The Apartheid Mindset: Israel's Demolitions and their Supporters

In an Orwellian twist, the state of Israel is suing the Bedouin village of al-Arakib for the cost of its demolition. Al-Arakib has been demolished 18 times in the past year - against, obviously, the wishes of its residents. The state of Israel is determined to remove the residents of al-Arakid as a part of it the Jewish National Fund's “Blueprint Negev.” That's right, Al-Arakib is located in the Negev desert, not the West Bank. It is not located in the Palestinian territories, but inside Israel itself.

Al-Arakib is one of 45 "unrecognized villages" who are struggling for their most basic legal rights. Since 1948, the state of Israel has refused to acknowledge the existence of these communities. Unrecognized villages do not receive the services that the state provides to recognized the rest of its citizens, like garbage and sewage services, electricity, roads and schools. They are Israeli citizens - technically.

The ongoing struggle of the unrecognized villages is one of the clearest examples of how Israel is than a military occupier but an apartheid state. The ethnic cleansing of Al-Arakib also gives us a potent look into the apartheid mindset.

The Jewish National Fund describes the Blueprint Negev as a "far-reaching and visionary plan to increase the area’s population and improve living conditions for all of its inhabitants." According to JNF, "The needs of the Bedouin community and the changes that must come about are one of the original pillars of Blueprint Negev." On their website, JNF describes the Bedouin community by through the following statistics: "The unemployment rate for Bedouin is 90%. The rate of birth among the Bedouin community is extremely high -- 6.5% -- the highest in the world -- continuing the cycle of poverty. School through age 16 is mandatory by law, but 90% of the population does not receive a high school education. Only 10% of the girls go to any school at all. Communities have high crime rate and substance abuse rates. Few social activities or venues exist for the children." The JNF neglects mention that the Israeli government has created these conditions. Without that context, these statistics reinforce racist stereotypes of Bedouin people, painting them as rootless, degenerate people who should be displaced for their own good.

The same logic justifies charging Al-Arakib village for its demolition: clearly, those people should just have the sense to stop interfering with what's best for them.

This apartheid mindset is also behind a comment an anonymous poster made to my blog a week ago about the Caterpillar bulldozers used by the Israeli army to demolish homes:

What a wonderful tool and such a great opportunity exists for it's use. I think there should be ten D 9's or D 10's placed outside the Al Aqsa mosque fuel in them keys in the ignition with drivers standing by. The word should go out that at the very next provocation of any terrorist act by the Arab population in Israel, Gaza or Judea / Samaria that by these acts and caused by their hands the machines will be driven forward and level the mosques from the face of this earth. The population can of course decide to behave itself if they don't want this to happen. I think these wonderful machines can convince the Arab population to behave themselves in an appropriate manner. Of course if need be I suppose the entire area of Gaza can be turned into a parking lot in a matter of hours if a few more of these machines could be acquired - yet another good idea if the idiots inside the fence keep lobbing missiles at women and children in Israel. These are great machines and they could be put to such practical use too.

Behind this hateful comment, behind the JNF's Blueprint Negev, and behind Israel's absurd suit against Al-Arakib lays a single attitude: Arabs, Palestinians and Bedouin, are less than fully human. They deserve to be coerced and displaced because Israel knows what's best for them. This is the apartheid mindset. It ought to make all of us, but especially ethical Israelis, very nervous.

Activists Target Chicago's Support for Torture with Comical PSA "Chicago and Petach Tikva: Never Better Sisters!"

On February 2nd, activists with the Chicago-based Palestine Solidarity Group released a fake public service announcement exposing Chicago's continuing support for torture through its sister city relationship with Petach Tikva, Israel. The video was produced after a police board ruled that former police Chief Burge will still receive his monthly $3000 pension, despite serving currently serving a four and a half year sentence for lying about the torture of over one hundred Chicagoans. The video draws a connection between the Chicago Police Department's support for Burge and the recent imprisonment of Palestinian activist Ameer Makhoul. On January 30th, Makhoul was sentenced to nine years based on a confession obtained while Makhoul was imprisioned in Chicago's sister city Petach Tikva. Makhoul has insisted that his confession was false and the result of the torture he endured in Petach Tikva. This video is a part of the Palestine Solidarity Group's ongoing Drop Petach Tikva campaign which aims to pressure the Chicago Sister Cities program to end it's relationship with Petach Tikva.

