Monday, August 3, 2009

Israel's Moderates Quiet As Usual

Way back in the day (meaning mid-June), I wrote about how Obama's Cairo speech, and mid-east policy in general, was affecting the Israeli populace.
But Obama's loudly-proclaimed intentions have led to a more clearly defined divide among the Israeli people: those who value America's support above all else and those who are committed to settlement of the West Bank above all else.

But the issue of settlements may be a smart litmus test of Israel's intentions, because it draws a clear line between those in Israel and among its supporters abroad who support a two-state solution, and those who don't. Obama is betting the ayes have it.

Basically Obama just went ahead and put that out there, and now he's sitting back and waiting for internal strife in Israel to make Netanyahu more agreeable to a two-state solution.
And according to this article in today's Haaretz, that internal strife is bringing the settlement issue further into the limelight than it's been since The Disengagement in 2005. Basically, this latest development is that Israeli settlers are accusing the Israeli government of "colluding" with leftist Israelis against them. Notice how many times I used the word "Israelis" in that last sentence? That's because this argument is a family one. Leftist Israelis are pretty happy about Obama butting in to force the government's hand, but rightist Israelis would thank everyone to please mind their own business. I'm sure this is why the right wingers feel they're being colluded against but if the government is colluding with anybody, it's the settlers.

From this morning's article:
Settler representatives met with Defense Ministry officials earlier in the week in a bid to discuss a negotiated compromise on removing West Bank outposts. The state is interested in gaining settler acquiescence to voluntarily evacuate the outposts in exchange for the building of new neighborhoods in existing settlements, Army Radio reported.

Officials in the Yesha council of settlers told Army Radio they have no intention of discussing the voluntary removal of outposts.
This whole dog and pony show is really amusing to those of us who know that the settlers are completely dependent on the government for their ability to settle anywhere in the West Bank. So the government arguing about whether they should or should live on this or that hilltop is just for show. It's a delay tactic, wrapped and tied with a bow, direct from Netanyahu to Obama.

But anyway, back to that internal strife I was talking about. The theory was that Obama wanted to see whether the majority of Israelis supported settlements more, or U.S. support more. Both right and left have been more active, vocal, and organized of late. But it's not yet clear which of them can claim greater numbers.

Lieberman Pulls an Olmert

Israeli Foreign Minster Avigdor Lieberman announced today that if charges are filed against him for bribery and fraud, he will resign his appointment as foreign minster and as head of the Israel Beiteinu party. Wait, what year is this? Because in summer of 2008, Israel's Prime Minister also agreed to step down amid accusations of bribery and fraud.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman responded Monday to the police announcement that it would recommend an indictment against him, saying that if he could go back, he would do everything exactly the same.
Of course he would. The resignation is nothing- he doesn't need to work anymore. He is accused of, "setting up a chain of front companies and bank accounts that allowed him to take in more than NIS 10 million."
He said that during the previous night he had "gone over the events of recent years, and I am at peace with everything that I've done. If I had to go back, I would do it all exactly the same. I would behave the same way if there was a second chance."
The only question left is why a ten year investigation just happened to turn up enough evidence for an indictment a few months after Lieberman's appointment as foreign minister. It's like someone had this dirt on him and promised to make it go away if he would stay out of the spotlight. But no, Netanyahu had to appoint someone as foreign minister who was referred to as having "erased in 20 minutes years of efforts to advance the peace process" between Israel and the Palestinians.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Lieberman's Hand Fully in Cookie Jar

The police are just about ready to ask for an indictment against Israel's Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, for fraud. The investigation has been going on for about three years, and the police finally feel they have enough evidence to prove Lieberman:
managed a well-oiled business machine through front men even after taking public office, and made millions of dollars.

Lieberman and his associates are suspected of establishing several companies, some of them shell companies, in order to launder millions of shekels and funnel them into his own pockets. Police have investigated whether Lieberman continued running these alleged operations even after becoming a public official.

In addition, police believe Lieberman and his associates tried to obstruct the police investigation in at least three separate instances, by changing the names of companies he allegedly established in Cyprus after he suspected the police had identified them.
Last summer the big fraud case was against the Prime Minister at the time, Ehud Olmert, over which he agreed to step down. I'm pretty happy about this because, as you may know, Lieberman is the politician I have mentioned many times as advocating forced segregation of Jews and Arabs and forcing Israeli Arabs to choose between taking an oath of fealty to the Zionist state or deportation.


Link

Gay Kids Attacked in Tel Aviv

I am astounded to read this piece of news. A masked gunman walked into a gay youth center in Tel Aviv and opened fire, killing two and wounding 15. This is particularly shocking because Tel Aviv is considered "the gay capital of the Middle East" and for good reason. There is a large and thriving gay community there, with gay pride held every June with no problems. Protesters strongly oppose a gay pride march and festival in Jerusalem, due to the higher number of religious residents there, but the Tel Aviv festival has not had such opposition from the right. In fact, in December of last year, Israel was one of the 66 countries that signed the UN's declaration decriminalizing homosexuality. The document recognized the human rights of gays.

What is also interesting about this piece of news is that the word "terrorist" was not used. If a Palestinian gunman had done the damage, or was suspected of having done it, reporters wouldn't call him a "gunman," they would call him an "armed terrorist." Even when acting alone, such as last summer's "bulldozer terrorist" did, Palestinians who hurt Israelis are almost always referred to as terrorists. But far-right Israelis, even when hurting unarmed civilians for a political aim, are not called terrorists. Another article about the same incident said, "Israel Police said that the incident at the club on Nahmani Street did not have a terror motive." Really? Opening fire on kids at a community center did not have a terror motive?

Because one can't be a terrorist without first being an Arab. At least in Israel.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Anti-Arab Racism Seething in Israel

Israelis generally hate it when people compare their treatment of Palestinians to that of Nazis during the Holocaust, but I'm going to do that now, with good reasons, and with some qualifications.

The Nazis started small, with segregation, with government-sanctioned hatred and distrust of Jews. They didn't start right off with gas chambers, concentration camps, and wholesale murder. If they had, the world would have sat up and took notice immediately. They did it slow, so they could let the world adjust to the idea. "Separate but equal" was how it started in the U.S. but fortunately did not continue in that vein. There is an old adage: if you put a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will jump right out. But if you put a frog in a pot of cold water and slowly make it hotter, the frog will slowly boil to death.

Most Israelis probably don't even realize that this is the direction their country, and their culture, is heading. Most are idealistic, democratic, and share the values of the West. But values of racism and segregation are slowly permeating the culture. Slowly, so that people can accept incidents as isolated rather than as part of a pattern.

But meanwhile, Jewish settlers (with their government's support) take over Palestinian homes and farmland. They beat and sometimes shoot Palestinian farmers and schoolchildren, seldom with any consequences. The government discusses laws like the "Nakba law" that would make it illegal to publicly commemorate the expulsions that resulted in the creation of Israel. Members of parliament openly advocate forced segregation based on race. Palestinian Jerusalemites cannot buy property in West Jerusalem. I could go on, but I won't.

But the most obvious symptom of the pervasive culture of racism that is blooming within Israel is the one you can see on the walls of mosques, schools, bus stops, and everywhere else unwanted Arabs make their home. Graffiti like "gas the Arabs," "death to Arabs," "no Arabs allowed," and more are everywhere.

Please do click this link and see a post on "Lawrence of Cyberia" exhibiting a collection of photos from all over Israel and West Bank bearing these messages. Anyone who wants to deny anti-Arab racism exists at such a level in Israel will say that these are indeed isolated incidents. That the pictures were taken over a period of many years, perhaps, or that the grafitti is removed right away.

But those things aren't true. Out of the 26 photos on the post, I have personally seen 9 examples- either the very piece of graffiti pictured, or a very similar message, in the last year. In fact, several of them I saw last summer and they are still there this summer, a year later.

Gush Katif Residents Clueless, Ironic

Former residents of the Gush Katif settlement in Gaza, which was evacuated in The Disengagement of 2005, ask to go back to their homes, which actually don't exist anymore. Ynet says they protested yesterday at the Kissufim border crossing. Former Gaza settler Ophir Briner says:
the government acted "cruelly" in the aftermath of what he referred to as the "expulsion." Briner said he tells his young children, "We lived in Gush Katif, which is a part of the Land of Israel. We were forced to leave, and now we are waiting to return."
Sucks, doesn't it?

Israel Dismantles Outpost. Sort of.

Haaretz says today that Israel dismantled a small outpost outside of the Kiryat Arba settlement, which had been expanded on Tuesday to include two new families. But the article says, "The settlers are expected to build the outpost again on Wednesday, as is customary following their dismantlement by security forces."

This was after the Youth for Israel movement established 11 new outposts earlier this week.

Also earlier this week, IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said, "the IDF has not received orders to prepare for the evacuation of outposts in the West Bank." One of the movement's members, Shlomit Amitai, said:
"What we do is like bandaging a mother's wounds," Amitai says, explaining the proverb's meaning. "This empty earth is a wound that must be bandaged with a settlement."
And by "empty earth" she means, "earth currently being cultivated by Palestinian farmers who, as non-Jews, have no rights to the land."

At the beginning of this whole spat with the US over settlements, activists and the blogosphere predicted that Netanyahu would order a few far-flung outposts dismantled, which would inevitably make it into the news and make it look like he was making an effort to stop settlement expansion. And that prediction seems to be all too true.

An opinion column on Ynet today says:
We have to admit that despite the unpleasantness involved in the American reprimands over the unauthorized outposts, this confrontation has several benefits. The Israeli government and its settlers enjoy every moment, as every minute dedicated to the quarrel over the removal of illegal mobile homes in Judea and mobile washrooms in Samaria is a minute that is not devoted to the truly important evacuations.

Besides, the preoccupation with the “illegal outposts” is a good thing, as it implies that all the other settlements are legal; as if alongside the lawbreaking thieves we see legally sound thieves, who rob and steal in line with the rules.

In addition, the outpost festival allows the official Israel to present an image whereby the problem – that is, the enemies of the peace process and of an agreement – has to do with reckless hilltop youth, devoid of any restraints or Ritalin.
What isn't mentioned here is that even these random, youth-initiated, illegal outposts are protected by the army and are sooner or later provided with paved roads, electricity and plumbing by the Israeli government. They literally could not even set up a tent without the support of the IDF. If Netanyahu didn't want them to set up house, there would be no need for a settler-military confrontation, he could simply ignore them. But what he's after is the creation of "facts on the ground", a phrase that become synonymous with Israel's race to populate the West Bank with Jews before the world puts its foot down about the ethnic cleansing of the West Bank.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade Hot for Bruno

According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Bruno star Sacha Baron Cohen has been threatened by members of Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (an armed wing of Fatah) because of a member's portrayal in the movie.
The group denounced Cohen's "dirty use" of Aita, claiming that he was misled as to the "real context of the film." Bruno is seen remarking to Aita: "I want to be famous. I want the best guys in the business to kidnap me. Al-Qaida is so 2001."

Aita was reportedly furious with his portrayal in the film. "We reserve the right to respond in the way we find suitable against this man," Aita said in a statement published by World Net Daily.
Supposedly this guy Ayman Abu Aita is going to file a lawsuit against Cohen. Really? A lawsuit?

These guys shoot people in the street for lesser humiliations than that. Cohen has "tightened his security following the group's statement."

Good luck with that.



I couldn't find a clip of the actual scene in the movie, but above is a video of Sacha Baron Cohen telling Letterman about the "interview."

Monday, July 20, 2009

Palestinians Film Parody of Israeli Commercial

Last week, this commercial for Israeli cell company cellcom started making the rounds of the blogosphere, with everyone having their two cents to put in about it. Basically the consensus among Palestinians and left-wing Israelis was that the commercial attempted to make light of the occupation and the security wall.



This week, residents of the beleaguered village of Bil'in, about which I have written before, decided to film a response to the commercial to show the world what such a situation is like in reality.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Night Watch in Bil'in

I am sitting here on a rooftop in Bil'in with Sami, Luis, and some ISM activists. It is near midnight and we are waiting for the soldiers to come. They do arrests in the middle of the night- it is standard practice- and these activists try to observe the arrests to prevent brutality and at least film it and act as witnesses when it does happen.

Besides the foreign activists, nearly every rooftop at the edges of the village has a Palestinian look-out watching for the soldiers. Gaggles of pre-teen boys follow us wherever we go, joking with us, practicing their English, and excitedly telling us about themselves and their friends. Their smaller brothers toddle behind, sucking their thumbs.

On nights they do arrests, the lights of their jeeps can be seen on the Israeli-only roads near the wall, on the outskirts of the village. The lights go out and then the soldiers wait, as do we. Between one and three in the morning usually, the soldiers quietly cross the fields and enter this tiny village of 1,700 residents by foot to make what arrests they can.

There are some 150 names on the list of Palestinians to be arrested, but generally the soldiers are only able to make one or two arrests per night. The List has come into the hands of some anarchist Israeli activists and so by now everyone on it knows they're on it. They have begun to take precautions against arrest accordingly by moving locations at night.

One may wonder why nearly 10% of the village's population (and about 29% of the adult male population) is wanted for arrest, and there is an answer. Bil'in holds protests against the wall and the occupation in general every Friday. These protests are peaceful and are attended by international observers and news media, but the villages' participants are persecuted anyway with impunity.

Perhaps #1 on The List is Ashraf Abu Rahma, who has been dubbed the Palestinian Che Guevara for his non-violent but fearless and relentless protests against the occupation. (My previous writings about his travails here) Standing on the roof with me, he asks if I know the story of how he was shot by an Israeli soldier after being blindfolded and handcuffed. Indeed, I remembered vividly the event from last summer since it was captured on camera by 14-year-old Salam Amira. Salam's father was later arrested in what was believed to be an act of retribution for the filming.

Ashraf's character is significantly different from what I expected, given his exploits. He is small, kind, childlike, talkative, and a little goofy. He freely admits he is crazy for doing what he does. He speaks little English and the words he does use are frequently slightly incorrect. For example, he says baby for maybe, five for fine, and, my personal favorite: menstruation instead of demonstration. Everyone in the village knows him and as we walk the streets together, looking for more signs of soldiers, everyone enthusiastically welcomes him to sit with them.

So far this evening, we have seen 8 pairs of headlights converge upon the hill and go out. This means somewhere between 70 and 100 soldiers will probably enter the village tonight. So we await their arrival.

*****

At one in the morning, we left our perch atop the roof of the house and walked to the edge of the village, where the soldiers usually emerge from the field. Our plan was to alert the other members of the mission, by phone, so everyone could follow the soldiers together to observe their behavior. We all sat side by side in the road, under a clouded half-moon, waiting for the soldiers to step out of the shadows.

We chatted in hushed tones, smoked cigarettes, and dozed. The two Israeli activists who had just arrived discussed their passions and taught us Hebrew words. The Palestinian residents of Bil'in taught us Arabic words we didn't know, and the foreign participants taught the others some English words. With a combination of the three languages used, we all made it a merry, if subdued, night.

At 3:50, the muezzin sang the call to prayer and we all agreed that most likely the soldiers would not come now that everyone was up and about. We waited another half hour and then sleepily made our way home.

It may be that the soldiers knew we were there, waiting for them. Certainly they are light years ahead of this grassroots movement in terms of available technology. And it is rumored that the tower perched atop the highest hill in the village holds a camera which captures the village's movements. Throughout the night, the soldiers set small, controlled fires at what seemed random locations around the outskirts of Bil'in. They do this even on nights they don't make arrests, I am told, perhaps to cause confusion among the activists.

Some believe the last week (during which no arrests were made) served to cause the activists to lose interest and leave so that the Israeli military can swoop in and make several arrests in one night, without international supervision to hinder them.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Saudi Arabia Jumps on the Bandwagon

Photobucket

According to this article in Ynet today, Saudi Arabia has announced a plan to build a fence along 5,000 miles of The Kingdom's borders. Five thousand miles. That's 2,000 miles longer than the width of the United States. That's 1,000 miles longer than a trip from Seattle to Bogata would be.

The winning bid for the project was made by European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) and is reported to be worth $3.5 billion.

Those Saudis are like Michael Jackson: they have so much money it has caused them to lose their minds. It's like they heard China did it and thought it might be cool. But when you have that much money, everybody is afraid to talk sense to you. Like, "Um, Your Highness, China built that wall before airplanes and missiles were invented. There's stuff that can go over walls now."

Friday, July 10, 2009

A Look at Life for Orthodox Jews in Israel

No doubt women's rights groups will be scowling at their computer screens when they read this article, on Ynet today.
Renowned Rabbi David Batzri comes up with creative solution for thousands of single women participating in prayer assembly in Jerusalem on 'respectable mating.' Rabbi appeals to women not to put off pregnancy once married, says 'using birth control damages household income'

Have at least 12 children, do not use birth control, and continue having children after 40. This is the formula for overcoming sterility and long-term bachelorhood in the Religious Zionism movement put forth by renowned Rabbi David Batzri.

In a women's assembly in Jerusalem held Thursday in Jerusalem, the rabbi asserted that "a girl who wishes to marry must take upon herself already on the first date an obligation to have no less than 12 children." In addition, he encouraged women to put pressure on one another not to delay pregnancy after getting married and not to wait long in between births.
Oh wait. There's more.
The rabbi claimed that using birth control damages household income. He said, "When you use control methods, you stop abundance. When you see a woman whose youngest child is three, this means that she has been using control methods for three years. Convince her not to do this."

'Don't believe the doctors'

The rabbi also spoke on the issue of abortions. "Doctors are liars," he said. "Don't believe them. They tell you that the fetus is not healthy. This is only to protect themselves from lawsuits. It is forbidden to listen to doctors. Women who have consulted with me and didn't abort their child have the most healthy and righteous children."

Rabbi Batzri added, "Even at the age of 40 and up, it is possible to give birth, and it isn't dangerous."
So basically, quantity is more important than quality, he's saying, and if you endanger your life to produce more children you are doing it in God's service. Or something. I'm paraphrasing.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Interview with Combatants for Peace



A couple of weeks ago I interviewed Bassam Aramin, co-founder of Combatants for Peace. I think the video speaks for itself.

For more information, go here.

Israeli Housing Minister Advocates Forced Segregation

The article I'm about to quote is from July 2, but I'm just now getting around to reading it.

Israeli Housing Minister and Member of Knesset (parliament) Ariel Atias announced:
"I see [it] as a national duty to prevent the spread of a population that, to say the least, does not love the state of Israel," Atias told a conference of the Israel Bar Association, which focused on a reforming Israel's Land Administration.

The Shas minister referred to Harish, a housing project built for the Haredi community in northern Israel, saying that the Arab population from the nearby Wadi Ara was spreading into the Harish area.
I find it unfathomable that today, in 2009, a high-level politician would openly advocate forced segregation based on race. I just don't know what else to say about this, except to add:
if we go on like we have until now, we will lose the Galilee. Populations that should not mix are spreading there. I don't think that it is appropriate [for them] to live together.
My fellow Americans, is this not undeniably a repeat of Jim Crow? How does this kind of news not make it to most of America? How do American supporters of Israel ignore this? Will they also call this a "security measure"?

Monday, July 6, 2009

Israeli News Got the Memo

I have been saying for a long time that it is the Israeli people who need to change their minds about the conflict. The rest of the world is basically on board with the idea of a Palestinian state and an end to the daily human rights abuses that have been documented for anyone with internet access to see.

But the question is how to reach Israelis? They are terribly mistrustful of outsiders, especially those who don't speak Hebrew and attempt to criticize their country. It must come from inside, and now, with groups like Peace Now swelling in size, I feel a quickening on the horizon. More and more Israelis will jump on board the human rights movement, like whites who demonstrated for civil rights in 1960s America.

And here, a ray of hope. This segment was on the Israeli evening news. Bold, unapologetic, and extremely sympathetic to the Peace Now activists it focuses on.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Let Mommy and Daddy Talk, Kids

Ha'aretz says today that Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak went to Washington DC to discuss with George Mitchell about whether or not Israel would agree to a temporary freeze of settlement construction. Their four-hour "discussion" (Mommy and Daddy aren't fighting, kids, we're discussing) did not seem to bring them any closer to a decision. But that might be because Obama and Michell have not explicitly demanded an end to settlement construction, instead saying, "that Jerusalem must take 'action' on the matter."

And this article talks about a deal where settlers in Migron (a tiny settlement just East of the Palestinian city of Ramallah) would be relocated in Adam, a settlement annexed to Jerusalem and much closer to the green line.

Ha'aretz says:
Barak was quick to present the plan to evacuate Migron and build at Adam as an effort meant to deter a petition by Peace Now, scheduled to be brought before the court Monday. The defense minister's aim is to gain more time. In any case, the Defense Ministry argues, the construction of the new neighborhood in Adam will take at least two years - a decent amount of quiet time. Barak based his gamble on the images of the violent evacuation of the Amona outpost and is hoping that the justices will be deterred from another clash with the settler-invaders, and will jump at the opportunity to put the whole matter to rest for a long time.
Every single time, I am dumbounded that an entire government acts as a frightened child with even the thought of action from a violent minority of their own population. Again and again, it's been made clear to us "outsiders" that the settlers have the Israeli government on a short leash.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Returning to the Occupation

I just returned from my weekend in Jordan and fully intended to write all about it, but I swear to god, as soon as I crossed the border into Israel/Palestine/the West Bank/whathaveyou, I became mentally exhausted. There were a total of at least 9 checkpoints in the roughly five mile span between the Jordan river and Jericho. I say "at least 9" because I lost count. My passport was handled by so many different people it probably has an STD by now.

I really do intend to write a play-by-play of the whole experience, but at this point, I only have the druthers to share one small portion of it.

On the bus from the Israeli side of the border to Jericho, I was seated next to a Mr. Bassam Aramin, co-founder of Combatants for Peace. He politely asked to sit next to me, and then lapsed into an exhausted silence. We arrived at the second of the day's Palestinian checkpoints, where a border guard boarded the bus and asked to take everyone's papers. When I handed him mine, he spoke to me in Arabic, and I asked the kindly man next to me what he said.

"He says foreigners should take the bus straight through to Jerusalem, and not this way. It is what the Israelis want." He paused and added, "It generates money for them, you know, the transport. And they don't want foreigners to see this." He shook his head and as he focused on something far outside the window, he said sadly, "Another face of the occupation."

We got to talking, and he revealed that his 10 year old daughter was shot and killed by the Israeli military outside of her school two years ago. News reports about the incident say she was caught in the crossfire between soldiers and Palestinian stone throwers.

Here is an excellent article about Mr. Aramin and the beginnings of Combatants for Peace.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Israelis Are Worried

Wow, it's tense over here with this Obama-Israel rift in the making. Y'all know I wrote about Obama's Cairo speech, called "A New Beginning" and the effect it had on Israelis.

Well.

Things have continued on in that vein. Public Sentiment, the great barometer of the little people, has spoken. I give you two examples:

First, this article in Time Magazine
The title- "Can Netanyahu Repair the Rift With the U.S.?" pretty much says it all. Israelis are well aware that they stand at a precipice. On one side is their sovereignty, on the other is their prosperity. Israelis receive about $10 billion of aid money from the U.S. every year (more on that below) and $7 million daily just for military use. If Netanyahu ignores Obama's demands polite requests to freeze settlement construction that aid may be jeopardized. Even though Obama did call the U.S.-Israel bond "unbreakable" in his Cairo speech, he also made it clear he won't stand for any more riff-raff. ("The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.")

The article says:
When an Israeli cabinet minister proposes that his country impose sanctions on the United States, his government is clearly in a state of distress. Pressure from the Obama Administration to freeze Israeli settlement construction and move toward a two-state peace with the Palestinians has reportedly spurred Minister-without-Portfolio Yossi Peled (who belongs to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's own Likud party) to recommended that Israel shop outside the U.S. for aircraft and military hardware, sell sensitive technology to clients disapproved of by Washington, and invite America's rivals to play a greater role in the Middle East.
This is clearly a knee-jerk reaction and these sanctions are very unlikely to come to fruition. It's big-talk for Obama's benefit.

But Obama's loudly-proclaimed intentions have led to a more clearly defined divide among the Israeli people: those who value America's support above all else and those who are committed to settlement of the West Bank above all else.
But the issue of settlements may be a smart litmus test of Israel's intentions, because it draws a clear line between those in Israel and among its supporters abroad who support a two-state solution, and those who don't. Obama is betting the ayes have it.
Basically Obama just went ahead and put that out there, and now he's sitting back and waiting for internal strife in Israel to make Netanyahu more agreeable to a two-state solution.
Opinion polls often find a majority of Israelis willing to give up West Bank settlements in exchange for a genuine peace, and that same majority is unlikely to be willing to jeopardize Israel's relationship with the United States in order to defend the settlers' right to build on Palestinian land, a right the settlers say is based on the argument that it forms part of the Biblical Land of Israel.
Despite this trend, the status quo is a very powerful thing and it takes a lot of momentum to shift it. Obama knows this and has apparently calculated that now is the time to roll with that forward momentum.
Netanyahu pleads that his hawkish coalition will collapse if he does as Obama asks, but skeptics point out that the Prime Minister chose to ally with the far-right when he might have chosen the centrist Kadima party, which has enough seats to shore up a government committed to a two-state solution.
Ooooopsie. Wrong choice, Bibi.
And he'll also likely take down one or two outposts built without permission by Israeli zealots outside of the boundaries of their existing settlements. Such actions will provoke televised clashes between settlers and police, and make the case that Netanyahu is acting on the settlement issue (without necessarily stopping construction within the boundaries of settlements, as demanded by Washington).
So right. The government cannot, I mean literally cannot go up against any group of settlers without a violent and highly publicized reaction.

Secondly, Israel's SNL Shows us the Score:
The Israeli comedy show Eretz Nehaderet (Beautiful Country), which is similar to America's Saturday Night Live, had a skit last night commenting on the possible rift between the U.S. and Israel. Actor-comedian Tal Freedman was dressed as PM Bibi Netanyahu and hosted a parody of the show "Million Dollar Race." Only the prize amount was ten billion (the same amount as Israel receives from the U.S.) and the possible sources of the money were various other rich and powerful world countries. Contestants competed for a new sponsor for Israel.

So that basically sums up the situation over here at the moment.

UPDATE:

I forgot about this. A week ago, journalist Max Blumenthal and Ta'ayush activist Joseph Dana published a video on youtube called "Feeling the Hate in Jerusalem" in which they interviewed drunk American Jews about Obama's upcoming speech. The speech hadn't even been made yet and everybody was all in a tizzy about what he would say. All the interviewees are basically ignorant and racist ("Who's Bibi Yahoo?") but something had to have prompted them to respond so viciously to their own president, whom, statistically speaking, they probably voted for.

Friday, June 12, 2009

On Natural Growth

As I've been trying to explain lately, natural growth is not only a problem for settlement construction, it's a major problem in the construction of Arab homes. However, the former group gets much more media attention.

This Ha'aretz article does an excellent job of breaking this issue down in concrete terms- using statistics rather than public sentiment to show that Palestinians are indeed discriminated against regarding housing.

God vs. Parking Tickets

There's been some controversy in J'lem of late about the parking lot in Safra Square (basically City Hall), and whether it should stay open on Saturdays. The large Orthodox community in Jerusalem is careful to remind government officials and other residents when they overstep the bounds of Jewish law- businesses are to be closed on Shabbat, no exceptions. The Orthodox leaders also feel Jews should not be driving at all on Saturday, in any case.

However, Jerusalem's secular residents feel differently and declare Mayor Nir Barkat will feel the pain next election if he caves to the ultra-Orthodox residents of the city. Barkat had previously opened the lot for use on Saturdays but Orthodox residents rioted in response and he agreed to close it for the next two Saturdays while he explored alternative solutions to Jerusalem's parking problem.

Ynet says:
"If Barkat gives in and the parking lots are closed even once on Shabbat, this will convey a message to everyone that those who act violently win," said Nir Pereg of the "forum of organizations for a free Jerusalem".

Thursday, June 11, 2009

If the President Could Mind His Business Please

Israeli President Shimon Peres suggested today that Israel should finally get around to defining its borders, thereby giving Palestine some borders as well. A few rightist parties in the government suggested that he "desist from 'interfering' in controversial political matters."
"The president of the state lacks any authority in political matters, in particular diplomatic and political subjects that are steeped in controversy," wrote MK Zevulun Orlev, chairman of Habayit Hayehudi, which is in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, in a letter to Peres.
The Ha'aretz article also added, "Peres said that Israel and the Palestinians should agree on the declaration of a Palestinian state with provisional borders, 'subject to a clear promise that the border will in a short span of time become permanent borders.'"

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Obama's Name Lacks Desired Effect

President Obama gave his speech to a packed audience at the American University of Cairo last week and you can bet everyone had something to say about it. While the speech gave fair lip service to both Israelis and Arabs, the effect was not the same on both groups. Arabs, who are used to a certain amount of verbal abuse and misunderstanding from American leaders, were basically pleased. Israelis, who are used to unconditional support from America, were basically disappointed.

He began with a nod to Islamic history and progress and acknowledged the role Muslims have played in advancing the interests of the US. He commented on our shared global destiny, his plans for Afghanistan, Iraq, and Gitmo. And then he fully and unequivocally recognized Israel and called the US-Israeli bond "unbreakable." Then he denounced extremist violence. Then he said Israelis should stop building settlements.

Here is the part of the speech concerning the Israel-Palestine issue:
The second major source of tension that we need to discuss is the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world.

America's strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied.

Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed - more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless, ignorant, and hateful. Threatening Israel with destruction - or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews - is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve.

On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people - Muslims and Christians - have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than sixty years they have endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations - large and small - that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.

For decades, there has been a stalemate: two peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history that makes compromise elusive. It is easy to point fingers - for Palestinians to point to the displacement brought by Israel's founding, and for Israelis to point to the constant hostility and attacks throughout its history from within its borders as well as beyond. But if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.

That is in Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, America's interest, and the world's interest. That is why I intend to personally pursue this outcome with all the patience that the task requires. The obligations that the parties have agreed to under the Road Map are clear. For peace to come, it is time for them - and all of us - to live up to our responsibilities.

Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding. This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe to Indonesia. It's a story with a simple truth: that violence is a dead end. It is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. That is not how moral authority is claimed; that is how it is surrendered.

Now is the time for Palestinians to focus on what they can build. The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people. Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, and to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israel's right to exist.

At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.

Israel must also live up to its obligations to ensure that Palestinians can live, and work, and develop their society. And just as it devastates Palestinian families, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza does not serve Israel's security; neither does the continuing lack of opportunity in the West Bank. Progress in the daily lives of the Palestinian people must be part of a road to peace, and Israel must take concrete steps to enable such progress.
To someone who is educated on the issue but is not either Israeli or Arab, this speech seems totally fair and balanced. But that's not what everyone heard. I give you [drum roll] a random sampling of Israeli and Arab bloggers responding to "A New Beginning."

Arabs


Rantings of a Sandmonkey:
The speech was everything was expected and more. The guy achieved his goals and executed it effectively and brilliantly...My favorite parts of the speech had to be the following in order: The way he deliverd el salamu alaikom (the audience looked like it just had a collective orgasm), the Koranic shout outs, the pandering to Hijabis, the dig at Hillary (women became leaders in islamic countries, while the US is still "struggling with it"? Nice!), and the way he spoke of the Israel Palestine Issue. For me, again, it didn't say what he intends to do, but it made people happy. They were walking outside saying how , for the first time, they hear an american leader "talk with some balance on the issue".
Asharq Alawsat:
Obama's speech addressed those that we have always described as the silent majority, in other words the ordinary citizen who abhors extremism, backwardness and attrition [e.g. war of attrition fought between Egypt and Israel] where the situation is neither that of war nor peace. [Obama speech addressed] the citizen who desires an education, and wishes [only] to live with dignity.
And Saad Edin Ibrahim of Voices for a Democratic Egypt said on Riz Khan:
He was very reconciling, he was very firm, he was very fair. And I think the fact that he talked about Muslim communities, not about the Muslim world, was also well pointed.

Israelis:

Tikkun Olam:
He is playing right into the so-called Palestinians' hands by placing the onus on Israel, and basically not requiring anything of the Arabs-an extremely one-sided, unjust deal. I had my problems with Bush's "Road Map," but this is even worse: Obama is preaching to the entire world words which indicate that Israel, and Israel alone-is the culprit by creating obstacles to peace in the Middle East.
West Bank Mama:
What Obama said [about settlements] is not new at all. It really describes most of the world’s perception of the conflict pretty well – although it makes me angry that my living in my home is equated with terrorists killing innocent men, women, and children. Am I really as dangerous as a suicide bomber? I am a suburban mom raising three kids, and have never threatened anyone – I just live in a place that some think is “disputed”. Why are my actions compared to a terrorist who shoots rockets at civilians?
Israpundit:
By and large, President Obama’s address yesterday in Cairo has been well received in both the so-called “Muslim world” and by other audiences. Nobody may be happier with it, though, than the Muslim Brotherhood - the global organization that seeks to impose authoritative Islam’s theo-political-legal program known as “Shariah” through stealthy means where violence ones are not practicable. Egyptian Muslim Brothers were prominent among the guests in the audience at Cairo University and Brotherhood-associated organizations in America, like the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), have rapturously endorsed the speech. The Brotherhood has ample reason for its delight. Accordingly, Americans who love freedom - whether or not they recognize the threat Shariah represents to it - have abundant cause for concern about “The Speech,” and what it portends for U.S. policy and interests.
What is most interesting about this last writer's opinion is that the "Muslim World" (which is what exactly, and what's with the quotes?) differs quite a bit. The article in Asharq Alawsat I already quoted also said of the Muslim Brotherhood:
As for the Muslim Brotherhood, they believe that Obama's speech contains an unjust view on the Palestinian issue. We do not know how [they can believe this] when Obama insisted upon the right to existence for a Palestinian state, as well as insisting that America will not turn its back on the suffering of the Palestinians.

It is not only the Muslim Brotherhood who is confused [with regards to Obama's speech], Hamas is as usual playing the game of presenting two faces [to the word], a moderate face, and a hawkish face. And so whilst one face compares Obama to Martin Luther King, another says that Obama's speech is unjust and contains nothing new. This is normal, and not surprising from Hamas, who is essentially unconcerned with Palestinian unity, or establishing a Palestinian state. This can be seen in the Hamas movement's order to its gunmen to treat the security agents of the Palestinian Authority as they would the soldiers of the Israeli occupation.
We can possibly extrapolate from this that Muslim and Arab leaders who are supportive of Obama are also critical of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. Meanwhile, extremist Israeli leaders are pretty unhappy with just everything right now, especially Obama's speech in Cairo.

Ynet quotes the Yesha settlement council as saying,"Only time will tell if the US president is Barack or Hussein." The Shomron settlers' committee also said, "The State of Israel is paying the price for its leaders' defeatism. Hussein Obama opted to adopt the Arab's bogus versions over the Jewish truth."

These references to Obama's middle name is a symbol of the divide between the president and Israeli settlers- his first name, Barack, means "shining thing" or "lightning" in Hebrew. His middle name, Hussein, is Arabic for "handsome one."

I'm serious.

If there ever were a president that could get respect from both of these groups, it's him. The potential is built-in.

The Ynet article continues, "Baruch Marzel, chairman of the rightist National Jewish Front movement, said in response to the speech 'we will continue to settle the Land of Israel whether Obama likes it or not. Obama and American administration officials can make declarations, but the actions of the youths are what will determine the results on the ground.'"

Marzel has a strong following among the Orthodox and settler communities in Israel and the West Bank, but he by no means represents the majority of Israelis. Evidence of this is the fact that his own government has declared one of his groups, Kach, a terrorist organization. Marzel and his party were banned from participating in the 1992 Israeli elections under a new law that bars parties who attempt to incite racism.

The official Israeli government response to Obama's speech was positive, with Netanyahu vowing to comply with Obama's terms.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Netanyahu Gives Lip Service

President Obama's new Middle East peace plan has been outlined, and according to The Australian:
Under the Obama proposal, Palestinian refugees would not be permitted to return to Israel, but they would be permitted to return to the Palestinian state that would arise on the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Those who continue to reside in Arab countries where they have been largely confined to refugee camps for 60 years would be given citizenship of those countries, ending their refugee status.

On the critical question of Jerusalem, Mr Obama will support the Arab demand that Palestinians be permitted to establish their capital in East Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel in the Six Day War in 1967. However, the walled Old City at the heart of Jerusalem, where the principal holy sites of Christianity, Judaism and Islam are located, would become an international enclave and fly the UN flag.

The Palestinian state would be demilitarised, maintaining a significant police force to keep order but not an army that might pose a security threat to Israel.
But according to Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netanyahu said of his meetings with Obama:
Last night I returned to Jerusalem, our capital, from a very important visit to Washington, capital of the United States. It was very important for me to come back to participate in this ceremony and say the same things I said in the United States:

United Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Jerusalem has always been - and always will be - ours. It will never again be divided or cut in half. Jerusalem will remain only under Israel's sovereignty. In united Jerusalem, the freedom of worship and freedom of access for all three religions to the holy sites will be guaranteed, and it is the only way to guarantee that members of all faiths, minorities and denominations can continue living here safely.
The truth is somewhere in the middle and one thing to remember is that, like all politicians, Netanyahu must give lip service to his far right constituents in order to make gains for his far left constituents, and vice versa.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Settlements Not an Obstale to Peace

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Washington meeting with President Obama this week, and he made some surprising concessions, in theory at least. Only time will tell if he will make good on his promises.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are of two types: state-sponsored and illegal. The "legal" settlements are built by the Israeli government, are protected by the Israeli military, and are usually much larger than the second type. Illegal settlements are those that are built in areas not approved for settlement by the government. These settlements are sometimes home to only one family, or several families.

Of the 26 illegal outposts on record, Israel will dismantle "a number of" them. No mention of dismantling any of the "legal" settlements. But no matter. According to Netanyahu, those are not really an issue.

From Haaretz:
The document, which Netanyahu issued for distribution only after meeting Obama, says Israel is ready to evacuate the illegal outposts. As for stopping construction in the settlements the document was more cagey, saying the settlements were not an obstacle to peace and that the evacuation of settlements in Gaza only led to the establishment of a Hamas terror base in the Gaza Strip.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak also added, "the new Israeli government would take action against the outposts, not because it was told to do so by the United States, but because Israel 'is a state of law."

It is widely understood that these statements were the price Netanyahu paid for Obama's support regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton is taking a tougher stance on even the officially recognized West Bank settlements.
WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took a hard line against settlement construction in the territories Wednesday, including a call to freeze building for natural growth. Her statement came in contrast to the general terms U.S. President Barack Obama expressed about the issue to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the week.
"Natural growth" refers to home additions designed to better accommodate a growing family. For example, adding a room onto the house when you've had a new baby. Or adding another small home to the property when one of your children marries. This type of natural growth is common in Arab families, as one piece of land is often lived on by many generations of a growing extended family. Unfortunately in many cases, this natural growth is deterred by the denial of building permits. In East Jerusalem, Arab homes are sometimes demolished because a proper permit was not obtained.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Everyone Hates Lieberman

Israel's opposition leader Tzipi Livni responded to FM Lieberman's recent statements by saying he, "erased in 20 minutes years of efforts to advance the peace process."
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni on Friday accused Foreign Minister Avigdor Liebermanas having "erased in 20 minutes years of efforts to advance the peace process" when he declared that Israel was not bound by commitments it made at a 2007 summit in Annapolis to pursue creation of a Palestinian state

In an interview with Israel Radio, the Kadima chairwoman said she had expected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to announce that he did not share Lieberman's expressed sentiments, and was disappointed that such clarification was not made.

Meanwhile, outgoing prime minister Ehud Olmert said on Thursday that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process kick-started in Annapolis bolstered international recognition of Israel.
But on the upside, Lieberman is now being investigated for fraud, which is awesome because it means at the very least, he will lose some credibility among his base of support. Best case scenario, he steps down.

Ha'aretz writes:
Police questioned Avigdor Lieberman as part of a corruption investigation on Friday for the second time since he was sworn in as foreign minister earlier this week.

Fraud squad detectives questioned the foreign minister, who is also chairman of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, for more than five hours and said another round was likely in the coming week.

On Thursday, Lieberman was questioned for more than seven hours over suspicions of bribery, money laundering, fraud and breach of trust, less than a day after he took office.
Lieberman, of course, " denies any wrongdoing and says the probe is politically motivated." As much as I would love to see him investigated right out of office, I hope the investigation is not politically motivated. Because the fact is, his appointment is a symbol of one of my favorite concepts: freedom of belief. That being said, Lieberman has been investigated since 2007 and is suspected of laundering "large sums of money," so I think it's unlikely this latest round of questioning is connected to his appointment as Foreign Minister.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Of Course He Did

The AP says today
JERUSALEM – Israel's new hard-line foreign minister delivered a scathing critique of Mideast peace efforts Wednesday, telling a room crowded with cringing diplomats that concessions to the Palestinians only invite war.
Lola is not amused.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

The Realities of West Bank Settlements

As part of my quest to try to explain the complicated situation of Jewish Israelis who settle in the West Bank, I urge you to read Seth Freedman's article about Bayit Echad in the Guardian. He touches on a very important aspect of the settler experience and reminds us that there are very real and human reasons that they continue to live there. We cannot ask anyone to change without first addressing their concerns.
"If we don't make peace, the Middle East will explode", he warns. "We can't live by the sword forever; if we don't deal with the Palestinians [over a negotiating table], they'll return to terror, and no army can beat terror; only diplomacy can." Raz is, by definition, a settler – albeit an incredibly reluctant one. He is desperate to relocate his family west of the Green Line, but economic conditions make such a move financially unviable, and he wants the government to enact legislation to help him.
Read the rest here.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Lieberman Makes Me Sad

Prime Minister Netanyahu, who began his official premiership today, appointed Avigdor Lieberman, of the Yisrael Beitanu party as foreign minister.

Can we just take a minute to examine what this means?

Lieberman is the very same politician who advocates forced expulsions of Israel's Arabs and who, at the very least, has been pushing for this population to face a tough choice: swear their loyalty to the Zionist state or have their citizenship revoked. To the outsider, this may seem natural. After all, why should defectors get to live in a state they oppose? However, it is possible to oppose Zionism and still support Israel.

Have we not many American citizens who love this country but oppose capitalism? Wanting to change some aspects of your government is not the same thing as wishing the whole state to disappear.

But Lieberman and his cronies, thinking as they do, are motivated by fear. And in a world where everyone is out to get you, you have to do whatever you can to stay on top. In Lieberman's view, the only way to be safe is to be the most powerful, or alternately, for everyone around you to be just like you.

Despite Netanyahu's mumblings about peace, his government is likely to take a hard line approach to peace efforts. Which basically means he will try to bully the Palestinians into submission. Like Operation Cast Lead, Bibi will apply pressure in all the most sensitive places so that giving Israel whatever it wants seems like the only option.

There is virtually no way peace will be made between Israel and Palestine without dismantlement of the settlements, and peace talks cannot even be taken seriously until Israel stops expanding existing settlements.

But this won't happen with Lieberman as foreign minister. He rabidly supports the settlement of the West Bank by Jewish Israelis.

It seems like what I wrote back in August is coming to fruition. Palestinian Authority officials said peace talks with anyone but Tzipi Livni would fail.

Monday, March 23, 2009

This Week's Dose of Moral Turpitude

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I have been ignoring this story since it started circulating around the blogosphere, and then onto local news sites, and then political commentators who are in the know. Now that it has finally reached the AP, I feel I would be remiss in my duty to you if I did not take note of it.

The long and short of it is that Israeli soldiers have been printing tshirts with slogans like "1 shot, 2 kills" paired with the image of a pregnant Muslim woman. An army spokesperson says the soldiers involved in printing the shirts and handing them out to graduates of basic training have been penalized.
The shirts "are not in accordance with IDF values and are simply tasteless," the military said in a statement. "This type of humor is unbecoming and should be condemned." The army said it would not tolerate such behavior and would take disciplinary action against the soldiers involved.
A small number of the shirts (probably several dozen) were printed for specific army training units.

Another story making the same laps is the one about misconduct during Operation Cast Lead. Ha'aretz has printed several stories about IDF soldiers saying they were ordered to shoot unarmed women and children, and that they followed those orders. Some within the blogosphere have called into question the validity of such statements, saying that the stories are only heresay and that even if they are true, each case resulted in tragedy because of Palestinian error, not Israeli malice.

Relevant to both stories, the AP has the following to say:
On Monday, the military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, defended his troops.

"I tell you that this is a moral and ideological army. I have no doubt that exceptional events will be dealt with," Ashkenazi told new recruits. Gaza "is a complex atmosphere that includes civilians, and we took every measure possible to reduce harm to the innocent."

Palestinians too have glorified attacks on Israelis in the past. In the Gaza Strip, Hamas-controlled media consistently send messages that Jews cannot be trusted and that Israel is a bloodthirsty, militaristic state eager to seize Palestinian land and slaughter Palestinian children.

Pro-Israel Counter Protesters Speak Up

Here is my latest video for San Francisco IAM. The recent protests against the Israeli invasion of Gaza, among other things, have been met with a small but determined force of pro-Israel counter protesters, who have an entirely different story to tell. Listen to their story here.

Friday, March 20, 2009

In a Break From Your Regularly Scheduled Program

Why I love San Francisco:

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I found these miniature items attached to the building across the street from my house. My 10 pound poodle gives you the scale.

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Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Bulldozer Dude's Family Soon to be Homeless

In July of last year, Palestinian construction worker Hussam Duwiyat took the bulldozer from the construction site where he was working and took it on a rampage through Jerusalem streets, in what would be the first incident of its kind, to be followed by several other copycat construction workers. Duwiyat killed three people and indured dozens before he was shot and killed by an off-duty soldier, on camera.

[Link to my post about it.]

At the time, there was talk about demolishing his parent's home, as a method of collective punishment that had been discontinued but then reinstated several months previously. At various times, the Israeli government has decided that home demolition is not an effective deterrent for would-be terrorist and, alternately, that it should be done anyway. It seems they are out of ideas.

The debate about whether the Duwiyat home should be demolished was based on his family's argument that, firstly, he was not a terrorist, but rather, simply a disturbed individual and secondly, that he did not have rights to his parents' home anyway.

High Court Justice Edmond Levy ruled today that there were no grounds to reverse the decision made by defense officials to raze the family home, which is a multi-story dwelling housing Duwiyat's entire extended family.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Motivational Speech from America to Iraq



This thing kind of speaks for itself, but I have to say a few things. Firstly, I never had a drill sargeant talk that nice to me when I was in the army. Drill sargeants are generally meaner than snakes and they have a captive audience. Secondly, the Arabic translator is sugar-coating everything the guy is saying. For example, when the American soldier called the Iraqi soldiers pussies, the translator instead said, "You didn't do it."

4:00:

American: Any questions?

Iraqi soldier: When we heard something is happening in the factory, we went there and the Americans said 'you're crazy and you're in the militia and you're Iranis.' And everybody got killed in the factory and we went there to check it out. And when we tried to intervene, Americans came and said we were terrorists and took our IDs. And they said it's not your duty to intervene. The Americans even arrested our sargeant. And then everybody called us Iranis and terrorists.

American: You want to erase that image...you want to fix your image? Fuck your stupid checkpoints, they're worthless. Get together, get all your weapons and start marching South, towards the river. I guaruntee you'll get in a gun fight and I guaruntee you'll fuck some people up. Get down there and kick some ass.

Iraqi soldier: Ok, so give us some trucks to go.

American: Fuck, you don't need trucks. Take some water, take some food, and walk.

Iraqi: How can we go there when the airplanes are on top of us? And they call us terrorists and Iranis? The last time it happened, the airplanes and hummers surrounded us and arrested us.

American: Hey, quit making excuses...until you man up, shut the fuck up.

Iraqi: We cannot do anything because American snipers are everywhere.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

I'm Just Saying...

An AP article today mentions the resignation of Salam Fayyad, Prime Minister in the West Bank, which is really not the most interesting thing about the article. Waaaaay down at the bottom, it says:
In other developments, an internal report by European Union diplomats said Israel is undermining prospects for establishing a Palestinian capital in east Jerusalem because Israel keeps building homes for Jews there and demolishes Palestinian-owned homes.

"Long-standing Israeli plans for Jerusalem, now being implemented at an accelerated rate, are undermining prospects for a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem and a sustainable two- state solution," said the 20-page report, made available to journalists by the Israel Committee Against House Demolitions. An EU diplomat verified its authenticity.
And I was reminded of a question I have asked myself many times. Maybe one of my readers can take a stab at answering. These right wingers who continue to demolish Palestinian homes, build settlements, and otherwise make a two-state solution improbable, what do they expect to gain from it? If they don't want to give Palestinians their own state, the only other result will be one state, with Jews as the minority. This has always seemed to me a less strategic outcome for the Jewish citizens of Israel.

Are they just being shortsighted? Is there something I'm missing?

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Ayn Rand Institute Champions Israel

I went to the Objectivist Club of Berkeley on Tuesday to a lecture called, "What is America's stake in the Arab-Israeli conflict?" The lecture was given by Elan Journo, a writer at the Ayn Rand Institute. As a preface to Journo's lecture, I must first explain Objectivism, Rand's philosophy. The main premise is that human beings are without instincts to serve our self-interests, therefore we must be guided by a set of moral principles. Journo's argument, constructed using Rand's philosophy, is a moral one. In fact, the subtitle of the event was, "a talk on the moral defense of Israel."

Personally, I think moral arguments are weak. But I also think nobody is objective, so maybe Journo's argument was weaker than a logical one, but also more honest.

The first thing I noticed coming into the room was that there were campus police officers present. I don't know if this is standard practice for lectures at Berkeley, or if the officers were present because this pro-Israel lecture occurred smack in the middle of Israeli Apartheid Week on campus (during which protesters urged passerby to take BDS actions against Israel).

Journo's lecture opened with a description of the high hopes held by all after Rabin, Clinton, and Arafat finished the Oslo Accords, which established the Palestinian Authority, in 1993 (Rabin and Arafat won the Nobel Peace Prize for these actions). This portion of the lecture was brought to a close with a sad story about an Israeli boy who was emotionally traumatized when a qassam rocket landed near his house. Then he said pointedly, "A lot of people have died." I wondered why he didn't mention how many Palestinians have died in the conflict (four times as many as Israelis). I began to suspect that he would not bring up any counter arguments, and that he could not answer them if he did.

Next, he discussed Hamas coming to power in 2006, and launching war against Israel, together with Hezbollah. He painted Hamas, Hezbollah, Fatah, and virtually all Arab leaders with the same brush, describing these leaders as corrupt, dangerous, violent, and against freedom. In fact, he even referred to the UN as "a corrupt organization." He especially emphasized these groups' violence toward their own citizens and said that there is no civil control, "with people killing each other in the streets."

I wondered if he had ever been to any of these places and thought to myself that this seemed antithetical to everything I know about Arab culture.

Then he painted a very different picture of life for Israelis. He characterized Israel as a land of freedom, democracy, choice, and equality. He emphasized the freedom of press and speech that Israelis enjoy, while the residents of the West Bank and Gaza do not enjoy any such freedom. His argument was that Israel has the moral high ground, and therefore should be the victor in this conflict. But again, he left counter arguments completely off the table, which left gaping holes in his argument.

Of Israelis' freedom of speech, he said, "They don't have to fear the knock at the door at midnight." Because he was not taking questions, I was not able to raise my hand and ask, "What about the Palestinians? Should they fear the knock at the door?" The question would have been rhetorical anyway because I know that Palestinians often do find Israeli soldiers knocking on their door in the middle of the night. Sometimes the aim is simply to discombobulate the resident, sometimes they come to arrest someone. In fact, from what I know, arrests are rarely made during the day, unless they are made during a protest.

He then cited the court decisions regarding the separation wall as proof that Israel's judicial system is morally sound, uncorrupted.

Residents of the West Bank have been complaining for years that the wall separates them from their own lands, families, and workplaces, and have been trying to get the route of the wall moved to accommodate these realities. Journo was right when he said the Israeli high court ordered the wall moved. But he did not mention that this decision has still not been implemented and that other measures designed to reappropriate Palestinian land are still under way in full force (settlement expansion, home demolition, crop burning).

He mentioned the financial success of Israel's start-up companies as proof that the Israeli government helps its citizens, that the free market is thriving, and that Israelis are more motivated to succeed. He did not mention that companies in the Palestinian territories are not allowed this opportunity- by Israel. The territories' borders are controlled by Israel and exports to other countries are severely limited. The free market is not alive and well in Palestine, but that is certainly not a result of laziness.

Journo ended his litany of Israel's moral superiority with the story of The Disengagement. In 2005, Israel evacuated all its settlements in Gaza and relocated those citizens. Because there were no longer any Israeli civilians in Gaza, the world believed Israel had truly left Gaza to its own devices- to succeed or fail on its own merits. Journo argued that because the disengagement only led to the firing of more and more qassams, that pulling out had, in and of itself, only encouraged Hamas to be more violent.

I hear this argument against "land for peace" often- the disengagement didn't bring peace so giving up West Bank settlements won't do any good either. This faulty logic ignores two factors:

  1. Gaza was basically made into a bantustan with no autonomy or access to the outside world. Israel controls who gets in and out, and which supplies are allowed in. Gaza is a welfare state.
  2. Gaza and the West Bank are one country, even though they are not contiguous. They are the same people. As long as one is occupied, some people in the other will be militant.

Of the basic moral difference between Israel and Palestine, Journo said, "One side seeks war and destruction and tyranny and one side does not." His argument is that the state with the moral high ground should have power. He cites Israel's free speech and democracy as that high ground, but ignores the double standard- equal rights are not afforded to Israel's Arabs.

As the lecture ended and the Q&A period began, I thought I might amuse myself by asking why he chose to make a moral argument- since these are the hardest to settle. I didn't stay to ask, though. The first question was from an earnest boy in the second row who asked how Israel could have the moral high ground when so many people believe it was established by taking away the homes of the Palestinian residents. Journo responded by assuring the boy that no Palestinians were forced to leave at all. Rabble went up in the back of the room by the keffiyeh crowd and someone yelled, "Never happened!"

Even though I know that there are people who don't believe in the expulsions- nakba deniers who are characters in my eyes on par with holocaust deniers- I am still surprised to hear their fervent denials each time. When the world has instant access to the exact words of the Israeli leaders who ordered these expulsions, how can they continue to deny? At 1:30pm on July 12, 1948, Rabin himself (then a lieutenant colonel) gave the following order, "The inhabitants of Lydda (now a city in Israel called Lod) must be expelled quickly without attention to age." The residents of this city and nearby al-Ramla were forced to walk to Ramallah with nothing but what they could carry.

I didn't stay to hear any more.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Iran is Blatant

Back in July of last year, Israel released a handful of prisoners to Hezbollah in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers. The most prominent of the live prisoners Hezbollah received in the deal was Samir Kuntar, who was convicted in 1979 of murder after a cross border Hezbollah operation killed four Israelis.

The American intelligentsia has known suspected for some time that Iran has been supplying militant group Hezbollah with weapons, funding and soldiers, possibly in an effort to expand its base of support should things come to blows over their nuclear program (source).

That is relevant today because Samir Kuntar got married. (Check out the lucky lady here.) Among the attendees at the wedding were "a delegation appointed by His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah" (the head of Hezbollah) and Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Reza Shibani. Oh, and a bunch of media.

As the Kabober's say, "And of course it's not a true Hezbollah function until the Iranian Ambassador shows up."

Oh, and P.S., in the Arabic news report of the wedding, Kuntar is referred to as, "former Dean of the Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails." No mention of the crime. This is not at all surprising to me because prison time has become a rite of passage for the citizens of Israel's enemy countries. Because of Israel's judicial policies, there is now hardly any distinction between criminals like Kuntar and a 17-year-old boy who is jailed for throwing stones.

Let Mama Kiss It Make It Better

Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, hosted a conference this week where various world dignitaries patted themselves on the back for their generosity. The purpose of the conference was to discuss the rebuilding of Gaza (Israel's Operation Cast Lead caused about $5 billion of damage) and to decide who would be paying for what. While the U.S., France, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Japan were among those present, Hamas was not. Hamas, the democratically elected government of Gaza, was not invited.

But no matter. I'm sure the reconstruction of Gaza will be successful without the cooperation of the quasi-state's government.

The pledges are in, and the most noticeable results are as follows:

  • Saudi Arabia: $1 billion
  • The U.S.: $900 million
  • Lebanon: $1 million (a token gesture of solidarity)

The caveat is that the majority of the donations will go to the PA, an administrative body that has almost no power in Gaza. Some countries have opted to oversee their own pet reconstruction projects in Gaza, thereby circumventing Hamas' infrastructure alltogether. As usual with the region, their world seems bent on ignoring the facts on the ground.

Let's assume that the reconstruction of Gaza can actually be completed without Hamas' coordination- what then? Israel's attack, which caused all the damage, was in response to the continuous barrage of rocket fire from Gaza. These rockets are still flying, almost every day. Almost like the operation never happened. Almost like Hamas was not deterred at all. In fact, Ha'aretz reports that Gaza militants have fired 110 rockets at Israel since the ceasefire began on January 18th.

Israel bides its time. After one rocket hit the semi-large city of Ashquelon, Israel filed a complaint with the UN. After seven qassam rockets hit Southern Israel in one day, Olmert made vague threats. How long can this go on?

Making no judgments about the moral rightness or wrongness of firing the rockets or of Israel's response to it, the facts on the ground are that Israel will not continue to accept this kind of life for its citizens. They will strike again. And again. Until the rockets stop and/or Hamas has been eradicated and replaced with Fatah loyalists. Why bother rebuilding Gaza without first securing a just and lasting peace for both sides?

The reconstruction is irrelevant and unrealistic. Like putting a band-aid on a broken leg. It makes us all feel like we're doing something, though. And when dealing with two groups as hard-headed as Israelis and Palestinians, sometimes a band-aid is a necessary symbol.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Hamas Advertises for PR Guru

How do these guys manage to make themselves look so bad? It's just like that anniversary parade fiasco. Every time I start feeling those predictable stirrings of underdog pity, they do something like this. They need to hire a New York publicist. Just, a full time spin doctor with a blackberry full of names.

Ha'aretz reports:
Amnesty International two weeks ago accused Hamas of carrying out a "deadly campaign" against its Palestinian opponents and critics in the Gaza Strip, particularly those they accuse of "collaborating" with Israel.
The newspaper reports that 17 men have already been executed since Israel's offensive ended. They were convicted of collaborating with Israel.

So. Dumb.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Bibi Makes Headway

The AP announced today that Avigdor Lieberman, the far-right leader of Israel's Yisrael Beitanu party, has joined the Likud coalition, headed by former Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu. This virtually guarantees that Netanyahu will become the next Prime Minister, which is as much a victory for Israel's right as Obama's was for America's left.

Tzipi Livni, leader of the centrist Kadima party and PM hopeful, was also asked to join the coalition, but her response was in the negative:
"Today the foundations were laid for an extremist right-wing government under the leadership of Netanyahu," Livni's office quoted her as telling a meeting of Kadima members. "That is not our way and there is nothing for us in such a government ... We must be an alternative of hope and go into opposition."
The victory of these far right parties means more delays for peace talks, since Netanyahu does not value peace efforts in their current form. He prefers to use force as leverage to get the Palestinians to agree to his terms. This may put him at odds with President Obama, who has vowed to push for peace in the region on more liberal terms.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

The Idiot's Guide to Israeli Elections

Israel's much-awaited national elections happened yesterday, and while I must admit pleasant surprise that Kadima was so successful, when I looked at the breakdown of voting records, I was not at all surprised.

The two major contenders for ruling coalition/Prime Minister status were Kadima and Likud. Kadima is headed by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who has made mouth noises about evacuating some West Bank settlements in a "land for peace" deal with the Palestinians. She is basically considered moderate, but the only visible leader willing to make concessions for peace. Likud is a right wing party headed by former Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, who makes no pretenses at all about his unwillingness to make concessions for peace. He believes in force and "Greater Israel," meaning the West Bank should belong to Israel, not Palestine.

Other major players in this year's elections were the Labor party and Yisrael Beitanu, which is a hardcore right wing party led by Avigdor Lieberman, who openly advocates that Israeli citizens of Palestinian descent should have their citizenship revoked. His party has also discussed forced expulsions.

(On a side note, Lieberman is right to be panicky about Israel's Arabs- studies show that they will outnumber Jewish citizens within the next 10 to 20 years.)

The minor players this year were the various religious parties, the Arab parties, and the peacenik parties. But they played a very important role: the Israeli blogosphere was abuzz this past week with religious voters saying they planned not to vote for religious parties because that would only give Kadima more power. A comparable situation in the U.S. would be a lefty activist suggesting that a vote for the Green Party is the same as a vote for the Republicans.

This Ha'aretz article breaks down voting by city, party, ethnic group, whatever you like. What it revealed was this-

  • Residents of settlements in the West Bank voted mostly for Likud (perhaps because of the analogy I just explained) but also for Yisrael Beitanu.
  • Residents of Southern Israeli towns, who have been bombarded with Gaza's missiles for several years, voted mostly the same as the settlements, but with quite a few votes for Kadima.
  • Residents of major city centers like Haifa and Tel Aviv voted mostly for Kadima and Labor.
  • Jerusalem voted about equally for Likud and the religious parties.
  • Wealthy areas around Tel Aviv voted about equally for Likud and Kadima

In addition to the by-city breakdown, the Ha'aretz data also shows that Kibbutzim voted mostly for Kadima, Labor, and Meretz (which one could call a socialist and/or peacenik party) and that Bedouin communities voted overwhelmingly (and when I say overwhelmingly, I mean 80%) for the Arab parties.

As it stands now, Kadima has 28 seats in parliament to Likud's 27, which makes Tzipi Livni the Prime Minister by default, provided she can set up a ruling coalition. However, preliminary results show that Likud has had more success with that. And let's not forget that Livni was given the chance to put together a coalition last summer, thereby avoiding the election alltogether, but she was unable to do it then.

We shall soon find out.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

God I Love Google Maps

Photobucket

This is Lake Burullus, 100 miles North of Cairo. Just take a minute and look at it.

For several days before I stumbled upon this, I was using google's street view to locate businesses in Toulouse, France. Without actually setting foot on French soil, I spent several days "walking" around the streets of Toulouse, taking a tour of all the nice shops there.

Lola Goes Professional



I made this movie about San Francisco's protests against Israel's Operation Cast Lead for video journalism hub SanFranciscoIAM. You can watch the video directly on the site here.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Gov't Report Reveals Corruption at Highest Levels

With Israeli elections just around the corner, we can safely assume that all major political developments are at least in part one group or another's attempt to win favor with the electorate. Operation Cast Lead was one example of political maneuvering, and quite possibly the most significant one of this election. It has seemed to achieve its goals of creating a sense of national unity, feelings of patriotism, and a strong distrust of outsiders and their criticisms. In short, the country has been put in a war mood.

This is good for Prime Minister candidate Bibi Netanyahu, who has already held the office from 1996 to 1999, as leader of the conservative Likud party. Support for the latest Gaza war and Israelis' tendency to go insular when they are threatened has made his success much more likely.

This could be the reason a secret government report revealing settlement construction to be illegal and corrupted has recently been released, even though it was completed over two years ago. What's more is that the research was done by the Israeli government and at the behest of former Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, another right-wing candidate for Prime Minister in this election.

Ha'aretz writes:
An analysis of the data reveals that, in the vast majority of the settlements - about 75 percent - construction, sometimes on a large scale, has been carried out without the appropriate permits or contrary to the permits that were issued.
Now, let's deconstruct this in order to fully realize the significance. Building without permits is a pretty piddly violation. If building without permits was the only accusation we could make against the Israeli government, I wouldn't have anything to write about. What makes this significant is that Palestinian homes built without permits are demolished, oftentimes without warning, meaning the residents not only lose their home, but many of their possessions as well. Before the appearance of this report, government spokesmen could make all the excuses they want about these demolitions, but now, they can no longer claim Palestinians receive equal treatment in this regard.

Moving on:
The database also shows that, in more than 30 settlements, extensive construction of buildings and infrastructure (roads, schools, synagogues, yeshivas and even police stations) has been carried out on private lands belonging to Palestinian West Bank residents.
The government admits that it knowingly builds on the property of the West Bank's Palestinian residents.

The Ha'aretz article, besides a summary of the report, includes interviews with settler leaders and Housing Ministry officials. Not surprisingly, they all pass the buck higher and higher, until it becomes clear that decisions regarding the illegal building come from the very heights from which the order to compile the report was given. Nevermind why Shaul Mofaz would order a report written that could very well cost him the election, the question is: who released the report to the public, two years after its completion?

The answer, if I may speculate, comes from the left. If Operation Cast Lead hurt Tzipi Livni's chances in the election, this report does the same to her right-wing competitors. If the electorate knows their government is out looking for trouble, support of the Gaza war could wane, thus giving Livni the boost she needs at the polls.