Statehood for the Palestinians

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ghulam muhammed
Posts: 11653
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#91

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Mon Aug 05, 2013 5:59 pm

The Israeli holocaust against Palestinians puts Hitler to shame

By A. Faizur Rahman

"The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of great moral crises maintain their neutrality."

If this provocative statement of Dante were to be taken seriously, the cowardly international community would certainly come within its ambit given its deafening silence and incomprehensible unwillingness to stop the Israeli state terrorism in Gaza. It was simply shocking to see the world do almost nothing about the cold-blooded massacre of Palestinian men women and children which turned the world's largest open-air prison into the biggest testing ground for Americo-Israeli weapons of mass destruction.The Zionist state has now declared an unilateral ceasefire to its unilateral acts of terrorism in Gaza but not before killing more than 1100 people most of whom were civilians including 300 plus innocent children. David Blair, diplomatic editor of *Telegraph* wrote recently that since its withdrawal from Gaza in Sep 2005 Israel has killed about 150 Palestinians for every dead Jewish civilian. The intention of the neo-Nazi Israeli administration is obvious- to wipe out the Palestinians through starvation and bombs. And this is the country which India is proud to have ties with, particularly in the defense sector!

The Israeli regime says that the military action (read genocide) was intended to halt rocket fire from Gaza into Israel's southern cities. Is this the truth? Let us analyse. The* IDF Spokesperson's Unit*, the Israel Defense Forces' professional body responsible for media and public relations in Israel and around the world says on its website (
http://idfspokesperson.com/2009/01/03/r ... -jan-2009/) that about 7200 rockets have been fired against Israel since 2005 at an average of 15 rockets per month before the election of Hamas which rose to 102 rockets per month after Hamas took control of Gaza, a jump of 650%. And between June 14, 2007 and June 16, 2008 the attacks went up to 361 rockets per month, a further increase of 350%. The glaring omission in this IDF propaganda is that it does not talk about the Israeli casualties resulting from the rocket attacks. Obviously 7200 rockets at such a high frequency should have caused death on a massive scale. Why then are the Israelis silent about it?

The answer could be extracted from a couple of interesting sources, the Intelligence and Terrorism Center, Israel(quoted on http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/commen ... _no_hamas/) and, The Israel Project-TIP (http://www.theisraelproject.org), an international non-profit organisation which provides information about the Middle East. According to TIP, from Nov.24, 2001 to Dec.28, 2008 Hamas mortar attacks killed just 25 people within Israel which included foreign workers. Interestingly, the website also mentions the names of these victims. Although the targeting of civilians by Hamas cannot be justified under any circumstances, it pales into insignificance when compared to the slaughter of hundreds of Palestinians in the last few days to say nothing of those who were killed in retaliatory Israeli attacks during the 7 year period mentioned above.

Coming to the immediate "provocation", the truth is that it was Israel which broke the truce by killing 6 Hamas men on Nov.4, 2008 in Gaza on the basis of an unproven allegation that they were making a tunnel to kidnap Israeli soldiers. It may be recalled that the six-month truce took effect from Jun 19, 2008 and the Nov 4 killings fell well within that period. That Hamas did not fire any rocket during the ceasefire has been admitted in a recent interview by the Israeli spokesman Mark Regev. This is also supported by the information available with the Intelligence and Terrorism
Center referred above according to which Hamas fired 149 rockets in May 2008, 84 up to June 18 the same year but only 3 beyond June 18. And between July and Nov 4, 2008 15 rockets were fired but by the Islamic Jihad and not Hamas, a fact admitted by the Israelis. It was only after the Nov 4 killing that Hamas launched rocket attacks again. Therefore, the murderous Israeli assault on Gaza is unprovoked and a clear violation of international law.

But the most startling revelation came when the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported, quoting "sources in the defense establishment," that Defense Minister Ehud Barak had instructed the Israel Defense Forces to prepare for the operation over six months ago, even as Israel was beginning to negotiate a ceasefire agreement with Hamas (*
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050426.html*). The report also quoted Barak as saying that although the lull would allow Hamas to prepare for a showdown with Israel, the Israeli army needed time to prepare as well. Pure
Machiavellianism!

In this context, the encouraging role played by Washington is deplorable. Instead of making Israel see reason, the US continues to offer billions of dollars in military and economic aid to that country to suppress the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians. The best way to stop this is to counter the disinformation campaign of the Zionists and neutralize their lobby by alerting the people of America about the dangers of the present policy of their Government towards the Jewish state. This is exactly what Paul Findley, former Republican Congressman, meant when he warned, more than two decades ago, about the risks of supporting Israel. In an interview to the *Journal of Palestine studies* in 1985, he says, "If we continue our present course, allowing a small state in the region to control public discourse in this country, in effect decide what the U.S. policy will be, we're putting ourselves in the hands of foreigners who could easily lead us into a terrible war."

Today we see the Findley prophesy being fulfilled in Iraq and Afghanistan, to say nothing about the neo-con plot to attack Syria and Iran. It is time the international community realized that Israel's expansionist ideology, overtly supported by U.S. imperialism, is the root cause of the Middle East crisis, and the only solution is the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from all occupied territories, and the establishment of an independent, sovereign and a viable Palestinian state.


ghulam muhammed
Posts: 11653
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#93

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Sun Oct 06, 2013 6:08 pm

Found on the net :-

Saudis, Expats Raise SR125m for Gazans

Sympathy and support in cash and kind is pouring in for the Palestinians affected by the unjust incessant attacks by Israeli forces in Gaza.

In response to a fundraising call from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince Sultan donated SR10 million, while Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of the Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), donated SR5 million to alleviate suffering in Palestine.

Total donations collected so far exceed SR125 million, excluding several truckloads of relief supplies such as blankets, clothes and basic provisions.

A farmer in the northern region of Hail donated 80,000 square metres of farmland in Qaed while another donor gave his car.

A Saudi in Jeddah brought 45 head of sheep in a pickup and told officials that he wanted to send them to Gaza. The officials then asked him to sell the sheep and bring the money. A seven-year-old girl donated her gold bangles and told officials those were the only valuables she possessed.

