Bus Driver Union: "Dump Veolia"

Boston: Corporation which Exploited Syria & Iraq Opposed by Black Bus Drivers' Union "Dump Veolia" campaign. Workers also helped "Free Aafia" Movement. Islam forbids Private Ownership of Natural Resources.


Islam often presents itself as the Middle Path between the two extremes of Capitalism and Communism. Islamic Law would eliminate the need for class struggle by creating a society where property owners are held accountable. Yet, no Islamic society exists in this century. What is important to understand however is that Islam considers environmental and mineral resources to belong to Allah. That means nobody can own them. An Islamic movement has to protect and utilize natural resources for the public benefit. Leftist speech refers to "The People" while Islamic speech invokes "Allah" - but essentially they are both saying the same thing: that water and other resources belong to the government and cannot be privatized.

We have been hearing the word "privatization" a lot as local governments for example Flint, Michigan take the water and sewage infrastructure out of public control and give it to a private company that then contaminates the water and destroys the pipes. The Flint move was touted as part of "austerity measures," even though the privatization actually cost the city much more. It was really about corporations lining their pockets with public money. When a government hires a "private" company to run basic civilian infrastructure, we are not talking about a small private company with scientific expertise to solve environmental or organizational problems. These "private" companies are actually huge international corporations, which are steadily consolidating their power to create what increasingly appears to be a global takeover of control that is able to overrule local governments and impose its will on the people via distribution or non-distribution of water, food, and resources. Islamic hadith prophesied the coming of such a global rule - Dajjal - that represents an evil force of oppression, which rules by controlling access to food, water, and other resources.

The poorest of the poor, from India to South America suffer from lack of access to clean water while their freedom of movement is often brutally hindered. These conditions do not arise because of the backwardness of the people but are due to deliberate maneuvers by the political elite. The poor are further degraded by unsafe working conditions and inadequate compensation from corporate bosses that prevent workers from organizing to demand improvements. The ongoing current struggle against multinational corporations is being spearheaded by labor unions and social justice groups in a wide variety of locations. Because of increasing global communication, activists involved in protests and strikes all over the world are not only able to offer solidarity but compare notes on the common global enemy and strategies for defeating it. An increasingly organized, informed and supported labor movement can only be a good thing.

The business connections between those building the wall between the US and Mexico and those building walls surrounding Palestinian areas are unsurprising, but not everyone is aware of the vast extent of the massive web of international corporate control of water, sewage, and transportation systems around the globe. A particularly evil French corporation named Veolia, which dates back to the time of Napoleon, made huge profits from French colonization of the West Indies and Algeria by building railways and water treatment plants. In 2013 the UN hired Veolia to destroy Syria's chemical weapons. Veolia thus profited off the Syrian civil war, while engaging in a political charade, as the UN continued to allow Assad to destroy infrastructure and mass murder political opponents using non-chemical weapons. Veolia is also profiting off the US occupation of Iraq, as the Iraqi Ministry has employed Veolia to build a water treatment plant.

This same company, Veolia, is currently engaged in privatizing the water and transportation systems in many cities around the US, committing fraud and embezzlement, contaminating water, reducing services to poor areas while increasing fees, and breaking union contracts.
In 2013, Veolia also took over the management of Boston Public School Bus transportation, sparking an ongoing struggle by the school bus drivers union USW Local 8751 against Veolia's unfair labor practices including payroll shortages, impossible demands on bus drivers, overcrowding of buses, failure to provide agreed upon benefits, and bad faith negotiations resulting in the attempted prosecution and termination of union organizers. Veolia's efforts to crush Boston's only black and immigrant-majority union failed due to hundreds of protesting bus drivers and incredible support from solidarity activists. This union's struggle is important on many levels because not only are they resisting a corporation that has already destroyed many other cities' water supply and workers' rights on several continents, but Boston bus drivers themselves have a decades-long history of supporting people's justice issues. They played a huge role on the front lines of desegregation, escorting black children to school through angry racist white mobs. Not only has the bus drivers' union stood against Israeli Apartheid but they did much of the organizing and provided the sound system for Boston's recent rally to support Dr. Aafia Siddique on March 8, 2016.

The Dump Veolia campaign is growing in many countries around the world from Chile to India, resulting in a surge of political and social networking. "Veolia is just one window to understand the need for joint struggle, how corporatization entangles us with past histories of oppression and present global resistances," writes Maia Brown for Stop Veolia Seattle. "When we understand the historical continuities, exemplified by Veolia, between early structures of Western Imperialism and industrialization and today's globalization and neoliberalism, we strengthen our ability to form new solidarities and communities of struggle." 

