Through Australian Eyes

Everybody Loves a Parade

2011-06-12T18:49:00.002+10:00

Everyone, young or old, loves a parade. It's a great opportunity to declare pride in your country, your religion or some political ideal. If the route of your march takes you through enemy territory then so much the better - you can rub their noses in your strength and superiority.

Each year, on June 1st, Israelis commemorate the establishment of Israeli control over all of Jerusalem following their victory in the 1967 war. In what has been called "A state-supported display of racism and hatred" thousands of Zionists parade through the streets, singing and dancing, celebrating their victory. This year the parade received official permission to deviate through the Palestinian neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem and the Old City in order, it must be assumed, to further taunt and humiliate the indigenous inhabitants. Mobs of Israel's finest youth didn't disappoint: they congregated outside the mosque in Sheikh Jarrah chanting "Muhammad is dead", "Slaughter the Arabs" and "May your village burn down".

The depressing footage can be seen on YouTube at:

http://youtu.be/gTwWKdfi8G8

From Bil'in to Benghazi

2011-02-22T16:32:00.001+11:00

Good mates: Burlesquoni and Gaddafi (with Amazonian Guard).

Reports are coming out of Libya that the city of Benghazi is under the control of protesters seeking to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi, the vicious – some say deranged – ruler of that country. Surrounded by his 40-strong Amazonian Guard of supposed virgins and attended by his voluptuous blonde Ukrainian personal nurse, outfitted like a mediaeval potentate, Gaddafi is a figure of fun to many in the West. Yet his risible posturings and pronouncements should not blind us to the fact that he has, for 42 years, crushed all dissent in Libya with utter brutality. The death toll in Libya grows daily; the dead join their fellow Egyptian and Tunisian martyrs for whom the incentives of freedom and justice were more powerful than fear for their lives.

Elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa the seeds of revolution against oppression are stirring. During their years of servitude under whichever dictator, king or unelected president was in power the people had an example, an inspiration, to which they could turn. For 43 years the Palestinian people have resisted the military occupation of their land by a foreign invader. From armed resistance to peaceful protest – both crushed with ruthless and disproportionate force – the Palestinian people have been a beacon to their Arab neighbours, indeed, to freedom loving people worldwide.

Last Friday the villagers of Bil’in in the Occupied West Bank celebrated the sixth year of their struggle against the Apartheid Wall and Israeli Occupation. Every Friday for the past six years people from the village, together with Israeli and international supporters, have marched to the Wall, behind which lies half the village lands, confiscated for Israeli colony settlements. (So blatant is the land grab that three years ago even Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled that the path of the Wall is illegal and must be re-routed. To no avail – not one inch of land has been returned to its owners.) The marchers are met by brutal force – arrests, beatings, water cannon and teargas are the usual methods employed.

The village of Bil’in also has its martyrs. The most recent was 36 year old Jawaher Abu Rahma, who died of toxic teargas inhalation in January. She joined her brother Bassem, killed 18 months ago, shot at close range by an Israeli soldier while peacefully protesting. Across Occupied Palestine and in Gaza the killings go on but the thirst for freedom and justice is undiminished. The resistance continues, an example to the world.

* For Robert Fisk's report go to: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk

The Egyptian Miracle

2011-02-02T11:50:00.001+11:00

Two good old buddies holding hands in better times. One is history, the other feels the reins of power slipping, after 30 years of despotic rule, from between his clenched fingers.

Who could have predicted that the Egyptian people might depose this tyrant? Mubarak, the American puppet who has lived in luxury while his people have starved, propped up by a corrupt and vicious police apparatus, who sacrificed his country's honour for a shameful peace with Israel, feels the ground shifting beneath his feet. He is not yet gone, but his departure looks immanent.

When asked to predict the future of Palestine/Israel, Uri Avnery, founder of Gush Shalom (the Israeli Peace Bloc), remarked that unforseen and wholly unexpected events sometimes occur, changing the course of history. In modern times people power has swept the Shah of Persia from his perch and toppled the Berlin wall; in each case the dreaded Savak and the Stasi, powerful and repressive secret police forces, proved powerless to halt the will of the people.

Can something similar happen in Occupied Palestine? Sadly, no. In Tunisia, Egypt and in East Germany the armed forces were, finally, unwilling to fire upon their fellow countrymen. In the West Bank and Gaza the Israel Defence (sic) Force has shown itself more than willing to punish dissent and unarmed resistance with brutal, uncommensurate force. To IDF soldiers these are not their countrymen but a subject, lesser people, underlings not deserving of the same human rights as Israelis.

Still, don't despair. Who knows what lies around the corner? These are interesting times.

Mabrouk Wadi Rahhal

2010-05-16T00:52:00.000+10:00

Mabrouk Wadi Rahhal

Today, Friday 14th May, the small farming village of Wadi Rahhal, just south of Bethlehem, held its first demonstration against the theft of its lands by the massive Jewish colony/settlement of Efrat. In particular, the villagers were objecting to the planned encroachment of the apartheid wall to within 30 metres of the village school. Regular incursions by armed settlers and Israeli troops have not previously brought forth this kind of response from the village.

It is in this central region that the cancerous growth of settlements is most noticeable. Lands annexed to various settlements have come close to splitting the West Bank in two, making a future, contiguous Palestinian state an impossibility. The Wall, both built and planned, completely ignores the "Green Line", the previously accepted eastern border of the Israeli state.

Today's demonstration was organised by the National Committee of Wadi Rahhal and is intended to become a regular event. It was supported by villagers from nearby Beit Ummar, together with a small group of Israeli activists and Australian, Canadian and United States supporters from the International Solidarity Movement and the Palestine Solidarity project. A notable feature was the number of school children marching alongside their elders.

The well-organised group of 70 to 80 demonstrators marched to within metres of Efrat's present boundary, where they were met by a heavily-armed squad of Israeli Occupation Force soldiers. Leaders of the protest spoke in Arabic and Hebrew, announcing the peaceful and non-violent nature of the demonstration and appealing to the troops not to initiate a violent response. An international activist, speaking on behalf of the ISM, PSP and Israeli supporters present, affirmed their solidarity with the Palestinian people, who have endured 43 years of military occupation and called for three cheers for a Free Palestine. The demonstrators then dispersed, with no casualties suffered, ending a successful, peaceful and non-violent demonstration.

* Reporting live from Occupied Palestine

Mosque gutted by fire

2010-05-06T19:44:00.000+10:00

Mosque gutted by fire.

The small village of Al Libban (Libban al Sharquia) sits in rolling hills planted with olive trees, approximately half way between Ramallah and Nablus. The villagers are simple fellahin - farmers - growing wheat and fruit in addition to their olive trees. The pride of the village is the central mosque, an impressive, large structure, built in 1977 and the only mosque currently in operation.

That was, until the night of Tuesday 4th May when fire gutted the mosque's interior, destroying carpets, furniture, numerous Korans and the building's fixtures and fittings. The visitor now witnesses a scene of total devastation. The blackened walls, floor and ceiling have a nighmarish quality and it is hard to imagine that this was once a beautiful, light-filled and serene place of worship. Local children have attempted to assert their defiance by scrawling such slogans as "Allah Akbar" onto the blackened tiles on the walls.

An Israeli Occupation spokesperson has suggested that the fire may have been caused by an electrical fault, a suggestion described as "a joke" by villagers. Situated as it is, close by the Jewish colony/settlements of Shilo, Male Livona and Bet El, Al Libban has long been the target of settler aggression and violence. Anothe mosque, in nearby Huwwara, has been vandalised in recent weeks, suggesting an emerging pattern of targeting mosques for desecration.

The cost of repairing and renovating the gutted building has been put at 500,000 shekels (about AU$175,000) an enormous sum for such an impoverished community. Nevertheless, the villagers are determined to regain their mosque as a functioning place of worship, just as they are determined not to be driven from their homes and their lands by Israel's policy - and practice - of ethnic cleansing.

Reporting from Occupied Palestine

Two little girls

2010-05-05T18:14:00.001+10:00

The grave of Maasa and Janaa

"Shaheed"(martyr) poster of the sisters

Reporting from Occupied Palestine

We stopped by the roadside at the spot where the two little girls had been killed. Their blood still stained the cushion on which they had been sitting, fragments of the military jeep which had rammed their father's tractor still littered the ground. Janaa Emad (8), her sister Maasa (5) and their brother Hussein (9) never saw what hit them as they waited for their father to take them from the family fields to their home in the small village of Al Ain al Baida in the northern Jordan Valley. Al Ain al Baida (the White Spring) is one of the few remaining Palestinian villages here. Its inhabitants scratch a living from what remains to them of their lands in this fertile and beautiful area.

That April day Emad Fakha had taken three of his four children to help in the fields after school, something they enjoyed, a treat. The children had climbed into the "basket" on the ground at the rear of the tractor, ready to be lifted up. Emad was preparing to start the motor when an Israeli military jeep swerved off the road, at speed, and rammed into the tractor from behind. While Hussein was thrown clear and suffered only a broken leg, the little girls didn't stand a chance. With the body of one sister draped obscenely over its front bumper, the jeep reversed for five or six metres and then rammed once again into the tractor. What might have been a tragic accident is thus revealed for what it was - a cold-blooded murder.

Their jeep undriveable and so unable to escape, the soldiers threatened Emad with their rifles. More soldiers arrived but it was 25 minutes before the Israeli police reached the scene. The soldiers claimed that it was "an accident", but Israeli citizen Eliazer Salam, from the settlement at Yama, who had witnessed the entire incident from his car, testified that the jeep driver had not applied his brakes at any stage and had, indeed, swerved off the road and accelerated into the tractor.

The jeep's driver was arrested but there has been no news that he is to face any charges in a court of law. When I asked the family whether there would be an inquest (explaining that this was the usual procedure in Western, democratic countries) they didn't understand the term. They have no recourse to the protection of the law, as we know it. Far from protecting the civilian population of the territories which they occupy, as required under international law, the Israeli military brutalises and preys upon a helpless people.

Recent similar incidents in the Nablus region - at Awarta and in Jenin - where Israeli military vehicles have been used to run down pedestrians and ram a civilian car, with fatal consequences, seem to point to an emerging pattern. The psychopathic tendencies of certain members of the Israel Defence (sic) Force have found an outlet.

Meanwhile, a single, small grave has been dug in the graveyard at Al Ain al Baida. It houses the remains of two small sisters, their severed limbs and bodies buried as one, together forever under the sun, clouds and rain of their beloved Palestine.

Bassem's Anniversary

2010-04-18T20:10:00.000+10:00

Friday 16th April marked a special day in the history of Bilín's popular resistance to the apartheid wall which encroaches onto village lands. A year ago one of the leaders of the struggle, the much-loved Bassem Abu Ramah, was killed by a teargas cannister fired at short range by an Israeli soldier.

The anniversary of his death was commemorated with marching bands and speeches remembering Bassem by local leaders and visiting dignitaries. When these eventually came to an end many villagers, accompanied by ISM and other international volunteers and a sizeable contingent of Israeli anarchists, and others, marched to the wall. They were met by a small squad of Israeli Occupation Force soldiers, who fired tear gas cannisters and rubber-coated steel bullets into the crowd. Being downwind, many of the marchers suffered from tear gas inhalation and the demonstrators soon dispersed.

The Friday demonstration has become such an established event that it now attracts a variety of people seeking to take advantage of the opportunity it offers: small boys sell embroidered purses and other handicrafts, an icecream seller plies his trade and Big Cheeses from the Palestine Authority sometimes make an appearance. This Friday one dignitary was chauffered towards the vicinity of the wall in a shiny silver four-wheel drive, and back again after having suffered a mild affliction of tear gas. The rest, including women, children and the elderly chose a more traditional form of locomotion - they walked.

While the villagers welcome any displays of interest or solidarity from representatives of their elected government (oops, hang on that's Hamas) there is a perception amongst some that the Palestinian Authority is merely a "second Occupation".

Abu Dia

2010-04-15T15:47:00.001+10:00

BRUTAL ATTACK AT CHECKPOINT

Abu Dia, 50 years old , his weatherbeaten face a testament to a life spent working under the hot sun, lies on a farrsha in the living room of his house in the village of Tammun. For the past three weeks he has been able to move about only with difficulty, and in pain.

Before dawn on March 14 he waited, as usual, at the Hamra checkpoint, together with a number of other agricultural labourers, to be picked up and driven to his work at the Jewish colony/settlement of Miswa, further south in the Jordan Valley of Occupied Palestine. He and his fellow workers earn 90 Israeli sheckels (around $30) for a day's work, for most of them their sole means of income. Of this, 30 sheckels goes on transport.

Suddenly, seeing an approaching army jeep and knowing what lay in store, the workers began to run. Abu Dia, being older, could not make his escape and was seized by the soldiers, seven or eight of whom formed a circle while one of them knocked him to the ground and commenced to kick him senseless. They left him there and drove off. He was taken to a medical clinic in the town of Tubas, where he was diagnosed with a broken ankle and extensive bruising. The medical staff recommended that he be hospitalised but he chose to return home where, unable to afford medication or further treatment, he has remained until now, unable to walk and unable to work.

