One State Conference: Israel/Palestine and the One-State Solution
Submitted by ujpadmin1 on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 3:35pm.
When: Saturday, March 3, 2012, 9:00 am to Sunday, March 4, 2012, 6:00 pm
Where: Harvard Kennedy School • 79 John F. Kennedy Street • Harvard Sq T • Cambridge
Harvard University will be hosting a conference on the one state solution. Registration Feb 2. The conference takes place on March 3rd and 4th at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Speakers include: Ilan Pappe, Stephen Walt, Timothy McCarthy, Susan Akram, Duncan Kennedy and Ali Abunimah.
Please visit: http://onestateconference.org/program.html for more information or to register for the conference.
Showing posts with label end the siege of Gaza. Show all posts
Showing posts with label end the siege of Gaza. Show all posts
Monday, February 20, 2012
Sunday, July 03, 2011
From The Veterans For Peace Website- Veterans For Peace Supports the Audacity of Hope, Condemns Israeli Naval Blockade
June 30, 2011
Veterans For Peace Supports the Audacity of Hope, Condemns Israeli Naval Blockade
This week, five members of Veterans For Peace are joining 40 other American citizens in a peaceful attempt to break Israel's illegal naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. The U.S. ship Audacity of Hope will be part of a flotilla expected to consist of 10 boats carrying human rights advocates from around the world and humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza.
VFP members, retired Colonel Ann Wright; former CIA analyst, Ray McGovern; retired Marine Corps Major, Ken Mayers; Nic Abramson and Hedy Epstein, an Honorary VFP member and 87 year-old Holocaust survivor. Other U.S. passengers include Alice Walker, and two time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Kathy Kelly. About 25% of the passengers are Jewish.
The U.S. ship will bring over 3,000 letters of support to a population suffering its fifth continuous decade of de facto occupation, now in the form of a military blockade controlling Gaza's sea and sky, punctuated by frequent deadly military incursions, that has starved Gaza's economy and people.
Although the Audacity of Hope will be sailing unarmed and has no intention of entering Israel or Israeli waters, the U.S. State Department has issued an unusually specific and blunt travel advisory, warning Americans against traveling to Gaza. Without giving any details, State Department officials also suggested that Americans taking part in the flotilla might be violating U.S. law.
HILLARY CLINTON GIVES GREEN LIGHT FOR ISRAELI ASSAULT ON FLOTILLA
The next day, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused flotilla organizers of trying to "provoke actions," claiming erroneously that they were going to enter Israeli waters. Clinton said that "the Israelis have the right to defend themselves," implying they can violently attack the boats with U.S. government permission. This is inexcusable and a total betrayal of her duty to protect law abiding American citizens.
Last year the international flotilla to Gaza was brutally attacked by Israeli commandos, murdering nine Turkish activists, one of whom was also an U.S. citizen. Flotilla passengers were also attacked with water cannons, taser guns, stink bombs, sound bombs, stun guns, tear gas, and pepper spray, before being taken to Israel, jailed and deported.
Israel Defense Forces are reportedly training for a fierce assault intended to "secure" each boat in the Freedom Flotilla 2. U.S. organizer Kathy Kelly believes that passengers on the U.S. boat may be spared the most violent responses. But with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton giving Israel the green light for an assault, Kelly said, "We are preparing ourselves not to panic and to practice disciplined nonviolence whatever scenario Israel decides to enact."
The slogan of the flotilla is "Stay Human," advice which Kelly says, "exposure to violence, real or imagined, always tempts us to forget."
The Audacity of Hope was inspected by Greek officials on Monday, June 27 after a complaint was lodged by an Israeli group that the vessel was not seaworthy. Organizers of the Gaza flotilla accused Israel of pressuring Greece to halt the ships' departure.
Colonel Ann Wright told a news conference that Israel is mounting a "tremendous diplomatic offensive" to prevent the flotilla from setting sail. Organizers urged the Greek government not to "become complicit in Israel's illegal actions by succumbing to this pressure."
ISRAEL AND U.S. RATCHET UP PRESSURE
According to Kate Wickman at Raw Story, Israeli officials have threatened to punish activists who plan to set sail from Greece to Gaza, with the aim of breaking the Israeli embargo on the Palestinian territory. Journalists, the Israeli officials say, will also be punished if they choose to cover the activists' mission, the Christian Science Monitor reported.
Journalists who cover the flotilla's attempt to reach the Gaza strip will be denied entry to the country for 10 year, The National reported. The government press office released a statement that called the pro-Palestinian activists' actions "a dangerous provocation" and an "international violation of Israeli law."
Israel's Foreign Press Association, however, issued a statement calling the government threats "a chilling message to the international media and raises serious questions about Israel's commitment to freedom of the press".
Flotilla organizers now say that two of their ships have been intentionally damaged by unknown saboteurs.
Ratcheting up the pressure, Israeli defense officials have claimed that flotilla members are armed with chemical weapons (bags of sulphur) to use against Israeli soldiers. But other Israeli military sources have disputed this claim, dismissing it as "spin."
