Testimony of Palestinian refugee in Lebanon

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Syrian Demonstrators Faked Scenes of homs massacre

Syrian residence: TV Channels Are Fabricating Pseudo-Massacre to Accuse the Army to Influence UNSC Resolutions against Syria

Armed terrorist groups killed civilians and Syrian Army members, and made a fake Video as the evidence of government massacre.

Mrs. Thana al-Mohamad, a resident of Homs, said that she recognized two corpses of her relatives among those shown by fabrications satellites, who were kidnapped since 17 days in Homs Governorate. Khalid al-Shalabi, another resident of Homs, said to Syrian TV, that some members of the armed terrorist groups are disguised in military uniforms shooting randomly at the citizens of Homs.

Tens of innocent civilians were kidnapped by armed terrorist groups in different places inside Syria; many of them were tortured, raped and killed at the hands of the terrorists, supported by some countries like Qatar, Turkey, France and many others.

However, the TV satellites of lies and fabrications did not highlight the fact that had the killed were hit by mortars, as they claim, their bodies would have been turned into tiny pieces.

”The TV Satellites of instigation, partners with the armed terrorist groups and so-called the Istanbul council, have been launching a hysterical campaign of provocation and incitement to the shedding of the more of Syrian blood as to influence the stances of some countries at the UN Security Council,” added the source.

“It was like hell,” said a number of citizens from the neighbourhoods Ikremah, al-Zahra and al-Muhajrin, still feeling the terror caused by last night, explaining how they were exposed to heavy gunfire, bombs and RPG and mortar attacks by armed terrorist groups.

Syrian Army Demanded to Enter Homs and Put End to the Crimes of Armed Groups
“Had the army been here, our houses wouldn’t have been shelled and those innocent people wouldn’t have been killed,” said Da’d Darwish from Ikremah neighborhood, sobbing with fear and anger.
The citizens called on the Syrian army to enter the city of Homs to protect them from the crimes of the armed terrorist groups that have been killing and abducting citizens and shelling the houses and neighborhoods. (More at sana.sy)

We just like to know if Susan Rice and Hillary Clinton feel outraged, disgusted by these anti-humanity acts. If they do not, we would like to know why? Is it because they’ve already known, right from the beginning? Or even earlier ……? Or is it because they are part of it? Or even more that that ……?

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A comment on BDS and Ashtar Theatre from Ramallah

Friday, April 27, 2012 at 8:11AM Gilad Atzmon

By Gilad Atzmon

In recent weeks we have seen a massive BDS campaign against Israeli Habima Theatre’s participation in the Shakespeare’s Festival at the Shakespeare’s Globe, London.

For days British intellectuals and celebrities argued whether it is morally ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ to invite the Israeli national Theatre to Britain. The outcome was obvious and predictable. Habima’s London shows sold out within hours. As it happens, the futile BDS campaign, provided Habima with the necessary public attention. At the end of the day, every reasonable thinking being would be happy to spare a few pounds and watch how the Israelis and Jews deal with The Merchant of Venice.

However, I have also learned tonight that Ashtar Theatre from Ramallah is also participating in the same London festival. Ashtar will perform Richard II but, for some reason, no one really knows anything about it. Pro- Palestinian BDS activists, so enthusiastic to ban the Israeli theatre company, did nothing to promote or support the Palestinian theatre. Consequently, Ashtar Theatre hardly sold any tickets for its London shows.

I guess that time is ripe to challenge BDS strategy. As much as I support BDS in principle, I am puzzled by the fact that a UK pro-Palestinian organization went out of its way to boycott an Israeli act -yet it did nothing to promote or help a Palestinian company visiting this country for the first time.

As an artist I find it stupid. Painful and even perhaps, sinister.

To read more about the the Globe Theatre BDS Scandal visit http://www.deliberation.info/the-habima-globe-theatre-bds-scandal

Richard II at the Globe

Palestinian Shakespeare at the Globe.

1. Friday afternoon 4th May (2pm)
2. Saturday night 5th May (7pm)

Ticket and directions to the Globe Theatre London.

 

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UNSC Draft Resolution on AU Roadmap in Sudan

Local Editor

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) started deliberating on a draft resolution introduced by the United States calling for implementation of the African Union (AU) roadmap aimed at resolving disputes between north and south Sudan.

The plan was adopted by the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) during its meeting this week that discussed the fallout from the occupation of Heglig area by South Sudan before Sudan army managed to take it back a week ago, Sudan Tribune reported Friday.

The Pan-African body called for immediate return to negotiations, cessation of hostilities, activation of border monitoring mechanism, ending support to rebels and withdrawal of both countries’ troops inside the borders including from Abyei among other things.

It gave a three month deadline to reach an agreement on post-independence issues namely oil, Abyei, borders and citizenship.

The UNSC resolution proposed to be under Chapter VII threatens sanctions on Sudan and South Sudan if found violating the terms of the AU plan.

U.S. ambassador to the UN Susan Rice suggested that there is some resistance among UNSC members which may result in the resolution taking some time before being considered for vote.

“We are members of the African Union. We respect everything that comes from the African Union. That doesn’t mean anything comes from the African Union or African Peace and Security Council being or to be exploited by certain members here in the Security Council and try to for their own sake,” Sudan’s UN ambassador Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman told reporters today.

The ambassador expressed reservations and appeared critical of using Chapter VII of the UN charter in the resolution saying that Sudan’s understanding is that it should be directed to the “aggressor”.

Sudanese officials have given conflicting statements on their willingness to resume negotiations with Juba following the Heglig battles.

Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir ruled out any talks and said that South Sudan only understands the “language of the gun”.

