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The Israeli Response to Palestinian Nonviolence
Israel has made any attempt at Palestinian non-violent protest virtually impossible by their use of violence to stop the protests and torture of those they take prisoner.
http://www.ccmep.org/hotnews2/israeli080902html.htm
As I write this, night is falling in Occupied Nablus, now under 24-hour-a-day curfew for almost 50 days.
The children of Nablus are flying hundreds of kites over the city, a childhood pastime transformed, here, into an act of
defiance. "This is how I fly my flag," said one youth.
The soldiers have taken to shooting at the kites. I haven't written for a while, because, lately, I've been rendered
speechless by what I've seen. How much longer can this go on? And what more can I say about it?
"We were waiting to hear what the US would say," said Amjad, an organizer in Gaza City, referring to the one-ton bomb
the Israeli Military dropped in the middle of a densely packed neighborhood in one of the most densely populated areas in the
world.
"We were waiting for the US to say that they condemn the killing of civilians, that this was wrong. 15 dead, 150 wounded, and
buildings filled with men, women and children, reduced to a pile of rubble. Sharon calls it a success, and Bush says nothing."
The other day I was at my friend Ala's house, and he showed me where a bullet, fired by soldiers the previous afternoon, had
come in his window. His father showed me his closet, filled with suits. The suits were all torn to shreds by Israeli bullets, fired
into
his house one recent night.
This is not a family that is "targeted". This is just a family that lives too close to the main road, where soldiers often
drive by, and shoot. Its just one house, one family, but everyone I've met has a similar story. Everyone has bullet holes in their
walls, family members killed, and time spent in jail.
One morning last week, I joined with twenty international activists to help some Palestinians clear roadblocks from their
village. Later that day, a few of us went to a Palestinian house to help clear away rubble caused by soldiers who went in and
shot the
home to pieces.
There is a method to clearing roadblocks. You have to find the area that is most passable, then dig away from the high
point and shovel the dirt from the high point to the low point. There's also, I discovered, a method to clearing the rubble from a
destroyed house.
What stayed with me from both of these experiences, was the way all the Palestinians around, even the kids, knew just what
do in both of these cases. It occurred to me that everyone in Palestine, from a young age, has helped to repair a destroyed
house, or
fix a damaged road. Its just part of daily life here. Its part of what everyone has suffered, and its also a part of how the
community
pulls together, to help everyone survive in these horrible times.
Yesterday, we were in the village of Huwara, just outside of Nablus. This village has been under 24-hour-a-day curfew, with
brief breaks, for almost two years. The Israelis have built a settlement outside this village, and buses of settlers drive through all
day long. While the settlers live in luxury a few hundred feet away, the people of Huwara are being strangled to death.
Thousands of
acres of olive trees, their livelihood, have been destroyed. Homes have been demolished, and all the men are periodically
rounded
up and arrested.
After all this, their spirit remains strong. In fact, they organized a march, and invited us to join them. The theme of
the march was, "Let us leave our homes, for medicine and food." It was a peaceful, nonviolent, march, of a few hundred
villagers and about 40 internationals. The only law being broken was that
they dared to leave their homes, and walk down the main street of their town.
We immediately saw the Israeli military response to nonviolent protest. Several jeeps filled with soldiers drove up immediately.
The soldiers fired live ammunition into the air, and threw sound grenades into the middle of the crowd. The villagers
kept moving, and we followed. The soldiers started threatening
individual Palestinians, yelling at them and pushing them. A few of them cocked their rifles and pointed them directly in people's
faces,
threatening to shoot. We tried to position our bodies between the soldiers and the Palestinians.
Next they threw several canisters of teargas into the crowd. The crowd briefly dispersed, then rejoined. The soldiers
became more violent, and threatening. One international (Adam Shapiro, one of the founders of Freedom Summer in Palestine)
and one
Palestinian were roughly arrested. The group stayed where we were, despite the soldiers
continuous threats. The marchers agreed that if the soldiers would let the Palestinian go, we would move back.
