peace

‘There were 4.05 million Palestinians living in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) as of
mid-2010—62.1% in the West Bank and 37.9% in Gaza.

An estimated 1.97 million, or 48.6% of the
total population, were under the age of 18 (or an estimated 1.22 million children in the West Bank and
746,630 children in Gaza).

‘The Palestinian economy continued to grow in 2010 (9.3% growth in real GDP up from 6.8% in 2009). Gaza saw significant economic growth (15% up from 1% in 2009) while growth in the West Bank was less dramatic (7.6% down from 8.5% in 2009). The opening of crossings into Gaza allowed
for goods to flow to the manufacturing and agricultural sectors. Nevertheless, this economic growth
was primarily driven by donor assistance and not viewed as sustainable under current conditions.

Unemployment rates went down marginally (23.4% at end 2010, down from 24.8% at end
2009). Unemployment remained higher in Gaza at 37.4% (39.3% in 2009) compared with 16.9% in the
West Bank (18.1% in 2009).

In 2010, 31.9% of households in Gaza suffered from poverty compared with 16% of households
in the West Bank. Nearly 27 percent (26.9%) of children in the OPT were poor (living in households
with income below the national poverty line)—38.4% in Gaza and 19% in the West Bank.

In Gaza,
households that remain above the poverty line are highly vulnerable to becoming poor.

52% of households in Gaza faced food insecurity and an additional 13% were vulnerable to
food insecurity during the first half of 2010 (compared with 61% in 2009). In rural areas of Gaza, 69%
of households faced food insecurity.

This translates to more than 90,000 children at risk of food insecurity in Gaza.

Similar to 2009, 71% of families in Gaza received at least one form of social assistance, mostly
in the form of food assistance, which plays a crucial role in alleviating poverty.

Still, almost one-third
of households did not maintain a diet with varied and nutritious foods.’

‘Nearly 95% of primary school students
and 95.8% of preparatory school students in
Gaza had insufficient electricity at home to
complete their homework either some or
most of the time.’

In 2010, 3 cases of Palestinian children used by Israeli security forces as human shields in the West Bank

In 2010, 320 Palestinians died & were injured in settler-related incidents

In Area C of the West Bank, Israeli authorities destroyed in 2010 at least 40 water cisterns affecting 7500 children

Up to 48% of Palestinian residents in East Jerusalem are at risk of displacement by Israel

13 Palestinian children in detention were threatened with sexual assault by Israel military in 2010

In 2010, 70% of detained Palestinian children were beaten or kicked by the Israeli military

30,000 Gazan Palestinians & thousands of children remain displaced 2 years after Cast Lead

10,000 Palestinian children are unregistered in East Jerusalem with no access to education or health care

70 Palestinians, half children, were forced from their East Jerusalem homes by Israeli settlers in 2010

In 2010, Israel forcibly displaced 299 Palestinian children due to its demolition of their homes

Israel shot 23 Gazan children collecting building material or grazing livestock in 2010

Not mentioned by Palmer report – 85% of maritime areas for fishing are blocked to Palestinians

At the end of 2010, less than 1% of the homes destroyed by Israel in Cast Lead had been rebuilt

Thanks to Israel’s illegal Gaza blockade, by early 2011, asthma medication for children was completely out of stock

In 2010, there were 24 documented cases of attacks by Israel on schools in the OPT including demolition orders

~ 95% of children in Gaza had insufficient electricity to complete their homework some or most of the time.

Over 44 percent (44.4%) of children were refugees.

In the West Bank, 29% of
children were refugees; in Gaza, the percentage was much higher at 67%.

UN Report on Indigenous Peoples

New UN Special Rapporteur report refers to Israeli policies toward Bedouin citizens in the Negev. Pp.24-31

‘the people in the Government-created towns reportedly rank at the bottom of all the indicators used by the State to measure social and economic wellbeing. Furthermore, the Bedouin have complained that they cannot continue to live in their traditional manner in these urban areas, given that raising crops or animals in the towns is not allowed.’
…
?’Reportedly, out of approximately 155,000 Bedouin living in the Negev today, around half live in the recognized towns created by the Government and half live in 47 so-called “unrecognized villages”. According to the information received, although officially unrecognized, the majority of these villages were established prior to the creation of the
State of Israel, and virtually all were established prior to the creation of the Government-created towns. The unrecognized villages are denied all forms of basic infrastructure and are not allowed to build or develop in any way. Building permits may not be issued in unrecognized villages, resulting in Bedouin individuals being indicted continually for “illegal” construction and in countless Bedouin homes being subject ot demolition orders.