Just_a_muslim
Posts: 30
Joined: Thu Sep 26, 2013 2:51 am

Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#94

Unread post by Just_a_muslim » Sun Oct 06, 2013 9:55 pm

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verses 77-82:
77) Say: "O people of the Book! Exceed not in your religion the bounds (of what is proper) trespassing beyond the Truth, nor follow the vain desires of people who went wrong in times gone by, who misled many and strayed (themselves) from the Even Way."
78)"Curses were pronounced on those among the Children of Israel who rejected faith by the tongue of David and of Jesus the son of Mary: because they disobeyed and persisted in excesses"
79)"Nor did they (usually) forbid one another the iniquities which they committed: evil indeed were the deeds which they did."
80)"Thou seest many of them turning in friendship to the unbelievers. Evil indeed are (their works) which their souls have sent forward before them, (with the result) that Allah's wrath is on them and in torment will they abide."
81)"If only they had believed in Allah and the Messenger, and in what hath been revealed to him, never would they have taken them for friends and protectors but most of them are rebellious wrong- doers."
82)"Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews and Pagans; and nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say: "We are Christians:" because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world and they are not arrogant."
** ** ** ** ** ** **
Allah(SWT) has cursed the Jews for their persistent rejection of all the messengers !
This Is evident today !
They may be among the richest and most influential in the world.....but !! They don't have a population to back it up not has the most merciful even given the Jews their own PROPER homeland ! Look at the muslims ! By the grace of the almighty , we have counties in Europe , Asia and Africa ! And a population that's at well over 1.6BILLION !
Surely those who do righteous deeds are rewarded ! And must thank the most beneficent for giving muslims their own countries all over the world !!


ghulam muhammed
Posts: 11653
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#96

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Wed Oct 30, 2013 6:04 pm

Our Harsh Logic : Inside Israel's Army

Michael Enright in conversation with Dana Golan, a veteran of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

She and many other former Israeli soldiers, say they feel betrayed by the harsh orders they were forced to carry out against the Palestinians. Others speak of the numbing inevitability of the callous tactics they used.

Ms. Golan is the former executive director of the Israeli NGO, Breaking the Silence, which compiled the stories of disillusioned Israeli soldiers in a new book called Our Harsh Logic.

The World Bank estimates that after the four and half year conflict, Palestinians' average income dropped by more than a third, and unemployment hit 25 percent, forcing almost half of all Palestinians below the poverty line.

Tel Aviv's most important weapon in its war against Palestinian militants, was the Israeli Defence Forces.

The IDF is one of the most powerful, precise and well-trained armies in the world. It is tasked with upholding the four tenets of Israeli policy: stop terrorism; pursue separation of Israel from the Palestinian population; enforce Israeli law in the Territories and preserve the Palestinian "fabric of life".

All four tenets are supposed to be defensive and preventative, but for Israeli soldiers on the front lines, reality is far more complicated.

IDF soldiers can do anything, and rationalize it as defending Israel. Mock arrests, endless checkpoints, human shields ... anything goes.

Many soldiers chafed at the callous tactics they were ordered to use.

Audio :-

http://www.informationclearinghouse.inf ... e36616.htm

ghulam muhammed
Posts: 11653
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#97

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Tue Nov 05, 2013 4:15 pm

100-Year-Old General: We Razed Arab Villages, So What?

Brig. Gen. (res.) Yitzhak Pundak: If we hadn't done it, there would be a million more Arabs and there would be no Israel.

Brig. Gen. (res.) Yitzhak Pundak is celebrating his hundredth birthday. Pundak was the commander of the 53rd Battalion of the Givati Brigade in the War of Independence and went on to supervise the establishment of the Armored Corps. He was also Ambassador in Tanzania and a founder of Arad.

In an interview on IDF Radio, Pundak confirmed that forces under his command razed Arab villages in 1948. “My conscience is at ease with that, because if we hadn't done so, then there would be no state by now. There would be a million more Arabs,” he said.

Asked why he still finds it so important to lecture to soldiers, at his advanced age, he explained: "Just like in 1948, the country is in a state of danger – and if the Jews do not fight as we did in the War of Independence, the state is in danger.” He predicted that if a war breaks out again, Jews will be capable of the same kind of self-sacrifice as in 1948.

"When there is a war, people unite,” he explained. “Afterward, they form parties and become divided.”

He spoke with pain of the 145 soldiers who were killed under his command over the years, and said that if they woke up miraculously and saw the divided country of today, "they would run back to their graves."

And yet, when asked if he feels proud of his country, he said that his pride runs "as high as the rooftop."

Pundak, who was the governor of Gaza in the early 1970s, said that the credit that is usually given to Ariel Sharon for stopping Arab terror in Gaza in 1971 is mistaken. He said that Sharon was an unnecessarily cruel commander who once said at a meeting with officers that he would offer champagne to whoever killed an enemy fighter – and whoever brings him a wounded enemy "will drink soda."

He said: “I told him, 'You are not my commander, I am not coming to your meetings.'”

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/ ... nlQ0b7rZLN

ghulam muhammed
Posts: 11653
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#98

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Tue Nov 05, 2013 5:06 pm

Israel to demolish homes of over 15,000 Palestinians

Municipality officers escorted by Israeli soldiers issued demolition warrants for thousands of Palestinian homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Ras Khamis and Ras Shahada on Friday, a local Palestinian official said.

Jamil Sanduqa, who chairs a local committee to develop the Ras Khamis neighborhood, said that over 15,000 Palestinians live in the buildings slated for demolition.

The warrants were posted on 200 residential blocks each consisting of 40-70 apartments and the owners were given 30 days to submit objections to the demolition orders, Sanduqa said.

He added that municipality officers took photos of several buildings located near the entrance to the neighborhoods before they issued the orders. Among the buildings was a mosque and a newly built school

“The orders came very shortly after incumbent mayor Nir Barakat has been elected for a new term,” Sanduqa said.

“The municipal council of Jerusalem is a racist council founded to demolish Palestinian residential buildings and to displace us from Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

He warned that if any building in the nearby Shufat refugee camp “is demolished, we will establish a new refugee camp in Al-Aqsa Mosque erecting tents in its yards.”

