israel

Iran, Israel and the Holocaust

By Lawrence Davidson

“…the Zionist movement has … convinced most Israeli and Zionist Jews of the correctness of Nakba denial. That is, that the Nakba never really happened and that the history of the founding of Israel was nothing other than the heroic struggle of a people to survive.”

9 August 2010

Lawrence Davidson argues that the phenomenon of Holocaust questioning in Iran and elsewhere in the Muslim countries is directly linked to Israel’s cynical exploitation of the Holocaust to justify its policies and bludgeon its critics.

On 5 August 2010 Israel’s Ha’aretz newspaper, citing a story by the Iranian news agency Fars, reported that a non-governmental organization in Iran had “launched a website with cartoons about the Holocaust aimed at undermining the historic dimensions of the mass murder of Jews”. Israelis and Zionists reacted angrily to this announcement.

Spokesmen at Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Holocaust museum, stated that the website was “yet the latest salvo emanating from Iran that denies the facts of the Holocaust and attempts to influence those who are ignorant of history”. The Ha’aretz report also noted, somewhat resentfully, that “since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran has not acknowledged Israel as a sovereign state and even refrained from using the name Israel, instead referring to the Jewish state as the Zionist regime”.

This is obviously a hot issue and so I will begin my examination of this report by stating that the Holocaust is a proven factual event and the number of six million Jewish victims killed is roughly accurate. Histories based on detailed research on this subject include the early classic study by Raul Hilberg, The Destruction of the European Jews, first published in 1961 and followed later by his Sources of Holocaust Research (2001). Other recent works include David Engel’s The Holocaust: the Third Reich and the Jews (1999) and S. Hochstadt, Sources of the Holocaust – Documents in History (2004). There are many other works as well.

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August 9, 2010 1

Hezbollah to implicate Israel in Hariri assassination

Published today (updated) 08/08/2010 15:27

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah will reveal “thunderous news” Monday revealing that Israel was behind the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, a party official said Saturday.

Hezbollah spokesman Ibrahim Mousawi told Ma’an that the evidence would be “comprehensive, revealing conclusive information” implicating Israel in the car bombing that killed Hariri in 2005.

A UN special tribunal set up to investigate the assassination will reportedly blame Hezbollah. Reports suggest that the tribunal will announce its findings before the end of 2010.

Speaking to reporters last Tuesday, Nasrallah said a Hezbollah team spent months compiling information on what he described as Israeli efforts to implicate the Shiite movement.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and Saudi Arabian King Abdullah met in July with Lebanon’s President Michel Suleiman in an effort to diffuse the mounting political tension over possible indictments over the assassination.

source

August 8, 2010 0

The Palestinian Call for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions

Palestinian Civil Society Calls for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel until it Complies with International Law and Universal Principles of Human Rights

9 July 2005

One year after the historic Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which found Israel’s Wall built on occupied Palestinian territory to be illegal, Israel continues its construction of the colonial Wall with total disregard to the Court’s decision. Thirty eight years into Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian West Bank (including East Jerusalem), Gaza Strip and the Syrian Golan Heights, Israel continues to expand Jewish colonies. It has unilaterally annexed occupied East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights and is now de facto annexing large parts of the West Bank by means of the Wall. Israel is also preparing – in the shadow of its planned redeployment from the Gaza Strip – to build and expand colonies in the West Bank.

Fifty seven years after the state of Israel was built mainly on land ethnically cleansed of its Palestinian owners, a majority of Palestinians are refugees, most of whom are stateless. Moreover, Israel’s entrenched system of racial discrimination against its own Arab-Palestinian citizens remains intact.

In light of Israel’s persistent violations of international law, and Given that, since 1948, hundreds of UN resolutions have condemned Israel’s colonial and discriminatory policies as illegal and called for immediate, adequate and effective remedies, and

Given that all forms of international intervention and peace-making have until now failed to convince or force Israel to comply with humanitarian law, to respect fundamental human rights and to end its occupation and oppression of the people of Palestine, and

In view of the fact that people of conscience in the international community have historically shouldered the moral responsibility to fight injustice, as exemplified in the struggle to abolish apartheid in South Africa through diverse forms of boycott, divestment and sanctions;

Inspired by the struggle of South Africans against apartheid and in the spirit of international solidarity, moral consistency and resistance to injustice and oppression,

We, representatives of Palestinian civil society, call upon international civil society organizations and people of conscience all over the world to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era. We appeal to you to pressure your respective states to impose embargoes and sanctions against Israel. We also invite conscientious Israelis to support this Call, for the sake of justice and genuine peace.

