Saturday, February 28, 2009

'Hurricane Israel Approaches' in Silwan, East Jerusalem


The small Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan, in the Eastern side of Holy City of Jerusalem, is facing imminent destruction. Only Yesterday, Sunday, we were warned that this disaster would affect up to 1,500 Palestinian through the destruction of nearly ninety homes and apartment buildings.

We are able to warn you about this impending carnage because it is not a 'natural' disaster which will wreak havoc on these lives, rather a wholly human one. 'Hurricane Israel' is scheduled to make landfall in Silwan in the coming days, and rather create on its rubbles a public park.

Can any of you imagine watching your home, and the homes of your neighbors, torn down in front of you - often with most of your possessions still inside? Can you imagine being made a refugee twice or thrice over - starting your lives again with only the shirts on your back? Can you imagine rebuilding your life with the knowledge that 'Hurricane Israel' could return again at any moment reducing your efforts to shambles?

Perhaps it is difficult to imagine such things from the Europe and the United States, where decency and Human Rights are championed and heralded. Yet here in Palestine, destruction and utter disregard of our lives and dignity is only too common. Many times 'Hurricane Israel' has visited our lives; and if the international community does not begin to take decisive action, this scenario will only be repeated again and again.

The West needs to take a stand in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is our hope that this stand will be based upon the ideals of the EU and UN Charters which aim to protect Human Rights, rather than a stand made upon the short-term economic gains of siding with the Israeli aggressors.

The Holy City, forbidden capital of Palestine, has undergone a process of Judaization for over forty years. This process, aimed at altering the ethnic character of the city in favor of the Jewish population, has taken on many forms: from outright violent expulsion, to redistricting, to the building of the Apartheid Wall and settlements. 'Hurricane Israel' not only destroys Palestinian lives, it leaves in its wake new 'facts on the ground' making it impossible to repair the damage to our lives.

Thankfully, this unnatural disaster soon to be visited upon our people is a wholly preventable one. 'Hurricane Israel' can be diverted, even halted altogether, by Western powers searching for peace and stability in the region.

It is time to intercede on our behalf.
It is time to no longer reward Israel with favored trade relationships and arms sales amidst their ongoing campaign of low-scale ethnic cleansing.
It is time for countries to become meaningfully involved in the peace process for a two-state solution based on justice and international law.
It is time to live up to your ideals as individual Nation States, as a Union and as human beings.

Furthermore, it is now time do all of this soon - before the hurricane strikes again...and again...and again...

Friday, February 27, 2009

Video: Psychopathic Israeli Military Shoot Gaza Farmer






Israeli forces shot a twenty year-old Palestinian farmer as he worked his land in the village of Al-Faraheen, east of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.

International Human Rights Activists were accompanying the group of farmers at the time as they worked approximately 500m from the Green Line.

Mohammad al - Breem, 20, was shot in the right leg as the farmers, together with the international Human Rights Activists, attempted to leave the area having worked on their land for 2 hours in full view of the Israeli forces situated along the Green Line.

As the farmers were loading up the parsley and spinach from the agricultural lands shots were fired from Israeli forces on the border. Mohammad was shot in the right leg and evacuated, while still under fire, to hospital.

International Human Rights Activists have repeatedly witnessed Palestinian farmers being shot at by Israeli forces as they attempt to work on agricultural land situated within 700m of the Green Line.

On Tuesday 27th January 2009, in Al Faraheen, Israeli forces shot at several farmers, killing a 27 year old farmer.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Human Rights Watch: If Israel has nothing to hide, let us into Gaza

Sounds reasonable to me.

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Israel is preventing independent human rights monitors from entering Gaza, Human Rights Watch and B'Tselem said Sunday.

"Israel continues to obstruct independent investigations into allegations of laws of war violations by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas military forces in Gaza," the groups said in a joint statement to Ma'an.

After submitting applications for permission to enter via the Erez crossing in January 2009, the groups faced continued delays from the military unit reviewing the applications. In February, the army told Human Rights Watch that it had rejected its application. The Israeli military denied B'Tselem's first request to enter Gaza and has failed to respond to a second.

"Israel's refusal to allow human rights groups access to Gaza raises a strong suspicion that there are things it doesn't want us to see or the world to know about its military operation there," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "If Israel has nothing to hide, why is it refusing to allow us in?"

Human Rights Watch requested permission to enter Gaza on 5 January. After weeks of delay, the military rejected the application on 9 February, on the grounds that Human Rights Watch "was not registered with the [Israeli] Ministry of Social Affairs." On all previous occasions, including several times in 2008, Israeli authorities permitted Human Rights Watch staff to enter and leave Gaza via the Erez crossing.

The army never previously suggested such a requirement for access to Gaza, and Human Rights Watch is not aware of any such Israeli law or regulation. The Israeli military has not responded to Human Rights Watch's requests for clarification, they said.

Israel does not allow Jewish citizens of Israel, other than security forces, to enter Gaza on the grounds that their security would be at risk. B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, on 20 January requested permission from the military to allow the organization's fieldwork director (a Palestinian citizen of Israel) to enter Gaza. The military refused the request nine days later.

B'Tselem submitted an additional request on 29 January for entry for three staff members and an international consultant. The Israeli military has not responded to this request.

Human Rights Watch and other international human rights groups were able to enter Gaza via Egypt in late January to carry out initial investigations. The international researchers left Gaza just before 5 February, when Egypt had announced it would close the Rafah crossing.

The army had told Human Rights Watch that because its researchers had entered Gaza through Rafah, they would not permit the researchers to exit through Erez.

B'Tselem has not managed to gain access for its Israeli or West Bank staff, or for international consultants. Only the organization's two field researchers, who are residents of the Gaza Strip, have been able to conduct research on the ground, they said.

"Israel puts itself in the same league as Burma, North Korea, and Syria in keeping out independent human rights monitors," said Jessica Montell, executive director of B'Tselem. "The people of Israel deserve to know the truth about the conduct of our forces in Gaza. It is also in Israel's best interest that the full picture comes out."

The army prevented journalists from entering Gaza during the 22-day military operation, called "Operation Cast Lead," even after an Israeli Supreme Court ruling on 2 January ordered the state to allow entry to members of the Foreign Press Association.

Since the escalation of fighting in Gaza on 27 December, 2008, both Human Rights Watch and B'Tselem have documented serious violations of international humanitarian law by Israel and Hamas. On 10 January, Human Rights Watch exposed Israel's unlawful use of white phosphorus in civilian areas, an allegation the army initially denied but now claims to be investigating.

B'Tselem has expressed grave concern over violations of the principles of proportionality and distinction, including the deliberate targeting of civilian installations, such as government ministries and the Palestinian Legislative Council. Both organizations have, for over two decades, documented violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

Article Six of the Human Rights Defenders Declaration ensures that everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, "to know, seek, obtain, receive, and hold information about all human rights and fundamental freedoms," B'Tselem noted.

In addition, "the apparent blanket denial of access to Gaza by human rights groups violates the right to freedom of movement," B'Tselem said. "Although human rights law permits restrictions on freedom of movement for security reasons, the restrictions must have a clear legal basis, be limited to what is necessary, and be proportionate to the threat."

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

George Galloway Speaks Against Zionists and the Gaza massacre

Nice to know there are few brave souls left in the Orwellian nightmare that is now Britain.



Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Erase my grandfather's name at Yad Vashem



Yad Vashem
credit - Chabuk


Mr. President of the State of Israel, I am writing to you to intervene with the appropriate authorities to withdraw, from the Yad Vashem memorial dedicated to the memory of Jewish victims of Nazism, the name of my grandfather, Moshe Brajtberg, gassed at Treblinka in 1943, and those of other members of my who family died during deportation to various Nazi camps during World War II. I ask you to honor my request, Mr. Chairman, because what took place in Gaza, and more generally, the injustices to the Arab people of Palestine for sixty years, disqualifies Israel to be the center of the memory of the harm done to Jews, and thus to all humanity.

You see, since my childhood, I lived in amongst survivors of the death camps. I saw the numbers tattooed on their arms, I heard the story of torture; I knew the impossible grief and I shared their nightmares. I was taught that these crimes must never happen again, that never again must man, because of ethnicity or religion despise other man, mock his Human Rights of living a safe, dignified life, without barriers, and hope, so remote be it, of a future of peace and prosperity.