Attempt to Use Quds Day in Support of Assad Regime

Al Quds Day should only be for Palestine


I was confused by Al Quds day in Boston on July 1, 2016. The organizer was trying to "tie in" the issue of Syria, Yemen etc, condemning ISIS, Taliban, al Qaeda and talking about "stability in the Middle East" (code words for supporting Assad.]

When I mentioned that the Russians, Hizbollah and Assad bombing is what is destabilizing the region, and demanded why they are trying to limit Al Quds day for Shia and Assad loyalists, she would not budge from that position, and only one brother (a Palestinian refugee) defended my argument for keeping this strictly about Palestine so as not to alienate Sunni Muslims. Most people were saying I was really rude. It was disappointing to see exclusionary sectarian politics taking over what should be a unified mass movement in support of Palestine.

FaceBook.com/photo.php?fbid=992195764229026 

Trying to Understand Syria

On Monday, August 1, 2016 I was privileged to have an in depth conversation with a Syrian doctor who has lived in the US for the past 27 years, to get his personal analysis of the political situation in Syria. I had approached him with many questions due to what appeared to me to be a near complete disconnect between Islamic vs Leftist, or US vs Russian news reports. I would like to resolve this gap in mutual understanding to move to the next level of problem solving.

Sam said in order to understand, we have to go back in history. His father was a member of the socialist, nationalist Baathist party, which was one of many post-colonial movements, and came to power in Syria in 1963. He said his father was a “true leftist” and a high-ranking military officer. In 1970, Hafiz al-Assad, the defense minister, staged a coup against the party to take power. He claimed his intention was to get the Baath party on the right track after it had become corrupted. Assad’s “corrective movement” purged half or more of the party’s leaders, including Sam’s father.

Leftists in Syria believe that Hafiz al-Assad’s coup was staged by the West in order to dismantle the socialist movement. The US at that time was propping up several governments in South America, Southeast Asia and Africa where policy decisions were made by one person. These governments, including the newly installed Assad regime, were less than socialist and more like a dictatorship. Under Assad, the political rhetoric remained leftist but in actuality, Assad tortured and wiped out all the Communists in Syria, which had been around 10% of the population.

King Hussein of Jordan had previously kicked the Palestinians out of Jordan and sent them to Lebanon. Under Hafiz Assad, Syria occupied Lebanon and purged both leftists and Palestinians. He sent the PLO and Arafat out of Lebanon and forced them to live in Tunisia. Eventually, they were able to return to the West Bank after Arafat’s peace treaty with Israel.

The Syrian regime has always been pro-Western and pro-Israel but using leftist rhetoric because of popular sentiment. Assad depended heavily on his Alawite sect, the elite of which became a mafia ruling the country and dominating the military and intelligence agencies. Assad ruled by force of intimidation and torture. His dictatorship was run by the Alawite minority using socialist slogans. Syria was not anti-American/pro-Russia as many western leftists believed. The Syrian regime, similarly to the Iranian, would use slogans such as “resistance and steadfastness” and “Death to America!” which caused the gullible to believe these regimes were anti-imperialist. However, Iran has helped the US greatly in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The US then basically handed the power to Iran in Iraq after removing Saddam Hussein at great cost.

Syria was also no anti-imperialist. The Golan Heights never had a more secure Israeli border until after Assad. Rather than pushing against Israel, Assad was busy fighting Palestinians in Lebanon. If Assad had pushed against Israel, Israel would not have swallowed the West Bank.

The US didn’t mind him saying anti-American things. He still sent his kids to college in the US and came to the US for medical treatment. His and his junta’s assets were secured in Western banks. Assad regime was not anti-US nor anti-Israel.

The Syrian Revolution came in spite of the Americans, it was not instigated by the US. They said at first they would support the “moderates” but they didn’t deliver on their promise. The US could have helped Syrians overthrow the regime but the fighters didn’t get the anti-aircraft missiles they needed, (and were crucial to win) except what they captured from the regime. The US did give FSA a few anti-tank missiles but the revolution could not survive without anti-aircraft missiles, which the US gave out 2 or 3 at a time. The short supply was secured by the US government, which could deactivate the anti-aircraft missiles at will. The technology was constantly monitored as to its whereabouts by the US, and only one person was allowed to use it, using their thumbprint. Then whenever the US decided they could cut him off. So this American help was not help. There was no trust.

