Zionism – Breaking News

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By Jon Elmer

(source: Al Jazeera)

In February 2006, following Hamas’ electoral victory, a top advisor to Ehud Olmert, the then Israeli prime minister, Dov Weisglass, described the essence of Israel’s Gaza policy."It’s like a meeting with a dietitian," Weisglass said. "We need to make the Palestinians lose weight, but not to starve to death."

Although any Gazan will quickly point out that the blockade on the movement of goods – and people – into and out of Gaza long predates the election of Hamas, as the years have passed the exact date of the siege has often been, for reasons of political expedience, recast to coincide with the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007.Israel characterises the blockade as "economic warfare" targeting Hamas and its constituents.

‘No humanitarian crisis’

According to government documents that have surfaced in response to a lawsuit before Israel’s high court, "the limitation on the transfer of goods is a central pillar in the means at the disposal of the state of Israel in the armed conflict between it and Hamas".

A key white paper, entitled Food Consumption in the Gaza Strip – Red Lines, meticulously details the minimum caloric intake required, based on age and sex, to keep Gazans hovering just above malnutrition levels, and specifies the corresponding grams and calories of each type of food allowed into Gaza.

Read More »Going organicthe siege on Gaza

“. . . we are allowed to criticise specific Israeli policies like attacks on Gaza etc but we are not allowed to criticise the ideology (Zionism) behind these policies.”

By Mazin Qumsiyeh

(source: http://www.qumsiyeh.org/thoughtsongermanyandpalestine/)

The conference in Stuttgart about Palestine was themed “Separated in the past, together in the future”, was sold-out, and had some high powered speakers and lots of energy [1]. We listened, spoke, networked, bought each others’ books, ate, hugged, cried, and laughed. I mostly spent lots of time in thinking; maybe because of waiting at airports or because such conferences give us opportunity to reflect or whatever. Thoughts are a mixed blessing. In that labyrinth of neurons firing sometimes uncontrollably, we are transported to the past, to the present, to the future, whipsawed by40and stories and sounds and smells. The one minute I am thinking of my delay of three hours at the bridge to Jordan while Israeli Shin Bet agents scurry around trying to figure out what to do about me. I reflect on my angered indignation verbalised twice to a young white clean-cut guy (maybe Russian?). Did I challenge him too much or was it too little?

In visiting Germany one cannot help but reflect on history. The thoughts are transported to periods before I was born, periods in history and facts I have read and verified and contrast with myths that are taught daily to unsuspecting publics. Germany lives in the modern presence but the mist of a heavy and dark past moves all around, sometimes getting thick and blurring visions. Some people pump such smoke trying to convince Germans and themselves that this is that mist emanating from a relevant past. We think and speak of how best to explain to Germans that guilt feelings are misdirected. How do we explain the Nazi-Zionist collaborations and the horrors that happened because of a misunderstanding of what really happened nearly seven decades ago [2]. But most of all I reflect on both how good people can be and how much evil they can do. After all, what makes an Ilan Pappe, brilliant professor, humanist who shed all his tribal borders and moved to touch his humanity?  And what makes an Ehud Barak, a war criminal with blood of thousands on his hands?

Not in my name is the message that a brilliant Jewish German woman (Evelyn Hecht-Galinski) gave in her speech. Her clarion voice echoed those of prophets speaking to decadent kings of the past, articulating in passionate moral clarity what horror awaits if they stay their destructive course. As human beings, we cannot choose to stand on the sideline while a grave injustice is being committed. We cannot stand by and watch as Western governments succumb to lobbies and send weapons and money that are used to commit horrific crimes. As citizens of those countries we cannot be silent. I listen to Evelyn’s words (translated from German to English) and to the tone of her strong voice and determined looks that penetrate to the hearts of a mesmerised audience. I think this is what decency and courage look like.

Read More »Thoughts on germany Palestine