Israelis ask for international pressure against Israel

I once wondered what might happen if Palestinians simply marched, unarmed, against the Israeli barriers erected on Palestinian land, whether it be the huge concrete wall or simply the 500 foot deep "no-go" zone in Gaza. Could the Palestinians do what Gandhi had done when he resisted the British presence in India with mass protest that placed human bodies against armed force?

In the last months, I got my answer. Palestinians did exactly that and were shot down at random by Israeli soldiers sniping at them from behind a fence hundreds of feet from where the Gazans stood demonstrating, no threat to Israel. Here is a photo of a Palestinian shot in the face with a tear gas canister, something designed to disperse people, to injure them.

Things have gone so far in Israel that Israelis, a small minority, are asking the outside world to intervene. Of course, there have always been Israeli human rights groups, such as B'Tselem, Breaking the Silence and others I list on this site that have worked against the extreme rightward movement of Israeli society but I think the members of these groups all realize change will not come from the inside.

Here is an essay by two Israelis asking for international intervention, intervention that the United States, alone, always prevents. This protection of a serial violator of international law show that modern Israel is the creation of the United States, ironic for a country that once claimed to be for liberty and justice for all.

Life under occupation now has an icon

This video about Ahed Tamimi is remarkable for the fact that there is so much photographic evidence of the oppression of the Palestinians in the lifetime of this one girl. Israel has done to her family just about everything that it does to the Palestinians in general and her face is caught throughout as she grows from a child to a teen seeing it all in her home and village. It will not be surprising if she becomes and icon.

This new video is an example of how sophisticated the resistance to Israeli occupation has become. Superb cinematography portrays the plight of the Palestinians as that of people about to drown, yet in fact it is their great numbers and their steadfastness that keeps them from that fate. Rather than being afloat, they stand on the solid ground of their own existence and history. Whatever happens, the Palestinians are not going away and will be a living indictment of Israel as long as their oppression continues.

The Story of Palestine (short video)

In contrast to the more detailed and lengthy account from Abby Martin I posted last month, here is a very short, simple but powerful video presenting the plight of the Palestinians. It shows how artistry can aid a good cause. (the picture is not a link)

How Palestine Became Colonized (teleSUR)

This is a comprehensive account of the history of Palestine and Zionism that resulted in the situation we have at present. The graphic is not a link.

Trump and Netanyuhu, two of a kind

Israel's newspaper, Haaretz, continually puts the American press to shame with excellent articles that go right to the heart of issues the mainstream media in the United States will not touch. Here is a perfect example, Protesting Bigots and Demagogues at AIPAC? Don't Stop at Trump, Call Out Netanyahu Too by Roy Isacowitz.

Some excerpts:

"AIPAC, that bastion of Jewish values...has given repeated and resounding standing ovations, year after year, to Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli demagogues and racists, who not only talk the talk – as Trump has done so far – but walk the walk, as well.

Israel has already built the wall that Trump only talks about. It has blighted the lives of millions of Muslims, as Trump says he would like to do. Its behavior has been far more bellicose than anything Trump has exhibited so far and its racism is not only more extreme, but a lot more deadly.

The supporters of Israeli Trumpism have assassinated a prime minister, gunned down worshippers in a mosque, burned a Palestinian baby to cinders in its bed and committed thousands of other racist atrocities. But when the Israeli Trump-in-chief arrives in Washington, he is feted by AIPAC as the true representative of Jewish values. The anti-Trump."

Getting to the heart of what's happening

In an interview on RT, Norman Finkelstein once again shows his informed opinion of the situation in Israel/Palestine, founded on his experience. The man absorbs details and retains them to a remarkable degree. Here he draws on his time spent in I/P during the first intifada in the 1980's to examine what is going on now. Nothing happens in a vacuum. Every action humans take grows from what has gone before. This interview demonstrates how shallow is what most of us consider news analysis from the usual media sources. To her credit, the interviewer lets Finkelstein talk at length.