Jonas in Palestine

Circus Against Apartheid (Skin Magazine)

2008-06-06T04:42:28Z

from Skin Magazine: http://www.skin-online.com/PDF.aspx?itemid=8

CIRCUS AGAINST APARTHEID
by Jonas Moffat

More than 100 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza the week that I write this. Israel is mourning eight of her own that were killed in Jerusalem last night. Retribution will be cast upon innocent civilians on either side of the Wall. This seemingly endless vicious circle affects the children more than anyone else. Israel’s policies of assassinations, injuries, home demolitions, imprisonment, bereavement, on top of harsh living conditions of poverty, over-crowdedness, malnutrition, and inability to access necessary educational and health facilities because of the more than 500 checkpoints, add up to take a devastating toll on the psyche of Palestine’s youth. They needed an outlet. And it was with this vision of change and healing that Shadi Zmorrod set out to create the Palestinian Circus School.

Click on the following link to read the rest of the article and to see the amazing pictures:
http://www.skin-online.com/PDF.aspx?itemid=8

Hope Under Siege: Pittsburghers in Palestine, A Photo Show. June 19 Pittsburgh, PA

2008-05-20T02:11:09Z

Hope Under Siege: Pittsburghers in Palestine
A Photo Exhibit

Opening Reception: Thursday, June 19, 2008 6-9PM
at the Shadow Lounge, 5972 Baum Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA

May 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of what Palestinians call the “Nakba.” It is a date engrained into the minds of every Palestinian, everywhere. The translation means the “Catastrophe,” because three quarters of a million Palestinian women, men, and children were expelled from their homes, massacred ensued, and 531 Palestinian towns and villages were destroyed for what was to become the state of Israel.

For the 60 years of Israel’s existence, Palestinians have been refused the right to return to their homes. Palestinians remain the largest refugee population in the world. Many continue to see the uprooting of their trees, the demolition of their homes, the building of apartheid walls, confiscation of their farmland, and the murder of their family members and friends by the Israeli army.

Over the years, many Pittsburghers have traveled to Palestine to witness and document what is happening on the ground in order to amplify the voices of the marginalized Palestinians and spread the truth through eyewitness accounts of life under occupation, of a hope that is under siege.

Please join the Pittsburgh Palestine Solidarity Committee as they reveal their photographs from Occupied Palestine. Hear eyewitness accounts from Palestinians and Pittsburghers who have seen and experienced life under the gun. View the scenes of hope and the images of despair. Share the truth with the world about 60 years of dispossession and a hope that refuses to perish.

WHERE: The Shadow Lounge, 5972 Baum Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15206
WHEN: Thursday, June 19, 6-9pm

Hosted by the Pittsburgh Palestine Solidarity Committee (www.pittsburgh-psc.org)

Enjoy performances by hip hop artist Rashad Jamaal, funky-folk music by Leslie Addis, crazy beats by Shambolished, slam poetry by local artists, food by Allegro Hearth Bakery, monster raffle, and much, much more!

For more information, contact: Jonas: joeskillet@riseup.net

From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free!

PLEASE DISTRIBUTE THESE FLYERS WIDELY!

Palestine Photo Show by Larisa Shaterian. Berkeley, CA

2008-05-13T02:30:33Z

X-Files 2... It's Coming.

2008-03-28T20:29:51Z

Sneak Bootleg Trailer here:

http://showhype.com/video/x_files_2_trailer_paleyfest/

Bil'in Habibti, Speaking Tour, PITTSBURGH March 9, 2008

2008-02-29T10:26:35Z

Speaking Tour and Film Screening
Anti-Apartheid and Non-Violence in Palestine

Sunday, March 9th
2 pm
First Unitarian Church,
Shadyside
605 Morewood Ave.

Featuring:
Palestinian Activist
Mansour Mansour
and Israeli Filmmaker
Shai Carmeli Pollack
with his movie:
“Bil’in Habibti”
(Bil’in My Love)

Join us in a discussion about nonviolence
movements against the Israeli occupa-
tion and apartheid, joint struggles be-
tween Israelis and Palestinians, respond-
ing to military violence using nonviolence,
and ordinary people that resisted the
Apartheid wall and won.
www.pittsburgh-psc.org

Sponsored by:
Pittsburgh Palestine Solidarity Committee, Unitarian
Universalists for Justice in the Middle East, Muslim
Student Association—Pitt Chapter, Middle East
Peace Forum, Green Party of Allegheny County, Tho-
mas Merton Center, WILPF-Pittsburgh

Bil'in, a small village in Palestine is the site
of one of the most important non-violent,
civil disobedience actions in the Middle
East. Every Friday, villagers and interna-
tional supporters, march to the illegally
constructed wall, in an attempt to regain
and keep their agricultural lands. Several
of us from Pittsburgh had the opportunity
to visit Bil'in this summer and join with oth-
ers in a demonstration against the wall.
We also experienced first-hand the repres-
sion leveled at the villagers -- CS gas and
rubber bullets.

Annapolis: A "Generous Offer" for Palestinian Refugees?

2007-12-05T20:48:06Z

Annapolis: A "Generous Offer" for Palestinian Refugees?
by Neta Golan, 5 December 2007

from AlterNet, see original text here:
http://www.alternet.org/audits/69740/?page=1

Under Israel and Bush's "solution", Palestinian refugees who had been expelled from what is now Israel could return, not to their homes, but to small, non-contiguous parts of less than 22% of their original homeland.

Anyone familiar with Israeli politics was not surprised that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert did not acknowledge Israel's occupation in his speech at Annapolis. What was surprising was that, while stopping short of mentioning the "R" word -- refugees -- Olmert did acknowledge the Palestinian refugee problem.

Referring to the Palestinians, the Israeli Prime Minister stated in his Annapolis speech: "your people, too, have suffered for many years; and there are some who still suffer. Many Palestinians have been living for decades in camps, disconnected from the environment in which they grew up, wallowing in poverty, in neglect, alienation, bitterness, and a deep, unrelenting sense of humiliation."

Olmert's characterization of the refugees is only partially correct. Poverty, neglect, alienation, bitterness and feelings of humiliation, are only one component of the refugee experience. There are also other components, such as community, pride, generosity, and perseverance. This one-dimensional characterization obviously suits Olmert's conception of a solution. It also casts refugees as objects that will be acted upon (once again), rather than subjects who can genuinely participate in finding a solution. A recent article in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, titled "Refugees and Jerusalem: A question of money," sheds light on Olmert's statements. The article revealed the outlines of the deal being cooked to sell the rights of the Palestinian refugees.

In addition to oral testimonies given both by Palestinian refugees and Jewish combatants, many official documents describe policies and actions taken by Jewish militias which were designed to expel Palestinians from what has become the state Israel. According to Israeli Historian Benny Morris, "In the months of April-May 1948, units of the Haganah [the pre-state defense force that was to become the IDF] were given operational orders that stated explicitly that they were to uproot the villagers, expel them and destroy the villages themselves." Yet Olmert presented the refugee issue as a humanitarian problem, not unlike one caused by a natural disaster, saying that "Israel will be part of an international mechanism that will assist in finding a solution to this problem." Olmert made it clear that he was not admitting Israel's responsibility for creating the problem by saying "I came here today not in order to settle historical accounts between us…", and by equating the Palestinian refugee problem with the "constant suffering of many Israelis."

The solution Olmert suggests is "an international effort, in which we (Israel) will participate, to assist these Palestinians in finding a proper framework for their future, in the Palestinian state that will be established in the territories agreed upon between us." The suggestion that the refugees do not have the choice to return to the lands from which they were expelled, but instead "return" to a future Palestinian state, is contrary to international humanitarian law, and to UN resolution 194 that "Resolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date." Despite this, the United States President George Bush promised Ariel Sharon in a letter on the 14th of April 2004 "an agreed, just, fair and realistic framework for a solution to the Palestinian refugee issue as part of any final status agreement will need to be found through the establishment of a Palestinian state, and the settling of Palestinian refugees there, rather than in Israel." Despite the illegality of these promises, they were ratified on June 23, 2004 by both the United States House and Senate. Olmert refers to this letter in his statement as a point of departure for the negotiations.

Working groups are now developing plans to implement Bush's promise. According to Ha'aretz, The Aix Group, "a semi-official political-economic backchannel," is developing a plan for Palestinian refugees. The Aix Group's members include Israeli, Palestinian and international economic experts, academics, members of economic organizations, and officials from international institutions, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, who participate in the Aix Group in their personal capacities.

