Reconciliation Week 2011

Remember Eddie Mabo

Move on down the road
it leads to social justice
no more broken promises
Sing up Eddie Mabo.

Always blaming the victim
Still suffering curable disease
Time to end the genocide
remember Eddie Mabo.

Migaloo, keep your promises
cooperation or divided nation,
with the Land there’s hope
sing up Eddie Mabo.

Time for reconciliation
no more procrastination
move on down the road
remember Eddie Mabo.

Bureaucrats keep changing rules
for racist redneck fools
But Eddie Mabo knew the way
the true meaning of the Land.

Jinjirrie 1993

Eddie Koiki Mabo (c. 29 June 1936 – 21 January 1992)[1] was a Torres Strait Islander who is known for his role in campaigning for Indigenous land rights and for his role in a landmark decision of the High Court of Australia that overturned the legal fiction of terra nullius which characterised Australian law with regards to land and title.

@AboriginalOz It’s the last day of #ReconciliationWeek & exactly 1 year away from the 20th Anniversary of the Mabo Decision. 1 year to get the Vibe back! #

UK Brains Say BDS is the Way to Go

Here’s a victory for reason – well done to British academics! Britain’s largest trade union for academics, the UCU, to the consternation of zionists ‘has voted to disassociate itself from the EU working definition of anti-Semitism’ and supports BDS.

70 EUMC working definition of anti-semitism – National Executive Committee

Congress notes with concern that the so-called ‘EUMC working definition of antisemitism’, while not adopted by the EU or the UK government and having no official status, is being used by bodies such as the NUS and local student unions in relation to activities on campus.

Congress believes that the EUMC definition confuses criticism of Israeli government policy and actions with genuine antisemitism, and is being used to silence debate about Israel and Palestine on campus.

Congress resolves:

  1. that UCU will make no use of the EUMC definition (e.g. in educating members or dealing with internal complaints)
  2. that UCU will dissociate itself from the EUMC definition in any public discussion on the matter in which UCU is involved
  3. that UCU will campaign for open debate on campus concerning Israel’s past history and current policy, while continuing to combat all forms of racial or religious discrimination.

This successful motion follows on the UCU resolution carried on the 29th May backing BDS below:

36 Composite: Threats to academic freedom in Israel and Palestine – National Executive Committee , LSE

Congress notes:

  1. Israel’s continued illegal occupation of Palestine and daily oppression of Palestinian teachers and students
  2. the restrictions on the free movement of Palestinian Academics within the Occupied Territories and crossing between the Territories and Israel and on foreign travel
  3. Israel’s ongoing construction of settlements
  4. the current witch-hunting of Israeli academics, civil rights campaigners and NGOs who are deemed to be damaging Israel’s economic interests by their political activities
  5. the recent alarming moves in the Israeli Knesset to penalise Israeli academics who support boycott action or even just provide information which may assist boycotts; this law will lay academics open to fines of £5000 with ‘no need to demonstrate that injury was done’ and to unlimited damages if losses are caused.
  6. the petition from 155 Israeli academics expressing their ‘unwillingness to take part in any type of academic activity taking place in the college operating in the settlement of Ariel’, calling Ariel an illegal settlement whose existence contravenes international law and the Geneva Convention.

Congress deplores these attacks on the academic freedom of our Palestinian and Israeli colleagues.
Congress instructs NEC to:

  1. circulate to all members
    • the call by the Israeli academics
    • the PACBI call for academic and cultural boycott of Israel
    • information about the current legislation passing through the Knesset threatening heavy fines and other penalties on Israelis taking non-violent action against the occupation.
  2. seek a delegation to meet the Israeli Ambassador to raise our concerns
  3. press the Foreign Office to protest to the Israeli Government
  4. raise the issue with Education International and press them to seek similar action by all affiliates
  5. publicise these threats and our actions in response.

Well, Kevin Rudd and Paul Howes, is BDS so nutty now that the largest academic union in the EU supports it?

The Congress also carried a motion in regard to the zionist complaint about the Healthy Inclusions course at Liverpool University for medical students.

This week Liverpool University withdrew a course delivered to students in the medical faculty as a result of a complaint made by one student objecting to a talk reporting on medical issues in Palestine.

Liverpool UCU has called for the re-instatement of the Healthy Inclusions course and for the university to be robust in defending the freedom of its staff to select the content and delivery of course material without interference.

The university has refused to reinstate the course and signalled their intention to incorporate the course into mainstream teaching in the interests of ensuring ‘balance’.

Congress condemns the decision to withdraw the course, and calls on the NEC to:

  • write to the university
  • publicise the issue nationally and encourage a letter writing campaign
  • consider how the growing number of threats to academic freedom can be effectively resisted in the current climate driving market-led provision.

