Shifting the Discourse on Israel/Palestine

By Omar Baddar 

During the last decade, activism for Palestinian freedom has overcome a wide range of intimidation tactics seeking to curb criticism of Israel, and has successfully shifted public discourse in the United States on the issue.



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Irish Senator Drops Some Powerful Truth About the Tragedy in Gaza

Youtube


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Jon Stewart Learns What Happens When You Criticize Israel

Youtube


You can visit our Gaza article archive here.  

Poll:  Does the United States' support of Israel make Americans less safe?

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Brzezinski has harsh words for Israel, Tells Netanyahu he's 'making a very serious mistake'

CNN

Fareed Zakaria speaks with former U.S. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski about Israel's military operation in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on CNN told Wolf Blitzer that the invasion of Gaza was a strategy to demilitarize Gaza, explaining the use of force. But it has been quite a robust use of force…Do you think that it is going to succeed, the Israeli strategy?

No, I think he is making a very serious mistake. When Hamas in effect accepted the notion of participation in the Palestinian leadership, it in effect acknowledged the determination of that leadership to seek a peaceful solution with Israel. That was a real option. They should have persisted in that.

Instead Netanyahu launched the campaign of defamation against Hamas, seized on the killing of three innocent Israeli kids to immediately charge Hamas with having done it without any evidence, and has used that to stir up public opinion in Israel in order to justify this attack on Gaza, which is so lethal.

I think he is isolating Israel. He's endangering its longer-range future. And I think we ought to make it very clear that this is a course of action which we thoroughly disapprove and which we do not support and which may compel us and the rest of the international community to take some steps of legitimizing Palestinian aspirations perhaps in the U.N.

You can visit our Gaza article archive here.  

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Israeli/Palestinian Peace Talks: Dead on Arrival

Dees Illustration

Stephen Lendman

So-called peace talks are fake. They're a sham. They've always been this way. Decades of talks were stillborn from inception. This time's no different. 

Chances for a just peace are ZERO. Palestinians have no say. Believing otherwise defies reality.

Israel deplores peace. So does Washington. They're jointly running things. Both nations are longstanding imperial partners. They prioritize violence and instability. Peace defeats their agenda.

They don't negotiate. They demand. It bears repeating. Palestinians have no say whatever. They never did. They don't now.

Cynthia McKinney On Leadership

Paul Craig Roberts, Contributor

Those who have followed the Republican campaign for the presidential nomination and current contest between Romney and Obama know that the United States has no political leadership in Washington.

Billions of dollars have been spent on political propaganda, but not a single important issue has been addressed. The closest the campaign has come to a political issue is which candidate can grovel the lowest at the feet of Israeli prime minister Netanyahu. Romney won that contest. But for the rest, well, it is like two elementary school children sticking their tongues out at one another.

The question of US political leadership has been on my mind for some time. I can remember when political leadership still existed and when bipartisan cooperation could be mustered on enough issues to keep the country and the government functioning. But no more. It might have been Newt Gingrich who, as Speaker of the House, destroyed bipartisan cooperation by making war on the Democratic Party, warfare that Karl Rove has taken to a new height.

When a country loses leadership, how does a country get leadership back?

Med Gas Fields Discovery Leading to Battle for Wealth in Volatile Middle East

image source - click to enlarge

Brandon Turbeville

As virtually the entire Muslim world erupts in violent protest over a very questionable anti-Islam propaganda video, the Syrian destabilization continues, the murder of the US ambassador to Libya is a world headline, and the impeding war with Iran looms heavier, one can easily see the build-up to a literal clash of civilizations of unprecedented proportions. Coupled with the worldwide economic depression and the constant edging closer of a confrontation between the West and Russia and China, one can only wonder when the world will plunge into an unfortunate and totally destructive third world war.

However, with so much focus placed upon the issues mentioned above, it seems that we may add yet another potential tinderbox for the total disintegration of world civilization. This new tinderbox is the underreported Med gas fields – a grouping of natural gas fields that are claimed, at least in part, by Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, and Cyprus, with vested interests held by Turkey and Russia. Iran, Syria, and Egypt are also paying very close attention to developments made in this particular region, as any military conflicts resulting from controversy would affect these nations in a very personal fashion.

The official announcement of the existence of the Med gas fields was announced as far back as 2000, when it was discovered that major gas fields were found off the Palestinian Gaza strip. Typically, Israel is blocking efforts to develop these fields out of fear that such natural resources will provide an injection of economic activity and funding to the embattled Palestinian people.

