Pambazuka News 814: Israel's apartheid crimes
Emeagwali, Gloria (History)
Take that Cornelius!
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Rima
Khalaf’s resignation, under pressure to suppress factual and legal findings unfavorable to Israel, will send a chilling message to other UN officials that they are better off serving those in power than in upholding any mandate to advance human rights and
respect for international law.
Rima
Khalaf resigned as executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia(ESCWA) after the agency was forced to retract a report stating that Israel is an “apartheid regime.” Khalaf’s letter of resignation to UN Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres was translated and posted by poet Lena Khalaf Tuffaha on her 
Two
recommendations from the report stand out. First, it asks that the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel. Second, the report urges that UN member states allow criminal prosecutions of Israeli officials connected with the practices of apartheid
against the Palestinian people. Since most of the world’s states have signed the Convention Against Apartheid, they are now obliged to act.
The
racist policies of Israel constitute the internationally recognized crime of apartheid against Palestinians. As was the case for South Africa under minority white supremacist rule, it is imperative to think seriously about the nature of Israel’s constitutional
order and about how to deepen anti-racist alliances and solidarities across borders on behalf of the Palestinian people.
Negotiations
did not produce the state of Israel. From 1917 when the Jews procured the dubious Balfour Declaration right up to independence three decades later, the Jews conducted themselves in a manner that could have made the murderers of today’s ISIS and Boko Haram
look like saints. So, why do some people encourage Palestinians to embrace negotiations as the way to their freedom?
March
21 is International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. A notable cultural icon in the struggle against racism is Jamaican reggae artiste Peter Tosh. He was an internationalist and linked the fight of Africans against racism, settler-colonialism
and apartheid in Southern Africa with the struggle of the Palestinians against Zionism and Israeli apartheid.
Black
people are quickly labeled racist any time we raise our voice against white supremacy. It is racism fighting back. It is meant to silence us. We should not openly express what we feel and know. As Black people we should not own our experiences and history.
No. We are instead supposed to become complicit in our oppression by attributing our suffering to everything else except white supremacy.
If
Steve Biko – the iconic leader of South Africa’s Black Consciousness Movement - were alive today, what would he make of the Afrophobia/xenophobia in South Africa? Would he stridently denounce it – unlike South Africa’s leaders – and seek to foster a new sense
of self-love in the transformed slogan: “Black is Beautiful! Be Proud of your Blackness and the Blackness of other Africans!”?
De
Klerk succeeded in shaping post-apartheid South Africa in deep and fundamental ways. Every policy he spelt out in his 1990 speech has been faithfully followed by successive administrations of the ANC. This is why so many black South Africans feel that their
dreams are unrealised. It also explains why there is so much confidence among white racists that their positions of power are untouchable.
Popular
former President Aristide survived an assassination attempt this week against the backdrop of increased violence in the world’s first black republic. The mandate of the deeply resented UN occupying force MINUSTAH ends in April and is set to be renewed. The
violence is orchestrated to justify continued imperialist intervention that benefits foreigners and their local henchmen.
Hundreds
of popular organizations, networks and movements of Latin America and the Caribbean launched a Week of Solidarity with Haiti, March 15-22, with a petition demanding the total withdrawal of the troops that occupy that country and closure of the UN Mission (MINUSTAH).
They also want the UN to provide reparations for violations and crimes against the Haitian people.
An
American manufactured helicopter attacked a vessel carrying Somalis fleeing from the war-torn state of Yemen killing 42. Somalia supports the US-backed Yemeni regime against the Houthi forces. But it is well known that Yemeni forces and their allies continue
to target civilians in the war and prevent the transport of essential goods and services from reaching millions of people inside the country.
Historically,
the state is a transient phenomenon. Where are the world’s once great empires? Europe, with just a third of Africa’s population, has produced 23 new states since the late 1980s. There is no point in insisting that the Igbo people, victims of Africa’s worst
– and ongoing – genocide, who want their own state, must remain a part of Nigeria.