"This is truly a shameful and desperate tactic on the part of the Israeli government. They know full well that the passengers have no intention of being anything but peaceful," said passenger Paki Wieland.
In the latest outrage, Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., says the United States should "make available all necessary special operations and naval support to the Israeli Navy to effectively disable flotilla vessels before they can pose a threat to Israeli coastal security or put Israeli lives at risk."
Clearly, the 40 brave representatives of the U.S. people on the Audacity of Hope are up against huge opposition from powerful, dark forces. They very much need and deserve the support of all who believe in peace and justice.
VETERANS FOR PEACE IS PROUD TO SUPPORT THE AUDACITY OF HOPE.
We call upon the U.S. government to take the necessary steps to guarantee the safety of all the activists on the Free Gaza Flotilla. We call upon all VFP chapters and members to act now to ensure the safety of our fellow activists and members, and to help them to successfully complete their mission to bring comfort to the people of Gaza and to end the illegal Israeli blockade. See the list of suggested actions, below.
THE ISRAELI BLOCKADE OF GAZA IS ILLEGAL UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
Four years ago Israel imposed a draconian blockade on Gaza, effecting a paralysis of commerce and severe shortages of basic foods. The result has been deprivation and death to innocent people. This blockade was imposed, in the words of Israel's leaders, to "put Gaza on a diet" as a punitive action for Palestinian's electing Hamas to power.
Foreign Policy Magazine compiled a large volume of information from reports issued by the United Nations and various NGOs working in Gaza. Just a few highlights:
Electricity: In 2006, Israel carried out an attack on Gaza's only power plant and never permitted the rebuilding to its pre-attack capacity.... The majority of houses have power cuts at least eight hours per day. Some have no electricity for long as 12 hours a day. The lack of electricity has led to reliance on generators, many of which have exploded from overwork, killing and maiming civilians.
Water: Israel has not permitted supplies into the Gaza Strip to rebuild the sewage system. Amnesty International reports that 90-95 percent of the drinking water in Gaza is contaminated and unfit for consumption.
Health: According to UN OCHA, infrastructure for 15 of 27 of Gaza's hospitals, 43 of 110 of its primary care facilities, and 29 of its 148 ambulances were damaged or destroyed during the war. Without rebuilding materials like cement and glass due to Israeli restrictions, the vast majority of the destroyed health infrastructure has not been rebuilt.
Food: A 2010 World Health Organization report stated that "chronic malnutrition in the Gaza Strip has risen over the past few years and has now reached 10.2%. ... According to UN OCHA: "Over 60 percent of households are now food insecure ...
Industry: A World Health Organization report from this year states: "In the Gaza Strip, private enterprise is practically at a standstill as a consequence of the blockade. Almost all (98%) industrial operations have been shut down.
A blockade that restricts the local population's access to vital goods violates the Fourth Geneva Convention, which specifies that an occupying force has a legally binding duty to protect an occupied population. Moreover, collective punishment is specifically barred under Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Veterans for Peace condemns this inhumane blockade of Gaza and demands that the U.S. government end its support for Israel's illegal assault on Palestinian human rights and self-determination.
U.S. WEAPONS WERE USED IN ISRAELI COMMANDO ASSAULT ON FIRST FREE GAZA FLOTILLA
U.S. weapons provided with U.S. taxpayer money were used in the Israeli commando attack, which violates our Arms Export Control Act prohibiting use of American weapons against civilians. These included boats, helicopters and probable murder weapons used, made by ten U.S. companies:
The Sa'ar 5-class corvette warship built by Northrup Grumman, armed with Honeywell torpedoes and surface-to- surface missiles made by McDonnell Douglas
Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters that dropped the commandoes
Morena Rigid-Hull Inflatable Boats made by U.S.M.I. Louisiana with Caterpillar 3126 turbocharged diesel engines
US M4 Carbine Rifles, a magazine-fed, selective fire, shoulder-fired weapon made by Colt
Hellfire SSM laser-guided missiles made by Boeing
Raytheon radar systems
MK13 Stun Grenades made by American Rheinmetall
AS AMERICAN CITIZENS AND U.S. MILITARY VETERANS, WE REPUDIATE U.S. COMPLICITY IN THESE CRIMES.
WE DEMAND AN END TO U.S. MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL.
WE DEMAND AN END TO ISRAEL'S ILLEGAL BLOCKADE OF GAZA.
WE DEMAND JUSTICE FOR THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE.
WE DEMAND SAFE PASSAGE FOR THE FREE GAZA FLOTILLA
Veterans For Peace Supports the Audacity of Hope, Condemns Israeli Naval Blockade
This week, five members of Veterans For Peace are joining 40 other American citizens in a peaceful attempt to break Israel's illegal naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. The U.S. ship Audacity of Hope will be part of a flotilla expected to consist of 10 boats carrying human rights advocates from around the world and humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza.
VFP members, retired Colonel Ann Wright; former CIA analyst, Ray McGovern; retired Marine Corps Major, Ken Mayers; Nic Abramson and Hedy Epstein, an Honorary VFP member and 87 year-old Holocaust survivor. Other U.S. passengers include Alice Walker, and two time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Kathy Kelly. About 25% of the passengers are Jewish.
