It's Discouraging

The meeting was over.  We had just heard a talk by a Palestinian activist sharing what his life is like under military occupation. As we stood to leave, a man in front of me, his name tag read, “Ben,” turned around and said, “It’s discouraging. But, what can I do? I guess the best thing is to just pray.”

Here are a few suggestions for Ben:

1 – BUMPER STICKERS

Some say, “I don’t want to use my car to make a political statement.”  I say, Why not?  If we believe in something, a bumper sticker is an easy way to show our solidarity with the suffering people of Palestine and stand up for peace and justice.  I have had a FREE PALESTINE sticker on my car for 15 years and I remember getting the ‘finger” only once. On the other hand, it has been a great conversation starter. 

I returned to my car, parked on a city side street, and there stood a woman staring at my bumper.  O Boy, I thought, now I am going to get my head knocked off. 

             “Is this your car?” she asked,

“Yes.”

“I agree.” And, she said, “I am Jewish.  I feel lonely at my synagogue.  It feels good to know that I am not alone.” 

From bushy bearded motorcycle riders to totally covered Muslim ladies, I have received expression of appreciation from those who do not want to feel alone.  All a bumper sticker does is show solidarity, but how valuable that is.[1]

2 – LISTEN AND CONFRONT

While sitting at a table for ten in a restaurant, a man I hardy knew, said something about the stupid Palestinians firing rockets.  He was too far away to engage in a conversation without turning the dinner party into a shouting match, so, I made a face as though I had been whiffed by a smell from a sewer.   He got my message and I could only hope it made him uncomfortable. 

Under different circumstances, we might see it as an opportunity to say something like, “I used to think that way. But, then I read Elias Chacour’s book, BLOOD BROTHERS and it pointed out another way.” There are many books, many by Jewish authors, which have helped me to better understand that situation and my part in it. [2]

3 – FLAG

On May 15, Nakba Day, and March 16^th, the anniversary of the crushing of Rachael Corrie,  people walking by will see a Palestinian flag flying in front of our house.  It is a small way to show solidarity with those oppressed by Israel’s occupation and has led to meeting several like minded friends.

4 – JEWISH VOICE for PEACE

Ben could also send $100 to Jewish Voice for Peace,[3]  This is a nation wide organization of Jews committed to the ethical teaching of their scriptures, such as Jeremiah, Isaiah and the Psalms. At great rick of being isolated from family, friends and religious community, they live out the historical mandate of their faith by marching, demonstrating and teaching justice for all, especially those oppressed by religion, racism or pariah nations.

Jewish Voice for Peace is growing in number and influence.  Anyone experiencing discrimination will have a friend in JVP. 

5 – BDS

Ben could  join hundreds of thousands of world wide supporters of BDS, (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions), a call from Palestinian civil and religious leaders to pressure Israel  to end the occupation. Sanctions are the actions of governments. Divestments are the actions of corporations. But, individuals, like Ben, can boycott those companies that profit from the occupation, such as Caterpillar, Hewlett Packard, and any business that sells soda stream, to name  a few.[4]  

6 – WRITE LETTERS

Letters to the Editor on the Israel/Palestine crisis seldom get published, but every now and then, one will get through.  At least, they are read by the editor.

I often write letters to my elected officials which I am convinced are never read. I get back a form letter addressing none of my concerns. But, who knows. If our representatives in Congress got ten letters from ten different people expressing concern over the same issue, it might get mentioned at their staff meeting.  Every little bit of awareness might help.  At least, it helps me to write them.

7 – READ AND RECOMMEND BOOKS

There are a hundred books out there addressing Israel’s brutal oppression of the Palestinians.  Ben could read any one of them and be motivated to take a little risk and share it with a friend.  We do not get an honest representation of what is happening from our media, our politicians or even from out pulpits.  Our best resource for accurate reporting can be found in books and in the social media.  A great place to start is with the Website Mondoweiss.

8 – Then Ben could pray.  But unless he, and all of us, do the kind of things listed above, it will do little good to pray.

