[Reader-list] The West Bank rises up against war in Gaza

[Asit Das]

The West Bank rises up against war in Gaza
July 30, 2014

With the world's eyes focused on Gaza's and Israel's barbaric offensive,
the eruption of resistance in the West Bank has gone largely
unnoticed--though the latest spasm of Israeli violence began in the West
Bank with the Israel Defense Forces operation, called Operation Brother's
Keeper, in response to the disappearance of three settler boys.

Kelly Lynn is an independent journalist and photographer from Vancouver,
Wash., and a regular contributor to Mondoweiss.net
<http://mondoweiss.net/author/kelly-lynn> and other sites. For the last
three years, she has traveled back and forth to Palestine to report on
resistance to Israeli occupation and apartheid. Currently, she is based in
the Aida refugee camp near Bethlehem in the West Bank. Last week, she
talked toSarah Levy about Israel's escalating repression, and the rising
tide of protest in the West Bank.

[image: Palestinians in the West Bank run from an Israeli bombardment of
tear gas (Kelly Lynn)]Palestinians in the West Bank run from an Israeli
bombardment of tear gas (Kelly Lynn)

WHAT'S BEEN taking place in the West Bank?

PROTESTS IN the West Bank have significantly escalated, but this isn't
coming out of nowhere. They've been building since Operation Brother's
Keeper. There aren't enough journalists to cover all of the night raids and
incursions by soldiers where they have destroyed homes. Something like
2,400 homes were searched, and many things were destroyed.

I have been working on stories about night raids in different refugee
camps--in the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem and the Al-Arroub camp
between Bethlehem and Hebron--which were bigger and unprecedented compared
to the last raids. Soldiers were present in the camps from around 11 p.m.
until sunrise, firing tear gas, sound grenades and even live ammunition.

Several people were wounded by live ammunition. One man was arrested after
he was shot in the leg and pushed from a roof in the camp. Two boys were
hit by jeeps during the clashes, and there was an old woman who had a heart
attack in her home and died because soldiers did not allow her to leave to
get medical attention. They also cut the power in Al-Arroub camp.

And this is all before the murder of Mohammad Abu Khdeir
<http://socialistworker.org/2014/07/08/the-terror-state-lashes-out>. So
people were already trying to respond to the night raids, and since
Mohammad Abu Khdeir's funeral, there have been clashes in more villages
than I can keep track. It's the holy month of Ramadan, so people stop
fasting at 8 p.m., and usually after that in many villages, the youth will
go out to protest and demonstrate against the Israel military in solidarity
with Gaza and against the occupation.

The "shebab"--the young people of Palestine--are very much of the mindset
that Gaza and the West Bank are one. We are definitely at a high point in
the violence as soldiers are pretty consistently opening fire with live
ammunition on these demonstrations across the West Bank.

A few days ago, three people were killed in Beit Omar. Mind you, those men
were all older, including one Children International employee who was shot
in the back. They weren't even throwing stones--they were just present at
the protests. When I went to the funeral of the three, soldiers tried to
disperse it with live ammunition four different times after it turned into
a clash.

HOW MANY people attended the funeral?

THERE WERE thousands, maybe 4,000. And Beit Omar is small--only 20,000
people live in that village. They had the funeral procession, and it turned
into a clash in which lots of shebab threw stones at the main sniper tower
near the entrance to the town.

There weren't any soldiers in the tower, so they were able to continue to
throw rocks and started burning a little walled-off area in front of it
that has a water tank for soldiers and stuff. They threw tires, and they
threw a gas tank that exploded. I had never seen anything like it.

After about 20 minutes, soldiers fired some tear gas, and then a jeep came
up, and those soldiers started firing live ammunition at us, so we ran.
Then soldiers came to the main street of Beit Omar again, and fired on the
crowd three more times. We ran, and no casualties were reported.

This kind of thing is becoming normal.

I've been out on Hebron Road, which is the main street in Bethlehem, almost
every night since July 4, which is when the protests in solidarity with
Gaza and after Abu Khdeir's funeral began. At least 25 young men and
teenagers have been shot in the leg with live ammunition. Soldiers aim for
the knee to cause the most damage, and because it requires the longest
recovery time. They usually shoot during a lull, when there isn't any stone
throwing, so they can take careful aim.

Clashes are taking place in all of the big cities, but also all the small
villages. On July 24, the largest protests since the Second Intifada took
place in Ramallah, with tens of thousands marching toward Jerusalem. One
was killed by Israeli troops.

And so it's happening everywhere, and it's absolutely an uprising of some
sort, but it's still a question of how long it's going to continue.
Everyone that I talk to doesn't think it will calm down, they think it will
continue to escalate, especially if the use of live ammunition is becoming
a norm in these protests, and if Gaza continues to burn.

In the same way that Gazans don't want a cease-fire that doesn't address
the living hell that they experience under the Israeli blockade, the people
of the West Bank don't want the clashes and demos and actions to be quelled
without addressing the occupation and apartheid policies that they face.
People seem ready for some sort of unprecedented change. I mean, they're
always ready for change--but I think they're ready to make the sacrifice in
terms of an uprising.

WHY IS this happening now?

I THINK it was a perfect storm. The kidnapping of the settlers was
definitely one factor. I really don't know what to think--if it was a
botched kidnapping or something else. I met the family of one of the two
main suspects. Their houses were bombed, basically--explosives were set off
inside them.

The man's wife was eight months pregnant, and they left their cell phones
at home--which actually makes sense in terms of tracking. But the details
are so fishy, and I still haven't seen any autopsy of the three settlers,
so most people in the West Bank are very skeptical of that. People have
told me that there has been a fake kidnapping before in order to escalate
things.

A lot of what happened in the wake of the kidnapping--what Israel called
Operation Brother's Keeper--was planned in advance, and the violence that
came out of the operation has merged with the violence in Gaza. So there
has been a sort of symmetry in Gaza and the West Bank in terms of
experiencing violence from Israel.

I think this symmetry is different when compared to Operation Cast Lead and
Operation Pillar of Defense. During those operations, people in the West
Bank acted in solidarity with Gaza, but this time the West Bank is
defending itself too.

The murder of Mohammad Abu Khdeir murder was so gruesome, so that also
contributed to the outrage people here feel. And I think that fascism and
the fascist groups in Israel are getting organized. I don't know how that's
directly linked, but I think that people feel the racism and how normalized
it's getting.

Social media has also created unprecedented access to the situation in
Gaza. I think it was pretty similar to Cast Lead and Pillar of Defense, but
there's been reports of longtime activists in Gaza, whose heads are
spinning because it's even worse than any previous operation. There isn't a
single space that they haven't bombed. There is nothing sacred for the
Israeli military--schools, hospitals, press offices, homes, cemeteries,
churches, they have been shelled and bombed indiscriminately.

REPORTS FROM Gaza indicate that people want an end to the bombing, but
crucially also an end to the siege. What is the main demand in the West
Bank?

AN END to the occupation, dismantling of the separation wall, and opening
up the borders. But refugees want it all--they want to be able to go home.
The changes might come incrementally, but people are demanding a full
spectrum of justice, and I think they're very much willing to have that
incrementally--but it's very clear what people want. They want an end to
Israeli occupation and apartheid.

WHAT ABOUT the Palestinian Authority (PA)? How have they been reacting to
the escalation of Israeli violence, and what do ordinary Palestinians think
of their leadership?

THEY'VE BEEN getting a lot of bad press in terms of how security forces are
trying to stop a lot of these demonstrations, and people are not having
that.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas and his family left the West Bank for Jordan.
When Palestine needs its leadership the most, he left, and I think that for
those who still support him, this might be the last straw. I think there
will be a change in the PA leadership very soon. One thing that I'm really
waiting to see is how Fatah and the PA manage this escalation and this
uprising.

It's important to make a distinction between people who align with Fatah as
a political party, and the PA leadership who run Fatah. Most of the camp
that I live in is Fatah-aligned, but most aren't supportive of Mahmoud
Abbas. I have friends who are in PA security and run the civil
administration of the West Bank--the schools, the hospitals and so forth. A
lot of people are employed by the PA, so this also ties people to the PA in
various ways.

I would say that most Palestinians are not wild about the PA leadership,
and they haven't been for a long time. What we're going through now may end
up being a turning point. It's ludicrous that the PA is calling for an
uprising while they send their soldiers to quell these demos. It's just
silly.

To me, it feels like when Obama said during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution,
"We're with the Egyptian people." After there was a massacre and after it
was starting to look really bad, he said that the U.S. supports the
movement for democracy in Egypt--but the U.S. at the same time was sending
tear gas and other military hardware to the Egyptian regime. And of course,
for decades, the U.S. had been one of Mubarak's chief backers.

IS THERE much in the way of organization and leadership on the ground
beyond Fatah and Hamas?

