Wednesday August 19, 2009, 2:05 pm
Netanyahu 'Scores Points' In Israel For Standing Up To Obama

AIPAC Sends In The Clowns
By Franklin
Lamb
Suddenly they were all over the place, arriving not as singles but in battalions. Many, like Maryland's 5th District Rep. Steny Hoyer had been to Israel nearly a dozen times; career stalwarts once more showing fealty to Israel's brutal occupation of Palestine while lamely telling their constituents that they were on a legitimate 'fact finding mission.' For many, their real purpose was to signal their President that there must be no change in the US policy of coddling Israel's increasingly Apartheid regime. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23291.htm

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 2:50 pm
Thanks for posting this....you are always in the front of the information that so many need to know. You are a blessing for so many.

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 3:23 pm
ROGER WATERS condemns Israel walls.

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 3:24 pm
What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or in the holy name of liberty and democracy?
Mohandas Gandhi.

Thank you, Carol.

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 3:45 pm
BE THERE ... 9/12/2009 in D.C.


The place to organize for the March on DC
I just wanted to remind everyone that you can connect with other people in your state by joining our ning social networking site. JOIN NOW and find a bus to ride in on, or a caravan of cars coming from your area. Connect with others in your state and work together to spread the word!
The [...]

Full Story»

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 4:42 pm
1733 August 19, 2009 Kari Dyrdahl , MN, US

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 5:48 pm

1780 signatures, and counting...

Thanks C :)

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 6:10 pm
Well that is one more signiture...to quote...

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."
~ Desmund Tutu.

I am not anti-semitic as I support the Arab Cause and they are a Semitic race.
I find it intolerable that our taxpayer's money paid for the arms that murdered the innocent...
and made us all accessories after the fact of these crimes.

There is nothing sadder that the sight of one set of bullies backed by another set of bullies
bombing the hell out of an unarmed be-seiged population
of depriving them of water
of food
of medicines
of fuel
of electricity
of freedom
of dignity
but sadness you cannot eat
nor tears can you inject
and weeping does not provide enough water
when these people need to have the dignity they are owed restored to them.

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 6:14 pm

Well said, David . . . VERY well said!

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 6:19 pm
1796 Thanks Carol already signed

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 7:20 pm

Thanks for posting this.

These are some ideas:

I can not make it over there, but I will be there with you in spirit.

We need videos (short and to the point) and statements (short and to the point) that people can download and print out.

Those should be able to be "copy" and "pasted" onto people's own website and sites such as Care2.com

Also, CLICKABLE banners and links should be available for people to EASILY and without needing knowledge of HTML so that they can put the banner (a few types and a few sized would be best) on their site or page at places like Care2.com, MySpace.com, etc.

Downloadable flyers (both in color and black and white) of a few designs would be good. Those should be available in JPEG and PDF format with a nice and simple "download here" button, it MUST be easy for people to do since most do not know a lot about computers and graphics programs.

Get a page set up at Care2.com, MySpace,Facebook, etc. A simple page can be made quickly and just have it link back to here, plus you should have mirror sites (the same site at a different place) in case this site goes down for whatever reason.

Maybe have a contest of who can come up with a good 1 or 2 minute video (short...since people have no attention span) and the winner gets their video at the top of all those submitted. Those can be hosted at youtube.com, along with some other video hosting places.

Same goes for songs and poetry, etc.

Shirts, hats, etc. can be designed (again, a contest would be good) and sold with all profits benefiting this movement and march. I don't know a lot about the best places to have them made, but for zero investment you can upload a logo or whatever design and then sell shirts and stuff on CafePress and you get a percentage of each sale.

If I can be of any help, just visit ComplicitNoMore.com and email me through there.

Remember, most people have no clue as to the reality of what is going on in Gaza, so we need people to know the FACTS, but not to get bogged down in just numbers, short and to the point talking points is what is needed.

Write and call and email media with the short and to the point facts.

Getting people to host a get together at home (or in a church, theater, art gallery) for a showing of one of the videos pertaining to what Israel is doing, or a showing of the videos people come up with could be good.

Peace
NotSilent

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 7:35 pm

A few videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taX1NbShsW4

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2165626245072381061&ei=-rWMSp77DafmqQLD4bmrBg&q=peace+propaganda+and+the+promised+land

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 7:42 pm

NotSilent . . . THANK YOU for all this valuable input. It is appreciated!

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 7:50 pm

We can get things to change, as long as we all do what we can.