Israel has destroyed more than 500 Palestinian properties in the West Bank and mostly East Jerusalem since the beginning of this year, displacing 862 people, according to UNOCHA.

Israel rarely grants Palestinians permits to build in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. It has demolished at least 27,000 Palestinian homes and structures since occupying the West Bank in 1967, according to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.


The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.

http://muslimvillage.com/2013/11/03/456 ... salemites/

ghulam muhammed
Posts: 11653
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#99

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Fri Nov 15, 2013 6:06 pm

November 14 marks the first anniversary of Operation Pillar of Cloud. It lasted eight days.

Over 170 Palestinians were murdered in cold blood. Most were civilian men, women, children, the elderly and infirm.

Hundreds of others were wounded, many seriously. Their shattered bodies bear testimony to Israeli ruthlessness.

Entire families were slaughtered. Israeli missiles targeted their homes. Systematic war crimes were committed. A year later, justice remains denied.

Palestinian lawyers submitted 246 civil complaints. They did so for just compensation. Israel's Military Advocate General spurned them.

Cast Lead victims fared no better. Israeli war criminals go unpunished. They're free to mass murder again. Expect them to take full advantage. Expect them to enjoy full US support.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

ghulam muhammed
Posts: 11653
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#100

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Mon Dec 09, 2013 5:27 pm

US academics seeking to boycott Israel universities

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 09:21 AM PST

The American Studies Association leadership has endorsed a boycott of Israeli universities over what it describes as the Israeli regime’s violation of international law and ethical codes.

The decision posted Wednesday follows a contentious debate at the group’s annual meeting last month and 10 days of deliberations that were supposed to last a morning. The boycott resolution was approved unanimously by the 20-member national council.

“We believe that the ASA’s endorsement of a boycott is warranted given US military and other support for Israel; Israel’s violation of international law and UN resolutions; the documented impact of the Israeli occupation on Palestinian scholars and students; the extent to which Israeli institutions of higher education are a party to state policies that violate human rights; and the support of such a resolution by many members of the ASA,” the council announcement said.

The council, however, is seeking the endorsement of the group’s entire membership, including 5,000 members.

“The ASA is a large organization that represents divergent opinions,” the announcement said. “Anticipating strong and potentially divided feelings on this question, the Council unanimously decided to ask ASA members to endorse the resolution by a vote.”

Voting will be conducted electronically. If a majority of the association’s voting members do not vote to endorse the boycott resolution by December 15, the national council said that it will withdraw the resolution and determine next steps.

Boycott opponents, speaking Nov. 23 at an open meeting called to discuss the resolution during ASA’s annual conference, had recommended a body-wide poll. Such a poll is unusual, and boycott proponents strongly opposed it. The national council representatives at the meeting said they would consider the resolution the following morning and would likely have a decision that day, but the mulling lasted a week-and-a-half.

ASA describes itself “devoted to the interdisciplinary study of American culture and history.” Voices at the open meeting overwhelmingly favored the boycott, but those opposed said they were not representative of the organization’s broader membership.

According to the Frequently Asked Question page posted on the ASA website, the boycott will not inhibit collaboration with individual Israeli academics.

American Scholar Stehpen M. Walt wrote for the Foreign Policy magazine on Nov. 9, 2011: “If we had a normal relationship, then US leaders would also be free to criticize Israeli policies that don’t make sense and that are not in the US interest, like the continued expansion of settlements and the denial of Palestinian rights”.

NTJ/NJF

This article was originally published at Alalam

The post US academics seeking to boycott Israel universities appeared first on Intifada Palestine.

ghulam muhammed
Posts: 11653
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#101

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Fri Dec 20, 2013 5:00 pm

Appeal to Pope Francis to help Gaza

URGENT APPEAL: Ref: UA 22 / 13.

Gazan families are suffering. Israel and Egypt have cut off fuel supplies so that Gazans have had no electricity and vital services for 2 months. Families, in freezing temperatures have no light, no heat and hospitals are overflowing while sewerage is flooding the streets and people have to be ferried by boats and canoes.

Please press the TAKE ACTION BOX to send letter of appeal to His Holiness Pope Francis and H.E. Ron Prosor, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations

and please request your mailing lists click Current Urgent Appeal on www.palestinematters.com

Pope Francis

Vatican City

Your Holiness,

The families of Gaza are suffering.

I appeal to you to urgently bring relief and world attention to the devastating state of emergency in Gaza this Christmas.

Israel and Egypt have cut off fuel supplies so that Gazans have had no electricity and vital services for 2 months.

Sewage is flooding the streets.

And Israel has released added water from dams east of the Gaza strip.

Gaza has been hit by a severe storm that has brought freezing temperatures and another storm is forecast next week.

There is no mention of this humanitarian crisis in the media.

The leaders of the 'free world' look away while praising Mandela's mission for peace.

Please make sure that the light of the Christ child dispels the darkness in Gaza.

PLEASE help Gaza and her children

Israel’s cruel siege of Gaza must end.

Sincerely

http://www.palestinematters.com/Appeal- ... _1117.aspx


ghulam muhammed
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Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#103

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Sun Jan 12, 2014 6:45 pm

The Palestinian leadership won’t do it – will you?
by Stuart Littlewood

(London) – Unbelievably, President Mahmoud Abbas and his hapless crew in Ramallah promised the US not to file charges against Israel in the International Criminal Court. Meanwhile the Israeli regime is accelerating its squatter programme on Palestinian territory even in the middle of so-called peace talks, increasing its air strikes and generally upping its aggression.

The building of illegal squatter settlements has been going on unchecked since 1967, the aim plainly being permanent occupation and eventual annexation. Yet the Palestinian leadership remains fearful of using the proper legal channels to pursue legitimate claims to freedom, self-determination and the return of their lands. Abbas prefers instead to cling to the discredited, ‘kangaroo’ peace process promoted and facilitated by crooked elements in the US administration allied to AIPAC and other pro-Israel influencers.

