The Latest from Mondoweiss for 11/11/2010

 

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Here are the headlines from Mondoweiss for 11/11/2010: U.S. Justice Department prepares for the ominous expansion of law prohibiting 'material support' for terrorism Bil'in invaded for the fourth time in three days Why I disrupted Bibi's speech – A response to Ben Sales at New Voices Thinking of Rachel Corrie during the olive harvest in the Galilee Israel carried out 35 attacks against Palestinians in East Jerusalem during October The Mavi Marmara is set to hit the big screen in Turkey My meeting with Henry Waxman NYT implies Muslims are the hostile 'other' The fight has broken out inside the Jewish family You'd have to give Chris Matthews sodium pentathol to find out why we invaded Iraq U.S. Justice Department prepares for the ominous expansion of law prohibiting 'material support' for terrorism Nov 10, 2010 07:07 pm | Michael Deutsch In late September the FBI carried out a series of raids of homes and anti-war offices of public activists in Minneapolis and Chicago. Following the raids the Obama Justice Department subpoenaed 14 activists to a grand jury in Chicago and also subpoenaed the files of several anti-war and community organizations. In carrying out these repressive actions, the Justice department was taking its lead from the Supreme Court's 6-3 opinion last June in Holder v. the Humanitarian Law Project which decided that non-violent First Amendment speech and advocacy "coordinated with" or "under the direction of" a foreign group listed by the Secretary of State as "terrorist" was a crime. The search warrants and grand jury subpoenas make it quite clear that the federal prosecutors are intent on accusing public non-violent political organizers, many affiliated with Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), of providing "material support," through their public advocacy, for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The Secretary of State has determined that both the PLFP and the FARC "threaten US national security, foreign policy or economic interests," a finding not reviewable by the Courts, and listed both groups as foreign terrorist organizations (FTO). In 1996, Congress made it a crime then punishable by 10 years, later increased to 15 years, to anyone in the U.S. who provides "material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization or attempts or conspires to do so." The present statute defines "material support or resources" as: any property, tangible or intangible, or service, including currency or monetary instruments or financial services, lodging training, expert advice or assistance, safe houses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel and transportation except medicine or religious materials. In the Humanitarian Law Project case, human rights workers wanted to teach members of the Kurdistan PKK, which seeks an independent Kurdish state, and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which sought an independent state in Sri Lanka, how to use humanitarian and international law to peacefully resolve disputes, and to obtain relief from the United Nations and other international bodies for human rights abuses by the governments of Turkey and Sri Lanka. Both organizations were designated as FTOs by the Secretary of State in a closed hearing, in which the evidence is heard secretly. Despite the non-violent, peacemaking goal of this speech and training, the majority of the Supreme Court nonetheless interpreted the law to make such conduct a crime. Finding a whole new exception to the First Amendment, the Court decided that any support, even if it involves non-violent efforts towards peace, is illegal under the law since it "frees up other resources within the organization that may be put to violent ends," and also helps lend "legitimacy" to foreign terrorist groups. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Roberts, despite the lack of any evidence, further opined that the FTO, could use the human rights law to "intimidate, harass or destruct" its adversaries, and that even peace talks themselves could be used as a cover to re-arm for further attacks. Thus, the Court's opinion criminalizes efforts by independent groups to work for peace if they in anyway cooperate or coordinate with designated FTOs. The Court distinguishes what it refers to "independent advocacy" which it finds is not prohibited by the statute, from "advocacy performed in coordination with, or at the direction of, a foreign terrorist organization, which is for the first time found to be a crime under the statute. The exact line as to where independent advocacy becomes impermissible coordination is left open and vague. Seizing on this overbroad definition of "material support," the U.S. government is now moving on political groups and activists who are clearly exercising fundamental First Amendment rights in vocally opposing the government's branding of foreign liberation movements as terrorist and support their struggles against U.S. backed repressive regimes and illegal occupations. Under the new definition of "material support," the efforts of President Jimmy Carter to monitor the elections in Lebanon and coordinate with the political parties there including the designated FTO, Hezbollah, could well be prosecuted as a crime. Similarly, the publication of op-ed articles by FTO spokesmen from Hamas or other designated groups by the New York Times or Washington Post, or the filing by human rights attorneys of amicus briefs arguing against a group's terrorist designation or the statute itself could also now be prosecuted. Of course, the first targets of this draconian expansion of the material support law will not be a former president or the establishment media, but members of a Marxist organization and vocal opponents of the governments of Israel and Colombia and the U.S. policies supporting these repressive governments. President Obama in his foreword to the recent autobiography of Nelson Mandela, Conversations with Myself, wrote that "Mandela's sacrifice was so great that it called upon people everywhere to do what they could on behalf of human progress. [and] . . . [t]he the first time I became politically active was during my college years, when I joined a campaign on behalf of divestment, and the effort to end apartheid in South Africa." At the time of Mr. Obama's First Amendment advocacy, Mr. Mandela and his organization the African National Congress (ANC) were denounced as terrorist by the U.S. government. The "material support" law, if in effect back then, would have opened Mr. Obama up to potential criminal prosecution. It is ironic, and the height of hypocrisy, that this same man who speaks with such reverence for Mr. Mandela and recalls his own support for the struggle against apartheid, now allows the Justice Department under his command to criminalize similar First Amendment advocacy against Israeli apartheid and repressive foreign governments. To provide financial support for the legal expenses those under attack contact: tax deductible checks can be sent to the National Lawyers Guild Foundation. c/o National Lawyers Guild, 132 Nassau St. Room 922, New York, N.Y. 10038 Michael Deutsch is a lawyer with the People's Law Office in Chicago and has been representing political activists and victims of government repression for the past 40 years. Comment on this article > Bil'in invaded for the fourth time in three days Nov 10, 2010 03:18 pm | Hamde Abu Rahme (Photo: Hamde Abu Rahme) The following is an update to a story we posted yesterday: Today, November 10th, the village of Bi'lin was raided again. The Israeli Army entered at around 8 pm for the second time today. In the morning, at around 3.00 am, they entered the village with five jeeps and searched Ashraf al-Khatib's home. The soldiers also broke down the door of the neighbor's house, and went in. However, they were not able to find who they were looking for in either of the houses. When people from the village arrived, the 20 soldiers pointed their guns directly in the face of the people, and acted very aggressively. They also broke down the door of al-Khatib's house when they entered. Later, the same night, the army returned to the village, about 9 pm. Soldiers entered al-Khatib's house again, also this time failing to find him there. The soldiers then took off and left the village, for the second time that evening. These two raids make it a total of four raids over the last three days. Ashraf al-Khatib is obviously a target these days. Earlier today, al-Khatib received a phone call from a captain in the Israeli intelligence (Shabak/Shin Bet), demanding to see him in Ofer Military Prison. It was made clear that until he shows up for interrogation the army will come to his house frequently. This is a well known tactic used by Israel, to terrorize the village and the families involved to make life unbearable for them. (Photo: Hamde Abu Rahme)   Comment on this article > Why I disrupted Bibi's speech – A response to Ben Sales at New Voices Nov 10, 2010 02:42 pm | Matthew Taylor Taylor protesting Netanyahu in New Orleans. Ben Sales, editor of New Voices, posted a lengthy critique of the protesters who disrupted Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at the General Assembly. Here's my response, which I submitted as a comment to his blog: As one of the protesters who was dragged out - I was chanting "The Occupation Delegitimizes Israel" - I'd like to respond to a few of your remarks, and shed light on my motivations. (I will not attempt to speak for JVP, my fellow protesters who interrupted Netanyahu, or the dozen young Jewish activists who worked to make it possible). It seems to me that Israel is on a suicidal course to impending self-destruction, a catastrophic road that will lead to ruin for both the Palestinian people and the Jewish people. Israel's institutionally insane, greedy policies of land theft, settlement construction, house demolitions, settler-only roads, and so on are not only oppressing the Palestinian people in a horrific manner, these policies are also causing hatred of both Israel and of the Jewish people. A friend of mine who served many years in the IDF said to me, "the single greatest threat to the Jewish people today is the occupation." Not Iran. Not the so-called "delegitimizers." The occupation. I chose to participate in the action at Netanyahu's speech because I see very few options today to get this vital message out to both Jews and to the world. As you well know, the American Jewish Establishment (see Beinart's article in the New York Review of Books) has created a McCarthy-like environment in which any real dissent against Israel's policies is silenced in extremist fashion. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have been called a "self-hating Jew" for the simple fact that I believe major Israeli policy change is in the best interest of the the Israeli people and the Palestinian people. Ironically, I believe that it is those who defend Israel reactively regardless of its policies, and who tar and feather people like me with these despicable labels, are the ones who put the Jewish people at risk by enabling Israel's suicidal and oppressive policies. So anyway, where are we supposed to speak? There is no space for us. The General Assembly had zero space for our message. If we'd proposed a workshop entitled, "How are the occupation, settlements, house demolitions, and settler-only roads delegitimizing Israel?" I can assure you the GA leadership would never have approved it. The GA is a space for 100% pro-Israel cheerleading and pro-Israel brainwashing propaganda and nothing else. At the GA, I had a number of casual conversations with attendees and came to the belief that those drawn to the GA are largely those who have yet to seriously question the "Israel: Right or wrong" echo chamber effect created by American Jewish Leadership. If one were to attempt to discern the views of young Jews about Israel solely from a survey of GA attendees, one might believe that young Jews are uncritically supportive of Israel, and Peter Beinart was wrong. But from my conversations in the wider world, I believe the GA is not at all representative of the young Jews broadly, and that the GA attendance skewed very right wing. Of course it did -- do you think the GA's organizers would send invitations to the numerous young Jews, nationwide, who are members of Students for Justice in Palestine, and who advocate for various forms of boycott, divestment, and sanctions? And even among the right wing GA attendees, the admirers of Bibi who I spoke to, I heard a lot of pain and struggle with the dissonance. One self-described Republican Hillelnik told me something like, "Israel is absolutely an apartheid state - come on, it's obvious, of course it is - but I would never admit that in a public discussion about Israel, because I don't want people to think Israel is so bad." Another young Jewish college student told me that while she loves Bibi, she hates what Israel is doing to the Palestinians in the West Bank, and she doesn't know how to reconcile those feelings. These kinds of unsettling internal contradictions, privately held on the young right, provide a potential for more awakenings and more young Jews to join the ever growing tidal wave of young Jewish moral dissent that is heading for major confrontation with the paranoid, desperate, and deeply misguided American Jewish Establishment. When I stood to unfurl my banner and chant my slogan, my first goal was to get a message out to the larger world. It is important to me to be in solidarity with my Israeli and Palestinian brothers and sisters who are engaged in nonviolent struggle against the crimes of the occupation every single day in Palestine (for example, Bil'in), and getting this dissent into the media I think is ultimately helpful to the cause of pressuring Israel to change. Given the media firestorm that ensued, I believe this tactic was successful. As far as persuading people in the room -- this was a secondary goal. Did we win hearts and minds? I think many people felt alienated by what we did. I saw one young woman crying, she was so upset that her beloved Bibi's speech had been disrupted. I felt genuinely sad about that and wished I could have done something to help her with her pain. But the truth is downright painful