The group is administered by a steering committee led by Prof. Gilbert Benhayoun, a Moroccan-born Frenchman, Prof. Arie Arnon, economics professor from Ben-Gurion University in Be'er Sheva, Said Bamya, the former deputy minister for economic affairs in the Palestinian Authority, Dr. Ron Pundak, director of the Peres Center and Dr. Samir Hazbun from DATA Studies and Consultation. Other partners include the European Union, French donors, the World Bank, the French Foreign Ministry, the International Development Research Center in Canada, the General Council of the Bouches du Rhone, and the Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur.

The Aix Group's document opens with a declaration of principles stating that an agreed and just long-term solution to the problem of the 1948 refugees must be based on the relevant United Nations resolutions, including General Assembly Resolution 194, but then nullifies that statement by saying that "a literal application of this Resolution is no longer possible given the substantial changes on the ground." The document then describes an arrangement that would substitute for the U.N. resolution which they have deemed no longer applicable, stating that, "The parties would agree that the measures recommended in the paper implement Resolution 194."

The reference to "substantial changes on the ground" as an obstacle that renders the UN resolution inapplicable perpetuates the myth that physical or material obstacles render return impossible. According to Salman Abu Sitta an expert on the Palestinian refugee issue, "90% of the village sites are still vacant, 7% are partially built-over, and only 3% are totally built over in Tel Aviv and West Jerusalem." Of course, there are obvious issues that would have to be addressed. But these problems have been dealt with in many places, such as Bosnia, Kosovo and Tajikistan, to name a few, and pose no obstacle in and of themselves to return. A hint to what the real obstacle may be lies in Ha'aretz correspondent Akiva Eldar's statement that "The Aix Group is convinced that if bold steps are not taken in the right direction, the vision of one state for two peoples, based on joint citizenship and equality before the law, will be placed on the agenda."

The group suggests that an international committee of experts would determine what constitutes "fair and full" compensation for property claims. They estimate that the total cost of these claims will be between $15 billion and $30 billion.

The group makes it clear that in cases in which "fair and full compensation" is offered, "restitution" (the right of return) will not be considered. This formulation turns the basic principle set in the UN Principles on Housing and Property Restitution for Refugees and Displaced Persons totally on end. The UN principles clearly note that restitution is the primary remedy, and compensation only comes into play if refugees themselves choose compensation, or if restitution is factually not possible as determined by an independent tribunal.

"Palestinian refugees will be asked to choose a permanent place of residence, the group proposes that the individuals choose more than one alternative and rank their priorities." But the implementation of this choice depends on "the states concerned", including Israel. Aix proposes to create an International Agency for the Palestinian Refugees (IAPR) that will be responsible "to ensure that the final decisions satisfy the wishes of the refugees as much as possible and are in line with the overall agreements to be signed between the representatives of the two sides, and possibly also with the relevant host countries and other countries."

The Aix group expects that a large number of refugees will choose to relocate to other countries at the cost of $8 billion to $19 billion, depending on how many refugees will choose to move from their current country of residence. The plan suggests that some of the Palestinian refugees will be rehabilitated in their current locations and will receive compensation "in kind or in money" at a cost of $10 billion to $14 billion.

In addition, the group recommends the creation of a fourth fund, which will require about $22 billion, for compensation relating to "refugeehood" not related to property claims or the other programs. All the registered refugees will receive a uniform amount of about $5,000 each. According to Ha'aretz, the money can be attained in a period spread out over 10 years and with extensive, generous international aid.

Under international humanitarian law the right of refugees to return to their homes is an inalienable, individual human right. Like all human rights, it is invaluable and cannot be bought. Under Israel and Bush's "solution", Palestinian refugee families who had been expelled from what is now Israel would be consigned to return, not to their homes, but to small, non-contiguous parts of less than 22% of their original homeland. Jews from anywhere in the world, on the other hand, would be free to "return" to more than 78% of historic Palestine, frequently to live on land seized from those same Palestinian refugees. Such clear discrimination against Palestinian refugees and privileging of Jews from anywhere in the world illustrates clearly that these proposals would further a separate but unequal solution that cannot result in peace.

Neta Golan is an Israeli peace with justice activist living in Ramallah, and a founder of the International Solidarity Movement. For more information see: http://www.apartheidmasked.org

None so strong as the Converted-- Published in Jordan's NOX Magazine

2007-12-05T16:20:24Z

None so strong as the converted
by Jonas Moffat

NOX Magazine, http://www.nox-mag.com/features/dec07/feature2.html

Enraged by the attacks on the World Trade Centre in 2001, Jonas Moffat was set to join the US Air Force – until 90 minutes with the PLO turned his worldview upside down

Pondering from these Prison Walls

Not far from Tel Aviv, as I lay here in my Ramla prison cell staring at the ceiling, not much is there to do besides recap the events in my life that caused me to arrive in this position. I am wearing all black, as if my future self knew before I left my cozy apartment in Ramallah, that this color would represent the mood I currently occupy. Yesterday, I spent the whole day in questioning. “Viscous” is but an understatement for the type of forceful interrogation given by Israel’s Ministry of the Interior. It started as soon as I left Ramallah for Jerusalem on a Palestinian bus. I noted a hint of anxiety. But this anxiousness was not the “normal” kind usually felt when approaching the fortress-like checkpoint of Qalandia, which separates Ramallah from other Palestinian towns and Jerusalem. There was something deeper in this anxiety as our bus waited in the long line and Israeli soldiers checked the permits of Palestinians attempting to cross Qalandia’s walls.

My best friend Katie is beside me. Both of us emanate a sense of nervousness yet skill, having done this so many times. Our fingers slightly touch, offering comfort as one Israeli soldier enters the bus, M16 dangling from his side. Two IDs checked beside us. I’m next. Soldier holds onto my passport, looks me in the eyes, then my passport. “Come with me!” he demands. A shiny pair of handcuffs is pulled from a security official’s pocket. Exiting the bus is Katie, half screaming at the soldiers. Calmly, I ask, “What have I done?” Instead of an answer I find two big security guys on either side of me dragging me to a small white trailer. “This is it,” I thought. “My stay in Palestine has come to an end.” Some ridiculous questioning ensued.

“You are a Muslim, aren’t you?” I responded that I was not a Muslim. “Admit it, we know that you are a Muslim!”

I am not a Muslim, I assured them, but what if I was, I asked.

“Why do you insist that I am a Muslim?”

“Because you have a beard!”

“Have you seen the settlers in Hebron?” I asked. “They all have beards. Are they also Muslims because they have beards?”

“Listen,” they continued, “we know that you are a Muslim and that you have a fake passport.”

Fake passport? “I guarantee you guys that my passport is legit and that I am Christian. I worship Jesus. If you take off my handcuffs I can show you my Jesus keychain.” Katie is detained and released.

“You know it’s dangerous for Israelis to be in Ramallah,” I hear someone consult her. Katie responded with two words, first one beginning with “F” and the second one was “You!” I am placed in a white tinted-window sedan. Part of my optimistic side still believes that all of this is big mistake. Pessimism takes over when I ask the driver where they are taking me and the response is “the airport.”

Our destination is close to the airport. Planes are seen flying low to the ground. “Which one of these is mine?” The next couple of hours are filled with more intense questioning.

“Why do you want a lawyer? Why are you so nervous?” sneers the Interior official with a South American accent.

I turn the questioning over to him: “Are you Chilean?” He smiles but doesn’t answer. And neither do I anymore. I am informed that I will spend the next couple of weeks in jail until my deportation unless I purchase a plane ticket tonight. First word beginning with “F,” second word, “You!” is the response he receives.

Fingerprinted, photographed, and filed alongside the rest of the “troublemakers” who have been booted by the Zionist regime for revealing to the world the horrors and atrocities of the Occupation, now behind bars for these sins of mine.

But it wasn’t always like this.

I contemplated from that uncomfortable jail bed on the chain of events that led me to this land in the first place.

A Tuesday morning in 2001

I arrive at my ambulance company a few minutes late for my 9:00am shift. A handful of Paramedics can be seen glaring at the television when I enter the employee room. No one turns to greet me. I join in on the staring. And there they are, two towers ablaze in New York. This is the moment that a countrywide shock is borne. Subsequently, the paranoia will ensue.

Today, there just so happens to be a supposedly hijacked plane hovering over the skies of Pittsburgh. The fear, admits a superior, is that one of the next “targets” will be one of the many hospitals scattered throughout Pittsburgh. We are dispatched to these facilities.
Shockingly, I am feeling overly patriotic. Maybe it’s the radio? I hear Lee Greenwood’s, “I’m Proud to be an American,” playing almost simultaneously on different stations.