"It’s clear why Chicago and Petach Tikva are sister cities. Both feature great views, beautiful weather, and unbelievable human rights records," says an announcer on the video. "Here in the Windy City, former police Chief Jon Burge was convicted for lying about using torture to elicit false confessions from over 100 Chicagoans. But don’t worry, Chicago, even from his jail cell, Burge will still receive his pension! Meanwhile, Petach Tikva is the proud home of one of Israel’s largest prisons. In this jail, prisoners are routinely tortured, like Palestinian activist Ameer Makhoul."

The Drop Petach Tikva campaign is a project of the Palestine Solidarity Group and the Chicago International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network. On July 20, 2010, the Board of the Sister Cities Program wrote the campaign saying, “Ending a partnership with a city in the Chicago Sister Cities International family because of its history is contrary to the spirit both of Sister Cities International and our own program.” In letters sent to all of the Board members on January 4, 2011, PSG and IJAN responded saying, “… our request is not driven by historical maltreatment or wrongs; rather, our call to end ties is premised upon ongoing human rights violations in Petach Tikva, Israel.” To date, the Chicago Sister Cities Program Board has refused to even meet with PSG and IJAN to discuss the evidence that a relationship with Petach Tikva violates the principles of the Sister Cities International Program.

Chicago Sister Cities Wins an Academy Award! (Video)




Watch the Awards Ceremony for the Arts and Sciences of Military Occupation an awards show to acknowledge the most brutal regimes and egregious violators of human rights. This world has a long history of stolen land and resources, but these awards go to some very special nominees who have truly outdone themselves. This is part of the ongoing campaign to Drop Petach Tikva, Israel's Guantanamo, from the Chicago Sister Cities Program. Sponsored by the Palestine Solidarity Group - Chicago (www.psgchicago.org) and the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (www.ijsn.net/C93/).

Please, share this video! This is an important part of our local BDS campaign!

Good News: Thanks your help, I'm $500 closer to finishing the graphic novel!

Remember that essay contest? Well, thanks to your votes and help, I won! I'm a little beside myself right now, honestly. Having the cash prize of $500 puts me a little bit closer to funding all of the expenses of my graphic novel and I couldn't be happier about that.

So, thank you!

Seeking Earlham College Alumni

Are you an Earlham College graduate? Well, geez! So am I. Are you interested in working on Palestine-related campus issues? Why, me too! If you're interested in doing some organizing, please leave me a comment here. I would love to get in touch, tell you more about the campaign I'm working on, and start working together.

Thanks!
Joy

PS: There's only one more day to vote for my essay in the MLK day essay contest. I'm number five: http://www.adaction.org/pages/posts/vote-in-our-what-would-martin-do-contest560.php

A much overdo update and an MLK-day request for help: Please vote!

Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? I've been busy, friends. Besides the Women's Cooperative Tour which you've already heard about, I've been working on a graphic novel about At-Tuwani. (I hope you've already heard about that too.) The novel when it's finished will be about 300 pages long and describe At-Tuwani's struggle against settler violence and military occupation. Actually, it will be a lot like the comic version of this blog. As you can imagine, a project like this has keeps a writer pretty busy.

But, there's something else that I've been working on. I've entered a Martin Luther King Jr. Essay contest. I just learned that I'm a semi-finalist, but need your votes to win. Here's the link: www.adaction.org/pages/posts/vote-in-our-what-would-martin-do-contest560.php I'm essay number five (that's important) and votes are counted until Monday. The winner is decided exclusively by voting, so I really need your help. Vote, and equally important, please share this if you can.

