JEWS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN GAZA

JEWS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN GAZA

Let us know you are coming gazahumanrig...@xxxxxxxxx
Please bring a food item to deliver to the consulate. We are going to
present cartons of food and medical aid to the Israeli consul's
office
(Park Plaza Hotel, noon Thursday 24 January) and request that it be
taken to Gaza, and that the Israeli government let the Gaza Relief
Convoy through the Erez Checkpoint on 26 January. On Saturday,
January
26, from NOON to 1 PM in Harvard Square there will be a demonstration
in support of the International Campaign to Break the Siege of Gaza.
On that date, Israeli peace groups will attempt to enter the Gaza
Strip with a convoy of essential supplies and medicines. Gaza no
longer has sufficient fuel to keep its power station running.
Hospitals and homes are dark and cold, remaining food stocks are
being
spoiled, the water and sewage infrastructure is breaking down. We
American taxpayers -- who make this collective punishment possible --
must raise our voices. Please join us if you can -- the group will
gather on the sidewalk in front of Au Bon Pain.
Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights


BACKGROUND & TALKING POINTS


1. Demand an immediate end to the assault on Gaza and open borders
The 1.5 million citizens of Gaza, half of whom are children aged 14
and
under, have been under an increasingly tight siege since January 2006
when Hamas was elected in free and fair elections - at least as free
and fair as any election held under military occupation can be. The
living standards of the population have plummeted and their access to
medical services, education, and basic food has dwindled.Over 80% of
Gazans now live in poverty according to the United Nations and the
World Bank. The World Bank has identified Israel's tight control of
movement of people and goods into and out of, as well as within, the
occupied territories as the single most important reason for the
collapse of the Palestinian economy. Israel has never implemented the
agreement on movement and access that U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice negotiated in November 2005. Israel must end its
assault on Gaza and let Gaza have open borders to the rest of the
world.


2. Call for a comprehensive ceasefire that covers all territories and
all parties to the conflict


Israel and the Palestinian Authority signed a ceasefire that included
Gaza on November 26, 2006. However, Israel continued to conduct
incursions into the West Bank and carry out "targeted
assassinations,"
some of which resulted in the murder of civilians. Between November
26, 2006 and April 3, 2007, Israeli forces killed 51 Palestinians in
the West Bank. Rocket fire from Gaza into Israel came as a clear
retaliation to these killings. The ceasefire collapsed on April 22,
2007. Although the U.S. media continually claims that Israeli attacks
are in response to Palestinian rocket fire, the actual pattern of
Israeli attacks provoking Palestinian responses has been documented
by
Israeli journalist Gideon Levy.(See his July 9 and December 3 2006
articles on www.haaretz.com, as well as Institute for Palestine
Studies Policy Notes No. 15 on www.palestine-studies.org) Official
U.S. statements supporting Israel's assaults on Gaza make the U.S.
government complicit in Israeli violations of the Geneva conventions
(which prohibit all collective punishment).


3. Urge an end to U.S. military aid to Israel.


Although Israel has not dismantled even the West Bank "outposts" as
it
had promised the U.S., let alone the rest of its illegal settlements
and infrastructure in the West Bank, the U.S. has increased military
aid to Israel by 25% for a total of $30 billion over the next 10
years. U.S. military and political support means Israel can ignore
legitimate Palestinian aspirations for independence, sovereignty,
equality and justice. It makes a mockery of claimed U.S. support for
the "peace process," because the U.S. guarantees the overwhelming
superiority of the Israeli occupier and its decades-long exploitation
of Palestinian land and resources.


The U.S. must not be complicit in what the rest of the world
understands to be one country's destruction of a country and
people.Only an end to U.S. military aid to Israel will signal that
our
country is beginning to get serious about peace.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Audio/Transcript: Ali Abunimah vs Israeli ex-FM Ben-Ami
    ... I debated former Israeli foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami ... Fatah and Hamas agreed on a document to implicitly recognize Israel within ... We go to Gaza to speak with Palestinian physician Dr. Mona ...
    (soc.culture.israel)
  • GAMLA on Gaza
    ... Egyptian Ambassador to Israel: ... Gaza since "there are enough weapons in Gaza as it is". ... Not a single Palestinian security officer was visible on the horizon. ...
    (soc.culture.israel)
  • more jooze crap going down
    ... GAZA: Palestinian government worker Khaled Mohammad said he had nothing left of value in his home in Gaza to sell after he sold his television set to make ends meet. ... As Israel presses an offensive in Gaza to free a soldier and halt rocket fire, its bombing raids are compounding the hardship for Palestinians already dealing with a Western aid embargo that has left the Hamas government unable to pay wages since March. ...
    (misc.survivalism)
  • Re: more jooze crap going down
    ... GAZA: Palestinian government worker Khaled Mohammad said he had nothing ... Israel presses an offensive in Gaza to free a soldier and halt rocket ... already dealing with a Western aid embargo that has left the Hamas ...
    (misc.survivalism)
  • Israel of the Future
    ... Israel peace with its most powerful enemy. ... Controversial Gaza Pullout Begins Monday ... Palestinian Hopes in Gaza ... Israel begins to evacuate 8,500 Jewish settlers on Monday. ...
    (soc.culture.malaysia)