“What must be said“, the short poem by Nobel Laureate Guenter Grass, does something few people in the mainstream Western world ever do: speak critically about the State of Israel.
Israel is a “threat to world peace”, writes Grass, whose poem highlights the hypocrisy of the West for condemning Iran’s search for nuclear power while simultaneously allowing Israel to proliferate it’s own nuclear capabilities. (more…)
You know how when you catch a liar in a lie, they overreact and get all angry and hostile? That’s pretty much what the State of Israel has just done.
The United Nations human rights council decided to establish an international investigation into abuses committed in the West Bank settlements. And in response, Israel has severed all ties with that branch of the UN.
Oh, what… afraid that your horrendous, ongoing atrocities will be exposed? Too bad. The world is waking up, no matter how hard you try and hide. (more…)
Washington, DC, May 4, 1961 – 13 men and women embarked on a bus tour across America’s east coast. And by doing so, each of them instantly became criminals.
See, the passengers – half of them black, the other half white – were on the bus to actively defy unjust segregation legislation. Back then, black people were treated like second-class citizens – a notion fraught with fallacies.
But, thanks to many massive movements and popular uprisings, the institutionalized injustices were corrected and civilization advanced.
Seeking to reenact this pinnacle moment in the American civil rights movement, Palestinian activists will be protesting segregation by defiantly boarding ‘Israeli-Only’ buses, starting November 15.
Journalist Noam Sheizaf highlights some of the plights faced by the Palestinian people:
Palestinians in the West Bank have lived under Israeli military control since 1967. Among other restrictions, they can only vote in elections to the Palestinian Authority, which has very limited power on the ground. They cannot travel out of the West Bank or receive visitors without Israeli permits, and they are tried in military courts, which curtail the rights of defendants. Jews living in the West Bank enjoy full citizenship rights.
The organizers of the protest – the Popular Struggle Committee – describe how Palestinians are always being subjugated, stating:
Israelis suffer almost no limitations on their freedom of movement in the occupied Palestinian territory, and are even allowed to settle in it, contrary to international law. Palestinians, in contrast, are not allowed to enter Israel without procuring a special permit from Israeli authorities.
While the demonstration itself won’t directly impact the unjust laws, the Palestinian activists’ daring campaign will, at least, help to raise awareness. And with more awareness, especially from within the international community, will come the deserved end of Apartheid in Israel.
Within a day or so, two activist-laden boats should reach Palestinian land via international waters. Either that, or they will be intercepted by teams of highly trained men and women clad in armor carrying the latest in fully automatic weaponry.
Should the latter be the case, let’s hope none of the demonstrators experience any bullet-induced trepanation, like what happened during a similar event last May.
The protesters – stemming from North America and Europe – are part of a global movement aimed at exposing Israel’s “cruel and criminal blockade” of the Palestinian people. Traveling under the banner ‘Freedom Waves’, many more flotillas are planning to sporadically sail towards Gazan soil “until the blockade of Gaza is lifted“.
With the Israeli government uprooting and destroying generations-old communities while Palestinians face conditions of Apartheid which may be worse than that of South Africa, it is no small wonder that people from all around the world are taking dramatic steps to call attention to these issues.
Press on, fellow freedom fighters! A more just civilization awaits!
(Here’s two minutes of self-righteous Israeli settler drivel that you’ll never get back.)
Israel has approved the construction of 1,100 more homes in the settlement of Gilo on the outskirts of Jerusalem, earning widespread condemnation by Palestinian and Western powers, including the EU and US.
The move follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the UN, where he decried the Palestinians unwillingness to negotiate a peace deal. Well, no shit, Benji – it’s kinda hard to work out a deal if you keep grabbing land from the people you’re negotiating with.
But Israel’s slow, systematic creeping might turn into a leaping pounce, should a new bill pass in the Knesset next month. The bill, which comes in response to Palestine’s bid for UN statehood recognition, will decide if Israel should just go ahead and annex the whole West Bank.
Oh great. Palestine is poised to become an official nation in the eyes of the international community, and Israel decides the best course of action is to usurp as much land as possible, while they still can.
Well, the Palestinian’s bid with the UN was supposed to move forward stalled peace talks. If Israel gets their way, there most certainly will be peace between Palestine and Israel, but only because Palestine no longer exists.
Are you sick of hearing about Israel’s continued human rights violations? Then do something about it!
If you’re hardcore, you could get involved with Freedom Flotilla III and attempt to break the naval blockade of Gaza. But if that seems a little much, then there are other things you can do.
If you’re already involved with grassroots communities, maybe this September you’d be interested in organizing a workshop in support of a campaign to end the Israeli occupation.
Not your thing? How about signing an online petition opting for UN recognition of the state of Palestine. It only takes a few seconds to complete, and your voice will be added to hundreds of thousands of like-minded individuals.
And if none of these options suit you, then I guess you’ll just need to figure out how best to contribute to the movement towards a more just global civilization.
Upon seeing another Israel post, you might be thinking, ‘Oh.. great. He’s ripping on the Jews again.” But my ire is not provoked by people of Jewish faith specifically, but rather, the State of Israel itself.
The government of Israel has perpetrated heinous human rights violations for decades, and want to continue to do so. This is why they just outlawed boycotts against Israeli institutions.
Rather than, say, not incarcerating and starving a few million Palestinians, the Israeli establishment finds it much easier to write laws that stifle any protest.
To heck with free speech if it risks upsetting the status quo! While your at it, why not just declare someone the king of Israel forgo the whole charade of elections?
Israel has clearly gone off the deep end. It’s time for the world to increase the pressure and ramp up economic sanctions. We need to collectively tell Israel ‘We’ve had enough of your nonsense, already.”
(Yonatan Shapira, former Israeli Air Force pilot, describes why he joined the Gaza Freedom Flotilla)
Defying threats of litigation and incarceration, and despite encountering (potentially) state-sponsored sabotage, over 1500 activists are now bound for Gaza as part of Freedom Flotilla II. The Gaza Flotilla is a 10 ship humanitarian mission designed to bring aide to Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.
Even though these ships are likely to meet heavy Israeli resistance, the mere act of trying will effect positive change for the Palestinian people. Ending Apartheid in Israel will take mounting pressure from the International community, and increased awareness of the issue – exposing the atrocities committed by the State of Israel – is vital to preventing further injustices.
To the brave people aboard the Flotilla, and for all who stand against oppression and injustice, stay strong, and try to make enough noise for the whole world to hear you.
The Zionist Story is a full length, independent film by Ronen Berelovich, telling the story of ethnic cleansing, colonialism and apartheid in Israel to produce a demographically Jewish State.
If you’re looking for an alternative viewpoint to the one portrayed by the mainstream media, this film makes an excellent starting point.
Starting December 27th of this year, marking the two-year anniversary of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, buses in Seattle will carry the message “Israeli War Crimes: Your Tax Dollars at Work.”
The campaign is aimed to increase awareness of the plight of Palestinians and to protest against Israel’s continued human rights violations.
Here’s a video showing what life can be like when your homeland is progressively usurped by a powerful state guided by religious indoctrination:
