ALAH: Arab Lesbians Against Hate

Sailing for Freedom. The Gaza Yacht race

2012-02-07T10:11:00.000-08:00

Could this be the work of the crack PR team hired by the Palestinians to market their cause? Are they attempting to "rebrand" Gaza, perhaps to market it to the luxury traveller? Its certainly feasible, with the recent construction boom. Or are they simply trying to fill up those 5 star luxury resorts?
No, its not a Latma parody. Its not a joke. Its…. (drum roll please)
The Yacht Race to Gaza
(well, they call it "Sailing to Freedom")

Their website describes the event:

In the light of my participation in the Flotille de la Liberté 2011 (Freedom Fleet 2011) and following the events that occurred during the 2010 Fleet, I have imagined an action which will contribute to the efforts made by so many throughout the World to try to break the blockade of Gaza. To counter the Israeli argument that humanitarian convoys may well permit the importation of armaments and of terrorists, we have thought of creating a sporting event, a sailing race.

This race, “Sailing for Freedom”,
would take the sailboats from Marseille to Gaza in 4 stages :
Marseilles – Tunis,
Tunis – Antalya,
Antalya – Alexandria,
Alexandria – Gaza.
The start will be given in Marseille on 9th September 2012.
The arrival in Gaza is planned for 2nd October.

After the 2010 and 2011 Fleets, should the creation of a 2012 Fleet be attempted? Israel argues that the cargos of humanitarian aid can hide arms and “terrorists”.
This reflexion, and discussions with other members of the crew of the “Dignité Al Karama”, have led to me imagining a different way of expressing our solidarity and support.Having spent most of my life sailing the seven seas, I have imagined the creation of a sailing race.
To go to Gaza not with cargo boats which will always be suspect in the eyes of the Israelis who will justify their boardings in the name of their security
but with sailboats, in the framework of a purely sporting regatta.
No cargo, no arms, no “terrorists".
Sportsmen and women on sailboats.
The idea of “Sailing for Freedom” was born this way.
==================
The presentation of “Sailing for Freedom” will have a definite impact throughout the entire world including Israel which will find it difficult to explain that a sporting event would be a danger to its security. That said, we are obliged to consider the possibility that Israel may prevent the arrival of the boats in Gaza.
So we cannot ask for private yachts to participate, as they may well be boarded by Israel and probably returned in poor condition after an unpredictable delay.
Thus the idea is to reserve the participation in this first edition of “Sailing for Freedom” to the groups and associations that have already led an action at the time of the 2010 and 2011 Fleets.
16 countries are concerned:
Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Norway, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the USA, to which should be added the project that included Asian countries.

So "Sailing for Freedom", in a nutshell are the same people who organized the flotillas, trying the same tactic with luxury sailing yacts. At least they've completely dropped the pretence that this has anything to do with bringing in "essential humaniatrian supplies"

Israeli-Arab pride in Israel

2012-02-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

Bet you didnt expect this

According to “Democracy Index 2011″ on behalf of the Israel Democracy Institute,52.8%of Arab citizens (compared to 88% of Jews) answer yes to the question if they are proud to be Israelis.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012
52.8% of Israeli Arabs proud to be Israelis, 45% think important Israel strengthens its military might Only 28.3% of respondents  said they were "not at all proud" to be Israelis. ..

According to "Democracy Index 2011" on behalf of the Israel Democracy
Institute, 52.8% of Arab citizens (compared to 88% of Jews) answer yes to the question if they are proud to be Israelis. Only 28.3% of respondents
said they were "not at all proud" to be Israelis. ..

These findings are not unusual at all. In 2009, a survey conducted a week after the conclusion of "Operation Cast Lead", found 45% of Arabs said they were proud to be Israelis. Years ago that figure was 53%. I happened to ask a group of British journalists ... whether by their estimate 45% of Catholics in Northern Ireland ready to say "I am proud to be British". "I do not believe that 45 Catholics in Northern Ireland who are willing to say it, not to mention the 45%", said one journalist.

...
Only to 24.5% of the Arabs, according to the survey of 2011, have confidence in the prime minister; 35.5% the government as an institution; 44% the Knesset; 39% have confidence in the Israel Police; 45.6% the state prosecutors, 50% the attorney general and 69.4% the Supreme Court (almost the same percentage of Jews). The IDF enjoys the confidence of 41% of Arab citizens and 45% agree that it is "important or very important" to strengthen its military might of Israel. Who would have guessed from the Jewish community that the percentage of Arab citizens who think it is important to strengthen the military might of Israel is far greater than the percentage that responded that it "not important" to them (29%)?

Are these answers reliable? Two years ago I saw a survey in which scores of percentages of voters for the Arab parties, including Balad, said that they are Israeli patriots. Whoever says Balad to a pollster is pointing, not to pander to the Jews. Israeli pride is very strong statement - stronger than loyalty.

More Assaults on Women in Egypt’s Tahrir Square

2012-01-26T19:35:00.000-08:00

Is this what we call freedom?

Read it here:

CAIRO: A foreign woman was stripped and sexually assaulted on Wednesday evening in Egypt’s iconic Tahrir Square, one eyewitness said on Twitter and anothehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifr confirmed in an email to Bikyamasr.com.

The woman, who’s identity has not been revealed, was taken away in an ambulance after being assaulted for 10 minutes. Her husband reportedly was unable to intervene and witnessed the incident.

“I saw the woman and then dozens of men surrounded her and started grabbing her, when she screamed for help some people came, but they were hit in the face,” wrote one witness.

What happened next was “appalling,” said the trusted witness, who asked for anonymity. “The men just started tearing at her clothes and grabbing her body all over. When she fought back, they pushed her. It was chaos.”

There were unconfirmed reports that the men “violated” her with their hands.

The nationality of the woman is unknown at the current time.

Throughout the day, sexual harassment towards women has been increasing and more and more reports of women being grabbed and groped began being reported.

Activists called the attacks on women completely “unacceptable” and must be exposed no matter what. They demanded an end to all violence toward women.

“What happened in Tahrir today has no justification and must be fully exposed even if it taints Tahrir!” wrote EgyptSecularist on Twitter.

And more:

Heather still doesn’t know how she made it home on Wednesday night after being in Egypt’s Tahrir Square. The Arab-American arrived back at her Cairo flat without pants, having had them torn off downtown. She and her two roommates were victims of a mob attack by people in the iconic square on Wednesday, as protesters demonstrated against the military junta.

According to Heather, an Arab-American living in the Egyptian capital, she and her Swedish and Spanish roommates took to Tahrir as thousands were converging there to mark one-year since the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak.

“They started fighting over who was going to do what,” Heather told Bikyamasr.com in an exclusive interview. She came forward after seeing the report on a foreign woman who was stripped naked and assaulted only hours after her own incident.

“My roommates and I fell to the ground when they attacked us. The people pulled our pants off even as we yelled and tried to fight,” she continued.

The incident occurred around 7:30 PM local time, just as night was taking hold of the city. Heather said the attack happened “in the center of Tahrir.”

She said that after the men pulled their pants off, they continued to grab and grobe the women’s bodies. “It is disgusting. They put fingers up my ass,” she revealed.

Luckily, the women were somehow pulled from the violence by a man and a woman and taken to safety. She said she doesn’t recall exactly how she was saved from the violent attack.

“I was shaking and crying and the man and woman just grabbed us and pulled us out and took us out of the square.”

Later in the night, the issue of sexual violence toward women was sparked after an eyewitness reported on the micro-blogging site Twitter that a foreign woman was stripped, groped and assaulted by another mob of men in the square.

The woman, who’s identity has not been revealed, was taken away in an ambulance after being assaulted for 10 minutes. Her husband reportedly was unable to intervene and witnessed the incident.

“I saw the woman and then dozens of men surrounded her and started grabbing her, when she screamed for help some people came, but they were hit in the face,” wrote one witness.

What happened next was “appalling,” said the trusted witness, who asked for anonymity. “The men just started tearing at her clothes and grabbing her body all over. When she fought back, they pushed her. It was chaos.”

There were unconfirmed reports that the men “violated” her with their hands.

The nationality of the woman is unknown at the current time.

Throughout the day, sexual harassment towards women has been increasing and more and more reports of women being grabbed and groped began being reported.

Activists called the attacks on women completely “unacceptable” and must be exposed no matter what. They demanded an end to all violence toward women.

“What happened in Tahrir today has no justification and must be fully exposed even if it taints Tahrir!” wrote EgyptSecularist on Twitter.

Heather said that she came forward to talk about what happened to her “because people need to know what goes on. It is the only way to start making it a problem that will have to be dealt with.”

However, many people told her to not reveal what happened to her because she was told, “it would hurt the image of the revolution.” But Heather said after seeing the reports of others and their assaults, “I felt it was right to say something.”

The incident brings memories of reporter Lara Logan, who was sexually assaulted the night former President Hosni Mubarak gave up power.

A mob of men ripped the 40-year-old correspondent away from her crew and bodyguard, tearing at her clothes and beating her in broad daylight.

“People don’t really know that much about [post-traumatic stress disorder],” she told the New York Daily News in her latest interview on the incident. ”There’s something called latent PTSD. It manifests itself in different ways. I want to be free of it, but I’m not.”

In an interview with “60 minutes” in April, Logan spoke publicly about the incident for the first time. She confided that the attack lasted for about 25 minutes, as 200 to 300 men assaulted her. She feared for her life and imagined that she would not survive, she explained.

Logan was finally pulled to safety by an Egyptian woman and a soldier who witnessed the attack.

She and her team were brought back to their hotel, where she received an examination and medical treatment. She returned to the United States the following morning where she entered hospital for four days.

Logan confided in her latest interview that nightmares about the incident come at unexpected times, like when she is tucking her infant daughter into bed.

Instances of sexual assaults on female journalists covering the events in Tahrir Square have continued in the year since Mubarak’s ouster.

According to studies conducted by the Egyptian Center for Women’s Right (ECWR) in 2008, 98 percent of foreign women and 83 percent of Egyptian women surveyed had experienced sexual harassment in Egypt.

Meanwhile, 62 percent of Egyptian men confessed to harassing women and 53 percent of Egyptian men faulted women for “bringing it on.”

Betty Saadeh and Noor Daoud: More Arab Women Defying Expectations

2012-01-24T22:49:00.000-08:00

More in my series on Arab Women Defying Expectations

Originally appearing in NPR

Palestine might not seem like a breeding ground for race car drivers. After all, the area is dotted with checkpoints and roadblocks, hundreds of obstacles that can cramp a driver's ability to explore a car's limits.

But that hasn't stopped a group of Palestinian women from driving very fast, winning races and making a name for themselves along the way.

"'In Saudi Arabia, women are prevented from driving - here in Palestine we have women who drive race cars," says an official in the Palestinian Motor Sport and Motorcycle Federation.

That's a quote from a feature article by Ruth Pollard in The Sydney Morning Herald, focusing on two members of Palestine's Speed Sisters, Betty Saadeh and Noor Daoud. The drivers are also a hit on Facebook.

In fact, Daoud has had her right to drive taken away before — in 2009, after Israeli police caught her going around 125 mph, she says. But she still drives her modified and stripped-down BMW at the track:

"'I like to go to Betunia when it is quiet on a Friday, throw down some cones and practice my turns. Every time I am mad or stressed I just go there and take it out in my driving," Daoud says.... 'They cannot believe that a girl has been driving that way. I love it.'"
And in December, Daoud raced in Israel's first (legal) car race in the coastal resort of Eilat, featuring Formula cars and a grand prix format. She was able to compete because her ID places her residency in East Jerusalem. Daoud also has ties to America, having been born in Texas and studied in Florida.

Saadeh, 31, also has international ties — she was born in Mexico, where her father was a pro racer in the 1980s. Now she's the top female driver in Palestine.

In a recent article in The Jewish Chronicle, Jessica Elgot writes:

"Despite her glamorous image, bright blonde hair and make-up, Ms. Sa'adeh is a serious competitor, who has raced across the West Bank and in Jordan, winning four out of five races. 'I'm ranked in the top eight in Palestine, including the boys,' she said proudly.... 'I have never had any negative reaction from anybody. I have supporters from all over the world. I have Israeli fans, but they can't come to watch my races, because they take place in Palestine.'"
The Speed Sisters were featured in a story on NPR in 2010. Now they have their own website, and a film about their exploits is slated to enter production this month. Last week, they were invited by Britain's motorsports association to visit the famed Silverstone track, home of the British Grand Prix.

That's all fine with the head of the Palestinian motorsport federation, Khaled Qaddoura, who has been trying to return motorsports to prominence in Palestine.

Pollard writes, "Seemingly nonplussed by having a team of glamorous, talented Palestinian women moving up the rankings in his sport, he says: "I have no problem with it - they love to race and they are good at it. We are proud to have them."

The IDF? How gay!

2012-01-20T21:31:00.000-08:00

Shamelessly stole from a Zionist website, because its too funny....

From Israellycool

But- and this is the funny part- he didnt make this up. It comes straight from the Al-Qassam English Forum

AS SALAAM'ALEYKUM WA ARAHMATULLAH WA BARAKATUHU, DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN ISLAM

I THINK THE ATTACHED VIDEO-LINK SHOWS THE HOMOSSEXUAL CHARACTER OF THE ZIONIST ARMY! THEY ARE THOSE WHO LOST THEIR SELF-RESPECT AND BROKE THEIR ALLIANCE WITH ALLAH (SUBHANA WA TAALA)!!! INSHA'ALLAH WE WILL DESTROY THE ARMY OF THE GAYS AND LESBIANS, BECAUSE ALLAH IS GREATER!!!

I SEEK REFUGE IN THE NAME OF ALLAH AGAINST THE ACCURSED SHAYTAN, SO THAT WE MAY NEVER GIVE UP OUR RIGHT TO THE LAND OF PALESTINE, BECAUSE IT IS OUR DUTY NOT TO ALLOW THE PEOPLE OF LIWAT/LUTIYYA TO TAKE CARE OF IT! THEY COMMIT ADDULTERY AND THEY ARE SODOMITES, WHO PREFER THE EVIL THINGS THAN THE LAWFULL ONES...

ALLAH (SUBHANA WA TAALA) SAYS IN AL QUR'AN (SURATU AL-NAML - 27):

وَلُوطًا إِذۡ قَالَ لِقَوۡمِهِۦۤ أَتَأۡتُونَ ٱلۡفَـٰحِشَةَ وَأَنتُمۡ تُبۡصِرُونَ
أَٮِٕنَّكُمۡ لَتَأۡتُونَ ٱلرِّجَالَ شَہۡوَةً۬ مِّن دُونِ ٱلنِّسَآءِ*ۚ بَلۡ أَنتُمۡ قَوۡمٌ۬ تَجۡهَلُونَ

"And Lot! when he said unto his folk: Will ye commit abomination knowingly? (54) Must ye needs lust after men instead of women? Nay, but ye are folk who act senselessly. (55)"

The film in question?
Here it is:

Convening the network. What next BDS?

2012-01-02T14:09:00.000-08:00

The local "Palestinian solidarity" (anti-Israel groups) periodically meet to "build solidarity" (pat each other on the back) and to engage in strategic planning. Its a fascinating thing to observe, because where else would you find groups that should be at odds with each other (Hello? American Muslims for Palestine and Queers United Against Israeli terror) united by their solidarity with the Palestinian people (and their hatred for the Jewish state)

The theme of the most recent meeting was "Yeah we rule, but can we ratchet it up a bit? (Noura, habiti, we all love you, you know that, but we all don't agree with your politics. Some of us come simply to observe- and see this as an interesting sociological experiment)

BDS apparently is going terrific, thank you for asking. 2011 was the year of the flash mob, after all. "Look at all the great flash mobs we made. Look how efficiently we spammed them across social media. Look how many hits we got."

But it was hard to ignore the elephant in the room- there hasn't been one real BDS success locally, and this is the bay area, the most progressive community in the country. Except of course for Seattle, but they had Rachel Corrie to inspire them, and no one seems willing to fill her shoes.

The consumer product boycotts are met with buycotts (and oh, yes, those Zionists (Jews) can sure spend money. As a result , actions are planned quietly, and implemented without fanfare, and only promoted when they are over. But what good is a publicity stunt if you need to shy away from publicity? And after all, the very fact that the Zionists(Jews) fight back shows how threatened they feel by our strategy.

So whats on for 2012? Teach ins. More conferences. Promoting Palestinian culture. (You see, we ARE a real people) More lectures. (Omar Bargoutti makes HOW MUCH per appearance??????) Look for more vandalism of Israeli products. Look for more attempts to find parallels with the Occupy movement. And look for bay area public transit to be the current object du hate.

Let the good times roll.

Afghan child bride tortured

2011-12-31T17:20:00.000-08:00

Another Afghan tragedy reported by Yahoo

An Afghan child bride on Saturday spoke of how she was tortured by her mother-in-law who locked her in a toilet for six months, beat her, pulled out her fingernails and burned her with cigarettes.

Sahar Gul, 15, is recovering in hospital in Kabul, her face bruised and swollen, her skin still bearing the marks of her ordeal, barely able to speak.

Police have said she was locked up when she defied her in-laws who tried to force her into prostitution. Her brother had sold her to her husband about seven months ago for $5,000.

"For several months I was locked up in toilet by my in-laws and particularly my mother-in-law," she managed to tell media in a frail voice during a visit from Afghan health minister Dr Suraya Dalil.

"I was denied food and water. I was tortured and beaten."

The minister said it was an example of "increased cases of violence against women in Afghanistan".

Women continue to suffer in Afghanistan despite billions of dollars of international aid which has poured into the country during the decade-long war.

Dalil said Gul was suffering from severe blood loss, with multiple burns and injuries.

"She is also suffering from trauma and psychological problems," she said.

"She is still a child, below the legal age of marriage. She is only 15 and from a remote part of the country. It's a tragic and heartbreaking story for Afghanistan."

Shoulda seen that coming: Hamas bans fortune tellers in Gaza

2011-12-31T10:05:00.000-08:00

From Ma'an
Hamas cracks down on fortune-tellers, mannequins

The Hamas-run government has launched a series of campaigns targeting fortune-tellers, mannequins and cigarette vendors in the Gaza Strip.

Police sources told Ma'an that 142 fortune tellers were forced to sign an agreement at the Ministry of Interior pledging that they would not practice their craft.

As well as predicting the future, fortune tellers sell amulets for protection and are sometimes called on to solve personal or family problems.

Another campaign targets boutiques displaying lingerie on mannequins. Police officials told Ma'an that security forces inspected clothes shops across the Gaza Strip and warned owners not to display naked mannequins, lingerie or "indecent advertisements."

Police are also targeting vendors selling smuggled cigarettes and tobacco, confiscating their goods, police suorces said.

Women's Equality in Gaza

2011-12-28T08:44:00.000-08:00

Palestinian women who are members of Hamas security forces march with Kalashnikovs in Gaza during a graduation ceremony for new recruits in Gaza City

What would Freud say? Cleric bans womens from handling bananas, cucumbers

2011-12-06T20:31:00.000-08:00

I'm not making this up. You do trust me, don't you?

Read it here

An Islamic cleric living in Europe said that women should not be close to bananas or cucumbers, in order to avoid any “sexual thoughts.” The unnamed cleric, was quoted saying that if women wish to eat these food items, a third party, preferably a male related to them such as their a father or husband, should cut the items into small pieces and serve.

Carrots and zucchini are also forbidden to women.

Answering another question about what to do if women in the family like these foods, the sheikh advised the interviewer to take the food and cut it for them in a hidden place so they cannot see it.

I guess Daikon radish are also out.

