Mondoweiss

Gaza a year ago: My father says the Israelis are doing this to win an election
Update from Cairo: Gaza Freedom March rejects Egyptian offer to allow only 100 protesters into Gaza
Where do the human rights of Gazans fit into the fight for a 'sustainable' future?
Egypt to allow 100 Gaza Freedom March participants into Gaza
Will the Gaza Freedom March have reverberations across the region?

Gaza a year ago: My father says the Israelis are doing this to win an election

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 08:13 AM PST

A Palestinian boy looks up from inside a damaged house after an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, December 30, 2008. (Photo: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)

Khulood Ghanem, 27, kept a Gaza diary a year ago. Its full text (as adapted by Edward Mast in the U.S.) is here. What follows is Ghanem's entry from the the fourth day of the onslaught, Dec. 30, 2008. (Thanks to Linda Frank.)

A new day has come, the 30th of December. Two days before the beginning of the new year, all the world was preparing to celebrate 2009 but we were distinguished, we have a different celebration. In the early morning I opened my eyes and stared for a long time at the ceiling. I drew a picture in my mind, a bad picture. The situation was so calm, I had many doubts and asked myself, have they finished or not yet? Why didn't I hear the F-16 and the apaches? And where is the zanana? I left my bed and covered my head by a scarf. I opened the door and climbed the stairs to the roof. It was the first time in four days to see the light directly. I could hardly open my eyes. I felt that I spent one year in my room.

I looked to the sky and started to search for the army planes but there were no planes. I walked for a while and stayed for half hour on the roof. Suddenly I heard the voice of my father, he was shouting "leave the roof and come quickly." I answered him and ran toward him asking him about his anger and shouting. He blamed me for being on the roof and told me that yesterday they targeted a family that was sitting on their roof. The rocket fell in the middle of them, killed the father, the mother, two girls and a little kid.

I thought for a while, is it revenge?? Really is it a revenge? But revenge for what? What did they want to achieve? More killing, more destruction, or more what? My father replied me that they are passing through a critical period "the elections" and they should achieve the victory to gain and win more numbers in their elections. I told him that this means that they will continue till they reach the required number, he said "who knows? God only can know, so take care and don't go to outside, stay in the home."

…I spent three hours washing the clothes. When I began to finish, my sister came telling me that she saw her friend in the news. She was dead, her sisters and her mom also. All have been killed by a rocket. She started to wail and cry. I asked her Are you sure that this girl is your friend? She said yes of course I'm sure, her face was so clear on the TV screen.

I asked her to make sure from her death, so we phoned one of the families that live beside them. They told us the whole story of their death. They told us that the father received a call from the Israeli army ordering him to leave the house within five minutes because they will attack the house. He insisted to stay himself and pushed his wife and his daughters to leave the house, they wore heavy clothes, took some money and ran away from the house. The Apache was waiting for this moment as they changed their mind and targeted the mother and her daughters leaving the house, they fired a rocket, exploded their bodies and made them parts, each part in a place.

I waited for the afternoon news to see them. I insisted to see them. I wanted to fill my memory with their bodies, I wanted to live their death moment and to share them, I wanted to tell them that you will stay here, in memories, in minds, and in souls, all of you are alive, we will miss all of you, but you can sleep safely now, you are the strongest. I was so proud of my self that I had the courage to see these people in their ugly death. I was tough, shocked.

I was thinking of the mentality of their soldiers. I thought a lot but didn't reach a conclusion. I talked a lot to myself, wondering about the aim of ordering people to leave their houses and instead of targeting the house, they targeted the people. And at the same time, they announced that they didn't target civilians. So what is this kind of strategy? Are they making fun of us, are we that cheap?

Update from Cairo: Gaza Freedom March rejects Egyptian offer to allow only 100 protesters into Gaza

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 08:02 AM PST

The latest from Cairo is that the Gaza Freedom March has rejected the Egyptian government's offer to allow 100 protesters into Gaza. A press release from the march states:

After three days of vigils and demonstrations in downtown Cairo, Suzanne Mubarak's offer to allow just 100 of 1,300 delegates to enter Gaza was rejected by the Gaza Freedom March.

