CNN’s God’s Warriors part I, Gods Jewish Warriors

I had great hopes for this 6 hour documentary because Christianne Amanpour was doing it. I also had great reservations since this was still CNN. This was still US media, especially US television.

One easy prediction to make was that any exposure of the truth about Israel and it’s US supporters would result in campaigns and a total assault on the program, CNN and Christiane Amanpour. And so it has begun, led by CAMERA, the Zionist lobby’s media arm.

Both proved accurate. Amanpour did an amazing job on many levels. The US audience was allowed to see things generally underreported in the US.
We saw connections between US politicians and illegal Israeli settlements.
We saw US politicians using campaign contributions to send to Israel to support illegal settlements.
We saw Christian zionists in all their glory.
We saw Jewish terrorists.
We saw the power of the Israel lobby, especially AIPAC but including the Christian Zionists, in Washington.
We saw what happens to politicians who place justice or US interests before AIPAC or Israeli interests.
We saw lots more.

But

We saw it all within the context of “response”. We saw it all in the context of “revenge”. The narrative that Israelis, Jews, settlers, terrorists, are all responding to the threat posed by Palestinians in particular and Arabs in general was pervasive.

Although we saw one Palestinian home spared from demolition, we did not see or hear about the thousands of others which are not.

Finally we saw nothing of the daily terror inflicted on Palestinians by the Israeli army every day.

All in all it was fantastic. See for yourself if you missed it. The other two parts will follow.

Once again Atika Shubert goes where Ben Wedeman would never go. She compares two different tours of the Holy Land.

CNN

Several years ago Hannah Mermelstein and Dunya Alwan began a program called Birthright Unplugged. They took Jews who traveled to Israel for the free “birthright” propaganda trip and opened their eyes to a side of the story they were not seeing.

They then created Birthright Replugged, a program to bring Palestinian children from refugee camps to Jerusalem, the sea and to villages their parents fled in 1948.

You won’t see this on the BBC.

(Thanks to ISM Nablus and the ISM media office.)

The following story and video were released by Reuters on June 5:

Jul. 5 - A Palestinian camerman is hit by a volley of bullets while filming clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants in Gaza.

The cameraman, Imad Ghanem was filming for Hamas’s al-Aqsa television channel when he was fired upon.

In video filmed by a colleague he can be seen lying on the ground with his camera by his side.

Eyewitnesses said moments before he’d been with a group which included militant gunmen, though he appeared to be unarmed. Ghanem was later treated in hospital where both of his legs were amputated.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said journalists were at risk if they entered a combat zone but soldiers did not deliberately target them. [Emphasis added]

Now watch the video and judge for yourself if journalists are deliberately targeted or not.

This is coverage from Al-Jazeera Arabic that features some more footage from a slightly different angle.

Reporters Without Borders released the following statement:

Call for investigation after Hamas TV cameraman badly wounded by Israeli gunfire

Reporters Without Borders condemns the Israeli army’s actions in firing yesterday on a Palestinian cameraman employed by the Hamas-owned satellite TV station Al-Aqsa as he was covering an Israeli incursion into the central part of the Gaza strip. The cameraman was seriously injured and had to have both legs amputated.

“This attack tragically illustrates the dangers to which Palestinian journalists are exposed,” the press freedom organisation said. “The Israeli army’s repeated attacks on media and journalists during military operations are unacceptable and constitute violations of international humanitarian law. A thorough investigation must be quickly carried out to establish why soldiers fired on this journalist after he had been injured and knocked to the ground by the blast of a grenade.”

An Israeli military source told Agence France-Presse that Al-Aqsa cameramen “could not be regarded as journalists as they are part of Hamas’ armed wing and their films are used for propaganda purposes or instruction.”

During an interview with Reporters Without Borders representatives last December, Israeli deputy defence minister Efraim Sneh advocated attacking the new Hamas TV station’s premises “if hostilities resumed and if the Islamic party announced the resumption of its terrorist activities.” He added that, “media belonging to terrorist organisations cannot enjoy the same rights as other media since they glorify violence.”

In the view of Reporters Without Borders, Hamas’ activities cannot be used as an excuse or justification for attack an Al-Aqsa TV employee. “Firstly, journalists enjoy the same status as civilians and are therefore protected as such under international humanitarian law,” the organisation said. “Secondly, Protocol Additional 1 to the Geneva Conventions states that radio and TV installations may only be regarded as legitimate targets if they are used for military purposes and directly contribute to the war effort.”

Imad Ghanem, 23, was covering yesterday’s Israeli military incursion to the east of the Al-Barij refugee camp in the centre of the Gaza Strip. Although he was not wearing anything that identified him as a member of the press, he was carrying a TV camera and he was with a large number of fellow journalists.

Wounded by the blast of a rocket fired from a helicopter, Ghanem was lying on the ground when Israeli troops fired at him. Footage filmed by his colleagues shows him being hit in the legs by two shots fired in quick succession. He was taken to Deir-al-Balah where both of his legs were amputated. He was then transferred to Al-Shifa hospital where his condition was reported to be stable.

