| 22 July 2010 |
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| Friday, 23 July 2010 | |
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While Occupation and blockade are business as usual for Israel, there should be no business with Israel In Occupied Palestine Zionism in practice Israel’s Daily Toll on Palestinian Life, Limb, Liberty and Property 24 hours to 8am 22 July 2010 Main source of statistics: Palestinian Monitoring Group (PMG). Israeli tanks shell Beit Hanun – 2 dead – 7 wounded Northern Gaza: homes and farms under Israeli fire Salfit: Israeli infantry shoot pedestrians – 1 dead and 1 wounded West Bank: Israeli Army destroys houses, sheep-pen and other property Night peace disruption and/or home invasions in 2 refugee camps and 10 towns and villages 3 attacks – 20 raids including home invasions – 1 beaten – 3 dead – 9 injured 10 taken prisoner – 18 detained – 76 restrictions of movement Home invasions & occupations: 04:50, the town of Silwad - 03:00, Tulkarem - 23:20, the Al Arrub refugee camp - 00:45, the town of Sa’ir - 01:40, the village of At Tabaqa. Peace disruption raids: 09:30-14:30, the village of Al Lubban al Gharbi - 03:00, Ramallah - 16:30, the town of Az Zababida - 07:30, the village of Izbat Nasser - 09:35, Qalqilya - 10:40, the village of Einabus - 01:05, the village of Asira al Qibliya - 03:00, the Askar refugee camp - 05:30, the town of Al Ubeidiya – 06:00, the town of Za’tara - 14:50, the town of Bani Na’im - 16:50, the town of Adh Dhahiriya - 01:25-03:35, the town of Adh Dhahiriya - 00:50-03:10, Hebron - 03:00, Tulkarem. Palestinian attacks: noneIsraeli attack – deaths – child injuries: Northern Gaza – 14:30, Israeli tanks positioned on the Green Line shelled the town of Beit Hanun, killing two Resistance activists and wounding seven civilian bystanders, including four children. Israeli attack – agricultural sabotage: Northern Gaza – 15:00, Israeli armoured vehicles, covered by reconnaissance aircraft, raided farms to the east of Beit Hanun and opened intense fire on houses and agricultural areas. Israeli attack – death and injury: Salfit – 04:00, an Israeli infantry position near the settlement of Barkan opened fire on two people, killing one of them, Bilal Mahmoud Abu Libdeh, and wounding the other. The wounded man managed to escape capture. House demolitions – beating – injury – destruction of property: Ramallah – 09:30-14:30, the Israeli Army raided the village of Al Lubban al Gharbi, demolished two houses, two workshops and another building and beat up a national security officer, Hazem Zeitoun, leaving him with severe injuries. One person was taken prisoner. Home invasion and occupation: Tulkarem – 03:00, Israeli troops raided the city and the refugee camp, occupied the roof of a house and patrolled the area. Property damage: Jenin – 11:00, the Israeli Army destroyed ten market stalls on either side of the main road near the Al Jalama checkpoint. Property – violation: Qalqilya – 09:35, the Israeli Army invaded the city, raided a workshop, took a person prisoner, ordered the workshop to close and left orders for the owner to report to Israeli Military Intelligence. Pastoral sabotage: Hebron – 14:50, the Israeli Army raided the town of Bani Na’im and demolished a sheep-pen. Recent news updates: Israeli Army destroys a Palestinian village in the Jordan valley. www.imemc.org/article/59169 17-year-old taken prisoner in night raid in Bil'in. www.youtube.com/watch?v=86QAchT2swI Free Ameer Makhoul. www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/news/2734-free-ameer-makhoul BDS activists musical tour in New York. www.adalahny.org/videos/off-off-broadway-bds-musical-tour-the-video Mark Braverman's report on victory at the Presbyterian Assembly and the nature of Zionist tactics to thwart Christian action for peace and justice. Health in Occupied Palestine. www.thelancet.com/health-in-the-occupied-palestinian-territory-2010 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Education and initiative triumph in spite of Occupation Nearly 86,000 Palestinian students sat this year for the final high school unified matriculation exam (called Tawjihi) in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Today the results of the exams were released and they were phenomenal. It is a noisy day of celebration for thousands of people who worked very hard and achieved good results. There was no divisions here, the unified examinations were given in Gaza and the West Bank with co-operation of the Ministry of Education employees in both places and without political considerations. Considering the slaughter of Gaza last year, the results from Gaza were remarkable (and equivalent to the West Bank). The highest six students (4 females, 2 males) in the science section got the score of 99.5% and they represent refugees, villagers, and city dwellers, from Asira Al-Shjamaliya (near Nablus), Khan Yunis (Gaza), Nablus City, West Gaza, Shufat (Jerusalem), and Beni Nuaim (Hebron area). In the humanities section, the top ten come from