To: academicsforjustice@
Subject: [AcademicsforJustice]
Israeli troops attack a Sunday mass and moral
responsibility
Some 100 people gathered at Ush Ghrab in Beit Sahour to pray for peace and
protest the planned military presence there. As we were gathering in
peaceful contemplation and prayer, Israeli army jeeps quickly rolled in
between us and one officer barked orders in Hebrew. We explained to them in
Arabic and English that we do not understand Hebrew (later we realized they
also knew Arabic and English) but they immediately started throwing
concussion grenades and tear gas at the elderly, women, children, the priest
doing the prayer, other town people and internationals (Christians and
Muslims). A translator who reviewed our video footage later in the day said
that their orders meant we have one minute to disperse! The priest's words,
delivered as the army was attacking, was to plead to God to teach us to live
in dignity based on morality and speak out for what is right (then we gave
the Lord's prayer together). But considering the unusual circumstances, we
persisted and succeeded in holding our ground. On image captured on video
that sticks out in my mind is Issa, which is Arabic for Jesus, holding his
child in his arms while kicking the teargas canister. His other child had
started crying with the noise of a concussion grenade. The tape done by
IMEMC.org professional photographer Ghassan shows the rest of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4he1vayLrfo
My thought to the 40,000 people receiving this: If after watching this, you
are not outraged, then you have no humanity. If you are outraged and is
able to do something about it, but don't, then you have abrogated your moral
responsibility. Doing something about it means joining us next week if you
are in the Bethlehem district or, if you are not, pressuring your government
and the 101 other ways you know about that can make a difference.
The popular committee will continue and asks all of you to join us at 11 AM
at Ush Ghrab next week where will have better organization and ensuring that
young children and elderly who join us will be away from any potential area
of conflict (we just did not expect the speed and viciousness of the Israeli
attack this time). Despite the arrayed forces against us (including both
Israeli and unfortunately some supine Palestinians), we believe in the power
of popular resistance to move conscience and achieve results. The examples
from our town of Beit Sahour during the first uprising of the late 1980s and
places like Bilin in the past few years should be ample proof. The fact
that Bilin retrieved over 1500 dunums of its land thanks to its popular
resistance in ALL its forms. They are still going on strong five years
later and they grew from a handful to thousands.
The attack on peaceful demonstrations fit a pattern of pathology (psychosis)
indicative of the bankruptcy of the apartheid state. Israeli forces shot at
a private vehicle in Husan near Bethlehem yesterday injuring three civilians
including one critically. Their insults to foreign countries, demeaning the
Turkish ambassador, use of foreign passports in sending hit squads are all
telling: mafia like actions. Acting irrationally and lashing out helps show
the rest of the world the true nature of this sick regime.
I am so proud of the people who came and joined together with us and for
those of you who did not join us, you missed something rather amazing. The
best of humanity is on the march with love. Those of us who were here are
energized and wish you would come and join us in "joyful participation in
the sorrows of this world". You can't be neutral on a moving train. You are
either on the side of justice or you are contributing to the injustice.
Silence is complicity.
-----------------
Photos of popular resistance including tearing down the apartheid fences in
Bilin
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//100219/ids_ photos_wl/r1248158
112.jpg/#photoViewer=/100219/481/ 4865168bfb7a4784947f920bbbd07b nphotos/slideshow/photo/ 100219/ids_photos_wl/r1248158
112.jpg/#photoViewer=/100219/481/ 4865168bfb7a4784947f920bbbd07b 13>
---------------------
Beit Sahour: a new struggle by Ben White - 21 February 2010 11:49, The
Newstatesman
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2010/02/ palestinian-israeli-s
ettlers
[One correction to this article: I am not "taking a lead", there are 17
members of the Popular Committee to Defend Ush Ghrab, I am honored to be a
small part of the team]
------------------
Injustice in Beit Sahour
A Statement by Kairos Palestine
(Jerusalem 20.03.2010) As described by town residents, Ha'aretz, Ma'an News,
and other sources in recent days, Israeli soldiers and bulldozers arrived on
February 10 at a family recreation park in Beit Sahour - a town slightly
east of Bethlehem in the West Bank, and the site of the former army base Osh
Grab, which was abandoned by the IDF in 2006 - and declared it a closed
military zone.