Reporters Without Borders has registered at least nine cases of journalists being wounded by Israeli military fire since the start of the year. For the most part, they were injured by shrapnel from stun or tear grenades or by rubber bullets.

An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson told Reporters Without Borders in May: “The army makes a great effort to avoid injuring civilians and journalists covering fighting in the field. Soldiers are given clear instructions to learn to identify and avoid injuring a journalist. We ask the press to place themselves behind soldiers or at a reasonable distance from demonstrations. Journalists who choose to mingle with demonstrators should be aware of the risks they are taking.”

CNN

Timeline of Alan Johnston Captivity
AP, July 4,2007
published on FOXnews.com

British Broadcasting Corp. reporter Alan Johnston was held the longest of any foreigner in the Gaza Strip.

— March 12, 2007: Johnston is captured outside his Gaza City apartment street by gunmen. No group takes responsibility.

— April 5: A senior British diplomat and BBC officials meet Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas to push for Johnston’s release, the first of several meetings between British diplomats and Hamas officials about Johnston. It is the first time British officials hold talks with Hamas officials in the Palestinian unity government, despite a Western boycott of the Islamic militant group.

— April 15: A previously unknown Palestinian group called “The Brigades of Tawheed of Jihad” says it killed Johnston. The BBC and Palestinian government say there is no evidence to back up the claim.

— April 17: Palestinian journalists in Gaza demonstrate to demand Palestinian security do more to win Johnston’s release.

— April 19: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says his intelligence services confirmed that Johnston is alive and that he knows which group is holding him.

— May 9: A shadowy militant group calling itself “The Army of Islam” says it is holding Johnston and posts a photo of his identity card on an Al Qaeda-linked Web site. The group demands the release of a militant Islamic cleric linked to Al Qaeda who is held in a U.K. jail.

— June 1: Johnston appears in a video posted on an Islamic militant Web site, saying he has been treated well, and calling for the lifting of international sanctions against the Palestinian government.

— June 14: Hamas routs forces linked to Abbas’ Fatah Party and completes a military takeover of Gaza.

—June 15: Abbas fires Haniyeh. The Hamas rulers in Gaza refuse to relinquish power and pledge to release Johnston.

— June 25: A video shows Johnston wearing what appears to be an explosives belt and warns it will be detonated if an attempt is made to free him by force. He says the “situation is very serious.”

— July 2: Hamas arrests the Army of Islam’s spokesman to put pressure on Johnston’s kidnappers.

— July 3: Hamas forces surround the hideout where Johnston is held.

— July 4: Johnston is released.

CNN’s Zain Verjee examines the role of the US in the battle between Fatah and Hamas. Clearly the US has supported Fatah with arms and military training. At the same time the US has supported an Israeli blockade of the Palestinian Authority which has resulted in wide scale poverty among Palestinian people. The US then blackmailed EU and Arab countries to honor the blockade. All but Norway have obeyed.

CNN International

Aaron David Miller points out the very low credibility of the US in the region. He has never seen the situation more grim than it is today. “Everything in every corner of this region is heading south which will damage US interests”.

When the state department was asked about whether the 60 million dollars in military aid to Fatah contributed to the current violence they responded “we are not going to pay the rent for terrorism or for the rejection of Israel”

John Stewart should have a field day with that.

CNNI notes Palestinians fleeing Gaza will harm a future “Palestinian state.” Have they been drinking formaldahyde?:

CNNI fails to mention in its analysis that it’s Israel that closes the Rafah crossing.

Amira Hass notes in Ha’aretz:

Now [Hamas] will have full `military` control of the Gaza Strip. Will this bring relief to Gaza`s 1.4 million residents? Will it improve the health system and ensure employment for university graduates? Will it remove Israel`s land and sea blockade?

It may be assumed that the military takeover of Abbas` symbols of `sovereignty` will serve as an excuse for Israel to sever once and for all the remaining civilian and economic ties between the Gaza Strip and West Bank - a political process Israel started in 1991. Because Hamas, like its mirror image Fatah, has no coherent liberation or independence plan for Palestinians in this lifetime.

Israeli military historian Martin Van Creveld writes in the Forward, “Let Palestine Split into Two:”

Neither Fatah nor Hamas would be able to speak - or even claim to speak - for the Palestinian people as a whole. Unable to speak for the Palestinian people as a whole, each of the two will find it easier, if not to stop insisting on the right of return, at least to put it aside for the time being.

The fighting in Gaza is not pretty; divorces rarely are. In the long run, however, it is at least conceivable that the war of Palestinian against Palestinian will lead to the removal of the single most important obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace. If so, then perhaps the blood currently flowing is not being shed altogether in vain.

by Asa Winstanley

As a new contributer this site, I thought that a good way to start would be to go through interesting videos in the backlog of old clips. This one is from CNN back in December 2, 2006 of Jimmy Carter defending his book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. It’s still worth watching — a good one for sharing with friends who don’t know the basics of the situation maybe.