The U.S. ship will bring over 3,000 letters of support to a population suffering its fifth continuous decade of de facto occupation, now in the form of a military blockade controlling Gaza's sea and sky, punctuated by frequent deadly military incursions, that has starved Gaza's economy and people.
Although the Audacity of Hope will be sailing unarmed and has no intention of entering Israel or Israeli waters, the U.S. State Department has issued an unusually specific and blunt travel advisory, warning Americans against traveling to Gaza. Without giving any details, State Department officials also suggested that Americans taking part in the flotilla might be violating U.S. law.
HILLARY CLINTON GIVES GREEN LIGHT FOR ISRAELI ASSAULT ON FLOTILLA
The next day, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused flotilla organizers of trying to "provoke actions," claiming erroneously that they were going to enter Israeli waters. Clinton said that "the Israelis have the right to defend themselves," implying they can violently attack the boats with U.S. government permission. This is inexcusable and a total betrayal of her duty to protect law abiding American citizens.
Last year the international flotilla to Gaza was brutally attacked by Israeli commandos, murdering nine Turkish activists, one of whom was also an U.S. citizen. Flotilla passengers were also attacked with water cannons, taser guns, stink bombs, sound bombs, stun guns, tear gas, and pepper spray, before being taken to Israel, jailed and deported.
Israel Defense Forces are reportedly training for a fierce assault intended to "secure" each boat in the Freedom Flotilla 2. U.S. organizer Kathy Kelly believes that passengers on the U.S. boat may be spared the most violent responses. But with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton giving Israel the green light for an assault, Kelly said, "We are preparing ourselves not to panic and to practice disciplined nonviolence whatever scenario Israel decides to enact."
The slogan of the flotilla is "Stay Human," advice which Kelly says, "exposure to violence, real or imagined, always tempts us to forget."
The Audacity of Hope was inspected by Greek officials on Monday, June 27 after a complaint was lodged by an Israeli group that the vessel was not seaworthy. Organizers of the Gaza flotilla accused Israel of pressuring Greece to halt the ships' departure.
Colonel Ann Wright told a news conference that Israel is mounting a "tremendous diplomatic offensive" to prevent the flotilla from setting sail. Organizers urged the Greek government not to "become complicit in Israel's illegal actions by succumbing to this pressure."
ISRAEL AND U.S. RATCHET UP PRESSURE
According to Kate Wickman at Raw Story, Israeli officials have threatened to punish activists who plan to set sail from Greece to Gaza, with the aim of breaking the Israeli embargo on the Palestinian territory. Journalists, the Israeli officials say, will also be punished if they choose to cover the activists' mission, the Christian Science Monitor reported.
Journalists who cover the flotilla's attempt to reach the Gaza strip will be denied entry to the country for 10 year, The National reported. The government press office released a statement that called the pro-Palestinian activists' actions "a dangerous provocation" and an "international violation of Israeli law."
Israel's Foreign Press Association, however, issued a statement calling the government threats "a chilling message to the international media and raises serious questions about Israel's commitment to freedom of the press".
Flotilla organizers now say that two of their ships have been intentionally damaged by unknown saboteurs.
Ratcheting up the pressure, Israeli defense officials have claimed that flotilla members are armed with chemical weapons (bags of sulphur) to use against Israeli soldiers. But other Israeli military sources have disputed this claim, dismissing it as "spin."
"This is truly a shameful and desperate tactic on the part of the Israeli government. They know full well that the passengers have no intention of being anything but peaceful," said passenger Paki Wieland.
In the latest outrage, Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., says the United States should "make available all necessary special operations and naval support to the Israeli Navy to effectively disable flotilla vessels before they can pose a threat to Israeli coastal security or put Israeli lives at risk."
Clearly, the 40 brave representatives of the U.S. people on the Audacity of Hope are up against huge opposition from powerful, dark forces. They very much need and deserve the support of all who believe in peace and justice.
VETERANS FOR PEACE IS PROUD TO SUPPORT THE AUDACITY OF HOPE.
We call upon the U.S. government to take the necessary steps to guarantee the safety of all the activists on the Free Gaza Flotilla. We call upon all VFP chapters and members to act now to ensure the safety of our fellow activists and members, and to help them to successfully complete their mission to bring comfort to the people of Gaza and to end the illegal Israeli blockade. See the list of suggested actions, below.
THE ISRAELI BLOCKADE OF GAZA IS ILLEGAL UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
Four years ago Israel imposed a draconian blockade on Gaza, effecting a paralysis of commerce and severe shortages of basic foods. The result has been deprivation and death to innocent people. This blockade was imposed, in the words of Israel's leaders, to "put Gaza on a diet" as a punitive action for Palestinian's electing Hamas to power.
Foreign Policy Magazine compiled a large volume of information from reports issued by the United Nations and various NGOs working in Gaza. Just a few highlights:
Electricity: In 2006, Israel carried out an attack on Gaza's only power plant and never permitted the rebuilding to its pre-attack capacity.... The majority of houses have power cuts at least eight hours per day. Some have no electricity for long as 12 hours a day. The lack of electricity has led to reliance on generators, many of which have exploded from overwork, killing and maiming civilians.
