Palestinian Activist Banned From Home

A Palestinian from Jerusalem has been banned from that city.  He led protests against new Jewish housing there, so the Israelis used an old law to ban him from the city.  He originally filed an appeal, but withdrew it, because he didn't think the Israeli Supreme Court would rule in his favor, instead of the Israeli military.

Atheist Blogger Arrested: Update I

The atheist blogger, currently being held but not charged, has posted an apology to his family, and Palestinians in general.  It is unknown whether this is related to some kind of deal for his release.  Human Rights Watch is calling for his release, and says:

Laws that criminalize the peaceful criticism of religious beliefs violate international human rights standards, and the PA should ensure that it applies legislation in ways that are consistent with international protections of the right to freedom of expression.

Atheist Blogger Arrested

A West Bank man, Walid Husayin, has been arrested for insulting Islam.  He has spent several years blogging anonymously about atheism, starting up Facebook pages making fun of Islam, and even saying that he was God.  The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank set up a sting and arrested him last month.  He's in trouble for heresy and could be in jail for life.

I don't agree with everything every blogger says, but I do believe in Freedom of Speech.  And that freedom is sorely lacking in the Middle East.  This is a case that could mess up a lot of hard work.  Many Middle Eastern nations have so little free speech, that just opening the door a crack has been hard to do.  Throwing the door open all the way for an atheist may seem absurd.  So I can understand if free speech proponents stand down and distance themselves from the battle.  It's difficult for freedom of speech advocates who are Muslim to actively aid a man accused of heresy.  But if you truly believe in free speech, that is exactly what you should do.  I really wish this case hadn't happened at this point in time, because it's a lose-lose scenario for freedom of speech in the Middle East. 

The problem with Freedom of Speech is that if you believe in free speech, you have to believe in free speech for everyone.  I don't think the Middle East or Islamic countries are ready for that yet.  But I am still adding Walid Husayin to the list of jailed bloggers who need help.  This story is very recent, so I haven't seen anything about Husayin on Reporters Without Borders, but hopefully his story will show up there soon.

Palestinian Beer

Apparently all we need for peace in Palestine-Israel is alcohol.  No, really.  Christian Palestinians were celebrating Oktoberfest, and a bunch of Israelis showed up to help them.  And a great time was had by all!  Maybe we can all get along, after all.

Some Israelis Understand

There's a blogger on Haaretz who has a very good post this week.  It's called Confessions of an Israeli anti-settler bigot.  I highly recommend reading it.  Yet another reason to hate the government and not necessarily the people.

PLO in America

The PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) has a diplomatic presence in Washington, DC. And they've recently been upgraded to "Delegation General," which is similar to its status in some other countries. It will also be able to fly its own flag (when it stops sharing a building with other tenants).

The Roots of Israel

Alright, this is really ticking me off. I was reading more about Helen Thomas, when I came across this gem in Haaretz:

Glick added that he felt "Thomas seems to have been schooled by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a belief that Jews appeared in Israel after the Holocaust," while ignoring "historical facts that Jews have called the Land of Israel home for more than 3,000 years, long before any other group made a home in the land."

This is a fallacy. Yes, originally there were Jews in a land called Israel. But most of them were kicked out by the Romans (I think it was the Romans, it's been a while since I looked at this). For hundreds of years, that area of the world was populated by Jews, Christians, and, yes, Muslims! For hundreds of years, it was part of the Ottoman Empire and was predominantly Muslim. It was not until the late 1800s and early 1900s that people started calling for a homeland for the Jews, in a state called Israel. And Israel did not come to exist until 1948, after the Holocaust.

The fact that there were some Jews (probably Arab Jews too) living in Palestine during this time period does not mean that it was always a Jewish state, or that you can come in, build an army, and start removing Muslims from their homes. They live there too.

MV Rachel Corrie & Gaza

The ship was stopped by the Israelis and taken to the port of Ashdod. The Israelis said that no one was injured, because this was a ship of peace activists not "a ship of hate organised by violent Turkish terror extremists."

Witness Gaza has footage of the Israelis boarding the ship, as well as interviews with activists, including an old interview with Rachel Corrie, who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003.

This is a lot more anti-climactic than the Turkish flotilla, which may be a good thing. No else died, possibly because this time the entire world was watching the situation. According to Haaretz, left-wing Israeli protesters even showed up to protest the attacks against the flotillas.

Now that the world is watching, though, it would be nice if the world (especially the US) would look at what is going on in Gaza and do something about it. You cannot have peace when 1.5 million people are in what amounts to a prison camp. And if the Palestinians want peace, Hamas will have to come to terms with the existence of an Israeli state. Both sides need to taste the bitter pill of reality and try living together instead of killing each other. And the more powerful side (Israel) needs to take the first step.

Non-Violent Protests

This article is from April, but it's about non-violent protests in the Palestinian areas. There appears to be a growing number of people there who are trying out non-violent protests. This is still in the beginning stages, but it is a start. It's harder to claim justification for shooting protesters, when they aren't throwing rocks at you.

