tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60494152024-03-13T07:07:26.484+02:00Anna's Eyewitness Reports from PalestineStories & photographs from a Jewish American's peacework documenting human rights abuses & supporting nonviolent direct action in the West Bank with the Int'l Women's Peace Service.Anna Baltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11654225424192112342noreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-88536664922619867042014-07-14T16:30:00.000+03:002014-07-18T04:39:44.928+03:00Will you come with me to Palestine?Dear friends,
I write you with a heavy heart as Israel's attacks on the Palestinian people continue to escalate. In the last week, at least 172 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, of which about 80% were civilians and 36 were children. 1,140 Palestinians have been injured, including nearly 300 children. At least 25,000 children are seeking psychosocial support, according to the Institute for Middle East Understanding (<a href="http://imeu.org/">IMEU</a>). People in Gaza issued this heartbreaking letter and call to action on Saturday: <a href="http://electronicintifada.net/content/urgent-call-gaza-civil-society-act-now/13558">http://electronicintifada.net/content/urgent-call-gaza-civil-society-act-now/13558</a>. If you have not yet, I hope you will take action by demonstrating locally, contacting your congressperson, and more. You can find actions and resources here: <a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/gazaunderattack">http://www.endtheoccupation.org/gazaunderattack</a><br />
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<b>The main reason I am writing is to invite you to join me on a delegation I am co-leading to Palestine this Fall, October 25 - November 7, 2014.</b> You can find details about the delegation, logistics, application, and more
<a href="http://www.ifpb.org/del51/default.html">here</a>. This is the annual Olive Harvest Delegation, which I have always wanted to lead. My time participating in the Olive Harvest while living in Palestine was unforgettable. From the website:
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<blockquote>
<i>This delegation will provide an opportunity to participate in the Palestinian olive harvest season — generally a time of great community activism, where people of all ages from Palestine, Israeli peace and justice groups, and international groups join farmers as they reap their harvest. It is international support that makes the harvest possible in many cases. You will hear from Palestinian farmers and learn of the importance of agriculture to the Palestinian economy and culture. As with other delegations, you will also meet additional Israelis and Palestinians working for peace and justice.
</i><br />
<i>To learn more about the standard components of all delegations,
<a href="http://www.ifpb.org/delegations/default.html">click here</a>.</i></blockquote>
The delegation is with the <a href="http://www.ifpb.org/delegations/default.html">Interfaith Peace-Builders</a>, an extraordinary organization for which I have tremendous respect. They provide strong support and orientation for participants before, during, and after the trip. They are extremely responsible and it is an honor to travel with them. You will be in great hands, and it would be a great privilege for me to take the journey with you. I hope you'll consider applying! <b><a href="http://www.ifpb.org/del51/default.html">Click here for more info or to apply</a>.</b><br />
<b> </b>
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<b>As the violence against Palestinians increases, it is more important than ever to bear witness and to show solidarity.</b> Remember that the danger faced by non-Palestinians is nothing compared to that faced by everyday people -- from toddlers to grandmothers -- just trying to live their lives with dignity.<br />
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As always, for more regular updates and action items from me (since I rarely post to this list), please join the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation listserve <a href="http://org.salsalabs.com/o/641/signup_page/join-the-us-campaign?Email=Your+Email+Address&x=31&y=7&first_name_949=">by clicking here</a>.<br />
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Yours truly,<br />
Anna<br />
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<br />Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-59365268954189197862012-08-10T17:33:00.000+03:002012-08-11T17:53:14.802+03:00Meet Me in St Louis!Dear friends,
<p>
I continue to send most of my emails in my capacity as National Organizer with the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, via our listserve there. If you aren't on it yet, <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/641/signup_page/join-the-us-campaign?Email=Your+Email+Address&x=25&y=6&first_name_949=">please join by clicking here!</a>
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I have been working most of the year on two church divestment campaigns, both of which ended with some historic victories. Here are my accounts of both:
<p>
- <a href="http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/6420/the-pendulum-swings-and-a-new-era-has-begun_presby">My article on Jadaliyya about the Presbyterian divestment and boycott initiatives</a><br>
- <a href="http://endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=3205">Our statement reporting back from the Methodist general conference</a>
<p>
The movement is growing more quickly than most of us can keep up with. We are reaching a critical mass and a breaking point (see the Jadaliyya article above for what I mean) with some victories we thought would take many more years to achieve.
<p>
That's why I'm so excited to announce our upcoming national organizers conference in St Louis. See our announcement below. I hope many of you can make it!
<p>
~ Anna
<br><p>
<b>Join the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation for our
11th Annual National Organizers' Conference September 21-23 at St. Louis University!</b>
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<a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/section.php?id=403">Register by August 21 for $80 registration and special hotel room rates!</a>
<p>
Our conference is an opportunity for our member groups and activists from across the country to come together and strengthen our efforts to end U.S. support for Israeli occupation and apartheid policies toward Palestinians. With nearly 380 member groups now a part of the coalition, this year's conference will be a great opportunity for strategizing, networking and sharing our achievements and struggles.
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<b>Register and find more information at</b> <a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/section.php?id=403">www.endtheoccupation.org/2012conference</a>.
<p>
We will start the conference at <b>7:00pm</b> on Friday, September 21 with a panel discussion on the Arab uprisings and their impact on organizing to change U.S. policy toward Palestine/Israel.
<p>
Speakers and presenters include:
<p>
<b>Dalit Baum, Co-founder of Who Profits from the Occupation <br>
Hatem Bazian, Chairman of American Muslims for Palestine <br>
Phyllis Bennis, Director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies <br>
Remi Kanazi, Author of Poetic Injustice: Writings on Resistance <br>
Sydney Levy is Director of Advocacy at Jewish Voice for Peace <br>
Linda Sarsour, National Advocacy Director for the National Network for Arab American Communities.</b>
<p>
The weekend's program will include panels and workshops discussing:
<p>
<b>Engaging Faith Communities <br>
BDS Training <br>
Campus Activism <br>
Academic and Cultural Boycott <br>
Organizing and Coalition Building.</b>
<p>
Check out our website to <a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/form.php?modin=236">register</a>, book your <a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=3222">hotel room</a>, and <a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/form.php?modin=233">submit a workshop proposal</a>.
<p>
<b>Contact Ramah Kudaimi at</b> membership@endtheoccupation.org <b>or</b> 202-332-0994 <b>if you have any questions.</b>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-36457506666747681862012-02-20T17:43:00.000+02:002012-02-21T01:43:26.308+02:00Urgent Call to Action on the 65th Day of a Hunger Strike by Khader AdnanDear friends,<br /><br />A Palestinian man named Khader Adnan is now on his 65th day of a hunger strike since December 18th, 2011. He could die at any moment--he is in "immediate danger of death." Yesterday, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association <a href="http://www.addameer.org/etemplate.php?id=442">published this update</a> . Here is one excerpt:<br /><br />Israel's High Court of Justice has today scheduled a petitions hearing regarding the case of Khader Adnan to take place Thursday, 23 February 2012 at 11:30am. The petition was filed by Khader Adnan's lawyers on 15 February. The High Court of Justice was provided with a detailed medical report prepared on 14 February by an Israeli-accredited doctor on behalf of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-Israel). Despite the elaborate medical report, which confirmed that Khader Adnan "is in immediate danger of death," and that <span style="font-weight:bold;">"a fast in excess of 70 days does not permit survival,"</span> the Israeli High Court appointed the petition session for 23 February with no guarantees that a decision will be made on the same day. <span style="font-weight:bold;">By then, Khader Adnan—if alive—will have reached the 69th day of his ongoing hunger strike.</span><br /><br />Ways to take action and more background information on Palestinian prisoners and administrative detainees can be found in the following <a href="http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8186:urgent-call-for-action-&catid=36:pchrpressreleases&Itemid=194">Urgent Call to Action</a> issued today by ddameer, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"> We call upon you to exert all possible influence and pressure on the Israeli Authorities to immediately release detainee Khader Adnan, whose life is in immediate danger as he has been on a hunger strike for the past 64 days.<br /><br /> The arbitrary detention of Adnan commenced on 17 December 2011, when he was kidnapped from his home in the northern West Bank village of Arrabe, during a nightly raid carried out by Israeli soldiers. His two young daughters and pregnant wife were witness to this.<br /><br /> Adnan initiated his current hunger strike on 18 December, protesting being detained without charges or being notified of the reason for his detention. He is being detained without charge or trial under a four-month administrative detention order, which could be indefinitely renewed for the duration of six months.<br /><br /> For the past decades Israel has applied the procedure of administrative detention on a large scale, systematically imprisoning thousands of Palestinians, as a tool of political oppression. This is a grave violation of the fourth Geneva Convention as well as the Convention on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention Against Torture.<br /><br /> Khader Adnan has the law on his side. His life should be saved and the law should be respected. We urge you to make direct contact with the responsible Israeli officials and authorities, demanding the immediate release of Khader Adnan, in a critical attempt to save his life.<br /><br /> Finally, please adopt this call and spread the appeal from your respective capacity and/or organization.<br /><br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;">It is time to act. Tomorrow might be too late.<br /></span><br /> Contact:<br /><br /> Minister of Justice, Yaakov Neeman<br /> 29 Tsalch Adin Street<br /> Jerusalem 91490<br /> Telephone: +972 2 646-6666<br /> Fax: +972 2 670-6357<br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;">Email: pniot@justice.gov.il<br /></span><br /> Military Judge Advocate General, Brigadier General Danny Efroni<br /> 6 David Elazar Street<br /> Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel<br /> Fax: +972 3 569 4526<br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;">Email: evimn@idf.gov.il<br /></span><br /> Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Ehud Barak<br /> Ministry of Defence<br /> 37 Kaplan Street, Hakirya<br /> Tel Aviv 61909, Israel<br /> Fax: +972 3 69 16940 / 62757<br /><br /> Commander of the IDF in the West Bank, Major-General Avi Mizrahi<br /> GOC Central Command<br /> Military Post 01149<br /> Battalion 877, Israel Defense Forces, Israel<br /> Fax: +972 2 530 5724</span><br /><br />Khader Adnan's original appeal hearing took place on 9 February in a room at Zif Medical Center in Safad where Khader was hospitalized due to his medical condition as resulting from his ongoing hunger strike. In disregard to his medical condition the Court of Appeals delayed its decision until 13 February 2012, which marked Khader's 58th day of his ongoing hunger strike. The decision statement rejecting the appeal issued by Judge Moshe Tirosh stated that Judge Tirosh found that the administrative order decision based on the "secret evidence" was balanced, and that Khader had only himself to blame for his medical condition owing to his choice to continue his hunger strike.<br /><br />All of the above can be found on the <a href="http://blog.endtheoccupation.org/2012/02/urgent-call-to-action-to-save-khader.html">US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation blog here</a>.<br /><br />As always, for more frequent reports from me, please join the US Campaign email list, join my Facebook page, and/or follow me on Twitter. Links to do all three are below.<br /><br />Yours,<br />Anna<br /><br />National Organizer, <a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/">US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation</a><br />Facebook: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/fbanna">http://tinyurl.com/fbanna</a><br />Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/anna_baltzer">http://twitter.com/anna_baltzer</a><br />Local Organizer, <a href="http://www.stl-psc.org/">St Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee</a><br />Homepage: <a href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/">www.AnnaInTheMiddleEast.com</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-10949236215495485542012-02-07T22:00:00.000+02:002012-02-08T06:07:00.740+02:00Take Action to Support Historic Church Divestment Resolutions + More!Dear friends,<br /><br />I just returned from an exhilarating National BDS Conference at the University of Pennsylvania this past weekend. Kicking off with a video of support from the Archbishop Desmond Tutu, hundreds of activists and academics gathered for two days of workshops, analysis, and entertainment, undeterred by a barrage of attacks by BDS opponents who attempted to smear organizers and speakers alike. <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/imeu/2012/02/02/pennbds-hate-fest-or-human-rights-conference">Here is a press briefing</a> that I did with keynote speaker Ali Abunimah, refuting the bogus charges. I just kept thinking of the old saying by Mahatma Gandhi:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"First they ignore you.<br />Then they laugh at you.<br />Then they fight you.<br />Then you win."</span><br /><br />So we've graduated! And we will win indeed!<br /><br />Here is something I wrote about some historic church votes coming up. I'm really excited about it and wanted to share it with you. (If you'd like to get these kinds of updates from me in my capacity as National Organizer with the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, sign up at <a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/">www.endtheoccupation.org</a> -- in the right margin)…<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Did you know that 2012 is poised to be a landmark year</span> for corporate accountability in the movement to end Israel's violations of Palestinian rights and international law?<br /><br />After many years of hard work by activists in both denominations, the global United Methodist Church (UMC) and the Presbyterian Church (USA) are voting over the next six months on resolutions to divest from Caterpillar, Motorola Solutions, and Hewlett Packard due to their complicity in the Israeli occupation [<a href="http://www.globalexchange.org/economicactivism/campaigns">documented here</a>]. US Campaign member groups <a href="https://www.kairosresponse.org/">United Methodist Kairos Response</a> and <a href="http://www.israelpalestinemissionnetwork.org/main/">Israel-Palestine Mission Network</a> are leading the way in building support for the <a href="https://www.kairosresponse.org/The_Resolution.html">UMC resolution</a> and Presbyterian Committee on Mission Responsibility through Investment (MRTI)'s <a href="http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/mrti/">divestment recommendation</a>, respectively.<br /><br />It is hard to overstate <span style="font-weight:bold;">the significance of these campaigns</span>. Passage of these resolutions would encourage other institutions and major churches to take action. It would also send Israel one of the strongest messages yet that its oppressive policies will no longer be tolerated.<br /><br />These are ambitious, winnable campaigns, <span style="font-weight:bold;">but we need your help!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">No matter what</span> Israel/Palestine campaigning you are focused on, we urge you to find a way to support these campaigns, since success will surely advance all other efforts in some way. Here is a list of things you can do.<br /><br />Challenge yourself to do at least 2 of the following...<br /><br />1. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Endorse the United Methodist resolution!</span><br /> * <a href="https://www.kairosresponse.org/Individual_Endorsement_Form.html">Click here to endorse as an individual.</a><br /> * <a href="https://www.kairosresponse.org/Group_Endorsement_Form.html">Click here to submit an organizational endorsement.</a> <br /> * <a href="https://www.kairosresponse.org/GBPHB_Petition.html">Click here to sign a petition if you participate in services</a> provided by the UMC General Board of Pension & Health Benefits.<br /><br />2. <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/641/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=9306"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sign this letter supporting the divestment recommendation</span></a> of the Presbyterian MRTI! You can sign as an individual or on behalf of an organization.<br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Volunteer to help pass these resolutions!</span> United Methodists and Presbyterians would be especially helpful, but really anyone can help. Any amount of support is appreciated. Please email <span style="font-style:italic;">organizer [at] endtheoccupation.org</span> if you are interested.<br /><br />This could be our turning point. Please join the Methodists, Presbyterians, and other people of conscience from around the country in supporting these campaigns today!<br /><br />With excitement and anticipation,<br /><br />Anna<br /><br />PS. <span style="font-style:italic;">Here are a few exciting events coming up…<br /></span><br />1. I will be presenting at these two conferences:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Friends of Sabeel - North America presents...</span><br /><br />"A Time for Justice: Supporting Human Rights in Palestine-Israel"<br />Sacramento, CA<br />March 16 & 17<br /><br /><a href="http://fosna.org/content/sacramento-ca-conference-march-16-17-2012">Click here for more information and to register.</a> <br /><br />"Breaking the Barriers to a Just Peace in Israel/Palestine"<br />Sunnyvale, CA<br />March 23 & 24<br /><a href="http://fosna.org/content/sunnyvale-ca-conference-march-23-24-2012"><br />Click here for more information and to register. </a><br /><br />Presenters include...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Salem Ajluni</span> Consultant, UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Huwaida Arraf</span> Palestinian Activist, Lawyer, Founder, International Solidarity Movement<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Marc H. Ellis</span> Professor of Jewish Studies & History, Baylor University<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Noura Erakat</span> Adjunct Assistant Professor, Georgetown University<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Gerald Lenoir</span> Director, Black Alliance for Just Immigration<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rae Abileah</span> Young Jewish and Proud; Code Pink<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Dr. Hisham Ahmed</span> Professor, St. Mary's College, Moraga, California<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rev. Naim Ateek</span> author and founder of Sabeel, former canon pastor of the Episcopal Cathedral of Jerusalem<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Dr. Dalit Baum</span> Jewish-Israeli Activist; Co-founder of Who Profits<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Dr. Hatem Bazian</span> Founder of American Muslims for Palestine; Lecturer University of California, Berkeley<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Laila El Haddad</span> Author of Gaza Mom: Palestine, Politics, Parenting, and Everything in Between<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Josh Ruebner</span> National Advocacy Director, U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Kristin Szremski</span> Director of Media and Communications, American Muslims for Palestine<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Cecilie Surasky</span> Deputy Director, Jewish Voice for Peace<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rabbi Alissa Wise</span> Director of Campaigns, Jewish Voice for Peace<br /><br />...and me and many more!<br /><br />Hope to see you there. Click on the links above to register or for more info on topics, scheduling, and more!<br /><br /><br />2. OCCUPY AIPAC! (Here's a message from CODEPINK, the organizers…)<br /><br />We are excited to announce that plans for <a href="http://www.occupyaipac.org/">OCCUPY AIPAC</a> are underway and we hope you will join us March 2-6 in Washington, DC again!<br /><br />With the Occupy movement that has swept the country demanding social and economic justice, many have concluded that AIPAC -- the powerful pro-Israeli government lobby that distorts U.S. policy in the Middle East -- is a mandatory "occupy target". Adbusters, the magazine that issued the initial visionary call for the takeover of Wall St. on September 17th, has declared: "The time has come for the Occupy Movement to demand an end to the Occupation of Palestine... We need a hashtag, #occupyAIPAC" (Kalle Lasn).<br /><br />Timed to coincide with the annual AIPAC policy conference in March 2012, the Occupy AIPAC summit will be a long weekend of teach-ins, cultural performances, protests and creative direct actions, and a sneak preview of the forthcoming film Roadmap to Apartheid. Our Saturday conference will feature educational panels on Iran, Palestine, the Arab Uprisings and the Occupy Movement (<a href="http://www.occupyaipac.org/summit/speakers/">click here to see the list of speakers</a>). Sponsors and endorsers include the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, the Institute of Policy Studies, Just Foreign Policy, Interfaith Peace Builders (IFPB), the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Jewish Voice for Peace, several Students for Justice in Palestine chapters, and over <a href="http://www.occupyaipac.org/endorsers/">120 other groups</a>.<br /><br />Right now AIPAC is trying to drag us into a disastrous war with Iran, just as they pushed the Iraq war. We must show our opposition by exposing AIPAC and standing against a war with Iran. AIPAC's underhanded tactics and their manipulation of our political process destroys the possibility of a just peace for Palestinians and Israelis. <a href="http://www.occupyaipac.org/about/articles-on-aipac/">Recent public criticisms of the Israel lobby</a> make the call to Occupy AIPAC all the more relevant.<br /><br />Now is the time to make a large, people-powered push to show our opposition to the stranglehold the Israel lobby continues to hold over our government. Your support made last year's Move Over AIPAC a success and we need you again in 2012.<br /><br /><a href="https://codepink.salsalabs.com/o/424/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=7463">Register for the conference</a> or support this summit with a donation. Your outreach and presence is critical to help us ensure a strong turnout, because now is the time to Occupy AIPAC, not Palestine!Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-43073872457377454272012-01-03T10:00:00.003+02:002012-01-04T00:38:00.677+02:00New Flash Mob Video & 2012 Delegation to Palestine!Dear friends,<br /><br />I hope you have enjoyed some rest and time with loved ones as the year comes to a close. During Christmas shopping peak, I joined with friends for a…<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Wedding Flash Mob at Bed Bath & Beyond!</span><br /><a href="http://youtu.be/LEMygqMI-fg">http://youtu.be/LEMygqMI-fg</a> <span style="font-weight:bold;">-- Check out the video and please pass it on!</span><br />(You will see I prioritized projecting the message over staying on tune :-).)<br /><br />Looking into 2012, I am excited about the growing global BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) campaigns and <span style="font-weight:bold;">an upcoming trip to Palestine</span> to reconnect with the heart of the struggle. Being in Palestine always grounds me in why we all do this work -- why it must succeed and why it absolutely will succeed.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Want to join me?</span> I am co-leading another delegation with the Interfaith Peace-Builders in May 2012 -- my third year in a row! (Last year, many of you donated to the St Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee to help us send my colleague and friend Colleen Kelly to Palestine. Your generosity meant so much to both of us. You can read Colleen, my, and another of our colleague's dispatches from Palestine at <a href="http://www.pscinpalestine.blogspot.com/">http://www.pscinpalestine.blogspot.com/</a> .)<br /><br />If you're interested, below is some information on the trip, as well as information about youth scholarships.<br /><br />***<br /><br />(Preface: I send this out with consciousness that travel to Palestine is not an option for everyone, especially for Palestinian-Americans who are routinely banned by Israel's practices of denying them entry. May these delegations no longer be necessary someday when Palestinians have the access to visit or live in their homeland that is their right.)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />May 2012 Delegation to Palestine/Israel</span><br /> <br />An Environment Under Siege: Occupation's Effect on People and Nature<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">May 19 - June 1, 2012</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Delegation Leaders: Anna Baltzer & Philip Farah</span><br /> <br />This delegation will explore current realities of life for Israelis and Palestinians, including settlements, the occupation, and the peace process—by learning directly from those living there. We will also explore issues pertaining to the intersection of environmental justice and human rights, delving into the ways in which the occupation has affected the environment and therefore the livelihood of Palestinians and Israelis. Topics may include freedom of access to land and water, sanitation and pollution, and deforestation. The itinerary will feature meetings with leaders of civil society groups, grassroots organizers, religious leaders, organizations with projects focused on the environment and more.<br /> <br />Join the Email List for This Delegation: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/7e5qjej">http://tinyurl.com/7e5qjej</a> <br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">DEADLINE TO APPLY: Please apply by February 10, 2012</span> to ensure we'll have space and be able to arrange your flight. Our last several delegations have filled up several months before departure, so please apply as soon as possible to reserve your space. If you've missed the deadline, we might still be able to add you, but please contact us ASAP to see if this is a possibility.<br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Download Application for the Delegation</span> here: <a href="http://www.ifpb.org/documents/delegations/IFPB%20application.doc">http://www.ifpb.org/documents/delegations/IFPB%20application.doc</a> <br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Leaders:</span><br /> <br />Philip Farah is a Palestinian born in Jerusalem, four years after his family lost their home in the 1948 War—the Nakba. Upon graduating from the American University of Beirut in 1968, he returned to occupied East Jerusalem and taught at several schools as well as Birzeit University in the West Bank. Before emigrating to the US in 1978, he was active in the first Palestinian-Israeli dialogue group opposed to the occupation. He is currently Vice President of the Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace. He lives with his wife and three children in the Washington Metro area where he works as an economist.<br /><br />Anna Baltzer is an award-winning speaker, writer, and organizer for Palestinian rights. Since she began volunteering with the International Women's Peace Service, documenting human rights abuses and supporting Palestinian-led nonviolent resistance. Anna has appeared on television more than 100 times and lectured at more than 400 universities, schools, churches, mosques, and synagogues around the world. She is the author of Witness in Palestine: A Jewish American Woman in the Occupied Territories. Currently, she is also the National Organizer with US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. Anna previously co-led two IFPB delegations in 2010 & 2011.<br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Logistics:</span><br /> <br />The cost of the delegation will be around $2100. This includes 13 days of the delegation, hotel and home stay accommodations, breakfasts and dinners, local transportation, guides, speaker/event fees, basic tips and gratuities. Partial scholarships may be available for those with demonstrable need.<br /> <br />The cost does not include domestic and international airfare. Interfaith Peace-Builders works with a local travel agent in Jerusalem to secure the best group rates for the delegation to travel together on the same flight from Washington, DC to Israel/Palestine. Therefore, delegates do not need to book their own international airfare.<br /> <br />Delegates will be expected make arrangements to be in Washington DC by 2pm on May 19, 2012.<br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Click on the link to learn much more</span> about delegation specifics, including who we meet, cost, and application information: <a href="http://www.ifpb.org/delegations/default.html">http://www.ifpb.org/delegations/default.html</a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE!</span> (for the above or later delegations)<br /><br />IFPB is offering two $1,000 scholarships for students and recent graduates. In addition, applicants will also be considered for smaller financial aid packages from IFPB, ranging from $250 - $500.<br /><br />Apply at <a href="http://www.ifpb.org/1000scholarship">www.ifpb.org/1000scholarship</a> <br /><br />SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION DEADLINE: January 20, 2012<br /><br />Scholarships will be applied towards delegation cost of $2,100 (Includes accommodations, breakfasts and dinners, guides, sustained support upon your return, and more). Cost does not include international or domestic airfare.<br /><br />***<br /><br />Thanks for reading this far! Best wishes for a new year full of fun, light, justice, and freedom for all. As I continue my work with the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, <span style="font-weight:bold;">you can receive more frequent emails from me</span> by signing up for our email list on our homepage here: <a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/">http://www.endtheoccupation.org/</a>.<br /><br />Warm wishes,<br /><br />Anna<br /><br />PS. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Here's a quick petition</span> for Professor Marc Ellis -- one of the most prominent Jewish theological voices against Israel's treatment of the Palestinian people -- whose job at Baylor University seems to be in jeopardy as a result of his political outspokenness. <a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/ken-starr-president-of-baylor-university-stop-persecution-against-prof-marc-ellis">Sign here</a>. <br /><br />PPS. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Social media:</span> And as always, you can catch me <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anna-Baltzer/120876656003?ref=sgm">on Facebook here</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/anna_baltzer">on Twitter here</a>.<br /><br />Also, the <span style="font-weight:bold;">International Women's Peace Service</span>, with which I volunteered in Palestine for many years (my time with them is the subject of my book), is now on Facebook and posting updates daily. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/International-Womens-Peace-Service/108747322523388">Join their page here!</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-69573371579942361612011-08-26T12:45:00.004+03:002011-09-02T00:10:40.629+03:00Exciting Events & Conferences Coming Up!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Dear friends, <br />
