Hudson To Gaza

Still in Cairo: The Story of the Gaza Freedom March

2010-07-01T10:47:00.001-07:00

Computers sent to Ireland

2010-05-03T09:33:00.001-07:00

Subject: Computers sent to Ireland

Dear Gail,
I just want to let you know that the 3 laptops are in Ireland and should be on their way to Gaza soon.
Thank you and Thank MECR.
Salam
Dina

OF BAMBOOZLEMENT AND BAILOUTS

2010-04-26T07:03:00.000-07:00

Of Bamboozlement and Bailouts

Obama’s recent speech on April 22 on overhauling financial regulation, is an important example of the right, well crafted, cool message at the right time; a rather nice piece of expository writing that I felt needed to be analyzed and stirred a bit to get a clearer taste of content and substance; I read it several times; I enjoyed what I was reading as one enjoys an ice cold lemonade on a hot day. But you can only drink so much lemonade, especially when you taste artificial ingredients and unhealthy sweeteners.
The more I read and the less satisfied I became, as the lemonade's artificial ingredients surfaced to the top; the more I stirred this particular presidential lemonade, the clearer I began to see the artifice, the unhealthy ingredients, the cancerous sweeteners; it all raised the fundamental questions and serious concerns about our government’s words, weighed against reality and actions; here are just some key verbatim excerpts from that speech, my reactions, my question after each and my conclusions:
• 1. QUOTE: “a new foundation for economic growth and Wall Street is absolutely an essential part of that foundation”…
MY QUESTION/COMMENT: Why mention only Wall Street? Aren’t there other financial” streets” in other parts of our world?
MY CONCLUSION: this is very telling of our government’s sense of exceptionalism; it is implied that we’re the only ones that can make a difference; it is implied that the
dollar will rescue the world. Even if we were 100% certain, would not an inclusive approach be more effective? Furthermore our government's passionate focus on success defined by money and profit is not the “foundation” we need. The “foundation” we do need is a “Cultural foundation” where success is not measured by the dollars ones makes. Where success is measured by our principled words backed by principled actions, such as prosecution of well known war criminals who we know still are at large.

• 2. QUOTE: “…some of these lobbyists work for you and they’re doing what they’re being paid to do”… these reforms are in the best interest of the financial sector”
MY QUESTION/COMMENT: why do the financial moguls need lobbyists? And if we conclude that lobbyists are needed to advance one’s plight/cause/company, in the “financial sector”, then where are the lobbyists for the “poor sector”? Where are the lobbyists for people at the other end of humanity’s spectrum; you know, the poor and those who do not make millions in bonuses, those who barely scrape enough to put bread on the table! Where are the lobbyists for the people of Gaza who are being strangled with our support and our dollars?
MY CONCLUSION: our government is in no uncertain terms more than ever a greedy corporacracy motivated by personal profit and accumulation of personal wealth; the above confirms it; the “regulations” being proposed in this handy speech, are just another puff of strong hopeium ;

• 3. QUOTE: ” …the failure of Lehman Brothers”
MY QUESTION/COMMENT: why don’t you call what Lehman did by its proper name? Fraud and Criminal?
CONCLUSION: it’s a good old, privileged, well off, boy’s club , all controlled by, and paid for by white boys, who continue to control every presidency; what Lehman does is somehow only a “failure”, an implied lapse of judgment; nobody goes to jail for that; in fact, my friends, we’ll give you more money so you can keep doing it; but, in stark contrast, the poor, not privileged, often not white (or white looking) young man who himself may have had a lapse of judgment, surviving his world of daily despair, in defending himself against unwarranted police inquisition and instigation, is beaten, handcuffed and accused of resisting arrest and hauled to jail as a criminal.

• 4. QUOTE: “ We had to deploy taxpayer dollars”...to bailout the fraudulent criminal Wall Street slugs.
MY QUESTION/COMMENT: Mr. President, now that all these criminal firms seem to be once again making record profits; why not DEPLOY these criminal firms’ dollars to bailout the taxpayer?! Seriously!This would be equitable common sense! But common sense is not common practice when it comes to helping the common folk, isn’t that right?
CONCLUSION: See number 3

• 5. QUOTE: “…we’ll help ensure that our financial system-and our economy continue to be the envy of the world"
QUESTION/COMMENT: Why must our financial system be “the envy of the world? Why not strive to be the best that “WE” could be; We are focusing on the wrong and self-destructive motivational driver! A pernicious sense of superiority that is making us anything but the "envy" of anyone!
CONCLUSION: See number 1 ; this alsodemonstrates why our government’s foreign policy continues to fail: because we see ourselves as a Nation ABOVE Nations instead of a Nation AMONG Nations!

• 6. QUOTE: “…many of these practices (fraudulent)were so opaque, so confusing, so complex that the people inside the firms didn’t understand them, much less those who were charged with overseeing them”
MY QUESTION/COMMENT: Please, please do not offend us! You expect us to believe that those fraudulent financial experts millionaires, advisors, with teams of PhDs and economists and MBAs from top USA Business Schools , did not understand the financial product they were selling? Really now? Assuming that’s true, then our Business schools are not doing a good job are they? And what about if firms in other sectors used the same logic as an excuse for their failings? For instance: if Toyota, Kia, Maserati, BMW, Volvo, Skoda or any other reputable firm’s innovative product (let’s use a car as an example of a new product; and let’s call this new car: the HoodwinCar) caused unexpected accidents and pain? Would you buy the excuse you are using for the failings of the fraudulent wall men with sacks of gold? Following that same logic the HoodwinCar manufacturer’s excuse could plausibly sound like this: “The new HoodwinCar failed and caused pain and suffering because the manufacturing process is so opaque, so confusing and its engineering so complex that even the people inside the firm don’t understand how the Hoodwincar functions”.
CONCLUSION: Our government thinks we are stupid; hence, they can tell us whatever they like and we’ll believe it as long as there are enough reality shows, and enough cheap gastroexplosive fast foods to keep our fat bellies full and our little mouths shut.

A final observation for our President on this particular speech: why does this speech end with “God Bless The United States America”? If you genuinely believe we must set the example for the rest of the "world'; if you truly believe this speech was about fixing the “global” financial machine(and hence those who suffer by this wretchedly broken machine), if you truly believe there is a symbiosis between "all the economies of the world", why not bless (if you must) our world and not just the US Of America?
mm

Gaza Freedom March - Report Back

2010-04-25T17:44:00.001-07:00

Gaza Freedom March - Report Back

Sunday, April 25

2:00 - 4:00 pm

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

67 South Randolph Avenue

Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

Ten residents of the Hudson Valley took part in the Gaza Freedom March from Dec. 25 to Jan. 4. Members of this delegation will discuss their experiences as well as the emerging International Coalition to End the Illegal Siege of Gaza.

Sponsored by: Dutchess Peace Coalition (http://www.dutchesspeace.org) Middle East Crisis Response (http://www.mideastcrisis.org) UU Social Justice Committee (http://www.uupok.org).

It's time to cement our solidarity

2010-04-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

It's time to cement our solidarity with the people of Gaza!

While conditions in Gaza have been steadily worsening (severe electricity cuts, lack of potable water, etc.), Palestinians have been bravely protesting the Israeli siege. Almost every day now there are marches to the border in protest of the Israeli declared buffer zones. Click here for some recent videos and the most recent reports. The IDF has been responding with live ammunition fire and a number of people have been wounded already.

There is a ray of light, however. The Free Gaza Movement has purchased two passenger boats and has raised the money for a cargo ship. Ireland, Sweden, Greece, and Turkey are working in coalition with Free Gaza to join the flotilla with boats of their own. People in Gaza, according to our own Max Ajl who is there right now, are preparing a welcome such has never been seen for the flotilla which should arrive sometime in May.

We can demonstrate our solidarity by supporting Free Gaza's efforts to break the siege. The Free Gaza Movement is calling on communities, schools, hospitals, trade unions and families around the world to sponsor bags of cement and school supplies to send to Gaza.

They will be loaded onto Free Gaza's Irish cargo ship, the MV Rachel Corrie, as part of the international flotilla of ships sailing to Gaza in May. To donate, visit Free Gaza's "Cementing our Solidarity" page and add your bags of cement on the right-hand side, then click "Donate NOW!". Each bag of cement, bought in Ireland, costs about $6.50 and Free Gaza has found a cement company in Ireland that will match your contribution bag for bag!

We can further cement our solidarity by making our support for the buffer zone protests and the Free Gaza flotilla a theme for Nakba Day (May 15) demonstrations world wide. As the Palestinians of Gaza march to protest the buffer zones and welcome the Free Gaza flotilla, we can hold twin demonstrations of support in our home towns. Take photos of your actions and we will offer a prize (a $100 donation to Free Gaza in your name) for the best Nakba Day photos featuring support for the buffer zone demonstrations or Free Gaza. Go ahead -- let your creativity loose and tell the world about the flotillas aiming to break the siege. Let us know your plans and please forward this call to action on to others.

In solidarity for peace and justice,

Gaza Freedom March

ACTION UPDATES!

http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/56-news/1164-introducing-the-mv-rachel-corrie

Support the Gaza Flotilla and Buy Cement Bags for the people of Gaza!

View latest reports and videos of the Buffer Zone activity!

Photo Contest

Submit the best Nakba Day action photo and we'll make a donation in your name to the Free Gaza Flotilla!

View report backs from BDS Day actions

Stay up-to-date on the Goldstone Report

Sign the Cairo Declaration!

Subscribe to GFM updates!

2010-03-29T17:01:00.001-07:00

One-woman play celebrates life of political activist

2010-03-26T07:57:00.001-07:00

One-woman play celebrates life of political activist

By Thea Ballard

Reporter

Published: Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Updated: Wednesday, March 24, 2010

About a month shy of her 24th birthday in March 2003, activist and Evergreen State student Rachel Corrie was killed by an Israeli Defense Force bulldozer while protesting the destruction of Palestinian homes in the Gaza strip. Her controversial death may be what made her famous, but it is her life that is the subject of the one-woman play “My Name is Rachel Corrie.”

Showing this Friday at 8 p.m. in Rockefeller Hall 200, this production of “Rachel Corrie” is a traveling show, featuring actress Courtney Day Nassar. The Grassroots Alliance for Alternative Politics, a student organization, joined forces with local groups Middle East Crisis Response (MECR) and the Dutchess Peace Coalition to host the play.

The MECR, a group described on its website as “joined in support of human rights for Palestinians and an end to the U.S.’s aggressive policies in the Middle East,” has been working on staging a version of this play for some time. Wrote MECR member Paul Rehm in an emailed statement, “After returning from a visit to Israel/Palestine as members of a delegation from Every Church a Peace Church…my wife and I had the good fortune to see the play during its initial run in London and were deeply moved by it.”

He continued: “Along with other members of Middle East Crisis Response, we’ve been working for the day when people in the Hudson Valley might also be able to see this remarkable one-woman play and through it, to learn about Rachel Corrie,” wrote MECR member Paul Rehm in an e-mailed statement.

Written by Alan Rickman and Katherine Viner, the play uses Corrie’s own e-mails, letters and journal entries as sources of material. Given the nature of Corrie’s death, there is something inherently political about the play, but it nevertheless focuses more on Corrie as a human character. MECR member Fred Nagel feels that the focus on the apolitical is an important part of the play. “I think that art brings us to a level of understanding that facts on the ground cannot,” wrote Nagel in an e-mailed statement. “This Friday, we will experience the truths as Rachel Corrie saw them. And the play will help us celebrate what is best in the human experience.”

The play has prompted some controversy in its brief history. A cancelled 2006 run of the show at the New York Theater Workshop caused a stir, raising claims of censorship. There have even been some bumps along the way for this particular production. MECR’s initial attempts to find Albany-to-Hudson area theatre companies interested in performing the play were met with discouraging results: “Honest theatre can be hard for some to handle,” said Rehm.

Once the MECR discovered Courtney Day Nassar’s performance, the search for a venue led the group to Vassar, where they got in touch with the Grassroots Alliance.

Peter Satin ’10, of the Grassroots Alliance, recognized the potential for controversy, but didn’t believe that it would present a significant issue. “I do know that there are a lot of Israeli sympathizers on campus,” he said. “But we hosted something in a similar vein about Israeli military conscious objectors earlier this year, and that went really well.”

Addressing the political nature of the play, he continued, “I guess the structure of the show is not so much agenda’d as it is bringing to light human rights abuses in general—it’s not politically charged. Hopefully the student body will see through the politics involved to look at the greater message.”

Rehm has a distinct vision of what this “greater message” entails: “We live in a society that tends to put on a pedestal those among us who pick up a gun, turning to violence to protect or promote the things we believe in,” he wrote. “Rachel’s life embodied the spirit, the ideal, the belief that there is another way and that defending the lives or homes of others non-violently requires just as much courage and may also call for the ultimate sacrifice.”

Satin continued, “That Vassar students might hear—above the din of voices calling for violent answers in conflict situations—one young woman’s voice rising in support of non-violent responses and from her life know something of the strength those responses require, is worth the efforts of all who care about the justice that accompanies real peace.”
He added, “I hope the student body can approach it with open minds, and I think it’s an important message that regardless of your political stance towards the Middle East, conflict can speak to anyone.”