THERE ARE the popular struggle coordination committees, which are a network
of various activists and leaders all over the West Bank in different
villages. A lot of them organize protests every Friday in villages like
Bilin, Nebi Saleh, Nilin, Al Masra, Bethlehem.

The PA has arrested youth in Bethlehem--teenagers and people in their 20s
protesting in the last week--for throwing stones. And then they are
"interrogated." The PA gets orders--they talk directly with the Israeli
military. I think it's becoming common knowledge how they work
together--that the PA takes orders from Israel.

In late July, when there was a very large demonstration in Bethlehem, the
PA came out and literally marched in front of the sniper tower and the
military gate that opens up onto the main road--the same area where the
shebab have been going to protest every single day. It was sickening.

We marched from here a half mile to the barricade, and they were in full
riot gear. We pushed through the first barricade pretty easily, and we made
it to the gate. Immediately, the Israeli soldiers fired some tear gas and
some sound bombs, and people dispersed. Then they regrouped.

For about 15 minutes, the crowd clashed with the Israeli military and
border police, and then during kind of a quiet moment, we saw them line up
down near the gate and the sniper tower, and they came in a line and
started marching in a line toward everyone. Then pretty quickly, shebab
started throwing stones at them. They threw at least two Molotov cocktails
at them as well, and they had shields and they were marching towards us.

The shebab continued to throw stones, and then they confronted the PA. It
was really chaotic--people were screaming. And you could tell that there
was a visceral sort of anger at the fact that Gaza is burning; Bethlehem is
trying to protest; and it's the PA that is keeping them from doing that.

Some of the older activists there are Fatah, and so they talked with the PA
soldiers and tried to stop the stone-throwing from the shebab. They formed
a human chain around them, and sent them home. The clashes continued for
another few hours with the Israeli military. The PA has only come out a few
times--two or three nights--to stop the protests here.

WHERE DO you see the protests going?

THERE HAS been some amazing creativity that I hope to see more of. In Beit
El, which is a really large settlement near Ramallah, they have the Israeli
civil administration, which is responsible for issuing Area C
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Bank_Areas_in_the_Oslo_II_Accord#Area_C>
building
permits. Activists cut the power lines to the settlement in order to
disrupt the lives of the occupiers. I've heard other activists talking
about resistance of this sort. The point is not to kill settlers but to
disrupt their status quo.

I get the sense that there are a lot of activists on the ground that have
lived through the second Intifada--and some through the first Intifada,
too--and are looking to try some new strategies. In the last year and a
half, for example, Palestinian activists have been reoccupying villages and
setting up camp--in Ein Hijleh and Bab al-Shams.

There have also been smaller actions to destroy the infrastructure of
occupation that haven't received any press. They have punched holes in the
wall, and here in Aida refugee camp where I live, they've been doing that
for over a year now.

It's incredible what teenagers can come up with when they have a wall
around them. They figured out that if you burn tires up against concrete,
and add water, and keep burning it, it will melt the concrete. They also
used a sledgehammer and drilled a hole right down the street from me. They
know how to destroy this stuff, and they're very interested in destroying
it.

HOW DO the Israelis react to this? Does the destruction of infrastructure
usually result in clashes?

IT USUALLY is part of a clash or results in one. Here in the camp, soldiers
will conduct night raids and arrest Palestinians for that very thing.

After they burned part of the wall near the sniper tower, soldiers raided
that camp every night following the most recent bout and arrested at least
five or six people, if not more. And they also removed the piece of the
wall that was damaged and replaced it with a new piece--in broad daylight.
That night, the shebab were already burning it again.

At the reclaimed village of Ein Hijleh, I saw activists from places that I
had reported on during the 10 months I've spent in Palestine since 2011.
Now, these activists are rubbing elbows with each other--the Bedouins, the
Tamimi family and the leader of the popular struggle committee that lives
three doors down. These activists, who are really strong activists in their
respective communities, are meeting each other, and now I see them
beginning to come together.

WHAT DO Palestinians in the West Bank want the world to know about what's
going on?

THEY WANT people to know that the West Bank and Gaza are one. They want
people to know that though it may be getting more news coverage, these
atrocities have been happening since 1948. Refugees want people to know
where they come from and where they want to go home to, and that the
occupation is like a slow death, and it can't continue.

THE DEPTH of psychological trauma--from losing loved ones as well as being
indiscriminately targeted--is hard to fathom. How do people address this?

THERE ARE some programs in place, most of them for kids, like music
programs or summer camps, so that kids can have fun and not be thinking
about soldiers in their houses at night.

In Gaza, Israel kills entire families--or 12 or 20 members of a family. How
would you not want to do something or to commit heinous acts of violence in
return? I think it's just something that we need to focus on as we move
closer toward the end of Israeli occupation and apartheid, ethnic cleansing
and the siege. There is such a comprehensive sense of trauma here, and a
comprehensive mental health program in Palestine will be necessary.

HOW DO people tend to view the international community in regard to their
own liberation?

PEOPLE KNOW that the U.S. is tied to Israel and how much the U.S. supports
it. And it's the height of hypocrisy for the U.S. to be a supposed bastion
of human rights, and yet obstruct a UN investigation into what's unfolding
in Gaza.

I think people understand these dynamics very clearly, and they have great
capacity to separate a person from their government, which is what they do
with me every single day. They want us to hold our government accountable
for what's happening to them because they know it's our money that is
buying the weapons that are being fired at them every night.

WHAT IF anything gives you hope?

PALESTINIANS' ABILITY to not only survive, but even thrive in certain ways
under occupation and under apartheid is remarkable.

That might sound bleak, but it is amazing to see. Everyone who comes here
just wants to come back and stay, and even though it is under occupation.
It's like a glittering piece of magic in a sea of oppression, and so I
think there's a strength in that--and that whole mood, that steadfastness,
that will never leave Palestine.

There will never ever not be resistance to occupation and oppression. It
reminds of Martin Luther King's words: The arc of history is long, but it
bends toward justice.

I do think Palestinians believe that this can't possibly go on forever, and
right now, the sense of people I've talked to is that they're ready for an
uprising, ready to protest and risk their lives. People are ready, and that
gives me hope.

Since this has been going on so long, I get a sense that people have
absorbed the history of the Intifadas. A lot of people at first thought
that the Oslo Accords would help, but now see it was a disaster. I get the
sense that people have learned this time around.

Palestinians will always resist, they will always oppose occupation and
apartheid. This is yet another chapter in the history that will one day end
oppression and colonialism in Palestine.
Labor must stand for Gaza
July 30, 2014

As Israel's war on Gaza continues, with more than 1,000 Palestinian killed
already, most of them civilians, Labor for Palestine is urging labor
activists and unions in the U.S. to speak out. In the statement printed
below, more than 200 labor activists call on the U.S. government to cut
ties with Israel--and fellow workers to take action to show their
solidarity with Palestine. The statement is a response to a July 20 call
from Palestinian trade unions and other organizations
<http://www.bdsmovement.net/StopArmingIsrael>that states in part: "We call
on the UN and governments across the world to take immediate steps to
implement a comprehensive and legally binding military embargo on Israel,
similar to that imposed on South Africa during apartheid."

Included with the statement below is a model resolution for unionists to
present to their unions for support. Labor activists can sign the Labor for
Palestine petition by clicking here
<https://www.change.org/petitions/afl-cio-change-to-win-workers-everywhere-trade-unionists-say-stop-the-war-on-gaza-no-arms-for-apartheid-israel-boycott-divestment-and-sanctions>
.

*"We call on the UN and governments across the world to take immediate
steps to implement a comprehensive and legally binding military embargo on
Israel, similar to that imposed on South Africa during apartheid."*
-- Palestinian Trade Unions and Civil Society, "Stop Arming Israel,"
<http://www.bdsmovement.net/StopArmingIsrael> July 20, 2014

*"For the sake of the hundreds of thousands trembling under our violence, I
cannot be silent."*
-- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "Beyond Vietnam,"
<http://www.aavw.org/special_features/speeches_speech_king01.html> April 4,
1967

[image: Labor for Palestine]

AS WORKERS and trade unionists, we join withPalestinian trade unions
<http://laborforpalestine.net/2014/07/12/urgent-call-from-gaza-civil-society-act-now/>,
the Congress of South African Trade Unions
<http://laborforpalestine.net/2014/07/10/cosatu-statement-on-israel-bombings-of-gaza-do-unto-apartheid-israel-what-you-did-to-apartheid-south-africa/>
, Unite (UK/Ireland)
<http://laborforpalestine.net/2014/07/11/unite-ukireland-statement-of-solidarity-with-the-palestinian-people/>,
andlabor organizations around the world <http://laborforpalestine.net/> to
urgently condemn Israel's barbaric war on Gaza, which has taken thousands
of lives since 2006, including many hundreds in recent weeks.

With them, we stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people against more
than a century of Zionist colonialism, dispossession, ethnic cleaning,
racism, apartheid and genocide--including Israel's very establishment
through the uprooting and displacement of over 750,000 Palestinians during
the 1947-48 Nakba. Indeed, 80 percent of the 1.8 million people sealed into
Gaza are refugees.

