By Richard A Falk

(source:Middle East Online)

Richard A. Falk – is an American professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University, author or co-author of 20 books, and an appointee to two United Nations positions on the Palestinian territories.

“So why did the Israeli government boycott the commission? The real answer is quite simple: they knew full well that the commission, any commission, would have to reach the conclusions it did reach.” – Uri Avnery (Israeli peace activist, and former Knesset member), ‘On the Goldstone Report’ 19 Sept 2009.

Richard Goldstone, former judge of South Aftica’s Constitutional Court, the first prosecutor at The Hague on behalf of the International Criminal Court for Former Yugolavia, and anti-apartheid campaigner reports that he was most reluctant to take on the job of chairing the UN fact-finding mission charged with investigating allegations of war crimes committed by Israel and Hamas during the three week Gaza War of last winter.

Goldstone explains that his reluctance was due to the issue being “deeply charged and politically loaded,” and was overcome because he and his fellow commissioners were “professionals committed to an objective, fact-based investigation,” adding that “above all, I accepted because I believe deeply in the rule of law and the laws of war,” as well as the duty to protect civilians to the extent possible in combat zones.

Read More »Why the goldstone report matters

By Tim King Salem-News.com

"Many were incarcerated again and again as they refused to enlist after their release from prison" – Israeli Peace Activist Gila Svirsky

(SALEM, Ore.) – Americans are raised to believe that Israel is an ally of the United States, and for most of us growing up here, there was no question about it. In many ways it is true that Israel is a U.S. ally, and in many ways it is not.

The U.S. is a country with both freedom of religion, and a declared separation of church and state. There has been plenty of religious persecution here over the years, but by and large and for the most part, especially today, Americans are able to worship how and where they please.

One of the biggest conflicts for some, is the fact that Israel is a religious state. There is no separation of church and state in the Jewish State, so if you don’t belong to the right culture and religion, you’re more or less out of luck.

Your neighbor could be a Palestinian and a lifelong friend, but you as an Israeli can not sell your house to him, even if you want to, because he is Palestinian. Israel’s government and military are utterly and completely prejudiced. 1

Read More »Israeli women serving prison time for refusal to join idf

(source: Ma’an News A gency)

“Unfortunately, what is actually happening is only an attempt to impose the US vision by making repeated attempts to launch negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, and this is unacceptable,” said Taha in an extended interview in his office in Gaza.

Taha said that US pressure on Israel to halt settlement activity as weak, biased, and non-binding. Instead, he said, the US should pressure Israel to end the entire occupation.
Asked what he meant by the word “occupation,” Taha said, “We were occupied twice, once in 1948 and again in 1967, and in Hamas we have a vision to end the occupation and go back to 1967 borders, and the American administration should work at least to end the occupation of 1967, which until now it has not done.”

Read More »Hamas leader abbas netanyahu meet serves us