These non-violent punitive measures should be maintained until Israel meets its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of international law by:

1. Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall;

2. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and

3. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.

Endorsed by:

The Palestinian political parties, unions, associations, coalitions and organizations below represent the three integral parts of the people of Palestine: Palestinian refugees, Palestinians under occupation and Palestinian citizens of Israel.
UNIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, CAMPAIGNS

1. Council of National and Islamic Forces in Palestine (coordinating body for the major political parties in the Occupied Palestinian Territory)
2. Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizen’s Rights (PICCR)
3. Union of Arab Community Based Associations (ITTIJAH), Haifa
4. Forum of Palestinian NGOs in Lebanon
5. Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU)
6. General Union of Palestinian Women (GUPW)
7. General Union of Palestinian Teachers (GUPT)
8. Federation of Unions of Palestinian Universities’ Professors and Employees
9. Consortium of Professional Associations
10. Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (UPMRC)
11. Health Work Committees – West Bank
12. Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC)
13. Union of Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC)
14. Union of Health Work Committees – Gaza (UHWC)
15. Union of Palestinian Farmers
16. Occupied Palestine and Syrian Golan Heights Advocacy Initiative (OPGAI)
17. General Union of Disabled Palestinians
18. Palestinian Federation of Women’s Action Committees (PFWAC)
19. Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI)
20. Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign
21. Union of Teachers of Private Schools
22. Union of Women’s Work Committees, Tulkarem (UWWC)
23. Dentists’ Association – Jerusalem Center
24. Palestinian Engineers Association
25. Lawyers’ Association
26. Network for the Eradication of Illiteracy and Adult Education, Ramallah
27. Coordinating Committee of Rehabilitation Centers – West Bank
28. Coalition of Lebanese Civil Society Organizations (150 organizations)
29. Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR), Network of Student-based Canadian University Associations

REFUGEE RIGHTS ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS

30. Al-Ard Committees for the Defense of the Right of Return, Syria
31. Al-Awda Charitable Society, Beit Jala
32. Al Awda – Palestine Right-to-Return Coalition, U.S.A
33. Al-Awda Toronto
34. Aidun Group – Lebanon
35. Aidun Group – Syria
36. Alrowwad Cultural and Theatre Training Center, Aida refugee camp
37. Association for the Defense of the Rights of the Internally Displaced (ADRID), Nazareth
38. BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, Bethlehem
39. Committee for Definite Return, Syria
40. Committee for the Defense of Palestinian Refugee Rights, Nablus
41. Consortium of the Displaced Inhabitants of Destroyed Palestinian Villages and Towns
42. Filastinuna – Commission for the Defense of the Right of Return, Syria 43. Handala Center, ‘Azza (Beit Jibreen) refugee camp, Bethlehem
44. High Committee for the Defense of the Right of Return, Jordan (including personal endorsement of 71 members of parliament, political parties and unions in Jordan)
45. High National Committee for the Defense of the Right of Return, Ramallah
46. International Right of Return Congress (RORC)
47. Jermana Youth Forum for the Defense of the Right of Return, Syria
48. Laji Center, Aida camp, Bethlehem
49. Local Committee for Rehabilitation, Qalandia refugee camp, Jerusalem
50. Local Committee for Rehabilitation of the Disabled, Deheishe refugee camp, Bethlehem 51. Palestinian National Committee for the Defense of the Right of Return, Syria
52. Palestinian Return Association, Syria
53. Palestinian Return Forum, Syria
54. Palestine Right-of-Return Coalition (Palestine, Arab host countries, Europe, North America)
55. Palestine Right-of-Return Confederation-Europe (Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden) 56. Palestinian Youth Forum for the Right of Return, Syria
57. PLO Popular Committees – West Bank refugee camps
58. PLO Popular Committees – Gaza Strip refugee camps
59. Popular Committee – al-‘Azza (Beit Jibreen) refugee camp, Bethlehem
60. Popular Committee – Deheishe refugee camp, Bethlehem
61. Shaml – Palestinian Diaspora and Refugee Center, Ramallah
62. Union of Women’s Activity Centers – West Bank Refugee Camps
63. Union of Youth Activity Centers – Palestine Refugee Camps
64. Women’s Activity Center – Deheishe refugee camp, Bethlehem
65. Yafa Cultural Center, Balata refugee camp, Nablus

