[A-List] Fwd: Today in Palestine! ~ Sunday, 15 August 2010 ~

[Suzanne de Kuyper]

The last of the ancient Muslim graves were removed at night with
bulldozers (Caterpiller?) from the sacred Mamilla Cemetary.  Imagine
if this wee done to America's most famous cemetary?  Or the ancient
famous cemetary in Paris?  How about the most famous in Rome?  They
have become only what the rest of the world has allowed.    Why?
Suzanne


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Karen Courtenay <kcourtenay at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Aug 15, 2010 at 8:54 PM
Subject: Today in Palestine! ~ Sunday, 15 August 2010 ~
To: kcourtenay <KCourtenay at aol.com>


Today in Palestine
Sunday, 15 August 2010
Always posted to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/f_shadi
Please look there any day you don't receive the list or if the email
is illegible.
Also posted (a bit later) on www.theheadlines.org
Land and property theft and destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Settlers
Jordan Valley village to be razed for third [fourth?] time
TUBAS (Ma'an) -- Several rebuilt structures in a Jordan Valley village
will be razed again, after Israel's Civil Administration handed out
demolition warrants Sunday morning, an official said. Less than a
month ago, the Al-Farisiya village saw 120 structures demolished,
belonging to 28 residents. The structures were rebuilt by the
Palestinian Authority, but six were razed again by the Civil
Administration. Residents, along with Israeli and international peace
activists, rebuilt the structures two weeks ago but they face
demolition again, head of the Al-Malih village council and the Bedouin
neighborhoods Aarif Daraghma said ... "The spate of demolitions raises
concerns over whether Israeli authorities could further escalate
demolitions throughout Area C," a UN report said, noting more than
3,000 demolition orders handed down by Israeli officials to locals
were still outstanding.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=308089
Montagnini on silent expulsion in Jordan Valley
By Barbara Malini. An interview with Luisa Morgantini, former Vice
President of the European Parliament, upon her return from a tour of
the Jordan Valley and the West Bank in which she led an Italian peace
delegation. You visited to the Jordan Valley twice in one week, just
days after the Israeli army once again demolished homes of Bedouin
communities in the north. What did you see? Montagnini: If Area C, 60
percent of the occupied West Bank, is a synonym for expulsion and
annexation for Israeli colonization, in the Jordan Valley all this is
greatly intensified. A silent displacement is being carried out by
Israel, through demolitions, evictions, land confiscation, and denied
access to water resources: these policies have promoted the
establishment of over 30 illegal settlements.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=307999
23 portable classrooms to be built in West Bank Jewish towns
The government decided on Sunday to build 23 portable structures which
would serve as classrooms for 600 pupils in eight West Bank Jewish
communities [settlements]. It was decided that Defense Minister Ehud
Barak will be responsible for the planning of alternative facilities
for the next school year.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3936973,00.html
In summer, West Bank towns lack water, fight contaminated tanks
FAQUA, West Bank (CNS) -- You won't find one dripping faucet in all of
the northern West Bank village of Faqua, joked village council head
Amar Abu Farha with the trademark black humor Palestinians have
developed over the years. "Every drop of water is too important," he
said, laughing bitterly. Ironically, Abu Farha noted, the name Faqua
in Arabic means bubbles and refers to the numerous natural springs
that once surrounded the village. Today, those water resources are
under Israeli control and provide water for nearby Israeli villages
such as the agricultural fields of Ma'aleh Gilboa.
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1003254.htm
Ramadan Kareem from Obama and Netanyahu / Jeff Halper
At 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, the day before the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan began, workers sent by the Israeli authorities, protected by
dozens of police, destroyed the tombstones in the last portion of the
Mamilla cemetery, a historic Muslim burial ground with graves going
back to the seventh Century, hitherto left untouched. The government
of Israel has always been fully cognizant of the sanctity and historic
significance of the site. Already in 1948, when control of the
cemetery reverted to Israel, the Israeli Religious Affairs Ministry
recognized Mamilla "to be one of the most prominent Muslim cemeteries,
where seventy thousand Muslim warriors of [Saladin’s] armies are
interred along with many Muslim scholars. Israel will always know to
protect and respect this site." ... Now some 1,500 Muslim graves have
been cleared in several nighttime operations to make way for…..a $100
million Museum of Tolerance and Human Dignity, a project of the Simon
Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. (Ironically, Rabbi Marvin Hier, the
Wiesenthal Center’s Director, appeared on Fox News to express his
opposition to the construction of a mosque near Ground Zero in
Manhattan, because the site of the 9/11 attack “is a cemetery.”)