Yet Mr. President, I note that despite dozens of resolutions adopted by the international community, despite the glaring evidence of the injustices done to the Palestinian people since 1948, despite the hopes raised in Oslo, and despite the recognition of the right of Israeli Jews to live in peace and security, repeatedly reaffirmed by the Palestinian Authority, the only answers given by successive governments of your country have been violence, bloodshed, confinement, incessant controls, colonization, deprivations.

You'll tell me Mr. President, that Israel has the right to defend itself against people launching rockets into Israel, or suicide bombers that destroy innocent Israeli lives. My response to that is that my humanism doesn't vary according to the nationality of the victims.

Yet you, Mr. President, you lead the destiny of a country which claims not only to represent the Jews as a whole, but also the memory of those who were victims of Nazism. This is what concerns me and that I find unacceptable.

By displaying the names of my family members at the Yad Vashem Memorial, in the heart of the state of Israel, your state imprisons my family memories behind the barbed wires of zionism, and makes it hostage of a so-called moral authority which commits every day the abomination of denying justice.

So, please, remove the name of my grandfather from the shrine dedicated to cruelty against Jews so that it no longer justifies the injustice being done to the Palestinians.

Please accept, Mr. President, the assurances of my respectful consideration.

Jean-Moïse Braitberg is a French author
Source: Le Monde

Monday, February 23, 2009

Israeli 'Religious' Parties Do Not Represent True Torah-Based Judaism

Israeli 'Religious' Parties Do Not Represent True Torah-Based Judaism

CNBC
Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:01 UTC

As traditional Jews observe the political maneuvers of Israel's purported "religious" right-wing parties in recent elections, there is growing concern that these groups are gravely misleading the international community in its perception of Judaism and the Torah. Claiming to represent Judaism, these "religious" parties manipulate the Torah's values to suit their own political goals, giving the uninformed individual the impression that the Torah is politically extreme and against peace.

The uncontestable truth is that the Torah strongly advocates for peace. The Torah absolutely forbids Jews from waging war against non-Jews; in fact, Jews were avowed by God not to revolt against any nation or people. The Jewish set of laws commands that Jews be law-abiding citizens in whichever country they choose to take up residence. And for close to two thousand years - ever since the destruction of the holy Temple in Jerusalem - this has been a basic principle for all observant Jews.

Millennia ago, Jews were instructed by the biblical prophet Jeremiah to "Seek out the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you and pray for it to the Almighty, for through its welfare will you have welfare." (29:7). Indeed, observant Jews have abided by this fundamental teaching for thousands of years.

In blatant contrast, Zionist ideology is directly opposed to the Torah. Zionism was deviously designed by its founders to replace the Torah and its holy, God-given commandments with nationalistic, power-driven ideals that are devoid of holiness, godliness, or spirituality. Zionism and the Israeli state have consistently endeavored, via persuasion and coercion, to replace the Divine and Torah-inspired understanding of our people with one of armed materialism.

At the time of its founding by Theodor Herzl, Zionism was rejected by every God-fearing Jew. Respected Jewish authorities everywhere consistently warned their constituents against associating with the Zionist movement in any manner.

It was clear to every observant Jew that the Zionist movement was deviant sect designed to steer Jews away from the Torah, no different from the other heretical sects that existed for brief periods of time throughout Jewish history.

Tragically, with the passing of time, the Zionist movement succeeded in ensnaring certain religious rabbis into their trap. Perhaps these individuals were shortsighted and did not comprehend the true motives of the Zionist founders, or maybe they were motivated by the perceived rewards of ultimate power, wealth, or fame. In any event, as they spiraled downward into and under the Zionist quicksand, a brand-new and strange concept was formed: the "Nationalistic Religious Movement." These rabbis - better yet, these politicians- convinced the uninformed Jewish masses to support and join this new-fangled movement. "To combine the greatest of contradictions - the Jewish faith and the holy Torah with nationalistic ideals that are devoid of holiness and designed to replace the Torah - is the epitome of hypocrisy and confusion. Imagine if a Jew would make sure that his pork [forbidden meat] was slaughtered, and koshered - this is Religious Nationalism," said Rabbi Hersh Lowenthal.

These politicians are exploiting the Torah for the sake of nationalism. For example, they continually misinterpret Biblical verses to "prove" that the Torah forbids the relinquishing of territory. How deceitful to use verses that apply to the times of the holy Temple to our current age, when Jews are in exile by decree of God, and are in fact avowed by God not to create a Jewish government with a Jewish identity prior to the Divine Redemption. How devious - in particular - to apply Biblical verses to a secular country whose leaders are non-believers and outspoken enemies of the true Jewish faith.

Our message to these rabbi-politicians is, to quote the Bible: "How much longer will you be positioned on two doorsteps? If you believe in God, follow Him. If you believe in the idol, follow it" (I Kings 18:21). If you wish to follow God and His holy Torah, then follow Him! And if your goal is to pursue hollow, secular, nationalistic values - pursue them. Don't attempt to combine these inherently contradicting ideals and, as a result, confuse the public with blatant lies and falsities.

True Torah Jews (a.k.a. Natruna) is investing tremendous effort to expose the falsehoods of this new movement to the Jewish community at large. With God's help, the results are positive and reassuring as the truth is welcomed by Jews all over the world. In a massive explanatory campaign in Israel, we implored the public not to heed the politicians' campaigns; instead, we asked voters to boycott the elections and thereby demonstrate their staunch separation from any form of Zionism.

The results of this campaign were overwhelming and far exceeded the organizers' expectations. One would expect that with the recent increase in eligible voters, there would be a far greater turnout of religious voters than in the past; with this reasoning, the acquisition of more seats in Parliament for religious politicians was taken for granted. Instead, the final tallies showed that the national religious parties had in fact lost several seats.

Obviously, the religious community is now more open-minded as more and more individuals begin to perceive the insincerity of the politicians: this is "politics as usual" and has absolutely no association with either the Torah or Judaism. The hope is that before long every single Torah-observant Jew will abandon this movement and the entire world will clearly understand that: The government of the State of Israel is not associated with either Jews or Judaism. It is a Zionist state, not a Jewish State.

In conclusion, True Torah Jews would like to make it perfectly clear that the "religious parties" that participate in the government of the State of Israel do not represent traditional Torah-based Judaism. The true Torah position can be heard and accepted only from honest rabbinical authorities who are bound only to the Torah and harbor absolutely no ulterior motives. Every single such authority is completely opposed to the concept of Zionism in any form or shade, from the moment it was conceived until the present date.

We hope this clarifies the difference between Torah based Judaism and the nationalistic so-called Judaism. We pray that Jews everywhere will come to understand that ultimate salvation does not originate from the acts of humans, and will trust in the Divine Redemption which will bring peace for the entire world. May we merit that great day soon, Amen.

Source: TrueTorahJews.org

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Netanyahu, Israel's Mussolini

Once again, it's time to take a step back and look at the larger picture of the mess in the Middle East. SOTT provides a crack analysis of one of the principle drivers of the continuing conflict.

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Netanyahu, Israel's Mussolini


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Andrew Lobaczewski studied at close range a deviant category of humans who, when they manage to grab pivotal positions of power, hold a devastating potential for raining death and destruction down on humanity, simply to further their own interests. These individuals are known as psychopaths, and they move skillfully and purposely throughout the higher echelons of the global body politic. And like clockwork, they slot themselves into all the significant seats of power.

One such individual interests us today. It seems that dangerous moves are afoot which threaten the safety of the entire planet, and that he plays a key role.

At present, it is very clear that the global psychopathic manoeuvres gravitate significantly around the state of Israel, which takes its place at the centre of an horrific downward-spiral of violence, blood, despair and devastation almost beyond human imagining, which spews forth across the surrounding areas, and threatens to envelope the entire earth in its darkness.

A significant part of this phenomenon is the astounding ability of denial, to insist that reality is not represented by the evidence, but instead reality must conform to how "I say it is". When a whole society becomes infected with pathological influence then this affliction of denial becomes endemic throughout the general population. But essentially, this is the 'skill' of the psychopath.

