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Invitation to olive picking [Palestine, October, 2011]

2011 will be the 8th year the annual JAI / ATG Olive Picking Program in Palestine from October 15th to 24th 2011. This event is of special significance to the Palestinian economy when all energies and efforts are mobilised.

Since the beginning of the second Intifada in 2000, the olive harvest has been overshadowed by the Israeli policies of repression, closure, blockage of streets, confiscation of agricultural lands, as well as repeated attacks against Palestinian farmers by Israeli settlers. Now with the construction the Apartheid Wall and the continuous expansion of Israeli settlements at the expense of agricultural land in the occupied Palestine , many farmers are separated from their trees, and help is most needed.

The objective of this program is to mobilise as many people as possible for olive picking, especially in areas that are situated in proximity to Israeli settlements and bypass roads, in order to help Palestinian farmers harvest their olive trees which they might be unable to do without international support. Also, the event has brought up awareness to hundreds of people from many countries around the world about real life under the Israeli Military Occupation, and the experience itself was referred to by several participants as a life changing one. You too are invited to join us for this event.

Besides picking olives, the program will feature introductory presentations about the organising institutions, the current situation in Palestine and the effect of the Apartheid Wall, tours in the old city of Jerusalem and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem , a tour of Hebron , cultural evenings and social gatherings.

There will be opportunities to visit the dead sea prior to and after the program and on the day off as well as visiting holy places of interest including historical sites such as the Al Aqsa and Ibrahimi mosques and Nativity.

Olive Picking 2011–

15th – 24th October ( Starting Saturday 15th October 2011 for 9 nights )

Click for Olive Picking 2011 – Proposed schedule

More Information:

  • The cost of the program including accommodation in a double room, meals, guides, local transportation and other relevant expenses is $650 or the equivalent in your local currency. – please check the currency converter – http://www.xe.com/ucc/
  • Accommodation can be arranged at a hotel or with a local family.
  • Travel from and to the airport is not included in the cost but can be arranged for groups.

To learn more about previous seasons please go to the video and watch a 10 minutes film about the event here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UYxAIxY2xA    

August 17, 2011 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Solidarity and Activism | Leave a comment

Who Will Save Libya From Its Western Saviours?

Not the Left

By JEAN BRICMONT and DIANA JOHNSTONE | CounterPunch | August 16, 2011

Last March, a coalition of Western powers and Arab autocracies banded together to sponsor what was billed as a short little military operation to “protect Libyan civilians”.

On March 17, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1973 which gave that particular “coalition of the willing” the green light to start their little war by securing control of Libyan air space, which was subsequently used to bomb whatever NATO chose to bomb. The coalition leaders clearly expected the grateful citizens to take advantage of this vigorous “protection” to overthrow Moammer Gaddafi who allegedly wanted to “kill his own people”.  Based on the assumption that Libya was neatly divided between “the people” on one side and the “evil dictator” on the other, this overthrow was expected to occur within days.  In Western eyes, Gaddafi was a worse dictator than Tunisia’s Ben Ali or Egypt’s Mubarak, who fell without NATO intervention, so Gaddafi should have fallen that much faster.

Five months later, all the assumptions on which the war was based have proved to be more or less false. Human rights organizations have failed to find evidence of the “crimes against humanity” allegedly ordered by Gaddafi against “his own people”.  The recognition of the Transitional National Council (TNC) as the “sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people” by Western governments has gone from premature to grotesque.  NATO has entered and exacerbated a civil war that looks like a stalemate.

But however groundless and absurd the war turns out to be, on it goes.  And what can stop it?

This summer’s best reading was Adam Hochschild’s excellent new book on World War I, To End All Wars. There are many lessons for our times in that story, but perhaps the most pertinent is the fact that once a war starts, it is very hard to end it.

The men who started World War I also expected it to be short.  But even when millions were bogged down in the killing machine, and the hopelessness of the whole endeavor should have been crystal clear, it slogged on for four miserable years.  The war itself generates hatred and vengefulness. Once a Great Power starts a war, it “must” win, whatever the cost – to itself but especially to others.

So far, the cost of the war against Libya to the NATO aggressors is merely financial, offset by the hope of booty from the “liberated” country to pay the cost of having bombed it.  It is only the Libyan people who are losing their lives and their infrastructure.  So what can stop the slaughter?