A sense of panic has taken over the streets as my ambulance lights and sirens engulf my perception. My EMT partner is convinced the plane is coming down on the building where his mother works so he makes an unscheduled stop to her department store, loads her into the wagon, and catapults her to the safety of her home. TV and radio stations are already blaming “Arab terrorists” and “freedom-hating Muslims.” And here I am, 21 years old and still impressionable, consuming this information, eating up every piece of it.

I find the nearest shop selling American flag pins and buy a few, pinning one to my chest immediately. “Ooh, look over there, car flags!” (the kind with magnets that stick to the hood of my army-style Jeep Wrangler!) It won’t be long, especially with the help of the mainstream media, before I make up my mind: I will join the US Air Force, to serve as a flight medic, and protect my country! This is the legacy of my family, after all. My parents met via the US Marines. My grandfather served. My great grandfather was on the first ship in Tokyo Bay after Japan surrendered. Now it’s my turn!

The Air Force recruiter is pleased with my decision and schedules me to take the aptitude test next week. I return for the test at the federal building. Once I take this test, I become property of the US military machine. My name, however, is not on the list. The man at the desk apologizes but I “cannot take the test unless your name is on the list.” Luckily, there is another testing in two weeks. He signs me up. Maybe it was a divine intervention, because a week after almost signing away my soul, I will meet a woman who will forever change my course on this planet.

Often, I take a stroll through the Carnegie Mellon University campus. On today’s stroll, I spot a flyer reading, “In pursuit of peace in the Middle East: Diana Buttu, PLO peace negotiation advisor, arrives from Occupied Ramallah to warn of regional disaster as US pursues Iraq war.” Interesting, this presentation starts in an hour. And in one week I join the Air Force, potentially being sent “over there,” so I decide to hear this Diana Buttu. For an hour and a half I listen her. I try and digest what she is relaying to me here in Doherty Hall. The role of the Israeli lobby in the US and their push for war in Iraq, what this all means for US foreign policy in the region, what it means for the Palestinians. Connections never before imagined are made for me here. I imagine myself training with the Air Force and I feel sick.

I follow the crowd to the reception area. There, I meet Diana and the Pittsburgh Palestine Solidarity Committee who organized the event. I am introduced to Kate Daher, the chair of the PSC. Although my head is experiencing a whirlwind, I relay my dilemma to Kate: “I am to join the Air Force in a week to go get the bad guys. After today’s presentation, I am beginning to think we are the ones wearing the horns. I am so confused!” Kate passes me some literature. I go home and devour the handouts. I feel shocked yet exhilarated.

Needless to say, I don’t join the Air Force, though the recruiters didn’t stop calling me for months. Instead, I join the International Solidarity Movement, a Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land using nonviolent, direct-action methods and principles. And it is with the ISM that I will devote the next five years of my life.

I Don’t Want Your Handouts!

I am the only white guy in this wing of the prison. I assume that I am the only one in the whole complex. My cellmates are Sudanese, Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Nigerian. All have been arrested for overstaying their visas in Israel or for being caught sneaking into the country. Many have not given their names. “Three meals a day and drinking water is good enough for me,” says the Eritrean. “And why are you here?” I ponder this question as four guards enter. They hover over my bed. It is day three and I have not eaten their food or drank their water. I have evoked the principles of Gandhi and I do not accept their handouts—their “charity.”

“We are concerned for you,” says one of the guards. “You need to eat.” I stare at them blankly. If they only knew all that Israel has already “provided” me over the past years. And now they are concerned? And what about the Palestinians—all that has been placed on their tables? Don’t Bite the Hand that Feeds You, some may say. I say, don’t eat from the hands that poison you, arrest you, beat you, shoot you, and deport you. If these guards could transcend themselves into my thoughts this is what they would find:

I find myself on Shuhadda Street in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood of Hebron. A Palestinian child is walking home alone. Katie and I are posted on the street to observe Israeli settlers, the most extreme settlers in all of the West Bank. Four 20-something year old settlers are walking this way. The Palestinian boy asks us to walk with him. As I reach the boy’s front door, I see a swift motion behind me. I am karate-chopped by the biggest settler. I fall to the ground. They continue to kick me on the ground until Katie comes over screaming for the soldier to intervene. The boys make a quick getaway. I am left shaken, with several bruises.

Fast-forward a month. Here I am at the sink in my kitchen, pouring water for tea. I see a tiny organism exit the facet and enter the teapot. I ask my Palestinian coworker if this is normal. No, was his concerned response. We make our way to the roof where our water tanks reside. Our roof, you see, is a “closed military zone,” however. The IDF is using it as an observation tower. They are also using our water tanks as garbage bins. Inside we find their trash, everything from bullets to army netting to food containers. Immediately, I assume they have used our tanks as toilets and get nauseas. The organism that dove from my faucet was nothing compared to the thousands that were paddling around in our drinking tanks. Eventually, we will hear from our friend in LA, who stayed in our apartment, that she contracted tapeworm. In my book, this amounts to poisoning.

The following year I am in Bil’in, a Palestinian village that is losing 60% of her farmland to Israel’s Apartheid Wall. At a weekly non-violent demonstration against this monstrosity, I am on the medic team because of my experience as an EMT. When I receive word that an Israeli activist has been shot in the head, I go to the rescue. Meters away from reaching Lymor Goldstein, I hear a soldier yell from behind me. From just feet away, he takes aim with his M16. I start to run. My blue jeans turn red on the left leg. The rubber-coated steel bullet pierces my skin, enters my body, bounces off of my bone, and exits. Lymor isn’t so lucky. The bullet penetrates his skull and enters his brain. According to Israeli military law, shooting rubber bullets from a distance under 40 meters is considered deadly. Miraculously, Lymor survives.

Next year I find myself in the Palestinian village of Artas near Bethlehem. Farmers have been warned that Israeli bulldozers will soon arrive to uproot their apricot trees to pave the way for a sewage system for the settlement atop the adjacent hill, currently under construction. For a week we have camped out under the trees to be ready for the arrival of the Israeli Occupation Forces, eating and drinking tea under the stars, bonding with Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists. This is this morning the bulldozers arrive.

Some activists have chained themselves to the trees. Others are making a human wall affront the soldiers. Soon, men, women, and children are seen being launched over a wall, falling to the ground, screaming in various languages for the soldiers to stop. One soldier tries to take my camera and break it but I am too quick. Instead, I am launched over the wall, protecting my camera in my arms, caught by the activists on the other side like stage diving. When the IOF has secured us far enough away from the scene, the sound of the bulldozer can be heard. In a matter of minutes, a whole field of apricot tress is obliterated, along with a whole family’s livelihood. I cannot hold back my tears as a stony-faced Palestinian farmer hugs me tightly.

I would love to relay these stories, and a mountain of others, to the guards standing over my bed urging me to eat their food. Something tells they wouldn’t care. Something tells me that, in their eyes, I am the bad guy. I could spend the next few days telling them why I am not going to eat their food, with images of Palestinians being carried away on stretchers from non-violent demonstrations, women passed out on the ground due to extreme tear gas inhalation, blood stains on walls in Balata refugee camp, miles of concrete separating Palestinians form their schools and families.

But I don’t have a few days. Soon I will be deported for my crime of witnessing and documenting Israel’s human rights violations, for sharing the truth from Occupied Palestine. The Ministry of the Interior judge tells me that I have enough problems in my own country. She tells me that I am outlawed from her country for the next 10 years, “plenty of time to cause trouble in the States.” We shall see. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.

Jonas Moffat has been active with the International Solidarity Movement since 2003. He is the co-founder of the Tel Rumeida Circus for Detained Palestinians. Jonas is currently working as a freelance writer in Cairo. He maintains a blog at: http://joeskillet.livejournal.com

A full version of this article appears in NOX issue 17
(or email me for full version of article)

http://www.nox-mag.com

Daily News Egypt: The Flavor Project

2007-11-21T12:52:48Z

Taste the flavor of hip-hop, slam poetry and more

By Jonas Moffat
First Published: November 20, 2007

http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=10385

Cairo is not ready for the Flavor takeover,” said Yashreeka Huk, cofounder of the new Flavor Project.

Mahmoud Shoukry, the other cofounder, said, “Flavor’s aim it is to celebrate hip-hop and contemporary art in Cairo.”

Mahmoud Shoukry and Yashreeka Huk, cofounders of Flavor Project

The two recently held auditions at Move Dance & Fitness Studio in Mohandiseen. Yasmine Riad, owner of Move, is sponsoring the project. “When I first heard about Flavor,” said Riad, “it sounded like a brilliant idea. I am happy to sponsor and support Flavor.”

