Walls triumph over bridges…conference on siege is a victim of Israel's siege
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- Written by Gaza Community Mental Health Programme Gaza Community Mental Health Programme
- Published: 22 October 2008 22 October 2008
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Press Release
Walls triumph over bridges…conference on siege is a victim of siege
In a shocking turn, the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme found their International Conference, "Siege and Mental Health… Walls vs. Bridges" under siege. The conference was scheduled to be held on 27-28 October in the Gaza strip. However, following one year of planning and preparation, the academic conference has been disrupted by the Israeli Authorities decision to deny admittance to the international conference participants, only two weeks prior the conference. What better irony to highlight the effects of the siege?
The conference has been organized to serve as a forum for professional discussion and scientific exchange concerning the impact of the Gaza siege on children, families, and communities and peace-making efforts. The plan is to gather top researchers and academics from around the world to build bridges for dialogue, mutual acknowledgment, and peace. Some 120 participants from universities around the world were scheduled to attend. 25 of them are presenting papers and original research. The main themes of the conference are addressing professional, mental health and human rights matters.
If Israel imposes strict siege on the whole population of Gaza strip for "security reason", as claimed, we wonder, how could such a conference constitute a threat to the Israeli security.
These actions represent a profound blow to the rights of academic freedom, free speech, education, and cultural dialogue"
We view this action as an action to block communication, distort the platform for mutual acknowledgment, understanding, and admitting the suffering of others.
Once again, and unlike what is claimed, Israel – as an occupying power- is proving that it is controlling the Gaza Strip, preventing people from entry or exit.
Despite all the challenges, we are determined that the conference will go ahead. We plan that the internationals will participate in Ramallah with a video link to Gaza for the local participants who are prevented by the Israelis from leaving.
We affirm that, If Israel can impose siege on our bodies, they cannot besiege our minds and interaction with the outside world. Despite the unjust decision, we have the determination to continue with the conference as planned. We aim to be able to achieve goals of the conference as well as raising awareness about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of siege on the civilian population of Gaza .
We demand the Israeli authorities to change their decision and allow conference participants to enter Gaza.
Finally, we urge our participants, friends, solidarity groups, human rights organizations, and mental health communities, to protest against this decision, denounce it, and expose the ongoing Israeli policies and violations of human rights.
For more information, please contact Husam El-Nounou
Public Relations Director
Gaza Community Mental Health Programme
0599 862595
08-2825700
The Arab-Jewish Clashes in Acre and the Connection to Israel's Extremist Settlers
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- Written by Ali Abunimah, Palestine Center Fellow Ali Abunimah, Palestine Center Fellow
- Published: 20 October 2008 20 October 2008
- Hits: 5684 5684
Israeli leaders have presented the events in Acre as unfortunate intercommunal violence in an otherwise peaceful city. Palestinians have perceived them-correctly it would appear-as being related to efforts organized by Jewish extremists to force Arabs out of the city (Palestinians in Israel are citizens of the state and are often also referred to as 'Arabs').
Read more: The Arab-Jewish Clashes in Acre and the Connection to Israel's Extremist Settlers
"Muslim," The ultimate slur in American politics
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- Written by Homa Khaleeli Homa Khaleeli
- Published: 20 October 2008 20 October 2008
- Hits: 3877 3877
As Barack Obama surges ahead in the polls, the message is clear: America is ready for a black president - as long as he isn't Muslim.
There is no doubt that calling someone a Muslim is now considered a slur in American politics. The US media has reported on "accusations" that Obama might be a follower of Islam (a claim that 12% of voters believe), as if practising the religion was somehow a crime. The link has been reinforced by the idea that Obama may be hiding his true religion, as some terrified voters have assumed.
When a John McCain supporter at a recent rally said she didn't trust Obama because he was an Arab, the senator replied: "No. He's a decent family man."
While pundits have expressed anxiety that the white electorate may feign support for Obama while secretly voting for a white candidate, no one is even bothering to pretend they would ever vote for a Muslim. Or even want a Muslim to vote for them.
Fatemah Fakhraie, who runs the feminist Muslim website Muslim Media Watch, says: "I certainly don't think anyone is chasing the Muslim vote. Hearing the word Muslim used as a smear is very damaging. It's damaging to know that people in my country, the country I was born and raised in, don't view me as American. It's alienating for many US Muslims to feel like they don't belong in their own homes."
Yet Muslims in America are not surprised, according to Sayyeda Mirza-Jafri, a philanthropy consultant from New York, and are not letting it shake their faith in Obama. "Most people think: let him distance himself from us," she says. "It's not because he's insensitive to the way Muslims feel. It's the way America is. There is just so much Islamophobia. We know he's a moral, good man."
Olive harvest attacks anger Abbas
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- Written by BBC News BBC News
- Published: 20 October 2008 20 October 2008
- Hits: 3499 3499
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has condemned violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians harvesting their olives as a "dangerous escalation".
There have been several reports of attacks in recent days, a week into the yearly olive harvest.