In World War I, there existed a courageous anti-war movement that braved the chauvinist hysteria of the war period to argue for peace. They risked physical attack and imprisonment.

Hochschild’s account of the struggle for peace of brave women and men in Britain should be an inspiration – but for whom?  The risks of opposing this war are minimal in comparison to 1914-1918. But so far active opposition is scarcely noticeable.

This is particularly true of France, the country whose President Nicolas Sarkozy took the lead in starting this war.

Evidence is accumulating of deaths of Libyan civilians, including children, caused by NATO bombing.

The bombing is targeting civilian infrastructure, to deprive the majority of the population living in territory loyal to Gaddafi of basic necessities, food and water, supposedly to inspire the people to overthrow Gaddafi.  The war to “protect civilians” has clearly turned into a war to terrorize and torment them, so that the NATO-backed TNC can take power.

This little war in Libya is exposing NATO as both criminal and incompetent.

It is also exposing the organized left in NATO countries as totally useless.There has perhaps never been a war easier to oppose.  But the organized left in Europe is not opposing it.

Three months ago, when the media hype about Libya was launched by the Qatari television Al Jazeera, the organized left did not hesitate to take a stand.  A couple of dozen leftist French and North African organizations signed a call for a “solidarity march with the Libyan people” in Paris on March 26.  In a display of total confusion, these organizations simultaneously called for “recognition of the National Transition Council as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people” on the one hand and “protection of foreign residents and migrants” who, in reality, needed to be protected from the very rebels represented by that Council.  While implicitly supporting the military operations in support of the NTC, the groups also called for “vigilance” concerning “the duplicity of Western governments and the Arab League” and possible “escalation” of those operations.

The organizations signing this appeal included Libyan, Syrian, Tunisian, Moroccan and Algerian exile opposition groups as well as the French Greens, the Anti-Capitalist Party, the French Communist Party, the Left Party, the anti-racist movement MRAP and ATTAC, a widely based popular education movement critical of financial globalization.  These groups together represent virtually the entire organized French political spectrum to the left of the Socialist Party – which for its part supported the war without even calling for “vigilance”.

As civilian casualties of NATO bombing mount, there is no sign of the promised “vigilance concerning escalation of the war” deviating from the UN Security Council Resolution.

The activists who in March insisted that “we must do something” to stop a hypothetical massacre are doing nothing today to stop a massacre that is not hypothetical but real and visible, and carried out by those who “did something”.

The basic fallacy of the “we must do something” leftist crowd lies in the meaning of “we”. If they meant “we” literally, then the only thing they could do was to set up some sort of international brigades to fight alongside the rebels. But of course, despite the claims that “we” must do “everything” to support the rebels, no serious thought was ever given to such a possibility.

So their “we” in practice means the Western powers, NATO and above all the United States, the only one with the “unique capabilities” to wage such a war.

The “we must do something” crowd usually mixes two kind of demands: one which they can realistically expect to be carried out by those Western powers – support the rebels, recognize the TNC as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people –  and the other which they cannot realistically expect the Great Powers to follow and which they themselves are totally incapable of accomplishing: limit the bombing to military targets and to the protection of civilians, and stay scrupulously within the framework of UN resolutions.

Those two sorts of demands contradict each other. In a civil war, no side is primarily concerned about the niceties of UN resolutions or the protection of civilians. Each side wants to win, period, and the desire for revenge often leads to atrocities. If one “supports” the rebels, in practice one is giving a blank check to their side to do whatever they judge to be necessary to win.

But one also gives a blank check to the Western allies and NATO, who may be less bloodthirsty than the rebels but who have far greater means of destruction at their disposal. And they are big bureaucracies that act as survival machines. They need to win. Otherwise they have a “credibility” problem (as do the politicians who supported the war), which could lead to a loss of funding and resources. Once the war has started, there is simply no force in the West, lacking a resolute antiwar movement, that can oblige NATO to limit itself to what is allowed by a UN resolution. So, the second set of leftist demands fall on deaf ears.  They serve merely to prove to the pro-war left itself that its intentions are pure.

By supporting the rebels, the pro-intervention left has effectively killed the antiwar movement. Indeed, it makes no sense to support rebels in a civil war who desperately want to be helped by outside interventions and at the same time oppose such interventions. The pro-intervention right is far more coherent.

What both the pro-intervention left and right share is the conviction that “we” (meaning the civilized democratic West) have the right and the ability to impose our will on other countries.  Certain French movements whose stock in trade is to denounce racism and colonialism have failed to remember that all colonial conquests were carried out against satraps, Indian princes and African kings who were denounced as autocrats (which they were) or to notice that there is something odd about French organizations deciding who are the “legitimate representatives” of the Libyan people.

Despite the efforts of a few isolated individuals, there is no popular movement in Europe capable of stopping or even slowing the NATO onslaught.  The only hope may be the collapse of the rebels, or opposition in the United States, or a decision by ruling oligarchies to cut the expenses.  But meanwhile, the European left has missed its opportunity to come back to life by opposing one of the most blatantly inexcusable wars in history.  Europe itself will suffer from this moral bankruptcy.

~

Jean Bricmont is author of Humanitarian Imperialism.  He can be reached at Jean.Bricmont@uclouvain.be

Diana Johnstone is author of Fools’ Crusade.  She can be reached at diana.josto@yahoo.fr

August 16, 2011 Posted by | Militarism, Solidarity and Activism, Timeless or most popular | Leave a comment

Appeal to the Riverdance company not to tour Israel

Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign | August 10, 2011

On 6th April last, the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign appealed to Riverdance to cancel its tour of Israel scheduled for 1-13 September next.

In response, Riverdance posted the following on its website: “Riverdance supports the policy of the Irish Government and indeed the policy of every other EU state that cultural interaction is preferable to isolation.” Significantly, all feedback comments were disabled for this posting.

This response overlooks the fact that it is precisely the policy of EU states, i.e. their refusal to apply international law, international humanitarian law or indeed EU law (embodied in Article 2, the “human rights clause”, of the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement) to the state of Israel and their consequent complicity in Israel’s violation of these laws, that has made it necessary for civil society to call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), including a cultural boycott, of the Israeli state. BDS is a non-violent protest strategy responding to the call by Palestinian civil society and cultural organisations for international assistance.

Since last April, when the IPSC called on Riverdance to cancel its tour, Israeli soldiers have twice raided the Freedom Theatre in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, thus jeopardising a planned production of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. Two board members of the theatre, Adnan Naghnaghiye and Bilal Saadi, and actor Rami Hwayel have been kidnapped by the Israeli military in the past month and remain in detention at the time of writing. “We don’t know why we are being targeted. We’re a cultural organisation fighting for freedom,” said Jacob Gough, the theatre’s acting managing director.

On 29th July Israeli soldiers attacked the Dutch “First Night of Love Brass Band” with tear gas canisters during their performance near Nablus in the West Bank. On that same day Israeli soldiers assaulted and seriously injured the Palestinian photojournalist Moheeb Al-Barghouthi for filming a demonstration near Ramallah.

These are just random and recent examples of the indiscriminate brutality of the Israeli occupation, which does not stop short of targeting cultural and journalistic freedom. This is the basis for the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions.

Since Riverdance’s management seems determined to tour Israel, we now call upon the musicians and dancers who make up the Riverdance Company to refuse to participate in this tour, following the example of Riverdance set designer Robert Ballagh and the 208 Irish artists who have pledged to boycott Israel. We call upon them to inform Riverdance’s management that they will not be party to a breach of the boycott call from Palestinian victims of Israel’s crimes. We call upon them, as cultural ambassadors, to refuse to besmirch Ireland’s good name by lending themselves to exploitation by those who would whitewash Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people.

Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC – www.ipsc.ie )

Endorsed by:
Irish Ship to Gaza (ISTG  – www.irishshiptogaza.org – Ireland)
Peace and Neutrality Alliance (PANA – www.pana.org – Ireland)
Irish Anti-War Movement (IAWM – www.irishantiwar.org – Ireland)
Palestinian Campaign for the Cultural and Academic Boycott of Israel (PACBI – www.pacbi.org – Palestine)
Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from within (Boycott from Within – http://boycottisrael.info/ – Israel)
Alternative Information Centre (AIC – www.alternativenews.org/ – Israel/Palestine)
Artists Against Apartheid (AAA – www.artistsagainstapartheid.org/ – International)

Dublin – Riverdance: Don’t Dance for Apartheid Israel demo
Thursday, 18 August 2011, 18:30 Gaiety Theatre, South King St, off Grafton St, Dublin 2

August 11, 2011 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation, Solidarity and Activism | Leave a comment

Reut Institute: Israeli Boycott law may backfire

By Adri Nieuwhof – The Electronic Intifada – 08/09/2011

In response to the growing Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, the Israeli parliament passed an anti-boycott law on 11 July. The law is heavily criticized; for example, Amnesty International denounced the anti-boycott law because it “will have a chilling effect on freedom of expression in Israel.”

Palestinian member of the Israeli parliament, Ahmad Tibi, criticized the law as “a strike against free speech.” in an article. He pledged his support to the BDS movement:

“Because I believe in ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, equal rights for Palestinians and Jews, and the right of return for Palestinian refugees forced from their homes and lands in 1948, I support boycotting — and calling on others to boycott — all Israeli companies that help perpetuate these injustices.”

A few days later, a remarkable warning was published by the Reut Institute, which characterizes itself as “a non-partisan Zionist organization” in a promotional video. Reut mentions in the video its support for strategic decision making processes of the State of Israel which includes advising the Prime Minister’s office, the Ministry of Defense, the Israeli army and the National Security Council..

Reut’s CEO, Roy Keidar and head of Reut’s National Security Team, Eran Shayson, warned on 2 August, that “the greater damage of the boycott law is the controversy forming around it.” They write:

“Indeed, the urgent sense that action must be taken against the de-legitimization phenomenon is both understandable and justified. However, assumptions that the boycott law and other similar laws provide the answer to this challenge, are wrong and may well backfire.”

Fighting ‘delegitmization’

In February 2010, Reut qualified the actions of the BDS movement as delegitimization of Israel in a report on the urgency to respond to the growing international criticism of Israel’s violations of international law and disrespect of the rights of the Palestinian people. Reut referred in the report to critical voices as “delegitimizers”.

“The effectiveness of Israel’s delegitimizers, who represent a relatively marginal political and societal force in Europe and North America, stems from their ability to engage and mobilize others by blurring the lines with Israel’s critics. They do so by branding Israel as a pariah and ‘apartheid’ state; rallying coalitions around ‘outstanding issues’ such as the ‘Gaza blockade’; making pro-Palestinian activity trendy; and promoting grassroots activities such as boycotts, divestments, and sanctions (BDS) as a way to ‘correct Israel’s ways.’”

In addition, Reut wrote:

“The Delegitimization Network aims to supersede the Zionist model with a state that is based on the ‘one person, one vote’ principle by turning Israel into a pariah state and by challenging the moral legitimacy of its authorities and existence.”

Comparison with South Africa

When I interviewed Professor John Dugard, former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in October 2010, I asked him to react to accusations that the BDS movement delegitimizes Israel. He said:

“The BDS actions are delegitimizing Israel. There is no question about that. Obviously Israel is unwilling to accept that, similar to apartheid South Africa, which did want to suppress international sanctions. BDS was at that time effective, largely as a result of international advocacy for [boycott, divestment and] sanctions. It delegitimized the state and ultimately led to change in South Africa.

 The comparison between Israel and South Africa is important. The situation is very similar at present. The international community is increasingly critical of Israel, advocating for international [boycott, divestment and] sanctions. It is not surprising that Israel is taking steps to prevent them in the same way the South African government did.”

In February 2010, Reut’s policy advice to Israel was to effectively face the “Delegitimization Network” by embracing a network-based logic and response by “Focusing on the hubs of delegitimization – such as London, Paris, Toronto, Madrid, and the Bay Area – and on undermining its catalysts.” Reut called on the Israeli government to direct substantial resources towards this end.

Attacking the messenger

Reut’s advice to “undermine the catalysts” of the BDS movement is a perfect example of attacking the messenger. A few months after Reut’s advice, The Electronic Intifada and its Dutch donor were fiercely attacked by the NGO Monitor. Ali Abunimah analyzed the reasons behind the attack in his article “Why NGO Monitor is attacking The Electronic Intifada”.

He wrote:

“NGO Monitor’s attack on The Electronic Intifada is part of a well-financed, Israeli-government endorsed effort to silence reporting about and criticism of Israel by attacking so-called “delegitimizers” — those who speak about well-documented human rights abuses, support boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS), or promote full equality for Palestinians. Last February, The Electronic Intifada reported that a leading Israeli think-tank had recommended a campaign of “sabotage” against Israel’s critics as a matter of state policy.”

In its criticism of the boycott law, Reut writes that the law applies to Israel while the “delegitimization campaign is global, primarily operating beyond Israel’s borders.” Therefore the law cannot stop the global BDS movement. In addition, Reut identifies the controversy forming around the boycott law as a danger, creating divisions in “the Israeli camp” at a time where unity is needed.

Indeed, the Israeli boycott law is an attack on freedom of expression, and as such another example of Israel’s disrespect for basic human rights. It would have been very disturbing if this law was docilely accepted.

August 9, 2011 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Solidarity and Activism | Leave a comment

South African students endorse nationwide boycott against Israel

By Nora Barrows-Friedman – The Electronic Intifada –  08/05/2011

Representatives of South Africa’s oldest and largest student bodies in Johannesburg hosted a press conference on Thursday in which they denounced the upcoming visit by a delegation of Israeli officials and propagandists to South African college campuses.

In the past five years, Israeli public relations professionals and governmental officials have traveled across the world in order to promote a “positive image” of Israel through its multi-million-dollar “Brand Israel” hasbara (propaganda) campaign, and this upcoming visit includes some 150 Israelis meted out to 5 colleges in order to “create some doubt in their [South African students’] minds” — most likely because of recent actions in support of the Palestinian-led boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) call.

Calling for a strengthening of the BDS movement across South Africa, the students declared that “all SA campuses must be Apartheid-Israel free zones” in a statement following the press conference.

The students, representing the South African Union of Students (SAUS), the South African Student Congress (SASCO) and the Young Communist League (YCL), stated that the visit from “Israeli Apartheid agents” was “patronizing,” and re-affirmed their commitment to solidarity with Palestinians fighting against Israeli apartheid policies. Several weeks ago, Palestinian students had asked their South African peers to challenge and boycott the Israeli delegation.

This move comes after a vote in March by the Senate of the University of Johannesburg to cut ties with Ben Gurion University in Tel Aviv — a historic vote that was supported by more than 400 academics across South Africa and tireless BDS activists, scholars, trade unionists and students.

Thursday’s press release by the student representatives:

… We, students and youth of a post-Apartheid South Africa, who bear the scars of a racist history and who continue to fight for complete liberation, have a duty and responsibility to stand in solidarity with those facing oppression worldwide. Israeli apartheid is one such form of oppression.

Israeli media boast that a mission of 150 Israeli propagandists will be sent to universities in 5 countries to fix Israel’s “serious image problems.” The Israeli mission will begin on South African campuses on the 11th of August, with a delegation that includes at least two aides from the Israeli parliament. A delegation member was clear about the intention of their trip: “We have to create some doubt in their [South African students’] minds.”

Don’t patronize us! We lived apartheid, we suffered apartheid, we know what apartheid is, we recognise apartheid when we see it. And when we see Israel, we see a regime that practices apartheid. Israel’s image needs no changing; its policies do! We urge Israeli students to instead join the growing and inspiring internal resistance to their regime, particularly the boycott from within movement, rather than waste time and money on these propaganda trips to deceive us…

August 6, 2011 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Solidarity and Activism | Leave a comment

Veolia loses Ealing Council contract

Palestine Solidarity Campaign | August 3, 2011

In another victory for Palestinian rights, Ealing Council, in London , has failed to select Veolia for a comprehensive tender for its domestic refuse, street cleaning and parks maintenance contract. The contract is worth approx £300m in total over 15 years and one of Ealing Council’s largest single contracts. This is even more significant given the fact that Veolia had the previous parks maintenance contract.

Veolia remains involved in the building and future operation of a light-rail tramway linking Israel’s illegal settlements with West Jerusalem, facilitating Israel’s ‘grave breaches’ of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Veolia Transport Israel also runs two bus services serving the same function as the tramway: supporting and consolidating illegal settlements and tying them more closely into Israel.