Israel attacks aid ships? Update II

Slate has some very interesting articles on the incident:

Is Israel's blockade of Gaza against the law? - maybe. The law is not completely clear. But seizing a ship in International Waters is illegal.

That's No Way To Enforce a Blockade - this article asks a lot of relevant questions, like, how did a group of Israeli commandos get their asses kicked by civilians; and why did they stop the ships in International Waters. Definitely worth a read.

For a slightly different take on the situation, check out What's to investigate? We know what happened to the Gaza flotilla.

Israel attacks aid ships? Update I

Well, Turkey is really pissed off. The attacked ship was Turkish, and there were many Turks on board. Here's some more information:

BBC News has a rundown on the Gaza blockade.

BBC News also has info on why Israel maintains the blockade.

This Yahoo! article has the Israeli footage of the attack.

The Turks want an international investigation, and they have demanded the release of their people, and Israel has said it is deporting everyone involved.

This whole thing is a giant mess, but at least it is highlighting the problem. Israel has blockaded Gaza for about three years now, as the humanitarian problems there have worsened. It's not clear if the blockade is even legal, aside from the fact that the attack took place outside of the blockade limit [Note: does that mean international waters?]. Perhaps this whole situation will come to a head and the US will look at what is actually happening, instead of just listening to what Israel says is happening.

Israel attacks aid ships?

I rarely comment on the situation in Palestine-Israel, because anyone who says anything bad about Israel is generally called an anti-Semite, and even academics have been known to have trouble finding jobs because of what they have said. So here goes:

The Gaza Strip has been sealed off for several years now, effectively making it into a large prison. Israel says it has been doing this to stop Hamas, although it does not seem to be working. Israel claims that Gaza is fine and does not need any humanitarian help. Today, several aid ships set sail to the port at Gaza to deliver various supplies, ranging from water purifiers to cement. Israel said it would stop them. According to several sources (Turkish Daily News, Haaretz, BBC, World Bulletin (Turkish)) Israel attacked the ships and there may be dozens injured and another dozen dead. Reports are still sketchy. This set off an angry protest in Istanbul, at the Israeli consulate.

I'm looking forward to what the mainstream US media will say about this situation, assuming they cover it all, since Monday is Memorial Day. More later.

Movie News

There's a new film being made in Hebron by a young Israeli film-maker. You might want to check out the article. The film-maker said she's trying to illustrate what goes on in Hebron, because most Israelis have no idea about the restrictions placed on the Palestinians living there.

Info on Palestinians

The BBC has been doing a lot of articles on Israel and Palestinians, since the state of Israel just turned 60. Inside a Palestinian Refugee Camp has maps, interviews, a slide show, and key figures. And if you haven't checked out the Jerusalem Diary, you might want to.

One more thing on Sderot

Former President Jimmy Carter was in Sderot recently, and he condemned the rocket attacks by Palestinian militants. He also met with Hamas, which has gotten him a lot of flack. I would like to point out a few things though: First of all, the US and Israel consider Hamas a terrorist organization, not everyone does. Secondly, Fatah was also a terrorist organization and the US worked with them and Arafat. Thirdly, the entire world led freaking Milosevic stay in power for years! But we can't try and deal with Hamas.

Gaza & Sderot

One quick link. Just found this blog about Gaza & Sderot:
http://gaza-sderot.blogspot.com/

Is Peace Possible?

Two women have been corresponding, one in Palestine and one in Israel, through the BBC. The first letter was published in March, the second was last week. To me, reading their letters is indicative of the entire problem. Both sides have valid points, but can't seem to relate to what the other is saying. There's an expression in the US, put yourself in someone else's shoes - neither side has been able to do that. And I don't think peace is possible until both sides can.

Gaza Going Up?

Things are deteriorating over in Palestine/Israel. Israel was attacked by a bunch of rockets from Gaza, so they responded. About 7 Israelis were hurt, and over 150 Palestinians. Abbas has broken relations with Israel - which is interesting since he's Fatah and Gaza is controlled by Hamas. People in Gaza are pretty upset - more info on the situation. Info on the attack by Israel. Israel has threatened to invade, and Hamas says they are ready.


Al-Ahram (Egypt) says a third intifada may be close. Gulf Times (Qatar) article. Turkish Daily News - protests in Gaza.

Gaza Quick Roundup

Israel is still trying to halt the rocket attacks out of Gaza. And the water authority in Gaza has issued a warning, because they're out of things like chlorine, to clean the water. They've issued a boil warning.

Human Chain in Gaza

BBC has some interviews with people who took part in the human chain protest in Gaza. I think what annoys me the most is that Americans don't seem to be paying any attention to what it going on over there. Yes, some of these people are terrorists - but not all of them are! And everyone is paying the price. They are trapped in their own "country" and are slowly starving. How can we support this?