zaterdag 16 januari 2010

Canada snijdt in subsidies voor anti-Israel groepen

 
De Nederlandse regering (en andere EU landen) zou een voorbeeld moeten nemen aan Canada, dat de steun voor anti-Israel groeperingen heeft teruggeschroefd. Volgens de regering ontkennen zij het recht van de Joden op een staat, en promoten erkenning van Hamas en Hezbollah, die op de Canadese lijst van terroristische organisaties staan. Ook roepen zij op tot boycots van Israelische producten. Natuurlijk roepen de getroffen organisaties dat de beslissing door politieke overwegingen is ingegeven, maar in feite zijn zij het die politiek bedrijven onder het mom van liefdadigheid, religie of ontwikkelingshulp.
 
Kom op Nederland, neem hier een voorbeeld aan!
 
RP
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Canada cuts funding to anti-Israel groups
Pro-Palestinian, Christian groups among those targeted by Canadian government
Roni Rachmani
Published:  01.14.10, 20:33
 
 
VANCOUVER – The Canadian government has recently decided to cut back or entirely withdraw the funding to organizations that encourage a boycott of Israel or Israeli products, including pro-Palestinian and Christian groups.

One such organization is the Kairos welfare agency, which lost $7 million – half of its annual budget. Kairos is a social apparatus serving 11 Catholic and Protestant groups and churches promoting the "liberation theology" within the Canadian legal and educational establishments.

Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said that the agency's budget was cut back in light of its anti-Semitic positions, adding the group preaches for recognition of such terror organizations as Hamas and Hezbollah while rejecting the Jewish people's right for a state.

Kairos denied Kenney's claims and charged that the Canadian government's decision was motivated by political considerations. It further argued that criticism of Israel should not be regarded as anti-Semitism.

Another organization whose funds were cut back was the Canadian-Arab Federation, which provides aid for immigrants from Muslim countries. The claim against the group was that it promoted hatred and extremism. The Federation claimed in response that by withdrawing funds from its budget, the Canadian government is shunning Arab immigrants.

The Palestine House Educational (PHE), which has enjoyed $750,000 a budget in the last two years, has also been targeted by Canadian authorities.

Meir Weinsten, chairman of the Canadian Jewish Defense League, said that the group's official aim is to provide language lessons, but it in fact supports Hamas and Hezbollah, both included in Canada's list of terror organizations.

Hanna Kawas, chairwoman of the Canada-Palestine Association said in response that the Canadian government's decision would only increase anti-Semitism, anti-Arab racism and Islamophobic activity.

 

Achmadinejad jut Arabische staten op tegen Israel

 
Volgens dit bericht van het officiële Iraanse persburo roept Achmadinejad de Arabische wereld eigenlijk op tot oorlog tegen Israel. Hij voorspelt dat als Israel wat tegenstand krijgt, het zo in elkaar zakt omdat het al erg zwak is. De Omaanse minister van buitenlandse zaken, op bezoek in Iran, voegt daaraan toe dat de Arabische staten naar 'nieuwe manieren' moeten zoeken om zichzelf uit de huidige situatie te bevrijden omdat onderhandelingen niets uithalen. Hij is blijkbaar even vergeten dat Egypte de Sinai terug heeft gekregen door onderhandelingen, en de Palestijnse Autoriteit met zijn miljarden aan Europese subsidie is ook het product van onderhandelingen. Wat ieder land dat oproept tot oorlog zich ook dient te realiseren: je kunt een oorlog winnen of verliezen. Verlies gaat vaak samen met verlies aan land, doden en verwoestingen. Juist de keuze in het verleden van de Arabische staten en de Palestijnen voor oorlog heeft voor hen steeds desastreus uitgepakt, en is de belangrijkste reden dat er nog geen Palestijnse staat is. Hen nu weer oproepen tot oorlog getuigt niet van enige sympathie voor de Palestijnen of de wil in de Arabische wereld vooruit te komen.
 
RP
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Ahmadinejad urges Arabs to pressure Israel
http://www. presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=116058&sectionid=351020101
Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:47:09 GMT
 
The Iranian president says the Arab world can resolve the world's "most important" problem by pressuring Israel into stopping its crimes against Palestinians.

"Palestine is the most important and determining issue in the world," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a Wednesday meeting with Oman's visiting Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah.

"If Arab states pressure Israel into stop committing crimes against the Palestinian people, all problems will be solved. I hope that this is the course of action they will decide to take," said the Iranian president.

"Israel's current actions are not a sign of power. The extreme measures that it is taking indicate its weakness. Israel will reach the end in no time, if it meets some resistance," Ahmadinejad added.

He called on regional countries to stand together in foiling enemy plots. Ahmadinejad said that by standing together, Middle Eastern states could prevent enemies from "taking advantage of divisions between brothers."

Alawi for his part said that Arab countries had reached the conclusion that negotiation between Palestinians and the Israeli regime would yield no result.

"Arab states have reached a dead-end as a result of what Israel has been doing. So, they must start looking for a new way out to free themselves from the current situation," he said.

Israelische ambassadeur treft in Haiti tragedie en chaos aan


Landen van over de hele wereld zenden hulp naar Haiti, maar vanwege de totale chaos daar komt die hulp lang niet altijd ook bij de mensen die het het hardst nodig hebben. Ondertussen zijn er ook al plunderingen door groepjes gewapende mannen. De VS proberen iets van gezag te herstellen, en ook VN troepen bewaken plaatsen waar voedsel wordt uitgedeeld.
Het is onmogelijk straks met de wederopbouw te beginnen in een dergelijke chaos en gezagsvacuum.

Israel staat altijd klaar met hulp bij dergelijke rampen, en heeft in Haiti een veldhospitaal opgezet. Ook helpt men met het zoeken naar overlevenden. Israel heeft veel ervaring met het werken in dergelijke omstandigheden vanwege de vele aanslagen die het te verduren had.

RP
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Last update - 11:02 15/01/2010 
Israeli official arrives in Haiti to 'devastation on every corner' 
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1142722.html


It is doubtful that anything could have prepared Amos Radian for the unsightly scenes of anarchy and devastation that gripped Haiti in the wake of Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude earthquake.

Radian, Israel's ambassador to the Dominican Republic, described the carnage wrought on Haiti's capital Port Au Prince on Tuesday.

The envoy, who arrived in Haiti to prepare for the arrival of an Israeli relief delegation, spoke to Israeli reporters via satellite phone from the airport in Port Au Prince, one of the only remaining operational structures in the disaster-stricken city.

"There is a strange silence in the streets," he said. "Thousands of people are walking around aimlessly. As of yet, there is no one around to provide a solution to this catastrophe."

Radian told reporters of his brief encounter with Haitian President Rene Preval at the airport. "We've met several times in the past," he said, "but this time he looked pale and sad. I expressed to him Israel's deepest condolences for the tragedy that befell Haiti."

Radian also told the Haitian president that relief from Israel was on its way. "Within 72 hours we will erect a field hospital anywhere we're told to do so," he told the president. "We will contribute the best of our ability to alleviate the suffering." Radian remarked that Preval thanked him, but looked exhausted.

The airport where Radian addressed reporters has become the only operational command center in the country. "The airport looks like it is collapsing under the sheer volume of landings and takeoffs of relief planes," Radian said. "The airport is open. I can see at least 20 aircraft in all sizes, ranging from the giant American planes to the Belgian, French and Spanish ones. The Americans are operating the control tower, so the Israeli relief plane should have no problem landing."

Immediately after arriving in Haiti, the ambassador took a five-hour tour of Port Au Prince in a vehicle provided by the American embassy. He described the terrible scenes, saying "it was one of the most difficult sights I have seen in my life. The devastation can be seen on every corner, and thousands of people are just sitting in the streets and in public parks. There is no water, no electricity, no food and no fuel."

"I don't think anyone can gauge the number of casualties in this earthquake," he went on to say. "It would be very difficult to know how many people have been affected, and many will remain trapped under the rubble for many days. I've heard forecasts suggesting that the situation will only get worse in the coming days. There are dozens of bodies piled up at every street corner. It is a difficult sight."

While searching for a place to spend the night, Radian and the Israeli embassy security coordinator arrived at a small hotel, which turned out to be non-functional. "Hundreds of homeless people and injured people sat in front of the hotel and begged to be let in," Radian said. He left the area and continued to the American embassy, which Radian described as an "oasis of sanity" in the hell that is the Haitian capital. "We slept on benches in the American embassy," Radian said. "This is a safe haven and all the foreign diplomats in the city came there, including the Spanish ambassador whose embassy was destroyed, and he was hurt."

"There is unbelievable difficulty because anarchy abounds," he went on to say. "No one knows who is running this country and in the absence of authority, the U.S. has taken command."

"The United Nations force is not functioning, as many of its commanders were killed when the UN headquarters building collapsed. The law enforcement system as collapsed and police officers have not shown up at the stations. The Americans are starting to secure central facilities," Radian explained.

