vjp-global

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-zunes/netanyahu-holocaust-israel-palestine_b_8403634.html …Meanwhile, President Abbas, the recognized Palestinian government, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the ruling Fatah party all remain on record accepting Israel's right to exist with strict security guarantees on 78% of historic Palestine, but simply demanding an end of the occupation and colonization of the remaining 22% seized by Israel in the 1967 war. It is this kind of moderation which makes it difficult for Israel to continue its refusal to make the necessary compromises for peace. This is why Netanyahu and his American supporters need to blame the violence exclusively on those under occupation, convince the public that Arabs and Muslims simply want the Jews annihilated, and frighten Israelis into rejecting Palestinian offers for peace. Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://www.salon.com/2015/10/22/israels_descent_into_unmasked_right_wing_extremism_a_new_generation_rises_to_fight_occupation_settler_colonialism_apartheid/     This Palestinian resistance is a spontaneous reaction to the most racist, far-right government in Israel's history…The question of Palestine is one of resistance against a colonial, apartheid regime.… Concerted, widespread, sustained nonviolent pressure that is anchored in international law and universal principles of human rights is needed, particularly in the form of boycott, divestment and sanctions, or BDS [and perhaps] a military embargo, for instance, similar to the one imposed on apartheid South Africa,…After such a "de-escalation," perhaps we can pursue the goal of freedom, justice and equality... Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOEKEdtn2Bw   Snippets:   This is new: In the second intifada, the violence came from outside the city.   This is no longer true…. //The detonator of violence is the real or perceived threat to the Temple Mount. The fears of the Muslims about the Temple Mount are not paranoia and they need to be addressed. // But this is on top of the ascendancy of absolutist exclusionary faith communities.   They weaponize faith. We are seeing existential threat to the long term viability of the Zionist enterprise.   To stop this:   Stop crushing moderate Palestinian organizations.   Stop punitive demolitions.   Give the Palestinians of East Jerusalem the vote and Israeli passports.   We need a border--the two state solution will work in Jerusalem or not at all.   The division will heal but it must start with a divorce.  And more...   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://mondoweiss.net/2015/10/because-global-supplier ...Over the last couple of decades, Israel has become a leading exporter of security, surveillance and military equipment. It's one of the top ten arms exporters in a global market worth $2.5 trillion a year. Israel's share of that in 2012 was $7 billion. And Israel, according to Halper's analysis, has an advantage over some of its commercial rivals – its own real time military laboratory, a testing ground with real life targets...   There are other things that need to happen if the boycott campaign is to be the "game-changer" Halper …believes it could be. He offers a criticism of BDS that's expressed by both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian camps. BDS fails to be clear about the political outcome that will be required for its goals to be achieved... –   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://972mag.com/jerusalem-in-context/112963/ The current events in Jerusalem have a political history and context. Attempts to attribute the violence to some kind of Palestinian pathology while ignoring other factors is a recipe for making things worse. A response to Jeffrey Goldberg. Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

  http://972mag.com/author/orlyn/   East Jerusalem is a place that lacks classrooms, where students cannot talk openly about their feelings, and where the municipality refuses to meet with Palestinian parents. Orly Noy speaks to the head of the parents' council about why Palestinian youth have lost all hope. Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://www.ebay.com/sch/items/?_nkw=schneider+glass&_sacat=&_ex_kw=&_mPrRngCbx=1&_udlo=&_udhi=&_sop=12&_fpos=&_fspt=1&_sadis=&LH_CAds=&rmvSB=true   Dozens Israeli settlers attempted to reach Joseph's Tomb in the northern occupied West Bank district of Nablus overnight Saturday, before being escorted by Palestinian security forces who handed the settlers off to Israeli police, an Israeli army spokesperson said….   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/world/middleeast/in-east-jerusalem-palestinians-are-seething-after-years-of-neglect.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0 East Jerusalem, long the emotional heart of Palestinian life, is now the fiery soul of its discontent. … "On the one hand, yes, you have open access to Israeli society — on the other hand you also have more knowledge about the discrimination that's being practiced against you," said Sari Nusseibeh, the former president of Al Quds University. "Major issues that you identify with as a Palestinian and a Muslim, your dignity and self-respect, your position, your role, these are in total and constant conflict."… Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://972mag.com/palestinians-mustnt-fall-into-this-trap-again/112765/ Smart (non-violent) resistance is not a slogan, it's a conscious path to freedom and independence. To cover up its crimes, Israel needs to feed all the western stereotypes of Palestinians as violent and subhuman rather than hungry for freedom and equal rights... Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/middle-east/21562-is-it-a-new-intifada-leave-it-to-the-palestinians-to-answer   Is it a new intifada? Are we witnessing the beginning of a third uprising in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OP … ...More Palestinians are now empowered with social media tools to over and convey their reality to the outside world. In the end, let's not worry about definitions or labels, or whether it is a third intifada or not. Let the people on the ground — that ground covered by clashes and confrontation — decide where they want and hope to lead it. It's a new generation of Palestinian rebellion which has been resisting for the past few years against Israeli occupation, colonisation and apartheid. Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/why-be-afraid-intifada-152825522?can_id=ca7b67f7d7a78f8a5909daa8962bdccf&source=email-what-were-reading-despair-among-palestinian-youth-stoking-unrest&email_referrer=what-were-reading-despair-among-palestinian-youth-stoking-unrest&email_subject=what-were-reading-despair-among-palestinian-youth-stoking-unrest …Intifadas are good. They reveal to the world that Palestinians have not, will not, acquiesce to their oppression. The third intifada must be against the ongoing occupation as undertaken by the Israeli forces as well as their sub-contractor, the Palestinian Authority. Only then will the farce of Peace Accords and Road Maps be finally tossed into the trash heap of history, where it belongs.  An escalation in Israeli violence, both "state violence" and "state-facilitated settler violence," along with an escalation in angry Palestinian resistance - because there is...

http://fmep.org/blog/2015/10/jerusalem-the-price-of-despair/ …Seidemann pointed out that, in some ways, the two state solution is being lived now in Jerusalem, with Israeli Jews rarely entering Palestinian areas and Palestinians avoiding the Jewish parts unless they have work or other business there. Settlers in East Jerusalem, however, are living a one state reality…Seidemann said that the level of cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority on security remains good. But that won't last in the current climate. Regardless of Abbas' commitment to non-violence, Netanyahu continues to accuse him of incitement – "Netanyahu plays on Israeli fears and anxieties like a virtuoso plays on a Stradivarius," said Seidemann — and the security cooperation is becoming more and more of a political liability for Abbas. Eventually, those things will combine to break that cooperation. This was one of the implications of Abbas' speech at the United Nation...

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2015/10/how-i-became-pro-palestine-why-it-matters/   … I have walked you through my own journey because I believe these "conversion" stories are essential to the work of liberating Palestine. This is not a situation that can be resolved on the ground: the political, economic and military disparities are too great. It is the weight of world opinion that will tip the balance. The "Israel-Palestine Conflict" is a media war, its main battle ground is the U.S., understanding how people who have been fed a lifetime of propaganda come to change their minds is the key to victory…   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-zunes/bipartisan-attacks-agains_b_8126052.ht   … even those who do not necessarily support the BDS campaign against Israel or the Israeli occupation should oppose such efforts. At root, these anti-BDS efforts are about defending corporate profits, regardless of the moral and legal implications. Poster by Judith Ferster, AIME member