Amos Gunsburg clearly describes this:
They make pronouncements without substantiation. To them, these pronouncements represent what reality is ... pronouncement by pronouncement. The present pronouncement may contradict what they said a moment ago. This means nothing to them. They make no attempt to deal with the contradiction.

They demonstrate a total lack of understanding what we mean by a "fact." In their writings and in their speech, they do not use that word.

We humans find this hard to believe. The use of facts is such a basic part of our lives. We base our conclusions and our actions on them. We go on from there to test things and establish more facts. When we debate, we present facts, and show how we derive our observations and our positions from them.

Without facts, all we have is what we call "fantasy."

Since these creatures have a human appearance, we assume they must think like us ... be aware of what we are aware. We think they MUST know what facts are. When they don't address the facts, we say they are playing a game. We think they do know what the facts are, but don't want to admit it.

Not so! They DON'T know what a fact is. When we speak of facts and ask them to address the facts, they look at us with vacant eyes. They don't know what we're talking about.

They study us because their strategy is to pass as human. They hear us use the words - facts, evidence, substantiation. They lack the human capacity to understand what we mean. What they do is ignore our reference to facts, ignore our requests for them to supply facts, and hope we won't notice it's due to their lack of comprehension.

From "Beyond Insanity" - Amos M. Gunsberg
It is a trademark feature of the Bush Neocon administration, as former Wall Street Journal reporter and author Ron Suskind wrote in New York Times Magazine:
"In the summer of 2002, after I had written an article in Esquire that the White House didn't like about Bush's former communications director, Karen Hughes, I had a meeting with a senior adviser to Bush. He expressed the White House's displeasure, and then he told me something that at the time I didn't fully comprehend - but which I now believe gets to the very heart of the Bush presidency.

"The aide said that guys like me were 'in what we call the reality-based community,' which he defined as people who 'believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.' I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. 'That's not the way the world really works anymore,' he continued. 'We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality - judiciously, as you will - we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors ... and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.'"
Nowhere does this mindset have more of a stranglehold, than in Ehud Olmert's Israeli Zionist administration, with its insistent and increasingly hysterical denial of the worsening Palestinian holocaust.

The war of words against Iran has also definitely intensified lately. And there are other things going on at the same time, so perhaps all these things are linked?
"In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way." - Franklin D. Roosevelt
We see this exact same brutal unblinking denial of reality when we study some of the rhetoric being issued from the mouth of Benjamin Netanyahu:
Drawing a direct analogy between Iran and Nazi Germany, Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu asserted Monday that the Iranian nuclear program posed a threat not only to Israel, but to the entire western world. There was "still time," however, to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, he said.

"It's 1938 and Iran is Germany. And Iran is racing to arm itself with atomic bombs," Netanyahu told delegates to the annual United Jewish Communities General Assembly, repeating the line several times, like a chorus, during his address. "Believe him and stop him," the opposition leader said of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "This is what we must do. Everything else pales before this."
So perhaps we should pay more attention to the skillful adept of the "repeated lies will be accepted as truth" doctrine?

The more one looks, the more one finds that next to Netanyahu, Olmert is nothing but an amateur. Netanyahu has friends in high places - it seems he is high up on the psychopathic power elite hierarchy, with the requesite mindset to match.

If this is so, let's see if we can spot those who buttered his bread and sponsored his meteoric rise to the top of the Israeli political and economical scene. Along with economic achievements, we see his professional track record is characterized by an unusually large number of Intelligence ties. Quite exceptional for a 'bright and ambitious young man'.

21 Oct 1949 - Born in Tel-Aviv

1956 - 58, 1963 - 67 - Grows up in the U.S., where his father, the historian Professor Benzion Netanyahu, taught history. Later, mainstream sources will trace Netanyahu's so called 'philosophy' to his father, who was a proponent of the idea 'that the historic bitterness between Arab and Jew made for a seemingly intractable situation'.

A pretty interesting philosophy, especially when Jewish historians and archeologists took an active role in fabricating the myth called the Jewish nation.

1967 - 1972 - Returns to Israel in order to serve in the IDF in the years 1967-72, and reaches the rank of captain in the elite unit, "Sayeret Matkal", the fighting branch of the Israeli Intelligence Services. He participates in a number of missions including the Beirut Airport operation and the rescue of hijacked Sabena Airlines hostages.

One wonders if it wasn't an early rehearsal and stage preparation for Operation Entebbe.

1972 - 1976 - Studies in the U.S. and receives a first degree in Architecture and a second degree in Business Administration at M.I.T, and also studies political science at MIT and Harvard University.

Then he takes a position at the Boston Consulting Group - where his boss is Ira Magaziner, a later aide and policy advisor to President Clinton. Magaziner is best known for leading, along with Hillary Clinton, the failed 'Task Force to Reform Health Care' in the early Clinton administration.

A bit of curious trivia: Magaziner is currently chairman of Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative and and the Clinton Climate Initiative. It looks like he may be one of those who help to maintain a scientific 'dominant paradigm' and conformity built into the system of government grants.

04 July 1976 - His brother Jonathan (Yonni), regarded as something of a war hero having already been awarded the Medal of Distinguished Service in Yom Kippur, is killed in the course of Operation Entebbe. Recently released documents show that it was Shin Bet/Mossad cover operation. Netanyahu's brother was the leader of the assault, and the only Israeli military casualty of the raid.

Was his death a necessary sacrifice in order to inculcate in Israelis psyche Netanyahu's image as a brother of a hero?

1979 - Returns once again to Israel, leaving his blossoming career at prestigious consulting firm behind him; sets up the 'Jonathan Institute for the Study of Terrorism' and organises an international Anti-Terrorism Conference, which is attended by various high profile and powerful figures such as George Bush, George Shultz (U.S. Secretary to the treasury, and professor at the infamous Chicago Graduate School of Business), and Richard Perle (President Reagan's Assistant secretary of Defense). In this way he rapidly becomes established on the global stage, making key connections in politics, economics and the military.

After such apparent success he makes a surprising move and takes a senior position at Rim Industries (furniture manufacturer) in Jerusalem, as marketing manager.

Another bit of trivia: Shultz, who's considered to be Netanyahu's protégé, is called the father of Bush doctrine, which evidently advocates fabricating evidence and staging false flag operations in order to embark on so called 'preemptive wars'.

Today Shultz is the chairman of the JPMorgan Chase. The same JPMorgan that is a shareholder in the Federal Reserve, and the one who bought Bear Stearns for 2$ a share after it was funded up to $30 billion of Bear Stearns' less liquid assets.

1982 - Rises instantly through the diplomatic ranks to a highly visible position: he is invited by Israel's Washington Ambassador, Moshe Arens, to be his deputy.

It looks as though Arens was directed by the same people in the Reagan administration who attended Netanyahu's conference three years earlier. He was quoted saying:
"People got a good laugh when they heard I phoned a furniture factory to find a deputy. What sold me on Bibi was his organization of the anti-terror conference and the strong impression he made on American leaders who participated."
1984 - 1988 - Rapid political climb continues: he is appointed as Israel's ambassador to the UN, where he becomes a media figure, with regular TV appearances on Ted Koppel's Nightline and Larry King Live.

Less than three months earlier while in New York, he is visited by George Bush and George Shultz, who further invest in his growing publicity and organizes another conference on terrorism in Washington.
The Washington conference, held on June 24-27, 1984, was a mega-event. Some 36 experts on terrorism spoke during the four-day conference, including the self-described universal fascist Michael Ledeen, and many others from the U.S. neo-con stable who would later play an essential role in spreading the intelligence lies that were used for the invasion of Iraq.
Netanyahu continues to expand his circle of friends who later will play a major role in his election to the Prime Minister post.
[Stephen] Friedman, a 50-year-old attorney from Philadelphia, serves as the lawyer for the Likud Party in the United States. He is one of Netanyahu's oldest childhood pals and also part of whole new cast of American Jewish players that might be called the Friends of Bibi, or FOBB.

Like the celebrated inner circle surrounding Bill Clinton, Netanyahu's American friends, a small fraternity of influential and like-minded Jewish lawyers, businessmen, financiers and columnists, have been helping finance his ambitions and carrying Netanyahu's political water ever since he set his sights on the Israeli premiership in the early 1980s. [...]