"My Name is Rachel Corrie" to be performed at Siena and Vassar

2010-03-25T10:05:00.000-07:00

Posted on: Mar 15, 2010
Sponsored by: Palestinian Rights Committee
Date(s): Mar 27, 2010
Time: 08:00 pm
Description: "My Name is Rachel Corrie" to be performed at Siena and Vassar

On the 16th of March, seven years ago, Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer as she attempted to prevent the destruction of a Palestinian home in Gaza. Drawing on Rachel's journals, letters and e-mails, Katharine Viner and Alan Rickman created "My Name is Rachel Corrie," a one-woman play that paints a remarkable portrait of this extraordinary young woman.

TimeOut London called the play, "Funny, passionate, bristling with idealism and luminously intelligent."

Courtney Day Nassar, whose performance as Rachel was described by Sean O’Donnel of The New Olde Bank Theatre as "brilliant" and in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as "almost overwhelming," will star in both productions.

"My Name is Rachel Corrie" will be presented on the 27th of March, in the Beaudoin Theatre, Foy Hall at Siena College, 515 Loudon Road, Loudonville and on the 26th of March, in Rockefeller Hall at Vassar College, 124 Raymond Avenue, Poughkeepsie. Both performances begin at 8:00 PM. The Siena performance will be preceded by a panel discussion at 6:45 PM.
General Admission: $10. Students: free with ID

Tickets available at the door or to reserve tickets at Siena, phone the box office at 518-783-4242. For advance tickets at Vassar, phone 845-679-3299 or 518-966-5366.

The performance at Siena is sponsored by: The Palestinian Rights Committee, Upper Hudson Peace Action, American Jews for a Just Peace and the Creative Arts Department of Siena College.

The performance at Vassar is sponsored by: Middle East Crisis Response, the Dutchess Peace Coalition and the Vassar Grassroots Alliance for Alternative Politics.

THE AUDACITY OF FALSE REGRET AND FALSE LEADERSHIP

2010-03-24T12:58:00.000-07:00

I recall General Mc Crystal , upon recently taking over the macabre theater of invasion in Afghanistan, immediately informing us, that the cornerstone of his strategy would be his valiant, surgically precise vision of limiting civilian casualties to single digits. He was the cogent commandant par excellence, master of all selective destruction he surveyed.

It so happens that his strategy of surgically selective destruction hasn’t quite worked out at all, after dozens of civilians have been killed and family dwellings destroyed; so today he conveniently says that it is the fault of the special forces. It was the special forces who did it because…well, the good General says: “they were really not accountable to anyone”… Really General? So the cogent, strategic and benevolent General has decided that he will now begin to “reign in the special forces”.
And the NY Times once again proves consistent by having the audacity to print this and presenting it as a strategically progressive move, another outrageous propagandistic lie.
When in fact, with these words, Maj. Gen. Zahir Azimi, the chief spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense sums up the reality of accountability.
“These special forces were not accountable to anyone in the country, but General McChrystal”
There you have it. We know this was all carried out by careful destructive design! Where are the true patriots, those who care about our future, that of our children, that of the children of the world? And not afraid to question leaders and hold them accountable?

The article tells us that “civilian deaths have been cut 28%”; oh my! Are we supposed to jump up for joy? This is precisely the kind of statistical analysis one expects from a genocidal mentality, in which humans are depersonalized and their killers exalted for lowering the body count. Did we forget what Einstein said so well?
"War cannot be humanized. It can only be abolished."
Apparently we did FORGET!
I am outraged at the lack of anger by our people. Are people that naïve, that poorly informed? Where are the voices of patriotic dissent and justice?
There is no acceptable level of "civilian casualties," much as we are being conditioned to believe there is. And such deaths are not simply "regrettable," as every McChrystal apology suggests. They are, in fact, entirely avoidable.
But not when you have arrogant unaccountable leadership supported by a nation afraid to dissent and too timid to declare peace. Ciao!
Mm

My Father's Unjust Incarceration - The Case of the Holy Land Five

2010-03-23T08:41:00.000-07:00

By Noor Elashi

A decade before my father received a 65-year prison sentence, he handed me an unusual book, one that ultimately shifted the way I perceive the world. It was titled Magic Eye, and it contained pages of what seemed like simple multicolored patterns. But each page had a hidden gift, a sensational truth. By diverging your eyes, my father told me, you’ll see an unexpected image. It seemed to challenge everything I’d ever known. I stared at the flat, distorted artwork until it transformed into a faded silhouette and then a three-dimensional shape like a group of dolphins or a rose-filled heart. Years later, as I flip through the pages of my family’s narrative, I see images that are far less whimsical, and indeed, painful.

Last week, U.S. attorney Jim Jacks filed a motion asking the federal judge of the Holy Land Foundation case to transfer my father—Ghassan Elashi, the charity’s co-founder—and his colleagues to a prison that closely monitors its inmates. If transferred to either of these so-called “Communication Management Units” in Terre Haute, Indiana or Marion, Illinois, my father’s phone calls would be more limited than they are now, in Seagoville, Texas. His letters would be monitored, his visitation time would be reduced to four hours a month and his conversations would be restricted to English, which is his second language.

Perhaps this may seem like an illustration of an effective justice system at work. But if one diverges his or her eyes, the camouflaged truth will slowly unfold, until it comes into focus. I, for one, see a hazel-eyed girl with pale skin and soft dark curls losing her home uponIsrael’s creation in 1948. The young woman, now my paternal grandmother, often tells me about her banishment from Jaffa, a once vibrant Palestinian city known for its orange groves and turquoise beach. I also see a man who was expelled from his native Gaza City in 1967 and was not allowed to return. I grew up hearing stories from this man, my father, about the plight of Palestinians, whom he called “a voiceless population” suffering from occupation, starvation, demolished homes, uprooted trees, constrained movement and a devastated economy.

As I look deeper, I see the Holy Land Foundation rise to stardom in the eyes of human rights activists worldwide who had witnessed this charitable organization alleviate poverty in Occupied Palestine through bags of rice, boxes of medicine, conventional humanitarian aid. I see my family scrutinized throughout the 1990s due to agenda-driven reports linking my father to terrorism—reports written by individuals who saw the HLF’s strength as a threat, for they wanted Palestinians to remain weak and desolate. I see President Bush shutting down the Holy Land Foundation three months after Sept. 11, 2001, calling the action “another important step in the financial fight against terror.”

I see my father and his colleagues tried in 2007 and almost vindicated. I see him tried a second time and convicted in 2008, thereby receiving a life-long sentence. In both trials, prosecutors argued that the HLF gave money to Palestinian zakat (charity) committees that they claimed were controlled by Hamas, which the U.S. designated a terrorist organization in 1995. To prove this, prosecutors called to the stand an Israeli intelligence agent testifying under the pseudonym of Avi who claimed he could “smell Hamas.” The prosecutors intimidated the jury by showing them scenes of suicide bombings completely unaffiliated with the HLF, and they used guilt by association by linking my father and the other defendants to relatives who are members of Hamas. The defense attorneys’ argument was simple: The Holy Land Five gave charity to the same zakat committees to which the American government agency USAID (United States Agency for International Development) gave money. Furthermore, none of the zakat committees included in the HLF indictment were named on any of the U.S. Treasury Department’s lists of designated terrorist organizations.

Nationally respected human rights law professors such as David Cole have associated the Holy Land case with McCarthyism, and other experts have called it a miscarriage of justice. The book that my father gave me had this subtitle: A New Way of Looking at the World. If one looks at our world with a fresh pair of eyes, he or she will see that Jim Jacks’ request for harsher prison conditions is unnecessarily cruel, and that supporting the appeal process is the only way to achieve justice. He or she will also see that the Holy Land Five arepolitical prisoners, and that we live in a twisted time, a time when humanitarians are pursued relentlessly for political purposes.

Noor Elashi is a Palestinian-American and writer based in New York City.

Gaza Freedom March - Report(s) Back

2010-02-21T21:20:00.000-08:00

Gaza Freedom March - Report Back

Wednesday, March 3
7 - 10:00 pm
Bertelsmann Campus Center, Weis Cinema
Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504

Ten residents of the Hudson Valley took part in the Gaza Freedom March from Dec. 25 to Jan. 4. Members of this delegation will discuss their experiences as well as the emerging International Coalition to End the Illegal Siege of Gaza.

Sponsored by:
Middle East Crisis Response
http://www.hudsontogaza.blogspot.com

Contact: (845) 876-7906

Go to http://www.mideastcrisis.org to print out a PDF flyer for this event!

--------------------------------

Gaza Freedom March - Report Back

Wednesday, April 7

7:00 - 8:30 pm

/Root Grassroots Tech Cafe

60 Main St., New Paltz 12561

If The Palestinians Were Blue, Would The World Care?

2010-02-18T07:45:00.000-08:00

From Haaretz
Protesters against Israel's policies in the West Bank have added a colorful twist to demonstrations, painting themselves blue and posing as characters from the movie Avatar.

Pro-Palestinian participants in weekly demonstrators against the route of the separation fence in the village of Bil'in, and the takeover of Arab homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, have also donned long hair and loincloths to resemble the 10-foot blue-skinned Na'vi of Avatar.

The demonstrators compare the Palestinians to the Na'vi - an indigenous people on the moon Pandora who find themselves up against militarily superior foreign invaders who seek to oust them from their homes.

The Hideous Enginery Of War, Greed, Apartheid

2010-02-17T06:56:00.000-08:00

I continue to read about our "mission" in Afghanistan and its provinces and sadly anticipate what awaits our brave troops(led by uncourageous, unscrupulous profiteers)in those mountainous provinces as they are being lured into it...
I think of VietNam...
I think of the lives of our overmanaged and poorly led soldiers...and:
I think of the many more civilians we'll kill and the lessons we never learned.
Are we learning anything from the Israel Palestine apartheid driven civilian killings?
Does History ever teach us anything?
Are we going to continue to command drones of mass destructions from our posh chairs from some comfortable gameland command center in middle america...as scores of civilians' blood is spilled to fill the coffers of war profiteers and corporate con-men?

The lessons of history are unfortunately many in this Country; and are timeless! But it seems like the students are very few...For instance: during the US war to take possession of Mexico, Horace Greely wrote in the New York Tribune, May12,1846:

"We can safely defeat the armies of Mexico, slaughter them by the thousands, and pursue them perhaps to their capital; we can then conquer and "annex" their territory; but what then? Have the histories of the ruin of Greek and Roman liberty consequent on such extensions of empire by the sword no lesson for us? Who believes that a score of victories over Mexico, the "annexation" of half her provinces, will give us more Liberty, a purer Morality, a more prosperous Industry,...Is not life miserable enough, comes not Death soon enough, without resort to the hideous enginery of War?"

Ciao, Bella Ciao!

Mm

END THE SIEGE! FREE GAZA! (example of another report back)

2010-02-06T15:59:00.000-08:00

Hi GFM friends,

Here's a press release for a GFM report-back I'm doing in the Bay Area. Can you spread the word?

Alan

--------------
What: END THE SIEGE! FREE GAZA ! Report back on the Gaza Freedom March with Alan Goodman

When: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21ST, 7 pm,

Where: BERKELEY FELLOWSHIP OF UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS, 1924 CEDAR
STREET , BERKELEY

Info: 510-684-8270
_____________________________________________________________________________

ALAN GOODMAN, A PARTICIPANT IN THE GAZA FREEDOM MARCH AND A
CORRESPONDENT FOR REVOLUTION NEWSPAPER ,WILL GIVE A REPORT BACK ON THE GAZA FREEDOM MARCH THAT TOOK PLACE ON DEC.31, 2009, IN CAIRO

His slideshow-presentation illustrates and brings to life the critical situation for the people of Gaza one year after Israel ’s massacre. It highlights the importance of the Gaza Freedom March, in the struggle to break the siege of Gaza .

This presentation paints a vivid picture of challenges in persevering with the mission of the March in Egypt after Egyptian authorities banned the marchers from going to Gaza – including a unique report on a major protest meeting of Egyptians to break the siege of Gaza, and insights into the “great debate” among the participants over whether to accept an offer from the Egyptian government to allow 100 of the 1300+ marchers into Gaza as a humanitarian mission.

And this presentation gives a sense of the kinds of “everyday people” from around the world who, at great risk and sacrifice, went on the march.

Based on interviews with dozens of participants – some of whom have been to Gaza recently –Alan Goodman’s report-back from the Gaza Freedom March provides a picture of the situation faced by the people of Gaza .

And, from the perspective of a reporter from Revolution newspaper (revcom.us), Alan’s
presentation poses important questions about the global forces behind the blockade of Gaza , and the oppression of the Palestinian people.

The presentation wili be followed by a question and answer session.

CO-SPONSORED BY THE BERKELEY FELLOWSHIP OF UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS
PEACE & COMMITTEE, THE OAKLAND EDUCATION ASSOCIATION (OEA) PEACE &
JUSTICE CAUCUS, AND REVOLUTION BOOKS

$10/Sliding scale for youth and unemployed--no one turned away for lack of funds for more
information, call 510-684-8270

We're Number ONE: In Body Count

2010-02-05T12:29:00.000-08:00

A Conservative Estimate Of Our Nation's Achievements
(A Calculus of Colonialism and Corporacracy)

* Native Americans: 13,778,000

* Korea: 2,854,000

* Vietnam: 2,058,000 + 224,000 + 900,000 = 3,182,000

* Cambodia: 500,000

* Laos: 70,000

* Indonesia: 300,000

* East Timor: 150,000

* Latin America : 200,000

* Iraq: 1,400,000 and in other various destructions in progress 1,000, 000... = 2,400,000

TOTAL: 23.434.000 (twentythremillionfourhundredthirtyfourthousand)...killed as we brought PROGRESS DEMOCRACY and HUMAN RIGHTS to the above people.