KAIROS Palestine condemns this action and calls upon churches worldwide to
advocate for the Christians and all residents of Beit Sahour and intervene
in the damage, present and projected, wrought upon their home.
Since 1967, Beit Sahour, one of the last Christian majority towns in the
West Bank, has repeatedly lost land to the Jerusalem municipality and to the
nearby settlement of Har Homa. Much of the remaining land was occupied by an
Israeli military base, Osh Grab. After the army evacuated the base in 2006,
the Beit Sahour municipality regained control of the land - largely private
plots and some public ones. (That said, all of the land remained part of
what Israel calls Area C, keeping it under harsh regulation by the Israeli
State.) The municipality renovated the public land, built a recreational
park and playground - the "Peace Park" - and was planning to build a
hospital as well.
Over time, fanatical Jewish settler groups have often threatened to take
over the site, protested there as part of their aggressive claim as its
"true" owners, and even physically vandalized the park, as they did last
month. As it stands, Israel's stated intention is to build a new watchtower:
a troubling reassertion of a military presence in Beit Sahour. The other
worry is that this could pave the way for a new settlement, which nearby
settlers have been demanding for years. As Amira Hass writes in Ha'aretz,
"The Beit Sahour residents have no reason to doubt either the settlers or
the Har Homa neighborhood committee chairman, who declared that 'This could
become a reality, just as Har Homa spilled beyond what was planned and
expected.'"
Either way, this new display of control on the part of the State - arriving
with bulldozers, excavating the site around the park, prohibiting the entry
of the Beit Sahour residents and various internationals who came to protest,
declaring the land a closed military zone - is a grave affront. It is
painful and unjust for some reasons of specific import to Christians (who
form 80% of Beit Sahour); others are simply questions of humanity and
legality, crucial for both Christians and Muslims.
First, the park area lies between two sacred sites: "Shepherds Field" and
the place, as told in the Bible, where Boaz fell in love with Ruth. These
are places of immense spiritual significance, and the State's commandeering
of the land is profoundly distressing. (As we wrote in the Kairos Document,
"freedom of access to the holy places is denied under the pretext of
security.") Second, the takeover is yet another example of the way Israeli
occupation displaces us, divorces us from our basic rights of mobility and
autonomy, and enforces a divisive view of human interaction that perverts
the Word of God and the love and compassion it calls us to.
We request the solidarity of churches in the international community: to
support us, to intervene in this latest encroachment on Beit Sahour and
prevent it from continuing, and to speak out against the occupation in all
such instances. We ask individuals and communities worldwide to contact
Israeli officials and condemn their actions, to write the mayor of Beit
Sahour and express support, and engage in other such forms of outreach and
network-building.
As we make these requests, we quote again from the KAIROS Document itself to
remind ourselves and each other of what is at stake and what we must call
for:" Our connectedness to this land is a natural right. It is not an
ideological or theological question only.[w]e suffer from the occupation of
our land because we are Palestinians."
And finally: "We also declare that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian
land is a sin against God and humanity because it deprives the Palestinians
of their basic human rights, bestowed by God.and distort [s] the divine
image in the human beings living under both political and theological
injustice."
Please join KAIROS Palestine in condemning these oppressive actions in Beit
Sahour and working to restore the justice that is both our calling and our
right.
We ask you to call and write to Israeli officials in order to protest this
action, call upon them to stop the construction of the watchtower, prevent
settlers from attacking the park, and cease any idea of building a
settlement in the site.
Please make appeals to:
[Ehud Barak] Ministry of Defense,
37 Kaplan Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv 61909, Israel
Fax: +972 3 691 6940
Email: minister@mod.gov.il
Salutation: Dear Minister
Israeli Ambassador in your respective country
Copy to the:
Mayor of Beit Sahour
Email: bsmuni@p-ol.com
Kairos Palestine: www.kairospalestine.ps
Email: Kalimatuna@gmail.com
KAIROS Palestine is a group of Palestinian Christians who authored "A Moment
of Truth" - Christian Palestinian's word to the world about the occupation
of Palestine, an expression of hope and faith in God, and a call for
solidarity in ending over six decades of oppression - and published it in
2009.
