Bill Thomson's Middle East Update
MIDEAST URGENT ACTION:Saturday, 7/6/02-1 (PM--EST)
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| First Edition (7/6/02) "It is not hard to guess the plans that are being hatched in the curfew period by those who have been condemned to such a hard life. One thing we can be sure of is that no one there is planning to absorb a further 35 years of occupation without resistance." -- Gideon Levy, Ha'aretz (6/30/02) "I don't know. This is a special situation today. It's a curfew. I can't do anything about it--no one here can do anything about it--the orders come from high up." -- Israeli officer / Halhoul (7/2/02) [Translation: "I am only following orders"--Bill] *********************************** 1) Locking down the territories 2) Gingerly, Arabs Question Suicide Bombings 3) CPT: Hebron--Farmers, CPTers negotiate with Israeli military in fields of Halhoul 4) Teaching children to hate 5) Buried with chocolate in his hand 6) 7) Contact information for US, UN, European Union, Canada, Israel and Media (CONTACT EARLY AND OFTEN). 8) Information from the International Solidarity Movement (with sample letters) *********************************** Excellent sources for current updates: http://www.truthout.org/ and http://www.palestinechronicle.com and www.jerusalem.indymedia.org and http://www.soundvision.com/info/jerusalem and http://www.jewsagainsttheoccupation.org/. Previous copies of these updates will be available at http://www.soundvision.com/info/jerusalem _________________________ "Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience…Therefore [individual citizens] have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring" -- Nuremberg War Crime Tribunal, 1950 “Recall the face of the poorest and most helpless person you have seen and ask yourself if the next step you contemplate is going to be of any use to that person.”--Mohandas Gandhi This is a critical time in which every voice is needed. PLEASE take a half hour TODAY and EVERY DAY to support our Palestinian, Israeli and International colleagues who are assertively, nonviolently, risking their lives on the ground on behalf of peace and justice in confrontations with the Israeli occupation. Peace, Bill "The hottest fires in hell are reserved for those who remain neutral in times of moral crisis" -Edmund Burke
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From: Khalid Amayreh
4 - 10 July 2002
Issue No. 593
Al-Ahram Weekly
Locking down the territories
With callous and often criminal indifference, the Israeli army continued for the second consecutive week to literally imprison more than one million Palestinians
in their own homes.
The curfew, a term that fails to capture the ugliness of the collective and open-ended confinement imposed on the Palestinian people, is being employed once
again. This time Israel has extended it to cover much of the Palestinian countryside, especially in the central and northern parts of the West Bank.
Those under curfew are consequently stuck in their box-like concrete homes, often without food. Compounded with the frustrations of unemployment, poverty
and family pressures, such prolonged imprisonment can only have an incendiary effect. Indeed, as Israeli journalist Gideon Levy wrote in Ha'aretz on 30 June,
the curfew will only postpone the next wave of suicide bombings.
"It is not hard to guess the plans that are being hatched in the curfew period by those who have been condemned to such a hard life. One thing we can be sure
of is that no one there is planning to absorb a further 35 years of occupation without resistance."
With this latest extension of the curfew into the countryside livestock are also imprisoned and, in some cases, face the prospect of starvation.
Anyone who dares break the curfew meets with an immediate and violent response. Last week, three small children, two of them brothers, were killed in Jenin
when an Israeli tank fired two shells at civilians for "violating the curfew". The children were apparently under the impression that the curfew had been
temporarily lifted and that they might consequently venture outside for a little while.
These victims of Israeli state terror lengthen the list of the more than 300 Palestinian children under the age of 12 killed by the Israeli army and Israeli
paramilitary activity since the outbreak of the Intifada in September 2000. Children make up more than 21 per cent of the total number of Palestinians killed by
Israeli occupation troops during the past 22 months.
In the Gaza Strip, children comprise 26 per cent of the total victims of Israeli terror while the corresponding percentage in the West Bank is slightly over 16 per
cent.
Also bringing Palestinian children into contact with the terror wreaked by the Israeli army is its continued use of house- to-house searches.
Many children, too, have seen their male family members rounded up by the army. It is believed that as many as 9,000 Palestinians have been detained by Israel
during the past few months. Most of the detainees are put in detention camps where the conditions are extremely harsh.
The most Draconian measure the Israeli army took in the West Bank this week was the clumsy and callous demolition of the Imara complex, the largest
government building in West Bank, and one of the largest in Palestine.
The huge building, built by the British in 1938 and used successively as local government headquarters by the British, Jordanian, Israeli and Palestinian
authorities, had been under siege for five days before the Israeli army chief of staff, Shaul Mofaz, on 29 June issued the order to blow it up.
The order is widely viewed as an expression of vengeance on Mofaz's part, and a continuation of the "scorched-earth policy" pursued by Israel toward the
Palestinians.
Some local Palestinian leaders seeking to save the building from destruction had offered to go inside to convince the "wanted persons" who had presumably
taken refuge in the building to surrender.
However, when former Palestinian Authority Minister Talal Sider toured the badly-battered complex for two hours, using a megaphone to call to the people
presumed to be inside to surrender, he neither heard nor saw anyone in the building. Even so, the Israelis refused to abort their plans, and around 3am on 29
June, the army packed the fortress-like building with explosives, effecting a huge blast that produced an impact similar to that of a powerful earthquake shaking
the ground within a 10- kilometre radius.
The huge explosion utterly destroyed the building, reducing it to several huge piles of rubble, and shattered the windows of numerous buildings in Hebron.
As Al-Ahram Weekly went to print, Israeli army bulldozers were still flattening the rubble. And so far, no bodies of the suspected "wanted" Palestinians have
been found.
Palestinian leaders, including Hebron Mayor Mustafa Natshe, described the destruction of the historical building as "underscoring Israeli unbridled savagery
and incivility".
Even some Israeli military figures criticised the destruction of the building. "It was a folly, it shows that the Israeli government and army are acting with
needless panic, it's a disgrace," said Meir Pa'il, a former member of the Israeli Knesset and a military historian. "It's a shame, because what did they have there?
Garbage. If they really wanted to arrest the people, they could have gone into the building, but instead they destroyed it in a clumsy way and not only that, but
the people inside got away. It's humiliating."
On 30 June, the Israeli army assassinated two Hamas activists in Nablus, including Muhannad Taher, whom Israel accuses of masterminding attacks on Israeli
occupation soldiers.
Hamas vowed to avenge the killing, saying "bloodshed will be met with bloodshed".
"Defensive walls will not withstand our fighters, who will strike at the heart of Zionism," said a statement issued by Hamas military wing.
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved.
Send a letter to the Editor Recommend this page
**********************************
New York Times / www.nytimes.com / July 3, 2002
Gingerly, Arabs Question Suicide Bombings
By James Bennet
Jerusalem, July 2 -- It has been muffled by Israel's latest military offensive in the West Bank and the Bush administration's demands for the ouster of Yasir
Arafat, but a debate is under way among Palestinians over suicide bombing.
Criticism of such attacks is made in code and pitched to Palestinian self-interest rather than broader moral concerns. The critics are trying to avoid alienating
Palestinians who feel that any weapon is legitimate when turned against Israelis, whom they view as stealing their land and using overwhelming force to keep it.
Like President Bush's demand for democratic change and new leaders, the criticism of suicide bombing cuts to the heart of competing Palestinian visions for
statehood, of the proper means for achieving it, and of the deference that should be paid to Israeli or American public opinion.
"You have to appeal to people's self-interest, in terms of what works and what doesn't work," said Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian legislator from Ramallah.
Dr. Ashrawi was among 55 Palestinian politicians and intellectuals who published an unusual appeal to fellow Palestinians on June 19 in the Arabic-language
newspaper Al Quds. It called for a reassessment of "military operations that target civilians in Israel" -- not in the West Bank or Gaza -- and urged those
behind them to "stop pushing our youth to carry out these operations."
The appeal clearly stopped short of a blanket condemnation of all suicide bombings. But the open letter did say that the attacks were not "producing any results
except confirming the hatred, malice and loathing between the two peoples" and endangering "the possibility that the two peoples will live side by side in peace
in two neighboring states."
The day the advertisement was published, a suicide bomber killed six people at a Jerusalem bus stop. That and the new Israeli offensive into the West Bank,
begun after another suicide bombing just the day before, shouldered the development aside.
But among Palestinians, the appeal reverberated in conversations and the Arabic news media. It continued to run in Al Quds for several days, gathering more
than 500 backers, some through the Internet.
A rebuttal was published elsewhere, calling for the use of "all ways and all means" of "armed struggle." It gained about 150 signatures.
Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, a leader of the Islamic group Hamas, bitterly denounced the signers of the first petition, which he called "the appeal to declare war on the
Palestinian resistance." Despite such strong criticism, none of the original petitioners have reported any threats.
Even some Palestinian politicians who said they opposed attacks on civilians shied away from the petition, calling it one-sided for focusing on Palestinian
attacks.
President Bush has denounced suicide attackers as "murderers." Yet even signers of the appeal balked at directly criticizing the bombers, who are called martyrs
but are revered in nationalist as well as religious terms. They are pitied as desperate victims or romanticized as patriots who strike back against Israeli tanks with
their only weapons, their own bodies.
This help explains why, though a narrow majority of Palestinians support suicide bombing, a far broader majority oppose arresting those behind the attacks.
"There is a global culture of that, of how sweet it is to die for your liberty," Dr. Ashrawi said. "You can find quotations from the American Revolution."
She said that although she opposed any violence against civilians, it was no time "to take the high moral ground" on the subject of suicide bombing, with Israeli
forces holding hundreds of thousands of Palestinians under curfew in the West Bank. "We should make it a political debate," she said.
Today Israeli forces continued to operate in seven of the eight major Palestinian cities and towns, rounding up suspects in what the army called a continuing
hunt for militants. In Hebron, the army lifted the curfew to allow students to take exams, then detained about 300 students at one college for questioning,
witnesses said.
Leaders of the peace camp in Israel heard in the original appeal a call for a halt to all violence, a halt to the intifada -- the uprising -- itself. "What they are
saying is really, `Stop the violence,' " said Galia Golan, a leader of the group Peace Now.
But the appeal was more narrowly tailored than that, not using the word "suicide" and referring only to attacks on "civilians in Israel." That is understood by
Palestinian as referring only to pre-1967 Israel and not to the West Bank and Gaza, which Israel occupied in 1967. Palestinians overwhelmingly support
attacks on Israeli soldiers and settlers in those areas, arguing that such attacks amount to legal resistance.*
**********************************
From: CPTnet.editor.guest.445947@MennoLink.org (CPTnet editor, Webster, NY)
Date: Thu, 04 Jul 2002 13:46:37 CDT
Subject: HEBRON: Farmers, CPTers negotiate with Israeli military in fields of Halhoul
CPTnet
July 4, 2002
HEBRON: Farmers, CPTers and other internationals negotiate with Israeli military in fields of Halhoul
By Diana Epp-Fransen and Kathy Kamphoefner
On Tuesday, July 2, a group of Halhoul farmers wanted to prune and spray their vineyards near the Israeli settlement of Karme Tzur. The Israeli military had
refused them access to their fields after three Karme Tzur settlers were killed by Palestinian gunmen inside their mobile home in early June. The farmers asked
CPT for accompaniment, and Diana Epp-Fransen and Kathy Kamphoefner responded to their request along with five persons from the International Solidarity
Movement (ISM). About 500 dunams (125 acres) of vineyards and orchards around Karme Tzur belong to seventy-five Palestinian families, (forty-five from
Halhoul and thirty from Beit Ummar.) The farmers had obtained written permission from the Israeli police to work on their lands.
On the way to the fields, they met two women who were just coming from the area. They said settlers had attacked them and hit the older woman on the
forehead with a large stone. The injured woman was crying and her forehead had an egg-sized knot and laceration. Later, an ambulance arrived to take her to the
hospital.
Just after the group met the women, an Israeli Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) pulled up, and the soldiers on board ordered everyone to leave. The farmers
and internationals tried to explain that they had written permission to be there, but the soldiers would not listen. They fired shots above the people's heads.
The group reassembled about 100 meters further down the road. Kamphoefner called the Israeli police and explained the situation. After an officer checked that
the farmer actually had written permission to go to their fields, the police officer asked to speak with the soldiers' commander. Kamphoefner approached the
APC with the cellphone and told the army officer three times that the police wanted to talk to him before the army officer eventually took the phone. After
talking to the military, the police officer said the area was a closed military zone and under curfew for the day. He wouldn't say when the farmers could return to
work. The soldiers again shouted, "GO HOME! This area is under curfew! This is a closed military zone!" and again shot over people's heads. They also
lobbed a percussion grenade at them, but it failed to detonate.
