vjp-global

http://www.lrb.co.uk/2014/10/24/robert-wade/organised-hypocrisy-on-a-monumental-scale …The average income of Jewish Israelis (at market exchange rates) is around $40,000; that of Arab Israelis $13,000; that of West Bankers $3700, and less in Gaza… …Under these circumstances [Israeli restrictions] -– which I'm happy to say I have never encountered elsewhere – political and economic development is barely possible. In November 2013, the Israeli foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said: 'We can talk seriously about a political settlement with the Palestinians when their per capita GDP reaches $10,000 – not a day before that' (because only then will Palestinians have enough at stake genuinely to want peace). This expresses organised hypocrisy on a monumental scale. Until Palestine has substantial sovereignty, including control over borders and natural resources, the conditions for a 'political settlement' will be postponed indefinitely, and the region will r...

http://mondoweiss.net/2014/10/hillel-partners-movement?utm_source=Mondoweiss+List&utm_campaign=2ea688dfde-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b86bace129-2ea688dfde-398495333   A California Hillel chapter has partnered with a D.C.-linked public relations firm to fight the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, according to leaked emails obtained by Mondoweiss. The PR firm 30 Point Strategies has discussed how to combat BDS at the University of California, Los Angeles campus with Hillel staffers there. 30 Point staffers have advised UCLA's Hillel to stay largely silent in the event of a student government resolution that recommends divestment from Israeli military-linked corporations. The revelation that a Hillel chapter has turned to a professional public relations firm shows that UCLA Hillel is stepping up its work to fight BDS on campus…   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://972mag.com/israel-increases-pressure-on-nonviolent-struggles-flagship-village/98084/   Whether as a result of the violence in Jerusalem or just because there's a new commander in town, the Israeli army is once again increasing its oppressive measures in the West Bank village of Bil'in...   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://mondoweiss.net/2014/10/committee-palestinian-countrys?utm_source=Mondoweiss+List&utm_campaign=2ea688dfde-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b86bace129-2ea688dfde-398495333   Faced with a reality in which Israel is strong and the United States is in its pocket, it is the duty of Palestinians to resist the occupation. The only question relates to the means...  Imagine you're a Palestinian. You have every right to resist. In fact, it's your civil duty. No argument there. The occupied people's right to resist occupation is secured in natural justice, in the morals of history and in international law. The only restrictions are on the means of resistance. The Palestinians have tried almost all of them, for better and worse – negotiations and terror; with a carrot and with a stick; with a stone and with bombs; in demonstrations and in suicide. All in vain. Are they to despair and give up? This has almost ...

http://mondoweiss.net/2014/10/committee-palestinian-countrys?utm_source=Mondoweiss+List&utm_campaign=2ea688dfde-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b86bace129-2ea688dfde-398495333   …A report prepared by the city's planners notes that among the justifications for building a new Arab city is to create communities that do not belong to a number of clans, and to provide for citizens who do not have land to build on. The new community, intended for a middle-class population, is "a message to the Arab population that new communities are not only being built for Jews but for Arabs as well, as part of the process of affirmative action for the Arab population in the public sphere," the report states …The planning team met with a variety of Arab planners, mayors and academics. Some expressed their support for the project as a solution to the housing crunch, but others said they opposed the establishment of a new c...

http://mondoweiss.net/2014/10/there-things-around?utm_source=Mondoweiss+List&utm_campaign=eb038bd222-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b86bace129-eb038bd222-398495333   The Obama administration is paying to both destroy and rebuild the war torn strip, and Israeli companies are now promoting their military equipment worldwide using a sales pitch of having been tested during "Operation Protective Edge."   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://consortiumnews.com/2014/10/23/the-battle-for-palestine-part-two/   After the Holocaust, Europe acquiesced to the Zionist settlement of Palestine and turned a blind eye to the ethnic cleansing that cleared Arabs from the land, as ex-U.S. diplomat William R. Polk describes in the second of a three-part series.  [History from 1947-1970]   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/03/long-wake The protest [against the opera about the 1985 PLF hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro] failed because it relied on falsehoods: the opera is not anti-Semitic, nor does it glorify terrorism   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://fpif.org/gaza-bipartisan-war-human-rights/   During and after Israel's war on Gaza, bipartisan congressional majorities have worked to undermine war crimes investigations by the United Nations and human rights groups.   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

