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JVP Solidarity with Palestinian Freedom Riders

[youtube http://youtu.be/2E7wzXTEYos?]

We have the right to be safe

[vimeo vimeo.com/32146816]

Honored as a Freedom Rider

Nov 16, 2011

I was honored to be a freedom rider and it was team effort at its best (those who rode and the many who worked behind the scenes). Two other Palestinians were also arrested with us who were there as a reporters/observers not participants. All eight of us were released eventually pending potential trials. Fajr kindly gave us a ride to the edge of Beit Sahour from Ramallah (we were released at Qalandia checkpoint) where my wife met us there with my car and then she and I gave a ride to Nadim and Badi’ to Hebron. I thus arrived home at 1:30 AM and the phones started ringing again at 7 AM. I am extremely tired and with a headache but wanted to send you a brief report and links to stories about this amazing and inspiring experience. While released, we are still charged with “illegal entry to Jerusalem” and with “obstructing police business” pending potential trial.

This was one of the most heavily covered media events I ever participated in. It was also streamed live on the internet and nearly 100,000 people signed a petition of support for us freedom riders (https://secure.avaaz.org/en/palestine_freedom_riders/?aerQkcb). Thus, I do not need to write to you in detail about how three buses refused to let us board and then one driver (who later told journalists he did not know what was going on otherwise would have also refused) allowed us on the bus and what happened on and off the bus.

Below are some links to stories published that give you a taste of this. Note especially the signs that we carried and showed before we rode the bus and from the windows of the bus (I am the one with the “DIGNITY” sign). Perhaps I will write more personally when my mind is clearer and I have had some sleep. But there are two anecdotes that happened that are kind of unusual and funny and in some way worth telling while they are fresh in my mind:

-They took me to the Shabak (“Israeli intelligence”) guy before they took me to the investigator for the bus issue. The Shabak guy did not ask me about the bus at all. He introduced himself as head of the Shabak area of Ramallah (and previously of Nablus and Jenin). He asked me if I was abroad recently. I said yes. He said what happened when you came back. I said I was interrogated at the bridge.

He said “come-on interrogating is a big word”. I said I do not know what else to call an 8 hour delay including 2 hours of actual questioning. He said what else they told you. I said that the interrogation would continue and that there is a captain “Suhail” or “Suhaib” or something like that who will call me later. He said that that it is him and his name is “Shihab”! I said “well then maybe we will save another visit”! He told me that is not likely as I seem to continue to “cause problems and violate laws”.

I said there is something called international laws and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Denial of freedom of movement and entry to Jerusalem while allowing colonial settlers to live on our land and have freedom to travel in and out of Jerusalem on segregated buses is a violation of the International Convention Against the Crime of Apartheid. We also engaged in a political discussion and I explained about why Israel now has no incentive for peace (the three main sources of income for it would all dry up if there is peace) and my views of a democratic, pluralistic country for its entire people.

-One young Ashkenazi soldier was very arrogant and even called me “Professor Teez” (Teez is arabic for “ass”). We all (freedom riders) laughed it off and I told him that I did not insult him and that when someone insults me they demean themselves first. When he repeated it after my interrogation by the Shabak, I stood up and confronted him and the Druz officer intervened and the soldier moved away. There were other incidents with other people similar showing that our collective attitude was strong, defiant, and resilient. We all had Palestinian Kuffiyyas and kept wearing them. Fadi even wrapped himself in the Palestinian flag the whole time except when they did the full body search. We have some video from inside the compound which I will share later.

I came out to find the news that the Zionist mayor of New York Mike Bloomberg ordered the clearing out of the “Occupy Wall Street” protesters for now; a very important protest *. But my reading of history and trends tell me that the global intifada will only accelerate as a result of repression by the powers to be.