“We will not negotiate with the South’s government, because they don’t understand anything but the language of the gun and ammunition,” Bashir told Sudanese troops in Heglig earlier this week.

But Bashir’s foreign minister Ali Karti later said that negotiations could be restarted on security issues only and particularly on Juba’s alleged support to rebels fighting to topple regime in Khartoum.

Juba strongly denies supporting Sudanese rebels and accuses Khartoum of aiding insurgent in its territories.

Source: Websites
27-04-2012 – 17:47 Last updated 27-04-2012 – 17:47

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Wahhab: Chouf Blast An Attempt to Introduce Strife

Local Editor

The head of the “Arab Tawhid” Lebanese Party, former minister Wiam Wahhab, commented on the blast that exploded Friday outside the party’s office in the Chouf region.

According to Wahhab, “the bomb didn’t target a political office but rather a health center that distributes free medicines.”
“The hand of terrorism was faster than us,” he viewed, noting that ” if the bomb exploded in the later scheduled celebration, we would have talked about dozens of victims.”

At a press conference held afternoon, Wahhab said that “[National Struggle Front Leader MP Walid] Jumblatt is affected like me from the blast.”

“I do not think that he could permit this kind of actions especially that we have received denunciations from the NSF’s officials,” Wahhab stressed.
He further highlighted that “there are those aiming to target both MP Walid Jumblatt and me.”

“This is an attempt to introduce discord into the mountain area,” the former minister warned, clarifying that “the Lebanese security forces have launched their investigations.”
In a parallel context, he stressed that “MP Jumblatt knows that my only teacher is Al-Mighty God.”

“I don’t stand on others’ doors, and [Syrian President]Bashar al-Assad is our brother, friend, and ally,” Wahhab reiterated.
He also emphasized that he is to stand by Syria as long as it is in the resistance’s axis.
“We have passed the stage of intimidation, threats, and bombing,” Wahhab assured, concluding that his party has become firmly entrenched in the political arena and will not retreat.

Source: al-Intiqad, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org

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Ashtar Theatre from Ramallah @ The Shakespeare’s Globe

Friday, April 27, 2012 at 12:58AM Gilad Atzmon

 

Ashtar Theatre from Ramallah production of Shakespeare’s political play Richard II about dictators, regime fall and love. Rave reviews and sell out performances in Palestine – now coming to London for two performances at The Shakespeare’s Globe

http://www.facebook.com/Richard2Ashtar

“the production probes the psyche of rulers doomed by the Arab Spring”

“Are you contented to resign the crown?” …”Yes, no. No, yes,” Richard stutters, igniting a roar of laughter from the audience too familiar with similar jibes aimed at Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh

Richard 2nd at the Shakespeare’s Globe theatre
Friday afternoon 4th May (2pm)
Saturday night 5th May 7pm

tickets & directions: http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/your-visit/how-to-find-us
“We were amazed how deeply the play delves into the psychology of people and this moment in history,” said actress and producer Iman Aoun.
“It’s as if people and politicians don’t learn. …and it makes us realise how much the play resembles the present,” she said.

 

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Ban Accuses Syria of “Not Complying” with Annan Plan

Local Editor

UN Chief Ban Ki-moon accused on Thursday Damascus of not abiding by peace plan sponsored by UN envoy Kofi Annan, a day after armed groups committed massacres in Hama and Damascus.

“The Secretary-General remains deeply troubled by the continued presence of heavy weapons, military equipment and army personnel in population centers, as reported by United Nations Military Observers”, Ban’s press office said in a statement.

The statement added that Ban also considered this a “contravention of the Syrian Government’s commitments to withdraw its troops and heavy weapons from these areas”.

He demanded that Damascus comply with its pledge without delay.

Number of civilians, law enforcement and military martyrs by terrorists’ gunfire and in explosive device blasts in Syrian provinces

Earlier on Thursday, an explosion took place in an apartment used by armed groups for building explosive devices, killing 16 people, including women and children, and injuring 12 others, Syrian official source stated.

The source also pointed out that the explosion caused damages to the houses in the area.

In parallel, Syrian News Agency SANA reported that the armed groups committed a massacre against four citizens from one family in Erbin region in Damascus countryside.

Source: Agencies

27-04-2012 – 08:56 Last updated 27-04-2012 – 08:57

• Nine Martyrs, Human Remains and 28 Injured in Terrorist Bombing in al-Meidan Quarter in Damascus

• Information Minister: Armed Terrorist Groups Committed more than 1,300 Violations of the Ceasefire
• School’s Master Assassinated, Basketball Players Injured, Terrorist Commit Sabotage
• Nine Army, Law-Enforcement, Civilian Martyrs Laid to Rest

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The Globe Theatre BDS Scandal

by Jonathon Blakeley
Thursday, April 26th, 2012
 

This is a story of three Theatres. The Habima Theatre of Israel, The Globe Theatre of London UK, and the Ashtar theatre in Ramallah, occupied Palestine. The Ashtar Theatre has recently received rave reviews, with an ‘Arab Spring’ version of Shakespeare’s classic tale – Richard 2^nd, and are due to perform this May at the Globe theatre.

Many were shocked in the UK, when the National Globe Theatre also invited Israel’s Habima National Theatre to perform in May. This then kicked of a storm of ‘disavowals and denouncements’ on the Guardian Letter’s pages. All terribly British. See below.

