Progressive Calendar 01.10.09
From: David Shove (shove001tc.umn.edu)
Date: Sat, 10 Jan 2009 03:57:46 -0800 (PST)
            P R O G R E S S I V E   C A L E N D A R    01.10.09

1. Peace walk        1.10 9am Cambridge MN
2. Gay child/film    1.10 10am
3. WILPF/water       1.10 10am
4. RCTA/licenses     1.10 10am
5. New local TVnews  1.10 1pm
6. Northtown vigil   1.10 2pm
7. Vs recruitment    1.10 3pm
8. Full moon walk    1.10 7pm
9. Palestine/CTV     1.10 9pm

10. Stillwater vigil 1.10 1pm
11. IJAN Anti-Zion   1.11 2pm
12. Vets for peace   1.11 6pm

13. Kip Sullivan   - The Take Action-single-payer compromise that wasn't
14. Jeremy Hammond - US Senate endorses Israel's war on Gaza
15. Bill Van Auken - Senate Democrats endorse Israeli war crimes
16. Steven Argue   - Liberation News statement: Israel out of Gaza!
17. Kim Petersen   - The indelible shame of the Jewish State
18. Gilad Atzmon   - The Old Testament and the genocide in Gaza
19. ed             - Tense times  (poem)

--------1 of 19--------

From: Ken Reine <reine008 [at] umn.edu>
Subject: Peace walk 1.10 9am Cambridge MN

every Saturday 9AM to 9:35AM
Peace walk in Cambridge - start at Hwy 95 and Fern Street


--------2 of 19--------

From: Erin Parrish <erin [at] mnwomen.org>
Subject: Gay child/film 1.10 10am

January 10: OutFront Minnesota "for the Bible tells me so" screening.
Through the experiences of five very normal, Christian, American families
- including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and
Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson- we discover how people of faith handle the
realization of having a gay child or family member.

10 AM at Unity Church-Unitarian- Center Room, 732 Holly Avenue, St. Paul.
No charge; a free-will offering will be taken to defray the costs of
showing this important film.


--------3 of 19--------

From: Erin Parrish <erin [at] mnwomen.org>
Subject: WILPF/water 1.10 10am

January 10: Women's International League for Peace and Freedom Coffee
With: Preview and input to art exhibit "Women and Water Rights: Rivers of
Regeneration. Presenters: Liz Dodson, Luella Greene, Marilyn Cuneo (Arts
Committee). 10 AM - Noon at Riverview Tower, Party Room D, Minneapolis.
For more information call 612-333-8150.


--------4 of 19--------

From: biego001 [at] umn.edu
Subject: RCTA/licenses 1.10 10am

Resource Center of the Americas Saturday am coffeehour series
January 10, 10am
$4 suggested donation

Mujeres en Liderazgo (Women in Leadership) present:
The Importance of Driver's Licenses for the Immigrant Community. A social
security number should no longer be required to obtain a Minnesota
Driver's license. People living in Minnesota who do not have a social
security number should have access to driver's licenses in order to insure
safety, efficient policing, equality, and the well being of families in
our community.


--------5 of 19--------

From: Nancy Doyle Brown <nancyjdoyle [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: New local TV news 1.10 1pm

Just a reminder about the meeting this Saturday afternoon (1/10) at 1pm at
the Walker Library in Uptown to solidify plans for a new local,
alternative TV nightly news that would serve Twin Cities residents' needs.
What issues have been missing from local TV news? Where has it failed to
provide the diversity of perspectives we need? This is our chance to
envision a news program that brings important issues to a broad audience
beyond the progressive community.

A group has formed in the Twin Cities to work on producing a local,
nightly, independent TV news (which will also be distributed online).
Experience with daily news or locally produced TV news is especially
helpful, but not required. Learn how you can play a role in this
much-needed addition to the Twin Cities media landscape. For more, read
posts on Media Blizzard 1, 2, and 3.

Please forward this email to anyone you know who'd like to see better
nightly news in the Twin Cities!

Nancy Doyle Brown www.mediablizzard.wordpress.com


--------6 of 19--------

From: Vanka485 [at] aol.com
Subject: Northtown vigil 1.10 2pm

Peace vigil at Northtown (Old Hwy 10 & University Av), every Saturday
2-3pm


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From: "wamm [at] mtn.org" <wamm [at] mtn.org>
Subject: Vs recruitment 1.10 3pm

Counter-Military Recruitment Training Workshop
Saturday, January 10, 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Veterans for Peace Office, 2123
Clinton Avenue South, Minneapolis.  This workshop will provide hands-on
training for volunteers interested in staffing counter-military
recruitment tables inside high schools.

Last February, the Minneapolis School Board unanimously passed a
resolution granting anti-war, counter-recruitment organizations the same
access to Minneapolis public schools that the military has. Youth Against
War and Racism and Veterans for Peace are collaborating to organize
counter-military recruitment and peace and justice tables inside
Minneapolis high schools starting in the next few months. In order to do
this, we need trained volunteers, equipped with facts and arguments
against military recruitment and militaristic foreign policy. At this
training, we will discuss the best ways to talk to students at tables,
introduce tabling materials, and do counter-recruitment role-playing. WAMM
members are encouraged to attend.

Sponsored by: Veterans for Peace and Youth Against War and Racism.
Endorsed by: WAMM. FFI and to RSVP: Call Dan DiMaggio, 617-599-3026 or
email <dan.dimaggio [at] gmail.com>.


--------8 of 19--------

From: Sue Ann <mart1408 [at] umn.edu>
Subject: Full Moon Walk 1.10 7pm

Full Moon Walk at Coldwater Park
Explore the Future National Parkland
Saturday, January 10, 2009
7 pm at Coldwater Spring

Walk this sacred land to envision what it will look like without buildings
or roads. Meetings to plan the park begin next month. Traditional group
howl!

Directions: From Hwy 55/Hiawatha in south Minneapolis, turn East (toward the
Mississippi) at 54th Street, take an immediate right (South) 1/2-mile past
the parking meters, through the cul-de-sac and the gates. Follow the curvy
road to the pond.


--------9 of 19--------

From: Eric Angell <eric-angell [at] riseup.net>
Subject: Palestine/CTV 1.10 9pm

Melodious Minneapolis Television Network (MTN) viewers:
"Our World In Depth" cablecasts on MTN Channel 17 on Saturdays at 9pm and
Tuesdays at 8am, after DemocracyNow!  Households with basic cable may
watch.

