21 Mar, 2016
Issue No 85
ARTICLE
Europe›s Responsibility Towards the Suffocation of Gaza
Hidmi: Judaizing Jerusalem strategic Israeli scheme
REPORT
Why BDS Cannot Lose: A Moral Threshold to Combat Racism in Israel
Palestine’s award-winning teacher stands tall and proud
ARTICLE
Europe›s Responsibility Towards the Suffocation of Gaza Gaza drowning in the sea is the famous wish of former Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin, but subsequent officials were guided to an easier option to achieve the desired result, i.e. suffocating Gaza with the policy of an extreme siege. Movement within the Gaza Strip has not been free since it was occupied in 1967, and the Palestinians lived in it under numerous limitations and restrictions. However, all of this pales in comparison to what has been imposed since 2006. This includes the closure of all crossings and imposing extreme and harsh conditions for the goods and supplies allowed into Gaza. This is the policy of the siege officially imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip. The economic, developmental, living and health effects of this siege have impacted those living in Gaza for the past ten years. However, the deepest and worst effect of the siege is its moral and psychological effects. In a society where the majority of the population are under 25 years old, such isolation and segregation have very difficult and harsh effects. The youth mainly seek to go out and explore the world, and those in Gaza are frustrated and tired of the limitations and hopelessness.
Hossam Shaker
Hossam Shaker is a journalist and an author who has extensively covered the topic of migration in Europe.
What makes this policy worse is that it targets an area where most of the population are refugees. Israeli forces expelled them from their cities, villages and land in 1948, and they were all piled into the Gaza Strip, which lacks any supplies. It is a familiar occurrence for the UN to announce, from time to time, shocking facts about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. This includes the report in which the UN states that the Gaza Strip will not be suitable for life by 2020. All of this was before Israel expanded its systematic destruction operations against homes and civil institutions and facilities in Gaza in 2014. Tens of thousands of Palestinians are homeless after Israel bombed their homes.
These facts did not stop Israel from intensifying its siege, which the successive Israeli governments have adopted over the past ten years. It is clear that at the same time, Egypt also tightened the siege on the Palestinians in Gaza in an alarming manner. It blocked the only means of breathing for Gazans by closing the Rafah crossing and the tunnels used to transport food and basic needs to Gaza. Of the past ten years, European policies have ignored what is happening. Even after praise was showered on the EuroMediterranean Partnership, the leaders who exchanged smiles and handshakes did not realise that there was an open prison located on the Mediterranean Sea called the Gaza Strip. European officials know the truth, and some have said they were moved by what they saw on the ground during their numerous visits to the Gaza Strip. However, this did not move them to take real action in this regard. The result that everyone is seeing today is that a nation of people have been put in an area physically isolated from its surroundings and its inhabitants were told they would be cut off from the Issue No 85 // 21 Mar, 2016
GAZA
world and that the beautiful international conventions and declarations in this world would not apply to them. What should be said is that this siege would not have escalated and continued if Europe adopted a policy of its basic and moral obligations. The EU withdrew its monitors from the Rafah crossing, and this contributed to the closure of the crossing. In addition to this, the European parties failed to act on its continuous pledges and promises to reconstruct Gaza after a series of destructive Israeli wars. No real pressure was put on Israel to stop this brutal policy, and they have ignored Egypt’s imposition of harsh restrictions that affect the lives of the inhabitants, their safety and their freedom of movement. What we are certain of is that without any political and diplomatic actions or any intense Issue No 85 // 21 Mar, 2016
pressure on Israel, the demand of lifting the blockade on Gaza will remain far from the international agenda. The EU foreign ministers recently expressed their position on the siege, or what they call the “closure� of Gaza and set a number of demands that include opening the crossings in Gaza, a willingness to cooperate in this matter with the concerned parties, and demanding that humanitarian aid be allowed entry into the Gaza Strip, especially the aid coming from the EU programmes and the Europeans NGOs. They also demanded that the Gaza Strip be included in the unified Palestinian government and be a part of its priorities. However, it does not seem that the official European discourse is strict or specific regarding how the crossings are open and which
parties in particular are concerned. Therefore, these positions ultimately seem lax. The blockade imposed on two million people in the Gaza Strip must be lifted immediately and unconditionally, because the policy of the blockade and the measures taken in this context are considered a form of collective punishment of the population and must not be accepted or allowed on principle. It is unacceptable for the EU to continue with its impotent position and to continue standing on the sidelines while this unjust policy continues to take the lives of many and suffocates the population, pushing them to despair. There is no actual use from making demands and invitations in the European corridors without an effective effort and pressure to lift the blockade immediately.
