Al Ahram English Weekly, April 9-15, 2009 - As part of the Siege-Buster Tour of America 2009, long-time supporter of the Palestinian cause, veteran British MP George Galloway spoke in San Diego, California on "Resisting War From Gaza to Kandahar". Galloway, the leader of the recent successful Viva Palestina Aid Convoy to Gaza, author and talk show host, spoke to a crowd of 400 at one of two events hosted by Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition.
"I came here to recruit you to the next stage in the saving of Gaza, which is dying. And to forward the liberation of all Palestine and the right of all Palestinians to return to it," said Galloway to loud applause
Galloway passionately spoke about the "injury" of Palestinians having lost their homeland, their country "wiped off the map", scattered as refugees worldwide and forbidden to return, while "foreigners play with their houses and their gardens". This is made worse by "the insult that they -- the victims of terrorism -- are the 'terrorists'. And that the terrorists, the perpetrators of terrorism, are called the victims of terrorism," he said.
Galloway praised the Palestinian resistance and condemned Israel's 22-day offensive launched in December, in which more than 1,400 Palestinians died. Galloway characterised the firing of rockets by Palestinians as a "cry of despair" and a "cry of rage" over decades of Israeli apartheid.
"The wonder is not of why some people are sending rockets but of why all people are not firing rockets everyday because they've been locked up for the last 60 years in refuge camps that are no more than open air concentration camps," Galloway said, "the entrances of which are guarded by the very same people who on 27 December rained down death's destruction on the million and a half living on this tiny piece of land.".... Action Alert to Americans: "Viva Palestina US" - Send a Bigger Convoy to Gaza: "We aim for $10 million in aid and 500 vehicles"
Viva Palestina blog, April 14, 2009 - Fresh from the success of the Viva Palestina aid convoy which took over 100 vehicles to Gaza from Britain , George Galloway MP has linked up on his US tour with the Vietnam veteran and peace campaigner Ron Kovic to launch a similar, but bigger venture from the States.
Galloway announced the initiative at a 1000-strong meeting in Anaheim, South California, rounding off a packed-out, coast to coast speaking tour highlighting the Palestinian cause.
“There's a new atmosphere in the US over Palestine,” says Galloway, “the phenomenal response to this tour demonstrates that.”
Ron Kovic, whose story was immortalised in Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July, will be the co-leader of the convoy, which will form up in Egypt and make its way to the Rafah crossing and into Gaza.
Organisers are aiming for 500 vehicles and $10 million of aid.
“And what better day to head off,” says Galloway , “Than July 4 – Independence Day!"
The second annual Gaza symposium, this year jointly organized by MIT and Harvard, will host a series of panels on the role of US and international actors, as well as human rights and international humanitarian law in the wake of recent events in Gaza. Bringing together experts in the fields of human rights, history, political science, US foreign policy and law, the two-day symposium will include a range of views from US, Israeli, Palestinian and UN/NGO perspectives.
Speakers include:
Richard Falk, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; Meron Benvenisti, former Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem; Henry Siegman, Director of the U.S./Middle East Project; Congressman Brian Baird, Representative, Washington State (D-03); Rami Khouri, Director of the Issam Fares Center at the American University of Beirut; William Corcoran, President of ANERA; Karma Nabulsi, Lecturer in International Relations at Oxford University and former PLO representative; Gabriel Piterburg, Professor of History at UCLA; Irene Gendzier, Political Science Professor at Boston University; George Bisharat, Professor of Law at UC Hastings College of Law; Barry Posen, Director of the MIT Security Studies Program; Sara Roy, Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard; Husam Zomlot, Visiting Scholar at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard; Anat Biletzki, Former chairperson of B'tselem and Professor of Philosophy at Tel Aviv University; Sami Abdel Shafi, Writer and co-founder of the Emerge Consulting Group in Gaza; Andrew Whitley, Director of the Representative Office of UNRWA; Craig Mokhiber, Deputy Director of NY Office, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Monday, March 30, 1:30 - 6:00 pm Wong Auditorium, MIT Bldg E51, 70 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Tuesday, March 31, 1:30 - 6:00 pm Austin Hall, Harvard Law School, 1515 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge
The symposium is free and open to the public; please come in advance as seating is limited.