More Muslim Zionists leaving the Closet

2011-12-06T20:13:00.000-08:00

From Ray Cook's Blog As I See It – Israel, Zionism and the Media

“Life is a lot happier when you don’t hate as much”

Thus said Kasim “Kaz” Hafeez in the final session of the Politics thread at the Big Tent For Israel in Manchester on November 27th.

Kaz was part of a panel discussing “How to change the narrative in the Muslim community”.

He told an enraptured audience how he had very nearly ended up in a Jihadi training camp; how he was brought up to hate Israel and Jews.

Kaz, whose website theisraelcampaign.org, attempts to describe the current anti-Israel and antisemitic trends of Islam in the UK and abroad and put the record straight, made a huge impression on several hundred people, mostly Jewish, assembled in the International Suite of the Piccadilly Hotel in central Manchester.

Even though I knew his story, I was moved to simultaneous tears and laughter as Kaz told us how he is a Zionist and has the Israeli flag on his desk at work.

Tears, because the idea of any non-Jew, let alone a Muslim, proudly declaring himself a Zionist and lover of Israel is profoundly moving. We, the Jewish people, are so inured to hate and being despised that when we find we are not alone, that we have friends, that is worth a few tears of pride and relief.

Laughter, because the idea of a proud, practising Muslim displaying the Israeli flag at work is very amusing.

Then Kaz came out with the quote of the year: “Life is a lot happier when you don’t hate as much”.

Everything is contained in that one phrase; life, love, happiness, toleration, respect.

This perfectly describes the solution to what troubles so much of the world today.

Hate. Unthinking, bigoted, hatred fuels the world’s ills.

Such is the hatred much of the Arab and Muslim world feels, especially for Jews. It is this hatred which drives Islamists to acts of violence, not just against Jews, but against other Muslims, Christians and Hindus.

Are they happy in their hate? I doubt it. How can you be happy to hate?

Hatred is not confined to Muslims. Yet it is Islamist terror and intolerance that characterises the beginning of the 21st century.

Kaz made me cry because he offers hope. He offers hope that Muslims and Jews, Israel and Palestine, can put aside hate and learn tolerance and respect.

It gives me the hope that, in this country, Kaz and those like him, such as Hasan Afzal, can have some influence in their community to stop the hate and lies and half-truths.

If Kaz can do a 360 degree turn, surely many more can manage 180?

How did Kaz learn to be happier? He read, he studied and he had the strength of character and moral courage to go see for himself. he had the honesty to see that everything he had been taught was wrong.

I said to another Muslim at the conference: “We don’t expect Muslims to be Zionists, we just want a fair hearing”. Not the most profound statement I’ve ever made, but it’s true.

Cut the hate and have an honest discussion. Criticise, don’t demonise. Tolerate don’t delegitmise.

It was a great conference and I heard many wonderful things, but Kaz’s simple, heartfelt, unprepared statement will always be the memory and the inspiration I carry from the conference. All the hours, all the hard work, all the arguments and stress were worth it to hear that one axiomatic utterance -

“Life is a lot happier when you don’t hate as much”

Syrian Blogger Razan Ghazzawi Arrested

2011-12-04T12:03:00.001-08:00

The real "Gay Girl of Damascus" is missing.

From her blog:
"I was born in the US but never lived there. My parents went to KSA where we lived for 10 years in Jaddah. Then they went back to Syria and now we’re based in Damascus.

After I graduated from English literature department in Damascus University, I wanted to pursue my studies so I went to Lebanon and spent five years of my life there.

I enjoy photography, drawing cartoons, and writing Arabic articles which I do not do most of the time.

I am vegetarian, genderqueer and kind of pissed of at everything. But a person who cries genuinely while watching Daddy Long Legs cartoon".

Razan Ghazzawi "Redrazan", one of the few Syrian activists who blogs under her real name has been arrested at the Syrian-Jordanian border. She was on her way to attend a workshop for advocates of press freedoms in the Arab world.

Raza was the Media Officer at Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression A statement issued by the Center said Razan Ghazzawi was arrested by police and immigration officials at the border. The Local Coordination Committees activist network confirmed her arrest Sunday.

Ghazzawi is a human rights advocate and had been documenting violations and arrests in Syria since the start of the uprising against President Bashar Assad in March.

Accordering to her friends, her Facebook page has been taken down. Her last tweet was Dec. 2. Razan has been in hiding in Syria for the past few months.

Lets keep the pressure up until Razan is free.

The global march to Jerusalem: the latest provatilla

2011-11-28T11:54:00.000-08:00

Its all about keeping up the pressure- of poking and prodding and teasing and tormenting, until there is an explosion. Then we get to cry victim hood.
The latest provocation is the Global march to Jerusalem, organized by the Iranian theocrats of the United Ummah. The basic theme of the march is that Israel is illegitimate, and has no right to defend herself or to protect her borders. The plan is to amass tens of thousands on the borders of Israel, no doubt with women and children front and center, (after all, women and children first is a sign of chivalry, is it not?) The goal is to ' peacefully" invade this sovereign nation. The underlying thought is particularly scary, and its something you'll never read about in the mainstream media. There is an Islamic End of days scenario. This act is intended to trigger the end times.

Here's the promotional brochure for the Global March. Full color and glossy, so you know they are serious. And well funded.

The part I find disturbing in their plan is the complete denial of any Jewish ties to this holy city. Denying history, denying archeology, denying ourselves.
Well, three American students inadvertently entered Iran. They were jailed for years. But that's different.
Scary times ahead for all who really value peace

Starving Gaza eating grass? I dont think so. The making of a skeptic

2011-11-26T09:17:00.001-08:00

It wasn't that long ago that we- the collective "we" of the west- were told that Gaza was starving,and that the precious children were forced to eat grass in an effort to sustain life.

There was skepticism about this claim- we'd been shown, over and over, photos of starving children from Africa, after all. Those photos were indelibly etched on our minds as we drank our bubble teas and complained about food in the school cafeteria. I did a quick image search for starving African children for photos to post here- but it was too heartbreaking to look at. It made me, and others wonder. Where were the photos of starving Gazan children?

There were never any photos of starving children in Gaza. Ever.

The skeptism grew as the flotillas began. We all saw the photos of Lauren Booth in a fine looking seaside hotel. We saw the photos of her shopping at a well stocked grocery store.

For me, the skeptism reached a crescendo when ISM activists brought in the headmistress of a Gaza school to talk on campus. The woman was virtually spherical, and when she spoke of the starving children in her school, all I could think of was that scene from Oliver Twist, where the children beg for more gruel. If the children of Gaza were starving, the reason was obvious- she was eating their food.

More and more information leaked out from Gaza- some of it was the inadvertant work of activists, posting their personal photos on their blogs and independent news sites. We saw beautiful malls , hotels and restaurants in Gaza. We saw modern parks and recreational facilities. We saw cafes with wide screen TVs, water parks, equestrian resorts

More information leaked out. We learned of acclaimed restaurants like Roots in Gaza, with a 14 page western style menu.

And still, not a single photo of a starving child of Gaza.

We're learned recently that the Palestinians are spending tens of thousands of dollars on American public relations agencies to "manage" their image in the mass media, social media, and amongst people of power and influence.

The Palestinians have been told that their eternal victimhood routine isnt working with the American public. Sell the Palestinians as a real people, they were told. Make this about a real people's search for human rights.

A real people, though, has history. Culture. Collective memory that goes back more than a few generations.

A real people has food culture. And I present to you what $30,000 a month buys- a photo essay on the food and the flavors of Gaza

"Hot chile and dill: This is the quintessential modern Gazan spice combination. Whereas Lebanese cooks have no tolerance for spicy heat, and cooks from other parts of Palestine use it in moderation, Gazans take pride in making you sweat, whether using fresh green chile peppers crushed in a mortar with lemon and salt or else filfil mat'houn, ground red chile peppers preserved in oil and sold as a condiment and ingredient, resembling North Africa's popular harissa. The ubiquitous tabikh bamia, okra stew with oxtail, and molukhiyya, mallow soup, are both served with green chile and dill seeds crushed with lemon, cutting their dark tastes with a blaze of brightness. Chiles are ground with meat to make kofta kebab and they are mashed, in the uniquely Gazan clay bowls called zibdiya, to make Gaza's signature tomato salad, dagga. Sun-dried, the same peppers are used in winter dishes such as maftul, the Palestinian version of couscous, in which the chile is called "the bride of the maftul" (arusit al-maftul) for the modest and delicate way it perfumes the grains as they steam. "

Nothing about Starving Gaza.

Mine is just a plea, after all, for more honest rhetoric. The lies dont serve the people of Gaza- they dont brighten the darkness or serve the cause of peace. There is no starving Gaza- and there never was.

Haniyeh Dedicates new Gaza school

2011-11-24T15:09:00.000-08:00

A new school was opened in Gaza this week, miraculously created out of duct tape and string , since no building materials are allowed in Gaza. It was dedicated by Prime Minister Dr Ismail Haniyeh, and named after Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.

Photos from the Palestine Times:

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin In 1989, Yassin ordered Hamas to kidnap Israeli soldiers inside Israel, to murder them and bury their bodies in a manner that would allow Hamas to negotiate the exchange of bodies for Hamas prisoners, who would be released from jails in Israel. Yassin was arrested after the abduction and murders of IDF soldier Ilan Sa'adon, and Avi Sasports. He was tried in Israel and received two life sentences for his involvement the murders

A promotor of terror, of murder and racial hatred. This is who is deemed an appropriate role model for children in Gaza

Oppressing Women

2011-11-16T08:42:00.000-08:00

I liked this. Thanks, Noor for it sending it in. What do you think?

Israel's representative to Miss Earth Competition: Arab model Huda Naccache

2011-11-10T11:41:00.000-08:00

Huda Naccache, a Arab model from Haifa will be representing Israel in the Miss Earth competition in Thailand this December. Thats some apartheid state.

But its Huda's appeareance on the cover of Lilac magazine thats really turning heads right now. The cover shoot was the first time an Arabic magazine in Israel has put a model in a bikini on its cover, and the first time an Israeli Arab model has been featured on a front page in so little clothing.

"I have a family that supports me very much and had no objections whatsoever to me appearing on the cover in a bikini," she says, seated in front of a mirror in a white and red string two-piece, prepping for another shoot.

"My father was very pleased when he saw it for the first time," she adds. "He said it was very beautiful and wished me good luck."

Lilac's editor Yara Mashour defends both Naccache and the cover shot, saying her magazine has been pushing boundaries since it was established in 2000 in Nazareth, home to the biggest Arab-Israeli population in the Jewish state. "Huda, in my opinion, is probably the only Arab model in this country who is a true professional. She has world-class qualities,"

Read all about it

Work accident in Gaza

2011-10-31T22:53:00.000-07:00

From Ma'an

Mohammad al-Ghourani, 26 died in a blast in his Jabaliya refugee camp home on Monday, medics said.

(Its Israel's fault)

Al-Ghourani was handling a homemade explosive device when it detonated.

(Its Israel's fault)

Three of his relatives were transferred to hospital for shock, medics said.

(Its Israel's fault)

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said three children were injured last Wednesday when a suspicious object they were playing with exploded in northern Gaza town Beit Hanoun

(Its still Israel's fault)

Gaza: Where Murderers go for Rest and relaxation

2011-10-24T19:55:00.000-07:00

Many of the ex-convicts released to Gaza in exchange for Gilad Shalit are staying at the 5 star Al-Mashtal hotel.

(Why, yes. Thats a wide screen TV and breakfast buffet in the Worlds largest open air prison)

These and more photos are available at the Palestine Times

Israeli Arab refuses to Cut his hair During Gilad Shalit's Captivity

2011-10-22T09:49:00.000-07:00

"It was hard for me to see this abduction destroy the peace process. Such a kidnapping is not courageous and is not based on the culture of Islam."
Mustafa Salim, on his solidarity w with Gilad protest

Mustafa Salim, 35, an Arab Israeli resident of the northern village of Muqaibla did not shave or cut his hair for more than five years until this week.

Salim, who stresses he is not a religious person, refused to cut his fair since Gilad Shalit was abducted into Gaza in 2006. On Tuesday, upon the completion of the prisoner swap deal and with Shalit's return home, he was finally able to shave and get a haircut.

Salim claims that his gesture drew much criticism. Many thought he had become more religious. "During this time I was in the territories quite often," he said. "And when they asked me I told the truth. Some said 'let Gilad Shalit die' and some supported me. I am very proud of what I did and of the State of Israel."

YNET has more

Female Genital Mutilation: Running the numbers

2011-10-15T09:54:00.000-07:00

From an article by Wendy Rose Gould;

1,400: The number of years that female genital mutilation has been performed, though some references estimate that girls have endured FGM for up to 2000 years. The practice begun during what Muslims refer to as the "era of ignorance."

3: The different types of female genital mutilation. The three include circumcision, or amputation of the clitoris; excision, removal of the labia minora and clitoris; and infibulation, the removal of labia majora, clitoris and labia minora. Girls who receive the latter often have their wounds stitched together will only a tiny opening for urination. In addition to these types, the vagina may also undergo pricking, piercing, incisions, scraping, burning or be introduced to corrosive substances and herbs to tighten the opening.

135 million: The number of girls and women worldwide who've experienced gential cutting. Consequences of FGM range from urinary infections to HIV to sterility to death.

92 million: The number of African girls who are 10 years old and above that have had their genitals removed.

3 million: The number of girls who are at risk of undergoing FGM annually.

7 and 10: The most common period of time in a woman's life to undergo FGM, according to the United Nations Population Fund.

10 - 14: The number of days that girls legs are bound after undergoing female genital mutilation. The legs are bound to make the girls immobile, which allows scar tissue to form.

25: The number of countries that have banned FGM and prosecute those who continue the practice.

171: The number of countries in the world that do not ban female genital mutilation.

Ms. Gould's work has appeared both online and in print for Hearst, Conde Nast, AOL, USA Today and other publications. She is an avid traveler who has lived abroad and traveled the world extensively. She holds a B.A. in Journalism and another in Philosophy.

Transgender in Lebanon

2011-10-12T18:26:00.000-07:00

“Islam bans the purposeful act of someone transforming his or her sex,” says Sheikh Khaldoun Araymet, secretary general of the Higher Islamic Council in Lebanon, Dar al-Fatwa. “A human who suffers from this perplexing condition … is unbalanced in terms of his behavior, his religion and his psychological condition.”

FROM Being Transgender in Lebanon

AAccording to Simon (who requested that only his first name be used to protect his anonymity), a social worker at the gay rights organization Helem:

“The main challenges they face are social rejection … and discrimination when it comes to work,” says Simon. “They earn less than their colleagues, and that’s if they find a job … They get harassed in the street and often beaten.”

Simon says that as a result of the lack of employment opportunities, many transgender people turn to prostitution.

In Simon’s experience, the constant strain of social rejection often leads transgender people to consider suicide.

“Every transgender person I know has tried to commit suicide more than once,” he says.

Dr. Michael Khoury, a clinical psychologist based in Beirut who treats many transgender people, says that when they reach out to a health care professional, most are shunned.

“Lots of people try consulting doctors,” he says. “Most doctors in Lebanon faced with a transgender patient are inaccurate and condescending, if not downright abusive.”

As for receiving treatment for their condition, sex-change surgery is illegal in Lebanon, and Simon says that hormones are difficult to obtain legally.

“Hormones are expensive, so many transgender people start hormones without consulting a doctor,” he says. “They get them on the black market, which is extremely dangerous because they don’t know the effects of these hormones or what kind of risks they might face.”

According to Khoury, many transgender people also turn to black-market surgery. “One of my patients is a female-to-male transgender,” he says. “He had his breasts removed on the black market, and one day he showed me his scars. They were terrible.”

Khoury says that transgender people in Lebanon face the additional challenge of living in a country with strong religious roots.

“There is a strong sense of sin and not belonging to their religion,” he says. “It’s excommunication at the deepest level.”

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Lifestyle/2011/Oct-12/151053-transgenders-lead-an-alternate-life-in-lebanon.ashx#ixzz1acZE8DEt
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

Culture-Jamming "Tweepstrike" on Twitter

2011-10-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

Now this is funny.

The International Solidarity Movement sent out an email, asking people to tweet about Palestinian prisoners hunger strike. They just couldn't bear that Gilad Shalit was getting all the attention.

Several zionist sites recommended active participation in an equal and opposite direction. Apparently several people decided to play along, and as of this afternoon, they succeeded in cuture-jamming the tweet.

Yes, among other demands, the Palestinian prisoners want satellite TV, a free college education, and whole chickens. No, Im not making this up.

Sarra Besbes Tunisian Fencer Guilty of Unsportsmanlike behavior?

2011-10-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Did Sarra Besbes, a high ranking Tunisian fencer deliberately throw a fencing match? At the World Fencing Championship in Catania, Besbes was scheduled to compete against Israeli Noam Mills.

Italian media reported that Besbes remained immobile during the match. She cried after her loss, which effects her world ranking. I can't help but wonder what happened before this match. Was Besbes threatened? Was her family threatened? What would cause someone to behave this way?

By losing, though this defeat forces her to face Li Na, a higher ranked competitor.

"I hope this is an isolated incident that isn’t repeated,” said Italian fencing federation president Giorgio Scarso, according to the ANSA news agency. “The fact that the Tunisians did it this time took us all by surprise, because until now that had never happened.”

The only answer is to bar players who discriminate in this manner. Choices should have consequences

From antisemite to Zionist by Kasim Hafeez

2011-10-07T13:25:00.000-07:00

From antisemite to Zionist by Kasim Hafeez.
Wow.
From an article in the JC

He writes
"Growing up in a Muslim community in the UK I was exposed to materials condemning Israel, painting Jews as usurpers and murderers. My views were reinforced when I attended Nakba Day rallies where speakers predicted Israel's demise.

My hate for Israel and for the Jews was fuelled by images of death and destruction, set to the backdrop of Arabic melodies about Jihad and speeches of Hizbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah or Osama Bin Laden.

There was also constant, casual antisemitism around me. My father would boast of how Adolf Hitler was a hero, his only failing being that he didn't kill enough Jews. Even the most moderate clerics I came across refused to condemn terrorism against Israel as unjustified."

So what changed?

" In Waterstones one day I found myself in the Israel and Palestine section. To this day I don't know why I actually pulled it off the shelf, but I picked up a copy of Alan Dershowitz's The Case for Israel.

In my world view the Jews and the Americans controlled the media, so after a brief look at the back, I scoffed thinking "vile Zionist propaganda".

But I decided to buy it, eagerly awaiting the chance to deconstruct it so I could show why Israel had no case and claim my findings as a personal victory for the Palestinian cause.

As I read Dershowitz's systematic deconstruction of the lies I had been told, I felt a real crisis of conscience. I couldn't disprove his arguments or find facts to respond to them with. I didn't know what to believe. I'd blindly followed for so long, yet here I was questioning whether I had been wrong?

I decided to visit Israel to find the truth. I was confronted by synagogues, mosques and churches, by Jews and Arabs living together, by minorities playing huge parts in all areas of Israeli life, from the military to the judiciary. It was shocking and eye-opening. This wasn't the evil Zionist Israel that I had been told about.

After much soul searching, I knew what I had once believed was wrong. I had to stand with Israel, with this tiny nation, free, democratic, making huge strides in medicine, research and development, yet the victim of the same lies and hatred that nearly consumed me.

As an outsider, I ask why so many in the Jewish community are closing their eyes to the constant stream of anti-Israel hated spewed out from all facets of British society.

And while pro-Palestinian organisations burn Israeli flags, urge boycotts of Israel and protest against appearances by Israeli politicians or artists, UJS's response is shameful. It is not the time for UJS or any other group to engage in hollow flag-waving to show their "progressiveness". Let Israel's democratic history speak for itself. "

Read it all.