Abu Dias, his wife and four children, face a bleak future. Poor villagers such as them depend on whatever employment they can pick up, especially now that much of their lands have been confiscated for the ever-expanding colonial settlements. Abu Dias has worked for many years at Miswa, where he is regarded as a capable and willing worker, but now he fears for his safety while waiting for his employer to pick him up at the infamous checkpoint, which has been the scene of other brutal attacks by sadists wearing the uniform of the Israeli Defence (sic) Forces.

Reporting live from Occupied Palestine.

Just Another Day

2010-04-05T04:20:00.005+10:00

Sunday, 4 April
Reporting from Occupied Palestine

It is Sunday but, like every other day of the week, Nasser Ghawe sits with his wife and three small children on the street verge opposite his house in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem. From the outside the house appears rundown but it is in a select area of the city, just around the corner from the American Colony Hotel, the USA consulate and the British Council.

Since 1956 the building has been home to the Ghawe family, refugees from the village of Sarafud, near Ramle. It was built by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) on vacant Palestinian land to house victims of the 1948 Nakba – the first ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

In 1967 the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza came under Israeli military occupation. Five years later settler organisations commenced claims to gain title to the property and, in 2009, the Ghawe family received their first eviction order. Despite being able to produce documents dating back 110 years to Ottoman times, proving Palestinian ownership of the land, successive Israeli courts have found against the Ghawes.

In August 2009 a gang of settlers broke into the house and commenced smashing the furniture. The Israeli police supported their action. Indeed, the head of the police squad took the house key, kissed it and presented it to the settlers. The extended Ghawe family of 37, including 20 children, were arrested and detained for 6 hours before being evicted into the street. The settlers then moved in.

The family has maintained its vigil outside their home, summer and winter, since then. The tents they have put up have been pulled down sixteen times by the police, who have told the Ghawes that they are not welcome in Jerusalem and should move “To Jordan or some other Arab country”. Despite these vicissitudes the Ghawes, together with supporters from Israel and around the world maintain their vigil, knowing that the ethnic cleansing of East Jerusalem cannot continue unopposed.

Qaramat Bani Hassan

2010-04-03T17:49:00.003+11:00

Friday 2 April

Reporting from Occupied Palestine

A group of internationals , including two ISM activists, joined sympathisers and supporters from Jerusalem and other parts of the West Bank in assisting the villagers of Qarawat Bani Hassan repair and rehabilitate the historic natural springs which lie in the nearby Wadi Qana. The springs which issue at the base of the wadi feed into a series of reservoirs cut into the stone, said to date from Roman times.

From time immemorial they have been the source of water for those villagers without their own wells. Today the springs and their surroundings, a location of outstanding natural beauty, are the most important cultural heritage for the village. They also provide water for agriculture and shepherding.

Situated between Ramallah and Nablus, Qarawat Bani Hassan has the misfortune to be surrounded by a number of settler colonies, including Nofim, Yaqir, Revava, Kiryat Netafim and the most recent and closest, Havat Yaáir. (This last one "appeared overnight"). Settlers routinely trespass onto village lands and two weeks previously, in an act of deplorable vandalism, emptied sacks of cement and steel mesh into one of the Roman-era tanks. This followed upon the previous dynamiting of a nearby cave which, too, contained a natural spring and pool.

On this Friday the villagers and their supporters laboured under a hot sun to clean out the reservoirs, build dry stone walls nearby and bring the site back to its original condition. They were interrupted twice by groups of settlers from Havat Yaáir attempting to access the area. A confrontation was avoided only when the villagers returned to their work and ignored the presence of the intruders who, after a short time, returned to their colony on the overlooking hilltop. The presence of international and other observers armed with cameras undoubtedly deterred the settlers, on this occasion, from any further acts of vandalism.

Assassination

2010-03-14T15:55:00.001+11:00

Palestinian child with photo of Sheikh Yassin

Australians still wait to hear Kevin Rudd or his Foreign Minister Stephen Smith condemn the murder of Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mahboub. Their focus continues to be on the use of three (oops, now four) forged Australian passports by the suspected killers linked to the Israeli spy agency, Mossad. As Patrick O'Connor pointed out on the World Socialist Web Site (wsws.org): "As far as the US and its allies are concerned, extra-judicial executions and so-called targetted killings now constitute a legitimate state activity and do not warrant comment, let alone condemnation".

And it seems like it's not only our right wing politicians who have no problems with state-sanctioned murder. Paul Howes, national secretary of the Australian Workers Union, shares the blood lust and voiced his opinion: "That's why I'm proud that our nation has played a small, and accidental role, in the removal of the terrorist al-Mabhouh from our planet". Proud indeed!

The assassination of al-Mabhouh was the most recent in a string of political murders linked to Mossad hit squads and other Israeli agencies. The killing of Hamas's spiritual leader, the elderly, nearly blind, wheelchair-bound quadriplegic Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, in 2004, was a particularly bestial act. The helicopter gunship pilot who blew him into fragments also managed to take the lives of nine bystanders. Meanwhile, the killing of community leaders and activists in villages across the West Bank during late night incursions by the IDF (sic) continues with hardly a mention in the western press.

Just as human rights are not something which can be applied selectively (for instance, to Israelis and not to Palestinians) so too assassination is an unlawful, cowardly act, whoever commits it.

See Barbara Heard, "The Complex Business of Assassination" in the Palestinian Think Tank (link at right).

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oy, oy,vay!

2010-02-28T15:45:00.011+11:00

What is the world coming to? Three clean-cut young Aussies are named as persons of interest in the assassination of a "Hamas operative", Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, smothered to death in his hotel room in Dubai. Israel's Mossad is widely considered to have organised and carried out the murder. That great master of the spy genre, John Le Carre, couldn't have thought up a more twisted and sinister plot.

Three of the suspected assassins carried Australian passports, in the names of Nicole McCabe, Adam Korman and Joshua Bruce. All are citizens of Australia and all have dual citizenship with Israel. None of them live in Australia, all live in Israel. All deny any knowledge of the illicit use of their (Australian) passports.

Meanwhile, back in Oz, our erstwhile Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd (who famously declared that support for Israel is "in my DNA"), has complained about the use of fake Australian passports in this affair. To the best of my knowledge, however, he has failed to condemn the assassination for what it was - the state sanctioned murder of a political opponent. Seems like you can go around killing off your enemies, just don't use an Australian passport while doing it.

Meanwhile, back in Israel, the war criminal Tzivi Lipni, she who presided over the Gaza Massacre, has voiced her opinion that the murder of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was justified. Most Israelis seemed to agree; when polled, 87% of them went along with Mossad's actions.

Human Rights Workers

2010-02-15T11:29:00.013+11:00

Bridgette Chappell Photo AP

Just as Israel attempted to hide its actions during the Gaza Massacre, it now moves to screen from the outside world its continuing human rights abuses in the Occupied West Bank. The arrest last week of the young Australian activist Bridget Chappell was just one of a number of arrests and deportations of international human rights workers, activists and observers in recent weeks. Israelis and Palestinians who have been active in their opposition to the ongoing theft of Palestinian land and property have also been subject to arrest and detention in increasing numbers.

Israel has stepped up its efforts to deny entry to Palestine by anyone sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. It controls all entry points to the West Bank and Gaza (just as it controls every aspect of Palestinian life). While its blockade of Gaza is designed to starve the population into submission, the tightened controls on entry into the West Bank are an effort to hide its actions and the effects of its 42 years of military occupation from the eyes of the world.

In a move worthy of the Burmese junta, Israel has now decided to cancel the work permits of foreign nationals working in East Jerusalem and the West Bank for such aid organisations as Oxfam, Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders and Handicap International. While it is still possible for individuals from these organisations to apply for tourist visas the Interior Ministry ruling now makes it virtually impossible for them to carry on their humanitarian work.

Go to the Electronic Intifada (link at right) for Bridgette's article on the fate of Wael al Faqeeh, a human rights campaigner from Nablus.

Falasha

2010-02-01T16:46:00.006+11:00

Australia's national broadcaster, SBS, recently screened "La Vis et Deviens" ("Live and "Become") a touching and sensitive movie about a young boy taken to Israel in 1984 during Operation Moses, the Mossad-inspired plan to relocate the Falasha, Ethiopia's Black Jews, to Israel. A Christian, the boy took the name Solomon, or Schlomo, as part of an assumed Jewish identity in order to flee the grinding poverty of life in Ethiopia. The movie tracks his life into young adulthood as he encounters love, kindness and also racist rejection in his country of adoption.

Operation Moses and the later Operation Solomon, in 1991, divided public opinion in Israel. Many Israelis would not accept the Falasha's claim that they were Jews, descended, according to legend, from the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon or that they were the tribe of Dan, one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. (Indeed, DNA evidence finds no convincing links of the Falasha to Middle Eastern Jews, but confirms that they link to African Ethiopians.)

Most of the Falasha, estimated at around 120,000, are now in Israel. They live alongside the hundreds of thousands of Russians who migrated in recent times, many of whom have similarly tenuous claims to being Jews. They may be joined shortly by a sponsored wave of Indians, whose claim to being Jewish is currently being asserted.

Should this be a problem, the migration to Israel of such diverse and contentious minority groups, for compassionate reasons? Should they not be allowed to make aliya, whereby any Jew, anywhere in the world, under the Law of Return (sic), may settle in Israel? All very noble stuff, one might think, until one reflects on the condition of the Palestinians, who currently comprise the largest refugee population in the world. Forced to flee from their homeland in the pogroms of 1948 and 1967, they are denied any right of return, let alone any compensation. Those who remain in the remnants of Palestine live under a brutal Israeli military occupation (and here I include Gaza).

What the film-makers failed to reveal is that Israel's "Law of Return", together with its ongoing program of ethnic cleansing of the native population, is designed to do one thing: to alter the demographic status of Palestine in favour of an overwhelming "Jewish" presence.

Australia Day

2010-01-26T17:24:00.007+11:00

January 26 is Australia Day, our national day on which we commemorate the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788 and the proclamation of British sovereignty over the entire eastern seaboard of Australia. To some it is a controversial occasion - they see it as a celebration of the destruction of indigenous culture by British colonialism.

However, most Australians embrace the day as an opportunity to gather with friends and family, to go to the beach or out into nature, to share a barbecue, maybe to reflect on our good fortune in living in such a blessed, affluent country. If we have any pangs of guilt, they are assuaged by the thought that the colonial invasion took place over 200 years ago, when the strong oppressed the weak as a matter of course.

One phenomenon which has gained traction in recent years is the flying of the Australian flag from little flagsticks attached to the roof or windows of the family car. I can't help but feel a little uneasy at this trend, at this seeming need to proclaim one's patriotism. Such displays are rife - 365 days of the year - in Occupied Palestine: blue and white Israeli flags fly from settlers' cars, from settlers' homes and from street-posts on settler-only roads throughout the colonised areas of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in a never-ending, arrogant display of possessiveness.

This overt, in-your-face Australinity (see masculinity) coincides with an upswing in intolerance towards Australians of Middle Eastern origin, particularly Muslims. The fires were fueled during John Howard's years at the helm, but they show no signs of going away - it serves the interests of too many politicians, journalists and radio shock-jocks to emphasise our differences rather than what we have in common.

Am I being too sensitive? Does this proliferation of flag-flying and flag-waving matter? I'm not sure, but it's up to all Australians to be on our guard against jingoism and ultra nationalism. After all, each and every one of us comes from migrant stock. (Of course, the indigenous Australians were here a lot longer.) This is still a lucky country. Don't let the haters take that away.

Haiti:Gaza

2010-01-20T18:02:00.004+11:00

Natural disaster in Haiti

Man-made disaster in Gaza

Watching the news on our national broadcaster, the ABC, Australians learned that Israeli rescue teams were at the forefront of efforts to save Haitians trapped under the wreckage of their homes. Indeed, courtesy of the ever-efficient Israeli spin machine, the entire international community has been made aware of these wonderful humanitarian efforts.

Did the supreme irony strike no-one else? Israel bombs the defenceless people of Gaza into near-oblivion and then prevents outside help from reaching them, continues its policy of starving the survivors into submission, and then rushes doctors and aid workers halfway around the globe to assist Haitians? Forgive me for thinking that it was nothing more than a public relations stunt: compassion isn't something the Zionists are renowned for.

Actually, the same thought occurred to Akiva Eldar, whose article, "Israel's compassion in Haiti can't hide our ugly face in Gaza" in the 18 January issue of Haaretz. Follow the link on the right.

Spot on, Akiva.

A good joke

2009-11-27T14:59:00.010+11:00

Look at these two grinning monkeys! The war criminal Ehud Olmert sneaked into Australia and today visited the federal parliament, where he was "warmly welcomed" by our own PM, Kevin Rudd, and other polly sycophants in thrall to the Zionist lobby.

Olmert was prime minister of Israel at the time of the Christmas Massacre, in which he unleashed the fourth most powerful army in the world against the defenceless, trapped and near-starving population of Gaza. Before withdrawing, his Zionist wehrmacht had managed to kill over 1400 and wound 5,000 souls. Most of the victims were civilians and many were women and children. Moves are afoot to have him face an international tribunal to answer charges of war crimes.

