Protest Israeli attack on aid convoy

At least 10 international activists were killed and dozens injured yesterday by Israeli commandos who violently intercepted an aid convoy to Gaza in international waters. The Israeli government has detained nearly 700 members of the convoy and cut them off from all outside communication. Both the BBC and al-Jazeera are running live blogs with what little information is getting through.

The attack has been met with outrage from governments and civil society around the world, but at the time of writing, the US White House has only mustered "regrets" for the "tragic loss of life."

TAKE ACTION!

Emergency Protest Against
Israeli Attack on Gaza Freedom Convoy
Tuesday, June 1 -- 5pm
Duluth Federal Building
Called by Twin Ports Break the Bonds and NAWC

Call the White House and your members of Congress!

The US is Israel's best ally and donor, and the greatest obstacle to international efforts to hold Israel to account for its violations of international law. Please call the White House and your members of Congress. Tell them that you are outraged by Israel's unprovoked and illegal attack, and ask them to work for:

1. the unconditional release of Free Gaza participants;
2. an immediate end to the devastating Israeli economic blockade of Gaza, which has created a humanitarian crisis affecting 1.5 million people;
3. a halt to all US military cooperation with and aid to Israel.

WHITE HOUSE
202-456-1111

STATE DEPARTMENT
202-647-4000

MINNESOTA
Representative James Oberstar (CD8)
218-727-7474

Senator Al Franken
218-722-2390

Senator Amy Klobuchar
202-224-3244

WISCONSIN
Representative Dave Obey (CD7)
715-398-4426

Senator Herb Kohl
202-224-5653

Senator Russ Feingold
202-224-5323

Palestinian Political Prisoners

Week of Palestine Solidarity Events

A series of public events are planned for the first week of March at Duluth/Superior campuses to raise public awareness about human rights violations in historic Palestine and call for an end to U.S. support for Israel and for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel. This includes a call for the State of Minnesota to divest itself of Israel bonds.

The events are being held in conjunction with the sixth annual Israel Apartheid Week, which takes place worldwide March 1-7, 2010. The local events are:

* Wednesday, March 3, 3 p.m., University of Wisconsin-Superior Old Main Room 310: Eyewitness Report from Egypt and Palestine: presentation by Sylvia Schwartz.

* Wednesday, March 3, 5 p.m., University of Minnesota-Duluth Montague Room 70: Eyewitness Reports from Egypt and Palestine: presentations by Bret Thiele, Mayra Gomez and Sylvia Schwartz.

* Thursday, March 4, 12:30 p.m., Lake Superior College Room E2046: Eyewitness Reports from Egypt and Palestine: presentations by Bret Thiele, Mayra Gomez and Sylvia Schwartz.

* Thursday, March 4, 5 p.m., College of St. Scholastica Intercultural Center: Film, followed by a Panel Discussion with Bret Thiele, Mayra Gomez, and Sylvia Schwartz. Palestinian food provided by CSS Amnesty International.

The events are sponsored by the Twin Ports Break the Bonds Coalition, College of St. Scholastica Amnesty International, and UMD Students for Peace. For more information, contact Bob Kosuth, (218) 724-4800, rkosuth@hotmail.com.

Speaker Bios:

Bret Thiele is the Litigation Coordinator for the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, an international human-rights NGO based in Geneva, Switzerland. He has traveled to Palestine numerous times, and lives in Duluth.

Mayra Gomez the Coordinator of the Women and Housing Rights Programme with the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions and board member of Amnesty International USA. She has traveled to Palestine numerous times, and lives in Duluth.

Sylvia Schwartz is a member of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network and recently participated in the Gaza Freedom March, an attempt to break the blockade of Gaza from the Egyptian border. She lives in St. Paul.

Background:

The September, 2009 United Nations report on the recent Gaza Conflict, commonly known as the Goldstone Report, accused both Hamas and Israel of war crimes during the three-week war, in which 1400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed. Israel has been roundly condemned by human rights groups including Amnesty International for the disproportionate use of violence and repression against Palestinians and the continued Israeli blockade which denies food, medicine and rebuilding materials to the people of Gaza.