Water: Israel has not permitted supplies into the Gaza Strip to rebuild the sewage system. Amnesty International reports that 90-95 percent of the drinking water in Gaza is contaminated and unfit for consumption.
Health: According to UN OCHA, infrastructure for 15 of 27 of Gaza's hospitals, 43 of 110 of its primary care facilities, and 29 of its 148 ambulances were damaged or destroyed during the war. Without rebuilding materials like cement and glass due to Israeli restrictions, the vast majority of the destroyed health infrastructure has not been rebuilt.
Food: A 2010 World Health Organization report stated that "chronic malnutrition in the Gaza Strip has risen over the past few years and has now reached 10.2%. ... According to UN OCHA: "Over 60 percent of households are now food insecure ...
Industry: A World Health Organization report from this year states: "In the Gaza Strip, private enterprise is practically at a standstill as a consequence of the blockade. Almost all (98%) industrial operations have been shut down.
A blockade that restricts the local population's access to vital goods violates the Fourth Geneva Convention, which specifies that an occupying force has a legally binding duty to protect an occupied population. Moreover, collective punishment is specifically barred under Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Veterans for Peace condemns this inhumane blockade of Gaza and demands that the U.S. government end its support for Israel's illegal assault on Palestinian human rights and self-determination.
U.S. WEAPONS WERE USED IN ISRAELI COMMANDO ASSAULT ON FIRST FREE GAZA FLOTILLA
U.S. weapons provided with U.S. taxpayer money were used in the Israeli commando attack, which violates our Arms Export Control Act prohibiting use of American weapons against civilians. These included boats, helicopters and probable murder weapons used, made by ten U.S. companies:
The Sa'ar 5-class corvette warship built by Northrup Grumman, armed with Honeywell torpedoes and surface-to- surface missiles made by McDonnell Douglas
Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters that dropped the commandoes
Morena Rigid-Hull Inflatable Boats made by U.S.M.I. Louisiana with Caterpillar 3126 turbocharged diesel engines
US M4 Carbine Rifles, a magazine-fed, selective fire, shoulder-fired weapon made by Colt
Hellfire SSM laser-guided missiles made by Boeing
Raytheon radar systems
MK13 Stun Grenades made by American Rheinmetall
AS AMERICAN CITIZENS AND U.S. MILITARY VETERANS, WE REPUDIATE U.S. COMPLICITY IN THESE CRIMES.
WE DEMAND AN END TO U.S. MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL.
WE DEMAND AN END TO ISRAEL'S ILLEGAL BLOCKADE OF GAZA.
WE DEMAND JUSTICE FOR THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE.
WE DEMAND SAFE PASSAGE FOR THE FREE GAZA FLOTILLA
Israeli Freedom Flotilla II Terrorism - by Stephen Lendman
Sunday, July 03, 2011
Israeli Freedom Flotilla II Terrorism
Israeli Freedom Flotilla II Terrorism - by Stephen Lendman
Daily, Israel keeps proving its lawless rogue credentials, notably by blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza. As a result, it finds new ways to show contempt for human rights, rule of law standards, civility, fundamental Judaic tenets, and its very legitimacy as a nation state, established by mass slaughter and displacement of indigenous Palestinians from their homeland.
Today, its war against humanity dirty tricks/state terrorism arsenal includes propaganda, intimidating lawsuits, pressure on other governments, sabotage, subversion, cold-blodded murder, and whatever else it takes to ruthlessly commit slow-motion genocide against nearly 1.7 million Gazans, besides daily crimes against others in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
No wonder growing numbers of fed up Jews are leaving, voting with their feet, including studies showing half or more there actively consider it, and why not.
Israel is an armed camp, a warrior state, a modern-day Sparta, institutionalizing militarism as a way of life. Young children are taught this ideology in school, including to hate, not respect non-Jews, especially Muslims as violent enemies and human rights activists supporting them.
Freedom Flotilla II participants are among them - vilified, sabotaged, delayed, and now blocked from departing by Greece's complicit rogue government, after agreeing to surrender its sovereignty to Western bankers despite mass street protests against it.
In fact, Greece's Washington embassy published an "Announcement on the Flotilla," accessed through the following link:
http://www.mfa.gr/www.mfa.gr/AuthoritiesAbroad/North+America/USA/EmbassyWashington/Articles/en-US/Announcement+on+the+Flotilla.htm
In part it says:
"Prohibition of the departure of ships with Greek and foreign flags from Greek ports to the maritime area of Gaza today."
In other words, Gaza-bound ships in Greek ports are prohibited from sailing because Israel and Washington demand it - a clear international law violation.
Moreover, "all appropriate measures are taken for the implementation of the said decision....Furthermore, the broader maritime area of eastern Mediterranean will be continuously monitored by electronic means for tracking, where applicable, the movements of the ships allegedly participating in such campaign."