It is no wonder, then, that he chose to sneak into this country, accompanied by no fanfare but by a sizeable security entourage. Outrage against this reprehensible creature is widespread amongst the Australian community and he would have faced an entirely different public reception if he had chosen to arrive in a less secretive fashion.

Please contact Australians for Palestine (click on link at right) for details of where to lodge your protest.

Good guys

2009-11-24T09:32:00.005+11:00

I have been urged to "say something positive" in this blog. Not so easy, when the lot of the Palestinians is becoming more desperate, day by day, and Israel continues its slide into fascism - as Gideon Levy observes, "Israel of 2009 is a spoiled country, arrogant and condescending, convinced that it deserves everything and that it has the power to make a fool of America and the world."

If one can say something positive about Israeli society it is this: there is a brave core of Israelis who speak out against the policies and actions of the state, who see the current course of events as being disastrous for both Israelis and Palestinians alike, whose moral decency will not allow them to stay silent. Many of them put their bodies on the line in defence of justice and truth.

There are the Shministim, school leavers who face jail rather than serve in the army of occupation. Other young and idealistic Jews - some, but not all, from Anarchists Against Walls - stand beside the villagers of Bil'in and Ni'ilin week after week, protesting the theft of village land. Members of the human rights groups, Peace Now and B'Tselem, are tireless in their efforts to document human rights abuses. The women of Machsom Watch stand at checkpoints, monitoring the behaviour of Occupation Force troops. Ex-soldiers from Breaking the Silence reveal the abuses taking place in the West Bank. Jeff Halper's ICAHD (the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions) opposes and resists Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes. And then there are the Rabbis for Human Rights, ordained rabbis and students, whose consciences will not allow them to stand by while abuses of Palestinian human rights take place.

There are others, of course, individuals of good character who speak out and stand up against the occupation. Unfortunately, they are a tiny minority in a country which is rapidly losing its soul.

Shehada Street

2009-10-19T11:34:00.003+11:00

Beautiful buildings, suffering a slow death.

A young settler thug throws wine over a Palestinian woman.

Shehada Street, Hebron, once a thriving shopping destination, is now a place of fear. Because of its proximity to the ultra-orthodox Jewish settler colonies in Tel Rumeida it is a place to be avoided by the indigenous population, especially women and children. Physical violence and intimidation by Zionist thugs, with the passive encouragement of Israeli soldiers and police, is an everyday occurrence, part of a strategy to force Palestinians to abandon their homes. The Jewish holy day, Shabat, is especially feared as this is the day when young, frequently drunk, settlers go on the rampage.

Despite the presence of Christian Peacemaker Teams, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program, the UN Temporary International Presence in Hebron, the International Solidarity Movement and other human rights groups - all attempting to offer some degree of protection to the Palestinian residents - the attacks go on.

Architecture 2

2009-10-16T10:46:00.008+11:00

The Flatiron Building (detail), New York.

Unidentified building, Hebron (Al Khalil), occupied West Bank.

A beautiful old building in Hebron (in the south of the occupied West Bank), unfortunately displaying years of impoverishment and neglect. Sandwiched between two converging streets, it is reminiscent - on a smaller scale - of New York's landmark Flatiron Building. Its graceful proportions, arched windows, supportive columns and loving attention to decorative details, place it within a tradition of fine Islamic architecture.

At street level almost all of the commercial spaces remain closed and shuttered. Beginning in 1979 eighty six Jewish families seized properties in this part of the city, establishing settler colonies under the protection of a heavy Israel "Defence" Force presence. Nearby shops have been forced to close by the Israeli authorities or have been abandoned in the face of settler attacks.

Architecture

2009-10-14T11:19:00.004+11:00

Ad in Haaretz

The online version of the English-language newspaper Haaretz provides a good insight into Israeli mindsets, with viewpoints ranging from those of left-wing/humanists to Zionist megalomaniacs. The pop-up advertisements also tell a story - of Israel as a European enclave, culturally isolated from its Arab neighbours. The Ashkenazi may have appropriated Palestinian foods (hommos, flat bread, etc) as well as Palestinian land and properties, but their cultural mores are still those of Eastern Europe and the United States.

This advertisement features a building, obviously of some age, built of the beautiful, cream Jerusalem stone in a style which was common throughout Palestine but which has, sadly, been eclipsed by less attractive concrete structures. One can see equally attractive examples of this architectural style in Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron, though many of them suffer from the neglect imposed by Israel's 40 year economic strangulation of the West Bank.

One wonders who were the original owners of the "Little House Hotel"? Under what circumstances did it pass from their hands, and when? Where does the family live now? As has been said of Jerusalem, "every stone can tell a story".

Gilad Shalit

2009-09-22T12:08:00.006+10:00

Most Australians would be hard pressed to name more than a couple of Israelis - and one of them is sure to be Gilad Shalit. The young armoured tanks corps corporal was captured in 2006 on the southern border of Gaza by members of the Palestinian armed resistance. Since then he has been held captive in a secret location somewhere in the Gaza Strip, while efforts to gain his release in a prisoner swap have come to nothing.

Israel currently incarcerates over 11,000 Palestinians in prisons within Israel, in harsh conditions and frequently subject to torture and medical deprivation. Many are imprisoned without charge, almost all are political prisoners. They include women, the elderly, community leaders, politicians and elected members of parliament (the moderate Marwan Barghouti, widely seen as a successor to Yasser Arafat, has been imprisoned since 2002 on trumped-up charges). More disturbing is Israel's practice of jailing children for demonstrating against the occupation, usually by throwing stones at Israeli tanks and armoured personnel vehicles.

The children of Bil'in are particularly at risk. Twelve of them have been imprisoned this summer alone. Stepping up their efforts to crush the popular resistance by villagers to the theft of their lands, the Israeli occupation forces now raid the village nightly, destroying property, terrorising the inhabitants and carting away the children and young men.

So, while I hope for Gilad Shalit's safe release, let's forget about him for a while - after all, he was a soldier on active duty, patrolling the open-air prison that is Gaza. Let's devote our thoughts and our sympathy for the 11,000 faceless and nameless Palestinians now rotting in Israeli jails.

Edward Kennedy RIP

2009-09-01T18:22:00.007+10:00

Our newspapers, radio and television news have been full of tributes to the late Edward Kennedy who, for over 40 years, championed progressive causes in the US Senate. His reputation in the mainstream media has been lily-white.

Yet this is the same man who, late one night in 1969, drove his car off a bridge in Chappaquiddick and left a young woman - not his wife - to drown. He returned to his hotel and made 17 phone calls to family and friends before finally, 10 hours later, notifying police of the accident. Despite ongoing allegations of a cover-up the young Senator, third son of the wealthy and powerful Kennedy clan, was never prosecuted for his behaviour that night.

To many observers these were the actions of a man with no moral compass, preoccupied only with his self-preservation and advancement.

More significant, I believe, was his unremitting support for Zionism and the state of Israel. This is, of course, a prerequisite for anyone, whether from the Left or from the Right, intent on a lasting career in US politics. (And, may I add, with no moral compass.) Kennedy was yet another victim of the powerful Zionist lobby which has tainted generations of US lawmakers.

For an expert appraisal of Kennedy's relationship with the Zionist lobby go to Franklin Lamb's article, "Burying Ted Kennedy with the Israeli flag" in the Palestine Chronicle. (Click on link at right).

Bil'in: under the iron heel

2009-08-04T11:12:00.003+10:00

Emad filming an Israeli incursion from the vantage of an olive tree.

One night last week, in the early hours of the morning, my friend Emad Bornat was kidnapped from his house in the village of Bil'in, blindfolded, handcuffed and dragged for a kilometre to a waiting Israeli army jeep. He joins other villagers (25 in the past week alone) who have been imprisoned without trial and subjected to harsh interrogation techniques.

Bil'in has had over 60% of its arable lands stolen for incorporation into nearby Jewish settlements/colonies. Frustrated at four years of popular resistance by the villagers (supported by Israelis of conscience and international human rights workers) the Israeli Occupation Force has intensified its repression. While continuing to respond to the regular Friday demonstrations with disproportionate force - including the use of live ammuntion against peaceful protesters - storm troopers regularly invade the village at night, terrorising the population and kidnapping leaders of the resistance. So far, their attempts to crush the spirit of Bil'in has failed.

Fears are held for the safety and well-being of Emad. He suffered a life-threatening injury several months ago and requires access to medication. Conditions in Israeli jails are harsh for Palestinian prisoners: humiliating conditions, medical neglect and, indeed, torture have been regularly documented. While Western governments (including our own) remain indifferent to Palestinian suffering, people like my friend Emad will struggle to endure under the iron heel of a brutal Israeli occupation.

Destroyers of Jerusalem

2009-07-28T10:25:00.005+10:00

Jerusalem, the ancient walls.

Jerusalem - at least that part of it which has not been desecrated by Israeli destruction and development - is a beautiful city, one of the wonders of the world. It stands beside Venice as an architectural jewel. In 1967 the Old City and East Jerusalem fell into Israeli hands and the process of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian owners and residents began. It has continued ever since, despite worldwide condemnation.

Uri Avnery of Gush Shalom has referred to "The destroyers of Jerusalem - that brutal coalition of real estate sharks, fanatical Zionists, American millionaires and religious mystics". He might have added "aided by the government of Israel".

These reptilian creatures have redoubled their efforts to cleanse East Jerusalem neighbourhoods in recent times, forcibly expelling the native inhabitants, destroying homes and building apartments (for Jews-only) on confiscated land. President Obama voices his dismay and urges Israel to desist. Binyamin Netanyahu smiles his crocodile smile and treats him, and the world, as ever, with contempt.

Junket

2009-06-25T15:43:00.006+10:00

Yesterday Julia Gillard boasted to the "Australia-Israel Cultural Exchange" (sic) assembled in Jerusalem that Australia was "the first to vote in favour of Israel's right to full independent nationhood and its right to live securely within defined borders", in the United Nations in 1947. She also made reference to Israelis living alongside "Arabs" - as though she couldn't bear to utter the word Palestinians.

The problem in all of this lies in the term "defined borders". What borders? The area allocated to Israel under the UN partition plan? The borders they established by military might in the 1948 Nakba? The borders they have controlled since their war of aggression in 1967? It goes on and on, the endless theft of land, the endlessly expanding state.

Since 1993 the PLO, under Arafat, and more recently Hamas have unequivocally supported Israel's right to exist - within its 1967 borders (whereby it occupied more than 78% of Mandated Palestine, leaving the Palestinians, the indigenous population, with the remaining 22%). But peaceful co-existence doesn't suit the Zionist colonial enterprise. It thrives on death and destruction, lies and deceit.

Meanwhile, those parliamentarians insensitive enough to accept a place in this latest all-expenses-paid junket to Israel do so - their salaries continuing to be paid by the Australian taxpayer - while our parliament is sitting! What absolute bloody cheek!

Natural growth

2009-06-22T17:45:00.006+10:00

Ma'ele Adumim "settlement" in the distance.

All this talk of limiting Israeli colonial settlements on the West Bank to their "natural growth" is a red herring. All settlements built on the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 1967 are illegal. They have all been built on Palestinian land. If there is to be a two-state solution - Israel and Palestine, side by side - then they must go.

When the Israeli war machine rolled across the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967 it continued its policy, perfected in 1948, of driving the native population from villages of particular strategic interest. In scenes reminiscent of the Armenian holocaust Palestinians were forced to leave their homes at a moment's notice and driven away at gunpoint, before entire villages were bulldozed into dust.*

In 42 years under Israeli military occupation the rest of the land has been devoured by the cancer of settlement. Concrete excrescences dominate every hilltop. And still it goes on, the relentless theft of land and homes. The ethnic cleansing.

So I join my Palestinian brothers and sisters in saying "Forget the talk of natural growth. Respect international law. Force the Israelis to get out and let us, in our turn, bulldoze all evidence of their occupation."

See Reham Alhesi's article, "The Tale of 3 Cities", online at the Palestine Think Tank.

Jordan is Palestine

2009-06-03T16:35:00.005+10:00

Moshe Arens

Looks okay, doesn't he? Avuncular, a family man. But then again, no, doesn't he remind you of Donald Rumsfeld - a bit creepy? Phrenology, physiology or the hairstyle aside, this is Moshe Arens, former Israeli Minister of Defence and Foreign Minister, now writing for Haaretz. Back then he was described as Likud's "right wing ideological anchor" - and you can't get more right wing than that!

Arens is still singing from the fascist songbook: "Jordan is Palestine". He advocates giving Gaza to Egypt and the remaining Palestinian fragments of the West Bank (what he calls Judea and Samaria) to Jordan. Problem solved: get rid of all those pesky natives and we (Jewish) Israelis can get on with our faux-European lifestyles in blissful comfort, untroubled by any notions of justice, equality or human rights.