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Long time no talk/type! As national organizer with the <a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/">US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation</a>, I now send most of my updates out on that email list. If you're not already on it, please <a href="http://endtheoccupation.org/modinput4.php?modin=3">subscribe by clicking here</a>. (And you can <a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=3096">click here</a> for an action alert that I sent out yesterday.) <br />
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Below you'll find information about the following events I'll be a part of for the next few months: <br />
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<u>Sept 16-19</u>: National Organizers Conference, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Washington, DC</span> <br />
<u>Oct 2</u>: Receiving AFSC's Inspiration of Hope Award with ALICE WALKER, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chicago</span> <br />
<u>Nov 11-13</u>: Friends of Sabeel - North America Conference, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Atlanta</span> <br />
<u>Nov 25-27</u>: American Muslims for Palestine Annual Conference, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chicago</span> <br />
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The US Campaign's <a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/section.php?id=377">10th Annual National Organizers conference</a> is coming up September 16 - 19 in Washington, DC! From California to Wisconsin to Hawaii, activists and representatives of member groups from around the country are joining us for this special event. <br />
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The conference will be held at the historic Thurgood Marshall Center featuring a fantastic lineup of presenters, including: <br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Omar Barghouti</span>, founding member of the Palestinian civil society call for BDS <br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Dalit Baum</span>, founder of the Israeli research group Who Profits From the Occupation <br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Rami Khouri</span>, whose writing has informed public opinion throughout Europe, the Americas, and the Arab World <br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Cindy Corrie</span> of the Rachel Corrie Foundation <br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Phyllis Bennis</span>, director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies <br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Simon Shaheen</span>, internationally renowned violinist and `oud player <br />
… and wonderful speakers from <span style="font-weight: bold;">American Muslims for Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, Codepink, American Friends Service Committee, Students for Justice in Palestine</span>, and more! <br />
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Early registration ends this Friday… <span style="font-style: italic;">Register now at a discount!</span> <a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/section.php?id=377">Click here for more information</a>. <br />
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I am extremely honored to be receiving the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) <span style="font-weight: bold;">Inspiration for Hope Award</span> in October, along with the <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">amazing</span> Alice Walker</span> (who will hopefully be there). <br />
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It will be at the AFSC Middle East Program's Annual Benefit, "Creating Connections, Renewing Commitments," open to all. Please save the date and join us on Sunday, October 2nd. <br />
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Alice Walker is a renowned author, poet and activist. In 1983, she became the first African-American woman to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her novel <span style="font-style: italic;">The Color Purple</span>. She is author of more than thirty books, including her latest, <span style="font-style: italic;">Overcoming Speechlessness: A Poet Encounters the Horror in Rwanda, Eastern Congo and Palestine-Israel</span>. Recently, she joined an international flotilla of boats sailing to Gaza to challenge the Israeli blockade. <br />
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The third award recipient will be Palestinian-American student activist Sami Kishawi, the third award recipient. There is limited seating, so please <span style="font-weight: bold;">reserve your tickets today!</span> <br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">AFSC Middle East Program Annual Benefit</span> <br />
WHEN: Sunday, October 2, 1 - 4pm <br />
WHERE: Columbus Park Refectory; 5701 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL <br />
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TICKETS: $50 - General Admission; $25 - Students <br />
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Please RSVP by September 20th to Miryam Rashid at mrashid [at] afsc.org or [three][one][two]-427-2533 x18 to reserve tickets. (Checks can be made out to AFSC - Middle East Program and mailed to: American Friends Service Committee; Miryam Rashid; 637 S. Dearborn, 3rd Floor; Chicago, IL 60605.) <br />
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I will be speaking at the upcoming <span style="font-weight: bold;">Friends of Sabeel - North America</span> Conference entitled: <br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">"From Birmingham to Bethlehem: Jesus' Third Way of Nonviolence in Israel/Palestine" <br />
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November 10th-12th, Atlanta, GA <br />
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<a href="http://www.fosna.org/content/atlanta-conference-nov-10-12-2011">Details will be posted here.</a> <br />
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Finally, I will be speaking at the <span style="font-weight: bold;">American Muslims for Palestine</span> Annual Conference Thanksgiving Weekend (but I won't be speaking on Turkey Day itself!) in Chicago. <br />
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<a href="http://conference.ampalestine.org/">Click here for lots of info about lodging, speakers, etc.</a> <br />
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Hope to see you soon at one of these events. Thanks for reading! <br />
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Yours, <br />
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Anna <br />
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PS. If we aren't already connected on Facebook but you'd like us to be, please <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anna-Baltzer/120876656003?ref=sgm">click here</a> and "Like" me :-).</div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-24543074615316116312011-06-13T19:25:00.000+03:002011-06-13T19:25:48.584+03:00Why I Am Fasting Today<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikXtJb4qBUs-pjgIYLJ8fBHR2yn-ukk6_P1ZJ4Bq0OX1NW3-jifT7zld3QzYpnmpkQrBJh4JrsoN4jtWRj3TDQLk08SnYvsPweWMKsWveihqNhWnqcMRBpIr1Ao-2Xq1Kw4J_O8w/s1600/Josh+and+Shane_Apro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikXtJb4qBUs-pjgIYLJ8fBHR2yn-ukk6_P1ZJ4Bq0OX1NW3-jifT7zld3QzYpnmpkQrBJh4JrsoN4jtWRj3TDQLk08SnYvsPweWMKsWveihqNhWnqcMRBpIr1Ao-2Xq1Kw4J_O8w/s320/Josh+and+Shane_Apro.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shane Bauer & Josh Fattal, who have been held in Iranian detention for almost 2 years</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<b>Today, I am fasting in solidarity with my friends Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer, and Josh Fattal</b>, who were arrested and imprisoned in Iran almost two years ago. Sarah was freed last year, but Shane and Josh continue to suffer in Evin Prison, separated from their families and loved ones. Shane and Josh have gone on numerous hunger strikes in an effort to receive communications from their families, giving up the little food and comfort they have. It is likely they went on a hunger fast after their trial was postponed last month. I am fasting to remember and shed light on Shane’s and Josh’s plight, with hopes that they will soon be freed to come home to their families, who miss them terribly.<br />
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I have just returned from Palestine, where I met with Palestinian men, women, and children unjustly imprisoned for struggling nonviolently for freedom and equality. When I met them two years ago in Syria, Sarah and Shane were also working tirelessly for a better world, a dream I know they share with Josh. All those who support peace and self-determination for all people should keep Shane and Josh in their hearts and minds. Their struggle is our struggle. <br />
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For more information about Shane, Josh, and their fight for freedom, visit <a href="http://www.freethehikers.org/">www.freethehikers.org</a><br />
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For more information on the fast, <a href="http://blog.freethehikers.org/3223/solidarity-fast-for-shane-bauer-and-josh-fattal/">click here</a>. </div>Anna Baltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11654225424192112342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-29767872134364551182011-04-07T23:30:00.002+03:002011-04-08T18:20:17.072+03:00A Request from Anna, and Opportunities to Support/Visit Palestine...Dear friends,<br /><br /><br />I have an announcement and a request.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">First, the announcement:</span> <span style="font-style:italic;">I will be co-leading a delegation to Palestine next month with Interfaith Peace-Builders!</span> My co-leaders will be the fabulous Adam Horowitz (co-editor of Mondoweiss) and our Palestinian host on the ground, Said. The dates are May 21st – June 3rd, and there are still a few spots open! I've pasted the details below and encourage people to apply.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">My request:</span><br /><br />One of the delegates will be a dear friend of mine named Colleen. Colleen is one of the co-founders of our local group, the <a href="http://www.stl-psc.org/">St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee</a> (STL-PSC). She works tirelessly for the group and the cause, dozens of hours a week, but she has never been to Palestine because she cannot afford to go. <br /><br />Colleen is committed to trying to live a life of intentional poverty, in solidarity with those unable to live the lives of privilege that most of us do (and that Colleen could if she so chose). She also chooses poverty so that she is not in a position of having to pay taxes that support US-sponsored wars and the occupation of Palestine. She divides the majority of her time between working for the St Louis Palestine Solidarity committee, the local antiwar coalition "<a href="http://www.insteadofwar.org/site/getinvolved.php">Instead of War</a>," and <a href="http://karenhousecw.org/AboutKHMain.htm">Karenhouse</a> where she lives, which is a volunteer-run Catholic Worker house that provides hospitality to homeless women and children.<br /><br />Colleen is conflicted between her deep desire to visit Palestine and living a modest life. I and others at STL-PSC have encouraged her to go to Palestine because it is a dream of hers, and I know it will ground and strengthen her continuous local work here at home for justice in Palestine.<br /><br />STL-PSC would like to send Colleen to Palestine but to do so we need to raise money. I don't know that I have ever sent a request for donations in the 5 years that I have had this list, but <span style="font-weight:bold;">I would be grateful if people would consider contributing to STL-PSC to help us send Colleen to Palestine</span>. If you are moved to do so, here is how you can:<br /><br /> * <span style="font-weight:bold;">Tax-deductible</span>: <span style="font-style:italic;">Send checks made out to "Instead of War"</span> with <span style="font-style:italic;">"PSC – Travel"</span> in the memo field to: Anna Baltzer; P.O. Box 2687; St Louis, MO 63116.<br /><br /> * <span style="font-weight:bold;">Donate by PayPal or credit card</span> by clicking the "Donate" button on my donations page. (<span style="font-style:italic;">Note: This is not tax-deductible but I will forward all donations this month to STL-PSC.)</span><br /><br /> * To make a <span style="font-weight:bold;">tax-deductible donation online</span>, email me at anna.baltzer@gmail.com for directions and I'll send you the steps. <br /><br /><br />The total needed for all her expenses is around $4,000 (airfare, delegation, food, and a week after the delegation traveling/working on the ground with me).<br /><br />If the funds are raised, I will put an <span style="font-weight:bold;">announcement on my donations page and return any checks received, unless you indicate that you would still like it to go to support STL-PSC's work—which is always very, very appreciated!<br /></span><br />Thank you in advance for those of you who can contribute (and I understand that it's not an option for everyone).<br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Here's the delegation announcement…</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">- - - Please Forward - - -</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">May Delegation</span> <span style="font-style:italic;">~ only a few spots left!</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Voices of the Peacemakers</span><br />May 21 – June 3, 2011<br /><br /><br />This delegation will explore Palestinian and Israeli efforts to achieve peace and a resolution to their conflict based on justice. The delegation will feature meetings with Palestinian and Israeli peacemakers – leaders of civil society groups, grassroots organizers, religious leaders and more. IFPB's May-June delegation also traditionally focuses on the annual commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba (Catastrophe) and the founding of the State of Israel.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Leaders: Anna Baltzer</span> & <span style="font-weight:bold;">Adam Horowitz</span> will be leading this delegation. Anna has just returned from a European tour and continues her important work as National Organizer at the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. Adam continues his work through Mondoweiss and has also been on the road, presenting his co-edited book, <a href="http://www.goldstonereportbook.com/">The Goldstone Report: The Legacy of Landmark Investigation of the Gaza Conflict</a>.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Deadline to Apply:</span> Applications will be accepted until the week of April 18th, when applicants will be notified of availability. Spaces are already filling up, so contact IFPB if you would like to travel with us. Apply soon to reserve your space!<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.ifpb.org/del36/default.html">CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MAY DELEGATION</a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"> <br /> - - - Please Forward - - -</span><br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Other opportunities to travel to Palestine…</span><br /><br />In case you want to go on a delegation but those dates don't work for you, here are some other great options:<br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">June 24 – July 10:</span> <a href="http://ajjpboston.org/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=55">Health & Human Rights Project</a> <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">July 10 – 17:</span> <a href="http://www.birthrightunplugged.org/">Birthright Unplugged</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">July 16 – 29:</span> <a href="http://www.ifpb.org/del37/default.html">Interfaith Peace-Builders</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Oct 29 – Nov 11:</span> <a href="http://www.ifpb.org/del39/default.html">Interfaith Peace-Builders</a><br /><br /> <br />There is also a Palestinian call for people of conscience worldwide to visit Palestine <span style="font-weight:bold;">July 8 - 19</span> for actions. According to the call [<a href="http://www.palestinejn.org/component/content/article/1-latest-news/121-palestinians-call-on-all-people-of-conscience-come-visit-palestine-this-summer">which you can read here</a>], visitors "will be accommodated locally and enjoy Palestinian hospitality and a full program of peace work in seven Palestinian towns and villages, networking, and fellowship." I believe this opportunity is for solidarity work on the ground rather than touring as a delegation.<br /><br /><br />Finally, <span style="font-weight:bold;">July 10 – July 25</span>, ICAHD will also be hosting internationals and Israeli to join together with Palestinians in Anata, East Jerusalem to resist the Occupation and rebuild demolished homes of Palestinian families. "We invite you to participate in the incredible opportunity to learn first-hand about life under Occupation [in] `<span style="font-style:italic;">Creating Alternative Facts on the Ground</span>,' ICAHD's <span style="font-weight:bold;">2011 Summer Rebuilding Experience</span>… In addition to construction, there is a full program including field trips, cultural events, films, and much more. <a href="http://icahdusa.org/projects/summer-camp/">Click here</a> for more information.<br /><br /><br />As you can see, there are many great opportunities to visit or work in Palestine. If you've never been, I promise, it will change your life.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Opportunities to connect with people in Gaza…</span><br /><br /><br />A couple months ago, students in Gaza sent out the following letter to connect with students in the US. Contact info is below the letter.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">We are students in Gaza from the Palestinian Students Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel (PSCABI), and would like to work with solidarity activists at American universities. We partake in many activities here in Gaza and would like to do whatever we can to support the international student solidarity movements, especially with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaigns. We frequently write letters out of Gaza… encouraging people to participate in the boycott and thanking people who have supported us.<br /><br />We would like to share ideas, perhaps have a video conference, hear what activities you're doing, distribute information or narratives from us, as Palestinian university students, or more broadly anyone suffering in besieged Gaza.<br /> <br />In solidarity,<br />Palestinian Students Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel</span><br />Reply by email to Adie Nistelrooy: adie_mormech@hotmail.com<br /><br /><br />Also, along with boats from many other countries, the US Boat To Gaza (<a href="http://www.ustogaza.org/">ustogaza.org</a> - but the website is on the fritz), named <span style="font-weight:bold;">"The Audacity of Hope,"</span> will be sailing to Gaza in late May on the one-year anniversary of the Flotilla massacre. They will carry with them letters from people around the US to the people of Gaza.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">You can send letters to the people in Gaza to:</span> Letters to Gaza; 119 West 72nd St, #158; New York, NY 10023<br /><br /> <br />Thanks again to those able to contribute to the cause through supporting Colleen's trip, solidarity work on the ground in Palestine, and/or activism here in the US. It makes a difference.<br /><br /> <br />Yours,<br /><br />Anna<br /><br /> <br />PS. I know that this is long overdue, but since I haven't sent an email out since the one announcing the Palestine Papers, I wanted to make a correction that they were released by <span style="font-style:italic;">Al Jazeera</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">The Guardian</span>, not <span style="font-style:italic;">Wikileaks</span>. Sorry about that.<br /><br /> <br />PPS. To get much more frequent (and shorter!) updates from me on Facebook, please click "Like" at the top of <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anna-Baltzer/120876656003?ref=sgm">my Facebook page</a>.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-59780780804211844832011-01-25T03:42:00.003+02:002011-01-25T20:23:44.816+02:00ACTION ALERT and More on Cultural Boycott of IsraelDear friends,<br /><br /><br />I regret that I've written so little while there is so much going on! (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anna-Baltzer/120876656003?ref=sgm">I send out information more frequently on my public Facebook page, if you want to "friend/like" me.</a>) I hope people are doing well. Happy New Year to all.<br /> <br /><br />This weekend's release by <span style="font-style:italic;">Al Jazeera</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">The Guardian</span> of the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/23/palestine-papers-expose-peace-concession">Palestine Papers</a> have exposed the utter futility of US-brokered peace talks. I am more convinced than ever that the solution lies with listening to the Palestinian people themselves, civil society, and their call for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) on Israel until it complies with international law and respects Palestinians' human rights.<br /><br /><br />Below is a variation of a <span style="font-weight:bold;">piece/action alert on cultural boycott</span> that I recently sent out on the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation listserv (<a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/">you can sign up here</a>) in my new capacity as national organizer…<br /><br /><br />But first, a few invitations/appeals:<br /><br /><br />1. Interfaith Peace-Builders and the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation invite you to a <span style="font-weight:bold;">Grassroots Advocacy Training and Lobby Day March 6th – 7th in Washington, DC.</span> Additionally, there will be a Campus Organizing Conference Marcy 5th. <a href="http://www.interfaithpeacebuilders.org/education/grassroots/">For more information or to register, click here</a>.<br /> <br /><br />2. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Tomorrow is the nation-wide Day of Action to Stop FBI Repression.</span> Since September, 23 antiwar activists have been subpoenaed by the FBI, many of them involved in Palestine solidarity work. Nine of the activists were called to appear at a grand jury tomorrow, so activists will be protesting at federal buildings, FBI offices and other locations around the country in solidarity. <a href="http://www.stopfbi.net/take-action/upcoming-protests">Click here to find actions near you!</a><br /><br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight:bold;"> I have a close friend in Palestine who needs help.</span> Due to family issues, she feels she has no choice but to leave Palestine, even though it's the hardest decision she's ever had to make. She is an incredible activist and would be a major asset to any campus or community (she's open to coming to study or to work). <a href="http://annainthemiddleeast.com/bcontact/">Contact me</a> if you think there's a university or employer that might be able to help.<br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Action Alert & More on Cultural Boycott…</span><br /><br /><br />One of the strongest tools of pressure to end South African Apartheid was the <span style="font-weight:bold;">refusal of performance artists and other cultural ambassadors to play in the apartheid state</span>. Diverse South Africans of conscience joined with supporters around the world in imploring performers and other public figures not to visit South Africa because to do so would send a public statement of normalization with the apartheid state, thereby implicitly condoning its policies.<br /><br /><br />Inspired by this example, Israelis of conscience and supporters around the world have joined Palestinians in <span style="font-weight:bold;">calling for a similar cultural boycott of Israel</span> until it ends its occupation and discriminatory apartheid policies.<br /><br /><br />To perform in an apartheid state is wrong, especially considering that those living under apartheid are often blocked from attending performances by checkpoints, discriminatory permit systems and persistent military and police brutality. <br /><br />In addition, Palestinian artists have been punished for decades. Musical groups have been prevented from performing abroad, they've been arrested based on song lyrics, and they continue to suffer daily under military occupation.<br /><br /><br />Many artists have responded and cancelled appearances in Israel, including Carlos Santana, Gil Scott Heron, Elvis Costello, the Pixies, Devendra Banhart, the Tindersticks, Meg Ryan, and Dustin Hoffman. These cancelations, along with other boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) victories, send a message that there will be no "business as usual" with an apartheid state; they have caused unprecedented concern amongst Israelis about the growing cost of occupation and apartheid. <span style="font-weight:bold;">This is a Palestinian-led nonviolent means of pressure that can work and there's an exciting opportunity to strengthen it right now!</span><br /><br /><br />Earlier this week, American R&B/soul singer-songwriter <span style="font-weight:bold;">Macy Gray began contemplating the call for boycott</span> and published the following on her Facebook page:<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">I'm booked for 2 shows in TelAviv. I'm getting alot of letters from activists urging/begging me to boycott by NOT performing in protest of Apartheid against the Palestinians. What the Israeli government is doing to the Palestinians is disgusting, but I wana go. I gotta lotta fans there I dont want to cancel on and I …dont know how my NOT going changes anything. What do you think? Stay or go?</span><br /><br /><br />Well, Macy, we're glad you asked!<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/641/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5619">Click here to send an email to Macy Gray and her tour managers, urging her to boycott apartheid.