South Africa – Features

By Elias Harb

(source: Just International)

Ken O’Keefe (born July 21, 1969) is an American born activist who renounced his US citizenship on March 1, 2001. He has since acquired Irish, Hawaiian and Palestinian citizenship. On January 7, 2004, O’Keefe burned his US passport in protest of “American Imperialism” and called for US troops to immediately withdrawal from Iraq. He replaced his US passport with a World Citizen Passport, proclaiming “ultimate allegiance to my entire human family and to planet Earth.”

He is a former U.S. Marine who served in the 1991 Gulf War and subsequently spoke out about the use of depleted uranium as a “crime against humanity” and the US military using soldiers as “human guinea pigs” (with experimental drugs that were directly linked to Gulf War syndrome).He is also a social entrepreneur utilising direct action marine conservation in which he pioneered endangered Green Sea Turtle rescues in Hawaii. But he is more widely known for leading the Human Shield Action to Iraq (2003) and as a survivor of the Israeli attack on the MV Mavi Marmara (2010) in which he participated in “defending the ship” and “disarming two Israeli Commandos”.

In October 2009 he founded Aloha Palestine, a social enterprise dedicated to purchasing a ship and conducting regular and reliable trade with Palestinians in Gaza. For more Information Click World Citizen – Ken O’Keefe

——————————————————————————————————

On May 31 Israeli forces attacked innocent unarmed human rights activists on the Freedom Flotilla which had terrible consequences, resulting in the death of (at least) nine civilians and the wounding of over 40. It was unprovoked, unwarranted, and illegal. As recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the United Nations (UN) and every government in the world, Israel remains the occupying power in Gaza when Israeli military forces took control of the six ships in international waters on 31 May 2010, the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 then applied to the civilians on board.

Elias Harb: How long did the IDF boats shadow the Mavi Marmara, at what point did they fire the first shots?

Ken O’Keefe: We were followed for several hours before the attack; the first shots were fired at first contact, when the first assault boats came up to the side of our ship. The first murder occurred within the first three to five minutes.

Read More »Interview with ken okeefe Isarael executed people in international waters

‘Racist for Democracy’ 
 
 
 
How lucky we are to have the extreme Right standing guard over our democracy.
 
By Uri Avnery – Israel

How lucky we are to have the extreme Right standing guard over our democracy.

This week, the Knesset voted by a large majority (47 to 34) for a law that threatens imprisonment for anyone who dares to deny that Israel is a Jewish and Democratic State.

The private member’s bill, proposed by MK Zevulun Orlev of the “Jewish Home” party, which sailed through its preliminary hearing, promises one year in prison to anyone who publishes “a call that negates the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and Democratic State”, if the contents of the call might cause “actions of hate, contempt or disloyalty against the state or the institutions of government or the courts”.

One can foresee the next steps. A million and a half Arab citizens cannot be expected to recognize Israel as a Jewish and Democratic State. They want it to be “a state of all its citizens” – Jews, Arabs and others. They also claim with reason that Israel discriminates against them, and therefore is not really democratic. And, in addition, there are also Jews who do not want Israel to be defined as a Jewish State in which non-Jews have the status, at best, of tolerated outsiders.

Read More »Racist for democracy

UNICEF said it has severed ties with Leviev for his involvement in building settlements in the occupied Palestinian lands. Read More »Unicef boycotts settlements financer