Thursday, December 31, 2009

Иран заявляет, что протесты спровоцировал Запад ("The Wall Street Journal", США) Тегеран резко критикует США и Британию за вмешательство в его внутрен

Иран во вторник выступил с нападками на США и Британию, обвинив власти двух стран во вмешательстве в его внутренние дела. Сделал он это после того, как Вашингтон и Лондон упрекнули Тегеран в жестоком подавлении протестов.

Официальный представитель иранского министерства иностранных дел Рамин Мехманпараст (Ramin Mehmanparast) также дал понять, что Тегеран будет более решительно и жестко действовать в отношении протестующих, которые упорно борются с правящим режимом с июня месяца, когда в связи с обвинениями в подтасовках на президентских выборах начались демонстрации. В воскресенье протесты вспыхнули вновь, и во время столкновений с полицией погибло, по меньшей мере, восемь человек.

Мехманпараст во вторник выступил с обвинениями в адрес людей, которые организовали в воскресенье протесты "бунтарей", о чем сообщают государственные средства массовой информации. Он также обвинил ряд иностранных держав, в том числе, США и Британию в провоцировании воскресных протестов.

В понедельник президент Барак Обама и британский министр иностранных дел Дэвид Милибэнд активно поддержали иранских демонстрантов. По словам Мехманпараста, его правительство вызвало британского посла в Тегеране для объяснений.

В опубликованном во вторник заявлении британское министерство иностранных дел сообщило, что посол Британии "здраво и разумно ответил на критику по поводу выступления Дэвида Милибэнда … подтвердив мнение министра о том, что иранское правительство обязано соблюдать права своих граждан".

По словам Мехманпараста, иностранные государства "ошибаются в своих подсчетах" в отношении размаха демонстраций. Он заявил, что масштабы протестов намного меньше, чем думают зарубежные обозреватели.

Во вторник государственное телевидение показало видеозапись проправительственных митингов в различных городах страны, о чем сообщило агентство Reuters.

Во время рейдов, проведенных в понедельник и вторник, иранские власти арестовали нескольких представителей оппозиции, включая помощников оппозиционных лидеров, о чем сообщается на антиправительственных сайтах. Лауреат Нобелевской премии мира Ширин Эбади (Shirin Ebadi) сообщила во вторник на вебсайтах оппозиции, что накануне вечером власти задержали и бросили за решетку ее сестру, профессора тегеранского медицинского института.

В своем выступлении в понедельник Обама решительно поддержал демонстрантов. Его администрация, а также другие западные державы до этого сдерживали свою критику в связи с проведением переговоров с Тегераном по вопросу иранских ядерных амбиций.

Иран заявляет, что его ядерная программа носит мирный характер. Западные руководители опасаются, что Тегеран хочет создать ядерное оружие.

Обама назначил конец года в качестве последнего срока для достижения прогресса на переговорах. Самое главное препятствие на этом пути - отказ Тегерана от предложенной при посредничестве МАГАТЭ сделки, предусматривающей отправку значительной части иранского урана в Россию на дообогащение. После переработки уран предполагалось отправить назад в Тегеран для использования в медицинском исследовательском реакторе. Сначала иранские представители на переговорах согласились на эту сделку, однако власти Ирана подписывать ее отказались, выступив с рядом противоречивых порой требований о внесении изменений.

Во вторник министр иностранных дел Ирана Манучехр Моттаки (Manouchehr Mottaki) заявил, что его страна готова сама производить и обогащать уран, необходимый ей для медицинского реактора.

Бросая упрек западным державам, Моттаки сказал, что это Иран ждет ответа на свои встречные предложения по поводу плана МАГАТЭ.

"Если своевременно не будет принято логичное решение о покупке или обмене [обогащенного урана], то Иран сам будет производить ядерное топливо, - заявил во вторник Моттаки, - больше мы ждать не будем".

Агентство Associated Press сообщило во вторник о распространении среди членов МАГАТЭ информации из неназванного разведывательного источника, который утверждает, что Иран провел переговоры о покупке 1350 тонн обогащенной урановой руды у частного поставщика из Казахстана.

Физик и президент вашингтонского Института науки и международной безопасности (Institute for Science and International Security) Дэвид Олбрайт (David Albright) заявил, что если факт этой очевидно секретной сделки подтвердится, то возникнут серьезные сомнения в намерении Ирана полностью сообщить инспекторам МАГАТЭ все подробности о своих ядерных запасах.

По словам Олбрайта, такого количества урана при условии его обогащения до необходимого уровня теоретически хватит для создания 100 с лишним ядерных боезарядов.

Представители МАГАТЭ во вторник отказались от комментариев по поводу происходящего.

Оригинал публикации: Iran Says West Encouraged Protests

http://www.inosmi.ru/asia/20091231/157320008.html

Афганские студенты провели демонстрацию под лозунгами: "Смерть Обаме!, "Конец Карзаю!"

Сотни студентов вузов и учащихся лицеев провинции Нангархар в среду перекрыли вторую по важности транспортную артерию Афганистана между городами Кабул и Джелалабад, связывающую афганский восток с центральными провинциями, сообщают местные СМИ.

Демонстранты потребовали от иностранных войск прекратить убийство мирных жителей или убраться из Афганистана.

"Правительство должно пресечь проведение иностранными войсками своих несогласованных ни с кем операций, в противном случае мы выбросим ручки и тетради, возьмем в руки оружие, чтобы сражаться с захватчиками", - говорится в заявлении студентов Нангархарского университета, участвовавших в акции протеста.

"Они не принесли нашей стране демократии, они просто убивают наших религиозных деятелей и детей", - выкрикивали участники манифестации.

Демонстранты скандировали лозунги "Смерть Обаме!", "Конец Карзаю!".

Толчком к проведению этой акции протеста стало убийство в минувшую субботу очередной группы мирных жителей, в том числе детей, в ходе авиаудара авиации НАТО в восточной провинции Кунар.

Демонстрации протеста против бесчинств иностранных военных прошли в этот же день в городе Асадабад, административном центре Кунара.

В среду член президентской администрации Асадулла Вафа, возглавляющий комиссию по расследованию произошедшей бомбардировки, заявил журналистам в Асадабаде, что гибель мирных жителей подтверждена. По его словам, среди убитых были восемь подростков в возрасте от 13 до 18 лет.

Накануне представитель миссии ООН по содействию Афганистану (МООНСА) сообщил представителям СМИ, что за 10 месяцев текущего года в Афганистане гибель мирных жителей возросла на 10% по сравнению с аналогичным периодом прошлого года, сообщает РИА Новости.

http://www.islamnews.ru/news-21982.html

A New Year and the Wounds are Still Open

For many survivors of the last Israeli war on Gaza, time has not healed their wounds, physical or emotional.

Amal Samouni, 10, still suffers vision problems in her right eye. The shrapnel remaining in her head causes her constant pain and she is unable to concentrate at school.

Her concentration is broken, also, by memories of her martyred father and younger brother, both of whom she saw shot dead at close range by Israeli soldiers during the 2008-2009 winter war on Gaza.

The name Samouni has become well known for the high number of martyrs in the extended family, and for the brutality with which many victims were killed, the Israeli army’s prevention of medical access to the injured, and the thorough and systematic destruction of homes, farms, and civilian infrastructure in the Zeitoun district in eastern Gaza, and all throughout Gaza.

In the wake of Israeli tanks, bulldozers, warplanes and Apache helicopters, the once tree-laden area was left a muddy pitch of rutted earth and tree stumps. Chicken farms were destroyed, along with plastic greenhouses, farm equipment, water piping, and the tens of homes, agricultural buildings and the local mosque.

Many of the remaining houses were taken as military positions, sniper holes bored through walls, soldiers’ excrement, clothing, spent ammunition and food provisions were routinely left among the trashed belongings of the house. Hate graffiti was found throughout homes in the Samouni neighbourhood and all over Gaza.

Most horrifying was the targeted shooting of the family – including children – and the deliberate shelling of homes they had been forced into by Israeli soldiers.

Amal Samouni was among the least fortunate of survivors.

When Israeli soldiers came to her home early on Jan. 4, they shot her father Atiyeh dead at close range, then fired continuously into the room full of family members. Amal’s younger brother Ahmed (4) was seriously injured by the shooting. Denied medical care, he died the following morning, roughly ten hours after Israeli soldiers prevented medical rescuers from entering the area.

“They killed my dad and my brother. They destroyed our house,” Amal says simply. She has told her story to journalists many times. “But it hasn’t done any good, nothing has changed.”
Zeinat Samouni, Amal’s widowed mother, shows the single room her family of eight are crammed into, cracked asbestos tiling covering the roof.

“The roof leaks. We put plastic jugs on the floor to catch the water,” she says. “And because we can’t buy cooking gas, we cook over a fire instead.”

Aside from their physical discomfort, it is memories of the massacre and fear of a new attack that trouble them.

“I was terrified he would choke,” she says, gesturing to a child she holds. “He was only a few weeks old at the time.”

She recounts the trauma of having another child Amal die in her arms, seeing him shelved in an overcrowded mortuary freezer, and all the while desperately wondering whether he was still alive.

“Even now, I’m still so afraid for my children, afraid that another war will come. The UAVs (unmanned drones) are always over us, and often at night the helicopters come.”
Khalid Abu Saada, a medic and the driver of the ambulance, testified to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights: “The shell directly hit the ambulance and 10 civilians, including the two paramedics, were injured.”

The following morning, the Abd al-Dayem family and friends gathered at a funeral tent erected for Arafa. Israeli tanks again fired flechette shells, striking the gathering multiple times, killing five at the tent, one down the road, and injuring at least 25.

“The pain is still fresh, I still can’t move on since my sons’ murders,” said Sabbah Abd al-Dayem, mother of two martyrs in their twenties.

Jamal Abd al-Dayem, father of the young men, recalls: “It was clearly a mourning house, on the road, open and visible. Immediately after the first strike, the Israelis fired again. I lost two sons. One of them was newly married, his wife eight months pregnant.”

Said Abd al-Dayem, 29, died of dart injuries to his head one day later in hospital. Nafez Abd al-Dayem, 23, died immediately from the darts to his head.

Nahez Abd al-Dayem, 25, survived but retains two darts in his abdomen, one in his chest, with only the dart in his leg removed. Islam Abd al-Dayem, 16, a cousin, died after three days in hospital from the darts to his neck. Arafat Abd al-Dayem, 15, a cousin, died instantly.

Human rights organisations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Physicians for Human Rights, and B’Tselem, among others, have criticised Israel’s use of flechette bombs in civilian areas in densely populated Gaza, where the darts have a “wide kill radius”, and indiscriminately target civilians.

Wafa Abu Jerrad, who was 21 and pregnant, lived down the street from the mourning tents. She was with her husband Muhammad, their two children, and relatives outside their house when Israeli soldiers fired the dart bombs.

Muhammad Abu Jerrad was stepping into the doorway, their two-year-old son Khalil in his arms, when the bomb hit. Wafa dropped to ground, struck by flechettes in the head, chest and back. She was killed instantly.

Sitting outside his family’s tent in the Attatra region, Saleh Abu Leila says, “Everything I worked for is gone.”

Since their two-storey home was destroyed by Israeli soldiers during the war on Gaza, Abu Leila and 13 other family members have crowded into two small tents. During the summer, they sweltered in stifling heat. Now that winter is setting in, they are struggling to keep warm and dry.

Over 21,000 houses were destroyed or seriously damaged during the 23 days of Israeli attacks throughout Gaza that finally ended Jan. 18.

Since the end of the Israeli war on Gaza, Israeli authorities continue to block entry to cement and other necessary building materials. Glass, along with wood, piping and many other items, is considered potentially dangerous by Israeli authorities. The bomb-blasted windows of homes and buildings remain un-repaired one year later; the luckier families making due with plastic sheeting.

