[GushShalom] Another settler take-over in Abu Dis etc.

[Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)]

GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/

After the Likud settler-dominated referendum:
Whether Sharon was ever serious about any withdrawal  - the wish to 
withdraw from Gaza, and not onl from there, is widespread in the Israeli 
public. It will now have to manifest itself in a less doomed way.
But for the time being nothing changes: erasing of houses by the 
dozens, shooting to kill at an estranged schoolboy, the army's close 
cooperation with the settlers,  read for yourself. 

Urgent alert:
[] Settlers take over lands in Abu-Dis, come if you can

reports and discussions
[] Truth against truth - Uri Avnery
[] Dorothy Naor compares two tragedy's media coverage
[] Rabbi Arik Asherman: Harvest Report/killing in Harres
[] A legal revolution or preserving current situation - with Moshe Negbi

                                \\// //\\ \\// //\\ \\//      

[] URGENT: settlers take over lands in Abu-Dis, come if you can

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent:      	Mon, 03 May 2004 12:04:34 +0200
From:       	Leena Dallasheh <leena at alt-info.org>
To:  taayush-jerusalem at yahoogroups.com, info at gush-shalom.org

Dear friends,

The settlers took over a house and the area beside it in Abu-Dis, and 
set caravans and tents there. the way things are looking, there is a 
danger of setting a settlement there, as they brought equipment and 
all, the news are talking about 100-150 settlers. 

we are trying to arrange that activist get to the area. if you could help, 
please contact Arik from Rabbis for human Rights at: 050-607034
please spread the word to whoever could get there. 

All the best,

Leena Dallasheh
Settlements violence project -coordinator
Alternative Information Center - Jerusalem
www.alternativenews.org
Tel: +972 2 6241159 
Fax +972 3 7256006
 							~~~

[] Truth against truth - Uri Avnery

Hebrew on the website / òáøéú áàúø 
www.gush-shalom.org

  			Living in a Bubble  
                     Uri Avnery 

1.5.04
     A few days ago, the State of Israel celebrated its 56th anniversary 
according to the Hebrew (lunar) calendar.
     A chance to escape from reality for a day, at a time when the whole 
country was braced for suicide-bombings to avenge the assassination 
of Sheik Ahmed Yassin and Dr. Abd-al-Aziz al-Rantissi. A day of 
nostalgia for the Israel of the early years, the years of innocence and 
youth. There were speeches, spectacles, fireworks.  The solemn voice 
of Amikam Gurewitz recited the memorial prayer for the fallen soldiers 
of all our wars in decades-old tradition. Bereaved parents relive their 
pain. Groups of soldiers, male and female, exchange flags. Boys and 
girls dance the old and half-forgotten folk dances. The media full of the 
heroic deeds of our soldiers facing a cruel enemy, the sacrifices of the 
pioneers, the selfless idealism of the founders. A lot of speeches about 
democracy and the hope for peace.
     Not a word about the Palestinians, God forbid! Not a word about the 
transformation of the glorious Israeli Defense Army into a blood-stained 
colonial police force. No mention that the celebrated Air Force which 
destroyed the air forces of three Arab states in a few hours in 1967, 
has now become a specialist in extra-judicial executions, often killing 
not only the targeted Palestinian militants but also their wives and 
children, as well as random bystanders.
     Israel looked into its magic mirror and saw a beautiful state that 
arose from the embers of the Holocaust and transformed a 
downtrodden and persecuted people into a proud and mighty nation, 
with brilliant achievements in all spheres of endeavor. How wonderful!  

     In a few days, the Palestinians will commemorate the catastrophe 
that befell them 56 years ago, according to the general (solar) calendar.
     It will be a day of mourning, of longing, and anger about all that 
happened and is still happening. There will be demonstrations, 
speeches, shooting in the air. Everybody will remember the Naqbah, 
the catastrophe, when half the Palestinian people were expelled from 
their homes and fields by a cruel enemy. Many of them are still 
languishing in miserable refugee camps, where they survive by the 
grace of international institutions that provide them with food and 
education.   
     The refugees will remember with longing the 450 villages that were 
conquered by the enemy and razed to the ground, each of which lives 
on in their imagination as a little paradise, surrounded by lush fields 
and plantations. They will yearn for the streets of Haifa and Jaffa, 
Ramle and Bir-Saba, the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Katamon and 
Talbieh, all of them the epitome of beauty and perfection.
     The Palestinians will look into the magic mirror of the past and they 
will see a people that lived idyllically on their land until the appearance 
of cruel foreigners who condemned them to a life of humiliation and 
misery, oppression and exile, with no redemption in sight. 

