On Thursday, January 21, 2010, General David Petraeus addressed Georgetown students and faculty in Gaston Hall. Approximately 10 student protesters gathered inside and outside Gaston to condemn Petraeus’s strategy in the Middle East – paying off “enemies” and using tactics of brutal counter-insurgency to “win” the local population – and the university’s decision to invite him:
The police state will get one step closer:
Police in the UK are planning to use unmanned spy drones, controversially deployed in Afghanistan, for the ”routine” monitoring of antisocial motorists, protesters, agricultural thieves and fly-tippers, in a significant expansion of covert state surveillance.
The arms manufacturer BAE Systems, which produces a range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for war zones, is adapting the military-style planes for a consortium of government agencies led by Kent police.
British photographer Rich Wiles, who has spent years working and teaching in Palestine, has launched a website.
His new book, Behind the Wall: Life, Love and Struggle in Palestine, is released next month:
Of the approximately seven million Palestinian refugees around the world, more than 650,000 are living in camps along the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Having been forced from their homes, either through violence or the threat of it, those living in these camps, Rich Wiles asserts, suffer greatly from Israeli Army incursions, violence, poverty, and desperation—often even more severely than in the surrounding cities or villages. Although much media attention has been drawn to the area’s political climate, the stories of its dispossessed people have gone largely underreported.
Having spent much of his time in Palestine since 2003, Wiles offers a glimpse inside the West Bank’s refugee camps between 2006 and 2007 through a collection of oral histories, vignettes, and photographic portraits. In these pieces, Wiles recounts conversations with Palestinians of all ages, including survivors of al-Nakba, released child and female prisoners, parents trying to rear their children amid the violence of military occupation, and exiles struggling for the right of return to their original villages. These intimate portrayals not only offer clues to understanding the physical and psychological effects of exile, colonization, and occupation, they also reveal the true Palestinian psyche, one that is at once full of life, love, and strength. Through both written word and photographic image, Behind the Wall allows Palestinians to speak for themselves.
The following letter appeared in the London Guardian on 22 January:
We the undersigned are outraged by the scandalous delays in getting essential aid to victims of the earthquake in Haiti (‘Chaotic and confusing’ relief effort is costing lives, aid agencies warn, 19 January). As a result of the US decision to prioritise the accumulation of foreign soldiers over the distribution of emergency supplies, untold numbers of people have died needlessly. We demand that US commanders immediately restore executive control of the relief effort to Haiti’s leaders, and to help rather than replace the local officials they claim to support.
Obsessive foreign concerns with “security” and “violence” are refuted by actual levels of patience and solidarity on the streets of Port-au-Prince. In keeping with a long-standing pattern, US and UN officials continue to treat the Haitian people and their representatives with wholly misplaced fear and suspicion. We call on the de facto rulers of Haiti to do everything possible to strengthen the capacity of the Haitian people to respond to this crisis. We demand, consequently, that they allow Haiti’s most popular and most inspiring political leader, Jean-Bertrand Aristide (whose party won 90% of the parliamentary seats in the country’s last round of democratic elections), to return immediately from the unconstitutional exile to which he has been confined since the US, Canada and France helped depose him in 2004.
If reconstruction proceeds under the supervision of foreign troops and international development agencies it will not serve the interests of the vast majority of Haitians. We call on the leaders of the international community to respect Haitian sovereignty and to initiate an immediate reorientation of international aid, away from neoliberal adjustment, sweatshop exploitation and non-governmental charity, and towards systematic investment in Haiti’s own government and public institutions. We demand that France pays the colossal amount of money it owes Haiti in full and at once.
Above all, we demand that the reconstruction of Haiti be pursued under the guidance of one overarching objective: the political and economic empowerment of the Haitian people.
Roger Annis Canada Haiti Action Network, Noam Chomsky MIT, Brian Concannon Jr Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, Berthony Dupont Editor, Haiti Liberté, Yves Engler Haiti Action Montreal, Peter Hallward Middlesex University, Pierre Labossiere Haiti Action Committee, USA, Kevin Pina Journalist/film-maker, Jean Saint Vil Canada Haiti Action Network
It’s impossible to know the veracity of these allegations – and military threats against Iran continue – but such reports merely add to the ongoing pressure on the Islamic Republic:
A Kuwaiti newspaper published over the weekend a list of 66 senior Iranian government officials holding a fortune totaling some $16 billion abroad, according to American estimates. The fortune is comprised of US dollars (about $9 billion), euros (about €4.3 billion) and pound sterling (about £1.15 billion).
