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Oct 25 2011 Phyllis Bennis Speaks, Brooklyn for Peace Listens, will you?

It was a stunning display of Phyllis Bennis'  intimate knowledge of Middle East machinations, aspirations, and failed American efforts to get it right. A darn good performance, considering that she'd already spoken at two events earlier in the day. 

I felt at home in the  audience, organized by Brooklyn for Peace, as a grey-haired, over 60, liberal activist. I suspect there were more than a couple of old-line socialists in the crowd...a few lefty, commie, pinko keepers of the flame. About 50 of us sat in front room of the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, across from Prospect Park. 

She focused mainly on how past US Middle East policy (create stability by support for dictators, control the oil and water, unflinching support for Israel) is now empty since 'the people' have thrown the dictators out, or are in the process of doing so. She did not describe a detailed US policy going forward, but concentrated instead on the importance of US civil society keeping the pressure on politicians to steer away from the 'problem, therefore use force'  mentality.

She did, however prescribe a broad conceptualization of future policy that would help guide the world to more peaceful tomorrows: end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and stop the military support of Israel which come to some US$3 billion/year. She called for US civil society to demand, and US government to admit,  the discourse has changed. We must move from the militaristic, simplistic "support the dictators at all cost" mode of thinking. It just doesn't work.

Some point that caught my attention:

• Although Obama takes credit for pulling the troops ouf of Iraq the American civil society movement had more to do with it, and the Iraqi people are the most responsible. Maliki found almost no internal support for keeping troops there, although he would dearly love the occupation, and it's tacit support for his regime, to stay... "after all, Gaddafi was our guy."

• Obama's "we stand with the fruit sellers" is a painful distortion, given that we supported/continue to support so many dictators in the Middle East; those same powers that led to the self-immolation of a fruit seller in his misery of oppression.

• Even if we remove all Department of Defense troops from Iraq by the end of the year, as the SOFA demands, the State Department has already signed contracts that will put 5-10,000 mercenaries on the ground, not under DoD control. Many contracts are right now being moved from Dod to the State Department to avoid counting the troops uner the SOFA agreement.

• Afghanistan is now holding about a quarter of a million occupation forces: 100 thousand US military, 100,000 US mercenaries, and the rest from NATO countries.

One of my favorite moments was her acknowledgement (I love people who validate my own ideas) that U.S. media, in fact most Western media outlets ignore the facts of peace movements in the Middle East. Palestinians have been peacefully active for at least 10 years. Their Palestine Spring had no positive media attention. The first intifada was, in fact, a peace movement. There are many Budrus-like activities that take place in Palestine each and every day.

[Iraq has a fast-growing civil society that embraces non-violence. All the Arab and non-Arab nations of the Middle East have withing them non-violent movements that are pressuring their governments to transform into more democratic regimes, even Saudi Arabia! b]

Now what? The moral equations have failed to move the American public to pressure the US government to alter policy. Dead children, collateral damage, the destruction of Iraq, ... none of this has led to widespread moral outrage. What is moving people today? It's the economy.

Civil society in America must hammer home the relationship between the costs of war and the failure of the US economy to recover quickly. The US$10 billion/month that feeds the war machine could go a long way to helping create jobs, increase technical education, decrease class-size (by hiring more teachers), and repair our failing infrastructure (creating more jobs in the process). The list is longer, but the aim is clear. Make the economic facts known.

In the Q/A session that followed her talk she was asked if she was worried about the Islamists taking over the Egyptian government. Her response was a succinct, "I am not afraid of the Islamists. I am concerned that the people of Egypt  get what they want." We may not like their chosen path, but if it is democratically chosen then let us support it, deal with it, and move forward.

Bennis closed by saying, "US civil society has to speak up, and keep speaking. I know it is frustrating...but the discourse must change. You can't give up. Let them know, "We are not going away."

 

 

 

Sept 11, 2011

9/11 is not about how many died. It is about _each_ one who died. There is true mourning within the media spectacle of 9/11 and we must remember without comparing,  the mourning in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Israel...so many places, so many lives...how long will it take to learn? But we will evolve, and we will know more peaceful tomorrows. Inshallah.

April 9 2011 Where were you when Baghdad fell? Demonstrating alone in Union Square.

Alone together in New York Cities April 9th Anti-Whatever demonstration against...War/Nukes/Budget Cuts for Education/Invasion of [Libya, Palestine, Zimbabwe, Iraq, Afghanistan]  /Zionism/Terrorism/Attacks on Unions/...

The signs said it all. In fact they said just about everything a moral,  upstanding person could stand up for...if they bothered to stand up at all.

THEY HELD A PEACE DEMONSTRATION

AND NOBODY BOTHERED TO COME.

