The systematic apartheid practised by Israel punishes its Palestinian minority just for being born Palestinian and corrupts the rest of the populace. There are numerous laws and more trouble in the frying pan which discriminate against Israeli minorities. Assa Doron commends those who protest against oppression and notes:
The current government is attempting to redefine Israel’s raison d’etre as one premised on racism and prejudice towards Arabs.
Through its oppression against its minorities, those whom it occupies and those who protest these injustices, Israel delegitimises itself. As Professor Neve Gordon says:
‘The ongoing delegitimization of those watchdogs of democracy – human rights NGOs, the press and public intellectuals – is leading Israel down a steep and slippery slope … what kind of countries attack their own human rights organizations? The answer is straightforward.’
Boycotts, divestments and sanctions directly challenge Israel’s practices when governments have failed to do so or actively support Israeli oppression. What’s the point of having a nation state if it perpetrates atrocities and discrimination on 20% of its populace and suppresses an equivalent population to its own on adjacent land which it covets and usurps? where’s the legitimacy in state oppression and land theft?
‘Prince of Mercenaries’ who wreaked havoc in Iraq turns up in Somalia Lebanon crisis a test for the US
“The US is pursuing an aggressive Lebanon policy that will inevitably lead to conflict, a game the Iranians are willing to play. Tehran is aware it holds the upper hand, and there is little the Americans can do to dislodge Hezballah, which enjoys widespread popular support in addition to its unrivalled military presence in Lebanon.” The Rise of the New Global Elite – doesn’t include the role of capitalism/mercantilism as mechanisms of predatory nation states; incomplete politicohistorical context – no discussion of neocolonialism, colonialism or empire
With its credibility seriously eroded by Wikileaks, the US government is digging its hole deeper with Department of Justice subpoenas of the private DM messages of Wikileaks supporters.
Birgitta Jonsdottir, an MP for the Movement in Iceland, said last night on Twitter that the “USA government wants to know about all my tweets and more since november 1st 2009. Do they realize I am a member of parliament in Iceland?”
She said she was starting a legal fight to stop the US getting hold of her messages, after being told by Twitter that a subpoena had been issued. She wrote: “department of justice are requesting twitter to provide the info – I got 10 days to stop it via legal process before twitter hands it over.”
She said the justice department was “just sending a message and of course they are asking for a lot more than just my tweets.”
Jonsdottir said she was demanding a meeting with the US ambassador to Iceland. “The justice department has gone completely over the top.” She added that the US authorities had requested personal information from Twitter as well as her private messages and that she was now assessing her legal position.
“It’s not just about my information. It’s a warning for anyone who had anything to do with WikiLeaks. It is completely unacceptable for the US justice department to flex its muscles like this. I am lucky, I’m a representative in parliament. But what of other people? It’s my duty to do whatever I can to stop this abuse.”
Twitter would not comment on the case. In a statement, the company said: “We’re not going to comment on specific requests, but, to help users protect their rights, it’s our policy to notify users about law enforcement and governmental requests for their information, unless we are prevented by law from doing so.”
Most of Twitter’s messages are public, but users can also send private messages on the service.
Marc Rotenberg, president of the online watchdog the Electronic Privacy Information Centre (EPIC) in Washington, said it appeared the US justice department was looking at building a case against WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange, over its publication of secret US documents.
EPIC has already requested that the US authorities hand over information about their investigations into people who have donated to WikiLeaks via Mastercard, Visa or PayPal.
“The government has the right to get information, but that has to be done in a lawful way. Is there a lawful prosecution that could be brought against WikiLeaks? It seems unlikely to me. But it’s a huge question here in the US,” said Rotenberg.
Suffice to say, this is a serious escalation of the DOJ’s efforts to probe, harass and intimidate anyone having to do with WikiLeaks. Previously, Appelbaum as well as Bradley Manning supporter David House — both American citizens — had their laptops and other electronic equipment seized at the border by Homeland Security agents when attempting to re-enter the U.S.
The US government contortions increasingly remind me of those of Bjelke Petersen’s Queensland police state when faced with the Fitzgerald Inquiry. This inquiry was mentioned by Julian Assange in his “Jerilderie letter” published in The Australian the night before his incarceration. In the absence of a Royal Commission and the unwillingness of the superpower to incorporate and submit to international law however, we have Wikileaks, which in one sense is a form of open jurisdiction.
UPDATE
@rixstepnews Send all your secret Twitter stuff to or fax it to +1 703-299-3981 #Assange #subpoena #WikiLeaks #
@rixstepnews Everybody collect their tweets and DMs and email them to . Send at least two copies. #Assange #subpoena #WikiLeaks #
@ioerror It seems quite wrong that I feel safe in Iceland while simultaneously having a sense of apprehension about returning to the USA next week. #
@wikileaks Note that we can assume Google & Facebook also have secret US government subpeonas. They make no comment. Did they fold? #
@ioerror Now’s a good time to note that *the world* needs strong anonymity. Help out: https://www.torproject.org/getinvolved/volunteer.html.en #
@ioerror I wonder if the subpoena is merely a front to legally introduce evidence captured by the confirmed NSA wiretaps two blocks from Twitter HQ? #
@Jinjirrie RT @TheJusticeDept January is National Stalking Awareness Month. http://is.gd/klycZ #irony #wikileaks #
@Colvinius Does this mean you? “@spyblog Subpoena demands usernames & IP addresses of all 634.892 current Followers of the “wikileaks” Twitter account” #
UPDATE 2 (recording my tweets for the stalking DOJ’s convenience since the ‘DOJ does not collect comments or messages through this account.’)
@Jinjirrie Hey @TheJusticeDept if you want to know about me, follow me, you might learn something about justice3 #
@Jinjirrie Instead of harassing & repressing Wikileaks & hr activists, US govt shd end its crimes against humanity & prosecute its torturing criminals #
@Jinjirrie The more the US govt attempts to suppress the truth about its crimes & protects its torturing crims, the less its credibility #
@Jinjirrie The less the US govt’s credibility, the less people will choose to holiday there, invest there, or have anything to do with it. #
@Jinjirrie Tourism is of course, the second biggest US export earner after defence. The US govt’s behaviour is thus inimical to its peoples’ welfare. #
@Jinjirrie The US debt is now $14t – the US needs every export dollar it can manage, the chinese aren’t happy about US printing more money #
@Jinjirrie China and Russia have already moved to trading bilaterally in their own currencies #
@Jinjirrie The devaluation of the USD due to the Fed printing more money devalues Chinese investments in the US – there are consequences, US #
@Jinjirrie What happens when the world tires of carrying the US, which has attained its wealth from global exploitation? #
The irony remains, however, that it is the intolerant Americans, Europeans, and the Israelis and their extremist intolerant, though at times unwitting, local allies, namely the violent minority of sectarians among Islamists, who stand to benefit most from the Alexandria tragedy. Unless intellectuals in Egypt and the Arab world, Muslim and Christian, religious and secular, resist joining this international alliance of the intolerant, they may very well help them achieve their goals.
Like it or not, the fact is that the rabbis simply put into clear words the anti-democratic implications of the term “Jewish State”. It is the privileges of Israel’s Jewish citizens and the policy of progressively marginalizing the Arabs that are the source of racism. The rabbis are outspoken about it, the Knesset and government prefer a more subtle approach. In order for Israel to be a Jewish State in the moral sense, that is, do not unto Arabs what is hated by Jews, it must be democratic. Democracy is the institutional manifestation of the Jewish doctrine that we are all created in His image.
“The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange denied what was recently circulated about a secret deal that he might have made with israel in return for not publishing anything about it in the series of the leaked American diplomatic documents that his website publishes.
Assange said Wednesday evening in “Without Limits” on Al-Jazeera that he didn’t make any deal with israel and revealed that his site would publish hundreds of documents relating to israel in the coming months. He stated that he has 3700 documents and 2700 of these documents originated from israel alone.
He added, “we did not have direct or indirect contact with the israelis, but the israeli intelligence (mossad) and other intelligence agencies are following us and attempt to predict what we will do. And I’m sure that the israeli intelligence is interested in us, but it did not contact us. It might have contacted individuals that used to work for our organization, but at the moment, there are no communications between them [israeli intelligence] and us.
He added that what was published about israel represents 1% or 2% of the documents concerning israel. But he stated that international newspapers that he made a deal with to publish the documents chose what they wanted to publish based on their interest in them. He said that that reflects the “bias” of some of these newspaper and that his site would publish all the documents it has and are related to israel.
Assange revealed that there are sensitive and classified documents that deal with israel’s war on Lebanon in 2006. Others deal with the assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh in Dubai and the diplomatic telegrams regarding the passports used by the mossad in the operation.
