NOTICE: Suspension of activities

Hi Friends,
I continue to search for a way to influence a broader public about the travesty that is Israel's policy toward the Palestinians, and even more... Canadian complicity in it.

I still feel, more than ever, that we cannot "look the other way".

However, I am suspending my blog... at least for the time being.

I do not think that this blog is a very effective way to reach a broader public. Most of the people who seem  to access the blog are already very interested in (and knowledgeable about) the Palestinian human rights situation.

Apart from them, few others read my blog... .

In short, I think I am "preaching to the converted" and since my observations are not all that different or more insightful than those of others, I will save my own time and also "depollute" the airwaves.

If you want to go somewhere more interesting, check out some other sites, including "The Electronic Intifada", or any one of the dozens of very good Israeli sites including ACRI (the association for Civil Rights in Israel) or Adalah (a Palestinian/Israeli legal rights organization.)

We cannot stop looking the other way. But we have to keep looking for effective ways to get other people interested as well...

Thanks for reading.

Peter

Why is it that so many Palestinians feel ambivalent about the UN recognition bid?

While there was enthusiasm in the West Bank, there were no reported demonstrations in Gaza or in the Refugee camps. And in the USA there were even some Palestinian groups who were demonstrating AGAINST the bid.

How is this possible? Why do so many Palestinians feel ambivalent about the UN recognition bid?

Geography is the key.

Palestinians have continually lost territory since 1948. Their reactions to the UN statehood bid depend to a large degree on where they now find themselves - in the West Bank, in Gaza, inside Israel, or outside the area.

The recent history of the Israeli takeover of Palestine (the last 60 years or so) has meant that the Palestinians are now divided by geography into 5 different groups. Each group lives a different reality, and faces different problems. Their reactions to the UN proposal depend largely on where they live and what their problems are. 

  

1. There are about 2.4 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. For over 44 years they have been living under a brutal Israeli military dictatorship. Military law means they have no basic human rights. They don’t have the right to vote for the government which controls them. Their land is being continuously taken over by Israeli settlers are protected by the IDF. On a daily basis, they face walls, checkpoints, curfews, military control by the IDF.

 2.There are about 1.5 million Palestinians who live inside the current State of Israel. They constitute a minority of about 20% of the Israeli population. After the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, most of them lost their lands which were taken over by the State of Israel. They live in certain cities, and do have certain rights – the right to vote is one – but they live under a highly discriminatory regime in which by law more rights are given to Jews than to non Jews. One small example. Both populations (Jewish and Palestinian) are expanding. Since 1948, Israel has created over 600 new Jewish municipalities. It has not allowed the creation of one single Palestinian community. In fact, it is almost impossible for the existing Palestinian communities to grow. So overcrowding is becoming a huge problem for them.

3. There are about 1.4 million Palestinians living in Gaza. Gaza has been described by UK Prime Minister Cameron as “an open air prison”. Their living standards are abominable, according to UN reports. Most of those people living in Gaza, are not “from Gaza”. They are themselves refugees from inside Israel who were never allowed to return. They want out. They want to produce goods and trade with the outside world, but are blockaded inside.

4. There are about 4 million Palestinians living in refugee camps in Jordan, in Lebanon, and in Syria. They were forced to leave Israel in 1948, and now they and their families have been squatting in refugee camps – many are denied citizenship in their new country but also denied the right to return to the country they were born in.

5. Finally, there are another million or two Palestinians wandering around the world in a huge Palestinian diaspora. Many fled to Kuwait, or Saudia Arabia in search of opportunity. Many of those then subsequently immigrated elsewhere – about 50,000 of them came to Canada. Some of them even brought with them the documents which show they are the legal owner of houses in Israel but which are now occupied by Jewish immigrants.

Now let’s take a look at the UN bid for statehood. How do the different Palestinian communities view it?

1. Those in the West Bank, in general, are highly supportive. We saw pictures of giant demonstrations in Ramallah when Abbas made his speech at the UN. Polls show that 83% of Palestinians in the WB support the move. Of course, for those living under Israeli occupation, the main thing is to get the Israeli soldiers – and the illegal settlers – out of the occupied territories.

Nonetheless, even there, there is some hesitation. The creation of a “State of Palestine” on only 22% of the original land of Palestine, a new state which has almost no water supplies (as Israel has captured all the aquifers), no sea port, etc. etc. seems to have rather little potential for economic development.

Ramallah is doing rather well economically today, mostly because of the huge amount of foreign aid that is coming in. Whether the new “State of Palestine’ would be able to develop economically on its own, is not clear. And if the new state of Palestine finds itself stuck in poverty, while Israel, which has taken the best land and most of the water continues to develop, how does that bode for future relations between the two?

And the current talks only envisage a ‘demilitarized” state of Palestine. How will it deal with the issues that every state has to deal with from smuggling, drug running, to external threats, etc? Is this really a state at all?

2. For those Palestinians who live inside Israel, the creation of a “State of Palestine” actually raises some worries. Although they are Israeli citizens, they suffer tremendous discrimination in a state that openly gives preference to Jews. They face discrimination in housing, in education, in employment. They also face rising “anti Arab” racism in Israel. There have recently been reports of ‘mosque burnings” in Israel – actions somewhat reminiscent of the Ku Klux Klan in the southern US.

They fear that if the State of Palestine is recognized, the world will forget them. The Palestinian citizens of Israel are also afraid that, Israel will become a “Jewish state” in which the rights of non-Jews are even more limited. Already there are some extremist Jewish groups which say that Israel should be ‘ethnically cleansed’ by kicking all of the Palestinians inside Israel over into the new state.

3. For the Palestinians living in Gaza, Abbas’ proposal is also a bit of a quandary. There were no celebrations in Gaza when Abbas spoke to the UN. Part of that was undoubtedly because Hamas opposed the move. But there are deeper issues. Gaza will still not be attached to the rest of the country. And there is little evidence that even if Palestine is recognized by the UN, Israel will let up its punishing economic blockade. The Israelis are certainly not going to facilitate trade and commerce. So what’s in it for the Gazans?

4. For the 4 million Palestinians living in refugee camps – in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon, the proposed state – at least under Mr. Abbas’ leadership - is also highly problematic. The leaked “Palestine Papers” – if accurate – seem to show that Mr. Abbas was so keen to have a State of Palestine in the West Bank, that he was prepared to almost completely drop the “right of return” for those in the refugee camps. According to the leaked documents, Abbas’ negotiators were willing to accept a “token number of refugees – perhaps 5000 or so” and leave it at that. For those who have been living in the squalour of refugee camps for over 60 years, there are fears that Mr. Abbas is willing to “leave them out to dry” in return for becoming the head of a small Palestinian state.

5. And finally for the rest of the Palestinians in the diaspora – in  Kuwait, or Saudi Arabia, or Canada or the USA, the discomfort is palpable. In fact there were demonstrations by American Palestinians in front of the UN against the UN recognition vote. They complain that Abbas, who claims to speak for the whole of the Palestinian people, put this forward without any broad discussion on what strategy should be followed.

They also worry that this move might actually cut them off from the UN. Today, the UN accepts the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people. If the State of Palestine gets recognition at the UN, that recognition will probably limit itself to those who live in the new state. In other words, the Palestinians who are not in the new state – the refugees and the diaspora would lose their voice at the UN.

Should Canada vote in favour? Of course it should. I understand completely and sympathize with the desire of those living in the West Bank to get finally rid of the brutal Israeli occupation, and be rid of the illegal settlers who are taking over more and more of their land. The vote will further isolate Israel and the United States.

But we should also remember that even if Palestine is recognized as a member state at the UN, there are a lot of other issues of justice and human rights for Palestinians that are still unadressed.

recent op ed on UN recognition for Palestine

Who's afraid of a UN vote?

 

 

BY PETER LARSON, OTTAWA CITIZEN SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

 

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In a persuasive article published in the Citizen on Sept. 1, Israeli commentator Barry Rubin warned that a United Nations vote this September recognizing the State of Palestine would likely lead to less peace and more bloodshed.

He based his argument in part on remarks he attributed to Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti who, he claims, called for "massive riots." Barghouti, an elected member of the Palestinian Parliament, is currently serving five life sentences for murder and terrorism.

Barghouti's alleged remarks are hard to verify since he is being held in "indefinite solitary confinement" in an Israeli jail. However, on Aug. 9, he was quoted by The Guardian, an English newspaper, calling for a "a peaceful, million-man march during the week of voting in the United Nations in September." Perhaps this is what Rubin calls a "massive riot."

While the Israeli government calls him a "terrorist," Barghouti has been described by The Economist as the best bet to replace Abbas in a Palestinian unity government. Uri Avnery, a former member of the Israeli Knesset, refers to Barghouti as "the Palestinian Nelson Mandela." Mandela was also accused of murder and terrorism by the regime and held in prison for many years.

Rubin's efforts to scare support away from the upcoming UN vote are part of a huge campaign undertaken by Israel and the United States to prevent the vote from even getting to the floor of the UN.

What is Israel so afraid of? How would a vote at the UN recognizing Palestine cause so much difficulty for Israel?

One possible clue comes from a recent fundraising letter written by Lee Rosenberg, president of AI-PAC, the dominant Israeli lobby group in Washington. In part, the letter warns AIPAC members that if the UN resolution passes, "Israelis could be dragged into foreign courts and charged with human rights violations . nations could implement sweeping economic sanctions . the Jewish presence in east Jerusalem could come under severe international challenge."

Rubin went further than predicting wanton violence - he repeated another commonly heard claim, namely that Arab and Muslim countries want to "wipe Israel off the map." The fear of a massacre of Jews resonates with Canadians who are only too aware of our own failure to protect Jews from the Holocaust. But every Palestinian leader I talked to during my visit in 2009, recognizes that no permanent solution to the Israel/Palestine issue can come about without guarantees of safety and security for everyone - including Jewish Israelis.

The issue is not whether Israelis should be able to live in "the Holy Land." The issue is how to create a political framework in which Jews and Palestinians can both live in peace and equality.

While Rubin waves the spectre of Israel being "wiped off the map," he ignores an awkward historical fact. In 1948, it was Palestine that was "wiped off the map", by the creation of the new State of Israel.

According to the Israeli daily Ha'aretz, Israel expects a massive vote in favour of the Palestinians at the UN. It reported only five countries have told Israel they would vote against the Palestinian bid: the United States, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. (Canada has also said it will oppose it.) 130 to 140 of the 193 UN member countries are expected to endorse Palestinian membership - a majority of more than two thirds.

Israel has good reason to fear a UN vote. So does Canada. It will show how little support Israel (and Canada) has around the world.

In 60 years, Israel has become a multi-cultural society that has brought together talented people from around the world. It can be proud of remarkable accomplishments in culture, science, technology and education. It can be a light unto the world.

But if Israel wants to have safety and security for its people, and be respected among the world community of nations, it will have to find a way to live in peace with its neighbours, give up the territories illegally occupied in 1967, recognize the rights of those Palestinian refugees who have not been allowed to return home since 1948, and give those Palestinians who remain inside Israel their full civic rights.

Peter Larson is Secretary of the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations, and a member of the Canadian International Council's Middle East Study Group. The views expressed are his own.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Read more:http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/afraid+vote/5422568/story.html#Comments#ixzz1b9L8xEkh

Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish's Perspectives on Israel Being a Jewish State

Hi Peter;
Some months ago, a small book club I belong to had the book "I Shall Not Hate" by Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish on our list. I was very moved by the book. Subsequently, the book club invited Dr. Abuelaish to come and speak about his book, and I had the pleasure to meet him. I now regard him as a friend. Notably, Dr Abuelaish's story was mentioned in Barack Obama's recent speech that mentioned 1967 borders to resolve the conflict. Here is what Dr. Abuelaish had to say about the idea of equality in a Jewish State...

(signed) a friend

I think this debate about recognition of the State of Israel as a Jewish State is nonsensical. The State of Israel is recognized internationally as a state. Whether Israel is a Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, or a secular state is something for the people of Israel to decide for themselves. This should be defined by the articles outlined in a formal constitution. To date, no such constitution exists.

Just as Israel is recognized internationally, Palestinians want nothing less. We want to have a recognizable state. Palestinians have no recognizable passport. It’s a travel document. If Palestinians want to travel, they produce a humiliating piece of paper that tells any border services there is no state of Palestine. For a Palestinian to travel outside of Palestine, all countries require a visa and most of the time visas are denied. Refugees in the Diaspora are not allowed to visit their beloved ones. The children are separated from their parents and families. Anyone seeking family reunion needs to get permission from Israel to visit their beloved gets permission for a limited time - if they were granted a permit at all. Palestinians within Occupied Palestinian territories are deprived of their freedom within their own territories.

A Palestinian is not permitted to move freely within the West Bank or Gaza. That means a person cannot decide to visit a friend or relative freely, one cannot make any plans whatsoever. When mobility is disabled in this manner, it is oppressive and harmful to the psyche of a people. This collective punishment has to end.












Israel restricts Palestinians' access to their agricultural lands if they are close to a settlement and limits how much they can export. It keeps Palestinians from building or expanding their homes and demolishes those built without permission – hundreds of them each year. It refuses to grant them access to the water beneath their land, or to the electricity grid, or even permission to install solar panels; it denies them permits to build schools or medical clinics. None of these things are permitted in century-old Palestinian villages that Israel now re-defines as "closed military zones." It is injustice when Palestinians are thirsty for a drop of water and those illegal settlers enjoy it for their swimming pools.

Where is the human rights and justice and humanity we all stand for and belong to?

The Jews of Israel have the right to safety and security, just as Jews in Britain, Canada and the US enjoy safety and freedom to practice their faith. Palestinians must also feel secure in their own lands. Why should any current policy make Palestinians feel 'secure'? It's time for Palestinians to live free, safe and secure in an independent Palestinian state side by side to to an Israeli state where all people are safe and secure.

(...)

If the rights of non-Jews are dictated by the law of the land, why are Palestinians being forced out of their communities to make way for Jewish settlers? Why did the law of the land turn a blind eye to their construction, and continue to support them on the international stage? Security concerns do not justify providing Palestinians with dirt roads and squalid housing, and Jews with spacious villas and swimming pools with smooth highways. How can these kinds of policies make Palestinians feel 'equal' in any state, be it Jewish or non-Jewish?

Izzeldin Abuelaish, MD, MPH, is a Palestinian physician and infertility expert who was born and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. He received a scholarship to study medicine in Cairo, and then received a diploma from the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of London. He completed a residency in the same discipline at the Soroka Medical Center in Israel, followed by a subspecialty in fetal medicine in Italy and Belgium. He then undertook a masters in public health at Harvard University. Before his three daughters were killed in January 2009, Dr. Abuelaish worked as a senior researcher at the Gertner Institute at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv. He now lives with his family in Toronto, where he is an associate professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. See http://www.daughtersforlife.com/ for more information.

While Hamas-Fatah reconciliation takes headlines, Israel continues its slow war to take over Palestinian Land

On Friday, May 6, the Israeli military declared the area of Amniyr, a Palestinian village south of Yatta, a closed military zone and chased away the families who own the land, after demolishing structures and trees on the land the day before. 　The demolitions occurred at 5 a.m. on Thursday, May 5, when the military destroyed six shacks and uprooted 150 olive trees in Amniyr.