</a><br /><br /><br />And, if you've got a Facebook account, you can also <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Macy-Gray-Official/176046896552">leave a comment on her official page and to tell her what you think!</a> (You have to "Like" her page first.)<br /><br /><br />Cultural boycott of Israel is part of a larger call launched in 2004 by dozens of Palestinian unions, federations, associations, and civil society organizations: the <span style="font-weight:bold;">Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel</span> (PACBI). <a href="http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=869">Read the call and learn more about the campaign here.</a><br /><br /><br />Note that cultural boycott applies not only to foreigners presenting or showcasing their work in Israel, but likewise products or events sponsored either by an official Israeli body (governmental, municipal, etc) or by a non-Israeli institution serving to re-brand Israel in a positive or normal light, thereby whitewashing its illegal state actions. Products or events that promote "false symmetry or `balance'" between the occupier and the occupied are also boycottable according to <a href="http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1047">PACBI's carefully explained guildelines here</a>.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Want some examples of other cultural boycott actions?</span> Groups in five cities did some creative <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGx8uJ7eqHg">street protesting</a> last year when the Israel Ballet came to town. Israeli activists put on this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wElyrFOnKPk">flash mob</a> when the Cape Town Opera performed in Israel.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Confused or conflicted about cultural boycott?</span> You may find it useful to read the <a href="http://boycottisrael.info/content/macy-gray-performing-israel-already-political-stand-human-rights-and-cancel">letter sent to Macy</a> from Israeli citizens in <span style="font-style:italic;">BOYCOTT!: Supporting the Palestinian Call from Within</span>.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Confused or conflicted about the Apartheid analogy?</span> I strongly recommend reading the excellent booklet, <a href="http://icahdusa.org/2010/03/is-israel-an-apartheid-state/">"Is Israel An Apartheid State?,"</a> from member-group Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions – USA, summarizing a legal study commissioned by the government of South Africa on Israel's policies in the West Bank and Gaza.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/641/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5619">Once again, if you haven't yet, click here to send an email to Macy Gray, asking her not to sing for Apartheid!</a><br /><br /><br />Thanks for reading,<br /><br /><br />AnnaAndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-36941961575530248602010-12-23T12:05:00.002+02:002010-12-24T03:00:47.400+02:00Voices for Justice Under Threat from All Sides! Breaking News and Action AlertsDear friends,<br /><br />I'm writing to you for the first time as part-time national organizer for the <a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/">US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation</a>! I'm excited about the road ahead and helping to build the movement for justice in Palestine through our coalition of more than 325 peace and justice groups around the country. If you aren't already a member (as a group or individual), you should <a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=44">join</a>!<br /><br />Alternative voices on this issue are being silenced more and more every day. In particular, I want to tell you about <span style="font-weight:bold;">three</span> recent incidents and ongoing struggles to get the message out, and what you can do about it!<br /><br /> <br /><br />*********** Please distribute widely! ***********<br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">~ FLASH MOB VIDEO SHUT-DOWN ~</span><br /><br /> <br /><br />Earlier this month, about forty members and friends of our St Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee (STL-PSC) <a href="http://www.stl-psc.org/?p=149">got down to a parody of Lady Gaga & Beyoncé's song "Telephone" in a BDS Flash Mob</a> at Best Buy and AT&T stores, urging holiday shoppers to <span style="font-weight:bold;">boycott Israeli apartheid and hang up on Motorola</span>. <a href="http://www.stl-psc.org/?p=149">The action</a> was covered in media around the world and video <span style="font-weight:bold;">received more than 35,000 hits on YouTube in less than a week</span>!<br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Shortly after the count hit 35,000, the video was removed</span> on an apparent claim of copyright infringement by Warner Music Group (WMG). The STL-PSC is firmly convinced, as advised by legal representation, that our video does not infringe copyright, because it constitutes a "fair use" of the song and <a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode17/usc_sec_17_00000107----000-.html">parodies of songs are protected</a> under a US Supreme Court decision in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose. Furthermore, the song copyright appears to be owned by a subsidiary of UMG Recordings, not WMG at all. <span style="font-weight:bold;">The WMG seemingly has no claim to the song; on the other hand,</span> <a href="http://www.wmg.com/newsdetails/id/8a0af8120f88d9f4011002e2942615ed_new">WMG's relationship with Motorola is well known</a>.<br /><br /><br />STL-PSC believes that this is an infringement on freedom of expression and plans to challenge the take-down. There are more than 1,000 Lady Gaga flash mob videos on YouTube, many using the same song with far more hits. None of them have been shut down by WMG. Why was this video selected? What does WMG not want the world to know about its partner Motorola?<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The targeting of our video by Motorola's partner tells me that our action made Motorola and/or its partners uncomfortable… which means we're doing something right! Motorola <span style="font-style:italic;">should</span> feel uncomfortable for complicity in war crimes, and now more than ever we need to keep the pressure on!</span><br /><br /><br />Don't let Motorola and WMG silence people of conscience! Tens of thousands of you saw the video and circulated it. My request: <span style="font-weight:bold;">IF YOU HAVEN'T SENT IT TO PEOPLE WHO SHOULD SEE IT, PLEASE CONSIDER DOING SO NOW!</span> As we've seen, this is exactly what Motorola and WMG don't want.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">If you haven't seen the video yet…</span> <a href="http://www.stl-psc.org/?p=149">take a look</a>! It's less than 4 minutes long and really fun.<br /><br />It was reposted here: <a href="http://www.stl-psc.org/?p=149">www.stl-psc.org/?p=149</a><br /><br /><br />Finally, <a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/section.php?id=330">CLICK HERE</a> to quickly <span style="font-weight:bold;">send a letter to Motorola management and sign a pledge</span>. If you're unaware of the campaign to boycott Motorola, <a href="http://www.stl-psc.org/?p=149">our video</a> explains the company's complicity in Israeli occupation and war crimes.<br /><br /><br />By the way, we were inspired in part by an excellent <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6dO9eVOY2I">flash mob in a Philadelphia local grocer</a> using the same Lady Gaga song (it hasn't been shut down). The group, Philly BDS, is calling for a boycott of Sabra and Tribe hummus, which subsidize Israel's human rights abuses.<br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">~ FBI REPRESSION AGAINST PALESTINE SOLIDARITY ACTIVISTS ~</span><br /><br /> <br /><br /> Yesterday morning, the FBI delivered subpoenas to another four anti-war activists involved in Palestine solidarity work. This brings the count to 23 in less than three months since coordinated FBI raids in Minneapolis and Chicago targeted an initial 14 activists in late September. Their computers, passports, documents, family photos, and even children's artwork were taken away.<br /><br /><br />The people targeted are well-known and beloved organizers and outspoken commentators around the country. <span style="font-weight:bold;">It is critical that we protest this attempt to silence and criminalize anti-war activism</span>.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Here's what you can do:</span><br /><br /><br />Sign and Circulate this <span style="font-weight:bold;">petition</span>: <a href="http://www.iacenter.org/stopfbi/">http://www.iacenter.org/stopfbi/</a><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Call U.S. Attorney</span> Patrick Fitzgerald to stand with the 23 subpoenaed activists. Dial 312-353-5300, then dial 0 (zero) for the operator and ask to leave a message with the Duty Clerk (paralegal). Possible wording: <span style="font-style:italic;">"My name is __________, I am from _______. I am calling U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald to demand that he call off the Grand Jury, stop FBI repression against the anti-war and international solidarity activists, and demand the immediate return of all confiscated personal materials."</span> (Then, send a short message to stopfbi@gmail.com to let them know that you called.)<br /> <br /><br />Organize or attend <span style="font-weight:bold;">events/actions</span> at your local FBI office or Federal Building. Email stopfbi@gmail.com with questions or to get an event listed on the website.<br /> <br /><br />You can visit <a href="http://www.stopfbi.net/">www.stopfbi.net</a> for more information, to sign up for action alerts, to join the Facebook page, to donate to legal expenses, and more.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ~ SEATTLE BILLBOARD CAMPAIGN ~</span><br /><br /> <br /><br />Recently, the Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign purchased signs on public buses to educate the public about Israel's war crimes. The local Jewish Federation mobilized to stop it. King 5 News conducted a poll about whether to allow the signs or not. The vote was neck and neck until a major surge in support yesterday (good work!), after which King 5 closed the polls.<br /><br /><br />The Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign will be sending out action alerts periodically. <a href="http://stop30billion-seattle.org/">Visit their website</a> for information about the group, and <a href="http://www.king5.com/news/local/Israeli-War-Crimes-signs-to-go-on-Metro-buses-112108154.html">read this article to learn more details</a> about the campaign.<br /> <br /><br />I will be posting related action alerts as they come in on my Facebook page. <span style="font-weight:bold;">I mostly distribute information on Facebook these days</span>, so for more frequent updates from me, please join (click "Like" at the top of) <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anna-Baltzer/120876656003?ref=sgm">my Facebook page here</a>.<br /><br /><br />Thank you everyone for reading, and thank you especially if you're taking action in some way (that's the most important thing)!<br /><br />Peace,<br /><br />Anna<br /><br /><br />PS. I don't usually forward articles but the following is a <a href="http://www.icahd.org/?p=6713">letter written from prison</a> <span style="font-weight:bold;">by my close friend Abdallah Abu Rahme, a wonderful human being and an inspiring leader of popular resistance in Palestine</span>. His ongoing imprisonment certainly fits in with the theme of this email…<br /><br /> <br /><br />A year ago tonight, on International Human Rights Day, our apartment in Ramallah was broken into by the Israeli military in the middle of the night and I was torn away from my wife Majida, my daughters Luma and Layan, and my son Laith, who at the time was only nine months old.<br /><br />As the coordinator of the Bil'in Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements I was convicted of "organizing illegal demonstrations" and "incitement." The "illegal demonstrations" refer to the nonviolent resistance campaign that my village has been waging for the last six years against Israel's Apartheid Wall that is being built on our land.<br /><br />I find it strange that the military judges could call our demonstrations illegal and charge me for participating in and organizing them after the world's highest legal body, the International Court of Justice in The Hague, has ruled that Israel's wall within the occupied territories is illegal and must be dismantled. Even the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the Wall's route in Bil'in is illegal.<br /><br />I have been accused of inciting violence: this charge is also puzzling. If the check points, closures, ongoing land theft, wall and settlements, night raids into our homes and violent oppression of our protests does not incite violence, what does?<br /><br />Despite the occupations constant and intense incitement to violence in Bil'in, we have chosen another way. We have chosen to protest nonviolently together with Israeli and International supporters. We have chosen to carry a message of hope and real partnership between Palestinians and Israelis in the face of oppression and injustice. It is this message that the Occupation is attempting to crush through its various institutions including the military courts. An official from<br />the Israeli Military Prosecution shamelessly told my Attorney, Gaby Lasky, that the objective of the military in my prosecution is to "put an end" to these demonstrations.<br /><br />The crime of incitement that I have been convicted of is defined under Israeli military decree 101 regarding the prohibition of hostile action of propaganda and incitement as "The attempt, verbally or otherwise, to influence public opinion in the Area in a way that may disturb the public peace or public order" and carries a 10 year maximal sentence. This definition is so broad and vague that it can be applied to almost any action or statement. Actually, these words<br />could be considered incitement if they were spoken in the occupied territories.<br /><br />On the 11th of October of this year I was sentenced to 12 months in prison, plus 6 months suspended sentence for 3 years, and a fine. My family and I, especially my daughters, were counting the days to my release. The military prosecution waited until just a few days before<br />the end of my sentence before appealing against my release, arguing that I should be imprisoned longer. I have completed my sentence but remain in prison. Though international law considers myself and other activists as human rights defenders, the occupation authorities consider us criminals whose freedom and other rights must be denied. In the year that I have spent in prison, the demonstrations in Bil'in, Naalin, Al Maasara, and Beit Omar have continued. Nabi Saleh and other villages have taken up the popular struggle. Within this year, the International campaign calling for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions of Israel until it complies with International law has grown considerably, as have legal actions against Israeli war crimes. I hope that soon Israel will no longer be able to ignore the clear condemnation of its policies coming from around the world.<br /><br />In the year that I have spent in prison, my son Laith has taken his first steps and said his first words, and Luma and Layan have been growing from children to beautiful young girls. I have not been able to be with them, to walk holding their hands, to take them to school as they and I are used to. Laith does not know me now. And my wife Majida has had to care for our family alone.<br /><br />In 2010 children in Bil'in and throughout the West bank are still being awakened in the middle of the night to find guns pointed at their heads. In the year that I have spent in prison, the military has carried out dozens of night raids in Bil'in with the purpose of removing those involved in the popular struggle against the occupation.<br /><br />Imagine if heavily armed men forced their way into your home in the middle of the night. If your children were forced to watch as their father or brother was blindfolded, handcuffed, and taken away. Or if you as a parent were forced to watch this being done to your child.<br /><br />This week the door of our cell was opened and a sixteen year boy was pushed inside. My friend Adeeb Abu Rahmeh was shocked to recognize his son, Mohammed, whom Adeeb had not seen since he himself was arrested during a nonviolent demonstration 16 months ago.<br /><br />Mohammad smiled when he saw his Father, but his face was red and swollen and it was clear that he was in pain. He told us that he had been taken from his home two nights previously. He spent the first night blindfolded and shackled, being moved from one place to another. The next day after a terrifying, disoriented, and sleepless night he was taken to an interrogation room, his blindfold was removed and an interrogator showed him pictures of people from the village. When questioned about the first picture he told the interrogator that he did not recognize the person. The interrogator slapped him hard across the face. This continued with every question that Mohammad was asked: when he did not give the answer that the interrogator wanted, he was slapped, punched and threatened. Mohammad's treatment is not unusual.<br /><br />Young boys from our village have been taken from their homes violently and report being denied sleep, food, and water and being kept in Isolation and threatened and often beaten during interrogation.<br /><br />What was unusual about Mohammad is that he did not satisfy his interrogator and with competent representation was released within a few days. Usually children, just because they are children, will say whatever the interrogator wants them to say to make such treatment stop. Adeeb, myself, and thousands of other prisoners are being held in prison based on testimonies forced or coerced out of these children. No child should ever receive such treatment.<br /><br />When the children who had testified against me retracted what they said in interrogation and told the military judge that their testimonies where given under duress, the judge declared them hostile witnesses.<br /><br />Adeeb Abu Rahmah and I are the first to be convicted with incitement and participation in illegal demonstrations since the first Intifada but, unfortunately, it does not seem that we will be the last.<br /><br />I often wonder what Israeli leaders think they will achieve if they succeed in their goal of suppressing the Palestinian popular struggle? Is it possible that they believe that our people can sit quietly and watch as our land is taken from us? Do they think that we can face our children and tell them that, like us, they will never experience freedom? Or do they actually prefer violence and killing to our form of nonviolent struggle because it camouflages their ongoing theft and gives them an excuse to continue using us as guinea pigs for their weapons?<br /><br />My eldest daughter Luma was nine years old when I was arrested. She is now ten. After my arrest she began going to the Friday demonstrations in our village. She always carries a picture of me in her arms. The adults try to look after her but I still worry for my little girl. I wish that she could enjoy her childhood like other children, that she could be studying and playing with her friends. But through the walls and barbed wire that separates us I hear my daughter's message to me, saying: "Baba, they cannot stop us. If they take you away, we will take your place and continue to struggle for justice." This is the message that I want to bring you today. From beyond the walls, the barbed wire, and the prison bars that separate Palestinians and Israelis.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-45007096458812818392010-10-15T16:50:00.002+02:002010-10-15T17:29:54.004+02:00Great Resources! New Interview…Dear friends,<br /><br /> <br />Here are <span style="font-weight:bold;">three fantastic resources</span> that everyone in the movement should check out and take advantage of!<br /><br /> <br />Below them is an invitation to an important fundraiser for <span style="font-weight:bold;">Rep. Donna Edwards</span>, who has come under harsh criticism for speaking out against Israel's attacks on Gaza and for even attending the fundraiser sponsored by the pro-justice PAC, New Policy.<br /><br /><br />Finally, at the end, you'll find an <span style="font-weight:bold;">interview</span> I did published on <span style="font-style:italic;">PULSE</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Huffington Post</span>. See below…<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">EXCELLENT NEW RESOURCES</span><br /><br /> <br /> 1. <span style="font-weight:bold;">"Is Israel an Apartheid State?"</span> is a <span style="font-weight:bold;">highly recommended</span> booklet summarizing a legal study by the South African Human Sciences Research Center. It systematically outlines criteria of the crime of Apartheid and analyzes Israeli laws in the West Bank and Gaza as they relate to it (it acknowledges its limitations of not having pursued the same analysis of Israeli laws towards Palestinians within Israel). This is an illuminating (I learned a lot!) and energizing tool for organizing. You can <a href="http://icahdusa.org/2010/03/is-israel-an-apartheid-state/">view the PDF here</a> but <a href="http://icahdusa.org/store/">purchasing paper copies here</a> puts it in a much more reader-friendly format. <br /><br /> <br /> If you email me back with your address I will send you a <span style="font-weight:bold;">free printed copy</span>.<br /><br /> <br /> 2. There's a <span style="font-weight:bold;">great</span> new <span style="font-weight:bold;">website and billboard campaign</span> by the <span style="font-style:italic;">Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine</span>. It launched in Chicago on Oct 4th with <a href="http://www.twopeoplesonefuture.org/about-us/campaign-launches-in-chicago/">billboards</a> on the city's mass transit system that read "End U.S. Military Aid to Israel." The campaign website, <a href="http://www.twopeoplesonefuture.org/">www.TwoPeoplesOneFuture.org</a>, is full of well-documented information and talking points. I consider myself well-versed and I was taking lots of notes! Take a look...<br /><br /><br />There are lots of photos and updates on the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Be-on-our-side-End-US-military-aid-to-Israel/161749110518267?ref=mf">campaign's Facebook page</a>.<br /><br /><br /> 3. A comprehensive <span style="font-weight:bold;">list of</span> <span style="font-weight:bold;">global boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) actions</span> in recent history can be <a href="http://www.interfaithpeaceinitiative.com/globalactions.pdf">found here</a>—88 pages worth! The list has doubled since the Flotilla attacks. Listed are BDS actions by governments, unions, churches, universities, artists, Israelis, and more.<br /><br /> <br /> It includes the exciting action in Oakland, California where <span style="font-weight:bold;">dock-workers refused to cross a picket line to unload Israeli cargo</span>. <a href="http://www.pngof.org/2010/06/21/history-made-at-oakland-port-israeli-ship-blocked-from-unloading%E2%80%8F/">Read article here</a>.<br /><br /> <br />****************<br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">NEW POLICY FUNDRAISER FOR DONNA EDWARDS</span><br /><br /> <br />Rep. Donna Edwards <span style="font-weight:bold;">was one of 25 members of Congress to vote against HR 34</span>, a resolution defending Israel's Winter `08-`09 attacks on Gaza that left 1,400 Palestinians dead (most of them civilians). She also voted against HR 867, a resolution to dismiss the UN-commissioned Goldstone Report. She has co-signed a letter highlighting the devastating effects of Israel's blockade, and has even visited Gaza herself.<br /><br /> <br />Needless to say, Edwards has come under increasing <a href="http://washingtonjewishweek.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=13540&TM=30393.12">criticism from the Washington Jewish Week</a> and pro-Israel lobbies, <a href="http://mondoweiss.net/2010/10/rep-baird-j-street-threatened-to-end-support-for-rep-edwards-over-openness-to-consider-one-state-solution.html">including J Street</a>, for her work and for agreeing to attend an event hosted by <a href="http://newpolicy.org/">New Policy PAC</a>, which supports a just resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In light of the increasing criticism, New Policy has decided to <span style="font-weight:bold;">extend an open invitation to all</span> to attend the reception on <span style="font-weight:bold;">Saturday, October 16 at 1pm</span>, held at the Sheraton North Hotel in Washington, DC.<br /><br /> <br />Please note there are <span style="font-weight:bold;">no minimum contribution requirements</span> for the invitation. Come and bring friends and family. Show your support for an open debate of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the United States.<br /><br /> <br />RSVP to info@newpolicy.org. Make a contribution to Edwards' campaign or send a check to New Policy PAC at PO Box 73526, Washington, DC 20056.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.newpolicy.org/more_details/DonnaFundraiser.php"><br />Click here for more info on New Policy PAC and Donna Edwards Fundraiser</a>.<br /><br /> <br />****************<br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">INTERVIEW</span><br /><br />Prior to my visit to the area, Christian Avard of Vermont's Deerfield Valley News and iBrattleboro.com conducted the following interview with me. It was published on PULSE! (full version) and the Huffington Post (abridged version).<br /><br />The full interview is pasted below…<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Anna Baltzer: Palestinians "come second" at peace talks</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Tell me about your experience on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Getting on mainstream television shows and talking about Palestine is incredibly difficult. What made that episode a reality and did your appearance on The Daily Show indicate that the mainstream media is beginning to explore the realities of the Israeli occupation of Palestine?</span><br /><br /> <br />Someone with a contact at the show found <a href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/dvd/about/index.html">my DVD</a> transformative and sent in a press release for Mustafa Barghouti and me to be on. Barghouti was accepted immediately, and eventually they invited me too because I am Jewish and they thought therefore I would be a moderating influence. I don't believe it was their intention to have a Jewish Palestinian rights activist on and much of what I said of substance was cut out of the aired version, but <a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-october-28-2009/exclusive---anna-baltzer---mustafa-barghouti-extended-interview-pt--1">they put the full version online</a> and it went viral. I do believe that Stewart is sympathetic to the cause. I don't think it indicates a substantial shift in mainstream media trends, but given that I don't watch much mainstream media, I could be wrong! There seems to me a bit more openness than before to criticize Israel, thanks in part to Israeli atrocities that are growing too difficult to ignore.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">How much of an impact did the atrocities of Operation Cast Lead and the Mavi Marmara flotilla have in opening people's eyes to the Israeli occupation of Palestine?</span><br /><br /><br />The impact has been huge. The "Israel is innocent and virtuous" narrative is no longer sustainable given these types of crimes, so in its place has been a propaganda campaign to convey how "complex" the issue is. "Yes," the narrative goes, "Israel sometimes does bad things, but it's just a cycle of violence and it's very complicated. We are working on it and you mustn't pressure us." This in some ways is more insidious than the previous narrative because it gives the illusion of balance where there is none and removes Israel's responsibility as the occupier.<br /><br /> <br />Calling it "complex" is a way of obscuring the reality and avoiding responsibility. Jewish emotions surrounding Zionism are complicated; the task of both sides healing in the future from years of conflict is complicated; but the injustice of Palestinians being oppressed and denied their fundamental human rights simply because of their ethnicity and religion is not complicated. The propaganda campaign is not working. Americans are increasingly open to the idea that Israel may not be the righteous, peace-seeking country they thought it was. When I tell people I'm a Palestinian human rights advocate, they express more interest and less alarm than they used to. The shift was already happening before 2008 but has accelerated exponentially since Operation Cast Lead and the Freedom Flotilla attacks. Israeli society is well aware of this shift, and there is a lot of internal discussion and hysteria about the way the Flotilla attacks reflected badly on Israel.<br /><br /><br />People think that Israelis don't care about the way the world perceives them, but that's not true. They care about the legitimacy of their country, their academia, their science, their economy, and their culture. This is why the Palestinian-led movement for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) on Israel is so powerful. It's their weak spot–the kind of pressure that works, in contrast to the historic futility of vapid diplomatic efforts. By the way, there is little internal Israeli discussion within about the legitimacy of the attacks on the flotilla. The morality of the killings of nine Turks is not questioned. The discussion is tactical–how much can they get away with and shouldn't they have known better? Apparently their calculus is off because they seem to make one atrocious PR blunder over another, always at the Palestinians' (and occasionally their supporters') expense.