Here's a news item people can get out to others who are not aware of the crimes against humanity: This article is posted as a news item on here, please visit that and note it so that it will reach as many people as possible. Here is the link for that:
http://www.care2.com/news/member/276942576/1193708

It is originally reported on Yahoo News under the title 'Everyone is your enemy,' Israeli soldiers in Gaza told and here is the link for that here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20090715/wl_mcclatchy/3272283

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 8:56 pm
Thanx for the post Carol. Brightest Blessings.

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 8:57 pm
Signed and thanks to all of you for your gracious work

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 9:45 pm

They do have a downloadable posted, where it says "Spread the Word" over on the left of where you sign, but this is the direct url:

http://www.codepinkalert.org//downloads/Gaza2010_poster.pdf

You can also just download the small version of it and make it a clickable link that leads to the site, let me know if you need help doing that.

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 11:54 pm
Both nations are NOT helping the Palestinians because what Israel is doing, is in consensus with these two governments. Egypt is also a pawn of the U.S.A. Please see: http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0412/p07s01-wome.html.
From the page: "Aid is central to Washington's relationship with Cairo. The US has provided Egypt with $1.3 billion a year in military aid since 1979, and an average of $815 million a year in economic assistance. All told, Egypt has received over $50 billion in US largesse since 1975."

Furthermore, Israel.... Israel does exactly what the U.S. wants.. ALWAYS... without the US's yearly Foreign Aid to Israel, Israel could not exist. Please see: http://www.parade.com/news/intelligence-report/archive/who-gets-us-foreign-aid.html.
From the page:
COUNTRY AID PURPOSE
1. Israel $2.4 billion Virtually all of this money is used to buy weapons (up to 75% made in the U.S.). Beginning in 2009, the U.S. plans to give $30 billion over 10 years.
2. Egypt $1.7 billion $1.3 billion to buy weapons; $103 million for education; $74 million for health care; $45 million to promote civic participation and human rights

Now you tell me... who is calling the shots here??? And by the way, Europe is there behind the U.S.A. in the dirty politics (all NATO countries are).

The Palestinians are being used in "The Big Picture" in which the NATO countries NEED the OIL of the entire MIDDLE EAST in order to remain a super power in the coming 50 years.

In addition, have you ever noticed that hardly any footage is shown of woman and children killed in Afganistan and killed in Iraq? Much is shown in Western media about Gaza, and this is while the same dirty war is making the same kind of cassualties. The reason behind this is support of the people living in NATO countries. The public vents their anger towards Israel, instead of critically looking at their own governments.

In Israel, the "bad" guys, also corporate pawns, own houses outside of Israel. WHEN the shit will hit the fan here (in Israel), those guys will not suffer missiles and war, it will be the regular people living here whom will have to pay the price.

Thursday August 20, 2009, 3:14 am
Oh sherbet...listen to the voice of the people, not the voice of the governments and let them be the peace makers... Why do the governmens have to make up their minds when they are always on the opposite side of the page...

Thursday August 20, 2009, 7:01 am
Thanx Carole. Signed. I don't know what it will take to bring Peace to this region, but one thing is for sure........apathy will not!

Thursday August 20, 2009, 7:23 am
Respponse from Israel currently (as shown on bbc1) said that there have been no new settlement contract have been allowed for two months now.but there is still illegal outpost being enhanced(?)....one of the reasons is nobody is buying up some of the earlier homes. that has got to be a good thing as public opinion is more supportive for the palestinain plight as it should be. Iran would be a better friend to israel also if the situation improved for those who are under siege. love n peace

Thursday August 20, 2009, 7:32 am
Thanks carole, I have signed!

Thursday August 20, 2009, 7:39 am
I will wait for the new elections in Gaza in 2010 when Palestinians will elect a party not bombing Israel to show them my support.

As of now, I don't support Hamas warmongers and consired Israel as being in his rights when reacting on those bombings.

Thursday August 20, 2009, 9:30 am
US Turns Blind Eye to Israel's New Separation Policy

By Jonathan Cook in Jerusalem

Israel welcomes American Jewish settlers, bars Palestinian-Americans.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23293.htm

Thursday August 20, 2009, 3:34 pm
Tinkie, I doubt your conclusion that without US Aid Israel wouldn't exist: Israel cancelled a number of defence contracts to China and India, which would bring Israel MUCH more cash than all US Aid for all the years, each contract being 3-15B. The contracts were dropped under US pressure and for non-competitive reasons.

Besides, just renting a space for a military base to US would bring over 1B, standard rate.

BTW, how do you explain 12 Billion in US Aid given to Arab/Islamic countries? Oil cost as much as they want to get for it anyway.