The farmers and internationals regrouped further down the road to discuss what to do next. After an hour, the farmers decided to move up the road to where the
soldiers could see them from the military camp. They asked Epp-Fransen and Kamphoefner to go to the military camp in front of Karme Tzur and negotiate
with the commander about the problem.
As the CPTers arrived at the camp gate, a jeep pulled up driven by a reserve commander. He told them, "I am a farmer, also. I understand the grapes needed to
be pruned and sprayed, but that area is under curfew, so everyone must go home."
"When can they go to their fields?" the CPTers asked.
"I don't know. This is a special situation today. It's a curfew. I can't do anything about it--no one here can do anything about it--the orders come from high up."
The reserve officer then drove the jeep to where the farmers were waiting, ordered them to leave, and started to physically push them down the road.
Kamphoefner said to him repeatedly, "You understand their situation. Talk to your commander about a solution. The situation needs a solution." The officer
refused, continued shouting, "Go home! Go home!" and pushed people down the road.
After much discussion between the two soldiers and the dozen farmers, the farmers decided to leave. On Wednesday morning, July 3, the CPTers and ISMers
returned to Halhoul. The Halhoul farmers brought Halhoul Mayor Mohamed Mikhal to try to negotiate. After some back and forth discussion, the military
commander agreed the farmers could go to their fields every morning.
**********************************
From: Mazin Qumsiyeh
In a future posting, I will address the myths and facts about Palestinian children education, for now let us get a brief glimpse of Israeli use and indoctrination of
Children. The four pictures/stories below tell a lot and should be shared with all in the media who are misinformed and lied to about who teaches what to
whom. In the first picture from Reuters, an Israeli settler women and child attack Palestinians under the indifferent eyes of Israeli occupation soldiers in
Hebron. Settleer Children are ritually taken to the markets in Hebron to stone and attck Palestinian residents (according to Amira Hass of Haaretz and teh
Christian Peacemaker Team stationed there).
In the second picture, a baby carries a sign for expulsion of Arabs. According to AP caption:
"A boy holds a sign during a right-wing demonstration in front of the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem Sunday June 30, 2002 protesting Israel's Defense
Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer's announcement to evacuate illegal Israeli settlement outposts in the West Bank. Israel began dismantling 10 illegal settlements
Sunday, following Ben-Eliezer's statements. (AP Photo/ ZOOM 77)" http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/020630/168/1rv3c.html
The third and the forth pictures accompanied an article from Haaretz Hebrew edition showing militarization at Israeli Kindergardens. The article reads in part:
Up on the Jungle Gym, Charge!
By Aviv Lavie
[Ha’aretz, 6/28/02]
http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=181315
Ms. A., a resident of Tel-Aviv, arrived at the graduation of the city-run kindergarten which her two daughters attended. It was all was very nice until the
ceremony started. To her astonishment, she watched the teacher parade the children dressed in what seemed like IDF uniform and march them to and fro as
they call out "left, right left," and "attention!" or "at ease!" The military parade was accompanied by children singing at the top of their lungs: "Soldiers of
Israel, march on and stay on guard, both day and night."
The kindergarten A.’s daughters attend is not the only one to have chosen to mark the end of the school year in this manner. At another kindergarten, in a small
town near Tel-Aviv, the graduation ceremony included storming targets with (toy) swords. There too the children recited texts about their being fighters in the
service of the state of Israel. A. says that she did not send her daughters to kindergarten so they will be turned into soldiers by the age of five.
The spokesperson for the Tel-Aviv City Hall reports that it is not the superintendent of the city kindergartens who is the source of the militaristic spirit that
dominates these graduation events, nor is any other official body. On the other hand, City Hall tends not to get involved in such cases: "This is not a
phenomenon we are familiar with. The content of graduation ceremonies is jointly determined by the teachers and the parent association ."
-------------------
Also see article by Maureen Meehan "Israeli Textbooks and Children’s Literature Promote Racism and Hatred Toward Palestinians and
Arabs" AT:
http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/0999/9909019.html
**********************************
From Ha'aretz Weekend Magazine 7-5-02
Buried with chocolate in his hand
The three children took their bikes to buy candy. A tank chased them and fired two rounds at short range. Two brothers were killed, and the third brother was
severely wounded. It's all there on the video
By Gideon Levy
The video shows it all: Here are the three kids on their bikes, three black dots on the slope of the road, two on the right, close together, the third on the left, and a
white car passes between them. A woman calls out something unclear, maybe a warning to the children about the tank; the car disappears down the hill,and then
the tank suddenly appears from the corner on the left. First you see the tank's turret gun, then the base of the turret and then the tank itself, charging after three
little kids on their bicycles a few dozen meters ahead. The picture freezes for a second to show the details better. Then suddenly the screen goes dark. Sound of
firing. Boom. Lots of noise, dust and smoke everywhere, an that's it. The anonymous photographer stopped filming.
And now, the bicycles lie there in the yard, covered by a heavy woolen blanket as if to preserve them from the night's chill. Three bicycles. The large black bike
is Jamil's; the medium-sized red one is Tareq's; and the little purple one is Ahmed's. The seat on the smallest bike is bent awry, the rubber that covers the
handlebars on the big bike is torn, and there's a hole in the seat-covering on the medium-sized bike. Damaged only slightly, one might say. Black-beribboned
pictures of two of the children are stuck on the handlebars of their bikes, photographs of the dead Jamil and Ahmed. Tareq, who's lying wounded in the
hospital, his body torn by shrapnel, was riding with them on that black Friday on the way to the grocery store. His bike has no picture attached.
The boys' father sits in the house. A tall man with a mustache. For eight years, before the outbreak of the first intifada, he drove a bus for Egged, the Israeli bus
company. Tears threaten to overwhelm him, again and again. On the table in front of him is a straw basket with a pile of the colored memorial placards with
pictures of his two sons. A keepsake for every mourner. No organization's name is inscribed on these. The bereaved father refused to let anyone - Hamas, the
Popular Front, Islamic Jihad, the Brigades P put their mark on the two innocent children riding their bicycles to the neighborhood grocery store to buy
themselves some candy, during a break in the curfew, until the soldiers in the tank shot them from up close, killing two of them and wounding the third. They
buried Ahmed with the chocolate bar he'd bought for himself clutched in his hand.
A north Jenin neighborhood among the orchards, Al Basatin. Relatively well-kept homes in neglected surroundings. Yusef Abu Aziz, the bereaved father, was
born in Rafiah to a family that fled in 1948 from Sidni-'Ali on the coast at Herzliya. His wife, Hamda, was born in Jenin and he moved there to be with her.
Hamda, her face downcast, hurries to her room and closes the door as one of the children turns on the video to show yet once more the dreadful film of her
children's death, and she doesn't come out again.
Since leaving Egged, Abu Aziz has worked as a truck driver for UNRWA. The couple had seven children. Ra'ad, the eldest, a 22-year-old medical student at
Cairo University, was called home when his brothers were killed. Ahmed, six, who was killed, was the youngest, born to his parents relatively late in life. Two
sons work in construction in Ramallah, one had a stall at the market in Jenin, and the others are in school, except little Ahmed who was still in preschool.
On Friday, June 12, just two weeks ago now, they got up in the morning around seven as usual. All the children were home; there was a curfew on. Abu Aziz
would always keep the door locked during curfews to make sure the kids didn't go out. Around 11:30 A.M., someone knocked on the door. It was Abu Aziz's
young nephew, Wahel, who arrived on his bicycle from the city's eastern quarter with the news: The curfew had been lifted for a few hours. The father,
skeptical, hurried to look out the window of the next room on the second floor. Indeed, the street was full of people and there were cars moving again. Yusef
told the children there was no curfew now.
Ahmed asked for a shekel to buy some candy. The grocery store is about 200 meters from the house. Jamil, 13, and Tareq, 11, wanted some, too. Each of them
received a shekel. Each one took his bicycle. "Buy it and come back quickly," the worried father instructed them, and went back to the television, where Brazil
was playing England in the World Cup. A few minutes went by. It was Brazil 2, England 1, and suddenly the father heard a huge explosion from the direction
of the street. Immediately there was shouting: "Get an ambulance, get an ambulance!" He rushed to the phone to call the Red Crescent. It never occurred to him
that his children had been hurt, and he went back to watch the roundup of the game on television. This week he remembered only that Brazil had been playing,
he didn't remember against whom. Another few minutes passed and someone from the street came to the door to tell him that his children were injured and had
been taken to the hospital. No one mentioned deaths.
Outside, the curfew was reinstated and it was impossible to go anywhere. Abu Aziz phoned a friend, an ambulance driver with UNRWA, to come get him out of
the house and take him to the hospital, a few minutes' drive away. When he got there, Ahmed was already dead, his little body shredded. Jamil was in the
operating room, his body also torn up. The father saw only Tareq alive. Jamil died a few minutes later, on the operating table. Tareq also underwent an
operation. At three in the afternoon, the curfew was lifted again and Abu Aziz went home with the bodies of his two sons. Their mother and siblings took their
leave of the boys. The two of them were buried that evening in the Jenin cemetery. Together.
The children's ward at the hospital in Jenin: Tareq, 11, is in bed in a double room, tubes attached to his skinny, scarred body. No one was at his bedside when
we arrived, accompanied by his oldest brother Ra'ad. Tareq has a hole in his abdomen and a hole in his lungs and a hole in his kidney, and a large hole in his
left leg and a small hole in his right leg and another hole in his knee, and his spleen has been removed.
Tareq speaks weakly. What happened? "The doctor's car ran away from the tank and the tank shot at the car and we were riding our bikes and the shell
exploded and threw me and my two brothers. I don't remember the rest." Ten days afterward, Tareq still didn't know that his two brothers had been killed. His
father and his remaining brothers warned us not to let that slip. Ra'ad strokes Tareq's hand. In the last three years they've hardly seen one another, because
Ra'ad is studying in Cairo. Jamil loved soccer, books and computers. He wanted to study medicine like Ra'ad who says now that Jamil was smarter than he is.
Ahmed was in kindergarten. Tareq just finished fifth grade.
Friday of the previous week, Dr. Samer Al-Ahmed was released from the hospital and now he lies in bed in his spacious home, surrounded by friends taking
advantage of a lull in the curfew to come and visit him. A week earlier, on that same black Friday, he was also in a hurry to get to the market and buy food,
having heard that the curfew had been lifted.
On his way home, he was stopped by two military Jeeps at the town's refugee camp, and he and two hundred other people gathered there were told not to leave
the camp. After about half an hour, the soldiers permitted him to go. Ahmed thought he was safely on his way home - "The captain told me I could go home" -
when suddenly he saw a tank rumbling after him, a few hundred meters behind. Just to be on the safe side, he turned right at the next corner. Shots were fired
from the direction of the tank at his car and Ahmed saw that he was bleeding from the abdomen. He stopped alongside a house and threw himself from his car
into the street, calling for help. The tank came closer. Suddenly he heard a deafening roar. More than that he doesn't remember. He saw the children on their
bicycles before the tank fired, but not afterwards. He says the tank shot two shells in the children's direction. A look at his Opel Astra station wagon suggests
that only a miracle saved his life: The driver's seat is completely bullet-ridden and there's blood all over it.
The IDF spokesman, on the day of the incident: "An IDF force conducting house-to-house reconnaissance in the city of Jenin while looking for a munitions
factory came upon a group of Palestinians disobeying the curfew and approaching them. The force fired two tank shells as a deterrent. Three Palestinians were
killed by these shells and ten more wounded. An initial investigation reveals that the force acted in error. The IDF investigation of this incident is continuing."
The IDF spokesman, this week: "The incident is still being dealt with." Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer issued an apology. No one from the IDF came
to the family's home; no one even bothered to watch the video.
**********************************
CALL and FAX and EMAIL TODAY!!!! CALL and FAX and EMAIL TODAY!!!! CALL and FAX and EMAIL TODAY!!!!
Please contact your political representatives immediately and ask them to urge a cessation of hostilities on both sides. Also
encourage them to urge the use of international observers, many of whom are currently in Ramallah and the surrounding area.
You can easily find how to contact for your own U.S. Senators and Congresspeople at http://government.aol.com.