<br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">You have been traveling to Israel-Palestine for years now. Based on your experience and observations, what are the biggest myths about the occupation? What are the myths and what have you learned?</span><br /><br /> <br />There are too many myths to name, but many fall into a few categories:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Myth 1: "This is an age-old conflict based on religion and mutual hatred."</span> This is a conflict about land and human rights, not about religion. Prior to the Zionist movement, Jews were better treated in the Arab world than they were in much of the Christian West. There is nothing inherently incompatible about Jews, Muslims, and Christians, but with the introduction of the Zionist movement seeking to–and eventually succeeding to–annex Palestine for European Jews and one segment of the indigenous population while excluding and discriminating against the other segments of the population, you saw the emergence of violence. Israel was created and is maintained at the expense of Muslims and Christians in the area, who are denied their land and their human rights simply because they are not Jewish. This ongoing discriminatory system perpetuates the conflict today and until it is addressed we can expect no just or enduring peace.<br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Myth 2: "The occupation may be ugly, but it's for security" (note the switch from the previous narrative that "there is no occupation").</span><br />The majority of the institutions of Israel's occupation simply cannot be justified by security. Israel pays its citizens to move from Israel to the West Bank to live amidst the so-called "enemy"–does that make them safer? Israel has never declared its own borders, rather it expands them onto more and more of someone else's land–does that make Israel safer? Israel denies Palestinians sufficient water from their own water sources–Does that make Israelis safer? Although the narrative of "security" as motivation is accepted without question in mainstream media, it simply doesn't make sense when you look at the situation on the ground. Cutting Palestinians off from their families, schools, hospitals, and livelihoods will never make Israelis safer. If Israel is serious about ending Palestinian violence, it must acknowledge the roots of that violence.<br /><br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Myth 3: "Israel has no partner for peace."</span> On the contrary, Palestinians have no partner for peace. No Israeli offer has ever come close to fulfilling Palestinian human rights. Camp David II in 2000, often referred to as former prime minister Ehud Barak's "Generous Offer," would have annexed 10% of the West Bank into Israel, including some of most fertile and water rich areas, home to 80,000 Palestinians. The 10% was spread around the West Bank, separating the "future Palestinian state" into a nonviable archipelago of isolated cantons, separating Palestinians from their land and each other. Finally, the proposal maintained Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem (and some control by Palestinians under that sovereignty) and ignored the human rights of the Palestinian refugees, who represent the vast majority of the Palestinian population.<br /><br />Offers by Palestinians and the Arab world including significant compromises have been consistently rebuffed by Israel:<br /><br />In the 1970s, the PLO endorsed a comprehensive peace plan with Israel in exchange for its full withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza. Israel rejected the offer.<br /><br />In 2002, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, along with 21 other members of the Arab League, proposed not only peace but normal relations and regional integration with Israel in exchange for an end to the occupation and a "just solution" to the issue of refugees. Israel rejected the offer. The Arab Peace Initiative was reiterated in 2007 and again refused.<br /><br />Hamas has repeatedly offered a 30-year ceasefire with Israel in exchange for an end to the occupation. Israel has dismissed this possibility and refused to talk to the elected Palestinian government on grounds that it refuses to renounce violence, recognize previous agreements, and recognize the existence of another people's state in historic Palestine. Interestingly, Israel is guilty of all three of the very things for which it faults Hamas.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Myth 4: "An end to the 1967 occupation would be an end to the injustice."</span> This one is more prevalent in the peace and justice community. While an end to the occupation is a condition for peace, it is only one part of restoring Palestinian human rights. The rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel also need to be addressed. What does it mean to be a citizen of a state that does not represent you, and systematically discriminates against you? (Mossawa is a good source for information about discrimination of Palestinians inside the Green Line.)<br /><br />Moreover, the vast majority of Palestinians are families of refugees from 1948, who were forced to leave their homes in order to create a Jewish majority in a land where most people were Christian and Muslim. Still today, I, as a Jewish American, could go and live on land that was stolen from Palestinians and is now reserved exclusively for Jews. Meanwhile, a Palestinian born on that same land is forbidden simply because of his or her ethnic and religious background. An end to the occupation and a return to the 1967 borders solves the immediate problem of many (but not all) of the 4 million Palestinians living under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but it does not address the primary grievance of the vast majority of Palestinians, namely that they have been exiled from Palestine and can't go back because they are not Jews. Their right to come home and live at peace with their neighbors is reaffirmed year after year in the United Nations; it is not debatable, it's a right that belongs to all refugees, no matter what color their skin is.<br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The Israeli boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement has been growing on college campuses across the country. How much traction is this movement gaining in terms of pressuring the Israeli government and its policies?</span><br /><br /> <br />A lot. The successes are too numerous to name, but the Interfaith Peace Initiative compiled a <a href="http://www.interfaithpeaceinitiative.com/globalactions.pdf">comprehensive list of global actions to date</a>, filling 88 pages. The number of actions has doubled since the Flotilla attacks. They include divestment by universities, churches, unions, and governmental institutions. Musicians and sports teams have refused to play in Israel. The 2005 Palestinian-led call has been endorsed by some Israeli and Jewish groups, among hundreds of others. In five years, the BDS movement against Apartheid Israel has achieved more successes than the BDS movement against Apartheid South Africa had in its first twenty years of existence. The success of these campaigns is evidenced in the mass hysteria presented in Israeli newspapers. This is seen as a great threat to the status quo, which is the goal. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." Privilege is given up only when it comes at a cost.<br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Many people today are referring to Israel <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_and_the_apartheid_analogy">as an apartheid state</a>. Do you agree with this characterization and what evidence have you seen that indicates that apartheid exists in Israel?</span><br /><br /> <br /><a href="http://untreaty.un.org/cod/avl/ha/cspca/cspca.html">The 1973 UN International Convention on Apartheid</a> defines the crime of apartheid as any systematic oppression, segregation, and discrimination to maintain domination by one racial group—`demographic group,' in Israeli parlance—over another, as through denial of basic human rights and freedoms, including the right to work, education, movement, and nationality; torture or inhuman treatment; arbitrary arrest and illegal imprisonment; and "any measures designed to divide the population along racial lines by the creation of separate reserves and ghettos,… the expropriation of landed property belonging to a racial group… or to members thereof."<br /><br /> <br />The definition clearly cites crimes perpetrated by Israel both in the 1967 Occupied Territories—where the situation goes so much further that the Archbishop Desmond Tutu himself maintains that the occupation is worse than apartheid—and within the state of Israel itself. 1948 Palestinians (the descendants of the small number of Palestinians who remained in 1948 in what became Israel), aka "Palestinian citizens of Israel" (or "Israeli Arabs," which many see as an offensive title that ignores their Palestinian national and historic identity), are subject to countless discriminatory laws that deny them many of the same human rights and freedoms as their counterparts in the 1967 Occupied Territories. Although Israel calls itself a "democracy," it does not hide its determination to maintain its demographic domination of Jews over non-Jews. 1948 Palestinians are referred to as the "demographic bomb" in reference to their increasing percentage of the population due to reproduction and the emigration of many Jewish Israelis. Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman openly advocates the forced transfer of 1948 Palestinians out of Israel.<br /><br /> <br />Although 1948 Palestinians are citizens of Israel, they are not "nationals," because Israel is not the state of its citizens but rather the state of the Jewish people. Palestinians were denied the right to work in dozens of jobs reserved for Israelis who have served in the Army (from which Palestinians are excluded). Additionally, 93% of the land in Israel is managed by the Israeli Lands Administration, an extension of the Jewish National Fund, rendering it either very difficult or outright impossible for non-Jews to move to. Most of this land was taken from Palestinians in 1948.<br /><br /> <br />These are just a few examples of apartheid within Israel. The most comprehensive compilation I've seen documenting these cases and many more is Jonathan Cook's article, <a href="http://www.ameu.org/uploads/vol41_issue4_2008.pdf">"The Unwanted Who Stayed,"</a> published by Americans for Middle East Understanding.<br /><br /> <br />There is a phenomenal booklet compiled by Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions-USA summarizing a legal study by the Human Sciences Research Center of South Africa. It's called <a href="http://icahdusa.org/2010/03/is-israel-an-apartheid-state/">"Is Israel an Apartheid State?"</a> and in 7.5 pages systematically goes through seemingly every one of Israel's laws that discriminate against Palestinians in the 1967 Occupied Territories as fits the crime of Apartheid (it acknowledges its limitations of not having pursued the same exploration within Israel—yet). I read examples I'd never even known about. It's very shocking and it's a great organizing tool to draw parallels compelling communities that took the step of divesting from Apartheid South Africa to do the same against Apartheid Israel today.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Peace talks are taking place as we speak in Washington DC. What aspects of these negotiations are people not seeing in the media? What kinds of context and/or issues are getting buried from stenography reporting that we're used to seeing?</span><br /><br /> <br />One over-arching issue of years of failed US-brokered Middle East "peace-talks" is that the security and ethno-nationalist Jewish character of Israel is considered the first priority, and Palestinian human rights come second. The trouble is, Israel cannot exist as a state only of the Jewish people (as opposed to Israel being the state of the Jewish people and the indigenous population) without the denial of Palestinian rights (because the minute you give Palestinians the same rights as Jews, Israel stands to lose its Jewish majority). So when Prime Minister Netanyahu says "Both sides need to make significant compromises," he is talking about compromising Palestinian human rights. He's saying, "Look, you can have some human rights, but you will have to give up others." But human rights are non-negotiable. They are not up for debate—this is very clear in international law. The basis for peace-talks must be human rights, equality, self-determination, and security for everyone involved.<br /><br /> <br />Because Hamas has refused to pre-conditions that de facto already sign away certain Palestinian rights, Palestinians have been denied representation by their democratically-elected leaders. And while Netanyahu expects Palestinians to compromise their most fundamental rights, he has shown no willingness to compromise on even the most basic issue of freezing settlement construction. Palestinians have again been forced into a situation of compromising with nothing in return. This imbalance is no surprise; a prisoner negotiating with his prison guard cannot expect a fair outcome. Until we see a solution based on justice rather than the normalization of injustice, we will not see a lasting peace in Israel/Palestine.<br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Despite the on-going Israeli-Palestine conflict, what have you seen or experienced that is positive and does not get mentioned?</span><br /> <br /><br />The Palestinian-led liberation movement growing on the ground is usually ignored by US mainstream media. Hundreds of Palestinians march every week in protest of Israeli atrocities, often joined by Israeli and international solidarity activists. I am very inspired by the resilience of Palestinians on the ground in the face of tremendous oppression. The BDS movement is also underreported, to put it mildly, but together with Palestinian resistance on the ground will forge, I believe, the path to justice. I am also consistently surprised by the willingness of Palestinians who advocate a democratic one-state solution to live alongside their oppressors once the injustice ends. The one-state solution is always presented as a great compromise for Israel, but it is an extraordinary compromise for Palestinians. It provides a genuine model for peaceful coexistence in the future, which gives me hope.<br /><br /><br />****************<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">For more frequent updates and articles from Anna</span>, feel free to join (click "Like" at the top of) her <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anna-Baltzer/120876656003?ref=sgm">public Facebook page</a>.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-11218260718224630112010-09-29T15:00:00.000+02:002010-10-01T05:06:32.559+02:00Announcements & New Article, "Indigenous Resistance: from Colombia to PalestineDear friends,<br /><br />I'm so sorry I've been out of touch for so long! I have so much to share with you all.<br /><br />My <u>most recent article</u> is below the following announcements. It's called "<span style="font-style:italic;">Indigenous resistance: from Colombia to Palestine</span>," the first in a series reflecting on my summer trip to Colombia with a delegation on indigenous movements and human rights.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">But first, 5 announcements!…</span><br /><br /><br />1. Opportunities to go to Palestine:<br /><br /> * January delegation to Palestine (with two amazing friends of mine facilitating!) through Americans Jews for a Just Peace (open to non-Jews of course). Applications due soon—Oct 1st! Applications submitted later will be considered only if there is still room. <a href="http://tinyurl/hahrp2">More info here</a>. <br /><br /> * November Olive Harvest delegation to Palestine with Interfaith Peace-Builders (people from all backgrounds, religious or not, are welcome to apply). Partiicpating in the harvest is a wonderful way to learn about Palestinians and Palestine. <a href="http://www.ifpb.org/news/eupdates/sep2010update.html">More info here</a>. Delegations next year are listed <a href="http://www.ifpb.org/delegations/upcoming.html">here</a>.<br /><br /><br />2. UN Flotilla Investigation finds Israel guilty of violating international law, "brutal and disproportionate" violence, and "willful killing." <a href="http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/15session/A.HRC.15.21_en.pdf">Full report here</a>.<br /><br /> <br />3. Plans for a US Boat to Gaza are in full force. Donations are desperately needed! Please visit <a href="http://ustogaza.org/">UStoGaza.org</a> to learn more and contribute.<br /><br /><br />4. The One Nation March is a huge action in Washington DC coming up on October 2nd. <a href="http://www.onenationworkingtogether.org/content/main">Learn more</a>. The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation has <a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/section.php?id=366">materials for the protests and support</a> for organizing your own community to attend this historic march and protest US $30 billion in military aid to Israel.<br /><br /><br />5. Finally, I will be touring internationally October 18th – November 23rd! Stops in:<br /><br /> * AUSTRALIA: Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, and elsewhere<br /><br /> * NEW ZEALAND: Wellington and Aukland<br /><br /> * JAPAN: Tokyo, Gumna, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Nagoya, and elsewhere<br /><br />The Australia tour will end at the first National Australian BDS Conference in Melbourne! <a href="http://australianbdscampaign.wordpress.com/">View Speakers, Conference Agenda, and more here</a>.<br /><br /><br />Check my online schedule for updates on the above and other upcoming events.<br /><br /><br /> <span style="font-style:italic;">As promised, here's my most recent article, originally published</span> <a href="http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11522.shtml">on Electronic Intifada</a>…<br /><br /><br />************ Available for re-publication ************<br /><br /><br />Indigenous resistance: from Colombia to Palestine<br /><br />By Anna Baltzer<br /><br />(<a href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/photos/colombia/ei_indigenous_resistance/">Click here for corresponding photographs</a>.)<br /><br /> <br /><br />"They only see our water, our land, our trees. They don't care about us. They want the land -- without the people on it."<br /><br />These words are not of a Palestinian farmer but of Justo Conda, governor of Lopez Adentro Indigenous Reserve in southwestern Colombia, whose community was repeatedly threatened with displacement under former president Alvaro Uribe Velez. Uribe, recently appointed by the United Nations to investigate Israel's fatal attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, has a notoriously horrific track record on human rights. Less explored are the clear parallels between his government's mistreatment of indigenous peoples of Colombia and Israel's abuses of the indigenous people of Palestine.<br /><br />According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Colombia has one of the largest populations of internally displaced people in the world, numbering as many as 4.9 million. According to the Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement more than 286,000 Colombians were uprooted from their land in 2009 alone. Approximately ten percent of the Colombian population has suffered forced displacement, many of them indigenous communities, afro-Colombian descendants of former slaves, and campesinos (farmers).<br /><br />Like Israel, Colombia is the largest recipient of US military aid in its hemisphere. Six billion US tax-dollars over the past ten years have placed Colombia third in the world for US military assistance, after Israel and Egypt. Armed with US weapons and political backing, Uribe's government and other armed actors have forced out millions through extrajudicial assassinations and terror tactics, clearing the way for the exploitation of natural resources by the government and multinational companies. Always in the name of security and the "War on Terror," Colombian soldiers have burned villages, ransacked homes and destroyed the livelihoods of communities who have taken the radical decision of staying on their own land.<br /><br />For many indigenous communities, this is not the first time they've been uprooted. With the Spanish invasion five hundred years ago and the founding of Colombia three hundred years later, indigenous peoples have been repeatedly forced to flee their fertile valleys rich with water and minerals, moving further and further into the Andes mountain ranges where the climate is harsher and the land less arable. Now the government wants to take even that land, leaving the communities trapped -- community members say if they head higher into the mountains they may be threatened by guerillas who are fighting to maintain control of those areas, while going down into the valleys they will face aggression from paramilitaries, corporations and the army.<br /><br />There is something eerily familiar about this violent and calculated expulsion and it is no surprise that Israel has now become Colombia's number one supplier of weapons, advisor on military organization and intelligence-gathering and model for "fighting terror" ("<a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3435949,00.html">Report: Israelis fighting guerillas in Colombia</a>," Ynet, 10 August 2007, as cited in "<a href="http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11449.shtml">Uribe's appointment to flotilla probe guarantees it's failure</a>," Jose Antonio Gutierrez and David Landy, The Electronic Intifada, 6 August 2010). But like the Palestinians, the people of Colombia are not prepared to abandon their homes and livelihoods without a struggle. Almost twenty years ago, up against a military armed to the teeth, the indigenous communities of southwestern Colombia developed their own form of protection: <span style="font-style:italic;">La Guarda Indigena</span> (The Indigenous Guard).<br /><br /><br />Standing before the flag of the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca in the indigenous reserve of Lopez, Governor Conda explained:<br /><br />"The Colombian government does not represent us, so we have constructed our own system of security. In each indigenous community, individuals are selected to serve for one year defending our land. Each indigenous guard receives a staff, passed down by its previous user, which represents the authority and responsibility of the position. Guards carry their ancestral staffs everywhere they go. It is received voluntarily; nobody is paid to defend their people. And although everyone in our communities would fight for our freedom, the staffs indicate those of us who have been physically and psychologically prepared during the year to defend our people and our land."<br /><br />Governor Conda added:<br /><br />"In the face of a highly-militarized state that consistently denies us our basic rights, the indigenous guard is the only defense we can exercise. We have declared ourselves neutral, allied with neither the guerillas nor the army. We are offering a peaceful solution based on an end to colonization and respect for life and culture. We have no weapons or guns. We don't need weapons or guns to exercise control. Our guards stand outside our gates, armed only with their colorful staff -- a symbol of our strength and our values. And although we have received many threats, many authorities have also come to respect the indigenous guard."<br /><br />Conda explained that at the end of each guard's term, he or she chooses a successor and the authority and responsibility rotates. Next to Conda, the current community guards stood up one by one, a diverse group of men and women; young and old; a pregnant woman; a village elder. They held the staffs, each meant to reach as high as its carrier's heart.<br /><br />Colombia's indigenous communities have a long history of popular resistance. In the 1920s, tribes collectively boycotted taxes imposed by the government on indigenous people to live and work on their own land. Since then, councils have been formed to decide how to recuperate territory and resist expulsion. Although their presence preceded European colonization, indigenous Colombians are often treated as foreigners and invaders.<br /><br />The response to organized indigenous resistance to displacement has been brutal. Last year alone, four members of the small Lopez Adentro community alone were assassinated ("<a href="http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR23/001/2010/en/29984719-a927-4ec9-a42a-0641b5865a60/amr230012010en.pdf">The Struggle for Survival and Dignity: Human Rights Abuses Against Indigenous Peoples in Colombia</a>," Amnesty International, 23 January 2010 [PDF]). According to human rights advocate Felix Posada, 1,400 indigenous persons were assassinated during Uribe's eight-year tenure, representing one percent of Colombia's total indigenous population. Colombia has the highest rate of indigenous killings in Latin America, numbering 114 last year, reported Posada behind bulletproof doors in his office in downtown Bogota.<br /><br />Right-wing paramilitary groups are suspected in many of the incidents, despite the Uribe administration's claim of their demobilization in 2006 ("<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/world/americas/04colombia.html">Colombian Paramilitaries' Successors Called a Threat</a>," Simon Romero, <span style="font-style:italic;">The New York Times</span>, 3 February 2010). The "disarmament" was widely seen as a publicity stunt in which individuals dressed up as militants handed over their guns in photo-ops in exchange for a handsome reward. Countless cases have confirmed collaboration between the Colombian army and the paramilitaries (renamed "organized delinquents" these days), the latter often doing the dirty work in exchange for power and immunity.<br /><br />In October of 2008, following direct action by the Indigenous and Popular Minga (Community Mobilization) of La Maria in Piendamo, soldiers entered the municipality and vandalized cars, forced inhabitants out of their homes with tear gas, stripped men in front of their neighbors and set fire to residents' huts, beds, bicycles and even children's dolls (Video: "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGO-mvN0G0Y&feature=related">La Maria Piendamo</a>," 22 October 2008). A mass march from La Maria was met with soldiers and helicopters, leading to a stand-off of stones, sling-shots and ancestral staffs versus the army's tear gas and live ammunition (Video: "<a href="http://www.censat.org/noticias/2008/10/22/Minga-de-la-Maria-Piendamo-octubre-2008/">Minga de la Maria Piendamo</a>," 22 October 2008). If Uribe's administration's chosen response to wooden, ancestral wooden staffs was bullets, what could he possibly say to Israel's killing of nine Turks who may have been carrying chair legs?<br /><br />The gravest threat of all faced by Colombia's indigenous population is cultural destruction and extinction. Of Colombia's 102 indigenous tribes, 32 percent are in danger of disappearance. Eighteen tribes have fewer than two hundred persons remaining. One of the most important forms of resistance for many communities has been the preservation of language, cultural values and traditions.<br /><br />Until recently, the state-imposed educational system mandated schooling in Spanish, but today native languages are taught in classrooms on the reserves. The people have won other victories along the way as far back as 1991 when the new constitution finally recognized the diverse ethnic identities of the Colombian people and their rights to preserve their land and culture. But too often the constitution and laws are ignored in favor of other interests, notably expanding control over natural resources.<br /><br />Unwilling to continue waiting after twenty years of unkept promises, the indigenous communities of the Cauca and Valle de Cauca regions of southwest Colombia have joined together on a common platform of four priorities: unity, land, culture and autonomy. The vision is a complete one, with freedom conditional on the fulfillment of each element. Another member of the Lopez Adentro community explained: "Peace is not simply an end to war. Peace will come when indigenous rights to land, culture and self-determination are respected. There can be no peace through the destruction or submission of the indigenous population."<br /><br />This definition of true peace is a timely one as Israel and the illegitimate Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas resume negotiations while ignoring the fundamental requirements of justice for the Palestinian people, including their respective rights to land, culture and self-determination.<br /><br />It is difficult to imagine a leader as enthusiastic about Israel's repression tactics as Uribe being a fair judge as to the legality of Israel's attacks on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. His former administration's close relationship to the Jewish state alone precludes him as an impartial investigator. And although there are notable differences between the situations in Colombia and Palestine, the likeness of the Colombian and Israeli governments' responses to indigenous resistance is unmistakable. It would be not only out of character but downright hypocritical for Uribe to hold Israel accountable for the same type of behavior that characterized his own presidency.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the <span style="font-style:italic;">sumoud</span> and resilience of the indigenous Colombian people persists. Governor Conda continued, "Just as we have for five hundred years, we will continue to struggle and move forward. In fact, we are ready to work harder than ever."<br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">This article was originally published</span> <a href="http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11522.shtml">on Electronic Intifada</a>.