Foreign
Press Association in Israel Condemns "Recent Policy Change" by the IDF
and Border Police in Regards to Journalists Covering Events in the West
Bank (Haaretz 7/17/10)
"Over
the past months journalists covering these events have been harassed,
arrested and attacked by the various on site forces before these forces
turn their attention to the activists or demonstrators...open,
unhindered coverage of news events is a widely acknowledged part of the
essence of democracy.
Generally speaking this would not
include smashing the face of a clearly marked photographer working for
a known and accredited news organization with a stick, or for that
matter aiming a stun grenade at the head of a clearly marked news
photographer or summarily arresting cameramen, photographers and/or
journalists."
(The
latter refers to two Palestinian photojournalists injured during a
protest in the southern West Bank town of Beit Umar, near Hebronon July
17.)
"Israel Imprisoned My Father for Nonviolently Resisting the Occupation" Electronic Intifada 7/16/10
Saeed Amireh writes about his father's pursuit of non-violent resistance from Nilin, occupied West Bank.
Gaza Bound Libyan Aid Ship Haaretz 7/10/10
also Aljazeera 7/10/10
Charity organization bringing 2000 tons of aid is headed by the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
How to Win with Hamas Opinion by Bradley Buston
Haaretz 7/2/10
"It is finally time for Israel to radically revise its thinking about Hamas."
Demolitions, New Settlements in East Jerusalem Could Amount to War Crimes according to U.N. Expert U.N. News Service 6/29/10
“This
situation should be seen within the context of Israel’s persistent,
systematic approach to driving Palestinians out of East Jerusalem,
including by denying them permission to construct homes, declaring
their homes illegal, forcibly removing families, and then destroying
their homes – all to make way for Israeli settlements."
Jewish Settlers Target 'Shared Cities' Aljazeera 6/21/10
"There are 498 court cases to kick people out of their homes. Of
these all but one are against Arab families. Gentrification is being
used as a means of ethnic cleansing, in effect".
Nothing
short of the full lifting of Israel's blockade on Gaza would allow the
territory to be rebuilt, the UN agency responsible for Palestinian
refugees said, a day after Israel said it would ease its siege.
ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) video of Beatrice Megevand-Roggo, the ICRC's head of operations in the Middle East (6/14/10)
excerpt:
Closure imposed on the Gaza
Strip constitutes a collective punishment imposed in clear violation of
Israel's obligations under international humanitarian law."
ICRC Report on Gaza Closure 6/14/10
Conclusion:
"The hardship faced by Gaza's 1.5 million people cannot be addressed by
providing humanitarian aid. The only sustainable solution is to lift
the closure."
B'Tselem (Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories) Annual Report 2009-2010
Malian Bambara Guitarist Lobi Traore RIP 1961-2010
Gaza Blockade Fact Sheet (Foreign Policy 6/3/10)
Egypt: Gaza Blockade a Failure, Border Stays Open Guardian UK 6/7/10
Israeli Military Diverts Rachel Corrie Aid Ship to Ashdod New York Times 6/5/10
Gaza flotilla attack: Autopsies reveal intensity of Israeli military force (Guardian UK 6/5/10)
At least 4 Palestinian flotilla passengers remain under house arrest
Free Gaza Movement board director, Lubna Masarwa, Sheik Raed Salah,
leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel,
Mohammed Zeidan, Director of International Advocacy Programme for the
Arab Association for Human Rights. and Hamed abu Dabis are facing
multiple criminal offences for their participation in the Gaza
humanitarian flotilla. After a full
day in court they were remanded until June 8, evidence of how serious
the situation is for these four human rights workers.
French Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says 16 journalists being held at Beer Sheva detention center. (en.rsf.org 6/2/10)
Inside the Israeli PR Machine (Guardian UK 6/4/2010)
Under Scrutiny, IDF Retracts Claims About Flotilla's Al Qaeda Links (Max Blumenthal, 6/3/10)
N.Y. Times Op-eds Recycle Israeli Propaganda on the Gaza Flotilla Attack
Window into Palestine 6/4/10
Video testimony of British survivor Sarah Colborne who was on Mavi Marmara Guardian UK 6/3/10
Eye witness video from Al Jazeera correspondent Jamal Elshayyal who was on the Mavi Marmara
Excerpt:
"No
doubt from what I saw live ammunition was fired before any Israeli
soldier was on deck, firing (live bullets) almost indiscrimiately from
a helicopter.