On July 1, the International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC) headlined, "Greek cabinet votes to stop Flotilla as US Boat to Gaza forced back to port," saying:
Its planned departure already delayed over a week, "the US Boat to Gaza decided Friday to challenge" Greece's government by leaving Athens without permission. However, before reaching international waters, Greek Coast Guard vessels forced it back to port and arrested its captain for leaving port without permission, disturbing sea traffic, and endangering the lives of his passengers. In other words, when no legitimate charges exist, rogue authorities invent them.
Moreover, Greek officials told Canadian boat participants that "the Office of the President has demanded the seizure of their boat." At the same time, Greece's cabinet voted to keep participating boats from leaving, succumbing to Washington and Israeli pressure to block them.
Free Gaza Movement (FGM) founder Greta Berlin issued a statement, saying: "Israel is doing its very, very best to make sure we don't get out of port," stooping to any depth to do it with help from its Washington paymaster partner, equally contemptuous of human rights and rule of law standards.
In fact, Obama provides daily proof of his out-of-control lawlessness, showing perhaps he's America's worst ever president, a hard-earned distinction given challenging competition for top honors.
Regularly, however, he's outdistancing the pack, including his rogue predecessor, multiplying his wars by three, continuing his criminal policies, and adding new ones of his own.
Possible US/Israeli Sabotage
Suspicions are that US Navy Seals and/or Israeli Syayetet 13 commandos sabotaged one boat for Greek, Norwegian and Swedish passengers by cutting off its propeller shaft, and disabled an Irish one altogether in Gocek, Turkey (MV Saoirse), forcing it to abandon its mission but not its determination to try again.
Why not despite Senator Mark Kirk's (R. IL) early June statement saying America should:
"should make available all necessary special operation and naval support to the Israeli Navy to effectively disable flotilla vessels before they can pose a threat to Israeli coastal security or put Israeli lives at risk."
In a free democratic country, those remarks would minimally get him censured, vilified and disgraced. in fact, he should be banned from government service and prosecuted for supporting sabotage and harm to humanitarian passengers, punishing him for supporting crimes against humanity and perhaps war.
However, he's not alone. Besides Obama, Clinton and other administration rogues, as well as legions of them in Congress, Texas Gov. Rick Perry asked Attorney General Eric Holder to take legal steps to stop US participants and prosecute them if they refuse. Perry, in fact, is a right-wing extremist with presidential ambitions, hoping to do to America what he's done to Texas, governing it like George Bush.
IMEMC also headlined another July 1 article, "Free Flotilla activists: 'Gaza blockade has been extended to Greece,' " saying:
Two boats were sabotaged, one disabled, another forced back to port after sailing, and Greek police boarded the Canadian vessel (the Tahrir), blocking its departure, making Greece complicit in Israeli/Washington crimes against humanity, what their street brutality does daily against angry citizen activism.
At first, "port authorities (tried) to take the Tahrir's official transit logs (required for sailing)." However, passengers balked, demanding an explanation why. "When authorities (got) photocopies," they lost interest in the originals. According to organizing committee member Irene McInnes:
"The government of Israel, shamefully with the tacit support of (Canada's) Harper government (a willing co-conspirator), is doing everything in its power to maintain the blockade. Yet we will persevere in our attempts," no matter what rogue governments do.
"We have a legal and moral obligation to challenge the blockade, given the failure of the international community to act," said committee member Dylan Penner. "This is why we must continue our attempts to sail to Gaza: to challenge the illegal and immoral blockade," and Canada's criminal support along with America's and Israel's.
They may win the battle. They've already lost the war, creating a worldwide cause celebre, shaming them for denying humanitarian justice. If Flotilla II vessels reach Gaza, it'll be a bonus, what criminal governments are too blind to see.
According to Reuters on July 1, Flotilla vessels will sail next week, "a spokeswoman said on Friday," adding:
"We want to move the boats by July 5 to get to our rendezvous point no later than July 6 or 7....We will go with what we have," hoping to defeat dirty tricks trying to stop them, including by suing to be allowed to sail.
Netanyahu and other Israeli officials call the mission "provocative." They lied, an Israeli specialty, disgracefully replicated by Washington, Canada, Greece, and other complicit governments, shooting themselves in the foot in the process.
In spite of determined efforts to stop them, activists hope to sail anyway. Perhaps Greece's Coast Guard will use "gunboat diplomacy" or worse to stop them, violating international law brazenly like rogue pirates, complicit with Israel and Washington ready to deploy commando killers against unarmed humanitarian activists.
US Boat/Audacity of Hope lead organizer Col. Ann Wright (a former State Department official who protested the Iraq war by resigning) said:
"We could see the handwriting on the wall, that they were going to try to shut down all the ports across the Mediterranean." As for Greece, she added: "It's not surprising (they) succumbed to the pressure," but lost what's left from its soul in the process, destroying its remaining credentials as democracy's birthplace.
After more a week blocked in Greek ports, every ship still can't sail, showing how far its government will violate international law for Israeli and Washington criminals.
On June 30, Netanyahu thanked Prime Minister Papandreou and other world leaders for acting "against the provocation flotilla."
