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Press Release
The Ethnic Cleansing of Hebron
Date: 6.December.2008
For the third day running, Israel's colonizing settlers have been rampaging through the town of El Khalil (Hebron), killing people, setting fire to houses and property, smashing windows and cars. They are being aided and protected by brutal Israeli soldiers who participate in this orgy of rampaging reminiscent of Nazi Germany and Apartheid South Africa.
The settlers, driven by racist, Zionist ideology and blind hatred, have been indoctrinated and mobilized by ultra-Zionist and fundamentalist religious leaders to depopulate this Palestinian city and ethnically-cleanse it in broad day light amidst an international conspiracy of silence, apathy of Europe, and collusion of the Bush administration.
This brutality exercised by fundamentalist settlers falls on deaf ears and tight-lipped mouths. The UN Security Council, once again, has failed the Palestinian people. What is happening in Hebron should not be tolerated in any possible way. Exactly like what the current president of the UN General Assembly, Father Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, said: "What is being done to the Palestinian people seems to me to be a version of the hideous policy of apartheid." He went on to call on the world to adopt a BDS campaign against Israel.
This is the same regime that has been imposing a hermetic, suffocating blockade on Gaza, dehumanizing its people as the world watches and stands idly by.
We, therefore, call upon all freedom loving people to condemn Israel's policy of ethnic cleansing in Hebron, and genocide in Gaza.
The One Democratic State Group
onedemocraticstategroup@gmail.com
Here's what Avi Issacharoff wrote in Haaretz www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1043795.html
Please go and watch the video on Haaretz I could not embed it here.
| ANALYSIS / Hebron settler riots were out and out pogroms | |||
 | |||
| By Avi Issacharoff | |||
| |||
Tags: Hebron, settlers, Israel News  | |||
An innocent Palestinian family, numbering close to 20 people. All of them women and children, save for three men. Surrounding them are a few dozen masked Jews seeking to lynch them. A pogrom. This isn't a play on words or a double meaning. It is a pogrom in the worst sense of the word. First the masked men set fire to their laundry in the front yard and then they tried to set fire to one of the rooms in the house. The women cry for help, "Allahu Akhbar." Yet the neighbors are too scared to approach the house, frightened of the security guards from Kiryat Arba who have sealed off the home and who are cursing the journalists who wish to document the events unfolding there. The cries rain down, much like the hail of stones the masked men hurled at the Abu Sa'afan family in the house. A few seconds tick by before a group of journalists, long accustomed to witnessing these difficult moments, decide not to stand on the sidelines. They break into the home and save the lives of the people inside. The brain requires a minute or two to digest what is taking place. Women and children crying bitterly, their faces giving off an expression of horror, sensing their imminent deaths, begging the journalists to save their lives. Stones land on the roof of the home, the windows and the doors. Flames engulf the southern entrance to the home. The front yard is littered with stones thrown by the masked men. The windows are shattered and the children are frightened. All around, as if they were watching a rock concert, are hundreds of Jewish witnesses, observing the events with great interest, even offering suggestions to the Jewish wayward youth as to the most e
Ten minutes prior, while the security forces were preoccupied with dispersing the rioters near the House of Contention, black smoke billowed from the wadi separating Kiryat Arba and Hebron. For some reason, none of the senior officers of the police or the army were particularly disturbed by what was transpiring at the foot of Kiryat Arba. Anyone standing hundreds of meters away could notice the dozens of rioters climbing atop the roof of the Abu Sa'afan family home, hurling stones. Only moments later did it become apparent that there were people inside the home. I quickly descend to the wadi and accost three soldiers. "What do you want from me? The three of us are responsible for the entire sector here," one said, his hand gesturing towards the entire wadi. "Use your radio to request help," I said. He replies that he is not equipped with a radio. A group of journalists approach the house. A dilemma. What to do? There are no security forces in the vicinity and now the Jewish troublemakers decided to put the journalists in their crosshairs. We call for the security guards from Kiryat Arba to intervene and put a halt to the lynch. But they surround the home to prevent the arrival of "Palestinian aid." The home is destroyed and the fear is palpable on the faces of the children. One of the women, Jihad, is sprawled on the floor, half-unconscious. The son, who is gripping a large stick, prepares for the moment he will be forced to face the rioters. Tahana, one of the daughters, refuses to calm down. "Look at what they did to the house, look." Tess, the photographer, bursts into tears as the events unfold around her. The tears do not stem from fear. It is shame, shame at the sight of these occurrences, the deeds of youths who call themselves Jews. Shame that we share the same religion. At 5:05 P.M., a little over an hour after the incident commenced, a unit belonging to the Yassam special police forces arrives to disperse the crowd of masked men. The family members refuse to calm down. Leaving the home, one can hear a settler yell at a police officer: "Nazis, shame on you." Indeed. Shame on you. | |||
KliX says:
The journalist should not be ashamed of her religion. The fault is not in her religion. It in this mad ideology of Zeonism pretending to speak in the name of all Jewish.
Aref Nammari (goplayer) replies:
Midwesternstock ©pro replies:
Дон Андре says:
I think, only love can help to disspell the hatred
Aref Nammari (goplayer) replies:
1- Upon its creation Israel pledged to abide by the UN charter and human rights. Since then it has never missed an opprtunity to throw both on the way-side. The UN needs to either impose sanctions on Israel and force it to abide by international law or throw it out of the UN. The UN is incapable of taking this step because of US veto. The EU can impose sanctions on their own: stop diplomatic support impose a boycot like what happened in South Africa for example. If the governments are unwilling to do so then civil society and its various organizations need to impose their own sanctions, boycotts, and divestment--again like what was done to Apartheid south Africa.