He said that there is an important telegram about Hizb Allah’s telecommunications’ network that mentions fiber lines and that one of these lines passed by the French embassy in Beirut. He added that this matter “worries Washington because control of telecommunications is important.”
He stated that the secret classified documents include mention of the mossad, and high ranking communications regarding the assassination of a Syrian official by a sniper. He said that the publication of the documents relating to israel and some Arab states will continue for six months.”
“There are 3,700 files related to Israel and the source of 2,700 files is Israel. In the next six months we intend to publish more files depending on our sources,” said Assange in the nearly one-hour interview telecast live from the UK.
Q: An Arabic newspaper called Al Haqeeqa [“the Truth”] conducted an interview with one of your former colleagues who said you have a deal with Israel not to publish these secret files.
A: This is not true. We have been accused as agents of Iran and CIA by this former colleague who was working for Germany in the past and was dismissed from his job after we published American military documents related to Germany.
We were the biggest institution receiving official funding from the US but after we released a video tape about killing people in cold blood in Iraq in 2007, the funding stopped and we had to depend on individuals for finance.
Q: When will you publish the files related to Israel on your website?
A: We will publish 3700 files and the source is the American embassy in Tel Aviv. Prime Minister Netanyahu was traveling to Paris to talk to the US ambassador there. You will see more information about that in six months.
Q: Do these Israeli files speak about the July 2006 Israeli war against Lebanon?
A: Yes there is some information about that and these files were classified as top secret.
Q: Is there any relation with these files and the assassination of Hamas military leader Al Mabhoh in Dubai?
A: Yes there are some indication to this and may be some special reports published by newspapers. Mossad agents used Australian, British and European passports to travel to Dubai and there are diplomatic files about that.
Q: Are there any security service companies providing information to international airports and monitoring passengers even in the Arab countries?
A: There are some files about American and Israeli security companies that tried to intervene in certain areas. For example, in Brazil, the American embassy put some Israeli security companies during the Olympic Games.
Q: Are there any files about agencies providing intelligence information about famous personalities in the Arab world?
A: I am not sure about that but there are files about Hezbollah in Lebanon. In one of these files Lebanon government complained against cables passing near the French embassy. American are always very much worried about the telecommunications network.
Q: Are there any files about Israeli agents in the Arab world including some Arab royal palaces.
A: Most of the files related to Mossad are classified as top secret but there may be some files related to the role of Mossad in killing Lebanese military leader in Damascus by sniper bullets.
There 2,500 files related to Mossad and I have read only 1000. So I don’t know about everythiong, I need more journalists including Arabs to read and analyse and put everything in the context for the benefit of the readers.
We have 17,000 files where the word Qatar has been mentioned, the source of 3,000 of these files is the American embassy in Doha.
Q: What is the most interesting file about Qatar that was not published?
A: There is a lot to be read. The name of Waddah Khanfar has been mentioned in 504 files. Some of these files have been published by The Guardian.
Q: How do the Americans view Al Jazeera in these files?
A: There were some meetings between people from Al Jazeera and the US embassy where the latter suggested coverage of certain things in a certain way.
There are files about a TV channel in Dubai which the Americans said can be used against Al Jazeera and when this channel tried to move in the American direction, people stopped watching it.
The Americans despite having a base here were angry about the presence of an Iranian bank in Qatar but Qatar said it would not close it but would not open new banks. Despite that this bank established many more branches in Doha. Qatar is trying to create a balance between the Arab world and the America.
The Americans appreciate having their largest base in Doha but Qatar does not agree with all American requirements and Al Jazeera is a good example for that.
I have been notified about the general rumour a few weeks ago, and shortly after about the appearance of me as involved in those allegations. I have never spoken to anyone at syriatruth or that reporter that is making these claims, nor do I know anything about any deals JA has allegedly made with Israelis.
Given what is appearing in the Scandinavian area with the involvement of Shamir and Wahlstrom I wouldn’t actually expect that to happen either. In any case, this latter statement is just my personal judgement.
I once received a test mail from a , and then a followup regarding OpenLeaks questions. A contact request to him after hearing of the allegations was not replied to.
In the last week or so I have been contacted by Israeli TV about this, as well as French Le Point today. Those are the only media outfits so far that seem to have taken interest. Other than that it seems to be mainly spreading via weird Russian and religious forums, at least from as much as I am aware of.