Sat, 1/10, 9pm and Tues, 1/13, 8am

"Ali Abunimah: Where Next for Palestine-Israel? Part 2"  Part 2 of talk by
Palestinian American author Abunimah at the U of M in Oct. '07. (a still
relevant repeat)


--------10 of 19--------

From: scot b <earthmannow [at] comcast.net>
Subject: Stillwater vigil 1.10 1pm

A weekly Vigil for Peace Every Sunday, at the Stillwater bridge from 1- 2
p.m.  Come after Church or after brunch ! All are invited to join in song
and witness to the human desire for peace in our world. Signs need to be
positive.  Sponsored by the St. Croix Valley Peacemakers.

If you have a United Nations flag or a United States flag please bring it.
Be sure to dress for the weather . For more information go to
<http://www.stcroixvalleypeacemakers.com/>http://www.stcroixvalleypeacemakers.com/

For more information you could call 651 275 0247 or 651 999 - 9560


--------11 of 19--------

From: IJAN Twin Cities <ijan.tc [at] gmail.com>
Subject: IJAN Anti-Zion 1.11 2pm

INTERNATIONAL JEWISH ANTI-ZIONIST NETWORK
IJAN-TWIN CITIES Ijan.tc [at] gmail.com www.ijsn.net

THERE ARE MANY JEWISH VOICES: Jews of Conscience & Our Allies Against the
Israeli Government's War on Gaza

Minneapolis, MN - Sunday January 11, 2009 - Hundreds will converge outside
the Sabes Jewish Community Center, 4330 Cedar Lake Rd., Minneapolis at 2
pm this Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009 to protest the Israeli government's two week
old brutal strike against Palestinians in Gaza.

At 2:30 pm, a press conference will be held, featuring brief statements
by: Lisa Albrecht, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network -Twin Cities
(IJAN-TC); Ilana Lerman, Jews for an End to the Occupation; Ziad Amra,
Minnesota Coalition for Gaza; and a representative from the Council on
American Islamic Relations-Minnesota.

Lisa Albrecht of IJAN-TC says, "Just as it is not Anti-American to
criticize the U.S. government, it does not signify hatred of Jews to
criticize Israeli government policy. We believe that there is not one
monolithic Jewish community or voice in the world, the U.S. or Minnesota.
By our presence here today, we are affirming the diversity of voices in
our community. No one Jewish organization speaks for all Jews."

IJAN recognizes Zionism as a political belief that has shaped Israeli
policy from its inception. As a Zionist state, Israel legally privileges
Jews over Arabs.  Over the past two weeks, we have seen the Israeli
military conduct an air and ground war that has killed more than 800
people in Gaza and wounded over 3,000 - most of whom are civilians and not
Hamas soldiers.

Israel is carrying out these attacks with F16 fighter jets and missiles
provided by U.S. tax dollars. The state of Minnesota invests in Israel,
and holds Israeli bonds. Governor Pawlenty has recently met with Israeli
trade representatives to further the Minnesota-Israeli economic
partnership. In light of this economic alliance and the moral
responsibility that comes along, we demand Governor Pawlenty cut our trade
and investment ties with Israel instead of financing this humanitarian
crisis. We also demand that our elected officials call for an immediate
cease-fire and an end to the blockade of Gaza.

-- International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network - Twin Cities
http://www.ijsn.net/

Contact:  Lisa Albrecht Phone:  612 202 8994 and Contact:  Josina Manu
Phone:  612 803 3432


--------12 of 19--------

From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Vets for peace 1.11 6pm

Sunday, 1/11, 6 to 8:30 pm, monthly meeting of Veterans for Peace chapter
27, St Stephens school basement, 2123 Clinton Ave S, Mpls.  John Varone
952-448-2665.


--------13 of 19--------

Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2009 18:09:41 -0600
From: Kip Sullivan <kiprs [at] usinternet.com>
Subject: The Take Action-single-payer compromise that wasn't

Wednesday night I mailed out a comment critical of the MN Health Security
Act (MHSA), a bill that was announced Thursday morning at a press conference
at the Capitol.  I urged everyone who cares about universal coverage to
oppose it. I indicated the coalition supporting the MHSA (Take Action MN,
Children's Defense Fund, ISAIAH, SEIU, AFSCME 5, Education MN, MN Nurses
Asso, and the AFL-CIO) had engaged in discussions with single-payer
supporters over a period of months about how to write the MHSA in a way that
wouldn't draw the opposition of single-payer groups, and that these
discussion ended abruptly on December 16. As a result, the MHSA is just a
bail-out for the health insurance industry.

In this email, I want to describe the compromise that was under discussion
between the Take Action coalition and the single-payer groups.  But first,
an update on what has happened since Wednesday night.

The press conference announcing the MHSA took place as planned. The Star
Tribune gave this press conference about four paragraphs in an article
headlined, "Nursing homes to seek more aid," in today's edition (B5). It
said: "One proposal offered Wednesday [not sure why they said Wednesday
when the press conference was Thursday] would cover about 77,000 uninsured
children by 2010. A more modest bill in 2007, which passed the House but
not the Senate, would have covered 20,000 children at a cost of $250
million a year."

Yesterday (Thursday), the Star Trib ran an op-ed by Jim Koppel, director
of the Children's Defense Fund, entitled "The goal: Affordable health care
for everyone." (I live in Minneapolis, and usually read only the Star Trib
and the NY Times, so the Star Trib is the only MN coverage I know about
most days.) Jim's op-ed described the Take Action coalition as the "Make
Health Happen" campaign. He described the MHSA as a "measure [that] would
lead to comprehensive, affordable health care for every Minnesotan,
starting with children." "The MHSA is based on the Children's Health
Security Act," he wrote, "which successfully passed the state House of
Representatives in 2007 but did not become law." I agree with this
description of the MHSA. The portion of the MHSA that describes the
program covering children (which takes up six pages of the seven-page
bill) is quite similar to the 2007 Children's Health Security Act.

The compromise discussed between a few individuals associated with the
Take Action coalition and single-payer groups called for dividing the MHSA
into a two-year (or two-stage) bill. The bill would call for:

    * creating universal coverage for all MN kids under 19 during the 2009
session of the Legislature, and

    * having a debate about whether to run the program for kids through a
single-payer system or a multiple-payer system (ie., the current system of
multiple insurers) in the 2010 session.

The bill would also call for a study by an independent agency, due by
January 2010, that would examine the pros and cons of a single-payer and a
multiple-payer system. The Legislature could rely on this study for
guidance during its debate during the 2010 session (which will probably
run from February through May 2010) about which system to use.

You can see how this compromise would at least keep the single-payer
groups neutral in 2009, and might even attract their support. It wouldn't
violate our principle against supporting legislation that funnels more tax
dollars to the insurance industry. (Of the three single-payer groups I
work with, two -- GMHCC and PNHP -- have taken the position that they will
oppose bills that send more tax dollars to the insurance industry. The
position of the third group, the MN Universal Health Care Coalition, a
coalition of 15 groups, has been to give highest priority to the MN Health
Act (a state single-payer bill) and low or no priority to anything else.)

I for one looked forward to working with the Take Action coalition on this
compromise bill, especially if in the course of developing the bill I got
the sense that at least a majority of the Take Action groups were
committed to supporting the single-payer version in the 2010 session.
Working together for a reasonably good bill would give us a chance to get
to know one another, and the single-payer groups might finally have a
chance to sit down with the Take Action coalition and explore with them
their refusal to get serious about single-payer legislation. (I hope none
of the Take Action groups challenge my characterization of their
milquetoast support for single-payer. I'll be glad to get into the details
if I must.)

Moreover, the prospect of winning a single-payer program for kids in
the 2009-10 session really excited me. I know of no country that achieved
universal coverage (with or without a single-payer system) overnight, and
I have no doubt MN and the US will achieve universal coverage the same way
-- in stages. Just as our national Medicare program for the elderly has
served as a very useful stepping stone toward a single-payer system, so a
single-payer for kids would be a very useful first stage upon which to
build a universal, single-payer system for all Minnesotans.

The two-stage compromise appeared in an outline of the MHSA that Take
Action circulated early in November (the actual language used in the
outline was way too vague for my tastes). The outline contained the July
1, 2010 start date. That was my first inkling that the Take Action
coalition wanted that start date. I communicated to GMHCC my opinion that
we might be able to start the insurance program by that date if it were a
multiple-payer program (because that's how the existing state health
insurance programs work), but not if the Legislature ordered that a
single-payer model be used. If a single-payer model were ordered by the
Legislature (via enactment of legislation) in April or May of 2010, the
Department of Human Services (the agency that runs the existing state
health insurance programs, and which would be charged under the MHSA with
administering this new program for kids) simply wouldn't have time enough
to switch away from the privatized, multiple-HMO model it uses now to a
single-payer system.

That conclusion must have occurred to the Take Action coalition too,
because when Take Action notified GMHCC on December 16, 2008 that the
compromise provisions "had been deleted from the bill," the justification
they gave was that uninsured kids are suffering, they wanted universal
coverage for kids to start no later than July 2010, and the two-stage
compromise would make a July 2010 start date impossible.

When I heard that excuse for abandoning a compromise bill, I thought it
was so unconvincing that I was sure it couldn't be the real reason. I
still think that. I think it for two reasons.

First, everyone who isn't smoking something knows no bill expanding health
insurance substantially is going to pass in the 2009-10 session of the
legislature. The reason it won't is obvious: We're in a serious recession,
we face enormous deficits, the state can't run a deficit like Congress
can, and we have a governor named Tim Pawlenty. In other words, the July
1, 2010 start date is a purely imaginary, in-your-dreams deadline. To
break off negotiations with single-payer groups on the ground that this
fantasy deadline must be preserved at all costs -- even at the cost of
inviting outright opposition from single-payer groups -- is worse than
unconvincing. It makes no sense at all.

Second, if the Take Action coalition really was that concerned about
maintaining the July 1, 2010 fantasy deadline, then there was an obvious
solution at hand: Drop the compromise language and, God forbid, support a
single-payer for kids. That would eliminate the two-year process. We
wouldn't need a study released in January 2010, and we wouldn't need a
debate about single- versus multiple-payer systems in 2010. A single-payer
version of the MHSA could pass in May 2009, Pawlenty could sign it that
same month (dream, dream), and DHS would have an entire year to get ready
to meet the July 1, 2010 deadline for creating a single-payer for kids.
But no, the Take Action coalition decided they'd rather funnel $500
million dollars to the insurance industry every year AND run a very high
risk of provoking a public fight with single-payer groups and legislators
who support the Minnesota Health Act (a bill that would create a
universal, single-payer system in MN).

I am told there is still a faint hope the Take Action coalition will amend
the MHSA to include the compromise language. Let's hope so. I encourage
everyone to put pressure on Take Action, the Children's Defense Fund, and
the other supporters of the MHSA to incorporate the compromise language
into the MHSA.


--------14 of 19--------

[OK Dem apologists, how ya gonna spin out of this one? We trust you'll
find a way. An Israeli lobby, AIPAC, dictates to the Senate the very terms
of a pro-war resolution, then dares the Senate to risk loss of election
money and charges of anti-semitism. So the cowardly Senators cowered. Now
it's your job to convince us and yourselves that it was all just fine and
dandy, hunky-dorey, and as American as apple pie. - ed]

US Senate Endorses Israel's War on Gaza
by Jeremy R. Hammond
January 9th, 2009
Dissident Voice

The US Senate on Thursday passed a non-binding resolution promoted by the
influential Israeli lobby AIPAC (The American Israel Public Affairs
Committee), effectively endorsing Israel's war on Gaza. The resolution,
entitled "A resolution expressing solidarity with Israel in Israel's
defense against terrorism in the Gaza Strip" recognizes "the right of
Israel to defend itself against attacks from Gaza" and reaffirms "the
United States' strong support for Israel in its battle with Hamas".

The resolution does not recognize the right to self-defense of the
Palestinian people.

The resolution criticizes Hamas for refusing "to comply with the
requirements of the Quartet", which include to "recognize Israel's right
to exist" and to "renounce violence".

It makes no mention of Israel's continuing settlement expansion in the
West Bank, also in violation of the Quartet requirements. Nor does it call
upon Israel, which illegally occupies the West Bank and has held Gaza
under siege for three years, to recognize the "right to exist" of a
Palestinian state or to renounce violence.

The resolution condemns the use of "human shields" by Hamas, but says
nothing of the indiscriminate killing by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF)
that is taking a devastating toll upon civilians in Gaza.

The resolution, quoting from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, blames
Hamas "for breaking the ceasefire and for the renewal of violence there".

