France Plans Mideast Peace Effort, and Recognition of Palestine if It Fails

By RICK GLADSTONE and STEVEN ERLANGERJAN. 29, 2016

UNITED NATIONS — France said Friday that it would organize an international conference aimed at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and that France would recognize Palestine as an independent state if that effort failed.

The announcement, made by Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in Paris, was welcomed by Palestinian leaders, who have been expressing concern that their grievances and quest for full independent statehood have been marginalized by the Syria war, the European migrant crisis and other related issues.

But the announcement was criticized by Israeli officials, who were quoted in Israeli news media as saying Mr. Fabius had essentially made a threat that would encourage the Palestinians not to negotiate seriously.

“France will engage in the coming weeks in the preparation of an international conference bringing together the parties and their main partners — American, European, Arab — notably to preserve and make happen the two-state solution,” Mr. Fabius said. Should that effort fail, he said, “We need to face our responsibilities by recognizing the Palestinian state.”

Israel has grown increasingly concerned over steps in Europe and elsewhere that validate Palestinian statehood without a peace agreement. An official recognition by the French government would be the most significant so far.

In December 2014, the European Parliament adopted a resolution recognizing Palestinian statehood in principle. In October 2014, Sweden became the first European Union member to officially recognize Palestine as an independent state. The United Nations General Assembly made Palestine a nonmember observer state in 2012, which gave the Palestinians a way to join international organizations like the International Criminal Court.

Riyad H. Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, said Friday that an international conference was one of several strategies under consideration. “We don’t want this to be a year where people in our area are more depressed and more frustrated,” he said.

The French proposal was reported as other frictions were surfacing between Israel and its most important Western allies, adding to its isolation over both the Palestinian issue and Israel’s criticism of the recently completed nuclear deal with Iran.

In the United States, some pro-Israel groups criticized reissued customs guidelines that say products made in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel should not be labeled “made in Israel.”

The guidelines were originally promulgated in 1995 to strengthen Palestinian exports. American officials said they were reissued this month in response to complaints about mislabeling, and were in no way meant to discourage purchases of Israeli goods.

But to supporters of Israel, the timing was particularly problematic, given recent gains by the international boycott movement that aims to pressure Israel to end the occupation. In November, the European Union implemented regulations requiring that labels specify if

Omri Ceren, managing director for press and strategy at the Israel Project in Washington, an advocacy group, said the reissuance of the customs regulations in the current climate “unfortunately looks very much like an anti-Israel broadside.”

In another irritant that came to light on Friday, leaked documents attributed to Edward J. Snowden, the former American intelligence contractor, showed that the United States and Britain have monitored secret drone flights and communications by the Israeli Air Force in a hacking operation dating to 1998.

Israel expressed disappointment at the disclosures, published by The Intercept, an online publication associated with Glenn Greenwald, who has collaborated with Mr. Snowden, and by the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel.

Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s minister of national infrastructure and energy, and a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet, played down the issue but said lessons would be learned.

“I do not think that this is the deepest kingdom of secrets, but it is certainly something that should not happen, which is unpleasant,” he told Israel’s Army Radio. “We will now have to look and consider changing the encryption, certainly.”

Mr. Steinitz said Israel was not surprised by the hacking. “We know that the Americans spy on the whole world, and also on us, also on their friends,” he said.

“But still, it is disappointing, inter alia, because going back decades already, we have not spied nor collected intelligence nor hacked encryptions in the United States.”

The Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot said the National Security Agency in the United States and its British counterpart, Government Communications Headquarters, which monitor electronic and other communications, had decrypted Israeli communications on air force missions over Gaza, Iran and Syria.

The spy operation, under the code-name Anarchist, was run out of a base in Cyprus and targeted other countries in the region, including Egypt, Iran, Syria and Turkey, according to The Intercept.

Rick Gladstone reported from the United Nations, and Steven Erlanger from Jerusalem.

