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by William Hughes
Friday, Jan. 05, 2007 at 8:55 AM
liamhughes@comcast.net
The year 2006 was another hell on earth for the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza. Is there any hope for relief? Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” led to freedom for African-Americans. Question: Will ex-President Jimmy Carter’s tome, “Palestine Peace Not Apartheid,” play a comparable role in ending the evil of the Israeli Occupation?
jimmy_carter__s_book.jpg, image/jpeg, 264x368
“Nothing else in the world...is so powerful as an idea whose time has come.” - Victor Hugo Let’s face it! The year 2006 was another hell on earth for the Palestinians. Since 1967, they have been suffering under the heel of the Zionist Death, Mayhem & Occupation Machine. Earlier this summer, as the situation grew desperate in Gaza, where 1.4 million people are trapped, Israel’s Far Right Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, wisecracked: “Nobody dies from being uncomfortable.” He lied! Six hundred and sixty Palestinians perished from the 24/7 siege by the Israeli Occupation Army (IOF). Of that number, 141 were children. (1) Enter ex-President Jimmy Carter and his best selling book, “Palestine Peace Not Apartheid.” (2) Will this good and decent man from Georgia do for the Palestinians, what Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” did for African-Americans, who were then languishing under the crime of slavery? Can Carter light the fuse that leads to the liberation of the Palestinians from their cruel oppressors? Meanwhile, America is in deep spiritual decline. I don’t mean that in a religious sense. I do, however, mean it with respect to so many people not being in touch with their own humanity--their own souls. One of the ways this shows up is how we have historically subsidized, with little or no objections, the evildoings of the Zionist state of Israel. (1) According to the prestigious “Harvard Study,” over $140 billion of our tax dollars have ended up there since 1967. (3) Three to four billion dollars is added each year to that total. (4) Now, Jimmy Carter is saying: “Stop!” The Israelis don’t deserve our support because they have built a racist Apartheid-like enclave, symbolized by an Annexation Wall, on the backs of the indigenous people--the Palestinians. (1) What is interesting to note in the Jimmy Carter/Zionist Israel brouhaha is how the former President, like so many others before him, is being subjected to an intense campaign of vilification by Israeli apologists in this country. (5) But surprise--the ubiquitous smear artists are falling on their collective faces! With every mean spirited insult, Carter sells another book. What his critics don’t understand is this: Carter belongs to America. He is one of us! They, the Carter bashers, are not only deeply resented, but are being seen by growing numbers as arrogant, spiteful and shameless shills for a foreign power. Israel is the same two-faced foreign power who slaughtered Americans on the USS Liberty, bulldozed to death peace activist Rachel Corrie, and directed the traitor Jonathan Pollard to steal our military secrets. (6) Carter is not only helping Americans see what the Israelis have been doing to the Palestinians, he is also opening up the eyes of many here, to what the “Harvard Study” clearly documents: The Israel Lobby has exercised “unmatched power” over U.S. foreign policy, which hasn’t been in “the national interest” of our country. (3) The hawkish Neocons are part, too, of the powerful Israel Lobby. Thankfully, more Americans, daily, do know what is going on in the Israeli Occupied Territories. During 2006, I was privileged to cover events dealing with that issue and also Israel’s unjust invasion of Lebanon. (7) I also heard human rights experts denounce the Israeli conduct in those two areas of combat as “War Crimes.” (8) This includes the IOF’s blood stained attack on the village of Qana and its dropping of over one million cluster bombs on the civilian population of Lebanon. (9) I also got a chance to interview some of the demonstrators at these spirited protest actions, and to put on the public record their strong moral and legal objections to Israel’s serial wrongdoing. (10) At the same time, I had an opportunity to witness, close up, the nobility of the Palestinians. Ms. Laila El-Haddad and Mohammed Omer spoke volumes via their personal accounts of oppression by the IOF in Occupied Gaza. Ms. El-Haddad, a Gaza resident, on June 23, 2006, at a forum on Capitol Hill sponsored by the Council for the National Interest, warned that the humanitarian outlook facing the people there was “extremely bleak.” She spoke of the barbaric home demolitions by the IOF, the lack of access to food, and the fact that over 9,000 Palestinians are presently languishing in Israeli dungeons, many without any charges pending against them. (11) Mohammed Omer, a Gaza-based journalist, gave a talk at the Palestine Center on Nov. 28, 2006. He spoke of how his