A small portion of Gaza’s 1.5 million people can afford to buy the overpriced, poor-quality cement smuggled in through the tunnels running between Gaza and Egypt. For those hardest hit, however, this is out of reach.

Hundreds of families, like the Attars, still remain in substandard shelters, insufficient for winter cold and rains.

Many Gazans do not welcome the New Year, they fear what it will bring.

http://ingaza.wordpress.com/

Obama bombs Yemen again, as he claims to stand "with those who seek their universal rights."

WRITTEN BY Mozhgan Savabieasfahani

What a charade!

I learned the word "charade " from my Texan English teacher in Teheran long ago. I later found out she was the wife of a U.S. military advisor for the Shah's puppet regime. I still remember my teacher's meticulous attention to English pronunciation and her glittering diamonds. Many such U.S. military families fled Iran when the 1979 revolution arrived.

Obama, like his predecessors, got on T.V. yesterday to declare his love for freedom and universal human rights. What a charade! Do you, Mr. Obama, expect us to embrace your calls for people's universal rights as you continue to illegally occupy Iraq and Afghanistan, as you continue to bomb Pakistan, as you tighten crippling sanctions on Iran, and as you shamelessly talk of destabilizing politically independent nations? And as you continue your full support for Israel and its criminal acts in Palestine?

Do you expect us to believe you care for people's universal rights as you start another war in Yemen?

So what about Yemen, you ask?

Suddenly Obama has introduced us to his latest "enemy": Yemen.

You would never guess that Yemen was occupied from 1839 to 1967 by Great Britain or that Israel and the U.S. deployed their air forces, and their air bases, to crush Yemen's drive for independence. From the 1960's until today, Yemen has had its sovereignty shattered by U.S. military interventions, both covert and overt. So, Mr. Obama, don't play the innocent as you commit war crimes against Yemen.

One day, Obama, Bush, and a parade of Israeli leaders will go on trial for their destruction of the Middle East. Maybe then, we will have a chance to breath freely, and to enjoy real democracy without U.S. and Israeli bombs falling on our heads.

Mr. Obama, as for your bogus gesture in support of "those who seek their universal rights" in Iran: I will have you know that Iranians are well aware that U.S. policy has consistently been to crush all democratic movements in Iran by outright coup d'état, and by fueling genocidal wars.

It is no secret that in 1953 the CIA overthrew the government of the democratically elected Prime Minister, Dr. Mosaddeq. Mosaddeq had angered the British by nationalizing Iranian Oil. What ensued was 29 years of torture for Iranians at the hands of the Shah, who terrorized the people with an Israeli-trained secret police, the infamous SAVAK. After a brief period of feeling triumphant (as the 1979 revolution seemed to have won), Iran was hit again by the U.S. fueled war with Iraq, which lasted for 8 years, crippling civil society in both Iran and Iraq. The eight-year-war left the two nations battered and shattered.

Iranians suffer, to this day, from 30 years of U.S.-imposed sanctions that have taken a serious toll on education, public health and communications in Iran. Iranian airplanes frequently crash for lack of parts that are denied Iran under U.S. sanctions. Two years ago, I spent 8 hours in a local Iranian airport waiting for a 1 hour flight. Constant threats of bombing by the U.S. and Israel have also been inflicting psychological damage on all, especially on children in Iran. I recall a conversation I had with a close relative last year, who told me how her nine-year-old daughter cannot sleep because she is afraid of U.S. /Israeli nuclear attack.

Mr. Obama, your slogan of a "change you can believe in" is simply an insult to millions of people's intelligence—people who suffer in the hands of your military occupations and bombings across the Middle East.

The opposition of the American public to perpetual wars is apparent. Indeed, Americans put you, Mr. Obama, in the White House to end these wars. Sadly, Obama, like others before him, has betrayed this public. The American public feels helpless and impotent in the political arena that has been created by Democrats and Republicans alike. The American public have been made to associate political discourse with dishonesty and greed. Some argue that they suffer not only from economic depression, but also from a psychological state of feeling weak and powerless in what they think of as a democracy.

But let us remember the potent and effective American Civil Rights Movement that achieved the impossible. Remember The Civil Rights Movement that utilized mass protests to embarrass the U.S. government in front of the whole world. Let us also remember the anti-war movement that helped end the war in Vietnam and saved Asia from being totally torched by the U.S. military.

If only U.S. streets were filled with anti-war protestors again, we would witness a quick change of heart in U.S. Middle East policy and an end to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. If anti-war protesters fill the streets of America, further attacks, on defenseless countries like Yemen, will be no more.

See the power of today's Iranian green generation on the streets of their beloved Iran. See how the brutal security forces surrender to young Iranians who are demonstrating for democratic institutions free of corruption and greed. See the Iranian people's courage and determination to make this a better world for all.

Americans have achieved similar triumphs by public protests. Let us do it again. Mass public protest, against perpetual war, is our only chance to save ourselves.
http://palestinethinktank.com/

«Великая подземная стена в Рафахе», она же Стена позора…

Мне не хотелось верить в то, что официальный Каир принял решение возвести стальную стену между Египтом и палестинцами Газы.

Однако выяснилось, что кошмар, беспокоивший меня несколько дней, оказался реальностью, и что сообщение, напечатанное газетой «Гаарец», которое мы, по большому счету, считали своего рода клеветническим наветом, искажающим образ Египта, со всеми подробностями получило подтверждение в газете «Аль-Шурук» от 13 декабря этого года. Заголовок на всю страницу гласил: «Великая подземная стена в Рафахе», а под ним следовал репортаж, содержащий ошеломляющие и одновременно вводящие в стыд сведения.

В сообщении говорилось о начале работ по установлению железной стены, отделяющей Синай от Сектора Газа. По данным газеты, к настоящему времени завершено строительство участка стены длиной 5400 м. Сообщалось также, что этот барьер невидим, поскольку углублен в землю на 30 метров. Преграда состоит из соединенных между собой стальных блоков длиной 18 м и шириной 5 м, специально изготовленных для этой цели в США из сверхпрочной стали, испытанной на подрыв динамитом. Блоки устанавливаются под землей механизмами с точностью, обеспечиваемой лазерными измерителями; затем эти блоки соединяются друг с другом по принципу паззла.

В репортаже говорилось также о том, что все работы ведутся под руководством группы американских специалистов. В стену они монтируют уникальную, не имеющую аналогов на Ближнем Востоке систему наблюдения, позволяющую обнаруживать оружие и взрывчатые вещества.

Кроме того, на стройку регулярно наведываются с инспекционными целями представители американского и других западных посольств.

Египетские чиновники в интервью газете «Аль-Шурук» оправдывают проводимые работы необходимостью гарантированной защиты границы от проникновения граждан Газы на египетскую территорию, видимо, намекая на события января 2008 года. Они прибегают к удобным демагогическим формулировкам, самая популярная из которых примерно такого плана: «Строительство стены - чисто египетское дело, посредством которого Египет осуществляет свое право на национальный суверенитет».

Нетрудно догадаться, что эта акция направлена против палестинцев Газы. Все эти мероприятия указывают на то, что напряженность на Синае и в Секторе Газа сохранится на неопределенно долгое время. А поскольку следует иметь в виду, что Соединенные Штаты являются главной стороной в реализации этого проекта, поскольку именно они поставляют все необходимое оборудование, в том числе средства наблюдения, а также контролируют ход выполнения работ, то вывод напрашивается очевидный: Вашингтон хочет измором заставить палестинцев Сектора Газа покориться.

Каир же, вместо того, чтобы смело противостоять первопричине всех проблем, коей является «израильская» оккупация и блокада, вынуждающая палестинцев прорываться сквозь кордоны и копать подземные ходы, своим участием в этом проекте фактически капитулирует перед американо-«израильским» нажимом, приняв правила игры этой «сладкой парочки».

При всем при этом следует иметь в виду, что происходящее никоим образом не способствует укреплению безопасности Египта, которому никак не могут угрожать палестинцы Газы. Бурная стройка направлена на усиление безопасности «Израиля», она способствует реализации его планов по подавлению и унижению палестинцев.

Все это ставит нас перед поразительно печальным фактом, суть которого в том, что Египет своим согласием на строительство стальной стены дает всем знать: его стратегия изменилась, теперь основной угрозой для себя он считает палестинцев, а не «израильтян». И если этот вывод верен, то мне ничего не остается, кроме как назвать возводимую стальную стену "стеной позора".
http://www.palestine-info.ru/

Патриарх Кирилл: Европа уступает пассионарной силе ислама

Современный европеец "ориентирован на успех, благополучие и комфорт", поэтому он уступает той "пассионарной силе, которой сегодня оказываются исламские общины в Европе", считает патриарх Кирилл.

Патриарх напомнил, что для мусульманских стран религиозный фактор в общественной жизни всегда играл первоочередную роль, тогда как в Европе ситуация обратная, и многие европейцы теряют "способность идти на подвиг, отдать свою жизнь за Родину".

"Если мы будем последовательно осуществлять либеральные идеи в общественном сознании (не в экономике, в экономике либерализм – это уместное явление и важный фактор, хотя и с оговорками), то на выходе мы также получим слабого человека, не защищающего ни Родину, ни ближнего", – цитирует патриарха "Интерфакс-Религия".

В этой связи Кирилл призвал российскую дипломатию не допускать оценку внешними силами жизни в России по чужим цивилизационным и культурным меркам.

"Нужно категорически не допускать суда над нами на основании чужих критериев", - сказал он во вторник, выступая в Российской академии госслужбы при президенте РФ.

По его словам, российская внешняя политика достаточно долгое время была ориентирована на стремление "доказать сторонним наблюдателям, что мы хорошие мальчики, мы живем по тем же критериям, просто у нас есть некоторые недостатки".

"Дипломатия унизительно объясняла судьям, накладывающим собственный критерий на нашу ситуацию, что мы такие же, как они, мы такие же хорошие, и просто у них ошибочная информация, и нас неправильно поняли", - сказал патриарх.

Однако, по его мнению, критерий оценки, характерный для иной культурно-исторической среды, "не может быть непререкаемым для оценки ситуации в России".

В противном случае, считает патриарх Кирилл, неизбежно будут появляться обвинения в том, что в России "якобы существует угроза клерикализации" в документах, подобных ежегодным докладам Госдепа США о свободе совести.

http://www.islamnews.ru/news-21966.html

На Рождество в Британии сожгли мечеть

Десять пожарных команд не смогли справиться с огнем, охватившим здание мечети в местечке Кредли Хис (Cradley Heath), недалеко от Бирмингема, вечером 26 декабря – официального выходного и дня рождественских подарков в Великобритании.

Мечеть, насчитывающая 400 прихожан, сгорела дотла. От огня пострадал также расположенный рядом Исламский образовательный центр.

Полиция установила, что причиной пожара явился поджог, и начала расследование инцидента.

"Это уже не первое нападение, нас пытались поджечь пять лет назад, - рассказал корреспонденту "Telegraph" секретарь мечети и Исламского центра Вашарат Али. – Здание полностью уничтожено, и книги, по которым мы занимаемся с детьми в образовательном центре, испорчены водой".
http://www.islamnews.ru/news-21962.html

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The PA stands accused

Funeral of 3 Fatah activists in Nablus on 26 December 2009


By Khalid Amayreh in the West Bank

It is widely assumed that the Palestinian Authority (PA) security apparatus played a certain role in the hideous murder by the criminal Israeli occupation army of three Fatah operatives in Nablus a few days ago.

The extrajudicial execution of the three young men, including the barbaric practice of shooting each victim several more bullets to verify his death, took place in full view of their children and families.