It is further alleged that, since the early 1990s, Bedouin people living in unrecognized villages throughout the Negev desert have experienced ongoing demolitions of their homes and
villages by Israeli authorities.”

The Special Rapporteur gives the racist Israeli government a hard smack.

‘First, the Special Rapportuer acknowledges the position of the State of Israel that it does not accept the classification of its Bedouin citizens as an indigenous people given that
Bedouin tribes arrived to the Negev area late in the Ottoman era, mainly from Saudi Arabia and Egypt, to an already existing legal regime. The Special Rapporteur notes, however, the
longstanding presence of Bedouin people throughout a geographic region that includes Israel, and observes that in many respects, the Bedouin people share in the characteristics of indigenous peoples worldwide, including a connection to lands and the maintenance of cultural traditions that are distinct from those of majority populations. Further, the
grievances of the Bedouin, stemming from their distinct cultural identities and their connection to their traditional lands, can be identified as representing the types of problems
to which the international human rights regime related to indigenous peoples has been designed to respond. Thus, the Special Rapporteur considers that the concerns expressed by
members of the Bedouin people are of relevance to his mandate and fall within the ambit of concern of the principles contained in international instruments such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. ‘

August 22, 2011December 11, 2020

Open Letter to Marianne Faithfull from Don’t Play Apartheid Israel

Dear Marianne Faithfull,

We write you this letter in the hope that you will carefully consider cancelling your 18 October concert in Israel. Your wise decision not to play in apartheid South Africa shows that you are well aware of the power of a cultural boycott in support of human rights. Now, about 30 years later, you are being asked not to play in apartheid Israel [1] (Israel practices the three pillars of apartheid). Fighting apartheid in South Africa was right, and fighting apartheid wherever it raises its ugly face is still right.

We would be happy to send you information about the plight of the Palestinian refugees, pictures of the illegal apartheid wall, beautiful quotes by South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu in support of the Palestinian people and horrendous testimonies of Israeli interrogation.

The recent International Red Cross report on the siege of Gaza demonstrates how terribly damaging it is to Palestinians. [2] The siege most definitely constitutes human rights abuse. Also, the UN Report of 2009 finds Israel guilty of committing war crimes in its assault on Gaza in 2008/2009, including using white phosphorous on civilians and using human shields. [3]

In 1990 you worked with Roger Waters on the rock opera The Wall live in Berlin, you also collaborated with him in your Vagabond Ways album in 1999. You may not be aware that Roger Waters has asked his colleagues in the music industry, to boycott Israel. He says:

“In my view, the abhorrent and draconian control that Israel wields over the besieged Palestinians in Gaza and the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank (including East Jerusalem), coupled with its denial of the rights of refugees to return to their homes in Israel, demands that fair-minded people around the world support the Palestinians in their civil, nonviolent resistance.

Where governments refuse to act people must, with whatever peaceful means are at their disposal. For me this means declaring an intention to stand in solidarity, not only with the people of Palestine but also with the many thousands of Israelis who disagree with their government’s policies, by joining the campaign of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israel.

My conviction is born in the idea that all people deserve basic human rights. This is not an attack on the people of Israel. This is, however, a plea to my colleagues in the music industry, and also to artists in other disciplines, to join this cultural boycott.

Artists were right to refuse to play in South Africa’s Sun City resort until apartheid fell and white people and black people enjoyed equal rights. And we are right to refuse to play in Israel until the day comes – and it surely will come – when the wall of occupation falls and Palestinians live alongside Israelis in the peace, freedom, justice and dignity that they all deserve.”

(guardian.co.uk at 21.30 GMT on Friday 11 March 2011)

The BDS (Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions) movement has reached global proportions and people around the world are joining in solidarity with the oppressed people who live under Israel’s harsh, oppressive, racist apartheid system. Solidarity is alive and well in Australia, Ireland, the USA, South America, Europe, Japan, Korea, and many other places such as Fiji.

We are not asking you to join or be a spokesperson (though we would be thrilled if you chose to) of this dynamic movement. It’s not complicated, you are merely being asked to refrain from playing in Israel and endorsing apartheid.

Over 200 artists in Ireland, where you live, have signed a pledge to boycott Israel. [4] These artists refuse to allow their music to be exploited by an apartheid state that disregards international law and universal principles of human rights, but look forward to the day when normal cultural relations can be re-established with an Israel that fully complies with such laws and principles. Playing in Israel truly is a political statement in support of apartheid, and against human rights. Please be aware of the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s statement in 2005 that “We see culture as a propaganda tool of the first rank, and…do not differentiate between propaganda and culture.”

