On Sunday, 25 January, CBS 60 Minutes (a U.S. news broadcast)aired "Exposing Israeli Apartheid", an excellent (and accurate!) segment reporting on Israel's occupation of Palestine. Check it out:
And now act! Write to CBS 60 Minutes to thank them for their accurate portrayal of Palestinian life under Israeli occupation. The Gaza Justice Action Center makes it easy to do. I am so grateful that CBS had the courage to air this segment. Let them know you're grateful, too!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
The "Numbers Game" Part 2
The numbers game will always bother me.
The world keeps insisting that human lives are valued on a sliding scale. Not all people are created equal in the image of God.
Listen to the media. I recently read "Off the Charts: Accuracy in Reporting on Israel/Palestine: The New York Times" by If Americans Knew. (They also produced a report on TV media coverage, but I haven't had the chance to read it yet.) The report focused on the New York Times' coverage of Israeli and Palestinian deaths during two years of the Second Intifada. A synopsis from the report:
Then I remember: To the world, the death of a Palestinian is not worth the same as the death of an Israeli. I watch, horrified, on the news as the Palestinian death toll climbs. And I keep wondering: when will the scale tip? At what Palestinian-to-Israeli death-toll ratio will the world say, "Enough! A life is a life. And every death is a crime against humanity."
When will we end this spiral into madness? When will we hold sacred every human life -- regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion -- and treasure it as our own?
The world keeps insisting that human lives are valued on a sliding scale. Not all people are created equal in the image of God.
Listen to the media. I recently read "Off the Charts: Accuracy in Reporting on Israel/Palestine: The New York Times" by If Americans Knew. (They also produced a report on TV media coverage, but I haven't had the chance to read it yet.) The report focused on the New York Times' coverage of Israeli and Palestinian deaths during two years of the Second Intifada. A synopsis from the report:
In the first study period The Times reported Israeli deaths at a rate 2.8 times higher than Palestinian deaths, and in 2004 this rate increased by almost 30%, to 3.6, widening still further the disparity in coverage. The Times’ coverage of children’s deaths was even more skewed. In the first year of the current uprising, Israeli children’s deaths were reported at 6.8 times the rate of Palestinian children’s deaths. In 2004 this differential also increased, with deaths of Israeli children covered at a rate 7.3 times greater than the deaths of Palestinian children. Given that in 2004 22 times more Palestinian children were killed than Israeli children, this category holds particular importance.This report covered data from 2000 and 2004. Yet even now the media plays the numbers game. "Israel has the right to protect its civilians." Three Israeli civilians have been killed in this recent war on Gaza. How many Palestinian civilians has the Israeli military killed? (To date, the death toll in Gaza is 1,188 Palestinians -- approximately a third of whom are children.) Where is the international outcry?
Then I remember: To the world, the death of a Palestinian is not worth the same as the death of an Israeli. I watch, horrified, on the news as the Palestinian death toll climbs. And I keep wondering: when will the scale tip? At what Palestinian-to-Israeli death-toll ratio will the world say, "Enough! A life is a life. And every death is a crime against humanity."
When will we end this spiral into madness? When will we hold sacred every human life -- regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion -- and treasure it as our own?
Friday, January 16, 2009
The "Numbers Game"
It happens. Often.
When I am speaking (or writing) about Israel's military occupation and Palestinian nonviolent resistance, people frequently ask me: "But Palestinians are violent! They're the ones killing civilians!"
I had this experience recently in chatting with a neighbor about the situation in Gaza. "Palestinians are the violent ones -- they're firing rockets!"
This comment -- and Western media coverage of Israel's military assault on Gaza -- astounds me. Since the beginning of Israel's assault on Gaza until now (27 December 2008 to 16 January 2009), the Israeli military has killed 1, 133 Palestinians. According to If Americans Knew, 300 of those casualties were children. In contrast, 13 Israelis have been killed in this war on Gaza. Three of them were civilians.
The media portrays Palestinians as the aggressors, the abusers of violence. Yet after looking at the numbers, one is left wondering: Who are the violent ones?
When I am speaking (or writing) about Israel's military occupation and Palestinian nonviolent resistance, people frequently ask me: "But Palestinians are violent! They're the ones killing civilians!"
I had this experience recently in chatting with a neighbor about the situation in Gaza. "Palestinians are the violent ones -- they're firing rockets!"
