Sabbah Report » Haitham Sabbah

What has become of the United States of America

Haitham Sabbah — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 06:40:32 +0000

A brief and crucial history of the United States:

470 Palestinians Arrested Since First Phase of Prisoner Exchange

Haitham Sabbah — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:31:54 +0000

Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) have arrested nearly 470 Palestinians since 18 October 2011 , when 477 Palestinian political prisoners were released in exchange for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit as part of the first phase of the prisoner exchange deal concluded by the Israeli government and Hamas authorities. This wave of arrests reveals that the exchange deal has not deterred Israel's policy of detention of Palestinians; rather, Israeli prisons are being refilled with almost the exact number of Palestinians that were released in October. Even the released prisoners were not safe from harassment, as the IOF has regularly raided their homes, issued summons to meet with Israeli intelligence and re-arrested one individual.

The 470 Palestinians who were arrested between 18 October and 12 December include about 70 children and 11 women. The IOF continued to employ brutal methods of arrest, including the use of undercover Israeli forces, commonly known as musta'arabeen, who dress as Palestinian civilians in order to carry out ambushes and arrests of Palestinians from their homes and places of work. In many cases, joint army and intelligence raids occurred after midnight, where soldiers deliberately destroyed contents of the houses they were searching. Of the 70 children arrested during this period, the majority are from Shuafat camp in Jerusalem and Dheisheh camp in Bethlehem. In the past two weeks alone, 11 children were arrested in Shuafat and 10 in Dheisheh. Two of the 11 women arrested in during the past two months remain in detention. One of the released women is Irsa Salhab, a journalist who spent more than 20 days in Moskobiyyeh interrogation center. Six of the women were arrested during a demonstration outside Hasharon prison, where they were calling for the release of female prisoners not included in the first phase of the prisoner exchange. Three of these women were released shortly after their arrest, and three were sentenced to house arrest.

Political activists were especially targeted for arrest during this period. Approximately 150 arrests of alleged party members occurred, particularly including those whom the IOF claims are active in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), some of whom received indictments issued against them, while others received administrative detention orders. The IOF has continued to arrest and renew administrative detention orders of members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). Two PLC members were arrested since 18 October, the administrative detention orders of 6 PLC members were renewed and one PLC member received a 30-year sentence. Furthermore, on 27 October, following a mass hunger strike protesting punitive measures against prisoners including the use of isolation, the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) renewed the isolation order for Ahmad Sa'adat for another year. At the beginning of December, Ahmad entered his 34th consecutive month in isolation.

The IOF also continued to carry out arrests against human rights defenders in order to further repress the popular resistance movement. During the past two months, arrests of protestors participating in peaceful demonstrations occurred in almost all of the villages with an active weekly demonstration. These arrests include at least 2 from Bil'in, 3 from Nabi Saleh, 17 from Beit Ummar, 3 from Al-Ma'asara, 1 from Kufr Qaddum and 2 from Al-Walajeh, with arrests in East Jerusalem and the South Hebron Hills as well. In addition to these arrests, the IOF used extreme violence to disperse demonstrations, resulting in the death of protestor Mustafa Tamimi, 28, on 10 December. Mustafa was fatally injured when hit by a teargas canister in the head fired at close range by an Israeli soldier on 9 December, during the weekly demonstration against the Israeli settlements and Annexation Wall in Nabi Saleh. The arrests of human rights defenders, use of violence against peaceful protestors and threats to family members of activists are in clear violation of Palestinians' right to freedom of expression and assembly.

In light of this heightened wave of arrests, Addameer is concerned about what will happen after the conclusion of the second phase of the prisoner exchange deal. The IPS has announced that 550 prisoners will be released on Sunday 18 December. Addameer calls for the implementation of the rights of released prisoners and urges the international community, including the United Nations and European Union, to intervene rapidly to prevent Israel from its continued practice of brutal and arbitrary detention.

Soource: Addameer

Secret trade report obtained by AIPAC and Israel compromised sensitive US industry secrets

Haitham Sabbah — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:20:52 +0000

WASHINGTON, Dec 13, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Following a three year Freedom of Information Act battle, US Trade Ambassador Ron Kirk has been forced to publicly release a secret report about America's first bilateral trade agreement. The 1984 report predicted which US industries would be most harmed by massive trade preferences for Israel.

In 2009 the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep), a Washington nonprofit that works to improve policy formulation, sought public release of the report. The USTR refused. IRmep appealed to an outside review panel arguing that declassified FBI files revealed both the Israeli government and American Israel Public Affairs Committee unlawfully obtained the report in 1984. A declassified FBI investigation uncovered AIPAC's receipt of the report from Israel's Economics Minister, who refused to divulge how he obtained it. IRmep successfully argued that Americans most harmed by the data theft should also have access to the report.

The International Trade Commission compiled "Probable Economic Effect of Providing Duty-Free Treatment for Imports from Israel" by soliciting confidential business information from all concerned industries. US tomato growers and canners wanted to protect domestic production and jobs while discounting Israel as a significant market for US products. Arkansas bromine producers were concerned that Israel's state-owned producer would displace private sector US jobs in an economically challenged region.