Even though thousands of people are still trapped under the rubble, at this time no rescue efforts have been undertaken in Port Au Prince. "With a pretty heavy heart I tell you that the individual assistance provided to the citizens is very difficult," Radian remarked. "There are no search and rescue teams because the local authorities do not exist."

Alongside the communication lines and other necessary infrastructure, hospitals have also shut down. Argentina and France have already set up a two small temporary hospitals, and the Israeli delegation will set up another one after its arrival. "I haven't seen a single ambulance or a single rescue mission," Radian said. "The situation is grim."

"Those attending to the injured and the dead are their own family members," he concluded.
 
 

Media zijn de facto partij in het Arabisch-Israelisch conflict

 
Wim Kortenoeven van het CIDI heeft een studie geschreven over de rol van de media in het Israelisch-Palestijns conflict. De studie is een stuk algemener van aard dan mijn onderzoek naar de berichtgeving van NRC Handelsblad of het onderzoek van WAAR en IF naar de NOS, en gaat ook over een langere periode. Eigenlijk is het meer een beschrijving van de problemen waar dit conflict journalisten voor stelt en de valkuilen, met een paar voorbeelden van wat er misging en waarom. Een citaat:
 
"De Joodse staat Israel ligt bijna letterlijk in het centrum van de wereld. Het land verbindt drie continenten: Azië, Afrika en Europa, en is heilig voor de drie monotheïstische wereldgodsdiensten. Deze bijzonderheden hebben zonder twijfel bijgedragen aan de grote internationale belangstelling voor het land en voor het conflict waarvan het de spil is. Die belangstelling vertaalt zich onder andere in een forse populatie buitenlandse correspondenten. De in Tel Aviv gevestigde Foreign Press Association heeft 460 leden3 waaronder dertien uit Nederland. In de rest van het Midden-Oosten zijn dertig Nederlandse correspondenten werkzaam. De relatieve oververtegenwoordiging van Nederlandse correspondenten in Israel blijkt ook uit het volgende rekensommetje: er zijn wereldwijd, in 191 landen, 241 Nederlandse correspondenten actief, gemiddeld 1,3 per land. Een deel van de in Israel gestationeerde Nederlanders bericht overigens ook over andere landen in de regio.

Het "Arabisch-Israelisch" conflict biedt alle ingrediënten voor boeiende televisie en meeslepende krantenverhalen: emoties, religie, geschiedenis, oorlog, geheime acties, haat, liefde, opoffering, heldendom, cowboys and indians, good guys and bad guys (afhankelijk van de invalshoek…); drama, drama en nog eens drama. En dankzij de media kunnen wij het allemaal op de eerste rij meebeleven – veilig op afstand maar toch lekker dichtbij. De Israelische cineast Nissim Mossek typeerde het leven van de Israelische actoren in dat drama in 1988 in de titel „Never a dull moment‟. En zo is het. Maar al die in Israel gestationeerde journalisten moeten wel hun brood verdienen en hun redacties tevreden stellen, dus: stukken en reportages maken in een voortdurende concurrentieslag. Bij dat enorme drama-aanbod wordt wel eens vergeten dat er ook een Israel beyond the conflict bestaat, waar mensen van allerlei pluimage samen wonen en werken in wat wellicht de meest multi-culturele, dynamische en fascinerende samenleving ter wereld is. En ook de Palestijnse gebieden en de omliggende Arabische staten hebben veel meer te bieden dan alleen kommer en kwel – maar de markt is daarin niet erg geïnteresseerd. In zijn boek Het zijn net mensen gaat Joris Luyendijk uitgebreid in op de frustraties die dat oplevert voor correspondenten als hijzelf."

Hij gaat op een paar concrete gebeurtenissen dieper in, zoals de gevechten bij Jenin en de Tweede Libanon Oorlog. Een van de problemen volgens hem is dat bijna alle cameramensen in het Midden-Oosten Arabisch zijn. Westerse fotografen zouden zich niet in de conflictgebieden aldaar willen begeven. Hij gaat daarbij in op voorbeelden van fotografen die met de beelden knoeiden, zoals bij de Al Dura affaire en ook tijdens de Tweede Libanon Oorlog, waar extra rookwolken werden geproduceerd en hetzelfde Palestijnse slachtoffer op verschillende plaatsen als steeds nieuw slachtoffer werd gefotografeerd. Er zijn meer voorbeelden van dergelijke "Pallywood" voorstellingen.
 
Door de enorme aandacht voor het conflict en de voortdurende vraag naar beelden is het risico dat beelden worden geënsceneert voortdurend aanwezig. Tijdens de tweede intifada werd een gevecht tussen Palestijnse demonstranten en het Israelische leger volledig verzonnen en in scene gezet. Ook worden beelden geregeld verkeerd geinterpreteerd, bewust dan wel onbewust, zoals bij het beeld van een Israelische politieman met een zwaaiende knuppel in zijn hand en een 'Palestijn' die bloedend op de grond ligt. Het onderschrift luidde: 'Israelische politieman en Palestijn op de Tempelberg'.
Kortenoeven:

"De eerste indruk, vanwege het bijschrift, is dat de met een knuppel zwaaiende „politieman‟ een Palestijnse demonstrant tot bloedens toe heeft mishandeld – en dat nog wel op de Tempelberg, de heiligste plaats van het Jodendom en de op twee na heiligste plaats van de islam – en dat er nog meer geweld aan zit te komen. De situatie werd kennelijk als zodanig geïnterpreteerd ten kantore van Associated Press en zonder controle door de klanten van dat persbureau overgenomen. Maar een redactie is bij plaatsing verantwoordelijk voor de inhoud van materiaal dat door derden is aangeleverd. Hoe de situatie echt was, kwam pas aan het licht nadat dr Aaron Grossman uit Chicago, de vader van het slachtoffer, de volgende brief aan de redactie van de New York Times gestuurd had:

"Regarding your picture on page A5 of the Israeli soldier and the Palestinian on the Temple Mount – that Palestinian is actually my son, Tuvia Grossman, a Jewish student from Chicago. He, and two of his friends, were pulled from their taxicab while traveling in Jerusalem, by a mob of Palestinian Arabs, and were severely beaten and stabbed. That picture could not have been taken on the Temple Mount because there are no gas stations on the Temple Mount and certainly none with Hebrew lettering, like the one clearly seen behind the Israeli soldier attempting to protect my son from the mob."

Even terug naar het artikel van Henri Beunders. Die schrijft: "Als een foto ons raakt, komt het vooral omdat we het getoonde graag willen zien. Zoals de Franse filosoof Bergson ooit schreef: „Het oog ziet alleen wat de geest bereid is te begrijpen‟." Dat mechanisme heeft de fotoredacteuren van Associated Press en van drie belangrijke kranten kennelijk parten gespeeld toen zij de foto beoordeelden „van een benzinepomp plus incident op de Tempelberg‟. "

http://www.cidi.nl/images/stories/mediaenoorlogkortenoeven2009.pdf (blz. 25/26)

RP

 

PA gaat door met verheerlijken geweld


Het lijkt wel, dat vanwege Israels protesten tegen de verheerlijking van geweld door de Palestijnse Autoriteit zij er nog een schepje bovenop doet, met alweer een groot artikel dat verschillende Fatah terroristen eert.
De rest van de wereld zwijgt hierover, druk als men is om nieuwe huizen die Israel bouwt voor Joden in Oost Jeruzalem bij te houden en te veroordelen (de huizen die voor Arabieren worden gebouwd, net als Joodse huizen die worden afgebroken omdat zij illegaal zijn gebouwd, worden uiteraard genegeerd).
 
RP
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"The official PA daily featured a special full-page section last week to mark the 45th anniversary of the founding of the Fatah movement, including praise for both deadly terror attacks and for terrorists. Among others, the newspaper praised the attack led by Dalal Mughrabi, in which 37 Israelis were killed.
 
The following is a translation of the text as it appeared in the official PA daily:

Headline: "On the 45th anniversary of its founding: Fatah is still the leader of the national struggle and the foundation stone of the Palestinian State"

"Quality military operations:
The revolutionary forces (Fatah) who were engaged in Ribat (religious war) in South Lebanon conducted a series of prominent operations, the best-known among them being the Savoy Operation in 1976 [where terrorists took over a hotel and killed eight hostages and two soldiers], followed by the operation by Dalal Mughrabi [the bus hijacking in which 37 Israelis were killed] in 1978, and many more operations against the northern [Israeli] settlements close to the Lebanese border, which caused pain to Israel and sleepless nights for its military and security establishment..."

"Fatah katyushas (missiles) in the south [of Lebanon] pulverized the colonies of the occupation:
"UNIFIL (International Force in Lebanon) ... did not prevent the members of the Fatah movement, and of the other Palestinian organizations, from continuing their self-sacrifice [military] actions against Israel, and in 1981 Fatah's katyushas (missiles) pulverized the northern settlements [in Israel]."