Thursday August 20, 2009, 3:40 pm
Israel is in a difficult situation where it sits in a sea of hatred, it is 0.01% landwise. If Jordan had not taken over 90% of the land set aside for The Jews and Arabs then they would not be forced into a tiny land, much of which was desert until Jews irrigated it.

As for the continual outcry of apartheid, over 60 types of different ethnic origins, including over 1 million Palestinians, live, work, are educated and receive the same health care and justice as everyone else. One of you please name ONE Arab country that does that. Please name ONE Arab country that allows freedom to worship the way that they want. No, well apart from Israel, no-one in the Middle East allows it.

Israel is fighting to protect the people that live within its boundaries regardless of race, creed or colour. HAMAS and Hezbollah, amongst other terrorist groups, wants the destruction of Israel. The number of times I have said that they should be removed so as to protect the Palestinians yet not one of you has condemned them.

I do not agree with everything that Israel does and the people in Israel have that same democratic right. If you feel like that in Gaza you will find yourself dead or shot in the legs. As for barring Palestinian Americans, that is their DEMOCRATIC right. The people in Israel and Jews around the world fought and died in British, American, Australian, Canadian et al for that right. America has no right to dictate to any other country what they should do.

Thursday August 20, 2009, 7:08 pm
Carole, thank you posting the appealing picture: the innocent little girl surrounded by Qussam Rockets, fired at Israel over 8 years (a portion of 8,000 of those). Hamas must stop using girls like this as human shields and become MEN, not cowards!

Down with Hamas, say NO to war!

Thursday August 20, 2009, 9:33 pm
Israel is being manipulated by the US.

Friday August 21, 2009, 1:11 am
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?list=type&type=172


Apartheid in the News

Two States or Apartheid?
John Dugard, The Huffington Post, August 12, 2009

From Sheikh Jarrah to Sheikh Munis
Gideon Levy, Ha'aretz, August 7, 2009

“Palestinian Authority Only”: New Israeli Stamp Limits Travel For Tourists
Toufic Haddad, The Faster Times, August 6, 2009

Palestine - the view from South Africa
Alain Gresh, Le Monde Diplomatique, August 4, 2009

Did Israel play a role in 1979 South Africa nuclear test?
Yossi Melman, Ha'aretz, August 2, 2009

United for freedom and universal justice
Omar Barghouti and Sid Shniad, The Electronic Intifada, July 31, 2009

United Church defends Israel boycott
The Vancouver Sun, July 29, 2009

Five years after ICJ ruling, Israel expands its Illegal Wall onto more Palestinian Land
Ben White, Media Monitors Network, July 28, 2009

Book Review: Israeli Apartheid: A Beginner's Guide
Raymond Deane, The Electronic Intifada, July 27, 2009

Why is South Africa still helping apartheid Israel?
Sayed Dhansay, The Electronic Intifada, July 21, 2009

Why aren't Jews outraged by Israeli occupation?
Antony Lowenstein, Haaretz, June 22, 2009

Palestinian Sovereignty and the BDS Campaign Against Israeli Apartheid (Part II)
J. Kehaulani Kauanui, Indigenous Politics Radio, May 26, 2009

Palestinian Sovereignty and the BDS Campaign Against Israeli Apartheid (Part I)
J. Kehaulani Kauanui, Indigenous Politics Radio, May 12, 2009

Palestinians seek freedom, not apartheid
Mustafa Barghouti, Los Angeles Times, May 18, 2009

AIPAC Executive Director fears Apartheid Framework, BDS
Adam Horowitz, Mondoweiss, May 7, 2009

Stand Up to Israeli Apartheid: An Open Letter to Barack Obama from a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Mairead Maguire, Counterpunch, May 3, 2009

Farid Esack's Open Letter is Inscribed on Apartheid Wall (full text)
Jewish Peace News, April 22, 2009

Palestinian graffiti spreads message of peace
Melissa Gray, CNN, April 20, 2009

The writing on the wall spells "freedom"
Arjan El Fassed, The Electronic Intifada, April 20, 2009

Activists Paint Graffiti Letter on West Bank Wall
Ben Hubbard, Associated Press, April 17, 2009

U.S. Court allow apartheid claims
BBC, April 9, 2009

Race and the Obama Administration
Danny Glover, The Nation, April 8, 2009

In the Diaspora: Suspended agitation
Samuel Freedman, Jerusalem Post, March 19, 2009

After Gaza, Israel Grapples with Isolation
Ethan Bronner, New York Times, March 18, 2009