Had the US supported moderate rebels, they would have overthrown Assad long ago. US is working with the regime. Their goal is not to allow any side to win, and not ending anything.

Chemical weapons were used, and nothing happened despite American declared red lines. There was a point when the regime was weak but the US did not intervene to tip the balance towards the rebels. After a few planes had been shot down, Assad would have been forced to come to the negotiating table. But the US is working with the Russians.

The US gave limited amounts of weapons to FSA -  the Syrian army members that defected because they refused to fire upon their own people and have now joined the people’s struggle. The FSA received no practical help from the US. The Islamists have more support. They are rumored to receive weapons from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and even from Iran and the regime!

Why? Because the Syrian regime wants to be seen as “fighting Islamic extremists.” The world would see the moderate democratic rights activists as a viable option to replace Assad. But the world will never accept an Islamic government. Therefore in 2012, the regime actually released thousands of Islamic movement prisoners, who became the leaders of the Islamic resistance, which soon overpowered the secular Free Syria movement. Most Syrians do not want an Islamic government and many even prefer the regime, but the world powers promoted the Islamists in order to get rid of the potential acceptance of a popular Syrian movement for democracy.

The regime is acting in concert with the West’s policies. They got rid of any acceptable replacement to their government. The initial revolution was wiped out and their struggle for freedom was replaced by a struggle between the regime and Islamist forces.

Since the 1940’s, there existed the Muslim Brotherhood, who wanted to work within the system and use elections to promote their political platform, but there was no big Islamic movement in Syria. The moderate Muslim Brotherhood was outlawed and their members would be executed.

ISIS could not survive without outside support. They have regular military parades displaying their weaponry but nobody bombs them. Nobody touches the ISIS convoys with their many many vehicles. They are supposedly opposed by Russia, the West, and all other countries but even the US bombing is not effective. It serves no purpose except to justify continued military presence in the area.

The US support to the Kurds is very open, and serves to demonstrate the difference between Kurdish areas and other areas in Syria. Any time a Kurdish town is about to fall, the US will actively intervene effectively. The Kurds have a defacto alliance with the Syrian regime, who does not bomb them, and with Israel, who used them to fight against Saddam Hussein.

Nobody really knows who arms ISIS. They are heavily armed, made up of foreign fighters, and they are fighting the Syrian regime’s foes. The regime gave up land to ISIS without a fight. There was a regime prison notorious for torture. ISIS blew up the prison, destroying all evidence.

Sam said the US preferred Assad and stability for their geopolitical ambitions. Assad helped Israel neutralize Egypt in Sinai. He told me to look up Henry Kissinger’s 1973 pact between Assad and Israel.

Regardless of what the US wants, the Assad regime is no longer acceptable to govern because of what he has done. Assad has to be replaced; could be with a similar regime with a new name but that he needs to be replaced is a fact. It doesn’t mean that the US desires it but they have to work with the situation. The US has not supported the uprising against Assad. But at this point there is no choice for the world powers. Once they desire to solve the problem, replacement of Assad is a must. This is not a victory for the revolution. Perhaps some of the people’s demands will be addressed.

Palestinian Woman’s US Citizenship Revoked

TMO 

Karin Friedemann is a TMO columnist.  Her opinions are her own.

“When she was 21, in 1969, Rasmea Odeh was arrested in the middle of the night by Israeli soldiers at her home, and for twenty-five days her interrogators tortured her,” Charlotte Silver reports in the Nation. “She was beaten from head to toe with sticks and metal bars; her body, including genitalia and breasts, was subjected to electric shocks after she was forced to watch a male prisoner tortured to death in this very way. All the while, she was told she would die if she did not confess. But it was not until they brought in her father, threatening to force him to rape her, that she agreed to sign a confession stating that she had helped orchestrate two explosions in West Jerusalem that killed two civilians. Even then, her torturers raped her with a thick wooden stick.

“Standing before a military court less than one month later, Odeh renounced the confession. But the panel of judges ignored that, and Odeh was sentenced to ten years plus life in prison. Ten years later, she was released in a prisoner exchange, along with seventy-five other Palestinians.”

45 years later on October 22, 2013, Odeh, 67, was arrested by Homeland Security at her suburban Chicago home. She was accused in federal court later that day of responding incorrectly to a question on her naturalization application ten years ago. In front of a courtroom packed full of supporters on November 10, after just two hours of deliberation, the jury declared Odeh guilty of “unlawful procurement of citizenship.”