Tulkarem, Rafah, Nablus, Khan Younis, Qabatiya, and Jenin. My own nephew got 93.6% even though his father died in the middle of these exam (I had shared the story of Hazem with you earlier). This remarkable result by our young people shows the possibilities of the people of Palestine. Of course, the colonial apartheid system limits the options open to our high school graduates but ultimately nothing can stand in the way of determined individuals. I participated in teaching summer camps at two locations to younger students during the past few days. I have been focusing on teaching and interactions with young Palestinians since I returned to Palestine two years ago. In all these interactions I see the incredible opportunities. Palestine has no oil or other major natural resources except its people. If only our leaders understood the potential of mobilising our people to liberate themselves. We do not need to rely on endless negotiations or on irrational rhetoric or acts. Three young high school students built an electronic walking stick for the blind (I shared that story two months ago with you). Palestinian students at the Polytechnic University in Hebron just built a solar powered car from scratch (www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/18/palestinian-territories-solar-power-car). What we need is a belief in the human potential. We need a denial of the negativism that is fed by corruption, lies, and distortions; I will write more on this in my next message. Meanwhile congratulations. Here is a must read article for all Palestinians: Towards a Palestinian Political Agenda by Dr. Salman Abu Sitta: Part 1 and Part 2 You are always welcome to visit us in Palestine Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD A Bedouin in Cyberspace, a villager at home www.qumsiyeh.org Professor, Bethlehem and Birzeit Universities Chairman of the Board, Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between People, www.pcr.ps
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Jewish Voice for Peace Divestment movement breakthrough From Aaron Levitt: I'm writing you from New York City where I just got back from the TIAA-CREF annual meeting and I'm still a bit overwhelmed by the experience. TIAA-CREF is one the largest retirement funds in the world, and it holds investments in companies that profit from the Israeli occupation. I can't tell you what it meant to have so many people at the TIAA-CREF meeting asking them to do better. 15,300 people to be exact. Each one had signed a petition or a postcard, or secured hundreds of postcards in their own community asking the fund to divest from the Israeli occupation. And you know what? That made all the difference --- to us, and to the leadership of TIAA-CREF. We finally got a chance to call on TIAA-CREF, in person, to divest from companies like Caterpillar and Elbit that profit from Israel's occupation. As a fellow activist in the room said, "This was a real breakthrough today." I couldn't agree more. At the meeting, those who have retirement accounts with the company can stand up and speak. We had a designated speaker delivering the postcards to TIAA-CREF management, and we knew a few other people, mostly professors and teachers, would get up and ask that their money not be invested in companies that profit from discrimination, death, and destruction, and push hope and peace ever further away. But happened was extraordinary. First 5, then 10, then 14 people, then more got up, one after another, to speak from the heart about why TIAA CREF must not profit from Israel's occupation. These people weren't just JVP members, but included TIAA-CREF shareholders attending the meeting for entirely different reasons, who were spontaneously moved to speak in support of our campaign. Not a single person spoke to defend Israel's occupation. Not one. But we all know that will change, which is why we need you now to join our call and help us grow the 15,300 to 25,000 and then 50,000. Please sign the TIAA-CREF petition now. In that meeting, the voice for justice, for full equality, for a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, dominated the room. So many inspiring and courageous JVP activists stood up to say how TIAA-CREF was fueling death and destruction by literally investing in it. To implore TIAA-CREF to find a new way. During the meeting, we had the honour of delivering the many stacks of petitions and postcards directly to the Chief Financial Officer, and could feel the energy in the room change as the TIAA-CREF executives saw how many people we were representing. The CEO of TIAA-CREF announced they would be meeting with our campaign team tomorrow, and I knew they were taking us seriously. It was impossible for anyone in that room to not have been affected by what they saw and heard. Just imagine - statement after statement opposing the Israeli occupation were made in the boardroom of one of the largest financial services companies in the world. The executive managers and board members present listened