On 7th March 2011 the London Review Bookshop hosted the launch of Omar Barghouti’s book “BDS: Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions – The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights”.
Zionist: Omar, you are living in Israel, you are doing a PhD, you are studying in an Israeli university. How does that equate with your boycott campaign, isn’t that hypocritical to live in Israel and consume everything Israeli, then call for a boycott of Israel?
And secondly, if God forbid, you ever needed a life saving medicine, or a member of your family.. in Israel, would you accept that medicine or would you reject that life saving medicine?
Omar Barghouti: I think Mandela went to an apartheid university, when you are living under apartheid you have no choice. You pay taxes to the apartheid regime, you accept services from the apartheid regime, how else can you survive? You go to hospitals, you go to universities, you go to the post office, you go to government offices in the apartheid regime. You are a ‘subject’ of that colonial system, there is no other way. Gandhi studied at a British university as well.
The point is that when you are under occupation, when you are under apartheid, no have no moral choice. There is no choice. We ask people from outside to boycott because they have a moral choice. Responsibility comes with choice.
Germans under Nazi rule who couldn’t open their mouths were cowards but we can perhaps forgive them for not opening their mouths when you think you would be shot by the Nazi genocidal regime if they opened their mouths. Israelis that stay silent are far more cowardly because they do have a choice and they wont get shot if they stand up against the occupation. So we measure this with how much choice you have. When you have no choice what do you do?
So there is absolutely no double standard for people under oppression to call on people who are not under oppression, standing in solidarity with them, to oppose and boycott completely the oppressive regime. What we cannot do, you can do in the UK.
The Adidas – Don’t Run With Apartheid campaign is urging people throughout the world to take action at Adidas stores and stockists so that Adidas will reconsider sponsoring the 2012 Jerusalem Marathon.
Adidas has already hinted that they are wary of an international boycott and bad publicity. This is an opportunity for all people of conscience to get involved.
In March 2010 Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated “Israel would never agree to withdraw from the Jordan Valley under any peace agreement signed with the Palestinians”. In line with this intension, since 1967 Israel has been operating a process of ethnic cleansing of the Jordan Valley. The Palestinian population has contracted from 320,000 in 1967 to about 52,000 today.
Two members of the Brighton Jordan Valley Solidarity gave an illustrated presentation to the Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group of MPs at the House of Commons on February 1st 2011. The meeting was hosted and chaired by Caroline Lucas, Green MP (Brighton Pavilion).
Speakers:
* Sarah Cobham – Brighton Jordan Valley Solidarity (brightonpalestine.org)
* Chris Osmond – Corporate Watch (corporateoccupation.wordpress.com).
Please read the links below which clarify and substantiate Nutanyahoo’s present Grand Land Heist plan in the Palestinian West Bank which Israel has illegally, brutally occupied with its military for the past 43 years in support of its previous criminal land grabs.
The Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza are the realization of Zionist values. Settlement of the land is a clear expression of the unassailable right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel and constitutes an important asset in the defense of the vital interests of the State of Israel. The Likud will continue to strengthen and develop these communities and will prevent their uprooting.
In the ABC religion and ethics section, Slavoj Zizek speaks about the fictitious two state solution, annunciating that which many of us already know: ‘If there is a lesson to be learned from the protracted negotiations, it is that the greatest obstacle to peace is what is offered as the realistic solution – the creation of two separate states.’
Zizek goes on to say:
Although neither side wants it (Israel would probably prefer the areas of the West Bank that it is ready to cede to become a part of Jordan, while the Palestinians consider the land that has fallen to Israel since 1967 to be theirs), the establishment of two states is somehow accepted as the only feasible solution, a position backed up by the embarrassing leak of Palestinian negotiation documents in January.
What both sides exclude as an impossible dream is the simplest and most obvious solution: a bi-national secular state, comprising all of Israel plus the occupied territories and Gaza. Many will dismiss this as a utopian dream, disqualified by the history of hatred and violence.
Zizek seems oblivious to Nutanyahoo’s plans to assimilate parts of the West Bank adjacent to Jordan in the fertile Jordan Valley for Israeli military purposes.