late brother, Hussam, was shot to death by an Israeli sniper. Omer knew Rachel Corrie. He related how the children of the Rafah refugee camp, who had grown to love her, “couldn’t believe she was dead.” (12) On a related topic, when Professor William Fletcher lectured at the Palestine Center, on Dec. 1, 2006, he shared how the present state of Israel could easily be compared with the Apartheid-era South African regime. He labeled Israel a “rabid state,” which was capable of a maniacal act, like “unleashing a nuclear weapon.” (13) Now, that Israel’s Olmert has admitted that Israel possesses Nukes, Professor Fletcher’s concern becomes even more relevant. When “Esquire” magazine ran a cover story (Jan. 2007) showing an Iraqi War vet, Sgt. Bryan Anderson, a triple amputee, I couldn’t help but think of the Neocon, Richard Perle. (14). The last time I spotted him he was filling his mouth with chocolate chip cookies. He had just attended a memorial service for a fellow Iraqi War junkie, Philip Merrill Levine. (15) Perle is also the same hard core Zionist, who co-authored the hawkish “The Clean Break” document for Israel’s Likud honcho--Benjamin Netanyahu. (16) Neocons, like Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, et al, all knee jerk supporters of Israel, deserve strong censure for pushing our country into the war with Iraq. (17) As I write, over 3,000 American troops have died in that conflict, about 60 of them were from my home state of Maryland. And, despite the horror story that is the Iraqi War, with 655,000 Iraqis also reported dead, Netanyahu, is calling for a U.S. led war with Iran. (18) I couldn’t help but reflect: The cunning Neocons urged sending our sons and daughters to die in Iraq based on a pack of rotten lies. Now, they, and their cronies, like Netanyahu, are looking for a war with Iran. Do these shameless war hucksters have any limits? Getting back to Israel’s Olmert and his crude remark: “Nobody dies from being uncomfortable.” When you tie his callous comment to the significant loss of human life suffered in both Gaza and Lebanon this last summer, you need to be alarmed. Add this fact: His regime was charged with engaging in “collective punishment” tactics in those two campaigns. (8) To me, Olmert reflects a troubled man whose psyche has been unduly influenced by those vindictive Storm Gods of the ancient Canaanites. Like those deities, he too, acts like he is all powerful and omniscient, and without a conscience. Might, of course, excuses nothing. Olmert appears from his recent conduct incapable of reflecting on the morality of his own wrongdoing. He lacks wisdom, too. Is this why characters, like Olmert, are so ultra sensitive to any criticism? When you consider that this zealot has his finger on the trigger of a nuclear weapon, the world itself should shudder in fear. (19) In any event, there is little chance that an authoritarian ideologue, like Olmert, will change on his own. What is important, however, is that ex-President Jimmy Carter’s courageous voice condemning the endemic evil that is a racist, Israeli-dominated Apartheid Palestine, is being heard. If enough Americans change their attitudes towards Israel, then there can be some real hope that the occupation of Palestine might, mercifully, end soon. Notes: 1. http://www.pchrgaza.ps/ 2. http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/article.php?pg=11&ar=788 3. http://ksgnotes1.harvard.edu/Research/wpaper.nsf/rwp/RWP06-011/%24File/rwp_06_011_walt.pdf and http://www.atlasbooks.com/clarity/b0030.htm 4. http://www.wrmea.com/ 5. “They Dare to Speak Out” by Paul Findley. http://counterpunch.org/bricmont08122006.html 6. http://baltimore.indymedia.org/newswire/display/13104/index.php 7. http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=11848 http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2006/08/01/p9765 http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/35442 http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/135194/index.php 8. http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2006/10/1732558.php 9. http://miami.indymedia.org/news/2006/11/6740_comment.php 10. http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=23FA9DE7E6528A84 11. http://baltimore.indymedia.org/newswire/display/13013/index.php 12. http://dailyscare.com/journalist_mohammed_omer_on_the_hell_that_is_gaza 13. http://baltimore.indymedia.org/newswire/display/13104/index.php 14. http://batr.net/neoconwatch/ 15. http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2006/06/26/p9036 16. http://www.irmep.org/Defaults.asp 17. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/ and http://baltimore.indymedia.org/newswire/display/13033/index.php 18. http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/offtowar.html 19. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20061212/D8LVAPKG1.html and see, “Answer to Job” by Carl G. Jung. © William Hughes 2007. William Hughes is the author of “Saying ‘No’ to the War Party” (Amazon.com). He can be reached at liamhughes@comcast.net.