Huk and Shoukry explained that the Flavor Project will apply various elements of performance, including dance, beat boxing, poetry, MCs and more. “Though hip-hop will be a big factor,” said Huk, “it is just a starting point. The Flavor Project is aiming much higher.”

“Anyone who is serious about performing is welcome in the project as long as you take yourself seriously and have a professional attitude,” said Shoukry. “We want to get you on stage and show Cairo what you’ve got. It is not just about performance, it is also about growth, and we will all learn from each other.”

At the informational meeting, Huk and Shoukry explained to nearly 50 applicants the goals of the Flavor Project.

“We are calling this a project,” said Huk, “because we all have a stake in this. If the project fails, we all fail. There is no ownership here, we just want you all to grow as artists.”

Those performers selected for the project will pay monthly dues to be saved up until a February performance. Huk and Shoukry will organize the rehearsals and public relations for the February event.

The Flavor Project, according to Shoukry, “will exhibit to Cairo an amazing performance with a message. Music and performance have become so commercialized, and our goal is to bring something different.”

Huk and Shoukry met through one such performance. Huk said, “The cool thing about performance is that it is so universal, that I, as an American, could meet Mahmoud, an Egyptian, through this kind of venue. This is a universal feeling that is springing up everywhere, independent of any other movement. One of our aims is to bridge cultural and religious gaps.”

The audition was a clear example of the universal aspect to which Huk was referring.

Ruqaya, a British native auditioning for the Flavor Project, said, “I was not expecting to do anything like this in Egypt. When I heard about the Flavor Project, I was really excited to be able to bring an art form that not many in Cairo have heard about which is Slam Poetry.”

Nurmeen, an Egyptian student, heard about the Flavor Project on Facebook. “My reaction was, oh my God, they’re bringing a ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ [an American TV dance show] to Egypt. This can bring me one step closer to my dream of becoming a professional dancer.”

Bryan, an American, said that he was “hoping to bring a little hip-hop flavor from the United States. I want to share my American MC flare with Egypt.”

Soraya, a Malaysian native who dances jazz, ballet, and modern, said, “I am extremely thankful that this project is underway. It sounds like a lot of fun.”

Ava, a classical dancer from Germany, said that she was “eager to learn new styles of dance by working with the Flavor Project and to share with everyone what I got.”

The idea of the Flavor Project started brewing in October. “The idea of fusing together many aspects of performance has always been fascinating for me,” said Shoukry.

Huk added, “It’s going to be quite amazing to see a belly dancer and a break dancer together on stage, dancing to a live DJ. It’s gonna be dope.”

“The intention of the Flavor Project,” said Shoukry, “is to gain enough publicity and momentum to start a performing arts company.” In the meantime, it is Move Dance & Fitness providing the logistics and funding for the project.

According to the Flavor Project’s Facebook page, “The culmination of this endeavor will result in a banging performance during the month of February with several exhibition performances leading up to the event.”

Firedance by Jonas

2007-11-18T11:19:11Z

Firedance by Jonas
Photography and Editing by Kalman N Muller

San Francisco, California
November, 2004

In the war of words, The Times is Israel's ally

2007-11-18T10:04:31Z

In the war of words, The Times is Israel's ally

The paper consistently adopts Israel's language, giving credence to an inaccurate, simplistic and dangerous cliche.

By Saree Makdisi, SAREE MAKDISI, a professor of English and comparative literature at UCLA, writes frequently about the Middle East.
March 11, 2007

'AS SOON AS certain topics are raised," George Orwell once wrote, "the concrete melts into the abstract and no one seems able to think of turns of speech that are not hackneyed: Prose consists less and less of words chosen for the sake of their meaning, and more and more of phrases tacked together like the sections of a prefabricated henhouse." Such a combination of vagueness and sheer incompetence in language, Orwell warned, leads to political conformity.

No issue better illustrates Orwell's point than coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the United States. Consider, for example, the editorial in The Times on Feb. 9 demanding that the Palestinians "recognize Israel" and its "right to exist." This is a common enough sentiment — even a cliche. Yet many observers (most recently the international lawyer John Whitbeck) have pointed out that this proposition, assiduously propagated by Israel's advocates and uncritically reiterated by American politicians and journalists, is — at best — utterly nonsensical.

First, the formal diplomatic language of "recognition" is traditionally used by one state with respect to another state. It is literally meaningless for a non-state to "recognize" a state. Moreover, in diplomacy, such recognition is supposed to be mutual. In order to earn its own recognition, Israel would have to simultaneously recognize the state of Palestine. This it steadfastly refuses to do (and for some reason, there are no high-minded newspaper editorials demanding that it do so).

Second, which Israel, precisely, are the Palestinians being asked to "recognize?" Israel has stubbornly refused to declare its own borders. So, territorially speaking, "Israel" is an open-ended concept. Are the Palestinians to recognize the Israel that ends at the lines proposed by the 1947 U.N. Partition Plan? Or the one that extends to the 1949 Armistice Line (the de facto border that resulted from the 1948 war)? Or does Israel include the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which it has occupied in violation of international law for 40 years — and which maps in its school textbooks show as part of "Israel"?

For that matter, why should the Palestinians recognize an Israel that refuses to accept international law, submit to U.N. resolutions or readmit the Palestinians wrongfully expelled from their homes in 1948 and barred from returning ever since?

If none of these questions are easy to answer, why are such demands being made of the Palestinians? And why is nothing demanded of Israel in turn?

Orwell was right. It is much easier to recycle meaningless phrases than to ask — let alone to answer — difficult questions. But recycling these empty phrases serves a purpose. Endlessly repeating the mantra that the Palestinians don't recognize Israel helps paint Israel as an innocent victim, politely asking to be recognized but being rebuffed by its cruel enemies.

Actually, it asks even more. Israel wants the Palestinians, half of whom were driven from their homeland so that a Jewish state could be created in 1948, to recognize not merely that it exists (which is undeniable) but that it is "right" that it exists — that it was right for them to have been dispossessed of their homes, their property and their livelihoods so that a Jewish state could be created on their land. The Palestinians are not the world's first dispossessed people, but they are the first to be asked to legitimize what happened to them.

A just peace will require Israelis and Palestinians to reconcile and recognize each other's rights. It will not require that Palestinians give their moral seal of approval to the catastrophe that befell them. Meaningless at best, cynical and manipulative at worst, such a demand may suit Israel's purposes, but it does not serve The Times or its readers.

And yet The Times consistently adopts Israel's language and, hence, its point of view. For example, a recent article on Israel's Palestinian minority referred to that minority not as "Palestinian" but as generically "Arab," Israel's official term for a population whose full political and human rights it refuses to recognize. To fail to acknowledge the living Palestinian presence inside Israel (and its enduring continuity with the rest of the Palestinian people) is to elide the history at the heart of the conflict — and to deny the legitimacy of Palestinian claims and rights.

This is exactly what Israel wants. Indeed, its demand that its "right to exist" be recognized reflects its own anxiety, not about its existence but about its failure to successfully eliminate the Palestinians' presence inside their homeland — a failure for which verbal recognition would serve merely a palliative and therapeutic function.

In uncritically adopting Israel's own fraught terminology — a form of verbal erasure designed to extend the physical destruction of Palestine — The Times is taking sides.

If the paper wants its readers to understand the nature of this conflict, however, it should not go on acting as though only one side has a story to tell.

Daily News Egypt:US court dismisses Caterpillar case filed by Rachel Corrie and Palestinian families

2007-10-22T18:23:32Z

By Jonas Moffat
October 21, 2007

http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=9873

CAIRO: In September, a US Court of Appeals dismissed a case against Caterpillar, Inc., which alleged seven claims, including aiding and abetting war crimes, extrajudicial killing, wrongful death, and other serious human rights violations.

The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) took the case on behalf of the family of Rachel Corrie and four Palestinian families.

Corrie, an American peace activist, was killed on March 16, 2003 by a D9 Caterpillar bulldozer when it ran over her twice while she was trying to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home. She was 23. The four Palestinian families are representing 17 family members who were either killed or injured by Caterpillar bulldozers.

In their decision, federal appeals judges claimed that they lacked jurisdiction to hear this case. Judges evoked the “political questions doctrine,” which they said would “require the federal judiciary to ask and answer questions that are committed by the Constitution to the political branches of the US government.”

Furthermore, the political questions doctrine, judges claim, would cause them to examine the role of the US government in financing the sale and purchases of Caterpillar bulldozers to the Israeli Defense Forces.

“We knew that 'political questions' might be a factor in the court's decision,” Cindy Corrie told Daily News Egypt, “but we did not think that it would be applied in this way.”