It has been clear for some time that civil society and Palestinian solidarity movements around the world must come together and prod the ICC into taking action on its own initiative against Israel’s war crimes. One of the most urgent issues is the illegal transfer of portions of Israel’s population into squats or ‘settlements’ on stolen Palestinian lands. Over 600,000 Israeli squatters are now reckoned to be deliberately parked on the wrong side of the border in order to colonise choice areas of the West Bank, and they will be joined by thousands more as a result of new settlement construction tenders recently issued by the Israeli authorities in defiance of international law and the Geneva Conventions of 1949. Many of the squatters are armed thugs, hooligans and vandals, dedicated to harassing local Palestinian communities and wrecking their property. The UN says the colonisation is “creeping annexation”.

It is imperative that these crimes and abominations are not only halted but reversed. Palestinians are entitled to rid themselves of the squatter menace. But who’s to start the legal ball rolling? Who can be trusted to resolutely press the Palestinian case?

A further warning comes in a report https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/ ... a-by-qatar that tells of a confidential letter in which the Palestinian Authority offered to sell Egypt fuel donated by Qatar to operate Gaza’s power plant. As the whole world knows, the Gaza Strip has been in the grip of a power crisis for nearly 8 years as a result of Israel’s blockade. Very little of the Qatar consignment reached Gaza, says the report. And recently, when the tanks ran dry, the situation became acute, bringing Gaza’s fragile economy and public services to a standstill and causing great hardship and danger to public health.

Interestingly, the report says Qatar intervened to solve the latest electricity crisis in Gaza and paid $10 million to the Palestinian Authority to meet the value-added tax on fuel which it had increased without notice. If the story is true, it illustrates the kind of low-life Abbas has surrounded himself with. Quite obviously such people cannot be entrusted with the hopes of an oppressed nation.

So it’s up to civil society to set an example, brush aside the political posers and take direct action. As it happens a specially drafted letter to the ICC has suddenly popped into my inbox. It appears to have originated from the Sabeel International Conference in Jerusalem last autumn. Sabeel is a peace movement formed by Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land. The idea is for thousands of copies of the letter to be sent by individual activists and groups from all over the world. I hear the wording has been put through the wringer by a legal team, so activists are asked to stick to the suggested text – simply copy and paste it into your word/document program, add the date and your name and address, print, sign and post (by snail-mail).

Here it is, almost verbatim…

[Name and Address]
The Information and Evidence Unit
Office of the Prosecutor
International Criminal Court
PO Box 19519
2500 CM
The Hague,
The Netherlands

[date]

Dear ICC Prosecutor,

Transfer of Israeli civilian population into occupied Palestinian territory

I urge that an investigation be initiated by the Office to determine whether war crimes have been committed in connection with the transfer of civilian population into territory of Palestine that is under the belligerent occupation of Israel. Power for the initiation of such an investigation would appear to exist under Article 15 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court.

It is my understanding that such transfer has occurred in a manner that appears to constitute a violation of Article 8 (2) (b) (viii) of the Statute. From facts available in the public domain, such transfers have risen to the level of seriousness required for action by the Court. Transfers of thousands of civilians have occurred. Harm has been caused to thousands of victims.

The fact of a violation of the comparable provision of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 1949 has been determined by United Nations organs, including the General Assembly, the Security Council and the International Court of Justice. That provision applies to actions of a state. These organs have determined a violation by Israel.

I also understand that the Court has jurisdiction over persons potentially responsible for such transfers. The declaration lodged with the Registrar of the Court by the Government of Palestine on 21 January 2009 under Article 12 (3) of the Statute confers jurisdiction over war crimes committed in the territory of Palestine since 1 July 2002.

Transfers are continuing at present in great numbers, consequently the crimes in question are ongoing. The matter is now pressing and I therefore feel it imperative that an investigation be initiated without delay, lest additional thousands of persons be victimised.

Yours sincerely…


I only heard about it by chance. If good ideas like this are to work they need the support of large numbers. Therefore the various proactive groups must come closer together, communicate and co-ordinate! Has the letter taken off? Have thousands been sent? I simply don’t know… But I’m posting mine today.

Stuart Littlewood
_______________________________________
About the author
Stuart Littlewood is author of the book Radio Free Palestine, which tells the plight of the Palestinians under occupation. Stuart’s articles are serious and revealing; they address the pertinent issues regarding Israel and Palestine and sixty years of conflict that have devasted millions of human beings. For further information please visit http://www.radiofreepalestine.org.uk/.

ghulam muhammed
Posts: 11653
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#104

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Mon Feb 10, 2014 6:32 pm

Sperm smugglers score a victory in Gaza

Strategy has been swimmingly successful for some wives of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.


http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/featur ... 67823.html

ghulam muhammed
Posts: 11653
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#105

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Fri Feb 14, 2014 6:28 pm

Aussie TV dares to show the real occupation

I never thought I would see it. A mainstream TV programme, this one made by Australian channel ABC, that shows the occupation in all its inhuman horror.

The 45-minute investigative film concerns the Israeli army’s mistreatment of Palestinian children. Along the way, it provides absolutely devastating evidence that the children’s abuse is not some unfortunate byproduct of the occupation but the cornerstone of Israel’s system of control and its related need to destroy the fabric of Palestinian society.

Omar Barghouti has spoken of Israelis’ view of Palestinians as only “relatively human”. Here that profound racism is on full show.

There are, of course, concessions to “balance” – in the hope of minimising the backlash from Israel – but they do nothing to dilute the power of the message.

This is brave film-making of the highest order.

It is an indication of quite how exceptional this film is that it has cornered Australia’s foreign minister, Julie Bishop, into expressing her “deep concern“. That’s the same Bishop who last month doubted that the settlements in the West Bank were illegal.

- See more at: http://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2014- ... DwCBH.dpuf

If the video above is removed, you can also watch the film here: www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2014/02/10/3939266.htm -

ghulam muhammed
Posts: 11653
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#106

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Sat Feb 15, 2014 4:14 pm

The Old Testament's Made-up Camels Are A Problem For Zionism

The earliest camel bones have been dated at 1,500 years after Genesis – which undermines Zionists' promised land narrative

None of the domesticated camel bones they found date from earlier than around 930BC – about 1,500 years after the stories of the patriarchs in Genesis are supposed to have taken place. Whoever put the camels into the story of Abraham and Isaac might as well have improved the story of Little Red Riding Hood by having her ride up to Granny's in an SUV.