Freedom Riders odyssey:

http://electronicintifada.net/content/israel-arrests-freedom-riders-challenging-apartheid-road-system/10595#.TsNplD3z3qE

http://www.avaaz.org/en/palestine_freedom_riders/?cl=1388878149&v=11131

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=245717 (there is a picture here of me being taken off of the bus)

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/15/1036888/-We-Shall-Overcome-A-Photo-Diary-of-Todays-Freedom-Riders?via=sidebar

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/11/israel-palestinians-freedom-riders.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/activestills

http://www.europalestine.com/spip.php?article6642&var_mode=calcul

http://mondoweiss.net/2011/11/follow-the-freedom-rides.html

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/palestinians-embark-on-civil-disobedience-protests-against-demographic-segregation-1.395820

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15744576

http://theonlydemocracy.org/2011/11/statement-of-the-palestinian-freedom-riders/

http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/11/14/177154.html (Arabic)

*Arundhati Roy: Occupy Wall Street is “So Important Because It is in the Heart of Empire”

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/15/arundhati_roy_occupy_wall_street_is

The Freedom Riders of Bus 148

Nov 15, 2011 11:33 pm | Mariam Al-Barghouti and Deema Al-Saafin

outsidebus
(Photo: Activestills)

The Palestinian Freedom Rides movement was inspired by the Civil Rights Act of 1961, when African Americans and Americans alike boarded buses and road throughout the south in order to break segregation marked by Jim Crow laws. This act branded them the name “Freedom Riders”.  Segregation of the 1960’s revolved around a direct schism between “blacks” and “whites” in every aspect of life imaginable; education, public eating, public transportation, and housing provinces. This began the Freedom Riders movement where Americans, “blacks” and “whites” alike, rode segregated buses . Inspired by such a movement, six Palestinian activists decided to do the same regarding segregated Israeli buses, in which they would be non-violently defying illegal Israeli settlements, and Israeli segregation.

freedomsigns
Freedom Riders waiting for the bus. (Photo: Ann Paq/Activestills)

Earlier Tuesday November 15th, 6 Palestinian activists as well as people of the press headed to the illegal Israeli settlement of  Kohav Yakov, where they attempted to board  segregated Israeli buses headed to Jerusalem in defiance of Israeli apartheid and segregation. The first bus passes the activists however, the driver keeps driving on. The second bus, and the third pass, to no avail. Five buses passed the activists without stopping to allow them to get in as passengers; instead they completely ignored their existence. Whilst they were waiting for a bus to stop, an IOF military jeep came to the location of the Freedom Riders.  It wasn’t until the sixth bus, bus number 148 that the Palestinian Freedom Rides activists were able to board. Illegal Israeli settlers boarded the bus with the Freedom Riders. At this point, history had already been made, as Palestinians had physically got onto segregation buses headed to Jerusalem. Aboard the bus, the Palestinian flag was flown.

During the first and second Intifada, the waving of the Palestinian flag was an action enough to land a person in jail. During the weekly demonstrations in villages such as Nabi Saleh, Bil’in, Ni’leen and Walaja, waving the Palestinian flag can bring a person an arrest, or worse as in the case of Ashraf Abu Rahmah, administrative detention.

A settler aboard attempted to grab and confiscate the Palestinian flag, but his attempt was defied.

fadiquran
Fadi Qura’an facing the Israeli Border Police.
(Photo: Oren Ziv/ Activestills)

Bus 148 began its move to its perceived destination: Jerusalem. The driver of the bus was following an Israeli police vehicle, while the bus was accompanied by Israeli Occupying Forces from behind. The bus was led to Hizmah checkpoint, which is one of 522 checkpoints that are spread throughout the West Bank. Upon arrival to Hizmah checkpoint, Israeli Border Police as well as Israeli soldiers boarded bus 148 which carried the six Palestinian Freedom Rides activists: Nadeem Al-Sharbate, Huwaida Arraf, Dr.Mazin Qumsieyeh, Fadi Qura’an, Basel Al-Araj, and Badee’ Dwaik, as well as several journalists documenting the event. The Police asked all the settlers on board and the driver to leave the bus, to which they obeyed but not before remarking to the activists still on board that “this is our land.” The settlers were able to board another bus heading to Jerusalem without any harassment from the Border Police. However the activists were asked for their ID’s, and confiscated them in an attempt to get the Freedom Riders to exit the bus. “I will show them my Palestinian ID card and say I want to go to Jerusalem. We’ll see what happens,” said Dr Mazin Qumsiyeh. However the Freedom Riders were determined to remain on the bus, saying over and over again “We are headed to Jerusalem.”