Life for Palestinians living both in Israel and the Occupied Territories has been likened to that of South African blacks under Apartheid. In response, Palestinian Civil Society groups and their supporters have called for an international campaign of Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, similar to the grassroots efforts that helped end South African Apartheid regime. The aim of Israel Apartheid Week is to educate people about the nature of Israel as an apartheid system and to build the growing global BDS movement.

Oberstar joins House in snubbing international humanitarian law

By a vote of 344 to 36, with 22 members voting "present", the US House of Representatives yesterday passed a non-binding resolution dismissing a UN report on war crimes committed during Israel's 2008 assault on Gaza. The report, authored by South African jurist Richard Goldstone, concluded that both Hamas and to a larger extent the Israeli Defense Forces violated international law by targeting hospitals, schools, UN buildings, homes, food stores and other infrastructure necessary for human survival during the 2008 war. Goldstone's conclusions are supported by both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, but the pro-war resolution passed by members of Congress (most of whom presumably have not bothered to read the report), "considers the `Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict' to be irredeemably biased and unworthy of further consideration or legitimacy."

The resolution stands in a long line of "irredeemably biased" statements issued by Congress in recent years that both distort the facts on the ground and grant virtual impunity to Israel for any act of war against its neighbors or the people of the Occupied Territories. On November 4, a coalition of human rights groups issued their own statement calling on the UN General Assembly to endorse the Goldstone report, saying: "this is an opportunity for the UN General Assembly and the Security Council to send a clear message to Israeli and Palestinian leaders that civilians, regardless of their nationality, religious or ethnic background, are not legitimate targets of attack."

James Oberstar voted with the majority and Dave Obey voted "present." You can call Oberstar's office in DC at (202) 225-6211, or Duluth at (218) 727-7474 and express your disappointment.

Several Minnesota representatives showed the courage to stand up against the resoltion. Both Betty McCollum and Keith Ellison voted NO. Keep reading for McCollum's statement before the House.

Congresswoman Betty McCollum

Statement in support of human rights and in opposition to H. Res. 867

November 3, 2009

Madam Speaker, this resolution harms U.S. national security interests in the Middle East and American leadership for human rights and humanitarian law. And, while the U.S. attempts to be an honest-broker in an Israeli-Palestinian peace process this resolution is blatantly biased and damages U.S. credibility.

This resolution seeks to hide the ugliness of the Gaza War by covering-up the violent excesses committed against innocent civilians by Hamas and the Israeli Defense Forces.

Why does the U.S. House want to reject an accounting of Hamas’s terrorism against Israeli civilians as if thousands of rockets were not fired at Israel ?

Why does this resolution want to deny that hundreds of Palestinian women and elders were needlessly killed by the IDF?

American made white phosphorus shells were used by Israel in civilian areas causing horrible burns to Palestinian children, yet this resolution refuses to seek the truth?

The report Congress is burying today was led by a former chief prosecutor for war crimes in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, a jurist of exceptional experience who has faced far tougher actors than his critics in this chamber, critics who have not held a single hearing or conducted a single fact-finding mission on the subject of his report.

There must be only one standard for respecting human rights, a single standard by which we must hold ourselves, our friends, and our adversaries accountable. Establishing situational standards for respecting human rights is dishonest and only encourages actions that destroy human dignity and life.

Therefore I agree with U.N. Secretary Ban Ki-moon who recently said at the Anti-Defamation League’s annual dinner that he is “a friend who is acutely aware of Israel 's security needs.” But on the issue of the Goldstone report Secretary Ban said, "When human rights are violated anywhere in the world we need accountability."

Today, I would ask my colleagues to vote for human rights and accountability by voting against this resolution.

Remember the Refugee Week at CSS

For a week beginning October 11, the front lawn of the Science Building at the College of St Scholastica will be home to a tent city. Students with the CSS chapter of Amnesty International are living outside to draw attention to the global refugee crisis. The camp will be bustling with awareness-raising activities all week - teach-ins, movie nights, and even a comedian. All events are open to the public. Read more for a full schedule of events.