"Fatah still boasts the greatest number of prisoners and Shahids (Martyrs) in the struggle:
"Fatah has the greatest number of prisoners in the jails of the Israeli occupation... In addition, it is the largest faction that has sacrificed Shahids (Martyrs) from among its commanders and members [in the past] and until a few days ago, when special forces of the Israeli occupation army executed three of its members in Nablus [referring to the three terrorists who were killed by Israel two days after they murdered Rabbi Meir Chai in December 2009]."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 6, 2010]
 

De Standaard Online schrapt reactieforums na anti-Israël cyberaanvallen

 
Bij De Standaard was duidelijk sprake van georganiseerde aanvallen, met binnen een paar uur honderden reacties. Veel van dit soort reacties (zie onder) vind je echter ook vaak terug bij Nederlandse fora en reacties onder kranten. Met name bij de Volkskrant komen onder ieder artikel over Israel honderden reacties, waarvan velen fel anti-Israel, en vliegen de nazi-vergelijkingen je om de oren. Onder artikelen op de website van NRC Handelsblad kwam ik echter ook meermaals walgelijke reacties tegen, en ook Trouw is er niet immuun voor. Ik vraag me weleens af in hoeverre dat ook georganiseerd gebeurt, en mensen worden opgeroepen om allemaal op bepaalde artikelen te reageren. De Standaard neemt een en ander zeer ernstig op:
 
In een brief aan een Joods Actueel lezer die tegen deze gang van zaken protesteerde, reageerde ook hoofdredacteur Bart Sturtewagen: "Wij zijn ons van deze treurige problematiek bewust. Onze hoop dat het forum zelfregulerend zou zijn, is helaas ijdel gebleken. Wij plannen op korte termijn een forse bijsturing, met minder, maar beter gecontroleerde fora. Hopelijk doet dat de kwaliteit van de reacties stijgen".
 
Ook hekelt zij het gebruik van pseudoniemen, vooral wanneer die cynisch zijn bedoeld. De Volkskrant, NRC Handesblad en andere internetfora en kranten kunnen een voorbeeld nemen aan De Standaard. Mijn ervaring is dat men na enig aandringen de allerergste reacties weghaalt, maar een en ander zelf wat beter in de gaten houden is duidelijk teveel gevraagd. Bij zowel NRC Handelsblad als Trouw wordt overigens vooraf gemodereerd, maar toch worden nazi-vergelijkingen en persoonlijke beledigingen gewoon doorgelaten.
 
RP
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De Standaard Online schrapt reactieforums na anti-Israël cyberaanvallen
Woensdag 13 Januari 2010 15:00
 
 
De onlineredactie van de krant De Standaard zag zich vorige week verplicht de reactiemogelijkheden op haar website fel in te perken na een goed georchestreerde campagne van anti-Israël activisten. "Op berichten over het Jodendom, de Holocaust en Israël verschenen steevast een heleboel uitspraken die niet meer door de beugel konden", aldus Dominique Deckmyn chef van De Standaard Online. Het ging om valse beschuldigingen tegenover Israël, laster, scheldpartijen en zelfs onverbloemd antisemitische opmerkingen. Ook werd op het forum gebruikgemaakt van fictieve namen zoals Ben Goerion of namen van bestaande Joodse Antwerpenaren. "Wij nemen dit zeer ernstig op", aldus nog Deckmyn.

In een brief aan een Joods Actueel lezer die tegen deze gang van zaken protesteerde, reageerde ook hoofdredacteur Bart Sturtewagen: "Wij zijn ons van deze treurige problematiek bewust. Onze hoop dat het forum zelfregulerend zou zijn, is helaas ijdel gebleken. Wij plannen op korte termijn een forse bijsturing, met minder, maar beter gecontroleerde fora. Hopelijk doet dat de kwaliteit van de reacties stijgen".

Volgens ons eigen onderzoek blijkt het duidelijk om een goed georchestreerde campagne te gaan. Plots zag je dat tussen 2 en 4 uur in de ochtend een heleboel reacties verschenen die dan ook nog in een zeer korte tijdspanne honderden stemmen kregen. Hoe meer stemmen een reactie krijgt, hoe hoger het prijkt op het reactiebord.

De Standaard vermoedt dat een kleine groep mensen, die weten hoe het systeem handig te omzeilen, aan de basis ligt van deze cyberaanval. Dominique Deckmyn: "De eerste stap was het afsluiten van alle reactiemogelijkheden op artikels over Israël, het Jodendom en de Shoah. Maar dat heeft niet lang een effect gehad. We merken nu op dat het probleem zich gewoon verplaatst naar andere artikels over Iran bijvoorbeeld. Ook deze artikels, die helemaal niets te maken hebben met Israël worden gebruikt om de Joodse staat te stigmatiseren en te demoniseren".

De krant gaat nu stelselmatig alle gebruikers die het systeem misbruiken bannen en extra controles inbouwen. Totnogtoe waren de reacties niet gemodereerd, mogelijk zal daar nu verandering in komen en zal elke reactie door een journalist gecontroleerd worden. Dat vergt een hele inspanning waarvoor ook extra personeel moet worden ingezet. Op andere websites, zoals die van de BBC en Het Laatste Nieuws is dit al langer het geval. Maar ook daar glippen antisemitische reacties steeds vaker door de mazen van het net.

Het spijtige aan deze zaak is dat door het afsluiten van de reactiemogelijkheden geen enkele kritische opmerkingen aan het adres van Israël nog gepost kan worden op de website van De Standaard. En dat is natuurlijk ook niet de bedoeling, want zoals elke democratie mag Israël met gefundeerde kritiek geconfronteerd worden.

In mei van verleden jaar zei Jozef De Witte van het Centrum Gelijke Kansen al tegen Joods Actueel dat hij zich "grote zorgen maakte om het stijgend antisemitisme op het internet". Daarom werd er ook een studie besteld over dit recent fenomeen. De conclusies van deze studie zouden binnen enkele maanden worden vrijgegeven.

In maart 2008 al startte het Centrum Gelijke Kansen een campagne tegen cyberhate, De klemtoon van de campagne werd vooral gelegd op de individuele verantwoordelijkheid van elke internetgebruiker om zelf te reageren op hatelijkheden. Dit bleek immers de meest effectieve manier om zulke praktijken in te dammen. Ook in dit geval van gecoördineerde reacties op De Standaard waren het individuele gebruikers die de redactie op de hoogte brachten.

Enkele voorbeelden van de reacties op het Forum van De Standaard  :

(spellingsfouten behouden)

- De Palestijnen worden systematisch uitgemoord en verdreven uit hun dorpen, onderdrukt en gemarteld. En de hele wereld kijkt toe, omdat we een fabeltje verweten werden en we ons 'schuldig' zouden moeten voelen door een onderdrukker, bezetter en beul.
Het 'Übermensch' gevoel van Israëlis moet uitgeroeid worden…

- Zijn er eigenlijk niet veel meer overeenkomsten tussen het Zionistische regime en het Nazistische regime? Beide zijn ronduit racistisch, gieten de ongelijkheid van burgers in wetten, voeren deportaties uit, standrechterlijke executies, ontzien geen kinderen, …

- Ik vind laag om het VB nu af te schilderen als te rechts voor de Joden. Als er nu één volk te rechts is, zijn het wel de Joden. De praktijken die ze van de Duitsers hebben geleerd, passen ze nu vrolijk toe op de Palestijnen, gaskamers uitgezonderd.

- Een Holocaust voor de Palestijnen die niet moet onderdoen voor die van de joden zelf.

- Wat verwacht je van een volk die zich het uitverkoren ras noemt. Superieur boven elke schepsel.

- De Falangisten waren Libanese huurlingen op de loonlijst van Israël. Op bevel van Ariël Sharon hebben de Israëlies Sabra & Shatila omsingeld en hermetisch afgesloten om vervolgens de Falangisten toegang te verlenen tot deze vluchtelingenkampen. Het excuus 'het waren Libanesen ' is een beetje doorzichtig. Is Treblinka etc. waren het ook Oekraïners die het vuile werk opknapten.

- Israël, heeft het meest gesofistikeerd leger ter wereld (betaald door de VS). 'tja, Hitler en de zigeuners, history repeats

- mensen zijn vreemd… het zionistische Israel , of eerder het 'nazionistische' israel moet eens 65 jaar terug kijken in de tijd hoe kunnen zij dit andere mensen aandoen na zelf zo geleden te hebben? ze zijn zelf niet beter als de Duitsers indertijd…

- Voor mij is het duidelijk. al jaren. Israël is na de 2e wereldoorlog één van de grootste, zoniet de grootste, misdadiger tegen de menselijkheid, evenals oorlogsmisdadiger. Zullen we de verantwoordelijken ooit voor een rechtbank zien verschijnen? Nuremberg, deel 2. Ik ben voor.

donderdag 14 januari 2010

Israel stuurt 220 reddingswerkers naar Haiti

 
De omvang van de ramp in Haiti is enorm, met een dodental dat mogelijk in de buurt komt van dat van de grote Tsunami in Azië enkele jaren geleden.

Israël stuurt heel wat meer reddingswerkers dan Nederland. Alle hulp is welkom. Voor donaties kunt U terecht bij Giro 555.
De Nederlandse hulporganisaties zijn ironisch genoeg deels dezelfde die steeds zo tegen Israël tekeer gaan, rechtstreeks en via het door hen opgezette UCP.
 
