Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me,
but weep for yourselves, and for your children...
Filhas de Jerusalém, não choreis por mim,
chorai por vós mesmas e por vossos filhos...
but weep for yourselves, and for your children...
Filhas de Jerusalém, não choreis por mim,
chorai por vós mesmas e por vossos filhos...
E o ar da cidade está se deteriorando dia a dia, "graças" à ocupação civil israelense desenfreada e aos colonos judeus radicais que andam forçando a barra para roubar cada vez mais espaço dos palestinos na cidade ocupada. Além das terras, querem tirar-lhes também a mesquita.
Adoro o Monte das Oliveiras, mas não gosto de Jerusalém mesma. Tenho a sensação que a violência em que a cidade vive há séculos por intermitência, com os palestinos primeiro sendo invadidos pelos israelitas, David matando Golias daquele jeito traíra, depois os Otomanos, depois as Cruzadas, depois a Naqba, depois a ocupação sangrenta e desumana, enfim, acho que a cidade armazenou tudo isto e quem tem sensibilidade sente o clima pesado. Eu como católica só sinto paz dentro das igrejas. O bazar há 30 anos atrás era animado, os vendedores palestinos riam, trocavam sorrisos, falavam alto ao ver o estrangeiro aproximar-se. Hoje os "Men in Black" como os jovens de Tel Aviv chamam os judeus radicais, atravessam o mercado como se estivessem em casa e os verdadeiros donos do pedaço riem amarelo e se calam. Ainda são prestativos e amáveis com os turistas cristãos porque os palestinos primam pela hospitalidade, mas sofrem bastante com a precariedade na qual a ocupação os sufoca.
Jesus profetizou o futuro negro da cidade e não teve erro. A obscuridade reina nas ruelas e nos corações dos ocupantes e turistas cristãos ignorantes.
A parte israelita da cidade antiga é um oásis de prosperidade, e até isso irrita. De ver que o ocupante estar se esbaldando e ali do lado, o ocupado estar sendo espezinhado e privado do mínimo, até de água potável.
A Jerusalém ocidental, com raras exceções de moradores antigos, é habitada por direitistas empedernidos ou judeus ortodoxos alienados e as colônias/assentamentos/invasões na Jerusalém ocidental, pela escória judia mundial. Digo escória porque para aceitar sair de seu país para ocupar um país estrangeiro só para ganhar uns tostões ou por uma suposta crença forjada, é preciso ser mau, alienadíssimo, ou ter tendências graves a bandidagem. Não engulo esta ladainha de religiosidade porque as pessoas realmente religiosas se preocupam com as outras. Ou não é assim no judaísmo? É sim. Conheço judeus bons e conscientes que renegam estes invasores e a corja de Binyamin Netanyahu toda.
Com os incidentes da semana passada, que tiveram pouco enfoque na grande mídia e quando sim, deturpado, resolvi fazer uma retrospectiva do que a mesquita Al-Aqsa vem vivendo sob ocupação israelense militar, omnipresente, e civil, mais do que acelerada.
Está em inglês porque estou sem tempo de fazer em versão bilingue e meus inúmeros leitores estrangeiros me deixam com medo de estarem usando a perigosa tradução google...
Inside the Old City, a World Heritage site, lies al-Haram al-Sharif, or
the Noble Sanctuary, a 35-acre compound that comprises Islam's third
holiest site, after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, al-Aqsa mosque.
The compound is also home to the Dome of the Rock, a revered site
believed to be where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.
Since Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip
in June 1967, the affairs of the Noble Sanctuary have been run by an
Islamic trusteeship, supported by the Jordanian government, known as the
Waqf. Israel still maintains what it believes to be its right to
sovereignty over the area after it annexed the eastern part of the city.
In addition to running schools and charities in Jerusalem, the Waqf
maintains guards at the entrances to the compound, with the exception of
the Mughrabi Gate. This gate (also known as Bab al-Magharbeh or Dung
Gate) is connected by a bridge to an open-air plaza that was created
when Israel demolished the Mughrabi (Moroccan) Quarter in 1967.
This plaza lies in front of the Western (Wailing) Wall, which Jews
believe is the last remnant of the Second Temple, a place of Jewish
worship that was destroyed by the Roman rulers of Jerusalem centuries
ago. Jewish tradition maintains that a Third Temple will be rebuilt on
the Noble Sanctuary, referred to in Judaism as the Temple Mount.
When Roman emperor Hadrian came to Jerusalem in 130 he found the Temple and the whole city destroyed save for a few houses, among them the one where the Apostles had received the Holy Ghost. In the 530s Roman emperor Justinian built a great basilica over the empty spot of the Temple, surrounded by a hospital and a school, as early Christians used to do. The basilica was consecrated to the Virgin Mary and named "Church of Our Lady". The compound was destroyed in the early 7th century by the last king of the Sasanian empire, Khosrau II, and left in ruins.