On July 1, IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich claimed Tarek Hamud, son-in-law of Khaled Mashal (Hamas' Damascus-based head) was a leading Flotilla organizer when, in fact, participants say they never heard of him.
Nonetheless, an agitprop Israeli press release said:
"According to Israeli military intelligence, the terrorist organization Hamas and several organizations behind the 2011 Gaza flotilla have similar funding sources. Three Islamic charity funds from the Hamas-affiliated Charity Coalition directly fund Hamas and some of the organizations connected to the 2011 Gaza flotilla."
With no corroborating evidence whatever, the statement is a bald faced lie, common Israeli/Washington fabrications to support their terror tactics.
In fact, Hamas spokesman Izzat al-Risheq emphatically said Hamud "has nothing to do with the flotilla in any way. He is in his house right now in Damascus. This is a lie by the Israeli Army aimed at getting people to oppose this humane mission."
The Flotilla, of course, has nothing to do with Hamas. Like earlier missions and others to come, it's about breaching Gaza's siege as a first step to ending it and liberating Palestine altogether. Because of growing support worldwide, sooner or later it's coming.
A Final Comment
At the same time Israel suffocates Gazans and blocks vital humanitarian aid, Obama's war on terror lawlessness persecutes innocent Muslims at home, prosecuting them for crimes they never conceived or committed.
An earlier article discussed entrapping innocent Muslims, accessed through the following link:
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2011/06/entrapping-innocent-muslims.html
Another discussed the Newburgh 4, accessed through the link below:
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2009/08/no-letup-in-political-witch-hunts-under.html
Every case involves manufacturing homegrown threats to incite fear as justification to wage global wars against nonbelligerent countries, posing no threat to America or their neighbors.
On May 20, 2009, four New York men were bogusly charged with planning to bomb a Bronx synagogue and community center, as well as implausibly shoot down Air National Guard jets with stinger missiles. Prosecutions and convictions followed.
Then on June 29, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said three of the four got 25 year sentences even though there was no plot or crime. The fourth defendant will be sentenced later.
At issue was lawless entrapment, involving an FBI sting against unwitting victims - in this case, four poor black Newburgh, New York men who converted to Islam, two while in prison for unrelated minor offenses.
A Pakistani man named Shahed Hussain (aka Malik) was a paid FBI informant, facing prison and/or deportation on dozens of fraud counts. In return for leniency, he was enlisted to cooperate and well paid for his efforts.
He's the same man used earlier for four separate stings, Yassin Aref among them, another innocent man, entrapped and victimized, now serving a 15 year prison term unjustly.
In post-9/11 America, they're among many Muslim victims of police state justice. They've been targeted, persecuted, arrested, imprisoned, kept in isolation, denied bail, tried on secret evidence on trumped-up charges, convicted by juries too intimidated to acquit, and sentenced to long prison terms for being Muslims in America at the wrong time.
Others were targeted for their environmental and/or animal rights activism. Washington calls them "ecoterrorists." It went on under Bush and now Obama. He's also waging six global wars simultaneously, as well as funding, arming and supporting Israeli terror against nonviolent Palestinian civilians for being Muslims, not Jews.
A web of lies and international complicity sustain this, harming millions of victims globally, including in America and Israel, paying for their governments' crimes.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
posted by Steve Lendman @ 1:00 AM
Israeli Freedom Flotilla II Terrorism
Israeli Freedom Flotilla II Terrorism - by Stephen Lendman
Daily, Israel keeps proving its lawless rogue credentials, notably by blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza. As a result, it finds new ways to show contempt for human rights, rule of law standards, civility, fundamental Judaic tenets, and its very legitimacy as a nation state, established by mass slaughter and displacement of indigenous Palestinians from their homeland.
Today, its war against humanity dirty tricks/state terrorism arsenal includes propaganda, intimidating lawsuits, pressure on other governments, sabotage, subversion, cold-blodded murder, and whatever else it takes to ruthlessly commit slow-motion genocide against nearly 1.7 million Gazans, besides daily crimes against others in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
No wonder growing numbers of fed up Jews are leaving, voting with their feet, including studies showing half or more there actively consider it, and why not.
Israel is an armed camp, a warrior state, a modern-day Sparta, institutionalizing militarism as a way of life. Young children are taught this ideology in school, including to hate, not respect non-Jews, especially Muslims as violent enemies and human rights activists supporting them.
Freedom Flotilla II participants are among them - vilified, sabotaged, delayed, and now blocked from departing by Greece's complicit rogue government, after agreeing to surrender its sovereignty to Western bankers despite mass street protests against it.
In fact, Greece's Washington embassy published an "Announcement on the Flotilla," accessed through the following link:
http://www.mfa.gr/www.mfa.gr/AuthoritiesAbroad/North+America/USA/EmbassyWashington/Articles/en-US/Announcement+on+the+Flotilla.htm
In part it says:
"Prohibition of the departure of ships with Greek and foreign flags from Greek ports to the maritime area of Gaza today."
In other words, Gaza-bound ships in Greek ports are prohibited from sailing because Israel and Washington demand it - a clear international law violation.
