Farajallah as he contemplates the scattered ruins of the
village he once called home. The 77-year-old fled to Gaza with his
family 60 years ago. Today he holds Israeli citizenship, from his
marriage to an Arab-Israeli woman, making him one of only a handful of
former residents who can visit the village. Farajallah is accompanying
a group of some three dozen Israelis and foreigners led by the Israeli
body Zochrot. With the old man are his grandchildren, who chase each
other through waist-high wildflowers. The organization works to commemorate the
more than 400 villages destroyed - and around 750,000 Palestinians
exiled - during the birth of the Jewish state, an event referred to by
Palestinians as the "Nakba," or catastrophe. [See also www.palestineremembered.com ]
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=100864
Deir Yassin massacre, 55 years on
Dozens
of Jews and Arabs yesterday marched around the
fence surrounding Jerusalem's Kfar Shaul psychiatric hospital, the site
of the Deir Yassin massacre, to commemorate its 55th anniversary. On
April 9, 1948, the Lehi and Etzel attacked the village of Deir
Yassin as part of the Nahshon Operation, killing an unknown number of
residents, including women and children. Yesterday's ceremony included
the reading of 93 names of victims. Residents of the nearby Jerusalem
religious neighborhood of Har Nof watched the ceremony, cursing at
participants. Among those attending the ceremony was Abdel Aziz
Barakat, 81, who
lost 17 members of his family in the massacre and told participants
about Arab and Israeli coexistence in Jerusalem until 1939.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=282499
Anniversary of Dayr Yasin (Apr 9-11, 1948)
By As'ad AbuKhalil -- From the poem I Call On You by
Palestinian poet Tawfiq Zayyad (my translation): “I call on you/I press
your hands/I kiss the ground under your feet/and I say: I sacrifice
myself for you/I give you as a gift/the light of my eyes/and the warmth
of heart, I give you/My tragedy that I live/Is my share of your
tragedies....
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/04/anniversary-of-dayr-yasin.html
Britain worried about Jerusalem demolitions
AMMAN (AFP) – British Foreign Secretary David Miliband expressed
concern on Thursday at Israel's plans to demolish scores of Palestinian
houses in mainly Arab east Jerusalem. "We view with real concern the
proposed demolitions in east Jerusalem," Miliband told a joint news
conference in Amman with his Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh. "Jerusalem should be the capital of both the Palestinians and Israel," Miliband said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090409/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictjordanbritaindiplomacy
Siege / blockade
Gaza crossings remain closed for Passover: No food, no fuel
As announced earlier this week Gaza crossings remain closed Friday as Israel celebrates Passover.
No food, fuel or humanitarian supplies will enter the Strip until
Sunday, when officials announced the holiday closure would end. There is no word on whether an increased amount of goods will be
allowed through the crossings to compensate for the closure. [End]
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=37020
Israeli gunships fire on Gaza fishermen; no injuries
Israeli gunships opened fire at fishing boats near the Gaza City and
Rafah beaches on Friday morning.
Head of Ambulance and Emergency Services Muawiyya Hassanein confirmed
that no injuries were caused by the attack. Israeli gunships attack
boats on daily basis all along the Gaza coast. [End]
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=37018
Two more US congressmen visit Gaza, decry humanitarian situation
US Congressmen Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) and Bob Inglis (R-SC)
were the
latest American representatives to enter Gaza Wednesday; there have
been five visits by US officials since newly elected President Barack
Obama took office. The visits are sparking rumors of tension between
the liberal Obama administration and the new right-wing Israeli
government.