He might be cheered though by the latest statistics from an AWRAD Poll in August, 2010 surveying Palestinians across the Occupied Territories, where it was found ‘as much as 53 percent are willing to support, accept or consider the idea of one-joint state in which Israelis and Palestinians are equal citizens between the Jordanian River and the sea. In contrast, 47 percent find this unacceptable.’ It is the collaborator PA which clings to the false western colonialist plan for two states.
Zizek is on the mark with his conclusions:
But far from being a utopia, the bi-national state is already a reality: Israel and the West Bank are one state. The entire territory is under the de facto control of one sovereign power – Israel – and divided by internal borders. So let’s abolish the apartheid that exists and transform this land into a secular, democratic state.
My twitter notes from Ali Abunimah’s address today at McGill University, Montreal:
Boycotting, divestments & sanctions #BDS against Israel are not an ends in themselves, they are a means to legitimate Palestinian goals
End occupation, end all forms of discrimination against Palestinians, and end the racist exclusion of Palestinian refugees V @avinunu LIVE
When considering criticism of BDS academic boycott, Ali Abunimah draws attention to the awful destruction of schools by Israel in #Gaza
Israel went back again just 2 days ago and bombed Gaza University – so why are people critical of BDS silent on Israeli ‘academic boycott’?
‘It is the duty of civil society to respond to the Palestinian BDS appeal and act, especially when govts are complicit’ @avinunu LIVE
?’#BDS is an ethical, moral, justifiable means to bring pressure on Israel to change ‘ @avinunu Ali Abunimah LIVE
‘Israel has reached a crisis in the type of stories it can tell to cover up its crimes of apartheid’ @avinunu LIVE
The peace process has been an alibi, an excuse, for inaction, something for the gutless to hold onto’ @avinunu LIVE
Govts all worked to forestall, to prevent justice coming from the Goldstone Report, with the excuse being the ‘peace process’ @avinunu LIVE
“The ‘peace process’ is an utter hoax, has reached a dead end, what’s exposed more & more are realities of colonialism, apartheid & racism ”
Israel is 1 of the 4 most negatively viewed countries in the world, there’ve been significant increases in views from Americans @avinunu LIVE
Israel says this is cos of anti-semitism, but even Israeli diplomats quitting – ‘can no longer support Israeli foreign policy’ @avinunu LIVE
(diplomat made actual reference to this anti-semitism cover used by israel hasbarists)
Great historic change can happen and it can happen suddenly, people are still powerful, that when people decide they have had enough, nothing can stop them’ @avinunu LIVE
Billions of aid have gone to the west bank into building a repressive police pseudo state exactly of the kind people are rising up against in Tunisia and Egypt @avinunu LIVE
The IDF recognises that in the event of a popular uprising it will not be able to rely on the PA police state to repress it, and is searching for more collaborators – and that is a dead end – israel really has nowhere left to go @avinunu LIVE
Winning means bringing an end to apartheid, an end to colonial rule, giving everyone in Palestine/Israel a decent life, restitution and justice, refugees’ rights @avinunu LIVE
Jewish National Fund is primary means for land theft by zionists – JNF is one of the key institutions enforcing apartheid by denying Palestinians access to their land, locking it up for jews only @avinunu LIVE
Since the attacks on the Twin Towers and Pentagon, Muslims have been involved in 45 domestic terrorist plots. Meanwhile, non-Muslims have been involved in 80 terrorist plots.
In fact, right-wing extremist and white supremacist attacks plots alone outnumber plots by Muslims, with both groups being involved in 63 terror plots, 18 more plots than Muslim Americans have been involved in.
Fighting hate is a tedious job – it seems that for every user we report 5 new ones spring up in its place. But this only makes me more determined to stand up to hate and anti Semitism. The list of links today are all of users that spread hate, promote anti Semitism and de-legitimise Israel. Please report them to Facebook or Twitter respectively.Facebook
Login into your facebook account and click on any of these links. Click on the “Report/Block this person” or the “Report page” link on the left hand side of the screen.
* Students for Justice in Palestine – spreading anti semitic hate messages claiming Israel is engaged in ethnic cleaning
* Justice for Palestine – blames Israel of brainwashing Christian children and encourages people to sign up for the next flotilla to Gaza.