Wouter
___________________

 
 
The relief package, which was sent on two Boeing-747 jets, includes a Home Front Command field hospital and rescue unit, as well as teams from Magen David Adom and Israel Police 
    
Israel wishes to express its solidarity with the Government and people of Haiti during this great disaster. We send our condolences to the families of the casualties, and wish the injured a speedy recovery.
 
Israel is doing all in its power to help the people of Haiti cope with the disaster in their country. A 220-person delegation, headed by Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, will leave this evening (Thursday, 14 January 2009) for Port-Au-Prince on two Boeing 747 jets leased from El Al by the IDF. The relief package includes a Home Front Command field hospital and rescue unit, as well as teams from Magen David Adom and Israel Police.
 
Israel's ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Amos Radian, is currently in Port-Au-Prince, where he is coordinating Israel's contribution with local authorities and international aid agencies.    
 
 

PA minister verdedigt eren van terroristen


Premier Netanjahoe haalde vorige week fel uit vanwege de voortdurende Palestijnse opruiing en verheerlijking van geweld in de Palestijnse media. Aanleiding was het noemen van een plein in Ramallah naar de vrouwelijke terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, die een leidende rol speelde in een aanslag in 1978 waarbij de inzittenden van een bus werden gegijzeld en 37 Israeli's, allemaal onschuldige burgers en deels kinderen, omkwamen. De Palestijnse Autoriteit reageerde als volgt:  

 
Headline: "The occupation accuses the Palestinian leadership of incitement because of Dalal Mughrabi Square -
Minister of Culture: Honoring the Shahids (Martyrs) is the least we can do, and resistance to the occupation is a legitimate right"

"The occupation government has reiterated its familiar tune of accusing the [Palestinian] National Authority of incitement within Palestinian culture. The Israeli Prime Minister... claims that the Palestinian leadership is encouraging terror in its culture.
Netanyahu claims that the proof, which he presented to the members of his government, is the naming of a square in the region of Ramallah and El-Bireh after the Shahida (Martyr) Dalal Mughrabi. ...
Netanyahu is reported as saying: 'Anyone who supports naming [the square] after Dalal Mughrabi, who was responsible for the murder of dozens of Israelis, is encouraging terror and pushing peace further off...'
Netanyahu was referring to the operation of self-sacrifice led by Mughrabi in 1978, the "Coast Operation" within Israel, which led to the deaths of 36 Israelis. Netanyahu accused the [Palestinian] National Authority of incitement in schools and in cultural activities in general.
Minister of Culture Siham Barghouti said, in response to the Israeli claims, that 'It is our right to preserve and maintain [the memory] of our fighters who sacrificed their lives for our sake and for the sake of the Palestinian cause.'
She added: 'Honoring them in this way [by naming public places after them] is the least we can give them, and this is our right, especially since we believe that resistance, in the shadow of the ongoing occupation, is a legitimate right, and we are proud and we pride ourselves on our heritage of struggle, which has been realized by our Shahids (Martyrs) and fighters throughout history.'
Salim Salama, a member of the El-Bireh City Council, said that the municipality plans to inaugurate the square officially after the renovations... Salama said: 'Let Netanyahu say what he wants; naming this square after Dalal Mughrabi is the commemoration of the symbolic figures of our struggle who have given their lives during the long struggle, and it is our right to commemorate them in our culture.'
He added: 'Naming the square after Mughrabi is a modest act aimed at inscribing the names of those who took part in the Palestinian struggle against the occupation.'"
[Al-Ayyam, Jan. 11, 2010]
Zie ook: website PMW
 
--------------------------------------------------
PMW Bulletin
Jan. 14, 2010
Palestinian Media Watch
Click here to view on PMW's new web site
PA Minister of Culture defends
glorification of terrorists:
"It's the least we can do"


City square named after Dalal Mughrabi,
murderer of 37 Israelis


by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

The Palestinian Authority is defending its practice of honoring terrorists who have killed Israelis by naming public places and events after them.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu protested to the US this week over the continued hate and violence incitement by the Palestinian Authority. Israel's protest was prompted by Palestinian Media Watch's exposure of a birthday celebration and naming of a square in Ramallah, both in honor of terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, who killed 37 Israelis when she and other terrorists hijacked a bus in 1978.

PA Minister of Culture, Siham Barghouti, defended this terrorist glorification:

"It is our right to preserve and maintain [the memory] of our fighters who sacrificed their lives for our sake and for the sake of the Palestinian cause. Honoring them in this way [by naming public places after them] is the least we can give them, and this is our right."
[Al-Ayyam, Jan. 11, 2010]

A member of El-Bireh City Council in Ramallah also defended the decision to name the square after Dalal Mughrabi:

"Naming this square after Dalal Mughrabi is the commemoration of the symbolic figures of our struggle who have given their lives during the long struggle, and it is our right to commemorate them in our culture."
[Dalal Mughrabi was killed during her terrorist attack -- Ed.]

The above comments were made in response to Israeli PM Netanyahu's protest, which was expressed at an Israeli cabinet meeting:

"It is not only missiles and rockets that endanger security and push peace further off. Words can also be dangerous. Whoever sponsors and supports naming a square in Ramallah in honor of a terrorist who murdered dozens of Israelis on the Coastal Road - encourages terror."
[Galei Zahal, (IDF radio), Jan. 10, 2010]

Following is an excerpt from the article in the PA daily Al-Ayyam reporting on the PA officials' responses:

Headline: "The occupation accuses the Palestinian leadership of incitement because of Dalal Mughrabi Square -
Minister of Culture: Honoring the Shahids (Martyrs) is the least we can do, and resistance to the occupation is a legitimate right"

"The occupation government has reiterated its familiar tune of accusing the [Palestinian] National Authority of incitement within Palestinian culture. The Israeli Prime Minister... claims that the Palestinian leadership is encouraging terror in its culture.
Netanyahu claims that the proof, which he presented to the members of his government, is the naming of a square in the region of Ramallah and El-Bireh after the Shahida (Martyr) Dalal Mughrabi. ...
Netanyahu is reported as saying: 'Anyone who supports naming [the square] after Dalal Mughrabi, who was responsible for the murder of dozens of Israelis, is encouraging terror and pushing peace further off...'
Netanyahu was referring to the operation of self-sacrifice led by Mughrabi in 1978, the "Coast Operation" within Israel, which led to the deaths of 36 Israelis. Netanyahu accused the [Palestinian] National Authority of incitement in schools and in cultural activities in general.
Minister of Culture Siham Barghouti said, in response to the Israeli claims, that 'It is our right to preserve and maintain [the memory] of our fighters who sacrificed their lives for our sake and for the sake of the Palestinian cause.'
She added: 'Honoring them in this way [by naming public places after them] is the least we can give them, and this is our right, especially since we believe that resistance, in the shadow of the ongoing occupation, is a legitimate right, and we are proud and we pride ourselves on our heritage of struggle, which has been realized by our Shahids (Martyrs) and fighters throughout history.'
Salim Salama, a member of the El-Bireh City Council, said that the municipality plans to inaugurate the square officially after the renovations... Salama said: 'Let Netanyahu say what he wants; naming this square after Dalal Mughrabi is the commemoration of the symbolic figures of our struggle who have given their lives during the long struggle, and it is our right to commemorate them in our culture.'
He added: 'Naming the square after Mughrabi is a modest act aimed at inscribing the names of those who took part in the Palestinian struggle against the occupation.'"
[Al-Ayyam, Jan. 11, 2010]


================================
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Palestijnen bouwen eerste geplande stad op Westoever


Je zou bijna zeggen: het wordt tijd. Ik weet het, het mag niet overal en ook wat betreft deze stad zijn er nog beren op de weg. Maar dat de Palestijnen weinig bouwen ligt niet alleen aan Israel.
Overigens wordt dit duidelijk geen stad voor arme Palestijnse vluchtelingen, al wordt de maximumhuur van de meeste woningen 500 Euro.
 
Uit Trouw:
 
Rawabi, ongeveer dertig kilometer ten noorden van Jeruzalem, moet er uit gaan zien als een Amerikaanse voorstad. Terwijl hij in zijn kantoor over een schaalmodel gebogen staat, wijst Masri op het eivormige centrum, op de top van een heuvel. Hier zullen woon- en kantoortorens verrijzen, een conferentiecentrum en hotels, winkels, cafés en een bioscoop. Het centrum moet een voetgangerszone worden met een ondergrondse parkeergarage, legt hij uit.

Steden als Ramallah en Nablus zijn de laatste eeuw ongebreideld uitgedijd op de Westoever, waardoor er een inefficiënt wegennetwerk is ontstaan en een matige infrastructuur met onvoldoende parkeerplaatsen. Hierdoor staan er dagelijks grote files in het centrum van de steden. In Rawabi daarentegen zal een aantal wegen in een lus van de heuvel aflopen. Langs de wegen moeten huizen voor de Palestijnse middenklasse verrijzen die met elkaar verbonden zijn door voetpaden. De bewoners krijgen voldoende parkeerplaatsen en toegang tot parken, scholen, moskeeën en een kerk.

