Thursday, March 29, 2018

A Tribute to Rim Banna | 'Peace Process' Warrior | Video: 3-Year-Old Detained | 'Great March of Return' | More..

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A TRIBUTE

Rim Banna: A Symbol of Life and Unity


The body of Palestinian vocalist and songwriter Rim Banna was laid to rest in her home city of Nazareth on March 24, 2018, after a struggle with cancer that never reduced her determination to sing and resist. 

She will be remembered for her songs for children, her dedication to Palestinian freedom, and for her refusal to be categorized as a second class citizen of the state of Israel. 

Her music told the stories of the beauty of life despite times of oppression and urged the occupied, exiled and imprisoned to maintain a heritage of resistance.

- Click here to read the full article by Louis Brehony
EDITORIAL

The Last 'Peace Process' Warrior: Abbas Hanging by a Thread



The "deal of the century" is a farce. We suspected that, of course, but, upon his return from Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed in more detail why the long-anticipated plan of the administration of US President Donald Trump has no basis in reality.
Netanyahu told his Cabinet that there are "no concrete details" to report on the US peace plan. One has to suspect that the "plan" was, all along, the US disavowal of the so-called peace process and the dropping of the "honest peace broker" act.
In fact, that much has been achieved, especially with the US decision last December to accept Israel's illegal annexation of occupied East Jerusalem and agreement to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Since then, Israel has initiated a clear strategy to annexing the West Bank. Its top officials are contending that the "two-state solution" is not even deserving of a conversation.
"We are done with that," said Israel's education minister, in recent remarks to students in New York. "They have a Palestinian state in Gaza."
The Palestinian Authority (PA) of Mahmoud Abbas was, thus, left with the unviable position. It is lashing out left and right, convulsing like a wounded animal.
It is hard to imagine that, at the moment, Abbas is orbiting within a grand strategy of any kind. Random statements, attacks on his Palestinian rivals, the Israelis and the Americans - mostly for betraying him - is all that seems to keep his name in the news.
"May God demolish his home," was one of the statements attributed to the Palestinian leader, in response to Trump's decision regarding Jerusalem.
That was on 14 January. A few days ago, Abbas referred to David Friedman, the ardently right-wing and pro-Israel US ambassador to Israel, as "son of a bitch".
Friedman is an avid supporter of the illegal Jewish settlements, but name calling is not a promising sign of a constructive Palestinian strategy.
Abbas feels beleaguered, disowned by Washington and a victim of an elaborate US-Israeli plot that has cost Palestinians precious time and much land, while leaving Abbas with nothing but an embarrassing political legacy.
Abbas is not necessarily angry because the US has betrayed its role in the "peace process". He is angry because he has, for years, perceived himself as a member in the American camp of "moderates" in the Middle East. Now, however, he matters not. The US government is notorious for betraying its allies.
The US, now run by the most pro-Israel administration in years, has no role for Abbas to play. They renounced him, just like that, and carried on to imagine a "solution" in Palestine that only serves the interests of Israel.
A recent meeting, chaired by leading pro-Israel officials in Washington, including Jared Kushner, was dubbed as a "brainstorming session" on how to solve the Gaza crisis. No Palestinian was involved in the conference.
Since Abbas has hung all his hopes on Washington, he is left with no plan B. The Europeans neither have the will, desire, nor political clout to replace the US. They have often served as lackeys to US foreign policy, and it would not be easy, if at all possible, for any European government to replace the US as the new "honest peace broker".
Abbas' popularity - and that of his Authority - among Palestinians is negligible. In fact, 70 percent of Palestinians want him to step down immediately. That was according to a poll conducted last December. Yet, at 83 and suffering from ill health, Abbas is still holding on tightly to his chair.
It may appear that, during this time of political uncertainty and isolation, it would be advantageous for Abbas to reach out to other Palestinian factions. However, the opposite is true. Abbas is accusing his main rival, Hamas, of an assassination attempt targeting PA Prime Minister, Rami Hamdallah.
After a promising agreement, signed in Cairo between Fatah - Abbas' party - and Hamas, all hopes have been dashed once more. In a joint conference with visiting Bulgarian President, Rumen Radev, in Ramallah, Abbas proclaimed: "The Gaza Strip has been hijacked by Hamas."
"They must immediately hand over everything, first and foremost security, to the Palestinian national consensus government," he said.
What "national consensus government" is Abbas referring to anyway? There have been no general elections since Hamas won the parliamentary majority in 2006. Abbas himself rules on an expired mandate. As of 9 January 2009, Abbas lost his democratic legitimacy.
Oddly, it is the conflict between him and Hamas that is allowing both sides to impose themselves on the Palestinian public - which is left disenchanted, practically leaderless and facing the brunt of occupation and apartheid on its own.
Instead of mending fences with the Palestinian people, Abbas continues with his political one-man show, encouraged by his enablers in the PA, who are equally responsible for the havoc wreaked by the US and Israeli governments.
Still, the Palestinian leadership (whether in the PA or the PLO) continues with its desperate attempts to resuscitate the "peace process"; lonely warriors in a political illusion that has been abandoned even by its own masters.
For Abbas and the PA, participating in the US-led project was the last bridge they wished not to burn. Trump's decision to relocate his country's embassy signaled that the last bridge was, indeed, up in flames, but Abbas is yet to be convinced of this obvious reality.
From American and Israeli viewpoints, the "peace process" could be considered a success. It allowed the US to define the political agenda in the Middle East and for Israel to shape the physical reality of the Occupied Territories in any way it found suitable.
The Palestinian leadership has emerged as the biggest loser. It first sat at the "negotiation table" to talk of borders, refugees, water, territories and Jerusalem, only to be left with nothing at the end.
It has lost both credibility and legitimacy. The space in which it was permitted to negotiate withered year after year.
Now, the Palestinian people must reflect on this current harsh reality, but also hope for a new beginning predicated on unity, the re-articulating of national priorities, and a new strategy.
- Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and editor of Palestine Chronicle. His forthcoming book is 'The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story' (Pluto Press, London). Baroud has a Ph.D. in Palestine Studies from the University of Exeter and is a Non-Resident Scholar at Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies, University of California Santa Barbara. His website is www.ramzybaroud.net.
COMMENTARY

Irresponsible Rhetoric Allows Violence against Palestinians



In diplomatic circles, language hardly changes from one scenario to the next. It is only the accusations leveled against different political actors that convey part of the context, which always disregards allegations of violence in order to maintain the level of impunity for all aggressors.
The latest UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session, during which five resolutions against Israel were passed, is one such example of how rhetoric has degenerated to the point that there is no longer any coherence between the human rights violations and condemnations thereof.
Such rhetoric is irresponsible.
According to Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon, the UNHRC is "manipulated by bloodthirsty dictatorships hiding their own massive human rights violations by attacking Israel."
US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley displayed her devotion to the Zionist state by insisting that Washington's "patience is not unlimited. Today's actions make clear that the organisation lacks the credibility needed to be a true advocate for human rights."
This, of course, is all nonsense.
The context offered by Nahshon and Haley is reflective of nothing more than the impunity that Israel enjoys. The reality is that Israel employs violence against Palestinians as its trademark and there is no reason whatsoever why it should not be singled out as an agenda item at the UNHRC.
What stands out in all of this is not the juxtaposition of Israel's human rights violations against those of other countries, but the international community's passive response to Israeli violations. Resolutions are useless; Israel and the international community know this very well. Even so, the farce instigated by the international community through such statements continues to keep Palestinians tethered to the same cycle of abuse, worthy only of repetitive rhetoric which prompts momentary anger and then fades into oblivion.
Of particular note was the Palestinian Authority's spokesman Yusuf al-Mahmoud who, as quoted in the Times of Israel, praised countries which voted in favor of the UNHRC resolutions "for their ability to stand in the face of injustice, arrogance, and occupation, and to reject the language of threats and coercion."
The countries that he praises so effusively have merely acted in order to comply with measures requiring the least effort on their part; words are, after all, cheap. However, it is "language of threats and coercion" which requires further dissection when applied to the PA's track record of rhetoric that invites violence against Palestinians.
Just days after the UNHRC resolutions were passed, PA leader Mahmoud Abbas told a press conference in Ramallah attended by Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, that the PA "never rejected political negotiations with Israel." Abbas also insisted that he would not "accept solutions outside the framework of international legitimacy."
The ramifications of "international legitimacy" should be considered as part of the "language of threats and coercion."
In remaining aligned to obsolete paradigms, as well as institutions which granted legitimacy to Israel at the expense of Palestinian displacement and dispossession, Abbas is allowing violence against Palestinian society at every level.
Thus, not only does Yusuf Al-Mahmoud's statement ring hollow, but it also reflects the perpetual dissonance when discussing the violence inflicted upon Palestinians by the political protagonists who claim antagonism against themselves while collaborating flawlessly in the elimination of Palestine and its people.
- Ramona Wadi is a staff writer for Middle East Monitor, where this article was originally published. She contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com.
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COMMENTARY

Canadian Jewish Federations Act as Israel Lobbyists



By Yves Engler
Is it a charity or political fundraiser for a right-wing foreign government?
People need to take a look at Canada's Jewish Federations.
Together the United Jewish Appeal/Combined Jewish Appeal of Toronto, Montréal, Winnipeg, Windsor, Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton, London, Ottawa, Vancouver and Atlantic Canada raise over $100 million annually. The largest in the network, UJA Toronto's endowment and planned giving arm has $500 million in assets and planned gifts. CJA Montréal has over $300 million on hand.
In a recent letter to the Canadian Jewish News Morris Sosnovitch asked why UJA Toronto gives a quarter of its budget to a country with a $360 billion national budget. All Canadian taxpayers should ask why tax deductions are given for the $13.7 million UJA Toronto, $3.8 million CJA Montréal, $1.2 million CJA Vancouver, etc. donated last year to Israel, among the world's 25 wealthiest countries, run for the past decade by one of the most right wing, openly racist governments in the world. The Jewish Federations also oversee the United Israel Appeal Federations Canada. In 2016 that registered charity raised $80 million.
Beyond annual allotments, the Federations have repeatedly topped up their annual donations to Israel. In a particularly disturbing comment on Israel's supporters, aggression has been good for fundraising. In support of the IDF killing 2,200 Palestinians in Gaza in the summer of 2014, UJA Toronto launched an emergency appeal. Led by Fred Waks, the staunch advocate of late billionaires Bernie and Honey Sherman, the special appeal raised over $5.6 million.
Alongside its fundraising support, UJA Toronto has organized an annual Walk with Israel for 46 years. Additionally, UJA Toronto cosponsored a celebration of Israel's 2014 military onslaught on Gaza under the title "We Will Not be Silent: A March Against Global Anti-Semitism." The Times of Israel reported: "The purpose of the march was passionately summed up in Bill Glied's closing remarks: 'Thank God for the IDF. Thank God for Israel. And remember together we must stand. Never again!'"
The cross-country UJAs are the source of most Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs' funding. While it refuses to reveal details, CIJA's budget is between $8 and $11 million a year. To get a sense of its politics, CIJA backed moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem, getting rid of the Iran nuclear accord and Israel's 2014 assault on Gaza. Recently CIJA called on Canadian Jews to write the government to request Canada take more Eritrean, Sudanese and other African refugees that Israel is seeking to expel. Apparently, CIJA wants an as 'Jewish and white as possible' state in the Middle East but supports multiculturalism in Canada.
The CJAs also fund a variety of other pro-Israel institutions. The Federations give millions of dollars every year to campus Hillels, which refuse to associate with Jews (or others) who "delegitimize, demonize, or apply a double standard to Israel; support boycott of, divestment from, or sanctions against the state of Israel."
The Federations also provide millions of dollars to Jewish day schools that promote the Israeli nationalist narrative. A March Canadian Jewish News cover story titled "What to teach Jewish students about Israel?" detailed the growing importance given to classes on Israel at Jewish day schools. While students have long been "taught from a young age to see Israel as the land of milk and honey", in recent years Jewish day schools have ramped up their indoctrination in reaction to "anti-Israel student groups on campuses throughout North America."
One of the five "Faces of Success" in a CJA booklet promoting Montréal Jewish schools is a man namedOliver Moore, a graduate of McGill Law who works with the notoriously right wing NGO Monitor in Jerusalem. Moore is quoted stating: "My experience attending Jewish high school imprinted me with a Zionist ethic and a profound appreciation for Israel's importance. It troubles me that Israel is under constant political threat and that its legitimacy is questioned. What I find especially disturbing is that the language of human rights has been distorted to dispute its right to exist. That is why I've decided to go to Israel and examine this issue in depth, and when I return to Canada, to contribute to Israel advocacy."
Simultaneously, the Federations suppress Jewish advocates of Palestinian rights. They largely refuse to let Independent Jewish Voices book rooms at Federation community centres. In 2009 CJA canceled an IJV room rental at the Gelber Conference Centre in Montréal for a talk by Israeli peace activist Jeff Halper, founder of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. The Jewish Community Centre of Ottawa openly refuses to rent space to IJV because it "advocates for positions that run counter to the objectives of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa." In 2011 UJA Toronto threatened to "sever ties" with the Morris Winchevsky Centre over a United Jewish Peoples' Order talk by Auschwitz survivor Dr. Hajo Meyer titled "Never Again for Anyone".
Incredibly, there has been little public criticism of UJA's anti-Palestinianism. Despite delivering tens of millions of dollars a year to Israel and spending a comparable sum on Israel advocacy in Canada, the organization presents itself as an apolitical "charity".
It's past time to bring some pressure to bear on these morally odious institutions. Taxpayers should tell political leaders they don't want to subsidize a wealthy country in the Middle East and the Canada Revenue Agency should be pushed to investigate whether Federation funding to CIJA and other politically engaged organizations contravene their rules about charities spending no more than 10% of their budget on politics.
It's time for those who care about peace and international justice to treat the Federations the same way they treat Palestinians.
-  Yves Engler is the author of Canada and Israel: Building Apartheid and a number of other books. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com. Visit his website: yvesengler.com.
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