Arens and his ilk see no future for an independent Palestinian state, and the last thing they want is to incorporate Palestinians into Israel and give them equal rights and opportunities - thereby making Israel a democratic state for all its citizens. Hence their calls to carve up Gaza and the West Bank bantustans between Israel, Jordan and Egypt.

Unfortunately, this virus has affected Australia and a character named David Singer, a lawyer, has convened a group which he calls Jordan is Palestine International and promotes his vile notions via a blog: http:jordanispalestine.blogspot.com. Oh dear.

Oh Julia

2009-05-28T17:39:00.006+10:00

Julia Gillard, the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia (and the first woman to serve as acting PM - while Our Kev was overseas) has built up her credibility since being appointed to the post. Attacks on her childless status and broad Aussie accent have rebounded on her conservative, Establishment critics. Indeed, she is widely seen as a future PM, clearly preferred to Rudd in a 2006 poll.

However, by agreeing to head a 40-strong delegation of politicians, academics, journalists and business types to Israel, organised by the Zionist lobby group, the "Australia-Israel Cultural Exchange", Ms Gillard's political timing has deserted her. Israel's government, under the extreme right-wing Benjamin Netanyahu, is on the nose with an increasing proportion of the Australian electorate. Perhaps Rudd, with his finely-honed political cunning, realises this and is throwing poor Julia to the wolves. No doubt he has seen it all and heard it all on his two previous expeditions to Israel, in 2002 and 2005.

After undergoing the usual brainwashing at the swank American Colony Hotel (first class all the way, folks) the delegation will, briefly, travel to meet the supine and innefectual PA leadership in Ramallah with, probably, an obligatory photo-op at Sderot to follow. What is certain is that they will not be travelling to Gaza to witness at first-hand the devastation, disembowelling and starvation wrought by their Israeli hosts.

Dancing to the devil's tune

2009-05-22T10:52:00.009+10:00

Tents amidst the destruction of Jabalia, Gaza - 5 months after the massacres.

Israel continues to prevent the passage of building materials, medical equipment, books and toys and all but a trickle of essential food into Gaza. After its failed blitzkrieg in which it killed 1400 and maimed many thousands more, it persists with its policy of starving the helpless population into submission.

Meanwhile, foodstuffs, clothing and other essentials donated by the international community moulder in vast warehouses near the border crossing at Al Arish. The Egyptian government, in thrall to American foreign aid, will not allow them to be transported into Gaza and has demanded that all foods near their expiry date be distributed amongst the Egyptian population. All other consummables must be returned to the donor countries, who will be responsible for paying any storage and customs charges. (Shades of the Howard government's charging refugees for their food and lodgings while locked up in Australia's refugee prisons!)

So there we have it: Israel dictates policy to America; America, in turn, dictates policy to Egypt. Dancing to the devil's tune.

http://www.btselem.org/English/video/20090521_CDP_Uprooted_Gazans_in_new_refugee_camps.asp

Uri Avnery

2009-05-18T17:28:00.004+10:00

Uri Avnery with Yasser Arafat

Praise where praise is due. The Palestinians and their supporters have no better friend than the Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery.

Born in Germany, he migrated to Palestine with his family in 1933. At the age of 15 he joined the Jewish terrorist group, the Irgun (later to gain notoriety as the perpetrators of the massacre of the villagers of Deir Yassin), but left four years later, disenchanted with their bloody tactics. In 1948 he took part in the Arab-Israeli war as a commando. He was first elected to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in 1965, and went on to found Gush Shalom (the Peace Bloc) in 1993.

Now aged 85, Avnery has survived death threats by rabid Zionists and a serious attack on his life. Undettered, he continues to criticise the militaristic and colonialist policies of Israel's political elite, arguing for the recognition of Palestinian human rights and justice for their cause with experience, intelligence and compassion.

Such men as Avnery - and there aren't many - will go down in history as the true Israeli patriots and friends of Jews worldwide.

Click on the link to Gush Shalom for Avnery's latest article, "Quarrel on the Titanic".

http://zope.gush-shalom.org/index_en.html

DNA

2009-05-15T16:45:00.006+10:00

Australia's Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd (known variously, if not affectionately, as Harry Potter, The Dentist and Kevin Rude - for his reported rudeness and bullying towards a female flight attendant whom he is said to have reduced to tears on a recent flight) replaced the never-ending and truly awful John Howard. Hopes that his Labor (sic)* government might adopt a less bellicose approach to foreign affairs have proved ill-founded.

While keeping in step with America in reducing our troop numbers in Iraq, Rudd has promised an increase in our military presence in Afghanistan, yet another unwinnable war and one which does nothing to advance Australian interests. Except to ingratiate us with our American allies.

Yet it is in his unswerving devotion to Israel, right or wrong, that our PM distinguishes himself. He has declared that support for Israel is "in my DNA". By making such a boorish statement and by unfailingly supporting and endorsing Israel's colonisation of Palestine Rudd has demonstrated that, to him, human rights are negotiable. It is also a slap in the face for the many Australians of Arab descent.

They say that we get the politicians we deserve. For the sake of this country, I hope not.

* Labor has been the preferred spelling for the ALP for many years. It signifies a break with the past but, more than that, an identification with things American. Or maybe someone, somewhere, just couldn't spell.

Requiem

2009-04-28T17:30:00.003+10:00

Three artists from Gaza - Basel Almaqsi, Sharif Sarhan and Majid Sala - have created an art installation to commemorate the 14 doctors and paramedics killed during Israel's assault on Gaza. Using whatever materials came to hand they installed their visual requiem on the blackened, crumbling walls and in the rubble of the destroyed hospital at Tal el Hawa, south of Gaza City.

They embody the spirit of Palestine. Without art materials they continue to make art. Just as their fellow Gazans refuse to be starved and bombed into submission*.

* In the four months since the Christmas and New Year massacre, Israel (and its crony, Egypt) have allowed no building materials to enter Gaza, which remains in a condition of devastation. Medical supplies, clothing and foodstuffs rot inside huge warehouses at Rafah, on the Egyptian border. Only the barest essentials needed to maintain a semblance of life are allowed through.

Rest in peace, Bassem

2009-04-21T11:41:00.006+10:00

Bassem Abu Rahme, alive (photo courtesy of Khatija)

I have just learned that the young man murdered by an Israeli soldier at last Friday's demonstration in Bil'in, Bassem Abu Rahme, was someone I had met on a visit to the village last year. Fatal shootings and maimings of Palestinians by the Israeli Occupying Force are a weekly, if not a daily, occurence but somehow, if it's the face or name of someone you know, it brings the tragedy home.

The fact that Bassem was wearing a luminous yellow shirt (making him an easy target) and was standing with a group of journalists on a small hill, apart from the demonstrators, made no difference to his killer. He was shot, from a mere 40 metres distance, with a high-velocity projectile. As I say, an easy target.

Devout Muslims recite this verse upon hearing of a death: "To God we belong, and to Him we shall return". Small comfort to Bassem's family, to his friends and to all of us who admired his bravery and persistence.

http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2009/04/after-shooting-one-palestinian-demonstrator-israeli-soldiers-call-out-do-you-want-more-gas-.html

Resistance

2009-04-18T16:44:00.003+10:00

Francisco Goya's painting, "The Third of May 1808" depicts the execution, at dawn on that date, of Spaniards who had resisted the occupation of their country by Napoleon's forces. In Madrid, hundreds of citizens were rounded up and summarily shot. This powerful work is one of the archetypal images of the horrors of war.

In Bil'in yesterday a young man was shot in the chest and killed while protesting the ongoing theft of his village's lands. Once again, non-violent resistance to the Israeli military and colonial occupation has been met by deadly force. There will be no inquest, the killer will not be charged. Two hundred years have passed since the events which Goya depicted and what has changed?

http://palestinevideo.blogspot.com/2009/04/bilin-weekly-demo-17-april-2009-israel.html

Guernica Revisited

2009-04-13T17:21:00.004+10:00

The most famous anti-war image of modern times is Pablo Picasso's large mural, "Guernica".

It commemorates the 1937 bombing by German aircraft of Guernica, a small village in the Basque country of northern Spain, a bastion of Republican resistance to Franco's fascists. The raid targetted the civilian population, mostly women and children, gathered in the village centre on market day. The attack, which lasted for several hours, killed an estimated 250 to 1,600 as the warplanes repeatedly bombed and machine-gunned the defenceless population.

Hitler's forces carried out the raid in solidarity with their Spanish fascist allies and as an opportunity to test out new weapons. It may have been the first time that aerial warfare had been used to in an attempt to intimidate and demoralise a civilian population.

The lesson of Guernica has been well learned by the leaders of modern-day Israel. What else was the recent attack on Gaza for than to test out its arsenal of new weaponry and to bomb a defenceless population into submission? While it may have successfully tested the effect of white phosphorous, flechettes and new and horrifying munitions on human bodies, it failed utterly to demoralise a population of incredibly brave and resilient people.

Massacre of the innocents

2009-04-07T17:17:00.005+10:00

"The Massacre of the Innocents" by the great Flemish master, Peter Paul Rubens, is probably the best known of the many interpretations of this theme by European artists. In almost every painting the "innocents" are women and children. Occasionally, animals, particularly horses, are depicted as the innocent victims of warfare and armed aggression.

What a treasure trove of ghastly images awaits any artist who chooses to focus on the recent massacres in Gaza! While Israel attempted to hide the gory details of its blitzkrieg from the eyes of the world - by denying entry to the Western media - photographs, amateur videos and graphic first-hand accounts have since emerged from within that charnel-house. Unable to run, with nowhere to hide, women and children, teenagers, medical personnel and all the other innocent victims were gunned down, maimed and bombed in their scores, in their hundreds.

It would take a Goya to visually enshrine the suffering of the poor people of Gaza. Meanwhile, we have the photographs, and the knowledge. Lest we forget.

We came, we saw, we destroyed.

2009-03-22T15:20:00.003+11:00

A T-shirt with the image of a pregnant Muslim woman in the cross-hairs of a sniper's rifle and bearing the slogan "1 SHOT 2 KILLS". Other shirts and caps, adorned with similar slogans, such as "WE CAME, WE SAW, WE DESTROYED". Such is the trophy clothing, boasting of rape, murder and destruction, printed and worn by members of various Israel Defence Force units.

Just another sign of the increasing callousness of those who make up "the most moral army in the world".

For the full story go to: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072466.html

Human Rights (for some)

2009-03-20T14:31:00.004+11:00

Homeless refugees in Gaza shelter in the ruins of their home.

Debate goes on in Australia about the need for a Bill of Rights or Charter of Rights. Those for such a document argue that it would guarantee and enshrine the basic rights of all citizens, to be upheld in our courts of law. Those against maintain that our rights are best preserved through the workings of the federal parliament - claiming that our elected representatives, not unelected judges, should be the watchdogs of our freedom and rights. Some assert that Australia is the only Western democracy without such a bill or charter.

As the "only democracy in the Middle East" Israel would, one imagines, assume responsibility for the basic rights of all its citizens and those living under its military occupation. But of course it doesn't. Only its Jewish citizens are entitled to the full protection of Israeli laws. Its Arab citizens enjoy only a second-class status. The Palestinians under its protection as an occupying power (in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem) face the theft and destruction of their property, imprisonment without trial, restrictions of movement and beatings and killings by army personnel, with no meaningful recourse to law. Land thefts and extra-judicial killings by agents of the state continue to go unpunished.

Such a debate as we are having in Australia is irrelevant in the context of Israel. When laws are enacted for the benefit of some, and denied to others, then surely this earns Israel the definition of a racist state. While it continues on its present course Israel will increasingly be seen as a pariah nation by the rest of the world.

No more Holocaust movies

2009-03-10T09:50:00.007+11:00

Last Sunday SBS television screened a Hungarian movie, "Fateless", about a Jewish boy's experiences in a World War 2 concentration camp. While I'm a fan of foreign-language movies on SBS, I couldn't bring myself to watch this one, though I had enjoyed a brilliant Israeli movie, "Sweet Mud", (about a boy growing up on a kibbutz in the 1970s) earlier in the week.

I have seen enough Holocaust movies to last me a lifetime, especially those of the Hollywood variety. There are many Jews, in Israel and worldwide, who are fed up with the incessant portrayal of Jews as victims. As the American academic Norman Finkelstein has argued in his book, "The Holocaust Industry", promoters of the Holocaust work to portray Israel as a victim state, thereby garnering it immunity to criticism of its horrendous human rights record.

Israel has, grotesquely, attempted to portray itself as the victim during the recent Gaza massacres. Meanwhile, it continues with the inexorable ethnic cleansing of the occupied West Bank. While it persists on its present path it can only fuel the fires of anti-Semitism worldwide.

I probably missed a really good movie, but until we start seeing similar treatments of the Palestinian Holocaust coming out of Hollywood and Europe then the subject is closed for me.

We are already dead.

2009-02-26T17:04:00.009+11:00

"What does it matter? We are already dead."

Eight words, two short sentences. Spoken by a boy in Gaza this week, when he was warned against picking up a fragment of phosphorous, which burns through flesh tissues, right down to the bone (a memento courtesy of the Israeli Air Force).

