Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel
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For those interested in keeping up with events in Palestine/Israel, there is no better digest than VTJP.

News

International Middle East Media Center

Israeli army completes internal probe; declares "no misconduct in Gaza"
30 Mar 2009 - The Israeli military on Monday concluded their internal investigation of alleged misconduct by soldiers in their invasion of the Gaza Strip in January, finding that there was no misconduct by soldiers. This report comes despite thousands of eyewitness testimonies attesting to the misconduct, and video and photographic evidence documenting the crimes. ... 

In bid for unity, Hamas government in Gaza releases 38 Fateh prisoners
30 Mar 2009 - The Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, which serves as the elected government of the Palestinian people, has agreed to release 38 prisoners of the rival Fateh party as a measure of good will, and to promote efforts for a national unity government. ...

Eight Palestinians wounded as Israeli troops disperse nonviolent protest in Hebron
30 Mar 2009 - Eight Palestinian civilians were injured on Monday midday when Israeli troops attacked a nonviolent protest in Ithna village near Hebron city, in the southern West Bank. The protest was organized on village lands where Israel is building the Wall. The protest was in commemoration of the 33rd anniversary of 'Land Day'. ...

Settlers attack a Palestinian in East Jerusalem
30 Mar 2009 - The Palestine News and Information Center (WAFA) reported on Monday morning that a group of extremist Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian youth in Silwan town, south of the Old City of Jerusalem. ...

Israeli Railways fire Arab workers who did not serve in the military
30 Mar 2009 - The Hashmira Israeli Railways project sent on Sunday letters to some 100 Arab workers informing them that their contracts with the company would be terminated because they did not serve in the Israeli military. ... 

Israeli poll indicates 21% of exporters have felt effects of boycott
30 Mar 2009 - A report published Sunday in the Hebrew-language business paper 'The Marker', 21% of Israeli exporters say that they have been directly impacted by a boycott of Israeli products since the beginning of 2009. ...

Arab Summit to call on Israel to accept Arab Peace Initiative
30 Mar 2009 - The Arab Summit will be kicked off Today, Monday, in Doha – Qatar, with several topics including Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, and Palestine. The leaders are also planning to call on Israel to accept the Arab Peace Initiative. ... 

Land Day March 30th: Palestinian and worldwide actions planned
30 Mar 2009 - Palestinians and their supporters around the world are organizing protests, demonstrations, teach-ins and actions on Palestinian Land Day, which has also been declared the 'Global Day for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions of Israel'. ...

Haniyya demands Arab leaders to break the siege
30 Mar 2009 - Ismail Haniyya, Prime Minister of the dissolved government in Gaza, demanding on Sunday evening the Arab leaders to implement the decisions of previous Arab summits in order to break the siege on the Gaza Strip and support the Palestinian people. ...

Arabs to commemorate Land Day, demand end to apartheid
30 Mar 2009 - Arab residents of Dir Hanna village, inside the Green Line, are planning to commemorate Land Day on Monday, to demand an end to apartheid and racism. The Protests will sweep through villages in the Galilee, and a number of Arab villages and cities. ...

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Tales To Tell
March 29: Happy birthday K!
29 Mar 2009 - K shows birthday rabbit to baby brother, You might recall we visited K and her family once already, via the lovely Atfaluna School for the Deaf. J from 14 Friends of Palestine, who sponsor K, asked me to go back again for her birthday; I’d been meaning to go anyway as I had the rest of the money J had sent over to deliver to them. J suggested I buy some food and toys for the family with a little of the money. In the end, I decided that my blog readers might like to share in celebrating with K too, so I put in some of the money you’ve sent; this meant that K’s mum S received all the original cash from 14 Friends and the food and toys were an extra bonus. Read the rest of this post », You might recall we visited, K and her family , once already, via the lovely Atfaluna School for the Deaf. J from, 14 Friends of Palestine , , who sponsor K, asked me to go back again for her birthday; I’d been meaning to go anyway as I had the rest of the money J had sent over to deliver to them. J suggested I buy some food and toys for the family with a little of the money. In the end, I decided that my blog readers might like to share in celebrating with K too, so I put in some of the money you’ve sent; this meant that K’s mum S received all the original cash from 14 Friends and the food and toys were an extra bonus., Read the rest of this post » 

Palestine Chronicle
Remembering Land Day
30 Mar 2009 - By Jonathan Cook - Arrabeh Palestinians across the Middle East were due to commemorate Land Day today, marking the anniversary of clashes in 1976 in which six unarmed Palestinians were shot dead by the Israeli army as it tried to break up a general strike. Although Land Day is one of the most important anniversaries in the Palestinian calendar, sometimes referred to as the Palestinians’ national day, the historical event it marks is little spoken of and rarely studied. “Maybe its significance is surprising given the magnitude of other events in Palestinian history,” said Hatim Kanaaneh, 71, a doctor, who witnessed the military invasion of his village. “But what makes Land Day resonate with Palestinians everywhere is that it was the first time Palestinians inside Israel stood together and successfully resisted Israel’s goal of confiscating their land.” The confrontation took place between the army and a group usually referred to as “Israeli Arabs”, the small minority of Palestinians who managed to remain in their homes during the 1948 war that led to the founding of Israel. Today they number 1.2 million, or nearly one-fifth of Israel’s population. “We were given citizenship by Israel, but have always been treated as an enemy, perceived of as a threat to the state’s Jewishness,” said Dr Kanaaneh, who last year published his memoir, A Doctor in Galilee, which offers a rare account in English of Palestinian life inside Israel during the Land Day period. In 1976, Dr Kanaaneh, having completed his medical studies at...

