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From Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD):
The Power of Saying No
By Jeff HalperAs the new Hamas government is sworn into power in the Palestinian Authority, we might ask: What would bring a people, the most secular of Arab populations with little history of religious fundamentalism, to vote Hamas? Mere protest at Fatah ineffectualness in negotiations and internal corruption doesn't go far enough. While warning Hamas that their vote did not constitute a mandate for imposing an Iran-like theocracy on Palestine, the Palestinians took the only option left to a powerless people when all other avenues of redress have been closed to them: non-cooperation.
Gandhi put it best: "How can one be compelled to accept slavery? I simply refuse to do the master's bidding. He may torture me, break my bones to atoms and even kill me. He will then have my dead body, not my obedience. Ultimately, therefore, it is I who am the victor and not he, for he has failed in getting me to do what he wanted done. Non-cooperation is directed not against the Governors, but against the system they administer. The roots of non- cooperation lie not in hatred but in justice."
Non-cooperation, perhaps the most powerful means of non-violent resistance, arises in situations when the oppressed have no other avenues to achieve their freedom and their rights. Since it is the international community, the US, Israel and, yes, Fatah, who have closed all avenues of redress to the Palestinians, they carry the "blame" for the rise of Hamas. It is to them that the message of the Palestinian electorate is aimed: "To hell with all of you!"
To hell with the international community that closed off Palestinians' appeal to international law and human rights conventions. Had only the Fourth Geneva Convention been applied, Israel could never have constructed its Occupation in the first place. International law defines an occupation as a temporary military situation that can only be resolved through negotiations. Therefore an Occupying Power such as Israel is prohibited from taking any unilateral action that makes its control permanent. Besides its military bases, every single element of Israel's Occupation is patently illegal: settlements and the construction of a massive system of Israel-only highways that link the West Bank settlements to Israel proper; the extension of Israel's legal and planning system into occupied Palestinian areas; the plunder of Palestinian water and other resources for Israeli use; house demolitions and the expropriation of Palestinian lands; the intentional impoverishment of the local population; military attacks on civilian populations — to name but a few. Even when Israel's construction of the "Separation Barrier" was ruled illegal by the International Court of Justice in the Hague and its ruling ratified by the General Assembly, nothing was done to stop it.
To hell with the United States that closed off negotiations as an avenue for redressing Palestinian rights and for enabling Israel to make its Occupation permanent. At the very start of the Oslo "peace process," at Israel's urging, the US reclassified the Palestinian areas from "occupied" to "disputed," thus removing international law as the basis of negotiations and pulling the rug out from under the Palestinians. Had international law been respected, the Occupation would have ended under the weight of its own illegality. But once power became the only basis of negotiations, Israel easily overwhelmed the Palestinians. Until today Palestinians have nothing to look for in negotiations. With the Americans supporting Israeli unilateralism, with the US veto neutralizing the UN as an effective avenue of redress, and with European passivity, they have been cut adrift.
To hell with Israel that has closed off even the possibility of a viable Palestinian state by expanding into Palestinian areas. The world ignored the Palestinians' "generous offer" to Israel: recognition within the 1967 borders in return for a Palestinian state in the Occupied Territories. Or in other words, an Israel on 78% of historic Palestine with the Palestinians - today a majority in the country - accepting a state only on 22%. Israel is now posed, with American support and international complicity, to make its Occupation permanent and reduce the Palestinians to a prison-state truncated into five "cantons" all controlled by Israel. No borders, no freedom of movement, no water, no viable economy, no Jerusalem, no possibility of offering a hopeful future to the traumatized, brutalized, undereducated, unskilled, impoverished Palestinian youth.
And to hell with Fatah that, in addition to enabling corruption, did not effectively pursue the Palestinians' national agenda of self-determination. The Palestinian Authority ran its affairs removed from the people, failing to provide material and moral support to victims of Israeli attacks and policies of house demolitions. Most Palestinians did not vote Hamas (only 44% did), so the door was not closed on Fatah which, most Palestinians seem to hope, will learn its lesson from this setback.