Journalists were then kicked out of the bus and fined 500 Israeli Shekels for “parking on the side of the road”. This is merely an attempt to punish those who spread the word of Israel’s apartheid regime and its racist implications to the rest of the world.

signsoutsidebus
(Photo: Activestills)

At this point, Freedom Riders had begun chanting, “We are not getting off, even if you throw us in jail”. They knew that they could be arrested but remained defiant, and most importantly, non violent. Palestinian activist, Badee’ Dwaik, resisted by nonviolently laying on the floor of the bus. He asked the Israeli Border Police “Why didn’t you ask a settler for his permission slip into Jerusalem? Is his blood red and mine blue?”

When journalists and settlers were removed from the bus, only IOF and Israeli Border Police remained with the Freedom Riders. The bus then began its move to a police station.

Once at the police station, Israeli Border Police began forcibly removing Freedom Riders one by one. (Due to the camera shooting the live stream footage running out of battery, we were only able to see three arrests (Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, Huwaida Arraf and lastly Fadi Quran’s). Israeli Border Police tried to negotiate with activists Huwaida Arraf and Fadi Quran, if negotiating meant saying “You are here illegally. Yallah, you will be taken off the bus.” The Freedom Riders remained in their seats, staring straight ahead. IOF and Border Police then began to violently grab these activists one at a time forcing them off the bus. Whilst being arrested, Huwaida and Fadi both introduced themselves as Freedom Riders and said “We are only trying to go to Jerusalem.” Alongside the activists, Fajr Harb was also arrested, even though he was not on board the bus, nor part of the Palestinian Freedom Riders group, he was merely arrested for showing support for the cause, and being Palestinian. As Fadi Quran said as he was being arrested “We only want our freedom, justice, and dignity.” The activists and Fajr Harb were taken to the detention center of Atarot, where they remain now until further notice.

boycottapartheid
(Photo: Oren Ziv/ Activestills)

This post originally appeared on the website WrittenResistance. All the Freedom Riders have since been released from Israeli custody.

Mariam Al-Barghouti is a Palestinian-American graduated from high school May 2011, currently taking a gap year in attempt to bring more awareness to the Palestinian cause.

Deema Al-Saafin is from both Gaza and West Bank,she also holds a British passport. She graduated from high school May 2011. She is continuing her studies at Birzeit University, where she is majoring in public administration. 

Arrest of Palestinian Freedom Rider Fadi Quran

Families Of Former Detainees Prevented From Visiting Them In Exile

author Saturday November 12, 2011 11:55author by Mais Azza – IMEMC & Agencies

The Israeli authorities are preventing dozens of Palestinian families from travelling to meet their sons, who were released from the Israeli jails last month under the Gilad Shalit prisoner-swap deal, and were sent into exile in Syria, Turkey, Qatar, and the Gaza strip, the Palestine News & Info Agencies (WAFA) reported.

Image by almoltaqa.ps
Image by almoltaqa.ps

The European Network to support the rights of Palestinians prisoners, UFree, issued a statement revealing that the Israeli army prevented Palestinian men, women and children from travelling through the Allenby crossing connecting Palestine with Jordan, whilst trying to visit their recently-released family members.

UFree added that Israel prevented the families of the former detainees of Mahmoud Qawasmeh, Ayman ‘Qfesheh, ‘Ala ‘Qfesheh, Murad Al-Rajoub , Majdi al-Jo’ba, Saed Shallada, Abdullah ‘Arra, Iyad ‘Obeyyat, and ‘Ubadah Bilal, from travelling to visit their released family members.

The Network slammed Israel’s claims for preventing a child identified as Sara Ayman ‘Qfesheh, 14, from travelling to see her father for what Israel labelled as “security concerns”. Sarah has never met her dad, and only knows him from photos.

The child said that she hopes she will finally be allowed to travel with her family in order to visit her father. She also voiced an appeal to human rights groups for help and assistance to enable her to finally meet her father.