ORGANIZATIONS

66. Abna’ al-Balad Society, Nablus
67. Addameer Center for Human Rights, Gaza
68. Addameer Prisoners’ Support and Human Rights Association, Ramallah
69. Alanqa’ Cultural Association, Hebron
70. Al-Awda Palestinian Folklore Society, Hebron
71. Al-Doha Children’s Cultural Center, Bethlehem
72. Al-Huda Islamic Center, Bethlehem
73. Al-Jeel al-Jadid Society, Haifa
74. Al-Karameh Cultural Society, Um al-Fahm
75. Al-Maghazi Cultural Center, Gaza
76. Al-Marsad Al-Arabi, occupied Syrian Golan Heights
77. Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, Gaza
78. Al-Nahda Cultural Forum, Hebron
79. Al-Taghrid Society for Culture and Arts, Gaza
80. Alternative Tourism Group, Beit Sahour (ATG)
81. Al-Wafa’ Charitable Society, Gaza
82. Applied Research Institute Jerusalem (ARIJ)
83. Arab Association for Human Rights, Nazareth (HRA)
84. Arab Center for Agricultural Development (ACAD)
85. Arab Center for Agricultural Development-Gaza
86. Arab Education Institute (AEI) – Pax Christie Bethlehem
87. Arab Orthodox Charitable Society – Beit Sahour
88. Arab Orthodox Charity – Beit Jala
89. Arab Orthodox Club – Beit Jala
90. Arab Orthodox Club – Beit Sahour
91. Arab Students’ Collective, University of Toronto
92. Arab Thought Forum, Jerusalem (AFT)
93. Association for Cultural Exchange Hebron – France
94. Association Najdeh, Lebanon
95. Authority for Environmental Quality, Jenin
96. Bader Society for Development and Reconstruction, Gaza
97. Canadian Palestine Foundation of Quebec, Montreal
98. Center for the Defense of Freedoms, Ramallah
99. Center for Science and Culture, Gaza
100. Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ramallah- Al-Bireh District
101. Child Development and Entertainment Center, Tulkarem
102. Committee for Popular Participation, Tulkarem
103. Defense for Children International-Palestine Section, Ramallah (DCI/PS)
104. El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe
105. Ensan Center for Democracy and Human Rights, Bethlehem
106. Environmental Education Center, Bethlehem
107. FARAH – Palestinian Center for Children, Syria
108. Ghassan Kanafani Society for Development, Gaza
109. Ghassan Kanafani Forum, Syria
110. Gaza Community Mental Health Program, Gaza (GCMHP)
111. Golan for Development, occupied Syrian Golan Heights
112. Halhoul Cultural Forum, Hebron
113. Himayeh Society for Human Rights, Um al-Fahm
114. Holy Land Trust – Bethlehem
115. Home of Saint Nicholas for the Aged – Beit Jala
116. Human Rights Protection Center, Lebanon

source

August 5, 2010 0

ISRAEL’S PR WAR

After Israel’s major attack on Gaza in December 2008, it has faced criticism around the world. This criticism escalated after the publication of the Goldstone Report in 2009 that found evidence of war crimes in the attack. This year, Israel’s security establishment declared a full out PR war on criticism that it identifies as “delegitimization” of Israel. Israel’s most influential think tank, the Reut Institute, developed the strategy for how to fight this PR war. It published a massive report in preparation for this year’s Herzeliya conference entitled “Building a political firewall: against Israel’s delegitimization” which advocated that the Israeli intelligence agencies establish special units to collect information on critics of Israel. The report also advocates the establishment of pro-Israel networks in “hubs of delegitimization” which it named as London, Paris, Madrid, Toronto, and the Bay Area. The Real News’ Lia Tarachansky spoke to Morton A. Klein, the president of the Zionist Organization of America who talks about how American lobby groups help Israel fight its PR war.

Bio

Morton A. Klein is the President of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), the oldest pro-Israel group In the U.S. He is a member of the Executive Committee of AIPAC. Klein has delivered hundreds of lectures and is a frequent guest on television and radio networks.

August 4, 2010 0

Boycott the Israel Ballet

August 4, 2010 0

Four-year-old child begging Israeli forces to release his father

By Zuheir Al-Shaer

August 3, 2010

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Video footage of a four-year-old child begging Israeli forces to release his father from detention on Monday has circulated the globe.

“You dog, give me my dad. I want daddy. I want daddy. Give me my dad,” cried Khalid Fadel Al-Ja’bari, as Israeli border guards detained his father Fadel, 36 in the Al-Baq’a village east of Hebron, where Israel’s Civil Administration began destroying what it described as an illegal water irrigation network. At the time, a spokesman denied forces overturned land.