The history recounted in the Bible is a huge part of the mythology of modern Zionism. The idea of a promised land is based on narratives that assert with complete confidence stories that never actually happened. There are of course other ways to argue for the Zionist project, and still further arguments about the right of Israelis to live within secure boundaries now that the country exists. But although those stand logically independent of the histories invented – as far as we can tell – in Babylonian captivity during the sixth century BC, they make little emotional sense without the history. And it is emotions that drive politics.

Read More:-
http://www.informationclearinghouse.inf ... e37636.htm

ghulam muhammed
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Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#107

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Sat Mar 08, 2014 4:43 pm

If They Can Sanction Russia Over Crimea, We Can Sanction Israel Over Palestine

I'm so delighted that President Obama and Congress are moving to impose sanctions on Russia over its military intervention in Crimea. Regardless of whether one thinks this is a wise or just policy in the case of Russia, this is setting a great political precedent in the United States for considering boycotts, divestment and sanctions on Israel over its military occupation of Palestine - the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

Until now, it has been the case that in the United States, if you talk about any kind of boycott, any kind of divestment, any kind of sanction to pressure the Israeli government to end its military occupation of Palestine, some apologists for the Israeli occupation have gone into rhetorical meltdown. Until now, we've collectively tolerated that the hysterical opposition to "BDS" (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) of these apologists for the Israeli occupation be taken seriously in public discourse. In New York, Maryland, and Illinois, state legislators want to punish you if you even think about boycotting one egg from the Israeli occupation. We're all for the right of free speech - unless you misuse your free speech rights to say something bad about the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

But now, when it is proposed to sanction Russia over its military intervention in Crimea, it passes through public discourse like a hot knife through butter. No one complains that Russia is being "unfairly singled out." No one claims that people who want to impose sanctions on Russia are motivated by an irrational hatred of the Russian people. No one claims that supporters of sanctions want to "delegitimize Russia" or "destroy Russia," nor that supporters of sanctions "refuse to accept Russia's right to exist."

People are raising legitimate questions about sanctions on Russia, as they always should when new sanctions are proposed. Are they likely to be effective at achieving stated goals? Who is likely to be harmed by them, directly or indirectly? If they will harm innocent people, is that harm ethically justifiable?

But no one with any influence in public discourse is calling supporters of sanctions against Russia bad names, or demanding that they be punished for their political opinions.

Let's draw a line in the sand. From now on, supporters of sanctions against Israel for its military occupation of Palestine must demand the same respect for our democratic rights that supporters of sanctions against Russia for its military intervention in Crimea enjoy. From now on, we must not tolerate any abrogation of our democratic rights to advocate for boycott, divestment and sanctions against the Israeli occupation. Let's start by telling legislators in New York, Maryland, and Illinois to kill legislation abrogating our democratic rights to advocate for sanctions against the Israeli occupation. I'm looking at you, Illinois diaspora. "By the rivers gently flowing." Stand up for our First Amendment rights.

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/22314 ... -palestine

ghulam muhammed
Posts: 11653
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#108

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Wed Apr 09, 2014 5:39 pm

Israeli Police Wouldn't Let This Boy Go To Al-Aqsa Mosque -- Here's The Amazing Way He Responded

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/0 ... mg00000055

ghulam muhammed
Posts: 11653
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#109

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Thu Apr 17, 2014 6:52 pm

Special Report: “800,000 Palestinians Imprisoned By Israel Since 1967”

As the Palestinian people mark Palestinian Prisoners’ Day on April 17, more than 800,000 Palestinians, including children, have been kidnapped and imprisoned by Israel since 1967, while at least 5,000 Palestinians are currently held by Israel, a report by the Palestinian Ministry of Detainees has revealed.

It said that since Israel, in 1967, occupied the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, until the end of 2013, the army had kidnapped more than 800,000 Palestinians, including 15,000 women and thousands of children, and that the arrests are still ongoing.

“There isn’t single family that did not experience arrest, some numerous times”, the report said. “Israel turned every corner in occupied Palestine into a prison, detention camp and interrogation facility.”

Israeli authorities also issued more than 24,000 arbitrary Administrative Detention orders, detaining thousands without charges or trial, and imprisoning more than a 1,000 Palestinian women since then.

The arrests did not target any certain demographic or age group; instead, they targeted all sectors of the Palestinian society, including children, seniors, women, men, officials, ministers, legislators, political leaders, union leaders, disabled Palestinians, students, intellectuals, poets and artists...

According to the report, the real danger is that the vast majority of these arrests, and accompanying violations, are direct violations of International Humanitarian Law; “The detainees are extremely tortured and abused... face the most cruel methods of torture, physical and psychological. They are imprisoned under inhumane conditions, are humiliated, and even their families are humiliated and assaulted”.

More than 1,400 Palestinians need medical attention but are, instead, denied the needed medical treatments, and are suffering from deteriorating medical conditions. Sixteen of them are continually living at Ramla Prison Clinic, which lacks basic supplies and specialized physicians.

Some of the detainees are paralyzed and/or amputees, with dozens struggling with major life-threatening conditions. They need special attention and surgeries, while only prison doctors are allowed to examine them.

Prisons lack appropriate sanitation, are filled with bugs and insects. Cells and rooms have high humidity and are overcrowded.

Many detainees, while in prison, developed skin conditions, ulcer, tumors, kidney failure, eyesight deterioration, slipped discs, diabetes, oral conditions, tooth loss and various sorts of psychological conditions, are still abused, with their bodies being used for testing by pharmaceutical companies.

http://www.imemc.org/article/67566

Muslim First
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Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#110

Unread post by Muslim First » Sun Apr 20, 2014 11:33 am

Pictures Don’t Lie: Refuting #there_was_no_Palestine

http://www.islamicity.com/m/news_frame. ... ceID=77139

ghulam muhammed
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Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#111

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Tue Jul 01, 2014 4:50 pm

The searing hypocrisy of the West

The bodies of three Israeli settlers who went missing on June 12th were found in a hastily dug shallow grave in Halhul, north of Hebron.

