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Friday, June 30, 2006


News for 06-29-06

06-29-06 - Israeli aircraft hit Palestinian ministry


06-29-06 - Israel strikes hit Gaza targets


06-29-06 - Anxious Palestinians flee Israeli incursion


06-29-06 - Israel justifies Hamas detentions Israel has denied Palestinian cabinet ministers detained in the West Bank are to be used as bargaining chips to release a captured Israeli soldier. See the next story by The Jerusalem Post.


06-29-06 - IDF: Hamas detainees could go free if Shalit is released Israel will consider releasing the 64 Hamas activists it rounded up early Thursday morning if IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit is freed, OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh said Thursday. See related story at BBC.


06-29-06 - Christian Aid condemns attacks on Gaza "The message to the civilian population of Gaza could not be clearer ­ collective punishment is part of Israel's military strategy. All of these press releases and warnings don't mean a thing. For if the message doesn't reach the masses of Americans, then Israel can continue to do what it wants. They know it. And that's why pro-Israeli media 'watchdogs' and lobbies make sure Americans never get one whiff of the truth.


06-29-06 - Soldiers confiscate Palestinian lands for settlement fence in Hebron


06-29-06 - Israel/Palestine - Occupied territories: collective punishments, destruction of property and taking of hostages are war crimes under international law The ICJ is extremely concerned by the destruction of infrastructure and collective punishments carried out by Israel in the Gaza Strip, and by the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier last Sunday by Palestinian armed groups. Such acts can amount to war crimes for which individuals can be held criminally responsible. The ICJ calls on both parties to respect basic principles of international humanitarian law and reminds all States Parties to the Geneva Conventions of their legal obligation to ensure respect for the Conventions.


06-29-06 - Hamas willing to release Israeli soldier: Mubarak


06-29-06 - Army levels four houses and bulldozes scores of dunams of farming lands in Rafah The Israeli army bulldozers and tanks leveled four houses and bulldozed scores of dunams of farming lands in Al Shoka area in Rafah city, in the southeastern part of the Gaza strip, Thursday.


06-29-06 - Gaza power plant hit by Israeli airstrike is insured by US agency The Palestinian power plant bombed by Israeli forces Tuesday is insured by a US government agency, and US officials say they expect American funds to be used to pay for the damage.


06-29-06 - Official: Gaza near humanitarian crisis Hundreds of thousands of civilians in the Gaza Strip are on the brink of a humanitarian crisis after Israel bombed the area's only power plant in response to the kidnapping of one if its soldiers, the top U.N. humanitarian official saidWe are appalled by seeing how they're playing with the future of defenseless civilians, including children." Thursday.....


06-29-06 - Syria backs Hamas despite renewed Israeli threat


06-29-06 - G8 calls for Israeli restraint in Gaza


06-29-06 - Arab anger flares at Israeli incursion An aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said both Abbas and Egyptian officials called Syrian President Bashar Assad to ask him to persuade Mashaal to order the soldier's release.


06-29-06 - Palestinian police re-seal hole in wall


06-29-06 - U.S. Muslims Condemn Kidnapping of Palestinian Officials; CAIR Urges International Community to Repudiate Israeli 'State Terror'


06-29-06 - Syria vows to defend itself after Israeli overflight


06-29-06 - Arabs back Syria after Israeli flyover


06-29-06 - Nobody Speaks for Palestinian Christians except Palestinian Christians Palestinian Christians began fleeing or were forced to flee the Holy Land during the 1948 War establishing Israel. The same has occurred for Palestinian Muslims, and this mutual suffering will forever bond them to each other


06-29-06 - Toronto's United Church to boycott Israeli goods The United Church of Canada's Toronto branch will today unveil a boycott of Israeli products and companies doing business with its military to end what it calls the illegal occupation of Palestinian lands.


06-29-06 - Knesset panel approves a bill that limits the rights of Palestinian detainees


06-29-06 - Moscow warns against military operation in Gaza Strip


06-29-06 - US presses Israel to use restraint in Gaza there is a fear among some Bush administration officials that Israel might go too far. "The Israeli measures might not only affect innocent civilians but could build support for Hamas," said the senior official in an interview with Reuters.
Killing all those civilians -which included children - wasn't "too far"?


06-29-06 - Lawmaker blasts Arab colleagues Bishara called the attack "legitimate," while Tibi said it should be referred to as a wartime "capture" rather than a "kidnapping."


06-29-06 - Hamas says Israel is out to destroy its administration Israel's defence minister, Amir Peretz, said the detained Hamas officials could be put on trial for involvement in "acts of terror",


06-29-06 - Kidnap hits nerve in Israel's military society Opinion polls regularly show that the military remains by far the most trusted institution in a country where voters are accustomed to political corruption that sometimes reaches the highest offices. But that also places an unusual burden on an army routinely described by its leaders as "the most moral in the world". When it fails to live up to that billing the institutional instinct is to cover up, as it has done over soldiers killing Palestinian civilians and foreigners in recent years with demonstrably false accounts of the circumstances of their deaths.



06-29-06 - Gaza voices: Thursday We are the hostages, believe me, not the soldier.


06-29-06 - Israel goes after both Hamas leaderships From Syria, Meshaal has also shown willingness to talk to American officials, even though Washington brands Hamas a terrorist organization. In February, shortly after Hamas triumphed in the Palestinian elections, the former university professor met with a delegation of retired US diplomats in his office in Damascus and expressed an eagerness to begin a dialogue with the US


06-29-06 - The weapon of last resort The demands of the captors are legitimate. This soldier is a prisoner of war, and so are the 10,000 Palestinians held captive by Israel.


06-29-06 - Churches call for calm in Gaza The letter characterizes Israel?s destruction of Gaza's power plant and bridges as "acts of collective punishment that have resulted in tremendous suffering by ordinary Palestinian people."


06-29-06 - Israel offensive stirs anger in Egypt


06-29-06 - Hebron Update 10-15 June 2006


06-29-06 - White House to Chabad: Bush won't press Israel The Bush administration will not force Israel into concessions, top White House officials told representatives of the Lubavitch movement......Bolten said Bush would follow Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's lead in deciding what concessions to support. Well now there's a shocker! Here is the most important sentence again : "Bolten said Bush would follow Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's lead in deciding what concessions to support."


06-29-06 - German Jewish leader blasts outreach to Iran A German Jewish leader criticized attempts to reach out to Iran.



06-29-06 - Venezuela condemns Israeli offensive in Gaza


06-29-06 - World Pride's Jerusalem plans sparks outrage Jewish and Muslim religious leaders say that an international Gay Pride gathering set for Aug. 6-12 in Jerusalem could trigger a worldwide Islamic uprising more intense than the riots and bloodshed generated by the cartoons in European newspapers of the profit Mohammed.


06-29-06 - Red Cross vote reflects decades of lobbying and last-minute push Reaching this point took decades of work by major Jewish organizations, and the battle also played out in Washington, where a number of legislators made it a priority issue. This type of influence is all just a conspiracy theory, don't you know...


06-29-06 - Three recordings from Palestine and the world Three recent recordings by Palestinian musicians, each, in its own way, quite brilliant.


06-29-06 - Columnist: 'New York Times' code for 'Jews' "It is very nice for the president to be able to campaign against the Jews without (a) actually saying the word 'Jew' and (b) without irritating the Israelis. A number of prominent Zionist groups think the New York Times is insufficiently anti-Palestinian, so they think the New York Times isn't Jewish enough."



06-29-06 - Kentucky employees denied access to Web sites after an employee distributed material from one of the sites that was deemed religiou What's good for the goose....

posted by Somebody @ 8:20 AM Permanent Link 0 comments



Thursday, June 29, 2006


Some headlines and summaries from JTA

Churches call for calm in Gaza

A coalition of churches appealed to the Bush administration to restrain Israel and calm the crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Churches for Middle East Peace, a Washington-based group of 21 Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches that receives reports from Palestinian partner organizations, sent letters Thursday to Michael Doran of the National Security Council and to David Welch, the top State Department envoy to the Middle East.

The letter characterizes Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s power plant and bridges as “acts of collective punishment that have resulted in tremendous suffering by ordinary Palestinian people.”