Related Links

UK academics’ union rejects EUMC bogus definition of antisemitism
Support for Palestinian voices on campus are now called ‘extremism’
Excellent article about the EUMC working draft definition and its inadequacy and use for propaganda purposes by zionists.

‘In fact, the document appears to be dead in the water as far as the Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), the successor body to the EUMC, is concerned. They recently told me that feedback on initial testing of the document ‘drew attention to a number of issues which impacted on its effectiveness as a data collection support tool.’ In other words, it wasn’t useful. “Since its development we are not aware of any public authority in the EU that applies it,” the FRA official added. Moreover, “The FRA has no plans for any further development of the ‘working definition’.” (24 August 2010)

The latest FRA publication on the topic – its Working Paper Anti-Semitism: Summary overview of the situation in the European Union 2001-2009 (April 2010) does not even mention the “working definition”. It does complain (p.3) that: “Even where data exist they are not comparable, since they are collected using different definitions and methodologies.” That was precisely the reason why an operational definition was called for in the first place. The “working definition” clearly does not provide this.’

How a flawed bureaucratic document has been transformed into a sacred text
Loaded words: Evolving interpretations of ‘anti-semitic’ and ‘anti-semitism’ [1] in dictionary definitions and in public discourse [2]

Moving to the conclusion:

‘In short: the EUMC working definition has little to do with fighting antisemitism and a lot to do with waging a propaganda war against critics of Israel. It is time it was buried and the UCU decision to take it on is hopefully a step in that direction. The fight against antisemitism should not be muddied by those who confuse criticism of Israeli violations of human rights and international law with hatred of Jews. It is clearly no such thing.’

When You’re Reut, You’re Wrong

Ali Abunimah analyses the Reut Institute stance for a Palestinian State.

Gidi Grinstein, the founder and president of Israel’s Reut Institute argues that US President Barack Obama should support the Palestinian Authority’s unilateral efforts to seek recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN in September. The reasons he gives, however, have nothing to do with supporting Palestinian rights, but precisely with negating them. Grinstein writes:

a declaration of a Palestinian state in September includes the possibility of a diplomatic breakthrough as well as significant advantages for Israel. The establishment of such a state will help anchor the principle of two states for two peoples, shape the permanent situation with Israel controlling the security assets and the new state’s surroundings, and diminish the refugee problem by marginalizing UNRWA and limiting refugee status.

Despite Obama’s speeches, the diplomatic process will remain at a dead end as the moment of decision in September approaches. Then the United States will have another opportunity to do the right thing: to ensure that the establishment of a Palestinian state conforms to Israel’s needs.

In other words, Grinstein hopes that UN recognition will set rolling a bandwagon that limits any Palestinian state to precisely the kind of demilitarized bantustan under overall Israeli control that will “solve” Israel’s legitimacy and diplomatic problems while marginalizing Palestinian rights, especially refugee rights.

Grinstein’s Reut Institute is the organization that has set out the strategy Israel’s current campaign of “sabotage and attack” aimed at global Palestine solidarity activism, especially the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.

Palestine / Israel Links

Greek BDS activists plant trees in Estee Lauder store

six participants dressed in suits as members of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and “proceeded to ‘plant’ trees over the Estee Lauder shop space … flyers were distributed to shoppers and staff informing them that ‘this Estee Lauder space is currently being rezoned.’”

British prime minister steps down as JNF patron

The state of Israel anchors modern slavery in its laws
On June 5th support the Palestinian refugees’ right to return
Bachmann in my bubble?! Nooooo – The Google ad filter is pushing anti-BDS ads in response to pro-BDS site searches. Filthy hasbaroids team with global capitalism.
Limmud-Oz censorship and bans highlight desperate, oppressive tactics and goals of the zionist right against BDS in Australia. – and more ulterior motive : against the New Israel Fund (NIF) –

Executive Naomi ‘Chazan’s planned visit was challenged last week when the Shalom Institute, which runs Limmud-Oz, confirmed that a major donor had threatened to withdraw funding for Shalom if Chazan, who also is scheduled to speak at Limmud-Oz, was not removed from the program.’

