1090 Days to the Israeli Blockade of Gaza:
Somebody tell O’Bummer!
Help to stop the next war! Support Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions of the Israeli regime
Support Palestinian universities – spread the BDS campaign – it is what people under the Israeli jackboot ask you to do
An army fighting against children has already lost the war!
Israeli War Criminals – to the International Criminal Court, NOW!
Make Zionism History!
One year since the Gaza Carnage by Israel’s murderers! We shall
not forget!
Demand the destruction of Israeli WMDs NOW!
Gaza Border Opened after 72 days: The Only Democracy?
May 21st, 2010, by Jesse Bacon
Amid rumors of tension between the Hamas government and Egypt, on Saturday, May 15, 2010, the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt was opened to the passage of people wishing to enter and exit the Gaza Strip. The border had been closed for 72 days prior to this latest opening.
The border crossing, which is due to be open for just a few days, has been closed on a regular basis since June 2007, except for occasional and limited openings that meet only 6% of the travel needs of the residents of the Gaza Strip.
Thus, during the present opening (only the third since the beginning of 2010), 8,000 people managed to submit applications for travel permits to the Interior Ministry in Gaza (a prerequisite for exit). With no knowledge of when the border would reopen, and based on the assessment that no more than 8,000 people would get through the border this time, the Interior Ministry has closed the registration process to further applications.
Initial figures show that on the first two days of opening (Saturday and Sunday) fewer than 2,000 people managed to cross over to the Egyptian side, while about 250 who entered the crossing were returned to the Gaza Strip by Egyptian forces for unknown reasons. About 300 people managed to enter Gaza from Egypt.
In comparison, before the closure, 40,000 people passed into and out of Gaza through the Rafah border crossing every month in order to realize their right to freedom of movement and access medical treatment, work, educational opportunities, and family.
Hariri: International community must take responsibility for Middle East peace: Haaretz
Ahead of Washington trip, Lebanese PM urges world powers to make ‘serious effort’ to push forward Israel-Palestinian talks – but Obama administration is more likely to focus on flow of arms to Hezbollah.
Ahead of a trip to Washington, Lebanese Prime Minister Said Hariri called on the international community to step up pressure on Israel and the Palestinians to strike a peace deal.
Hariri met with Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak Saturday in Cairo to discuss the mid-east peace process and regional developments.
The two leaders talked about ways to revive the indirect peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel as well as developments inside Lebanon.
After the meeting, Hariri said that it was time for the “international community to take responsibility” and exert “serious efforts” to push the peace process forward, Lebanese TV channel al-Mustaqbal reported.
“The only end for this process is peace,” Hairi said, adding that he would convey this message to US President Barack Obama, al-Mustaqbal added.
Hariri arrived earlier for his short visit which is part of an Arab tour ahead of his visit to the United States, which included Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
He is scheduled to meet Obama on Monday amid fears of renewed fighting between Lebanon and Israel.
Later on Saturday, he is due to head for Istanbul to meet Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
U.S. President Barack Obama is likely to raise concerns about Syria arming Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon when he meetsHariri on Monday, a U.S. official said on Friday.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the two leaders would discuss a “broad range of mutual goals in support of Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence, regional peace and security”.
Hariri’s first official visit to the United States takes place against a backdrop of tensions in the Middle East, U.S. efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and growing momentum toward new international sanctions on Iran.
Analysts expect Obama to be more encouraging in tone than demanding of results when he meets Hariri, who heads a national unity government that includes Hezbollah – a Shi’ite Islamist guerrilla group which is backed by Syria and Iran and is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States.
Lebanon and Syria have said they fear a possible attack by Israel after President Shimon Peres accused Syria in April of supplying Hezbollah with long-range Scud missiles capable of hitting Israel. Damascus has denied the charge and accused Israel of fomenting war.
Some U.S. officials have expressed doubt that any Scuds were actually handed over in full to Hezbollah, although they believe Syria might have transferred weapons parts.
“We obviously have grave concerns about the transfer of any missile capability to Hezbollah through Lebanon from Syria,” a senior Obama administration official told Reuters, saying the issue would likely be raised in Monday’s talks.
Another official said Washington would ask Hariri to continue to support efforts “toward comprehensive regional peace.”
Hariri has also denied Israel’s accusations, while his government has said it backs the right of the guerrilla group to keep its weapons to deter Israeli attacks. Israel, which fought a 34-day war with Hezbollah in 2006, has not signaled any imminent plans to strike.
The war of words heightened tensions in the region, but the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Michael Williams, noted on Friday “that recent tension is now diminishing.”
Williams, who held talks with Hariri in Beirut, was quoted by the prime minister’s office as saying he was pleased “that all sides have scaled back the rhetoric.”
Obama and Hariri are also expected to discuss U.S.-led international efforts to isolate Iran over its disputed nuclear program, officials said. Lebanon holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council through May 31.
Diplomats said Beirut had quietly asked the permanent members of the Security Council – Britain, France, Russia, China and the United States – not to push for a vote on a new Iran sanctions resolution while it held the presidency.
Lebanon is expected to abstain in any vote because Iranian-backed Hezbollah is in its government, diplomats said.
Jon Alterman, a Middle East expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said Lebanon no longer enjoyed the status it had under the Bush administration, when it was the “fulcrum” of efforts to spread democracy in the Middle East.
The Obama administration’s Middle East policy is more focused on the nuclear stand-off with Iran, war in Afghanistan, and reviving the Middle East peace process, he said.
Nevertheless, the United States has expanded military assistance to Lebanon to strengthen its armed forces as a counterweight to Hezbollah, allocating $500 million to training and equipping Lebanese security forces since 2005.