The United States “must work closely with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz and insist that they restrain their military response and work with” Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas “to find a diplomatic resolution to the crisis,” the letter said.

The letter also condemned Palestinian militants’ capture of Israeli soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit, which precipitated Israel’s invasion.

Columnist: ‘New York Times’ code for ‘Jews’

A newspaper columnist said White House attacks on the New York Times were code for attacks on Jews.
“Many members of the president’s base consider ‘New York’ to be a nifty code word for ‘Jewish,’ ” Jon Carroll wrote in Thursday’s San Francisco Chronicle.

“It is very nice for the president to be able to campaign against the Jews without (a) actually saying the word ‘Jew’ and (b) without irritating the Israelis. A number of prominent Zionist groups think the New York Times is insufficiently anti-Palestinian, so they think the New York Times isn’t Jewish enough.”

Carroll said the attacks were an attempt to rally Bush’s Republican base.

The Republican Jewish Coalition called Carroll’s charges “reckless and irresponsible.” Bush has called “disgraceful” recent Times’ reports revealing anti-terrorist practices, including domestic wiretapping and secret monitoring of bank transactions.

“This is not in any way having to do with an attack on the Jewish community,” the coalition’s executive director, Matt Brooks, told JTA.

Kentucky employees denied access to Web sites

State employees in Kentucky cannot access three Jewish Web sites.
The employees have not been able to access jewishlearning.net, jewishworldreview.com or jewsweek.com for several months after an employee distributed material from one of the sites that was deemed religious, Gwen Pinson, general counsel for Kentucky’s Finance Cabinet, told JTA.

News of the ban comes as Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher’s administration faces criticism for blocking access to blogs among other Internet sites last week.

Access to the sites can be restored only if an employee appeals to the Commonwealth’s Office of Technology, Pinson said.

Lawmaker blasts Arab colleagues

A right-wing Israeli lawmaker wants Arab colleagues who identify with Palestinian terrorist groups banned from the Knesset.
Zevulun Orlev of the National Union-National Religious Party said Thursday he would submit legislation calling for the banning of Arab lawmakers who openly sympathize with Palestinian terrorists.

His decision followed comments by Arab lawmakers Azmi Bishara and Ahmed Tibi about Sunday’s abduction of an Israeli soldier by Gaza Strip gunmen.

Bishara called the attack “legitimate,” while Tibi said it should be referred to as a wartime “capture” rather than a “kidnapping.”

White House to Chabad: Bush won’t press Israel

The Bush administration will not force Israel into concessions, top White House officials told representatives of the Lubavitch movement.

Chabad-Lubavitch culminated a two-day commemoration of the 12th anniversary of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson’s death with meetings Wednesday with Michael Chertoff, the Homeland Security secretary, and Joshua Bolten, the White House chief of staff. Both men are Jewish.

Bolten and other White House officials assured Chabad representatives that President Bush would never force Israel to concede territory to the Palestinians, participants said.

Bolten said Bush would follow Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s lead in deciding what concessions to support.

German Jewish leader blasts outreach to Iran

A German Jewish leader criticized attempts to reach out to Iran.

Speaking at a press conference of the World Jewish Congress Policy Council on Wednesday, Charlotte Knobloch, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said it was unacceptable to meet with Iranian officials until President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stops calling for the destruction of Israel and denying the Holocaust.

Knobloch spoke at a press conference following the first meeting there of the Policy Council, a roving political think tank founded in February and headed by Rabbi Israel Singer.

Topics included interfaith dialogue, Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

http://www.jta.org/

posted by Somebody @ 11:02 PM Permanent Link 0 comments




News for 06-28-06

06-28-06 - Hamas leaders arrested; Israeli executed Israeli forces rounded up dozens of Palestinian Cabinet ministers and lawmakers from Hamas, increasing pressure on the Islamic militants to release a captured Israeli soldier, and witnesses said tanks moved into northern Gaza, widening Israel's largest military operation in the year since Israel pulled out of the seaside territory.


06-28-06 - Body of kidnapped Israeli settler found: Palestinians


06-28-06 - Two Palestinian refugees killed in Iraq


06-28-06 - Abbas brands Israeli offensive 'collective punishment' Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has slammed an Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip "collective punishment" after civilian infrastructure was damaged in air strikes.


06-28-06 - CAIR Says Targeting of Gaza Infrastructure a 'War Crime'; Bush Administration Urged to Condemn Attacks on Bridges, Electrical Supply In reaction to the Israeli strikes, a White House spokesman said: "In any actions the government of Israel may undertake, the United States urges that it ensures that innocent civilians are not harmed, and also that it avoid the unnecessary destruction of property and infrastructure."


06-28-06 - Syrian air defenses fire on Israeli jets State-run Syrian television said two Israeli planes flew near Syria's Mediterranean coast early Wednesday, and "national air defenses opened fire in the direction of the planes, and they dispersed."


06-28-06 - AAI Condemns Israeli Offensive; Use of Collective Punishment Exacerbates Humanitarian Crisis The Arab American Institute (AAI) today condemned Israel's ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip, which already has destroyed a power station and three bridges and resulted in the loss of water and electricity to 1.3 million impoverished Palestinians.


06-28-06 - Israel vows 'extreme measures' to rescue soldier


06-28-06 - Palestinians hoard food in fear of siege "As for me, I say just give them back the (captured) soldier," she said. "What is it worth for women and children to be forced from their homes and have nowhere to sleep and to suffer for the sake of one soldier? I think they should give him back."


06-28-06 - Palestinians demand Israeli hostage be well treated The soldier's captors should "show the world that the Palestinians will not treat Israeli prisoners the way Israelis treat Palestinian prisoners,"


06-28-06 - Israel bombs Islamic University in Gaza: witnesses An Israeli warplane fired a missile on Thursday at the pro-Hamas Islamic University in Gaza City, setting off a huge explosion, witnesses said.


06-28-06 - Storm over Gaza Bombing bridges may have some military logic, but the destruction of a power station seems intended solely to intimidate and inflict collective punishment. No other purpose is achieved by cruelly depriving hundreds of thousands of ordinary Gazans of their electricity supply (and shutting down water pumps) in sweltering heat


06-28-06 - Israeli missiles pound Gaza into new Dark Age in 'collective punishment' This was no accident. Israel deliberately set out to target the civilian infrastructure as laid out in this article.


06-28-06 - Gaza voices: Israeli air strikes


06-28-06 - Gazans grim and defiant after Israeli forces enter


06-28-06 - Knesset panel approves a bill that limits the rights of Palestinian detainees


06-28-06 - Israeli tanks turn screw on besieged Gaza Strip In Rafah, people feared a repeat of a punitive Israeli offensive two years ago which left about 60 Palestinians dead and hundreds of homes destroyed in a week-long assault after 11 soldiers were killed. Merchants in Rafah's market said sales of food had surged over the past two days.


06-28-06 - World Jewish Congress meets in Berlin on Iran The WJC leaders said they would have meetings with Jewish communities around the world and with international policymakers to help to shape efforts on the Middle East.


06-28-06 - Rice arrives in Russia to discuss Iran, Mideast with G8


06-28-06 - US supports Gaza assault, but warns Israel on civilians Or else, what? They do nothing when Israel targets Palestinian civilians.


06-28-06 - Ultra-Orthodox Jews attack Christian tourists in Jerusalem A group of 50 pro-Israel Christian tourists came under attack Wednesday from some 100 residents of the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea She'arim in Jerusalem.


06-28-06 - Eradicating hunger: Commission steps up its efforts in food aid and food security with a ?197 M package United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA): ? 15 million for a food aid and cash programme in favour of Palestinian Refugees in West Bank and Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.


06-28-06 - Bush administration supports Israel James Zogby, president of the institute, issued a statement, accusing Israel of using "disproportionate power" in an act of collective punishment. Zogby also said the abduction of an Israeli soldier "remains of deep concern."


06-28-06 - Jewish groups hope they can keep homeland security money flowing Jewish groups gratefully absorbed more than half of the homeland security funds last year aimed at protecting nonprofits - and they're campaigning to make sure the money keeps flowing....The funds are an unqualified boon, Jewish leaders agree. And this fact is the most ironic of all.