To begin, here are four important people to address in the United States. Use phone AND fax AND email:
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvanian Avenue
Washington, DC 20500
Phone: (202) 456-1111 -- Fax: (202) 456-2461 -- E-mail: president@whitehouse.gov
Vice President Dick Cheney
(The White House, as above)
Condoleezza Rice
National Security Advisor
(The White House, as above)
Secretary of State Colin Powell
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520
Phone: (202) 647-6575 -- Fax: (202) 261-8577 -- E-mail:
secretary@state.gov
---------------------------------------------
UNITED NATIONS ADMINISTRATION:
webmaster@unhcr.ch
areca@unhcr.ch
unsco@palnet.com
ecu@un.org
coi@un.org
webadmin.hchr@unog.ch
EUROPEAN UNION:
romano.prodi@cec.eu.int
civis@europarl.eu.int
epbrussels@europarl.eu.int
public.info@consilium.eu.int
belrep@belgoeurop.diplobel.fgov.be
karin.roxman@consilium.eu.int
christian.jouret@consilium.eu.int
Javier.Sancho-Velazquez@consilium.eu.int
CANADA:
Prime minister (Jean Chretien pm@pm.gc.ca)
Bill Graham (Bill Graham graham.b@parl.gc.ca).
ISRAEL:
Ariel Sharon, Israeli Prime Minister:
rohm@pmo.gov.il or webmaster@pmo.gov.il
Fax: +972 2 651 2631
Benjamin Ben Eliezer, Israeli Minister of Defense:
Email: sgansar@mod.gov.il
Shimon Peres, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs:
Fax: +972-2-5303367
Email: sar@mfa.gov.il
Here is the phone number of the IDF Commander for the Ramallah area (from the US):
011-972-2-9970461
Mobile: 011-972-54-240-303
Voice your protest to him personally.
MEDIA SOURCES:
ABC News - 212-456-4040
CBS News - 212-975-3691
NBC News - 212-664-4971
CNN - 404-827-1511
Fox News - 212-301-3300
MSNBC - 201-583-5222
PBS - 703-998-2150
NPR - 202-513 3232 / Morning Edition comment line - 202-842 5044
NY Times - 212-556-1234
USA Today - 703-276-3400
WS Journal - 212-416-2000
Wash. Post - 202-334-6000
Time - 212-522-1212
U.S. News - 202-955-2000
AP 212-621-1600
MSNBC - 201-583-5000
CNBC - 201-585-2622
"Dan Rather"
"The single most important factor in providing protection to Palestinians during the recent invasions was the performance of the international protection
forces."
Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi--President of the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees
Date: Fri, 3 May 2002 02:55:50 -0700 (PDT)
From: George Qassis
Friends,
Thank you so much for your statement of support for the International Solidarity Movement and the Palestinian struggle for freedom. Many of you have asked
how you can help from where you are, and many more have inquired into joining us here in the besieged and occupied Palestinian territories. The following is
some information that we hope you will find helpful:
COMING TO PALESTINE
We still need your presence and support in Palestine. The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) will work with the Grassroots International Protection for
Palestinians (GIPP) to receive and place internationals in Palestinian communities throughout the month of May. We welcome you to be a witness to, and a
voice against, the horrors of occupation. Please continue to contact George Rishmawi at abusalib@p-ol.com for registration and logistical arrangements or you
can register online at www.rapprochement.org .
Before coming, please make contact with your local media and government representatives. One of the most important things you can do to help here is to be an
eyewitness and to help with the dissemination of information from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In that sense you can be a resource for your local
media and perhaps even a human interest story. You can let your representatives know that you will be traveling here and request a meeting with them upon
your return. Documentation: It is strongly recommended that campaigners bring along their own cameras; digital video and digital still cameras are preferred
for immediate availability of the footage. Additionally, please do not forget to bring any software and cables that will be needed to download your footage to a
locally-based computer.
THE SUMMER
We've had hundreds of people inquire into spending the summer in Palestine. The International Solidarity Movement is working on planning a powerful
summer campaign of nonviolent, direct-action against the Israeli Occupation. All freedom-loving people will be invited to join us in Palestine for Freedom
Summer 2002 starting in late June. More details will follow soon. Those that have asked us about internship opportunities in Palestine, please note that ISM is
not in a position to place interns. This summer we are calling for all who are willing to commit to the nonviolent, direct-action resistance. If you are interested in
internships, please contact individual Palestinian organizations or the Palestinian Network of NGOs at pngonet@p-ol.com
WHAT TO DO NOW
Please make plans to join us this summer and use the preparation time to inform and educate those around you. Get to know your local media sources and
gather names and contact information. It’s also important to do this with your representatives and members of parliament (as mentioned above). (See below for
sample letters to be followed up with visits). Try to meet with your representatives and local journalists to inform them of your upcoming trip.
We need you to keep up the pressure on your media and government officials. We’ve been noticing the powerful demonstrations in support of Palestine taking
place all over the world. You’re making a difference. Please don’t tire.
FUNDRAISING & DONATIONS
Whereas the International Solidarity Movement does not have the funds to assist individuals with the costs associated with traveling to Palestine, fundraisers
can be a good way to educate in addition to raiise money for activists to come to Palestine.
If you are interested in fundraising or making a donation to the International Solidarity Movement, please send us an email at info@palsolidarity.org and
pcr@p-ol.com
We will continue to post updates on Indymedia Palestine - http://www.jerusalem.indymedia.org and soon have our website updated with this and more
information on how you can get more involved - http://www.palsolidarity.org and www.rapprochement.org
Other good sites for news & information on Palestine:
http://www.electronicintifada.org
http://www.palestinemonitor.org
http://www.palestinechronicle.com
http://www.rapprochement.org
If you are getting this message forwarded and would otherwise like to be on our palsolidarity email list, please send a message to info@palsolidarity.org
Hope to see you in Palestine soon.
In solidarity & struggle,
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT
Sample letter to media:
Date
Name
Address
Dear Mr./Ms. :
I am a resident of PLACE, and am writing to inform you of my upcoming trip to the Occupied Palestinian Territories to work together with the Palestinian
people in a nonviolent, direct action movement called Freedom Summer.
This campaign, which will bring together many foreign civilians from around the globe with the Palestinian people, is designed to remove the brutal Israeli
occupation from the Palestine and to deliver freedom and justice to the Palestinian people.
To date, Israel's war on the Palestinian people has resulted in death and destruction throughout the West Bank and Gaza. All the while, the Palestinians remain
committed to their demand for freedom and justice through the end of occupation. The media coverage has primarily focused on the violent aspects of the
conflict, and has largely ignored the underlying causes of the conflict as well as the reason the Palestinian people are struggling.
I will be staying with a Palestinian family while I am abroad, but will be able to be reached by email at: insert your email address. Upon arrival, I can inform
you of a phone number at which I can be reached. Additionally, I will be sending your office reports and documentation of the work we are doing with the
Palestinian people. Please consider me a resource for your coverage of the region and the conflict, as I will be able to provide first-hand accounts of events on
the ground.
I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you both before I depart on DATE OF DEPARTURE and upon my return in August to discuss further the
situation on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and how NAME OF MEDIA OUTLET can better report on the situation.
Yours sincerely,
YOUR NAME
ADDRESS
DISTRICT
Sample letter to representative:
Date
Name
Address
Dear Senator/Representative/MP:
I am one of your constituents, and am writing to inform you of my upcoming trip to the Occupied Palestinian Territories to work together with the Palestinian
people in a nonviolent, direct action movement called Freedom Summer.
This campaign, which will bring together many foreign civilians from around the globe with the Palestinian people, is designed to remove the brutal Israeli
occupation from the Palestine and to deliver freedom and justice to the Palestinian people.
To date, Israel's war on the Palestinian people has resulted in death and destruction throughout the West Bank and Gaza. All the while, the Palestinians remain
committed to their demand for freedom and justice through the end of occupation. As A/AN YOUR NATIONALITY citizen who enjoys HIS/HER freedom,
I feel I must participate in this campaign against occupation.
I will be staying with a Palestinian family while I am abroad, but will be able to be reached by email at: INSERT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. Additionally, I
will be sending your office reports and documentation of the work we are doing with the Palestinian people.
I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you upon my return in August to discuss further the situation on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories and how YOUR COUNTRY can better assist these people struggling for freedom.
Yours sincerely,
YOUR NAME
ADDRESS
DISTRICT
George Qassis
P.O.Box 99
Beit Sahour
Palestine
Mobile: +972 (0) 52 321304
___________________________
William J. (Bill) Thomson, Ph.D.
(wthomson@umich.edu)
___________________________ |
|
|
Posted by: Bill Thomson |
| First Edition (7/5/02) "Harvard-educated Michael Tarazi landed in Israel on Wednesday but was turned back at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport, said officials from the U.S. Embassy, the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli interior ministry, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity. An interior ministry official said Tarazi 'intended to disturb the peace.'" --Associated Press [Exactly what "peace" would Mr. Tarazi be disturbing?--Bill] *********************************** 1) Israeli policy of assassination continues, a “cynical attempt to provoke Palestinian retaliation” 2) “Is there an end to this suffering?” 3) Huwaida: Arrests, searches and house demolitions continue in Jenin town and camp: Just Another day. (ACTION REQUESTED) 4) ISM Updates--July 5th (ACTION REQUESTED) 5) American-born PLO official denied entry to Israel 6) Amira Hass: How Abd a-Samed became the 116th child killed in Gaza 7) Contact information for US, UN, European Union, Canada, Israel and Media (CONTACT EARLY AND OFTEN). 8) Information from the International Solidarity Movement (with sample letters) *********************************** Excellent sources for current updates: http://www.truthout.org/ and http://www.palestinechronicle.com and www.jerusalem.indymedia.org and http://www.soundvision.com/info/jerusalem and http://www.jewsagainsttheoccupation.org/. Previous copies of these updates will be available at http://www.soundvision.com/info/jerusalem _________________________ "Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience…Therefore [individual citizens] have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring" -- Nuremberg War Crime Tribunal, 1950 “Recall the face of the poorest and most helpless person you have seen and ask yourself if the next step you contemplate is going to be of any use to that person.”--Mohandas Gandhi This is a critical time in which every voice is needed. PLEASE take a half hour TODAY and EVERY DAY to support our Palestinian, Israeli and International colleagues who are assertively, nonviolently, risking their lives on the ground on behalf of peace and justice in confrontations with the Israeli occupation. Peace, Bill "The hottest fires in hell are reserved for those who remain neutral in times of moral crisis" -Edmund Burke ********************************** Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2002 15:47:08 +0300 (EEST) From: owner-palmongeneral@kiwi.shabaka.net The Palestine Monitor, A PNGO Information Clearinghouse Information Update Israeli policy of assassination continues, a “cynical attempt to provoke Palestinian retaliation” July 5, 2002 Israeli forces yesterday assassinated two Palestinians in Gaza. An eyewitness who heard the explosion that killed Jihad Al-Omareen, 46, and his 28-year-old nephew, Wa’el Al-Namra, described it as “a deafening blast that tore up the car. I was just around the corner when the explosion happened, perhaps 30 meters away and got there to see the car looking like a fire ball. I am surprised no one else was injured as it was Thursday night in Gaza and that is the time when families take to the streets and the city is normally packed”. The killing of these two men brings to 133 the total number of people assassinated by Israel since it began this practice, illegal under international law in November 2000. At least one third of those killed in these assassinations were bystanders or “non-targets” including women and children as young as three. Palestinians have condemned these assassinations, as have those in the Israeli peace camp, as acts designed by Sharon and the Israeli government to provoke responses from the Palestinians in order to justify further Israeli military actions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. According to Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi in Ramallah “with Israeli troops and tanks totally occupying the West Bank, the Israeli imposed closure suffocating Palestinian life and society completely, with the civilian population under total 24 hour curfew, with all movement and life in the West Bank at a complete standstill, one wonders what Sharon wants to do next. Apart from provoking a response so he can begin to transfer Palestinians to Gaza or Jordan, it is difficult to see what he hopes to achieve with these tactics”. For more information contact The Palestine Monitor +972 (0) 52 396 196 and see www.palestinemonitor.org ********************************** Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2002 12:26:54 +0300 (EEST) From: owner-palmongeneral@kiwi.shabaka.net The Palestine Monitor, A PNGO Information Clearinghouse Information Brief “Is there an end to this suffering?” July 5, 2002 In the beginning it was impossible for Palestinians to travel between the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Slowly the restrictions have tightened; travelling to Nablus, Tulkaram, Jenin, Hebron and Ramallah is something that used to happen. Villages only six kilometres away are remembered fondly – inaccessible to all. The latest attack on Palestinians is the total Israeli reoccupation of most of the West Bank and the accompanying 24-hour curfew confining people to their homes, only allowing them to leave their homes for a few hours, every few days. When the curfew lifts it provides a few hours to stock up on necessities, see families and friends – to remind oneself we are humans, and the world is larger than the our homes and apartments. It also provides a window of opportunity for those who need to travel overseas to leave the Palestinian areas through the only way open to them – the bridge to Jordan. Students returning to study overseas, people who were visiting family and most importantly those seeking medical treatment overseas are prevented from leaving. The numbers are small enough on a daily basis, however after two weeks it all adds up, and currently hundreds of people are waiting at the Israeli side of the Jordan/Israeli border, forbidden from leaving, unable or unwilling to turn back. Tents have been set up, and people, including the ill and aged, wait and wait. After arduous detours and journeys on back roads, forbidden to cross checkpoints or even be transferred from ambulance to ambulance, people reach the bridge to find their way blocked once more, as if they need to be reminded of the Israeli occupation and total Israeli control on most aspects of their lives. However at this point there is one way to leave; if you are too ill to wait your turn, if you will miss your flight, or if you cannot stand the oppressive heat (at the lowest point in the world temperatures soar to 50°C in summer) the flies, dirt and dust it is possible to leave with a ‘VIP’ car. The Israeli firm providing the ‘VIP’ bus service, which charges $US 90 per person to facilitate the Israel/Jordan journey, is the only company providing such a service at the bridge – a monopoly in other words. Simply put if one is unable to pay, one cannot travel. As Dr. Barghouthi commented, “this is a form of corruption. However it is unfortunately more than that. Hundreds of people are waiting to cross to Jordan and are not prevented from doing so – and some of their lives depend upon treatment they can receive overseas – and it is denied them. This is nothing more than another example, if we really require it, that the policies practised by the Israeli army have nothing to do with security – rather it is just an example of their racist behaviour towards Palestinians, to increase further increase their misery. It makes one ask is there an end to this suffering?” For more information contact The Palestine Monitor +972 (0) 52 396 196 and see www.palestinemonitor.org ********************************** [Please contact CNN at 404-827-1511. --Bill]
From: Huwaida Arraf
CNN carried virutally 24-hour coverage of the shooting attack at the LA airport yesterday, repeating Israel's claim that it was a terror attack. Yet Israel's military
attacks on civilians has become so commonplace, it's not even reported anymore. And no major media outlet would even dare suggest that blowing up civilian
homes and shooting kids might be acts of terror, as long as it is carried out by the Israeli army. ISM activists and on-the-ground witnesses report below:
Arrests, searches and house demolitions continue in Jenin town and camp.
