Educate & Mobilize Your Community During Apartheid Week 2012!

By Anna Baltzer, National Organizer

Are you looking for opportunities to educate your community and advance a campaign for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel? Or are you gearing up to launch such a campaign? Israeli Apartheid Week 2012 is a fantastic opportunity to do so, and it's just three weeks away!

Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) is an annual international series of events held in cities and on campuses across the globe. The aim of IAW is to educate people about the nature of Israel as an apartheid state and to build BDS campaigns as part of a growing global BDS movement. Last year's IAW was incredibly successful with participants in 97 U.S. cities! The eighth annual IAW is February 26 - March 3, 2012.  

Click here to email the U.S. IAW coordinators now if you plan to participate in IAW 2012!

Local initiatives during Israeli Apartheid Week span a wide variety. You need not organize an entire week of events, and you can decide what kind of event best advances your work within your means. Here are some ideas for activities:

Organize a teach-in to educate the community about the definition and the reailty of Israeli apartheid, how U.S. aid to Israel scaffolds Israeli apartheid, and the importance of BDS as a strategy to end Israeli apartheid. The IAW and US Campaign websites have dozens of fact sheets illustrating Israel's apartheid policies in the occupied territories and Israel itself. One of the best resources illustrating the former is a booklet by US Campaign member group Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions - USA, entitled "Is Israel an Apartheid State?", based on a legal study coordinated by the government of South Africa. There are also films about Israeli apartheid that you can screen. Pass a resolution to endorse BDS and the BDS National Committee's statement "Occupy Wall Street, Not Palestine!" at your nearest #Occupy General Assembly, as #Occupy Oakland did last week! Organizers compiled data from AidToIsrael.org to show how many local tax-dollars are being spent on military aid to Israel, and how that money could otherwise be spent in the local community. You can also pass a resolution to call for an end to U.S. aid that supports Israeli apartheid. The apartheid framework is a great tool to coalition-build with allies at #Occupy who are working on other anti-racism struggles. Be creative! Draw attention to Israeli apartheid and BDS with a Mock Apartheid Wall, a BDS flash mob, a concert or poetry reading, street theater, and anything else that energizes and builds your efforts. 2012.

Organizing for IAW comes on the heels of an exhilarating National BDS Conference at the University of Pennsylvania this past weekend. Kicking off with a video of support from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, hundreds of activists and academics gathered for two days of workshops, analysis, and entertainment, undeterred by a barrage of attacks by BDS opponents who attempted to smear organizers and speakers alike. Click here to hear a press briefing with keynote speaker Ali Abunimah and me, refuting the bogus charges. You know the old saying by Mahatma Gandhi:

"First they ignore you.
Then they laugh at you.
Then they fight you.
Then you win."

Let us continue to challenge U.S. aid to Israel and Israeli apartheid as part of this movement that can no longer be ignored. Part of what makes IAW so powerful is that it is internationally coordinated around the same goal to build the global BDS movement. Please click here to contact the U.S. IAW organizers as soon as possible if you plan to participate, so they can get your events up on the international website for this exciting week of action! 

Click here to contact the U.S. IAW organizers now if you plan to participate, so they can get your events up on the international website for this exciting week of action!

Take action: Support United Methodist Church divestment campaign

UMKR and FOSNA are coalition members of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. United Methodist Kairos Response (UMKR) is an international movement in the United Methodist Church responding to the "Kairos Palestine Document," an urgent plea from Christians in the Holy Land for decisive action supporting a just peace in Israel/Palestine.  UMKR is working to put actions behind the denomination's words and seeks to align the church's investments with its resolutions opposing the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. To that end, members of UMKR have written a resolution that would direct UMC boards and agencies to divest from corporations that sustain and profit from the occupation. FOSNAhas already endorsed this resolution as a group and now we are asking YOU to please endorse as an individual! This legislation will go to the UMC's next General Conference, being held in Tampa, Florida, April 25-May 5, 2012. Please take action TODAY: CLICK HERE to endorse the United Methodist Kairos Response resolution as an individual. CLICK HERE to sign a petition if you participate in services provided by the UMC General Board of Pension & Health Benefits. Email info@kairosresponse.org if you are interested in volunteering to help pass this resolution.

Two US Delegations Endorse BDS and Call for Action in the US

The Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) of Israel has been endorsed by two US delegations recently returned from fact finding missions to occupied Palestine and Israel.

US Campaign member group US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI) organized a delegation of five distinguished scholars for a trip to Palestine and Israel in January. The delegation, composed of professors working at US universities, witnessed firsthand how Israel routinely denies the academic freedom of Palestinian scholars and students. According to a press release issued by USACBI, the delegation noted:

… Israel has consistently closed Palestinian universities under security pretexts and restrictions on freedom of movement mean that it is often very difficult for students to attend universities; international and Palestinian scholars living abroad are denied visas for faculty appointments in the occupied territories.  Furthermore, some 80 students from Birzeit University are held in Israeli prisons and detention centers, 10 of whom are currently being held without charge or trial. The delegation also reported that Israel thwarts Palestinian research capacities by restricting imports of equipment necessary for teaching basic science and engineering. It is all but impossible for Gaza students to attend West Bank universities, or for scholars from Ramallah, Gaza City, and East Jerusalem to meet in the same room.