The ongoing evolution of J Street continues. Its latest statement is pretty strong and shows the growing anger towards Israel’s crackdown on democracy. Times for the gloves to come off, activists:
J Street is deeply concerned by recent actions taken by Israeli authorities in response to protests and dissent in Jerusalem and the occupied territories.
Last week, 17 political activists were illegally detained by police in Sheikh Jarrah, where growing numbers of Israeli and Palestinian activists are holding weekly protests against settler takeovers of long-time Palestinian family homes in East Jerusalem. The Israeli courts have ruled the arrests illegal, yet authorities refused to grant permission for another protest rally today and a situation, possibly involving additional arrests, is currently unfolding.
As J Street has stated before, this is hardly the time to open up the question of pre-1948 property ownership on either side of the Green Line, or to bring strident settler groups, such as Ateret Cohanim, to an East Jerusalem neighborhood that previous negotiations designated as part of a future Palestinian capital. J Street stands together with the protesters in opposition to unilateral actions in East Jerusalem that only set back the chances for peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and are an affront to traditional Jewish conceptions of justice and fairness.
Equally troubling, the Director of Israel’s Religious Action Center, Anat Hoffman, was recently questioned by police, fingerprinted, and threatened with charges for the “crime” of leading a women’s prayer service at the Western Wall. And, just this week came troubling news reports that a Jewish-American journalist, employed by the US-funded Palestinian Maan news agency in the West Bank, was deported from Israel for his “anti-Israel” views, and that employees and volunteers for NGOs working on the West Bank are having work permits and visas denied on an increasing basis.
These and other actions paint a troubling picture of increasing intimidation of dissent and decreasing tolerance for free speech – trends that threaten Israel’s vibrant democracy.
Some Israeli politicians may believe that these actions send a message of strength to those who would undermine the State of Israel. They do not. They simply weaken Israel’s standing as a democracy committed to free speech and civil rights.
The core Jewish and democratic values enshrined in Israel’s Declaration of Independence and embodied in its Law of Human Dignity are key to the strength of the US-Israel relationship and critical to Israel’s vital relationships with world Jewry. Weakening them weakens Israel.
We stand in solidarity with all activists, Israeli and Palestinian, who are peacefully exercising their legitimate democratic rights. And we stand with our friends in Israel who are doing the hard, on-the-ground work, at great personal risk, of advocating for a strong and democratic Israel that is the national home for the Jewish people and enjoys a secure peace with its neighbors.
For the sake of the security of Israel and for the sake of the soul of the Jewish people, we are with you.
Here’s a gem from one Albert Landa, delivered on the Sabbath, no less:
I just caught your interview with the ubiquitous Geraldine Doogue(spelling?) and I have heard quite a lot about you and the question which came to my mind, in a nutshell, is this:
‘WHAT DO YOU WANT?!”
What is it that you want to see Israel do? Do you want them to pull out of the West Bank, like now,taking all the settlements with them, do you want them to tear down the wall (shades of Ronald Reagon) which has, I believe. reduced suicide bombings by up to 90%.Do you want to see Israel pilloried in the halls of the UN and throughout the world’s media..Do you want to see Israel immediately take in the millions of Palestinian refugees displaced by the war that was inflicted on them like so many other wars?.Do you want to see Israel stop wingeing about the thousands of rockets being fired into it’s territories, endangering the lives of its citizens on a daily basis.Do you want Israel want to become a perfect flawless democracy, where even those who are hell-bent on its destruction are given full and equal “rights” that are enjoyed by its Jewish citizens.Is this a risk that Israel should obviously be prepared to take so that it can win the approval of even its most anti-Israeli, anti-Semitic enemies, including dismaying, deluded traitors like yourself.Do you imagine the leaders of Israel are this stupid?As far as “perfect” democracies are concerned, perhaps you might like to inform me of the existence of any.I believe that there are times of national emergency, such as the seemingly permanent condition of the state of Israel that it is simply not possible to have a flawless democracy.Perhaps you were thinking of the many Arab “democracies: in the Middle East that you might like to see Israel emulate
You certainly seem to have more confidence in the integrity of Hamas and other avowed enemies of Israel than you do in your own people.Do you think that by taking this stand you are going to win the admiration and respect of the non-Jewish world? Only those of a criminal mind with criminal intentions will grant you this spurious approval and this will only be because at that moment it may be tactically convenient and just one more tactic to weaken and undermine their enemy.Because, make no mistake, even though your blogging and careerist public pronouncements of disapproval of Israel may be used as further ammunition in the Hamas long =term plan for the destruction of Israel, you will be one of the first to have your throat cut by your erstwhile “friends” if they succeed, because in the final analysis, and as much as you may hate it you are, and always will be, a Jew.