Inglis and Lynch visited as guests of the Catholic Relief group and
said they had no intention of visiting any Hamas affiliates. According
to AP, Lynch commented during his visit that the world must
find a way to address a "legitimate humanitarian crisis" in Gaza.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=37014
Gaza is still an open prison, says Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams
The
West Belfast MP called for an end to the Israeli blockade on building
materials and urged the state to enter into negotiations with Hamas,
which rules Gaza. Adams held talks in the region with Ismail Haniyeh,
the Hamas prime minister, and is due to travel to the West Bank to meet
the Palestinian Authority ..."There should be a complete cessation of
hostilities by all sides
and I stressed our opinion that dialogue is central to what's required
and that is the only way forward," he added. "The refusal to
recognise the outcome of the ballot box in the Palestinian territories
is also bizarre, that they challenge people to go into elections and
then when they go into elections they don't recognise it."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/apr/09/gaza-sinn-fein-gerry-adams
Blair intervenes to get Adams into Gaza
Quartet envoy Tony Blair intervened directly with
Defense Minister Ehud Barak to enable Northern Ireland politician Gerry
Adams through the Erez Crossing and into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday,
where he met Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
The decision to let Adams into the Gaza Strip came
against recommendations by the Foreign Ministry
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1238562949207&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Gerry Adams visits Nativity Church, Ramallah following Gaza tour
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams visited Bethlehem’s Nativity Church Friday
where he was received by West Bank leaders and dignitaries. Adams, who entered the Gaza Strip earlier this week, is touring the
Palestinian areas in order to promote peace through negotiations among
all the parties to the conflict. He has met with Hamas and left-wing
factional leaders during his visit
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&Do=&ID=37026
American and European aid convoys Gaza bound next month
British
Legislator, George Galloway, is preparing along with American peace
activist Ron Jovic to launch a new aid convoy to break the Israeli
siege on the Gaza Strip. In a meeting with supporters of the
Palestinian cause in southern California, USA, Galloway stated that the
convoy will comprise 500 trucks filled with aid and humanitarian
supplies. He added that the organizers plan to collect aid and
donations amounting to ten million US dollars. Galloway added that
there is a new atmosphere in the United States and across the world
that is starting to realize the real core of the Palestinian issue.
http://imemc.org/article/59876
Viva Palestina US: We aim for $10 million in aid and 500 vehicles
California, - Fresh from the success of the Viva Palestina
aid convoy which took over 100 vehicles to Gaza from Britain , George
Galloway MP has linked up on his US tour with the Vietnam veteran and
peace campaigner Ron Kovic to launch a similar, but bigger venture from
the States. Galloway announced the initiative at a 1000-strong meeting in
Anaheim , South California , rounding off a packed-out, coast to coast
speaking tour highlighting the Palestinian cause. (You can watch
the YouTube video at www.vivapalestina.org )
http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=514:viva-palestina-us-we-aim
-for-10-million-in-aid-and-500-vehicles-for-gaza-say-galloway-and-kovic&catid=77:middle-east&Itemid=176
Little hope in Gaza aftermath
By Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East Editor, Gaza City. I
can't imagine what Gaza would be like if it didn't have the sea. The
other morning its tiny piece of the Mediterranean was coming in lazy
and calm, and a light breeze was blowing down the beach. f you are
Gazan and your soul is troubled, or if you just want some space, the
beach must be one of the better places to go.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7991341.stm
The moon behind the fence
By
Natalie Abu Shakra, Gaza. "Look, look! It's him! It's him!" screamed
Shaymaa from the bus, as a group of 18 family members descended from it
to walk closer to the border between Rafah and Al Areish in Egypt. Just
around 20 meters away from the fenced border, on a building ahead,
barely showing, were four figures of what seemed like a man, a woman,
and two young children; a teen-aged boy, and a little girl that he
carried on his shoulder. It was Iyad and Asma Bilbesy, with their
youngsters. Iyad and Asma have not seen their family in Gaza for around
15 years. "It is as if he is a prisoner and we are not allowed to see
him," said Umm Wael Bilbesy, Iyad's mother as she choked on her tears
when I was still at her home before leaving altogether with a group of
family members to Rafah earlier at around 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14995
