Prisoners' day in Palestine

Mazin Qumsiyeh

 

Friday, we had demonstrations in a number of locations in Palestine mostly in honor of prisoners (11,000 kidnapped Palestinians held in Israeli jails).  The demonstration in Al-Ma'asara went smoothly even though the night before the Israeli army came in at 1 AM to raid and scare the family of Mohammed and Hassan (their brother is in an Israeli jail). The demonstration was joined by scouts from Sur Baher and other areas in Jerusalem (a sign of Palestinian unity).  It was a chance to honor families of prisoners and remember all the political prisoners. It was a chance to remember martyrs like our friend Bassem Abu Rahma who was murdered one year ago in a nonviolent demonstration in Bi'lin. On this anniversary this amazing video is produced in four languages:

http://blip.tv/file/3480954  (عربي)
http://blip.tv/file/3481361  (עברית)
http://blip.tv/file/3471631  (English)
http://blip.tv/file/3481174  (Français)
(the military declared recently that they found no reason to investigate the murder as a wrong-doing!)

Here is a video of Al-Ma'asara demonstration today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm4c1OTyx5Y
Israeli authorities used violence in other towns today (Al-Walaja, Bil'in etc) and there were several injuries.

The demonstrations today in many locations were also wa chance to denounce the renewal of the illegal orders that would make 70,000 Palestinians in the West Bank to be considered by the fascist Israeli laws as "infiltrators" in their own country. These orders are of course a violation of International and humanitarian laws.  Abbie Lipschutz, who volunteered in the Israel 1948 war, wrote to me: "Those deportation orders are Nazi orders. At least there is a wave of protests by Israelis. I hope and think the orders can be cancelled. But with that fascist Netanyahu in charge, we can expect anything. By euphemisms and subterfuge, AND official acts he is trying to foreclose ANY peace agreement. He tries to ethnically cleanse the occupied West bank so that he can replace the deported Palestinians with Hebrew Talibans."

As if to show this, the government demolished a home in Bethlehem area yesterday.  See the heart-wrenching images at http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=276700   

And this blog from an American Jewish young man who joined the "Birthright" program but then chose to come spend time with us in the real Palestine is amazing. Buddhists list the big three sins as hatred, greed, and illusion. The settlers depicted here illustrate this more than anything else.
http://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/2010/04/11/the-darkest-side-of-occupation-hebron-2/

Considering the above, we find it contemptible that the Zionist movement is pulling its big gurus in the US, people with loyalty to racist ideologies rather than their own country (Elie Wiesel and Ronald Lauder) to regurgitate discredited myths about Jerusalem and Israeli "security" on pages of biased newspapers like the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. Fortunately the internet had made finding the facts far easier and within reach of millions who no longer bother reading discredited newspapers.  But I sometimes wonder about the mental status of people who continue to justify ethnic cleansing.  But then again, the Israeli army  are still imprisoning the donkey and a horse from Bethlehem arrested on charges of entering Jerusalem illegally!! How more loony can this tribalistic crowd get and how far will the world let them continue to indulge the fantasy and racism of being God's chosen people while enslaving others.

Does U.S. Policy on Israel and Palestine Uphold Our Values? Chicago Hearings Sunday, April 18, 2010, from 1:15 PM to 5:30 PM CST. Mock congressional hearing. All you need is an internet connection, a computer, a projector and a screen. And a protected password guaranteeing you a spot on the live bandwidth (email contact@chicagohearing.org to reserve).
Bring your friends together to watch a live mock Congressional Hearing. Critical for US citizens who pay for Israeli aggression http://www.chicagohearing.org/

 

Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
A Bedouin in Cyberspace, a villager at home
http://www.qumsiyeh.org   
Popular Committee to Resist the Apartheid Wall and Settlements-Beit Sahour
Professor, Bethlehem and Birzeit Universities
Chairman of the Board, Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between People, http://www.pcr.ps