The money, if I win, will go towards research expenses associated with the graphic novel I'm writing about Tuwani. So please, vote and share this with your friends!

Below is the essay that I wrote. I hope you enjoy! And thanks.

Beyond Iraq: Martin and the Revolution of Values

If Martin Luther King, Jr. could visit our country this January, he would see a nation much changed and yet the same. Imagine King catching a bus in downtown Montgomery. Perhaps he would select a seat in the front, next to someone tired from a long day's work for little pay. Through the bus window, he might see dilapidated schools and foreclosed homes. If he were to open up a newspaper, he would read of another war with no end in sight. If King returned to this country of sweet promise and bitter disappointment, he would once again take up the struggle of the poor. King would organize against the interlocking evils of racism, militarism, and poverty. And he would invite us to join him.

In the 43 years since King's death, we have not fulfilled his dream of equality. Poverty is rising. Health care is out of reach for too many Americans while our military budget grows. Ours is a political landscape that King understood all too well.

In his speech Beyond Vietnam, King decried the way the war on poverty was abandoned for the war on communism. Today we still choose fighter jets over unemployment benefits. The soldiers who fight and die in our army are still overwhelming our nation's poor. If he were here today, King would say again, “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”

King cried out for the poor of Vietnam recounting American's role in their history. “We have destroyed their two most cherished institutions: the family and the village,” he said. “We have supported the enemies of the peasants of Saigon.” Today, King would similarly mourn the poor people killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. He would point out that we once supported the Taliban, the mujaheddin, and Saddam Hussein – over the protests of Iraqis and Afghanis. We remain the enemy of the poor in Iraq and Afghanistan and everywhere our government supports the rights of corporations over the rights of poor people.

King wrote, “I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values...When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.” But that world revolution is still alive today and brings hope even to our country.

In Iraq, Afghanistan, America, and around the world, millions of poor people are building a nonviolent movement for a peaceful, just future. We should not need to Dr. King to entreat us to join the right side of the world revolution. The poor are calling us to join them. Just as King heeded their call, may we see their cause as ours.

Thanks to your support, the At-Tuwani Women's Cooperative tour was a tremendous success! Over 7 days, Keifah and her husband spoke with approximately 600 people in seven cities and raised over 1,000 euros for the Women's Cooperative. Keifah also built connections with members of the Italian peace organization Pax Cristi and several women's organizations. We are excited to see what new opportunities these relationships bring to At-Tuwani.

Keifah spoke about the development of the At-Tuwani women's cooperative and its work to support women and children and resist the Israeli military occupation of Palestine. She described how the women's cooperative started with 7 women and faced the objections of men in the village. Now, the women's cooperative has 38 members and supports women's education and organizes a summer camp. "We want our children to know that life isn't just filled with violence, that there are good things in life too." Keifah also spoke about how women were able to build the clinic in the day time and face down the Israeli military in the village's struggle to get electricity. She also invited people to become involved in their work - to work together for a world free from oppression.

Keifah's husband spoke about his experiences as a prisoner inside Israeli jails. He spoke about how easily Palestinians can be arrested for nothing more than grazing their sheep and his experience of violence in jail. Nasser also echoed Keifah's call to work for peace. He spoke about how the prophets of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all had the same message of peace. It was extremely moving to listen to Keifah and her husband's stories of resistance and hope.

We want to thank every who made this tour trip possible!

Chicago Sister City Campaign Update:

Now Showing: Israeli Apartheid
Coming Soon: A Free Palestine

Last Thursday, members of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network and the Palestine Solidarity Group demonstrated at the opening of the Reel Real Israel film festival, a project of the Chicago Sister City program. We are continuing to pressure the city of Chicago to end it's relationship with Petak Tikva, an Israeli city known as Israel's Guantanamo. Petak Tikva is home to an Israeli detention center where Palestinians, like activist Ameer Makhoul, are detained and tortured. Our community doesn't want to support human rights abuses, like torture, so we say no to Petak Tikva. Thursday's demonstration was colorful and lively, complete with a mock academy awards ceremony in which we award the Chicago Sister Cities program a "best supporting actor" award for its support of Israel. Sam published a great report about the demonstration on his blog. Stay tuned here for how you can support the campaign.