I understand that Ben is discouraged. I want to say, That is OK. Go ahead and be discouraged,  even get depressed and feel like quitting.  It's a normal part of working for justice for any cause.  Take off a day, or  two, even let it go for a week.  But, then get back up, dust yourself off, and get right back in the fight.

Thomas Are

May 10, 2015

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[1] FREE PALESTINE bumper stickers may be purchased for $2 from the Palestine Online Store, a not-for-profit that has been promoting Palestine products since 2005.

[2] I recommend: Mark Braverman – FATAL EMBRACE

                          Max Blumenthal, GOLIATH, 

                          Mico Peled – THE GENERAL’S SON.

                          Paul Finley – THEY DARE TO SPEAK OUT.

            A valued internet resource is:   www.mondoweiss.com

            And a must see documentary is: PEACE, PROPAGANDA and the PROMISED LAND

                 Media Education Foundation, 60 Masonic St., Northampton,  MA  01060

                     Email: sales@mediaed.org

[3] Jewish Voice for Peace, 1611 Telegraph Ave.  Suite 1020, Oakland, CA  94612

     Phone  (510) 465-1777        Email:  info@jvp.org

[4] Google BDS for a more comprehensive story of the BDS movement, a boycott list and suggestions for actions toward divestment. 

Who Retaliates

Did you see it in the news?  ABC reported that Israel retaliated against a rocket fired from Gaza. One crude, unguided, homemade rocket landed in an open field in the southern part of Israel, causing no injury to anyone or damage to any structure. However, the news was of “Israel’s retaliation.”

The news faithfully reports the violence, yet seldom mentions the cause of that violence. It is presented as authorities controlling riots. These authorities, however,  are occupying someone else’s land, fighting to seize more land and water that does not belong to them. How can it be retaliation when Israel is the aggressor?

Hanon Ashrawi comments:

It is not presented as an army using its arsenal against young people who are largely unarmed, who are besieged, who are protesting because of the occupation against the total oppression of their whole nation… Israel is the aggressor, killing people in their own homes on their own land, yet it is presented as though the Palestinians attacked Israel which is now simply “retaliating.”[i]

According to: Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, Only 4% of Network Reports even mention the word “occupation.”

Neither the Associated Press, nor ABC News, included in their story of “Israel’s retaliation” the context of that rocket, the one and only rocket fired at Israel from Gaza this year.”[ii]  At the same time, unreported in the mainstream media during that same time:

In the three months January-March, there were six military incursions - when Israeli forces invaded the Gaza Strip then withdrew – and 67 shooting attacks on land and at sea.[iii]

According to our news media, attacks on Palestinians are normal, certainly not news worthy.  It is only when someone from the occupied territories fires back that it merits a story.  As long as no Israeli is forced to duck, it is seen as a time of “calm” no matter how many Palestinians become victims of Israel’s aggression.  “Israeli forces injured dozens of Palestinians and foreign activist on April 3rd using live fire to suppress weekly marches in West Bank…another Palestinian was injured and dozens more suffered excessive tear gas inhalation during clashes with Israeli forces at the weekly march at Bil’in.”[iv] No headlines in my paper.

On April 2nd, Israeli soldiers arrested Palestinian parliamentarian, Khalida Jarrar for “unspecified reasons.”  She joined 16 other Palestinian lawmakers currently serving time in Israeli prisons.[v]

The next week, April 10th,  a Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli forces at the funeral of his cousin who had died from unattended medical complications while in an Israeli prison.  Thirteen others attending the same funeral were injured by live ammunition and rubber coated bullets.[vi]

The following Thursday, two Palestinians were shot and injured when Israeli soldiers raided their refugee camp.

The next day, Israeli soldiers attacked the weekly protest against the illegal wall and settlements near Ramallah, wounding five, including two by live ammunition.

Settlers attacked Palestinian shepherds, forcing them at gunpoint to go into their homes. Israeli forces arrived and arrested the shepherds.

Back in March, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian fisherman.[vii]

At least 30 children across the West Bank sustained gunshot wounds when Israeli forces used live ammunition to quash protest during the first three months of 2015.

In summary: Since 2000, Israeli security forces have killed over 8,896 Palestinians. At least 1,900 of those have been children.[viii]

A report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory found that, overall, Israel was responsible for 2,314 Palestinian deaths and 17,125 injuries last calendar year...Defense for Children International – Palestine has documented abuse and torture that Palestinian children endure in Israeli prisons, where they are denied due process.[ix]

Today, there are nearly 6,500 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails; 500 of them held under administrative detention without charge or trial. There are 200 child prisoners, 24 women prisoners, and 14 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council behind bars… There are 1500 sick prisoners including 16 severely ill in the Ramle prison clinic, 24 with cancer and 80 with severe illnesses.[x]

Yet compared to a small rocket fired into a field in Israel, none of this merits attention in our news media. I can only imagine the coverage if this were violence against Jews?

Thomas Are

May 2, 2015

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[i] Documentary: Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land, The Media Education Foundation, 2004.

[ii] ABCNew.go.com, Israel Retaliates to Gaza Rocket Attack, No Injuries, AP , Jerusalem, April 23, 2015

[iii] Philip Weiss, One rocket from Gaza outweighs 6 Israeli Incursions and 67 Attacks,  Mondoweiss, April 27, 2015

[iv] Same article as above, Mondoweiss, April 27, 2015

[v] +972 Magazine,  Israeli soldiers arrest feminist Palestinian lawmaker, By Haggai Matar

[vi] From, Today in Palestine, Al-Awda-News, April 10, 2015

[vii] Philip Weiss, One rocket from Gaza outweighs 6 Israeli Incursions and 67 Attacks,  Mondoweiss, April 27, 2015

[viii] Kate, 30 Palestinian Children have been shot with Live Ammunition in Protest last 3 Months.  Mondoweiss, March 25, 2015.

[ix] Sarah Lazare, 2014 Deadliest Year for Palestinians Since 1967, UN Report Finds. Common Dreams, March 27, 2015.

[x] AL-AWDA-News, Palestinian Prisoners Day, April 17, 2015.

Death to ...

All over Iran, there can be seen billboards and graffiti saying, “Death to America,” and “Death to Israel.” It is understandable.  Every Iranian school kid knows about 1953.

I get angry when Israel, or any other country, interferes with our American political process.  It upsets me when a presidential candidate responds to a question concerning our foreign policy by saying, “Well, first, I would call my friend Bibi and ask him what he wants us to do.”  I cringe when Congress treats the Prime Minister of Israel with more respect than they treat our own president.

I get especially angry when Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu urges our Congress to invade Iran because “Iran supports terrorism.”  Of course, the terrorist organizations he has in mind are Hezbollah and Hamas.  However, most people in the world know that Hezbollah came into being to protect its people from Israel’s aggression and fight against Israel’s war to occupy the southern part of Lebanon on order to access the Litani River. Likewise, Hamas came into being to defend the people of Palestine, especially those in Gaza, from Israel’s brutal occupation and imperialism.

Because I know a bit of this history, I am prone to say, “Damn Israel.”  But in my most vicious moments, I do not wish for Israel to be literally damned, for all its citizens to die and burn in hell forever.  It is just an expression of my anger and frustration. But I would never support an invasion of Israel to bring it about.  

Every student in Iran knows that in 1953, the United States, primarily through the CIA, overthrew Mohammad Mossadegh, their democratically elected Prime Minister. He had upped the price of oil to the west in order to offer education and medical care for his own people.  So, we, the United States, had him removed from office.  We chose Reza Pahlavi as the Shah, to rule as a king. As such, he lived in extreme opulence while keeping the people powerless, poor and under control by fear, murder and torture.  When salafist students demonstrated against the Shah’s policies, his SAVAK troops killed them by the hundreds, all the time being supported by the U.S.  Suddenly, the students began shouting, “Death to America,” and took over our embassy.  Most Americans could not understand.

But, remember, those students did not kill a single one of the 52 hostages and eventually let them come home. So, what does “Death to America” mean to the Iranian? 

Riding through Tehran in a taxi, Rick Steves heard the driver suddenly yell, ”Death to traffic.”  Steves wondered what that was all about.  The people of Iran would also say, “Death to summer heat.”  But they did not set out on an invasion plan to kill the traffic or the heat.  “Death to… “ is an expression of anger and frustration, of exasperation and disgust.  But, it’s just an expression. That’s all.    In our culture we would say, “Damn this traffic,” or “damn teen aged drivers.” Or even “damn it is hot.”  But we would never lay out a plan to kill teen aged drivers and have them suffer in hell because of their driving manners.  “Damn” is an expression of frustration with annoying things beyond our control.

Our cultures are different. Iran is a religious culture. From dress codes to gender segregation, public life is regulated and enforced by religious law. Their billboards advertise religious slogans. Murals on the sides of their building praise their leaders and martyrs.  On the other hand, we, in the west, live in a consumer culture. Every blank space is filled with commercial ads. “Buy this or you will never be happy.”  Iranians sacrifice their freedom to religion.  We have our freedom squelched by Wall Street and multinational corporations.  Their younger generation would probably choose to loosen the regulations a bit. But, would they swap their culture for ours? I wonder.[1]

All of this is to say, I hope our political leaders do not lead us into a war with Iran because we do not understand the semantics of their culture.  We did that in 2003. We allowed ourselves to be coaxed into a war with Iraq and we are still suffering the consequences.  And what did we get for it?  More people than ever who hate us, including ISIS.

Benjamin Netanyahu says that Iran is the most dangerous nation earth.  He doesn’t say why, only that we should be afraid. Wiser minds say that the flip side of fear is understanding.[2]   With the stakes so high, surely, it is worth a try.

Thomas Are

April 17, 2015      

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[1] I confess that I am not an authority on Iran. I have never been there. I am not an ambassador nor have I served on any foreign relations committee. However, I have read enough books and listened to enough lectures to know that Iran is misunderstood and demonized by most Americans and we do so at our own peril. 

[2] I have been helped in my understanding of Iran by Rick Steves’ IRAN, a 1-hour Public Television Special, especially his lecture on personal impressions, (2009, Back Door Productions.  Also by several books, including: Flint and Hillary Mann Leverett, Going to Tahran,  Peter Beinard,  The Good Fight,  and Karen Armstrong, The Battle for God. 

Is Benjamin Netanyahu Mentally Unstable

On March 24^th, an airliner carrying 150 people crashed into the French Alps. Immediately, the announcement of this tragedy dominated the news all around the world.  For over a week now, it has been investigated and analyzed from every possible angle. The most horrendous aspect of this story is that the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, locked the pilot out of the cockpit, and deliberately crashed the plane.  Every day and every night since then, the airline, medical and news industries have been pulling their hair out asking how this could have happened. How could anyone so mentally unstable be allowed to be put in a position where he could cause such a horrifying act of terror? Could the people who knew him not see that he was mentally ill?

That question must run through the mind of every passenger stepping on a plane. 

We follow the airline accidents and hijackings because we know that it could happen to us. (However, statistics show that the odds of being killed in an airline crash is 1 in 9 million, which means that you would have to fly every day for 19,000 years to die in an airline crash.) However, on the other hand, it is happening every day to the Palestinians, and it has been happening for over sixty years.

So, my question has a much broader scope and far greater consequences:

 Is Benjamin Netanyahu mentally ill?

He is obviously paranoid. He caused, not just the crash of one plane full of people, but he deliberately caused the crash of tons of bombs into buildings full of men, women and children.  He dropped burning white phosphorus on defenseless people.  He blew up power plants, schools, mosques, hospitals and homes leaving thousands dead and tens of thousands destitute.  We are quick to question the sanity of a 28 year old co-pilot who deliberately caused the death of 149 innocent people. But, who questions the sanity of a man who babbled one thing on Monday and the exact opposite the next day and then announced that both statements were the same. Apparently, in his mind, “there will never be a Palestinian state” and “I still support a Palestinian state,” were not contradictory.

And now, Netanyahu is panic stricken over the possible easing of tensions between the US and Iran. On March 30 he actually said, “an emerging agreement in Lausanne sends a message that there is no price for aggression, – on the contrary, Iran gets a prize for its aggression.” [1]  Really?  Strange that he has nothing to say about the pass he gets for Israel’s aggression against the people of Palestine as he holds up the occupation of  Palestinian land and water like a prize. I say again, no rational thinking person could possibly miss the “transference” of his conduct unto the perceived actions of his victims.  A healthy mind would at least recognize that others would see the distortion.

But, what can we expect from a paranoid leader of a paranoid nation but a paranoid response to any situation?

Co-pilot Lubitz, deliberately killed 149 innocent people and the media is 24/7 proving that he was mentally unstable.  Netanyahu deliberately killed … only God knows how many … but thousands and thousands.  Count the wars he has hyped and it could be counted into the millions. I think Netanyahu is showing signs of mental instability and should never have been put into a position of power.

Thomas Are

April 2, 2015

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[1] Earmon Murphy, Day before deadline, Iran negotiations coming “down to the wire’ and Netanyahu still hopes to play spoiler.,  Mondoweiss,  March 30,  2015

Netanyahu Backtracks

The night before his up-set election, Netanyahu vowed that there would never be a Palestinian state on his watch.  The day after his election, he said that he was committed to a two state solution.  What is amazing is that he is having difficulty understanding how anyone can see these statements as contradictory.  “My position has always been the same.”  In Israel, the Prime Minister, as long as the people vote for him, is the law and whatever he says is the truth.   

Nahum Barnea, columnist for Yediot Ahronot, wrote:

            Netanyahu’s promises are like something written on ice on a very hot day”[1]

I wish Netanyahu would backtrack… about sixty years or so and establish a Constitution for Israel to protect all its citizens.  However, until that happens, he is free to shoot from the hip.  He has run Israel for about ten years now and I can think of many ways he could backtrack with dignity.

I wish he could pull the bombs he dropped on the defenseless people of Gaza back up into his planes.  Just this week, on Meet the Press, Ron Dermer, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., referred to the ineffective, crude rockets Hamas fired into southern Israel. At the same time, he failed to complete the picture and mention the 800 tons of bombs Israel dropped on Gaza, killing thousands of people, including 500 children, and causing such destruction that Oxfam says will take a hundred years to rebuild.  Yet according to Ron Dermer, Netanyahu is committed to peace and Hamas is nothing more than a terrorist organization.

I wish Netanyahu could suck back up the white phosphorous bombs which burned to the bone causing uncontrollable agony to anyone unlucky enough to come in contact with this gas. Its use is condemned by international law. When the planes came, as they did for 20 days last summer, children looked up with absolute terror in their eyes. Yet, according to Israel and the US media, the Palestinians, not Israel, are the terrorist.

I wish Netanyahu could backtrack and restore the arms and legs of the victims of his his slaughter of Gaza, offer medical care for the more than 11,000 injured and the more that 1000 children permanently disabled.  And rebuild the schools, hospitals and power plants and the tens of thousands of homes he destroyed in Palestine. And rebuild the economy his policies have wrecked by blocking imports and exports to and from the occupied territories.  I wish he could bring back the life of the fisherman his gunboats killed last week who was fishing within the “allowed” six mile limit Israel imposed upon those seeking food for their families.  However,  Netanyahu “put 1.8 million Gazans on a diet.” According to the UNRWA, 1.5 million Palestinians are food insecure because of Israel’s blockade at the entrance gates.

Yes, I wish Benjamin Netanyahu could wash the blood off of his hands.

The world press is accusing him of back tracking. But, unfortunately, he is not backtracking in anyway that could make a difference.  He is the same Netanyahu who can do anything he wants to do and say anything he wants to say because according to him, and most of the members of the US Congress, he is the only game in town.  Add to that, the support of fifty million Christian Zionists who preach that Israel is God’s chosen people and right away, Israel gets a pass, no matter what it does. Even worse, Netanyahu himself actually believes he is “special,” above accountability to international law, human decency, or to God.   

While Israel gets money, legitimacy and protection because of our “special relationship,” the question is: what do we, the people of the US, get?

We get to bury 34 sailors serving on the USS Liberty in 1967, killed by Israel. Of course, Israel backtracked the next day, claiming that it was a “mistake.”  Admiral Thomas Moorer, Chair of the Joint Chief of Staff, said, “I will never buy the idea that the pilots did not know this was an American ship. The attack was deliberate.”  Our Congress has yet to demanded an investigation.

We get to honor the life of a 23 year old American girl crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer as she stood up to protest the demolition of a Palestinian's home.  Our congress has never demanded an investigation and that was twelve years ago.

We get to have an American humanitarian worker refused entrance into Israel. Without any explanation, a U.S. citizen, at great inconvenience and personal financial cost, is  denied the right to enter Israel in spite of our “special relationship.”  

.

Perhaps it is we, the people of the United States, and not Netanyahu, who should backtrack.

Thomas Are

March 25, 2015

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[1] Quoted by Thomas L. Friedman,  Go Ahead, Ruin my Day, New York edition, March 18, 2015, p.A25.

How Can He Keep a Straight Face?

September 2, 2002,  a year and a day after the 9/11 attack, Benjamin Netanyahu stood before our congress and said, “There is no question whatsoever that Saddam is seeking and working and advancing toward the development of nuclear weapons --- no question whatsoever. Saddam is hell bent upon achieving atomic bomb capabilities as soon as he can. I believe that even free and unfettered inspections will not uncover these portable manufacturing sites of mass destruction “

Representative Dan Burton summarized, “Your statement boils down to one thing, that is, do we react to another attack on America after hundreds of thousands or millions of lives have been lost or do we preempt that kind of action from happening in the first place?”

Rachel Maddow says, “Which is what we did. We preempted. We invaded Iraq and none of the things said about Saddam Hussein turned out to be true.”

In 2002 congress invited Benjamin Netanyahu to speak as an expert witness, an expert on why the US had to start a preemptive war against Saddam Hussein and Iraq, or, as he explained, it would be the end of the world. That was 2002.

Now, in 2015, house republicans invited him back to make a case again about the end of the world. This time though, he sees it coming from Iran.  “That deal will not prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. It would almost guarantee that Iran gets those weapons.  Iran could have the means to deliver that nuclear arsenal to the far corners of the earth including every part of the United States.  The Middle East would soon be crisscrossed by nuclear trip wires, a region where small skirmishes can trigger big wars, would turn into a nuclear tinder box, would face a much more dangerous Iran.  The Middle East littered with nuclear bombs in a count down to a potential nuclear nightmare.”[1]

While our congress pledges allegiance to the head of another state, those of us who are less intimidated by AIPAC wonder how he can keep a straight face.  He screams bloody murder because Iran could someday get a nuclear weapon while all along knowing Israel built nuclear bombs, has refused to become a party to the Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and has never opened its sites to inspectors. Netanyahu brags that for the first time in history, Israel has the means of defending itself.  What he means is that for the first time in history, Israel has the power to annihilate other people.

John F. Kennedy said that Israel with a bomb would initiate a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. So, Israel lied to the whole world about it, including the United States,.

According to non-Israeli sources, simulated control rooms were built, the entrances to underground levels were bricked up, and pigeon droppings were scattered around some buildings in which the forbidden installations were housed to give the impression that they were not in use.[2]

No wonder Netanyahu is panicked.  For its whole life, modern Israel has been the bully of its neighborhood.  But its hegemony in the Middle East is coming to an end and he knows it.  Sooner or later, a hostile nation will “get the bomb.” Then another.  Israel pressured our Congress into destroying Iraq. Now, twelve years later, wearing his paranoia like a badge of honor, Netanyahu demands that the US go to war with Iran.  And our congress applauded.

With a straight face, Netanyahu said, “We need to stop the aggression in the Middle East.” Then, he referred to the goons in Gaza, the lackeys in Lebanon and the revolutionary guards on the Golan Heights as, “clutching Israel with tentacles of terror.”   Does he think that anyone with even the intelligence of congress would not recognize Gaza, Lebanon and the Golan Heights as three lands Israel illegally invaded in its program of expansion?

It is amazing that he would even mention Gaza. Eight years of siege and three bombardments in six years has left Gaza destitute. Last summer, Israel dropped 800 tons of explosives, including phosphorous cluster bombs on 750 locations, killing 2,100 people, mostly civilians including 500 children. Israel destroyed 18,000 homes in Gaza, leaving 24,000 displaced, deliberately targeted hospitals, schools, and old age nursing homes. When winter came, Netanyahu cut off electricity and blockaded fuel. As he spoke to our congress, children were still sick and without medical care. Some have frozen to death.  Yet, Netanyahu portrays Israel as the victim, and he does it with a straight face.

Palestinians are the occupied. Israel is the occupier. An occupier does not defend itself against an occupied population. The occupier controls the power structure. The occupier is the dominant force militarily and economically. The occupier determines what goes in and what comes out of the territories it occupies.  Even under international law, an occupier must provide security for the people it occupies. Yet, we consistently hear about Israel’s need to ensure its security.[3]

Netanyahu said that we must, "stop Iran’s conquest, subjugation and terror." And he said it with a straight face.  Then he adds, "if Iran wants to be treated like a normal country, then let it act like a normal country."  Was he looking in a mirror? 

Under Netanyahu’s leadership, the Israeli government has ramped up illegal settlement buildings, increasing the population of Jewish settlers by over 23%, made the biggest land grab in a generation, committed countless human rights abuses and killed thousands of citizens in the West Bank and Gaza, and done everything possible to maintain the status quo of Israeli occupation and domination.[4]

It’s time for those of us who yearn for a peaceful world to say with a straight face to Netanyahu and Israel, “If Israel wants to be treated like a normal country, then let it act like a normal country.”

Thomas Are

March 6, 2015

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[1] Both of these quotes, 2002 and 2015 are a matter of public record.  I lifted them from the Rachel  Maddow, Program March 3, 2015..

[2] Ari Shavit, My Promised Land,  (Spiegel and Grau, New York, 2013) p. 186

[3] Deanna Othman,  Sawyer Blunder indicative of Noxious Bias against Palestinians in American Journalism,   Huffington Post.  July 11, 2014

[4] Philip Weiss, State Dept says Netanyahu Speech is not inappropriate, disrespectful, humiliating or embarrassing.,  Mondoweiss,  January 28, 2015

Can't Have it Both Ways

Even Bibi can’t have it both ways.  On the one hand, he appeals to Jews all over the world, especially Europe, saying come to Israel, it is the only place on the globe where a Jew can be safe.

Then, he turns around and addresses our US congress declaring that Israel and all its citizens are on the verge of being wiped off the face of the earth by Iran.  For two decades now, Netanyahu has declared Iran about one year from getting “the bomb,” which will immediately be dropped on Israel.

So, is Israel a safe place or not? Even Bibi can’t have it both ways.

I am inclined to think Israel is not a safe place, but not because of threats from Iran.  It is because of Gaza, West Bank and the US.  The international conscience for justice and fair play will someday turn against Israel.

GAZA – Israel’s latest bombardment of Gaza which left over 2,100 Palestinians dead, including over 500 children, and destroyed thousands of buildings, including schools, mosques, power plants and water supplies, will not be forgotten anytime soon by those who suffer from it or those who have seen it.

Oxfam published on February 27, 2015 concerning the conditions in Gaza:

Since July, the situation has deteriorated dramatically. Approximately 100,000 Palestinians remain displaced this winter, living in dire conditions in schools and makeshift shelters not designed for long-term stay.  Scheduled power cuts persist for up to 18 hours a day… With severe restrictions on movement, most of the 1.8 million residents are trapped in the coastal enclave, with no hope for the future.

Bearing the brunt of this suffering are the most vulnerable, including the elderly, persons with disabilities, women and nearly one million children, who have experienced unimaginable suffering in three major conflicts in six short years.

Catherine Essoyan, Oxfam’s Regional Director said:

Families have been living in homes without roofs, walls or windows for the past six months. Many have just six hours of electricity a day and are without running water. Every day that people are unable to build is putting more lives at risk. It is utterly deplorable.[1]

Strip away my dignity, call me an animal and treat me as such, as Israel has done to the people of Gaza for 67 years, give me the opportunity and I will hit back.  Israel has a lot of making up to do if it is to ever feel safe.

WEST BANK - Though the focus of attention has been on Gaza since last year’s massacre by Israel, life in the West Bank continues under Israeli harassment.  In 2014, Israel demolished 1,177 Palestinian homes in West Bank, an average of nine Palestinian buildings per week.[2] In January, alone, Israel destroyed 77 buildings, leaving 110 people, half of whom were children, homeless in the frigid cold of winter. When a home is destroyed, Israel declares the area abandoned and confiscates it for Jewish only homes, roads, checkpoints or to make room for their apartheid wall. Israel talks of a “Two-State Solution,” if the Palestinians would just be reasonable, all the while pushing them off their land in West Bank back onto less than 39% of the least desirable land for agriculture, while systemically cutting off water and electricity. 

According to the United Nations, last year, Israel killed 54 Palestinians in the West Bank and injured 5,866 others, including 1,187 children.  The average home invasion for search and arrest was 98. There were 330 incidents of Israeli settler-related violence including the destruction of 9,400 trees.[3]

US - Of course, Israel could never keep its boot on the Palestinian neck were it not for the support and encouragement of the United States.   As I write this, there is much talk in the media about the strained relationship between Israel and the US because Netanyahu is scheduled to speak to congress in a few days.   I am sure the view from Palestine blurs when trying to see the rift.   When the Palestinian Authority appealed to the UN for help, Obama’s UN ambassador, Samantha Powers called it “deeply imbalanced.” And when Mahmoud Abbas speaks of going to the International Criminal Court, the US said it would “damage the atmosphere.”  Ali Abunimah claims that the atmosphere is already severely damaged:

I challenge Ms. Powers to go and repeat her words to any of the 100,000 Palestinians in Gaza still living in the damp and freezing rubble of their homes, to the surviving parents of more than 500 children killed in the Israeli attack or to the thousands who will live with lifetime injuries. … Few Palestinians will forget that when Israeli fire was raining down on them, the Obama administration authorized the transfer of grenades and mortar rounds to resupply the Israeli army.[4]

And what does the US government have to say about all this?  Only that Israel has a right to defend itself.  No matter what Israel does, our US government supports it and every Palestinian knows it.  

Mike Coogan may help us to understand why such blind support by the US:

“You see this napkin? In twenty-four hours, we could have the signatures of seventy senators on the napkin.”  These are the words of Stephen Rosen, official of AIPAC, describing the power of the pro-Israel lobby... Four years earlier, while boasting about his bad faith implementation of the Oslo Accords to a group of Israeli settlers, Benjamin Netanyahu said, “America is a thing you can move very easily.”[5]

So, as Netanyahu comes to address our Congress as to why he thinks we ought to go to war against Iran for the safety of Israel, our US media is baffled to understand why the Palestinians just can’t make peace.

Ben Gurion understood why years ago:

Why should the Arabs make peace? If I was an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. Sure, God promised it to us, but what does it matter to them? Our God is not theirs. We come from Israel, it’s true, but two thousand years ago, and what is that to them? There has been anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They only see one thing.  We have come here and stolen their country. Why should they accept that?

And Ben Gurion knew nothing of the history above. All he knew was the Nakba of 1948. But, he also knew what Bibi Netanyahu seems to not understand. Israel can strive to be a good neighbor, or Israel can be at war until it is destroyed as a Zionist state. But, he can’t have it both ways.

Thomas Are

March 1, 2015

           

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[1] Andrea Gemanos, Gaza Rebuilt Effort Could Take 100 Years: Oxfam, Published by Common Dreams, February 27, 2015

[2] Ben Norton,  UN: In 2014, Israel Demolished 1,177 Palestinian homes in the West Bank.  Reported in Mondoweiss, February 2, 2015

[3] UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Defense of Children International.

[4] Ali Abunimah, For Suffering Palestinians, the Obama-Netanyahu “rift” is a Side Show,  Published in Huffington Post,  February 20, 2015.

[5] Announced to journalist Jeffrey Goldberg.  Reported by Mike Coogan, Netanyahu is a Paper Tiger,  Mondoweiss, February 3, 2015.