YES: WE'RE NUMBER 1

The Fate of The Palestinians: Same as the Native Americans!

2010-02-04T06:06:00.000-08:00

Genocidal Results of the Failed American Indian Policies of the United States Government:

Read the facts below because the same fate awaits the Palestinian people unless we UNITE AND ACT!

MORTALITY:
Lakotah men have a life expectancy of less than 44 years, lowest of any country in the World (excluding AIDS) including Haiti.
Lakotah death rate is the highest in the United States.
The Lakotah infant mortality rate is 300% more than the U.S. Average.
One out of every four Lakotah children born are fostered or adopted out to non-Indian homes.
Diseases such as tuberculosis, polio, etc. are present. Cancer is now at epidemic proportions!
Teenage suicide rate is 150% higher than the U.S national average for this group.

DISEASE:
The Tuberculosis rate on Lakotah reservations is approx. 800% higher than the U.S national average.
Cervical cancer is 500% higher than the U.S national average.
The rate of diabetes is 800% higher than the U.S national average.
Federal Commodity Food Program provides high sugar foods that kill Native people through diabetes and heart disease.

POVERTY:
Median income is approximately $2,600 to $3,500 per year.
97% of our Lakotah people live below the poverty line.
Many families cannot afford heating oil, wood or propane and many residents use ovens to heat their homes.

UNEMPLOYMENT:
Unemployment rates on our reservations are 80% or higher.
Government funding for job creation is lost through cronyism and corruption.

HOUSING:
Elderly die each winter from hypothermia (freezing).
1/3 of the homes lack basic clean water and sewage while 40% lack electricity.
60% of Reservation families have no telephone.
60% of housing is infected with potentially fatal black molds.
There is an estimated average of 17 people living in each family home (many only have two to three rooms). Some homes, built for 6 to 8 people, have up to 30 people living in them.

DRUGS AND ALCOHOL:
More than half the Reservation’s adults battle addiction and disease.
Alcoholism affects 9 in 10 families.
Two known meth-amphetamine labs allowed to continue operation. Why?

INCARCERATION:
Indian children incarceration rate 40% higher than whites.
In South Dakota, 21 percent of state prisoners are American Indians, yet they only make up 2% of the population.
Indians have the second largest state prison incarceration rate in the nation.
Most Indians live on federal reservations. Less than 2% of Indians live where the state has jurisdiction!

THREATENED CULTURE:
Only 14% of the Lakotah population can speak the Lakotah language.
The language is not being shared inter-generationally. Today, the average age of a fluent Lakotah speaker is 65 years.
Our Lakotah language is an Endangered Language, on the verge of extinction.
Our Lakotah language is not allowed to be taught in the U.S. Government schools.

Peace!
linda & maurizio

Admiral Mullen Mulling Over Homophobia: He's Pathetic

2010-02-03T09:47:00.000-08:00

" />
Jeff Key (in photo)), a lance corporal in the Marine Corps Reserve, was deployed to Iraq in 2003. After coming out on CNN during an interview in March 2004, he was finally discharged two years later in April 2006. (Photo: Getty Images)

- QUOTATION OF THE DAY -
"No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact
that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who
they are in order to defend their fellow citizens."

That pathetic quote is from Adm. Mike Mullen a career military and political man
who has been in the military all his life.
He is suddenly troubled by the bigotry, and homophobia which has been around him
all his life and of which he has been an enforcer and a silent accomplice. Shame
on him and the whole military establishment for expecting us to believe him.
Shame on the government for having people like him on their staff!
Shame on those who believe these situationally pc examinations of...
"inconscience". Exponential hypocrisy exposed when he's suddenly troubled by
this but not
by what is occurring in Palestine...or Congo...or Afghanistan...and the list
goes on...
Shame on Adm Mullen for saying "no matter how you look at this", implying
there's more than one way to look at this; to me there's only and only one way:
bigotry and homophobia!
Shame on Adm Mullen for diabolical opportunism by using his statement to further
propagandize the wars of aggression, colonization and occupation by implying
that soldiers are sent to wars to "defend fellow citizens"
Shame on US!
mm

DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED

2010-02-03T09:03:00.000-08:00

Historian Howard Zinn, who died January 27 at 87, is shown being arrested at an anti-Vietnam war demonstration in the 1960s. Image from Telegraph, U.K.

AGAINST DISCOURAGEMENT... SPEECH BY HOWARD ZINN: READ PLEASE

U.S Troops Take Control: Haiti Kidnapped

2010-02-03T08:51:00.000-08:00

READ ARTICLE:

TODAY: 50 Italians Chain Themselves to Cranes to Stop US Base Construction

2010-02-03T06:54:00.000-08:00

This is footage from today in Vicenza, Italy, where 50 women and men entered the construction site of the proposed mammoth new US military base in a location called "Dal Molin". They chained themselves to cranes and other machines.

FOOTAGE

Mubarak's Street Interrogators:

2010-02-02T10:30:00.000-08:00

We are being interrogated on the streets of Cairo.

ISRAEL: A STATE FOR SOME OF ITS CITIZENS

2010-02-01T07:58:00.000-08:00

ISRAEL: A STATE FOR SOME OF ITS CITIZENS
“We must expel Arabs and take their places” Ben Gurion in a letter to his son, 1937

if you look at the “Palestinian Loss of Land " map one quickly realizes that a map of the USA with Native Indians then and now , would look even worse, with Native American reservations now as invisible dots scattered in their own native land. Don’t let this happen to our Palestinian Brothers and Sisters
Do not be silent
Maurizio

We Will Not Be Silent

2010-01-29T18:54:00.000-08:00

Nice website with good articles and some great shirts. Check it out: http://www.wewillnotbesilent.net/

54 US Representatives sign letter to Obama on Gaza siege (thanks, Eldad)

2010-01-28T10:08:00.000-08:00

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama,

Thank you for your ongoing work to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and for your commitment of $300 million in U.S. aid to rebuild the Gaza Strip. We write to you with great concern about the ongoing crisis in Gaza.

The people of Gaza have suffered enormously since the blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt following Hamas¥ coup, and particularly following Operation Cast Lead. We also sympathize deeply with the people of southern Israel who have suffered from abhorrent rocket and mortar attacks. We recognize that the Israeli government has imposed restrictions on Gaza out of a legitimate and keenly felt fear of continued terrorist action by Hamas and other militant groups. This concern must be addressed without resulting in the de facto collective punishment of the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip. Truly, fulfilling the needs of civilians in Israel and Gaza are mutually reinforcing goals.

The unabated suffering of Gazan civilians highlights the urgency of reaching a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and we ask you to press for immediate relief for the citizens of Gaza as an urgent component of your broader Middle East peace efforts. The current blockade has severely impeded the ability of aid agencies to do their work to relieve suffering, and we ask that you advocate for immediate improvements for Gaza in the following areas:
* Movement of people, especially students, the ill, aid workers, journalists, and those with family concerns, into and out of Gaza;

* Access to clean water, including water infrastructure materials,

* Access to plentiful and varied food and agricultural materials;

* Access to medicine and health care products and suppliers;

* Access to sanitation supplies, including sanitation infrastructure materials;

* Access to construction materials for repairs and rebuilding;

* Access to fuel;

* Access to spare parts;

* Prompt passage into and out of Gaza for commercial and agricultural goods; and

* Publication and review of the list of items prohibited to the people of Gaza.

Winter is arriving and the needs of the people grow ever more pressing. For example, the ban on building materials is preventing the reconstruction of thousands of innocent families¥ damaged homes. There is also a concern that unrepaired sewage treatment plants will overflow and damage surrounding property and water resources.

Despite ad hoc easing of the blockade, there has been no significant improvement in the quantity and scope of goods allowed into Gaza. Both the number of trucks entering Gaza per month and the number of days the crossings have been open have declined since March. This crisis has devastated livelihoods, entrenched a poverty rate of over 70%, increased dependence on erratic international aid, allowed the deterioration of public infrastructure, and led to the marked decline of the accessibility of essential services.

The humanitarian and political consequences of a continued near-blockade would be disastrous. Easing the blockade on Gaza will not only improve the conditions on the ground for Gaza¥s civilian population, but will also undermine the tunnel economy which has strengthened Hamas. Under current conditions, our aid remains little more than an unrealized pledge. Most importantly, lifting these restrictions will give civilians in Gaza a tangible sense that diplomacy can be an effective tool for bettering their conditions.

Your Administration¥s overarching Middle East peace efforts will benefit Israel, the Palestinians, and the entire region. The people of Gaza, along with all the peoples of the region, must see that the United States is dedicated to addressing the legitimate security needs of the State of Israel and to ensuring that the legitimate needs of the Palestinian population are met.

Sincerely,

Members of Congress

Arizona
Raul Grijalva

California
Lois Capps
Sam Farr
Bob Filner
Barbara Lee
Loretta Sanchez
Pete Stark
Michael Honda
Lynn Woolsey
Jackie Speier
Diane Watson
George Miller

Connecticut
Jim Himes

Indiana
Andre Carson

Iowa
Bruce Braley

Kentucky
John Yarmuth

Maryland
Elijah Cummings
Donna Edwards

Massachusetts
Michael Capuano
William Delahunt
Jim McGovern
John Tierney
John Olver
Stephen Lynch

Michigan
John Conyers
John Dingell
Carolyn Kilpatrick

Minnesota
Keith Ellison
Betty McCollum
James Oberstar

New Jersey
Donald Payne
Rush Holt
Bill Pascrell

New York
Yvette Clarke
Maurice Hinchey
Paul Tonko
Eric Massa

North Carolina
David Price

Ohio
Mary Jo Kilroy
Marcy Kaptur

Oregon
Earl Blumenauer
Peter DeFazio

Pennsylvania
Chaka Fattah
Joe Sestak

Vermont
Peter Welch

Virginia
Jim Moran

Washington
Jim McDermott
Adam Smith
Jay Inslee
Brian Baird

West Virginia
Nick Rahall

Wisconsin
Tammy Baldwin
Gwen Moore

Virginia
Glenn Nye

GAZA DIARY FROM A Human Resources Professional

2010-01-28T09:12:00.000-08:00

A Human Resources worker from the USA, who participated in the GFM ponders about the real role of his country's ultimate Human Resources Office : THE US EMBASSY:

My brush with the ultimate HR Officer: My own Embassy in Egypt. One lesson learned and one unlearned

Gaza Blockade threatens health of 1.4 million

2010-01-26T05:37:00.000-08:00

Gaza blockade threatens health of 1.4 million, aid agencies warn

Israeli and Egyptian blockade means nearly one-fifth of requests to leave for treatment are refused or delayed, report says

A Gaza crossing point: A new report warns that the blockade is risking the health of 1.4 million people. Photograph: Ariel Schalit/AP

The health of 1.4 million people is being put at risk by the ongoing Israeli and Egyptian blockade of Gaza, a report by more than 80 humanitarian organisations warned today.

The aid groups, including the World Health Organisation and UN agencies, said more than one-fifth of sick Palestinians who needed to leave the territory for treatment in Israel had either been refused or had their applications delayed. The groups called on Israel and Egypt to open the border crossings with Gaza.

Max Gaylard, the UN humanitarian co-ordinator for the Palestinian territories, said the blockade undermined the local healthcare system and put lives at risk.

"It is causing ongoing deterioration in the social, economic and environmental determinants of health," he said.

"It is hampering the provision of medical supplies and the training of health staff, and it is preventing patients with serious medical conditions from getting timely specialised treatment."

The agencies highlighted the case of a student, Fidaa Hijji, who died of cancer while waiting for Israeli permission to go to hospital for a bone marrow operation.

Repeated applications to cross the border were ignored even though Hijji, who was 18 when her cancer was diagnosed in 2007, had confirmed medical appointments.

Permission for her entry to Israel was finally given a day after she died last month.

Israel generally permits supplies of drugs into Gaza, but not always of enough to prevent shortages. Certain medical equipment, such as x-ray and electronic devices, is difficult to bring in and clinical staff frequently lack equipment they need, the UN said.

The blockade was imposed after Hamas militants seized control of Gaza in 2007.

Health professionals in Gaza have been cut off from the outside world, with few doctors, nurses or technicians able to leave for the training necessary to update their clinical skills or learn about new medical technology during the past decade, the agencies said.

Many specialised treatments, such as heart surgery and some cancer treatments, are unavailable in Gaza.

"An effective healthcare system cannot be sustained in isolation from the international community," Tony Laurance, the WHO head in the West Bank and Gaza, said.

"Open borders are needed to ensure the health of the 1.4 million people in Gaza."

WHO figures indicate that 21% of the 1,103 applications last month to travel to Israel for hospital appointments were denied or delayed.

Twenty-nine patients died last year awaiting referral, down from 46 in 2008.

An Israeli spokesman said approvals had increased by 25% since 2008.

"Not only are we doing our utmost to allow the people of Gaza every possible medical treatment, but we are doing this in a situation in which their own government is imposing a state of war and trying deliberately to harm Israelis, including those whose mission is to assist the very people of Gaza," Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry, said.

