Politics

February 14, 2012December 11, 2020

Make Palestine Your Valentine : Boycott Apartheid Israel

Watch videos of Palestinians in love who struggle to be together agaisnt Israel’s apartheid laws which discriminate against non-Jewish people and crush Palestinian rights everywhere. Don’t forget to join the Love Under Apartheid Facebook page.

Share your love and raise your voice especially with Khader Adnan, deprived of human rights under military detention without trial or charge and who is in his 58th day of a hunger strike to protest for Palestinian dignity. The Israeli military occupation “court” has denied his appeal. Hundreds of Palestinians have joined in solidarity with Khader’s hunger strike.

Ali Abunimah writes in Al Jazeera English:

Though the life in his body hangs on by a thread, his spirit is unbroken.

“The Israeli occupation has gone to extremes against our people, especially prisoners,” Adnan wrote in a letter published through his lawyer, “I have been humiliated, beaten, and harassed by interrogators for no reason, and thus I swore to God I would fight the policy of administrative detention to which I and hundreds of my fellow prisoners fell prey.”

Please remember to boycott Israeli blood diamonds – share this album over the next 24 hours, on radio shows, media outlets, NGO’s like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch etc. Make Israeli blood diamonds an issue for Jewellers this Valentine’s Day.

Related Links

“As Israel continues in its audacious refusal to abide by international law so does Lebanon.”
Condemned to arbitrary detention without trial or charge, Khader Adnan continues to pursue Palestinian resistance to Israeli fascism through hunger strike. 58 days without food.
Khader Adnan and Israel’s use of administrative detention
Rightwing zionists attempting another troll to attract pre-election Christian zionist support in the US?
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, Raquel Rolnik describes this aspect of Israeli apartheid: “In very different legal and geographical contexts, from the Galilee and the Negev to East Jerusalem and the West Bank, the Israeli authorities promote a territorial development model that excludes, discriminates against and displaces minorities, particularly affecting Palestinian communities.”
A swing in Australia toward Palestine? when will the opinion polls ask better questions, like “Do you think Israel should be prosecuted in the ICC for its apartheid, colonialism and collective punishment”?
Zionist hasbara collides: NGO Monitor collectively punishes antisemitic Danny Ayalon in conjunction with the UN
Roger Cohen emphasises Beinart’s flawed, antisemitic thesis of “Jewish power” – this is a bait and switch by the zionist ruling class
Illiterate hasbaroid zionists cam’t tolerate Mahmoud Darwish and Habiby, condemn them as propaganda for BDS
Another day of 64 years of foul Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity, committed with impunity thanks to the US/UK/Australia/Canada: Twenty Israeli military vehicles descend on village south of Hebron, demolish 22 buildings, displace 120 Palestinians
The apartheid entity victimises Palestinian children : Israeli Bulldozers Destroy Playground in Silwan – International Middle East Media Center
Recognising Israel’s appalling crimes of apartheid and colonialism, US academics declare their support for BDS
Better late than never? a bit late to the crime scene : IMF warns Israel over Arab, Haredi Jew poverty

Other Links

“Why is the United States supporting the Bahraini police with tear gas and with weapons? You know, we want basic freedoms such as the ones that you have in the United States. And, you know, why is your government not acknowledging that?”
Al-Akhbar contributor Austin Mackell freed, recalls screams of torture in Egypt

February 14, 2012December 11, 2020

“It’s very complicated” : Shit Zionists Say

Hilarious!

In response to the video, there’s rumours of an Academy award for Ali Abunimah feted as “highly convincing as a zionist”, from JF’s Dan Friedman.

And on a more serious note, from the Russell Tribunal on Palestine:

John Dugard gives a presentation on how “the apartheid regime operated in law and policy in South Africa, and provide an overview of Israeli law and policy with respect to the prohibition on apartheid.” for the 3rd International Session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine in Cape Town in November 2011

Related Links

So much for ‘normalisation’ : A school set up to promote peace and understanding between Arab and Jewish communities in Jerusalem has been hit by vandals who have daubed racist threats on its playground walls, including “Death to Arabs”.

Michael Ladson reports on the racist opposition to the Penn BDS conference:

An historic national conference to promote the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement directed at ending Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people was held at the University of Pennsylvania Feb. 3-5.

Even before the conference began a wave of vicious racist attacks were directed against Palestine solidarity activists by the campus press, on-line blogs and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Penn students active in organizing the conference were verbally attacked by pro-Israeli forces.

Perhaps the most disgusting was the anti-Semitic slur of “kapos” aimed at Jewish pro-BDS students by Professor Ruben Gur in the campus paper The Daily Pennsylvanian. The term refers to Jews who collaborated with Nazis in concentration and extermination camps during World War II.

The night before the conference opened, Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz — an apologist for Israeli and U.S. war crimes — addressed an event sponsored by several Penn academic departments and the college chapters of the Republicans and Democrats.