When Roman emperor Hadrian came to Jerusalem in 130 he found the Temple and the whole city destroyed save for a few houses, among them the one where the Apostles had received the Holy Ghost. In the 530s Roman emperor Justinian built a great basilica over the empty spot of the Temple, surrounded by a hospital and a school, as early Christians used to do. The basilica was consecrated to the Virgin Mary and named "Church of Our Lady". The compound was destroyed in the early 7th century by the last king of the Sasanian empire, Khosrau II, and left in ruins.
The Noble Sanctuary was taken by the Ottoman Empire and transformed into the compound which is currently allowed for Muslim prayer
alone, but Israeli soldiers regularly escort Jewish Israeli visitors to
the site. These incursions are often performed under armed guard, and
provoke violent clashes between the Israeli security forces and
Palestinians. The Israeli authorities also regularly impose strict rules
on Palestinian access to the Noble Sanctuary, frequently forbidding all
men under 40 (at times under 50) years of age from entering.
Jerusalem's occupation / Ocupação de Jerusalém
Last updated in 2010
Mesquita Al-Aqsa de Jérusalem
Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem
TIMELINE
746: The mosque was completely destroyed by an earthquake and rebuilt by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur in 754 which was rebuilt by his successor al-Mahdi in 780.
1033: Another earthquake destroyed most of al-Aqsa and two years later the Fatimid caliph Ali az-Zahir built the mosque whjich has stood to the present day.
1099: When the Crusaders captured Jerusalem, they used the mosque as a palace and church.
1187: Saladin recaptures de site and restores ists function as a mosque. Many renovations, repairs and addtions were undertaken in the later centuries by the Ayyubids, Mamluks, Ottomans, the Surpreme Council and Jordan. Today, although the Old City is occupied by Israel and under its military control, the mosque remains under the administration of the Jordanian/Palestinian-led Islamic Waqf - a religious endowment in Islamic law, this is, donations of building, plot of land, cash for Muslim religious or charitable purposes which are held by a charitable trust.
1922: Al-Aqsa mosque undergoes first renovation in 20th century
The Supreme Muslim Council – the highest body in charge of Muslim affairs in British Mandate Palestine – commissions Turkish architect Ahmet Kemalettin Bey to restore al-Aqsa, in the mosque’s first renovation in the 20th century. Restoration work is also done on the mosque's foundations, columns, beams and arches.
1948: Jewish forces capture 85 percent of Jerusalem. By the end of the 1948 war, Jewish forces had captured 85 percent of Jerusalem. The Jordanian Arab Legion takes control of the West Bank, including 11 percent of the eastern part of Jerusalem (which encompasses the Old City and adjacent villages).
1967, June 10: Israel declares Jerusalem "unified" after illegally extending its jurisdiction to the eastern part of the city, a move that remains unrecognised by the international community, after the 1967 war.
1967, August 15: Israeli law prohibits Jewish prayer at al-Haram al-Sharif.
Israel's chief military chaplain, Rabbi Shlomo Goren, and members of the Chief Rabbinate, go through the Mughrabi (Magharbeh, or Dung) Gate to al-Haram al-Sharif plaza. Goren had planned to establish a precedent by allowing Jewish prayers there. The visit draws a strong protest and outrage from Palestinians and Jordanians, eventually forcing the Israeli authorities to make a decision dictating that Jews who want to pray must do so at the Western Wall and not in al-Haram al-Sharif plaza. This decision also means that Jews and foreign tourists can only enter the plaza through the Mughrabi Gate.
1969, August 21: Al-Aqsa mosque attacked by a crazy Australian Christian-Zionist named Denis Michael Rohan. He burns part of al-Aqsa mosque – the pulpit or 'minbar', where the imam stands to deliver a sermon. The pulpit was erected by Salaheddin al-Ayoubi (Saladin) after retaking Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187. Rohan was hoping his act of arson would hasten the second coming of Jesus.
1970: Israel excavates near al-Aqsa. By this time, Israeli authorities had accepted the de facto control of the Waqf over al-Aqsa, but gave it no means to exercise any real authority on the area. Instead, Israel carries out dangerous excavations and demolitions despite the Waqf's objections.
1982, March 2: Israelis attack al-Aqsa. An armed Talmudic [Jewish law] student attacks al-Aqsa mosque from Chain Gate (Bab al-Silsila), after assaulting a Muslim guard. Eventually, he was overpowered. Little more than a month later, on April 11, an American-born Israeli army recruit fires an automatic weapon at Muslim worshipers, killing two and wounding 11.
1982, April 27: Meir Kahane, the leader of the far-right political party Kach, accompanied by 100 of his followers, storms al-Haram al-Sharif with diagrams of the Second Temple he was planning to build "on the ruins" of the mosque.
1984, January 27: Pro-settlement leaders plot to blow up al-Aqsa.