Sponsors at MIT: The Center for International Studies; The Program for Human Rights and Justice
Sponsors at Harvard: The Middle East Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School; The Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Faculty of Arts and Sciences; University Committee on Human Rights Studies; Human Rights Program at the Harvard Law School
Join Humanitarian Delegation to Gaza for International Women's Day: Pay Tribute to the Women of Gaza
Itinerary: Meet up in Cairo, Egypt on March 5 Travel to Gaza on March 6 Meetings/program in Gaza March 7-10
Return to Cairo March 11 International delegates return home March 12
Cost: $600 from Cairo, includes transportation, lodging, translation, program, some meals and contribution to local groups. Scholarships available.
Program:Meetings with UN and government officials, local women (including victims of Israeli violence), humanitarian/development agencies, journalists, health workers and political analysts. Visit areas devastated by Israeli attacks.
Purpose of the trip: Provide humanitarian and emotional support to women and women's organizations in Gaza; Exert pressure on US, Egyptian and Israeli governments to lift the blockade and promote peace/human rights in the region.
Organizers:The trip is organized by CODEPINK: Women for Peace and will be led by CODEPINK cofounders Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans. Sponsoring groups include National Congress of Black Women, Global Exchange, Voices for Creative Nonviolence, American Muslim Voice and Women's Intercultural Network.
Groups in Gaza that we will be supporting include:
US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, February 23, 2009
On February 24th, 2009, President Obama is expected to address a joint session of Congress and deliver a “blueprint” for his FY2010 budget.
According to the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the United States and Israel in 2007 and made public by the US Campaign, the President is expected to request $2.775 billion in military aid to Israel in FY2010.
However, there are growing indications that the Obama Administration is considering sanctioning Israel.According to a senior Israeli security official in a Feb. 17 article in Ma’ariv, Israel fears that Special Envoy George Mitchell will convince the White House to cut military aid as a response to Israel’s ongoing settlement activities in the occupied West Bank.A Feb. 15 Ha’aretz article speculated that amounts available for U.S. loan guarantees to Israel would be cut for the same reason.
Meanwhile, last Thursday, Sen. John Kerry and Reps. Keith Ellison and Brian Baird visited the occupied Gaza Strip to assess the damage from Israel’s recent war and ongoing siege.This was the first time any U.S. government official visited Gaza in more than three years.After their visit, Ellison and Baird released a strong press release, stating:
“If this had happened in our own country, there would be national outrage and an appeal for urgent assistance. We are glad that the Obama administration acted quickly to send much needed funding for this effort but the arbitrary and unreasonable Israeli limitations on food and repair essentials is unacceptable and indefensible. People, innocent children, women and non-combatants, are going without water, food and sanitation, while the things they so desperately need are sitting in trucks at the border, being denied permission to go in.”
Keep up the momentum to hold Israel accountable by taking action below.
TAKE ACTION
1. Encourage President Obama to sanction Israel for its misuse of U.S.weapons.Send a letter to the President today asking him to investigateIsrael’s prior misuses of U.S. weapons against Palestinians and to reconsider his anticipated request for additional weapons in his upcoming budget.To send your letter, please click here.
2. Thank Sen. Kerry and Reps. Ellison and Baird for visiting the occupied Gaza Strip.Contact these Members of Congress to thank them for visiting Gaza to assess the damage from Israel’s war and ongoing siege, and be sure to thank Reps. Ellison and Baird for their strong statement.
Sen. John Kerry: 202-224-2742 Rep. Brian Baird: 202-225-3536
Rep. Keith Ellison: 202-225-4755
3. Organize to challenge U.S. military aid to Israel in your community. Even as we begin to see glimmers of hope that the United States is considering changing its policy of unconditional support for Israel and holding it accountable for its human rights abuses of Palestinians, we have to organize on a long-term, sustained basis to make this happen.
Since February 2008, we have sent nearly 1,000 organizing packets to people and organizations all over the country to educate and mobilize people in their communities to challenge military aid to Israel.Check out our Google map below showing the locations where people are organizing.
Code Pink, February 19, 2009 - During the recent ruthless assault on the people of Gaza when so many people were injured or murdered, I lost my own sister; she had been ill for many years. The loss of this one person, whose death was anticipated, was such a blow, that when I considered the losses to the people of Gaza – of mothers, children, fathers, brothers, uncles, cousins, and friends, I wondered how the anguish of so much tragic loss could be sustained. Housing, hospitals, nurseries, libraries, schools, were also lost. Surely the blow to the human spirit would be intolerable for many, and there would seem little reason for continuing to live.