FOBB can be divided into two distinct categories: his small inner circle of close male pals, some of whom date back to his high school days outside Philadelphia in the 1960s, and the somewhat larger second string of associates who met and bonded with Bibi while he served as Israel's deputy ambassador to Washington and ambassador to the United Nations in the 1980s.[...]

One of those Netanyahu met at this time and brought into his inner circle was Merv Adelson, ex-husband of TV journalist Barbara Walters and former head of Lorimar studios.[...] Adelson became Netanyahu's Hollywood connection.

Another member of Netanyahu's inner circle is Ronald Lauder, a former U.S. ambassador to Austria and wealthy international businessman. [...] Lauder, 50, has hosted a number of gatherings at his Manhattan apartment, where he introduced Netanyahu to State Department officials, members of Congress, wealthy investors and financiers.
1988 - 1993 - After returning from the U.S. and acquiring powerful neocon allies, Netanyahu is elected to the 12th Knesset as Likud member and appointed as Deputy Foreign Minister and later the Prime Minister's spokesman.

His close ties with big-shots of the mainstream media turned out to be worthwhile. During the Gulf War he practically dominates CNN network's airtime.
According to a March 1991 story in the Washingtonian, a Palestine Liberation Organization official phoned CNN's headquarters in Atlanta during the first week of the war. "This Israeli has been on the air for more than half an hour," he fumed, referring to Netanyahu. "CNN is becoming a propagandist for the Israelis."
March 25, 1993 - Netanyahu elected as Likud Party Chairman and the party's candidate for Prime Minister.

1996 - 1999 - Acts as Israel's 9th Prime Minister.

By winning the election, Netanyahu surprised many who thought that pre-election favorite Shimon Peres was going to win. But it seems that his election wasn't exactly based on luck. Apart from being supported and helped behind the scenes by U.S. businessmen, lawyers and Hollywood moguls, there was one additional curious element, a wave of suicide bombing shortly before the election. This fact was considered as a main catalyst in Peres' downfall. As described by the National Review:
Before the assassination, Netanyahu was running neck and neck with Rabin in opinion polls. This despite the fact that Netanyahu had only a fraction of Rabin's enormous experience as a soldier and statesman. Netanyahu and his strategists were confident of victory. But after Rabin's death, Netanyahu at once plunged 20 to 30 points behind Peres. It took the slaughter of dozens of Israelis in a wave of Arab bomb attacks to switch the momentum back to Netanyahu, who had repeatedly warned of such attacks.
This makes an astounding preview of the events of 9/11, in which it also took an unprecedented attack on home soil with numerous casualties, to turn around Bush's failing popularity in the US. We see the telltale signs of the ubiquitous Mossad 'false flag' operation. As always, one has to ask "who benefits?" This opens up a horrific window into the possibilities of the psychopathic mindset: where lives are sacrificed without hesitation, in order to further one's own agenda.

But, like Bush's presidency, Netenyahu's reign as Prime Minister will be marked as a period of record levels of failure and embarrassment. Such was the failed assassination of Hamas leader Khalid Meshal. Considering that Hamas was a creation of Mossad and frequently used in order to maintain the myth of Palestinian bomber, we get a story with an additional manipulation twist.
The attack on Khalid Meshal by five or six Israeli agents disguised as Canadian tourists looked like of a rushed mission mounted without Mossad's usual meticulous preparation, suggesting someone high up ordered an immediate hit.[...]

[W]hat would killing Meshal have accomplished? His murder would certainly have triggered new Hamas bombings.[...] Two days before attempting to kill Meshal, Israel apparently received a message from Hamas offering a 10-year cease fire in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and ending Jewish settlements. Netanyahu claims he only got this exceptionally important message after the botched assassination. His supporters blame Mossad chief Danny Yatom for sitting on the message. Yatom denies it.

This is part of a furious battle of leaks raging between Mossad and Netanyahu's cabinet. Some Netanyahu supporters claim the Mossad hit was a rogue operation never authorized by the prime minister.

Mossad partisans leak back that it was all Netanyahu's harebrained idea - and that he's now trying to make Mossad chief Yatom fall guy for the fiasco. Other critics say a hard-line cabal inside Mossad is determined to thwart any peace with Palestinians - which is likely true.

Meanwhile, the failed plot has ignited a train of strange events. To divert blame from Israel, a former Canadian ambassador to Israel endangered his countrymen's lives by suggesting Canada was involved in the plot.

In another bizarre twist, while publically ordering Arafat to keep arresting Hamas members, Netanyahu freed from prison Hamas founder Sheik Yassin, and 70 other Hamas 'terrorists' in order to get his Mossad assassins back from Jordanian custody.
Apparently top psychopaths don't like amateurs, especially if it is one of their own. The failed assassination triggered harsh response from the White House, expressing dissatisfaction with Netanyahu's performance.
It is being called the worst fiasco in the history of Israel's once-vaunted intelligence service, the Mossad. It raises, once again, serious questions about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's mental fitness. It provoked unprecedented expressions of disgust from the Clinton administration -- "we loathe him," one White House official remarked -- and left experienced observers to wonder what other disastrous pratfalls the Israeli leader has in store for the dying Middle East peace process.
Perhaps that might explain forced resignation of the agency's then chief, Danny Yatom after another bungled operation, this time in Switzerland in 1998. Netanyahu was eager to set the record right.

But this spy fever weirdness was only the tip of the iceberg. There was another curious story uncovered by Biranit Goren and Einat Berkovitch journalists from Ha'ir who tried to dig into Natanyahu's past.

They discovered that in 1987, Netanyahu applied for credit using his American social security number 020364537. There were four requests and each request applied with a different name: Benjamin Netanyahu, Benjamin Nitai, John Jay Sullivan and John Jay Sullivan, Jr.
Binyamin Netanyahu is the name Israel's current prime minister was given at birth and which he now uses. In June 1973, during his studies at MIT, Netanyahu submitted a petition to the Boston court, asking to change his name from Netanyahu to Nitai; "I prefer a shorter name", he wrote on the request form. The petition was approved, thus the second name has an explanation. The last two names, however, remain a mystery. Furthermore, the address attached to these names - somewhere in Malibu, California - does not exist. Who, then, is John Jay Sullivan?

Biranit Goren and Einat Berkovitch from Ha'ir tried to find out. They looked into Netanyahu's credit account. This file is supposed to hold information regarding bank accounts, loans, credit cards and so forth; yet, surprisingly, the file was empty. It is as if Netanyahu never had a debt, had never taken out a loan, and always paid his bills up front and in cash.

Goren and Berkovitch then attempted to examine Netanyahu's social security file, but were denied access. They did, however, find out that Netanyahu's file has a different classification than most. They were denied access not merely due to the 1974 privacy act, but because the file had a "confidential" classification. Goren and Berkovitch have explained that such a classification only applies to five categories of people: those who work for one of three federal agencies - FBI, CIA, IRS - or those who are considered to be terrorists or criminals. Since it is unlikely that Netanyahu fits the latter two categories, or that he worked for the IRS, it appears that he was on the payroll of a security agency - the CIA or FBI.
Obviously, an official explanation and denial were offered without delay, but the bad taste remained, especially when Netanyahu's Intelligence ties were popping up from all directions.

Benjamin Gilman, one of Netanyahu's closest allies in Congress, had close relations with Shabtai Kalmanovitch, 'a charming, tanned Russian-Israeli entrepreneur'. He was an operative for Mossad until 1988 when Mossad discovered that Kalmanovitch wasn't such a valuable asset as they thought. He was arrested in Tel Aviv and charged with being a KGB spy.

And then we have stories like this:
Perhaps the most secret and worrying ties concern what is supposedly a high-tech services company. Yediot Ahronot relates how Netanyahu wooed a local Likud leader. "He was invited by Netanyahu to a meeting in his office at Systematics in Ramat Gan. The head of the company, Oded Levental is a candidate for a financial post in the new government."