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=308007
Jerusalem resident says attacked by settlers
A Beit Safafa resident said he was attacked by four settlers in the
Old City of Jerusalem on Friday near the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Mohammad Ali Salah, 46, said he was with his 11-year-old son when he
was accosted by a group of extremists, adding that he and his son were
lightly wounded in the incident. He alleged that settlers who took
over his home in Beit Safafa a few months ago had informed the group
he would be in the Old City. Salah said residents came to his rescue
and that the settlers were protected by Israeli border guards deployed
in the area. [End]
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=308124
Jerusalem man on hunger strike over residency rights
A Jerusalem resident entered day 20 of a hunger strike Sunday outside
the Israeli embassy in Berlin, in protest over the Israeli Interior
Ministry's decision not to give his daughter an ID card. Firas
Al-Maraghi was forced to apply for "family reunification" so his
daughter Zeinab would receive residency rights in Jerusalem and be
included on the population registry, which was rejected by Israel's
Interior Ministry. Unlike citizens of Israel, Palestinians from
Jerusalem are required to prove their residency in order to maintain
rights and ID cards, often the only form of identification they
possess. Families whose children are born abroad must apply for family
reunification in order for their children to be recognized as
Jerusalem residents.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=308109
Settlement support will cost more / Zvi Bar'el
Direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians are still not taking
place, but the indirect conversation is crystal clear. Take the
decision of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad that, from next
year, Palestinians will be banned from working in the settlements.
This is an impetus not for the peace process, but for an economic
policy. An estimated 22,000 Palestinians currently work in the
settlements, of whom 11,000 are in construction, 8,000 in industry,
and about 3,000 in agriculture ... The departure of the Palestinians
from the settlements and the entry of Israelis in their place means a
rise of about 20,000 settlers. If this includes their families, the
number of Israeli labor migrants to the West Bank will reach 60,000 to
80,000 persons, increasing the number of settlers living in the
territories by 20 to 25 percent.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/settlement-support-will-cost-more-1.308082
IDF razes wall dividing Jewish and Arab areas east of Jerusalem
Work began east of Jerusalem Monday morning to remove one of the
city's enduring symbols of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, a
two-meter-high concrete barrier built to separate the Jewish
neighborhood of Gilo from the Arab district of Beit Jalla. The army's
home front command began the demolition at the request of Jerusalem's
municipality, after security checks suggested that the wall, designed
to protect Gilo residents from sniper fire, was no longer needed.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-razes-wall-dividing-jewish-and-arab-areas-east-of-jerusalem-1.308134
Siege (Gaza and West Bank) / Restrictions on movement / Humanitarian
Ramadan on zero / Saleh Al-Naami
While some extra goods are now available to people in Gaza, few have
the money to buy them ... "We are worried that this season will be a
loss to us, especially since the people's economic situations have not
yet improved," said Mazen Al-Dalu, a grocer at Al-Zawya market. "These
days, sales are low, but acceptable. We fear, however, that sales will
not pick up, even during the first days of Ramadan." Al-Dalu noted
that the siege was only partially lifted, and mainly focused on
foodstuffs that do not offer work opportunities for most workers,
unlike if raw materials had been allowed in.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/1011/re2.htm
Gaza's biggest hospital caught in political, economic crossfire
...Al-Shifa is the biggest hospital in the Gaza Strip, but a
years-long Israeli and Egyptian economic blockade and Palestinian
political infighting between the militant Islamist group Hamas, which
rules Gaza, and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank have left
it strapped for resources. Its emergency room treats 400 people a day
in one large, rundown room with 11 beds and a chronic shortage of
medicine. Rolling blackouts leave it dependent on diesel-guzzling
generators that run for more than 12 hours a day, and most departments
have few lights and no air conditioning in the heat of summer.
Advanced equipment lies unused and useless, crippled by a lack of
spare parts.
zas-biggest-hospital-caught.html
Gaza govt suggests ways to end power crisis
The Gaza government has suggested assisting the Electricity Company in
collecting consumer bills to provide enough funds for the increased
entry of industrial diesel, an aide told Ma'an on Sunday ... The
adviser further said the government is suggesting a deduction of 170
shekels from Hamas and PA civil servants whose salaries are above
1,500 shekels, in order to cover fuel costs. The proposal, he said, is
expected to receive a positive response from the PA, who announced it
would be implementing a salary deduction from September for all
employed Gaza residents who receive electricity from the company.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=308175
Gaza: 1 crossing temporarily open
Israeli authorities will partially open one crossing into the Gaza
Strip on Sunday for the transfer of food and fuel, a Palestinian
liaison official said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=308070
Palestinians from Israel to enter Jenin
Palestinians with Israeli citizenship will be allowed entry to Jenin
through the Jalama checkpoint for the first time since the Second
Intifada during Ramadan after appealing to the EU and Quartet, the
district's governor said Sunday. Jenin Governor Qadura Moussa said the
move followed "strenuous efforts" and pressure on Israel to allow
families to visit one another during the Muslim fasting month ...