and when you love a family member you have to be honest with them. What serves an alcoholic more - smiling while they brag about their plans to go to the bar with your money to get drunk, or performing an intervention and telling them in no uncertain terms they have to get into rehab? Israeli columnist Gideon Levy has called Israel an alcoholic who is drunk on settlement expansion and colonization of the West Bank. I believe U.S. Jews must perform an "intervention," cut off Israel's supply of guns and bombs and bulldozers that it uses to confiscate Palestinian land, and get Israel into a rehab program of equality, peace, coexistence. What we did, I think, was one part of that "intervention." We got a truthful message out in the face of extreme, highly self-deluded power. And given the fact that a dialogue ensued among Jews about our message on this and other sites, and that we got so much media attention, I think the tactic was effective. Boycott, divestment, and sanctions is another part of the nonviolent intervention to persuade Israel to change. As for a positive vision, I have one word for you: Equality. Israel from its founding has been based on inequality, and inequality has been growing more over the years. I support any political program based on equality between Israelis and Palestinians, and I oppose any political program based on inequality. There are many different ways the Israel/Palestine conflict can be addressed based on equality. You can have a two state solution based on equality, a one state solution based on equality, a six state solution based on equality (Johan Galtung's proposal for a Middle East Community, modeled after the early versions of the EU). Today in Israel, we have a one state solution based on extreme inequality and extreme oppression. Our voices at Bibi's speech called for change, and I stand by our actions. P.S. - Last time I checked, JVP does not advocate for one state or two state, but for international law, human rights, and equality. Check the website, the position is clearly stated. For the peace that can only come from True Equality, Matthew Comment on this article > Thinking of Rachel Corrie during the olive harvest in the Galilee Nov 10, 2010 02:40 pm | Hatim Kanaaneh It is olive gathering season and people in Arrabeh are at it again. This year the crop is good. A friend from Jerusalem had asked us for two jerry cans of fresh olive oil direct from the press. Raja Shehadeh was scheduled to have a book launch in Jerusalem and we decided to kill two birds. That morning, the next session of the Rachel Corrie case was being held in Haifa. We loaded the olive oil and headed to Haifa to start the day with this third bird. Knowing our friends in Jerusalem to be olive oil connoisseurs we loaded the new fifty-liter Italian-made stainless steel special container that we had purchased for our own use in the trunk of the car and headed out for a day of adventure and Palestinian camaraderie. But there was a hitch: how much hassle will the security guards at the entrance to the parking area under the Haifa court building give us? Will they insist on opening our overnight bags? How alarming will the empty container seem to them? Will they insist on verifying the nature of the liquid contents of the two jerry cans? Will they alert the special explosive experts in the Haifa police department? Will they hold me till the end of the proceedings? Will I miss the Corrie case session altogether? Might chemical analysis of the oil reveal traces of fertilizer, perhaps the explosive type? And what if the sneaky farmer who sold me the olive oil at the press had tampered with the olive oil? Recently there has been some friction between the youth of our two clans in the village. What if he decided to take revenge on me? And I had let him load the two oil containers in the trunk of my car in my absence. Who knows what he could have thrown in the trunk while I was busy sipping coffee with the press owner and talking nonsense about the year's olive crop? I worried myself sick. That sneaky son of a bitch! It was already too late; I had already arrived at the entrance to the underground parking area. In my anxious trembling I almost drove over the toes of the gate attendant sitting on his chair. He extended his arm out to stop me, made an attempt to stand up, but then put his hand on his back with a pained look on his face and motioned me to proceed. Wow! There is little that an Arabic saying didn't cover: "God kills a big camel to feed a lame jackal." He, in His wisdom had afflicted a good Jew with a painful back condition to save an Arab the trouble of inspection. It was a good omen for the day. I found a parking space in the center area of level minus-two but I decided to skip it acting on a hunch. I circled the entire building three times thus descending to the bottom floor. I chose the furthest corner where I backed into a stall till my fender touched the wall. That way no one can pass behind my Subaru Outback and notice the suspicious load visible through the glass of the backdoor. The location also allayed my vague sense of insecurity: should any thing happen while I attended the court on the sixth floor, the damage would be most unlikely to reach me all the way from the depth of the far corner of minus-five. I walked across to the elevator feeling rather pleased with my level of smarts. As we emerged at ground level the day looked particularly bright. I gave my wife a tight hug. Even the security guards at the gate to the court complex seemed exceptionally kind. The first one motioned me through without a question. The second man did not sound as if he were mocking me with the standard question of "Do you carry a weapon on you? Any knife, scissors, fingernail clippers?" As I emptied my pockets of their contents of coins, car keys, mobile phone and wallet and walked through the metal detector, it occurred to me that there must be an easier way to confirm my innocence. So many others bypass the checkup by showing a certain certificate or a tag around their neck verifying their identity as lawyers, judges, or security people. Perhaps I should show them my card and explain how careful I had been in parking my car with its suspicious cargo. Perhaps that will help. But then I recalled an American senior citizen friend of mine who had happened to show her visiting card to inspectors upon arrival at the Tel-Aviv airport. She had already given them my address. That and the logo on her card from her previous position with the March of Dimes for the disabled which read "We shall overcome," cost her a few hours of explaining as to what she was planning to overcome while visiting a Palestinian village in Galilee. I didn't toy with the idea of showing them my card for too long. The voluntary gesture together with the address would have sufficed to make somebody suspicious. I kept the entertaining possibilities to my self, collected my belongings as they emerged from the x-ray machine and made it to the bathroom of the café on the ground floor; I always get an urge to evacuate when scared. It is physiologic. We arrived late as is my usual deliberate timing. (This is one more of my secret code messages to the world announcing my independence and uniqueness: I will not be beholden to European standards of punctuality! Rebellion knows no limits.) In court it was the same circus act as before: Husain Abu-Husain trying to force another mystery witness testifying behind a screen to jump through ignited hoops of logic and memory to no avail. Except that the atmosphere in court was more relaxed, almost jovial. For one thing the room was larger than before with more than double the space for audience. The Judge seemed to be in a tranquil mood. It could have been because of the seeming more elevated position of his seat in this room. In the two weeks since he had performed for us last he had grown a white beard that came to a point at its lower end giving him a sort of grandfatherly agreeable look with a faint hint of Mephisto-like mischief. He had a kindly twinkle in his darting blue eyes. Three times he descended from his elevated perch to help the witness orient himself and find his D-9's position relative to other items on a photograph he was shown. This gesture, I should admit, uplifted my spirit, not unlike tales of the great royalty of old mixing with their subjects or of Greek deities consorting with earthly devotees. The judge's kind condescension knew no limits: At one point, when the lawyer questioned the witness's inability to distinguish Rachel Corrie from local Palestinians, the judge entered the fray arguing that some Palestinians can be as light-skinned (read: pretty) as Americans. A subdued titter went through the court in appreciation of the cross-cultural compliment. The court session closed early; another witness had not shown up. A new date was set and we were on our way to Jerusalem: before leaving Haifa we stopped at Moshe's Falafel and Shawarma joint, manned by Arabs and frequented by Asian foreign workers. In Jerusalem, to reach our destination we drove along the outskirts of Mea Sha'arim, the neighborhood of Ultra-Orthodox Jews. The street was crowded with pedestrians of all ages, all with the outwardly display of their religious identity. We delivered the consignment of olive oil to its destination and headed to The Swedish Christian Study Center at Jaffa Gate to listen to Raja Shehadeh read from his new book, A Rift in Time, retracing the wanderings of his great-great uncle in this corner of the Ottoman empire. In this part of the old city soldiers and policemen on duty were outnumbered only by Christian nuns and monks. Later we ate fish and slept well. The next morning we took our leave from our friends, visited the Educational Book Store on Saladin Street then walked around Arab East Jerusalem. It was Friday high noon and people of all ages were streaming to Al-Aqsa Mosque for the weekly group prayer. I could hardly believe my eyes: These were the very same folks I had seen the day before at Jaffa Gate and in Mea Sha'arim with the very same hurried and purposeful stride of conviction and commitment. Except that their whiskers were trimmed differently and their women were enveloped in alternative wrappings. My Christian wife and I, a Moslem, both secular, felt we didn't belong; we were triply excluded and insecure. What if one group or the other took umbrage at my wife's bare arms? "Let us get the hell back to Galilee," I said in my manliest gruff voice. My wife sought to deflate my contentious ego. She reminded me of our daily reality: "Why? The Galilee lacks bearded men and draped beauties? Or did you forget the Chief Rabbi of Safad and his fatwa against renting rooms to Arab students?" "You are right. Galilee is next only to Jerusalem in holiness." "And it will get holier as time goes on. Judaizing Galilee will bring us more of what you are running away from in Jerusalem. It is not Moslems versus Jews only. The Christians are into it to their necks with moral and financial support from all the fundamentalists in Texas and DC." "Don't let the religious veneer fool you. You know it is a fight over land and who tells whom how and where to live and when to breathe." Still, we headed home to Galilee. As we neared Arrabeh we remembered that our nephew's family had begun gathering our olive crop of the year. We stopped in the field, a mere show of solidarity. My two dozen trees came down to me from my late father, one fifth of his field that had been in the family for centuries. As we were hanging around shooting the breeze with our relatives and milking away the ample fruit supply from the laden branches, a strange figure flitted across the field. It was an Orthodox Jewish young man. He obviously was heading to one of the hilltop settlements established by Sharon to guard against me and my people "stealing state lands." He made as if he did not notice us. His fellow settlers in the Occupied Territories are reported to be active on daily basis driving Palestinians from their olive fields and confiscating their produce, right under the watchful eye of the IDF. How long it would be, I wondered, before he and his fellow settlers will start taking action against me, the usurper of their god-given Galilee holy land? Would his settlement decide one day to clear my field for their development needs? Would they call in the Army D-9s? Will I dare to put on a bright orange jacket, carry a bullhorn and challenge the Caterpillars like Rachel did? Dr. Hatim Kanaaneh is a Palestinian doctor who has worked for over 35 years to bring medical care to Palestinians in Galilee, against a culture of anti-Arab discrimination. He is the author of the book A Doctor in Galilee: The Life and Struggle of a Palestinian in Israel. This post originally appeared on his blog A Doctor in Galilee and a previous reports from the Corrie trial for Mondoweiss can be found here and here.   Comment on this article > Israel carried out 35 attacks against Palestinians in East Jerusalem during October Nov 10, 2010 12:06 pm | Seham And other news from Today in Palestine: Settlers/ Land, Property, Resource Theft & Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing Abbas seeks urgent Security Council meeting over East Jerusalem construction Israel vows to continue East Jerusalem construction, despite row with U.S.; Netanyahu says Israel has 'never accepted restrictions' on building in Jerusalem, adding that there is 'no connection' between peace process and development in the capital. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/abbas-seeks-urgent-security-council-meeting-over-east-jerusalem-construction-1.324007 U.S. responds to Netanyahu: Settlements clearly linked to peace process Netanyahu says building in Jerusalem hasn't affected the peace process in 40 years in response to U.S. disappointment with Israel's plan to build 1,300 homes in E. Jerusalem. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-responds-to-netanyahu-settlements-clearly-linked-to-peace-process-1.323844?localLinksEnabled=false Netanyahu to Obama: Jerusalem is not a settlement PM says building in Jerusalem hasn't affected the peace process in 40 years; Obama calls Israel's East Jerusalem building plans 'unhelpful' to peace efforts. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-to-obama-jerusalem-is-not-a-settlement-1.323825?localLinksEnabled=false Netanyahu: Row over settlement construction 'overblown' U.S. anger over latest East Jerusalem building plan is misplaced and Palestinian foot-dragging is still the main obstacle to peace, insists PM in interview with Fox. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-row-over-settlement-construction-overblown-1.323956?localLinksEnabled=false Israel rejects world's criticism over Jerusalem building JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israel on Tuesday rejected global criticism of moves to build 1,300 new homes in occupied East Jerusalem, insisting it would never limit construction in its "capital," the premier's office said.  "Israel sees no connection between the peace process and the planning and building policies in Jerusalem that have not changed for the last 40 years," said a statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=332420 Israeli Court Issues 45-day Extension for Wall Encircling al-Walajeh Al-Walajeh – PNN - Residents of al-Walajeh, northwest of Bethlehem, witnessed what appeared to be a near-fatal setback when the Israeli High Court of Justice ordered a 45-day grace period in which the Israeli army may continue building the wall that will completely encircle the village.  Seen through the broken window of one family's future home, the village of al-Walajeh will likely be surrounded on all sides by the Israeli wall.  The court ruling, delivered on Monday, effectively halves the current land area of the already winnowed village. Al-Walajeh has lost 13,000 of its original 17,000 dunums of land since 1948, or about 75% (a dunum is about a quarter of an acre). Once the wall is complete, a development many say they can expect within the mandated 45 days, villagers will be cut off from another 1,800 dunums. http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9118&Itemid=60 Settlers Open New Settlers Only Road in Hebron Hebron – PNN - A group of extremist settlers opened a new settlers-only road in the old city of Hebron today. Reports from the Palestinian Information Center indicate that the group attacked two Palestinian families, including one worker employed in building Israeli settlements.  In this particular project, the role of the Israeli military in this heavily Palestinian southern West Bank city is unclear.  The story is developing. http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9117&Itemid=64 Netanyahu Strikes Again in Har Homa Hagit Ofran - Eyes on the Ground in East Jerusalem - Har Homa has become a symbol of Netanyahu's refusal of peace, since as Prime Minister in 1998 he established this settlement. The plan for further extending Har Homa had been in existence for years. Pushuing it forward at this timing is not accidental. This is a huge provocation, a calculated attempt by Netanyahu to torpedo peace talks and also avoid blame, by forcing the Palestinians to be the ones to walk away from the negotiation table. http://settlementwatcheastjerusalem.wordpress.com/ Settlers target Palestinian olive trees During the last few years, Palestinian olive trees - a universal symbol of life and peace- have been systematically destroyed by Israeli settlers. "It has reached a crescendo. What might look like ad hoc violence is actually a tool the settlers are using to push back Palestinian farmers from their own land," stated a spokeswoman for Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organisation monitoring incidents in the West Bank.  The tree and its oil have a special significance throughout the Middle East. It is an essential aspect of Palestinian culture, heritage and identity, and has been mentioned in the Bible, the Qur'an, and the Torah. Many families depend on the olive trees for their livelihood. http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=397349&version=1&template_id=46&parent_id=26 The great book robbery of 1948 A new documentary reveals a hidden chapter in the history of the Nakba -- the Palestinian expulsion and flight at the hands of Zionist militias as Israel was established in 1948 -- which saw the systematic looting of more than 60,000 Palestinian books by Israeli forces and the attempted destruction of Palestinian culture. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11617.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29 Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Six International volunteers Arrested for helping replant farmland in Saffa Six international volunteers were arrested on Sunday while accompanying Palestinian farmers to their land to prepare it for crop planting in Safa village, north of Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank. http://www.imemc.org/article/59859 Demonstrators wave Palestinian flag for first time on Beit Hanoun crossing Dozens of Palestinians and foreigners demonstrated Tuesday near the Beit Hanoun border crossing in the northern Gaza Strip, for the first time ever waving the Palestinian flag on the crossing gate http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U Anarchists Against the Wall Founded in 2003, Anarchists Against the Wall (AATW) is a direct-action group that was established to resist the construction of the wall Israel is building on Palestinian land. The group works in cooperation with the Palestinians in a joint popular struggle against the occupation. Since then, Anarchists Against the Wall has been on the forefront of the Israeli solidarity movement, participating in thousands of demonstrations and direct-actions- against the wall specifically and the occupation more generally- all over the West Bank. http://www.tadamon.ca/post/8333 Young, Jewish, Proud: Netanyahu's Speech Disrupted, Max Ajl Click here to view the embedded video.  The video above is of a number of young people working with Jewish Voice for Peace disrupting Netanyahu's speech at Florida. They have started a campaign called Young, Jewish, and Proud as part of this initiative; I was proud to see my friends Matan Cohen, Emily Ratner, and Rae Abileah among those who stood up and screamed at Netanyahu. I was scared to see the audience's reaction: the boos, the cheering, the ripping-apart of the posters. They made it very clear what was going on there. It was a hate rally. http://www.maxajl.com/?p=4409&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+http%2Fwwwmaxajlcom%2Ffeedrss2+%28Jewbonics%29 Wait– Zionist uses choke-hold on Netanyahu protester… a woman… in the USA?, Philip Weiss Remember how that female protester being stomped became a giant issue in the Rand Paul campaign for Senate in Kentucky?  Why isn't the chokehold applied to Rae Abileah, a young woman protesting Netanyahu at the Federations General Assembly in New Orleans, a bigger story? Here is JTA's Jacob Berkman, the Fundermentalist. http://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/huh-zionist-uses-choke-hold-on-netanyahu-protester-a-woman-in-the-usa.html Jewish Values vs. Israeli Policies: Why five young Jews disrupted PM Netanyahu in New Orleans,  Rae Abileah On Monday morning, the GA plenary began with Oscar the Grouch -- seriously, the Sesame Street puppet opened the plenary with a satire about how gross it was that Israelis were so friendly, always sharing, caring and helping each other out. Next, New Orleans Mayor Landrieu stressed a belief in tikkun olam, the Jewish principle of "repairing the world", and almost in the same breath, an unending support for Israel. Contradiction? We think so.  Our well-orchestrated protest began with the bold voice of local New Orleans resident Emily Ratner, who stood up after applause for Netanyahu and proclaimed, "The Loyalty Oath delegitimizes Israel!" as she unfurled a banner with the same message.  (The protest was captured on video by AP here) As Emily was removed from the room she continued shouting, and Netanyahu commented from the podium, "If they came to delegitimize Israel, they came to the wrong address." We believe we were knocking on exactly the right door, with a message to the Jews in attendance: Israel's occupation and oppressive policies delegitimize Israel in the eyes of the world. http://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/jewish-values-vs-israeli-policies-why-five-young-jews-disrupted-pm-netanyahu-in-new-orleans.html The Young Jewish Declaration A vision of collective identity, purpose and values written by and for young Jews committed to justice in Israel and Palestine. It is an invitation and call to action for both our peers and our elders, launched as a counter-protest at the 2010 Jewish Federation General Assembly in New Orleans. http://www.youngjewishproud.org/ #BDS: Students push for divestment at university USC's campus has recently become the scene of a growing movement by pro-Palestine supporters speaking out against what they see as illegal occupation of territory and discriminatory practices by the Israeli government.  The movement, known internationally as the "Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions" movement, aims to achieve sanctions or other official action against Israel.  Activists hope to achieve this by means of boycotting certain Israeli institutions and stopping business in — or divesting from — companies that are involved in the occupation of what BDS supporters say is Palestinian territory.  The movement has been spearheaded on campus by Students for Justice in Palestine, a pro-Palestine student group that has attempted to raise awareness for the movement by hosting events and collecting petition signatures. http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/11/bds-students-push-for-divestment-at.html "My position has not changed regarding normalisation with Israel. I reject it completely" "Although Al Aswany's book has been translated into 19 languages, the author has, until now, refused to permit its translation into Hebrew. Needless to say, he was not impressed with the actions of the IPCRI. "What the centre and the translator did is piracy and theft," he told news agency AFP , "I will be complaining to the International Publishers' Association."...On this point, at least, both parties are in agreement. Al Aswany is equally emphatic on this point: "My position has not changed regarding normalisation with Israel. I reject it completely," he told AFP." http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/11/my-position-has-not-changed-regarding.html Anti Canada Stands by Israel, Jim Miles A couple weeks after being rejected by the General Assembly for a position on the Security Council, Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper has expressed his sour grapes at the rejection stating that Canada will not 'pretend' to be an 'honest broker.' The other option then is dishonesty. http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16403 Israeli Abuse of Palestinian Children IOA rounded up 33 children in Silwan last month The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has detained 33 Palestinian children in the Silwan town, in occupied Jerusalem, a report by the Wadi Hilwa information center said. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k% Israeli occupation police round up more children in Silwan A joint Israeli security force of the police and intelligence stormed houses of Jerusalemites in Silwan town, occupied Jerusalem, and took away a number of children. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bc Statistics Show 6700 Prisoners Including 283 Children, 35 Women Bethlehem – PNN - Abdul Nasir Farwaneh, director of the statistics department of the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs, said 6700 Palestinians are in Israeli prison, including 283 children and 35 women. About 70,000 have been jailed since the 2000 al-Aqsa Intifada. http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9123&Itemid=68 Siege/Rights Violations/Restriction of Movement The Archbishop and the Siege Dr Barry Morgan - The Church in Wales - The Archbishop of Wales, has been at the center of a comntroversy since Spetember, when in a sermon he strongly denounced the the Siege of Gaza and the occupation of the West Bank. http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=43300 Gaza's hospitals: Bring your own medicine, Hani Almadhoun In the summer of 2005 when I was visiting my family in Gaza, my 3 year old niece, Roa, had an incident and I took her to the local hospital. The doctor told us he could not see Roa, who was bleeding from her head, because it was a non-life-threatening case and he sent us home. As we needed to get medical attention to Roa, I remembered the local mosque had a clinic and since it was few blocks away from the PA-run hospital, we went there. This Doctor was professional, gracious and upbeat. He took care of Roa in a minute and treat her injuries and we've paid about a dollar for his services. The clinic was run by a Hamas group that was then not part of the government. I was pleasantly surprised with the service and care we received at this medical clinic. http://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/gaza%e2%80%99s-hospitals-bring-your-own-medicine.html How Israel's easing of Gaza blockade has hurt Gaza business Israel's lifting of the Gaza blockade allows Israeli goods into Gaza, but has not allowed Gazan manufacturers to import raw materials or export goods. http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/20so-v9bzPo/How-Israel-s-easing-of-Gaza-blockade-has-hurt-Gaza-business PA wants Israel to expand Gaza crossing GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Wheat and animal feed importers in Gaza have warned of a coming crisis because of Israeli measures to reduce the quantities that enter the enclave to half or less.  Israeli forces have refused a request from the Palestinian Authority to return the Karni crossing, which was used to transport such items, to normal operations. The crossing is open twice weekly, and one of those days is reserved for international organizations. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=332424 Gaza: 1 terminal partly open GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli authorities partially opened the Kerem Shalom crossing on Wednesday between Israeli and Gaza for the limited transfer of goods and fuel, a Palestinian crossing official said.  