Coordinating Committee as well as many of the larger contingents – including those from France, Scotland, Canada, South Africa, Sweden and New York State (U.S.).

"We flatly reject Egypt's offer of a token gesture. We refuse to whitewash the siege of Gaza. Our group will continue working to get all 1362 marchers into Gaza as one step towards the ultimate goal for the complete end of the siege and the liberation of Palestine" said Ziyaad Lunat a member of the march Coordinating Committee.

The clip from Democracy Now above features an interview with Ali Abunimah giving the latest update (starts around 30:00). Abunimah states that between 50-80 people did board a bus to head to Gaza for various reasons, and according to this twitter update the bus may have been turned back at the Suez canal. Abunimah explained his own decision not to go to Gaza on his blog:

This was a very difficult morning. Many delegations to the Gaza Freedom March rejected the Egyptian offer of two buses to Gaza. Personally I wanted nothing more to be in Gaza. I did get on a bus. But I could not go when people I know and trust in Gaza did not want us to come under such conditions and when there was so much opposition to this. For me that was the bottom line. Their fear is this small delegation would be used by the Egyptian government for propaganda and there was great anger at the statements made by the Egyptian foreign minister last night maligning the Gaza Freedom March. I understand the agony of people on those buses who wanted to reach Gaza. I felt that. But it was impossible. We need to keep up the struggle to end the siege. We've come this far. Solidarity means standing together and continuing the struggle.

It's been difficult to piece the situation together online, but clearly the march was put in a near impossible situation by the Egyptian offer and any decision regarding the offer would have been controversial. Here is a fascinating update on how march participants handled the news of the offer, and it's clear that critics who felt that Egypt was using the march to whitewash their own complicity in the Gaza blockade won out. This decision was supported by Palestinians who were coordinating the march inside Gaza. Here is a statement from the Gaza-Gaza Freedom March Steering Committee:

Gaza 30.12.2009

Over the past week we, representatives of various civil society sectors in Gaza, have been humbled by the sacrifices that you, 1400 people, have made in order to come and support us in breaking the siege.

Despite our grave disappointment that we can not yet meet you all that we are still separated by this medieval siege we feel that your arrival in Cairo has already borne fruits. Your insistence to break the siege in order to be in solidarity with us has inspired many and shamed many others. Thanks to your presence with us, a network to break the siege and free Palestine has been established.

We support any decisions taken by the Gaza Freedom March Coordination Committee about the entry of just 100 of 1400 delegates into Gaza instead of all the delegates presently in Cairo. Obviously it is, as all previous decisions, a majority decision. We, at the Gaza- GFM Steering committee have reiterated our position, namely, that it is up to The Gaza Freedom March Coordination Committee in Cairo to decide. We initially felt that if representatives of all forty some countries can go to Gaza and join a march along Palestinians it would convey a very strong message to the world public opinion. Had they decided to go through with the Egyptian offer, we would have welcomed them in Gaza and deeply appreciated their solidarity.

The decision to send 100 delegates, however, seemed too divisive for the growing solidarity campaign with the Palestinian people. The unity of the global solidarity campaign is of utmost importance for us, the besieged Palestinians of Gaza. We have repeatedly argued that the march itself is not supposed to be only a symbolic gesture, but rather a part of a series of events which will lead to the end of the siege, once and for all. We want to intensify and continue building the solidarity campaign, not divide it.

We salute the GFM delegates and thank them for the tremendous amount of work they have been doing and whatever decision they came up with.

Gaza-GFM Steering Committee

Where do the human rights of Gazans fit into the fight for a 'sustainable' future?

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 09:02 AM PST

The following is a response to the profile of Jesse Fox that we posted yesterday. We will be posting interviews all week with Jewish Israelis discussing their connection to the idea of Zionism in the hope of sparking a conversation over the what Zionism means today.