Gwynne Skinner, one of the lawyers representing Corrie's family, told Daily News Egypt that the judges calling on the “doctrine of political questions means that they cannot even look at any of the questions or evidence we are presenting, because of the ‘separation of powers’ in the government. They are saying that they 'constitutionally' can’t review the case.”

Cindy Corrie, Rachel’s mother, said, “In our view and in our lawyers' view, there was not enough information at this early stage for the court to truly determine the level of involvement of the US government in the sales. Also, we and our lawyers believe that it has historically been the role of the courts to hear claims for injuries caused by human rights violations, especially where an American company has aided and abetted those violations.”

Skinner added, “This court is a good court because it is based on law and not politics. If the judges decided to hear this case it would not affect the political body’s support of Israel. However, those who blindly support Israel tend to be very vocal, and any decision by the court will most certainly create a firestorm around it.”

She added that the court is the only forum to hold Caterpillar accountable. “If the judges decide not to hear this case, there will be no relief or justice for the lives of Rachel Corrie or the thousands of Palestinian families affected, and this is a tragedy.”

CCR, the Corries, and the Palestinians families are not giving up with this court’s decision, however. A motion for rehearing was filed on Oct. 9. Whether the court will accept the motion, Skinner said, “is a waiting game.” If the court refuses, they could then appeal to the Supreme Court — a move Skinner doubts they will take.

Corrie added, “We believe the court did not have enough information to decide whether this case should be dismissed based on a political question. We have in the petition asked the court to order more discoveries in the case, wherein more information about how the bulldozers are sold and the level of involvement of the US government in actually approving the sales can be better ascertained.”

According to Attorney Skinner, the court relied on an affidavit filed in separate hearings that the Caterpillar bulldozers were paid for by the US government “without giving any chance to see if this was true. There is no bit of scrutiny being used here.”

Corrie added, “There is no evidence that the US government had a policy that these bulldozers were to be sold and used to demolish civilian homes — in violation of international humanitarian and human rights law.” Asked if the Corries believed the court acted in good faith, she responded, “We think the court acted in good faith, but we believe they ruled incorrectly and we hope that they will reconsider this decision and its potential impact.”

In Sept. 2007, an Israeli bulldozer killed 19-year-old Mahmoud Kayid Al Kfafi in the Gaza Strip. According to eyewitnesses, the Caterpillar bulldozer hit Al Kfafi in the head with its razor, killing him immediately. To escape the gunfire being shot from IDF tanks at stone throwers, Al Kfafi sought refuge behind an olive tree.

Doctors said the bulldozer broke his skull wide open and his brain was out of it.

Corrie said that they are currently active with this case as well, stating that “we are involved today with a day of action against Caterpillar, Inc. calling for them to end their role in this occupation and to cease their sales to the Israeli military of equipment repeatedly used to break international humanitarian law.”

Interview with Jonas Moffat, by Patrick McDermott (2007)

2007-10-22T18:10:25Z

An Interview with Jonas Moffat,
by Patrick McDermott (2007)

http://www.philipmetres.com/content/view/69

It is often tempting to overlook injustice that does not impact one's daily life. It is unsettling to acknowledge that millions throughout the world cannot enjoy the same freedoms that many take for granted in this country. It is easier not to think about it. This apathy, however, is what allows oppression and evil to persist in the world. Without brave individuals standing up and speaking out, some of history's greatest injustices may have never been corrected. Peace and human rights activists focus their efforts on correcting these injustices and making sure that the world does not turn a blind eye to them. While their efforts may not be widely publicized, the impact that they have is undeniable.

One such individual trying to make an impact is Jonas Moffatt. Jonas is an American activist who centers his efforts in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. While Jonas originally arrived in Palestine as a human rights observer for the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), his role has changed somewhat. Jonas became the co-founder of an organization known as the Tel Rumeida Circus for Detained Palestinians (TRCDP). This organization performs circus-style shows in and around Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank. These shows are a way of alleviating tension in what is typically a hostile setting. The TRCDP is certainly a creative approach to activism and also one that is gaining many fans. Whenever Jonas is back in the United States, he and others from both the ISM and TRCDP tour the country educating individuals about their efforts and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in general.

I first learned of the Tel Rumeida Circus when I met Jonas at the Cleveland Sabeel Conference. After the conference, Jonas and I began corresponding and I was also able to gather information from his website and blog. Jonas was more than happy to answer questions that I had regarding his involvement in Palestine and a transcript of my interview follows:

What was your knowledge or understanding of the conflict while growing up/ previous to getting involved?

Before I heard Diana Buttu, a lawyer for the PLO Negotiation Affairs Dept, I didn't even know where Palestine was on a map. Ms. Buttu was speaking at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, and I just happened to see the flyer hanging up on campus and decided to hear her lecture, entitled "In pursuit of peace in the Middle East." My previous understanding was very low. I would have told you that Palestinians were the aggressors or even that Palestine was occupying Israel. But hearing Ms. Buttu speak opened the gates to dismantling the media-version of Palestine and the Palestinians that was forced upon me from as far as I could remember.

How did you first become involved with Tel Rumeida Circus for Detained Palestinians?

I was a human rights observer in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood of Hebron, Palestine, last summer, 2006. One of our duties was to sit or walk the streets in areas of high tension. Tel Rumeida is a Palestinian neighborhood where right-wing, fundamentalist Jewish Israeli settlers have illegally colonized some of the neighborhood. Often, these settlers will attack Palestinians on their way to and from work, school, and home. There is a checkpoint leading into one of the streets, called "Shuhadda St." which means the street of the martyrs. This military checkpoint separates Palestinians in Tel Rumeida from Palestinians in the larger part of Hebron.

Daily, Palestinians, mostly men in their teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, are subject to arbitrary ID checks. Sometimes, soldiers will detain these men for hours in the hot sun and refuse to give them water.

Another human rights worker and myself, happened to have our circus equipment with us like our poi spinners and juggling pins. We were teaching Palestinian children who live on Shuhadda street circus skills. These children rarely come out and play because they are afraid of being attacked by extremist settlers.

One day, we saw that a Palestinian man was being detained for quite a long time. We decided, in response to this, to try and de-escalate the situation. We started performing next to the checkpoint. Our hope was to put the soldiers in a better mood, to entertain the detainees, to take the focus off of the Palestinians and to place it on us. That first day, the soldiers released the detained Palestinian almost immediately. We showed the soldiers that we were not threatening.

We would return from Shuhadda St. to the checkpoint anytime the soldiers were detaining a Palestinian for long periods of time. And that's how we adopted our name: the Tel Rumeida Circus for Detained Palestinians.

Can you briefly explain exactly what the TRCDP does?

And eventually TRCDP grew. We were asked to start teaching classes at the community center. Because we didn't have any funding or additional equipment, we began to make equipment by hand, using cloth and lentils and thread, then sewing them together to make poi swingers and juggling bean bags.

Then, every Friday, we were asked to perform a weekly fire show, choreographed and set to music. Palestinian children and adults from the neighborhood would gather around. Eventually they told their friends and every Friday our circus audience would grow.

At times, Israeli soldiers from the various checkpoints in the area would leave their post and watch TRCDP perform from the background.

Do you feel that being Jewish is a conflict of interest in the line of work that you do?

Katie Miranda, the co-creator of TRCDP is Jewish. You can direct this
question to her at: katie@theopticnerve.com

How are you received in the United States when you tell people about the type of work that you do?

In the US, I am generally well-received by the majority of my audiences. There are times, however, when I am accused of being anti-Semitic or anti-Israel when I speak. My response is that the photos and videos and stories speak for themselves. When you see a wall ripping apart a village and stealing 60% of the farmland, it speaks for itself. When you see Israeli soldiers forcing Palestinian youth to serve as human shields for the army vehicle, the video speaks for itself. They are the policies
of Israel, apartheid laws that not only me, but the entire international community, international law, Geneva conventions, and human beings are against.

But typically people are shocked when they see my presentations and want to get more involved in some way or another.

How are you received by the Jewish American community for the type of work that you do?

When Katie and I were on a speaking tour for TRCDP of the US, we were denied speaking at a couple synagogues, but for the most part, the Jewish American community that I have been in contact with have been very supportive. The Middle East Peace Forum, for example, hosted my presentation in Pittsburgh.

Do you feel that the average American citizen has an accurate understanding of the current situation in Palestine?

NO, I do not believe that the average American citizen has an accurate understanding of the situation in Palestine. I don't think anyone anywhere in the world can begin to remotely understand it unless they come here and see the situation for themselves, a situation the Desmond Tutu and Jimmy Carter both say is worse than South African Apartheid. Regarding American citizens, I blame it mostly on the media, and the slant they give and their bias towards Israel. I would recommend "IfAmericansKnew.org" for anyone that wants to understand the extent of this Israel bias. It is also the power of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, one of the largest lobbies in the United States, just a step under the gun lobby. These two factors combined make it nearly impossible for the average American citizen to understand Palestine's situation-- unless they happen to have a Diana Buttu in their life.