Badran Jaber, the child’s grandfather, told Ma’an his son-in-law was detained after objecting to Israeli bulldozers overturning fields planted with vegetables near the illegal Kiryat Arba settlement.

“The heart of the soldiers is harder than the rock. The screams of the child did not stop them from attacking his father, but they kicked the child and pulled his hands which were holding his father’s shirt,” said the grandfather. Khaled, he said, has not slept since his father was detained.

The grandfather said border guards have repeatedly prevented him and other residents from accessing the 30 dunums of land, of which 18 belong to him, by deploying riot dispersal means.

Jaber, a leader of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said Israel’s Civil Administration, accompanied by border guards, began destroying the irrigation network on his farmland at 9a.m. He said residents and relatives tried to stop forces, but were assaulted.

“When my 15-year-old son Wadi and my son-in-law … Fadel, tried to defend myself and my wife, Israeli soldiers beat them before detaining them,” Jaber told Ma’an at the time.

A spokesman for Israel’s Civil Administration said Monday inspectors destroyed pipes that were illegally set up and stealing water from other sources. He said no farmland was destroyed in the process.

At the time, Locals in Hebron confirmed seeing Israeli bulldozers overturn vast areas of farmland.

http://www.uruknet.info?p=68546

August 4, 2010 0

Crashed Israeli helicopter drilled perilous strikes on Iran-style mountain tunnels

Israel_Air_Force_crashRomania27.7.10 — Israeli Air Force helicopter in Romanian search area

The six airmen who died in a Sikorsky “Yasour” CH-53 helicopter crash over the Romanian Carpathian Mountains Monday, July 26, were flown home Friday, July 30, for burial with full military honors.

debkafile’s military sources report: The Israeli Air Force had been drilling high-risk attacks on precipitous cliff caves similar to the mountain tunnels in which Iran has hidden nuclear facilities. The crash occurred in the last stage of a joint Israeli-US-Romanian exercise for simulating an attack on Iran. Aboard the helicopter were six Israeli airmen and a Romanian flight captain.

Thwarted by Moscow’s refusal to sell them S-300 interceptor missiles, Iran has given up on adequate air and missile defense shields for its nuclear sites and in the last couple of years has been blasting deep tunnels beneath mountain peaks more than 2,000 meters high for housing nuclear facilities. There, they were thought by Tehran to be safe from air or missile attack.

The American and Israeli air forces have since been developing tactics for evading Iranian radar and flying at extremely low-altitudes through narrow mountain passes so as to reach the tunnel entrances for attacks on the nuclear equipment undetected. The drill in Romania took place at roughly the same altitude and in similar terrain that a US or Israeli air attack would expect to encounter in Iran.

For such strikes, special missiles would be used that are capable of flying the length of a tunnel, however twisty, and detonating only when its warhead identifies and contacts its target.
The entire maneuver is extremely hazardous. The pilots must be exceptionally skilled, capable of split-second timing in rising from low-altitudes to points opposite the high tunnel entrances without crashing into the surrounding mountain walls.

The Israeli helicopter is reported to have flown into a cloud patch hanging over its simulated target and crashed into a steep mountainside, while the second helicopter flying in the formation avoided the cloud and continued without incident. Israeli and American Air Force pilots are instructed, when encountering cloud cover of the target, to go around it. At all times, they must have eye contact with their target.

The accident revealed to military observers that the Israeli Air Force is practicing long-distance flights not only by bombers, but also heavy helicopters, such as the “Yasour” CH-53, which would require in-flight refueling. These practice flights have been taking place in cooperation with Greece and Bulgaria as well as Romania, whose distance from Israel of 1,600 kilometers approximates that of Iran. American air bases in Romania and Bulgaria participate in the drills. The latest exercise with Romania, known as Blue Sky 2010, followed up on the five-day US-Israeli Juniper Stallion 2010 war game held off the coast of southern Israel from June 6-10.

In that exercise, 60 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet bomber jets took off from the decks of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group several times around the clock to strike at simulated targets at Nevatim, the main Israeli Air Force firing range in the Negev.

Squadrons of American F-16 fighter jets taking off from bases in Germany and Romania landed at Israeli air bases, refueled and took off with Israeli air force bomber squadrons for simulated long-range bombing missions over the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. Along the way, they practiced air-to-air combat encounters.