Dershowitz encouraged this audience to deny the brutal ethnic cleansing of Palestinians during the creation of the State of Israel, known as al-Nakba.

February 11, 2012December 11, 2020

Anonymous puts the Government of Israel on Notice

(Youtube video now unavailable)

To the government of the state of Israel.

We are Anonymous.

For too long we have tolerated your crimes against humanity and allowed your sins to go unpunished.

Through the use of media deception and political bribery, you have amassed the sympathies of many. You claim to be democratic, yet in reality this is far from the truth, in fact your only goal is to better the lives of a select few while carelessly trampling the liberties of the masses. We see through the propaganda that you circulate through the main stream media and lobby through the political establishment.

Your Zionist bigotry has displaced and killed a great many. As the world weeps, you laugh while planning your next attack. All of this is done under the veil of peace but so long as your regime exists peace shall be hindered.

You label all who refuse to comply with your superstitious demands as antisemetic. And have taken steps to ensure a nuclear holocaust. You are unworthy to exist in your current form and will therefore face the wrath of anonymous. Your empire lacks legitimacy and because of this you must govern behind a curtain of deceit. We will not allow you to attack a sovereign country based upon a campaign of lies. Your grip over humanity will weaken and man will be closer to freedom.

But before this is accomplished the people of this world will rise against you and renounce you in all your worth. Our crusade against your reign of terror shall commence in 3 steps.

Step one will be initiated after the release of this video and will be comprised of systematically removing you from the internet.

Step two will be later disclosed and is already in initiation. And as for step 3, well think of this one as a present from Anonymous to you. We will not stop until the police state becomes a free state.

We are anonymous.

We are legion.

We do not forgive.

We do not forget.

Israeli government; Expect us.

Israel / Palestine Links

Interview: Ex-prisoner reflects on friendship with Khader Adnan and his hunger strike for justice

Britain helps Israeli water thieves

British Water has decided to cooperate with MATIMOP, an Israeli government agency that has been ordered to enter into international agreements and “aggressively expand opportunities for Israel’s industry”.

Al Jazeera English Doesn’t Care About Khader Adnan

Zionist belligerents don’t want Israel to attack Iran till after Madonna’s visit.

February 10, 2012December 11, 2020

Thanks, Cat Power, for Cancelling Your Date with Apartheid

On Thursday 9th February 2012 Cat Power, Chan Marshall, cancelled her date with apartheid – a Tel Aviv gig scheduled for 12th February. Palestinian and Israeli anti-apartheid activists had written to her asking her to cancel, as had international activists including DPAI (Don’t Play Apartheid Israel) who set up a Facebook page, wrote to, messaged and tweeted Marshall.

Cat Power, Please Respect the Boycott of Apartheid Israel (Facebook page)

Cat Power: Listen to Palestinian Voices, Don’t Play Apartheid Israel (Open Letter)

Letter to Cat Power from Boycott from Within

During the day of Thursday 9th, Cat Power was looking for a gig in Ramallah on February 13th and soon was inundated with messages explaining that Palestinians didn’t want her to play in Ramallah, they wanted her NOT to play in apartheid Israel and to respect their call for BDS. Screenshots of her tweets below, click on images to enlarge.

Thanks are due to Cat Power who made this courageous decision to cancel, she should be very proud of her actions and proud to be part of the BDS campaign.

This is a good day for the BDS campaign, a great day for justice! We can only hope it inspires more artists to act in good conscience and not to play in apartheid Israel, artists like the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The beat drops when the wall falls! One world, one love.

SOURCE

UPDATE 11/2/12

Cat Power’s cancellation gains international exposure via AP.

http://news.sky.com/home/showbiz-news/article/16167279

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/10/cat-power-cancels-israel-show_n_1267720.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/rock-musician-cat-power-cancels-israel-show-citing-israeli-palestinian-conflict/2012/02/10/gIQAS8qc3Q_story.html

http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/02/10/3091622/cat-power-cancels-tel-aviv-show

Haaretz’s contribution:

‘While the, currently relatively unpopulated, Facebook page could seem like a case of dealing with trivialities in the face of all-out war with Iran,” Israeli Madonna fans’ fears are not unsubstantiated, with a distinguished list of artists bailing out on Israeli shows in the last minute over political crises and wars.

In fact, later Thursday American singer-songwriter Cat Power announced on her Facebook page that she is cancelling her planned Tel Aviv show due to political reasons.