Ynetnews: The protocols of Gilad Atzmon

Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at 9:07AM Gilad Atzmon

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4147243,00.html

Introduction by Gilad Atzmon: The Wandering Who made it to Israel. Three days ago, Yediot Aharonot, the largest Israeli paper published a three pages article about The Wandering Who and myself. And as one may imagine, the patriotic Israeli media giant wasn’t very happy about the book, or my views.

But Yediot was at least brave enough to include an interview with me in Hebrew.   In the interview I said many things that wouldn’t see daylight on any of our Western Zionised papers. The Zionist paper allowed me to say all those things that our Jewish anti Zionists (AKA AZZ Anti Zionist Zionists)  insist to shove under the carpet.

For instance, I compared Israel with Nazi Germany — I even told Israelis that from some perspectives, Israel is actually worse than Nazi Germany.

I told Israelis that an Israeli attack on Iran would lead to a shift in the vision of Jewish past and the Holocaust in particular. I believe that repeating these ideas  in Israel in Hebrew in  the current climate is my ethical duty.

I told Israelis that the holocaust must be opened to historical scrutiny.

Would the Guardian or the New York Times allow me to say it? Certainly not, or let us say, not yet.

Ynet, The Israeli patriotic ultra Zionist paper admitted that the book is a best seller and that it is praised by some  of the most influential and distinguished academics around. Seemingly, our so called Jewish ‘anti’ Zionists are way behind such reasoned debate. They still pray for the book to evaporate.

Needless to say that the Israeli article provoked some Israelis to share with me their most violent fantasies – but interestingly enough  -many more Israelis contacted me to thank me for telling the truth; and some even sent me  very interesting documents which I will certainly use in the near future.

As I mentioned once before, ‘The People Of the Book’ is not the appropriate description  of the contemporary political Jew. ‘The People Of the Cut & Paste’ is much more suitable. Yaniv Halily, the paper’s correspondent in London didn’t actually read the book: instead he copied quotes from discredited Zionist mouthpiece, Alan Dershowitz, who also didn’t read the book but copied from others. And as we all know, Dershowitz is notorious for being a plagiarist.

So in fact, part of the Yediot’s article is an embarrassing chain of Zio-centric plagiarists drivel.  Seemingly, none of the plagiarists read my original work. They are clearly driven by a phantasmic trauma. Interestingly enough, The Wandering Who describes this very trauma in details.

I already addressed Dershowitz’ clumsy drivel here. Since Ynet, copied and pasted Dershowitz’ misquotes. There is no reason to deal with the matter once again.

As far as I am aware, the article didn’t make it to the Hebrew online Ynet (it is hidden in the Hebrew achieve), but yesterday it found its way to the English website Ynetnews.  I guess that someone in Israel must have realised that it may be too dangerous to let Israelis grasp the truth.

The article in English contains some gross mistranslations and misquotes. It seems as if Yediot’s writer failed to translate ‘self hatred’ into Hebrew. He has managed to come up with with some very creative ideas, such as ‘a Jew who hates Judaism’, and ‘Jew Hater.’ I will point at these mistranslations in the body of the article.

 

The Wandering Who-A Study Of Jewish Identity Politics, available on  Amazon.com  or Amazon.co.uk

The protocols of Gilad Atzmon

Israeli musician living in London publishes book filled with troubling anti-Semitic statements. ‘Israel is worse than Nazi Germany’ and ‘The Holocaust narrative is historically illogical’ are only some of his beliefs

Yaniv Halily

LONDON – “We must take the accusations that Jews are trying to take over the world with utmost seriousness. Israel is the Nazi Germany of our time. In fact, Israel today is worse than Nazi Germany.”

These harsh statements are not the beliefs of a German neo-Nazi, but rather of an Israeli living in London. The speaker is Gilad Atzmon, an Israeli jazz musician performing around the world, whose new book “The Wandering Who?” deals with world Jews and the State of Israel, and includes some very disturbing sayings.

Atzmon, 48, was born in Jerusalem and has been living in Britain since 1994. He is considered a gifted musician who performs in Europe’s best jazz clubs, but also one of his homeland’s most serious critics in Britain.