As I read somewhere that this alleged reporter I allegedly talked to works for Hareetz, I have asked the folks from Israeli TV if they could help find out who that is, and how to contact her. They replied that there doesn’t seem to be anyone by that name. So obviously, which was my gut feeling also, that person does not exist. Why that rumour is circulated, I dont know. I have my feelings about that and think we should give it some more time to uncover itself.
More disturbingly, the cables reveal that behind closed doors our political leaders deal incautiously with representatives of the United States and Israel. They seem to forget that they are dealing with the representatives of a foreign country, in a game that is definitely reserved for grown-ups, the world of navigating our country through the shoals of major international events. They make such forthright and absolute declarations of support that they leave hostages to fortune, giving themselves little room to negotiate on issues arising in the future on the basis of a hard-nosed assessment of where Australia’s national interest lies. Indeed, at times they give the impression they would struggle to see the difference between Australia’s national interests and those of the United States or Israel.
Despite vehement protestations by Netanyahu to the contrary, Wikileaks cables (and Netanyahu’s public admonitions), have shown Israel consistently conflates peace with Palestinians with its existential fear of Iran as number one threat, emphasising an interminable, nebulous and largely self-created security problem which inflates a deliberately marketed victimhood which the US is expected to ease and pander to at all times. In turn, this mechanism provides US military industrial plutocrats, Middle Eastern dictators and other ruling class mavens with plausible deniability for exploitation of the world’s richest sources of energy, at the expense of ordinary people of the region, negating an equitable outcome for rightsless Palestinians that would truly be in the interests of everyone’s security except those who profit from their oppression.
WikiLeaks now plans to begin sharing the cables with a wider group of regional news organisations. Julian Assange says all future cables released by WikiLeaks will either be redacted by other partner news organisations, or by WikiLeaks itself. The Guardian and its partners in the project, the New York Times, Der Spiegel, El Pais and Le Monde, will continue to share redactions with WikiLeaks for any cables they publish in future.
Assange defended one of WikiLeaks’ collaborators, Israel Shamir, following claims Shamir passed sensitive cables to Belarus’s dictator, Alexander Lukashenko. Lukashenko has arrested 600 opposition supporters and journalists since Sunday’s presidential election. The whereabouts and fate of several of the president’s high-profile opponents are unknown.
Of Shamir, Assange said: “WikiLeaks works with hundreds of journalists from different regions of the world. All are required to sign non-disclosure agreements and are generally only given limited review access to material relating to their region. We have no reason to believe these rumours in relation to Belarus are true.”
Over the past month the Guardian has published more than 200 articles based on the trove of US diplomatic dispatches obtained by WikiLeaks, and 739 of the cables themselves. All cables published by the Guardian and the four other international news organisations who had exclusive early access to the material have been carefully redacted to protect sources who could be placed in danger, and the redacted versions have been passed to WikiLeaks.
It’s annoying that the Guardian didn’t ask Assange how the Norwegian paper Aftenposten received the entire trove of documents, because I would like to know whether my suspicions are correct.
Swedish Radio, Medierna, discovered last week that Shamir’s son, Johannes Wahlström ‘is the gatekeeper of the cables in Scandinavia, and “has the power to decide” which newspapers are provided access and what leaks they are allowed to see’.
The FBI came unannounced to knock on doors at two apartments in Chicago this morning. FBI agent Robert Parker, under orders from U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s office, delivered a subpoena to Maureen Murphy. Murphy, like several other individuals served subpoenas, is an organizer with the Palestine Solidarity Group-Chicago.
This continues the repression unleashed by Fitzgerald on the anti-war movement since September 24th, when fourteen subpoenas were delivered to anti-war, labor, and solidarity activists in coordinated raids involving more than 70 federal agents. Armed FBI agents raided homes, taking computers, phones, passports, documents, notebooks, and even children’s artwork. A total of 23 subpoenas have been served to activists around the country.
Maureen Murphy said, “Along with several others, I am being summoned to appear before the Grand Jury on Tuesday, January 25th, in the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago. We are being targeted for the work we do to end U.S. funding of the Israeli occupation, ending the war in Afghanistan and ending the occupation of Iraq. What is at stake for all of us is our right to dissent and organize to change harmful US foreign policy.” Ms. Murphy is also the Managing Editor of the widely-read website, The Electronic Intifada.