Going to Gaza is our opportunity (my partner Garrett Larson’s and mine) to express solidarity with the people there. To demonstrate the concern we feel each day for the suffering endured. To remind the people of Gaza and ourselves that we belong to the same world: the world where grief is not only acknowledged, but shared; where we see injustice and call it by its name; where we see suffering and know the one who stands and sees is also harmed, but not nearly so much as the one who stands and sees and says and does nothing. We can bring our witness, one of life’s strongest gifts, as others have come to our side, witnessing our struggle, when life appeared impossible to bear. When all is lost, or nearly lost, tenderness remains, or could. We can offer what we are.
Below is a letter than Columbia University faculty have initiated to the president of their university about academic freedom in Palestine, including Gaza.
Dear President Bollinger,
On a number of occasions since becoming president of Columbia University you have expressed your views in public on questions of academic freedom in the Middle East. Yet you have remained silent on the actions by Israel that deny that freedom to Palestinians.
These actions include Israel's continuing blockade of Gaza, the imposing of barriers, checkpoints, and closures around and within the West Bank that make academic life unworkable, the denial of exit visas to Palestinian scholars offered fellowships abroad or invited to international conferences, including scholars invited to Columbia, and the recent three-week war against Gaza that included not only the bombing of Palestinian schools and colleges, with great loss of life, but the widespread destruction of the material and social fabric on which academic life depends.
We, as Columbia and Barnard faculty, ask you now to make public your opposition to these actions and your support for the academic freedom of Palestinians.
Faculty signatures [For the 127 signatures, see the link.]
Global BDS Movement, February 18, 2009 - Statement by individual union workers (for signatory list, see full statement at the link)
We salute the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) in Durban, and Western Australian dock worker members of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), for refusing to handle Israeli cargo.
Theirs is a courageous response to Israel's attack on Palestinians in Gaza that, since December 27 alone, have left some 1,400 dead and 5,000 wounded -- nearly all of them civilians.
This action is in the best tradition of dock workers in Denmark and Sweden (1963), the San Francisco Bay Area (1984) and Liverpool (1988), who refused to handle shipping for apartheid South Africa; Oakland dock workers' refusal to load bombs for the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile (1978); and West Coast dock workers' strike against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (2008).
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) rightly "calls on other workers and unions to follow suit and to do all that is necessary to ensure that they boycott all goods to and from Israel until Palestine is free."
COSATU's appeal is particularly relevant for workers in the United States, whose government stands behind Israel's war against the Palestinians, and without which Israeli apartheid cannot continue.
In the past ten years alone, U.S. military aid to Israel was $17 billion; over the next decade, it will be $30 billion. As in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is U.S. aircraft, white phosphorous and bullets that kill and maim on behalf of the occupiers. Both the Democratic and Republican parties condone the slaughter in Gaza.
Such support bolsters Israel's longstanding role as watchdog and junior partner for U.S. domination over the oil-rich Middle East -- and beyond. In that capacity, Israel was apartheid South Africa's closest ally.....
For all these reasons, we join COSATU in supporting the growing international campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, which demands Palestinian self-determination, including an end to Israeli military occupation, the right of Palestinian refugees to return, and elimination of apartheid throughout historic Palestine.
Join us in publicizing the example of South African and Australian dock workers, and working toward the same kind of labor solidarity here at home.
Join us in demanding immediate and total:
1. End to U.S. aid for Israel.
2. Divestment of business and labor investments in Israel.
3. Labor boycott of Israel.
4. Withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces from the Middle East.
The Independent (UK), February 10, 2009 - They are the iPod generation of students: politically apathetic, absorbed by selfish consumerism, dedicated to a few years of hedonism before they land a lucrative job in the City. Not any more. A seismic change is taking place in British universities.
Around the UK, thousands of students have occupied lecture theatres, offices and other buildings at more than 20 universities in sit-down protests. It seems that the spirit of 1968 has returned to the campus.
While it was the situation in Gaza that triggered this mass protest, the beginnings of political enthusiasm have already spread to other issues.
John Rose, one of the original London School of Economics (LSE) students to mount the barricades alongside Tariq Ali in 1968, spent last week giving lectures on the situation in Gaza at 12 of the occupations.
"This is something different to anything we've seen for a long time," he said. "There is genuine fury at what Israel did.
"I think it's highly likely that this year will see more student action. What's interesting is the nervousness of vice chancellors and their willingness to concede demands; it indicates this is something that could well turn into [another] '68."