Ben Shoshan and Yehuda Etzion – members of the Jewish Underground, a group accused of plotting anti-Palestinian attacks and violence, and founding figures in the pro-settlement Gush Emunim movement in Israel – plot to blow up the al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock. The men said they were motivated by a desire to build the Third Temple on the mosque's ruins.
1988, January 15: Israeli soldiers fire at Muslim worshippers during the height of the first Palestinian Intifada (uprising). The soldiers fire tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets at Muslim worshippers outside the al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, injuring 40.
1988, August 21: The late Jordanian King Hussein Bin Talal issues a declaration announcing that Jordan will disengage from the West Bank at the request of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Previously, the Waqf's responsibility extended beyond East Jerusalem, to include the rest of the occupied West Bank.
1990, October 8: Israeli border police kill at least 21 Palestinians at a demonstration. The protest was triggered by Jewish extremists’ attempt to lay the cornerstone for a Jewish temple on al-Haram al-Sharif
1994, October 26: Wadi Araba agreement signed between Jordan-Israel.
While the al-Aqsa mosque and other Waqf properties remain under Jordanian custodianship, Article 9 of the Wadi Araba agreement states that, "Israel will give high priority to the Jordanian historic role in these shrines." This also means that Palestinians of East Jerusalem are entitled to Jordanian passports. These changes come after the establishment of the Palestinian Authority (PA) following the 1993 Oslo Accords agreement.
1996, September 24: Israeli authorities dig up a large, ancient tunnel near al-Haram al-Sharif. This sets off demonstrations, and in the ensuing violence, 70 Palestinians and 17 Israeli soldiers are killed.
2000, September 28: Then Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon visits al-Haram al-Sharif, surrounded by a bevy of security guards and police. The visit comes at a time when Palestinian frustration is at an all-time high, due in large part to the failure of Israeli-Palestinian peace process negotiations. Sharon’s act is widely viewed as the spark that ignites the second intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Following the visit, restrictions are placed on Muslim worshippers wishing to pray at al-Aqsa. Palestinian men, especially those between 18-50 years of age, face blanket bans from praying at the mosque at certain times, a practice that continues to this day.
2004, February 25: Islamic Waqf reacts to Sharon visit. Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, director of the Islamic Waqf, said that after the provocative visit by Ariel Sharon to al-Aqsa, the Waqf "decided to close the area to foreign tourism and this closure held until 26 April 2003, when the Israeli police made a unilateral decision – despite the Waqf's opposition – to reverse the decision. "Since then, tourists and settler groups have been permitted to enter through the Mughrabi Gate under Israeli police protection."
2005, March 10: Israeli organisation Revava – which is linked to the right-wing Kach group – announces plans to bring 10,000 Jews to pray at al-Haram al-Sharif. David Ha'ivri, Revava's chairman, tells a news organisation that, "The Muslims must understand that their rule over our holy place has come to an end and that the Jewish people will exercise our religious rights on the Temple Mount."
2013, March 21: Jordanian King Abdullah II signs an agreement with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas which reiterates that the King is the custodian of the holy sites in Jerusalem and that he has the right to exert all legal efforts to preserve them, especially al-Aqsa mosque.
2013, November: A draft Israeli law that would grant Jews the right to pray at al-Haram al-Sharif is proposed in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
2014, March 12: Yehuda Glick, the director of the far-right Temple Institute, enters al-Haram al-Sharif compound with two ultra-Orthodox Jewish rabbis, under the armed escort of Israeli police.
2014, March 16: Four Palestinians are injured when Israeli special forces storm al-Haram al-Sharif. IDF troops fired stun grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets at worshippers.
Nine right-wing Israelis, including Housing Minister Uri Ariel, enter the compound in the morning, but their visit is cut short by worshippers who stop them.
Nine right-wing Israelis, including Housing Minister Uri Ariel, enter the compound in the morning, but their visit is cut short by worshippers who stop them.
2014, March 19: Dozens of Israeli soldiers tour al-Haram al-Sharif escorted by Israeli police.
2014, March 20: Clashes break out between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli forces in al-Haram al-Sharif, following a visit by a right-wing Israeli member of the Knesset. Moshe Feiglin, along with a number of other right-wing politicians, enters the al-Haram al-Sharif compound via the Moroccan Gate and tours the courtyard.
2014, March 21: Thousands of Palestinians pray in the streets of Jerusalem after Israeli authorities impose age restrictions on Friday prayer, denying all men under 50 from accessing al-Haram al-Sharif compound.
2014, April 7: Moshe Feiglin, a right-wing member of the Israeli parliament and leading figure in the ruling Likud party, tours al-Haram al-Sharif under armed escort of Israeli police officers. Feiglin, who has called for applying Jewish sovereignty over the holy area, is joined by a group of 50 Jewish-Israelis.
2014, April 13: Israeli soldiers and police fired stun grenades at Palestinian worshippers at al-Aqsa mosque. The violence broke out after the Israeli authorities opened a gate to the al-Haram al-Sharif compound to non-Muslim visitors after morning prayer.
