Tag Archives: oPT

Articles & Opinions on the Recent Violence in Palestine

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I feel so far removed from the Middle East now, yet at the same time inextricably connected. When I heard the news of the latest viagra online attacks I was overcome with sadness. I feel angry, helpless and as always, unimaginably frustrated by the stupidity

of it all. I don’t have anything constructive to add to the debate right now, but felt the need to spread the word, so I compiled a few good reads&listens and added some ways to help at the bottom. I also received the following quote in an email from Jen Marlowe this morning that I’d like to share:

My colleague and dear friend Sami Al Jundi said best what I want most to say:
“My children will be safe only when your children know safetly, and your children will be safe only when my children know safety.”

But then, Sami corrected himself:
“Actually, there’s no such thing as my children and your children. There’s only our children.”

Here’s the roundup: Continue reading →

Forgotten

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In a Middle East overwhelmed by war, politics, destruction, and conflict, it is easy to forget that it is, like any other, just a place where life goes on; people live, people grow, people die. Communities flourish and decline. People come and people go. Mired in the hellfire of media and politics, it is easy to overlook the simple truths about life in the Middle East.

Nabatean
That there was civilization here before the advent of modern politics. Near Petra, Jordan.
Romans
There is a long history here: the legacy of the Romans, and its permanence. Outsiders before modern times. Roman Amphitheater, Amman, Jordan.
Architecture
Even in modern cities, there was something here first. Original Haifa architecture, damaged and dwarfed by pervasive modernization. Wadi Salib, Haifa.

Pilgrimage
That there are pilgrims who travel from every corner of the world to touch the history in these stones. Old City, Jerusalem.
Druze
Those whose communities and families are torn between two warring nations. The Golan Heights.
Woman
Those who, despite a life of faith, must always walk behind. Women's Balcony, Western Wall Cave, Jerusalem.

Nabi Saleh
That there are those who would put themselves in harm's way to defend a homeland they know of only from their dreams. Nabi Saleh.
Bedouin
Those for whom modern boundaries mean little. Eastern Jordanian desert, between Amman and Baghdad.
Sabra
and that fruit still blooms in the desert. Irbid, Jordan.

Chicken
Those whose playground is composed of ancient alleys. Old City, Jerusalem.
Kites
Those children who play in the winds of change. Bar Hai, Carmel, Haifa.
Al Araqib
That there are children whose homes are destroyed, victims of politics in which they have no part. Al-Araqib, Naqab.

Train
That soldiers are still children. Israel Train.
Tricycle
and that such childhood is short-lived. Wadi Nisnas, Haifa.
Weaving
There are those who carry on the craftsmanship of their ancestors. Naqab.

Terez
Those who keep alive the music and the culture of their ancestors. Terez Sliman concert, Akka.
Poetry
That poetry exists even in dark places. Haifa.
Rainbow Street
That art is hidden in plain sight. Rainbow Street, Amman, Jordan.

DAM
There are those who rap in protest, and those who listen in solidarity. DAM Concert, Fattoush, Ben Gurion St., Haifa.
Clothesline
That despite everything, this day is just like any other day. Haifa.
Restaurant
Against a backdrop of never-ending political gaming and war, life goes on as usual. A restaurant kitchen, Haifa.

Cemetery
And that, inevitably, the end comes. Here, a moment of forgotten history. British WWI Cemetary, Haifa.
Kuffiyehs
There is a past, a present, and a future. Old City, Jerusalem.

The continuing farce of Palestinian elections

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Way back when, I wrote about the constant delaying of Palestinian elections. They were supposed to take place last July, then October, then indefinitely postponed. It turns out, the elections are still postponed, and the CEC has meetings just to confirm and uphold the postponements.
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Just a thought:

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JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli authorities on Saturday began deporting pro-Palestinian activists who tried to breach the Jewish state’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.

What does it mean, actually, to be pro-Palestinian? Is that an accurate description of the activists aboard the flotilla?

What does it mean that the writer switched from “Israel” to “Jewish state”? Can they be used synonymously, or do they carry different connotations?

(Sorry to interrupt): If the PA disbands

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If the PA breaks up, it leaves a power vacuum in the West Bank.

Which means:

According to Lt. Col. (ret.) Moshe Marzouk, the move would constitute “a grave punishment for Israel, forcing it to regain complete security control over the Palestinian territories as well as being responsible for the education, health and all other civil aspects of the local residents’ life.

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The beginning of the end? or, how Fayyad and Abbas are pwning Netanyahu.

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For years, Palestinian and Israeli “negotiators” have been sitting down for “peace talks,” always with “impartial mediators” alongside. Then, earlier this year, for whatever reason—the Arab Spring, perhaps—the “Palestinians” (I use quotes appropriately because Fatah, let alone Abbas, do not speak for Palestinians as a whole) went to the UN to request recognition of their statehood based on some bizarre notion of feasibility. I am of the opinion they did so knowing it would fail but as a way to take charge in (or overstep) a diplomatic process that has been ****ing them all along. Whether or not they gained anything like, well, a state, they gained some negotiating power back from Goliath. Then, Hamas brokered a deal to release over a thousand of the thousands more Palestinians held in Israeli prisons in exchange for the release of the one and only Israeli (a soldier) imprisoned by Hamas. That’s Palestinians 2 – 0 Israelis. Or it might be 1-0-1.
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In a one-sided war, only one side can win.

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Israel is constantly in a bizarre state of one-sided war which it wages on anyone it can find, pummeling them with its superior American-made bullets and drones and gas canisters and grenades. It drops white phosphorous over Gaza and shoots live bullets at unarmed demonstrators. It takes as prisoners anyone it so desires and holds them in endless confinement. The only thing is, in this war, you’re not allowed to fight back. We can imprison them, you see, but they can’t imprison us.
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Yom Kippur comes to Zuccotti Park

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I loved this tweet: “Occupy Wall Street not West Bank/Gaza/East Jerusalem”

It’s so appropriate, it being Yom Kippur, a time to ask forgiveness. Let’s focus on fixing our own injustices, let’s focus on fixing injustices for which we bear some responsibility.

One of the major themes carried by Occupy Wall Street protestors is cutting foreign and military aid to places like Israel and using that money to stimulate the economy at home. Fighting for economic equality at home will, thanks to cause and effect, necessarily have a bearing on the Israeli occupation and on other violations of human rights around the world in which the US is complicit.

Knowing I didn’t go to synagogue on Rosh Hashanah, and knowing I won’t be at synagogue tomorrow morning, I really wish I could have been at #OWS this evening. It seems like it was a service I could really get behind.
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