The Rape of Palestine
GabrilJb
Yet again, Gaza is under siege. 'Israeli Destruction Forces' have their tanks,
bulldozers, and troops in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya, Jabaliya Camp, Khan Younis,
and Rafah. Another 46 Palestinians have been murdered and 86 permanently
injured. Homes have been destroyed, olive trees uprooted, and families torn
asunder. Palestinians die a small death every time an olive tree is uprooted,
every time a Palestinian is killed, and every time a family is displaced. These
Israeli sieges are systematic, calculated and opportunistic. The aim of these
sieges is to promote the Zionist Project (sometimes referred to as
“Occupation”) to completely cleanse Palestine of its indigenous Arab
rooted-ness, culture, and history. According to this colonizing project, the
land of Palestine should be free of Palestinians and any reminder of its
Palestinian past, present, and future. The resistance to this project is,
however, fierce, steadfast, and continuous.
By Jess Ghannam Gaza, Palestine
I was recently in Gaza for almost 2 weeks and witnessed the many faces of
resistance, struggle, and freedom. I saw the faces of Palestinian children
coming home from school with back-packs filled with books and
homework--smiling, laughing, holding hands and saying, "see you tomorrow, my
friend". I saw the families of these children welcoming them home with love in
their eyes, despite their fears and anxieties. I saw Palestinians going to
work, passing through hours of dehumanizing checkpoints trying to eek out a
living to support their families. I saw weddings in the evening (about 18) and
funerals in the morning (about 20). I heard the call to prayer and the Friday
sermon calling out to the families of the brave defenders of Palestine who paid
the ultimate price. And life goes on. Our rooted-ness in Palestine goes on. Our
history goes on. Palestine goes on, and on, and on....
It is obvious to everyone here that the main target of the Empire is the Arab
World. The Imperial Project is to control the natural resources, markets, and
labor force of the Arab World and to extend American-Israeli domination in the
region. Palestine is, however, the thorn in the side of the Empire. The center
of the resistance to the Empire is in Palestine, and the epicenter of that
struggle is in Gaza. When we resist in Palestine, we are resisting for our
brothers and sisters in Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, and Venezuela and for all
people resisting imperial aims, globalization, and the ugly ravages of
structural adjustment programs. Israeli occupation of Palestine is a kind of
structural adjustment program. Palestinians no longer enjoy the fruits of their
labor nor live off of their land. When you go into markets in Gaza and the West
Bank the shelves are full of the Israeli products, the products of our
occupiers. The same process is happening Iraq and Afghanistan and has happened
already in Mexico and Latin American. This is Imperial freedom and democracy,
the kind of freedom and democracy that are brought to the indigenous people of
the Arab World. It is an imposed freedom with imperial strings attached to it.
Freedom, as every oppressed person knows, is not brought to you, it is taken.
This is the nature of resistance and struggle in Palestine, a taking back of
our freedom, dignity, and right to exist on our own land.
How many times will Palestine be raped before the world takes note and opens
its eyes? You see, when Palestine is raped, all oppressed people are raped. And
when Palestinians resist dispossession, dislocation, and dismemberment from
their rooted-ness, they are resisting the Imperial dreams of their
American/Israeli colonizers who wish to control the Arab World and beyond. The
struggle for freedom in Palestine is the same struggle of all oppressed people
for freedom and dignity. Do you believe in justice and freedom? If you do, then
you have to go all the way. There is no partial justice. Without genuine
justice and freedom in Palestine, there cannot be freedom and justice anywhere
in the world.
Finally, I wish to speak to the inability of some people to go all the way with
justice, specifically to the so-called progressive movement, the so-called
left, and to all activists who cannot find it in themselves to go all the way
with justice in Palestine. This is directed to the Noam Chomskys, the Michael
Lerners, the Medea Benjamins, and to the Leslie Kagans of the world. This is to
the Tikkun Community, UFPJ, JVP, Global Exchange and to all those individuals
and groups who can speak about justice and freedom in Iraq, but not in
Palestine; who can speak about justice and freedom in Haiti, Venezuela, Sudan,
and every where else in the world, but not in Palestine. It is time to confront
your abject political analyses. It is time to confront your denial and racism.
It is time to confront your moral hypocrisy. You are complicit in the rape of
Palestine.
I invite you to come to Gaza with me and look into the beautiful brown eyes of
Reema, a 7 year-old Palestinian child living in the Jabaliya refugee camp and
tell her and her family that they are not entitled to justice, freedom, and the
right to return to their village that is only 5 km from where they now live.
Your abject sense of morality and justice and vacuous political analyses are
empowering the empire. Can you go all the way with justice? If not, remember
one thing—where there is occupation and injustice there will always be
resistance.
William S. Hubbard
"GabrilJb" <gabr...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20041002054803...@mb-m25.aol.com...
> resistance.
>
>
Count 1
tanks,
> bulldozers, and troops in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya, Jabaliya Camp, Khan
Younis,
> and Rafah. Another 46 Palestinians have been murdered and 86 permanently
> injured. Homes have been destroyed, olive trees uprooted, and families
torn
> asunder.
Yep. Here's why...
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/483598.html
A Qassam rocket that landed in Sderot on Wednesday morning killed two
children and wounded 25 people, one of them a 15-year old boy. Three Qassam
rockets were launched on Wednesday from the north of the Gaza Strip at
Sderot. Two rockets fell in open fields outside the town, causing no damage.
The third hit the center of Yonah road in the town's Hanevi'im quarter.
Two children, Dorit Inanso-Geneto, aged 2, and Yuval Abeba, aged 4, were
playing in the street and were killed. Passersby were wounded from shrapnel
or went into shock. Magen David Adom crews evacuated the wounded to Barzilai
Hospital in Ashkelon and Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva. Several cars parked
nearby and buildings were damaged.
(...)
***
I have the dead count at over 100, but I could be wrong. Are you proud of
your 'brothers'? They kill two children by launching a rocket into a city
*in Israel* and the result is this!
What the IDF are doing has a very strong 'proportionality' argument, but
that doesn't matter while your 'brothers' are dying. We're going to see
more of this btw - a greater and greater response to Palestinian terrorism
by the IDF. The Palestinian tactics of indiscriminate killing of Israeli
civilians will only lead to more and more dead Palestinians.
rmp
I Report, You Decide
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"GabrilJb" <gabr...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20041002054803...@mb-m25.aol.com...
>
>
> one thing-where there is occupation and injustice there will always be
> resistance.
>
>
Jeff
all one has to do is look. The side controlled by the believers in Jehovah
is flowing with milk and honey and the side controlled by the believers in
Allah is filled with death, poverty and despair. I think it is an excellent
demonstration of the difference between the two entities.
"I Report, You Decide" <tle...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:2_ydnVPK16r...@comcast.com...
I Report, You Decide
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"Jeff" <joeki...@pacbll.net> wrote in message
news:OqRcd.15083$nj....@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...