Letters in the Guardian

Ashtar Theatre perform Richard II in the open- air courtyard of a ruined 8th-century palace in Jericho

1. Dismay at Globe invitation to Israeli theatre Thursday 29 March 2012

We notice with dismay and regret that Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London has invited Israel’s National Theatre, Habima, to perform The Merchant of Venice in its Globe to Globe festival this coming May. The general manager of Habima has declared the invitation “an honourable accomplishment for the State of Israel”. But Habima has a shameful record of involvement with illegal Israeli settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territory. Last year, two large Israeli settlements established “halls of culture” and asked Israeli theatre groups to perform there. A number of Israeli theatre professionals – actors, stage directors, playwrights – declared they would not take part.

Habima, however, accepted the invitation with alacrity, and promised the Israeli minister of culture that it would “deal with any problems hindering such performances”. By inviting Habima, Shakespeare’s Globe is undermining the conscientious Israeli actors and playwrights who have refused to break international law.

The Globe says it wants to “include” the Hebrew language in its festival – we have no problem with that. “Inclusiveness” is a core value of arts policy in Britain, and we support it. But by inviting Habima, the Globe is associating itself with policies of exclusion practised by the Israeli state and endorsed by its national theatre company. We ask the Globe to withdraw the invitation so that the festival is not complicit with human rights violations and the illegal colonisation of occupied land.

• David Aukin producer
• Poppy Burton-Morgan artistic director, Metta Theatre
• Leo Butler playwright
• Niall Buggy actor…..

2. Denounce, don’t censor: Globe’s invitation to Habima should stand

I was sad to see the letter (30 March) from many eminent theatre workers – including David Calder, Mark Rylance, Harriet Walter, Roger Lloyd Pack, Cherie Lunghi and Jonathan Miller – asking Shakespeare’s Globe to withdraw the invitation to Israel’s Habima theatre to perform The Merchant of Venice in its Globe to Globe festival this coming May. I think it’s wrong-headed – could the signatories think again?

They argue that, by inviting the Habima, the Globe is showing support for the illegal settlements in the Palestinian occupied territories. But by inviting the National Theatre of China to perform Richard III, is the Globe also showing support for the occupation of Tibet?

So what is this story all about? A bunch of theatre lovies getting all politically hot and bothered about Israel, and upset that our National theatre’s invitation could be seen as an endorsement of Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestine. Strangely the BDS is nowhere to be seen in all of this. One would be forgiven in thinking that boycotting Habima would be a prime target for the BDS. However as Omar Barghouti studies at Tel Aviv University the BDS have probably got other things on their agenda than hassling the Habima Theatre Company. One could be even forgiven for thinking that just maybe, BDS might help to promote a Palestinian Theatre company, like the Ashtar theatre in Ramallah.

Many of us at deliberation, believe that the principles of BDS are still quite correct and valid, and that sanctions can be effective, but wonder whether some of the leadership of the BDS movement have become compromised or even perhaps, are controlled opposition. ~JB

It is ironic that when a bunch of Actors and Producers attempt to protest at the Habima invitation, they are then later denounced, and their crime? Restricting free speech. And what about the Palestinian Theatre Company in this story? Well they are still coming in May as well as Habima, conveniently Habima has received lots of free publicity, but the Ashtar theatre has not been so lucky. Until now…. So spread the word!!!

Richard 2^nd at the Globe

Palestinian Shakespeare at the Globe.

1. Friday afternoon 4th May (2pm)
2. Saturday night 5th May (7pm)

Ticket and directions to the Globe Theatre London.

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Cynthia McKinney Interviews Gilad Atzmon about Israel, Zionism, and Jewish Identity Politics

Gilad Atzmon

Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 4:35PM

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America Is Under Attack!

But is it really true? Who started this war? When did it begin?

Contibuted by William T. Hathaway

Vicious fanatics are trying to kill us and destroy our country. They’re blowing up our soldiers overseas. They’ve infiltrated our country. We must defend ourselves against these mad-dog berserkers before it’s too late.

This litany has been repeated by corporate-controlled media and politicians for years now, pumping fear into us. It is used to justify a massive ongoing war that has killed hundreds of thousands of our fellow human beings and almost bankrupted the USA.

But is it really true? Who started this war? When did it begin? The history of this conflict reveals a different story than the one continually beamed at us. The Romans were the first Westerners to try to dominate and plunder the Middle East; the Christian crusaders followed, then nineteenth-century imperialists. From the Arabs’ perspective, the barbarians keep descending on them from the north, and they keep throwing them out. In the past hundred years the attacks have intensified as new treasure has been discovered: vast reserves of black, liquid gold under the desert sands.

During World War One, the British persuaded the Arabs to fight on their side by promising them independence.

Thousands of them died in battle for the Brits because of this promise of freedom. But after the victory Britain refused to leave.

It maintained control by installing puppet kings — Faisal in Iraq and Ibn Saud in Saudi Arabia — to rule in its interest.

After World War Two, Britain and the USA pressured the United Nations into confiscating Arab land to form the state of Israel, making the Arabs pay for the crimes of the Germans. In addition to providing a nation for the Jews, Israel would be a forward base for Western economic and military power in the Middle East.

In the early 1950s, the USA and Britain overthrew the government of Iran because it tried to nationalize its oil industry, which was under Western control.

We installed the Shah as dictator, and he promptly gave the oil back to us. Then he began a twenty-five year reign of terror against his own people. His secret police jailed, tortured, or killed hundreds of thousands of Iranians who opposed him. Since they knew he was kept in power only by American military aid, they began hating the USA.

They finally ousted the Shah, but then the CIA started subverting the new government, trying to bring it down. At that point the Iranians fought back by holding US Embassy officials hostage, which was a mild response, considering what we had done to their country.