While the primary focus of the trip was on educational discrimination, the delegation also had the opportunity to visit the 5,000 person Aida Refugee Camp near Bethlehem, as well as hear testimony from Palestinian families living in Sheikh Jarrah who were forcibly evicted from their homes in East Jerusalem by the Israeli military. After witnessing how the "subordination, humiliation, and suspicion" of the occupation regulates the daily lives of Palestinians, as well as numerous violations of Palestinian civil and legal rights, the delegates urged their academic colleagues to support the academic and cultural boycott of Israel. In a brief statement included in USACBI's press release, the delegates stated:

We believe that the perpetuation of the international travesty of colonial occupation in a post-colonial world must be brought to an end.  For it ultimately threatens the rights, dignity and security of everyone who believes in self-determination, equal justice and human rights.

Read USACBI's full press release here. 

LGBTIQ Activists Call for an End to US Aid to Israel and Endorse BDS

A diverse group of academics, artists, and cultural workers from the LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, interest, and queer) community also traveled to Palestine/Israel in January. Upon their return to the US, the delegation released an open letter and petition emphatically endorsing BDS and calling on the queer community and its allies to "stand in solidarity with queer and other Palestinians and progressive Israelis who are working to end the occupation; oppose the state of Israel's practice of pinkwashing; and support efforts on the part of Palestinians to achieve full self-determination including building an international Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement."

In their open letter, the delegates strongly reject Israel's practice of pinkwashing -- using the issue of gay rights to deflect attention away from the daily violations of Palestinian human rights:

Key to Israel's pinkwashing campaign is the manipulative and false labeling of Israeli culture as gay-friendly and Palestinian culture as homophobic. It is our view that comparisons of this sort are both inaccurate - homophobia and transphobia are to be found throughout Palestinian and Israeli society - and that this is beside the point: Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine cannot be somehow justified or excused by its purportedly tolerant treatment of some sectors of its own population. We stand in solidarity with Palestinian queer organizations like Al Qaws and Palestinian Queers for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (PQBDS) whose work continues to impact queer Palestinians and all Palestinians.

… We urge LGBTIQ individuals and communities to resist replicating the practice of pinkwashing that insists on elevating the sexual freedom of Palestinian people over their economic, environmental, social, and psychological freedom. Like the Palestinian activists we met, we view heterosexism and sexism as colonial projects and, therefore, see both as interrelated and interconnected regimes that must end.

As queer activists in the US, they condemn US complicity in maintaining the occupation and call for an end to US aid to Israel and support for the BDS movement in the US:

We name the complicity of the United States in this human rights catastrophe and call on our government to end its participation in an unjust regime that places it and us on the wrong side of peace and justice.

We support efforts on the part of Palestinians to achieve full self-determination, such as building an international Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement which calls for the fulfillment of three fundamental demands:

▪ The end of the Occupation and the dismantling of the Wall
  (jidar).
▪ The right of return for displaced Palestinians.
▪ The recognition and restoration of the equal rights of citizenship for Israeli     citizens of Palestinian descent.

We call upon all of our academic and activist colleagues in the US and elsewhere to join us by supporting all Palestinian efforts that center these three demands and by working to end US financial support, at $8.2 million daily, for the Israeli state and its occupation.

Read the open letter in full and sign the petition here 


 Testimonials from the Delegates Published on The Feminist Wire


Darnell L. Moore, who traveled to Palestine as part of the LGBTIQ delegation and is an editorial collective member of The Feminist Wire (TFW), solicited reflections and commentaries from US-based scholars, activists and cultural workers about their experiences in Palestine. Those writings have been collected and published online at TFW Forum on Palestine. Several participants from the USACBI and LGBTIQ delegations contributed moving and thoughtful pieces to the forum, including powerful commentaries from Neferti X.M. Tadiar and Jasbir K. Puar. Tadiar calls upon us to "forge new relations beyond the province of interests and inherited forms of social belonging to which we might have become tethered and, for those of us not already called, to feel the suffering and aspirations of Palestinians as also our own," in  "Why the Question of Palestine is a Feminist Concern." Puar's piece, "The Golden Handcuffs of Gay Rights: How Pinkwashing Distorts Both LGBTIQ and Anti-Occupation Activism," offers insightful analysis of Israel's pinkwashing agenda, homonationalism and the radical impact of Palestinian Queers for BDS (PQBDS) on Palestinian society. She argues that by "foregrounding the Occupation as its primary site of struggle, PQBDS is slowly, strategically and carefully insisting upon and creating systemic and thorough changes in the terms of Palestinian society itself. "

PennBDS: Hate-fest or Human Rights Conference?