Rachel Corrie in Wonderland: The Identity of Rachel Corrie's Killer kept Secret by Israeli Court

In Haifa, we have all fallen down the rabbit hole and into the Israeli legal system. Last Tuesday, the driver of the bulldozer who crushed Rachel Corrie testified in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the Corrie family. The former soldier has already been cleared of wrongdoing in an internal army investigation. This trial is last hope for the Corrie family to find justice for their daughter. It is one final opportunity for the Corries to hold the Israeli government responsible for what it has done and continues to do to unarmed civilians.

The driver gave this testimony from a screen designed to protect his identity. Cindy Corrie, Rachel's mother, said, “We were disappointed not to see the whole human being. It is a personal affront that the state’s attorneys and Israeli government, on the basis of security, chose to keep our family from seeing the witness.”

In this testimony, the driver of the bulldozer was unable to remember the facts of the case, like the date of Rachel's killing or the time of day when it took place. He seemed to struggle to read and understand his own affidavit and repeatedly contradicted his own statements. He couldn't even remember Rachel's name.

Curiouser and curiouser.

A couple of days after the testimony, my friend Amy and I attended a production of the controversial play “My Name is Rachel Corrie” organized by the DePaul University Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. Through the words Rachel's own journal entries, letters, and articles, this play reveals the motivations, fears, joys and vivid imagination of Rachel as she traveled to Gaza to stand in solidarity with Palestinians. The play is a little short, in the opinion of this activist, on the voices of Rachel's Palestinian colleagues. But it is a truly beautiful inquiry into the question of how one can lead a life mindful of the connections between all people. Over and over, Rachel asks herself how she, as a white, middle class, American, can live ethically in a world of such tremendous power imbalances. Here is one of my favorite lines in the play:

We are all born and someday we’ll all die. Most likely to some degree alone.What if our aloneness isn’t a tragedy? What if our aloneness is what allows us to speak the truth without being afraid? What if our aloneness is what allows us to adventure – to experience the world as a dynamic presence – as a changeable, interactive thing?

If I lived in Bosnia or Rwanda or who knows where else, needless death wouldn’t be a distant symbol to me, it wouldn’t be a metaphor, it would be a reality.

And I have no right to this metaphor. But I use it to console myself. To give a fraction of meaning to something enormous and needless.

This realization. This realization that I will live my life in this world where I have privileges.

I can’t cool boiling waters in Russia. I can’t be Picasso. I can’t be Jesus. I can’t save the planet single-handedly.

I can wash dishes.

Just as Rachel comes up with no easy answer, I can bring this essay to no real conclusion. Testimony in the Corrie's lawsuit continues. Meanwhile, an Israeli court sentenced Palestinian activist Adeeb Abu Rahmah to 18 months imprisonment for demonstrating against the wall in Bil'in. In Tuwani, settlers continue to attack Palestinians. And me? Honestly? I just miss my friends in Tuwani. I cried throughout the play, not because of any of Rachel's words, but just because I missed them. But here are a few more words for Rachel Corrie. As we linger, waiting on the Israeli court system to let the Corrie family out of Wonderland, may they be comforting.

We should be inspired by people... who show that human beings can be kind, brave, generous, beautiful, strong-even in the most difficult circumstances.

Activism and the Social Media Revolution: What does it mean for us?

The evangelists of social media don’t understand this distinction; they seem to believe that a Facebook friend is the same as a real friend and that signing up for a donor registry in Silicon Valley today is activism in the same sense as sitting at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro in 1960. “Social networks are particularly effective at increasing motivation,” Aaker and Smith write. But that’s not true. Social networks are effective at increasing participation—by lessening the level of motivation that participation requires.