Raed Fattouh, charged with the coordination of goods into the Strip, said 240-250 trucks of humanitarian aid and commercial merchandise would be allowed into Gaza through Kerem Shalom terminal. Limited quantities of domestic-use gas and industrial diesel were also scheduled to enter through the same terminal in southern Gaza, according to Fattouh. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=332484 Tourism Initiative to Regenerate Neglected Areas,  Palestine Monitor Since the 1990's, efforts to awaken tourism in Palestine have taken slow steps towards creating a vibrant and productive industry. Last week, the mission made an ambitious leap with the launch of the Sustainable Rural Tourism initiative. Organised by the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism, the Rozana Institute, and a network of other organisations, the Sustainable Rural Tourism workshop at Bir Zeit University marked the launch of a project that aims to tap into an under-used resource for economic development in Palestine: rural tourism. http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1606 Racism and Discrimination Israel needs a Leftist revolution to stop the fascism A social-democratic revolution on the left is the necessary condition to stop the time of fascism exemplified by a loyalty oath to a 'Jewish and democratic state.' http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/israel-needs-a-leftist-revolution-to-stop-the-fascism-1.323717 Violence & Aggression LRC: "Israel Carried Out 35 Attacks Against The Palestinians In East Jerusalem In October" The Land Research Center (LRC) reported that the Israeli Authorities, the police and the army carried out 35 attacks against the residents and their property in occupied East Jerusalem in October. http://www.imemc.org/article/59864 New Incursion By Israeli Troops Into Gaza Israel has launched a ground incursion into the Gaza Strip with its forces advancing hundreds of meters into the east of the southern city of Khan Younis, Press TV reported on Wednesday. http://www.imemc.org/article/59875 Worker shot by Israeli force in northern Gaza GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian man was injured by Israeli fire on Wednesday while he collected scrap construction materials in northern Gaza near the Erez crossing.  Gaza medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said a 28-year-old identified only by his initials YG was lightly injured and transferred to the Kamal Udwan Hospital for treatment. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=332543 Clashes Reported in East Jerusalem Neighborhood Palestinian sources reported Tuesday that clashes took place between dozens of Palestinian residents and Israeli policemen in the eastern side of Al Esawiyya town, in occupied East Jerusalem. The town and nearby areas have been surrounded since three days. http://www.imemc.org/article/59863 Two Palestinian workers wounded in IOF shelling Two Palestinian workers were wounded on Tuesday when the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) fired an artillery shell at a group of workers collecting gravel south of Gaza Strip. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?x Violent clashes between OJ citizens and Israeli security Israeli occupation policemen stormed the Isawiye suburb in central occupied Jerusalem on Tuesday and provided protection for workers who were using cement cubes to close one of its entrances. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Q Israeli forces raid Jerusalem community center JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces raided the Wadi Hilwa information center Tuesday in the flashpoint neighborhood of Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem.  The forces claimed that the raid was due to illegal buildings linked to the center, Ma'an's correspondent reported. Center director Jawad Siam said the forces took photographs, but did not mention the extensions to the building. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=332272 Detainees IDF arrests Hamas lawmaker from the West Bank in pre-dawn raid Mahmoud Ramahi had been previously arrested by Israel in 2006 after the capture of Gilad Shalit and released in 2009. Police arrest seven in sweep of East Jerusalem neighborhood Law enforcement operation in Issawiya follows a series of recent incidents in which Israeli vehicles were stoned in the neighborhood. http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/police-arrest-seven-in-sweep-of-east-jerusalem-neighborhood-1.323965?localLinksEnabled=false Arrests Campaign in Silwan and New Excavation in Hilweh Valley in East Jerusalem Palestinian sources reported on Wednesday that Israeli soldiers abducted, after midnight, Muhammad Odeh, an owner of construction materials store, and requested Hammudeh Siyam, a shopkeeper to head to the nearest police station for questioning. Both are residents from the village of Silwan in the old city of Jerusalem. http://www.imemc.org/article/59874 Soldiers Abduct Twelve Palestinians, Including PLC official, In The West Bank Israeli soldiers abducted, on Wednesday at dawn, twelve Palestinians, including the assistant secretary-general of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), in the occupied West Bank. http://www.imemc.org/article/59869 Jaffa imam detained on security charges Petah Tikva court extends remand of Mohammad Ayash, 30, by eight days. http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/jaffa-imam-detained-on-security-charges-1.323981?localLinksEnabled=false Israeli police interfere in repairs at Aqsa Mosque, detain three of its guards The Israeli police detained three guards of the Aqsa Mosque after they prevented a group of settlers from making what they called repairs in the Islamic Khatuniya School at the Aqsa Mosque. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6 IOF soldiers detain eldest son of MP Halaika Israeli occupation forces (IOF) broke into the house of MP Samira Al-Halaika and took away her eldest son Anas in a pre dawn raid on Wednesday, the MP said in a press release. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k They can't stop them No matter what they do, Israeli terrorists can't stop Palestinian strugglers. http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/11/they-cant-stop-them.html Palestinian prisoners in Ramon jail on hunger strike after repressive acts Ahrar center said the Palestinian prisoners in Ramon jail went on hunger strike after the prison administration sent military units to storm some sections and took punitive measures against detainees. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7 Shin Bet Mistreatment of Palestinian Detainees, Steve Lendman An October B'Tselem/HaMoked, Center of the Defence of the Individual report, titled "Kept in the Dark: Treatment of Palestinian Detainees in the Petach-Tikva Interrogation Facility of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet)" is discussed below. Though, in some respects, treatment over the years has changed, it remains harsh, abusive, and in violation of international law, prohibiting all forms of torture and mistreatment at all times, under all conditions, with no allowed exceptions. http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/11/shin-bet-mistreatment-of-palestinian.html Reprisals Gaza militants launch bomb attack against IDF patrol Two bombs explode as army convoy passes along Gaza border - no casualties reported. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/gaza-militants-launch-bomb-attack-against-idf-patrol-1.323974?localLinksEnabled=false Armed group says targeted Israeli bulldozer GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The armed wing of Islamic Jihad said its forces planted a landmine which exploded under an Israeli vehicle in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.  The Al-Quds Brigades said the operation, at 8:15 a.m., targeted a military bulldozer in Al-Qaraqa, east of Khan Younis, "to affirm the right of resistance to any Israeli aggression." http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=332639 Fatah Fatah: Hamas security services are nothing more than 'militias' Senior Fatah official Azzam el-Ahmed lashes out at Hamas ahead of Fatah-Hamas reconciliation talks in Damascus this week. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/fatah-hamas-security-services-are-nothing-more-than-militias-1.323834?localLinksEnabled=false PA military court sentences two Hamas members to actual imprisonment The Palestinian authority's military court in Ariha (Jericho) city issued actual prison sentences against two Palestinian citizens affiliated with Hamas Movement. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7 Exclusive: IDF revives liaison position for peace talks YAAKOV KATZ - J-Post - "Ahead of the prospect of peace talks with the Palestinian Authority picking up speed in the near future, Maj.-Gen. Eitan Dangot, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), has appointed a senior officer to serve as the military-civil body's liaison to the negotiations." http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=43304 Hamas Hamas bans Fatah event in Gaza GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Local authorities in the Gaza Strip banned the Fatah movement from holding a festival commemorating the death of Yasser Arafat, a senior party leader said Wednesday.  Zakarya Al-Aga said Hamas police refused to approve a request for the event.  Major Ayman Al-Batneejy, a police spokesman, said permission was denied on "security" grounds.  Hamas "cherishes the memory of the late president as a great national figure," he said, but the movement is afraid that "collaborators will take advantage of the event causing problems for both governments." http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=332722 Hamas visits families of Fatah affiliates killed in Gaza GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A delegation of Hamas leaders headed by Gaza's Minister of Interior Fathi Abu Hammad visited families of slain members of Fatah's military wing in the northern Strip on Wednesday. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=332635 Hamas Militia Blockades al-Aqsa University in Gaza, Kidnaps Students Khan Yunes – PNN - On Wednesday afternoon a Hamas militia surrounded al-Aqsa University in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunes and kidnapped a number of students.  Local source explained that militia brigades inspected students, circulated pictures of Yasser Arafat, and moved a number of students to an undisclosed location. This comes after Hamas blocked entrance to a number of Gaza Strip neighborhoods for the sixth anniversary of Arafat's death. Hamas has ruled the coastal enclave since 2006.  The story is developing. http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9125&Itemid=73 Targeting Fun in the Gaza Strip For the few with money in the Gaza Strip, a new water park provided relief from monotony and widespread misery. Hamas, though, has now burned it down -- and sent a message that even the elite must conform to the Islamists' restrictive rules. http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,728138,00.html Other Political "Developments" Hamas, Fatah differ on obstacle to unity Fatah and Hamas officials will meet Tuesday in Damascus for what observers say could be a landmark unity discussion, as delegates tackle the remaining obstacle to reconciliation, the re-forming of national security services. While parties appeared optimistic, statements differed over what remained to be resolved in talks. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=332139 Palestinian groups hold more reconciliation talks (Reuters) Reuters - Representatives of the rival Hamas and Fatah groups met in the Syrian capital Damascus on Tuesday in a second round of talks designed to try and narrow divisions that have damaged the Palestinian cause. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101110/wl_nm/us_palestinians_hamas_fatah PIC: Abu Mujahid Says Israel's Propaganda on Resistance is Addressed to the West The spokesman for the popular resistance committees, Abu Mujahid, told the Palestinian Information Centre, on Tuesday night, that recent claims by the Israeli authorities about new attempts by the Palestinian resistance to capture more soldiers were directed at western countries. http://www.imemc.org/article/59879 Obama sees "enormous obstacles" for Mideast peace (Reuters) Reuters - The Middle East peace process faces "enormous obstacles" but the United States will do all it can to achieve a "just" outcome in talks between Israelis and Palestinians, President Barack Obama said on Wednesday. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101110/pl_nm/us_mideast_obama Livni: Two-state solution only way to keep Israel Jewish and democratic In speech to General Assembly of Jewish Federations of North America, Kadima chief Tzipi Livni calls on world Jewry to support Israel in the fight against anti-Semitism and Iran. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/livni-two-state-solution-only-way-to-keep-israel-jewish-and-democratic-1.323838?localLinksEnabled=false Other News Erdogan: Israel must apologize In interview with France 24 Turkish prime minister calls on Israel to apologize, pay compensation for IDF flotilla raid before countries can begin to renegotiate ties. 'Israel responsible for current state of relations,' he says http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3982560,00.html Ashkenazi: In a future war we'll need to evacuate civilians IDF Chief of General Staff says IDF is already working on target banks for future conflicts with Hamas, Hizbullah.  Israel will have to evacuate civilian populations during a future conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip or Hizbullah in Lebanon, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said on Tuesday.  "In the future, we will not meet the enemy on the traditional battlefield," Ashkenazi said. "Hamas chooses to fight within an urban setting. It could have alternatively chosen to fight in the open areas." http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=194587&R=R2 IDF fears kidnapping attempt Commanders brief soldiers on security protocols following recent military intelligence on intention to carry out soldier abductions. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3982210,00.html Kristallnacht anniversary: Controversial Jewish speaker sparks Jewish ire in Germany Kristallnacht commemorations in Germany tonight will include a speech in Frankfurt by Alfred Grosser, a prominent Franco-German intellectual who escaped the Nazi regime in 1933 and has become a critic of Israel. http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/7q5klOXUEuM/Kristallnacht-anniversary-Controversial-Jewish-speaker-sparks-Jewish-ire-in-Germany 17 arrested for stealing $42.5 million meant for Holocaust survivors Individuals participated in fraud against the Claims Conference, which issues payments to Jewish Holocaust victims, by falsifying documents attesting to eligibility for Holocaust-related compensation. http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/17-arrested-for-stealing-42-5-million-meant-for-holocaust-survivors-1.323840?localLinksEnabled=false Treasury adviser: It's irresponsible to have too many kids Avi Simhon aroused firestorm at Sderot Conference on Social Issues by suggesting that main reason for poverty in Israel was irresponsible procreation. http://www.haaretz.com/themarker/treasury-adviser-it-s-irresponsible-to-have-too-many-kids-1.323880?localLinksEnabled=false Israeli cheaters "But Israel's biggest-selling daily, Yediot Ahronot, ran a large story on Friday, alleged the ICF failed to meet the requirement that all opponents be registered as chess federation members and have collected a minimum of 1,200 points.  It said many of the opponents were pupils from a Tel Aviv junior high school, bussed to Tel Aviv's Rabin Square, and quoted some of them as saying they knew little or close to nothing of chess." http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/11/israeli-cheaters.html Headdress, radio, holy book help tell Arafat story (AP) AP - Yasser Arafat had a knack for turning ordinary objects into symbols, including the black-and-white checkered headdress that came to represent the Palestinian quest for a homeland. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101109/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_arafat_s_artifacts Analysis/Op-ed/Human Interest Is Palestine America's Next Vietnam?, Ira Chernus and Tom Engelhardt Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hasn't been alone in playing for time when it comes to American policy, that's for sure. (Think, for instance, of our Afghan War commander Gen. David Petraeus.) But Netanyahu played out the pre-election months with some skill and much shuffling of feet, as he officially pondered Obama administration proposals to reinstitute a settlements freeze in return for copious concessions. All the while, of course, West Bank building has been ramping up, as the 2010 elections crept ever closer. Now, it's happened and let's be blunt: it's a good moment for him and his policies – in Washington. The new crew of Republicans who were swept into Congress seem to consider fealty to him and his right-wing government the sine qua non of political life. http://original.antiwar.com/engelhardt/2010/11/09/is-palestine-americas-next-vietnam/ Biden is Not Taking It Personally, Belen Fernandez I sometimes worry about Philip J. Crowley, assistant secretary for the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Public Affairs and emcee of the department's Daily Press Briefings. Do his work habits adversely affect his behavior outside the office? For example, when asked at the supermarket whether he would prefer paper or plastic, does he say it's too early to tell and revert to a discussion of U.S. commitment to direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians? http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16401 De Gaulle/Arafat, Philip Weiss The latest London Review of Books has a wonderful piece by Jeremy Harding reviewing two biographies of Charles De Gaulle. It is easy to admire De Gaulle now as a great leader and supporter of decolonization; what I never knew was how difficult was De Gaulle's rise. The Allied powers looked on the French resistance with great suspicion, and on De Gaulle as a headstrong nationalist believer with too much charisma. Roosevelt and Churchill sought to displace him with more pliable types. And De Gaulle struggled to unify the resistance-- indeed to build an idea of French identity. http://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/de-gaullearafat.html My meeting with Henry Waxman, Brian Van Slyke Disclaimer: I wrote the following a couple of hours after my encounter with Congressman Henry Waxman today. This is not verbatim, it is not a transcript, but it is my recollection of the conversation. I've kept in everything from our discussion as I remembered it - including the things I said that could have been much better. http://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/my-meeting-with-henry-waxman.html The internet broke the third rail for Walt and Mearsheimer,  Philip Weiss It is testament to the strength of the U.S. discourse that nearly 5 years on, Walt and Mearsheimer keep on tickin. I know I say our politics are broken all the time, and they are broken, but as Mearsheimer himself has said, the internet has been a game-changer, and these men have been given oxygen by the internet. Given international oxygen, actually; though it has served the American discourse. http://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/the-internet-broke-the-third-rail-for-walt-and-mearsheimer.html The Weight of a City, Michael Khaled When I decided years ago to leave my home in America after graduating to come to Palestine and start my career here, my family was less than thrilled. Not only was I moving too far away, but to a place torn apart by generations of conflict. When one of my uncles heard the news, he asked me where I wanted to live, and I have to admit, I hadn't given it much thought at the time so I just blurted the first city that came to mind: Jerusalem. http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=22805&CategoryId=13 The fight has broken out inside the Jewish family,  Philip Weiss The news from the Jewish Federations' General Assembly in New Orleans is important. I announce landmarks every 100 yards, but this is a big one. The significance of the event is that several young Jews calling themselves proud Jews took Palestinian solidarity into the Jewish family and made trouble with an explosive disruption of rightwinger Netanyahu's speech. These Jews were brave and surely inspired by the countless brave Palestinians who have taken far greater risks in the occupied territories. But they said, this is our place to voice our anger, an official Jewish space. We are part of the Jewish community. Deal. And the official community responded with rage and violence. http://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/the-fight-has-broken-out-inside-the-jewish-family.html Speaking out on Kashmir and Palestine in the US The United States has become a battleground for both the struggles of the peoples of Palestine and Kashmir, for freedom from military occupation and for justice. Awareness amongst the US public is broadened as the repression of both struggles grows ever more violent, and meanwhile those wishing to stifle debate on these issues in the US resort to harassment and intimidation. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11615.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29 Netanyahu: Intellectual Father of the 'War on Terror', Thomas Harrington "The Israel connection is significant because Israel has long been at the heart of America's foreign policy woes. America's misguided war on terror is in fact a complete adoption of Israeli security paradigms without any regard for the actual threats that confront the U.S., making Israel's many enemies also the foes of Washington. The Israeli Lobby might not have singlehandedly brought about the disastrous Iraq war, but it certainly was a major factor in the push to invade, taking its cues from the Israeli Foreign Ministry." http://original.antiwar.com/thomas-harrington/2010/11/09/netanyahu-intellectual-father/ Sisyphus in the South Hebron hills, David Shulman Another good day, as good days go in south Hebron. This means two relatively hopeful reports in a row; my readers may begin to lose interest, or to suspect my judgment has somehow become impaired. Certainly, the objective situation, including much violence and terror on the ground in south Hebron, is worse than ever, given this settlers' government that is contemptuous of Palestinians, blind to the catastrophe that it itself is creating, and utterly unwilling to make even the slightest move toward peace. Then there's the virulently anti-democratic right, well represented in the government by the Foreign Minister and others of his ilk from the Israel Beitenu party; they, together with other members of the Knesset from the far and not-so-far right, have initiated an unprecedented wave of racist and chauvinist legislation (you can find the whole list in Neve Gordon's recent essay on "Thought Crimes" in the London Review of Books). If you want to know what it feels like to see the country you live in slide, day by day, toward a rabid, ruthless authoritarianism, or worse—invidious comparisons are ready at hand-- all you have to do is read the Israeli newspapers. Nearly every day we wake to another new and terrible surprise. http://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/sisyphus-in-the-south-hebron-hills.html The Oslo Virus and the Struggle for Bantustans, Haidar Eid - Gaza In 'The Music of the Violin,' a short story by South African writer Njabulo Ndebele, one of the characters comments on the 'concessions' made by the apartheid regime to the indigenous people: "That's how it is planned. That we be given a little of everything, and so prize the little we have that we forget about freedom."  This is what the endless "peace process" looks like seen from Gaza, where we live under a four-year-old Israeli siege.  We pass the time struggling to survive, wondering if this is the day an air strike will take away our life, our loved ones or our home. http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16404 Heads Or Tails, One Or Two-State Solution, Mitri I. Musleh Now that the US midterm election has passed, President Obama may have a chance to pay more attention to the Palestinian/Israeli problem.  The challenges facing President Obama have not changed. The Palestinian leadership remains divided, unproductive and out of touch with the facts on the grounds and the Palestinian populace. The Israeli leadership remains committed to the Zionist plan of establishing the Greater Israel and has turned a deaf ear to any country in the world that opposes this vision. Further, the Israeli leadership is going ahead with its plan regardless whether the Palestinians decide to continue or discontinue the direct talks. http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9114&Itemid=58 Waiting for Godot in Palestine, NICOLA NASSER The statement by former U.S. President George W. Bush in his 497 – page memoir of "Decision Points" that a secret peace deal was worked out between the then-prime minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert, and Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, which "we devised a process to turn .. into a public agreement" had not Olmert been ousted by a scandal to be replaced in the following elections by Binyamin Netanyahu, who reneged on his predecessor's commitments, is a piece of history which highlights the fact that peace making in the Arab – Israeli conflict and the peace process have been hostages to the rotating U.S. and Israeli elections since the Madrid peace conference of 1991. http://www.counterpunch.com/nasser11102010.html Separation Without Separating -- A Friendly Divorce for Palestine and Israel On the Palestinian side, leaders over the last couple of decades, explicitly or inadvertently, made Israelis and Americans believe that they can negotiate away the Palestinian right of return, in return for financial compensation and concessions over Jerusalem. While some Palestinian leaders might believe they can do so (and Israelis and others could not be happier about that), political realities suggests otherwise. The Palestinian people, especially those living in refugee camps, as well as others in the diaspora, are not likely to accept such a concession on their behalf, by leaders who do not represent them and do not have the authority to strip away their rights. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amjad-atallah/separation-without-separa_b_781097.html How to Anger the Pro-Israel Lobby, Stuart Littlewood To their eternal shame, Western churchmen seem to care little about the plight of their brothers and sisters in the Holy Land or the fate of the holy places where Christianity was born.  There are, of course, honourable exceptions. One such is the Archbishop of Wales, the Most Rev Dr Barry Morgan, whose church has provided Palestinians in Gaza with a mobile dental unit.  He is not best pleased that the Israelis make it difficult to obtain fuel and medical supplies for it, and he didn't mince his words when recently reporting to the Church's governing body how things really are in Gaza. http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16402 The mighty march of progress: British war graves in Gaza, Jared Malsin ZAWAYDA, Gaza (Ma'an) -- The Gaza War Cemetery is a slightly parched but still green oasis in an otherwise run-down neighborhood on the eastern edge of Gaza City.  Inside a leafy compound, underneath rows of white marble gravestones, lie more than 3,500 mainly British and Commonwealth soldiers killed in two world wars. Aside from the British there are Australians, Poles, Canadians, Greeks, two dozen Indian Muslim soldiers, and some 700 Turks. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=332413 Outrage, Misguided, Noam Chomsky People rightly want answers, and they are not getting them except from voices that tell tales that have some internal coherence—if you suspend disbelief.  The U.S. midterm elections register a level of anger, fear and disillusionment in the country like nothing I can recall in my lifetime. Since the Democrats are in power, they bear the brunt of the revulsion over our current socioeconomic and political situation.  