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March 2010

Boycott, Divest From, and Sanction Israel?: A Debate on BDS with Omar Barghouti and Rabbi Arthur Waskow

In 2005, a coalition of Palestinian civil society groups called for people all over the world to engage in a nonviolent campaign to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel until it complies with international law. The call was inspired by the international boycott and divestment initiatives applied to South Africa in the struggle to abolish apartheid. We host a debate between Omar Barghouti, a founding member of the BDS campaign and a Palestinian human rights activist and commentator, and Rabbi Arthur Waskow, a longtime antiwar and civil rights activist who is the founder and director of the Shalom Center. [includes rush transcript]

Guests:

Omar Barghouti, founding member of the BDS campaign and a Palestinian human rights activist and commentator.

Rabbi Arthur Waskow, longtime antiwar and civil rights activist who is the founder and director of the Shalom Center.
Rush Transcript

VIDEO AND TRANSCRIPT HERE(around the middle of the show)

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Sleepless in Gaza and Jerusalem

first episode


number two

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Mossad support ‘soars’ after murder

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San Francisco Jewish Federation officially excommunicates large swath of Jewish population

The San Francisco Bay Area’s Jewish Federation has made it official.

Here in one of the most cosmopolitan, diversity-friendly and culture-loving places on earth, there is a new litmus test for Jewish identity and it has absolutely nothing to do with religious practice, cultural expression, personal history or the values you embrace. Membership in the Jewish community has been officially reduced to one and only one question- do you UNCONDITIONALLY love Israel?

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Gaza’s youth not ‘superfluous’

The Boston Globe

By Yousef Munayyer
March 3, 2010

‘TO CUT down on gang-related crimes, policies could be put in place to curb the African-American population growth in places like Harlem and Compton. The government could consider cutting off welfare benefits for families in these urban areas to discourage births of blacks and cut down the supply of ‘superfluous young men’ who have nothing else to do in their lives but be preyed on by criminal gang leaders who give them a sense of belonging. Ultimately these policies are an effective way to limit gang related crimes.’’

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Joan Baez – We shall overcome

For the younger generation: this was THE song of the civil rights struggle. It applies equally to the Palestinian struggle.

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Finkelstein in Gaza

by Norman Finkelstein on March 1, 2010 · 134 comments

normanThis month OR Books publishes Norman Finkelstein’s important new book about the Gaza conflict, ‘This Time We Went Too Far.’ What follows is an excerpt from the book, Chapter 5, “Inside Gaza.” (all rights reserved to Finkelstein and OR Books.)

To preserve my sense of purpose, and keep the Palestine struggle from becoming a lifeless abstraction, I need periodically to recharge my moral batteries by reconnecting with the actual people living under occupation and by witnessing firsthand the unfolding tragedy. From each trip I invariably carry away a handful of stark images that I fix in my mind’s eye to dispel the occasional hesitations about staying the course. When the memories begin to fade I know it is time to return.

And so, in June 2009, six months after the invasion, I joined a delegation that journeyed to Gaza for a brief visit. Though I had been to Gaza before, most of my time during previous trips to the region was spent with friends in the West Bank. Israel has prohibited me from entering the country for ten years, thereby making it impossible for me to visit the West Bank, allegedly because I am a “security” risk. An editorial in Haaretz titled “Who’s Afraid of Finkelstein?” cast doubt on the decision’s premise—“Considering his unusual and extremely critical views, one cannot avoid the suspicion that refusing to allow him to enter Israel was a punishment rather than a precaution”—and went on to argue against banning me. Nonetheless it is unclear if or when I will be able to see my Palestinian friends again. In the meantime, going to Gaza via Egypt at least enabled me to get some feeling for developments on the ground.

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Martin Kramer on Radicalization, 2010 Herzliya Conf.

read also superfluous young men here

and this article at electronic intifada

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Israel is continuously violating the principles of the 1949 Geneva Conventions that sought to ensure crimes against humanity would never happen again. (Oren Ziv/ActiveStills)
Russell Tribunal aims to hold the international community to account
Frank Barat, The Electronic Intifada, 1 March 2010

Today, the first session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine (RTP) will be held in Barcelona. The RTP is a peoples’ tribunal focusing not on Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL) such as the Fourth Geneva Convention, but on the obligations of the international community of signatory states which sustain and enable Israel’s continuous violations of international law.

read on

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