Happy Eid!

The Siege on Gaza: We Share the Blame

النسخة العربية هنا 

 As an international community, we all share the responsibility for the ongoing brutal siege on Gaza, and not until we utilise all possible means of peaceful and nonviolent resistance shall we hope for a close end of that siege.

 

Akram Awad

Monday 24 November 2008

 

There is not much to say about the Holocaust of Gaza’s people -assuming that the reader has at least followed the media coverage of what is happening in the traumatised Strip-. It comes as no surprise that Gazan's have resorted to euthanasia to end the lives of thousands of newly hatched chicks, for even Gazan birds would prefer dying with honour over being victims of starvation. There is nothing exceptional about Gazans keeping their children alive with animal feeds, because even those who know the least about Gaza are aware that this is only one of the means used by its people to save the whole region from a definite explosion. The only shocking aspect of the whole current scene is that as much as Gazans are trying to convince their children that this life has at least some goodness that makes it worth clinging to, as much as the world strives to disprove such theories, and establish in the minds of those children that this life and world deserve no more than the curse of Gaza.

So as not to let the reader imagine that the world above belongs to another planet, I must make it clear that the world I’m referring to is actually “Us”: You and me. It’s easy for us to mourn Gaza’s people, and it’s easy to pray for their patience and persistence, and it’s easy to condemn the Israeli slaughter of 1.5 million people in Gaza. What seems impossible, though, is our confession that we are the ones besieging Gaza, and that all our condemnations, protests, prayers and writings -unless accompanied by genuine acts on the ground- are a bashful reflection of our insouciance toward the ongoing massacre against Palestinians in Gaza, and the lack of any desire from our side to take serious and practical actions to break the siege on the strip.

A reader may wonder: “genuine acts on the ground! Me?!” Their wonder will disappear as soon as we come to a realisation that peaceful and nonviolent resistance to injustices throughout history has been as effective as armed resistance –if not superior in many cases-. Let’s remind ourselves and remind Egypt -Israel's partner in the shedding of Palestinian blood in Gaza- that Egypt itself wouldn’t have gained its independence from colonialism in 1923 without the 1919’s revolution -which was peaceful in most respects- and the civil disobedience that followed the arrest of the leader of the Wafd Party, Saad Zaghloul. It was that revolution which finally forced the colonisers to surrender to the will of the Egyptians and declare Egypt’s independence. Let us also remember that Mahatma Gandhi's peaceful non-cooperation movement in India between 1920 and 1922 and then his famous Salt March in 1930 are what broke the back of British colonialism and forced it to recognise the independence of India in 1947. The determination of a man who just entered his seventh decade to walk a distance of 390 km in order to reach the Arabian Sea and break the British Raj salt laws, preventing the extraction of salt, may be seen by many as an act of madness, but when this old man attracts more than sixty thousand Indians on his way to the coastal village of Dundee and inspires millions to join the disobedience, the questioning of the fruitfulness of the pilgrimage to salt becomes no more than a sort of sophistry.

History is full of examples of peaceful and nonviolent resistance methods that the ninety year Palestinian struggle –since the Balfour declaration– could have learnt from. So why is it that Palestinians have not yet managed to achieve what others have achieved in the same, or shorter, time span? It won't be far from truth to attribute the success of other nations’ struggles to their unity around one focal idea and their dedication to realising it. If Palestinians carefully diagnose their failure to achieve freedom then they would most probably trace the reasons back to the lack of those very attributes. I’m almost confident that Palestinians never agreed on one focal target; if you ask Palestinians for their thoughts on the best methods to achieve their freedom I trust you would be able to collect enough material to fill several volumes with scarcely any consistency between those methods. To stay within the article’s theme I shall say: The national consensus and participation of all sectors of the population are necessary conditions for the success of any initiative of nonviolent resistance that can be considered synonymous - or even a substitute - for armed resistance.