Many Gazans feel that it is only a matter of time before Israel resumes its full-scale attack on their tiny, defenceless territory. And they could be right, particularly if Binyamin Netanyahu comes to power, with his stated intention of finishing the job.

And will our world leaders watch on, indifferent - as they watched the recent round of massacres -as the Final Solution unfolds?

Land theft in Beit Furiq

2009-02-23T16:52:00.003+11:00

Another roadblock between Nablus and Beit Furiq.

I reported in an earlier post how I had been invited to the village of Beit Furiq, east of Nablus, to witness damage done to a children's out-of-school facility by marauding Israeli storm troopers. The centre had just been refurbished using funds donated by AusAid - aid contributed by Australian taxpayers.

This week the Israeli army of occupation ordered five village families to vacate their homes which, they were told, are to be demolished. They will join 25 other families who have had their homes demolished and lands confiscated. Now, of the 18,000 dunums* of arable land belonging to the village, just 6,000 dunums remain.

The gradual ethnic cleansing of Beit Furiq will facilitate the expansion of several nearby colonial settlements, home to some of the most rabid and aggressive Zionist settlers in the West Bank.

* One dunum is approximately 1,000 square metres.

Bil'in anniversary

2009-02-22T12:35:00.007+11:00

This week marks the fourth anniversary of the farming village of Bil'in's resistance to the ongoing theft of its lands. Lying to the west of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, Bil'in and the neighbouring villages have seen their agricultural lands substantially whittled away for settlements and Israelis-only access roads.

Each week scores of villagers, accompanied by international human rights workers and Israeli supporters, attempt to march from the village mosque to the site of the latest land theft. Each week they are confronted by heavily-armed Israeli storm troopers who retaliate against the peaceful protests with tear gas, stun grenades, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition.

Each week, in the village and in the olive groves, protesters are wounded, arrested, sometimes crippled and, occasionally, killed. Yet each week they come out again. It is this spirit which the Zionist state, for all its lack of moral scruples and much-vaunted military might, cannot break.

http://zope.gush-shalom.org/index_en.html

Pastrami

2009-02-15T18:00:00.009+11:00

Ariel Sharon, the Butcher of Beirut, is still lying - for all I know or care - in a coma in some hospital bed. In 1973 he proclaimed: "We'll make a pastrami sandwich of them...we'll insert a strip of Jewish settlements in between the Palestinians, and then another strip of Jewish settlements right across the West Bank, so that in 25 years' time, neither the United Nations nor the United States, nobody, will be able to tear it apart".

In the 35 years since, he and his political heirs have worked conscientiously to fulfil his prophecy.

In West Bank villages I was asked, time and again: "Why won't the Jews live in peace with us? Why won't they share the land?" Sounds naive, doesn't it? But then the whole world has, for decades, been listening to the bullshit about the "peace process", watching on as Israel steals more and yet more of the Palestinians' dwindling land. Talking peace, stealing land. On and on.

It's time that the blinkers came off.

A tale of two countries

2009-02-13T10:16:00.012+11:00

The bushfires which raged through the hills north of Melbourne this past week have ravaged many thousands of hectares of bushland, destroyed homes and businesses and caused the deaths of several hundred people. Messages of commiseration and offers of support have flooded in from around the world and Australia's politicians have expressed their sympathy and condolences for the survivors of the fires. Our Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has been highly visible on television, hugging victims, listening to their stories and promising that their homes will be rebuilt.

Think back to January 6th, when an Israeli tank shell slammed into a United Nations school,* killing 40 innocent Gazans and adding to the toll of over 1,300 (400 of them children) killed and 5,320 maimed during Israel's campaign of extermination. To this, Rudd's humanitarian response was, "Australia recognizes Israel's right to self-defence".

The victims of disasters, whether man-made or natural, deserve our compassion. When it is withheld or applied selectively we are entitled to know why. Rudd, like Obama, like most of the West's elected leaders, is just another opportunistic, run-of-the-mill politician who sees his or her political survival as dependant on kowtowing to Israel and the Zionist lobby. Shame on them.

* A reader has pointed out that the 40+ civilians were killed by a shell which landed on the periphery of the school, and not within the compound. This is true. My apologies for consulting an earlier UN report which was challenged by the IDF who, somehow, seized upon this as justification for the slaughter. Middle East Reality Check (Useful Links) puts it very well in "Get UNRWA: the Ins & Outs of a Massacre".

A Woman Called Golda

2009-02-05T16:34:00.000+11:00

Will the real Golda Meir please stand up?

The Australian actress Judy Davis was a signatory to a recent ad in the Sydney Morning Herald condemning the slaughter in Gaza. By doing so she has redeemed herself, in my eyes, for her misguided decision to take the role of the young Golda Meir in the 1982 movie A Woman Called Golda. (The older Golda was played, if you can believe it, by Ingrid Bergman.)

Golda Meir, the fourth prime minister of Israel, began life as Golda Mabovitz in the Ukraine, before migrating to the USA with her parents. After moving to Israel she changed her name to Golda Myerson, before finally settling on Meir. Said to be strong-willed and ruthless, she earned the nickname "The Iron Lady", 20 years before her English counterpart Margaret Thatcher succeeded to the title. She asserted, famously: "There were no such things as Palestinians" and "They did not exist".

Davis and Bergman are just two of a number of Hollywood stars who have lent their talents (and their film star good looks) to glorifying the Zionist enterprise. Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint and Sal Mineo starred in the 1960 blockbuster, "Exodus", based upon Leon Uris's novel of the same name. A generation of gullible viewers in the West became supporters of Israel after watching this propagandistic fantasy.

What next? Nicole Kidman as Tzipi Livni? Enough already.

Good on you, Judy, for coming to your senses.

More on Monifa

2009-02-04T08:11:00.000+11:00

There's something about babies, human or animal, which appeals to us at a visceral level. My son sent me the link below, just in case I hadn't got enough of Monifa, the infant baby hippo.

Watching the video clip, seeing how the zoo keepers handled the little creature with fondness and devotion, it escapes my comprehension how soldiers can become so de-humanised that they can slaughter children and animals in cold blood.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=itPDKIebAos

I am lucky

2009-02-03T11:08:00.000+11:00

In October 2008 Sydney's Taronga Zoo saw the arrival of the first pygmy hippopotamus to be born at the zoo in 23 years. Australians were captivated by photos and video footage of the endearing baby animal. It was named Monifa which, in Nigerian, means "I am lucky".

Not so lucky were the animals in Gaza Zoo. When Israeli storm troopers mounted their devastating New Year blitzkrieg upon defenceless Gaza they spared neither hospitals, schools, mosques, trapped families, women or children - nor did they spare the animals in Gaza Zoo. After the Israeli incursion the zoo reeked of death, with the bodies of dead animals lying in nearly every cage. They had been shot at close range.

I doubt whether even Mark Regev, the Melbourne-born chief apologist for Israel's war crimes, would have the hide to suggest that these animals posed a threat to the security of Israel. Their only crime was to provide some pleasure to the children of Gaza, 1,000 of whom visited the zoo each day.

Israel has decreed to the people of Gaza: no food, no electricity, no medical supplies, and no pleasure!

Australia Day

2009-01-25T17:34:00.001+11:00

Happy Australia Day! This weekend Australians are celebrating our national day by meeting up with their family and friends, gathering around barbecues and at picnic spots and, quintessentially, going to the beach.

When I saw this little family group at my local beach I couldn't help but think of the Ghaliya family. In 2006 they were enjoying an outing on a beach in Gaza when an artillery shell, fired from an Israeli naval vessel, targetted them. Seven members of the family, mostly children, were killed. Dozens of others were injured. They were not Hamas. They were not firing rockets into Israel. Their crime was to be Palestinian.

On Australia Day I urge my fellow Australians to consider their good fortune. We live in a democracy (as do the people of Gaza) under no threat from a powerful, murderous neighbour which covets our land (unlike the people of Gaza). Spare a thought for those whose human rights have been trampled underfoot.

Blame the victim

2009-01-23T16:31:00.000+11:00

Now that most of the brave Israeli soldiers are back home, enjoying a well earned rest, the world can finally see the fruits of their endeavours. Much of Gaza is an apocalyptic, pulverised hell, from which dead bodies are still being dragged. Most Israelis, we are told, are indifferent to the photos of carnage, destruction and suffering coming out of Gaza.

So, it seems, are the European leaders - Brown, Sarkozy, Burlesquoni (oops, Berlusconi) and Merkel - who have rushed to the region to offer their unqualified support to Israel, with not a word of condemnation for the murder and mayhem unleashed upon a defenceless population by that rogue state.

I turn to an Israeli commentator, Gideon Levy, to state the obvious. "......Israel is a violent and dangerous country, devoid of all restraints and blatantly ignoring the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, while not giving a hoot about international law." Unfortunately, while world leaders are unwilling to demand that Israel adopts the same moral code as the rest of the civilized world, Palestinian suffering and dispossession will continue and the region will know no peace.

For an excellent analysis read Jeremy Salt's piece, "Sacrosanct State and Complacent West" in the Palestine Chronicle. See Useful Links at right.

Victory celebrations

2009-01-21T14:23:00.000+11:00

One of the most enduring images from the conflict has been that of Jewish civilians dancing and singing on a hill overlooking Gaza as the massacre continued into its third week. Their joy at the turkey shoot unfolding below was shared by over 90% of Israel's Jewish population, we are told.

Later there was the video footage of IDF soldiers sitting atop their tanks as they retreated from Gaza, tired but happy and celebrating a job well done. Did they celebrate while they burned babies to charred crisps, I wonder? While they laughed and set their dogs onto the corpses of children? When they used the small, dead bodies for target practice? (Eye-witnesses among the survivors of the Gazan inferno testify that they did this and more, much more.) These young men appeared to show no remorse for what they had done. Indeed, their smiles and victory signs for the cameras indicated that they took our approval of their heinous deeds for granted.

In Ali Abunimah's words, Israel "possesses the power and lack of moral restraint necessary to commit atrocities against a population of destitute refugees". It uses its massive power, not in self-defence but in order to establish a Jewish state in all of an ethnically-cleansed Palestine. Celebrating civilians and proud soldiers are the visible manifestations of a vile, pariah state. Please raise your voices in protest.

Third Sydney rally for Gaza

2009-01-20T11:09:00.000+11:00

On Sunday 18th January Sydney held its third, and largest, rally in support of the people of Gaza. At the Town Hall the crowd was addressed by, amongst others, Sheikh Taj al-din al-Hilaly, author and activist John Pilger and a speaker who likened the suffering in Gaza with that of Australia's aborigines. (For international readers I wish to point out that the Australian government does not have a policy of attacking its aboriginal citizens with phosphorous bombs, artillery, tanks, Apache attack helicopters or F16 fighter bombers.)

The best street theatre was provided by a costumed woman of mature years who brandished a roll of toilet paper upon which was printed the likeness of George Bush Jnr. As she unravelled it onlookers took the opportunity to despoil it in various creative ways. In amongst the Hizballah and Hamas flags were plenty of CFMEU banners and Greens Party placards, signalling a welcome Green presence, at last.

The procession wound its way through the city to Hyde Park for more speeches and the distraction of three young females and a young male of Middle Eastern appearance who waded through a fountain to attach a Palestinian flag and banner upon a civic statue. Members of the NSW police riot squad soon joined them there in what I took to be a spontaneous act of solidarity.

Where hate leads

2009-01-16T09:16:00.000+11:00

Death and destruction rains down on Gaza. The death toll stands at over 1,000, with another 5,000 maimed. At least a third of the dead are children. Women, doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, traffic policemen, politicians and, yes, some members of the armed resistance, are amongst the slain. Make no mistake, Israel is conducting a massacre, not against Hamas, but against all the Palestinians of Gaza. Its aim is to ethnically cleanse this small, sad strip of impoverished land of its Arab population. And the world watches on.

A human being by the name of Lee Kaplan operates a website called "stoptheism.com". He offers a US$25,000 reward for information on the whereabouts of ISM human rights workers in Gaza, which will lead to their murder. A young Australian volunteer, Sharon Lock, is with the International Solidarity Movement in Gaza. I urge our Foreign Affairs Minister, Stephen Smith, to do everything in his power to ensure her safety.

War on the unborn

2009-01-13T13:53:00.000+11:00

Pro-war rally in London.

"Wafa al-Masri, 40 years old, and nine months pregnant, was walking to Kamal Odwan Hospital to give birth. with her was her sister, 26 year-old Raghada Masri. They were passing through the Diwar Mabub crossroads in the Beit Lahiya Project area. It was 4.30pm. Witnesses said they were hit directly by a missile from a surveillance drone. A paramedic here described the scene. "Her legs were shredded, there was just meat, and she had a serious chest injury, hypoxemia." Wafa was transferred to al-Shifa Hospital for a double leg amputation, from the upper thigh area down. Paramedics were apprehensive about her or her unborn child making it. Medics managed to save the right foot of Raghda Masri.