Indeed, the vote for Hamas was not a closing of the door at all, but a rational, intentional and powerful statement of non-cooperation in a political process that is only leading to Palestinian imprisonment. Hamas, if anything, stands for steadfastness, sumud, the refusal to submit. This conflict is too destabilizing to the entire global system to let fester, the Palestinians are saying. You can all impose upon us an apartheid system, blame us for the violence while ignoring Israeli State Terror, pursue your programs of American Empire or your notions of a "clash of civilizations," we the Palestinians will not submit. We will not cooperate. We will not play your rigged game. In the end, for all your power, you will come to us to sue for peace. And then we will be ready for a just peace that respects the rights of all the peoples of the region, including the Israelis. But you will not beat us.
As an Israeli Jew who sees how the Occupation has eroded the moral foundations of my society and, indeed, my entire people, and as a resident of Israel-Palestine who knows that my fate is intricately intertwined with that of the Palestinians, I pray that such an end will come sooner rather than later.
Jeff Halper is the Coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD)
ICAHD is a non-violent, direct-action group originally established to oppose and resist Israeli demolition of Palestinian houses in the Occupied Territories.
As a direct-action group, ICAHD is comprised of members of many Israeli peace and human rights organizations.
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{ 7 } Comments
Thanks for blogging this, Haitham. I'm always glad to see ICAHD in my aggregator.
very powerfull statement.
Haitham,
Thank you for this post. A shame that when a Palestinian says it, the world condemns them, but from the mouth of an Israeli… it acquires power and validity. Well, goes to show that our "vivid imaginations" seem to coincide with witnessed facts on the ground. Thanks, again.
Haitham,
I agree with Raymond on the question of validity of the author. But I must admit, I did not notice til the very end that it was an Israeli and that DID make it powerful to me in the sense that he was willing to speak out. He was no MORE powerful, but it is a very welcome thing for those of us who have absolutely no self interest but ARE interested. I only wish the whole population of the State of Israel and the US signed on as co-authors too. Pray for a solution and as individuals continue to speak out. Shukran
Hamas won the election. So be it. Don't condemm them.
The Palestinians made their choice.
Wheather you like it or not, the choice is made.
Accept it!
I don't agree with their policies but I accept their being voted in.
They can't be worse than the Zionists.
The Palestinian people have elected their own government.They elected the right people for the right situation.What's the use of democracy if it's not providing the right answers to the right questions. Palestinian Hardliners against Israeli hardliners. It's up to Isrel and to the US and to the UNO to solve the real problems that emerge from the Palestinians'choice.
Several days ago, I pointed out in my blog that only a single newspaper in the entire world has published Jeff Halper's article. That is still the case. Considering the article's value in understanding what Hamas' election means, its suppression is a mute statement of the power of the imperialist-Zionist block to chill the media.
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[...] Salam, I just found out that SABBAH has already posted this article. You can check it out HERE.This is a brilliant statement by Jeff Halper, an Israeli Jew who is a diss [...]
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Tuesday, Mar 21, 2006
To Hell With All of You!
by Haitham in Human Rights, Palestine, Bleeding Edg [...]
for everyoneLink: sabbah.biz Dear Lebanese/Palestinian/Arab/Muslim/Christians - Kids, Die with love. Yours, Israeli Kids
weten wat webbloggen inhoud en lezen webblogs als aanvulling op de krant. Webblogs openen deuren naar persoonlijke visies van mensen die je anders nooit zou spreken. Saudi's, Emirati en Bahreinis kunnen via de webblog met elkaar in gesprek gaan over de oorlog in Libanon, over vrouwenrechten en schapenneukers. Maar daarmee is de vraag nog niet beantwoord: wat is een webblog?