The case against Odeh centers on her failure to disclose on her US immigration papers her 1969 conviction in an Israeli military court. The US Judge Gershwin Drain absolutely refused to allow the jury to hear Odeh mention the circumstances of her false conviction by torture. Odeh insisted that she’d always believed questions she’s been accused of answering falsely were asking about her time in the US, not Palestine.

“If I knew it was about Israel, I would have said, “ Odeh explained. “It’s not a secret that I’ve been in jail. Even the embassy knows.” The US embassy in Israel became involved in the initial arrests because her father was a US citizen.

Odeh was then detained as a “flight risk” awaiting sentencing to take place on March 10, 2015. Her attorneys refuted the government attorneys’ assertions that she was a flight risk. Odeh rejected a plea deal that would have seen her deported without serving jail time. She chose to fight to remain in the US where she has strong community ties.

University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) professor Nadine Naber, who first met Rasmea back in 2006, testified to Rasmea’s work changing the lives of hundreds of Arab immigrant women by creating a collective space for them. She testified about Rasmea’s character, a truthful person and community mentor.

Judge Drain told Odeh she would not be allowed to speak about her Israeli torture experience, stating he did not want to “retry the case” of 1969.

“It’s my life. I have a right to talk about the things that happened to me!” she responded.

The judge restated that testimony referring to torture or her forced confession was inadmissible. Rasmea nevertheless delivered a heartfelt testimony to the court, detailing her family’s history through the Catastrophe of 1948, the 1967 war, and the 1969 raid on her home. But when Odeh told the court that she spent 45 days in an “interrogation center, prosecutor Jonathan Tukel objected. Judge Drain sustained the objection.

Defense attorney Deutsch asked her if she was convicted.

She answered, “They convicted me falsely.”

The government objected and the judge sustained the objection. Judge Drain barred Rasmea from using post-traumatic stress disorder as a defense.

Hatem Abudayyeh, executive director of the Arab American Action Network (AAAN) told the Electronic Intifada, “This was not a full or fair trial.”

“Palestinian people around the world are doing effective work; we’re getting stronger and stronger and Israel is on the ropes. And when Israel is on the ropes, the US government cracks down,” he added.

This horrifying, targeted federal prosecution seems to be linked to a federal investigation of Chicago area Palestinian and Colombian human rights activists led by Assistant US Attorney Barry Jonas in 2010, in which the FBI conducted simultaneous raids on the homes of seven community members in the Chicago area, seizing their computers with search warrants that stated they were looking for hints of “material support for terrorism.” Twenty-three other activists were subpoenaed by grand jury, as well as a subpoena of AAAN records.

Jonas, who also prosecuted the secret government case against the Holy Land Foundation, was seen actively consulting with the assistant US attorney that presented the case against Odeh, reported the Detroit Free Press in an article written by former political prisoner, Angela Davis.

“As a person with first-hand knowledge of the devastation wrought by politically motivated prosecutions — during the era of COINTELPRO, I was falsely charged with three capital offenses — I see Rasmea Odeh’s case as a continuation of the embarrassing history of decades of suppression of social justice activists in the U.S.

The courts are being used to retaliate against Palestinian activism,” wrote Davis.

Odeh told her tear-filled supporters that filled the courtroom: “I don’t want to be weak in this situation. I am strong and I ask you all to be strong.”

TV is for Old People!

 TMO 

A Palestinian boy stands next to the remains of a mosque in Khuzaa town, which witnesses said was heavily hit by Israeli shelling and air strikes during Israeli aggression, in the east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip August 6, 2014. With its spacious villas and palm-lined streets, the town of Khuzaa in southern Gaza gave Palestinians a rare place to spend their free time before it was bombed and shelled to rubble last month. Largely free of the local tensions and feuds found in other neighbourhoods, Khuzaa’s green spaces were one of just a few destinations for daytrips in the crowded Gaza Strip, where 1.8 million people live in just 360 sq km (140 sq miles). Around 500 metres from the Israeli border, Khuzaa is now only accessible via cratered roads strewn with debris. Nearly all of its homes have been flattened and its nine mosques lie in pieces. Picture taken August 6, 2014. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Reuters is reporting that young people, outraged over Gaza, are rejecting Washington’s “reflexive support” of Israel. A recent opinion poll released on July 28, 2014 by the Pew Research Center demonstrated clearly that it is getting more difficult for corporations, lobbyists and governments to influence the beliefs of young people because young people don’t watch television news. They are more likely to get their news from Facebook, twitter, instagram, buzzfeed and other alternative sources of direct information. They are looking at live coverage of world events directly from the people who are there, and asking for more information from knowledgeable people online rather than relying on mass media or government statements.