Beginning with a 24-hour occupation at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) on 13 January, the sit-ins spread across the country. Now occupations have been held at the LSE, Essex, King's College London, Birmingham, Sussex, Warwick, Manchester Metropolitan, Oxford, Leeds, Cambridge, Sheffield Hallam, Bradford, Nottingham, Queen Mary, Manchester, Strathclyde, Newcastle, Kingston, Goldsmiths and Glasgow.
Among the demands of students are disinvestment in the arms trade; the promise to provide scholarships for Palestinian students; a pledge to send books and unused computers to Palestine; and to condemn Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Technology has set these actions apart from those of previous generations, allowing a national momentum to grow with incredible speed. Through the linking up of internet blogs, news of successes spread quickly and protests grew nationwide.
Just three weeks after the first sit-in at SOAS, students gathered yesterday at Birkbeck College to draw up a national strategy. The meeting featured speeches from leaders in the Stop the War movement, such as Tony Benn, George Galloway MP and Jeremy Corbyn MP. There has also been an Early Day Motion tabled in Parliament in support of campus activism.....
ManUni Occupation blog, February 5, 2009 - Over 150 University of Manchester (UK) students have occupied the main university administration building in a demand for a stronger and more proactive position from the university on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The students have proposed a set of demands on the university’s Vice Chancellor Alan Gilbert, including a boycott of Israeli goods on campus, support for a day of fundraising with proceeds to the DEC fund, and that the university end research into manufacturing arms.
Students at other universities have taken similar actions over the last three weeks and have been successful in their demands....
ADC urges you to act quickly to oppose House Congressional Resolution 29 (H. Con. Res 29) which questions support for the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) and alleges its support for terror organizations. H. Con. Res. 29 has been referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. While the people of the Gaza Strip are suffering after years of occupation, blockade and weeks of war UNRWA deserves only steadfast American support and aid to alleviate the suffering in Gaza. The attempts to make UNRWA's job harder and limit funding for the organization sends the message that the United States is actively seeking the continued deprivation of the Palestinian people.
Eight representatives have co-sponsored this resolution and if your representative is one of them then you will be able to send them a message expressing your disagreement with the resolution. If they have not co-sponsored the resolution you will be able to send them a letter encouraging them not to support the resolution.
US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, February 3, 2009 - Thanks to a generous emergency grant from Cultures of Resistance, we produced a 30-second commercial about the U.S. role in Israel's war on and siege of the Gaza Strip.
We thought, "What better way to bring this important information to the attention of people in the United States than to advertise nationally on DIRECTV?" the largest satellite television subscription service in the country.
After detailed discussions with DIRECTV, including agreement on rates, times,and network placements of the ad, when we gave them the final product, they abruptly decided not to do business with us. This blatant act of censorship is preventing millions of U.S. households from learning the truth about our government's crucial role in enabling Israel's war on and siege of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. TAKE ACTION 1. Watch both an extended internet version and the original 30-second commercial by clicking here. 2. Contact DIRECTV to protest its act of censorship and demand that they accept our ad by clicking here. 3. Let all your friends know about this commercial and DIRECTV's censorship of it by joining our Facebook group. 4. Make a tax-deductible contribution to the US Campaign so that we can purchase as much air time for this commercial as possible by clicking here. 5. Take action requested in the commercial and sign our open letter to President Obama calling upon him to cut off military aid to Israel by clicking here.
ADC urges you to contact your Representatives and encourage them to co-sponsor and support H.R. 66. This resolution calls for an unconditional cease-fire and for Israel to permit the free flow of humanitarian aid. The resolution also gives an overview of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, including the lack of medicine, water, electricity, and other basic human necessities. At the moment the resolution has been co-sponsored by ten members of Congress; and has been referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Make sure to contact your Representatives and let them know you want them to act quickly to support H.R. 66. You can do so by clicking here and using our web form that will send a prepared message directly to your Congressional office based on your address. If your Representative is already supporting the legislation you will be able to send them a thank you note and if not, you will be able to send them a request asking them to do so.
With everyone's quick cooperation we can encourage support for H.R. 66. Let's Act NOW!
Excerpt from a position paper issued on 28 January 2009 by the Palestinian NGO Network. We call for immediate action to be taken to achieve the following:
An immediate end to the internal conflict, a revival of national unity as to avoid polarization on a regional and international level, which does not serve common Palestinian goals, and formation of a National Unity Government to lead the Palestinian people through these critical times.
