BESA: MUSLIMS WHO SAVED JEWS IN WW2

This is one of the most beautiful stories I have had the privilege of reposting. Maybe I am in a woosy mood, but I cried tears of happiness to see what was and what could be again! However, I do have one question. Were the shoe on the other foot, the Albanian Muslims the ones running from the Nazis, would the Jewish people risk themselves as the Albanians did? What do you think? I would love to think they would!

Holocaust Exhibit Sheds Light on
Story of Unlikely Rescuers, Muslims

Baba Haxhi Dede Reshatbardhi, an Albanian Muslim who helped save Jews during the Holocaust, was photographed by Norman H. Gershman for the exhibition ~ Besa: A Code of Honor.(Courtesy of El Paso Holocaust Museum and Study Center)

El Paso Times By Doug Pullen
August 16, 2009
Originally in Vos Iz Neias

El Paso, TX ~ Photographer Norman H. Gershman's "Besa: A Code of Honor" exhibit chronicles one of the more unusual ~ and less-known ~ stories from the Holocaust.

Its 30 black-and-white photos tell the stories of some of the more than 20,000 Albanian Muslims who rescued Jews from the Nazis during World War II.

"There is no evidence of any Jew being turned over to any Nazi," said Gershman, who is Jewish, from his home in Basalt, Colo. "Seventy percent of the people in Albania are Muslims."

Muslims rescuing Jews seems improbable in today's world. Gershman hopes the exhibit, which will open a five-week run Aug. 23 at the El Paso Holocaust Museum and Study Center, will help chip away at ethnic and religious stereotypes.

"Our purpose is really to inform the West of what Muslims did," he said. "These are Muslims. They did it in relation to their religion. They primarily did it without compensation or want of any."

The six-year project took Gershman, who turned 77 on Friday, to the southern European country and to neighboring Kosovo, where he met with some of the people (or their families) who helped spirit Jews out of the country.

"In many cases, Jews were arrested or were refugees, and those (Albanians) living there would give them false passports and dress them in Islamic garb," Gershman said. "In many cases, the Albanian rescuers never even knew their real names."

The Albanian people were practicing a centuries-old code of conduct called besa.

"There's a culture of besa. It's thousands of years old. It's a code of honor," he explained. "It's inconceivable for an Albanian to turn their back on someone that needs help, to the point where they will lay their lives down for them."

The people he photographed and interviewed ~ Gershman also produced a book of photographs and stories ~ had integrated besa into their religion.

"One said, as an example, that there is no Quran without besa, no besa without Quran," Gershman recalled. "They said, 'We were saving God's children,' 'If you save a life, you to go paradise,' 'Jews and Muslims are cousins,' and on and on."

When Gershman asked one man why his family risked their lives for the Jews, he replied, " 'Any Albanian would have done it. It's nothing special.' "

But it's a pretty special story to Gershman, one that's received very little publicity, largely due to more than four decades of oppressive communist rule at the hand of Enver Hoxha. The stories began circulating after Hoxha's death in 1985 and the election of a non-communist regime in 1992, Gershman said.

"I'd never heard of it, either. I'm learning about this along with everybody else," said Maribel Villalva, executive director of the El Paso Holocaust Museum and Study Center. "I'm surprised. People who are scholars on the Holocaust are hearing about this for the first time, too. It took Mr. Gershman to discover this story and put it out there."

The show consists of about 30 16-by-20-inch black-and-white portraits, some straightforward, others emotional. Each is accompanied by explanatory text. Gershman chose to shoot in black and white because, he said, it gives the portraits a more "timeless" look.

"There are wonderful stories of courage," Villalva said. "Some are really sad, but the common theme in all of them is this is what they had to do ~ it didn't matter if these people were Jewish or Christian. It was simply because they were human."

It's also an inspiring story, she added. "It's very easy to get caught up in the horrors and the sadness of the Holocaust," Villalva said. "What this exhibit does is showcase the courage of the people who did everything in their power."

The exhibit was organized by the Hebrew Union College ~ Jewish Institute of Religion Museum. It has been displayed at Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust museum, as well as the United Nations and the Council of European Nations.

It has been endorsed by Presidents Clinton and Carter, Holocaust survivor and activist Elie Wiesel, and Jehan Sadat, the widow of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.

Villalva said the exhibit has been making the rounds of Holocaust museums and is showing concurrently at the Holocaust Museum Houston. It will head to Nashville after its El Paso run ends Sept. 27.

Gershman's project is also the subject of a documentary, "God's House," which will be released in 2010. He's been interviewed about it on radio's Voice of America and Al Jazeera, the Arabic news network. He will be featured on future editions of "CBS Sunday Morning" and NPR's "Weekend Edition."

Villalva said the exhibit serves as a powerful reminder of what people of various ethnic and religious backgrounds can do together. The message is particularly timely in the post-9/11 world, where racial and ethnic stereotypes have worsened.

"You hear a lot about the strife between Muslims and Jews. This highlights a time when people of both faiths coexisted during one of the most horrible times in our history," she said.