     These two events may look as if they happened on two different 
planets, say on Mars and Saturn. But both happened on our small 
planet, in one small country.
     The two events are, actually, one and the same event.
     It is natural that two peoples at war will view the events in different 
and contradictory ways. But war is generally an exceptional state that 
lasts only a few years. Before and after the war there is peace, and in 
a state of peace the normal life and new contacts cause bitter 
memories to fade and differences between the perceptions to narrow.
     In World War II the Germans conquered France and imposed a 
cruel occupation regime. One need only recall the wholesale slaughter 
of hostages. But less than ten years later, Frenchmen created the 
vision of a unified Europe, based on a French-German alliance, and 
since then the borders have all but disappeared, a common currency 
has been created and friendship is blossoming. There is hardly any 
difference of opinion about what happened between the two peoples in 
the past.
     During the same war, the Germans killed a third of the Jewish 
people with slave labor, starvation, mass execution and the gas 
chambers. This is a crime without parallel in modern history, as far as 
its character and methods are concerned. But less than ten years after 
the crematoria of  Auschwitz had cooled, an agreement was already 
signed between Germany and Israel, which called itself "the state of 
the survivors". Now Germany and Israel try to outdo each other in 
commemorating the Holocaust.
     Nothing like that is happening with the two peoples in this country. 
The war between them is not an extraordinary state, but has become 
normality. All the toxins produced by war - fear, hatred, prejudices - 
continue to poison the minds of the new generation, the fifth that has 
been born into this war, a generation whose entire mental world is 
shaped by the war.
     Thus each of the two peoples lives sealed in its closed bubble, cut 
off from the other, and, indeed, from the world at large. Inside its 
bubble, each people cultivates their grievances, the conviction of being 
the ultimate victim, the memory of the injustices done to them, the 
anger at the other, cruel, murderous and detestable people. Each side 
believes that absolute justice is on its side, and hence in the absolute 
injustice of the other side.  
     This bubble is a prison, closed and secured by more than walls and 
barbed wire. Israelis and Palestinians are hostages of their mental 
worlds. They are unable to see each other, unable to see the world as 
it is. They see only the mirror, the magic mirror that shows them what 
they want to see.
      For both, the bubble is a vital need. It is a means of self-protection 
which provides them with mental security, the certainty in the rightness 
of their cause and a sense of orientation. The world outside is cold and 
hostile, inside the bubble there is warmth and a sense of belonging. 
Anyone who tries to break the bubble will be exposed to a wave of 
hatred and anger that may be lethal.
     This does not apply only to what is happening now. It concerns 
everything that has happened between the two peoples in the last 120 
years, since the beginning of the Zionist enterprise in this country. 
Every event, large or small, without exception, appears in the collective 
memory of the two peoples in a different and contrary fashion. As a 
result, everything that is said now, everything that is proposed by one 
side sounds different, suspicious and menacing to the other. Every 
negotiation becomes a battle, every summit meeting only increases 
the mutual hatred.
     A vicious circle is operating: without removing the bubbles there 
can be no peace, without peace it is impossible to remove the bubbles.
     And a personal note: I became convinced many years ago that this 
vicious circle not only must, but can be broken. Since then I have been 
trying to build a joint, common Israeli-Palestinian narrative that 
incorporates the narratives of both peoples, not by contriving an 
artificial compromise but by seeking the truth. I have already written 
books and essays about this. This week a booklet called "Truth 
Against Truth" has been published by Gush Shalom. In it we have tried 
to outline a common narrative of the conflict, taking into account the 
viewpoints of both sides.
     It is has become clear to me that without a sincere endeavor by 
each side to become fully aware of the viewpoint of the other, no effort 
to achieve real peace between the two peoples will bear fruit. 
 							~~~