“While all age groups north of 30 years old clearly blame Hamas more than Israel for the current violence, young adults buck the trend in a big way. Among 18 to 29-year olds, 29 percent blame Israel more for the current wave of violence, while 21 percent blame Hamas,” reports Aaron Blake in the Washington Post.

“Latest Gallup poll shows young Americans overwhelmingly support Palestine,” concludes the latest Gallop poll also,” reports mondoweiss.net. “Most support for Israel comes from ages 50 and up.”

Women who say “Israeli actions are unjustified” outnumber the pro-Israel female by 44 to 33 percent. Nonwhite, by 49 to 25 percent. That’s two-to-one, reflecting the attitudes of the young, reports mondoweiss. 18 to 29-year-olds regard Israel’s actions as “unjustified” by 51 to 25 percent. Among 30-49 year olds, 43 compared to 36 percent view Israel’s attacks as unjustified.

The Pew study reveals that most Americans have absorbed the Israeli narrative or else are just confused about the situation. Even so, when asked who is to blame for the violence in Gaza, far more young people blame Israel than Hamas for the violence. Why? Because Israel is the entity causing the violence. How do the youth know more than their parents? Because they saw the photos of Palestinian babies with their brains oozing out of their cracked skulls circulating on the internet – they are fully aware of who is bombing whom. By contrast, Americans over the age of 65 think that Hamas is at fault for the current violence by 53 vs 15 percent. Since 2006, the number of people who “don’t know” if Israel has gone too far has increased from 14 to 25 percent while those who think Israel has acted rightly has decreased from 44 to 35 percent.

David Palumbo-Liu, the Louise Hewlett Nixon Professor at Stanford University on salon.com also notes that the American understanding of history is shifting:

“International support for Israel is ebbing because the Holocaust narrative can no longer offer an omnipotent shield against a critique of the second narrative regarding the founding of the state of Israel. Israel is in fact risking losing the narrative war altogether, as more and more of the global public is asking questions that probe into that history, prompted by the evidence of Israeli’s current efforts to continue and expand Israeli power and land, efforts that are now increasingly regarded not as survival tactics but as violent colonial ones. In sum, there is now a widening band of light in between the heretofore seamless merger of the Holocaust and founding narratives, resulting in a weakening of the former in its capacity to act as an alibi for the latter.  Again, this is especially important with regard to the U.S., which has been the world’s most generous supporter of Israel. More and more younger Americans, growing up well past the postwar era, find the Holocaust narrative to be less than absolutely and unquestionably a good reason to support the horrible killings in Gaza.  And as they learn more, their support will wane further.”

So far, a petition entitled “Israel-Palestine: This is how it ends” on avaaz.org has gathered almost 2 million signatures.

Basically, a growing minority of Americans are starting to be willing to educate themselves about history and current events regarding Palestine, in particular, Liberal Democrats, but this change is too slow for it to impact anything on the ground. What is perhaps more likely to change facts on the ground is the fact that Americans are running out of money.

Despite unanimous resolutions passed in the Senate offering Israel emotional support regarding its “survival,” according to Burgess Everett on politico.com, “a last-ditch effort to deliver aid to Israel during its war with Hamas died on the Senate floor on July 27, as Republicans blocked the proposal over concerns that it would increase the debt,” all because they couldn’t agree on fighting wildfires vs helping stranded children vs helping Israel.

“I want to fund Israel,” replied Coburn. “I also want to make sure our children have a future.”

However, by Saturday, August 2, the bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent. Dailykos.com reports:

“The House, however, took a vote on it. It passed easily but not unanimously: 395 to 8.  Only 4 Democrats and 4 Republicans voted against it.”

The four Democrats were Keith Ellison (MN-05), Zoe Lofgren (CA-19), Jim Moran (VA-08, and Beto O’Rourke (TX-16). The four Republicans are Justin Amash (MI-03), Walter Jones (NC-03), Tom Massie (KY-04), and Mark Sanford (SC-01).

Keith Ellison is reportedly the only member of Congress who has been calling for an end to Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

Young Americans increasingly support Palestine. The Older Ones still support Israel

New Trend Magazine
http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1562.htm


On August 2, 2014 the House of Representatives voted to approve $225 million in "emergency aid" for Israel on account of their feeling "attacked." The Senate had just passed the bill unanimously, but in the House, it only passed 395 to 8.Four Democrats and four Republicans voted against it.

