Peace and Justice Post

Felicity Arbuthnot, uruknet.info, July 14, 2010

“Now all my lies are proved untrue And I must face the men I slew. What tale shall serve me here among Mine angry and defrauded young?” (Epitaphs of War, Rudyard Kipling, 1865-1936.) We live in strange times. In October 2009, the fledgling President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for: ” .. his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples.” He was: “surprised and deeply humbled”, accepting it as : “a call to action.” Oh good, more “… diplomacy and co-operation …?” Not quite. Two months later Barack Hussein Obama announced that killing more Afghans and throwing $’s millions in to doing it was his first priority. (He didn’t quite put it like that. He told an audience at West Point * that the deployment of 30,000 additional troops was a goal vital to: “the common security of the world.” It would: ” … break the Taliban’s momentum and increase Afghanistan’s capacity …” Goals would not be set: “… beyond our responsibility, our means, or our interests.”) Continues >>

Municipality says structures were not homes but witnesses report Palestinian family removing belongings.

By Nir Hasson, Natasha Mozgovaya and News Agencies, Haaretz/Israel, July 13, 2010

Israel razed on Tuesday an inhabited Palestinian home in East Jerusalem for the first time in eight months, effectively ending an unofficial freeze of such internationally condemned demolitions.

A Reuters photographer witnessed a Palestinian family removing its belongings from the house in East Jerusalem’s Beit Hanina neighborhood before an Israeli excavator tore into the dwelling.

“They can build hundreds of settlements but I’m not entitled to live in a shack?” asked Linda al-Rajabi outside the demolished dwelling she shared with her husband and their five children.

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Prosecution Charges Mikhlif al-Shammari With “Annoying Others”

(New York) – Prosecutors should immediately drop charges against Shaikh Mikhlif bin Dahham al-Shammari, a human rights activist, and release him, Human Rights Watch said today.

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by Neve Gordon, Dissident Voice,  July 12th, 2010

There is a considerable amount of misunderstanding about the BDS (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions). As John Berger explained a while back, BDS is not a principle but a strategy; it is not against Israel but against Israeli policy; when the policy changes BDS will end.

BDS is also not about a particular solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but rather the demand that Israel abide by international law and UN resolutions. It is accordingly something that you can support if you are for a two state solution or a one state solution. You can even support it as a Zionist. It arises from the realization, following years of experience, that the Occupation will not end unless Israelis understand that it has a price.

In a sense, the fact that a boycott is required is a sign of weakness following the polaristaion and marginalisation of the left in Israel. On the one hand, we have more or less used all the other weapons we have in the arsenal of non-violent resistance and the situation on the ground is only getting worse. On the other hand, we are witnessing the development of a proto-fascist mindset in Israel. I am, for example, extremely anxious about the extent that the space for public debate in Israel is shrinking.

One of the ways of silencing any dissent is the through the demand for loyalty, so that a slogans you hear a lot now is “no citizenship without loyalty.” This slogan reflects the inversion of the republican idea that the state should be loyal to the citizen and is accountable for inequities and injustices. It is a manifestation of the complete reversal of the republican relationship between state and loyalty and the adoption, instead, of a logic similar to the one that informed Mussolini’s Italy. It is — as Gramsci once said — part of the morbid symptoms of our times.

One of the expressions of these symptoms is the increasingly violent attitude towards any kind of dissent within Israel. I have received more death threats following my criticism of the flotilla fiasco than ever before. When I walk on campus people ask in jest if I am wearing a bullet proof vest. Such jokes have a menacing undertone. Therefore it is not all that surprising that only three professors in Israel openly support a boycott; many others are in the closet because supporting BDS is not considered to be a legitimate form of critique and people who back it are in danger of being punished.

And yet, there is also a sense that the pro-government proponents have gone too far. They are not only targeting people on the far left, but practically everyone who is even slightly critical of government policies. A couple of months ago a high school principle who objected to military officers coming in to speak to his pupils, was all but crucified. Clearly the outrage of so many Israeli academics against the assault on academic freedom has little to do with the boycott, but is rather against the attempt to silence any kind of critique. There is an ever-growing sense that public discourse in Israel is dramatically shrinking. Thus, the provost of Haifa University, who courageously criticized the Minister of Education and the assault on academic freedom, is by no means a left-winger but is simply outraged at the current developments. He would never otherwise support my stance on the boycott.

Neve Gordon teaches politics at Ben-Gurion University, Israel. One can read about his book Israel’s Occupation and more. He can be reached at: nevegordon@gmail.com. Read other articles by Neve, or visit Neve’s website.

Gaza, — Al-Amal, aid boat continued its trip to Gaza despite the Israeli threats of preventing by any means to reached blocked Gaza Strip and contradictory reports about his destination.
The aid ship of Moldavian flag renamed Al-Amal which means “Hope” in Arabic, sailed on Saturday from Cypriot port of Lavrio, south of Athens, carrying 2,000 tones of humanitarian aid donated by a Libyan charity foundation.

Activists in solidarity with the Palestinian people warned about an apparent campaign of misinformation of Israeli government intended to generate confusion and to the discourage peace initiative.

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During the Vietnam War, President Lyndon Johnson and the military argued that we had to win in order to prevent communism from taking over other nations in the vicinity, the so-called domino theory. The military asserted repeatedly that provided we sent over more troops, they could win the war. They also argued that we needed to get the local people on our side, which, not surprisingly, we were never able to do. Government officials argued that we could not leave Southeast Asia because that would be admitting defeat; the families that had lost loved ones would feel their sons and daughters had died in vain.

Unfortunately, over 58,000 did die in vain. Another 150,000 plus Americans were wounded. Those figures ignore the million-plus North Vietnamese who lost their lives and the quarter of a million South Vietnamese who were killed.

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In rare appearance, Cuba’s former president, 82, analyses Middle East situation and says Iran will not be cowed by the US

Joe Tuckman in Mexico City

The Guardian/UK, July 13, 2010

Former president Fidel Castro speaks on Cuban television, the second time in less than a week that he has made a public appearance. Photograph: ReutersThe Middle East is on the verge of a nuclear war triggered by a US attack on Iran in the name of preventing the country from developing its own weapons, according to ageing Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro.

“To do this on the basis of a calculation that the Iranians are going to come running out to ask the Yankees for forgiveness is absurd,” Castro said. “They [the US] will encounter a terrible resistance that will spread the conflict that cannot end up any other way than turning nuclear.”

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