US to Boycott UN Racism Conference
AlJazeera.net, February 28, 2009

Is Peace Out of Reach?
Bob Simon, CBS 60 Minutes, January 28, 2009

Israeli civil rights group claims occupation is "reminiscent of apartheid"
Ben Lynfield, The Independent, December 7, 2008

Twilight Zone / 'Worse than apartheid'
Gideon Levy, Haaretz, July 12, 2008

UN Envoy hits Israel 'apartheid'
Alan Johnston, BBC News, February 23, 2007

A Freedom Ride
Uri Avnery, Gush Shalom, January 24, 2007

A Response to Uri Avnery: Taken for a Ride by the Israeli Left
Steven Friedman and Virginia Tilley

Apartheid by any other name
Ronald Bruce St. John, Foreign Policy in Focus

Two Walled Cities: Jerusalem and Johannesburg, Apartheid and Palestine
William Fletcher, Transcript from talk given at the Palestine Center (19 December 2006)

Against Israeli Apartheid
Desmond Tutu & Ian Urbina, The Nation

Israelis adopt what South Africa dropped
John Dugard, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Worlds Apart
Chris McGreal, The Guardian

Yes, there is Apartheid in Israel
Shulamit Aloni, Counterpunch

Truth at last, while breaking a U.S. taboo of criticizing Israel
George Bisharat, The Philadelphia Inquirer

How I see Palestine
Jimmy Carter, The Los Angeles Times

How do you spell Apartheid? O-s-l-o
Edward Said, Ha'aretz

Friday August 21, 2009, 4:37 am
signed with prayers, ty Carole, ty Charles for the forward.

Friday August 21, 2009, 7:29 am
Two countries for two people is not an apartheid.

Friday August 21, 2009, 2:39 pm
Everything has to be done to stop ALL HUMAN SUFFERING around our earth.

Friday August 21, 2009, 4:01 pm
Brigitte, you have ignored my request to find a country in the Middle East, other than Israel, that will allow Jews in. There is no condemnation of Jordan for taking the land - why? There is no condemnation of the Arab countries for refusing to assist Palestinian refugees by either donation or allowing them into their country. You ignore the Palestinian suffering due to the terrorists using them as cover.

In fact, it seems to me all that you are interested in is Israel bashing. Does this make you blinkered or possibly anti-Semitic?

Friday August 21, 2009, 4:55 pm
Now Now...Semitic belongs to both Jews and Arabs and I am not against either...but the fact remains that the fifth most powerful military in the world spent 22 days bombing the hell out of a besieged and mostly unarmed people. Personally I call that bullying and I am totally opposed to that tactic...and all I hear is about the rockets that kill folk...so that is the reason to murder hundreds eh? There is substantive break down in logic somewhere here...has anyone stopped to ask why they fire the rockets? Surly that is the place to start. But if you build a wall around folk and refuse them medical aid, water, fuel, power and so forth that is OK is it...No and NO and definitely NO.

Friday August 21, 2009, 5:37 pm

Well, David . . .

When you're right -- YOU'RE RIGHT!

Saturday August 22, 2009, 7:25 pm
Thi$ i$ an Information WAR! VOTE WITH YOUR WALLET$:
Oprah, Dr. Oz Sue Over 50 Businesses Over Alleged False Endorsements

Sunday August 23, 2009, 12:55 am
Having a bad hair day, Gillian?

Oh but I forgot, that was your usual self. Well, instead of accusing me of things I am not, why don't you work on yourself? Before you call human rights activists "anti semitic" when obviously they are not (and will never be), you might want to straighten out the anti-French and anti-Greek feelings you exposed so clearly in previous threads!

As for ignoring your "requests", why would I bother to answer someone whose only responses have been uncalled-for personal attacks and who would go to any length to justify the shameful actions of governments against innocent Afghan or Palestinian civilians)? Not to mention that I very rarely bother to read your comments any more.

Carry on with your nasty attacks all you want... Unlike you, I will never support tyranny or mass murder.

Sunday August 23, 2009, 1:36 am
'Boycott Israel'

An Israeli comes to the painful conclusion that it's the only way to save his country.

By Neve GordonThe Los Angeles Times

August 20, 2009

Israeli
newspapers this summer are filled with angry articles about the push
for an international boycott of Israel. Films have been withdrawn from
Israeli film festivals, Leonard Cohen is under fire around the world
for his decision to perform in Tel Aviv, and Oxfam has severed ties
with a celebrity spokesperson, a British actress who also endorses
cosmetics produced in the occupied territories. Clearly, the campaign
to use the kind of tactics that helped put an end to the practice of
apartheid in South Africa is gaining many followers around the world.