"I'm a Palestinian Protesting in Support of Israel"

2011-10-03T21:15:00.000-07:00

There's hope for us all. Really. There is. Sons and Daughters of Abraham.

"Illegal" Lesbian Wedding Dress

2011-08-18T14:18:00.001-07:00

This woman was buying a dress for her wedding. And when asked for the groom's name, she crossed out 'groom', and wrote 'partner', and then her girlfriend's name.

They called back and told her they wouldn't sell her the dress.

So how weird it must have been to get a call on Tuesday from Donna (she wouldn't tell you her last name, and she wouldn't tell me, either, when I spoke with her yesterday), and to have a conversation so different from the one you had with her on Saturday.

Apparently, Donna was stunned to learn, after reviewing your customer-information sheet, that you're a lesbian. On the paperwork, you'd crossed out the word "groom" and written "partner" instead, and then inserted your fiancée's name.

"She said she wouldn't work with me because I'm gay," you recalled. "She also said that I came from a nice Jewish family, and that it was a shame I was gay. She said, 'There's right, and there's wrong. And this is wrong.' "

She also said - and you have the voicemail to prove it - that what you were planning was "illegal" and that "we do not participate in any illegal actions."

"I was devastated," you told me. "I was crying. I called her a bigot; I told her, 'I am a happy person and you are a miserable person.' Then she hung up on me."

You admit to using some choice words when you called her back. But trust me, whatever you said was probably poetry compared with what I believe most decent people would've spewed at her on your behalf.

You know what's strange? When I called Donna yesterday to get her side of the story, she both confirmed your version of events and accused you of "stirring up drama." She said that your writing the word "partner" was basically a provocation, evidence of a need "to show that she's different."

"They get that way," she told me.

By "they," she meant women who were fed up with men because "men can be difficult," and so now they "experiment" with female relationships because they're tired of having men boss them around.

She told me about a friend whose wife left him for another woman. And about a young family member who was molested by a same-sex adult male. And about a gay man who once plunged a knife into a chair in the restaurant where she worked. And - she finally lost me here - something about the Navy SEALs.

"It's a lot of drama," she said.

She also found you "aggressive," didn't appreciate your cursing and thought I should speak with your father before writing this column, as she "sensed" his disappointment in your decision to marry a woman.

Yeah. Seriously.

It sounds like this woman is going to be okay. Her family is supportive, which is so important. Some bitchy store clerk is not going to bring her down. She'll have a great wedding. But wow. Just wow.

The Tragedy in Norway: The queer angle

2011-08-02T19:08:00.000-07:00

From the Envoy

"As Norway continues to grapple with the attacks by a home-grown extremist that killed 77 people last month, one couple, who moved to help young people fleeing from gunman Anders Breivik, is getting a bit of belated recognition.

Hege Dalen and her wife, Toril Hansen, were eating dinner on July 22nd on the other shore from Utoya island when they heard screaming, the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sannomat reported. After bombing government buildings in Oslo, Breivik had come to the island dressed as a policeman and went on to shoot more than 100 young people attending a Labour party camp there.

"We were eating," Dalen told the newspaper. "Then shooting and then the awful screaming. We saw how the young people ran in panic into the lake."
The couple took off in their boat for the island, picking up shocked victims from the water and transporting them to the mainland. They made four runs in all, helping rescue some 40 of Breivik's victims, the paper reported.

"Between runs they saw that the bullets had hit the right side of the boat," the paper wrote.

Some lesbian-gay news sites and blogs have picked up the account in recent days, noting the same-sex married heroes of the story haven't gotten much attention in the Western press."

Ramadan Mubarak

2011-07-31T21:27:00.000-07:00

On this evening of Ramadan, there were 140 of our brothers and sisters killed in Syria. But please, go ahead and talk about Gaza.

Al Andalusia Mall opens in Gaza

2011-07-24T11:05:00.000-07:00

The Al Andalusia Mall open last week in Gaza. In addition to shops, the mall has a swimming pool and a cinema.

Photos from the Gulf News:

People keep saying this, so its almost cliched at this point, but I can't resist "Just like the Warsaw ghetto"

Opening of the Metro Market in Gaza City

2011-07-17T07:45:00.001-07:00

More Photos here:

Friday, 15/07/2011
إفتتاح مترو ماركت بمدينة غزة Opening of the Metro Market in Gaza City,
METRO MARKET
تفضلو وجولة بأقسام الماركت
مكان المترو : غـزة - شارع الشهداء - بالقرب من مستشفى أصدقاء المريـض Metro Place: Gaza - Al-Shuhada Street
الصور منقووولة ! Menkowolh images

Remind me again why the Flotilla is directed TOWARDS Gaza?

5 Star Hotel Opening in Gaza

2011-07-07T07:59:00.000-07:00

After all the publicity about the "humanitarian aid" flotilla coming or not coming to Gaza this week, this is especially ironic news

From Palestine Today

A new five star hotel,the Movenpick Gaza built at a cost of $ 45 millionis opening later this month. It has 225 rooms and suites,restaurants, galleries and swimming pools. It is expected to employ around 100 people.

The hotel is offering 50 % off for new guests. I guess they were hoping the Flotilla members would be staying with them

Reading Break

2011-06-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

Something people might be interested in; I'm reading The Shia Revival by Vali Nasr. I'll be able to say more when I'm done, maybe I'll do a real review, but I'm still in the first chapters, where he talks mostly about early history.

I'm kind of embarrassed to say how much I'm learning. I know next to nothing about the history of Islam in India, for example. And he writes a lot about Shia women and shrines women visit specially. The kind of thing I'd be interested in, you know?

Anyway, that's what I'm reading on the bus to work. I have noticed that people give me a weird little look when they see the cover. I don't think the title would even mean anything to most people, so maybe it's the men in turbans in the cover photo? Damn, people.

"A Gay Girl In Damascus" was a Hoax

2011-06-12T16:13:00.000-07:00

Amina is actually a Scottish man (straight), who lives in Istanbul.

He wrote this to his readers:

Apology to readers

I never expected this level of attention. While the narrative voıce may have been fictional, the facts on thıs blog are true and not mısleading as to the situation on the ground. I do not believe that I have harmed anyone — I feel that I have created an important voice for issues that I feel strongly about.

I only hope that people pay as much attention to the people of the Middle East and their struggles in thıs year of revolutions. The events there are beıng shaped by the people living them on a daily basis. I have only tried to illuminate them for a western audience.

This experience has sadly only confirmed my feelings regarding the often superficial coverage of the Middle East and the pervasiveness of new forms of liberal Orientalism.

However, I have been deeply touched by the reactions of readers.

Best,
Tom MacMaster,
Istanbul, Turkey
July 12, 2011

He's been touched. **facepalm** Well I'm pissed off. Next time, he can save the crap about 'liberal Orientalism', and write a novel.

Arab-American groups blocks musician over 'freedom' song

2011-06-09T01:15:00.000-07:00

Why does Syria's suffering mean so little, even to Arabs? This breaks my heart.

A leading Arab American group dropped a prominent Syrian-American musician from performing at their annual convention in a dispute over a freedom-tinged song that he was set to perform.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, a longtime Washington civil rights group, repeatedly asked the German-born Syrian composer and pianist Malek Jandali to reconsider his piece choice, Jandali told POLITICO. When he refused, Jandali was told today that he couldn't perform at this weekend's event.

Jandali's "Watani Ana: I am my Homeland" doesn't specifically mention Syria or the broader Arab Spring uprisings, but is heavy on the themes of freedom and liberty. Jandali calls it a "humanitarian song." But lyrics include "oh my homeland, when will I see you free" and "When the land is watered with the blood of martyrs and the brave/ And all the people shout: Freedom to mankind."

Jandali himself declined to speculate why he wasn't allowed to perform "Watani Ana," and an official at the ADC, Nabil Mohamad, refused to explain its decision.

"Is is it the words? The scale of the music? Was the rhythm too slow? Did the melody maybe bother them?" Jandali asked POLITICO. "I really would love to hear their answer. It would have been a perfect song."

"It doesn''t mention the word 'Arab' or 'Syria' or anything," he said. "It''s a humanitarian song."

However other observers speculated that the song's implications might have troubled the Syrian government, which is in the midst of a bloody crackdown on its citizens, or its allies. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has defied international calls to end the crackdown and ordered security forces into the streets to quell unrest. He has also ratcheted up tensions with neighboring Israel, allowing Palestinian and Syrian protesters to approach the sealed Syrian-Israeli boarder. Twenty-three of those demonstrators were later killed by Israeli forces after they tried to rush the border.

"We are just saddened by the atrocities and the killing of innocent children," Jandali, an American citizen who was born in Germany but raised in Syria, said.

The chairman of the ADC board, gynecologist Safa Rifka, is aligned with Syria's ambassador to the United States Imad Moustapha. In a blog post, Moustapha called Rifka one of his three "best friends" in Washington D.C. The ADC describes itself as the largest Arab-American grassroots advocacy group and vows to end "discrimination and bias against Arab Americans wherever it is practiced."

"I have nothing to say on that," said ADC Vice President Nabil Mohamad on charges that politics were the reason. The ADC cited logistical problems in canceling Jandali's performance. "You should get the facts," said Muhamad in a brief interview with POLITICO before declining to comment further.

This is the song.

Syrian blogger Amina Abdallah kidnapped by armed men

2011-06-06T21:16:00.000-07:00

I was so afraid of this.

A blogger whose frank and witty thoughts on Syria's uprising, politics and being a lesbian in the country shot her to prominence was last night seized by armed men in Damascus.

Amina Arraf, who blogged under the name Amina Abdallah, holds dual Syrian and American citizenship and is the author of the blog A Gay Girl in Damascus, which has drawn fans from Syria and across the world.

She was kidnapped last night as she and a friend were on their way to a meeting in Damascus. The kidnapping was reported on her blog by a cousin.

Please, to all of our readers, pray for this brave woman.

Woman Imams in China

2011-05-31T22:39:00.000-07:00

Apparently, in China, woman can be imams.

Don't these woman have beautiful faces, full of knowledge and compassion?

The original article is here:

"When I was a girl most of us females were illiterate. We knew nothing about the world. Taking these classes gives us so much knowledge about how to conduct ourselves as good Muslims and the right values with which to bring up our families," says Ma Fen Zhen, who, at 70, is the oldest student at these classes.

A hundred miles east of Yinchuan in the small town of Ling Wu, 50 other women, their heads covered with scarves, sit in a room reciting verses in Arabic from the Koran. They are being taught by Yang Yu Hong, one of two women imams at the Tai Zi mosque. Yang received her title of Imam from the Islamic Association four years ago. She is one of approximately 200 certified women imams in the province.

Yang's husband, also an imam, is currently studying theology in Egypt. She says that both he and other members of her family supported her decision to study religion and qualify for the title
of imam.

Yang adds that she does not see anything un-Islamic about the concept of women imams. "There are many things that are easier for women to talk about with other women. And everyone, man or woman, has a duty to study and understand the religion."

While the women are granted the title of imam they are still not allowed to lead men in prayers. Their role is more that of a teacher and their students are exclusively female. "The women imams are respected people whom the community looks up to but of course they do not have the same religious powers as men. Men and women are equal but their roles are different," says Ma Xiao.

The people interviewed in the article say that they don't suffer any government control or restriction of their religion. I'm not sure I believe that. It's China after all. But it's so amazing to see how beautiful and diverse Islam is in the world today.

Egyptian general admits 'virginity checks' conducted on protesters

2011-05-31T13:03:00.000-07:00

Mubarak is gone, but the army is still in power. Can we hope for change?

Egyptian general admits 'virginity checks' conducted on protesters

This is their excuse:

"The girls who were detained were not like your daughter or mine," the general said. "These were girls who had camped out in tents with male protesters in Tahrir Square, and we found in the tents Molotov cocktails and (drugs)."

The general said the virginity checks were done so that the women wouldn't later claim they had been raped by Egyptian authorities.

"We didn't want them to say we had sexually assaulted or raped them, so we wanted to prove that they weren't virgins in the first place," the general said. "None of them were (virgins)."

Because only virgins can be raped, you see...

These women=so, so brave.

Frameline LGBT festival under attack by haters

2011-05-27T18:20:00.000-07:00

Ohy, dear. I just received this email from someone who pretends she cares about LGBT rights, but clearly is just into the identity politics game.

For the second year in a row, the San Francisco International Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Trans Film Festival has accepted Israeli sponsorship and money. This is unacceptable to queers who are committed to promoting human rights for all people, not just narrow civil rights for some queers.

(What???? Palestinian queers go to Isarael for sanctuary. Everyone knows that)

Several months ago, we forwarded to Frameline, the presenters of the Film Festival, an open letter from Palestinian queers for BDS asking international artists and activists to respect the cultural boycott of Israeli institutions (note that the boycott does not target individual artists or filmmakers who are not representing the government or participating in "pinkwashing" of Israeli apartheid).

(The boycott absolutely does target individual- look at how many of their facebook pages have been hijacked by those pretending to care about human dignity)

It is deeply offensive that an institution which claims to promote diversity and liberation for queer people would slap Palestinian queers in the face by accepting money from the Israeli government.

(But go ahead and slap Israeli queers in the face. Thats ok, because they are Israeli. No one cares)

EVERYONE - QUEER, STRAIGHT OR IN BETWEEN, WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE EVER BEEN TO A MOVIE AT THE LGBT FILM FESTIVAL:

Please call Frameline any time on Wed June 1st and ask that they not give in to the haters and to the bullies Remind them of Israel's record of promoting LGBT inclusion. If you get a voicemail, leave a message. If you get a busy signal or no answer, send a fax (preferably) or email kcprice@frameline.org and jennifer@frameline.org

You can also FAX messages to them in addition to calling.

The Frameline phone number is: 415-703-8650 .
The FAX number is: 415-861-1404 .

Check out the GLAZE facebook page- its brand new- for more information on Israel's LGBT record

If you need talking points:

LGBT Rights in Israel

-Gays have full rights to serve in the military

-Sodomy laws were struck down in 1988

-Full civil rights for LGBT people established in 1992

-Partner benefits for all governmental employees, including the national airline, El Al

-Partner adoption rights

-In 2007 the State agreed to recognize same gender marriages preformed abroad, similar to its recognition of other civil marriages from other countries

LGBT Pride in Israel

* Pride parades take place annually in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Eilat and Haifa. Attempts by Muslim, Christian and Jewish religious groups to stop the parades, mostly in Jerusalem have consistently been blocked by the Israeli Supreme Court.

* The first transgender person to win the Eurovision contest was Israeli Dana International in 1998 with her song, "Diva". Eurovision is watched by hundreds of millions of people through Europe, Asia and Africa.

* Openly gay singer Ivri Lidder is amongst Israel's most popular entertainers

* Openly gay movie producer Eytan Fox has become one of Israel's most important film exporters to the world, with his movies "Yossi and Jagger", Walk on Water" and "The Bubble".

* Openly gay politicians have served in the Israeli Kenneset and on the city councils of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem

For more information

The Agunah, Israel's main LGBT civil rights organization

Jerusalem Open House, the LGBT community Center of Israel (also serving the Palestinian territories)

Gay Middle East, covering Israel and the entire Arab world

Go gay (Hebrew language portal)

Afghanistan's accidental gay pride

2011-05-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

Pride flags are cool in Afghanistan. But not for the right reasons

From an article by Nushin Arbabzadah in the Guardian

If you are gay and proud, Afghanistan is quite likely the last place on earth to show it publicly. How, then, are we supposed to make sense of the recent very conspicuous appearance of the rainbow-coloured gay pride symbols all over the streets of Kabul and other urban centres?

The pioneer Afghan Pajhwak news agency took it upon itself to investigate this unusual sociocultural phenomenon, sending a reporter to interview drivers who had decorated their cars with gay pride stickers and rear banners. After all, these Chinese-made car accessories had suddenly become popular, available in any garage supplying vehicle parts.

Even more remarkably, Afghan drivers seemed to have little concern about using their cars to openly advertise being gay and proud of it. In a country where social conservatism sometimes results in gay men sharing their life with their partner of choice and an arranged wife so as to keep up appearances, there was certainly something very unusual about this apparently new openness.

Needless to say, Pajhwak's reporter soon discovered that Afghans who had decorated their cars with the rainbow symbol had no idea what it stood for. For them it was just the newest car fashion accessory but, on learning of its meaning in the west, drivers immediately started removing it.

The rainbow stickers had first arrived on secondhand cars imported from Canada. Afghans had simply assumed that the colour combination was the latest fashion fad in the west, and duly adopted it.

Had it not been for the news agency's interest, the gay pride symbol would have continued to flourish in Afghanistan. Uprooted from its original cultural environment and landing in the country by sheer accident, it would have led an existence devoid of any meaning aside from showing that, like everywhere else in the world, Afghan men loved their cars.

But since Afghanistan is no longer an isolated country, imported symbols are bound to be recognised and decoded not only by globetrotting members of the middle class but also the many expatriate internationals and returnee Afghans. Once informed about the symbol's meaning, the stickers were removed en mass. One commentator even expressed the hope that the embarrassing incident would serve as cautionary tale, warning Afghans against their tendency to blindly follow fashions imported from elsewhere.

The confusion that had allowed for the gay-pride car accessories to become coveted goods in Afghan garages is not restricted to the symbol itself. Judging by the way homosexuality is debated in the public sphere, the term itself is understood incorrectly.

It is usually used as a synonym for what would be described in Europe and North America as paedophilia. Hence, on the rare occasions when Afghan writers dare to publicly tackle problems related to sexuality, we encounter the local terms hamjins baazi (homosexuality) and bacha baazi (paedophilia) used interchangeably, as if they both deal with the same phenomenon.

There seems to be little awareness of the fact that in liberal democracies of the west the term strictly refers to relationships between consenting adults.

Given that Afghanistan is an exceedingly conservative society, it is astonishing that articles openly discussing homosexuality actually exist. The content of such articles is often surprising. Hence, in what – by Afghan standards – is a frank and almost judgment-free article, one writer establishes that it is the country's social conditions that contribute to unorthodox practices. Blaming strict gender segregation, the author points out that since desire is natural to humankind, its suppression is bound to make it resurface in a different guise: "For example, monks and those who renounce worldly pleasures quite often tend to be fat, with big bellies. Their desire has resurfaced as greed for food."

Following this rather strange line of argument, the reader is then confronted with a bizarre assessment: if necessary, relations with underage persons should be conducted with girls rather than boys because even if they are physically immature, the female anatomy still renders girls more natural partners.

A recurrent theme in all such debates is a juxtaposition of European countries' treatment of the hijab with their attitude towards homosexuality. Authors are genuinely puzzled that France has banned the hijab, which in their view is a religious obligation, but protects the rights of homosexuals – which they say is banned by all religions.

Such articles as a rule make generous use of question marks and exclamation marks. These loud orthographic markers, in turn, echo the profound divide that separates the Afghans' traditional society from the liberal markets from whence secondhand cars make their journey across continents, sometimes complete with dangerously loaded but misunderstood ornamental accessories.

Egyptian Women Speak Out Against Sectarian Strife

2011-05-24T02:20:00.000-07:00

From Nasawiyah:

A large number of Egyptian women participated in a march entitled “No to sectarian strife” which appeared with its ugly face in the district of Imbaba. They participated in this march to stress the values of citizenship and tolerance and to prevent the strife that has been witnessed in the district and in many different places in Egypt after the revolution. The Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights affirms that the incidents that happened between Muslims and Christians are a clear attempt to abort the 25th of January revolution through the use of women to fuel strife.