What do you think is the biggest misunderstanding or stereotype that Americans have of this conflict?

"All Palestinians are terrorists." I think this is the biggest stereotype. When the media only reports on suicide bombings in Israel and refuses to talk about the massive non-violent resistance movement all over Palestine, or the state-sponsored Israeli terrorism that drops bombs on crowded markets and schools in Gaza, or the demolition of Palestinian homes and olive trees in the West Bank-- when all Americans hear are the violent and negative aspect of Palestinian resistance, it helps to foster this stereotype. When the media over-reports on this violence and does not give a fair account of the Palestinian version- it mandates this stereotype and misunderstanding into the mainstream. It is a stereotype that I once subscribed to. But being here, and living it, and breathing it and feeling it, crossing through military checkpoints and eyewitnessing olive tree uprooting and home demolitions, helps to deconstruct that stereotype, and I would welcome anyone in the US, or the world for that matter, to see the destruction that our tax dollars are causing, in our name. No one can leave Palestine, who holds the "terrorist stereotype", without having it do a full 180.

Do you believe that current war in Iraq has brought more attention to the Palestinian cause?

I don't know if, as a whole, the Iraq war has brought more attention to the Palestinian cause. On a personal level, it did for me. This again relates back to Diana Buttu. Her presentation highlighted the inevitable upcoming war in Iraq. This inherently related to Palestine.

The writers and politicians of PNAC, project for a new American century, called for this war in Iraq. Besides the oil, it doubly served as a war for Israel, and her security. So, along with Iraq, surely it brings more attention to the region. Saddam Hussein, the man whose power the Americans helped to create and strengthen, was later put to death at the request of the same people who made him. Saddam's last words highlighted the Palestinian cause, basically saying that one day Palestine will be free.

Can you describe your feelings and emotions the first time that you visited a Palestinian refugee camp?

Palestinian refugee camps are truly unbelievable and heartbreaking. Here, in some of the most densely populated areas on earth, you have Palestinians who have been kicked out of their homes in what is now Israel. Nearby you can see Israeli settlements with Stars of David waving high and proud, with lush green gardens and water fountains. Then you look to where you are standing, the crowded houses, the children, the mothers and fathers whose faces tell the saddest tales of dispossession and despair-- but who refuse to give up, who resist by striving to survive.

Then on some nights, you hear Israeli tanks and military vehicles driving up and down the deserted streets looking for "wanted men." Curfew may be called by Occupation Forces and no one is allowed on the streets, cannot go to buy milk and water for the children. Patients cannot reach the hospital.

Then you talk to the refugees. Some of them, like their great and great-great grandparents, came from Haifa or Tel Aviv. Then they relocate to the West Bank. Some time later the Israeli government comes in and steals their land to either build an illegal Israeli settlement or to expand an already existing one, demolishing homes in the meantime and becoming refugees twice over. And they end up in the camps, having left their livelihoods, and now relying on international aid so that they can feed themselves and their children.

But they have not given up hope. And you sit with them outside their crowded homes and drink tea and coffee and hear their stories. They have nowhere else to go but back to their homes in what is now Israel. And most of them have not given up on this right of theirs. Some of them showed me their keys and deeds to their houses. And with despair and symbols of military occupation all around them, they can still smile and the hope is still there. And they ask me to take these stories back to America. But my words when I return are up against the words of Fox and CNN.

The camps show you the despair and the plight of the Palestinians, and the undying hope that emanates from it.

How many times have you been arrested or detained by Israeli forces?

Israeli Forces arrest internationals often in Palestine. It is usually during direct actions against the Apartheid Wall or when they try and prevent the demolition of Palestinian homes and farmlands. Internationals with their Palestinian friends will use non-violent techniques to try and dismantle the occupation, like cutting illegal fences which separate Palestinian land from Palestinian land, or they will chain themselves to olive trees that Israeli bulldozers are set to demolish, or they will intervene in a situation where Israeli settlers or soldiers attack Palestinians. According to the Israeli forces, these are grounds for arrest, deportation, or detentions. Just today, a British human rights worker was arrested for supposedly spray painting "Free Palestine" on a wall in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood of Hebron, which is a Palestinian neighborhood under full Israeli military control.

I myself have been detained a few times. Israeli police and border police, just for sitting on the street in Tel Rumeida, serving as a human rights observer, have taken my passport many times. They will detain me in these circumstances until they do a "background check" on me and usually let me go. They, for the most part, know that I am there to witness and document the occupation, and thus, they harass me and try to get me to leave. Once, on a bus full of Palestinians, the Israeli police singled me out and detained me on the side of the road near Hebron. I remained in the sun for one hour. Again, this happens to Palestinians on a daily basis. But sometimes when they see internationals they use these tactics as a means to make us never want to come back. But we do.

Last summer, 2006, Israeli soldiers were beating a farmer in the Hebron region. He was standing in front of a Caterpillar bulldozer, attempting to block the machine from tearing apart his land. The army was destroying the land to make way for the Apartheid Wall. Two Jewish Americans and myself intervened to protect the farmer. We succeeded in halting the abuse, but instead the soldiers detained the other human rights workers and myself. The police came and arrested us. All of this for joining the non-violent struggle to resist land destruction and occupation.

Analysis

It is apparent from speaking with Jonas that he clearly sympathizes with the Palestinian cause. It is obvious that his time in Palestine has caused him to see past his religious and ethnic heritage and view the conflict with a new lens. Moreover, I was surprised to learn that the Jewish American community was in fact "very supportive" of him. I understand now that there is a distinct difference between supporting the state of Israel and supporting Israeli policy.

Another aspect of the interview that I found very interesting was how the TRCDP originally started. I think it's fascinating that the human rights workers resorted to entertainment as way to ease a touchy situation. The founding of the TRCDP made me think of literary characters such as Khilmi in Smile of the Lamb and how he uses his storytelling to help himself and others around him transcend their predicament. Both of these examples show the value of distraction in desperate situations. In addition, I also thought of the scene in Wild Thorns where Usama is stopped and interrogated at an Israeli checkpoint. I cannot help but think that a situation such as that one may have been eased somewhat had a circus performance been occurring nearby.

One response that I found very noteworthy dealt with the stereotypes that Americans have of Palestinians. I am somewhat ashamed to admit that prior to taking this class I also would have made the assumption that "All Palestinians are terrorists." I see now, however, the danger that comes with limited knowledge and a premature desire to choose sides.

Jonas's vivid description of Palestinian refugee camps is also something that I found important and profound. Having never experienced anything remotely close to living in a refugee camp, I cannot begin to imagine the day to day existence of those individuals. Even more surprising was the hope of the people that Jonas described. It is astonishing to me that individuals, without a home for almost 60 years, can still be optimistic in the face of so much despair.

In retrospect, the overwhelming sense that I got from my interaction with Jonas was simply that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. Jonas Moffatt will not be the individual who brings an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His willingness to act, though, plants knowledge, raises awareness, and increases hope. Jonas said that his involvement started because someone made him aware of the situation that was occurring in Palestine. If Jonas can be a catalyst, encouraging others to act on their convictions as well, then perhaps sometime in the future we will see a lasting, just peace in the Middle East.

A Poem for TRCDP

2007-10-22T18:01:08Z

by Philip Metres

The Tel Rumeida Circus for Detained Palestinians

For Jonas Moffat and Katie Miranda

Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee,
that the sea may be calm unto us?
for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous…
--Jonah 1:11

Because the blur of flame encircling the bodies
can be mastered—flexed by stone-tested wrists—

and though this scorched earth gives birth to a stone
for every stone that’s thrown—Jonas can cast

three stones pitched in anxious air—to hover there—
and though Jamil has lost his sense of smell—because

he lifts his nose to the arc of flight—of firelight—
another detention blurs into attention—

because Katie summons ignition and—unburned—turns
at its axis—the port of access and daily denial

where the people must wait to have their names
confirmed—and hunker in the mouth of a whale—

because they walk the line of fire, and swallow
the conflagration—straining—beneath the ribcage—

Philip Metres
Associate Professor
Department of English
John Carroll University
20700 N. Park Blvd
University Heights, OH 44118

http://www.philipmetres.com
http://www.behindthelinespoetry.blogspot.com

Ann Coulter's dream of a Jew-free America

2007-10-17T16:04:20Z

By Bradley Burston, Haaretz
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/912606.html

From time to time, particularly in the wake of schoolyard shootings, failing markets, failing wars, failing administrations and the like, Americans take pause to take stock, wondering what's at the bottom of the malaise that afflicts their beloved, chronically clueless nation.