* Abdus Ayydin Rayyan Samad – justifies shooting rockets on civilians in Israel
Twitter
Login into your twitter account and click on any of these links. click on the options button located on the upper right hand side Twitter button. Choose the 3rd option which would report that user to Twitter.
* cactijakeye – bluntly calls himself anti Semitic in his profile – supports hateful conspiracy theories like 9/11 was an inside Israeli job
* xXKelly82Xx – claims Zionists are not human and other fanatic hate speech
* BoycottAhava – behind the global campaign to boycott Ahava products claiming Ahava Cosmetics are made by Israeli profiteers in Occupied Palestine.
* Ziggy stardust – with twits like “racist zionist settlers kill Palestinian children” there is no doubt Ziggy Stardust is anti Zionist and Anti Semitic
* Remroum – openly supports terrorism against Israel
* Tha Captain – Anti zionist calling Israel a murdering state
* Ali Abunimah – constantly spreads Israel Apartheid mantra
* Jinjirrie – Promotes flotilla anti zionist and anti Semitic causes
* Worldpeace2day – obsessively promotes Israel Apartheid messages
* Nouren shiraz – constantly calling Israel a racist terrorist state engaged in “ethnic cleansing”
Thank you for taking part in this effort – all of us in Giyus.org are for free speech but that does not entitle anyone to delegitimize Israel and spread hate against the Jewish people as a whole.
What, then, does one do, when faced with one’s appearance on this ridiculous haet lsit? Why, message the perpetrator, of course 🙂
Jinjirrie: . @giyusgirl – pls get yr hasbaroid witchhunt rap correct – i’m anti-zionism, anti-occupation, anti-racism & anti-bigotry – that means you #
giyusgirl: @Jinjirrie anti-Zionism = no country for Jews = Jews are not entitled to their own country = Antisemitism . Enough said. #
Jinjirrie: . @giyusgirl anti-zionism = anti-racism & anti-fascism = equal rights & true democracy instead of ethnosupremacy = justice #
This is not the first zionist haet lsit on which I’ve appeared – the JIDF have me on several of their puerile witchhunt campaigns also. For some of my historical brushes with them, see here.
Zionism is a secular political ideology which grew alongside other nationalist movements in the 19th century. Similar to some other nationalisms, zionism exhibits toxic symptoms of white supremacism in its colonialism – indigenous arabs were and are regarded largely as inconvenient sub-humans, to be expelled and exterminated whilst the entitled, privileged ‘race’ usurp their land. Racists like @giyusgirl see indigenous Palestinians in Israel and the Territories it occupies as excess humans, and that challenging this zionist ethnosupremacism and colonialism is ‘anti-semitic’. Yet *all* colonialism is chauvinistic, shored up by a sense of rightness, privilege and entitlement. The erroneous concept of ‘races’ is essential to racists who desire superior privileges for their own ‘race’. There is only one race, the human race, and all humans are entitled to equal rights, respect and dignity wherever they may be, wherever they were born.
Palestine / Israel Links
@georgehale Get this: On Thursday’s “day of rage”, Israel settlers distributed threatening flyers to several diplomats in the West Bank. #
The Embassy Suite Hotel, Anaheim South
11767 Harbor Boulevard
Garden Grove, California 92840
April 29, 30, 2011
We call on all Palestinians regardless of organizational affiliation to join Al-Awda’s members and supporters at this year’s convention. We will address and collectively take steps toward changing our destiny as a people while we reaffirm our determination to return to our homes and lands. We can no longer stay silent while an un-elected, illegitimate leadership beholden to its U.S. and occupation masters is cravenly giving up on our rights.
To address these critical issues that our cause is facing, planning discussions that will merge brain storming ideas, strategy, tactics with action items will include:
* The Palestine Papers and the Arab people’s uprising; Impact on the Palestinian struggle and future organizing. Round-table and panel discussion with key speakers
* Boycotts & Divestment
* Refugee Support
* Cultural Resistance Through Various Forms of Art
* Palestinian Children’s Rights Campaign
Several young activists from the refugee camps will be taking part this year in hands-on workshops.