[] Dorothy Naor compares two tragedy's media coverage

------- Forwarded message follows -------
From:           	Dorothy Naor <dor_naor at netvision.net.il>
Date sent:      	Sun, 02 May 2004 23:37:10 +0200

Dear All,

Today’s killing of a 34 year old Israeli woman and her 4 daughters is
indeed tragic.  Of the English language newspapers that I have 
checked, it has been reported widely--in the USA by the NY Times, the 
Washington Post, the SF Chronicle, the Chicago Tribune, the Herald 
Tribune; in England by the Independent, and the Guardian; in Australia 
by the Sidney Morning Herald (May 3); and in Toronto by the Globe 
and Mail.  By contrast, of the above newspapers, only today’s New 
York Times reported yesterday’s killing of an 8 year old Palestinian 
boy by the IOF.  Following this preface are today's Ha’aretz reports of 
both events.

Every such death is tragic.  But today’s killing of an Israeli woman and
her children has to be seen within the context of the Palestinian child
killed yesterday, of the Palestinian mother of 10 killed last week and of
the statistics that I cited a few days ago: i.e., April saw 59
Palestinians killed and 345 injured.  Of the 59 killed, 45 of these were
during 2 consecutive weeks April 16-29, which included the killing of Dr.
Rantisi (April 17).  This evening Israel added 4 more to the growing total
of Palestinians killed for May (which has just begun), by executing 
them in Nablus in the car in which they were traveling.  The IOF was 
busy this evening also demolishing buildings in the Gaza Strip and 
shooting a missile into the top floor of a 15 story building.  Beyond all 
this, it has to be remembered that while most Israelis live their daily 
lives and go about their daily duties and pleasures (including the Final 
Four basketball Tourney), Palestinians do not.  They are under constant
harassment from the IOF and settlers; but most of incidents never 
make the media.  

The way to end violence is not by escalating it, but by trying to resolve
differences via dialogue and negotiations rather than by the use of force.
 This, however, requires leaders who care more for lives than for land. 
Unfortunately, most Israeli governments, and the present one in
particular, do not meet this criterion.  And since violence breeds
violence, we can count on Israeli escalation bringing about the like
Palestinian response.

Sadly, Dorothy
New Profile

Ha’aretz Sunday, May 02, 2004 

Palestinians: IDF kills boy, 8, in Gaza

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/422395.html

Hebrew:
http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=422586

By Arnon Regular and Haaretz Staff
 							~~~


[] Rabbi Arik Asherman: Harvest Report/killing in Harres

------- Forwarded message follows -------
From:           	"Rabbis for Human Rights" <info at rhr.israel.net>
To:             	<info at rhr.israel.net>
Subject:        	Harvest Report/killing in Harres
Date sent:      	Mon, 3 May 2004 00:24:51 +0200


[For  Hebrew ask <info at rhr.israel.net>]