World
Poetry Day was marked on Tuesday, March 21. Throughout Africa, spoken word art is taking firm roots, especially when it explores social issues. Spoken Word artist Valentine Onyeka Ogunaka aka Brainbox from Nigeria shares his experience.
Namibia
marked its 27th independence anniversary on Tuesday. Despite the government’s populist rhetoric, Namibia remains a rich country with poor people. Redistribution of wealth is mainly limited to a new black elite. These are office bearers, party stalwarts
and those with close ties to the state. They thrive through a policy of so-called affirmative action and black economic empowerment.
In
the four years Uhuru Kenyatta has been in power, the country has accumulated huge debts that will take ages to settle. Official theft of public money stands at a third of the national budget. Kenyatta’s authoritarian tendencies have seen a shrinking of democratic
space. Kenya is deeply divided along ethnic lines. As the August elections approach, it is increasingly clear that a new leadership is needed.
As
a way to reach more people and to make your experience with Pambazuka News better, we have developed an android app as another tool to create a better reading experience with mobile devices. The app will have periodic updates to cater for changing readers'
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Cornelius Hamelberg
Ouch! That was below the belt, Lady Emeagwali !
I'm glad that you are beginning to show me some of your power.
That was more than a little chutzpah coming from you, Gloria in Excelsis Emeagwali !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIJu0MlPA84
https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=Pat+Condell+:+Apartheid&*
It goes without saying, that I hate any form of Apartheid. I am personally well informed about the matter (face to face) by friendly Palestinian sources.
As you may or may not know, Israelis get nervous whenever they hear Black people talking about Apartheid in connection with Israel. In no way does an Israeli want to be accused of discrimination or racism, as we say in West Africa, " in any shape or form" whatsoever.
Now, it's more like you've put me in the position of Bird on the wire as I'm sure that in the next conference of the birds, Sir Kenneth your pardner of the feather is not going to be shaking hand with you on this one. At this point in time , it looks like one feather must ( have to) detach from the other unless of course it's amor vincit omnia.
Make love not war used to be the motto, but wherever happened to that ?
In any case, you didn't say " Take that Cornelius" and then add another clause - as I usually do when I punch and say, "That one was for Madiba Nelson Mandela!"
This morning my friend Demba ( Honourable Mandinka man told me, as we were discussing the latest atrocity ina London, that some old Arab guy who had strapped himself with explosives was asked, " Why do you do this?" The old replied, "Because after that I will have breakfast with Prophet Muhammad - salallahu alaihi wa salaam!" I asked Demba , well what about the 72 virgin houris and he replied, "He said that he will begin to attend to them after breakfast!"
Strangely enough last night I watched the first twenty minutes of this documentary which is available to see until the 29th of this month (It's mostly from a Palestinian angle and it's mostly in English, will probably give you wings to fly (to Jericho):
http://www.svtplay.se/video/12545703/bosattarna/dox-bosattarna-avsnitt-1?info=visa
Well, don't forget that I forwarded this item a week ago:
but the discussion that I anticipated did not ensue, in either Buckhingham Palace English or in some freaking Nigerian Arabic.
Please Expect a fully reply to the vile accusations, sometime after the Sabbath
that will probably set the big balls rolling...
Cornelius Hamelberg
Baruch Hashem!
Human Rights Watch : The Muslim World
Human rights in Islamic countries
I haven't been here for quite a while
Last night, I watched this ridiculous programme on CNN :
Believer With Reza Aslan S01E03 Vodou in Haiti - YouTube
The crux of the matter : Should Israel disappear - God forbid - the whole world will become Muslim. It is Israel that is the bulwark and the resistance, but some people don't know this and just don't understand.
David Ben-Gurion : If I were an Arab leader I would never make peace with Israel :
"I don't understand your optimism. Why should the Arabs make peace? If I was an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. Sure God promised it to us, but what does that matter to them? Our God is not theirs. We come from Israel, but two thousand years ago, and what is that to them? There has been anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They only see one thing: we have come here and stolen their country. Why should they accept that? They may perhaps forget in one or two generations' time, but for the moment there is no chance. So, it's simple: we have to stay strong and maintain a powerful army. Our whole policy is there. Otherwise the Arabs will wipe us out." (David Ben-Gurion)
Islamic eschatology : In the final war between the Muslims and the Jews, the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees - and the rocks and trees will say to the Muslim jihadists, "there is a Jew hiding behind me, please come and kill him!"