Second Mid-East talks end with no sign of progress: BBC
No date has been set for a further rounds of proximity talks
Middle East envoy George Mitchell wound up a second round of indirect peace talks between Palestinians and Israeli without any outward sign of progress.
A statement from the office of the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of the “possibility” of goodwill gestures towards the Palestinians. No details were given.
The US envoy and Mr Netanyahu met for three and a half hours on Thursday. Mr Mitchell met Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas earlier in the week.
The indirect, proximity talks are set to continue for four months, and should get to addressing some of the core issues – borders, Jerusalem, and refugees.
All parties say they hope these will lead to direct negotiations.
Shuttle diplomacy
In the current talks Mr Mitchell shuttles between Mr Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem and Mr Abbas’ office in Ramallah, a journey of about 10 miles (15km).
Thursday’s statement from Mr Netanyahu’s office said part of the meeting with Mr Mitchell concentrated on water issues.
The US envoy met Mr Abbas on Wednesday. He was given letters protesting against the killing of a Palestinian teenager in the West Bank, allegedly by an Israeli settler, and the killing of an elderly farmer in Gaza by the Israeli military.
Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said his side also brought up the “the numerous Israeli provocative statements of the last few days”.
Palestinian officials have been angered by repeated statements by Israeli officials, including the prime minister, that settlement construction would continue in occupied East Jerusalem.
‘Giving cover’
The Palestinian Islamist group, Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has criticised the talks, warning that they “give cover to the Israeli occupation to commit more crimes against our people”.
The proximity talks were meant to start in March, but Palestinians pulled out of talks after Israeli municipal authorities approved plans for 1,600 new homes in the East Jerusalem settlement of Ramat Shlomo.
The announcement was made during a visit to Israel by US Vice-President Joe Biden and caused great strain in Israeli-US relations.
The Palestinian Authority’s formal position is that it will not enter direct talks unless Israel completely halts building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
In November, Israel announced a 10-month suspension of new building in the West Bank, under intense US pressure.
But it considers areas within the Jerusalem municipality as its territory and thus not subject to the restrictions.
Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 1967. It insists Jerusalem will remain its undivided capital, although Palestinians want to establish their capital in the east of the city, and the international community does not recognise the Israeli annexation of the east of the city.
Nearly half a million Jews live in more than 100 settlements in the West Bank, among a Palestinian population of about 2.5 million.
The settlements are illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.
Hezbollah shows off weaponry in Lebanon ‘tourist complex’: YNet
Shiite group inaugurates museum to mark 10th anniversary of Israeli pullout from south Lebanon. Organization’s chief, Hassan Nasrallah says in televised speech, ‘Armies that emerge victorious from wars display their exploits’
The Hezbollah Shiite organization on Friday inaugurated a “tourist complex” displaying its own heavy weapons and those left by Israel, to mark the 10th anniversary of Israel’s pullout from south Lebanon.
“Armies that emerge victorious from wars display their exploits in museums,” Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said in an inaugural speech broadcast live at the complex on a giant television screen. He was not present in person.
This site “is a modest initiative compared… to the sacrifices and historic victories that have been gained,” Nasrallah said of the 2006 war in which Israel failed to crush Hezbollah, or the “party of God” in Arabic.
“One of our principal responsibilities is to preserve the history of resistance… and this museum is built on the ground of resistance,” Nasrallah told hundreds of people gathered in a courtyard at the complex.
The site, located in the sprawling southern locality of Mlita, was a Hezbollah military base during Israel’s 1978-1990 occupation of south Lebanon and the 2006 war.
The museum will open to the public from May 25, the anniversary of the Israeli pullout, which is this year being marked as a national holiday.
Hezbollah has also been organising “jihadist tours,” in which 500 young men and women were taken on a field trip to witness what the Iran-backed group called the “achievements of the resistance” against Israel.
Dozens of anti-tank and Katyusha rockets, Iran-built “Raad 1” missiles, mortars and rocket launchers are on display in the complex that encompasses a mountain cave, wooded grounds and a newly built gallery.
Israeli Merkava tanks are also on display.
Several Hezbollah fighters were killed in Israeli raids while digging the caves to hide weapons, according to guide Mohammad Sayyed.
The museum is the first complex of its kind in the world, Hezbollah said in a statement.
COOP AND NORDICONAD SUPERMARKET CHAINS SUSPEND SALES OF PRODUCTS FROM THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: Stop Agresco Italia
An important success for the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israeli apartheid
May 22, 2010 – Following lobbying efforts by the Italian Coalition Against Carmel-Agrexco, two major Italian supermarket chains, COOP and Nordiconad, announced the suspension of sales of products from Agrexco, the principal exporter of produce from Israel and the illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Nordiconad director Mr. Covili announced that as of the end of April Agrexco products will no longer be found in their supermarkets. Nordiconad is a cooperative responsible for central purchasing and distribution operations for CONAD in northern Italy. COOP Italia, via quality assurance director Mr. Zucchi, instead confirmed that there is a problem with traceability, namely that the consumer is unable to verify whether or not the product in question comes from the occupied territories. Therefore COOP Italia has decided to “suspend the supply of products from the occupied territories.”