With them, we support boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS)
<http://www.bdsmovement.net/>, which demands an end to Israeli military
occupation of the 1967 territories; full equality for Palestinian citizens
of Israel; and the right of return for Palestinian refugees, as affirmed by
UN resolution 194.

Therefore:

-- We call on the U.S. government and its allies to end all aid to Israel
<http://www.bdsmovement.net/2014/military-embargo-fact-sheet-12345>.

-- We call on workers to emulate dockers in South Africa, India, Sweden,
Norway, Turkey, the U.S. West Coast and elsewhere
<http://laborforpalestine.net/2010/07/10/blockade-dockers-respond-to-israel-flotilla-massacre-and-gaza-siege/>,
by refusing to handle military or any other cargo destined for Israel.

-- We call on labor bodies to divest from Israel Bonds
<http://laborforpalestine.net/2011/06/07/sign-on-stop-scabbing-for-apartheid/>,
and cut ties with the Histadrut
<http://laborforpalestine.net/labor-for-palestine-briefings/labor-zionism-and-the-histadrut/>,
Israel's racist labor federation. (See model resolution, below.)

*Initial Signers*
(List in formation; affiliation shown for identification only; * indicates
Labor for Palestine co-conveners)

*Labor Bodies*:

*North Carolina Public Service Workers Union-UE Local 150Unite Union, New
Zealand*

