Economic pacification

From: Mazin Qumsiyeh's Journal
 

The meeting in Jordan of the World Economic Forum (WEF) is a shameful
spectacle of self-described  World business and political leaders.
 Millions are spent to have good food, smiles and handshakes between  elite
Arabs  and war criminals like Shimon Peres and Israeli business tycoons.
John Kerry suggested $4 billion  investment  to improve life under Israeli
occupation via  economic peace  [pacification]. Israeli industries would
benefit from cheap Palestinian (slave) labor after having taken our
country, our natural resources, and dispossessed most of us. This to
fulfill the biblical message of  Let them live; but let them  [the
remaining non-Israelites] be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all
the congregation  (Joshua 9:21).  As soon as the WEF meeting ended,  The
Peres Center for Peace  [read for Pacification] hosted a conference
bringing Israeli chambers of commerce and Israeli business leaders with
some (shameless) Palestinian high tech business leaders for normalizing and
business relations (undermining the widespread call for BDS among
Palestinians).  Nine years ago, I managed to get an article in the magazine
of the WEF that caused an uproar and a public apology from Klaus Schwab,
the founder of the WEF.  My article was titled  Boycott Israel  and I urge
all to read it to see why boycott is the way to go to achieve real peace
and not normalization and cheeky relationship with an apartheid regime
built on ethnic cleansing: http://qumsiyeh.org/boycottisrael/

Every week I share with you more reasons for such boycotts, divestment and
sanctions (BDS) rather than normalize relations with Israel (which today
was psychologically preparing its population for yet another offensive war
while it continues its colonization activities).  In this week s mailing
you find articles and action calls about ongoing ethnic cleansing, ongoing
human rights violations (including especially rights of children), and
ongoing denial of refugee rightsm but also two pieces of good news at the
bottom.

>From Al-Araqib to Susiya: Forced Displacement on Both Sides of the Green
Line. Adalah captures the stories of two Palestinian villages, Al-Araqib
and Susiya -- one in Israel, one in the West Bank -- that share a single
story of struggle against forced displacement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtF3rOdSbr4

The Israeli  Knesset  is about to vote on a bill that would force up to
40,000 Bedouin citizens out of their homes [destroying 45 communities and
taking over 800,000 dunums of the land of the Negerv from its owners] You
have a last chance to stop it by sending a direct message to heads of
coalition factions, calling them to and vote against the government bill
and by writing to your country representatives to urhge them to push Israel
to stop its ethnic cleansing practices. See
http://www.avaaz.org/en/no_to_forced_eviction_of_negev_bedouins/?ktikOab

Huffington Post features discussions with elderly Palestinians on Nakba
http://mondoweiss.net/2013/05/grandmother-discussion-palestinians.html

 Our friend Sireen was abducted by Israeli soldiers and we ask you to help
free her.  She was active in promoting Palestinian life in the Jordan
valley, an area targeted for more ethnic cleansing.  Send messages of
solidarity and support https://www.facebook.com/FreeSireenKhudiri (ENGLISH)
https://www.facebook.com/Welcome.toOo.Palestine (ARAB)
and Write to your politicians and ask them to make representations to the
Israeli government calling for Sireen's release

Palestinian kids swept up in wave of Israeli arrests : According to Defence
for Children International (DCI), an independent non-governmental
organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, since the beginning of this year
there has been a 17 percent increase in arrests of Palestinian children. An
average of 198 children were arrested each month in 2012; that average has
risen to 232 arrests during the first three months of 2013, DCI reported.
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/19/18322645-palestinian-kids-swept-up-in-wave-o
f-israeli-arrests

B Tselem video: Israel bans Gaza children from seeing their fathers
http://youtu.be/W4z8GvtmrCI

US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Ramallah and even shut down whole
streets so that he can eat a Shawerma sandwitch and claim connection with
common people who were not allowed anywhere near him (next time, please try
a Falafel sandwich in a refugee camp not emptied).
http://youtu.be/5RPcD2Av6Lg
there were demonstrations against his visit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USt9xKAAImE

Two pieces of Good news:
- Palestinian-American Plants Flag on top of Everest, Dedicates Climb to
Political Prisoners
http://palestinechronicle.com/palestinian-american-plants-flag-on-top-of-everest-dedicates
-climb-to-political-prisoners/#.UZ-4N6IweNI
- Two Palestinian titles compete at Cannes (Film Festival)
http://euromedaudiovisuel.net/p.aspx?t=news&mid=21&l=en&did=1380

