THIS WEEK WE ARE ALL PALESTINIANS

This week the United States Middle East hypocrisy will be viewed by the world. After 44 years of illegal military occupation by Israel, Palestine is reaching out to the world for recognition and statehood even though their bid for statehood at the UN Security Council will surely be vetoed by Obama. Our ongoing support for this glaring example of unjust Apartheid is still the number one reason America is not trusted in the Middle East and throughout the world: Allen L Roland

Here’s the graphic evidence of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine but this map does not show the approximately 600 roadblocks and check points in the West Bank as well as the infamous Separation Wall.

Israel's Separation Barrier, dubbed the "Apartheid Wall" or "Berlin Wall" by Palestinians, has increasingly attracted international media attention, largely due to the hard-to-ignore scale of the project. The most obvious historical parallel to the barrier is the Berlin Wall, which was 96 miles long. Israel's barrier, still under construction, is expected to reach at least 403 miles in length ( About the distance from SF to LA ) The average height of the Berlin Wall was 11.8 feet, compared with the maximum* current height of Israel's Wall ~ 25 feet.

Israel's Apartheid barrier is therefore planned to be four times as long and in places twice as high as the Berlin Wall. The World Court calls it a gross violation of international law and basic human rights ~ yet Israel is continuing to build the wall in several regions of the West Bank. Also note that The Wall encompasses more than 50 Israeli civilian settlements in the Occupied Territories, in which the majority of Israeli settlers live and which are illegal under international law ~ which notes that security exceptions in international humanitarian law cannot be invoked to justify measures that benefit unlawful civilian Israeli settlements at the expense of the occupied Palestinian population.

And then there’s Israel’s Palestinian concentration camp, Gaza ~ note the Bombed out Gaza street with Israeli surveillance tower in background

The Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about 25 miles long, and between 4 to 7.5 miles wide, with a total area of 140 square miles. The territory takes its name from Gaza, its main city.

Ellen Cantarow confirms in AlterNet, that Gaza is a Concentration Camp ~ “Gaza is an immense concentration camp ~ 1.5 million people squeezed into 140 square miles hemmed in on all sides by 25-foot-high walls separated by a vast expanse of bulldozed earth. The 2005 "pull-out" left Gaza still controlled by Israel from air and sea, its entries and exits prisonlike mazes electronically controlled and under constant surveillance. Bombing it, assaulting it with tanks and Uzis, is like shooting animals in a pen. The claptrap about "pinpoint" accuracy and "avoiding civilians" is a lie so flagrant, so transparent, that any child ~ certainly any Gaza child ~ could grasp it ...”

“There have been eight military assaults on Gaza since 2004; blockades started in 2005, and then a siege of medieval proportions in 2006, collective punishment for Gazans' having elected the wrong party for Israel and its U.S. patron….By December 2008, Richard Falk, special reporter on the Occupied Territories for the United Nations, reported an overall Gaza malnutrition rate of 75 percent, a childhood anemia rate of 46 percent and a devastated infrastructure. (For more, see Richard Falk's "Understanding the Gaza Catastrophe.")”

“The latest war -- called Operation Cast Lead ~ is the "holocaust" promised by Israel's Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai in 2008 when he said Israel would create a ‘shoa’ if Qassem rockets kept dropping on Israeli towns like Sderot.

Shoa, Hebrew for holocaust, is a serious word denoting the extermination of an entire people. Vilnai embarrassed the Israeli government, and no official has used the term since…. The Israeli human rights organization B'tselem reported 900 Palestinians killed, with more than 4,200 injured. The Israeli toll: three civilians and seven soldiers killed, more than 82 civilians and 61 soldiers injured. As for Israeli civilians killed by rockets, the Israel Project lists 25 dead during the past seven years…. “

“Operation Cast Lead is one of the great war crimes of our era. It was planned six to 18 months in advance, according to journalist Jonathan Cook. The war design "required directing artillery fire and air strikes at civilian neighborhoods from which rockets were fired ~ despite being a violation of international law. Legal advisers, Barak noted, were seeking ways to avoid such prohibitions, presumably in the hope the international community would turn a blind eye."

So to President-elect Barack Obama in his silence; to our senators and representatives who obediently parrot American Israel Public Affairs Committee's ( AIPAC) lines, forgiving the occupier and blaming the occupied, I'd address European Parliament member Luisa Morgantini's closing words in her open letter to European leaders:

"Israel has a right to exist as a normal state, a state for its citizens, along the 1967 borders, much wider than those of the partition plan passed by the United Nations in 1947. But I would have liked to hear your outrage and your humanity, and to hear you shouting for the pain of so many deaths and so much destruction, for such arrogance, for so much inhumanity, for so many violations of international and humanitarian law … "My God, what a terrible world we live in!" See full report http://www.alternet.org/audits/120197

Here’s the Amnesty International 2011 Annual report for Israel and the Occupied Territories (OPT) ~ note Life expectancy and Infant mortality rates.