Posted today by the Institute for Middle East Understanding...

This weekend, the first national conference bringing together American supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement takes place at the University of Pennsylvania.

We discuss the conference, the controversy surrounding it, and the growing international BDS movement, with guests Ali Abunimah, co-founder of the Electronic Intifada and conference keynote speaker, and Anna Baltzer, National Organizer with the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.

Listen to internet radio with IMEU on Blog Talk Radio

SEE ORIGINAL ARTICLE...

Policy Brief Explores Palestinian Leadership Strategies

Noura Erakat, a former US Campaign National Organizer and Legal Advocate, published today an important policy brief--"Beyond Sterile Negotiations: Looking for a Leadership with a Strategy"--examining alternatives for both rights-based and political program-based strategies for achieving Palestinian human rights and national liberation.

Although the US Campaign, as a broad-based U.S. organization, takes no positions on intra-Palestinian political questions, Noura's important policy brief, published by Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network, makes for stimulating and thought-provoking reading for anyone concerned with the attainment of Palestinians' long-denied rights.

From the synopsis:

"Given the abject failure of the Palestine Liberation Organization to secure Palestinian rights over the decades since it was established, it is long past time to explore how a national liberation strategy can be elaborated and by whom. In this policy brief, Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Noura Erakat examines the political leadership vacuum left by the Oslo Accords and then discusses the role of the Palestinian diaspora in the creation of numerous transnational networks that have attempted to fill the void of authoritative leadership. She then discusses the role of the Boycott National Committee and the strategy of using boycott, divestment, and sanctions as a human rights-based approach without a political program. Erakat also draws on lessons from the South African experience and addresses the dangers of achieving reconciliation without revolutionary solutions."

Read all of Noura's policy brief here.

Media Tell State Department: The Emperor Has No Clothes

When it comes to the so-called Israeli-Palestinian "peace process," the State Department daily press briefings have truly degenerated into a farce in which the mainstream media refuses to believe any longer.  Take, for example, yesterday's briefing, during which a succession of members of the media poked holes in the logic of the United States saying for the umpteenth time that Israeli settlement activity is "unhelpful" yet refusing to even consider any "consequences" for Israel's repeated and flagrant disregard of U.S. policy concerns.

This exchange is worth quoting in full for the absurdity of the State Department position.  Members of media have exposed the fact that the emperor in not wearing any clothes.

QUESTION: The Israeli Government has announced plans to actually encourage settlers to move into the West Bank and to begin – and also to begin a process that would – that could end up in legalizing what are now illegal outposts. I’m assuming that your position on both of these things hasn’t changed, so I’m wondering --

MR. TONER: You assume correctly.

QUESTION: Yeah.

MR. TONER: You know we’ve said multiple times --

QUESTION: What is it – can you maybe make it a little bit more clear, because it seems to be apparent that the Israelis, or at least Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government, don’t understand exactly what it is that you, as their prime benefactor and large – huge ally, want from them.

MR. TONER: Well, Matt, we’ve said this many times from this podium and from elsewhere that we view any move that would jeopardize getting these two parties back to the negotiating table, and indeed, we’ve obviously seen them back – face-to-face negotiations over the past couple of weeks – that we find those unconstructive and unhelpful.

QUESTION: And that would include what they have announced today?

MR. TONER: Yes, that would include that.

QUESTION: All right. So what is the consequence, then, for Israel for them continuing to defy – not only defy but really to do – not just to say no, we don’t agree with that, but then to actually actively --

MR. TONER: Well, again --

QUESTION: -- oppose or actively take active steps that fly in the face of what you say is helpful?

MR. TONER: Well, again, we’re seeking clarity on what is actually being proposed here. We did have an initial round of direct talks in Jordan. Those talks have ended, but they did show signs of progress and we certainly want to see them continue. And these kinds of actions don’t help create the kind of atmosphere that are conducive to these talks continuing.

Now, David Hale is in the region. He’s going to have meetings in Amman as well as Jerusalem and Ramallah, and he’ll be back in Washington later this week. But – obviously, he’s there in his capacity, but also I think he’ll make some of these concerns – convey them to the Israeli Government.

QUESTION: Well, these concerns have been conveyed over and over and over to the Israelis. What is the consequence for them continuing to do this?

MR. TONER: Well, again, this is about getting them back to the negotiating table. And what we make clear is that whenever these kinds of actions take place, that they hamper that process.

QUESTION: So there is no consequence at all?

MR. TONER: Well, again, it’s not about carrots and sticks. What it’s about is trying to encourage these parties to get back to the negotiating table.

QUESTION: Why not? It’s about carrots and sticks everywhere else in the world. Why isn’t it about carrots and sticks here?