F R E E G A Z A

2010-01-25T11:32:00.000-08:00

Fiery bombs

Rain upon us

Everywhere on

Everyone

Gigantic walls

Asphyxiate life

Zenith cries for help

Arise from the ashes

Love, Linda

HAIKKU FOR GFM

2010-01-25T07:37:00.000-08:00

Our Pebbles of Peace

raised the Nile

Ripples of hope

Love
Maurizio

Gaza Freedom March - Report Back

2010-01-23T19:49:00.001-08:00

Gaza Freedom March - Report Back

Saturday, January 23

2:30 - 5:00 pm

Woodstock Community Center

56 Rock City Rd, Woodstock

Ten residents of the Hudson Valley took part in the Gaza Freedom March from Dec. 25 to Jan. 4. Members of this delegation discussed their experiences as well as the emerging International Coalition to End the Illegal Siege of Gaza.

Honoring the Spirit Of Martin Luther King, In Cairo and in “America”

2010-01-20T11:40:00.000-08:00

Having recently returned from Cairo as a Gaza Freedom Marcher, and reflecting most recently on that trip and on the significance of Martin Luther King’s day, I attended, on that day, with several other fellow Gaza Freedom Marchers, a community service in NYC; at that comminity service a poem by Langston Hughes was read that talked about this not ever being his America…or the America of many others who had come here with high and noble hopes. The title of the poem is: Let America Be America Again; I encourage everyone to read it.

Having myself come here as an immigrant, Langston Hughes’ words resonate continuously as an incessant tinnitus of my mind . This was never the “America” I had hoped for; this was never "America" to me. However, when Obama was elected as our president I must admit that I though this could become “my, our America”, so a warming glimmer of hope began to shine in my eternally optimistic heart: finally a hope for change, a hope for “good” change for the people! Not for the Banks and Insurance Companies and Lobbyists and Military Complex and Corporate greed masters. Our political system works! Finally!
That glimmer of hope quickly faded and is long gone as I begin to use my brain more actively these days to think and dissect reality…the "reality" fed to us by the mass media; as I begin to analyze what is being done to us and as I question everything I’m fed, I realize that the walk and the talk are diametric strangers in the House that is still...White.

Oh, have I changed! Did I become a pessimist? No: just a better informed optimist!

During the elections, I had placed my hopes incorrectly on the logical process of an election to bring about genuine, foundational social change; but as experience and history showed me as I became better informed, with all elections (I should have known better): elections are a theatrical illusion; a well crafted show a la Cirque Des Absurdites, which rarely have brought social change and are in fact, carefully orchestrated high tech propagandistic puppetry meant to destabilize and eventually crush any movement that dare demand social change. We had traveled to Cairo as representatives of "America" and we too we had, incorrectly, relied on logical, judicially sound, politically correct processes and diplomatic courtesies (i.e.: provided pre- trip information to local governments, lists of travelers, we asked permission to talk to our embassies) to travel to Gaza; naturally the approach did not work; we were denied entry into Gaza and in fact our requests for, and subsequent meetings with, the various embassies, resulted in their treating us, the Gaza Freedom Marchers as subversive and unwanted visitors (aided by Mubarak’s security & military forces who followed us everywhere, penned us in, blocked our hotels, harassed us daily and were violent with some of the peaceful protesters). We had come from "America" and all over the world to bring humanitarian aid to the suffering people of Gaza and we were now being asked to leave or if we stayed, we were ordered to become a tourist! The dissonance between the talk and the walk was never clearer : Obama, in his presidential inaugural speech had said: " we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders" yet... now our own embassy was not willing to help us bring aid to Gaza, and instead was aiding and abetting the dictatorship of Egypt in preventing our humanitarian mission outside our borders!

What would Martin Luther King have done? Leave or stay in Egypt and be a tourist as the government ordered us to do? Well, by now you know what we did…
I believe we honored Dr King’s spirit by not leaving and by not becoming tourists but rather organizing on a dime and engaging in powerful peaceful protests, vigils, hunger strike, press conferences and civil disobedience; as Dr King, we believe firmly and unshakably that our movement is operating on the side of human justice. We, the people can and will make change happen. We will never be silent. Those days in Cairo confirm this ardent belief.

As Billy Wharton aptly says in yesterday’s Rag Blog:

“It is clear that no election or any judicial decision, no matter how slick the public relations scheme, can replace the powerful ability of regular people to create movements that change history and society for the better”.

We, the "regular people" will unite to make this the America it should be!

Maurizio

Highway bigotry and hate: just experienced by Linda Laurie and Nic

2010-01-20T11:23:00.000-08:00

Linda just called me on her cell (I am paraphrasing but this is what I heard):

Linda, Laurie, Nic and Tarak are on their way to DC; they were exiting the rest shops area with their GREED KILLS; WE WILL NOT BE SILENT and GAZA FREEDOM MARCH shirts.
two enraged men stopped them and engaged in a tirade that essentially boiled down to these two men angrily exposing their "philosophy" in response to the shirts! Their philosophy boiled down to:
> Capitalism is good: I employe 30 people and I pay them and I really don't care about them: I don'even know their names: I am the greediest SOB living...

> Who the hell cares about Palestinians; they can all rot for all I care; I would step on all their heads; if you love them so much; take them home!

> You(to Laurie) are a self-hating Jew! (They said they were Palestinian Jews)

This dear friends is what we are up against!

Martin Luther King in the Age of Obama : Why We Can

2010-01-20T06:28:00.000-08:00

Martin Luther King in the Age of Obama : Why We Can

Wishing everyone peace and justice
Maurizio

First Cleveland Reportback and Slideshow Summary

2010-01-17T15:16:00.000-08:00

did my first slide show and presentation last night....while it was only 10 people, that's not too bad for Cleveland...it was very interesting....lots of struggle about the question of "security" of keeping people safe FROM the Palestinians (e.g. "doesn't Israel HAVE to build the security wall to keep people safe?") This was very contentious, though, interestingly, the audience was open and were basically aghast at what is being done in Gaza and to the Palestinians. People have no sense of history, no understanding of the enormity of the actual injustice and outrage that has been done. Actually, the participation of Hedy Epstein and things she said were very important to people. This group was a combo of some friends of mine who work in hospital admin, and some people I had not known, including a doctor, a graphic designer, and a couple of unemployed artists. There was a lot of amazement at the makeup of GFM...people were very taken with the faces of people who had come from around the world and that they were not just young but a mix...also with people's convictions and willingness to fisk their personal safety.

The thing that strikes me is how BIG a problem this "we have to be safe" thinking is...linked to 911, there is almost an implicit fear that the Palestinians represent 911...that, in fact, all Arabs do...people will not just put that out but they do deep going "BUT BUT doesn't everyone have the right to be safe?" When I said, "Don't the Palestinians have a right to be safe from being starved out, bombed out, terrorized?" they got quiet and one older woman said, "I rarely try to put myself in their shoes and I do not know their lives and circumstances." This led to a really heavy discussion on what this siege means, down on the ground, and why everyone in this room, if they care about justice and what's right, need to learn and extend themselves to demanding an end to the siege. Towards the end, a guy (one of the artists) said "the things going on in Gaza that you're telling us about sound a lot like the Warsaw ghetto."

Photos were really important, even though my slide show was pretty basic (ummm, crude) and shown on a laptop (needs to be projected bigger). I would also like to do a slideshow with some music...some of what was sung during the GFM including Bella Chow, and maybe some Egyptian music composed by an Egyptian friend of mine who is prof at kent State, and maybe some more...I so wish I had a really compelling 10 minute film....Fred? :))))))))))))))

I don't know why, but I was torn between being happy about this reportback and pretty sad...missing all of you, wondering how we can change this when change is so small and incremental in that room...and then I thought of Laurie's quoting...history is on the side of those who fight for justice....maybe also with Haiti events front and center, there are overwhelming feelings...the biggest one of which is how important the work is that all of us are doing.

love to you all,
Hope

The Orchard

2010-01-15T10:10:00.000-08:00

the prologue of deceit
now holds us captive
within borders of greed.

How cruel to be punished
for such quenchless thirst!

Wandering...
often with no direction.

Trying...
to sow the seeds of change,

Yet...
all too often
they fall upon

d e t a c h e d

soil.

Longing...
for a gust of wind
to carry
just one
to fertile ground.

Hoping...
to bear witness
to the light
that shall nourish it.

Maybe...
the epitaph of the present
will give birth to a
new humanity

Then...
you and I will embrace
in the orchard of peace.

January 23 at the Woodstock Community Center

2010-01-10T06:14:00.000-08:00

2010-01-08T11:59:00.000-08:00

Suffocation

sunlight hiding
behind barricades
of smog
we like the rays
trapped three rows
deep
infant warriors
tattered uniforms
broken boots
broken dreams.

a myriad of humanity
hidden
by
fear
shout
silent whispers of support

night sweats
give way
to parched lips
and the dizzying aroma
of diesel fuel

menacing goon eyes
cloaked in borghese
croon to alien sophias
how dare you!

MOVE! GO!
but where?

token buses of
paltry good will
strand partisans of freedom

crowded rooms
streets
windows
corridors
minds

tying to find the space
to inhale
choking on my own naivety

feet standing on familiar ground
once again
suffocated
by the wall of indifference

Olive Branch mp3 (thanks, Linda)

2010-01-08T08:14:00.001-08:00

"He also sent a beautiful song entitlrd "Olive Branch..."

To hear the song, click on the link below:
http://www.classwars.org/olivebranch.mp3

Palestine will Be Free

2010-01-08T07:43:00.000-08:00

Music connects us all: Tarak shared this beautiful song with us: by Maher Zahir:
PALESTINE WILL BE FREE
http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foSbqLi6U10

"What is Freedom? Something I was always ready to die for. It is the dissolving of chains, the ability to fly, the joy to sing and shout, the strength of my comrades united and the embrace of all my brothers and sisters: it was the very the oxygen of my soul"
-Vladimiro Morselli (Italian Partisan and my father)

Our French Rappers Friends For Palestine Freedom!

2010-01-08T07:24:00.000-08:00

Linda sent an email to the French Rap Group Ministere des Affaires Populaires, who was in Cairo. They are French born of Algerian parents. The group is politically charged and have been to Palestine several times. (see their website here: http://http://www.map-site.fr/siteV03/Some of us had spoken with them outside of the French Embassy. Kaddour Hadadi, aka H.k., wrote back to Linda and said that they would be interested in participating in any actions which we may plan for Palestine. He also sent a beautiful song entitlrd "Olive Branch" which he wrote in English based upon a speech given by Arafat in 1974. I cannot download here (it's an MP3) but have sent separately.

New Year's In Cairo 1/1/10

2010-01-07T18:53:00.000-08:00

note: this entry was written while we were still in Cairo but I was unable to post it until now - I wanted to document the other "actions" between our group and the Egyptian civilians on the street.

While the Gaza Freedom March is getting much press the story behind the scenes that you won’t hear is how many of the people of Cairo are cheering us on . Women and men, young adults and older, stop to thank us in different ways. They flash the peace sign as they drive by our protests. They quietly say “Thank you for all you are doing” as they pass on the streets. We get a thumb’s up from college kids who admire what we are doing and want to learn more about our work.

Our NY Group is hard to miss when out on the streets – all of us in black tee-shirts with some version of “We will not be silent” on our chests, we stand out like a family at a reunion in a park (and we are beginning to feel that kind of solidarity as well). When we were standing outside earlier tonight, a young man made a point of rushing back after he had passed us to say, “I am so proud of you!”

Just tonight, as Pia and I were walking home from dinner (well sort of dinner in that we are slowly breaking our fast), several people approached us to let us know how much they appreciate what we are doing. The sidewalks are incredibly crowded and the traffic so dense that walking down the street is an adventure in itself. As we navigated our way back to our hotel, several small groups of people stopped us to say, “Shukron”, “Gaza Freedom March – yes!” We stopped at a bank tonight and this young woman about 22 years old, with impeccable English introduced herself as Hafsa. She asked us if we were part of GFM and, “How can I get involved? I have so many ideas, I want to do something!” We must have talked for about 30 minutes and she still had more ideas to share including how to gain access for Viva Palestina through the Suez and how to turn human waste into fuel for Gaza! Hafsa and her friend wore hijab, as most of the women do here, which made her earnestness all the more convincing. And I felt inspired by her. We exchanged email addresses and I know we will be in touch.

So, all of this is such a reminder that no matter what action one takes, the effects are broad and deep. This trip has served to intensify my resolve for peace in Palestine and for all people searching to make the world more just. And many of us are finding each other to share in this work even in the most unexpected places.

Cheryl

Gary and I talk about the Gaza Freedom March

2010-01-07T17:16:00.000-08:00

The interview starts at about halfway through the Activist Radio program. It is in mp3 form so it should download easily.

http://www.classwars.org/jan7.mp3

Fred

Ask Your Rep to End Gaza Suffering (Friends Committee)

2010-01-07T09:03:00.001-08:00

A year after the Gaza war, Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip continue to live in poverty and deprivation. As winter rains and cold arrive, the concrete and other materials needed to rebuild clinics, schools, and homes destroyed in the war a year ago are still banned from entering Gaza...