When
the Israeli soldiers came on board, they stood outside the cabin where
eveyone was gathered and people put up signs in English and Hebrew
saying these people are injured and waved white flags. An Israeli
Knesset member (Haneen Zou’b) approached the soldiers saying there are injured people
please come and take them but the Israelis refused. 3 hours later all 3
of those people ended up dying on the spot because no one came to take
them."
Nine people - eight Turks and a US national of Turkish origin- were killed in
Monday's raid on the Mavi Mamara. Turkish media estimates 15-20,000 mourners poured
onto the streets around the Fatih Mosque in Istanbul. Turkish president
Abdullah Gul said Israel's military raid on civilian aid ships bound
for the Gaza Strip has caused "irreparable" damage to his country's
relations with Israel, and will "never" be forgiven. Aljazeera.net 6/3/10
The leader of the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation or, İHH, Bülent
Yıldırım, said he saw Israeli soldiers shoot a photographer and an activist who
had already surrendered.
"We were witnesses to premeditated murders," said Swedish historian Mattias
Gardell. Hurriyet Daily News 6/3/10
15-20,000 mourn flotilla deaths in Istanbul; "Irreparable damage to relations with Israel"
Nine people - eight Turks and an American citizen were killed in
Monday's raid on the Mavi Mamara. Reports in the Turkish press identified the American as Furkan Dogan, 19, who
was born in the United States before returning to Turkey with his family as a
young child. The Cihan news agency reported that Mr. Dogan had one bullet in the chest and
four bullets fired into his head from close range.
Turkish media estimates 15-20,000 mourners poured onto the streets. The demonstration came as Turkish forensic experts confirmed that the nine
activists had been shot dead.
Turkish president Abdullah Gul said Israel's military raid on civilian aid ships
bound for the Gaza Strip has caused "irreparable" damage to his country's
relations with Israel, and will "never" be forgiven. Aljazeera.net 6/3/10; New York Times 6/3/10
Gaza Links for most up-to-date information:
Live blog coverage: Aftermath of Israel's flotilla raid via Ajazeera
Free Gaza Twitter Feed
Stream Aljazeera TV via Livestation
Aljazeera
TV features outstanding indepth coverage. It is only available via free
computer download in the U.S., as cable companies refuse to carry it.
Hurriyet Daily News (Turkish perspective)
Two article links follow - the opinion piece by Stephen Walt is an excellent read:
Israel's Latest Brutal Blunder by Stephen Walt (Foreign Policy, 5/31/10)
Gaza Freedom flotilla carried world-renowned names and veteran activists (Guardian UK 5/31/10)
I am sickened and outraged by Israel's failure to use all peaceful means necessary to avoid the use of killing force.
Israeli IDF spokeswoman Avital Leibovich claims:
1) There is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. (Avigdor
Lieberman, Israel's foreign minister also states this.)
2) The flotilla activists
were affiliated with Hamas, and as such, the convoy was not intended to
be a humanitarian project.
3) She alleged the activists had
sharp objects and clubs, and initiated light fire so the response was
justified. (Her version is an activist took away a gun from a commando.)
4) She did admit that the commando raid took place outside Israeli waters.
The Israeli propaganda line denying a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is almost as offensive as folks who deny the Holocaust.
Attacking an unarmed civilian vessel in international waters is in
violation of international law. The occupation and siege of Gaza is
already in violation of international human rights law.
The Hamas connection asserted by Leibovich is not true.
Turkey's İHH, Humanitarian Aid Foundation, was the main organizer of
the flotilla aid shipments. The Mavi Marmara ship was the target of the
commando attack. The latest count is 19 killed, including 6 Turks. This
is not confirmed as Israel has refused to release details
of the dead and wounded.
Of the nearly 600 people on the Mavi Marmara, roughly 400 were
Turkish citizens. Among the people on the flotilla were
1976 Nobel peace laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire and European
legislators.
