Stop $30 Billion to Israel Blog

Petition: Please urge President Obama to support, on behalf of U.S.A, the declaration of the legal existence of the nation of Palestine.

2011-07-07T14:12:00.000-06:00

Please sign or consider signing - or at the very least, read the petition created by Washington Report for Middle East Affairs (WRMEA) "Urging President Obama to Suipport a Palestinian State in the U.N.":

read petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/PalState

sign petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/PalState/petition-sign.html

The crux of the issue is abiding by agreed upon law: "According to Israel's Declaration of Independence, Israel was given the right to statehood by U.N. General Assembly Resolution 181 passed on Nov. 29, 1949. That resolution called for TWO states, one Jewish and one Palestinian, with Jerusalem as an international city under U.N. control."

Albuquerque Says "Sanction Israel"!

2010-09-10T14:04:00.003-06:00

a seven minute video produced by Susan Schuurman

Message from the producer

"Check out this seven minute video on youtube i shot and edited. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGMdydoOexY

A half dozen members of the ABQ based Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel stand in front of their billboard (just put up in a new location at 1001 Candelaria NE, just west of I-25) and explain why they support ending military aid to Israel.

Anyone who wants to help keep this message up longer than the next month or so please send a check to:

Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel
PO Box 10856
Albuquerque, NM 87184-0856

Susan Schuurman
member, Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel
ABQ NM"

You can contact someone at 30 Billion to learn more about this effort, by clicking on the contact page at the Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel Website.

Gaza Luminaria Vigil - Albuquerque

2009-12-17T14:10:00.004-07:00

In Solidarity with the
Gaza Freedom March

Come to the
GAZA LUMINARIA VIGIL

To remind the world of the death, destruction and suffering caused by Israeli Operation Cast Lead

Tuesday, DECEMBER 29, 2009 @ 4:00 PM.

In front of the Federal Court House on Lomas between 3rd and 4th Streets

Free viewing of Palestinian “SLINGSHOT HIP HOP” video
at the Friends Meeting House 1600 5th St. NW following the vigil at 6:30pm

Event endorsed by: Another Jewish Voice – ABQ, Another Jewish Voice - SF, the Center for Action and Contemplation, the Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel, CODE PINK, the Middle East Peace & Justice Alliance, Pax Christi, Stop the War Machine, UNM Coalition for Peace & Justice in the Middle East, Veterans for Peace

Second Albuquerque Billboard Finally Erected - December 2009

2009-12-17T05:18:00.021-07:00

For Immediate Release
December 10, 2009

LOCAL HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP CALLS FOR
END TO MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL

New Billboard Says We Should Spend Our Money at Home Instead
Similar billboards were erected in April, but were unilaterally
removed by company after being pressured by persons who didn’t
want Israel held accountable for its war crimes.

Contacts:

Bernadette Garcia home (505) 293-3365 email: bjg0102@aol.com

Rita Erickson cell (505) 228-9151, home (505) 828-0546

What: Billboard

Who: Sponsored by Albuquerque-based Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel, a grassroots coalition of 14 groups from the Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim communities of New Mexico, and from local veterans and human rights communities.
www.stop30billion.com

Where: Billboard is located at 7918 Central Ave SE (just east of Pennsylvania St) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It will be moved to another location soon.

How: Billboard is funded by donations.

Why: Because American tax dollars are better spent at home and because we want to ease the suffering of the Palestinian people.

History: Our first billboards (“Stop Killing Children!”) were erected last spring, and called attention to the 350 children massacred by Israel during their attack on Gaza in January 2009, using sophisticated airplanes and missiles supplied by American tax payers.

After opponents pressured the local billboard company, the signs were taken down after only three weeks of a two-month contract.

The war crimes committed by Israel were painstakingly detailed in a UN report (the Goldstone Report). Even though most members of the U.S. House -- under heavy pressure – voted to condemn the report, we are proud that New Mexico Representatives Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan refused to go along.

Our Mission: The Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel seeks a justice-based peace for both Israelis and Palestinians. We seek to end the occupation in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza; to support self-determination for the Palestinian people and equality for Palestinians living inside Israel; we urge Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza and to enable refugees to return to their land or receive fair compensation.

The Coalition has received many statements endorsing our billboard and its message:
"I thank the Albuquerque coalition for putting a billboard up to remind everyone that the U.S. will give $30 billion to Israel in the next 10 years-- and that Israel in its 22 day attack on Gaza used U.S. weaponry bought with U.S. money to kill 1440, wound 5,000 and make 50,000 homeless--we must end military support to Israel, the most powerful military in the Middle East.”
--Ann Wright, retired US Army Reserve Colonel and
former U.S. diplomat who resigned in opposition to
the war on Iraq.

"The Albuquerque based Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel had ten billboards taken down back in the Spring due to pressure from people who refuse to hold Israel accountable for its human rights record. This little group of volunteers was knocked down but they've obviously gotten back up again--the proof is that they managed to get their message back up on a billboard again. Their message is crucial--that a better use of our taxpayer dollars is to provide for our people back home, here in the USA rather than provide military aid to a country that has consistently violated international law and oppresses the Palestinian people. Kudos to the Coalition for continuing to advocate for a justice-based peace in the Middle East. I congratulate them on their achievement and hope New Mexicans flood their members of Congress with phone calls asking for an end to military aid to Israel."
--Cindy Sheehan, mother of Casey Sheehan who was killed in
the Iraq War, has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and
is the host of her own radio show: Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox

"The billboard speaks eloquently about the horrible situation in Palestine and the culpability of Israel and the US. It is time for American citizens to make a stand against financing the excessive military might of Israel and its use against Palestinians. I commend The Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel for this action."
--Paul Stokes, Former IAEA nuclear weapons
inspector in Iraq, and resident of Corrales, NM

"We commend the New Mexico community for erecting this important billboard calling for an end to military aid to Israel. Hopefully their project will become a model for persons in other parts of the country who are increasingly recognizing the link between American security and ending the shipment of weapons to a state with a highly repressive agenda."
--Kathleen and Bill Christison, former CIA analysts,
now living in Santa Fe, NM

“The key to peace in the Middle East is stopping our country's military and political support for Israel's occupation. Let's hope this billboard begins to awaken the citizens of New Mexico to our responsibilities to act for peace. Call our congressional delegation immediately!”
--Mark Rudd, member of Another Jewish Voice
(Albuquerque, NM), and well-known activist

"The $30 Billion aid to the IDF is the worst, most destructive support the US can be providing in Israel. Please support Grassroots organizations building foundation for Justice, Human Rights and realistic Peace."
--Micha Kurz is a former IDF soldier, co-founder of Breaking
the Silence (http://www.shovrimshtika.org/index_e.asp), and
Founder and Director of Grassroots Jerusalem
(http://www.grassrootsjerusalem.org/) and resides in
Taos, NM

“With more than 46 million Americans without health care and ongoing domestic economic hardship, there is no reason to be funding and arming Israel's system of ethnic and religious segregation and oppression, fundamentally contrary to American values and basic human rights. I join hundreds of other Jewish Americans who know that we will never achieve security for Americans, Israelis, or Palestinians through US-sponsored Israeli Apartheid against Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land.”
--Anna Baltzer, granddaughter of Holocaust refugees,
author of Witness in Palestine: A Jewish American
Woman in the Occupied Territories

“Almost 30 years ago, my father, the late Israeli General Matti Peled, was asked how the U..S can help the peace process in Israel/Palestine. He said "stop all military aid to Israel." Today this is even more true. The way to advance the peace is to stop funding the war.”
--Miko Peled, an Israeli writer and peace activist
living in San Diego, CA

“Americans have ideas on how to spend $30 billion dollars. We need to focus on our needs at home– to keep people in their homes, affordable health care, mass transportation, job creation and the resources to fight global warming. It is immoral to give billions of dollars in military aid to Israel, a country with a booming economy that brags about investment opportunities; a country with nuclear capabilities and the strongest army in the Middle East. Bravo to those who get informed and speak out!”
--Iris Keltz, author, retired Albuquerque Public Schools
Literacy Specialist, founding member of Arab-Jewish
Dialogue group and Another Jewish Voice.

"We Americans give Israel $12 million a DAY…. It is up to us to stop it by insisting that not one more dollar goes to an occupier."
--Greta Berlin, cofounder, Free Gaza Movement

_________________________________________________

PLEASE HELP KEEP OUR BILLBOARD UP!!

Keep the truth in front of the American people!

With your help, we hope to keep our sign up for as long as we are financially able.

Send your donation to: Coalition to Stop 30 Billion, POB 10,856, Albuquerque, NM 87184. THANKS!!

_________________________________________________

ERECT A BILLBOARD IN YOUR COMMUNITY!!

Individuals in San Francisco and Seattle are already mobilizing to erect billboards
in their cities based on our experience.

Feel free to use our graphics -- or use your own.

Please contact us for assistance.

www.stop30billion.com

The Trial of Israel’s Campus Critics

2009-10-11T22:30:00.004-06:00

by David Theo Goldberg and Saree Makdisi

[. . . ]

It is an extraordinary fact that no fewer than thirty-three distinct organizations-including AIPAC, the Zionist Organization of America, the American Jewish Congress, and the Jewish National Fund-are gathered together today as members or affiliates of the Israel on Campus Coalition. The coalition is an overwhelmingly powerful presence on American college campuses for which there is simply no equivalent on the Palestinian or Arab side. Its self-proclaimed mission is not merely to monitor our colleges and universities. That, after all, is the commitment of Campus Watch, which was started by pro-Israel activists in 2002. It is, rather (and in its own words), to generate "a pro-active, pro-Israel agenda on campus." There is, accordingly, disproportionate and unbalanced intervention on campuses across the country by a coalition of well-funded organizations, who have no time for -- and even less interest in -- the niceties of intellectual exchange and academic process. Insinuation, accusation, and defamation have become the weapons of first resort to respond to argument and criticism directed at Israeli policies. As far as these outside pressure groups (and their campus representatives) are concerned, the intellectual and academic price that the scholarly community pays as a result of this kind of intervention amounts to little more than collateral damage.

[. . . ]

Political Effects: the Case of Charles Freeman

Perhaps because many of the same organizations, like the Anti-Defamation League, are involved in both cases (via the Israel on Campus Coalition), the situation in the academy has now dovetailed with that outside the academy, and in the world of actual, hard politics centered on Washington. In the recent speech in which he explained his sudden withdrawal from the chairmanship of the National Intelligence Council, for example, Ambassador Charles Freeman said, "It is apparent that we Americans cannot any longer conduct a serious public discussion or exercise independent judgment about matters of great importance to our country as well as to our allies and friends." In a message published March 10 on Foreignpolicy.com, Freeman blamed this situation, and his own departure from public life amid a swirl of unfounded allegations, mischaracterizations, distortions, and fabrications, on the dominant elements within the Israeli lobby in Washington:

The tactics of the Israel Lobby plumb the depths of dishonor and indecency and include character assassination, selective misquotation, the willful distortion of the record, the fabrication of falsehoods, and an utter disregard for the truth. The aim of this Lobby is control of the policy process through the exercise of a veto over the appointment of people who dispute the wisdom of its views, the substitution of political correctness for analysis, and the exclusion of any and all options for decision by Americans and our government other than those that it favors.

