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The
Squeky Wheels Of Hamsters And Most Politicians
19 November 2009 By
Mazin Qumsiyeh
Many years ago my son had two pet hamsters who took
turns running on a metal exercise wheel without of
course getting anywhere (but occasionally we would let
them run free in a room in the home). I was reminded
of those two hamsters this week because politicians
occasionally do the same running around without going
anywhere by only verbally (thus only exercising their
speech muscles). The Israeli regime just decided to
continue violating International law by building 900
new units in the Jewish only colony of Gilo near us
here in Bethlehem. The Bethlehem district has lost
nearly 80% of its areas to Israel and the remaining
20% (the concentration camp) is now very crowded with
half of the population in the district being refugees
or displaced Palestinians. Yet politicians ranging
from German Chancellor to French foreign minister to
British Prime Minister to the US president took turns
repeating meaningless words about this action
"delaying" or "harming" the "peace process" (as if
there is a peace process or any possibility of a fair
negotiations between the 4th strongest army in the
world and an occupied colonized people). Ariel Sharon
who is just as alive as the peace process used to
pronounce it the "piss process". In the 1970s and
1980s European and North American leaders used to
accurately describe settlements/colonies are ILLEGAL
(Israel is violating International law by building in
the occupied areas) yet do nothing about them
(actually in many cases fund them and support them).
Now they are "not helpful" "unilateral" and "they
delay"…
There are actually numerous UN Security Council
Resolutions (UNSCR, those not vetoed by the US) that
clearly articulate their illegality. If Israel was
forced to comply with just half of the 35 UNSCR that
it currently violating, we would have peace a long
time ago. Here is just one UNSCR:
The Security Council, Having heard the statement of
the Permanent Representative of Jordan and other
statements made before the Council, Stressing the
urgent need to achieve a comprehensive, just and
lasting peace in the Middle East, Affirming once more
that the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the
Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12
August 1949 1/ is applicable to the Arab territories
occupied by Israel since 1967, including Jerusalem,
1. Determines that the policy and practices of Israel
in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and
other Arab territories occupied since 1967 have no
legal validity and constitute a serious obstruction to
achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in
the Middle East;
2. Strongly deplores the failure of Israel to abide by
Security Council resolutions 237 (1967) of 14 June
1967, 252 (1968) of 21 May 1968 and 298 (1971) of 25
September 1971 and the consensus statement by the
President of the Security Council on 11 November 1976
2/ and General Assembly resolutions 2253 (ES-V) and
2254 (ES-V) of 4 and 14 July 1967, 32/5 of 28 October
1977 and 33/113 of 18 December 1978;
3. Calls once more upon Israel, as the occupying
Power, to abide scrupulously by the 1949 Fourth Geneva
Convention, to rescind its previous measures and to
desist from taking any action which would result in
changing the legal status and geographical nature and
materially affecting the demographic composition of
the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including
Jerusalem, and, in particular, not to transfer parts
of its own civilian population into the occupied Arab
territories… (UNSC resolution 446)
Yet, half a million colonial settlers were transferred
to the occupied territories without any sanctions
applied on Israel (thanks to the US veto power used at
the behest of a foreign policy hijacked by the
Israel-first lobby in Washington). Politicians
regurgitate utter feeble ridiculous statements about
the "peace process" being harmed. It is like standing
over a rotting corpse with bones showing and saying to
the murderer that the current actions make the chance
of revival of the victim more difficult.
But what most irritates us here in Palestine is the
collaborative Arab regimes and certain Palestinian
self-appointed "leaders" whose spinning wheel also
squeaks without going anywhere. They think the only
way to maintain their privileged positions is to
coddle up the US/Israeli policies while trying to
maintain some legitimacy with their people by
"condemning" or "deploring" Israeli actions on the
ground that also "harm" the "peace process". Most do
not understand or even read history. They do not
believe in their people or in the power of social
movements to change history even when some of them
come from backgrounds of social movements that did
change history (e.g. the uprisings of 1987-1991 which
was like the 1936 uprising transformational). And if
we look at other countries, we see such social
movements that made history (e.g. in the US getting
the women's right to vote, ending the war on Vietnam,
ending US support for Apartheid South Africa, civil
rights movement, etc). As the ebbs and flows of
activism go, we now see beginnings of new energy and
movements precisely as the last attempts to prolong
the failing track of Oslo (it was bound to fail
because it was not based on International law or human
rights but on the dominant regime's needs for subduing
the resistance of the natives without giving them back
their rights).