06-28-06 - Major Israeli websites hacked

posted by Somebody @ 6:37 AM Permanent Link 0 comments



Wednesday, June 28, 2006


News for 06-27-06

06-27-06 - Large explosion destroys car in Gaza A massive explosion on Tuesday demolished a car traveling near the residence of President Mahmoud Abbas, killing an unknown number of people inside. The blast scattered debris and body parts up to 200 yards away.


06-27-06 - Israeli F16 warplanes strike southern Gaza Palestinian security sources said that the main water pipes supplying the central area of the Gaza Strip had also been destroyed. Israel, as put forth in this article, is targeting the civilian infrastructure.


06-27-06 - Palestinians back prisoner release call For Walid al-Houdaly, 46, the capture of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants offers the opportunity that his wife and their 18-month-old child will be freed from prison.


06-27-06 - Israel 'will ensure Hamas govt toppled' if soldier slain


06-27-06 - New Hamas-Fatah plan recognizes Israel


06-27-06 - US cannot accept Israeli nuclear weapons: Arab League chief The United States cannot denounce Iran's nuclear program while accepting Israel's possession of nuclear bombs, the head of the Arab League has said.


06-27-06 - Gaza attack threat to Egypt national security: Muslim Brotherhood Egypt's opposition Muslim Brotherhood said that any aggression on the Gaza strip would be "a threat to Egyptian national security," and called on Egypt to prevent such an attack.


06-27-06 - Militants threaten to kill Jewish settler A Palestinian militant group on Wednesday threatened to kill an abducted Jewish settler if Israel doesn't stop its raid on the Gaza Strip.


06-27-06 - Hamas takes step to recognise Israel "This is not a direct recognition of Israel," said a founder of Hamas, Issa Ali Nashar. "The recognition is in the document, it is not Hamas saying it directly recognises Israel. There is recognition of resolutions by the UN (that recognise Israel) in the document."


06-27-06 - Israel won't let Abbas out of Gaza Strip As part of the siege, Israel closed four crossings with the Gaza Strip and thus blocked all traffic of goods into and out of the area, the army said.


06-27-06 - Humanitarian emergency in Palestine In addition to the food shortage, the lack of funds has also aversely affected the Lutheran World Federation's Augusta Victoria Hospital, located in Jerusalem. This hospital provides healthcare services to Palestinians through a contract with the Palestinian Authority. The blockage of funds is effectively jeopardizing the lives of thousands of patients who depend on Augusta Victoria for emergency care as well as specialized services such as kidney dialysis and cancer treatment.


06-27-06 - Urgent appeal as bulldozers move in on Bethlehem's last green space One of the last green spaces in Bethlehem is being destroyed to make way for the Partition Wall. Yesterday morning, (Tuesday 27 June) Israeli bulldozers guarded with armed personnel started cutting and uprooting olive trees in the Cremisan area near Bethlehem, in preparation for the construction of the segregation Wall.


06-27-06 - OPT: Gaza fishermen struggle for survival - ICRC provides funds to repair boats and gear Those fishermen who can return to sea find that they are being shot at by the Israeli Defence Forces Further difficulties stem from the lack of access to markets, and restrictions on fishing areas. As a result, it is difficult if not impossible for the fishermen in Gaza to earn enough to support themselves and their families.



06-27-06 - Israeli settler feared to be kidnapped: report Eliyahu Asheri, 18, who lives in the West Bank settlement of Itamar, disappeared Sunday night when he was trying to hitchhike on the way back to Itamar.


06-27-06 - MK Sarsour hit by right-wing activist in Jerusalem MK Sarsour had called for the Israeli government to let him and his companions enter Gaza in order to aid the efforts to release the kidnapped soldier, Gilad Shalit


06-27-06 - New human rights council kicks off with hope for improvement on Israel With the United States declining to run for a seat, Kessler expressed the hope that Western countries on the council, led by European Union members, would "draw a red line around where they stand when it comes to Israel."


06-27-06 - Israeli "Retaliation" and Double Standards according to the BBC's analysis, this attack ends the immediate chances for "peace" negotiations and provides the context for the next round of the conflict between the Israeli army and the Palestinians of Gaza. We are left to infer that all the suffering the army inflicts in the coming days and weeks should be attributed to this moment of "escalation" by the Palestinians. We can ignore the weeks of shelling by the Israeli army of Gaza, the firing of hundreds of missiles into the crowded Strip that have destroyed Palestinian lives and property, while spreading terror among the civilian population and deepening the psychological trauma suffered by a generation of children.



06-27-06 - CPJ: Israeli Authorities Restrict Gaza Press Access


06-27-06 - US plays wait-and-see on Palestinian agreement


06-27-06 - Gaza beach blast survivors treated in Egypt Three surviving members of a Palestinian family decimated by an explosion on a Gaza beach earlier this month have undergone treatment in Cairo, a medical source told AFP.


06-27-06 - US must check nationalists who clash with Islam: Arab league chief Moussa said the United States needed to acknowledge that the conflict was not a result of "terrorists" but of a military occupation by Israel. The policy of aiming for "security now and peace later" will not work, he said.


06-27-06 - Tunnellers dig with martyr's zeal


06-27-06 - Prepared Remarks of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales at Tel Aviv University But the bond between America and Israel is about more than sharing these common struggles against injustice. Israel, like America, is a nation with a deep respect for the rule of law Laughable. To my knowledge, Israel has not abided by ANY international laws since its creation. It has Disregarded UN resolution after UN resolution, along with its utter disregard for the ICJ's ruling on the wall.


06-27-06 - Hamas in quandary over Israeli soldier


06-27-06 - Plan did not include grabbing soldier


06-27-06 - Israeli threat unites Hamas, Fatah


06-27-06 - Israel may provide counsel to officials in war crimes trials overseas The decision comes in the wake of arrest warrants issued in Britain against senior Israel Defense Forces officials Speaking of which, the United States takes zero action against the war crimes Israel has committed against its own.


06-27-06 - "Slicing and separating" Occupied Palestinian Territory turning it into isolated reservations, impeding quest for statehood


06-27-06 - Outpost attack almost legitimate The attack on Kerem Shalom was conducted from deep inside the Palestinian consensus. And it may not be nice to say, but the world will have a hard time condemning it. It was an attack on soldiers, it took courage. It was not a cowardly act.


06-27-06 - Rumsfeld due to visit Israel on regional tour U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is expected to visit Israel this week. Gonzales, whose post in the American government is equivalent to that of Justice Minister, is one of President George Bush's closest advisors. He will give a lecture at Tel Aviv University on international law enforcement in the post-9/11 era.


06-27-06 - UN meeting on Israeli-Palestinian peace opens with call for two-State solution


06-27-06 - Annan talks to Palestinian and Syrian leaders to try to obtain release of kidnapped Israeli soldier


06-27-06 - Peace prospects may look bleak, but dovish group still pushes talks Diane Balser, Brit Tzedek's executive director, says there's an absence of a debate on Israeli policy in the pro-Israel American Jewish community, leaving many Jews without a voice. "In Israel there has always been a debate," Balser said. "Yet in the American Jewish world, people have been scared of that debate for a long time."


06-27-06 - Hamas spokesman feels for Israeli soldier


06-27-06 - House committee approves Israel-NATO legislation The resolution, introduced by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), was adopted Tuesday by the House Committee on International Relations. Just when you think one week will go by without any legislation being proposed on behalf of Israel in the US Congress ...


06-27-06 - US Corporate Media Misses Target in


06-27-06 - The Delusion of U.S. Aid The Economic Coercion of Israel: America is to fork over exceedingly high amounts of cash to induce Israeli withdrawals from lands that it should not be occupying in the first place.


