Category: politics

The New Israeli Left – The Nation

The joint struggle presents a new path for Israelis and Palestinians. While most Palestinians welcome any kind of support for their cause, not many Israelis choose to take this road; but for those who do, it changes their life. “The simple action of being there, behind walls and checkpoints, is subversive on its own,” says Adar Grayevsky, 28, an Israeli activist. “The whole idea of Israel is built on separation, and the notion that we can break that separation between us and the West Bank is powerful and new.”

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Over the years, the joint struggle has become more than the choice of a few. It could even be said that the Budrus–Bil’in model is beginning to have an effect on politics in both societies. If Israeli policy in the past decade has searched for ways to contain and isolate the Palestinians, the unarmed struggle and the popular support it receives—mostly through a network of grassroots organizations—creates a countereffect. The popular struggle has refocused attention on the troubles of Palestinians living under occupation. Dealing with the confiscation of land, or exposing the brutality and injustice of the military court system, focuses attention on fundamental issues: the lack of political rights for millions of Palestinians, the absence of freedom, the routine violations of human rights.

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“We are going to places where the occupation and expulsion actually take place, and we do it together with the local community,” says Avner Inbar, an activist with Solidarity Sheikh Jarrah. “We are not that interested in large rallies in Tel Aviv, where Jews stand on their own and declare that the occupation is wrong. We want to confront racism and discrimination where they happen. This joint effort, together with the local Palestinian communities, is something new for everyone involved in it, and for many people it becomes a transformative experience.”

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Full article.

Student files lawsuit over FBI’s GPS tracking

The federal appeals court in the Washington circuit where Afifi’s case was filed ruled in August that the collection of GPS data amounts to a government “search” that required a warrant. The Obama administration asked the court to change its ruling, calling the decision “vague and unworkable” and arguing that investigators will lose access to a tool they now use “with great frequency.” Full article.

Hate Rally Organizer Karen Lugo Appointed To California Civil Rights Commission Advisory Committee

Lugo has put herself forward as the official face of the hate rally, yet she has only been identified in the press as a “protester.” In fact, Lugo is a veteran right-wing operative and self-proclaimed constitutional law professor who dazzled the crowd with her knowledge of American’s founding documents: “The Constitution is not supposed to protect a tyranny of the minority,” she exclaimed. ”It is not discrimination to say no when a group is less than one percent of our population.”

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According to Lugo, who appears to be obsessed with the Muslim menace, patriotic Americans need to save the culture of Disneyland. As she said, “It is a matter of importance to our culture and society to tell a corporation like Disneyland, ‘We support you in keeping your culture and in not allowing the hijab to be worn as part of an employee’s garb.’”

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Full article.

BBC – Adam Curtis Blog: SADAT’S DAT

Very few people in the west saw the present revolutions in the Arab world coming. One of the main reasons is that we are still locked into a simplified way of looking at Arab countries – above all Egypt – that began in the 1970s. It dates back to the moment in 1977 when Anwar Sadat went to Israel to open the way to a peace treaty – that was then signed in Washington in 1979.

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Adam Curtis: I have found a fascinating documentary made in 1982 called “Why Was Cairo Calm?” And I thought I would put it up because it shows very clearly and dramatically how that skewed vision began.

It begins in the days after Sadat’s assassination in 1981 by an islamist cell of army officers. The American media had led an outpouring of shock and grief in the United States at the death of the heroic president. All the western leaders then travelled to Cairo to say goodbye to the man who had courageously changed the course of history.

But then they found that practically no Egyptians turned up to the funeral. And the western politicians and the American TV reporters couldn’t understand why.

The documentary tries to find the answer.

It tells the story of Sadat’s presidency – and how the American TV networks created a fantasy vision of him as a wise democratic leader who had opened up the Egyptian economy to the free market, and was loved by his people for making peace for Israel.

As the film shows – this was a complete illusion. And that when that image was played back to the Egyptian people they were angered and shocked. And the film makes a strong case that it was that anger that contributed to the decision to assassinate the president.

It has a great piece of footage from inside the court where the assassins are being tried. At the end of the trial one of them addresses the western media through the bars of his cage – desperately trying to tell them that they have a fantasy vision of Sadat.

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watch the full documentary here.

Congress to hold hearings on Muslim threat

the salem witch trials, mccarthy’s communist hearings and now king’s islamophobic inquisition.

“Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough set the Obama administration’s tone for discussions as tensions escalate before the first in a series of congressional hearings on Islamic radicalization. The hearings, chaired by New York Republican Peter King, will focus on the level of cooperation from the Muslim community to help law enforcement combat radicalization.” Full article.

Rape? Women? Stripped? What really happened to Lara Logan?

this was my position throughout this sad episode: we must wait to hear what logan has to say, we must wait to get more info before making any comments. unfortunately, msm had a field day with this. it fit their agenda too perfectly, plus it was sensational – something they could get a lot of mileage out of. also interesting that stories like this, which show a diff side, r not making it into msm. the truth doesn’t matter.

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Later I spoke with two young male activists who helped the person I later learned was Lara Logan (I didn’t know her before, I don’t usually follow US networks). They were Omar El Shennawy, a 21 year old teacher of English, and Abdulrahman Elsayed, a 25 year old teacher of physical education. They said they had formed a human chain with other young men to protect Logan, and then delivered her to the Egyptian Museum military post. Full article.