Sarah Colborne, PSC Director, said: ‘Veolia’s loss of this contract, following its failure in a number of significant bids in Britain and internationally, is a clear sign that Veolia is paying a high price for its complicity in Israel’s occupation and violations of international law. West London PSC, together with other groups and individuals supporting Palestinian rights, wrote and met councillors from across the political spectrum and council officials, and submitted detailed factual and legal analysis. Veolia must realise that until it pulls out of all its activities serving Israel ’s illegal settlements, it will continue to be a target for the movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS). Through BDS, those committed to peace and justice are sending a message – we don’t buy into Israel ’s violations of Palestinian rights’.

~

  1. In April 2010 the UN Human Rights Council declared the tramway and its operation to be illegal (A/HRC/RES/13/7 of 14 April 2010).  The resolution was passed 44 to 1, with the UK, France and all the EU members of the Council voting in favour.  The operation of the tramway is precisely what Veolia has a contract to do.
  2. Veolia is trying to sell its shares in the tramway.  But the deal would involve Veolia Transport Israel in providing technical assistance in running the tramway for 5 years.
  3. Through its subsidiary TMM, Veolia Transport Israel has also been operating the Tovlan landfill site in the occupied Jordan Valley for many years, supporting Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank by taking their refuse.  There has also been a report of Tovlan receiving refuse from Israel itself, the occupier dumping its rubbish on the occupied.  Veolia says that it is selling Tovlan to a local buyer and may have already done so, but far from ending Veolia’s complicity, the deal will compound it, for the intended sale is to Massu’a, the nearby illegal Israeli settlement.  Moreover Veolia will continue its involvement by providing the settlement with advice concerning Tovlan.

August 4, 2011 Posted by | Solidarity and Activism | Leave a comment

Protest Israel’s detention of Palestinian writer Ahmad Qatamesh

By Maureen Clare Murphy – The Electronic Intifada – 08/03/2011

The Palestinian human rights group Addameer issued an appeal today urging supporters to take action on the administrative detention of Palestinian political scientist and writer Ahmad Qatamesh.

Qatamesh has been held in administrative detention after he was arrested on 21 April in the middle of the night. Hanin Ahmad Qatamesh, the detained writer’s daughter, described in an article for The Electronic Intifada how Israeli soldiers invaded their family home in Ramallah. Hanin and other relatives in the home were held hostage as Israeli soldiers demanded the surrender of Ahmad, who was not at home at the time. The Electronic Intifada also interviewed Qatamesh’s wife, Suha Barghouti, a well-known human rights defender.

The full action appeal from Addameer follows:

As part of its recently launched Prisoners at Risk campaign, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association demands the immediate release of Ahmad Qatamish, a well-known political scientist and writer currently held without charge or trial by Israel. The duration of his administrative detention has been set at 4 months, due to expire on 2 September 2011.

Addameer believes that the arrest and detention of Ahmad Qatamish has all the hallmarks of arbitrary detention and is aimed at silencing this prolific writer for his unbridled criticism of the Israeli occupation. Ahmad was arrested on 21 April 2011 in the middle of the night following a raid on his house whilst he was away, in which his wife, daughter, and two other relatives – including a 14-year-old girl – were held hostage by Israeli troops in order to compel him to surrender himself. Since then there has been a catalogue of serious errors and malpractice by the Israeli authorities. Ahmad was held for 13 days – during which time he was interrogated for only 10 minutes – before being informed on 3 May that he would be placed in administrative detention; despite the fact that both he and his lawyer had been told by the Military Court that he would be released that very day. Ahmad’s original administrative detention order was found to be flawed and had to be re-written twice, and even now the order is based on the vague accusation that he is an active member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – a charge he has consistently and vehemently denied. As the order is based on a secret file which is not accessible to Ahmad or his lawyer, it is impossible for Ahmad to know how to defend himself against any possible charges.

This is not the first time Ahmad has been placed in administrative detention. In the 1990s, he was held for five-and-a-half years without charge or trial, making him one of the longest held administrative detainees in Israeli prisons. For more information about Ahmad’s case, you can read his profile here and follow updates on his detention on facebook.