We should all find alarming that what is taking place in the academy today is an extension of what takes place on Capitol Hill and in the corridors of (real) power. What is at stake is the process of representation, which shapes memory, disposition, and arguably -- in the long run at any rate -- the policy process itself. Many of the same tactics are being used in both situations; and they share the aim to monopolize legitimacy by tarnishing all criticism and questioning it as inherently illegitimate and malevolent.

[. . . ]

The Pro-Israel Propaganda Handbook

It is not surprising, then, given its provenance, that the Stand With Us report on "Gaza and Human Rights" expresses what pro-Israel campus activists refer to using the Hebrew word "hasbara." This means, essentially if not literally, "propaganda." The Hasbara Handbook: Promoting Israel on Campus, which is distributed to campus activists by organizations like Stand With Us (e.g., click "Guides for Activists" on www.middle-east-info.org), explains that it is often better to score points than to engage in actual arguments, and offers an explanation for how, in its own words, "to score points whilst avoiding debate." Point-scoring, the Hasbara Handbook explains, "works because most audience members fail to analyze what they hear. Rather, they register only a key few points, and form a vague ‘impression' of whose argument was stronger." Part of the strategy is to recycle the same claims over and again, in as many settings as possible. "If people hear something often enough," the document points out, "they come to believe it."

The Hasbara Handbook offers several other propaganda devices, all of which can be seen vividly at play in the coverage of the UCLA Gaza panel and other similar events, including, again, the Robinson affair. "Creating negative connotations by name calling is done to try to get the audience to reject a person or idea on the basis of negative associations, without allowing a real examination of that person or idea," the handbook states with remarkable bluntness, in advocating that tactic. It also suggests using the opposite of name calling, to defend Israel by what it calls the deployment of "glittering generalities" (words like "freedom," "civilization," "democracy") to describe the country; manipulating the audience's fears ("listeners are too preoccupied by the threat of terrible things to think critically about the speaker's message"); and so on. The point of all this is not to use arguments backed by reason and evidence. It is, instead, to manipulate (the handbook's own term) an audience precisely in order not to examine arguments, not to think critically about what is being said. Which is a rather remarkable approach for a book intended for a university audience.

This is precisely, almost to the letter, the approach taken by most of the attacks on scholarly critics of Israeli policy. It matters little what is actually being discussed by critics; the familiar stock-in-trade responses will be brought to bear to terminate the discussion. Or a campaign to silence the critics will be promoted by making life uncomfortable for them or threatening the withdrawal of support for their institutions, or most extremely threatening their very careers, or their very employability (as happened with Norman Finkelstein at DePaul). The less successful the initial attempt to close things down, the louder the next round of condemnation, the more heated the invective, the more extreme the charges, the more gratuitous the escalation. Thus escalates the crescendo of attacks aimed at the UCLA panelists, which now basically has them taking orders directly from Hamas, and leading a chanting mob of anti-Semites. We have both been subjected to similar accusations, in person and in print, mangling what we mean, putting words in our mouths we neither uttered nor thought, meanly misquoting or decontextualizing or partially citing what we write. It matters not that we have repeatedly and publicly endorsed nonviolent forms of protest and counter-action to Israel's violence; that we believe in justice, law, and human rights; that we would have all the people in the promised land enjoy its promise rather than some suffer strangulation at the hands of the others.

[. . . ]

entire article: http://www.tikkun.org/article.php/sept_oct_09_goldberg_makdisi

U.S. pension fund giant confirms divestment from Israel firm

2009-09-12T16:08:00.000-06:00

U.S. pension fund giant confirms divestment from Israel firm

by Ora Coren, TheMarker

The U.S. pension fund giant, TIAA-CREF, confirmed in statements to the media on Friday that it divested from Africa Israel Investments, owned by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev, earlier this year

[. . .]

Entire article: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1114043.html

Smart Lies or Evil Lies?

2009-09-09T23:05:00.000-06:00

As pertinent today as it was in 2001.

Smart Lies or Evil Lies?
by Father Labib Kobti
May 10, 2001

Aren't you exercising excessive use of force?
No at all, we are responding to their violence ...
But they are using rocks and small weapons ...
They are killing us with rocks and their weapons ...
But there is more death on their side than on yours ...
It does not make any difference ...

But Israel kill with gunships and tanks ...
So what? We are defending ourselves ...
You are killing their people and their activists?
We are killing the terrorists?
But they are the Palestinian resistance.
Resistance is terrorism.

But by international Law, UN Charter ...
They have the right to resist occupation.
Resistance is terrorism for us.
But you have to listen to the International Law.
The Israeli law is the only law that we listen to.
But you cannot ...
I feel that you are Anti-Semitic!
Sorry, I am not.

You demolish Palestinian houses and burn their farms ...
So what? We are defending ourselves ...
You took their lands and built settlements ...
So what? We need to build settlements for our people ...
But all the settlements by International Law ...
By the UN resolutions are illegal ...
We believe only in the Israeli Law.
You cannot oblige the whole world to ...
We feel that you are Anti-Semitic!
Sorry, I am not.

[. . .]

entire article: http://www.al-bushra.org/LabibKobti/lies.htm

American Intifada: Shaking Off Six Decades of Deceit

2009-09-07T19:52:00.004-06:00

17 August 2009

This is an excerpt from an article that in it self is an excerpt from Jeff Gates' second book:

American Intifada: Shaking Off Six Decades of Deceit
*Intifada is Arabic for "rise up and shake/cast off."

http://www.palestinechronicle.com/
by Jeff Gates

[. . .]

In March 1948, a Joint Chiefs paper titled “Force Requirements for Palestine” predicted that the “Zionist strategy will seek to involve [the U.S.] in a continuously widening and deepening series of operations intended to secure maximum Jewish objectives.” Those objectives included an expansionist agenda for Greater Israel that envisioned the taking of Arab land, ensuring armed clashes in which the U.S. was destined to become embroiled.

The Joint Chiefs listed the Zionist objectives as:

• Initial Jewish sovereignty over a portion of Palestine
• Acceptance by the great powers of the right to unlimited immigration
• The extension of Jewish sovereignty over all of Palestine,
• The expansion of “Eretz (Greater) Israel” into Transjordan and portions of Lebanon and Syria, and
• The establishment of Jewish military and economic hegemony over the entire Middle East.

Akin to the fictional portrayal in Exodus, those Zionists lobbying Truman assured him they would remain within the initial boundaries. We now know that was a lie. They also promised that the Zionist state would not become what it soon became: a theocratic and racist enclave—albeit widely marketed as the “only democracy in the Middle East.” To remove all doubt as to the extremist nature of the Zionist project, the Joint Chiefs assessment added ominously:

“All stages of this program are equally sacred to the fanatical concepts of the Jewish leaders. The program is openly admitted by some leaders, and has been privately admitted to United States officials by responsible leaders of the presently dominant Jewish group--The Jewish Agency.”

Deceit from the Outset

A beguiling combination of manipulated beliefs and outright lies remain at the core of the U.S.-Israeli “special relationship.” The deceit deployed to advance the Zionist project remains obscured by a pro-Israeli bias in media and reinforced by pro-Israeli influence in popular culture.

[. . .]

entire article: http://www.wearewideawake.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1366&Itemid=223

- Jeff Gates is author of Guilt By Association, Democracy at Risk and The Ownership Solution. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com. Visit: www.criminalstate.com.

Censoring Pro-Palestinian Speech?

2009-07-27T13:42:00.005-06:00

Article at Huffington Post about the billboards as part of our local campaign which encourages people to ask Congress to stop providing military aid to Israel. For U.S. to continue to provide military aid violates U.S. laws because of the way Israel uses the aid. Israels also violates its agreement with U.S. because of how it uses the funds, AND violates numerous agreed upon international laws to which it is signatory. Excellent comments demonstrate that Americans ARE able to understand the issues when aware of them . . . so why can't Congress . . .

read the Huffington Post article at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rory-oconnor/censoring-pro-palestinian_b_217002.html

Humor: Israel In Nut House, Documents Reveal

2009-07-09T11:04:00.002-06:00

from Circus Israel blog - satire, parody, commentary, fantasy & vitriol

Israel In Nut House, Documents Reveal

Documents mistakenly removed from a Jerusalem psychiatric facility disclose that the State of Israel has undergone regular and intensive psychotherapy since the election of Ariel Sharon as Prime Minister in 2001. The documents – including a case summary and session notes – show that Dr. Dorit Oz, a psychiatrist at the Kfar Shaul Mental Health Center, initially treated Israel on an outpatient basis, then admitted the nation as a hospital inpatient. Israel remains at the facility and no release date is scheduled. [. . .]

entire entry

Al-Haq position paper on “Operation Cast Lead and the Distortion of International Law”

2009-07-08T18:11:00.003-06:00

AL-HAQ PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

6 April 2009

Israel’s claim to ‘self-defence’ as the legal pretext for ‘Operation Cast Lead,’ the latest and most destructive in a string of regular large-scale military offensives against the Gaza Strip since 2006, received widespread and often unconditional acceptance from the international diplomatic community as justification for the Israeli attacks. ‘Operation Cast Lead’ was not the first time that Israel has cited Article 51 of the UN Charter as justification for military operations or unlawful acts within or against the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT); nor, in fact, the last.

In October 2003, Israel attempted to invoke self-defence as the basis for the construction of its Annexation Wall within the West Bank; asserting to the UN General Assembly that “the fence is a measure wholly consistent with the right of States to self defence enshrined in Article 51 of the Charter.” The International Court of Justice, however, concluded that “Article 51 of the UN Charter has no relevance in this case” and could not be invoked. In March 2009, two months after the end of ‘Operation Cast Lead,‘ Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Gabriela Shalev, sent a letter to the UN Security Council, similar to the letter dispatched immediately prior to the launching of ‘Operation Cast Lead‘, to inform the international community that Israel “will not tolerate, and will respond accordingly to attacks against its citizens” and that Israel “has the inherent duty to exercise its right to self-defence enshrined in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.”

Taking into account Israel’s belligerent and repeatedly unlawful conduct during ‘Operation Cast Lead,’ Al-Haq deplores and condemns Israel’s continuous invocation of Article 51 of the UN Charter as legal justification for disproportionate and often indiscriminate military operations in or against the OPT. Furthermore, Al-Haq is alarmed at the seemingly uncontested acceptance of Israel’s claim to self-defence by the international diplomatic community, and would like to make it emphatically clear that Article 51 of the UN Charter cannot be invoked as justification for military operations within or against the OPT. Click here to read Al-Haq’s position paper, Operation Cast Lead and the Distortion of International Law: A Legal Analysis of Israel‘s Claim to Self-Defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

Radio Interview

2009-06-24T21:54:00.003-06:00

Please listen to the six minute radio interview with a member of the Coalition to Stop $30 Billion at "Between the Lines," a nationally syndicated show.

http://www.btlonline.org

Censoring Pro-Palestinian Political Messages?

2009-06-18T17:15:00.003-06:00

Was it policy or pressure that led Lamar Outdoor Advertising to tear down billboards featuring a pro-Palestinian political message?

Judge for yourself. Lamar, which operates over 150 outdoor advertising companies in more than 40 states and Puerto Rico, entered into an eight week contract in April with a local New Mexico grassroots group called the Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel to provide ten billboards throughout the Albuquerque area. Each carried this message: "Tell Congress: Stop Killing Children. No More Military Aid to Israel." [. . .]

