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The Palestine Chronicle Is Fighting Back Ongoing Media Siege on the Truth
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| Praying for Freedom: Why Is Israel Silencing the Call for Prayer in Jerusalem?
As I was growing up, I was always reassured by the sound of the 'Muadhin' making the call for prayer in our refugee camp's main mosque in Gaza. Whenever I heard the call very early in the morning, announcing in a melodic voice that the time for the 'Fajr' (dawn) prayer was upon us, I knew it was safe to go to sleep. Of course, the call for prayer in Islam, like the sound of church bells ringing, carries a deep religious and spiritual meaning, as it has, five times a day, for the last 15 centuries, uninterrupted. But, in Palestine, such religious traditions also carry a deep, symbolic meaning. For the refugees in my camp, the dawn prayer meant that the Israeli army had departed the camp, ending their terrifying and violent nightly raids, leaving the refugees behind, either mourning their dead, wounded or detained, and freeing the 'Muadhin' to open the mosque's old, rusty doors, and announce to the faithful that a new day had arrived. It was almost impossible to go to sleep during those days of the First Palestinian Uprising, when collective punishment of Palestinian communities throughout the Occupied Territories crossed every tolerable line. That was before the mosque in our camp - the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in central Gaza Strip - was raided, along with other mosques, and the Imam was arrested. When the mosque's doors were sealed shut by orders from the army, ordinary people climbed to the roofs of their homes during the military curfew and announced the call for prayer, anyway. Even our 'communist' neighbor did - a man, we were told, who had never stepped foot inside a mosque all of his life! It was no longer just a religious matter but an act of collective defiance, proving that even orders from the army would not silence the voice of the people. The call for prayer meant continuity; survival; rebirth; hope and layer-upon-layer of meanings that was never truly understood, but always feared by the Israeli army. The onslaught on the mosques never ended. According to government and media reports, a third of Gaza's mosques were destroyed in the 2014 Israeli war on the Strip. 73 mosques were entirely destroyed by missiles and bombs and 205 were partially demolished. This includes Al-Omari Mosque in Gaza, which dates back to 649 AD. Now, Israel is trying to ban the call for prayer in various Palestinian communities, starting in Occupied East Jerusalem. The ban came only a few weeks after the United Nations culture and education organization, UNESCO, had passed two resolutions condemning Israel's illegal practices in the occupied Arab city. UNESCO demanded that Israel ceases such practices, which violate international law and attempt to alter the status quo of a city that is central to all monotheistic religions. After staging an unsuccessful campaign to counter the UN's effort, going as far as accusing the international institution of anti-Semitism, Israeli officials are now carrying out punitive measures: collectively punishing the non-Jewish residents of Jerusalem for UNESCO's verdicts. This includes the construction of yet more illegal Jewish homes, the threat to demolish thousands of Arab homes, and, as of late, restricting the call for prayer in various mosques. It all began on November 3, when a small crowd of settlers from the illegal settlement of Pisgat Zeev gathered in front of the home of Israeli Mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barakat. They demanded that the government ends the 'noise pollution', emanating from the city's mosques. Read more.. |
| Trump May Kill Netanyahu with Kindness While the United States presidential election bitterly divided the American public, most Israelis were sanguine about the race. Both candidates - Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton - were keen to end eight years of icy mistrust between Barack Obama, the outgoing president, and Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli prime minister should - at least on paper - be happier with Trump. Netanyahu, elected four times, has always faced off with Democratic incumbents. Now he has not only a right-wing Republican in the White House but a Republican-dominated Congress too. Standing guard over the relationship will be Sheldon Adelson, a US casino magnate who is Netanyahu's most vocal supporter. It will not be lost on Trump that the billionaire is one of the Republican Party's main financiers. Netanyahu was among the first to congratulate Trump by phone. The US president-elect reciprocated by inviting him for talks "at the first opportunity". And yet Netanyahu is reported to be anxious about a Trump White House. Why? It is certainly not because of Trump's stated policies on the Israel-Palestine conflict. He has backed moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem - a move that, if implemented, would make the US the first western state to recognize the city as Israel's capital. It would effectively