*Individuals*
**Suzanne Adely*, U.S.-MENA Global Labor Solidarity Network; Former Staff,
Global Organizing Institute, UAW
**Monadel Herzallah*, former member, Arab American Union Members Council,
San Francisco, Calif.
**Michael Letwin*, former President, Association of Legal Aid Attorneys/UAW
Local 2325; co-founder, Jews for Palestinian Right of Return, New York City
Labor Against the War; U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott
of Israel
*Prof. Rabab Abdulhadi*, California Faculty Association, San Francisco
State University
*Judith Ackerman*, 1199SEIU, AFT, UFT, AFTRA, SAG, New York, N.Y.
*Larry Adams*, former President, NPMHU Local 300; co-founder, New York City
Labor Against the War; People's Organization for Progress
*Joseph Agonito*, former President, Local 1845-NYSUT, AFT
*Bina Ahmad*, ALAA/UAW Local 2325, New York City Legal Aid Society
*Sameerah Ahmad*, Executive Director, Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center;
former member, GEO/UAW Local 2322
*Faiz Ahmed*, Chairperson/président Canadian Union of Public Employees
Local 3903
*Tanya Akel*, IBT Local 2010, AFT Local 1521
*Noha Arafa*, ALAA/UAW Local 2325, New York City Legal Aid Society
*Anthony Arnove*, National Writers Union/UAW Local 1981, Brooklyn, N.Y.
*B. Ross Ashley*, SEIU Local 204 (retired), Toronto, Ontario
*John Bail*, National Director, Pacific Region Canadian Union of Postal
Workers
*Harry Baker*, Former Executive Board member, SEIU Local 1021, North
Carolina
*Sarah Barker*, Organizer, New Zealand Nurses Organization
*Julia Barnett*, Steward, CUPS, Local 79
*Thomas F. Barton*, Local 768, DC 37, AFSCME
*Bill Bateman*, Laborers Local 271; Coordinator, Rhode Island Unemployed
Council, Rhode Island Campaign for Work and Wages
*Richard Berg*, Past President, IBT Local 743
*Michael Billeaux*, Co-President, Teaching Assistants' Association/AFT
Local 3220, Madison, Wis.
*Walter Birdwell*, Retired Steward, National Association of Letter
Carriers, Branch 283
*Richard Blake*, IBT Local 512, Jacksonville, Fla.
*Dana Blanchard*, Berkeley Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 1078
*Dave Bleakney*, National Union Representative, CUPW, Ottowa, Ontario
*Rebecca Bor*, Chicago Teachers Union, AFT Local 1
*Alexandra Bradbury*, Co-editor, *Labor Notes*
*Larry Bradshaw*, Vice President SEIU Local 1021, San Francisco
*Gloria Brandman*, UFT/New York City-MORE Caucus
*Deena Brazy*, Steward/VP, AFSCME Local 60, Madison, Wis.
*Tibby Brooks*, National Writers Union/UAW Local 1981
*Gene Bruskin*, Founder, U.S. Labor Against the War
*Gabriel Camacho*, UNITE HERE Local 66L Cambridge, Mass.
*Chris Carlsson*, Co-Director, Shaping San Francisco; SEIU Local 1021;
adjunct faculty, San Francisco Art Institute
*Nora Carroll*, ALAA/UAW Local 2325, New York City Legal Aid Society
*David Chavez*, UAW Local 2865, University of California at Riverside
*Edward Childs*, Chief Steward, UNITE-HERE Local 26
*Jan Clausen*, Goddard College faculty; UAW Local 2322 Liaison to U.S.
Labor Against the War, New York City Chapter
*Mary Clinton*, Organizer, CWA District 1
*L. Antonia Codling*, Alt. Vice President and former Representative,
Attorneys of Color of Legal Aid, ALAA/UAW Local 2325, New York City Legal
Aid Society
*Len Cooper*, Victorian Secretary, Communication Workers Union, Australia
*Krista Local Cortes*, Unit Chair, UAW Local 2865, University of California
at Berkeley
*Heather Cottin*, Professional Staff Congress, New York City
*Mike Cushman*, Membership Secretary, London School of Economics,
University and College Union branch (UCU)
*Denise D'Anne*, SEIU Local 1021
*Joe Davies*, Organizer, Southern Local Government Officers Union,
Christchurch, New Zealand
*Warren Davis*, Executive Vice President (Retired), AFGE Local 2006,
Philadelphia
*Richard Deaton*, Ph.D., LL.B., Asst. Director of Research, Canadian Union
of Public Employees (CUPE) (retired)
*Francisco Martin del Campo*, Head Steward, UAW Local 2685, University of
California at Berkeley Unit
*Jacob Denz*, GSOC/UAW Local 2110; NYU; Brooklyn, N.Y.
*Roger Dittmann*, PhD, former Secretary, United Professors of California
*Monique Dols*, UFT, New York City
*Greg Dropkin*, Unison; Liverpool Friends of Palestine, United Kingdom
*Tim Dubnau*, Organizing Coordinator, CWA District One
*Arla S. Ertz*, SEIU Local 1021 San Francisco
*Shelley Ettinger*, AFT Local 3882, New York City
*Mark Evard*, National Director, Canadian Union of Postal Workers, Ottawa,
Ontario
*Mikos Fabersunne*, Professional Engineers in California Government
(retired)
*Jessica Feldman*, UAW Local 2110, New York City
*Chris Ferlazzo*, Portland Jobs with Justice
*Prof. Mary E. Finn*, Ph. D., United University Professionals, State
University of New York at Buffalo
*Prof. Patrick J. Finn*, Ph. D., United University Professionals, State
University of New York at Buffalo
*Gord Fischer*, National Director, CUPW Prairie Region, Winnipeg, Manitoba
*Jon Flanders*, past President, IAM 1145
*Prof. Manzar Foroohar*, former Chapter President, California Faculty
Association-Cal Poly
*Sheena Foster*, Global Labour University Alumni
*Andre Francois*, Recording Secretary, USW Local 8751
*Carol Gay*, President, N.J. State Industrial Union Council
*Maxine Gay*, Retail Finance and Commerce Secretary, FIRST Union New Zealand
*Carl Gentile*, National Representative, American Federation of Government
Employees
*Christine Geovanis* National Writers Union/UAW Local 1981
*Alborz Ghandehari*, Recording Secretary, San Diego Unit, UAW Local 2865
(University of California Student-Worker Union)
*Hadi Gharabaghi*, GSOC-UAW Local 2110; Cinema Studies, New York University
*Steve Gillis*, Vice President, USW Local 8751 (Boston School Bus Drivers'
Union)
*Mike Gimbel*, Chairperson, Labor/Community Unity Committee, Local 375,
AFSCME
*Greg Giorgio*, Delegate, Upstate N.Y. Regional Branch, Industrial Workers
of the World
*Nathan Goldbaum*, Member Communications Coordinator, Chicago Teachers
Union, AFT Local 1
*Marty Goodman*, former Executive Board member, Transport Workers Union
Local 100
*Erik Green*, UAW Local 2865, Financial Secretary, Santa Cruz CA
*Ira Grupper*, Delegate (retired), Greater Louisville (KY) Central Labor
Council, BCTGM Local 16T
*Maria Guillen*, SEIU Local 1021
*Gabriel Haaland*, CWA Local 9404
*Jesse Hagopian*, Seattle Education Association/NEA
*Denise Hammond*, Unifor 591 G
*David Heap*, University of Western Ontario Faculty Association
*Jenny Heinz*, 1199SEIU
*Stanley Heller*, 40-year AFT member, West Haven, Conn., now AFT 933
(retired)
*Lucy Herschel*, Delegate, 1199SEIU, New York City
*Fred Hirsch*, Vice President, Plumbers and Fitters Local 393, San Jose,
Calif.
*Michael Hirsch*, National Writers Union/UAW Local 1981
*Bridgett Holloman*, 1199SEIU, Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn, N.Y.
*Alexandra Holmstrom-Smith*, Chair, UCLA Unit, UAW Local 2865 (University
of California Student-Worker Union)
*Jim Holstun*, UUP Buffalo Center Chapter, NYSUT, AFT
*Evert Hoogers*, National Union Rep., CUPW (retired)
*Cherrene Horazuk*, President, AFSCME Local 3800
*Jonathan House*, President (1979-1981), Executive Director (1982-1989),
Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU
*Sean Howard*, Shop Steward, IBT Local 559, Hartford, Conn.
*Janet Hudgins*, CUPE (retired)
*Ren-yo Hwang*, Senior Vice President, UAW 2865, Los Angeles
*Joe Iosbaker*, Executive Board, SEIU Local 73
*Malathi Iyenga*, San Diego Unit Chair, UAW Local 2865
*Joe Jamison*, TWU Local 100 (retired)
*James Jordan*, National Co-Coordinator, Alliance for Global Justice
*Michael P. Kaehler*, President, APWU Local 647, Saint Cloud, Minn., area
*Marianne Kaletzky*, Head Steward, UAW Local 2865 Berkeley, Calif.
*Dan Kaplan*, Executive Secretary, AFT Local 1493, San Mateo Community
College Federation of Teachers
*Jim Kaplan*, former member, Somerville Teachers Association, Mass.
*Wendy Kaufmyn*, Executive Board, AFT Local 2121 (faculty union of City
College of San Francisco)
*Brian Kelly*, UCU Belfast (formerly Carpenters Local 33 Boston and IUMSWA
Local 25 East Boston)
*Sue Kelly*, OPEIU Local 334 (retired)
*Russell Kilday-Hicks*, Vice President, California State Employees
Association
*Ed Kinchley*, San Francisco Committee on Political Education; Co-chair,
SEIU Local 1021, San Francisco
*John Kirkland*, Carpenters Local 1462, Bucks County, Pa.
*Steve Kirschbaum*, Grievance Committee Chair, USW Local 8751
*David Klein*, California Faculty Association
*Jeff Klein*, Retired President, NAGE/SEIU Local R1-168
*Cindy Klumb*, OPEIU Local 153
*Richard Koritz*, Former President, NALC Branch 630, Greensboro, N.C.
*Dennis Kortheuer*, California Faculty Association
*Bud Korotzer*, Shop Steward, AFSCME District Council 37, Local 371
(retired)
*Daniella Korotzer*, Former Vice President and Health and Safety
Representative, ALAA/UAW Local 2325, New York City Legal Aid Society
*Francine Korotzer*, Shop Steward, AFSCME District Council 37, Local 2054
(retired)
*Dennis Kosuth*, Shop Steward, Convention Delegate, National Nurses
Organizing Committee, National Nurses United
*Rebecca Kurti*, 1199SEIU
*Elizabeth Lalasz*, Steward and Bargaining Team Representative, National
Convention Delegate, District 13, National Nurses Organizing
Committee/National Nurses Unites (NNOC/NNU)
*Zoe Lawlor*, Unite Teacher, University of Limerick, Ireland
*Howard Lenow*, American Jews For A Just Peace, trade union lawyer
*Kristin Lew*, 1199SEIU
*Stephen Lewis*, SEIU Local 509
*Joe Lombardo*, CSEA Local 999, Troy Area Labor Council
*Marsha Love*, UALE, Chicago
*Michael Lyon*, AFT Local 2121 (retiree)
*John McColgan*, SENA 9158, United Steelworkers of America
*Maureen McDermott*, UFT, New York City
*Henry Maar*, Trustee, UAW Local 2865
*Amir M. Maasoumi*, former Member, Federation des travailleurs du Quebec
(FTQ)
*Shafeah M'Balia*, National Association of Letter Carriers, Greenville,
N.C., Branch 1729; Black Workers For Justice
*Cindy McCallum Miller*, President, Castlegar Local Canadian Union of
Postal Workers, British Columbia
*Edward Miller*, Strategic Adviser, FIRST Union, Auckland, New Zealand
*Gail Miller*, UFT, New York City
*Nathaniel Miller*, Industrial Workers of the World
*Susan Olivia Morris*, Alternate Vice President, ALAA/UAW Local 2325, New
York City Legal Aid Society
*Irene Morrison*, Recording Secretary, UAW 2865, University of California
at Riverside
*Hlokoza Motau*, National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA),
Johannesburg, South Africa
*Kenneth Myers*, United Federation of Teachers, New York City
*Ken Nash*, AFSCME Local 1930, DC 37
*Lisa North*, AFT Local 2, Brooklyn, N.Y.
*Raquel Pacheco*, UAW Local 2865, San Diego, Calif.
*Meredith Palmer*, Head Steward, UAW Local 2865, University of California
at Berkeley
*Jackson Pitts*, Head Steward, UAW Local 2865, University of California at
Riverside
*Maria Pizarro*, AFSCME Local 2081
*Marion Pollack*, retiree, Vancouver, British Columbia
*Jay Poppa*, Vice President, Bridgeport Education Association, Bridgeport,
Conn.
*Dr. Anna Potempska*, PhD, PEF (retired), N.Y.
*Andre' Powell*, AFSCME Delegate, Baltimore Central Labor Council
*Peter Rachleff*, Labor Educator; UALE
*Natasha Raheja*, Bargaining Committee, GSOC-UAW Local 2110, New York City
*Melissa Rakestraw*, Executive Board and Shop Steward, National Association
of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 825, Oakbrook, Ill.
*Croft Randle*, Retired Local Officer and Provincial Representative,
Telecommunications Workers Union, British Columbia, Canada
*Ben Ratliffe*, Steward, AFSCME Local 60, Wis.
*Dominic Renda*, Chief Shop Steward, CWA Local 1105
*Eric Robson*, Steward and Trustee, AFSCME Local 171, Madison, Wis.
*Marco Antonio Rosales*, Unit Chair, UAW Local 2865, University of
California at Davis
*Mimi Rosenberg*, ALAA/UAW Local 2325, New York City Legal Aid Society
*Keith Rosenthal*, AFSCME Local 3650, Somerville, Mass.
*Prof. Emerita Marguerite G. Rosenthal*, Massachusetts State College
Association/Mass. Education Assn./NEA
*Andrew Ross*, AAUP, New York University
*Janice Rothstein*, AFSCME Local 3299, San Francisco
*Christina Rousseau*, CUPE 3903, Toronto, Ontario
*David Russitano*, Executive Board, United Educators of San Francisco,
AFT/CFT Local 61
*Gillian Russom*, Board of Directors, United Teachers Los Angeles, AFT
Local 1021
*Carl Sack*, AFT Local 3220, UW-Madison Teaching Assistants' Association
*Keith Sadler*, UAW Local 2, Toledo, Ohio
*Lauren Schaeffer*, Head Steward, UAW Local 2865, Los Angeles
*Charity Schmidt*, former Co-President, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Teaching Assistants' Association (TAA)
*Robert M. Schwartz*, National Writers Union/UAW Local 1981, Boston
*Helen Scott*, United Academics AAUP/AFT Local 4996, Burlington, Vt.
*Mary Scully*, IUE-CWA Local 201 (retired)
*Snehal Shingavi*, Texas State Employees Union/CWA Local 6186, Austin, Texas
*Tyler Shipley*, CUPE Local 3903; Toronto, Ontario
*Ahmad Shirazi*, former Board Member, IATSE Local 700, New York City
*Sid Shniad*, Former Research Director, Telecommunications Workers Union,
Vancouver, British Columbia
*Jerry Silberman*, Senior Staff Representative, Pennsylvania Association of
Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals
*Lorrie Beth Slonsky*, SEIU Local 1021; Paramedic (retired)
*Larry Smallwood*, former Telecommunications Workers Union of Canada;
Volunteer President Local 7; human rights officer; union activist for
equity rights
*Nancy Snyder*, Recording Secretary Emeritus, SEIU Local 1021
*David Sole*, Past President, UAW Local 2334, Detroit
*Peter Spitzform*, AFT/AAUP, University of Vermont
*Brenda Stokely*, former President, AFSCME DC 1707; co-founder, New York
City Labor Against the War; Co-Chair, Million Worker March Movement
*Alan Stolzer*, Bakers Local 3 (retired)
*Susan Stout*, Unifor 2002, Canada (retired)
*Dante Strobino*, UE Local 150, North Carolina Public Service Workers
Union, Durham, N.C.
*Brian J. Sullivan*, LSSA/UAW Local 2320, New York City
*Rick Sullivan*, BC Retired Teachers' Association, Parksville, British
Columbia
*Lee Sustar*, NWU/UAW Local 1981; Chicago
*Alice Sturm Sutter*, NYSNA (retired), New York City
*Team Solidarity--the Voice of United School Bus Workers*
*Steve Terry*, ALAA/UAW Local 2325, New York City Legal Aid Society
*Clarence Thomas*, Co-Chair, Million Worker March; Executive Board, ILWU
Local 10
*Elizabeth Thornton*, Head Steward, UCLA Unit, UAW Local 2865 (University
of California Student-Workers Union)
*Joanne Tien*, Head Steward, UAW Local 2865, Oakland, Calif.
*Azalia Torres*, Former Executive Board Member, ALAA/UAW Local 2325, New
York City Legal Aid Society
*Mike Treen*, National Director, Unite Union, New Zealand
*Corey Uhl*, IBT Local 79, Tampa, Fla.
*Jaime Veve*, Transport Workers Union Local 100, New York City (retired)
*Nantina Vgontzas*, GSOC/UAW Local 2110, New York University
*Sabina Virgo*, Founding and Past President, AFSCME Local 2620
*Kay Local Walker*, SEIU Local 1021, San Francisco (retired)
*Peter Waterman*, Researcher/writer on labor internationalisms; ABVA-KABO,
the Hague, Netherlands
*Nancy Welch*, Delegate, UVM United Academics, AFT/AAUP
*Dave Welsh*, Delegate, San Francisco Labor Council
*Bruce Wolf*, Social Justice Committee, OPEIU Local 2
*Sherry Wolf*, CWA Local 1032
*Cynthia Wright*, CUPE 3903
*Garrett Wright*, National Organization of Legal Services Workers, UAW
Local 2320, New York City
*Eddie Yood*, CWA Local 1180 Liaison to U.S. Labor Against the War
*Carol F. Yost*, Organization of Staff Analysts, New York City (retired)
*Steve Zeltzer*, CWA Local 39521; Pacific Media Workers; KPFA WorkWeek Radio