Nasser Declaring nationalizing Suez canal

In the mid 1950s, Egypt decided to nationalize the Suez Canal and use the income from it to help their people out of poverty. They were willing to pay its British and French owners the full market value for their shares, but Western governments and Israel responded violently, invading and bombing Egypt into submission.

Countries have the right to nationalize their resources as long as they pay a fair compensation, so what Iran and Egypt wanted to do was legal. The Western response, though, was illegal aggression in violation of international law and the United Nations charter. It roused in its victims a deep resolve for revenge.

The USA and Britain committed similar atrocities in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Indonesia, and Afghanistan.

We overthrew their governments, installed dictators, undermined their economies — all to strengthen our business interests. In every nation where we now have terrorism, we had first assaulted them. America is under attack only because it is on the attack. It’s no wonder they hate us. Imagine how we would feel if a foreign country were doing this to us. We’d be fighting back any way we could.

Since they don’t have our military power, they’re resisting with the only weapons they have: guerrilla warfare. As Mike Davis wrote, “The car bomb is the poor man’s air force.” The rich have Stealth bombers, the poor have Toyota Corollas, both filled with explosives. The bombers are much bigger and kill many more people. Since 9-11 the USA has killed over three hundred thousand — a hundred times more than died in the World Trade Center. The overwhelming majority have been civilians. We are the top terrorist, armed to the teeth with weapons of mass destruction. As Martin Luther King stated with simple eloquence: “The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today is my own government.”

Our politicians and media have created an image of fiendish terrorists who “hate us for our freedom.” But they really hate us for subjugating them. Since we started the aggression, the attacks won’t end until we leave their countries.

Even fanatics like al-Qaeda aren’t really aggressors. They’re fighting a defensive war, trying to force us out. The Western media never publish their demands because they are so reasonable. They basically come down to, “Go home and leave us alone. Pull your soldiers, your CIA agents, your missionaries, your corporations out of Muslim territory. If you do that, we’ll stop attacking you.” Nothing about destroying the West or forcing it to become Islamic. Just that the West should stay in the West.

If people knew this — knew how easy it would be to stop terrorism — they wouldn’t want to fight this war. That’s why the media ignore al-Qaeda’s demands. Western leaders don’t want people to see that the war’s real purpose isn’t to stop terrorism but to control the resources of this region. They actually want the terrorism because that gives them the excuse they need — the threat of an evil enemy.

As Hermann Goering, Hitler’s assistant, declared:

“Naturally the common people don’t want war…. But…it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship…. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”

Goering was right about the democracies that existed both then and now. In these, the people’s influence in politics is regulated to ensure that only pro-capitalist parties have a chance. Corporate financing, winner-take-all elections, ballot-access laws, and slanted media coverage effectively exclude alternatives. Democracy means power is in the hands of the people. But the real power in our society — economic power — remains firmly in the hands of the rich elite, enabling them to control politics — and us — to a large degree.

Capitalism is always at war. The violence, though, is often abstract: forcing us either to accept low-paying, exhausting jobs or starve; denying us adequate health care, education, and economic security; convincing us that human beings are basically isolated, autonomous units seeking self gratification. But when this doesn’t suffice to keep their profits growing, the violence becomes physical, the cannons roar, and the elite rally us to war to defend “our” country and destroy the fiendish enemy. Motivating us to kill and die for them requires a massive propaganda campaign — America is under attack! — which we confront whenever we turn on their media.

Why do they do this? Are they monsters?

No, they’re not. They’re just human beings serving an inhuman system. Capitalism is inherently predatory. It demands aggressive growth. It’s either dominate or go under.

This drive for domination is the root cause of war, and until we eliminate it, we’re going to continue killing one another. Eliminating it requires a global struggle to bring down oligarchic capitalism and replace it with democratic socialism. Political democracy must be expanded and extended into the economic sphere. We, the people of the world, have to take control of the forces that shape our lives. This is the basis for building a society in which we can all fully develop as human beings. Once we achieve this, we’ll have a real chance at lasting peace.

We can do this! It’s no more difficult than other evolutionary challenges humanity has mastered. The best program I’ve found for achieving it is the Socialist Equality Party’s: http://www.wsws.org.

William T. Hathaway is a Special Forces combat veteran and currently an adjunct professor of American studies at the University of Oldenburg in Germany. His latest book, Radical Peace: People Refusing War, presents the experiences of war resisters, deserters, and peace activists in the USA, Europe, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Chapters are posted on a page of the publisher’s website at http://media.trineday.com/radicalpeace.

He is also the author of Summer Snow, the story of an American warrior in Central Asia who falls in love with a Sufi Muslim and learns from her an alternative to the military mentality. Chapters are available at http://www.peacewriter.org/.

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Gilad Atzmon on Eugene Puyear’s Special Interview (ATN)

Gilad Atzmon

Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 4:33PM

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Holocaust Day, Iran and Muslim Holocaust survivor

Posted on April 26, 2012 |

This year’s Holocaust Day was no different than the last year’s event. The Israeli, American, German, British, French and Canadian Zionist leaders who attended this year showcase event – all gave speeches about the Islamic Republic and its nuclear program being an ‘existential’ to the Zionist entity which poses greatest threat to world peace.

Benji Netanyahu commented that Holocaust Day might as well be ‘Iran Day’ this year. War-criminals Shimon Peres and Ehud Barak in their speeches called ‘Iran a threat to world peace’. Barack Obama invoked Holocaust to ratchet up war threats against Iran and Syria. Canadian Stephen Harper highlighted Iranian regime’s anti-Semitic rhetoric and recent murder of Jewish children in France as threats the “civilized world” must face. As usual, the murder of tens of thousands of Muslim and Christian children by Jews in occupied Palestine – doesn’t bother Harper’s Christian conscience.

