Barbara Bush to her son: “How’s the first Jewish president doing?”

 

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Here are the headlines from Mondoweiss for 12/21/2010: Aid groups say they, not Hamas, are thwarted by Israeli restrictions on Gaza Ten days to raise $3,000 – Please help us reach our matching goal! Forging the bonds of a juster world, Helena Cobban is third in our panel of Judges! Realist GHW Bush dealt with the shock of his son's neoconservatism by joking Rogue nation Almost 100 Gaza laborers shot this year for collecting rocks; Abbas wanted Israel to help attack Hamas, per WikiLeaks Aid groups say they, not Hamas, are thwarted by Israeli restrictions on Gaza Dec 21, 2010 04:24 am | Seham And other news from Today in Palestine: Settlers/ Land, Property, Resource Theft & Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing Arab states preparing UN resolution against Israeli settlements Israeli officials fear that Washington will not rush to exercise its veto power against such a resolution, which calls for international pressure for construction freeze. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/arab-states-preparing-un-resolution-against-israeli-settlements-1.331364 Israeli army destroys buildings, intensifies its checkpoints in Hebron altHebron, December 20, (Pal Telegraph) - The Israeli occupation vehicles started, Monday morning demolishing a number of establishments and shops in Al-Boqaa villages, east of Hebron.  One of Al-Boqaa village people said to Safa that a number of occupation bulldozers and excavators began the demolition in the area near the entrance of "Kiryat Arba" settlement causing the destruction of five shops owned by Saeed Jaber. http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7762:Israeli-army-destroys-buildings,-intensifies-its-checkpoints-in-Hebron&catid=59:west-bank&Itemid=135 IOA scheme to build 130 housing units in OJ endorsed The Jerusalem District Planning and Construction Committee approved the construction of 130 new housing units between Gilo and Beit Safafa south of occupied Jerusalem. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k Spat over local spring turns into violent clashes between Palestinian protesters, security forces Almost a year has past since the confrontation between Neveh Tzuf settlers and their Palestinian neighbors in the West Bank village of Nabi Salah erupted over usage of local spring water in the Ramallah area.    http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4001002,00.html Israel Demolishing Talks, Mel Frykberg ISSAWEYA, Occupied East Jerusalem – More and more Palestinians are paying the price for deadlocked talks over Israel's continued settlement-building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Muhammad Robin Alyyan, 27, from the volatile Issaweya suburb of East Jerusalem, stands next to piles of rubble and twisted metal. http://original.antiwar.com/frykberg/2010/12/20/israel-demolishing-talks/ Israeli ethnic cleansing surge: How many more Palestinian homes must be demolished before western governments act? MEMO CommentaryAs Westerners busy themselves preparing for Christmas, Israel has accelerated its campaign of ethnic cleansing in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and within its own (non-declared) borders. Those familiar with the conduct of successive Israeli governments, right-and left-wing, will not be surprised. They have a long-standing reputation for using international diversions to advance their drive for lebensraum - living space - in Palestine. http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/resources/commentary-and-analysis/1863-israeli-ethnic-cleansing-surge-how-many-more-palestinian-homes-must-be-demolished-before-western-governments-act Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Israel Ramps Up Repression of Non-Violence in East Jerusalem,  Joseph Dana On November 28th, Adnan Gheith, a member of the Al-Bustan Neighborhood Committee and a dignitary of Silwan, was served with a letter informing him that Yair Golan, the Israeli Home Front Commander, is intending to expel him from Jerusalem for a period of four months. The expulsion is to be executed based on an Administrative Order – with no charges and no evidence – by power of the Emergency Defense Orders established under the British Mandate. Gheith's lawyer was informed that the expulsion is intended to curb Gheith's political activity, since the security apparatus considers him to be a central instigator of unrest in Silwan. http://josephdana.com/2010/12/israel-ramps-up-repression-of-non-violence-in-east-jerusalem/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=israel-ramps-up-repression-of-non-violence-in-east-jerusalem US Palestinians condemn FBI repression of solidarity movement The United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) strongly condemns and denounces the Federal Bureau of Investigation's political repression of 19 anti-war, Palestine solidarity and Palestinian activists. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11685.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29 As Bethlehem Readies For Christmas, All Markets Declared Free Of Settlement Products During a special meeting with heads and officials of government institutions, and mayors in the Bethlehem district, Bethlehem Governor, Abdul-Fattah Hamayel, stated that as Bethlehem readies to celebrate Christmas, its markets are now %100 free of Israeli settlement products. http://www.imemc.org/article/60226 Boycott roundup: activists mark holidays with boycott carols and victories Over the past two weeks, Palestine solidarity activists across the US launched holiday-themed actions encouraging shoppers not to buy Israeli-made products. Meanwhile, BDS activists in Scotland claimed a major victory when the Edinburgh city council rejected a bid by French urban contracting company Veolia to take over public services in the city. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11683.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29 Deck London's Walls with Bethlehem's Calls Two dozen children, aged 5-17, from the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem, cut out stencils of letters, stars and Christmas trees and sprayed painted 'MERRY CHRISTMAS WORLD FROM BETHLEHEM GHETTO' on Israel's illegal separation wall. Photographed by UK-based photojournalist William Parry, images of the children and their message – along with powerful images of checkpoints and life under occupation – will temporarily 'hijack' prominent wall spaces in central London throughout the week leading up to Christmas, with the help of projection artist, Beverley Carpenter. (photographs of Bethlehem and of the projection project in London can be found over the fold!) http://pulsemedia.org/2010/12/20/deck-london%E2%80 #BDS: Holiday Carolers Wish Settlement-builder Leviev "A Loss of Business and a Poor Fiscal Year" New York, NY, December 18, 2010 – Sixty human rights advocates, many sporting Santa hats, performed Christmas carol parodies and theatrical skits calling for the boycott of Israeli diamond mogul and settlement-builder Lev Leviev outside his Madison Avenue store this afternoon. Carolers celebrated the boycott movement's success in pressuring Leviev's company Africa Israel to cease settlement building and demanded that Leviev's company Leader Management and Development do the same. http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/12/bds-holiday-carolers-wish-settlement.html A Request from Cindy Corrie From: cindy@rachelcorriefoundation.org Date: December 19, 2010 2:33:31 PM EST Subject: Support Seattle bus ad effort - vote in King 5 TV poll Friends, The Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign's effort to publicize Israeli War Crimes support with U.S. tax dollars on city buses is getting considerable attention. Story broke about this on Seattle King 5 TV Friday evening. The Jewish Federation has put out a letter opposing the ads. If you haven't taken the simple step of voting in The King 5 TV poll about the effort, please do! And please pass along to your lists and let others know. Seattle activists will need support this week. Note that those supporting the ads surged ahead in the unofficial poll yesterday after we put word out - but today the opposition has taken the lead. Over 4500 have voted in the poll in just over a day, and the story has been the first or second most read story for the past day - and the most frequently emailed. Comments are welcome. http://bit.ly/dWALp9 Cindy http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/a-request-from-cindy-corrie/ Refugees/Siege/Rights Violations/Restriction of Movement Aid groups say they, not Hamas, are thwarted by Israeli restrictions on Gaza GAZA CITY - Despite recent moves by Israel to ease construction in the Gaza Strip, restrictions on building materials are hampering international humanitarian efforts while doing little to impede the Hamas-led government they are designed to weaken, aid and nongovernmental groups say.       http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=24de3576de138fc5f8cbe745c5e9aed3 The Challenge of Feeding a Family in Gaza December, 2010: Randa Al-Jarousha has seven children. Her husband is jobless. He used to work in construction but he got sick and lost his job. Even if he gets better, his chances of finding another construction job are slim since building materials are in short supply.    Most days, Randa sends her son to school without breakfast and relies on the fortified snacks offered in the Milk for Preschoolers program run by ANERA. http://www.care2.com/causes/human-rights/blog/the-challenge-of-feeding-a-family-in-gaza/ African Asylum Seekers in Israel Debbie Herdan is a former Tel Aviv resident who was very active in the organization Hagar and Miriam, which works with African women in Israel who are either pregnant or have recently given birth.  Debbie worked with Eritrean, Sudanese and Darfurian asylum seekers for several years and writes that they became like family to her.  She passed on the following messages encouraging people in Israel to come out to a rally on December 24th in Tel Aviv (corner of Rothschild and Sheinkin at 10 am, for those who want to attend).  The occasion is the declared intention of the State of Israel to require refugees to live in a refugee camp (run by the Prison Service). http://theonlydemocracy.org/2010/12/african-asylum-seekers-in-israel/ Racism and Discrimination Bat Yam rally: Death to Jewish women who date Arabs 200 people demonstrate in city center against 'Arabs who are taking our daughters'; leftists wave signs reading 'Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies'. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4002085,00.html Violence/Aggression Israeli fighter jets attack Gaza Air raids appear to target fighters in several parts of the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/12/2010122142226408227.html Eight separate Israeli airstrikes reported throughout Gaza; 2 injured Late Monday night, Israeli warplanes dropped bombs in different parts of the Gaza Strip – initial reports from the ground indicate that at least eight separate bombs were dropped in several areas in the crowded, 15-mile wide Strip. http://www.imemc.org/article/60225 Police question Palestinian claim settlers burned his herd of sheep Palestinian shepherd says he saw settlers light a fire in the field where his herd was grazing, burning to death 12 pregnant ewes, and then drive away. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/police-question-palestinian-claim-settlers-burned-his-herd-of-sheep-1.331714 Detainees (held by Israel, PA and Hamas0 Thirteen-year-old Sentenced to 21 Days House Arrest in Jerusalem Jerusalem – Maysa Abu Ghazala – PNN - An Israeli Magistrate Court judge ruled today to confine 13-year-old Mustafa Jamjoum to 21 days in his house and an NIS 750 fine for "participating in stone throwing" at Israeli troops during a demonstration in Silwan.  An Israeli border guard arrested Jamjoum last Thursday as he returned to his home after a protest; he was interrogated for more than six hours in the al-Moskobiyya (Moscow) prison compound in Jerusalem, transferred to Salah al-Din Police Station and held there until his trial.  The Israeli attorney general demanded at the hearing that Jamjoun be sentenced to 90 days and an NIS 2000 fine. He was opposed by Muhammad Ramzi Mahmoud, a lawyer from the International Movement to Defend Children. http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9293&Itemid=27 Israeli army detains 3Palestinians in Nablus altNablus, December 20, (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) detained Monday three Palestinians from Kafer Kalel town, in south of Nablus city, in the West Bank.  Eyewitnesses said that Israeli occupation forces detained three citizens from one family. They are: Saleh Amer, 20, a university student, and Rafat Amer, 28, Aand Tame Amer an ex-prisoner.  They added that the IOF broke into and searched number of houses belonging to the family of the detainees.  Israeli occupation forces raid the West Bank cities in a daily base and detain Palestinian citizens under the pretext of what they call "wanted Palestinians".  http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7755:Israeli-army-detains-3Palestinians-in-Nablus&catid=59:west-bank&Itemid=135 Hamas Militia Holds Khan Yunes Governor Gaza City – PNN - A militia group under orders from the Islamic movement Hamas is holding Dr. Usama al-Fara, governor of the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunes and member of the Fatah Revolutinoary Council, inside his office in Gaza City.  A Fatah source said that the militia summoned Dr. al-Fara to one of his offices before holding him there. Dr. al-Fara has been arrested once before and held for three months by Hamas after elections in 2006. Today's arrest comes during a week of Hamas arrests of Fatah members.  