Vijfduizend huizen zijn ontworpen voor Palestijnen die maandelijks tussen de vier- en zevenhonderd dollar (tussen de 275 en 480 euro) huur kunnen betalen. Nog eens duizend luxe appartementen zullen voor hogere bedragen van de hand gaan. Het bedrijf van Masri wil over drie maanden van start gaan met het leggen van de fundamenten voor de stad. De eerste bewoners moeten in 2013 verwelkomd worden. Tenminste, als de stad de toegangsweg krijgt.

-------------

 
De eerste stukken grond zijn gereedgemaakt voor wat de eerste geplande Palestijnse stad moet worden. Rawabi wordt gebouwd naar Amerikaans model en zal plaats bieden aan veertigduizend inwoners. Er zijn echter wel complicaties, zo meldt dagblad Trouw.

Het dertig kilometer ten noorden van Jeruzalem gelegen Rawabi (Westelijke Jordaanoever) gaat eruit zien als een Amerikaanse voorstad. In het eivormige centrum op de top van een heuvel komen woon- en kantoortorens, een conferentiecentrum, en hotels, winkels, cafés en een bioscoop. Het wordt een voetgangersgebied met een ondergrondse parkeergarage.

In Rawabi worden vijfduizend woningen gebouwd voor Palestijnen die maximaal een kleine vijfhonderd euro huur kunnen betalen. Daarnaast komen er duizend woningen voor het hoger segment. De wegen zullen in een lus van de heuvel aflopen, met daarop aansluitend voetpaden die de huizen met elkaar verbinden.

De stad vormt een belangrijk onderdeel van de vestiging van een toekomstige onafhankelijke Palestijnse staat. De bouwer wil over drie maanden van start gaan, zodat de eerste bewoners in 2013 verwelkomd kunnen worden.

Het 344 miljoen euro kostende project is echter afhankelijk van de vrijgave van een stuk weg door Israël. Hoewel het Israëlisch beleid is om economische ontwikkeling op de Westoever te promoten, heeft de regering nog niet gereageerd op Palestijnse verzoeken rond deze weg.
 

Ray Hanania over de pro-Hamas media en Gaza activisten

 
De Palestijnse columnist Ray Hanania zegt waar het op staat:
 
THE ISSUE for the Free Gaza protesters is not about bringing freedom to the 1.3 million Palestinians there or lifting Israel's "oppressive military and economic siege." It's about their long-term goals. By "freeing" Gaza, they mean declaring Hamas the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people." But that's not their goal.
 
The purpose of many of the protesters is to strengthen Hamas. They know that Israel is forced to deal first with the threats rather than the compelling cases for peace. And Hamas is a threat not only to Israel but also to the Palestinians, secular Arab countries like Egypt and Jordan, to Christian and Jewish religious independence and, more importantly, to the goal of achieving a peace based on nonviolent compromise.
 
The activists continue to cling to the false and irrelevant claims that Hamas won one election in 2006 and ignore the fact that Hamas was ousted from political leadership in the same way it was installed. It was a corrupt election that was poorly constructed, allowing the divisions of the majority of Palestinians to be merged with Hamas's faith-based reticence. In Western nations with elections, they separate the two processes, allowing individual parties to select their candidates from internal battles before putting them up against candidates from the other parties.
 
Hamas and the activists have allowed the Gaza Strip to fester in economic squalor because it suits their purpose. They can't rally support based on their ideals because they have no realistic ideals. They call for the destruction of Israel and the destruction of a secular two-state Palestine, and also for the destruction of Egypt and pretty much anyone who doesn't agree with their extremist agendas.
 
Rather than help the besieged people of the Gaza Strip achieve freedom and build the first steps of a secular Palestinian state that would lead to the creation of full Palestinian statehood in the West Bank, the protesters have helped to encase the Palestinians there in continued suffering.
 
(zie verder hieronder)
 
Hanania kan niet worden beschuldigd van zionistische sympathieën, wel van het zoeken naar vrede, omdat dit in het belang is van zijn eigen volk. Eerder deed hij een vredesvoorstel gebaseerd op de formule van twee staten voor twee volken.
 
RP
--------------------

Pro-Hamas media bias and Gaza activists block peace
Jan. 12, 2010
Ray Hanania , THE JERUSALEM POST
 
 
When Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas complained recently in Qatar that the media there was pro-Hamas, and that tis bias was threatening the ability to achieve peace, he struck a chord that many Palestinians know is true.
 
It isn't just the mainstream Arab media that is pro-Hamas, branded a "terrorist organization" by many nations, but it's also the groups that support Hamas that slowly dominate the Middle East landscape unchallenged that are threatening peace.
 
A good example of this is the issue of the Gaza Strip, where Palestinians complain they are under an oppressive military and economic Israeli siege and where Israelis counter that radical elements there continue to target their civilians with Katyushas and Kassam missiles.
 
Gaza is a very complicated issue, but not that hard to really understand.
 
The area has been controlled by Hamas and radical Muslims since the 1970s. Although Hamas's parent organization, the Islamic Association, did provide health and social care to its citizens, that care was only given to those who embraced its hard-line religious ideology.
 
Hamas opposes genuine peace with Israel, and used the most pernicious form of violence - suicide bombings - throughout the 1990s to destroy the peace process and prevent compromise. Its mission is not to achieve peace based on compromise, but to pursue the impossible dream - more a nightmare for everyday Palestinians - of destroying Israel and returning Palestine to what it was in 1917, before it came under British colonialism.
 
THAT HAMAS desire is not only shared by the religious extremists who continue to grow, but by those who are secular fanatics yet also oppose peace based on compromise. Most of those activists are based in Western countries, where it is easy to chant for the destruction of not only Israel but of Abbas's secular Palestinian government which does support compromise based on two-states.
 
These are strange bedfellows in the Palestinian extremist camps, religious fanatics shoulder-to-shoulder with secular extremists like the Popular Front and the rejectionists led by the activists and fawned on by the Arab media that mistakenly believe "freedom" means embracing the most extremist activists.
 
The Arab media, which glorify religious extremism and even violent attacks, don't realize, of course, that under a Hamas-run government, it wouldn't just be Jews, Christians and secular Muslims who would be oppressed. The media in a Hamastan would be among the primary targets, stripped of the "freedoms" they enjoy today - of criticizing Abbas, two states and peace based on compromise.
 
THE ISSUE for the Free Gaza protesters is not about bringing freedom to the 1.3 million Palestinians there or lifting Israel's "oppressive military and economic siege." It's about their long-term goals. By "freeing" Gaza, they mean declaring Hamas the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people." But that's not their goal.
 
The purpose of many of the protesters is to strengthen Hamas. They know that Israel is forced to deal first with the threats rather than the compelling cases for peace. And Hamas is a threat not only to Israel but also to the Palestinians, secular Arab countries like Egypt and Jordan, to Christian and Jewish religious independence and, more importantly, to the goal of achieving a peace based on nonviolent compromise.
 
The activists continue to cling to the false and irrelevant claims that Hamas won one election in 2006 and ignore the fact that Hamas was ousted from political leadership in the same way it was installed. It was a corrupt election that was poorly constructed, allowing the divisions of the majority of Palestinians to be merged with Hamas's faith-based reticence. In Western nations with elections, they separate the two processes, allowing individual parties to select their candidates from internal battles before putting them up against candidates from the other parties.
 
Hamas and the activists have allowed the Gaza Strip to fester in economic squalor because it suits their purpose. They can't rally support based on their ideals because they have no realistic ideals. They call for the destruction of Israel and the destruction of a secular two-state Palestine, and also for the destruction of Egypt and pretty much anyone who doesn't agree with their extremist agendas.
 
Rather than help the besieged people of the Gaza Strip achieve freedom and build the first steps of a secular Palestinian state that would lead to the creation of full Palestinian statehood in the West Bank, the protesters have helped to encase the Palestinians there in continued suffering.
 
THE PROTESTERS seeking to enter Gaza have closed their eyes to the oppression and brutality that is the true Hamas. They have limited their criticism to Egypt.
 
More importantly, this bizarre alliance between the religious fanatics and the secular extremists which today is focused on the Gaza Strip is silent on the campaign of terror that Hamas continues to wage against secular Palestinians.
 
Hamas has made it easy for some to oppose Palestinian statehood, and is the main obstacle standing in the way of peace.
 
The Arab media are going through an internal struggle no different than the one now dominating Arab and Palestinian politics. It's one between extremists who see the media as an instrument of activism and those of us who believe the media must remain objective witnesses to the truth.
 
Truth means that not all of today's tragic events can be blamed on Israel, Egypt, Abbas or on the failure, so far, to achieve peace.
 