Gershman said he really wasn't sure what the project was going to become when he started digging around six years ago. But he believes he chanced upon an inspiring, if little known, part of our history.

"I had no idea why I was doing it," he said, "but I knew I had to do it."

I FOUND THIS RESPONSE TO THIS PHOTOGRAPHIC DISPLAY ON AN ALBANIAN JEWISH SITE:

Saved them from ...Saved them from what? Holocaust is a Pharisee Hollywood propaganda to occupy Palestine.

Aah you are too ...aah you are too much IGNORANT.. when it comes to AL-QAEDA you say It's MUSLIMS and when it comes to some good thing you say ITS NOT ABOUT MUSLIMS

Its not about ...Its not about Muslims, its Albanians. We protect the ones who wants our protection. We protect them with our lives. Its Albanian tradition. It´s BESA. It has nothing to do with Kuran or anything religious. BESA is BESA. It has nothing to do with religion.

Thank You Muslims ...Thank You Muslims God/Allah bless you i am Jewish i am glad some people think Muslims and Jews could cooperate

A true Muslim won't ...a true Muslim won't ask anything in return

How are Jews paying ...How are Jews paying back now to Muslims explaIn that please any body thanks.

BOYCOTT ~ AHAVA ~ LATEST ANNOUNCEMENT

Ahava promises “Beauty Secrets from the Dead Sea.” And wait until you hear those secrets!

Because Ahava is hiding the ugly truth ~ its products actually come from stolen Palestinian natural resources in the Occupied Territory of the Palestinian West Bank, and are produced in the illegal settlement of Mitzpe Shalem. Don’t let the “Made in Israel” sticker fool you ~ when you buy Ahava products you help finance the destruction of hope for a peaceful and just future for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Part of the Palestinian contingent en route to the Ahava factory in the West Bank.

Ahava puts a pretty face on its crimes, even paying Oxfam Ambassador and “Sex in the City” star Kristen Davis to be its spokeswoman. But here’s what Oxfam itself has to say about Ahava’s deceptive packaging:

• "The settlements on the West Bank are illegal under international humanitarian law and that creates a lot of problems for the Palestinians that live there.”
• "Consumers that are buying produce that are grown in illegal settlements need to have that information so that they can make an informed choice."

Israeli Cosmetic Company

Is About to Learn It Can't

Cover Up Its Role in the Occupation

One of the founders of CodePink, Medea Benjamin, Jew, who has put her life in the line countless times in her passion for peace, and empowering women to fight for it.

By Nancy Kricorian

Ahava is an Israeli profiteer exploiting the natural resources of occupied Palestine to sell its exotic beauty products.

As the dust settled on the destroyed homes, schools and lives in the aftermath of Israel’s assault on Gaza earlier this year, mainstream human rights groups from Amnesty International to Physicians for Human Rights/Israel issued reports condemning Israel’s attack and alleging that the Israeli government and the Israeli Defense Forces had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The staff of CODEPINK Women for Peace re-opened a discussion of what we could do about Israel’s flagrant flouting of international law and the brutality of the ongoing blockade of Gaza, the occupation of the West Bank and the home demolitions in East Jerusalem.

We decided to revisit the idea of a boycott against Israeli products ~ a boycott that was having more difficulty gaining traction here in the United States than in Europe. But the best way to end an occupation is to make it unprofitable, and one of the best peaceful ways to make something unprofitable is to organize a boycott.

While doing research on the Global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement for Palestine, I came across the web site Who Profits, a project of the Israeli Coalition of Women for Peace. On that site I found a list of Israeli and international companies that are directly involved in and profit from the occupation of the Palestinian West Bank.

The next time you want to blast hatred at all Jews or Israelis, remember, some of our most tireless workers and effective promoters of peace are, like these women, Israeli themselves. They are, alas, in the minority and badly treated within their own country and deserve extra kudos for literally putting their life and safety on the line for Palestine.

It seemed strategically and morally important to select for our campaign a corporation whose practices were clearly in contravention to international law.

Many of the corporations on the Who Profits list were either unfamiliar to me, discouragingly huge, or didn’t seem like obvious targets for a women’s peace group. But I saw one name that I recognized: Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories. In fact, I knew there was a plastic bottle of Ahava Eucalyptus Mineral Bath Salts sitting on the windowsill next to the tub in my bathroom.

If you take a look at Ahava’s web site, you can read about the company’s environmentally responsible practices: “Our manufacturing processes are non-polluting and environmentally conscious. No animals are involved in testing phases and all of our products are encased in recyclable tubes, bottles and jars.”

Ahava’s spokeswoman is fresh-faced Sex & The City actress Kristin Davis, whose commitment to doing good is evidenced by her status as an Oxfam Goodwill Ambassador and her position on the advisory board of The Masai Wilderness Conservation Fund.

On the Ahava site, Davis is quoted as saying, “My personal beliefs, which include treating both animals and the environment with respect, are equally important to AHAVA.”

If you navigate around the web site you will see pristine images of the Dead Sea, enticing products with beautifully designed labels, and a photo of a water lily leaf with the caption, “This leaf has nothing to hide.”