Since the teens went missing from Gush Etzion, a Jewish-only colony in the West Bank, Israel has besieged the 4 million Palestinians who already live under its thumb, storming through towns, ransacking homes and civil institutions, conducting night raids on families, stealing property, kidnapping, injuring, and killing. Warplanes were dispatched to bomb Gaza, again and repeatedly, destroying more homes and institutions and carrying out extrajudicial executions. Thus far, over 570 Palestinians have been kidnapped and imprisoned, most notably a Samer Issawi, the Palestinian who went on a 266-day hunger strike in protest of a previous arbitrary detention. At least 10 Palestinians have been killed, including at least three children, a pregnant woman, and a mentally ill man. Hundreds have been injured, thousands terrorized. Universities and social welfare organizations were ransacked, shut down, their computers and equipment destroyed or stolen, and both private and public documents confiscated from civil institutions. This wonton thuggery is official state policy conducted by its military and does not include the violence to persons and properties perpetuated by paramilitary Israeli settlers, whose persistent attacks against Palestinian civilians have also escalated in the past weeks. And now that the settlers are confirmed dead, Israel has vowed to exact revenge. Naftali Bennet, Economy Minister said, "There is no mercy for the murderers of children. This is the time for action, not words."

Although no Palestinian faction has claimed responsibility for the abduction, and most, including Hamas, deny any involvement, Benjamin Netanyahu is adamant that Hamas is responsible. The United Nations requested that Israel provide evidence to support their contention, but no evidence has been forthcoming, casting doubt on Israel’s claims, particularly in light of its public ire over the recent unification of Palestinian factions and President Obama’s acceptance of the new Palestinian unity.

In the West, headlines over pictures of the three Israeli settler teens referred to Israel's reign of terror over Palestine as a "manhunt" and "military sweep." Portraits of innocent young Israeli lives emerged from news outlets and the voices of their parents are featured in the fullness of their anguish. The US, EU, UK, UN, Canada and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) condemned the kidnapping and called for their immediate and unconditional release. Upon discovery of the bodies, there has been an outpouring of condemnation and condolences.

President Obama said, "As a father, I cannot imagine the indescribable pain that the parents of these teenage boys are experiencing. The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms this senseless act of terror against innocent youth."

Although hundreds of Palestinian children are kidnapped, brutalized or killed by Israel, including several in the past two weeks, there is rarely, if ever, such a reaction from the world.

Just prior to the disappearance of the Israeli settler teens, the murder of two Palestinian teens was caught on a local surveillance camera. Ample evidence, including the recovered bullets and a CNN camera filming an Israeli sharpshooter pulling the trigger at the precise moment one of the boys was shot indicated that they were killed in cold blood by Israeli soldiers. There were no condemnations or calls for justice for these teens by world leaders or international institutions, no solidarity with their grieving parents, nor mention of the more than 250 Palestinian children, kidnapped from their beds or on their way to school, who continue to languish in Israeli jails without charge or trial, physically and psychologically tortured. This is to say nothing of the barbaric siege of Gaza, or the decades of ongoing theft, evictions, assaults on education, confiscation of land, demolition of homes, color coded permit system, arbitrary imprisonment, restriction of movement, checkpoints, extrajudicial executions, torture, and denials at every turn squeezing Palestinians into isolated ghettos.

None of that seemingly matters.

This exceptionalism and supremacy of Jewish life is a fundamental underpinning of the state of Israel. It pervades their every law and protocol, and is matched only by their apparent contempt and disregard for Palestinian life. Whether through laws that favor Jews for employment and educational opportunities, or laws that allow the exclusion of non-Jews from buying or renting among Jews, or endless military orders that limit the movement, water consumption, food access, education, marriage possibilities, and economic independence, or these periodic upending of Palestinian civil society, life for non-Jews ultimately conforms to the religious edict issued by Dov Lior, Chief Rabbi of Hebron and Kiryat Arba, saying "a thousand non-Jewish lives are not worth a Jew's fingernail."

Israeli violence, no matter how vulgar, is inevitably couched as a heroic, ironic violence that western media frames as “response,” as if Palestinian resistance itself were not a response to Israeli oppression. When the ICRC was asked to issue a similar call for the immediate and unconditional release of the hundreds of Palestinian children held in Israeli jails (which is also in contravention of international humanitarian law), the ICRC refused, indicating there’s a difference between the isolated abduction of Israeli teens and the routine abduction, torture, isolation, and imprisonment of Palestinian children.

What should we do, then? Palestine is quite literally being wiped off the map by a state that openly upholds Jewish supremacy and Jewish privilege. Our people continue to be robbed of home and heritage, pushed to the margins of humanity, blamed for our own miserable fate. We are a traumatized, principally unarmed, native society being destroyed and erased by one of the most powerful militaries in the world.

Read Full Article :-

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/th ... epage=true

ghulam muhammed
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Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#112

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Sun Jul 06, 2014 6:50 pm

Algeria team ‘to donate $9m World Cup prize money to people of Gaza’

First the Palestinian flag was draped from the team bus during the team’s triumphant open-top bus tour of the capital, now it has been claimed that the Algerian national football team are to donate their entire World Cup prize fund to the embattled people of Gaza.

According to quotes attributed to Algeria’s star striker Islam Slimani, the team will give up all of the estimated $9 million (£5.25 million) they received as valiant losers in the round of 16.

Yet speaking at a reception in Algiers where the team returned to a hero’s welcome yesterday, Slimani apparently said: “They need it more than us.” The announcement was reported by the Jordanian football writer Waleed Abu Nada as well as the Dutch daily newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.

If true, the team could face accusations of bringing politics to bear in the world of sport. Yesterday, YouTube footage of the team’s open-top homecoming tour through Algiers showed at least one Palestinian flag flying from the bus by the team.

However, if reports of the donation are true, it will see Algeria gain a whole new set of fans beyond football. They were also one of only two African sides to make it past the group stages – and their reported willingness to give away the prize money is in stark contrast to the reported behaviour of the Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeriateams.

Algeria has traditionally been a strong ally of the Palestinian cause in the long-running Middle East dispute with Israel.

The crisis has intensified in recent days as Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu struggles to control a frenzied reaction to the murder of three Israeli hitch-hikers, which the country blames on Hamas.

Israel has begun sending troop reinforcements to its border with Gaza and begun intensifying air strikes, while more than a dozen Palestinian rockets struck southern Israel early this morning.