In addition, three women in Minneapolis – Tracy Molm, Anh Pham, and Sara Martin – are threatened with reactivated subpoenas by Fitzgerald’s office and new Grand Jury dates. Tom Burke of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression explained, “It is likely the three individuals, like all the others so far, will continue to refuse to take part in Fitzgerald’s witch hunt. Fitzgerald can then call for putting them in jail as long as he wants.”
For more information: www.stopfbi.net
Contact: Tom Burke, Committee to Stop FBI Repression, 773-844-3612
Since 24 September, the FBI has raided seven Chicago and Minneapolis homes of activists and has served a total of 19 federal subpoenas across the Midwest. The targeted citizens are outspoken community organizers and students critical of US policy in Colombia, Palestine and the Middle East.
The grand jury and FBI are seeking evidence that connects the 19 activists and their “potential co-conspirators” to US-designated “terrorist organizations.” Five of the nineteen activists being targeted are Palestinian-Americans whose only crime is working tirelessly to inform fellow citizens of the realities of Israeli occupation. None of the 19 has been charged with a crime, and all deny providing material support, including money, to any foreign organization. These activists are shining examples of courage and fortitude, ordinary citizens doing the extraordinary work of building knowledge and support for justice and a common humanity
Federal harassment of our communities and associational life has grown precipitously during the last decade, as Arabs, Muslims and their allies continue to be persecuted for their lawful and necessary civic engagement. This suppression of civil rights and free speech seeks to criminalize and quell civic activism undertaken in support of Palestinian and other oppressed peoples’ struggles against US-funded occupation and war. This harassment must stop.
The United States Palestinian Community Network stands in full support of our brothers and sisters unjustly targeted by the federal government.
We assert our determination and commitment to challenge our government’s policies, both here and abroad, and will continue to defend the rights of Palestinians, our allies, and all those struggling against oppression. The USPCN upholds the constitutional right of Americans to dissent without fear of persecution, and the rights of peace and justice organizations to organize, educate, and assemble, free and unbridled.
We call upon all USPCN local chapters, members and fellow citizens, to join existing local and national efforts organized by the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (http://www.stopfbi.net).
Do not be intimidated, we struggle together. Continue to speak your conscience, continue to educate, and continue to organize. Justice will prevail.
It is beyond reprehensible that the US is witchhunting honourable people who stand up for truth and justice for oppressed people. What next? Star chambers and kangaroo courts for Electronic Intifada subscribers? How can YOU help? Firstly:
@Maureen_70 : if you think the FBI shouldn’t be messing with activists be sure to call US Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald (312-353-5300) and say so #stopfbi #
Secondly, donate to Electronic Intifada so the truth can continue to ring out clearly above a cacophony of base, repressive dross.
These loathsome US measures are signs of the empire’s moral bankruptcy and desperation. When the state is challenged, when truth is spoken to power, the state devolves to authoritarianism, with FBI actions being “reminiscent of the agency’s COINTELPRO program of the 1950s and 1960s that targeted Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Black Panther leaders, among many others”.
“To resume, in a few words, the system of the Imperial government, as it was instituted by Augustus, and maintained by those princes who understood their own interest and that of the people, it may be defined an absolute monarchy disguised by the forms of a commonwealth. The masters of the Roman world surrounded their throne with darkness, concealed their irresistible strength, and humbly professed themselves the accountable ministers of the senate, whose supreme decrees they dictated and obeyed.” – Edward Gibbon, “Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire”, Chapter 3
Gal Lugassi is an Israeli conscientious objector, a member of the Shiministim, an activist with the Anarchist Against the Wall action group, and the Boycott! from Within group. She also volunteers at the Coalition of Women for Peace and with the Who Profits project.
Anarchists Against the Wall (AATW) is a direct action group that was established in 2003 in response to the construction of the wall Israel is building on Palestinian land in the Occupied West Bank. The group works in cooperation with Palestinians in a joint popular struggle against the occupation.
Since its formation, the group has participated in hundreds of demonstrations and direct actions against the wall specifically, and the occupation generally, all over the West Bank. All of AATW’s work in Palestine is coordinated through villages’ local popular committees and is essentially Palestinian led.
Mid-East peace: a time to speak – ‘Rudd made a distasteful joke about Menachem Begin carrying out ”some interior redesign” of Jerusalem’s King David Hotel – referring to a terrorist bombing in 1946 that killed 91 people. Has Rudd really has got it as a diplomat? ‘