-------------
Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
Popular Committee to Defend Ush Ghrab (PCDUG)
A Bedouin in Cyberspace, a villager at home
http://www.qumsiyeh.org
http://www.pcr.ps
responsibility
Some 100 people gathered at Ush Ghrab in Beit Sahour to pray for peace and
protest the planned military presence there. As we were gathering in
peaceful contemplation and prayer, Israeli army jeeps quickly rolled in
between us and one officer barked orders in Hebrew. We explained to them in
Arabic and English that we do not understand Hebrew (later we realized they
also knew Arabic and English) but they immediately started throwing
concussion grenades and tear gas at the elderly, women, children, the priest
doing the prayer, other town people and internationals (Christians and
Muslims). A translator who reviewed our video footage later in the day said
that their orders meant we have one minute to disperse! The priest's words,
delivered as the army was attacking, was to plead to God to teach us to live
in dignity based on morality and speak out for what is right (then we gave
the Lord's prayer together). But considering the unusual circumstances, we
persisted and succeeded in holding our ground. On image captured on video
that sticks out in my mind is Issa, which is Arabic for Jesus, holding his
child in his arms while kicking the teargas canister. His other child had
started crying with the noise of a concussion grenade. The tape done by
IMEMC.org professional photographer Ghassan shows the rest of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
My thought to the 40,000 people receiving this: If after watching this, you
are not outraged, then you have no humanity. If you are outraged and is
able to do something about it, but don't, then you have abrogated your moral
responsibility. Doing something about it means joining us next week if you
are in the Bethlehem district or, if you are not, pressuring your government
and the 101 other ways you know about that can make a difference.
The popular committee will continue and asks all of you to join us at 11 AM
at Ush Ghrab next week where will have better organization and ensuring that
young children and elderly who join us will be away from any potential area
of conflict (we just did not expect the speed and viciousness of the Israeli
attack this time). Despite the arrayed forces against us (including both
Israeli and unfortunately some supine Palestinians), we believe in the power
of popular resistance to move conscience and achieve results. The examples
from our town of Beit Sahour during the first uprising of the late 1980s and
places like Bilin in the past few years should be ample proof. The fact
that Bilin retrieved over 1500 dunums of its land thanks to its popular
resistance in ALL its forms. They are still going on strong five years
later and they grew from a handful to thousands.
The attack on peaceful demonstrations fit a pattern of pathology (psychosis)
indicative of the bankruptcy of the apartheid state. Israeli forces shot at
a private vehicle in Husan near Bethlehem yesterday injuring three civilians
including one critically. Their insults to foreign countries, demeaning the
Turkish ambassador, use of foreign passports in sending hit squads are all
telling: mafia like actions. Acting irrationally and lashing out helps show
the rest of the world the true nature of this sick regime.
I am so proud of the people who came and joined together with us and for
those of you who did not join us, you missed something rather amazing. The
best of humanity is on the march with love. Those of us who were here are
energized and wish you would come and join us in "joyful participation in
the sorrows of this world". You can't be neutral on a moving train. You are
either on the side of justice or you are contributing to the injustice.
Silence is complicity.
-----------------
Photos of popular resistance including tearing down the apartheid fences in
Bilin
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/
112.jpg/#photoViewer=/100219/
112.jpg/#photoViewer=/100219/
---------------------
Beit Sahour: a new struggle by Ben White - 21 February 2010 11:49, The
Newstatesman
ettlers
[One correction to this article: I am not "taking a lead", there are 17
members of the Popular Committee to Defend Ush Ghrab, I am honored to be a
small part of the team]
------------------
Injustice in Beit Sahour
A Statement by Kairos Palestine
(Jerusalem 20.03.2010) As described by town residents, Ha'aretz, Ma'an News,
and other sources in recent days, Israeli soldiers and bulldozers arrived on
February 10 at a family recreation park in Beit Sahour - a town slightly
east of Bethlehem in the West Bank, and the site of the former army base Osh
Grab, which was abandoned by the IDF in 2006 - and declared it a closed
military zone.
KAIROS Palestine condemns this action and calls upon churches worldwide to
advocate for the Christians and all residents of Beit Sahour and intervene
in the damage, present and projected, wrought upon their home.