The New Yorker has published an article called "Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not be Tweeted" and it has me thinking about social-media based activism. I strongly recommend reading this article - it's the first article about social-media based activism I've read that actually understands the dynamics of social change, namely that meaningful social change is strategic and high risk. In other words, social change requires exactly what social networking, by nature, cannot provide. I don't agree with everything this article says, but it has me thinking. Social networking is a tool and I think it's easy to lose sight of what that tool does well.

This Columbus Day, Reconsider Our Nakba



This Monday is Columbus Day. I want to join the voices in the above video and ask you to reconsider how you think of Columbus and the history of the Western hemisphere. Even though our history books take great pains to cover it up, the arrival of Columbus in the so-called "New World" was certain the beginning of a catastrophe for the indigenous people. In Arabic the word for catastrophe is nakba and it is what Palestinian call the events that lead to the founding of the state of Israel.

During the nakba, approximately 725,000 Palestinians fled or were forcibly expelled from their homes. Many Palestinians were afraid of being attacked by Israelis. They left their homes, often clutching their keys and expecting to return home soon. Others were forced out of their homes at gun point. The result? The ethnic cleansing of most of Palestine. Today, many refugees still waiting in over-crowded, under-served camps outside of the land Israel claimed. This history, much like the history of Columbus' crimes, has been denied by Israelis.

Funny, it's often far easier for USAers to recognize the horror the Palestinian nakba than the admit to the history of our country. In his book A People's History of the United States, historian Howard Zinn quotes Columbus' own account of meeting the Arawak people, the first indigenous people he encountered.

They ... brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks' bells. They willingly traded everything they owned... . They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features.... They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane... . They would make fine servants.... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.

And subjugate the Arawaks he did. Columbus enslaved the people he met, exploited their land, and showed little regard for anything but gold and power. By 1650, no Arawaks remained. Through disease, mutilation, suicide, and murder, they all died. While Israelis committed ethnic cleaning against Palestinian, Columbus began a process of genocide.

I know Palestinians who survived the nabak. I've sat in refugee campus, ate with Palestinians who expect to die before they are able to see the homes they left, hung out with friends of mine who now live in the United States, but can still name the village their parents were driven from. The nabka, no matter how it is denied, is real for them. What happened in 1948 hasn't ended. The same is true for my Native friends. They are the decedents of the people who survive the process of colonization that Columbus started. This process hasn't ended. It impacts their lives today.

Both the nakba and the catastrophe that began with Columbus are denied by the people who benefit from them. I hope that by looking at the parallels between the situation in Palestine and the situation in US - and they are parallels only - I can chip away some of this denial. Still, I know that this blog post may not change anyone's mind. But I just have this to say - denial doesn't erase the past. What we refuse to acknowledge is no less real. Whatever history we will not face, the present is same: the indigenous people of the Western Hemisphere and of Palestine need justice and they need it now. We all do.

ANTI-WAR ACTIVISTS: “WE HAVE NOTHING TO SAY TO A GRAND JURY”

(Press Release from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression)

Chicago, October 5^th, 2010, five anti-war and international solidarity activists from Chicago and Minneapolis announced they are invoking their 5^th amendment right to not testify in front of a Grand Jury investigation. Stephanie Weiner, one of those raided and subpoenaed spoke to 150 supporters at a press conference outside the Dirksen Federal Building in downtown Chicago, “This is an attack on the anti-war movement, but the strong response of our movement, where more than 61 protests in cities across the country, makes it absolutely clear that this is about more than just 14 activists in the Midwest. It is an attempt to limit the voice of anti-war, peace, and international solidarity activists.”