I’m not a fan of Jimmy Carter (or politicians in general for that matter), but these days he has, in some respects, began to tell it like it is regarding Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories. The furious reaction of the political elite the US to his book — in which it seems he simply tells some basic truths — was instructive.

In the clip he says that “there is zero debate in this country about this issue and that’s what I hope to change.” An admirable and much-needed goal, to be sure. And the good thing about Carter speaking about this issue is that he gets mainstream attention in the US.

I have not read his book, but aparently it is not without its flaws — and not the fake “errors” its Zionists critics allege. Likewise, Carter makes at least one questionable statement in the clip:

“Inside Israel it is a wonderful democracy with everyone treated the same, Arabs and Jews…”

I don’t think Palestinian citizens of Israel would tend to agree with that…

The primary coverage of this story in the US, came only from Democracy Now

Why isn’t this news??
Robert Naiman addresses the issue on the Huffington Post

…There’s nothing on the web sites of the New York Times, the Washington Post, or the Los Angeles Times, not even a wire story.

Those who blame the Palestinian people for their fate, attributing it to Palestinian violence, and faulting the Palestinians for not emulating Gandhi, King, or Mandela (whose role in the “armed struggle” is always conveniently elided for the purpose of this comparison) should periodically ask themselves, when Palestinians do engage in nonviolent protest, and are subjected to brutal repression as a result, how come the mainstream U.S. media don’t pay any attention?

Mairead Maguire in an interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now

Maguire:
“I was invited with my friend to attend a nonviolent conference in Bilin, a village outside Ramallah [in the West Bank], and to give a talk there, which I did. At the end of the conference, we were invited to participate in a nonviolent demonstration with some of the Palestinian members of parliament and Israeli peace activists and local villagers and international visitors.”

“We walked along to try to walk up toward the separation wall, and it was a totally nonviolent protest. And we were viciously attacked by the Israeli military. They threw gas canisters into the peace walkers, and they also fired rubber-covered steel bullets.

“As I tried to move back and help a French lady, I was shot in the leg with a rubber-covered steel bullet, and the young Israeli soldier who shot me was only 20 meters from me. I was stunned by it, and then later on, after having some treatment by the ambulance medics, I went back down to the front line with the peace activists, and we were again showered with gas. I was overcome and had a severe nosebleed and had to be taken by stretcher to the ambulance and treated.”

“And I witnessed there … an old Palestinian man with blood on his face. These were over 25 unarmed peace people who had been viciously attacked by the Israeli military. And it was a completely peaceful protest. It was absolutely unbelievable. I never in all my years of activism witnessed anything so vicious as from the Israeli military.”

Ana Nogueira is an independent documentary filmmaker who has footage of Maguire being shot. www.imemc.org — the web page of the International Middle East Media Center.

Other Coverage in the United States:

Common Dreams
Israeli Military Shoots Nobel Peace Laureate

Kansas City Info Zine
Israeli Military Shoots Nobel Peace Laureate

Bay Area Indy Media
Irish Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire Shot With Rubber Bullet by Israeli Military at Nonviolent Protest

Visit Democracy Now for the entire interview with Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn on on a variety of issues.

Amy Goodman interviews Noam Chomsky, who accuses Alan Dershowitz of launching a “Jihad”, based on lies, to prevent Norman Finkelstein From obtaining tenure at Depaul University.

In an incredible contrast, the print media including the Internationsl Herald Tribune present the conflict between Dershowitz and Finkelstein as a “scholarly conflict, … to destroy each other’s professional reputation and career.”

It would be more accurate to say that Finkelstein exposes Dershowitz for the lying, plagiarizing, enemy of civil and human rights that he is. He does it carefully, methodically, with facts and with proof. Dershowitz responds by simply trying to malign Mr. Finkelstein and destroy his career with unsubstantiated, in fact easily dismissed, attacks.

part 1

Evidently Mr. Dershowitz has done the same thing to Noam Chomsky which is described here in part 2. Chomsky describes Dershowitz as a liar, even lying about an Israeli court decision. He also describes him as a supporter of atrocities and a passionate opponent of civil rights.

Part 2

Petition To Support A Fair Tenure Process for Dr. Norman Finkelstein:

Text of Petition:

To:
Dennis H. Holtschneider, President, DePaul University
Helmut P. Epp, Provost, DePaul University
and the
Trustees, Deans, Faculty and Students of DePaul University

We are deeply concerned about reports of outside interference into the
tenure and promotion case of Dr. Norman Finkelstein, and that as a
result he may not be awarded tenure from DePaul University.

One such report is:
Harvard Law Professor Works to Disrupt Tenure Bid of Longtime Nemesis at DePaul U.
By Jennifer Howard, The Chronicle of Higher Education
April 5, 2007

We value Dr. Finkelstein’s scholarship, his public talks and debates, and his well-argued, fact-based critiques of issues relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In our opinion, his association with DePaul University has enhanced DePaul University’s reputation.

We understand his department has recommended tenure. We will be troubled if Dr. Finkelstein is denied tenure and will be concerned about the integrity of the tenure process at DePaul University.

We support a fair tenure process for Dr. Finkelstein.