Tag Archives: Israel/Palestine

Israeli columnist asks forbidden question

There’s a question we Israelis won’t ask ourselves about the Palestinians, especially not about Gaza. The question is taboo. Not only won’t anyone ask it out loud, but very, very few people will dare ask it in the privacy of their own minds.

However, I think it’s time we start asking it, privately and in public. If we don’t, I think there’s going to be Operation Cast Lead II, then Operation Cast Lead III, and each one is going to be worse than the last, and the consequences for Palestinians and Israelis are going to be unimaginable.

The question we have to ask ourselves is this: If anybody treated us like we’re treating the people in Gaza, what would we do?

We don’t want to go there, do we? And because we don’t, we make it our business not to see, hear or think about how, indeed, we are treating the people in Gaza.

All these shocked dignitaries, all these reports, these details, these numbers – thousands of destroyed this and tens of thousands of destroyed that. Rubble, sewage, malnutrition, crying babies, humanitarian crises – who can keep up? Who cares? They did it to themselves. Where to for lunch?

IT’S NOT that we can’t imagine life in Gaza. It’s that we are determined not to try to imagine. If we did, we might not stop there. Next we might try to imagine what it would be like if our country were in the condition in which we left Gaza. And sooner or later we might try to imagine what we would do if we were living over here like they’re living over there. (Read more from jpost.com)

Jerusalem mayor cuts health funds for Arab children

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on Thursday rejected municipal recommendations and cut funding for a toddler health-care center in East Jerusalem, while approving aid to a similar center in a Jewish neighborhood.

The funds would have gone to opening a branch of the “Drop of Milk” (Tipat Halav) program, which provides prenatal and toddler health-care services in Silwan, an Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem.

Last year, authorities from the Jerusalem municipal offices recommended to the mayor to open the aid center in Silwan, which would service around 100,000 residents.

Authorities also recommended opening a similar center in a Jewish neighborhood that is home to around 7,000 residents.

During discussions on the 2010 budget, Barkat decided to cut the aid that would open the center in Silwan while simultaneously approving the aid to open the same center in a Jewish neighborhood – a move that outraged residents of Silwan. (Read more from haaretz.com)

Why does LostRepublic, a blog focused on liberty in the United States report on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Because these are U.S. tax dollars at work, and this is the reason much of the world hates us.

Anna Baltzer & Mustafa Barghouti on The Daily Show!

Encouraging that they were even allowed on the air. I listened to Anna Baltzer speak once and met briefly with her. She inspired my own visit to the holy land.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
Exclusive – Anna Baltzer & Mustafa Barghouti Extended Interview Pt. 1
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes		 Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Check out Anna’s website www.annainthemiddleeast.com.



US Senators Act to Force Recognition of Jerusalem as Capital

Seven United States senators have sponsored a bill that would abolish the “security” waiver that American presidents have used to prevent implementing a 1995 law declaring that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.

Kansas Republican Senator Sam Brownback, a long-time supporter of Israel, introduced the bill and said, “It is long overdue for America to recognize the sovereign right of Israel to choose Jerusalem as its capital city.”

The proposed Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Act law, number S. 2737, is “a bill to relocate to Jerusalem the United States Embassy in Israel” and has six co-sponsors–five Republicans, from Kentucky, Texas, Arizona, and Louisiana and Independent Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. (Read more from myantiwar.org)

israelnationalnews: “Obama Appoints Anti-Israel Chuck Hagel”

Jewish Republican party officials and the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) are among several groups that have called on U.S. President Barack Obama to rescind his appointment of former senator Chuck Hagel as co-chairman of his Intelligence Advisory Board.

Hagel made clear his attitude towards Israel when he spoke at the pro-Arab and self-proclaimed pro-Israel J Street lobby last week. He echoed President Obama’s previous statements that meeting the demand of the Palestinian Authority for a new Arab state within Israel’s current borders “is central, not peripheral, to U.S. vital security interests in combating terrorism.”