Not
surprisingly, many Israelis -- even peaceniks -- aren't signing on. A
global boycott can't help but contain echoes of anti-Semitism. It also
brings up questions of a double standard (why not boycott China for its
egregious violations of human rights?) and the seemingly contradictory
position of approving a boycott of one's own nation.

It is
indeed not a simple matter for me as an Israeli citizen to call on
foreign governments, regional authorities, international social
movements, faith-based organizations, unions and citizens to suspend
cooperation with Israel. But today, as I watch my two boys playing in
the yard, I am convinced that it is the only way that Israel can be
saved from itself.

I say this because Israel has reached a
historic crossroads, and times of crisis call for dramatic measures. I
say this as a Jew who has chosen to raise his children in Israel, who
has been a member of the Israeli peace camp for almost 30 years and who
is deeply anxious about the country's future.

The most
accurate way to describe Israel today is as an apartheid state. For
more than 42 years, Israel has controlled the land between the Jordan
Valley and the Mediterranean Sea. Within this region about 6 million
Jews and close to 5 million Palestinians reside. Out of this
population, 3.5 million Palestinians and almost half a million Jews
live in the areas Israel occupied in 1967, and yet while these two
groups live in the same area, they are subjected to totally different
legal systems. The Palestinians are stateless and lack many of the most
basic human rights. By sharp contrast, all Jews -- whether they live in
the occupied territories or in Israel -- are citizens of the state of
Israel.

The question that keeps me up at night, both as a parent
and as a citizen, is how to ensure that my two children as well as the
children of my Palestinian neighbors do not grow up in an apartheid
regime.

There are only two moral ways of achieving this goal.

The
first is the one-state solution: offering citizenship to all
Palestinians and thus establishing a bi-national democracy within the
entire area controlled by Israel. Given the demographics, this would
amount to the demise of Israel as a Jewish state; for most Israeli
Jews, it is anathema.

The second means of ending our apartheid
is through the two-state solution, which entails Israel's withdrawal to
the pre-1967 borders (with possible one-for-one land swaps), the
division of Jerusalem, and a recognition of the Palestinian right of
return with the stipulation that only a limited number of the 4.5
million Palestinian refugees would be allowed to return to Israel,
while the rest can return to the new Palestinian state.

Geographically,
the one-state solution appears much more feasible because Jews and
Palestinians are already totally enmeshed; indeed, "on the ground," the
one-state solution (in an apartheid manifestation) is a reality.

Ideologically,
the two-state solution is more realistic because fewer than 1% of Jews
and only a minority of Palestinians support binationalism.

For
now, despite the concrete difficulties, it makes more sense to alter
the geographic realities than the ideological ones. If at some future
date the two peoples decide to share a state, they can do so, but
currently this is not something they want.

So if the two-state solution is the way to stop the apartheid state, then how does one achieve this goal?

I
am convinced that outside pressure is the only answer. Over the last
three decades, Jewish settlers in the occupied territories have
dramatically increased their numbers. The myth of the united Jerusalem
has led to the creation of an apartheid city where Palestinians aren't
citizens and lack basic services. The Israeli peace camp has gradually
dwindled so that today it is almost nonexistent, and Israeli politics
are moving more and more to the extreme right.

It is therefore
clear to me that the only way to counter the apartheid trend in Israel
is through massive international pressure. The words and condemnations
from the Obama administration and the European Union have yielded no
results, not even a settlement freeze, let alone a decision to withdraw
from the occupied territories.

I consequently have decided to
support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement that was
launched by Palestinian activists in July 2005 and has since garnered
widespread support around the globe. The objective is to ensure that
Israel respects its obligations under international law and that
Palestinians are granted the right to self-determination.

In Bilbao, Spain, in 2008, a coalition of organizations from all over the world formulated the 10-point Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign
meant to pressure Israel in a "gradual, sustainable manner that is
sensitive to context and capacity." For example, the effort begins with
sanctions on and divestment from Israeli firms operating in the
occupied territories, followed by actions against those that help
sustain and reinforce the occupation in a visible manner. Along similar
lines, artists who come to Israel in order to draw attention to the
occupation are welcome, while those who just want to perform are not.

Nothing else has worked. Putting massive international pressure on
Israel is the only way to guarantee that the next generation of
Israelis and Palestinians -- my two boys included -- does not grow up
in an apartheid regime.

Neve Gordon is the author of Israel's Occupation and teaches politics at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba, Israel.

Tuesday August 25, 2009, 3:20 pm

We need to step this up folks, there are only 2524 signatures there, please spread it around and get everyone to sign it.

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/424/t/9750/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=2055

Thanks
Peace
NotSilent