Closures / incursions / attacks
PCHR weekly report 2-8 April: 3 Palestinians killed, 8 injured, 27 abducted this week; 1 Israeli killed
Israeli forces conducted 26 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank. During those incursions, Israeli forces abducted 52
Palestinian civilians, including 8 children, in the West Bank and 10
fishers in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces occupied 8 Palestinian
houses, and reclassified them as military sites. [long and comprehensive report]
http://imemc.org/article/59874
Journalist and Israeli among four injured by soldiers in Bil`in
Four were injured including one Israeli peace activist and an AP
journalist as Israeli soldiers fired on
protesters, including children, demonstrating in Bil’in on Friday. The
demonstration commemorated Children’s Day, and was headed by more
than a dozen Palestinian children holding signs and banners ... Two
children from Bilin were arrested prior to the protest, 16-year-olds
Wajdy Ali Shehada Abu Rahma and Hamouda Emad Hahmouda Yassin. They were
taken Thursday and found after midnight Friday morning, beaten, near
the village of Qatana.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=37025
Seven injured, one seriously, in Ni`lin weekly protest
Scores of villagers from Nil'in located near the central West Bank city
of Ramallah, along with their international supporters held their
weekly protest on Friday midday against the illegal Israeli wall being
built on village land. As soon as locals and international supporters arrived in the part of
the village where Israel is building the wall, soldiers showered them
with tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. They also fired rounds
of live ammunition. One sustained critical wounds after being hit with a live round while
six people were injured with rubber-coated steel. Dozens were treated
for gas inhalation. [End]
http://www.imemc.org/article/59879
Israeli soldiers cut off Qalqiliya area, invade homes and search buildings
A half-dozen armed vehicles invaded southeastern areas of Qalqiliya
known as the “At-Tabal” and “Khalet Noufal” neighborhoods overnight
Thursday.
The troops invaded homes and combed the area making no arrests.
Locals said several homes were broken into and areas of land searched,
one noted that “we were not told the reason behind the search.”
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=37021
VIDEO - Farmers harvesting lentils fired upon in Al Faraheen, Gaza
8
April - This morning, the farmers from Al-Faraheen in the Gaza Strip
persisted with their efforts to harvest the year’s crop of lentils.
Volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement, and a camera
crew from [Iranian] Press TV accompanied the farmers as they set out to
work in a field about 300m from the border.
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/04/6101
Settler rally in north sees Israel troops close Qalqiliya-Nablus road
Responding to rallying settlers Israeli forces closed the main
road
linking the northern West Bank cities of Qalqiliya and Nablus Friday
afternoon, preventing residents from traveling as settlers gathered
nearby.
The road also links the illegal Israeli settlements of Qarne Shomoron
and Qedumim. Human rights coordinator in the West Bank Zakarieyah
As-Seda said the
settlers had been gathering since the “the early hours of the morning”
and noted that they had already tried to assault villagers in Kafr
Qaddum while they were working on their lands. Several settlers also
arrived at Far’ata village near Qalqiliya and attempted to attacks the
villagers there.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=37024
As usual, Jewish holidays mean more Palestinian misery
Passover 'lock-down' of the West Bank
At 11:59 on April 6th, the IDF began the general closure of
the West Bank for the Jewish holiday, Passover. ... The IDF also
announced that there will be “free movement for Christians to Holy
Sites during the Easter holiday period”. Muslim Palestinians will not
be allowed free movement—even for work in Israel. This Israeli
‘lock-down’ affects thousands of Palestinians whose
livelihoods depend on being able to enter Israel for work. However,
because of the closure, they will not be able to go to work for at
least 12 days. Their daily life will be interrupted by this
unnecessary, arbitrary closure.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article903
Israeli Passover restrictions prevent hundreds from reaching Jerusalem for prayer
Hundreds
of Palestinian Muslims and Christians were prevented from
reaching Jerusalem Friday as Israeli border guards continue to impose a
strict "security closure" of the West Bank during Passover. Muslims
heading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque for Friday prayers and Christians
wishing to worship at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Jesus is
said to have been burried following his crucifiction, in Jerusalem were
turned away from Israeli checkpoints. Christians with valid permits to
enter Israel for the Easter holidays
are, for the most part, still being permitted to cross into Jerusalem.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=37015
Urgent action for Palestinian children from Tuba and Maghaer al-Abeed
By Luisa Morgentini. In the past two weeks internationals working with Operation Dove and
Christian Peacemaker Teams have twice witnessed settlers grazing sheep
directly in the path of the children at the time they walk home from
school. Because the children have been physically attacked in the past,
and threatened with death by settlers earlier this school year, they
are terrified by the presence of these settlers.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=32870
Palestinians retaliate
Red Rag weekly column: Basma Awad al-Nabari's cry
By Gideon Spiro. In the press the 16-year-old young woman Basma from Hura in the Negev is described as a “terrorist”. I
see in her a sensitive young woman who could not stand the slaughter of
her people in Gaza. The words in her notebook: “the screams of Gaza
ring in my ears, my heart is torn and pained, I am the prisoner of the
Occupation” express solidarity with her people who are being murdered,
struck and humiliated in the Gaza ghetto ... We Jews should exhibit understanding for acts of revenge against
tyrants and oppressors. Very well do we remember the cells of Jews who
at the end of the Second World War avenged themselves a way similar to
that of the young Bedouin young woman, but with more skill.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=32852
Detention
Female detainee sentenced to six months
The Salim Israeli Military Court sentenced on Thursday detainee Nawal
Al Sa’ady, from the Jenin refugee camp, to six months imprisonment and
two thousands Israeli shekel fine. Ten of her family members, including her husband, Bassam, are already
imprisoned by Israel. Her husband is one of the leaders of the Islamic
Jihad; he is imprisoned without charges. Two of her children, Ibrahim and Abdul-Karim, have been killed by the army. Her
father, and her brother are also imprisoned, and her sister-in-law,
Qahera Al Sa’ady is serving a life term at an Israeli prison.
http://imemc.org/article/59877
VIDEO: Palestinian prisoners' families protest at Red Cross
Every Monday for years the families of the Palestinian prisoners are
protesting at the offices of the Red Cross in Gaza City. These
families have not been allowed to visit their relatives
imprisoned in Israeli jails for almost 2 years. According to human
rights organizations (including Israeli organizations), Palestinian
prisoners are submitted to torture and ill-treatment, permitted by the
Israeli High Court of Justice. Israeli Prison Service admits that there
are about 8,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails, but according to
Palestinian Authorities the number exceeds 11,600.
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/04/6095
Father, uncle of Negev girl released
The Be’er Sheva District Court on Wednesday released the father and
uncle of the Negev girl shot dead after she, according to the Israeli
army, attempted to shoot Israeli soldiers at a military base in the
Negev ... After the incident, Israeli police searched her home and
arrested her
father and uncle, claiming they knew of her intentions to attack the
military base. Last Sunday, the court extended their remand period but
the claim was not founded and the investigation cleared them.
http://imemc.org/article/59849
Media
Even American Jewish dual loyalty has its limits
Something is stirring at the New York Times. Make no mistake,
friends: Four op-eds in four days (a couple of them on-line, appearing
in the International Herald Tribune, but picked up by the Times)
questioning the pro-Israel line. First George Bisharat, then Ahmad Tibi, a Palestinian member of Knesset. Then Roger Cohen praising Trita Parsi's book Treacherous Alliance. And now Jeremy Ben-Ami of J Street, throwing down the gauntlet
to American Jews over where they stand vis a vis Avigdor Lieberman, in a
piece that I gather was first in the International Herald Tribune.
http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2009/04/even-american-jewish-dual-loyalty-has-its-limits.html
Tough reception for Al Jazeera bid in Canada
Canada - It was once condemned as "propaganda" by former U.S secretary
of defence Donald Rumsfeld. It's been slammed by Jewish groups for
airing anti-Semitic views. And now Al-Jazeera wants to air on a
television near you. Tony Burman, the Canadian who is managing director
of the Al-Jazeera Network, knows he is fighting history and stereotypes
as he seeks regulatory approval to get the broadcaster's English
service on Canadian airwaves.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=472:
tough-reception-for-al-jazeera-bid-in-canada&catid=81:world-news&Itemid=198
Collaboration / anti-solidarity
Egypt detains 15 over building rockets to smuggle into Gaza
Egyptian security forces detained 15 people on Friday
over accusations they helped make rockets destined to be smuggled into
the Hamas-run Gaza Strip via border tunnels, security sources said.
