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

Extremist settlers attack Palestinian homes in Hebron
31 Mar 2009 - A group of extremist settlers attacked on Tuesday a number of Palestinian homes in the southern West Bank city of Hebron causing excessive damage and terrifying the residents, especially the children. ...

OPT: UN tracks rising violence against women in Gaza
31 Mar 2009 - The UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in Gaza, local Palestinian NGOs and mental health professionals are reporting increased incidents of domestic violence and sexual assault against women in Gaza since the beginning of 2009. ...

Netanyahu to present the largest government in Israel's history
31 Mar 2009 - Likud leader, upcoming Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, intends to present his government to the Knesset on Tuesday; his special formula contains a mixture of 30 ministers, including six without portfolio. ...

Eight youths detained in Um Al Fahim
31 Mar 2009 - The Israeli police detained eight Arab youths in Um Al Fahim Arab town, north of the country, after claiming that the eight attacked settlers in the town last week. ... 

PFLP: "Israe's decision to impose more restrictions on the detainees, a terrorist decision"
31 Mar 2009 - The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) described the Israeli decision to impose for retractions against the detainees, as a terrorist decision that treats the detainees as hostages, and violates the basic international law. ...

Detainees in Ramon Prison demand Israel to stop nude searches
31 Mar 2009 - Palestinian detainees imprisoned at the Ramon Israeli Prison voice an appeal to human rights groups in order to oblige Israel to stop the naked and provocative body searches practiced by the soldiers against them. ... 

Two fighters killed, two injured, in the central Gaza Strip
31 Mar 2009 - Palestinian medical sources reported that two resistance fighters were killed in an Israeli shelling targeting an area east Al Maghazi refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip. At least two more fighters were injured. ...

Eretz and Kerem Shaom crossings to be partially opened Tuesday
31 Mar 2009 - The Israeli Authorities have decided to partially open the Kerem Shalom (Karem Abu Salem) and the Eretz (Al Mintar) crossings in order to allow the entry of 115 trucks filled with aid, and 45 trucks filled with grain. ...

Hamas: "Arab Summit closing statement lacks practicality"
31 Mar 2009 - Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, slammed the closing statement of the Arab Summit which was held Monday in Qatar, and said that the summit failed to address the suffering of the Palestinian people and lacked practical measures. ... 

Peace Now:"Netanyahu has a right-wing government, not a coalition"
30 Mar 2009 - The Peace Now movement in Israel issued a press release on Monday stating that the upcoming Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will have his government sworn-in on March 31 as a right-wing government, although he will attempt to market it as a coalition government. ...

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Articles

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...