06-27-06 - War is War, and Captured Soldiers are Captured Soldiers


06-27-06 - Israeli President Invites Pope to Holy Land


06-27-06 - National Canadian Jewish Organization Supports CUPE Ontario and Resolution 50 We regret to say that Israel?s refusal to abide by international humanitarian law standards for the treatment of Palestinians over 39 years of occupation has brought considerable shame on the Jewish people and isolation to Israel


06-27-06 - 'Christian Birthright' seeks supporters "'Christian Zionism' may be a bad buzzword, but we need to see relationships built between Christian and Jewish supporters of Israel," Thus does the propaganda campaign aimed at Americans continue.

posted by Somebody @ 6:39 AM Permanent Link 0 comments



Tuesday, June 27, 2006


Some headlines and summaries from JTA

House committee approves Israel-NATO legislation

A U.S. House of Representatives committee unanimously approved a resolution that calls for enhancing Israel’s relationship with NATO.
The resolution, introduced by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), was adopted Tuesday by the House Committee on International Relations.

The resolution recommends upgrading Israel’s affiliation to a “leading member of NATO’s Individual Cooperation Program,” a promotion the bill says ultimately will lead to Israel’s full membership in the alliance.

“Incorporating Israel’s vast experience facing daily threats from Islamist terrorists who seek to do it harm will be a great boon for NATO,” Ros-Lehtinen said.

Israeli officials are not enthusiastic about the prospect of full NATO membership, fearing it could limit the country’s ability to strike its enemies without consultation. The resolution is to be considered by the full House next month.


Rebbe commemorated at White House

A commemoration of the death of the Lubavitch rebbe will culminate in a White House briefing.

Leaders of both parties in Congress, as well as top Bush administration officials, are attending the two-day tribute to Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who died June 12, 1994.

The theme is education, and speakers include Elie Wiesel; U.S. Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff; and Australia’s defense minister. Chertoff and Joshua Bolten, the White House chief of staff, who are both Jewish, will attend the White House briefing Wednesday morning.

About 30 diplomats joined Lubavitch emissaries to their countries at the events. Thousands of people also are expected to gather at the rebbe’s grave in New York on the anniversary of his death.



http://www.jta.org/

posted by Somebody @ 11:01 PM Permanent Link 0 comments




News for 06-26-06

06-26-06 - ISRAELI SETTLER ATTACKS ECUMENICAL ACCOMPANIER IN HEBRON It is not known if the woman intended to suffocate her, but the accompanier had difficulty breathing. Stones were also thrown at Masango and four other internationals who were with her. The incident left her shaken, although she did not need to receive medical treatment.


06-26-06 - Hebron Settlers Attack Palestinian and His Donkey Near Soldiers


06-26-06 - Settlers burn 10 tons of hay in Hebron A group of Israeli settlers from Susa settlement near the Palestinian village of Yatta south of Hebron torched 10 tons of hay that belong to Palestinian farmers Monday.


06-26-06 - Israel rules out negotiations with soldier's captors In a related development Monday, a statement signed by three Palestinian groups said they are holding Shalit. It also demanded that Israeli prisons release all Palestinian women and people under age 18 who are being held.


06-26-06 - Olmert refuses to release jailed Palestinians Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday he will not free jailed Palestinian women and children as demanded by the militant captors of an Israeli soldier being held in the Gaza Strip.


06-26-06 - High Court: Palestinians must have access to lands


06-26-06 - Israel gears up for offensive over kidnapped soldier Earlier Monday, Olmert said he had "instructed the heads of the army to deploy our forces in order to be ready to prepare for a prolonged and extensive military operation in order to strike the terror organisations and commanders.


06-26-06 - Syria 'holds Swedish journalist' Reports in the Swedish media identified the journalist as Palestinian-born Rachid Alhajeh, 61.


06-26-06 - White House seeks Israeli soldier's release "There are a lot of different parties working to resolve the issue," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. "But the bottom line is we call upon this individual to be released immediately."


06-26-06 - Egypt mum on mediation for kidnapped Israeli soldier Egypt was involved in intensive efforts to secure the release of an Israeli soldier kidnapped in the Gaza Strip but observed a strict media blackout on the mediation.


06-26-06 - Annan: States must monitor arms supplies The nations that were most transparent were the United States and Germany. The least transparent were Bulgaria, Iran, Israel and North Korea.


06-26-06 - IDF commander: Excavations missed terror tunnel by 500m The investigation found that in recent weeks the IDF dug numerous holes in the area with heavy engineering equipment in search of underground tunnels, apparently guided by an intelligence alert


06-26-06 - Israel: A history of prisoner deals


06-26-06 - Court orders Palestinian farmers protected Beinish said the military should do more to stop settlers suspected of attacking Palestinians, suggesting that restraining orders could be used.


06-26-06 - News in brief from the San Francisco Bay area A Palestinian toddler who lost her right eye during an Israeli missile attack just got a new prosthetic eye, thanks to a nonprofit that helps children with severe war injuries.


06-26-06 - Israeli troops gather at Gaza borders as Palestinians try to find hostage "The government (Hamas) can go to hell. Europe boycotts us and the United States are against our democracy. The Palestinians are in a big jail and the Israelis have the key," he said. "We have no use for prime ministers or anything like that. The reality is that we are under occupation. We would end the occupation by negotiations but the occupier has no interest in that. The only path is resistance."


06-26-06 - Church Continues Investing in Caterpillar The Ethical Investment Advisory Group said in its annual report that it did not recommend disinvestment at this time because it had been informed that Caterpillar had made no sales to Israel in recent years, and because it did not wish to do anything to impede negotiations between Israel and Palestinian authorities.


06-26-06 - Nice video shows policing of the future Nice Systems, the Israeli firm trying to sell extreme surveillance software to the British police, has put out a promotional video depicting the way our friendly bobbies will police our communities a year from now - if they use its latest software.


06-26-06 - Germany presses Palestinians on hostage

posted by Somebody @ 6:42 AM Permanent Link 0 comments



Monday, June 26, 2006


Some headlines and summaries from JTA

Court orders Palestinian farmers protected

Israel’s top court ordered the army to boost protection for Palestinian farmers harassed by settlers.
The High Court of Justice on Monday found in favor of a petition filed by civil rights groups against the recent military practice of preventing Palestinians in the West Bank from accessing their farmland for fear they could be attacked by settler vigilantes.

Justice Dorit Beinish likened the practice to telling a person not to enter his home lest he or she be set upon by a burglar waiting there.

Beinish said the military should do more to stop settlers suspected of attacking Palestinians, suggesting that restraining orders could be used.

Germany presses Palestinians on hostage

Germany demanded that Palestinians release the Israeli soldier taken hostage over the weekend.
A spokesperson for Germany’s Foreign Ministry called the kidnapping of Cpl. Gilad Shalit an “insidious attack.”

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Tzipi Livni, Monday by telephone to express his concern for the 19-year-old soldier.

According to the spokesperson, the German government urged Israel to respond with restraint so as not to exacerbate tensions.

http://www.jta.org/

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News for 06-25-06

06-25-06 - Gun battle near Gaza border post A spokesman for Gaza's Popular Resistance Committee said they carried out the attack on the military post in revenge for the death of their leader, Jamal Abu Samhadana, in an Israeli strike.


06-25-06 - Palestinians launch raid from Gaza into Israel Israeli leaders ordered the army to prepare for "urgent military action" and a "harsh response," including targeting civilian infrastructure


06-25-06 - Israel blames Hamas for deadly attack "This operation is a natural response to the Israeli crimes of killing women and children, and the assassination of two (militant) leaders," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.


06-25-06 - Echoes of intifada as Israeli tanks rumble into Gaza


06-25-06 - Israel vows revenge after deadly attack from Gaza In a joint statement, the militant groups said the dawn assault was revenge for the 22 civilians killed in an alleged Israeli shelling and botched air strikes since the start of June.


06-25-06 - Israeli Sewage dumped in Brukin village


06-25-06 - Hamas gov't urges kidnappers to keep Israeli soldier safe


06-25-06 - Abbas condemns attack, calls on militants to free abducted soldier


06-25-06 - Israel holds back military response Israeli cabinet, meanwhile, granted green lights to the army for preparing military operation to free the soldier abducted in the predawn raid Sunday.


06-25-06 - Israel closes down all crossings, terminals on borders with Gaza


06-25-06 - Two years of hard work shows Presbyterians just want 'shalom' The sufferings and injustice caused by the occupation of Palestinian lands has greatly diminished the Christian presence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.


