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.

London's Natural History Museum Blasted for Collaborating with Ahava

In the summer of 2009, US Campaign coalition member group CODEPINK launched the Stolen Beauty Campaign against Israeli cosmetics manufacturer Ahava Dead Sea Labaratories. Since then, the boycott campaign against Ahava has grown into an international campaign that continues to raise awareness about Ahava's deceitful business practices, which include labeling products manufactured in the occupied West Bank as 'Made in Israel', in violation of international law.

This past Tuesday, prominent intellectuals in Great Britain demanded that the Natural History Museum in London pull out of a research project which involves Ahava. In an open letter to the British newspaper, The Independent, top British filmmakers Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, along with other leading cultural and academic figures in Great Britain, condemned the museum for "coordinating an activity that breaks international law."

The museum is coordinating a European Union-funded project studying the environmental and health risks of nanoparticles. Avaha is one of several companies and institutions collaborating on the project, however, it is the only one operating in an illegal settlement in occupied territory. In their letter, the 21 signatories conveyed their outrage over the museum's collaboration with Ahava:

Ahava/DSL is based on occupied territory. It extracts, processes and exports Palestinian resources to generate profits that fund an illegal settlement. Israel's settlement project has been held by the International Court of Justice to break international law. Organisations which aid and abet this process may well themselves be found to be in violation. We find it almost inconceivable that a national institution of the status of the Natural History Museum should have put itself in this position.

We call on the museum to take immediate steps to terminate its involvement in Nanoretox and to establish safeguards that protect against any comparable entanglement.

The letter has generated a fair amount of negative publicity for Ahava, including a separate article in The Independent, and featured articles in the Jerusalem Post, Haaretz, Rueters, YNet News and leading science websites like Nature and Science.

Check out CODEPINK's Stolen Beauty website for more information on how you can get involved in the boycott campaign against Ahava!

Now Is the Time to #OccupyAIPAC

Join Us in Washington, D.C., March 2-6, to #OccupyAIPAC

by Josh Ruebner, National Advocacy Director
January 19th, 2012

Ever since the Occupy movement burst on to our political landscape last fall and reinjected energy into the movement to make government serve the 99 percent instead of the elites, we've enthusiastically joined forces by doing teach-ins at Occupy protests across the country and sending hundreds of organizing packets to empower local activists to end military aid to Israel.

Now we're ready to Occupy AIPAC. We'll be joining with member group Code Pink and more than 100 other endorsing organizations for five days of film screenings, teach-ins, performing arts, direct actions, trainings and grassroots advocacy during AIPAC's annual policy conference.

Join us from March 2-6 in Washington, D.C. Register today to hold your place.

In our struggle to change U.S. policy toward Palestine/Israel to support human rights, international law and equality, perhaps no organization better epitomizes everything that is wrong with our political system and current policies of support for Israeli occupation and apartheid than AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

The time has come to #OccupyAIPAC!

Here are just a few of the many reasons to #OccupyAIPAC:

An AIPAC front group skirts Congressional ethics guidelines to send Members of Congress on lavish trips to Israel where they are lobbied intensively to provide more taxpayer-funded weapons to Israel.

Political action committees and individuals aligned with AIPAC's agenda dump millions of dollars into elections to ensure that politicians applaud Israel's human rights abuses of Palestinians.

And, AIPAC lobbies for ever-expanding sanctions and never-ending wars against other peoples and countries, with Iran now the focus of their efforts.

Who benefits from the policies that AIPAC is pushing?  Certainly not Palestinians, who bear the brunt of U.S. weapons transfers to Israel and unconditional diplomatic support for Israel and live under brutal Israeli military occupation and apartheid. Certainly not the millions of ordinary Iraqis, Syrians and Iranians who have suffered harm as a result of AIPAC-backed sanctions and wars. And certainly not us, whose taxpayer dollars are diverted from funding unmet community needs to giving Israel--a country with greater per capita wealth than New Zealand and Saudi Arabia--$30 billion in military aid from 2009 to 2018.

It seems that the people benefiting from AIPAC policies are those in Israel and their supporters in the United States who work to ensure that Israel continues to subjugate Palestinians, to deny their fundamental human rights, and to try unsuccessfully to strip them of their humanity.  And, of course, also benefiting are the U.S. weapons manufacturers, who literally make a killing by joining with AIPAC to lobby for more taxpayer-funded weapons to Israel to injure and kill Palestinians by the thousands.

For these reasons and more, we strongly encourage you to join us in Washington, D.C., March 2-6, to #OccupyAIPAC.

Above: Click to see our interactive map of cities where people are organizing to end military aid to Israel -- and sign up!

The US Campaign will conduct a workshop there to end military aid to Israel, and organize a Capitol Hill briefing to launch our new policy paper documenting the devastating impact on Palestinians of U.S. weapons transfers to Israel and build our case for sanctions against Israel.

Learn more about #OccupyAIPAC and register today!

We've got a lot of work ahead to counter AIPAC's agenda--both here in Washington, D.C. in March and throughout the country all the time.  Help us do so by signing up to organize in your community to end U.S. military aid to Israel.  When you do, we will send you posters, stickers, postcards, flyers and more, to help educate and organize people in your city.  More than 2,000 organizers from 950 cities have already joined this ongoing campaign.  Sign up today to help us reach our goal of 1,000 cities with people organizing to end military aid to Israel in time for #OccupyAIPAC.