rubber-stamp Israel's illegal annexation of East Jerusalem, the expected capital of a Palestinian state. Previous Republican candidates have made the same promise, but Trump looks like the first who might carry it through. A nervous Palestinian leadership warned at the weekend they would "make life miserable" for him if he did. A Trump policy statement issued just before the election could have been written by Netanyahu himself. It dismissed a two-state solution as "impossible", blaming the Palestinian leadership for rewarding terrorism and educating children in "hatred of Israel and Jews". It suggested that Israel would have a free hand to expand the settlements. There were hints too that US military aid might be increased above the record $38 billion over 10 years recently agreed by Obama. And the statement proposed a crackdown on all boycott activities, even those targeting settlements. "The false notion that Israel is an occupier should be rejected," it concluded. So why the nerves in Tel Aviv? Read more.. |
| Hell on Earth: Being a Cancer Patient in Palestine Radiation treatment of cancer patients was introduced in the mid-20th century and is second in importance only to surgery. In numerous cases of malignant tumors such treatment is considered as effective and at times even more so than surgery, as it might spare the patient invasive operation, amputation and chronic disability. Radiation treatment is custom-prescribed following an initial examination with PET CT equipment, vital to determine the size and precise location of the malignancy, and identifying metastasis if present. Every oncology ward in Israeli hospitals is equipped with several apparatuses for radio-thermal treatment and PET-CT equipment. The treatments take place in a series of 29 or 30 consequent days. Each treatment session is 4-5 minutes long, and each patient is scheduled for treatment at his/her personal convenience. But Not in Palestine However, that which is so very obvious and accessible to patients inside the State of Israel is neither obvious nor accessible for patients in Palestine. In all of the hospitals throughout the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, serving about 3.5 million human beings, there is not a single apparatus for treating cancer patients with radiation therapy, nor a single PET-CT device, so patients must travel to either Israel or Jordan for treatment. This travel entails great physical and mental hardship and considerable expenses. (And all of this could be avoided, if radiation treatment equipment were available in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip).
Most Palestinian cancer patients in need of such treatment are referred to Augusta Victoria, the only hospital in East Jerusalem to offer radiation treatment. However, unlike the existence of ample equipment in Israeli hospitals, Augusta Victoria - that belongs to the Lutheran Church establishment - has only two such apparatuses, for lack of resources and reliance on donations. Often, as we learn from the patients, one of them malfunctions. But the meager number and low state of maintenance of such equipment is not the main difficulty for those who need it. At fault is rather the fact that this hospital is not accessible to patients with Palestinian IDs who, in order to reach it, are required to obtain special entry permits (for residents of Palestine do not enjoy freedom of movement into their own city of East Jerusalem). Even after they obtain such permission to enter East Jerusalem, the obstacles on their way every day are numerous. Hellish Journey Dozens of cancer patients leave their homes every morning of every weekday, assemble in the city of Nablus and travel from there by public transport provided by the Palestinian Authority to Qalandiya Checkpoint. Read more... |
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| US Just Backed Right to Boycott Israel, But will Trump Agree? Brown added, "but whether this position will survive under the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump is an open question, given his history of erratic statements on the Middle East." "State Department spokesperson Mark Toner was asked on Monday if the US has a view on a bill introduced in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, that would bar supporters of BDS - boycott, divestment and sanctions - from entering the country. "Our strong opposition to boycotts and to sanctions of the state of Israel is unchanged and well known," Toner said. But then he added, "We value freedom of expression, even in cases where we do not agree with the political views espoused." This stance aligns with the formulations of the EU's top foreign policy official and two of the bloc's member governments - the Netherlands and Ireland. By noting that "we don't believe that individuals or groups that want only to express their political views should be prohibited from doing so," Toner signaled the US government's objection to the Israeli legislation. When asked if he agreed that BDS "is actually a nonviolent, peaceful effort" in support of Palestinian rights, Toner was succinct in his response: "Yes.""
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