Israel and Jordan deny Western pro-Palestinian activists access to West Bank to deliver aid

Image credit: Kounosu

Madison Ruppert, Contributor

According to multiple reports, both Israel and Jordan have denied entry to a group of pro-Palestinian activists from the United States and Europe who were attempting to deliver aid to students in the West Bank.

This action coming from Israel, while hardly surprising, is quite troubling. Keep in mind that Israel has repeatedly stated that the only acceptable method of bringing humanitarian aid into the Occupied Palestinian Territories is by land, thus supposedly justifying their blockade on Gaza. All attempts to break this blockade have been thwarted, which just acts to increase anti-Israeli sentiment in the region and around the world.

The spokeswoman for the group leading the mission, “Welcome to Palestine,” stated that one of the buses transporting activists was allowed to pass by Jordanian authorities before being stopped by the Israelis.

“The [Israeli] authorities took all their passports and stamped ‘entry denied’ on all of them and told them to return,” the spokeswoman, Olivia Zemor, said to Agence France-Presse. 

Israel bars five foreign ministers from entering West Bank in ‘flagrant violation’ of international law

image source

Madison Ruppert, Contributor
Activist Post

Five foreign ministers of nations belonging to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) harshly criticized Israel for refusing to allow them to enter the city of Ramallah in the West Bank for a meeting, with one calling the move “a flagrant violation of the principles of international law and of Israel’s obligations as the occupying power.”

Mohammed Kamel Amr, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, stated during a press conference on August 5, 2012 in Amman, Jordan that the NAM Ministerial Committee on Palestine condemned the “blatant action by Israel.”

This type of unabashed flouting of international law on the part of Israel is nothing new by any means, but this comes at especially tense times, as the New York Times notes in reporting, “The cancellation of the Ramallah conference came as an Israeli airstrike killed a Palestinian militant and seriously wounded another in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah.”

The attack killed 22-year-old Eid Oukal and wounded Ahmed Sai’d Isma’i, both allegedly members of the Popular Resistance Committees in Palestine.However, the timing is not only noteworthy because of the recent violence. Indeed, there is perhaps a much more significant reason for Israel to refuse entry to the NAM ministers.

Netanyahu stands firm on peace with Palestinians

Benjamin Netanyahu
© AFP Saul Loeb

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu told US lawmakers he would uproot settlements in a "generous" peace deal with Palestinians, but ruled out a return to the 1967 borders or sharing Jerusalem.

In his speech to a rare joint session of the US Congress, the Israeli leader broke no substantial new ground in his positions and rejected key calls from US President Barack Obama and the international community, who have been looking for ways to revive the comatose peace process.

Netanyahu also ruled out any return to talks as long as the unity deal between Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and the Islamist movement Hamas holds, calling the Palestinians' refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state the real stumbling block to peace.

Obama vows pressure on Iran's nuclear plans

Barack Obama addresses the American Israel Public
Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference
© AFP Mandel Ngan

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama vowed Sunday to "keep up pressure" on Tehran to prevent the Islamic republic from obtaining nuclear weapons, as he condemned its support for extremists in the region.

Outlining US and UN sanctions imposed on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime, Obama said Iran is now "virtually cut off from large parts of the international financial system."

"We're going to keep up the pressure... So let me be absolutely clear -- we remain committed to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons," he added to roaring applause from the audience at the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC Policy Conference.

Obama vows to stand up to Hezbollah over 'assassination'

Barack Obama
© AFP Mandel Ngan

AFP 

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama pledged Sunday that the United States will stand up to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group which he accused of carrying out political assassination.

"Iran continues to support terrorism across the region, including providing weapons and funds to terrorist organizations," Obama said in a speech to the pro-Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

"So we will continue to work to prevent these actions, and will stand up to groups like Hezbollah who exercise political assassination, and seek to impose their will through rockets and car bombs," Obama said.

Obama stands by vision for Mideast peace

An Israeli protester
© AFP David Buimovitch

AFP
 
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama stood his ground to defend his vision of an Israel-Palestinian peace deal following an unprecedented public lambasting from Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu.

Obama took his message to some 10,000 of Israel's staunchest supporters, warning Washington's pro-Israel lobby that the results of a continued stalemate in the Middle East peace process could be dire for the Jewish state.

And after twice dismissing Obama's views as "based on illusions," it was Prime Minister Netanyahu who appeared to be backing away from further confrontation, now saying he shared Obama's vision for peace.

Netanyahu rejects Obama's call on 1967 borders

US President Barack Obama (R) meets with
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
© AFP Jim Watson

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bluntly told President Barack Obama Friday that Israel could not accept his call to return to its "indefensible" 1967 borders to forge peace with the Palestinians.

In a dramatic Oval Office appearance after two hours of talks, which ran considerably over time, Netanyahu warned that a "peace based on illusions will crash eventually on the rocks of Middle Eastern reality."

"The only peace that will endure is one that is based on reality, on unshakeable facts. I think for there to be peace, the Palestinians will have to accept some basic realities," a grim-faced Netanyahu said.

"We don't have a lot of margin for error, because Mr President, history will not give the Jewish people another chance."

Israel rejects Obama peace plan, Palestinians cagey

US President Barack Obama speaks on the
 events in the Middle East
© AFP Jim Watson

AFP

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel on Thursday rejected President Barack Obama's call for a peace deal based the 1967 borders, as the Palestinians said their leadership would hold a meeting to discuss the US leader's policy speech.

Obama's address, billed as an announcement of reoriented US policy in the Middle East after a slew of regional uprisings, focused heavily on the stalled talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

He called for a negotiated solution based on the borders that existed before the 1967 Six Day War, but also warned the Palestinians that a bid for UN recognition of a unilateral proclamation of statehood would not work.

Obama speech will reflect ties with Israel: US envoy

US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg
© AFP/File Saul Loeb

AFP

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel has "nothing to worry about" ahead of US President Barack Obama's key speech on the Middle East this evening, a senior US envoy said on Thursday.

Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, in Jerusalem for a meeting of the US-Israel Strategic Dialogue, said Obama's speech would reflect strong ties between Washington and Israel.

"I'm confident Israel has nothing to worry about from the president's speech," Steinberg said ahead of the talks.

Syria's stoking Golan protests 'unacceptable': US

Israeli soldiers
© AFP Jack Guez

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The White House accused Syria on Monday of stoking protests in the Golan Heights as a "distraction" from its repression of anti-government protests and warned that "such behavior is unacceptable."

"It seems apparent to us that that is an effort to distract attention from the legitimate expressions of protest by the Syrian people and from the harsh crackdown that the Syrian government has perpetrated against its own people," said spokesman Jay Carney.

The United States is "strongly opposed to the Syrian government's involvement in inciting yesterday's protests in the Golan Heights," Carney told reporters aboard President Barack Obama's official Air Force One airplane.

Israel-Palestinian violence erupts on three borders

Wiki Commons

Haim Shafir
Reuters

Violence erupted on Israel's borders with Syria, Lebanon and Gaza on Sunday, leaving at least eight dead and dozens wounded, as Palestinians marked what they term "the catastrophe" of Israel's founding in 1948.

Israeli troops shot at protesters in three separate locations to prevent crowds from crossing Israeli frontier lines in the deadliest such confrontation in years.

Israeli and Syrian media reports said Israeli gunfire killed four people after dozens of Palestinian refugees infiltrated the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria, along a disputed border that has been quiet for decades.

Witnesses on the nearby Lebanese frontier said four Palestinians were killed after Israeli forces fired at rock-throwing protesters to prevent them from crossing the border.

The Lebanese army had also earlier fired in the air in an attempt to hold back the crowds. 

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US Middle East envoy resigning

US special envoy to the Middle East
George Mitchell is resigning
© AFP/Pool/File Alex Brandon

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama Friday announced his "tireless" envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, was resigning, but vowed the US administration remained committed to the faltering peace process.

Describing Mitchell as having taken on "the toughest job imaginable," Obama paid tribute to the veteran diplomat who had "worked grueling hours to advance the interests of the United States and the cause of peace."

"His deep commitment to resolving conflict and advancing democracy has contributed immeasurably to the goal of two states living side by side in peace and security," the president said in a statement.

Mitchell gave no reason for deciding to quit, saying only he had always intended to serve just two years when he was appointed by Obama in January 2009. His resignation will be effective from Friday, May 20.

"I strongly support your vision of comprehensive peace in the Middle East and thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part of your administration," Mitchell said in his resignation letter to Obama.

Equal Rights For Palestinians Billboard Censored

YouTube -- NotForSale2NWO


Note: Previously the Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign attempted to have their ads run on Seattle buses. These ads were censored by the Israeli lobby. Now that the billboards have also been taken down I feel that it was once again the Israeli Lobby. At this time SeaMAC has not confirmed this.

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