Just one other thing.It strikes me that you are wanting to have it both ways.A “bob each way” to quote an Aussie vernacular.On the one hand you like to assure your non Jewish audience of your impeccable Jewish credentials, you know, the child of Holocaust survivors blah blah,and on the other hand, you, in the name of a spurious and totally unconvincing desire for “fairness” want to feel free to attack certain vital policies that Israel is by and large forced to take.Why can’t you accept that the situation in the Middle East between Israel and the Arabs is a state of ongoing war and mutual hatred and distrust.In this situation it does not help to identify with the “other side”.In a time of war, your attitude would be regarded as the most heinous treachery and the appropriate punishment would and should be meted out.
You seem to feel that the “solution” to the Middle East tragedy is soley the responsibility of the Israelis.Perhaps you might like to think about possible contributions that the many Arab countries in the region might make to further this process.I don’t wish to become personal but I see in your situation a certain tragedy.Despite all your protestations, you ARE going to be adjudged a ‘self-hating’ Jew, desparate for the approval of the non-Jewish world, even at the expense of your own people,and, as well, playing into the hands of the enemies of Israel and the Jews.You bring shame, not only to yourself,but certainly to your brothers and sisters.a great people who have suffered enough throughout history and will always need all the friends that it can get.You say that the Holocaust is “in the past”.Yes, in terms of mere time this is true but in other senses the Holocaust is still with us and perhaps it always will be.You make me sad, almost to the point of despair, but at the same time, I am sorry, but you also disgust me.
Albert Landa
Howard Zinn on Barack Obama’s one year in the top job:
I’ve been searching hard for a highlight. The only thing that comes close is some of Obama’s rhetoric; I don’t see any kind of a highlight in his actions and policies.
As far as disappointments, I wasn’t terribly disappointed because I didn’t expect that much. I expected him to be a traditional Democratic president. On foreign policy, that’s hardly any different from a Republican–as nationalist, expansionist, imperial and warlike. So in that sense, there’s no expectation and no disappointment. On domestic policy, traditionally Democratic presidents are more reformist, closer to the labor movement, more willing to pass legislation on behalf of ordinary people–and that’s been true of Obama. But Democratic reforms have also been limited, cautious. Obama’s no exception. On healthcare, for example, he starts out with a compromise, and when you start out with a compromise, you end with a compromise of a compromise, which is where we are now.
I thought that in the area of constitutional rights he would be better than he has been. That’s the greatest disappointment, because Obama went to Harvard Law School and is presumably dedicated to constitutional rights. But he becomes president, and he’s not making any significant step away from Bush policies. Sure, he keeps talking about closing Guantánamo, but he still treats the prisoners there as “suspected terrorists.” They have not been tried and have not been found guilty. So when Obama proposes taking people out of Guantánamo and putting them into other prisons, he’s not advancing the cause of constitutional rights very far. And then he’s gone into court arguing for preventive detention, and he’s continued the policy of sending suspects to countries where they very well may be tortured.
I think people are dazzled by Obama’s rhetoric, and that people ought to begin to understand that Obama is going to be a mediocre president–which means, in our time, a dangerous president–unless there is some national movement to push him in a better direction.
“As a humanitarian worker here [in Gaza], I can say that it has been really amazing to see that some needy people including women and children wanting to deliver food, toys, clothes and cash to disaster-affected people in Haiti. The scene in front of the office for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza was really amazing,” Gaza City resident Hussam al-Madhoun told The Electronic Intifada.
Here’s a catchy opening paragraph to a story:
Ultra-orthodox rabbis in Israel have launched what they claim is a ”divinely ordained war” against use of the internet among their followers.
“Israelis are caught in a great confusion over themselves,” says Uri Dromi, a commentator who used to be a government spokesman. “There is such a gap between what we can do in so many fields and the failure we feel trapped in with the Palestinians. There’s nostalgia for the time when we were the darlings of the world, and the Haiti relief effort allows us to remember that feeling and say, you see we are not as bad as you think.”
The Real News provides a revealing interview with the wife of a Palestinian man murdered by Israeli forces in the town of Nablus:
