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1- NABLUS: Outrages Continue
2- "O Havruta O Mituta" "Give Me Friendship Or Give Me Death"

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1- NABLUS: Outrages Continue

Today in Nablus the Israeli Army continued its campaign of terror and vandalism against the Old City.

All of the 12 the ISM activists based in the city (from Sweden, Switzerland,, Palestine, Ireland, South Africa, the UK, Denmark and the USA) were active around the city escorting people who were fleeing their homes to other parts of the city, working with Palestinian UPMRC (first aid) volunteers to rescue the injured, visiting houses and buildings that had been ransacked or demolished by the Israeli occupying army and following groups of Israeli soldiers who had taken Palestinians with them as human shields in their house to house terror campaign.

With the coming of daylight the activists were also able to investigate an explosion they heard the previous night. When they did so they discovered that the Israelis had demolished an historic Turkish bath-house - part of Israel's ongoing campaign against the Palestinians' cultural and historical heritage. During the day two more demolitions were carried out. One of demolitions was of a goldsmith's store (where the soldiers found acid, which they concluded might be used in the manufacture of bombs).

As they surveyed the Old City the activists discovered that throughout entire neighbourhoods there was not one house that had not been trashed and that many had "rat holes" blown through the walls.

Several homes throughout the city were occupied by the invading troops including that of the long term Israeli peace activist, Neta Golan who is nine months pregnant and now has two of her Palestinian brothers in law being used as human shields by the Israeli occupiers. The two men are among seven Palestinians civilians who have been forced to march in front of a Israeli troops during their house to house searches. The weather throughout the West Bank has been cold and wet today. When the soldiers are conducting a house search or occupying a house the activists are made to stand outside. When the soldiers retired to Neta Golan's house for the evening the men were made to stand outside in the rain until 8.30 when the soldiers took them inside. No one has been able to contact them or gather any information on how the men are being treated.

Tomorrow, the ISM is having a strategy meeting of its core activists in Beit Sahour. When its two representatives from Nablus were leaving for the meeting through the Huwarra Checkpoint, one of the soldiers stopped Susan (from the United States).

"You're a trouble maker," he said to her before confiscating her passport. "You're not going anywhere."

When the other activist, Robin (from South Africa), refused to leave without her, his passport was taken too and both were detained at the checkpoint until the border police arrived to arrest them.

When Susan phoned through the news of their arrest I contacted the US consulate to inform them of her situation but they hung up on me. With some difficulty I was able to let the South African consulate know about Robin's situation and they are considering a lodging a formal protest to the Israeli government.

When the border police arrived they took Susan and Robin to the police station at Arael Settlement and interrogated them both. After an hour Robin was released and taken to a bus stop at the settlement from where he intends to catch a bus to Tel Aviv. Susan is still in custody. She has been working as an ISM activist in Occupied Palestine for the past six months and had a certificate in her passport advising that her visa extension was under consideration. The police have told her that they have phoned the Ministry of the Interior and that her extension has been refused.

The ISM have notified a lawyer who is lodging an injunction with Israel's supreme court against her deportation but the police seem intent on transporting her to Tel Aviv from where they hope to deport her.

Susan is a woman of almost boundless energy and compassion and has been a pillar of strength to the activists who worked with her. She has displayed the most remarkable courage and resourcefulness and never lost her cool, even under the most trying of circumstances. Her deportation would be a heavy blow to the ISM as the Israeli Army steps up the tempo of its terror campaign in the lead up to the next Gulf War.

I have just been on the phone with our activists in Nablus who have been working since nightfall to deliver food and baby formula to houses in the Old City and gathering together the wounded into places where the ambulances were able to collect them. At around 9 pm they received a call from the neighbours of an occupied house to report that a twenty four year old woman was being held alone in her house by Israeli soldiers. When the neighbours had tried to take her out of the house to the safety of their own homes the soldiers had refused to release her.

When the activists arrived at the house they found a group of fireman whom the soldiers had detained and proceeded to negotiate with the soldiers for the release of the firemen and the woman. The soldiers denied that there was a woman in the house but eventually released the firemen. As they left the house the firemen said that they had seen a Palestinian woman in the house. According to her neighbours the woman's name is Roqaia Abu Aladas who is alone in the house because her mother is in hospital suffering from a long term heart condition and her father and brother have been taken away into detention.


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2- "O Havruta O Mituta" "Give Me Friendship Or Give Me Death"

By Guy Izhak Austrian and Ella Goldman

Countless Jews in the U.S. hate what the Israeli government and army Are doing, support the rights of Palestinians, and want to speak out and take action. They're longing to fight for a cause that they feel calling so closely to their Jewishness, but instead they're watching the Palestine solidarity movement from an uneasy distance. Some who did join have left, like one Jewish Israeli-American woman who dropped out of a radical media collective after a fellow activist, returning from Palestine, looked at her and said, "Israelis are the ugliest people I've ever seen... no offense," while other collective members watched in silence.