The sources said authorities had confiscated the outer shells of 60
rockets from a metal workshop in the Sinai town of Sheikh Zuwayed, near
the closed Rafah border crossing with Gaza.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1077710.html
Tesco criticised for Israeli goods boycott hotline
Tesco has come under fire from the pro-Israel
lobby after setting up a customer helpline option for people to
complain about it stocking Israeli products. A
recorded message told callers ringing its general customer services
number: "If you are ringing regarding Israeli goods, please press one."
The supermarket said it set up the line, which is no longer
available, in anticipation of a high level of calls after the Palestine
Solidarity Campaign called for a boycott of Israeli goods and urged its
supporters to phone Tesco and Waitrose on 30 March about their stance
on selling Israeli and Israeli settlement produce. Tesco insisted it
had not meant to cause offence and said it apologised if any had been
taken.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/apr/10/tesco-israeli-goods-boycott
Phoenix College withdraws its ads from the MYP
Phoenix, Arizona. Under the pressure of local zionists, Phoenix College
has withdrawn its ads from the Multicultural yellow pages published by an
Arab activist.
http://www.caramaorg.net/
Talks / diplomacy
Egypt offers Palestinian rivals new unity ideas
GAZA (Reuters) – Egyptian mediators trying to break the deadlock in
talks on a Palestinian government of national unity have told rival
groups Fatah and Hamas to cooperate on reconstructing Gaza as a first step, officials said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090410/wl_nm/us_palestinians_egypt_government_1
Arab leaders to meet on Saturday, take stance on Netanyahu, Arab Peace Initiative
The
Qatar based Al Jazeera reported that Arab League Secretary-General,
Amro Mousa, will attend the conference along with Foreign Ministers of
Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the Palestinian
Authority. Palestinian officials refused to confirm or deny their
participation. The statement comes while the 21st Arab Summit in Doha –
Qatar, decided that having relations with Israel should be based on its
commitment to the signed peace deals within a certain timeframe.
http://imemc.org/article/59875
Abbas: Israel must commit to previous deals
(Reuters) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has made peace
talks with Israel's new government conditional on it committing to
previous agreements and freezing Jewish settlement growth, aides said
on Friday.
Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Abbas conveyed this
message directly to the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators - the
United States, the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1077702.html
Unity talks to resume on April 26
Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, stated on Thursday that the
internal Palestinian talks would be resumed in Cairo on April 26. The
statements of Abbas came in a press conference after a meeting with the
Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak in Cairo.
http://imemc.org/article/59869
PFLP proposes a government with no political agenda
The leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
presented its own version of the transitional government during a
meeting with a Fateh leader. The PFLP said that the factions should
form a transitional government that has no political agenda and is in
charge of preparing for new legislative and presidential elections.
http://imemc.org/article/59868
Israel: No objection to West's talks with Iran
Israel does not object to talks between the West and
Iran intended to stop Iran's nuclearization, as long as Iran does not
take advantage of these talks, a top source in Benjamin Netanyahu's
government told Haaretz Thursday.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1077654.html
Other news
Christian pilgrims flock to Holy City
JERUSALEM (AFP) — Thousands of Christian pilgrims from around the world
poured into the Holy City of Jerusalem under sunny skies on Friday to
pray along the traditional route Jesus took to his crucifixion ... "I
am happy because I am going to the church, but I also feel sad
because I entered my own country with a permit," said Nizam, a
60-year-old Christian from Ramallah, referring to the permits that
Palestinians must get from Israeli authorities in order to leave the
occupied territory. "This is my country, my land. I can't move freely
in my own country," he said. "We can't go to our churches."
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iy_fYqm7XFk2t4gHgQXwWIqfSbzA
Palestinian girls sit together as they read the Qur'an in a garden in Nablus
Part of diverse 'Mideast Conflict' slideshow, including photos of Bil`in, Samaritans, etc.
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//090410/481/b0094122969c4c4a8b28fa025038b32c/
Fayyad honors Palestinian for winning 'Nobel Prize for Children'
In a celebration on Thursday at the Grand Park Hotel in the West Bank
city of Ramallah, it was announced that Jumana Auda won the 2009 award for her
efforts serving childhood and children in Palestine ... The Palestinian Happy Child Center was founded in 1994 in Jerusalem,
aimed at helping children with special needs, and is staffed mostly by
volunteers.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=37009
Hamas denies opening special jails for collaborators
The de facto Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip denied on
Thursday that new special jails for detaining collaborators were being
constructed in the Gaza Strip.
"We do not plan to open new prisons for collaborators. What is being
prepared is a new central jail to replace the one which was part of the
security compound [As-Saraya]...
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=37000
Israel: Local NGOs struggle to cope with rising tide of needy families
TEL
AVIV, 9 April 2009 (IRIN) - With the Jewish Passover under way, NGOs
report an alarming growth in the number of Israelis turning to them for
food aid. Some NGOs are reporting a rise of nearly 60 percent in the
number seeking help compared to 2008.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=83867
The Muslim guardian of Israel's daily bread
(from 6 Apr) For more than a decade, an Arab hotel manager has helped Orthodox Jews
to observe the Passover – by buying up forbidden foods. Ben Lynfield
reports -- The agreement with Mr Hussein offers a way of complying with
religious edicts without having to wastefully destroy massive
quantities of food.Through legal acrobatics, the forbidden goods
belonging to the Israeli state are simply sold to Mr Hussein for the
duration of Passover and then revert back to the state once the holiday
is over.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-muslim-guardian-of-israels-daily-bread-1663404.html
Op-Ed / Analysis
Pharaohs can't celebrate Passover
By Rabbi Michael Lerner. Observing Passover, the holiday celebrating the liberation of Jewish
slaves from Egypt roughly 3200 years ago, has become a problem for many
Jews this year. Whether religious or atheist, Jews would sit around the Seder table on
the first night of this 8 day holiday (which begins this year Wednesday
night, April 8 and goes through April 16th) and talk about the meaning
of freedom and liberation ...This year I've been hearing a very different story from my rabbinic
colleagues and from many Jews who are not part of any religious
community.
Millions of Jews have been watching Israel's role in Gaza and the West Bank with particular horror this year.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-michael-lerner/pharoahs-cant-celebrate-p_b_185411.html
Israel's master plan for transfer
The
Problem Isn't Avigdor Lieberman. By Ellen Cantarow. ...And so, amidst
much celebration (hand-shakes on the White House lawn, etc.) the new
“two-state” solution could well be realized in the not-so-distant
future. A Palestinian ghetto would exist alongside a Jewish state,
which would of course include the settlements. “The demographic
problem” bedeviling Zionists ever since two rabbis returned in the 19th
century with the report that the bride was “beautiful but married to
another man,” would vanish. Now and then, on a distant hilltop, a lone
goatherd might appear, nostalgically suggesting “simpler” and more
“traditional” times. Palestinian embroidery would be sold at appointed
places, to adorn the persons and furniture of pure Jews commuting back
and forth to a now purely Jewish Jerusalem and Tel Aviv from, say,
purely Jewish Maale Adumim. American readers wearing exquisite Navajo
turquoise jewelry – this writer among them – will recognize these
images.
http://www.counterpunch.org/cantarow04092009.html
In the settlers' sights
By
Ben White. Palestinians opposing Jewish settlement in Ush Ghrab have
shown courage but their efforts are futile without support -- The flat
top of the small hill is deserted, as we walk among the gutted
concrete buildings. The graffiti on the wall declares that "the Jews
will keep this land". This is Ush Ghrab, a small piece of land in Beit
Sahour, south of Jerusalem, and a target for religious settlers seeking yet another colony in the Bethlehem region.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/07/israel-ush-ghrab
All he did was kill an Arab
By Nehemia Shtrasler. Julian Soufir wants to be let out. He doesn't even
understand why he's being kept at the Abarbanel Mental Hospital. He
says he's recovered and feels fine. His doctors say he has made
progress and should be released in a few months. But he already wants to be put in less restrictive
conditions and immediately afterward be granted parole. After all,
Passover is the holiday of freedom and all he did was kill an Arab ... He wanted to kill an Arab - any Arab. So he stopped a taxi in Jerusalem, hoping the driver would be an Arab. On his third try he stopped a taxi driven by an Arab, a man named Taysir Karaki.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1077636.html
ACRI: Lifting the veil of secrecy -- challenging classified evidence in court
[The Association for Civil Rights in Israel] continues persistently to address the
widespread and growing use of secret evidence within the national
security and counter-terrorism framework in the Israeli legal system.