Interestingly, none of these Jews and Crypto-Jewish ‘bleeding hearts’ spent a single day in Auschwitz or any other Nazi concentration camps.

Helen (Leah) Brashatsky, a Jewish Holocaust survivor born in Auschwitz concentration camp – had a different message than these Muslim hating Zionist creeps on the Holocaust Day. In an interview with AFP to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, Helen, now 70, chuckles as she talks about what to call her.

Helen was only 6-year-old when her Hungarian-Russian parents immigrated from Yugoslavia to the British occupied Palestine in 1948. Helen was 17 when she fell in love with Ahmed Jabarin, a young Native Muslim Palestinian. She married him against her Jewish parents permission and moved to Umm al-Fahm from Atlit (near Tel Aviv) where her parents lived.

They were among the Jewish refugees on board a ship which was forced to anchor off the coast of Haifa – waiting for return to Europe when it damaged by members of Jewish terrorist group Haganah, killing several refugees.

Her Muslim name is Leila, but in this Arab town in northern Israel where she has lived for the past 52 years, most people call her Umm Raja, Arabic for “Raja’s mother” after her first-born son.

Helen did not convert to Islam until her oldest son turned 18 and was asked to report for the compulsory military service as Israeli Jewish citizen. At that point, Helen’s mother advised her to leave Jewish religion for Islam and save her son from killing innocent Palestinian children.

“My mother said I should convert to Islam to save my daughter from serving in the army because Muslims would not let a girl live away from home on an army camp,” said Leila Jabarin.
“I hid my pain for 52 years and the truth about my past from my eight children and my 31 grandchildren. I hid the fact that I was born in Auschwitz and what that painful past means. I was just waiting for the right moment to tell them,” said Leila.

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The Shekel May Never Drop

By Gilad Atzmon

Ynet reported today that the European Jewish Congress fears that  Israel strike on Iranian nuclear
facilities will lead to “dramatic increase of anti-Semitic, very violent attacks against Jews”

For a very short while I was cheered by what seemed to be a ‘Jewish institutional move’ in the right direction. I thought to myself, that at last, a Jewish leadership positions itself at the forefront of the battle for peace and reconciliation. Finally, we will see a Jewish political call against an Israeli preemptive attack against Iran. The shekel has dropped, I thought to myself. But I was obviously wrong, in fact totally wrong. The shekel may never drop. As it seems the European Jewish Congress is concerned with one thing i.e. Jewish ‘potential’ suffering and, of course, the ‘rise of antisemitism’.

Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress, said he feared a “minority of angry, extremist European Muslims who live in impoverished neighborhoods might use an Israeli attack as a pretext to hit local Jews, particularly in France and Great Britain.”

Seemingly Kantor wasn’t concerned at all with the possibility of losing millions of innocent lives in the region. He wasn’t even concerned with the possibility that an Israeli attack could easily escalate into a regional nuclear conflict that may radioactively contaminate the entire region and some large parts of Europe.

Moshe Kantor, the president of the European Jewish Congress, an umbrella organization that claims to represent some 2.5 million Jews in Europe, is concerned with Jews only.

“If Israel attacks Iran, it will be a dramatic increase of anti-Semitic, very violent attacks against Jews,” he said.­

Seemingly, there is no limit to Judeo-centrism, yet, I believe that Jewish leaders would do themselves and their communities a big favour if they, at least, make an effort to disguise their apparent lack of universal empathic consciousness and total carelessness for the rest of humanity.

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Wikileaks: Saudi SAMA governor: ‘Saudi Arabia has the ability to both undermine & safeguard the world’s economy … beyond the size of its GDP’

Via FLC

Subject	Treasury D/s Wolin Discusses Economic And Financial Issues In Saudi Arabia
Origin	Embassy Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)
Cable time	Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:57 UTC
Classification	CONFIDENTIAL
Source	http://wikileaks.org/cable/2010/02/10RIYADH226.html

Hide header C O N F I D E N T I A L – RIYADH 000226

¶1. (U) Summary: On February 13-14, Treasury Deputy Secretary Neal Wolin visited Saudi Arabia and met with Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) Governor Muhammad Al Jasser and Minister of Finance Ibrahim Al Assaf….

¶7. (C) Jasser stated that for over thirty years, Saudi Arabia has made decisions based on the long-term impact of those decisions on the global economy, rather than on the basis ofdomestic political considerations. For example, Saudi Arabia was conscious of the global impact of its decision-makin during the Iranian Revolution, Iran/Iraq War, economic crisis in Latin America, and even in the “good times” in 2006-2008, when good policies could make a difference. He stated Saudi Arabia is not “dumb” or “altruistic,” but acts out of “enlightened self interest.”

¶8. (C) Jasser stated that, as an oil economy, Saudi Arabia has the ability to both undermine and safeguard the world’s economy. He noted that Saudi Arabia was able and willing to support reform efforts at the IMF and World Bank, but that the ability to harm or help the global economy is a better measure of a nation’s relative economic importance than GDP…”

Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 2:48 PM 

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US Military Course Considering “US at War with Islam” Receives Objection

The Pentagon stated on Wednesday that the top U.S. military officer has ordered a review of training material after a course for officers was found to consider that the United States is at war with Islam, Reuters reported.

According to the agency, “Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey sent a letter on Tuesday to leaders of the Army and other services, along with regional commanders and officials heading the National Guard, ordering a review of relevant training and education material across the military.”