The Italian supermarket lobbying campaign was launched in January this year after a national meeting of the Stop Agrexco coalition in Savona, where Agrexco ships dock for distribution in Italy. Efforts are being coordinated with similar movements in Europe, including the Coalition Contre Agrexco in France, which unites more than 90 groups with the common goal of opposing plans to base the Israeli company at the port of Sete (Languedoc-Roussillon). In Italy, COOP and Conad members and customers, as well as groups active in the Stop Agrexco campaign, began sending letters of protest to COOP’s consumer magazines demanding they suspend sales of goods produced in settlements in the occupied territories. The initiative was then extended to CONAD and the campaign culminated on March 30, Palestinian Land Day and Global BDS Day, with coordinated protests, sit-ins and awareness raising initiatives in supermarkets in several Italian cities. Following these actions, correspondence was initiated with COOP and CONAD management, which then led to direct contact and meetings with the Stop Agrexco Coalition, during which representatives of the coalition provided additional documentation concerning the illegalities involved in the trade of settlement products as well as violations of international law and human rights in Palestine characterized by the production of settlement goods.
The results obtained thanks to the efforts of responsible consumers, COOP and Conad members and Stop Agrexco activists are undoubtedly positive. However, the Stop Agrexco coalition has vowed to make sure that both chains follow through on their promises, and encourages everyone to participate in this struggle for respect for international law, and freedom and self-determination for the Palestinian people.
Contact:
Stop Agrexco Italy
+39 333 11 03 510
stopagrexcoitalia@gmail.com
Additional information on the campaign against Agrexco is available on the coalition website: www.stopagrexcoitalia.org
WHO IS AGREXCO?: Agrexco Agricultural Export Company Ltd. is the largest exporter of Israeli agricultural produce and distributes 60-70% of fruit, vegetables, flowers and herbs produced in the Israeli settlements illegally built on Palestinian land. The company was founded in 1956 and is 50% government owned. Agrexco has roughly 500 employees with offices in Europe, Japan and the US. In 2008, the Israeli Finance Ministry announced a decision to privatize the company, however privatization has not yet been initiated. During a trial held in England in 2004, the general manager of Agrexco UK, Amos Orr, testified that Agrexco exports 60-70% of all produce coming from the Israeli settlements. The company’s web site, in fact, advertises figs from Masuah, an Israeli settlement in the Jordan Valley. Settlement products together with products from Israel are marketed under the brand name “Carmel.” Some 80% of Agrexco produce is exported and sold in Europe, primarily in Great Britain. In the summer of 2009, Italy began playing a role in the distribution of products from the illegal settlements, providing one of the two major European ports where Agrexco ships dock, the port of Vado Ligure, near Savona (Genoa).
THE BDS CAMPAIGN: In 2005, Palestinian civil society put together a unified proposal for international solidarity movements: determine ways to boycott Israeli products, divestment from Israeli businesses, place sanctions on Israel, and boycott Israeli cultural and academic institutions that cooperate with, or fail to take a stand against, the occupation or the apartheid system. These demands were formulated in the BDS campaign (www.bdsmovement.org <http://www.bdsmovement.org> ). The BDS movement has already chalked up a number of successes (for example, against companies such as Veolia, Africa-Israel and Motorola) and has gained endorsements from civil society, academic, labor and governmental organizations around the world, Israel included. The very same trade unions representing the Palestinian workers exploited as cheap labor in the Israeli settlement plantations are among the promoters of the BDS campaign.
Israel: Chomsky ban ‘big mistake’: Al Jazera TV
Chomsky delivered his lecture to Bir Zeit University via video link from Amman [AFP]
The Israeli government has said it made a “big mistake” by barring Noam Chomsky, an American academic and political activist, from entering the occupied West Bank earlier this week.
The interior ministry said on Tuesday that a low-level border clerk had wrongfully denied him entry, and that he was now free to enter.
“He should have been allowed in, it was a big mistake,” Sabine Haddad, a spokeswoman for the ministry, told the Associated Press news agency.
“The clerk for some reason thought there was an issue of letting him in so denied him access. If he wants to come to the border he will be allowed in.”
Chomsky was barred by Israeli immigration officials as he attempted to cross the Allenby Bridge from Jordan on Sunday.
The Jewish-American linguistics professor, who frequently speaks out against Israeli policy in the occupied Palestinian territories, had been scheduled to give a lecture at Bir Zeit University in the West Bank.
Chomsky’s interviewed on Al Jazeera about his ordeal
Noam Chomsky speaks about his hours-long wait and subsequent denial of entry
And despite Haddad’s statement, Chomsky said there was no “official” guarantee he would be allowed in and so decided to give the lecture by video link from Amman, Jordan’s capital, on Tuesday.
About 100 students attended the video link lecture at Bir Zeit University near the city of Ramallah.
Chomsky said he was told during his interrogation at the border that “Israel does not like what you say”.
The academic said preventing him from entering the West Bank was “tantamount to boycotting Bir Zeit University”.
Chomsky, who opposes a general boycott of Israel, told Israel’s Haarestz newspaper that Israel’s behaviour reminded him of South Africa in the 1960s, which thought it could counter its international pariah status through better public relations.
US to help fund Israeli ‘Iron Dome’ project: The Independent
By Catrina Stewart in Jerusalem
Saturday, 22 May 2010
American lawmakers have overwhelmingly backed a proposal to provide Israel with $205m (£142m) to speed up the deployment of a short-range anti-missile system.
The US House of Representatives voted 401-4 in favour of President Barack Obama’s plan to fund Israel’s Iron Dome project, designed to protect the country from rocket and artillery shell attacks.
“With nearly every square inch of Israel at risk from rocket and missile attacks, we must ensure that our most important ally in the region has the tools to defend itself,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman said.
The anti-missile system is designed to thwart attacks by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip and Hizbollah in Lebanon by blowing up rockets in mid-air.
Israeli defence officials have reportedly struggled to find the funds to make the system operational after successful tests earlier this year.