Ask your rep to end the suffering in Gaza.

http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=14524516

Statement and story of the French Embassy Encampment

2010-01-07T07:20:00.000-08:00

Underneath is the story of our experience with the Gaza Freedom march, which is not over, but on the contrary will go on and widen in France and elsewhere. The main sanction against Israel will remain the boycott, just as it was done against th South African regime of apartheid. Boycott in all its forms must be maintained as long as Israel will boycott Palestinians. It must be proclaimed proudly Because it is the weapon of all those who refuse cruel treatments, concentration camps, ghettos where men, women and children are imprisoned to be bombed, starved and humiliated...

We return to this adventure more determined than ever to lead the fight against the inhumanity of the siege of Gaza, imprisonment and deprivation of all the Palestinian people by Israeli occupation. Crimes against humanity may be committed with the consent of our leaders, including the Egyptian government that shows its true face collaboration by building a wall to strangle and starve even more the people of Gaza.

Very strong links were forged between the representatives of all countries during this "Walk for Gaza" stopped in Cairo. Take the opportunity to make 2010 the year that brings us together, to shake all these tyrants!

Read the entire translation.

2010-01-06T07:46:00.000-08:00

I made this little doodle in Cairo late one of many sleepless nights and also wrote the following:

Principles of Action: Cairo December 26- January 3rd 2009
“Establish unto thyself principles of action; and see that thou ever act according to them. First know that thy principles are just…”- Akhenaton King of Egypt, 14th century BC

Didn’t make it to Gaza
Didn’t make it to the wall with bricks of tears
We, uncomfortable phalanx of peace
Hostages ourselves
Negotiations unclear
Did what we could
Did what we should
Made bitter lemonade
Took it to the streets
Our souls reshaped,
Amalgam of sorrow, courage and action
Determination fueled by the faces of the world
Cairo boy peace sign and thank yous, fear in their eye
One day the storm trooper smiled
At me! A gentle gendarme catalyst of thought:
Dominations
Money Relations
Degradations
Occupations
Humiliations
Subjugations
United Nations?Discrimi-Nations...NO! Our Renewed DetermiNations!

WE WILL NOT BE SILENT

-Maurizio

The A R T of dissent!

2010-01-05T13:45:00.000-08:00

Sara, letting Freedom Ring in Cairo for Gaza!

Photo by Bill Perry,

Posted by Maurizio M.

Peace!!!

Maurizio

Cairo Declaration to End Israeli Apartheid

2010-01-05T12:20:00.000-08:00

Cairo Declaration to End Israeli Apartheid

Gaza Freedom Marchers issue the "Cairo Declaration" to end Israeli apartheid Press release, Gaza Freedom March delegates, 4 January 2010

The following declaration was issued on 1 January 2010:
Gaza Freedom Marchers approved today a declaration aimed at accelerating the global campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israeli Apartheid.

Roughly 1,400 activists from 43 countries converged in Cairo on their way to Gaza to join with Palestinians marching to break Israel's illegal siege. They were prevented from entering Gaza by the Egyptian authorities.

As a result, the Freedom Marchers remained in Cairo. They staged a series of nonviolent actions aimed at pressuring the international community to end the siege as one step in the larger struggle to secure justice for Palestinians throughout historic Palestine.

This declaration arose from those actions:
We, international delegates meeting in Cairo during the Gaza Freedom March 2009 in collective response to an initiative from the South African delegation, state:
In view of:

-Israel's ongoing collective punishment of Palestinians through the illegal occupation and siege of Gaza
-the illegal occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the continued construction of the illegal Apartheid Wall and settlements; the new Wall under construction by Egypt and the US which will tighten even further the siege of Gaza
-the contempt for Palestinian democracy shown by Israel, the US, Canada, the EU and others after the Palestinian elections of 2006
-the war crimes committed by Israel during the invasion of Gaza one year ago; the continuing discrimination and repression faced by Palestinians within Israel
-and the continuing exile of millions of Palestinian refugees; all of which oppressive acts are based ultimately on the Zionist ideology which underpins Israel
-in the knowledge that our own governments have given Israel direct economic, financial, military and diplomatic support and allowed it to behave with impunity
-and mindful of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (2007)

We reaffirm our commitment to:
Palestinian Self-Determination Ending the Occupation Equal Rights for All within historic Palestine The full Right of Return for Palestinian refugees

We therefore reaffirm our commitment to the United Palestinian call of July 2005 for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) to compel Israel to comply with international law.

To that end, we call for and wish to help initiate a global mass, democratic anti-apartheid movement to work in full consultation with Palestinian civil society to implement the Palestinian call for BDS.

Mindful of the many strong similarities between apartheid Israel and the former apartheid regime in South Africa, we propose:

1) An international speaking tour in the first six months of 2010 by Palestinian and South African trade unionists and civil society activists, to be joined by trade unionists and activists committed to this program within the countries toured, to take mass education on BDS directly to the trade union membership and wider public internationally;

2) Participation in the Israeli Apartheid Week in March 2010;

3) A systematic unified approach to the boycott of Israeli products, involving consumers, workers and their unions in the retail, warehousing and transportation sectors;

4) Developing the academic, cultural and sports boycott;

5) Campaigns to encourage divestment of trade union and other pension funds from companies directly implicated in the occupation and/or the Israeli military industries;

6) Legal actions targeting the external recruitment of soldiers to serve in the Israeli military, and the prosecution of Israeli government war criminals; coordination of Citizen's Arrest Bureaux to identify, campaign and seek to prosecute Israeli war criminals; support for the Goldstone report and the implementation of its recommendations;

7) Campaigns against charitable status of the Jewish National Fund (JNF).

We appeal to organizations and individuals committed to this declaration to sign it and work with us to make it a reality.

Please e-mail us at cairodec A T gmail D O T com

Signed by:
(* Affiliation for identification purposes only.)

1. Hedy Epstein, Holocaust Survivor/ Women in Black*, USA

2. Nomthandazo Sikiti, Nehawu, Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), Affiliate International Officer*, South Africa

3. Zico Tamela, Satawu, Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) Affiliate International Officer*, South Africa

4. Hlokoza Motau, Numsa, Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) Affiliate International Officer*, South Africa

5. George Mahlangu, Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) Campaigns Coordinator*, South Africa

6. Crystal Dicks, Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) Education Secretary*, South Africa

7. Savera Kalideen, SA Palestinian Solidarity Committee*, South Africa

8. Suzanne Hotz, SA Palestinian Solidarity Group*, South Africa

9. Shehnaaz Wadee, SA Palestinian Solidarity Alliance*, South Africa

10. Haroon Wadee, SA Palestinian Solidarity Alliance*, South Africa

11. Sayeed Dhansey, South Africa

12. Faiza Desai, SA Palestinian Solidarity Alliance*, South Africa

13. Ali Abunimah, Electronic Intifada*, USA

14. Hilary Minch, Ireland Palestine Solidarity Committee*, Ireland

15. Anthony Loewenstein, Australia

16. Sam Perlo-Freeman, United Kingdom

17. Julie Moentk, Pax Christi*, USA

18. Ulf Fogelström, Sweden

19. Ann Polivka, Chico Peace and Justice Center*, USA

20. Mark Johnson, Fellowship of Reconciliation*, USA

21. Elfi Padovan, Munich Peace Committee*/Die Linke*, Germany

22. Elizabeth Barger, Peace Roots Alliance*/Plenty I*, USA

23. Sarah Roche-Mahdi, CodePink*, USA

24. Svetlana Gesheva-Anar, Bulgaria

25. Cristina Ruiz Cortina, Al Quds-Malaga*, Spain

26. Rachel Wyon, Boston Gaza Freedom March*, USA

27. Mary Hughes-Thompson, Women in Black*, USA

28. David Letwin, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN)*, USA

29. Jean Athey, Peace Action Montgomery*, USA

30. Gael Murphy, Gaza Freedom March*/CodePink*, USA

31. Thomas McAfee, Journalist/PC*, USA

32. Jean Louis Faure, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN)*, France

33. Timothy A King, Christians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East*, USA

34. Gail Chalbi, Palestine/Israel Justice Project of the Minnesota United Methodist Church*, USA

35. Ouahib Chalbi, Palestine/Israel Justice Project of the Minnesota United Methodist Church*, USA

36. Greg Dropkin, Liverpool Friends of Palestine*, England

37. Felice Gelman, Wespac Peace and Justice New York*/Gaza Freedom March*, USA

38. Ron Witton, Australian Academic Union*, Australia

39. Hayley Wallace, Palestine Solidarity Committee*, USA

40. Norma Turner, Manchester Palestine Solidarity Campaign*, England

41. Paula Abrams-Hourani, Women in Black (Vienna)*/ Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East*, Austria

42. Mateo Bernal, Industrial Workers of the World*, USA

43. Mary Mattieu, Collectif Urgence Palestine*, Switzerland

44. Agneta Zuppinger, Collectif Urgence Palestine*, Switzerland

45. Ashley Annis, People for Peace*, Canada

46. Peige Desgarlois, People for Peace*, Canada

47. Hannah Carter, Canadian Friends of Sabeel*, Canada

48. Laura Ashfield, Canadian Friends of Sabeel*, Canada

49. Iman Ghazal, People for Peace*, Canada

50. Filsam Farah, People for Peace*, Canada

51. Awa Allin, People for Peace*, Canada

52. Cleopatra McGovern, USA

53. Miranda Collet, Spain

54. Alison Phillips, Scotland

55. Nicholas Abramson, Middle East Crisis Response Network*/Jews Say No*, USA

56. Tarak Kauff, Middle East Crisis Response Network*/Veterans for Peace*, USA

57. Jesse Meisler-Abramson, USA

58. Hope Mariposa, USA

59. Ivesa Lübben. Bremer Netzwerk fur Gerechten Frieden in Nahost*, Germany

60. Sheila Finan, Mid-Hudson Council MERC*, USA

61. Joanne Lingle, Christians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East (CPJME)*, USA

62. Barbara Lubin, Middle East Children’s Alliance*, USA

63. Josie Shields-Stromsness, Middle East Children’s Alliance*, USA

64. Anna Keuchen, Germany

65. Judith Mahoney Pasternak, WRL* and Indypendent*, USA

66. Ellen Davidson, New York City Indymedia*, WRL*, Indypendent*, USA

67. Ina Kelleher, USA

68. Lee Gargagliano, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (Chicago)*, USA

69. Brad Taylor, OUT-FM*, USA

70. Helga Mankovitz, SPHR (Queen’s University)*, Canada

71. Mick Napier, Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign*, Scotland

72. Agnes Kueng, Paso Basel*, Switzerland

73. Anne Paxton, Voices of Palestine*, USA

74. Leila El Abtah, The Netherlands

75. Richard Van der Wouden, The Netherlands

76. Rafiq A. Firis, P.K.R.*/Isra*, The Netherlands

77. Sandra Tamari, USA

78. Alice Azzouzi, Way to Jerusalem*, USA

79. J’Ann Schoonmaker Allen, USA

80. Ruth F. Hooke, Episcopalian Peace Fellowship*, USA

81. Jean E. Lee, Holy Land Awareness Action Task Group of United Church of Canada*, Canada

82. Delphine de Boutray, Association Thèâtre Cine*, France

83. Sylvia Schwarz, USA

84. Alexandra Safi, Germany

85. Abdullah Anar, Green Party – Turkey*, Turkey

86. Ted Auerbach, USA

87. Martha Hennessy, Catholic Worker*, USA

88. Louis Ultale, Interfaile Pace e Bene*, USA

89. Leila Zand, Fellowship of Reconciliation*, USA

90. Emma Grigore, CodePink*, USA

91. Sammer Abdelela, New York Community of Muslim Progressives*, USA

92. Sharat G. Lin, San Jose Peace and Justice Center*, USA

93. Katherine E. Sheetz, Free Gaza*, USA

94. Steve Greaves, Free Gaza*, USA

95. Trevor Baumgartner, Free Gaza*, USA

96. Hanan Tabbara, USA

97. Marina Barakatt, CodePink*, USA

98. Keren Bariyov, USA

99. Ursula Sagmeister, Women in Black – Vienna*, Austria

100. Ann Cunningham, Australia

101. Bill Perry, Delaware Valley Veterans for Peace*, USA

102. Terry Perry, Delaware Valley Veterans for Peace*, USA

103. Athena Viscusi, USA

104. Marco Viscusi, USA

105. Paki Wieland, Northampton Committee*, USA

106. Manijeh Saba, New York / New Jersey, USA

107. Ellen Graves, USA

108. Zoë Lawlor, Ireland – Palestine Solidarity Campaign*, Ireland

109. Miguel García Grassot, Al Quds – Málaga*, Spain

110. Ana Mamora Romero, ASPA-Asociacion Andaluza Solidaridad y Paz*, Spain

111. Ehab Lotayef, CJPP Canada*, Canada

112. David Heap, London Anti-War*, Canada

113. Adie Mormech, Free Gaza* / Action Palestine*, England

114. Aimee Shalan, UK

115. Liliane Cordova, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN)*, Spain

116. Priscilla Lynch, USA

117. Jenna Bitar, USA

118. Deborah Mardon, USA

119. Becky Thompson, USA

120. Diane Hereford, USA

121. David Heap, People for Peace London*, Canada

122. Donah Abdulla, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights*, Canada

123. Wendy Goldsmith, People for Peace London*, Canada

124. Abdu Mihirig, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights-UBC*, Canada

125. Saldibastami, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights-UBC*, Canada

126. Abdenahmane Bouaffad, CMF*, France

127. Feroze Mithiborwala, Awami Bharat*, India

128. John Dear, Pax Christi*, USA

129. Ziyaad Lunat, Portugal

130. Michael Letwin, New York City Labor Against the War (NYCLAW) Labor For Palestine

Vigil in Woodstock on Jan 1.