Just Another day.
June 3 2002
This was a heavy day of targeted house searches, arrests and demolitions.
At about five pm, during imposed curfew , two Israeli miliitary operations took place simultaneously in the town and in the camp.
In the city six jeeps and one intelligence vehicle entered the old city followed closely by 3 tanks. The soldiers were doing a targeted house to house search -
using civilian Palestinian human sheilds - looking for a `wanted' man whom they apparently did not find.
Two female internationals from America and Ireland approached and observed the military operation, concerned about the safety of the civilians in the densely
populated neighborhood of Jenin's Old City.
As the Israeli army prepared to blow up part of a house they claimed held a "bomb factory", the international women asked permision to search the surrounding
house for residents. Their concern was heightened by the fact that about two weeks ago the Israeli army detonated a house in Jenin killing 3 children when their
neighboring house collapsed from the blast. The army refused their request and the commanding officer shoved both women repeatedly, referring to one as a`
nazi dog'. The women remained and asked again if the soldiers were sure that they had fully evacuated the area. Again the soldiers said yes, but despite this
affirmation, shouting was heard just moments before detonation . A family that had been hiding, frightened, in a neighboring home came running out. The room
that was blown up was subsequently observed by the internationals as being completely empty other than a chair. No explosives were found.
A tank guarding the street was manned by a soilder who had been observed by several internationals the previous day firing live ammunition directly at children
in the camp. While the other tank fired in the air, this particular soldier fired at least 30 rounds, narrowly missing several small children. When he pulled his
tank away from yesterday's operation, he forced a Isaeli-Palestinian truckdriver who was detained while trying to pass the site with his potato truck, to walk in
front of his tank as a human shield. An international accompanied him. As this tank pulled out, this same soilder let out a spray of bullets aimed directly at a
crowd of neighborhood children.
Simultaneously in Jenin camp, the army conducted searches and arrested five men, including a local sheikh.
That night, the Israeli military operations continued. At around 10pm, the soldiers entered a neighborhood next to Jenin Government Hospital and bordering the
camp, and set up their operations base at a private girl's school.
At around 11.30pm, prior to entering Palestinian homes, the soldiers fired numerous rounds of live ammunition from tanks moving on the road. A seventeen
year old girl was shot in the thigh while in her home. At 12.15am, the Red Crescent Ambulance service received a call from the Israeli army to come pick her
up. However, when the ambulance arrived it was fired upon and turned back. Two more ambulances were subsequently dispatched and turned away. Finally, an
Irish international was allowed to pass on foot, and found the girl bandaged, wrapped in a blanket, lying between two jeeps. Although she had been stripped
naked, the army demanded their blanket and stretcher remain with them. Finally this was negotiated, and the girl was taken to hospital with the blanket and
stretcher.
In the course of last nights operations, despite a total absence of any resistance, between 50 and 100 young men were taken from their homes and forced to lay
on their stomaches for the duration of the house to house searches, which continued until past 3am. The army was looking for a local leader and his sixteen
year old son. When they did not find them, they vandalised their house and arrested 5 men in the neighborhood of the leader's brothers. Previously, when
unable to locate another local leader, the Israeli army arrested his brother, sister and father in an attempt to make him turn himself in.
For further details of yesterdays events as well as live updates of the daily occupation of Jenin, call:
Coihme Butterly , Ireland 972 055 975 374
Rebecca Murray, U.S.A 972 055 558 954/ 972 053 869 307
Juliana Fredman, U.S.A 972 067 373 467/ 972 053 812 874
For information on the ISM, please call Huwaida at 052-642-709
To join us, please see our website - www.palsolidarity.org [see last item--Bill]
**********************************
From: "Rapprochement Centre"
Jerusalem' District Court set a precedent Thursday afternoon by deciding to deport international peace and human rights workers after pulling them out of
Palestinian areas. Josie Sandercock and Darlene Wallach will talk about their challenge to the Israeli order.
On Monday, Israeli soldiers detained Peter Blacker, a freelance journalist from the United Kingdom and Brian Dominic, a medic from the United States, on
their way to Nablus. The three were held incommunicado for over 45 hours in inhuman conditions and threatened with death. Peter and Brian will discuss their
ordeal and mistreatment by Israeli soldiers.
Israel is stepping up its efforts to intimidate international human rights workers, medics and general observers, and otherwise keep them out of the Occupied
Palestinian Territories. These civilians pose no security threat to Israel.
The four internationals will be available for interview at the press conference.
Representatives from the International Solidarity Movement will outline its upcoming program as part of its Freedom Summer Campaign.
The Press Conference will be held at Al-Zahra Hotel located on Al-Zahra Street in East Jerusalem.
For more information, please contact:
Huwaida Arraf 052-642-709 or 067-473-308
Ghassan Andoni 052595319
---------------------------------
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT
Thursday, July 04, 2002
For Immediate Release
ISRAELI COURT RULES TO DEPORT INTERNATIONAL PEACE WORKERS
[JERUSALEM] The district court of Jerusalem today ruled against the three international peace activists and human rights workers: Josie Sandercock (UK),
Darlene Wallach (US) and Mikoto (Japan) and confirmed their deportation by the Israeli Ministry of Interior.
The judge in the case, who had appeared to be reasonable on the first day of the trial did not give the plaintiffs verbal reason for confirming their deportation
and stated that it “was not [her] job to ascertain the facts.” Josie brought up the fact that the reason given by the soldiers for their deportation was the same lie
used against another American and two Reuters journalists 3 days ago when they were detained by Israeli soldiers – that they were shown papers my the Israeli
army, that they were in a closed military zone and they refused to leave (video footage clearly shows that the internationals were not denied entry into Nablus,
from where they were detained/arrested.
Josie and Darlene are working on having the papers given to them in Hebrew translated and will decide whether or they will appeal the decision to the Israeli
Supreme Court.
“It’s not about the decision or what’s being done to us, rather it’s about what the Israeli military is doing to the Palestinians and doesn’t want the world to see.
They are shooting at seven-year old boys in the streets and think that if they prevent us (foreign civilians) from entering Palestinian areas, they can keep the
world from knowing.”
Thus far the Israeli Ministry of Interior has deported upwards of 50 foreign peace and human rights workers and has denied hundreds entry into the country.
The only way you can get to Palestinian cities, towns and villages (all under Israeli occupation) is through Israel. And yet, we will not by deterred. We will keep
resisting the brutal and inhumane Israeli occupation and the illegal policies of the occupation forces. We reaffirm our call to all good people around the world
not to stay silent. Keep coming to Palestine – We need you.
For more information on how to join us in Palestine – www.palsolidarity.org and www.rapprochement.org
To contact Josie or Darlene:
Josie: +972-67-490-566
Darlene: +972-55-971-842
---------------------------------
Update from Darlene
Josie and I lost our appeal in front of Judge Shidlovski-Or. The judge is upholding the decision of the Minister of the Interior to deport us. We were asked if
we could leave within the week. Josie asked Judge Shidlovski-Or if we could appeal to the supreme court of Israel. We were told we could.
Josie is returning to Birmingham, England on Saturday morning. She will be interviewed on Hardkocks on Wednesday evening in England. The press and
media in England has been very interested in what happened at Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, in Balata camp, in our case and in what daily life is like for the
Palestinians. I wish I could say the same about the American press and media.
Our attoneys Gaby Lasky and Mahmoud Jabaren will be handling our appeal. Gaby is checking within how many days we must file our appeal. I have asked
her if it is possible for me to stay here in East Jerusalem for part of the appeal process. She said she will have to check. I hope I can stay until July 25th as
opposed to having to leave within the week. I plan on staying as long as possible.
Josie's father was so very generous as to pay our bail. He will be reimbursed as we leave. So I don't know if he will be agreeable to wait to be reimbursed my
bail money - $2000, if I am allowed to stay during the appeal.
Up to now our attorneys have provided their services pro bono. The appeal to the supreme court is too expensive for them to provide their services pro bono. I
need to do fund raising in the USA. If anyone has any suggestions or has any contacts I would appreciate hearing from you. I do not know the costs and will
ask my attorneys. There are so many important causes now it is difficult for me even mention fund raising. If I had the money myself I would not bring it up.
Middle East Broadcasting Company (MBC) interviewed Josie and I at the Faisal Youth Hostel this morning before court. I do not know when it will show.
Also right after court Josie gave a great statement to a Romanian camera person filming right outside the courtroom. We hope to find out who the man was so
as to get copies of the tape.
My attorney Gaby Lasky suggested I ask my representative and/or senators to write a letter to the foreign affairs office saying that the deportation is
unacceptable and that it damages the relationship between the United States of America and Israel. Does anyone think there is an iota of a chance that Zoe
Lofgren, Barbara Boxer, or Dianne Feinstein would be open to such a request? Hillary Clinton was also mentioned as a Senator to send such a letter. If anyone
has any suggestions or connections that might make this possible, please contact me:
wallachd@earthlink.net
I'm told deporting a Jew will make the news here in Occupied Palestine - that is in Israel. I'm not sure if it will make the major media. However, Gaby Lasky
told me that the LA Times interviewed her this morning.
It is so exciting here at the Faisal Youth Hostel with all the internationals showing up every day. There is a very large Swedish representation. They claim that
they have a larger contingent considering the population of Sweden vs the USA. I have to concede their point.
People here are doing incredible work wherever they go whether it be Gaza, Ramallah, a village near Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin, Balata camp, etc. I only regret I
have not been able to continue to work in the Occupied Territories. btw I went to a panel discussion last night - "Beyond the Fence" Jewish Israeli and
Palestinian Women's Perspectives. The speakers:
Enias Haj - National Democratic Assembly Party
Prof. Galia Golan - Bat Shalom
Prof Tania Reinhart - Tel Aviv University
Dr. Rima Hamami - Institute of Women's Studies, Birzeit University
I think the woman introducing the panel and who gave a closing statement was MK Prof Nomi Chazan. Unfortunately Dr. Hanan Ashrawi - Palestinian
Legislative Council could not attend. She could not get out of Ramallah to attend - isn't occupation wonderful.