In many cases, these measures violate basic due process principles,
allowing people to be detained, or their rights to be violated, on the
basis of classified materials, challenging the administration of
justice.
http://www.acri.org.il/newsletter/Enewsletter0409.html
Israel investigated, but will it repent?
By Ramzy Baroud. Israel has denied almost every massacre it has
committed. Those too obvious to deny, were “investigated” by Israel
itself, which predictably, mostly found its soldiers “not guilty” or
culpable of minor misconduct. Israeli “investigations” served the dual
purpose of helping Israelis retain their sense of moral superiority,
and sending a highly touted message to international media of Israeli
democracy at work and the independence of the country’s judiciary. With
the Gaza tragedy of December 2008-January 2009 being the latest in the
ever growing list of Palestinian massacres, little seems to have
changed the way Israel views its action, with the full approval of the
US and the half hearted position of much of the international community.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15000
Arab students marginalized by Israeli universities
By Jonathan Cook. Obstacles to Israel's Arab minority participating in higher
education have resulted in a record number of Arab students taking up
places at universities in neighboring Jordan, a new report reveals. Figures compiled by Dirasat,
a Nazareth-based organization monitoring education issues, show 5,400
Arab students from Israel are at Jordanian universities -- half the
number of Arabs studying in Israel itself. College-age Arabs, representing nearly one-quarter of their age group
in Israel, are heavily underrepresented in Israeli higher education, at
about eight per cent of the student intake, according to official
statistics.
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/cook090409.html
Israel cries wolf
By Roger Cohen. Istanbul — “Iran is the center of terrorism,
fundamentalism and
subversion and is in my view more dangerous than Nazism, because Hitler
did not possess a nuclear bomb, whereas the Iranians are trying to
perfect a nuclear option.” Benjamin Netanyahu 2009? Try again. These
words were in fact
uttered by another Israeli prime minister (and now Israeli president),
Shimon Peres, in 1996. Four years earlier, in 1992, he’d predicted that
Iran would have a nuclear bomb by 1999. You can’t accuse the Israelis
of not crying wolf. [this article did not appear in the print edition,
only online]
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/opinion/09iht-edcohen.html?_r=5&ref=global
From Deir Yasin to Beit Hanun
By
Khaled Amayreh. Israel has well-established traditions of murder and
lies. The so-called "Jewish state," one can safely argue, has been an
ongoing crime against humanity ever since the forefathers of Zionism
claimed that Palestine was a land without a people for a people without
a land.
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m53301&hd=&size=1&l=e
We have become slaves
By Doron Rosenblum. Welcome to 28 more years of wandering through the desert. Unless a
dramatic breakthrough occurs, we are destined to repeat the same
mistakes, delays and errors with the Palestinians and our other
neighbors.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1077639.html
The ten curses of Netanyahu's government
By Ma`an Chief Editor Nasser Al-Lahham. Israelis have forgotten the Ten
Commandments of the Torah; what they
live with, in these days of state terror and extremism, are the ten
curses.
These curses do not come without warning. Indeed there are signs around
the West Bank and all over Israel hearkening the coming of the curses
... The ten curses expected to come are: First: The demolition of the
Al-Aqsa Mosque by excavations or by explosions. Second: The
transformation of the Jordan Valley area into an Israeli neighborhood.
Third: Judaizing the Old City of Jerusalem and the Arab neighborhoods
Forth: The obliteration of the Bethlehem countryside and conversion of
the Palestinian area to a tourist farm where foreigners are bussed into
take pictures of a biblical landscape free of a Palestinian presence....
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=37016
Netanyahu and threat of bombing Iran - the bluff that never stops giving?