attentively, respectfully. We know the struggle will be long to actually get TIAA-CREF to divest, but this is just the beginning. Our story is already spreading across the world, with media coverage in US News and Report, Inside Higher Ed, Israel's Ha'aretz, Tablet.and JVP asks. Please join our call! We are already having an impact at 15,300 but want to grow to 50,000. Please sign our petition today. Thank you for listening. I wish we could have videotaped the statements of every person in that room-I promise you, you would have been moved and inspired. But none of us who were there will ever forget it. Onward, Aaron Levitt Jewish Voice for Peace PS At the meeting, TIAA-CREF's corporate leadership announced they would be meeting directly with Jewish Voice for Peace this morning, and so they did. This is a very exciting step--and it's also just the beginning. We still need you to sign our petition and help us get more signatures, especially from TIAA-CREF participants who are predominantly professors, teachers, medical and nonprofit workers. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Behind the Wall Rich Wiles is a photographic artist who has been living and working in Palestine for some years. His photographic work has been shown around Europe, the US, Australia and in Palestine itself. Since 2006 he has been writing from Occupied Palestine under the title Behind the Wall. Much of this work is based in and around the refugee camps in Palestine, highlighting daily life and memories of refugees who still live in forced exile for over 60 years since Al Nakba (The Catastrophe). www.richwiles.com Palestinian Resistance Ali Kazak's newsletter Occupied Palestine: News and Articles This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it contains many news summaries that include both armed and non-violent methods of resistance to the Occupation. The newsletter also contains much other useful reporting. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Visit http://www.sapienspromise.org/ for further news. See this In Occupied Palestine newsletter at: the PHRC website: www.palestine.org.nz the Scottish PSC's website: www.scottishpsc.org.uk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Simpol: Restoring Democracy – Enabling Justice Simultaneous Policy (SP) www.simpol.org Global justice movement Since the atrocities of September 11, 2001, the tolerance of state authorities to street protest or to other forms of protest has become extremely low. Since SP would operate through existing political systems it does not depend on any form of protest but only on the continued upholding of citizens' right to vote. Unlike most other NGOs Simpol could not therefore be accused of being undemocratic, in any way disruptive or of refusing to engage in established political processes. However, this is not to suggest that non-violent protest represents an inappropriate form of action. Indeed, protest is surely vital if world problems are to be brought to wider public attention. But the key point is that, since SP does not depend on protest nor on conventional lobbying, it offers the global justice movement an entirely complementary and potentially highly effective means of pursuing its political objectives. www.simpol.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you have friends who would also like to receive these newsletters, please ask them to contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Leslie Bravery Palestine Human Rights Campaign www.palestine.org.nz PO Box 56150 Dominion Rd Auckland PHRC Declaration We, the Palestine Human Rights Campaign Aotearoa/New Zealand believe that a just peace in Palestine/Israel depends upon the return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland and the dismantling of the Zionist structure of the state of Israel, recognising that the further partitioning of Palestine in order to create the so-called two-state solution would lead only to further injustice and suffering. We advocate the primacy of international law, the acceptance of which by the Israeli regime must be the basis for the ending of Israeli military occupation and all forms of ethnic discrimination. We work to raise awareness of the international community's responsibility for upholding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the urgent need for the state of Israel to be called to account for its gross abuses of Palestinian human rights. We call for the establishment of a unitary, secular and democratic state in Palestine/Israel, with full and equal citizenship rights for Palestinians, Israeli Jews and all other ethnic communities. The Palestine Human Rights Campaign Aotearoa/New Zealand (PHRC) works to raise public awareness of the Palestinian people's struggle to resist Israeli military occupation and Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip. PHRC seeks to bring pressure on the New Zealand Government to join the majority of the international community in requiring Israel to:
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