Israel as a Rogue State 78

From: Mazin Qumsiyeh <mazin@qumsiyeh.org>

Subject: [AcademicsforJustice] Notes from Turkey

Quote of the day

“[The US gave] $392 million in rehabilitating and training PA [Palestinian
Authority] security forces since 2007 - more than $160 million to fund
certain units of the security forces, $89 million for vehicles and nonlethal
equipment, $99 million for the renovation or construction of PA security
forces' installations and $22 million in programs to increase the forces'
capacity. The State Department has requested an additional $150 million for
2011.” Haaretz



I am in Istanbul, Turkey where we (3 Palestinians plus 17 others from many
countries) attended a workshop exploring development of curricula on
nonviolent or popular resistance.  The examples used include Eastern Europe,
South Africa, Latin America, Palestine and elsewhere. It was a very useful
opportunity to network and reflect on our common human struggles and
strategize as to how to advance the causes of justice around the globe.  The
country is very beautiful, grand mosques and grand parks, good food, and
friendly down to earth people.  Many Arabs are here on vacations.  Mosques
are busy. The city is bustling. Everyone who finds out we are Palestinian is
happy to see us.  I can see why Turkish people mobilized the humanitarian
aid ships to break the illegal siege on Gaza. Today, we crossed from the
European part of Istanbul to the Asian side of the same city.  This is truly
at the crossroad of Europe and Asia.  I believe letting Turkey join the
European Union and insisting on respect for human rights in all the
countries bordering the Mediterranean (starting with Israel), would be in
the best interest of Europe and Asia.



While here, the usual mix of bad and good news are received. In bad news,
the Israeli occupied US congress is trying to pass a resolution that will
give the green light to Israel to attack Iran! Meanwhile there is no
resolution to condemn Israel for ethnically cleansing yet another village
(to add to the hundreds of Palestinian villages depopulated in the past 62
years. Wikeleaks published on its cite thousands of classified documents on
Afghanistan showing that US and NATO forces and intelligence community know
this war is not winnable.  The war now its 9th year claims more lives and
treasures.  The documents validated my long-held belief that unless the US
and Europe shed the policies that created fundamentalism, fundamentalism
will continue to grow.  These policies include a) the unconditional support
of Israeli violations of human rights and International law, b) the support
of ‘friendly’ dictators that are keeping their own societies in misery
(while claiming verbally to support human rights and International Law).



In good news, the legal case for Al-Walaja moved in a positive direction as
the court decided to reopen the case and ask the Israeli government to
rethink why, if the wall is for security purposes, why can’t ot be built on
the Green line.  The Court also rejected a settler petition to include all
Al-Walaja behin the wall on the so called ‘Israeli side’. (Article in Arabic
on Al-Walaja decision
http://www.panet.co.il/online/articles/1/2/S-317185,1,2.html). In other good
news, Bishop Munib Younan was elected president of the Lutheran World
Federation.

http://www.lwf-assembly.org/experience/lwi-assembly-news/news-detail/article/520/8/



ACTION: Help the legal struggles in different countries against Israeli war
crimes and crimes against humanity: http://www.humanrightsfund.org/



URGENT: Thousands of Israeli apartheid forces ethnically cleanse and
demolished the Bedouin village of El-Araqib in the Negev.  Pictures at
http://www.amgadalarab.com/?todo=view&cat=2&id=00002880 Please write to
media, politicians etc.  Yeela Raanan wrote earlier ”The village of
el-Araqib is between Rahat and Beer Sheva, and in a location that the
Goldberg commission deemed outside of the areas allowed for the Negev
Arabs... an area designated only for Jews... the JNF (Jewish National Fund)
is planting a forest on this village lands - to make sure that the Bedouin
cannot live on their village lands or use them for agriculture. The
villagers turned to the Israeli courts, as the JNF were planting this forest
at the bequest of the Israeli government... the people of el-Araqib won the
court battle... but this morning it seems that the Government of Israel has
started a war -- of the Government against its own citizens.” For more
information: Dr. Yeela Raanan, Regional Council for
the Unrecognized Villages (RCUV). +972 54 7487005 yallylivnat@gmail.com



Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD

A Bedouin in Cyberspace, a Villager at Home

http://www.qumsiyeh.org