<br /><br /> <br /><br /><a href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/photos/colombia/ei_indigenous_resistance/">Click here</a> for <span style="font-weight:bold;">photographs related to the article</span>.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Spanish translation <a href="http://www.tlaxcala-int.org/article.asp?reference=1455">available here</a>.<br /><br /> <br /><br />For more frequent updates and articles from me, please join (click "Like" at the top of) <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anna-Baltzer/120876656003?ref=sgm">my public Facebook page here</a>.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-72084857281992764722010-06-09T18:40:00.005+03:002010-06-09T18:58:58.529+03:00Lara Tries To Go HomeOur delegation arrived safely in Palestine a couple weeks ago. We exited our plane at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, built on part of a Palestinian town of Lyd, most of whose inhabitants either fled in 1948 during the Nakba and remain in refugee camps in Amman, Jordan or Ramallah, West Bank living under deplorable conditions, or they live as second-, third-, or fourth-class citizens in what remains of town, now part of Israel. The removal of 17,948 of Lyd's population of 19,000 in 1948 was led by former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, hailed as a peacenik by those unfamiliar with his history of brutality that continued through the First Intifada (during which Rabin implemented a policy of breaking the arms and legs of any Palestinian who threw a stone at an Israeli tank, jeep, etc.) and beyond. Rabin wrote the following in his own diary shortly after 1948 attacks driving out almost 95% of Lyd's non-Jewish population:<br /><br /> "After attacking Lydda [Lyd] Ben-Gurion would repeat the question: What is to be done with the population?, waving his hand in a gesture which said: Drive them out!. 'Driving out' is a term with a harsh ring, .... Psychologically, this was one of the most difficult actions we undertook." (<a href="http://">Soldier Of Peace</a>, p. 140-141 & <a href="http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Palestine-Remembered/Story596.html">Benny Morris</a>, p. 207)<br /><br />His guilt and psychological struggle didn't prevent him from giving orders to do the same to neighboring villages (<a href="http://www.palestineremembered.com/al-Ramla/Imwas/index.html">'Imwas</a>, <a href="http://www.palestineremembered.com/al-Ramla/Yalu/index.html">Yalu</a>, and <a href="http://www.palestineremembered.com/al-Ramla/Bayt-Nuba/index.html">Bayt Nuba</a>) 19 years later. <br /><br />The struggle of remaining inhabitants of Lyd (now citizens of Israel) for recognition as equal human beings and their isolation from their fellow Palestinians living in the West Bank, Gaza, and the Diaspora is documented beautifully in one of my favorite documentaries about Palestine: <a href="http://www.slingshothiphop.com/">Slingshot Hip Hop</a>, documenting the rising Palestinian hip-hop movement as resistance to oppression through the spoken word.<br /><br />Anyway, arriving at Israel 's airport, named after Ben-Gurion himself, our delegates waited anxiously in line for passport control, hoping we would not targeted given our desire to meet with Palestinians. Israel recently <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/noam-chomsky-denied-entry-into-israel-and-west-bank-1.290701">denied entry to Noam Chomsky</a>, who was on his way to give a talk at a Palestinian university, to name but one example. Those eventually interrogated from our group were no surprise—two Palestinian delegates, simply trying to visit their homeland.<br /><br />They each told us their stories that night, but I'll focus on the story of just one: Lara.<br /><br />Lara stood in line next to a large group of young Jewish Americans talking excitedly about coming on vacation to Israel . They were breezed through with a smiling, "Welcome to Israel ." When Lara reached passport control, they didn't bother asking her any questions. Her name was enough. Security escorted her to another room where she was held for over an hour. First, they asked for her phone number in the United States . She gave it to them… What will they do with it? They asked where her parents were born. " Gaza ," she answered. That was all the questioner needed to know. "You will have to visit the Ministry of Interior," he said, and took her into a third room.<br /><br />"What is your father's name?" Lara answered. "I know," he replied.<br /><br />"What is your mother's name?" Lara answered. "I know," he replied again.<br /><br />"What is your father's mother's name?" "What is your mother's father's name?" "What is your mother's mother's name?" She answered each question and with each he replied, "I know."<br /><br />When the interrogator asked, "What is your father's father's name?" Lara replied that she actually didn't know because he died long before she was born. But he knew, and before her eyes he sketched out the family tree of her own family, most of them uprooted from their homes by the Israeli Army. He said "Your grandfather' s name is Sayyid. And your father's name is not only Ahmad. It is Ahmad Mahmoud Sayyid Elborno."<br /><br />Lara asked, "If you know the answers to all these questions, why are you asking me?" but he didn't respond. He continued:<br /><br />"What date did your grandparents get married?"<br /><br />"I don't know. Do you know what date your grandparents got married?" she challenged him.<br /><br />"Your grandparents were married on September 3, 1958."<br /><br />Then he began to show Lara photographs from Palestinian ID cards, asking if she was related to them. She didn't recognize any of them, until the last one: a older man in a grey suit.<br /><br />"That's my grandfather, " she said, looking into his elderly face blown up on this interrogator' s screen. She was surprised because it was a recent photograph of him, even though he has not been to Palestine in many years. Why and how did they get a photograph of him, carrying on a new life far away after being pushed out?<br /><br />Finally, he moved on to Lara's sister, explaining that she had been here last year. "Why?" he asked.<br /><br />"Tourism," Lara replied.<br /><br />"But you're from Gaza ."<br /><br />"So Gazans cannot be tourists?"<br /><br />Lara finished her story to us: "I must have forgotten that being from Gaza is a crime. After an hour and a half, my passport was stamped and I was told to enjoy my stay in Israel ."<br /><br />We thought as a group about Lara's question as to why she was asked so many questions that Israel already knew the answer to… Was it to stall time to keep her longer? Was it to catch her if she lied? Was it to gather more intelligence about her family? Or was it to show who had the power in her own homeland.<br /><br />Shortly after our arrival, our group visited <a href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/photos/lara_home/">Erez checkpoint</a>, the northern crossing into Gaza . Of course, we couldn't enter Gaza, which remains under siege with full Israeli control over the shoreline, airspace, borders (except Rafah, which Egypt itself closed in part due to pressure from Israel and the US), and the land itself with buffer zones and invasions. <a href="http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124972§ionid=351020202">Fishermen</a> cannot fish to feed their families. If a Palestinian student in Gaza gets a scholarship to study in the United States … Too bad. They mostly likely can't get out. Gaza used to export millions of flowers… no more (once, people in Gaza carried thousands and thousands of carnations to Rafah checkpoint and dropped them there as an act of creative protest). Adequate fuel can't get in. Adequate medicine and medical supplies can't get in. Adequate food and water can't get in. People can't get in. People can't get out. Gaza is an open air prison.<br /><br />On the way to Erez checkpoint, Lara shared with the group some of the items that Israel prohibits or often blocks from Gaza :<br /><br /> Cilantro, jam, chocolate, French fries, dried fruit, notebooks, toys, coriander, light bulbs, candles, clothing, shoes, mattresses, sheets, blankets, pasta, tea, coffee, nuts, shampoo, conditioner, books, musical instruments, and crayons.<br /><br /> [Sources: "<span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/why-won-t-israel-allow-gazans-to-import-coriander-1.288824">Why Won't Israel allow Gaza to import coriander?</a></span>" (Haaretz Israeli Newspaper) and "<span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7545636.stm">Guide: Gaza Under Blockade</a></span>" (BBC). List of commercial goods allowed only at certain points <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/05_05_10_gazaimports.pdf">here</a>.]<br /><br />Lara has family and land in Gaza that she has never seen, but along with musical instruments and coriander, she's not allowed in. But <a href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/photos/lara_home/2902/">Lara went to the window to try to go home</a> anyway. She showed the seemingly bored young female solder her passport and said that she wanted to enter to go her family, whom she's never met.<br /><br />"I'm sorry," the soldier replied, and slid her passport back. "You need a coordination. "<br /><br />"What's a coordination?" Lara asked.<br /><br />"You need to call to get permission to go to Gaza ."<br /><br />"Permission from Gaza ?"<br /><br />"No, permission from Israel ."<br /><br />"Why do I need permission from Israel to go to my own land?"<br /><br />The soldier didn't seem to understand the question.<br /><br />We hope that the flotilla and upcoming new boats will continue to raise awareness of the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza . But the people in Gaza don't need sympathy. They need freedom, and they need justice. They don't need food; they need the ability to cultivate, catch, export, and import their own food. They don't need our money; they need the ability to thrive and to grow their own economy. They don't need our "help." They need our support, which is exactly what the flotilla was and is all about.<br /><br />My friend Lara doesn't need permission to visit her land. It is her right—period. The fact that Israel consistently denies the rights of Lara and millions of other Palestinians to access their land in Gaza , the West Bank, or anywhere in historic Palestine does not make their rights questionable or debatable. They are non-negotiable, like any human right. It's as simple as that.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-60827769033543884122010-06-07T04:02:00.000+03:002010-06-09T01:01:48.122+03:00The Aftermath of the FlotillaLast night marked one week since Israel's attack in international waters on the <span style="font-style:italic;">Mavi Marmara</span> Turkish humanitarian ship bound for Gaza, killing nine. One by one, the hundreds of witnesses aboard the vessels have been returning home to tell their stories after being stripped of any and all footage. By confiscating all non-military evidence of the incident, Israel has been able to successfully dominate the narrative, at least in the US where news of the attack had begun to dwindle by the time witnesses were released. One wonders, if Israel is conveying the whole story of what happened that night, why eliminate every single other piece of documentation? What does Israel have to hide?<br /><br />According to hundreds of eyewitnesses, the Navy shot at the boat and threw tear gas and sound bombs before boarding the ship, and then hit the ground shooting. The videos released by Israel show those aboard the ship attacking soldiers with sticks. Israel claims that the deaths were an accident, that the soldiers were startled by the sticks and thus forced to shoot people to defend themselves.<br /><br />Now let's put things into perspective. In 2005, the Israeli Army removed 8,000 ideological settlers from Gaza, many of them kicking and screaming with sticks and rocks in hand. The Army managed not to kill or even shoot a single one of them. Do sticks from Turks hurt more, or is it not about the sticks at all?<br /><br />As Dr. Norman Finkelstein pointed out, Israeli officials met for an entire week prior to the flotilla to plan precisely what they intended to do. The Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren himself stated that the Mavi Marmara was simply "too large to stop with nonviolent means." It's hard to believe that this was an accident.<br /><br />While the world focuses on the flotilla and Gaza, Israel's restrictions on Palestinian rights in the rest of Palestine continue to tighten. On Friday, <a href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/photos/religious_freedom_jlem/">soldiers surrounded the Old City in Jerusalem to prevent Muslim men from praying at Al-Aqsa mosque. Only those younger than 15 or older than 40 were allowed through</a>. Hundreds of men gathered outside the metal bars installed by the Army around the city gates. Frustrated, many men sat down to wait to pray on the sidewalk, but <a href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/photos/religious_freedom_jlem/2880/">soldiers on horseback</a> pushed through the crowd, forcing the men to scatter.<br /><br />It's important to note that many Palestinians wait for years to receive a permit to visit Jerusalem for just one day. Sometimes the permits are valid only for a few hours. I saw a woman in Beit Sahour whom I'd met in Syracuse last Fall. She said it's easier for her to travel to New York than to go 10 miles away to Jerusalem. She said often permits are sent to the wrong village and families fall over themselves to get the permit to the right person in time, often failing. At the gates, some <a href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/photos/religious_freedom_jlem/2881/">men argued with the soldiers</a>, close to tears, not knowing if they would ever get another chance to realize a life-long dream of praying at their country's holiest site.<br /><br />Eventually, hundreds of men began to gather next to the wall of the Old City and across the street. If they could not enter, they would <a href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/photos/religious_freedom_jlem/2887/">pray as close as they could</a>. As the call to prayer rang out (at least sound can overcome walls), a noticeable calm came over the space as they bowed down in unison. The soldiers stood over the group, some filming with cameras. In the middle of the group were an olive tree and a young child who stood by himself, watching.<br /><br />When the prayers ended, those who hadn't brought prayer mats wiped the dirt off their foreheads and gathered with others across the street where an imam had started to speak. Lara, a Palestinian delegate in our group translated bits and pieces of what he said.<br /><br />The sermon was about the importance of compassion and justice in Islam. There they were, being denied their religious freedom, and they were talking about compassion. The imam asked that their prayers be accepted even though they could not be in the house of God. At one point, he raised his finger and called out the following: "Someday, we will live in a place where it doesn't matter what color your skin is, or where you're from." With every sentence <a href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/photos/religious_freedom_jlem/2888/">the group</a> resounded in a collective "Amen."<br /><br />After the prayers, hundreds of women and older men poured out, one of whom told me he'd seen a man beaten by the Army for calling out against Israel's attacks on the flotilla. This is likely precisely what the Army wanted to avoid by keeping Muslims from congregating at the mosque, and they had been largely successful, at least so they thought.<br /><br />Just as I was turning to return to the hotel, I heard a chorus of women's voices coming from inside the city walls. Soon <a href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/photos/religious_freedom_jlem/2894/">a large group of women</a> emerged carrying a Turkish flag and singing out familiar calls for justice and praising those who gave their lives to free Gaza. The soldiers thought that keeping the men out would be enough, but they had underestimated the women.<br /><br />Israel has also underestimated the international civilian community, which continues to speak out. Day and night, we watch protests around the world unfold one after another, seemingly stronger and larger by the day: Japan, Paris, India, Oslo, Australia, and beyond. This is being called "Israel's Kent State."<br /><br />Far more significant than protests is the fact that worldwide disapproval has been transforming into concrete rejection of normalization with Israel, including major victories for the Palestinian movement for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) on Israel until it complies with international law.<br /><br />This past week, the student body at Evergreen College voted to divest from "Israel's illegal occupation." Before she was run over by Israeli soldiers in a US-made <a href="http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3705.shtml">Caterpillar</a> bulldozer in Gaza, <a href="http://www.rachelcorrie.org/">Rachel Corrie</a> had attended Evergreen. Along with divesting, students have voted for a "Caterpillar free" campus. You can support the students by clicking <a href="http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/publish/article_1298.shtml">here</a>.<br /><br />A week before the flotilla, Italy's largest supermarkets COOP and Nordiconad announced a boycott of the Israeli produce company, Carmel Agrexco. Four days later, <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/news.aspx/137762">Deutsche Bank</a> (Germany's largest bank, worth more than $1 trillion) announced divestment from Elbit Systems, an Israeli firm that supplies technology for Israel's military, settlements, and Wall (as well as the Wall between the US and Mexico). Deutsche Bank was one of the company's largest share-holders.<br /><br />The next day, it was announced that <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=172146">Sweden's largest national pension funds</a> were also divesting from Elbit. (<a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/economy/ap/56886737.html">Norway did the same</a> more than one year ago.) Going a step further, the Swedish Port Workers Union announced last Wednesday that it would temporarily stop handling Israeli cargo in response to the attacks on the flotilla.<br /><br />On the same day, <a href="http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/32579/unite-votes-boycott-israel">Britain's largest union, Unite, passed a unanimous motion</a> "to vigorously promote a policy of divestment from Israeli companies" and to boycott Israeli goods and services as in "the boycott of South African goods during the era of apartheid."<br /><br />Then yesterday, the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2010/06/06/pixies-israel.html">Pixies canceled their upcoming concert in Israel</a> in response to Israel's attack on the flotilla. Musical artists Klaxons and Gorillaz canceled as well. This on the heels of cancelations by Santana, Gil Scott-Heron, Snoop Dog, Sting, and <a href="http://www.jpost.com/ArtsAndCulture/Music/Article.aspx?id=175847">Elvis Costello</a>.<br /><br />These are but a few of the BDS victories that have happened <span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">just in the last month</span></span>. The movement that officially began in 2005 crossed its first threshold in 2009 (having gained in four years the same momentum it took the BDS movement against South Africa 20 years to achieve), but 2010 has brought it to a new level.<br /><br />Last month marked 62 years since 80% of the families in Gaza were displaced during Israel's creation, the Palestinian Nakba. And this week marks 43 years since Israel occupied the Gaza Strip and West Bank. The Occupation has been in place 70% of Israel's life-span so far. It is not temporary. And it is but one part of the problem. Along with Israel's discrimination against Palestinians within Israel's de-facto borders and outside historic Palestine, the Occupation will not be stopped voluntarily by Israel. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said: "Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." I spoke with a member of Boycott from Within (Israelis supporting the Palestinian BDS Call) paraphrased a common phrase during the anti-Apartheid struggle in South Africa: We will bring them to their senses, or we will bring them to their knees. For Israel, as was the case for the South African Apartheid government, the former has simply never worked.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-17520426655050269682010-06-02T05:34:00.002+03:002010-06-08T18:41:19.851+03:00A People United Will Not FallAs I'm sure you've heard, less than 60 hours ago at least 9 people carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza on a six-ship flotilla were killed by the Israeli army when it attacked one of the ships. Dozens were badly injured. The ships were in international waters and had stopped overnight, expecting to continue transporting more than 10,000 tons of aid to Gaza the next morning. Most of those killed and injured were Turkish.<br /><br />I am chilled knowing that I was meant to be on the Mavi Marmara boat had I not already committed to this delegation, and I wonder if I could have been as brave as the others on board. I feel a great kinship with Turkish Palestine solidarity activists with whom I worked during my years living in Ankara and although I am no nationalist, I was proud to carry a Turkish flag today.<br /><br />We here in Palestine are stunned, not by Israel's immorality (Israel has committed far worse crimes), but by its arrogance. Israel assumes it can kill anyone it wants anywhere it wants with impunity. Israel is wrong. And this, like the 2008-2009 War on Gaza (Operation Cast Lead), should be a turning point in international opinion and, more importantly, international action.<br /><br />Nine hours after the night-time killings, we went to Ramallah and joined with a crowd of hundreds demonstrating (see photos <a href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/photos/flotilla_demos_bilin/">here</a>) in solidarity with their Turkish brothers and sisters who fell for freedom in Gaza. It was a moving scene as people locked their stores to take to the streets waving Turkish flags alongside Palestinian ones, chanting that the profound sacrifice of these martyrs for them would never be forgotten. The crowd's enthusiasm never wavered as it moved through the bustling city of Ramallah, eventually ending at a Turkish International Center.<br /><br />One of our delegates speaks Hebrew and happened to be at the end of the crowd when she recognized Israeli News Channel 2 cameras setting up pointed away from the crowd (I didn't think Israeli TV went into Ramallah but she's lived in Israel and was 100% sure of what she saw). She translated to us the words spoken in Hebrew by the reporter: "Here in Ramallah, life is going on as usual. People here seem apathetic to what happened at sea, showing that it's really not that big of a deal."<br /><br />In Ramallah we heard news of a similar protest near Qalandia checkpoint where an American young woman named Emily lost her left eye when she was shot in the face with a tear-gas canister. The story felt all the more real when we met that night with <a href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/photos/flotilla_demos_bilin/2871/">representatives from the popular committee of the nearby village of Ni'lin</a> where a young man from California named Tristan Anderson was shot in the head with a tear gas canister at a peaceful demonstration. For a long time it was assumed he would be brain-dead for life, but it seems he's making progress and has finally begun to speak.<br /><br />Our meeting was held in Bil'in, where we spent the evening with one of the leaders of the popular committee on resistance in the small village that has lost more than half of its land to the Wall. The last time I was at a demonstration in Bil'in, we were hosed with water cannons. Now I learn that the Army has started hosing people with chemicals or pepper spray in the water, stuff that won't rub off and smells terrible.<br /><br />Since my last visit, Bassem Abu-Rahme, a warm and energetic friend to many who have marched in Bil'in, died from being shot in the heart with a tear gas canister as he yelled at soldiers that his Israeli activist friend was hurt. We watched a movie about Bassem and I remembered how enthusiastic and glowing he was. No more, although his memory lives on through <a href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/photos/flotilla_demos_bilin/2870/">pictures on every family's wall</a>, and in the minds of the thousands who have come from around the world to confront Israeli Apartheid in this small village.<br /><br />The resistance in Bil'in has continued every Friday for more than half a decade. I am reminded each time I come of the extraordinary resilience of the people. More than 85 of 1,800 inhabitants have been imprisoned, with many more <a href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/photos/flotilla_demos_bilin/2868/">beaten, gassed, and shot at</a>. The house in which we were staying has been raided eight times in the middle of the night. <a href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/photos/flotilla_demos_bilin/2872/">Our host</a> is wanted by Israel for his leadership in this village known for its nonviolence. He dined with us and left, saying it was too dangerous for him to stay.<br /><br />Usually when I come to Bil'in, the first place I go is to <a href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/photos/flotilla_demos_bilin/2869/">the home of my friends Abdallah and Majida</a>, and their beautiful girls, Luma and Layan. This time, there was a third child -- Laith, their first boy -- but someone was missing. <a href="http://annainpalestine.blogspot.com/2007/02/planting-trees-with-palestinian-gandhi.html">Abdallah Abu-Rahme</a>, one of the leaders of Bil'in's popular nonviolent resistance against the Wall, was abducted by soldiers in the middle of the night, with Majida and the rest of the family unable to stop it. His crime: Abdallah has been charged for possession of weapons because he gathered empty tear gas canisters that were shot into his village and put them together to form an enormous <a href="http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/this-has-to-be-seen-to-be-believed-bilin-leader-charged-with-arms-possession.html">peace sign</a> (click on the link for the photo... you have to see it to believe it).<br /><br />In the morning our friend from Jerusalem was late to pick us up. He said they couldn't buy amenities because a general strike was called in East Jerusalem. Later we visited Sakhnin, a Palestinian town in the Galilee. The <a href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/photos/flotilla_demos_bilin/2865/">entire town had been on strike and people were out at night demonstrating and singing</a> "Biladi, Biladi" (My Country, My Country). Our host told us about Israeli efforts to separate Palestinian society, calling Palestinians in Israel "Arab Israelis" and claiming they are separate from the Druze, Bedouins, Jerusalemites, and Palestinians in the 1967 occupied territory and the Diaspora. These classifications serve to undermine the unity of the Palestinian people but, my host smiled, they have not succeeded, as evidenced by so many protests and strikes around Palestine for the people of Gaza and their supporters.<br /><br />Yesterday, Egypt finally opened Gaza's Rafah crossing to allow Palestinians, food, water, medical supplies, and more in and out. It seems even Egypt has a breaking point. In the United Nations, representatives from multiple countries (including the UK, but not the U.S.) issued harsher words than I have heard from them in the past (albeit not harsh enough). Sadly, ten Palestinian deaths have never prompted an emergency meeting in the UN; Palestinians' lives are considered cheaper than those in other countries. Who knows how long Rafah will stay open or what will come of the UN lip-service, but it shows the power of international solidarity to wake up the world and force people to talk about this issue. Those who fell on the Mavi Marmara were people of conscience with the courage to do what our government and others have not: end the siege of Gaza. Their deaths will not be in vain.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-83498704754784308452010-05-13T19:05:00.001+03:002010-05-14T17:00:17.564+03:00Why You Should Care about the Hikers Held in Iran...Dear friends,<br /><br />Nine and a half months ago, two of my friends, Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd, were arrested along with their friend Josh Fattal while hiking near the Iranian border with Iraqi Kurdistan.<br /><br />You probably heard about <a href="http://freethehikers.org/">the hikers</a> in the news, but most people don't know much about them personally. They are incredible people I spent a lot of time with while living in Damascus, Syria last year. Shane was doing photo-journalism around the Middle East. Sarah was working without pay for the <a href="http://iraqistudentproject.org/">Iraqi Student Project</a>, teaching English to Iraqi students whose education was interrupted by the war and occupation and helping secure scholarships and spots for them at US universities. She invited me to give a presentation on Palestine to her students, which I happily did. The presentation was enhanced by memorably insightful comments by Sarah that demonstrated clearly her wisdom and experience in movements for social justice and creating a better world for everyone. The last time I saw Sarah and Shane was at a pot-luck they threw shortly before I left.<br /><br />I was going to write an article about my friends but the article below really says it all. The three hikers' families had asked us not to write anything related to politics about them until now.