And don't forget about our exciting matching funds competition for community groups that want to organize campaigns to get their city councils to pass resolutions to end military aid to Israel and redirect the money to unmet community needs.  That's right, we're offering your community group money, resources, training and inspiration to do it! 

Thank you for helping us to #OccupyAIPAC and for changing our country's policies to support freedom, justice and equality for Palestinians.

Make your tax-deductible contribution to the US Campaign to support our ongoing efforts to counter AIPAC's agenda and end U.S. military aid to Israel.

Latest Hasbara Meme: BLACKWASHING

By Richard Silverstein
RichardSilverstein.com
January 9, 2012

You’ve heard of pinkwashing, greenwashing–now “blackwashing” joins the cast of pro-Israel hasbara communities exploited in order to combat the major criticisms of Israeli policy toward the Palestinians.  Pinkwashing is the effort to promote Israel to the gay community in order to point out the homophobia of Arab culture and nations.  Greenwashing is the attempt by environmental groups like Jewish National Fund to point to Israel’s alleged sensitivity to environmental issues (excluding of course its heinous treatment of Negev Bedouins whose communities are being bulldozed by the Israeli government in collaboration with JNF).  Now blackwashing is the rage.

African American political leaders and
students on Aipac Israel junket

Israel lobby groups like Aipac have worked closely cultivating relationships on college campuses with African-American students.  They send these young leaders to Aipac conferences where they can be trotted out to the media as witnesses for the defense to combat the BDS campaign to label Israel as an apartheid state:

When Vincent Evans arrived as a bright-eyed first-year at Florida A&M, the country’s largest historically black university, he knew he wanted to get involved in politics. So when an older student leader approached him one afternoon after a student government meeting to ask if he wanted an all expenses paid trip to D.C., Evans jumped at the opportunity.
The trip, it turned out, was sponsored by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, the country’s most powerful pro-Israel lobbying outfit. Israel is under growing attack from Palestinian and international activists who call the country a racist apartheid state. In response, its staunchest U.S. lobby is recruiting black students as moral shields to make the case for Israeli impunity. At historically black colleges and universities (known as HBCU’s) around the country, AIPAC is finding and developing a cadre of black allies to declare there’s no way Israel can be racist.
In his four years in college, Evans traveled to D.C. at least 10 times on AIPAC’s dime. He and a small group of other student leaders from his school joined hundreds of others from around the country, including other HBCU students, for AIPAC’s semi-annual Saban Leadership Seminar.
“Within the program,” says Evans, “they make a concerted effort to reach out to HBCU and majority Hispanic schools.”

Does the Israel lobby care about African-American students?  Does it care about the issues close to their heart?  Is it about to reach out to Blacks to create political coalitions to advance causes of mutual interest to each community?  Are you kiddin’?  These kids are fodder in the PR war.  They don’t mean anything other than having a black face to show the world that Israel isn’t an apartheid nation.  But how much do these kids really know about Israel?

ARTICLE CONTINUES...

Intern with the US Campaign!

The US Campaign is currently seeking interns for the 2012 spring semester!  Interns are an integral part of the US Campaign. Internship positions offer substantive work experiences and hands-on opportunities for professional and personal development.

Interns work 10-30 hours per week under supervision of the US Campaign staff in its Washington, DC office. Interns are needed to help in our following programmatic areas:

Challenging U.S. Policy

The US Campaign works to end U.S. support for Israel’s illegal 44-year occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip. We work to change U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine to support human rights, international law, and equality by:

• challenging military aid to Israel;
• researching policy and legislative developments;
• organizing a national Congressional District Coordinators network of grassroots advocates;
• utilizing social networking technologies to spread information;
• attending and reporting on Congressional and policy briefings; 
• holding advocacy training and lobbying days to demand accountability for Israel’s human rights abuses;
• building upon these efforts through public education campaigns.

Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Campaigns

Boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign impose economic and political costs to Israeli apartheid and occupation, and to US support for those policies. We work to support member-group-led BDS campaigns by:

• providing strategic support and BDS trainings for congregations, campuses, and community groups nationwide towards implementing BDS campaigns at the local level;
• utilizing social networking technologies to publicize member-group-led BDS campaigns and action alerts;
• promoting and mobilizing for global BDS days and weeks of action
• producing fact sheets, merchandise, and other materials promoting BDS; 
• creating and maintaining new pages on the BDS section of our website;
• providing organizing and campaigning tool-kits for volunteers across the country.

All interns are also responsible for a reasonable amount of administrative work, including data entry, filing, tabling, letter-writing, etc.

The ideal candidates for these positions will have:

• Experience with and/or interest in social activism
• Experience with and/or interest in U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East in general and toward Palestine/Israel in particular
• Strong interpersonal communication and writing skills
• Strong motivation and the ability to be a self-starter
• Able to juggle multiple projects at the same time
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office and Open Office Applications
• Web design, work with promotional materials, and general tech skills are also a plus

The US Campaign is only able to consider currently enrolled college students or recent college graduates for internship positions, but all individuals are welcome to inquire about volunteer opportunities. The US Campaign will work with colleges and universities for class credit for the internship.

Please note that this is an unpaid internship.

TO APPLY: Please send a resume and a one-page statement outlining:

a) Your goals and motivations for working with the US Campaign.
b) The above area(s) of work you are most interested in.
c) What makes you an ideal candidate for the intern position?
d) You may also include a short writing sample and/or an a/v clip showcasing your communication/public speaking skills.

Send your resume and statement to membership@endtheoccupation.org. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.

*The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to a diversified workplace. Women, LGBTQ and people of color are strongly encouraged to apply.