right ties should consult him about what he thinks about the mess Bush has us in..cuz I really don't think one crazy Jack ass is any different from another..so why not listen to Charles Manson..ha..oh and the isreal thing..all I can say is WOWZERS.. http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2006/07/17/photo-of-the-day-israeli-kids-sends-gifts-of-love-to-arab-kids/ go check that out..how loving..how sick acctually..those are children they're brainwashing..oh and get this..we've given them bunker buster bombs..Yay! now we're all gonna die too..because our government/ military doesn't know how to mind their own
The ?Wall of Hate? team to produce a film on Lebanon
and I'm tired of paying the government for anything and everything," he said, adding as a Canadian citizen he has the right to drive and travel freely. (People are getting tired of being ripped off from every direction. P.S. I like you Fred! A_R) Facts About Israel The Media Isn't Telling You (Warning: The top of the page contains graphic photo's. Scroll down to find the U Tube. A_R) Mexico, U.S., and Canada Agree to Strengthen Energy Sector Mexico, the United States, and Canada have agreed to strengthen the North American energy sector
Afghanistan (2) My Father: The Spirit of Lebanon Israel Palestine Blogs Ceasefire: US Congress British Foreign Minister condemns Israeli action It?s official An Arabic lesson from Beirut The War on Antennas The ?Wall of Hate? team to produce a film on Lebanon Fuck you, Pamela! Halutz: Israel Invaded Lebanon to Rebut ?A Sense IDF Does Not Have Answers? The Forward: Liberal Bloggers Silent on Lebanon? Since When?? The Polls Another Peace-nik in Iran
If these images does not disturb your peace of mind (I suppose they shouldn't, right? After all, they are all "gifts of love" Israelis shower on the Arabs every day), then I guess nothing will. Bloggers who have posted on the issue [1] [2] This is the result that their "gift of love" brought. [IMG] And the Arab kids in Beirut would like to inform their Israeli "friends" that their "gifts" had indeed arrived. [IMG] [IMG] Disgusting? Appalling? Unreal? Outrageous? Nah, its
children writing messages on missiles destined for Lebanon creates a distinct queasiness. At first, there is disgust, but it's laced with ambiguity. Are we to think that hatred is so rife in Israel that even children thirst for the blood of Arabs? Some say yes. For children to hate, it must be learned, so who has done the teaching here? Although a bunker-bound Israeli's blog suggested this picture was set up by the press, Columbia Journalism Review tells another version
from BahrainBlogs.org Overdue: Three Days of My Life as a PlayThe Science of Male Pregnancyp is for?If you?re not with us???????? ???????Been a good weekThe ?Wall of Hate? team to produce a film on LebanonCommand & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars shotsTrying to fix a ham. Youve boar-ed me.the weekend
Israeli girls write messages on a shell at a heavy artillery position near Kiryat Shmona, in northern Israel, next to the Lebanese border, Monday, July 17, 2006.? (Sebastian Scheiner for AP) Boing Boing and Sabbah beat me to it. Images cached locally in the gallery for safe keeping. Well, so much for Israel not doing what they accuse the other side of doing often enough. Namely teching their kids to hate and staging photo ops. Well, I guess no one will shed a
With Love From Israel With love from Israel! Bravo democracy; may be we should start thinking how can we show our love towards them. http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2006/07/17/photo-of-the-day-israeli-kids-sends-gifts-of-love-to-arab-kids/ http://www.bubbleshare.com/album/48388/overview http://wakeupfromyourslumber.blogspot.com/2006/07/israeli-children-sign-their-missiles_18.html http://www.mpacuk.org/content/view/2356/34/ July 20th, 2006
[...] start=20 23 Jul, Sun, 16:46:34 http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2006/03/21/to-hell-with-all-of-you/ & [...]
If it happened and you read Sabbah’s 2 posts about the Palestinian girl Samia (pseudonym): The Refugee Number xxxxxx Million & Palestinian Going Home, then you have to read this post [IMG :)] yesterday, I met Samia.. I never thought this world could be a small village indeed. it was a pure chance, my best friend asked me to meet a palestinian girl who tried to enter Palestine and has been refused
via Sabbah?s Blog
This album is powered by Source Sabbah's blog
K?fen im Libanon den Gegnern auf beiden Seiten deutsche Waffen zur Verf? Monitor Wo ist eigentlich das Kriegsziel? ? Mit welchem Recht macht sich unsere Regierung an dem Verbrechen mitschuldig? Wie Kriegsgeil kann man eigentlich sein? [IMG Bomben beschriften]
have been weighted to conform to the demographic profile of British adults. YouGov abides by the rules of the British Polling Council. Anthony King is professor of government at Essex University. Source: The Daily Telegraph, 27 July 2006. Picture: Israeli children "sending messages" to Lebanon [IMG]
Photos of Israeli Adults Signing Bombs
Is Israels Response Disproportionate? Jon Stewart breaks down the recent turmoil between Israel and Lebanon. [Hat tip: Ohoud]
Please stop this. Now. Figure out what prisoners will be swapped later. Figure out the terms of the agreement that will govern the Israeli-Lebanese border until the next war later. But stop killing kids now. Technorati Tags:
[...] tapalo - #128 Y aqui tienes mas y este de un diario judiohttp://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2006/ 07/21/btselem-i sraeli-s [...]