We are two Israeli-American Jewish activists in the New York-based organization Jews Against the Occupation. JATO (which we're not speaking for in this article) is a Jewish group that works in support of self-determination for Palestinian people, recognizes the right of return for Palestinian refugees, and calls for an end to U.S. aid to Israel. We are Palestine activists because of our outrage and grief over the crimes against humanity committed in our name. We're writing this article because it's apparent that the Palestine solidarity movement in the U.S. and Europe often stumbles over Jewish issues.

Our political opponents use any insensitivity toward Jews to discredit our movement and justify the repression of Palestinians. Yet the movement has a historic opportunity--by including a progressive vision for Jewish liberation--to grow tremendously in influence and numbers, to confound its critics, and to help put a stop to the war on Palestinians. Seeing the links between Jewish and Palestinian liberation is necessary in part because anti-Jewish oppression doesn't only harm Jews. Throughout history and in a consistent, predictable pattern, anti-Jewish prejudice has been used to disrupt people's resistance to oppression.

During times of relative stability, ruling elites bribe some Jews with material privileges and public positions of limited power. Most Jews have neither wealth nor political power, but enough of us appear as the visible faces of a larger oppressive system to make it look as though Jews are not oppressed. Some leftists who see oppression only in economic terms also fall for this illusion and don't include Jews on their progressive agendas. Meanwhile, the elites subtly nurture stereotypes and myths that Jews are in control, hungry for money and power, and so on. When the system is threatened by internal crisis or popular resistance, anti-Jewish prejudice diverts anger and violence away from the root of the problem and onto this group of scapegoats.

After surviving an outbreak of persecution, Jews are left vulnerable to cooperating with our own oppression by accepting once again the short-term privileges of an illusory alliance with the ruling class. At the same time, Jews become isolated from the struggles of other oppressed peoples. Tenants, for example, may hate their Jewish landlord instead of organizing against city and state housing laws and the larger system of private property.

A recent example of this dynamic happened at the World Conference Against Racism in Durban in 2001. The U.S. didn't want to attend because its entire economic system is based on the racism and imperialism that the conference was confronting. But the U.S. declared that it wouldn't attend because the conference would be critical of Israel. This manipulation sparked overt displays of Jew-hating in Durban that the media played up to discredit this crucial conference, obscuring the Palestinian cause and the resistance to Western imperialism. The war on Palestinians shows the same set-up on a global, extreme scale. The imperial powers funded a people traumatized by the holocaust to colonize the Middle East. Israeli Jews receive material benefits and a false sense of safety while the primary drive is the interests of U.S. arms and oil companies. Israel is just one small arm of U.S. worldwide imperialism, and U.S. "aid" to Israel is really just a tiny part of U.S. military spending. Meanwhile, the primary blame is shifted onto Israel by manipulating common anti-Jewish ideas. Bigots spread the myths that Jews control the U.S. budget and government and are draining resources from Americans' domestic needs. The U.S. government and corporate media foster racism against Arabs and other people of color, while giving loud attention to Israel and to denouncing anti-Jewish prejudice.

This imbalance makes us highly visible while infuriating other oppressed groups and isolating our oppression from theirs. In the absence of a progressive, loud, and consistent voice against their oppression, many Jews make the mistake of fighting for their liberation without allies and without addressing other oppressions. On the other hand, Jews in progressive movements often feel pressured to assimilate, to not "take up space" when other struggles appear so much more pressing.

In reality, movements do have room to struggle against all oppressions together. Jews need progressive allies to fight with us for our liberation. And when we fight in solidarity with other groups, we need our allies to encourage us to wear our Jewish identities proudly.

Tips from Jews to use:

• Anti-Jewish prejudice is everywhere. There is no need to pretend that the Palestine solidarity movement is untouched by it. Because a part of this oppression is the idea that it doesn't exist, denying accusations only fuels them. It's more effective to receive such accusations respectfully and consider them, even if they come from the right. It's never reassuring to Jews to hear you say, "I'm not anti-Semitic." Instead, let us know that you're aware of the oppression and that you want to confront it.
  
• Interrupt anti-Jewish prejudice when you see or hear it happening. Instances in which a gentile voices opposition to attacks on Jews, such as removing a swastika from a demonstration, stay etched in our minds and build trust and solidarity.
  
• When Jews are struggling to articulate their experiences of an oppression that is kept so eerily invisible, your first response should not sound like a debate. Don't get technical about the term "anti-Semitism" excluding Arabs, lecture us about how the holocaust has been used for political gains, or remind us that we're not the only victims of war and oppression. Instead, value our trust in you and listen. Put thought and caring into appropriate ways to raise these other points.
  