Immediate commencement of reconstruction work in Gaza with a priority of finding homes for those without. The reconstruction of Gaza should be handled by Palestinians as their knowledge of the affected areas is second to none. Although Israel should take full responsibility for rebuilding all destroyed civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, if reconstruction is to be bankrolled by the international community, reconstruction funds should be handled exclusively by a Palestinian team, which should be selected on the basis of transparency, accountability and professionalism, and should consist of members from civil society, the private sector and the Government. This team should utilize their collective experience on a local, regional and international level and apply it as specified by the needs of the team.
Co-operation with civil and popular initiatives in order to allow them the possibility to assist the victims of this war. In addition, the role and independence of civil society should also be respected.
We, Palestinian NGOs declare our complete rejection of any aid coming from USAID due to the United States' constant military and financial support to Israel, or from any other parties whose support to Israel facilitated Israel's military aggression in the Gaza Strip
An end of the siege on Gaza and opening of the borders and crossings. In addition, a safe and free passage that links the West Bank to Gaza should be created, whilst avoiding anything that deepens the already existing division between the West Bank and Gaza.
Preservation of the freedom of expression and right to criticize the performance of any authorities involved in the war, and let them be answerable for their respective roles. We call for the release of all political prisoners and the immediate cessation of arrests, while allowing media impartiality and freedom from external influence.
Conducting a comprehensive revision of Palestinian negotiating policy to ensure immediate cessation of the construction of Israeli settlements, the end of the siege on Gaza, the end of Israel's policy to isolate Jerusalem and to end all Israeli aggression. This policy should be linked with existing UN treaties, resolutions and standards of international law and should help develop Palestinian political discourse and its mechanisms. The reference of negotiation should be based on the Palestinian Political Prisoners Initiative with an emphasis on the right to resist.
The intervention of the international community in providing protection for the people of Gaza and the West Bank, ending the occupation of Palestinian territory by Israel and guaranteeing Palestinians' right to self-determination, through application of international conventions and resolutions. It is not acceptable to place the Palestinians on the same level as the Israelis; it is now clearer than ever who the oppressor is and who is being oppressed.
Bringing the Israeli authorities before a war tribunal to hold them to account for the damage and destruction they have caused in Gaza, and to ensure the appropriate reparations are made. We propose to form a national committee to work on this front.
Upholding the current global BDS campaign to boycott Israeli goods, support of divestment initiatives and encourage sanctions against Israel, to re-enforce its aims in light of Israel's recent war crimes in Gaza.
The Palestinian NGO Network is a civil and democratic body, which seeks to support, consolidate and strengthen the Palestinian civil society on the basis of the principles of democracy, social justice and sustainable development. It is a Palestinian NGO umbrella organization established in September 1993 and comprising 100 member organizations working in different developmental fields.
Arab Women Active in the Arts and Media (AWAAM), NYC - In response to the recent swell of protests across new york city, which signal a deep, local base of solidarity with the Palestinian people, AWAAM: Arab Women in the Arts and Media has been interviewing people at the scene. The interviews document, through audio and video, the diverse lives and work of organizers and activists who have been taking to the streets in the thousands....
We encourage:
1. Your response to any of the points raised in the coming weeks.
2. Your collaboration in documenting what's happening in New York and generating discussions to engage activists and organizers. All it takes is a telephone to send audio to Utters.
Thank you and see you on the streets....
[First audio-documentaries can be heard at the link. - Ed.]
Each time a man [or woman] stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance....
The Coalition of Women for Peace, Tel-Aviv-Jaffa, Israel, Press release, January 12, 2009 - The Coalition of Women for Peace in Israel launches a groundbreaking new database of companies directly involved in the Israeli occupation. This online database (see: www.whoprofits.org) reflects an on-going grassroots investigation effort by The Coalition of Women for Peace, a leading Israeli feminist peace organization dedicated to ending the occupation and reaching a just peace in Israel/ Palestine (see: www.coalitionofwomen.org). Rigorous research, including site visits and cross references of documents, have resulted in a database of several hundred international and Israeli companies directly involved in the Israeli occupation. During 2009 we intend to upload hundreds more of companies which are under investigation.
The Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights is fueled by corporate interests. Israeli companies and multinational corporations deal in real estate; develop the Israeli infrastructure and settlements in the Palestinian occupied territories and the Golan Heights; contribute to the construction and operation of an ethnic separation system, including checkpoints, walls and roads; design and supply equipment and tools used in the control and repression of the civilian population under occupation....