Full text: http://thearabdailynews.com/2014/10/12/hundreds-israeli-public-figures-urge-british-parliament-recognize-state-palestine/ Hundreds of Israeli public figures urge British Parliament to recognize the State of Palestine Gush Shalom, Israel. Press Release, October 13, 2014 363 Israeli public figures have signed a letter to the Members of the British Parliament, calling upon them to vote in favor of British recognition of a Palestinian State, to be created side-by-side with Israel. The letter was handed on Sunday noon to representatives of the British MP’s supporting the motion, due to be voted tomorrow (Monday). The Israeli letter was initiated by Dr. Alon Liel, former Director-General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry; Prof. Amiram Goldblum, a founder of the Peace Now movement; and Yehuda Shaul of “Breaking the Sil...

http://consortiumnews.com/2014/10/14/a-shift-toward-recognizing-palestine/   After Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu sank the latest peace talks by pushing forward on new settlements, he erased a chief argument for holding off on Palestinian nationhood, that the issue should be determined by talks. Now, European nations are shifting their stance, as John V. Whitbeck writes.   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://mondoweiss.net/2014/10/israel-relies-islamophobia?utm_source=Mondoweiss+List&utm_campaign=b463e3e086-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b86bace129-b463e3e086-398495333   In the latest edition of "Axis of Evil" politics Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued to the United Nations on September 29th that "Hamas is ISIS, ISIS is Hamas," and that they are following the path blazed by Iran 35 years ago. The Prime Minister in the process exposed the mutual relationship between Zionism and its crutch: Islamophobia.,,   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/16/world/middleeast/a-house-by-house-struggle-for-control-of-a-jerusalem-neighborhood.html?mabReward=RI%3A7&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&region=CColumn&module=Recommendation&src=rechp&WT.nav=RecEngine   …That day Elad, a nongovernmental settler association dedicated to preventing any future division of Jerusalem, said it had helped Kendall Finance, which describes itself as a privately owned real estate investment company, buy the homes. Through a multimillion-dollar series of complex and shadowy transactions spanning several years, Elad engineered the largest private settlement initiative in decades. The operation was condemned by the White House as "provocative," but defended by Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who denounced the notion that Jews should be barred from living wherever they wanted in Jerusalem and asserted that their presence promoted coexis...

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/world/middleeast/al-aksa-mosque-israel-palestinians.html?mabReward=RI%3A7&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&region=CColumn&module=Recommendation&src=rechp&WT.nav=RecEngine&_r=0   The secretary general of the United Nations on Monday condemned what he called "provocations" at Jerusalem's holy sites, hours after the Israeli police said officers had locked Palestinians inside Al Aksa Mosque to thwart a riot as Jews visited for the holiday of Sukkot…   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/area-c/51-wadi-fukin-protests-israeli-land-grab   Unaccustomed to Israel's military repression, many villagers told the AIC they were shocked when the first protest [of a 1,000 acre land appropriation] was met with copious amounts of tear gas. Still the community continued protesting, altering the protest route in order to reduce Israeli violence, and support has been growing.  …Already surrounded by Tsur Hadassah and the settlements of Beitar Illit and Hadar Beitar and with new plans to build a further settlement to the west, Wadi Fukin residents fear being completely surrounded by settlements. And as 60 percent of the community's population relies on agriculture for their livelihood, the land grab will have disastrous effects on their economy…   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://mondoweiss.net/2014/10/protective-destruction-professional?utm_source=Mondoweiss+List&utm_campaign=66b419a4e4-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b86bace129-66b419a4e4-398495333 At just after 4 am [on the last night], drones and F16s flying at low altitude over Gaza attacked the Basha Tower, a 15-story building only an estimated 100 meters away from the al Shorouq tower. The stately tower was the oldest in Gaza City, as much a symbol of the urban landscape as the World Trade Center was to New York City. Its offices housed medical and dental clinics, non-governmental and media organizations including many of Gaza's most popular radio stations. …The previous night Israeli warplanes and drones brought down the Zafer 4 resident tower , a 14-story residential tower that housed at least 44 mostly middle class families, including that of the director of Fatah's security apparatus in the Gaza Strip. At the same time...