I visited her at Kamal Odwan today. Visibly distressed and writhing in pain, she recounted the story: "We were walking down the street when we heard the sound of the plane. I can still hear ringing in my ears. We were hit by a missile. We were in the main street, in broad daylight. We would never have expected this. I saw smoke, and I saw Wafa's legs all mangled. She was thrown metres away from me, I was thrown too. Her scarf was torn off her head, her hair was all burnt, she didn't look like my sister, her hair was gone, everyone was saying to me, "She's a martyr, she's a martyr." Today I learned medics managed to save one leg and that she gave birth to a healthy boy."

(Account by Ewa Jasiewicz, a human rights worker in Gaza.)

Meanwhile, pro-war demonstrations are taking place around the world. Can you believe it!

Dear Rosemary

2009-01-12T13:11:00.000+11:00

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin

A reader, "Rosemary", replied to my appeal for a compassionate refelection on the dreadful situation of the Palestinians in Gaza with typical Israeli-type spin by ignoring my piece and attacking "The supposed leader of Hamas based in Lebanon (sic) - well away from the current hostilities". I am guessing that she was referring to Khaled Meshaal, the Hamas political leader-in-exile, living in Syria. She went on, "Why does he not share the danger or be condemned (as) a coward in the Arab world?"

Do you extend this same criticism to Jose Ramos Horta and other Fretelin leaders during Indonesia's murderous occupation of East Timor, Rosemary? And Charles de Gaulle when France was under Nazi occupation?

Think about it. The life of Ismael Haniyeh, Prime Minister of Gaza, hangs by a thread as the Israelis pursue their long-standing practice of assassinating the Palestinian leadership. Those considered a threat are murdered, the more moderate rot in Israeli prisons, the compliant are propped in position. Possibly the lowest point in this campaign of terror came in 2004 when Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the 67 year-old, paraplegic and virtually blind spiritual leader of Hamas was blown up, together with nine bystanders, in a targetted assassination.

One measure of a civilised society is that it extends its compassion to all, regardless of race, religion or creed. Those which feel no empathy for their victims are rightly labelled sociopathic. Think about it, Rosemary.

Enjoy your meal

2009-01-11T08:00:00.000+11:00

As the massacre in Gaza enters its second week, with the Israeli army doing what it does best - the wholesale slaughter of children and unarmed civilians - I rack my brain to think what I (or you) can do to help stop the killing. We can speak out to our neighbours and friends, we can write to the news media and our elected politicians, we can fly the flag or go on demonstrations. None of this has stopped Israel, which Uri Avnery has called "the blood-stained monster", from its blitzkrieg.

Muslims around the world are saying prayers for the people of Gaza. In the secular West most of us have abandoned prayer as a part of our lives. We no longer say grace before meals, where we give thanks for the food before us. Nevertheless, can I urge you and your family to pause for reflection before your next meal, be grateful for what is in front of you and spare a thought for the 1.5 million Gazans who have been starved into submission by Israel, Egypt and the USA for years and who now face annihilation.

Lest we forget

2009-01-09T08:53:00.001+11:00

Sunday's demo - the police presence.

While disgust and outrage grows around the civilized world for the growing death toll in defenceless Gaza - 0ver 700 dead and 3,000 maimed - it is easy to overlook the fact that in the past week Israeli police and soldiers have shot dead four unarmed youths in the West Bank who were protesting the Gaza massacres.

In contrast, the NSW police, including the tactical response squad, turned out in large numbers at Sunday's demo and march in Sydney. They watched the impassioned speeches and groups of angry protesters from a discreet distance and didn't seek to provoke the situation. No-one was bludgeoned, no-one was tear-gassed, no-one was shot. We exercised our democratic right to protest in safety.

The same rights are denied to the Palestinians living under military occupation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. They are routinely beaten, tear-gassed and shot by the occupation troops, whose savage behaviour is condoned and encouraged by their leaders. Such guardians of the law are, truly, the fruits of a sociopathic society.

(To watch a 2 minute video clip of a remarkable young woman confronting an Israeli soldier type : http://informationclearinghouse.info/article21676.htm into your browser.)

Keeping informed

2009-01-07T16:10:00.001+11:00

For anyone wanting to bypass the often biased and self-censored Australian news media there are other sources.

For up-to-the-minute reports from within Gaza just click on the Useful Link to the right: Gaza Strip, the untold story. This website is maintained by Sameh Habeeb, a 23 year old photojournalist, who vows to keep reporting "until I am killed or have to flee my house".

The ISM have an incredibly gutsy Australian woman, Sharon Lock, accompanying ambulances in Gaza. She files regular reports which can be read at another of my Useful Links: International Solidarity Movement.

For video coverage just type: Al Jazeera English - live streams into your browser. Al Jazeera's reports have the reputation of being factual and unbiased.

Twisting and turning

2009-01-07T12:35:00.000+11:00

Prayers for the young victims.

An Australian friend remarked: "That Tzivi Lipni is busier than a one-legged man in an arse-kicking competition" - apropos her efforts to somehow lay the blame for the hundreds of Palestinian deaths and injuries upon the Palestinians themselves. As she twisted and turned news came through that Israeli stormtroopers had shelled a United Nations school in which many hundreds of civilians were sheltering, killing over 40. Mark Regev, the baby-faced spin doctor, reasoned that, because there were men amongst the women and children victims, the school was therefore a base for Hamas militants.

The lies and deceit by the Israeli government are not enough. Foreign news media are banned from entering Gaza to see the effects of the bombings and military incursions for themselves. However, first-hand reports are filtering out from Gazans and internationals trapped in that hell-hole. A foreign doctor has stated that 50% of the casualties he sees are women and children, that this is "all-out war against the civilian population of Gaza" who cannot flee and who are "trapped in a cage".

Meanwhile, dear Tzivi maintains that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Well, she would - if she doesn't consider the Palestinians to be human, how can there be a humanitarian crisis?

Shame file

2009-01-06T08:48:00.000+11:00

Name and shame. Two elected members of the Australian parliament took part in Sunday's demonstration in Melbourne in support of Israel's actions in Gaza: Michael Danby (Labor) and Mitch Fifield (Liberal) obviously feel that Israel is pursuing a course which they support and approve.

So far the Israeli war machine has killed in excess of 5oo Gazans and inflicted grievous injuries upon another 2,790. At least 34 children have been massacred in this "defensive operation". This much is known, despite the bias in the Australian news media towards Israel and the refusal of the Israeli government to allow journalists to witness the carnage at first hand.

Danby and Fifield are out of step with the Australian people, whose outrage at the continuing bloodbath intensifies day by day.

Second Sydney rally

2009-01-05T16:35:00.001+11:00

On Sunday 4th January Sydney held its second rally in support of the people of Gaza. Many thousands marched (10 abreast, tightly packed for three city blocks) from the Town Hall to Belmore Park where speakers censured Israel's brutal policy of extermination. The mood of the crowd was decidedly angrier than at the previous Monday's event. Watching on, after a week's blood-letting by Israel, our government still refuses to condemn the rogue state. How gutless is that?

News has reached me that a small counter-demonstration in favour of the ongoing massacres was held in Melbourne that same day. I cannot comprehend that Australians (if that's who they were) could think and act in this way. If they were to see the video * of the effects of a bomb in a Gaza market and still hold these views then they are evil beyond belief.

* (type http://sabbah.blip.tv/#1642223 into your browser)

Sydney rally for Gaza 3

2009-01-03T18:18:00.001+11:00

Women in black

The boys from Hezballah

Also taking part in Monday's demo and march were people from Women in Black (the anti-war movement founded in Israel) and supporters of Hezballah and Hamas (hey fellas, don't you know the Aussie government has proclaimed both groups "terrorist organisations"? Watch out for a visit from Mick Keelty's federal police one night). The NSW police officers in attendance behaved with restraint and professionalism, unlike their London counterparts at a similar event. Well done the NSW police!

While I'm here I must comment on Tzivi Lipni's statement that "there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza" (despite the starvation, lack of medical supplies, human carnage and bloodshed). Well then, black is white, good is bad, night is day, there was no holocaust, we are just defending ourselves, blah, blah, blah. George Orwell would have been proud of you, Tzivi. So would your dad, the old Irgun terrorist.

Sydney rally for Gaza 2

2009-01-02T15:26:00.001+11:00

Aranda and her proud father.

The five dead Balousha sisters.

Taking part in Monday's march were Australians of all ages, from babies in prams to the elderly and infirm, Moslems, Christians, Jews and atheists. Maybe even some Buddhists. Horror and disgust at Israel's cold-blooded and premeditated slaughter of defenceless Gazans united us all.

Baby Aranda was there with her parents, decked out in a Palestinian scarf and with the flag on her forehead. Thank God she lives in a country which is out of reach of the Israeli killing machine.

Not so lucky are Anwar and Samira Balousha. Five of their daughters: Tahir 17, Ikram 15, Samar 12, Dina 8, and Jawaher 4, were killed by an Israeli air strike on the mosque next to their Gaza home on Tuesday. They join the growing list of children martyred in Israel's massacre of the innocents.

Sydney rally for Gaza 1

2009-01-02T09:17:00.001+11:00

On Sunday 29th December thousands of my fellow Australians gathered at the Sydney Town Hall before marching to the USA embassy to protest the ongoing massacres in Gaza. Called at short notice, the demonstration was nevertheless one of the biggest the city has seen for years. The response from onlookers was sympathetic, evidence that Israel's campaign of lies and deceit swamping our news media isn't working.

Unfortunately, our Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith, continues to "strongly condemn" Hamas and other militant groups for firing their mostly innefectual rockets and mortars into southern Israel, while merely urging restraint upon Israel. What cynicism! What hypocrisy! What cowardice!

My advice to Mr Rudd and Ms Gillard: the Zionist lobby is powerful but it doesn't represent the Australian people. Be guided by your conscience, not by political expediency.

Massacre in Gaza

2008-12-28T09:23:00.000+11:00

The sun is shining. Christmas has come and gone. Most of us are on holiday and it's a relaxing, comfortable time. And while we are enjoying ourselves Israel is perpetrating yet another massacre upon the unarmed, captive population of Gaza. So far, in the worst attack upon this tiny, crowded strip of land in over 40 years, the heroes of the Israeli Air Force have dumped over 100 tons of bombs, killing policemen, civilians, women and children. Hundreds have been killed, many hundreds more have been wounded.

Israel claims that it is responding to the dozens of home-made rockets which have been launched by Gazan militants, killing one Israeli, in the past week. Cynics claim that it makes good sense, with elections coming up, for Ehud Barak and Tzivi Lipni to demonstrate their strength and resolve. Either way, the response is totally disproportionate. It is a war crime - if one can describe a few thousand lightly-armed men confronting one of the world's most powerful, best-equipped armies as a "war'. No, it is a massacre.

Please, my fellow Australians, help end this slaughter by making your feelings known to our Foreign Minister: http://Stephen.Smith.MP@aph.gov.au and Israel's ambassador to Australia, HE Yuval Rotem: http://ambassadorsec@canberra.mfa.gov.il.

Joe Sacco

2008-12-27T11:01:00.000+11:00

Great Christmas present! My son gave me a copy of Joe Sacco's comic book/graphic novel, "Palestine", published by Jonathan Cape in 2003. Not normally a fan of the comic book and manga genre, I was entranced by Sacco's vivid account of his experiences in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza in late 1991 and early 1992 - the time of the first intifada. As Edward Said wrote in his glowing introduction: "With the exception of one or two novelists and poets, no one has ever rendered this terrible state of affairs better than Joe Sacco".

Terrible state of affairs indeed. In the 25 years since Sacco visited the region the situation has not changed for the better for the Palestinians: the Israelis have left Gaza but have turned it into a huge concentration camp, starving its population into submission; in the West Bank the resistance has been imprisoned and disarmed while the American-trained forces of the Palestinian Authority do Israel's police work; Jewish colonist settlements increase and flourish while politicians worldwide ("the scum floats to the top") turn their backs.

Two things that have not changed are the indomitable will of the ordinary Palestinians to resist this genocide and a growing core of decent people, in the West and within Israel, willing to speak up on behalf of Palestinian human rights.

Alan Ramsey

2008-12-20T18:24:00.001+11:00

My heart was heavy when I learned that today's column in the Sydney Morning Herald was Alan Ramsay's last. Alan has been a fearless critic of all that was false, pretentious and immoral in our society. He was virtually alone amongst Australian mainstream journalists in criticising Israel's vicious and inhumane treatment of the subject Palestinians. For this he was pilloried and denigrated by the Zionist lobby. Still, he held firm and would not resile from his beliefs.

Where does this sort of courage and integrity come from? I wish I knew. But he had it in abundance. And now, the light that he shone on this most important arena of human rights abuses is dimmed. We, as a nation, are the poorer.

Homage to Bil'in

2008-12-18T12:10:00.001+11:00

The farming village of Bil'in lies west of Ramallah, close to the border with Israel, in the Occupied West Bank. Since 1967 the villagers have seen their agricultural lands and orchards stolen, acre by acre, tree by tree, and absorbed into nearby illegal Israeli settlements. Nowadays very little remain of the traditional lands which once were theirs.