CSS Remember the Refugee Week
Schedule of events

Monday October 12th:
Bret Thiele, Coordinator—Litigation Progamme, and Mayra Gomez, Coordinator—Women and Housing Rights, from the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions will be speaking about the right to adequate housing. 6:00pm.

“City of God,” a film about the immense amount of gangs and violence in Rio de Janeiro. Capturing the looks of defeat and despair through his photography, a young boy is convinced to tell a story that nobody wants to hear but everyone should know. 7:30 pm.

Tuesday October 13th:
Panel Discussion with CSS Iraqi Refugees. Students from Iraq will be talking about the current refugee situation. 7:00pm.

Wednesday October 14th:
Simple breakfast to begin a 30 hour fast. If you are interested in joining students from St. Scholastica standing in solidarity with those who experience hunger on a daily basis, please join us at 9:00am.

Comedian Rob O’Reilly will be taking the stage to remind us that Refugees are no laughing matter. 7:00pm.

Thursday October 15th:
Soup and Discussion about the worldwide refugee crisis to finish our 30 hour fast. Please join us for great food and great talk! 6:00pm

Benefit Concert with St. Scholastica students Mike Legan and Sarah Hengel, featuring Duluth’s own Sara Thomsen. Come, listen to some great music, grab some dinner beforehand, and be generous as we pass the hat. 7:00 pm.

Friday October 16th:
Film Showing: “Gaza: the Killing Zone.” A British report on Israeli violence in Gaza against not only Palestinian civilians, but international aid volunteers and foreign reporters as well. 5:30pm.

Bob Kosuth will be talking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 6:30pm

Candle-light vigil in remembrance of the refugees whom we honored during the week. 7:30pm

Palestine Regional Conference

by Bob Kosuth
Regional Coordinator, MN Break the Bonds Campaign

This is to inform you that some folks from the Twin Cities group of MN Break the Bonds Coalition are available to come up to Duluth on Sunday afternoon, August 23rd 1-3 p.m. (location to be decided) in order to plan for a fall regional conference on Palestine issues and the goals of MN BBC. The fall conference would probably take place sometime in October or early November. Ours would be the first of a series of regional meetings to take place around the state.

Besides planning for the fall conference, the 8/23 meeting will be an opportunity for local people to meet some of the folks in the Cities responsible for getting the state organization off the ground and discuss any questions you might have about the goals and methods of the Campaign.

I plan to get information about this meeting to the wider NAWC (Northland Anti-War Coalition) group as well, but for purposes of planning for fall it's especially important to have in attendance those most interested in and committed to the issue. Thus, I am writing to you first. (Advance apologies for any later duplications!)

The following is a tentative agenda for the organizational meeting:

1. agenda/content for regional meeting--What is most important to cover in the time we have?
2. venue--What would a good location be? Will we need space for concurrent workshops? What would be a good "neutral" location?
3. target audience--who should we most try to reach?
4. date--What time/date would be most convenient?
5. how to publicize the event--how wide a net should we try to cast?
6. how much time should be allocated--e.g. a Saturday/a Friday night-Saturday a.m., a Sunday p.m., etc.
7. a list of tentative presenters--local, state, etc.--we certainly have some good local resources that we should capitalize on
8. refreshments/fundraising as needed
9. a plan for implementing the above--subcommittees

(Obviously, some of these items are less important and could be taken care of later, but given their experience with the issue the folks from the Cities might have some ideas about how to approach them.)

Please let me know of any other ideas or suggestions you might have.

Please let me know if you expect to be able to attend. I'll be sending a follow up message along with information about a location. If you have a suggestion for a location, please let me know. Finally, please note that this is an organizational meeting, not an informational meeting. Our purpose is to plan for a conference that will educate and stimulate the general public, but we will not be focusing on details of the issue itself at this planning meeting.

Thank you and I hope to hear from you at your earliest convenience.

A second chance to hear Dr Smadar Lavie

Folks who had a chance to listen to author and activist Smadar Lavie speak in June found her presentation to be one of the most insightful and though-provoking takes on the conflict in Israel-Palestine and the politics of race and gender. She'll be speaking again in Duluth with a more detailed take on the situation of Israel's non-European majority.


