Last month, three determined Code Pink leaders were allowed into Gaza for a 48 hour visit, and on March 5th, over 50 determined Code Pink leaders and supporters, including Medea Benjamin, Col. Ann Wright, and author Alice Walker will return to Egypt and plan to visit Gaza. They will be accompanied by a team from Democracy NOW!, so tune in.
Local Davis Event
On March 8th, from 12:30 to 3 pm, there will be an open house International Women's Day fundraiser in Davis to support the women of Gaza.
We'll be discussing the current situation and collecting money in support of organizations helping women and children in Gaza. Meet a local UC Davis student who will tell personal stories about her family's experiences in Gaza. Middle Eastern refreshments will be served.
Palestinians paying the price, Sunday, January 11, 2009, The Herald News Letters to the Editor
By Andrew H. Dral
The destruction and massacre unleashed by the Israelis against the Palestinians in Gaza is so one sided, it boggles the mind. Hundreds of Palestinians are reported dead, many of them civilians (estimates 30 percent civilians, mostly children), compared just a handful of Israelis. How can Americans sleep knowing that children are being killed with our weapons at the hands of Israeli soldiers?
Israel will not go back to its 1967 borders  U.N. Resolution 242  and will not adhere to the Geneva Conventions or the will of the international community through many, many United Nations resolutions. It has an economic stronghold on Gaza. The Israeli land grab under President Bush has been in full throttle. Hamas rockets from Gaza are pea shooters compared to the collective punishment, economic embargo and massive military force perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinian people.
BETHLEHEM UPDATE #14, FEBRUARY 17, 2009
In this update:
- Life in Bethlehem
- Take Action
- Increasing Repression in a No-Justice System
- Blog Update and News Briefs
- Update from Iraqi Refugees
- Davis Enterprise article from February 8: Reporting from Palestine
Take Action:
Please use this email as a reminder to once again contact President Obama and tell him it is time for the U.S. to stop its economic and political support of Israel's apartheid and occupation. Call: (202-456-1111 or email through http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact.
Also please contact your Senators and Congress members: 202-224-3121.
Life in Bethlehem
Since our return to Palestine from Jordan at the end of January, we are finding our days very full. Much of this work involves moving along Sacramento to Bethlehem Sister City projects which include: refurbishing a prominently-located signboard to educate tourists about the occupation, making connections between school children in Sacramento and in Bethlehem, and a garden and composting project with the children of the SOS Children's Village of Bethlehem. Our efforts have been greatly augmented by a woman who has just come back to her roots in Beit Sahour from Michigan.
Submitted by Dan Bacher on Mon, 02/16/2009 - 6:02pm
Here is the updated schedule of the 2009 Speakers Series on Palestine. The first two speakers, Elias Rashmawi and Lara Kiswani, were superb and I expect the rest of the speakers to be excellent also. All of the events will be at the Sacramento Area Peace Action Office on 909 12th Street, Sacramento, at 7 p.m. The events are sponsored by Sacramento Area Peace Action, Al-Awda Sacramento and the National Council of Arab Americans.
JERUSALEM  The Israeli Navy intercepted a Gaza-bound cargo ship on Thursday, diverting it to an Israeli port where the people aboard were to be questioned, the military announced.
The boat, called The Brotherhood Ship, was carrying what its organizers said was humanitarian aid: food, medicine and toys.
The military said it worried the boat could “threaten security concerns†or be used to smuggle banned equipment, like weapons, “into or out of the Gaza Strip.†After searching the vessel, it said no weapons had been found.
A statement from the Israeli military said the boat, sailing under the flag of Togo, left Tripoli, in northern Lebanon, a few days ago, made a stop in Cyprus, and then tried to enter Gazan waters against Israeli orders. The military said that when the ship’s crew was instructed on Wednesday not to try to reach Gaza, the crew replied that the vessel would go to El Arish, in Egypt, but it then changed course.
“During today’s morning hours, the cargo ship changed its bearing, and began heading toward the Gaza Strip, contrary to the claims made by the boat crew last evening,†the military statement said. “Disregarding all warnings made, the cargo boat entered Gazan coastal waters.â€ÂÂÂÂÂÂ
Submitted by Dan Bacher on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 7:30pm
MARCOS: GAZA WILL SURVIVE
By Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos - Mexico
Two days ago, the same day we discussed
violence, the ineffable Condoleezza Rice, a US
official, declared that what was happening in
Gaza was the Palestinians' fault, due to their violent nature.
The underground rivers that crisscross the world
can change their geography, but they sing the same song.
Israeli forces said they had pushed deeper into Gaza City amid heavy fighting, with some units within a mile of the densely populated urban centre. Terrified residents were said to be fleeing from many homes which had been set alight.