Four Democrats and four Republicans voted against it. At least we can say our patriots are bipartisan. The four Democrats were Keith Ellison (MN-05), Zoe Lofgren (CA-19), Jim Moran (VA-08), and Beto O'Rourke (TX-16). The four Republicans are Justin Amash (MI-03), Walter Jones (NC-03), Tom Massie (KY-04), and Mark Sanford (SC-01).

Keith Ellison has been calling for an end to Israel's blockade of Gaza but nobody else in Congress has backed him up on that one. He penned a letter to President Obama and Secretary Kerry urging a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Palestine on July 18, 2014 that was also signed by Reps. Jim Moran (D-VA), John Conyers (D-MI), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Alan Lowenthal (D-CA).

John Conyers, who has a long track record of always doing the right thing, astonished many, to approve funding for Israelis to commit genocide. He was the guy who got Rosa Park a job after she was blacklisted. When Detroit held a town meeting at the Unitarian Church to talk about the sanctions on Iraq, he quoted his voters verbatim. So if he voted for Israel it means nobody contacted him to say anything about Palestine but a lot of people called to say they support Israel. I know he listens to his constituents.

Israel has a GDP of over $300 billion however, and, at the end of last year, experienced its highest ever GDP per capita. It is a developed country with a booming tech sector. Israel has the ability to pay for its defense system itself. Israel does not need us. Which is good, since Americans are losing emotional interest in funding them.

David Palumbo-Liu, the Louise Hewlett Nixon Professor at Stanford University writes for salon.com that "international support for Israel is ebbing because the Holocaust narrative can no longer offer an omnipotent shield against a critique of the second [Palestinian] narrative regarding the founding of the state of Israel... In sum, there is now a widening band of light in between the heretofore seamless merger of the Holocaust and founding narratives, resulting in a weakening of the former in its capacity to act as an alibi for the latter."

Younger Americans do not accept the Holocaust narrative as a good reason to support the horrible killings in Gaza. As they learn more, their support will wane further. Israel is in fact risking losing the narrative war altogether. Israel's actions are now increasingly regarded not as survival tactics but as violent colonial tendencies, reports Liu.

Women who say "Israeli actions are unjustified" outnumber the pro-Israel American female by 44 to 33 percent. Nonwhite, by 49 to 25 percent. "That's two-to-one, reflecting the attitudes of the young," reports mondoweiss. 18 to 29-year-olds regard Israel's actions as "unjustified" by 51 to 25 percent. Among 30-49 year olds, a similar attitude: 43 to 36 percent. Since 2006, the number of people who "don't know" if Israel has gone too far has increased from 14 to 25 percent while those who think Israel has acted rightly has decreased from 44 to 35 percent, reports the Pew Center.

"While all age groups north of 30 years old clearly blame Hamas more than Israel for the current violence, young adults buck the trend in a big way. Among 18 to 29-year olds, 29 percent blame Israel more for the current wave of violence, while 21 percent blame Hamas," reports Aaron Blake in the Washington Post.

"Latest Gallup poll shows young Americans overwhelmingly support Palestine," reports mondoweiss.net. Most support for Israel comes from ages 50 and up."

Americans over the age of 65 are most likely to think that Hamas is at fault for the death toll in Gaza by 53 vs 15 percent.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) officially stated on July 31: "Any person who thinks that the Iron Dome is unnecessary needs to go to the floor and tell us why, why we don't need to help Israel right now."

It sounds like a dare for us to talk to our Senators and Representatives. They may just need us to give them the words.

Former Hunger Striker Samer Issawi Re-Arrested

TMO 

On June 23, 2014 occupation soldiers raided the Jerusalem home of Samer Issawi, one of the Palestinian prisoners swapped in August 2011 in exchange for the release of “kidnapped” Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Issawi had been originally detained in 2002 by the Israeli army in Ramallah as part of Operation Defensive Shield during the Second Intifada. The now free man Issawi was then detained in July 2012 for trying to catch a bus in a Jewish suburb of Jesrusalem. He was held in prison for 17 months but was released with huge celebration last December after his 266 day hunger strike caused global outcry.

His sister Shireen was arrested with their brothers Medhat and Shadi on March 6, 2014. Shireen, an attorney, was accused of “passing messages” from prisoners. Her detention has been extended by an Israeli Court three times. In January 2013 another brother, Ahmad Issawi’s home was bulldozed.

Last Monday his mother, Layla Issawi, posted on Facebook, “Tens of Israeli army officers are in front of our house passing out tickets to everyone passing by. They must be bored.”

A few minutes later, around 7pm, she again posted: “World, they arrested Samer. The military in big numbers raided the house.”

Electronic Intifada reports that Israeli authorities interrogated his younger brother Shadi earlier in the day. He was to tell Samer to come in for interrogation.

Over 500 Palestinians have been detained in a punitive crackdown after three Israelis went missing on June 12, 2014 while hitchhiking between Jewish settlements in Hebron. In addition to Samer Issawi, 52 other former prisoners released during the October 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner swap agreement have been rearrested, according to Gavan Kelly, an advocacy officer for Addameer Prisoner Support Network. Another of the men, Nael Barghouti, has already served 33 years in prison before he was released the exchange, Ma’an News Agency reported.

“Seven of these detainees already went before an Israeli court in Haifa and are being tried on previous charges [from before their 2011 release,” Kelly told The Electronic Intifada, referring to a mandate that allows former Palestinian prisoners to be retried on the same charges after being released from prison. “It is very important to note that the evidence used against [Palestinians] in these military courts is ‘secret.’ And most of them risk being reissued prison sentences that are very long.”

In the past few days, several Palestinians have been shot and killed by Israeli soldiers and Gaza has been repeatedly targeted by aerial bombing causing huge fires.
Many Palestinian institutions have been raided and ransacked in the past few days by the Israeli military: Birzeit University, Al-Quds University and the American Arab University in Jenin, the Ibdaa Cultural Center in Bethlehem-area Dheisheh refugee camp, and even the media offices of Russian Times. The Palestinian Authority accompanied Israeli soldiers in their raid of the Russian TV station.
Israeli authorities repeatedly referred to the US in justifying their actions.

Former chief military rabbi Avihai Ronsky defended Israel’s collective punishment measures: “Only with a sharp blow will we make it clear that Jewish blood is not cheap. The same goes today: only by dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which caused millions of deaths, did the US bring an end to World War II.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, justified a bill introduced in the Knesset which would allow force-feeding of hunger striking Palestinian political prisoners by saying: “in Guantanamo the Americans are using the method of force-feeding too.”

An Israeli court on June 26 officially extended Issawi’s indefinite detention. Issawi risks having the remaining twenty years of a thirty-year sentence reinstated. 

Attorney Farah Baydadsy told the Electronic Intifada that Issawi “appeared very tired during the hearing on Thursday.”

Issawi’s lawyer told his family that Israel’s intelligence services, the Shabak, have interrogated him nearly non-stop since Monday.

“He could barely lift his head,” Bayadsy said. “He looked like he hasn’t slept at all … and the security was very restrictive, more than usual.”

“The first part of the hearing lasted only fifteen minutes,” she explained. “The judge took a ten-minute break, came back and ended after another ten minutes, rejecting the appeal.”

Issawi siblings Shireen and Medhat also had hearings on the same Thursday in the Israeli district court in Jerusalem that ended in postponement until Sunday, reports Electronic Intifada. Shireen’s family has so far been denied requests to visit her in prison. Mariam Barghouti, 20, a solidarity activist who shared a cell with Shireen, reported that Shireen had become very thin, weighing about 86 pounds. “She said she is experiencing a lot of back pain from the positions she is handcuffed [in].”

“Their mother was crying,” Bayadsy added. “It is the first day of Ramadan, the holy month, and she had to go through this.”

“Because her family has been repeatedly targeted for arrest and imprisonment since Israeli forces occupied their village in 1967, Layla Issawi, better known as Um Rafaat, has not shared a meal with all seven of her living children at the same time in more than a decade, writes Patrick Strickland.

“It’s clear that they are targeting Shireen because of how active she was in raising support for Samer during his hunger strike.” said their mother.

“This is not just my life,” she said. “This is the life of all Palestinian mothers. There are families in Gaza with three or four martyrs each … and Israel has killed some entire families there.”

The number of Palestinian minors held in Israeli jails has risen to 250 detained children following the Israeli military sweep of occupied West Bank waged during the past two weeks.

Getting Through the Holiday Season

December 26, 2013 by TMO 

The winter holidays, both Christmas and Hanukkah date back to when Christians and Jews were ruled by the Romans, who traditionally celebrated Saturnalia on Solstice. Solstice is the longest night of the year and signifies the first day of winter. The lights and candles are meant to give hope, cheer and comfort from the freezing darkness.