2014, April 20: Dozens of Palestinian worshipers were wounded, others detained after clashes broke in the al-Aqsa mosque compound with Israeli forces who had stormed the courtyards firing stun grenades and rubber-coated bullets. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=691377.
2014, May 5: Israeli security forces shot dead two unarmed Palestinian teenagers on Naqba Day and a Human Rigst group realeased footage that showed the murder, proving why the youngsters had gone "wild' afterwards.
2014, May 6: Israeli police in Jerusalem's Old City restrict entry to al-Aqsa mosque to worshipers over the age of 50 with the exception of students who study in the compound. At the same time, police allow a Jewish group to tour the compound. Dozens of Palestinians perform prayers near the main gates of the compound two days in a row. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=695289
2014, May 5: Israeli security forces shot dead two unarmed Palestinian teenagers on Naqba Day and a Human Rigst group realeased footage that showed the murder, proving why the youngsters had gone "wild' afterwards.
2014, May 27: Plans are announced for an Israeli state-funded project to rebuild the Tiferet Yisrael (“Splendor of Israel”) synagogue. The Arab Legion destroyed it in 1948 because the Haganah, the pre-state Jewish militia, was using it as a hideout; earlier this year the Knesset allocated 50m shekels ($13.4m) for reconstruction. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/10/jerusalem-simmering-over-judaisation-plan-2014101364013133843.html
2014, June 13: 28 Palestinians are injured and 8 detained during clashes that break out after Israeli forces quash a march in support of Palestinian administrative detainees who had been on hunger strike for more than 50 days. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=704495
2014, July 4: Israel imposes Ramadan restrictions on al-Aqsa deploying Israeli police officers in large numbers around Jerusalem early Friday as restrictions are imposed on Palestinian worshipers entering the al-Aqsa compound. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=709931
2014, July 16: Clashes and fistfights break out inside the al-Aqsa Mosque compound Tuesday morning between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli police officers who escort the right-wing deputy Knesset speaker Moshe Feiglin into the compound. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=713212
2014, July 18: 110 are injured in Jerusalem after clashes break out with Israeli forces at tal-Aqsa compound amid heightened tensions following the Israeli ground invasion of Gaza the day before.
2014, October 1: Israeli authorities grant 500 Palestinians from Gaza three-day permits to visit Jerusalem over the Eid al-Adha holida.
2014, October 7: PLO reacts to new plan to open second gate for Jewish Israelis to enter al-Aqsa mosque compound
PLO Executive Committee Member Hanan Ashrawi slams a new proposal to allow Jewish Israelis to enter al-Aqsa Mosque compound through a second gate as a "loud insult" to Muslims around the world.
2014, October 15: Palestinians clash with Israeli forces amid al-Aqsa restrictions.
Clashes break out between Palestinian worshipers and Israeli forces at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound amid visits by right-wing Jews. Israeli forces fire stun grenades and rubber-coated bullets at worshipers. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=733343.
Clashes break out between Palestinian worshipers and Israeli forces at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound amid visits by right-wing Jews. Israeli forces fire stun grenades and rubber-coated bullets at worshipers. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=733343.
2014, October 29: Hardline Zionist Yehuda Glick was shot several times at a conference attended by far-right wing Israeli MPs in Jerusalem on Wednesday evening, October 29. The US born rabbi Glick is a well-known extreme right activist closely associated with Israeli recent efforts to gain control of Al-Aqsa mosque. He often led groups of zionists to visit the muslim site. He is close to Likud's MPs Moshe Feiglin and Miri Regev. Feiglin is a controverisal figure who stocks tensions at the religious site. Glick's condition is stable. Rabbi Glick was shot at point blank outside the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem on Wednesday night. Glick, 50, was shot in his upper body by a motorcyclist during an annual ‘Israel Returns to the Temple Mount’ event organized by the Temple Mount and Eretz Yisrael Faithful Movement. The event was attended by MKs and notable right-wing activists, among them Deputy Minister Eli Ben Dahan, MK Moshe Feiglin, MK Miri Regev and Hagai Ben Artzi – Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s brother-in-law.
2014, October 30: Israeli police shot dead 32-year-old former Palestinian prisoner Muataz Hijazi on Thursday early morning. Muataz was jailed in 2002 when he was 20 years old, during the Second Intifada and was released in 2012. The murder followed Wednesday night's shooting of Glick. Taghreed, Muataz' aunt, said he had been badly beaten before bein executed and his family contradicted Israeli police account that he was shot on the roof os his house. They say he was inside the house, in his bedroom and a neighbour says that it happened between 5:30 and 5:40.
As police removed Muataz' body, residents threw objects from their balconies on one group while police fired teargas and stun grenades.In retaliation of the attack on Glick, Israeli government closed the Palestinian religious compound. The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, responded angrily to this measure: "This dangerous Israeli escalation is a declaration of war on the Palestinian people and its sacred places". His spokesman nbail Abu Rudeina warned it would onlu fuel "more tension and instability".