Source:independent.co.uk

ghulam muhammed
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Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#113

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Thu Jul 10, 2014 5:49 pm

Image

ghulam muhammed
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Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#114

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Fri Jul 11, 2014 5:16 pm

Sign Online Petition by Indian Citizens against Brutal Israeli Violence in Gaza and to Demand End of Occupation

Indian Citizens’ Appeal on Palestine: Stop Brutal Violence End Occupation!

We strongly condemn the latest brazen Israeli assault on Gaza, another instant in the history of the Zionist state which has been marred with heinous war crimes. Already grossly in breach of all international law in its unending occupation of Palestinian lands, Israel has chosen yet again to underline the impunity it enjoys by indiscriminately targeting civilians in the Gaza strip.

The Palestinian question is one of the longest running and most profound challenges to basic democracy, justice and decency in the international system. Although the Palestinian people have enjoyed the widest possible support for their undying quest for freedom and dignity, including repeated calls inside the UN, the United States and the hegemonic western countries have continued to support Israel’s brazen territorial expansionism.

We strongly demand that the ongoing brutality be stopped immediately and international oversight and relief structures be established at the earliest for the people under the jackboot of the Israeli occupation. We also demand that the Government of India should condemn Israel’s brazen violation of human rights in no uncertain terms. The Indian state’s coziness with Israel, which has become the largest supplier of lethal weapons to India is also a major concern for us.

http://www.indiaresists.com/indian-citi ... ccupation/

ghulam muhammed
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Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#115

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Tue Jul 15, 2014 6:03 pm

Israelis watch Gaza pounding from front-row seats munching popcorn

Last Wednesday night, as he stood on a hilltop outside the Israeli town of Sderot and watched the bombardment of Gaza on the plain below, a Danish newspaper reporter snapped an iPhone photo of about a dozen locals who cheered on their military from plastic chairs while eating popcorn.

The image of the Israeli spectators was taken after 9pm local time on Wednesday night, the reporter said, which was about the same time that what was intended to be a "precision strike", from Israel's military killed at least eight of their Palestinian neighbors, seated in similar plastic chairs at a beachside cafe in Gaza, waiting to watch the World Cup semi final between Argentina and the Netherlands.

Similar scenes, of Israeli spectators gathered on the high ground above Gaza to view the destruction below, were documented in a Times of London article and a video report from Denmark's TV2 during Operation Cast Lead in 2009.

"The hill has been transformed into something that most closely resembles the front row of a reality war theater. It offers a direct view of the densely populated Gaza Strip. People have dragged camping chairs and sofas to the top of the hill. Several sit with crackling bags of popcorn, while others smoke hookahs and talk cheerfully." When the bombs find their targets, Krak reported, "cheers break out on the hill, followed by solid applause."

The Israeli blogger David Sheen reported that a far-right rally in Jerusalem on Monday was marked by calls to kill Arabs and send Jews opposed to the bombardment to Gaza.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/worl ... 426376.cms

ghulam muhammed
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Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#116

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Wed Jul 16, 2014 6:43 pm

As an ex-soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces, I've seen how shockingly we treat Palestinians

There are moral red lines. Why do we keep crossing them?

What happened to me is happening to the IDF and to Israeli society at large. During Operation Cast Lead I had been a civilian active with Breaking the Silence for over a year, but I was still shocked by the incidents I heard had occurred there. I remember a friend who had taken part in Cast Lead. He returned shaken by the fact that homes of “Hamas members” were deemed legitimate targets for bombing without any relation to the risk they posed to our soldiers in the field. That was the first time he had encountered such orders during his military service.

The politicians that send us to perform these tasks don’t even pretend to promise hope for a better future. Just further use of force and violence. Our doubts about logic and justice don’t even interest us anymore, as our red moral lines are constantly moving in the face of our reality - much like mine during my military service. 150 killed in Gaza in the first six days of the operation, the vast majority of whom were civilians, and a quarter of whom were children. Millions of Israeli and Palestinian people live in existential fear that a rocket or a missile will fall on their heads. The end of one bout of violence merely sets an alarm for the next.

What will our next red line be? And when will we cross that one too? Only we can answer that question. It depends on us, and what we allow others to do in our name.

FULL ARTICLE :-

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/com ... 07267.html

DisillusionedDB
Posts: 380
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Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#117

Unread post by DisillusionedDB » Tue Jul 22, 2014 6:21 am

ghulam muhammed wrote:The Israeli holocaust against Palestinians puts Hitler to shame

By A. Faizur Rahman

"The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of great moral crises maintain their neutrality."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 806143.cms

ghulam muhammed
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Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#118

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Tue Jul 22, 2014 5:19 pm

BBC editor tells staff to be soft on Israel

The Electronic Intifada today published a shocking report exposing the extent to which Israeli propagandists have penetrated the BBC, Britain’s state broadcaster.

According to the report, Raffi Berg, the editor of the BBC News website’s Middle East section, has been sending his staff emails advising them to write more favourably about Israel.

http://www.redressonline.com/2013/08/bb ... o.facebook

ghulam muhammed
Posts: 11653
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#119

Unread post by ghulam muhammed » Tue Jul 22, 2014 5:25 pm

A cry of rage for Gaza fills the streets of London

Up to 100,000 people streamed through the streets of London today, Saturday, in one of the biggest anti-war demonstrations in years.

People from across Britain, including many Muslim men and women of all ages, turned out in a collective cry of rage against Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip.

One banner carried by Jewish activists read, “It’s not kosher to support Israel”.

The demonstration completely filled Whitehall. Even as the crowd marched off hundreds were still running to catch up, with a coach load from Yorkshire pulling up just in the nick of time.

Many were as angry with the British government as with Israel.

Demonstrations also took place in other cities, with thousands of people from across Scotland taking to the streets in Glasgow.

"Israel said the old would die and the young would forget—but we will never forget Palestine.”

http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art/38 ... +of+London

alam
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Re: Statehood for the Palestinians

#120

Unread post by alam » Tue Jul 22, 2014 5:30 pm

WORLD07. 21. 14
HOW JON STEWART MADE IT OKAY TO CARE ABOUT PALESTINIAN SUFFERING
by Dean Obeidallah
When I interviewed The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart two years ago for a documentary I co-directed, The Muslims Are Coming!, one of the questions I posed to the talk show host was: Do you think your show has had an impact on issues?

