Martin Kramer hearts Genocide

I don't usually waste my time reading Kramer or even think of buying a book of his because I believe that goes directly into Zionist pockets. In one of his books the chairperson and president of the Washington Institute for Near East policy praised his work as the best the institute ever published-gosh! And in that book Mr. Kramer suggest that it is for the US' benefit to study the Middle East not because of the centuries of Orientalism, racial profiling, racism, colonialism, oppression of the people there, but only so that America... betters its mission in those countries. This sack of groveling pistachios called Edward Said an "aggreived Palestinian," personally attacked him, and called the American University of Beirut the "one university in the Arab world where academic freedom had meaning, thanks to its American anticedents." Sack of pistachios.
I mean what would you expect of someone who just wholeheartedly accepts colonialism and White supremecism? Here he justifies racism and ethnocide against Palestinians.

"State should not be in the business of expressing cultural identity"

" I think we have to get over the idea that a state has to express a nation. And if we have a bi-national state, it's expressing two nations. Only when bi-nationalism deconstructs the idea of a nation can we hope to think about what a state, what a polity might look like that would actually extend equality. It is no longer the question of "two peoples," as Martin Buber put it. There is extraordinary complexity and intermixing among both the Jewish and the Palestinian populations. There will be those who say, "Ok, a state that expresses two cultural identities." No. State should not be in the business of expressing cultural identity. "

when Obama was speaking about human rights, he forgot to mention this

When Barak Obama was reciting Qoranic verses for an audience of natives swooning at him in awe in Cairo, just after his visit to Saudi Arabia, he forgot to tell us this about his Saudi allies. For those of you who do not understand Arabic, this is what the headline says: "Albaraak (a Saudi religious scholar) sanctions the killing of those who call for the mixing of the genders (in the work place and academic institutions)" These are the human rights of Mr Obamamama. (Shukran Abu Nassim)

Recovering from Starbucks coffee memories

I'm recovering from my trip to the US. I spent more days at the airports than in the US. Out of everything I disliked there, the most annoying memory was meeting two students and a lecturer, from Kuwait and Egypt, at Georgetown University who were well known protagonists of the Palestinian cause who asked me to meet up with them outside... Starbucks! No, really. It seems Starbucks has become the meeting place of activists for justice in Palestine. Not only that, but one of the students came out walking (after I refused to enter) with a Starbucks coffee cup! After I bashed at him, the lecturer said I was bossy and rude. Maybe he's right, mind you, we'll have to ask the surviving relatives of the second Qana massacre whether the Starbucks funded missiles that killed their babies were also bossy and rude. But, then again, ignore the roots of my Muslim rage and despair, to borrow the term from modern day, celebrity Bernard Lewis, Mr Bono. (One of my anthropology professors at SOAS once came into class with a Coca Cola... I tried explaining to him where his money just went to, but shouldn't he already know that?)

The Yew Ass Aiyyy

My aunt, who migrated to the US in 1980s, met me at the national train station in Washington, DC. Her happiness did not last as we were stopped by the police a few minutes after we left the train station. My aunt told me this will be the last time she will let me visit her.

The Whites run this country

When I was spending the night at the airport in Atlanta last Friday, I called my friend in Gaza. I introduced my new friend (A)* from the airport security, who became pro-Palestinian. My friend in Gaza told me to ask (A) why his president does not help in lifing the siege on Gaza and stop his support for Israel. (A) replied "I am Black. My president is Black too. But you should know, the Whites run this country."
* So that Mr. (A) does not lose his job

American Pragmatism: as long as it is in our interests, it is right

When I was sleeping on my suitcase in the Atlanta airport, an American policy maker in Iraq was sitting close to me as his flight was cancelled too. After we delved into the conversation of why I saw his president as a neo-imperialist, and why I dislike McDonalds, American pragmatism, and ignorance, he told why I was wrong. "We did a lot of mistakes in Iraq (only?!). But, we're fixing it now. I was working in (X) area in Iraq and we placed (Y) as a local policing his community. Later as he grew popular, he was voted to be governor [...] There was also this one time where we went to (Z)'s house and we asked him to trust us, and that we trusted him totally. The bombings from his side stopped." Did I not tell you I dislike American pragmatism and ignorance?

Are you a Mah-zlim?