Israel's Civil Administration said Palestinians with family in Israel
would be able to apply for a one-week permit to visit relatives during
Ramadan.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=308140
Palestinians wage 'war' over sport restrictions (AFP)
AL-RAM, Palestinian Territories — The Palestinian Olympic Committee
has declared "open war" against Israel in a dispute over movement
restrictions that could poison international football. The uproar
threatens to reverse years of relatively good relations that had seen
Palestinian football rise to prominence with the construction of a new
stadium and a high-profile visit by FIFA head Sepp Blatter in 2008.
The dispute erupted earlier this week when six players on the national
football team from Gaza who have been living and playing in the West
Bank were turned back at the Jordanian border for "security reasons"
on their way to a friendly in Mauritania.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jsqpBhlG07h5tj4qY3aeM9UgFUdQ
Detention
Bil`in: 3 child prisoners released, more injuries in weekly protest
During the repression by Israeli Occupation Forces of the weekly
protest against the Wall and Settlements in the village of Bil'inan
international solidarity activist was injured and dozens of people had
difficulty breathing as a result of inhaling tear gas. The
demonstration included international solidarity activists.
The Israeli Occupation Forces have now released Motasem Mansour,
Mahmud Samara and Majdi Bernat (all 14 years old ) from Ofer Prison
Children Center. They had been kept in detention for a week and were
fined NIS 3500, charged with being near the wall.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2339.shtml
Aides: Pearlman called for Shin Bet interrogation
Three days after being released to house arrest, 'Jewish terrorist'
reportedly summoned to Petah Tikva Police Station for questioning
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3936542,00.html
Hamas says 3 affiliates detained by PA forces
Hamas accused Palestinian Authority Security Services of detaining
three party affiliates across the West Bank, a statement issued Sunday
read. Hamas said the detentions were carried out in Ramallah, Hebron
and Tulkarem, describing the latest arrests as a "campaign against the
movement and its supporters."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=308203
Activism / Solidarity / Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions
5 detained as Hebronites demand city back
Three Israeli citizens and two foreign nationals were detained from a
protest in the Old City of Hebron on Saturday, organized by the local
group Youth Against Settlements. The protest was a group call for the
re-opening of Ash-Shuhada street, largely closed off to Palestinian
residents of the city following the establishment of illegal Israeli
settlements, many in Palestinian homes from which previous residents
were expelled ... An Israeli military spokesman said the five arrests
made during the protest were made because marchers refused to obey
orders to disperse following the announcement of a closed zone. He
said the five were transferred to police for questioning.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=308051
Hebron seeks support for mosque on massacre anniversary
Palestinians must mark the 1994 Ramadan massacre that took place in
the Ibrihimi Mosque by coming out in numbers stronger than ever this
holy season, Hebron's acting governor told Ma'an ... On the 15th day
of Ramadan 16 years earlier an Israeli settler living in Hebron
entered the mosque during the morning prayers and opened fire, killing
29 worshipers and injuring 129 others. Following the attack, the
mosque was divided into two, with sections walled off for a small
synagogue, an area prohibited for Muslims for most of the year. On
Fridays in Ramadan, however, the entire mosque is opened up to
accommodate worshipers, with estimates that between 6,000-7,000
participated in the first Friday prayers of the holy month. Deputy
governor Abu Zneid urged citizens to attend prayers at the site, and
locals to spend time in Hebron's Old City, largely taken over by
aggressive settler families driving commerce outside of the ancient
streets into the newer parts of town.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=308004
Qaradawi to participate in a break siege convoy to Gaza
Ihsan Hendricks, the president of the Muslim Judicial Council of Cape
Town, announced that Dr. Yousef Al-Qaradawi, the chairman of the
international union of Muslim scholars (IUMS), would take part in a
marine convoy to Gaza Strip. Hendricks, who is also a member of the
IUMS, said that a big number of other scholars and senior Arab and
Islamic figures would join the sea convoy organized by the union.