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
*Labor for Palestine Model Resolution*

Whereas, Israel is committing yet another series of massacres in Gaza, many
victims of which include workers, children, entire families the elderly,
and the disabled; and

Whereas, Palestinian workers and their families continue to be killed and
maimed by naval vessels, jet fighters, Apache helicopters, white
phosphorous and other weapons supplied by the U.S. and its allies; and

Whereas, during 2009-2018, the U.S. government is set to provide military
aid to Israel worth $30 billion; and

Whereas, Israel claims of "self-defense" are a thinly disguised pretext for
more than a century of Zionist colonialism, dispossession, ethnic cleaning,
racism, and genocide against the Palestinian people--including Israel's
very establishment through the uprooting and displacement of over 750,000
Palestinians during the 1947-1948 Nakba. Indeed, 80 percent of the 1.8
million people sealed into Gaza are refugees; and

Whereas, veteran South African freedom fighters have observed that Israel's
treatment of Palestinians is "worse than apartheid"; and

Whereas, on July 12, 2014, Gaza civil society issued an urgent appeal for
solidarity, calling for an arms embargo and full boycott, divestment and
sanctions (BDS) against apartheid Israel, which demands an end to Israeli
military occupation of the 1967 territories; full equality for Palestinian
citizens of Israel; and the right of return for Palestinian refugees, as
affirmed by UN resolution 194; and

Whereas, on July 10, 2014, the Congress of South African Trade Unions
denounced the latest Israeli massacres in Gaza, and called "on the
international trade union movement, various civil society organizations,
international religious bodies and even business to speak out against
savagery and barbarism against fellow human beings"; and

Whereas, on July 11, 2014, Unite, the biggest union in the UK and Ireland,
stated that it "unreservedly condemns the continuing Israeli aggression
against the Palestinian people and calls for the military strikes and the
military build up to be halted immediately," and reiterated its support for
BDS; and

Whereas, the campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against
apartheid Israel has been endorsed by numerous labor bodies around the
world, including the trade union congresses of South Africa, Egypt, Brazil,
Ireland, Scotland and the UK, and labor bodies in Australia, France,
Canada, Norway, Catalunya, Italy, Spain and Turkey; and

Whereas, top U.S. labor officials nonetheless continues to invest billions
of from union members' pension funds in state of Israel bonds, a pillar of
apartheid that enjoys tax-exempt status from the U.S. government; and

Whereas, in opposing the Vietnam war, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. declared:
"For the sake of the hundreds of thousands trembling under our violence, I
cannot be silent"; and

Whereas, Nelson Mandela declared: "We know too well that our freedom is
incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians";

Therefore:

-- We call on the US government and its allies to end all aid to Israel
<http://www.bdsmovement.net/2014/military-embargo-fact-sheet-12345>.

-- We call on workers to emulate dockers in South Africa, India, Sweden,
Norway, Turkey, the U.S. West Coast and elsewhere
<http://laborforpalestine.net/2010/07/10/blockade-dockers-respond-to-israel-flotilla-massacre-and-gaza-siege/>,
by refusing to handle military or any other cargo destined for Israel.

-- We call on labor bodies to divest from Israel bonds
<http://laborforpalestine.net/2011/06/07/sign-on-stop-scabbing-for-apartheid/>,
and cut ties w

ith the Histadrut
<http://laborforpalestine.net/labor-for-palestine-briefings/labor-zionism-and-the-histadrut/>,
Israel's racist labor federation

.Over 70 Palestinians Killed In Gaza On Wednesday

*By Ma'an News Agency*

30 July, 2014
*Maannews.net* <http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=716949>

*GAZA CITY (Ma'an) *-- At least 70 Palestinians have been killed and 110
injured in Israeli attacks since midnight Wednesday on the 23rd day of the
Gaza offensive, according to the Ministry of Health.

In the most devastating attack, at least 16 people were killed when an
Israeli artillery shell hit a UN school in the northern Gaza Strip.

The shell struck Abu Hussein school in Jabaliya refugee camp, which was
sheltering hundreds of newly-displaced Palestinians.

In another attack later Wednesday morning, four Palestinian children and
three others, all from the Khalili family, were killed in an Israeli
shelling on the al-Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City.

The Israeli army said in a statement around 8:00 a.m. that it had targeted
"75 terror sites in the Gaza Strip" overnight.

The latest killings brought the number of dead since the start of Israel's
assault on Gaza to more than 1,300, according to health ministry spokesman
Ashraf al-Qidra.

UN figures indicate at least three quarters of the dead were civilians.

The more than 240 Palestinian children who have died represent at least 29
percent of civilian casualties, the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF,
said in a statement, adding that another six children in Israel had been
wounded from Gaza rocket fire.

So far, UN figures show more than 215,000 people have fled their homes in a
territory which is home to 1.7 million Palestinians, leaving one in eight
people homeless.

Many have taken shelter at schools run by UNRWA, a number of which have
been hit by shells in the past week.

*Ceasefire prospects*

The PLO said it had garnered the Hamas movement's support for a 24-hour
truce, but did not say when it was expected to start.

President Mahmoud Abbas had been in touch with exiled Hamas chief Khaled
Meshaal on Monday and Tuesday and had "proposed the 24 hour truce," senior
Palestinian official Nabil Shaath told AFP on Tuesday.

"Meshaal and Hamas agreed."

But Hamas said it had not so far agreed to any new truce and was waiting
for Israel to show its hand first.

"When we have an Israeli commitment ... on a humanitarian truce, we will
look into it but we will never declare a truce from our side while the
occupation keeps killing our children," spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.

Palestinian factions in Gaza have repeatedly insisted they would not except
any long-term ceasefire that did not stipulate the lifting of the siege on
Gaza.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had asked for fresh help from Washington in
trying to broker a ceasefire.

"Last night we talked, and the prime minister talked to me about an idea
and a possibility of a ceasefire," Kerry said on Tuesday.

Netanyahu had said he "would embrace a ceasefire that permits Israel to
protect itself against the tunnels and obviously not be disadvantaged for
the great sacrifice they have made thus far."

*Latest killings*

Al-Qidra provided a continuous account of the deaths and injuries across
the Gaza Strip Wednesday.

He identified some of those killed in the shelling on the UN school as
Issam Jaber al-Khatib, Said Abu Jalala, Taysir Hammad, Luay al-Feiri,
Bassem Khalid al-Najjar, Thair Khalid al-Najjar, Usama Muhammad Suhweil,
Bilal Midhat al-Amudi, Muhammad Moussa Ghabn, Adel Muhammad Abu Qamar,
Abdullah Midhat al-Amudi, Ramadan Khader Salman, Alaa Khader Salman, Ali
Ahmad Shahin, and Rami Barakat.

The bodies were taken to Kamal Adwan hospital in Jabaliya and al-Shifa
hospital in Gaza City.