On Friday, the Palestinians of Amniyr had returned to the land and hung six tarps to create makeshift tents.

The Israeli army issued a "closed military zone" order on the area at 9:00 a.m. At 2:00 p.m. seven military jeeps arrived, including police and border police. The commanders showed the order and gave the people one minute to leave.

Using sound bombs and tear gas, the soldiers and police forced off the land all the Palestinians present—about thirty adults, many of them elderly, and ten children—as well as accompanying internationals. 　One woman, Fatmi Mahmoud Jaboor, passed out due to the bombs and required medical attention. The Palestinian Red Cross evacuated her to the hospital, and she was dismissed in the evening.

At 7 p.m. four military jeeps returned to Amniyr and destroyed the

tarps and what had been left standing in the area.

This is the third time in ten weeks that the military has destroyed trees, tents, dwellings and other structures on the land of Amniyr, effectively demolishing the entire village and affecting six families.

Although Amniyr is Palestinian-owned private property, Israel has declared it “state land” and prohibits the people of Amniyr from building any structures or using the land.

A local Palestinian leader has told CPT that he believes Israel is trying to confiscate the land of Amniyr because of its proximity to the Israeli settlement of Susiya.

Christian Peacemaker Teams and Operation Dove have maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and South Hebron Hills since 2004.

Here is the link to the full report and photos from the Christian Peacemakers Team:

http://cpt.org/index.php?q=gallery&g2_itemId=22860

Daniel Barenboim and orchestra perform Mozart in Gaza

By The Associated Press 

Famed Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim and a European orchestra performed Tuesday in the al-Madha centre in northern Gaza to show solidarity with its Palestinian residents.

Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza in 2007 after Islamic Hamas militants seized control from the Western-backed Fatah.

Barenboim briefly entered Gaza through the Egyptian border crossing and conducted two pieces by Mozart before a small audience. International performances are rare in Gaza.

	Daniel Barenboim performs with musicians from some of Europe's top orchestras, during a concert at al-Madha centre, north of Gaza, May 3, 2011.
	Photo by: Reuters

Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza in 2007 after Islamic Hamas militants seized control from the Western-backed Fatah but eased the blockade last year.

His visit to the Gaza Strip was in violation of an Israeli law which bans its citizens from entering the coastal enclave.

Barenboim, born in Argentina, grew up in Israel. The conductor is a controversial figure in Israel, both for his promotion of 19th-century composer Richard Wagner - whose music and anti-Semitic writings influenced Adolf Hitler - and vocal opposition to Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories.

In 2008 Barenboim took Palestinian citizenship and said he believed his rare new status could serve a model for peace between the two peoples.

For more information, see a full article in "The Independent"

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/news/barenboim-strikes-a-divisive-note-once-more-2278521.html

About Jews in Iran

In my "trip report" about my fascinating 2 week trip to Iran, I mentioned briefly that I had been to a Synagogue in Tehran and that I had met with an Iranian Jew. A couple of people asked me to say a bit more about that experience.

I was interested in trying to find out something about Jews in Iran because here in Canada I hear wildly different versions of what life is like for Jews in Iran.

• From the outspoken defenders of the Pro-Israel lobby, I hear that the situation of Jews in Iran is grim indeed. They suffer intensive discrimination and persecution and many of them have had to flee the country.
• From the defenders of the Iranian regime, I hear that Jews are completely integrated into Iranian life and suffer no discrimination at all. There is even a Jewish member of Parliament.

Frankly, I was a little sceptical of both claims, and I was curious to see what I could find out myself.

It took a little snooping. When I asked my (official) Iranian guide where I could find a synagogue, she told me flatly that there weren't any. I didn't believe her. I had read in the Lonely Planet that there were about 30 synagogues in Iran and that the 20,000 Jews in Iran represent the largest concentration of Jews outside Israel in the Middle East.

However, I had understood that many Jews left Iran following the Islamic revolution. Many of them had been supporters of the Shah (who has been strongly allied with Israel) and left when he had to flee the country.