Head of state: Shimon Peres
Head of government: Benjamin Netanyahu
Death penalty: abolitionist for ordinary crimes
Population: 7.3 million (Israel); 4.4 million (OPT)
Life expectancy: 80.3 years (Israel) vs. 72.9 years (OPT)
Under - 5 mortality (m/f): 6/5 per 1,000 (Israel) vs. 23/18 per 1,000 (OPT)

Around 6,000 Palestinians remain in Israeli prisons, many after unfair military trials. Israeli conscientious objectors to military service continued to be imprisoned. http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/annual-report-israel-and-the-occupied-palestinian-territories-2011#.TnVymSwwq_k.email

This week we are all Palestinians demanding freedom and statehood ~ but as Palestine pushes for statehood, Israel finds itself increasingly isolated and rightfully condemned by its Middle East neighbors. Turkey Prime Minister Recep Erdogan is an excellent example ~ Erdogan recently said in a Sept. 13 speech to the Arab League that Israel must "pay a price for its aggression and crimes" and that supporting Palestinian statehood was "not a choice but an obligation." Israel, he said, is "the West's spoiled child."
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2093351,00.html#ixzz1YPqKf0qf

Here are five practical reasons why the US should support the Palestinian bid and not exercise its veto at the UN ~ besides the obvious moral reason ( courtesy of Resa Aslan, LA Times ) See article ~ http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/289-134/7484-yes-to-palestine

1. Negotiations have failed.

2. The current Likud-led Israeli government is unlikely to ever agree to a sovereign Palestinian state.

3. President Obama has utterly failed to advance the Middle East peace process.

4. Contrary to popular belief, it is not political suicide to defy the will of Israel.

5. The Palestinians are doing almost exactly what Israelis did 60 years ago. “In 1948, after the UN voted for the partition of Palestine, debate among the world powers about how to divide the land dragged on and violence between Jews and Arabs grew worse. The Jewish Agency simply pre-empted negotiations and unilaterally declared the state of Israel; the United States immediately recognized it, and the UN accepted Israeli sovereignty the following year.”

Regarding the current Palestinian statehood bid; Tony (political whore) Blair is acting ‘like an Israeli diplomat' and has earned the full fury of Palestinian leaders after he was accused of blatant pro-Israel bias for his role in attempting to derail their bid for statehood at the UN. See report ~ http://tgr.ph/nwxRcM

In summary, are we not committing the same moral crimes in illegally occupied Iraq and Afghanistan as the Israelis are doing in Palestine ~ forgiving the occupier and blaming the occupied for the continuing bloodshed and civilian deaths. We all have blood on our hands in the Middle East and granting statehood to Palestine would be an important step toward restoring our severely damaged international credibility, moral integrity and self respect as well as bringing the world closer to peace.

Allen L Roland

http://allenlrolandsweblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/this-week-we-are-all-palestinians.html

Freelance Alternative Press Online columnist and psychotherapist Allen L Roland is available for comments, interviews, speaking engagements and private consultations ( allen@allenroland.com )

Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on www.conscioustalk.net

2010 Easter Message / Take Down This Wall, BiBi

2010 EASTER MESSAGE / TAKE DOWN THIS WALL, BIBI










Iron gate constructed at Bethlehem’s northern entrance separating the Palestinian city of Bethlehem from the Israeli occupied city of Jerusalem

The apartheid walls of Jerusalem were breached on Palm Sunday by over 100 native Palestinian Christians and Muslims including Israelis carrying palm leaves and banners asking for freedom of worship and movement ~ as demanded by international law and denied by Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu: Allen L Roland

What would be more appropriate this Easter 2010 than to quote Gaza’s courageous Fr Manuel Musallam ~ in which he delivers a blistering Easter attack on Israel’s occupation and its rape of the holy sites, as well as his rightful damning indictment of the silence of the cowards in the West.

Stuart Littlewood posted this on March 31, 2010.
http://www.redress.cc/palestine/slittlewood20100331#bio

Excerpts:

Fr Manuel Musallam recently retired at the age of 71 after serving as the parish priest of the Holy Family Church in Gaza for 14 years. For most of that time the Israelis would not allow him to visit his family and friends in the West Bank. So, in spite of failing health, he soldiered on through the devastating siege and the murderous blitzkrieg.