Moreover, "all appropriate measures are taken for the implementation of the said decision....Furthermore, the broader maritime area of eastern Mediterranean will be continuously monitored by electronic means for tracking, where applicable, the movements of the ships allegedly participating in such campaign."
On July 1, the International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC) headlined, "Greek cabinet votes to stop Flotilla as US Boat to Gaza forced back to port," saying:
Its planned departure already delayed over a week, "the US Boat to Gaza decided Friday to challenge" Greece's government by leaving Athens without permission. However, before reaching international waters, Greek Coast Guard vessels forced it back to port and arrested its captain for leaving port without permission, disturbing sea traffic, and endangering the lives of his passengers. In other words, when no legitimate charges exist, rogue authorities invent them.
Moreover, Greek officials told Canadian boat participants that "the Office of the President has demanded the seizure of their boat." At the same time, Greece's cabinet voted to keep participating boats from leaving, succumbing to Washington and Israeli pressure to block them.
Free Gaza Movement (FGM) founder Greta Berlin issued a statement, saying: "Israel is doing its very, very best to make sure we don't get out of port," stooping to any depth to do it with help from its Washington paymaster partner, equally contemptuous of human rights and rule of law standards.
In fact, Obama provides daily proof of his out-of-control lawlessness, showing perhaps he's America's worst ever president, a hard-earned distinction given challenging competition for top honors.
Regularly, however, he's outdistancing the pack, including his rogue predecessor, multiplying his wars by three, continuing his criminal policies, and adding new ones of his own.
Possible US/Israeli Sabotage
Suspicions are that US Navy Seals and/or Israeli Syayetet 13 commandos sabotaged one boat for Greek, Norwegian and Swedish passengers by cutting off its propeller shaft, and disabled an Irish one altogether in Gocek, Turkey (MV Saoirse), forcing it to abandon its mission but not its determination to try again.
Why not despite Senator Mark Kirk's (R. IL) early June statement saying America should:
"should make available all necessary special operation and naval support to the Israeli Navy to effectively disable flotilla vessels before they can pose a threat to Israeli coastal security or put Israeli lives at risk."
In a free democratic country, those remarks would minimally get him censured, vilified and disgraced. in fact, he should be banned from government service and prosecuted for supporting sabotage and harm to humanitarian passengers, punishing him for supporting crimes against humanity and perhaps war.
However, he's not alone. Besides Obama, Clinton and other administration rogues, as well as legions of them in Congress, Texas Gov. Rick Perry asked Attorney General Eric Holder to take legal steps to stop US participants and prosecute them if they refuse. Perry, in fact, is a right-wing extremist with presidential ambitions, hoping to do to America what he's done to Texas, governing it like George Bush.
IMEMC also headlined another July 1 article, "Free Flotilla activists: 'Gaza blockade has been extended to Greece,' " saying:
Two boats were sabotaged, one disabled, another forced back to port after sailing, and Greek police boarded the Canadian vessel (the Tahrir), blocking its departure, making Greece complicit in Israeli/Washington crimes against humanity, what their street brutality does daily against angry citizen activism.
At first, "port authorities (tried) to take the Tahrir's official transit logs (required for sailing)." However, passengers balked, demanding an explanation why. "When authorities (got) photocopies," they lost interest in the originals. According to organizing committee member Irene McInnes:
"The government of Israel, shamefully with the tacit support of (Canada's) Harper government (a willing co-conspirator), is doing everything in its power to maintain the blockade. Yet we will persevere in our attempts," no matter what rogue governments do.
"We have a legal and moral obligation to challenge the blockade, given the failure of the international community to act," said committee member Dylan Penner. "This is why we must continue our attempts to sail to Gaza: to challenge the illegal and immoral blockade," and Canada's criminal support along with America's and Israel's.
They may win the battle. They've already lost the war, creating a worldwide cause celebre, shaming them for denying humanitarian justice. If Flotilla II vessels reach Gaza, it'll be a bonus, what criminal governments are too blind to see.
According to Reuters on July 1, Flotilla vessels will sail next week, "a spokeswoman said on Friday," adding:
"We want to move the boats by July 5 to get to our rendezvous point no later than July 6 or 7....We will go with what we have," hoping to defeat dirty tricks trying to stop them, including by suing to be allowed to sail.
Netanyahu and other Israeli officials call the mission "provocative." They lied, an Israeli specialty, disgracefully replicated by Washington, Canada, Greece, and other complicit governments, shooting themselves in the foot in the process.
In spite of determined efforts to stop them, activists hope to sail anyway. Perhaps Greece's Coast Guard will use "gunboat diplomacy" or worse to stop them, violating international law brazenly like rogue pirates, complicit with Israel and Washington ready to deploy commando killers against unarmed humanitarian activists.
US Boat/Audacity of Hope lead organizer Col. Ann Wright (a former State Department official who protested the Iraq war by resigning) said:
"We could see the handwriting on the wall, that they were going to try to shut down all the ports across the Mediterranean." As for Greece, she added: "It's not surprising (they) succumbed to the pressure," but lost what's left from its soul in the process, destroying its remaining credentials as democracy's birthplace.