The soldiers let the Palestinian go, and we began moving back. At this point, it got more ugly. The soldiers drove a
jeep at high speed into the middle of the march. Then, five soldiers got out, pointing their guns at anyone in their way, and
attempted to grab a Palestinian they'd targeted from the middle of the march. We internationals attempted to get in the soldiers
way.
We were successful in "unarresting" the targeted Palestinian.
More soldiers began rushing into the march from all sides. I was charged into by one soldier. Another hit me with the
butt of his gun. At least one soldier fired live ammunition into the crowd. Another soldier threw a sound grenade under an
ambulance, which could have killed scores of people, if it had gone off under
the gas tank.
While the crowd continued moving backward, and remained nonviolent, the soldiers became even more brutal. We kept trying
to protect Palestinians from being arrested, and as a result, more of us were grabbed. At the end, nine internationals and two
Palestinians were arrested. The Israelis have announced their intention to deport the nine internationals.
There are still more than thirty international civilians living here in Nablus. We are staying in Palestinian homes the
Israelis have threatened to demolish. Our hope is that while we are there, the soldiers wont come. So far, its worked.
The Israeli supreme court just decided that the military can basically demolish any Palestinian home, any time. The court
opinion only reaffirms Israeli military policy in effect for 54 years.
We hope to maintain a presence in these homes for as long as it takes. I'm living in the Askar refugee camp, with a
family that has been living for six months with the fear that soldiers will come one night, force them from their home, and destroy
it
in front of them. This family has lived in this house since they built it shortly after 1948, when the Israeli military forced
them from their last home, near what is now Ben Gurion airport.
There are 9,000 people in Azkar, and 6,000 in neighboring New Azkar refugee camp. 175 civilians have been killed in Azkar.
and new Azkar since 1967. Fifty since this intifada began. Fifteen in April. Two were killed yesterday.
We need more international civilians here, and we need people at home to organize to stop this horrible, brutal occupation.
With love and solidarity from occupied Palestine,
-Jordan Flaherty
http://www.ccmep.org/hotnews2/israeli080902html.htm
As I write this, night is falling in Occupied Nablus, now under 24-hour-a-day curfew for almost 50 days.
The children of Nablus are flying hundreds of kites over the city, a childhood pastime transformed, here, into an act of
defiance. "This is how I fly my flag," said one youth.
The soldiers have taken to shooting at the kites. I haven't written for a while, because, lately, I've been rendered
speechless by what I've seen. How much longer can this go on? And what more can I say about it?
"We were waiting to hear what the US would say," said Amjad, an organizer in Gaza City, referring to the one-ton bomb
the Israeli Military dropped in the middle of a densely packed neighborhood in one of the most densely populated areas in the
world.
"We were waiting for the US to say that they condemn the killing of civilians, that this was wrong. 15 dead, 150 wounded, and
buildings filled with men, women and children, reduced to a pile of rubble. Sharon calls it a success, and Bush says nothing."
The other day I was at my friend Ala's house, and he showed me where a bullet, fired by soldiers the previous afternoon, had
come in his window. His father showed me his closet, filled with suits. The suits were all torn to shreds by Israeli bullets, fired
into
his house one recent night.
This is not a family that is "targeted". This is just a family that lives too close to the main road, where soldiers often
drive by, and shoot. Its just one house, one family, but everyone I've met has a similar story. Everyone has bullet holes in their
walls, family members killed, and time spent in jail.
One morning last week, I joined with twenty international activists to help some Palestinians clear roadblocks from their
village. Later that day, a few of us went to a Palestinian house to help clear away rubble caused by soldiers who went in and
shot the
home to pieces.
There is a method to clearing roadblocks. You have to find the area that is most passable, then dig away from the high
point and shovel the dirt from the high point to the low point. There's also, I discovered, a method to clearing the rubble from a
destroyed house.
What stayed with me from both of these experiences, was the way all the Palestinians around, even the kids, knew just what
do in both of these cases. It occurred to me that everyone in Palestine, from a young age, has helped to repair a destroyed
house, or
fix a damaged road. Its just part of daily life here. Its part of what everyone has suffered, and its also a part of how the
community
pulls together, to help everyone survive in these horrible times.