According to the secret trade report,

"Opposition to the duty-free tariff treatment for jewelry was voiced by the largest national jewelry trade association and several domestic producers...Support for the elimination of jewelry tariffs came from an importer and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee....The implementation of this proposal would eliminate uncertainty about the future of the GSP program, a program which is the key to Israel's competitiveness in the US market."

Passage of Israel trade preferences into law in 1985 created a chronic US deficit averaging $10 billion per year. In May of 2011, IRmep's Center for Policy and Law Enforcement filed a petition with the USTR Section 301 Committee demanding $6.64 billion in compensation for exporters that suffered confidential business information loss to AIPAC and Israel. Although USTR refused to pursue the petition, the report's public release now provides crucial evidence for civil damage claims to be filed in court against AIPAC. Stakeholders may now download released sections of the report and links to FBI files at: http://www.irmep.org/ILA/ustr/

SOURCE: Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep)

Israeli Jewish hate rally against Africans in Tel Aviv caught on video as Haaretz deletes article about it

Haitham Sabbah — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:32:59 +0000

Rally against Sudanese refugees in Tel Aviv, calling to "restrict their movement" and set up concentration camps.

Israeli Jewish hate rally against Africans in Tel Aviv was caught on video as Haaretz deletes article about it. Copy of the article provided below.

Video link: http://youtu.be/7Sv14Kwuk-8

Israel Right-wing Activists Rally in Tel Aviv, Demand Expulsion of African Migrants - Haaretz Daily Newspap...

How is Palestine and Arab Jews are presented in Israeli School Books (A MUST VIEW)

Haitham Sabbah — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 16:35:00 +0000

Video link: http://youtu.be/pWKPRC-_oSg

Alternate Focus interviews Nurit Peled-Elhanan, author of the forthcoming book Palestine in Israeli School Books: Ideology and Propaganda in Education. Nurit Peled-Elhanan argues that the textbooks used in the school system are laced with a pro-Israel ideology, and that they play a part in priming Israeli children for military service. She analyzes the presentation of images, maps, layouts and use of language in History, Geography and Civic Studies textbooks, and reveals how the books might be seen to marginalize Palestinians, legitimize Israeli military action and reinforce Jewish-Israeli territorial identity.

NOTE: Nurit Peled-Elhanan is a Professor of language and education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, an Israeli peace activist, and one of the founders of the Bereaved Families for Peace. After the death of Elhanan's 13 year-old daughter in a 1997 suicide bombing, she became an outspoken critic of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

The Story of Palestine [video]

Haitham Sabbah — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:49:27 +0000

Video link: http://youtu.be/wE1A3WrMHdI

When the United Nations, in 1977, proclaimed 29 November of each year as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, it was a clear admission of guilt towards this people. It was recognition that the Palestinian people deserve international solidarity and support, in the name of justice and rights. This was merely one small event in a long story.

The story of Palestine and its people is one that will go down in history. In fact it has already started to do just that. One might say that the victor is the one that writes history. The victor in this case will inevitably be justice, and justice is at the core of the Palestinian struggle against apartheid, colonialism and oppression. And as in every episode in history, everyone will be mentioned according to their positions, and more importantly their deeds with respect to each story.

In the day of solidarity, let us remember that.

We teach life, sir

Haitham Sabbah — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 08:30:44 +0000

Video link: http://youtu.be/aKucPh9xHtM

RAFEEF ZIADAH is a Canadian-Palestinian spoken word artist and activist. Her debut CD Hadeel is dedicated to Palestinian youth, who still fly kites in the face of F16 bombers, who still remember the names if their villages in Palestine and still hear the sound of Hadeel (cooing of doves) over Gaza.

ACT NOW!! BOATS SAILING NOW TO GAZA! SPREAD THE WORD

Haitham Sabbah — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:08:34 +0000

Israel and the US outsourced the siege of Gaza to Athens last summer by preventing 8 boats in the Freedom Flotilla 2-Stay Human from sailing from Greek ports to Gaza. Despite this we were able to bring world-wide attention to the blockade of the Gaza Strip. Our efforts in Greece only fueled our determination to challenge the imprisonment of the people of Gaza. We said we would continue to sail and so we are!!!

At this moment, two boats are in international waters in the Mediterranean heading to Gaza. One boat, the Saoirse from Ireland, includes parliamentarians among its passengers. The other, the Tahrir, carries representatives from Canada, the U.S., Australia, and Palestine. The U.S. Representative on the Tahrir, Kit Kittredge, was a passenger on the U.S. Boat to Gaza, The Audacity of Hope mission in Athens in July. A journalist from Democracy Now is on the Tahrir also. Civil society organizations in Gaza await their arrival, and look forward to the delivery of letters collected from thousands of U.S. supporters in the To Gaza With Love campaign.

We need your help to make this mission a success. Please take these actions immediately.

1. Check these websites for updates: - US to Gaza, Irish Ship to Gaza and Canadian Boat to Gaza, watch or listen to Democracy Now for live coverage from the Tahrir.. Look for twitter hashtag #Freedomwaves.

2. Spread the word far and wide - send this alert to your contacts.

3. Call the State Department and the White House- demand that they take immediate action to ensure the safe passage of these boats and to put an end to the siege of Gaza.

Call the State Department:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 202-647-5291
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro 011-972-3-519-7575
Office of Israel/Palestinian Affairs Paul Sutphin 202-647-3672
Office of Consular Affairs, Kim Richter 202-647-8308

and the White House: 202-456-1414

email President Obama at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

Here are some talking points or suggested messaging:

Gaza has been under siege since mid-2006, depriving 1.6 million people of their liberty and basic human rights. Although the siege has been condemned by the United Nations, the Red Cross, and many national governments, nothing has been done to ease the plight of these civilians. Civil society has had to act where governments would not. Two ships with 27 passengers from 5 countries are sailing to Gaza to confront the Israeli naval blockade, and to bring medical supplies and letters of support.

As Americans we insist that our government (which sends Israel $3 billion in military aid every year), demands that Israel insures the ships' safe passage and ends its illegal blockade of Gaza. There is absolutely no excuse to subject 1.6 million people to collective punishment. Ask your local press to cover this story. Up-to-date information will be available at www.ustogaza.org, www.irishshiptogaza.org and www.tahrir.ca

Israeli military covers up evidence showing Eilat attack was not carried out by Palestinians

Haitham Sabbah — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:34:02 +0000

After a shooting attack on an Israeli bus and truck two months ago which killed five civilians and three soldiers, Israeli military officials immediately claimed that a Palestinian resistance group was responsible. But an Israeli military investigation revealing that the attack was carried out by Egyptians, not Palestinians, has been 'embargoed' by the military.

Military spokesperson Avital Leibovitz

Although the results of the investigation were quietly released by the military last month, they have published no details, and have refused reporters' requests for more information. An article verifying the results of the internal investigation showing no Palestinian involvement in the attack was published last week in the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahranoth, with information from a 'leaked' document showing the conclusion of the investigative team.

Publicly, military spokesperson Lt. Col. Avital Leibovitz has refused to comment on the leaked document, and has continued to perpetrate the military's original claim that the attackers were from Gaza, despite conclusive evidence to the contrary.

Israeli columnist Yossi Gurvitz, with 972Mag, wrote on Sunday, "This looks like a conspiracy to cover up the fact that the Defense Minister misspoke, and that as a result, an attack on Gaza took place, which led to a counter-attack, which in turn led to an escalation, in which an Israeli citizen (and 27 Gazans) died."

Israel's 'revenge attack' on Gaza following the Eilat murders involved air strikes, ground invasions and cross-border artillery shelling that killed 27 Palestinian civilians, including two young children.

Source: IMEMC

Show Your Solidarity for Palestinian Prisoners

Haitham Sabbah — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 13:04:51 +0000

Thousands of Palestinians held rallies in Nablus, Gaza and Ramallah on Oct. 3, to show solidarity with Palestinian political prisoners on hunger strike since Sept. 27.

There are 6,000 to 8,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, including women and children, many of them imprisoned without trial and others serving long terms.

The prisoners’ hunger strike was called to protest the solitary confinement of some prisoners, including Marwan Barghouti, who was placed in isolation after he called for mass demonstrations across the occupied territories and the world in support of the Palestinian bid for U.N. membership. Arrested and detained since 2002, Barghouti is a hugely popular elected member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, dubbed “Palestine’s Mandela” by Israeli writer Uri Avnery. Like Nelson Mandela, who became South Africa’s first democratically elected president after being imprisoned for 27 years, Barghouti is considered a possible successor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Palestinian prisoners are continuously subject to lengthy solitary confinements, sudden night raids and torture. The Israeli prison administration also deprives Palestinian political detainees of the simple right of bathing, access to clean clothes and family visits. Prisoners also suffer as a result of an improper diet and a lack of medical attention.

Call, write, fax or e-mail the U.S. State Department, Red Cross and the Israeli Embassy to ask them to end the suffering of Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli jails. Show your solidarity for Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike.

U.S. State Department
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Dept. of State
Washington, DC 20520
State Dept. Public information Line: 202-647-6575

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
P.O. Box 372
CH-1211
Geneva 19
Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 730 42 22
Fax: +41 22 733 03 95

International Federation of Red Cross New York Delegation to the UN
420 Lexington Avenue
Suite 2811
New York, NY 10170
USA
Tel: (212) 338 0161
Fax: (212) 338 9832

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
19 Avenue de la paix
CH 1202
Geneva, Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 733 20 57

ICRC Media and Public Relations Officer for Middle East
Hicham HASSAN
Tel: +41 22 730 25 41
Mobile: +41 79 536 92 57
hihassan@icrc.org

American Red Cross National Headquarters
2025 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
202 303 4498
(1) 800 RED CROSS

Israeli Embassy
3514 International Dr. NW
Washington, DC 20008-3021
Tel: 202-364-5500
Fax: 202.364.5423

Obama Secretly Sold Israel Bunker-Buster Bombs (Bush Refused)

Haitham Sabbah — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 18:52:13 +0000

Not much after President Obama's lecture advocating Zionist dreams at the UN, the real ugly face of Obama appears to the public once again.

Commonly known as "bunker busters," 2,000-pound penetrator bombs are stored on pallets in a bunker at the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant in McAlester, Okla., in this file photo. , AP Photo; Inset: Getty Images

The Man-of-Peace is secretly supplying Israel with 55 powerful bunker-busting bombs capable of destroying buried targets, like arms caches or perhaps sites in Iran suspected of being part of that nation's nuclear weapons program, American officials said Friday.