Below are links to some informative articles about the
Israel lobby buying US congress, Israel's forgery, an
open letter from a friend in Gaza to Obama, and a
great article by Ali Abunimah on the one-state
solution. I also added a brief letter from a friend
who, like me, relocated to Palestine (I found it
inspiring)
Congressmen Denouncing U.N. Inquiry Receive Handsome
Donations from Pro-Israel Lobby http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2009/11/congressmen-denoncing-un-inqui.html
Israel forgery of "Iran shipment of Weapons to
Hizballah"
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=111410§ionid=351020101
Open letter from Dr. Haidar Eid of Gaza to the
President of the US
http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/23129
Israeli Jews and the one-state solution, by Ali
Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 10 November 2009
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10883.shtml
A letter of a friend who now lives in Palestine. I
connect so much to what he says and with his
permission, I am sharing it
To Dina from Rajai Masri
I never felt so fulfilled as I do now, Dina. Not at
all in terms of material gratifications or narrow
personal achievements. It is, very truly, being in the
midst of our people, living their aspirations and
frustrations, but, foremost, trying to improve their
lot, extremely minuscule an effort, yet, being able to
do that. You just can not imagine, other things being
equal, how beautiful our youth are, and how in need
they are for role models to guide them with sincerity
and selfless devotion. Nearly every one here helps
support a larger family that undoubtedly lost a son or
a daughter or a few. These young men look so healthy,
so proud and so human. They are so solid despite that
all they know, knew and have experienced is personal
suffering and deprivation.
The other day, Dina, driving to Jerusalem, on a
Friday, I had the Radio listening to a program called
Maraseel, (Messages). It broadcasts every Friday
afternoon where families of Palestinian prisoners
convey messages to their incarcerated beloved ones in
Israeli jails. Listened to scores of aggrieved
mothers, so brave and inspiring convey news to their
beloved imprisoned children. So many, Wallahi, so many
of these mothers have more than one child (son or a
daughter) in Israeli Jails at the same time. Here is a
mother sending her greetings to a son in Ofar prison
and another message to two other sons in Al-Naqab, or
Asqalan, or Majido Prison. The number of prisons,
Dina, mentioned during that short broadcast counts in
scores.
What's heart wrenching, Dina, and what reduce us the
Afandis, so called privileged Arabs, Palestinians and
world humanists, to the size of the newt, is how
removed and ambivalent we are of the sufferings and
poverty of these families often left without a bread
earner who is either in prison or is martyred. Here is
a mother telling her son, or sons, that she sent them
money to purchase their ration of cigarettes. Another
telling her son or sons of money sent to them to
purchase some of their consumer needs. Another mother
speaks of buying her son clothes that she sent him.
One mother, Dina, assuaging the bereavement of a son
who is just sentenced to 12 years, to never mind, be
strong and confident. Another, telling her son that
the lawyers now have a date for his trial. Another
mother tells, and it was the early days of this month,
November, that her visitation permit (issued by the
Israeli Occupation authority in Beit Eil that the
mother has to travel and endure the hardships of
qualifying and obtaining such permit) excludes the
whole month of November. That's only a sample of the
much more stories of what one hears.
As to the so-called the expatriate Palestinian
investors, mostly the tycoons whose avarice knows no
bounds and total lack of patriotism know no limit,
they are syphoning the Occupied Territories of
desperately needed funds that help create genuinely
productive employment and jobs that help the
steadfastness of the people under occupation. These
tycoons engage in speculative transactions that
literary impoverished the little guys, and had huge
funds repatriated as profits outside Palestine to only
inflate their already huge wealth and that of other
so-called expatriate Palestinian investors. I have
many specific stories to tell with exact numbers and
figures.
The people here are so creative, Dina, managing to do
with the little, with the meagre of existence. All
this, Dina, while maintaining an incredible high
spirit and incredible determination. They stand to
still give more and sacrifice endlessly. Left alone to
face one of the mightiest and harshest occupying
power, their confidence render them truly great
heroes, a model that one day Historians will recall
their epic steadfastness and incredible dignity in an
another Illiad that are very well deserving off.
As to the rest of the Arab countries, just Do Not Stab
the occupied Palestinians in the back. No support
needed, just stop conspiring to defeat the
Palestinians' spirit of steadfastness. As the
international movement of BDS (Boycott, Divest and
impose Sanctions) is building up, the Arab countries,
foremost the so-called moderates, ought to cease
clandestine normalization with Occupation force. So
sadly that its under the gaze, rather the active
instigation, of these countries that the once all
powerful Arab Boycott Office in Damascus was bribed,
corrupted and rendered non-functional.
------------------------
ACTIONS: For people in NY: Join on Wednesday Nov 21 to
tell Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to Cancel the
Event! Tell the Mets & Major League Baseball Not to
Support Violent, Israeli Racist Settlers. http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/publish/article_1232.shtml
For people elsewhere: Do similar actions, write to
media and ploliticians and ask them to stop squeaking
and start acting. Join the Boycotts, sanctions and
divestment movement: http://www.bdsmovement.net
Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
A Bedouin in Cyberspace, a villager at home
http://www.qumsiyeh.org
http://www.pcr.ps
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