Lonely Planet claims that of the 50,000 Jews who left Iran, the majority went to the USA. It also claims that in 2007 Israel offered cash incentives of $60K per family to Iranian Jews to immigrate to Israel but that few took up the offer, and that the offer was rejected outright by the "Society of Iranian Jews". (LP Iran, pp 57-58)

I then asked one of my Iranian contacts if he could help me find a synagogue. At first, he didn't understand what I meant. (I couldn't tell if that was just a translation problem). When I explained it was a "Jewish church", he offered to call a Jewish friend of his to find out. If his friend was available, he would introduce him to me.

The Jewish friend was busy, and couldn't meet us, but he told my contact where his synagogue was.  So we set off by car, but unfortunately, when we got there, it was completely closed up, behind high walls topped with an iron fence. High up, I could se some writing in Hebrew letters.


The first synagogue we went to was closed, but I knew it was a synagogue because I could see a Hebrew inscription high on the wall.


(How to interpret the fence? Lots of other buildings in the neighbourhood were also behind walls topped with fences. Its hard to know if this has anything to do with being Jewish in Iran, or whether its just being careful in an urban centre.)

We wandered around a bit, and met an old man, who identified himself as Jewish. He said the synagogue was closed. (I couldn't tell if he meant it was closed that afternoon or closed "for good".) However, he told us where there was another one.

So we got back in the car, and after about 20 minutes of more driving around Tehran we came to the address indicated. There was nothing on the outside of the building which indicated what it was. We could hear voices of young children coming from inside, and there were a number of women hanging around on the sidewalk. After a while, they were joined by kids and headed off. The women were all wearing head scarves or hijab, and it didn't occur to me that they might be Jewish.

Eventually, we found a custodian who let us in. It turns out that this was a rather large (and well appointed) Synagogue, attached to a Jewish School. We walked around the Synagogue which was deserted. We were told there was some kind of big ceremony to take place that night. I thought it might be a good place to meet people, but our hotel was quite a way away and it wasn't clear if we would be welcome in any event. So I didn't come back.


The second synagogue was empty but the custodian let us in to take a few pictures. it seemed well appointed. I counted seats for about 200 people



The "altar" seemed ready for use. The custodian told us that preparations were being made for a big celebration that evening. (I later understood that is was Passover).

However, my same friend, ever helpful made contact with a representative of the Jewish community in Tehran, who offered to meet us the next day.

So I got to meet Farhad Aframian, Head of the Cultural Committee and member of the Board of directors of the Tehran Jewish Committee. Mr. Aframian, about 35 or so, identified himself as a lawyer, practicing in Tehran, who is also on a voluntary basis editor of the Committee's news magazine, of which he gave me a few copies in English and Farsi.

(For more info you can go to his website: http://www.iranjewish.com/English.htm)



Farhad Aframian was relaxed and happy to chat, but unfortunately we were very constrained by time as traffic had held him up, and I had to leave for another meeting after less than a half an hour.

 In our short conversation, I wanted to get clarity on two issues.

First - whether he felt there was any significant discrimination against Jews in todays Iran - in housing, education or employment for example. His answer was that while there is some discrimination - it is not severe, it is discouraged by the government, and in any event it isn't any worse than that suffered by other non muslims in iran (e.g. Zoroastrians, or Armenian Christians). He told me for example that there are 4 Jewish schools in Tehran - 2 for boys and 2 for girls, including the one I had seen at the synagogue the day before.

Second - whether his association was supported by the government of Iran. He said that all their funds come from within the community.

What to make of all this? I don't know. I can't really draw conclusions based on such little information. But my guess is that life for Jews in Iran is neither as dire as the Israel lobby makes it out to be, nor as rhapsodic as the Iranian government might think. It certainly deserves a bit more investigation.

For interest here is an article I found on the net by a Jew who has lived in the US, Iran and Israel.
 http://www.jewishmag.com/118mag/jews-iran/jews-iran.htm