Yesterday, we were in the village of Huwara, just outside of Nablus. This village has been under 24-hour-a-day curfew, with
brief breaks, for almost two years. The Israelis have built a settlement outside this village, and buses of settlers drive through all
day long. While the settlers live in luxury a few hundred feet away, the people of Huwara are being strangled to death.
Thousands of
acres of olive trees, their livelihood, have been destroyed. Homes have been demolished, and all the men are periodically
rounded
up and arrested.
After all this, their spirit remains strong. In fact, they organized a march, and invited us to join them. The theme of
the march was, "Let us leave our homes, for medicine and food." It was a peaceful, nonviolent, march, of a few hundred
villagers and about 40 internationals. The only law being broken was that
they dared to leave their homes, and walk down the main street of their town.
We immediately saw the Israeli military response to nonviolent protest. Several jeeps filled with soldiers drove up immediately.
The soldiers fired live ammunition into the air, and threw sound grenades into the middle of the crowd. The villagers
kept moving, and we followed. The soldiers started threatening
individual Palestinians, yelling at them and pushing them. A few of them cocked their rifles and pointed them directly in people's
faces,
threatening to shoot. We tried to position our bodies between the soldiers and the Palestinians.
Next they threw several canisters of teargas into the crowd. The crowd briefly dispersed, then rejoined. The soldiers
became more violent, and threatening. One international (Adam Shapiro, one of the founders of Freedom Summer in Palestine)
and one
Palestinian were roughly arrested. The group stayed where we were, despite the soldiers
continuous threats. The marchers agreed that if the soldiers would let the Palestinian go, we would move back.
The soldiers let the Palestinian go, and we began moving back. At this point, it got more ugly. The soldiers drove a
jeep at high speed into the middle of the march. Then, five soldiers got out, pointing their guns at anyone in their way, and
attempted to grab a Palestinian they'd targeted from the middle of the march. We internationals attempted to get in the soldiers
way.
We were successful in "unarresting" the targeted Palestinian.
More soldiers began rushing into the march from all sides. I was charged into by one soldier. Another hit me with the
butt of his gun. At least one soldier fired live ammunition into the crowd. Another soldier threw a sound grenade under an
ambulance, which could have killed scores of people, if it had gone off under
the gas tank.
While the crowd continued moving backward, and remained nonviolent, the soldiers became even more brutal. We kept trying
to protect Palestinians from being arrested, and as a result, more of us were grabbed. At the end, nine internationals and two
Palestinians were arrested. The Israelis have announced their intention to deport the nine internationals.
There are still more than thirty international civilians living here in Nablus. We are staying in Palestinian homes the
Israelis have threatened to demolish. Our hope is that while we are there, the soldiers wont come. So far, its worked.
The Israeli supreme court just decided that the military can basically demolish any Palestinian home, any time. The court
opinion only reaffirms Israeli military policy in effect for 54 years.
We hope to maintain a presence in these homes for as long as it takes. I'm living in the Askar refugee camp, with a
family that has been living for six months with the fear that soldiers will come one night, force them from their home, and destroy
it
in front of them. This family has lived in this house since they built it shortly after 1948, when the Israeli military forced
them from their last home, near what is now Ben Gurion airport.
There are 9,000 people in Azkar, and 6,000 in neighboring New Azkar refugee camp. 175 civilians have been killed in Azkar.
and new Azkar since 1967. Fifty since this intifada began. Fifteen in April. Two were killed yesterday.
We need more international civilians here, and we need people at home to organize to stop this horrible, brutal occupation.
With love and solidarity from occupied Palestine,
-Jordan Flaherty
http://www.ccmep.org/hotnews2/israeli080902html.htm
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That's why they care so much for the Arabs killed while being used as human shields for terrorists and nothing for Jews and Israelis killed in random bombings of non-military targets.
If Israel wants protection supplied by internationals, all they have to do is ask. The UN is quite prepared to send in a peacekeeping force, the only thing stopping them is the vehement refusal of the Israeli government. Palestine has urgently issued a call for a peacekeeping mission.