http://mondoweiss.net/2014/10/parliament-overwhelmingly-palestinian?utm_source=Mondoweiss+List&utm_campaign=66b419a4e4-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b86bace129-66b419a4e4-398495333   In a historic move, the British Parliament voted overwhelmingly  tonight, 274-12,  to recognize a Palestinian state... as part of negotiated 2 state solution…The sense of the speechmaking (rush transcript here) was almost entirely in favor of the motion, with members of the House of Commons saying they were reflecting the popular will in the wake of the Gaza slaughter and the failure of the peace process. Some said they were seeking to influence the United States, which has not been an honest broker. Here is the New York Times coverage, indicating it was a symbolic vote. Many speakers said that it was not symbolic, it was historic and long past due, from the country that gave Zionists the Balfour Declaration and that recognized a Je...

http://www.jta.org/2014/10/13/news-opinion/world/academics-from-around-the-world-sign-petition-opposing-israel-boycott   More than 1,350 academics from around the world have signed a petition opposing faculty or student boycotts of Israel. The online petition of the Faculty for Academic Freedom was posted last week. "We, the undersigned academics, vigorously support free speech and free debate but we oppose faculty or student boycotts of Israel's academic institutions, scholars and students," the introduction to the petition reads…   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

Full text: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/13/british-palestine-statehood_n_5979436.html (Reuters) - British lawmakers voted in favour of recognising Palestine as a state on Monday in a move that will not alter the government's stance on the issue, but that carries symbolic value for Palestinians in their pursuit of statehood. Lawmakers in Britain's lower house of parliament voted by 274 to 12 to pass a non-binding motion stating: "That this House believes that the Government should recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution." Posted by Sam Bryan, AIME member

http://blogs.forward.com/jj-goldberg/207259/is-israel-abandoning-push-for-two-states/ ?   In a potentially explosive report , veteran Yediot Ahronot defense commentator Ron Ben-Yishai writes on Ynet that Israel is headed toward a new confrontation with the United States and its allies in the wake of this summer's Operation Protective Edge. The Americans and Europeans insist that Israel must strive for a two-state solution with the Palestinians, arguing that it's unacceptable for Israel to wreak destruction on Gaza every few years, leaving them to pay for its repeated reconstruction. They also claim that renewing Israeli-Palestinian peace talks will help them to mobilize the Arab world to join the fight against ISIS and other extremist groups, Ben-Yishai writes. Israel, Ben-Yishai writes, is reaching the opposite conclusion. In what he calls "a dramatic reversal," Israeli officials say that at a time of extreme instabi...

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/10/netanyahu-israel-palestine-negotiations-p51-obama-kerry.html …The inability of Netanyahu and Abbas to agree even to an agenda for future talks, the continuation of settlement expansion and the strengthening of extremists in both countries, and Hamas and Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett make any model of direct negotiations impossible. There is, on the other hand, a global consensus that the conflict must at the very least be placed on a negotiation track. Left to their own devices, this will "end up in bloodshed," say sources at the State Department. US Secretary of State John Kerry told Abbas not to expect anything before Nov. 6, and warned him against unilateral activity at the UN. Yet, Abbas is determined — after giving up on Netanyahu and Obama — to move with vigor at the UN Security Council, General Assembly and at the speci...

http://mondoweiss.net/2014/10/baleground-palestinian-solidarity?utm_source=Mondoweiss+List&utm_campaign=c642c10a12-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b86bace129-c642c10a12-398495333     On September 23 2014, Palestinian solidarity activists took part in the  International Day of Action on College Campuses , calling for students and faculty around the world to pressure their academic institutions to support justice, human rights, and freedom for the Palestinian people. The International Day of Action officially stated as its demands: No to Academic Complicity with Israeli Occupation No to Study Abroad Programs in Israel No Investments in Apartheid and Occupation Supporting Companies No to University Presidents' Visits to Israel No Campus Police Training or Cooperation with Israeli Security No Joint Research or Conferences with Israeli Institutions No Cooperation with Hasbara N...