06-25-06 - Iran to host Holocaust conference later this year Ahmadinejad, an ultra-conservative who came to power in a surprise victory last June, has provoked international condemnation with a number of anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish remarks. They include labelling Israel a "tumour" and calling for the Jewish state to be "wiped off the map" or moved as far away as Alaska. On the Holocaust, he has claimed it is merely a Western invention used to legitimise Israel.



06-25-06 - Peace activists, residents of Bil'in protest against the Wall


06-25-06 - Abbas' guards deployed at key Gaza commercial crossing Elite troops loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were deployed at the Karni commercial crossing on the eastern Gaza Strip border with Israel on Saturday, Palestinian security sources said.


06-25-06 - Peretz: Government must pay settlers to evacuate


06-25-06 - Resolution urges JA to include Arabs in its development plans The resolution sets a precedent not only because the agency has never before been active in Israel's Arab, Druze and Circassian communities, but also because it was achieved through a rare collaborative effort between Reform and Orthodox groups.



06-25-06 - Fatah-Hamas deal limits attacks to the territories


06-25-06 - Abbas urges US to press Israel to end military escalation Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has urged the United States to press Israel to stop military escalation against the Palestinians, mainly in the Gaza Strip, an aide to Abbas said yesterday.


06-25-06 - Mas'ha village land seized for expansion of Elkana settlement The 'Jews-only' settlement of 'Elkana', built on illegally seized Palestinian land, has begun construction of an additional 54 houses on farmland belonging to Mas'ha village farmers.



06-25-06 - IDF Intel Chief Says Withdrawal Increased Existential Threats Former Defense Minister Moshe Arens has also come out vocally against the withdrawal, saying that Israel must reoccupy Gaza as the only way to prevent the continuation of rocket attacks on towns and cities


06-25-06 - Israel extends Palestinian spouse ban


06-25-06 - PA minister: Settlers not welcome in Palestine "It is obvious that the settlers' forceful presence on our land is illegal. It's unacceptable that these robbers live alongside us. Their behavior here in the Hebron area and all across the West Bank has turned Palestinian people, land and property into constant sufferers from their violence. Our experiences with them thus far leave no question about such a possibility,"


06-25-06 - Israel rejects US anti-Kassam system initiative Experts: The time and cost of development the system are too high, and its effectiveness would be limited.

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Sunday, June 25, 2006


News for 06-24-06

06-24-06 - Palestinian Shepards "Tear down the wall"


06-24-06 - Abbas-Haneya meeting ends without deal


06-24-06 - Abbas, Haniyeh said to agree ending Gaza rocket fire "There is consensus on the need to ... embarrass the Israelis by stopping Palestinian rocket fire in order not to give Israel a pretext to continue attacks on the Palestinian people," Abu Rdainah said.


06-24-06 - Israel arrests 2 in Gaza raid The raid, completed in one hour under the cover of darkness, came as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was in Gaza trying to work out final details on a power-sharing agreement with the Hamas-led government


06-24-06 - What's Next for the Palestinians - Starvation? The topic under discussion was grim - ?The Politics of Starvation: The Humanitarian Crisis in Palestine.? In Room SC-6 of the U.S. Capitol, the Council for the National Interest (CNI) authored a public forum, the 18th in a series over the last few years, dealing with Middle East issues, and in particular, the Israel-Palestine Question


06-24-06 - A mixed blessing Samah?s parents, Riyad and Yusra, also invited the families of the four Jewish recipients of Ahmed?s lungs, second kidney and liver ? split between a seven-month-old baby and the 57-year-old woman. None have chosen to attend.

The father of a four-year-old girl, whose life has been saved by the transplantation of one of Ahmed?s kidneys, publicly stated afterwards that he wished the organ ?had come from a Jew and not an Arab?.
Go to the first paragraph on page 2 to read an example of Israel's known use of human shields.


06-24-06 - Analysis: Olmert spoils Petra peace summit In what was perhaps the clearest indication regarding Israel's intended policy regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions, Olmert said he supports the efforts of President Bush and the Europeans and the U.N. Security Council to make every possible effort to stop the Iranians from possessing nuclear weapons. "And I am certain they will succeed," said Olmert.



06-24-06 - Israel issues restricting orders against 13 far-right Jews The activists are suspected of taking part in violent acts against Palestinians and clashes with security forces, the source told AFP


06-24-06 - Hezbollah, al-Qaida mirror Islamic split To the outside world, the two groups appear to have much in common: Devoutly Muslim, fiercely hostile to Israel and the U.S., and high on Washington's list of terrorist groups. Yet al-Qaida in Iraq and Lebanon's Hezbollah are waging a worsening verbal dispute that threatens to burst into confrontation



06-24-06 - Palestine: A Besieged Nation Under Watch


06-24-06 - British Filmmaker's Death in Gaza Continues to Resound "The emphasis had to be on us to do the proper investigations, because it was obvious that the I.D.F. was not going to conduct their investigation with any impartiality," said Mr. Cobb-Smith, whose examination of footprints, tank tracks and traces of blood and bullet holes, among other things, led him to conclude that the shot that had killed Mr. Miller had come from an Israeli vehicle.


06-24-06 - Founder of protests for Palestinians joins Louisville's demonstration


06-24-06 - Judge OKs Palestinian's citizenship


06-24-06 - Terrorists want Israel to kill civilians Dershowitz, the known Israel-apologist: 'The terrorists made them do it!'.


06-24-06 - Episcopalians curb anti-Israel rhetoric "Virtually all General Convention resolutions concerning the Middle East, and all public policy pronouncements by Episcopal agencies, have relentlessly criticized the state of Israel, portraying the Jewish state as an oppressor nation and the Palestinian people as victims of Israeli oppression,"

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Saturday, June 24, 2006


News for 06-23-06

06-23-06 - Senate clears flexible limits on Palestinian aid The Senate bill gives the Bush administration more discretion to provide relief to the cash-starved Palestinians than a more punitive measure passed by the House of Representatives in May.


06-23-06 - Army and settlers attack residents of Hebron and Surif, injuring four


06-23-06 - Abbas heads to Gaza to galvanise crisis talks


06-23-06 - Israel refuseniks order soldiers to hold Gaza fire "We urge soldiers on active and reserve duty, in the infantry, air force and navy to refuse to fire on Gaza following the deaths of dozens of innocent civilians, including many children," said the Courage to Refuse group.


06-23-06 - Militant Palestinian groups vow to avenge Israel 'massacres' Fourteen Palestinian civilians, including a pregnant woman and five children, have died in Israeli air strikes over the Gaza Strip in the last 10 days to counter the firing of nearly 150 rockets at Israel. This is what Israel wants. Then they can avoid negotiations for Israel's final borders.


06-23-06 - Gaza's gateway to world re-opens Hundreds of people trying to cross in and out of the Gaza Strip were stranded at the terminal on Friday, including the sick en route to Egypt for medical treatment, said Palestinian officials at the terminal.


06-23-06 - Arab MK: Only Palestinian kids get killed "While children in both Sderot and Gaza need to be protected, it is only Palestinian children who are getting killed so far


06-23-06 - EU to release 105 million euros in aid to Palestinians The European Commission announced plans to release 105 million euros in aid to Palestinians, bypassing their Hamas-led government, with the first funds to be paid out by early July.


06-23-06 - New warning of Palestinian crisis Mr Dugard is the UN's human rights rapporteur for the Palestinian territories. Special rapporteurs are appointed by the UN secretary general to investigate particular issues, but are independent of the organisation. He said the aid boycott was causing ordinary Palestinians to lose faith in the international community...."The Palestinian people have been subjected to economic sanctions, the first time that an occupied people have been so treated," Mr Dugard said.



06-23-06 - Palestinian woman injured in Israeli Air Strike delivers stillborn baby Doctors at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis have performed a Caesarean section on Shaima Ahmad, 25, after detecting signs of fetal distress. Ahmed was wounded by shrapnel in Wednesday's Israeli air strike.