Mostly what was discussed was a two state solution via unilateral withdrawal, which to me is no solution - where is Al-Awda in a two state solution. Enias Haj
and Rima Hamami had to be very careful about what they said and could not mention Al Awda. I spoke with Enias Haj afterword it was an honor and pleasure
to meet and speak with her. She made strong points about the necessity of ending the occupation and dismantling the settlements. There was some loud voices
from some few members of the audience while she spoke. Anyway two women were videoing the panel and also the question and answer session. I got the
Australian's contact but forgot to get the American's contact. If I can get the American's contact I will see if I can pay her to send me copies of her tapes.
I hope to remain here in East Jerusalem until July 25th. I have been working with the new arrivals as they come in. I would prefer to be out in the field but
being here in some capacity working with ISM is better than not being here.
Everyone, thank you for all the support. I guess I have rambled on for long enough. I will update you about our appeal to the supreme court.
Darlene
**********************************
American-born PLO official denied entry to Israel
By the Associated Press
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=183347&contrassID=1&subContrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=0
An American-born legal adviser to the Palestinian Liberation Organization has been denied entry into Israel, officials said Thursday.
Harvard-educated Michael Tarazi landed in Israel on Wednesday but was turned back at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport, said officials from the U.S. Embassy,
the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli interior ministry, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity.
An interior ministry official said Tarazi "intended to disturb the peace."
Tarazi, who was raised in an American-Palestinian family in Colorado, participated in the last peace negotiations in Taba, Egypt, in 2001, and the 2000 Camp
David talks.
He was recently in the United States at the invitation of the World Affairs Council of Montana but said he planned to return to the West Bank town of
Ramallah to resume his work with the Negotiations Affairs Department of the Palestine Liberation Authority.
He was not immediately available for comment Thursday and it was unclear whether he had returned to the United States.
Court backs deportation for foreigners caught in refugee camp.
A Jerusalem district judge Thursday upheld a decision to deport two women, an American and Briton, who were arrested last month in a closed military area
inside a Palestinian refugee camp.
The women - Darlene Wallach, 51, from San Jose, California, and Josie Sandercock, 32, of Birmingham, England - were arrested June 1 in Balata refugee camp
near Nablus in the West Bank.
The women were among 17 foreigners who had entered Israel to show solidarity with Palestinians. Eight were arrested for being inside the closed camp and
five of them were immediately deported. Sandercock, Wallach and a Japanese national, Makoto Hibbino, remained behind to contest the decision. Hibbino
returned to Japan before the district court's decision.
The women have a week to leave the country but said they would appeal.
Israel has expelled 120 foreigners and more than 200 have been refused entry since March, when the IDF launched a massive offensive in the West Bank in
response to a series of deadly suicide bombings.
Sandercock said she was acting as a "human shield" providing protection or Palestinians against IDF forces. The foreigners also were escorting ambulances
through army checkpoints.
"Our presence provided protection for Palestinians," Wallach said.
The Interior Ministry said it "does not allow and will not allow entry to those who come to support terror and the people who want to hurt the State of Israel."
By The Associated Press
**********************************
Ha'aretz (Tel Aviv) / July 02, 2002
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=182202&contrassID=2&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y&itemNo=182202
How Abd a-Samed became the 116th child killed in Gaza
Some 26 percent of those killed by IDF fire in the Strip are children, compared to 15 percent in the West Bank
by Amira Hass
GAZA - He loved nothing more than to go down to the sea, swim, and fly his home-made kite - but on Friday morning, June 21, Abd
a-Samed Shamalekh, aged 10, went instead to his family's plot of land to pick eggplants and cucumbers.
This is how Abd a-Samed and his brother Mohammed, 12, spent their summer vacation - either by the sea, or working in the fields and
selling vegetables. The family owns 4.5 dunams of land and the vegetables they grow on it support 15 people.
The Shamalekh family lives in the Sheikh Ajlin neighborhood, in the southern part of Gaza City. It is a crowded place of two-story homes
built in the past two decades by people whose main livelihood comes from tilling the soil. The neighborhood sprawls over the sandy hill
that rises from the beach. Red Bougainvillea sprout from the sand and climb over the iron gates and up the concrete plaster of the
houses. The narrow, bottleneck of a coastal road separates the family's home from the sea. They ride in a donkey cart to the field, about
1.5 kilometers to the south.
As in most of Sheikh Ajlin, the land was once planted with vines but the Shamalekh family switched to vegetables. A vineyard produced
grapes once a year, but vegetables provide work and income throughout the whole year.
On June 21, there was shooting early in the morning. Perhaps at 5, or maybe at 6 A.M. It's hard to remember exactly, the family says.
When they looked outside, they saw the southbound traffic had come to a halt and realized it would be still impossible to get the field.
Around 8:00 or 8:30, the cars began to move again and the family understood that the situation had calmed. Shooting, a traffic halt, more
shooting, and then quiet again - it's a regular routine in the neighborhood.
Netzarim settlement is 2 km to the southeast, guarded by "half the Israeli army" as they say in Gaza. Most of the agricultural land in the
sand dunes surrounding Netzarim has already been destroyed in the past 22 months. Fields and hothouses have been crushed, raked
over, and flattened, with grape vines uprooted or cut down. Dry tomato plants and remnants of grapevines are scattered on the sides of
the road. Nonetheless, some green patches have survived and they continue to be worked by their owners or by those who have leased
the plots - on the eastern and western sides of the coastal road.
The asphalt road leading to Netzarim to the east is barred to Palestinian traffic and used only for tanks and jeeps. A single dwelling,
belonging to the Abu Husa family, stands alone in the scorched earth. The IDF has taken up positions in this house for over a year,
keeping close watch on the farmers returning to their fields and on the vehicles and carts on the road.
Lots of blood
Abd a-Samed and Mohammed went to the field that Friday morning to see what was happening - the curiosity of children. Rumors had
reached the city that an Israeli bulldozer had begun to destroy and clear out the farm plots in the area. They also wanted to pick several
kilos of vegetables and bring them in the cart to their father, so he could sell them in the market. Then they'd be able to return to the sea
and play with the kite, the wind and waves.
Just after 9 o'clock in the morning, about half an hour after the children left the house, word reached the parents that Mohammed was
wounded. Then they were told that it was Abd a-Samed and that he had been rushed to the hospital. The parents found his dead body at
the hospital with a bullet in his head. On that Friday morning, Palestinians had fired an improvised anti-tank rocket against an IDF
position adjacent to the Netzarim settlement. A Givati soldier was seriously injured.
Army sources told Ha'aretz that this had occurred at six or seven in the morning and that IDF forces "identified the sources of shooting and
returned fire." Later, the IDF destroyed a nearby position of the Palestinian naval police. According to the IDF Spokesman, the rocket had
been fired from this naval base. Did Palestinians also fire at an IDF post at 9 A.M.? The IDF Spokesman told Ha'aretz that it is reasonable
to assume that there was and that the IDF had fired in response. Journalists who visited the spot, a researcher for the Palestinian Center
for Human Rights and residents of the area said that the scene had already become quiet by 8:30 and there were no exchanges of
gunfire. The fact is traffic had begun to move again, farmers had begun to hurry to their fields to see what had happened to their plots of
land, and photographers came to take pictures of the bulldozer moving back and forth over the ground, crushing additional vegetable
plants. Heavy fire suddenly broke through the quiet.
The reporters and residents said that the shooting came either from the positions in Netzarim or from a tank that had just crossed the
road. Dozens of people, mostly women and children, clung to the ground in fear, their faces buried in the sand and soil. Mohammed and
his brother Abd a-Samed had had almost reached their family's land already when the shooting began. Like everyone else, they lay flat on
the ground - or at least Mohammed thought so.
After several minutes, he said to his brother that the shooting was apparently over and they could continue on. Abd a-Samed didn't
answer and when Mohammed turned to look, he saw lots of blood. He called for help, but there was no ambulance in the area. Someone
dragged Abd a-Samed to a donkey cart that somebody else brought. They took the child in this cart, not knowing whether he was still
alive, until they reached an ambulance.
"He was already gone when they brought him from there," the father says. "What did he do that they shot at him? He didn't even throw
stones. The soldiers have everything - cameras, binoculars - they always brag that they see everything. So they could know very well that
this child didn't shoot at them. They could see very clearly that they were children and that they had no weapons. This was also in broad
daylight, not in the dark."
Later, the bulldozer also plowed up the Shamalekh family's vegetable plot. All of the cucumbers, eggplants, and tomatoes were crushed.
All of their livelihood for the summer and fall months was ruined in a matter of minutes. Three motorized pumps that brought water from
the well were also destroyed. Since the days of the Turks, we have been working this land," the father said. "Now we'll go and sell lupine
beans in the street," his wife said with a bitter laugh.
Their son Mohammed contributes a small pittance to the family - he helps his uncle in construction work, returning home with black and
blistered hands. The family still has another half a dunam, where it grows tomatoes. But since it is now impossible to export vegetables
from Gaza to the West Bank or Israel, there is a huge supply of tomatoes and their low price in the Gaza market does not cover the cost of
cultivation. A carton of 17 kilos of tomatoes sells for only three shekels.
Killing Gaza kids
Abd a-Samed Shamalekh, who was supposed to start Grade 4 after the summer vacation, was the 116th Palestinian child the IDF has
killed in the Gaza Strip since September 28, 2000. According to figures compiled by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, 450
Palestinians have been killed by the IDF during the intifada as of yesterday. These figures do not include those who mounted offensives
against IDF positions or settlements and were killed during these attacks. The numbers do include armed Palestinian civilians or
security personnel who responded to IDF attacks against residential neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip.
According to these strict criteria, 1,398 people were killed by IDF fire in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the intifada as of June 18. (Since
then, 8 more were killed in Gaza and at least 15 in the West Bank.)
Of these 1,398 fatalities, 253 were children. This does not include Shamalekh, a 17-year old from Rafah, seven children killed by IDF fire
during the past 10 days in the West Bank, and another child who died when his house collapsed after the IDF destroyed an adjacent
home.
Among the Palestinian dead are 77 women, including 18 in the Gaza Strip. Since this data was compiled on June 18, another woman
was also killed by the IDF in Dir al-Balah.
The proportion of children among those killed in Gaza is much higher than in the West Bank - 26 percent of the fatalities in Gaza were
children, compared to 15 percent in the West Bank. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights attributes this to the higher population
density in the Gaza Strip, to the fact that children make up over 50 percent of this crowded region, and to the close proximity of IDF bases
to Palestinian communities. But the Center's analysts believe that the high number of child victims primarily indicates that IDF forces have
often fired at civilians and residential areas without using the means at their disposal to confirm that their fire is indeed directed precisely
"at the sources of [Palestinian] fire."
According to the Center, this high number of children killed also reflects the fact the IDF has sometimes responded to shootings hours
after an incident, not as part of an exchange of fire. This is how Abd a-Samed Shamalekh was killed.*
**********************************
CALL and FAX and EMAIL TODAY!!!! CALL and FAX and EMAIL TODAY!!!! CALL and FAX and EMAIL TODAY!!!!
Please contact your political representatives immediately and ask them to urge a cessation of hostilities on both sides. Also
encourage them to urge the use of international observers, many of whom are currently in Ramallah and the surrounding area.
You can easily find how to contact for your own U.S. Senators and Congresspeople at http://government.aol.com.
To begin, here are four important people to address in the United States. Use phone AND fax AND email:
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvanian Avenue
Washington, DC 20500
Phone: (202) 456-1111 -- Fax: (202) 456-2461 -- E-mail: president@whitehouse.gov
Vice President Dick Cheney
(The White House, as above)
Condoleezza Rice
National Security Advisor
(The White House, as above)
Secretary of State Colin Powell
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520
Phone: (202) 647-6575 -- Fax: (202) 261-8577 -- E-mail:
secretary@state.gov
---------------------------------------------
UNITED NATIONS ADMINISTRATION:
webmaster@unhcr.ch
areca@unhcr.ch
unsco@palnet.com
ecu@un.org
coi@un.org
webadmin.hchr@unog.ch
EUROPEAN UNION:
romano.prodi@cec.eu.int
civis@europarl.eu.int
epbrussels@europarl.eu.int
public.info@consilium.eu.int
belrep@belgoeurop.diplobel.fgov.be
karin.roxman@consilium.eu.int
christian.jouret@consilium.eu.int
Javier.Sancho-Velazquez@consilium.eu.int
CANADA:
Prime minister (Jean Chretien pm@pm.gc.ca)
Bill Graham (Bill Graham graham.b@parl.gc.ca).