MR. TONER: In this case, it’s in both their --

QUESTION: What are you doing --

MR. TONER: -- it’s in both parties’ best interests to continue negotiations towards a comprehensive settlement.

QUESTION: But the actions of at least – one could argue the actions of both parties, but in this series of questions, which is about the announcements by the Israeli Government --

MR. TONER: Right.

QUESTION: -- they are not acting in the best interests of that, according to you.

MR. TONER: Again --

QUESTION: Correct? So what is the consequence of that? The consequence is they don’t get back to talks that they apparently don’t seem to want?

MR. TONER: Well, again, you’ll have to ask the Israeli Government what their intent is here. But you’re absolutely right that this has to be something that both sides want to pursue and to do so in a meaningful and committed fashion. And again, we are very outspoken when we see actions by either side that we believe hampers the chance for these parties to get back into direct negotiations. It’s certainly – as we’ve said many times, it’s in both of their interests to be in direct negotiations.

QUESTION: All right. Two more very quick ones --

MR. TONER: Yeah. Sure.

QUESTION: -- and then I’m done. You talk about meaningful and committed fashion. Are the actions of the Israeli Government something that you would consider meaningful and committed to be – is what they’re doing, is that something that you consider to be acting in a meaningful and – now I’ve forgotten the other word --

MR. TONER: That’s okay.

QUESTION: Committed.

QUESTION: -- and committed fashion?

MR. TONER: Thanks, Andy. Again, I think I’ve been very clear that actions by either side that we view as unconstructive to the process --

QUESTION: So they are not acting in a meaningful and committed fashion?

MR. TONER: Well, again, we have had talks in Jordan over the past few weeks that we believe offered a good start. We want to see those talks continue. David Hale is in the region. He’s consulting with all sides as well as the Jordanians.

QUESTION: Mark, that’s a great answer to a question, but it’s not the question I asked. Is Israel asking in a meaningful – acting in a meaningful and committed fashion toward getting a peace – towards encouraging these talks?

MR. TONER: Again, we’ve said that these kinds of actions are not constructive.

QUESTION: I think it’s a yes-or-no question.

MR. TONER: And I’m going to answer you the way I’m answering you, which is that it’s not constructive.

QUESTION: It’s not constructive, all right. And then the last one is just Hale – he is where at the moment right now?

MR. TONER: That is a good question. I believe he’s in Amman today.

QUESTION: Okay. And was he aware – was he aware of this before he went or --

MR. TONER: I don’t know. I haven’t – I didn’t talk to him.

QUESTION: Did this come out as a complete surprise to you guys?

MR. TONER: I do not know whether he was aware of it or not.

QUESTION: What about the rest of the building?

MR. TONER: Again, I believe that we were – again, I’m not going to get into what we may or may not have known. What we’re seeing here is actions that we believe aren’t constructive.

QUESTION: Mark, just a --

MR. TONER: Yeah. Sure, Said.

QUESTION: -- quick follow-up on this. Now, you keep saying that the path to statehood is through direct negotiations. Seeing how the settlement processing increased by 20 percent in 2011 and with today’s announcement, and in fact, since the beginning of this month we are likely to see an increase if they continue at this pace – like a 40 percent increase in settlement activities. So what incentive is there for the Palestinians to go into these negotiations to sort of get a state that is viable – as you keep saying – that is viable and contiguous and independent and sovereign?

MR. TONER: Well, the motivation should be clear, and that is the sooner they sit down with Israel and work through these issues in a comprehensive fashion so that we can get a clear way forward in terms of borders, then the sooner they have that comprehensive settlement and that statehood that they so desire.

QUESTION: But isn’t there a pattern that every time there is some sort of a negotiation and, in fact, a visit by a high-level U.S. official and so on to Israel, that the Israelis always counter by announcing a new settlement and increase the settlements and so on?

MR. TONER: Again, you’re asking me to speak to the motivations behind this decision. I don’t know.

QUESTION: Okay. So you talk about incentives for the Palestinians, but do you have any kind of disincentive for the increased Israeli settlement activities?

MR. TONER: Well, we’ve always been clear that – and Israelis themselves have commented that the status quo is unsustainable. So that’s --

QUESTION: So then the expression of anger and perhaps a little pouting, there is nothing that you can do?

MR. TONER: I disagree. David Hale is right now in the region. He is consulting with our partners as well as the parties. And we’re committed to getting them back into direct negotiations.

QUESTION: Can you tell us the last time that your position that was made very clearly to the Israelis did have an impact on stemming the settlement activities?

MR. TONER: Again, we are very outspoken when we see these kinds of actions by either side. We convey those to the Israelis, but you’re asking me to --

QUESTION: But you expressed a little recollection on that --

MR. TONER: -- elaborate on some kind of actions that I can’t.