06-23-06 - 'Palestinian patient must pay' Israel has threatened to deport a Palestinian cancer patient because he can no longer pay the security guards the government insists he employ to guard him


06-23-06 - US Senate votes to isolate Hamas Govt The United States Senate has adopted by consensus a bill to isolate the Hamas-led Palestinian Government, forbidding any US aid until it recognises Israel and renounces violence.


06-23-06 - Chilean legislators launch aid drive for Palestinians


06-23-06 - Israeli Air Force Attack in Gaza ? Grave Suspicion of War Crime


06-23-06 - Activists: Stop Waters Two right-wing Israeli activists asked authorities to arrest British rocker Roger Waters for spray-painting a message on Israel?s West Bank security fence.


06-23-06 - U.N. denounces secret detention centers John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in New York, strongly criticized Arbour. He said rather than singling out the United States or Israel, she should have focused instead on human rights problems in North Korea, Iran, Burma and Zimbabwe. Bolton - shill for Israel at the UN.


06-23-06 - Iraqi ambassador to Washington speaks out on terror, but not Israel Baghdad's first ambassador to the United States in 15 years dismisses any such talk as preliminary. In an interview with JTA last week, Sumaida'ie said he has no contact with Israeli diplomats in Washington, and that such things are not an immediate priority for his government.


06-23-06 - AAI Condemns Indiscriminate Israeli Bombing of Gaza Strip, Death of Innocent Children; Calls for Review of Arms Exports to Israel "Being repeatedly sorry after the fact is not good enough," Zogby added. "We are calling on the State Department to investigate whether or not these attacks constitute a violation of Israel's obligations under provisions of the Arms Export Control Act, which prohibits the use of U.S. weapons in an offensive manner targeting a civilian population."


06-23-06 - The truth lies buried in Gaza sands Garlasco?s slight change of tune -- even if it is not exactly a ringing endorsement -- leaves the door ajar just wide enough that the Israeli army will doubtless slip through it to escape being held accountable yet again.


06-23-06 - Today on CSPAN: Stephen Walt, Int'l Affairs Prof., & John Mearsheimer, Poltical Science Prof. Stephen Walt, International Affairs Professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and, and John Mearsheimer, Poltical Science Professor at the University of Chicago, discuss lobbying for Israel. Scroll down page for the video from today's Washington Journal on CSPAN.


06-23-06 - Israeli security prepares for a campaign to bar international activists from entering West Bank Israeli Newspaper Maariv reported on Thursday that the Israeli security services are preparing for a campaign to bar international peace activists from entering the occupied West Bank this summer to participate in the "Summer Peace camp" organized by the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).Also, Israel will try to arrest and expel Palestinians who carry international nationalities "if they fail to explain why they are visiting the country". The campaign will also include expelling foreign workers, including Palestinians, who entered Israel without obtaining work permits from the Israeli authorities.



06-23-06 - When Killings Don't Count - A Week of Israeli Restraint


06-23-06 - Hamas' Suitcase Economy (On Wednesday, the Rafah crossing was closed for a day by European Union observers after Israel issued a warning of a possible suicide attack, drawing criticism from Palestinian officials who contended that the shutdown was a ruse to halt the cash transfers). The money Hamas officials were bringing in undoubtedly was the real motive behind the closure due to a 'security threat'.


06-23-06 - Israeli politician calls for ground invasion of Gaza


06-23-06 - Cars set alight in West Bank Palestinian village A resident of the village complained to police that three settlers from Yitzhar set alight the three vehicles and a tractor and subsequently returned to Yitzhar. The villager followed the settlers up to the gate of Yitzhar and then alerted the police.


06-23-06 - Hebron Settlers Vandalise Palestinian School


06-23-06 - Jew threatened pro-Palestinian French figures Schoemann said during his trial last month that he carried out the threats in a bid to make the people targeted "soften their stance" towards Israel.


06-23-06 - Israel critic wins 'peace' award A Palestinian priest who is a fierce critic of Israel was honored by an Episcopalian group


06-23-06 - An Idea Whose Time Has Come? by Patrick J. Buchanan it is a vast U.S. presence that Islamic peoples are taught is designed to steal their God-given resources and assist the Israelis in humiliating them and persecuting the Palestinians.


06-23-06 - A Plague on Both Their Houses the U.S. military was ? and is ? being used to cleanse the Middle East of Israel's Arab and Persian enemies and extend the Jewish state's influence as far from the Promised Land as Kurdistan. An interesting note about the Kurds and Israel can be found here, paragraph 12. See last night's news for more information about Israel and the Kurds.


06-23-06 - Prophets in Their Own Land How to go from respected academic to anti-Semite?in one simple step A great read at The American Conservative. Please support this magazine if you can.


06-23-06 - 'End Times' Religious Groups Want Apocalypse Soon "I'm grateful for all the wonderful Christian angels wanting to help us," Solomon added, acknowledging the political support from "Christians who are now Israel's best lobbyists in the United States." End Times Christian Fundamentalists, that is.


06-23-06 - Next Victim: Iran or North Korea? Few are aware that such a treaty was broached to Israel after the 1967 war. But a treaty would have required clearly defined international borders, and Israel would have no part of that. It turns out that the Israeli government was correct in concluding it could have the best of both possible worlds. Who needs a treaty when the president of the United States keeps referring to a U.S. commitment to spring to your defense?


06-23-06 - Pessimism Evident for Many Palestinians


06-23-06 - A view from Australia The Aussies have an up-and-coming Israeli lobby in their midst.


06-23-06 - US Afairs: Hyde spark In the letter, Hyde - who is retiring this term after 32 years in Congress - argued that Israeli actions in the West Bank were "damaging and dwindling" the Christian community, which "is being crushed in the mill of the bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict."


06-23-06 - Teen: I'll marry man I met on MySpace.com "Our initial reaction was to isolate her, to lock her up and just keep her safe here in America," said her father, Terry Lester. "But that's unrealistic because you can see the love they have for each other."


06-23-06 - PM: Settlers would be allowed to remain in PA

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Friday, June 23, 2006


News for 06-22-06

06-22-06 - Israel kills Palestinian security officer A Palestinian intelligence officer has been shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank town of Ramallah.


06-22-06 - Hamas set to recognize Israel: Palestinian official


06-22-06 - UN Health Rights Expert criticizes donors for failing to fulfil their humanitarian responsibilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories


06-22-06 - Gaza-Egypt border reopens after two days The monitors were finally able to travel to their jobs when the Israeli military opened the Kerem Shalom crossing to the EU representatives, and allowed an adjacent liaison office, which oversees Rafah, to reopen.


06-22-06 - Some Palestinians in West Bank get cash payments Nearly 29,000 Palestinian government workers in the West Bank will each receive about $300 under the partial payout, which started in the Gaza Strip on Monday, officials said. The payout in the West Bank totalled about $8.5 million.


06-22-06 - Olmert: Israeli lives worth more than Palestinian ones Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, expressed "deep regret" for army operations that have killed 14 Palestinian civilians in Gaza in just nine days but said the lives of Israeli citizens threatened by Qassam attacks were "even more important"......Almost three times as many Palestinian civilians have been killed in Gaza in the past nine days as Israeli civilians in Sderot killed by Qassam rockets in the past five years. This form of supremacy has been around since the beginnings of Zionism, when Zionist leaders advocated policies of ethnic cleansing even then.


06-22-06 - Palestinians in Jordan Valley feel strangled by Israel "Israel wants to cut off the Palestinians from all signs of life, especially from the commercial side," said Tamer Hamdan, a farmer who owns lands around the enclaved village and whose income depends on Nablus's market. "They want to force us to leave our land by cutting our sources of living." Thirty-five percent of Palestinian agricultural produce comes from the Jordan Valley, but Israeli restrictions mean farmers are often unable to reach the markets in Nablus and villages on time to sell their produce.


06-22-06 - Palestinians reach out for a lifeline Ahmad and many children like him who can be seen rummaging through garbage cans for metal, plastic and wood to be sold or discarded food, are part of a serious humanitarian crisis unfolding in the occupied Palestinian territory which affects the poorest sector of the population most heavily.