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=199424
Meet Handala (you probably know him already, I'm new at this) / Philip Weiss
This is the new logo for the the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions
movement, sent out by the national committee within Palestine that
coordinates BDS. Who's that little cartoon figure on the right? I've
seen him on the wall in Palestine. He's Handala, a boy whose back is
always turned, Palestinian symbol. Turks are now organizing an
international cartoon contest in honor of the Palestinian cartoonist
who created Handala. Najl al Ali died in London in 1987, assassinated
on his way to his office at a newspaper.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/08/meet-handala-you-probably-know-him-already-im-new-to-all-this.html
Probes / Gaza war and flotilla aftermaths
Rights group receives UN experts in Gaza
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights received on Sunday members of
the UN Committee of Experts mandated with monitoring the effectiveness
of internal probes into the Gaza war. The committee, which includes
jurists Christian Tomuschat, Mary McGowan and Davis Param Cumaraswamy,
arrived in Gaza on Saturday for a three-day visit, and will meet with
civil society representatives and UN organizations and groups as well
as victims and witnesses who testified before the UN's independent
fact-finding committee shortly after the winter 2008-09 war. PCHR
director Raji Sourani and the center's legal unit head Eyad Alami
briefed the committee on its experience in taking cases before Israeli
courts and "on the inherent flaws within the Israeli system which
render the pursuit of justice for Palestinian victims impossible."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=308227
Rightist rabbis: Let 'one of our women' probe raid
Following court order to appoint woman to commission investigating
flotilla, dozens of rabbis make lists of candidates. 'Alongside values
of justice, they will display loyalty to Israel'
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3935621,00.html
Turkey excludes Israel envoy from state dinner over flotilla raid
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's religious party has
excluded Israel's envoy from the annual dinner marking the end of the
Muslim month-long fast of Ramadan, over outrage regarding Israel's
deadly raid on the Gaza flotilla in May, Turkish media reported
Saturday.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/turkey-excludes-israel-envoy-from-state-dinner-over-gaza-flotilla-raid-1.308026
Israeli ambassador not invited to Erdogan's iftar, Israel shocked at
insult / Didi Remez
Israel’s Ambassador to Turkey is not invited to the Erdogan’s Iftar
for the diplomatic community and Israeli [Foreign Ministry sources
are] shocked at this immature behavior: "Jerusalem was angered by the
fact that the ambassador was not invited to the dinner. 'Turkey is
again causing relations to deteriorate', say sources in Israel. 'We
plan on conducting ourselves responsibly and not to get dragged into
this battle.'" The Maariv reporter has to remind readers 'who started
it': "His non-invitation to the Ramadan meal is a kind of insult, and
surely Turkey has not forgotten how Deputy Foreign Minister Danny
Ayalon insulted the Turkish Ambassador in Tel-Aviv, when he summoned
him for a reprimand and seated him on a low chair in front of cameras
in order to humiliate him."
http://coteret.com/2010/08/15/israeli-ambassador-not-invited-to-erdogans-iftar-israel-shocked-at-insult/
Fight over flotilla narrative continues on YouTube
Whether the Gaza Strip-bound flotilla hoped to deliver humanitarian
aid, break the naval blockade, provoke Israel or a combination of the
above, the incident has continued to roil diplomatic waters. Both
sides have presented their versions of the event, accusing each other
of manipulation. But for those who despair of regular diplomacy or are
fed up with the verbiage, there's the multimedia diplomacy scene. So
as high-level diplomatic struggles continue among Israel, the U.N. and
Turkey, people are slugging it out on YouTube too.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/08/israel-fight-over-flotilla-narrative-continues-on-youtube.html
Political developments / Diplomacy
Monday may mark peace talk watershed
Israel will demand that the Quartet issue a statement as early as
Monday calling for direct talks to start, Israel Radio quoted an
unnamed Palestinian official as saying on Saturday. The US
administration already informed the Palestinian Authority that the
statement will be ready by Monday and will include ideas from earlier
statements from the Quartet, but will ultimately attempt to satisfy
both sides, the official continued.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=308053
Hamas, 10 other Palestinian militant groups reject new peace talks with Israel
Eleven militant Palestinian groups based in Syria warned on Sunday
against a "concession and compromise" policy ahead of a possible round
of direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The
message from the groups, which include the Gaza-controlling Hamas
movement as well as the Democratic Front for the Liberation of
Palestine and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine factions
appeared directed at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/hamas-10-other-palestinian-militant-groups-reject-new-peace-talks-with-israel-1.308197
Concern: Abbas stalling talks until after freeze
Israeli officials estimate Palestinian president shunning negotiations
until after settlement construction freeze deadline, in order to
demand freeze extension as precondition for talks
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3936506,00.html
Arab nations urge US to end support of Israel's nuclear secrecy (AP)
Ignoring a U.S. warning, Arab nations are urging Washington and other
powers to end support of Israel's nuclear secrecy and to push for
international inspections of Israel's nuclear program, diplomats told
The Associated Press Sunday.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/arab-nations-urge-u-s-to-end-support-of-israel-s-nuclear-secrecy-1.308192
Al-Qa`eda tirade against Turkey
Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda's second-in-command, has slammed Turkey's
government for co-operating with Israel and "killing Muslims in
Afghanistan". In a 20-minute Arabic audio message posted on an
Islamist website on Sunday, al-Zawahiri also offered condolences to
the families of Turkish activists killed by Israel during a raid on a
Gaza bound aid flotilla. "The Turkish government shows sympathy with
the Palestinians through statements or sending some relief aid, but
actually recognises Israel, engages in trade, carries out military
training and shares information with it," the Egyptian-born
al-Zawahiri said.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/08/201081513118391787.html
Other news
Israel's Barak approves US F-35 fighters purchase
JERUSALEM, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak
approved in principle on Sunday the purchase of 20 U.S.-built
radar-evading stealth fighters in a deal worth $2.75 billion, defence
ministry officials said. The F-35 warplanes are expected to be
delivered between 2015 to 2017, an Israeli defence official said.
