1 March 2010By Mazin Qumsiyeh
I just arrived in the US to give a series of talks on
Palestine as part of the 6th International Israeli
Apartheid Week <http://www.apartheidweek.org/>
www.apartheidweek.org (my schedule is below*). The day
I left Palestine was a bizarre/strange day to say the
least.
The second Sunday in Beit Sahour to hold events to
protest the increased military presence was to contain
a land reclamation activity. The torrential rains put
a damper on that option but lifted our spirits since
it proclaimed a great planting and harvest season. In
three days, we received over 85% of the total needed
rainfall for the season!! Nothing like this happened
here in over 15 years. But there was enough of a
clearing that over 60 people gathered at Ush Ghrab. It
included Dr. Moustafa Barghouthi and his supporters.
Because we had originally planned no demonstration for
this Sunday, we (the members of the popular committee
in Beit Sahour) asked that they do not chant and that
they fold their banners. Because there was no
military, we decided to honor a request from our
visitors and give them a quick tour of the military
camp site. But just after we arrived at the top of the
hill and were about to spend five minutes explaining
the tumultuous history of this site, the Israeli
soldiers came barreling up the hill in their military
jeeps. Giving us five minutes to go back down and
refusing to negotiate, things unfolded rather quickly.
The soldiers threw about a dozen concussion
grenades. Three young people from those who came from
outside Beit Sahour tried to throw stones. I and two
others tried to stop them. But before we knew it, tear
gas and rubber-coated steel bullets were fired by the
military. I went to my car, pulled out the bullhorn
(which we did not intend to use since we were not
planning a protest) and explained in no uncertain
terms that we in Beit Sahour do not appreciate or
welcome anyone who throws stones as we in the
committee have agreed on only peaceful popular
resistance.
Within a few minutes, the crowds had dispersed and
rain had resumed heavy so it ended. At a particularly
tense moment, an Israeli intelligence officer walked
up to me and stated simply "You are Mazin Qumsiyeh,
you are going to try to leave to the US today, I
advise you not to go!" It was a surreal moment to let
threaten me and let me know that they are keeping
taps. I simply answered that "what I do and don't do
is up to my conscience and the rest up to Allah." We
continued with our plans and we think the rather harsh
response to our presence foretells of the army's
insecurity. Arriving to the US safely, I feel I am
again in an occupied unsafe land where Zionists like
Joseph Lieberman, Wolf Blitzer, and Alan Dershowitz
need to be challenged just like our challenge to these
Israeli soldiers. I am sure some of the local
Israeli-apologists will be at my talks, and we will
have opportunities to continue the dialogue. Before I
give you my talk schedule though, I wanted to share to
action calls.
Action call 1: From Playgrounds For Palestine We are
sending out this CALL TO ACTION to alert our
supporters about a troubling development in the Oush
Grab Peace Park, the site designated for a 2010 PfP
playground installation.
The Israeli military is trying to implement a decision
to confiscate community and privately held property
belonging to the community and families in the
Palestinian Christian town of Beit Sahour.
Included in this swath of land is the treasured Peace
Park, which serves as a community space, park and
recreational facility where Palestinian families
gather daily and was to be the site of one of PfP's
next playgrounds. We ask you to call and write to
Israeli officials in order to protest this action,
call upon them to stop the construction of the
watchtower, prevent settlers from attacking the park,
and cease any idea of building a settlement in the
site.
Follow the link and enter zip for to contact local
congressmen - <http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=1009227453&msgid=1604020&act=9OM5
&c=390983&destination=http://www.congress.org/communicate>
http://www.congress.org/communicate
Call the Israeli ambassador 202 364 5500 or email <mailto:info@washington.mfa.gov.il>
info@washington.mfa.gov.il Email the Consulate General
of the US, Jerusalem - Mailto:uscongenjerusalem@state.gov>
uscongenjerusalem@state.gov Call the Israeli consulate
in Philly 215 977 7600 Contact the Assistant Secretary
of the Bureau of Near East Affairs - Jeffrey
D Feltman 202 647 7209
---------------------
Action call 2: CALL TO ACTION!!