Systematics is at the core of serious research by American alternative publications, including the usually reliable Media Bypass. In short, the allegations are that the National Security Agency had handed Systematics stolen software called Promis that opened a trap door to the world's secret banking transactions. About 250 Americans, mostly politicians, had their illegal foreign accounts emptied of over $3.5 billion in the operation. It is claimed that Colin Powell dropped out of the presidential race after his account electronically vanished.

Leading figures in the operation included George Bush, Caspar Weinberger and two Arkansas attorneys, Vince Foster Jr. and Hillary Rodham Clinton on behalf of Clinton financier Jackson Stephens. The research invariably concludes that Foster was murdered because he knew too much about the scam.

A leading investigative writer, Sherman Skolnick, writes:
"Some contend Systematics is an NSA proprietary and spies on banks overseas. Can Systematics rightfully deny spying actually done by buffers or cut-outs between Systematics and NSA? Systematics, through a spokesperson, vigorously denies Foster assisted it in any spying on foreign banks but remains apparently silent on whether Hillary Rodham Clinton assisted Systematics in some nefarious activities."
Is it fair to ask why Systematics provided Netanyahu office space and if this was the sum total of its involvement with him?
The Economic angle: But having his hand in various clandestine operations was only part of his activities. In the position of Prime Minister he begins to implement a controversial free market economy program.

As discussed here he 'transferred the Israeli economy towards free market principles'. And when we refer to 'free market principles' we are talking about the very same Friedman Chicago School of Economics that has been used to systematically rape and pillage the entire planet, as Naomi Klein describes in 'The Shock Doctrine'

One of Netanyahu's immediate actions after taking the post was to introduce an aggressive policy of privatization backed by two economic think-tanks. One of the think tanks is Hoover Institution with George Shultz as one of his high profile conservatives.

By taking the road of mass privatization, Netanyahu mimicked his U.S. and British progenitors - Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.

After being defeated by Ehud Barak in the 1999 election for Prime Minister, Netanyahu decided to 'retire' from politics. Perhaps he was requested to retreat into the background for a while in order to make preparations for the next round. He conveniently surfaced again right after 9/11.

12 September 2001 - In the aftermath of 9/11, Netanyahu starts to show his true colors. He can hardly contain his delight. Compare his reaction (as reported by the New York Times):
"It's very good." Then he edited himself: "Well, not very good, but it will generate immediate sympathy [for Israel]."
to that of his Palestinian counterpart:
Yasir Arafat, leader of the Palestinian Authority, looked shaken as he appeared before reporters in Gaza to deplore "this terrible act." "We are completely shocked," Mr. Arafat said. "Completely shocked."
2002 - 2005 - In 2002 appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs and then, in the course of 2003, as Minister of Finance.

07 July 2005 - During the London 7/7 bombings, again Netanyahu appears to be more than just a neutral bystander, though the relevant events were conspicuous only by their absence from the mainstream press. SoTT observed:
Guess where Rudolf Giuliani just happened to be on the morning of July 7th 2005? Rudy was lounging at the Great Eastern hotel just a few yards from Liverpool street station where one of the bombs went off. In the same Great Eastern hotel where Giuliani was staying, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange just happened to be hosting its economic conference. Guess who the keynote speaker was? Israel's then Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

As it turned out, Netanyahu never arrived at the Great Eastern Hotel because, as news reports in the days after July 7th informed us, Netanyahu had in fact received a warning from the Israeli embassy, (by way of the British Metropolitan police) that bombings were to occur and that he should stay in his hotel in Mayfair. Again, the official British government report makes no attempt to address how British police knew at least 6 minutes (probably longer) in advance that the bombings were to occur when, 'officially', British authorities were not even aware that they were dealing with bombs, believing that the explosions were the result of a power surge, until the bus bombing one hour after the first train explosion.
Undoubtedly, one of his friends in high places has tipped him off.

August 2005 - He resigns from Mr Sharon's cabinet in protest at Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

May 2006 - His popularity among the ranks of the pathocracy (rather than the 'average Israeli'), and his affinity with Dick Cheney are clearly visible during AIPAC's annual meeting, as described by Rabbi Bruce Warshal:
Let's zero in on AIPAC. It is controlled by right-wing, rich Jewish neo-conservatives. As one manifestation of the truth of this assertion one merely has to look at its annual meeting this past month. At a time when Vice President Cheney's popularity has dropped below 20 percent, the 4,500 delegates to the AIPAC convention gave him a standing ovation for almost a minute before he even opened his mouth and then proceeded to give him 48 rounds of applause in a 35-minute speech. (As my colleague Leonard Fein pointed out, that's once every 43.7 seconds). Considering that 75 percent of American Jews voted for Kerry, it is obvious that these people are out of the mainstream of Jewish thought.

At the same conference, preceding the recent Israeli elections, these delegates were addressed by Ehud Olmert (Kadima), Amir Peretz (Labor) and Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud) by video link from Israel. Olmert and Peretz received polite applause. The AIPAC delegates cheered enthusiastically for Netanyahu, especially when he presented his hard line that was overwhelmingly rejected by the Israeli electorate. Once a great organization, today AIPAC does not even represent the feelings of the average Israeli, let alone the average American Jew.
2005 - 2007 - From the political background, he continues to exert his significant influence for the Zionist cause. He visits London (causing considerable scandal over his funding) on a personal mission to patch up the media image in England during the bombing of Lebanon, In his own words:
"During my trip in August 2006, I worked 20 hours a day giving interviews, lecturing, meeting journalists, editors, political leaders and Jewish leaders to repel Arab propaganda."
And he appears to be very much in control, though at arm's length, within Israel too:
Although Olmert thinks he has out-maneuvered his great rival, in reality he has become Bibi's puppet. Aluf Benn, the leading political correspondent for Ha'aretz, wrote on Oct. 25:
"Olmert has adopted the positions of Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu [who] is steering the government policy from the opposition benches. The hands are the hands of Ehud, but the voice is the voice of Bibi. Now Olmert is carrying out the Netanyahu policy, point by point. The Prime Minister is sending veiled threats to Iran, burying the convergence plan [withdrawal from the Occupied Territories] and allowing accelerated construction in settlements. His social economic policy, too, was copied from Netanyahu...."
Israeli political observers say that Netanyahu is biding his time, while Olmert's own Kadima Party continues to be on the verge of splitting, with half its members likely to return to the Likud. The Labor Party, sitting at the same table with fascist Lieberman, could self-destruct before the year's end, these sources say, and the next government will be led by Bibi, with Lieberman by his side.
Well, he is not only 'biding his time', but is playing out his role within his particular circle of friends, which includes those in the U.S.:
"According to Israeli intelligence sources, since the end of the Lebanon war, Cheney and his neo-con allies have been working to bring into power their real candidate as Israel's Mussolini, Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, chairman of the Likud Party and protégé of U.S. synarchist George Shultz."
August 14, 2007 - Reelected as chairman of the Likud.

So we reach recent times, and there are various related and converging threads. Everything points towards a consolidation of psychopathic power, for whatever may follow.

Netanyahu continues to play a significant role in 'foreign relations', which on the surface would be rather surprising, given that he is only the leader of the opposition, but makes perfect sense in light of his pathocratic tendencies and the nature of his 'friends'. Clearly, he has an important part to play in whatever plan is to unfold.

The present - Now we have the recent round of political scandals surrounding both Olmert and Netanyahu. What is interesting that while there was a gag order imposed on revealing any details about Olmert's investigation, the New York Post posted an exclusive with the name of this 'businessman' - Morris Talansky. The indications are that this is weakening Olmert's position, to leave the way clear for Netanyahu to regain power:
"It's the straw that broke the camel's back, considering all the previous investigations," said Eytan Cabel, secretary general of the Labour party said on Friday.[...]

The justice ministry said on Thursday that Olmert was being investigated over suspicions he unlawfully received payments from a foreign businessman during his time as mayor of Jerusalem and as industry minister. [...]

Olmert: "If the attorney general decides to file an indictment against me I shall resign immediately, even though I am not required to do so by law."

When a premier resigns it is up to the president, currently Shimon Peres, to pick a successor who can try to form a government. Failing that, early elections must be held. [...]