06-22-06 - Israeli inquiry into Gaza beach blast 'one-sided' The army also failed to answer questions raised more than a week ago by The Daily Telegraph concerning the "missing shell" - the one artillery round for which Israel cannot account.



06-22-06 - Donor freeze behind Palestinian health crisis: UN expert "Donors' actions have threatened the most vulnerable -- the sick, infirm, elderly, children, and pregnant women. In short, some donors have acted in breach of their responsibility to provide international health assistance."




06-22-06 - Israel to continue Gaza raids despite botched strikes Fourteen Palestinian civilians, including five children, have been killed in air strikes over Gaza in nine days


06-22-06 - Israeli police investigating contractors In December, an investigative report by another daily, Yediot Ahronot, alleged that a number of private Israeli companies won contracts to provide security services to the Kurdish government in Iraq. The report said Israelis who had served in elite military combat units were teaching anti-terrorism methods to the Kurds.


06-22-06 - Excerpts from Bush news conference We talked about Israel and Palestine. I assured the leaders here that my position is firm, and that is I envision two states living side by side in peace.


06-22-06 - Controversial Mideast play to be performed in NY The play was edited from Corrie's own words and includes stories from Corrie's childhood through her time in Gaza.


06-22-06 - Israeli firms probed for illegal dealings in Iraq: report Since 2004, Israeli firms operating in northern Iraq, including Michaels and Kodo, have been ordered to cease their activities because of threats of terrorism. It's been known for a while now that Israel has been helping to arm and train the Kurds of northern Iraq.


06-22-06 - Red Cross grants membership to Israel, Palestinians Jaafari questioned how the Red Crescent would actually be able to operate given Israeli restrictions on the movement of Palestinians.


06-22-06 - US and EU voice concern at Russia's policies They also noted that Russia's international policies too often ran contrary to theirs, citing the debate over sanctions against Iran, the question of dealing with the radical ruling Hamas movement in the Palestinian territories and Russian President Vladimir Putin's support for Belarus's authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko


06-22-06 - Olmert apologizes for civilian deaths Meanwhile, a family in Gaza buried the latest two civilian victims of Israeli airstrikes, receiving the bodies of Zakaria Ahmed, 45, and his pregnant sister, Fatma Abdel Khader, 35, at a neighbor's house because the family's home was too badly damaged. Yes, Israel is really sorry alright. Sorry that these killings make them look bad in the media.


06-22-06 - Pink Floyd star lambastes Israel barrier British rock musician and Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters spray-paints the words "No Thought Control" on a section of Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank Wednesday. Waters wrote slogans on the wall in protest against the construction of the barrier, which Palestinians say is a land grab and Israel says is necessary for its security.


06-22-06 - Abbas, Olmert plan summit


06-22-06 - Germany grants EUR 20m to Palestinian fund


06-22-06 - More Funding Needed to Help Victims of Sexual Violence In another presentation, Feryal Thabet, of the Bureij Women's Health Center in Gaza, said the border closure with Israel and escalating conflict were causing a deterioration of women's health and an increase in violence against women. "More than one third of Palestinian pregnant women are anaemic,"




06-22-06 - IAF: Technical glitch behind Khan Younis tragedy Investigation reveals technical malfunction caused aircraft missile to stray from its course, kill innocent Palestinian brother, sister. Riiiight.


06-22-06 - Netanyahu: IDF has operational capability to wipe out all of Gaza


06-22-06 - U.S. revokes ?Jerusalem, Israel? from death report The U.S. Embassy in Israel reportedly revoked a death report for an American citizen that listed him as having died in "Jerusalem, Israel."


06-22-06 - International Benefit Concert for Palestine in London


06-22-06 - Israeli suppliers vie for PA payments The Israeli government decided last February to freeze all payments to the Palestinian government, but permitted the collection of debts from funds earmarked for the Palestinians. Following this decision, portions of PA-bound funds were allocated toward paying off the Israeli Electric Corporation, Mekorot (the Israeli National Water Company), hospitals, and oil companies. 'To hell with the starving Palestinians. Give us our money!'


06-22-06 - Report: Karni crossing operating far below potential The Karni crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel is, for all intents and purposes, closed to Palestinian merchandise from the Strip, despite pledges by Defense Minister Amir Peretz to keep it open as much as possible, according to a report by the Peres Center for Peace.


06-22-06 - United Church of Christ Leaders Release Statement on Presbyterian Church Decision to Modify Middle East Resolution Language


06-22-06 - Illinois, Israel sign cooperation agreement The agreement, signed by Chief Scientist Eli Opper and Illinois State Senator Jeffrey Schoenberg, comes during a week long visit to the country by an Illinois delegation aimed at encouraging Israeli homeland security companies to expand their operations in the US state The Israelization of America continues.


06-22-06 - Global Peace Project Launches at Pink Floyd Concert in Israel A global peace project called JAMOP (www.jamop.com) - Just A Minute of Peace, will be launched by Israel's David Broza and Palestinian Ebrahim Eid at a Pink Floyd concert taking place in Israel this evening, June 22, 2006.


06-22-06 - Study shows divide between Muslims, West "In the Western countries, the Muslims are to blame," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center. "In the Muslim countries and among Muslim minorities in Europe, the Western people are to blame."


06-22-06 - Pro-Israel Donors Rally For Joe, as Left Takes Aim Morris Amitay, founder of the pro-Israel Washington Political Action Committee said his committee already had donated the legal limit to the Lieberman campaign and would support him in the event of an independent candidacy. What a surprise?! Lieberman would appear to be a neocon.


06-22-06 - British Gas to resume talks with Israel on Gaza gas British Gas clinched a 20-year concession on the "Gaza Maritime" fields, in partnership with Consolidated Contractors Co (CCC), a firm owned by the powerful Palestinian families Khoury and Sabbagh.


06-22-06 - Surprise, Surprise: the Media Get the Presbyterian Israel Vote All Wrong* Israel's supporters are in effect praising a process that could still end investments in companies abetting Israel's occupation of the Palestinians.


06-22-06 - Abbas calls suicide bombings 'crime'

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Thursday, June 22, 2006


Some headlines and summaries from JTA

U.S. revokes ‘Jerusalem, Israel’ from death report

The U.S. Embassy in Israel reportedly revoked a death report for an American citizen that listed him as having died in “Jerusalem, Israel.” The Jerusalem Post reported that Wendy Serlin of Beit Shemesh received a letter earlier this month from the embassy, revoking its death report for her father, Myron Friedman, who died in 2002.
The “Report of Death of an American Citizen Abroad” sent to Serlin shortly after Friedman’s passing listed the place of death as “Jerusalem, Israel.” Serlin says the report was revoked for political reasons: The U. S. Congress passed an act in 1995 stating that the United States should recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but Presidents Clinton and Bush have invoked a security waiver to delay moving its embassy to Jerusalem.

The revocation followed a separate case in which Serlin’s neighbors, Naomi and Ari Zivotofsky, filed a suit against the U.S. State Department in 2003, demanding that their newborn son’s place of birth be listed as “Jerusalem, Israel,” the Post reported.

The Zivotofskys submitted Friedman’s death report as evidence. Shortly after, the embassy sent Serlin new paperwork for her father’s death, with the word “Israel” deleted, the Post wrote.

U.S. officials would not comment.


Abbas calls suicide bombings ‘crime’

Mahmoud Abbas called suicide bombings a “crime” because of Muslim prohibitions on suicide.
The Palestinian Authority president made the remark Wednesday at a conference for Nobel Peace Prize laureates in Jordan, after being questioned on the issue by fellow panelist Elie Wiesel.

“First of all, as Muslims, it is a crime to commit suicide. Muslims believe that if you commit suicide, you go to hell, and that goes without saying for killing others,” Abbas was quoted as saying by The Jerusalem Post.

Palestinian terrorist groups that promote suicide bombings, such as Hamas, deny it’s forbidden by Islam, saying it’s “martyrdom” when the target is Israeli Jews.

http://www.jta.org/

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News for 06-21-06

06-21-06 - Israel missile kills two in Gaza On 13 June, eight civilians were killed in a similar attack. Israel is out of control.