  http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/09/us-palestinians-uk-recognition-idUSKCN0HY15G20141009?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews   One hundred and thirty-eight countries approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine in a vote at the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 but most European Union countries, including Britain, have yet to give official recognition... A motion due for debate in Britain's lower house of Parliament on Oct. 13 will ask lawmakers whether they believe the government should recognize the state of Palestine… …Palestinians believe Britain bears a unique role in their plight, as it ran a colonial mandate over what is now Israel and occupied Palestinian lands from the end of the First World War, blessing a Jewish homeland among the native Arabs and allowing mass Jewish immigration there, mostly from European countries... Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://972mag.com/why-wont-israel-sign-the-arms-trade-treaty/97529/   Twenty years after its inception, the Arms Trade Treaty finally looks like it is going to be enshrined in international law. But despite supporting its passage, Israel refuses to sign it… . Countries such as Britain, France and Germany (all three of whom are in the list of top ten arms exporters in the world) cannot sell weapons to a country that violates human rights, regardless of whether that same country signed the treaty. Therefore, if Israel is worried about international criticism vis-a-vis its human rights record, it should invest in improving it. Moreover, signing the treaty would serve as a statement to the world regarding Israel's commitment to the principles of human rights. As one of dozens weapons exporters in the world , Israel has the ability to play a big role on the international stage, by joining the international alliance and speaking out...

http://972mag.com/a-professors-freedom-to-tweet-the-steven-salaita-affair/97427/ In 2013, the American-Indian Studies Program at The University of Illinois decided to hire Steven Salaita, who then held a tenured position at Virginia Tech University. The university's administration approved the appointment via a standard procedure that seemed to go smoothly. So in 2014, Salaita resigned from Virginia Tech, sold his house and moved with his family to Urbana-Champagne. But then, something very unlikely happened. On August 1, Salaita received an email from Phyllis Wise, the U of I chancellor, informing him that his job offer had been rescinded. Wise wrote that the position was subject to approval by the university's Board of Trustees, but in his case, the appointment would not even be submitted to the Board...   [This article is article covers the events, background, and likely future of the Salaita affair.] Posted by Judith F...

http://972mag.com/open-hillel-seeks-to-redefine-u-s-jewish-debate-on-israel-palestine/97451/   This weekend, a student movement known as  Open Hillel  will host a historic conference that promises vibrant debate and plenty of conflict over the relationship between the American Jewish community and the State of Israel. The tensions produced by uncensored conversations about the Israel-Palestine conflict promise to offer a moment of growth for our community.   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://al-shabaka.org/policy-brief/politics/after-gaza-what-price-palestines-security-sector A must-read from the Palestinian policy network Al Shabaka: "The burgeoning Palestinian Authority (PA) security sector in the West Bank has from the start served Israel as an instrument of control and pacification of the Palestinian population." Submitted by Donna Hicks, AIME member

Full text: http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/ht/d/EventDetails/i/47682 The bombing of civilian targets in Gaza has raised the question of whether Israel has committed massacres in clear violation of International law. But to prosecute such a crime, it is necessary to establish that there are civilian lives in Gaza. The argument that Hamas has turned its civilian population into human shields promotes the view that civilians have become instruments of war. What are the best ways to counter this view, given the differential value accorded to Palestinian and Israeli lives? Against what forms of racism and demonization must the value of Palestinian lives be asserted? Dr. Butler's lecture will also be livestreamed for those unable to attend. Submitted by Peggy Rafferty, posted by Sam Bryan, AIME members

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/sep/25/failure-gaza/ The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has long ago become a shouting match over moral superiority. With seventy Israelis and more than two thousand Palestinians, most of them civilians, dead, the latest round of violence in Gaza, too, is being analyzed and discussed mostly on ethical grounds. But as fighting goes on, moral condemnation will likely do little to prevent the next round. Understanding how we got to this point—and, more importantly, how we can move beyond it—calls for an examination of the political events that led up to the operation and the political context in which it took place. Submitted by Peggy Rafferty, posted by Sam Bryan, AIME members

  Full text: http://www.alternet.org/noam-chomsky-real-reason-israel-mows-lawn-gaza The disengagement was depicted as a noble effort to pursue peace, but the reality was quite different. Israel never relinquished control of Gaza and is, accordingly, recognized as the occupying power by the United Nations, the U.S., and other states (Israel apart, of course). In their comprehensive history of Israeli settlement in the occupied territories, Israeli scholars Idith Zertal and Akiva Eldar describe what actually happened when that country disengaged: the ruined territory was not released "for even a single day from Israel's military grip or from the price of the occupation that the inhabitants pay every day." After the disengagement, "Israel left behind scorched earth, devastated services, and people with neither a present nor a future. The settlements were destroyed in an unge...