So, I spent the last three days trying to get to Washington, DC from London, and finally made it by train from Atlanta where the plane landed. In DC, I was welcomed by an ex-marine who asked me "are you a Moslim (mah-zlim)?" I said "why?" He said, "you look Moslim (mah-zlim)." I said, "well, is there a certain way that a Muslim looks?" He said, "No, Middle Eastern". I said "Really? But in the Middle East there are Muslim Sunnis and Shiaa, Druze, Alawites, Isma'ilis, Khawarij, Jews, Maronites, Protestants, Catholics, Zoroastrians, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic, Coptic Catholic, and Coptic Protestant . So, who do I look more like?"

Obama the Fox

I really like the introductions Faysal el-Qassem begins with on his show, Al-Ittijah el-Mu'aakis (can be contextually translated to The Opposing View), on Aljazeera Arabic. When I watched this show live, I waited for the transcribing to be completed so that I can translate to the blog. I really liked Faysal's personification of a Fox as Obama. That should give him literary credit (he actually is a graduate of literature from Damascus University).
The show was entitled "A Year Passes on Barrak Obama's Presidency" and Faysal began with this:
"... The fox emerged in a preacher's clothing and walked amongst us condemning and criticising the deceitful. We are wrong to believe that a fox can ever be principled and that is the problem that Arabs have with the US president Obama who on the one hand sweet talks them, and on the other, eludes to the opposite, just as a fox might do. What has Obama brought us after a year in presidency other than his mocking cheap talk in Cairo and Istanbul? As someone previously mentioned: has Obama's dark skin numbed us into forgetting the war crimes that his predecessor committed against us? Did his colour fool us into believing him (in the sense of us identifying with him, we the wretched of the earth)? Didn't he himself admit to the fact that no progress has been made as to the Palestine issue? Wasn't his speech in front of the Zionist lobby one that was soaking with support for Israel? What have the Iraqi people gained from Obama other than more killings and bombings? Don't his pilot-free warcrafts kill Pakistanis and Afghans daily? Didn't George Bush, his predecessor, try to bomb Arab satellite channels while he, now, tries to legislate codes to terrorize the Arab press and silence our voices? Aren't Arab and Muslim prisoners still subject to the various forms of torture in Guantanamo which he promised to shut down and went back on his word? Don't Arabs get subject to severe inspections in US airports- inspections in the most private areas of their bodies? Nevertheless, isn't it impossible for any president succeeding George Bush to get rid of the economic, military, and political burdens the latter created? Isn't his first year supposed to be a year of trial and error, and weighing out responses? And, even so, why are we so stuck up on this American president as if he was ruling by himself, the same way Arab leaders are ruling? Isn't he limited by institutions and can't simply rule out all the odds in a whim of a magic wand? How can we expect of Obama to solve our problems if our own rulers aren't doing a thing? Didn't this president's policies depend on the wish to open up to the Arab and Islamic world and not to resort to empty rhetoric?..."
He hosted a so-called "political activist" live from D.C., Mohammad Saied el Boreiny, who appeared as a groveling demagogue, telling us to give the burdened Obama a chance. Do we have the ability to give him a chance? Do the Palestinians in Gaza, hanging on to live by a thin thread, have the time to give Mr Obama a chance? Do the everyday killed in Iraq have a chance? Couldn't he at least, admit to the political rights of the Palestinians during his speech in Cairo rather than reproduce the same old discourse of blaming the victims? No, no chances, no negotiations, no compromise. Remember South Africa: no negotiation to racism, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing. No negotiations given when they break our hearts, strip us off our dignity. Spare us your neo-liberal, McDonaldized speech Mr Obama (و روح إلعب بعيد).

Albawtaka: war stories online

women's experiences of war on this excellent site.