Just 62 super-rich worth same as half of the world's population

Andrew Woodcock
PUBLISHED
18/01/2016 | 02:30

Growing inequality means that the world's wealthiest 62 people own as much as the poorest half of the planet's population - some 3.6 billion people - according to a new report from Oxfam.

The richest 1pc - around 73 million out of the world's 7.3 billion people - now own as much as everyone else put together, said the report, which was published ahead of the annual World Economic Forum of global political and business leaders in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.

Oxfam said urgent action was needed to tackle the "inequality crisis" and called on world leaders to take action to crack down on tax-dodging by the rich, which denies governments in the developing world billions of dollars a year that could be used on health, education and anti-poverty measures.

British Prime Minister David Cameron promised in a speech in Davos three years ago to get tough on corporate tax avoidance.

But Oxfam said that promised measures to increase transparency in British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, such as the Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands, have not yet been implemented.

While the UK has made good on Mr Cameron's promise to introduce public registers of companies' owners, only one overseas territory - Montserrat - has followed suit.
The report found that the gap between rich and poor had widened "dramatically" over the past 12 months.

As recently as 2010, the combined wealth of the 388 richest people equalled that of the poorest half of the world, but that number has since plummeted to 80 last year and just 62 of the richest now.

The total wealth of the poorest half of the world fell by one trillion dollars (€900m) since 2010, even though the actual number of people in this group rose by 400 million, said the report, which is entitled 'An Economy for the 1%'.

Meanwhile, the wealth of the super-rich 62 rose by more than half a trillion dollars over the same period to $1.76trn. This equates to an average of around €26bn for each of the 62, who include just nine women.

Although the number of people living in extreme poverty halved between 1990 and 2010 globally, the average annual income of the poorest 10pc has increased by less than three dollars (€2.60) a year over the past 25 years.

Oxfam said action on tax should form part of a three-pronged approach, alongside increased investment in public services and action to boost the income of the lowest-paid.
Irish Independent

This is an obscene statistic. How do billions of human beings allow such inequality to exist in our modern world? It's insane. These Super Rich only get their wealth because of the rest of us doing all the heavy lifting while these jokers sit back and collect via capitalism's stranglehold on government elections even in democratic countries. Tax the Super Rich to get rid of them! They are a menace to world society and every democracy. 

Look! Israeli settlers are of more importance than trade with it's largest South American trade partner: Israel warns Brazil in row over settler ambassador

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely gives a press conference on November 3, 2015Image copyrightGetty Images

Tzipi Hotovely said a failure to approve Mr Dayan's appointment could hurt relations
Israel has warned Brazil it will downgrade relations unless it accepts a former head of the Jewish settlement movement as its ambassador in Brasilia.

Argentina-born Dani Dayan was appointed four months ago but his nomination has not yet been approved by Brazil.

On Sunday, Israel's deputy foreign minister said Israel would leave diplomatic relations "at the secondary level" if Mr Dayan was not confirmed.

Brazil has not yet responded to the deputy foreign minister's remarks.

Mr Dayan was the chairman of the Yesha Council, an umbrella group representing Jewish settlers in the occupied territories, from 2007 to 2013.

The fate of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land claimed by Palestinians for a future state - is one of the most contentious issues between Israel and the Palestinians.
The settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely told Israel's Channel 10 that Mr Dayan would not be replaced as Israel's nominee.

Ms Hotovely spoke after Mr Dayan warned that if the government did not act in his case, it could create a precedent barring settlers from representing Israel abroad.

But Reuters news agency quoted an unnamed Brazilian Foreign Ministry official as saying that Brazil would not cave in to pressure.

'Diplomatic dwarf'

News of Mr Dayan's appointment by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu caused outrage among left-wing groups in Brazil, which have since lobbied President Dilma Rousseff to reject it.

Officials at Brazil's Foreign Ministry found out about the appointment through Twitter

Brazilian media also reported that Brazil's foreign ministry was angered by the way it was informed about the appointment.