Dr. al-Fara is one of two Fatah members of the Palestinian Legislative Council members from Khan Yunes, the other being controversial strongman Muhammad Dahlan. The three other Khan Yunes representatives are from Hamas. http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9291&Itemid=73 Ministry of prisoners: What is happening in WB is high treason The ministry of prisoners in the Gaza Strip has urged the Palestinian people to stand up in solidarity with the political detainees in the West Bank. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx? Reprisals Qassam explodes near kindergarten Rocket hits kibbutz in Ashkelon Coast Regional Council; two people suffer from shock, including a child. Two gunmen injured Monday night as Israeli aircraft bomb targets in Beit Lahiya, Khan Younis in response to mortar fire at Negev. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4002195,00.html Middle East Wikileaks Amos Gilad: Abbas 'won't survive politically' past 2011 Recently released diplomatic cable quotes top Defense Ministry official saying PA president weakened by Goldstone report, "stubborn Hamas." http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=200265&R=R2 Netanyahu's patience with Abbas has 'run out', says WikiLeaks cable Premier's senior policy aide told visiting U.S. senators in December 2009 - just three weeks after settlement freeze declared - that Israel would no longer make concessions to the Palestinians. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-s-patience-with-abbas-has-run-out-says-wikileaks-cable-1.331680 'Israel enjoys peace with Egypt, Jordan, but not peoples' WikiLeaks cable: "Israel believes moderate Arab states could fall victim to regime change, resume hostilities." http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?ID=200316&R=R1 WikiLeaks: Mubarak refused black market Soviet nukes Cable reports "Egypt had been offered nuclear scientists, materials following collapse of Soviet Union, but Egypt refused." http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=200197&R=R3 WikiLeaks cables: Syria believed Israel was behind sniper killing Assassination of Syrian president's top security aide caused anxiety among the political elite, US embassy cables reveal. 'Evil' Syria regime would collapse in war with Israel, former MI chief told U.S. Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin made the statement in light of fears of a military clash between Syria and Israel in the summer of 2007, newly released WikiLeaks cables reveal. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/evil-syria-regime-would-collapse-in-war-with-israel-former-mi-chief-told-u-s-1.331713?localLinksEnabled=false PM to US: How will you handle Iran? Leaked document reveals that on April 2009, shortly after taking office, Netanyahu met with American lawmakers and asked them at least three times what US planned to do about nuclear threat. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4002188,00.html Political Developments Bolivia recognizes Palestinian state; Ecuador may be next The President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, announced on Friday that Bolivia recognizes a Palestinian state along the 1967 border with Israel. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has also started conversations with Ecuador to enlist that country's support for a Palestinian state. http://www.imemc.org/article/60222 Israel on offensive over Palestinian diplomacy: report (AFP) AFP - Israel has ordered its envoys abroad to launch a "comprehensive defence" against Palestinian efforts for international recognition of an independent state, Haaretz newspaper reported on its website Monday. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101220/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestinianspeacediplomacyun Israeli ministers float limited West Bank pullout (AP) AP - With Mideast peace talks at an impasse, two senior members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party are shopping around a new idea: In the absence of peace, Israel should pull large numbers of Jewish settlers out of the West Bank while leaving its soldiers in place. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101221/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_new_thinking Abbas faces 'power grab' by key rival  [Abbas and Dahlan] RAMALLAH, West Bank, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is cracking down on one of his main political rivals, former security chief Mohammed Dahlan, amid signs of a growing rift in the Palestinian leadership as U.S. efforts to revive the moribund peace process founder.  Sources in the ruling Fatah movement have reported that in recent days Abbas' security services have interrogated a number of party activists on suspicion that Dahlan had recruited them for an armed militia. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2010/12/20/Abbas-faces-power-grab-by-key-rival/UPI-63321292872272/ Palestinian leaders contradict each other  [Abbas and Fayyad] JERUSALEM, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- The Palestinian Authority's president Monday rebuked the group's prime minister for contradicting him on unilateral statehood recognition, observers said.  Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad opposed the group's intention to unilaterally pursue recognition of statehood from the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly, while its president, Mahmoud Abbas, said the group is determined to seek a non-negotiated, one-sided statehood based on 1967 borders, The Jerusalem Post reported. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2010/12/20/Palestinian-leaders-contradict-each-other/UPI-54761292899265/ No peace in Middle East with U.S. mediation: Lula RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Monday that there will be no peace in the Middle East while the United States acts as a mediator.  "I am convinced that there will be no peace in the Middle East as long as the United States is the tutor of peace there," he said.  Lula, who will leave office on Jan. 1, commented on the impasse with Iran's nuclear program, which ended in several sanctions applied by the United Nations Security Council. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-12/21/c_13658109.htm Erdogan: Israel is to blame for failed peace talks Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that while there were recently high level talks between the Turkish Foreign Ministry and Israel in Geneva, there were no changes in Turkish demands regarding the "Israeli aggression against the humanitarian aid ships in Gaza" and the "murder" of nine Turkish citizens, Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported. http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=200214&R=R3 Egypt: Two Israeli involved in espionage affair Three men are accused of "espionage and endangering the interests of Egypt" and "carrying out activities which could lead to a breakdown in relations" with Syria and Lebanon," a judicial source said Monday.  Egyptian Tarek Abdel Razzak, 37, who owns an import-export company, is accused of having worked together with two Israelis, he is a fugitive from the law, and the Israelis are being tried in absentia. An arrest warrant has been issued against the three. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4001869,00.html Assad says he sees no partner for peace in extremist Israeli government Syria has no partner for peace in Israel's "extremist" current government and US President Barack Obama has created more despair in the Middle East, Syrian President Bashar Assad was quoted as saying Monday. "We are prepared for peace and we have a clear plan that can lead us there," Assad was quoted as saying in an interview with the German Bild daily in Damascus. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=122724 Absence of war with Israel not the same as peace, says Spanish defense minister BEIRUT: Spain's Defense Minister Carme Chacon said Monday that the absence of war between Lebanon and Israel did not mean that peace prevailed between the two countries. "The absence of war in Lebanon does not mean that there is peace," she said, during a short visit to Lebanon. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=122744 Other News Israeli military announces deployment of new 'Windbreaker'-enabled tanks along Gaza border A new technology known as 'Windbreaker' shielding will be deployed in tanks stationed along the Israel-Gaza border, announced an Israeli military spokesperson on Sunday.  According to the website 'Military Analysis', "The system carries a price tag of $150,000-$200,000, permitting its advanced operational abilities to intercept a rocket before it can strike."  The 'Windbreaker' system detects the heat of incoming shells, then fires a series of defeating particles to destroy the shells before they get near the tank. Israeli forces deployed along the border with Gaza will use the new system against shells fired by Palestinian resistance fighters across the border with Israel, most of which have no aiming capabilities and land on the Negev desert. http://www.imemc.org/article/60219 WEST BANK: Poll finds Palestinians afraid to criticize authority A Palestinian public opinion poll published Monday in the West Bank city of Ramallah found out that only a quarter of the Palestinians in the West Bank believe they can criticize the Palestinian Authority. In the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, the record was even worse as less than a fifth of the Palestinians there believed it is possible to criticize Hamas rule of the coastal enclave. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/12/west-bank-poll-finds-palestinians-afraid-to-criticize-authority.html PM considers requesting Jonathan Pollard pardon Israel to submit pardon request to free spy? Esther Pollard begs PM to send Obama formal request, saying: 'Change tactics.' Netanyahu: Give me 24 hours. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4002056,00.html Zionist violence isn't violence at all, jokes Rudd An editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald today that highlights an amazing recent comment by Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd showing the inherent racism of Western backers of Zionism:  "Rudd made a distasteful joke about Menachem Begin carrying out "some interior redesign" of Jerusalem's King David Hotel – referring to a terrorist bombing in 1946 that killed 91 people. Has Rudd really has got it as a diplomat?" http://antonyloewenstein.com/2010/12/21/zionist-violence-isnt-violence-at-all-jokes-rudd/?utm_source=Twitter%20Referral&utm_medium=Twitter&utm_campaign=Twitter Palestine Analysis/Op-ed The Palestinian Authority and the Problem of Reform under the Occupation Real reform of the Palestinian authority possible? Or is reform simply a matter of "dancing to the Occupation's tune?"   Also, can the types of reform be divided and classified in such a way so that some administrative, economic, educational, and social reforms are achieved, with the understanding that political and security reforms are much more difficult – if not impossible? Or will reform solely improve the image of the occupation and prolong its existence, which in itself is considered a deviation from the prime objective that Palestinian Authority was established to achieve – namely ending the occupation and not merely improving the status quo under its reign?!   http://palestinethinktank.com/2010/12/20/dr-moshen-m The future of the Middle East is in the grip of Israeli extremism, Fahmi Howeidi It seems that we have come to the moment of truth in the Palestinian conflict, where all the signs indicate that the future of the issue, and the entire region, is now determined by Avigdor Lieberman, a far-right racist in Israel, in league with other extremists and fanatics in the Knesset.  Some may say that Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is the most powerful man in the arena. After all, he's the one who has humiliated the Palestinians, insulted all the Arabs and challenged President Obama personally, beating them all in the process. This is true because it depicts the reality as recorded by the headlines. But it does not convey the whole message; it makes no mention of the forces which drive and guide Netanyahu. http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/articles/middle-east/1858-the-future-of-the-middle-east-is-in-the-grip-of-israeli-extremism I Dreamed This was Only a Nightmare, Lillian Rosengarten I woke up this morning from a nightmare. I dreamed of Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish. Perhaps the world has forgotten or does not know about this Gazan physician who has dedicated his life to reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. I had known about him and perhaps because this month is the birthday of my beloved son who died in 1996, I dreamed of this man whose 3 daughters were murdered while they slept in their beds in their home in the Jabaliya refugee camp. They were murdered by the Israeli Defense Force as they shot directly into their bedroom during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, January 2009. http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16495 Economic Espionage Haunts AIPAC, Grant Smith Steven J. Rosen's $20 million defamation lawsuit against his former employer, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, has now taken a predictable turn.  AIPAC fired Rosen and fellow analyst Keith Weissman over their indictments under the Espionage Act in 2005.  The criminal prosecution was ultimately quashed by the Obama administration to the chagrin of prosecutors in early 2009. A November 8, 2010 AIPAC defense filing in Superior Court asked Judge Erik Christian to dismiss the civil suit, alleging that Rosen's use of company computers to surf pornographic websites and selections from damning depositions proved AIPAC's statements that he did not comport to company standards were not slander.  