ECWR praises women who participated in this march: they included women from all political sides and also from the district of Imbaba. The women participants in this march were from all categories: housewives, employees, female Muslims carrying the cross and female Christians affirming the values of full citizenship with their chants. ECWR thought that women’s participation in this march came to affirm their refusal to be used, and to affirm their refusal to use the religion in their name in terms of trading with religion by the two sides.

Cynthia McKinney in Libya and Iran

2011-05-23T23:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back. My kid sister graduated this weekend, so I had to fly to the East Coast, do the family thing.

I got back, threw my clothes in the washing machine and made some coffee, before I checked out LezGetReal, and found out that while I was wearing high heels to make my mom happy and telling all my aunts I'd get married real soon, Cynthia McKinney was on Libyan TV. And she was not camping out to show her solidarity with the rebels, oh no, she was on state TV, Qaddafi's own personal network, calling for NATO to back off Libya and let Qaddafi kill as many of his people as he wants. She called Qaddafi a 'hero for African rights and liberation'. Akh laa! Spare me.

This is the same week that she was at some 'peace conference' in Iran, on TV there. I know some people from Iran. Let's just say that if you get on the television there...basically, Cynthia McKinney is running around, kissing up to tyrants that murder their own citizens, their own people, and acting like she should get the Peace Prize for it.

My girl Linda Carbonell at LezGetReal got real: McKinney lacks the capacity to understand which groups are being oppressed by whom. Someone needs to send her the video of Neda Agha-Solton dying in the street in Tehran and ask her who the real victims are in that country – the government that is charging ahead with plans to put nuclear plants on active fault lines or the people in the street who were protesting a repressive theocracy. Then, send her some video from Misrata so she can see what Qaddafi is capable of – the wanton leveling of a city of 300,000 to retain power.

And that's the truth.

Cucumbers for Peace. Israeli/palestinian Agricultural Co-operation

2011-05-23T11:11:00.000-07:00

This is interesting,and its a good example of why co-operation is the way to go, and why I personally reject BDS as a divisive and manipulative tactic, and as an obstacle to peace:

The Civil Administration, in coordination with security forces and the Ministry of Defense crossings operators, works to ensure the marketing of 15,000-18,000 tons of cucumbers, which in turn supply Palestinian farmers with approximately 60 million NIS in revenue. The produce is significant to the 3,000 families of Palestinian farmers in the northern West Bank who consider cucumbers their primary source of income, as well as for Israelis wherein 60% of their cucumbers are brought from Jenin.

In order to best answer the farmers’ needs, the hours of the Gilboa Crossing have been extended during the coming weeks in order to allow all the produce gathered throughout the day to be exported, thus maintaining the freshness of the vegetables. Furthermore, the Civil Administration’s Agricultural Coordinator, Samir Muadi, has ordered agronomical examinations on the produce in order to ensure the public’s health.

It should be noted that in the last year the Gilboa Crossing was equipped with an X-ray scanner costing millions of shekels, which allows for the transfer of products without opening their packaging. This has significant impact on the quality of the product as well as the security checks needed.

Israels buy 60% of these cucumbers. What would happen if Israelis decided to return the BDS favor? Would these cucumbers rot in storage? Would other markets be found for them? What would happen to the Palestinian farmers if they couldn't find another regional market for their cucumbers?

Co-operation. Mutual aid. Interdependence. Closer , better ties. These, not BDS are the real path of peace

Child Suicide Bomber in Tahir Square, Egypt

2011-05-15T17:30:00.000-07:00

Originally found here

This does not give me great hope for the future of Egyptian democracy. So, what is the message when you dress a young boy up in a mock-bomb belt, pose him with a mock rocket, and photograph him smiling flashing a peace sign?

What the men of Bashar are doing to Syrian women : Rape as a weapon of war

2011-05-15T16:37:00.000-07:00

"Let the entire world hear what is happening to us"

A widow from Homs, Syria tells her story of how her house was attacked. Her head scarf was ripped off, she was tortured with cigarettes, and she was raped by 5 men.

They threatened to kill her son, her only son. How heartbreaking.

Be strong, Um Abdullah. Be strong.

A Church On Fire Is Never A Good Thing

2011-05-12T00:05:00.000-07:00

This picture upsets me so much. It's from earlier this week, when a church was set on fire in Cairo in 'sectarian violence'.

CNN ran a whole story about what's been going on, with a lot of details.

Some of my friends were so excited about Egypt's revolution. I want to be too. But I see more and more violence against Christians, and between religions, and I wonder if this is really freedom? Is this what freedom looks like? Just people free to kill each other over religion?

That can't be what freedom means.

Gay Imam Spread Message: "Homosexuality Is Not Sinful"

2011-05-11T23:47:00.000-07:00

If I were a guy, I think I'd be in love.

South African Muhsin Hendricks is an Islamic cleric and a gay man.

He runs a foundation called The Inner Circle, which helps Muslims, who are struggling to accept their sexuality. He has come to the Netherlands to spread a simple message: “It’s okay to be Muslim and gay!”

It’s a message not everyone agrees with and the reason why Mr Hendricks is no longer officially a cleric.

Muhsin Hendricks looks a little tired. He is in the Netherlands at the invitation of the Amsterdam branch of gay rights organisation COC and he’s on a punishing schedule. There is enormous public interest in the “pink imam”, as he’s been dubbed.

But every trace of fatigue vanishes as Mushin Hendricks talks about his faith and his sexuality.

“Being Muslim and being gay are both strong identities. And I think that they are both innate identities for me. So somewhere along the line I had to reconcile the two.”

You can read the rest here.

His organization's web page is here.

Photos From Gaza Unity Day Parade

2011-05-06T07:13:00.000-07:00

Palestinians from the Gaza Strip celebrate the political unity deal between Fatah and Hamas during a rally held on May 5, 2011 in the Unknown Soldier square in Gaza City where for the first time since 2007 the yellow Fatah flag was allowed to be displayed as Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip celebrated the reconciliation deal signed by the two rival movements in Cairo the previous day.

More photos at Daylife

Lesbian Blogger in Syria Goes Underground

2011-05-05T18:08:00.000-07:00

I can't imagine how brave this woman is, or how scared she must be. Her father sounds like an amazing man. I can see where she gets her courage from.

I pray for her and her family to be safe.

The Unsettling Story Of A Lesbian Blogger In Syria

One brave blogger has been telling her story of life as an openly gay woman in Damascus, Syria. But now she's gone underground.

Amina (whom we first heard about on Autostraddle) started A Gay Girl in Damascus in February, explaining,

"I'm [...] aware of the winds of freedom and change blowing from one end of the Arab world to the other. And I want that freedom wind to bring with it our liberation, not just as Arabs and as Syrians, but also as women and as lesbians."

She also said, "I can, because I'm a dual national and have benefits of politically connected relatives, be more visible than many women here." However, Syria has been a tumultuous place in the wake of the fall of Hosni Mubarak, and authorities have cracked down on protesters. Last month, Amina wrote that men from "security services" had shown up at her family's home, accusing her of "conspiring against the state, urging armed uprising, [and] working with foreign elements" in her writing. When her father defended her, they asked him, "Did she tell you that she likes to sleep with women? That she is one of those faggots who fucks little girls?" And one added, "Maybe if you were with a real man, you'd stop this nonsense and lies; maybe we should show you now and let your pansy father watch so he understands how real men are." Her dad's response is worth reading in its entirety, but here's part of it:

"Your father," he says to the one who threatened to rape me, "does he know this is how you act? He was an officer, yes? And he served in ..." (he mentions exactly and then turns to the other) "and your mother? Wasn't she the daughter of ...?"
They are both wide-eyed, yes, that is right,
"What would they think if they heard how you act? And my daughter? Let me tell you this about her; she has done many things that, if I had been her, I would not have done. But she has never once stopped being my daughter and I will never once let you do any harm to her. You will not take her from here. And, if you try, know that generations of her ancestors are looking down on you."

At the end of the post, Amina wrote that she and her father would stay in Syria despite its dangers: "He's staying so so will I." But then things changed. In her most recent post, dated yesterday, Amina wrote that her father had left Damascus. He told her,

"They came back for you. This time, there's nothing I can do. Go somewhere and don't tell me where you are. Be safe. I love you."

She says, "I ended up at an old friend's home in an area where it's ‘safe'," and that she's "trying to figure out the next step." She adds that she'll continue posting as she's able. We hope she's able to continue shedding light on something often overlooked in the west — the way all the events of this spring have affected LGBT people in the Middle East. But most of all, we hope she and her family are safe. In closing, here's the final passage of her most recent post, offering a note of hope amid uncertainty:

"[A]s grim as it may seem right now, the way to freedom has never seemed clearer! Our revolution will win; we will have a free and democratic Syria soon. I know it in my bones. Our greatest age is about to appear and we shall once more amaze the world. We will have a free Syria and a free nation; it is coming soon. The revolution will succeed and we will rise above sectarianism, despotism, sexism, and all the dead weight of these years of bitterness, of division and partition, of oppression and of tyranny. We will be free!"

Marriage Equality, Lebanese Style

2011-05-05T17:48:00.000-07:00

While my friends and I are fighting for the right to marry our same-sex partners here in California, young Lebanese activists are fighting for the right to have a civil, non-religious, wedding.

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut explains this: All marriages in Lebanon are performed by a religious authority and are registered in the husband's jurisdiction of birth. Those wishing to have a civil marriage must marry outside the country. In cases of interfaith relationships, either partner can convert to the faith of the other for the purpose of marriage.

So that's okay, right? I wonder if couples flip a coin to see who gives up their religion.

I figure that Lebanon isn't going to have same-sex weddings for a long, long time, but you have to start somewhere, right?

Destroying Homes In Tyre

2011-05-02T21:50:00.000-07:00

There's a struggle going on in Tyre in the south of Lebanon on the coast, where people are building homes illegally on public land. This isn't a strange thing. As this article explains, poor people who can't afford land often try to build wherever they can. If you read the Lebanese press, you know that this happens all the time.

This current situation in Tyre has gotten super bad. In April, two people were killed when the police fired on a crowd of people who were trying to defend their building.

Now, the builders have been told they have forty-eight hours to tear down the buildings or the police will do it for them.

I don't know if the people building in Tyre right now are Palestinians or not, but a lot of the people are who try to build illegally. Palestinians in Lebanon aren't allowed to buy land, you see, even if they can afford to, or own a house. They can't send their kids to public schools, or go into most professions. They're not second-class citizens, because they aren't citizens. They're just tolerated, until some imaginary day when Israel will have to take them back and Lebanon can wash her hands.

I don't know what to do about any of that; I can't even vote in Lebanon. But it pisses me off that people I know here in Berkeley, who walk around with kufiyat around their necks, talking big about the Palestinians don't know anything about any of this--oh, and when I tell them, they don't care.

The death of Osama Bin Laden: the feminist angle

2011-05-02T15:52:00.000-07:00

White House senior officials were still sorting through the details today of the dramatic U.S. raid on bin Laden in Pakistan.

Counterterrorism chief John Brennan told reporters that while bin Laden had vowed to go down fighting, in his last moments alive the master terrorist hid behind a woman.

"From a visual perspective, here is bin Laden who has been calling for attacks, living in this million-dollar-plus compound, living in an area that's far removed from the front, hiding behind women who were put in front of him as a shield," he said.

"I think it really just speaks to just how false his narrative has been over the years, and so again looking at what bin Laden was doing, hiding there while he's putting other people out there to carry out attacks, again, just speaks to, I think, the nature of the individual he was."

The woman who bin Laden tried to use as a human shield was killed in the U.S. raid, Brennan said.

I guess chivalry really is dead.

Update 9:40
Oops. apparently mainstream media screwed up again. No dead wife. No human shield. My apologies.

Nawal El Saadawi: Egypt's radical feminist

2011-04-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

"For me feminism includes everything," she says. "It is social justice, political justice, sexual justice . . . It is the link between medicine, literature, politics, economics, psychology and history. Feminism is all that. You cannot understand the oppression of women without this."

79 year old Egyptian Writer Nawal El Saadawi continues to inspire and amaze:

Read the full article in the Guardian

El Saadawi already seems to have lived more lives than most. She trained as a doctor, then worked as a psychiatrist and university lecturer, and has published almost 50 novels, plays and collections of short stories. Her work, which tackles the problems women face in Egypt and across the world, has always attracted outrage, but she never seems to have balked at this; she has continued to address controversial issues such as prostitution, domestic violence and religious fundamentalism in her writing.

This has come at considerable cost. In 1972, her non-fiction book Women and Sex (which included criticism of female genital mutilation) led to her losing her job as director general of public health for the Egyptian ministry of health. In 1981, her outspoken political views led to her being charged with crimes against the state and jailed for three months – she used the time to write Memoirs From The Women's Prison on a roll of toilet paper, with an eyebrow pencil smuggled in by a fellow prisoner. In 1993 she fled to the US after death threats were issued against her by religious groups.

Her work continues to be explosive. Her play, God Resigns in the Summit Meeting – in which God is questioned by Jewish, Muslim and Christian prophets and finally quits – proved so controversial that, she says, her Arabic publishers destroyed it under police duress. And recently her criticism of religion, primarily on the basis that it oppresses women, has prompted a flurry of court cases, including unsuccessful legal attempts both to strip her of her nationality and to forcibly dissolve her marriage.

As El Saadawi prepares to talk about her life at a PEN literary festival on Friday, she is unrepentant. "It's all worth it," she assures me. "If I went back I would do it all again. That is what I have learned from my experiences, that I was on the right track." Her energy, she insists, comes from the 10 to 15 letters she receives every day from people who say their lives have been changed by her writing. "A young man came to me in Cairo with his new bride. He said, I want to introduce my wife to you and thank you. Your books have made me a better man. Because of them I wanted to marry not a slave, but a free woman."

Girl Geek Camp--Summer 2011

2011-04-30T09:23:00.000-07:00

Any of our readers in Lebanon? Got a daughter or sister the right age? This sounds so amazing.

From Nasawiyah.

Are you a girl who loves technology? Interested in computers? Want to spend an amazing week this summer learning all about useful digital skills? Then join our summer Girl Geek Camp!

What Is It?

Take Back the Tech are organizing a geek camp for 25 girls this July 11-17, 2011 in Lebanon. You will learn from experienced young women how to:

Create a blog, write and express yourself, and do citizen journalism

Use social networks like Facebook and Twitter to spread useful information

Film a video on your camera or mobile phone, edit it, and upload it to YouTube

Take great photographs

Do research online

Pick a university major related to technology

Browse and use the internet securely

+ all about computer languages, open-source, creative commons, and lots more!

Who Is It For?

The camp is open to all girls who are:
Between 15 and 18 years old
Have some basic experience in using computers and the Internet
Interested in gaining more technology skills

When and Where?

We will leave Beirut in a bus on Monday, July 11 at 8am and return to Beirut on Sunday, July 17 at 6pm. We will be camping in the beautiful EcoLodge in Taanayel and the program will include lots of sports, games, social activities as well as – of course – the technology training sessions.

How Much Does It Cost?

As much as you can pay! We are raising funds to cover the camp expenses, so you can pay anything between $10 and $200 to cover your costs, whatever you can afford.

How Do I Apply?

That’s all you need to apply! If you’re interested, please fill in this application form and you can also email n.moawad@gmail.com or call 03-487051 for more information. Applications close on May 20, 2011!

Pakistani eunuchs to have distinct gender classification

2011-04-28T23:11:00.000-07:00

Um. What kind of "social reason" promotes castration at a young age? Just curious, you know? This is good news, though- it shows a growing tolerance for gender diversity

From the BBC:
Pakistan's Supreme Court says eunuchs must be allowed to identify themselves as a distinct gender in order to ensure their rights.

The eunuchs, known as "hijras" in Pakistan, are men castrated at an early age for medical or social reasons.

The court said they should be issued with national identity cards showing their distinct gender.

The government has also been ordered to take steps to ensure they are entitled to inherit property.

There are estimated to be about 300,000 hijras in Pakistan and they are generally shunned by the largely Muslim conservative society.

They tend to live together in slum communities, surviving through begging and by dancing at weddings and carnivals.

A hijra association has welcomed the order, saying it is "a major step giving respect and identity in society".

Indian authorities last month agreed to list eunuchs and transgender people by using the term "others", distinct from males and females, on electoral rolls and voter identity cards, after a long-running campaign by the members of the community.

First Muslim Poses for Playboy. Is this real liberation?

2011-04-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

"Girls, we don't have to live according to the rules imposed upon us...For years I subordinated myself to various societal constraints. The Playboy photo shoot was a total act of liberation." German/Turkish actress and model Sila Sahin declared, defending her recent 12 page spread in Playboy.

Her parents are horrified and Sahin's mother has cut off contact. Sila Sahin, the 25-year-old star the German soap opera "Good Times, Bad Times," has been called a "whore" and a "western slut" on Islamic web message boards, claiming Sahin was "shaming Muslim womanhood" and "prostituting herself for money," while others warned that she "needs to be very careful." Another commenter simply said, "She must pay," according to the UK's Sun newspaper.

From a German paper
"Muslims are absolutely not allowed to do something like that", said Furkan, the owner of a small kebab restaurant in Bonn.

Asked what he would do if Sahin were his sister or daughter, Furkan was unequivocal.

"I would kill her. If I were to see pictures like that, I would kill her. I really mean that. That's not something for me, not for my culture. I was raised differently. That doesn't fit with my culture."

For Sila, however, this was an act of rebellion akin to Che Guevera.

I have mixed feelings about this. Yes, its empowering after years, no, after generations of oppression to take control of your own body. But is this really the way?

Arab Journalist condemns Arab regimes.

2011-04-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

Faisal Al Qasim, a Syrian journalist based in Doha writes: Zionist crimes pale in comparison with the manner in which some Arab regimes have cracked down on their own people for merely seeking change

The Arab media has, for over half a century or so, strongly condemned Zionist crimes against the Palestinians and other Arab peoples. It has in actual fact provided a hell of a lot of satire on Zionist brutality, which is fair enough. But is the Arab media still able to satirise Israeli barbarism with the same vigour after it has witnessed what Arab dictators have done to their own people? Isn't it a bit silly to bombard the Israelis with criticism and keep quiet about savagery against unarmed demonstrators?"

He's writting this in the Gulf News, btw.

"When Israel killed about 1,400 Palestinians during Operation Cast Lead against Gaza, the Arab media raised its voice, and thankfully drew world attention to Israeli atrocities. But when we compare the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza with the number of Arabs being killed these days by Arab dictators, we will be horribly surprised.

In fact, the Sudanese regime killed hundreds of thousands of its own people in Darfur. The so-called Janjaweed gangs in Sudan used to annihilate the people of Darfur like flies simply because the latter clamoured for their basic rights. An Arab satirist once commented that an Arab dictator would not accept the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza even as an appetiser!

Recently there were reports that deposed Tunisian president Zine Al Abidine Bin Ali ordered his air force to bombard a civilian area in the Al Qasrain region because the people there demonstrated against his regime. Thankfully, the army refused to carry out his order.

The ongoing Arab intifadas have shown that some Arab rulers can beat the Israelis at their own game. An Arab website recently carried an opinion poll asking readers: ‘Who will be a killioneer?' Sure enough, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya won the day. Not only did he kill a lot of his own people but also almost flattened many Libyan cities. It brought to mind western cities flattened by Hitler's forces during the Second World War.

Take Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen. WikiLeaks has revealed that his ‘chairmanship' gave the green light to American aircraft to bombard civilian areas to quell a local revolt. Add to this, of course, his brutal handling of the Yemeni revolution.