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TITLE |
AUTHOR |
DATE |
Don't get this in the mainstream media |
Thanks for posting |
Tuesday, Jan. 09, 2007 at 8:01 PM |
Very true! You just don't get this info in the usual pro-israel media! |
Very true! You just don't get this info |
Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2007 at 5:20 PM |
Israel is a terrorist state, so is the United States |
Speaking the truth! |
Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2007 at 5:22 PM |
Israel is a terrorist state, so is the United States |
Israel is a terror state |
Friday, Jan. 12, 2007 at 7:35 PM |
I'm tired of it |
Sheepdog |
Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2007 at 4:03 PM |
Self determination by ethnic groups |
death to racism |
Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007 at 12:08 PM |
"the right" |
death to colonialism |
Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007 at 4:56 PM |
His Warped Little World |
The Knower |
Friday, Jan. 19, 2007 at 6:00 AM |
Au contraire, lock-nut! |
The Knower |
Friday, Jan. 19, 2007 at 6:44 AM |
First Bomb Carter; Then Nuke Iran! |
repost |
Sunday, Jan. 21, 2007 at 1:29 PM |
"by history buff Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2007 at 9:04 AM " |
fundamentally dishonest people |
Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007 at 11:37 AM |
they permit fraud & spam |
Angry |
Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007 at 11:45 AM |
"self determination" |
heard it before |
Friday, Jan. 26, 2007 at 8:46 AM |
Fanatics and Such... |
Foward Observer |
Thursday, Feb. 01, 2007 at 8:07 AM |
"Anarcho- Zionists" |
anarchist |
Saturday, Feb. 03, 2007 at 7:07 PM |
And the painted ponies |
Go up and Down |
Saturday, Feb. 03, 2007 at 7:15 PM |
more of their double-talk |
it never ends |
Saturday, Feb. 03, 2007 at 9:24 PM |
math tutoring |
gehrig |
Sunday, Feb. 04, 2007 at 5:31 AM |
"Sounds good to me." |
no surprise |
Sunday, Feb. 04, 2007 at 7:41 AM |
not quite |
gehrig |
Sunday, Feb. 04, 2007 at 12:28 PM |
For the uninformed |
FYI |
Sunday, Feb. 04, 2007 at 10:56 PM |
One two three |
jerk your knee |
Monday, Feb. 05, 2007 at 9:01 AM |
Why don't you check your logs? |
Teaser and the Flaming Zioinazi |
Monday, Feb. 05, 2007 at 9:36 AM |
Why don't you check YOUR logs? |
Teaser and the Flaming Palinazi |
Monday, Feb. 05, 2007 at 9:46 AM |
Not too swift |
eh, Sheepdog? |
Monday, Feb. 05, 2007 at 9:55 AM |
what's missing |
gehrig |
Monday, Feb. 05, 2007 at 10:40 AM |
more Zionist lies |
there they go again |
Monday, Feb. 05, 2007 at 12:29 PM |
Racism |
Yup |
Monday, Feb. 05, 2007 at 12:59 PM |
Can't stop laughing |
Did I Say Pathetic? |
Monday, Feb. 05, 2007 at 4:57 PM |
cause when life looks like easy street |
there is danger at your door. |
Monday, Feb. 05, 2007 at 8:11 PM |
Still? How? Why? |
Select-o-Path |
Monday, Feb. 05, 2007 at 9:21 PM |
A little of Column A |
A little of Column B |
Monday, Feb. 05, 2007 at 10:47 PM |
Does he live there or something? |
80 million |
Monday, Feb. 05, 2007 at 11:09 PM |