But settlers have accused Palestinians of burning their own olive groves and then blaming them.
Mr Abbas criticised Israel for failing to stop the attacks, but the army says it is working to protect Palestinians.
Millions of olive trees across the West Bank provide a livelihood to many Palestinians.
"We condemn the attacks against our Palestinian people and the harassment by the settlers and army during the olive harvest in more than one place in the West Bank," said Mr Abbas, in comments published in Israeli newspapers on Monday.
He said he would fund the planting of a million trees, calling on Palestinians to green the West Bank with olive groves.
'Vocal and disruptive'
On Monday, the Palestinian-led International Solidarity Movement said more than 100 settlers had blocked roads near the West Bank town of Qalqilya and had been throwing stones.
They said four people, three internationals and one Israeli citizen, had been arrested "after being attacked by settlers" while helping Palestinian farmers pick olives.
In an incident filmed by the Associated Press on Saturday, a Palestinian photographer and a British woman were punched by settlers in the West Bank town of Hebron before the Israeli military broke up the scuffle.
The Israeli military criticised the Palestinians in the area for going out to harvest their olives without coordinating the timing with them.
Under measures which the Israeli military says are aimed at reducing clashes, Palestinians in some areas must harvest their olives according to a timetable agreed by Israeli and Palestinian authorities.
The Jerusalem Post on Saturday quoted an unnamed "top Israeli Defence Forces official" as saying this year's harvest was one of the most violent in recent years, with 20 clashes so far.
The settlers' Yesha Council has said that while "a few very vocal, very visible and very disruptive Jews... allegedly carry out actions against the Arab olive groves", the number involved is "tiny" and the damage minor compared to "vandalism and theft against Jewish farms elsewhere".
The tensions come against a backdrop of a rise in violent incidents between Palestinians and settlers in the West Bank this year.
Israel has settled about 450,000 of its citizens in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since it occupied the areas in 1967.
Settlements, which are heavily guarded by the Israeli army, are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/7679399.stm
Published: 2008/10/20 09:13:45 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
THE OREGONIAN'S ALARMING CHOICE: Why accept a DVD exploiting Muslims?
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- Written by DANIEL BRYANT, YITZHAK HUSBANDS-HANKIN DANIEL BRYANT, YITZHAK HUSBANDS-HANKIN
- Published: 20 October 2008 20 October 2008
- Hits: 3611 3611
concern and even alarm that The Oregonian chose advertising dollars
over responsible journalism in the distribution of the DVD, "Obsession:
Radical Islam's War Against the West." Though the movie begins with a
disclaimer that its subject is not about the majority of peaceful
Muslims, the images it provides are overwhelmingly of violent words and
deeds against the West.
Using frightening footage of disturbing events, the effect if not the
purpose of this film is to portray Islam as a threat to our way of
life. In the guise of a documentary, in reality it is hate-mongering
propaganda that uses the horrendous actions of terrorists and the
violent words of religious extremists to exploit our fears of strangers
and foreigners, especially those of Middle Eastern descent. We must
remember that it was such fear-mongering after the 9/11 attacks that
led us into our war on a country that had no involvement in that
terrible day.
We are not naive. We know terrorism represents a real threat and that
there are terrorists who are supported by radical religious ideologies.
But distortions and half-truths taken from the complex realities of the
Islamic world will not help us find solutions to real threats of such
terrorism and religious extremism.
Religious militant extremism is dangerous whether from a Muslim, Jewish
or Christian perspective. "Obsession" is silent on the historical,
economic and sociological contexts in which extremism emerges in many
societies. It portrays an over-simplistic view of our world in which
the only choice is us versus them, good versus evil. Despite the
message of this film, Christians, Jews and Muslims live and worship
peacefully side by side, in this country as well as within many Muslim
countries around the world.
Extremism, present in virtually all religions, is a difficult issue and
requires serious attention. To focus solely on the extremist elements
of one religion makes it appear that only their religion has a problem.
When that is your belief, it is a very short step to thinking their
religion is the problem.
It is hard to watch this DVD without concluding that something must be
wrong with Islam to allow such horrors to continue. It is even harder
to watch without developing doubts about your Muslim co-worker or fears
about that Arab-looking man on the street.
We deserve better. In a time when we need to be building bridges of
good will and trust between faith communities, this movie erects only
walls of fear and hate. It speaks of a dangerous ideology within Islam
without recognizing the dangerous ideology it promotes against Islam.
We -- a rabbi, a minister and a Muslim leader -- have worked together
for years to build better understanding of how religious bigotry
against any of our faiths is a threat to all of our faiths. We
encourage readers of The Oregonian to reach out to your Muslim
neighbors to overcome the broken trust and suspicion created by this
movie.
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Daniel Bryant is the senior minister of First Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ), Eugene. Yitzhak Husbands-Hankin is the senior
rabbi at Temple Beth Israel, Eugene. Ibrahim Hamide is the president of
the Eugene Middle East Peace Group. This column is presented on behalf
of the Anti-Hate Task Force.