Analysts said the US donation is a sign that the Obama administration wants to rekindle relations with the Israeli government; these had been severely strained by Israel’s announcement in March that it would build hundreds of new Jewish homes in Arab-dominated East Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel in 1967 and later annexed.
“The Obama administration has been trying hard to change the atmospherics,” said Jonathan Spyer, senior researcher at the Centre for Global Research in International Affairs in Herzliya. “It didn’t help their cause to be perceived as humiliating the Israeli government.”
Israel ordered the Iron Dome project three years ago after its 2006 war with Lebanon, during which thousands of rockets landed in Israeli territory. Some 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, were killed in the conflict, as were 160 Israelis.
Rockets fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip prompted Israel to launch a devastating military offensive on the tiny coastal enclave two winters ago that killed up to 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis.
Although an effective deterrent system could make another debilitating regional conflict less likely, critics of the Iron Dome project say it is very costly and would not be able to shoot down missiles fired from a short distance away.
“The flight-time of a Qassam rocket to Sderot [an Israeli town close to the Gaza border] is 14 seconds, while the time the Iron Dome needs to identify a target and fire is something like 15 seconds,” according to a military analyst quoted earlier this month in The Jerusalem Post.
However, the Iranian-backed Hizbollah is widely seen by Israel as a far graver threat. The guerrilla group has amassed thousands of rockets near Israel’s northern border and has warned it is prepared to fire them if provoked.
Boycott Targets Stars From Elvis to Elton: Forward
By Nathan Guttman
Published May 19, 2010, issue of May 28, 2010.
WASHINGTON — It was a feather in the cap of pro-boycott activists, but for Israelis, a major setback.
With battle lines drawn across concert halls and stadiums hosting rock bands, the decision by mega-star Elvis Costello to cancel his planned concerts in Israel is being viewed as a game changer.
In a statement posted on his website, Costello described his decision as a “matter of instinct and conscience.” Israel’s culture minister, Limor Livnat, responded by saying that Costello “is not worthy” of performing in Israel.
The movement for a cultural boycott of Israel has increased its activity in recent years, strategically targeting selected artists who are scheduled to perform there. Until recently, the campaign has had limited success. It failed to dissuade musicians Paul McCartney and Leonard Cohen from giving concerts in Israel, but took pride in positive responses from several authors and poets.
Numerous other stars, such as Madonna, have been unmoved by the cultural boycott campaign, performing successfully in Israel even recently.
But Costello’s action is the first open endorsement of the boycott movement by an A-list artist in protest of Israel’s policies in the occupied West Bank and of its siege of Gaza. In a detailed statement, the performer argued that he could not perform in Israel because by doing so, “it may be assumed that one has no mind for the suffering of the innocent.
“One lives in hope that music is more than mere noise, filling up idle time, whether intending to elate or lament,” Costello wrote in his statement.
He suggested that his decision had been complex and difficult. “I must believe that the audience for the coming concerts would have contained many people who question the policies of their government on settlement and deplore conditions that visit intimidation, humiliation or much worse on Palestinian civilians in the name of national security,” he wrote. “I am also keenly aware of the sensitivity of these themes in the wake of so many despicable acts of violence perpetrated in the name of liberation.
“I offer my sincere apologies for any disappointment to the advance ticket holders as well as to the organizers.”
In reaction, a music industry insider confirmed that the winds could be shifting. The music executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity in light of his ongoing business ties with artists, said that in recent months he had approached more than 15 performing artists with proposals to give concerts in Israel. None had agreed. The contracts offered high levels of compensation. He called them “extreme, big numbers that could match any other gig.”
Another successful boycott campaign was directed at poet and performing artist Gil Scott-Heron. Shortly after announcing his plan to perform in Tel Aviv on May 25, Scott-Heron, who is known for his political activism, was blasted by supporters of the boycott movement, who called on him to cancel his visit. Scott-Heron’s April 24 concert in London was disrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters, and at the end of the show, he announced the cancellation of his Tel Aviv tour.
A letter sent to Scott-Heron by more than 50 pro-boycott groups and artists praised the decision as a moral one. “You have chosen to stand on the right side of history,” the letter stated.
Scott-Heron’s progressive views and his outspoken political stands have made him a prime target of the boycott movement. Organizers explained that they have been focusing on artists who they believe could be open to the idea of culturally boycotting Israel. “Obviously, we can’t target everyone, so we single out those who we think will be more responsive and open to the issue,” said Hannah Mermelstein, a spokesperson for Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel.
But the groups are also going after other performing artists whose planned concerts in Israel are expected to sell tens of thousands of tickets.
Currently, the focus is on singer Elton John, who is scheduled to perform in Tel Aviv on June 17. A video clip circulating on the Web shows a takeoff on Elton John’s 1976 hit “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word.” The parody replaces the song’s original lyrics with a call to cancel the planned show: “Always seems to me that boycott seems to be the hardest word.”
The song criticizes Elton John for performing in South Africa during the apartheid era and claims that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is using gay tourism to Israel as part of the country’s rebranding campaign. The clip urges John not to “let Bibi use you as his gay Band-Aid.”
Other high-profile artists being targeted are Bob Dylan, who plans to give a concert in Israel at the end of May, and Joan Armatrading, who is scheduled to give two shows in the first week of June.
But in the battle over public opinion, many other names have also been thrown into the debate. These include artists who either scheduled concerts in Israel or indicated their wish to perform there, but who later withdrew without providing reasons for their decisions.