QUESTION: In the last 12 months, you have not been able to sort of dissuade the Israelis from settlement activities. Are you aware of any time that you were able to persuade them?

MR. TONER: Again, Said, it is a question better directed to the Israeli Government. What we’re trying to do without preconditions, we’re trying to get the parties back to the negotiating table, and we’ve had a good start.    

Call for World Social Forum Free Palestine, Nov. 2012 in Brazil

Last week, the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) issued an international call for the World Social Forum Free Palestine, scheduled to take place in November 2012 in Porto Alegre, Brazil. In an email message to solidarity groups publicizing the call, the BNC wrote:

This is a unique opportunity, challenge and responsibility for all of us. This potentially game changing forum will bring together the entirety of the international solidarity movement and allow us to show our strength, celebrate our successes and plan for more. We're very excited about the opportunities it presents for the solidarity movement in general and for the BDS movement in particular.

The BNC's call can be read in full below. Please share widely!!!

Call for the World Social Forum Free Palestine, Nov. 2012 in Brazil

Posted on January 19, 2012 by StopTheWall Campaign

Occupied Palestine is part of every free heartbeat in this world and her cause continues to inspire solidarity across the globe.  The World Social Forum Free Palestine is an expression of the human instinct to unite for justice and freedom and an echo of the World Social Forum’s opposition to neo-liberal hegemony, colonialism, and racism through struggles for social, political and economic alternatives to promote justice, equality, and the sovereignty of peoples.

The WSF Free Palestine will be a global encounter of broad-based popular and civil society mobilizations from around the world. It aims to:

1. Show the strength of solidarity with the calls of the Palestinian people and the diversity of initiatives and actions aimed at promoting justice and peace in the region.

2. Create effective actions to ensure Palestinian self-determination, the creation of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and the fulfillment of human rights and international law, by:

a)      Ending Israeli occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall;

b)     Ensuring the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and

c)      Implementing, protecting, and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.

3. Be a space for discussion, exchange of ideas, strategizing, and planning in order to improve the structure of solidarity.

Exactly sixty-five years after Brazil presided over the UN General Assembly session that agreed upon the partition of Palestine, Brazil will host a different type of global forum: an historic opportunity for people from all over the world to stand up where governments have failed. The world’s people will come together to discuss new visions and effective actions to contribute to justice and peace in the region.

We call on all organizations, movements, networks, and unions across the globe to join the WSF Free Palestine in November 2012 in Porto Alegre. We ask you to join the International Committee for the WSF Free Palestine, we will establish as soon as possible. Participation in this forum will structurally strengthen solidarity with Palestine, promote action to implement Palestinian’s legitimate rights, and hold Israel and its allies accountable to international law.

Together we can raise global solidarity with Palestine to a new level.

Palestinian Preparatory Committee for the WSF Free Palestine 2012

Secretariat members:

· PNGO – Palestinian NGO Network

· Stop the Wall – Palestinian grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign,

· OPGAI – Occupied Palestinian Golan Heights Advocacy Initiative

· Alternatives represented by:

     Alternative Information Center,

     Teacher Creativity Center

· Ittijah

· General Union of Palestinian women

Coordination office:

PNGO – Palestinian NGO Network

Tel: +970 2 2975320/1

Fax: +970 2 2950704

E mail: samahd@pngo.net

SEE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE... 

Take Action: Pro-BDS Op-Ed Needs Letters to Editor

US Campaign member group WRITE! for Justice, Human Rights, and International Law in Palestine issued the following action alert yesterday. Please respond by writing a letter to the Philadelphia Inquirer in support of Ali Abunimah's op-ed promoting boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS).

***

Today, The Philadelphia Inquirer has courageously published a pro-BDS piece by Ali Abunimah 'Aim to promote human rights of the Palestinians' (1/29) in the Sunday newspaper opposite a piece by R. James Woolsey and Jonathan Schanzer 'Anti-Israeli agenda expected at Penn conference.'  In his op-ed Abunimah lays out a principled case for BDS and the upcoming conference at the University of Pennsylvania (February 3-5), "we are coming together to push forward an inclusive movement that supports nonviolent action to promote the human rights of the Palestinian people, because only full respect for these rights can lead to peace."  Abunimah continues, "Modeled explicitly on the tactics used to help end apartheid in South Africa, Palestinians urge that Israel be sanctioned until it respects Palestinian rights and international law in three specific ways: an end to the occupation of all Palestinian lands seized by Israel in 1967; full equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel; and full respect for the rights of Palestinian refugees."

In contrast, the Woolsey (former CIA director) and Schanzer op-ed contains the standard misdirection, spin, and propaganda talking points that is so typical of the 'Foundation for Defense of Democracies.'