Since 1967, Beit Sahour, one of the last Christian majority towns in the
West Bank, has repeatedly lost land to the Jerusalem municipality and to the
nearby settlement of Har Homa. Much of the remaining land was occupied by an
Israeli military base, Osh Grab. After the army evacuated the base in 2006,
the Beit Sahour municipality regained control of the land - largely private
plots and some public ones. (That said, all of the land remained part of
what Israel calls Area C, keeping it under harsh regulation by the Israeli
State.) The municipality renovated the public land, built a recreational
park and playground - the "Peace Park" - and was planning to build a
hospital as well.
Over time, fanatical Jewish settler groups have often threatened to take
over the site, protested there as part of their aggressive claim as its
"true" owners, and even physically vandalized the park, as they did last
month. As it stands, Israel's stated intention is to build a new watchtower:
a troubling reassertion of a military presence in Beit Sahour. The other
worry is that this could pave the way for a new settlement, which nearby
settlers have been demanding for years. As Amira Hass writes in Ha'aretz,
"The Beit Sahour residents have no reason to doubt either the settlers or
the Har Homa neighborhood committee chairman, who declared that 'This could
become a reality, just as Har Homa spilled beyond what was planned and
expected.'"
Either way, this new display of control on the part of the State - arriving
with bulldozers, excavating the site around the park, prohibiting the entry
of the Beit Sahour residents and various internationals who came to protest,
declaring the land a closed military zone - is a grave affront. It is
painful and unjust for some reasons of specific import to Christians (who
form 80% of Beit Sahour); others are simply questions of humanity and
legality, crucial for both Christians and Muslims.
First, the park area lies between two sacred sites: "Shepherds Field" and
the place, as told in the Bible, where Boaz fell in love with Ruth. These
are places of immense spiritual significance, and the State's commandeering
of the land is profoundly distressing. (As we wrote in the Kairos Document,
"freedom of access to the holy places is denied under the pretext of
security.") Second, the takeover is yet another example of the way Israeli
occupation displaces us, divorces us from our basic rights of mobility and
autonomy, and enforces a divisive view of human interaction that perverts
the Word of God and the love and compassion it calls us to.
We request the solidarity of churches in the international community: to
support us, to intervene in this latest encroachment on Beit Sahour and
prevent it from continuing, and to speak out against the occupation in all
such instances. We ask individuals and communities worldwide to contact
Israeli officials and condemn their actions, to write the mayor of Beit
Sahour and express support, and engage in other such forms of outreach and
network-building.
As we make these requests, we quote again from the KAIROS Document itself to
remind ourselves and each other of what is at stake and what we must call
for:" Our connectedness to this land is a natural right. It is not an
ideological or theological question only.[w]e suffer from the occupation of
our land because we are Palestinians."
And finally: "We also declare that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian
land is a sin against God and humanity because it deprives the Palestinians
of their basic human rights, bestowed by God.and distort [s] the divine
image in the human beings living under both political and theological
injustice."
Please join KAIROS Palestine in condemning these oppressive actions in Beit
Sahour and working to restore the justice that is both our calling and our
right.
We ask you to call and write to Israeli officials in order to protest this
action, call upon them to stop the construction of the watchtower, prevent
settlers from attacking the park, and cease any idea of building a
settlement in the site.
Please make appeals to:
[Ehud Barak] Ministry of Defense,
37 Kaplan Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv 61909, Israel
Fax: +972 3 691 6940
Email: minister@mod.gov.il
Salutation: Dear Minister
Israeli Ambassador in your respective country
Copy to the:
Mayor of Beit Sahour
Email: bsmuni@p-ol.com
Kairos Palestine: www.kairospalestine.ps
Email: Kalimatuna@gmail.com
KAIROS Palestine is a group of Palestinian Christians who authored "A Moment
of Truth" - Christian Palestinian's word to the world about the occupation
of Palestine, an expression of hope and faith in God, and a call for
solidarity in ending over six decades of oppression - and published it in
2009.
-------------
Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
Popular Committee to Defend Ush Ghrab (PCDUG)
A Bedouin in Cyberspace, a villager at home
http://www.qumsiyeh.org
http://www.pcr.ps
2 opmerkingen:
Cheers m8.
Kan je nagaan wat er gebeurt als er geen camera's bij zijn. Klootviolen.
anzi
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