What is it, really, that's wrong with America?

If we're taking nominations, I'd like to open the bidding with Ann Coulter.

You may know her as the acerbic, not to say verbally abusive, syndicated columnist whose bare-knuckles conservative punditry raises hackles and ratings across the cable news spectrum.

This month, Coulter waded into the mess first made by Republican White House hopeful John McCain, when he referred to America as a nation founded on the principles of Christianity, indicating that he would prefer to see a fellow Christian in the White House.

Barely a week after McCain's comments, Coulter told an exasperated Jewish talk-show host that in her dreams, heaven - for that matter, America - is a place where everyone is Christian.

Where would the Jews have gone? She went on to explain that that Jews needed to convert to Christians in order to be "perfected," noting that Christians have a "fast track" to God.

Appearing on CNBC's The Big Idea, hosted by Donny Deutsch, Coulter was asked what America would look like if she had her way.

"It would look like New York City during the [2004] Republican National Convention," Coulter replied. "In fact, that's what I think heaven is going to look like."

Asked to expand on the theme, Coulter said "People were happy. They're Christian. They're tolerant. They defend America."

Deutsch, growing at once incredulous and offended, responded "So we should be Christian? It would be better if we were all Christian?" to which Coulter answered with a simple yes, later inviting Deutsch to attend church with her.

DEUTSCH: We should just throw Judaism away and we should all be Christians, then?

COULTER: Yeah.

DEUTSCH: Really?

COULTER: Well, it's a lot easier. It's kind of a fast track.
Deutsch then suggested similarities between Coulter's position and that of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

DEUTSCH: "Let's wipe Israel off the earth." I mean, what, no Jews?

COULTER: No, we think - we just want Jews to be perfected, as they say.

DEUTSCH: Wow, you didn't really say that, did you?

COULTER: Yes. That is what Christianity is. We believe the Old Testament, but ours is more like Federal Express. You have to obey laws.

A commercial break ensued, during which Coulter asked Deutsch for a chance to explain the comment about "perfecting" Jews. She adamantly turned aside all suggestions that the comment could be offensive to Jews, that it could be construed as hateful or anti-Semitic. "I don't think you should take it that way," she said. "But that is what Christians consider themselves: perfected Jews."

Until recently, I failed to take Ann Coulter seriously. I was wrong.

I was wrong to write off as mere stand-up racism her advice after the September 11 attacks ["We should require passports to fly domestically. Passports can be forged, but they can also be checked with the home country in case of any suspicious-looking swarthy males."]

I was wrong to write off as scattershot shtick her comments against women's right to vote, her suggestion that John Edwards was a "faggot" who should have been assassinated by terrorists, her depiction of Islam as a religion whose whose tenets are "along the lines of 'kill everyone who doesn't smell bad and doesn't answer to the name Mohammed.'"

I was wrong to see her as some highly intelligent, well-educated, perversely gifted panderer to the lower common denominator. I was wrong to see her as some overqualified infotainment shock jock. I should have taken her seriously.

Ann Coulter is my enemy. Ann Coulter is the kind of patriotic, persuasive, powerful American who is precisely what is wrong with America.

I'll never underestimate her again. Ann Coulter has a plan for the Jews. She has one for Muslims as well. And it's her people who are exactly the kind of Americans who could find the way to try to carry it out.

UN envoy attacks Mid-East Quartet

2007-10-17T15:19:23Z

By Tim Franks
BBC News, Jerusalem

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7044069.stm

If [Palestinian] expectations are not met, I fear there may be serious consequences
John Dugard

A top UN expert has said he will urge the world body to withdraw from the Quartet of Middle East mediators unless it addresses Palestinian human rights.

Mr Dugard presents independent reports on human rights to the UN

John Dugard, the UN human rights envoy for the Palestinian Territories, told the BBC the US, EU, UN and Russia were failing to protect the Palestinians.

He said the UN "does itself little good by remaining a member of the Quartet".

In his role as a UN special rapporteur, Mr Dugard has been visiting the West Bank and Gaza for the past seven years.

Special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council.

They are advisers and do not decide UN policy.

"Every time I visit, the situation seems to have worsened," he said in a BBC interview.

I will suggest that the secretary general withdraw the UN from the Quartet, if the Quartet fails to have regard to the human rights situation in the Palestinian Territories

Quartet's 'deaf ears'

"This time, I was very struck by the sense of hopelessness among the Palestinian people."

Mr Dugard attributed this to "the crushing effect of human rights violations", and in particular Israeli restrictions on Palestinians' freedom of movement.

He said that although Israel did have a threat to its security, "its response is very disproportionate".

He said the purpose of some of the checkpoints in the middle of the West Bank was to break it up "into a number of cantons and make the life of Palestinians as miserable as possible".

'Weak' response

The South African retired professor of international law said the response of the Quartet was weak because it was "heavily influenced" by the US.

Israel's checkpoints are a source of frustration for Palestinians

An Israeli officer checks the shopping bag of a Palestinian woman at the Israeli Hawara checkpoint on the outskirts of the northern West Bank city of Nablus (7 August 2007)
Israel's checkpoints are a source of frustration for Palestinians

The Quartet failed to engage properly on human rights, he said, and was also failing to deal with the current rift between the rival Palestinian factions of Fatah and Hamas.

The militant Islamist movement Hamas seized the Gaza Strip in June, ousting Fatah, which is led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Mr Dugard said the rift was threatening the Palestinians' right to self-determination, and that the UN "should be playing the role of the mediator".

"Instead the international community has given its support almost completely to one faction - to Fatah," he said. "That's not the role the UN should take."

Pessimistic

For these reasons, Mr Dugard said it might be time for the UN to leave the Quartet.

If [Palestinian] expectations are not met, I fear there may be serious consequences
John Dugard

"In my most recent report to the General Assembly, which I will present later this month, I will suggest that the secretary general withdraw the UN from the Quartet, if the Quartet fails to have regard to the human rights situation in the Palestinian Territories," he said.

It is a backdrop which makes him pessimistic about the major US-sponsored peace conference between Israel and the Palestinians, expected to be held next month.

Mr Dugard said he saw a greater danger - that of the Palestinian Authority raising expectations too high in the Palestinian community.

"If those expectations are not met, I fear there may be serious consequences," he added.

The consequences include the possibility of a third "intifada", a large-scale, violent uprising against the Israelis, he said.

Mr Dugard said this should be no surprise.

"Inevitably in a military occupation, there are likely to be those engaged in resistance."

These people may be labelled terrorists, Mr Dugard added, but history treats them differently.

He cited the example of the French Resistance during World War II, and those in Namibia who fought occupation by South Africa.

"Now," he said, "they are in government and treated as heroes."

Peace Now in the Checkpoint

2007-10-17T09:54:12Z

Peace Now in the Checkpoint

from the Peace Now site

The general secretary of Peace Now, Yariv Oppenheimer, was doing his reserves duty in a checkpoint in the Jordan valley, deep in the occupied Palestinian territories, and was acting just like any other good Israeli soldier.

In an article published today by the Israeli news-site NRG (http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART1/646/857.html ), Two Machsom Watch activists report seeing Oppenheimer making his military reserve duty in a checkpoint inside the occupied territories, in an area that is slowly being ethnically cleansed from it's indigenous population mainly by the checkpoints who forbid almost any kind of transportation and access between the main cities of the west bank and the valley (see also Amira Hass article http://www.countercurrents.org/pa-hass160206.htm).

Oppenheimer together with the other soldiers in the checkpoint also refused a Palestinian family with seven children who was traveling to see their relatives in a near by village to go through the checkpoint. The Fact that this was the Muslim holiday Eid Elfiter that ends the month of Ramadan didn't seam to soften the Peace Now soldier.

The Machsom Watch activist tried to speak with the soldiers to let the family go through, arguing that an exception should be made because of the holiday and the young age of the children. The soldiers kept refusing the Taxi in which the Family was in to go through, claiming it doesn't have the right permits and said that they are following orders given to them from above.

Oppenheimer didn't deny the story and told the journalist that "When I am being called to do my reserve duty in the territories, i am doing my best to make my task successfully also if it is against my point of view and to act in a humanitarian way".

Israeli peace activists who are fighting for the last years against the occupation can't be very surprised from this story. Peace Now and their male oriented leadership have always attacked the refuseniks movement and kept on proudly committing war crimes in the occupied territories in the name of national unity and law obedience. One can just hope that they will stop being seen by the world as a part of the peace movement in Israel.