The five signed letters to Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Fox. They informed him of their decision to invoke their 5^th amendment rights to not testify. One of those subpoenaed to appear today, Meredith Aby of the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee, said, “Our opposition to U.S. war and occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq, our scathing criticism of U.S. government support for repressive regimes and death squads in Colombia and Israel is well known and public. This attempt to criminalize the fourteen of us in the anti-war movement must be stopped. The Grand Jury should be ended. There should be no charges.”

Joe Iosbaker stated, “We have nothing to say to a Grand Jury. Most people do not understand how secretive and undemocratic the Grand Jury is. I am not allowed to have my lawyer with me. There isn’t even a judge. How strange is that? It is the U.S. prosecutor with 23 people they hand picked to pretty much rubber stamp whatever the prosecutor says. A person is defenseless in that situation.”

Jim Fennerty an attorney working to defend the activists said, “Assistant U.S. Attorney Fox is cancelling the subpoenas for the five due to appear today. This does not put an end to the Grand Jury investigation however. Fox can reissue subpoenas for new dates or decide to arrest the activists and charge them with crimes.”

Activists organized a successful National Call In Day yesterday, with thousands phoning to demand that President Obama and U.S. Attorney General Holder publicly call off the Grand Jury investigation.

For more information www.stopfbi.net

Updates from "I Saw it in Palestine": Grand Jury Investigations, Graphic Novels, Speaking Tours

Well, I don't know about all of you, but I'm tired. Things have been busy in my life. Here's a little run down of the most important things going on.

1. Midwest Anti-War Activists Refuse to Testify to Grand Jury I'll keep you updated as the story unfolds

2. The first draft of the script for my graphic novel about At-Tuwani is nearly finished. I've got four more comic strips to write and then it will be time to start designing the panels and pulling the script together. I'm giving myself four more days to work on the script and then I will be moving on in the process because momentum is a powerful force. It's very exciting!

3. We're still fund-raising for the 2010 Tuwani Women's Coop Speaking Tour. I'll be honest, we're still a long way from reaching our goal. We need your help. Can you take a moment to spread the word about the project? Send out an email, post it to your blog, tell your wealthy friends (I'm still trying to make some wealthy friends...), do something. And if you can, leave a comment and tell me about it. To all of you who have already donated, thank you! All of the information that you need to donate or share the project is right here: http://tinyurl.com/donate4TuwaniWomensTour

Press Release: Vancouver activists gather to protest FBI raids on anti-war activists in the Midwest

Here's a shout out to my home town and the awesome activists there. Thanks, everybody!

(Vancouver, October 1, 2010) On Friday October 1 at 4:15 pm until 5:30 pm Vancouver peace and justice activists will gather with banners on the Evergreen Blvd I-5 overpass to protest the FBI home raids and other investigations of anti-war activists in the Midwest one week ago.

Vancouver for Peace and other Vancouver residents will be protesting in solidarity with the anti-war and international activists whose homes were recently raided by the FBI. On Friday, September 24, 2010 the FBI raided seven houses and an office in Chicago and Minneapolis in an attempt to collect evidence of 'material support' of terrorism. The FBI also handed subpoenas to testify before a federal grand jury to eleven activists in Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan. The FBI emphasized that no arrests are expected. However, a spokesperson for the FBI added that ”they were seeking evidence related to ongoing Joint Terrorism Task force investigation," according to the New York Times.

Vancouver peace and justice activists believe the Federal Bureau of Investigation raids threaten the First Amendment and suppress civil liberties. These local activists believe FBI spying on humanitarian advocates and harassing anti-war and solidarity activists should be denounced.

“These raids were aimed at those who dedicate their time and energy to protest U.S. wars of choice and to support the struggles of the Palestinian and Colombian peoples against U.S. funding of military and security forces that violate their human rights, “ said Mike Ellison of Vancouver for Peace. “The systematic and simultaneous raids by FBI officials in multiple locations is alarming and appears to indicate an attempt to stifle and silence the political speech of people of conscience through fear tactics. We stand with our fellow activists in the Midwest and call on the Department of Justice and the FBI to return people’s property and stop this grand jury investigation.”