The people of Bil'in have fought this theft of their lands through peaceful demonstrations and protests. Each Friday after morning prayers, accompanied by international human rights workers and Israeli anarchists and supporters, they attempt to march to the site of the apartheid barrier hemming in the village. Invariably, they are confronted by troops from the Israeli Occupying Force and the brutal Border Police, whose violent methods of dispersal have caused a number of deaths and serious injuries to the protestors.

One old man travels in the bus from Ramallah each week to join in the protest. With his sunburned, weatherbeaten face and courageous spirit, clad in the traditional keffiyah and ageyl and wearing Palestinian flags and a badge of Yasser Arafat in his lapels, he came to symbolise the spirit of the popular resistance to me. This portrait is a homage to him and to the people of Bil'in.

God Cried

2008-12-08T14:00:00.001+11:00

"The best-equipped army in the Middle East, supported by one of the most powerful air forces in the world, backed by a navy, and outnumbering its opponents by a conservative five to one, was totally unable to knock off a band of ragged-arse kids equipped with the sort of weapons that might just about control a football crowd in Uruguay...."

So wrote Tony Clifton and Catherine Leroy in their book "God Cried", about Ariel Sharon's 1982 invasion of Lebanon and siege of Beirut, by which he intended to finally destroy the Palestinian armed resistance and its leadership.

Twenty six years later and the Israelis have still not been able to realise their grand Zionist dream of driving the indigenous population from all the lands between the Mediterranean and the Jordan. Gaza is undergoing a slow genocide, East Jerusalem is being ethnically cleansed, the West Bank has been split up into a series of impoverished Bantustans where Jewish colonists control the hilltops and water resources. The resistance has been disarmed, jailed or gone into hiding. Surrounding Arab states appear indifferent to the fate of the Palestinians.

All of this would indicate a disastrous state of affairs - if it wasn't for the will of the people. Humiliated, starved, beaten, jailed, tortured, dispossesed, they continue to resist. They deserve our admiration. They need our help.

Recession

2008-12-02T13:51:00.001+11:00

Shehada St, Hebron, the shopfronts welded shut. Palestinians are forbidden to even walk along this street. Apartheid is alive and well.

With the news that the economies of the UK, the USA and Germany are now officially in recession the question has to be asked, "Can Australia be far behind?" Lots of people are doing it tough here, some are losing their homes, but it will have to get much, much worse before we see anything like the Depressions of the 1930s and 1890s which our parents and grandparents went through. (My parents, both hardworking people, finished up living in a tent on the beach.)

And spare a thought for the citizens of Hebron (Al Khalil) as they try to survive after nearly forty years of Israeli occupation. Large sections of their markets remain closed, the doors welded shut by the military authorities. Other locations are roofed with protective mesh to block the rubbish and fecal matter dumped upon them by the rabid Zionist settlers squatting in the overlooking buildings.

Yet the people of Hebron have it easy compared to their Palestinian brothers and sisters desperately trying to stay alive in Gaza while their Israeli overlords prevent foodstuffs, fuel and medical equipment from reaching them. Their crime for this collective punishment of slow starvation? To elect a government of their choice in free, fair and democratic elections.

Emad

2008-11-28T08:52:00.001+11:00

This week Emad Bornat from Bil'in village, west of Ramallah, was taken to hospital in a serious condition after a tractor accident. Returning home after ploughing his fields, Emad was forced to detour down a steep hill because of the illegal apartheid wall separating his lands from the village. His tractor overturned into the mesh and razor wire barrier. Israeli road blocks delayed the ambulance from reaching hospital, where doctors removed his spleen, for more than an hour.

Emad has fought the occupation with his video camera for many years. He is never absent from the weekly demonstrations at Bili'in, documenting the theft of land and the human rights abuses taking place. He shows great personal courage, getting up close when the bullets are flying, even after his camera was shattered - while he was filming - by a live round. His video footage can be seen on YouTube.

I am proud to claim Emad as a friend. Please pray for his safe recovery.

The sun is shining

2008-11-25T12:36:00.000+11:00

Another dove of peace painted on the apartheid wall. This one is bound and blindfolded, it cannot even attempt to fly. A powerful symbol.

The poet Chaim Nahman Bialik makes the point, in what is almost a Jewish haiku:

"The sun is shining

The acacia is blooming

And the slaughterer is still slaughtering."

The dove

2008-11-22T14:57:00.001+11:00

On a nearby wall in Bethlehem is this painting of a dove in flight, wearing a flak jacket and carrying an olive branch in its beak. A sniper has it in his telescopic sights.

The so-called peace process is equally doomed. Year follows year of fruitless negotiations. Nothing is achieved. And this suits Israel's purpose down to the ground. After all, the state of Israel was founded on terrorism and military might and, while "peace negotiations" drag endlessly on, the dispossession of Palestinians from their homes, lands and businesses continues unabated. As a militaristic economy, with the fourth largest sales of arms worldwide, Israel goes from strength to strength. Why would they want a peace agreement?

The struggle

2008-11-19T10:49:00.001+11:00

What is one to make of this wall painting on the side of a building near Bethlehem? Two donkeys, their tails tied together, pull in opposite directions. The white donkey appears to have a Palestinian village on its back while the black donkey supports a Jewish settlement (the trees and the style of buildings give the clue). The donkeys - notoriously stubborn beasts - appear to be engaged in a futile, unthinking struggle.

If the artist has used the donkeys as a metaphor for the struggle between Palestinians and the Jewish settler movement then he (or she) is way off the mark. Settlements in the West Bank are encouraged, protected and supported by the government of Israel as part of its decades-old campaign to ethnically cleanse the land of its indigenous population. Israel, with the fourth most powerful army in the world (one which has the power and military hardware to crush Australia's armed forces) is opposed by a handful of lightly-armed resistance fighters in Gaza. Economically, Israel boasts one of the highest per capita incomes in Europe. It has imposed a "surrender or starve" policy upon the populations of Gaza and the West Bank, where poverty is widespread.

To depict this as a struggle between equals, or infer a moral equivalence in the Palestinian or Israeli positions is, quite frankly, disgusting.

Nothing lasts forever

2008-11-17T11:45:00.000+11:00

A corner of the apartheid wall near Bethlehem, complete with watch tower, razor wire and graffiti. On this side, Palestinians. On the other side, the spreading cancer of Jewish settlements built on stolen land, and Palestinians cut off from their neighbours and families.

The human spirit

2008-11-14T18:21:00.000+11:00

On this grey obscenity which has been designed to grab land and split communities -even families - apart, the human spirit shines through. Amongst the political statements and messages of solidarity there are moments of happiness and even humour.

Talking to people throughout the Occupied West Bank I couldn't get over their lack of bitterness. Mostly, they felt bewilderment: Why do the Jews steal our land? Why won't they live in peace? And the one I couldn't answer: If people in the West know what is happening here, why do they do nothing?

The evil you deplored

2008-11-11T17:20:00.001+11:00

Great image! The camel is being swarmed by tiny figures emerging from the depths. Down at the base of the wall someone has asked the question: "Israel - have you become the evil you deplored?"

For many of us the question is rhetorical - and the answer is "Yes". Like the abused child who goes on to himself become an abuser, most modern-day Israelis are indifferent to the sufferings of the people they have dispossessed. They enjoy their privileged lives upon the suffering, despair and pain of the indigenous population, the Palestinians. So much pain and suffering, all predicated upon a belief that there is such a thing as a Chosen People.

I'm from Texas

2008-11-08T16:20:00.000+11:00

One of the more down-to-earth images appearing on the apartheid wall lampoons the 43rd president of the United States of America, whose foreign policy has proved such a disaster for that country. He and his neo-con henchmen leave behind a legacy of death, destruction and misery throughout the Middle East. His delusional secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, recently declared herself: "especially proud of the situation in the Palestinian territories".

The hopes of millions around the world are pinned to the president-elect, Barack Obama. He seems like a decent sort of person. However, his appointment of Rahm Emanuel, son of an Israeli terrorist and himself a hardline supporter of the Zionist state, as his chief of staff, sends an alarming message. If the Barack administration continues the disastrous policy of putting Israel's so-called interests ahead of American interests then Israelis and Palestinians will continue on in their lethal struggle for the forseeable future.

Faces

2008-11-04T15:31:00.001+11:00

This series of large-scale photo portraits has been pasted on The Wall near Bethlehem. The grimacing faces make a powerful statement - the nature of which eludes me!

This part of The Wall is rich in graffiti and street art and has become something of an "in" tourist destination. The nearby shops, however, struggle to exist, as foreign tourists are warned against entering Bethlehem (or indeed, anywhere on the West Bank) for "security reasons" by the occupying Israelis. This is a strategy in their ongoing campaign to ethnically cleanse Palestinian neighbourhoods - starve them out and they will, in desperation, abandon their homes and businesses.

An olympic sport

2008-11-02T10:40:00.001+11:00

While I was photographing The Wall at Qalandia four young children came out of their nearby houses to see what I was doing. I agreed to take their photos and, despite the lack of a common language, we established a rapport. When it was time to leave I said my goodbyes and walked off. I hadn't gone far before a shower of stones came whizzing past. I thought I was their friend! Later, an acquaintance explained that stone-throwing amongst Palestinian kids is almost the national pastime, and if it is ever made into an olympic sport then Palestinians will be world champions. *

Which is all very amusing until you reflect that a number of kids have been shot dead while throwing stones at Israeli tanks and armoured personnel carriers, and that many young stone-throwers rot in Israeli jails at this very moment.

* I would like to add that, at the time, I thought: "Israeli soldiers and border police have fired rubber-coated steel bullets at me and missed (except once). So give it your best shot, kids." But no, I didn't. I was really pissed off.

Another world

2008-11-01T17:29:00.001+11:00

The quote on the right, attributed to Arundhati Roy, reads: "Another world is not only possible, she's on the way. Many of us won't be here to greet her, but on a quiet day, if you listen very carefully, you can almost hear her breathing".

Heartbreaking, when you think of the generations of Palestinians who have passed away while waiting to return to their beloved homeland.

Marwan

2008-10-31T14:24:00.001+11:00

One instantly-recognisable image, seen on walls all over Palestine, is that of Marwan Barghouti, his manacled hands held above his head in a gesture of defiance. Widely regarded as a popular successor to Yasser Arafat, Barghouti was imprisoned by the Israelis on spurious charges in 2002. He was re-elected to the Palestinian Parliament in 2006 from his prison cell.

An estimated 11,000 Palestinians languish in Israeli jails, including a number of elected parliamentarians. They include women, children, sick and elderly. Most of them are political prisoners - prisoners of conscience tried by military judges using archaic penal codes derived from Ottoman times or the pre-1948 British Administrative Detention system. These laws do not apply to citizens of Israel. How's that for a healthy democracy?

Kiwi Peace Call

2008-10-29T11:31:00.000+11:00

I liked this graffiti on The Wall near Bethlehem. Sonny Bill (Williams) is - or was, until he defected to rugby union - a star New Zealand rugby league player, As is, I assume, TC.

They may speak funny but those Kiwis have their hearts in the right place. And, bless them, they have even painted their message in the Australian sporting colours!

Banksy (2) too

2008-10-29T10:41:00.000+11:00

Banksy at Bethlehem.

Another Banksy wall painting, this one on the apartheid wall near Bethlehem. It's quite a witty piece of role-reversal, the little girl patting down a spreadeagled Israeli Defence (sic) Force soldier. Body searches at the hands of the occupying force are an everyday part of Palestinian life and are carried out more as a form of humiliation of the population than out of any concern for security.

Banksy

2008-10-28T10:09:00.000+11:00

A Banksy painting at Qalandia checkpoint.

The pseudo-anonymous British street artist Banksy works in an instantly recognisable style. He uses a stencil technique to transfer his graphic images onto walls and footpaths. His work is remarkable for its visual wit, often using satire to make his point.

Stop killing my sons....

2008-10-27T17:00:00.000+11:00

A Michelangelo-inspired wall painting near the Qalandia check point.

Contemporary visual arts practice is, for the most part, really boring. Audiences have switched off in droves from the rampant egotism and posturings (hello, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin et al, are you listening?) of the young and not-so-young wannabees. This kind of art just doesn't connect with ordinary people.

An art of rejection has grown out of this. For decades now young artists have turned to the streets, to walls, to railway carriages as their canvas of choice. I'm not talking about the brain-dead "taggers" who disfigure our cities with their repetitive tags, but to the genuine graffiti artists who have something new and original and heartfelt to say. Crikey, some have even become rich, like Banksy, or been subsumed by the mega-rich art market (Basquiat, Keith Haring and so on) and received the ultimate accolade - their paintings reproduced on tea towels and coffee mugs!

Massive, bland, obscenely expensive, Israel's separation or apartheid wall is a metaphor for the New York art scene. However, in an act of subversion, graffiti artists from around the world have turned it into a huge canvas for their ideas and beliefs. Over the next short while I'd like to share some of this with you.

Hooligan settlers

2008-10-23T17:02:00.000+11:00

Soldiers watch on while settlers threaten olive harvesters.