From Newsweek:

While publicly pressuring Israel to make deeper concessions to the Palestinians, President Obama has secretly authorized significant new aid to the Israeli military that includes the sale of 55 deep-penetrating bombs known as bunker busters, Newsweek has learned.

In an exclusive story to be published Monday on growing military cooperation between the two allies, U.S. and Israeli officials tell Newsweek that the GBU-28 Hard Target Penetrators—potentially useful in any future military strike against Iranian nuclear sites—were delivered to Israel in 2009, just several months after Obama took office.

The military sale was arranged behind the scenes as Obama’s demands for Israel to stop building settlements in disputed territories were fraying political relations between the two countries in public.

The Israelis first requested the bunker busters in 2005, only to be rebuffed by the Bush administration. At the time, the Pentagon had frozen almost all U.S.-Israeli joint defense projects out of concern that Israel was transferring advanced military technology to China.

In 2007, Bush informed Ehud Olmert, then prime minister, that he would order the bunker busters for delivery in 2009 or 2010. The Israelis wanted them in 2007. Obama finally released the weapons in 2009, according to officials familiar with the still-secret decision.

The Pentagon declined to confirm or deny the report but press secretary George Little said "the United States remains committed to helping Israel provide for its own security and we remain committed to helping Israel maintain its qualitative military edge."

Palestine-Israel Map 2011

Haitham Sabbah — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 12:29:58 +0000

"SPIEGEL DATABASE" OF WEST BANK SETTLEMENTS AND OUTPOSTS:

View Excerpts: “SPIEGEL DATABASE” OF WEST BANK SETTLEMENTS AND OUTPOSTS in a larger map

Also see this iPhone App to track Jewish settlements.

A map of the region according to the 1967 borders:

A map of the current breakdown of authority in the Israel/Palestine region:

A simplified version of the Original 1947 U.N. Partition Map:

Peace Now – updated West Bank and Jerusalem Map – 2011:
(You can download a high-resolution PDF of this map, showing West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements)

The shrinking map of Palestine:

Jewish Settlers Run Over Disabled Palestinian, Abduct Another, Plan New Massacres

Haitham Sabbah — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 16:52:02 +0000

When Egyptian police ran over revolutionist with their police cars, it was breaking news all over the mainstream media. When Israelis however run over 'disabled' Palestinians deliberately, it is NO 'news'.

Of course this is not the first time that Israelis commit such war crimes. The heroic Israeli army have killed handicapped Palestinian children in the past. Not only that, but they throw out 'handicapped Palestinian children' to the cold streets after snatching the kids out of their beds. Their crimes do not stop at that, but thousands of Gaza disabled people are suffering from Gaza siege.

This is the nature of the "Jewish state" which Mr. Obama plans to stand by at the UN, telling everyone that he condones such behavior against Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims and human beings in general.

HEBRON, September 18, 2011 (WAFA) – Jewish settlers ran over a disabled Palestinian on Sunday and abducted another on Saturday night in the West Bank.

A Jewish settler Sunday ran over a physically disabled Palestinian man on the main road in Beit Ummar, a town north of Hebron in the southern West Bank, and fled the scene, said a local official.

Spokesman of the National Committee Against the Wall and Settlement in Beit Ummar, Mohammad Awad, said that Natheer Sabarneh, 36, was hit as he headed to work and sustained injuries to his head and body. He was transferred to hospital.

Jewish settlers, under Israeli army protection, abducted a Palestinian man on Saturday night from his vehicle along the road between Aqraba and Yanon, villages east of Nablus in the northern West Bank, according to local sources.

Witnesses said the whereabouts of the Palestinian man remain unknown.

Jewish settlers have been leading a massive campaign against the Palestinians lately, including physical assaults and open fire at unarmed Palestinians, attacks on mosques as well as setting fire to Palestinian cars and properties, all in retaliation to the Palestinian bid to gain full United Nations membership of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders later this month.

R.Q./F.J.

The Jewish settlers are also escalating their crimes against the Palestinian civilians and families in what looks to be a plan to commit a new massacres during and after Abbas visit to UN.

Report: Settlers plan march to Palestinian towns

(Ma'an) -- Israeli settlers are preparing to march on Israeli army command offices and Palestinian towns in the West Bank starting Tuesday afternoon, Israeli media reported on Sunday.

Dubbed "sovereignty marches," settlers are protesting the Palestinian bid for full membership at the UN, Israeli news site Ynet said.

Jewish settlers dressed as Palestinian protesters clash with a settler during a drill, held by the settler's security response teams, simulating violence that could erupt ahead of the upcoming Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations September 14, 2011, in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba. Reuters/Ronen Zvulun

Far-right activist Itamar Ben-Gvir told the site that settlers were "going to go out and make it clear to the Arabs who the home owners are.""We're going to take the initiative and march towards Palestinian towns."

The news site quoted a settlement security officer saying they were prepared to use live ammunition on Palestinian demonstrators, as settlers felt the Israeli army were "too trusting" of Palestinian security to deter potential marches on the settlements.

News reports said two weeks ago that Israeli forces were arming settlers with tear-gas canisters, stun grenades and trained dogs to counter potential attacks by the Palestinians around the bid for full membership of the United Nations.