• Let's face it, Israel/Palestine is and isn't about the holocaust. People tell us that the holocaust is irrelevant to Palestine and then bring a swastika to a demonstration. No one is really done dealing with this trauma, and that makes it hard to understand the present without being overwhelmed by the past. We're not saying don't talk about it, just don't get too clinical and analytical. And don't imply that we should have gotten over it by now.
  
• Don't treat Jews who support Palestinian liberation like "the good Jews"--it implies that Jewish culture is generally reactionary, and it's like asking us to betray our people. Like all cultures, Jewish cultures are exciting and complex, as well as scarred by irrationalities that stem from oppression. The Palestine solidarity movement would reap enormous benefits from showing respect and care for Jewish cultures. There is nothing inherently reactionary about Jews finding meaning in our languages, customs, literature, the Jewish star, or other symbols. Also, being an atheist or a critic of organized religion is not a reason to dismiss Judaism; our Jewishness is a big part of why many of us are inspired to fight for justice.
  
• As activists we may want to criticize the way the state of Israel sets up Jewishness as its legal basis. But it's a mistake to challenge that by denying the reality of Jewish identity. It's true that Jewish identities are made of diverse combinations of cultures, ethnicities, languages, and religious traditions, but all are equally and legitimately Jewish. We have a right to feel a sense of peoplehood, and we want to hear that our allies desire Jewishness in all its forms to flourish in multicultural, democratic, and just societies.
  
• Keep in mind that the vast majority of Jews who oppose the occupation are Zionists, that is, they believe that a Jewish nation-state is essential for Jewish safety and survival. You may disagree (and we do too), but your criticism of Zionism will be more effective if you show that you understand why it has such an emotional appeal to Jews. For example, the phrase "Zionism=racism" seems true to us. But in its simplicity, it says that the main or only motive for all Jews who came to Palestine/Israel was to exert supremacy over Palestinians, when in fact it was survival. Holocaust survivors, sitting in the Allies' displaced-persons camps in 1945, weren't privy to the diaries and letters of Zionist leaders who described their frankly racist and colonial intentions. When criticizing Zionism, we should always offer a compelling, radical, alternative vision of Jewish liberation, in which Jews would thrive safely as equal citizens, everywhere in the world, at all times.
  
• It may help to be aware that the word "Israel" was not invented by Theodor Herzl in the 1800's. Israel (meaning, struggle with God) is a word by which Jews described themselves for over 3000 years. So while we criticize nation-states and fight to end the occupation, we must understand that words like "anti-Israel," or stickers like "apartheid IS-REAL" sound like a personal attack to many Jews. Additionally, and regardless of Zionism, the concept of "the land of Israel" has been a profound part of our consciousness through history. A realistic approach to the future of Palestine would factor in this permanent, though not exclusive, Jewish connection to the land.
  
• Recognize the Israeli radical left as an invaluable arm of our movement that needs to be included, supported, and consulted. Dismissing Israelis is anti-Jewish bigotry and bad politics.
  
• Get information about Jewish liberation from Jews who understand it. A Jew who claims that it's not an issue should not be the token Jew on a panel. Help each other get educated as allies for Jewish liberation. Organize discussions, study groups, and cultural events, and write articles like this one. Don't leave Jews alone to do this work.
  
• Dig up your earliest memories of hearing about Jews. Examine any oppressive ideas and feelings about Jews with other gentiles, not with Jews. Come to us for input, not for an opportunity to vent.
  
• Understand internalized oppression: the ways that any oppressed people come to believe the lies about themselves and others in their group, and even to act on those stereotypes and reinforce them. Learn to gently question Jews' expressions of anger or contempt for other Jews. Encourage us to be visibly Jewish and to celebrate our culture. And when it comes to telling Jews that we're liked and wanted and totally good-looking, you really can't overdo it.
  
• Remember that Jews can hear anything you want to say about Israel/Palestine if it's obvious that you care about Jews and our safety. It's not enough to refrain from saying insensitive things. Find ways to communicate that the liberation of Jews is on your agenda.
  

And a Fews for Jews:

• Remember that there is room for Jewish liberation on progressive agendas. Keeping it off the agenda will trip up all other liberation struggles. So get out of the closet! And remember that being visibly Jewish is different for everyone. There is no such thing as "too Jewish" or "not Jewish enough." Know that you are a good Jew.
  
• Don't fall into the trap of isolation by taking on Jewish liberation with Jews only. Reach for allies, and work from the assumption that our gentile comrades want to know and to do the right thing. And always address Jewish liberation through your commitment to the liberation of Palestinians and the struggle to end all oppressions. Every time we communicate care to Jewish communities, that is activism against our oppression. Taking on the fight for Jewish liberation will transform and advance the Palestinian liberation movement in ways we have hardly begun to imagine.