By Trita Parsi. In an interview with Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic,
incoming
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed to have told
President Barack Obama that either America stops Iran or Israel will
... Reality is, however, that talk of an Israeli military option is
more
of a bluff than a threat -- but it is a bluff that never seems to stop
giving. Israel does not have the military capability to successfully
eliminate Iran's nuclear program. Even the most successful bombing
campaign would only set back the known program for a few years --
without affecting any potential clandestine program.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/trita-parsi/netanyahu-and-threat-of-b_b_183822.html
Iraq
Kirkuk women catch up on lost school years
Having
lost out on an education during turbulent “Arabisation” of Kirkuk, many
Kurd and Tukoman women return to classroom in hope of landing decent
jobs. By Samah Samad in Kirkuk
http://www.iwpr.net/index.php?apc_state=hen&s=o&o=l=EN&p=icr&s=f&o=351694
Thursday: 6 Iraqis killed, 19 wounded
Excerpt: At least six Iraqis were killed and 19 more were wounded
on the sixth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad. Tens of thousands of
Iraqis marked the occasion in Baghdad. No coalition deaths were
reported. Gunmen threw a thermal grenade at a U.S. patrol traveling
along a highway between Baiji and Tikrit. One American soldier was
wounded. About 30,000 demonstrators marked
the sixth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad in a gathering at Firdous
Square today. They protested the
continued presence of U.S. troops
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2009/04/09/iraq-7/
Friday: 5 US soldiers, 8 Iraqis killed; 83 Iraqis wounded
Excerpt: Five
U.S. soldiers were killed in a suicide bomb blast in Mosul that left
dozens of Iraqis casualties as well. At least eight Iraqis were killed and 83 more
were wounded across the country, mostly in the Mosul blast.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2009/04/10/iraq-8/
Marine acquitted in Iraqi death
A US marine charged
with killing an unarmed detainee during a house-clearing operation in
the Iraqi town of Fallujah has been acquitted by a military jury in the
state of California.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/04/20094100016197194.html
US and other world news
Iran opens nuclear fuel facility
Iran's president has inaugurated the country's first nuclear fuel
production plant, making what correspondents say was a defiant speech.
Iran denies Western claims that it aims to build a nuclear bomb.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7991282.stm
American victims of Hezbollah rockets sue North Korea
Thirty American victims of Hezbollah terror attacks
have filed civil action in the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC
against the government of North Korea. The plaintiffs, injured by Hezbollah rockets fired into northern
Israel during the Second Lebanon War in 2006, allege that North Korea
aided the terrorist organization by training senior Hezbollah leaders
and by providing networks of underground storage bunkers meant to house
Katyusha rocket launchers.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1077703.html
US apologises over Afghan deaths
The US military has admitted that its troops killed five civilians in
Afghanistan, including a child, not fighters as was earlier reported.
The US has also offered an apology for the deaths on Wednesday night
and indicated that the family will receive support. A 13-year-old boy
who survived the night-time raid on his home told Al Jazeera that his
mother, brother, uncle and another female family member were killed. A
woman who was nine-months' pregnant was wounded and lost her baby.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/asia/2009/04/200941065238517438.html
Obama hosts first-ever Passover seder dinner at White House
U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday had close
friends and staff to a private White House meal to mark Passover, in
what was seen as a gesture to his Jewish supporters.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1077700.html
US Muslims still under siege
By
Amy Goodman. As President Barack Obama made his public appearance with
Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Monday as part of his first trip to a
Muslim country, U.S. federal agents were preparing to arrest Youssef
Megahed in Tampa, Fla. Just three days earlier, on Friday, a jury in a
U.S. federal district court had acquitted him of charges of illegally
transporting explosives and possession of an explosive device.Megahed,
acquitted by a jury of his peers, thought he was secure, back with his
family. He was enrolled in his final course needed to earn a degree at
the University of South Florida. Then the nightmare he had just escaped
returned.
http://www.zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticlePrint/21128
The killing of Islamic secularism
By Brian Whitaker. In the Arab countries, as I pointed out in an article for Cif
yesterday, linkage between state and religion is accepted almost
everywhere. There are differences of opinion about the degree of
linkage, but the principle itself is rarely questioned.Tne reason, Herman De Ley suggests,
is that history has led Muslims to associate secularism not with
liberation, as Europeans usually do, but with foreign domination:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/apr/08/middleeast-islam |
| For further information contact Shadi Fadda |
|
|