2010-01-05T10:46:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all the local support. We appreciate it.

Fred

Please post at least first names...

2010-01-05T03:00:00.000-08:00

If you are using my username and password to post on this blog, please put at least your first name at the end of what you have written. That way, readers can differentiate writers.

Thanks,

Fred

The Last Hurrah

2010-01-05T02:54:00.000-08:00

The Mid Hudson contingent of the Gaza Freedom March is all back home now. It is 5:30 in the morning, but my inner clock has me busy with e-mails and posting on this blog.

Our last action was yesterday at the Israeli Consulate in NYC. About 40 of us, some Gaza Freedom Marchers and some supporters were there in the cold with our great signs that Laurie had brought from Cairo. "Free Gaza!"

We didn't get the massive response our demonstrations got in Cairo. No troops unloading from busses and erecting barricades. But the NYC police force told us something that the Cairo authorities had not: that we couldn't demonstrate on the sidewalk or they would arrest us.

Yes, the irony of walking on the sidewalk outside the Israeli Embassy in Cairo and chanting for hours, and then facing arrest in the "Land of the Free" for doing exactly the same.

I heard a plainclothes cop on his cell phone tell his superior someplace that the rally had "completely blocked the sidewalk." It was a lie, like most official pronouncements regarding Israel. We were walking single file and not blocking anyone.

Another officer, this one in uniform, told us that only six could protest outside a "business" in NYC. We would have to move across the street or face arrest. Soon there were police with their white nylon handcuffs taking up position. We were cold and jet-lagged, and we moved.

Yes, we should take back the street in front of the Israeli Consulate in NYC. We have a constitutional right to walk there carrying our signs. We simply cannot allow the Zionist lobby to dictate what is allowed in America.

Fred

"People Magazine" coverage is all we could get from the P. Journal

2010-01-05T02:27:00.000-08:00

RHINEBECK — A strong activist for peace and a Korean War veteran (served in Korea, was not a child soldier), Fred Nagel has joined and helped to create multiple peace organizations throughout Dutchess County. Nagel, with longtime friend Linda Curtis and a few others, established the Dutchess Peace Coalition about eight years ago. This holiday season, he is taking his personal mission for peace to the Middle East.

"Fred and I both had a common interest of promoting peace, we wanted to educate people about the misdirected war in Iraq," said Curtis, as to why they began the group and remain committed to their cause.

While many were surrounded by loved ones and enjoying the holiday season, Nagel traveled to Cairo along with 14 other local residents.

On Monday, he is to take part in a freedom march in the Palestinian city of Gaza. He said they hope the march will send a message to the U.S. government, a supporter of Israel, that the blockade placed upon Gaza is a violation of human rights.

"It's honorable," Curtis said. "It takes guts to put yourself in potential danger in order to fight for what you believe in."

As an active member of the Dutchess Peace Coalition, Nagel has shown monthly movies, served as a disc jockey on a local radio show that airs from Vassar College, and organized several protests.

"Being a veteran made me more aware of the price people pay for an aggressive government," Nagel said. "I'm friends with many Vietnam veterans as well, and I've seen the effect war had on them."

Public education is Nagel's main focus when it comes to promoting peace.

The Dutchess Peace Coalition has spent time in local high schools informing young people about the options they have other than joining the military.

"I worked with high school students for many years," Nagel said. "I've seen a multitude of ill-informed youth join the military because they didn't think they had another choice."

The Sisters City Project was another cause that Nagel strongly supported.

He worked hard to help raise money and get supplies to send to Nicaragua, a country that is close to his heart after he traveled there in the 1980s.

Nagel has urged others to read a diverse collection of media sources, meet with local activist groups and become involved with their local community, whatever they believe.

"I've always had a strong sense of fairness," Nagel said. "I have lived by the quote from the U.S. Declaration of Independence that everyone is entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

To Nagel, being active is just part of his everyday life. Nagel stresses the importance of people looking out for others and doing what they can to promote unity and peace.

"I do all of this simply to keep sanity in a world that can sometimes look very depressing," Nagel said. "It's good to stay active and do what you can to stand up for the things you feel strongly about."

Fred Nagel

United, we will never be defeated

2010-01-01T10:21:00.000-08:00

In the beginning, when we arrived in Egypt and couldn't go to Gaza, we all thought that the US interests had won. We had spent a lot of energy and money to make this trip, all for nothing.

But sometimes the best laid imperial plans backfire. Instead of sending us to Gaza where we would be on small groups touring the war torn areas, we were concentrated and angry, 1,300 antiapartheid activist, with nothing to do in Cairo.

A massive, week long antiapartheid workshop ensued. We planned rallies and marches, we developed non violent resistance actions, and we earned our badges of courage on the streets of Cairo. That's 43 countries at last working together to learn from and support each other in the struggle.

Code Pink will be seen as the proud parent of a new movement ready to strike out on its own. The South African delegation will be seen as our mentor, in teaching us the aggressive, non violent tactics that finally brought down apartheid South Africa.

So instead of thwarting our efforts by closing the Gaza border, the Egyptian government has given us worldwide momentum. We have been on CNN and on front page on the NY Times. We have emerged with a 10 point program that lays the groundwork for ending the criminal regime that is the Israeli government. And we have focused our attention on the origin of much of Israel's fascist agenda, the imperial empire of the United State. For it is this empire that controls both Eygpt and Israel, and that enforces the blockade of 1.5 million people in Gaza.

The end of apartheid Israel will be a defeat for this empire, a threat to the war criminals that run the United States. But it will be accomplished. MLK said that the "arc of history is long but it bends toward justice." All of us on the Gaza Freedom March are privileged to be a small part of that long arc. It is a gift to each of us, the privilege to do the right thing.

Hunger Strikers In Cairo

2009-12-31T22:39:00.000-08:00

Hedy Epstein, 85, a holocaust survivor, and a Gaza Freedom Marcher, announced on December 26 that she would begin a hunger strike in solidarity with the people of Gaza. Of the approximately 25-30 people who have joined her,are nine of our own Hudson To Gaza affinity group: Helaine, Cheryl, Pia, Tarak, Laurie, Jen, Linda, Mauritzio, and Nic. Today, January 1 is the fifth day of our fasts. On December 28, we gathered, along with 200 other GFM'ers, on the steps of the Society of Journalists to announce our Hunger strike with the following statement:

We are doing this hunger strike in solidarity with the Palestinian People of Gaza who are hungry for food, shelter, and, most of all, for their freedom. We call upon people everywhere to join us in short fasts and other non violent actions to help end the siege of Gaza.

We were, as always, immediately blockaded by police in their usual riot gear.This didn't at all dissuade us from chanting,singing displaying our protest signs, and generally having a spirited protest that was even covered in the NY Times(at least a picture). .We disbursed peacefully after approx 3 hours.It was considered by all to be a very success protest.

We continue our fasts with many of us uncertain about how or when to end.The fasts have deepened our commitment to work for the freedom of the Palestinian People. We all acknowledge that this denial of sustenance to ourselves is only symbolic of the daily suffering of our oppressed bothers and sisters in Gaza. While our goal of breaking the siege has not been accomplished, and may not be for a great while, we do feel that, along with the other actions on this trip, this has been an important undertaking both politically and personally

Denied Access to Gaza Activists Demonstrate in Cairo

2009-12-31T06:24:00.000-08:00

Several hundred members of the Gaza Freedom March, including six members of the Hudson to Gaza delegation, were caught up in a police action as they attempted to march peacefully in front of the Egyptian Museum Thursday at 10 am amid heavy morning traffic. They were met by overwhelming numbers of riot police who pushed and grabbed them forcing them into a cordoned off area. Some support members were forced inside the area but succeeded in leaving. Others filmed and photographed the march, which got violent. As of 3 pm Diane, Sarah, and Laurie were still being detained but were safe and in good spirits as the protest continued with banners and signs waving. Cheryl was assisted in getting out by a Palestinian woman. The three hotels that served as meeting places for the GFM were blocked by police early in the morning to prevent guests registered there to attend the march and police in uniform and plainclothes were everywhere. Several marchers, not members of Hudson to Gaza, suffered injuries like broken ribs and arms. As of this time, at least one hotel remains blockaded and Gaza Freedom Marchers are still at the museum.

Not quite in Gaza

2009-12-31T04:00:00.000-08:00

After all the successful publicity we got (see front page of NY Times) from the Journalist building rally, the GFM went into a very distructive split. Code Pink had negotiated for two buses to Gaza, with a number of stipulations (no French, no Mid-eastern peoples, only 16 hours, and an end to political action here in Cairo). Since everything is rumor, these conditions may not be accurate.

As soon as this was told to various groups, there was a rebellion. Long meetings into the night. The next morning there was a nasty scene at the busses with people getting on and off, depending on who was trying to convince them. In the end, the second bus was only half full when it left.

Today's action was really hard to pull off. The Lotus Hotel was blockaded by police, and groups of three or more were not allowed on the sidewalks. Communications was terrible and plans kept changing. But at 10:00 am about 250 took to the street in a large square by the Nation Museum, stopping all traffic. Very soon, things got tense and the pressure of people crowded together caused some to fall. We were forced ahead, over the people who were sitting. Arms, legs, screams. There was a woman who couldn't get up after she had been stepped on. She was screaming for her life.

Ahead of us were the special police who were throwing and dragging people off the road. More yelling, as some people were punched and hit. After one of the special police had punched someone, a guy in a suit came up and pulled him back and out of the line. Maybe the official position was not to hurt people.

I talked to some Muslim protesters, and they thought they had been targeted for bad treatment. But the scene in the road was tough for everyone. Anyone infirm to start with faced some real danger. Not what most of the GFM had really signed up for. There were about 5 who needed and got medical attention.

We were then condoned off by the side of the road, with police lines all around. After about an hour, they started letting people out.

It was also the most exhilarating of the actions we have done. Intense energy, and I was very glad I had done it. I got some great footage of the cops as they broke things up.

May be my last time in Egypt unless I change my name.

Fred

2009-12-29T12:39:00.000-08:00

Marhaba from Cheryl in Cairo

I am having much trouble with my blackberry and anything to connect me to my outside world, nonetheless, my spirits are good. Indeed they are blocking us from entering Gaza. Yesterday we were at the 'World Trade Center/UN'building and the police surrounded us for hours - I stood eye to eye with young soldiers - most of them so very young (some no older than 16 or 17) - we taught each other how to say peace in our respective languages, we laughed, one guy even cried a little when I told him he had ein halwah/beautiful eyes - but don't get me wrong - I am not naive about how dangerous this could get at an any moment. It is just that, once again, I am reminded that when given the opportunity to see each other's humanity, really look at each other and try to see each other, walls can come down.

The same walls that seem so impenetrable to get from Cairo to Gaza for this march.

I suppose that this whole effort to stop us from bringing support and humanitarian aid is just another extension of the formidable walls that surround Palestine in general. Yet when I think of the 1400 people who have come to participate in this effort from all over the world, I truly feel in my heart that one day this blockade will be lifted.

We will find a way to get the aid and the school supplies including the 12 laptops purchased by our group. I am also bringing something precious to me from my friend, Noura. The day before we left, she gave me her beautiful floor-length engagement dress saying 'Some young girl will want this for herself - to celebrate her own engagement'. So I have brought the dress to Cairo and am determined that it will get to Gaza, not just because some young woman will be thrilled to have it but because it signifies that that young woman is creating a future for herself, that she expects to have a future. One of the most devastating affects of violence and the longlasting aftershocks of trauma is the loss of a sense of future. I stay on course to give that young woman a dress and to say to her and to you that I believe in a better future for Palestine. I pray daily that the evergrowing tide of global support will rise to lift Palestine out of isolation, poverty and terror.

Many of us are joining Hedy Epstein, an 85 yo survivor of the Holocaust, in a hunger strike. Her story seems to be getting the most international press. Hard for me to pass by the shwarma, balawa, and figs I see on the streets but I am hungrier for this blockade of our march to get the attention of the world and I am hungrier yet for peace and justice.

Cheryl

Pia's comments

2009-12-29T03:27:00.000-08:00

My dear ones,hope you get this,why didn't i get your emails? Again,all well with us,many meetigs
about plans,nobody wants to get arrested,police know all,are there before we get there.

Love you all tremendously,do not worry about me(other ones want to write),we are very careful,
hugs, mom

A Love Letter to Gaza

2009-12-29T03:06:00.000-08:00

A Love Letter to Gaza
It is hard to see far into the future from the smog that covers Cairo. On the ground it looks like a traffic jam of humanity and sounds like a mad symphony of horns. At the end of the day I can not wash Cairo off my skin.
Simply, I DO NOT WANT TO BE IN CAIRO. I want to be in Gaza. I am not alone. The 1360 Internationals from 42 countries should be in Gaza. We came to Cairo only because it is our transit point to the Rafah boarder crossing into Gaza. We stay in Cairo only because the Egyptian government has denied us entry, first in Gaza, then even to the crossing, then also to the town of Al Arish near the border crossing, and now even outside of Cairo.

Have you ever experienced sitting inside a locked room where you could see only yourself and one other person yet sensed there were others lurking in the shadows or even in charge? The seige of Gaza has spread its arms into Cairo. The UN? No relief. The embassies? No relief. The press? Barred.