Read Rory O'Connor's entire article about our Billboard Saga: http://www.roryoconnor.org/blog/2009/06/17/censoring-pro-palestinian-political-messages

BILLBOARD PRESS RELEASE - 8 June 2009

2009-06-09T19:04:00.004-06:00

8 June 2009

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Rich Forer, 505-265-1898, rich_forer@yahoo.com
Mary Gossage, 505-246-0147, tethys.shore@gmail.com
Jeff Haas, 505-469-0714, jeffhhaas@aol.com

LAMAR OUTDOOR ADVERTISING BOWS TO PRESSURE TO SILENCE HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP PROTESTING U.S. MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL

On June 5 Lamar Outdoor Advertising rejected a compromise offered by the Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel to reinstall billboards calling for an end to $30 Billion in U.S. taxpayer-funded military aid to Israel. Previously, on April 28, after three weeks of an eight week contract and under pressure from individuals and groups that support Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian territory, Lamar pulled down all of the billboards that their graphics department had designed in cooperation with the Coalition.

On May 18 the Coalition and Lamar's corporate office agreed to a modified redesign of the billboards. Lamar rescinded that approval on May 26, 2009. Lamar’s explanation was that their switchboard had been inundated with phone calls demanding they refrain from putting the billboards back up (see original and redesigned billboard images attached). Lamar then unilaterally proposed another even more modified redesign that was unacceptable to the Coalition.

The Coalition believes the pressure exerted upon Lamar’s employees is part of a coordinated campaign to suppress the public’s right to be informed about the Israeli Government’s policies and actions against the Palestinians. These actions, which affect all Americans, include the recent invasion of the Gaza Strip in which over three hundred children were killed by an Israeli military that relied heavily on American made weapons. In contrast to the open debate about U.S.-Israel relations that occurs in much of the world, including Europe and even Israel, this level of censorship is all too common whenever somebody speaks out about Israel’s policies, the role of the U.S. in financing those policies and how, by doing so, the U.S. violates its own laws, specifically the Arms Export Control and Foreign Assistance Acts.

The Coalition’s fundamental goal is equal rights for both Palestinians and Israelis. To achieve that goal the Coalition seeks a more inclusive and balanced U.S. policy. To that end we call on all people who are concerned about human rights to contact Lamar’s corporate offices and respectfully request they put the billboards back up as agreed to on May 18.

Kevin P. Reilly, Jr., President and CEO
Lamar Outdoor Advertising - Corporate Office
Phone: (225) 926-1000
Email: twall@lamar.com
Mailing Address: P. O. Box 66338, Baton Rouge, LA 70896

We also ask that people contact their Congressional delegations to voice their opposition to any further U.S. military aid to Israel.

Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel
Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico

Webpage: http://www.stop30billion.com
Blog: http://stop30billion.blogspot.com

President Obama's Speech at Al-Azhar University, Cairo Egypt

2009-06-04T15:37:00.005-06:00

(and click here for video comments, link to transcript, and translations of transcript)

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Cairo-University-6-04-09/

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
(Cairo,Egypt)

________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 4, 2009

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
ON A NEW BEGINNING

Cairo University
Cairo, Egypt

1:10 P.M. (Local)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you very much. Good afternoon. I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning; and for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt's advancement. And together, you represent the harmony between tradition and progress. I'm grateful for your hospitality, and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. And I'm also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: Assalaamu alaykum. (Applause.)

We meet at a time of great tension between the United States and Muslims around the world -- tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of coexistence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars. More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam.

Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of September 11, 2001 and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights. All this has bred more fear and more mistrust.

So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, those who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. And this cycle of suspicion and discord must end.

I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles -- principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.

I do so recognizing that change cannot happen overnight. I know there's been a lot of publicity about this speech, but no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have this afternoon all the complex questions that brought us to this point. But I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly to each other the things we hold in our hearts and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground. As the Holy Koran tells us, "Be conscious of God and speak always the truth." (Applause.) That is what I will try to do today -- to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us, and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart.

Now part of this conviction is rooted in my own experience. I'm a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims. As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and at the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith.

As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam. It was Islam -- at places like Al-Azhar -- that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities -- (applause) -- it was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires; timeless poetry and cherished music; elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality. (Applause.)

I also know that Islam has always been a part of America's story. The first nation to recognize my country was Morocco. In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second President, John Adams, wrote, "The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims." And since our founding, American Muslims have enriched the United States. They have fought in our wars, they have served in our government, they have stood for civil rights, they have started businesses, they have taught at our universities, they've excelled in our sports arenas, they've won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building, and lit the Olympic Torch. And when the first Muslim American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same Holy Koran that one of our Founding Fathers -- Thomas Jefferson -- kept in his personal library. (Applause.)

So I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't. And I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear. (Applause.)

But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. (Applause.) Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire. The United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known. We were born out of revolution against an empire. We were founded upon the ideal that all are created equal, and we have shed blood and struggled for centuries to give meaning to those words -- within our borders, and around the world. We are shaped by every culture, drawn from every end of the Earth, and dedicated to a simple concept: E pluribus unum -- "Out of many, one."

Now, much has been made of the fact that an African American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected President. (Applause.) But my personal story is not so unique. The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores -- and that includes nearly 7 million American Muslims in our country today who, by the way, enjoy incomes and educational levels that are higher than the American average. (Applause.)

Moreover, freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one's religion. That is why there is a mosque in every state in our union, and over 1,200 mosques within our borders. That's why the United States government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab and to punish those who would deny it. (Applause.)

So let there be no doubt: Islam is a part of America. And I believe that America holds within her the truth that regardless of race, religion, or station in life, all of us share common aspirations -- to live in peace and security; to get an education and to work with dignity; to love our families, our communities, and our God. These things we share. This is the hope of all humanity.

Of course, recognizing our common humanity is only the beginning of our task. Words alone cannot meet the needs of our people. These needs will be met only if we act boldly in the years ahead; and if we understand that the challenges we face are shared, and our failure to meet them will hurt us all.

For we have learned from recent experience that when a financial system weakens in one country, prosperity is hurt everywhere. When a new flu infects one human being, all are at risk. When one nation pursues a nuclear weapon, the risk of nuclear attack rises for all nations. When violent extremists operate in one stretch of mountains, people are endangered across an ocean. When innocents in Bosnia and Darfur are slaughtered, that is a stain on our collective conscience. (Applause.) That is what it means to share this world in the 21st century. That is the responsibility we have to one another as human beings.

And this is a difficult responsibility to embrace. For human history has often been a record of nations and tribes -- and, yes, religions -- subjugating one another in pursuit of their own interests. Yet in this new age, such attitudes are self-defeating. Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail. So whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners to it. Our problems must be dealt with through partnership; our progress must be shared. (Applause.)

Now, that does not mean we should ignore sources of tension. Indeed, it suggests the opposite: We must face these tensions squarely. And so in that spirit, let me speak as clearly and as plainly as I can about some specific issues that I believe we must finally confront together.

The first issue that we have to confront is violent extremism in all of its forms.

In Ankara, I made clear that America is not -- and never will be -- at war with Islam. (Applause.) We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security -- because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject: the killing of innocent men, women, and children. And it is my first duty as President to protect the American people.

The situation in Afghanistan demonstrates America's goals, and our need to work together. Over seven years ago, the United States pursued al Qaeda and the Taliban with broad international support. We did not go by choice; we went because of necessity. I'm aware that there's still some who would question or even justify the events of 9/11. But let us be clear: Al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day. The victims were innocent men, women and children from America and many other nations who had done nothing to harm anybody. And yet al Qaeda chose to ruthlessly murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their determination to kill on a massive scale. They have affiliates in many countries and are trying to expand their reach. These are not opinions to be debated; these are facts to be dealt with.

Now, make no mistake: We do not want to keep our troops in Afghanistan. We see no military -- we seek no military bases there. It is agonizing for America to lose our young men and women. It is costly and politically difficult to continue this conflict. We would gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan and now Pakistan determined to kill as many Americans as they possibly can. But that is not yet the case.

And that's why we're partnering with a coalition of 46 countries. And despite the costs involved, America's commitment will not weaken. Indeed, none of us should tolerate these extremists. They have killed in many countries. They have killed people of different faiths -- but more than any other, they have killed Muslims. Their actions are irreconcilable with the rights of human beings, the progress of nations, and with Islam. The Holy Koran teaches that whoever kills an innocent is as -- it is as if he has killed all mankind. (Applause.) And the Holy Koran also says whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind. (Applause.) The enduring faith of over a billion people is so much bigger than the narrow hatred of a few. Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism -- it is an important part of promoting peace.

Now, we also know that military power alone is not going to solve the problems in Afghanistan and Pakistan. That's why we plan to invest $1.5 billion each year over the next five years to partner with Pakistanis to build schools and hospitals, roads and businesses, and hundreds of millions to help those who've been displaced. That's why we are providing more than $2.8 billion to help Afghans develop their economy and deliver services that people depend on.

Let me also address the issue of Iraq. Unlike Afghanistan, Iraq was a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world. Although I believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, I also believe that events in Iraq have reminded America of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our problems whenever possible. (Applause.) Indeed, we can recall the words of Thomas Jefferson, who said: "I hope that our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us that the less we use our power the greater it will be."

Today, America has a dual responsibility: to help Iraq forge a better future -- and to leave Iraq to Iraqis. And I have made it clear to the Iraqi people -- (applause) -- I have made it clear to the Iraqi people that we pursue no bases, and no claim on their territory or resources. Iraq's sovereignty is its own. And that's why I ordered the removal of our combat brigades by next August. That is why we will honor our agreement with Iraq's democratically elected government to remove combat troops from Iraqi cities by July, and to remove all of our troops from Iraq by 2012. (Applause.) We will help Iraq train its security forces and develop its economy. But we will support a secure and united Iraq as a partner, and never as a patron.

And finally, just as America can never tolerate violence by extremists, we must never alter or forget our principles. Nine-eleven was an enormous trauma to our country. The fear and anger that it provoked was understandable, but in some cases, it led us to act contrary to our traditions and our ideals. We are taking concrete actions to change course. I have unequivocally prohibited the use of torture by the United States, and I have ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed by early next year. (Applause.)

So America will defend itself, respectful of the sovereignty of nations and the rule of law. And we will do so in partnership with Muslim communities which are also threatened. The sooner the extremists are isolated and unwelcome in Muslim communities, the sooner we will all be safer.

The second major source of tension that we need to discuss is the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world.

America's strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied.

Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed -- more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless, it is ignorant, and it is hateful. Threatening Israel with destruction -- or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews -- is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve.

On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people -- Muslims and Christians -- have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than 60 years they've endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations -- large and small -- that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: The situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. And America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own. (Applause.)

For decades then, there has been a stalemate: two peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history that makes compromise elusive. It's easy to point fingers -- for Palestinians to point to the displacement brought about by Israel's founding, and for Israelis to point to the constant hostility and attacks throughout its history from within its borders as well as beyond. But if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: The only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security. (Applause.)

That is in Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, America's interest, and the world's interest. And that is why I intend to personally pursue this outcome with all the patience and dedication that the task requires. (Applause.) The obligations -- the obligations that the parties have agreed to under the road map are clear. For peace to come, it is time for them -- and all of us -- to live up to our responsibilities.

Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and it does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding. This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe to Indonesia. It's a story with a simple truth: that violence is a dead end. It is a sign neither of courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. That's not how moral authority is claimed; that's how it is surrendered.

Now is the time for Palestinians to focus on what they can build. The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people. Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have to recognize they have responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, recognize Israel's right to exist.