In the light of last year’s murder of humanitarian activists by the Israeli military and the ongoing illegal and immoral siege of Gaza, as well as the occupation of Palestine, it is profoundly important that Israel not be allowed to profit from artists visiting the state until it upholds international law.

Our sincere hope is that you will refuse to cross the picket line drawn by the Palestinian call for cultural boycott and cancel your concert plans in Israel.

Sincerely,

Don’t Play Apartheid Israel

We are a group, of over 745 members, representing many nations around the globe, who believe that it is essential for musicians & other artists to heed the call of the PACBI, and join in the boycott of Israel. This is essential in order to work towards justice for the Palestinian people under occupation, and also in refugee camps and in the diaspora throughout the world.

[1] See references below for documentation on apartheid in Israel:

Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa (HSRC) study : Israel is practicing both colonialism and apartheid in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).

http://www.hsrc.ac.za/Media_Release-378.phtml

Full report of the South African Human Sciences Research Council

https://www.kadaitcha.com/pdfs/3EE20d01.pdf

Israel/Palestine, South Africa and the ‘One-State Solution’: The Case for an Apartheid Analysis
[Bakan, Abigail B. and Abu-Laban, Yasmeen(2010)

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/ftinterface~content=a931468637~fulltext=713240930~frm=section

Do Israel’s practices in occupied Palestinian territory, namely the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, amount to the crimes of colonialism and apartheid under international law?

http://www.odsg.org/co/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1735%3Ais-israel-an-apartheid-state&catid=35%3Areports&Itemid=57

[2] Gaza Closure: Not Another year!

http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/update/palestine-update-140610.htm

[3] UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/specialsession/9/FactFindingMission.htm

[4] IPSC “Irish artists’ pledge to boycott Israel” http://www.ipsc.ie/archives/pledge/

August 13, 2011December 11, 2020

BDS Against Apartheid Israel is Necessary and Just

Spokesman from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Dr Danny Lamm unctuously preaches isolationism, as if Australians never object to injustice in other countries at any time.

“A strong bipartisan voice saying ‘No’ to BDS will reflect the basic sentiment of most Australians that the bitterness and complexity of foreign conflicts should be kept out of our peaceful country.”

In fact, the majority of Australians support Palestinian rights and the Australian government adopting a policy on the Israel-Palestine conflict that calls for negotiations to be based on international law and human rights.

Kim Bullimore corrects the record from The Australian’s predictably reprehensible and inadequate reportage where an imaginary Max Brenner is quoted (there is no Max Brenner), offering an honest appraisal of the purpose of BDS and the noble reasons for picketing of Max Brenner shops. Surely the Press Council or the appropriate union should be interested in Cameron Stewart’s ethical breach? The name ‘Max Brenner’ is a combination of the names of the two original owners of the chain, Max Fichtman and Oded Brenner.

The next action in support of BDS against Israeli apartheid will be held in Brisbane on August 27 at 1 pm

Boycott apartheid Israel! Boycott Max Brenner!

Max Brenner Chocolates is a 100% Israeli-owned company belonging to the Strauss Group, the second largest Israeli food and beverage company. On the “corporate responsibility” section of its website, the Strauss Group emphasises the support it gives to the Israeli army. The Strauss group is proud that for more than 30 years, it has supported the Golani reconnaissance platoon infamous for its involvement 2006 invasion of Lebanon and other atrocities. As their website puts it: “Our connection with soldiers goes as far back as the country, and even further. We see a mission and need to continue to provide our soldiers with support, to enhance their quality of life and service conditions, and sweeten their special moments.”

PROTEST: Sat August 27
Gather at 1pm in park on cnr of Merivale & Glenelg St for a march to Max Brenner store at South Bank

Phone: 0400 720 757, 0401 586 923
Email:

Spread the word!

Download posters and flyers:
http://boycottmaxbrenner.wikispaces.com/flyers+and+posters

Australia cracks down on BDS
BNC Condemns Repression of BDS Activism in Australia :

‘We stand with Australian activists in the face of the organized repression and smear campaign they have been facing for the past year, since the attempts to overturn the Marrickville council BDS motion.
…
‘We remind the government of Australia of its obligations under international law to respect basic human rights and end all support of Israel’s war crimes and other serious violations of international law. The Australian government must urgently end its arms trade with Israel and impose sanctions upon it rather than investigate dissident organizations who, in the tradition of principled international solidarity, are taking the moral responsibility to end Israel’s impunity and Australia’s complicity in it.”