REPORT
Palestine’s award-winning teacher stands tall and proud
Palestinian teacher Hanan Al-Hroub has been chosen as the best teacher in the world. She received the $1 million prize in a ceremony in Dubai, in which she stood tall and proud, like a muchloved Palestinian olive tree, whose roots are deep in the soil of the homeland, soaked with the blood of its martyrs. Al-Hroub wore a traditional dress embroidered by the hands of her fellow Palestinian women; every stitch carried their history back to their patient grandmothers and beyond. Her smile was those of the Palestinian children she teaches, whose suffering under occupation she described; the occupation that suffocates them, silences their laughter and steals their joy.
morals and manners as they Omar Al-Hroub, who took part in one of the most learn. daring guerrilla operations Hers is a serious attempt to in the occupied territories, compensate in part for what the Dabboya operation, in her pupils have lost as a result Hebron in May 1980. When of what they see and hear every the guerrillas were being day, including the language pursued in the mountains and actions of Israeli troops they attacked a group of near their homes and schools, settlers going from the illegal Arba settlement affecting their families, Kiryat to the Dabboya building neighbourhoods and villages. She has taught her pupils the near the Ibrahimi Mosque. belief that their eyes, hands Thirteen settlers were killed, their military and knowledge can resist including leader in Hebron, and dozens weapons. were injured. Months after Hanan Al-Hroub was born the operation, the guerrillas and raised in the alleys of were captured; Omar was Dheisheh refugee camp and imprisoned and spent many has experienced first-hand years in Israeli prisons before the suffering of its people. being released. It was then The camp is close to the city that he met and married his of Bethlehem in the occupied life partner who became the West Bank, where she went best teacher in the world.
This is the core of what Hanan Al-Hroub tried to address as she created and developed her very special and unique method of teaching her pupils. She combines fun and play with learning, decorating her classroom with bright colours and drawings. Using the humble resources at her disposal — often paid for out of her own pocket — she seeks to change children’s behaviour and build their confidence, instilling in them love for to school. She married a one another, and embedding Palestinian freedom fighter, It was ironic that Hanan AlIssue No 85 // 21 Mar, 2016
Hroub’s progress through the different stages of the teaching competition happened at a time when Palestinian teachers were on strike. Massive protests were held, even though the Palestinian security forces tried to prevent teachers from taking part. The security forces became the butt of many jokes as they stopped vehicles and buses to search for teachers in a society which stood in solidarity with those who teach their children good manners, nationalism and the right to resist the Israeli occupation. The month-long strike revealed the weakness of the union that was forced on the teachers. However, it also highlighted their own unity and solidarity, regardless of their affiliations. This forced President Mahmoud Abbas to give a speech in which he responded to the will of the teachers, after all of his security forces’ efforts to Issue No 85 // 21 Mar, 2016
contain them and disregard their demands had failed. The selection of Hanan Al-Hroub as best teacher in the world was a fitting result in the face of some Palestinian officials, one of whom described the teachers on strike as “scum”. One such teacher used her own ability, determination and creativity, without much support, to emerge from the alleys of a refugee camp, inspired by her compatriots and her country’s history and collective memories of the stolen land and demolished homes. She is the embodiment of the ancient olive trees whose roots run deep in Palestinian soil and refuse to be uprooted. As for those who stood against the teachers, they should now keep quiet and reflect on their shame, if they do indeed possess any. Hanan Al-Hroub’s award is a victory for every Palestinian teacher who has contributed to the development of those who will feature in and shape the future independent state. She deserves to stand tall and proud, as an example to us all.
REPORT
Why BDS Cannot Lose: A Moral Threshold to Combat Racism in Israel
By Ramzy Baroud
A foray of condemnations of the boycott of Israel seems to have fallen on deaf ears. Calls from Western governments, originating from the UK, the US, Canada and others, to criminalize the boycott of Israel have hardly slowed down the momentum of the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS). On the contrary, it has accelerated. It is as if history is repeating itself. Western governments took on the proSouth African Anti-Apartheid Movement, fighting it at every corner and branding its leaders. Nelson Mandela and many of his comrades were called terrorists. Once he passed away in 2013, top US politicians vied for the opportunity to list the late African leader’s great qualities in their many press conferences, speaking of his commitment to justice and human rights. However, Mandela’s name was not removed from the US terrorism watch list till 2008. The Reagan administration called the African National Congress – the main platform for the anti-apartheid struggle – a terrorist group, as well. The ANC’s strategy against the Apartheid government was “calculated terror”, the administration said in 1986. Many South Africans would tell you that the fight for equality is far from over, and that the struggle against institutional apartheid has been replaced by equally pressing matters. Corruption, neoliberal economics, and disproportionate allocation of wealth are only a few such challenges. But aside from those who are still holding on to the repellent dream of racial superiority, the vast majority of humanity looks back at South Africa’s Apartheid era with revulsion. The South Africa experience, which is still fresh in the memory of most people, is now serving as a frame of reference in the struggle
against Israeli Apartheid in Palestine, where Jews have been designated as a privileged race, and Palestinian Muslims and Christians are poorly treated, oppressed and occupied. While racism is, unfortunately, a part of life and is practiced, observed and reported on in many parts of the world, institutionalized racism through calculated governmental measures is only practiced – at least, openly – in a few countries around the world: Burma is one of them. However, no country is as adamant and open about its racially-motivated laws and apartheid rules as the Israeli government. Almost every measure taken by the Israeli Knesset that pertains to Arabs is influenced by this mindset: Palestinians must remain inferior, and Jews must ensure their superiority at any cost. The outcome of Israel’s racist pipe dream has been a tremendous amount of violence, palpable inequality, massive walls, trenches, Jews-only roads, military occupation, and even laws that outlaw the very questioning of these practices. Yet, the greater its failure to suppress Palestinian Resistance and to slow down the flow of solidarity from around the world with the oppressed people, the more Israel labors to ensure its dominance and invest in racial segregation. “The whole world is against us,” is quite a common justification in Israel itself, of the international reaction to Israel’s Apartheid practices. With time, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and feeds on past notions that are no longer applicable. No matter how many companies divest from Israel – the latest being the world’s largest security corporation G4S – and, no matter how many universities and churches vote to boycott Israel, Israeli society remains entrenched behind the slogan and its disconcerting sense of victimization. Many Israelis believe that their country is a ‘villa in a Issue No 85 // 21 Mar, 2016
jungle’ – a notion that is constantly enforced by top Israeli leaders. Right-wing Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is purposely advancing the crippling fear in his own society. Unable to see the unmistakable crimes he has carried out against Palestinians for years, he continues to perpetuate the idea of the purity of Israel and the wickedness of everyone else. In February, he spoke of the need to create yet more fences to keep his ‘villa in the jungle’ safe, and, to quote, “to defend ourselves against the wild beasts” in neighboring countries. The statement was made only a few weeks before the launch of the annual Israel Apartheid Week in numerous cities around the world. It is as if the Israeli leader wished to contribute to the global campaign which is successfully making a case against Israel as being an Apartheid state that ought to be boycotted. Israel is, of course, no ‘villa in the jungle’. Since its inception over the ruins of destroyed and occupied Palestine, it has meted out tremendous violence, provoked wars and harshly responded to any resistance carried out by its victims. Similar to the US and the UK designation of Mandela as a ‘terrorist’, Palestinian Resistance and its leaders are also branded, shunned, and imprisoned. Israel’s socalled ‘targeted killings’ – the assassination of hundreds of Palestinians in recent years have often been applauded Issue No 85 // 21 Mar, 2016