ISRAEL:
Ariel Sharon, Israeli Prime Minister:
rohm@pmo.gov.il or webmaster@pmo.gov.il
Fax: +972 2 651 2631
Benjamin Ben Eliezer, Israeli Minister of Defense:
Email: sgansar@mod.gov.il
Shimon Peres, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs:
Fax: +972-2-5303367
Email: sar@mfa.gov.il
Here is the phone number of the IDF Commander for the Ramallah area (from the US):
011-972-2-9970461
Mobile: 011-972-54-240-303
Voice your protest to him personally.
MEDIA SOURCES:
ABC News - 212-456-4040
CBS News - 212-975-3691
NBC News - 212-664-4971
CNN - 404-827-1511
Fox News - 212-301-3300
MSNBC - 201-583-5222
PBS - 703-998-2150
NPR - 202-513 3232 / Morning Edition comment line - 202-842 5044
NY Times - 212-556-1234
USA Today - 703-276-3400
WS Journal - 212-416-2000
Wash. Post - 202-334-6000
Time - 212-522-1212
U.S. News - 202-955-2000
AP 212-621-1600
MSNBC - 201-583-5000
CNBC - 201-585-2622
"Dan Rather"
"The single most important factor in providing protection to Palestinians during the recent invasions was the performance of the international protection
forces."
Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi--President of the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees
Date: Fri, 3 May 2002 02:55:50 -0700 (PDT)
From: George Qassis
Friends,
Thank you so much for your statement of support for the International Solidarity Movement and the Palestinian struggle for freedom. Many of you have asked
how you can help from where you are, and many more have inquired into joining us here in the besieged and occupied Palestinian territories. The following is
some information that we hope you will find helpful:
COMING TO PALESTINE
We still need your presence and support in Palestine. The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) will work with the Grassroots International Protection for
Palestinians (GIPP) to receive and place internationals in Palestinian communities throughout the month of May. We welcome you to be a witness to, and a
voice against, the horrors of occupation. Please continue to contact George Rishmawi at abusalib@p-ol.com for registration and logistical arrangements or you
can register online at www.rapprochement.org .
Before coming, please make contact with your local media and government representatives. One of the most important things you can do to help here is to be an
eyewitness and to help with the dissemination of information from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In that sense you can be a resource for your local
media and perhaps even a human interest story. You can let your representatives know that you will be traveling here and request a meeting with them upon
your return. Documentation: It is strongly recommended that campaigners bring along their own cameras; digital video and digital still cameras are preferred
for immediate availability of the footage. Additionally, please do not forget to bring any software and cables that will be needed to download your footage to a
locally-based computer.
THE SUMMER
We've had hundreds of people inquire into spending the summer in Palestine. The International Solidarity Movement is working on planning a powerful
summer campaign of nonviolent, direct-action against the Israeli Occupation. All freedom-loving people will be invited to join us in Palestine for Freedom
Summer 2002 starting in late June. More details will follow soon. Those that have asked us about internship opportunities in Palestine, please note that ISM is
not in a position to place interns. This summer we are calling for all who are willing to commit to the nonviolent, direct-action resistance. If you are interested in
internships, please contact individual Palestinian organizations or the Palestinian Network of NGOs at pngonet@p-ol.com
WHAT TO DO NOW
Please make plans to join us this summer and use the preparation time to inform and educate those around you. Get to know your local media sources and
gather names and contact information. It’s also important to do this with your representatives and members of parliament (as mentioned above). (See below for
sample letters to be followed up with visits). Try to meet with your representatives and local journalists to inform them of your upcoming trip.
We need you to keep up the pressure on your media and government officials. We’ve been noticing the powerful demonstrations in support of Palestine taking
place all over the world. You’re making a difference. Please don’t tire.
FUNDRAISING & DONATIONS
Whereas the International Solidarity Movement does not have the funds to assist individuals with the costs associated with traveling to Palestine, fundraisers
can be a good way to educate in addition to raiise money for activists to come to Palestine.
If you are interested in fundraising or making a donation to the International Solidarity Movement, please send us an email at info@palsolidarity.org and
pcr@p-ol.com
We will continue to post updates on Indymedia Palestine - http://www.jerusalem.indymedia.org and soon have our website updated with this and more
information on how you can get more involved - http://www.palsolidarity.org and www.rapprochement.org
Other good sites for news & information on Palestine:
http://www.electronicintifada.org
http://www.palestinemonitor.org
http://www.palestinechronicle.com
http://www.rapprochement.org
If you are getting this message forwarded and would otherwise like to be on our palsolidarity email list, please send a message to info@palsolidarity.org
Hope to see you in Palestine soon.
In solidarity & struggle,
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT
Sample letter to media:
Date
Name
Address
Dear Mr./Ms. :
I am a resident of PLACE, and am writing to inform you of my upcoming trip to the Occupied Palestinian Territories to work together with the Palestinian
people in a nonviolent, direct action movement called Freedom Summer.
This campaign, which will bring together many foreign civilians from around the globe with the Palestinian people, is designed to remove the brutal Israeli
occupation from the Palestine and to deliver freedom and justice to the Palestinian people.
To date, Israel's war on the Palestinian people has resulted in death and destruction throughout the West Bank and Gaza. All the while, the Palestinians remain
committed to their demand for freedom and justice through the end of occupation. The media coverage has primarily focused on the violent aspects of the
conflict, and has largely ignored the underlying causes of the conflict as well as the reason the Palestinian people are struggling.
I will be staying with a Palestinian family while I am abroad, but will be able to be reached by email at: insert your email address. Upon arrival, I can inform
you of a phone number at which I can be reached. Additionally, I will be sending your office reports and documentation of the work we are doing with the
Palestinian people. Please consider me a resource for your coverage of the region and the conflict, as I will be able to provide first-hand accounts of events on
the ground.
I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you both before I depart on DATE OF DEPARTURE and upon my return in August to discuss further the
situation on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and how NAME OF MEDIA OUTLET can better report on the situation.
Yours sincerely,
YOUR NAME
ADDRESS
DISTRICT
Sample letter to representative:
Date
Name
Address
Dear Senator/Representative/MP:
I am one of your constituents, and am writing to inform you of my upcoming trip to the Occupied Palestinian Territories to work together with the Palestinian
people in a nonviolent, direct action movement called Freedom Summer.
This campaign, which will bring together many foreign civilians from around the globe with the Palestinian people, is designed to remove the brutal Israeli
occupation from the Palestine and to deliver freedom and justice to the Palestinian people.
To date, Israel's war on the Palestinian people has resulted in death and destruction throughout the West Bank and Gaza. All the while, the Palestinians remain
committed to their demand for freedom and justice through the end of occupation. As A/AN YOUR NATIONALITY citizen who enjoys HIS/HER freedom,
I feel I must participate in this campaign against occupation.
I will be staying with a Palestinian family while I am abroad, but will be able to be reached by email at: INSERT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. Additionally, I
will be sending your office reports and documentation of the work we are doing with the Palestinian people.
I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you upon my return in August to discuss further the situation on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories and how YOUR COUNTRY can better assist these people struggling for freedom.
Yours sincerely,
YOUR NAME
ADDRESS
DISTRICT
George Qassis
P.O.Box 99
Beit Sahour
Palestine
Mobile: +972 (0) 52 321304
___________________________
William J. (Bill) Thomson, Ph.D.
(wthomson@umich.edu)
___________________________ |
|
|
Posted by: Bill Thomson |
| First Edition (7/4/02) Let's keep in mind on this American Independence Day that the whole purpose of the revolution here was to throw off a brutal and humiliating military occupation by a colonial power. Sound familiar? Peace, Bill *********************************** 1) Two Americans, one Brit held captive by Israeli Army: Held in inhumane conditions, denied access to consulates. (ACTION REQUESTED) 2) ISM: Court date and time in Jerusalem (ACTION REQUESTED) 3) Spreading the Secret (ACTION REQUESTED) 4) Sharon threatens global nuclear war (+ expulsion plans) 5) Good News! Call MSNBC! (ACTION REQUESTED) 6) "Déjà vu", the nightmares of a German-born Jew: A personal view on the present political scene in Israel 7) Contact information for US, UN, European Union, Canada, Israel and Media (CONTACT EARLY AND OFTEN). 8) Information from the International Solidarity Movement (with sample letters) *********************************** Excellent sources for current updates: http://www.truthout.org/ and http://www.palestinechronicle.com and www.jerusalem.indymedia.org and http://www.soundvision.com/info/jerusalem and http://www.jewsagainsttheoccupation.org/. Previous copies of these updates will be available at http://www.soundvision.com/info/jerusalem _________________________ "Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience…Therefore [individual citizens] have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring" -- Nuremberg War Crime Tribunal, 1950 “Recall the face of the poorest and most helpless person you have seen and ask yourself if the next step you contemplate is going to be of any use to that person.”--Mohandas Gandhi This is a critical time in which every voice is needed. PLEASE take a half hour TODAY and EVERY DAY to support our Palestinian, Israeli and International colleagues who are assertively, nonviolently, risking their lives on the ground on behalf of peace and justice in confrontations with the Israeli occupation. Peace, Bill "The hottest fires in hell are reserved for those who remain neutral in times of moral crisis" -Edmund Burke
**********************************
From: "Rapprochement Centre"
Two Americans, one Brit held captive by Israeli Army: Held in inhumane conditions, denied access to consulates
[NABLUS] At 1600 Monday July 01, 2002 Israeli soldiers took Eric Levine, an American human rights worker, Brian Dominick, an American medical worker,
and Peter Blacker, a British medical worker to an army occupied house near Nablus where they were made to stay under inhuman conditions, with no
explanation, for over 45 hours.
They were put in a small unfinished room, out in the open. They remained in the open day and night without adequate shelter from the heat or nighttime cold.
They were given one meal a day consisting of canned food and not allowed to use toilet facilities. The men repeatedly asked why they were being held and
requested to make phone calls to their family and consulates, but were denied. Soldiers yelled at them, pushed them and told them that if they tried to leave they
would be shot.
Today at approximately 1600 the men were released in a remote location near Nablus, whereby they made their way into Nablus on foot. The two medical
workers are now with the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (UPMRC) in Nablus, and Eric is due to be on a flight back to the United States
tonight.
The Israeli Army has thus far not given either the ISM or consular officials any explanation as to why these men were abducted, treated inhumanely and held
incommunicado for two days.
For more information contact:
Eric Levine 972 (0) 56 382 317
Brian Dominick 972 (0) 56 621 928
Peter Blacker +44 79 74 236 541
For information on the International Solidarity Movement contact:
Huwaida Arraf: 052-642-709
===================================================
The Palestinian Centre for Rapprochement between People
64 Star Street, P.O.Box 24
Beit Sahour - Palestine
www.rapprochement.org
=================================
The center is a non-profit making NGO, started in 1988 during the first Intifada. PCR runs community service programs, youth empowerment and training
programs. PCR is also very much involved in the non-violent resistance against the Israeli Occupation to Palestine.
**********************************
From: "Rapprochement Centre"
Dear Everybody,
We have just got the news about the time and date of the court for the ISM activists who were arrested in Balata refugee camp last June.
The court will be held in the District Court in Salah Eddin Street in east Jerusalem in the Third Floor at (12:00 GMT +3).
A brief about the case: www.rapprochement.org/newsupdates.html (track the updates since June 1, 2002)
The three are, Darlene Wallach, American Jew from San Jose, Josie Sandercock, from UK and Makoto Hibbino from Japan were arrested on June 1, 2002
while being in Balata refugee camp together with five others who has been deported to their countries. The three of them decided to fight the deportation and
raised a case. They were on bail of 30,000 Shekels provided by an Israeli Jewish lady called Hava Keller. [Hava Keller, the mother of Adam Keller, is a veteran
of the 1948 war.--Bill]
We wish them all the best in the court tomorrow to stop the deportation policy of Internationals from Palestine.
LAW society has followed up their case through the lawyer Mahmoud Jabbareen. Another Israeli Lawyer, Gabi Lasky also followed up the case with
Mahmoud. The court was delayed several times because the prosecution was not ready. We assume that there will be a final ruling on the deportation appeal.