Jesse,

My wife and I were active in the Israeli environmental movement for many years. I know FoEMe, and they're a good group. I'm not familiar with Ir Lekulanu (we were Jerusalemites, and have been out of the country for a while), but it sounds like they are also doing good work. The fight against developers, gentrification and the process of suburbanisation that has destroyed the Israeli landscape – with grave environmental and social ramifications – is a good fight. Apart from the usual arguments against environmental activism (progress, jobs, etc.), Israeli environmentalists have always had to contend with the popular notion that environmental battles are a "luxury" for spoiled "Tzfonim" ("Northerners" – referring to the liberal, moneyed-elite of North Tel-Aviv), at a time when the country is "besieged by brutal enemies and struggling for its very survival". We fought that particular argument tooth and nail, arguing that all of the "national" and "security" battles are pointless, if the land itself is rendered uninhabitable. Many in the movement argued that the "red-green" combination – particularly in terms of the conflict with the Palestinians – was divisive, and environmentalism should be "apolitical". You seem to understand that environmentalism is not just about this or that wildflower or nature reserve, and that it is an issue that can't wait any longer.

Reading your interview/profile however – assuming it is a faithful reflection of your beliefs and your activism – I do feel the need to point out "more important issues", not because the environment is not important, or a "luxury" for "spoiled western olim" (I've heard that too), but because you are living only a few kilometres from Gaza, the scene of ongoing crimes against humanity (including grave environmental crimes), perpetrated by the very society in which you live and which you are striving to improve. You refer to "sustainability in a Zionist context". Sustainable for whom? Your vision of a Middle East of co-existence and respect for the environment is admirable, but people in Gaza are dying now. You may also be a peace and human rights activist. Many Israeli environmentalists are. But don't you think the fundamental human rights of the people of Gaza (I repeat, only a few kilometres from Tel-Aviv) also deserve a place in your credo?

Shmuel

Shmuel Sermoneta-Gertel is a 43-year-old Canadian-born, Israeli-raised translator, living in Rome, Italy.

Egypt to allow 100 Gaza Freedom March participants into Gaza

Posted: 29 Dec 2009 09:06 PM PST

Protest at the United Nation building in Cairo (Photo: Rafaella Lima)

As the Gaza Freedom March finally makes the pages of the New York Times, Egypt has announced that they will allow 100 members of the march to enter Gaza. This is from the over 1,300 people in Cairo who have assembled to enter the besieged territory.

AFP reports:

"It's a partial victory," said Medea Benjamin, an American activist and one of the demonstrations organisers. "It shows that mass pressure has an effect."

They said the foreign ministry offered to let them choose 100 delegates who would be allowed into Gaza. They were due to leave Cairo for Gaza on Wednesday morning.

Activists have staged demonstrations and sit-ins around Cairo to push for entry to Gaza. Dozens of French activists camped out in front of their embassy in Cairo after being refused passage.

The offer, however, angered many of the activists. A French organiser rejected it as divisive and said the sit-in in front of the French embassy would continue.

"This just gives the Egyptian government a photo-up and the chance say we allowed people through," said Bassem Omar, a Canadian protester. Activists left behind in Cairo said they planned further protests.

Egypt had said it barred the protesters because of the "sensitive situation" in Gaza. It has refused to permanently open the Rafah crossing since the militant Islamist group Hamas took over Gaza in 2007, prompting Israel's blockade, but opens it for a few days every month.

Ali Abunimah weighs in on his blog:

It's not enough and the pressure and protests should be kept up. The deciding factor for me is what the organizers in Gaza want, and they want this group to come to Gaza. I understand all the objections to accepting a small offer, but everything else is secondary. It is essential however that the protests continue and the demand that all Gaza Freedom Marchers be allowed to travel. However, getting 100 or 1300 into Gaza does not end the siege by itself. This is not about getting some or even all into Gaza, its building global support and pressure to end the siege of Gaza. Our demand must remain the same, and it must be pressed loudly and insistently: open the border, end the siege.

Will the Gaza Freedom March have reverberations across the region?

Posted: 29 Dec 2009 06:56 PM PST

(Photo: Hossam el-Hamalawy)

The above photo is from Arabist.net. The caption reads:

Local and international activists demonstrating in front of the Press Syndicate, downtown Cairo, against Mubarak's Wall of Shame. In the pic above, an activist is carrying a banner that reads: The Liberation of Jerusalem starts with the liberation of Cairo.

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