Zionist hooligans at the house of common

"I was forwarded this report by Yael Kahn via Moshé Machover; the Zionists' behaviour is appalling.
Paul F
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
I was fortunate to attend the packed meeting on "Never Again: For Anyone" at Parliament in Portcullis House on 27 Jan 10, on Holocaust Memorial Day. This was one of the best meetings I have ever attended in nearly 40 years of being an activist. I was inspired by the courage and resolve of 85 year old Holocaust survivor, Dr Hajo Meyer.
I was moved by the Palestinian speaker, Dr Haidar Eid, who spoke live from Gaza via telephone. The fact that he was prevented from attending this important event was a poignant reminder of the strangulating siege imposed by Israel. Not only did the Israeli nightly attacks on Gaza prevent him from speaking live via video link, but the telephone line was unavailable for the first part of the event. After a few failed attempts to connect by phone, the speaker schedule had to be quickly rearranged. When, eventually, a phone link was established the Boothroyd Room fell silent. I noticed the pain on many faces, hearing Dr Haidar Eid speaking calmly about the horrific suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza, inflicted by Israel.
Hearing other speakers gave a glimpse to understanding how other genocides were planned, implemented and denied.
This event was by no means the only one on Holocaust Memorial Day, yet it attracted Zionist lead figures, among them: Louise Ellman MP [Vice Chair of Labour Friends of Israel], Jerry Lewis [Vice President, Board of Deputies] and Jonathan Hoffman [Co-Vice Chair of the Zionist Federation]. Even Christian Friends of Israel came to the event organised by IJAN [International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network]. The presence of these Zionists was a confirmation of the significance they attributed to this event.
The conduct of many of the Zionists in attendance showed their purpose was not to learn from it, especially not from Holocaust survivor, Dr Meyer. Was it fear from his words that drew them into the Boothroyd Room?
Most of the Zionists clearly came to silence the Holocaust survivor, Dr Meyer. As soon as he started talking they shouted at him. The first to shout was Jonathan Hoffman. He was also the first to be escorted out by police. This was after Hoffman’s repeated shouting at the 85 year old Holocaust survivor, preventing Meyer from giving his talk. The police gave him a number of warnings. The two MPs who chaired the meeting were eventually forced to ask for his removal.
Similarly, a bearded Zionist man repeatedly shouted at the 85 year old Holocaust survivor. When eventually he was escorted out by police, his conduct was most shocking. He stunned us when he made the Nazi salute and shouted the Nazi obscenity, "sieg heil". We could only speculate on his motives.
A couple more Zionists were eventually escorted out by police, before Dr Meyer was able to complete his talk. There were other Zionists who also joined in the shameful and disruptive conduct of shouting at the speaker.
They tried to silence the Holocaust survivor from speaking about his memories and lessons from the Holocaust. Even when Dr Meyer was talking about the extremely painful period of his life, under the anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany and Auschwitz the shouting of obscenities at him did not stop. Some of the shameful attacks were when Dr Meyer spoke positively about Judaism.
I have never witnessed such contempt and disrespect to a Holocaust survivor. It is inconceivable that such conduct would have not been labelled anti-Semitic by the same people who were doing the attacking, had Dr Meyer not been anti-Zionist.
It was a personal reminder of an attack on my father, who, like Dr Meyer, grew up in Nazi Germany. My father, Michael Kahn, escaped Nazi Germany in 1937. In 1988 my father joined us at a weekly protest at Dizengoff Circle [in Tel Aviv] against Israeli attacks on Palestinians. He was singled out by Zionist Israelis, who told him in Hebrew: “shame the Nazis didn’t finish you off”.
The hateful remarks and lack of compassion for the Holocaust survivor, Dr Meyer, by the Zionists was compounded with their lack of interest in the Holocaust itself!
Despite the obscenities shouted at Dr Meyer, by the Zionist thugs, he did not give up delivering his talk. The 85 year old continued with his powerful and thoughtful talk, in spite of being interrupted many times, which forced him to stop his talk more than a dozen times. Meyer, who was a freedom fighter against the Nazis, until he was captured and sent to Auschwitz, demonstrated an amazing spirit. Clearly, the courage he had when joining the resistance against the Nazis has not faded over the years, and even at 85 he did not allow the Zionist attackers to intimidate him.
During and after the meeting Zionist thugs also singled out a Jewish Rabbi, Jacob Weisz. They were aggressive towards the Jewish Rabbi, who was in traditional Jewish garb and came to listen to Dr Meyer. The thugs were heard making disrespectful comments to the Jewish Rabbi at his traditional Jewish appearance... Other Jews were also attacked by Zionist thugs, including physical threats. "

comrades in bricup

"British Committee for Universities of Palestine send open letter to singer asking that he cancel summer concert in Israel, refer him to Goldstone Report. 'You’re behaving as if playing in Israel is morally neutral,' they write"

uniting for filisteen

"I believe from the start a political miscalculation was made: the colonization of Palestine and the siege on Gaza do not take place in isolation. The network of neo-liberal hegemony in the region includes Egypt as a key player and thus the regime acts as a partner with Israel when shared interests are at stake."

Gaza in plain language

Gaza in Plain Language

interruptions continue

Israeli ambassador disrupted at univ in California