Viva Palestina

Viva Palestina is a caravan of about 200 people, mostly Americans, but which also included some prominent non-Americans, most notable among them being George Galloway, a British MP (member of parliament) and an outspoken critic of modern day corporatocracy and the politics of fear. The group also included New York City Councilman, Charles Barron, a tireless crusader for minority rights; four anti-zionist Rabbis and I believe, Cynthia McKinney, US Presidential candidate under the Green Party in the 2008 elections. Also in the group was a close friend of one of my friends. It is moving to watch people from diverse walks of life, some of whom one would least expect to see, come together for a cause such as this. A video of the event can be seen at the Viva Palestina website, which also contains loads of information related to the event.

What is glaringly missing from the whole incident and story is the absence of coverage of these issues on the US media, inspite of the fact that the group was overwhelmingly American. The Daily Kos had some coverage of the event. The Rafah crossing in Egypt became the choice route for two primary reasons. One was because Israel would never allow (and has never, since it left Gaza about two years ago, allowed) any aid into Gaza. Even coastal access to Gaza is not permitted, even though international regulations permit Gaza to exert complete control over its coast. The second reason was to see if Egypt would succumb to US and Israeli pressure and block the access to Gaza through its territories.

It was quite refreshing and heartening to see Cynthia McKinney rush to join the convoy, almost immediately after her arrest and illegal imprisonment in Israel, along with Irish Nobel Peace laureate, Mairead Maguire, another event that received little or no coverage in the US media.

Is Prime Minister Netanyahu serious about a two-state solution?

It never ceases to amaze me that Israeli media is the most critical of Israel's actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Contrast that with a fawning American media and one is left wondering who lives in Israel, the American media or the Israeli media. Here is an article that talks of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, having approved new construction in East Jerusalem, days after he agreed with the US President to support a two-state solution. It makes one wonder if such agreements and public statements by Israeli officials really mean anything. We've seen that they have refused to abide by any of the treaties and agreements reached in the past 60 years. And if Barack Obama really intends to have a negotiated settlement to the issue, as opposed to merely paying lipservice to the process as his predecessor did, he will now have to take the next step and impress upon Netanyahu and Israel's leadership that he really means business.

Interestingly enough, Benjamin Netanyahu's own father, Benzion Netanyahu, is claimed to have said on Israeli TV that his son has no intentions of agreeing to a two-state solutions. Of course there are questions surrounding such a statement as well. Why would the elder Netanyahu, an ardent supporter of Greater Israel, try to sabotage any overtures his son makes towards such a goal? We have seen from past experience that the younger Netanyahu can take very hardline stances on these issues and not budge and infact further stir up trouble. His previous round at the helm of the country did some pretty good damage to whatever relations the two peoples had.

Ezra Nawi

Ezra Nawi, an Iraqi Jew and a plumber by trade who currently resides in Israel, is a tireless and relentless human rights advocate for Palestinians. He is due to be sentenced on Wednesday, July 1 2009, for supposedly assaulting an Israeli police officer who accompanied a crew that was trying to demolish a Palestinian home as part of Israel's regular land grab (illegal takeover of Palestinians' lands and property in the West Bank in direct contravention of standing statutes in the UN and other peace agreements) activities. He is likely to be getting a large sentence this time and he plans on appealing his impending conviction. While there are no direct eye-witnesses to this incident, Ezra has a track record of pacifist intervention in demolitions. Every one that knows him confirms this and declares with absolute certainty that he would not have hit a policeman. By all indications, however, it appears that he will be convicted of the charges and put away for a very long time. He has been arrested on minor offenses (defying inhuman and perhaps illegal police orders, etc.) and spent a few days in jail in the past - all related to his activities trying to improve the lot of Palestinians.

Now with the political climate in the US changing a bit, and since it is no longer taboo to say that Israel might actually be committing crimes in the Occupied Territories, primarily due to the work of organisations like JStreet, Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, Gush Shalom, Jewish Voice for Peace, Rabbis For Human Rights, etc. and countless American Jews, many news outlets have started, albeit very slowly, talking about the Palestinian side of the story. American Jews who for the large part supported the Occupation have for the longest time been the stumbling block towards peace and in this case, justice for Palestinians.

The New York Times wrote an article on him recently. Change.org has a citizens' action page on him with some videos.