It makes no mention of the fact that Hamas had strictly observed the
cease-fire until it was violated by Israel on November 4, when Israel
launched an airstrike into Gaza that killed 5 and injured several others.

The resolution notes that "the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including
shortages of food, water, electricity, and adequate medical care, is
becoming more acute".

It neglects to point out that this is the direct result of Israel's policy
of blockading Gaza, and that the humanitarian crisis has been greatly
exacerbated by Israel's aerial bombardment and invasion of Gaza, instead
praising the minimal amount of humanitarian aid Israel has allowed into
the territory.

The resolution also states that "a sustainable resolution of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict that will allow for a viable and independent
Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with the State
of Israel - will not be possible as long as Israeli civilians are under
threat from within Gaza".

It says nothing about the impossibility of such a two-state solution so
long as Palestinians live under occupation and threat from Israel.

Members of Congress Voice Support for Israel

Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) voiced her support for the resolution by saying
that Israel's war on Gaza was "a phase in a war against Iranian terror".
She said she looked forward to being able to visit Israel when its
citizens were no longer under threat, presumably from rockets fired from
Gaza.

She said nothing about wanting to visit Gaza or looking forward to its
citizens living no longer under threat from Israel.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) characterized Israel's war as "self-defense" and
said it was well within its rights to engage in such action. He said he
supported a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but
added that such a solution would only be tenable if Israel is "secure". He
added that "Israel can always look to the United States for support and
that this will continue to be true 'when Barack Obama becomes President'".

He said nothing about the security of any future Palestinian state, or of
the security of the territories at present that are illegally occupied by
Israel. He offered no suggestions as to where the Palestinian people could
look to for support.

Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) expressed having "every confidence that the
incoming administration would continue the unwavering support of the
United States of America for the state of Israel". She said her own
opinion, "as a Jewish member of Congress" is that Israel has "every right
to defend itself" and that Israelis 'have been too patient" in responding
to rocket attacks from Gaza. She expressed that it was unacceptable for
tunnels to be used to smuggle weapons into Gaza.

She failed to note that it was Israel, not Hamas, that first violated the
cease-fire. She expressed no similar empathy for the Palestinian people,
who have lived under oppression and terror on a much greater scale, and
who have been killed in far higher numbers by Israeli military actions.
She made no mention of the fact that tunnels are also used to avert a
complete humanitarian catastrophe, to bring in food, fuel, medical
supplies, and other humanitarian goods because Israel's blockade has
prevented such basic necessities from being delivered into Gaza.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) condemned Hamas' firing of rockets into Israel
because they were intended to kill civilians even though only a small
number had been killed. He said the US looks forward to "supporting Israel
through its difficult time now".

He did not condemn the Israeli killing of hundreds of Palestinian
civilians or express any empathy difficult time the Palestinians are going
through.

Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NV) said "if you don't want to be hit back, don't
hit. That's really the message" of Israel's war on Gaza. He blamed
criticism of Israel on "anti-Semitism" and called it "blaming the victim".
He said "Israel has that right, to protect itself".

He neglected to mention that it was Israel, not Hamas, which broke the
cease-fire. Nor did he offer any indication that this standard applied
equally to both Israelis and Palestinians. He expressed no support for the
right of Palestinians to protect themselves.

Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) expressed that weapons should not be made
available to Hamas.

He offered no similar comments about weapons being made available to
Israel.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) was a lone voice in the Congress expressing
any kind of empathy for the plight of the Palestinians. In remarks from
the floor of the House, he said:

"Wake up America. We have trillions for a war machine and the banks while
our government stands by and sniffs at the slaughter of innocents in Gaza,
where Israel is blocking aid for wounded Palestinians. Here's today's
Washington Post. It says, 'The International Committee of the Red Cross
said Thursday that it found at least 15 bodies and several children
emaciated but alive in a row of shattered houses in the Gaza Strip and
accused the Israeli military of preventing ambulances from reaching the
site for 4 days. 12 corpses lying on mattresses in one home, along with 4
young children lying next to their dead mothers'. That's a quote. Today,
US tax dollars, US jets, and US helicopters provided to Israel are
enabling the slaughter in Gaza. The administration enables Israel to press
forward with the attack against defenseless civilians, blocks efforts at
promoting a cease-fire at the UN, and refuses to make Israel compliant
with conditions that arms shipments will not be used for aggression.
Israel is going to receive $30 billion in a ten year period for military
assistance, without having to abide by any humanitarian principles,
international laws, or standards of basic human decency. Wake up America".

Jeremy R. Hammond is the editor of Foreign Policy Journal, a website
providing news, analysis, and opinion from outside the standard framework
provided by government officials and the corporate media, particularly
with regard to the "war on terrorism". His articles have also been
featured in numerous other online publications. You can contact him at:
jeremy [at] foreignpolicyjournal.com.


--------15 of 19--------

Senate Democrats endorse Israeli war crimes
By Bill Van Auken
9 January 2009

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jan2009/lead-j09.shtml

As evidence of Israeli war crimes mounted and amid signs that the Israeli
Defense Forces (IDF) are launching a new and even bloodier phase of the
two-week war against the embattled people of Gaza, the Democratic
leadership of the US Senate Thursday led the passage of a bipartisan
resolution endorsing Israel's actions. The resolution passed by a
unanimous voice vote.

The resolution begins by "recognizing the right of Israel to defend itself
against attacks from Gaza and reaffirming the United States' strong
support for Israel in its battle with Hamas."

The preamble of the document contains 12 paragraphs vilifying Hamas as a
"terrorist" organization and blaming it entirely for the ongoing war in
Gaza. It includes one brief mention of the "humanitarian situation in
Gaza," but quickly adds that Israel has "facilitated humanitarian aid."

It goes on to declare "vigorous support and unwavering commitment to the
welfare, security and survival of the State of Israel as a Jewish and
democratic state with secure borders" and to recognize Israel's "right to
act in self-defense to protect its citizens against acts of terrorism."

It then demands that Hamas halt all rocket attacks, renounce violence,
recognize Israel and accept all previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements.

That Israel should curtail its blitzkrieg against the people of Gaza,
which has claimed the lives of nearly 800 men, women and children and left
over 3,200 others wounded, is not even remotely suggested by the Senate
resolution.

Speaking before the vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Democrat from
Nevada) declared, "When we pass this resolution, the United States Senate
will strengthen our historic bond with the state of Israel, by reaffirming
Israel's inalienable right to defend against attacks from Gaza."