Harsh bail conditions meant to stop more Max Brenner protests

Here’s how the Marduk press is attempting to divide the BDS movement in Australia – quoting Jim Barr from APAN, which is a newly formed advocacy group as ‘THE head of Australia’s peak pro-Palestinian group …’ objecting to violence at the Max Brenner demo (caused by the cops charging the protesters).

The glutaginous zionist scribe Philip Mendes chips in as well – as usual no sign of the Marduk monstrocacy bothering to balance the view.

APAN supports BDS and signed the solidarity statement for BDS the other day.

Launch Of Australia Palestine Advocacy Network

‘Former Australian ambassador to Egypt Robert Newton.

‘Mr Newton, who was recently elected vice-president of the Australia-Palestine Advocacy Network, said the network was made up of groups of people who wanted justice for Palestinians affected by the conflict.’

Barr is involved here

Palestine / Israel Links

Israel to make payment for “Cast Lead” deaths

The settlement was negotiated by the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) on behalf of the family of a mother and daughter killed by Israeli soldiers during Cast Lead. The payment is to be made to the family in return for their dropping the claim against the Israeli military.

US Palestinians on inaugural ‘know thy heritage’ tour “The hardest thing for me was seeing the wall. That was just devastating and horrible, and I just can’t stand it”.
Abusisi to Shabak: I Left Gaza Because Hamas Threatened Me and My Children
Nurit Peled-Elhanan’s new book, exposing the racism of Israel’ s education system.

Jenin Theatre says raids and arrests show that Israel’s only methods involve violence and terror
Israeli Tent Protests Ignore Link Between Neoliberalism, Occupation

And, of course, the Histadrut is only nominally a “labor federation”: in reality, it assists an accumulation process tightly tied into the state apparatus, regulating wages and – notoriously – offloading state enterprises onto politically connected figures in the private sector in the looting of the commons euphemistically called “privatization.” As ever, the state is not looking out for the interests of the dispossessed. It is looking out for the interests of the possessed, and looking out for them with great care and skill: ten large business groups now control 30 percent of the market value of public companies, while 16 control half of the money in the whole country.

Diggers accused of ‘plundering’ mosaic from Gaza
The Fight for Equality in Israel’s J14 Movement
War has broken out over an idea to revive the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel group. Barry O’Farrell has been accused of attempting to ”politicise” the group, with even Israel Ambassador Yuval Rotem monitoring the stink from Canberra.
Max Ajl: the Histadrut is only nominally a “labor federation”: in reality, it assists an accumulation process tightly tied into the state apparatus, regulating wages and – notoriously – offloading state enterprises onto politically connected figures in the private sector in the looting of the commons euphemistically called “privatization.”
Chomsky: “Pro-Israel Christian Right most anti-Semitic people in the world”
Today’s Murdoch hackery; accusing Israel critics of anti-Semitism
Leader of Gaza youth group said arrested by Hamas authorities on return from France

UK riots

In contrast to Cameron’s anathema toward social media: Activists use social media to help Egypt slum-dwellers
The Fight for Equality in Israel’s J14 Movement

August 11, 2011December 11, 2020

Israeli Citizens in Solidarity with Australian BDS Activists!

Following anti-Democratic Arrests and Intimidation Attempts: Israeli Citizens in Solidarity with Australian BDS Activists!

We, Israeli citizens, members of Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within, would like to express our solidarity with the numerous Australians who are involved in the burgeoning BDS campaign in Australia.

Witnessing first-hand the brutality of our government against the Palestinian people, we have joined the July 2005 Palestinian call for a comprehensive boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign against the state of Israel and its institutions. Such means should be applied as long as Israel continues to flout international law and UN resolutions and refuses to acknowledge the Palestinian people’s universally recognized human rights: The rights of Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories, the rights of Israel’s Palestinian citizens, and the rights of Palestinians who were expelled from their homes during the Nakba (the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestine).

As Israeli citizens, we are angered by the outrageous attempts to exploit the horrors committed by the Nazi regime, through a comparison of the Palestinian led BDS campaign to the 1933 Nazi boycott campaign, in order to try and silence the Palestinian non-violent popular struggle for freedom and justice. The deplorable and racist Nazi boycott campaign targeted all Jews, without exception, and only for being Jewish. The Australian BDS campaign does NOT target Jewish businesses, as argued by demagogues in Australia! The lesson from the Jewish holocaust should be, in our view, the need to oppose all forms of discrimination and violence committed against different ethnic groups in the name of nationalist or supremacist ideologies. The state of Israel has failed to learn that lesson.