ISIS for example would like to precipitate the fulfilment of such ahadith. I sometimes wonder where General Buhari & the Nigerian Muslim faithfuls would stand if such a grand final battle were to come to begin on the 21st of October this year should the Amir al-Mu'minin call for reinforcements...
Palestinian difficulties: Adviser to the President of the Palestinian Authority - Husam Zomlot
The Jewish State (Converts to Orthodox Judaism today, have a right to emigrate to Israel)
Fact: Israel is not an Apartheid State
Fact: Israel is a democratic state
And yet, the charge-sheet against little Israel is voluminous. How does one deal with this matter? I too have been worried no end. Has anyone else read the whole report, so that we know what we are talking about ? The checkpoints, yes, admittedly a necessary security measure - extremely inconvenient to the peaceful, law-abiding Palestinians who nevertheless might be sympathetic to the terrorists, but without such security checkpoints and the security barriers, at this late stage of diminishing land on which a Palestinian state would be feasible, unchecked, the terrorists, suicide-bombers of the third Intifada, al-Qaeda, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade,Islamic Jihad etc. would just breeze in from Gaza City, Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah, Nablus, blow up a few Israelis, some choice infrastructure and then return home safely to celebrate.
So what should be the alternative to the checkpoints?
I can think of an alternative that would be pleasing to the Pals: The settlements should all be dismantled and the settlers, (in Judea and Samaria/ the West Bank) especially those from Poland, Belarus, France, the United States, Ukraine, Russia, the UK, Mexico, Sweden etc. could all pack their bags, pack up for good and go back to from where they came.
But war of course is not like a game of chess. You lose the Six Day War , you put the pieces back on the board - where they were before the War/game started and start a new war game all over again, from zero...
Consider: During Saddam's reign of terror, Saddam a hater of the Kurds and the Shia was never accused of Apartheid. Neither have the dhimmi policies of Majority Muslim rule or the plight of Christians in some of such Muslim countries resulted in the UN making such reports whether it be Sudan, Yemen, or wherever.
But there is an exceptional country like Morocco where Sunni Muslims and Jews can become citizens!
Consider : The 1.5 million Arabs who are Israeli citizens are said (by themselves) to be among the happiest and freest people in the world.
Consider : The status of Samaritans in Israel . When Shlomo Sand the author of " The Invention of the Jewish People" was here in Stockholm, he talked a little about them..
All the joint Arab Wars against Israel have had only one aim in view: to subdue the Jews, reduce them to Dhimmitude and to bring all Jews under majority Muslim rule. Nowadays, some of the belligerent enemies of Israel talk about annihilation, genocide, a second Holocaust - Iran's Ahmadinejad did infamously boast - God forbid - about wiping out Israel. So Israel's policy has to be - inevitably, with help from Hashem and a little help from the United States and Russia : stand firm or feed worm
The vile accusation of Apartheid being levelled against Israel is calculated to pull an emotional trigger in all human beings who - naturally - are disgusted about any kind of institutionalised, devil's Nazi Master Race ideology being imposed on the rest of humanity. Revulsion is not strong enough a word - because revulsion by itself is not enough - the one who is revolted has to do something about it; writing poetry is not enough- as Adorno said , "to write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric" - and this of course means many things.