Such is the case of guitar legend Carlos Santana, who had planned a stop in Israel as part of his tour of Europe and the Middle East. Thousands of tickets to the concert, which was scheduled to take place in a large soccer stadium in Jaffa, had already been sold before Santana and his group announced that the concert had been canceled due to “unforeseen scheduling conflicts.” The Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot quoted unnamed sources from the Israeli production company organizing the concert as saying that Santana had been under “pressure from anti-Israel figures” to cancel the visit.
Another no-show is rapper Snoop Dogg, who pulled out of a planned performance in Israel due to “contractual difficulties.” It is not clear in this case whether the decision was a response to pressure to boycott Israel or the result of slow ticket sales.
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions activists, however, have included these artists in a list of musicians who declined to perform in Israel, hinting that their decision to cancel was driven by political considerations.
Mermelstein, the Adalah-NY spokesperson, said that even when artists officially cite logistical reasons for canceling their shows, it could still be a sign that they are responding to boycott calls. “Most mainstream artists are not yet making public statements in support of BDS, but the movement is becoming a consideration, and artists are thinking twice before performing there,” she said.
Some artists have come out clearly in support of the boycott and have declared their refusal to appear in Israel. These include mainly poets, authors and scholars rather than performing artists. Indian writer Arundhati Roy, British novelist John Berger, poet Adrienne Rich, director Ken Loach, and author and activist Naomi Klein are among them.
BDS activists in the United States stress that by calling on artists to boycott Israel, they are following demands from Palestinians on the ground who believe that this is an effective way of pressuring Israel. The movement also has supporters in Israel. Ofer Neiman, a Jerusalem activist, said the purpose is to show that occupation “has a price tag attached.” He rejected the notion that having leading artists come to Israel in order to express their disagreement with the government’s policies would be more effective than boycotting. “How many people have taken [rock musician] Roger Waters’ anti-occupation statements to heart when he played here in 2006? The main thing people remember is that he performed here,” said Neiman.
Despite recent successes of the boycott movement, Israelis still face a full slate of concerts and performances this summer. Elton John, Rod Stewart, Rihanna and the Pixies are among those confirmed to play in Israel. Also in the works are plans to host MTV’s annual summer party, one of the music channel’s top productions, in Tel Aviv.
Since their last concert at the Wigmore Hall was disrupted in spectacular fashion, the Israeli string players of the Jerusalem Quartet – designated “Distinguished IDF musicians” by the Israeli Army – have shown only contempt for the Palestinian call for boycott and sanctions against Israel. The Quartet insist that their music has nothing to do with politics, issuing a statement that complains of injustices against them while ignoring the far greater injustices suffered by the Palestinian people. All four quartet members, and English viola player Laurence Power who is due to join them on stage on Saturday, have failed to respond to a letter from the British Committee from the Universities of Palestine inviting them to dissociate themselves from Israel’s war crimes.
Join the protest at the Wigmore Hall at 7 pm Saturday May 22: JBIG
Tell the Jerusalem Quartet to change their tune!
Bring banners and placards.
Musicians, join us under the banner Musicians Against Israeli Apartheid!
Nearest station Bond Street. check this link for location map:
http://www.ents24.com/web/maps.php?venueid=17178
There will also be a picket of the JQ’s second concert on Sunday morning at 11.30. The timing and location are conveniently close for people to go on to the fortnightly Ahava protest in Covent Garden.
Demonstrate against Stolen goods from Stolen Land this Sunday 23rd of May 2010 from 12pm to 2pm outside AHAVA, 39 Monmouth Street, Covent Garden, London.
Join us for the 6th consecutive fortnight as we continue our campaign to stop Ahava facilitating War Crimes and the continued illegal occupation of the Palestinian people.
Ahava stock goods from Mitzpe Shalem, which is an illegal settlement (as are all Israeli settlements in the West Bank) as per UN Resolution 242. It is also unanimously considered illegal by the international community and a War Crime under Article 49 (6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention (FGC) of 1949.
Despite this, Ahava sells its goods in Covent Garden and falsely labels them as being ‘Made in Israel’. This results in innocent shoppers in Covent Garden being completely unaware of where their money is going.
Join us as we protest against this injustice and the continued oppression of the Palestinians. Please note, the demonstration is on a Sunday this time.
Check out the blog for reports, videos & photos of previous demonstrations against Ahava: http://freepalestinefortnightlydemo.wordpress.com/
Qatar’s offer to help rebuild Gaza is snubbed by Netanyahu: The Independent
Government fears that conditions of Gulf state’s deal would benefit Hamas
By Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem
Saturday, 22 May 2010
Israel has turned down an offer from Qatar for a reopening of diplomatic contacts between the two countries in return for the Gulf state being allowed to import supplies to Gaza to carry out a series of badly needed reconstruction projects.
Qatar had proposed a major thawing of relations between the two countries in which Israel would have been allowed to reopen its official interests office, shut down on the orders of the emirate during the military onslaught on Gaza in January 2009.
But in return it wanted an easing of the three-year blockade of Gaza to allow a major increase in imports of cement and construction materials to start rebuilding war-ravaged sectors of the besieged territory.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was initially attracted by the proposal in what would have been the first step since he took office towards “normalisation” in relations between his country and an Arab state that does not officially recognise it.
But senior government officials have confirmed that he and other key ministers were not prepared to accept the conditions set by Qatar’s royal family on the grounds that some of the materials might have fallen into the hands of Hamas, and used for military purposes. The decision to reject the offer by Qatar – which although still a US ally is seen by some Arab states, including Egypt, as having deepened its links with Iran – was sharply criticised in an editorial this week in the liberal daily Haaretz. The paper questioned whether the decision was not “deranged somewhat” and pointed out that Israel had been seeking “normalisation” with Arab countries.
Israel continued to allow humanitarian supplies in to Gaza and has recently admitted some severely limited shipments of construction materials for specific projects such as a sewage works for the northern strip and the Al Quds Hospital, which was badly damaged by white phosphorus bombardment during the offensive.
But it has continued to bar the import and export of commercial goods, as well as cement and other construction goods for the task of reconstructing Gaza – including housing and many of its most important factories destroyed in the war – for which the international community earmarked more than $5bn in 2009.
Israel told European diplomats earlier this week that its navy planned to halt an attempt by pro-Palestinian activists to beat the blockade next week by sending a flotilla of three cargo ships and five passenger vessels carrying supplies to Gaza.
The Haaretz editorial said: “The danger that a few tons of concrete bolster Hamas’s military power or damage Egypt’s status is not equivalent to the huge diplomatic gains Israel stands to make by restoring relations with Qatar. It is very important that a state maintaining close ties with Iran and Syria is prepared to renew relations with Israel … When an Arab state is willing to help rebuild Gaza, and in so doing contribute to rehabilitating Israel’s status in the world, it doesn’t take much to understand the importance of the opportunity.”
While saying that the conditions sought by Hamas had been turned down on the grounds that materials might be used by them for military purposes, a government official was unable to confirm a report in the same paper that the rejection stemmed in large part from Egyptian opposition. Relations between Egypt and Qatar are tense partly because of criticisms of Cairo on the Doha-based satellite channel Al Jazeera and the emirate’s perceived closeness to Iran.
But while the report quoted Egyptian sources as saying that its opposition to the Qatar proposal had been co-ordinated with Israel and the international “Quartet” of the US, EU, Russia and the UN, a senior Western diplomat said this week he was unaware of any international consultations on the issue.
Israeli soldiers yesterday killed two Palestinians who had infiltrated the country from southern Gaza. The military said both were militants and had exchanged fire with troops near the Israeli border community of Nirim.
Israel spurned Qatar’s Gaza offer after Egypt protest: Haaretz
Mubarak government advised Israel to spurn Qatari proposal to restore ties in return for Gaza reconstruction role.
By Zvi Bar’el
Israel rejected a Qatari proposal by the Persian Gulf emirate to carry out rehabilitation work in the Gaza Strip in exchange for renewing diplomatic relations with Israel after Egypt made it clear that it would find such a deal “difficult to digest”.
According to Egyptian sources, Israel provided Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak with an outline of Qatar’s proposal, which would allow it to bring construction materials and other goods into the Strip.
The Qataris would have undertaken reconstruction of infrastructure and earned an Israeli declaration recognizing Qatar’s important status in the Middle East. In exchange, the Israeli diplomatic mission the Qataris closed during Operation Cast Lead would reopen.
Israel’s rejection of the plan, it seems, resulted largely from Egyptian opposition.
An Egyptian source said his country was acting in coordination with Israel and the Quartet (the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia ). The source added: “Egypt has barred free passage of goods across its border into Gaza, despite criticism from other Arab countries and from the Egyptian public, and it would be inappropriate for Israel, in an effort to serve its own interests “to harm these agreements and put Egypt in an impossible position of being the only party blocking the passage of goods into Gaza.”
Relations between Qatar and Egypt are tense, in part because of the sharp criticism voiced on Al Jazeera of Egypt and its Gaza policy. The TV station is owned by the emirate’s ruling family. Qatar has been pursing its own independent foreign policy. It is seen in Egypt as an Iranian ally acting contrary to Arab interests. It is also, however, an American ally.
Assad: Israel sought direct negotiations
Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar Assad has disclosed that President Shimon Peres sent him a proposal via Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for direct negotiations on condition the Syrians break their ties with Iran and rejectionist organizations such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Assad said Israel would not commit to withdrawing from the Golan Heights.
Assad, in a meeting with Arab intellectuals in Damascus, said the proposal showed Israel was not interested in peace. He was quoted as saying Syria would not give up its claim to the “smallest portion” of the Golan Heights. Assad also told his audience that Syra had no intention of cutting ties with Iran. He condemned those who “have decided to eliminate the option of armed opposition and have become prisoner to the option of peace when they should be ready for both options [at the same time].”
Commentators see his remarks as being directed primarily at the Palestinian Authority but also hinting at the peace treaties Egypt and Jordan signed with Israel. Assad was quoted as saying opposition is designed “to achieve an honorable peace and not war for war’s sake.”
The Syrian president condemned pressure on Hamas, apparently from Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which, he said, was designed to push the organization to adopt positions contrary to its own wishes.
As for Syria’s role should Israel attack Lebanon, Assad commented with ridicule that “we have to worry when Israel is silent and not when it makes threats.” Assad met yesterday with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri in advance of the Lebanese leader’s upcoming trip to Washington. According to Lebanese sources, Assad is convinced the United States will post an ambassador to Damascus shortly.
Cost of collaborating with Israel: Al Jazeera TV
By Giles Trendle
Lebanese refugees wait to enter Israel after the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon [GALLO/GETTY]
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from south Lebanon.
Recalling that occupation, this article examines the false promises made to the head of the South Lebanon Army, a former Lebanese militia allied to Israel.
Throughout the 1990s there were two Lebanese militias that remained armed and active, even though the Lebanese civil war had ended in 1990.
One was the Hezbollah movement, which still operates to this day. The other was the South Lebanon Army (SLA).
On November 12, 1993, seven years before Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon, I interviewed General Antoine Lahd, the commander of the SLA – a militia that was armed, trained and financed by Israel.
Explosive frontline
The SLA, along with Israeli troops, controlled what they called the ‘security zone’ in south Lebanon.