The despicable murder has shown that the Israeli army remains as faithful as ever to its cruel traditions.

The Zionist regime claimed that the three victims were responsible for the killing of a Jewish settler a few days earlier. However, it is nearly certain that this claim has no iota of truth.

In fact, the occupation army has produced absolutely no evidence proving its claim, which is a routine behavior resorted to every time innocent Palestinians are murdered in cold blood.

After all, we Palestinians are too accustomed to seeing the Israeli Wehrmacht murder our people and then concoct lies to justify the murder.

As to the PA, and while it is still hard to produce irrefutable evidence indicting its security apparatus for complicity in the murderous Zionist foray in Nablus, it is also hard to exonerate the American-funded apparatus of collusion with Israel .

Indeed, the very doctrine now espoused by the PA security forces, especially since the American Gen. Keith Dayton became the one calling the shots in the West Bank, is that Hamas, not the Israeli occupation, is the enemy and that “any one attacking Israel and the settlers is acting against the national interests of the Palestinian people.

In other words, for those trained, or more correctly brain-washed by Dayton, the resistance against the Nazi-like Israeli occupation is actually an act of treason that goes against Palestinian interests.

Moreover, the huge shame, otherwise known as “security coordination” is alone sufficient to declare the PA regime guilty.

Many questions are awaiting answers as to how the Israeli army was able to locate the homes of these people. The people of Nablus, many of whom took part in the funeral procession of the three martyrs, are asking whether the PA collaborated with the Israelis in locating the martyrs’ homes. Such questions acquire legitimacy especially after Israeli security chiefs praised PA cooperation with the Israeli army in “getting the job done.” So, did the PA security apparatus inform on the martyrs or conveyed their identities to the occupation’s authorities?

If this happened, then the PA must be exposed to our people. After all, the PA security apparatus can’t practice treason under the rubric of maintaining law and order. It can’t practice treachery in the name of patriotism. It can’t murder Fatah’s men, even indirectly, in the name of Fatah, and it must not continue to murder Hamas’s supporters on Israel’s behalf, using Fatah as a card to justify its subservience and collaboration with Israel.

The murder by “our partner and ally,” (this is how one of the highest PA security commanders in the West Bank referred to the Israeli army less than two years ago) of the three Fatah activists in full view of their wives and children should be a turning point in the relations between Fatah and the PA.

Fatah nationalists, who are truly committed to the Palestinian cause, must now stop and think before giving the American-backed junta in Ramallah the benefit of the doubt. Fatah must not allow itself to be manipulated by the slaves of Keith Dayton for the sake of transforming occupied Palestine into a collaborationist entity, a kind of CIA-controlled fiefdom, or combined American-Israeli oasis or banana republic.

More to the point, every Palestinian man and child is asking why the PA is maintaining all these tens of thousands of trained soldiers if it is not for protecting the Palestinian people from the murderous whims of the Judeo-Nazi occupation.

Does it befit our national honor and dignity that our soldiers, the soldiers of Palestine, are instructed to disappear into their coops whenever Israeli troops appear from nowhere in order to murder our citizens, including Fatah’s own men?

I realize that the PA forces are not equipped to confront the Israeli occupation army. However, having said that, it is absolutely dishonorable for these pitiful young Palestinians to do nothing while the enemy invades our towns and murders our people. For God’s sake, if you can’t do anything, at least let those who can, do the job. Don’t shoot them, don’t hound them, don’t obey Dayton who represents Israel’s guardian-ally, the ultimate tormentor of the Palestinian cause.

Hence, leaving this dishonorable job, even at the risk of being forced to sell Falafel in the streets of the West Bank , becomes an honorable choice.

After all, one doesn’t dignify himself and his family, let alone his people, by facilitating the murder of his own brothers and countrymen at the hands of the Judeo-Nazi occupiers of our country and tormentors of our people.

http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/

OBAMA CONDEMNS................

Let’s play a new game called “Obama Condemns Suppression of Innocent Citizens” See if you can pick the country he is referring to. Ready? Here we go….

Obama recently said the following three statements:

Obama said "iron fist of brutality" had been used to silence protesters, calling the actions of officials an "unjust suppression".

1. Was his comment regarding the “suppression” by the Egyptian Government at US and international peace marchers, consisting of house arrests, beatings, removal of internet access, or the threats aimed at Egyptian students who wanted to protest with the marchers? Nah, all that type of “suppression” is “ok” with Obama.

2. Was Obama’s statement directed at Israel for revoking a permit obtained by Arab students at an Israeli University who wanted to exert their right to free speech and protest on the anniversary of Cast Lead Genocide? Nope, any suppression Israel uses is “ok” with Obama.

3. So, that leaves Iran. And yup, you guessed it. Iran is no lackey, I mean "friend" to America, so whatever their government does is immediately condemned. Never mind that if those types of protests (fuelled by a foreign presence) broke out within the USA, I’m quite certain Obama would allow that type of destruction and up-rising, let’s say right outside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? Yeah right. And let’s all ignore the oppression and suppression taking place right now inside Egypt and Israel.

NEXT QUESTION:

Obama said: "The United States joins with the international community in strongly condemning the violent and unjust suppression of innocent citizens."

1. Was his statement directed at Egypt for threatening Egyptian students who wanted to show solidarity with Palestine and the Gaza Freedom Marchers? Or the threats made to hundreds of international peace activists when they were told they could be arrested if they gathered in groups larger than six, or carried a sign? Nope, it’s Egypt, and they are helping Israel, so never mind about human rights because it’s being done for Israel and that makes it all “ok”

2. So, is his statement directed at Israel for its ethnic cleansing policies, it’s kidnapping and internment of hundreds of Palestinians and Arabs? The weekly house demolitions against Palestinians, The weekly evictions of Palestinians, the burning and destruction of Palestinians farms and land, the beatings, the murders by illegal settlers on stolen land? Nope, sorry, again this is Israel and so that makes it ALL “ok” for Obama.

3. So that leaves poor Iran again. They are just supposed to let chaos and violence ensure and allow protestors to set fires and destroy property and bring down the government that the majority of people still support. Never mind about Egypt and Israel, that type of suppression is allowed and encouraged by Obama.

LAST QUESTION:

Obama said: "The United States stands with those who seek their universal rights," he said, adding that his government wanted to see all those "unjustly detained" freed immediately.

1. Ok, surely this is directed at Israel for the illegal detention and internment without trail of hundreds of Palestinians, right? Wrong-o, have you not been paying attention? Its Israel, so it’s encouraged and allowed and supported, and DEFINITELY never mentioned, and neither are Israel’s nukes. Shhhhhh, don’t mention Vanunu or his recent re-arrest or the nukes!

2. Right then, so this must be directed at Egypt for detaining 38 peace activists under house arrest in two locations. Right? Wrong again, because this again has to do with Israel’s wishes and at its behest. So again this type of oppression is encouraged, allowed and totally ignored by Obama.

3. Yes, you guessed right, it’s directed at Iran, as usual, who are only trying to protect themselves from the unrest being encouraged, nurtured and funded by the US/Israel and England. Go figure………..It’s getting to the point where a Democratically elected Government is refused recognition by the US and becomes a target for overthrow using any means. With Hamas, it’s Israel’s genocide being allowed, encouraged and assisted by the US. With Iran’s Ahmadinejad, another democratically elected government, it’s again the same players, US, Israel, and an additional tag team player, Britain.
http://irish4palestine.blogspot.com/

The Road to Gaza

Thousands of world activists are trying to reach Gaza
with about a thousand tons of humanitarian-emergency-goods.

There is a dilemma ,here, for Masters of the game :

If those activist are forbidden to reach Gaza
it will prove that the Egyptian Regime is a dirty-dictatorship
and equally that it is an inhumane one......
and also that it qualifies for treason.

If they reach Gaza , somehow , it will remind to the world that
one and a half Million civilians were starved,deprived and besieged.
Which will reconfirm the nature of the Sate of Israel .

If it were a Hollywood film ,
then the happy ending would come
whereas Moses succeeds in crossing the Sinai-desert ,
like those activists could do, and that Mubarak shall drawn in the Red-Sea
like his predecessors did .

But today Hollywood has less to say , or to do.....
so the end-scenario comes from Tel Aviv :

1- all activists must come via Israel and consume 3 nights
in Israeli hotels , restaurants and Taxis.
2- they may do their shopping only of Israeli-produced-humanitarian-goods
3- they may deposit those goods at the Gaza-Israel-borders only
where a 14% export duties shall be paid and 16% V.A..T tax
and a surplus of 32 % as transportation-fees.
4- once the goods reach inside Gaza , the priority with the distribution
shall be given to the informers of Israel , still stationed there.


The "happy end "
shall consist in the fact that Mubarak shall not drawn
and Nathaniahu shall get Nobel Peace Prize.
http://windowintopalestine.blogspot.com/2009/12/road-to-gaza.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FLkRU+%28Window+Into+Palestine%29

Cartoon of the day

"Obama, Prince of Peace and Profanity" by Edna Spennato,
http://palestinethinktank.com/

Как израильская армия вырезала органы у палестинцев


Бывший директор тель-авивского Института судебной медицины Абу Кабир доктор Йехуда Хисс в 2000 году в беседе с профессором американского университета Беркли Нэнси Шепер Хьюз признал, что израильские медики, начиная с 1987 года, без согласия родственников вырезали органы из трупов палестинцев для пересадки израильтянам, сообщает Le Temps. Пресс-секретарь Армии обороны Израиля признал этот факт, но заявил, что эта практика была прекращена еще в 2000 году.

Издание напоминает, что скандал вокруг хищения органов разгорелся в августе этого года после публикации в шведской газете Aftonbladet, автор которой обвинял Израиль в торговле органами и убийстве палестинцев ради получения органов. Журналист Дональд Бостром признавал, что у него нет доказательств причастности Израиля к торговле органами. Израильские комментаторы назвали статью "антисемитской", а министр иностранных дел Авигдор Либерман использовал ее для усугубления конфликта со Швецией.

Узнав об этой полемике, профессор Нэнси Шепер Хьюз решила придать гласности свою беседу с Йехудой Хиссом. По всей видимости, отмечает издание, никто не подозревал, что патологоанатомы регулярно вырезали органы из трупов палестинцев, направляемых в институт для вскрытия. В 2004 году Хисс был вынужден покинуть свой пост из-за обнаруженных нарушений в работе института. И хотя он был оправдан правосудием, следствие показало, что в институте Абу Кабир без разрешения родственников вырезались органы не только убитых палестинцев, но и израильских бездомных, а также иностранцев, чьи тела не были востребованы их странами, пишет газета.
Серж Дюмон

План Израиля по застройке Восточного Иерусалима вызывает негодование

Израиль заявил в понедельник, что построит почти 700 новых единиц жилья в Восточном Иерусалиме, вызвав этим решением порицание со стороны Вашингтона, Евросоюза и палестинцев, пишет The Wall Street Journal.

Объявление о тендере на строительство жилья стало ударом по попыткам администрации Барака Обамы вернуть палестинцев за стол переговоров с Израилем, отмечает автор статьи Чарльз Левинсон. Президент ПА Махмуд Аббас заявил ранее, что не возобновит прямых переговоров, пока Израиль продолжает строительство в израильских поселениях на Западном берегу реки Иордан и в Восточном Иерусалиме.

Пресс-секретарь Белого дома Роберт Гиббс назвал это решением, которое может "предопределить ход переговоров".

Представитель правительства Израиля Марк Регев заявил об одобрении строительства 693 единиц жилья в трех израильских районах Восточного Иерусалима, захваченного Израилем в 1967 году. В ноябре премьер-министр Израиля Биньямин Нетаньяху, поддавшись давлению Вашингтона, заявил о 10-месячном моратории на новое строительство в еврейских поселениях. Но Восточный Иерусалим стал исключением, и в прошлом месяце правительство одобрило строительство 900 единиц жилья в другом районе Восточного Иерусалима.