This is true. In fact the number of Isareli women who were killed is over 3 times more thanPalestinian women who were kiled.
Same is for Men over 40.
In fact the only category in which more Palestinians were killed is that of people who WILLINGLY participated in the hostilities.
Of course, this is not jsut an issue of CNN or not CNN.
If you get your news from KPFA - you will also mis big parts of the truth.
Mitchell: How can you expect Israel to participate in security discussions again after the Hebrew University bombing?
Al-Jubeir: I think that we have to look beyond the violence. We have to look at the end result. There will be violence as we go through the process. Anyone who says it will not continue is not being realistic. We have to redouble our efforts in spite of it in order to find a final solution. We all agree what the final solution looks like in the settlement. It's withdrawal from the territories in exchange for peace and normal relations, and let's roll up our sleeves and work in that direction.
http://msnbc.com/news/792904.asp?cp1=1
Given all the Muslim outrage last year over President Bush's referring to a "crusade" against terrorism, you'd think the Saudis would be more careful about using a phrase like "final solution." Though come to think of it, given what I hear in Saudi mosques and media, maybe Al-Jubeir's word choice was quite deliberate.
http://imra.org.il/story.php3?id=13170
That was the question. Your reply was "The Israelis do not want internationals", an unsubstantiated claim. And then you equate the UN with individual civilians. But what is the point of this little debate? Either the goal of the war is the destruction of Israel and its replacement with an Islamic state or it is not. It's not hard to figure out the answer.
Why would Israel trust an organization that passed a resolution declaring that Zionism is racism, and implying that Israel has no right to exist?
The goal of the war, to some at least, is the creation of a soveriegn state of Palestine, and an end to Israeli settlement. I still can never understand why that is such a difficult concept to some people. Israel is occupying a land they conquered in 1967, they must leave it. We did not allow Sadam to conquer Kuwait the same way we should not allow this to happen either.
And as far as the Anti-Israeliness of the UN. That is all a damned pipe dream. The UN granted Israel its charter as a nation. Then you people try to put it off the UN has been and still is against the existence of Israel. Gimme a break
> settlements
Yeah, I guess if you consider Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa settlements. True, there are occasional raids on the settlements, especially when there are border crackdowns, but the majority of suicide bombers strike inside Israel proper.
Yes, the UN voted to make Israel a nation back in 1947, but that was the last kind thing they ever said about Israel. Ever since then it has been "Zionism is racism," Kofi Annan mourning the death of Arab children used as human shields for terrorists (but saying nothing of Israeli children blown up in pizza parlors - maybe they were human shields for terrorist pizza), and declaring every stubbed toe of a Palestinian to be a "war crime."
Despite all the horrors in the world, and real massacres that have indisputably taken place, the U.N. saves its harshest criticism for Israel. Why? As Tom Lehrer once sang "everybody hates the Jews."
Putting the UN in Israel would be like allowing the KKK to police Harlem.
A comparison of the UN to the KKK, I have heard/seen a great deal of strange stuff on this site, but never have I seen anything quite like this before. Kofi Annan being compared to a white supremecist. What a laugh.
As far as I know, I have seen the terrorist actions condemned by the UN, hamas does not have representation in the UN last I checked, and i do not remember hearing anyone ever condoning there actions especially not Kofi Annan.
It should be of no surprise why the UN would give Israel some trouble. As I have said time and time again, they broke one of the main treaties in the history of international law when they refused to abide by Geneva Protocol, and invade countries, and occupy land that is not their sovereign territory, and carry out assasinations, use torture techniques to obtain information from captives. I would say that the UN's response to Israel's actions have been all to nice to Israel. But I guess they are anti-Semites right. Kofi Annan is in a secret alliance with neo-nazis from Germany and the KKK, and all he wants is jew blood. Gimme a break. Sharon is a war criminal. That is why he had to abandon his office. His own people knew this, and they held large demonstrations to get him out.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=28275
How can you not be disgusted when you hear Kofi Annan speaking poetically about the deaths of Arab children at the hands of Israelis when he says next to nothing, and certainly nothing moving, about the deaths of Israeli children not involved in any war related activities?