But, unfortunately, Ahava does have something to hide ~ an ugly secret about its relationship to a brutal occupation. The Hebrew word “Ahava” means love, but there is nothing loving about what the company is doing in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank. Ahava is an Israeli profiteer exploiting the natural resources of occupied Palestine.

AHAVA Dead Sea Laboratories, an Israeli cosmetics company, has situated its main manufacturing plant and showroom at the Israeli Jewish settlement Mitzpe Shalem in the Occupied Palestinian West Bank near the shores of the Dead Sea. Mitzpe Shalem, built on occupied land in 1970, is an illegal settlement, as are all Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Ahava’s capture of Palestinian natural resources from the Dead Sea is, according to the Fourth Geneva Convention, a patently illegal use by an occupying power of stolen resources for its own profit.

A photo of Palestinian dead sea salt from the Ahava website.

To add insult to injury, Ahava’s labels claim that the country of origin of its products is “The Dead Sea, Israel” ~ this type of labeling has been decried by Oxfam, among other human rights groups, as blatantly misleading.

While we were working on putting together the new AHAVA boycott campaign we called STOLEN BEAUTY, CODEPINK led several delegations to Gaza, one of which never made it into the Strip because the Israeli government wouldn’t let them through the Erez crossing.

Several CODEPINK activists decided to take a fact-finding mission to the Ahava plant in the West Bank, corroborating what we had read about the plant’s location and its practices. The women decided to seize the opportunity and ~ with the avid encouragement of the Israeli Jewish and Palestinian peace activists that they had met ~ they went to the Ahava store at the Hilton Hotel in Tel Aviv to stage a protest action.

Some put on bikinis, wrote on their bodies with mud NO AHAVA/NO LOVE, while others carried signs with slogans such as “There is no love in occupation.” They chanted, sang and made the Israeli evening news.

About a week later, we heard that Kristin Davis was going to be at Lord & Taylor on Fifth Avenue promoting Ahava products and signing autographs. Two of us went to the store to deliver a letter to Davis, requesting she stop letting Ahava use her beautiful face and good name to cover up their crimes. She was less than receptive, and we were escorted out of the store.

Dana Balicki said, “I told Kristin that her admirable work as an Oxfam Ambassador is undermined by her allowing AHAVA to use her good name and beautiful face to cover up their crimes.”

A week later, the CODEPINK bikini brigade showed up at the “Tel Aviv Beach Party” ~ part of the Israeli government’s multi-million dollar “Re-brand Israel” campaign ~ in New York’s Central Park. The bikinis and our anti-occupation message made Fox News.

We recently sent letters to Ahava’s headquarters in Holon, Israel, as well as to Ahava USA and Kristen Davis, giving them notice of our boycott.

THIS JUST IN!

THE JERUSALEM POST, AUGUST 7, 2009: OXFAM SACKS KRISTINA DAVIS FOR JOINING AHAVA

We sent copies of these letters to Shamrock Holdings, the investment company of the Roy E. Disney family, which owns 19% of Ahava’s shares.

On Monday of this week, CODEPINK women showed up in bikinis and mud at the Cosmoprof North America Trade Show in Las Vegas to let Ahava representatives know we were launching our STOLEN BEAUTY campaign.

We have sent letters to over 100 retailers requesting that they stop stocking Ahava products because Ahava helps finance the destruction of hope for a peaceful and just future for both Israelis and Palestinians.

In August we’ll be outside a drugstore, department store or mall near you, exposing Ahava’s dirty secrets and showing that real beauty is more than skin deep. You can go to www.stolenbeauty.org to find out how to join our campaign.

And you don’t have to wear a bikini to do it.

Check out photos from CodePink's protests in New York, Las Vegas and Tel Aviv.

VIVA PALESTINA EMAIL ALERT ~ JULY 14, 2009

NAVIGATING EGYPT'S OBSTACLE COURSE

July 14, 2009

The Viva Palestina U.S. convoy has been facing barrier after barrier in recent days despite having initially hoped to cross into the Gaza Strip this morning. The Egyptian government, collaborator in Israel’s severe blockade for the past 2 years, has set up a course of administrative obstacles which will delay the group’s entry into Gaza.

George Galloway, the British Member of Parliament who organized this effort as well as the first Viva Palestina caravan which drove from London to Gaza in March, sent a letter to President Mubarak of Egypt prior to the departure of the U.S. convoy.

This letter informed the president that over a million dollars had been raised with the intention of purchasing vehicles, medical supplies and other humanitarian aid to bring to Gaza. Viva Palestina was also in contact with the Egyptian ambassadors in London, Washington, DC and Tripoli, Libya, who, at their request, were provided with a list of the names and passport numbers of all convoy participants.

Yet when the first contingent attempted to cross the Mubarak Peace Bridge to the Sinai Peninsula Saturday evening, they were denied entry. That group spent 12 hours at the checkpoint and entered into a stand-off with authorities as they negotiated the length of their stay in successive increments.

Members of the delegation demonstrated at the bridge, obstructing access to the vehicles, and also held keys and occupied driver’s seats in order that the 4 buses could not be moved.