Mr Netanyahu broke the news on Twitter before telling Brasilia, according to the reports.
Relations between the two countries have been tense since 2010, when Brazil said it recognised Palestinian statehood in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

They soured further last year when Brazil recalled its ambassador from Israel in protest at what it called the "disproportionate use of force" by Israel in its summer offensive in Gaza.

In response, an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman called Brazil a "diplomatic dwarf".

The spokesman, Yigal Palmor, added that "the moral relativism behind this move makes Brazil an irrelevant diplomatic partner, one who creates problems rather than contributes to solutions".
Brazil is Israel's largest trading partner in South America.

This is pretty clear example of how far Israel has slipped into racial warfare with Arab Palestinians--to the point they will forgo economic advantage of cooperative trade partners for making a pointed stand against any nation that dares try to thwart the Zionist Regime and its European immigrant Jewish racial war against Arab Palestinians. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Big victory for Center for Constitutional Rights against the Zionist attack on professors who speak up against Israel.

Dear CCR Supporter,

Great news! Our client Professor Steven Salaita has reached a settlement in his case against the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) for firing him from a tenured position over his personal tweets criticizing the Israeli government's assault on Gaza in 2014 tweets the UIUC called uncivil.  Salaitaâs firing became a flashpoint for debates over academic freedom, free speech, and the repression of Palestinian rights advocacy. In exchange for Professor Salaitaâs agreement to release his claims, the university has agreed to pay $875,000. 

Freedom of Information Act requests revealed that donors had threatened to withhold funding to UIUC if Salaita was not fired and that administrators, including the UIUC Chancellor, had used personal email accounts and deleted emails in order to conceal and destroy evidence relevant to the case.  In August, a federal judge rejected UIUCs attempt to dismiss the case, writing that [if the Court accepted the University's argument, the entire American academic hiring process as it now operates would cease to exist.  Within hours of the court's decision, the UIUC chancellor resigned.

Today's settlement not only vindicates Professor Salaita”it is also a victory for First Amendment protections for advocacy.  Activism in support of Palestinian freedom has been subject to increasing repression; Professor Salaitaâs firing is just one example.  CCR remains committed to standing in solidarity with Palestine—a stance we are only able to take because of your support!  Thank you for standing with us.

Myanmar election: Suu Kyi's NLD wins landslide victory

• 1 hour ago
 
• From the sectionAsia

Image copyrightGetty Images

Image captionThough she cannot be president, Aung San Suu Kyi has said she will lead Myanmar

With more than 80% of contested seats now declared, Aung San Suu Kyi's party has more than the two-thirds it needs to choose the president, ending decades of military-backed rule.Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy has won a landslide election victory, officials say.

A quarter of seats are automatically held by the military, meaning it remains hugely influential.

Under the constitution, Ms Suu Kyi cannot become president herself.

Despite this, the election was seen as the first openly contested poll in Myanmar - also known as Burma - in 25 years.

YAY! Go Aung San Suu Kyi! 

European Union Moves to Label Products From Israeli Settlements

By SEWELL CHAN and JODI RUDORENNOV. 11, 2015

Wine being prepared for export at Shiloh Wineries, based in the West Bank settlement of Shiloh, this month. Credit Baz Ratner/Reuters

LONDON — European regulators issued guidelines on Wednesday for the labeling of consumer products that are made in Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories and sold in the European Union.

European officials insisted the guidelines were not a new policy — merely a clarification of existing rules, made at the request of member countries — but Israeli officials quickly denounced the move as a form of discrimination and summoned the European Union’s ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, for a meeting in Jerusalem. Israeli officials say they fear that any requirements that products from the settlements be treated differently would fuel a movement to boycott Israel, its universities and its exports.