Four more Palestinians were killed and 40 were injured in a later Israeli
attack on Jabaliya.

In the latest attacks on the Strip, 35-year-old Masira Muhammad al-Taaban
was killed when his home was targeted in al-Zwaya village.

Additionally, Ammar Suleiman Ali al-Masdar, 31, and Hamza Yassir Muhammad
Muheisin, 23, add Taysir Sababa, 22, were killed in Israeli attacks.

Earlier, seven people were killed as Israeli shelling targeted the Maan
area in Khan Younis.

The dead were identified as Maryam Ahmad Hijazi, Ibrahim Mustafa
al-Ghalban, Ismail Mahmoud al-Ghalban, Salah Hijazi, and Subhiyeh Ibrahim
Hijazi. Another woman killed in the attack has yet to be identified.

Additionally, Ramadan Abu Jazar and his cousin Zein Abu Jazar were killed
in an Israeli attack in eastern Rafah.

Earlier, a man in al-Zwaida in central Gaza was killed in an Israeli
attack, while at around the same time a woman was killed in Deir al-Balah.

Another seven Palestinians were killed when Israeli shelling targeted the
Abu Amer family home in Khan Younis.

They were identified as Ahmad Suleiman Abu Amer, his wife Muna Hajjad Abu
Amer, and their children, Marwa, Marah, Suleiman, and Yasser.

Mona Hajaj Abu Amer was also killed in the shelling.

Additionally, 10 members of a single family were killed as Israeli forces
shelled a building housing several members of the al-Astal family in Khan
Younis.

They were identified as Ali Mahmoud al-Astal, 23, Khalid Salim al-Astal,
26, Muhammad Salim al-Astal, 26, Ramzi Ibrahim al-Astal, 21, Odeh Ali
al-Astal, 25, Ahmad Muhammad Suleiman al-Astal, 26, Ahmad Ibrahim Ali
al-Astal, Khalil Ibrahim Ali al-Astal, Izz al-Din Jaber Muhammad al-Astal,
and Muhammad Mahmoud Muhammad al-Astal.

Some 25 other Palestinians were injured in the attack.

A Palestinian was killed in Israeli shelling targeting al-Nasser
neighborhood in eastern Rafah.

Another unidentified Palestinian was also killed in Rafah.

Walid Shihda Marzouq Muammar, 51, was killed in an Israeli shelling
targeting eastern Rafah.

Additionally, Sujud Abdulhakim Elayyan, 11, was killed in an Israeli
shelling targeting Jaffa Street. Elayyan was physically disabled and used a
wheelchair.

Another 19 Palestinians were killed in various Israeli airstrikes across
the Gaza Strip.


 Artists, Activists And Nobel Peace Laureates Stand Up For Palestinian
Rights In New Video

*By Jewish Voice for Peace*

30 July, 2014
*Freedom4palestine.org* <http://www.freedom4palestine.org/>

A diverse group of celebrities, artists, and activists that includes
American Jews and Palestinians are speaking out for Palestinian human
rights in a video released online today. The video is a first of its kind
expression of support for Palestinian freedom, equality and justice and
features celebrities such as Chuck D, Jonathan Demme, Gloria Steinem,
Wallace Shawn, Tony Kushner, Mira Nair, Roger Waters, Brian Eno, Nobel
Peace Laureates Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Desmond Tutu, Jody Williams,
Rigoberta Menchu Tum , activists and artists like Mira Nair, Anand
Patwardhan, Ken Loach, Naomi Klein etc holding signs with the names and
ages of Palestinian civilians recently killed by the Israeli military in
Gaza.

“The Israeli leaders seem sincere when they say they believe that their
actions are appropriate. Apparently, one of ‘us’ is worth many more of
‘them,’” said actor and playwright Wallace Shawn, who provides the
voice-over narration for the video. “American leaders know they are lying
when they defend the murder of children in their beds. And we, the public,
pay for the bombs, pay for the airplanes, and pretend not to notice what’s
going on.”



As Israel continues its assault against the occupied, besieged, and
blockaded Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 1,000 Palestinians since
July 7, most of them civilians, a growing number of global citizens of
conscience feel compelled to speak out against Israel’s disproportionate
attack on the Palestinian people. In addition to those featured in this
video, a growing number of celebrities have been speaking out via social
media about the horrors we are witnessing in Gaza, as reported recently by
BuzzFeed and The Hollywood Reporter.

“We wanted to provide a platform for the growing list of prominent
individuals who are outraged by Israel’s brutal violence against Gaza’s
civilian population,” said Rebecca Vilkomerson, executive director of
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), an organization that co-produced the video.
“Our message is that securing freedom and justice for Palestinians is the
only pathway to a lasting peace.”

"My family was forced to flee our beloved Jerusalem in 1948 and every day
since then, we have longed for freedom,” said Nina Saah, an 83-year-old
Nakba survivor featured in the video. “What is happening in Gaza breaks my
heart all over again. And yet I am so moved by all those who have come
together in this video and the outpouring of support I am seeing for
Palestinians. It gives me hope that the people of the world will be the
ones to change our situation and that freedom and justice will come."

“This is a scream on paper. This is a wail,” said playwright Eve Ensler,
one of the artists featured in the video. “There are no more words. Only
this moment where we rise against the illegal and deathly occupation of
Palestine, against mass slaughter of the defenseless, against the complicit
silence of the international community, against the military might and
arrogance of the Israeli and the U.S. governments who choose annihilation
over justice and love.”

A full list of participants can be found *here.*
<http://freedom4palestine.org/participants>

To request an interview with video producers or participants, or for more
information, please contact Yasmin Hamidi at yasmin at imeu.org or Cecilie
Surasky atcecilie at jewishvoiceforpeace.org.

*Jewish Voice for Peace * <http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/>is a national
grassroots organization dedicated to promoting a US foreign policy in the
Middle East based on peace, democracy, human rights and respect for
international law. JVP has over 160,000 online supporters, 40 chapters
across the U.S., a Rabbinical Cabinet, a Youth Wing, and an Advisory Board
composed of some of the country's best known Jewish thinkers and artists.

To get involved, contact JVP at info at jvp.org or organizing at jvp.org

CONTACT:
Yasmin Hamidi: yasmin at imeu.org
Cecilie Surasky: cecilie at jewishvoiceforpeace.org


 Israel Bombs Gaza Back To Stone Age: Razes Only Power Plant And Plunges
Strip Into Darkness

*By Juan Cole*

30 July, 2014
*Juancole.com*
<http://www.juancole.com/2014/07/israel-plunges-darkness.html>

Israel* launched a 7-hour campaign of intensive bombing of Gaza*
<http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=716829> on Tuesday,
destroying its only power plant. Gaza can no longer generate its own
electricity. Without electricity, the water purification plants cannot
operate and the drinking water ends up being mixed with sewage or salt
water. Without electricity, patients on life support in the hospitals just
die, even if Israel does not bomb the hospital, as it has in some
instances. The power plant will take the good part of a year to rebuild
even after the war ends. Gaza gets some electricity from Israel and Egypt,
but many of those lines have been damaged in the fighting.

*AJ+ explains: “90% Of People In Gaza Now Have No Electricity*
<http://youtu.be/kpekJnM7Zpg?list=UUV3Nm3T-XAgVhKH9jT0ViRg>



Many Palestinians in Gaza have been reduced to living by candlelight after
sunset. This dearth of electricity also has implications for what the
outside world can know about the condition of Palestinian families there:



Israel has completely reduced to rubble some* 5,000 homes *
<http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=716832>and damaged 26,000.
If you figure that Palestinians in Gaza live on average 5 in a dwelling,
there would be roughly 340,000 domiciles in Gaza. Israel has therefore
destroyed or damaged about ten percent of the housing stock. This is on top
of past campaigns of indiscriminate and wanton bombing campaigns. Since
Israel keeps Gaza under blockade, it won’t receive the necessary materials
to rebuild. The Israelis, having bald-facedly stolen the homes and farms of
the people of Gaza, won’t be satisfied until they are forced to sleep in
open fields.

Israel has forced some 200,000 Palestinians to flew their homes. But since
the Gaza Strip is so small, they have no place to go. Israel won’t let them
leave the Strip, but is intensively bombarding it. Some of the places they
have taken shelter, including schools and UN refugee shelters, have
themselves been bombed by the Israelis.

*Channel 4 reports from inside Gaza on “shock and awe”*
<http://youtu.be/eH7gRFKTZ8g?list=UUTrQ7HXWRRxr7OsOtodr2_w>



While one can argue about whether this mortar fire or or that aerial
bombing was justified, the destruction of the power plant and therefore of
civilian water-purification is certainly a war crime. Babies in particular
are vulnerable to dirty water, and often take revenge on their parents for
the inability to give them clean water by dying. Israel is, as Rashid
Khalidi argues, collectively punishing the entire Palestinian population of
Gaza to punish it for being insufficiently cowed and for refusing to accept
being ethnically cleansed from what is now Israel.