More than half the "mainstream Americans" in a Rasmussen poll last month said they view the Tea Party movement favorably—a reflection of the spirit of disenchantment. http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/6615/outrage_misguided/ Nir Rosen on "Aftermath: Following the Bloodshed of America's Wars in the Muslim World" Independent journalist Nir Rosen has been covering the Middle East since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. In his new book, Aftermath: Following the Bloodshed of America's Wars in the Muslim World, Rosen writes in length about Iraq, the US occupation, the civil war, and how the war affected the broader Middle East, from Jordan to Syria to Lebanon. Rosen also write about Afghanistan, and his time unembedded with the Taliban, as well as the role of independent media and the failures of the US press. http://www.democracynow.org/2010/11/10/nir_rosen_on_aftermath_following_the Take note of Arab youth activism, Rami G. Khouri In the past few weeks I have had the pleasant and instructive experience of mixing with hundreds of mostly young Arabs at events in Doha, Dubai and Beirut that were related in one way or another to a fascinating new wave that seems to be gaining momentum as it moves across the region: entrepreneurship. This is a reason for both hope and concern, because entrepreneurship could either turn out to be a great boost that shatters old ways and propels a tired Arab world forward, or it could be another false hope that is unrealistically burdened with more expectations than it can handle. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=121385#axzz14qYq1AsL Multi-Billion-Dollar Arms Deals Could Haunt U.S., Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Nov 9, 2010 (IPS) - When the Shah of Iran, a strongly pro-U.S. ally, was ousted from power after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the stridently anti-U.S. regime of Ayatollah Khomeini that captured power also inherited a military bonanza: billions of dollars worth of state-of-the-art weapons provided by the United States. http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=53502 What Laila Sees, David Smith-Ferri Kabul, Afghanistan - "We live in constant fear of suicide attacks," said Laila, an Afghan woman who lives in Kandahar city and who visited with us yesterday. "When will the next one strike and where?"  "Twelve days ago," she continued, "a good friend was walking home from the mosque. A four-minute walk. An IED was detonated, and my friend lost half his face. Another man lost his leg, and his son lost his leg, too. We live with that kind of uncertainty, when you don't know what is going to happen from one moment to the next." http://original.antiwar.com/david-smith-ferri/2010/11/09/what-laila-sees/ Obama's Fake Muslim Outreach, Stephen Lendman While slaughtering Muslims abroad, supporting Israeli's illegal occupation and genocidal Gaza siege, as well as waging domestic war on Islam, Reuters, on November 9, headlined, "Obama says US earnest, reaching out to Muslim world," saying:  From Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, "President Barack Obama said Tuesday that Washington's effort to reach out to the Muslim world was earnest and would help improve security, although he acknowledged that there was still more work to do." http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/11/obamas-fake-muslim-outreach.html George Bush's "all-time low" He's got to be joking, right? No, he isn't. It's been nearly two years since he left the White House with the lowest domestic and global approval ratings of any US president in living memory. But, it seems, we still can't get enough of George W. Bush. This morning's papers lead with extracts, snippets and lines from Bush's new memoir, Decision Points. The Times (£) is serialising the book and has an exclusive interview with "The Decider" himself. The Guardian's front page focuses on how Bush instructed the Pentagon "to draw up plans to attack Iran". The Indy, oddly, leads with a review of the book from the New York Times's chief literary critic, Michiko Kakutani. http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/mehdi-hasan/2010/11/george-bush-iraq-low You'd have to give Chris Matthews sodium pentathol to find out why we invaded Iraq, Philip Weiss This is mind-numbing. Last night on Hardball, Chris Matthews interviewed Joseph Wilson, Michael Isikoff, David Corn and Thomas DeFrank about Bush's memoir. They harped on a lie in the book: Bush's claim that he was upset when he learned that there were no WMDs in Iraq. As if he were surprised.  But as Matthews pointed out, and the guests agreed, that's not why we went to war. WMD was merely how the project was sold. And for 15 minutes or so Matthews railed about wanting to know the reasons that we went to war. He walked up to the edge. He mentioned neoconservatives, and he mentioned all the Middle East experts who surrounded Bush when he himself knew nothing about the Middle East. But as to the reasons why, he left a complete blank, and it was left to Joseph Wilson to offer his own estimate of why: because we wanted to change the politics of the Middle East, we wanted to bring democracy to the Middle East. The neoconservative lines. Yes and why did they undertake this project? http://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/youd-have-to-give-chris-matthews-sodium-pentathol-to-find-out-why-we-invaded-iraq.html Lebanon Yes, you can rely on Israeli military propagandists to learn about private deliberations between Hizbullah and Hamas: how dumb those Israeli propagandists are "Hamas asked Hezbollah to fire rockets on northern Israel during Operation Cast Lead, but the Lebanese militant group refused, Maj. Gen. (res. ) Dan Harel said on Tuesday." http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/11/yes-you-can-rely-on-israeli-military.html Israel: Hezbollah, Syria, Iran Likely Involved in Hariri's Murder 09/11/2010 As the countdown has started before the "politicized" final indictment in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri be released, Israeli media is insisting to "uncover" the "secret" details of the indictment.  On Tuesday, Israeli daily Yedihot Ahronot reported that the indictment would include Hezbollah as well as a number of Syrian and Iranian officials.  The Israeli daily quoted experts inside and outside the occupied territories who are following up on the Hariri murder case as saying that Syrian President Bashar Assad's son-in-law Assef Shawkat is reportedly involved in Hariri's 2005 assassination and that he would likely to be summoned for trial by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=161648&language=en Iraq Bombs kill 4, wound 19 in Baghdad's Christian areas The 11 roadside explosives are detonated less than two weeks after an attack on a church.  A string of bombings targeting Baghdad's Christian community killed at least four people and wounded 19 others Wednesday, officials said, less than two weeks after a bloody siege at a Baghdad church left scores dead. http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/0P7BtLYtAT4/la-fgw-iraq-christian-20101110,0,7073426.story Iraq bombings target Christian houses A series of attacks targeted on Wednesday morning houses of Christians in different regions of the capital Baghdad. Two roadside bombs near the house of two Christians in Zayouna, eastern Baghdad, detonated causing damages to the targeted house, a security source told Alsumaria News. http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-56258-Iraq-bombings-target-Christian-houses.html Tuesday: 4 Iraqis Killed, 18 Wounded At least six Iraqis were killed and 18 more were wounded in light violence. Security was tightened around some locations following a particularly bloody day in southern Iraq yesterday. Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the United States could keep troops in Iraq beyond a 2011 deadline if Iraqis make the request. Also, Three British soldiers were referred to a prosecutor and could face a war crimes trial over allegations they abused Iraqi detainees. http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/11/09/tuesday-4-iraqis-killed-18-wounded/ NCCI Exclusive Interview at the Center for Victims of Torture: Providing Mental Health Services and Support to Iraqi Refugees While human rights groups draw attention to torture and other violations in Iraqi prisons, the necessity of providing mental health services and other resources for victims of torture is generally overlooked. The NGO Coordination Committee for Iraq (NCCI) spoke with representatives at the Amman branch of the Center for Victims of Torture (http//www.cvt.org) about its role as a non-profit, mental health services provider for Iraqi survivors of torture and trauma who currently live in Jordan as refugees. http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MDCS-8B3HYT?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P Iraq PM Maliki likely to win support for second term BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki appeared likely to win a second term, breaking an eight-month deadlock over a new government, after winning support on Wednesday from members of the main factions. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6A92ZS20101110 U.S. calls for Iraqi president to step down "We've been under tremendous pressure by the Americans in ... clearly asking President Talabani to step down," said a Kurdish source close to the talks. He said both President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have asked Talabani to step aside in recent phone calls. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/11/08/103383/us-calls-for-iraqi-president-to.html Iraqi reconstruction a sham – former contractor O'Brien worked as a US Department of Defense contractor in Iraq as an advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, advising on infrastructure issues. http://rt.com/usa/news/iraq-reconstruction-failure-usa/ Iraqis decry soaring deadlock costs Iraqis frustrated by party leaders' failure to form a unity government after eight months of political deadlock, have staged a massive rally in Baghdad, calling on officials to speed up the process of reaching a power-sharing deal. Much of the public anger stems from soaring economic costs the country accrued since March's general elections failed to yield a leadership because not a single bloc won enough seats. Many complain that the impasse has caused a standstill in the country, freezing job growth and public services. They also say officials' salaries, which are many times more than the average Iraqi's pay, are a major waste of money. Rawya Rageh reports from Baghdad. [November 9, 2010] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJIpgwehBuo&feature=youtube_gdata PM cautions against open door to Iraq Christian immigration BAGHDAD — Iraq's prime minister on Tuesday cautioned other countries not to encourage Christians to abandon their homeland, after France took in dozens of people wounded in a bloodbath at a Baghdad church.  In the latest attacks on the minority community, meanwhile, three homes in the Mansur district of western Baghdad belonging to Christians were firebombed without causing any casualties, an interior ministry source said. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i7UnCGkDgkqskzrvZ5cS9HO5oy4A?docId=CNG.484ab5331fa20716a96f97d055e68940.531 How an Iraqi Christian school became 82 percent Muslim Sectarian violence and a Christian exodus has left Baghdad's St. Elia Catholic school largely surrounded by Muslims, who were drawn to the school's no-hitting rule. http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/JAeOv9Dse6k/How-an-Iraqi-Christian-school-became-82-percent-Muslim The Ancient World | Mesopotamia We look to Greece and Rome for the roots of the modern world. But, as Michael Wood reminds us, civilised life in Iraq began 4,000 years earlier. Driving north out of Samawa towards Baghdad, a short way beyond the Euphrates bridge, a tarmac track leaves the main road, heading  eastwards into a scarred, dun-coloured wasteland. Soon you enter the real desert, swept by sandstorms. Then, after 60km or so, a haunting scene unfolds. http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/nov/10/ancient-world-mesopotamia U.S. & Other World News "War Torn: 1861 - 2010" - New Doc Chronicles Post Traumatic Stress Disorder From Civil War to Iraq & Afghanistan A new documentary, "War Torn: 1861–2010," airing on HBO on Veterans Day chronicles the lingering effects of war on military veterans throughout American history, from the Civil War through today's conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. We speak with the filmmakers, Jon Alpert and Matt O'Neil and with the parents of two soldiers who committed suicide after coming home from Iraq. http://www.democracynow.org/2010/11/10/war_torn_1861_2010_new_doc US says it has legal authority to kill American-born Anwar al-Awlaki An ACLU lawsuit is challenging the legality of including Anwar al-Awlaki on a secret 'kill list.' The US says killing the cleric, an Al Qaeda member, would safeguard national security. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2010/1108/US-says-it-has-legal-authority-to-kill-American-born-Anwar-al-Awlaki Iran hawks step up pressure on Obama — some see echoes of Iraq Emboldened by President Obama's political struggles, foreign-policy hard-liners are stepping up efforts to press the administration to take a tougher stance -- and perhaps even launch an attack -- on Iran. http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/iran-hawks-step-up-pressure-on-obama-some-see-echoes-of-iraq/print Human Rights Watch  US: Torture Should Not Go Unpunished (New York) - The US government is wrong to not criminally prosecute CIA officials who destroyed evidence of torture, Human Rights Watch said today. The televised statements of former President George W. Bush acknowledging his personal responsibility for ordering torture demonstrate the need for the Obama administration to pursue prosecutions of senior US officials responsible for planning and authorizing the torture and ill-treatment of detainees, Human Rights Watch said. Acting US Attorney John Durham, who is also in charge of an ongoing investigation into improper interrogations of detainees, announced today that he would not pursue criminal charges for the destruction of CIA videotapes showing interrogations of terrorism suspects. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HRW/272c90cd5cd23ef6a39c4c033697cfa6.htm Waterboarding is torture, Downing Street confirms No 10 dismisses George Bush's claim in his memoirs that interrogation technique is legal and helped foil attacks on Heathrow and Canary Wharf. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/09/george-bush-memoirs-waterboarding Waterboarding Is No Basis for Truth George W Bush has resorted to the most obvious and, he apparently believes, convincing, defence of torture - namely, that it has saved lives. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/nov/09/george-bush-waterboarding-torture Bush book defends waterboarding George Bush, the former US president, has reopened the debate on the legality of the use of torture in his newly published book Decision Points, in which he defends his "war on terror" in Afghanistan and the decision to invade Iraq. Bush says interrogation techniques like waterboarding have helped save lives in the US and UK by exposing leading members of al-Qaeda. In response, the British government, a key US ally in the wars, has reinforced its position against any form or use of torture. Laurence Lee reports from London. [November 9, 2010] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNwETCQLNXo&feature=youtube_gdata George W. Bush praises President Obama's Afghanistan surge He expresses gratitude that Obama "stood up to critics by deploying more troops, announcing a new commitment to counterinsurgency in Afghanistan, and increasing the pressure on Pakistan to fight the extremists in the tribal areas." http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44783.html Obama Lawyers Defend 'Kill Lists', William Fisher Lawyers for the Barack Obama administration told a federal judge Monday that the U.S. government has authority to kill U.S. citizens whom the executive branch has unilaterally determined pose a threat to national security.  That claim came in federal court in Washington, D.C., in response to a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR). The two human rights legal advocacy organizations contend that the administration's so-called "targeted killing authority" violates the constitution and international law. http://original.antiwar.com/fisher/2010/11/09/obama-lawyers-defend-kill-lists/ Bush book sheds light on Israeli strike on Syria (AP) AP - Former President George W. Bush confirms in his memoir that the target of a 2007 Israeli airstrike was a Syrian nuclear reactor and suggests he quietly approved — a revelation with special relevance at a time when Israel is calling for a "military option" against Iran's nuclear program. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101109/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_bush_memoir Muslims say Obama failing to keep Cairo promises (Reuters) Reuters - President Barack Obama's pledge on Wednesday to strive for better relations with the Muslim world drew skepticism in Cairo, where last year he called for a new beginning in the Middle East after years of mistrust. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101110/wl_nm/us_indonesia_obama_mideast Muslim Americans Foil Terror Threats, William Fisher A new report on violent extremists in the United States finds that terrorism plots by non-Muslims greatly outnumber those attempted by Muslims, and that Muslim-American communities helped foil close to a third of al-Qaeda-related terror plots threatening the country since Sept. 11, 2001.  The report comes from the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), a not-for-profit organization advocating for the civil rights of American Muslims. It consists largely of MPAC's "Post-9/11 Terrorism Incident Database." http://original.antiwar.com/fisher/2010/11/09/muslim-americans-foil-terror-threats/ Jordanians vote in polls boycotted by Islamic opposition AMMAN, Jordan (AFP) -- Jordanians turned out in force on Tuesday for an election likely to produce MPs with tribal links and loyal to a government that faces little challenge after opposition Islamists pulled out.  Polls closed at 7:00 p.m., and senior election official Saad Shehab announced that turnout had reached 53 percent.  The vote came as Jordan faces an economic crisis with a record budget deficit of $2 billion (€1.44 billion) and a foreign debt of $11 billion, or nearly 60 percent of GDP. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=332436 Egypt rights groups say fair November election unlikely CAIRO (AFP) -- A coalition of Egyptian rights groups said Tuesday that a government crackdown on opposition candidates will prevent a fair parliamentary election later this month.  The Forum of Independent Human Rights Organisations charged in a press conference that violations in the poll, which will be held on 28 November, "started early for these elections."  Gamal Eid, the director of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information, noted in particular the broad powers granted to the interior ministry and "restrictions on independent candidates belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood and those who splintered from the National Democratic Party." http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=332414 Bahraini Blogger Ali Abdelemam Rasha sent me this: I cite with her permission):  "I just wanted to bring to your attention the case of Ali Abdelemam.  He is a bahraini blogger and the moderator of the now banned Bahrain Online which is a chat room which is viewed by the Bahraini government as being anti-government.  Nothing on Bahrain Online is censored and it became so important in bahrain that many ministers and government officials would get their news from there.  Ali Abdelemam is now being charged under the Bahraini governments "anti-terrorism" laws.  Before the trial, he was detained without access to counsel.  There is also evidence that he has been tortured by bahraini authorities.  The trial is closed to all the media.  No one has any idea what's going on.  The bahraini government has basically gone crazy.  Of course this isn't unexpected.  After nearly a decade of liberalization, they are arresting people left and right and accusing prominent opposition figures of terrorism.  22 have been arrested so far and we expect many more.  Bahrain is definitely regressing.  Before no one was scared of the government and we said whatever we wanted.  Now my parents refuse to talk about the situation on the phone.  My friends on facebook are silent about the situation.  My mother who was visiting me in the US warned me about posting any anti-government articles on facebook.  People are scared."  Here's a link to a blog about Ali Abdelemam as well as a wall street journal article on him." http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/11/bahraini-blogger-ali-abdelemam.html 'Gay' Saudi prison video on YouTube gets man extra five years RIYADH: A Saudi man already jailed for alleged homosexuality was sentenced to five more years after appearing in a YouTube video of allegedly gay men inside a Saudi prison, a newspaper said Tuesday.The unidentified 27-year-old man was convicted by a Jeddah judge "for crimes including homosexuality, imitating women, and possessing pornographic video clips. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=121358 www.TheHeadlines.org Comment on this article > The Mavi Marmara is set to hit the big screen in Turkey Nov 10, 2010 12:00 pm | Adam Horowitz Polat Alemdar is back! And this time he's kicking ass and taking names in none other than the Holy Land. If you don't know what I'm talking about, Alemdar is the hero of the popular Turkish television show, and now film series, Valley of the Wolves. A 2006 film took aim at the American invasion of Iraq, and the upcoming movie is focused on exacting revenge for the Israeli attack on the Freedom Flotilla. The 2006 film was criticized for being anti-American and anti-Semitic, the latter charge arising from a Jewish American doctor character, played by Gary Busey, who harvests Iraqi organs to sell abroad. I know that sounds totally unbelievable. I mean really, Gary Busey - Jewish?! Robert Mackey notes on the Times Lede blog that the film seems to echo Steven Speilberg's Munich (without the handwringing), and will most likely not help strained Israeli-Turkish relations: After viewing the trailer for a new Turkish action movie, in which the hero travels to Palestine to exact revenge on the Israeli commander who ordered the raid on the Gaza flotilla, in which nine Turks were killed, the Israeli news site Ynet News suggests, "The already tense relations between Israel and Turkey are about to get even more strained." Also, an interesting note on the Valley of the Wolves series from twitter. @hkubra made the following comments which were retweeted by Ali Abunimah: FYI: Valley of the Wolves is an ultra-nationalist, violence-addicted franchise produced by ultra-nationalist conservatives...its content is often almost racist & full of hate speech on any non-Turkish group, their messages are against a plural Turkey as well     Comment on this article > My meeting with Henry Waxman Nov 10, 2010 11:00 am | Brian Van Slyke Disclaimer: I wrote the following a couple of hours after my encounter with Congressman Henry Waxman today. This is not verbatim, it is not a transcript, but it is my recollection of the conversation. I've kept in everything from our discussion as I remembered it - including the things I said that could have been much better.   *****  It's not every day you see a Representative of the House outside of the coffee shop you're about to enter. Well, at least not one as recognizable as the liberal titan Henry Waxman. But there he was: talking on his phone on the street corner, only ten feet away from me.  Dear lord, I thought to myself. Should I say something to him? Should I say something about ending military aid to Israel, ending the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan? Oh god, I should, but I hate confrontations.   The congressman continued to walk around on his phone, talking to someone who was probably Very Important about a Seriously Important Subject. Should I say something?  Waxman went into a next door restaurant and sat down to eat with another man, someone I didn't recognize. Oh damn, there went my opportunity, I thought. I don't want to interrupt his lunch – that would be rude.  And I almost walked away. But then I thought: Our two wars and occupations are rude - they don't give a damn if they interrupt anyone's lunch. I'm never going to get this opportunity again. So I quickly contacted some friends and asked – what should I say to Henry Waxman? Several people told me: just tell him you're young, you're Jewish, and you're disappointed in the way congress has dealt with Israel and Palestine. Let the conversation go from there.  I waited around for a few minutes outside, deliberating with myself if I should spark what was sure to be a tense conversation in a crowded place. And just as I was about to chicken out – this was a Congressman, after all – I saw Mr. Waxman and his companion exit the restaurant, walking directly towards the car I was standing next to.  Excuse me, I said as Waxman approached, before I really realized what I was doing, are you Henry Waxman?   Yes I am, he replied, strolling up to me, ready to talk with this random citizen on the street. This was actually a pleasant surprise – I was expecting him to shake my hand and then quickly rush off to whatever Important Meeting he had next.  It wasn't to remain pleasant for very long.  My name's Brian Van Slyke, and I'm a young Jewish American, I said.  Okay, nice to meet you, he said as he stuck out his hand for me to shake.   I took his hand and shook , and the words just spilled out: I just want to say that I'm really disappointed in the way your Democrat-led congress has dealt with the Palestine/Israel issue.   Well, there was no going back now.  He nodded his head slowly, as if he already knew where this were going.  I can't believe that Congress continues to provide Israel with 3 billion dollars in military aid every year, I continued. To me, this is in direct opposition to the promotion of freedom, democracy, and human rights you liberal Democrats claim to promote.  He stood up a little straighter and his eyes widened – this certainly wasn't what we was expecting to hear.  That money is supporting an apartheid wall, it is being employed to expand Israel's illegal colonies, it is maintaining a deadly and unjust occupation, it -  Wait a minute, he said, waving his hand. Let me stop you right there before you take your rhetoric too far.  Okay, I had had my say –  I was ready to hear his response.  There are nations in the Middle East that want nothing more than to wipe Israel off the map, and that money we give is to protect them from that threat. The Separation Wall was installed to stop terrorist attacks. It was put up and it has stopped Palestinians from blowing themselves up and killing innocent Israelis.    I could almost see him mentally going down the AIPAC checklist of responses.  You can't - I began to interject.  Wait a minute, he insisted, waving his hand again. Let me say what I have to say. You said your part, let me say mine. That was fair, I thought. I don't like when people interrupt me, so I was willing to respect that for him as well – even though he had certainly cut me off only moments ago.  He went on: And the settlements, he seemingly emphasized his watered-down choice of the words - settlements – to contrast my far more accurate term (colonies), well they are another story. If you are talking about the settlements in Jerusalem, that's one thing. If you're talking about the settlements in the West Bank, that's another. The settlements in East Jerusalem are a difficult matter, as they are in the capital of that state [Israel]; but if you're going to have a Palestinian state, they are going to want East Jerusalem for their capital. The settlements in the West Bank, well I certainly agree that those have to stop in order to bring about a two-state solution. But the Separation Wall, that has saved innocent people's lives.   