Surprisingly, Stewart responded “no.”  At first, my co-director, Negin Farsad, and I thought Stewart was being unduly modest. But he was actually being sincere. Stewart went on to list issues he had railed against for years—such as media sensationalism—and noted that nothing tangible had changed despite his best efforts.


But if that question were put to Stewart today, honesty would compel him to answer that his efforts have changed the way many who follow him now view one issue: the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Specifically, Stewart has raised awareness about the human toll that this conflict has inflicted upon Palestinian civilians.

I first noticed Stewart’s efforts in January 2009 during the 22-day battle between Hamas and the Israeli military. That episode resulted in approximately 1,400 Palestinians being killed, of which human rights groups say 700 were civilians.

Stewart’s coverage included the segment “Gaza Strip Maul.” (The title summed up his POV.) In it, Stewart comically noted that the only thing Democrats and Republicans seem to agree on is supporting Israeli’s bombing of Gaza, likening it to a Mobius Strip, which is an object with only one side to it.

Stewart, of course, did express sympathy for the people of Israel suffering from Hamas missiles. But clearly he was moved by the massive Palestinian civilian casualties, calling it a “civilian carnage Toyotathon.”

During the 2012 battle between Hamas and Israel, Stewart lambasted the media for its obsession with declaring a “winner.” His point was simple: In a battle where more than 150 people were killed, mostly Palestinian civilians, there was no real “winner.”

Stewart’s impact has not gone unnoticed by the right. Several conservative media outlets attacked Stewart over his recent expressions of concern for Palestinian civilians.

And just last week, Stewart addressed the current fighting in Gaza in two remarkable moments. First, he responded to the conservative argument that the people of Gaza, who are crammed into a densely populated area, can simply leave to avoid the IDF’s bombing campaign.  “Evacuate to where?” Stewart asked incredulously. “Have you fucking seen Gaza? Israel blocked this border, Egypt blocked this border. What, are you supposed to swim for it?”

Later in that same show, guest Hillary Clinton hawked her new book together with her hawkish views on the Middle East. But Stewart challenged the former Secretary of State: “Can we at least agree the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is overwhelming and that the world must do more for that people who are trapped by this conflict?”

And just last night Stewart opened the show with a very personal segment “We need to talk about Israel” in which he comically addressed the criticism he, and others who have raised the human suffering of Palestinians during the current conflict, have endured. In that bit, as soon as Stewart mentioned Israel, four Daily Show correspondents jumped into frame screaming lines we typically hear from the pro-Israel voices, including one calling him a “self-hating Jew.” Then Stewart turned to criticize Palestinian militants, causing the correspondents to return and yell pro-Palestinian slogans. The bit ended with Stewart asking sheepishly, “Why don’t we just talk about something lighter like Ukraine?”
So where we have seen Stewart’s impact? I would argue we’ve seen it in the reactions of certain celebrities and in an increasing number of college students. Typically, celebrities have stayed out of the Middle East conflict, knowing full well the tsunami of emotions it carries. But in the last week, some entered the fray, and I believe we have Stewart to thank for it.

We saw actor John Cusack tweet in response to a conservative, self-proclaimed Israeli supporter who was defending the IDF’s bombings in Gaza: “I have been to Israel and Palestine & Bombing civilians is not self defense.”
While Cusack is known for being a progressive activist, the other celebs that spoke out are not. Singing superstar Rihanna and the NBA’s Dwight Howard both tweeted “Free Palestine.” The New York Knicks’ Amare Stoudemire, who has Jewish heritage, tweeted a photo that read: “Pray for Palestine.” True, these three ultimately deleted their respective posts after they caused a stir, but it was still momentous to see these developments.

And then there was the 21-year-old singing sensation, Selena Gomez, who posted an image on Instagram that read: ““It’s about humanity—Pray for Gaza.” This post received more than 605,000 likes.

Unfortunately, her post did elicit some vicious, misogynistic comments from some right-wing supporters of Israel. And worse, TMZ even inferred Gomez was supporting terrorism with its article: “Selena Gomez: Pro-Humanity or Pro-Hamas”? TMZ attempted to bully the young star to agree with its own politics with the line: “Maybe she doesn’t realize Hamas has launched an untold number of missiles in an effort to destroy Israel, or maybe she supports it.”

Despite these attacks, Gomez did not back down. Her post still stands.

And I’ve personally seen Stewart’s impact on the young people I meet at colleges when performing the comedy show “Stand up for Peace” with my friend Scott Blakeman, who is Jewish. Time and time again I hear from students that The Daily Show has informed them about political issues, including the Middle East.

Indeed, a poll released last week bears this out. While overall Americans “sympathize” with Israel 51 percent to only 14 percent for Palestinians, the gap closes dramatically among younger people, Stewart’s very demographic. In that age group, Palestinians find their greatest support, at 22 percent—dramatically higher than the only 9 percent of people who are 50 and older.

Part of Stewart’s appeal with students is that he’s very proudly Jewish and a supporter of Israel. Consequently, he has inspired others who support the Jewish state to criticize it when its government’s policies are not in keeping with their own sense of right and wrong. You know, like the way we, in the United States, criticize certain policies of our government despite our deep support for our nation.

Stewart’s impact has not gone unnoticed by the right. Several conservative media outlets attacked Stewart over his recent expressions of concern for Palestinian civilians.

But it’s too late.The seeds Stewart has planted over the years have taken root and are starting to blossom. And here’s why that’s a good thing for all. Stewart’s message is truly one of empathy—something often missing in discussions of this conflict. Too often, people view this contest as a zero sum game where even the slightest acknowledgment that the other side is suffering is an attack upon their own side.

Why not give Stewart’s approach a chance? Stop with the knee jerk, blind defense of your own side—regardless of which that may be. Instead, if the people you support are committing acts inconsistent with your own sense of morality, then you should speak out.


Maybe, just maybe, this approach will yield common ground that can be the foundation to build a bridge to peace.  It’s certainly worth a shot because the current path is an abject failure for all involved.