(3.) Moral fallout. |
Tell us all about it. |
Monday, Feb. 05, 2007 at 11:37 PM |
Hexi-gone |
Muck-o-Path |
Tuesday, Feb. 06, 2007 at 2:24 AM |
Hey, that Was a feel ++good |
Wonderful Doctors |
Tuesday, Feb. 06, 2007 at 8:32 AM |
addendum1 |
Coffee time |
Tuesday, Feb. 06, 2007 at 8:44 AM |
Yes, a wonderful occupation |
Doctors |
Tuesday, Feb. 06, 2007 at 8:45 AM |
addendum2 |
Fizz (TM) time |
Tuesday, Feb. 06, 2007 at 8:57 AM |
Jimmy Carter's book |
back to the topic |
Tuesday, Feb. 06, 2007 at 9:30 AM |
They're still trying to distract you |
back to the topic |
Tuesday, Feb. 06, 2007 at 10:58 AM |
This is Zionism |
thieves, liars and murderers |
Tuesday, Feb. 06, 2007 at 11:17 AM |
running synopsis on this thread |
Sheepdog |
Tuesday, Feb. 06, 2007 at 12:14 PM |
there they go again |
fundamentally dishonest people |
Tuesday, Feb. 06, 2007 at 1:29 PM |
again, whew |
ShadowIMCista |
Tuesday, Feb. 06, 2007 at 2:17 PM |
Nice try, "Dr." Freud |
johnk |
Tuesday, Feb. 06, 2007 at 2:35 PM |
"I for one see right through your crap and actually laugh" |
me too |
Tuesday, Feb. 06, 2007 at 3:53 PM |
-" if they are let in"- |
This is what I mean |
Tuesday, Feb. 06, 2007 at 9:02 PM |
No Apartheid. |
Thank you for asking |
Tuesday, Feb. 06, 2007 at 9:58 PM |
"There is no apartheid in Israel." |
right, sez Sheepdog |
Wednesday, Feb. 07, 2007 at 2:56 AM |
"Miss Israel was an Arab." |
tokenism |
Wednesday, Feb. 07, 2007 at 7:40 AM |
SchtarkerYid |
No, that was a bad analogy |
Wednesday, Feb. 07, 2007 at 9:26 AM |
"The circumstances of Arabs in Israel aren't parellel to the American experience.&quo |
another Zionist lie |
Wednesday, Feb. 07, 2007 at 9:38 AM |
unclear |
just wondering |
Wednesday, Feb. 07, 2007 at 10:09 AM |
SchtarkerYid |
that history isn't that simple |
Wednesday, Feb. 07, 2007 at 10:37 AM |
It is another chapter |
in the class war |
Wednesday, Feb. 07, 2007 at 10:43 AM |
Blame the victim |
typical Zionist ploy |
Wednesday, Feb. 07, 2007 at 10:48 AM |
distance and distraction |
marks of a true capitalist |
Wednesday, Feb. 07, 2007 at 11:00 AM |
Not a Dhimmi no more! |
Atavistic Movement |
Wednesday, Feb. 07, 2007 at 11:23 AM |
"it seeks" |
death to colonialism |
Wednesday, Feb. 07, 2007 at 11:31 AM |
The internal struggle |
is as much class/wealth as religion |
Wednesday, Feb. 07, 2007 at 11:33 AM |
off topic |
there they go again |
Wednesday, Feb. 07, 2007 at 11:55 AM |
"It seeks to rid itself of colonialist oppression." |
debate coach |
Wednesday, Feb. 07, 2007 at 12:11 PM |
"The Atlanta based Carter Center" |
off topic |
Wednesday, Feb. 07, 2007 at 1:43 PM |
really... |
Sheepdog |
Wednesday, Feb. 07, 2007 at 7:06 PM |
lifted from Portland |
hey look at this |
Wednesday, Feb. 07, 2007 at 10:40 PM |
It's not "dead" |
one more time |
Thursday, Feb. 08, 2007 at 3:43 PM |
Schtarker Yid |
might as well be dead |
Thursday, Feb. 08, 2007 at 4:41 PM |
That's what they said last summer, |
heard it before |
Thursday, Feb. 08, 2007 at 5:57 PM |
busting a gut |
Sheepdog |
Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2007 at 4:49 PM |