Israeli Foreign Minister Denounces E.U. Proposal to Label Settlement ProductsAPRIL 17, 2015
Demonstrators in London this month protesting Israel’s operations in the Gaza Strip. Emotions are running high.With Gaza War, Movement to Boycott Israel Gains Momentum in EuropeAUG. 28, 2014

Open Source: French Firm Latest Target of Palestinian-Led Movement to Boycott IsraelJUNE 4, 2015

The guidelines state that the term “product of Israel” should not be used for goods produced by Israeli businesses and farms in the West Bank, the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, areas that Israel annexed in moves that were never internationally recognized. Nor are labels like “product of West Bank” considered acceptable. Under the rules, the term “settlement” or “its equivalent” must be added — possibly with parentheses, as in “product of West Bank (Israeli settlement).”
Non-settlement products from the Palestinian territories can say “product of Palestine” or “product of West Bank (Palestinian product).”

The labeling rules are mandatory for fresh fruit and vegetables, wine, honey, olive oil, eggs, poultry, organic products and cosmetics. The rules are voluntary for prepackaged foodstuffs and industrial products other than cosmetics.

“This is no way changes our stance with respect to the Middle East peace process,” said a spokesman for the European Commission, speaking by telephone on the condition of anonymity under agency rules. “This in no way affects the agreement we have with Israel with respect to preferential treatment for their products sold in the European Union. All ‘Made in Israel’ product will continue to come into the European Union with very low, or no, tariffs. What will also not change is that products coming from the settlements cannot benefit from those preferences.”

The spokesman added that the European Commission was acting at the behest of member governments and to reconcile conflicting advice. Member countries — Britain in 2009, Denmark in 2013 and Belgium in 2014 — had begun issuing their own guidelines for labeling consumer products from the Palestinian territories.

But Emmanuel Nahshon, spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, condemned the move as “an exceptional and discriminatory step,” especially “when Israel is confronting a wave of terrorism targeting any and all of its citizens.”

“It is puzzling and even irritating that the E.U. chooses to apply a double standard concerning Israel, while ignoring that there are over 200 other territorial disputes worldwide, including those occurring within the EU or on its doorstep,” Mr. Nahshon said in a statement. “The claim that this is a technical matter is cynical and baseless.”

He said the labeling was “bound to reinforce” the Palestinians’ “refusal to conduct negotiations with Israel” rather than to advance peace, and that it “may have implications for Israel-E.U. relations.”

“Product labeling will strengthen the radical elements advocating a boycott against Israel and denying Israel’s right to exist, contradicting positions that the E.U. publicly opposes,” he added. “This recent step raises questions regarding the role that the EU aspires to play.”

The guidelines from the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, come after several years of wrangling over the issue. Foreign ministers from a variety of European countries had twice — in 2013, and again in April of this year — urged officials in Brussels to take action on the matter. After the more recent request, Israel’s foreign policy chief, Avigdor Lieberman, denounced the effort, likening it to ordering that a yellow star be slapped onto Israel products, evoking the ones Jews were ordered to wear in Nazi-occupied Europe.

Avi Roeh, chairman of the settlers’ council, denounced the move, saying in a letter to Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, and in a public statement that thousands of Palestinians work in Israeli businesses in the West Bank, which he described as “islands of peace.”

“Businesses like these, in which Arabs and Jews work together, should be used as the gold standard for peace, not boycotted,” he said. “If the E.U. wants to see real coexistence they should come and visit Judea and Samaria, then it would be clear they are labeling the wrong people.”

The European Union is Israel’s top trading partner, with total commerce estimated at 30 billion euros, or $32 billion, last year: €13 billion in imports from Israel and €17 billion in exports to Israel. There are no official European statistics relating to the import of goods from Israeli settlements, but such goods are believed to represent less than 1 percent of the total trade.

The labeling rules affect about products from 1,000 companies operating in more than a dozen industrial areas in West Bank settlements, as well as produce from roughly 23,000 acres of farmland. The Golan has many wineries whose products are widely exported and have won international awards.