PS: And on personal good news, four of us were doing some environmental
field work in Wadi Mikhmas (between Ramallah and the Jordan Valley) in a
very hot day and we underestimated the distance and ruggedness of the
valley and ran out of water after 10-15 km hike.  Israeli  rescue team  was
apparently called by a colleague and they came late to the edge of the
valley from the settlement side (refusing to come close to the Arab
village) and spent time chatting and laughing about our situation (I could
hear their loud laughs on the phone). Meanwhile, young Palestinian men of
Mihkmas (and two colleagues who happened to be in Ramallah) came and helped
us. One man (Yousef) brought water first and then guided us up the
cliff-side and we were met half way up the cliff with several young
energetic men for the climb up the steeper part of the valley.  Three days
later, we are still  sore  but recovering from the 14 hour ordeal and are
grateful to these great Mihkmasi Palestinians.

Mazin Qumsiyeh
http://qumsiyeh.org

(Caving into Israeli pressure) Church of Scotland revises controversial Israel report

17 May 2013 Last updated at 12:38 ET

The report was critical of settlement expansion

A controversial Church of Scotland report which questioned the divine right of Jews to the land of Israel has been rewritten.

The 10-page discussion paper is due to be debated and voted on at the Kirk's general assembly next week.
Last week Israel's ambassador to the UK described it as "truly hurtful".

The Kirk said its revised version of The Inheritance of Abraham? paid attention to the concern over some of the language in the earlier report.

The Church of Scotland made the changes following a meeting with representatives of the Jewish community in Britain facilitated by the Council of Christians and Jews.

'Peace and security'

  Reverend Sally Foster-Fulton, convener of the Kirk's church and society council which compiled the report, said: "We are grateful for the dialogue that has grown out of the questions being asked of our report.
"We believe that this new version has paid attention to the concern some of the language of the previous version caused amongst the Jewish community whilst holding true to our concerns about the injustices being perpetrated because of policies of the government of Israel against the Palestinian people that we wanted to highlight.

"The views of this report are consistent with the views held by the Church of Scotland over many years."
She added: "We are clear that the citizens of the State of Israel have a right to live in peace and security. We are clear that there should be a Palestinian State which also can live in peace and security.

"We condemn anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. We will always condemn acts of terrorism, violence and intimidation whether the perpetrator is an individual, a community or a government."

'Fairer claim'

  Last week the Israeli ambassador to the UK, Daniel Taub, said the report "plays into extremist political positions" and "belittles the deeply held Jewish attachment to the land of Israel in a way which is truly hurtful".
The report stated there had been a widespread assumption by many Christians, as well as many Jewish people, that the Bible "supports an essentially Jewish state of Israel".

But its authors said an "increasing number of difficulties and current Israeli policies regarding the Palestinians" had led to this viewpoint being questioned.

They wrote: "Possession of any land is clearly conditional. The question that arises is this: Would the Jewish people today have a fairer claim to the land if they dealt justly with the Palestinians?"

Palestinian scales Mt. Everest

Mountaineering trailblazers include first Saudi woman to scale soaring summit, man of Palestinian extraction who dedicates trip to compatriots languishing in Israeli prisons

Elior Levi
Published:     05.19.13, 13:14 /
Israel News

Four alpinists from Arab countries scaled Mount Everest as part of a 64-man group, thus setting a triple mountain-conquering precedent: The first Palestinian, the first Saudi woman and the first Qatari national to climb to the top of the world's highest mountain. The group dubbed themselves "Arabs with Altitude."

Tilak Padney of Nepal's Mountaineering Department said 35 foreigners accompanied by 29 Nepalese Sherpa guides reached the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) peak on Saturday morning after climbing all night from the highest camp on South Col. All were reported to be safe.

They began the arduous journey last April, intent on raising $1,000,000 for projects aimed to promote education in Nepal. Among them was Raha Moharrak, who became the first Saudi Arabian woman to scale the world's highest peak. At 25, she is also the youngest ever Arab to achieve the feat.

 Arab alpinists with a Palestinian flag atop Mount Everest (photo: www.palweather.ps)

In a country such as Saudi Arabia, where women are not allowed to drive, her participation in the expedition was far from a given. She said she faced tough time trying to convince her family to allow her take the treacherous trip, but that she doesn't set store by being a trailblazer as long as it inspires other Arab women to follow in her steps. Everest can be climbed from either Nepal or Tibet.