Boycott!! Frameline Film Festival Pinkwashing Israeli Apartheid
Life beyond “The Wall” by Jenny Baboun
IMEU: Rafah: a return to the status quo?
The Gaza Cheat Sheet Real Data on the Gaza Closure
Donate musical instruments to Salem village project in the West Bank
The new settlement of Bassa (in the Western Galilee), an abandoned Arab village turned into a Jewish settlement.
August Burns Red Have Cancelled Their Planned Concert in Israel
The Israeli Military’s Unforgivable Abuse of Women
Israeli anchorwoman accused of interpreting Netanyahu’s speech
Israeli forces destroy house and barn in the Bedouin village of Arab Abu Farda, south Qalqilya

Australia Links

Reverse proof of title, says Paul Keating

IN a landmark speech, Paul Keating has called for the onus of proof in the Native Title Act to be reversed so that Aboriginal claimants are no longer required to establish a continuous association with their land. Instead, the former prime minister says, native title objectors should be required to prove a continuous attachment no longer exists.

Australian govt pays less than lip service to indigenous rights : Don’t say “Sorry” unless you mean it.

Freedom for Palestine

“Palestine is in crisis. Today Palestinians face daily human rights abuse and live in crushing poverty in refugee camps and under Israeli Occupation.

In response to this injustice, a group of international musicians are releasing the song Freedom for Palestine by OneWorld.”

Featuring

Maxi Jazz (Faithless), Dave Randall (Slovo/Faithless), LSK, the Durban Gospel Choir, members of the London Community Gospel Choir, Jamie Catto (1 Giant Leap), Harry Collier (Kubb), Andrea Britton, Sudha (Faithless), Andy Treacy (Faithless / Moby / Groove Armada), Attab Haddad, Joelle Barker and Tony Reed.

Music video features artists on track in addition to comedian Mark Thomas, rapper Lowkey and poet Michael Rosen.

Song written and produced by Dave Randall. Video produced by Andy Marlow. Filming by Alex Forster, Andy Marlow & Henna Malik (UK), Dave Randall (UK & West Bank), Jen Marlowe (Gaza) and Amehlo Video Productions (SA). Animation by the Moth Collective.

Preorder now!

A new animated film released by Gisha challenges the commonly held belief that Israel no longer exercises control over Gaza and does not bear responsibility for what goes on there. The opening of the Rafah Crossing is a welcome improvement in Gaza residents’ access to the outside world. However, it does not detract from Israel’s obligation to allow regular travel between Gaza and the West Bank. The Palestinian territory shares a single economy, a single education system, a single healthcare system and countless familial, cultural and social ties.

Today’s Palestine / Israel Links

Israel’s stranglehold on the British media
Obamarama demonstrates he, like Bush, isn’t averse to interferring with the freedom of the press.
Under Israeli Siege: Gaza’s Drinking Water Polluted
Turning the ‘right of return’ into reality – Ben White on the untenable lies and racist excuses the US and Israel use to thwart the inalienable right of Palestinians to return to their lands.
This is ethnic cleansing by stealth: Palestinian and Jewish Neighbourhoods in Jerusalem to be renamed
Israeli raid on Gaza-bound flotilla remembered

Other Links

Twelve children killed in another US massacre in Afghanistan

Animal Farm Imperialism Revealed

Zionism and imperialism – two heads of the same grotesque beast, which advances the cause of robber barons who defend their own interests under the holy shibboleth of capitalism.

Palestine / Israel Links

Cheering Netanyahu’s Intransigence
A year of steadfastness in Israeli prison
Apartments Are Dedicated in Jerusalem
Palestinian UN bid: Israel’s battle for Europe
Egypt to open Rafah border permanently
Israel links EU support for Palestinians to anti-Semitism
Israel to UN: You say innocents, I say villains
Top UN official calls for end to Israel’s displacement of Palestinians :

“At 700 kilometres long, with 85 per cent of its route inside the West Bank, the Barrier cuts off communities from basic services, denies people access to their homes, and leaves thousands of people dependent on humanitarian handouts.”
Recounting a meeting she had with Palestinians who had been evicted from their homes in East Jerusalem to make way for Israeli settlements, Ms. Amos said they faced daily violence and threats from settlers, noting the attacks on Palestinians are rarely prosecuted.
Thousands of Palestinians had lost their right to live in East Jerusalem and those in the West Bank struggled to access specialized education and reach medical facilities that are only available in Jerusalem.

Fact-checking Netanyahu’s Speech
DePaul vote on Sabra hummus a victory for human rights: SJP’s strategy is not predicated on the elimination of an Israeli state. Rather, it deals purely with human rights. The logic is simple; boycotting Sabra hummus and other similarly problematic products sends a strong signal to owners of the companies that make them, which is that any profiteering from human rights violations will not be tolerated.