http://mondoweiss.net/2014/10/ny-senators-letter Two Jewish organizations in NY call on NY senators to enforce the Leahy Amendment. This is something AIME has called on at least one member of Congress to do for several years now. Submitted by Donna Hicks, AIME member

Full text: http://newspaper.iran-daily.com/newspaper/pagepdf/2645 Sweden's new center-left government will recognize the state of Palestine in a move that will make it the first major European country to take the step, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said on Friday. The UN General Assembly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine in 2012 but the European Union and most EU countries have yet to give official recognition, Reuters reported Submitted by Judith Ferster, posted by Sam Bryan, AIME members

Full text: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/219512-israels-water-war-crime There is a war going on and it long predates Israel's summer Gaza onslaught. It is a war on water, and it runs deep. For the last decade, Israel has been carrying out a systemic and willful campaign to deny Palestinians access to clean water. Though Israel's campaign to restrict water access has yet to make the news, rights organizations are pushing the Palestinian Authority to take the issue to court, so the matter could well make headlines in the coming months. While the PA has been debating whether or not to accede to the International Criminal Court, increasing documentation of war crimes may push their hand. Posted by Sam Bryan, AIME member

Full text: http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2014/09/24/american-jew-palestine last paragraph: As a Jew, I am in no way going against my people. The Israeli government is not my people. It is a government that acts on its own and does good and bad things. For a government to claim any official religion does not shield it of critical thinking by those of that religion. The fact that these horrible acts have been done in my name distorts even further the truth of the matter. As a witness to the truth, what the Israeli government has committed in the West Bank is not out of security, and not out of self-defense. It is done out of an attempt to ethnically cleanse the region. It is done out of an attempt to pacify a people who have been denied their rights and land they have lived on for centuries. It is a system in which people are segregated and given separate identification based on ethnic backg...

http://imeu.org/article/expert-qa-hamas-isis-netanyahus-agenda   Q - In his speech to the UN General Assembly today, Prime Minister Netanyahu will likely draw a parallel between the West's struggle against ISIS and Israel's fight against Hamas [he did]. Is this a reasonable comparison? GL - There is no comparison between Hamas and ISIS except in Israeli propaganda. Hamas is a Palestinian religious-national movement, not a world Jihad organization…    [More Qs and As follow] Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://timeswarp.org/   {Conclusion] I f addresses by the Iranian or Palestinian presidents had bombed, would the Times have hinted that all was not well? If Netanyahu had found an enthusiastic reception this week, would that have been newsworthy enough for the paper? Last week Abbas received a standing ovation, and the newspaper made no mention of it. It has been up to others to fill in the blanks for both stories. Of more concern, however, is the consistent failure of the Times to set the record straight about Hamas. (See TimesWarp , "Hamas in its Own Words." ) Although it is capable of defying Netanyahu, the Times is more than happy to "delegitimize" the Islamic party at every opportunity, following the lead of official spokespersons in Washington and Tel Aviv.     Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/01/opinion/thomas-l-friedman-order-vs-disorder-part-4-.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=c-column-top-span-region&region=c-column-top-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-top-span-region&_r=0   …As Mark Mykleby, a retired Marine colonel and the co-director of the Strategic Innovation Lab at Case Western Reserve University, put it to me: "In the Cold War, we contained the Soviets militarily to set the conditions for the U.S.S.R. to collapse on itself… "In the case of Gaza," he added, "the Israelis are creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of a chronic problem by simply 'containing' the Palestinians." Without a strategy for improving living conditions there, that could prove very damaging to Israel in the long run as Gaza becomes a human disaster zone. The West is doing something similar with ISIS: containing without bui...

Full text; http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/26254-the-political-economy-of-israeli-apartheid-and-the-specter-of-genocide Just days before the seven-week siege of Gaza this past July and August that left some 2,000 Palestinians dead, 11,000 injured and 100,000 homeless, Israeli lawmaker Ayelet Shaked, a senior figure in the Jewish Home Party that is part of Israel's ruling coalition, posted on Facebook that "the entire Palestinian people is the enemy . . . including its elderly and its women, its cities and its villages, its property and its infrastructure." The post went on to declare that "behind every terrorist stand dozens of men and women, without whom he could not engage in terrorism. They are all enemy combatants, and their blood shall be on all their heads. Now this also includes the mothers of the martyrs, who send them to hell with flowers and kisses. They should follo...