*Juan Cole *is the Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History and the
director of the Center for South Asian Studies at the University of
Michigan. His latest book, Engaging the Muslim World, is available in a
revised paperback edition from Palgrave Macmillan. His website is
*http://www.juancole.com
<http://www.juancole.com/>*


 oint Declaration By International Law Experts on Israel’s Gaza Offensive

*By International Law Experts*

30 July, 2014
*Richardfalk.wordpress.com*
<http://richardfalk.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/joint-declaration-by-international-law-experts-on-israels-gaza-offensive/>

(Prefatory Note: Posted here is a Joint Declaration of international law
experts from around the world who are listed below as endorsers. I am among
the endorsers, and the text was initially drafted by several international
law scholars. We welcome additional signatures that can be sent to me in
the comments section, with affiliation noted for identification, and names
will be periodically added to the text. I view this as an important
expression of professional judgment and individual conscience relating to
Israeli behavior in Gaza commencing on 8 July that has already taken so
many innocent lives and caused such widespread devastation. Please join us
and spread the word!)

*The International Community Must End Israel’s Collective Punishment of the
Civilian Population in the Gaza Strip*

As international and criminal law scholars, human rights defenders, legal
experts and individuals who firmly believe in the rule of law and in the
necessity for its respect in times of peace and more so in times of war, we
feel the intellectual and moral duty to denounce the grave violations,
mystification and disrespect of the most basic principles of the laws of
armed conflict and of the fundamental human rights of the entire
Palestinian population committed during the ongoing Israeli offensive on
the Gaza Strip. We also condemn the launch of rockets from the Gaza Strip,
as every indiscriminate attack against civilians, regardless of the
identity of the perpetrators, is not only illegal under international law
but also morally intolerable. However, as also implicitly noted by the UN
Human Rights Council in its Resolution of the 23th July 2014, the two
parties to the conflict cannot be considered equal, and their actions –
once again – appear to be of incomparable magnitude.

Once again it is the unarmed civilian population, the ‘protected persons’
under International humanitarian law (IHL), who is in the eye of the storm.
Gaza’s civilian population has been victimized in the name of a falsely
construed right to self-defence, in the midst of an escalation of violence
provoked in the face of the entire international community. The so-called
Operation Protective Edge erupted during an ongoing armed conflict, in the
context of a prolonged belligerent occupation that commenced in 1967. In
the course of this ongoing conflict thousands of Palestinians have been
killed and injured in the Gaza Strip during recurrent and ostensible
‘ceasefire’ periods since 2005, after Israel’s unilateral ‘disengagement’
from the Gaza Strip. The deaths caused by Israel’s provocative actions in
the Gaza Strip prior to the latest escalation of hostilities must not be
ignored as well.

*According to UN sources*
<http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/humanitarian_Snapshot_24July2014_oPt_V1.pdf>,
over the last two weeks, nearly 800 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed
and more than 4,000 injured, of whom the vast majority were civilians.
Several independent sources indicate that only 15 per cent of the
casualties were combatants. Entire families have been murdered. Hospitals,
clinics, as well as a rehabilitation centre for disabled persons have been
targeted and severely damaged. During one single day, on Sunday 20th July,
more than 100 Palestinian civilians were killed in Shuga’iya, a residential
neighbourhood of Gaza City. This was one of the bloodiest and most
aggressive operations ever conducted by Israel in the Gaza Strip, a form of
urban violence constituting a total disrespect of civilian innocence.
Sadly, this was followed only a couple of days later by an equally
destructive attack on Khuza’a, East of Khan Younis.

Additionally, the offensive has already caused widespread destruction of
buildings and infrastructure: according to the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, over 3,300 houses have been targeted
resulting in their destruction or severe damage.

As denounced by the UN Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on the Gaza conflict in
the aftermath of Israel’s ‘Operation Cast Lead’ in 2008-2009: “While the
Israeli Government has sought to portray its operations as essentially a
response to rocket attacks in the exercise of its right to self defence,
the Mission considers the plan to have been directed, at least in part, at
a different target: The people of Gaza as a whole” (A/HRC/12/48, par.
1680). The same can be said for the current Israeli offensive.

The civilian population in the Gaza Strip is under direct attack and many
are forced to leave their homes. What was already a refugee and
humanitarian crisis has worsened with a new wave of mass displacement of
civilians: the number of IDPs has reached nearly 150,000, many of whom have
obtained shelter in overcrowded UNRWA schools, which unfortunately are no
safe areas as demonstrated by the repeated attacks on the UNRWA school in
Beit Hanoun. Everyone in Gaza is traumatized and living in a state of
constant terror. This result is intentional, as Israel is again relying on
the ‘*Dahiya doctrine*
<http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/12session/A-HRC-12-48.pdf>’,
which deliberately has recourse to disproportionate force to inflict
suffering on the civilian population in order to achieve political (to
exert pressure on the Hamas Government) rather than military goals.

In so doing, Israel is repeatedly and flagrantly violating the law of armed
conflict, which establishes that combatants and military objectives may be
targeted, i.e. ‘those objects which by their nature, location, purpose or
use make an effective contribution to military action and whose total or
partial destruction, capture or neutralization, in the circumstances ruling
at the time, offers a definite military advantage.’ Most of the recent
heavy bombings in Gaza lack an acceptable military justification and,
instead, appear to be designed to terrorize the civilian population. As the
ICRC clarifies, *deliberately causing terror*
<http://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule2> is unequivocally
illegal under customary international law.

In its Advisory Opinion in the Nuclear Weapons case, the ICJ stated that
the principle of distinction, which requires belligerent States to
distinguish between civilian and combatants, is one of the “cardinal
principles” of international humanitarian law and one of the
“intransgressible principles of international customary law”.

The principle of distinction is codified in Articles 48, 51(2) and 52(2) of
the Additional Protocol I of 1977 to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, to which
no reservations have been made. According to Additional Protocol I,
“attacks” refer to “acts of violence against the adversary, whether in
offence or in defence” (Article 49). Under both customary international law
and treaty law, the prohibition on directing attacks against the civilian
population or civilian objects is absolute. There is no discretion
available to invoke military necessity as a justification.

Contrary to Israel’s claims, mistakes resulting in civilian casualties
cannot be justified: in case of doubt as to the nature of the target, the
law clearly establishes that an object which is normally dedicated to
civilian purposes (such as schools, houses, places of worship and medical
facilities), are presumed as not being used for military purposes. During
these past weeks, UN officials and representatives have repeatedly called
on Israel to strictly abide by the principle of precaution in carrying out
attacks in the Gaza Strip, where risks are greatly aggravated by the very
high population density, and maximum restraint must be exercised to avoid
civilian casualties. HRW has noted that these rules exist to minimize
mistakes “when such mistakes are repeated, it raises the concern of whether
the rules are being disregarded.”

Moreover, even when targeting clear military objectives, Israel
consistently violates the principle of *proportionality*
<http://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule14>: this is
particularly evident with regard to the hundreds of civilian houses
destroyed by the Israeli army during the current military operation in
Gaza. With the declared intention to target a single member of Hamas,
Israeli forces have bombed and destroyed houses although occupied as
residencies by dozens of civilians, including women, children, and entire
families.

It is inherently illegal under customary international law to intentionally
target civilian objects, and the violation of such a fundamental tenet of
law can amount to a war crime. Issuing a ‘warning’ – such as Israel’s
so-called roof knocking technique, or sending an SMS five minutes before
the attack – does not mitigate this: it remains illegal to wilfully attack
a civilian home without a demonstration of military necessity as it amounts
to a violation of the principle of proportionality. Moreover, not only are
these ‘warnings’ generally ineffective, and can even result in further
fatalities, they appear to be a pre-fabricated excuse by Israel to portray
people who remain in their homes as ‘human shields’.

The indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, the targeting of
objectives providing no effective military advantage, and the intentional
targeting of civilians and civilian houses have been persistent features of
Israel’s long-standing policy of punishing the entire population of the
Gaza Strip, which, for over seven years, has been virtually imprisoned by
Israeli imposed closure. Such a regime amounts to a form of *collective
punishment* <http://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule103>,
which violates the unconditional prohibition set forth in Article 33 of the
Fourth Geneva Convention and has been internationally condemned for its
illegality. However, far from being effectively opposed international
actors, Israel’s illegal policy of absolute closure imposed on the Gaza
Strip has relentlessly continued, under the complicit gaze of the
international community of States.