At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. (Applause.) This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop. (Applause.)

And Israel must also live up to its obligation to ensure that Palestinians can live and work and develop their society. Just as it devastates Palestinian families, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza does not serve Israel's security; neither does the continuing lack of opportunity in the West Bank. Progress in the daily lives of the Palestinian people must be a critical part of a road to peace, and Israel must take concrete steps to enable such progress.

And finally, the Arab states must recognize that the Arab Peace Initiative was an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibilities. The Arab-Israeli conflict should no longer be used to distract the people of Arab nations from other problems. Instead, it must be a cause for action to help the Palestinian people develop the institutions that will sustain their state, to recognize Israel's legitimacy, and to choose progress over a self-defeating focus on the past.

America will align our policies with those who pursue peace, and we will say in public what we say in private to Israelis and Palestinians and Arabs. (Applause.) We cannot impose peace. But privately, many Muslims recognize that Israel will not go away. Likewise, many Israelis recognize the need for a Palestinian state. It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true.

Too many tears have been shed. Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of the three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra -- (applause) -- as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed, peace be upon them, joined in prayer. (Applause.)

The third source of tension is our shared interest in the rights and responsibilities of nations on nuclear weapons.

This issue has been a source of tension between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. For many years, Iran has defined itself in part by its opposition to my country, and there is in fact a tumultuous history between us. In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian government. Since the Islamic Revolution, Iran has played a role in acts of hostage-taking and violence against U.S. troops and civilians. This history is well known. Rather than remain trapped in the past, I've made it clear to Iran's leaders and people that my country is prepared to move forward. The question now is not what Iran is against, but rather what future it wants to build.

I recognize it will be hard to overcome decades of mistrust, but we will proceed with courage, rectitude, and resolve. There will be many issues to discuss between our two countries, and we are willing to move forward without preconditions on the basis of mutual respect. But it is clear to all concerned that when it comes to nuclear weapons, we have reached a decisive point. This is not simply about America's interests. It's about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path.

I understand those who protest that some countries have weapons that others do not. No single nation should pick and choose which nation holds nuclear weapons. And that's why I strongly reaffirmed America's commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons. (Applause.) And any nation -- including Iran -- should have the right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. That commitment is at the core of the treaty, and it must be kept for all who fully abide by it. And I'm hopeful that all countries in the region can share in this goal.

The fourth issue that I will address is democracy. (Applause.)

I know -- I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years, and much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq. So let me be clear: No system of government can or should be imposed by one nation by any other.

That does not lessen my commitment, however, to governments that reflect the will of the people. Each nation gives life to this principle in its own way, grounded in the traditions of its own people. America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election. But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. These are not just American ideas; they are human rights. And that is why we will support them everywhere. (Applause.)

Now, there is no straight line to realize this promise. But this much is clear: Governments that protect these rights are ultimately more stable, successful and secure. Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. America respects the right of all peaceful and law-abiding voices to be heard around the world, even if we disagree with them. And we will welcome all elected, peaceful governments -- provided they govern with respect for all their people.

This last point is important because there are some who advocate for democracy only when they're out of power; once in power, they are ruthless in suppressing the rights of others. (Applause.) So no matter where it takes hold, government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who would hold power: You must maintain your power through consent, not coercion; you must respect the rights of minorities, and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise; you must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party. Without these ingredients, elections alone do not make true democracy.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Barack Obama, we love you!

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you. (Applause.) The fifth issue that we must address together is religious freedom.

Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition. I saw it firsthand as a child in Indonesia, where devout Christians worshiped freely in an overwhelmingly Muslim country. That is the spirit we need today. People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind and the heart and the soul. This tolerance is essential for religion to thrive, but it's being challenged in many different ways.

Among some Muslims, there's a disturbing tendency to measure one's own faith by the rejection of somebody else's faith. The richness of religious diversity must be upheld -- whether it is for Maronites in Lebanon or the Copts in Egypt. (Applause.) And if we are being honest, fault lines must be closed among Muslims, as well, as the divisions between Sunni and Shia have led to tragic violence, particularly in Iraq.

Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to live together. We must always examine the ways in which we protect it. For instance, in the United States, rules on charitable giving have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation. That's why I'm committed to working with American Muslims to ensure that they can fulfill zakat.

Likewise, it is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit -- for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear. We can't disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretence of liberalism.

In fact, faith should bring us together. And that's why we're forging service projects in America to bring together Christians, Muslims, and Jews. That's why we welcome efforts like Saudi Arabian King Abdullah's interfaith dialogue and Turkey's leadership in the Alliance of Civilizations. Around the world, we can turn dialogue into interfaith service, so bridges between peoples lead to action -- whether it is combating malaria in Africa, or providing relief after a natural disaster.

The sixth issue -- the sixth issue that I want to address is women's rights. (Applause.) I know –- I know -- and you can tell from this audience, that there is a healthy debate about this issue. I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal, but I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality. (Applause.) And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well educated are far more likely to be prosperous.

Now, let me be clear: Issues of women's equality are by no means simply an issue for Islam. In Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, we've seen Muslim-majority countries elect a woman to lead. Meanwhile, the struggle for women's equality continues in many aspects of American life, and in countries around the world.

I am convinced that our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons. (Applause.) Our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity -- men and women -- to reach their full potential. I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal, and I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. But it should be their choice. And that is why the United States will partner with any Muslim-majority country to support expanded literacy for girls, and to help young women pursue employment through micro-financing that helps people live their dreams. (Applause.)

Finally, I want to discuss economic development and opportunity.

I know that for many, the face of globalization is contradictory. The Internet and television can bring knowledge and information, but also offensive sexuality and mindless violence into the home. Trade can bring new wealth and opportunities, but also huge disruptions and change in communities. In all nations -- including America -- this change can bring fear. Fear that because of modernity we lose control over our economic choices, our politics, and most importantly our identities -- those things we most cherish about our communities, our families, our traditions, and our faith.

But I also know that human progress cannot be denied. There need not be contradictions between development and tradition. Countries like Japan and South Korea grew their economies enormously while maintaining distinct cultures. The same is true for the astonishing progress within Muslim-majority countries from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai. In ancient times and in our times, Muslim communities have been at the forefront of innovation and education.

And this is important because no development strategy can be based only upon what comes out of the ground, nor can it be sustained while young people are out of work. Many Gulf states have enjoyed great wealth as a consequence of oil, and some are beginning to focus it on broader development. But all of us must recognize that education and innovation will be the currency of the 21st century -- (applause) -- and in too many Muslim communities, there remains underinvestment in these areas. I'm emphasizing such investment within my own country. And while America in the past has focused on oil and gas when it comes to this part of the world, we now seek a broader engagement.

On education, we will expand exchange programs, and increase scholarships, like the one that brought my father to America. (Applause.) At the same time, we will encourage more Americans to study in Muslim communities. And we will match promising Muslim students with internships in America; invest in online learning for teachers and children around the world; and create a new online network, so a young person in Kansas can communicate instantly with a young person in Cairo.

On economic development, we will create a new corps of business volunteers to partner with counterparts in Muslim-majority countries. And I will host a Summit on Entrepreneurship this year to identify how we can deepen ties between business leaders, foundations and social entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world.

On science and technology, we will launch a new fund to support technological development in Muslim-majority countries, and to help transfer ideas to the marketplace so they can create more jobs. We'll open centers of scientific excellence in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and appoint new science envoys to collaborate on programs that develop new sources of energy, create green jobs, digitize records, clean water, grow new crops. Today I'm announcing a new global effort with the Organization of the Islamic Conference to eradicate polio. And we will also expand partnerships with Muslim communities to promote child and maternal health.

All these things must be done in partnership. Americans are ready to join with citizens and governments; community organizations, religious leaders, and businesses in Muslim communities around the world to help our people pursue a better life.

The issues that I have described will not be easy to address. But we have a responsibility to join together on behalf of the world that we seek -- a world where extremists no longer threaten our people, and American troops have come home; a world where Israelis and Palestinians are each secure in a state of their own, and nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes; a world where governments serve their citizens, and the rights of all God's children are respected. Those are mutual interests. That is the world we seek. But we can only achieve it together.

I know there are many -- Muslim and non-Muslim -- who question whether we can forge this new beginning. Some are eager to stoke the flames of division, and to stand in the way of progress. Some suggest that it isn't worth the effort -- that we are fated to disagree, and civilizations are doomed to clash. Many more are simply skeptical that real change can occur. There's so much fear, so much mistrust that has built up over the years. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward. And I want to particularly say this to young people of every faith, in every country -- you, more than anyone, have the ability to reimagine the world, to remake this world.

All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort -- a sustained effort -- to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings.

It's easier to start wars than to end them. It's easier to blame others than to look inward. It's easier to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There's one rule that lies at the heart of every religion -- that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. (Applause.) This truth transcends nations and peoples -- a belief that isn't new; that isn't black or white or brown; that isn't Christian or Muslim or Jew. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the hearts of billions around the world. It's a faith in other people, and it's what brought me here today.

We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written.

The Holy Koran tells us: "O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another."

The Talmud tells us: "The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace."

The Holy Bible tells us: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." (Applause.)

The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God's vision. Now that must be our work here on Earth.

Thank you. And may God's peace be upon you. Thank you very much. Thank you. (Applause.)

END
2:05 P.M. (Local)

###

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Cairo-University-6-04-09/

(and click here for video comments, link to transcript, and translations of transcript)

Netanyahu: "What the hell do they want from me?"

2009-05-31T10:49:00.003-06:00

from Laura Rozen's blog:

Netanyahu: "What the hell do they want from me?"

Thu, 05/28/2009 - 7:17pm

[. . .]

In the 10 days since Netanyahu and President Barack Obama held a meeting at the White House, the Obama administration has made clear in public and private meetings with Israeli officials that it intends to hold a firm line on Obama's call to stop Israeli settlements. According to many observers in Washington and Israel, the Israeli prime minister, looking for loopholes and hidden agreements that have often existed in the past with Washington, has been flummoxed by an unusually united line that has come not just from the Obama White House and the secretary of state, but also from pro-Israel congressmen and women who have come through Israel for meetings with him over Memorial Day recess. To Netanyahu's dismay, Obama doesn't appear to have a hidden policy. It is what he said it was.

[. . .]

http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/05/28/netanyahu_what_the_hell_do_they_want_with_me

About the writer: http://www.warandpiece.com/about.html

Mr. Abbas Goes to Washington

2009-05-30T20:46:00.009-06:00

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090615/abunimah

excerpt:

Mr. Abbas Goes to Washington
By Ali Abunimah

May 28, 2009

If the Oval Office guest list is an indicator, President Obama is making good on his commitment to try to revive the long-dead Arab-Israeli peace process. On May 18 President Obama received Israel's new prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu; today he met with Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.

As this process gets under way, the United States--Israel's main arms supplier, financier and international apologist--faces huge hurdles.

[. . .]

It would be sad indeed if the first African-American president of the United States were to defend in Israel exactly the kind of institutionalized bigotry the civil rights movement defeated in this country, a victory that made his election possible.