Although Egyptian officials first stated that the convoy could not pass due to unrest in the region and potential danger to the delegates, ultimately Viva Palestina was informed that each of its members required a Gaza affidavit signed and notarized by an official at the U.S. Embassy in order to pass.

“This is an American convoy. And Americans are used to refusing to give up seats on buses in the struggle for justice. I regard everyone who’s putting themselves on the line tonight at the Suez Canal for the success of this humanitarian mission as nothing short of a hero.” ~ George Galloway, MP

That contingent decided to return to Cairo to obtain the affidavits and regroup with other delegates, thereby strengthening their numbers for the next crossing.

The Gaza affidavits are essentially indemnity agreements asserting that the individual has signed away the inalienable right to the protection of the U.S. government. Previous delegations of U.S. citizens to Gaza have not been required to sign these, and these were not requested prior to reaching the Mubarak Bridge checkpoint, despite Viva Palestina’s well-publicized plan.

The Egyptian government refused to accept one group affidavit on behalf of the entire convoy. Each individual affidavit will cost convoy members $30 USD.

Yesterday, Egyptian officials asked for a detailed inventory of all aid items, which has now been compiled and will be submitted to border officials at the Rafah crossing.

Late this afternoon, the Head of the Palestine Desk of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who has been tasked by the Foreign Minister with logistical planning, informed convoy leadership that only the 2 ambulances, of the 47 total vehicles which were purchased earlier in the day at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars, would be allowed to enter Gaza.

The people of Gaza, with whom MP Galloway has been in frequent contact, have indicated that new vehicles are sorely needed in Gaza for various public services.

Viva Palestina organizers were also informed that convoy members would be permitted to spend only 24 hours in Gaza. Individuals overstaying that time period will not be permitted to leave until the next general opening of the Rafah crossing, which has been continuously closed since June 2007.

New York City Councilmember Charles Barron, who is traveling with the convoy, believes the reason behind these new requirements and restrictions is clear. “They don’t want this to be successful because they don’t want any more convoys,” Barron said. “They want to set an example with us. They were hoping that they would discourage. That’s why the delays; that’s why adding on stipulations. They want us to implode.”

Viva Palestina leadership has emphasized that these tactics will not dissuade the group from its avowed purpose of breaking the siege on Gaza, nor will future convoys be canceled.

MP Galloway has announced that he intends to lead caravans this year from Venezuela and Moscow, as well as a second U.S. convoy in December to commemorate the first anniversary of Israel’s brutal attack.

At a private meeting of the Viva Palestina delegation this evening, an agent of the Egyptian government was found to be present taking notes. His notes were confiscated and he was escorted out of the room by MP Galloway.

Convoy members Barron and Cynthia McKinney, former U.S. Representative and 2008 Green Party Presidential candidate, will be contacting President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tomorrow to pressure the Egyptian government to allow additional vehicles through the border and a longer stay in Gaza for convoy members.

Additionally, Viva Palestina is calling for supporters to organize demonstrations at Egyptian consulates in the U.S. and to call on the White House and the State Department to support Viva Palestina’s effort in bringing medical supplies to what Obama called the “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza during his June 4 speech in Cairo.

By Soozy Duncan

FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ON THIS MISSION ~ PLEASE GO TO VIVA PALESTINA US.

ISRAEL ATTACKS JUSTICE BOAT

I AM POSTING SEVERAL ARTICLES ON
THIS PIRACY THAT HAVE COME TO ME VIA EMAIL.
PLEASE DO WHAT YOU CAN.
CONTACT THE APPROPRIATE PEOPLE.
LET THEM KNOW THIS IS INTOLERABLE.
THIS ROGUE COUNTRY OVERSTEPS ITSELF.
AGAIN!

Israel Attacks Justice Boat:
Kidnaps Human Rights Workers;
Confiscates Medicine, Toys and Olive Trees

By Free Gaza
June 30, 2009

"Free Gaza "

[23 miles off the coast of Gaza, 15:30pm]

Today Israeli Occupation Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries, including Noble laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (see below for a complete list of passengers). The passengers and crew are being forcibly dragged toward Israel.

"This is an outrageous violation of international law against us. Our boat was not in Israeli waters, and we were on a human rights mission to the Gaza Strip," said Cynthia McKinney, a former U.S. Congresswoman and presidential candidate.

"President Obama just told Israel to let in humanitarian and reconstruction supplies, and that's exactly what we tried to do. We're asking the international community to demand our release so we can resume our journey."

According to an International Committee of the Red Cross report released yesterday, the Palestinians living in Gaza are "trapped in despair."

Thousands of Gazans whose homes were destroyed earlier during Israel's December/January massacre are still without shelter despite pledges of almost $4.5 billion in aid, because Israel refuses to allow cement and other building material into the Gaza Strip.

The report also notes that hospitals are struggling to meet the needs of their patients due to Israel's disruption of medical supplies.

"The aid we were carrying is a symbol of hope for the people of Gaza, hope that the sea route would open for them, and they would be able to transport their own materials to begin to reconstruct the schools, hospitals and thousands of homes destroyed during the onslaught of "Cast Lead".