Among the Speakers at the Ninth Al-Awda convention are:
* Dr. Salman Abu Sitta, General Coordinator Palestinian Right of Return Congress, Founding President of the Palestine Land Society
* Abbas Al-Nouri, Syrian Arab actor of “bab el-h7ara” fame, political activist
*Diana Buttu, Palestinian lawyer, former legal advisor to Palestinian negotiating team
* Lubna Masarwa, Palestinian activist, survivor of Mavi Marmara massacre
* Laila Al-Arian, Palestinian Author, writer and producer with Al-Jazeera English, one of the lead producers of the Palestine Papers
* Dr. Jamal Nassar, Specialist in Middle East politics and Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at CSUSB
* Rim Banna, Palestinian singer & activist
* Najat El-Khairy, Palestinian porcelain painting artist
* Remi Kanazi, Palestinian spoken word artist, activist
* Youth from Refugee Camps
Two of Labor’s leading left-wing MPs – the Deputy Premier, Carmel Tebbutt (Marrickville) and the Education Minister, Verity Firth (Balmain) – have written to their Greens opponents, Fiona Byrne and Jamie Parker, proposing a preference swap.
The Labor candidate for Sydney, Sacha Blumen, has also written to his Greens rival, De Brierley Newton.
”While I note that media reports have indicated that the Greens will not be preferencing Labor in the upper house statewide, I believe we can show leadership in the community of Marrickville,” Ms Tebbutt wrote to Ms Byrne. ”I suggest that both our parties should indicate to voters that we will recommend an exchange of preferences locally and in the upper house in the electorate of Marrickville.”
The three inner-city seats accounted for more than 10 per cent of the Greens’ upper house vote at the 2007 election. Labor believes if it can persuade the Greens to swap preferences in these seats it could alter the balance of power in the upper house.
However, the Greens campaign spokesman, Chris Holley, said: ”The Greens are encouraging voters to make up their own minds about whether to give a preference or not. The best way to avoid a conservative dominated upper house is to vote for the Greens.
“There is absolutely no plan or intention to boycott China”, she [Byrne] said that day.
It was clearly a set-up by the ALP machine to try and smear the Green mayor.
The real story here is that the Labor party has been under pressure from supporters of Israel to reverse the council’s decision on the BDS.
Yet, all five Green councillors, all four Labor councillors and one independent councilor supported the motion.
Carmel Tebbutt, deputy Premier and Labor MP for Marrickville, made a point of stating at the candidates’ meeting that she did not agree with the council’s support for BDS.
She also tried to stop the chairperson — Eva Cox — from asking an anti-BDS speaker to finish up and ask a question. Tebbutt defended the person arguing that her “question” (it was a speech) had been “placed on notice”.
It is understood that some of the Labor councillors and rank-and-file members are furious with the Labor machine for its attacks over BDS.
As the countdown to March 26 begins, we can expect a lot more dirty tricks from Labor as the party faces an electoral wipeout, including possibly in a seat it has held since 1910.
As a Palestinian and a Jew, we salute Marrickville council for understanding that words about “two-state solution” and “peace process” are soothing to elite media and political ears, but desperate facts on the ground in Palestine require direct action in a consultative and non-violent way.
When governments fail to arrest the illegal march of colonisation on Palestinian land, it is not enough to wait for futile peace negotiations that only lead to a more deeply entrenched occupation.
Marrickville council is at least trying to advance the debate about occupation while our leaders visit Israel and dine with Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ten local councillors from the suburb of Marrickville, New South Wales, Australia, in their official role as elected representatives of approximately 75,000 residents, have put forward an official resolution in December 2010 to:
“…boycott all goods made in Israel and any sporting, institutional, academic, government or institutional cultural exchanges…”.
By this action, the ten councillors have formally aligned their municipality with terrorist organisations seeking to overthrow the State of Israel, the one free and democratic nation in the Middle East, fellow UN member, and notably the only multi-ethnic state in the region where freedom of expression, equality, non-discrimination, free union movements, freedom of press and the rule of law are established and guaranteed. In short, they have espoused totalitarian values over Australian democratic values. They are playing into the hands of the Islamist Global BDS Movement and supporting the Hamas and Hizbollah terror groups and other international racist and anti-Semitic organisations..
This irrational act is not only alarmingly naïve, but by supporting the worldview of totalitarian Islam, represents an appalling abuse of our democratic process.