"Мы всегда делали четкое различие между Западным берегом и Иерусалимом, - пояснил Регев. - Иерусалим - это наша столица, и останется таковой".

Представитель палестинского правительства Гассан Хатиб заявил, что данное заявление показало, что "израильское правительство заботится больше о расширении поселений, чем о мире".
Чарльз Левинсон
Источник: The Wall Street Journal
http://www.inopressa.ru/article/29Dec2009/wsj/israel.html

CAIR просит Обаму решить проблему исламофобии

Совет Американо-Исламских Отношений (CAIR) призывал американского президента Барака Обаму обратить внимание на «тревожный рост антиисламских настроений» в США.

В своем письме Обаме, организация напомнила о недавних инцидентах в штате Флорида: недавно здесь на месте, отведенном под строительство мечети, был установлен крест с надписью «Христианская нация – христианская община», кроме того, накануне Рождества, местная церковь устроила антиисламскую акцию.

Среди других проявлений исламофобии организация по защите интересов мусульман в американском обществе привела следующие: распространение антиисламских брошюр на автостоянке рядом с исламской школе в штате Вашингтоне, а также аналогичных листовок – в сомалийской общине Миннесоты; нападение на молодого сикха, которого приняли за мусульманина, в Техасе; оскорбительная надпись на грузовике, принадлежащем мусульманину из штата Айдахо; оскорбление сотрудниками банка Иллинойса мусульманки за ее хиджаб; призыв крайне правых депутатов Палаты представителей к расследованию деятельности мусульманских сотрудников аппарата Конгресса; многочисленные акты вандализма в мечетях по всей стране; антиисламские заявления, прозвучавшие во время избирательной кампании депутатов в Конгресс в штате Миннесота, и десятки других.
Согласно последним опросам, две трети протестантских пасторов считают ислам «опасной религией».

«Президент Обама – единственный, кто может справиться с устрашающим ростом антиисламских настроений в нашей стране и призвать религиозных и политических лидеров выступить в поддержку терпимости и взаимопонимания», - заявил директор CAIR Нихад Авад.

Авад сказал, что мусульманская община оценила слова генерального прокурора Эрика Холдера, который в своем выступлении перед собранием мусульман и арабо-американцев в Мичигане заявил, что Департамент юстиции собирается вернуться к своей «традиционной» роли по защите гражданских прав.

3 декабря CAIR опубликовал ежегодный отчет о ситуации в области защиты гражданских прав американских мусульман. Результаты отчета свидетельствуют об увеличении количества инцидентов на антиисламской почве в 2008 году.

IslamRF по материалам «Ислам для всех»

http://islam.com.ua

В Лондоне прошла акция по случаю годовщины агрессии в Газе

Лондонская улица перед посольством Израиля в воскресенье была заполнена тысячами жителей столицы Великобритании, как палестинцев, так и поддержавших их борцов за права человека, которые вышли на демонстрацию, организованную по случаю первой годовщины войны в Секторе Газа.

Ахмед ат-Турк, пресс-секретарь Палестинского форума Великобритании, рассказал, что в сидячей забастовке приняли участие тысячи арабов, палестинцев и активистов других национальностей, которые заявили, что в то время, как во всем мире празднуют Рождество, а Санта-Клаус раздает подарки детям, израильская военная машина продолжает убивать палестинских детей в тисках жестокой осады Сектора Газа.

"Данной акцией мы хотим привлечь внимание мировой общественности к тому, что происходит сейчас в Палестине, а также напомнить о том, что у сионистских преступников руки по локоть в крови невинных жертв их абсурдных политических амбиций!" - сообщает ПИЦ слова палестинского активиста.

http://www.islamnews.ru/news

В Москве жертвами нацистов стали две женщины-азиатки

На юго-востоке Москвы совершено нападение на двух женщин - одна из них убита, вторая в тяжелом состоянии попала в больницу.

Как сообщил "Интерфаксу" источник в правоохранительных органах, около двух часов ночи на улице Окская, в районе дома № 46, во дворах возле гаражей прохожие обнаружили два женских тела. Женщины были сильно избиты, их лица изувечили до неузнаваемости.

Прибывшие на место происшествия медики выяснили, что одна из женщин жива. Она была госпитализирована в реанимацию 68-й клинической городской больницы, где врачи ведут борьбу за ее жизнь. У женщины многочисленные переломы, черепно-мозговая травма, а также тупая травма внутренних органов, полученная, вероятнее всего, в результате избиения ногами и тупым тяжелым предметом, отметил источник.

Установить личности погибшей и потерпевшей пока не удалось. Единственное, что выяснили оперативники, что женщины - азиатки. Есть версия, что это трудовые мигранты, работавшие дворниками.

Рассматриваются все возможные версии нападения, в том числе и нападения, совершенного по мотивам национальной ненависти и вражды.

По факту нападения возбуждено уголовное дело, следствие возглавил представитель московского управления следственного управления СКП РФ.

http://www.islamnews.ru/news-21921.html

Sunday, December 27, 2009

You're a Phone Call Away from Saving a Life.

By Ian Huyett












Last year, in a disturbing reminder of Israel's ruthless assault on the USS Liberty, Israeli warships rammed an unarmed vessel in open violation of international maritime law. The Dignity, whose passengers included US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, was carrying food and medical supplies to the besieged population of Gaza. Imprisoned in the Gaza strip, 1.5 million Palestinian civilians have suffered unimaginable terror at the hands of an occupier that has made clear it has no regard for the sanctity of life.

For decades, Israel has used it's powerful lobby to manipulate and control American foreign policy at the expense of our tax dollars and lives. Our pitiful government has looked the other way while Israeli agents have conducted campaigns of espionage and terrorism against American citizens. The Israeli regime is no more a friend to the American people then it is to the people of Gaza. It's in the best interest of all nations to unite against Israeli policy.

As you read these words, UK politician George Galloway and a humanitarian convoy of 250 vehicles, crewed by 500 courageous people from 20 countries around the world, is stranded in Aqaba, Jordan. Just as Israel intends to use the United States to disable the potential threat of an awakening Iran, it is using the government of Egypt to prevent these nonpartisan activists from delivering medical supplies to the victims of the world's first silent genocide.

If the Egyptian government cannot stand up to Israeli pressure, it can't be expected to stand up to cries for justice from around the world. Contact your local Egyptian embassy and demand that the convoy be allowed to pass.

A nation establishes embassies to better international relations. Tell the government of Egypt how said relations might be effected if Egypt not only allows tragedy to occur, but denies relief to those who've managed to survive it.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Sakka: World responsible for Gaza's humanitarian disaster

Wael Al-Sakka, the board chairman of the Arab, international authority to reconstruct Gaza Strip, has said that the world community that announced the human rights doctrines was itself breaking those rules, Gaza Strip a clear proof.

Sakka in a televised interview on Tuesday night said that an American veto was blocking an end to the Gaza siege.

He said that the catastrophic conditions in Gaza are being viewed by the entire world and with the approval of the Arab regimes, which shoulder the biggest part of the responsibility.

He said that the Palestinian people in Gaza are in shortage of all basic materials, warning that they also suffer from loss of infrastructure and collapsed economy.

Sakka asked the civil institutions worldwide to organize events that would display the world's failure in dealing with the Israeli blockade on the Strip.

Meanwhile, three Palestinians were injured when an unknown explosive object blasted near them in Nusseirat in central Gaza.

Medical sources told the PIC reporter that ambulance teams rushed to evacuate the casualties, adding that two of them were in critical condition after their limbs were severed in the explosion while the third sustained moderate injuries.

A member of the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, was also reportedly killed during a "Jihad mission", the armed wing said.

Local sources said that Mohammed Abu Hashem, 23, was killed in an explosion at a Qassam training camp while another was wounded.

http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/en/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7U9lEl89xuEvNIxnq2%2bEroDHCVrUuqiZZn37mo82Po6er7%2fYGO2mP74llCNkfO13zpUU2IveG2N6XXaFHuwUVOYaUNBeLHqLQkOuszRVlQdg%3d

Hamas: Our response to Israeli offer on swap deal after discussion

Hamas Movement said that it received the Israeli response to the German mediator's proposal on the prisoners' exchange deal and would study the response.

In a statement on Wednesday, Hamas said that it would hand its reply to the German mediator after completing internal discussions over the proposals.

The statement did not include any details on Israel's response or its position regarding the names tabled by Hamas to be released in exchange for the freedom of its soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been held in Gaza for more than three years.

The Gaza Strip: still suffering from a 23-day war and the ongoing siege

By Ayman Quader.

Gaza, December 22, 2009 (Pal Telegraph) One year has passed since Israel’s cruel 23-day war on the 1.5 million people of the wa. 1,400 people were brutally killed and tens of thousands were seriously wounded. It was 23 days that violated Palestinian human rights and put justice further out of reach. It was a war that utilized ‘state of the art’ phosphorous missiles to achieve levels of suffering and destruction that had not been seen in a generation. Tens of thousands of Gazans were made homeless and schools and hospitals were directly targeted.

The horrific 23-day bombardment of Gaza finished last January. However, the siege of Gaza and the suffering of its people continue. While UN and NGO reports describe the bombardment of Gaza and its aftermath in the abstract, talking to Gaza’s children provides an important reminder of the human side of the pain inflicted by Israel.

Anas’ Experience

Anas, a 9 year-old boy living in Bureij Refugees camp, narrated his own experience during the war.

"It was such an unbearable 23 nights of hell. Sometimes I had to hide forcibly staying under my mattress for almost 4 hours or more. I was terrified each time my father went to fetch bread for my family. My mother had to shout at my older brothers not to go outside our house so they wouldn’t be harmed by the continuing attacks. We were without electricity for up to five days at a time which made things even harder.”

“One day I woke up in complete shock, with my father’s voice shouting at us to close all the windows because an Israeli warplane fired a phosphorus missile that landed just by our home. My mother brought us pieces of cloth to cover our mouths so we didn’t breathe in the toxic chemicals.”

Research by the Gaza Community Mental Health Program shows that more than 70% of the Strip’s children remain traumatized and display symptoms of serious psychological difficulties. Understandably, Anas has found it difficult to adapt to life after the war.

He explained, “Recently I have had dreadful nightmares about the war. When I got back to my school in Bureij Refugees camp, I noticed the bad smell of gunpowder and missiles. I was really upset when I found out that five of my mates were killed and lots were gravely wounded”.

Like all of Gaza’s children, Anas is also fearful of the future, “It would be catastrophic if the Israeli government launches another war on us. I keep dreaming of a calm future for me and for children of the Gaza Strip. I hope this bad experience will never happen again".

Diana’s Memory

Diana, a 13 year-old girl, has also spoken about her experience fo the war.

“The war was very hard for our family because our house is made of asbestos. An Israeli missile hit our neighbor’s house and completely destroyed it. The shrapnel from the explosion was falling down around our house like rain and was flying around inside as well".

One year on, Diana has little hope for the future, and she does not look at her house as a place of safety and security. There are many children who have lost their houses and their source of comfort and security.

A war against humanity

During the military offensive, at least 280 schools and kindergartens were severely damaged, and 18 schools were destroyed. Six of the destroyed schools are in North Gaza alone, affecting almost 9,000 students who had to relocate to other schools according to UNICEF, UNRWA. Furthermore, six university buildings were destroyed, and 16 were damaged. Because of the ongoing drastic siege on the strip, it has been hard to rebuild the damaged schools.