Dear Members and Friends,

On Friday RHR andTaayush organized some 30 activists to assist 
with the wheat/barley harvest in the South Hebron Hills. We harvested 
with the residents of Gaoweis, who were intimidated in to leaving their 
homes three months ago when a new outpost, “Khavat Itamar,” was 
set up next to their dwellings. Up until now they have been chased 
away when trying to harvest. Last week they had coordinated with the 
Civil Administration. Nevertheless, a unit of the security forces came 
by and arrested an elderly man. The Civil Administration officer came 
and the man was released, but the harvest was not completed. We 
also helped residents of Palestinian Susya and a family from Yatta 
whose tractor had been confiscated a few days earlier while attempting 
to harvest. The reason for the confiscation still remains a mystery. 
The fields were not near any settlement or outpost. They were also 
quite far from the military outpost which confiscated the tractor. When 
we arrived soldiers called in to find out whether it was permitted to 
harvest. Despite the arrival of a settler security person the soldiers 
gave us permission, as long as they could see us (for our protection.) 
The commander also said that the family would get the tractor back. 
However, when we finished the harvest it turned out that everybody with 
authority to release the tractor had already gone home for the weekend 
and that, despite the fact that the harvested grains would have to be 
left in the field, the tractor would only be returned on Sunday. Today 
(Sunday) we coordinated with the Civil Administration so that the family 
could pick up the tractor at 12:00. When the family representative 
arrived, we were informed that he could only get the tractor “in a 
month.” Even the C.A. clerk was shocked and the family rep. waited 
in the sun for hours as she tried to get the proper officer out of 
meetings to figure out why this was happening. Eventually he 
promised to personally accompany the family to get the tractor 
tomorrow. We will wait and see. 
On the way back to the others we stopped to document the lentil 
fields of a man who said that flocks from the settlement Susya 
destroyed them. 
We were preparing to leave when two settlers approached a Taayush 
activist who was recording information about Khavat Itamar. They 
broke his pen, pushed him and tried to take his instrument for entering 
geographical data. It took the police over half an hour to arrive (They 
arrive almost immediately when settlers request). In the meantime the 
second settler stood in the way of a second activist who was walking 
in the direction of the Khava and, after the activist attempted 
unsuccessfuly to go around him in order to avoid confrontation, a 
pushing match ensued. At that point the police arrived and of course 
the settler ran and made the first complaint. The Taayush activist was 
detained and the settler who made the complaint also went to the 
police staton. Although we had originally called the police, the settler 
who started the incident was left to come in later on his own 
congnizance because “somebody had to guard the outpost.” 
How many aspects of the Occupation were taken for granted on 
Friday? It was simply taken for granted that the army unit could take 
the tractor for no apparent reason and that the settler security officer 
could approach the soldiers and have a private conversation while we, 
not to mention the Palestinians, had to keep our distance. Although 
Khavat Itamar is illegal even according to the current government (and if 
it is “legal,” it is a violation of the roadmap and all of the governments 
declared commitments.), it was clear to the army and police that 
somebody had to be left to protect it. The fact is that, according to 
my understanding of the law, the rightful owners of property have the 
right to enter their land which has been illegally occupied and help 
themselves to anything that has been grown on their land. However, 
the Occupation has its own rules and the security forces will always 
choose the path of least resistance. Until there is a price to be paid for 
their actions (Were Israeli activists to show up every time a new 
outpost was being built on Palestinian land and non-violently prevent 
the set up of the outpost, harvest the produce on behalf of the rightful 
owners, etc., perhaps the potentially explosive situation would 
convince the security forces that it was in their interest not to allow the 
outposts to be set up.) the security forces will continue to ignore the 
establishment of outposts. 
Below please find the description of the firing by security forces into 
the village of Harres, killing the nephew of our friend Noaf Suf. Noaf 
said to me today, “What can we do? This is our life.” May his 
memory be for a blessing.
This morning theHigh Court heard the final arguments regarding the 
route of theBarrier NorthWest ofJerusalem. AttorneyMuhammed 
Dahle,Jewish neighbors and the Council For Peace and Security 
came with three dimensional topographical models. The judges 
continued to express frustration at the idea that the various generals 
couldn't agree and that the court was being forced to adjudicate on 
defense issues. The decision will be given on an as yetunknown 
date. I went toBiddu todayafter the court in orderto collect some 
documents connected to the use of the 12 year old boy and myself as 
human shields two weeks ago. Both the local clinic and the 
Municipality are covered with pictures of people being beaten by 
security forces and the resulting injuries. The contrast between the 
actions of the security forces in Biddu and, for example, Budrus, is 
striking. In Budrus the security forces were not willing to beat, shoot 
and kill. In Biddu, even the recent woman’s march was met with 
beating, tear gas and violence. Even within this crazy reality of 
occupation, there are choices to be made.
B’Vrakha,
Arik

P.S. Somebody left a sweater on the bus. We also have a cane that 
was left on the bus on the 15th of April (Biddu) and a fleece jacket was 
left in my car on a trip to Zeita in February (With Arutz 2).
Rabbi Arik W. Ascherman
Executive Director
Rabbis For Human Rights
Tel: 972 2 563-7731 
Fax: 972 2 566-2815
Mobile: 972 505607034
 							~~~

[] A legal revolution or preserving current situation - with Moshe Negbi

------- Forwarded message follows -------
From:           	"yuval halperin" <yuvalhal at hotmail.com>
To:             	info at hadash.org.il, info at gush-shalom.org
Subject:        	òå"ã îùä ðâáé
Date sent:      	Sun, 02 May 2004 12:28:01 +0000



Basic laws - a legal revolution or preserving of the current situation? A
discussion on the subject will take place at the Left Bank (Ahad Haam 
70)
 on Thursday, 6.5, at 20:00. Participant: Moshe Negbi, lawyer and
commentator on law.