by the US and other Israeli allies as victories in their ‘war on terror.’ Comforted by the notion that the US and other western governments are on their side, most Israelis are not worried about exhibiting their racism and calling for more violence against Palestinians. According to a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center and revealed on March 08, nearly half of Israel’s Jewish population want to expel Palestinians to outside of their historic homeland. The study was conducted between October 2014 and May 2015 – months before the current Intifada began in October 2015 – and is described as a first-of-itskind survey as it reached out to over 5,600 Israeli adults and touched on myriads of issues, including religion and politics. 48% of all Israeli Jews want to exile Arabs. However, the number is significantly higher – 71% – among those who define themselves as ‘religious’. What options are then left for Palestinians, who have been victimized and ethnically cleansed from their own historic homeland for 68
years, when they are described and treated as ‘beasts’, killed at will, and suffer under a massive system of apartheid and racial discrimination that has never ceased after all of these years? BDS has, thus far, been the most successful strategy and tactic to support Palestinian Resistance and steadfastness while, at the same time, holding Israel accountable for its progressively worsening policies of apartheid. The main objective behind BDS, an entirely non-violent movement that is championed by civil society across the globe, is not to punish ordinary Israelis, but to raise awareness of the suffering of Palestinians and to create a moral threshold that must be achieved if a just peace is ever to be realized. That moral threshold has already been delineated in the relationship between Palestinians and South Africans when Mandela himself said, “We know all too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.” He was not trying to be cordial or diplomatic. He meant every word. And, finally, many around the world are making the same connection, and are wholeheartedly in agreement. – Dr. Ramzy Baroud has been writing about the Middle East for over 20 years. He is an internationallysyndicated columnist, a media consultant, an author of several books and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com.
Q&A
Hidmi: Judaizing Jerusalem strategic Israeli scheme The chair of the Jerusalemite Authority for the opposition of Judaization, Nasser Hidmi, said that Israel’s planned domination over al-Aqsa Mosque stems from a strategic far-reaching scheme, which is not affected by the prevailing security and political circumstances. He emphasized that Israel’s final goal is demolishing alAqsa Mosque and building a mythical temple in its place. Hidmi added in an exclusive interview with the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) in Jerusalem: “No Israeli official calls for abandoning this concept: the demolition of al-Aqsa Mosque.” Hidmi attributed the main reason for the outbreak of the Jerusalem uprising to the repeated attempts of the Israeli Occupation Authority (IOA) to impose a new de facto situation in al-Aqsa through implementing the temporal division. He pointed out that the current uprising foiled the IOA plan, but did not foil the persistent Jewish break-
JERUSALEM - ALQUDS
ins into al-Aqsa. Therefore, the IOA continued to encourage the herds of settlers to break into al-Aqsa Mosque during certain times to retain the daily attacks routine. Hidmi noted that despite the eruption of the uprising and the growing resistance attacks inside and outside Jerusalem, the IOA is encouraging the continuation of those break-ins into al-Aqsa Mosque. He explained: “The IOA today is racing against time. It is waiting to grab the perfect opportunity to impose a new de facto situation with the final hope of Judaizing al-Aqsa.” The chair of Jerusalemite Authority is expecting the IOA to take advantage of the coming Jewish holidays to tighten its security measures in and around the city of Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque. Hidmi opined that in order to enhance the confrontation against the IOA schemes, every person, who is able to reach the holy Aqsa Mosque especially the people of Jerusalem city, should make every effort possible to be present there either to pray or to attend Quran teaching lessons, pointing out that maintaining vigil and permanent presence in al-Aqsa Mosque would serve as a deterrence for the IOA schemes. Issue No 85 // 21 Mar, 2016
Issue No 85 // 21 Mar, 2016