Our mission is a gesture to the people of Gaza that we stand by them and that they are not alone" said fellow passenger Mairead Maguire, winner of a Noble Peace Prize for her work in Northern Ireland.

Just before being kidnapped by Israel, Huwaida Arraf, Free Gaza Movement chairperson and delegation co-coordinator on this voyage, stated that: "No one could possibly believe that our small boat constitutes any sort of threat to Israel.

We carry medical and reconstruction supplies, and children's toys. Our passengers include a Nobel peace prize laureate and a former U.S. congressperson.

Our boat was searched and received a security clearance by Cypriot Port Authorities before we departed, and at no time did we ever approach Israeli waters."

Arraf continued, "Israel's deliberate and premeditated attack on our unarmed boat is a clear violation of international law and we demand our immediate and unconditional release."

WHAT YOU CAN DO!

CONTACT the Israeli Ministry of Justice
tel: +972 2646 6666 or +972 2646 6340
fax: +972 2646 6357

CONTACT the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
tel: +972 2530 3111
fax: +972 2530 3367

CONTACT Mark Regev in the Prime Minister's office at:
tel: +972 5 0620 3264 or +972 2670 5354
mark.regev@it.pmo.gov.il This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CONTACT the International Committee of the Red Cross to ask for their assistance in establishing the wellbeing of the kidnapped human rights workers and help in securing their immediate release!

Red Cross Israel
tel: +972 3524 5286
fax: +972 3527 0370
tel_aviv.tel@icrc.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Red Cross Switzerland:
tel: +41 22 730 3443
fax: +41 22 734 8280

Red Cross USA:
tel: +1 212 599 6021
fax: +1 212 599 6009

Kidnapped Passengers from the Spirit of Humanity include:

Khalad Abdelkader, Bahrain
Khalad is an engineer representing the Islamic Charitable Association of Bahrain.

Othman Abufalah, Jordan
Othman is a world-renowned journalist with al-Jazeera TV.

Khaled Al-Shenoo, Bahrain
Khaled is a lecturer with the University of Bahrain.

Mansour Al-Abi, Yemen
Mansour is a cameraman with Al-Jazeera TV.

Fatima Al-Attawi, Bahrain
Fatima is a relief worker and community activist from Bahrain.

Juhaina Alqaed, Bahrain
Juhaina is a journalist & human rights activist.

Huwaida Arraf, US
Huwaida is the Chair of the Free Gaza Movement and delegation co-coordinator for this voyage.

Ishmahil Blagrove, UK
Ishmahil is a Jamaican-born journalist, documentary film maker and founder of the Rice & Peas film production company. His documentaries focus on international struggles for social justice.

Kaltham Ghloom, Bahrain
Kaltham is a community activist.

Derek Graham, Ireland
Derek Graham is an electrician, Free Gaza organizer, and first mate aboard the Spirit of Humanity.

Alex Harrison, UK
Alex is a solidarity worker from Britain. She is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.

Denis Healey, UK
Denis is Captain of the Spirit of Humanity. This will be his fifth voyage to Gaza.

Fathi Jaouadi, UK
Fathi is a British journalist, Free Gaza organizer, and delegation co-coordinator for this voyage.

Mairead Maguire, Ireland
Mairead is a Nobel laureate and renowned peace activist.

Lubna Masarwa, Palestine/Israel
Lubna is a Palestinian human rights activist and Free Gaza organizer.

Theresa McDermott, Scotland
Theresa is a solidarity worker from Scotland. She is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.

Cynthia McKinney, US
Cynthia McKinney is an outspoken advocate for human rights and social justice issues, as well as a former U.S. congressperson and presidential candidate. Here is what Cynthia has had to say about recent events. I Sent a Message to the President about My Trip to Gaza . . .

Adnan Mormesh, UK
Adnan is a solidarity worker from Britain. He is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.

Adam Qvist, Denmark
Adam is a solidarity worker from Denmark. He is traveling to Gaza to do human rights monitoring.

Adam Shapiro, US
Adam is an American documentary film maker and human rights activist.

Kathy Sheetz, US
Kathy is a nurse and film maker, traveling to Gaza to do human rights monitoring.

For more information contact:

Greta Berlin (English)
tel: +357 99 081 767 / friends@freegaza.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots.

Caoimhe Butterly (Arabic/English/Spanish):
tel: +357 99 077 820 / sahara78@hotmail.co.uk
www.FreeGaza.org

30 June 2009 22:03

Written by Free Gaza Team

For those of you in the U.S., the information below is really important and may be very helpful. What we know now is that the boat is being towed to Ashdod. That is all we know. Greta

Dear Friends,

Within the past hour the Free Gaza boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, was boarded by the Israeli Navy, and according to Free Gaza’s Tweet, http://twitter.com/freegazaorg, the Israeli military has issued a statement saying they have taken over the boat.

My contact at the U.S. State Department returned my call 40 minutes ago to say that they are in touch with the Israeli government and have been since the boat was surrounded some 6 hours ago.

Overall, our State Department seeks to assure the safety of all on board and would like to see the boat get through as it is carrying humanitarian relief and cement to the people of Gaza, specifically aiding non-governmental organizations.