After more a week blocked in Greek ports, every ship still can't sail, showing how far its government will violate international law for Israeli and Washington criminals.
On June 30, Netanyahu thanked Prime Minister Papandreou and other world leaders for acting "against the provocation flotilla."
On July 1, IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich claimed Tarek Hamud, son-in-law of Khaled Mashal (Hamas' Damascus-based head) was a leading Flotilla organizer when, in fact, participants say they never heard of him.
Nonetheless, an agitprop Israeli press release said:
"According to Israeli military intelligence, the terrorist organization Hamas and several organizations behind the 2011 Gaza flotilla have similar funding sources. Three Islamic charity funds from the Hamas-affiliated Charity Coalition directly fund Hamas and some of the organizations connected to the 2011 Gaza flotilla."
With no corroborating evidence whatever, the statement is a bald faced lie, common Israeli/Washington fabrications to support their terror tactics.
In fact, Hamas spokesman Izzat al-Risheq emphatically said Hamud "has nothing to do with the flotilla in any way. He is in his house right now in Damascus. This is a lie by the Israeli Army aimed at getting people to oppose this humane mission."
The Flotilla, of course, has nothing to do with Hamas. Like earlier missions and others to come, it's about breaching Gaza's siege as a first step to ending it and liberating Palestine altogether. Because of growing support worldwide, sooner or later it's coming.
A Final Comment
At the same time Israel suffocates Gazans and blocks vital humanitarian aid, Obama's war on terror lawlessness persecutes innocent Muslims at home, prosecuting them for crimes they never conceived or committed.
An earlier article discussed entrapping innocent Muslims, accessed through the following link:
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2011/06/entrapping-innocent-muslims.html
Another discussed the Newburgh 4, accessed through the link below:
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2009/08/no-letup-in-political-witch-hunts-under.html
Every case involves manufacturing homegrown threats to incite fear as justification to wage global wars against nonbelligerent countries, posing no threat to America or their neighbors.
On May 20, 2009, four New York men were bogusly charged with planning to bomb a Bronx synagogue and community center, as well as implausibly shoot down Air National Guard jets with stinger missiles. Prosecutions and convictions followed.
Then on June 29, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said three of the four got 25 year sentences even though there was no plot or crime. The fourth defendant will be sentenced later.
At issue was lawless entrapment, involving an FBI sting against unwitting victims - in this case, four poor black Newburgh, New York men who converted to Islam, two while in prison for unrelated minor offenses.
A Pakistani man named Shahed Hussain (aka Malik) was a paid FBI informant, facing prison and/or deportation on dozens of fraud counts. In return for leniency, he was enlisted to cooperate and well paid for his efforts.
He's the same man used earlier for four separate stings, Yassin Aref among them, another innocent man, entrapped and victimized, now serving a 15 year prison term unjustly.
In post-9/11 America, they're among many Muslim victims of police state justice. They've been targeted, persecuted, arrested, imprisoned, kept in isolation, denied bail, tried on secret evidence on trumped-up charges, convicted by juries too intimidated to acquit, and sentenced to long prison terms for being Muslims in America at the wrong time.
Others were targeted for their environmental and/or animal rights activism. Washington calls them "ecoterrorists." It went on under Bush and now Obama. He's also waging six global wars simultaneously, as well as funding, arming and supporting Israeli terror against nonviolent Palestinian civilians for being Muslims, not Jews.
A web of lies and international complicity sustain this, harming millions of victims globally, including in America and Israel, paying for their governments' crimes.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
posted by Steve Lendman @ 1:00 AM
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Stand In Solidarity With The Egyptian People- Down With The Mubarak Government- Fight For A Workers Government!
Click on the headline to link to an Associated Press online article on a protest demonstration in Cambridge in solidarity with the Egyptian people.
Markin comment:
This is a swiftly moving story, and much is rather murky about what the forces in the street want beyond getting rid of Mubarak (a worthy goal in its own right). What does not look promising at the moment is the emergence of even a secular democratic movement much less a pro-socialist one. A lot of this looks an awful lot like Iran 1979 and we know where that led. But for now though-Stand In Solidarity With The Egyptian People- Down With The Mubarak Government- Fight For A Workers Government!
Markin comment:
This is a swiftly moving story, and much is rather murky about what the forces in the street want beyond getting rid of Mubarak (a worthy goal in its own right). What does not look promising at the moment is the emergence of even a secular democratic movement much less a pro-socialist one. A lot of this looks an awful lot like Iran 1979 and we know where that led. But for now though-Stand In Solidarity With The Egyptian People- Down With The Mubarak Government- Fight For A Workers Government!
Saturday, January 01, 2011
From The United For Justice With Peace Website- End The Siege Of Gaza!-Defend The Palestinian People!
Click on the headline to link to an entry from the UJP Website on a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinians in Boston on New Year's Eve.
Markin comment:
End The Siege Of Gaza!-Defend The Palestinian People!
Markin comment:
End The Siege Of Gaza!-Defend The Palestinian People!
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