Reid invited his Senate colleagues to "imagine that happening here in the
United States. Rockets and mortars coming from Toronto in Canada into
Buffalo, New York. How would we as a country react?"

While the absurd analogy must have proved unsettling for Canadians, one
might just as well imagine how the population of New York state would
react if Canada invaded, seized their homes and land and herded them all
into Buffalo, subjecting them and their children to military occupation,
near starvation and continuous armed attacks.

Chiming in his agreement, the resolution's co-sponsor, Republican Senate
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, added, "The Israelis  are
responding exactly the same way we would." Indeed, it is no accident that
the Israeli media have described the military onslaught against Gaza as
"shock and awe."

Under conditions in which masses of people all over the world are
expressing shock and revulsion over the one-sided slaughter that the
Zionist military machine has unleashed against the virtually defenseless
population of Gaza, this resolution is an obscenity.

It is another telling piece of evidence that the Democratic Party and its
elected officials represent not the sentiments or wishes of the American
people, but rather those of a narrow ruling elite that is committed to
advancing its aims through militarism and is utterly indifferent to the
fate of the working class, the poor and the oppressed in Palestine, the US
or any other country.

While president-elect Barack Obama has maintained a discreet silence on
Washington's policy toward the bloodbath in Gaza since it began nearly two
weeks ago, the resolution backed by his former Democratic colleagues in
the US Senate speaks eloquently for him.

There is no question that an Obama administration will maintain US
imperialism's backing for Israeli aggression and repression of the
Palestinian people and will continue funneling the over $3 billion in
annual military aid that provides the Israeli Defense Forces with the
weaponry now being used to massacre innocent civilians.

In another indication that in this crucial foreign policy arena the former
candidate of "change" will carry out a policy of essential continuity with
that of his predecessor, it was announced Thursday that former US diplomat
Dennis Ross has been tapped to serve as the Obama administration's
"ambassador at large" and chief adviser on the Middle East.

The announcement came first from Ross's present employer, the Washington
Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), a pro-Israeli think tank that he
joined after leaving the State Department in 2001. WINEP was founded by
Martin Indyk, a research director for the American Israeli Political
Action Committee who was later appointed US ambassador to Israel.

Ross also became a foreign affairs analyst for Fox News and a supporter of
the Project for the New American Century's campaign for a US war against
Iraq in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks. He later joined
the steering committee of the I. Lewis Libby Defense Fund, organized to
support the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney who was
convicted in connection with the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame's name
in retaliation for her husband's exposure of the Bush administration's
phony case for the Iraq war.

While Ross was a leading figure in US-brokered talks between Israel and
the Palestinians, all of the so-called peace initiatives that he helped
push through quickly failed. According to one Arab negotiator quoted in a
book on these negotiations, "The perception always was that Dennis started
from the Israeli bottom line, that he listened to what Israel wanted and
then tried to sell it to the Arabs. He was never looked at as a trusted
world figure or as an honest broker."

Ross's role was essentially that of Israel's attorney, justifying its
every violation of previous agreements while demonizing Palestinian leader
Yassir Arafat as wholly responsible for the breakdown of the Camp David
negotiations.

Speaking at a synagogue in Maryland earlier this week, Ross took the same
line as the Bush administration on the ongoing war against Gaza, declaring
that the US should support a cease-fire only if it guarantees that Hamas
"can't rebuild." The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a New York-based news
agency which reported the speech, wrote that Ross added that "Israel left
Lebanon and Gaza, and in both instances, 'things got a whole lot worse' -
which doesn't provide much confidence about a withdrawal from the West
Bank."

Assured of continued backing from both the current and the incoming US
administrations, the Israeli government is intensifying its criminal war
against the people of Gaza.

The United Nations agency responsible for providing food and other basic
necessities to the vast bulk of Gaza's population announced Thursday that
it is suspending operations in the Israeli-occupied territory because of
what it described as the "deliberate targeting" of its aid workers, which
made it impossible to guarantee their lives and safety.

The action, which threatens to deepen what is already a humanitarian
catastrophe, came after Israeli tanks shelled a UN convoy, killing two
Palestinian forklift drivers and wounding two other aid workers. They were
in trucks headed to the Erez crossing with Israel to pick up food and
other humanitarian supplies during what the Israelis had claimed was a
three-hour suspension of firing meant to facilitate such distributions.

d"ÓThey were coordinating their movements with the Israelis, as they
always do, only to find themselves being fired at from the ground troops,"
John Ging, the head of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in
Gaza, told the news agency Al Jazeera.

In another incident, a UNRWA driver was shot to death by Israeli troops
near the Kerem Shalom border crossing at the northern end of the Gaza
Strip.

Israeli forces also fired on a convoy of three UN vehicles during a
Thursday mission to recover the body of another aid worker killed in a
previous attack.

UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said that the series of deaths made it
impossible to resume operations until "the Israeli army can guarantee the
safety and security of UN personnel". Gunness charged Israel with
"deliberately targeting" aid workers, stressing that all of the locations
of UN facilities and movements by its personnel are communicated to the
Israeli military.

This development follows the IDF's shelling Tuesday of the UN's school in
the Jabalya refugee camp, which killed 45 people in one of the worst
atrocities since the Israeli attacks began.

UN officials have stressed that Israel's so-called "humanitarian
corridor," opened three hours a day between relentless bombardments and
killings, is wholly inadequate to distribute food to any significant
portion of Gaza's population.

The attacks on UN personnel represent only one manifestation of a criminal
policy of "total war" against Gaza's population.

One unintentional byproduct of the three-hour suspensions of Israeli
bombardments is that they have served to further expose the atrocities
perpetrated in the two-week operation as bodies are dug from the rubble
and wounded survivors are retrieved from their homes.

In one of the most appalling incidents, the International Red Cross in
Geneva reported that on Wednesday its aid workers discovered four starving
children lying next to their dead mothers in a house in the Zaytuon
neighborhood south of Gaza City. The Red Cross had been trying since
Saturday to send ambulances into the area, but only received permission
from the Israeli military on Wednesday. The delay was a death sentence for
many wounded civilians in the area.

Medical crews from the Red Cross and the Palestinian Red Crescent reported
finding 12 corpses lying on mattresses in the house together with the
children and their murdered mothers. The children were so weak from hunger
that they were unable to stand.