<br /><br />Thanks for reading,<br /><br />Anna<br /><br /><br />------------ --------- --------- --------- ----<br /><br /><a href="http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/campbell230410.html"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Why You Should Care about the Three Americans Held in Iran</span></a> <br /><br /><br />by Scott Campbell<br /><br /> <br />Watching the news in August 2009, you may have heard about three U.S. citizens being detained in Iran. Arrested for allegedly crossing the Iran-Iraq border on July 31, 2009, they remain in detention nine months later in Iran's Evin prison. Dubbed "the hikers" due to the fact that they were on a hiking trip in the Kurdish region of Iraq when they were detained, in their nine months of imprisonment Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer, and Josh Fattal have had only three visits from Swiss consular officials, have been permitted only one brief phone call to their families, and have been denied access to their Iranian lawyer. Their mothers applied for Iranian visas more than four months ago and have received no response. Though Iranian officials occasionally sputter about "espionage," the only charge they face is "illegal border crossing," punishment for which is a fine, not indefinite detention.<br /><br />All of this is outrageous enough, but the picture is even bleaker. Thursday, April 22, was the most recent visit to the hikers by the Swiss -- the first since October. Sarah -- who is in solitary confinement -- told them she is suffering from depression and a severe gynecological condition. Shane, originally also held in solitary but now sharing a cell with Josh, told them he is enduring a stomach ailment. The three of them are considering beginning a hunger strike, despite their poor health and isolation.<br /><br />The three have lamentably become political pawns in the U.S.-Iranian staring contest. The fact is, despite the West's belligerence towards Iran, these three individuals demand our support and solidarity. Though they were simply on a hike, they are much more than hikers -- they are individuals dedicated to working for a better, more just, and more sustainable world. They are comrades, fellow travelers, activists, organizers, whatever you may want to call them.<br /><br />It is pertinent to mention that Sarah and Shane are good friends whom I've known for several years. I first met Sarah in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2005 when we organized locally to support immigrant rights and participate in the historic May Day marches of 2006 and sent groups down to the border with Mexico to confront nativist vigilantes like the Minutemen. She and Shane lived in a house in Oakland that served as the base for the <a href="http://www.midnightspecial.net/">Midnight Special Law Collective</a>, which provides legal support and much more to activists around the country. In 2007 and 2008, we all worked with Direct Action to Stop the War to organize a series of civil disobedience and direct action efforts to mark the fifth anniversary of the war on Iraq.<br /><br />Before moving to Syria together, Sarah spent time doing solidarity work with the Zapatistas in Chiapas and Shane went to Iraq to document the U.S. occupation, as well as making two trips to Darfur where he covered the rebels fighting the Sudanese army and militias. In Syria, they lived in a Palestinian refugee camp and did Palestine solidarity work, as well as visiting their friend Tristan Anderson in an Israeli hospital where he has been ever since being shot in the head by an Israeli soldier with a high-velocity tear gas canister while protesting against the separation wall in the West Bank. Before heading to Kurdistan, Sarah worked with Iraqi refugees, while Shane reported on the U.S.'s creation of death squads in Iraq for <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/iraqs-new-death-squad">The Nation</a>.<br /><br />Having never met Josh, I unfortunately know less about him. He spent time at the Aprovecho Research Center working on issues such as sustainable agriculture, food justice, and permaculture. He is deeply committed to issues of ecology and truly democratic politics.<br /><br />Sarah, Shane, and Josh are not three random Americans. They are allies in the struggle for a better world. And right now they are in a dire situation. In that spirit, I ask for your help. If you're anti-war, anti-capitalist, anti-occupation, help free the hikers. If you oppose sexism, racism, and homophobia, help free the hikers. If you believe in environmental justice and ecological sustainability, help free the hikers. We need them out of there so they can be fighting with us here. Please visit <a href="http://freethehikers.org/">www.freethehikers.org </a>to sign the petition, send letters to the U.S. and Iranian governments, and get in touch to help organize actions to protest their detention and demand their release.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-40126013132307041732010-05-03T01:00:00.002+03:002010-05-08T19:13:46.167+03:003 Jewish Initiatives to Support BDS & the Movement...Dear friends,<br /><br /><br />A lot has been happening over the past few weeks, particularly within the global movement for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS). It may not feel like much if I'm the only list you're on, but there are new campaigns and votes all the time (and if you want notification of them, you can <a href="http://www.bdsmovement.net/">join the BDS email list</a>). The most recent vote at UC San Diego last Wednesday was sent to committee. You can <a href="http://oeoj.ucsd.edu/Divestment_Resolution.pdf">read the resolution</a>, <a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/sddivest/petition.html">sign the petition</a>, and/or <a href="http://as.ucsd.edu/council/roster.php?class=council">send a letter of support</a>.<br /><br /><br />I want to tell you about <span style="font-weight:bold;">three initiatives</span><span style="font-weight:bold;">—a statement, a book, and an assembly</span>—by Jewish Americans supporting BDS. Here they are, in order…<br /><br /><br />************<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">I. BREAKING THE LAW OF RETURN</span><br /><br /><br />Below is a statement I worked on with Hannah Mermelstein, Nava Etshalom, and Amy Kaplan and an accompanying video. I invite others to read, watch, sign, and/or support the initiative. It speaks for itself…<br /><br /><br />Recommended: <a href="http://bit.ly/cXNXU4">Click here to Watch the Video</a>!<br /><br /><br />---<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">We are Jews from the United States, who, like Jewish people throughout the world, have an automatic right to Israeli citizenship under Israel's "law of return."<br /><br />Today there are more than seven million Palestinian refugees around the world. Israel denies their right to return to their homes and land—a right recognized and undisputed by UN Resolution 194, the Geneva Convention, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Meanwhile, we are invited to live on that same land simply because we are Jewish.<br /><br />We renounce this "right" to "return" offered to us by Israeli law. It is not right that we may "return" to a state that is not ours while Palestinians are excluded and continuously dispossessed.<br /><br />In 1947-49, Zionist militias destroyed more than 500 Palestinian villages and made more than 800,000 Palestinian people refugees in order to create a Jewish state on land where the majority was not Jewish. It is Palestinians who have the right to return to their own land. <br /><br />Now in Gaza, where more than three quarters of the people are refugees, the State of Israel not only denies the population its right of return, but also incarcerates the entire Gaza Strip under illegal and inhumane siege conditions.<br /><br />We reject the notion that Israel is a "safe haven" from anti-Semitism for Jews. No one is truly safe when the price of that "security" is oppression, inequality, and occupation of another people.<br /><br />Today there is a growing transnational movement for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel, called for by Palestinian civil society and supported by activists, artists, and academics around the world, including an increasing number of conscientious Israelis. As part of this campaign, we pledge to boycott the "law of return." As an act of political and ideological divestment, we repudiate the claims the State of Israel makes on us as potential citizens.<br /><br />We protest Israel's colonial policies and discriminatory laws toward the Palestinian people, as well as the U.S. government's political and financial support of these policies.<br /><br />We hereby renounce Israel's "law of return" and refuse to lend the state our support, resources, or passports.</span><br /><br />---<br /><br /><br />1. If you are a U.S. Jew, you can <span style="font-weight:bold;">add your name to the signatories</span> (there are already hundreds!) by emailing breakingthelawofret urn@gmail. com with your name, city, and institutional/ organizational affiliations (optional).<br /><br /><br />2. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Join our</span> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=296967332350">Facebook group</a> – all people who support this statement are welcome!<br /><br /><br />************<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">II. "SHIFTING SANDS"</span><br /><br /><br />This is your last chance to <span style="font-weight:bold;">pre-order</span> at a discount the upcoming book, <span style="font-style:italic;">Shifting Sands: Jewish Women Confront the Israeli Occupation</span>, which comes into print on Tuesday!<br /><br /><br />I contributed a chapter, as did <a href="http://www.hedyepstein.com/">Hedy Epstein</a>, <a href="http://alicerothchild.com/">Alice Rothchild</a>, <a href="http://www.starhawk.org/">Starhawk</a>, and many others. Israeli journalist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amira_Hass">Amira Hass</a> wrote the preface and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_Sheehan">Cindy Sheehan</a> wrote the foreword. The editor, Osie Gabriel Adelfang, will also be donating a portion of the proceeds to the cause. She did an incredible job. Even the cover is beautiful (some of you will recognize the wall around Munira's home from my DVD).<br /><br /><br />Visit the book's <a href="http://www.shiftingsands-book.com/">Official Website</a> and note the Events Calendar at the top.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0984512810">Order the book online</a> (ASAP if you want the pre-order discount). <span style="font-weight:bold;">Consider writing a review</span> on Amazon if you read it and like it. I only have twelve for <span style="font-style:italic;">Witness in Palestine</span> (thank you, whoever you are!) but it sure helps!<br /><br /><br />And don't forget to join the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shifting-Sands-Jewish-American-Women-Speak-Out-Against-the-Occupation/117315474206">Facebook fan page</a> and/or follow <a href="http://twitter.com/shifting__sands">Shifting Sands on Twitter</a>.<br /><br /><br />************<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">III. U.S. ASSEMBLY OF JEWS: CONFRONTING RACISM & APARTHEID</span><br /> <br /><br />June 19-22, 2010<br /><br /><br />Between the Allied Media Conference and the US Social Forum in Detroit this summer, there will be a historic gathering of anti-Zionist Jews to <span style="font-weight:bold;">develop strategies for US organizing, advance the BDS call, and much more!<br /></span><br /><br />Join the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=308730373213&ref=ts">Facebook group</a> and visit the <a href="http://www.jewsconfrontapartheid.org/">Official Website</a> to get more information, register, propose a session, contribute, check out the endorsements, or spread the word…<br /><br /><br /><br />************<br /> <br /><br />Although it should not be exaggerated, these three initiatives are testimony to a continuing shift in Jewish consciousness on this issue. It is no longer an extraordinary thing to meet Anti-Zionist Jews in the United States, and <a href="http://boycottisrael.info/">Jewish Israelis are among those calling loudest for BDS</a>. AIPAC's membership hovers around 100,000 while Jewish Voice for Peace's mailing list has now surpassed that. We join with millions of others of all backgrounds around the US and around world, forming the critical mass needed for change, led by the Palestinian people themselves. As Cecilie Surasky of Jewish Voice for Peace wrote in her incredible piece (read it!) on the UC Berkeley Divestment vote, <a href="http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/surasky160410.html">It's Clear What the Future Looks Like...</a><br /><br /><br />If you're not active now, there's no better time to start!Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-49908256834005172972010-04-13T17:29:00.001+03:002010-04-14T17:56:29.223+03:00Two Exciting (and Urgent) Things for Justice in PalestineDear friends,<br /><br /> <br /><br />There are some very exciting things happening these days in the growing movement in the US for justice in Palestine. I get dozens of action alerts a week, but I'm forwarding to you only two, which I believe are very important—and urgent!<br /><br /> <br /><br />[If any of the links below don't work, cut and paste into a new window and remove any spaces.]<br /><br /> <br /><br />(1) The first is a crucial resolution at UC Berkeley that will be voted on TOMORROW (April 14th), so letters of support are needed ASAP! Here's what's happening:<br /><br /> <br /><br />On March 18th, the Senate of the Associated Students of the University of California, Berkeley (ASUC) passed a bill in support of ASUC's divestment from two American companies, General Electric and United Technologies, for their material and military support for Israel's occupation in Palestine. The bill encouraged the University of California itself to make sure its $135 million in investments are no longer profiting off Israel's "war crimes." You can read the whole bill here: <a href="http://mondoweiss.net/2010/03/berkeley-student-senate-divestment-resolution.html">http://mondoweiss.net/2010/03/berkeley-student-senate-divestment-resolution.html</a><br /><br /><br />The bill passed 16-4, but the President of the Senate tried to stop it with a veto. Tomorrow, the senate will have the chance to overturn the president's veto. Please use this link from Jewish Voice for Peace (<a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/301/p/dia/action/public/?action_ KEY=2747">http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/301/p/dia/action/public/?action_ KEY=2747</a>) to write to the senate (something short is fine) to encourage them to support the bill.<br /><br /><br />South African anti-Apartheid leader Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Naomi Klein are among many who have written in support. Tutu's letter is here at <a href="http://mondoweiss.net/2010/04/tutu-issue-is-the-same-in-palestine-as-it-was-in-south-africa-equality.html#more-17346">http://mondoweiss.net/2010/04/tutu-issue-is-the-same-in-palestine-as-it-was-in-south-africa-equality.html#more-17346</a> and Naomi Klein's letter to the senators is below.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Note: Even if you don't read Klein's letter, please don't miss the section following it…<br /><br /> <br /><br />------------ -------<br /><br /><br />Dear members of the ASUC Senate,<br /><br />I am writing to urge you to reaffirm Senate Bill 118A, despite the recent presidential veto.<br /><br />It comes as no surprise that you are under intense pressure to reverse your historic and democratic decision to divest from two companies that profit from Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory. When a school with a deserved reputation for academic excellence and moral leadership takes such a bold position, it threatens to inspire others to take their own stands.<br /><br />Indeed, Berkeley—the campus and the wider community—has provided this kind of leadership on many key issues in the past: not only Apartheid in South Africa but also sweatshops in Indonesia, dictatorship in Burma, political killings in Nigeria, and the list goes on. Time and again, when the call for international solidarity has come from people denied a political voice, Berkeley has been among the first to answer. And in virtually every case, what began as a small action in a progressive community quickly spread across the country and around the world.<br /><br />Your recent divestment bill opposing Israeli war crimes stands to have this same kind of global impact, helping to build a grassroots, non-violent movement to end Israel's violations of international law. And this is precisely what your opponents—by spreading deliberate lies about your actions—are desperately trying to prevent. They are even going so far as to claim that, in the future, there should be no divestment campaigns that target a specific country, a move that would rob activists of one of the most effective tools in the non-violent arsenal. Please don't give into this pressure; too much is on the line.<br /><br />As the world has just witnessed with the Netanyahu government's refusal to stop its illegal settlement expansion, political pressure is simply not enough to wrench Israel off its current disastrous path. And when our governments fail to apply sanctions for defiant illegality, other forms of pressure must come into play, including targeting those corporations that are profiting directly from human rights abuses.<br /><br />Whenever we take a political action, we open ourselves up to accusations of hypocrisy and double standards, since the truth is that we can never do enough in the face of pervasive global injustice. Yet to argue that taking a clear stand against Israeli war crimes is somehow to "discriminate unfairly" against Israelis and Jews (as the veto seems to claim) is to grossly pervert the language of human rights. Far from "singling out Israel," with Senate Bill 118A, you are acting within Berkeley's commendable and inspiring tradition.<br /><br />I understand that there is some debate about whether or not your divestment bill was adopted "in haste." Not having been there, I cannot comment on your process, though I am deeply impressed by the careful research that went into the decision. I also know that in 2005 an extraordinarily broad range of Palestinian civil society groups called on activists around the world to adopt precisely these kinds of peaceful pressure tactics. In the years since that call, we have all watched as Israeli abuses have escalated dramatically: the attack on Lebanon in the summer of 2006, a massive expansion of illegal settlements and walls, an ongoing siege on Gaza that violates all prohibitions on collective punishment, and, worst of all, the 2008/9 attack on Gaza that left approximately 1,400 dead.<br /><br />I would humbly suggest that when it comes to acting to end Israeli war crimes, the international response has not suffered from too much haste but from far too little. This is a moment of great urgency, and the world is watching.<br /><br />Be brave.<br /><br />Yours sincerely,<br />Naomi Klein<br /><br /> <br /><br />------------ -------<br /><br /> <br /><br />(2) The second exciting and timely thing I'm writing about is that there is a woman running for Congress who advocates not just an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank & Gaza, but justice and full equal rights for all peoples of historic Palestine. <br /><br /> <br /><br />Her name is Marcy Winograd. She and I have presented together on Palestine several times. She is solidly pro-justice (including on other issues, of course), and she has a strong chance at winning! She won almost 40% of the vote last time around with very little campaigning, and the climate for moving out incumbents has only grown. The campaign is making a major push and support is flowing in. This could really happen!... But she needs our help.<br /><br /> <br /><br />I've already donated to her campaign and if you have the means, I urge you to as well. See her platform (vs. that of her opponent) at: <a href="http://www.winogradforcongress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Winogr_Harman_issuesHR101.pdf">http://www.winogradforcongress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Winogr_Harman_issuesHR101.pdf</a><br /><br /> <br /><br />If you would like to contribute, please make a check payable to:<br /><br />Winograd for Congress 2010<br />Attn: Peter Froelich, Durkee & Associates<br />1212 S. Victory Blvd., Burbank, CA 91502<br /><br />Or you may contribute online through the ActBlue secure site: <a href="http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/22298">http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/22298</a><br /><br />If you need additional details or would like to host a Winograd for Congress event, please contact Sheri Myers, the Winograd for Congress Event & Fundraiser Coordinator: Sheri@WinogradforCongress.com or 310.801.1819<br /><br /> <br /><br />More info at <a href="http://winogradforcongress.com/">http://winogradforcongress.com/</a> or on her Facebook page: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WinogradForCongress#!/WinogradForCongress?v=info">http://www.facebook.com/WinogradForCongress#!/WinogradForCongress?v=info</a><br /><br /> <br /><br />Of course, supporting Marcy's campaign is NOT a substitute for organizing and supporting grassroots campaigns for boycott, divestment, and sanctions at UC Berkeley and around the country…<br /><br /> <br /><br />Onward!<br /><br /><br />AnnaAndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-70447578898795586412010-02-11T22:00:00.000+02:002010-02-12T17:39:31.390+02:00ACTION ALERTS! Muslim students threatened with expulsion, and moreDear friends,<br /><br />There's been a lot going on lately. Here's just a sampling. I'll be sending my Spring Tour schedule very soon...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">MSU STUDENTS ARRESTED AT UCI</span>:<br /><br />On Monday, eleven members of the Muslim Student Union at the University of California at Irvine were arrested after repeatedly interrupting a speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren co-sponsored by the UCI Law School and Political Science Department. Following the disruption, the students were arrested and are now being threatened with punishment as severe as expulsion.<br /><br />Watch a short clip of the event at <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2010/2/9/headlines">www.democracynow.org/2010/2/9/headlines</a> (skip to minute 10:25). Towards the end you'll see an angry man announcing to each one, "You are failing your exams." You can read why they chose to interrupt Mr. Oren here: <a href="http://www.msuuci.com/">http://www.msuuci.com/</a>. The UCI Muslim Student Union is one of the most committed, organized, and inspiring groups I have ever worked with. They are true allies and they need our support now!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Please write</span> UCI Chancellor Michael Drake (chancellor@uci.edu) and the Dean of Students (deanstu@uci.edu), who will be determining the punishment. Here are some important points to bring up:<br /><br /> * It is unjust to threaten to expel students for having the courage to stand up and speak out against a man responsible for propagating the deaths of thousands of innocent people.<br /> * Civil disobedience has historically played an instrumental role in the civil rights movement in America that fought for equality and human rights for all minorities.<br /> * Michael Oren is a representative of a state that is condemned by more UN Human Rights Council resolutions than all other countries in the world, and he should not be honored at UC Irvine.<br /> * As concerned community members, we will not support an educational institution that threatens to punish its students with suspension and expulsion for standing up for their principles.<br /><br />You can also join their Facebook group, <span style="font-weight:bold;">Drop All Charges Against the Eleven</span> (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=296764351034">www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=296764351034</a>)<br /><br />------------ --------- --<br /><br />NYT REPORTER TIES TO ISRAELI MILITARY:<br /><br />In other news, in case you haven't heard, <span style="font-style:italic;">The New York Times</span> has confirmed that <span style="font-weight:bold;">the son of Ethan Bronner, their chief reporter on Israel/Palestine, is a soldier in the Israeli Army</span>. The <span style="font-style:italic;">Times</span> announced that it does not see any conflict of interest posed by the Jerusalem bureau chief's familial ties to the Israeli military. The Public Editor, representing readers, determined that Bronner having a son fighting for one side is cause for finding someone else to cover the region (<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/opinion/07pubed.html">www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/opinion/07pubed.html</a>), but the <span style="font-style:italic;">Times</span> editors say they like Bronner's work and so they're keeping him.<br /><br />I would argue that nobody can remain neutral with their child on one side of crossfire. I would also argue that Bronner has not shown neutrality in the past. American professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University Richard Falk co-authored an entire book on the subject (<span style="font-style:italic;">Israel-Palestine on Record: How the New York Times Misreports Conflict in the Middle East</span>), an <span style="font-style:italic;">If Americans Knew</span> study found the <span style="font-style:italic;">Times</span> to be "Off the Charts" in misrepresenting the issue (<a href="http://www.ifamericansknew.org/media/nyt-report.html">http://www.ifamericansknew.org/media/nyt-report.html</a>), and <span style="font-style:italic;">Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting</span> (FAIR) has come to similar conclusions (<a href="http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=4004">http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=4004</a>).<br /><br />The <span style="font-style:italic;">Times</span> chose not to disclose Bronner's family ties to the Israeli Army until EI broke the story (<a href="http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11031.shtml">http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11031.shtml</a>), after which they were forced to.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Consider writing the <span style="font-style:italic;">New York Times</span> editors</span> (executive-editor@nytimes.com, managing-editor@nytimes.com, letters@nytimes.com) to voice your opinion.<br /><br />------------ --------- --<br /><br />THANK NPR!:<br /><br />One piece of good news on the media is that <span style="font-weight:bold;">National Public Radio (NPR) aired a piece called "Should Israel Birthright Include Implications for Occupied Territories" contrasting Birthright Israel and Birthright Unplugged</span> (<a href="http://www.birthrightunplugged.org">www.birthrightunplugged.org</a>) last month on "Morning Edition" (<a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122416343">www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122416343</a>). NPR generally avoids this issue so even if you're not usually impressed with their coverage, consider writing to thank them (<a href="http://help.npr.org/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=5670&task=ticket">help.npr.org/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=5670&task=ticket</a>, select "Morning Edition"), with hopes this won't be the last time!<br /><br />------------ --------- --<br /><br />INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION:<br /><br />Once you're done with all that emailing, take to the streets! A coalition of Israelis & Palestinians is working to coordinate an <span style="font-weight:bold;">International Day of action on February 25th.</span> This date marks 16 years since the Baruch Goldstein massacre of 29 Palestinians in Hebron, after which Israel closed Shuhada Street to Palestinians. Shuhada Street used to be the principal street in the city of Hebron, with homes, businesses and a very active market place. Today, because it runs through a Jewish settlement, Shuhada Street is closed to Palestinian movement and is a ghost town which only Israelis and tourists are allowed to access. Hate graffiti has been sprayed across the closed Palestinian shops and Palestinians living on the street have to enter and exit their houses by climbing over neighbor's roofs.<br /><br />The campaign is focusing on Shuhada Street as a symbol of core issues everywhere in the West Bank: Israeli settlements, policies of segregation, restricted movement and the basic denial of freedom for Palestinians. People in cities around the world can participate by symbolically shutting down a major street in their cities and/or organizing a demonstration in a strategic location (i.e Israeli embassy/consulate, city center, college campus, etc.) on February 25th in solidarity with the Palestinian residents of Shuhada Street. Take 2 minutes to watch the campaign video here: <a href="http://www.vimeo.com/8791329">http://www.vimeo.com/8791329</a><br /><br />Demonstrations are already scheduled to take place in 15 different locations around the world. For more details about the campaign, join the campaign's Facebook group (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=251984863283&ref=ts">www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=251984863283&ref=ts</a>), visit the website (<a href="http://www.openshuhadastreet.org">www.openshuhadastreet.org</a>), or email openshuhadastreet@gmail.com<br /><br />------------ --------- --<br /><br />WHAT IS YOUR STATE GIVING IN MILITARY AID?