This is the right time to call your Senators and Representative to ask their senior staffer for foreign policy to place 2 urgent calls on your behalf. Ask them to call the Israeli Embassy and to call the U.S. State Department ~ and to call you back with what they learn.

Your Senators and Representatives, as strong supporters of Israel, are best positioned to urge the Israeli government to assure the safety of the crew (with four Americans on board, including former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, Free Gaza Movement chairperson attorney Huwaida Arraf, International Solidarity Movement co-founder and filmmaker Adam Shapiro, and nurse / filmmaker Kathy Sheetz) and allow passage of the boats, crew, and humanitarian relief cargo to Gaza.

They can express concern and counsel restraint. They can make their calls in private, no problem, and their calls are the ones that always get a response. Please note that when Senate and Congressional staffers call the U.S. State Department, it strengthens the State Department’s hand in negotiations with the Israeli government.

Do your best to connect with each senior staffer for foreign policy, but if you cannot get through to that key person just let the receptionist know your concern for the Free Gaza boat. Numbers matter now ~ so please ask your friends to call their Senators and Congresspersons too.

If you need help or coaching for these calls, please give me a call at 650 325 4663 ~ or send email to Contact@RebuildingAlliance.org and we’ll do our best to respond.

In Rebuilding Peace,

Donna Baranski-Walker
Executive Director

The Rebuilding Alliance

Just received in email. I love the headline and the articles are even better. It took me less than 30 minutes to write to Obama and two US Senators for my state. Rep’s are next. It takes even less time to CALL THEM! I cannot due to finances but write, fax, call, email ~ DO what you CAN do to right this horrible injustice to the Palestinians. It’s an inconvenience for those detained but it’s the Palestinians who are doing WITHOUT, as always, due to the oppression of the apartheid regime of Israel.

God bless and PLEASE take action!

Viva Palestina Email Alert

30th June 2009

PIRATES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN: Part II

By YVONNE RIDLEY

THE arrogance of Israel is nothing short of breath-taking.

On the eve of one of the most damning reports ever to be published on human rights abuses and suspected war crimes, Israel committed an act of piracy. While western naval fleets are patrolling the waters off the coast of Africa, acts of piracy are being carried out routinely in the Mediterranean.

But the international community leaders couldn’t care less because most of those who are kidnapped, shot at and hijacked at sea are Palestinian fishermen from Gaza.

However, yesterday Israel crossed a line after firing on and boarding a boat carrying aid and peace activists to Gaza.

The 21 on board included former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire, who were taken prisoner by the Israeli navy after gunboats surrounded and seized the Free Gaza Movement relief boat ‘Spirit of Humanity’ on Monday.

The aid was seized, their mobile phones confiscated and no doubt cameras capturing the illegal actions of the Israelis were also removed.

“This is an outrageous violation of international law against us. Our boat was not in Israeli waters, and we were on a human rights mission to the Gaza Strip,” said Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party’s 2008 candidate for President of the United States.

“President Obama just told Israel to let in humanitarian and reconstruction supplies, and that’s exactly what we tried to do. We’re asking the international community to demand our release so we can resume our journey.”

In the past the Israeli Navy has claimed that boats have entered their territorial waters and breached their part of the sea in the eastern Mediterranean.However, thousands across the world who followed the progress of the Free Gaza Movement boat Spirit of Humanity by internet, GPS, Twitter and various other means of communications over the last 30 hours know for sure that the boat was illegally stopped in international waters.

This is piracy.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.

It’s anyone’s guess what will happen to the Humanity’s cargo of medical supplies, cement, olive trees, and children’s toys.

But what we need from Barak Obama and Gordon Brown (there are at least half a dozen Brits on that boat) is strong leadership in which Israel apologizes and allows the boat and its passengers to continue the journey into Gaza.

The G8 leaders all know what the Israeli Army did in Gaza and the war crimes that were carried out making it impossible for the Zionist military to travel into most European countries for fear of being arrested.

And in the next 24 hours Amnesty International will spell out exactly what was done on the ground during that 22-day war.

We know that the fourth largest military in the world, a military given weapons by Britain and the US, destroyed 50,000 homes, 800 industrial properties and 200 schools.

During a recent trip to Gaza with the Viva Palestina convoy, I saw the scores of mosques bombed ~ even orphanages had been targeted. The net result was the slaughter of more than 1,400 civilians, including hundreds of children.

How long is Israel going to be allowed to behave as it wants … and ENJOYS?

I saw, with disbelief, some of the taunting, sadistic messages scrawled on lounge walls in bombed out homes by departing Israeli soldiers ~ one even left his email for “any complaints”.

I remember when Tony Blair, called the Taliban the most evil, brutal regime in the world and he justified this statement because he said they didn’t even allow children to fly kites. He wondered at the mentality of a regime which could be so cruel to children.That was way back in November 2001.

MAKES ME WONDER JUST WHAT PLANET TONY LIVED ON!