Did you know that you are not allowed to bring love letters to Gaza? You can not deliver your heart, or computers, or childrens crayons, or supplies. You can not walk side-by-side with with Gazans to speak to the world about ending the seige. You are not allowed to tell why you came all this way from France, the U.S., South Africa, Australia, Spain.

No, in the world of Obama, Netanyahu, Mubarek, you can not deliver love letters to Gaza! So we write our love letter in Cairo and send it to you with hopes you will spread it everywhere.

Dear Gaza,

And we begin our first paragraph

“You are not alone.”             The French delegation, surrounded by hundreds of police encamp outside their embassy. Delegates who took buses and taxis to get to the border are detained. We have all come ready to march with you. There are hunger strikers now too.

“Look at our faces.”             We come from all around the planet. We are young and old. We believe there should be a crisis of conscience everywhere to demand that the seige be ended.

There is a pause in the letter. It is hard to express the heartbreak and anger at being
kept from you, Gaza. But we write more.

“Our call is to humanity.       Quiet the car horns, lift the veil of this damned smog, let the entire world see the Gaza Freedom March. We are a glimpse of the future.

Every well-constructed love letter has a second paragraph. So we continue

“Do you know that we will never give up?”          We will, someday, break bread together and share clementines.

“To Gaza. To Gaza.”

Finally, the salutation.

“With heartfelt solidarity and undaunted determination. The Gaza Freedom March.”
-Hope B. 12/29/09

from helaine

2009-12-29T03:03:00.000-08:00

Hi, everyone,

Time is somewhat limited, so here is a shortened version of our trip so far:

On the Ground in East Jerusalem

1. House removals of Palestinians: Religious Jews from Brooklyn took over two Palestinian homes--the Jews spit on the ground near the Palestinian children and teens, and the P children and teens call the Jews "pussy" and "faggot"--the IDF arrives to stop the "dialogue" and is clearly there to protect the Jews

2. The many checkpoints throughout the West Bank are obviously there to stop the movement of the P people and to make their lives miserable--what used to be a 20-minute drive can now take one and a half hours—this obviously interferes with people going to work and school and it makes it very difficult to visit family and friends

3. The Separation Wall (the so called security wall) goes on and on, snaking throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory--it seems mainly to separate P from P, and P from their land—from what we could see, it has little to nothing to do with the security of the Israelis (this wall does not follow the Green Line—rather, it creates closed-in prisons of neighborhoods with only one means of entry and egress)

4. Israel is in the process of building train tracks straight through East Jerusalem (so that Jews from the settlements [aka colonies] can travel from their condo homes downtown to work and to stores--these tracks divide East Jerusalem into two sectors (talk about divide and conquer)

5. Settlements/Colonies can have as many as 32,000 Jews living in them—they look like housing developments everywhere in the US with condos that have balconies (the one difference is that here in East Jerusalem the condos look out onto P barrios/favelas rather than looking out onto golf courses)

6. P from the WB are not allowed into EJ or even to travel in cars with residents of EJ (this means that a resident of EJ cannot have his/her spouse in the car if s/he is not also from EJ)—if this order is disobeyed, the IDF can fine/imprison the driver, impound the car, etc.

7. P from EJ are considered residents, not citizens of Israel

Get the idea? Segregation, Racism, Apartheid, Bantustans at its finest

Cairo, Egypt

1. 20 million people live in Cairo--there are more cars than you can imagine (more than you have ever seen in NYC)—there are few traffic lights—honking horns and speeding around each other is the name of the game

2. There are few street names on streets--the one traffic light we did see shows a person running across the street rather than walking—it is truly a trip to cross streets

3. Cairo is filthy—the air pollution is terrible—there are lots of mosquitoes and flies all over the place

4. From what we can ascertain, there is little to no freedom of speech here (Egyptian college kids were beat up today for rallying for democracy in front of a lawyers “guild”)—the E government has forbidden E to travel into Gaza with any Code Pink group

5. There are uniformed and undercover cops everywhere!--They watch and listen to all we do and say--they have totally shut us down--they stopped us from putting flowers and notes to commemorate the victims of Cast Lead—they stopped us from going onto falukkas (boats) on the Nile to send commemorative candles down the Nile for the 1400 killed in Gaza—They sent large foreboding paddy wagons/armed-service carriers filled with police/military to corral us and to harass us

6. They cordon us off at every event we have—this feels confining and threatening, although it does appear that a number of the young soldiers may very well be in support of what we are doing—it seems that a number of them have been “hired” to avoid jail terms and are “carrying out orders”

Gaza Freedom March

1. It appears that the GFM leadership never established a firm and clearly laid out Plan B, other than having different groups do direct actions. Many of us believe we desperately need a unified and clear plan with a clear message.

2. Since we arrived in Cairo a few days ago, different groups (which represent different countries, women, students, interfaith, Code Pink, states, counties, etc.) are doing different actions; to many of us, this feels pretty scattered and unfocused.

3. Approximately 200 French set up an encampment at their Embassy and were immediately surrounded by the military police—they are allowing people to go out of the encampment one by one to go to a bathroom but it appears that once out they cannot return.

4. Other groups have spoken about speaking with their Embassies. It appears that the US Embassy has no interest in assisting us (big surprise).

5. Yesterday, the larger GFM group planned to encamp at the UN, but abandoned that idea later in the afternoon; 5 very courageous Es and one American Palestinian poet (the poet who performed at our Arabic luncheon) decided to remain overnight--they were arrested and then released.

6. Hedy Epstein, 85-year-old Holocaust survivor, is heading up a contingent of 30+ people (thus far) who are beginning a hunger strike (in conjunction with those from Viva Palestina who are on a hunger strike).

7. Today Netanyahu is meeting with Mubarek here in Cairo; there is discussion about whether to hold an action at the Presidential Palace.

8. There is also serious discussion about whether to join with the Interfaith Group, which is planning to begin a pilgrimage to Gaza (knowing full well that the police can and probably will shut this action down within only yards of taking their/our first steps). Already, people who attempted to get to Al Arish by cab, public bus, private bus (which the E govt. have forbidden to drive there) have been arrested, detained, held at their hotels, etc. Yesterday, two young people were taken out of their cab, had their passports confiscated by the police, and were forced to walk 4 hours back to Cairo.

That is it for now. I hope this gives you a feel for what is transpiring here. Our sense is that Plan A to travel to Gaza ended before we even arrived here. Reasons for this may include: the E general fear of having this number of organized internationals intervening in the situation; the current discussion about an exchange of prisoners; the current E shutdown of many of the tunnels going into Gaza; the possible Israeli plan for another military action in Gaza; fear of terrorist attacks to commemorate the anniversary of Cast Lead; ……

2009-12-29T02:59:00.000-08:00

Many want to post, but because everyone is using my username and password, we are taking turns.

We are busy today in planning new events. Don't have imaging software, so will have to load pictures when we get back. Must bring my laptop next time.

Everyone fine, and the computers are being counted and packaged for the trip to Gaza. We have eleven to send.

Fred

Dog tired and still in Cairo

2009-12-28T01:06:00.000-08:00

We have arrived to a total clampdown on all travel out of Cairo towards Gaza. Lots of police, and intimidating tactics. They do not want us to demonstrate. But Code Pink will not be stopped and we have had two rallies. The one last night just grew and grew, with people from all over the world joining in. They stop every plan that is made, but we have learned to improvise. We were supposed to take boats on the Nile for a vigil, but the police stopped all boats. But the demonstration was one of the most moving I have been in for some time. People from around the world, different languages, all saying the same thing; break the siege of Gaza.

The French are not camped outside their embassy with thousands of troops surrounding them. We bought coffee and food and handed it to the people encamped there, about 250. Really and wonderful action. I doubt that it has been reported in the US.

Anyway, we are looking around for a place to put up our banner.

Free Gaza!

Permission withdrawn for entering Gaza

2009-12-24T20:27:00.000-08:00

"At 8:30pm tonight, December 24, 2009, the Egyptian Foreign Minister said on Egyptian TV Channel 2, that neither the Gaza Freedom March nor persons accompanying the Viva Palestina convoy would be allowed to enter Gaza. The Foreign Minister’s comments confirmed statements made to Ann Wright and Tighe Barry of the Gaza Freedom March steering committee during their meeting this afternoon with the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director of the Office of Palestinian Affairs Hisham Seif-Eldin and officer Ahmed Azzam..."

I think everyone is committed to going, hoping that this news will be reversed again. Thanks to all who called or e-mailed your support. The Egyptian embassies and consulates were contacted by thousands, both here and in Europe.

On to Cairo!

Maria Latella's Blog Followers of Maurizio and Linda's Gaza Freedom March

2009-12-24T09:55:00.000-08:00

Best to all of you who wished me well from Italy And TO My new friends:

Alessandro, Giuseppe, Maria,Chiara, Celeste, Gabri, Ornella,...Grazia' tu ormai sei un fratello (maggiore:)) insomma thanks a tutti e chiedo scusa se ho omesso qualcuno
You can follow us here, dear friends; we'll be posting more here and will keep you posted so we can work, united, on making a powerful difference and Graziano and Maria, you can help me with the article/story/letter you suggested: it will be a big help. GRAZIE

Ciao a tutti

PEACE, PACE

Maurizio(Roamin Roman) e Linda

We are going in...

2009-12-23T21:15:00.000-08:00

PRESS RELEASE

Gaza Freedom March requests Egyptian government reconsider its entry due to secure border situation

Government of Egypt changes policy to allow humanitarian group Viva Palestina to enter Gaza December 27, 2009

December 23, 2009

Gaza Freedom March congratulates the Government of Egypt on its change of policy to allow international missions into Gaza during December with the decision to allow the Viva Palestina convoy to go into Gaza on December 27, 2009.

Organizers of Gaza Freedom March were told on December 20, 2009 by Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials that no international missions would be allowed to enter Gaza during December, including the Gaza Freedom March, because of serious security conditions at the border.

Today, December 23, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson told Gaza Freedom March organizers said that the decision had been made to alter its policy because of the "humanitarian assistance" nature of Viva Palestina...

http://www.palestinechronicle.com

BUS STOP BLOGGING IN NYC FOR GAZA

2009-12-23T07:53:00.000-08:00

birth

2009-12-22T07:39:00.001-08:00

in the ruins
of this catholic womb
signs of labor
as the hours pass
pain
increases
trying to remember
to breathe
no past, no future
only this moment

hands clenched
intense pain
torrential sweat

focused

hold on
bear down
push

insignificant reprieve

da capo

hold on
bear down
push

determined to end
the pain

one last push

FREEDOM

Need Your Help

2009-12-22T07:39:00.000-08:00

"Gaza Freedom March

UPDATE December 21, 2009

We are determined to break the siege.

We all will continue to do whatever we can to make it happen.

Using the pretext of escalating tensions on the Gaza-Egypt border, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry informed us yesterday that the Rafah border will be closed over the coming weeks, into January. We responded that there is always tension at the border because of the siege, that we do not feel threatened, and that if there are any risks, they are risks we are willing to take. We also said that it was too late for over 1,300 delegates coming from over 42 countries to change their plans now. We both agreed to continue our exchanges..."

Please help by contacting the NYC Egyptian Embassy at:
Telephone: 1+212-759-7120

The US Egyptian Embassy in DC at:

Telephone: 1+202-895-5400 and ask for Omar Youssef

omaryoussef@hotmail.com

* * Sample text * *

I am writing/calling to express my full support for the December 31, 2009 Gaza Freedom March. I urge the Egyptian government to allow the 1,300 international delegates to enter the Gaza Strip through Egypt.

The aim of the march is to call on Israel to lift the siege. The delegates will also take in badly needed medical aid, as well as school supplies and winter jackets for the children of Gaza.

Please, let this historic March proceed.

Thank you,

Felice Gelman

Freeing the Palestinian People

2009-12-21T08:09:00.000-08:00

With so many points of view about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, it is hard for the average American to know where to start. And the knowledge some people have already acquired from religious fundamentalist teaching, be it Christian, Jewish, or Muslim is often based on mythology rather than fact.

Perhaps the best place to begin is on the ground in the West Bank and Gaza. In both occupied territories, Palestinian people are among the poorest and most destitute in the world, often without adequate food, potable water, and even the most basic of housing.

Added to this, at least in the occupied West Bank, is the ever present violence directed at Palestinians by Jewish fundamentalist who have built armed fortresses on hundreds of hilltops. These Jewish zealots have one goal in mind, to clear the land of all Palestinians by shootings, beatings, and destroying what is left of Palestinian agriculture. The Israeli Defense Force's massive presence with its check points, military incursions, huge walls and heavy surveillance insures that there can be no Palestinian retaliation to these attacks. In fact, Palestinians homes are routinely bulldozed to make way for more Jewish families, usually paid for by the Israeli government ($75,000 per household). There are now a half million Jewish occupiers in the West Bank protected by tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers.

"I’ve been very deeply distressed in my visit to the Holy Land; it reminded me so much of what happened to use black people in South Africa. I have seen the humiliation of the Palestinians at the checkpoints and roadblocks, suffering like us when young white police officers prevented us from moving about..."

- Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Life for the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza is by most measures even worse. Cut off from the outside world by an Israeli air, sea, and land blockade, their standard of living rivals the worst of the world's great slums. Without dependable sources of food or water, a whole generation of Palestinian children is growing up physically stunted. Moreover, the repeated military attacks on Gaza have left the entire population traumatized. There is simply no way to escape the fighter planes and missile gunships when Israeli invasions occur.

