Friday, January 30, 2009

CBS’s 60 Minutes – A Middle Perspective 1-30-09

30, January 2009                   CBS’s, 60 Minutes – A Middle Perspective

In a recent broadcast, Bob Simon of the CBS Minutes team provided a strikingly honest perspective on the Middle East crisis. A map of the West Bank was shown with hundreds of illegal settlements built on confiscated Palestinian land making it impossible for the Palestinians to ever establish their own state. “This is the goal. And this is the reality," Weiss, who is mayor of a large settlement, told Bob Simon.  Bypass roads have been constructed for the exclusive use of Jewish settlers forcing Palestinians to use older roads and pass through hundreds of military checkpoints causing humiliating delays.

Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, a former candidate for Palestinian president, told Bob Simon that his repeated requests to visit relatives in Jerusalem, his birthplace, had been denied. No such restrictions apply to Jewish residents. Such draconian laws bare a strong resemblance to those that were imposed by the white apartheid government in South Africa restricting the movement of native Africans.
Simon was shocked to learn that Israeli troops routinely enter the homes of Palestinians, without notice, and hold them hostage for extended periods of time. This practice is well documented in Jerrold Cohen's book on the Israeli occupation.
It is now up the Obama administration to charter a new course based on respect for human rights and dignity. As a first step, the Gaza siege must be lifted to allow humanitarian aid to reach the imprisoned population.

CBS’s 60 Minutes 1-30-09

30, January 2009

Dear Editor,   CBS’s, 60 Minutes

In a recent broadcast, Bob Simon of the CBS Minutes team provided a strikingly honest perspective on the Middle East crisis. A map of the West Bank was shown with hundreds of illegal settlements built on confiscated Palestinian land making it impossible for the Palestinians to ever establish their own state. “This is the goal. And this is the reality," Weiss, who is mayor of a large settlement, told Bob Simon.  Bypass roads have been constructed for the exclusive use of Jewish settlers forcing Palestinians to use older roads and pass through hundreds of military checkpoints causing humiliating delays.
Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, a former candidate for Palestinian president, told Bob Simon that his repeated requests to visit relatives in Jerusalem, his birthplace, had been denied. No such restrictions apply to Jewish residents. Such draconian laws bare a strong resemblance to those that were imposed by the white apartheid government in South Africa restricting the movement of native Africans.
Simon was shocked to learn that Israeli troops routinely enter the homes of Palestinians, without notice, and hold them hostage for extended periods of time. This practice is well documented in Jerrold Cohen's book on the Israeli occupation.
It is now up the Obama administration to charter a new course based on respect for human rights and dignity. As a first step, the Gaza siege must be lifted to allow humanitarian aid to reach the imprisoned population.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Response to Daily’s Offensive Cartoon 1-16-09

16, January 2009,                  Response to Daily’s offensive cartoon

Your January 14 cartoon is a classic example of media bias. Contrary to Sentinel’s depiction of the conflict, are the searing images (see BBC and YouTube) of murdered children juxtaposed with their dismembered parents in boxes accompanied by the wailing sounds of grief stricken residents in the world’s largest man-made concentration camp. This is a testimony of Israel’s war of terror.

It speaks volumes of our own media bias that these images are hidden from the US public. Israel and we, as suppliers of these weapons of mass killing, have violated all norms of civilized conduct. The terror raining down on Gaza has little to do with Hamas and everything to do with Israel’s messianic zeal for territorial gain. It is telling that we in the US never hear a counter argument to “Israel has a right to exist.” Do not the indigenous people who were driven off their land have a right to exist?

Turn back the pages of history and we witness a consistent pattern of ethnic cleansing from “Plan D” of 1947-48 which resulted in the eradication of 369 Palestinian towns by the Jewish terrorist organization, Haganah, and the subsequent massacres and ethnic cleansing of Palestinian civilians in such places as Deir Yassin, al-Dawayima, Eilaboun, Jish, Ramle and Lydda. As Rabbi Hescel so aptly stated “the greatest sin of all in the Nazi era was silence.” When we remain silent to the suffering and the incredible aggression against the Palestinian people, then we are all culpable.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Response to Local Letter re Israel 1-14-09

14, January 2009                   Response to local letter re: Israel

Desmond Tuck (Post, January 13) is very selective in his outrage. His is certainly right in condemning Hamas for launching rockets killing innocent people. But sadly he and other letter writers are deafeningly silent on the mindless slaughter of innocent Palestinians. Contrary to Israel’s false claims, parroted by US politicians, it was Israel who violated the ceasefire when they launched an unprovoked attack inside the Gaza Strip, killing six persons on November 4 (see Israeli’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs website).  It is a pity Tuck and other letter writers failed to vent their collective anger at Israel when it imposed a draconian blockade of Gaza creating a monstrous humanitarian crisis. Mary Robinson, the former High Commissioner for Human Rights, described this action “as a destruction of a civilization.”
Our stubborn military and political support for Israel’s state sponsored terror and denial of state’s rights for the Palestinians have pitted against us against most of the world and severely compromised our security. Of the 164 nations at the UN, only Nauru, Palau, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Australia support Israel and the US.

Support for Israel’s ongoing slaughter is not an act of loyalty but an act of betrayal. Israel’s actions are indefensible and will only intensify the anger and desire for revenge against Israel and the US. This does not bode well for Israel’s future and our security.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Obama Nominees 1-11-09

11, January 2009                   Obama nominees

Obama’s recent announcement of Admiral Dennis Blair, as Director of National Intelligence, is extremely disturbing. Blair played a critical role offering unconditional US military support to top Indonesian general, Wiranto, during the brutal massacre of the East Timorese in the 1990’s which wiped out one third of the population. When world opinion forced the Clinton administration to halt its military and diplomatic support to Indonesia, Blair defied Washington and continued his unwavering support to Wiranto.

It is odd that senior democrats have reacted so strongly against the nomination of Leon Panetta as head of the CIA but have thus far given a free pass to Blair, ignoring his past history. Perhaps, bruised egos of these democrats who were not informed of Panetta’s appointment may have had a lot do with their public opposition. Panetta, who vigorously opposes torture and abuse of detainees, would be a welcome change.

On the other hand, Blair’s appointment must be vigorously opposed. Obama must make a clean break from our dark past history and usher in new era based on respect for human rights. We must hold Obama accountable to his election promise of ‘change we can believe in’. We must demand an immediate halt to supporting regimes that sponsor terrorism such as Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.