Informative and Revealing Letter from a Coalition Member

2009-05-19T14:34:00.003-06:00

For those who are unaware I am a member of the Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel. Our message can be found at www.stop30billion.com. We had put up ten billboards in Albuquerque conveying our humanitarian message. However, the billboards were removed due to a pressure campaign by misinformed, allegedly pro-Israeli groups who are intent on holding on to their false and idealistic image of Israel as a benign and democratic nation.* Below is my response to a misleading, possibly slanderous, statement about me that was made by a member of the Albuquerque Jewish community. In my response I provide historical information on this subject. I hope everyone will read it. Rich

[*note: Successful negotiations with the Billboard company have resulted in an agreement that will have the billboards back up in early June.]

The website where these letters are posted is:

http://nmisrael.org/general-commentary/community-response-to-no-more-military-aid-to-israel/comment-page-1#comment-155.

I find it interesting that Mr. S would misrepresent my statements regarding a peace plan and attempt to portray me as anti-Israeli. I am far more interested in the well being of Israelis than people who are only concerned with the lives of their own people but ignore the suffering of another people. The hypocrisy of such a position is that by not taking responsibility for their own roles in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, by blaming the other as the source of that conflict, they deny the other’s humanity. And whenever any of us deny the humanity in the other we deny the humanity in ourselves and inevitably project our lack of humanity upon the other.

Under the guise of security, Israel has oppressed the lives of all Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. Palestinians are denied access to medical care, made to live in walled-in villages, their lands have been stolen, farms and orchards destroyed, their movement severely restricted. Palestinian water consumption in the West Bank is 40 litres less than the minimum global standards set by the World Health Organization and less than one-fifth Israeli water consumption.

Palestinian children grow up in a climate where hatred is directed toward them by Israeli settlers and soldiers alike, and enabled by the military aid granted to Israel by the United States and by the moral support of Mr. S and others who care more for Israelis than they care about Palestinians.

Israeli soldiers enter Palestinian homes at will, beat up their children, throw stun grenades into their mosques, extort money from shopkeepers, throw bags of urine and feces on Palestinian shop owners and their clientele. Many Israeli parents teach their children to taunt Palestinian children and throw eggs and stones at them as they walk to and from school, while Israeli soldiers look the other way. In creating this humanitarian crisis, Israel has violated virtually every international legal convention possible, yet her supporters ignore such inhumanity and continue to demonize and dehumanize the Palestinian people.

I wonder if Mr. S would like to live as a Palestinian for a day or how he would react under such demeaning circumstances. Under such domination and inhumanity is it any wonder that a minority of Palestinians, frustrated, hopeless, facing an empty future self-destructively take it upon themselves to employ violence as the only means they know of to restore a sense of dignity to themselves.

Let us not forget that during the first four years of the First Intifada, which was primarily a nonviolent uprising, a total of twelve Israeli soldiers died while 706 Palestinians, most of whom were demonstrating peacefully, were killed by Israeli soldiers. That statistic comes from IDF spokesman and head of information, Lieutenant Colonel Yehuda Weintraub.

In addition, Israel imprisoned or deported most of the leaders of the Palestinian nonviolent movement such as Mubarak Awad, Feisel Husseini, Radwan Abu Ayash, Ziad Abu Zayyad, and many more. The truth is that Israel was, and still is, far more comfortable inciting violence than dealing with nonviolence. That way they can disingenuously claim they are only defending their people from a hostile enemy. This has been the propaganda that Israel and her supporters have disseminated throughout the western world. It is propaganda that Mr. S and others want to believe. However, the only purpose it serves is the character assassination of the Palestinian people and the perpetuation of conflict.

What happens to the soul of a people who use their superior power to treat their neighbors so inhumanely? Many Israelis and Jews who ignore their own violence and focus on Palestinian violence see themselves as victims. Indeed, they are victims, but they are victims of their own making. They are victims of the false beliefs and enemy images they insist on holding on to and the anxiety and fear such beliefs and images foster.

Instead of converting their fear and anxiety into compassion and clarity through honest and sincere research they blame the other as the source of their fear and anxiety. Then they try to destroy or subjugate the other under the mistaken belief that they can rid themselves of their fear and anxiety.

But the fear and anxiety will persist until they come to terms with how they contribute to and perpetuate the suffering of Palestinian men, women, and children, most of whom only want to live in peace. And. because these self-destructive beliefs and images perpetuate conflict, Mr.S and his colleagues are culpable of participating in the deaths of Israeli citizens, including children, at the hands of frustrated Palestinians.

The Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel and I deplore the use of violence by either side. After over sixty years hasn’t there been enough violence? If we look back at history we know that the Zionists fought the British Mandate in order to establish a Jewish State, just as the Palestinians have not given up their struggle to hold onto the small amount of land not already stolen (the word David Ben-Gurion used to describe what had taken place) by the state of Israel.

History also teaches us that in their struggle for their own homeland, the Jewish paramilitary organizations, the Irgun and Stern Gang, developed the use of car bombs and bombs in the marketplace, a practice that other extremist groups have copied to this very day. Let us also not forget that Israel fostered the development of Hamas and even provided weapons to them in the 1980s.

By ignoring the truth of Israel’s aggression and antagonism toward the Palestinian people Mr. S and others perpetuate the very reasons why conflict exists in the first place. Acknowledging the truth brings a degree of healing to a situation and establishes an environment where honest and sincere dialogue is possible. Denying the truth only induces the victim to become more frustrated and to keep trying to find different ways to get the thief to admit to his crime.

If a thief stole from us we would be angry. If that thief admitted to his crime those of us who still have some compassion might forgive the thief and give him another opportunity to be part of our society.

The one thing that Mr. S is correct about is the fact that in July 2006, at the height of the Second Lebanon War between Israel and Hezbollah I did write a peace plan. However, S’s self-serving reasoning is incorrect. At the time I was as pro-Israeli as S himself. I was distraught that another war had come to the land of my people. I developed the peace plan as a way to save lives, primarily Jewish lives. It was a way to mollify my distress.

My thinking at the time was that the Arab/Muslim world was pathologically obsessed with the deaths of all Jews and would never cease their killing of Jews worldwide. I reasoned that if the wealthy Arab nations poured hundreds of billions of dollars into a fund all Jewish Israelis could immigrate to any democratic country they wished to; they would be paid such large sums of money and be provided so many valuable benefits that no Jewish immigrant would ever have to live in poverty for the rest of his or her life (about 20% of Israeli Jews currently live below the poverty line).

My plan called for all holy sites to be under international control; it called for Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions and for Hamas and Hezbollah to be incorporated into their country’s militias. The plan called for educational programs to be established in all Muslim and Arab countries for the purpose of teaching nonviolent methods of communication and it called on all countries of the world to impose severe penalties for anti-Semitic activities.

My plan NEVER called for a Muslim state as Mr. S falsely states. It called for a Palestinian State, Christian, Muslim, atheist, etc. To many pro-Israel supporters “Muslim” is a provocative word that stirs up images of Al Qaeda and other extremist organizations. The use of such a word in the context S uses it betrays his own extremist tendencies. Had S really wanted to understand my motivation he could have contacted me. He had my email address and we had already corresponded, though I now see that his correspondence to me was clearly insincere.

At the end of this section is an email S sent to the Coalition and my response to him. Perhaps my email stimulated such fear that S felt threatened by the honesty and clarity of my email and was afraid his beliefs would be challenged. Here are more actual facts, not self-serving speculation: A few weeks after I wrote my peace plan I had a number of painful encounters in which, like S, I attempted to defend my uninvestigated pro-Israel beliefs, but to no avail.

Finally, out of exasperation, I decided to actually research the Israel-Palestinian conflict through books by Jewish historians, mostly Israeli, who had access to foundational archives such as the Israeli State, Central Zionist, and IDF archives, the Book of the Haganah (Sefer Toldot Hahaganah), the diary of David Ben-Gurion and more.

What I discovered shocked me. I realized that the myths I had believed since grade school were just that: myths. I had no choice but to give them up, to grow up as a human being and admit to my false beliefs, admit that by insisting on these false beliefs I had enabled the subjugation of an indigenous people.

Now, I can’t help but be impatient with people who insist on the truth of their beliefs but who refuse to sincerely investigate the history of the conflict through honest research, not by selecting books that will reinforce their beliefs but by choosing highly regarded historians and by making sure the research they find in the books they read is valid. I did that. I didn’t just take the word of the scholars I read. I checked their sources. Some of the authors, such as Alan Dershowitz, could not stand up to scrutiny.

If S and his ideological colleagues really cared about peace, if they really cared about all human life as much as they care about holding on to their unexamined beliefs and images, they would take the time to find out if what they believe has any basis in fact. They would rethink the stories they were taught as children. They would grow up and challenge themselves to act with compassion and understand why there is so much suffering in the world and how they contribute to that suffering.

Finally, I am sure many who read this, perhaps Mr. S, will allege other of the numerous false myths that have been passed down from one generation to the next. I suggest they first do some honest studying with the intention of finding the truth, not reinforcing pre-existing beliefs. They only have to pick up a book. I am not asking them to put themselves in the line of fire, though that is what honest research is to the minds of people who insist on holding on to their precious beliefs.

I am no longer a prisoner of these false beliefs. I know now that all of us are interconnected. Our attitudes and beliefs do not exist in a vacuum. How we think and how we behave reflects upon the world and upon other people. If we falsely accuse people of crimes they did not commit and refuse to admit to crimes others did in fact commit we ourselves are accessories to the crimes of inhumanity, such as those that have been perpetrated against the Palestinian people for over sixty years. Here is Mr. S’s email to the Coalition and my reply.

To: The Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel:

I wish the Palestinians a better life: better education, good job opportunities, and a seat at the table of world nations. The path to this goal is through accepting statehood and accepting Israel as its neighbor. This has repeatedly been offered, beginning in 1947. Just say yes. Switch from preaching “death to Israel” to preaching “live peacefully with Israel.” Mr. S

Dear Mr. S,
Thank you for responding to our billboards, which are meant to raise the public’s consciousness and motivate the public to encourage their congressmen to end U.S. military aid to Israel. You sound like a reasonable and fair-minded man. It is always encouraging when someone shows interest in the Israel-Palestine conflict, which has been the source of so much pain and suffering for so many people. In my opinion, apathy is a deadly state of mind because it ignores the suffering of our fellow humans when action based on unbiased knowledge could end or ameliorate that suffering.

First I want to tell you that I am Jewish. Until two and-a-half years ago I was extremely pro-Israeli. I was a member of AIPAC (the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee) which exercises a great deal of influence over the policy making spheres of government. For example, Dennis Ross, former chief Middle East negotiator under Presidents G. H. W. Bush and Clinton and Martin Indyk, former U.S. ambassador to Israel are affiliated with AIPAC and approximately 50% of U.S. Congressmen attend their large, annual convention. AIPAC is considered the second most powerful lobby in the U.S. after the gun lobby.

In July 2006 I had a series of encounters with close friends who were angry about Israel's devastating invasion of Lebanon. During these arguments I rationalized all of Israel's actions on the basis of self-defense against a pathological society hell-bent on Israel's destruction and the eradication of world Jewry. I gave the common responses that we often see in the newspapers about the insensitivity and anti-Semitic attitudes of the Muslim world toward Israel and Judaism and I repeated the common arguments that one hears in Jewish society and that young Jewish people grow up with.

After my encounters with my close friends, both of whom I had always considered among the smartest and most compassionate people I had ever met, I was coming to the conclusion that they, like most of the world, were anti-Semitic. However, other events occurred in which I decided to educate myself by investigating the works of contemporary Jewish and Israeli scholars. My purpose was to simultaneously defend Israel from scurrilous attacks and preserve my life-long beliefs (indoctrination). So I began to read books by these renowned historians of Israel-Palestine, some of whom were avowed Zionists.