Palestinian Authority spokesman Ghassan Khatib warned on Thursday that a serious increase in settler violence towards West Bank Palestinians threatened to escalate the situation ahead of the Palestinians' bid for membership of the UN.

In a Nablus village under repeated attack from settlers, the local council has established a voluntary village guard to fend off settler raids into the community.

Palestinian lawmaker Mustafa Barghouti has warned that settlers "could commit massacres against the Palestinians" following an escalation in settler attacks in early September.

Barghouthi said the attacks were "part of a plan" to use settlers to attack Palestinians.

Noting that the Israeli army was providing settlers with military facilities, he said the army was participating in "organized crime" with settlers in the West Bank.

Lawsuit aims to punish Olympia Food Co-op for boycott of Israeli goods

Haitham Sabbah — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 10:04:23 +0000

Olympia, WA. A lawsuit, filed Friday in Thurston County Superior Court, aims to punish the Olympia Food Co-op for enacting a boycott of Israeli Goods. Plaintiffs, including several candidates who's recent Co-op Board of Directors campaigns failed by large margins, threaten financial harm unless the local food cooperative rescinds its boycott.

An ultimatum from the plaintiffs sent to the Co-op before the lawsuit was filed reads: "If you do what we demand, this situation may be resolved amicably . If not this process will become considerably more complicated, burdensome, and expensive than it has been already."

Groups opposed to the boycott of Israeli goods have repeatedly refused to bring the issue to a vote of the Co-op membership - a democratic option available to any Co-op member - and have instead turned to the court system, prompting some to question the legality of bringing suit at all. Laws prohibiting "strategic lawsuits against public participation" or SLAPP suits aim to protect individuals and organizations that participate in protected speech. SLAPP suits have frequently been used as means of repressing public participation by way of legal and financial intimidation.

According to leaked documents, the Northwest chapter of the international pro-Israel and anti-boycott lobby group StandWithUs and Akiva Tor, the Israeli Consul General for the Pacific Northwest, have been working closely with the plaintiffs to bring the lawsuit forward. In an interview with the online news publication The Electronic Intifada, director of StandWithUs Northwest Robert S. Jacobs acknowledged advising the plaintiffs to focus on procedure rather than substance, noting that trying to persuade the Co-op Board to reverse their decision on the basis of political and moral arguments would "probably not very successful."

StandWithUs Northwest is also actively combating community boycott initiatives at several other food cooperatives, including a local initiative in Port Townsend, where StandWithUs recently brought Israeli Deputy Consul General Gideon Lustig to speak against the proposed boycott.

When asked about the lawsuit, Olympia Food Co-op Staff Representative Jayne Kaszynski remained focused on the Co-op's commitment to social justice: "We can assure you that this lawsuit will not diminish our commitment to the rule of law and universal human rights for all people."

The Co-op's boycott of Israeli products was enacted on July 15 last year by a consensus decision by the Board of Directors. The boycott urges Israel to comply with international law, end its occupation of Palestinians, and respect the rights of refugees. The Co-op's decision to boycott Israeli products sparked several months of constructive discussion on the store's relationship to social justice, on Jewish identity, anti-Arab racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Last November, the election for the Co-op Board demonstrated widespread support for the boycott among the membership when five publicly pro-boycott candidates won by a large margin in a record turnout election.

"As as Palestinian refugee and a member of the Olympia Co-op I wholeheartedly support the boycott, as a way to save Israel from its own excesses, and to end the continued dehumanization of the Palestinian people under Israeli control," says Farihan Bushnaq, Co-op member since 1983.

The Olympia Food Co-op is a cornerstone of the community in Olympia, WA, bringing healthy food to over 15,000 members. The Co-op draws connections between food sovereignty, local production, democracy, and collective management, and strives to "make human effects on the earth and its inhabitants positive and renewing and to encourage economic and social justice". The boycott in question is follows various other boycotts and measures intended to promote these values.

The plaintiffs, who allege that procedural violations on the part of the Co-op's Board led them to "sustain irreparable injury," are seeking "an award of damages in an amount to be proved at trial" and that the Co-op's boycott of Israeli goods be "declared unenforceable, null, and void." The Co-op, an organization largely supported by community engagement and volunteer work, could be economically devastated by such a process.

"We're all just shocked that the boycott opposition would risk closing the store just to make their point. It's disgraceful," says Andrew Meyer, a member of the local activist group Olympia BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions).

Contact:
Olympia BDS
Andrew Meyer: 360 628 3087
David Langstaff: 919 260 8209
contact@olympiabds.org
www.olympiabds.org

As Turkey Freezes Israel Ties, Critics Decry “Whitewashed” U.N. Report on Gaza Flotilla, Blockade

Haitham Sabbah — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 11:33:34 +0000

Democracy Now! - Turkey has downgraded diplomatic ties with Israel and frozen military cooperation ahead of a long-awaited United Nations report on Israel's deadly attack on a Gaza-bound aid ship in 2010. The report accuses Israel of "excessive and unreasonable" force in its attack—which killed nine people—on the Mavi Marmara ship, and says Israel should issue a statement of regret and compensate the families of the dead as well as wounded passengers. But it also chides passengers aboard the Marmara and the other flotilla ships for what it calls a "reckless" attempt to breach Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip. In a major development with broader implications, the U.N. report concludes that the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip is legal under international law. We speak with Norman Finkelstein, author of several books on the Israel-Palestine conflict, including "'This Time We Went Too Far': Truth & Consequences of the Gaza Invasion." We are also joined by Huwaida Arraf, one of the organizers of the Free Gaza Movement. Both Arraf and Finkelstein blast the U.N. report, calling it a "whitewash" and "morally debased."