To get to the interview, I needed to travel about 100km from Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, to Lahd’s home in Marjeyoun, a town in south Lebanon.
Lahd, right, betrayed no hint of fear about being abandoned by Israel
The journey involved crossing what was back then – and at times still is – the most explosive frontline in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The journey took me via Nabatiyeh, just north of the Litani river, and on down the road to the small village of Kfar Tebnit, which was the area’s main entry and exit point to and from the ‘security zone’.
Israel set up the ‘security zone’ in southern Lebanon with the declared aim of using it as a buffer strip to protect Israel’s northern border from attacks by fighters.
The zone ranged from 8km to 20km deep inside Lebanese territory.
It was established in 1985 following the evacuation of Israeli troops from parts of south Lebanon, which Israel had occupied since 1978 when it first invaded the country to strike at the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).
Mine field
Back in 1978, Israel’s target in south Lebanon had been Palestinian fighters.
But by the time the ‘security zone’ was set up, the biggest threat to Israel came from Lebanon’s Shia.
At the village of Kfar Tebnit, I walked 100 metres past the last Lebanese army checkpoint to reach the entry point into the ‘security zone’.
Those 100 metres marked the transition from territory under the control of the Lebanese government to the Israeli-occupied zone.
The border of the ‘security zone’ was marked by earth and concrete ramparts at the crossing point, as well as coils of barbed wire, a mine field and plain-clothed SLA militiamen armed with machine guns.
It was early morning and the border gate had just opened.
A stream of people were already coming and going: a Druze elder, a veiled Shia mother and her children, a Christian family.
All had to present a yellow identification paper, printed in both Arabic and Hebrew, to an SLA official in order to enter or leave the zone.
With my journalist credentials checked, I passed through the security gate and was met by a driver on the other side.
We set off for Marjeyoun, driving along a road that zig-zagged down a mountain-side.
The crusader-built Beaufort Castle could be seen perched high above.
Foreign occupation
By 1993 this region was the theatre for an ongoing armed operation carried out by Hezbollah against foreign occupation and local collaboration.
A road sign attested to the effectiveness of Hezbollah’s operations
The fighters attacked the Israeli and SLA positions in the ‘security zone’.
Their main aim was to end the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon and each year they killed dozens of Israeli soldiers.
Along the road, a sign dated “22nd April 1993” in Hebrew, attested to the effectiveness of their operations.
The sign had been pitched in the soil embankment beside the road.
The driver explained that it marked the date and the spot where two SLA militiamen had been killed by a roadside bomb detonated by fighters. The sign was intended to keep Israeli patrols alert.
Even back then, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were a deadly form of warfare against occupying forces and their allies.
The same tactic would be used with deadly effect years later against US and British troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Arriving in Marjeyoun, life seemed normal enough – despite an Israeli armoured troop carrier rumbling through the high street.
A statue of Saad Haddad, the former Lebanese army officer who had formed the SLA, had pride of place in the town centre.
Haddad had died of cancer in 1984 and Lahd had taken over.
Israel’s ‘sand bags’
The SLA were pejoratively described by most Lebanese as the ‘sand bags of Israel’ – they manned the zone’s most dangerous and exposed outposts and suffered far higher losses than the Israelis over the years.
The SLA also ran the notorious al-Khiam prison, where hundreds of Lebanese prisoners were held in terrible conditions, mostly without charge or trial.
Although Lahd was a Maronite Christian, the militia he commanded was made up mostly of Shia Muslims.
Enrolment in the militia was often mandatory for residents in the area.
As an incentive, it offered a higher-than-average salary with the added benefit of family members being allowed to work in Israel.
Lahd’s home – where I was to meet him – was situated within a compound housing Israel’s military headquarters in south Lebanon.
A star of David flag flew over the bunker-like Israeli HQ.
The compound was a smaller version of the latter-day ‘green zone’ in Iraq – the base of US forces in Iraq and the seat of the Iraqi parliament.
Glass houses
Once we sat down, Lahd, joined by aide Cesar Sakr, began to describe the task of providing security and stability for the 200,000 people living within the ‘security zone’.
Throughout the interview, he stressed the normalcy of life there.
He emphasised this point by drawing my attention to the room we were sitting in – a glass-walled conservatory.
“Which other Lebanese leader can live in a glasshouse?” he asked with a smile.
I refrained from pointing out that his glasshouse had not protected him when several years earlier, in 1988, a young woman named Soha Bechara had gained entry to his house and shot him twice in the chest.
The assassination attempt had left one of his arms paralysed.
Lahd appeared comfortable and self-assured. When asked what would happen to him and his men if, and when, the Israelis withdrew and the ‘security zone’ returned to Beirut’s authority, he smiled in a relaxed way and answered:
“There is an agreement between Israel and the SLA that they [the Israelis] will not withdraw from here before the establishment of peace and a solution has been found for the SLA and the people of the area.”
He continued: “The Israeli prime minister [Yitzak Rabin] stated publicly that among the conditions for peace are the disarmament of Hezbollah, the stopping of all military operations, security on both sides of the border and a solution for the SLA.”
He clarified that this “solution” meant integrating the SLA militiamen into Lebanon’s regular army.
Isolated and abandoned
Lahd seemed confident that the fate of the SLA – viewed by most Lebanese as traitors – would be resolved in a comprehensive peace deal on which the Israelis would insist.
He placed full faith in the Israelis. He had little option, since he enjoyed zero political credibility among most Lebanese and was therefore left isolated and with nowhere to run when he was eventually abandoned by Israel.
During the interview, his calm demeanour betrayed no hint of fear about any such abandonment.