He has published quite a few books and articles blasting Israel in the past, but this time it seems he has crossed all red lines.

‘Some will say Hitler was right after all’ (Photo: AP)

In his new book he states that he is “proud to be a self-hating Jew”, and says that his “insights” are based on the writings of Jewish Austrian philosopher Otto Weininger, who he describes as “an anti-Semite who loathed almost anything that wasn’t Aryan manhood.”

Atzmon says he is a strong opponent of “Jewishness” and clarifies, “I despise the Jew in me.”

“To be a Jew is a deep commitment that goes far beyond any legal or moral order,” he explains in the book, a commitment which he says draws an increasing number of Jews into a dangerous, unethical and vague partnership.

(GA: misquote taken from Alan Dershowitz’ article. discussed here)

Eventually, he writes, a nuclear war will erupt between Iran and Israel, which will lead to the killing of tens of millions of people. “Some brave people will say that Hitler was right after all.”

(GA: this is a mistranslation of a double misquote. here are my original words: “We, for instance, can envisage a horrific situation in which an Israeli so-called ‘pre-emptive’ nuclear attack on Iran escalates into a disastrous nuclear war, in which tens of millions of people perish. I guess that amongst the survivors of such a nightmare scenario, some may be bold enough to argue that ‘Hitler might have been right after all.’
The above is obviously a fictional scenario, and by no means a wishful one, yet such a vision of a ‘possible’ horrific development should restrain Israeli or Zionist aggression towards Iran.” The Wandering Who Pg 191)

His reference to Hitler is not accidental. Atzmon often compares the Holocaust to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Holocaust, he writes, is “an ancient religion as old as the Jews themselves”, and “even if it is accepted as the new Anglo-American liberal-democratic religion – people should be allowed to be atheists.”

The text also includes some of the most classic anti-Semitic accusations. Atzmon claims that American Jews are trying to control the world, blames them for the global financial crisis, and rules that high-ranking Jewish officials in the United States – like Rahm Emanuel and Paul Wolfowitz – “stayed abroad instead of moving to ‘Zion’ in order to serve the Zionist interest in the best way possible.”

He even accuses American media of failing to “warn the American public of the danger from within.”

Moreover, Atzmon even addresses the classic blood libel, claiming that children should be allowed to ask their school teachers “how do they know that the accusations that Jews used the blood of gentile children to back matzot are indeed empty or groundless accusations.”

(GA: misquote taken from Alan Dershowitz’ article. discussed here)

Jesus hated Jews too

Asked why he hates Jews, Atzmon stresses that he is in good company. “The Jews who ultimately contributed to humanity are those who hated themselves,” he says in an interview. “Jesus was a Jew who hated Jews, and so did Spinoza and Marx.”

(GA: Clear mistranslation here. the reference  is to ‘self hatred’. accordingly Jesus was a ‘self hater’.  Instead of “Asked why he hates Jews” it should be “Asked why is he a self-hater’. it should read “Jesus was a self hater, and so were Spinoza and Marx.”  )

Albert Einstein did not hate his Jewish identity.

“Einstein didn’t contribute to humanity. He contributed to physics and was the person who started the Manhattan Project which led to the atomic bomb. When you talk about humanity, you talk about a universal system of values promoting love for one another – Einstein didn’t contribute anything to that.”

He defines himself as a ‘Jew hater’. Do you think your identity allows you to be Impartial?

“Of course. As a Jew who hates Judaism, I put myself under a magnifying glass and examine every Jewish aspect in me. I don’t see any problem with it, and everything I say is subject to the readers’ review. By the way, the book has already sold 6,000 copies on the first month of its publication, which is a significant achievement.”

(GA:  For some reason, the writer couldn’t handle the notion of ‘self-hatred’ it must have felt like a cognitive dissonance. It should read as “He defines himself as a ‘self hater’. and consequently “Of course. As a ‘self hater’, I put myself under a magnifying glass.)

Are Jews responsible for the global financial crisis?