Dempsy said that “this review will ensure our professional education programs exhibit the cultural sensitivity, respect for religion and intellectual balance that we should expect in our academic institutions.”

The review was prompted by a soldier who sent a complaint after having completed an elective course entitled “Perspectives on Islam and Islamite Radicalism” at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia.

The course included an assertion “that the United States is at war with Islam and we ought to just recognize that we are war with Islam,” Pentagon spokesman, Captain John Kirby was quoted as saying.

Kirby added before reporters that “that’s not at all what we believe to be the case. We’re at war against terrorism, specifically Al-Qaeda, who has a warped view of the Islamic faith.”

Reuters quoted him as saying that “US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also felt deep concern over the discovery, which follows a string of incidents that, more than 10 years after the Afghan war began, have exposed a persisting gap between people in the conservative Muslim nation and the Western soldiers fighting Islamist militants there.”

Source: Reuters
26-04-2012 – 14:28 Last updated 26-04-2012 – 14:28

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Jewish Quote of The Day

Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 9:03AM Gilad Atzmon

 

“Maybe my life spent in a New Jersey-New York/Bay Area-L.A. pro-Semitic cocoon has left me naive. But I don’t care if Americans think we’re running the news media, Hollywood, Wall Street or the government. I just care that we get to keep running them.” Joel Stein, LA Times

 

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Jewish groups: ‘European hate Israel’

Posted on April 25, 2012 |

On April 17-20 Jewish experts met in Brussels (Belgium) to analyze and counter the rise of anti-Israel sentiments among the European Union nations. The meeting was sponsored by Europe’s leading pro-Israel Jewish organization, CEJI, established 20 years ago. Interestingly, CEJI, website claims that it stands for “an inclusive and democratic Europe where people can enjoy their full potential with all their diversity“. However, in practice the organization fight against criticism of Zionism, Judaism and Israel – followed by gays and lesbians rights.

Even though most of EU member countries are governed by pro-Israel governments – pro-Israel Jewish groups have tried their best to keep the hoax of so-called ‘anti-Semitism‘ alive in Europe and around the world for that matter. Last month, the powerful American pro-Israel Jewish lobby group, Anti-Defamation League (ADL), released its latest poll among ten European nations, saying that hatred toward Jews and Israel remain at “disturbingly high levels”.

ADL head, Abraham Foxman, called situation more disturbing in France where Mossad tried to raise anti-Muslim sentiments through the shooting attack at the Jewish school which killed four Jews in Toulouse. According to the poll, 45% of French still believe that French Jews are more loyal to Israel than to France.

Hungary (63%) topped hatred toward Jews and Israel followed by Spain (53%), Poland (48%), Austria (28%), Germany (21%) and UK (10%) among the ten EU countries polled.

The Israel Hasbara mob usually blame Europe’s Muslim population (2%) for the rise of anti-Israel sentiments. Norwegian Christian Zionist mass killer, Anders Behring Breivik, had also Blamed Muslims‘ growing population in Europe.

Giulio Meotti in his Op-ed published in Israeli daily YNet (April 16, 2012) has claimed that many European believe that Israel is illegitimate and must be removed from the Middle East.

Giulio Meotti admits that Jewish victims at Toulouse has failed to fuel pro-Israel support within French population. He feels that if a ”survey is taken about Toulouse, it would find the Muslim perpetrator as the real victim and the victims as the real murderers (Jews, Zionists, murderers of Palestinian children, they got what they deserved)“.

However, Giulio Meotti’s ‘anti-Israel plot’ is mostly centered around German Nobel literature laureate, Guenter Wilhelm Grass, for calling Israel being the greatest threat to world peace – and not the Islamic Republic. According to Giulio, some poll, shows 84% of voters support Grass’ views on Israel.

“German public opinion loved the poem, because Grass fanned the flames of their Jew-hatred in a very comfortable way. Who’s better than the “conscience of Germany,” the former Heinrich Himmler volunteer, the most famous anti-fascist to indict the post-Holocaust Jews? In a 2001 Der Spiegel interview, Grass declared: “Israel doesn’t just need to clear out of the occupied areas. The appropriation of Palestinian territory and its Israeli settlements are also a criminal activity. That not only needs to be stopped – it also needs to be reversed. Otherwise there will be no peace“.

“According to Grass, Israel must leave not only Hebron and Beit El; it must disengage from Haifa, Tel Aviv and Nazareth as well. How many famous columnists had declared, before the Fogel massacre, that the Palestinians had the right to attack Itamar-like towns?,”wrote Giulio.

Giulio thus concludes that Grass simply wrote what most Westerners believe. Israel is illegitimate, it’s the purveyor of all ills, it’s the instigator of every type of disorder, and it therefore must be disengaged from the Middle East as soon as possible.

I hate to tell you, Giulio, your fellow Israeli Jewish writer, author, blogger and renowned jazz-player, Gilad Atzmon, also agrees with Grass 101 percent.

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When I’m sixty-four

by kenny at 9:10 AM

Will you still need me, will you still feed me when I’m sixty-four?

Indeed we will. Whether we like it or not we continue to feed the slot machine of Israel where there is no programmed payout for the vast majority of Americans or the world. House takes all.

It’s the 64th birthday of Israel. We won’t celebrate but we would like to blow out the candles on that rancid cake once and for all.

Detention of children, continued land theft and the push for more wars for Israel are a few of the indications that wisdom often does not come with age.

These kids have no more birthdays to celebrate and only a few in our convoluted western world seem to care …….