Families of those attacked on Turkish aid ship devastated (Hurriyet Daily News 5/31/10)
US journalist Lori Berenson granted parole in Peru after 15 years in jail. Sentenced to life for
helping MRTA rebels, Berenson cannot leave Peru until 2015
She will be freed with her son, who was born in jail, in the next few days but
cannot leave Peru until her sentence for terrorist collaboration ends in
November 2015.
The politically committed former
student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology pleaded not guilty to
all charges but, after evidence against her had been given in secret in
a non-jury trial, she was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
She was not allowed to cross-examine witnesses. After an intense
campaign, Berenson was retried in a civilian court in 2001 and
convicted of the lesser crime of aiding a revolutionary group and her
sentence reduced to 20 years.
Guardian UK 5/26/10
A Turkey-Brazil
diplomatic initiative to defuse the Iran crisis caught the Obama administration
off-guard, writes Ray
McGovern (former CIA
analyst).
The
United States and Israel no longer dictate to the rest of the world how crises
in the Middle East must be handled with leaders such as Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
displaying the audacity to ignore U.S. warnings and press ahead with diplomacy
to head off a possible new war, this one over
Iran.
Consortium News 5/19/10
Elvis Costello cancels concerts in
Israel in protest at treatment of Palestinians
Singer says he acted on 'conscience', as he joins
a list of performers including Gil Scot-Heron, Carlos Santana and
Bono/U2.
Israeli
authorities prevented the Jewish American academic Noam Chomsky from entering the West Bank on May
9th to give a lecture at a Palestinian university near Ramallah. Chomsky was
told that the Israeli authorities did not like his political
views.
Guardian (UK) 5/18/10
ISRAELI SOLDIERS SPEAK OUT ON GAZA
"A
group of soldiers who took part in Israel's assault in Gaza say
widespread abuses were committed against civilians under 'permissive'
rules of engagement" according to a 7/15/09 BBC report.
"The
troops said they had been urged to fire on any building or person that
seemed suspicious and said civilians were sometimes used as human
shields.
Breaking the Silence (click for full report) a campaign group made up of Israeli soldiers, gathered anonymous accounts from 26 soldiers."
ISRAEL AND IRAN
This
article caught my eye: "Israel may have already started a war against
Iran's nuclear program not with bunker busting bombs and cruise
missiles, but with computers." (7/8/09)
Gazans 'Live In Despair' (June 29,2009 BBC article)
The International Committee of the Red Cross has described the 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza as people "trapped in despair". In its report the Red Cross said the main cause is the two year Israeli blockade.
Six months ago Israel ended its 25 day assault on Gaza in which at least 1,100 Palestinians died.
The
Red Cross says residents lack adequate shelter after homes were
destroyed. Building materials, pipes and spare parts are urgently
needed. Basic medicines and reliable hospital equipment are in short
supply. The water supply is patchy and sanitation is at the point of
collapse.
Poverty is at what the Red Cross calls an "alarming" level with large numbers of children malnourished.
A US air strike in Afghanistan
killed 47 civilians, 39 of them women and children, an Afghan
government investigating team says. The eight other people who died
were between the ages of 14 and 18. Local people said the dead were
wedding party guests. (BBC July 11,2008)
Preparing
the Battlefield: The Bush Administration steps up its secret moves
against Iran. Seymour Hersh (New Yorker Magazine, July 7, 2008)
Seymour Hersh Audio
Secretly shot film reveals how Mugabe stole Zimbabwe's election
Guardian (UK) July 5, 2008
Biofuels
have forced global food prices up by 75% - far more than previously
estimated - according to a confidential World Bank report. Guardian
(UK) July 4, 2008
Time to put the brakes on biofuels - Oxfam commentary Guardian (UK) July 4, 2008
Italy's compulsory fingerprinting of Roma (Gypsy)population is reminiscent of Mussolini and Hitler.
Independent (UK) June 27, 2008
Guardian (UK) July 1, 2008
On-line Petition
Esbjorn Svensson leader of tangential jazz trio EST dies in scuba diving accident
Guardian (UK) June 17,2008
Link for band member thoughts and book of condolences
Saban Bajramovic "King of Roma Music" dies
Independent (UK) June 12, 2008
Timesonline (UK) June 23, 2008