<br /><br />The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation has put out a <span style="font-weight:bold;">new program calculating how much your state is giving in military aid to Israel, and what else that money could have bought </span>(eg: affordable housing grants, green jobs training, early reading education, and primary health care). This is a great advocacy tool to bring home the extent to which unconditional support to Israel is not only contrary to international law, human rights, and basic decency, but also local interests: <a href="http://www.aidtoisrael.org/">www.aidtoisrael.org/</a><br /><br />------------ --------- --<br /><br />GAZA ON MY MIND:<br /><br />Finally, here's a good new website that Haithem El-Zabri just launched: <a href="http://www.gazaonmymind.org">www.gazaonmymind.org</a>. It has informational resources (links to Gaza blogs, diaries, and videos, including the film everyone's talking about: "To Shoot An Elephant" about a team embedded with medics during Operation Cast Lead, which you can download for free), a list of 10 things you can do for Gaza, and a small store where Gaza-related items are offered (with 10% of the proceeds donated half to humanitarian aid and half to advocacy efforts) including T-shirts and hoodies.<br /><br />------------ --------- --<br /><br />If you got this far, Mazel Tov! Spring Tour schedule coming in the next few days...<br /><br />Warmly,<br /><br />AnnaAndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-79434864778071523272009-12-17T17:25:00.002+02:002010-01-13T21:18:14.503+02:00What To Buy & NOT Buy For Holiday Gifts, and More...Dear friends,<br /><br /> <br /><br />Three things in this post:<br /><br />(1) The Gaza Freedom March<br /><br />(2) Quick Petitions<br /><br />(3) Holiday Gifts to Buy & NOT to Buy (read that today!)<br /><br /><br />I tried to make each one quick…<br /><br />Anna<br /><br /> <br /><br />************ *******Please distribute widely****** ********* ********<br /><br /> <br /><br />A week from Sunday will mark the one-year anniversary since the beginning of Israel's three-week attack on Gaza that left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead (in addition to 13 Israelis killed, 4 of those by other Israeli soldiers), more than 100,000 Palestinians homeless, and one third of all Gaza's agricultural land destroyed. Before, during, and since the attacks, Gazans have been deprived of adequate food, water, medical supplies, building supplies, heating, and other basic needs in a brutal siege that has reduced Gaza to an open-air prison.<br /><br /> <br /><br />On December 31st, in the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King, Jr., and all nonviolent resistance to injustice, more than a thousand delegates from 42 countries around the world will join an estimated 50,000 Gazans in a historical march to break the siege of Gaza.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Participants will include Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, French Senator Alima Boumediene Thiery, Filipino Parliament member Walden Bello, former European Parliamentarians Luisa Morgantini (Italy) and Eva Quistorp (Germany), former U.S. diplomat Ann Wright, President of the U.S. Center for Constitutional Rights Attorney Michael Ratner, Japanese Ambassador Naoto Amaki, and 85-year-old Holocaust survivor and research analyst at the Nuremburg Trials, Hedy Epstein (who also challenged fellow survivor Elie Wiesel to break his silence on this issue and join her: <a href="http://palestine.ctsastl.org">http://palestine.ctsastl.org</a>).<br /><br /> <br /><br />Other marchers include doctors, lawyers, diplomats, rabbis, priests, imams, veterans, and Palestinians born overseas who have never seen their families in Gaza. And for those of us who can't make it to Gaza, there is much to be done! For all the information you could ever want about the March and how to show your support, visit <a href="http://www.GazaFreedomMarch.org">www.GazaFreedomMarch.org</a>.<br /><br /> <br /><br />There's a petition on the website to endorse the March. Here are another handful of petitions—the first three involve dear friends of mine. If you read quickly and sign each, it shouldn't take long at all:<br /><br /> <br /><br /> * Sign appeal on Jewish Voice for Peace's website that Obama demand that Israel free Bil'in nonviolence leader Abdallah Abu Rahme (who is a close personal friend of mine): <a href="http://bit.ly/6cRqq1">http://bit.ly/6cRqq1</a><br /><br /> * Open letter to Obama to free Boycott/Divestment/ Sanctions organizer and nonviolence advocate Mohammad Othman (also a friend of mine): <a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/STW2/petition.html">http://www.petitiononline.com/STW2/petition.html</a><br /><br /> * Two other friends of mine, Sarah Shourd & Shane Bauer, are being held in prison, not by Israel but by Iran, which is charging them for espionage. I know Sarah & Shane from Damascus and they are wonderful people, who it seems accidentally strayed into Iran while hiking in Iraqi Kurdistan. Please visit this website to sign a petition for their release, and you can also learn more about them: <a href="http://freethehikers.org/">http://freethehikers.org/</a> <br /><br /> * Endorse the US Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel by writing uscom4acbi@gmail.com after reading the mission statement at <a href="http://usacbi.wordpress.com/mission-statement/">http://usacbi.wordpress.com/mission-statement/</a>. If you have questions about what an academic and cultural boycott entails, visit <a href="http://www.pacbi.org">www.pacbi.org</a>.<br /><br /> * The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) petition to "End Demolitions Now: A Settlement Freeze Would Not Be Enough" - <a href="http://enddemolitionsnow.org">enddemolitionsnow.org</a><br /><br /> * To keep appraised of other petitions, join the email list for the US Campaign to End the Occupation, an umbrella campaign of hundreds of Palestine solidarity organizations around the United States: <a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/">http://www.endtheoccupation.org/</a><br /><br /> <br /><br />Finally… Still scrambling for Christmas presents? Or belated Hanukkah gifts? What better gifts than something that supports Palestine? Visit the Palestine Online Store (<a href="http://www.PalestineOnlineStore.com">http://www.PalestineOnlineStore.com</a>) for a great selection of gifts from or about Palestine, including:<br /><br /> * New 2010 calendar<br /> * Olive oil & olive soap<br /> * Za'tar herb<br /> * Handcrafts<br /> * Films, Books, & Music CD's<br /> * Apparel<br /> * Maps & Posters<br /> * Lots more! <br /><br />IMPORTANT NOTE: To guarantee delivery by the 24th, place your orders quickly, ideally today (Friday, Dec 18th)!<br /><br /> <br /><br />What NOT to buy??... Here are the Top Ten Brands to BOYCOTT this holiday season:<br /><br /><br /> * Ahava<br /> * Delta Galil Industries<br /> * Motorola<br /> * L'Oreal<br /> * Dorot Garlic and Herbs (Trader Joe's)<br /> * Estee Lauder<br /> * Intel<br /> * Sabra<br /> * Sara Lee<br /> * Victoria's Secret<br /><br />More info on each at: <a href="http://www.baceia.org/2009/11/top-ten-brands-to-boycott/">http://www.baceia.org/2009/11/top-ten-brands-to-boycott/</a><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br />To end on an inspiring note, check out the billboard Albuquerque activists have put up in their community: <a href="www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI57Z67PyBo">www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI57Z67PyBo</a><br /><br /> <br /><br />Also, if you haven't gotten this viral photo yet, take a look: <a href="www.palestineonlinestore.com/protestphoto">www.palestineonlinestore.com/protestphoto</a><br /><br /> <br /><br />************ *******Please distribute widely****** ********* ********Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-16354908223794517532009-10-24T15:00:00.005+02:002009-10-29T03:22:44.540+02:00Dr. Mustafa Barghouti & Anna Baltzer on the Daily Show, and more!<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 15px; font-family:Georgia, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Dear all,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">I'm excited to tell you about three things below...<br /><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">1. <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_0" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; cursor: pointer; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-bottom- background-position: initial initial; color:initial;">Mustafa Barghouti</span> & I will be on <b style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;"><i style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_1" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; cursor: pointer; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-bottom- background-position: initial initial; color:initial;">Daily Show with Jon Stewart</span> </i></b>this Wednesday!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">2. 2009 National Campus Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions Conference at <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_2" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">Hampshire College</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">3. November Tour in the Northeast</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">------------ -</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><br /><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">1. <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_3" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; cursor: pointer; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-bottom- background-position: initial initial; color:initial;">Dr. Mustafa Barghouti</span> and I will be on <i color="initial" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- ">the Daily Show with Jon Stewart</i> this Wednesday, Oct 28<sup style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; ">th</sup>!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Among many other things, Dr. Barghouti finished 2<sup style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; ">nd</sup> in the 2005 Palestinian presidential elections, and founded the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Workers (his bio is at http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Mustafa_Barghouti).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">The show broadcasts on <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_4" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">Comedy Central</span> at 11pm EST, 10pm CST, 12am (midnight) MST,and 11pm PST.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">It also rebroadcasts the next evening at 7pm EST, 7pm CST, 8pm MST, and 7pm PST, or you can view the episode at <i color="initial" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- ">www.dailyshow. com</i> anytime in the future.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">------------ -</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><br /><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">2.For anyone who doesn't know this, last Spring, Hampshire College became the first US college to divest from the Israeli occupation—33 years after they became the first US college to divest from Apartheid South Africa! Times are changing and we all have much to learn from Hampshire folks.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Therefore, I am excited to announce the <b style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">2009 National Campus Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Conference</b>, taking place Nov20<sup style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; ">th</sup> - Nov 22<sup style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; ">nd</sup> at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. Find out more and register at: <u style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.hsjp.org/2009/09/21/CampusBDS/" style="line-height: 1.22em; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(30, 102, 174); outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-family: Verdana; "><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color:windowtext;">http://www.hsjp.org/2009/09/21/CampusBDS/</span></a></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">------------ -</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><br /><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">3. Below is the itinerary for my November Tour in the Northeast. All are welcome, and please pass this along to anyone you think might be interested…</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><br /><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">************ ********* **Please distribute widely ************ ********* *******</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><b style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Anna Baltzer presents…</span></b><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><b style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">LIFE IN OCCUPIED PALESTINE:EYEWITNES S STORIES & PHOTOS</span></b><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Dates& Locations (Times & specific details about all events below can be found at: <u style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/presentations/upcoming/" style="line-height: 1.22em; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(30, 102, 174); outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-family: Verdana; "><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color:windowtext;">www.AnnaInTheMiddleEast.com/presentations/upcoming/</span></a></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Oct 29 Waterloo, CANADA University of Waterloo</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Nov 1 <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_5" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; ">Buffalo, NY</span> Congregation Havurah</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Nov 1 <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_6" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">Rochester, NY</span> <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_7" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; ">First Unitarian Church of Rochester</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Nov 2 <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_8" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">Ithaca, NY</span> <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_9" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">Cornell University</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Nov 3 <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_10" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; ">Cazenovia, NY</span> Cazenovia <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_11" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">United Methodist Church</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Nov 4 <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_12" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">Syracuse, NY</span> May Memorial<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_13" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">Unitarian Universalist Society</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Nov 5 <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_14" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; cursor: pointer; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-bottom- background-position: initial initial; color:initial;">Binghamton, NY</span> <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_15" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; ">Binghamton University</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Nov 5 Annandale, NY <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_16" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; ">Bard College</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Nov 8 Millburn, NJ <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_17" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">Wyoming Presbyterian Church</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Nov 9 Manhattan, NY <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_18" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">Fordham Law School</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Nov 10 <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_19" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">Long Island, NY</span> <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_20" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">SUNY College at Old Westbury</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Nov 11 <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_21" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">Bronxville, NY</span> <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_22" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; ">Sarah Lawrence College</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Nov 12 Philadelphia, PA Location TBA**</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Nov 14 <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_23" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">Philadelphia, PA</span> Mishkan Shalom Synagogue</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Nov 17 Washington, DC Council for the National Interest**</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Nov 18 Philadelphia, PA <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_24" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">Villanova University</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Nov 20-22 Amherst,MA 2009 National Campus BDS Conference**</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;"><br />Times & specific details about all events above can be found at: <u style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color:windowtext;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/presentations/upcoming/" style="line-height: 1.22em; text-decoration: none; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-family: Verdana; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">www.AnnaInTheMiddle East.com/presentations</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">/upcoming</span></span></span></span></span></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><b color="initial" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- "><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;"><br /></span></b><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">** Double-starred events will be a<b style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "> Speaker Training</b>, an interactive workshop for people who've gone to Palestine (or are very knowledgeable about it), and would like support in using their experience to support real change in their communities and around the country. <i color="initial" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- ">Do you feel frustrated and ill-prepared when confronted with opposition and difficult questions? Or do you feel ready to speak but don't know who will listen? </i>Learn techniques and tips for speaking to your communities about the issue in an effective & non-alienating way. RSVP required (check website above).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">All other events will be live presentations, covering checkpoints, settlements, Israeli activism, the 1948 war & refugees, censorship, the Separation Wall, Palestinian- led <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_25" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">nonviolent resistance</span>, & ideas on taking the next step for change.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><br /><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Anna Baltzer is a Jewish-American Columbia graduate,former- Fulbright scholar, the granddaughter of <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_26" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">Holocaust</span> refugees, and an award-winning lecturer, author, and activist for Palestinian rights. As a volunteer with the International Women's Peace Service in the West Bank, Baltzer documented human rights abuses and supported Palestinian- led <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_27" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">nonviolent resistance</span> to the Occupation. Baltzer has appeared on television more than 100 times and lectured at more than 400 universities, schools, churches, mosques,and synagogues around the world with her acclaimed presentation, "Life in Occupied Palestine: Eyewitness Stories & Photos," and her book: <i style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; ">Witness in Palestine: A Jewish American Woman in the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_28" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; ">Occupied Territories</span>. </i>In 2009, Baltzer received the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee's prestigious Annual <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_29" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">Rachel Corrie</span> Peace &Justice Award, and is a contributor to three upcoming books on the subject. Baltzer serves on the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_30" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">Middle East</span> committee of the Women's InternationalLeague for Peace & Freedom and on the Board of Directors of TheResearch Journalism Institute, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_31" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">Grassroots</span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_32" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">Jerusalem</span>, and <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1256777897_33" style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- color:initial;">The Council</span> forthe National Interest. For information about Baltzer's book, DVD, speakingtours, and tour schedule, visit <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.annainthemiddleeast.com/" style="line-height: 1.22em; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(30, 102, 174); outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; font-family: Verdana; "><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color:windowtext;">www.AnnaInTheMiddle East.com</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;"><br />************ ********* Please distribute widely ************ *********</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Peace,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- display: block; color:initial;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline- font-size:12pt;color:initial;">Anna</span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;font-size:16px;"><br /></span></span></div></span>Anna Baltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11654225424192112342noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-85242910280872733712009-06-30T21:06:00.002+03:002009-07-01T21:22:17.640+03:00Israeli Navy Attacks Boat, Kidnaps Human Rights Workers… & More!Friends,<br /><br />I have been meaning to write for months and have much to report from my last trip to the Middle East. Thank you for those who have written with concern… I returned safely and have been speaking and organizing locally in conjunction with the ongoing struggle on the ground. There is much to be excited about and much to do! Most urgently, I want to focus this first email on Gaza (Note: there are 3 separate items):<br /><br />************ *<br /><br />1. <span style="font-weight:bold;">URGENT ACTION NEEDED!</span><br /><br />[23 miles off the coast of Gaza, at 15:30pm today] - Israeli Occupation Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the "Spirit of Humanity," <span style="font-weight:bold;">abducting 21 human rights workers</span> from 11 countries, including Noble laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (see below for a complete list of passengers). The passengers and crew are being forcibly dragged toward Israel.<br /><br />"This is an outrageous violation of international law against us. Our boat was not in Israeli waters, and we were on a human rights mission to the Gaza Strip," said Cynthia McKinney, a former U.S. Congresswoman and presidential candidate. "President Obama just told Israel to let in humanitarian and reconstruction supplies, and that's exactly what we tried to do. We're asking the international community to demand our release so we can resume our journey."<br /><br />According to an International Committee of the Red Cross report released yesterday, the Palestinians living in Gaza are "trapped in despair." Thousands of Gazans whose homes were destroyed earlier during Israel's December/January massacre are still without shelter despite pledges of almost $4.5 billion in aid, because Israel refuses to allow cement and other building material into the Gaza Strip. The report also notes that hospitals are struggling to meet the needs of their patients due to Israel's disruption of medical supplies.<br /><br />"The aid we were carrying is a symbol of hope for the people of Gaza, hope that the sea route would open for them, and they would be able to transport their own materials to begin to reconstruct the schools, hospitals and thousands of homes destroyed during the onslaught of "Cast Lead". Our mission is a gesture to the people of Gaza that we stand by them and that they are not alone" said fellow passenger Mairead Maguire, winner of a Noble Peace Prize for her work in Northern Ireland.<br /><br />Just before being kidnapped by Israel, Huwaida Arraf, Free Gaza Movement chairperson and delegation co-coordinator on this voyage, stated that: "No one could possibly believe that our small boat constitutes any sort of threat to Israel. We carry medical and reconstruction supplies, and children's toys. Our passengers include a Nobel peace prize laureate and a former U.S. congressperson. Our boat was searched and received a security clearance by Cypriot Port Authorities before we departed, and at no time did we ever approach Israeli waters."<br /><br />Arraf continued, "Israel's deliberate and premeditated attack on our unarmed boat is a clear violation of international law and we demand our immediate and unconditional release."<br /><br />************ *<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">WHAT YOU CAN DO:</span><br /><br />Call, Email, Fax, and/or Text the contacts below to demand the release of the passengers!<br /><br />Ask them what crime is being committed by delivering toys, medicine, and olive trees to be the people of Gaza?<br /><br />Israeli Ministry of Justice<br />tel: +972 2646 6666 or +972 2646 6340<br />fax: +972 2646 6357<br /><br />Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs<br />tel: +972 2530 3111<br />fax: +972 2530 3367<br /><br />Israeli Prime Minister's Office<br />Mr. Mark Regev<br />tel: +972 5 0620 3264 or +972 2670 5354<br />mark.regev@it.pmo.gov.il<br /><br />Contact the Red Cross (below) to ask for their assistance in establishing the well-being of the kidnapped human rights workers and help in securing their immediate release!<br /><br />Red Cross - Tel Aviv<br />Ms. Yael Segev-Eytan<br />tel: +972 3524 5286<br />fax: +972 3527 0370<br />tel_aviv.tel@icrc.org<br />Send a TEXT to +972 52 275 75 17<br /><br />Red Cross - Jerusalem<br />Ms. Anne Sophie Bonefeld<br />tel: +972 259 17 900<br />fax: +972 259 17 920<br />jerusalem.jer@icrc.org<br />Send a TEXT to +972 52 601 91 50<br /><br />Red Cross - Geneva, Main<br />tel: +41 22 730 3443<br />fax: +41 22 734 8280<br />press.gva@icrc.org<br /><br />Red Cross - Geneva, Middle East Section<br />Ms. Dorothea Krimitsas<br />tel: +41 22 730 25 90<br />dkrimitsas.gva@icrc.org<br />Send a TEXT to +41 79 251 93 18<br /><br />Red Cross - Geneva, Media<br />Mr. Florian Westphal<br />tel: +41 22 730 22 82<br />fwestphal.gva@icrc.org<br />Send a TEXT to +41 79 217 32 80<br /><br />Red Cross - USA:<br />tel: +1 212 599 6021<br />fax: +1 212 599 6009<br /><br />************ *<br /><br />For a list of the 21 kidnapped passengers from the Spirit of Humanity and for more information, visit: www.FreeGaza.org<br /><br />Free Gaza Media Team:<br />Cyprus: Greta Berlin (English)<br />tel: +357 99 081 767 / friends@freegaza. org<br />Cyprus: Caoimhe Butterly (Arabic/English/ Spanish):<br />tel: +357 99 077 820 / sahara78@hotmail.co.uk<br /><br />------------<br /><br />2. AAPER has launched the <span style="font-weight:bold;">Gaza Human Rights Campaign (GHRC)</span> calling on our elected officials to:<br /><br />a. Call for a State Department investigation into Israel's use of U.S.-supplied and financed weapons during its offensive against Gaza, and<br />b. Urge Israel to lift the blockade against Gaza and resume unfettered humanitarian aid to the 1.5 million Palestinians of Gaza<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Contact your representatives</span> at: <a href="http://www.gazahumanrights.org/c.irLOK3PDLmF/b.5148051/k.B19F/EmailFax_ Your_Rep/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx">http://www.gazahumanrights.org/c.irLOK3PDLmF/b.5148051/k.B19F/EmailFax_ Your_Rep/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx</a><br /><br />Join the CHRC Facebook Group at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=45082128316">http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=45082128316</a> and invite your friends to join too!<br /><br />------------<br /><br />3. For anyone who didn't see the <span style="font-weight:bold;">follow-up</span> posted in early February on my blog about Barbara Lubin's story from Gaza, here it is below:<br /><br />************ *<br /><br />Dear readers,<br /><br />When I first received Barbara Lubin's story from Gaza, I wrote her to ask how she, I, or someone on the ground could research the story to get all the facts. The MECA office informed me that Barbara had told the story to someone on the phone who wrote the letter, but in the confusion and bad/intermittent phone connection there were several misunderstandings. One of MECA's contacts in Gaza investigated the story to get all the facts. Here is what he found:<br /><br />"The story happened in Bourij Camp in the middle of the Gaza Strip. The Israelis [army] called the woman, Manal Albatran, and told her that they wouldn't kill her or her husband Hussein Albatran, instead they would make them die of sadness because they would kill her children. The next day they shot her house with a rocket killing her and 5 of her children.