The religious site has become a flashpoint with Palestinians accusing Israel of attempting to change the status quo administered by a Jordanian religious endowment.
2014, October 31: Israel reopened Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound for the Muslim Friday prayers, but restricted entry for men under the age of 50, with the presence of aboutr 3,000 Israeli police officers right outside, three times more than usual. Al around, there was a huge secutiry presence. Around thousands of Israeli police and riot police were stationed right around the area, near the Damascus Gate entrance to the Old City.
Even though there was no clashes after prayer, just for provocation and to "have fun", Israely security personnel fired several volleys of tear gas canisters at dozens of youths gathered at the Qalandiya checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah. And the youngsters responded with stone throwing.
On the same Friday, Israeli forces in occupied East Jerusalem attempted to detain two Palestinian children, a two-year-old and a nine-year-old on "suspicions of throwing rocks". It was surreal. The IDF was conducting a raid on the home of the Jaber family in the Silwan neighborhood in order to search for an individual suspected of throwing rocks at them from the roof. When the soldiers ascended to the roof they found two-year-old boy Mimati Asaad jaber playing with his mother. While they were playing, apparently, a rock had fallen into the street below. Upon seeing the two-year-old with his mother, however, the Israeli soldiers shifted their attention to nine-year-old Izz al-Din al-Qassam, member of the family nearby. As his last name is also the name of a famous Palestinian hero of the resistance and used by hamas as the name for its military brigades, they began questioning the boy and afterwards tried to deatin him based on the fact that he had "coloured rocks" in his pockets, presumably to throw at the soldiers, but when they seached the child they found that the "rocks" were in fact candy.
A new draft law being considered by israeli lawmakers would lead to charges of up to 20 years, even if it could not be proven that rock-throwers intended to cause damage.
A 2011 report by Israeli rights group B'Tselem, noted that around 100 percent of all Palestinian children accused of rock-thrwoing are convicted, largely because minors are kept in prison for the duration of any trial so the pressure to plea bargain is high.
Military court Watch estimated that at the beginning of October more than 180 Palestinian children and youths were being held in Israeli prisons, down from 250 in June.
According to a 2013 report by the UN's Childre's Fund, Israel is the only country in the world where children are systematically tried in military courts and sujected to "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment."
Over the past decade, the IDF have arrested, interrogated, and prosecuted around 7,000 children between 12 and 17, mostly boys, at a rate of "an average of two children each day", says UNICEF.
Noam Chomsky at the United Nations (october 2014)
Noam Chomsky na ONU - I (18')
"Chickenshit"
This week, It happened. An unnamed very high-ranking US official said this in an interview with the respected American journalist who bears the very Jewish name of Jeffrey Goldberg.
No high-ranking official would use such a term for publication without the express permission of the President of the United States of America. So here we are.
History has seen many strange relationships between nations. But I dare say none stranger than that existing between Israel and the US.
On the face of it, no two states could be closer to each other. Just a minor example: the day the memorable Chickenshit remark made headlines, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution calling upon the US to put an end to its 50-year old embargo on Cuba. 188 countries, including the whole spectrum of EU and NATO countries, voted in favor. Two states voted against: the US and Israel.
Two countries against the entire world? No, not entirely. Micronesia, Palau and the Marshal Islands abstained. (These three mighty island nations generally support Israel, too, though few Israelis could place them on the map.)
Throughout the years, in hundreds of UN votes, Israel has stood loyally with the US, and vice versa. An unshakable alliance, so it seemed. And now they call our valiant Prime Minister chickenshit?
The official based his uncomplimentary remark on Binyamin Netanyahu's disinclination to bomb Iran, as threatened repeatedly, as well as on Netanyahu's unwillingness to make peace with the Palestinians.
The first accusation is unfounded, since Netanyahu never seriously considered an attack on Iran... And not only because the entire Israeli defense establishment was against it.
The second accusation is even more groundless. Netanyahu did not chicken out of making peace. This would presuppose that he wanted peace in the first place. If the Americans really believe so, they should read a few good articles (especially mine).
Netanyahu never entertained even for a moment the idea of making peace. His entire upbringing makes this quite impossible. His late father, Ben-Zion, was such an extreme and rigid nationalist, that compared to him Vladimir Jabotinsky, the Zionist right-wing leader, looked like a leftist pacifist.
Every word Binyamin Netanyahu has ever uttered in favor of peace and the Two-State solution was a blatant lie. For him to advocate a Palestinian state is like the Chief Rabbi advocating eating pork on Yom Kippur.
Any American diplomat who does not know this should be transferred at once to Micronesia (or Palau).
Lately it seems that Netanyahu has been doing everything in his power to provoke a quarrel with the US government.
At first sight, this looks like an act of lunacy, an act so dangerous that any competent psychiatrist would commit him to the closed wing of an asylum.