Well I wonder what he would think of a regime which blocks cherries, kiwi fruit and chocolate from reaching the hands of the children in Gaza? Yes, that's how evil this Zionist regime is ~ it can’t even bear the thought of these poor kids receiving a few tasty treats.

Every week, about 10 officers from the Israel Defense Force’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit meet to decide what sort of food the 1.5 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip can eat.

GAZA BONANZA

Let’s name and shame the men this gruesome threesome ~ Colonel Moshe Levi, Colonel Alex Rosenzweig, and Colonel Doron Segal. All three decided a few days back that apricots, plums, grapes, avocados, cherries, kiwi fruit, green almonds, pomegranates and chocolate were “delicacies” and therefore expressly prohibited.

I will return to these three shameful soldiers at a later date, but let’s return to today’s events which has, in my view, reconfirmed Israel as a rogue state by launching into international piracy yet again.

You will notice the top of this story is called Pirates of the Mediterranean II ~ that’s because I wrote an article in December revealing how another free Gaza Movement boat, the SS Dignity, was rammed by an Israeli naval gunboat.

PIRACY OF THE PROMISED LAND

The act of aggression on a peace mission was launched in international waters 90 miles off Gaza, without any warning to the captain of the Dignity or the crew. Israel claimed the incident was an accident and that its naval officers had made numerous attempts to communicate with the Dignity. The Israelis ‘accidentally’ rammed the boat no less than three times.

The Israelis accused the international activists then of “seeking provocation more than ever.” Isn’t it amazing how the Zionist State suddenly goes belly up and adopts a victim mentality?

OH POOR POOR ISRAEL! THEY PICK ON US, THE ETERNAL VICTIMS OF HUMANITY! WE JUST WANT TO GET ALONG WITH EVERYONE BUT THEY KEEP HURTING US! OH POOR POOR ISRAEL ~ WE ARE JUST A LITTLE COUNTRY SURROUNDED BY BIG MEAN ARABS!

Exactly what the hell is Israel up to by banning or trying to prevent boats from entering waters not in its territory? This is the Mediterranean. Just when did Israel assume complete authority of the Med?

Israel’s deplorable attack yesterday, and its previous one on the unarmed Dignity is a violation of both international maritime law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which states, “the high seas should be reserved for peaceful purposes.”

Delivering aid to the needy is just such a “peaceful purpose.” Deliberately ramming or hijacking mercy ships and endangering its passengers is an act of terrorism and piracy.

I say Western fleets should now head to the Mediterranean to crack down on this breed of pirates who make the Somali gangs look like Captain Pugwash and co.

The Somali pirates are motivated by money ~ that makes them criminals. The Israelis commit these acts out of sadistic pleasure ~ what does that make them?

And if they are allowed to continue, what will that make the likes of Obama, Brown and the other cabal of foreign leaders who look the other way?

Enough is enough. The time has come to acknowledge that Israel is a failed project, a rogue state ~ and a danger to ordinary, decent, law-abiding members of the public.

Until it comes to heel, the international community needs to impose sanctions, freeze its assets, stop selling arms and installing a UN peacekeeping Force to bring it under control because it is a menace to its neighbours and the wider world.

For more information and updates, see the Free Gaza Movement web site
(http://www.freegaza.org),

including the latest release on the seizure of the relief boat

(http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/hope-fleet-news/976-israel-attacks-justice-boat-kidnaps-human-rights-workers-confiscates-medicine-toys-and-olive-trees).

For communications and updates from Cynthia McKinney, visit her Green Party page (http://www.gp.org/cynthia/index.php) and blog (http://dignity.ning.com).

*Journalist Yvonne Ridley and film-maker Aki Nawaz sailed to Gaza with the FGM on the first mission to break the siege in August 2008. Ridley was given a media award at the annual Muslim News awards. Her website is www.yvonneridley.org

IN THE FILE CABINET OF DIRTY DEEDS

inVisible Perspectives
Just Get There

Saturday, June 27. 2009

THIS IS THE BEST RANT I HAVE EVER FOUND.

IT IS TRULY BRILLIANT.

IT CERTAINLY EXPRESSES MY THOUGHTS

BETTER THAN I EVER COULD.

The Iranian revolution that never was, slipped out of the window in the dead of night, slithered through the silent streets, moving like a shadow casting itself against indifferent walls and arriving at the British Embassy, crawled through a sewer drain into the office of the ambassador and then curled up to sleep in The File Cabinet of Dirty Deeds.

The pretentious son of Reza ‘Savak’ Palavi lowered his trousers to half mast and mooned the blinded world with the neon-green hand prints of Henry Kissinger on his ass.

Across town, two agents provocateur from the SAS, toasted each other for the murder of Neda Soltan. It’s all in a day’s work. It’s all in a day’s work.

Bin Laden is long dead. Mossad and the CIA did 9/11 and the same Israeli security firm was in charge of all 9/11 airports as well as at the London Tube and the Madrid Train Station on the day of the attacks.

There were no weapons of mass destruction, Iran is not making a nuclear weapon and five dancing Israelis did a cabaret revue while the towers burned and then fell at the speed of free fall into their own footprints… all three of them. “Pull it!” “Pull it.”