Since 2003, the European Union has coded Israeli products to allow customers to distinguish between those made within its 1948 borders and those beyond, but the new labeling guidelines would make that distinction more apparent.

Over the past six months, as the guidelines have come closer to finalization, and amid reports of Israeli academics facing slights from colleagues and a Palestinian effort to suspend Israel’s soccer teams from international competition, Israel has taken a much more aggressive stance against boycotts. The foreign ministry, as well as Israel’s industrial association, have designated point people to work solely to counter boycott movements, and politicians of all stripes have denounced any such campaign as immoral and anti-Semitic.

The controversy has also attracted notice in the United States. On Monday, 36 senators — led by Ted Cruz, a Republican presidential candidate from Texas, and Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York — wrote to Ms. Mogherini to express concern about the labeling initiative. The senators called it a “troubling precedent” that would help the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which they called “an effort to delegitimize Israel rather than promote a resolution of outstanding issues between Israel and the Palestinians.”

But Human Rights Watch encouraged other countries to follow the European Union’s lead in labeling, suggesting it was their duty to ensure compliance with international law. “Labeling products produced in Israeli settlements gives businesses and consumers the information they need to avoid supporting industries that contribute to violations of human rights,” said Sarah Saadoun, a researcher at the group.

Sewell Chan reported from London and Jodi Rudoren from Jerusalem.

15,000 CHICAGO PROTESTORS DEMAND END TO ISRAELI OCCUPATION

rayhanania | October 18, 2015 | 

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AN ESTIMATED 15,000 PEOPLE MARCHED DEMANDING THAT ISRAEL END ITS BRUTAL MILITARY ATTACKS AGAINST PALESTINIANS, BLASTING THE MAINSTREAM NEWS MEDIA FOR ITS ONE-SIDED, PRO-ISRAEL COVERAGE AND DOWNPLAYING THE ISRAELI KILLING OF PALESTINIANS WHILE EMPHASIZING PALESTINIAN KILLINGS OF ISRAELIS

BY RAY HANANIA

Nearly 15,000 people protesting Israeli violence against Palestinian civilians and the failure of the news media to fairly cover the conflict marched through the heart of America’s second largest city in America, sending a loud and clear message that Palestine must be free.

Attendees came from all over the Chicagoland area and waved placards denouncing Israeli violence against Palestinian civilians. During the past several weeks, the media has emphasized that seven Israelis have been killed in attacks but downplayed that more than 45 Palestinians have been killed by Israelis. Additionally, Israel has beaten and injured nearly 1,000 Palestinian civilians in Occupied Jerusalem, in the Occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip where Israeli snipers have targeted protestors on the Gaza Side of the Israeli military obstructions.

Protestors also waved the green, red, white and black Palestinian flag including one that was huge and carried by two dozen people. The protest route started at Congress and Michigan Avenue all the way north to at Wacker Drive near the Israeli consulate, then down State Street back to Balboa Street then returning to  Michigan again Congress.

Protests in Chicago Sunday Oct. 18, 2015 against Israel’s occupation. Photo courtesy of Dr. Atiyeh Salem

“Today, Chicago voiced it’s solidarity with Palestine. All ages including educators, professionals, doctors, lawyers and busyness people, including the normal hard-working at Chicago area responded to the outcry of the Palestinians under the worst occupation that Humanity has ever known,” described Dr. Atiyeh Salem, a Palestinian originally from Bethlehem, Palestine and one of the protestors attending the march on Sunday afternoon.

“This demonstration in Chicago was led by all types of students and many nationalities including pro-Palestinians, Jewish educators, students from universities and high school graduates, with housewives and religious leaders.  This demonstration expressed the feeling inside every Arab and every Palestinian Christian or Muslims.”

Dr. Atiyeh Salem, one of 15,000 protestors at a demonstration demanding an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine — Sunday (Oct. 18, 2015) in Chicago

Atiyeh said the the demonstration was “a natural reaction” to the atrocities committed by Israel nearly every day, killing mainly children. He said people protested against injustice by Israel and against the Apartheid Wall, calling it “The Wall of Shame.”