G-d bless the resilient people of Palestine |
G-d bless the resilient people of Palestine |
Friday, Feb. 16, 2007 at 10:16 PM |
G-d bless the resilient people of Palestine |
G-d bless the resilient people of Palestine |
Friday, Feb. 16, 2007 at 10:17 PM |
Spam |
there they go again |
Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2007 at 7:51 AM |
spam/hate/fraud |
One of the (other)editors |
Thursday, Feb. 22, 2007 at 10:24 AM |
Obvious |
Simply hypocracy |
Thursday, Feb. 22, 2007 at 12:06 PM |
I wonder |
Spelling Police |
Thursday, Feb. 22, 2007 at 12:40 PM |
on another note |
Reasons & Sources |
Thursday, Feb. 22, 2007 at 2:10 PM |
Jimmy Carter confronts fallacies of pro-Israel lobby |
repost |
Sunday, Feb. 25, 2007 at 10:54 AM |
"A crime against the Palestinian people" |
researcher |
Sunday, Feb. 25, 2007 at 1:49 PM |
the real map |
"dunam by dunam" |
Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2007 at 1:15 PM |
another map, also from Annie's Letters |
"dunam by dunam" |
Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2007 at 1:57 PM |
So, how old is Annie? |
and where does she get her info? |
Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2007 at 6:04 PM |
Not an ad hominem |
questioning qualifications |
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007 at 8:18 AM |
there they go again |
bunk logic |
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007 at 8:27 AM |
Annie is no authority |
Dennis Ross is |
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007 at 9:39 AM |
there they go again |
typical Zionist ploy |
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007 at 9:52 AM |
What was "offered" is irrelevant. |
Death to Zionism |
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007 at 10:09 AM |
"Palestinians are experiencig the consequences of their choices." |
history buff |
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007 at 10:22 AM |
When the Zionists invaded Palestine, |
Death to colonialism. |
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007 at 11:22 AM |
Believe the facts |
on the ground |
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007 at 12:34 PM |
There they go again |
more Zionist lies |
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007 at 1:01 PM |
Don't listen to these people. |
there they go again |
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007 at 2:49 PM |
The Nakba - an event that did not occur (although it had to occur) |
repost |
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007 at 5:44 PM |
Speaking frankly about Israel and Palestine |
repost |
Thursday, Mar. 01, 2007 at 1:58 PM |
"Palestinians chose to engage in " |
Victory to the resistance |
Thursday, Mar. 01, 2007 at 2:51 PM |
Carter Doesn't Tell the Half of It |
repost |
Wednesday, Apr. 25, 2007 at 12:57 PM |
We, the Jewish state |
repost |
Friday, Apr. 27, 2007 at 12:20 AM |
Yes, Virginia, it IS apartheid |
repost |
Tuesday, May. 01, 2007 at 12:40 PM |
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