According to Dr Hasan Zeyada, a psychologist with GCMHP http://www.gcmhp.net/ ‘children are victims of aggression with all its forms; killings, injuries, imprisonments, loss, and economic & physical siege. The generations of Palestinian children have accumulated, through years of exposure to long term traumatic experiences, negative psychological and behavioral reactions that pose a significant threat to their psychological well-being. http://www.gcmhp.net/

The harrowing experience of the siege prevents the children of the Gaza Strip from having any kind of normal childhood. Children become more acquainted with the names of the dead rather than the names of games.

Anas and Diana are two examples of children whose only crime was being born Palestinian in the Gaza Strip. They hope and dream of a time when they can live in peace and stability with a right to their childhood.

http://peaceforgaza.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

ХАМАС подтверждает сообщение "Гардиан" о причастности ЦРУ к пыткам палестинцев

ХАМАС подтверждает участие ЦРУ в пытках арестованных активистов движения. Ранее с публикацией на эту тему выступила британская газета "Гардиан".

Издание сообщало, что американская разведка сотрудничает со своими коллегами из палестинских спецслужб, которые подозреваются в пытках сторонников ХАМАС. "ЦРУ ведет сотрудничество с агентами палестинской разведки, несмотря на то, что менее года назад Барак Обама подписал приказ, запрещающий использование пыток при допросах. Тесные рабочие контакты между ЦРУ и двумя палестинскими агентствами – Организацией превентивной безопасности и Службой генеральной разведки подтверждают также западные дипломаты и высокопоставленные чиновники в регионе", писала газета. По словам одного из высокопоставленных источников, американские спецслужбы, которые уполномочены контролировать работу профильных подразделений палестинской армии, относятся к подразделениям местной разведки "как к своей собственности".

В адрес сотрудников палестинской разведки неоднократно звучали обвинения со стороны правозащитных организаций в пытках и насилии в отношении активистов ХАМАС. По данным официальных властей автономии, сейчас в заключении содержатся 400-500 сторонников ХАМАС, задержанных палестинскими спецслужбами.

Комментируя выступление газеты, руководство движения сопротивления заявило, что аресты и пытки сотрудниками ЦРУ осуществляются в рамках плана по ликвидации ХАМАС. Данные "мероприятия проводятся совместно с коллаборационистским Рамаллахом, израильскими оккупантами и администрацией США. Во главе этих замыслов стоит командированный Центральным разведывательным управлением и Пентагоном генерал Кейт Дейтон", - говорится в заявлении, которое цитирует "Палестин-инфо".

ХАМАС подтверждает сообщение "Гардиан" о том, что ЦРУ осуществляет полный контроль и руководство над спецслужбами администрации Махмуда Аббаса. Движение объявило генерала Дейтона персоной нон-грата на палестинской территории, и потребовало, чтобы он покинул Палестину. "Мы призываем президента США Обаму положить конец проводимой им политике, которая служит интересам Израиля и способствует разжиганию смуты среди палестинского народа. Мы требуем немедленного отзыва генерала Дейтона с территории Западного берега", - говорится в заявлении.

Публикация в газете "Гардиан" появилась в тот момент, отмечается в документе, когда идет эскалация кампании арестов активистов и сторонников ХАМАС. "Только с 1 декабря этого года арестованы более 600 человек, не считая нескольких тысяч палестинцев, которые были вызваны для допросов. Наряду с этим, на территории Западного берега усиливается кампания репрессий, направленная против депутатов Законодательного и местных советов. Они подвергаются преследованиям и нападениям, унижениям и оскорблениям, нарушается неприкосновенность их личности и жилищ. Члены их семей, их помощники арестовываются", - говорится в заявлении ХАМАС.

http://www.islamnews.ru/news-21847.html

Расходы США на борьбу с терроризмом в мире уже превысили 1 триллион долларов

Расходы США на борьбу с терроризмом в мире с сентября 2001 года уже превысили 1 триллион долларов. Об этом сообщили аналитики из Исследовательской службы Конгресса после того, как президент Барак Обама подписал в понедельник законопроект о военном бюджете страны на 2010 финансовый год.


Согласно данному документу, на продолжение операций в Ираке и Афганистане выделяется 128,3 млрд долл, в том числе примерно 65 млрд на Афганистан. Обама, объявляя 1 декабря о новой стратегии действий в этой центральноазиатской стране, указал, что туда в течение полугода прибудут дополнительно 30 тыс солдат, что потребует еще 30-35 млрд долл. Эти средства он намерен запросить у Конгресса в феврале, когда представит проект госрасходов на 2011 финансовый год.


Как отмечает ИТАР-ТАСС, при оценке затрат на противостояние по всей планете террористам после терактов в Нью-Йорке и Вашингтоне 11 сентября 2001 года учитываются не только непосредственные ассигнования на две войны, но и долгосрочные контракты с подрядчиками на поставки вооружений и техники, строительство военных объектов, лечение раненых, помощь семьям погибших и ветеранам, мероприятия по защите континентальной части США, охрана посольств, исследования и прочие программы.


Общая сумма включает 748 млрд долл в качестве расходов, связанных с операцией в Ираке, и 300 млрд долл - связанных с войной в Афганистане.
Расходы США на борьбу с терроризмом в мире с сентября 2001 года уже превысили 1 триллион долларов. Об этом сообщили аналитики из Исследовательской службы Конгресса после того, как президент Барак Обама подписал в понедельник законопроект о военном бюджете страны на 2010 финансовый год.


Согласно данному документу, на продолжение операций в Ираке и Афганистане выделяется 128,3 млрд долл, в том числе примерно 65 млрд на Афганистан. Обама, объявляя 1 декабря о новой стратегии действий в этой центральноазиатской стране, указал, что туда в течение полугода прибудут дополнительно 30 тыс солдат, что потребует еще 30-35 млрд долл. Эти средства он намерен запросить у Конгресса в феврале, когда представит проект госрасходов на 2011 финансовый год.


Как отмечает ИТАР-ТАСС, при оценке затрат на противостояние по всей планете террористам после терактов в Нью-Йорке и Вашингтоне 11 сентября 2001 года учитываются не только непосредственные ассигнования на две войны, но и долгосрочные контракты с подрядчиками на поставки вооружений и техники, строительство военных объектов, лечение раненых, помощь семьям погибших и ветеранам, мероприятия по защите континентальной части США, охрана посольств, исследования и прочие программы.


Общая сумма включает 748 млрд долл в качестве расходов, связанных с операцией в Ираке, и 300 млрд долл - связанных с войной в Афганистане.
http://i-r-p.ru/

Одна из крупнейших партий Германии против отправки военных в Афганистан

Ведущая оппозиционная партия Германии, социал-демократы, заявили о том, что выступят против планов правительства отправить дополнительный военный контингент в Афганистан, сообщает «Рейтер».


Лидер партии Зигмар Габриэль, ранее поддерживавший политику Меркель в Афганистане, заявил: «нам следует заняться мирными процессами, а не увеличивать количество войск. СДПГ выступит против».

Социал-демократическая партия Германии не сможет противостоять такому решению в одиночестве. Однако, по мнению экспертов, партии по силам заручиться поддержкой и других оппозиционеров, включая членов правящей коалиции Ангелы Меркель.

Некоторые лидеры коалиции, в частности глава МИД Гидо Вестервелле и лидер ХСС Хорст Зеехофер, уже высказались против дополнительной отправки в Афганистан военных, предпочитая сконцентрироваться на мирных акциях.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Association for Civil Rights in Israel State of Human Rights Report 2009: Rights on Condition

In its annual survey of the protection of human rights in Israel and the Occupied Territories, ACRI reveals an alarming trend: the conditioning of rights.

The complete report is now available.

The realization of the entire spectrum of rights is now, more than ever, dependent on what we say or believe, what ethnic group we belong to, how much money we have, and more. We have the freedom to express ourselves and demonstrate - only if we don’t say anything displeasing; we have the right to equal treatment and opportunities - only if we are “loyal” to the State; we have the right to health care - only if we have enough money to afford treatments and medications; and we have the right to adequate housing - only if our ideologies and lifestyles are acceptable.

According to ACRI, the conditioning of rights is contrary to the principle of the universality of human rights.

“Every individual has basic rights as a human being and these rights are inalienable,” said ACRI President and renowned author Sammi Michael. “Just as rights cannot be conditioned, neither can democracy. As such, the conditioning of rights undermines the very foundations of Israeli democracy.”

Below are highlights of the 2009 State of Human Rights Report:

Freedom of Expression - If they like what you say: In 2009, there has been a disturbing increase in infringements on freedom of expression, specifically when individuals and organizations criticized the government.



• In the context of the legal and non-violent campaign against “Operation Cast Lead”, demonstrations were diffused, protesters arrested for no valid reason, and some requests to hold demonstrations not granted - because of the messages conveyed.
• Several legislative bills attempted to limit freedom of expression in an unprecedented manner: the “Nakba Law” would have rendered marking Israel’s Independence Day as a day of mourning (many members of the Arab minority mark this day as the "Nakba" or catastrophe) punishable with imprisonment and the “Loyalty Law” would have ordered the cancellation of the citizenship of those who do not pledge loyalty to the State.

Delegitimization of Human Rights Defenders and Activists: Decision-makers and senior officials within the Israeli government have worked to silence activists and members of social change organizations, whose messages do not correspond to their own. This included aggressive media campaigns, demonization, the diffusion of false information, and attempts to sabotage their funding. Earlier this year, for example, the IDF Spokesperson savagely attacked “Breaking the Silence,” a group which collects testimonies from soldiers who served in the Occupied Territories. In another instance among many, Interior Ministry Eli Yishai called organizations defending migrant workers’ rights a “threat to the Zionist enterprise.”

Arab Citizens of Israel - Rights, if you are loyal: Though Arab citizens of Israel have suffered entrenched discrimination since the establishment of the State, they have faced particularly vicious attacks on their political and civil rights in the past year. Many of the trends mentioned above have affected Israel’s minority most acutely such as the proposed “Nakba Law” and “Loyalty Law.” Moreover, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced that whoever did not serve in the military or complete national service would not be accepted to the Foreign Ministry’s training course; Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced plans to offer financial incentives for schools with high military induction rates. These conditions blatantly infringe on the rights of Arab citizens to equality because they generally do not serve in the army but the conditions also discriminate against Haredim (ultra-Orthodox Jews), people with disabilities, and others. The proposals also reinforce the notion - held among many - that Arab citizens constitute a fifth column.

Increased Racism among Different Groups: A survey in the daily Haaretz reported a high level of intolerance of, and among, virtually all sub-groups in Israeli society. These include: Arabs, Israelis of Russian and Ethiopian origin, Haredim (ultra-Orthodox Jews) and settlers. The horrifying attack on the “Barnoar” gay and lesbian youth club in Tel Aviv elicited widespread condemnation by public officials, but Web forums and talkbacks revealed deep-rooted hatred and disgust for the homosexual community among the general public.

The Right to Adequate Housing - If you are “one of us”: ACRI has documented many instances of illegal discrimination in various housing projects against Arabs, religious groups, members of lower socio-economic classes, and others through acceptance committees, acquisition groups, and other mechanisms.

The Right to Health Care - If you can pay: With the increasing privatization of health care and the increase in the cost of co-payments, members of weaker socio-economic classes are surrendering health care and treatments because they cannot afford them. As a result, doctors and pharmacists are forced to find loopholes to ensure their patients receive proper treatment and medication and even pay for these out of their own pockets.

Occupied Territories - Rights, if you are Israeli: During “Operation Cast Lead”, Israel was responsible for the widespread killing of civilians and continues to view the entire population of Gaza, including minors, as an enemy population, worthy of collective punishment. Despite the repeated pleas of human rights organizations in Israel and abroad and concrete suspicions of breaches of law, Israel has yet to conduct an independent inquiry into its actions.