After hanging around with the few hundred or so demonstrators who didn't even fill Union Square on a beautiful sunny day in Manhattan [We think there were more people gobbling goodies from the farmers market!] I headed home feeling quite alone. How could it be that so few wanted to stand up next to me and protest the odious foreign policy of the United States of America? to stand up against intollerance? How could it be that so few held compassion strong enough to do something about it?

And then, in a quiet evening speaking with Iraqis, both here and in Baghdad, I got another, less self-centered, perspective. For some Iraqis this day marks a critical disruption of thought and feeling. There were those who rejoiced when Baghdad fell. They knew the end of tyranny was at hand. There were those who felt nothing but the loss of their loved ones and friends as US troops finished the slaughter of soldiers and civilians. There were those whose anger against the invaders grew into a fireball of hatred. But all were ignorant.

Few could foresee the horror of the coming years. And now, these many years later, they can all share the same feelings about the day Baghdad fell. They can all feel the deep sadness...the lives lost, the freedoms gone, the society ruptured...

"Lives lost"? It's like saying "collateral damage". The words carry little weight. The reality is overwhelming.

 

Mar 11 2011 Wars in Palestine-Poetry in Brooklyn

Sometimes we are moved to tears, and sometimes we are moved to poetry, and sometimes poetry cries. We receieved this poem today and want to share it with you.
Bruce and Nisreen, www.121Contact.org

Wars in Palestine
2011, by Jenna Hassan, 6^th Grade, New York City

In Palestine there are many wars

Bombs getting thrown everywhere

Children’s heads falling on the floor

Not even children get a good bye.

Not from their families nor their friends.

Doesn’t that make you want to cry?

 

People have no food to eat

And no clothes to wear.

They pray every day.

To all soldiers they have nothing to say.

When all Muslims there are dead

The soldiers laughed and said

“It’s our country now.

There’s nothing you can do.”

Allah said to Muslims, “Please don’t worry, please don’t cry.

You’ll have a nice home in heaven.” Inshallah.

 

 

 

Jan 20 2011 Israeli Soldier Murders Unarmed Palestinian-Israeli justice dies, again.

Omar al-Qawasmeh, an innocent, unarmed civilian, was murdered in his bed on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011 by an Israeli soldier. The assassination squad made a mistake.

An Israeli military spokesman told the AFP news agency: "There is no indication that [al-Qawasmeh] was involved in any terror activity at any stage and therefore we regret the incident." [AlJazeera] That the Isaeli military took notice of the innocent man murdered in his bed is good.That no charges have been filed is bad. Yes, they 'fired' him, discharging him from the army, but that was all they thought was required to fulfill justice.The punishment hardly fits the crime.

 

 

 

Jan 1 2011 Mahmoud Darwish: Israel Palestine Poetry Death and Hope

from Under Siege by Mahmoud Darwish

If you had contemplated the victim’s face
And thought it through, you would have remembered your mother in the
Gas chamber, you would have been freed from the reason for the rifle
And you would have changed your mind: this is not the way
to find one’s identity again.

from Bruce and Nisreen

May this year bring peace and security to those in need, and love from all who care.

 

Dec 9 2010 GAZA EXPORTS--Israel 'claims' easing: Palestine's Gaza waits to see.

2007 saw the start of an economically devastating ban on exports from the Gaza Strip. Prior to that time about 450 truckloads of goods left  Gaza each day, providing a significant part of the local economy's revenue.That was instantly reduced to zero. [OK I exagerate. About 4 days worth of trucks have crossed since then].

Yes, we know it is hypocritical for Americans, these days, to invoke the rule of law having trampled it so often in recent years, but the fact remains:

The international law of occupation requires Israel to allow the free movement of people and goods into and out of the Gaza Strip, subject only to individual security checks.

The recent relaxation of exports from Gaza marks a potentially important step taken by Israel. Tony Blair noted that 'for the first time in a long period of time things like furniture, textiles, other light industry will come out Gaza as well as agricultural produce.' He didn't mention the pace at which exports will be allowed to flow out of Gaza, and this is critical to economic recovery for the region.

It was actually a 2009 Dutch/Israeli deal that started the recent impetus to ease restrictions. It covers only carnations and strawberries and is, however, hampered by Israeli delays. A similar deal last year saw only half of the goal reached with some 25 million flowers fed to livestock after perishing while waiting Israeli release.

The sectors mentioned above account for the welfare of about 315,000 Palestinians (owners, workers, and families) without including support workers (transportation, etc.)and their families. Some 70% of the goods used to be sold to the export market.

This latest move by Israel is a step in the right direction, but it is only a baby step.

It will be easy to quantify: just count the trucks.

 

Source articles: Gisha.org, rohama.org, Newsweek,  NYTimes

 

101016 NY Times Portrays Palestinian Resistance as Violent: What about Budrus?

101016 NY Times Portrays Palestinian Resistance as Violent: What about Budrus?
By Bruce Wallace, mail@121Contact.org

Once again the NY Times chooses ‘violent’ as the pictorial image of the Palestinian resistance to the new, illegal under international law,  Israeli settlements [Israel Plan to Build Clouds Peace Talks, NYTimes, Oct 6, 2010].

Never mind that the most successful resistance to date has been non-violent. The West Bank village of Budrus used non-violence to halt an extension of the ‘security wall’ through their olive orchards. Hundreds of Israelis crossed over to join them, international peace monitors recorded the peaceful demonstrations, the army backed off, and the government finally changed the route of the wall.

Other villages are using similar tactics. There is a significant population in Palestine who are non-violent, who want no part of the violence directed against Israel, and who have no desire to act violently in the face of Israeli oppression. Like most populations anywhere in the world, most Palestinians want to live a quiet life of peace, make a better life for their children, and take a break from thinking about politics, death, and destruction.

But the NY Times chose this picture to represent the Palestinian resistance:
a stone-thrower; a now classical symbol of violent resistance.

Can the Times be ignorant of its power to construct a violent definition of Palestinians in the minds of its readers? We think not. Therefore we can only assume the New York Times wants people to think of all Palestinians as violent.

Why? What does the NYTimes have to gain by propagating this lie? If you have figured this out then please let us know with your comments on the blog: www.121Contact.typepad.com .

101015 Non-Violence Wins: a victory for the Palestinian Resistance

by Bruce Wallace, 121Contact

Budrus. Say it again. Budrus. Not Hamas. Not Fatah. Just people. From their hilltop town of Budrus they could see the bulldozers approaching; about to encircle their village and 4 others with a wall; about to uproot the olive trees that their families have tended, like children, for generations. 

It took a village to unite the most divided people on earth, and it took a film by the aw  ard winning peace workers of Just Vision to bring this illustration of the power of non-violent resistance to the world.

Budrus is an award-winning feature documentary film about a Palestinian community organizer, Ayed Morrar, who unites local Fatah and Hamas members along with Israeli supporters in an unarmed movement to save his from destruction by Israel’s Separation Barrier. The people of Budrus choose nonviolence, and the outcome will surprise those who have yet to understand the power of non-violence.

Her Majesty Queen Noor Al Hussein of Jordan, of Budrous:"…gives an enormous amount of hope... It's a story which will have an impact and can help bring [about] change.”

The Film Budrus received the Panorama Audience Award, Second Prize, at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2010. It will be screening in world-renowned festivals around the world throughout 2010.

What can you do? Visit their Events page to find Budrus in a theater or festival near you. Help see that as many people as possible see this work. For information regarding the rights of the film, and how to bring it to your community, visit the Budrus FAQ.

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'Budrus village' is a small Palestinian village located to the northwest of Ramallah district. It has a population of 1300 inhabitants and a built-up area of 157 dunums. Life in the village is simple and people are welcoming. The olive trees groves dated back as far as the Roman ages.  To earn a living, about 70% of the inhabitants depend on their work inside Israel, 20% depend on working inside the Palestinian city of Ramallah, while 10% depend totally and completely on the village's agricultural production. 

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June 3 2010 Solving the Israel/Palestine problem

No, this is not a proposal by 121Contact. The 'solution' came to us from a dear friend and unorthodox thinker named Wright Salisbury whose son-in-law Ted Hennessey, 35, died on one of the hijacked flights. After Hennessey’s death, Salisbury co-founded the Alliance for Jewish-Christian-Muslim Understanding, which provides speakers and puts on programs to improve interfaith relations. 

So we both lost loved ones, and we both speak our minds, and we both belong to September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows--but we don't think alike.

So why put his solution here? Because it is the product of thought and reason, and it is creative and challenging. It is the product of minds like Wright's, and not bullets, bombs, nor barricades that will bring peace to the Palestinians and the Israelis. Give it a read:

Solving the Israel/Palestine problem, by Wright Salisbury

The solution to the problem of Gaza is both simple and difficult.  Let me explain:

Palestine can't function as a nation divided, as it is, between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, nor will Israel enjoy any peace until Palestine is one geographically united country.  The solution is to for Israel to annex the Gaza Strip and move anyone who wants to leave (presumably all the muslims who live there) to a territory to the north of and contiguous with the West Bank.

This territory, I believe, should include a territory approximately 25 kilometers wide running north-northeast to a point approximately parallel to the north end of the Sea of Galilee, thence due west to the coastline north of Acre, including the disputed area of the Golan Heights, which Syria ought to be willing to cede permanently to Palestine, though they contest Israel's right to it.  This would give the Palestinians far more territory than they presently occupy on the west bank and continued access to the Mediterranean.

Such a solution would raise howls of protest from both Israelis and Palestinians, both of whom would suffer severe dislocations, but it is, in my opinion, the only solution that stands a chance of permanently ending the squabbles between them that threaten to consume them both.