This comment -- and Western media coverage of Israel's military assault on Gaza -- astounds me. Since the beginning of Israel's assault on Gaza until now (27 December 2008 to 16 January 2009), the Israeli military has killed 1, 133 Palestinians. According to If Americans Knew, 300 of those casualties were children. In contrast, 13 Israelis have been killed in this war on Gaza. Three of them were civilians.
The media portrays Palestinians as the aggressors, the abusers of violence. Yet after looking at the numbers, one is left wondering: Who are the violent ones?
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Gaza Action in 30 Seconds
A co-worker directed me to this website as a way to act in response to Israel's military assault and blockade on Gaza. The site's format makes it easy send a statement to President Bush, President Elect Obama, and the Senators and Representative from your state. (The statement is pre-written, but editable, for anyone like me who always develops writer's block when writing to government officials.)
It is fast, simple, and advocacy. So, all you busy (and concerned) citizens, give it a whirl -- you have time to do this.
P.S. To readers outside the U.S. -- Apologies for being U.S. centric. If any of you know of a similar site for your respective countries, please let me know, and I will be happy to post them.
It is fast, simple, and advocacy. So, all you busy (and concerned) citizens, give it a whirl -- you have time to do this.
P.S. To readers outside the U.S. -- Apologies for being U.S. centric. If any of you know of a similar site for your respective countries, please let me know, and I will be happy to post them.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Christian Peacemaker Teams in Palestine Release Statement on War in Gaza
Christian Peacemaker Teams deplores the use of violence, stands with the oppressed, and supports all nonviolent efforts to build justice and peace. We believe God loves both Palestinians and Israelis and regards every person's death a tragedy. With this in mind
-We call on all armed groups to cease killing and traumatizing the children of God.
-We call on all armed groups to cease killing and traumatizing the children of God.
-We implore our governments to do more to end this massacre in Gaza, including demanding that Israel immediately remove its forces from Gaza and cease aerial bombardment.
-We ask our government representatives to insist that Israel conform to International law in its dealings with the Palestinians.
- We urge our governments and media outlets to press beyond surface explanations as to the cause of this recent conflict between Hamas and Israel and address the 'root' problems (i.e. the systemic oppression and domination of the Palestinian people).
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Report, "A Dangerous Journey: Settler violence against Palestinian schoolchildren under Israeli military escort"
CPTnet
15 October 2008
AT-TUWANI: Report, "A Dangerous Journey: Settler violence against Palestinian schoolchildren under Israeli military escort" by Christian Peacemaker Teams and Operation Dove now available
"The beginning was worse, but after today it seems harder than the beginning. The settlers are still beating our children." Mother of South Hebron Hills student after settlers stoned children on 27 July 2008 and inflicted head wound requiring hospitalization on CPTer accompanying them.
A new report by Christian Peacemaker Teams and Operation Dove about the Israeli military escort of Palestinian children to school in At-Tuwani during the 2007-2008 school year records a catalogue of violent settler attacks on the children and the Israeli military's complacent attitude regarding these attacks.
The military escort began in the fall of 2004, following attacks by settlers on the schoolchildren and internationals accompanying them on the public road that passes between Ma'on settlement and Hill 833 (Havat Ma'on) settler outpost. In November 2004, Israeli Knesset Committee for Children's Rights affirmed the initial verbal agreement for military accompaniment of the children between the At-Tuwani mayor and the Israeli District Coordinating Office (DCO), the section of the army that coordinates civilian affairs in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories.
The report "A Dangerous Journey: Settler violence against Palestinian schoolchildren under Israeli military escort" describes the daily journey of the children from the villages of Tuba and Maghaer al-Abeed to and from their school in At-Tuwani under Israeli military escort. It highlights how settler threats and violence during the journey undermine the children's safety and documents the Israeli military's violations of its legal obligations to ensure the children's safe passage and right to education.
A comparison of the data collected during the 2007-08 school year and the 2006-07 school year shows a constant level of settler violence against the schoolchildren for these two years. Data also confirm that in the 2007-2008 school year the tardiness of the army caused the children to miss 25.32 hours of classes, compared to 10.47 hours in the previous school year.
During the first two months of the 2008-2009 school year, the children made sixty-eight journeys to and from school. On fourteen of these sixty-eight occasions (21% of journeys) the children had to wait, either before or after school, for over half-an-hour for the Israeli military escort to arrive. On four of these occasions, the children had to wait for over an hour, and one morning had to wait for one hour and forty minutes for the escort to arrive.