Please WRITE! your letter of support to the Philadelphia Inquirer Inquirer.Letters@phillynews.com.  The point and counter-point op-eds, along with the upcoming BDS conference, provide a unique opportunity to put the issue of the principled BDS campaign before the American public.  Your help is crucial in thoughtful online responses and letters to the editor.  Letters should be kept under 200 words and be sure to include your name, address, and phone number for verification purposes.

For further information

R. James Woolsey and Jonathan Schanzer -- Anti-Israeli agenda expected at Penn conference
http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20120129_Anti-Israeli_agenda_expected_at_Penn_conference.html

Human Rights Watch: World Report 2012 -- Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories
http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territories

OCHA: Monthly Humanitarian Monitor - December 2011
http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_the_humanitarian_monitor_2012_01_19_english.pdf

ICAHD Report: The Judaization of Palestine -- 2011 Displacement Trends
http://www.scribd.com/iepshtain/d/78666859-The-Judaization-of-Palestine-2011-Displacement-Trends

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Aim to promote human rights of the Palestinians

By Ali Abunimah

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20120129_Aim_to_promote_human_rights_of_the_Palestinians_.html

I am coming to the University of Pennsylvania this week to incite violence against the State of Israel - pro-Israel groups and commentators have contended - and, along with hundreds of students and other speakers who will attend the 2012 National Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Conference, to engage in an "act of warfare."

Nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, we are coming together to push forward an inclusive movement that supports nonviolent action to promote the human rights of the Palestinian people, because only full respect for these rights can lead to peace. Today, millions of Palestinians live without basic rights under Israeli rule. This intolerable situation is at the root of problems that affect the whole world.

People everywhere, whether they consider themselves "pro-Israel" or "pro-Palestinian" or both, want to see justice and peace. Yet, in recent years, the U.S.-brokered peace process has seen failure after failure.

Amid election-year politics, President Obama and his Republican rivals are pledging ever more unconditional support for Israel, even as Israel openly flouts U.N. resolutions and U.S. policy by building Jewish-only settlements on Palestinian land and depriving Palestinians of their rights, including hundreds of children who languish in Israeli military prisons.

There's no chance that the United States will use the billions of dollars it gives Israel in aid as leverage to compel an end to these practices and respect for Palestinian rights. So should we just give up?

The answer from Palestinian civil society is a clear "no." All of us can play a role in ending this terrible situation and securing equal rights for Palestinians rather than superior rights for Jewish Israelis.

In 2004, the International Court of Justice in the Hague, Netherlands, ruled that the wall Israel built across Palestinian lands in the occupied West Bank was illegal and was aimed at confiscating more land. Frustrated by the inaction of governments, 170 Palestinian civil society organizations, including labor unions, student groups, and cultural and social organizations, came together to issue the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) on Israel in 2005.

Modeled explicitly on the tactics used to help end apartheid in South Africa, Palestinians urge that Israel be sanctioned until it respects Palestinian rights and international law in three specific ways: an end to the occupation of all Palestinian lands seized by Israel in 1967; full equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel; and full respect for the rights of Palestinian refugees.

This call doesn't prescribe a specific political solution - for example, a single democratic state, or a two-state solution - but it recognizes that full rights have to be at the core of any resolution. And implementing these rights does not threaten any legitimate rights of Israelis, unless one considers discrimination against Palestinians simply because they are not Jews to be a "right." In just the same way, granting full legal and political rights to African Americans in the United States did not threaten any legitimate rights of white citizens.

The all-too-frequent claim that the BDS goal is to "destroy Israel" or "incite violence" - rather than win rights - or that it is motivated by "anti-Semitism," is just as offensive and simplistic as saying that participants in the Montgomery bus boycott wanted to "destroy Alabama" and simply "hated white people."

And just like that celebrated bus boycott, BDS is not an end in itself; it is a tactic designed to bring about change. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote in support of a divestment effort on behalf of Palestinian rights, "We could not have won our freedom in South Africa without the solidarity of people around the world who adopted nonviolent methods to pressure governments and corporations to end their support for the apartheid regime. Faith-based groups, unions, students, and consumers organized on a grassroots level and catalyzed a global wave of divestment, ultimately contributing to the collapse of apartheid."

But let us remember that in the 1980s, not everyone supported sanctions on South Africa. President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher were strongly opposed to sanctions and insisted on "constructive dialogue" that went nowhere, just like the U.S.-brokered Middle East peace process. What helped turn the tide in the United States was a young member of Congress who broke ranks with Reagan to support boycott and sanctions on the apartheid regime. His name was Newt Gingrich.

Tragically, Gingrich today notoriously contends that the Palestinians are an "invented people" - a way of suggesting they have no rights, and certainly no claim to the land they've tended since long before Israel existed.

As the growth of such extremist rhetoric diminishes the chances for a constructive U.S. role, it is all the more important that we as citizens take action. That's what our conference is about, and everyone who shares a belief in human equality is welcome to attend.