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Khader Adnan to Hunger Strikers: Go Forth and Be Victorious

Former Palestinian hunger strike prisoner Khader Adnan (L), a senior member of Islamic Jihad who was jailed in Israel, is greeted by members of the crowd in the village of Arraba near the northern city of Jenin, in the Israeli occupied West Bank on 18 April 2012. (Photo: AFP – Saif Dahlah)

By: Fadi Abu Saada

Published Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Ramallah – Khader Adnan defied everything related to the Israeli occupation, its prisons, and jailers. He rose up against interrogators and informants, and against all kinds of intimidation and humiliation. He put his body on the line with a 66-day hunger strike until the occupation relented. Adnan spoke to Al-Akhbar about the details of his historic hunger strike.

Fadi Abu Saada: Why did you decide to go on the hunger strike the day of your arrest?

Khader Adnan: I decided to go on a hunger strike based on four main reasons. The first reason concerns the period before I was detained. There were several failed attempts to arrest me through requests by the Israeli secret service calling for a meeting. But I refused. Being humiliated and having to see Israel flexing its muscles does not disturb me at all.
The second reason concerned being abused during my arrest, including when the jailers assaulted me physically.

The daily search was always “amusing” because I used to confront the jailers who conducted the search.

The third is the type and methods of interrogation.

The fourth and last reason is my repeated administrative detention without reason. My rejection of administrative detention complements my rejection of the occupation itself and my search for dignity which was stolen from us by the Israelis.

FAS:What is administrative detention?

KA: I believe Britain is responsible for this type of detention and its idea. It comes from the British mandate in Palestine. They used to call it the “emergency regulations.”
This type of detention starts with a letter from the intelligence officer in a particular region. He would send it to the region’s military commander requesting the arrest of a particular person based on “secret information” that cannot be divulged. In other words, it is “information received from a collaborator with the occupation.”
This type of detention can be renewed several times. In the case of brothers Mohammad Jaradat, Usama Barham, and martyr Ayman Daraghmeh, it was up to five or six years. Renewal is like a hammer hanging over the heads of the detainee and his family. The psychological torture has no equivalent and the worst thing is that the detainee and his family know that there will be no specific date for his release.

FAS: How did you spend your day during the hunger strike?

KA: I did not just stop eating. I also took a vow of silence for more than 20 days and refused to bathe for 65 days.
I prayed a lot and read the Koran when I was able to get a copy. I never slept during the day. People thought that was strange, but I preferred to sleep at night and wake up for morning prayers.
The daily search was always “amusing” because I used to confront the jailers who conducted the search.
FAS: How did they try to break your will and pressure you to end the hunger strike?

KA: They basically tried this by transferring me from one Israeli hospital to another for tests. First they took me to Ramleh hospital, then to “Tal al-Rabi” in Tel Aviv, then to occupied Jerusalem, then Safad, then the isolation in Ramleh again. It was very exhausting.
Then they turned the hospitals where they took me into courts for my case.
The main method they used was isolating me from the outside world and assigning three or four jailers in my room to pressure me.
They deliberately tied one of my hands and one of my feet for hours, even when I had to use the bathroom. They said it was so I would not escape, even though there is no window or exit anywhere.
The occupation soldiers tried to provoke me by turning my confinement cell into a “restaurant” full of all kinds of food that one might crave.
They tried to break my will but I was stronger, thank God.

FAS: What about threats to your family and friends?

The occupation soldiers tried to provoke me by turning my confinement cell into a “restaurant” full of all kinds of food that one might crave.
 

KA: True, a secret service officer came to me and told me, “Say hello to your father.” He had said the same thing when they came to arrest me once. They threatened to arrest all my family and friends and actually arrested four of my friends from my town, Arrabeh, a few days before my release.

Occupation soldiers are not satisfied with all of that. They criminalize everyone who speaks about me or my experience.
The best example is what happened with the Mufti of Jerusalem Mohammed Hussein who mentioned me in his Friday sermon at al-Aqsa mosque.
The Israeli government responded by starting a felony case against him, as if he was a criminal, just because he spoke about me.

FAS: What do you say to the 2,000 detainees who followed your path and are now in their second week of a hunger strike?

KA: I tell them, go forth under the grace of God for you shall be victorious. You named it the “battle of dignity,” so do not fail your families or the remaining prisoners. Continue until you are granted your demands.
A hunger strike is a matter of destiny and it is of utmost importance. We ask God to grant us victory.
I conclude my message by saying, do not drop the banner of the eight knights, especially Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla. They have been on a hunger strike in detention for 58 days, continuing the battle of Sheikh Khader, Hana Shalabi, and the others.
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.

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Abbas Censors Truth

By Stephen Lendman – Posted on 26 April 2012

Israel notoriously censors truth. Military censorship bans or sanitizes material potentially harming Israel’s security. Media/government agreements comply.

Some make sense like banning reports beneficial to adversaries. Others don’t by suppressing information people have a right to know. For example, whatever affects their welfare and officials’ crimes need revealing so everyone knows.

Various Supreme Court decisions also limit content suppression to “tangible (or) near certain” instances of public endangerment. Of course, interpretations are crucial.

Authorities are increasingly hardline to get their way. In the process, fundamental rights are violated perhaps on the way to being entirely destroyed.

Israel prohibits Palestinian protests. Free expression is compromised. Classroom materials are rewritten. Only praise for Israel is allowed. Nakba denial persists. Academia is affected. Historical revisionism legitimizes crimes too important to whitewash.

Palestine Authority Targets Truth

On April 25, Haaretz headlined, “Palestinian Authority blocks news websites critical of Abbas”….saying:

The PA instructed ISPs to block access to critical news websites. There’s plenty to criticize Abbas for, especially for being a longtime Israeli collaborator against the interests of his own people. Instead of correcting what’s wrong, he wants truth suppressed.