 
The writer is a Palestinian American columnist, satirist and founder of Yalla Peace.
==========
 
 

Internationale pro-Gaza activisten achter karretje gespannen door Hamas


Hamas stelde allerlei voorwaarden en legde allerlei restricties op aan de activisten van de Gaza Freedom March, aldus Amira Hass in Haaretz. Ook werden ze steeds in de gaten gehouden en mochten ze niet zomaar bij vrienden op bezoek gaan of zelf rondkijken, en weerhielden Hamas veiligheidsmensen ze ervan met gewone Gazanen te praten. Een paar fragmenten uit Hass' artikel:
 
At midnight, about 12 hours after leaving Cairo, we arrived at a hotel in Gaza. There the first surprise awaited us: A Hamas security official in civilian dress swooped down on a friend who had come to pick me up for a visit, announcing that guests could not stay in private homes.

The story gradually became clear. The international organizers of the march coordinated it with civil society, various non-governmental organizations, which were also supposed to involve the Popular Committee to Break the Siege, a semi-official organization affiliated with Hamas. Many European activists have long-standing connections with left-wing organizations in the Gaza Strip. Those organizations, especially the relatively large Popular Front, had organized lodging for several hundred guests in private homes. When the Hamas government heard this, it prohibited the move. "For security reasons." What else?

Also "for security reasons," apparently, on Thursday morning, the activists discovered a cordon of stern-faced, tough Hamas security men blocking them from leaving the hotel (which is owned by Hamas). The security officials accompanied the activists as they visited homes and organizations.

During the march itself, when Gazans watching from the sidelines tried to speak with the visitors, the stern-faced security men blocked them. "They didn't want us to speak to ordinary people," one woman concluded.
(...)
The march was not what the organizers had dreamed of during the nine months of preparation. The day before the trip to Gaza, they already knew that the non-governmental organizations had backed out. Some people said that Hamas government representatives had found the NGOs did not have a clear, organized plan for the guests and therefore had taken the initiative. One Palestinian activist insisted: "When we heard there would only be 100, we canceled everything."

Another said, "From the outset, Hamas set conditions: No more than 5,000 marchers, no approaching the wall and the fence, how to make speeches, how long the speeches should be, who will make speeches. In short, Hamas hijacked the initiative from us and we gave in."

Hamas, or its Popular Committee, brought 200 or 300 marchers. The march turned into nothing more than a ritual, an opportunity for Hamas cabinet ministers to get decent media coverage in the company of Western demonstrators. Especially photogenic were four Americans from the anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox Jewish group Neturei Karta, who joined the trip only at Al Arish. There were no Palestinian women among the marchers - a slap to the many feminist organizers and participants, both women and men.

After the march, the guests voiced protests to some of the official Palestinian organizers. "We came to demonstrate against the siege, and we found that we ourselves were under siege," they said. Their variegation and the transparency of their behavior did not suit the military discipline the official hosts tried to impose. The officials listened, and after the reins were loosened a bit, I set out to visit the homes of friends.
(...)
In meetings without the security men, several activists got the impression that non-Hamas residents live in fear, and are afraid to speak or identify themselves by name. "Now I understand that the call for 'Freedom for Gaza' has another meaning," one young man told me.

----------------
 
Last update - 12:56 08/01/2010
Pro-Gaza activists under siege - imposed by Egypt and Hamas
By Amira Hass
 
The departure from Ramses Street in Cairo, in about 20 buses, was set for the morning of Monday, December 28. However, the organizers of the Gaza Freedom March knew the buses would not arrive. Just as on Sunday night, the buses hired by a group of French activists never made it to their starting point - Cairo's Charles de Gaulle Street, near the French Embassy and across from the zoo.

In the week before the planned march, the Foreign Ministry in Cairo made it clear that the protesters would not be permitted to enter Gaza. Boats even mysteriously disappeared from the Nile on Sunday evening. The Egyptian authorities knew that scores of activists were planning to sail and light candles to mark the first anniversary of Israel's attack on Gaza and the 1,400 people who were killed.

A total of 1,361 people came to Cairo from 43 countries to participate in the Gaza Freedom March, 700 of them from the United States alone, many more than initially expected. It started out as a small initiative. Then the American feminist and peace group Codepink signed on, and it gradually spread to other countries.

Bringing Gaza to Cairo

"If we can't go to Gaza, we'll bring Gaza to Cairo," said one American peace activist. And indeed, for an entire week, more than a thousand foreign citizens, the vast majority of them from Western countries, scurried around the Egyptian capital looking for ways and places to demonstrate against the blockade of Gaza.

"The demonstrations in Cairo are conclusive proof that Israel pressured Egypt not to allow entry into Gaza," said one Egyptian citizen (who like other Egyptians, did not dare participate in the demonstrations, for fear of punishment). "What does Egypt need this headache for? It would have been easier and simpler to have sent them all to Gaza and forget about them."

When the buses didn't show, the French activists set up tents and sleeping bags outside the embassy. At 2 A.M., they discovered that le camping had been surrounded by a fence and a tight cordon of riot-dispersal police. Tents, a police barrier, movement restrictions, and an area under siege: Without having planned it, they were replicating the Gazan situation in particular and the Palestinian situation in general. Withstanding the siege conditions became an aim and a challenge.

During the next two or three days, the cordon intensified, from one row of police to three. Every few hours, the activists discussed how to proceed; this was direct democracy in action. Without secrets, without orders from on high, without hierarchies.

A similar process unfolded at various spots around Cairo. Some activists discovered police were surrounding their hotels, blocking them from exiting. Several demonstrated in front of their respective embassies - and were immediately surrounded by riot police. The most violent were those posted to the American Embassy.

Who's to blame?

One large group set up under the United Nations Development Program's offices. "In our presence here, we are saying that we are not casting the blame on Egypt. The responsibility for the shameless and obscene Israeli siege on Gaza rests squarely with our own countries," explained one of the organizers.

This sounded like an answer to an accusation voiced mostly by supporters of Fatah and the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah: With Hamas encouragement, international especially Arab popular pressure is being directed at the wrong address - Egypt, rather than Israel. Some of the organizers said they were indeed under the impression that Hamas was not at all interested in demonstrating at the Erez crossing into Israel, which is almost sealed, but rather at the Rafah crossing into Egypt.

The dream was to have tens of thousands march to the Beit Hanun/Erez crossing point on the first anniversary of the Israel Defense Forces offensive, in order to demand that Israel and the world lift the siege. The would-be participants are a very varied bunch: Some have been left-wing activists for decades, while others joined only during the Gaza campaign itself. Students and pensioners, university lecturers, paupers, young and old.

The older activists included Hedy Epstein, 85, a German-born American citizen whose life was saved when her Jewish parents sent her to England when she was 14. They later perished in Auschwitz. She sat on a chair under the building housing the UNDP offices, with those on hunger strike, in protest of their being banned from entering Gaza. Hippies in their 50s and 60s cavorted nearby, Italians sang "Bella Ciao," and South African activists unfurled a banner calling for sanctions on Israel and quoting Nelson Mandela: "Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians."

Jewish mother

"I feel that I'm doing something for Israel, for the sake of its future," said one bearded young man from Boston, who has been volunteering in a Palestinian village in the West Bank. His mother, who is Jewish, accompanied him on one of his flights into Israel to have a look at his new life. When they landed, they learned his name was on a Border Control list at the airport, and mother and son were detained for eight hours of questioning.

"She came out of there a radical," laughed the young man, who a year and a half ago discovered the alternative discourse about his "second homeland."

A Venezuelan documentary director said, "Eighty percent of the participants I have interviewed at random are Jewish." Eighty percent is probably an exaggeration, though a large percentage of those present were Jews. The colorful crowd also included Palestinians who are citizens of Western countries, some of them Gazans hoping to see relatives for the first time in years. There were also religious Christians and Muslims. Some of the slogans they proclaimed were overly ambitious, such as "We have come to liberate Gaza."

But by and large, this variegated whole sounded a message of militant pacifism and feminism, liberation theories and a lot of faith in the cumulative, positive effect of popular, non-hierarchical action and its ability to bring about change.

It's a pity, I thought to myself: The Egyptians are preventing us from seeing what happens when this direct, transparent democracy meets the Hamas regime.

On Monday evening, the demonstrators learned that, at the request of the president's wife, Suzanne Mubarak, 100 people would be allowed to enter the Gaza Strip. Many saw this as a way of breaking the demonstrators' solidarity and lessening the pressure on Egypt. In the end, on December 30, about 80 people set out on buses, including several journalists who were not affected by the dilemma.

At midnight, about 12 hours after leaving Cairo, we arrived at a hotel in Gaza. There the first surprise awaited us: A Hamas security official in civilian dress swooped down on a friend who had come to pick me up for a visit, announcing that guests could not stay in private homes.

The story gradually became clear. The international organizers of the march coordinated it with civil society, various non-governmental organizations, which were also supposed to involve the Popular Committee to Break the Siege, a semi-official organization affiliated with Hamas. Many European activists have long-standing connections with left-wing organizations in the Gaza Strip. Those organizations, especially the relatively large Popular Front, had organized lodging for several hundred guests in private homes. When the Hamas government heard this, it prohibited the move. "For security reasons." What else?