Dedicated climb to prisoners. Raed Zidan



Raed Zidan was born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents who immigrated from a village near Qalqilya. Zidan, who is living in the US, is a seasoned mountaineer who had previously scaled Mount Kilimanjaro. There, as on top of Nepal, he erected a Palestinian flag, saying he dedicates his feat to Palestinians, especially those "languishing" in Israeli prisons.

Furore deepens over Stephen Hawking's Israel boycott

Political motive revealed after Cambridge University first claimed scientist's non-attendance was on medical grounds

• Harriet Sherwood and Matthew Kalman in Israel, and Sam Jones
• guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 8 May 2013 14.16 EDT

Stephen Hawking pictured with Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert in 2006. Photograph: Yoav Lemmer/AFP/Getty Images

 

The celebrated physicist Stephen Hawking became embroiled in a deepening furore today over his decision to boycott a prestigious conference in Israel in protest over the state's occupation of Palestine.
Hawking, a world-renowned scientist and bestselling author who has had motor neurone disease for 50 years, cancelled his appearance at the high-profile Presidential Conference, which is personally sponsored by Israel's president, Shimon Peres, after a barrage of appeals from Palestinian academics.
The move, denounced by prominent Israelis and welcomed by pro-Palestinian campaigners, entangled Cambridge University – Hawking's academic base since 1975 – which initially claimed the scientist's withdrawal was on medical grounds, before conceding a political motivation.

The university's volte-face came after the Guardian presented it with the text of a letter sent from Hawking to the organisers of the high-profile conference in Jerusalem, clearly stating that he was withdrawing from the conference in order to respect the call for a boycott by Palestinian academics.

The full text of the letter, dated 3 May, said: "I accepted the invitation to the Presidential Conference with the intention that this would not only allow me to express my opinion on the prospects for a peace settlement but also because it would allow me to lecture on the West Bank. However, I have received a number of emails from Palestinian academics. They are unanimous that I should respect the boycott. In view of this, I must withdraw from the conference. Had I attended, I would have stated my opinion that the policy of the present Israeli government is likely to lead to disaster."

Hawking's decision to throw his weight behind the academic boycott of Israel met with an angry response from the organisers of the Presidential Conference, an annual event hosted by Israeli president Shimon Peres.
"The academic boycott against Israel is in our view outrageous and improper, certainly for someone for whom the spirit of liberty lies at the basis of his human and academic mission," said conference chairman Israel Maimon. "Israel is a democracy in which all individuals are free to express their opinions, whatever they may be. The imposition of a boycott is incompatible with open, democratic dialogue."

Daniel Taub, the Israeli ambassador to London, said: "It is a great shame that Professor Hawking has withdrawn from the president's conference … Rather than caving into pressure from political extremists, active participation in such events is a far more constructive way to promote progress and peace."
The Wolf Foundation, which awarded Hawking the Wolf prize in physics in 1988, said it was "sad to learn that someone of Professor Hawking's standing chose to capitulate to irrelevant pressures and will refrain from visiting Israel".

But Palestinians welcomed Hawking's decision. "Palestinians deeply appreciate Stephen Hawking's support for an academic boycott of Israel," said Omar Barghouti, a founding member of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. "We think this will rekindle the kind of interest among international academics in academic boycotts that was present in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa."

Palestinian academics sent a barrage of letters to Hawking in recent weeks in an attempt to persuade him to join the boycott movement.

Samia al-Botmeh, of Birzeit University in the West Bank, said: "We tried to communicate two points to him. First, that Israel is a colonial entity that involves violations of the rights of the Palestinians, including academic freedom, and then asking him to stand in solidarity with Palestinian academic colleagues who have called for solidarity from international academics in the form of boycotting Israeli academia and academic institutions."
Hawking's decision to withdraw from the conference was "fantastic", said Botmeh. "I think it's wonderful that he has acted on moral grounds. That's very ethical and very important for us as Palestinians to know and understand that there are principled colleagues in the world who are willing to take a stand in solidarity with an occupied people."

Comments on social media in Israel were overwhelmingly opposed to Hawking's move, with a small number engaging in personal abuse over his physical condition. A minority of commentators supported his stance on Israel's 46-year occupation of the Palestinian territories.