This was just too much – I had so many rebuttals boiling inside of me that I nearly blurted them all out at once. But I took a deep breath and decided to take him point-by-point: I think you're completely wrong there. That Wall, which is enforcing apartheid rule, is not maintaining peace but fostering misery. It makes life unbearable for many Palestinians – it has stolen countless Palestinian land; it has cut families and towns off from each other; trips to work or school that were once normal now take hours or are just impossible to make at all. Its destroying lives, towns, and economies while stealing land. You can't say that's saving innocent lives because -  He cut me off: Look, before terrorists were killing Israelis in buses and now they're not.  I'm sorry, I said, slightly indignant, I let you finish, so will you let me finish what I was saying?  No, you said your thing, then I said my thing, and now I have to go. We don't have time to talk about this whole issue in this small discussion. By the way, I think you're understating some of your case and overstating other parts. He, along with the man he had been dining with, started to make towards the car next to me. But I wasn't ready to let him get off that easily.  The military aid to Israel which you and the rest of congress provide is the thing that is killing innocent people. That money goes to build weapons that kill Palestinians, bulldoze homes, and maintain Gaza as the world's largest open air prison camp! It -  There are Arab nations in the Middle East that want to destroy Israel! He stammered, still heading towards the car. Some of those include Palestinians!  Now, that just made no sense. He was obviously frustrated.  First of all, I began (okay, I was losing my cool too – my voice was on the rise), that just has no basis in reality! Palestinians don't have a nation. You can't just make things-  They were supposed to! Israel withdrew from Gaza and said have this country, we will help you build an economy - but their will was to elect Hamas! He was reaching for the car door, opening it, but still facing me and arguing.  There were so many absurd statements in that single sentence that I was simply flabbergasted. Honestly, my next reply should have been more thoughtful, but I was just at a loss for words. I had no idea how to reply to a man that was so detached from reality.  You honestly don't understand the situation, do you? You don't seem to know the issue at all, it's as though-  I know what apartheid is! He insisted as he climbed into the passenger seat and his companion entered the driver's side. I know what apartheid looks like. That is not apartheid.   He closed the door without another word.  I bent down and looked into the window, but he refused to make eye contact with me and stared straight ahead as his companion put the keys into the ignition.   No, I raised my voice loud enough so that the car window wouldn't be a barrier. You know who knows what apartheid looks like? That would be Desmond Tutu! I'm pretty sure Desmond Tutu is more familiar with apartheid than yourself. And he says that there is apartheid in Israel and Palestine!  The congressman just shook his head and did not respond. The engine had started and his companion, who hadn't said one word the whole time, shifted the car into drive.  By the way, that's Archbishop Desmond Tutu, I continued, perhaps louder than I should have, Nobel peace prize winner, who lived under and struggled against apartheid in South Africa. Are you really going to disagree with Desmond Tutu on what apartheid looks like?   The car drove off without another response.  I looked around and saw that there were people looking at me oddly – but I didn't feel ashamed, I just became aware that my heart was pounding from nervousness and adrenaline. I was glad that I had overcome my initial trepidation. I finally went and got that coffee I was initially after.  ***  I don't think our little argument will change Congressman Waxman's mind in anyway, nor do I suspect that he will he wake up tomorrow suddenly aware of the errors of his way. Yet, I do think our encounter shook him up. I'm fairly positive that the last person he would've expected to challenge him on military aid to Israel would be a young Jewish kid on the street. But alongside my Jewish peers that openly challenged Prime Minister Netanyahu just yesterday, I think we're beginning to show the old guard that we do not share the loyal-to-Israel-no-matter-what mentality. Instead, that identity is rapidly fading for many Jews who are instead reclaiming their long legacy of standing for social justice.  So, I hope Mr. Waxman tells his colleagues – Democrats and Republicans alike – of this unfortunate, annoying, and surely frustrating occurrence. And this is the message I hope he carries: whether you are the Prime Minister of Israel speaking to a massive gathering of Jews, or you are a Congressperson outside of a coffee shop who happens to meet a young Jew, it is no longer safe to assume that we all abide by the blind allegiance to a state that falsely claims to speak for everyone of us. Rather, our allegiance is to our fellow human beings, and especially to those that are oppressed - and that means challenging the apartheid and colonialist policies of Israel wherever we find them.   I hope they are beginning to understand that we are everywhere. Brian Van Slyke is an activist as well as an educator. He has facilitated workshops and classes on everything from organizing protests to the history of colonialism and slavery. He was raised by a Jewish mother who taught him solid non/anti-Zionist principles.   Comment on this article > NYT implies Muslims are the hostile 'other' Nov 10, 2010 10:06 am | James North The New York Times is at it again.  In an article about President Obama's mild criticism of Israel's plans to build more settlements in occupied Palestine, the newspaper said: Despite their efforts to build mutual trust, Mr. Obama and Mr. Netanyahu seem to keep talking past each other. On Tuesday, they were worlds apart in symbolism as well as substance: the president voiced his criticism of Israel while on a visit to Jakarta, capital of the world's most populous Muslim country. On examination, this paragraph -- in what purports to be a news article --  is quite astonishing. Here's the implication:      * The Muslim world is a bloc, which by its very nature, its essence, opposes Israel.      * If you want to promote peace in Israel/Palestine, you don't encourage this Muslim bloc by "criticizing" Israel while you are in the "capital of the world's most populous Muslim country." And just exactly what was Obama's incendiary statement, uttered in the enemy capital? When asked in about Israel's plans for 1,000 housing units for a contested part of East Jerusalem, Mr. Obama said, "This kind of activity is never helpful when it comes to peace negotiations." Comment on this article > The fight has broken out inside the Jewish family Nov 10, 2010 09:53 am | Philip Weiss I announce landmarks every 100 yards, but the news from the Jewish Federations' General Assembly in New Orleans, captured on the amazing video above, is a big one. Several young Jews calling themselves proud Jews took Palestinian solidarity into the Jewish family with an explosive disruption of rightwinger Netanyahu's speech. These Jews were brave and surely inspired by the countless brave Palestinians who have taken far greater risks in the occupied territories. But they said, this is our place to voice our anger, an official Jewish space. We are part of the Jewish community. And the official community responded with rage and violence and incoherence. These young people are liberators. The Jewish family will never be the same; the fight has begun inside the family and begun openly at last. Now Netanyahu, whose coalition included fascistic elements, has finally been called out to his face inside the Israel lobby, by angry young Jews, as their parents' generation swallowed his ethnic cleansing and landgrabbing. Last year at J Street, the Palestinian solidarity types were quiet. Rabbi Eric Yoffie attacked noble Richard Goldstone in a keynote speech and some people booed but they swallowed it. The panels were all Zionist. Jonathan Chait attacked this website twice during a panel with Matt Yglesias, and I said nothing about it. Passive. I thought, what is my place here, am I a real Jew? Two years ago I went to an all-night Nakba seder on Market Street in Philadelphia and at 1 in the morning a lot of young Jews did a workshop on their relationships to their families, how out they are with their parents. There was a lot of soulsearching, including by yours truly, but it wasn't like we were doing it at our families' seders, no we were gathering among ourselves. For years I was afraid of my mother's best friend, who made aliyah to Israel 40 years ago. I never came out to her. She's a Holocaust survivor, I was afraid to declare. She had power over me. I said to myself, If I were on some panel and she walked in the back of the room, I'd go silent. Well this summer I wrote her a letter and then had a conversation with her. Not a very good conversation, but now she knows. She yelled at me, but now she knows. This is happening all over. There are non-Zionists inside the tent-- the JCC is Manhattan is hosting Gideon Levy next week as part of its "Other Israel" festival, and Tablet says that "many" Jews are for a binational state. These Jews are going to make a revolution in Jewish attitudes; and first they must take on their elders. Comment on this article > You'd have to give Chris Matthews sodium pentathol to find out why we invaded Iraq Nov 10, 2010 09:29 am | Philip Weiss This is mind-numbing. Last night on Hardball, Chris Matthews interviewed Joseph Wilson, Michael Isikoff, David Corn and Thomas DeFrank about Bush's memoir. They harped on a lie in the book: Bush's claim that he was upset when he learned that there were no WMDs in Iraq. As if he were surprised. But as Matthews pointed out, and the guests agreed, that's not why we went to war. WMD was merely how the project was sold. And for 15 minutes or so Matthews railed about wanting to know the reasons that we went to war. He walked up to the edge. He mentioned neoconservatives, and he mentioned all the Middle East experts who surrounded Bush when he himself knew nothing about the Middle East. But as to the reasons why, he left a complete blank, and it was left to Joseph Wilson to offer his own estimate of why: because we wanted to change the politics of the Middle East, we wanted to bring democracy to the Middle East. The neoconservative lines. Yes and why did they undertake this project? At the end of the segment Matthews said he wants to give Bush sodium pentathol to learn the real reason we went in there. This is self-imposed ignorance. You will never learn why from a leader, particularly one who wouldn't know an idea if it peed on his leg. Analysts have to do their digging and offer their insights. Matthews is a man of insight; and the answers are all around him, in Tom Friedman's statement to Haaretz that it was 25 neocons who started the war, in Joe Klein's statement that it was Jewish neocons who came up with a benign domino theory of the Middle East, in the neocons' own pronouncement that the road to Jerusalem lay through Baghdad, in Clean Break in which Perle, Feith, and Wurmser say that removing Saddam will help Israel to "secure the realm," in Phil Zelikow's statement that the unnamed reason was the threat to Israel, in Walt and Mearsheimer's paper and book, in Glenn Kessler's revelation that Condoleezza Rice regarded the war as a "way to bring democracy to the region and help Israel", and on and on. And yes, Doug Feith's father lost all his family in the Holocaust and Feith is a Zionist. Chris Matthews knows these reasons darn well why, he just can't say them. And what about this from Justin Elliott at Salon, reading Bush's book: "He was grateful to Elie Wiesel: For the famous Holocaust survivor's strong support for the invasion of Iraq war. Bush writes:"   One of the most fascinating people I met with was Elie Wiesel, the author, Holocaust survivor, and deserving Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Elie is a sober and gentle man. But there was passion in his seventy-four-year-old eyes when he compared Saddam Hussein's brutality to the Nazi genocide. "Mr. President," he said, "you have a moral obligation to act against evil." The force of his conviction affected me deeply. Here was a man who had devoted his life to peace urging me to intervene in Iraq. As he later explained in an op-ed: "Though I oppose war, I am in favor of intervention when, as in this case because of Hussein's equivocations and procrastinations, no other option remains." Was this important? Obviously. And how different from Tom Lantos, Holocaust survivor in the House, comparing Saddam to Hitler? Did Zionism play any role in these men's thinking? Does a bear spit in the woods? Comment on this article >

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Being happy–is it good for the Jews? "Before Professor Dershowitz accused me of being an anti-Semite (news to me), I was a happy person. Since then, I'm still a happy person". –Michael Santomauro

An antisemite condemns people for being Jews, I am not an antisemite.--Michael Santomauro

Most of us are mentally trapped to think Jewish. Actually, it is safe to say that virtually every mainstream publication or or other type of media organ is "nothing more than a screen to present chosen views." The great battle over the last century has been a battle for the mind of the Western peoples, i.e., non-Jewish Euros. The chosen won it by acquiring control over essentially the complete mainstream news, information, education and entertainment media of every type, and using that control to infuse and disseminate their message, agenda and worldview, their way of thinking, or rather the way they want us to think. Since at least the 1960s this campaign has been effectively complete. Since then they have shaped and controlled the minds of all but a seeming few of us in varying degree with almost no opposition or competition from any alternative worldview. So now most of us are mentally trapped in the box the chosen have made for us, which we have lived in all our lives. Only a few have managed to avoid it or escape it, or to even sometimes see outside of it, and so actually "think outside of the (Jewish) box." --Michael Santomauro

Thank you and remember: 

Peace is patriotic!

Michael Santomauro

253 W. 72nd Street

New York, NY 10023

Call anytime: 917-974-6367

E-mail me anything:

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