Israeli leaders have spoken of arch-foe Iran potentially developing a
nuclear weapon by mid-decade, suggesting that the F-35s would not be
used for any preventive action, but rather to bolster the country's
deterrence.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE67E072.htm
PA to stop referring patients to Israel and abroad
Referrals for Palestinian patients to Israel and abroad for medical
treatment [will be stopped] so funds can be redirected to the local
healthcare sector, the Palestinian Authority health minister said
Saturday. Minister Fathi Abu Moghli told Ma'an radio that referrals
would stop "because our hospitals can cover all medical services
qualitatively." Certain patients will still require treatment abroad,
he said, but the majority can be treated locally ... Abu Moghli noted
that "For the first time, we have 380 resident doctors practicing to
specialize in 32 fields. We will soon become suppliers of specialized
physicians to neighboring countries."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=308068
PA reports year's achievements
In past 12 months, 34 new schools opened throughout West Bank, 44 new
housing projects launched, 16 roads paved, 'despite Israeli
occupation's obstacles' -- Building a state: The Palestinian
government on Sunday published a report outlining its activity in the
past year. According to the document, in the past 12 months the
Palestinian Authority's government, headed by Prime Minister Salam
Fayyad, marked significant achievements in the construction of
government institutions and other infrastructure.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3936850,00.html
Report: Hamas police shut down Gaza popular committee
A Palestinian popular committee in the southern Gaza Strip said
officers with the Hamas government closed its headquarters and
confiscated equipment on Saturday ... In the statement the group asked
that Hamas reverse its decision to close the popular committee
offices, saying it was an organization that "serves the community of
the refugee camp and helps alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian
people. Closure and confiscation of the office's materials without
reason is a violation of the rights of all refugees."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=308042
Leftist faction condemns closure of Gaza office
...The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine's Ziad
Jarkhoun described the closure of the Rafah refugee camp popular
committee office building as "a violation of public freedoms, which
Palestinian Basic Law prohibits." He added that certificates of award
for top students and computers were confiscated during the raid, and
deemed it an assault against all committee organizations, which
include representatives from every faction.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=308252
Mass support rally planned for defiant rabbis
Following outrage in religious public over police summoning of rabbis
who endorsed controversial book permitting killing of gentiles,
Religious Zionism leaders organize mass support conference 'in honor
of Torah, entrenchment of its independence'
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3936781,00.html
Yishai to Sara Netanyahu: Deportation of kids necessary
'Children facing deportation should not pay price for government's
lack of clear policy,' organizer says. Interior minister Yishai
rejects Sara Netanyahu's plea, says decision made with 'Israel's
future in mind'
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3936241,00.html
Opinion / Analysis / Human interest
'Arabs, get out' / Gideon Levy
If the inciters succeed in expelling the Arab MKs from the Knesset, it
will be the final straw. Forget justice: it's plain stupid… and
frightening ... The lives of Arab Israelis bear no resemblance to the
lives of a Jewish Israeli. He is born into crowded conditions and
neglected neighborhoods. In 62 years, the state has not lifted a
finger to help the Arab populace, which constitutes a full fifth of
the state's citizens, to establish a single new settlement. The Arabs
are weaned on deprivation from birth, the discrimination follows them
from their earliest days. They can never bring up their past, they
cannot define themselves as they wish ('Palestinian?' How dare they?),
and sometimes they don’t even feel comfortable speaking their own
language.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/arabs-get-out-1.308136
Knesset outsources US campus public diplomacy to militant Christian
Zionists / Didi Remez
An article in this morning’s Yediot (full translated text at the
bottom of this post) reports that that a bi-partisan group of MKs has
partnered with a Christian Zionist organization to recruit evangelical
students to represent Israel on US campuses: "MKs who are members of
the lobby to promote relations with Christian communities around the
world, concluded that the best response to the powerful show of force
put on by Muslim students on campuses overseas could not be provided
by the Jewish students but, rather, by the Christian students, who are
no less eager to help Israel. The lobby, which is headed by MK David
Rotem (Yisrael Beiteinu), began finding and training Christian
students in prestigious universities and colleges in North America and
Europe. The goal is to establish non-Jewish support groups for Israel
on each campus so as to have the Israeli position presented..."
http://coteret.com/2010/08/15/knesset-outsources-us-campus-public-diplomacy-to-militant-christian-zionists/
Miami Herald breaks US taboo on Palestinians' second class citizenship
/ Philip Weiss
Wow. Californian George Bisharat and Nimer Sultany (a civil rights
attorney in Israel now at Harvard Law School Ph.D. program) have a
fabulous op-ed in the Miami Herald, challenging Americans to demand
equal rights for Palestinian Israelis as part of any peace deal:.