Israel is totally dependent on the US - not 99%, but 100%. On the very same day as the publication of the Chickenshit statement, the US agreed to sell Israel a second squadron of F-35 fighter planes, after the sale of the first 19 planes (which costs 2.35 billion dollars). The money comes from the yearly tribute the US pays to Israel.
Without the automatic US veto on all UN Security Council resolutions not approved by the Israeli government, there would have long been a State of Palestine as a full-fledged member of the UN. A cornerstone of our foreign relations is the belief of many countries that in order to gain entrance to the favors of the US Congress, they first need to bribe the gatekeeper – Israel. And so on.
Literally every Israeli is convinced that our relationship with the US is the lifeline of the state. If there is anything at all on which Israelis of all age groups, communities, beliefs and political orientations are unanimous, it is this conviction.
So how come our prime minister is working full-time on destroying the relationship between the two governments?
When our Minister of Defense, Moshe Ya'alon, visited Washington DC this week, all his requests to meet US cabinet ministers and other high officials were categorically refused, except for a meeting with his colleague, Chuck Hagel, who could not very well object. It was an unprecedented, open insult.
Ya'alon, a former Chief of Staff of the army, is not considered a genius. Some believe that it would have been better if he had stayed at his former profession – milking cows in a kibbutz. When he declared that John Kerry suffered from an "Obsessive Messianism" in his efforts to achieve peace between Israel and Palestine, both Kerry and President Barack Obama were deeply offended.
But such statements by Israeli cabinet ministers have become routine. So have the sharp rebuttals of official US spokesmen and spokeswomen. These are ignored by the Israeli public.
Binyamin Netanyahu is no fool. Chickenshit or not, unlike Ya'alon he is considered smart and intelligent. So what is he doing?
There is method in his madness.
Netanyahu grew up in the United States. When his father was boycotted by Israeli academia, which refused to take him seriously as a historian, the family moved to a suburb of Philadelphia. Binyamin prides himself on having an intimate knowledge of the US.
What is he thinking about?
He knows that Israel controls the US Congress. No American politician could possible be reelected if he voiced even the slightest hint of criticism of the "Jewish State". AIPAC, the most powerful lobby in Washington (apart from the National Rifle Association) will see to that. The powerful grip the Jewish lobby has on the media is a further guarantee.
In Netanyahu's view, in any confrontation between Congress and the White House over Israel, the President is bound to lose. So there is nothing to be afraid of.
Netanyahu, in fact is playing roulette with all the capital of Israel in the vast casino called the USA. Perhaps he has been infected by his mentor and protector, the Casino Czar Sheldon Adelson, who has a hand in conducting Israeli policy in the US.
(It was Adelson who appointed the Israeli ambassador in Washington, Ron Dremer, a prominent activist of the Republican party, who is detested by the White House.)
In order to appreciate the magnitude of Netanyahu's gamble, with us as chips, one has to visualize the state of the union.
The US is now a dysfunctional democracy.
In a normal democracy – say the UK or Germany – there are two central parties, or party coalitions, which face each other. They are both "mainstream" and the differences between them are minor. They succeed each other from time to time without much ado. The citizens hardly notice.
Not in the US. Not anymore.
The American public is now deeply divided between two camps... The ideologies of the two camps are diametrically opposed...
Into this crazy situation Netanyahu has plunged. He has placed all his chips (us) on the Republicans...
The Democrats make strenuous efforts to woo Jewish voters and donors by flattering Israel in the most outrageous terms, promising to support each and every action of the Israeli government, now and for all eternity, be it what it may. Inadvertently, they stick knives into the back of the Israeli peace forces, making the fight for peace even more Herculean.
But even if the mid-term elections make the House and the Senate even more subservient to the Israeli right-wing, Obama will be around for two more years. In a way, having no more elections to fear, he will be freer than before to obstruct Netanyahu.
I wish he would. But I do not entertain too much hope. Even as a lame duck, he will still have to consider the interests of the next Democratic candidate for the White House.
Obama could still do a lot for peace between Israel and Palestine, a peace supported by the entire pro-American Arab bloc – something clearly in the US national interest, not to mention ours.
For that, courage is needed. And – yes – a little more Obsessive Messianism".
Uri Avnery, Gush Shalom 01/11/14
Noam Chomsky na ONU - II (15')
Who is the real chicken shit?
Gideon Levy, Haaretz 30/10/14
CURTAS
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai addresses a press conference ahead of the 2014 World’s Children Prize for the Rights of the Child award ceremony.
Malala Yousafzai, the 17-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman for speaking out for girls’ right to education, has announced that she is donating the $50,000 she received for winning the World’s Children’s Prize to rebuild UN schools damaged during the summer’s fighting in Gaza.
She said the money would go the United Nations United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, to help rebuild 65 schools damaged during the 50-day war between Israel and Hamas.