Other Arab despots are reported to have asked their security forces to aim their guns at protesters' heads. Have you ever seen an Israeli officer torturing a Palestinian civilian to death in the street for everybody to see? Definitely not. Many of us have seen that in some Arab towns lately."

Its worth reading the whole article

"It is true that Israel is forcing an embargo on Gaza, but I do not think that the Israelis are preventing the Palestinians from getting their daily bread, whereas the security services in some Arab countries stopped cars carrying food from entering certain areas. Nor are the Israelis cutting off electricity, telephone and other communication services from houses, hospitals and schools.

It has been reported that the security services stopped nurses and doctors from treating the injured during certain Arab demonstrations as a punishment for rising against the ruling regime. The thugs contracted by the police to help quell protests went even further. They shot at ambulances.

Unlike in some Arab countries, Arabs living inside Israel can organise sit-ins very comfortably. And when the Israeli police intervenes, they never beat demonstrators to death. And if we compare how Israel treats Shaikh Raed Salah with the way some Arab dictators treat their opponents, we will be horribly surprised, as the Israelis are very much less brutal.

It is true that Israel used internationally prohibited ammunition during Operation Cast Lead, but some Arab despots used some chemical stuff to disperse demonstrators.

Israel can always claim it is facing an enemy, whereas Arab dictators are facing their own people"

Now excuse me for a minute while I look out my window for flying pigs

Arab and Arab American Feminisms

2011-04-26T16:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm curious. I am trying to go this evening. I hope its a real feminist talk- not just a "Oh, we'll deal with honor killings, domestic violence and forced marriages to our first cousins after we run the Zionist entity into the sea" type talk.

Arab and Arab American Feminisms
Modern Times Bookstore 888 Valencia st., San Francisco.

A celebration of the new book “Arab and Arab American Feminisms: Gender, Violence, and Belonging,” edited by Rabab Abdulhadi ,Evelyn Alsultany, Nadine Naber.

In this collection, Arab and Arab American feminists enlist their intimate experiences to challenge simplistic and long-held assumptions about gender, sexuality, and commitments to feminism and justice-centered struggles. Contributors hail from multiple geographical sites, spiritualities, occupations, sexualities, class backgrounds, and generations. Poets, creative writers, artists, scholars, and activists employ a mix of genres to express feminist issues and highlight how Arab and Arab American feminist perspectives simultaneously inhabit multiple, overlapping, and intersecting spaces: within families and communities; in anticolonial and antiracist struggles; in debates over spirituality and the divine; within radical, feminist, and queer spaces; in academia and on the street; and between each other.

Contributors explore themes as diverse as the intersections between gender, sexuality, Orientalism, racism, Islamophobia, and Zionism, and the restoration of Arab Jews to Arab American histories. This book asks how members of diasporic communities navigate their sense of belonging when the country in which they live wages wars in the lands of their ancestors. Arab and Arab American Feminisms opens up new possibilities for placing grounded Arab and Arab American feminist perspectives at the center of gender studies, Middle East studies, American studies, and ethnic studies.

Be paid to propagandize!

2011-04-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

Summer, 2011 Internship opportunities to benefit the Palestinian solidarity movement in the United States. Get paid to write op eds! Get paid to spam social media! For some of you, this is a dream job!

Job Announcements from Hatem's organization American Muslims for Palestine
Position 1: Data mining (Two interns needed)
Qualifications:

• Should have good experience in using Microsoft Word, Excel, Google docs

• Should have good experience in using the internet, especially extensive and detailed searches

• Should have a facebook and twitter account. Other social media accounts are a plus

• Should be interested in reading articles, research papers, etc.
Duties:

• Search the internet for a specific topic that will be assigned on the first day of employment

Position 2: E-activism (Two interns needed)
Qualifications:

• Should have a blog

• Should have a facebook and twitter account. Other social media accounts are a plus

• Should be a good writer

• Being able to make short videos is a plus
Duties:

• Utilize media web sites to respond to editorials

• Utilize social media web sites to spread information about Palestine

• Write articles and op-eds for local and national newspapers

Summary of position 3: BDS research (Two interns needed)
Qualifications:

• Should be able to do extensive research

• Must be able to write summaries on research papers, articles and books
Duties:

• Research corporational, organizational, state and governmental investments

• Research into how investments from said corporational, organizational, state and governmental investments effects Palestinians

• Research into number of deaths, home demolitions, settlements, etc. were cause by said investments

In Egypt, Protests Against Christian Politician. In Israel, Christians Walk in the Streets for Good Friday.

2011-04-22T14:35:00.000-07:00

On April 14, Essam Sharaf named eighteen governors in Egypt, and one of them was a Coptic Christian named Emad Mikhael. Today, in Egypt, protesters hit the streets to chant slogans like “Oh freedom where are you ... Mikhael is standing between us and you.”

What's wrong with Governor Mikhael? Well, apparently he had some connections to Mubarak's regime (I bet the other governors do too.) But the main problem is that he's a Christian. And that is something that conservative Islamists in Qena, the city he comes from, are not going to put up with.

Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, Christians from all over the world met to share the experience of Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, in the city where Jesus taught his followers.

Oh peace, where are you?

Acting Out Against Domestic Violence

2011-04-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

A draft law on domestic abuse was endorsed by the Cabinet in April 2010 but is yet to be approved by Parliament.

That really says everything, doesn't it?

Interactive theater helps women explore taboos of domestic violence

April 06, 2011 12:00 AM (Last updated: April 06, 2011 08:43 AM)
By Marie Dhumières
The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Ten Palestinian and Lebanese women who took part in a course on interactive theater techniques to address domestic violence were given their diplomas during a graduation ceremony at the UNESCO Palace Tuesday.

The course, sponsored by Italy and implemented by the Forum of Palestinian Women, is part of the two-year project, “Prevention of violence against women in Palestinian refugee camps.” It aims to tackle issues of domestic violence, gender discrimination and sexual abuses through short plays during which members of the audience are invited to participate and share their personal experiences.

Leila al-Ali, executive director of Najdeh Assocation, which works with Palestinian refugees, and a founding member of the Forum of Palestinian Women, described this “new technique” as a way to reach larger audiences than workshops do and to “address taboo issues” in society.

The graduates, who underwent six months of training, have already staged plays in Beirut, Tripoli, Tyre and the Bekaa and are planning to perform for communities across the country.

“Women have a right in society to defend themselves,” said Sheba Morabito – the wife of Italy’s ambassador to Lebanon, Guiseppe Morabito – who handed the women their diplomas.

“Projects like this one make people aware that it’s time to speak out in public [to help] achieve gender equality” in the private sphere, she said, adding that domestic violence is “a problem that is often hidden.”

Before receiving their certificates, the graduates performed a play in front of an audience of 200 which tells the story of a child who is sexually abused by a shop owner and is scared to tell his parents.

After the performance, the actors began the play again, this time asking a receptive audience to participate. Audience members volunteered to take on the roles of the father, the mother, and the child, and improvised the script, while the audience cheered and yelled advice to the actors.

“In our society, no one talks about problems directly. There are a lot of children who live this story but don’t talk about it,” said Salam al-Sayyed, a 25-year-old graduate of the program who hoped it would “help people talk about their problems.”

Interactive theater, she added, addresses the “problems of society in a language people understand.”

Abu Younes, another graduate, agreed. “The theater is a great solution because we can explain and discuss problems that we don’t tackle in reality,” she said.

The 50-year-old, who played the part of the mother in the performance, said she joined the training program “to send a message to women and men … to stop violence and for women to be free to make their own decisions.”

A draft law on domestic abuse was endorsed by the Cabinet in April 2010 but is yet to be approved by Parliament.

The United Nations estimates that one in three Lebanese women will be subjected to harassment or physical and psychological harm at some point in their lives.

A Little Bit About Me

2011-04-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

Marhaba!! Hello, world!! My name is Salwa Haddad and I am really, really honored that Fatima has asked me to contribute to this blog. She asked me to introduce myself you, so here goes. I'm a first-generation Lebanese American lesbian from Pennsylvania. I came to Berkeley for undergrad (go Bears!) and never went home. I tell everyone it's because the winters are so mild, but I love everything about the Bay Area. I met my girlfriend here, and I hope to finish my graduate degree and raise a family in Berkeley.

Fafa (Fatima) has been working on this blog for as long as I've known her. Every time I run into her, she's found something new she wants to write about, and she's boiling over with excitement about it, telling me facts and figures she found about it. We talk about politics almost as much as we talk about our families. (Lots, in other words.) She's asked me several times to contribute, and I finally decided that I had to make the time for this, because it's important to me.

I'm excited about ALAH, because as an Arab woman, the ignorance about the Middle East in this country, and even in our so-called progressive Bay Area offends me big-time. As a Muslim American woman I see all this crazy right-winger anti-Muslim stuff going on across the country, and that's frightening to look at. But in my own community, I see just as much hate and confusion going on when people try to talk about the Middle East. Most people don't know any of the history of the region, or much about it, but they do have a lot of hate toward Israel and Israelis. A lot of what they say isn't true--Fafa has taken apart a lot of it on this blog already--but it's like they have no critical thinking skills when it comes to the Middle East.

WTF? I don't want to buy into hate. I don't hate people because of their country, or their religion or their race. That's not what we were put here on this earth to do.

So here I am on Fafa's blog, to bring a little bit of perspective from a Lebanese lesbian chick with a lot of love for everyone out there who understands about cucumbers and labneh for breakfast.

Hello, readers!!

Queers Against Israel Apartheid withdraws from Toronto Pride parade

2011-04-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

Yeah! The Canadian equivilent of "Turkeys for Thansgiving" , Queers Against Israeli Apartheid said it will not participate in the Toronto Pride Parade this year.

Toronto mayor Rob Ford said that the city should withhold the funds (the parade received received $123,807 from the city last year.) until after the parade to ensure that Queers Against Israeli Apartheid does not actually march. Ford has said he would withhold city funding from the parade if the group participates.

From the Star:
Queers Against Israeli Apartheid exists to push the provocative — and flatly wrong — idea that Israel’s policies toward Palestinians are equivalent to those of South Africa’s racist apartheid regime. By forcing itself into the parade it had become a divisive element in an event meant as an expression of gay solidarity. Many Jewish gays understandably felt offended rather than included.

I get by with a little help from my friends

2011-04-17T20:17:00.000-07:00

This blog was supposed to be a group effort. Note the "plural" in the title. Sadly, many of the people who expressed interest in the beginning haven't stepped up to the plate. And over the course of time, its gone from a feminist, lesbian blog to one critiquing the current rhetoric of the crisis in the middle East. (because it needs a critical eye, thats why!)
Thats not necessarily where I want it to be.
Enter Salwa. She's a friend from school, and she'll help us get back on track. So Welcome to ALAH my dear friend Salwa.

Palm Sunday in Jerusalem

2011-04-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

These beautiful ladies are in Jerusalem for Palm Sunday. I don't know if they are nuns or something, or just dressed formally for the holiday. The expressions on their faces are really calm and full of spirituality, aren't they?

This article in The Daily Star says that Palm Sunday is the start of Holy Week, which means that next Sunday will be Easter. This year the Orthodox Christians, the Catholics and the Protestants are all celebrating Easter on the same day, so this is a special week for all our Christian sisters and brothers in the world. (This doesn't always happen. Sometimes different groups celebrate different weeks because of the calenders they use.)

Jerusalem is so important to so many faiths! Let's pray for peace there, and in the world. (And hug a Christian for Holy Week! I'm going to hug my girlfriend's mother!)

Differences in child casualty rates in the Israel/ Palestine Conflict

2011-04-16T09:14:00.000-07:00

A child practicing non violent resistance in Dheisheh

I've been called to task about the differences in the casualty rates in the Palestine/Israeli conflict. Doesn't this prove , I'm asked, that the Israelis are the aggressors?

Look at the World War II casualty figures. (these are military figures, btw) Japan lost over 2,000,000 soldiers. American lost 400,000. Does this indicate that Japan was the the victim? Does this indicate that the US used disproportionate force? Look at the German figures. Germany lost over 5 million soldiers. Are the Nazis the victims of WWII?

Ok, lets look at the civilian figures. Germany lost 3 million civilians. Japan lost a half million civilians during the war. The US lost a bit over a thousand. Surely that proves the US was the aggressor? Doesn't it?

There is more to right and wrong than the number of dead.

Other factors explaining the difference in the rate of deaths
1. I can't remember the last time I saw an 11 year old Israeli child throwing a molotov cocktail. Can you? Palestinian boys engage in dangerous militant activities resulting in injuries and death. They are used as soldiers and as human shields.
2. Israel protects its citizens better than the Palestinians do. They built bomb shelters in Sderot, for example, to protect their people.
3. Martyrdom is not promoted by Israel
4. Palestinian children are frequently around munitions, bomb factories, and rocket-firing sites
5. Israel has state of the art medical facilities. Though many Israelis are injured, many lives are also saved
6. Statistics lie. Very often, the statistics are for "Israelis" killed- neglecting to include such foreigners as Americans Marla Bennett, or Daniel Wultz, or Ecuadorian Carlos Chavez killed in acts of terror on Israeli soil. By the same token, a Palestinian killed by the misfiring of a Qassam is still counted as a Palestinian casulty.

The death of any child is a tragedy. But we need to remember hold the Palestinian government complicit in the deaths of boys used as soldiers and as shields.

An Israeli conspiracy that never existed

2011-04-16T05:55:00.000-07:00

An interesting commentary by Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, Commodore (Retd.), Royal Saudi Navy.
An Israeli conspiracy that never existed

I have, since childhood, been hearing about an invisible thing called the Israeli conspiracy.

It is always said that Israel did this and Israel did that. What is worse is when I hear that Israel is planning to do that. So, if we already know what Israel is planning to do, then why not either stop it or avoid it. The biggest conspiracy I heard regarding the Arabs and the Israelis is the humiliating defeat of June 1967. The Egyptians blamed everybody but themselves for the defeat. They insisted on speaking about why some planes came from the north and not from the east. They insisted that they were American Navy planes attacking Egypt. Did not the military analysts hear about evasive maneuvers, or did they expect the air force to fly like commercial airlines by taking the shortest and direct routes.

It turned out that the Egyptian forces were commanded by Gamal Abdel Nasser who only held the rank of major. Hours before the Israeli attack, all air defense sites were told to be on hold because Field Marshal Abdulhakim Amer’s plane was in the air. So, it was not an Israeli conspiracy that defeated the Egyptians, it was the poor planning and having a tired army coming back from Yemen tasked to go to a war that even Nasser did not know how to manage.

That was Egypt in 1967, but what about the Egyptian uprising of 2011? Was it the Egyptians or outside forces? The Egyptian leadership used to call Al Jazeera the match box. The channel’s media center in Qatar is so small that people used to wonder why regional leaders were worried about such a small media building, one that is small as a match box. It turned out that the Egyptian authorities had Al Jazeera on the top list of places to close. There was also no Israeli media center and Israel has no interest in seeing an unstable Egypt. Thomas Friedman once said that Al Jazeera should have been established in Egypt, not Qatar.

Egypt is a country whose media should have been at the front of providing information. However, Egyptians living inside the country and abroad are glued to foreign news outlets. Let us not doubt the Egyptians in their sincere request for change. We cannot accuse 80 million Egyptians of being toys in foreign hands.

To this day, I see Arabs blaming Israelis for young Arab drug addicts, their poor education, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, bad roads, corruption, lack of democracy, unemployment, 9/11, the division of Sudan, the upheaval in Tunisia and the unrest in Egypt. If Israel can do all these things, then the Israelis are either super humans or we simply enjoy blaming others for our failings.

The books of history indicate that the Arabs would have been able to get back the Golan Heights, Sinai, the West Bank and all the 1967 boundaries if Gamal Abdel Nasser made just one phone call to Israel and admitted defeat two days after the June 1967 war. And fewer Palestinians would have been scattered all over. But, we the Arabs never admit defeat.

The Arab world is in a state of unrest nowadays. Egypt is the largest country in the Arab world with 82 million people. If it shakes, then the whole Arab world will shake. It is not time to point fingers at either the West or Israel. Each country has an agenda to benefit its people. Arabs must think what is best for their people, not their leaders. Israel did not open a European bank account for Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali. He did, and where did the money come from? Israel did not hide the billions of dollars in Iraq used by Saddam Hussein while the Iraqis were starving. Saddam did.

You can agree or disagree, Israel is a country that has the best education system in the Middle East and a per capita income of more than $28,000.

The Arabs and Muslims must get rid of the notion that the whole world is conspiring to destroy them. The Arab world is rich in raw materials, rivers, fertile land, wealth and educated people. We must concentrate on education, health care, infrastructure, transparency and open channels between the rulers and the ruled. It is very sad to see Iraq, one of the richest countries in mineral resources, water and educated people, having millions struggle like refugees. It is also sad to see Yemen wasting 40 percent of its water resources to grow qat, just as it is sad to see a country like Lebanon that has the potential to be an attractive tourist spot being fractured because of vested interests, not national interests. Why have we failed to solve the flood problem in Jeddah with all the time and money our government has allocated for the city?

Linda Heard wrote an article in Arab News on Nov. 8, 2010, titled “Israel is digging its own grave.” Yes, the Israelis are digging a grave. But for whom is the grave being dug for? I am sure it is not for the Israelis.

Vittorio Arrigoni, ISM Volunteer killed in Gaza. No, it wasn't Israel

2011-04-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

From the Facebook page of Vittorio Arrigoni, killed by extremists in Gaza. "We do not Receive Dogs or Israelies ". Just charming.

No, I'm not going to call him a "peace activist". The International Solidarity Movement volunteers tend to irritate everyone- the drinking, the smoking, the drugs, the occasional dalliances with local girls....(strangely enough, when ISM girls hang out with Palestinian guys, no one says a word. ) I guess infidels are for practice.

From the JPost

Security officials found the body of an Italian man who had been abducted in the Gaza Strip in an abandoned house overnight Thursday, a Hamas security official said.

Two men were arrested and others were being sought.

Arrigoni, an Italian pacifist and blogger, has lived in the Gaza Strip for some time. He was shown blindfolded with blood around his right eye and a hand can be seen pulling his head up by his hair to face the camera.

A spokesman for the Hamas interior ministry in Gaza City said it was investigating the abduction.

The Arabic text that accompanied the footage of Arrigoni also said "the Italian hostage entered our land only to spread corruption" and it described Italy as "the infidel state".

As of today, also from the JPost:

Radical Islamic terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip distanced themselves from the kidnapping and murder of Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni, who was found dead early Friday morning in the Strip.

Among the groups who disclaimed the attack was Tawhid wal-Jihad, the al-Qaida-linked group that had initially said it was holding the Italian national and said they would only release him if their own leader, recently arrested by Hamas, was released, Gaza-based newspaper Palestine Today reported.

No, Vittorio wasn't a peace activist, any more than Rachel Corrie was.

If they were peace activists they'd be organizing soccer matches between Israelis and Palestinians. They'd be organizing art clasess and scout troops and they'd be teaching that we are all one. They wouldn't be teaching intolerance, and violence.

But its irrelevant now, and they are both gone, and they leave behind people who loved them. To their memory I offer this poem, penned by Sheikh Muslihu'd-Din, better known as Saadi, descended from Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet

All Adam's race are members of one frame;
Since all, at first, from the same essence came.
When by hard fortune one limb is oppressed,
The other members lose their wonted rest:
If thou feel'st not for others' misery,
A son of Adam is no name for thee.

15 % Obesity rate in the Palestinian territories

2011-04-12T13:35:00.000-07:00

Some old lady on campus handed me a brochure on the starving children of Gaza last Friday. Why do some people think that making up facts is the road to peace?

