With the Gaza “cease fire” in place for one week (after Israeli forces murdered at least 450 Children), the Beit Sahour vigil that was held daily for the past 22 days will be transformed to increased action. Tomorrow (Monday) at 10 AM local, Palestinian Civil Society Organizations in the Bethlehem area will hold a second work day for Gaza where we will be emailing, writing media and politicians, sharing ideas and developing strategies to develop the Boycotts, Divestments, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel as well as bringing Israeli leaders to justice for war crimes and crimes against humanity.Those of you who can join us it will be at AlGhad institute in Downtown Beit Sahour near the bus company offices.
We believe this is not the time to relax but to intensify the pressure that is building especially introducing new BDS actions so that we can once and for all end the 61 year injustice against the native Palestinians (Israel must be made to comply with all Palestinian Rights especially the rights of refugees to return to their homes and lands). We also believe the International community should not be paying for Israel’s war crimes and must hold Israel accountable.
Please begin to or expand your work in your community for BDS (see http://www.bdsmovement.net and http://www.pacbi.org) and develop legal, media, and out reach strategies to build up the isolation of Israel like we did with South Africa so that such atrocities that have been ongoing for 61 year are ended and we move to a post-Apartheid era of Peace with Justice. For resources and tools, we are listing below links to: pictures and video, facts on Gaza, Declarations by the UN and human rights groups, political analysis, and the link to 25 actions to do.
Pictures and videos of reality
-Video on day 9 of shelling, whole families obliterated
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpKhxocn_EE
-Norwegian doctor report from Gaza
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev6ojm62qwA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYKmA_o4lAE
-Israel shelled UN school compound killing 40 people
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=NvOZ301vbEs
-Father loses his parents, four children and other members of his family after the Israelis gather neighbors in one house and then shell it
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=mLEEEKCpSJ0
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Axy1cMWUxkg
-Another father who lost three children speaks in Hebrew to Ehud Barak
http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2009/01/06/to-israel-with-love/
-Video: the world lost its conscience?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHYjpOhcB2k
-Israel experimenting on civilians with new types of weapons:
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=oyFnE2Z5bpk
-Norwegian Dr. Mads Gilbert testimony in Gaza
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/dime.htm
-Use of white phosphorus over Gaza http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVY4NUKowzg
-Direct reports from Gaza by an International in Gaza: http://ingaza.wordpress.com/
-A haunting photo montage http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2009/01/16/war-on-gaza-surat-al-rahman/
-UK Telegraph Newspaper: “They said that after the Israeli army first took the town on Saturday night soldiers had ordered about 100 members of the clan to gather in a single house owned by Wael Samouni around dawn on Sunday. At 6.35am on Monday the house was repeatedly shelled with appalling loss of civilian life [killing 70]
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/4162193/Gaza-medics-describe-horror-of-strike-which-killed-70.html
Facts on Gaza not well known
-Factsheet on Gaza
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/downloads/gaza_us_weapons.pdf
-Israel spokesperson admits Israel broke the cease fire agreement
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SILJxPTqjAM
CNN confirmed this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAhfDa0smsc
-Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions “reframing” Gaza
http://icahd.org/eng/news.asp?menu=5&submenu=1&item=655
-Gaza Website http://gazasiege.org
-Vanity Fair reported in April last year: “After failing to anticipate Hamas’s victory over Fatah in the 2006 Palestinian election, the White House cooked up yet another scandalously covert and self-defeating Middle East debacle: part Iran-contra, part Bay of Pigs. With confidential documents, corroborated by outraged former and current U.S. officials, the author reveals how President Bush, Condoleezza Rice, and Deputy National-Security Adviser Elliott Abrams [Zionist] backed an armed force under Fatah strongman Muhammad Dahlan, touching off a bloody civil war in Gaza and leaving Hamas stronger than ever.”
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/04/gaza200804
-An inside story of how the US magnified Palestinian suffering. The covert push to empower Fatah failed. And isolating Hamas just made things worse. But it’s not too late to change course.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0112/p09s01-coop.html
– Gaza invasion: Powered by the U.S.: Taxpayers are spending over $1 billion to send refined fuel to the Israeli military — at a time when Israel doesn’t need it and America does.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/01/16/gaza_invasion/index.html
– Still breathing, a report from Gaza by Caoimhe Butterly
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=35030
– Sderot Residents Contradict Israeli Government Propaganda
http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2009/01/15/500-citizens-of-sderot-contradict-the-is
DECLARATIONS
UN High commissioner for Human Rights report on Gaza (Rauthor Richard Falk is himself Jewish)
http://gazasiege.org/docs/gaza_crisis_08/GazaCrisis_UN_Falk_Pressrelease_12_27_08.pdf
Red Cross: Israel breaking Int’l law, letting children starve in Gaza
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1053877.html
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said that the situation in Gaza was “completely and utterly unacceptable based on every known standard of international law and universal humanitarian principles and values.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gjiqWO2pxDjmb0u29sn4O5e8LC0w
Israeli Human Rights groups: Clear and present danger to the lives and well-being of tens of thousands of civilians: An Israeli Call For Urgent Humanitarian Action In Gaza
http://www.btselem.org/English/Press_Releases/20090114.asp
Human Rights Watch demands Israel stop using White Phosphorus incendiary shells on civilian populations
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/01/10/israel-stop-unlawful-use-white-phosphorus-gaza
World Health Organization condemns Israeli attacks on hospitals
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2009/Gaza-health-20090115/en/index.html
Journalists group condemns strike on Gaza media
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090115/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_gaza_media_1
The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) and the International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ) condemn shelling of building hosting media offices. http://www.mediacovenant.org/
British Academics Call for Boycotts, Divestments, and Sanctions
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/16/gaza-israel-petitions
Gush Shalom, Israel Peace Block, January 7, 2009: “The government dooms a whole generation of young Israelis to become, quite literally, war criminals”
Analysis
– Video:Israeli speaks to the BBC and asks Obama to change (instead of being a “slave” of the lobby) http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=rfnPjzOGB5s
– A 14 year old in Gaza asks on question: why?
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/01/11/a_14_year_old_in_gaza_has_one_question_why/
– Bob Simon, a life-long Zionist interviewed by Charlie Rose lets out the facts
http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/9900
– The Israeli Human Shield
http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General/Story12098.html
– Zionist FAQs
http://www.palestineremembered.com/ZionistFAQ.html#Relevant
– Rethinking Zionism
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/philip-weiss/rethinking-zionism_b_156955.htm
– Norman Finkelstein on Gaza
http://www.counterpunch.org/finkelstein01132009.html
– The Gaza Ghetto Uprising January 20 The Star Newspaper
http://star.com.jo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14276&Itemid=57
– The humiliation of America
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21755.htm
– Documentary: John Pilger’s “Palestine is Still the issue”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21692.htm
25 Actions to do
http://www.pcr.ps/activities/actions-gaza.htm
Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
http://qumsiyeh.org