What I found was so different than what I had always believed and what the U.S. media publishes that I experienced a complete transformation in thinking. I did not just take the word of the authors I was reading. I checked and double checked their sources as well as many human rights organizations (Israeli NGO's included), the United Nations and more. Significantly, I made sure that the sources cited by these authors were the most authentic possible, such as the Israeli State Archives, the Central Zionist archives, the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) archives, the Book of the Haganah (the precursor to the IDF), the archives of David Ben-Gurion (Israel's founding father and first prime minister), the former heads of the ISA (Shin Beit or Internal Security Agency), Israeli military analysts who had worked with Ariel Sharon and other leaders, etc. etc.

The fact is that not only have the Palestinians been willing to make a fair peace with Israel but it is the Israelis who have always rejected peace with the Palestinians. The Zionist vision as expressed by Ben-Gurion and many others is to take over the entirety of historic Palestine. I imagine you yourself have experienced confusion over “negotiations” for peace between the two nations while noticing that Israel continues to build settlements in the West Bank – the settlements and their infrastructure now represent close to 50% of the 22% of historic Palestine that remains momentarily in the hands of the Palestinian people. Ehud Barak, while allegedly offering a generous peace to the Palestinians built more settlements than the right-wing Netanyahu government built.

But let me go back to the late 1940's. First, the Arab countries that invaded Palestine/Israel on May 15, 1948 only entered land that was designated by the United Nations’ partition plan for the Palestinians. They did not invade land designated for an Israeli state. In 1949 the Syrian government offered a comprehensive peace with Israel that included diplomatic relations and, most importantly, a permanent home for 300,000 of the 700,000+ Palestinian refugees.
As you may know the Palestinian refugee problem is at the core of the Israel-Palestine dilemma. Prime Minister Ben-Gurion ignored all Syrian overtures, despite the prodding of UN Mediator (and future Nobel Peace Prize recipient) Ralph Bunche. Of course, we know from Ben-Gurion's own diaries that his intention was to start with a small Israel and expand it into a much larger Israel.

In the late 50s into the late 60s including after the 1967 war, Egyptian leader Nasser attempted on many occasions to make peace with Israel. He employed the services of Yugoslavia's Marshal Tito, Quaker emissaries, and members of the British and Maltese governments, but was ignored by PM's Ben-Gurion and Sharett to Eshkol and Meir. The only response was Ben-Gurion's oft-repeated refrain that Nasser was the Hitler of the Middle East, a phrase that reverberated throughout Jewish society in Israel and the United States for many years, one that fostered enemy images of Arabs and fear of another holocaust.

In 1971 Nasser's successor, Sadat also tried to make peace. Israel again refused. Their refusal led to the 1973 Yom Kippur war in which Israel over a three week period lost the equivalent of three times the United States total loss of soldiers in Vietnam over a ten year period. This was a traumatic event for Israel, which realized finally that peace with Egypt was a better solution than permanent conflict. So they made peace with Egypt as embodied in the Camp David accords. These accords also required that Israel come to terms with the Palestinians over a 5 year period. Obviously Israel ignored that section of the Accords.

Subsequently, the truth is (and I found this hard to believe until I verified it over and over) Israel has never negotiated in good faith with the Palestinians. Israel has never even responded to the Saudi peace offer of full diplomatic relations with all Arab countries in exchange for the return to the Palestinians of the occupied territories, which, I repeat, represent 22% of historic Palestine. For years Hamas has said they would accept a treaty that formally gives Israel the 78% of historic Palestine that was taken from the Palestinian people.

The demonization of the Palestinian and Arab worlds is necessary to insure that Israel appear to be a country yearning for peace but thwarted from achieving that peace because of the irrational thinking of Muslims and Arabs. That is all myth. Whose thinking is irrational? I know of no other people in the world who would passively accept the colonization/occupation of their land, along with attempts to erase their history from the collective memory of mankind, without putting up a fight.

Consider this question: what would have happened if the Palestinians in, for example, 1967 had said to the Israelis, “you win, you have conquered our land and it is now all yours” -- in other words, if the entire West Bank and Gaza had been incorporated into Israel. If Israel maintained its democracy there would have been peace but not a Jewish state due to the demographics. If, on the other hand, Israel had insisted on a Jewish state then the Palestinians would have been second class citizens and apartheid-style institutions would have been established by the Jewish rulers, as is the case today.

Mr. _____, my hope is that you begin an investigation yourself into the real history of this conflict. Do not believe me or anyone else. Only by discovering for yourself will you establish an authentic relationship to this history and the suffering of the people involved. I suggest you get as close to the historical sources as possible. Read Israel's “new historians” –Segev, Morris, Flapan, Pappe, Shlaim, Kimmerling – who have written voluminously about their beloved Israel with documentation from the aforementioned archives. Read Haaretz journalists Levy, Hass, Eldar et al, look at Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, reports from the UN, B'Tselem (the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories).
Find out for yourself if the ideas we Americans and Jews have blindly accepted have or have not contributed to immense pain and suffering for generations of Palestinians and whether or not they are at the core of the conflict that exists between Western society and Muslim anger toward the West, as manifested in the extremists of Al Qaeda and others. Find out if the rise of Muslim fundamentalism coincides with policies that engender immense hopelessness and despair for hundred of millions of people.

Find out if the treatment of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories by ideological settlers and the Israeli army resembles the treatment of Blacks in South Africa or Jews in Nazi Germany in the late 1930's. I promise you that what you discover through sincere research will change you forever and awaken you to a deeper understanding of conflict and a more authentic connection to your fellow man, no matter who he is or where he is from.

If I have taken up more of your time than you felt was necessary i apologize. Feel free, however, to contact me in the future. In my opinion, each of us holds the key to peace and harmony and a higher consciousness for all of humanity. The key is clarity and compassion. Rich F.

The paradox of Israel's pursuit of might

2009-05-15T15:15:00.000-06:00

"I was one of those foreigners who progressively fell out of love with Israel."

The Guardian

The paradox of Israel's pursuit of might

Forty years ago, I was enraptured by Israel's courageous sense of mission. For me today, as for many, that idealism has palled

Max Hastings
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 9 May 2009 08.00 BST

I first visited Israel in 1969. It was a time when much of the western world was still passionately enthused about the country's triumph in the 1967 six-day war.

[. . .]

entire article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/09/israel-middle-east-max-hastings

“Two Peoples—One Struggle: A Panel Discussion on the Dispossession and Colonization of Native Americans and Palestinians”

2009-05-13T21:34:00.003-06:00

Report from Gallup

By Susan Schuurman

What: “Two Peoples—One Struggle: A Panel Discussion on the Dispossession and Colonization of Native Americans and Palestinians”

When: Saturday, May 9, 2009

Where: University of New Mexico—Gallup Branch, Gallup, New Mexico

Who: Organized by Joan Levitt (jlevitt4@frontiernet.net) with four panelists:

Julia Goodfox, of the Pawnee nation, teaches at Haskell Indian Nations University and recently visited the Occupied Territories with the Third World Coalition. She focused on the parallels between Manifest Destiny and Zionism. Julia.goodfox@gmail.com

Dr. Jennifer Nez-Denetdale, a Navajo historian and author, explored questions of how and why Navajos are so patriotic to the U.S. and the need to recognize American imperialism in relation to the First Americans. Jennifer.denetdale@nau.edu

Abigail Okrent, an attorney on the Navajo Nation with DNA-People’s Legal Services, Inc., interned for six months with B’tSelem: the Israeli Information Center in the Occupied Territories and is active with Jewish Voice for Peace and the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. She spoke about U.S. and Israeli violations of international law. abbyokrent@yahoo.com

Jamal Abdeljawad is a Palestinian-American living in Gallup, New Mexico. He explained why the struggle of Palestinians is relevant to the Gallup community

For those who were unable to attend this fascinating and enlightening panel, I have typed up my notes from the talk and Q & A. I decided to drive to Gallup from Albuquerque at the last minute and missed the beginning, which I’m sure included a broad framing and introduction by the panel’s organizer, Joan Levitt. Perhaps she can fill in some details of what I missed and/or corrections if necessary. My apologies if I unintentionally mischaracterized any of the speakers’ points.

Julia Goodfox (Pawnee) lives in Oklahoma and introduced herself by listing her parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents by name. She then noted parallels between the Native American and Palestinian experience: that both peoples are striving for self-determination and sovereignty, that both peoples face the problem of unrecognized villages, which leads to lack of access to water and electricity, and that both peoples have to deal with a border: in Palestine, the so-called security fence; in native North America, the U.S./Mexico border.

She asked, “How can we work for liberation?” and answered “through art and music.” Palestinian hip-hop and Indigenous hip-hop (e.g., a band called Antithesis) are both socially conscious. Another name for the latter is “sling-shot hip-hop,” which has its roots in San Francisco and New York. Ms. Goodfox informed the audience that a group of indigenous Haskell students is fundraising to go to the West Bank this summer and will be proudly representing their tribes. She noted that singing and telling traditional songs and stories are important ways for both Native Americans and Palestinians to preserve their culture.

She also noted that education is key and that the curriculum should include the pedagogy of self-liberation and theories of colonization. She noted that Palestinian youth get together in small weekly meetings to educate themselves on pertinent United Nations resolutions, much like native youth study American treaties that were broken. Finally, she addressed stereotypes in the mainstream news about the Middle East by informing the audience that Palestinians were hosting an international conference on non-violent resistance.

Abigail Okrent is an attorney who works on the Navajo reservation and is a self-described Jewish girl from Chicago. She grew up assuming most if not all Jews supported Israel but then discovered this was benign or active propaganda. She made the connection between the dispossession of native North America and the Palestinians while reading an article in the New York Times, which described the Jenin massacre—“tanks going into refugee camps”—using the language of Manifest Destiny. She became active with a group called Not In My Name—now Jewish Voice for Peace—in Chicago. In 2003 she spent six months as an intern for B’tSelem: The Israeli Information Centre for the Occupied Territories. While in the West Bank she observed the similarities between refugee camps and the ghettos in Chicago, the gulf in standard of living between the affluent/poor, and the settlements/refugee camps; she also noted the difficulty in getting building permits.

Ms. Okrent showed the audience a powerpoint presentation with maps featuring the West Bank divided into 200 cantons, separated by Jewish-only roads and settlements; the security fence a.k.a. the Wall, its path cutting off Palestinian land from its farmers—and noted that the map looked similar to allotments and checkerboard reservations here in the U.S. She drew parallels between Anglo landowners armed with guns and Jewish settlers armed with guns. She told how she sat in a home in the West Bank to prevent it from being bulldozed. We saw slides of Hebron with its narrow streets covered with chicken wire overhead to prevent garbage thrown by Jewish settlers from landing on Palestinians’ heads. The chicken wire canopy doesn’t provide much protection from the urine and boiling water poured onto pedestrians however. We saw slides of checkpoints in Nablus, a sniper tower, and bypass roads that go around the checkpoints which only Jews are permitted to use.

She informed the audience that Palestinians spend hours every day waiting in line just to try to go a few miles, to work, to school, to the doctor, to visit family and friends—to try to live a normal life.

Dr. Jennifer Nez-Denetdale began speaking for a few minutes in Dineh, the Navajo language; the majority of the audience members were Navajo. She explained that she is a professor at Northern Arizona University (formerly at UNM in Albuquerque) and teaches Native American, Navajo, and Women’s history as well as Feminist Theory. She urged Navajos to be critically reflective of their role as both American citizens and as Navajos.