Nakba Day 2011: The Other Exodus

Other Links

Pilger: Murdoch keeps Australia’s dirty secret

Boycott Max Brenner – Don’t Buy Israeli Apartheid Action in Melbourne

Related Links

Paul Simon, Don’t Break Cultural Boycott Again!
Resist Obamanations: Ilan Pappe “Throw a shoe at Obama’s betrayal”: One can continue to boycott Israeli goods and cultural representatives in France, even if there is a new law against it. If Palestinians in Israel can defy Israeli laws against Nakba commemoration, insidious European laws and regulations should be ignored as well.
Festival bans Israel boycott supporters

In a statement provided by the Shalom Institute program director, Michael Misrachi, organisers said they decided to rule out presenters who advocated the boycott because it undermined the event’s engagement with Israeli academic and artistic institutions and their representatives.

”This is not about censorship, nor are we seeking to stifle dissenting views. Limmud-Oz is proud of the principles of pluralism and inclusiveness which guide us and Limmuds around the world,” it read.

Mr Misrachi confirmed Dr Slezak and Ms Porzsolt’s names were removed from the list of speakers on the event’s website following complaints.

Two other speakers have since pulled out of the festival in protest at the ban, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported.

Ms Porzsolt, who said she would still attend the festival, told organisers in an email they had misrepresented the boycott, and asked them to reconsider.

”My proposed workshop was not even on BDS … The exclusion of me as a person for the ideas I hold generally, and not because of the topic of my workshop, smacks of excommunication,” it read.

The chief executive of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, Vic Alhadeff, said it endorsed the decision of the Shalom Institute.

Palestine / Israel Links

About 8 minutes into the archive, Rae Abileah speaks from hospital about need to rise up against war criminals like Nutanyahoo and perfidy of the vicious AIPAC thugs from the audience who assaulted her. No charges are being pressed against her.
Witness the Shocking Denial and Ignorance About the Occupation of Palestine by AIPAC Delegates
Americans protest Netanyahu AIPAC speech:
Constitution Committee Approves Bill Discriminating Against Those Who Did Not Serve in the Army
Complicity in Oppression: Do the Media Aid Israel?
MOVE OVER AIPAC: A view from the street
Another existential threat which frightens Israel : Palestinian infant close to death as Israel denies him medication
Netanyahu: Israel ready for painful compromises – If a thief is asked to return stolen property, is this a ‘painful compromise’ except to other thieves?
Tim Llewellyn, bias and the BBC
Netanyahu’s end game

There is a breaking point for Palestinian patience and Netanyahu is making sure that we reach it soon. Clouding the issues will not change the fact that millions of Palestinians in the territories are under occupation and siege. Their national aspiration for liberation has not died down nor will it recede. Netanyahu may have buried the peace process but he has brought back to life the Arab-Israeli conflict, this time in a changing Arab world!

May Nutanyahoo lose the end game and everyone win!
Izbat al-Tabib village resists land confiscation, demolition orders
Nadia Hijab: ‘Israel needs to be a state in which all citizens are equal’

Whatever outcome there is, whether one or two states in the land that was Palestine until the conflict began in 1948, all citizens must enjoy equal rights, whether, they’re Jewish, Christian, or Muslim, whether men or women. … Until President Obama is willing or able to use U.S. leverage with Israel to hold it accountable under the law, then Israel will continue to colonize Palestinian land, and the Arab world will continue to hold America responsible.

Protestor who disrupted Netanyahu in Congress attacked, hospitalized, arrested
To Friendly Crowd, Netanyahu Repeats Criteria for Peace

In the West Bank, Nabil Shaath, a senior Palestinian official, called the speech “a declaration of war against the Palestinians.”

“This is an escalation and unfortunately, it received a standing ovation,” he told The Associated Press. He noted that Mr. Netanyahu had rejected Palestinian demands on issues as central as future borders, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of refugees.


Mr. Netanyahu said that the Palestinian leader must do what he has done: “I stood before my people and I said, ‘I will accept a Palestinian state.’ It’s time for President Abbas to stand before his people and say, ‘I will accept a Jewish state.’ ”

He added: “Those six words will convince the people of Israel that they have a true partner for peace. With those six words, the Israeli people will be prepared to make a far-reaching compromise. I will be prepared to make a far-reaching compromise.”

@avinunu I am Israel, I expel you, oppress you, deny your history, accuse you of having a culture of hate, then demand that you recognize & love me.
Shir Hever: ‘The prospect of a democratic state in which Palestinians will be equal citizens is more threatening to the Israeli government than an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and because of that the Israeli government will implement, and has already began to implement, mechanisms by which to turn the PA into a subcontractor of occupation.’
Obama admin pleased that Netanyahu refuses to acknowledge Zionist racism
Disagreement is treason: VIDEO: AIPAC Attendees Say Jews Who Criticize Israel Are Traitors, Demand Loyalty To Netanyahu