Solidarity Visit to Khirbet Makhoul

[Israeli]

Published on 07 October 2013

Written by Civil Disobedience, Coalition of Women for Peace, Gush Shalom, Hithabrut-Tarabut, Machsom Watch, Public Committee against Torture in Israel, Rabbis for Human Rights, Ta'ayush: Arab-Jewish Partnership, the Alternative Information Center, Yesh Gvul.

Sequence of events in Khirbet Makhoul:

In the early morning of Monday 16 September, the army invaded the village with three bulldozers and demolished almost the entire village. Attempts by the Red Cross and humanitarian organisations to bring in equipment and tents were thwarted by the army, which threw stun grenades. Consular representatives were shamefully thrown out of the area.

On Tuesday 24 September, the Israeli High Court issued an interim injunction allowing the residents to return to their village and preventing its total demolition. During the week residents succeeded in using remains from the demolitions to build eight shelters for themselves and six for their herds. On Thursday 2 October, tens of soldiers invaded the village at 2.30 a.m. and set fire to hay stacks, ripping sheets from four tents and throwing them into the fire in front of the astonished residents. The village's attorney submitted an urgent complaint to the state attorney's office, in which he accuses the perpetrators of vandalism and contempt of the High Court order, further demanding the perpetrators be brought to justice.

(snip)

According to the Oslo Agreements, Khirbet Makhoul, like most of the territory of the Palestinian Jordan Valley, is defined as Area C. Over the years, the state of Israel has conducted a policy of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian residents of Area C. For this goal it enlists all means prohibited by international conventions - transferring the occupying population to occupied territories - settlements, land confiscations, taking over natural resources - water and minerals, home demolitions, water deprivation, limiting movement and innumerable harassments to disrupt daily life. The Jordan Valley and South Hebron Hills are two prominent examples of this policy.

Continue reading @
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/politics/activism/7126-act-solidarity-visit-to-khirbet-makhoul

any chance you would like to join us on friday pelsar ?

[libodem]

1. Thank you

For keeping us informed. This is horrific.

[pelsar]

2. no thank you..but i certainly appreciate the invitation..

and the very good method of defining my actions and values. In general i chose my own actions and stay away from the group things be it protests or support rallies. And the group identities that go with them....i just don't like them

but i certainly like your invitation....puts a bit realistic action outside of these screens......

btw, reading the article, i have to admit i wonder how much is actually true vs journalistic license as in a previous post/article about soldiers pointing their guns on the french women on the ground....i dont like being "taken in" and being used either.

[pelsar]

4. am i suppose to be insulted by a posters on an internet forum?

i shall make the assumption that most of the "insults" are from people who dont get out much and for some reason that is beyond me, believe that i'm supposed to get all 'worked up" or insulted over a few words on a forum.

a derp, a bourgeois white american, with a palin jacket (i forget the others). I'm afraid it doesn't really affect me much, other than my thinking that if that is how people communicate today and they assume that i should react emotionally to their insults, then there is something seriously wrong with them and todays modern world.

or worse, those posters writing those words out on a forum as some kind of therapy for their own frustrations.

either way, they need some serious professional help, either that or some real experiences in the real world to put the proportions back, my suggestion? go to syria, fight for its freedom (but dont get shot since you might have to refuse treatment from israel, since you believe in boycotting us

[King_David]

5. I could say they resent the balance you bring to a forum

Supporting the agenda and views of the Democratic Party of the USA . The views of such party pertaining to Israel being much closer you yours than theirs.

But your 100% right this is the internet and not real life, and some people or robots or computer generated dialogue facilitators don't realize this.

[Israeli]

7. he is Israeli King_David

since when ... " Supporting the agenda and views of the Democratic Party of the USA . The views of such party pertaining to Israel being much closer you yours than theirs. " ...have anything to do with being Israeli ??

Granted he possibly has dual citizenship , and granted he possibly can vote in both our elections . .... for sure he has a secure escape route should he ever need it .

but being Israeli has a lot more to it than being Jewish or being born in America or Canada .
see :

In 1998 he founded the association Ani Israeli (I Am An Israeli) and was joined over the years by other politicians and intellectuals, including Uri Avneri, Shulamit Aloni and Adel Qaadan

By defining ethnic nationality as “Jewish,” however, Israel finds itself constantly embroiled in a fundamental, principled, ideological and theological debate that mandates members of other faiths being registered based on their religion rather than simply being called Israelis. Consequently, there is a Jewish ethnic nationality as well as other ethnic nationalities in Israel. Furthermore, all the state's symbols and institutions carry characteristics of Jewish tradition, history and heritage. This sentiment is enhanced by the lyrics of the national anthem: two million non-Jewish Israeli citizens certainly don’t feel a “yearning Jewish soul.” Furthermore, throughout the dozens of years of the conflict with the Palestinians, Israel’s leadership has always insisted that the Palestine Liberation Organization recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