The Prisoners at Risk campaign aims to highlight cases which raise grave concern and require urgent action. Without international pressure, there is the real risk that Ahmad’s administrative detention order will be renewed again in September. You can help stop this from happening by joining our campaign and doing one of the following:

– Use our template letter to the Israeli authorities to call for Ahmad’s immediate and unconditional release;

– Write to your own government and representatives to call on them to pressure Israel to release Ahmad (if you are a EU citizen, you can use our template letter to members of the European Parliament);

– Organize a vigil or a demonstration to call for Ahmad’s release;

– Write to Ahmad in prison (postal address: Ofer Prison, Givat Zeev, P.O. Box 3007, via Israel);

August 4, 2011 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Full Spectrum Dominance, Solidarity and Activism | Leave a comment

“You do not have any right to harass me this way”–Two journalists and three villagers arrested in Nabi Salih

By Michele Monni – The Palestine Monitor – August 3, 2011

Muheep Barguthy, a photojournalist from Al-Hayat, and David Cronin, an author and correspondent for the International Press Service, were arrested in the village of Nabi Saleh last Friday, during a weekly demonstration. Three Palestinian villagers, Eyad Tamimi, Rafat Tamimi and Malik Tamimi were also arrested.

Last Friday, international and Palestinian activists witnessed what has become routine in Nabi Salih—the disproportionate use of force used by the Israeli army against demonstrations in the village.

Protests in Nabi Saleh started in 2009 in response to the illegal seizure of the land surrounding the village—including the spring named Ein al-Qaws—by the nearby settlement of Halamish. Before that, the spring was owned by a Palestinian resident of the village, Bashir Tamimi.

By seizing control of the spring and its surroundings—and denying Palestinians access to their land—the Israeli settlers, who receive significant support from the Israeli army, have taken almost all resources away the residents of Nabi Salih.

This tactic is nothing new.

Romans deployed the same strategy against the Gauls in the first century A.D., during their conquest of northern Europe. Cutting off natural resources or polluting the nearby area is an inhumane but effective tactic to demoralize a population.

Nevertheless, it does not seem to be working in Nabi Salih.

Since 2009, villagers of Nabi Sali have held regular Friday protests. Starting out to resist the confiscation of their spring, the demonstrations now target the Israeli occupation in full. They are supported both by community members from the nearby village of Dir Nizam and international activists.

Last Friday, at around 11:00AM, one Israeli army jeep approached the village. A handful of young boys—between five to seven years old—perched on the surrounding hills, watching. One or two of them threw rocks at the armored vehicle.

A few minutes later two other Israeli vehicles joined the first one; soldiers got out and started shooting tear-gas projectiles and sound bombs in the direction of the young boys.

Other Israeli troops positioned themselves in the fields surrounding the village. The army established themselves on top of the promontory in front of Nabi Salih’s main road, where they had a secure and strategic vantage point.

After nearly an hour of shooting—which targeted not only the adjacent hills where protesters were  standing, but also houses—and attempts by commandos to chase down and detain the protesters, the situation calmed.

Photo by Michele Monni.

But only for a moment.

International and local media agents worked their way to the soldiers. They stood behind the army’s vehicles and began taking pictures and recording videos.

The reporters were harassed and bullied by the soldiers, some brutally.

Among the media workers was Muheep Barghouthi, a photojournalist for Al-Hayat, a leading London-based Arabic news source. (http://www.daralhayat.com/morenews/english/) Israeli soldiers surrounded him. “I’m an accredited journalist,” Barghouthi said, “you do not have any right to harass me this way.”

Two soldiers gripped him, and a kicking and shouting Muheep was thrown into an army vehicle bound for a jail cell in the nearby settlement of Halamish.

Meanwhile, on top of the hill, members of the village, protesters and international activists were going forward with the regular peaceful protest planned for the afternoon.

Amongst them were women and children, protesters from the nearby village of Dir Nizam, members of the International Solidarity Movement and independent journalists and filmmakers.

At around 3:00PM, the protesters gathered and started walking down the hill singing protest songs mostly against the settlement of Halamish.

Soon after, they were met by a shower of tear-gas projectiles and sound bombs.