“When I diagnose the lobby which led to the global financial crash, I can’t ignore these two people, Paul Wolfowitz and Alan Greenspan. In 1994, Wolfowitz wrote that Israel is an important strategic asset, and he was also the architect of the Gulf War – I have no doubt he’s a Zionist.”

You have also voiced harsh claims against the Holocaust narrative accepted by the Western world today.

“I find this narrative unacceptable. History should be subject to criticism as part of a dynamic process of understanding. Holocaust museums perpetuate Jewish suffering, preventing Jews from reaching such an understanding.”

‘Einstein didn’t contribute to humanity’ (Photo: Getty Images)

The Holocaust issue is subject to an ongoing research process.

“This process institutionalizes the Jewish suffering and doesn’t impress me. I heard about Holocaust deniers who were forced to sit in jail just because they wouldn’t fall for the Holocaust narrative as described by the Zionists. Holocaust denial laws are the worst – they prevent Jews from understanding their own history.

“Take the death marches issue, for example. It’s clear to everyone that at the beginning of the war the Nazis wanted to clear the Reich of Jews. If that’s the case, why did the lead the Jews at the end of the war into the Reich in what people refer to as ‘the death marches’? If the Nazis wanted to destroy the Jews, the last thing they should have done was lead them to Germany.”

Jews were an essential labor force.

“Jews were no longer a labor force. They were too weak and therefore died in the marches. Jews say the Nazis wanted to conceal evidence, but that’s an idiotic response because the Nazis left Jews behind in the camps.”

Okay, so you tell me why the marches took place.

“According to one interesting answer, the Jews preferred to stay with the Germans than fall into the hands of the Russians. There was a typhus outbreak and the assumption was that if the Jews were taken to Germany, the Americans and Britons could deal with the disease.

“So the death marches were actually humane. This is a very consistent ruling.”

So the marches were a demonstration of humanity. You also claimed that Israel is worse than Nazi Germany. Do explain.

“Both Nazi Germany and Israel are driven by ethnocentrism. They are both racist countries with a tendency to expand. Israel and the Nazi movement are similar in many categories. But since Israel is a democratic country, each of its citizens is responsible for its crimes, while in Nazi Germany only the Führer and his party members were responsible for the war crimes.

“Moreover, the Zionist movement was born before the Nazi movement. The Nazis disappeared, but the Zionists remain – and today they are even stronger than America.”

Something very Jewish

Atzmon’s statements are not troubling just because of their content, but mainly because of their surprising approval. Researchers from leading US universities, including Richard Falk of Princeton and John J. Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago, have adopted the book and saluted Atzmon for his “courage”.

James Petras, Bartle Professor of Sociology Emeritus at Binghamton University, praised the text, calling it “a series of brilliant illuminations”.

Mearsheimer, who is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, concluded that Atzmon “has written a fascinating and provocative book on Jewish identity in the modern world”, which he said should be read by both Jews and non-Jews.

This troubling popularity is also expressed in the fact that the book can be purchased on Amazon, a website with a clear policy of not selling books promoting open racist opinions or any type of anti-Semitism. In case you were wondering, you won’t be able to buy “Mein Kampf” there.

All this is naturally joined by Holocaust deniers and anti-Israel protestors, who have been praising the book and quoting from it. The fact that the text was written by an Israeli makes many of them accept it as legitimate and address it as a scientific document.

‘Arguing with him is pointless.’ Yardena Arazi (Photo: Daniel Hakim)

Atzmon, by the way, says he has a loyal audience in Israel too. “Quite a few people in Israel agree with what I’m saying, he states.

“Yoram Kaniuk asked to remove the Judaism classification from his identity card, and I’ve heard that hundreds of Israelis are following suit. It’s a simple conclusion: Many have decided to become like me, to ask questions and wander, at least spiritually.

“My mother agrees with my ideas, and my father said recently that for the first time he understood where I was coming from. I had tears in my eyes.”

“I read the book even before it was put to print and I think it’s wonderful,” confirms the mother, Ariella Atzmon. “It’s a very important book, which was a best-seller and analyzes our existence in a very intelligent way.

“It’s not at all anti-Semitic. Gilad has a problem with Jews, he talks about three categories of Jews, but you have to read everything to understand – rather than bring quotations and take them out of context.