“We protested against the illegal administrative detentions, the closures, the occupation of 62% of the West Bank, the closure of the Gaza Strip, the continued building of illegal establishments with the support of the Israeli army with soldiers acting like gangsters, and protesting the burning of entire families and children,” Salem said.

“All of these factors have caused natural response from the victims, when no Arab country or anyone will give a hand or pass any resolutions in the United Nations to defend the Palestinian people and support the  Palestinian cause. This more than 15,000 demonstrators were asking for one thing, end the occupation.”

Palestinians and protestors proudly waved Palestinian flags at the protest in Chicago Sunday Oct. 18, 2015 against Israel’s occupation. Photo courtesy of Dr. Atiyeh Salem

Salem’s views reflected the views of many of the protestors who attended and posted photographs on their Facebook Pages. Salem provided photos taken at the protest to The Arab Daily News, which are included in this report.

Oftentimes, the mainstream American news media ignores protests against Israel, or if they do mention the protests, they give it a short an quick mention. But, when an Israeli is killed, the news media makes the death the headline of the news on television, radio and in the newspapers and in their online media websites.

“It’s shameful the way the media acts. It’s so unprofessional,” another protestor wrote on his Facebook Page. “The Israelis kill dozens of Palestinians and the news media doesn’t even mention the names of the Palestinians who are killed by the Israelis. Yet, when an Israeli is killed by a Palestinian who is resisting the occupation, who has been brutalized and had his land and life stolen by Israel, the news media makes it look like the Palestinians are the cause of the violence.”

Protests were held across the United States including in Dearborn, Michigan and also around the world to show solidarity with the Palestinians and to demand an end to the Israeli occupation which is the cause of the violence. But Chicago’s demonstration was one of the largest held.

Protest in Chicago Sunday Oct. 18, 2015 against Israel’s occupation. Photo courtesy of Dr. Atiyeh Salem

Protestors proudly wave Palestinian flags against Israeli injustice, demanding and end to the occupation. Protest in Chicago Sunday Oct. 18, 2015 against Israel’s occupation. Photo courtesy of Dr. Atiyeh Salem

Many signs held at the protest denounced Israeli atrocities and also urged the United States to stop funding Israeli’s atrocities and war crimes. Israel receives more than $5 billion a year from American taxpayers. Photo courtesy of Dr. Atiyeh Salem

Protest in Chicago Sunday Oct. 18, 2015 against Israel’s occupation. Photo courtesy of Dr. Atiyeh Salem

Protests in Chicago Sunday Oct. 18, 2015 against Israel’s occupation. Photo courtesy of Dr. Atiyeh Salem

Protests in Chicago Sunday Oct. 18, 2015 against Israel’s occupation. Photo courtesy of Dr. Atiyeh Salem

Palestinian protest leaders and attendees said the turnout ranged from 4,000 to 15,000 attendees. Part of the difficulty of the count is that the Chicago Police did not provide any numbers. The biased mainstream Chicago news media mostly ignored the massive protest, but at least one TV station did include a quick report of about 10 seconds noting pro-Palestinian protestors marched at Grant Park, but they offered no coverage or substance. The WLS TV anchor said that “several hundred” people protested the “ongoing violence” in the Middle East. The US Palestinian Network which has chapters in California, Chicago, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, St. Louis, Washington DC, and Wisconsin said they are using the number 4,000 to describe the protest, adding, “It’s still a number to be proud of.”

The estimate was based on the previous week when 46,000 runners participated in the Bank of American Chicago Marathon where a contingent of about 60 Palestinians running under the banner “Team Palestine” completed the popular Chicago run. Nearly 500,000 people lined the marathon route.

Chicago Police declined to give an official estimated of the number of protestors, something they do often in other protests. But then again, hey, Chicago is “Prime Minister Rahm Emanuel’s” occupied territory.