Dice: "To Nazrala with love / from Israel / and Daniele". "Nazrala" es Hassan Nasrallah, el l?r de Gizbol?a quien van dedicadas estas bullets of pure love que sin embargo no son de zafiro. De nada. M?informaci????ac?ac?ac? archivado en: aprendan a leer, manga de ping?rosados
* I accuse you! * Die with love, version 2.0! * Debunking the "Ticking Bomb" argument for torture * One of three T-shirts in EU made in Bangladesh. * Obsession: What the war on terror is really about. * Foreign spies active, as polls in Bangladesh draw near.
I'm having trouble posting words now. The blatant disregard for life. The two-faced Israeli government. Words are hard to come by. I found this site with pictures of the Qana attack in Lebanon. Please be advised, these pictures are disturbing and please do not view if you think it may cause you any sort of health issues. The Israeli government has lost all heart now. This is the real story.
includes an announcement from June of the return of 250 Jews to Beirut and the opening of a shop in the old Jewish market. There are photos and links to information about the old synagogues. We need peace and freedom for all Middle Easterners now. Haitham Sabbah, who tipped us to this site, also gives a link to a blog post elsewhere about Indigenous Middle Eastern Jews.
Sabbah:
The devil’s logic: Smile, my son, or we'll be accused of anti-Semitism _____________ Thanks, Sabbah
to my records, a good amount of people vist because of my post on Lebanon’s psychic (BTW, this has been brothering me for a while, but … I don’t like the title. It was a poor choice of words). On a lark, I looked up one of the terms and found this blog post at Sabbah’s Blog (it’s sort of anti-Israeli, so if you don’t agree with it … don’t go). The blogger has hayek’s predictions for 2006 from an anonmous source. Those predictions are: My apology for not having the time to translate them all to English, the one
s not right to show them like that. Me: IT's wrong. Its pornographic. It's like they are going: Dead babies, dead babies , who wants to see dead babies? We have dead babies and children and we always love to show them to you at every chance we get. GM: (silently whimpers) Me: You know, I have a friend I was spekaing to today. He works in investment. His job entails reading the egyptian newspapers at work. He tells me that he can no longer do his job, because his desk is now coverd by newspaper
Sabbah’s Blog » Blog Archive » Palestine is still the Issue: "Palestine is still the Issue "
Anyway here's a few links to keep updated on. I cried yesterday for two hours straight when I saw the pictures of the dead children. This needs to end, it's the apathy and ignorance of the masses that is fueling these Israeli war crimes. Israeli kids signing missiles for Lebanon From Israel to Lebanon These are suffering people, the Palestinians, the Lebanese, the Syrians, the Iranians. They have been shunned and scorned by these Western countries - leading to the rise of Islamic fanaticism. It's not hard to figure this shit
Source: Sabbah’s blog They lost it in Lebanon, now they are going to retaliate and take revenge on Palestinian and their Supporters! Israeli activists with International Solidarity Movement (ISM) have uploaded a video of the shooting of Lymor and the initial violence of
Hezbollah 2, Israel 0 - by Joanna Frances
will bear the consequences of its actions.? -Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, July 12, 2006. Not holding my breath for UNSC 1701 to be respected, Sam. Oh? yes. Tags: Failures, Israel, Lebanon, Terrorism, ? Read the rest of this post
A powerful and moving video about two Palestinian refugee girls, filmed by Palestinian-American Mai Masri. http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2006/08/27/frontiers-of-dreams-and-fears/ And an interview with Mai Masri about the IOF's inhumane brutality unleashed in Dheishe; they killed the grandfather. http://www.hrw.org/iff/2002/traveling/frontiers-interview.html And a history of Israel's terrorcracy, an updated story by
Sabbah's Blog (28.08.2006)
To those that really believe Israel is not an apartheid state, perhaps these articles might open a few minds and hearts. If you want to see with your own eyes the plight of the Palestinian refugee, watch THIS powerful and moving video about two Palestinian refugee girls, filmed by Palestinian-American Mai Masri.Thanks to Umkahlil for posting it. **********************************************************************************************************
- Tennessee Guerilla Women • 4 links • TiVo-blogging the Emmys. - Althouse • 3 links • Wearing t-shirt with Arabic script in America means you are a suspected terrorist
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