On the 22nd of March last week, I zapped through this book at the Royal Library : Zionism: The Birth and Transformation of an Ideal: Milton Viorst . Of course, there has been a slew of such books these past two decades, however, like Trump, there must be many among us who think that The New York Times is not to be relied on, is not the Bible , nor are their journalists and seers of the same status as the holy prophets, prophetesses and faithful followers, settlers and pioneers who beat their chests in unison and chime, "God gave us the land!" ( I doubt that the Apartheidist Boers who came to South Africa from Europe made any such claims)
A good question for the religious nutters is, did God give the land unconditionally? The Bible thumpers among them will refer you to Devarim / Deuteronomy 28 : 1- 64 the sections of the Torah which contains the Blessings and the curses and the very pious among the followers of the Prophet Moses will quote profusely, the Commandment to be kind to the stranger (because Jews/ Israel were once strangers, as "guests" in Egypt) the only problem being of course that today , sometimes, the stranger does not want to be kind to you, nor does he/ she see any reason why she should be.
Read Article 11 of the Hamas Charter and you will understand that as far as Hamas is concerned, Ariel Sharon could have unilaterally moved Israel and each and every Jew out of Gaza, lock, stock, and barrel but as far as Article 11 of the Hamas Covenant is concerned , Gaza is but a crumb and the fact is that Hamas believes that the whole of Israel . i.e. ALL THE LAND Of ISRAEL belongs to the Palestinians as per Article 11 of the Hamas Covenant:
Article Eleven:
The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Moslem generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up. Neither a single Arab country nor all Arab countries, neither any king or president, nor all the kings and presidents, neither any organization nor all of them, be they Palestinian or Arab, possess the right to do that. Palestine is an Islamic Waqf land consecrated for Moslem generations until Judgement Day. This being so, who could claim to have the right to represent Moslem generations till Judgement Day?
This is the law governing the land of Palestine in the Islamic Sharia (law) and the same goes for any land the Moslems have conquered by force, because during the times of (Islamic) conquests, the Moslems consecrated these lands to Moslem generations till the Day of Judgement.
It happened like this: When the leaders of the Islamic armies conquered Syria and Iraq, they sent to the Caliph of the Moslems, Umar bin-el-Khatab, asking for his advice concerning the conquered land - whether they should divide it among the soldiers, or leave it for its owners, or what? After consultations and discussions between the Caliph of the Moslems, Omar bin-el-Khatab and companions of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him salvation, it was decided that the land should be left with its owners who could benefit by its fruit. As for the real ownership of the land and the land itself, it should be consecrated for Moslem generations till Judgement Day. Those who are on the land, are there only to benefit from its fruit. This Waqf remains as long as earth and heaven remain. Any procedure in contradiction to Islamic Sharia, where Palestine is concerned, is null and void.
"Verily, this is a certain truth. Wherefore praise the name of thy Lord, the great Allah." (The Inevitable - verse 95).
Do you see a problem here?
Sabr is a supreme Islamic virtue - it was in the fight against the hated apartheid in South Africa. As Harry Belafonte ( a fighter) assured those of the human tide, We Are The Wave
Patience gentlemen, we move closer every day
Patience
gentlemen, the stone will soon give way
Temperamentally -I am like Fathi Hammad. I am not of a shuffering and shmiling nature. Not only Cornelius but the whole world has enormous sympathy for the Palestinian people who are being oppressed in the West Bank and are locked in, in Gaza. In 1986 I was present at the Swedish Institute for International Affairs in Stockholm, an audience of about thirty people, to listen to Rashad al-Shawwa an ex-mayor of Gaza and saw him shed real tears as he appealed to the Swedish Government to help his Palestinian People build a harbour in Gaza, and to help the farmers in Gaza to export their flowers and their tomatoes which were piled up and rotting, even as he spoke. This I should strongly urge should be done ( with no weapons flowing in of course). I for one do not believe in the BDS movement but I do believe that the better fight is for the right of Palestinians to export their produce, the sweat of their brows
What says God the Almighty, about this matter?
How to arrive at cordial relations between the two nations?
To stop incitement and to go to the negotiating table is one option. Another option is full-scale war - and war is not like a game of chess. After a war you do not put the pieces back, where they were, once before.
All of the above is sincerely said.
Cornelius
On Thursday, 23 March 2017 21:29:00 UTC+1, Emeagwali, Gloria (History) wrote: