No one believed Palestinians could sustain such barbarism, could take such a pounding & endure such losses & grief for so long without being utterly defeated, all resistance bombed to smithereens. But then images began to appear of Palestinians standing in cement rubble waving the flag with Israeli bombers still prowling overhead. Those were hallelujah moments at a gruesome time–that the spirit of Intifada had survived such an onslaught.

Their struggle is important for many reasons–not least of which is their intransigent refusal, generation after generation, to bend the knee to colonialism though they surely must be exhausted by the relentless aggression & terrible losses they have endured.

After 67 years of colonialism, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, & being vilified as terrorists, the Palestinian call for the economic, cultural, & academic boycott of Israel (BDS), has broken the barriers of international solidarity so they are no longer isolated. The truth is out & we must render a powerful solidarity that takes the spirit of Intifada international.

This young protester is holding the Palestinian flag during assaults–what media calls “clashes”–by the Israeli military at the contentious Qalandia checkpoint near Ramallah in the West Bank. Another hallelujah moment.

Our fullest solidarity & respect. Build the economic, cultural, & academic boycott of Israel & demand no aid of any kind to apartheid Israel.

(Photo by Mohamad Torokman/Reuters)

Earlier this year, the government reduced social service benefits to refugees & new regulations, which go into effect on October 15th, make it more arduous to become a citizen, including financial self-sufficiency, language requirements, current affairs tests, & other gratuitous obstacles.

Media has been reporting that Danes oppose refugees because they ‘refuse to assimilate & insist on special rules’; because their ‘Scandinavian way of life is threatened by Muslim asylum seekers who refuse to learn Danish & stay in isolated communities refusing to embrace European values.’ They also report public concerns about increased crime–the usual malarkey used against immigrants & refugees in every country & malarkey that’s been disproved by hundreds of studies going back nearly a century, though that doesn’t stop the fear-mongers.

This march is a direct rebuke to all that & a sign that while “something is rotten in the state of Denmark,” among working people there is another dynamic operating.

Hats off to Danish working people.

(Photo by Soeren Bidstrup/Reuters/Scanpix Denmark)

Since the power plant has been damaged in successive Israeli bombing sieges, it only operates a few hours a day–insufficient for the sanitation infrastructure–which has created a full-blown sanitation crisis in Gaza. In many places there are open pools of sewage which flow in the streets during rain. Many respiratory & infectious diseases are associated with raw sewage, especially for people stressed to the max & deprived of proper food & health care by Israel’s blockade of Gaza. That’s why the UN says Gaza could become uninhabitable in the next five years.

Nothing damns Israel–& for that matter the US who arms & bankrolls this, the UN who alibis this, the EU & India for sanctioning this, Egypt & Jordan for being part of this–more than the continued bombing & blockade of Gaza. It’s created an emergency situation & makes it imperative we respond with increased efforts to expose this, to build BDS, & to mobilize to demand no aid of any kind to apartheid Israel.

Our fullest solidarity with the people of Gaza.

(Photo by Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)

Israel is attempting to provoke Palestinians so they can come down on them with the full arsenal of repression & violence. This is a call to arms for Palestinian supporters to hold emergency rallies & to continue to build BDS, the economic, cultural, & academic boycott of Israel.

Long live Intifada! End the Israeli occupation! Hands off Al-Aqsa!

(Photo from EPA)

“An 18-year-old Palestinian woman was allegedly shot by an Israeli man after she stabbed him during an altercation in Jerusalem’s Old City.” (She was “allegedly shot”–that is, there is no proof–but they know for sure she stabbed him?)

“Jerusalem’s mayor, Nir Barkat, was seen carrying an assault rifle while visiting an Arab neighborhood.” (Israeli media cannot bring themselves to say “Palestinians.” But surely carrying an assault weapon into a Palestinian neighborhood should be considered a provocation–no?)

“Leaders on both sides have called for their people to put an end to the bloodshed.” (See how impartial media is. They place equal blame on the Israeli rampage & Palestinians defending themselves.)

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand lies. Like this one of Israeli police taking aim during “violent clashes in the West Bank.” ‘Violent clashes’ of unarmed Palestinians against tanks & other armored vehicles, assault weapons, stun grenades, live ammunition, pepper & tear gas. The caption to this photo tried to make military aggression look like self-defense by adding they took aim “after an Israeli soldier was stabbed.” Not “allegedly” stabbed?

It must never be forgotten that Israel is an occupying army supporting thousands of settlers from all over Kingdom Come moving in to take over Palestinian land by waving a deed from the Old Testament. If Palestinians defend themselves & a soldier gets caught in the crossfire once in a while, that’s too bad.

The only way to oppose media lies is to build the hell out of BDS, the economic, cultural, & academic boycott of Israel & to demand no military aid to Israel.

(Photo by Osama Qawasma/Demotix)

It is a shameful, dishonest, scurrilous, racist, & colonial piece of war mongering journalism. Alternet should repudiate it & Davis should hang her head in shame. Ferris-Rotman is simply repeating the crap she’s reported from Afghanistan for a long time where her sources are US officials. She’s uncritical of the US in Afghanistan & writes rubbish praising US women soldiers deployed there.

It not only gives complete credence to war propaganda that US-NATO went there to liberate women from the Taliban but takes out the whole of Afghan culture with this kind of comment: “Like many nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping Afghanistan’s women & girls, CODEPINK has spent years watching the forces in Afghan society, culture & politics wreak havoc on ordinary people’s lives. The American effort to install a pro-Western government, including laws that recognize the rights of women & girls, is constantly running into cultural barriers & biases that considers misogyny normal & traditional.” If this is true, CodePink has some questions to answer. Like, whose side are they on in the Afghan war? Or is this just Davis–who has political associations with pro-Afghan war feminists & the Democratic Party–speaking?

As for all that dough USAID has been throwing at Afghan women to liberate them, if you don’t have your head stuck up the general’s asses, you can investigate & find out that USAID doesn’t dispense any kind of humanitarian aid but uses it primarily to blackmail & bribe Afghan officials.

The article really has to be read to appreciate how racist it is, how colonial in mentality, how shameful Alternet would publish it. But CodePink really has to weigh in on the assertions & analysis of Jodie Davis. Do they agree? Because if they do, they are war-mongers. If they don’t, they need to politically kick her ass to the curb for discrediting the organization she helped found.

Photo is Afghan woman living the high life of a refugee in Pakistan as a result of US-NATO liberation.

(Photo by Muhammed Muheisen)

This is link to the piece of war propaganda referenced in this post:http://www.alternet.org/…/after-over-decade-occupation-and-…

Small consolation though to young people whose lives are wrenched from them by colonial repression & violence. When they should be courting, studying, exploring the world, goofing off with their friends, they are instead called to fight for their existence & to stand unarmed against one of the mightiest military forces in the world. They are assaulted by thugs; incarcerated & tortured in the Israeli gulag for their defiance; face jail sentences for using one of the only weapons they have–stones; forced to navigate through life military checkpoint to checkpoint. Many have sustained serious injuries, others have died.

We should take a moment to honor them–but of course that would be hollow if we did not actively engage to support them through rallies & building BDS. Their struggle against Israel, backed by the US, is so daunting but with their intransigent spirit & international solidarity it can be won.

Long live Intifada! Build the economic, cultural, & academic boycott of Israel!

(Photo by Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/getty Images)

Al Jazeera tells us “the unrest has spread to the West Bank” & that dozens of Palestinians have been injured in “clashes with Israeli troops” on arrest raids in villages & refugee camps looking for “men involved in terrorist activities.” The language intentionally suggests Israel’s brutal repression & violent rampage are a response to Palestinian terrorism rather than the cause of Palestinian self-defense.

Prominent Palestinians were interviewed about the Israeli assault. Saeb Erekat, a chief negotiator of the betrayal called the Oslo Accords, said Netanyahu is exploiting the volatile situation “to derail the two-state solution.” You can’t imagine a guy could miss the point of martial law so badly–or not recognize that the train for a bantustate left the station a long time ago. But if you broker a betrayal you probably want to ride it out.

Ahmad Ruwaidy, an aide to Mahmoud Abbas, said Palestinian violence was a “natural reaction to Israeli policies”. Oh really!? A “reaction,” not defense against Israeli violence? But at least he pointed out the refusal of the Netanyahu regime to hold a credible investigation into the arson murder of the Dawabsheh family or to hunt for & arrest the settlers who did it along with constant attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank & East Jerusalem.

This is a call to arms for Palestinian supporters. Emergency rallies & continued campaigns to build BDS, the economic, cultural, & academic boycott of Israel are imperative.

Photo is Israeli police arresting a Palestinian man in East Jerusalem. Since Palestinians live in the area, he may have just been out & about on an errand.

(Photo by Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)