As predicted, Rosen has now gone for AIPAC's jugular by deposing Executive Director Howard Kohr (PDF) and legislative deputy director Esther Kurz about their roles in an earlier espionage caper against US industries and workers involving AIPAC's use of classified information. http://original.antiwar.com/smith-grant/2010/12/17/economic-espionage-haunts-aipac/ AIPAC's Scandalous Behaviors, Dallas Darling If it was not enough for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to condemn the Palestinians for publicly suggesting that they have a right to consider a unilateral declaration of statehood, the extremely influential and powerful Jewish-American lobbying group has worked diligently to associate Israel's commitment to a settlement freeze and the restarting of talks with the Palestinians as something akin to appeasing Hitlerism. Including AIPAC's manipulation of the Holocaust, such scandalous and reprehensible behaviors have sabotaged peace efforts between the Palestinians and Israelis for decades. These political ruses and false associations have also led to unnecessary conflicts and wars, causing suffering and death for thousands of innocent people. http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16496 Israeli Castigation of Global Activism as 'Lawfare', Iqbal Jassat – Pretoria Reading details of a press conference hosted by Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon to mark International Human Rights Day makes one aware not only about how far removed the apartheid state is from human rights, but also how inimical the state is towards legitimate campaigners for this fundamental right.  In addition to the event being far removed from the theme, it was held primarily to release a new study or monograph, Lawfare – Exploitation of Courts in the Arab-Israeli Conflict. http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16499 O Little Town of Bethlehem Today, Ron Forthofer During Christmas time, the town of Bethlehem in the West Bank, the birthplace of Jesus, comes to mind. I wonder what Jesus would think were he to return to Bethlehem, to Jerusalem and to the rest of the West Bank today. Unfortunately, he would still see a foreign military force occupying the land. Since Jesus had experienced the Roman occupation when he was alive, he might not be too surprised about the occupation. http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16500 Last Call for a Peaceful Settlement, Joharah Baker Last week when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton assigned blame to both the Palestinians and Israelis for the faltering negotiations process, the Palestinians took offense and for good reason. Not only had the American administration suddenly reneged on its former tactic of pushing Israel to extend a settlement freeze but it was now saying the Palestinians also "have not yet made the difficult decisions that peace requires." Other, unofficial sources (namely Wikileaks) have shown just how much the US administration blames the Palestinians. One purported cable entitled "ME policy recalibration" notes that the "USG focus on obtaining freeze in Israeli settlements in the West Bank for additional 90 days has been discontinued. Recognized that previous 10-month freeze was wasted by Palestinian Authority, which failed to enter direct talks in good faith." http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=22939&CategoryId=3 Hidden Histories – Book Review, Jim Miles (Basem L. Ra'ad. Hidden Histories - Palestine and the Eastern Mediterranean. London: Pluto Press, 2010.)  The clear majority of the modern works that examine the Palestine/Israel conflict do so with a strong emphasis on the 'nakba' of 1948, with subsequent arguments based on covering events that led up to it, and then arguments based on events that have followed from it. For the former it is usually a discussion of the early Zionist writings merging into early Christian Zionist beliefs in the U.S. and Britain, and then gaining huge momentum from the Balfour Declaration, a statement of policy and not international law or international agreement. For the latter, the post nakba events, much of the focus is appropriately placed on the mechanisms of control established by the newly declared Israeli state up to the 1967 war, and after that critical juncture, a discussion of the settlements and their expropriation/annexation of occupied Palestinian land. The formation of valued international norms of law and human rights since the Second World War, established through various international means (the Nuremburg trials, the UN, the Geneva Conventions and other accepted norms of customary law), plays in important role in these discussions.   http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16498 Eyes in Gaza – Book Review, Jeremy Salt – Ankara (Mads Gilbert and Erik Fosse. Eyes in Gaza. London: Quartet Books, 2010.) "They bombed the central vegetable market in Gaza City two hours ago. 80 injured, 20 killed, all came here to Shifa. Hades!  We are wading in death, blood and amputees. More children. A pregnant woman. I have never experienced anything so terrible. Now we hear tanks. Pass this on, send it on, shout it out. Anything. DO SOMETHING! DO MORE! We are living in the history books now, all of us."  So wrote Dr Mads Gilbert at 1.50 pm on January 3, 2009.  It was a message he tapped into his mobile phone. A professor of medicine at the University of North Norway in Tromso, he had come to Gaza with his old friend Erik Fosse, a professor of medicine at the University of Oslo, specialising in general surgery. Eyes in Gaza (London: Quartet Books, 2010) is their record of what they saw and experienced during this onslaught on a civilian population by 'the most moral army in the world', as the Israeli government and the army command itself routinely describe their military. http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16501 Other Op-ed/Analysis Ashura is about more than bloodletting | Ahmed Moor Bloodletting may seem an excessively literal act, but it should not distract from the universality of grief expressed at Ashura.  Ashura is mostly acknowledged in the west for the symbolic bloodletting some Shia communities engage in. Indeed, I witnessed a limited amount of that in Nabatieh in southern Lebanon on 16 December. But it seemed incidental to what was really going on. The people around me were mourning; they coped with loss and they turned to their coreligionists for strength like anyone else would. What I witnessed was a resonant show of community. There was nothing extraordinary about that. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/dec/20/ashura-bloodletting-grief Max Blumenthal: The Great Islamophobic Crusade Erupting so many years after 9/11, this spasm of anti-Muslim bigotry might seem oddly timed and unexpectedly spontaneous. But little of recent American Islamophobia is sheer happenstance. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-blumenthal/the-great-islamophobic-cr_b_799277.html How the U.S. Government Promotes Islamophobia, Alex Kane I often focus on organizations and individual right-wing activists outside the U.S. government that have stoked anti-Muslim sentiment here.  But the U.S. government itself is just as culpable in promoting a McCarthyist climate of fear where every Muslim-American is considered a "terror threat" and Islam is turned into the new bogeyman of the day. http://alexbkane.wordpress.com/2010/12/21/how-the-u-s-government-promotes-islamophobia/ 5 Ridiculous Things You Probably Believe About Islam Well, if there's one thing everyone thinks of when they hear "Cracked.com" it's "friend of Islam." Which is why we feel compelled to clarify a few misconceptions for our readers. Also, there is no way this article will ever come back to haunt us in any way. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/20/5-ridiculous-things-you-p_n_799296.html Lebanon Warrant targets Ali Awada over spying for Israel BEIRUT: Military Investigative Judge Imad al-Zein issued an arrest warrant Monday against Ali Awada on charges of collaborating with Israel from 1984 until 2009. The arrest warrants were issued after Zein interrogated Awada. The suspect was charged with providing Israel with information on military and civil locations in Beirut's southern suburbs, as well as other sensitive data. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=122752 Hajj Hassan: Content of indictment irrelevant BEIRUT: Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan said Hizbullah rejected the looming indictment to be issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) irrespective of its content and evidence. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=122749 Iraq Monday: 2 Iraqis, 4 Libyans Killed; 12 Iraqis Wounded Last minute bickering from the Sadrist bloc has delayed voting for the new cabinet for at least one day, but attacks continued without debate. At least two Iraqis were killed and 12 more were wounded, while security forces killed four Libyans accused of planning Christmas Day attacks. Also, Amnesty International has called on Iraq to protect its Christian population. http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/12/20/monday-2-iraqis-4-libyans-killed-12-iraqis-wounded/ Iraqis await 'torture claim' ruling The High Court is due to rule in an action brought on behalf of more than 200 Iraqi civilians who allege they were tortured and suffered inhuman and degrading treatment at the hands of British soldiers and interrogators in Iraq.  Their lawyers have challenged a refusal by Defence Secretary Liam Fox to order a new, wide-ranging inquiry to investigate all the allegations being made and whether there was systemic abuse, as opposed to ill treatment by "a few bad apples". http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hf6nUUKfiUgbyYa3ElnntYXBLXQQ?docId=N0253501292902824774A Wikileaks US threatened 'retaliation' to bully EU into accepting biotech crops, cable shows Reacting to a French pledge to represent the "common interest" in considering biotech foods, a former US ambassador recommended publishing a "retaliation list" of European locations where genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were being grown in hopes that activists would destroy them and "cause some pain" for officials, a leaked diplomatic cable shows. http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/us-retaliation-list-gm-crops-cablegate/ Rove's hand seen in Julian Assange prosecution, sources allege Fredrik+Reinfeldt Roves hand seen in Julian Assange prosecution, sources allege.  Former Bush political strategist Karl Rove may be connected to a Swedish effort to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, sources for several legal experts suggest.  Rove is a longtime adviser to Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, who recently tapped the Republican operative to aid his 2010 reelection campaign. http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/rove-connection-prosecution-julian-assange/ Q&A: Julian Assange, Publisher & Editor-in-chief, WikiLeaks: 'What we released has moves towards a more just State.' Anarchist or messiah, WikiLeaks founder and Editor-in-Chief Julian Assange wears both mantles with ease. His avalanche of words continues to rock world capitals from Washington to Wellington, but the man himself is rather soft-spoken. S Kalyana Ramanathan braved Arctic weather conditions and jostling photographers outside Beccles police station in Suffolk, where Assange must report daily as part of his bail conditions, for an exclusive interview. Excerpts: http://www.afaqs.com/media/story.html?sid=29147_QA:+Julian+Assange+Publisher++Editor-in-chief+WikiLeaks Wikimania and the First Amendment, Ralph Nader Thomas Blanton, the esteemed director of the National Security Archive at George Washington University described Washington's hyper-reaction to Wikileaks' transmission of information to some major media in various countries as 'Wikimania.'  In testimony before the House Judiciary Committee last Thursday, Blanton urged the Justice Department to cool it. Wikileaks and newspapers like The New Yorks Times and London's Guardian, he said, are publishers protected by the First Amendment. The disclosures are the first small installment of a predicted much larger forthcoming trove of non-public information from both governments and global corporations. http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16497 U.S. and other world news Qatari Emir In Iran For Talks Iran and Qatar have stressed the necessity of amity and affinity among Muslim states in the face of enemy endeavors to create rift among the followers of Islam.  In a Monday meeting in Tehran, visiting Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad emphasized the importance of vigilance among regional states in order to strengthen unity and cooperation, IRNA reported. http://www.payvand.com/news/10/dec/1195.html Erdogan Attends Ashura Ceremony in Istanbul, Addresses Mourners 16/12/2010 Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan participated on Thursday in Ashura ceremony in Istanbul, to be the first Prime Minister to attend a Ahura mourning ceremony in Turkey's history.  There was a huge turnout at the ceremony of the tenth of Muharram in Turkey where marches and mourning consolations were taking place in Ankara and Istanbul, and many other places. Erdogan delivered a speech about the moral meanings of the occasion.  senior adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ali Akbar Velayati, was among the attendees in the ceremony and addressed the mourners describing the third Shia Imam, Imam Hussein (PBUH), as the symbol of fight against oppression. http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=166201&language=en     Erdogan: Hussein's Sacrifice Source of Unification, Brotherhood and Solidarity 17/12/2010 The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended an Ashura Day ceremony in Istanbul emphasizing that Imam Hussein's sacrifice is a source of unification rather than a farewell, a beginning rather than an end, brotherhood rather than separation.  "It is solidarity and integration," Erdogan emphasized at the ceremony, adding that the Karbala tragedy had caused all Muslims pain for more than a millennium.  