The report concludes, "Nearly four years after the Israeli military's agreement to provide an escort, and the affirmation of this agreement by the Knesset Committee for Children's Rights, the situation of the children … has worsened. The children continue to be harassed and attacked by Israeli settlers … The Israeli military, which was given a mandate to ensure the safety of the children, has consistently failed to do so."
The report is available at:
http://cpt.org/files/Palestine-School-Accompaniment-Report-2006-2008-Dangerous-Journey.pdf
and contains maps of the region and of the routes the children take to school. It is illustrated with photos of the children, settlers, and significant locations the children pass on their journey to school.
15 October 2008
AT-TUWANI: Report, "A Dangerous Journey: Settler violence against Palestinian schoolchildren under Israeli military escort" by Christian Peacemaker Teams and Operation Dove now available
"The beginning was worse, but after today it seems harder than the beginning. The settlers are still beating our children." Mother of South Hebron Hills student after settlers stoned children on 27 July 2008 and inflicted head wound requiring hospitalization on CPTer accompanying them.
A new report by Christian Peacemaker Teams and Operation Dove about the Israeli military escort of Palestinian children to school in At-Tuwani during the 2007-2008 school year records a catalogue of violent settler attacks on the children and the Israeli military's complacent attitude regarding these attacks.
The military escort began in the fall of 2004, following attacks by settlers on the schoolchildren and internationals accompanying them on the public road that passes between Ma'on settlement and Hill 833 (Havat Ma'on) settler outpost. In November 2004, Israeli Knesset Committee for Children's Rights affirmed the initial verbal agreement for military accompaniment of the children between the At-Tuwani mayor and the Israeli District Coordinating Office (DCO), the section of the army that coordinates civilian affairs in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories.
The report "A Dangerous Journey: Settler violence against Palestinian schoolchildren under Israeli military escort" describes the daily journey of the children from the villages of Tuba and Maghaer al-Abeed to and from their school in At-Tuwani under Israeli military escort. It highlights how settler threats and violence during the journey undermine the children's safety and documents the Israeli military's violations of its legal obligations to ensure the children's safe passage and right to education.
A comparison of the data collected during the 2007-08 school year and the 2006-07 school year shows a constant level of settler violence against the schoolchildren for these two years. Data also confirm that in the 2007-2008 school year the tardiness of the army caused the children to miss 25.32 hours of classes, compared to 10.47 hours in the previous school year.
During the first two months of the 2008-2009 school year, the children made sixty-eight journeys to and from school. On fourteen of these sixty-eight occasions (21% of journeys) the children had to wait, either before or after school, for over half-an-hour for the Israeli military escort to arrive. On four of these occasions, the children had to wait for over an hour, and one morning had to wait for one hour and forty minutes for the escort to arrive.
The report concludes, "Nearly four years after the Israeli military's agreement to provide an escort, and the affirmation of this agreement by the Knesset Committee for Children's Rights, the situation of the children … has worsened. The children continue to be harassed and attacked by Israeli settlers … The Israeli military, which was given a mandate to ensure the safety of the children, has consistently failed to do so."
The report is available at:
http://cpt.org/files/Palestine-School-Accompaniment-Report-2006-2008-Dangerous-Journey.pdf
and contains maps of the region and of the routes the children take to school. It is illustrated with photos of the children, settlers, and significant locations the children pass on their journey to school.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
AT-TUWANI URGENT ACTION: Ask Israeli authorities why the Israeli military demolished homes in Um al Kher, South Hebron Hills
Please see the following Urgent Action, and respond: contact the authorities listed below. The demolition of Palestinian homes is inexcusable any time of the year, but at the beginning of the cold, rainy winter season is nothing other than a human rights abuse.
CPTnet
30 October 2008
AT-TUWANI URGENT ACTION: Ask Israeli authorities why the Israeli military demolished homes in Um al Kher, South Hebron Hills
[Note: According to the Geneva Conventions, the International Court of Justice in the Hague, and numerous United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts are considered illegal under Israeli law.]
At 9:10 a.m. on the morning of Wednesday 29 October 2008, the Israeli military demolished ten Palestinian dwellings in the South Hebron Hills village of Um al Kher, leaving around sixty people, including young children, homeless.
The military arrived without warning shortly after 9:00 a.m. Soldiers gave the villagers little time to remove their possessions before demolishing four stone homes and six metal dwellings with a bulldozer. Um al Kher is situated close to the Israeli settlement of Karmel and the demolished homes were those closest to the settlement.