The protesters tried to find shelter in nearby houses, but a dozen Israeli soldiers chased them and raided the homes. Some protestors ran through the narrow streets of the village towards the fields.

Photo by Michele Monni.

Soldiers approached one house where two of the most senior members of the Tamimi family were sitting outside.

The soldiers asked for IDs and they were provided. Abu Hossam Tamimi and his brother Abu Hasraf asked the soldiers about their conduct. There are abuses in this village, they said, and excessive violence.

The Palestine Monitor questioned the person who was leading the small platoon, asking the reasons for their behavior. No answers were given. After few minutes, the soldiers silently left.

At 7:00PM, the day of protest was coming to an end. The soldiers had parked their vehicles at the entrance of the village blocking any way of escape while one of their jeeps patrolled the surroundings for any lingering protesters.

The sun was setting and Nabi Salih’s main street was littered with used sound bombs and empty tear-gas shells. People sat in their houses and back gardens waiting for the soldiers to leave. Around 8:00PM a last battery of tears-gas ammunition was shot.

As soon as the last Israeli army vehicles left, villagers started coming out and gathered in the street, exchanging their impressions from the day. Kids collected empty shells and played with them like they were toys. Exhausted from the day’s grueling battle, the villagers remain nevertheless determined to continue their fight.

August 4, 2011 Posted by | Illegal Occupation, Solidarity and Activism | Leave a comment

Turkey Not Present For Annual Naval Exercises With Israel And US

By Katie Child – International Middle East Media Center – August 04, 2011

For the second year in a row, Turkey is not participating in the naval drill, Reliant Mermaid, with Israel and the US. This action taken by Turkey is a result of the killing of nine Turkish activists from the 2010 Gaza Flotilla Raid.

Greece has now replaced Turkey as a new ally in the Mediterranean, participating in naval drills with Israel and the US last week.

The purpose of the naval exercises is to practice “search-and-rescue operations” with International navy’s that are also present in the Mediterranean.

The goals of the naval drills are to strengthen international ties to share information with each other and familiarize the operational procedures between the three countries.

For the past ten years, until the 2010 Gaza Flotilla Raid, Israel, Turkey, and the US held annual naval drills together.

Israel had also used Turkish air space before the 2010 Gaza Flotilla Raid, when the Israeli Military killed nine Turkish activists.

Israeli military’s Lieutenant General Benny Gantz said earlier this week that Israel would not oppose a formal apology for the killing of nine Turkish activists, according to the Jerusalem Post.

August 4, 2011 Posted by | Solidarity and Activism | Leave a comment

Biofuel genocide

Honduran Police Burn Community to the Ground

TheRealNews | July 30, 2011


Homes, churches, schools, and crops all destroyed as the post-coup government continues to side with wealthy plantation owners over the country’s organized farmers. … detailed account

See also:

International observers sought to document and denounce human rights violations

August 2, 2011 Posted by | Aletho News, Economics, Solidarity and Activism, Timeless or most popular, Video | Leave a comment

Egyptian army attacks protesters in Cairo

Press TV – August 1, 2011

Egyptian demonstrators rally in downtown Cairo’s Tahrir square on July 29, 2011.

At least 200 protesters have been injured as violent clashes erupted between Egyptian security forces and demonstrators camped out in the capital’s landmark Liberation Square.

The clashes erupted when security forces entered the square to disperse protesters who have stayed there for over three weeks.

Dozens of troops entered the square with military vehicles and managed to open the square to traffic.

Witnesses say the troops fired into air and used live ammunition in a bid to break up the demonstrations.

Some reports say at least 200 protesters have been injured. Some of the injured are said to be in critical condition.

The protesters have been calling for an end to the military rule.

The protesters are calling for swift change and the ouster of military rulers who have replaced the former dictator Hosni Mubarak.

One of their key demands is the swift trial of former regime members involved in the killing of protesters during the revolution.

They are also calling on de facto president and Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi to step down.

Following Mubarak’s downfall, a military council took over in Egypt. Many Egyptians believe it is trying to derail the revolution.

Demonstrators call for an end to the military council’s rule and want the military to go back to their barracks and hand over power to a civilian government.

August 1, 2011 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Solidarity and Activism | Leave a comment

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