He said that the Karbala tragedy affects all Muslims and should serve as a source of unity among Sunni and Shia Muslims. http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=166257&language=en www.TheHeadlines.org Comment on this article > Ten days to raise $3,000 – Please help us reach our matching goal! Dec 21, 2010 01:00 am | Philip Weiss and Adam Horowitz We are now in crunch time. We have ten more days in our current fund raising drive. This means we only have to raise $3,000 more to meet the $20,000 matching fund challenge presented to us by a very generous donor. If you've already given, thank you! If not, please help us to continue our in-depth coverage of Israeli and American politics. Just as a reminder, we've decided to send two thank you gifts to anyone who can make a donation of $100 or higher to our matching fund: Gift 1: The first ever Mondoweiss T-Shirt. You'll be able to wear the "War of Ideas in the Middle East" wherever you go and; Gift 2: A free signed and dedicated copy of our new book The Goldstone Report: The Legacy of the Landmark Investigation of the Gaza Conflict (it comes out in January, so please be patient on delivery of both gifts)... If you'd like your gifts sent to someone else just let us know. We also realize that a $100 donation is more than some people can afford, so we would also like to offer a Mondoweiss t-shirt to anyone who donates over $60. Thanks again for your support! Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to Mondoweiss through the Nation Institute.   (While simpler, the Paypal donations are not tax-deductible.) The address you fill in on the Groundspring site will be the address to which we send your t-shirt and book. For Paypal donations over $100, we will email you with a mailing address request. Comment on this article > Forging the bonds of a juster world, Helena Cobban is third in our panel of Judges! Dec 20, 2010 11:55 pm | annie Commitment, staying power, moral thunder and presence distinguish the third in our panel of Mondo Award Judges: Helena Cobban, founder of Just World News. And Helena is entrepreneurial. She has broadened her empire lately with a new publishing company, Just World Books, which has already got an impressive list in Laila El-Haddad, Chas Freeman, Reidar Visser and Joshua Foust. Notice the sweep and diversity. A builder and communitarian,  Helena has done more than anyone to help forge the new bonds of community between east and west that are essential for any progress in our seemingly intractable relationships throughout the Middle East. Boundaries do not exist for Helena. I know Helena mainly as a great reporter. I trust her completely and have been reading her essential website Just World News since I first discovered blogs in '03. Helena is also undersung; her pickups are so far ahead of the curve that by the time the herd is on to them, she's on to other parts of the unjust world. Here's Helena circa November 25, 2009 in CSM: Washington – President Obama urgently needs to distance Washington from the provocative – and illegal – actions the Israeli government has been undertaking in Jerusalem. He needs to do this to save the two-state solution that he supports between Israelis and Palestinians. He needs to do it, too, because it will help protect US troops around the world. Jerusalem is a core concern for many of the world's 1.5 billion Muslims, and with US forces now facing tense situations in several majority-Muslim countries, Washington has a stronger need than ever to keep the goodwill of the peoples of those lands. This is one of the main findings from a study-tour of the region I co-led earlier this month. In Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and the West Bank, strongly pro-US leaders underlined to us the importance of Jerusalem to their own political fortunes and those of other American allies throughout the Muslim world. Hmm...didn't Petraeus mention something about this in his Statement to Congress last spring? Didn't Biden blurt out something quite similar in his explosion over settlement expansion in EJ last spring? No wonder she's got a resume as long as your arm. She is on the UN M.E. advisory committee of Human Rights Watch, is the former Executive Director of CNI/CNIF, and spent years in the MSM trenches as a Beirut-based correspondent for several western sheets. My point? We're Lucky Ducks! Welcome Helena, it is such an honor to introduce you as one of our Judges. Now send us your ENTRIES for Mondo Awards Week today. No excuses! Helena joins Susan Abulhawa and Omar Barghouti on our spectacular Panel of Judges. Stay tuned as we continue to roll out these Rock Stars in alphebetical order in the days ahead. Comment on this article > Realist GHW Bush dealt with the shock of his son's neoconservatism by joking Dec 20, 2010 11:23 pm | Scott McConnell Did you read Michael Kinsley's review of Bush's memoir in the Sunday Times yesterday? I thought this part-- Speaking of a sense of humor and the Middle East, when Bush called for a new Palestinian leadership, Barbara Bush the elder ("Mother," he invariably calls her) rang up to say, "How's the first Jewish president doing?" Maybe I'm deficient in humor, but I don't see why this is funny, as her son clearly believes it to be. I might even find it alarming if Bush didn't crowd this book with maybe-you-had-to-be-there witticisms. After his first meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair, "a British reporter asked what we had in common. I quipped, 'We both use Colgate toothpaste.'" Huh? --was telling. I can see why Bush thought it was funny, and it's a little window into the important mystery of how the realist Bush absorbed the shocking reality of his neoconnized son -- after all, a question of huge historical import. I.e by gentle ribbing, in the hope that it might eventually make a difference. Perhaps it even did; Bush didn't attack Iran. Jeffrey Goldberg reported that he began to call Kristol and Krauthammer "the bomber boys" in the last years of his presidency. I'm a little surprised that Kinsley would have thought it alarming. Comment on this article > Rogue nation Dec 20, 2010 11:14 pm | Philip Weiss From Wikileaks: Syria believed that the 2008 sniper murder of the President al-Assad's top security adviser in the port city of Tartous was carried out by Israel. The U.S. says nothing. As it says nothing about the recent attacks on Iranian scientists, no, they're koshered in the Washington Post. Comment on this article > Almost 100 Gaza laborers shot this year for collecting rocks; Abbas wanted Israel to help attack Hamas, per WikiLeaks Dec 20, 2010 07:14 pm | Seham and other news from Today in Palestine Settlers/ Land, Property, Resource Theft & Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing 11 more families in Occupied West Bank are ordered to leave their homes inside 24 hours. Where is the U.S.?, Philip Weiss The U.N. in Israel/Palestine is circulating the following information today about a village in the Occupied West Bank, east of Nablus. Ma'an confirms the news. Where is the American President or Secretary of State?  We want to inform you that 11 Palestinian families in Khirbeit Tana today were given 24 hours by the Israeli military to pack their things and leave the area. The military said that if they fail to comply with the order, all their livestock and materials will be confiscated. The orders affect all families that did not experience demolition last week. http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/11-more-families-in-occupied-west-bank-are-ordered-to-leave-their-homes-inside-24-hours-where-is-the-u-s.html IOA forces Jerusalemite to raze his own home The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) forced a Jerusalemite citizen to knock down his own home in Thawri suburb in occupied Jerusalem. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b UN: Israel demolished 47 Palestinian structures in one week OCHA issued a report Saturday documenting 47 Palestinian-owned structures that were ripped down in the West Bank's Area C in one week for allegedly missing building permits. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Q Israeli occupation contributes to the water crisis in the South Hebron Hills, Samuel Nichols The Israeli military demolished three cisterns and two wells in the South Hebron Hills villages of Khasem ad-Daraj and Hathaleen.  In the early morning of December 14, five bulldozers accompanied by the Israeli military, border police, and DCO (Israeli Civil Administration) made the long trek through the arid, rocky hills in order to demolish much-needed cisterns and to destroy wells by filling them with dirt.  http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/israeli-occupation-contributes-to-the-water-crisis-in-the-south-hebron-hills.html Derail Israel's Unlawful A1 Train Project– End International Complicity Israel's A1 high-speed train project designed to connect Jerusalem and Tel Aviv violates international humanitarian law and human rights law.   The A1 rail project forms a component of Israel's ongoing plans to cement its regime of occupation, colonial rule and apartheid over the Palestinian people, particularly in the occupied West Bank. It constitutes yet another step in the implementation of Israel's policy of forced population transfer (ethnic cleansing) which has displaced and dispossessed Palestinians, denied refugees their UN-sanctioned right to return and to receive reparations, and prevented the Palestinian people as a whole for over 60 years from exercising its inalienable right to self-determination. http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/economy-of-the-occupation/3100--derail-israels-unlawful-a1-train-project-end-international-complicity-   Abu Sha'ar: Israel to blame for Omari Mosque collapse Palestine's religious affairs minister in Gaza Talib Abu Sha'ar is assigning blame to Israel for the collapse of the Omari Mosque in Zanuta, a village under threat of demolition east of Al-Khalil. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq Family takes stock after mass Lod demolition LOD, Israel (Ma'an) -- The 67 members of the extended Abu Eid family assessed the remains of their six concrete homes on Wednesday, two days after police in Lod demolished them amidst sheets of rain and blustery winds.  The six buildings were among more than 100 in the city under immediate demolition orders, following a fall Knesset decision to destroy an estimated 4,000 illegal housing structures in a plan said to cost millions of shekels. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=342478 Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Weekly Anti-Wall Protest Update http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2420.shtml Al-Ma'asara Demonstration 17/12/2010 Israeli Army Attacks Nonviolent Demonstrators http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1Lk-iTu5Wg Sheikh Jarrah's weekly protest opposes Israeli crackdown on Palestinian political action Protesters marched in the weekly Sheikh Jarrah demonstration this week, Friday 17 December, in opposition to the Judaization of East Jerusalem and the Municipality's targeting of Palestinian political leaders in the city. Protesters filled the streets of Sheikh Jarrah, drawing to a close outside the occupied home of the Hanoun family, who were evicted on 2 August 2009. Israeli settlers have since moved in to the house, in addition to the al-Gawi home, which was evicted on the same day, and the front partition of the al-Kurd family home, occupied in December 2009. El-Bustan Popular Committee member Adnan Ghaith was invited to speak at the protest regarding Israeli authorities' current campaign to impose a temporary Jerusalem ban on Ghaith. Ghaith was issued an order on 28 November that would, if implemented, ban him from entering greater Jerusalem for a period of four months. Ghaith's only chance to appeal the order is through the Israeli Ministry of Defence – the very same ministry that issued the original decree. The order has been issued under a Mandate-period Emergency Law of 1945 that was not overturned with the creation of the Israeli state in 1948. Ghaith stated in his speech: "It is not only I, but all Palestinian Jerusalmites who are vulnerable to Israeli attempts to deport or ban us from our place of origin. Such actions are totally reprehensible and in direct violation of international law, including the Geneva Convention for Human Rights." Adnan Gaith http://silwanic.net/?p=9284 Soldiers Occupy House and Attack Demonstrators, Arresting Two Activists On Saturday, December 18th, 2010, a larger than usual number of Israeli and international activists joined Beit Ommar villagers in their demonstration against the continuing encroachment of Karmei Tsur settlers on land belonging to local farmers. Approximately 80 people took part in the high-spirited demonstration, which was accompanied by a group of Israeli drummers. Demonstrators also waved the flags of the various countries that have recognized Palestine's right to self-determination in the last few weeks. http://palsolidarity.org/2010/12/16101/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+%28International+Solidarity+Movement%29 In photos: `Santa` headlines Bethlehem anti-wall protest A Palestinian demonstrator dressed as Santa Claus waves a Palestinian national flag in front of Israeli soldiers during a demonstration against Israel's wall in the southern West Bank village of Al-Mas`ara, near Bethlehem, on Dec. 17, 2010. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=343462 #BDS: Bethlehem Mayor's Christmas Wish: Sanctions on Israel Bethlehem Mayor Victor Batarseh lashed out at Israel this week at a tree-lighting ceremony in honor of the Christmas holiday. He accused Israel of cutting Bethlehem off from "its twin city Jerusalem" and called for international sanctions.  "Trade sanctions, sports sanctions, educational sanctions, cultural sanctions. Sanctions are the only way," he said. Batarseh added that it would be "a waste of time" to negotiate with Israel. http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/12/bds-bethlehem-mayors-christmas-wish.html 'Israeli War Crimes' signs to go on Metro buses SEATTLE – "Israeli War Crimes," the enormous advertisement reads. "Your tax dollars at work."  To the right of the image is a group of children -- one little boy stares out at the viewer, the others gawk at a demolished building, all rebar and crumbled concrete. It's an ad you'll be seeing soon on a handful of Metro buses in downtown Seattle. http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/israeli-war-crimes-signs-to-go-on-metro.html Seesaw battle underway in poll over Seattle bus ads, Philip Weiss This site's item on the planned Seattle bus ads that denounce aid to Israel for war crimes hit a nerve. Well it's a groundswell, as I said. Here's the Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign that is spending the $1794 on the ads. Political awareness is coming to your community's consciousness soon! http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/seesaw-battle-underway-in-poll-over-seattle-bus-ads.html Groundswell, Philip Weiss We've noted ads on mass transit in Chicago and the Bay Area that call for an end of aid to Israel. Well now Seattle's gettin into the act, on Dec. 27, the anniversary of the Gaza onslaught. Allen Schauffler of the NBC affiliate in Seattle reports. http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/groundswell.html #BDS: MNA Khadir urges boycott of shoe store Quebec solidaire leader Amir Khadir made no apology yesterday for asking people to boycott a family-owned shoe store in his riding because it sells shoes made in Israel.  "Just because a business is in my riding, I am not going to abandon my principles," Khadir, the National Assembly member for Mercier, said in a phone interview yesterday.  Khadir took part in a demonstration last Saturday in front of Le Marcheur on St. Denis St., handing out flyers and asking customers to boycott the shop until it stops selling Israeli-made shoes.  The demonstration was organized by Palestinian and Jewish Unity, a Montreal based human rights group that advocates for the right of Palestinians to live in safety. http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/12/bds-mna-khadir-urges-boycott-of-shoe.html #BDS: Marks & Spencer opening in Egypt revitalizes calls for boycott Protest against American chain stores in Egypt, Giza, September 23, 2010. Protesters with the Activists with Palestine Movement organized many protests in Mohandeseen and Dokki calling on citizens to boycott American outlets in support for Palestinian case. Protests are held simultaneously with protests in other eight European countries. Activists referred that many American outlets support Israel and allocate some of profits for war against Palestine.  The boycott movement against Israeli products and services in Egypt is just over a decade old. Domestically, the movement is closely associated with the boycott of US goods and services, which began to gain momentum during the second Palestinian Intifada in September 2000 and again during the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/12/bds-marks-spencer-opening-in-egypt.html #BDS: ADVERTISING APARTHEID Below are some Israeli Ministry of Tourism billboards, posters and advertising hoardings that were "spotted" at London Underground (subway) stations during the past year. http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/12/bds-advertising-apartheid.html The State of Israel vs. Jonathan Pollak,  Joseph Dana The verdict in the case of Israeli activist Jonathan Pollak, charged with illegal assembly for his participation in a January 2008 Critical Mass ride against the siege on Gaza, will be handed down on December 27, 2010 at 10:00 at the Tel Aviv Magistrates Court. If convicted, Pollak is expected to be sentenced to three to six months in prison. A conviction in this case will activate an older three month suspended sentence, imposed on Pollak in a previous trial for protesting the construction of the Separation Barrier. Tel Aviv Magistrates court judge Yitzhak Yitzhak could feasibly add an additional prison term or other sanctions, in addition to the suspended sentence. Jonathan Pollak is a prominent Israeli activist and graphic designer. He is one of the founders of "Anarchists Against the Wall" and serves as outreach coordinator for the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee. http://josephdana.com/2010/12/the-state-of-israel-against-freedom-of-expression/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-state-of-israel-against-freedom-of-expression Omar Barghouti is on the Mondo Awards Panel of Judges There, I said it. I realize that is not a very eloquent title for Omar's Introduction but for the life of me I have no idea how to introduce a Giant. Seriously, we all know him already. The mere mention of his name inspires awe. http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/omar-barghouti-is-on-the-mondo-awards-panel-of-judges.html Anti #BDS: Denzel Washington visits Israel Critically acclaimed American actor tours Jerusalem with his wife, who purchases two wedding rings.  American actor Denzel Washington arrived in Israel on Tuesday for a private visit. Washington, the son of a Pentecostal minister, arrived to visit his good friend in the past 20 years Dr. David Davis, head of the messianic Jews' congregation in the Carmel, Haifa. The two met in drama school in New York and acted together in a Broadway show. http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/ #BDS: SA group sparks fury by accepting Israeli invite But founder says they will sing songs about peace and unity, as they did in Palestine. Grammy-award-winning group Ladysmith Black Mambazo has sparked a furious outcry among pro-Palestinian activists, the ANC and Cosatu, following a decision to perform in Israel.  The world-renowned group has been invited to perform at a world music show in June at the Opera House in Tel Aviv, as well as in Jerusalem.  Omar Barghouti, of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, said if the group were to honour the invitation, it would be "complicit" in covering up Israel's occupation of Palestinian land. http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/12/bds-sa-group-sparks-fury-by-accepting.html How Europe aids the occupation: David Cronin interviewed In his new book Europe's Alliance with Israel: Aiding the Occupation, journalist David Cronin exposes the bad faith behind Europe's position as a neutral force and its claims to support the basic rights of the Palestinian people. Sarah Irving interviews for The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11677.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29 Refugees/Siege/Rights Violations/Restriction of Movement Israel must grant Gaza justice | Raji Sourani Two years on, the victims of Operation Cast Lead are still denied justice in Israel's biased judicial system.  The reality of life in the Gaza Strip is hard to convey. Systematic violations of international human rights law have created abject poverty and reduced approximately 1.7 million people to "beneficiaries" of international aid, forced into dependency as the result of a human-made, and completely preventable, humanitarian crisis.  International human rights law and international humanitarian law offer necessary protections to every individual on the basis of their shared humanity. However, if they are to have meaning, these laws must be enforced. This is a core component: in the event of a violation, accountability and judicial remedy are the essential consequences. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/20/gaza-justice-israel-courts Racism and Discrimination Refugees' flat torched in Ashdod Burning tire thrown at apartment's door; five Sudanese nationals lightly hurt. Police: This is a very serious incident. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4001582,00.html Racial discrimination - a tool of occupation,  Nour Odeh Our destination was Jub Al-Dib in the Bethlehem area. We located it on the map but getting there by car was a different story. That's because the West Bank is very spread out, despite its small area. There are hundreds of sometimes tiny communities  strewn across the hills and valleys. And going from Palestinian point A to Palestinian point B in the West Bank has nothing to do with directions, logic, or geography.  It is decided by a very intricate system of rules, restrictions, and checkpoints that Israel has designed to limit Palestinian movement. There are settler-only roads, "shared" roads, and then there are no roads at all … just rugged terrains.  So sometimes, to go southwest, Palestinians must first drive northeast, etc. … http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2010/12/20/racial-discrimination-tool-occupation Racism of Hillary Clinton Finally, Clinton illustrated how completely the administration has bought into the Israeli discourse. In her eagerness to support an Israel that is both Jewish and democratic, she skated perilously close to racism. She warned that "the long-term population trends that result from the occupation" were endangering the Zionist vision. In other words, that another four million Palestinians might soon demand equal rights in an Israel that has effectively controlled all of mandate Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea since 1967.  These are murky waters indeed. One cannot imagine a political leader in any real democracy applying the same reasoning to their country. Would U.S. leaders speak of long-term Black, Hispanic, or Muslim population trends that endanger America as a "white and democratic" or as a "Christian" state? In the modern era, democratic states are expected to be constructs in which all citizens are equal under the law, irrespective of race or creed. http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/12/racism-of-hillary-clinton.html Violence/Aggression Almost 100 Gaza Laborers Shot this Year for Collecting Rocks Since March 2010, 97 people have been shot in Gaza for collecting stones. This is one of the few ways a person can actually make money here at all.  Beit Hanoun, Gaza is a dangerous place to spend time. 22 days before this report was filed, our party was shot at by Israeli soldiers in towers, here, in this same place. Over the last three weeks the same number; 22, describes the number of people shot by Israeli military here in this part of Gaza for either farming their crops, or the simple act of collecting stones, which in turn bring a person twenty sheckles a barrel.  In the video you meet 15-year old Mukhless Jawad El Massri, who was shot twice by the Israeli soldiers in the leg. Today he is on crutches and unable to work. http://www.salem-news.com/articles/december192010/gaza-boy-ko.php IOF soldiers killed 12 Palestinians in December The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have killed 12 Palestinians in the current month of December including the five who were slain in an air strike late last night, medical sources said on Sunday. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2 Voices from the Occupation Suhaib (15) was shot in his left leg whilst collecting wood in the Gaza Strip, about 250 metres from the border fence with Israel. http://www.dci-pal.org/english/doc/press/Voices_2010-12-18_gravel(2).pdf Palestinian worker injured in IOF shooting A Palestinian worker was injured with Israeli occupation forces' gunfire on Monday morning while collecting gravel in northern Gaza Strip, medical sources reported. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6 Palestinian shepherd wounded in IOF shooting A Palestinian man was injured by a gunshot fired by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stationed to the north of the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning, medical sources reported. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcO Military Violence in the Hebron Hills,  Palestine Monitor The Israeli military demolished three water cisterns and two wells in the Khashem Ad Daraj - Hathaleen region on December 14. The military have given no reason for the destruction. http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1651 Detainees Silwan minor sent to house arrest JERUSALEM (Ma'an) – An Israeli magistrates court on Sunday sent a Palestinian minor from the Silwan neighborhood of Jerusalem to house arrest for 21 days after the boy's family paid 750 NIS bail.  Mustafa Jamjoum was accused of throwing stones at Israeli forces during recent demonstrations.  Also, the Israeli municipality delayed the demolition of a home in Silwan for two months. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=343691 Waqf: Police detain mentally ill man at Al-Aqsa JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli police detained a mentally ill man who attempted to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Monday, officials said.  Police sealed off three entrances to the compound for two hours while they handled the issue, the Muslim Waqf organization said. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=343891     3 Fatah affiliates seized in Nablus raid NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces raided the northern West Bank village of Kafr Qallil south of Nablus early Monday morning and detained three men affiliated to Fatah.  Locals told Ma'an that at 2 a.m. more than 20 Israeli military vehicles raided the village and ransacked the home of Raafat Muhammad Jamil Amir, 28, and detained him.  They added that Israeli forces also detained Tamir Khalid Nayif Amir and Salih Sa'di Ibrahim Amir, both 20, after ransacking and inspecting their homes in the village.  An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed that three men were detained in Nablus. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=343766 IOF terrorize family of administrative detainee for his refusal of exile offer The IOF raided the home of prisoner Ayed Dudin in Dura and terrorized his family in response to his refusal of an offer demanding him to accept his exile to Gaza in exchange for his freedom. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7 War Crimes Israel Effectively Denies Palestinian Victims of Operation Cast Lead Access to Justice: PCHR files petition to Israeli Supreme Court Today, 20 December 2010, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) is filing a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court on behalf of 1,046 victims of Israel's 27 December 2008 – 18 January 2009 offensive on the Gaza Strip (Operation Cast Lead). The petition challenges Israeli policies which effectively deny Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip's fundamental rights to a judicial remedy and the equal protection of the law. The case is being litigated by Michael Sfard, and Carmel Pomerantz. http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MCOI-8CBJSX?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P British MP: Tzipi Livni is a war criminal, daughter of a terrorist British MP Gerald Kaufman labeled former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni "the daughter of a war criminal and terrorist", adding that she was involved in the bloody Operation Cast Lead. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k Sneak Peak: The editors' note from The Goldstone Report: The Legacy of the Landmark Investigation of the Gaza Conflict, Adam Horowitz, Lizzy Ratner, and Philip Weiss The following is an adapted excerpt of the Editors' Note from The Goldstone Report: The Legacy of the Landmark Investigation of the Gaza Conflict. The book will be available on January 11, and you can pre-order it here.  Reports come and go. This is one of the tragic truths of the literature of human rights violations. Hard-working researchers scour the rubble of war zones for fragments of evidence—of war crimes, crimes against humanity, other violations of life and freedom—only to watch their findings sink into the oblivion of forgotten documents. http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/sneak-peak-the-editors-note-from-the-goldstone-report-the-legacy-of-the-landmark-investigation-of-the-gaza-conflict.html Israel's Arab Helpers Faruq Qaddumi, As`ad Abukhalil I can state without any hesitation that there is no decent leader or cadre left in the Fath Movement.  It is fair to say that the decent and the competent have all left the movement or have been killed by Israelis.  Look at the chief charlatan, Faruq Qaddumi, the so-called head of the Political Department of the PLO.  Qaddumi seasonably makes strong denunciations of the Oslo process and the Ramallah gang.  Earlier this year, he even accused (justifiably) the Abu Mazen gang of collusion in the plot to kill Arafat.  And seasonably, Qaddumi shuts his big mouth and return to silence. Why? Because he receives the funding that he wants for his offices in Hammam Ash-Shatt in Tunisia.  So after accusing Abu Mazen of responsibility for killing Arafat, Qaddumi has been secretly negotiating with Abu Mazen to resume funding for his offices.  Stay tuned. This is common in this most corrupt of "liberation movements".  You sometimes hear a Fath leader criticizing negotiations and the US: hell, Dahlan has been recently criticizing negotiations with the Israelis. Usually, it is a sign that they have been sidestepped or marginalized.  I thought of that when I read yesterday a statement by the lousy Nabil Sha`th. [end] http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/12/faruq-qaddumi.html Dwaik: Hundreds of political detainees still in Abbas's jails in W. Bank MP Dr. Aziz Dwaik, the speaker of the Palestinian parliament, has urged Friday the militia of Mahmoud Abbas to release all political detainees in the PA jails in the West Bank. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq Son of MP Abu Jehaisha wounded during pursuit by PA militias A son of Palestinian lawmaker Mohamed Abu Jehaisha was wounded as he was being chased on Sunday evening by militia men from the Palestinian authority (PA). http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87 Israeli press: 13% of Israeli army's civilian employees are Egyptian Some 13 percent of the Israeli army's civilian employees are Egyptian nationals, according to recent reports in the Israeli media.  Abu Bakr al-Guindy, head of Egypt's official statistics bureau CAPMAS, said that most Egyptians living in Israel were illegal laborers. "For this reason, it's difficult for us to determine their exact number," he said.  According to estimates by the Egyptian Ministry of Manpower, there are between 20,000 and 25,000 Egyptians currently living in Israel.  "I don't blame the Egyptians who went to live and work in Israel," said Egyptian Trade Union Secretary-General Ibrahim al-Azhary. "There simply aren't enough jobs for them here." http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/news/israeli-press-13-israeli-armys-civilian-employees-are-egyptian Palestinian Wikileaks Cables show US doubts on Mideast peace PARIS (AFP) -- Fresh leaks of diplomatic cables from 2009 by online whistleblower Wikileaks Monday showed US doubts over Israel's commitment to the Middle East peace process due to disagreement over Israeli settlements.  A US cable from November 2009, published online by Wikileaks and by French newspaper Le Monde, said Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu wanted to negotiate with President Mahmoud Abbas, known as Abu Mazen. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=343908 Abbas wanted Israel to help attack Hamas, WikiLeaks cable shows Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wanted unprecedented help from Israel in attacking Hamas during the clashes just prior to the militant group's bloody coup of the Gaza Strip, according to a classified cable just released by WikiLeaks.   In the June 2007 cable, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones wrote that Shin Bet security chief Yuval Diskin had told him in a meeting that Abbas' Fatah movement was in complete despair over the situation in the Gaza Strip.  Israel has "established a very good working relationship" with Abbas' forces, Diskin told Jones in their meeting. As Hamas was overrunning Gaza, Diskin said, some desperate Fatah leaders even wanted Israel to attack Hamas.   According to the cable, Diskin assumed in the early days of the clashes that Hamas was not yet strong enough to destroy Fatah's presence in the Gaza Strip. Hamas may be able to win the battles, Diskin said, but Fatah's response would be damaging.   Diskin told the American envoy that Hamas had managed to penetrate the echelons of Fatah's security forces, emphasized that Abbas' faction was suffering a leadership crisis and had put senior official Mahmoud Dahlan in charge of overseeing the situation in the coastal territory.   He told Jones that Fatah had thus turned to Israel for help in attack Hamas, which he termed a new and unprecedented development in Jerusalem's relations with the Palestinian Authority.   Diskin went on to share with Jones sensitive details relating to the cooperation between the Shin Bet and the Palestinian security and intelligence forces in the West Bank.  Palestinian security was sharing "almost all [its] intelligence with Israel," Diskin tolf Jones. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/abbas-wanted-israel-to-help-attack-hamas-wikileaks-cable-shows-1.331654?localLinksEnabled=false WikiLeaks: Yadlin wanted Hamas takeover Diplomatic cable reveals former military intelligence chief regarded 2007 Islamic takeover of Gaza as positive step; said it will allow Israel to declare Strip as hostile entity. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4002043,00.html WikiLeaks cable: Shin Bet chief called Palestinian counterpart 'psychopath' Newly released cables from 2007 reveal what Diskin thought of 'desperate' situation in Gaza and West Bank, lack of Palestinian leadership and 'psychopath' Palestinian counterpart. He also shares concerns over 'last legs' Fatah and ill-boding situation. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4001917,00.html Political Developments Israel orders envoys: Take 'urgent' action against Palestinian efforts at UN Palestinians have been pushing for a UN resolution to recognize unilateral declaration of statehood and pressure Israel to freeze settlements; classified cable to diplomats abroad warns such efforts are 'not effective or constructive'. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-orders-envoys-take-urgent-action-against-palestinian-efforts-at-un-1.331652?localLinksEnabled=false Erekat: 10 EU states will upgrade their PLO missions Chief PA negotiator says Palestinian missions abroad are step closer to becoming embassies of an "occupied state with defined borders."  Around 10 EU countries are set to upgrade the status of Palestinian representative offices in their capitals in the near future, chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat declared on Sunday.  This would mean that Palestinian missions would move a step closer toward becoming embassies whose officials enjoy full diplomatic immunity. http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=200138&R=R3 Hamas: Abbas's new solution insensitive to the Palestinians' suffering Senior Hamas politburo member Izzat Al Resheq is calling on Palestine's de facto president Mahmoud Abbas to recant on what he called "absurd politics". http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k Disillusioned Palestinians: US-Guided 'Peace Process' is 'Ridiculous' JERUSALEM - Disillusioned by the collapse of talks and disappointed by the US administration, the Palestinians are turning away from negotiations and seeking international recognition for a Palestinian state.  [When one peace process approach fails, the administration gets busy launching another. In the days since the US administration acknowledged it had failed to chart a path back to direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, senior Palestinian officials have made clear that they think negotiations are dead.(AP Photos)]When one peace process approach fails, the administration gets busy launching another. In the days since the US administration acknowledged it had failed to chart a path back to direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, senior Palestinian officials have made clear that they think negotiations are dead.  In the days since the US administration acknowledged it had failed to chart a path back to direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, senior Palestinian officials have made clear that they think negotiations are dead.  "The peace process is in a deep coma," Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath told journalists Saturday night. "I don't think anyone wants to continue this negotiation."  "There is no more credibility to this negotiation process. This is an exercise in futility -- ridiculous." http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/12/20-0 Palestinian PM says not seeking UDI (AFP) AFP - Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad has said a unilateral declaration of independence by his people would only lead to a "Mickey Mouse state" as long as Israel remains the occupying power. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101218/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestinianspeace PLO official: No more negotiations 'on Israel's terms' BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- PLO negotiator Nabil Sha'ath said Saturday that the Palestinians need to adjust their stance on a more equal footing with Israel, but he stopped short of calling for a return to armed struggle.  He said the Palestinians would follow the South African model of popular resistance based on peaceful demonstrations, international recruitment, national unity and building state institutions. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=343386     Palestinian official says Fatah not keen in close ties with Syria DAMASCUS, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said here Sunday the Palestinian Fatah movement is not keen in boosting relations with Syria.  Ahmad Jibreel, Damascus-based secretary general of PFLP General Command, made the remarks in an interview with the Syrian daily Al- Watan. He argued that Fatah's efforts to get close to Syria is a tactical act. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-12/20/c_13657064.htm U.S. officials arrive in Mideast to reignite Israeli-Palestinian talks Netanyahu rejects claims that the stalled peace negotiations are responsible for the delegitimization campaign he says is being waged against Israel. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/u-s-officials-arrive-in-mideast-to-reignite-israeli-palestinian-talks-1.331528?localLinksEnabled=false PM attacks 'hypocritical' human rights organizations Netanyahu spokesman: Human Rights Watch report on settlements is "anti-Israeli;" report accuses Israel of violations in the West Bank.  Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday night attacked the anti-Israel bias of human rights organizations.  "We must expose the hypocrisy of human rights organizations that turn a blind eye to the most repressive regimes in the world, regimes that stone women and hang gays, and instead target the only liberal democracy in the Middle East," Netanyahu said. http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=200155 Netanyahu: Stalled peace talks are not catalyst for anti-Israel sentiments PM says attacks against Israel aren't based on wars or settlements, but rather are attacks against the existence of the Jewish state. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-stalled-peace-talks-are-not-catalyst-for-anti-israel-sentiments-1.331514?localLinksEnabled=false Other News 29% Expect U.S.-Israeli Relations To Worsen A sizable number of U.S. voters continue to believe that relations between Israel and the United States will worsen in the year ahead.  A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 13% of Likely U.S. Voters think America's relationship with Israel will be better in a year's time, the lowest level measure since July. Twenty-nine percent (29%) expect that relationship to get worse over the next year, while 49% say it will remain about the same.  (To see survey question wording, click here.) http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/israel_the_middle_east/29_expect_u_s_israeli_relations_to_worsen "Border Guards" stage massive training exercise outside Ramallah Silwanic has received information that the so-called "Israeli Border Guards" are running a large-scale training exercise close to the Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Mikhmas near Ramallah. The exercise is reported to involve approximately 400 soldiers. Observers speculate that such exercises may encompass part of broader preparation for military campaigns in East Jerusalem. http://silwanic.net/?p=9286 Israeli involved in Kosovo organ trafficking case on run from Interpol Moshe Harel, an Israeli of Turkish descent, is suspected of being at the center of a network of organ traffickers in Kosovo. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israeli-involved-in-kosovo-organ-trafficking-case-on-run-from-interpol-1.331544?localLinksEnabled=false Study: Child abuse rate twice as high in Israel than in U.S. For every 1,000 children, 18 in Israel had said that they had been abused - some 45,600 children in real terms. http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/study-child-abuse-rate-twice-as-high-in-israel-than-in-u-s-1.331630?localLinksEnabled=false Bergman on Mossad's 'Stupidity, Arrogance' in Devising Stuxnet Ronen Bergman has published a story in Friday's Yediot Achronot on the Stuxnet worm, one of the few comprehensive reports to have appeared in the Israeli media which, as he notes, has studiously (and curiously) avoided an issue that has enflamed the world media.  Bergman's reporting on this is very important since he is known to have excellent sources within the security apparatus, while generally maintaining a certain independence and integrity.  And he minces no words in stating baldly (through his sources) that Stuxnet has been a disaster both for the Mossad (he coyly refuses to explicitly name the agency as the source) and western intelligence agencies monitoring and containing Iran's nuclear efforts.  What's especially critical about this is that few journalists (except me and several others) until now have specified the price that Stuxnet will exact from both its maker and all intelligence agencies working on this issue. http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2010/12/17/bergman-on-mossads-stupidity-arrogance-in-devising-stuxnet/ Helen Thomas' jibe tops list of worst anti-Semitic slurs of 2010 Also on Weisenthal Center's list of anti-Jewish comments: Oliver Stone and former Malaysian PM Mahatir Mohammad. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/helen-thomas-jibe-tops-list-of-worst-anti-semitic-slurs-of-2010-1.331542?localLinksEnabled=false Analysis/Op-ed Obama's failure has served to expose Israeli intransigence here and abroad, Maggie Sager As the United States sends envoy George Mitchell to grasp at straws in hopes of restarting negotiations to create a Palestinian state after the Israeli government refused to curb settlement construction, Obama's inability to entice Netanyahu's coalition to comply with international law has frustrated many who wish for peace between Israel and Palestine. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that Obama's specific failure and the now-seemingly inevitable collapse of negotiations in general constitute a tactical victory for Palestinians. http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/obamas-failure-has-served-to-expose-israeli-intransigence-here-and-abroad.html Imagine the Brookings Institution having a forum on the Future of the South in 1964 and inviting no black people, Philip Weiss Truly demoralizing. Jim Crow is on the job in Washington, D.C. This is the Brookings Institution's lineup for its recent conference on Hard Choices in the Israel/Palestine conflict. It shows how stifling the atmosphere is inside the Establishment when it comes to discussing these issues. The left is represented by Ken Pollack! I don't see one Israeli Palestinian.  Go through the names on this "Saban Forum." http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/imagine-the-brookings-institution-having-a-forum-on-the-future-of-the-south-in-1964-and-inviting-no-black-people.html What H. Res. 1765 Tells Us About the Peace Camp?, Sama Adnan As House Resolution 1765, formerly 1731 and 1734, passed in the House by a voice vote enjoining the Obama administration to oppose a unilateral Palestinian declaration of independence, the peace camp looked disheveled and mystified. With every loss in the halls of Congress we reassure ourselves that the tide is changing, that soon members of Congress will see the right of Palestinians to statehood, that the next president will not succumb to the intransigence of Congress. http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16493 Mr. Almost and 'The Seventh Seal' A religious, anti-democratic demographic majority with an external nuclear threat will drive anyone who can leave out of the country. And that is in the best case, if the apocalypse does not come first. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/mr-almost-and-the-seventh-seal-1.331064 Howard Berman's reversal is exposed by Haaretz (where's the American press), Philip Weiss Nailed in Haaretz. Akiva Eldar calls Howard Berman-- sponsor of legislation that would bar Palestinians from even thinking of parking a state here-- a self-loving Jewish American Superman who springs into action to save Israel and is actually hurting Israel. http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/howard-bermans-reversal-is-exposed-by-haaretz-wheres-the-american-press.html Israel's Sham Democracy, Steve Lendman Numerous previous articles exposed it, highlighting policies affording rights solely to Jews, including a January 2010 Israeli Democracy or Hypocrisy one accessed through the following link: http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/01/israeli-democracy-or-hypocrisy.html   It cited a same titled October 2007 Haaretz editorial, calling for "debate about Israel's control over the lives of Palestinians deprived of civil rights," saying its democracy is flawed for denying Arab Israelis equality with Jews. http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/12/israels-sham-democracy.html A Doctor in Galilee – Book Review, George Polley (A Doctor in Galilee: The Life and Struggle of a Palestinian in Israel. Hatim Kanaaneh. Foreword by Jonathan Cook. Pluto Press, 2008).  Hatim Kanaaneh is the kind of physician I enjoyed working with in my career as a mental health professional: compassionate, humorous and committed to bringing quality medical services to the people of his community, which in his case, was in spite of incredible odds. The government agencies that ought to have helped him because their help would have contributed to the health of the entire district put up roadblock after roadblock to frustrate his efforts and discourage him. But the guy just never gave up, and that is something I admire. http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16491 Inside Story - Racism on the rise With tens of thousands of Neo Nazi Russians, racist attacks are among the highest in the world. Now the death of a football fan has sparked the biggest single flare-up of racist violence in Russia for 20 years. why have racist attacks gone unchecked for so long? What is fuelling the anger? And who are the parties involved? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suXp9wEf53Y&feature=youtube_gdata Juan Cole on Aljazeera "The only correction I'd make is that Aljazeera is not sympathetic to al-Qaeda or Muslim radicalism, but has a philosophy of reporting all sides of conflicts. So it is natural that they cover the first responders as well as broadcasting short excerpts from al-Qaeda videos. Unlike US network news, they don't consider themselves our nannies, that they should filter the news for us and protect us from hearing the words of enemies." http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/12/juan-cole-on-aljazeera.html Michael Kinsley is my favorite American writer although he is the typical US liberal with a Zionist lapse "Speaking of blood, on 9/11: "My blood was boiling. We were going to find out who did this, and kick their ass." He was in Florida at the time, you will recall, and wanted to return to Washington. The Secret Service wanted him to go to an Air Force base in Louisiana. "I told them I was not going to let terrorists scare me away. 'I'm the president,' I said firmly. 'And we're going to Washington.' " So Air Force One went to Louisiana. There, Bush insisted once again that "the American people needed to see their president in Washington." So they went to Nebraska. There, "I put my foot down." And they went to Washington."  It is such a delicious review.  Read it NOW. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/books/review/Kinsley-t.html?ref=books&pagewanted=print Lebanon "Resistance Has Obstructed Several Goals of Conspiracy" 19/12/2010 As he stressed that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has become a burden for those who have launched it, Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Nawwaf al-Mousawi was confident that the resistance has obstructed several goals of the conspiracy that is the STL.  "The Israeli threats have only increased the Resistance's confidence that it has made great progress in obstructing several goals of the conspiracy that is the STL," Mousawi said, the National News Agency (NNA) reported on Sunday.  The STL "was primarily prepared to destroy free and independent states in order to subject them to American hegemony."  The MP said that Hezbollah "is intelligently waging a battle against by the U.S. and Israel which is aimed at tarnishing the party's image, and it is confident of victory," adding that "those who wanted to trouble Hezbollah through the STL are themselves in trouble now." http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=166553&language=en     Israeli Enemy behind Hariri's Murder: Realistic Scenario 18/12/2010 "The conspiracy of the STL will go with the wind just like the fate of previous conspiracies," Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said on Thursday, referring to the expected indictment to be released by the so-called Special Tribunal for Lebanon over the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri's case.  As everyone in the world knows, the mentioned international tribunal is set to accuse Hezbollah of involvement in the assassination, as part of a plot to embroil Lebanon into a sedition scheme, from which escaping would not be easy. The indictment is already written, it's also awaiting the correct political timing, amid reports of efforts undertaken to reach a "consensus" in the case. http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=166479&language=en Moussawi: Special Tribunal not a burden for Hizbullah BEIRUT: Loyalty to the Resistance MP Nawwaf Moussawi said Sunday that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) has become a burden for its founders rather than for Hizbullah. "The Israeli threats which come in support of the tribunal for Lebanon have only strengthened the resistance's confidence against the conspiracy of the STL," said Moussawi in reference to the UN-backed court set up to probe the assassins of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Speaking at a gathering to mark Ashura in Sidon, Moussawi said that "those who wanted to distort the image of Hizbullah got themselves in trouble." Lebanon's Cabinet has reached a deadlock after opposing camps have failed to reach agreement over the issue of "false-witnesses." Moussawi said: "Absurd are those people who think they can force Hizbullah to surrender militarily or politically." http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=122702 Tribunal backers to bury Hariri court - Wahhab BEIRUT: Tawheed Movement leader Wiam Wahhab said Sunday parties that supported the establishment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) would work toward abolishing it henceforth. "Today, you can say that the STL and those who supported it and worked for it will assume the task of burying it with their own hands," he said in reference to the coalition led by Prime Minister Saad Hariri. He added the release of a false STL indictment accusing Hizbullah members in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri would not undermine the role of the resistance. "Our position remains firm beside the resistance and Syria and will not change, irrespective of pressure. The STL that was set up to deal a blow to the resistance and Lebanon is now part of history," he said. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=122704 Arslan calls on Hariri to halt all cooperation with tribunal BEIRUT: Lebanese Democratic Party leader Talal Arslan has called on Prime Minister Saad Hariri to respond positively to Hizbullah's demand to end cooperation with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) and thereby obstruct what he labeled a US-Israeli plan to instigate strife among the Lebanese. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=122710 Harb: 'False witnesses' purview of normal judiciary BEIRUT: Labor Minister Butros Harb said Sunday the issue of "false witnesses" fell under the prerogatives of the Lebanese judiciary rather than the Judicial Council, adding that only President Michel Sleiman was entitled to decide whether to put the issue to a vote. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=122705 Frost over the World - The future of Lebanese politics Barbara Stocking, the director of Oxfam, talks about the massacres in the Democratic Republic of Congo; Plus, Ibrahim Najjar, Lebanon's justice minister, on the findings of the Hariri Tribunal and its impact; and Alex Brummer, the city editor of the Daily Mail, on Germany's role in the Eurozone crisis. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pWvP2wzgDk&feature=youtube_gdata Iraq Sunday: 15 Iraqis Killed, 8 Wounded At least four Iraqis were killed and eight more were wounded in the latest attacks, while 11 badly decomposed bodies were discovered in a mass grave. It is expected that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will unveil his new cabinet tomorrow. Iraqiya leader Ayad Allawi will be watching carefully, making sure Maliki sticks to his promise to fairly distribute the streets. http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/12/19/sunday-15-iraqis-killed-8-wounded/ Iraq PM to unveil national unity cabinet (AFP) AFP - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was to unveil a national unity cabinet Monday, potentially bringing to an end months of deadlock after elections, though key security posts will remain vacant. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101220/wl_afp/iraqpoliticscabinet Iraq's Sadr in war of words with splinter group (AFP) AFP - Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was engaged in a war of words on Friday with a splinter group from his movement that has claimed the kidnap of several British and US contractors in Iraq. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101217/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestpoliticssadr Saddam half-brother apologises to Iraqi people (AFP) AFP - A half-brother of executed president Saddam Hussein has apologised to the Iraqi people for the dictatorial rule of his Baath party and charged ex-deputy premier Tareq Aziz was its architect. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101219/wl_mideast_afp/iraqpoliticssaddamtrial US pressure over Saddam scientist THE United States secretly pressured Australia to place one of Saddam Hussein's former top biological weapons scientists at Victoria University in Melbourne.  But the federal government rejected a March 2008 request from the US to accept Professor Ali al-Za'ag, a microbiologist and genetic engineering expert, under a State Department program to provide employment for Iraqi experts in weapons of mass destruction. http://www.theage.com.au/national/us-pressure-over-saddam-scientist-20101219-191xc.html Qur'an etched in Saddam Hussein's blood poses dilemma for Iraq leaders As country debates whether to destroy everything connected to former dictator, Shia-led regime remains sensitive about relics.  It was etched in the blood of a dictator in a ghoulish bid for piety. Over the course of two painstaking years in the late 1990s, Saddam Hussein had sat regularly with a nurse and an Islamic calligrapher; the former drawing 27 litres of his blood and the latter using it as a macabre ink to transcribe a Qur'an. But since the fall of Baghdad, almost eight years ago, it has stayed largely out of sight - locked away behind three vaulted doors. It is the one part of the ousted tyrant's legacy that Iraq has simply not known what to do with. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/19/saddam-legacy-quran-iraqi-government UN raps Sweden for deporting Iraqi Christians (AP) AP - The U.N. criticized Sweden on Friday for deporting five Iraqi Christians back to their homeland as Iraq's Christian community comes under severe threat of militant attacks. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101217/ap_on_re_mi_ea/un_un_iraq_christians Nir Rosen on the aftermath of America's wars Nir Rosen, is a fellow at NYU's Center on Law and Security, and one of the best war reporters in the world.    Aftermath: Following the Bloodshed of America's Wars in the Muslim World is his account of the impact of US wars in the Middle East and Central Asia. http://pulsemedia.org/2010/12/17/nir-rosen-on-the-aftermath-of-americas-wars/ Iraqi cinema makes a comeback at Greek film festival (AFP) AFP - Iraqi cinema scored a notable first at this month's Thessaloniki International Film Festival in Greece, with one film up for an award and a retrospective of the young director Mohamed al-Daradji. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101218/wl_mideast_afp/entertainmentgreeceiraqfilmfestival Baghdad sculptor realises dream of returning home More than a million Iraqis have fled the country since 2003, among them many prominent artists. Sculptor Mohammad Ghani Hikmat is one of them. Now, he is back home in Baghdad and keen to pick up where he left off. Al Jazeera's Jane Arraf went to meet him in the Iraqi capital. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ImYQUuitpg&feature=youtube_gdata Wikileaks US Embassy Cables: : US tapped Delhi Police officers According to a diplomatic cable sent from the US Embassy in New Delhi in April 2006, American embassy officials had tapped an anti-terror Special Cell official of Delhi Police to gather information regarding investigations into terrorism related cases, bypassing the official route. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/wikileaks-us-tapped-delhi-police-officers/137819-3.html Need a laugh? US Lectures On Human Rights and Censorship: US Embassy Cables Cuba's 'best friends forever' ignore human rights: Australia, Canada and several European countries have stopped pressuring Cuba over human rights in the hope of winning commercial favours from Havana, according to confidential US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/17/wikileaks-cuba-human-rights WikiLeaks lawyers: Sweden 'smeared' Assange with police files release In what may be an ironic turn of events, lawyers for Julian Assange are up in arms about a leak of sensitive information. The WikiLeaks founder's Swedish legal team is planning to file a complaint demanding that authorities investigate the leaking of police materials on the Assange investigation to a British newspaper. http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/wikileaks-smearing-assange-police-files/ Frost over the World - Extraditing Assange Carl Bildt, Sweden's foreign minister, discusses the recent terrorist attacks in Stockholm, and the attempted extradition of Julian Assange for sex crimes. Plus, John Githongo, the Kenyan anti-corruption campaigner on the ICC and Kenyan politics; and David Sedaris, the Grammy-nominated American humourist, on his new collection, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Wicked Bestiary, a series of animal fables. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7DqG1y-EJ0&feature=youtube_gdata Inside Story - The WikiLeaks copycats WikiLeaks is inspiring a new breed of would-be whistle-blowers across the globe. But is all this copycat activity really helping to promote freedom of information? And what about the risk of inflaming tensions in volatile countries? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxXZgqXOV0c&feature=youtube_gdata Naomi Wolf vs. Jaclyn Friedman: Feminists Debate on the Sexual Allegations Against Julian Assange As more details emerge about the sex crimes allegations against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, we host a debate between two feminists: Jaclyn Friedman argues the sexual assault allegations shouldn't be dismissed just because they're politically motivated, while Naomi Wolf says by going after Assange, the state is not embracing feminism, it's "pimping" it. http://www.democracynow.org/2010/12/20/naomi_wolf_vs_jaclyn_friedman_a Accusations against Assange: both things can be true, As`ad Abukhalil Many angry leftists wrote to me in protest against what I wrote last week regarding accusations against Assange.  I merely said that leftists should rally to the support of Assange as a victim of a global, US-orchestrated campaign to punish him for the release of documents--the authenticity of which have not been questioned--but should not necessarily rally to his defense regarding the accusations by the two women.  Both things can be true: that the accusations may have some validity while it is also indubitably true that the use of the interpol and the prosecutor's office in Sweden is conducted on behalf of the US for political purposes.  As I read the long report in the New York Times this morning about the accusations by the two women--and I believe that those accusations should be investigated--I wondered to myself: since when does the horrible New York Times care about the plight of female victims of sexual assault and molestation?  Why does not the pages of New York Times be used to investigate sexual crimes in New York City for example? http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/12/accusations-against-assange-both-things.html Cover-ups, Coups, and Drones:  A Holiday Sampler of What Wikileaks Reveals about the US The US claims broad authority to secretly snoop on the lives of individuals inside and outside of the US. It also works tirelessly to prevent citizens from knowing what is going on by expansively naming basic government information "state secrets." The government says it has to have the right to keep things secret in order to prevent crime. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27103.htm U.S. and other world news Senators 'failing 9/11 rescuers' US politicians have made little progress on legislation that would provide more than $7bn in healthcare for emergency workers and others who became ill after breathing in dust and toxic fumes at the site of the September 11 attacks. A bill was approved by the US House of Representatives in September, but Republicans in the Senate have consistently blocked discussion because of a deadlock over tax-cut extensions. Al Jazeera spoke to Richard Skinner, a former fire fighter who, as a volunteer with the Fire Chiefs Association, was one of those who responded to emergency calls at the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUbGxBLPrsI&feature=youtube_gdata Nato confirms airstrike killed 4 Afghan soldiers Nato confirmed Saturday that four Afghan soldiers were killed accidentally in an airstrike in a Taliban flashpoint in southern Afghanistan this week. http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/International/19-Dec-2010/Nato-confirms-airstrike-killed-Afghan-soldiers Booze, drugs and hookers: Hundreds of offenses by Afghan contractors uncovered At two in the morning on Sept. 9, 2005, five DynCorp International security guards assigned to Afghan President Hamid Karzai's protective detail returned to their compound drunk, with a prostitute in tow. Less than a week later, three of these same guards got drunk again, this time in the VIP lounge of the Kabul airport while awaiting a flight to Thailand.  "They had been intoxicated, loud and obnoxious," according to an internal company report of the incident, which noted that Afghanistan's deputy director for elections and a foreign diplomat were also in the lounge. "Complaints were made regarding the situation." DynCorp fired the three guards. http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/hundreds-offenses-afghan-contractors-uncovered/ Iran's nuclear chief takes over as foreign minister, seeks better ties with Gulf Arab nations Iran's nuclear chief replaced the country's sacked foreign minister Saturday and said his top priorities include building a "special relationship" with Saudi Arabia, an announcement that appeared meant to ease suspicion and fear across the Persian Gulf about Iran's nuclear program. http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/uJ2DVdntIak/sns-ap-ml-iran,0,4449924.story Egypt Charges Another Suspect With Israel Spying CAIRO  Egypt's State Security says an Egyptian and two Israelis have been charged with recruiting agents in Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon to spy for Israeli intelligence.  Prosecutor Hisham Badawi in press conference Monday charged an Egyptian businessman with harming the country's national interests. Two Israelis were charged in absentia as well. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/20/egypt-israel-spying_n_798989.html Riots reported in Tunisian city Images posted on social-network sites show police intervening to halt disturbances ignored by national media. http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2010/12/2010122063745828931.html Kuwaiti academic detained for 'undermining emir's status' KUWAIT CITY: A prominent Kuwaiti academic, Obaid al-Wasmi, has been detained on suspicion of undermining the status of the emir, his lawyer said Sunday. "The public attorney ordered professor Wasmi to be detained for 21 days in central prison pending further investigation," Al-Humaidi al-Subaie told AFP. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=122679 The tragedy of Algeria's 'disappeared' They are all over the wall of Naseera Dutour's office, in their hundreds, in their thousands. There are cemeteries of them, bearded, clean shaven, the youth and the elderly of Algeria, veiled women, a smiling girl with a ribbon in her hair, in colour for the most part; the bloodbath of the 1990s was a post-technicolor age so the blood came bright red and soaked right through the great revolution that finally conquered French colonial power. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/the-tragedy-of-algerias-disappeared-2164859.html www.TheHeadlines.org Comment on this article > Your donation to Mondoweiss ensures we will continue to cover the most important issues surrounding Israel/Palestine and US foreign policy. Please donate today.   Follow Mondoweiss on Twitter and Facebook   Upcoming Events Thurs, November 11 Church of Gethsemane 1012 Eighth Avenue (bet 10th St. & 11th St.) Brooklyn NY Jewish Perspectives on the BDS Movement A respectful dialogue on BDS—whether you already have a position on it or you want to clarify for yourself the complex issues it raises.  This event will provide an opportunity to hear from people who disagree about whether BDS is an appropriate and effective strategy.

--

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:

ReporterNotebook@Gmail.com

__._,_.___

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (1)

Recent Activity:

Visit Your Group

Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

.

__,_._,___