Palestinians and internationals from At-Tuwani attempted to reach Um al Kher in order to prevent or at least witness the demolitions. The Israeli military stopped their vehicle on Route 317, and told them the area was a closed military zone. However, Israeli vehicles were allowed to travel freely in both directions.
By 11:00 a.m., the military finished its destruction of the homes. At 11:40 villagers rushed to move their possessions into the cover of their friends tented homes when a heavy downpour of rain began.
A villager told CPTers, "The children are not here, they were frightened and ran away." Another villager, a twenty-one-year-old woman with a social work degree told how relieved she was that her mother had been out with the goats when the soldiers came so she did not have to witness the demolition of their home. The young woman had complained to an Israeli military officer that a soldier threatened to hit her. The officer's response was, "If he went to hit you that's
nice. If he hit you, it's very nice."
A young mother, holding her baby as she sat outside a neighbour's tent, told CPTers, "My baby in rain. Where my baby sleep?"
Within an hour of the army's departure, assistance arrived in the form of CARE International, International Committee of the Red Cross and United Nations Works and Relief Agency (UNRWA). UNRWA will supply blankets and kitchen utensils. At present, the villagers know of no organization able to help them rebuild their homes.
ACTION
The Israeli military demolished these homes in violation of article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory. We urge you to write to the Israeli Embassy or Consulate in your home country, reminding the diplomatic staff of this fact, and demanding that the authorities answer the following questions:
· Why did the Israeli military demolish these homes?
· Why did the military choose to demolish them at the start of the winter rain season?
· Where will the young woman's baby and the other villagers sleep?
Contact information for embassies and consulates
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Sherut/IsraeliAbroad/Continents
Photos of the demolished homes can be viewed at
http://cpt.org/gallery/Israeli-military-demolish-Um-al-Kher-homes
Letter writers are encouraged to share these photos with the embassies/consulates they contact.
CPTnet
30 October 2008
AT-TUWANI URGENT ACTION: Ask Israeli authorities why the Israeli military demolished homes in Um al Kher, South Hebron Hills
[Note: According to the Geneva Conventions, the International Court of Justice in the Hague, and numerous United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts are considered illegal under Israeli law.]
At 9:10 a.m. on the morning of Wednesday 29 October 2008, the Israeli military demolished ten Palestinian dwellings in the South Hebron Hills village of Um al Kher, leaving around sixty people, including young children, homeless.
The military arrived without warning shortly after 9:00 a.m. Soldiers gave the villagers little time to remove their possessions before demolishing four stone homes and six metal dwellings with a bulldozer. Um al Kher is situated close to the Israeli settlement of Karmel and the demolished homes were those closest to the settlement.
Palestinians and internationals from At-Tuwani attempted to reach Um al Kher in order to prevent or at least witness the demolitions. The Israeli military stopped their vehicle on Route 317, and told them the area was a closed military zone. However, Israeli vehicles were allowed to travel freely in both directions.
By 11:00 a.m., the military finished its destruction of the homes. At 11:40 villagers rushed to move their possessions into the cover of their friends tented homes when a heavy downpour of rain began.
A villager told CPTers, "The children are not here, they were frightened and ran away." Another villager, a twenty-one-year-old woman with a social work degree told how relieved she was that her mother had been out with the goats when the soldiers came so she did not have to witness the demolition of their home. The young woman had complained to an Israeli military officer that a soldier threatened to hit her. The officer's response was, "If he went to hit you that's
nice. If he hit you, it's very nice."
A young mother, holding her baby as she sat outside a neighbour's tent, told CPTers, "My baby in rain. Where my baby sleep?"
Within an hour of the army's departure, assistance arrived in the form of CARE International, International Committee of the Red Cross and United Nations Works and Relief Agency (UNRWA). UNRWA will supply blankets and kitchen utensils. At present, the villagers know of no organization able to help them rebuild their homes.
ACTION
The Israeli military demolished these homes in violation of article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory. We urge you to write to the Israeli Embassy or Consulate in your home country, reminding the diplomatic staff of this fact, and demanding that the authorities answer the following questions:
· Why did the Israeli military demolish these homes?
· Why did the military choose to demolish them at the start of the winter rain season?
· Where will the young woman's baby and the other villagers sleep?
Contact information for embassies and consulates
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/
Photos of the demolished homes can be viewed at
http://cpt.org/gallery/
Letter writers are encouraged to share these photos with the embassies/consulates they contact.
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