Many Americans suffer from holiday depression and anxiety due to financial and social stress, bittersweet memories of childhood or lost loved ones, or because they feel lonely. On the other hand, the constant stream of festivities leads to greater emotional resilience in most people. Depression and suicide rates actually peak in early spring, long after the party is over and all the guests have gone home and the food pantry stocks have dwindled. Those who spent too much money on holiday gifts, fancy outfits and travel will still be paying off their credit cards months later.

Meanwhile, Muslims are often not quite sure how to get through the holidays. Should they attend the office Christmas party and participate in the Secret Santa? What will they do when their boss proposes a toast? How do we get the children to understand and not cry because we are not going to buy them any presents? Winter clothes, maybe. Toys, no. How do we explain to a kid why we do not have a Christmas tree? My own children got around my non-observance by making their own ornaments out of paper to decorate the ceiling lamps and composing their own Christmas songs based on information they picked up at school about what Christmas is about.

“We will get a mix of a bunch of feelings on this day / No Rudolphs, no horse-drawn sleigh / All we get is a closed Safeway,” goes a parody called “Rockin Around No Christmas Tree” by some South Asian youth on youtube.

Then we have the issue of dealing with non-Muslim friends and family members inviting us over – having to decide if we are going to exchange gifts and socialize with mixed genders of people drinking wine, or risk offending them. Are they going to have to change the prayers for us, since we can’t eat food that was blessed in the name of Jesus (pbuh)? Should we ask them to cook a halal meal? Will they have dogs? Are they going to be offended if we don’t want their dog to lick our hands? Awkward!!!

Some Muslim families deal with these conflicts by taking a rabbinical approach and strictly avoiding all non-Muslim holiday activities while while more liberal Muslims will compromise and join in the seasonal celebration in order to be friendly with the neighbors. In the holy land of Palestine, I have heard, it is common for Muslims to visit their Christian neighbors, bring them some food and wish them a merry Christmas, and on Eid the Christian neighbors will stop by to wish their Muslim neighbors a Happy Eid.

Yet in the middle of it all is the Muslim convert who could be experiencing multiple stresses – secretly mourning the loss of a holiday that once held spiritual and emotional significance in their hearts, feeling uncomfortable with ones’ own parents and siblings on such an important day, one’s own parents feeling rejected by our rejection of their religion – even if we attend their Christmas party. And then, feeling alienated from a Muslim spouse or in-laws, who do not understand that extra emotional support is needed, who do not understand the intensely spiritual nature of our memories of angels and candles and choirs, or why our eyes might well up with tears when “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem” comes on the radio.

Likewise, Muslims who don’t commemorate the New Year because it’s not the Islamic calendar will come into emotional conflict with Muslim convert spouses and friends, who have happy memories of staying up until midnight and don’t want to be left alone on that once special night, knowing that their old friends and their family are all celebrating.

Regardless of how we choose to deal with seasonal holiday traditions, Christmas can serve as a valuable opportunity for us to remember the importance of the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) to our world. It is a good time to go over the Christ story in the Quran, and maybe even do some comparative scripture reading with the Bible and other literature. 

Muslims celebrate many special days to commemorate prophets and spiritual leaders: Eid ul-Fitr to commemorate the Prophet Mohammed’s (s) revelation of the Quran; Eid ul-Adha to remember Abraham, Ismail and Hajjar; The fasting on the 9th and 10th of Muharram to celebrate the victory of Moses and his people over the Egyptian Pharaoh; Ashura to remember the martyrdom of Hussein at Karbala. But we don’t have any special day to remember Jesus and tell the story of his life to our children.

We can use Christmas as a tool for telling our children about the life of this great prophet, whose birth signified a new era of mankind and a new way of understanding our relationship with God and with each other, from the idea of competing tribal warfare-based gods to the idea of a universal, compassionate, loving God.

We can also use this time to explain the situation in Palestine to our neighbors and co-workers. Many people do not realize that Jesus spoke Aramaic not Hebrew and that he was a Palestinian not a Jew. Many people do not realize that Bethlehem is in Palestine, and that it is surrounded by a terrible wall. Many people do not realize the suffering of Palestinian Christians, the oldest Christ-following community in the world.

Most of all let us not forget those who are homeless and hungry during this time. Not because it is Christmas but because it is cold, and their survival depends on generosity. Let us use these days off school and work wisely.