***

As affirmed in 2009 by the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict:
“Justice and respect for the rule of law are the indispensable basis for
peace. The prolonged situation has created a justice crisis in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory that warrants action” (A/HRC/12/48, para. 1958)
Indeed: “long-standing impunity has been a key factor in the perpetuation
of violence in the region and in the reoccurrence of violations, as well as
in the erosion of confidence among Palestinians and many Israelis
concerning prospects for justice and a peaceful solution to the conflict”.
(A/HRC/12/48, para. 1964)

Therefore,

We welcome the *Resolution *
<http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/SpecialSessions/Session21/Pages/21stSpecialSession.aspx>adopted
on 23 July 2014 by the UN Human Rights Council, in which an independent,
international commission of inquiry was established to investigate all
violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights
law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

We call upon the United Nations, the Arab League, the European Union,
individual States, in particular the United States of America, and the
international community in its entirety and with its collective power to
take action in the spirit of the utmost urgency to put an end to the
escalation of violence against the civilian population of the Gaza Strip,
and to activate procedures to hold accountable all those responsible for
violations of international law, including political leaders and military
commanders. In particular:

All regional and international actors should support the immediate
conclusion of a durable, comprehensive, and mutually agreed ceasefire
agreement, which must secure the rapid facilitation and access of
humanitarian aid and the opening of borders to and from Gaza;

All High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions must be urgently and
unconditionally called upon to comply with their fundamental obligations,
binding at all times, and to act under common Article 1, to take all
measures necessary for the suppression of grave breaches, as clearly
imposed by Article 146 and Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention;
these rules are applicable by all interested parties as well;

Moreover, we denounce the shameful political pressures exerted by several
UN Member States and the UN on President Mahmoud Abbas, to discourage
recourse to the International Criminal Court (ICC), and we urge the
Governmental leaders of Palestine to invoke the jurisdiction of the ICC, by
ratifying the ICC treaty and in the interim by resubmitting the declaration
under Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute, in order to investigate and
prosecute the serious international crimes committed on the Palestinian
territory by all parties to the conflict; and

The UN Security Council must finally exercise its responsibilities in
relation to peace and justice by referring the situation in Palestine to
the Prosecutor of the ICC.

***

Please note that institutional affiliations are for identification purposes
only.

John Dugard, Former UN Special Rapporteur on human rights situation in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Richard Falk, Former UN Special Rapporteur on human rights situation in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Alain Pellet, Professor of Public International Law, University Paris
Ouest, former Member of the United Nations International Law Commission,
France
Georges Abi-Saab, Emeritus Professor of International Law, Graduate
Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Former Judge on
the ICTY
Vera Gowlland-Debbas, Emeritus Professor of International Law, Graduate
Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland
Chantal Meloni, Adjunct Professor of International Criminal Law, University
of Milan, Italy (Rapporteur, Joint Declaration)
Roy Abbott, Consultant in International Humanitarian Law and International
Human Rights Law, Australia
Lama Abu-Odeh, Law Professor, Georgetown University Law Center, USA
Susan M. Akram, Clinical Professor and supervising attorney, International
Human rights Program, Boston University School of Law, USA
Taris Ahmad, Solicitor at Jones Day, London, UK
Maria Anagnostaki, PhD candidate, Law School University of Athens, Greece
Antony Anghie, Professor of Law, University of Utah, USA
Nizar Ayoub, Director, Al-Marsad, Arab Human Rights Centre in Golan Heights
Valentina Azarov, Lecturer in Human Rights and International Law, Al Quds
Bard College, Palestine
Ammar Bajboj, Lecturer in Law, University of Damascus, Syria
Samia Bano, SOAS School of Law, London, UK
Asli Ü Bali, Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law, USA
Jakub Michał Baranowski, Phd Candidate, Universita’ degli Studi Roma Tre,
Italy
Frank Barat, Russell Tribunal on Palestine
Emma Bell, Coordinator of the European Group for the Study of Deviance and
Social Control, Université de Savoie, France
Barbara Giovanna Bello, Post-doc Fellow, University of Milan, Italy
Brenna Bhandar, Senior lecturer in Law, SOAS School of Law, London, UK
George Bisharat, Professor of Law, UC Hastings College of Law, USA
Barbara Blok, LLM Candidate, University of Essex, UK
John Braithwaite, Professor of Criminology, Australian National University,
Australia
Michelle Burgis-Kasthala, lecturer in international law, University of
Edinburgh, UK
Eddie Bruce-Jones, Lecturer in Law, University of London, Birkbeck College,
UK
Sandy Camlann, LLM Candidate, Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense,
France
Grazia Careccia, Human Rights Advocate, London, UK
Baris Cayli, Impact Fellow, University of Stirling, UK
Antonio Cavaliere, Professor of Criminal Law, University Federico II,
Naples, Italy
Kathleen Cavanaugh, Senior Lecturer, Irish Center for Human Rights,
National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland
Elizabeth Chadwick, Reader in International Law, Nottingham, UK
Donna R. Cline, Attorney at Law, USA
Karen Corteen, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, University of Chester, UK
Andrew Dahdal, Lecturer, Faculty of Business and Economics, Macquarie
University, Sydney, Australia
Teresa Dagenhardt, Reader in Criminology, Queen’s University Belfast,
Northern Ireland
Luigi Daniele, PhD candidate in Law, Italy
Alessandro De Giorgi, Professor of Justice Studies, San Josè State
University, USA
Paul de Waart, Professor Emeritus of International Law, VU University,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Gabriele della Morte, Senior Lecturer in International Law, University
Cattolica, Milan, Italy
Max du Plessis, Professor of Law, University of Kwazulu-Natal, and
Barrister, South Africa and London, UK
Noura Erakat, Georgetown University, USA
Mohammad Fadel, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toronto Faculty
of Law, Canada
Mireille Fanon-Mendés France, Independent Expert UNO, Frantz Fanon
Foundation, France
Michelle Farrell, lecturer in law, School of Law and Social Justice,
University of Liverpool, UK
Daniel Feierstein, Professor and President International Association of
Genocide Scholars (IAGS), Argentina
Eleonor Fernández Muñoz, Costa Rica
Tenny Fernando, Attorney at Law, Sri Lanka
Amelia Festa, LLM Candidate, University of Naples Federico II, Italy
Katherine Franke, Professor of Law, Columbia Law School, USA
Jacques Gaillot, Bishop in partibus of Patenia
Katherine Gallagher, Vice President FIDH, senior attorney, Centre for
Constitutional Rights (CCR), New York, USA
Avo Sevag Garabet, LLM, University of Groningen, the Netherlands
Jose Garcia Anon, Professor of Law, Human Rights Institute, University of
Valencia, Valencia, Spain
Irene Gasparini, PhD candidate, Universitá Cattolica, Milan, Italy
Stratos Georgoulas, Assistant Professor, University of the Aegean, Greece
Haluk Gerger, Professor, Turkey
Hedda Giersten, Professor, Universitet I Oslo, Norway
Javier Giraldo, Director Banco de Datos CINEP, Colombia
Carmen G. Gonzales, Professor of Law, Seattle University School of Law, USA
Penny Green, Professor of Law and Criminology, Director of the State Crime
Initiative, King’s College London, UK
Katy Hayward, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Queen’s University Belfast,
Northern Ireland
Andrew Henley, PhD candidate, Keele University, UK
Christiane Hessel, Paris, France
Paddy Hillyard, Professor Emeritus, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern
Ireland
Ata Hindi, Institute of Law, Birzeit University, Palestine
Francois Houtart, Professor, National Institute of Higher Studies, Quito,
Ecuador
Deena R. Hurwitz, Professor, General Faculty, Director International Human
Rights Law Clinic, University of Virginia School of Law, USA
Perfecto Andrés Ibánes, Magistrado Tribunal Supremo de Espagna, Spain
Franco Ippolito, President of the Permanent People’s Tribunal, Italy
Ruth Jamieson, Honorary Lecturer, School of Law, Queen’s University,
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Helen Jarvis, former member Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of
Cambodia (ECCC), member of IAGS, Cambodia
Ioannis Kalpouzos, Lecturer in Law, City Law School, London, UK
Victor Kattan, post-doctoral fellow, Law Faculty, National University of
Singapore
Michael Kearney, PhD, Lecturer in Law, University of Sussex, UK
Yousuf Syed Khan, USA
Tarik Kochi, Senior Lecturer in Law, School of Law, Politics and Sociology,
University of Sussex, UK
Anna Koppel, MSt Candidate in International Human Rights Law, University of
Oxford, UK
Karim Lahidji, President of the International Federation for Human Rights
(FIDH) and lawyer
Giulia Lanza, PhD Candidate, Università degli Studi di Verona, Italy
Daniel Machover, solicitor, Hickman & Rose, London, UK
Tayyab Mahmud, Professor of Law, Director of the Centre for Global Justice,
Seattle University School of Law, USA
Maria C. LaHood, Senior Staff Attorney, CCR, New York, USA
Louise Mallinder, Reader in Human Rights and International Law, University
of Ulster, UK
Triestino Mariniello, Lecturer in International Criminal Law, Edge Hill
University, UK
Mazen Masri, Lecturer in Law, The City Law School, City University, London,
UK
Siobhan McAlister, School of Sociology, Queen’s University Belfast,
Northern Ireland
Liam McCann, Principal Lecturer in Criminology, Univer
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