No, Kofi Annan is not in the KKK. Yes there is a comparison. It is an analogy. Go look it up in the dictionary.
Back to the original point of why Internationals won't position themselves in Israeli sites - in addition to them not caring, what good would it do? The Arabs have no problem with killing anyone at any time. Most of those killed in the Tisha B'Av attacks weren't Jewish or even Israeli. Most were Romanian foreign workers.
The sad thing is that this is hardly assured. Allegedly enlightened European reporters were amongst the vanguard of people screaming "massacre" in Jenin and giving eyewitness reports that we now know were not accurate.
Prior to the latest Intifada, Israel was essentially becoming part of Europe and even considering participating in peacekeeping missions abroad. That's the peace dividend paying off. Heck, a transgendered disco singer from Israel even won the Eurovision award!
Sadly, with European governments calling for a boycott of Israel and even Nobel committee members asking to revoke Peres's Nobel Prize just for being part of the government, trust in Europe is rightfully absent. European countries can't or won't (especially France) even protect their own Jewish populations, let along a Jewish population in another state.
Muslim countries would be flat out unthinkable.
South America? Southeast Asia (the non-muslim parts)? USA/Canada? I don't know. That might be reasonable.
Whatever force is there would need to both protect the rights of innocent Arab civilians as well as allowing Israeli Security to find and neutralize the guilty combatants and their supporters.
except for that, I pretty much agree with you fully. I do not think any Arab nations should be within any such mission, nor the United States whose bias is well known. I would say it should mostly be composed of Europeans (not British), Asians, Africans, and South Americans. That is certainly enough countries to support such a mission.
When you say "not biased" I hope you mean that in addition to not being slanted toward the Palestinian side, that such a mission would not be slanted toward the Israeli side either. It is perfectly possible that implementation of the Geneva Convention in Israel would result in widespread charges against both Palestinians and Israelis, and neither side should be above the law. In fact, that would be my hope: to see both Arafat and Sharon jailed for their crimes against peace and the people who inhabit the Holy Land.
Perhaps a peaceful solution can be found in this way.
The Post report makes Jarrar out to be some sort of small-time outlaw, almost admirable for his resilience; the headline reads: "Disabled Militant's Defiant Last Battle." Well, thank goodness it was his last; an Israeli military statement notes that he was planning "a major attack to bring down a multi-story building."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19895-2002Aug14.html
Thats a snappy one liner there Ryan. Aint it,
It s called a false analogy you idiot, its one of the most common logical fallacies. Easy to point out, and usually easily understood. But I guess for people like you its a bit tough. Keep trying.
"How can you not be disgusted when you hear Kofi Annan speaking poetically about the deaths of Arab children at the hands of Israelis when he says next to nothing, and certainly nothing moving, about the deaths of Israeli children not involved in any war related activities."
This is actually pretty simple. Israel is in violation of a landmark UN agreement. It is called the Geneva Protocol have you ever heard of it? It points out that one country cannot take land from another, it also points out that in the case where a land is being controled by another country, it is illegal for that country to settle on that land. What is so hard to understand about that. To say Kofi Annan is supporting any sort of violence is like trying to say that Nelson mandela supported apartheid. Give it up already. Israel is occupying land, it is against UN policy because the UN and the rest of the fucking world outside of the US and Israel does not agree with that it does not make them antisemtic anti israeli or anti anything except for being against the occupation.
Now for the other problems here:
"Muslim countries would be flat out unthinkable."
Of course their all antisemetic. Next thing you are going to tell me is that they are all terrorists right? And you were criticizing the UN for being anti semetic earlier? Watch out, next time you start criticizng someone for being racist you should look at yourself.
one name, one nessie
nessie, if you do not believe children should have the right to choose to have sex with adults, then say it.
you cant and wont because because the truth will stomp your ass.
and then you say
"I do not believe adolescents are children."
So a twelve year old girl who has matured physically enough to have functioning sex organs is a child or a adolescent ?
("Had you called me a "child" to my face at the time, I'd have pounded your sorry butt into the pavement." only in your dreams pepa.)