Colonialism and the Zionist Project:
Collective Rights of Mizrahi (Eastern) Jews in Israel
with Smadar Lavie
Hubert H. Humphrey Distinguished Visiting Professor on the Islamic World and the Middle East, Macalester College
Thursday, July 9
5:00 PM
Peace Church
1111 11th Ave. E, Duluth

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE: Social and Ethnic Divisions Among Israeli Jews and the Politics of Palestine

by Bob Kosuth

On June 13th about 35 folks gathered at the Friends Meeting Hall in Duluth to hear a presentation by anthropologist and feminist Dr. Smadar Lavie, Hubert H. Humphrey Distinguished Visiting Professor of the Islamic World and the Middle East at Macalester College. To do complete justice to all she covered would be impossible, so let me focus on just two major aspects that are likely to be new to many readers--the nature of the Mizrahim population and why it has pushed Israeli politics to the right.

The Mizrahim are Jews whose origins are North Africa and the former Ottoman Empire margins of Europe. They make up 63% of the Jewish population of Israel and 50% of the total population of the state of Israel when one includes the Palestinian citizens of Israel. Though the majority, they are generally socially and economically at the bottom of Israeli society. On the other hand, the Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern and Central Europe, though numerically a minority, form the economic and cultural elite of Israeli society and represent the familiar European face of Israel typically seen by the rest of the world.

From 1948 till the present, the Mizrahim have been settled in the border zones of Israel by the politically powerful Ashkenazim. The Ashkenazi right wing's policy of settlements has been a boon to the economically disadvantaged Mizrahim, who have received good affordable housing and other benefits in return for their political allegiance to the right. Thus, they have been the major contributing factor to the rightward drift of electoral politics. According to Lavie, the Mizrahim are considered "true Israelis" only when they become cannon fodder on border zones or pawns to replace expelled Palestinians in order to make impossible their legitimate right of return. The ultimate irony is that, being of Middle Eastern origin and economically disadvantaged, the Mizrahim have the greatest potential for dialogue--if not coalition--with the Palestinian citizens of Israel and Palestinians at large. It's their manipulation by the elite Ashkenazi minority that prevents this. Netanyahu's current government is only the latest manifestation. In Lavie's view, putting the Mizrahim in settlements is not unlike the movement of poor landless Scots to Northern Ireland by the British.

Much more could be said and sadly I have not at all covered the complexity of how feminism within the various groups figures in the equation. Mizrahi feminism is inspired by US feminists of color while Ashkenazi establishment feminism reflects the limitations of their class status.

Given the circumstances, Professor Lavie's conclusion is that the clock is ticking on a just solution to the problem of Palestine. For her, a just and lasting peace would only be accomplished through a secular one-state solution because only such a state could encompass all the social class, religious and cultural variation within Palestinian, Mizrahi and Ashkenazi cultures.

In any case, no solution is possible without an understanding of the social class, economic and power disparities between Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Jews. Potential US or European intermediaries have to speak directly to the concerns of the Mizrahim and not just talk to their Ashkenazi manipulators.

To say the least, the challenges are daunting.

-Bob Kosuth , Duluth MN BBC (rkosuth(at)hotmail(dot)com)

For a fuller treatment by Ms. Lavie, see: http://electronicin tifada.net/v2/article10208. shtml or Left Curve no. 33, 2009 (www.leftcurve. org) "A Year into the Lebanon2 War"

Israeli feminist and antiracist activist speaks in Duluth

Israeli Feminism and One State for Israel/Palestine

Featuring Dr. Smadar Lavie
Hubert H. Humphrey Distinguished Visiting Professor on Islam and the Middle East, Macalester College

Saturday, June 13
4:30PM
Friends Meeting House
1802 E 1st St, Duluth

Dr Smadar Lavie is an Israeli author and anthropologist currently teaching at Macalester College. An outspoken feminist and anti-racist activist, Dr Lavie has faced repression in Israel as a result of her support for the rights of Arabs and Mizrahi (non-European) Jews. She advocates a peaceful, one-state solution to the conflict in Israel/Palestine. Please join us for what promises to be an eye-opening presentation.

You can read an essay written by Dr Lavie about the siege of Gaza and the politics of racism in Israel on the Electronic Intifada website.