The medical teams were compelled to evacuate surviving wounded on donkey
carts because the Israeli military would not allow ambulances into the
area. The Israeli troops threatened to fire on the ambulance teams if they
did not leave, but the medical workers refused to stop their work until
they were actually shot at.

The Red Cross issued a rare denunciation of Israeli actions, calling them
unacceptable and charging the Israeli government with having "failed to
meet its obligation under international humanitarian law to care for and
evacuate the wounded." In other words, it accused the Israeli regime of
having carried out a war crime.

"This is a shocking incident," said Pierre Wettach, the Red Cross's head
of delegation for Israel and the Palestinian territories. "The Israeli
military must have been aware of the situation but did not assist the
wounded. Neither did they make it possible for us or the Palestine Red
Crescent to assist the wounded."

The Geneva Conventions specify that warring parties must ensure "all
possible measures to search for and collect the wounded and sick" and
stipulates that the wounded "shall not willfully be left without medical
assistance and care."

Meanwhile, according to press reports, the Israeli cabinet has already
voted to move ahead with a "third phase" of the operation, sending Israeli
troops into the densely populated streets and alleys of Gaza City and
other urban areas. "The next phase is inevitable," one senior Israeli
official told Time magazine.


--------16 of 19--------

Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2009 15:01:32 -0800 (PST)
From: Steven R. Argue <steveargue2 [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Liberation News Statement: Israel Out of Gaza!

Statement of Liberation News, by Steven Argue:

More than a week of Israeli military assaults on the population of Gaza
has left 600 people dead, 200 of them children.  In attempt to conceal its
crimes, Israel has barred foreign media from Gaza.  Yet, many stories of
war crimes are still getting out as civilian centers, a school, and aid
workers are deliberately targeted by Israeli forces.  In areas hit by
bombing, Israel has refused rescue operations the ability to operate,
leaving many more people to die.

Gaza is a small strip of land that contains 1.5 million people.  Most of
these people were driven from their land by the Israeli Army's ethnic
cleansing of Palestinians in 1948. With the birth of Israel, a new
homeland was created for one people by removing the original inhabitants
through force and violence. Palestinians who were forced to flee are not
given the right to return to their homeland.  Meanwhile, Jews from any
country in the world are automatically given citizenship.

Gaza was seized by Israel in 1968, putting refugees from Israel once again
under Israeli occupation.  In 2005, the Palestinians of Gaza gained formal
independence. Yet, the area to which Palestinians have been confined by
Israel has no economic basis for independence.  Gaza is more like a
reservation for Native Americans in the United States or a Bantustan as
they existed in Apartheid South Africa. Imports, exports, and travel are
all controlled by Israel.

Ever since 2006, Israel, with the help of the U.S. backed dictatorship in
Egypt, has choked off Gaza from needed imports, electricity, exports, and
fuel.  As a result, the people of Gaza suffer unemployment, malnutrition,
problems with the water supply, and poverty.

A condition of the cease-fire was lifting this blockade by Israel.  For
its part, Hamas dramatically reduced rocket fire coming from Gaza.
During this time, not a single casualty resulted from that rocket-fire at
a time when Israel continued to kill Palestinians.  Israel, however, never
made any attempt to uphold its end of the bargain, and continued to force
collective misery on the Palestinian people through the blockade.

The war against the people of Gaza is not a defensive action by Israel; it
is a continuation of Israel's policy, since its birth in 1948, to inflict
death, terror, and misery on the native people in order to establish a
nation ruled by one ethnicity and one religion.  Yet, despite all of this,
lies are being fed to the American people by the corporate media, and the
Democrats and Republicans trying to justify Israeli war crimes and
collective punishment of the entire Palestinian people.

While giving no political support to Hamas, Liberation News stands in
solidarity with the Palestinian people in demanding an end to U.S.
military aid to Israel and Egypt.  The U.S. props up these repressive
governments with billions of dollars in military aid every year.  The
people of the Near East will be much better off when they are allowed to
decide their own governments without the intervention of U.S. supplied
weapons.

Yet, to acieve such a dramatic end to U.S. imperialist intervention will
take the building of a socialist party in the United States that struggles
to end the economic basis of U.S. imperialism, i.e. the capitalist profit
system of exploitation and greed.  Liberation News is dedicated to this
goal.


--------17 of 19--------

The Indelible Shame of the Jewish State
A Culture of Cowardice Exposed to Acts of Valor
by Kim Petersen
January 9th, 2009
Dissident Voice

The Jewish state's genocidal rampage against Gaza appears unbound by any
tenets of law or morality. The Jews of Israel do not even heed their own
holocaust mantra of "Never forget". It makes one wonder: does that mantra
only apply to crimes against Jews and not by Jews?

The criminality of Israel includes:

massacres of civilians1 and families;2
interfering with medical personnel;3
targeting and killing UN staff4 to continue the Israeli policy of starving
the Gazans;56
humiliating UN personnel;7
targeting of schools,89 mosques,10 hospitals11, homes and shelters;12 and
crackdowns on domestic dissent.13

Corporate Media Complicity and Gore

A tired editorial eye revealed the complicity of the corporate media in
the crimes of Israel. At first, CBS ran a headline that read: "Airstrikes
hit Gaza schools, dozens killed". The headline was later softened to:
"Israel OK's Gaza 'Humanitarian Corridor': Amid Increasing Carnage, Israel
Agrees To Suspend Attacks In Certain Areas To Allow People To Get Vital
Supplies," shifting the focus away from Israel as a killing machine and
recasting it as humanitarian.

The original version of the story reported, "John Ging, head of Gaza
operations for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, said three U.N.
schools have been hit in the last 24 hours and the 'indications are that
these strikes originated from Israeli weapons'". The article also featured
a photo of a Palestinian child with a blood-drenched face. The quotation
from Ging identifying Israel as the perpetrator and the graphic photo were
deleted from the later version online.

Screen shot of original story at CBS

A headline and story featuring Israeli atrocities in contemporary
corporate America media is rare indeed. So it was not a surprise when the
incriminating headline, quotations, and photo were removed.

The Telegraph reported, "Growing evidence... of the bloodiest single
incident of the Gaza conflict [sic] when around 70 corpses were found by a
Palestinian paramedic near a bombed-out house."

The account related that Israeli soldiers "had ordered about 100 members
of the [al Samouni] clan to gather in a single house.. around dawn on
Sunday. At 6.35am on Monday the house was repeatedly shelled with
appalling loss of civilian life".