He also said that the “special relationship” between the United States and Israel “must not come at the expense of our Arab relationships.” (Read more from israelnationalnews.com)

The Temple Mount – biggest flashpoint in the Middle East

The Temple Mount is home to the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. It is also believed to be the sight of Israel’s first and second temples (Temple of Solomon) from the Old Testament. When I toured Jerusalem in 2006, I visited the Israeli Museum which had a scale model of Ancient Jerusalem with a rebuilt Temple of Solomon in place of the Dome of the Rock.

This is terrifying. There are those in Israel’s radical right who advocate destruction of Islam’s third holiest site and the rebuilding of the Temple of Solomon. Sometimes their advocacy is couched in the propaganda of national security. Other times, they seek compromises, like construction of the Third Temple on only part of the Temple Mount. Most Arabs view this suspiciously and compare it to the house-by-house confiscation of East Jerusalem.

Prof. Weiss at rightist event: Build third temple immediately During a rightist event held in Jerusalem Sunday evening, just hours after Muslims rioted in and around the Temple Mount amid reports that Jewish extremists were planning to visit the site, Professor Hillel Weiss said, “The (third) temple must be built now. The mosques do not have to be destroyed in order for us to do this.” . . . . “Reclaiming our sovereignty over (the Temple Mount) will bring redemption closer,” said the rabbi. Far-right activist Moshe Feiglin told the conference that the Temple Mount riots and the Goldstone Report, which accuses the IDF of committing war crimes during its December-January conflict with Hamas in Gaza, both constitute attempts to “undermine our legitimacy in this land.” (Read more from myantiwar.org)

Rabbis Convene, Call for Ascent to Temple MountAt a special conference Sunday night at Heichal Shlomo in Jerusalem, Zionist rabbis are calling for Jewish ascent to the Temple Mount and for an end to the use of the Temple Mount as a platform for Muslim incitement. . . . Many Zionist rabbis support ascent to the Temple Mount but some do not, citing the Nation of Israel’s current state of impurity. Those who support ascent insist that the visitors first undergo ritual immersion in a mikveh, remain along the outer perimeter of the grounds and stay outside of areas where Jewish law forbids them to go. (Read more from israelnationalnews.com)

I personally don’t think this will happen any time soon. Pressure from the world, and from moderate voices within Israel will keep the radicals at bay, but as Israeli politics drifts further into the hands of religious radicals who believe God wants them to take all the land, the Temple Mount becomes an increasingly dangerous flash point.

See Also:
– Israel’s mistake was in returning the pagan Dome of the Rock back to the moslems as a goodwill gesture instead of razing it back in 1967.

– This week, several dozen Muslim faithful refused to leave the mosque, amid rumours that Jewish extremists were coming to attack it.

UK trade unions overwhelmingly pass Israel boycott vote

In a landmark decision, Britain’s trade unions have voted overwhelmingly to commit to build a mass boycott movement, disinvestment and sanctions on Israel for a negotiated settlement based on justice for Palestinians.

The motion was passed at the 2009 TUC Annual Congress in Liverpool today (17 September), by unions representing 6.5 million workers across the UK.

. . . .

The motion additionally called for the TUC General Council to put pressure on the British government to end all arms trading with Israel and support moves to suspend the EU-Israel trade agreement. Unions are also encouraged to disinvest from companies which profit from Israel’s illegal 42-year occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. (Read more from electronicintifada.net)

Israel goes on offensive after U.N. report on Israeli warcrimes in Gaza

A day after the release of the critical Goldstone Commission report over Israeli crimes in Gaza, Israel continued its Anti-UN campaign.

“The Goldstone committee is a committee that was set up to find Israel guilty of crimes that were determined in advanced, and the committee’s members did not let the facts confuse them,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Thursday, in his first comments in response to the harsh UN report investigation into the Israeli aggression on the Gaza strip.

According to the report: “Some of the actions of the Government of Israel might justify a competent court finding that crimes against humanity have been committed,” and “…the Mission finds that there have been a number of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law.” (Read more from politicaltheatrics.org)

See Also: