The ethnic cleansing of Area C: Maps and Audio. Campanion to KBOO's One Land Many Voices

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Written by Peter Miller Peter Miller

Published: 02 September 2012 02 September 2012

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For the radio show related to this page see: http://kboo.fm/node/49212 on KBOO 90.7 FM.

The Palestine Land Loss cards are available at http://www.fosna.org/content/mapcards

The Land Loss card quickly illustrates the basic political history of the Palestine-Israel conflict.  The first panel shows the relative land Jewish and Palestinian land ownership just prior to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.  Jews at that time owned about 7% of the land, represented by the white areas on the first panel, and about 30% of the total population of Palestine.  The second panel shows the U.N. partition plan of 1947 which gave the Jewish population about 55% of historic Palestine.  The third panel shows the situation after the creation of the state of Israel, which involved the ethnic cleansing over 700,000 Palestinians from their land and the destruction of hundreds of Palestinian villages and towns.  Israel was created on 78% of historic Palestine with only 22% for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.  This panel also represents the basic outline of a viable two-state solution.  The fourth panel represents the situation we face today: the Palestinian Gaza strip is under a cruel and permanent siege and closure and the Palestinian areas in the West Bank becoming isolated islands in a sea of Israeli control as Israel continues to annex and expand its control over Area C.

This United Nations OCHA map of Area C shows in better detail the Israeli controlled Area C which Israel is on the verge of annexing. It represents over 65% of the West Bank.

Read more: The ethnic cleansing of Area C: Maps and Audio. Campanion to KBOO's One Land Many Voices

Carter Center Calls for Accountability After Corrie Verdict

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Written by The Carter Center The Carter Center

Published: 30 August 2012 30 August 2012

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http://www.cartercenter.org/news/pr/rachel-corrie-verdict-082912.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 29, 2012
Contact: Deborah Hakes 1-404-420-5124


Carter Center Calls for Accountability After Corrie Verdict


Atlanta….On Aug. 28, the district court in Haifa, Israel, ruled that the State of Israel was not responsible for the 2003 killing of Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old U.S. peace activist who was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer as she attempted to nonviolently prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. Israel's policy of home demolitions has been widely criticized by human rights organizations as a form of collective punishment. It violates Israel's obligations under the Geneva Conventions. The Corrie family had requested $1 in symbolic damages and legal expenses.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro and human rights groups and have criticized Israel's investigation of the case for a lack of thoroughness, transparency, and credibility.

"The killing of an American peace activist is unacceptable," said former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. "The court's decision confirms a climate of impunity, which facilitates Israeli human rights violations against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Territory."

Approximately 94 percent of Israeli military investigations of soldiers suspected of violent criminal activity against Palestinians and their property end without indictments, according to the Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din. 91 percent of investigations into crimes committed by Israeli civilians against Palestinians in the Occupied Territory also end without indictment. In this case, the district court judge ruled that the drivers of the bulldozer could not see her, despite eyewitness testimony to the contrary.

In response to the verdict, Rachel Corrie's parents Cindy and Craig stated "We are deeply saddened and troubled by what we heard today in the court of Judge Oded Gershon. This was a bad day, not only for us, but for human rights, for humanity, the rule of law, and the country of Israel…Rachel was a human being who deserved accountability, and we as her family deserve that too."

In contrast, the family of James Miller, an Emmy Award-winning British filmmaker killed by Israeli forces in Rafah two months after Corrie's death, ultimately received over $2 million in damages from the Israeli government. The government of the United Kingdom had threatened to seek the extradition of the Israeli soldiers in question.

"I hope that the U.S. government will use all reasonable means to ensure that the rights of American citizens are protected overseas and that justice is done for the Corrie family," said former President Carter.


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"Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope."
A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in more than 70 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; improving mental health care; and teaching farmers in developing nations to increase crop production. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.

Local Jewish Organization Calls for Accountability for Killing of Olympia Activist

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Written by Portland Jewish Voice for Peace Portland Jewish Voice for Peace

Published: 28 August 2012 28 August 2012

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PRESS RELEASE
Portland Jewish Voice for Peace
August 28, 2012

For Immediate Release

Local Jewish Organization Calls for Accountability for Killing of Olympia
Activist

“I spent a lot of time writing about the disappointment of discovering,
somewhat first-hand, the degree of evil of which we are still capable. I
should at least mention that I am also discovering a degree of strength
and of basic ability for humans to remain human in the direst of
circumstances – which I also haven’t seen before. I think the word is
dignity. I wish you could meet these people. Maybe, hopefully, someday you
will.” Rachel Corrie writing from Gaza (Palestine) Feb. 28, 2003

The verdict in the civil lawsuit brought by the parents of Rachel Corrie
against the State of Israel was delivered in a court in Haifa this
morning. Members of the local chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace expressed
disappointment in the outcome of the trial and called for accountability
for those responsible for the death of the young activist from Olympia,
Washington.

“We are not surprised by the outcome of this trial because it is extremely
rare that governments are held accountable when their actions result in
the killing of civilians,” said William Seaman, a member of the Portland
chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace. “We are encouraged by and support the
Corrie family’s decision to appeal this verdict to the Israeli Supreme
Court but this outcome makes it all the more urgent that we also find
other ways to bring those responsible to account.”

JVP-Portland is calling for an increase in efforts to pressure financial
services company, TIAA-CREF, to divest entirely from companies that profit
from Israel’s occupation, which directly contributes to the killings of
civilians, both Palestinians and those who stand with them, as did Rachel
Corrie, at the cost of her life.

On March 23, 2003, Rachel Corrie, a 23- year- old American citizen, was
killed by an Israeli military Caterpillar bulldozer. She was killed as she
stood, non-violently, attempting to stop the demolition of the home of a
Palestinian civilian family in Gaza, Palestine. Corrie was wearing a
bright red reflective vest so as to be clearly visible. This did not
prevent the Israeli soldiers driving the Caterpillar bulldozer from
driving the bulldozer blade over Corrie, fracturing her spine and killing
her.

Portland Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) stands with the Corrie family and
with other citizens from around the world to remember Rachel Corrie and
calls for the Israeli Government to be held accountable for this crime.
“Those of us living in the Northwest feel a special connection to Rachel
Corrie, who lived in Olympia, Washington,” explained Maxine Fookson,
another member of JVP. “She bravely went to Palestine, armed only with
her intentions for peace and justice and with her notebooks and pen. She
wrote beautifully of the dignity of the Palestinian people.”

The demolition of Palestinian homes is a tactic used by the Israeli
military. Homes are demolished as a form of collective punishment.
Entire villages have been demolished in a deliberate process to confiscate
and uproot Palestinians from their land.

Caterpillar military bulldozers, manufactured in the U.S., are used by the
Israeli Military for home demolitions. Portland JVP calls on all people
of conscience to pressure the Caterpillar Corporation to stop
manufacturing and selling their bulldozers to Israel for military
purposes. “We stand with the international movement calling on
institutions and individuals to divest from companies that are involved
with or profit from the Israeli occupation of Palestine,” said Fookson.
“Specifically, we are urging the investment firm, TIAA-CREF, to divest
their holdings from Caterpillar Corporation and other companies that
perpetuate and profit from the Israeli occupation of Palestine.”

“We remember Rachel Corrie and stand with her in demanding justice for
Palestine,” said Fookson.

Portland JVP contact: 503-888-7455

- END -

ISM’s response to the Rachel Corrie trial verdict

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Written by International Solidarity Movement (ISM) International Solidarity Movement (ISM)

Published: 28 August 2012 28 August 2012

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The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is deeply concerned by the verdict of Judge Oded Gershon that absolved Israel’s military and state of the 2003 murder of American ISM activist Rachel Corrie. Rachel was crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer while protesting the demolition of a Palestinian home in the Gaza Strip.

Despite the American administration stating that the Israeli military investigation had not been "thorough, credible and transparent" and the Israeli government withholding key video and audio evidence, Judge Gershon found no fault in the investigation or in the conclusion that the military and state were not responsible for Rachel’s death. Judge Gershon ruled  that Rachel was to blame for her own murder and classifies her non-violent attempt to prevent war crimes as proof that Rachel was not a “thinking person".

By disregarding international law and granting Israeli war criminals impunity Judge Gershon’s verdict exemplifies the fact that Israel’s legal system cannot be trusted to administer justice according to international standards.The ISM calls on the international community to hold Israel accountable by supporting the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) and continuing to join the Palestinian struggle in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Describing the situation in Gaza 2 days before she was killed, Rachel said, “I'm witnessing the systematic destruction of a people's ability to survive. It's horrifying.”  Rachel’s analysis holds true today, confirmed by the United Nations a day before this ruling, which reported that Gaza would not be "liveable" by 2020 barring urgent action.

The verdict is a green light for Israeli soldiers to use lethal force against human rights defenders and puts Palestinian and International human rights defenders in mortal danger.
This will not deter us. As long as our Palestinian sisters and brothers want our presence, the ISM will continue to find ways to break Israel’s siege, and stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. As Rachel’s mother Cindy put it, “There were children behind the walls of the home Rachel was trying to protect...We should have all been there”.

Judge Gershon’s verdict is a travesty of justice but it is not exceptional.  As a rule the Israeli legal system provides Israeli soldiers impunity to commit murder. The only Israeli soldier convicted of manslaughter since the outbreak of the second Intifada in 2000 was Taysir Hayb, a Bedouin citizen of Israel for shooting British ISM volunteer Tom Hurndall in the back of the head with a sniper rifle as Tom was carrying a child to safety. At least 6,444 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupation forces in this period, with no justice for them or their families.           


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