Shame

Horror and outrage characterize these vile, premeditated murders. But
there is another indelible trait exposed: shamelessness - in particular,
the shamelessness that reveals the cowardice among Israeli "warriors".14
The shame is so intense that Jews abroad are seeking to estrange
themselves from Israeli Jews.

Pianist Anton Kuerti said, "Israel's behavior makes me ashamed of being a
Jew, and Canada's servile support of the United States' position15 that it
is all Hamas's fault makes me ashamed of being a Canadian".16

Indeed. While the Canadian government has been standing solidly behind
Israel during the slaughter, it realizes that people in Gaza are in danger
and seeks to have Canadians there repatriated to safety.17

Dissidents with Montreal-based Palestinian and Jewish Unity expressed
outrage at "Israel's latest assault on the Palestinian people and by the
Canadian government's refusal to condemn these massacres".

CTV said, "They are deeply concerned that Canadians are hearing the views
of pro-Israel groups who are being represented as the only voice of Jewish
Canadians. The protesters have occupied the consulate to send a clear
statement that many Jewish-Canadians do not support Israel's violence and
apartheid policies".18 It is difficult to discern what the primary
motivation for these Jewish-Canadians is. Is it to dissociate themselves
from the shame of being stigmatized by the murder spree being waged by
Israeli Jews or is it to deplore the war crimes against Palestinians - or
could it be both?

Jewish Media Focuses on Its Own Manufactured Victimhood

The wanton killing by Israeli forces seems to have incited vehemence
directed at Jews outside Israel.192021

The JTA focused on the beating of a single Jewish girl, which is
absolutely deplorable, but it hides and propagandizes over the genocide of
Palestinians. The contrast in the value placed on Jewish life versus
non-Jewish life is stark.

The Audacity of Valor

W (World Wide Weekly), a culture and current events program on MBC (Munhwa
Broadcasting Corporation) in Korea, showed a video depicting the courage
of an unarmed woman using her body to prevent Israeli soldiers from
shooting at Palestinian children. That adult men would raise weapons
against an unarmed woman and rock-throwing children betrays the cowardice
of the soldiers.

The Korean announcer states: "Sometimes Palestinians's thirst for freedom
leads to intense confrontation. Armed soldiers attack. The Palestinians
defy them with stones and run away. They are the targets of Israeli
soldiers. Rubber bullets with high killing power sometimes threaten lives.
But then, a girl's voice cries out, 'Stop, stop, stop'".

This she shouts as she places her body in front of a soldier to prevent
him from a getting a line of fire on the children.

She tries to reason with the soldier, asking him if he understands. "You
are shooting at kids". She offers the simple way for the soldiers out from
the situation: "Just pull back".

The Korean announcer comments, "One Palestinian woman blocks the muzzle of
the gun. Her action surprises the soldiers. She resolves to stop the
Israeli gunfire even with her unarmed body".

"What are you shooting at? Why are you shooting at them?" the courageous
woman asks as the soldier tries to position himself above her. She raises
her arms.

In the background other soldiers begin shooting. The woman flinches at the
sound of gunfire, but she holds her ground. World View News Service
identifies the woman as Huwaida Arraf. Arraf is a Palestinian-American who
co-founded the International Solidarity Movement in Jerusalem. Since she
is a Palestinian-American activist, she probably knows of American
solidarity activist Rachel Corrie and her fate, further boosting the
valorous credentials of Arraf.

The Korean announcer says, "Despite her last ditch effort in throwing her
body before the guns, even a slight peace is hard to come by. This is the
cold reality of this land".

Apart from ill-gotten booty, those who wield preponderant power are in a
no-win situation. There is no gain from using violence on someone smaller
or weaker. If clever, the powerful counterpart will withdraw, status still
intact. To use violence on the weak and lose would make one a
laughingstock. To use violence and beat the weaker counterpart would
expose oneself, at best, to be a bully and a coward - and worse, a craven
war criminal.

Thanks to Yang Hyesun for the translation from Korean. Thanks also to Ron
Saba for the screen shot and steady flow of information on the terrible
situation in Gaza.

1 "Doctor Decries Israeli Attacks," YouTube, 5 January 2009. Norwegian
doctor Mads Gilbert tells of the bombing of a market place and an
apartment house with children playing on the roof. He said 50 percent of
the casualties are women and children. He called this "hell" "an all-out
war against the Palestinian population, and we can poof that with the
numbers. They are bombing one-and-a-half million people in a cage". [.]

2 Tim Butcher, "Gaza medics describe horror of strike which killed 70,"
Telegraph, 8 January 2009. [.]

3 Frank Jordans, "Red Cross: Israel delayed access to Gaza wounded,"
Yahoo, 8 January 2009. "The Israeli military must have been aware of the
situation but did not assist the wounded," the international Red Cross
said. "Neither did they make it possible for us or the Palestine Red
Crescent to assist the wounded". Craig Whitlock and Reyham Abdel Kareem,
"100 Survivors Rescued in Gaza From Ruins Blocked by Israelis," Washington
Post, January 2009. [.]

4 Shashank Bengali, "Israeli troops kill U.N. truck driver at Gaza
crossing," Miami Herald, 9 January 2009. It is reported, "Israeli soldiers
opened fire Thursday on a truck attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to
the beleaguered Gaza Strip, killing one United Nations-contracted driver
and seriously wounding another, U.N. officials said". [.]

5 "UN halts aid to Gaza, citing Israeli attacks on staff," CBC News, 8
January 2009. [.]

6 Reuters, "Red Cross: Israel breaking int'l law, letting children starve
in Gaza," Haaretz, 8 January 2009. [.]

7 "Days After Calling Israeli Blockade of Gaza 'A Crime Against Humanity,'
UN Human Rights Investigator Richard Falk Detained, Expelled from Israel,"
Democracy Now!, 17 December 2008. [.]

8 "UK Sky News video: Israeli bombing of UN Gaza schools Jan609," YouTube,
7 January 2009. [.]

9 "Airstrikes Hit Gaza Schools, Dozens Killed" CBS News, 6 January 2009.
[.]

10 AFP correspondents in Gaza City, "Deaths as missile hits praying
crowd,"  The Australian, 4 January 2009. [.]

11 Ma'an news, "Gaza hospitals under fire," Uruknet, 5 January 2009. [.]

12 .Israel .shelled civilian shelter,.. BBC News, 9 January 2009. [.]

13 .Israeli intel targets Israeli protesters,. the Real News, 9 January
2009.
The enormity of the massacres has led to fissures in Israeli Jews.s
solidarity. [.]