Yuval Halperin, the civil forum, 0505-613924.


çå÷é äéñåã - îäôëä çå÷úéú, àå ùøéåï äîöá ä÷ééí?
ãéåï áðåùà éú÷ééí áâãä äùîàìéú, øç' àçã äòí 70 ú"à,  6 áîàé, ùòä 20:00,
òí

òå"ã îùä ðâáé


ìôøèéí ðåñôéí
éåáì äìôøéï, äôåøåí äàæøçé
613924 0505
							~~~

# Ongoing struggle #

    how to link up with anti-Wall struggle, refusnik news etc.

    #Against the Wall 
     contact addresses daily struggle / eye-witness reports / appeal to 
Ireland

    #Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites)
     updated refusniks lists / support to five long-time incarcerated 

 
#Against the Wall

*
ðåëçåú éåîéåîéú áëôøéí îàéîéí ò"é äçåîä ìúàí òí 
àééáé 064-604172 isichel at netvision.net.il
àøé÷ 050-607034  info at rhr.israel.net

Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall.
Contact:  
Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel at netvision.net.il 
Arik Asherman 050-607034  info at rhr.israel.net 

*
Daily eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: 
http://www.machsomwatch.org 
  (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints)
http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php
  (internationals throughout OT)

*
Support diplomatic opposition to the Wall by signing 
the appeal to the Irish government
http://www.petitiononline.com/WBWall01/petition.html

#Refusniks

Constantly-updated refusniks lists:


English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/
Hebrew / òáøéú - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/

English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en
Hebrew / òáøéú - http://www.newprofile.org/

For the latest news about the five: 
http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html

 Letters of support to 
 Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer
 AGAF BET
 Ma’asiyaho Prison
 P.O.B 13
 Ramla - Israel

 Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret:
 Hermon Prison
 P.O.B 4011 
 KFAR M’RAR - Israel


--
http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (òáøéú/Hebrew)
http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English)
http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in 
Arabic)

with
\\photos of recent actions 
\\the weekly Gush Shalom ad 
\\the columns of Uri Avnery 
\\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle  
\\position papers & analysis (in "documents")
\\and a lot more

N.B.: 
On the Gush Shalom website links for 
Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish

In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language 
press releases mail to:
gush-shalom-heb-request at mailman.gush-shalom.org 
+ NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line.

If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can 
send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece 
of paper to: 

Gush Shalom
pob 3322
Tel-Aviv 61033
Israel

or ask us for charities in your country which receive 
donations on behalf of Gush Shalom

Please, add your email address where to send our 
confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at 
request only.




#Refusniks

Constantly-updated refusniks lists:


English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/
Hebrew / òáøéú - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/

English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en
Hebrew / òáøéú - http://www.newprofile.org/

For the latest news about the five: 
http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html

 Letters of support to 
 Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer
 AGAF BET
 Ma’asiyaho Prison
 P.O.B 13
 Ramla - Israel

 Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret:
 Hermon Prison
 P.O.B 4011 
 KFAR M’RAR - Israel


--
http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (òáøéú/Hebrew)
http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English)
http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in 
Arabic)

with
\\photos of recent actions 
\\the weekly Gush Shalom ad 
\\the columns of Uri Avnery 
\\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle  
\\position papers & analysis (in "documents")
\\and a lot more

N.B.: 
On the Gush Shalom website links for 
Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish

In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language 
press releases mail to:
gush-shalom-heb-request at mailman.gush-shalom.org 
+ NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line.

If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can 
send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece 
of paper to: 

Gush Shalom
pob 3322
Tel-Aviv 61033
Israel

or ask us for charities in your country which receive 
donations on behalf of Gush Shalom

Please, add your email address where to send our 
confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at 
request only.