Defending Zionism: Defending the Indefensible
30 Mar 2009 - By Stephen Lendman – Chicago This article responds to a March 15 Los Angeles Times Judea Pearl one headlined: "Is anti-Zionism hate?" Pearl teaches computer science at UCLA, is the father of slain journalist Daniel Pearl, and president of the Daniel Pearl Foundation. It was "formed....to continue Danny's mission and to address the root causes of this tragedy in the spirit" of the man it represents, including "uncompromised objectivity and integrity....and respect for people of all cultures...." Pearl calls anti-Zionism "hate more dangerous than anti-Semitism, threatening lives and peace in the Middle East." Zionism is precisely the opposite as numerous Jewish writers, including this one, have addressed. In his book "Overcoming Zionism," Joel Kovel explained how it fosters "imperialist expansion and militarism (with) signs of the fascist malignancy;" that it turned Israel "into a machine for the manufacture of human rights abuses" led by terrorists posing as democrats. Kovel's book and his work got him fired from the Bard College faculty effective July 1 when his current contract expires - for daring to criticize Israel, its Zionist ideology, state-sponsored terror, and decades of lawlessness and egregious behavior. Kovel expressed outrage that institutions like Bard aren't bothered; that they grant Israel impunity, suppress dissent, then marginalize, punish, and remove the "heretics," ones like Kovel who honorably and courageously write truths. Pearl railed about a UCLA Center for Near East Studies symposium invitation to "four longtime Israel bashers" so they could attack Zionism's legitimacy and "its vision of a two-state solution...." -...

Tristan Anderson Deserves Medal of Freedom
30 Mar 2009 - By Mahmoud El-Yousseph Tristan Anderson is a young American fighting for his life 5000 miles away in a hospital after being shot in the face. Upon learning of what happened, his parents rushed to Tel Aviv. The family is holding hope and a vigil at his bedside. Mom is holding one of his hand while his girl friend, Gaby Silverman holding the other hand. Tristan–38 years old and of Oakland, California–was shot by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on March 13th while peacefully protesting against the “separation wall” deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice in the Palestinian West Bank village of Bi’ilin. Israel was ordered to halt building the wall and compensate Palestinians for land illegally annexed. The wall–longer and taller than the infamous Berlin wall–zigzagged into Palestinian lands, thus preventing farmers and villagers from reaching their farms, hospitals, and schools. Tristan was among 400 Palestinian villagers and international peace activists. He was shot directly by tear gas canister fired by an Israeli soldier at the end of the protest. Contrary to Israel’s claim, Tristan was not shot “during clashes” with the soldiers and was not in a closed military zone either. The Israeli claim was refuted by an Israeli peace activist, Jonathan Pollock in an interview with Israeli press. IOF has a history of targeting medics, children, journalists, and peace activists. Only one day prior to this attempted murder, six unnamed Israeli soldiers admitted to Israeli Daily Haaretz that they were involved in indiscriminate killing of civilian during...

It Was Never about Democracy
30 Mar 2009 - By Mamoon Alabbasi – London "Those dirty A-rabs don't deserve democracy. We give them freedom and they kill our troops. We should nuke them all in their shit-hole." "Bring our troops home. What are they doing dying in some far away land trying to bring democracy to people who don't want it?" "We Arabs are not yet ready for democracy. We need strong authoritarian governments to keep the peace and ensure economic growth." "We should be grateful to the Americans. They got rid of our dictator and brought us democracy." "Is this democracy? Is this freedom? The Americans killed all my family and destroyed my house. If this democracy, I tell you my brother, we don't want it!" Such comments and their likes are unfortunately not uncommon among some Americans and Iraqis regarding the US-led invasion of Iraq. Whether American or Iraqi, pro-war or anti-war, one fallacy lies at the bottom of their reasoning: that somehow 'democracy' had anything to do with the Iraq war. Not that possessing WMDs was ever - objectively - enough reason to subject the whole of Iraq to so much senseless destruction; but since it became clear that the only real threat Iraq posed was to itself, the rhetoric had shifted into saving Iraqis from their themselves by bringing onto them good old democracy. But the fact is, that was never the case. Not in Iraq and certainly not in the region. Not in 2003 and most definitely not before that. After the fall of...