"Consider what it would be like if: *Our Constitution defined the
union as a ``white Christian democratic state?'' *Our laws still
barred marriage across ethnic-religious lines? *Our government
appointed a Chief Priest, empowered to define membership criteria for
the white Christian nation? *Our government legally enabled
immigration by white Christians while barring it for others?.."
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/08/miami-herald-breaks-us-taboo-on-palestinians-second-class-citizenship.html
Our national paranoia / Emmanuel Rosen
Op-ed: Israelis make unprecedented, inflated use of apocalyptic term
'existential threat' ... A sane, clear voice emerged out of the prime
minister’s residence over the weekend. The letter, addressed to
Interior Minister Eli Yishai and demanding an end to the ugly
persecution of hundreds of children, was written by Sara Netanyahu.
Yet this appeal came from the residence that in recent years has
symbolized more than anything else our new national narrative: Fear.
We wake up in the morning and are afraid of the Iranian threat. We eat
lunch quickly for fear of the foreign workers at our gates. At night,
we can’t fall asleep because of the hundreds of thousands of Arab
Israelis who plot against us and for Nazrallah.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3936699,00.html
Fatah says no / Khalid Amayreh
With Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas pressed hard
by Washington to surrender to an Israeli fait accompli, mainly
agreeing to resume open-ended but seemingly futile peace talks,
prominent Fatah leaders in the West Bank have come out against any
concessions to the Obama administration. This week, two heavyweight
Fatah leaders have castigated the "current political course", calling
it "disastrous" and "catastrophic". The critics include veteran
Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) officials Ahmed Qurei, a
long-time negotiator and aide to former PLO leader Yasser Arafat.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/1011/re1.htm
Haaretz editorial: The chief of staff threatens
Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi was praised this week, and justly so,
for his testimony to the Turkel Committee, mostly because he did not
divert responsibility for the failure of the Gaza flotilla affair.
Nonetheless, it's impossible to ignore one troubling part of the chief
of staff's statements: Ashkenazi said that for him the main lesson
from the operational aspect is that if the Israel Defense Forces
confronts a similar scenario in the future, it will have to use
snipers, which he says would prevent harm to soldiers. This is very
serious and shows that the chief of staff and the IDF have not learned
a single lesson from the flotilla affair and Operation Cast Lead. The
implication of the chief of staff's words is that the IDF will not
hesitate to hit civilians from a distance, using snipers firing live
rounds.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/the-chief-of-staff-threatens-1.308079
Ruling Gaza is an awkward balancing act for Hamas (TIME)
[the MSM on Gaza, with links to other articles] with reporting by Rami
Almeghari - Gaza City. ..."We know there is a time for when you can
tolerate, and [a time] when you can put more restrictions. And this
all depends on what the people want," says Ahmed Yousef, Hamas' Deputy
Minister of Foreign Affairs, and a close adviser to Prime Minister
Ismail Haniyeh. "We have to read public opinion and respect public
opinion. When we tolerate too much, open it too much, a lot of
criticism comes to us — from the Salafists [extreme Islamists who
share al-Qaeda's outlook], even from Hamas. And if you tolerate too
much, you agitate the whole society against you." Conversely, he adds,
cracking down too hard "will lead to extremism."
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2010501,00.html
Margaret Atwood: Mideast peace needs prophets, not yes-men
If a modern prophet saw the future of the Middle east he would see
seven possible scenarios; if leaders are wise they will chose the
seventh future.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/margaret-atwood-mideast-peace-needs-prophets-not-yes-men-1.307995
The wars of the Jews / Eitan Haber
The question of conversion is like a landmine that awaits any
government virtually since Israel’s establishment. Almost all prime
ministers in Israel are very cautious about stepping on this landmine,
which could prompt a split and schism within the Jewish people. What
Israeli PM would like to be remembered in history as the one who
ripped apart the Jewish nation? ...what we have here is a balance of
terror: The Reform and Conservative constitute the majority of
America’s Jewish community. We need these Jews like the air we
breathe. On the other end we have Israel’s religious parties, who hold
our government in the most sensitive spot.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3935799,00.html
Program joins Palestinians and Israelis as interns in the District
...Two interns, Israeli and Palestinian. For six weeks, they would
live together in the District, courtesy of a nascent, shoestring
operation called New Story Leadership for the Middle East. New Story,
an offshoot of a group that brought together Protestant and Catholic
youths during the conflict in Northern Ireland, sent 10 Israeli and
Palestinian interns to Washington to see whether the idea of pairing
youths from opposing sides could be replicated ... In the Middle East,
their childhood homes are only 30 miles apart, but they might as well
have grown up on different continents. For 20-year-old Ashour, whose
family lives in Gaza, Rabinovich is the first Israeli to whom she has
ever spoken who wasn't standing at a checkpoint or holding a gun.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/11/AR2010081105979.html
110-year-old West Bank farmer fights age for his farm
Although over 110 years old, the long-living Palestinian farmer
Ibrahim Ishteya, from al-Nassareya village near the city of Nablus, is
still practicing his daily routine of getting up early in the morning
to work on his farm. As soon as the old man reaches his farm, he holds
his hoe by his exhausted shriveled hands and begins his day with a
weak strike of the soil of his farm. Ishteya inherited the farm from
his father, and he is keen to give it to his children and
grandchildren. However, he said he has been suffering from the actions
of Jewish settlers against the Palestinian farmers. "The settlers
repeatedly disturb our work by disconnecting water pipes we use to
irritate our corps, and they also come at night and burn the trees,"
said the farmer, "but whatever they do, we won't leave our farms and
we are ready to confront them and defend our land."
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/7104846.html
Book excerpt: Midnight on the Mavi Marmara by Mike Marqusee
Mike Marqusee is an American Jew living in London, where he writes. He
was a passenger on the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish-flagged cargo ship
taking aid on a flotilla mission to Gaza. In an excerpt from his
recently published book, "Midnight on the Mavi Marmara," which
compiles accounts, analysis, and reflections on the event from
passengers on board, Marqusee frames the raid as an attack on
solidarity itself. http://www.orbooks.com/our-books/midnight/
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=307984
Gaza doctor writes book of hope despite death of three daughters /
Harriet Sherwood
I Shall Not Hate - Izzeldin Abuelaish's moving book charts harsh
realities of life in Gaza and details harrowing family tragedy that
may have halted Israeli offensive -- On 16 January 2009, at 4.30pm, a
shell struck the house. He ran to the room that had been hit. "I saw
my girls drowning in a pool of blood," he says, tears in his eyes. "I
saw their body parts, a decapitated head, brains on the ceiling." A
second shell followed. Desperate for medical assistance, he called his
friend Shlomi Eldar, a presenter on Channel 10 in Israel. His cries
for help in a mixture of Hebrew and Arabic were broadcast live. Within
an hour, with the help of his Israeli friends, Abuelaish's injured
daughter and niece were evacuated from Gaza.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/15/palestinian-doctor-izzeldin-abuelaish-gaza-war
Book review: Unblinkered insight into Gaza's unholy mess / Hal Wootten
Gaza: Morality, Law, and Politics edited by Raimond Gaita. ...In a
sombre essay, Simpson positions Gaza in the context of a century that
accepted the RAF's incineration of 45,000 civilians in Hamburg in one
night and in which, while international law worked to reinforce
protection of civilians, other changes were shifting the risk from
soldiers to the public. Israelis kill Palestinian civilians because
this is the only way to attack Palestinian fighters, and Palestinians
kill Israeli civilians because this is the only way to attack the
Israeli state. Gaza is an acute episode in a conflict that has
repeatedly flared ever since Arabs realised, soon after World War I,
that Zionist Jews had serious designs on Arab lands.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/unblinkered-insight-into-gazas-unholy-mess/story-e6frg8nf-1225904042679
History in photos: Roman ruins in Nablus
Views of the Roman-era Temple of Augustus and pillars in the West Bank
village of Sebastiya near Nablus on 1 August 2010. The Nablus town is
home to several important archeological sites dating back 10,000
years.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=308120
Iraq
Saturday: 7 Iraqis killed, 15 wounded
Excerpt: At least seven Iraqis were killed and 15 more were wounded
almost entirely in Baghdad. In Baghdad, gunmen killed two policemen at
a checkpoint in New Baghdad then set cars on fire, injuring two more
people. A half hour later gunmen in Shabb killed a Sahwa fighter and
injured two more at another checkpoint. At nearly the same time,
gunmen killed two more policemen and wounded two bystanders in Amil,
where a separate bomb wounded six people. At least one other policeman
was shot dead. In Jihad, a roadside bomb wounded three people. Diyala
police raided a house and arrested as suspected assassin.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/08/14/saturday-7-iraqis-killed-15-wounded/
Ship crews robbed in Gulf off Iraq oil hub Basra (Reuters)
Gunmen robbed the crews of four ships anchored off Iraq's southern oil
hub Basra last week in Iraqi regional waters patrolled by the U.S.
Navy, a Navy official said on Sunday. The line between insurgent
attacks and crime in Iraq has becoming increasingly blurred as
militants turn to robbery to fund their operations seven years after
the U.S.-led invasion unleashed a wave of violence. Iraq sees about 15
attacks by suspected Sunni Islamist insurgents or Shi'ite militia
every day
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE67E07U.htm
Lebanon, other Mideast
Lebanon kills armed group leader
Lebanese troops have killed one of the leaders of the armed group that
battled the army in 2007 at the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp, a military
spokesman has said. "Abdel Rahman Awad, one of the key leaders of
Fatah al-Islam," was killed along with another fighter known as Abu
Bakr during clashes in the eastern Bekaa Valley region on Saturday,
the spokesman told AFP news agency. An official said Abu Bakr was
Awad's deputy, who provided military training to members of Fatah
al-Islam, a group said to be inspired by al-Qaeda.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2010/08/20108155553428675.html
Fatah al-Islam leader killed in Lebanon
The chief of Fatah's military forces in Lebanon said Saturday that two
men killed by Lebanese forces in Chtoura were Fatah Al-Islam and
Al-Qaeda leader Abed Al-Rahman Awad and his bodyguard. Brig. Gen.