At least three Palestinians in Gaza were shot dead yesterday after Israeli soldiers fired on a group of residents leaving their homes on orders from the military and waving white flags, according to testimony taken by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem. The testimony was rejected by the military after what it said was a preliminary investigation.
Civilian casualties rise in Gaza as Israel continues its ground attack. (Photo: AFP / Getty Images)
Gaza - Israeli tank fire killed up to 40 Palestinians at a United Nations school in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, medical sources at two Gaza hospitals said.
Two tank shells exploded outside the school, residents said, spraying shrapnel on people inside and outside the building, where hundreds of Palestinians had sought refuge from fighting between Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants.
Reuters journalists filmed bodies scattered on the ground amid pools of blood and torn shoes and clothes. A donkey also lay on the ground in its own blood.
This is an urgent action alert from Ellen Schwartz of WILPF to protest the Israeli invasion of Gaza:
Protest the Israeli Massacre In GAZA - Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009, 4-6 pm - 16th and "J" Sts., Sacramento
This is really bad. Israel is bombing Gaza City as air support for the invasion. They say they are only targeting Hamas operatives, and that Hamas is using civilians as shields. But Hamas is the (legally) elected government, so it is everywhere; you can't bomb an office without hitting the offices around it. It is as if someone only targeted Republican Government targets, so that would be Federal and State offices, and bombed Social Security offices, DMS offices, all of which are decentralized and located near homes; and federal and state office buildings, downtown, where other people work. Not to mention, the whole blockade of Gaza has been illegal from the beginning, so who is really in the wrong? Not that the Gazans should be lobbing rockets, but please, let us not give Israel a pass on this.
Submitted by Tjadendevries on Mon, 01/05/2009 - 8:34pm
How do people whose parents and grandparents survived the Sho'ah
On orders from my department, I too drove a gas-van from Berlin to Minsk. These vans had been constructed with a lockable cargo compartment, like a moving van...
I was detailed with the gas-van to about twelve convoys of arriving Jews. It was in 1942. There were about a thousand Jews in each convoy. With each arrival I made five or six trips with my van. Some of the Jews were shot. I myself never shot a single Jew; I only gassed them...
A ghetto operation took place in the autumn of 1943. I was put into action only once with the gas-van. I made three trips with it to the execution site. I gassed about 150 to 180 people.
Justify this
Please don't misunderstand me, and think I'm making a blanket statement - I'm asking the individuals who have had relatives who survived the Sho'ah how they could this.
The image above is captioned in the London Times, as "Israeli artillery shells explode with a chemical agent designed to create smokescreen for ground forces." But last night the same picture was simply captioned as an artillery shell exploding over Gaza and other similiar images at AFP/Getty are similiarly captioned. One wonders why Murdoch's flagship newspaper decided to change the caption.
In two of those AFP/Getty images, here and here, you can clearly see impact explosions and fires begun by those impacts. Those are not chemical smoke shells. An ex-military officer friend tells me that the shells seen exploding in all these pictures are DPICM or Cluster Munition rounds. Identical cluster munitions were used in Lebanon by the IDF during the 2006 conflict and by both the UK and US during the invasion of Iraq. It's likely that the IDF are using US-made M483A1 DPICM artillery-delivered shells.
I know this is short notice, but the Israeli decision to send ground troops into Gaza calls for stepped-up displays of public outrage. The current situation is horrid beyond belief. Help show our legislators and Sacramento's public that this is not okay; not business as usual and that we are willing to stand up and speak out. If the Gaza attacks continue, we must continue to speak out. It is the least we can do for our Palestinian brothers and sisters.
Oppose the massacre in Gaza! Vigil and protest at the Federal building (5th and I St.), downtown Sacramento.
Monday, January 5
4:00 - 5:30 p.m. - Come when you can; leave when you can
Thousands of leftists arrive at Rabin square to protest against IDF operation, chant 'Defense Minister Barak, how many children have you murdered today?'
Vered Luvitch - Published: 01.04.09, 02:15 / Israel News
Thousands of left-wing activists arrived at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv Saturday night to protest against the Gaza war. The protesters were marching in the streets and carrying flags reading "Stop the fire" and "Children in Gaza and Sderot wish to live."
Knesset members Dov Khenin (Hadash) and Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List-Ta'al) were among the political figures who attended the rally.
Ban says 'extremely concerned and disappointed' over Israel's decision to invade Gaza, Spanish FM Moratinos calls Abbas to express his 'support and solidarity'
Yitzhak Benhorin - Published: 01.04.09, 03:28 / Israel News
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on Israel to end its military operation in Gaza immediately.
In a phone conversation with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Saturday evening, Ban conveyed his "extreme concern and disappointment" over the launching of the IDF's ground incursion and said he was "convinced and alarmed that this escalation will inevitably increase the already heavy suffering of the affected civilian populations."