"The Israelis have orchestrated acute misery and poverty in the Palestinian territories over the past two decades in an effort to subdue and ethnically cleanse the captive population. They have reduced Palestinians, many of whom now live on less than $2 a day, to a subsistence level."

- Chris Hedges

Efforts to "punish, humiliate, and terrorize" an entire population are, of course, war crimes, as defined most recently by the Goldstone Report. The Israeli government and its Zionist allies in the US have no moral or legal defense when it comes to how Israel treats Palestinians in the occupied territories. All that remains is obfuscation.

The Goldstone report on the Gaza invasion, however, is a good example of how effective the Zionist lobby in this country have been in hiding Israeli war crimes from the general public. Richard Goldstone, a Jewish South African, served as chief prosecutor of the the UN Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda. In 2009, he led a UN Human Rights Council investigation of international and humanitarian law violations associated with the most recent Israeli invasion of Gaza. In his own words, his life's work pursuing war criminals "stems from the lessons of the Holocaust."

As soon as his report came out, The NY Times characterized it as critical of both Hamas and Israel. No mention was made of the fact that Goldstone directed most of his condemnation towards Israeli "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity." In every broadcast, NPR referred to the Goldstone Report as being "critical of both sides." And the mainstream media followed suit, insuring that most Americans never learned about the actual nature of Goldstone's charges against Israel.

But that wasn't enough for Israel or its Zionist lobby in the United States. Soon there was massive pressure exerted on the House of Representatives to condemn the Goldstone findings. The NY Times didn't print the House debate or the final vote, 344 to 36 in favor of a non-binding resolution that among other things found the Goldstone Report "Irredeemably biased." John Hall, a local representative who had run for election as an antiwar progressive, was one of the co-sponsors.

The House of Representative resolution got very little coverage anywhere in the US, probably because it stated as fact something that the US media had tried to hide: the Goldstone report identified Israel as the major perpetrator of war crimes.

When the United Nations General Assembly later approved a resolution endorsing the Goldstone Report, the US media had to change it's spin. The NY Times refused to print anything about the two day debate during which 45 nations strongly criticized Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity. When our newspaper of record finally did report on the UN General Assembly vote, It gave one sentence to the Palestinian Ambassador, three paragraphs to the Israeli Ambassador, and two paragraphs to the official US position condemning the UN action.

While Israel's brutal and racist treatment of the Palestinians is obvious to most of the rest of the world, it is in our country that the Zionist lobby has had its greatest success. The mainstream media and most members of Congress remain dedicated to hiding the sordid truth about occupied Palestine from the American people.

Perhaps that is why 14 local residents of the Mid Hudson Valley are traveling to Gaza this December to be part of the Gaza Freedom March. The group is part of the Middle East Crisis Response , an organization in Dutchess and Ulster Counties dedicated to ending Israeli and US war crimes. The local marchers will join over a thousand international participants in breaking the siege of Gaza by crossing the Egyptian boarder on December 29. Their progress can be followed at

Like many grassroots movements for social justice and human rights in our country's history, the campaign to end Israeli apartheid will reach the nation's media and halls of Congress last. And it won't be easy fighting the influence of the Zionist lobby, the weapons makers, and the advocates of US empire. But the truth has a way of spreading despite all obstacles. And the only question that remains is when the Palestine people will at long last be free.

-Fred Nagel, from Hudson Valley Activist Newsletter: http://activistnewsletter.blogspot.com

Woodstock Rally in Support of the Gaza Freedom March

2009-12-20T19:28:00.000-08:00

Letter to Kingston Freeman

2009-12-19T17:50:00.000-08:00

This letter is to wish the 6 local citizens who join 1400 others in a visit to the Gaza Strip during its current travail which is reducing its inhabitants to convenient war numbers. . May these dedicated neighbors of ours get there, be safe from the ravages of hatred and its attendant bullets.

There have always been members of our sorry species, in the darkest of times, who felt kinship with others and who honored the best in humanity. People like Ms. Rachel Corie run over by an Israeli tractor as she protested the home demolishment of Palestinians, people like Sophie Scholl and her brother who were guilotined by the Nazis for disseminating information about the proposed destruction of the Jews.

May our devoted friends achieve something in regard to the concealed horrors and cruelty, the starvation and suffering of Gaza's people..

In solidarity,
Roberta Gould

We r still on the Tarmac. At jfk. Oh my stuck in nyc

2009-12-19T17:45:00.000-08:00

We are off!! See u all in cairo. Much love

2009-12-19T14:37:00.000-08:00

Times Square

2009-12-19T10:08:00.000-08:00

Rally in NYC

2009-12-18T07:08:00.000-08:00

In struggle and anticipation

2009-12-15T09:01:00.001-08:00

It's dark and rainy here in Geauga County Ohio. Next week at this time I will be in Amman Jordan with Nic, Helaine and Jesse. So I spent this afternoon gathering my music and found some old recordings from the first Greenpeace concert in 1970. My brother John posted a link and I thought I would give Amchitka, as the concert is known, a listen.

I was 19 years old and a student at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. I'd transferred from Wisconsin after a year of strikes, National Guard deployments onto the campus, tear gas, and learning, for the first time, about imperialism.

Soon after arriving at Antioch I learned about Zionism. Twelve of us sat crowded in the living room of a small damp house where the campus radicals lived. For three hours a professor, who was also a professed revolutionary, lectured about how Israel had come into being. He explained how it was a political doctrine created in the late 1800's.
I do not remember moving from my seat. Hearing about the terror upon which Israel was established...the stolen land...the Stern Gang...the role of the big powers...I was forever changed.

I listened well and went on to speak at teach-ins and demos in support of the struggle of the Palestinian people. In 1973 I moved to kent, Ohio and with a group of students who were part of the Attica brigade formed a student group called "Jewish Americans in Support of Palestine." Our preferred method of organizing was to go door to door in the dorms. Some people wanted to hear our rap, many others wanted to cause serious bodily harm! But we were young and undaunted and
very commited to the truth and very good at running down hallways!

My ex-husband and I hosted anti-Zionist seders at my apartment for a few years. I look back and and can remember every detail of the first meal when 24 Palestinian and Iranian students showed up (and no one else)and got their first look at gefilte fish. We ended up ordering pizza and talking long into the night, getting to know each other and finding common dreams and struggling over questions for which there were no simple answers.

Those were days when everything and anything seemed possible and though my memory is vague I think we simply assumed that by the time of this letter the Palestinians would have returned home.

So, this trip, this journey, this Gaza Freedom March is a matter of my heart and of not letting go of an old promise made over lousy pizza in 1970, in a room full of people who were great friends who had just met, to stand up and speak out until Palestine was free.

The music of those times has stood the test of time and, I hope, so have I. I am honored to be traveling to the Gaza Freedom March and to be going with all of you, new friends, great friends, though we still have not yet met.Can't wait to get there.

In struggle and anticipation,
Hope

My thanks to a very generous contributor

2009-12-12T11:09:00.000-08:00

I want to publicly thank George Saltzman for his very generous gift to the Gaza Freedom March. His words are inspiring too. Here is the e-mail he sent.

Fred

------

Oaxaca, Mexico, Friday 11 December 2009

Dear Fred,

It was good talking Wednesday evening and learning that you will be a member of the MECR delegation traveling to Egypt and (hopefully) Gaza later this month. And to hear that the thirteen from MECR will be part of over a thousand Americans making up the total delegation. I hope a great deal of information about the desperate situation of the Gazans is widely publicized as a result.

As for naming me, as I said, I would prefer not to be anonymous. The reason is that I think the example of someone without very much wealth going beyond so-called "charitable contributions" might inspire other privileged people to consider giving up their material advantage (or at least a good part of it) in order to really participate in closing the great gap that separates us, the world's privileged, from its overwhelming majority of pillaged. Although my donation may be large compared to the others, it is less than the money each of the thousand-odd delegates is spending to make the trip and be a participant. My point is simply that we who collectively have legal control over much of the world's disposable wealth ought to consider whether, for example, an expensive trip we contemplate making is justified in terms of the social good it provides. I think that this huge delegation to Palestine meets that criterion, and of course I want you all to be very successful as political activists.

All the best, George

See You in Cairo

2009-12-12T08:56:00.000-08:00

Dear All,
See you in Cairo! With high hopes for extensive media coverage and the beginning of a new peace initiative.
Helaine

International Participation in December 31 Gaza Freedom March Tops 1,000 As Registration Closes

2009-12-06T20:48:00.000-08:00

by Medea Benjamin

Over 1,000 delegates from 42 countries have signed up to participate in the December 31 Gaza Freedom March that will mark the one-year anniversary of the Israeli invasion and call for an end to the siege that has brought 1.5 million people to the edge of disaster.

Organizers cut off registration on November 30 to give the Egyptian officials enough time to clear the group for entry into Gaza, but also because the numbers were becoming unwieldy. "No one has ever taken a group this size into Gaza," said coordinator Ann Wright, whose skills as a retired U.S. army colonel are coming in handy organizing the logistics for such a massive group.
Since the registration closed on November 30, organizers have been besieged every day with people begging to be added to the list. "I have to turn down 15-20 people every day," said Emily Siegel. "It has been an insane few weeks, with emails pouring in from people all over the world who want to join. I feel terrible turning them away but we started out thinking we would take 300 people and now we have over 1,000."

The international delegates hope to join some 50,000 Palestinians inside Gaza, including students, teachers, health workers, women's groups, farmers and fishermen. The march will start in a neighborhood in northern Gaza in which nearly every building was devastated during Israel's attack and continue for three miles to the Erez border with Israel. At the same time, Israeli and Palestinian activists will be marching toward the Erez crossing from the Israeli side. Upon reaching the border, participants on both sides will release balloons, fly kites and wave flags to demonstrate their solidarity with one another.

Marking the one-year anniversary of the December 2008 Israeli invasion that left over 1,400 dead, this initiative is designed to draw worldwide attention to the ongoing siege that continues to imprison the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza. But with the borders still closed, there is no guarantee that the internationals will be allowed in. Gaza is bordered by Israel and Egypt. Both governments have sealed their borders, but sometimes the Egyptians will make exceptions. That's why Tighe Barry, a Hollywood prop man who has become the "fixer" for the international delegation, has traveled to the region six times in as many months to prepare for this march. "We've told the delegates that there are no guarantees we'll get into Gaza, but we are certainly doing everything humanly possible to convince the Egyptians to let us in," said Barry from Cairo, where he has been spending his days negotiating with officials in the Foreign Ministry, in addition to running around arranging hotels, food and buses for 1,000 people.

The diversity of the international delegation is impressive, with people coming from Austria to Yemen, from Belgium to Bangladesh to Brazil. Some 100 students have signed up, as have seniors in their seventies and eighties. The marchers include judges, doctors and physicists; businesspeople and union reps. Faith-based members include imams, rabbis and priests. Affinity groups have formed of artists, women, military veterans, diplomats, lawyers and health workers. A muralist from California, Kathleen Crocetti, will build a mosaic memorial to all who died during the invasion. Julia Hurley, a student from New York, has raised thousands of dollars for school supplies that Israel has banned.

Nora Hassanaien, a British student at the University of Warwick, has family in Gaza whom she has not been allowed to visit because of the closed borders. "Watching the atrocities on television last year and not being able to do anything was devastating," she recalled. "It will mean a lot to me to be part of a peaceful march, with people all over the world uniting in solidarity."

Hilary Minch is an Irish development worker. "This will be a remarkably poignant time to visit Gaza. It will be filled with sadness, given what the people of Gaza have endured and lost and continue to suffer. I want to stand beside them and show my solidarity. This is the least I can do."

Medea Benjamin (medea@globalexchange.org) is cofounder of Global Exchange (www.globalexchange.org) and CODEPINK: Women for Peace (www.codepinkalert.org).

Yahoo e-group and this blog

2009-11-22T16:26:00.000-08:00

You should be getting your invite soon for the e-group. There are a couple of addresses to know:

Post message:
hudsontogaza@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe:
hudsontogaza-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

The e-group will have a homepage:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hudsontogaza

If you choose to have a Yahoo username and password, you can use this page to read all new e-mails and search past ones. That would be handy in an Internet cafe in Egypt or Gaza. Of course, you can also access these e-mail messages from your web based server (like www.earthlink.net). If you just want to get and send e-mails to the e-group, you don't have to join Yahoo or remember a Yahoo username and password. Most people use web based e-mail, but make sure you know the username and password for your existing account.

Not to complicate things, but we also have this blog:
http://www.hudsontogaza.blogspot.com/

The e-group can only be read by people going on the trip. The blog is for people following our trip from back home, and can be read by the entire Internet. It is mostly for a joint record that can be read even after we get back. I will invite everyone going on the trip as co-authors. Join if you want to make public comments or upload pictures for those back home. I will ask Jack Smith to send the blog out to his huge list. Posting on it will take a username and password.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Nice talking to everyone tonight.

Fred

Gaza Feast a Great Success

2009-11-09T08:52:00.000-08:00

All travelers invited

2009-10-07T20:58:00.004-07:00

I have invited all those traveling to Gaza to post their thoughts, plans and pictures on this blog for other residents of the Hudson Valley to see. With any luck, we will be able to continue posting while in Egypt and Gaza.