Guests:
Huwaida Arraf, chairperson of the Free Gaza Movement and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement. She was on one of six ships that were in the Gaza flotilla when the Mavi Marmara was attacked.

Norman Finkelstein, author of several books on the Israel-Palestine conflict, including "This Time We Went Too Far": Truth & Consequences of the Gaza Invasion.

Interview Part 1/2:

Video link Part 1/2: http://youtu.be/XlLm1Ym3Pbc

Interview Part 2/2:

Part 2/2: http://youtu.be/ZwRHJBAr0q8
Interview transcript:

JUAN GONZALEZ: Turkey has downgraded diplomatic ties with Israel and frozen military cooperation ahead of a long-awaited United Nations report on Israel's deadly attack on a Gaza-bound aid ship in 2010. According to leaked excerpts, the report accuses Israel of, quote, "excessive and unreasonable force" in its attacks on the Mavi Marmara which killed nine people. The report says Israel should issue a statement of regret and compensate the families of the dead as well as wounded passengers. But the report also criticizes passengers aboard the Marmara and the other flotilla ships for what it calls a, quote, "reckless" attempt to breach Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip. And in a major development with broader implications, the United Nations report also concludes that the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip is legal under international law.

AMY GOODMAN: The U.N. investigation was overseen by Geoffrey Palmer, a former prime minister of New Zealand. Turkey says it will expel the Israeli ambassador and downgrade diplomatic ties to their lowest level until Israel drops its refusal to apologize for the raid and provides compensation.

For more, we're going to go to Ramallah, where we're joined by Huwaida Arraf, one of the organizers of the Free Gaza flotilla movement. She's on one of—she was on one of the six ships that were in the Gaza flotilla when the Mavi Marmara was attacked. She's joining us by Democracy Now! audio stream. And here in New York, we're joined by Norman Finkelstein, author of a number of books on Israel-Palestine conflict, including "This Time We Went Too Far": Truth & Consequences of the Gaza Invasion.

In Ramallah, Huwaida Arraf, your response to the leaked report—the New York Times posted it online—of the U.N.?

HUWAIDA ARRAF: Hi, Amy, Juan, Norman.

Sadly, it's a completely expected whitewash of Israeli crimes. This panel's composition—not only its composition, but its mandate—was problematic in so many ways. And it wasn't designed to get at the truth of what happened or to achieve—to get at justice for the victims of Israel's attack, but rather to arrive at political compromise between Israel and Turkey. And that's what we have. It's an attempt to whitewash the crimes, set them aside, and in addition, it came up with some outrageous claims that completely contradict the findings of numerous human rights organizations and international law authorities, including various bodies of the U.N. itself, about the legality of the Israeli blockade. So, very problematic.

JUAN GONZALEZ: And the report's criticism or faulting of one organization, in particular, a Turkish organization, that had some members—helped organize the flotilla. Could you talk about what it said and your response to that?

HUWAIDA ARRAF: Sure. It did say—you did quote that we were "reckless," but it also said that Israeli soldiers faced organized violence when they tried to board the Mavi Marmara, which is completely untrue. We spent a long time preparing for this flotilla. And our—everything that we prepared, the passengers and our—the foundations of our movement and what we do is based on nonviolent direct action resistance.

This is not to deny that Israeli soldiers did face some attacks when they boarded, but you can't say that these attacks were anything more than self-defense, because of the obnoxious way in which Israeli soldiers—and very violent way in which they took over the ships, in the way that was intended to cause tremendous fear and commotion. They boarded the ships firing, even on our very small boat. The boat that I was on was traveling right next to the Mavi Marmara, and we only had about 17 people on that boat. They boarded, beating down people, using tasers, firing stun grenades and paintball pellet at people's faces. It was completely uncalled-for violence, so that some people, a handful out of 700 volunteers, reacted in what can be called a violent way. It was self-defense, so it was in no way organized. And this is—I'm saying this, being part of the central organizing committee of the flotilla.

AMY GOODMAN: The U.N.'s report notes that, quote, "On the basis of public statements by the flotilla organizers and their own internal documentation, the Panel is satisfied that as much as their expressed purpose of providing humanitarian aid, one of the primary objectives of the flotilla organizers was to generate publicity about the situation in Gaza by attempting to breach Israel's naval blockade. The purposes of the flotilla were clearly expressed in a document prepared by IHH and signed by all flotilla participants," unquote.

The report then cites the document's statement of purpose, which reads, quote, "Purposes of this journey are to create an awareness amongst world public and international organizations on the inhumane and unjust embargo on Palestine and to contribute to end this embargo which clearly violates human rights and delivering humanitarian relief to the Palestinians."

Norm Finkelstein, your response?

NORMAN FINKELSTEIN: Well, I noticed that Juan was looking perplexed at that statement. I have to say, last night, when I was reading the report, I was completely dumbfounded, and I had to keep repeating—rereading these passages over and over again. What the report stated—and all of your listeners should hear closely, because it was so shocking, so morally debased—the report said that we doubt, or we question, the true motives of the organizers of the flotilla. They said, we have evidence that their real motive was not humanitarian. And the statement that you just quoted was the evidence that their real motive was not humanitarian, that they had this really sinister, nefarious motive. Their real motive was not humanitarian; the real motive was, they said, the report said, to cast publicity on Israel's illegal and immoral blockade of Gaza.

Now I have to say, that is—and I'm meaning this literally—it is a new low. I read all the Israeli reports, in particular the Turkel report, the one put out by the former Supreme Court justice. It's about 300 pages. They never stooped to that level. They claimed that this handful of what they call jihadists, that they were looking for a confrontation with Israelis or the Israeli soldiers, and they brought on weapons for a confrontation. This report does not claim that they were looking for a confrontation. It holds them morally culpable for trying to cast publicity on an illegal and inhumane blockade. With the Israelis, at least we're in the same moral universe, and it's a question of fact. What was the intent of these commandos—excuse me, what was the intent of the activists? Was it to get a confrontation, or was it to cast humanitarian—cast light on what's happening? But with this report, we've entered a new moral universe. They are actually saying that to cast light on an illegal and inhumane blockade is a morally sinister act.

JUAN GONZALEZ: I'd like to ask, there were four members on this committee: one from Turkey, one from Israel, then there were two supposedly independent ones, the former prime minister of New Zealand and Álvaro Uribe, the former president of Colombia, who himself presided over a period of the most—the highest level of extrajudicial killings and assassinations in his own country. It seems amazingly strange to have someone like Álvaro Uribe on this panel as an objective member of the committee.

AMY GOODMAN: The Colombian president.

NORMAN FINKELSTEIN: Well, it was clear from the moment that Ban Ki-moon, the alleged secretary-general of the United Nations—it was clear from the moment he appointed Uribe on the panel that it was going to be a farce. Beyond all the crimes for which Mr. Uribe has been accused and also have been documented, he was also known as being very close to Israel and advocating closer military relations with Israel. So, from the get-go, from the moment the members were named, it was clear which way the report was going to go.

But, you know, you always wonder, what are they going to come up with? How could they possibly justify certain things? They said that the blockade of Gaza—now, we have to be clear. They said the naval blockade was legal. They separated it from the land blockade, for technical reasons, which it's no point in going into here. But they said the naval blockade was legal. And the grounds they gave were this: that Israel clearly faces security problems from Gaza, the rocket and mortar fire. OK. And they say, to document this security problem, since 2001, some 25 Israelis have been killed by these rocket and mortar attacks. Fair enough. And then they say that many people have suffered psychologically, psychological trauma from these attacks. Fair enough.

Then there's the other side of the equation. There is not one word, one syllable, on how many Gazans have perished as a result of Israeli attacks. It's not 25. It's not 250. It's at least at an order of magnitude of 2,500. We're not just talking about the 1,400 Palestinians who were killed in Operation Cast Lead. Israel always has operations in Gaza, has very fancy names—Operation Summer Rains, Operation Autumn Clouds, Operation Hot Winter, Operation Rainbow. All of it vanishes from this report. The only people who have suffered deaths in Gaza due to armed hostilities are Israelis.

Now, let's say it's true. Fair enough. They have a right to impose a naval blockade to prevent weapons from going to Gaza, for security reasons. Don't the people of Gaza have the right to impose a military blockade on Israel, to prevent weapons from going to Israel? You can't even raise that question. It's beyond their comprehension. In fact, the irony is, that's the law. The law is, as Amnesty International pointed out in its report "Fueling Conflict," under international law and domestic American law, it's illegal to transfer weapons to any country or—any state or non-state party which is a consistent violator of human rights. So, if that commission, the Palmer Commission, named after, you know, the former New Zealand president, if they had any integrity, they would have said, OK, Israel has the right to impose a blockade on Gaza, and the international community" — because this is what Amnesty said. Amnesty says the international community has an obligation—that's what they said—to impose an arms embargo on Israel, as well, because it's a consistent violator of human rights.

AMY GOODMAN: I want—I wanted to bring Huwaida Arraf back into the discussion, who's in Ramallah, chair of the Free Gaza Movement, was part of the aid flotilla last year that the Mavi Marmara was a part of. The U.N. investigation did accuse Israel of excessive and unreasonable force. Now Turkey has announced the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador, the suspension of military cooperation, hours before the report was published. But also, in the last attempts of the Gaza flotilla, just in the last months, they themselves stopped a ship from going forward. Can you talk about all of this, Huwaida?

HUWAIDA ARRAF: Sure. Really quickly, I'd like to just touch on a couple of important points that Norman made, the first one being about the legality of the blockade. And Norman did say that they considered it very separate from the rest of the closure, which has been declared completely illegal and a violation of Israel's obligations, so there's no way that this maritime blockade can be legal, no matter what way you look at it. It's a violation of Israel's obligations under international law as an occupying power.

Also, in regards to Uribe and the problems that Norman mentioned, the other thing is that he is known to have a complete disdain for human rights defenders. And you can look at complaints from human rights organizations within Colombia. Also, an organization called Human Rights First called this out, that him referring to human rights defenders as "terrorist sympathizers" endangers human rights defenders. So, from the start, he had a disdain for people like us who like to call attention to and take action, nonviolent action, against these human rights abuses.