Israel’s declaration of independence cites the importance of the state as a Jewish home in the aftermath of the Holocaust and the decimation of European Jewry during World War II. Israel was a safe haven for the survivors of the Holocaust and for those who had wanted to return to their ancestral land from the galut, or the exile. After 60 years, is it not time to rethink and redefine the character of the state? After all, in many countries around the free world merely asking a person to reveal his or her religion is deemed an invasion of privacy, and any civic decision based on religious affiliation is deemed discriminatory.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/10/israel-ethnicity-jewish-state-citizenship-arab-minority.html#ixzz2hDuUthaM

[oberliner]

9. Do you know what website you are on?

Supporting the agenda and views of the Democratic Party of the USA is part of the mission statement of Democratic Underground (which is the website you are currently posting on). "Helping elect more Democrats to political office at all levels of American government" is an essential part of DU's mission.

[Israeli]

12. my apologies ...

I was under the impression this was a group for discussing Israel/Palestine .

So what are you trying to tell me oberliner ?

That only Americans are welcome here ?

or perhaps the only Israelis that are welcome are those that hold dual Israeli/American citizenship ???

what about those that hold dual Israeli/American citizenship and vote Republican ??

have you ever had a Palestinian posting on here or an Arab Israeli ?... now that I would love to see .

[oberliner]

13. No problem

Sometimes folks forget what this site is all about - especially in the sub forums like this one. I'm always surprised to find so many non-Americans so engaged with a site that is primarily devoted to American politics. This sub-forum, in particular, is quite international (understandably).

[Israeli]

6. that's okay pelsar .

I wont reach out to you again .

It's a shame tho , it would have been a good chance for you to see with your own eyes and to hear " how much is actually true " .... and to meet us and get to know us and the residents of Khirbet Makhoul.

BTW we are going to help and to build shelters and to try and build bridges .

We wanted to on sept 25 but it was canceled ,
see : http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/press_releases/1379967135/

Friday's planned visit is already causing a stir and could possibly be canceled at any moment .

btw, reading the article, i have to admit i wonder how much is actually true vs journalistic license

I suggest you read this pelsar :

Everything is legal, of course. All of the demolition orders for houses built without permits are legal; even the Supreme Court confirmed the demolitions. Everything was thoroughly legal, done in accordance with the laws of the occupation.

Look at the homes of the surrounding settlements, look at their verdant fields, some of which are on private land ? and you will understand. Look at the heaps
of dirt piled up along the length of the roads of the Jordan Valley, with the aim of suffocating these residents ? and you will understand. Look at the infinite number of concrete blocks adorned with “firing zone” warnings that are placed next to every tent ? and you will understand. Look at the undeclared policy in this remote area ? and you will understand.

Here, far under the public’s radar, a systematic expulsion is underway.

Source: http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/twilight-zone/.premium-1.548008

[pelsar]

8. one of the reasons i kept doing milliuyim (reserves)

....was because i liked seeing for myself what was really going on...and the difference between what was written and what i saw and experienced, and the gap was always pretty big

both the good and the bad, the theatrical and the mundane.....since i'm no longer in the reserves (since may 2013), as one has to know when it time to quit, i shall miss that.

perhaps sometime later i shall decide to participate again....just not now
___

and i do hold dual citizenships and do vote in both elections

[azurnoir]

10. ah I had wondered about that

then you were one of those the IVoteIsrael campaign was aimed at

[pelsar]

18. yes they called

and we spoke....

[oberliner]

11. How many people are you expecting?

Just curious - do you have a ballpark figure?

[Israeli]

14. no idea ...

its a combination of many organizations :

Civil Disobedience, Coalition of Women for Peace, Gush Shalom, Hithabrut-Tarabut, Machsom Watch, Public Committee against Torture in Israel, Rabbis for Human Rights, Ta'ayush: Arab-Jewish Partnership, the Alternative Information Center, Yesh Gvul.

and now Maki say they are coming to

see :http://maki.org.il/en/?p=1336

you never know the numbers until you get there ..... if you get there .

why oberliner ? .... do you care ?

[oberliner]

15. Arab-Jewish Partnership?

Isn't "Arab" an offensive term for Palestinian citizens of Israel?

[Israeli]

16. no more or no less than " Jewish " is an " offensive term " for us .

as far as I am concerned oberliner....Israeli Arabs are as much Israeli as I am ....much more so than American olim , whether they vote Democrat or Republican .

[oberliner]

17. OK

That was what I had thought, but someone was arguing with me that "Arab Israeli" was offensive and that "Palestinian citizen of Israel" was the preferred terminology.