A council’s brief is to act in the interests of their residents, by organizing such things as rubbish collection, social services, catching stray dogs and regulating fence heights. They are not elected to engage in partisan foreign politics or involve themselves in the domestic affairs of other states. In particular, they must never be seen to side with totalitarian, anti-democratic religious fanatics who use terrorism and murder in seeking to destroy the democratic nation of Israel, with which Australia has strong and friendly relations.
Petition:
We ask the Hon Minister for Local Government in the State of New South Wales (Australia) to reprimand the council of Marrickville for engaging in conduct unbecoming of a local municipality in Australia.
We consider that the conduct of this council is divisive, irrational and ill-informed, and that it deals with matters which do not and should not be included in the jurisdiction of a local municipality.
The aim of Q Society of Australia is to tell the truth about Islam and Sharia law as we see it: That Islam is a totalitarian, political and religious ideology, of which Sharia law is an integral part, and that the further spread of Islam and Sharia law threaten our free, egalitarian and democratic society. Many national and international political leaders have voiced exactly the same concern. …
In consequence, our objection to the expanding use of this small Community House in Melbourne’s Jewish heartland as instant part-time mosque for up to 100 faithful, is not racist by any measure.
The nationality, race or ethnicity of the people involved is immaterial and was never raised by us. Q Society is very much in favour of a multi-ethnic Australia. We are not petitioning against Muslims praying, neither do we have any concern with members of Australia’s Islamic community peacefully gathering to worship in private, or in a designated place of worship. Peaceful assembly for worship
is the right of all Australians and there are now many mosques in Melbourne for this purpose. …
sermons are often used to incite violence against non-believers. So it is hardly alarmist to acknowledge local residents’ concern about this. It is evident that Friday prayers in the heart of Jewish Melbourne will inevitably create unease in a community already forced to employ security guards outside its schools and synagogues. It is a fact that foundational Islam contains many words fostering hatred of Jews and Christians, with the result that anti-Semitism and violence against Christian minorities is rife in the Islamic world.
While it is true the prayer group has received support from some Jewish groups, these are not representative of the whole of the Jewish community, but mostly progressive elements, who also support Palestinian causes either out of self-interest or a misplaced concern for “the Other”. Deborah Stone of the ‘Anti-Defamation Committee’ (ADC), proclaims “We at the ADC understand that by defending everyone’s freedom we ensure a freer society for ourselves.” But she fails to acknowledge that defending the freedom of intolerant Islam and Sharia ultimately threatens to destroy both her and our freedoms.
‘Asharq Al-Awsat- Informed Libyan sources in the city of Benghazi, where the headquarters of the Interim National Council are located, which has recently put forth its candidates to administer the country in the coming period, have revealed that Colonel Muammar Gaddafi yesterday sent a negotiator on his behalf to visit the Council. [Via the negotiator], the Libyan leader declared his readiness to abandon power and leave Libya, in return for ensuring the safety of himself and his family.’
The law’s lack of clarity, its paternalism, the profound disconnect between it and community standards about privacy, gender equity and the entitlement of patients to ethical and professional medical care unequivocally demonstrates that it is indeed broke.
The charging of Cairns couple Tegan Leach, 19, and Sergie Brennan, 21, in 2009 with abortion-related crimes was a game changer. Here, at last, was incontrovertible proof that not only did the law of abortion denigrate, patronise and discriminate against Australian women, it also put them and their partners at very real risk of being charged, tried, convicted and sent to jail for undertaking what the World Health Organisation says is “one of the safest medical procedures.”
The Cairns case also exposed how confused Australians of reproductive age such as Leach and Brennan are about the laws of abortion that reign in their state or territory. How many Australians, perhaps even most, mistake the relative availability of safe abortion services as evidence that abortion is no longer a crime?
“Maliki is starting to act like Saddam Hussein, to use the same fear, to plant it inside Iraqis who criticize him,” said Salam Mohammed al-Segar, a human rights activist who was among those beaten during a sit-in. “The U.S. must feel embarrassed right now – it is they who promised a modern state, a democratic state. But in reality?”
Despite hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of troops, the US is unable to conclude its longest war. All of which explains the rather blunt comments made in a speech at the end of February, by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates when he said “… any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should ‘have his head examined,’ as General MacArthur so delicately put it.”