“Innocent Palestinian children have suffered terribly and for too long,” said Yousafzai, who won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy efforts in Pakistan. “We must all work to ensure Palestinian boys and girls, and all children everywhere, receive a quality education in a safe environment. Because without education, there will never be peace. Let us stand together for peace and education because together we are more powerful.
Pierre Krahenbuhl, the commissioner general of UNRWA, said the recognition of someone who has “campaigned so valiantly for the essential right of a child to receive an education” will lift the spirits of the 250,000 Gazans who attend the UNRWA schools and the 9,000 people who teach there.
UNRWA shares with you the profound belief in the importance of education as a means to lift young girls and boys out of isolation, exclusion or oppression,” said Krahenbuhl. “Acquiring skills and knowledge to improve prospects for the future is profoundly engrained in the Palestinian consciousness.”
Palestinians cheered and President Mahmoud Abbas hailed Thursday's "brave historic" move, while Israel summoned Sweden's ambassador to protest and express "disappointment" (!).
Seven EU members in eastern European and Mediterranean have already recognised a Palestinian state: Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Romania.
Non-Eu member icelan is the only other western European nation to have done so.
The United States, obviously, "cautioned" Sweden against recognition, calling it "premature" and sayng the palestinian state could only come through a negotiated solution between Israelis and Palestinians. Nevertheless, in Thurday's announcement, Sweden's foreign minister said that "the government considers that international law criteria for recognitionof a palestinian state have been fulfilled".
And that's it.
Despite the Swedish move, its neighbors are not hurrying to follow suit. At a press conference at a summit of the leaders of Scandinavian countries and the Baltic States in Stockolm the day before, Danish prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schimidt said her country would not recognize Palestine at his stage. "We also support a two-state solution, but we have chosen another direction and we stand by that".
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg also said that Norway would not recognize Palestine before an israeli-Palestinian peace agreement was reached.
As if it is possible.
Of the 193 member states of the United Nations, 135 (69,9%) have recognized the State of Palestine as of 7 September 2013. Their total population is over 5.5 billion people, equaling 80 percent of world's population. Some have even expressly reocgnized the State of Palestine on the borders of 4 June 1967, which constituted Palestinian territory prior to the Six Day War.
In Latin America, Brazil recognized the State of Palestine in december 2010, followed by Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay. Paraguay and Venezuela were the first to make the move, few years earlier. And Colombia, the US base in the South, is the only South American State that still follows US ruling. And in North America, both Mexico and Canada are also on the spell of the White House and the Zionist lobby.
All BRICS countries - Brazil, China, Russia and South Africa - except for India, have recognized the State of Palestine.
Seven EU members in eastern European and Mediterranean have already recognised a Palestinian state: Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Romania.
Non-Eu member icelan is the only other western European nation to have done so.
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| Countries that have recognized the State of Palestine |
And that's it.
Despite the Swedish move, its neighbors are not hurrying to follow suit. At a press conference at a summit of the leaders of Scandinavian countries and the Baltic States in Stockolm the day before, Danish prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schimidt said her country would not recognize Palestine at his stage. "We also support a two-state solution, but we have chosen another direction and we stand by that".
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg also said that Norway would not recognize Palestine before an israeli-Palestinian peace agreement was reached.
As if it is possible.
In Latin America, Brazil recognized the State of Palestine in december 2010, followed by Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay. Paraguay and Venezuela were the first to make the move, few years earlier. And Colombia, the US base in the South, is the only South American State that still follows US ruling. And in North America, both Mexico and Canada are also on the spell of the White House and the Zionist lobby.
All BRICS countries - Brazil, China, Russia and South Africa - except for India, have recognized the State of Palestine.
The Swedish official statement of recogniton
Declaração oficial da Suécia
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| Foto: Lefteris Pitarakis A Palestinian village is separated from an Israeli settlement on the West Bank by the separation barrier that Israel has built on occupied territory. New settlement decisions have hampered a two-state solution, according to Margot Wallström.Adicionar legenda |
"There are those who will argue that our decision to recognise the State of Palestine is premature. If anything, I fear that it is too late. New Israeli settlement decisions have hampered a two-state solution. The purpose of our recognition is to contribute to a future where Israel and Palestine live side by side in peaceful coexistence, writes Sweden’s minister for foreign affairs Margot Wallström.
The government will decide today to recognise the State of Palestine. This is an important step that confirms the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.
Sweden’s traditionally close ties with the state of Israel are now complemented by an equivalent relationship with the other party in the two-state solution that Israelis, Palestinians and a united international community see as the path to lasting peace in the Middle East.
Our decision comes at a critical time. Over the last year, we have seen how the peace talks have again stalled, how new settlement decisions on occupied Palestinian land have hampered a two-state solution and how violence returned to Gaza. Today’s recognition is a contribution to a better future for a region that for far too long has been marked by frozen negotiations, destruction and frustration.
By recognising the State of Palestine, we want first of all to lend our support to the moderate Palestinian forces – those who will manage the complex Palestinian state-building process and those who will soon again have to sit at the negotiating table.