Sobhi Abu Arab told the Lebanese news site NOW Lebanon that strict
instructions were given to forces in Ain Al-Helweh refugee camp to
maintain security after the deaths, adding that any attack on the army
would serve Israeli aims.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=308092
Video: Unifil 'unpopular' in Lebanon
It has been four years since the UN-brokered ceasefire ended Israel's
war in Lebanon. The United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (Unifil)
monitor the border to maintain the peace. But local residents are
becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the foreign soldiers. Al
Jazeera's Rula Amin reports.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/08/20108141011816687.html
More than rockets / Amirah Ibrahim
With none claiming responsibility, Egyptian Bedouins in Sinai fear
they may pay the price for rockets fired on Israel and Jordan -- "No
matter who is to blame, Bedouins pay the price," commented Swilam Abu
Ghazi, one of Al-Tarabin tribe's sheikhs.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/1011/eg3.htm
Closing Pandora's box? / Bassel Oudat in Damascus
The Syrian minister of education's recent decision to transfer 1,200
women teachers wearing the niqab, or full face veil, from classroom
teaching to administrative jobs has given rise to various theories
regarding its motivation ... In general, it can sometimes appear that
there is a fear in Syria that religious groups are able to manipulate
religion to their own ends, convincing people that their goals are
purely religious and reiterating their support for the regime while
actually working to undermine it.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/1011/re6.htm
U.S. and other world news
Obama backtracks on NY mosque
Weighing his words carefully on a fiery political issue, US President
Barack Obama said Saturday that Muslims have the right to build a
mosque near New York's ground zero, but he did not say whether he
believes it is a good idea to do so. Asked Saturday about comments he
made during his trip to Florida, Obama said: "I was not commenting and
I will not comment on the wisdom of making a decision to put a mosque
there. I was commenting very specifically on the right that people
have that dates back to our founding."
http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=184785
Al-Awda shocked by gruesome murder of Abu Obeida Omran
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition is shocked, saddened
and outraged at the gruesome and tragic murder of Abu Obeida Abdel
Salam Omran. On Friday August 13, 2010, Abu Obeida was deliberately
run over and dragged with a car apparently during an attempted robbery
at one of his gas stations in Houston Texas. The alleged killers were
arrested by police after they fled the scene. Abu Obeida died that
night from the injuries he had sustained during the attack. Abu Obeida
is originally from the village of Burin near Nablus on the West Bank.
He was 42 years old, married with two sons, Abu Obeida and Abu Ali
Mustafa, and a daughter, Maryam. His wife is expecting another child.
http://al-awda.org/obeida.html
Afghan refugees mull return home after Pakistan floods
AZA KHEL, Pakistan, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Floods ravaged tens of
thousands of Afghan refugees who have been living in Pakistan for
decades after fleeing Soviet occupation and civil war. Now as they
survey kilometers of flattened mud and brick houses in a refugee camp
in northwest Pakistan, some contemplate returning to an Afghanistan
still gripped by violence.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SGE67E01I.htm
Why Petraeus can't make the sale / Dan Froomkin
As Gen. David Petraeus kicks off an extended media blitz intended to
make Americans feel better about the war in Afghanistan -- or at least
give him some more time to fight it -- he faces a foe more implacable
than al Qaeda, or even the Taliban: Reality. That reality,
increasingly obvious to national security experts and the general
public alike, is that no amount of good intentions or firepower is
going to advance our fundamental interests in Afghanistan -- and that
as much as Petraeus might be able to achieve in the next six months,
or a year, little to none of it is sustainable and most of it is, even
worse, counterproductive.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/08/14-6
Secret assault on terrorism widens on two continents (NY TImes)
By Scott Shane, Mark Mazzetti and Robert F. Worth.  Washington -- At
first, the news from Yemen on May 25 sounded like a modest victory in
the campaign against terrorists: an airstrike had hit a group
suspected of being operatives for Al Qaeda in the remote desert of
Marib Province, birthplace of the legendary queen of Sheba ... Yemen’s
president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, accepted responsibility for the death
and paid blood money to the offended tribes. The strike, though, was
not the work of Mr. Saleh’s decrepit Soviet-era air force. It was a
secret mission by the United States military, according to American
officials, at least the fourth such assault on Al Qaeda in the arid
mountains and deserts of Yemen since December.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/15/world/15shadowwar.html?_r=2