Many Navajos, after September 11, 2001, enlisted in the military, she observed. A situation occurred in which it was nearly impossible to be anti-war on the Navajo Nation and that the history of injustice had become invisible. Native people, she explained, at one time controlled 100 percent of the land in the present-day United States; today they only control 3 percent--how did this happen? she asked. There are similarities between this process and what is currently happening to the Palestinians. Manifest Destiny plays out globally and in particular in the Middle East.

Dr. Denetdale noted the unquestioning nationalism in Navajo-land and asked, “Why are we the most patriotic Americans?” She then stated emphatically that Navajos are using—and should not be--the warriorship concept to dispossess another people. We were victims of terrorism, she said, in the 18th and 19th centuries and we don’t recognize it. She urged Navajos to go on a journey of education, one that challenges how they were taught. She noted the scholar Andrea Smith, who has been nominated for a Nobel Prize, for her vision for social justice and peace.

Jamal Abdeljawab grew up in Palestine and has lived in Gallup for 30 years. He began by noting his astonishment at the solidarity expressed by the other members on the panel. He then described how Palestinians in the West Bank have to wait every half mile for 3 hours due to the hundreds of checkpoints. He said in 2003 six Palestinian women (and their unborn children) died while waiting at a checkpoint trying to go to the hospital to give birth. When the United Nations decided to partition Palestine, they gave 52 percent of the land to Palestinians and 48 percent to Israel. Palestinians are now only asking for 22 percent of that 52 percent---60 percent is confiscated. So Palestinians are fighting for 10 percent of historic Palestine. His own village, two-thirds of which is occupied, is completely disfigured, and natural growth and expansion is virtually impossible.

The UN released a report on Bethlehem three days ago, he said. Just like native Americans, Palestinians tend to live in clans and relatives build homes next to each other, and sometimes have their own clan cemeteries. But for him to visit his cousin who lives 45 minutes away, he would need to obtain a permit, and he might not get it at all.

Why should Navajos care? he asked. Many Navajos have been killed in the Middle East, he answered, in Iraq. If the Palestinian conflict isn’t resolved, wars may expand to being against Arabs or against Muslims. He asked the audience, “Who thinks Indians were cleansed and enslaved?” Everyone raised their hands. He then asked, “If we were alive when it happened, would we have participated?” Many shook their heads. How then can we participate in Palestinian cleansing that is now occurring in our lifetimes, he challenged.

Mr. Abdeljawad noted more similiarities between the two cultures: water was so restricted in his village that they only had running water for 2 hours once a week. They stored the water in big tanks on the house. They showered once every two weeks. Agriculture—they conserved and stretched water by pouring cupfuls of water directly onto plants to grow food.

He urged us to not stay silent, not to advocate cleansing. He said it was not a religious conflict—not Arab vs. Jew, that some of his best friends were Jewish, some of the greatest minds were Israeli Jews. He told how Israeli Jewish brain surgeons had operated on his own father and had not charged a dime for any of the operations. He passionately argued that we shouldn’t allow one culture to destroy another. One people is being cleansed, exactly what was tried on the Indians—it is wrong and it will come back to haunt us. We should support a boycott. After September 11 we chose war but it doesn’t work. 100,000 people marched in Tel Aviv against the war on Gaza. We have the First Amendment and we will not succumb to blackmail from the American Jewish lobby. Wrongs should be exposed, he said.

Panel Discussion
Abigail: Walls don’t stop terrorism—you can always find your way around. The law-abiding citizens and ambulances can’t get through the wall, but a terrorist can find a crack in the wall to penetrate. Thus the wall is an obstacle to moderates not radicals. Abigal noted that Palestinians in general are fanatically clean, so to make them walk through mud, accompanied by little access to water, is merely to subjucate and humiliate a population and not about security. The “peace talks” don’t address these underlying issues.

Jennifer: Why should we care? It’s important to bear witness. We Americans say we are a moral and ethical nation. If we are, then we need to expose actions that violate morals and ethics we uphold. Issues of sovereignty are very important to both peoples. Prior to 1863 the Navajo were autonomous. They possessed an economic, political, cultural and social system that worked for them for centuries. Navajo values were the values of the Holy People. The militarization of our people and land, she said, is conflating being a warrior with being an American soldier, “making us complicit in the destruction of another people.”

Jamal: Is the Israel/Palestine situation the same as the United States and Native Americans? Often he hears people respond to criticism of Israel by saying, “but isn’t that what Americans did to the Indians?” which Jamal noted was a very compelling argument. But he said it’s important to recognize a past wrong and then work to prevent that wrong from happening again. To what extent is Navajo culture melding with American culture, he asked. He urged Navajos to preserve their culture and take pride in it—not to be ashamed of it, to aim higher and be proud of your roots. He noted the importance of Evo Morales, the indigenous president of Bolivia—the first indigenous president, who overcame atrocities against his people. He did this by being resilient, keeping his culture alive, by reclaiming his heritage. He asked the audience to imagine Native Americans having their own political party, and demanding in exchange for their votes, that land be given back on the basis of a treaty being broken. Finally, Jamal described the pain he felt on June 4, 1980, when at age 18, his father made him leave Palestine so he could have a better life.

Julia: Tear gas being shot at nonviolent demonstrators in the West Bank is now contained in silent canisters that are aimed straight at the protestors—not lobbed—as a weapon and these are manufactured by the U.S., she said. Yassar Arafat used to love receiving letters from American Indians expressing their solidarity with the Palestinian people, she said. She noted the existence of a group called “Combatants for Peace,” made up of Palestinian former prisoners plus some Israeli guards. Ninety percent of Palestinian males have been incarcerated by the Israelis, she said. She also noted a group started by Israeli feminists called New Profile (see newprofile.org). She said Israel is “not a country with a military but a military with a country.”

Q & A
One man respectfully thanked the panelists for their words and noted the Navajo’s long history of serving in the U.S. military with pride, especially since the Code Talkers in World War II.
A young man in the audience, with a black beret and a t-shirt with “stop the relocation—Big Mountain” on it—one of several young people and adults with such a shirt—told of how he had prayed before sunrise that morning with corn pollen and wondered if Jamal had ever been embarrassed to pray in public. Jamal related a story of praying in the airport after September 11th and how many men joined him only to have rifles pointed at them—so now he doesn’t pray in airports anymore for his own safety.

Jennifer answered a question by noting that we tend to perpetuate violence and violent structures.

Jamal observed how Palestinians when he lived there were asked to demonstrate their loyalty to the country by acting as informers, something he resisted. He noted that Buffalo Soldiers were asked to prove their loyalty to the U.S. by committing atrocities against native people. He said native Americans don’t have to prove loyalty to the U.S. by militarization or fighting unjust wars. If attacked—he said—he would be the first to defend this country but he urged Navajos: don’t do what was done to you to others.

Jennifer referred to Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States and said that the idea of “nation” is a relatively recent concept. She asked, “Who benefits when you act in the name of a nation?”

A young woman wanted to know some good sources for news: Abigail listed some websites which are below.

Someone asked what the solution(s) are: Abigail said we are part of the problem, funding the occupation, and that we are not honest brokers. Abigail prefers a binational state, since a Palestinian state seems impossible at this point. She does not see the answer being deporting all Jews. She wants equal rights for both. She explained that the Law of Return says that any Jew can be a citizen of Israel and that the Right of Return for refugees is an individual right that cannot be taken away by a government, as part of a peace deal, i.e., Arafat. Abigail sees South Africa as a good model of a binational state, a result of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions and reparations. She said we don’t want to push the Israelis into the sea. She stressed the importance of first ending the occupation and then negotiating, not the other way around. 500 villages were demolished in 1948, she said. Some village elders sold land to the Israelis. (zochrot.org to see a list of Palestinian villages destroyed). This is cleansing. Calling for Israel to be a Jewish state is racism. Both sides have fanatics. Satanic torture is occurring in Israeli jails. Linda Johnson, American consulate, reported it and lost her job.

A member of the audience spoke out in defense of Israel (he did not appear to be Navajo) and said Arabs want to wipe Israel off the map. Jamal asked which Arabs, and the man said Ahmedinajad. Jamal noted that the Iranian president is Persian, not Arab. The questioner said Israel was surrounded with hostile countries which had attacked Israel in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973…. Jamal reviewed each war as being offensive not defensive and noted that the Egyptian air force was on the ground—not in the air—when it was destroyed by Israel. The questioner did admit that conditions were bad in the refugee camps. Abigail admitted she was afraid riding the bus in Israel, fear of a suicide bombing. But she said Israel was not an empty land in 1948—the Palestinians were there. She said that violence is much more often perpetrated against Palestinians than against Israelis. She referred to Benny Morris’s Righteous Victims—how he said “we should have wiped them out in 1948, referring to Israel wiping out the Palestinians". She said that Israel’s massive military does not bring Israel security, it is not making Israelis safer. The most dangerous place in the world for Jews is in Israel. She noted the disproportionate loss of life in Gaza---11 deaths in 3 years from rockets fired into Israel compared to 1400 killed during the recent attack on Gaza. Jamal noted that it’s not a war of defense—it’s a land grab.

There were other questions and answers. One woman walked to the front of the room and announced she wanted to stop the cycle of violence and said “I don’t want to be an oppressor anymore and I don’t want to be an enabler.”

About forty people were in the audience. Afterwards I showed the panelists the postcard featuring the billboard the Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel had put up in Albuquerque and they had heard about it. Julia Goodfox said she had been sent the photo via email from Kansas peace and justice groups.

Jennifer Denetdale wants to set up a similar talk in Albuquerque linking Native American and Palestinian issues. Jamal said he knows Hebah Ahmed, a Stop 30 Billion coalition member and that his business has not recovered still from the harassment he received from the FBI after 9/11 in Gallup. The event’s organizer Joan Levitt said she wants to collaborate with the coalition if possible.

Websites put on the chalkboard by Abigail:
Combatantsforpeace.org
Myspace.com/slingshothiphop
Btselem.org—human rights
Badil.org—Palestinian refugees
Mossawa.org—Palestinian civil rights
Pcati.org—Popular Committee Against Torture in Israel
News.bbc.co.uk
Haaretz.com—courageous Israeli columnists

[end]

Photo: http://www.gallupindependent.com/2009/05May/051109.html

Letter to the Editor: American Interests Hurt by Aid to Israel

2009-05-12T20:58:00.003-06:00

Steven Dapra has given his permission for his original letter to the editor to be posted here.

(Unless you subscribe to the Albuquerque Journal clicking on the title link won't provide access to letters to the editor at the Journal Website. )

Albuquerque Journal
May 12, 2009

Dear Editor:

I wholeheartedly support the proposal to cut off U. S. military aid to Israel. (I would like to see a cut off of all U. S. foreign aid to all countries.) (Albq. Journal, April 16, p. C-2)

According the article reporting on the proposal for cutting off aid to Israel, the Israeli consul in Los Angeles said that this aid is mostly returned to the United States, "maintaining American jobs and in addition, helping to safeguard American interests abroad." A little self-serving, don't you think? Why not keep the money here, where it can maintain American jobs without being funneled through some foreign country?

As far as American interests are concerned, giving tax dollars to Israel does not safeguard any of them. In fact, military aid to Israel harms U. S. interests. It makes American taxpayers into killers and oppressors of Arabs and Palestinians through the actions of the Israeli proxy.