06-21-06 - 2 killed in second botched Israeli strike


06-21-06 - Palestinian civilians killed in fresh Israel air strike Another 13 civilians were wounded, including five children


06-21-06 - Palestinian killed in fresh raid A Palestinian militant has been shot dead by Israeli troops during an overnight raid in the West Bank.


06-21-06 - Group says Israel ignored beach blast evidence The Human Rights Watch statement followed a report by Israeli television on Tuesday that said the delayed explosion of a dud Israeli shell might have killed the beachgoers.


06-21-06 - Gaza-Egypt border closed following Israeli security alert The Gaza Strip's sole gateway to the world that bypasses Israel was closed owing to an Israeli security alert stopping EU monitors from accessing the terminal. Seems Israel found a way to block the sole link to the outside world for Gazans.


06-21-06 - 1.4 million new paupers in the Palestinian territories in late three months, PCPS report says


06-21-06 - Israel to cooperate with Hamas-led Palestinian gov't on key issues


06-21-06 - OFID grants a US$3,000,000 for reduction of deprivation in Palestine The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) today approved a grant of US$3,000,000, under the umbrella of the Special Grant Account for Palestine in support of social development projects and services that are provided to the poorest and hardest hit Palestinian communities in the West Bank.


06-21-06 - On the national day of refugee : 4.26 million Palestinian refugee in the world


06-21-06 - Climbdown as Hamas agrees to Israeli state Hamas has made a major political climbdown by agreeing to sections of a document that recognise Israel's right to exist and a negotiated two-state solution, according to Palestinian leaders.


06-21-06 - Palestinians vow revenge for kids' deaths Samia al-Sharif, freshly dressed for a wedding, had slipped out of the house to buy her disabled aunt a sandwich when the missile exploded, sending a piece of shrapnel into her back with a force so great that it propelled her inside the sandwich shop, witnesses said....Just two weeks earlier, her parents had enrolled her in the first grade.


06-21-06 - New evidence raises questions about Israel's role in beach explosion medical logs, cell phone records and other evidence reviewed by Knight Ridder suggest that the explosion took place during the barrage and probably was due to an artillery round.


06-21-06 - Rights group says Israel beach death probe not credible Human Rights Watch said the army's conclusion that it was not responsible for the deaths was based "exclusively" on information gathered by the IDF and excluded all evidence gathered by other sources....The group said the army fired "more than 80 such shells in the area of the beach" on the morning of June 9.


06-21-06 - Olmert: Withdrawal a demographic necessity Olmert said his "realignment plan," under which isolated West Bank settlements will be removed while others are annexed, will spare Israel the threat of a growing Palestinian population within its borders.


06-21-06 - Play About Gaza Death to Reach New York the solo show about an American demonstrator for Palestinian rights who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in the Gaza Strip, has found another New York theater.


06-21-06 - Beckett condemns 'completely unacceptable' Gaza deaths We call on the Israeli authorities to respect their obligations under international law and ensure that civilians, particularly children, are not harmed.



06-21-06 - Jordan urges Nobel laureates to help create Palestinian state Peace between Palestinians and Israelis "will only come with a peacefully negotiated final settlement based on international law," King Abdullah II told Nobel prize-winners and celebrities at the World Heritage site of Petra.


06-21-06 - Quartet has three "windows" to aid Palestinians: diplomat


06-21-06 - Russia welcomes approval of mechanism of aid to Palestine


06-21-06 - Israel criticized over airstrikes "I think we have been doing the right thing, and will continue to do so," Israel's infrastructure minister, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, told Israel Radio. "This is war."


06-21-06 - Pink Floyd's "The Wall" star marks Israeli barrier "I've seen pictures of it, I've heard a lot about it but without being here you can't imagine how extraordinarily oppressive it is and how sad it is to see these people coming through these little holes," he added. "It's craziness."


06-21-06 - Presbyterian Church amends investment plan The statement approved 483-28 also urges an end to terror against both Israelis and Palestinians. It says a sovereign state has the right to protect its borders but said the present location of Israel's security wall "illegally encroaches into the Palestinian territory."


06-21-06 - Annan 'Deeply Deplores' Israel's Killing of Three Children in Gaza


06-21-06 - IDF issues international law handbook for combat officers Officers and commanders in combat units are to receive a handbook on international law and war crimes written by the Israel Defense Forces in order to instill in ground forces the importance of observing international conventions. A little late for that, isn't it?


06-21-06 - American-Israeli indicted for smuggling arms Seth, who recently immigrated to the Jewish state and moved to the radical Jewish settlement of Tapuah in the occupied West Bank, was arrested on June 8 after the weaponry was discovered.


06-21-06 - Dahlan to Haaretz: Olmert's unilateral withdrawal will increase violence Mohammed Dahlan, one of Fatah's leaders in the territories, warns that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's unilateral withdrawal plan in the West Bank will not solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and will only perpetuate the bloody cycle of violence.



06-21-06 - Edwards visits Israel Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina, is considered a contender for the Democratic nomination for president in 2008. And as such, must make the necessary trip to Israel.


06-21-06 - Energy pact passes committee The bill would establish a $20 million annual grant program ? administered by the U.S. Department of Energy ? to fund joint ventures between U.S. and Israeli businesses and academics


06-21-06 - Time to go


06-21-06 - Bahrain pushes Palestine cause BAHRAIN plans to use its seat on the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC) to highlight the plight of the Palestinian people, according to Foreign Ministry Assistant Under-Secretary for Co-ordination and Follow-up Shaikh Abdulaziz bin Mubarak Al Khalifa.


06-21-06 - American Red Cross Welcomes Israel's Magen David Adom and Palestine Red Crescent Society to International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

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Wednesday, June 21, 2006


Some headlines and summaries from JTA

Israel criticized over airstrikes

Britain, the United Nations and Russia criticized Israel for recent airstrikes in the Gaza Strip that have killed civilians.
“The killing of innocent civilians, and particularly children, is completely unacceptable,” Britain’s foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, was quoted as saying.

U.N. official Ibrahim Gambari gave a similar quote, while Russia’s Foreign Ministry released a statement acknowledging Israel’s security concerns, but saying that the “use of force against the civilian population is unacceptable.”

The airstrikes are aimed at suspected terrorists, including those firing rocket salvoes into Israel, but have killed many civilians as well. “I think we have been doing the right thing, and will continue to do so,” Israel’s infrastructure minister, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, told Israel Radio. “This is war.”



Energy pact passes committee

A U.S. House of Representatives committee approved legislation to push for alternative energy solutions through joint American-Israeli research.
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce passed the United States-Israel Energy Cooperation Act by voice vote Tuesday, reflecting its bipartisan support. The legislation could be voted on by the full House as early as next week.

The bill would establish a $20 million annual grant program — administered by the U.S. Department of Energy — to fund joint ventures between U.S. and Israeli businesses and academics. The Senate version of the bill has been referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.


Edwards visits Israel


Former Democratic vice-presidential candidate John Edwards returned from a trip to Israel.
Edwards, who visited June 4-7, met with Israeli officials to discuss issues including the Israeli government’s efforts to ensure security, Israel’s approach towards the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority and the nuclear threat from Iran.

The trip included meetings with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz and Likud Party Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu.

Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina, is considered a contender for the Democratic nomination for president in 2008. He ran for the nomination in 2004 before becoming the running mate of Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).


Olmert: Withdrawal a demographic necessity

Ehud Olmert described his plan to withdraw from parts of the West Bank as an answer to drop-offs in Jewish immigration to Israel.
“Today, the State of Israel is already closer to being the place in which the majority of Jews in the world live,” the Israeli prime minister said Tuesday in a speech to the 35th Zionist Congress.

“I would like this fact to be determined solely by an increasing stream of aliyah, but unfortunately, this is not to be at this time.

Demographics point to processes of shrinking Jewish communities in the Diaspora due to low birth rates, assimilation, mixed marriages or unintentional alienation from their Jewish identity.”

Olmert said his “realignment plan,” under which isolated West Bank settlements will be removed while others are annexed, will spare Israel the threat of a growing Palestinian population within its borders.

http://jta.org

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