I was privileged to meet him a couple of years ago and I just love the way this man speaks out. He doesn't mince words. He tells it the way it is, with truth and style.

Retirement hasn’t silenced him or dimmed his perceptions.

This Easter he's concerned, as always, about the occupation and how it robs those in the Holy Land of Easter's message of hope and joy:

" We Christians of Palestine have been under occupation for many long years. We’ve been suffering with bitterness at being kept away from the Holy Sites. We’ve been denied our right to worship in Jerusalem. Many Christian generations have never been able to reach Jerusalem to visit its holy places.

The occupation has been continuously imposing unlawful obstacles. This year, we are confronted by the Israeli Apartheid Separation Wall, checkpoints and roadblocks guarded by Israeli soldiers denying us movement and access to Jerusalem.

All these measures not only suffocate the Palestinian people, but also asphyxiate peace in Israel and Palestine.

Fr Manuel explains how Palestinians are denied the freedom to worship as and where they please, even at Easter. In particular, they are prevented from going into Jerusalem. The Zionist claim that Palestine was “a land without a people for a people without a land” has had a disastrous impact on the Palestinians. "It does not mean that Jerusalem is without a people, but rather it should be evacuated to be handed over to another people." David Ben Gurion himself articulated that plan in 1937 when he declared: 'We must expel Arabs and take their places.'”

Father Manuel offers ~ "Every stone built in the Apartheid Wall, every axe strike digging under the Al-Aqsa Mosque and every house destroyed by Israel will increase the intensity of resistance and resentfulness. However, cooperation with Palestinians will give Israel the hope for a future, dominated by serenity and peacefulness."

" We lament Jerusalem, and miss its beautiful ceremonies. This year thousands of tourists will weep with us. They will not be able to march the “Way of the Cross” with Palestinians. There will be no national Palestinian folklore to discover or Arab religious crafts to take with them as gifts, and no local prayers, hymns and music to experience in the warm faith of believers in Palestine. They will be shocked entering the Holy Sepulchre to find Israeli police inside..."

" We do not foresee any political settlement, or an end to occupation, or hope for the return of Palestinian refugees, or the forming of our state with Jerusalem as its capital, or the right to self-determination, or the liberation of thousands of prisoners, free access and movement, an end to Gaza siege, and the dismantling of the Apartheid Wall around Jerusalem.

We are appalled by the continuous threats of more war. And we are distressed by the daily humiliation, hunger, thirst, unemployment and the absence of sustainable development in our country. "

" Jerusalem is ours. It is not a disputed land. We are not soliciting to share the legacy and heritage of Jerusalem with Israel or with anyone else.

" We do not accept the speech of Israeli leaders that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and that building in it is no different from building in Tel Aviv. Occupation is a sin and a form of terrorism, and when relying on the texts of the Torah to kill people or expel and remove them from their land it rises to the level of a crime against humanity. All perpetrators should be judged by the International Criminal Court before being judged by the just court of God. "

In his appeal to the world this Easter, what seems to worry Fr Manuel most is how the dwindling numbers that are now allowed to reach the holy sites might cause them to be turned into historic monuments or even destroyed. In the eyes of Israeli leaders, these places are “pagan sites” and whoever destroys them is brought closer to God. The Zionist Jewish leader Theodore Herzl said: “If one day we recover Jerusalem and I am still able to do anything when we do so, my first action will be to cleanse it thoroughly. I will remove everything that is not holy and burn the monuments that are centuries old.”


Father Manuel continues ~ " Our people in Gaza are treated like animals in a zoo. They eat but remain hungry; they cry, but no one wipes their tears. There is no water, no electricity, no food, only fear, terror and blockade... Our children are living in a state of trauma and fear. They are sick from it and for other reasons such as malnutrition, poverty and the cold... The hospitals did not have basic first aid before the war and now thousands of wounded and sick are pouring in and they are performing operations in the corridors. The situation is frightening and sad....

In exasperation he added: “May Christ's compassion revive our love for God even though it is currently in 'intensive care'."

Is anyone listening?

Stuart Littlewood is author of the book Radio Free Palestine, which tells the plight of the Palestinians under occupation. For further information please visit www.radiofreepalestine.co.uk

Allen L Roland
http://allenlrolandsweblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/2010-easter-message-take-down-this-wall.html

This weblog is sustained through donations from people like yourself. Please send check or Money Order to Allen L. Roland, PO Box 1221, Sonoma,CA 95476 Also accept Visa, MasterCard and Discover ~ call (707) 935-1908.

Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on www.conscioustalk.net

Freelance Alternative Press Online columnist and psychotherapist Allen L Roland is also available for comments, interviews, speaking engagements and private consultations ( allen@allenroland.com)

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