I see no scholarly evidence ANYWHERE that children are "starving" in Gaza. Rather, there is much evidence to the contrary. Three minutes at the National Library of Health Website yielded a document that discusses an "alarming" obesity rate for Palestinian school children. And no, its not from some "Zionist" publication- its from the Lancet.

Nutritional Status in Palestinian Schoolchildren living in West Bank and Gaza : a cross Sectional Survey funded by the World Food programe, published online July 2, 2010. 15% Obesity rate in the territories. Thats the same as Canada.

The article goes on to state "The high proportions of overweight and obesity might be attributable to children's poor eating habits (well, duh!) and consumption of unhealthy food and snacks. " Thats NOT Israel's fault.

This article, Associations of Overweight and of Weight dissatisfaction among Palestinian Adolescents: findings from the national study of Palestinian schoolchildren claims " 16.5% of the adolescents were overweight". Its from a Belgian Journal on Human Nutrition, again, not some "Zionist" rag.

Time to get real, people.

UPDATE:
Thanks, Yasmeen, for sending this chart on worldwide obesity from the Economist. Its a bit dated, but still, if under Israel's brutal and genocidal occupation obesity was so widespread, how can you wonder if its not some dastardly zionist plot to, uh, uh....oh, I don't know, but its clearly some dastarly Zionist plot.

UPDATE AGAIN:
Thanks to an anonymous poster, we have even more up to date info on Gaza obesity rates, with range from 30- 40% and higher

This is from a June 2010 article : "Hyperglycaemia, hypertension and their risk factors among Palestine refugees served by UNRWA"

Students for Justice in Palestine: UC Berkeley's own foreign policy wing

2011-04-08T14:19:00.000-07:00

I received an email announcement from SJP- Students for Justice in Palestine this week (They are jokingly called "Students for Just Us in Palestine" by nearly everyone on campus, though never to their face) Their list of endorsements for Student governmnet was interesting, in that not a single issue of relevance to campus was mentioned. (Student fee increase? Nah, who cares. Tuition hikes? Irrelevant. Two year wait lists for some pre-requisites? Humbug. System wide layoffs? Just not important. What an SJP student bases his or her vote on is Divestment from Israel.

The Student for Justice Divestment slate follows:
The international attention garnered by last year's divestment campaign would not have been possible without like-minded allies in the student government. We encourage all our members to vote in this year's ASUC elections (http://election.asuc.org/)

SENATE CANDIDATES

This year, SJP member Nairi Shirinian #136 is running as an independent candidate for ASUC senate. She is a staunch ally of SJP, was a pivotal force behind divestment last year, and has been on SJP board for the past two years. She is being endorsed by the following pro-divestment student leaders:

Margaret Zhou - Board Member, Students for Justice in Palestine*

Waseem Salahi - ASUC Senator, 2010-present*

J.P. Shami - Former ASUC Senator, 2009-2010*

Jonathan Gaurano - Former ASUC Senator, 2009-2010*

Emily Carlton, Former ASUC Senator, 2009-2010; Squelch Party Chair*

Raymond Hajduk - Former President, 2010, Internal Vice President, 2009, Queer Community Development Manager, 2008, of the Queer Alliance Resource Center, No On 8 Volunteer Campaign Coordinator 2008, Yes On Equality Campus Director 2009-present, Youth Outreach Counselor 2009-Present*

Voting in ASUC senate elections is done by ranked-choice voting (you assign 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. preferences to the candidates). Other candidates for senate include Sahar Pirzada (#129) and Shahryar Abbasi (#174), both prominent members of the Middle Eastern community.

In addition, the Calserve party, which is currently running a whole slate of senators, officially supports divestment.

EXECUTIVE CANDIDATES

President: Stefan Montouth, Independent (current CalServe senator)
External Affairs Vice President: Ratha Lai, Independent and BRIDGES multicultural center organizing director

The strategy of loading the deck is nothing new- it was carefully explained to those attending the Al Awda conference last years.

Its easy to see why so many students are cynical about student government at UC Berkeley.

Go Bears, and please, make the right choices

More Tales from Bi'lin

2011-04-04T13:14:00.000-07:00

The press release follows
Israeli occupation forces stormed Bil'in

At 01 am 04.04.2011, the army and police entered Bil’in and entered the house of Ali Ibrahim Burnat. They searched his house thoroughly inside and outside for about 40 minutes. According to witnesses they were looking for internationals who they assumed were living in Burnat’s house. After finishing the raid they moved on to the “Friends of Freedom and Justice” office located nearby Burnat’s house, and were searching the area around. It is not known what they were looking for there. The army and police then retreated and exited through the gate in the Wall. Nobody was injured or arrested.

After half an hour the same forces entered the village again, and this time they went to Khamis Abu Rahma’s house. When the owner saw army and police outside his house he went to open the door to avoid having his door broken – which normally is the routine if the door is not open. Abu Rahma was then body searched and his ID was taken, then he was questioned about who was residing in his house. Again they were interested in internationals, although they could not find any. The army and police then searched the house and the garden, including the garbage and inside cars located nearby. The second raid lasted for about 30 minutes, and did also not result in any arrests.

Iyad Burnat
Bil'in Popular committee
0598403676

Well, everyone knows the ISM volunteers always stay at the Hamde's home. Where were they? Who knows? Maybe destroying trees and blaming it on settlers.

Check out the video. Storming is defined as a violent, sudden attack on a fortified place. This looks like a walk through to me.

What would you do? Arabs/Muslims in Israel

2011-04-01T18:06:00.000-07:00

This gave me goosebumps. I wonder what would happen if the situation were reversed?

Jews and Palestinians Working together. Playing Together. Thats the path of peace

2011-03-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

The real path of peace has never been Boycotts, Divestments and Sanction. The real path of peace ,as difficult as it may sound, is more interactions- more cultural and economic ties. Greater interdependence.

I'm not the only one who feels this way

From YNET:
In Israel Bowl IV, the majority of players on Judean Rebels football team are "settlers" from the settlements, but team's real stars are four Arab cousins.

"We play as a team and leave our personal stuff on the side. If they can do it, I can, too," said Musa Elayyan, a 21-year-old Rebels defensive lineman from the West Bank city of Ramallah who grew up in the United States and goes by the nickname "Moose." "Once you've played together you create a bond, especially on a successful team."

American football is still an afterthought on the Israeli sporting scene, it has steadily gained ground in recent years. This year's Israel Bowl attracted more than 1,000 fans and was broadcast live on the Israeli sports channel.

Female Egyptian Protestors forced to undergo virginity tests

2011-03-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

From amnesty International:

After army officers violently cleared the square of protesters on 9 March, at least 18 women were held in military detention. Amnesty International has been told by women protesters that they were beaten, given electric shocks, subjected to strip searches while being photographed by male soldiers, then forced to submit to ‘virginity checks’ and threatened with prostitution charges.

‘Virginity tests’ are a form of torture when they are forced or coerced.

"Forcing women to have ‘virginity tests’ is utterly unacceptable. Its purpose is to degrade women because they are women," said Amnesty International. "All members of the medical profession must refuse to take part in such so-called 'tests'."

20-year-old Salwa Hosseini told Amnesty International that after she was arrested and taken to a military prison in Heikstep, she was made, with the other women, to take off all her clothes to be searched by a female prison guard, in a room with two open doors and a window. During the strip search, Salwa Hosseini said male soldiers were looking into the room and taking pictures of the naked women.

The women were then subjected to ‘virginity tests’ in a different room by a man in a white coat. They were threatened that “those not found to be virgins” would be charged with prostitution.

According to information received by Amnesty International, one woman who said she was a virgin but whose test supposedly proved otherwise was beaten and given electric shocks.

“Women and girls must be able to express their views on the future of Egypt and protest against the government without being detained, tortured, or subjected to profoundly degrading and discriminatory treatment,” said Amnesty International.

“The army officers tried to further humiliate the women by allowing men to watch and photograph what was happening, with the implicit threat that the women could be at further risk of harm if the photographs were made public.”

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/egyptian-women-protesters-forced-take-‘virginity-tests’-2011-03-23

Echo and the Bunnymen Under Attack on Facebook

2011-03-19T06:19:00.001-07:00

Everytime an artist agrees to play in israel, a coordinated attack is unleashed. Letters and emails are sent to the artist and his/her manager. Faxes are sent. And their facebook page is swamped.

Echo and the Bunnymen are currently in the crosshairs. They follow in the footsteps of the Buzzcocks, macy Grey, Jethro Tull, and so many others. Their facebook page is filled with politics and polemics.

But there is also fraud. Check out the screen shot above. "Nick libya"( yeah right) has actually threatened to take out a fake Twitter account in the name of Echo and the Bunnymen, to "have some fun".

What I've learned from participation in these squirmishes before- the haters will stop at nothing to get their way.

If this is Friday this must be Bi'lin

2011-03-18T06:58:00.000-07:00

Just another peaceful Friday in Bi'lin, as the local youth and their international instigators and human shields practice non-violent resistance with rocks.

Just like Gandhi used to throw....

British Muslims for Israel? British Muslims for Israel!!!!!

2011-03-15T22:55:00.000-07:00

From a remarkable new Blog- British Muslims for Israel

Here at BMFI, we do not believe the Arab-Israeli conflict is a war over land or religion, but it is a clash of ideas. Israel, as a Western liberal democracy, extends equal rights to all of its citizens, regardless of religion or race. Muslims have more rights in Israel than in any other country in the Middle East.

While Egypt guns down Sudanese refugees fleeing the murderous oppression of their government, Israel gives them home and shelter; while Lebanon denies Palestinian refugees access to healthcare, Israel provides emergency treatment for the residents of the West Bank and Gaza strip; while Syria keeps the Palestinians in refugee camps and sporadically slaughters them, Israel offered full citizenship to all its Palestinians after the Arab states attempted to destroy Israel and slaughter its Holocaust survivors in 1948.

Israel undoubtedly has made some bad choices, but what other country in the region holds enquiries to censure itself? BMFI is not solely for Zionists, but it is for all those British Muslims who recognise Israel’s right to exist and believe that a peaceful solution must be achieved.

Groups such as the Palestinian Solidarity Movement, Viva Palestina, Stop the War do NOT speak for us

------------------------------

And you know what? They don't speak for me, either.

The Arab Revolutions:Guiding Principles for Peace and Justice Organizations in the US

2011-03-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

Just got this email with the request to forward it widely.
I must say- I love the grandiose sweeping statements, as though all Arabs, all Muslims, all people of color speak with one voice.

Take it with a grain of salt. Hell, take it with a shaker of salt.
And direct your feedback here: ekishawi@yahoo.com

The Arab Revolutions: Guiding Principles for Peace and Justice Organizations in the US
We, the undersigned, support the guiding principles and demands listed in this statement. We call on groups who want to express solidarity with the Arab revolutions to join our growing movement by signing this statement or keeping with the demands put forward herewith.

Background
The long-awaited Arab revolution has come. Like a geologic event with the reverberations of an earthquake, the timing and circumstances were unpredictable. In one Arab country after another, people are taking to the street demanding the fall of monarchies established during European colonial times. They are also calling to bring down dictatorships supported and manifested by neo-colonial policies. Although some of these autocratic regimes rose to power with popular support, the subsequent division and subjugation of the Arab World led to a uniform repressive political order across the region. The Arab masses in different Arab countries are therefore raising a uniform demand: “The People Want to Topple the Regimes!”
For the past two decades, the Arab people witnessed the invasion and occupation of Iraq with millions killed under blockade and occupation, Palestinians massacred with the aim to crush the anti-Zionist resistance, and Lebanon repeatedly invaded with the purposeful targeting of civilians. These actions all served to crush resistance movements longing for freedom, development, and self-determination. Meanwhile, despotic dictatorships, some going back 50 years, entrenched themselves by building police states, or fighting wars on behalf of imperialist interests.
Most Arab regimes systematically destroyed the social fabric of civil society, stifled social development, repressed all forms of political dissent and democratic expression, mortgaged their countries' wealth to foreign interests and enriched themselves and their cronies at the expense of impoverishing their populations. After pushing the Arab people to the brink, populations erupted.
The spark began in Tunisia where a police officer slapped and spat on Mohammad Bou Azizi, flipping over his produce cart for not delivering a bribe on time. Unable to have his complaint heard, he self-immolated in protest, igniting the conscience of the Tunisian people and that of 300 million Arabs. In less than a month, the dictator, Zine El Abedine Ben Ali, was forced into exile by a Tunisian revolution. On its way out, the regime sealed its legacy by shooting at unarmed protestors and burning detention centers filled with political prisoners. Ben Ali was supported by the US and Europe in the fight against Islamic forces and organized labor.
Hosni Mubarak’s brutal dictatorship fell less than a month after Tunisia’s. The revolution erupted at a time when one half of the Egyptian population was living on less than $2/day while Mubarak’s family amassed billions of dollars. The largest population recorded in Egyptian history was living in graveyards and raising their children among the dead while transportation and residential infrastructure was crumbling. Natural gas was supplied to Israel at 15% of the market price while the Rafah border was closed with an underground steel wall to complete the suffocation of the Palestinians in Gaza. Those who were deemed a threat swiftly met the fate of Khalid Said. 350 martyrs fell and 2,000 people were injured.
After Egypt and Tunisia, Yemen, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan exploded in protest. Some governments quickly reshuffled faces and ranks without any tangible change. Some, like Bahrain and Yemen, sent out their security forces to massacre civilians. The Yemeni regime used US-made chemical weapons on protestors, at the same time it opened fire on unarmed civilians. Oman and Yemen represent strategic assets for the US as they are situated on the straits of Hormuz and Aden, respectively. Bahrain is an oil country that hosts a US military base, situated in the Persian Gulf. A new round of US funded blood-letting of Arab civilians has begun!
Libyan dictator Qaddafi did not prove to be an exception. He historically took anti-imperialist positions for a united Arab World and worked for an African Union. He later transformed his regime to a subservient state and opened Libya to British Petroleum and Italian interests, working diligently on privatization and political repression. He amassed more wealth than that of Mubarak. In the face of the Libyan revolution, Qaddafi exceeded the brutality of Ben Ali, Mubarak and Ali Abdullah Saleh, blind-folding and executing opponents, surrounding cities with tanks, and bombing his own country. Death toll is expected to be in the thousands.
Qaddafi’s history makes Libya an easy target for imperialist interests. The Obama administration followed the Iraq cookbook by freezing Libyan assets amounting to 30% of the annual GDP. The White House, with the help of European governments, rapidly implemented sanctions and called for no-fly zones. These positions were precipitated shortly after the US vetoed a resolution condemning the illegal Israeli colonization of the West Bank. Special operations personnel from the UK were captured by the revolutionary commanders in Ben Ghazi and sent back.
We call for a united movement in support of the Arab revolutions for freedom. We oppose all military and economic measures taken by the US and European governments against Arab nations.
Demands of the Solidarity Movement with Arab Revolutions

1. We condemn the atrocities committed by the dictatorships’ security forces against unarmed civilians in an attempt to pull the protest movements into a state of civil war.
2. We demand a stop to US support, financing and trade with Arab dictatorships. We oppose US policy that has favored Israeli expansionism, war, US oil interest and strategic shipping routes at the expense of Arab people’s freedom and dignified living.
3. We support the Arab people’s right to sovereignty and self-determination. We demand that the US government stop its interference in the internal affairs of all Arab countries and end subsidies to wars and occupation.
4. We support the Arab people’s demands for political, civil and economic rights. The Arab people’s movement is calling for:
a. Deposing the unelected regimes and all of their institutional remnants
b. Constitutional reform guaranteeing freedom of organizing, speech and press
c. Free and fair elections
d. Independent judiciary
e. National self-determination.
5. We oppose all forms of US and European military intervention with or without the legitimacy of the UN. Standing in solidarity with the revolution against Qaddafi, or any other dictator, does not equate to supporting direct or indirect colonization of an Arab country, its oil or its people. We therefore call for:
a. Absolute rejection of military blockades, no-fly zones and interventions.
b. Lifting all economic sanctions placed against Libya and allowing for the formation of an independent judiciary to prosecute Qaddafi and deposed dictators for their crimes.
c. Immediately withdrawing the US and NATO troops from the Arab region.
6. We support Iraq’s right to sovereignty and self determination and call on the US to immediately withdraw all occupation personnel from Iraq.
7. We recognize that the borders separating Arab nations were imposed on the Arab people by the colonial agreements of Sykes-Picot and the Berlin Conference on Africa. As such, we support the anti-Zionist nature of this revolution in its call for:
a. Ending the siege and starvation of the Palestinian people in Gaza
b. Supporting the right of the Palestinian people to choose their own representation, independent of Israeli and US dictates
c. Supporting the Palestinian right to return
d. Supporting the right of the Lebanese people to defend their country from Israeli violations and their call to end vestiges of the colonial constitution constructed on the basis of sectarian representation
e. Supporting the right of the Jordanian people to rid themselves of their repressive monarchy
f. Ending all US aid to Israel.

For endorsements please email ekishawi@yahoo.com
Endorsers:
Al-Awda (The Palestine Right to Return Coalition), Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC), Bay Area United Against War (Bauaw.org), International Socialist Organization (ISO), Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA), Palestinian Youth Network (PYN), United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Nada Khader, ED WESPAC Foundation, Michael Letwin, Co-Convener, New York City Labor Against the War; Labor for Palestine

3 dead children? Its Israel's fault

2011-03-13T10:44:00.000-07:00

When is a denouncement of violence not a denouncement of violence? Here's an example.

March 12, 2011 Palestinian Popular Committees Against the Wall and Israeli Settlements express their deep sadness and sorrow concerning the killing incident in the Itamar colonial settlement. The Popular Committees view the killing incidence as a part of the escalation generated and mobilized by the policies and actions of the Israeli occupation. These policies created the circumstances for committing these heinous actions. Therefore, we believe that the Israeli government bears full responsibility for the occupation and its consequences. The Popular Committees are committed to nonviolence and civil disobedience in our struggle to end the Israeli occupation. Though the crime was committed on colonized land, we see the killing of children as a despicable crime regardless of their nationality, gender, color, race or religion.

١٢-٣-٢٠١١ تعبر اللجان الشعبية الفلسطينة لمقاومة الجدار و الاستيطان الاسرائيلي عن الحزن و الاسى لحادث القتل الذي جرى في مستعمرة يتامار. ترى اللجان الشعبية في حادثة القتل كجزء من سياسة التصعيد التي يمارسها و يحركها الاحتلال الاسرائيلي. هده السياسات هي ...التي توجد الظروف لممارسة الاعمال البشعة. لذلك فإننا نحمل الاحتلال الاسرائيلي المسؤولية الكاملة للاحتلال و افرازاته. ان اللجان الشعبية ملتزمة بنضالها السلمي و العصيان المدني من اجل انهاء الاحتلال الاسرائيلي. و عليه و بغض النظر عن ان العمل قد ارتكب على ارض محتلة، فإننا نرى قتل الاطفال جريمة بشعة بغض النظر عن الهوية، الجنس، اللون، العرق و الدين

***********

Maybe I'm wrong here, but as far as I understand, someone broke into a families home and slit the throats of the three children WHILE THEY WERE SLEEPING. No amount of mumbling about the "occupation" can rationalize the murder of an infant in her crib.

And again, sweets were passed out in Gaza.

CBS News’ Lara Logans Sexual Assault at the hands of Egyptian Mob. Power to the People. Right....

2011-02-15T16:56:00.000-08:00

On Friday February 11 60 minutes correspondent Lara Logan suffered a ‘Sustained’ sexual assault at the hands of an Egyptian mob.