14 Zionism aside, some Israeli Defense Force members do draw a line and
refuse to carry out acts that violate their conscience. Robert
Hirschfield, .An Israeli Refuseniks Good Fight,. In These Times, 6 April
2007. [.]

15 .US Senate supports Israel war on Gaza,. Press TV, 9 January 2009. [.]

16 Jordana Huber, .Canadian Jews condemn Gaza attack,. Canwest News
Service,
8 January 2009. [.]

17 Canadian Press, .Canadians evacuated from Gaza,. Yahoo, 8 January 2009.
[.]

18 .Police arrest 8 protesters at Israeli consulate,. CTV.ca, 7 January
2009.  [.]

19 .Jewish girl beaten in Paris over Gaza,. JTA, 7 January 2009. [.]

20 DPA, .Israeli tennis star Shahar Peer faces Gaza protest while playing
in New Zealand,. Haaretz, 8 January 2009. Israeli tennis player Shahar
Peer.s participation in a tournament in Auckland, Aoteaoroa was protested.
[.]

21 Allon Sinai, .Shocked Bnei Hasharon players return home after Ankara
scare,. Jerusalem Post, 8 January 2009. Israeli basketball players felt
threatened in Ankara, Turkey. [.]

Kim Petersen is co-editor of Dissident Voice. He can be reached at:
kim [at] dissidentvoice.org.


--------18 of 19--------

The Old Testament and the Genocide in Gaza
by Gilad Atzmon
January 8th, 2009
Dissident Voice

"You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you.
Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten
thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you".
Leviticus, Chapter 26, verses 7-9

"When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to
possess and drives out before you many nations - then you must destroy
them totally. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy".
Deuteronomy 7:1-2,

"...do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them -
as the Lord your God has commanded you". Deuteronomy 20:16

There is not much doubt amongst Biblical scholars that the Hebrew Bible
contains some highly charged non-ethical suggestions, some of which are no
less than a call for a genocide. Biblical scholar Raymund Schwager has
found in the Old Testament 600 passages of explicit violence, 1000
descriptive verses of God's own violent actions of punishment, 100
passages where God expressly commands others to kill people. Apparently,
violence is the most often mentioned activity in the Hebrew Bible.

As devastating as it may be, the Hebrew Bible saturation with violence and
extermination of others may throw some light over the horrifying genocide
conducted momentarily in Gaza by the Jewish state. In broad daylight, the
IDF is using the most lethal methods against civilians as if their main
objective is to "destroy" the Gazans while showing "no mercy" whatsoever.

Interestingly enough, Israel regards itself as a secular state. Ehud Barak
is not exactly a qualified Rabbi and Tzipi Livni is not a Rabbi's wife.
Accordingly, we are entitled to assume that it isn't actually Judaism per
se that directly transforms Israeli politicians and military leaders into
war criminals. Moreover, early Zionists believed that within a national
home Jews would become "people like all other people", i.e., civilised and
ethical. In that very respect, Israeli reality is pretty peculiar. The
Hebraic secular Jews may have managed to drop their God, most of them do
not follow Judaic law, they are largely secular, and yet they collectively
interpret their Jewish identity as a genocidal mission. They have
successfully managed to transform the Bible from being a spiritual text
into a bloodsoaked land registry. They are there, in Zion i.e., Palestine,
to invade the land and to lock up, starve and destroy its indigenous
habitants. Accordingly, it seems as if the artillery commanders and IAF
pilots that erased northern Gaza two nights ago were following Deuteronomy
20:16 they indeed did "... not leave alive anything that breathes". And
yet, one question is left open. Why should a secular commander follow
Deuteronomy verses or any other Biblical text?

Some very few sporadic Jewish voices within the left are insisting upon
telling us that Jewishness is not necessarily inherently murderous. I tend
to believe them that they themselves consider their words as genuine and
truthful. But then one may wonder, what is it that makes the Jewish state
brutal with no comparison? The truth of the matter is actually pretty sad.
As far as we can see, Zionism is the only secular ideological and
political Jewish collective around and as it happens, it has proved once
again this week that it is genocidal to the bone.

As far as genocide is concerned the difference between Judaism and Zionism
can be illustrated as follows: while the Judaic Biblical context is soaked
with genocidal references, usually in the name of God, within the Zionist
context, Jews are killing Palestinians in the name of themselves i.e., the
"Jewish people". This is indeed the ultimate success of the Zionist
revolution. It taught the Jews to believe in themselves. To believe in the
Jewish state. "The Israeli" is Israel's God. Accordingly, the Israeli
kills in the name of "his or her security", in the name of "his or her
democracy". The Israelis destroy in the name of "their war against terror"
and in the name the "their America". Seemingly, in the Jewish state, the
Hebraic subject reverts to mass killing as soon as he finds a "name" to
associate with.

This doesn't really leave us too much room for speculation. The Jewish
state is the ultimate threat to humanity and our notion of humanism.
Christianity, Islam and humanism came along with an attempt to amend
Jewish tribal fundamentalism and to replace it with universal ethics.
Enlightenment, liberalism and emancipation allowed Jews to redeem
themselves from their ancient tribal supremacist traits. Since the mid
19th century, many Jews had been breaking out of their cultural and tribal
chain. Tragically enough, Zionism managed to pull many Jews back in.
Currently, Israel and Zionism are the only collective voice available for
Jews.

The last twelve days of merciless offensive against the Palestinian
civilian population does not leave any room for doubt. Israel is the
gravest danger to world peace. Clearly the nations made a tragic mistake
in 1947 giving a volatile racially orientated identity an opportunity to
set itself into a national state. However, the nations' duty now is to
peacefully dismantle that state before it is too late. We must do it
before the Jewish state and its forceful lobbies around the world manage
to pull us all into a global war in the "name" of one banal populist
ideology or another (democracy, war against terror, cultural clash and so
on). We have to wake up now before our one and only planet is transformed
into a bursting boil of hatred.

Gilad Atzmon was born in Israel and served in the Israeli military. He
lives in London, and is an editor at Palestine Think Tank, where this
essay first appeared, and author of two novels: A Guide to the Perplexed
and the recently released My One and Only Love. Atzmon is also one of the
most accomplished jazz saxophonists in Europe. He can be reached at:
atz [at] onetel.net.uk.



--------19 of 19--------

 Tense Times

 Was Israel.
 Is Wasrael.


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