2-As for Palestinian attacks, the problem here is that you imply equivalence between a people under occupation and an occupier. There is no equivalence. International law gives an occupied people the right to defend themselves and to fight the occupation using armed resistance. Having said that I do not personally support suicide bombings and I do not justify attacking civilians in any way shape or form. I think those methods are morally abhorant. However, people in a desperate situation use desperate means and use any means available they think might inflict a little pain on those whom they see as responsible for their desperate, hopeless and painful reality. I am not saying this to justify anything but to point a way to end this situation. Israel is the strongest military power in the region. AK47 and homemade rockets are not going to defeat Israel. In a situation where people have a future to look forwar to and a better tomorrow they are much less likely to put that in jeopardy and therefore would be less likely to support groups which call for such action.
Israel should withdraw from all of the occupied territories and evacuate all of the settlements--all settlements are illegal under international law. Israel should engage in negotiations with the Palestinians to initially form a conferderation between the two entities as a step to lead to a unification as a single democratic and secualr state. This needs to receive the backing by action--not words--from the EU and the US. More importantly all support to Israel must stop until such thing can happen. Are you willing to walk with me in demanding this and working on it?
Дон Андре replies:
There's been a US president to walk with palestines and israel and work out a solution and what did he achieve? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Do you think anybody has interest to touch the hot iron?
And from your point, I'm not intersted to hear what Israel should do. I'd be more interested to hear what Palestinia should do. You can't make Israel do anything and the EU, the US they're not interested to tell anybody what to do (that's not in their own best interest). You can only make Palestinia do something. So what would that be?
KliX replies:
So, you think that it is better for Aref to shut up and not try to disclose what is being done there? I do not know what progress can take place by shutting up. you'd rather read Desmund Tutu's statement in the next posting in this blog!
Дон Андре replies:
Aref Nammari (goplayer) replies:
You are right, no body is interested in touching the hot iron because they are chicken shit. They are afraid of being called anti-Semites. Get over your guilt trip and take the side of justice or at the very least tell your government to fucking leave us ALONE. We don't need your charity, we don't need your help, we want you simply to stop your blind support for injustice.
I have a proposal for you, maybe you would agree to give the Palestinians a part of your country, I don't want to be greedy say 52% (the size given by the UN to the "Jewish State" in the 1947 partition plan) evacuated from the people who live there now so that the Palestinians can establish their own country and this way Israel can live in peace and the conflict will end. What do you think? does this sound like a plan? I think it is a pretty good one, don't you? Have a merry Christmas.
Aref Nammari (goplayer) edited this comment 12 months ago.
Дон Андре replies:
I see that you're telling me a lot of things, but nothing that I could actually do. So I shall formulate a letter like this: "Dear Mr./Mrs. !? of my government: We must get over our guilt trip! Leave the Palestinians alone! They don't need our charity or help. We must stop our support for injustice though!"
Does anybody have an idea of what to do really or is it all just empty sentences with a strong tone!?
The story is pretty sad. Can you maybe get in touch with these people and give them a little comfort? I can imagine to send them a little help, not much, but if it helps... 10-15 Euros, is that something?
Aref Nammari (goplayer) replies:
Like I said people don't need charity, they are poor and helpless because they are subject to a brutal occupation. That is what needs to change. That is what we need to get rid of. Immediately, monetary help can provide basic necessities to some desperate people and it is much appreciated. However, we need to work for the goal of ending the occupation and one way of doing this is by boycotting Israel at all level and demand the imposition of sanctions on it. Yes it will be an uphill battle and it won't be easy and won't happen immediately but as the saying goes, the longest journey starts with one little step. I am sorry I got upset and a little angry. My apologies. I tend to get very frustrated when people tell me that there is nothing that they can do and are helpless to confront those who have the power. That is what those in power want us to believe so that they can continue doing what they do. One person does not have much power at all but in numbers we can overcome the most powerful. Slavery in US, Apartheid in SA, dictatorships and despots, etc...all ended and fell because many people decided and acted to put an end to them. Tens or hundreds of thousands of letters to elected officials will have an effect. Maybe that is what we need to do: a letter writing campaign. When there is a will to do something then we can actually find things to do which maybe effective. We must have the will to speak out and stand up for justice and human rights.
I suppose I am not in a position to tell you what you should do. You can think and decide what course of action you think might help and is effective or that you feel comfortable with. I can suggest things like I did--boycott, letter writing, educating others, convincing organizations to take a stand, etc...But in the end it is you who will have to decide.
What I am trying to do in this blog is to shed some light as to what is going on because at least here in the US none of this is available in the mainstream corporate media. I think that when people realize what is going on they might get outraged and are spurred into action.
Along with other Palestinians I am campaigning for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. I am also engaged in a campaign to convince other Palestinians to adopt the concept of a binational state in Palestine and engage in a non-violent struggle for equal rights--similar to the civil rights movement in the US.
The Palestinians under the occupation have very limited options. Non-violent resistance, despite what many believe, is alive and well and is practiced everyday. Because of the media black-out and thirst for sensationalism and blood as well as a strong bias all we hear about is the violence attributed only to the Palestinians while all Israeli actions are described as "defensive". One worthwhile action is educating others through letters to the editor, meeting with newspaper editors--I have such a meeting on Monday--to ask them (and put pressure on them) to have a more balanced coverage and more context to their stories.
PS. I did not know you played GO. What rank do you play at? I am at about 8kyu by the American Go Association ratings. Do you play online?
Aref Nammari (goplayer) edited this comment 12 months ago.