We started with the siege on Gaza and here we are talking about nonviolent resistance, so what’s the point? What I’m trying to say is that peaceful and nonviolent resistance benefits from an added value compared to armed resistance; that it is not limited to a certain segment of the nation, and that it allows for the contribution and involvement of all peoples of the world - as well as the victimised nation itself -. The people of Gaza have prompted us to launch a non-violent resistance against the blockade when they rebelled against the siege and dismantled the separation wall on the Egyptian border to breathe in the scent of freedom for a few days before Egypt forced them to return to their big prison and suffocate inside their cells. Only a few understood the Palestinian hint at the time and started developing the Idea, and so emerged the Free Gaza movement (www.freegaza.org) and its brilliant idea of running vessels to break the siege on the Gaza Strip by sea. Despite their limited financial and physical capabilities, the small group succeeded in proving the feasibility of their idea by repeating it three times, the latest of which was the boat carrying parliamentarians who resorted to the genius idea after they were prevented by the Egyptian regime from entering to Gaza by land.  

It is enough of a pride for the Free Gaza movement that they innovated the “Freedom Boats” idea and implemented it on the ground. What remains is the most important part: the collective action: by me and you, our families, neighbours, friends, colleagues, and all those who believe in the righteousness of the Palestinian struggle and that they too, share the responsibility to achieve the freedom of Palestine. The Freedom Boats can move from being just a nice idea to an effective nonviolent resistance weapon only when the monthly trips become a continuously active and regular ship line, and when a fleet of ships replace the small boats, and when the programme organisers are forced to delay the travel of some passengers due to the overbooking of volunteers from all parts of the globe, and when each of us becomes a partner in accomplishing the idea by contributing toward the financing of the cruises or covering the expenses of volunteers; only then can we hope for a near collapse of the Israeli siege on Gaza, a collapse that we achieve with our own blood, tears and sweat rather than hopelessly begging for the sympathy of politicians and international bodies.

  The decision to continue or end the siege on Gaza is neither an Israeli, Egyptian nor International decision; it is our –and only our- decision. If we are to accept the facts on the ground we should have no reason to expect neither a little sympathy from the Israeli occupier, nor to move the heart of the Egyptian regime. On the other hand, by instating new facts on the ground through nonviolent resistance Israelis will have no option but to accept that the end of their savageness and the freedom of Palestine is definitely on its way, and the Egyptians will be reminded once more of their leader, Saad Zaghloul’s, saying "Right is above might and the nation is above the government."

Israel: Begging for Honour

النسخة العربية هنا

Reports about the Queen's conferral of knighthood on Israeli President Shimon Peres endanger the Royals' reputation and add a new category eligible for the honorary title: war criminals.

Akram Awad

Monday, November 17 2008

It seems that the Zionist pro-Israeli blackmailing tactics against the Royals have done the trick – again. Latest news reports from Israel are confirming that the Israeli embassy's desperate begging for a knighthood title to be honoured by Queen Elizabeth to the Israeli President Shimon Peres during his visit to the UK this week has finally been answered⁽¹⁾. Another report published on the Daily Express⁽²⁾ earlier this month leaked information about the Queen's rejection of the Israeli bidding for the honorary title. The report quoted a British Official stating, "It's not going to happen. There is no knighthood." It is, therefore, still too early to confirm the reliability of the Israeli reports, as they may simply be part of the dirty campaign itself.

I should not be exaggerating when I claim that Mr. Peres is one of those few whose contribution to the Zionist project in Palestine and the sufferings of the Palestinians and Arabs has never stopped ever since the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians in 1947-1949. His record⁽³⁾ includes his role in searching for talented officers to join the Haganah terrorist militias - Ben Gurion's military gang and the predecessor of the Israeli army - which led the acts of terrorism, killing and forced expulsion against the Palestinians since 1947. Peres became a member of the Haganah's high command in May 1947 where he was responsible for manpower and arms purchases and production. So to call Peres “Israel's Dove of Peace” is not any different from calling the Devil an "Angel of Evil".

The most distinguished war crime of the 1994's Noble Peace Prize laureate was his direct responsibility as a Prime Minister for the shelling of the UN forces headquarters in the village of Qana in southern Lebanon in 1996. More than 800 Lebanese civilians sought refuge in the building to escape Israeli fire, yet the UN flag was not enough to stop the Israeli thirst for blood. 106 people were killed in the massacre and at least 110 were seriously injured. Despite the UN investigation conclusions⁽⁴⁾ that the attack could never be referred to a technical or procedural error, the International Community failed so far to prosecute Peres and bring him to trial as a war criminal. Instead, The UN General Assembly debated whether Israel should be charged for the repair of the attacked compound - and the vote almost failed -, as if it was the United Nations of Bricks!

The Israeli President is one of the strongest advocates for bringing the Iranian nuclear program to a halt at any cost even if military intervention is required. Since the first time I wrote about this issue two years ago⁽⁵⁾ many things have changed but one has remained the same; The Israeli military nuclear program remains intact, and the man who prides himself for making that program possible is still allowed to blatantly criticise Iran's nuclear program and threaten to destroy it, "The president of Iran should remember that Iran can also be wiped off the map," Peres once stated⁽⁶⁾. If it hadn’t been for Shimon Peres convincing the French in 1957 to help build the Israeli secret nuclear reactor, Dimona, the Israeli nuclear program could have never seen the light of day. Apart from few slips of the tongue, the Israelis still insist upon denying the existence of their nuclear program and their possession of hundreds of nuclear warheads. The world's silence on Israel's nuclear arsenal led the latter to safely conclude the following moral of the story: “We should be allowed to do whatever we want as long as we lie about it.”

I'll go back to the word "exaggeration". Questioning the dedication of Peres to the Zionist project in Palestine - all Palestine - does not stand as an option when we listen to the man's statements echoing the racist evil nature of Zionism. Peres strongly criticised⁽⁷⁾ the International Court of Justice after its ruling to de-legalise the construction of the Israeli apartheid wall/barrier in the West Bank. Nor was he ashamed of expressing his racist concerns about the "demographical danger" threatening Israel due to the fast growth of the Arab population compared to the Jewish population. "If a division of territory is not effected within a decade, the Arab minority will have become an Arab majority. Israel will no longer be a Jewish state - or (it will) stop being a democratic state,"⁽⁸⁾ Peres once argued for the need of a Palestinian state to complete the unfinished job of cleansing the rest of the Palestinians from their land in 1948's occupied Palestine. While the illegal settlements in the West Bank have been a major obstacle toward any peace agreement in Palestine, Peres was the first to fight for the implantation of the first Jewish settlement, Kedumim, in 1970s in the heart of the 1967 occupied West Bank as well as the set up of the security zone⁽⁹⁾ which makes up more than 45 percent of the West Bank.

If the Israelis' knighthood news reports prove themselves right this week, Buckingham Palace will score a point for trying to resist the blackmail but will also lose so much of its reputation. There should be someone in there - I hope - to spot that winning the title of the "Most Attractive Destination for War Criminals" isn't really worth it!

⁽¹⁾ http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1037259.html

⁽²⁾ http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/69249/Queen-to-snub-Israeli-knighthood-bid

⁽³⁾ http://www.zionism-israel.com/bio/Peres_biography.htm

⁽⁴⁾ http://www.undemocracy.com/S-1996-337/page_6

⁽⁵⁾ http://www.akramawad.com/search?q=israel+nuclear+arsenal

⁽⁶⁾ http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1145961301962

⁽⁷⁾ http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2944632,00.html

⁽⁸⁾ http://english.aljazeera.net/archive/2003/10/20084912575844881.html

⁽⁹⁾ http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/22362

Join Us on the 29th of June Day of Action: "Israel: 60 Years of Shame"

On Sunday, the 29th of June, the Zionists and advocates of Israel in the UK are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the creation of Israel (i.e. the Palestinian Nakba) in central London with a huge parade followed by a festival at Trafalgar Square.

The Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB), the British Muslim Initiative (BMI), Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Palestine Twinning Network, NUS Black Students Campaign (NUS-BSC), Action Palestine, Friends of Al-Aqsa, FOSIS and other organisations will be holding a number of activities on the day to protest against this shameless dancing on Palestinian graves. The main two are:

1- "Israel: 60 Years of Shame" bus tour in London

Three double-decker buses will drive around central London, covered with banners highlighting the 60 years of Nakba and Israel's record of shame and crimes against the Palestinians from 1948 up to date.

Join us on the buses and say it loud and clear to Israel and its supporters "SHAME ON YOU!"

Buses will leave from Malet Street at 11:00 am (Nearest Tube stations are Russell Square, Goodge Street, Euston and Euston Square). Please be there on time.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=malet+street,+london&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=10.706311,33.310547&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=16&iwloc=addr

2- "Shame on You" Vigil next to Trafalgar Square

A vigil will take place from 2:30 pm outside the South African House. This is the first building overlooking Trafalgar Square on the Strand (visit the following link for the location's map:

http://www.multimap.com/maps/?hloc=GB|south%20african%20house,%20london#map=51.50815,-0.12675|20|256&be=15612838|North&loc=GB:51.50836:-0.12682:16|WC2N 5DP|WC2N 5DP )

Join us there and let us say it all together:

"ISRAEL, SHAME ON YOU",

"PALESTINE, OUR HEARTS ARE WITH YOU"

and

"PALESTINIAN REFUGEES, SOONER OR LATER, YOU WILL RETURN!"

The Palestinian Nakba - A friends of Al-Aqsa Report

The Palestinian Nakba, 60 Years of Catastrophe 1948 - 2008 A Friends of Al-Aqsa Publication

To mark 60 years since the Palestinian Nakba, Friends of Al-Aqsa have produced a publication titled 'The Palestinian Nakba, 60 Years of Catastrophe'.

This is being disctributed for free. If you would like to receive a printed copy, please send us a SAE to the value of £0.70. Post to: Friends of Al-Aqsa, PO Box 5127, Leicester, LE2 0WU.

Visit www.aqsa.org.uk to keep up to date with developments in the occupied territories.

To view the complete report online click here.

(Hat tip to Rajnaara for the excellent work)

Palestinian Nakba 101: The eBook

Click on the image to launch the e-book

The Parade of Shame

Akram Awad

Thursday March 20, 2008

It takes one a lot of courage to be brave enough (read unashamed) to celebrate a 60 year history of ethnic cleansing, apartheid, occupation, racism and war crimes. And it looks like the main Jewish bodies in the UK have decided to work hand-in-hand, taking their pride in that history to a new level this year by organising the “Salute to Israel” parade in London next June.

According to the organisers, the parade will demonstrate “affirmation of solidarity with and support of Israel”. This kind of unconditional support has always been the trend for both the organising and the supporting bodies of the parade. These include: Jewish Leadership Council, the Board of Deputies, the CST, JNF UK, Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester, Manchester ZCC, UJIA, UJS, Zionist Federation, Zionist Youth Council, the Movement for Reform Judaism, and the United Synagogue.

Celebrating the 60^th anniversary of the declaration of Israel as a State also means, undoubtedly, taking pride in the horrific crimes committed by the Jewish militias (which later became the Israeli Defence Force) against the indigenous Palestinians in the years 1947 till 1949, which paved the way for the existence of Israel. The systematic ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians preceding the foundation of the State resulted in dozens of massacres, the destruction or Judaisation of more than 400 towns and villages, and the expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinians who now number 6-7 million refugees scattered all around the world. These figures are not only enough to make any Israeli ashamed of their country, but they are also sufficient by themselves to build the case against the right of Israel to exist.

Thus, it is striking to witness the major Jewish political and religious bodies in the UK praising a country with such a history, offending the memory of thousands of victims of Israeli terrorism, the millions of Palestinians in the UK and around the world, and the British people, as a whole, who take pride in promoting and defending fundamental human rights and ensuring mutual respect between the different groups making up this nation. Embedding the Union Jack within the Israeli flag in the parade’s logo is just another example of how ignorant the organisers are to the values of the British nation. I believe that it’s not questionable that neo-Nazis should not be permitted to promote their fascist beliefs by using the British flag with a Swastika. Promoting an illegal occupier and the only lasting apartheid regime on earth is not any better.

However, it is not just the pre-State history that is a source of shame for Israel. The military occupation of the rest of Palestine in 1967 (i.e. the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza strip) is an illegal act which, for the last 40 years, was condemned in dozens of resolutions by the UN General Assembly, UN Security Council, International Court of Justice and Human Rights Council, of which Israel insists to abide by none. Add to this, the Apartheid practices imposed on the Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which are not limited to the Wall, checkpoints, settlements, imprisoning and water supply discrimination.

Moreover, the “only democracy in the Middle East” is probably the best example of what an extremely racist State can be. With discriminatory policies that favour Jewish citizens over Arab citizens and with the Law of Return which allows anyone with Jewish origin to become an Israeli citizen while denying the right of return for Palestinian refugees, there is hardly any room for doubt that Israel is a racist State.

The organisers of the “Salute to Israel” parade themselves are not remote from the above course of events. Some even played a key role in the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians. The JNF, for instance, participated actively in the destruction of Palestinian villages, the Judaisation of others and the building of settlements. Nowadays, its main role is to cover up for the ethnic cleansing crimes by planting parks on ruins of destroyed Palestinian villages, all financed by charity money received through its offices around the world, including its UK-based registered charity, JNF UK.

The Union of Jewish Students in the UK, UJS, has taken a more active part in the military aspects of the Israeli crimes against the Palestinians, by recruiting for the Israeli Army in the summer of 2007 and encouraging British Jews to do their national service in the Israeli Army “where it is really needed”. This is in breach of the UK Foreign Enlistment Act 1870 which considers it a crime for a British subject to enlist in the army of a foreign nation that is at war with any country that the UK is at peace with.

UJIA is the organisation responsible for encouraging and assisting Jews from the UK to immigrate to Israel i.e., ensuring the implementation of the racist Aliyah (Return) laws. This is of course in addition to funding the UJS and other organisations which strive to justify Israel’s crimes to the British public.

The examples of the involvement of the parade’s organisers in the crimes of the Zionist State are endless. However, what irritates more than anything else is watching the same people claiming to work for justice and peace while openly declaring themselves as believers of the racist Zionist ideology and supporting the Zionist State’s crimes. What sort of trust are faith leaders expected to show toward the United Synagogue during inter-faith activities when the latter salutes, out of all countries of the world, a country which John Dugard accused of committing war crimes against the Palestinians? Likewise, how are we expected to receive the UJS’s passion to save Darfur when all what they do, on the other hand, is to praise Israel in every possible occasion and suppress all the voices calling for an end to the Israeli illegal occupation and apartheid in Palestine? One phrase is enough to describe the Jewish bodies organising and supporting the “Salute to Israel” Parade: A BUNCH OF HYPOCRITES.

The bunch of hypocrites have classified themselves as Zionist organisations which care unlimitedly about Israel and couldn’t care less about the reputation of the Jewish faith, which they are tarnishing by attaching themselves to a Divine faith that should be promoting the values of justice, equality and coexistence. The ball is now in the court of all those who stand for justice and cannot stand hypocrisy. The next time any of the parade’s organisers knocks on your door, a good “no, thank you” answer would be “Interesting to see an apartheid apologist playing the angel”!