“It’s time for people to start thinking about the situation we are living in and about our past in a realistic manner, instead of living by myths. I am very proud of my son.”

Israeli singer Yardena Arazi, who worked with Atzmon in the past as a musician, producer and player, is not so proud.

“He is extremely talented, really gifted, but I’m not surprised by his statements,” she says. “He is a provocative and witty person, with a lot of humor, and when he first started talking like this – I thought he was joking.

“After he went to London I visited him there once with my daughter Alona, but over time he became even more radical, and it eventually ended between us when we slammed the phone in each other’s face.

“I took a step back from him. He wrote very painful things, and I don’t agree with any of his statements of course, but arguing with him is pointless. He is entrenched in very radical opinions, and there is no way of communicating with him on this level.

“He is an argumentative person and an outsider, and there is something very Jewish about him, even though he denies his Jewishness. I once told him that one day he would become a believer and a great rabbi, but I guess I was very wrong.”

 

  This is the book they don’t want you to read: The Wandering Who-A Study Of Jewish Identity Politics, available on  Amazon.com  or Amazon.co.uk

Unsettled, with Amira Hass

PULSE

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An excerpt from my interview with Israeli journalist, Amira Hass for Guernica Magazine:

When it comes to her coverage of Palestinians, Israeli journalist Amira Hass is one of a kind. Yet she blends right in at the Canadian bus station where I pick her up. Vancouver is the second stop on the nationwide speaking tour organized for her by the advocacy group Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East. She greets me with a warm smile and lifts her small but heavy bags into the trunk of the car. Hass is used to taking care of herself while traveling, doing it weekly as she navigates through Israeli military checkpoints while tracking a story or simply trying to visit a friend. Before I can help her with her bag, in fact, she helps me with mine. When she sees me struggling with my bag outside her lecture venue, she takes it from my shoulder, laughing, “I know. I do it too.”

Hass has worked for the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz since 1989. She left her academic roots during the First Intifada and started her media career there as a copyeditor. A few months later, she convinced the paper to send her to Europe to cover the Romanian revolution. In Romania she proved her skills as a writer, and in 1993 her editors assigned her to Gaza. She had become familiar with the area while volunteering with a group that had her visiting Gazans to deliver money they were owed from Israeli employers who’d withheld their pay. It was during this time that her “romance” with Gaza began.

No one encouraged Hass to live in Gaza; in fact, she was specifically told not to. But determined to learn about the occupation from the inside, she moved there in 1993 and made a permanent home in the West Bank in 1997. This initiative made her the only Israeli journalist to live and work among Palestinians full-time.

For the past seventeen years Hass has reported extensively on Israel’s policies in the occupied territories, exposing their devastating effects on Palestinians. But the divided Palestinian leadership has not escaped her scrutiny either, and both governments have tried to impede her reporting using various intimidation tactics. But the unrelenting Hass has continued regular critiques, which she has collected in two books. She is regarded internationally as one of Israel’s most prominent journalists, and in 2009 she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Women’s Media Foundation.

Hass was invited to Canada to lecture about Israel-Palestine. But unlike others who speak on the subject, she gives a different talk in each city and resists flashy rhetoric in favor of hard reporting. Prior to the lecture, while searching for a restaurant, she tells me she will not talk about the region’s basic history because the audience will likely be informed. So for forty-five minutes she speaks about the Israeli policy of “closure,” the ongoing fragmentation of Palestinian territory and the severing of Palestinian control of governing activities such as changing addresses or registering newborns. “It’s not like killing, but it affects everybody,” explains Hass. “If a baby is born in Gaza and is not registered with the Israeli Ministry of the Interior, that baby does not exist, it does not count,” she tells the audience. “I get very annoyed when my Palestinian friends complain, ‘Why didn’t they give me a permit, I am not a terrorist,’ because it is not about the person, it is about a policy that people can’t articulate because there is no discourse to explain the political intention behind it.”

Read more.

Remi Kanazi – ‘Coexistence’, London, 12.11.11

[youtube http://youtu.be/D-8sDYO-EVM?]

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