Ali Abunimah is the author of One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse. The BDS conference is scheduled for Friday to Sunday at the University of Pennsylvania. To attend Ali Abunimah's keynote address at 7 p.m. Saturday, visit http://pennbds.org. Admission is free to members of the Penn community; $5 for others.

Gingrich's Extremist Anti-Palestinian Stance Follows Millions From Top Donor Sheldon Adelson

DemocracyNow.org
January 27, 2012

As Newt Gingrich catapults to the forefront of the GOP race, many are questioning how exactly his resurgence occurred. Many analysts have noted that his meteoric rise would have been impossible without the backing of one man: multi-billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. Adelson and his wife have donated $10 million to the pro-Gingrich super PAC. Gingrich has admitted Adelson's support came down to a single issue: Israel. Unsurprisingly, Newt's platform on the issue is one of the most reactionary within the GOP field. For more we speak with Linda Sansour of the Arab American Association of New York as well as Gal Beckerman of the Jewish Daily Forward.



SEE ORIGINAL HERE...

State Department Right on Cue with "Peace Process" Happy Talk

In a follow-up to yesterday's blog post on hope springing eternal for the "peace process" managers as yet another negotiating deadline was blown, here is State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland's spin on Israeli-Palestinian pre-talk talks breaking down at yesterday's press briefing:

"It’s not surprising that the sides need some time to pause and to reflect. Our hope is that this will only be a little short period and that they will be able to get back to the table relatively quickly, and that’s what we are urging them to do."

One intrepid or cynical reporter then dared to ask the obvious: "But – I’m sorry. I mean, this hope, what is it based on? I mean, the conditions have not changed."

Nuland responded vaguely: "I think our sense is that this process was helpful to both sides. They’ve clarified some issues, there are some things that they need to work on at home on both sides, and that perhaps a small pause and then to come back with some fresh ideas will be helpful."

Yes, perhaps, indeed.  Although it seems highly unlikely when Palestinians are negotiating for a sovereign and geographically contiguous state and the Israeli government is doing everything it can to prevent the establishment of such a state in favor of maintaining its colonization, military occupation, and apartheid rule over the territory that is supposed to be the future Palestinian state.

There's simply no way to jam that square peg into the round hole no matter how much misplaced hope one has.  Onward with the "peace process" charade.

No One Is Buying Tickets for this Quartet Symphony of Speechifying

January 26, 2012.  One more date in a long string of blown deadlines for the pathetic Israeli-Palestinian "peace process" overseen by that bizarre hybrid of fading or faded superpowers and multilateral organizations known as the Quartet.  No wonder the Obama Administration has washed its hands of the effort and happily delegated this futile exercise to Jordanian auspices.  For the last several weeks in Amman, Palestinian and Israeli negotiators have held sporadic preliminary talks about holding talks to talk about "permanent status" issues. Heady and inspiring stuff.  

In case you're interested in keeping track of these faux negotiations, here's how we got to this point.  After the United States scotched the effort of Palestine to become a member of the UN at this fall's General Assembly with its oh-so-subtle threats and blandishments, the Quartet once again dusted off its defibrillator to shock the moribund Israeli-Palestinian "peace process" back to life.  On September 23, the Quartet issued a statement confidently predicting that renewed negotiations should conclude successfully "not longer than the end of 2012." Toward that end, Quartet Envoy Tony Blair shuttled out to the region for prep work on October 26, thereby kicking off a three-month period ending today during which time the Quartet "expects the parties to come forward with comprehensive proposals within three months on territory and security."

Fat chance. Israel dragged its feet so badly it left scuff marks all over King Abdullah's nice marble palaces.  According to an article in yesterday's edition of Ha'aretz, Israel refused to present any detailed proposals on borders, instead sticking to vague principles and focusing on its security demands. Unsurprisingly the talks broken down.  Hmm...when have we heard this broken record before?

But isn't this, after all, the exact purpose of the so-called "peace process" from which Israel finds itself in a cushy situation?  From these endless talks, Israel gets the double benefit of getting the international community off of its back by seeming to want peace while at the same time buying precious additional time to colonize more Palestinian land that is supposed to be the basis for a fanciful future Palestinian state.

Yet, hope springs eternal for the "peace process" optimists.  EU Foreign Policy chief Catherine Ashton stated: "I still remain hopeful that with goodwill, they can continue to talk."  And, of course, the failed January 26 deadline was actually no deadline at all because it was not “written in stone, but was there to give a sense of dynamic or momentum." For sure, things are looking up for wrapping up the "peace process" in 2012!

SOTU Silence

In a clear indication of just how far off the Obama Administration's radar screen Israeli-Palestinian peace has fallen, last night's State of the Union address contained just one perfunctory sentence designed yet again to convince the doubters that indeed Israel has never had it as good as it does under President Obama.

The President stated for the umpteenth time: "Our ironclad commitment -- and I mean ironclad -- to Israel’s security has meant the closest military cooperation between our two countries in history."