<br /><br />"The dead:<br />Manal Albatran 30 years old<br />Walaa Albatran 12 years old<br />Islam Albatran 11 years old<br />Belal Albatran 10 years old<br />Ezz Albatran 8 years old<br />Ehsan Albatran 7 years old<br /><br />"The father who is an employee at an UNRWA school and the youngest child were saved. This is the real story and I hope the amount of victims will convince others to believe the crimes we face. Thanks a lot for your appreciated visit and I hope to see you again soon.<br /><br />"Regards, Talal Abushawish"<br /><br />The information uncovered by Mr. Abushawish is clearly different from the story initially reported by Barbara. I am sorry to have relayed something that had been miscommunicated. In contrast, the reality of hundreds of mothers and children killed and families destroyed in the massacre is no legend. Let's hope that professional reporters and investigators are permitted (not denied entry) to follow-up on this family's tragedy--and all the others--to bring the facts to light and eventually to an international court of justice. We owe it to the victims to report every incident as accurately as possible. Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to seek the details of the story.<br /><br />In peace,<br /><br />AnnaAndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-9033191819606191802009-02-10T19:00:00.000+02:002009-02-11T23:01:15.757+02:00The Most Important Campaign in Years -- Please Read & Forward!What I am about to tell you is a recipe for action that has been growing in my mind for almost a year but I've been waiting for the right moment to put it all together. As I receive more invitations to speak than I can even accept, as I receive requests to join the movement all day long, I am increasingly aware that times are changing in the United States. It may not be perceptible from any one town or city, but as someone who travels from place to place, the overall trend is clear: Americans are more and more skeptical of US foreign policy in the Middle East and increasingly sympathetic towards the plight of the Palestinians. It's not just in the big liberal cities--it's in the smallest Midwestern towns, it's on conservative southern ranches--it' s everywhere. In every corner of the country, there is a middle-aged couple who just came back from Bethlehem or a soldier who just came back from Iraq who is outraged. We have reached a critical mass.<br /><br />The trouble is, change in popular opinion doesn't automatically effect a change in reality. For many years the majority of Americans opposed George W. Bush and his war on Iraq, but until only recently the majority's frustration was in vain. People would throw up their hands with disgust at the nightly news--just as they may today watching the carnage in Gaza--but they were most often too disillusioned or disempowered to change what they saw. Then Obama stepped into the picture. <br /><br />The significance of Obama's campaign and subsequent victory cannot be overstated. Obama tapped into the critical mass of disillusioned citizens who were either passive or seperately active, and focused them all into one powerful voice that could not be ignored. He found a way that everyone, no matter who they were, could actively participate in the process and contribute (even if only symbolically with one dollar--it was still a personal investment in the cause). The trouble before Obama's campaign was not that public consciousness for change lacked numbers or even money; the problem was that it lacked organization.<br /><br />I believe the same can be said about the US movement for justice in Palestine today. People are anxious to see change, but many take no action and those who do often act separately. The middle-aged couple does a presentation for their church; the Iraq veteran talks to whoever will listen; the musicians make hip-hop; the artists paint murals; the labor unions put out joint statements; the ordinary citizen writes a letter to the editor or to congress; the community groups demonstrate or vigil; the organizers put on educational events; the mosques host fundraisers; the teachers talk to their students; the college students work on divestment resolutions; the high school students join facebook clubs...<br /><br />Many of course do more than one of these things. They are all valuable to the movement, and are much of what accounts for the change in US public opinion, the physical sustenance of the Palestinian people (with financial contributions, especially to Gaza), and the noticable discomfort of Israel (following boycott and divestment efforts). We will--we must--continue to do all of these things. My particular niche has been educational, I plan to continue and expand by founding a new organization later this Spring called Witness in Action, which will facilitate the training of new speakers, placing them to inform communities, and then helping enthusiastic audience members find their place in the movement (more about Witness in Action later this year).<br /><br />As an educator, I believe my greatest failure has been leaving audiences moved and enthusiastic but not necessarily clear on their next step. I always provide a list of ideas for getting involved, but I only recently realized how overwhelming and unrealistic the options are for most audience members. As much as I wish they would, the average high-school student, senior citizen, or anyone in between is not going to organize an effective divestment campaign. Most won't--or can't--visit Palestine, give talks, or donate significant funds. What is needed is something every single person can do, no matter how little experience, time, or money they have.<br /><br />I found my answer in the Five for Palestine campaign organized by the American Association for Palestinian Equal Rights (AAPER). The campaign proposes five very simple and accessible steps that by themselves don't amount to much, but if every single person who cares about this issue did them we could change the course of history. The five steps are as follows:<br /><br />1. Learn about AAPER at <a href="http://www.americansforpalestine.org">www.americansforpalestine.org</a><br />You've already started by reading this email. Now visit the website.<br /><br />2. Sign up for the campaign at <a href="http://www.fiveforpalestine.org">www.fiveforpalestine.org</a><br />You'll have to enter your zipcode so you'll be immediately placed with others in your elected officials' consituencies.<br /><br />3. Contact your elected representatives 5 times during the year.<br />Most of the contacting can be done quickly via the Five for Palestine website, which will ensure that your letters are grouped with others in the same constituency, giving them much greater impact than if you sent them alone.<br /><br />4. Contribute $5 per month to the campaign to help it grow.<br />Once there are a few hundred members in a constituency, the campaign can hire a local organizer. Once there are a few hundred more, it can hire lobbyists on Capitol Hill.<br /><br />5. Find 5 others to join the campaign too.<br />This shouldn't be too difficult for most people on this list who know at least a handful of people involved in the movement.<br /><br />Again, the issue isn't numbers--it' s organization. We have the people, and we could have the financial sustainability, but we lack the infrastructure for a fast-growing and effective campaign to unify us and make our diverse voices resonate as one. I think AAPER has provided that infrastructure and with enough dedication we could be every bit as effective as the Zionist lobby currently maintaining the status quo, in fact even more. We are not talking about a top-down change that begins with Congress or even Obama--this is a bottom-up grassroots campaign through which we will assert--not request--the change that needs to happen.<br /><br />So will we continue to boycott?--Of course we will! It's what Palestinians have asked of us, and it is applying necessary pressure on Israel to comply with international law. Will we continue to demonstrate? --Heck yeah! But we will compliment all of those things with a solid presence and pressure on Capitol Hill that represents our growing numbers.<br /><br />------------ --------- --------- ---<br /><br />THE LATEST:<br /><br />In addition to learning about AAPER at <a href="http://www.americansforpalestine.org">www.americansforpalestine.org</a> and joining Five for Palestine, here is AAPER's latest outreach effort (I've paraphrased a bit -- Anna). You'll notice AAPER's tactics are largely based on the Obama campaign's successes utilizing internet social networking and promotion:<br /><br />Dear Friends:<br /><br />With the inauguration of President Barack Obama, the AAPER Foundation initiates a public letter calling for the dawn of a new era in U.S. policy toward Israel and Palestine. The letter is neither a symbolic gesture nor a desperate plea, but a Statement of Principles for an American Movement for Palestinian Rights in which we will ask every signatory to participate. As such, it is also an organizing document through which we will identify, inspire and invite the American people to join us. Our objective is to obtain the signatures of 100,000 Americans in President Obama's first 100 days in office and, together, begin to change the course of history.<br /><br />We ask each of you to take just 5 minutes to read, sign, and, most importantly, forward this letter to your family, friends, neighbors and fellow citizens: <a href="http://www.aaper.org/obamaletter">www.aaper.org/obamaletter</a><br /><br />In addition, we ask each of you who uses Facebook to take just 5 minutes to take the following three simple actions:<br /><br />1) Join our Facebook Group<br />(<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/AAPER-Foundation/31138263216">http://www.facebook.com/pages/AAPER-Foundation/31138263216</a>) and invite your friends to join;<br /><br />2) Add our Facebook Application<br />(<a href="http://apps.facebook.com/americaforpalestine">http://apps.facebook.com/americaforpalestine</a>) and invite your friends to add it;<br /><br />3) Donate your Facebook status for at least 3 days to read -- "Donate your status! President Obama: We, the American People, Seek a New U.S. Policy Toward Palestine! Sign the letter at www.aaper.org/obamaletter. "<br /><br />100,000 signatures in 100 days. Change begins with you.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br />AAPER Foundation<br /><a href="http://www.americansforpalestine.org">www.americansforpalestine.org</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-9846546883742037422009-01-13T02:22:00.002+02:002009-01-13T02:34:05.831+02:00Why now?... What now?... WRITE Now!* What Now? *<br /><br />As Israel's invasion of the Gaza strip continues its third week with roughly 900 Palestinians killed and thousands more wounded, it is more important than ever to understand the context behind the current escalation, and then to move beyond our understanding into action.<br /><br />At the bottom of this email is a piece including analysis inspired by the recent writings and research of Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi (Security General of the Palestinian National Initiative) and Phyllis Bennis (Director of the New Internationalism Project). But first you'll find-—as always, crucially—-a way to take action: WRITE!<br /><br />___<br /><br />* WRITE Now! *<br /><br />In the first week of the attack on Gaza, the Washington Post ran 7-1 hawkish op-ed/editorials, the Washington Times ran 5-0 hawkish op-ed/editorials, and the Wall Street Journal ran 4-0 hawkish op-ed/editorials.<br /><br />Many of us are upset by this, but we don't feel empowered to change it. But biases in mainstream media do not come out of nowhere; they are largely (though not entirely by any means) the result of active media-monitoring by media watch-dog groups that inundate media who stray from the Zionist party line.<br /><br />Why can't we be as dedicated as those groups? Why aren't media being inundated by people like us who want to see the truth that is reported to the rest of the world every day? We need to be the change that we seek. We need to write media--not here and there, a couple of us, but consistently, all of us, a collective voice, demanding fair coverage.<br /><br />I recently discovered the WRITE! Project (<a href="http://www.writetruth.org">www.writetruth.org</a>), which has a team monitoring US media and sending out alerts to peace and justice activists write in response to specific pro-Zionist articles and editorials. They provide the email address to write to, the original piece to respond to, and talking points to use. It doesn't take more than 5 minutes.<br /><br />I don't personally have the time to monitor mainstream US media, but every time I get an alert I send a quick email to let the relevant media know what I think. What if all 5,000 people on this list were to do that? We could be the influence that we wish we had!<br /><br />Contact the WRITE! Team to get alerts at writealert@yahoo.com<br /><br />Take a minute to write after each alert.<br /><br />It only works if we do it together.<br /><br /><br />___<br /><br />* Why Now? *<br /><br />Contrary to popular belief, plans for Israel's bombing and invasion of Gaza didn't begin when Hamas started firing rockets at the end of last year's ceasefire. According to the Israeli mainstream newspaper Haaretz, plans for a massive attack on the strip began more than six months ago as Israel and Hamas were negotiating the ceasefire (see "IAF strike followed months of planning" - <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050448.html">www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050448.html</a>). Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak reasoned that the ceasefire would give Israel time to prepare for a "showdown" as soon as it was over.<br /><br />At the end of the ceasefire, Hamas put forth diplomatic initiatives aimed at extending the agreement (based on an end to both cross-border attacks and blockade of the strip), but these efforts were actually dismissed by Israel. With an end to diplomatic possibilities and the continuation of a debilitating blockade, Hamas's returning again to rocket attacks was, albeit lamentable, certainly predictable. Renewed violence, far from coming as a surprise, was presumably precisely what Israel was expecting.<br /><br />So if the decision to strike Gaza in late December was calculated far in advance, why now? The timing coincided precisely with three things: elected officials' holidays in the US, a transitional period for the US administration (a lame duck president and a president-elect hesitant to say anything prematurely) , and most importantly: a tight race in Israel for the next prime minister. In fact Israeli Foreign Minister Tsipi Livni, who rejected Hamas's efforts to negotiate an extension of the ceasefire, is running a tight race with the hawkish Likud party. The latter is campaigning on the claim that Livni's political party, Kadima, is too "soft" on the Palestinians, something Livni is working hard to disprove.<br /><br />Official Israeli explanations mention nothing about US or Israeli political factors, focusing squarely on eradicating Palestinian violence. But if nonviolence and cooperation are Israel's conditions for returning freedom to Palestinians, why weren't those conditions enough in the past? By the end of the year 2008, more than six months since a single fatal attack on an Israeli and following long-term cooperation between the West Bank Fatah leadership and the Israeli government, settlement expansion had heavily increased in the West Bank, about 5,000 Palestinians had been newly captured and imprisoned by Israel (most of them from the West Bank), and the number of West Bank checkpoints had risen from 521 to 699. If Israel wanted to stop a rise in Hamas, why not show that it is willing to make peace with the more peaceful Palestinian leaders?<br /><br />During my two weeks in the West Bank, coinciding with a time of calm in Israel, I listened to countless stories of immobility, settler attacks, torture, and humiliation. During my first night at the IWPS house, nearby settlers stoned passing cars. I visited a close friend in the nearby `Azzoun village, where settlers invade several times a week carrying large American-made semi-automatic weapons. The army's response is to declare curfew on Azzoun, forbidding villagers from leaving their home. School and work have been cancelled three times a week for the past month on orders of the army, wanting to "protect Palestinians. " One wonders why the army prefers to shut down a Palestinian village rather than standing up to the Israeli settlers themselves (my colleague Hannah wrote an excellent article addressing this question: <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/mermelstein12252008.html">http://www.counterpunch.org/mermelstein12252008.html</a>).<br /><br />I visited the Bethlehem area where settlers routinely visit and spray-paint stars of David and anti-Arab racist slurs (which locals then paint over, until the settlers return the next time). Water and electricity in the city are consistently shut off by the Israeli army (Bethlehem has just one functioning traffic light), and enrollment at Bethlehem University hovers at 70% female given the high proportion of local men spending their youth in prison (similar to figures of African American males in the United States).<br /><br />The one concession I witnessed was Israel's release of more than 200 Palestinian prisoners as a gift for the Muslim "Eid Al-Adha" holiday last month. Israel continues to hold more than 7,500 Palestinians prisoner, more than 10% of them without charge. Hundreds more are arrested every month. Then, occasionally, Israel lets out a couple hundred as an act of goodwill and generosity, but somehow Palestinians don't seem to find the habit terribly generous.<br /><br />I traveled to Nablus where I learned one of my friends had been killed while another, a major organizer of nonviolent civil disobedience during Israel's invasion in early 2007, was in prison. On my way, I passed a group of eleven cement factory workers who had been stopped by the army on their way to the factory and I hopped out of my cab to document the situation. After holding the group for more than two hours, the Israeli soldiers decided to let the eleven grown men go to work. Other breadwinners cannot even access the road to work anymore, like a Bethlehem family whose home I found surrounded on three sides by the Wall, their main road cut off.<br /><br />Given the West Bank Fatah leadership's cooperation with Israel, one might have expected a change in the situation in the West Bank, but everywhere I visited the occupation continued as usual, sometimes enhanced. There is no reason for Palestinians—-or us—-to believe that an end to rocket attacks and suicide bombs would bring real change to Israel's continued occupation since neither has in the past. Rather, Hamas's violence provides a convenient, and unfortunate, excuse for Israel to continue what it has been doing all along: expanding and expanding, destroying any obstacle—-be it a home, an olive tree, or a boy with a rock-—in its way.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-62396753055688930612009-01-07T19:13:00.003+02:002009-01-07T19:51:37.683+02:00What Most US Media Isn't Telling You... Now Take Action!What Most US Media Isn't Telling You<br /><br />Four days ago, Israel invaded Gaza on the ground to compliment its aerial bombardment. The Palestinian death toll has reached 660. The official Israeli death toll is up to 5, of whom 4 were civilians. Attacks on civilians, no matter who they are, is criminal. Yet the US government, public relations officials, and mainstream media—unlike those of almost every other country in the world—continue to criminalize Palestinian violence while absolving Israel (the undisputed party in power) of almost any responsibility of its own. The official position seems clear: Israel can do as it likes until Hamas stops all violence.<br /><br />The underlying assumption here is that Palestinians' human rights depend on the actions of their leaders. This is false. Palestinians do not have to earn the human rights inalienable to every person on Earth. Human rights are non-negotiable. Likewise, Israelis do not have to earn their human rights. Israeli state terror notwithstanding, it would be criminal to bombard the entire population of Israel (in which, as in Gaza, fighters live alongside their families in civilian areas) for the crimes of its government.<br /><br />But this is exactly what Israel is doing in Gaza with US weapons before a seemingly impotent international community. Every day the carnage unfolds on CNN-International (different from CNN-US—the United States is the only country in the world with domestically customized international news coverage): a mother and her 4 kids killed instantly; a 7-year-old shot twice in the chest (I'm not sure how that happens accidentally, but does that even matter?); more than 40 policemen in training obliterated (even Israel does not claim the Palestinian police orchestrates rocket attacks); TV stations and places of worship successfully destroyed; a mortuary out of room for bodies.<br /><br />According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, "sewage water is pouring into the streets in Beit Hanoun, following damage to the main pipeline between Beit Hanoun and the Beit Lahiya wastewater treatment plant." Save The Children reports that newborn baby Gazans are battling hypothermia due to power cuts and freezing winter winds.<br /><br />Some of the worst news comes from the doctors. Can you imagine a hospital functioning without electricity? According to the mainstream British newspaper The Guardian, medics are working around the clock and running out of anesthesia. There is no more gauze so doctors are using cotton, which sticks to wounds. Nurses are forced to draw blood with the wrong sized syringes and without alcohol. The Guardian article was entitled, "The injured were lying there asking God to let them die." Many have gotten their last wish, dying as they wait in the emergency rooms.<br /><br />Medical workers themselves have also been under fire, with at least 4 killed as they tried to reach victims. Ambulances are not safe, nor are the schools:<br /><br />When I woke up yesterday a UN school had just been bombed, killing 3 of the civilians who had come to the school seeking shelter. Watching the news later in the evening, I learned the same UN school had been bombed again (twice in one day), killing 40 more. The British director of the school, having lost his usual calm, was irate and imploring the world to understand that nowhere in Gaza is safe anymore—there is nowhere left to go.<br /><br />Yet reading the Washington Post and watching the nightly news you might believe that Israel's is in fact the most virtuous army in the world, going as far as sending text messages to and dropping leaflets in Palestinian areas explaining that unless civilians leave, they will be attacked. Reported alone, this might sound reasonable, but quickly becomes absurd if you know that Gazans have no place to go to! Nowhere inside the strip of land is safe and there is no way to leave it, since the borders are sealed.<br /><br />The bombing and invasion have clearly heightened the threat against Gazans' lives, but they did not start it. For the 18 months preceding the invasion, the average Gazan could not reliably go to school, make a living, contact the outside world, divert their sewage, heat their homes, drink clean water, or eat. This was due to the enclosure summed up in the words of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights: "Gaza is a prison and Israel seems to have thrown away the key." This was the reality of Israel's "ceasefire."<br /><br />The closure pushed Gaza's humanitarian crisis to a new low, with poverty reaching 80%. Any attempt to counter poverty was thwarted. Gaza students dependent on transportation could not reach their schools, and those accepted at foreign universities in America, Europe, and the West Bank were denied permits to leave. Without enough fuel, industrial businesses were either shut down or running below 20% capacity, resulting in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs. Contrary to Israeli court order, the Israeli army allowed just 15% of fuel needed for generators, wells, and transportation, resulting in garbage piled high in the streets while up to 15,000,000 gallons of raw or partially-treated sewage flowed into the sea every day. This was the reality of Israel's "ceasefire."<br /><br />On November 4th and 5th, Israel broke the "ceasefire" by killing at least 6 Palestinians in Gaza, reported on CNN-International but unlikely by CNN-US. Of course, there was no ceasefire to begin with, since the main requirement on Israel was to sufficiently unseal Gaza's borders, a requirement that was consistently ignored. By the end of the "ceasefire," 262 had Gazans died due to lack of access to proper medical care during the blockade.<br /><br />Hamas should be condemned for its attacks on civilians, but it is naïve to expect that they would renew a truce that Israel had never adhered to. Whether or not it would cease cross-border attacks in exchange for Israeli reciprocity—as Hamas continues to offer—is something we cannot know, since Israel has never given the offer a chance.<br /><br />------------ --------- --------- --------- -<br /><br />10 IDEAS for TAKING ACTION:<br /><br />Analysis and sympathy have no value if they do not result in any action. There are enough action ideas below that every single person on this list has the power to do at least one, ideally many more.<br /><br />1. Monitor and contact local media to inform others and counter misinformation. Write letters to the editor (usually 100-150 words) or op-eds (usually 600-800 words) for local newspapers. Also contact radio talk shows and television news departments, especially in response to biased coverage. You can find all local media at:<br /><a href="http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/">http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/</a><br />The US Campaign to End the Occupation compiled a fact sheet about US direct contributions to the war on Gaza, which you can use for facts:<br /><a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/downloads/gaza_us_weapons.pdf">http://www.endtheoccupation.org/downloads/gaza_us_weapons.pdf</a><br /><br />2. Organize and join demonstrations in front of Israeli embassies or (if that's not doable) in front of the offices of elected officials or other visible place. Inform the media beforehand. Here is a list of the many demonstrations happening around the country (For example, St Louis, where I live, usually has one a month, but this month there are demonstrations every day):<br /><a href="http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=1773">http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=1773</a><br /><br />3. Join local activist groups organizing local actions. If there aren't any, start your own. Now is an excellent time to rally support.<br /><br />4. Initiate boycotts, divestments and sanctions to nonviolently pressure Israeli compliance with international law, as was effective in the struggle against Apartheid in South Africa. Now is an excellent time to rally support and begin a campaign. More info and resources at <a href="http://www.bdsmovement.net/">http://www.bdsmovement.net/</a><br /><br />5. Send direct aid to Gaza through one of the following organizations:<br />- United Nations Relief and Works Agency: <a href="http://www.un.org/unrwa/">www.un.org/unrwa/</a><br />- United Palestinian Appeal: <a href="http://www.helpupa.com">www.helpupa.com</a><br />- Islamic Relief: <a href="http://www.irw.org">www.irw.org</a><br />- Canadian Red Cross: <a href="http://www.redcross.ca">www.redcross.ca</a><br />- American Near East Refugee Aid: <a href="http://www.anera.org">www.anera.org</a><br />- Physicians for Human Rights: <a href="http://www.phr.org.il/phr">www.phr.org.il/phr</a><br />- Other groups: <a href="http://gazasiege.org/support_gaza.html">http://gazasiege.org/support_gaza.html</a><br />You can also support solidarity activists on the ground at <a href="http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/">www.palsolidarity.org/main/</a><br /><br />6. Contact elected and other political leaders in your country to urge them to apply pressure to end the attacks. Find your representatives and their contact info at<br /><a href="http://http://www.congress.org/congressorg/officials/congress">http://www.congress.org/congressorg/officials/congress</a><br /><br />Call the Obama/Biden Transition Office at 202-540-3000, press 2 to speak to staff member. Tell them the U.S. needs a new Middle East policy, which holds Israel accountable to international law and UN resolutions and human rights. Tell them the U.S. should not support Israel with billions of dollars every year and should not be arming Israel with U.S. made weapons. Add your own suggestions. The time is right for President-elect Obama to hear from the peace community.<br /><br />7. Sign petitions for Gaza, for example:<br /><a href="http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace/98.php?cl_tf_sign=1">http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace/98.php?cl_tf_sign=1</a><br /><a href="http://capwiz.com/arab/utr/2/?a=12364076&i=90758629&c">http://capwiz.com/arab/utr/2/?a=12364076&i=90758629&c</a><br /><a href="https://secure2.convio.net/pep/site/Advocacy?s_oo=d13BldH27ypl2jxg-1cOFA..&id=233">https://secure2.convio.net/pep/site/Advocacy?s_oo=d13BldH27ypl2jxg-1cOFA..&id=233</a><br /><br />8. Put a Palestinian flag at your window. Wear a Palestinian head scarf (keffiya). Wear black arm bands (this helps start conversations with people).<br /><br />9. Do a group fast for peace one day and hold it in a public place.<br /><br />10. Inform others in your community with flyers, vigils, and conversations. At the very least, forward this on.<br /><br />This list was based on a call from the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between People and Friends of Sabeel.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661769943208121337noreply@blogger.com6