At that time, in 1993, the prospect of an Israeli withdrawal seemed remote.
But in subsequent years, the continuous casualty rate of Israeli soldiers began to sap the support of the Israeli public for the continued occupation of south Lebanon.
In 1999, Ehud Barak was elected prime minister in Israel. He had run on a campaign promise to withdraw Israeli troops from south Lebanon. The following year, he carried out his promise.
In the end, the fate of Lahd and his men was dictated more by the Israeli public than the assurances of Israel’s former leader.
Israel’s withdrawal in May 2000 was swift and sudden. It caught everyone by surprise – including Lahd and his men.
The film A New Dawn for South Lebanon shows how the SLA was given no advance warning of the exact date of the withdrawal.
Lahd was actually abroad on holiday when it began and had to rush back to Lebanon.
One scene in the film shows Lahd being confronted by a group of his officers, furious at the growing realisation that Israel was abandoning them.
Looking stunned and speechless, Lahd had no answers for his men. Retreating into his jeep he is driven off – to Israel where he was to flee.
Amnesty debate
The bloodbath that many feared would follow an Israeli withdrawal did not materialise.
A statue of Saad Haddad was dragged through the streets
Hezbollah ordered its fighters and supporters not to engage in any revenge attacks.
Many SLA officers and their families fled to Israel.
Those who remained were arrested and handed over to the Lebanese state.
Most were imprisoned and, over time, released.
The statue of Saad Haddad in Marjeyoun was brought down and dragged through the streets – a symbol of the collapse of the SLA.
Lahd’s current whereabouts is unclear, although there are reports that he opened a restaurant in Tel Aviv.
There has been debate in Lebanon’s parliament in recent years about a general amnesty law for all crimes committed prior to April 27, 2005 – the date marking the final pull-out of Syrian forces from Lebanon.
If passed, the amnesty would include charges of treason against Lahd.
But after years of collaborating with Israel, any amnesty for Lahd may be too much for some Lebanese to accept.
Freedom Flotilla to take aid to Gaza: CounterFire
THURSDAY, 20 MAY 2010
Ismail Patel, Chair of human rights NGO Friends of Al Aqsa is to join the Gaza Freedom Flotilla departing this month. He will be joined by 600 fellow passengers and activists who will be leaving from over 40 different countries globally, including Greece, Ireland and Turkey.
The flotilla will be composed of three main cargo ships, loaded with 5000 tons of reconstruction materials, school supplies and medical equipment, in addition to five passenger ships.
The initiative is aimed at bringing desperately needed supplies to the besieged Gaza Strip, which has been under a suffocating blockade for 2 years and 11 months.
Activists on board view this to be an incredibly important voyage intended to remind world powers that the resounding silence from the international community in the face of Israel’s blatant violations, and sheer lack of consideration for human rights is deafening.
Despite urgent cries for an end to the blockade by international aid agencies and the UN, the calls continue to be ignored.
A BBC report from April 2010 revealed the apparent absurdity of the Israeli blockade. Canned tuna is allowed into the strip, though canned fruit is prohibited. Jam is also prohibited, as is coriander.
The basis of the list therefore appears ridiculous to many. Furthermore, following the Gaza offensive in December 2008 which caused the deaths of 1,400 Palestinians and resulted in the destruction of close to 3,500 homes and 280 factories, concrete and construction materials have not been allowed into the strip.
Such measure have meant that much of the destruction caused as a result of the illegal attack remains as it was, since rebuilding the infrastructure of the tiny strip has been disallowed by Israel. The flotilla therefore wishes to challenge this and bring an end to such measures.
Israel began the blockade in 2007 when Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip. Hamas were the party that was democratically elected by the people of Gaza in January 2006, in elections which were widely commended as being even-handed. However, as the democratic choice of the people of Gaza was at odds with that of certain nations, the party was blacklisted and the economic blockade and strangulation began.
Regardless of the political state of affairs, it is the people who will undoubtedly suffer as a result of economic restrictions. Many of the activists on board, aside from their political campaigning and lobbying, feel a personal need to be part of the flotilla. Ismail Patel stated:
“We must challenge the status quo that has been allowed to continue for nearly 3 years where Gaza is concerned. I personally feel that I must do more than the campaigning we have worked so hard on during this time, and this Flotilla gives each activist the opportunity to go to Gaza in person and remind the people there that we do care about their plight and we are doing all that we can to bring this horrendous situation to an end.”
As activists around the world continue to make their preparation before setting out on the risky journey, the Israeli Navy too are reportedly preparing to ward off the flotilla and prevent its entry into the Gaza Strip. Though Israel controls Gaza’s waters, which frequently causes immense difficulties for Palestinian fishermen, there are no legal reasons for the flotilla to be prevented from entering.
However, Israel has in the past imposed great difficulties on activists trying to break the siege through various means such as possible arrest, imprisonment and deportation. The activists are aware of the dangers, but the treatment and lack of respect from Israel simply acts as further motivation for them to continue to work for an end to the blockade and the occupation as a whole.
Ismail Patel is Chair of human rights NGO Friends of Al Aqsa.
Abbas: Gaps remain in land swap deal with Israel: Haaretz
Responding to reports he offered to trade more land than in the past, PA President only says no agreement has been reached on the amount of land to be traded.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday that he is ready to swap some land with Israel but that gaps remain on how much territory is to be traded,
Abbas spoke on Saturday after participating in two rounds of indirect, U.S.-mediated peace talks with Israel.
Abbas said the first round dealt with borders and security arrangements between Israel and a Palestinian state. He said Israel asked a series of questions the Palestinians are now preparing to answer.