For anyone who's still unsure, let's repeat the mantra one more time: ironclad commitment.

Mr. President, when will you express your ironclad commitment to ensuring Palestinian human rights, systematically denied by Israeli apartheid?

What a good question to ask of Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting, who will be doing "office hours" at 11am Eastern on Friday.

Here's how to join the conversation on Twitter:

Let us know if he answers your Tweet.  If so, then you'll have better access to the Obama Administration than us.

Join William Parry in Columbia, Maryland!

“Against the Wall: The Art of Resistance in Palestine”
with William Parry

Sat., March 3, 2:00 p.m. 

Howard County Central Library 

Columbia, Maryland

William Parry, a London-based photojournalist & author who contributes regularly to the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (WRMEA), is launching his new book, “Against the Wall: The Art of Resistance in Palestine,” with a U.S. book tour.

His stunning book of photos captures the graffiti and street art that has transformed Israel’s apartheid wall in the occupied West Bank into a living canvas of resistance and solidarity. Featuring the work of international street artists including Banksy, Ron English, Swoon, Faile and Blu, as well as Palestinian artists and international grassroots activists, these photos express outrage, compassion, solidarity, peaceful resistance and touching humor. They mirror the wall’s toll on lives and livelihoods and are coupled with interviews that show the hardship it has brought to tens of thousands of Palestinians, preventing their access to work, education, families, vital medical care and places of worship.

“Against the Wall” has received excellent reviews and publicity in a range of media, including Electronic Intifada, Publishers Weekly, and the New York Review of Books.

Parry will show slides of his photos and tell the stories behind them on Sat., March 3, at 2 p.m, at:

Howard County Central Library 
10375 Little Patuxent Pkwy 
Columbia, MD  21044

Copies of his book will be available to buy.

His presentation is free of charge and open to the public. Free parking is available at the library.
The event is sponsored by the Howard County–based Committee for Palestinian Rights. For more information: CPR_Maryland@yahoo.com

No Comment Warranted on Commentary Blog

The neo-con rag Commentary had an especially tendentious post on its blog Contentions on Friday proving for themselves beyond a shadow of doubt that there exists a grand conspiracy between Marxism, anti-Semitism, the Occupy movement, and the US Campaign to "sabotage or at least overshadow the AIPAC event," by organizing Occupy AIPAC.

Let's leave aside for the moment the hypocrisy of a magazine formerly dominated by Communists (who then found the light in shucking for American imperialism) engaging in McCarthyite red baiting. Um, dudes, the 1950s was like so last century.

I can't figure out if this blog post is the result of sloppy journalism, or a hatchet job, or most likely a combination of the two. First off, they give us credit for organizing Occupy AIPAC. Thanks for the publicity, but we're actually just one of more than 100 organizations endorsing the event and promoting it. (As we mentioned in our email last week, we'll also be doing workshops and organizing a Congressional Hill briefing for it.)

Then they have the nerve to call us the "so-called" US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. According to Collins Thesaurus, so-called is most definitely a pejorative, meaning "alleged, supposed, professed, pretended, self-styled, ostensible," and so forth. Hey, Commentary, take a step outside of your Israel-is-the-best-thing-since-sliced-bread bubble and start getting used to the fact that growing numbers of people in the United States are simply sick and tired of the United States bending over backwards to protect Israeli occupation and apartheid against Palestinians. Yeah, Commentary, we're not "so-called"; we're part of the political landscape. Hide your head in the sand all you want.

Thanks, though, for your back-handed compliment of us having "neatly appropriated the slogans and the spirit" of the Occupy movement. We're not though "appropriating" the Occupy movement--we are part of it. We're a part of a growing national movement to get special interest money out of our corrupt political system, to stop gaming our economy to promote militarism and never-ending warfare, and to make government work for the people and not the elites like casino poobah Sheldon Adelson who dumped millions of dollars into Newt Gingrich's super PAC to get him to say outrageously dumb things like the Palestinians are an "invented people" and that he would move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

Damn right, Commentary, we'll be Occupying AIPAC come March. AIPAC's number one lobbying item is always to advocate for more U.S. taxpayer-funded weapons transfers to Israel, weapons which will be misused in violation of U.S. law to commit human rights abuses against Palestinians like Mustafa Tamimi who died in December after he was shot in the face by an Israeli soldier with a high-velocity tear gas canister likely manufactured by Combined Systems, Inc. of Jamestown, PA and paid for with U.S. taxpayer money.

We've got so many better things to spend our money on than killing Palestinian protesters like Mustafa Tamimi who want nothing more, nothing less, than their inherent and fundamental human rights to a life of freedom, justice,and equality, rather than brutal military occupation and apartheid. So, yeah, Commentary, we'll be there protesting AIPAC's agenda and all of your silly accusations about who we are and what we stand for won't stop us.