Lara Logan was covering the scene in Tahrir Square when she became separated from her crew. A mob of more than 200 people surrounded her. She suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating. eventually, she was saved saved by a group of women and some 20 Egyptian soldiers. The mother of two reconnected with the CBS team, returned to her hotel and returned to the United States on the first flight the next morning. She is currently in the hospital recovering.

Ah, Egypt. Freedom we have, but Freedom to do what?

World’s best news photo is Time cover of disfigured Afghan woman

2011-02-12T07:38:00.000-08:00

From an article by Joe Pompeo

The iconic, controversial Time cover photo of an 18-year-old Afghan woman missing her nose has been named World Press Photo of the Year.

"It's an incredibly strong image," Ruth Eichhorn, one of the jurors of the annual contest said in the group's announcement of the award in recognition of the magazine's August 1, 2010 cover image. The annual Photo of the Year prize is sponsored by the nonprofit photojournalism organization World Press Photo. The photo "sends out an enormously powerful message to the world, about the 50 percent of the population that are women, so many of whom still live in miserable conditions, suffering violence," Eichhorn said. "It is strong because the woman looks so dignified, iconic."

The image was captured by Jodi Bieber, a photographer from South Africa. The woman it depicts is Bibi Aisha, who was 18 when she left her husband, a Taliban fighter, over claims of domestic abuse. In an act of retribution, the Taliban allowed him to cut off her ears and nose. Aisha's husband abandoned her after the assault; American soldiers and aid workers later rescued her and transported her to the United States--where she now lives--for reconstructive surgery. The Grossman Burn Foundation - the Los Angeles-based organisation is financing the surgery.

Time ignited a firestorm of debate over the suitability of the woman's photo when the magazine's editors featured it on the cover last August. Detractors called it "emotional blackmail" and "war porn," according to the New York Times, while others saw it as "a powerful appeal to conscience."

Aisha Bibi's story is relatively common in Afghanistan. Her father gave her away at age 12 to pay a blood debt. She was handed over to his family who abused her and forced her to sleep in the stable with the animals.

The UN estimates that almost 90 per cent of Afghanistan's women suffer from some sort of domestic abuse.

Women of Egypt

2011-01-29T15:08:00.000-08:00

photos by Leil-Zahra Mortada

This is the part that scares me, though

January 29, 2011 | 1655 GMT
The following is a report from a STRATFOR source in Hamas. Hamas, which formed in Gaza as an outgrowth of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood (MB), has an interest in exaggerating its role and coordination with the MB in this crisis. The following information has not been confirmed. Nonetheless, there is a great deal of concern building in Israel and the United States in particular over the role of the MB in the demonstrations and whether a political opening will be made for the Islamist organization in Egypt.

The Egyptian police are no longer patrolling the Rafah border crossing into Gaza. Hamas armed men are entering into Egypt and are closely collaborating with the MB. The MB has fully engaged itself in the demonstrations, and they are unsatisfied with the dismissal of the Cabinet. They are insisting on a new Cabinet that does not include members of the ruling National Democratic Party.

Security forces in plainclothes are engaged in destroying public property in order to give the impression that many protesters represent a public menace. The MB is meanwhile forming people’s committees to protect public property and also to coordinate demonstrators’ activities, including supplying them with food, beverages and first aid.

Long Dramatic Sigh. Its time for an Existential Crisis

2011-01-28T21:26:00.000-08:00

A friend just showed me how to use the Stats Tab at Blogger. (Yeah, I've been doing this for a year and I still can't find my way around my own site.)

Its good to know that people from all over the world have visited my blog. Shockingly enough I've learned is that most of them came here looking for(embarrassed shuffling) porn

There. I've said it. People have come here from Saudi Arabia. Slovakia. Egypt. Jordan, with only one thing in common. They are looking for porn. And I'm sure they are leaving disappointed. Not only by my irregular postings and weak analysis, but the lack, the complete and total lack of Arab lesbian porn on this site.

Oh, well.

MK Hanin Zoabi in Berkeley

2011-01-27T20:45:00.000-08:00

On November 2nd, the Middle East Children's Alliance, Jewish Voice for Peace , Code Pink , the Arab Resource Organizing Center and others hosted two Palestinian speakers at the First Congregational Church of Berkeley. Areej Ja'fari, a youth/women’s leader and activist from Dheisheh Refugee Camp and Hanin Zoabi,a Palestinian Member of the Knesset, and a participant on the Gaza Flotilla were the speakers.

One of the most interesting statements from Zoabi: “According to the National Democratic Assembly, my party, we are talking about two states - one Palestinian State in the West Bank with East Jerusalem as its capital and a state for all of its citizens in the borders of 1948.”

Yep. No Jewish state in her vision.

Areej Ja'fari and MK Hanin Zoabi answered questions from the audience following their talks. Not a single person mentioned honor killings. Plural marriages. Underaged marriages. Domestic violence. Or frankly, any of the real issues Palestinian women face.

Whats a feminist, a real feminist, to do?

I've got copious notes on the talk. I promise I'll write them up. Really, I will.

Mutant Zionist Attack dogs. Oh my!

2011-01-26T05:42:00.000-08:00

American Muslims for Palestine,whose motto is "Empowerment through Education and Action", seems to be spreading quite a bit of misinformation lately. In their recent mailing (thanks, Hatem, for adding me to your email list!) a headline reads:

"Israeli Reactor Leads to West Bank deaths", claiming "Dramatic increases in cancer cases, sterility and abnormal births in south of the West Bank is said to be linked to a uranium leak at the Dimona nuclear power plant."

Checking the medical literature published in the last few years shows nothing that supports this statement. There are no statistics. There are no references provided. Nor is there any mention how death and disease appear to skip the Israeli population located in the immediate vicinity of the reactor, and only hurt people on the West bank. (Wait- I saw that movie with Charlton Heston: Its because the Jews mark their doorposts with blood, and the angel of death, and its proxy uranium leak skip those houses. Right?"

But here is where they completely lose me:

The article continues: "Governor of al-Khalil, Kamel Hemed said, “Last year we killed over 2,000 dogs in our region. They were not behaving normally and were very aggressive and huge in size.”

Yes, you read it here first. Or second, if Hatem Bazien signed you up for his alerts, also. Huge, monstrous mutant Zionist hound dogs. The X-men of the dog world.

We already know the Zionists control the air. And the sea. Looks like they've got the land covered too, with this new breed of huge aggressive mutant dog.

Co-existence : Pass it on Israeli/Palestinian Cooperate in Planning for the 2012 Olympics

2011-01-25T11:20:00.000-08:00

Israeli and Palestinian Officials Working together to ensure Successful participation in the 2012 Olympics in London

Israeli and Palestinian Olympic officials met Thursday to begin building closer ties , in an effort to send stronger teams to the 2012 London Games. At a recent International Olympic Committee meeting, Palestinian athletes were promised IOC funding and Israeli support to prepare for the London Olympics. Israel committed to hosting the Palestinian team at training camps and coaching seminars, and sharing its knowledge of sports science and medicine.
The parties hailed the "positive and constructive" meeting, and agreed to study the travel issues before returning to Lausanne in March. That's when they plan to present proposals to their governments.
"We believe that through sport we can make a difference. I hope today we made the first steps," Efraim Zinger, secretary general of the Israel Olympic committee, told The Associated Press.
Zinger described Palestinian Olympic leader Jibril Rajoub as a partner in the process.
Rajoub said it was "a common choice for everybody" at the meeting to seek ways to help Palestinian athletes and teams compete internationally.
"It is my dream as Palestinian national Olympic committee president to participate in next year's Olympic games by an army of athletes," Rajoub told The AP.
Zinger said Israel was committed to hosting the Palestinian team at training camps and coaching seminars, and share its knowledge of sports science and medicine.
"We are there and in advance we said 'Yes' for any request regarding assistance for the preparation of Palestinian athletes for the Olympic Games," Zinger said.
The IOC delegation was led by Pere Miro, director of relations with national Olympic committees, who said the two parties showed "impressive" support for Olympic ideals.
"Through sport we can contribute to make a more tolerant world and make societies understand each other," Miro said.

Read more here

Macy Gray will perform in Tel Aviv ! (Update)

2011-01-21T09:26:00.000-08:00

Macy Gray is scheduled to appear in Tel Aviv on February 11th and 12th
It will be her fourth time in Israel.
Gray announced that she would honor her commitment to perform in Tel Aviv after taking a poll on her Facebook site. As of my last visit, there were over 7,000 responses on both sides of the issue. . Defending her decision, she had harsh criticism for the tone of some of the critics used to challenge the decision.

Macy Gray under attack for playing in israel

2011-01-19T14:13:00.000-08:00

Today, Al Awda and related organizations sent out this Action Alert
Macy Gray publicly contemplating the BDS call – contact her on Facebook!

Macy Gray published this on her official Facebook page:

“I’m booked for 2 shows in Tel Aviv. I’m getting alot of letters from activists urging/begging me to boycott by NOT performing in protest of Apartheid against the Palestinians. What the Israeli government is doing to the Palestinians is disgusting, but I wana go. I gotta lotta fans there I dont want to cancel on and I …dont know how my NOT going changes anything. What do you think? Stay or go?”

If you have a Facebook account it may be good to comment (you have to “LIKE” her page…).

The address for her official page is:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#%21/pages/Macy-Gray-Official/176046896552

Poor Macy has since fielded over 2,000 comments. Will she read them? I doubt it, but I can't help but think about the consequences other performers have faced by making the decision to honor their music and their fans by keeping their commitment to play in Israel. Pete Seegers facebook page has been hijacked for nearly three months. Jethro Tull faced the same treatment.

Why do people think that preventing musicians from playing in Israel will advance the cause of the Palestinians?

UPDATE:

0ver. 3,500 comments on Macy Gray's Facebook page now.

The mysterious death of Jawaher Abu Rahma

2011-01-03T13:43:00.000-08:00

From the very beginning, the death of Bi'lin's Jawaher Abu Rahma by "Israeli tear gas" seemed unlikely, and the story was filled with internal contradictions. Her own cousin claimed on his facebook page that she was not at the protest . Hamde Abu wrote "Jawaher was not present at the demonstration. She was in her home, approximately 500 meters away from where the gas canisters landed, when she suffered the effects of gas that was carried over the village by wind". Others claimed she participated in the "peaceful" demonstration, no doubt engaging in the peaceful throwing of rocks and Molotov cocktails.

Yet there is no photographic or video evidence of the 35 year old's participation at the weekly Friday Bi'lin protest.

There was a great deal of secrecy- the family refused to cooperate with an investigation of the death. The circumstances were so mysterious, there was speculation that she had been subject to an honor killing by her family. So how did Jawaher Abu Rahma really die?

She was in a Ramallah hospital for 10 days prior to her death and apparently died of cancer completely unconnected to the protest.

Once again, the lie makes it half way around the world before the truth even puts on its pants. Don't wait for retractions from the mainstream media.

Santa Attacks IDF. News at Eleven

2010-12-28T05:09:00.001-08:00

Nothing like a traditional heartwarming Christmas scene. In the riot du jour at Bi'lin, a Protester dressed as Santa throws rocks at soldiers from the Israeli Defence Forces.

Just another heartwarming scene of co-existence from the Middle east this holiday season

M. Zuhdi Jasser: U.S. wrongly sides with Muslim teacher

2010-12-26T05:17:00.000-08:00

Yes, Virginia. There is a moderate Islam:
Orginially found here

This was written by M. Zuhdi Jasser, a doctor and former U.S. Navy lieutenant
commander, and the founder and president of the Phoenix-based
American Islamic Forum for Democracy.

The U.S. Justice Department's decision to file suit against an Illinois
school district indicates it is seriously misguided in its approach
to American-Muslim grievances. The government claims that the
Berkeley district violated the civil rights of Safoorah Khan by not
providing reasonable accommodation for her faith. This unfortunate
position will have a significant impact beyond this case.

In 2008, the math teacher asked for an unpaid three-week leave
in order to perform her Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca and a
once-in-a-lifetime requirement in the Muslim faith. The district
denied Khan's request twice because it did not meet the
requirements specified by the union contract. Khan filed an
unsuccessful EEOC complaint and then resigned because she felt the
priority of her pilgrimage outweighed her contractual commitment to
the district.

This Muslim believes that Attorney General Eric Holder's
case is misguided and that Khan's request was not reasonable. Strip
away the political correctness and all the noise of Muslim
victimization, and we are left with a case that most reasonable
Muslim employers and employees would find unreasonable.

I empathize with Khan's deep desire to complete her pilgrimage
and pray for the day that I can do the same. However, the federal
government's intrusion will do far more harm than good by lowering
the threshold of what merits action for civil rights abuse. With
this case, the government runs the risk of becoming the "boy who
cried wolf" and de-legitimizing future requests for reasonable
accommodation from Muslims or people of any faith.

In defending Khan's claim of discrimination, the Justice
Department is empowering an Islamist mindset that demands special
consideration above all others, which is unacceptable in a society
where all are equal before the law.

The conflict between Islamism (societies and states based in
Islamic law) and classical liberalism (our Western societies based
in reason) is among the most important battle of ideas in the 21st
century. The detachment of Muslim youth identification from our
secular society and the fueling of an interpretation of Islam that
is inflexible to an egalitarian society is arguably the most
important root cause toward radicalization.

Khan's request would have stepped outside of her contract and
made Muslims a privileged class. The interpretation this case
demands speaks contrary to the very principles the government is
trying to promote. The Justice Department, and now its choir of
Islamist groups, has deceptively positioned that Muslims such as
Khan "should not have to choose between their religious practice
and their livelihood."

Contrarily, I believe that employers should not have to choose
between the threat of intimidation from Islamists or the federal
government and honoring the onerous demands of any single faith
group or individual as a privileged class.

The practice of Islam is central in my own life, but I have
never demanded that others give it special consideration on my
behalf. To me, my devotional Islam is between me and God and I fear
that any government intrusion ultimately fuels theocrats and their
movements.

Khan was not given what she wanted and made a personal decision
to resign. It is exceedingly difficult to prove that "Islam"
demanded that she perform her Hajj in December 2008. The faith only
asks that once in her life she perform the pilgrimage. By refusing
her leave of absence, the district did not force her to choose
between faith and employment.

We cannot continue to allow political correctness to set us down
a path that promotes isolation versus assimilation and leaves
liberty in a vacuum while Islamism thrives. The framers wanted
justice to be blind to faith to avoid creating special rights for a
select few.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gaza's Surfer Girls

2010-11-09T12:54:00.000-08:00

From The Atlantic

Thirteen year old Rawand Abu Ghanem is one of four girls learning to surf , as the newest members of the Gaza Surf Club.
Sitting in her family’s living room later, Rawand tries to explain: “It’s a great feeling when I surf, but I won’t surf when there are a lot of people around. It’s so weird for them to see a girl surfing. It gets crowded, and I just can’t handle everybody looking at me.” Since Hamas took control of the territory in 2007, the militant group has been working to inculcate conservative Islam in an already traditional society. As a result, the daughters of the strip’s male surf community must navigate ever more treacherous waters. All of the girls surf fully clothed, prefer to practice in groups of other surfers and swimmers in an effort to avoid attention.
The girls and their parents agree—they won’t be able to surf after they turn 17.“Doing something only boys do means I’m unique. I’ll go to another hobby—that’s the way it works here,” Rawand says.

It doesn't have to be that way Rawand. It really doesn't.

Gay couple in Israel's Dancing with the Stars

2010-11-02T16:20:00.000-07:00

This makes me smile.

From Haaretz

Two Israeli women teamed up on Tuesday to become the first same-sex couple to compete in a version of the internationally popular Dancing with the Stars television series.

Gili Shem Tov, a TV sportscaster, performed the cha-cha with Dorit Milman, a professional dancer assigned by the show to perform with her.

BBC Worldwide Productions, which licenses the series' format globally, said it was the first time a Dancing with the Stars competition had featured a same-sex pairing.

Shem Tov, who is a lesbian, said "it felt natural" to dance with a woman.

"If by doing that even a few people will be more tolerant and open-minded, I achieved my goal," she told reporters.

The Dancing with the Stars format, in which celebrities are paired with professional dancers and compete for the votes of judges and viewers, is broadcast in more than 75 countries.

Shem Tov said she and Milman would take turns leading in their performances in the 12-couple competition.

*********

Tolerance. Diversity. In many ways, Israel is so much more open than America

Bi'lin : When is a non-violent protest a violent protest?

2010-10-03T03:46:00.001-07:00

Some photos from the Protest du jour at Bilin. (Oct 1 2010) Why is throwing rocks or using a sling shot considered non-violent? Did Dr. Martin Luther King throw rocks? Did Gandhi?

Personally, I prefer my peaceful protest, well, peaceful.

Gay Palestinian seeks residency in Israel on humanitarian grounds

2010-10-03T01:26:00.000-07:00

from Haaretz

Majed Koka is a gay Palestinian man who came to Israel at age 14, fleeing Nablus

"If I returned to Nablus, it would be like throwing paper into a fire," said Koka, 26, who has been living in Tel Aviv for the last 12 years. "If I returned I'd be in big trouble, one long nightmare."

For the last eight years, Koka has lived with his partner, an Israeli citizen. In 2002, the two registered as married with the municipality. But its never easy. His story:

In June 2009, Koka finally asked the Interior Ministry to grant him legal residency on humanitarian grounds. Fifteen months later, he has yet to receive a response.

Since he is in Israel illegally,he has been arrested nine times over the last 12 years. Visiting his family in the West Bank is also problematic. The last time he did went he was arrested by the Palestinian police on suspicion of collaborating with Israel and subjected to severe torture - which he believes was prompted by his sexual orientation.

"There have been cases of people like me who went back to visit their families and were attacked," he said, adding that in such cases, the assailants usually begin by saying they heard the victim is gay and only then move on to accusing him of collaboration with Israel.

Caught between too many worlds in conflict. The story of Majed Koka.

My letter to a Palestinian human rights activist by Barry Shaw

2010-09-18T23:12:00.000-07:00

My letter to a Palestinian human rights activist
by Barry Shaw
Reprinted in its entirety out of sheer laziness

So you support Palestinian rights. So do I. However, we have to define what those rights are.

Would you consider Jews, descendants of those who lived here during the Ottoman Empire or the British Mandate, as Palestinians, or Israelis? Do you call an Arab, born in Israel post 1948, Palestinian or Israeli?

You tell me you are a human rights supporter. So am I.

You live abroad. I live in Israel. Let's understand each other - clearly, fairly, honestly.

At the outset, I have to ask you why your activism for human rights is confined to the Palestinian cause?
Why have you not expressed your outrage for other, far more critical human rights disasters? More of this later.

I understand you like political adventurism. Why have you not joined a flotilla to feed and care for the thousands of dying children in Africa? Why have you not turned your attention to the horrendous human rights crimes of the Iranian regime against their own people? Beatings, tortures, killings, stoning, lashing women to death and executions of homosexuals do not seem to move you.

In fact, why aren't there flotillas and convoys to save lives in Africa? Why is it that all the flotillas I hear about want to head for middle class Gaza? Ever thought about that? Don't you stop to consider that there are millions who urgently need your activism far more disparately than people in Gaza?

What is it about the Palestinians that get you going over all other humanitarian tragedies? Could it be that you cannot incriminate Israel in human rights crimes perpetrated in Iran, Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Burma, Russia, China, Pakistan, China, Turkey and Cuba so these abusive regimes do not get you emotionally involved?

You say you support the Palestinians and are upset by human rights abuses against them. I tell you that your support is limited, and tainted. I tell you that my support is far broader, and more international, than yours.

You are ready to take action in support of the human rights abuses of the Palestinians in Gaza.You are ready to demonstrate, march, participate in flotillas and really get involved on behalf of the Palestinians when you feel it is the Israelis that are doing the abusing.