Also "for security reasons," apparently, on Thursday morning, the activists discovered a cordon of stern-faced, tough Hamas security men blocking them from leaving the hotel (which is owned by Hamas). The security officials accompanied the activists as they visited homes and organizations.

During the march itself, when Gazans watching from the sidelines tried to speak with the visitors, the stern-faced security men blocked them. "They didn't want us to speak to ordinary people," one woman concluded.

Hijacked or poorly organized?

The march was not what the organizers had dreamed of during the nine months of preparation. The day before the trip to Gaza, they already knew that the non-governmental organizations had backed out. Some people said that Hamas government representatives had found the NGOs did not have a clear, organized plan for the guests and therefore had taken the initiative. One Palestinian activist insisted: "When we heard there would only be 100, we canceled everything."

Another said, "From the outset, Hamas set conditions: No more than 5,000 marchers, no approaching the wall and the fence, how to make speeches, how long the speeches should be, who will make speeches. In short, Hamas hijacked the initiative from us and we gave in."

Hamas, or its Popular Committee, brought 200 or 300 marchers. The march turned into nothing more than a ritual, an opportunity for Hamas cabinet ministers to get decent media coverage in the company of Western demonstrators. Especially photogenic were four Americans from the anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox Jewish group Neturei Karta, who joined the trip only at Al Arish. There were no Palestinian women among the marchers - a slap to the many feminist organizers and participants, both women and men.

After the march, the guests voiced protests to some of the official Palestinian organizers. "We came to demonstrate against the siege, and we found that we ourselves were under siege," they said. Their variegation and the transparency of their behavior did not suit the military discipline the official hosts tried to impose. The officials listened, and after the reins were loosened a bit, I set out to visit the homes of friends.

There people described the lingering fear from the Israeli onslaught. Saturday afternoon, at 11:30 A.M. - the time of the first aerial bombardments - remains today a sensitive hour for many children. Just as thunderstorms, or electricity failures (an everyday occurrence) or a persistent drone flying above cause anxiety and evoke nightmarish memories.

Some of the marchers were now allowed to go out on their own, with Gazan acquaintances they had previously known only via telephone and e-mail. Some, especially the Arabic-speakers, complained that "a shadow in the shape of a security man" continued to accompany them. In quick "safari" tours of bombed neighborhoods, through bus windows, they saw ruins that had not yet been cleared, like the complex of bombed-out government buildings that are still standing - ugly concrete skeletons with empty rooms and no walls, like screaming mouths.

In meetings without the security men, several activists got the impression that non-Hamas residents live in fear, and are afraid to speak or identify themselves by name. "Now I understand that the call for 'Freedom for Gaza' has another meaning," one young man told me.

The participants spent Thursday and Friday in the Gaza Strip. Friday, January 1, was the 45th anniversary of the establishment of Fatah. The Hamas government does not allow the rival organization to assemble, just as the PA does not allow Hamas to assemble in the West Bank. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh congratulated Fatah on its anniversary, but at the same time the Hamas security services did all they could to deter the movement's activists from even thinking about a celebration.

Hundreds of Fatah activists were summoned by the police and kept in semi-detention for several hours, until evening. Security officials entered homes where candles were burning or Fatah flags were being flown to mark the anniversary. In one home, the security officials tried to arrest two people, and the mother tried to block them. One policeman allegedly hit her - and she had a heart attack and died.

I wondered: Were the restrictions an order from above, or an unwise interpretation by lower ranks? Does Hamas think it can entirely prevent the few visitors - clearly pro-Palestinian - from hearing non-official versions? Don't the people giving the orders realize what a bad image they were creating? Or was there really a security concern?

Someone who, to put it mildly, is not a Hamas fan explained to me that young men who quit Iz al-Din al-Qassam for the amorphous Jaljalat militia are a genuine headache. They are a convenient excuse for restricting contact with "just anyone," but the fear that they might try to harm the visitors in order to damage Hamas is real.

These are devout young men who, officially, criticize Hamas for not enforcing Islamic religious law in its entirely. However, as the critic said, "Unwittingly, because of their lost lives, our lost lives, they are angry at the whole world."

Postscript: After two days all the visitors, journalists included, had to leave Gaza. According to Hamas, this was an explicit Egyptian demand. Egyptian officers confirmed this.
 

Gewapende Palestijnse groepen voeren machtstrijd in Libanon


More than 420,000 Palestinian refugees are registered in Lebanon with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Most are descendents of those who either fled or were forced out of their homes during the war of 1948. They are deprived of basic economic and political rights and many live in inadequate conditions. They are allowed to bear weapons within the camps, which are off limits to the Lebanese authorities.
 
Wij stellen ons bij de vluchtelingenkampen vaak een eindeloze rij tenten voor, bevolkt door wanhopig kijkende vrouwen en kinderen. Die laatsten maken zeker een groot deel uit van de Palestijnse kampen, maar zij wonen in feite in eenvoudige huizen in grote woonwijken. Deze worden tevens bevolkt door duizenden gewapende mannen van verschillende milities die vaak in een bloedige machtsstrijd met elkaar zijn verwikkeld.
 
De PLO had bijvoorbeeld haar basis in de jaren '70 voor een groot deel in deze kampen, totdat zij in 1982 door Israel uit Libanon werd verdreven, en een paar jaar geleden vocht het Libanese leger tegen een radikaal islamitische terreurorganisatie die zich in een Palestijns vluchtelingenkamp schuilhield, waarbij een groot deel van het kamp werd verwoest.
 
Voor achtergronden zie ook ons artikel over de Palestijnse vluchtelingen.
 
RP
--------------

The Jerusalem Post
Jan 13, 2010 17:30 | Updated Jan 13, 2010 18:17
Palestinian fighting spreads in Lebanon
By RACHELLE KLIGER / THE MEDIA LINE
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1263147883844&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


A row between the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and a clan affiliated with Fatah has turned violent as both sides claim control over a mosque in a Beirut suburb.

The Furqan Mosque, located in the southern suburb of the Lebanese capital, has become a new battleground for the intra-Palestinian struggle.

Two people were lightly wounded in a brawl between the parties on Tuesday, according to Lebanese news reports.

Tensions between the two sides began around two weeks ago when the Islamic Jihad decided to take control of the mosque, which was renovated with charity money the organization collected.

The Al-Ashwah family, which is affiliated with the Fatah movement, was consequently barred from running the mosque even though they have controlled it since the building was constructed on their land.

The brawl is highlighting broader inter-factional differences between the various Palestinian political divisions.

"Within the camps you always have competition between the factions," Sahar Atrache, an analyst for the International Crisis Group in Beirut told The Media Line. "Mainly [it's] between what's called the PLO and the Tahaluf, which is an alliance of factions that includes the Islamic Jihad, Hamas and several other factions which are, for the most part, pro-Syrian."

"Most of the camps have conflicts between the two sides," she continued. "In some cases there's a conflict between Hamas and Fatah and in other cases it's broader. Each side or faction is trying to control the camp or part of the camp."

The conflict in Burj Al-Barajneh was taken up a notch when members of the Al-Ashwah family set fire to Islamic Jihad offices in the camp.

On Tuesday morning masked and armed men belonging to Islamic Jihad proceeded to surround the mosque and open fire in order to seize it by force.

Worshipers inside the mosque fled with the mosque's imam to a smaller mosque inside the camp.

Atrache said political and family affiliations were often interlocked in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and it was hard to separate the two factors.

"You can't talk about the individual or family dispute without including the political side," she said. "The politics will affect any individual conflict because in one way or another, the family or individual belongs to a group or a faction, so this generates a broader conflict and it will be inter-factional."

According to local media there are suggestions fighting was sparked by rumors of a weapons cache hidden beneath the Furqan mosque but many locals are skeptical weapons would be hidden near such a main throughway rather than inside the camp itself.

The mosque is located at the entrance to the Burj Al-Barajneh refugee camp, located on a main road connecting Beirut's international airport to Beirut's southern suburb.

Hassan Nassar, a resident of the camp, told A-Sharq Al-Awsat that the security situation in the camp was not as bad as reports were making it out to be.

"Compared to other camps, Burj Al-Barajneh is considered a quiet and secure camp," he said. "Any problems that arise among the residents can be resolved quickly so they don't get worse and most of the incidents are isolated. There are no extremist radical movements in the camp, as there are in other camps like Ein Al-Hilweh."

Burj Al-Barajna is one of 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and accommodates approximately 16,000 refugees.

More than 420,000 Palestinian refugees are registered in Lebanon with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Most are descendents of those who either fled or were forced out of their homes during the war of 1948. They are deprived of basic economic and political rights and many live in inadequate conditions. They are allowed to bear weapons within the camps, which are off limits to the Lebanese authorities.

Rivalries and violent conflicts among the political factions in Lebanese refugee camps are not new, and often reflect tension between factions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, especially between Fatah and Hamas.