Pull my finger so I can tell you what I think and… these dancing Mossad agents were all set up and in place before any plane hit any building; Madame Cleo strikes again.

Les Visible stands acquitted of his claim that Zionist psychopaths were deep into the slave trade.

Obama proves that he can talk out of both sides of his mouth at the same time; talking bout justice and the rule of law and an extended, infinity of detention without charge for people who had nothing to do with anything but being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Obama slicks his cowlick and says, “What me worry?”

Unmanned drones massacre Pakistani civilians… a million dead Iraqis and God knows how many Afghanis, with Iran in the gun sights of the Zio-Nazi, vampire overlords, while the crocodiles in congress weep their feeding time tears about a handful of dead protesters with American money in their pockets and no one says a word about eight Basji militia men killed in the engagements.

Mousavi, the alleged ‘unknown’ who was already prime minister of Iraq and who planned the murder of American Marines is now praised by American Zio-cons and assorted Hellraiser whores for his forward thinking, democratic perspective. Hypocrisy, it’s what’s for dinner.

The Empress Shah, loaded down with jewels, extends her pinky finger out from her cup of tea and talks about her people …who need her zombie ass returning to the land where her husband brought torture to a level unseen until recently in the U.S.A.

And the daily revelations of sex scandals and congressmen on banking committees dumping and buying stock; Arlen Specter’s millions from the health lobbies, the bailouts that went into the pockets of the people who caused the meltdown, Michael Jackson in the house, moon-walking in celebration of all the ass-backwards operations of lawbreaking lawmakers.

Israel is lining up on the Lebanese border again as the Litani River glistens in the distance of the coveted land. It is anti-Semitism to want to live when Israel wants you dead.

It is anti-Semitism to occupy land that Israel wants.

It is anti-Semitism for Palestinian children to keep jumping into the gun sights of the IDF.

Let’s get that hate crime legislation up on the conveyor belt so that anyone who still insists upon walking on two legs and maintaining an open mind can be tossed into prison for getting in the way of The New World Disorder.

The Bankster Holiday is coming. Blow up those green condoms into festival balloons and lets redux Mr.

I knew about Pearl Harbor and all I got was this lousy t-shirt. Let’s party like its 1984.

Speaking for all of the dead and dismembered; the screaming white phosphorus candles dancing the tarantella in Gaza, the tortured and tormented, the butchered and bombed, the disillusioned and despairing, the wracked and ruined and homeless beneath the bridge abutments, let me say… You vile, despicable scum; you Wolfowitzes, Rumsfields’s and Murdoch’s… Rockefellers and Rothschild’s… the bankers, politicians and lawyers, dressed up in their neoprene, Waffen S.S. outfits on their way to that Berlin leather bar in the sky… your day is going to come. Your day is at hand.

One can neither define nor understand you. Poised with your bloody fountain pens, you sign your own death warrants with the blood of your victims.

The axis of evil; Israel, the United States and Great Britain, as your population does the horizontal hula with a Brittany Spears blowup doll you turn gold into shit with your reverse alchemy.

You are weaving the hangman’s rope with your every word and deed. You are parading yourself before the eyes of the world and you’re proud of it. You are insane and your day is going to come.

There is no hyperbole or superlative that can accurately describe what is occurring now. It would seem that the fabric of reality must surely part in the face of the spectacle of our times.

There is no up and down.
There is no right and wrong.
There are no maps and no instructions.
Black is the new white.
Death is the new life.
Halloween is now a year long event.
Out of the sewers and storm drains of Hell,
these creatures have emerged and
everything they touch turns to shit.

What can they be thinking? What do they tell themselves? Here are the privileged few in their custom suits with their elite educations, chauffeured cars and private planes. Dining with crystal and silver, speaking as if they were human… moving in ordinary ways as if nothing were out of the ordinary; how can they have convinced themselves that they are sane?

They laugh, they wink and nod. Bob’s their uncle. I cannot comprehend it. En masse they engage each other in processes and plans, each one more demented than the last.

There are no fences and no boundaries.

Stark raving lunacy cheers them from the stands.

They cannot be shamed or embarrassed.

You who support them,
you are guilty too.

You who do not speak out, who pursue the course of your own self-interest, who can allow yourself to believe that the blasted bodies of women, children and impoverished farmers are terrorists hostile to the empire… you are guilty of these murders through acquiescence to your brutal denial. J’accuse. J’accuse.

Your green revolution is an ever increasing waterfall of inflated dollars. You’re going to need wheelbarrows in place of wallets.

You’re in need of gumboots to traverse the rising river of blood that your indifference and cowardice have permitted to flow.

The stones and the grass beneath your feet cry out against you.

You are dishonored and damned.

The clock hands move, grinding away each and every minute that you ignored what took place in your name. One day those hands will stop and other hands will break up from the Earth to pull you down into your just reward.

Listen to your sneering mind as you read these words.

Listen to your hollow laughter as you mock and scorn the voice of your conscience.

Stop and listen to the voice in your head as you reflect upon what you have read.

Ask yourself whose voice is this.

Whose voice has led you to such a pass?