The Sheikh Jarrah Neighborhood Committee and Just
Jerusalem call on you to join our struggle against the
occupation of East Jerusalem. Please circulate this
call and help organize solidarity protests throughout
the world: WE WILL NOT BE STOPPED!
On Saturday March 6th please join us in our protest to
stop the Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem. At 7:00
PM we will be holding a mass rally in Sheikh Jarrah
against: . The forced eviction of the Palestinian
families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah
. The Jewish settlement of East Jerusalem
. The undemocratic attack on political protest
50 Palestinians have already been evicted from their
homes in Sheikh Jarrah. Another 500 are threatened. If
the settlers and their government allies succeed, all
Palestinians in East Jerusalem are threatened. If we
stop them in Sheikh Jarrah, we can stop them
elsewhere. We call on all Groups who
support the struggle for Palestinian rights and for a
just and lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinian,
to hold solidarity protest vigils on March 6 near
Israeli consulates and embassies abroad.
The Sheikh Jarrah Neighborhood Committee Just
Jerusalem - the Israeli Coalition for a just solution
in Jerusalem For more information on the struggle see
our blog: <http://www.en.justjlm.org/> http://www.en.justjlm.org/
----------------------
*Tentative Schedule of Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh in the US
March 2nd: In Oradell, NJ Evening drive to Waltham, MA
March 3rd:
10:15 a.m.-12 p.m. meeting Anne Marie Codur at
Northeastern
12-1:30 p.m. Northestern University Law School, Room
Dockser 30, 400
Huntington Ave. Boston, MA
5-6:00 p.m. Brandeis University, Zinner Forum, 415
South Street, Waltham, MA
"Palestinian life and struggle under Israeli
occupation"
7-8:30 p.m. St. John's Methodist Church, Watertown, MA
March 4:
9:30-11:00 a.m. UMass, Boston, MA, Healey Library 11th
floor (H11-0011B).
100 Morrissey Blvd., 617-287-5900 "Israeli Apartheid
and Palestinian Non-violent Resistance"
2-3:30 p.m. Brown University, MacMillan Hall 117, 167
Thayer St, at Thayer and George Streets, Providence,
RI 7-8:30 p.m. UUSIS (UU Church), 20 Forest Street,
Stamford, CT "Peace is
Possible: A Perspective on Israel & Palestine"
March 5: Driving, Stamford to Pittsburgh
7-8:30 p.m.First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh, 605
Morewood Av., Pittsburgh, PA
March 9:
Driving, Pittsburgh to Oradell, NJ.
Evening in NYC attending Edward Said's daughter's play
off Broadway, 83 East Fourth St, Manhattan.
March 10th:
11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. the Assembly Room, downstairs in the
office of the AAUP/AFT (American Assoc. of University
Professors), 11 Stone Street, Rutgers University, New
Brunswick, NJ, Driving directions available at
<http://www.rutgersaaup.org/contactus.htm> http://www.rutgersaaup.org/contactus.htm
or by phoning Denise at (732) 964-1000, ext. 15
Evening leaving for Palestine
Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh (formerly of Yale and Duke
universities) teaches at Bethlehem and Birzeit
Universities in occupied Palestine and chairs the
Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between People.
He is author of a number of books, including "Sharing
the Land of Canaan: Human Rights and the
Israeli-Palestinian Struggle" and the forthcoming
"Hope and Empowerment: A history of Popular Resistance
In Palestine". He will share with us his first-hand
experience of living in a troubled land and discuss
strategies for a peaceful resolution of the present
conflict in the region. There will be ample time for
questions and clarifications.
================
Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD A Bedouin in cyberspace, a
villager at home <http://qumsiyeh.org/
©
EsinIslam.Com
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