For me, I question the abusing by Israelis. I also suggest that you consider that the Israelis have a really good case when it comes to being abused by Palestinians - especially from Gaza. Recent killings of Israelis by Palestinians, however, took place in the West Bank (what we call Judea and Samaria). I can also send you a very long list of terrible crimes committed against innocent Israelis by Palestinians for decades, but let's put that aside for now.

Let me concentrate on the issue of your limited support for Palestinians. It seems to be confined the Gaza these days. Why? Why is it that, with the rapid improvement in the living conditions of Palestinians, you have to increasingly exaggerate a false picture of Gaza to make your point to the world? You shout, in emotional terms, about the condition of Palestinians in Gaza. Give me your email address and let me send you the numerous photographs I have on Gaza today. In fact, go to Google Earth and find them yourself. You will see Palestinian kids having fun among the slides in the Water Park, and the rides in the Lunar Park.

I also have photos and videos of Palestinian terrorists grabbing kids and using them as human shields in their fight against IDF soldiers. I didn't hear your outrage at these abuses of human rights against Palestinian children by Hamas terrorists. Why not? Maybe it's because you don't consider Hamas as a terrorist organization? If not, where do you draw the line between freedom fighter and terrorist? Do you not consider suicide bombers, deliberately targeting innocent Israelis, as terrorists? Are they not terrorists under any definition of the word? Are they not committing the most heinous human rights crimes when they target buses and shopping malls?

You scream bloody murder when Israel fires at terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip, but stay silent when Hamas fires tens of thousands of rockets into Israeli civilian areas. How come? If your are truly a human rights activist, where is your humanity? Or is it a one-sided morality?

But let me return to my pictures of Gaza. You see the mansions and luxury apartments, the fine restaurants, the five star hotels, the new Gaza Shopping Mall, and the crowded and well stocked stores and markets. They clearly have the funds and the materials to build and equip these wonderful buildings. They also prove a source of income and employment for the Palestinian population. That's how it should be. But this raises two questions.

Your protest that Gaza is the biggest humanitarian crisis on earth is somewhat in conflict with the facts on the ground. The Palestinians are enjoying an increasingly good lifestyle, certainly in the West Bank and evidently in Gaza. How have they managed this if Israel's 'brutal occupation is preventing basic needs from getting through to the Palestinians'? Clearly someone has not been telling the truth here.

You can't build without supplies of building material and equipment.They are not living in tents. They are living in nice apartments and beautiful houses. They do not walk. They drive. Clearly the statements about Palestinians being deprived of building materials, equipment, furniture, appliances, was a lie. Did you help spread that lie?

They drive modern cars and trucks. I thought you told the world that they are barely surviving? How are they able to buy, drive and maintain these vehicles? Off charity? You can't complain about Palestinians not having the most basic needs when the markets and shops are brimming with the widest variety of produce and products. They are not starving. They are eating well. International statistics show that Palestinians live longer than Turks. Their infant mortality rates are better than most other Arab countries. Things aren't at all bad for Palestinians living in Gaza or the West Bank.

Things will be even better when they turn away from supporting the Islamic terror regime of Hamas, willingly supported by Islamic Jihad and other unsavory gangs sponsored and equipped by Hamas in Gaza.Nowhere do you mention peace. Do you think there will be peace if Hamas, God forbid, takes over the West Bank from the Palestinian Authority? Will you continue to champion the Palestinian cause if that happens?

It is here that I will prove to you that I care more for the Palestinians than you do.

You are completely silent on the condition of Palestinians outside of the Palestinian territories. I, on the other hand, have written and spoken out about the inhuman conditions in which they are forced to live in places like Lebanon, Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. After decades living in these and other countries they are denied citizenship. They are prevented from entering into the national work force. They are not allowed proper education that would allow them to study and become useful professionals in many fields.
Isn't this ethnic discrimination? Forced to live separately from the indiginous population is, surely, apartheid? Where is your protest in support of the people you claim to love?

If you really care about the Palestinian condition you should be demonstrating about the continuing saga of confining them in refugee camps in these so-called 'friendly' Arab states. So who is more international about human rights for Palestinians? You, or me?

Have a look at the children of Gaza swimming in the Olympic-sized pool in Gaza City. That's great. I live in Netanya. We have been hit by repeated Palestinian terror attacks that include shootings, car bombings, and numerous suicide bombers that have killed about fifty of our citizens and maimed over three hundred.
We don't have a municipal Olympic-sized swimming pool. Neither does Sderot, the target of thousands of rockets and mortars fired on them by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Aren't they worthy of your sympathy? Don't they deserve to enjoy facilities such as Olympic swimming pools?

Sderot does not warrant the massive amounts of aid and funding that is pumped into Palestinian society by the international community. True, diplomats make a sympathy pilgrimage to Sderot but they limit their huge budgets exclusively to the Palestinian cause. That is why I can show you the evidence of Gazans enjoying a middle class lifestyle, while the kids of Sderot barely receive trauma treatment.

Palestinian society is radically split. The internal violence is shocking. Palestinians hate Palestinians to the point of brutality, including torture and murder. I share your concern for innocent civilians. But, where was your voice when Hamas activists were throwing Palestinians off rooftops, shooting political rivals, torturing them, killing Palestinians who champion the cause of peace, firing rockets from schoolyards and from heavily populated areas? I spoke out. I did not hear you.

If you really stand up for human rights abuses why have you remained silent over the abuse of w omen's rights in Palestinian society? I have written and spoken about the repression of women under Arab and Palestinian control. Why haven't you? Why do you condone, by your silence, honor killings as respectable behavior in Palestinians households, not to mention genital mutilation of girls? If you truly stand for Palestinian human rights you should be demanding the major human rights organizations to investigate this serious tradition of abuse against women and girls.

Why don't you join me in protesting these abuses? Or is you advocacy for Palestinians confined only on issues that allow you to attack Israel? Are you simply echoing the 'Palestinian narrative' as it applies to Israel while ignoring the gross abuses they suffer from their own leadership and other Arab regimes?

As an Israeli, I can tell you that the Palestinians could have achieved their own state decades ago. They could have it today if having their own state alongside the Jewish States of Israel was a priority for them.
But it's not. Just read the Hamas Charter and you will learn what is really at the heart of the conflict here. In fact, have a look at the Palestinian National Covenant as well. They share the same aims.

Have a glance at Article 7 of the Hamas Charter. If the Palestinians want their state to be an Islamic Republic that's fine with me, as long as they respect my rights to my Jewish democratic state, but Article 7 reads:

The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!"

As a human rights activist, don't you find that racist? Doesn't that national charter sound to you like incitement to genocide against my people?

And, as for peace, go to Article 13. Here it is written:

Article Thirteen: Peaceful Solutions, [Peace] Initiatives and International Conferences: [Peace] initiatives, the so-called peaceful solutions, and the international conferences to resolve the Palestinian problem, are all contrary to the beliefs of the Islamic Resistance Movement. For renouncing any part of Palestine means renouncing part of the religion; the nationalism of the Islamic Resistance Movement is part of its faith, the movement educates its members to adhere to its principles and to raise the banner of Allah over their homeland as they fight their Jihad."

I ask you. Do you share these resolutions? Is this an integral part of your support for Palestinian rights?
Because, if you share these points, you also support Articles 14 and 15.

Article Fourteen:

The Three Circles: The problem of the liberation of Palestine relates to three circles: the Palestinian, the Arab and the Islamic. Each one of these circles has a role to play in the struggle against Zionism and it has duties to fulfill. It would be an enormous mistake and an abysmal act of ignorance to disregard anyone of these circles. For Palestine is an Islamic land where the First Qibla and the third holiest site are located."

And Article Fifteen:

The Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine is an Individual Obligation. When our enemies usurp some Islamic lands, Jihad becomes a duty binding on all Muslims. In order to face the usurpation of Palestine by the Jews, we have no escape from raising the banner of Jihad."

I ask you. In your support of Palestinian rights are you supporting Islamic Jihad against me? There is no way of avoiding this question. I do not expect you to be a Zionist, but if you are not a Zionist, are you a Jihadist?

The 'moderate' arm of Palestinian society is headed by the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, ably supported by Prime Minister, Salim Fayad. I heard Fayad speak at the annual IDC Conference on Herzlia where he was invited as a keynote speaker. He was given a warm reception by the Israeli audience who yearn for a permanent peaceful solution to the painful conflict.

But, let me read you some sections of the Palestinian National Covenant, which is their national constitution.

Article 2 states that any Palestinian state will be 'with the boundaries it had (sic!!) during the British Mandate, as an indivisible territorial unit.' Really? I thought we were negotiating a Two State Solution? Where is Israel in this equation?

This is confirmed in Article 19 of their National Covenant which defies UN Resolution 181. It reads:

The partition of Palestine in 1947 and the establishment of the state of Israel are entirely illegal, regardless of the passage of time, because they were contrary to the will of the Palestinian people and to their natural right in their homeland, and inconsistent with the principles embodied in the Charter of the United Nations, particularly the right to self-determination."

Again, Israel has disappeared. Is this part of your support for Palestinian rights? The Palestinian National Covenant also denies the Jews biblical, historic, political, cultural rights to Israel.

Article 20:

Claims of historical or religious ties of Jews with Palestine are incompatible with the facts of history and the true conception of what constitutes statehood."

While wanting to create an Islamic state of their own, they deny me any national rights:

Judaism, being a religion, is not an independent nationality. Nor do Jews constitute a single nation with an identity of its own; they are citizens of the states to which they belong."

Am I going to allow Palestinians to define who I am? Am I going to allow them to deny me my history? Whatever happened to the nation of Judah, to Zion, to Jewish national aspirations, throughout centuries of diaspora dispersion?

You probably share the Palestinian outrage when people rightly say that Palestinians never had a nation of their own and neither do they have any national rights enshrined in international law as do the Jewish people.
From my perspective, the Palestinian narrative is based on a lie. It is based on a deconstruction of history. It is based on rights they never had as a people. I can go on about the calls for violence to establish this Palestinian state but I want to return to our core problem.

This is our problem. The problem between you and me.

If you approve of the advancement of Palestinian rights alongside the Jewish State of Israel then we have what to discuss and agree on. Israel has, and will, make painful concessions for peace. If the issue is land, it is ours to give. It is not theirs to take.

If, on the other hand, you promote Palestinian rights over my rights to exist this letter will, doubtless, be our last communication.

Israel BDS. Its not about Peace: The attack on Pete Seeger and the Arava Institute

2010-09-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

I've developed a dysfunctional hobby lately. Out of sheer boredom this summer, I registered to receive "alerts" for promoting truth, justice and Islam in the world today. I had no idea what I was in for.

One of the priorities of this group, apparently has been pressuring performing artists NOT to to play in Israel. It’s a simple routine. We get the names of artists performing in Israel, we do an "email Blast" and phone blast" to their agents, labels, mothers, babysitters. Anyone who might have influence. We also get links to Facebook fan pages.

There has been limited success with this routine, but lots and lots of failures as well.For every Pixies and Elvis Costello there has been Elton John, LCDS, Jethro Tull.

Some of the artists are well aware they are being manipulated and respond appropriately. I just love this quote from Johnny Rotten (aka Johnny Lydon) "Belief is a very personal thing but when someone inflicts their view on other people, they're a pig."

Well Johnny, guess what the pigs are up to now? The icon of American folk music, Pete Seeger, a 91 year old man who lives, eats, and breathes peace is under attack for daring to promote peaceful co-existence in the Middle east. He's not even playing IN Israel. It’s a virtual concert, and its a fundraiser for one of the most progressive organizations in the Middle east

The Arava Institute is the leading environmental teaching and research program in the Middle East. It prepares future Arab and Jewish leaders to cooperatively solve the region’s environmental challenges and works towards developing a sustainable future for the region’s human and natural resources. These issues know no borders.

Seeger is slated to be the featured guest of With Earth and Each Other – A Virtual Rally for a Better Middle East, to be broadcast online on November 14. The event is sponsored by the Friends of the Arava Institute, a US-based non-profit organization with the primary goal of raising support and visibility for the Arava Institute

From their website : Over 600 students, including Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians, and others, have participated in the Arava Institute program.
According to the institute’s director, David Lehrer,

"With Earth and Each Other (WEAEO) wasn’t designed to be a political rally, but “to show the world that there is another side of the conflict in which people across borders are striving to work together for the betterment of all.”

“Although I sympathize with some of the criticism that people have about Israeli policies regarding Palestinians and within Israel itself in terms of our Arab citizens, I don’t believe the way to end the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and the way to create a sustainable and peaceful Middle East in which everyone lives together with equal rights and opportunity is by staging a boycott,”

“It’s through dialoguing and that’s what the Arava Institute is all about. That’s what the program we’re running is doing and it’s what With Earth and Each Other is all about – bringing people together through dialogue. And you can’t do that if you’re staging a boycott.”

Whats a progressive thinker to do? We have to fight back. Join the virtual rally for a Better Middle East Thats a start. And we need more help. Right now, a battle is raging on Pete Seeger's Facebook page. Join Muslim queers, Welsh agnostics and a scattering of Zionists as we tell the world that co-existence is a worthy goal. It is through dialog, interactions and working together that we will achieve peace. It won't be easy, but its a worthy goal

BDS isn't about peace

2010-09-11T22:26:00.000-07:00

BDS isn't about peace. I realized that when my school disintegrated into racism and chaos during our brief stint with divestment. I'm not the only one who has come to this conclusion.

Next You Will Be Telling Us Shergar is Dead

"Ella from It’s Complicated reproduces a statement from PACBI, or the Palestinian Campaign for Judenrein Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. (I will not link to their webpage, if only to impress on them the unacceptable nature of their using Zionist-developed PhP.)

“While we welcome acts of protest against any manifestation of Israel’s regime of colonialism and apartheid, we believe that these acts must be both morally consistent and anchored in international law and universal human rights. First, we believe that the exclusive focus on settlement institutions ignores and obscures the complicity of all Israeli academic and cultural institutions in upholding the system of colonial control and apartheid under which Palestinians suffer. PACBI believes there is firm evidence of the collusion of the Israeli academic and cultural establishment with the major oppressive organs of the Israeli state. Focusing solely on obviously complicit institutions, such as cultural centers in a West Bank colony, serves to shield mainstream Israeli institutions from opprobrium or, ultimately, from the growing global boycott movement that consistently targets all complicit institutions.”

Shurely shome mishtake? Surely PACBI is not a bunch of political psychopaths who exist only to punish and ostracise one nation group above all others? Whilst using Zionist-developed PhP."

Apparently- its not enough to boycott "settlements". Its all of Israel that needs to be boycotted, according to the PACBI. A statement by American artists refusing to play in Ariel, on the other side of that mythical green line just doesn't go far enough.

Will someone explain just how this promotes peace?

To My Friends of all Faiths

2010-09-09T09:48:00.000-07:00

Keep Moving towards the source of All Light.

US Palestinian Community Network rejects Peace- and Peace talks

2010-09-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

Peace talks are a good thing, right? You'd expect the world to embrace the possibility of peace, and to encourage the parties involved. But its never really that simple:

An organization calling itself the US Palestinian Community Network has sent out a mass email calling for rejection of the peace process as posing a threat to the Palestinian people. All who genuinely seek peace should be appalled by this blatant rejectionism. Their email follows:

The US Palestinian Community Network calls upon all organizations, associations, and Palestinian and Arab community groups, as well as solidarity organizations, and individuals, to sign on to the below statement rejecting the resumption of direct negotiations, in the midst of ongoing Israeli structural racism and violence inflicted upon Palestinians, to take place between Palestinian Authority
We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, declare our commitment to the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people – one land, one people, one cause. Our people, in the West Bank and Gaza, suffering and steadfast under siege and occupation; our people in Palestine 1948, confronting racism, ethnic cleansing and political repression; and our people in the refugee camps and in diaspora around the world, struggling to return home and liberate their homeland, deserve a leadership that defends their inalienable rights, takes its legitimacy from its popular support, and upholds the liberation of its land and its people as the highest national goal. We deserve a leadership that defends our collective rights. As such, we reject the direct negotiations taking place in Washington, DC on September 2, 2010, which shield Israel as it continues its colonial and apartheid project. Negotiations in these current conditions without necessary pressure and any terms of reference amount to the barter of Palestinian cities as opposed to the defense of collective rights and to that we say: Palestine is not for sale!
These direct negotiations have not served the interests of Palestinians, who, under the conditions of the peace process have been forced into further policing of our own people already suffering under the yoke of occupation, in exchange only for worsening conditions.
Indeed, the past 17 years of the Oslo accords have witnessed the ongoing imprisonment of people of conscience, settlement-expansion, ethnic cleansing and racism against our people, while our national institutions and liberation movement have been systematically dismantled and replaced with an Authority whose primary goal is to respond to the demands of the Occupier in a Quixotic attempt to build a state without sovereignty. The Palestinian Authority should join the mounting voices and the growing movement that condemns Netanyahu’s instransigent rebuff of international law. While the international solidarity movement with Palestine is growing steadily; while reports of the international isolation of Israel, including the rising movement to boycott, divest and sanction Israel, multiply daily; while the conscience of the world demands justice, accountability and international prosecution of Israeli war crimes, the Palestinian Authority has chosen instead to provide cover to the Israeli occupation and its intolerable, bitter, racism, abandoning even the pretext of a “settlement freeze,” and going to direct negotiations while the occupier daily commits crimes against the Palestinian people.
Sadly, the Palestinian Authority is itself a creature of such negotiations. The vast majority of the Palestinian people, in Palestine and in exile, demand full recognition of our national rights, particularly the refugees’ right to return to their original homes, lands and properties. When the Palestinian Authority bargains our inalienable rights and puts them on the table to be carved up by the occupier, we must be heard, loudly and clearly, to say that this Authority does not represent Palestinians and will not be allowed to sell our cause and our people in our name.
As Palestinians in the United States, it is also clear that the Obama administration offers nothing new to the Palestinian people. The U.S. administration continues to occupy Iraq and Afghanistan and threaten the region with further war and occupation. It provides aid and has ongoing trade relations with despotic Arab regimes who, with U.S. support, can afford to repress the collective rights of their Arab populations. Additionally, it provides billions of dollars in military and economic aid to Israel on an annual basis, and unlimited political and diplomatic support to the occupier irrespective of its contravention of international law and announced U.S. foreign policy. We are not convinced by U.S. “assurances,” when the actions of the United States government have assured nothing for the Palestinian people to date but ongoing occupation and impunity for Israeli war crimes.
Today, we say – these direct negotiations pose only a threat to our people. As Palestinians in the United States, we find no voice being heard here – not the U.S. administration and not the Palestinian Authority – that represents our people, our rights, our dreams and our cause. These negotiations are a farce and doomed to failure – but worse than that, they are a cover for ongoing crimes. They discard any and all pretense of international legitimacy, relying on the goodwill of the U.S./Israeli alliance, and place our fundamental rights – particularly the right to return – up for sale. We will not allow this to happen. The Palestinian Authority and Mahmoud Abbas do not represent us, and these negotiations are illegitimate and unacceptable.
Instead, we call for international support of our people, not a “peace process” that perpetuates our dispossession and displacement and provides cover for the occupier. International isolation of Israel, boycott, divestment and sanctions, international prosecution of Israeli war criminals are necessary, as is clear support for our rights, including the right to resist occupation, the right to self-determination, and the right to return home – the key to our cause. As with all unjust and illegitimate regimes that have acted to liquidate the Palestinian cause, these negotiations and the Authority that comes to them will fail in the face of steadfast commitment to justice. Our voices must be heard now to ensure this is the case.