The US Air Force has established its Romanian facility at the Mikhail Kogalniceanu Air Base on the Black Sea shore near the city of Constanta. And in Bulgaria, the Americans have the use of Bezmer Air Base, 50 kilometers from the southern sector of the Black Sea. debkafile’s military sources say the two facilities are placed for swift US Air Force responses in the Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East.

from : DEBKAfile Exclusive Report July 30, 2010, 10:31 AM (GMT+02:00)

August 2, 2010 0

BDS : a reminder

USACBI — While there are many Israeli and multinational companies that benefit from apartheid, we put together this list to highlight ten specific companies to target.

Many of these produce goods in such a way that directly harms Palestinians — exploiting labor, developing technology for military operations, or supplying equipment for illegal settlements. Many are also the targets of boycotts for other reasons, like harming the environment and labor violations.

1. AHAVA

This brand’s cosmetics are produced using salt, minerals, and mud from the Dead Sea — natural resources that are excavated from the occupied West Bank. The products themselves are manufactured in the illegal Israeli settlement Mitzpe Shalem. AHAVA is the target of CODEPINK’s “Stolen Beauty” campaign.

2. Delta Galil Industries

Israel’s largest textiles manufacturer provides clothing and underwear for such popular brands as Gap, J-Crew, J.C. Penny, Calvin Klein, Playtex, Victoria’s Secret (see #10) and many others. Its founder and chairman Dov Lautman is a close associate of former Israeli President Ehud Barak. It has also been condemned by Sweatshop Watch for its exploitation of labor in other countries such as Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey.

3. Motorola

While many of us know this brand for its stylish cellphones, did you know that it also develops and manufactures bomb fuses and missile guidance systems? Motorola components are also used in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or “drones”) and in communications and surveillance systems used in settlements, checkpoints, and along the 490 mile apartheid wall. The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation has launched the “Hang Up on Motorola” campaign.

4. L’Oreal / The Body Shop

This cosmetics and perfume company is known for its investments and manufacturing activities in Israel, including production in Migdal Haemek, the “Silicon Valley” of Israel built on the land of Palestinian village Al-Mujaydil, which was ethnically cleansed in 1948. In 1998, a representative of L’Oreal was given the Jubilee Award by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for strengthening the Israeli economy.

5. Dorot Garlic and Herbs

These frozen herbs that are sold at Trader Joe’s are shipped halfway around the world when they could easily be purchased locally. Trader Joe’s also sells Israeli Cous Cous and Pastures of Eden feta cheese that are made in Israel. QUIT, South Bay Mobilization, and other groups have targeted Trader Joe’s with a “Don’t Buy into Apartheid” campaign.

6. Estee Lauder

This company’s chairman Ronald Lauder is also the chairman of the Jewish National Fund, a quasi-governmental organization that was established in 1901 to acquire Palestinian land and is connected to the continued building of illegal settlements. Estee Lauder’s popular brands include Clinique, MAC, Origins, Bumble & Bumble, Aveda, fragrance lines for top designers, and many others. They have been the target of QUIT’s “Estee Slaughter Killer Products” campaign.

7. Intel

This technology company that manufactures computer processors and other hardware components employs thousands of Israelis and has exports from Israel totaling over $1 billion per year. They are one of Israel’s oldest foreign supporters, having established their first development center outside of the US in 1974 in Haifa. Al-Awda (the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition) has urged action against Intel for building a facility on the land of former village Iraq Al Manshiya, which was cleansed in 1949.

8. Sabra

This brand of hummus, baba ghanoush and other foods is co-owned by Israel’s second-largest food company The Strauss Group and Pepsico. On the “Corporate Responsibility” section of its website, The Strauss Group boasts of its relationship to the Israeli Army, offering food products and political support.

9. Sara Lee

Sara Lee holds a 30% stake in Delta Galil (see #2) and is the world’s largest clothing manufacturer, which owns or is affiliated with such brands as Hanes, Playtex, Champion, Leggs, Sara Lee Bakery, Ball Park hotdogs, Wonderbra, and many others. Similar to L’Oreal (see #4), a representative of Sara Lee received the Jubilee Award from Netanyahu for its commitment to business with Israel.

10. Victoria’s Secret

Most of Victoria’s Secret’s bras are produced by Delta Galil (see #2), and much of the cotton is also grown in Israel on confiscated Palestinian land. Victoria’s Secret has also been the target of labor rights’ groups for sourcing products from companies with labor violations, and by environmental groups for their unsustainable use of paper in producing their catalogues. That’s not sexy!

Remember, it’s also important to let these companies — and the stores that sell them — know that we will not support them as long as they support Israeli apartheid!

To view our complete list of Israeli products in Bay Area stores click here. To report more Product Sightings, email products[at]baceia.org.

August 1, 2010 3