Yesterday's editorial in Haaretz "Hooligan settlers who call themselves Jews", condemned the actions of militant settlers in no uncertain terms: "They have been stealing the land of powerless farmers for decades and do not recoil from stealing the fruit of these farmers' humble land. A society that declares its longing for peace cannot accept such malicious Jewish terror against innocent Palestinian civilians."

Oh that our own quality newspapers dared to speak with such objectivity and courage on matters concerning Palestinian human rights. Instead, we must turn to an Israeli newspaper to find the truth.

Harvest of hate.

2008-10-20T18:16:00.000+11:00

Settler attack in Hebron olive grove (courtesy ActiveStills)

Haaretz has reported the most recent attack on Israeli, Palestinian and foreign helpers attempting to harvest olives near Hebron, in the southern West Bank. Several of the pickers were attacked, including Janet Benvie, a British volunteer with the Christian Peacemaker Teams, who was punched in the face after settlers attempted to steal her camera.

Israel Defence (sic) Forces arrived and promptly declared the area a closed military zone.* They described the harvest as a "provocation" because it had not been previously cleared with the IDF.

* Closed military zones have the effect of making Palestinians' presence on their own property unlawful.

Olive harvest

2008-10-19T12:49:00.000+11:00

Olive grove at Ni'lin, Occupied West Bank.

Australian growers rightfully pride themselves on producing world-class olive oil, most of which, because it is a young industry and production levels are comparitively low, is sold at premium prices. It is something of a luxury.

By contrast, in Occupied Palestine olive trees are grown virtually everywhere. Wherever it is possible to plant and nourish these hardy trees they grow; on barren hillsides, in the valleys and in household gardens. The fruits of the trees are eaten at every meal - as preserved olives, as a dipping oil, in salads or used for frying. They sustain life. Far from being a luxury, they are a basic necessity. They are also, by far, the country's most important crop.

As in Australia, the olives are harvested once a year, in late summer. However, Palestinian farmers face a threat which their counterparts in Australia (and Italy and Spain and Greece) do not - spiteful, sometimes murderous, Jewish settlers intent on disrupting or stopping the harvest. As an encouragement for the Palestinian owners to abandon their lands Zionist thugs from nearby settlements routinely chop down and burn the trees, and attack villagers attempting to harvest their crops.

Despite these religous zealots bent on destruction and a complicit army of occupation, international volunteers go to Palestine each summer to help with the harvest and, by their presence, to discourage the worst of the violence. I urge anyone who has the time and the means to do so to go and help the Palestinians bring in their crop. You will be welcomed with open arms.

Martyrs

2008-10-09T21:16:00.001+11:00

Tom Hurndall

The activists I met in the West Bank earlier this year came from Japan, the UK, South Africa, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, the USA and Norway. They were wonderful people, giving up their summer holidays and paying their own way to take part in a just, humanitarian struggle.

Not all of the young volunteers who have come to Palestine over the years have returned home. Rachel Corrie, run down by an army bulldozer while protesting house demolitions in Gaza and Tom Hurndall, shot in the head by an IDF sniper while escorting young children to safety, also in Gaza, never went home. Both members of the International Solidarity Movement, they became martyrs in the struggle for Palestinian human rights.

So far this year 420 Palestinians (including 80 children) have been killed by Israeli forces. Amnesty International (UK) in a recent report describes a situation where Israeli military forces kill civilians in Gaza with "near-total impunity, week in week out". This is state sanctioned murder.

To read the full report go to: http://palestinechronicle.com.

Time to leave

2008-10-08T14:35:00.000+11:00

Israel's daily newspaper Haaretz reports on Middle Eastern issues with the kind of objectivity that news media in Australia and the United States - in thrall to the Zionist lobby - do not. It can be read online at: http://haaretz.com.

In today's issue an article by Avi Primor, "It's time for the IDF to leave the West Bank", argues that security concerns are the biggest drawback to Israel pulling out of the occupied territories. He suggests that an international force of armed observers could be installed in place of the IDF, thus ending 41 years of military occupation.

Such a force, I suggest, would be better disciplined, more humane and more professional than the IDF and the brutal Border Police. Their role would be that of peacekeepers, not as oppressors of the native population and facilitators for settler violence.

Whether the Israeli political class can wean itself off its war mentality and relentless expansionism is another matter.

Watch out Fatima

2008-10-06T10:50:00.000+11:00

The now-faint graffiti on the wall of a Palestinian home near the Tel Rumeida settlement in Hebron reads "Watch out Fatima - we will rape all Arab woman". It is meant, obviously, as an encouragement for the indigenous population of this beleagured neighbourhood to flee their homes. It reminded me of another slogan I had seen, years earlier, on a wall on Jerusalem's Mount of Olives, "Death to all Arabs and Christian dogs".

These purveyors of hate are, sadly, everywhere. In today's Haaretz (http://haaretz.com) the Israeli commentator, Akivar Eldar, gives an excellent analysis of the state of the "peace process" and observes that the PA has become "a fig leaf covering the nakedness of a deluxe version of occupation." However, the published comments on his article come overwhelmingly from religious/nationalist zealots, whose hatred of Palestinians and opposition to a just resolution of the conflict is entrenched.

Hatred of Jews, hatred of Muslims, hatred of Israelis, hatred of Palestinians, all have their wellsprings in ignorance and fear. All are abominations.

Dan

2008-09-29T20:11:00.001+10:00

Young Israelis spend three years in the military forces and are sometimes posted to the Occupied West Bank. Their duties may include manning checkpoints or patrolling near the many illegal Jewish settlements.

As one of several human rights workers with the International Solidarity Movement, based in the southern city of Hebron (Al Khalil), part of my daily routine was to monitor a checkpoint next to the infamous settlement of Tel Rumeida, scene of many vicious attacks against Palestinian residents. These residents were routinely searched and required to produce their identity cards before they were allowed to go on their way. Whether these searches were security measures or part of the regime of routine harrasment and humiliation is open to dispute.

If they were approachable I would sometimes engage the heavily-armed soldiers in conversation. One of them, Dan, had two years' service under his belt and could hardly wait to get out. He would sometimes joke and play with the local kids and he seemed quite a reasonable person. He told me that he wanted to study literature when he left the army. However, when I asked him what he thought about the situation in Hebron, he replied, "It's their fault, the Palestinians."

Such certainty! It allowed him to justify the presence of the Hebron settlers in properties and on land stolen from the Palestinian owners. It allowed him to condone the attacks these settlers make on Palestinian children on their way to and from school. But then, if he was to admit to himself that Palestinians are human beings like himself, and are entitled to the same human rights as Israeli Jews, how could he do the job he was doing?

Flipping Out

2008-09-17T15:44:00.000+10:00

Pity about the late-night slot on SBS last night for the documentary "Flipping Out - Israel's drug generation". The Canadian film-makers went to North India and Goa to record the drugged antics of young Israelis "flipping out" after their compulsory three year stint in the Israeli Defence (sic) Forces.

With their 15,000 shekel severance pay from the army, thousands of young Israelis head for favoured destinations in India where they spend months, sometimes years, partying in a drug-induced haze. For some, the party ends only when they succumb to psychosis and, in some cases, repatriation back to Israel. Feeling (with some justification) that the world despises them they group together in tight communities, wrapping themselves in a sheltering, Israelis-only coccoon.

During their three years service some had served in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza. When interviewed, a few felt remorse, others were indifferent to the suffering and humiliation they had inflicted upon their Palestinian victims. In a sense they, too, were victims of Israel's political culture which sees war and conflict as the preferred option.

Pogrom in Assira

2008-09-15T15:57:00.001+10:00

The village of Assira al Qibliya, before Saturday's rampage.

Ehud Olmert, the Israeli PM, has described a recent rampage by Jewish settlers through the village of Assira al Qibliya as a "pogrom".

In response to an altercation between two youths, one Palestinian and one Jewish, heavily-armed settler terrorists rampaged through the village on Saturday, shooting indisciminately and vandalising houses and property. Several villagers suffered critical gunshot wounds while soldiers from the Israel Occupation Force stood passively by.

A pogrom is a form of riot directed against a particular group, characterised by destruction of their houses, businesses and religious centres. The term is more usually associated (though not exclusively) with riots against Jewish communities in eastern Europe during the 19th Century. For Olmert to use it in this instance is both a correct choice of words and an indication that the government of Israel has lost control of the monster which it created - the settler movement.

School's a gas!

2008-09-12T11:04:00.000+10:00

Once the children are at school they are still not safe. Reports are coming in that 50 students at a girls' school in the West Bank village of Ni'lin required medical attention after Israeli "Defence" Force storm troopers lobbed tear gas canisters into their school.

For the full story follow the link to the International Solidarity Movement website on this page (http://palsolidarity.org) for the article "I used to dream about my future".

Back to school

2008-09-11T20:01:00.000+10:00

Imagine this, where you live, here in Australia: You send your kids off to school in the morning. On the way, they are stopped at an army checkpoint, questioned and maybe searched. Then, before they get to the safety of the school grounds, they are verbally abused, stoned and spat upon by immigrant children and their parents. These immigrants have arrived in the country uninvited, illegally. The police stand by and do nothing. On their way home it is the same story - your children run the same gauntlet of abuse and humiliation.

Sound far-fetched? Well, not if you're Palestinian and live in the West Bank adjacent to an Israeli colonist settlement. Every day of the school week many children leave their homes in fear of their Jewish neighbours, whose sole aim is to drive them from this land. The situation is probably worst in Hebron, where settlers have established themselves in the heart of the city. Foreign human rights workers from such groups as the Christian Peacemaker Teams, Ecumenical Accompaniment and the International Solidarity Movement do their best to shepherd the children to and from school, hoping to ward off the worst violence, but they themselves are open to attack.

Last week school began again for the children of Palestine after their summer holidays. It should be a positive, enjoyable experience. But for many, school days are tinged with fear.

Home of the brave, land of the free.

2008-09-06T18:20:00.000+10:00

One of the most depressing aspects in the run-up to the US presidential election has been the candidates' unseemly scramble to demonstrate his or her unflinching commitment to Israel. Not to peace. Not to justice or fairness. To Israel.

Obama or McCain, Biden or Palin, Democrat or Republican, it doesn't really matter, all are in the thrall of the pro-Israel lobby. They know that it is political suicide to demonstrate anything other than fawning admiration for the Zionist state. AIPAC (the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee) and other powerful lobby groups work unceasingly to purge the Senate, Congress, universities and public life of any American who dares to speak up for Palestinian human rights. It has come to this.

Israel may attack a US warship in international waters, plant its spies in US defence establishments, soak up billions of US taxpayers' money each year and thumb its nose at calls to respect the "peace process" with, it seems, impunity. Indeed, as the rape of Palestine accelerates, the stranglehold of the pro-Israel lobby grows stronger.

The Americans and their toadies (sorry, allies) will abandon Iraq in the not-too-distant future. Echoing the Vietnam experience, they will one day retreat from Afghanistan, with their tails between their legs. Their client state, Israel, has maintained a military occupation in the remnants of Palestine for over forty years. Unless a just solution to the conflict is found then America's woes in the region will not go away.

Hamas

2008-08-31T14:20:00.000+10:00

Support for Hamas is widespread throughout the villages and towns of the West Bank. Painted signs symbolise the religious and revolutionary nature of the movement (the green flag of Islam and the AK47 automatic rifle). For many, the Palestinian Authority under Mahmoud Abbas has failed to provide credible leadership. Indeed, the PA is widely regarded as carrying out the orders of the Israeli government by suppressing dissent and closing down charitable organisations linked to Hamas.

Like the liberation theology movements of South America, Hamas gains support from the people through its provision of social services and its opposition to tyranny and repression. Confronted by one of the largest and best equipped armies in the world Hamas has only a relative handful of lightly-armed men. All Palestinians know, of course, that only a political solution will deliver them any measure of justice, but they also know that without an armed resistance they are even more helpless in the face of Israeli depredations. Hamas gives them hope.

Home

2008-08-30T17:49:00.001+10:00

Israeli storm troopers invade the Beit Hanina house.

Mission accomplished.

Palestinian houses are often impressive affairs. Constructed of stone or concrete blocks, they may be two, three or four storeys high, built to accommodate growing and extended families. Their solidity reflects the importance of family life.

In the Occupied West Bank the Israeli authorities seldom issue permits for the indigenous population to extend their houses, let alone build new structures. In desperation, the home owner is forced to build "illegally". Then, as one of their strategies to ethnically cleanse the land of its occupants, the Israelis order the demolition of the house.

Last week the imposing, four storey home of Abu Majed Eisha in Beit Hanina, a Palestinian community close to East Jerusalem, was destroyed with explosives while his family, friends and supporters from the international community looked on, helpless. His crime was to have built additional floors onto the existing two storey home.

Israel has destroyed 18,000 Palestinian homes since it occupied the West Bank in 1967. A further 22,000 houses in East Jerusalem have demolition orders on them. As part of their agenda of land acquisition the occupiers aim to make life unendurable for the Palestinians, thus forcing them to leave and paving the way for the settlement of yet more Jewish colonists from the United States, Europe, Canada, Ethiopia and yes, shamefully, Australia.