In the West Bank, Israelis and Palestinians continue to live in two separate and unequal realities: Palestinians are forbidden from travelling on certain main thoroughfares for the purported benefit of Israelis; Israelis and Palestinians are subject to two separate justice systems, where the military law to which Palestinians are subject is much harsher and neglects their due process rights; Palestinians in the West Bank suffer from a grave shortage of water, again for the benefit of Israelis; and Palestinians continue to be victims of attacks by Israelis in the West Bank, with the Police and military not sufficiently protecting Palestinians as required by law and not punishing the perpetrators adequately.

The Deterioration of Democracy: In 2009, lawmakers repeatedly attempted to pass harmful laws in a secretive and hasty manner, purposely trying to circumvent public debate. This was true in the cases of the biometric database bill, the land reform bill, and several radical changes to the State’s social and economic policies. Moreover, ACRI has documented a worrying trend in which the State increasingly ignores Supreme Court rulings, continuing to implement illegal policies, which violate a range of rights, and challenging the basic tenets of Israel’s democratic institutions.
http://www.alternativenews.org/

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/groundgame/obamaegg.jpg`

«Позор арабам, которые способствуют сионистской осаде Газы!»

Фронт народной борьбы палестинцев заявил, что арабские режимы, принимающие участие в строительстве непроницаемой стальной стены под границей Газы и Египта, завершают тем самым процесс полной блокады населения анклава - "тюрьмы под открытым небом".
Такое поведение Фронт назвал "лакейским", полностью подчиненным американо-сионистским устремлениям.
Один из представителей организации в Ливане обвинил «палестинскую администрацию» (нелегитимную уже 12 месяцев) в непрекращающихся попытках ведения абсолютно бесполезных, бездарных для палестинского народа переговоров с сионистскими оккупантами. «Розовыми мечтам Рамаллаха никогда не суждено осуществиться...».
По мнению Фронта, палестинцам нужна новая объединяющая национальная идея, которая позволит достичь заветных целей.
http://muslims-org.blogspot.com/

Еврейский ученый призывает «спасти Израиль от него самого

Преподаватель политологии в университете Бен-Гуриона (Беэр-Шева, «Израиль») Н. Гордон призвал к проведению международного бойкота «Израиля», опубликовав в «Los Angeles Times» статью, в которой выразил свое мнение о характере еврейского государства. Гордон считает, что «бойкот является единственным способом спасти Израиль от него самого». Университет в ответ осудил Гордона за его заявление, обвинив в том, что его слова «вышли за все рамки».

«Это действительно не простая задача - израильскому гражданину обратиться к иностранным правительствам, региональным органам власти, международным общественным движениям, религиозным организациям, профсоюзам и всем людям в мире с призывом прекратить сотрудничество с «Израилем, - пишет Неве Гордон. - Но сегодня, когда я смотрю на своих двух мальчиков, играющих во дворе, становлюсь все более убежденным, что это единственный способ спасти Израиль от саморазрушения».

Более подробно ученый раскрыл свою позицию в книге «Израильский апартеид». По его словам, многие палестинцы лишены основных прав человека и являются практически лицами без гражданства, тогда как все евреи, даже живущие на оккупированных территориях, являются гражданами «Израиля».

Гордон считает, что решение о создании двух независимых государств может быть хорошим способом остановить апартеид, а единственным методом достижения этого является массовое международное давление на сионистское правительство. «Пустые слова осуждения Израиля администрацией Обамы и Европейским союзом не дают существенных результатов. Этим не получилось добиться даже остановки незаконного строительства поселений, не говоря уже о решении уйти с оккупированных территорий», - говорит Гордон.

По его мнению, «всеобщее международное давление на Израиль является единственным способом гарантировать, что следующее поколение израильтян и палестинцев не будет расти в условиях апартеида».

«Выход за рамки»

Университет Бен-Гуриона в ответ на заявления доктора заявил: «Мы решительно осуждаем эту статью. Ее автор перешел все границы академической свободы. Университет, конечно, поощряет свободу слова среди своих сотрудников, однако мы считаем, что все имеет пределы. Когда члены преподавательского состава публично говорят или публикуют заявления, они пользуются свободой выражать свое мнение без страха, но все обязаны вести себя сдержанно. Гордон неоднократно злоупотреблял этой свободой самым циничным образом».

Получается, что, когда «Израиль» массово убивает палестинцев, унижает их на блокпостах, морит голодом, введя тотальную блокаду, - это не цинизм. А если человек открыто говорит на данный счет - это «злоупотребление свободой самым циничным образом».

http://www.islam.ru

Jewish terrorists torch West Bank Mosque, scrawl Nazi slogans

In what seems to signal an escalation of organized Jewish terror against Palestinians and their property, suspected Jewish terrorists on Friday torched a mosque in the northern West Bank .

Palestinians sources said armed settlers from a nearby settlement threw flammable substance inside the Hasan Khadr Mosque at the village of Yasuf near Salfit, 15 kilometers, south west of Nablus .

The incident occurred around 4:00 am shortly before dawn.

The suspected terrorists also scrawled Nazis slogans in Hebrew, reading “revenge” and “we will burn all of you.” Other scrawls read “price-tag-greeting from Effi” Effi is a Hebrew name.

Yasuf local council head Abdul Rahim Musleh said the fire gutted the mosque’s interior, including the carpeted floor, numerous, numerous Qurans and as well as furniture..

The targeted mosque is the largest of four mosques in the village of 2000 inhabitants.

Munir Abbushi, the governor of the Salfit district, where the terrorist act took place, accused the Israeli government and army of encouraging the settler terrorists to attack Palestinians.

“The Israeli army is doing nothing to protect the Palestinians from the settler aggression. Army inaction encourages the settlers to escalate their terror against our people and holy places,” said Abbushi.

The head of the Israeli army’s so-called Civil Administration in the West Bank , Yoav Mordechai, condemned the torching of the mosque, saying he would see to it that the perpetrators are apprehended and brought to justice.

However, Palestinians doubt Israeli sincerity in combating organized Jewish terror carried out by settlers indoctrinated in extremist religious ideology advocating genocide against non-Jews.

Khalid Maali, a Palestinian journalist from Salfit, attributed the incident to repeated edicts, or religious rulings, by rabbis urging settlers to kill Palestinians and vandalize their property.

“These rabbis are saying in broad daylight that it is a mitzvah (good religious deed) to murder non-Jews and destroy their property. And these terrorist settlers are simply acting on and carrying out these edicts.”

Maali charged that the Israeli government and army were legitimizing settler attacks against Palestinians by failing to apprehend and punish terrorists involved in terrorist attacks.

“This is tantamount to encouraging them to commit more terror. When these terrorist are allowed to get away with impunity, the Israeli government is effectively telling them that you can attack Palestinians and torch mosques and have nothing to worry about.”

Reactions

The torching of the Hasan Khadr mosque has drawn angry reactions from Palestinian leaders on both sides of the Green Line.

Ahmed Teibi, a prominent leader of the 1.5 million-strong Arab community in Israel , who is also a Knesset member, held Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak responsible for this “sinful act.”

“By giving these thugs (Jewish settlers) a carte blanch to maraud and rampage throughout the West Bank , the Israeli army and government are effectively encouraging them to commit crimes against the Palestinians.”

He urged the occupation army to immediately put an end to settler terror and violence before the situation gets out of hand.

The league of Muslim Ulema or religious scholars in occupied Palestine strongly condemned the “sacrilegious act,” calling on the Palestinian Authority to stop stripping Palestinians of fire arms.

“The PA has stripped the people of their arms. Now we stand unable to defend and protect ourselves. And the PA security agencies are not allowed to repulse settler attacks as their only task is to fight the resistance fighters,” said league chief Sheikh Hamed al Beitawi.

Al-Beitawi, who is also an elected member of the Palestinian legislative council who has spent years in Israeli jails for opposing the Israeli military occupation, also denounced rabbis for issuing edicts to their followers, inciting them to murder Palestinians and vandalize their property.

“These rabbis call themselves men of peace, but true men of peace don’t incite to terror and hatred and bloodshed. Imagine how these rabbis would react if a Jewish synagogue was torched in London or in Paris. They would invoke the entire history of anti-Semitism from the Spanish inquisition to the Nazi holocaust.”

Settler leaders have repeatedly said they will attack Palestinians and their property every time the Israeli army moves to vacate settlers from illegal outposts. The threats have been carried out, with settlers attacking Palestinian farmers, especially olive-pickers, businesses and now mosques.

This is not the first time Jewish terrorists attack Muslim holy places. In 1994, a Jewish terrorist who had immigrated from the United States, riddled Muslim worshipers with bullets at the Ibrahimi Mosque in downtown al Khalil, killing 29 and injuring and maiming dozens.

The terrorist, Baruch Goldstein, who was eventually killed by survivors, became a saintly figure for right-wing Jewish fanatics who advocate the extermination, enslavement or expulsion of non-Jews from mandatory Palestine (the land between the River Jordan to the Mediterranean).

The Aqsa Mosque in al Quds has also been a constant target for organized Jewish terror since Israel occupied the city from Jordan in 1967.

Similarly, other mosques, both in the West Bank and pre-1948 Palestine, have been repeatedly vandalized and desecrated by supremacist Jewish groups seeking the extirpation of non-Jews from Palestine.

http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Bended Knees: Zionist Power in American Politics

By James Petras

“Obama wants to see a stop to settlements: Not some settlements, not outposts, not natural growth exceptions”. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, May 2009

“What the prime minister has offered in specifics of a restraint on the policy of settlements…..is unprecedented, there has never been a precondition, it’s always been an issue within negotiations.” Hillary Clinton, BBC, November 1, 2009 (my emphasis)

“The US administration understands what we have always said … that the real obstacle to negotiations is the Palestinians (calling for a freeze on settlements)”. Israeli Minister of Science and Technology Daniel Hershkowitz, November 1, 2009 (my addition).

“America, stop sucking up to Israel!” Gideon Levy, Israeli journalist, Haaretz, November 1, 2009.

“US Zionists are sticking it to America, 24/7”, Anonymous Staff Official, Washington D. C., October 31, 2009.
Zionists and the Jewish Communities in America

The 51 Presidents of the Major American Jewish Organization (PMAJO) claim to speak for all Jews in the US.2 A major study in the north Boston region found that less than 25% of Jews belong to a synagogue, fewer (10%) contribute to the Jewish Federation and over 50% do not accept rabbinical Zionist precepts against inter-marriage with non-Jews.3 According to the Jewish Telegraph Agency (12/4/2009) conservative synagogues have declined by almost 25% from 800 to 650 over the past decade. Even most striking many prominent individuals who may be of Jewish parentage, no longer consider themselves “Jews” despite frequent claims by Zionists that their achievements are a product or a result of their being “Jewish”. Near majorities of young people of Jewish ancestry do not identify with Judaism and are critical or indifferent to Zionist appeals for Israel. They have no involvement in Jewish centered civic activities. A small, but vocal, group of Jews are organized and active critics of the entire Zionist apparatus, rejecting the idea of Israel as an exclusive ethno-religious state and supporting a secular democratic republic in Palestine. In addition several Orthodox Jewish sects view the ‘state of Israel’ as a form of blasphemy and call for its destruction.

The “51” misrepresent their actual numbers and claim to speak for 6 million US Jews. At best they may speak for less than half of the imputed population and even then their support waxes and wanes according to the issue, the timing and the place and varies in intensity. The power of the “51” is not a result of its representativeness of the Jewish community at large, but the location of its followers in the power structure and the intensity and quasi-religious fervor of their activists. Their political power resides in their singular forces in pursuit of the interests of the State of Israel and the control and influence in media; their nationwide networks and the wealth and financial power of contributors. Their capacity to browbeat apathetic Jews into making contributions and lending support adds organizational muscle. Their willing use of force, money and media slander intimidates any and all critics, including dissident politicians, media, journalists and professors.