Former prime ministers Ariel Sharon, Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu also faced corruption investigations, none of which ever led to indictments.
And we see that Netanyahu is still staying busy reinforcing friendships wherever he can:
"Israel has no better friends in the world than Christian Zionists", Likud opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.

"This is a friendship of the heart, a friendship of common roots, and a friendship of common civilization," Netanyahu told a conference of American Evangelicals in Jerusalem.

The event, which was organized by the San Antonio, Texas-based Christians United for Israel, drew 1,000 Israel supporters led by the conservative evangelical Pastor John Hagee, who has been a stalwart supporter of Israel for the past three decades.

Hagee on Sunday announced donations of $6 million to a number of Israeli causes and declared that Israel must remain in control of all of Jerusalem. [...]

Hagee has united evangelical Christian supporters of Israel in the US under one umbrella organization, dubbed the Christian Aipac, which focuses solely on support for Israel and does not work to convert Jews to Christianity.

Netanyahu's remarks come just days after the head of the left-leaning Reform Movement in the US Rabbi Eric Yoffie said that Israel should not deal with Christian Zionists like Hagee, calling him an "extremist" who rejected territorial compromise with the Palestinians and disparages Catholics.

Hagee has vehemently denied being anti-Catholic and said his remarks have been mischaracterized, and based on statements that were "totally false." The head of the Knesset's increasingly influential Christian Allies Caucus MK Benny Elon (National Union-National Religious Party), who has spearheaded Israel's relations with the evangelical Christian world, called Yoffie's politically based remarks "shameful," and called Hagee a "visionary man of courage" and an "outstanding spiritual leader." [text-cache]
It seems that every leader who comes to Israel, goes to see Netanyahu. It is not a normal thing in politics to have a meeting with the opposition leader every time someone makes a diplomatic visit. So who really calls the shots and runs things behind the curtain?

All the while, the warmongering rhetoric ramps up, with the continued propaganda campaign from both Israel and the U.S. over Iran's non-existent nuclear weapons program (Saddam Hussein's WMD's, anyone?). Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter predicts that some kind of attack on Iran is a "virtual guarantee". The description of Iran as the world's "worst Hitlerite nightmare", does not bode well, when we consider the psychopath's penchant for projecting their own qualities onto their intended victim.

The future? - It looks that Netanyahu's rise to power will be the final step before the total collapse. Because he is a full blown unashamed psychopath. And just like a true psychopath, he cannot see that his action will lead to his own doom - and to everyone else's doom.
"The following question thus suggests itself: what happens if the network of understandings among psychopaths achieves power in leadership positions with international exposure? This can happen, especially during the later phases of the phenomenon. Goaded by their character, such people thirst for just that even though it would conflict with their own life interest... They do not understand that a catastrophe would ensue. Germs are not aware that they will be burned alive or buried deep in the ground along with the human body whose death they are causing."

from 'Political Ponerology' by Andrew Lobaczewski

Friday, February 20, 2009

To Gaza, With Love

Gazan girl head in rubble

When I traveled to Gaza last week, everywhere I went, a photo haunted me. I saw it in a brochure called "Gaza will not die" that Hamas gives out to visitors at the border crossing. A poster-sized version was posted outside a makeshift memorial at the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. And now that I am back home, the image comes to me when I look at children playing in the park, when I glance at the school across the street, when I go to sleep at night.

It is a photo of a young Palestinian girl who is literally buried alive in the rubble from a bomb blast, with just her head protruding from the ruins. Her eyes are closed, her mouth partially open, as if she were in a deep sleep. Dried blood covers her lips, her cheeks, her hair. Someone with a glove is reaching down to touch her forehead, showing one final gesture of kindness in the midst of such inhumanity.

What was this little girl's name, I wonder. How old was she? Was she sleeping when the bomb hit her home? Did she die a quick death or a slow, agonizing one? Where are her parents, her siblings? How are they faring?

Of the 1,330 Palestinians killed by the Israeli military during the 22-day invasion of Gaza, 437 were children. Let me repeat that: 437 children-each as beautiful and precious as our own.

As a Jew, an American and a mother, I felt compelled to witness, firsthand, what my people and my taxdollars had done during this invasion. Visiting Gaza filled me with unbearable sadness. Unlike the primitive weapons of Hamas, the Israelis had so many sophisticated ways to murder, maim and destroy-unmanned drones, F-16s dropping "smart bombs" that miss, Apache helicopters launching missiles, tanks firing from the ground, ships shelling Gaza from the sea. So many horrific weapons stamped with Made in the USA. While Hamas' attacks on Israeli villages are deplorable, Israel's disproportionate response is unconscionable, with 1,330 Palestinians dead vs. 13 Israelis.

If the invasion was designed to destroy Hamas, it failed miserably. Not only is Hamas still in control, but it retains much popular support. If the invasion was designed as a form of collective punishment, it succeeded, leaving behind a trail of grieving mothers, angry fathers and traumatized children.

To get a sense of the devastation, check out a slide show circulating on the internet called Gaza: Massacre of Children. It should be required viewing for all who supported this invasion of Gaza. Babies charred like shish-kebabs. Limbs chopped off. Features melted from white phosphorus. Faces crying out in pain, gripped by fear, overcome by grief.

Anyone who can view the slides and still repeat the mantra that "Israel has the right to self-defense" or "Hamas brought this upon its own people," or worse yet, "the Israeli military didn't go far enough," does a horrible disservice not only to the Palestinian people, but to humanity.

Compassion, the greatest virtue in all major religions, is the basic human emotion prompted by the suffering of others, and it triggers a desire to alleviate that suffering. True compassion is not circumscribed by one's faith or the nationality of those suffering. It crosses borders; it speaks a universal language; it shares a common spirituality. Those who have suffered themselves, such as Holocaust victims, are supposed to have the deepest well of compassion.

The Israeli election was in full swing while was I visiting Gaza. As I looked out on the ruins of schools, playgrounds, homes, mosques and clinics, I recalled the words of Benjamin Netanyahu, "No matter how strong the blows that Hamas received from Israel, it's not enough." As I talked to distraught mothers whose children were on life support in a bombed hospital, I thought of the "moderate" woman in the race, Tzipi Livni, who vowed that she would not negotiate with Hamas, insisted that "terror must be fought with force and lots of force" and warned that "if by ending the operation we have yet to achieve deterrence, we will continue until they get the message."

"The message," I can report, has been received. It is a message that Israel is run by war criminals, that the lives of Palestinians mean nothing to them. Even more chilling is the pro-war message sent by the Israeli people with their votes for Netanyahu, Livni and anti-Arab racist Avigdor Lieberman.

How tragic that nation born out of the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust has become a nation that supports the slaughter of Palestinians.

Here in the U.S., Congress ignored the suffering of the Palestinians and pledged its unwavering support for the Israeli state. All but five members out of 535 voted for a resolution justifying the invasion, falsely holding Hamas solely responsible for breaking the ceasefire and praising Israel for facilitating humanitarian aid to Gaza at a time when food supplies were rotting at the closed borders.

One glimmer of hope we found among people in Gaza was the Obama administration. Many were upset that Obama did not speak out during the invasion and that peace envoy George Mitchell, on his first trip to the Middle East, did not visit Gaza or even Syria. But they felt that Mitchell was a good choice and Obama, if given the space by the American people, could play a positive role.

Who can provide that space for Obama? Who can respond to the call for justice from the Palestinian people? Who can counter AIPAC, the powerful lobby that supports Israeli aggression?

An organized, mobilized, coordinated grassroots movement is the critical counterforce, and within that movement, those who have a particularly powerful voice are American Jews. We have the beginnings of a such a counterforce within the American Jewish community. Across the United States, Jews joined marches, sit-ins, die-ins, even chained themselves to Israeli consulates in protest. Jewish groups like J Street and Brit Tzedek v'Shalom lobby for a diplomatic solution. Tikkun organizes for a Jewish spiritual renewal grounded in social justice. The Middle East Children's Alliance and Madre send humanitarian aid to Palestine. Women in Black hold compelling weekly vigils. American Jews for a Just Peace plants olive trees on the West Bank. Jewish Voice for Peace promotes divestment from corporations that profit from occupation. Jews Against the Occupation calls for an end to U.S. aid to Israel.

We need greater coordination among these groups and within the broader movement. And we need more people and more sustained involvement, especially Jewish Americans. In loving memory of our ancestors and for the future of our-and Palestinian-children, more American Jews should speak out and reach out. As Sholom Schwartzbard, a member of Jews Against the Occupation, explained at a New York City protest, "We know from our own history what being sealed behind barbed wire and checkpoints is like, and we know that 'Never Again' means not anyone, not anywhere - or it means nothing at all."

On March 7, I will return to Gaza with a large international delegation, bringing aid but more importantly, pressuring the Israeli, U.S. and Egyptian governments to open the borders and lift the siege. Many members of the delegation are Jews. We will travel in the spirit of tikkun olam, repairing the world, but with a heavy sense of responsibility, shame and yes, compassion. We will never be able to bring back to life the little girl buried in the rubble. But we can-and will--hold her in our hearts as we bring a message from America and a growing number of American Jews: To Gaza, With Love.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Gaza Videos - Worth Ten Thousand Words

Video series: Gaza - The Hidden Truth


A series of three video montages from news and interview clips, laying bare the truth of the recent slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza and the hateful ideology that lies behind it.

The Painful Truth In Gaza - The Hidden Truth#1





The Zionist - The Hidden Truth #2





ONE Minute, To See the Truth About Palestine - The Hidden Truth #3



Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Not So Cool Facts About Israel

Not So Cool Facts About Israel

AppalachianAmer1can
Youtube
Fri, 06 Feb 2009 22:46 UTC

This is a cutting video response to the Youtube cult classic Cool facts about Israel.



Tuesday, February 17, 2009

The Bequeathment of Brainwashing

and how it is being fought by young people of conscience.

Blue Ibis
******************************************************************

Birthright Israel
There are few international educational trips that can boast a higher participant rate. In just under 10 years, Birthright Israel has flown over 200,000 young Jews to Israel for a 10 day adventure of touring, partying and a good dose of Zionist indoctrination.

Despite a significant drop in funding this year, that number is sure to grow by the thousands again in 2009.

How do they do it? For starters, it's free. So long as you identify as Jewish, have never been on an organized tour of Israel, and are between the ages of 18-26, you qualify.

What's the catch? Well, there really isn't one. Participants are not required to buy anything or move to Israel and join the army, nor are they force-fed with political lectures and religious tirades. All they need to do is accept an all-expenses-paid "gift" of a seemingly apolitical, non-religious tour. Who wouldn't accept?

I did.

Beneath the surface, however, these "gifts" are indeed politically motivated. Funded by the Israeli government, the Jewish Agency for Israel and wealthy Zionist philanthropists like Charles Bronfman and Sheldon Adelman, the trips are intended in large part to foster support amongst Diaspora Jewish youth for the continued existence of Israel as a "Jewish state" and to ensure a new generation of Israel supporters who can take over the reins from their parents and grandparents.

The logic goes like this: Jews in the Diaspora are more likely to feel a strong attachment to Israel, and therefore support and defend it, if they have travelled there.

This theory was given further credence after a study entitled Beyond Distancing: Young Adult American Jews and their Alienation from Israel was released in 2006. "Absent any trip to Israel," say the document's authors, "most Jews score on the lowest rung of Israel attachment, and only a few manage to harbor warm feelings toward Israel."

Furthermore, "as important as Israel travel may be for fortifying commitment to Israel and preventing alienation," the document's authors stress that "it is even more important and most important, for younger Jews."

Birthright Israel therefore plays a significant role in the infrastructure of Zionist indoctrination in the Jewish Diaspora, which includes Zionist schools, camps, youth groups, and so on. Most significantly, what Birthright Israel trips are able to do is bring more young Jews, regardless of their level of affiliation with Jewish institutions, into the Zionist fold.

Whether it's to make aliah (move to Israel), give money to Zionist organizations such as the Jewish National Fund, become lobbyists in their respective communities and countries, or at the very least, give tacit moral support for Israel, ensuring that as many young Jews as possible become supporters of Israel in one way or another is extremely important for the future of the Zionist project.

Yet given the growth in public consciousness around the world regarding the Israeli government's ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people, boosted considerably by the recent Israeli massacres in Gaza, the Zionist project is facing somewhat of a crisis.

As Israel is becoming more and more difficult to defend, a growing number of young Jews are expressing staunch opposition to the Israeli government and Zionism, shouting "not in my name!" for all the world to hear.

Hannah Mermelstein is one of these young Jews. Together with co-founder Dunya Alwan, Murmelstein created an organization called Birthright Unplugged in 2005, in part to counter Birthright Israel and the skewed picture it paints in the minds of young Jews.

Open to both Jews and non-Jews, Birthright Unplugged takes participants to see the devastating effects that Zionist colonization and occupation have had on the Palestinian people in the West Bank and within what is now the state of Israel.

"Zionism is failing. It's on the decline." says Mermelstein. "Our role is to speed up the fall of Zionism," she added, "while at the same time standing in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle to survive and resist Zionist policy."

Rosi Greenberg, alum of both Birthright Israel and Birthright Unplugged, agrees. "To me, Judaism is about ethics and values... about human rights," says Greenberg.

Upon witnessing the suffering of the Palestinian people first-hand and understanding more about Israel's abhorrent human rights record, Mermelstein and Greenberg's opposition to Zionism and involvement with the Palestinian solidarity movement are hence not surprising.

Crucially, as an increasing number of young Jews like Mermelstein and Greenberg are standing in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle and working to separate Judaism and Zionism, one of the most important tactics of the Zionist movement, namely the unreflective charge that all criticism of Israel is equivalent to anti-Semitism, loses much of its weight.

So while Birthright Israel continues to bring thousands of Jews around the world on their "birthright" each year, the mounting frequency of Diaspora Jews to unplug from Zionism and emotionally divest from Israel is emerging as a serious challenge to the Zionist project and its infrastructure of indoctrination.

Comment: For a first hand account of a 'Birthright' indoctrination trip to Israel see: Israel: Apartheid in my name. Where Kyle Matzpen (not his real name) describes what it was like to be in Israel during the slaughter of Gaza.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Gaza: Watching the 'Death Circus'

"The Israelis can kill whomever they want whenever they want."
-- Paul Craig Roberts
Gaza
© Desihotmasala.com

I sometimes think that it's pointless for Americans to talk much about recent events in Gaza because we know how it will play out - America will do absolutely nothing to interfere with the ongoing massacre.

British journalist Robert Fisk reminds us of the drill:
So once again, Israel has opened the gates of hell to the Palestinians. Forty civilian refugees dead in a United Nations school, three more in another. Not bad for a night's work in Gaza by the army that believes in "purity of arms." But why should we be surprised?

Have we forgotten the 17,500 dead - almost all civilians, most of them children and women - in Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon; the 1,700 Palestinian civilian dead in the Sabra-Chatila massacre; the 1996 Qana massacre of 106 Lebanese civilian refugees, more than half of them children, at a UN base; the massacre of the Marwahin refugees who were ordered from their homes by the Israelis in 2006 then slaughtered by an Israeli helicopter crew; the 1,000 dead of that same 2006 bombardment and Lebanese invasion, almost all of them civilians?
This time around, Israel shows not the slightest compunction about brazenly massacring an imprisoned population in front of the world. But why should they? They know no real opposition will arise from power centers anywhere on earth. And they continue to have America - Republicans, Democrats, Christian Zionists and almost everybody else - in their thrall. In large part, this is due to what Israel Shamir wrote with respect to Jewish financial mischief: "The rich Jews buy media so it will cover up their (and their brethren's) misdeeds."

James Petras also weighed in on Israel's ongoing war against the Palestinians, writing, "Israel's sustained and comprehensive bombing campaign of every aspect of governance, civic institutions and society is directed toward destroying civilized life in Gaza." Echoing Shamir, Petras noted that Israel's attempt to "purge Palestine of its Arab population" continues without apology because "The Israeli totalitarian leaders knew with confidence that they could act and they could kill with impunity, locally and before the entire world, because of the influence of the US Zionist Power Configuration in and over the US White House and Congress."