To reiterate, we are concerned that some politicians in Australia have accused the activists involved in BDS of being anti-Semitic. We reject those accusations. The BDS campaign is a legitimate form of non-violent political action, whereby people and organizations are required not to participate in or support violations of international law. We take a clear stand against all forms of racism, including antisemitism and Islamophobia. Not only does the BDS campaign oppose anti-Semitism, it is also a responsible call that targets only complicit institutions rather than individuals. BDS is neither anti-Jewish nor anti-Israeli, since it does not oppose all that is Israeli because it is Israeli: the campaign simply insists that Israel abide by its obligations under international law. Furthermore, by attempting to lump together all Jews around the world as a monolithic block that is expected to support its criminal policies, the state of Israel is denying the fact that many Jews, including in Israel, oppose the occupation and apartheid policies inflicted on the Palestinian people.

The current debate within Israeli society shows us that the boycott campaign is extremely effective. The latest attempt by the Israeli government to silence its own citizens, the new anti-boycott legislation, in addition to other explicitly racist laws, is yet another indication of the need for this Palestinian-led non-violent global movement, in order to insure the rights of all people in this region.

The recent Australian BDS actions have been a great inspiration. We are encouraged to know that as far-away as Down Under there are individuals and groups active in the BDS campaign, promoting the Palestinian people’s unassailable rights. The BDS movement needs your help and support. We call upon all Australians to join and support the struggle for freedom and equality in Palestine.

With the deepest gratitude and all our support,

Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within

http://boycottisrael.info/

August 8, 2011December 11, 2020

Another Arrest from the Jenin Freedom Theatre

The brutal IOF arrests another member of the Jenin Freedom Theatre and places a gag on reporting within Israel about the incident.

Today at approximately 15:00 hrs one of the third-year graduating students at The Freedom Theatre was taken by the Israeli army at the Shave Shomeron checkpoint between the Palestinian cities Jenin and Nablus. The student’s name is Rami Awni Hwayel, age 20. He was travelling from Ramallah to Jenin together with his fellow students.

Batool Taleb, one of the female acting students who was in the car with Rami describes what happened: “When they got to our car, they took all our IDs and when they saw Rami’s ID they told him to get out of the car. Once he was out they immediately handcuffed and blindfolded him and put him in the army jeep.”

The students had been rehearsing for their final graduation project directed by the Israeli-American Director Udi Aloni in Ramallah.

“This is devastating, Rami is playing the main role in ‘Waiting for Godot’ and doing an amazing job, he’s so dedicated to the work. He just left rehearsals today for the weekend to see his family for Ramadan. It’s terrible, we want our Pozzo back!”, says Udi Aloni.

Rami is the third member of The Freedom Theatre that has been taken by the Israeli army recently. On the 27th of July at 3:00 in the morning the Head Technician Adnan Naghnaghiye and the Chairperson Bilal Saadi were captured by a large group of Israeli soldiers.

The consequences of these actions only result in more damage to The Freedom Theatre. The theatre once again calls on its friends and supporters around the world to act in order to stop this outrageous harassment by the Israeli army against a cultural establishment.

Israeli military censorship has of now also placed a gag order on reporting on this arrest inside Israel, a violation of free speech and a show of how free media in Israel really is.

For more information please contact:

Jacob Gough, acting General manager at +972 (0)595348391,

Jonatan Stanczak, co-founder of The Freedom Theatre at +46 (0)707908296

In other dispatches

The ‘7arakat’ or ‘Harakat’ project seeks to develop a series of theatre and performance initiatives between Australia and Palestine.

The fake Palestinian state move exposes a rift in ALP ranks, with Rudd favouring an abstaining vote, and Gillard in lockstep with empire? the public poll vote is running 72% in favour of a Palestinian state, reflecting the Australian public’s support for Palestinian rights which is ignored by the US/zionist reflexive political elite.

Palestine / Israel Links

Get involved, and read what others are doing to end Israeli apartheid and bring on equal rights and recognition of Palestinians’ right of return.
Could Arab staying power ultimately defeat Zionism?
Occupation profiteer Ahava soaks up EU science grants
BDS South Africa student campaign
Academic claims Israeli school textbooks contain bias :

Children, she says, grow up to serve in the army and internalise the message that Palestinians are “people whose life is dispensable with impunity. And not only that, but people whose number has to be diminished.”

Israel arrests third actor in refugee theatre group

Tag: peace

Distressing 2010 Report from Save the Children on Child Rights in the OPT