For more info, call Darlene Wallach at 055-971842 and Josie Sandercock at 067-490566 (Makoto is back in Japan now)
Remember not to call after 12:00 because they will be in the court session and will not be able to answer the phone.
Yours,
George N. Rishmawi
**********************************
[Spread this news with the media in your area--Bill]
Date: Thu, 04 Jul 2002 02:35:23 +0200
From: Gila Svirsky
Spreading the Secret
One of the best kept secrets in Israel is that most Israelis are fed up with the occupation, and just want to get out.
According to June's findings by Mina Zemach, Israel's foremost pollster, 63% of Israelis are in favor of "unilateral withdrawal". In fact, 69% call for the
evacuation of "all" or "most of" the settlements.
Mina's numbers are corroborated by everybody else: The Peace Index of Tel-Aviv University's Tami Steinmitz Center found that 65% of Israelis "are prepared
to evacuate the settlements under a unilateral separation program".
A poll commissioned by Peace Now a month earlier revealed that 59% of Israelis support immediate evacuation of most settlements, followed by a unilateral
withdrawal of the army from the occupied territories.
Here's another "secret" revealed by Mina Zemach: 60% of Israelis believe that Israel should agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of a peace
agreement.
Is this too much good news all at once? To temper it, here are a few more findings by Mina Zemach: 74% of Israelis say that Sharon is doing a good job and
60% believe that the Israeli army should be allowed to attack the refugee camps in Gaza.
To quote Mina Zemach's closing remarks (at a lecture I heard her give in Tel Aviv yesterday, sponsored by the New Israel Fund), "Similar trends appear on the
Palestinian side in surveys conducted by my Palestinian colleagues. Both sides want their leaders to be very aggressive, but most are willing to have a peaceful,
two-state solution."
Mis-perceptions and Manipulations
The findings alone are impressively pro-peace, but there are two more amazing aspects, in my opinion. The first is that most Israelis are not aware that the
majority want the occupation to go away. To illustrate, I report an informal experiment conducted by peace activist Ron HaCohen in his Tel-Aviv University
class. When asked what opinion the students believed was most common among Israelis, they guessed "dismantle most" or "dismantle only a few" of the
settlements. Little did they suspect that the category "dismantle ALL the settlements" was the one most commonly chosen. Ron's students guessed that the
Israeli public was much more pro-settlement than it actually is. Most people, I believe, feel this way.
The second amazing aspect relates to the fact that the government can get away with ignoring this information. To quote columnist Hannah Kim in yesterday's
Ha'aretz, "This has been and still is one of the great mysteries: How is it that there is no political expression of the fact that most of the Israeli public is in favor
of evacuating the settlements?" For months, I have been asking people their thoughts about this. The following answers seem to sum up the views I heard:
(1) First, Mark Mellman, one of the top political consultants in Washington, was not surprised. He said that it's not unusual for policymakers to ignore majority
views, and that it's our job to get them to sit up and notice.
(2) Ron HaCohen said, "Our main source of information about what people think, feel or believe is the mass media. The media portray the Israeli people as
much more pro-settlements than they really are."
(3) Hanna Kim suggests that the power of the settlements is a combination of their integration into the Israeli economy [Boycott settler goods! - GS] and the
effectiveness of their Knesset lobby. This fits into what is generally known about the power of small, but determined lobbies...on many issues and in many
countries.
To all the above, I would add the determination of the Sharon government to play deaf to this view. When asked about abandoning even remote, isolated
settlements, Sharon sidesteps the question. When pressed, he recently responded that Netzarim - the Gaza settlement that everyone loves to hate - is as dear to
his heart as Tel Aviv. In other words, not a single settlement is negotiable.
I was privileged to hear a great panel discussion this evening, sponsored by Bat Shalom, on the subject of the "fence" that Israel has begun to erect between
Israel and Palestine. All the panelists (five Israeli and Palestinian women professors who are also peace activists) felt that the fence would conceal the real issue
- the Palestinian suffering on the other side as a result of the occupation - and would replace a negotiated peace agreement. Galia Golan also pointed out that the
fence was being used to grab more land, as it was not being built on the Green Line, and that it ultimately would provide little protection, as mortars and rockets
could go right over it. Other speakers were Rima Hamami, Inas Haj, Naomi Chazan, and Tanya Reinhart.
The most impassioned plea of the evening came from Tanya, who begged the audience to listen to the polls and trust that people mean what they are saying.
"Now is the time to call for leaving the territories immediately, unilaterally," said Tanya, "just as we did in Lebanon."
I think she's right.
Gila Svirsky
Jerusalem
----------------------------------
Coalition of Women for a Just Peace: http://www.coalitionofwomen4peace.org
**********************************
Sharon threatens global nuclear war
By Jeffrey Steinberg
If there is one nation on this planet that deserves to be described and dealt with as a rogue state, armed with weapons of mass destruction and intent on using
them, it is Israel, under the terror reign of war criminal Ariel Sharon.
If this was a matter of assertion or conjecture in the past, statements coming out of top Israeli officials in the past days have eliminated any cause for hesitation.
On June 26, the Israeli newspaper of record, Ha'aretz, cited two top Israeli space scientists, who declared that Israel now has the capacity to fire missiles at
targets anywhere on earth. Prof. Moshe Gelman, head of the Asher Institute at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, boasted to Ha'aretz that "From the
moment the State of Israel has the capability to launch a satellite into orbit around the earth at a height of hundreds of kilometers, it established [its] capability to
launch, by means of a missile, a payload to any location on the face of the earth."
Dr. Gelman's words were seconded by Avi Har-Even, the director-general of the Israeli Space Agency (ISA), which recently launched the Ofek 5 satellite, who
told Ha'aretz's Amnon Barzilai that the Ofek 5 launch had two strategic objectives: providing Israel with an independent spy satellite capability to monitor
military activities in targeted countries throughout the entire Near East. "The second involves Israel's launch capabilities."
NATO Officially Warned
The Israeli intent to use nuclear weapons was a topic of, at minimum, implicit discussion, at a June 26 Brussels behind-closed-doors meeting of NATO's North
Atlantic Council, which was addressed by the current head of the Israeli Mossad, Ephraim Halevy. According to the June 27 Ha'aretz, Halevy reported to the
NATO officials that Mossad is convinced that Iran is developing intermediate and long range missiles, and "weapons-grade nuclear capabilities," as well as VX
gas and biological weapons. As Ha'aretz's Amir Oren reported, Halevy asserted that "Israel cannot spare any effort to foil, prevent or delay the attainment of
weapons of mass destruction by countries like Iran, Iraq, Syria and Libya."
Pushing A New Regional War
According to Israeli military historian Martin Van Creveld, who wrote that "Sharon's Plan Is to Drive Palestinians Across the Jordan," the intent of the present
Israeli government is to seize upon either a US military attack on Iraq, aimed at overthrowing Saddam Hussein, or a serious terrorist incident inside Israel to
launch a "mass transfer" of more than two million Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza, across the river into Jordan.
"Should such circumstances arise," Van Creveld wrote in the April 28, 2002 issue of Conrad Black's Sunday Telegraph, "then Israel would mobilise with
lightening speed--even now, much of its male population is on standby."
He spelled out a precise order of battle for the "mass transfer," although he wrote of his own personal opposition to the Sharon scheme: "First, the country's
three ultra-modern submarines would take up firing positions out at sea. Borders would be closed, a news blackout imposed, and all foreign journalists rounded
up and confined to a hotel as guests of the Government."
He continued, "A force of 12 divisions, 11 of them armoured, plus various territorial units suitable for occupation duties, would be deployed: five against Egypt,
three against Syria, and one opposite Lebanon. This would leave three to face east as well as enough forces to put a tank inside every Arab-Israeli village just in
case their populations get any funny ideas.
"The expulsion of the Palestinians would require only a few brigades. They would not drag people out of their houses but use heavy artillery to drive them out;
the damage caused to Jenin would look like a pinprick in comparison."
Van Creveld estimated that none of the Arab states would respond militarily to the Israeli move, adding, "Should Saddam be mad enough to resort to weapons
of mass destruction, then Israel's response would be so `awesome and terrible' (as Yitzhak Shamir, the former prime minister once said) as to defy the
imagination." There is no question that this was a direct reference to an Israeli use of nuclear weapons against Iraq.
He added, "Israeli military experts estimate that such a war could be over in just eight days."
Van Creveld concluded that only the United States could stop such an Israeli doomsday scenario from playing out, and right now, chances are slim to nil that
America will step in to stop Israel, which is seen by Bush as a major ally in the "war on terrorism." After Bush's June 25 speech, copies of Van Creveld's article
were taken from the files and studied, intensively, by many Arab military and intelligence commanders, according to a well-informed Egyptian source.
Deadly Arsenal
The scale of the Israeli nuclear weapons program is vast, and has now been qualitatively transformed, by Israel's acquisition of three German-made diesel
powered submarines, which, according to a recent study by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, are armed with nuclear warheads on Cruise
missiles. Carnegie published a report early in June 2002, detailing the Israeli nuclear weapons program. That booklength report on global nuclear weapons
proliferation, Deadly Arsenals--Tracking Weapons of Mass Destruction, included an entire chapter on Israel's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons
program.
The authors wrote, "Probably the most important nuclear-related development in Israel is the formation of its sea-based nuclear arm. By July 2000 Israel
completed taking delivery of all three of the Dolphin-class submarines it had ordered at the Thyssen-Nordseewerke shipyard in Kiel, Germany. In doing so, it
is widely believed, Israel moved significantly toward acquiring a survivable second-strike nuclear capability. All indications are that Israel is on the way to
finalizing a restructuring of its nuclear forces into a triad, like the United States.
"Since the early 1980s (and probably even earlier) the Israeli navy (jointly with other governmental agencies) lobbied hard for the notion that Israel should
build a small fleet of modern diesel submarines for `strategic purposes,' an Israeli euphemism for a sea-launched nuclear capability... It is also believed (but not
confirmed) that the most sensitive aspect of the project, the cruise-missile technology that renders the diesel submarines nuclear-capable launching platforms,
was developed and built in Israel...
According to one report in the London Sunday Times, by early 2000 Israel had carried out the first launching tests of its cruise missiles."
The Carnegie study concluded, "A fleet of three submarines is believed to be the minimum that Israel needs to have a deployment at sea of one nuclear-armed
submarine at all times."
The fact that Israel has achieved a deployable nuclear triad was advertised in a June 15 report in the Washington Post, under the headline, "Israel Has
Submarine-Based Atomic Arms Capability."
__________________________________________________
Arab News
Saudi Arabia's First English Language Daily
http://www.arabnews.com/
**********************************
[Please note the pro-Israeli request below. It would be very important for supporters of a just peace to counteract the anticipated pro-Israeli response--Bill]
From: Palestinemail@aol.com
Date: Wed, 03 Jul 2002 15:56:05 -0400
Subject: GOOD NEWS! CALL MSNBC!
ALAN KEYES IS OUT!!! GONE! CANCELLED! RELEGATED TO A ZIONIST TOXIC WASTE DUMP! YOU MUST CALL MSNBC AND THANK
THEM! THE OTHER SIDE IS CALLING TO COMPLAIN IN GREAT NUMBERS!
This is proof that those phone calls and letters sometimes get results...
This was taken from a pro-Israel yahoogroup. MSNBC NUMBER TO CALL AT THE END OF THE E-MAIL. IT TAKES 1 MINUTE!
Sincerely,
Victor
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK OF FIGHTING PRO-ISRAELI BIGOTRY IN THE PRESS
----- Original Message -----
From: Naomi Ragen
Received from Naomi Regan:
MSNBC is firing Alan Keyes (one of the newsworld's strongest voices for Israel) due to Arab protests. They are replacing him with Ashleigh Banfield who is
a Palestinian sympathizer.
It will only take a couple minutes but please write MSNBC protesting this (see address below). Tell them we don't need another CNN, and that if they follow
through with this decision, you will switch completely to Fox News!
This is especially important for you with Christian surnames to write in. This is not the time to be apathetic. Please ask your e-mail lists and any pro-Israel
organizations you belong to to also help. I'm asking Bridges for Peace, Voices United For Israel, Tzemach, etc. to do the same. If any of subscribe to Koenig
Watch or Mike Evan, etc. please ask them also.
It is important for all Jewish groups to protest also: B'nai B'rith, Hadassah, etc. both corporately AND as individual members.
This is a major setback for Israel. Don't assume someone else will write and you don't need to. Everyone needs to write. Don't say you love Israel if you're not
willing to take two minutes of your time on her behalf.
Posy McMillen
Fort Worth, Texas
MSNBC
One MSNBC Plaza
Secaucus, NJ 07094
Phone: (201) 583-5000
Fax: (201) 583-5453
**********************************
From: "Shraga Elam"
"Déjà vu", the nightmares of a German-born Jew: A personal view on the present political scene in Israel
"Nicht wenn die Wahrheit schmutzig ist, sondern wenn sie seicht ist steigt der Erkennende ungern in ihr Wasser"* (Nietzsche)
*"Not if the truth is dirty, but if it is shallow, the real truth seeker steps into its waters reluctantly."
"What is hateful to you do not to your fellow creature" (Hillel)
Introduction
The considerations which follow are of a very personal nature indeed. They must be interpreted in the light of the personal history of the writer. They doubtless
present a subjective view of the political reality in Israel and its surroundings. At the same time, they may also contain large parts of objective reality.
Because of the personal character of my considerations I must start out by summarizing the most essential facts of my life. I was born in 1924 in Bielefeld,
Germany. Until 9th November 1938 (the day of the "Kristallnacht pogrom") I attended a German secondary school where I had ample opportunity to learn
quite a bit of the Nazi theories and doctrines. In 1939 I travelled (with a "children's transport") as a refugee kid to Holland. Alone. Then various refugee camps
and homes, then underground before, in March 1944, Auschwitz. After the war I returned to Holland to study theoretical physics and then did 34 years of
research in industry. From the above it may be clear that I am not a historian. However, I have lived through very dramatic parts of history in the most intensive
way. Therefore, I may call myself an expert in a number of areas which are of relevance for the present situation in and around Israel. Most important, I have
experienced how it feels to be second-rate citizen or even a pariah. But there is more, too, as will become clear.
Motivation
Why this article? Why do I have nightmares about Israel and its neighbors ? It is a combination of motives : the two quotations at the head of this article plus
my life's experiences. With those perspectives, I see terrible, painful, tragic and shameful things; I see too many parallels between present day Israel and the
Germany of my youth. I know that history never repeats itself literally. The differences between two historic situations may often be more important than the
similarities. Still, in some cases people have learned from history. A striking example of this is the difference in the treatment of Germany by the Allied nations
after its dramatic defeats in the First and in the Second World War. I will return to this as I set out the arguments for my frightening assertion about the
parallels between present day Israel and Germany in the 1930s.
Do parallels indeed exist?
You may judge yourself, from what follows.
· The German people of my youth were deeply marked, if not traumatized, by what was called "der Schmachfrieden von Versailles" (the outrageous Peace
Treaty of Versailles). This treaty was indeed a terrible mistake. Its consequences created the conditions which enabled Hitler grab the government. After World
War II some of the Allies' wise politicians (yes, even they occur now and then in history), did show they had learned from the terrible and tragic mistake after
World War I. They greatly helped the Germans to rebuild their completely destroyed country; the results (as we now know) were extremely positive.
The Jewish people are obviously even more deeply and more permanently traumatized by the Shoah. The world's guilty conscience over this crime without
precedent, led to the UN resolution of 29 November 1947, in which the division of Palestine into two parts was decided upon; then came the founding of the
State of Israel as an independent nation in 1948.
· The deep humiliation of the Germans after World War I created the psychological climate which made Hitler acceptable; he said it should never be able to be
repeated. Therefore, an important myth was created, the "Volk ohne Raum", implying that Germany had not enough territory. It needed "Lebensraum", from
both the military-strategy point of view and for the purposes of comfortable living. Thus Germany had to expand its territory, especially in the direction of the
"verloren gegangenen Ostgebiete die zurück erobert werden müssen", the lost territories east of Germany, which had to be re conquered. By way of historic
"justification" for this expansion, it was stated that (for example) German crusaders in the thirteenth century had rebuilt the Polish city of Krakov after its
demolition by the Mongols, an assertion which happened to be true.
Among the Jewish people in general, and especially among those living in Israel, there naturally exists a strong and justified wish never to have to experience a
second Shoah. Psychologically this has taken on the form of fear: fear of living in too small and besieged an area. Obviously this is more justified than the
equivalent German fear in the 1930s. But from a political and even strategic point of view, this Israeli desire for more space is both unnecessary and extremely
unrealistic and dangerous to pursue at this moment in history. The Israelis also think of expanding their territory eastwards. The historic "justification" for the
incorporation of "Judea and Samaria" has its roots even in biblical times.
· Until the coming to power of Hitler, the Jews in Germany were utterly loyal citizens of the German state, the Weimar Republic. In law, at least, they had
exactly the same rights as all other citizens. This changed dramatically after Hitler appeared on the scene. Very soon they were reduced to second rate citizens
and even pariahs.
For more than 50 years (until the Al Aksa intifadah) the Palestinian Israelis (19% of the total population of Israel) were conspicuous by their loyal behavior
towards their state. In spite of this long standing loyalty--and in spite of the fact that (with the exception of military service) they are equal before the law with
Jewish Israelis-- they are still treated as second rate citizens.
· One of form of discrimination against the Jews under Hitler was the principle of "collective responsibility"; if one single Jew had committed a crime, in some
cases the whole German-Jewish community was punished. The most notorious example of this is the November 1938 pogrom (Kristallnacht) which was
intended as a punishment of all Jews for the murder of a German diplomat by a young Jew in Paris. Another example of this collective responsibility was the
notorious "Sippenhaft". If one individual had done something which was forbidden, his whole family could be incarcerated. Unfortunately, the principle of
collective responsibility is also practiced in present day Israel time and again. After a bomb is thrown by one Palestinian extremist, a member of Hamas for
example, all Palestinians are often told to stay out of Israel for weeks, deprived of work and income. If a bomb thrower is eventually identified, the house of his
family is very often bulldozed to rubble.
· In Germany, in order to make all the anti Jewish measures palatable for the public at large, the doctrine was invented and widely spread that Jews were
different from ordinary Germans. They did not fit into Germanic culture.
The former prime minister of Israel, the "moderate" of the two candidates of the recent elections, is quoted in the prestigious Israeli paper "Ha'Aretz" (2
February 2001) as saying:
"It is because of the Arab character of discourse that their culture does not contain the concept of compromise. Compromise is apparently a Western concept
for settling disputes". And in the same interview: "But in any event they (the Israelis who wanted really peace H.J.M.) see that the neighbors are not benign.
Not part of the Western culture."
At this point it may be appropriate to point to the differences which exist between the behavior of the Jews under the discriminating treatment in 1930s
Germany and that of the Palestinians in present day Israel. The Jews in Germany underwent discrimination with a striking meekness, a mental attitude which
nobody criticizes more sharply than present day Israelis.
The Palestinians behave in striking contrast; they do fight back and sometimes with heavier weapons than just stones. This certainly accounts for considerable
differences between 1930s Germany and 2001 in Israel. But the differences in no way justify the discrimination against Palestinian Israelis for more than fifty
years.
· In the years after 1940 the Jews were more and more confined to gettos in Germany and the occupied territories. In the first place, this was to prevent any
contact between the noble Germans and the Jews.
Today's map of the West Bank with its Palestinian cities and villages and Jewish Settlements and roads clearly shows that Israel intends to confine the
Palestinians there to getto-like areas. In the interview with Barak quoted above, the former PM talks euphemistically of "cantons". ( It is to be noted that the
Germans were also very skilled in inventing euphemisms.) According to the present PM, Ariel Sharon, the gettos ought to be connected together with tunnels
and bridges. (Ha'Aretz 11 January 2001). · I shall never forget the humiliations which I had to undergo when I came into contact with the authorities of Nazi
Germany. I must confess, I do remember them but they cause me pain no longer.
What does cause me much pain is the idea that my own people humiliate the Palestinians day after day in very similar ways, in spite of the wisdom of Rabbi
Hillel quoted above. And the results are only counterproductive. This shameful behavior of the Israelis is vividly described in a shocking article by the Ha'Aretz
journalist Amira Hass which ends with the words, directed towards the Jews in Israel: "Look at yourself in the mirror and realize how racist you have become".
It is truly a depressing statement.
Conclusions
It is remarkable that everything I have described has had so little attention in the media, at least in the Netherlands. Of course there is sometimes criticism to be
heard or read of Israel's behavior. But if this criticism is compared with the enormous amount of space and time devoted to comment on Austria when Haider
appeared on the scene, or to Yugoslavia when Milosevic was still in power there, it seems appropriate to call it "little attention". In my opinion there is little
validity in the observation that Austria or Yugoslavia is closer geographically to the Netherlands. In fact the situation in the Near East is so highly explosive that
it could swiftly become much more dangerous to all of us than a fascist Austria or perhaps even a fascist Yugoslavia.
Can we, as citizens of democratic countries, try to do something about this sad state of affairs? I think, yes, a tiny bit:
1. From the Jewish section of our community we must make clear, that justified criticism of discriminating behavior of Israel cannot be automatically identified
with anti-Semitism.
2. From our governments in the US and in Europe much more pressure should be put on Israel to stop the suppression and humiliation of those Palestinians
who have not committed any crimes. The sort of "Apartheid" propagated by the present prime minister (and illustrated in the quotation above) cannot be
tolerated, and not merely on humanitarian grounds. Pragmatically, and in terms of pure self interest for the rest of the world, we all must be aware that the
uncompromising attitude displayed by Mr Sharon could provoke a clash that could take on global dimensions.
3. After WW II, when the dimensions of the Shoah became clear, the Germans said : "Wir haben es nicht gewusst" (we did not know about it)! That is
something that we cannot say about what is happening now in Israel and its neighboring territories. It would be wiser to try to influence our politicians to do
everything they can to prevent a devastating war.
You can sign the following petition at:
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/jk2002en/petition.html
International Jewish support is needed for a campaign launched recently in Germany with the following aims:
1. To create wide public awareness about the imminent danger of a bloodbath and mass deportation of the Palestinians;
2. To enable the establishment of a strong and effective German peace movement, which will pressure its government to play a more active and positive role in
the Middle East;
3. To counter the lobby supporting Israeli war crimes;
4. To stop the Israeli abuse of Jewish history as a free license to kill;
5. To discuss the question of whether it is legitimate to draw comparison between the Nazi and Israeli politics and, if yes, under what circumstance.
Shraga Elam"
[For further information on this campaign, please contact Shraga Elam
Please contact your political representatives immediately and ask them to urge a cessation of hostilities on both sides. Also
encourage them to urge the use of international observers, many of whom are currently in Ramallah and the surrounding area.
You can easily find how to contact for your own U.S. Senators and Congresspeople at http://government.aol.com.
To begin, here are four important people to address in the United States. Use phone AND fax AND email:
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvanian Avenue
Washington, DC 20500
Phone: (202) 456-1111 -- Fax: (202) 456-2461 -- E-mail: president@whitehouse.gov
Vice President Dick Cheney
(The White House, as above)
Condoleezza Rice
National Security Advisor
(The White House, as above)
Secretary of State Colin Powell
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520
Phone: (202) 647-6575 -- Fax: (202) 261-8577 -- E-mail:
secretary@state.gov
---------------------------------------------
UNITED NATIONS ADMINISTRATION:
webmaster@unhcr.ch
areca@unhcr.ch
unsco@palnet.com
ecu@un.org
coi@un.org
webadmin.hchr@unog.ch
EUROPEAN UNION:
romano.prodi@cec.eu.int
civis@europarl.eu.int
epbrussels@europarl.eu.int
public.info@consilium.eu.int
belrep@belgoeurop.diplobel.fgov.be
karin.roxman@consilium.eu.int
christian.jouret@consilium.eu.int
Javier.Sancho-Velazquez@consilium.eu.int
CANADA:
Prime minister (Jean Chretien pm@pm.gc.ca)
Bill Graham (Bill Graham graham.b@parl.gc.ca).
ISRAEL:
Ariel Sharon, Israeli Prime Minister:
rohm@pmo.gov.il or webmaster@pmo.gov.il
Fax: +972 2 651 2631
Benjamin Ben Eliezer, Israeli Minister of Defense:
Email: sgansar@mod.gov.il
Shimon Peres, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs:
Fax: +972-2-5303367
Email: sar@mfa.gov.il
Here is the phone number of the IDF Commander for the Ramallah area (from the US):
011-972-2-9970461
Mobile: 011-972-54-240-303
Voice your protest to him pers |