The PA “blocked eight news (sites) operating in the West Bank.” They include Amad, Fatah, Fatah Voice, Firas Press, In Light Press, Karama Press, Kofia Press, Milad News, and Palestine Beituna.

The Palestinian communications company Paltel (part owned by the PA) agreed to the move. The sites focus on “internal Palestinian matters….” Earlier, the PA closed a critical TV station.

Attorney General Ahmad Al Mughani ordered the shutdown. He neither confirmed or denied it. Communication Minister Mashur Abu Daqqa said he was involved. “He makes his own rules in order to justify what is only his own decision,” he said.

Doing so violates the public interest, he added. In March, Al Mughani ordered a journalist arrested for reporting Palestinian Foreign Ministry corruption.

International Press Institute’s Naomi Hunt said the PA had no reason to jail Yousef al-Shayeb while investigating libel and defamation allegations regarding his January Jordanian newspaper story.

According to Hunt, if Foreign Ministry officials feel maligned, they can file civil suits in response. Jailing someone under investigation is out of line.

She added:

“If indeed Mr al-Shayeb is facing criminal charges, IPI (International Press Institute) would note that laws criminalizing press offenses are unnecessary given the existence of civil remedies, and serve only to deter investigative reporting.”

“Certainly journalists should never be jailed as a result of their work, and should not be compelled to reveal their sources.”

“Mr Al-Shayeb and his editors (at al-Ghad) should take responsibility for the story they published, but the imprisonment of Yousef Al-Shayeb is a violation of press freedom and we hope he is released immediately.”

Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki defended the arrest. He claimed he and the PA were victims, saying:

“I’m surprised some journalists reacted emotionally on behalf of their colleague without hearing the other side’s case, or considering for a moment if Yousef al-Shayeb is the oppressor or the oppressed.”

Al-Malki said Al-Shayeb knew his report was false. It claims the foreign minister promoted diplomat Safwat Ibraghit to deputy Paris ambassador despite knowing he has foreign intelligence ties.

Al-Shayeb claimed Ibraghit recruited Arab students to spy on Islamic groups in France and elsewhere abroad. He also said he shared information gotten with Palestinian and foreign intelligence agencies.

Al-Shayeb also accused al-Malaki, Palestinian National Fund Director Ramzi Khouri Abu Nabil, and PA Paris ambassador Hael al-Fahoum of complicity and nepotism in promoting Ibraghit despite foreign intelligence ties and other complaints charged.

He demanded Al-Shayeb apologize. Instead he defended his work. The foreign minister expected journalists to “expel (him) from their ranks. He has harmed the Palestinian media and published (false) reports. He should have been more professional.”

Al-Malki filed a $6 million defamation suit under Article 189 of Jordan’s Penal Code. According to human rights groups, it’s enforceable on the West Bank. It permits libel damages for print media reports.

Al-Shayeb’s also charged with defaming government officials. Under article 191, he faces up to two years in prison if convicted. Reports said Al-Ghad fired him.

That type accusation is serious. Journalists wouldn’t make it lightly. Other Palestinian colleagues and human rights groups denounced Al-Shayeb’s arrest. He alone was targeted. Ibraghit wasn’t questioned.

The Palestinian center for development and media freedom (MADA) demanded his immediate release. It also called for ending “the policy of arrest and detention of (Palestinian) journalists. Al-Shayeb was simply doing his job….”

Under Palestinian law, journalists aren’t obligated to reveal sources except on matters of national security, following a court order, or under unusual circumstances.

The International Press Institute (IPI) also questioned targeting Al-Shayeb for reporting on official wrongdoing. It said PA authorities had no reason to arrest him while investigating his charges continues.

Separately, PA authorities interrogated Tariq Khamis, a Zaman Press web site reporter. At issue were Facebook posts calling Abbas a traitor and an article about Palestinian youth groups highly critical of PA Amman peace negotiations with Israel.

Weeks earlier, PA security services arrested Wafa news journalist Rami Samara, held him a few hours, then released him. At issue was his critical Facebook comment about a PLO executive committee meeting and recent Amman peace talks with Israeli negotiators.

Samara told MADA he was interrogated, then asked to sign a statement. He refused because it included comments he hadn’t made. A solidarity sit-in by colleagues got him released.

MADA condemned his arrest as well as “the harassment of journalists who openly express their views.” It demanded security services respect press freedom.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also denounced the PA arrests and harassment. These actions occurred despite announcing an annual press freedom award for exemplary journalism.

According to Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the idea is about supporting local media and encouraging journalists to produce “quality and daring material that addresses citizens’ concerns.” In May, this year’s winner will be announced.

According to CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney:

“It is ironic that Palestinian leaders, who for years have benefited from independent media coverage, should now try to stifle their own critical journalists. The Palestinian Authority should stop muzzling journalists and scouring social media posts looking for critics to punish.”

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS), their main union, urged reporters to boycott the award in light of recent events. Following an emergency meeting, PJS asked them to focus on Al-Shayeb’s case. It called it a blow to press freedom.

Ironically, Fayyad called local media “one of the most important pillars of an independent Palestinian state, as it is the fourth branch of the government, which must be respected.”

He added that the award was established as “a commitment to the promise it made two years ago which is that it will always be supportive and a protector of freedom of expression and opinion.”

He and other PA officials can back that statement by dropping all charges against Al-Shayeb and apologize for mistreating him. Otherwise, Palestinian press freedom exists in name only, a meaningless pledge.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.

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