And the last really important thing before I get to your question is this report and the attention that it's supposed to get, when we already had an independent U.N. fact-finding mission that released a report almost one year ago, comprehensive, interviewed over a hundred victims and participants, and that was put together by scholars in international law and known judges on international tribunals. This should be the authority on what actually happened, not this farce of a report.

But in terms of what you said about Turkey stopping—about being part of stopping the last flotilla, known as Freedom Flotilla 2, which was supposed to launch last summer, or this past summer, not exactly. It was Israel placed a lot of pressure on a lot of countries, the European countries, to stop their citizens from participating. Not many—you know, some leaders of these countries made statements that the flotilla is not helpful and that they warn their citizens not to take part. But the country that was—that really cooperated with Israel—and it was a shock and quite sad—was Greece. And it did—we did learn that it came under a lot of political and economic pressure also because of the economic situation that they're in. But they did impose restrictions and did not let our boats leave. So it really became complicit in Israel's blockade. And we are challenging that on different levels.

Turkey itself didn't really. It did communicate to us and to our Turkish partners that it might not be helpful at this time, but what happened—but the Turkish organization IHH remained fully a part of the flotilla. The Mavi Marmara was not able to go, because it was not physically, mechanically ready to go. In fact, up until the date that we were supposed to launch, they still had people working to meet all of the guidelines for being certified to go into international waters on the kind of mission that we wanted it to. So we knew—at a point, we realized it wasn't going to be ready, and we took that boat out of the equation. But the Turks remained fully a part of the organizing. And in fact, we were going to launch one boat from Turkey. One of the boats—it was the Irish ship—was located in Turkey, but it was sabotaged by, we believe, Israeli agents and was not able to launch. So, they didn't really place any barriers, certainly not like Greece did.

AMY GOODMAN: But the fact that this report did find that Israel's use of force was excessive and unreasonable, and the significance of Turkey expelling the Israeli ambassador?

HUWAIDA ARRAF: Definitely. Well, it's kind of funny that Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador today after the release of this report, because the whole point of this report was to reach a political compromise and to repair the relation between Israel and Turkey. And we're glad that Turkey has taken the position that it has taken. And in fact, Turkey's foreign minister has said that it's time that Israel paid a price. And it's true, because Israel does not pay a price for any of its human rights violations. It continues to act with impunity. And even the fact that this report did say Israel acted using excessive force, it doesn't—it doesn't go enough to—money or paying compensation is not—is no kind of justice for the families or for the people that—for the victims of Israel's actions. And that's what we want to see. We want to see some kind of accountability. And that's different from the U.N. report that was issued last September by the independent fact-finding mission, which recommended that human rights abusers be held accountable. And that's what we're waiting to see. So, this report, the Uribe-Palmer report, pays some lip service to the victims, but its main—again, its main goal, to repair relations, and we're glad to see that Turkey is not falling for that.

NORMAN FINKELSTEIN: I'd like to say—

JUAN GONZALEZ: Norman, if we can, we just have a little bit of time.

NORMAN FINKELSTEIN: Sure.

JUAN GONZALEZ: If you could just briefly talk about the implications of this report coming out now and the continuing schism between Turkey and Israel, as we head into the United Nations vote on Palestinian statehood.

NORMAN FINKELSTEIN: Well, actually, many Israelis worried that this would be Pyrrhic victory for the Israeli government, because being so stubborn about refusing to make an apology—there are two of consecutive words that just don't translate into Hebrew. The two words, consecutive words, are "excuse me." They can't comprehend that. And the Israeli—many Israeli officials were saying, "Make the apology, because we need Turkey. Turkey is our—has historically been our strongest ally in the Muslim world. Things are now turbulent with our other main ally in the Arab world, Egypt. Make the apology, and move on." But there were members of the Netanyahu government—in particular, Mr. Lieberman, the foreign minister, and his party—who refused, because they said if they made the apology, Erdogan, the prime minister of Turkey, would run with it and would embarrass the Israelis, and Israelis would be humiliated. But they didn't think it was a wise move. And actually, I don't think it is, either. Losing the military relationship with Turkey, suspension of diplomatic relations, and now you know Turkey, when the state issue—statehood issue comes up in September, they are going to be in the forefront now, because Erdogan has been humiliated by this report. It was a complete spit in the face of the Turks, what this report said.

So I think, from a moral point of view, it was a disgrace. But from a political point of view, it will probably end up helping the Palestinians. You have to remember the whole point of the report. It described the killing of the nine members of the—on the—passengers on the Mavi Marmara. You know the phrase they used? It was a "major irritant" to diplomatic relations. Killing nine people is an "irritant." And they said, "We have to get over this irritant, so that Israel and Turkey can restore diplomatic relations." That's their moral level.

AMY GOODMAN: We're going to leave it there. Norman Finkelstein, we thank you for being with us, author of, among other books, "This Time We Went Too Far": Truth & Consequences of the Gaza Invasion, and Huwaida Arraf, chair of the Free Gaza Movement, co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, was on one of the six ships that were in the Gaza flotilla when the Mavi Marmara was attacked. She was joining us from Ramallah, on the West Bank.