Secondly, we want to facilitate an agreement by making the parties in these negotiations less unequal. The objective is to enable Israel and Palestine to live within mutually recognised borders, with the 1967 borders as the basis and Jerusalem as the capital of two states, and where any land swaps will only be accepted if negotiated by the parties.
And thirdly, we want to contribute to creating more hope and belief in the future among young Palestinians and Israelis who might otherwise risk being radicalised in the belief that there is no alternative to violence and the status quo. We want our recognition to say the same thing to the six-year-old child in Gaza who has already experienced three wars as to six-year-olds in Israel: we still believe in a peace agreement based on the state of Israel living side by side in peace and security with a democratic, cohesive and viable Palestinian state.
The government considers that the international law criteria for the recognition of the State of Palestine have been satisfied.
There is a territory, albeit with non-defined borders. There is also a population. And there is a government with the capacity for internal and external control.
In addition, the international community has deemed Palestine to be well positioned for the establishment of a state; in other words, it has the capacity to assume the obligations of a state.
It is true that the Palestinian Authority does not have full control over Palestine, neither in the West Bank nor in Gaza. As far as Gaza is concerned, following the formation of Palestinian technocratic unity government and the reconciliation agreement between Hamas and Fatah, the capacity for internal cohesion has been enhanced. Not to recognise Palestine because of the Israeli occupation would be contrary to the international law principle of ‘no fruits of aggression’.
The government’s assessment that the international law criteria have been fulfilled is shared by international law experts, including Professor Ove Bring, Professor Said Mahmoudi and Professor Pål Wrange, who recently wrote an opinion piece on this subject in Dagens Nyheter (20 October).
Sweden has previously recognised states – Croatia in 1992 and Kosovo in 2008 – even though they lacked effective control over parts of their territory. Palestine is similarly a special case. Now as then, there are strong political arguments for why recognition – a decision regarding Palestine already taken by more than 130 states – is the right way to go.
In 2009 EU member states reiterated their readiness to recognise a Palestinian state, when appropriate. We are now ready to lead the way. In view of the difficult situation in the region and in light of the international law analysis, the government sees no reason to further delay a Swedish decision. We hope that this may show others the way forward.
Sweden’s recognition of the State of Palestine will be followed by enhanced efforts to support the development of democracy and human rights in Palestine. Recognition also entails greater responsibility. We will make clear demands on Palestine, just as we do on Israel. These will include fighting corruption, respecting civil and political rights and increasing the influence of women. Obviously, this also means a complete renunciation of violence.
There are those who will argue that today’s decision is premature. If anything, I fear it is too late. The government will now, together with the other EU countries, the United States and other regional and international actors, work to support renewed negotiations on a final status settlement. Such a settlement must be negotiated in accordance with the principles of international law and guarantee both the Palestinians’ and Israelis’ legitimate demands for national self-determination and security.
Israel and Palestine are already living side by side. The goal is to be able to do so in peaceful coexistence with secure and recognised borders. The purpose of Sweden’s recognition is to contribute to such a future".
Margot Wallström, Minister for Foreign Affairs
Cerca de seis meses atrás, em maio de 2014, a ONG israelense de Direitos Humanos B'Tselem informou que o número de prisioneiros administrativos palestinos em Israel estava subindo.Em junho e julho, durante a Operação Brother's Keeper na Cisjordânia, a IDF prendeu 250 e no fim de agosto 473 - o número de detenções mais alto desde 2009. Em um ano o número de detentos triplicou.
Segundo o IPS (Israel Prison Service), mais de 60 por cento dos prisioneiros administrativos no fim de agosto ficaram detidos menos de três meses. 10 por cento dos detidos neste sistema ficam atrás das grades mais de três de meses, 10 por cento de seis meses a um ano, 13% seis a 12 meses e 13% entre um a dois anos. Quatro prisioneiros se encontram em detenção administrativa há mais de dois anos.
'Prisão Administrativa' é o termo que Israel usa para detenção sem acusação formal e sem processo. Com o objetivo ostensivo de evitar que os palestinos detidos "prejudiquem a segurança pública". Este tipo de detenção dita "preventiva" é problemática e a Lei Internacional só a permite em circunstância extraordinaríssima. O que não é o caso com Israel que usa este recurso marginal em larga escala desafiando mais este parágrafo do Direito Internacional.Durante tal detenção, o prisioneiro de 12 a 70 anos ignora do que é acusado e quando será libertado. Embora a ordem de prisão administrativa não exceda seis meses, ela pode e é geralmente renovada indefinidamente.
A detenção é submetida à aprovação de juízes, mas esta submissão é pró-forma, pois as minutas do processo são inacessíveis ao "réu" e a seu advogado.
Israel já deteve milhares de palestinos usando esta trama por períodos que vão de alguns meses a vários anos. http://www.btselem.org/.
Palestinians risk life to flee Gaza for a free life
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VIII
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