Another voice that showed exasperation with Israel's actions was that of Taki Theodoracopulos, who wrote, "Israel can now safely be called the Bernie Madoff of countries, as it has lied to the world about its intentions, stolen Palestinian lands continuously since 1948, and managed to do all this with American tax payer's money."

Perhaps no one, however, is more morally outraged than former Reagan administration official Paul Craig Roberts, who wrote:
Caterpillar Tractor makes a special bulldozer for Israel that is designed to knock down Palestinian homes and to uproot their orchards. In 2003 an American protester, Rachel Corrie, stood in front of one of these Caterpillars and was run over and crushed.

Nothing happened. The Israelis can kill whomever they want whenever they want.

They have been doing so for 60 years, and they show no sign of stopping.
Roberts continued, "While the rest of the world condemns Israel's inhumanity, the US Congress - I should say the US Knesset - rushed to endorse the Israeli slaughter of the Palestinians in Gaza." How pervasive was this endorsement? "The US Senate endorsed Israel's massacre of Palestinians with a vote of 100-0. The US House of Representatives voted 430-5 to endorse Israel's massacre of Palestinians. . . ."

Readers who have followed Roberts in the post-9-11 period know that he has been a persistent critic of Israel's influence over President Bush and the Congress. He has not changed his position with respect to Gaza either: "The US Congress was proud to show that it is Israel's puppet even when it comes to murdering women and children. The President of the United States was proud to block effective action by the UN Security Council by ordering the Secretary of State to abstain."

Two days later, Roberts added to his critique, displaying how fully Bush is a puppet to an Israeli master:
"Early Friday morning the secretary of state was considering bringing the cease-fire resolution to a UN [Security Council] vote and we didn't want her to vote for it," Olmert said. "I said 'get President Bush on the phone.' They tried and told me he was in the middle of a lecture in Philadelphia. I said 'I'm not interested, I need to speak to him now.' He got down from the podium, went out and took the phone call."
Roberts then turned to a friend's comments to summarize this exchange:
"Let me see if I understand this," wrote a friend in response to news reports that Israeli Prime Minister Olmert ordered President Bush from the podium where he was giving a speech to receive Israel's instructions about how the United States had to vote on the UN resolution. "On September 11th, President Bush is interrupted while reading a story to school children and told the World Trade Center had been hit - and he went on reading. Now, Olmert calls about a UN resolution when Bush is giving a speech and Bush leaves the stage to take the call. There exists no greater example of a master-servant relationship."
Aptly, Roberts concluded, "In his final press conference, President Bush, deluded to the very end, said that the whole world respects America. In fact, when the world looks at America, what it sees is an Israeli colony."

And the behavior of America's master is none too pleasant, as retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski recently made clear:
One needs only to look at the death toll (one-sided), the difference in military capacities between Israel and Gaza (shocking) and the kind of arsenals employed by both sides to determine what is happening. We've seen it on the elementary school playground, but this version is played out with incredible destructive force, no supervision, no brave friends, and no justice.
Not only is incredible destructive force in view for the whole world, a bizarre Israeli response to the slaughter has surfaced: It is the "ultimate spectator sport," in the words of a London Times reporter.

As a front-page article in the Wall Street Journal also described, from hilltops overlooking Gaza, Israelis would come with lawn chairs and picnics lunches to watch the one-sided death circus that is Gaza. Israelis "have made the trek, they say, to witness firsthand a military operation - so far, widely popular inside Israel - against Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip. Over the weekend, four teenagers sat on a hill near Mr. Danino's, oohing and aahing at the airstrikes. Nadav Zebari, who studies Torah in Jerusalem, was eating a cheese sandwich and sipping a Diet Coke."

Levinson took quotes from observers: "I've never watched a war before," one said. Meanwhile, a group of Israeli police officers took turns snapping pictures of one another with smoking Gaza as a backdrop. "I want to feel a part of the war," was one comment.

"On another hilltop overlooking Gaza," Levinson continued, "Sandra Koubi, a 43-year-old philosophy student, says seeing the violence up close 'is a kind of catharsis for me, to get rid of all the anxiety we have inside us after years of rocket fire' from Hamas."

Perhaps most pointedly comes the testimony of one Jocelyn Znaty, "a stout 60-year-old nurse for Magen David Adom, the Israeli counterpart of the Red Cross," who could "hardly contain her glee at the site of exploding mortars below in Gaza." "Look at that," she shouts, clapping her hands as four artillery rounds pound the territory in quick succession. "Bravo! Bravo!" . . . I am sorry, but I am happy."

Israelis watching the destruction of Gaza
© Pavel Wolberg/European Pressphoto Agency
"Beautiful, is it not?"

Roberts, like Taki and others, put much of the blame for such a spectacle clearly on the shoulders of the American public. "What is happening to the Palestinians herded into the Gaza Ghetto is happening because of American money and weapons. It is just as much an attack by the United States as an attack by Israel. The US government is complicit in the war crimes."

Repeating charges he has made consistently for years, Roberts laments the fact that "'Our' president was a puppet for a cabal led by Dick Cheney and a handful of Jewish neoconservatives, who took control of the Pentagon, the State Department, the National Security Council, the CIA, and 'Homeland Security.' From these power positions, the neocon cabal used lies and deception to invade Afghanistan and Iraq, pointless wars that have cost Americans $3 trillion, while millions of Americans lose their jobs, their pensions, and their access to health care."

While Roberts et al. may be right that each and every American taxpayer bears some responsibility for the carnage in Gaza, the fact is that most Americans are tired of violence in the far-away Middle East. Besides, the economy is in the tank, the NFL playoffs are in progress, and the kids have to go back to school. Everyday life takes priority for most Americans.

Unfortunately, such short-sightedness will not do, for the pitiful denizens of Gaza are not the last targets of the Israeli army or the worldwide network of Diaspora Jews. The dispossession of the Palestinians since 1948 is but a dress rehearsal for more ambitious dispossessions of non-Jews throughout the world.

Do I exaggerate? I believe that we have to take Israel Shamir seriously when he writes in Cabbala of Power, "Palestine is not the ultimate goal of the Jews; the world is. Palestine is just the place for the world state headquarters."

Shamir has made a fascinating study of the two thousand-year struggle between Jews and non-Jews, particularly Christians. His arguments are far too subtle to summarize here, so interested parties should consult the above-mentioned book as well as his more recent work, Masters of Discourse. I will simply cherry pick some of his more striking ideas.

Shamir - an immigrant from Russia to Israel - holds a low opinion of his fellow Jews in the Holy Land. "Israelis are the riffraff of World Jewry, sent to conquer the land for the NWO HQ." This process is revealed in a parable of the "Messiah's Donkey" often used by religious Jews. This is a story in which disposable secular Jews (the donkey) are used by religious Jews to attain religious, messianic goals. "In plain words, spirit always wins over matter; the way of the Messiah of Spirit is to use the Donkey of Matter."

"The Jews" - Shamir makes a distinction between organized Jewry and individual Jews - "intend to turn Jerusalem into the supreme capital of the world, and its rebuilt temple into the focal point of the Spirit on Earth." Should they succeed, unspeakable despair will follow. "Christianity will die, the spirit will depart from the nations in our part of the world, and our present dubious democracy will be supplanted by a vast theocratic state. . . . De-spiritualized and uprooted, homeless and lonely, yesterday's Masters of the World [non-Jews] will become slaves in all but name."

Shamir sees a two-pronged approach to this quest for world domination, Zionism and Mammonite Liberalism. "While Zionism establishes the basis for the NWO HQ, the Mammonite Liberalism establishes the world-wide slavery. Jabotinsky and Soros are doing different tasks for one system; the Iron Wall and the Open Society are just different names for the same thing."

Shamir's analysis is eerily close to the Dispossessed Majority thesis of Wilmot Robertson, albeit cloaked in theological garb. Robertson described how in the 1960s and 70s white American Christians "had become a people of little or no account in their own country." This was not an accident.

In my next column, I will expand on this argument.

Comment: It must be stressed that Jews, Christians and Muslims - all socially programmed minions of patriarchal 'dominator' religions - have been manipulated one against another through the ages. Ideology and dogma of all description mask the real origins of the 'destructive principle': an intra-species predator psychologists call psychopaths, that has co-habited this planet unseen... until now.