" Anyone old enough to make their way in this world deserves all of the rights or adulthood. Anyone old enough to have sex is old enough to decide who with."
At 9 I could get a hard on. At 12 I paid rent. So to you I was ready for sex with adults despite any laws. Your showing your ass ness.
"What on earth makes you think you have the right to tell other people what to do in bed or who to do it with"
Nothing ness. Didnt say that. Unless of course you want to have sex with a child. Which by the way I am not saying. I'm saying you tend to justify such illness with your belief system.
"Mind your own business. Better still, do the entire world an enormous favor. Die off and quit wasting air. People like you are what’s wrong with this world."
Is my business. You dont represent a noticeable percent of the world. Liars like you there hon are the problem.
As for the last paragraph, I dont care who or what or how you got or choose or see your name. But you need to pick just one name and stick to it there hon.
Your little micromanaged racket is silliness that i dont like.
Maybe you dont pay the young men and women who work for you ness, but they do work for you. In my world that makes you the boss of them.
Pick one name. Choose it however you wish. But use just that one name you choose. And then I go away. Otherwise , well you know.
ploy to suggest such a thing.
You display that kind of spiraling logic alot.
I know a man who is the product of a rape.
Hes a wonderful successful man. By your attempt to spin this topic, that would mean rape is
an acceptable thing when the resulting child is healthy. Silliness and you know it.
The readers here who amount to the choir you preach to are of no concern to me. They really
dont need to check back on anything to prove anything do they? Theyve learned to turn over
those critical steps to you. Its the lost angry kids I am worried about. The ones who you cannot
win with honesty.
"What on earth do you think gives you the right to choose other people’s names?" You can tell the choir thats what happening here. But you cant cite a quote to confirm it. I only want you to use one name or obvious variations of one name. I couldnt choose it for you if I wanted to. You just need to be honest with the people here ness.
My sexuality isnt the issue. But you can tell the choir it is. I dont care.
"If anything, I work for them. None of us get paid. This site is a labor of love."
No hon, its a labor of ego. If you had any intention of helping the world or your city or street you would stop trying to decieve them and start being honest.
Pointing out your dishonesty may give you fuel for your anger but it doesnt make me look good or bad. And if you think my pointing it out makes you look good, well, its your world hon.
Heres some classic nessie hallucinary spiraling lunacy,"It speaks volumes nthat the kind of people who don’t like me behave the way you do. On a scale of one to ten, I’m a saint and you’re a jerk. Stupid, obnoxious jerks don't like me. Smart, nice people do."
Now I could say your losing it but Ive yet to reach back far enought to see where you had it to start with.
ploy to suggest such a thing.
You display that kind of spiraling logic alot.
I know a man who is the product of a rape.
Hes a wonderful successful man. By your attempt to spin this topic, that would mean rape is
an acceptable thing when the resulting child is healthy. Silliness and you know it.
The readers here who amount to the choir you preach to are of no concern to me. They really
dont need to check back on anything to prove anything do they? Theyve learned to turn over
those critical steps to you. Its the lost angry kids I am worried about. The ones who you cannot
win with honesty.
"What on earth do you think gives you the right to choose other people’s names?" You can tell the choir thats what happening here. But you cant cite a quote to confirm it. I only want you to use one name or obvious variations of one name. I couldnt choose it for you if I wanted to. You just need to be honest with the people here ness.
My sexuality isnt the issue. But you can tell the choir it is. I dont care.
"If anything, I work for them. None of us get paid. This site is a labor of love."
No hon, its a labor of ego. If you had any intention of helping the world or your city or street you would stop trying to decieve them and start being honest.
Pointing out your dishonesty may give you fuel for your anger but it doesnt make me look good or bad. And if you think my pointing it out makes you look good, well, its your world hon.
Heres some classic nessie hallucinary spiraling lunacy,"It speaks volumes nthat the kind of people who don’t like me behave the way you do. On a scale of one to ten, I’m a saint and you’re a jerk. Stupid, obnoxious jerks don't like me. Smart, nice people do."
Now I could say your losing it but Ive yet to reach back far enought to see where you had it to start with.