At most there are probably no more than 500,000 Jews who actively back the “51” – but what a half million! Given the low level of political participation of the US population in general, the relative low saliency of Middle East issues to most Americans and the one-sided pro-Israel mass media propaganda, which misinforms the public, the Zionist zealots have little competition. They have a free hand in penetrating and influencing political, social and cultural institutions in line with the policies dictated by their Israeli influenced leaders among the “51”.

The issue of the limited representativeness of the Zionist organization must be separated from the exercise of power. By leveraging non-Zionist, non-Jewish civic organizations, political institutions, pension funds, trade unions etc. the ZPC magnifies its power beyond its numbers.

The limited representativeness of the “51” is compensated by the silence and apathy of the majority of Jews and non-Jewish/Jews, who either are not willing to challenge ZPC claims or are immersed in private concerns, careers or other unrelated civic issues.

The ‘51’s hundreds of thousands of activists are strategically placed in institutions, as well as geographically, with a centralized command capable of mobilizing money, media attention and political leverage in any priority, political, cultural or social arena.9 The ‘51’ organizations are not merely a “lobby” in the sense of having paid officials operating to influence congressional votes. They include religious, civic, charitable, ideological, cultural and social organizations unified and unconditionally committed to following the zigzags of Israeli political directives. The actual structure resembles a ‘power configuration’ that reaches from small chapters in municipalities to statewide confederations, as well as national organizations, each with its own budget, its own ideological watchdogs and appropriate levels of power.

The power for Israel is exercised by elected and appointed Zionist officials, especially those in positions that have any relevance to Israeli interests. These “interests” include direct aid to Israel, sanctions and wars against Israel’s Middle East and Asian adversaries, American pension fund investments in Israel, boycotts of companies trading with Israeli-designated adversary countries and many other strategic concerns.

The key to the power of the Zionist Power Configuration is that it is a mass grassroots organization, bolstered by the financial support by scores of millionaires and dozens of billionaires and a complicit mass media. These political resources translate into tremendous leverage over the far more numerous non-Zionist electorates, the mass media spectators and the upwardly mobile politicians.

The ZPC illustrates clearly how “numbers” in the abstract do not count,12 especially in a permeable electoral system like the US, where money, organization, discipline and ethno-religious fanaticism define the boundaries, issues and acceptable policies.
Israeli Power over US Middle Policy: The Centrality of the ZPC.

The manifestations of Israeli power over the US are public, visible, outrageous and unprecedented in the annals of US foreign relations. Israeli power is wielded directly through its subordinated political arm, the ZPC, which in turn facilitates the direct intervention of the Israeli state in the internal politics of the US. Let us examine several crucial empirical indicators of Israeli power in the US.

On November 9, 2009, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the mass based Jewish Federation (JF) of North America General Assembly and thanked US President Obama and the US Congress for repudiating the Goldstone Report. The Israeli head of state then told his US followers to increase their efforts to influence US policy to “stop Teheran from realizing its nuclear ambitions”. Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, told the same Jewish Federation to “press for sanctions on Iran and condemn the findings of the United Nations commission on Gaza. Speaking as a tribal chieftain dictating orders to the loyal overseas followers, Oren stated, “Our strength derives from the belief that we have a right to independence in our tribal land, the land of Israel…” Israel is the only country that can intervene in the internal politics of the US, counting on a powerful political organization, to shape US policy to serve its state interests.

By drawing on the now discredited myth that American Jews’ tribal ancestry is rooted in Israel, rather than Central Asia, Khazaran, reinforces the idea that Israel and not the United States - is the true ‘homeland’ of American Jews and therefore it is their right and duty to obey the dictates of the Israeli state.24 Each year dozens of Israeli state officials visit the US and directly intervene in US political debates, congressional hearings and executive policy making – with nary a whisper of protest, let alone censure from the US State Department. Any other country’s officials who so flagrantly intervene in US politics would be declared persona non grata and expelled from the country. In contrast, because of the power of the ZPC, Israeli civilians and military officials are invited to intervene in US policy making, to set the agenda for numerous Zionist officials in and out of public office and to bludgeon and praise those who criticize or oppose Israeli dictates.25 The repeated public statements by Israeli officials that the primary loyalty of American Jews is to Israel and its policies – in other words, that they should act as a fifth column for Israel - is incompatible with the notion of citizenship everywhere except for this small group in the US. One could imagine the outcry (and brutal reprisals) if any political leader from a Moslem country called on their co-religionists to pursue its state interests. What is striking then about the ZPC is that it openly and publically organizes meetings, follows orders and pursues policies dictated by Israeli public officials and yet is not registered as a foreign agent, let alone prosecuted for acting, by its own admission, on behalf of a foreign power.

The Interlocking Directorate: Establishing Zionist Hegemony

Several critical analysts have identified some of the key issues and institutions under Zionist influence. Some have identified AIPAC as an influential pro-Israel lobby. Others have noted the pro-Israel bias of the mass media. A very few have even identified Zionist predominance in media ownership.

Others, especially during the Bush presidency, noted the influence of key Zionists in the Pentagon, especially their role in promoting the US invasion of Iraq. The narrow focus of their otherwise valuable critiques fails to account for structural continuities over time and place: the long-term, large-scale presence of unconditional Israel Fisters across administrations especially over the past two decades. Moreover, while case studies of Zionist influence over specific policy issues, such as the recent Congressional repudiation of the Goldstone Report and support for Israeli war crimes, are useful, the larger theoretical and empirical phenomenon of the growing chain of issues over ever more extended policy areas of interest to Israel (and therefore the ZPC) is ignored.50 In a word, the problem of ZPC power in the US is not confined to a single issue lobby. This narrow approach obfuscates the systemic role of the ZPC in effectively disenfranchising the great majority of the American wage and salaried people (at the expense of their living standards), increasing war taxes for the middle class and blocking investment opportunities for corporate America in countries designated (by Israel) as “security threats” (adversaries of Israeli colonial expansion).

The career patterns of leading Zionists include movers from business (Wall Street, Corporate law firms) to government; another pattern involves Zionist academics who move to the executive branch and then on to corporate or Zionist think tanks. Others follow a career combining academic – propagandist – journalist policy consultant positions, often prominent on the television political ‘talk’ shows. The leading media moguls combine roles as CEO’s – propagandists - and Israel advocates. The overlap of career positions creates a network of shared ideologies, defined by ‘what is best for Israel’ (Israel First). The shared “world view” creates a cohesive group that sets the boundaries of US policy debate. Congressional behavior, Executive policy makers and intellectual discourse are confined by these ZPC-determined parameters. In effect pro-Israel career patterns and projections of power have established a kind of Judeo-Zionist hegemony of US public life.

Zionist Intellectuals: In Defense of Terror:

The ZPC has long established a near stranglehold on the major media outlets for opinion and analysis on the Middle East and especially on issues, which Israel’s foreign office has given high priority. As a result Israel First academics and pundits monopolize the editorial and opinion pages of the Washington Post, the Murdoch chain, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, Newsweek, and other print outlets.57 The spread of Zionist extremism is evident in two recent feature articles published by Newsweek (December 21, 2009), glorifying the neo-fascist head of the Israeli secret police, Mossad, Meir Dagan for his success in assassinating political adversaries in violation of national boundaries and his close ties with US Treasury official and Zionist zealot Stuart Levey, who is in charge of blackmailing Iran’s trade and investment partners, in order to strangle the Iranian economy and impoverish seventy million of its people. The Newsweek authors of these articles are rightwing Israel and US Zionists. Notorious Zionist news anchors, like Ted Koppel and Wolf Blitzer, parrot the Israeli-ZPC line in the major media (Fox News, CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, BBC) as well as secondary outlets (National “Public” Radio). The result is self-styled “experts” of dubious loyalty to the America, but with strong ties to Israel and Zionist propaganda institutes, grind out opinion pieces which defend the Israeli regime’s most atrocious war crimes and land grabs. Numerous professors from the most prestigious universities hack out op-ed pieces defending Israel’s assault on Gaza, fabricating judicial precedents, and citing “Just War” theory.60 Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, when confronted by near universal support for the Goldstone Report, ordered the ZPC to denigrate Justice Goldstone, the basis and legality of the Report and falsify its contents. When the extreme militarists, like Netanyahu, passed the word to Israel’s mouthpieces in North America, they unleashed the ZPC’s entire stable of academics, journalists and propagandists. Over one hundred op-ed pieces in the major media savaged the Report, slandered Goldstone and defended Israeli terror attacks, which destroyed the entire human infrastructure of the Gaza.61 No Israeli crime was too great to cause any Harvard, Yale, Princeton or John Hopkins Zionist academic to rethink their bind subordination to the Jewish state. They parroted Netanyahu’s line that the massacre over one thousand civilians and the brutalization of hundreds of thousands was an exercise of “Israel’s right to self-defense”. Few of the Jewish and non-Jewish academics, who dared to criticize Israel’s terrorist policy, cited the weakest section of the Goldstone Report – its amalgamating Israel’s all-out terror bombing of Palestinian neighborhoods, schools, hospitals, mosques and farms, with Hamas’ futile and ineffective retaliatory rockets falling mostly on empty Israeli fields. Few if any raised their voices against the domestic propaganda arm of Israeli war crimes – the Presidents of the 51 Major Jewish American Organizations. Needless to say, with few domestic critics willing to even identify their opponents, the ZPC secured over 90% of the US Congress in favor of Israel’s repudiations of the Goldstone Report, which they had never even read.

What is striking about the vast majority of Zionist academic apologists of terrorism is their shoddy scholarship, their tendentious and illogical arguments and de-contextualized analogies. Their ‘persuasiveness’ is based on the fact that their ‘line’ is reinforced by the mass media and enforced by the ZPC’s political thuggery and character assassination of potential critics. Their repeated presence in the media gives the appearance of legitimacy in defending violations of international law. Their prestigious positions provide a veneer of expertise or knowledge even as their research in the region is based on flawed premises, including disproven religious legends and colonial mythology.As Zionist academics become more deeply involved in justifying the expansionist Zionist claims, Israeli conquests and brutal militarism there is an accompanying marked deterioration of intellectual standards. Over time prestigious positions become linked with mediocrity. Academic degrees, awards and badges of merit are harnessed to hack writing and political hatchet jobs. Noted critics, who exempt Israeli war crimes and terror, are still published by prestigious publishers, despite their shabby intellectual output. Promotions and academic chairs are secured by eminently distinguished apologists of dubious morality. Their blind support and defense of the practices of a terror state puts the lie to their claims to high ethical and scholarly standards.

The American Zionist academic elite fits Adorno’s authoritarian personality: at the throat of the American polity and at the feet of the Israeli – ZPC elite. Arrogant posturing, angry polemics and emotional ejaculations cover up for their lack of substantive arguments. Where bullying fails, soothing rhetoric which speaks to values, dialogue and cooperation accompanies a blind eye to the relentless Israeli uprooting of Arab residents from Palestinian/Jerusalem. Princeton academics cite classical political theorists in defense of gun-toting Jewish settlers who brutalize shepherds, threaten school girls and up-root centuries-old Palestinian olive groves.

The Globalization of Zionist Power

From the Israeli fatherland to the nerve centers of Zionist power in the US, using the experiences and drawing on the support of the ZPC, pro-Israel influence has spread to important political institutions in England, Canada, France, Netherlands, Russia and more recently South America. In England, leaders and deputies from both the Conservative and Labor party accept millions in campaign funds from billionaire Zionists, paid junkets to Israel and other payoffs in exchange for supporting Israel’s most egregious acts of violence in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank.Zionist front groups like the “Conservative Friends (flunkeys) of Israel” and “Labor Friends (flunkeys) of Israel” ensure that the incumbent regimes and the opposition put Israeli trade and militarist interests at the center of British Middle East Policy.

In Canada under the Conservative Harper regime, Zionists have secured unprecedented influence and diplomatic and material support for Israel’s top priorities. These include support for the annexation of most of Palestinian East Jerusalem; repudiation of the Goldstone Report; support for Israeli war crimes during the 2008/09 invasion of Gaza; Israel’s invasion of Lebanon and pending legislations criminalizing criticism of Zionism as “anti-Semitism” among a host of other pro-Israel acts, decrees and trade privileges. The opposition Liberal and New Democratic parties compete with the Conservatives in pandering to the pro-Israel power configurations in order to secure campaign financing from millionaire real estate, financial and media moguls. In contrast, major Canadian trade unions and anti-Zionist Jewish campus and community organizations have organized boycotts of Israeli goods and academic organizations serving the bloody occupation. In France, life-long Zionist zealot, Foreign Minister Bernard “Bernie” Kouchner, has embraced Netanyahu’s extreme position of “unconditional negotiations” which allows massive land seizures and the construction of ‘Jews-only’ apartment complexes on illegally confiscated Palestinian land to continue while endless inconsequential “peace” negotiations take place. This position has been supported by Uber-Zionist Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.

In Russia, eight of the top nine billionaire oligarchs have claimed dual Israeli citizenship. They illegally and violently seized hundreds of billions of dollars worth of formerly state-owned mines, factories and banks, and then transferred part of their illicit fortunes to overseas banks in Israel, the US, London and the money-laundering offshore island states and tax-havens. Zionist power peaked during the debauched Presidency of Yeltsin in the 1990’s, but residual influence is evident in the Putin-Mevedev regime. This is particularly apparent in the US- Russian accords to increase sanctions on Iran, a policy that jeopardizes billions of dollars in Russian investments and trade with Iran. Russia has resolutely refused to pressure Israel over its colonial settlement expansion. In a similar manner, Israel retains a decisive influence over Holland and Germany’s Middle East policy, via the exploitation of the Holocaust Memory, the Ann Frank legacy and the pressure of pro-Israel economic sectors.

The newest example of the “globalization” of Zionist power and the drive for new Israeli spheres of influence is found in Latin America. Major US Zionist organizations have contributed substantial financial resources to building, advising and orienting their counterparts, especially in Argentina, Brazil and Peru, while engaging in a systematic effort to curry favor with the US by demonizing President Chavez for his forthright defense of Palestinian rights and condemnation of Israel’s crimes against humanity during its blitz of Gaza.69 For these acts of courage the 51 US Jewish organizations branded Chavez an “anti-Semitic”, even going so far as to accuse him of fomenting an assault on a Jewish community center in Caracas. When the arsonists were arrested, the assault was revealed to have been carried out by center employees hired by the local Jewish notables.

Global Zionism has targeted Argentina and Brazil. Argentinean Jews have a history of ambiguous feelings toward the state of Israel and Zionism. Early twentieth century Jews established farming and cattle ranches – the legendary “Jewish Gauchos”-- while urban artisans and working class Jews were active in socialist, anarchist, communist and left wing Yiddish organizations. The mid-century generation (1940-60) of professionals, businesspeople, academics and bankers divided between leftist anti-Zionists and Zionists. Both suffered attacks from the pro-fascist sectors of the dominant mass-based populist Peronist regime. The 1960’s to 1970’s saw a profound generational split – characteristic of all Argentinean society – especially under the military dictatorships of (1966 – 1973) and (1976 – 82). A significant contingent of university-based students and professors, psychologists and professionals of Jewish ancestry joined urban guerrillas and radical mass movements and suffered “disproportionate” number of deaths by torture and ‘disappearances’. During the worst years of terror, the Israeli government retained relations with the bloodiest of the military regimes (Videla, 1976), overlooking its anti-Semitic proclivities in order to trade in arms and military technologies. At the same time, Israel promoted Jewish immigration to Israel, securing passage of Zionist and non-Zionist Jews to Israel.

Jewish-Zionist Cultural-Political Hegemony in the US
Jewish Zionist hegemony over the political narrative in the US has grown in recent years, evidenced by the support or, at most, tepid criticism, found in the major literary and political journals and magazines.In the beginning the ZPC imposed their view that Israeli conquest and wars against the native people of Palestine and its Muslim neighbors was a war of “national liberation” or “independence”. This first phase culminated with Jewish-Zionist success in convincing President Johnson to cover up Israel’s bombing of the USS Liberty during the Seven Day War.From the 1970-90 Zionist-Jewish hegemony extended from its traditional bastion in the film, TV and radio mass media to a whole series of former left-of-center and conservative weekly and monthly publications and the establishment of new publications on the far right.The formerly liberal New Republic became a pulpit for virulent attacks on any critics of Israel.Commentary, formerly a liberal cultural journal, became a mouthpiece for neo-conservative apologists of Israeli wars … and war crimes …The conservative National Review moved firmly into the ‘Israel First’ camp, purging any critical dissent on Israel and its unconditional supporters in the US. As Zionist hegemony in intellectual and popular cultural print and mass media was established, committed Israel-Firsters gained influential positions in US State Department and foreign policy apparatus. “Think Tanks”, thinly veiled propaganda mills, produced pro-Israel position papers. Their staff elbowed their way into the mass media as “experts” and into foreign policy advisory positions serving various politicians and Administrations. They rose to the highest levels of government in the Clinton Administration and expanded further during the Bush-Obama regimes. Zionist entry into key positions of structural political power mirrored their long march through the cultural institutions. Their influence was reinforced by billionaire Jewish-Zionists’ contributions to established think tanks, like the Brookings Institute, and to both political parties. Contributions influenced the nominations and candidates for office from local mayors to the Presidency of the United States.

It is estimated that as high as 60% of Democratic Party contributions came from Israel First benefactors, securing an automatic 90% Congressional vote on whatever issue the Israeli Foreign Office marks as priority for its US Fifth Column. With very rare exceptions neither liberal, progressive, radical or “Marxist” writers, academics, editors, journalists broach the issue of Zionist-Jewish cultural-political hegemony, nor its economic structural underpinnings. The “left” is equally hegemonized by Zionist-Jewish influence, to the point that not a few join the vile ad hominem chorus slandering critics of the ZPC as “veering on anti-Semitism:…

Even today, at the end of the first year of the Obama regime, the Zionist presence in strategic positions in foreign policy making has been ignored by leftist and liberal critics of US Middle East policy. Few, if any critics, look at the structural determinants of that policy. One is more likely to find “data” in the business press. For example, an article in the Financial Times, criticizing President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s “inconsistent” position on Israeli settlements in Palestine’s West Bank, points to the “…problems with the administrations message – including its inconsistent policy on Israel-Palestine – can be traced back to the White House, where Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel (dual Israeli-US citizen) keeps a firm grip on foreign policy. Some ex-diplomats say they have never seen power so centralized … Mrs. Clinton’s own deputy, Jim Steinberg, is widely perceived as a White House enforcer, who polices even relatively minor policy statements that often leaves State Department spokesmen (sic) mouthing near meaningless talking points.”90 Emanuel has been active in the Israeli military and is suspected of ties to its spy agency (MOSSAD). Steinberg is just a high powered “native born” Israel Firster, marginalizing the State Department from any alternative policies to pandering to Israel and its US Fifth Column.

Hegemonized American liberals and leftists maintain their “support” for Israel on the basis of the fiction that the “bad” Israelis are the fanatical Likud party leaders while Labor and Kadima party leaders and the Israeli people want peace and a just settlement. Unfortunately for these supporters of “progressive” Zionism, the Defense Minister Barak who directed the bloody massacre in Gaza is the leader of the Labor Party and is backed by his party in support of all the new aggressive Israeli land seizures and colonial settlements. The genocidal wars and violent settlements have the support of the vast majority of the Israeli Jewish population. Public opinion polls carried out by the Israel National News published in mid-November 2009 reveals that 53.2% of Israeli’s say the solution to the conflict with the Palestinian people is their forceful dispossession and ethnic cleansing – “transfer” is the Zionist euphemism for a crime against humanity.91 Such are the “just wars” receiving unconditional support by the ‘51’ Presidents of the Major American Jewish Organizations.

The point is that not even the Israeli-Jewish majority’s embrace of a totalitarian final solution shakes Zionist hegemony in the US. The embrace of inconvenient positions, such as genocide approval, is not publicized in the Zionist mass media. Instead we continue to hear the chattering classes mouthing the clichés of a “dialogue” and “negotiated solution” between the expropriators and the dispossessed.

The question of Zionist cultural and political hegemony, where it is even been acknowledged by non-Jews and Jews, revolves around several mistaken partially distorted conceptions. One key idea held by anti-Semites and Zionists alike is that Jews possess special qualities (“blood” or “genetic”). Many cite the importance of a Jewish historical tradition, which emphasizes education and learning. Others still, claim success and power comes from knowledge, merit and achievement. Recent studies refute the idea of a special, unique Jewish “gene pool” – as most contemporary Askanazi Jews are descendants of Central Asian Khazari converts to Judaism in the 8th Century A.D., who subsequently were pushed into Eastern Europe by the Mongols and beyond. Israelis are not descendants of the ancient Jews of Israel, many of whom converted to Christianity and later Islam and whose descendants are most certainly the modern-day Palestinians (as conceded by early Zionists myth-makers, like David Ben-Gurion).

Secondly, for over one thousand years Jewish “scholarship” revolved around sterile debates and exegeses of the minutiae of the Talmud and bodies of law based on religious myths. Critical philosophers like Spinoza were looked at as renegades. The rise of scholarship and scientific thinking among Jews coincided with the growth of the Enlightenment and the establishment of liberal laws, which opened doors for promising Jewish scholars, scientists to break out of the sterile confines of the Rabbinal intellectual ghettos. Many of the great thinkers were called “Jews” because of their ancestry, like Spinoza, Karl Marx and Leon Trotsky although they did not practice Judaism nor identify as “Jews”. Recognition and success of Jews came from business and financial activity as well as from occupations like money managers in the West and overseers of feudal lords in Poland. A Jewish authored scholarly history of the Jewish people was not written till the 19th century and even then it treated biblical legends as fact.

Equally questionable is the notion that the rise of Jewish-Zionist hegemony is a product of “merit” or “achievement”. But here we must distinguish between the mass of Jews who occupy middle or lower middleclass positions in society and those few individuals who have made major contributions. Moreover it is important to not confuse the rise of individuals to economic power through the exploitation of labor, the extraction of rent from tenants and speculation and achievement through “merit”, namely, skills applied to advancing knowledge for the greater good of working people. Zionists’ “superior race” theorists lump successful Wall Street speculators with innovative scholars as examples of “Jewish superiority” justifying or “explaining” hegemony. Zionist race theories, which claim a homogenous ‘Jewish’ people bound by common history and horizontal and vertical ties, is more an ideological manifesto ignoring profound class and even ideological divisions (at least in the past and perhaps emerging today).

Jewish-Zionist hegemony in the US is the result of a supra or meta-historical mythology with mystical religious foundations in the Old Testament. The rise of American Zionism is tied to a virulent exclusivist tribal religious loyalty to Israel as the “mother state”. The driving force of US Zionism is the subordination of US civil society organizations and the instrumentalization of the US military and economic resources to service Israeli colonial expansion and projections of power in the Middle East.

What needs to be understood is that the present subjection of our Middle East policy to the Zionist Power Configuration is a result of the latter’s accumulation of power and political-cultural conditions within the US, which weakened the articulation of alternative values and policies and a defense of American working class interests embodied in a democratic foreign policy.


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