Sincerely yours,

Steven Dapra

Protocol II of Geneva Conventions

2009-05-11T15:29:00.006-06:00

Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II)

Adopted on 8 June 1977 by the Diplomatic Conference on the Reaffirmation and Development of International Humanitarian Law applicable in Armed Conflicts

entry into force 7 December 1978, in accordance with Article 23

http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/94.htm

This protocol itemizes "Humane Treatment" during and after hostilities.

Interview with King Abdullah of Jordan

2009-05-11T13:37:00.005-06:00

Interesting comments.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6260385.ece

From Times Online May 11, 2009

King Abdullah: 'This is not a two-state solution, it is a 57-state solution'

by Richard Beeston

Article by Oppostion: Billboards of Hate

2009-05-07T13:14:00.009-06:00

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/05/billboards_of_hate.html

Lots of misleading comments based on flawed assumptions in the article at "American Thinker".

May 07, 2009

Billboards of Hate

By Janet Levy

2009-05-04T23:17:00.007-06:00

ABOUT US

The Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel advocates an end to the ten year commitment of $30 billion in U.S. taxpayer-funded military aid pledged to Israel in 2007 by the Bush administration.

To further our mission, we work to inform the public and our elected officials how the Israeli military misuses American-made weapons technology and violates human rights.

We also shine a light on the support that New Mexico's state government, defense contractors and institutions of higher learning provide to the Israeli defense establishment.

Israel’s ongoing occupation and control over Palestinian Territories – East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip – are illegal under international law and contribute to unceasing conflict and suffering.

Coalition Organizations:

* Amnesty International Chapter 101, Albuquerque
* Muslim Women Outreach
* Another Jewish Voice (Albuquerque)
* Stop The War Machine
* Middle East Peace and Justice Alliance
* The Social Concerns Committee of the Albuquerque Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
* United Nations Association, Albuquerque Chapter
* Irish Freedom Committee
* New Mexico People's Weekly Forum
* Another Jewish Voice - Santa Fe (AJVSF)
* Veterans For Peace - Santa Fe (VFPSF)
* Veterans for Peace - Albuquerque (VFPA)

2009-05-03T20:06:00.002-06:00

CINDY SHEEHAN AND THE COALITION TO STOP $30 BILLION TO ISRAEL TO HOLD A BILLBOARD DEDICATION IN ALBUQUERQUE'S NORTHEAST HEIGHTS

WHERE: 11930 Menaul NE, just east of Juan Tabo

WHEN: 3PM Tuesday, April 21, 2009

WHO: Anti-war activist and Gold Star Mom Cindy Sheehan plus representatives of the twelve organizations that make up the Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel (see list below)

WHY: Ten billboards around the city of Albuquerque are calling for an end to American military aid to Israel due to Israel’s human rights violations against the Palestinian people.

Schedule

3:00pm—Billboard dedication begins with introduction by emcee Rita Erickson followed by short statements from representatives of member organizations:

Amnesty International chapter 101, Another Jewish Voice-Albuquerque (AJV-ABQ), Another Jewish Voice-Santa Fe (AJV-SF), Irish Freedom Committee, Middle East Peace & Justice Alliance (MEPJA), Muslim Women Outreach, New Mexico People’s Weekly Forum, Stop the War Machine, Albuquerque Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Social Concerns Committee, United Nations Association Albuquerque Chapter (UNA), Veterans for Peace-Albuquerque, Veterans for Peace-Santa Fe.

3:45pm --Cindy Sheehan speaks (introduced by Will Covert)

4:00pm—Billboard dedication closed by emcee Rita Erickson

For more info go to www.stop30billion.com.

Albuquerque Billboard Press Release

2009-05-03T15:22:00.006-06:00

Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel

PO Box10856 http://www.Stop30Billion.com
Albuquerque NM 87184 info@stop30billion.com

PRESS RELEASE

Contact:
Lori Rudolph, 505-550-9553, lorir@unm.edu 9 April 2009
Rich Forer, 265-1898, rich_forer@yahoo.com

For Immediate Release

LOCAL GRASSROOTS COALITION CALLS ON CONGRESSMEN BINGAMAN, UDALL AND HEINRICH TO SUSPEND WEAPONS SALES TO ISRAEL

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – The Albuquerque-based Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel issued calls today for a suspension of military aid to Israel in response to charges that Israel may have violated U.S. and International Law in its recent attack on the Gaza Strip. The Coalition is publicizing its message via 10 small billboards scattered across Albuquerque. The billboards (image shown below) feature images of a young Palestinian girl and an Israeli tank along with the message: “Tell Congress: Stop Killing Children, End Military Aid to Israel.” Billboard locations include 1415 Indian School NE, 5500 2nd Street NW, and 112 Coors NW.

According to fact sheets researched and compiled by the Coalition, the U.S. agreed to provide Israel with $30 billion in military aid over a ten year period. Israel received its first subsidy in 2008. The Coalition says the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) used some of this aid in its December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009 assault against Gaza and may have committed war crimes. More than 1,400 Palestinians, including over 300 children and 900 civilians were killed during the assault, dubbed Operation Cast Lead. The military aid, which amounts to $3 billion per year of taxpayer money that Americans can ill afford, appears to be in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the Foreign Assistance Act. The Coalition calls on the voters of Albuquerque to call or write Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall and Representative Martin Heinrich and demand that U.S. military aid to Israel be suspended. The Coalition also asks voters in Congressional Districts 2 and 3 to contact their representatives with the same message.

-----

Quotes from several Coalition Members:

Dr. Lori Rudolph, an American Jew, travels to Palestine frequently. She is a mental health consultant, trainer and fundraiser for the Ibdaa Cultural Center at Dheisheh Refugee Camp. She calls upon the U.S. Government to suspend military aid to Israel. “The deaths of more than 1,400 Palestinians in Gaza due to the recent Israeli assault were aided and abetted by U.S.-manufactured weapons. The Israeli siege and occupation—and the humanitarian crises they are causing—are enforced with U.S. weapons, making every single U.S. taxpayer an accessory to Israel’s crimes.”

Susan Schuurman, who received a master’s from UNM in the history of the Middle East, focuses on local connections to the carnage in Gaza. “New Mexico has many links to the Israeli military: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, Los Alamos and Sandia national labs, Kirtland Air Force Base, White Sands Missile Range, and research conducted at UNM and New Mexico Tech. We are researching these ties and hope that, by shining more light on them and when employees learn how their work ties into the suffering of the Palestinian people, they will put pressure on their supervisors and members of Congress to suspend weapons sales to Israel.”

Armen Chakerian, member of the Middle East Peace and Justice Alliance: "Israel says their invasion of Gaza was a response to rocket attacks, but nothing justifies the Israeli military taking the lives of 300 children. In fact, those homemade rockets had not killed a single Israeli during the previous six months."

Hebah Ahmed, a member of the local Muslim Community and mother of two, has been disturbed by the way some Americans think Palestinians and Middle Easterners are somehow sub-human. “We are mothers and fathers, sons and daughters. We bleed when hurt, and we ache when our children are killed. I beg my fellow Americans to value all human life as equal. U.S. weapons should be used for legitimate self defense, not for invasions and occupation, whose victims are primarily children and civilians.”

Rich Forer is a Jewish American who until recently was a member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). “In the past two years I have been studying the history of the conflict between the Palestinian people and the state of Israel, focusing primarily on Israeli historians whose research is derived from Israeli State and Central Zionist archives. To my surprise, I have discovered that the history taught to Jewish schoolchildren is a gross distortion of the facts that has served to demonize the Palestinians. There can be no peace until Israel begins to treat the Palestinian people with a reasonable degree of humanity. The recent invasion of the Gaza Strip was a monstrous act of inhumanity leaving over 300 children dead. The United States must end its military aid to Israel and demand that Israel begin sincere and honest negotiations with the goal of a peace treaty that restores dignity to both sides of the conflict.”

Kathy and Bill Christison, former CIA analysts and contributors to Counterpunch, have been studying the Middle East for over 35 years and have written three books and numerous articles on Palestine-Israel. They will leave later this month for their seventh visit to Palestine-Israel since 2003. "We both believe that the strong U.S.-Israeli partnership, and particularly the massive amounts of U.S. aid to Israel, seriously distort U.S. national interests."

Mary Gossage, a Muslim and U.S. Army veteran, together with a friend living in Dheisheh Refugee Camp created the first Palestinian Refugee Camp website so Dheisheh children could gain online access to the outside world. It went live 14 May 1998 in commemoration of 50 years of Nakba. “Drawing Americans’ attention to the heartaches and injustices of the past 60+ years has done little to alleviate the problems, or to clarify the role our nation plays in creating them. Perhaps drawing attention to our collective pocketbook along with our violations of both U.S. and International laws will.”

Sally-Alice Thompson is a representitive of Veterans for Peace. "As members of Veterans For Peace, we wholeheartedly endorse the VFP Statement of Prinicples, which includes: restraining our government from intervening...in the internal affairs of other nations, and seeking justice for...victims of war. For these and other reasons we oppose borrowing money from China to give to Israel."

Sally McMillan, representing the Albuquerque chapter of United Nations Association, says "it doesn't serve U.S. interests to provide military aid to Israel when Israel's actions violate human rights and are in violation of international law. There's a saying 'Our friends are part of who we are', and the rest of the world, especially Arab countries, identify us with these Israeli violations."

Rita Erickson, an eyewitness to the suffering via several visits to the region, and who has relatives there, said, "If American's saw the WALL the Israeli government has built or witnessed the system of Apartheid the Israelis have created to further squeeze Palestinians off of their land and brutally limit their ability to live normal lives, they would wonder why Palestinians have not done more to resist the oppressive conditions under which the Israelis have forced them to live for decades. Americans would be outraged if they knew what is done with our tax dollars to keep students from going to school or farmers from their land, to prevent pregnant women from access to hospitals and the # of people who die as a result of arbitrary decisions made by young soldiers at check points. There simply is no justification for the racist policies practiced by the Israeli government to maintain a JEWISH state."

Bob Anderson, of Stop the War Machine, connects the attack on Gaza with the military industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned about in 1961. ""How can we as a nation turn our heads as hundreds of children are slaughtered and pretend this is justified? Many New Mexico arms manufacturers and the war bases in New Mexico support and supply the Israeli war machine with weapons and intelligence for profit. Stop the War Machine has said repeatedly to the local military industries that war profiteering must stop, that our country must help the people of Palestine with positive resources from our country, not with death and destruction. Free the people of Palestine from the U.S./Israeli war axis."

-----

The Stop $30 Billion Coalition consists of the following local grassroots organizations:

     Albuquerque Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Social Concerns Committee
     Amnesty International, Chapter 101, Albuquerque
     Another Jewish Voice, Albuquerque (AJV)
     Irish Freedom Committee (Ronan MacLochlainn Cumann Chapter)
     Middle East Peace and Justice Alliance (MEPJA)
     Muslim Women Outreach (MWO)
     Stop the War Machine (SWM)
     United Nations Association (UNA ABQ Chapter)
     Veterans for Peace (VFP), Albuquerque

Billboards Target Arms Aid to Israel

2009-04-30T07:52:00.001-06:00

By Olivier Uyttebrouck
Journal Staff Writer

A New Mexico activist group is using billboards to urge people to contact congressional leaders and express opposition to U.S. military aid to Israel.

[. . .]