Israeli students demonstrate against IDF operations in Gaza

Two-thousand Israeli activists demonstrated last night (27 December) in Tel Aviv against yesterday’s Israeli attacks on Gaza, which killed at least 270 Palestinians and injured some 700.

The demonstration, initiated and organized by the Israeli Coalition against the Siege on Gaza, included a march of activists through central Tel Aviv, from the Cinemateque square to the Ministry of Defence. Demonstrators called for an immediate end to Israeli military attacks and the siege on Gaza, and criticized the center-left wing political party Meretz for supporting Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

Israeli police officers were particularly harsh with demonstrators, five of whom were detained and subsequently released.

AIC Programme Director Sergio Yahni, one of the main organiser’s of the demonstration in Tel Aviv, noted that “last night’s demonstration was substantially larger than the first demonstration we organized against Israel’s 2006 war on Lebanon. People were truly horrified by Israel’s military attack on Gaza yesterday, and went out to the streets to show this.”

The Israeli Coalition against the Siege will be holding another demonstration this evening in Tel Aviv, and will be meeting tomorrow to strategically plan future actions.

Demonstrations against Israel’s assault on Gaza also occurred in Jerusalem. Demonstrators gathered in the Mount of Olives, Qalandiya, A-Ram, in Issawiya, on the main street in East Jerusalem —and in the Shuafat Refugee Camp. The demonstrators blocked roads, called out against the Israeli occupation and attacks on Gaza, and confronted Israeli soldiers who arrived to break up the demonstrations. Israeli soldiers stationed at a checkpoint in the Shuafat Refugee Camp ran away from the demonstrators. At least 3 Palestinians were injured by soldiers during the demonstrations.
http://www.alternativenews.org/news...against-israeli-attacks-on-gaza-20081228.html

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sass said:

look at all those antisemite racists, you dont see them criticising some random war where israel isnt involved

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scott_forester said:

I have a great deal of sympathy for the Israelis that may be called up for service here.

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The Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court Wednesday quashed a request to restrict the movement of four Arab residents of Haifa who demonstrated against the war in Gaza, with the prosecutor saying their protest "damages national morale." Judge Ido Druyan released the protesters on bail and removed restrictions that had been placed on them.

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Toronto: Wednesday January 8, 2009 Time: 10:25 am

A diverse group of Jewish Canadian women are currently occupying the Israeli consulate at 180 Bloor Street West in Toronto. This action is in protest against the on-going Israeli assault on the people of Gaza.

The group is carrying out this occupation in solidarity with the 1.5 million people of Gaza and to ensure that Jewish voices against the massacre in Gaza are being heard. They are demanding that Israel end its military assault and lift the 18-month siege on the Gaza Strip to allow humanitarian aid into the territory

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A joint Israeli-Palestinian petition calling for a halt to the fighting in Gaza is gaining support. Among the signatories are 500 people from the Israeli town Sderot, the target of many rockets from Gaza.

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Some 1,800 Israelis and Palestinians, including 500 Sderot residents, sign petition calling for end to IDF operation in Gaza, renewal of dialogue between Israel, Hamas

Arik Yalin, 43, from Sderot told Ynet that over 1,800 Israelis and Palestinians have already joined the petition. "About a month ago we realized that the situation was about to deteriorate into total chaos," he explained.

"It's important for us to voice an opinion that represents quite a few residents who live within the rocket range but who believe that we can, and should try to resolve this ongoing conflict in a peaceful manner.

"We have experienced the terrible hardship of life under rocket fire for the past eight years, and it has deeply hurt us both mentally and physically. Our need to voice a different stance stems from the strong desire to change the situation and begin negotiations with the other side in order to stop the violence," he added.

According to Yalin, a military operation will only deepen the hatred on both sides and reduce the chances of reaching a settlement. "The underlying assumption is that eventually there would be some kind of understanding. The only question is how many innocent people would get killed along the way."

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"My son is there [serving in Gaza] and my other sons are scared by the bombs falling over our house," said Dr Yeela Raanan, from Moshav Ein-Habsor, a farm community on the Israeli edge of the Gaza strip. "As a mother, it's scary... and I think about the mothers in Gaza and how much more scared they are feeling during this time."
Zion, in Sderot, explains that it is precisely because she has been traumatised by rocket attacks that she has less tolerance for her nation's current militaristic mood. "As a wounded person, I cannot bear this," she said. "I feel there is such a euphoria and glorification of war, as though it's a wedding or a celebration. I can't agree with this attitude. War is a dangerous and traumatic thing and we have to treat it like that."

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tangentlama said:

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/2009/01/2009188361781632.html

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frogwoman said:

http://israels60thbirthday.com/

A former Israeli captain of the air force, Yonathan Shapira, has called on Obama to stop being "a slave to AIPAC" live on the BBC.

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frogwoman said:

Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to have got through to the Movement for Reform Judaism

I recieved this email from them today:

Dear froggy
I share your horror at the loss of life in Gaza and Southern Israel and I respect your passionate concern. However, I am sure you realise that not everyone sees the situation in quite the way you do. In fact, I can be sure that your certainty of Israel's sole culpability puts you in a tiny minority, both within the Jewish community as a whole and within your synagogue. That does not make you wrong, only the holder of an extreme, minority view.

Whilst trying to do our best to respond to the diverse needs of individuals, the Movement does have to reflect the views of the mainstream and I could not possibly respond as you would like, partly because I don't agree with you myself but largely because the overwhelming majority don't either.

I don't know which synagogue you are a member of but I would very much recommend a talking through of the issues with your rabbi. It is possible that such a conversation will help you, and the community, to move forward.



On their website are loads of adverts for zionist demos and "requests" for the community to write to their MPs in support of Israel

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As Jewish youth, we are diverse, but we are unified in our solidarity with our Palestinian brothers and sisters in Gaza.

Some of us are students. We are outraged by the bombing of the Islamic University in Gaza city, as well as other civilian infrastructure such as hospitals and mosques.

Some of us are Arab-Jews and people of colour. We stand against Israel's racism, which has been enshrined in Israeli law, and privileges its Jewish citizens over its non-Jewish ones.This apartheid state views Palestinians as an expendable people, no more than collateral damage.

Some of us are queer. We reject Israel′s branding of itself as the only safe place for queer people in the Middle-East while it targets gay and lesbian Palestinians and renders life unsafe for millions of others.

Some of us are Israelis living in Canada. We are calling for a solidarity that stretches beyond borders and nationalities. Israel's violent actions will only serve to further isolate the state and its citizens from the rest of the world. By calling itself a Jewish state and committing war crimes in the name of Jews everywhere, Israel makes the world even less safe for Jews, leading to an increase in animus towards Jewish people around the world.

Even though there have been approximately 100 Palestinian deaths for every Israeli killed by rocket fire, we recognize that Israeli Apartheid also leads to Israeli casualties. The blame for these deaths lies with Israel – if there were no occupation and no apartheid policies, there would be no rocket fire. If Israel, the world's fourth largest military power, is concerned about its citizens, it would abandon its apartheid policies and seek out justice for the Palestinian people.

In 2005, Palestinian civil society put out a clear call for international support through a non-violent campaign of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) similar to that carried out against the apartheid regime of South Africa. Now, with the people of Gaza being crushed by Israeli bombs, manufactured in the USA and launched with Canada's blessing, it is more important than ever for Jewish communities throughout the world to take up this BDS campaign in order to end Israel's apartheid system, which makes life unsafe for millions of Jews and Palestinians alike.

Let us not be silent bystanders while humanity suffers. Let us raise our voices, as Jewish youth, and demand a single, democratic state, with equal rights for everyone in Israel/Palestine.

Ours is a generation that is committed to ending Middle-East violence by opposing all forms of discrimination, calling for a just peace within the entire region, and condemning Zionism to the dustbin of history.

Free Gaza, Free Palestine,

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Barking_Mad said:

In other words, "Your on your own, unless you want converting by a Rabbi."

You know, some of the people I admire most happen to be Jewish. It's a shame this barbaric Zionist lot are stirring up hate whislt abusing the sorrow so many people gave to the Jewish people after WWII.

*hugs Froggy*

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NORWEGIAN TRAIN DRIVERS STRIKE FOR GAZA

On Thursday 8 January all trains in the whole of Norway, and
all trams and subways in Oslo, stood still for two minutes in
protest against the Israeli invasion. The union issued the
following information for passengers:

"Because of the situation in the Gaza Strip, the Locomotive
Drivers Union in Norway has decided to demonstrate our
solidarity with the Palestinian people. This will be organised
by adding two more minutes of stoppage at the station. The
same action applies to all passenger trains in Norway
simultaneously. We demand the immediate withdrawal of all
Israeli troops from the Palestinian territory. Thank you for
your understanding".

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frogwoman said:

Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to have got through to the Movement for Reform Judaism

I recieved this email from them today:

Dear froggy
I share your horror at the loss of life in Gaza and Southern Israel and I respect your passionate concern. However, I am sure you realise that not everyone sees the situation in quite the way you do. In fact, I can be sure that your certainty of Israel's sole culpability puts you in a tiny minority, both within the Jewish community as a whole and within your synagogue. That does not make you wrong, only the holder of an extreme, minority view.

Whilst trying to do our best to respond to the diverse needs of individuals, the Movement does have to reflect the views of the mainstream and I could not possibly respond as you would like, partly because I don't agree with you myself but largely because the overwhelming majority don't either.

I don't know which synagogue you are a member of but I would very much recommend a talking through of the issues with your rabbi. It is possible that such a conversation will help you, and the community, to move forward.



On their website are loads of adverts for zionist demos and "requests" for the community to write to their MPs in support of Israel

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We the undersigned are all of Jewish origin. When we see the dead and bloodied bodies of young children, the cutting off of water, electricity and food, we are reminded of the siege of the Warsaw Ghetto. When Dov Weisglass, an adviser to the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, talked of putting Gazans "on a diet" and the deputy defence minister, Matan Vilnai, talked about the Palestinians experiencing "a bigger shoah" (holocaust), this reminds us of Governor General Hans Frank in Nazi-occupied Poland, who spoke of "death by hunger".

The real reason for the attack on Gaza is that Israel is only willing to deal with Palestinian quislings. The main crime of Hamas is not terrorism but its refusal to accept becoming a pawn in the hands of the Israeli occupation regime in Palestine.

The decision last month by the EU council to upgrade relations with Israel, without any specific conditions on human rights, has encouraged further Israeli aggression. The time for appeasing Israel is long past. As a first step, Britain must withdraw the British ambassador to Israel and, as with apartheid South Africa, embark on a programme of boycott, divestment and sanctions.
Ben Birnberg, Prof Haim Bresheeth, Deborah Fink, Bella Freud, Tony Greenstein, Abe Hayeem, Prof Adah Kay, Yehudit Keshet, Dr Les Levidow, Prof Yosefa Loshitzky, Prof Moshe Machover, Miriam Margolyes, Prof Jonathan Rosenhead and 65 others

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