In addition to the letter sent by Hawking to the conference organisers, a statement in his name was sent to the British Committee for the Universities in Palestine, confirming his withdrawal from the conference for political reasons. The wording was approved by Hawking's personal assistant after consultation with Tim Holt, the acting director of communications at Cambridge University.

On Wednesday morning, following the Guardian's revelation that Hawking was boycotting the Presidential Conference, Holt issued a statement saying: "Professor Hawking will not be attending the conference in Israel in June for health reasons – his doctors have advised against him flying."

However, a later statement said: "We have now received confirmation from Professor Hawking's office that a letter was sent on Friday to the Israeli president's office regarding his decision not to attend the Presidential Conference, based on advice from Palestinian academics that he should respect the boycott."
In a telephone conversation with the Guardian, Holt offered "my apologies for the confusion".

This year's conference is expected to be attended by 5,000 people from around the world, including business leaders, academics, artists and former heads of state. Former US president Bill Clinton, former UK prime minister Tony Blair, former Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev, Prince Albert of Monaco and Barbra Streisand have accepted invitations, according to organisers.

Prof Stephen Hawking 'boycotts' major Israel conference

BBC News

8 May 2013 Last updated at 06:53 ET

Prof Hawking was lobbied by pro-Palestinian groups

UK cosmologist Prof Stephen Hawking has withdrawn from a high-profile Israeli conference, apparently in support of an academic boycott of the country.

The British Committee for the Universities of Palestine said Prof Hawking had taken advice and acted based on "his knowledge of Palestine".

A University of Cambridge spokesman told the BBC the renowned scientist had approved the BRICUP statement.

Event organisers criticised the move as contrary to Prof Hawking's values.
The June conference will celebrate the 90th birthday of Israeli President Shimon Peres.

'Personal reasons'

  Prof Hawking had been due to give an address at the Israeli Presidential Conference in Jerusalem, where previous speakers include Tony Blair, George W Bush and Dr Henry Kissinger.

“The academic boycott against Israel is in our view outrageous and improper” Israel Maimon Israeli Presidential Conference chairman

 

"The situation is that he's discussed it with fellow academics and has decided, for personal reasons, not to attend the conference in June," a university spokesman said.

His decision follows a campaign, led by Palestinian and pro-Palestinian groups, to persuade the 71-year-old to withdraw from the conference.

A statement published by BRICUP with Prof Hawking's approval said: "This is his independent decision to respect the boycott, based upon his knowledge of Palestine, and on the unanimous advice of his own academic contacts there."

'Bizarre'

  Conference organisers sharply criticised Prof Hawking's decision to withdraw.
"The academic boycott against Israel is in our view outrageous and improper, certainly for someone for whom the spirit of liberty lies at the basis of his human and academic mission," conference chairman Israel Maimon said in a statement.

A spokesman for the Fair Play group, which campaigns against boycotts of Israel, described the scientist's withdrawal as "bizarre".

"Prof Hawking could have joined the conference and explained his views on the conflict in the region, just as many other participants have done.

"By boycotting the conference, he has thrown away this opportunity and will help nobody."

"Bizarre"? To have morals and be against a European colonial occupation and takeover of Palestine by force of arms?
Bizarre to not want to be associated with these proven liars who are all responsible for the loss of thousands of unnecessary lives, Tony Blair, George W Bush and Dr Henry Kissinger? We think not.  Thank you, Stephen Hawking, for showing us what great minds think of Zionism. Another great mind, Albert Einstein, was also a critic of unfettered Zionist aggression and occupation of Palestine.

Google Lists Palestinian Territories 'Palestine'

JERUSALEM May 3, 2013 (AP)

 

Google is de facto recognizing a state of Palestine — at least on its local home page in the Palestinian territories.

Google spokesman Nathan Tyler said Friday "We're changing the name 'Palestinian territories' to 'Palestine' across our products."

He said Google consults with a number of sources and authorities when naming countries and is following the lead of several international organizations.

The move comes after a U.N. decision last year upgrading the Palestinians' status to "non-member observer state."

Israel says Palestinian statehood should be reached through negotiations, not unilateral moves.
Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said "Google is not a diplomatic entity which begs the question why are they getting involved in international politics and on the controversial side."

U.N spokesman Farhan Haq said the organization tended to refer to Palestinian areas on its maps as "the occupied Palestinian territories," but after the upgraded status, documents now refer to it as "Palestine."
Google's domain for Palestinian territories www.google.ps now lists the location as "Palestine."