In a short statement, the U.S. singer said: “Due to much confusion in my soul, playing for my Israeli fans with such unrest between Israel and Palestine I can’t play, as I feel sick in my spirit.”‘

Meanwhile the whiny zionist press bleats misogyny and sexism, and includes a disgraceful tirade from Mairav Zonstein in +972 mag, which unfortunately and ironically (the campaign to persuade Cat Power to cancel was initiated by Australians including myself, I set up the facebook group on behalf of Don’t Play Apartheid Israel, messaged her and wrote on her wall, along with other DPAI members) is republished on the Australians for Palestine site. (Update 13/2/12 – Australians for Palestine were alerted and now changed the +972 mag story to this one 🙂 thanks for the solidarity!)

http://972mag.com/cat-power-cancels-show-in-israel-citing-confusion-in-my-soul/35080/

Dena Shunra’s comment below the +972 story is worth republishing:

Isn’t it tragic that free will extends to people who don’t agree with you, for whatever reason?

Cat Power – along with the many other artists and performers who have joined the BDS campaign – gets to make choices about her performance, even if you don’t like them.
And it is not hard to imagine why an artist might be appalled and disgusted to find out that what was billed as a performance in a cosmopolitan city would be barred from being viewed by people living a mere hour’s drive away – due to a diabolical system of permits.

It doesn’t take a political agenda to do the decent thing in such a situation.

Also note the reference by Henry to the 4000 year old animal husbandry manual:

There are, however, some outstanding ancillary issues on which we’re not all comfortable appealing to a 4000 year old text on animal husbandry as a final arbiter.

http://heebmagazine.com/cat-power-cancels-tel-aviv-gig-is-a-pussy/33144

February 9, 2012December 11, 2020

Boycott Apartheid Israel, Avicii!

Avicii, (Tim Berg) Swedish Electronica DJ and vocal artist is rising in popularity in the US, after many people heard his music on a Bud Light Platinum commercial during the 2012 Superbowl. (It is reported that 111 million people watched this year). He plans to tour South Africa at the end of March.

Avicii and his manager Ash Pournouri are being asked not to appear in Israel, and to respect the boycott. As part of their House For Hunger Tour the pair had planned to perform in Tel Aviv, but for medical reasons, Tim Berg was unable to travel under doctor’s orders. The DJ even posted a photo on twitter of himself in the hospital. On FB he apologized for having to cancel his show, saying “SO SORRY for not being able to make it to my shows this whole week. I was looking forward to every single night with my fans (Kingston , Amherst, Tel Aviv, Vienna and Rome) but the doctor’s are forbidding me to do any kind of work. I am dead set on making it up to all my fans and will get back asap with new announced dates!”

His manager Ash states on the Avicii facebook “I’d like to make it crystal clear that we will honor our commitment to completing the House For Hunger tour, as it is something Tim and I are very passionate about, as are our fans. ” // Ash

In honor of Khader Adnan, a Palestinian man facing death, now and on the date Avicii was planning to play Tel Aviv (Feb 2), Avicii is being asked not to reschedule his gig in Israel.
Khader was detained arbitrarily in 17 December 2011. Khader, who is a dad to two girls, a baker, and also a Masters student at Birzeit Univ., as well as a human rights adovocate, was arrested by masked soldiers in the middle of the night in his own home. Between the 18th and the 29th of January 2012, Khader was subjected to almost daily cruel and inhumane interrogations. During interrogations, he was shackled to a crooked chair with his hands tied behind his back in a position that caused him back pain. He said that interrogators threatened him constantly and verbally abused him and his family.

Khader Adnan began his hunger strike in protest of his ill-treatment in Israeli detention and his arbitrary detention without charge or trial (known as Administrative Detention). He is in danger of dying at any moment. His wife, Randa, who saw him for the first time since his detention on about 8 Feb. described his condition as rapidly deteriorating and that he has lost a third of his weight and his hair. It is his 53rd day on a hunger strike.

It would be unconscionable for Avicii to raise funds for people facing hunger while Khader is dying of hunger. The Israeli- inflicted hunger of the people of Gaza under seige also make it an act of disregard for justice for any musician outside of Israel to play in Tel Aviv.

Avicii might be interested to read these quotes from these Electronica artists:

Faithless: “ We’ve been asked to do some shows this summer in your country and, with the heaviest of hearts, I have regretfully declined the invitation. While human beings are being willfully denied not just their rights but their needs for their children and grandparents and themselves, I feel deeply that I should not be sending even tacit signals that this is either ‘normal’ or ‘ok’.”

Massive Attack’s Del Naja on the boycott of Israel: “I’ve always felt that it’s the only way forward … I think musicians have a major role to play, … I find the more I get involved, the more the movement becomes something tangible. I remember going to ‘Artists Against Apartheid’ gigs, and ‘Rock Against Racism’ gigs around the same sort of time. Bands like the Clash and the Specials had a lot to do with influencing the minds of the youth in those days.”

Del Naja refers to South Africa’s fallen apartheid system above, and today South African solidarity is very stong for Palestine. Watch Archbishop Desmond Tutu, speak of support for the boycott, on Feb 2:

SOURCE