Diplomatieke rel tussen Turkije en Israel na vernedering Tukse ambassadeur


Hopelijk nemen Lieberman en Ayalon deze kritiek ter harte. En Netanjahoe zou wellicht nog eens kunnen nadenken over zijn keuze voor Lieberman als minister van buitenlandse zaken....
Diplomatie is wat anders dan zeggen waar het op staat. Het is weten wanneer je wat kunt zeggen en toch je boodschap goed overbrengen, zonder een bevriende natie te kwetsen. Dat Turkije zich naar Israel toe ook niet altijd even diplomatiek opstelt is helemaal waar, maar een diplomaat weet hoe daarmee om te gaan en laat de belangen van zijn land altijd boven de emoties van de korte termijn prevaleren.
 
Ondertussen is alle aandacht van de aanleiding van de rel verschoven naar Israels vernedering van de Turkse ambassadeur. Op Israned kun je een aflevering van de gewraakte televisieserie bekijken, waarin de Mossad als wrede ontvoerders en moordenaarsbende wordt neergezet.  
 
RP
---------------

The Jerusalem Post
Jan 13, 2010 20:35 | Updated Jan 13, 2010 20:39
Offending the Turks
By SONER CAGAPTAY
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1263147884688&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


The diplomatic spat between Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon and the Turkish ambassador Oguz Celikkol on Monday was the worst thing that could have happened to the already strained Ankara-Jerusalem ties.

Relations between Turkey and Israel have weakened dramatically after the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in Ankara in 2002. In the aftermath of the Ayalon-Celikkol incident, bilateral ties between states face their biggest crisis since they established diplomatic relations in 1949.

To save its ties with Turkey, Israel needs to implement a strategy that tackles the AKP's anti-Israeli policies and rhetoric without simultaneously offending the Turks. As difficult as this balance sounds, it is Israel's only choice. Given the AKP's mostly negative attitude toward Israel, if the proud Turkish public is offended by Israeli actions, it would certainly sound the death knell of Turkish-Israeli ties.

The incident occurred when Ayalon summoned the ambassador to reprimand him over a Turkish TV show that depicts Israeli intelligence agents as baby snatchers. After keeping Celikkol waiting in the hallway, and instructing the camera crews to film this awkward moment, Ayalon seated the ambassador on a lower seat than his own, asking the cameras to film this symbolic humiliation as well.

As soon as footage of the incident made it to the Internet and TV screens, a diplomatic row ensued. The Turkish government demanded an apology for the encounter that The Jerusalem Post has called "undiplomatic treatment." Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman came forward defending Ayalon, and in retaliation, the Turkish government might call Celikkol back to Ankara.

Despite the AKP's recently adopted harsh anti-Israeli rhetoric, Jerusalem has shied away from responding in kind until Monday's incident. Even when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yelled, "Peres and his people know well how to kill people," directly at the Israeli President during the World Economic Forum in Switzerland in early 2009, the Israelis acquiesced, and Peres called Erdogan to make up.

Now, Israel has finally responded in kind - except that its response might be just the wrong kind.

Just as Israeli governments do not bash Turkey or run TV shows depicting the Turks as evil, Turkish politicians should not be bashing Israel, nor should Turkish TV be broadcasting shows portraying the Israelis as evil - a fall 2009 series that aired on Turkey's publicly-funded TV network cast Israeli soldiers as bloodthirsty killers hunting newborn Palestinian babies.

Yet as Israel now takes issue with anti-Israeli propaganda in Turkey, the trick is to do so without offending the Turks. In other words, should Jerusalem choose to tackle anti-Israeli propaganda, it must do so without throwing the baby out with the bath water by humiliating the Turks as a nation or their institutions.

The Israeli government has to distinguish between its response to the AKP's policies and its public statements towards the Turks. If not, an offended Turkish public is in the offing, and this will not bode well for the future of Turkish-Israeli ties. Sadly, this seems to have been the outcome of Ayalon's unbecoming treatment of Celikkol, a respected figure who hails from the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an institution that has stood for and built strong ties with Israel. After the Ayalon-Celikkol incident, it will be difficult to find one Turkish diplomat in favor of their ministry's traditional policy toward Israel.

For a long time, Israel restrained its reaction to the AKP's anti-Israeli rhetoric, and now that it has chosen to respond, it is doing so in the wrong way. A January 11 statement that the Israeli Foreign Ministry issued to protest the aforementioned Turkish TV series exemplifies this point. Instead of addressing the government-related nature of anti-Israeli propaganda in Turkey, the Israeli statement launched a salvo against Turks as a nation, asserting, "The Turks have absolutely no right to preach morality" to Israel. After this statement and the Ayalon-Celikkol incident, not even the staunchest Turkish supporter of good ties with Israel will have the chutzpah to defend Turkey's relations with Israel.

There is a good reason for Israelis to care about the future of Turkish-Israeli ties. If countries could be likened to ships in the stormy waters of Middle East politics, Turkey would be a large, powerful vessel patrolling these waters. Israel should respect this Turkish ship and strive to keep the passengers on board on its side, even if the ship's captain may not be fond of the Jewish state. For this powerful ship sails and can drop anchor ever so close to Israel.

Soner Cagaptay is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and author of Islam Secularism Nationalism in Modern Turkey: Who is a Turk? (2006).

Netanjahoe wil Jeruzalem niet met Palestijnen delen

 
Het is de vraag of Netanjahoe de mogelijkheid uitsluit dat bepaalde Arabische wijken, waar Joden nooit enige connectie mee hebben gehad, onder Palestijns bestuur kunnen komen. Het gaat hem waarschijnlijk vooral om de oude stad, enkele wijken die eromheen liggen die nu Arabisch worden genoemd (Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah) maar waar in het verleden ook Joden woonden, en waar een deel van het oude Joodse verleden van Jeruzalem ligt (nog uit de tijd van de eerste tempel). In het licht van de aanhoudende Arabische propaganda over 'Arabisch Oost Jeruzalem', waar zoals Ami hieronder zegt, de hele oude stad wordt verstaan, is het begrijpelijk dat Israel zich ook onverzoenlijk opstelt.
 
RP
--------

Netanyahu: Israel will never share Jerusalem with Palestinians

"Never" is a long time. Benjamin Netanyahu won't be around forever, and he is not omnipotent. Walking on water is reserved for the current president of the United States. Perhaps Mr Netanyahu would have been wiser to confine his remarks about Jerusalem to refuting the obnoxious Arab propaganda slogan, "Arab Jerusalem" and to insisting that Arabs will have to recognize some Jewish national rights in East Jerusalem. If not in "Arab East Jerusalem" then in Jewish East Jerusalem. "Arab Jerusalem is meant to include the entire Old City that is holy to Jews, and that had a Jewish community for hundreds of years before 1948 as well as being the ancient capital of Israel. The term is obnoxious because it assumes the truth of fanciful Arab propaganda claiming that Jews did not rule in Jerusalem in ancient times. It is the basis of apartheid Arab insistence on re-instituting the racist ethnic cleansing of Jews from Jerusalem that was perpetrated in 1948. A war crime cannot be the basis of a peace treaty.
 
Ami Isseroff
---------------------------------
 
Last update - 11:52 12/01/2010       
Netanyahu: Israel will never share Jerusalem with Palestinians
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent, and Agencies

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Tuesday that Israel would never cede control of united Jerusalem nor retreat to the 1967 borders, according to a bureau statement.
 
The statement came after Egypt's foreign minister said in Cairo last week that Netanyahu was ready to discuss making "Arab Jerusalem" the capital of a Palestinian state.
 
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority could abandon its demand for a freeze on construction in East Jerusalem in exchange for an easing of the siege on Gaza and a halt to Israeli assassinations in the West Bank.
 
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit met the foreign ministers of Egypt, France, Jordan, Spain and Tunisia in Cairo last week to revive the nascent Mediterranean Union. He briefed them about Netanyahu's talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak a few days earlier, Israeli and European officials said.

Aboul Gheit reportedly said Israel's willingness to give the Palestinians "100 percent of the West Bank" and the readiness to discuss Arab Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine indicate "openness, goodwill and a change compared to the past."
 
According to the Arab foreign ministers, the Palestinians have agreed to waive their conditions for reopening the negotiations with Israel in exchange for other terms that Netanyahu could accept more easily.
 
The Palestinians previously had demanded a complete freeze on construction in East Jerusalem and resuming talks from the point they left off. Now their conditions are Israel stopping its assassinations and military operations in Palestinian cities; easing the blockade on the Gaza Strip and bringing in construction material to enable Gaza's rehabilitation; rezoning West Bank areas where Palestinians have full authority (A) and where they have only civil authority (B) - meaning, having the Israel Defense Forces withdraw to where it was before the Al-Aqsa intifada in September 2000; releasing certain Palestinian prisoners to the PA; and removing eight specific roadblocks in the West Bank.
 
If Israel agrees to these terms, the Palestinians will return to the negotiations even if the building in East Jerusalem continues and the talks do not pick up where they left off.
 
Aboul Gheit said the United States would issue a statement against Israeli construction in East Jerusalem and expressing its commitment to the territory of the future Palestinian state.
 
The visiting foreign ministers agreed that the difficulty in resuming the talks is due to Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' refusal to announce their new positions publicly.