Bil'in: Israeli Army Arrests 11 Year Old Boy

2007-10-10T01:13:25Z

Israeli Occupation Forces at it Again:

Arrets 11 Year Old Boy
Shoots Cameraman in leg
Hits Palestinian Woman in Face
Then retreats to contiue their Occupation

Video by Emad Bornat:

04/05/of October 2007
The village off bilin in Palestine peacefully
Protest against the wall and the Israeli occupation
The villagers were accompanied by Israelis and Internationals.
One kid 11 years old was arrested and 5 people injured .
Emad bornat who has filmed the weekly demonstration in his village for
The last 30 months was injured today in his leg .
emad has helped the people of Bil'in bring their story to the world.

joeskillet @ 2007-10-05T20:00:00

2007-10-05T18:08:02Z

http://www.star-telegram.com/245/story/255318.html

Dissenting at your own risk

By CECILIE SURASKY

Special to the Star-Telegram

A podcast of Walt and Mearsheimer's presentation is available at http://podcast.dfwworld.org/2007_09-17_The_Israel_Lobby.MP3

Last year, I agreed to speak to a Jewish youth group about my organization, Jewish Voice for Peace, and our opposition to Israel's occupation. My talk was to follow one from a member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which calls itself "America's pro-Israel Lobby."

A week before, a shaken program leader said the AIPAC staffer had threatened to get the entire youth program's funding canceled if I was allowed in the door. The threat worked, and in disgust, they canceled the whole talk.

Pundits will surely argue for years about professors Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer's explosive new book, The Israel Lobby, which blames poor U.S. policy in the Middle East on a loose network of individuals and pro-Israel advocacy groups.

But the book, and the response to it, opens up another controversy: the stifling of debate about unconditional U.S. support for Israeli policies.

Why is Israel's increasingly brutal 40-year occupation of Palestinian land regularly debated in the mainstream media abroad, including in Israel, but not here? And why is there an almost total lack of discussion among presidential candidates about the dollars that subsidize this occupation and the American diplomatic support that makes it possible?

In a society built on the free exchange of ideas, as Walt and Mearsheimer point out, one answer can be found by looking at the many self-appointed gatekeepers, such as Abraham Foxman and the Anti-Defamation League, or Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, who use their Jewish identity as both a shield and cudgel. They work diligently to silence those who question ill-conceived policies of the Israeli and U.S. governments.

Non-Jewish critics, even former President Carter, are denounced as anti-Semites. Special ire is reserved for Jewish dissenters, who are branded as "self-hating" or "marginal," while Muslim and Arab-Americans are easily smeared and even criminalized with charges of supporting terrorism.

Stunned by the stifling of dissent, we decided to start a Web site, Muzzlewatch, to track the incidents. Just as we launched, Stanford Middle East Studies Professor Joel Beinin was disinvited from a speaking engagement at a high school with just 24 hours' notice.

After an unprecedented campaign of outside interference waged by Dershowitz, Professor Norman Finkelstein was refused tenure by DePaul University because of his criticism of U.S.-Israeli policy.

Palestinian-American anthropologist Nadia Abu El-Haj is fighting a political campaign to deny her tenure at Barnard.

Even Walt and Mearsheimer, who are getting plenty of exposure, couldn't have asked for better proof of their point that the lobby works to stifle dissent when an embarrassed head of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs told them that their scheduled speech was canceled. (They did speak before the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth on Sept. 17.) This was apparently because Foxman was not available that day to "balance" their talk.

(They had initially been booked by themselves. The talk was not rescheduled.)

Many groups that started with the important work of fighting real anti-Semitism now rely on anti-Semitism to insist that to show one's love of Jews, one must offer uncritical support to Israel. They are especially displeased by Jews who believe that enabling Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights is not good for anyone.

Unless this atmosphere of intimidation is confronted, Americans will continue to lack access to information and perspectives necessary to formulate effective Middle East policies, virtually ensuring that Israel and the United States will be at war for many years to come.

'The Israel Lobby'

A podcast of Walt and Mearsheimer's presentation is available at http://podcast.dfwworld.org/2007_09-17_The_Israel_Lobby.MP3

Cecilie Surasky is communications director for the Oakland-based Jewish Voice for Peace.

Court Refuses to Hear Case Against Caterpillar

2007-09-26T12:48:32Z

Center for Constitutional Rights and Corrie Family respond to decision by 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

CONTACT: David Lerner, Riptide Communications, 212.260.5000

COURT OF APPEALS DISMISSES CCR CASE AGAINST CATERPILLAR FOR DEATHS AND INJURIES IN PALESTINIAN HOME DEMOLITIONS

from THE RACHEL CORRIE FOUNDATION
http://www.rachelcorriefoundation.org/

Case Filed on Behalf of Family of Activist Rachel Corrie and Four Palestinian Families Whose Homes Were Demolished By Caterpillar Bulldozers

September 17, 2007, New York, NY – Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of CCR’s case charging Caterpillar, Inc. with aiding and abetting war crimes and other serious human rights violations on the grounds that the company provided bulldozers to Israel knowing they would be used unlawfully to demolish homes and endanger civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Today’s decision from a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals found that it did not have jurisdiction to decide the case because Caterpillar’s bulldozers were ultimately paid for with money from the United States. Because of the U.S. government’s decision to grant military assistance to Israel, any decision regarding whether Caterpillar aided and abetted war crimes would impermissibly intrude upon the executive branch’s foreign policy decisions. In today’s decision, the Court did not rule on the question of whether Caterpillar aided and abetted Israeli war crimes.

“We are extremely disappointed with the Court’s refusal to decide whether Caterpillar violated the law, essentially because it did not want to question the U.S. decision to pay for the bulldozers,” said CCR Senior Attorney Maria LaHood. “The Court has a constitutional duty to uphold the law, and the law prohibits aiding and abetting war crimes - regardless of who’s footing the bill.”

The case, Corrie, et al. v. Caterpillar Inc. was brought by the parents of Rachel Corrie and four Palestinian families whose family members were killed or injured when Caterpillar bulldozers demolished their homes. Corrie, a 23-year-old American peace activist and student at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, was killed March 16, 2003, in the Gaza Strip by a Caterpillar D9 bulldozer while protecting a home from illegal demolition.

“For our family, the court proceedings were trying to bring some accountability for Caterpillar’s role in human rights violations,” said Craig Corrie, father of Rachel Corrie. “Of course, Caterpillar always has the option to act responsibly and could do that by ceasing to provide Israel these bulldozers no matter how they are financed. I call on Caterpillar management to decide that that’s not how Caterpillar wants to make money.”
Added Cindy Corrie, mother of Rachel Corrie, “On behalf of Rachel and Palestinians killed in home demolitions by Caterpillar bulldozers, including three children under 9 years old, a disabled man, and an elderly man, we are extremely disappointed with this decision, and I will continue to seek justice and accountability for all of them.”

Caterpillar provided the D9 bulldozers to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), knowing they would be used to unlawfully destroy civilian homes. Since the year 2000, the IDF has used Caterpillar bulldozers to destroy more than 4,000 Palestinian homes, leaving thousands of individuals homeless in the process. The Caterpillar D9 bulldozer is over 13 feet tall and 26 feet wide, weighs more than 60 tons with its armored plating, and can raze houses in a matter of minutes.

Much of the world community, including the United Nations and international human rights organizations, has consistently condemned these demolitions as a clear violation of international humanitarian law. For years, Caterpillar has had notice that the IDF was using its D9 bulldozers for human rights violations; despite this, the company has continued to provide them to the Israeli government.

“It is important to note that the Court did not reach the substantive questions about Caterpillar’s role in aiding and abetting violations of international law,” said Gwynne Skinner, Visiting Clinical Professor at Seattle University Law School, who, along with CCR, also represents the Corrie family. “However, with regard to the Court’s view that it lacks jurisdiction to decide the case, we are reviewing the decision carefully and will decide soon how to proceed.”

The case, which was filed in March 2005, was dismissed by Judge Franklin D. Burgess in the Western District of Washington in November 2005. In July 2007, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on whether the case should proceed.

The plaintiffs are represented by the International Human Rights Clinic at Seattle University School of Law, the Seattle-based Public Interest Law Group, PLLC, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, and the Center for Constitutional Rights.

About CCR
The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.

Deported Yo' Ass Studios: INDO! the Movie, WATCH IT HERE!

2007-09-22T10:27:33Z

Deported from Israel.
Whisked away to Bali.
What's a boy to do?
Besides make a Movie...

Click Indo! the Movie to watch it!